"Uh, Akira?" Sumire began. "You got something in your desk."

Akira looked down with a quirked brow and his eyes widened when he looked inside. Lounging inside his desk was Morgana, who was intently staring at Sumire.

Morgana shook his head and looked away. "I've been in this form for too long..." he thought to himself. "Anyway, have you made up your mind yet?" he asked Akira.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Akira exclaimed in a hushed tone.

Ushimaru turned around. "Hm? Is that a cat I hear?"

Akira panicked and slid his hand into his pocket and shuffled it to pretend to silence his phone. "Uh, sorry! it's just my phone!"

Ushimaru scoffed. "Well, shut it off before I take it! Kids these days."

Akira felt his phone vibrate against his hand. No other timing could've been more perfect. He rolled his eyes as he immediately knew who it was.

Ryuji:

—Damn it, I can't think of any other way…

Akira:

—Dude, class.

Ryuji:

—Ugh… Whatever. Do we just gotta go along with what the damn furball says?

Morgana sighed. "If he only knew I'm reading this too…"

"If he only knew who else was reading that," Sumire muttered.

Great, now he had two amnesiacs who were able to look at his texts without consequence. He sighed and put his phone away. So much for privacy…

"Is that… Suzui? Wait, she's going to jump!"

Wait, jump? Akira's skin went pale and he could feel his stomach drop. In front of him, Ann immediately jumped out of her seat and dashed out the classroom.

"Shiho...?!"

"Oh shit… No way…!" Akira screamed internally as he scrambled after everyone else out of the classroom.

Sumire flew up to the rooftop and saw Shiho whose eyes looked dead, defeated. She was past the fence, her balance teetering on the edge of the roof. Sumire could feel a chill go through her..

"Don't!" Sumire screamed, but deep down she knew it was fruitless. She was going to jump, and she couldn't do anything but watch because of her spectral form. Then like a flood, thoughts ran rampant through her head, going back to the faint memory of her death.

"Sumire!"

The way they called out to her, the fear and dread in that person's voice… Were they trying to stop her from doing something? Were they as close as Ann and Shiho were?

Did she…?

She tried to tear herself away from the thought. She turned her back to the roof and descended down to Akira's side.

Akira looked up at the rooftop and spotted Shiho standing at the edge. He then looked at Ann whose face was filled with dread. There was a pleading look in her eyes.

Then the hall was filled with a cacophony of shouting and screaming. Akira looked out the window and saw her plummet to the ground. He felt his throat constrict, his chest tighten, and he took an unsteady step back. He whipped his face back toward Ann.

"Shiho!" she screamed. "Why…?" She shoved past Akira and ran downstairs.

"Akira!" Ryuji ran up to him seemingly out of breath. "Holy fuck… Did you see that?!"

Akira blinked then shook his head. "Y-Yeah… We gotta get out there."

"C'mon, let's go!"

They barely manage to shove their way to the courtyard. Paramedics had already arrived by the time they got there. The crowd present were taking pictures of the scene much to the pair's disdain.

"Jesus Christ," Akira muttered. "What the hell's wrong with everyone?"

Ryuji scoffed. "Damn right…" Ryuji overheard and saw Mishima panic and run away. He frowned at how suspicious that looked. He alerted Akira. "Hey, didja see that? He's gotta know somethin'."

Akira nodded. "Definitely. Let's go after him."

"Yeah, we're gonna make him talk this time."

They chased after Mishima, finding him cowering in a corner. They both interrogated him, but he kept resisting like last time. Akira could feel his patience slipping.

He had a dark hunch, one he hoped wouldn't be true. However, deep down, he knew it was a possibility it was.

"I-I told you, I don't know!" Mishima exclaimed

Akira sighed. "Hey, listen. Didn't you see what just happened? Tell us, what do you know?" Mishima continued to stay silent. Akira's patience was dissipating fast. He heaved a stressed groan and his time became accusatory. "It was Kamoshida, wasn't it? Can't you see he's gone far enough? Tell us! We can make things change!" he shouted.

Mishima yelped. "S-She was called out by Mr. Kamoshida! Whenever he's in a bad mood, he'd nominate someone and hit them…" The information rolled off Mishima's tongue, but as he went on his grimace intensified and he slowed down. "But Mr. Kamoshida seemed more irritated than usual that day, so it must've been worse than usual…"

Akira's face darkened. It seemed his hunch was unfortunately correct. His hands shakily balled into fists, his nails digging into his palms. On the other hand, Ryuji exploded; he slammed his fist against the locker next to Mishima's face. The boy looked up at him in fear and Akira stared at him dumbfounded.

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji screamed.

"Sakamoto?!" Mishima exclaimed, running after him. "Hold on!"

Akira's anger drained away as Ryuji ran past him. "Wait! Dammit, Ryuji!" The damn idiot was going to get himself in trouble. Akira scowled and went to run after them, but stopped when he managed to hear Sumire weakly call out to him.

"Akira… Please…"

Akira's scowl disappeared when he turned to her. "Sumire? Are you okay?"

Sumire was sitting on the floor, tightly hugging her own legs. "Please… Stay. I can't take this anymore…"

Akira shook his head. "But Ryuji!"

Sumire looked up at him with a desperate gaze. "Akira, please don't do anything stupid. I don't want you to get in trouble!"

Akira scowled. "That's exactly it! Ryuji's gonna do something stupid and get himself screwed!"

"But don't make things worse for yourself!"

"Sumire… Damn it, I don't have time for this!"

"Akira!"

