6/22 - Afternoon - Iwatodai Station - Ren
"Again, Akihiko-senpai," Ren said, "you don't have to do this. I wanted to cook dinner last night."
Akihiko shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Ren. You've been cooking for everyone almost every day now. Let my treat be my way of repaying you, especially for the katsu you made last night."
Ren glanced at Kotone, who Akihiko invited as well. She shrugged, causing Ren to sigh. He'd been at it with Akihiko since they left the school. Akihiko initially invited Kotone to hang out but then extended the invitation when he saw Ren still inside the classroom. Now, they were on the second floor of the Iwatodai Strip Mall after being promised to show 'a really good place to eat.'
"Well," Ren said. "We're here, so might as well enjoy it. Is this the place?" Ren asked to make sure.
Akihiko nodded. "It is."
Ren and Kotone could only stare with slightly narrowed eyes and disbelief.
"Uh, senpai... This is the Beef Bowl Shop," Kotone said.
"Hey, what's with the faces?" Akihiko asked, exhaling sharply. "Honestly, the beef bowls are really great here. The servings are big, and the sauce they use on the meat is just to die for."
Ren blinked. 'Don't tell me...' "Senpai, did you plan on bringing Kotone here?"
Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, why?"
Ren glanced at Kotone's dead fish-eyes as she leaned over. "You get used to it," she whispered.
Suddenly, a shriek came from the staircase that Ren, Kotone, and Akihiko used to reach the shop. "Akihiko-senpai!" All three looked at where the voice came from and saw two girls, one with hair buns and another with heavy make-up, coming straight for them. The girls began violating Akihiko's personal space.
"Whoa, whoa!" Kotone cried out. "Give the guy some space to breathe!" However, the duo ignored her.
'I don't recognize these girls. They seem to be in casual clothes, no school emblem or anything like that. Did Akihiko-senpai's little fan club reach outside the school?' "Who are these girls?" Ren asked Kotone.
"You don't recognize them? They're part of that group of girls from last time, the ones harassing Fuuka," Kotone explained.
Realization hit Ren. "Ah, gotcha." 'I barely remember them...' Taking a deep breath and remembering Yoshida's teachings, he demanded, "Alright, that's enough. You're invading his personal space again." This time, the girls glanced at Ren. The girl with the hair buns stared and blushed, but then her friend elbowed her before they both stepped back and looked at Akihiko.
"Akihiko-senpai, what're you doing here?" Buns asked.
"Oh, I know!" Make-Up girl piqued. "You're here for the beef bowls, right? It's, like, so funny that you're always eating here!"
Akihiko regarded them with a questioning look. "Look, first, give me some space. Second, what's funny about that?" Thankfully, the girls followed his first request.
"It means that you're totally cool," Make-Up girl answered, only for Akihiko to look at her as if she grew another head.
'Quite honestly, I don't get it either,' Ren thought.
Akihiko sighed. "Look, can you get out of the way, please? We can't get in."
"Hey, hey, you don't have a girlfriend, right?" Buns asked.
"... A girlfriend?" Akihiko repeated.
Buns nodded. "We're, like, totally looking for some guys to be with right now," she answered as the two girls kept glancing at Kotone with hostility.
Akihiko sighed tiredly. "... Just let us through, please. If you want to talk with me, find another time to do it. I'm here with my underclassmen; let's go, you two."
"Let's go!" Kotone said excitedly. Akihiko nodded, and both entered the shop, to the surprise of both girls.
"Listen, you two," Ren said, and both girls looked at him. "When you want to try asking a guy out, it helps to be friends with his friends. Glaring at them doesn't work in real life. This isn't a romance novel." Ren stepped in between them and opened the door of the shop. He turned to both of them. "You have the courage, and that's great, but you need to work on understanding what the guy wants, not just what you want. See ya," he said with a small grin and entered the shop without waiting for their reactions.
'A bit vindictive, but those two have been annoyingly stubborn. What I said probably won't enter their heads, though.'
