5/7

I sighed as the bell rang. I was still wiped out from our drawn-out battle against Alvaldi. Trudging out the gates, I saw Takata leaning expectantly against his usual bollard. Well, I guess hanging out with him for a bit might be fun.

"Yo!" He waved at me as I walked up.

"Hey!" I waved back.

We spent some time wandering around the neighborhood, chatting about anything from manga to food to girls, though that last part was mostly Takata talking. After a while, we came to a stop, settling in on a bench gazing out at the canal.

After a while of sitting there staring at our phones, Takata started the conversation back up again.

"Hey, remember what I was tellin' you about the day you got here?"

"Lecturing me about how everyone who goes to school is a terrible person?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Har har, very funny. You know what I mean. So, what do you think so far?" He chuckled.

"'Bout what?"

"'Bout my 'lecture,' you called it. 'M I right or what?" He leaned back. Truth be told, I barely remember a word of it…

"Uhh… I'd say you're probably pretty right. Everyone I've met so far is either pretty generic, weird, or conceited." I offered. I at least tried to give him an answer he'd like. And, while we're being honest, I still hadn't spoken to that many people yet. Fortunately, he seemed pleased with my answer.

"I know, right? You get it!" He laughed, a loud noise ringing through the open air. "Way I see it, people here are predictable. You got total weirdos with no social skills, rich assholes who throw yen around like it's trash, or stuck-up dicks who lord their talents over you whenever they can."

"Huh. How nice. And which one of those am I?" I asked, not entirely pleased by the implications of what he said.

"Eh? Oh, uh… None'a the above! There are people who aren't any of those. You, me, Yuzuriha-chan, Yasuhiro-san." He covered. I guess he caught my… displeasure.

"You just listed everyone you know who has a Persona." For that matter, he really just listed everyone I knew he talked to regularly.

"Heh, well… 'F I'm bein' honest, before we got Yasuhiro-san out of his room, I always thought he was just a shut-in like you see in anime and stuff. Yuzuriha-chan, well, she was always practicing. She was just kind of… distant. And when she talked to me, she was super direct. You know how she is."

"Yeah." I see. Well, there's his problem. But… that's not the kind of thing you just bring up to someone and expect it to be solved right then and there. Maybe I'll talk to him about it later.

We sat in silence for a while.

"Well, I've gotta go. See ya later!" Takata said. He sounded pretty cheerful considering the tense conversation we just had.

"Yeah, see you." I replied, and we parted ways. Well, I think I learned a bit more about Takata today.

I still had time left before nighttime, so I stopped by the arcade. I glanced around, looking specifically at the rhythm section, the bullet hells, and the fighting games. I cracked my knuckles and stretched briefly. Let's go.

I leaned against the support bar, panting. This damned groove game was still completely beyond me. On the bright side, I was able to follow the flow of gameplay a little more now. A few more rounds of practice and it may start coming naturally. I was still nowhere near able to hit the scores of the leaderboard, but I wasn't failing immediately either.

After catching my breath, I wandered over to the bullet hell game from last time. Sitting down with a malicious grin, I slid a coin into the machine.

I was fuming. Sure, I'd made it farther than last time, but only barely. I had decided to up the difficulty, like an idiot, so that may be why. I felt as if comically-large tears were streaming down my face in defeat. Curses, I'll be back!

Completing the usual rotation, I plopped down at the fighting game cabinets. I figured I should test out a different character from last time, so I clicked around the character select screen before deciding on Sig, a skinny grey-haired dude with glasses and power armor. He looked like he could move fast.

I got a few moments to test out some combos and specials before a challenger approached from the cabinet across from me.

After a tense battle, I leaned back in defeat. It was a close match, but the other player, going by "warden…" eh, something or other, managed to get the upper hand in a staggering display of skill. I put up a good fight, but I still had a ways to go, apparently.

Oh well. I still felt sharper than before. Somehow, I felt like this would help me out in all manner of other things.

Back in the dorms, I laid awake, remembering that I'd promised Edwin and Adelia that I'd show them around sometime. Maybe that'd be fun to do tomorrow.

5/8

"Misaki-kun!" The English teacher turned her attention to me, pushing her horn-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "The English word 'brag,' meaning to boast or talk oneself up, is derived from what language?"

"Uhh… old English?" How the hell was I supposed to know random etymology?