He ignored her and caught up to Mishima. Deep down, he felt horrible, but he had to keep Ryuji from doing something stupid.

"Kurusu?" Mishima asked. "What… Nevermind. Sakamoto is probably headed for the PE faculty office."

They headed directly to the PE office. They could hear Ryuji shouting even from the hallway. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash and Akira tensed up.

Dammit, was he too late?

"Ryuji!" Akira shouted.

He bursted into the PE faculty office. Ryuji stared at him stunned. Kamoshida looked at him and Mishima with a scowl of detest.

"Oh, great. More vermin…" Kamoshida muttered.

Mishima pointed at Kamoshida. "Wh-What you did… wasn't coaching!" he stuttered. "I can only imagine what you did to her…"

"You lot keep going on and on about claims you have no proof of," Kamoshida growled. "Even if it is as you say it is, what can you do? We just received a call from the hospital. Suzui's in a coma and her chances of recovery are slim… How could someone like that make a statement?" he jeered at them with a mocking grin. Akira glowered at him, but remained silent. Ryuji on the other hand...

Ryuji grit his teeth and raised a fist. "You goddamn dirty son of a—" He swung at Kamoshida, but was stopped by Akira. Ryuji glared at him with confusion. "Wh—?"

Akira shook his head. "Ryuji, it's not worth it."

"But—!"

Kamoshida smirked at them. "Know your place, trash will always be trash. Damn waste of time, everyone present here will be expelled; I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

Everyone gave Kamoshida bewildered stares. He couldn't do that! Could he? Kamoshida nonchalantly sat back down, not bothering to look at them anymore. He cackled loudly.

"Wh— you can't do that!" Mishima tried to argue.

"Who the hell is gonna listen to you? Don't act like you're innocent, you're the one who leaked his record, right? Now get out of my sight."

"Mishima…?" Akira stared at Mishima with a disbelieving stare.

He was the reason why everyone knew about his record… It's not as if it wouldn't have come out anyway, with or without Mishima's hand. Still, he still felt angry.

Mishima tried to defend himself, but Akira left the office without saying a word much to Kamoshida's amusement. He leaned against the wall and sighed, pressing his hand against his head.

"K-Kurusu," Mishima began. "I'm sorry… I had no other—"

Akira inhaled sharply. "It's… fine," he exhaled. "Just leave me alone…"

Mishima tried to say something, but he decided it was better to leave. He didn't have the courage to say anything else. Ryuji looked at Akira with concern.

"Yo, are you—"

"No, I'm not okay dammit… I just…" He sighed. "Forget about it. I'll see you at the usual spot."

"Wha… Okay, dude."

Even after what happened, classes continued. Akira trudged to his seat and found that Sumire was absent. He found himself staring at the empty seat every so often. At the end of the day, Akira was the first to arrive in the courtyard. He wasn't sure if he could face her after leaving her when she was obviously vulnerable. He felt like an idiot. He sat silently on a bench with his gaze downcast.

He felt something settle down next to him. He didn't have to look at who just sat next to him. It made his heart sink lower when he realized who it was.

"Akira…"

"Sumire…" Akira sighed. "I'm sorry for running off like that."

Sumire awkwardly shifted. "It's okay…" She had another question in mind that she was partly fearful to ask. Akira must've realized because he gave her a soft look. "Are you really getting expelled?"

Akira's eyes widened. "Wait, how did you know?!"

"So it is true…" Sumire muttered.

Neither of them knew what else to say to each other. Akira incessantly tapped his foot against the ground. The silence was starting to get unbearable. He tried to say something, but Ryuji came, so instead, he got up.

"Hey, the cat here yet?" Ryuji asked. He had a determined look and Akira did his best to mirror him.

"I'm NOT a cat!" Morgana yowled as he jumped up onto the table.

"Whatever!" Ryuji exclaimed indignantly. "We gotta hurry and beat the shit outta that asshole!"

"We're not beating him up. We're simply stealing his distorted desires," Morgana stated plainly.

"Beating him up, making him feel guilty, same thing." Sumire muttered. Her legs and arms were crossed and she had a grim stare. Akira gave her a sympathetic glance. "You've made up your mind, right?"

Akira steeled himself and looked back at Morgana. "Yeah, we can't let him do what he wants anymore. So, Morgana, have you ever done anything like this before?

"When did I ever say that?" Morgana responded nonchalantly. Akira gave him a blank stare whereas Ryuji stared with his jaw dropped.

"So you were just pretendin' to know?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Sumire frowned. "Yeah, how do you know of all this?"

"Is it true you're getting expelled?" They heard Ann ask suddenly, catching them off-guard." "Everyone's talking about it…"

Akira glanced at Sumire with surprise. He shouldn't have been surprised that news of it spread like wildfire, but it was strange he didn't hear anything about it. However, what Ann said next surprised them all even further.

"If you're going to deal with Kamoshida let me in on it too," she said with a serious look in her eyes. "I can't just sit back and do nothing after what happened to Shiho!"

Except they couldn't allow it.

"Ann, I get how you feel, but—" Akira tried to explain, but he was abruptly cut off by Ryuji.

"Don't butt your head into this, it ain't got anything to do with you," he said harshly.

Akira stared at him. "Ryuji—"

"But it does!" Ann argued back. "Shiho is—"

"I said don't get in our way!" Ryuji shouted, causing Akira and Ann to flinch. Ann stared at Ryuji dumbstruck, but then she gave him an exasperated glare before running off.