"Ren!" Kotone called out, and Ren joined her and Akihiko. Ren could see the relief on Akihiko's face from escaping those two girls.
"Well," Akihiko began, "order up, my treat." Kotone and Ren nodded. Kotone ordered an extra-large beef bowl with green onions and raw egg, Akihiko ordered a large beef bowl, and Ren ordered a medium beef bowl.
"Only that, Ren?" Akihiko asked. "You could go for more. I've seen you eat more, so eat your fill."
Ren laughed. "I only do that when it's nighttime. I feel hungrier than in the afternoon." 'Mostly because I'm used to doing the Big Bang Challenge at night after an afternoon in the Metaverse. That place took so much out of me back then.'
Akihiko nodded in understanding. "I get you. Work-out in the afternoons and take your proteins for dinner. Maximum efficiency, I like it."
"Is that what you do too, Akihiko-senpai?" Kotone asked.
"Yeah," Akihiko nodded again. "I've read that it's recommended to take protein after the work-out, not before."
'After the work-out? Oh no, Morgana...'
"Really?" Ren asked. "I usually did mine before I did my work-out in the gym."
Akihiko looked at Ren with surprise. "You go to the gym?"
Ren nodded in response. "I used to when I couldn't do some runs. One trainer told me to try the wooden dummy at some point."
Kotone groaned. "Oh, no... We have two muscle heads in the group now..."
"Interesting..." Akihiko murmured. "What kind of kata did you practice?"
"Mostly aikido, though I didn't really do anything offensive for it. It was mostly for discipline and stances." Ren glanced at Kotone. "Is everything okay?"
Kotone glanced at Ren. "You're not some protein addict, right?"
"No?" Ren said unsurely as he shook his head. "I'm only interested in it as any other guy. What's wrong?"
Akihiko groaned. "It was one time, Kotone."
"No one puts protein powder on rice, Akihiko-senpai," Kotone deadpanned.
"Wait," Ren said with a confused look. "Protein powder on rice?"
Akihiko nodded. "It's an efficient way of taking it. You have breakfast and the appropriate amount of protein in one go."
"But what about the taste?" Ren asked, gobsmacked.
Akihiko stared straight at Ren's eyes. Ren could only see an abyss. "I'm used to it."
Ren cringed and leaned towards Kotone. "Isn't this very easy for Fuuka?" he whispered.
Kotone's eyes widened at Ren's question. "We're going to talk about how you know that later, Ren," she whispered. "But her cooking needs work."
Ren looked at Kotone with a raised eyebrow. 'I guess I shouldn't have known that? Given yesterday, it's obvious that Fuuka has a crush on Akihiko-senpai...' he thought before nodding.
"What are you two talking about?" Akihiko asked slowly.
"Nothing at all, senpai!" Kotone answered with a smile.
Ren discreetly swallowed. 'Ah, that smile is a scheming one. She'd be a great Phantom Thief.'
Akihiko shrugged. "Your secrets to keep," he said before regarding the two of them. "You know, Mitsuru and I couldn't help but think that you two have gotten pretty close for what was just a week of knowing each other. Is there anything to that?"
Ren glanced at Kotone before looking back at Akihiko, shaking his head. "Not really? Thoughts, Kotone?"
Kotone shook her head, too. "There's nothing between us; we're just friends. I guess we just clicked?"
"I guess there are people like that," Akihiko said with a nod.
"What brought this on?" Kotone asked. "Did something happen?"
Akihiko glanced around the shop awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Finally, after a few seconds, he stopped. "Well, it was the first time we've seen you take someone out at night, and it wasn't even Yukari or Junpei. Mitsuru and I were just curious," he said with a nod.
'Really? Just because of that?' Ren thought. 'Is that really enough to ask questions? Are they worried about something?' He glanced at Kotone, who glanced back. A devious smile spread across her face.
"Hey, Ren?" she asked with a tinge of sweetness.
"Yeah, Kotone?" Ren asked back, trying to see where she was going with this.
