4/17/26

"...Hey, professor..."

"Yosei, good morning."

"How did last night's expedition go?"

"Not very well. We got pretty far, about eighty percent of the way through, but we also ran into the landlord's shadow. All of us combined barely repel him, and we had to flee ourselves."

"That sucks... Given how powerful the Striker is, the shadow has to be very strong."

"Indeed. I suspect that we'll require your help, Arngrim."

"...If I could return, I would. But I wish to respect Yosei's feelings in this moment. I am not without conscience."

"...Yosei. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."

"...I plan on visiting Yamato in the hospital for the next couple of days. I won't be able to forgive myself until he wakes up."

"Very well. But be mindful that you do not let yourself fall too far into your depression. I allowed myself to do so, and... I still have the scars on my wrists."

"...Sure."

"..."

"..."

"You feel like you can't forgive yourself unless Robin and Kanna do, right?"

"Am I that easy to read?"

"I've lived with you for over a month. I've picked up on your tics. Kanna... will take some time. As for Robin, I believe that he will be easier to talk to. It's his persona that's truly angry about the situation."

"While Fujiyama and Llewellyn were talking, I noticed something. Specifically, I noticed that when discussing particular topics, he would move his hand to his chin. That topic was Lancelot. Whatever's truly causing his split opinion likely has something to do with Lancelot, if I am reading his aura correctly."

"Lancelot? ... Come to think of it, Lancelot gave us a pretty intense death stare that night. I could feel the glare through his helmet."

"Then I feel that you should talk to them. See what exactly is making Lancelot so angry, and try to diffuse the situation."

"...Alright... I'll try."

"Thank you. I will do what I can to calm Kanna down to make the transition easier. In the meantime, breakfast is sitting on the table. I'll see you at school."

"...You okay, Kanna?"

"Still pissed. Not in the mood."

"I won't press, then."

Eiji, Kanna, Robin, and Robin's girlfriend sat around the table eating lunch in silence. Even though she had no idea what was going on, Robin's girlfriend still felt the heavy tone of the situation.

"...Hey, Robin."

Robin turned around and saw Yosei standing there. Kanna didn't even look up as the other two girls turned to face him.

"..."

"Do you mind if we talk in private, for a few minutes?"

"..."

"...Fine."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"I'll be right back. Make sure someone doesn't steal my lunch. Where to?"

"The fifth floor. Where we first met."

"...So, what is it? Lancelot's giving me an earful about how I can even talk to someone like you."

"I'd like to talk about the 14th. More specifically, I'd like to talk to Lancelot."

"Well, he's tied to me, so I'm sure he'll hear it. I'm not certain he'll listen, though."

"...Lancelot. I know that you're angry about what happened with Yamato. To an extent, we all are. Hell, I'm angry at myself. But... you seem even more angry than all the others. And I'd just like to know why."

"..."

"...Lancelot, I know you're angry, but this is just petty. Just give him an answer."

"...His death is on your hands."

"Death? He's not dead."

"He was lying, motionless, on that table, covered in wounds! He is clearly dead!"

"...Were people in comas thought to be dead in your time? He's alive. But he's in a period of extended sleep. Yes, caused by Yosei, but he's not dead."

"...Even so, you so easily brought harm upon him to save yourself. For what reason should I trust you?"

"...There isn't one. I don't even trust myself now. I simply want to know why. Why are you, in comparison to all the other personas, so angry about this?"

"...He is an innocent soul. Within him, I confided my past. One of glory and fortune, dishonor, and treachery. Even my lowest points, when I let my passion control me and starting a needless civil war, destroying Camelot from the inside. He accepted it all with open arms and granted me his trust, despite my personal follies. He is truly a soul more pure than I, and likely more than any of us. And then, before the sun set that same day, you stripped his life from him. Talking to him, I felt like I was back in the order of the Round Table. And that same day... That very same day!"

"...I'm sorry. I know that it won't do anything to help him, but I'm sorry."

"...Yamato had a great deal of personal demons he felt he had to deal with, just as you and I do. And it is very likely that he suffered from self-hatred. His last words before being put into the coma were 'I don't have anything to work for anyways, do it! Do it! Do it!' I know that it means nothing. But if I felt we had any other option, then we would have taken it."

"...Your face... I've never been so angry to see the face of a man telling the truth. Fine, I shall put our grudge aside for now. But when he awakens, I shall hold you to your word. If he says that you're lying, nothing will spare you from the flames of my wrath."

