A few minutes later, inside a classroom…

"Settle down now, all of you. I have an addendum to the earlier assembly, regarding the counselling you've all been offered. The counsellor will be available to you all starting after school today, in the nurse's office. Doctor Maruki will only be posted here through November, so be sure to speak with him soon if you feel the need. For the majority of you, it's your choice whether or not you see him, but… there are a few students and a certain fellow teacher I'll speak with later… The school's decided: visits to Doctor Maruki will be mandatory to these individuals." said Kawakami-sensei to the students as she briefly glance at Keiko, Mallory and Ann before the 3 girls felt their phones vibrating with messages and subtly take their phones out to see the messages.

RS: Yo, you girls are gonna go for it?

AT: What, the counselling? It kinda sounds like we're being forced to.

MC: I suppose so, in a way.

RS: I told Maruki I'd do it, but… I dunno if I'm really that into the idea, you know?

KA: Come on, I think we should all do it.

MC: Since you say we should then let's do it, Keiko.

AT: Yeah. Probably better not to draw more attention to ourselves anyway. I think I'm gonna try going today.

"Counselling, huh? Lady Ann's right. Make sure you and Miss Mallory visit him after Lady Ann visit him so you 2 don't draw any attention to yourselves, alright, Madame Keiko?" whisper Morgana as he glance at Keiko.

"Yeah, we know and hopefully Ryuji will do it too later on or next time, Morgana." whisper Keiko as she nodded at Morgana before she, Mallory and Ann resumed listening to Kawakami-sensei's lecture.

XXXX

Several hours later, after school…

Doctor Maruki is currently sitting on a dark brown sofa and staring at an open book lying on the desk in front of him in the nurse's office before he heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Yes and come in, whoever it is." said Doctor Maruki gently to whoever it is knocking and standing outside the door before the door opened and Ann stepped into the nurse's office.

"Ummm…" said Ann with an unsure look on her face.

"Welcome. Are you here for a counselling session?" asked Doctor Maruki.

"Yeah, is now a bad time?" replied Ann.

"Not at all! It's always a good time, so long as I'm not already listening to a student." said Doctor Maruki reassuringly to Ann before he stood up from the sofa. "I'm so glad you're here. Would you sit down and care for a snack?" asked Doctor Maruki.

"I guess I wouldn't mind sitting down and having a cup of cocoa, Doctor Maruki." replied Ann as she sat down on the other sofa while Doctor Maruki went to prepare a cup of cocoa for Ann and a packet of apple juice (and also a clipboard and a pen) for himself before he sat back down.

"Shall we get started? Oh-but first, just relax, all right? I'm only here to listen to whatever you wish to talk about." said Doctor Maruki gently to Ann.

"Sure. Although, I really only have one thing on my mind now, anyway…" said Ann.

"Yes, I'd say that makes perfect sense. But don't force yourself into talking to me, you could even grab some snacks and be on your way, if you wanted! Haha…" said Doctor Maruki.

"No, it's… it's all right. I know I need to talk to someone about this, anyway. That is, if you're willing to listen to the super-long story…" said Ann hesitantly to Doctor Maruki.

"I absolutely am. Take all the time you need, Takamaki-san." said Doctor Maruki as he nodded at Ann before she proceed to tell him the long tale of what Kamoshida did to her and her friends and what they gone through because of him while leaving out the part of them being Phantom Thieves and their Persona powers. "… I see. That's such a horrible thing to do to someone." said Doctor Maruki with a disapproving look on his face.

"Yes. That's why I wanted to get even with him… For Shiho." said Ann.

"Mmhm… And?" said Doctor Maruki.

"At first, I thought Kamoshida ought to face the same fate Shiho was going to put herself through… But…" said Ann before she fell silent.

"But?" said Doctor Maruki, waiting for her to continue.

"… Later, I realised that wasn't right. If he did take his own life, it wouldn't undo Shiho's suffering-in fact, it'd just give him the easy way out." said Ann.

"Is that so? You know, you're quite the wise, level-headed young woman, Takamaki-san." said Doctor Maruki approvingly at Ann.

"Huh? Um, I think you've got the wrong…" said Ann as she shake her head.

"Nope-in fact, I think you're wiser than I was at your age. I wasn't anywhere as mature as you are now." said Doctor Maruki.

