Round Two

by Rouge Ebony

Joker defeated the false god... but at what price? His friends lay dead around him as he pulled the Trigger to drive Yaldabaoth out of existence. But Fate is kind to the Trickster for once and grants him a Second try to make things right and save those closest to him. Will he succeed? what else has changed in this new game? Akira Kurusu x Harem. lots of genderbent characters.

8. Lamentations

Hello again everybody! Surprised to hear from me again? I know I am.

I… actually don't have much to say in advance this time. So, I am just gonna thank ChaosJeff here real quick again for working as my Beta reader for the chapter :)

Thanks!

Alright with that said let's get into the reviews from last chapter and into the chapter.

Thanos: (shrugs) what can I say, twins are balanced.

Krumpte: Okay does ANYBODY read the author notes I make? Because alongside with saying for the untempth time that Goro didn't kill anybody I answered this also before. This story will have relationships in between the Harem. It will be more Poly based than a simple harem story with relationships the girls have with more than just Akira. So, no Ann is not out of it just because she already is in a relationship. Polyamory ftw.

And chances are there could be a rivalry from Goro's perspective. She just… doesn't really know how relationships work so they might butt heads. Everyone will get along though at some point.

Guest 2: Thanks a lot! Happy to hear that :). I do like adding some details, it helps to make characters feel more alive and there will be more revealed as the story goes on. But I think you will be pretty surprised with the things in this chapter when you found the previous one already solidified the changes lol.

Guest: Thanks! Well here is the next one. But for the record Loki may not be that much of a good guy but he isn't bad and that will be more visible especially here.

PhantomDark: Thank you! I try my best. Futaba won't be little sister watching for now but the relationships will form from themselves soon enough. As or the Velvet Room it should be revealed next chapter but there will be a surprise with it this chapter :)

Guest: Not a Makoto fan huh :/

I mean come on no need to be so harsh.

I do get what you mean though. I like Makoto but before she joined the team she was… very annoying. She stalked you and blackmailed you and her awakening reason and reason to rebel was ultimately a lot less than anything the rest of the Thieves went through. She makes up for it once she joins but I do get not liking the character and I dare to say she is a bit overrated. I could go on but I think I made my point. I do would have liked if someone would have called her out more before she officially joined regarding her attitude towards the group. That last one also counts for Yusuke.

But there is no reason to be like that.

Makoto and Ryuko have…. Backstory. It will be revealed eventually some time.

Alright with everything said… I hope you enjoy!

---

"PLEASE! I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE MONEY!"

"I don't want your Money! Just tell me where you-"

"PLEASE KANESHIRO! HAVE MERCY!"

"For the last time, I am NOT with Kaneshiro! Just tell me-!"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Akira pinched the brink of his nose. How had he gotten here again?

Oh right… because of Akechi.

He would have probably gotten here sooner or later, even before the arriving deadline, though. But the brunette really sped up his thought process on accident.

All in all, the talk with Akechi had been surprisingly successful. They all made plans to meet up tomorrow after school and infiltrate the Castle of Lust together.

They had also told her about Kamoshida's panic attack, which led the Detective to immediately deduce it could have been because he attacked Shadow Kamoshida, looking somewhat shocked herself. Something that came to no surprise to Akira.

It did make him feel uncomfortable though, now that his high was gone, that he had almost accidentally caused a mental shutdown. Good thing Satanael held back as much as he did.

Afterwards they talked about a bunch of other stuff, including Personas. Ryuko seemed pretty interested in them, even wondering if she could get a Persona. A part of Akira really wanted to tell her that she would get a badass Pirate/Monkey King but… well good things are worth waiting for.

One thing of particular noteworthiness was revealed by Ryuko's ringtone of all things. Her mom had called to tell her she would be coming late and after finishing Goro had asked her about what her ringtone was. To no surprise it was one of Rise 'Risette' Kujikawa's songs from her 'Sapphire' Album. The blonde had been a huge Fan of Risette since basically forever. Ryuji and Ann would sometimes out of nowhere start singing her songs when they had long travels in Mementos with no interruption.

What took Akira by surprise however was the fact Goro had met the famous Idol a few weeks ago while waiting for an interview, something that had caused Ryuko to swoon and all but demand that she tell her all about it.

While the Detective indulged the blonde, telling her she already had a new Album planned, Akira only had one thing in his mind.

"She's alive?"

To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. From the last timeline he clearly remembered that Rise had…

She… committed suicide.