Lancelot's voice fell silent. Robin breathed in and exhaled a sigh many seconds long. He held out his hand.

"...Come on. Hug it out, ya bloody bastard."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Okay, this is starting to feel gay."

"Yeah, that's enough."

"...There. That should be the end of it. It's a slow process, Dhorian-chan, but eventually, you'll have enough of a grasp on this to excel without my aid."

"Thank you, Fujiyama-kyoju. Have a good day!"

Gabrielle got up with her college work in hand. As she moved to leave, the door opened and Robin walked in.

"Hey, Gabby."

"Good afternoon, Wilco."

"...Wilco?"

"It's a nickname the Dhorians gave me based off a comic character. Anyways, mind if we speak for a moment?"

"Sure, I think we still have time. I'll see you later, Dhorian-chan."

Gabrielle left the room. Robin pulled up a chair and sat down.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I'd like to talk about Kanna in the aftermath of... well, you know."

"I do agree, it is concerning..."

"Yosei talked to Lancelot and I earlier. We managed to work it out. But I still feel like he's too... afraid to talk to Kanna."

"Well, it's nice to hear that you two have repaired your relationship."

"Yeah. End of the day, I like the dude, but I just wish he had a bit more backbone in terms of confrontation."

"We all have our quirks. But back to the topic of Kanna. How do we temper the flames of her wrath?"

"I dunno, but we gotta figure this crap out soon. Every day that goes by, Kanna and Yosei don't seem to be getting any closer, and our deadline most certainly is. Soon, we might have to kiss Kanna's ass goodbye. ...Sorry, that sounds crude, even for me."

"Yes, the phrasing was rather poor. But at any rate, we should dedicate what we have to exploring everything we can in the palace. If we finish it today, then we have just under two weeks to help mend the relationship between Kanna and Yosei."

"So we're going there? Is that the plan?"

"If you agree, of course."

"Gladly. See you after school."

"I got Robin and Lancelot to forgive me today. All that remains is Kanna."

"..."

"I know you're worried about her. She appears to be managing, but her anger is palpable."

"..."

"Heh. You told me to do it, and I still feel like it's all my fault. I really am unfit for the task, aren't I?"

"..."

"I can't stay forever, but just promise me one thing, alright? I know you can hear me."

"..."

"Don't let go. Keep on fighting. We'll all be waiting for you when you wake up. See you, Yamato."

Yamato got up and left the hospital. However, as he did, he heard a voice come from the room.

"...Protect..."

"Hm? Did you hear that?"

Arngrim and Yosei doubled back and looked into the room. As they peeked in, they were almost frozen in shock, as they saw a creature similar to Yamato's persona attempting to envelop the student in water.

"What the hell?!"

"Huh? Ah!"

The creature immediately pulled back and huddled itself in the corner. Yosei and Arngrim could now see it clearly; it was a creature made entirely out of water. The top of the aqueous blob was covered in a deep indigo that went down about half-way and began to disperse as it reached the bottom. The rest of the creature was a translucent sky blue. Near the top of the creature were two large, piercing orange eyes.

"...Is this Yamato's persona?"

"I-I'm not delicious! Don't eat me! I just wanna protect my summoner!"

"...Uhhhhh... Yeah, it's the persona..."

"It's acting completely different. It was aggressive and quiet before, but now..."

"I swear I don't taste good!"

"Hey, calm down, we don't want to eat you."

"You... promise you won't eat me, right?"

"We won't eat you."

"...Okay... Okay, okay, okay... Um... I'm Umibozu. That's... all I know."

"The Umibozu? ...That's the Japanese iteration of the Kracken or Leviathan, correct?! No wonder it was so aggressive without Yamato's self! But then..."

"The Umibozu? But... you seem far too meek to be the Umibozu."

"Huh? There's something else called the Umibozu?"

"...Uh... Arngrim, did he lose his memories or something?"

"I could not say... But this is something that we must let Kanna know about."

"Kanna? ...You mean my summoner's big sister?"

"...Uh... I just don't know anymore. Give me a minute, I'll call the professor about this. ...Wait, where'd he go?"

In the blink of an eye, the Umibozu disappeared. Yosei and Arngrim stared at each other, confused. Yosei pulled out his phone and tried to call Zuan, but he wouldn't answer his phone.