"… It's not like I did anything special though. If I haven't gone through my own share of hell and didn't have my friends, I don't think I'd be so mature either." said Ann sadly to Doctor Maruki.

"I see… So, what's on your mind now?" asked Doctor Maruki.

"Right now? Hmmm… I'm just hoping Shiho will get better quickly. We both suffered a lot, but… I just wanna get back to laughing and having fun together like we used to. At this point, I don't give a rat's ass about Kamoshida!" replied Ann determinedly to Doctor Maruki.

"Now there's a healthy outlook! You can't change the past, but you still want to keep your chin up and press onward-is that the gist of it?" said Doctor Maruki.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I mean, it'd definitely be better if none of this had happened at all, but…" said Ann as she nodded at Doctor Maruki.

"I definitely agree with you there. But, it's impossible to wipe every tragedy from history." sighed Doctor Maruki sadly to Ann.

"If only, right? Everyone would be so much happier if we could actually do that." said Ann with a smile on her face.

"…Oh, it seems I lost track of the time. We should wrap things up here today-thank you so much for coming to see me." said Doctor Maruki.

"Oh no, thank you! I feel a ton better now that that's all off my chest." said Ann thankfully to Doctor Maruki.

"Hah, good to hear it-you deserved it. Feel free to stop by again anytime." said Doctor Maruki as he smiled and nodded at Ann.

"Will do! See you around, Doctor Maruki!" said Ann as she smiled and nodded back at Doctor Maruki before she finish drinking her cup of cocoa, grab her bag and stood up from the sofa before she turned and left the office.

XXXX

Meanwhile…

After class ended and Kawakami-sensei bade farewell to the students and left the classroom, both Keiko and Mallory stood up from their seats, packed up their school stuffs before they felt their phones vibrating with more messages and talk out their phones to see and read them.

AT: Well, I went in for counselling. You and Mallory are going soon too, right, Keiko?

MC: Yes, we do.

KA: We will, Ann. So, how did it go on your end?

AT: Hmmm… Well, it honestly wasn't as rough as I was expecting. I think you and Mallory should just go and give it a shot. Doctor Maruki's easier to talk to than you 2 would think. Okay, see you 2 tomorrow.

"Well, glad to see and know that Takamaki told us about the session isn't as hard as we thought, huh, Keiko?" said Mallory as she glance at Keiko.

"You 2 can go there now, Madame Keiko and Miss Mallory. I'll meet with you 2 outside of the school building when you 2 are done." said Morgana as he glance at both Keiko and Mallory before he swiftly left the classroom before anyone see him.

After Morgana left, both Keiko and Mallory left the classroom, walked toward the practice building where the nurse's office is and once they arrived, they saw with surprise looks on their faces as Doctor Maruki talking to Kasumi outside the office before they noticed both Keiko and Mallory approaching and turned to glance at them.

"Ah, hello, Amamiya-senpai and Caelum-senpai. Are you 2 here for counselling sessions as well?" asked Kasumi after she greeted both Keiko and Mallory.

"That's right, we are and looks like you also come for counselling too, huh?" replied Keiko as she nodded at Kasumi.

"Is that so? Doctor Maruki is a wonderful counsellor. I've actually been seeing him for a while, before he even came to Shujin." said Kasumi happily to them about Doctor Maruki's counselling.

"Really? I guess we'll see how good his counselling is soon enough, Yoshizawa." said Mallory.

"Hello and I had no idea that the you 3 girls were acquainted with each other and I'm a good enough counsellor." greeted Doctor Maruki back to both Keiko and Mallory before he glance at Kasumi. "Still, don't go overselling me too hard, though, Yoshizawa-san-I'm really nothing special."

"Alright, Doctor Maruki." said Kasumi as she nodded at Doctor Maruki before she glance at both Keiko and Mallory. "Well, I need to get going. Please excuse me, Amamiya-senpai, Caelum-senpai." added Kasumi as she bade farewell and bowed to them both before she walked away from them.

"So, which of you two young girls wanted to get started first?" asked Doctor Maruki to both Keiko and Mallory.

"Well…" said Keiko.

"Excuse me, is it possible for both of us to have our counselling session together, Doctor?" asked Mallory.

"Hm, it's possible. You 2 must be quite close and come on in then, both of you." said Doctor Maruki before he, Keiko and Mallory went into the nurse office and closed the door.