Akira sighed. "Ryuji…"

"What?" Ryuji asked. "We can't take her to a place like that!"

"Still, that was pretty harsh," Morgana agreed. "I hope she doesn't do anything too crazy. Women can be much bolder than men at times."

Akira heard Sumire grunt, so he looked back at her. For a moment he saw the slightest hint of an amused grin.

—————————

"The moment we cross over, we'll treat each other like phantom thieves, so I hope you're ready," Morgana said. Akira and Ryuji gave him questioning looks. "Those who covertly sneak in and stylishly steal treasure! That is what we become!"

"You could just say 'superheroes', but sure, be fancy with it." Sumire stated dryly.

Ryuji grinned. "Huh, sounds pretty badass! Anyway, we just gotta say his name and 'castle' and bizarro world we go, is that right?"

He excitedly inputted the information into the Navigator. When he activated it, Sumire heard a surprised yell come from behind them. She turned around and saw Ann hiding around the corner.

"Uh, Akira, look."

Akira turned around and saw where she was pointing at. "Ann?!"

Ryuji jumped at the mention and frantically looked around. "Wait what? What about Takamaki?!"

Before they could do anything however, all five of them were in the Metaverse, at the gate to Kamoshida's castle. The three Persona-users and ghost stared at a very perplexed Ann.

"Takamaki?! Why the hell're you here?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Ann gave the blond a bewildered stare, scanning his outfit from top to bottom. "Wait… Sakamoto?" Then she noticed Akira next to him who was also wearing some kind of costume. "And is that you, Akira?! What's going on?! Where are we?! And what's with the weird get-up?!"

Akira sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Oh boy… Morgana, do you think she was dragged along with us when we transitioned?" he asked the cat, but he noticed him staring off into space, mesmerized. "Morgana?" He waved his hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his trance.

"O-Oh!" He attempted to compose himself, clearing his throat and crossing his arms. "W-Well… If multiple people can enter with the user, it stands to reason that it'll pull anyone nearby."

That's definitely going to be a problem in the future," Sumire commented and Akira agreed with her. They were going to have to be much more careful the next time they came back.

"For real...?" Ryuji sighed. "A-Anyway, you gotta leave!"

Ann frowned. "What? No! I'm not leaving! This place is related to Kamoshida, right? So take me with you!"

"Keep it down you two, the Shadows are going to find us if you cause a scene," Morgana chided.

"Probably wouldn't be the first time," Sumire said.

Ann stared at Morgana, bewildered by his form. "Wh— No way! Did that thing just talk!? Oh my god it's a monster cat!"

Morgana stared, slack-jawed. "Monster…?"

"You guys better explain what's going on here! I'm not going to leave until you do!"

Ryuji sighed. "Looks like we gotta force her. But… how're we supposed to do that?"

Sumire rolled her eyes. "You know you can just take her back to where you guys entered…"

Akira rubbed his nape. "I feel bad, but… Let's just take her back to where we came in."

"O-Oh, yeah, that's right," Ryuji responded. "Can you lend me a hand?"

"Yeah, on it." He began to walk toward Ann alongside Ryuji. "Sorry, but it's way too dangerous here."

"What're you—" she tried to argue back, but she found herself dragged by the two. She squirmed, attempting to break free of their grasps to no avail. "Wh— Hey! Let me go!"

"We'll explain after everything's over! But you gotta leave," Ryuji said.

"You guys seriously—! Ah!?"

They were able to get Ann out of the Metaverse and came back to be briefly lectured by the cat. It was a no-brainer, but Akira knew it'd be bad if they were to make another mistake like this.

Morgana shook his head. "You guys need to be more careful when you use that app from now on."

"Yeah yeah, we know…" Ryuji said dismissively.

"You really should've checked the tools you used. I was just watching and I know more about it than you two!"

Ryuji groaned. "Ah shuddup… Geez, Takamaki found out about it right as we were startin' off."

Akira nodded. "We're gonna have to deal with this fast."

Morgana's scowl dissipated, replaced by a dreamy smile. "That girl's name is Ann Takamaki, right? Lady Ann…"

Sumire glared at him. "Morgana, no. Don't you dare."

He shook his head, snapping out of it. "The shadows know that we're here now, so you two better brace yourselves. We're counting on you Joker!"

Akira pointed to himself, confused. "Me? What's with the nickname?"

"Don't refer to it in such a lame way! It's a code name. What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name!? I know I'm not down for that! There's no telling what kind of effect yelling out our real names will have on the Palace... It's just a precaution."

"But didn't you say that the real one won't know what we did in here?" Sumire commented.

Akira looked at her and shrugged. "I dunno, does it have something to do with his psyche or something?"

Morgana nodded. "Kinda. Like I said, it's a precaution."

Ryuji cleared his throat and pointed at Akira. "So, uh, why's he Joker?"

Sumire smirked. "Yeah, aren't you the funny one?" Akira snorted at the snide remark, prompting a confused stare from Ryuji and Morgana.

"Eh? What's so funny?" Ryuji asked.

Akira waved his hand. "Nothing. Just a dumb thought."

"Well, it's because he's our trump card when it comes to fighting strength!" Morgana said.

Akira brought a hand to his mouth in contemplation. "Hm… I haven't really done anything that different compared to you two." He put down his hand, smirking. "But I like it."

"Alright! It's settled then, your code name is now Joker!"

"It's surprisingly fitting." Sumire said.

Morgana turned to Ryuji. "Alright, Ryuji it's your turn. Let's see… You'll be… 'Thug'."