It had happened out of seemingly nowhere. The Idol hadn't even left a note or something like that. One day she simply… took her own life. It ended up being a very sore point for Ryuji, who became depressed when someone accidentally reminded him. 'Sapphire' was her last Album with its final song being about the hardships of standing on your own in a World that doesn't want those that think differently. Akira found this song to be a lot harsher in retrospect.

To think that the reset had somehow caused her to continue living... Akira couldn't help but feel happy. Maybe she wasn't even the only one that didn't end her own life in this new timeline?

Eventually they had to disband despite the overall comfortable atmosphere. The reason for their parting was a call Akechi had to take. As soon as she had finished she told them that she was needed by the higher ups alongside a prosecutor to help in regards to a Yakuza case.

This reminded Akira of a DIFFERENT certain Yakuza boss. One who saw all of Shibuya as his personal bank.

They said goodbye to one another soon after, all exchanging numbers with each other beforehand and Akira keeping his self-made promise and paying for their food to the two girls surprise. After some arguing he convinced them and soon they went their separate ways. Akechi went to Sae, Ryuko went home and himself…

Well… he went to a Palace he technically wasn't supposed to be in yet.

As soon as the Code Words 'Kaneshiro', 'All of Shibuya' and 'Bank' were inserted into the App he was transported into the Metaverse once more. And why? Well, when he had found himself thinking back to the Kaneshiro case something struck him.

The Cognitions of Kaneshiro's Palace were all ATM's, nothing TOO bizarre considering the other things he had seen in this dimension. However, it was the ones who were beaten, begging and pleading that struck a chord within the Trickster. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out these were the Cognitions of people who were in debt to the gluttonous pig.

Now he had not really the time to go after Kaneshiro just now, not when he was a target the Phantom Thieves had tackled together and Kamoshida and Madarame still running around, he wanted to let the timeline remain intact at least SOMEWHAT. But that didn't mean he couldn't do something to help the people who were suffering beneath Kaneshiro's heel.

It would be a shame if all the money he had were to go to waste.

So he had made the sudden decision to enter the Palace, to try and collect as much information as he could on the victims. It's not like Boss could be much angrier at him than he already would be and he had some time to kill anyway before reuniting with Morgana. Tomorrow he would than 'visit' the victims and leave them to find a letter filled with Cash. Enough to pay off their debts.

It was a good thing Kaneshiro was as obsessed with money making as he was. Otherwise his subconscious may have simply not bothered remembering the details regarding his victims like names, address, deadlines and amount of money they owned. It was really surprising just how detailed these Cognitions can be.

But actually getting them to spill it was proving to be…

"AAAAAAAAH!"

… challenging.

Akira rolled his eyes and prepared to play 'the Bad guy' once again. He was far from being happy to intimidate someone who was already trembling in fear, but if it meant he could 'withdraw' the info he needed out of these ATM's to help the real-life people, it was something he had to do.

"Listen up!" he shouted at the ATM, who cowered as he raised his voice, "You will tell me what I want to know, or do you want to have your daughter be taken!?"

"NO PLEASE!" the Cognition begged even more, steam coming out of him due to stress and panic, "DON'T HURT HER! LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE! DON'T TOUCH HER!"

Akira forced down the urge to dry heave out of disgust. Disturbingly that had worked on almost EVERYBODY. He didn't even want to know just how many girls Kaneshiro had forced into slavery, sold their bodies just to get money. He couldn't wait to send Satanael at him.

"In that case you better start talking! Names! Debt! Address! Deadline! NOW!"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!"

The Cognition had then proceeded to tell Akira the details, something Akira wrote down word for word on a site in the Velvet Book. The Thief took on a friendlier tone soon after, "Thank you for your cooperation. Your daughter is in good hands."

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"Oh crap!" Akira gulped, realizing his bad phrasing almost immediately, "Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" The Thief swiftly attempted to correct himself. Not that the Cognition cared, constantly chanting 'Don't hurt her' in a way that made it sound like praying done by a non-believer. Knowing it was futile.

He sighed before departing.

That was the last ATM he had found in Shibuya that was covering in fear, so likely the last person who owed Kaneshiro money… at least right now. Or maybe the most prominent ones?

"I better make sure to visit again in three weeks or so. Just to see if Kaneshiro has any new 'clients'. He did say 'usual month' when he told us about our 'debt' so that would still give me enough time."

