"Ahahahaha!"
After hearing what happened between Chie and Francis, Hanamura bursts out laughing. The two have their lunch at the roof, which is empty besides them.
"So after all of that, she's still not your girlfriend?" Hanamura mocks.
Francis glares at Hanamura.
"And you are doing better?" Francis retorts angrily and with volume.
Realizing what he did, Francis apologizes politely. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."
"It's fine. Guess I deserved that." Hanamura replies jestingly.
Afterwards, the two take a break after finishing their food, with both of them looking into a distance.
"Yamada." Hanamura says solemnly, drawing Francis' attention. As Hanamura looks away, Francis waits patiently for him to continue. Hanamura takes a deep breath, and then keeps on going.
"I think we should do something about what happened to Saki and the others."
Francis stares at Hanamura for a bit with wide eyes. Francis looks away, a contemplative look on his face.
He remembers the pained face of Konishi and the fear Chie went through. However, when Yukiko comes to mind, he feels a certain conflict.
"I know this sounds crazy, but…" Francis pauses.
He continues to stare into distance. Hanamura remains quiet, possibly waiting for Francis to continue. After a while, Francis speaks out with uncertainty.
"I think what he or she did benefitted Chie and Yukiko." After voicing his opinions, he then looks to Hanamura anxiously.
"You are right." Hanamura says sternly while still looking away. "But even so…"
"But we need to stop the culprit." Francis says with confidence. While speaking, he sees Hanamura's eyes widen.
As Hanamura turns to look at him, Francis goes on, his expression calm and his tone weighty yet relaxed, as if he's certain of what he's saying.
"The culprit has hurt people, killed them, and even hurt, well, Chie. I agree we need to stop whoever it is."
"Thanks, uh, Francis." Hanamura says awkwardly, a grin on his face.
"You okay with first names now?" Francis asks curiously, smiling kindly as he does.
Hanamura keeps going warmly. "Truth be told, I just feel like I can trust you. I wasn't sure we could defeat Amagi's Shadow, and yet you came up with a way. I just get this feeling that you can do amazing things."
As Hanamura says that, Francis feels a familiar shift.
Thou hast formed a new bond, the key to greater power.
Thou shalt now be blessed when fusing and wielding Personas of the Magician Arcana.
"Francis?" Hanamura's call brings Francis attention back.
"Gimme a moment. I hear something." Francis says.
"Your inner voice again?" Hanamura asks mockingly.
"Ya." Hearing Francis speak, Hanamura looks away. As he does, Francis steps to the side.
"Okay, inner voice." Francis speaks with a mix of annoyance and humor in English. "I don't mind your notifications, but can you do it at a better time? We were having a moment there."
A slight pause hangs.
My apologies.
The inner voice apologizes regally and awkwardly in English.
Francis then turns back to Hanamura. As he does, Hanamura jests.
"Guess having superpowers ain't as nice as I thought."
"Well, Yosuke. It will be my honor to fight alongside you." Francis replies confidently.
The boys stare off into the distance.
"I know this sounds crazy. But I am kinda grateful to the killer." Francis says with a mix of gratitude and guilt.
"Why?" Yosuke asks calmly.
"It's just…" Francis pauses. He takes a deep breath and continues as calm as he can be. "Do you think Chie would have looked my way if Yukiko was not trapped in the TV?"
Yosuke remains silent. Francis looks at him, worried. He sees Yosuke smiling, as if he's reminiscing something.
"Saki may be dead now, but I do suppose she would still be continuing to suffer if not for what happened." Yosuke says with a mix of sadness and joy.
"Let's not think that way." Francis says with hurry before continuing with collectedness. "We cannot afford to lose our focus, not when lives are at stake."
Yosuke smiles. He then remains silent while staring into the distance. Francis does the same.
"You wanna train?" Chie asks Francis fervently after school. Francis looks away for a bit while Chie waits for his reply.
"Actually, I am planning to go to the Velvet Room." Francis replies.
"I see." Chis replies with disappointment.
"Can you come with me?" Francis asks.
"Yes." Chie replies promptly, a smile on her face as she does.
"Yosuke." Francis calls out to Yosuke, who is preparing to leave.
