Wednesday, 14 September 20XX, Evening
Sakura household, Yongen-Jaya

The following evening, Futaba was home alone as per usual, once again hacking away at her visual-novel project, when, out of nowhere, she heard a familiar jingle. It was the level-up music from a classic role-playing video game, and it also happened to serve as her cellphone's incoming-text chime. With cat-like reflexes, she reached over and flicked her phone's screen to life.

ANN: hiya Futaba-chan

FUTABA: what's up

ANN: i was thinking we could go out to Maiko's studio and sign up for the class together

FUTABA: great! what time do you want me to meet you?

ANN: right now, silly

FUTABA: wut

ANN: im outside your house rn

FUTABA: oh crud, already?

FUTABA: i'll be right out

And so Futaba saved her work, shut down her computer, and hastily dashed out to the front hall, barely saving herself from tripping down the stairs. Once she laced her sneakers on and opened the front door, she was greeted by the sight of Ann, who had not changed out of her summer school uniform, alongside Sojiro. "Ann-chan!" she greeted her friend, hugging her in a great big glomp.

"Good to see you, Futaba!" Ann replied cheerily.

Glancing up at her adoptive father, Futaba asked, "Sojiro? What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd tag along, just to make sure this dance class is on the up-and-ups. Don't worry about Leblanc; I got Ren to cover for me."

"Are you sure that's okay?" asked Ann.

"I've taught him the ropes. And besides, if he was able to help you with your problems, Futaba, he must be a fine guy after all!"

Futaba blushed. The boy she knew as Joker had done so much for her, healing her darker desires and helping her get accustomed to the outside world once more. He was certainly one of the best friends she ever had in her entire life. Maybe she even had deeper feelings for him, but if she did, she didn't recognise them at the moment.

"Just let me lock up first." Which he did, walking inside to pick up a house key and locking the front door with it. Turning back to Ann, Sojiro asked, "So, where is this place?"

"It's not far from here. About five minutes on foot."

"Well, that's convenient," chimed in Futaba. "Allons-y!" Ann and Sojiro both stared at her in confused silence. "...I guess you're not much into British sci-fi," she sheepishly explained. "Anyway, let's just go!"

Yongen-Jaya Dance Studio

It took twice as long as it should have for the party to find their destination, as the warren of backstreets that was Yongen-Jaya proved too confusing for Ann to navigate from memory alone. But, a couple of checks of her phone's GPS map later, they found the place. The dance studio was part of a nondescript multi-storeyed building, with its name printed among a list of each floor's tenants posted at the front entrance. Each listing was indistinguishable from the others, and if it weren't for Futaba's keen observation skills, they would have missed it entirely.

Once satisfied that they had reached their destination, they entered the building and took an elevator to the fifth floor, where the studio was located. The hall they were let out into had three doors. The first, to their left, was a locker room, where several girls entered wearing their everyday clothes, and came out in leotards, tights, and other forms of activewear. These girls streamed out to the central door, which must have been the studio itself. Futaba guessed, correctly, that they had just walked into the start of a ballet class. Instead of following them, Ann led the Sakuras to the door on the right, beyond which lay an administration office.

The office was currently staffed by two women. The first was a dour-looking woman, with her reddish hair done up in a neat bun and a pair of narrow, cat's-eye-shaped glasses resting atop her nose. From the way she looked at the girls on her way out, she apparently did not have a good first impression of them.

"Don't worry about her," came a voice from the other adult in the room. "She doesn't think much of me or my class." She turned to face her new guests, only to do a double-take when she actually saw them. "Takamaki-san…?" There was no mistaking this woman's identity. She may have toned down the makeup and put on a smart-casual dress, but there was no mistaking the controlled-yet-fierce hair, nor her overall beauty.

It was Maiko, in the flesh.

She stood up and said to Ann, "Oh, it's good to see you again!"

"Same here, Maiko-sensei!" It took all of Ann's willpower not to rush over and give her a hug, so she settled with a slight bow. "Guys, this is Maiko…" She blanked out on her last name, unsure if she had even learned it in the first place.

"Kawabata. You can just call me Maiko if you like." Maiko returned the bow, and gave another one to both of the Sakuras.

"Cool! This is my friend, Futaba." Indicating Sojiro, she added, "And her…"

"Father", he filled in. "Name's Sakura. Sojiro Sakura. I saw you on TV not too long ago, on one of those morning talk shows."

"Oh yes, I remember doing that."

"I've got to say, I like the way you presented yourself and your craft."

"Thank you, that's very nice of you to say that!" Turning her attention to Ann, Maiko asked, "So Ann-chan, how have you been doing? It's been so long since the last time I saw you. Have you still been dancing?"

"No… I don't wanna talk about it. It's kinda… problematic."

"Hashtag problematic", added Futaba.

"Ah. Say no more," Maiko said. She didn't quite know what Ann was talking about, but she knew better than to press on.