Surprisingly enough none of the ATM's he had found so far were students of Shujin, so Kaneshiro had yet to set his sights on the school. Only a small comfort all things considered…

Sitting down on the road, letting the horde of bank machinery walk past, he took a last look at the Page titled 'Objective 7: Save Kaneshiro's Victims'.

On it were now 63 different entries. The nearest deadline was in a week, giving him enough time to visit everybody. Compared to the 3 million they ended up 'owing' him, he couldn't help but think Kaneshiro let them off 'easy'.

All together the ones Akira found today owed the Palace Ruler almost 1 Billion Yen. Some more, some less.

Akira wasn't quite sure how to feel about the fact that this was pocket money to him now.

A year ago he would have fainted at such a huge amount, hell at anything approaching the half billion mark. Now he could handwave it as easily as buying a chocolate bar.

"Satanael? Please shoot me if I ever become like one of these arrogant rich people."

Sadly, there was no reply.

It was… still weird just what was going on with his Personas. He knew they were there. He felt the familiar flame of Arsene, in his heart akin to a dark fire that swallowed light (fitting for Curse).

Next to it was… something he couldn't quite grasp but was sure was Satanael. It felt Chaotic and intense, but also far away. If he were to describe it, it was like catching a glimpse of the Armageddon.

But they were still just not responding! It was starting to make him seriously frustrated. He wasn't used to not talk with his Personas for so long. Even after mere days of awakening Arsene, the Trickster couldn't imagine life without him.

Did the awakening cause this somehow? He hoped Igor had answers for him.

Going back to the access point, a button press later he exited the Bank of Gluttony, arriving back in the alleyway he hid in to disappear unseen.

This was an exhausting day for Akira.

Granted he probably just added to his exhaustion by infiltrating another Palace but… well he couldn't just do nothing now that he already got an idea.

Though to his continued frustration he still had no idea how to help the people already working for Kaneshiro. Or how to help Futaba with her depression for that matter. He would think about that later. For now, he had at least one good thing to look forward too. A certain feline.

The bell jingled as he opened the door to the café, being greeted by the stern face of his guardian. "Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today."

The Fool rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, an awkward smile mirroring one of a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar. "You… don't happen to be a Cat person by any chance?"

"For the record I AM a Cat person but arriving on your first day HOURS late? Didn't I tell you not to cause any trouble? You have more important things to worry about than some street Cat."

"I beg to differ." "Especially considering that I care about that 'Street Cat' more than my own father. Not a high bar granted but still."

Sojiro send a half-hearted glare his way, clearly not amused. Akira sighed at these grey orbs, "Look I know I have more important things to worry about." "Not the ones you think of but definitely a bunch."

"I just… really like Cats?"

This wasn't even a lie. He really did like Cats a lot. In fact, he would often be compared to a Cat himself by people he interacted with frequently, back in his hometown AND Tokyo.

Sojiro sighed, at what he must have assumed to be pure stupidity. "I also heard you had some problem with a teacher?"

"What the-? Good god rumors are like a wildfire at that dump."

"Alright whatever you heard; I didn't mean to have the Volleyball coach get a breakdown. I was just standing there when he suddenly collapsed. Maybe he just had a burnout?"

It wasn't a lie. He really just stood there as Kamoshida broke down. He also didn't know that he could do that.

The barista shook his head absentminded, "A part of me figured that already. Still everybody seems to think you are to blame. God I am glad to be out of High school. I never liked how things could spiral out of control. Back in my days people thought I was a Werewolf."

"A… werewolf?"

"Don't ask."

He decided not to ask and just continue on a different topic, releasing an unnerved breath, "Well rumors of the past aside I assume your rumors didn't get already a head start into the insane by somebody leaking your record."

"W-What?" Sojiro exclaimed in what seemed to be genuine surprise. "They told me they would keep your record under wraps."

"Surprise! They didn't." the raven acted infuriated. He did not at ALL care anymore if his record was leaked or not, FAR more important things took forefront in his life. Still it was not something Sojiro needed to know right now. "And now I am already back too being treated like criminal trash."

Sojiro seemed to feel pity for him, his voice taking on a much softer tone, "I'm sorry to hear that. Look just behave yourself. The rumors will die down as soon as the next big thing happens and you can't just allow yourself to get worked up over this. Your life is forfeit if anything happens. You understand the meaning of probation, right?"

"I do." "I just couldn't care less. It's not even in the top 50 of things I worry about currently."