"Incorrect. It comes from Middle English. It's derived from the word 'braggen,' which itself potentially comes from a different Middle English 'brag,' which then comes from Celtic or perhaps Old Norse."

Interesting. And how exactly was I to know this?

Bullshit, I tell you. Bullshit.

I walked along the canal after school ended, fumbling with the key to the Velvet Room. The door was in the exact same place, across from an alley and overlooking the canal.

Inside, Edwin and Adelia were waiting patiently, as always, and looked towards me as I walked in.

"Mister Misaki! You're late!" Edwin scolded, stern as ever. I mean, I'm not, but alright.

"Now, now, brother. He's here, that's what matters." Adelia said, attempting to cover for me.

"Hmph! I hope this excursion is worth it. I'd prefer to not waste any time. What do you have planned for us, Mister Misaki?" He scoffed. Uhh…

I didn't have any kind of plan.

We stepped out into the real world, emerging from the side of a nearby building.

"What..?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Oh, that? Well, it would be strange to see a group of people emerge from thin air in broad daylight, would it not?" Adelia explained. "Therefore, we simply moved the door to a less worrying location for the time being. On that note, we ought to return here once finished with this outing."

"I see… How clever!" I mused. I braced myself for Edwin's incessant scolding, probably something like Hmph, it isn't simply clever, it is magnificent! Now lick my boots, mongrel!

Fortunately, he said nothing.

"So, wanna go get something to eat? Maybe we can talk more about stuff there. I know a good ramen place nearby."

"Raw… men?" Adelia tilted her head to the side.

"Ramen. Noodles and soup, not cannibalism." Though I could understand her confusion.

"Oh! Well, let us go!"

Admittedly, the ramen stall wasn't exactly the classiest place around, but then again, it probably represented average food better than some fancy restaurant.

I ordered three bowls and found a place to sit down. A few people around us stared at my companions. Well, I guess they weren't exactly normal-looking, what with Edwin's sharp suit and Adelia's fancy gown and all. And they were both pale and blonde. And had ethereal yellow eyes. Yeah, they were pretty weird-looking in comparison to everyone else in the place.

Upon the arrival of our meals, I got to watch Edwin furiously fiddle around with chopsticks for a satisfyingly long time. Oh, I knew I should help eventually, but it was still nice to see him so flustered.

"Here, like this." I tried to break down the process as simply as I could, and the two got the hang of it eventually.

We spent a few minutes going over stuff like etiquette and what was 'normal' here. I pulled up a map on my phone and showed it to them.

"So here's where we are right now," I said, zooming in on a map of the neighborhood. "Here's the city," zooming out a bit, "And here's the whole country," I said, zooming out further. As I told them about various cities and towns, they seemed particularly interested in hearing about Shibuya, an artificial port island to the southeast, and a small town called 'Inaba.' I told them what I knew, particularly about my early childhood in Tokyo.

Getting back to Akita, I pointed out a few places they might be curious about, like parks, lakes, downtown areas, et cetera. I'd have to look into some of them a bit more, but for now, I think I had put together enough of a plan for future outings.

For now, though, we decided to head downtown for a while, and my mind immediately jumped to the cat cafe.

Inside, the cats seemed strangely fascinated with the siblings, or rather, with Adelia. They flocked to her, and she responded in turn. Edwin and I were ignored, unloved, scorned, as Adelia was showered with soft fluffy love.

Eventually, a little gray kitten hopped up next to me and nuzzled my hand. I could feel Edwin staring at me. I reached over and patted him on the shoulder. He shot me a look that very clearly said Don't you dare pity me!

He continued staring until a blue-eyed ragdoll cat bumped into him and settled in on his lap. He then stared down at the cat until it was time to leave, a mix of sorrow, contempt, and joy spread across his face.

I walked the siblings back to the Velvet Room. They clearly enjoyed the outing, if Adelia nearly having to be dragged away from the cats was any indication. Even the hardassed Edwin seemed calmer than usual.

I dropped them off inside the ethereal blue room and returned to my dorm, content with my day. I felt a bit closer to those two.

A/N: Hello again! I'm back, after… what's it been, five weeks? Six? Something like that, anyway. Well, as you can see, this fic hasn't been cancelled in the slightest, just on a brief hiatus as I take some time away to recollect my thoughts and stuff. You know how it is sometimes.

Well, that's all for me!

Nines, out!