Sumire and Akira snickered whereas Ryuji frowned.

"Are you tryna pick a fight cat!? I'll choose it myself!" He stared off into the air and tapped his foot. "Hm... When it comes to me, I'd say it's gotta be this mask. I kinda like it honestly. What if we named me after this?"

Morgana sighed. "Fine… How about 'Skull' then?"

Ryuji smiled and pumped his fist. "Ooh! That sounds awesome! Alright, I'm Skull!"

Sumire was incorporeal, but she couldn't help but wonder; she curiously pressed her hand against her forehead. It felt firm at least, there wasn't anything unusual about it whatsoever.

"All that's left is you, Morgana," Akira said.

"How 'bout 'Mona'?" Skull suggested.

Sumire rolled her eyes. "Real creative there 'Skull'."

"Well, if he's okay with it. You two go on ahead." He then gave Sumire a glance. "I… have to think for a moment."

Morgana nodded. "We'll stay close by in case you need us then."

Morgana and Ryuji left him be and waited by the vent. If there were potential consequences for using their real names, Akira didn't want to know what would happen if he made any mention of Sumire.

"Hm? Something wrong Aki— Joker?"

"I'm just thinking we should probably give you a codename too. Just calling you 'the light' is… y'know."

Sumire hummed. "Makes sense to me, but between you and me, I think the kitty just wants us to have cool superhero names." She said with a smile.

Akira shrugged, returning the smile. "Maybe. Anyway, how does 'Spooky' sound to you?"

Sumire shook her head. "That sounds way too kiddish."

"Fair point… Then, how about Spectre?"

"That's good, but I still think we can do better. A good nickname should work on multiple levels."

Akira sighed. "Well then, do you have any better ideas?"

"Let me think…" She thought for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin. "I got it! How about Spirit?"

"Spirit…" Akira echoed as he grinned. "I like it. I get the whole ghost thing, but what did you mean by 'multiple levels'?"

"Well not only am I a ghost, I'm also not seen with the rest of you, but still with them 'in spirit'."

"Huh, that's actually pretty clever! Welcome to the team, Spirit!" Akira frowned, suddenly feeling the guilt of what happened before catching up to him. "By the way… I'm sorry about—"

Sumire immediately squashed him, looking at him sternly. "Akira, it's ok. Just forget about it. I mean, we're already here, aren't we?" She tried to give him a reassuring smile which worked for the most part.

He cleared his throat and forced a smile."A-Alright… Let's go, Spirit."

Akira caught up to the others and they began their infiltration. It was obvious the Palace was on much higher alert than before. Morgana made a suggestion when they came up to their first Shadow. Without a word, Akira snuck up to the Shadow and unmasked it, unveiling a lone fairy.

"Alright! It's a weak one, knock it down Joker!" Morgana explained.

"Arsene, Eiha!" Joker barked, calling forth his Persona.

The fairy was swept up in the curse attack and plummeted to the floor with a shirek. On Morgana's call, everyone immediately surrounded the downed Shadow with their guns drawn at it. The fairy, recovered from its daze, looked around perplexed.

"Wait! Please don't kill me!" she cried.

Morgana spoke up. "See here? When they're cornered like this, we can probably talk to them like so. Anyhow, cough up anything you've got! Be it money or items!"

"Huh? You'll let me go if I give you something?" The fairy seemed to be surprised, but then a disappointed look fell on her face. "Actually… I don't have anything on me…"

Morgana appeared surprised at this. Wait, what? Uhhh… If that's the case, then I guess it's time for you to go to hell." he said nonchalantly.

"W-Wait! Can't we work something out?"

"Wait a minute." Sumire chimed in and Akira looked at her. "Let's hear her out, something tells me we can make a deal with her."

Akira nodded toward Sumire and then looked at the fairy. "Fine. Make it fast."

"R-Really? Thanks!" the fairy exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, um… What's the deal with that light?" she asked, staring toward Sumire much to Ryuji's confusion and frustration.

"Seriously?!" he groaned. "Great… first you guys, and now the Shadows can see it, but I still can't!"

"Actually, the Shadows have been able to see it, but whatever." Akira thought to himself. "C'mon, hurry up. We're in a hurry, y'know?" He began to tap his foot impatiently causing the fairy to become jumpy.

"Hold on! Can you just please let me go?" she pleaded. "I won't speak a word about this. Promise!"

Akira paused for a minute, deliberating on the thought, before finally sighing. "Fine, I'll let you go… to hell.

Ryuji's nose scrunched up. "Okay, dude. That was kinda cringe."

The fairy stared at Akira, dumbfounded. "Sorry, but I agree with blondie. Was that really the best one-liner you could come up with? Although, I guess we're the same,' she said as her gaze wandered off. "Maybe if you weren't holding me at gunpoint, we could get along really well. " She sighed with a despondent smile.

"Dude, the hell's it goin' on about?' Ryuji muttered.

Without warning, the fairy's body began to glow light blue. Everyone steeled themselves, however, the fairy also seemed confused by the new development.

"What the? What's going on?!" Morgana exclaimed.

"I feel…! That's right…" The fairy slowly fluttered upward with a small smile that didn't show anything malicious. "I don't just belong to King Kamoshida. I'm an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity's souls… My name is Pixie! From now on, I'll live inside your heart."

"The heck does that mean? Wait, is she joining the team? When did we agree to this?!" Sumire exclaimed.