"Of course they're exploring right now..."

"...There it is... his treasure."

The group walked into the empty arena. In the center was the hallmark of the treasure's location; a large, transparent, intangible object floating in the middle of the clearing.

"Good. Let's send the calling card tomorrow."

"No. Not quite yet."

"What? Why?"

"We alone aren't strong enough to fend off the shadow in the case he attacks us. We need a full team, and we also have to coordinate with the Striker."

"We don't need Yosei's help. He is NOT coming with us."

"So then what do you claim we do? Get Fatale to help us? She doesn't like us, the Striker made that clear, and she hasn't even shown up for the past week to boot. And since we can't get her, Yosei is our only option."

"...We'll talk later. Let's get out of here."

Kanna turned around and backed away. Zuan shoved the crystal of greed into his pocket and followed everyone else as they left the palace.

"...You answered my call. Thank you, Igor."

"Ah, welcome back to the velvet room. You need not ask questions; I have watched over you and know what you wish to know. The Umibozu... also known as Yamato Genkei."

"Wait, also known as Yamato Genkei?"

"Allow me to explain, master. Because the Umibozu is, quite literally, Yamato Genkei. There are two ways for one to gain a persona; one is how you and the other five got their personas- through an undying iron will. In that case, the hero of yore fuses with your shadow to take form. The other is to confront one's own shadow in their own palace, which is what Yamato did, and then it also has to be fused with the superego and reinforced with Iron will after the fact. And in that case, it's not the hero of yore; instead, it takes a form of its own making and is instead the reflection of one's true self. The Umibozu is not the Umibozu of Japanese Legend; it is Yamato's shadow, given form."

"Wait, but then, why did his persona attack us?!"

"At that point, he had no control over his persona. So when his emotions began to overtake him, his persona lashed out."

"But he seemed just fine!"

"Perhaps. But Yamato's demons are like those that you cannot understand."

"I can try. Please, tell me."

"He will tell you himself when he wakes up. Fear not; Yamato will make it through his trial. But do not push him for questions about his demons; you may find yourself discovering something that may cause irreversible scars in the both of you."

"I've got plenty of scars. What will one more cause me?"

"...Our time draws to a close, guest. We shall discuss this further at a later date."

"...Okay then, Igor..."

"...And that's what going on."

"That... is truly bizarre... so he's still not fully awakened?"

"If all stages are equal, then he's only two thirds awakened. Which is still pretty far, I suppose, but I get the feeling that it won't be very strong in combat."

"...I think I know how to get Kanna to put aside your grudge."

"I see where you're going with this. Hey, Umibozu."

"What is it, mister?"

"You know everything about Yamato, right? You are him, right?"

"I... guess so, mister."

"Let me make this more specific. The... incident that put him in the coma. What was he thinking at the time?"

"Um, yeah, mister. I know about what he was thinking."

"Yosei, could you bring the phone close to his persona? Let me try."

"One second."

"...What's this called?"

Zuan cleared his throat and spoke in a higher, cheerier voice.

"Hey, little buddy. It's Zuan Fujiyama, your big sister's professor. I need you to do a big favor for us, okay?"

"Oh, sure, mister. What is it?"

"Thanks, little guy. Could you please tell Auntie Kanna about what happened that night? It would take a huge load off of all our minds, especially Uncle Yosei, and I would really appreciate it."

"Sure thing, mister! I'll go right now!"

"Wait, Zuan, aren't personas restricted to about a 10 meter radius outside of-"

Yosei fell silent as he watched as Umibozu zoomed out of the room at top speed. He put the phone back to his ear as he saw the aqueous persona sliding through the parking lot in front of the hospital.

"...Guess not. Do you think this will help?"

"If she hears it from the horse's mouth, then it should, at the very least, ease things. But I'm also older than the rest of you, so I might be misjudging things."

"You're six years older than me, it's not that much. We're both 2000's kids."

"Hehehehehahaha! It's been years since someone called me a kid, and even longer so coming from my junior!"

"...Snrk... you of all people, laughing... Khehehehaha!"

"What are you reading?"

"It's called 'Wizard's Academy: Duality of Evil.' It's one of Yamato's scripts."

"Ah..."

Eleanor fell silent as Kanna sat in Yamato's room, pouring over the papers Yamato kept in his backpack.

"...He's a talented author... All of this is handwritten, too."

"Thank you, big sister!"

