I own nothing. Monika does.

"So, ready for your training?" Akira asked. Sayori nodded in response. As she faced down her enemy, a purple, winged humanoid wearing a mask, she felt an incredible determination to defeat it. She needed to prove herself to her new team. Clutching the victory at the palace was a start, but showing that she could handle herself in a real combat situation would make all the difference. She raised her shield and awaited orders.

"You're gonna wanna try and find what that thing's weak to. You'll know if you've hit a weakness when it falls to the ground. Got it memorized?" Akira asked Sayori, who nodded once more. "Good. Psyche's got Physical and Bless attacks, right? Give those a shot." Akira commanded, as Sayori charged forth and slashed the monster with her sword. The creature recoiled in pain, but it didn't fall.

"Brace yourself! It's gonna attack!" Akira shouted as the beast lunged forward. Sayori raised her shield in defense, absorbing some of the blow. She could only hope that her bless attack would be the decisive move.

"Alright, Valiant, let 'er rip!" Akira cried, giving Sayori a boost of confidence.

As she shouted "Psyche!" her Persona appeared and a ray of light came down upon the fiend. It soon fell to the ground.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Way to go, Matsu-chan!" shouted Ryuji, happily.

"Let's not lose our heads, guys. Why don't we commemorate this moment with an All-Out Attack!" exclaimed Akira. The team smiled and nodded in response, before leaping into the air and unleashing a flurry of attacks upon the shadow. Sayori could not believe her eyes. How do they do that…

The monster was quickly defeated, and the team returned to Sayori. "Don't worry, Valiant. We'll teach you how to do that one of these days." said Akira, who knew exactly what she was thinking just from the look on her face. "Let's get a move on, team!"

"Uh, uhm… okay!" said Sayori, excited. She was honestly surprised at her excitement. She was never much of a warrior before, but she had felt the urge to protect her friends in battle arise within her ever since the battle against her Shadow. Furthermore, she had a reason to fight too. Helping the thieves do good in the world was enough motivation to fight.

"So, how exactly does Morgana transform into a bus?" Sayori asked quizzically.

"Well, y'know how Mementos is influenced by popular cognitions? Cat-buses are a popular cognition, so that's what allows me to transform! Simple, huh?" Morgana responded, clearly proud of his ability. Sayori grumbled something that sounded like bemused understanding as she looked out the window of the Monabus. The dark interior of the seemingly endless dungeon lead her mind on a journey of deep thought.

These monsters are created from the minds of everyone else. So, if I'm not real, then… Where did I come from?

The thought sent a chill down her spine. Was she a shadow, just like these monsters? If so, why did she end up above ground?

On top of that, where did my neighborhood come from? My school? Yuri, Natsuki, Monika? Are they the same as me? Oh no…

She decided to speak up.

"Uhm… I know this is a strange question, but… have you guys ever seen an entire neighborhood in Mementos?"

Ann was the first to respond. "Well, we did see a giant art gallery one time. It looked like there were some buildings in the distance. So, I guess we have seen a neighborhood." She said, smiling. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curious," Sayori answered, obviously hiding her true feelings. The rest of the thieves took no notice.

So it is possible. I… I don't know what to think anymore…

She decided to drop the subject for the time being. There were enough things to worry about already.

As she returned to Goro's apartment, Sayori felt incredibly sore. She looked and felt like a trainwreck after all of her battling. Her hair was disheveled, and she had a rather noticeable bruise on her leg where a Shiki-Ouji had struck her during a difficult battle. The monster was immune to both of her methods of attack, so she was forced to stay on the defensive as the rest of the thieves handled it for her. She wished she could have helped more, but nothing could be done.

While heading up the stairs to the apartment, a tinge of dread crept into her slowly. She soon realized that she most certainly looked like she had been in a fight, and that Goro would be incredibly worried.

He's not going to leave me alone about this, huh… Better come up with an excuse. Hmm… I've got it!

Goro was sitting on the couch, reading a book. As he looked up at Sayori, terror came across his face. "What happened to you?!"

I don't got it!

"Uh… Uhm… I got a new after school job! Gardening! I tripped over some gardenias and scraped my knee!" She was clearly flustered.

"Don't you already have a club?" Goro asked, puzzled.

"This is my new one! Don't judge me too hard!" Sayori crossed her arms in defense.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain the scratches on your face," Goro stepped forward, investigating further.

"Wait, wait, wait! I also fell into some aloe vera on the way down! It really hurt." Sayori put on her best pouty face in order to sell her excuse.

Goro knew she was lying, but decided to roll with it anyway. Just play along. Let's see where this leads.

Now it was his turn to cross his arms, smirking. "Alright. So, Miss Gardener, did you at least have fun after all of the bodily harm?"