Before anyone could react, the fairy's body faded into a bright blue ball of light. The faint shape of Joker's mask could be seen in the light. It flew straight toward Akira's face and he took a startled step back. However, the mask disappeared when it reached him and a warm feeling welled up in his chest.

"Hm, it's pretty spacious in here." Akira heard Pixie's voice ring out in his mind which was certainly something he didn't expect. Then again, everyone just witnessed him absorb a Shadow; if that's what happened… "And what's up with the brown-haired chick there?"

Huh, so they could see her. That's interesting.

"What the hell was that about?" Ryuji asked with wide eyes. Akira snapped out of his trance and blinked at Ryuji, stupefied.

He shook his head. "I… I caught it I guess…"

"You okay?" Sumire asked.

"Nothing feels off, I think…"

Their attention was suddenly brought to the sound of metal clanking toward their direction. A Shadow appeared around the door and immediately transmogrified into two twin-horned beasts. Everyone braced for battle, and just as Ryuji was about to call on Captain Kidd, Akira could hear Pixie's voice call out to him.

"Call my name whenever you need me…"

"Come forth… Pixie!"

Much to everyone's shock and amazement, the Shadow from earlier emerged from Akira's mask. She launched an electric attack at the opposing Shadows, crippling them. Without room for comments, Akira rushed forward to finish the Shadows off and everyone promptly followed behind.

Sumire thought she saw Pixie curiously looking at her before she returned to Akira's mask. She was then distracted by the group's all-out-attack before she could give it more thought.

"Even I've never seen anyone pull that off!" Morgana exclaimed. "First, there's that weird light and now you can use multiple Personas?! What else can you do?

"How many other people with Personas do you know?" Sumire quipped.

"Do you know any other Persona users besides us?" Akira asked.

Morgana shook his head. "No, but only one heart can exist per person, so naturally a person should only have one Persona!"

Akira shrugged and smirked. "What can I say? I'm a man of many masks."

"Ok, Shake Beer. No need to get all deep." Ryuji said.

"You mean Shakespeare?"

Sumire sighed. "This whole castle is just one big metaphor."

"You sure are full of surprises, Joker," Morgana said. "This ability makes for an amazing boon!"

The team traversed further into the Palace. Akira was able to recruit more Personae along the way. They found a particularly suspicious door, but there didn't seem to be any way to get in, so they left it alone. What was most peculiar however…

"Looks like I'm not the only spook-hee thing here-ho!"

"Why she float?"

Much to Akira's dismay and his teammates' confusion, the Shadows seemed to become cognizant of Sumire's true form when he successfully turned them into his masks. They decided to take a short rest at the next safe room they found. Ryuji wanted to ask, but Akira excused himself, leaving the two of them in the safe room.

"Think they're trying to trick us?" Ryuji asked Morgana.

"How should I know? I've never seen anything like this before!"

Ryuji frowned, disappointed in the answer, but relented. "By the way, how're we supposed to steal that Treasure thing?"

"Don't be so hasty, we need to secure an infiltration route. Otherwise a path to the Treasure. Although, in all honesty, we might need a little more manpower to accomplish this."

"Hey, you said you lost your memories and all, but somehow you still know about this kinda stuff? It's pretty suspicious if you ask me."

The door opened and Akira entered. "Eh, he's been fine so far." he said nonchalantly.

"Dude, you're way too relaxed." Ryuji said which Akira scoffed at, but he didn't seem to notice it. "I mean, what if it's just some stray cat in the end?"

"I heard that!"

"By the way, what were ya doin' out—"

"Still, why was the princess in such an odd place?" The voice of a Shadow echoed throughout the halls.

The group quieted down and remained close to the door, listening to the conversation outside. Morgana decided to investigate with Sumire following suit while Akira and Ryuji stayed behind. Morgana snuck around the passing Shadows and backtracked through the halls which had already been cleared of other Shadows. However, he did notice the light that always accompanied Akira following him.

"Why's it following me?" Morgana pondered aloud.

"I…" Sumire began, but she couldn't come up with any solid answer, as if it mattered. "…don't know."

Shrugging it off, Morgana continued further until the sound of armor clacking came closer. He hid around the corner that led back to the central hall and saw a Shadow hauling Ann, who was frantically struggling, hauled over its shoulder.

"Lady Ann!" he exclaimed in a hushed tone.

Sumire sighed. "Oh boy… this is going to be a recurring thing, isn't it?"

He immediately scampered back to the safe room with Sumire following behind. Meanwhile…

—————————

Morgana slid out of the safe room with Sumire following after him. Akira thought about following, but figured that he'd be fine, so he said nothing and waved them off.

"And yet another question unanswered…" Ryuji sighed. "All this shit's bizarre and all—the castle and navigation app thing—but Morgana's got'em all beat."

"Hey, codenames," Akira chided sarcastically.

"Ah, crap! Sorry!" Ryuji apologized and he scratched his head. "What was I again…? Oh right, Skull!"

Akira smiled. "And I'm Joker. Hopefully you can remember."

"Of course— Hol' up, are you patriotizin' me or somethin'?"

"Maybe." Akira shrugged. "It's 'patronize', by the way."

"Sure sure. Patriot pardon. Tomato potato." Ryuji said indifferently and Akira rolled his eyes. "By the way," Ryuji continued, "speaking of unanswered questions, what do the Shadows mean about a brown-haired—"

Morgana burst through the doors with a panicked expression, with Sumire following suit. "Guys!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, come on!!"

"Hey, focus!" Morgana snapped. "Your friend, Lady Ann! She's been taken by Shadows!" he exclaimed, shocking both Akira and Ryuji.