"Sheesh." Sojiro complained, he looked like he was about to go on when his phone ringed. Immediately it became his priority, like anything related to Futaba normally would. "Hey what's up? …Yeah, I just closed up shop. I'll be there in half an hour. I had to wait for someone to arrive first before I close."

The barista sent another frown his way, "Speaking of, I don't want to always wait for you to arrive."

"If you would get me a key you wont even have to wait for me?"

Sojiro looked like he was about to give an elaborated list of why this was a terrible idea, but found himself considering the possibilities, from the looks of it clearly thinking about it.

"I'll think about it. Now hurry on up to bed and don't forget to turn the lights of and close shop." He confirmed Akira's assumption, before returning to his call. "… No I just hired a part-timer."

This bugged Akira a lot more then it probably should. The fact that Sojiro just wouldn't tell him about the mere existence of Futaba was… disheartening to say the least. He had grown to the young Thief as a father figure. Within his circle of fellow Thieves he even gained the affectionate nickname 'Coffee Dad'. It had gotten to a point where he thought about asking Sojiro to stay in Leblanc after his probation was over, feeling more at home in Tokyo then he ever did in 'Paradaisu Rosuto'.

As they say the home is where the heart is. And the people he'd met in this City had stolen his.

And he would raise hell on earth for every one of them. He wouldn't fail and lose anybody again.

Sojiro left soon after and Akira did as he told, closing the shop, turning of the lights and walking up the stairs to his attic room. Sitting down on his bed, the Trickster awaited Morgana's arrival. Where was he? Akira had to admit it was making him uneasy being away from him this long. He had become so accustomed to Morgana's company over the previous year, often taking to petting him just because, especially when he was stressed.

…

Oh look. He was petting his bed.

Akira looked at his right hand, that had clutched the sheets, watching the limb as it grasp turned from affectionate to nervous clinging. Where was Morgana?

Did… did the Cat Killer get him!? Akira would destroy him. He would tear him apart and-.

No. Calm down. He was overthinking this. Morgana wasn't in danger, he was just taking some more time. He was just on edge, stressed out and clearly paranoid.

He… really didn't like being away from Morgana.

---

"SAMARECARM!" Akira screamed his throat raw.

"Trickster."

"Yes Lavenza?"

"Before you depart to face Yaldabaoth, there is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"Yaldabaoth wasn't wrong when he said those forgotten by the Public can't exist anywhere. None of you are supposed to be alive."

"Yeah I figured as much already."

"Perhaps but… do you know how the Recarm spells function?"

"Not really. How?"

"SAMARECARM!" Tears welled up in his eyes, cascading down his face.

"The resurrection spells work by connecting to your soul. They reach out as long as it hasn't passed on to the afterlife. But there is a catch to this procedure. There needs to be a body they can return to. When the false god fused the Worlds and you all were erased this destroyed your bodies, you could get them back should the worlds be split once more… though for now… you and your teammates are only wandering souls… staying in this World through force of will alone."

"Are… are you saying?"

"Yes… if one of you were to fall…"

"SAMARECARM!"

"It will be final."

Akira cradled Morgana in his arms. This wasn't supposed to happen. They almost never needed the Recarm spells. They were a useful insurance at WORST! How could they fail them now?!

He knew of Lavenza's warning. He warned his friends too. They all knew… but he had to try. He couldn't let this be the end.

Morgana couldn't have died for him.

The gigantic wave of energy, 'Rays of Control' Futaba called them, knocked them all of their feet. It was too much for them to handle and they were to slow in taking down the arms. The attack was unleashed anyway and they were all collapsing. Yaldabaoth had used that opening to send all his Wrath directly to Akira.

"Oh no!" Were Morgana's last words.

It was him who was supposed to be hit by the Lightning.

Morgana had pushed him away, the Wrath of the false god crashing down upon what remained of humanities hope. The last thing he saw in these clear blue eyes was acceptance of this fate, being glad that this was how he died, being his salvation.

Now… what remained of his burned flesh was in Akira's arms. The green sparks of healing energy fruitlessly fading away upon contact.

"Sama…. recarm… please." He pleaded with his Persona. Ishtar, goddess of love fertility and war, only shook her head with a look of sadness, "I am sorry. I can't bring him back."

None of them wanted to believe it, sitting around their fallen friend, their mentor in this journey.

"No…" One of them whispered. Akira couldn't hear it through his one sobs into the fur.

Above them… Yaldabaoth had stopped his assault, not to give them time to mourn… but to cherish the sight.