"Can we meet up at Junes later? I kinda wanna check up on Kuma." Francis asks.
"Sure thing." Yosuke says before leaving.
"So you are calling him by his first name now?" Chie asks as the two exit school.
"We talked about stuff during break." Francis replies.
After calling and informing Margaret on the phone, the limousine appears to pick Francis and Chie up.
Inside the room, Marie glares at Chie furiously, who also matches her glare.
"You are Marie?" Chie asks politely while glaring. "I heard about you from Francis." She then bows her head. "Francis probably said it, but thank you for your advice back then. And thank you for creating the items for him too."
Marie eyes shift widely, blushing lightly as she does.
"You are welcome. Don't worry, he's paying anyway." Marie replies bashfully.
"I see." Chie then turns to the other two and thanks them as well.
"Just so you know," Marie speaks to Chie with slight nervousness, "He's quite the flirt. He was teasing me non-stop last time."
"Really." Chie looks at Francis with beady eyes.
"Marie's cute. I couldn't help myself." Francis replies awkwardly, his tone conveying his desire to justify what Marie said.
"I never seen you tease anybody before." Chie comments nervoursly.
"Well, I don't know. I just get this comfy feeling with Marie for some reason." Francis explains warmly.
"Well, did you just come here to show off your girlfriend?" Marie asks with her usual sharp tone.
"His…" Chie blushes. "We are not….uh… you know." Chie says weakly.
"So you are just playing with her?" Marie says accusatively. "As I thought, you are a playboy. The worst there is. You should be careful with him, Green. I am sure he will break your heart."
"Uh, he's not playing with me." Chie says while still blushing. "We just… decided it wasn't time yet."
"So he's stalking you?" Marie keeps going fiercely. "A playboy, pervert, jerk, and now a creep? How low are you planning to go?"
Chie looks at Francis and comments nervously. "She's really just destroying you, isn't she?"
"She says mean things, but she's actually really cute." Francis says calmly.
"See. He's a pervert. He likes it when people say mean things about him." As Marie speaks, Chie and Francis turn to face her. While Marie is glaring, her cheeks are reddish and a smirk can be seen at the corner of her mouth.
"Wow, you really are cute." Chie praises Marie with surprise.
"Well, you are too." Marie says politely to Chie while smiling.
"You never talk to me like that." Francis complains whiningly.
"I only say things as they are. Green is cute." Marie then glares at Francis as her tone becomes sharp. "And you are a pervert, playboy, and creep."
"So…" Chie says bashly from the side. "Are you a pervert?"
Francis pauses. "I won't do anything without your approval." He says bashfully.
"Careful, Green. He's just talking sweet. Once he gets in your…"
"STOPPU!" Chie shouts all of a sudden, surprising both Francis and Marie.
"Let's not go there. I can't stand the heat." Chie says bashfully while blushing, with her eyes turned away from Francis. As she speaks, Francis notices she is cooling herself with her tracksuit.
"You are really smitten with him, aren't you?" Marie asks Chie calmly.
"I...uh…. Francis, you came here for something, right?" Chie turns to Francis.
"Ya." Francis turns to Marie for a bit. "Sorry, I don't have any teases for today."
"I don't want you to tease me!" As Marie shouts bashfully, Francis turns to Igor.
As he faces Igor, he notices Margaret doing something at the corner of his eye. Knowing her, he assumes she is smiling
"Anyways…"
Francis decides to tell Igor about him hearing voices.
"I see. The voice mentioned that your bonds will lead you to new powers?" Igor says with his usual composure.
As if as a response to seeing Francis nod, Igor spawns a deck on his hand.
"What?" Chie asks.
"Ya. Nose is weird." Marie says calmly.
"Nose?" Chie says as she looks at Igor.
"A Persona is but a manifestation of one's inner self." Igor explains. As he does, he takes out a card and places it on the table.
As Francis looks at the card, seeing a picture of a person in it.
"Just like the wielder, Personas can be affected by the people around the wielder." As he speaks, he takes out more cards from the deck and places them atop the card on the table.
"Eventually, their powers grow, stronger and stronger." Igor then picks up the cards and places them together to form a deck. As Igor quiets down, the deck stays in his hands for a short while before seemingly vanishing.