"Effin' what?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Didn't we send her home earlier?!"

"Wait, if she somehow has the app…" Akira mused, trying to push down his panic. "I can't see why she'd have it, but it's the only thing I can think of."

Ryuji's shoulders slumped and his mouth hung open as he came to a realization. "Oh shit… Don't tell me it got on hers like mine?! Dammit, we gotta rescue her!"

Akira and Ryuji followed Morgana which was mostly backtracking, but they all eventually heard Ann shouting at her captors. They followed her voice to the locked door they found earlier which they now seemed to be able to enter.

With Akira now in the lead, he pushed the door open and led the team inside. They walked in on a grotesque scene, various, indiscernible cognitions of the girls strewn all over the floor, moaning all sorts of obscenities.

"What the hell…?" Akira muttered.

"Woah man, this is effed up…" Ryuji said, seething through his clenched fists. "This seriously how he sees all the girls on the volleyball team?!"

Morgana pointed a paw away from the scene and called out to them. "Hey! Over there!"

They turned their heads toward a group of Shadows, including the Shadow of Kamoshida himself with his cognition of Ann, huddled around something. Ann was tied to a cross, trying to avoid the Shadow's lascivious gaze.

"Takamaki!" Ryuji shouted.

Kamoshida's face scrunched up with displeasure. "Just when I was about to start enjoying myself," he grumbled.

Ann stared up at them. "Akira?! Sakamoto?! What's the deal with this guy?!"

"How many times are you rats gonna keep coming back?" Kamoshida turned to leer at Ann, causing her to flinch. "I get it, you're just like those petty thieves. You came because you're pissed at me, is that right? But… Ah, I always forget that chick's name… It's your fault she jumped, you know."

"No! Ann! Don't listen to his bullshit!" Akira shouted, scowling at Kamoshida.

"You were so reluctant to throw yourself onto me that I had her take your place."

Ann glared at Kamoshida. "You bastard!" she shrieked, but then a Shadow took a step toward her and her face lit up with panic.

"No!" Ryuji cried and he began running toward them.

"Son of a bitch!" Akira followed after him.

However, the two Shadows standing on opposite sides of her raised their swords to her neck. Akira and Ryuji immediately stopped in their tracks, glaring at the Shadows.

"One more step and I'll have her killed on the spot!" Kamoshida barked. "Just sit back and enjoy the dismemberment show." He turned to Ann with a perverse grin. "Maybe I'll start with her clothes…"

"Dammit! What're we gonna do?!" Ryuji cried out frustratedly.

One of the Shadows began closing in on her. She watched in fear as the sword came closer to her, her body instinctively reeling back as far as it could to avoid it, but she knew it was fruitless. Her body eased up as a dejected look fell upon her face.

"Is this… my punishment for what happened to Shiho?" She choked out a sob as an image of her friend flashed into her mind. Kamoshida seemed to take pleasure in her dismay, but his words were a buzz to her. "Shiho… I'm so sorry…"

"Damn it," Akira muttered, frantically thinking of a course of action until he looked at Sumire. "Spirit, go!"

"Spirit?" Morgana asked.

"Oh right, that's me!" Sumire exclaimed.

Sumire flew in front of Ann, successfully catching the guards off-guard. The large one that was approaching Ann stepped back, baring its sword at the light in front of it.

"Wh-What is this thing?"

"What is what? Get on with it already!"

Akira let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, good…" He took a deep breath and put on a stern expression. "Ann, are you really going to listen to what this bastard says?" he shouted, surprising Ann. "Will you let him get away with what he did to your best friend? Get angry! Don't let this scum walk all over you like that!"

That's right… This was Kamoshida's fault, he was the one to blame, not her own self. She felt stupid for even thinking that. He had used her like a toy and she was sick of it. It started within her chest, her body began to feel warm and the temperature steadily escalated.

"You're right…" Ann laughed wryly. "Just what was I thinking? Letting this piece of shit toy with me…"

Kamoshida scowled at her. "It's like I always say, slaves should just behave and—"

Ann glowered at him with burning rage, causing him to take a scared step back. "Shut. Up. I've had enough. You pissed me off you son of a bitch!" she shrieked.

My… it's taken far too long.

The heat she felt in her flared up all of a sudden, causing her to let out a sharp gasp. Her body began to convulse wildly, the only thing keeping her in place being the cross which she was bound to.

Sumire smiled to herself and returned to Akira who had a knowing smirk.

"Hey, did anyone order extra firepower?" she asked.

Akira chuckled in response. "Alright, it's showtime everyone."

"Are you effin' kiddin' me right now?!" Ryuji yelped.

Tell me… Who is going to avenge her if you don't?

Forgiving him was never the option…

Such is the scream of the other you that dwells within.

I am thou, thou art I…

We can finally forge a contract.

Her body forcibly lurched forward one last time before going limp. The sweltering heat inside her felt hotter than before, but not painfully so. It felt hotter than any flame she's ever come to close proximity to and yet she found great exhilaration in it.

"I hear you… Carmen," she whispered breathlessly. She whipped her head up and a red feline mask appeared on her face from a burst of blue flames. "You're right. No more holding back!"

There you go… Nothing can be solved by restraining yourself.

Understand? Then I'll gladly lend you my strength.

She broke free of her restraints one by one. When she was free, by instinct, she tore off the mask and with a scream, her body was consumed in a torrent of blue fire.

She emerged from the fire in a red latex suit. Her Persona, Carmen, stood tall behind her.