Ryuji, the one who's relationship with Morgana was the most complicated, was the first of them to snap out of their trance, pure rage in his voice covering his own sadness. "YOU KILLED MONA YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"He brought this fate upon himself. Those who do not bow to their God, are undeserving of my Mercy."

Ryuji let his own Wrath rain down, in a shower of Meteors of Agnyestra.

Bloody murder consumed him. Akira summoned Futsunushi to his side, his swords dancing around them, soon joining the Meteors in the assault.

Akira should have died.

Morgana gave his life so he could fight on.

He would be damned if he would let that be for nothing.

---

Akira furiously pulled at his hair, trying to tear the memory out of his mind.

"Don't think about that now!" he cursed, "He is ALIVE! He will sit next to you any second!"

He REALLY needed to get a hold of this. He even briefly lost his mask against Goro and Ryuko!

Silver orbs looked around the room. He needed something to do, keep his mind of things until Morgana would walk up to him. Let see what was here? The Rise poster, the statue of the Museum…

Ah there it was. His trusty plant, standing there in all its glory.

He smiled at the potted green, before taking some leftover nutrients out of the brown box (looking like a move box to fit in with his other things) Lavenza gave him. Approaching the plant, he kneeled down to feed it. "Hey Gaia."

The plant known as 'Gaia' looked a lot healthier than the last time Akira found her in this room, even the same as before Christmas. Who knows, maybe she somehow travelled with him too?

Either way, it did wonders for Akira's mood. He felt connected of sorts with her after taking care of her for so long. They had questioned just why on earth he named her after the Earth goddess born from primordial Chaos, but he just… did. He had no reason aside it sounding like a good name for a plant. It also seemed somewhat funny to him in hindsight given his own Chaos.

Spraying some of the nutrients on her, he let his mind wander at ease. It always did wonders for him to work around plants, a reason why the flower shop was one of his favorite jobs.

"You and that plant." A voice sounding like a youngish boy chuckled behind him.

Akira snapped his head back, with so much speed it was a miracle he didn't receive a backlash.

And there he was, his feline companion, alive in all his glory. The smile he had on his face was mirrored by Akira.

No blood was knotted in this ebony black fur. No life left from these bright blue orbs. No heartbeat faded like a leaf in the wind.

Akira found himself overwhelmed. He tried but couldn't find words… ANY words to describe how it felt seeing Mona back at his side. It could perhaps count as the equivalent of finally getting to breath after being dragged underwater? "What should I say… I have a soft spot for them."

Morgana showed his teeth in the smile now, "Yeah. You always loved working at the Flower shop or with Haru on the roof."

Hearing these past events, these memories out of someone else's mouth… it was indescribably relieving.

"And you would always sit among the rain flowers or the yellow tulips."

It seemed to be the same for Morgana, hearing recollections of the past year from him.

Distantly in his mind, Akira remembered the meaning of the two flowers. Yellow tulips were a symbol of hope. Meanwhile the rain flowers meaning, among other things, was 'I will never forget you'.

Both of them had enough of words for now though.

He stretched out his arms, awaiting Morgana who with no hesitation jumped into his chest. The two reunited friends hugged, relieved to have found each other again, in spite of fate, time and false gods.

"I thought I lost you." Akira admitted, overjoyed to be proven wrong. Finally, able to show his true emotions at this series of rebirths.

"Merry Christmas Joker." The Cat told him in their embrace.

Akira let his tears fall freely, just as Morgana did.

---

It was kind of funny what one day could turn into.

This very morning, Ann Takamaki, aspiring model and student of Shujin had to deal with the advances of the same men who had preyed on her, her friends and who knows how many students at school, once again. Had to deal with the knowledge of being inches away from the perverted bastard, of what he could think about doing to her within the range of his arms. While she did not blame Ryuko for this situation, it was still… unsettling to say the least.

Now, not only had Kamoshida all of a sudden suffered an utter breakdown, but she also managed to completely score the modelling shot she had for today and was currently sitting in the Ferris wheel, overlooking the beautiful Tokyo skyline with her girlfriend Shiho Suzui.

"Say Ah!" Shiho playfully commanded Ann, holding a small piece of milk chocolate in her hands. The cocoa treat was only waiting to be eaten by the blonde. Ann happily obliged to the request of her girlfriend.

"Ah!" she opened her mouth, letting the sweet melt on her tongue as it was placed on it, savoring the taste.