Sayori was taken aback by Goro's mildly flirtatious comment. She struggled to get out her words, resulting in only a bunch of confused mumbling.

"Y-yes… I really enjoyed it. It's so much fun chopping up the sh- I mean, weeds. I really like killing the weeds. Working with the others is great too. We're a team, y'know?"

Nice one, Sayori. Best excuse ever. Sayori thought to herself.

"I get you. I remember spending hours upon hours with my friends after school, reading and what-not. It was splendid." Goro responded, clearly nostalgic.

He bought it!?

"Of course, it turned out they were all actually bullies, making fun of me for reading, but I still enjoyed their company to an extent. Something different, I suppose." Goro continued, now much more somber.

Oh no… I really wanna hug him now.

Sayori uncrossed her arms. "Oh… Well, speaking of reading, we've got books of our own to read. I promise I won't make fun of you," she replied, finally having gathered herself.

"Good. Wanna get to it, then?" Goro asked.

"Wait. Do you… want a hug?" inquired Sayori, who had now transitioned to her most lovable expression possible.

Now Goro was the one taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. He worked up a smile and said, "Uh… Sure. That sounds great."

The two fell into an affectionate embrace, a moment of calm after a long day.

It was yet another lazy day at Shujin Academy's library. Despite Mai's newfound work ethic, there still was little work to be found. Mai and Sayori were found at their usual stations, with Sayori deep into a book while Mai looked close to falling asleep.

"I know I say it a lot, but… These folks don't read a lot, do they? Where's all of our work?" Mai asked, mildly frustrated.

Sayori shrugged in response. "No clue. I'm certainly reading, though."

"Yeah… Speaking of which, whatcha readin'?"

"Well, Goro and I recently picked up this series that I read when I was a kid. It's called 'The Fairytale Detectives'."

"Sounds like a real Sayori-tastic book. What's it about?"

"Fairytale Detectives?"

"Aw, shuddup. I mean, what's it really about?"

"Well, it's about these two girls, and they used to be in this awful foster care system in New York. But then they meet their grandma, who they assume is crazy because she believes in fairy tales. Then the grandma gets kidnapped by a gi-" Sayori was cut off by a student walking through the door.

"Ladies. How is the work coming along?"

"Student Council President Makoto!?" Mai and Sayori shouted in unison, both breaking into a sweat. They had a lot of explaining to do.

"Yes…?" Makoto was confused as to their reaction. "I'm the Student Council President. It's my duty to check in on everyone from time to time.

"Well it's just, you never really came up here before, at least on our shift." Sayori explained.

"Actually, I come to the library all the time. It's wonderful to get to read so many books. I don't really know why everyone else stays away, though."

"It's cause they're all out doin' normal teenager stuff…" Mai whispered to Sayori, who promptly elbowed her in the stomach.

"I agree, the library is quite wonderful. So, Student Council President Makoto, what brings you here?" Sayori asked politely.

"Oh, I'm just checking in. I haven't received any negative reports about you two, but I felt I should visit regardless. How's everything going?" Makoto responded, with her standard businesslike demeanour.

"Slowly, slowly. I think we've had maybe five people in here all week. I don't know what it is. Still, we keep the place tidy. I'm sure you couldn't find a speck of dust no matter how hard you looked!" claimed Sayori, clearly attempting to hide the fact that they weren't working. Mai began sweating even harder upon hearing her claim.

Makoto smiled. "I see. Well, keep it up. Shujin's library is an important institution, and students like you who maintain it are to thank for that. I'm heading out. I've got to go meet some students in Shibuya. Lots of work to do. See you around." She turned and went back into the hall.

Mai's entire face was quickly in her palm, wiping the sweat away. "Dodged a bullet there, huh? Nice job saving our ass, Sayori!" Mai said, beaming. "I guess that's what an amazing team like us gets when we work hard!"

"But you didn't work."

"I provided emotional support. Plus, I'm the one who hired you, so I worked by default."

"Uh-huh. Let's get back to working then," Sayori responded, smiling at Mai's pitiable amount of pride. As she began to look back towards her book, a thought entered her head.

"Say, Mai… What kind of work could she be doing with students in Shibuya?"

Mai raised an eyebrow at her comment, but she came up empty. "I dunno. I've been hearing rumors of a drug problem around there but… Who knows. I don't even talk to Student Council President Makoto. God only knows what she's up to when we're not lookin'."

Sayori looked into space for a moment, thinking hard but coming up just as empty as her co-worker. "Hmm. Oh well. Can't be that important, right?"

Unbeknownst to Sayori, the importance of Makoto's work would make itself clear in just a few days.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I'm very proud of how it turned out. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!