"Don't you think that Akihiko-senpai is being, oh, I don't know..." Kotone trailed off for a moment. "Doting?"
A smile spread across Ren's face, too. 'Oh, I see.'
"W-wait, hold on," Akihiko said hurriedly.
"I think you're right, Kotone," Ren said with the same sweetness as Kotone has.
"Don't worry, dad," Kotone said as she emphasized dad. "Ren is a gentleman, aren't you, Ren?"
"That's right, Sanada-san," Ren said as his smile grew into a grin. "I will never hurt her. I can guarantee that she'll be safe."
"You two..." he trailed off as his face grew red.
A girl in server's clothes approached them. "Order up!" she said, as she started placing everyone's orders in front of them.
"Thank you!" Kotone said excitedly as she took a deep breath to smell her order.
"Thanks, miss..." Ren looked up at the server, only to choke in surprise to see who it was. 'Aika?! What's she doing here?!'
The girl in question tilted her head. She had short, navy-blue hair and brown eyes. She wore a headscarf and apron, both with the Beef Bowl Shop logo on them.
"Yes?" Aika tilted her head at Ren. "Is everything okay, sir? Would you like some water?" she asked, as Kotone began hitting Ren's back to help him.
He coughed. "I'm fine, thank you, miss. I was just surprised to see someone so young."
"Oh, I see. I'm working as a part-timer to learn how they make beef bowls here," Aika answered.
"I've seen you around, but why would a kid want to know that?" Akihiko asked.
"My family owns a beef bowl restaurant in Inaba. My dad knows the owners of Hagakure and Beef Bowl, so they let me train here when they need the extra hand."
Akihiko looked at her incredulously. "I see..."
"Anyway, I have to go. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," she said and left to do other orders.
"That was weird..." Kotone muttered. "Anyway, let's get going! We don't want the beef to be drenched in oil too much," she said and began digging in her beef bowl. Akihiko followed suit.
'Damn it, that surprised me,' Ren thought as he ate through his bowl. 'Even back in Inaba, she was always like that. I can order anywhere, and she will deliver. I've got to hand it to her, her work ethics are off the roof. That said, this isn't all too bad. Too much oil in the bottom, but that's to be expected, I guess. Sauce is very good too. A bit of barbeque for the kick and sweetness. I'm pretty sure that's homemade.'
Akihiko chuckled and grinned at both of them. "See what I mean? It's delicious, isn't it?" Kotone and Ren could only nod as they continued eating through their bowls. Akihiko stared at the two for a moment. "Oh, I get it. Do you think that those girls wanted to have beef bowls, too?"
Kotone swallowed. "Not in the way you think, Akihiko-senpai."
Ren nodded in agreement. 'Well, they want the person eating the beef bowls.'
"Huh?" Akihiko looked at them in confusion and embarrassment. "I wonder what they wanted..."
'Man, I feel bad for the girls in his fan club,' Ren thought. 'They'll never get through to him the way they are now.' Ren glanced at Kotone, who shrugged. He looked at Akihiko and asked, "Senpai, aren't you in the least interested in a girlfriend?"
Akihiko looked back at Ren. "Now you're going to ask me about that, too?" he asked with a wry smile. "I don't want to deal with that kind of thing," he said before mumbling something. "I'm not strong enough to carry this entire burden."
"Senpai?" Kotone asked.
Akihiko caught himself and stopped. "Ah, it's alright, it's nothing to worry about. Anyway, how are your beef bowls looking like?"
From then, Kotone, Ren, and Akihiko spent the rest of their time in the shop with small talk. Ren thought Akihiko showed he cares for both him and Kotone.
Eventually, everyone finished their meal. Akihiko decided to split from Ren and Kotone afterwards, saying that he wanted to train more for the day and burn the calories. Meanwhile, Ren and Kotone opted to go back to the dorm for the rest of the afternoon.
"I definitely have to tell Fuuka I figured out her crush, right?" Ren asked on the way back.