The day, while starting bad, had become almost perfect near the end. Here she was, far away from judging eyes, able to just be the like one of the lovestruck schoolgirl you would see in romance anime, cuddling with the girl as the sun set to slowly give way to the moon.

Another reason why the Ferris wheel was one of their favorite places to spend time on. It may be the 21th century but it was still not uncommon for two girls who were in a relationship to be harassed for being so. Relationships between girls in Japan were often seen as some sort of childish game they would eventually grow out of. As such they had made sure to not let everyone know about it.

The only people who were in on their secret are, Ryuko, the Mishima Twins and their parents who fortunately were much more accepting then other members of society.

Unfortunately, however there was… one more person that knew about it. The one person who should have NEVER found out something like that.

Ann sometimes wondered if that was part of the reason why Kamoshida always seemed to prefer preying on them above other girls. If he got some sort of extra pleasure from harassing them. All she knew for sure was that he always looked at them as a prize, and one day told her he knew about them. How he had found out she doesn't know to this day.

But this was not the right time to let her thoughts be polluted by that man. Right now, all she could care about was the sweet smell of Shiho's shampoo as it filled her nose.

"Uuuuuuuh… strawberries." She thought absentmindedly, hugging the girl close, reaching down to take one piece of chocolate herself and returning the favor to Shiho.

Shiho smiled as she ate the last piece of the treat and nuzzled her head against Ann's shoulder. "I missed this." She almost sang, "It's been forever since we got to spend time alone."

"Four days and 16 hours… not that I'm counting or anything."

Shiho chuckled at that and it made Ann swoon. How could this girl be so gosh dang cute?

The Ferris wheel came to a stop at its highest peak, giving the two girls a view over the city as it was bathed in the light of the fading sun. Though, the young couple was far to occupied with themselves to truly appreciate it.

But while the moment was sweeter than the treats they just ate, Ann could feel how Shiho's body was stiff in her arms. Something that she knew was a sign of discomfort. Not one to ignore something like that, Ann asked upfront. "Is something wrong?"

The volleyball player hesitated before answering. "Have… you heard about what happened to Kamoshida?"

Ann sighed. Of course. They had to talk about it sooner or later. Why was it so hard to cast him out of their minds? It was as if he had a permanent residence there. "I heard about it. What's with it?"

"It's just… was he really freaking out? I can't imagine how this must have looked like."

Ann could agree with that sentiment. She had been trying to imagine it the entire last lesson. Someone tormenting you in a position where he never had anything but power over you, anything approaching the opposite seemed surreal. "Me neither. But it must have happened. Ryuko saw it herself."

"And was it really because of the new student?"

The foreign girl bit her lip, unsure if there was an answer. "Ryuko says it was a coincidence… but then again, I am not sure if I can believe her on this."

"You met him this morning, didn't you? How was he?"

"Like you said." Ann admitted to Shiho. "Nothing like the rumors, hell he wanted to stop me from going with Kamoshida."

A smile shone her way, "I knew it. Rumors go out of hand at this dump way to easy. I just hope he doesn't let this affect him too much."

Placing a kiss on Shiho's forehead, Ann sighed, "You worry way too much about others you know that?"

"Be lucky I do. Otherwise you wouldn't even know me."

"Was my bad art THAT worrying for you?"

"I considered calling an emergency."

The two had a laugh, reminiscing about that incident. Ever since, they had been inseparable. Going from friends to best friends to nowadays lovers.

They had a pretty tight knit circle. There was them, Ryuko, through Ryuko Makoto and at some point, through Shiho the twins.

Then… it all went to hell.

And Ann wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

Ann wasn't a religious person by any means. But lately she found herself praying, to whatever entity was willing to listen. She prayed that someone…. ANYONE would finally do something against Suguru Kamoshida. She did so last night again.

And this morning she had meet Akira.

And after finding out about what Kamoshida reaction was to meeting him again… Ann was full with questions. Questions she herself didn't even know.

It just couldn't be some coincidence. How could it be? She just KNEW that Akira had something to do with it but she had no idea how he did it. How did this… one new student reduce Kamoshida to-?

"Now you are tensing up." Shiho pulled her out from the daze, her hand caressing golden locks. Ann shook herself. "Sorry. I've been thinking about this whole thing myself. My mind is all over the place. I don't know what to make of all this honestly."

Shiho looked at her, seemingly sharing her emotions on that matter. "How about we just talk with him tomorrow? It may not lead anywhere but it may give us something. If he did it, I owe him a thanks. If he didn't, well it would still do him good to meet some people at the school who aren't treating him like a criminal."