"Woah." Chie says with surprise.
"You like things like that?" Francis asks.
"It is kinda cool." Chie says. After Chie speaks, Francis turns back to Igor.
"Does that mean Chie can go through the same thing?" Francis asks while gesturing at Chie.
"Well, that is hard to be certain." Igor says. "I have met many like you, but their allies tend to not possess the same power."
"Why is that?" Francis asks.
"A person's heart is usually stable, thus making it difficult for them to have multiple Personas. But there are exceptions to this rule." Igor continues.
Francis questions Igor with a perplexed tone and look. "So my heart is unstable and thus I can have multiple Personas?"
Igor chuckles. "While an unstable heart is usually scorned by many, it also grants one a seemingly infinite flexibility."
Francis smiles. He then looks to Chie. As their eyes match, Chie speaks kindly. "I am okay with you being a bit crazy."
"Be careful, Green. He might break your heart." Marie adds with a kind tone from the side.
"I am willing to take that risk…" Chie says weakly. Her eyes and Francis' eyes remain locked after she says that.
"Esteemed guest." Igor speaks, drawing Francis' attention. "I believe that both you and your Personas possess possibilities far outside even my own expectations. It is possible even for you and them to go through changes no one might expect. As I have said before, ponder your feelings and make your decisions wisely."
As Francis thinks about Igor's words, something hits him.
"When I was in the TV. When Chie was in danger, I felt a sudden power flow in me, and that gave me strength that rivals even Personas, although it did almost kill me. Do you know anything about that?" Francis asks.
"Really now." Igor chuckles. "Forgive my amusement. This is just truly an amusing situation for even me. Sadly, I cannot answer your question."
"Well. Nothing much I can do, I guess." Francis says calmly.
Francis converts the energy from the battle with Yukiko. Before they leave, he looks to Marie.
"We are planning to go into the TV after. Do you want to come with us?" Francis asks kindly.
Marie blushes and averts her gaze.
"Sure." She whispers.
"Damn you are cute." Francis teases Marie with a joyful tone.
"Shut up!" As Marie shouts with embarrassment, Francis chuckles and leaves the limousine.
Francis contacts Yosuke, who plans for them to meet up at the Junes food court.
"You know, it slipped my mind last time," Francis speaks to Yosuke on the phone. "But are you sure we should be talking about all this in a public place?"
"Nobody understands what we are talking about anyway. Plus, there should be barely anyone there right now." Yosuke replies calmly.
After he hangs up the phone, Chie starts talking to Marie.
"Why do you call me Green anyway?" Chie asks curiously.
"You wear green, so Green." Marie replies calmly while gesturing at Chie's tracksuit.
"Why do you wear green?" Francis asks curiously.
"Really? I never noticed." Chie replies calmly.
She then turns to Marie. "You can call me Chie. I've been calling you Marie anyway, you okay if I stick with that?"
"Chi-" Marie pauses and looks away, grumbling as she does. "Names are hard…."
Chie chuckles. "I understand."
"Also, Marie is what Margaret calls me anyway. So I just stick with it." Marie explains calmly while looking at Chie.
"Really? So Marie's a nickname?" Chie asks.
"It makes it easier for people to address me." Marie keeps going calmly. She then looks away.
As she does so, Francis and Chie wait for her to continue. She then says with annoyance, her face covered in sadness as she does. "I didn't actually have a name."
"What do you mean?" Chie asks with surprise.
"I can't remember." Marie keeps going as she looks down. "As far as I can remember, I just met this pervert and found my way into the Velvet room."
"Pervert?" Francis remarks with tiredness. "Never mind. What do you mean just met me? You mean at the station?"
"Ya. I can't remember anything before then." Marie says sadly.
"Hm. That is a precarious situation. Right now, our only hint is that you suddenly appeared at the station. Maybe we can go back there and look around one day." Francis calmly analyzes the situation.
"Actually, I do have a hint." Marie says calmly, her face surprisingly tame.
"Let's talk more at Junes." Francis says. "Don't wanna keep Yosuke waiting."
"Hey, you wanna try some teppanyaki?" Chie says with excitement as the trio makes their way to Junes.