"...Eleanor, did you just call me 'big sister?'"

"No, that wasn't me."

"Hey, big sister! Out here!"

"...Who's calling me?"

"Bis sis! Out the window!"

"...AAAAAH!"

Kanna let out a scream as she turned around and saw an unfamiliar creature with glowing orange eyes.

"Big sister, could you please open the window?"

"Big sister...? What do you mean?"

"You're Yamato's not-really big sister. It's me, his persona. I'm Umibozu. Uncle Zuan asked me to tell you what happened."

"...I simply have no words..."

Kanna opened the window and the sea ghost slipped in. It spun around and stared at Kanna and Eleanor.

"...It's so small. It could fit in a bathtub... I quite frankly find it adorable..."

"Oh, geez... Um, Umibozu, right?"

"Yeah! I'm Yamato's persona! ...and... well... I'm sorry..."

"...Sorry for what?"

"Um, you see, I, uh... I share memories with Yamato... and so I know what happened. Um, I was still sleeping at that time, but..."

4/18/26.

"...Thank you for telling me what happened, again. How can you move so far from Yamato, anyhow? Eleanor can only move about 10 meters away outside of palaces."

"I don't know. I didn't even know the others were kept close."

"Hm... Well, I'm just glad that Yamato is still here. You're proof of that. ...There he is."

Kanna peeked over the crowd and saw Yosei about to enter the school.

"Hey, Yosei!"

Yosei turned his head, saw Kanna, and started walking faster. Kanna said his name again and he sped up further.

"...Is he running from me?!"

"Kanna, dear, you're going to scare-"

"Yosei! Get back here!"

Kanna started to shove through the crowd, and Yosei started running. Both of them ran into the building, Kanna chasing Yosei. Yosei dashed into the stairwell, almost knocking another girl over. Kanna glanced at her back, and decided to get rid of some weight.

"Ugh... What the hell, du-"

"Hey, hold this for a moment!"

Kanna dropped her bag into the girls hands and kept running. She followed the sounds of his footsteps until they stopped as Kanna neared the fifth floor. She ran up the stairs and looked around. Yosei was nowhere to be seen, but she heard him enter the room, so she knew he was hiding somewhere.

"...Yosei, stop running. We're not pre-schoolers. Come out and look me in the eye."

"..."

"You're acting like a child. Come on, let's go."

"..."

"Yosei, I'll give you five seconds before I start looking for you. And when I find you, I will punch you. Five. ...Four. ...Three. ...Two. ...One."

"..."

"This is ridiculous... where would Yosei hide? ...I didn't hear any other noises, so he's probably hiding in a chest or cabinet. And knowing how he almost always has Arngrim by his side... HYAH!"

"GEFAH!"

Kanna charged one of the old cabinets and forced the door off its hinges with one kick, and it flew back. She wondered why the college even had such shoddy equipment. The grunt she heard behind the door confirmed her suspicions.

"...There you are. I was going to punch you, but this works too."

"...That... really freaking hurt..."

"I warned you. Now be a man and confront me."

Kanna backed off and Yosei shoved the door forward. He kept his hand over the left side of his head.

"...I know you're going to beat the ever-living shit out of me for what happened. Just get it over with..."

"The opposite. Umibozu told me what happened. Now I have the perspective of Yamato himself, and... well, I shouldn't have antagonized you like that."

Kanna stepped away and put her arms out.

"...Come on."

"...Come on what?"

"Punch me. I kicked a door at you and I treated you like, pardon my language, absolute fucking shit."

"...Are you certain?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

"..."

"Go ahead. I'm ready."

"..."

"Huh?! ...Oh, come on... that's just cruel..."

Yosei held Kanna's eyepatch in his hand and stared at her with an uncharacteristic somberness.

"...I know you hate having your eyepatch taken, but I wanted to say this to you, not your shell... I'm so, so sorry about Yamato... and I'm sorry about the pain I caused you both."

"...It's fine now... Come on... please give it back... and let's get to class..."

"...So that's the end of it, huh?"

"Until Yamato wakes up, I believe that to be the case."

"Yosei, are you good?"

"...Yeah. I think I'll still need a few days to make a full recovery, but I'm on my way to forgiving myself."

"That's good enough. Yosei, we have 13 days. I have faith that you'll be able to recover by then?"