XXXX

Inside the nurse office…

"Welcome! Thank you both for coming." said Doctor Maruki enthusiastically to both Keiko and Mallory.

"No problem since we make a deal after all… Although I still feel quite nervous." said Keiko.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Keiko." said Mallory calmly and reassuringly to Keiko.

"Ahaha, that's true, we did. Well… I'll try to make sure it's worth the trouble. Let's sit down and you 2 can start by telling me on how you 2 came to Shujin and both of your interaction with Kamoshida-sensei, Amamiya-san, Caelum-san." said Doctor Maruki before as he, Keiko and Mallory sat down on the 2 couches and Doctor Maruki offered them some snacks before he listen as both Keiko and Mallory told him of their interaction with Kamoshida-sensei. "I see… Mm, thank you. I think I've gotten a good grasp of the situation you're in, Amamiya-san, Caelum-san. Well, full disclosure… the school gave me a brief rundown of the circumstances surrounding your transfer here."

"Of course the school did but it's in the past now." sighed Keiko.

"Yeah, what she said, Doctor." said Mallory in agreement with Keiko.

"Did you 2 have to force yourselves to accept everything that happened…? No, that doesn't seem to be it for you two… Now that you 2 have told me more about yourselves, I think I've realised something. It seems like you've largely been able to reconcile your internal world with your external one while your best friend help and support you a lot. I should note-that's really, truly impressive. Even most adults can't reliably manage that." said Doctor Maruki.

"Um, what do you mean by that?" asked Keiko in confusion to Doctor Maruki.

"Yeah, mind telling us, Doc?" said Mallory.

"How to put it-You 2 know how everyone has an internal reality? Some conception of themselves they're striving for? Like, wanting to be a model student, or wanting to be loved and relied on… That kind of thing. But that idealized reality and the one in actuality are often far apart. That gap is responsible for a lot of people's pain. Not everyone can ace their tests. And not everyone can be the heroes they wish they could be. You 2 have already been through so much. That kind of suffering is usually enough to twist people up into dark places. But you 2-you 2 are standing up to it, and confronting a tough, painful reality. To me, that's incredibly admirable… Then again, maybe that's little weird for you 2 to hear all that from a guy you 2 just met, huh?" said Doctor Maruki calmly, admirably then slightly jokingly to both Keiko and Mallory.

"Yeah. But it sounds right coming from you. I'm doing fine now to have my best friend and our new friends who all care about who I really am, Doctor." said Keiko.

"Keiko…" said Mallory as she glance at Keiko.

"Not even any deflecting self-deprecation! You really are a strong girl while Caelum-san is truly a good friend to you, Amamiya-san." said Doctor Maruki proudly to both Keiko and Mallory before he briefly glance at the clock hanging on the wall then glance back at them. "Well, that took longer than we thought so I guess that concludes our session for the day, Amamiya-san, Caelum-san. You 2 may go now… On second thought, before you 2 leave, I've actually got one last request? Do you mind, Amamiya-san?" added Doctor Maruki slightly seriously to Keiko.

"No, I don't. What kind of request, doctor?" asked Keiko curiously to Doctor Maruki.

"I'm actually doing certain research along with my duties as a counsellor. It's not quite like the counselling session that I'm doing now-more like a type of psychological treatment… Basically, it's a project to learn more about people's metaphorical hearts. What they think, how they feel. If I get far enough with it, I think it'll be able to help a lot of people! So…?" said Doctor Maruki slightly enthusiastically to Keiko.

"Huh?" said Mallory with a confused look on her face.

"I don't get it so I think I need more details and calm down, Doctor." said Keiko calmly to Doctor Maruki.

"Oh, forgive me for being excited and neglect in giving you more details! Uh, I guess my point is… I'd like to ask you to help with that research! All you have to do is listen to my theories, and then tell me if they spark any ideas or realizations on your end. Please! Any time's good for me-I can work around your schedule. And, uh… I've got a lot of snacks, too! You and Caelum-san can have them! They're yours, Amamiya-san!" said Doctor Maruki apologetically then hopefully to Keiko about aiding him with his research.

"Well? What's your decision, Keiko?" said Mallory as she glance at Keiko.

"Hm… Alright, I'll help you out and thanks for the snacks offer but Maly and I don't need them now, doctor." said Keiko as she nodded and agreed to help Doctor Maruki's research and declining his generous snacks offer.