Kotone nodded. "Of course, you have to, Ren. As easy as it was to figure out, she still wants to keep it a secret," Kotone said.
"I guess this is also why she started the Cooking Club?" Ren asked.
Kotone nodded again. "A bit. I won't deny that she wants to impress Akihiko-senpai, but she wants to get better at cooking for herself too. I won't say further than that."
"All the more reason for me to join her club then... I could also start asking for a second-hand when I make something in the dorm," Ren murmured.
Kotone frowned. "You're not going to ask me?" she asked. "I'm pretty good with sweets..."
Ren's eyes widened, but then his face relaxed into a smile. 'Whoops...' "Sorry, you didn't ask," he said. "Would you like to help me cook dinner?"
Kotone smiled beautifully and giggled. "Well, since you asked, of course I would!" Kotone exclaimed, but then looked at Ren with a confused look since he stopped and was silently staring at Kotone with a slightly shocked face. "Ren?"
'Huh...' "That was a..." Ren said before trailing off.
"Ren?" Kotone asked again. "Are you okay?"
'That was a good smile,' Ren thought. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just surprised, that's all."
Kotone raised an eyebrow. "Surprised? You? That's twice a day now. What surprised you this time?"
"Well," Ren began, "I didn't think that asking for your help would make you so happy."
"Eh?" Kotone froze as Ren drew closer.
"Looks like someone's excited to spend some time with me," Ren said with a smile. "Though, I do feel the same way too. I'm glad to have made a friend like you"
Kotone blushed. "Jeez... If you can say something like that, then you're fine. Plus, I'm always happy if someone wants to hang out with me."
"Kotone..." Ren said with a wry smile before sighing. "Well, alright."
Kotone looked at him with a confused look. "Okay...?" she said unsurely before shaking her head. "We're getting close to the dorms, so we should hurry it up."
"Sure, let's get going," Ren said. "It's just around the corner."
The two continued to walk towards the dorm in a sort-of awkward, but comfortable silence. Awkward because of what just happened, but comfortable that both seemed to be happy walking side-by-side.
'Dammit,' Ren thought. 'That was weird. Kotone's smile caught me off-guard. I was so used to her usual smiles, so when she smiled like that...' Ren sighed. 'Does being included make her that happy?'
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/22 - Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
"We're home!" Kotone announced as she entered the dorm, while Ren opened the door, still ever the gentleman. Inside the dorm, Kotone saw that Junpei and Fuuka sat by the lounge while Yukari and Mitsuru were nowhere to be found.
"S'up, you two!" Junpei said, and Ren entered right after Kotone. "Doing good?"
Kotone nodded. "Yup, Akihiko-senpai treated us to a beef bowl, so I feel pretty good!"
"Then may I take that as you being too full for dinner?" Ren asked with a grin.
Kotone stuck her tongue out at Ren. "Nope! I'm still hungry, so you better make food for me too!"
Ren chuckled while Junpei sighed with a smile. "Ever the glutton. I told you, Ren. She's bottomless," Junpei said.
"Prepare yourself, Junpei, I'll get back at you for that!" Kotone said as she took a stance against Junpei.
"Ren, they're just playing, right?" Fuuka asked, sighing in relief when Ren nodded.
"You got it, Fuuka, so don't worry. That's just how they are," Ren said.
Kotone heard footsteps coming from the staircase to her left. Mitsuru descended the stairs and approached the second-year students. "Shiomi-san, just like before, something is wrong with the equipment in the Command Room. May you check on them again? It shouldn't take long," she said when she reached the group.
Kotone nodded vigorously. "Sounds good!" She turned to Junpei, Fuuka, and Ren. "I'll see you guys later!"
"See ya!" Junpei said while Fuuka waved, and Ren nodded.
"I'll get started on making dinner then. Is there anything you guys want?" Ren asked.
"Surprise me; I'm down for anything." Kotone said, and she made her way to the Command Room. Behind her, she could hear Junpei, Fuuka, and Mitsuru giving Ren ideas for dinner.