"I should be able to. Thank you all... Zuan, Eiji. If you two didn't support me, I don't know where I'd be. Kanna, Robin. If you didn't forgive me, I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself. So... thank you. All of you."

"Mhm."

"N-N-No p-p-problem..."

"It's cool, Stalky. Lancelot was the one pissed at you."

"See to it that an incident like this does not happen again, Sir Orochi."

"I suppose I can also forgive you for stealing my eyepatch."

"...PSSSSSSH!"

"Way to kill the mood, Rob."

"Sorry, sorry. It just cracks me up to know Yosei's starting to follow my example, of all things!"

"...Anyways, Yosei, you've missed a few days of fighting. Whenever you're ready, talk to me, and we'll get you caught back up."

"Thanks, professor."

"...Come on, let's go visit Yamato. We should tell him what happened. Let's go to Zuan's house."

"Huh? B-But he's in t-the hospital..."

"You'll see."

"Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshitssocute!"

"What the hell, Eiji?!"

"U-Um, I-I'm not cute! I'm, uh, menacing! Rawr!"

"Omigosh, it reminds me of my dog! I just wanna cuddle it!"

"Uh...um..."

"Eiji, calm down, I think you're scaring him."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, it's just so cute!"

"...Persephone, has she ever got this enthusiastic about something before?"

"She has two cats and a dog. She is absolutely fixated with cute animals, and is far more energetic when in their presence."

"So she's that type of girl... Introduce yourself to everyone, please."

"Uh, okay, um... I'm Umibozu. I'm Yamato's persona..."

"Ahem... Hey, little fella. You share Yamato's memories, right? Does that mean he also shares memories with you?"

"Yeah, mister! I am technically him, after all!"

"Then I'd like to apologize to him. Please tell him that we've got everything cleared up."

"Sure thing, mister!"

"Thank you. Robin, what's your thoughts on him?"

"He looks like a cartoon character. ...I like it."

"This is my first time actually seeing it. Frankly, I think it's pretty cute and childlike."

"But I'm not cute! I'm menacing!"

"Hahahahaha... yeah, it's definitely a kid, and I love it."

"...They look like they'll be fawning over it for a while... Hey, Kanna, do you wanna work out?"

"Sure thing. Where to?"

"Central Tokyo. I know a guy."

Robin pulled out his phone.

"Hey, Freddy. You free?"

"...Alright, thanks."

Kanna put her phone back into her pocket.

"...So. Boyfriend or our group?"

"Robin, why do you keep asking about my relationship?"

"...Why don't you turn this on him?"

"...What, are you interested?"

"Huh?! Well, I, uh, um, it's not like-I don't-" Robin took off his glasses and facepalmed, embarrassed. "...I did not expect that. Usually, I'm the one to make the moves. Seriously, though, who was it?"

"It was Yosei. He said that he and Eiji were going to train in Kawaguchiya's palace to get him caught up with the rest of us."

"Understandable. ...Here we are. Hey, Freddy! Gabby!"

"Robert, Miss Inzan, we've been waiting. Come on in, the gym's empty today."

Robin and Frederick walked into the gym as Gabrielle shook Kanna's hand.

"You're miss Inzan, right? It's nice to officially meet you. Gabrielle Dhorian, studying to be a teacher and mother of one."

"Same to you, Dhorian-chan. I'm studying to be an architect. Who's the lucky man?"

"...Do you mean my husband or boyfriend? I... don't have one. We can talk about it later. Come on, let's go change."

"...So, speaking of the lucky man, who's Robin's?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I overheard him talking to one of our professors about his boyfriend yesterday. He talked about his relationship with someone, and even said that he liked the dude. Who is it?"

"Um, Robin isn't bi, as far as I'm aware... That same day, he had his girlfriend sitting right next to him at lunch, and I've never heard of him having a boyfriend. He was probably talking about Yosei, a mutual friend of ours. He did something that really pissed the both of us off, but the two had a heart to heart and they forgave each other."

"Oh. Nevermind, then. Sorry, that was pretty presumptuous."

"We all make assumptions every now and again. I highly doubt that Robin would be very hurt by it."

"I know, I know... But still, assumptions were made about me in the past, so I of all people should know that you shouldn't assume."

"What exactly were you called?"

"Well, um... I'm a single mother. Freddy does a good job at being a father figure, but... he's a bit too good, and people think he's Archer's father. So in high school, I was always called one of two things. This will sound vulgar, but... those who thought I got pregnant after an accident called me a whore, and the people who thought Freddy was the father called me a brother-fucker."