Without any sort of warning, she ran up to a Shadow and kicked its sword out its hand. She then ran toward Kamoshida and leaped up and caught the sword out of the air, and slashed down at her doppelgänger. The cognition of Ann faded away with a distorted screech.

She stood up, dropped the sword and walked towards Kamoshida with a threatening glower. He backed up with an anxious expression and a Shadow guard stood in front of him.

"You know what? I'm not some cheap girl you can toy with, you scumbag," she said. "You stole everything from Shiho… You destroyed her… Now it's your turn! I will rob you of everything!"

"How dare you!" the Shadow barked. "Enough of your insolence!"

The Shadows dissipated into red and black puddles that converged into one. The Shadows combined to produce a single, powerful Shadow, despite the ridiculous form it took, much to Sumire's amusement.

"No, I've had enough of you. No one's gonna stop me now. Let's go Carmen!"

"How dare you deny King Kamoshida's love?!" the Shadow roared. "You shall pay for this insolence with your life!" The air around the Shadow became frigid.

"Love? Don't make me laugh; that dirtbag only sees women as sexual outlets! Give'em hell, Carmen!"

Ice began forming around the area, but Ann responded against the attack with fire. The room lit up with flames as balls of fire were thrown at the Shadow, which seemed to be weak to the element.

The others watched in amazement as she single-handedly overwhelmed the Shadow. However, the Shadow didn't take the hits without resistance.

"She's not letting it breathe!" Morgana said in awe.

The Shadow finally lashed out, a ball of ice began forming in front of her. She leaped back and brandished a whip which she began using to attack. As the Shadow prepared another attack, Akira stepped into the fray.

"Jack O'Lantern!" The Persona appeared and launched a ball of fire at the Shadow from behind which successfully knocked it down. "Ann! Let's finish it off quick! Skull, Mona!"

Everyone responded together and initiated an all-out-attack on the Shadow. Ann finished off the attack with a pose.

"A beautiful rose has thorns!"

"Oh shit…" Kamoshida muttered as he watched the team decimate his guard.

The group turned their attention to the fearful Kamoshida. He turned tail and fled. Ann tried to chase after him, but the high from the awakening died down. A level of exhaustion she's never felt before weighed her down.

"Yeah, you better run!" Sumire shouted.

"Wait…!" Ann shouted, but her knee buckled under her as she let out exhausted breaths.

Akira looked at her with concern and knelt down beside her. "Ann, are you—"

"Are you okay, Lady Ann?" Morgana interrupted.

Ann gave him a bemused stare. "Lady… Ann?" She then seemed to take notice of her surroundings as she frantically looked around. "Wait, is this thing alive? How can it talk? Is it real? What's going on?!"

"That's what we wanna know!" Ryuji exclaimed. "How the hell didja come back here?!"

"H-How am I supposed to know…?!" she stammered. She tried to stand up, but fell over toward her side. Akira immediately caught her by the arm.

"Hey, woah, take it easy." He looked up at Ryuji. "Ryuji, come here and help me get her up. We gotta get outta here, right Mona?"

"C'mon, seriously? We were just gettin' fired up and you had to…" Ryuji groaned. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot in an impatient manner, but he ultimately relented. "Rgh, whatever, c'mere."

The team returned to the real world and decided to discuss in the subway rather than in front of the school. It was beginning to get late after all.

"Have you calmed down, Lady Ann?" Morgana asked.

"Yep… This is becoming a recurring thing…" Sumire sighed.

"Uh… Morgana, right? I really am talking to a cat… Oh wait, you're not a cat, right?"

"Nope, I'm one-hundred percent human!"

"No, he definitely is a cat. For now, at least." Sumire quipped.

Nobody but Akira acknowledged her, but she ignored it.

"Based on what you told me… Can we actually make him confess his crimes?" Ann asked.

"Well, only one way to find out," Akira said. "Even we're not sure, but it's pretty much the only option we have left at this point."

Ann contemplated for a moment before responding resolutely. "In that case, let me in. If we don't stop him, he'll just keep doing what he does like nothing's ever happened." Her eyes narrowed and her fists balled up tightly. "I want to make him pay for what he's done to Shiho…"

"Hey, what should we do?" Ryuji asked. "I guess there ain't anythin' stopping her from goin' in on her own if we turn her down…"

"It'd be nice to have another girl on the team." Sumire said.

Akira gave her a subtle grin before turning to Ann with a smile. While the extra manpower was needed and greatly appreciated, that wasn't the only reason he let her join.

The three of them were the outcasts of Shujin Academy. Not to mention Kamoshida hurt them all in some shape or form, regardless if Ann or Ryuji had it worse than Akira. It felt wrong to blow her off.

"Welcome to the team."

I am Thou, Thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new vow…

The Lovers Arcana has been revealed to thee...

"She's captured my heart…" Morgana sighed dreamily.

Sumire groaned and attempted to give him a light smack on the head. "Alright, that's enough you hopeless romantic." She knew she couldn't touch him, but she knew he could see her.

Morgana flinched as the light got close to his face. "Hey, what's that light got against me?"

"Huh? Light?" Ann asked.

Ryuji sighed. "I'm just as confused as you are about it," he said.

Ann didn't bother to question it further. "Well, just lemme know when you guys are headed back in—" She stopped as she realized she'd have to give them her contact. "Wait, we don't have each other's info, do we? Here, give me your chat ID. I'll be counting on you guys then."

The group exchanged their IDs with Ann. Akira put it into the back of his mind to create a group chat later. With that done, Ann bid farewell to them as her train came.