'I wonder what I'll see today,' Kotone thought. 'Last time was the Chairman. It was painful to watch him make all those puns... I really hope it's not as bad as that. Still, who would use the Command Room? Only Ikutsuki-san ever does his reports here since everyone else does their own either in their rooms or at the computer by the lounge. Maybe Mitsuru does hers here? She seems to be the type.'
Finally, she arrived at the Command Room. She locked the doors, then approached the console. She fiddled with the controls to reach the recordings, just like last time.
"So... Three videos this time?" Kotone muttered. "The first one is..." She played the first video. "It's the Chairman, so I'm skipping that. I'll do the second one..." She played the second video and leaned back in a chair, ready for whatever may come.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Kotone nearly fell off her chair as she doubled over from laughing.
"Damn it, Junpei!" she said between fits of laughter while trying to get rid of the tears going down her face. "Is that what your room looks like? No wonder Mitsuru acted the way she did!" Chuckles escaped between wheezes as she tried to catch her breath. "Man, I feel bad for Kurosawa-san. He got called for something so useless!" She tried to stand, but her knees were weak from the laughter. She stayed on the chair to get the rest of the laughter out of her. Finally, it fizzled out, giving Kotone her first proper breath. She got up to change the recordings.
"That was way better than the first time. Still, it's worrying that it's recording our own rooms now. I know that Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai monitored me before I joined SEES, so there are cameras in the rooms... But if it's recording stuff like this, this has to be a privacy issue, right?" Kotone asked herself as she prepared the third recording before shrugging. "Meh, I'll talk to Mitsuru-senpai about it later. It's time for the next video!"
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/14/2009 00:17:38
Beginning playback
Ren stands up from his bed and approaches the window. He opens it and looks out.
"So, this is the situation, huh?" he says. "An extra hour in the day, a big moon, coffins on the streets, all the blood out there, and a tower protruding into the sky... And here I thought I'd seen everything." He sighs and scratches the back of his head. "No point in overthinking this; I've just got to play my part. Morgana would kill me if he learned that I'm awake this late while my first day of school is tomorrow.
"School, huh? I wonder how Gekkou High will compare to Shujin. Hopefully, it will be better. No one will torment me like back in Shujin," Ren says before sighing again. "I should go back to sleep. Doing some exercises should help tire me out."
Ren approaches his drawer, which is in the camera's direction, while taking off his black shirt. He stares at a clearly visible scar on his chest. He frowns as he scratches at it. "Damn it. After all this time, you're still causing me trouble." He sighs again and looks inside his drawer. "Hmm... Where are my workout clothes...?" he asks as he digs through his clothes. After a moment, he pulls out another black and red shirt, jogging pants, and a sweater. "This should be enough," he mutters as he puts on the new clothes. "I'll take a bath after."
The screen goes to black as Ren begins to exercise.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/22 - Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
"W-What...?" Kotone asked, still reeling from what she saw.
The collarbone.
The toned muscles.
The abs.
The scar across his chest.
Kotone blushed as images ran across her mind, replaying the video that she just saw. 'This is a serious violation of privacy!'
"At least everyone had clothes last time!" she shouted. She slumped down on her chair, but then straightened herself to catch her breath.
'Forget that video! I'm definitely talking to Mitsuru-senpai about this!'
Soon enough, Kotone dropped by the kitchen, her mission in the Command Room over. She spent dinner looking at everything but the one person who was on her mind.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/22 - Dark Hour - Port Island Station - Ren
'I really wish my outfit had air conditioning in it. It would seriously help with the heat.' Ren thought with a sigh. He was in his Phantom Thief outfit, overlooking Port Island Station, while Yatagarasu flew overhead. He had Yatagarasu flying around, doing most of the work, while he had slowed down. Yes, the midnight air had a certain coolness to it, it was still damned hot. It did not help that his clothes were thick and dark. It was absorbing all the heat it could around him.