"Sounds good." Ann agreed, having had something similar in mind, "But… we might wanna hurry before Daiji gets too him."

Shiho frowned at the mention of her teammate in annoyance. Understandable for the blonde.

Daiji Hideki was one of the best Volleyball players in the Team, if not the best. He all but WORSHIPPED Kamoshida and more often than not she was reminded of Kamoshida in things Daiji did. In short, he was a perverted bully with enough charm to hide it. His favorite targets were the twins undoubtedly but there were very little students he wouldn't harass. Kamoshida seemed to have a liking of sorts towards him since he was hit the least by the abuse and he sometimes made up excuses for him. Maybe he too saw the similarity. Scumbags like to stick together.

There was little doubt that Daiji was going to flip. She had caught a glimpse of him and his friends after school ended, all furiously searching for Akira. After he had tried to help her (and maybe actually done something to Kamoshida), the least they could do was to warn him.

But having all of this on her mind took its toll on her. "Can we please change the topic? I don't like talking about this."

It was getting increasingly more and more awkward and uncomfortable. As did anything somewhat remotely regarding Kamoshida, even if it concerned his breakdown.

Thankfully the girl nodded, "Sure. I know just what to change the topic too as well." A smirk came over her face at the last part of her reply.

Curiosity picked, Ann was about to ask, only for her mind to make a fairly good idea already. Wanting to be certain however she still asked. "What too?"

With the swiftness of an athlete Shiho suddenly threw herself on Ann's lap, straddling her hips and pressing her lips on her own. Ann smiled a little inside, grabbing Shiho by the hip and pulling her closer, not wanting to separate anytime. Closing her eyes, her lips parted a little, enough for Shiho.

This was how she wanted their Highschool to be. Not worrying about anything. With this amazing girl in her lap, tongues touching, she could just drown everything else out. Nothing mattered except the now.

Now if only she wouldn't have to be careful with her bruises. She had spent a lot of time trying to kiss that pain away.

"Thank you for enjoying our Ferris wheel experience. The gondola will arrive at the platform shortly."

The announcement made Shiho pull back with annoyance, pulling them out of the small dream, to both girls' dismay.

"It's over already?" the volleyball player exclaimed. The ride was always over so quickly and because her parents wanted to have a Family dinner tonight, they wouldn't be able to continue till next time.

The blonde sighed in denial, as Shiho left her lap and they took the time to wipe any traces of their activities away.

"I didn't see any scenery." Ann remarked, before smiling at the girl next to her, the light falling through the glass… making her appear angelic.

"Beautiful." Ann thought, letting her heart speak for her.

"… All I saw was you."

Shiho looked at her, cheeks lighting up with a luminescent blush, before falling into an almost mad but adorable giggle. "My god… hahaha… how can you say something like that with a straight face?"

The couple exited the gondola in smiles and laughs, even though they had to wear their masks again.

---

The water was hot against Ryuko's skin, almost boiling. It was a good thing her mom came back late today, she… needed some time alone.

The sponge in her hand was remarkably soft, supposed to be for comfort probably. Not to be used in the rough way she utilized it. She scrubbed wildly, as if trying to get rid of an invisible stain that just wouldn't get away.

"Ryuko-chan." A voice she hated more than anyone else mocked in her head.

She HATED being called that. It made her feel small. And out of his mouth, with this look in his eyes, it was like she was being seen as some helpless pet!

He saw her as HIS helpless pet!

"I expected some Thief but instead I got a cheap whore."

"I am not a whore. You only made everyone believe I was." she snapped back at the voice in her head. She should have said that in the Cell, not just glare at him in hopes of that making him back of.

She scrubbed harder, abusing her sore skin. But she still didn't feel clean. Every minute around Kamoshida was to her like bathing in an ocean of shit.

"Heh. Really Ryuko? The new delinquent?"

"He is more of a man than you ever were."

"Chain her up. Spread her legs."

Her legs closed upon instinct, arms crossing over her breast again.

"You were always powerless against me."

This bastard.

"Morning Ryuko-chan. Ready for practice?"

She sat down on the bathtub, knees to her chest, arms hugging her legs.

"This just won't do Ryuko-chan. You are falling behind. Maybe I could give you some private coaching."

How dare he?

"You can't keep snapping back at me Ryuko-chan. What would your father think? I can hardly blame him if you kept snapping at him too."