"See you guys tomorrow," she said with a wave and walked away. The smitten Morgana gazed at her, ignoring the odd looks he received from his comrades.

"What a kind girl… So considerate, and she's willing to cast herself into the jaws of death to achieve her goal… She cares—"

Ryuji groaned. "Okay, that's enough ya hopeless romantic!" he exclaimed. "Anyhow, we should have a place for the group to quickly meet up." He hummed as he thought. In just a few seconds his face lit up as he made his suggestion. "The school roof maybe?"

Akira nodded. "That's pretty smart. Morgana?"

"Yes, that should work as the perfect hideout. And since I can't contact you from within the Metaverse… I'm personally nominating you to take care of me. You should feel honored."

"Sorry, that slot's taken!" Sumire said. Though it was mainly a joke, it was partly because she thought Sojiro wouldn't allow it. Akira thought so too.

"Yeah, I don't know," Akira said. "I'm kinda… Ryuji?" he asked hopefully.

Ryuji shook his head. "There's no way I can at my place."

Akira relented with a sigh. "Well, I'll see how it goes. Anyway, looks like we have a plan."

An excited grin broke across Ryuji's face. "Alright! Now that we have our hideout, let's meet up there tomorrow, yeah? See ya, dude!"

"At least it's someone who can kinda see me," Sumire said.

—————————

Akira placed his bag on his bed and Morgana came out. He looked around the place and his face scrunched up with displeasure.

"What the… What's with this place? Is this some kind of abandoned shed or something?"

"Hey, what's going on up here—" Akira whipped around at the sound of Sojiro's voice and stared at him. "Ugh, why did you bring it here?

"I… met it on the way to school. It kept following me there and back and well, here we are."

"Aw, come on. This is a restaurant business," Sojiro said, but the harsh expression he had softened. "However, it might keep you on good behavior if you have to take care of it…" he muttered to himself. "Well, you've been talking to yourself for a while, so I guess you could use a pet to keep yourself company. Taking care of it is entirely on you, and make sure it stays on its best behavior, got it?"

On that note, Sojiro left them be. On the one hand, Akira was happy that Sojiro was willing to accommodate. On the other…

"Now there's two of them… Privacy's not gonna be a thing here, is it…?" he thought to himself.

"It's kind of a surprise he's allowing it," Morgana said. "Then again, I do just sound like a regular cat to normal people."

"At least people can see you…" Sumire muttered.

Sojiro came back up with a plate of fish and placed it in front of Morgana. "Seriously, it had to keep calling in that cute little voice… By the way, what're you calling it?"

"Mr. Windy!" Sumire exclaimed, causing Akira to crack a wide grin. He cleared his throat, trying to wipe the smile off his face and gave Sojiro Morgana's actual name. Sumire playfully pouted.

"Morgana? I was hoping I'd get to name it…" Sojiro sighed. "Anyway, make sure you wash that dish." After that, Sojiro left for the night.

"Huh, wonder what he had in mind," Sumire pondered.

"By the way…" Morgana began, "remember when you guys asked me before what I am? I'm honestly not too sure myself. I think the Metaverse's distortions made me this way… I had to have been human. I mean, why else would a cat be able to talk like this?"

"Plausible," Sumire quipped sarcastically. "I mean, we've seen a teacher practically naked in another world whose minions are a bunch of fairies, jack-o'-lanterns, goats… I mean, who knows what else is there? Succubuses? Or would it be succubi…? Succubeese? What's the plural of succubus? Anyway, a talking cat who's actually human is so far fetched," she finished with a roll of her eyes.

Akira was struggling to not burst out laughing. Morgana noticed this and scowled at him. "Hey! Take this seriously!"

"S-Sorry. Just had a dumb thought," Akira said. "Anyway, continue."

Morgana didn't appear convinced, but he continued. "And I have a pretty good idea on how to get them back too. That's why I was in the castle in the first place."

"Hey, don't worry about it. We have your back," Akira said.

Morgana perked up happily. "Glad to hear it. You're really dependable, y'know? Don't worry, this partnership won't be for nothing. It'll be a give and take relationship. I'll teach you all about the craftsmanship and utilization of infiltration tools, how does that sound?"

"Alright, we have a deal."

"Good! That light is going to get pretty annoying, but I'll manage."

"I look forward to seeing what else you're capable of!" Morgana exclaimed.

I am Thou, Thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new vow…

The Magician Arcana has been revealed to thee...

Sumire felt it was nice to have someone who's aware of her presence living with them. Even if she's just a light to him.

Later that night, Akira decided to change and go to bed. Morgana, in the meantime, looked at Sumire intently, pondering what she was.

"I've never seen anything like it. Is it some sort of bless attack gone rogue? That doesn't make sense. Some kind of lost Shadow or cognition? No, that probably makes even less sense…"

Meanwhile, as Akira was getting settled, he received messages from Ann.

Ann:

—You saved me and I didn't thank you properly, so thanks.

Akira:

—It's fine, but Ryuji was there too, y'know?

Ann:

—I just thanked him a moment ago. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know at least. See you tomorrow.

Akira:

—By the way, we agreed on the rooftop being our hideout. Be there after school. So yeah, see you tomorrow.

He put his phone away and as he laid on his bed, he watched Morgana and Sumire staring at each other. Two enigmas, each curious about the other. He knew that if he was going to have to explain Sumire to anyone at some point, it would be the mysterious cat-like being who just so happened to walk into their lives.