'It's like a repeat with Futaba's Palace...' Ren grimaced as he tried to flap whatever he could to make wind around him. He could technically have Yatagarasu flap around him to create some wind, but he would lose the only functional eyes with range he had. He had Third Eye, but it was only effective around his immediate area. Unless he knew what he was looking for, he couldn't see far, since everything darkened in the distance.
Still, he can't let Yatagarasu do all the work. Sighing, he bounded to another rooftop as he searched for anything that moved. As always, there were no Shadows around.
'If something moves, it's most likely human,' Ren thought as he jumped onto another rooftop. 'Now, it's possible that there is a second group of Persona users running around. There is also Tattoo's group. While it could be that these two groups are one and the same, I should keep an open mind. Still, Tattoo is weird enough, so he's a start.'
Suddenly, a loud bang sounded throughout the station. However, the source of the sound was...
'It's coming from Red Hawk!' Ren dashed through the rooftops while he sent Yatagarasu ahead with a mental command. Soon enough, he reached Red Hawk's roof, where Yatagarasu perched. He peered over the edge and saw a man on the floor with two coffins around him. He checked his surroundings with his Third Eye to find the shooter, to no luck.
Ren dismissed Yatagarasu as he jumped down to the back alley and broke his fall by rolling. He took another look around him with his Third Eye. Now that he was closer, he could see the footsteps of a group of people approaching and leaving the area. With a way to track them down, he turned towards the victim.
While the victim was face-down, most likely trying to run away before he got shot, the victim was a man and he was certainly bleeding, seeing the pool of blood around him slowly getting bigger. The man was also gasping, most likely since the pain was too much. Ren saw the bullet wound on the person's back, but nowhere near anything vital.
'Doesn't look like it hit anything important. Did they want him to die from blood loss?'
He placed his hand on his face, feeling the domino mask burst into blue flames. He could feel Maria right behind him. "Salvation," he commanded.
Green light surrounded the man, and the wound began to close. Ren smiled as the man's breath stabilized.
Now, with the man healed, Ren turned around, activating Third Eye. He smirked as he saw that the track of footsteps was still there.
'Bingo.'
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/22 - Late Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
"Shiomi-san, you said you figured out what seemed to be the problem?" Mitsuru asked as she approached the consoles of the Command Room.
Kotone nodded. After the awkward dinner, Kotone set out to find Mitsuru. Thankfully, Mitsuru agreed to see what the problem was and check if there was something she could do.
"Yeah. It turns out it's recording when it's not told to," Kotone said. "Here are the videos so far." Kotone used the console to find the videos.
Mitsuru hummed. "I see. The videos weren't in the usual folder. No wonder I couldn't tell what was going on. How did you find them?"
Kotone shrugged while navigating the console. "I dunno. I was just pressing random folders back then."
"And what would you do if something went wrong?" Mitsuru asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kotone chuckled, embarrassingly. "Then I would have told you what was going on? I was just looking through folders. Anyway, this is it." She clicked on a folder and three videos popped up.
"Play them," Mitsuru commanded.
Kotone followed and clicked on Ikutsuki's video. She glanced at Mitsuru, who went through an array of emotions. From a serious face to a series of eye twitches, and finally a long sigh as the video ended.
"Next," she commanded again.
Junpei's video played and Kotone could see realization on Mitsuru's face in the first couple of seconds. "Never mind that. I know what it is. Play the last one."
'I can't play that video again!'
"What is it?" Mitsuru asked when she saw Kotone's hesitation.
"Um... Is it okay to skip it?" Kotone asked, as she glanced back. "It's really embarrassing."
Mitsuru sent her a questioning look. "Nothing could be more embarrassing than what just happened. Play it," she reiterated.
Kotone sighed and clicked on the last video. She tried to glance at Mitsuru's reaction, but she also couldn't stop herself from stealing a glance at the screen.
'Definitely not because I want to see it! I just want to see what Mitsuru-senpai is reacting to!'