"They accused you of incest?!"

"Yeah... It was hard. But it's gotten better. Now that we're not around those people anymore and I don't have to burden the teachers with a young child, I just let people assume that I'm older than I am, and just stay silent about it."

"Older than you seem? How old are you?"

"I'm eight-whoa, sorry, I can't tell you."

"...You're eighteen? But your son is at least two years old. When you said you were in high school, I assumed that you meant you couldn't go, but... you had him at 16?"

"...Fifteen."

"Damn... That must have been hard. Who's the father?"

"I refuse to associate with him. We don't even know each other."

"It was that bad, huh? ...I think I'm piecing it together... I think I know why Frederick wants you to be escorted everywhere."

"Please don't read into it. Come on, we've got a workout to do."

"...Come on, push! One more rep! Go! Go! Go!"

"GGGGGRRRRAAAGH!"

Robin pushed the bar up one more time before almost tossing it on the rack and laid there, exhausted.

"That's your new best. Last time, it was a total of 70 reps. This one was 72. So you finished six sets at 50 kilograms on the bench press. Let me write that down."

"Phew... That's enough weights for me. Give me a few minutes to cool down on the treadmill and we'll leave. Good workout today, Freddy Bear."

"Sure. ...Freddy Bear?"

"You know, like Teddy Bear, but it's Freddy instead of-"

"Not that, I get it, but just... what?"

"He does that with everyone, Frederick. He calls Yosei Stalky, he calls me either cyclops or gorgeous, and the list goes on."

Kanna walked up to Frederick. Robin chuckled and turned away to shower and leave.

"Miss Inzan. How's Gabrielle doing?"

"She's currently showering. I wrote down her performance, as you asked."

Kanna handed a yellow notebook to Frederick, who grabbed and read it.

"...Thanks, I appreciate it. I saw you doing your own workouts while I was spotting Robert, you did pretty well yourself."

"No need to flatter me. I'm not a very good athlete, I already know that."

"Seriously, you did good. You seem to have pretty good stamina."

"Well... thank you. ...So, um, I have some questions myself that I'd like to ask before I go."

"Sure, shoot."

"I talked to Gabrielle-chan earlier, and I came across something I think she wants kept hidden. It's about her, Archer, and who the father is."

Frederick's face lost all contentment and his brow furrowed the moment she said the word "father."

"It's a private matter. She's had a bad past. All you need to know is, I'm not Archer's father, but I am his father figure. And his actual father is not welcome in a five-kilometer radius of her, otherwise I'll rip HIS SPINE OUT OF HIS ASS FOR WHAT HE DID!" Frederick slammed his fist against the wall while he was shouting. He was visibly seething, and Kanna took a step back.

"Okay, now THAT is intimidating..."

"I have never seen one transition from contentment to such a horrifyingly degree of wrath in so short a span of time."

"...Sorry about that. Whenever Archer's father comes up, i just want to beat the shit out of something! ...Dammit. Anyways, I shouldn't have yelled. Just... please don't pry. It's a sore topic for all of us."

"Okay then... Sorry for bringing it up."

"...That said, if you have anything you want to talk about in regards to fitness or just anything asides from the topic, I'd be down to chat. Here, let me give you my number. If some creep is following you and needs magic cast at them, just call me and ask me to cast fist."

"Uh, sure. Again, sorry for prying."

"It's fine... it's fine. See you later."

"Ha...Ha...Ha... What's the body count, Eiji?"

"Persephone, how many guards did they take out?"

"Twenty-two."

"That's pretty good. Can you keep going?"

"It depends. What time is it?"

"Let me see. ...It's 7:12 PM."

"Then we've got time. I can keep going."

"Hold, Yosei. Pace yourself. Take a brief respite before continuing."

"If you say so, man..."

Yosei moved to the side and sat down. He took his knife, pulled an apple out of his bag and started peeling it. Eiji sat next to him.

"Where'd you get that apple?"

"I like fruit, so I usually keep a few in my bag. I've got this apple, a grapefruit, some cherries, and a slice of sugar melon."

Yosei bit a chunk out of the apple as he took off his mask.

"Oh."

"Do you want some?"

"Um, what does sugar melon taste like? What about grapefruit?"

"Sugar melon is, as the name implies, sweet. Grapefruit is an acquired taste, but I like it."