"Really!? YES! You're a lifesaver and I see about the snacks. Let's see…" said Doctor Maruki happily to Keiko before he fell silent and think about how Keiko can help him and managed to think of one. "I got it! How about I teach you some tips for mental training? I happen to know a lot on the subject. I'm sure I can cook up a special regimen for you. If you're dedicated enough, I'm sure you could draw out your full potential! What say you, Amamiya-san?" suggested Doctor Maruki hopefully to Keiko.

"Alright, I accept your tips for mental training, doctor." said Keiko as she nodded again at Doctor Maruki.

"Okay! I guess that's our second deal." said Doctor Maruki happily at Keiko (who felt her Councillor bond with Doctor Maruki went up to level 2 and learn Detox X skill from him). "… Oh right! Would it be okay if we traded contact information? I'll contact you when I've got time, or when I need some input from you." added Doctor Maruki to Keiko as he take out his smartphone.

"Alright." said Keiko as she and Mallory take out their own smartphones and traded contact info with Doctor Maruki.

"… That should do it! Thanks for that and you 2 may go now… Oh, I forgot! I've a question for you before you leave, Caelum-san." said Doctor Maruki thankfully to Keiko before he asked Mallory a question.

"A question for me? What is it, Doc?" said Mallory.

"What do you think of my younger half-brother, Akira Kurusu?" asked Doctor Maruki.

"Akira Kurusu, huh? Well, I think he's quite a nice guy, Doc." replied Mallory as an image of Akira show up in her mind and make her face turned slightly red.

"Aw, you're thinking of him, how sweet." chuckled Ophelia from inside Mallory.

"Not to mention quite cute too, Maly." said Keiko teasingly to Mallory.

"How right you are, my mistress." said Arsene in agreement with Keiko.

"Keiko!" said Mallory as her face turned more red. "And you be quiet too, Ophelia!" added Mallory to Ophelia (which make her chuckled some more before she fell silent).

"I see. Thanks for answering my question, Caelum-san. And also thanks for agreeing to help me and I'll see you 2 around in school." said Doctor Maruki thankfully to both Keiko and Mallory.

"You're welcome and see you, Doctor Maruki." said Keiko before she bade farewell to Doctor Maruki then both she and Mallory walked out of the nurse office, left Shujin Academy, take the train home to Yongen-Jaya, went back into Leblanc, have their usual curry dinner, clean themselves up and change into their pajamas before they take out their futons and fell asleep and unaware that Yog-Shothoth, Kassogtha and Ghatanothoa watching them outside Leblanc while briefly talk about how the 2 girls met and talk to the one who's the vessel of their father inside his body before Yog-Shothoth conjure and blew another black mist toward and entered Mallory's body, making her winced and move a little and stirred the Old One inside her some more before they left Leblanc.

XXXX

Meanwhile, inside an apartment…

"Welcome back, Takuto. I've already cook, wrapped up and left your dinner on the table for you and how's your first day as therapist in Shujin goes?" asked Akira (who's sitting and doing his homework in the living room) to Doctor Maruki after he came home from Shujin.

"I'm back and my first day as Shujin Academy therapist is going quite well. I've met and offer counselling sessions to several students and I've also met and talk to the girl that you mention to me before named Mallory Caelum-san. She seems like a nice girl, very loyal and close to her friend Keiko Amamiya-san and I can see why she caught your interest, Akira." replied Doctor Maruki after he came back and greeted Akira.

"O-Oh, is that so? Good for you and you met and talk to Amamiya-san and Caelum-san?" said Akira as he look over his shoulder at Doctor Maruki with a surprise look on his face.

"I did. Since she caught your interest, why don't you try asking her out on a date, Akira?" suggested Doctor Maruki as he smiled and winked at Akira.

"Uh, no, thank you. What if I did ask her and she said no?" said Akira as he shake his head.

"How would you know that Caelum-san would say no to you if you haven't try asking her yet? Be more brave and confident in yourself, Akira." said Doctor Maruki.

"… You're right, Takuto. Alright, the next time I see her I'll try asking her out and prepare myself for what her answer is." said Akira as he nodded at Doctor Maruki.

"That's the spirit, Akira." said Doctor Maruki as he nodded back at Akira before he went into the kitchen, sat down, unwrapped and began eating the dinner that Akira cooked for him while Akira resumed doing his homework.