Mitsuru's reaction went from a questioning look to a slow, embarrassing realization as the video kept playing. Kotone snuck another glance, and she saw Ren in the video again. When she looked at Mitsuru, her eyes were wide open while trying to say something, though nothing came out. Mitsuru jerked towards the console, and Kotone had to step back away from Mitsuru as she forcefully pressed a series of buttons, deleting the three videos.
'I guess she never really seen a guy like that, huh. But, then again, she's friends with Akihiko. I thought she would be more composed, at least. Maybe Ren really affected her?' she thought.
"We will not speak of this, do you understand?" Mitsuru asked, nearly shouting.
'There's no question in there!' Kotone thought. "Of course!" she said as she saluted. "Nothing to talk about when nothing happened at all!"
Mitsuru whipped her head around to Kotone, possibly trying to find any signs of Kotone lying. After a few seconds, she sighed in relief. "Good. I'll have the Chairman take a look at where the problem is. Thank you for finding this."
Kotone nodded, and both girls left the Command Room for the night, along with the secret that they both shared.
Unfortunately for Kotone, or perhaps fortunately, this won't be the last time.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Activities:
6/22 – Afternoon – Star 3
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Social Links:
Fool – SEES – 3
Magician – Junpei Iori – 6
Priestess – Fuuka Yamagishi – 1
Emperor – Student Council – 3
Hierophant – Old Couple – 8
Lovers – Yukari Takeba – 5
Chariot – Volleyball – 8
Hermit – Health Committee – 3
Hanged Man – Girl at the Shrine – 3
Death – Mysterious Boy – 1
Temperance – Transfer Student – 3
Devil – Businessman – 4
Star – Akihiko Sanada – 3
Fortitude – Ren Amamiya – 2
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Author's Note:
And finally, Strega makes their appearance. Or, rather, Joker was a bit too late with getting there. Still, that's one person saved, and he can finally start tracking them. And, Maria of the Faith Arcana makes her debut, her moveset will be down below. Yatagarasu won't have one since he isn't one of Ren's endgame Personas. You know how it is.
Unfortunately for Akihiko, Ren and Kotone can easily tease him for days. However, they did get something wrong about how he feels about them. He is no dad.
Aika of P4 also makes an appearance. By P4G, she is in Yu's class, so she's at the same age as Yukiko. Therefore, Aika must be in her last year in middle school, just like Yukiko. And yes, Ren is not infallible, and he can be surprised. He's human, after all.
And I hope that the little crushes that are starting between Ren and Kotone are reasonable and real. They are not into each other yet, but it's starting.
Kotone, more so, after that video. Mitsuru is also affected. Will there be more videos in the future? Not sure. At this point, the video has done it's part, which is putting a Ren video for Kotone to see. Interesting bit, Ikutsuki slips up about the Fall in his video. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before.
All that said, another 1.5-week chapter. I slowed down because FGO Lostbelt 4: Yugakshetra came out and I had a blast going through that. It was also high time to get back into it. I picked up my pace again, and it turned out Lostbelt 6.1 came out in JP, so I had to listen to every news about it.
I have also decided to try doing consistent 10k words per chapter in the future. Most likely not Ch12 since I've already planned it out, but the chapter never follows the author.
I'm also beginning to pick up the pace now that we've seen the SOL side of SEES. You can see that everyone is nice to each other and all, but it ain't perfect. I might skip a few days or even sections of Tartarus if nothing interesting happens.
That said, Tartarus. I won't make it 1 big trip per month. It'll be a consistent and short 1-hour visits almost every night, but Kotone still does her nightly activities, as per the guide I'm following. It doesn't feel realistic to me to the former.
If my Ans become long-winded, let me know. I like stories where ANs are filled with author's thoughts since it lets me get how they ended up writing the story. That said, I can always make it shorter.
Maria:
Holy Benevolence
Salvation
Holy Embrace
Holy Whisper
Spell Master
Insta-Heal
Firm Stance
Drain Phys