"But," continued Ann, "I'm OK now, and my friend and I would like to sign up for your belly dance class!"

"That's right!" Futaba responded, nodding in consensus with her friend.

"Do you have any prior experience, Futaba-san?"

"Oh, yeah. I've been practising on my own for about a year now. It's helped me get through my own problems in life. Again, 'hashtag problematic'," she added with finger-quotes.

Sojiro giggled. "Is that what you kids say these days?"

"Pretty much." Focusing back on Maiko, she continued, "But yeah, I've taught myself to dance, and I even made up my own routine! Would you like to see it?"

"Oh, that's wonderful! But, it will have to wait. As you may have seen, the other ballet class just started, and we wouldn't want to intrude on them. Maybe you could stay over after your first lesson and show me then."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Not so fast, Futaba", Sojiro cut in. "Maiko-san, could you tell us what your classes are like?"

"Sure, Sojiro-san. The course meets on Wednesdays and Fridays at 19:00, and lasts an hour, give or take. We'll all start with some stretching, and then move onto drills for different moves. It will be a small class; there are slots for only six students, and as luck would have it, you two would have the last ones available."

"Wow, lucky us!" Ann beamed. She had often considered herself fortunate, from her natural good looks and high metabolism which had allowed her to model without too much effort, to the high luck stat of her Persona. Of course, this blessing wasn't true all the time, especially during the Kamoshida incident, but things had been especially favourable since then. If only she were old enough to play the lottery...

Maiko went on, "There's something else you should know. My students have the option of performing in a recital after the last class. I'll meet with each of you separately after each session, and we'll plan and practise a routine together. I've got plenty of music to choose from, unless you have your own. Of course, you'll need to practise it on your own time. But if you find the work to be too hard, I'll let you drop out of the recital, at no charge."

"What about costumes?" asked Sojiro.

"I have costumes you girls can borrow for the recital, or you can make your own. You'll have to show it to me first; we wouldn't want you to wear anything too revealing on stage!"

"And to me", Sojiro added. "What would you recommend for the lessons themselves?"

"Oh…" pondered Maiko. "Any workout clothes will do. Sweatpants or tights, and a sports bra or tank-top. You don't even have to show your midriff, although it might be a good idea, so you can see how well you're doing belly rolls and moves like that. The class is girls-only, so you don't have to worry about showing yourself off."

Sojiro sighed in relief. "That's a load off my mind."

"I've also got coin sashes you can wear. In addition to helping indicate how you're shaking your hips, they will also identify your rank compared to other students. I give out different colours for different skill levels, kind of like the belts they use in martial arts. It's not an official system, just something I came up with myself. Beginners start with blue, then white, purple, black, and finally, red… if you're able to take over my spot as teacher, that is," she added with a laugh.

"Sounds cool!" Ann responded. "I was just about to take Futaba-chan out to buy some clothes for her first lesson."

"So, I take it you're both ready to sign up?"

"Yup!" Futaba answered. "...If it's okay with you, Sojiro?"

"Seems like a fine establishment to me. Go ahead, Futaba."

"Then that's my final answer, Maiko-sensei!"

"Okay, I like your enthusiasm! Now, you'll have to pay up-front; it's ninety-eight hundred yen for each of you. Do you have the money now, or do you need to come back? I can hold your spots for you."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Futaba said as she reached into her pockets for her wallet.

But before she could pull out any money, Sojiro laid a hand on her shoulder and said, "I've got this, Futaba. You save your money for your new clothes."

"Really? Thank you, Sojiro!"

Sojiro produced a credit card from his own wallet, while Ann pulled out a card of her own. After their payments were processed, Maiko handed them a couple of forms to fill out. They wrote down their names and other demographic information, Sojiro signed to indicate parental approval on Futaba's form, and finally, indicated whether they intended to perform in the recital, to which both girls answered "yes".

When they handed the forms back, Maiko filed them away said, "And that takes care of everything. I look forward to seeing you on Friday!"

"Same to you!" chipped in Futaba.

"Pleasure meeting you, Maiko-san", added Sojiro. "And by the way, ever been to a place called Cafe Leblanc?"

"Hmm… Can't say I have."

"Well, I own the place. Got some great coffee and curry. It's right here in Yongen-Jaya, so maybe when you've got some time off-"

"C'mon, Sojiro!" Futaba playfully whined. She was equally antsy to leave and embarrassed over her adoptive father's attempts at flirting.

"I'll look you up and give you a visit some time," Maiko said to conclude the conversation. "And I'll see you two girls on Friday!"

"Can't wait!" Futaba said as she began to skip out the door.

"Looking forward to it!" chimed in Ann.

"Pleasure to meet you, Maiko-san!", added Sojiro, leaving with a bow. Maiko returned the bow, leaving her new guests to anticipate the time they would all spend together.