"...Let me try the grapefruit, please."

"Sure thing. ...Wait a second, I wiped off the knife before I peeled the apple, right?"

"No, but doesn't the entirety of the monsters disappear when they die? Wouldn't that include everything on the knife?"

"...I hope you're right."

He picked up the grapefruit and stabbed his knife into it. He rotated the knife around the citrus and it split in half.

"Here. I hope you like it."

Eiji pushed her mask above her eyes, took the half Yosei offered her, and bit into it. Her eyes went wide and she bit into it again.

"I love it! It's so sour and bitter, but it's also so sweet! It's amazing!"

"Well, glad you like it. Do you want the rest of it?"

"Please!"

Eiji grabbed the other half of the grapefruit and devoured both halves while Yosei indulged in the sweet melon slice.

"Ahhhh... It tastes so good!"

"Hahaha, someone's enthusiastic about things she likes."

"Huh? ...Oh, y-yeah. Sorry, it's just like, when I love something, I really, really love something. In the past, when I liked a boy, I would follow him around. ...Although looking back on it, I suppose that was very stalkeresque of me. Some of the boys fled from me in terror when I worked up the courage to get close."

"I guess it's just one of your quirks. Given who you are now, I know you didn't do it maliciously, and you recognize that it was creepy, so... By the by, how come you act so much more confident here in the palaces? Outside, you're almost always stuttering, you're hunched over, and you stay away from everyone, including the gang. But in here, you speak just fine, you stand up straight, and just appear to be braver. Is there a reason for that?"

"The cause is concern. She awakened to me because of her concern for you, and every time she comes here, she knows the risks, and wants to protect you all."

"Ah. That's... pretty wholesome. Good on you, Eiji."

"Oh, um... thanks. That means a lot. ...Are you done?"

"Yeah. I'm ready to get back to it again. Watch my back, alright?"

"Why do you think I'm here?"

4/18/26

"Thank you four for meeting me here early. I'd like to discuss our plan for taking out Kawaguchiya."

"Well, we know one thing. We will definitely need the Striker's help. He'll be open to the idea of helping, most likely, but how will we coordinate this with him?"

"Why don't we have Eiji keep an eye out in the palace, to see if the Striker enters? He's usually there for a couple of hours, at least that's how long he spends with us."

"U-Um... B-But how d-do I p-protect myself there?"

"Thanks to the Striker, I know that the guards have a pretty huge blind spot on the roof. If we can get you up there, you should be able to camp out for as long as you need. If you need somebody to come with, I'll try to find the time."

"Oh... Thank y-you, Inzan..."

"No problem. The rest of you, be sure to grab supplies. When should we get it done?"

"Tomorrow might be a bit too quick. Since we have time, I think we should do it on the 26th. We have no classes to slow us down, so we can do it early in the morning and take as long as we need."

"Sounds like a plan. I just hope that the striker's available."

"Good. Everyone, meet at the front of the school at 7:30 in the morning on the 26th. Let's get this done."

The group nodded at each other in agreement, and went to take their proper seats in the lecture hall. Zuan pulled out his papers and turned on the projector.

"...Any moment now..."

The school bell rung, and students started pouring in.

"...Alright, we've got a lot to go over, so I'll start taking attendance now. Robartach Ó Llewellyn!"

"Ready and waiting, sir."

Yosei:
Lovers has been restored and raised to rank 3.
Empress has been restored to rank 2.
Emperor has reached to rank 2.
Justice has reached rank 3.

Kanna:
Empress has reached to rank 2.
Emperor has been restored to rank 2.
Priestess has reached rank 1. Gabrielle Dhorian.
Hanged Man has reached rank 1. Frederick Dhorian.

The Umibozu. Moon. Level 1.
Personal Skill: Unknown.
Skills: Unknown.
Combat Prowess unable to be tested due to Yamato's condition.
Yamato's persona after fusing it with his superego. Despite sharing the name with the kraken-like yokai Umibozu, the persona holds Yamato's memories instead of its own, making it an anomaly in comparison to the other personas in both form and mentality. Since Yamato is in a coma, Umibozu can't fight or even enter palaces, so its combat ability is unknown. Has a very shy, childish, and simple personality, and awakened through Yamato meeting his shadow instead of through an iron will. That said, it does appear to not be tried to Yamato in the ways the other personas are.