"Ryuko! Come down here! RYUKO! I SAID GET DOWN HERE YOU BRAT! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

Angry tears mixed with shower water.

She remembered being pressed against the wall. Letting Kamoshida… have his fun. Before what little resistance she had sparked up and made her bolt out of his room.

Her leg hurt like hell, painfully pulsating.

She hated him.

"Hey. Is it true she did Enjo Kosai?"

"Yes, it is! I heard Mister Kamoshida wanted to talk her out of it."

She wanted him to suffer.

"So, she is really a whore huh? Spends all her time in the red-light district."

"How much do you think she costs?"

"Hey bitch! Wanna get some quick cash? Bwahaha!"

He ruined her life.

"Ryuko… I want to talk with you."

"Leave me alone Makoto!"

She was angry, her body shaking violently.

She slammed her sore fists on the porcelain of the bathtub. One time, two times, three times… It was a wonder the tub was still in one piece.

"No please! FORGIVE ME!"

That memory… soothed her nerves immensely.

She never thought that could happen. Kamoshida… KAMOSHIDA… of all people showing fear. Showing this pure, unadulterated terror.

Akira caused that. She became a bit calmer again thinking about him. He hadn't just saved her but he was still willing to help her. For the first time in a while she had found someone else who was willing to stay at her side and the thought comforted her in a way nothing before managed to.

Sure, there were others but they were victims themselves.

Akira however was no victim.

With Satanael and that Arsene, he seemed unstoppable.

What were they called again? Persona?

She wanted one.

She NEEDED one.

She was done feeling so helpless. She never could do ANYTHING against Kamoshida. When she tried she only lost more. And today…

She had to get a Persona. Akira and the Detective were helping her tomorrow to try and do something to take him down. Ryuko didn't want to have them do everything in their counterattack. She wanted to help. She wanted revenge. She wanted to make him pay. For that she needed Persona.

How could she get one? Akira had gotten his just by being… angry? If anger was the key, she wouldn't have a problem with taking her anger and shoving it all down Kamoshida's throat. It might hurt like hell if the aftermath was anything to go by, but it would be well worth it.

Thinking about it was weird. Everything that happened today was weird. But… it was also fascinating. She felt… something inside her trying to BURST OUT. Was it because she was so angry? It felt like a flash of lightning constantly hitting the same spot. Kamoshida was the spot.

Lightning always had an effect on her. She loved looking at one in a Thunderstorm. How it would briefly brighten up the world. It had been storming when she finally managed to get her father… no she wouldn't call him that… Sperm donor out of her life.

Some people used to tell her she ran like the wind, but Ryuko wanted to run like lightning.

She could picture it…. Herself surrounded by lightning as Kamoshida looked at her in terror. Behind her was her Persona, whatever it would end up being. To her right was Akira, Satanael and Arsene next to him ready to strike. And to her left where the Detective and the Cat. Kamoshida begged for forgiveness and the vision was… beyond satisfying.

Her breathing calmed again, but her desire was not fading. Though she did manage to finally turn the shower of. Not caring at all about the whole bathroom being full with steam she took her towel and dried herself…

She would get a Persona.

And Kamoshida would regret the day he met her.

She felt like a lunatic thinking about all of this.

But how much could it hurt her with a 'Demon' backing her up?

---

Hatred was a familiar emotion for Goro Akechi. It was the thing that had enveloped her mind since days of her early childhood. It felt cold, rough, infuriating. An overall looked down on emotion.

But what many don't like to admit is… hatred focuses your mind.

By having something to hate, you have a target, something to direct all your efforts upon. A target to finally unleash all this pent-up hate upon and which you look forward to seeing when their life crumbles around them.

Yes, hatred was truly a powerful emotion. Which is why she sometimes went to her most hated place when she was troubled. Some may call that unhealthy (even if pretty much nothing in her life was remotely healthy) but it wasn't like she had a happy place. So, she would do with a hatred place. A place she went to right after Sae had let her go.

And her hatred place was this rotten ship.

She lay on the bed of her cabin inside the fabled 'Ark'. Dear Lord how big her father's ego had to be to make this. Seeing himself as the ruler of the Diet Building was one thing but to see his Palace as the ship that sailed the pure through the end of the World, while the sinners drowned beneath them?

An utter paradox given how the people on this ship were without exception all deranged, loathsome or just despicable. The things she had learned of these Cognitions (or Shadow's? or both? It was hard to tell) alone were enough to make even the most hardened of Policemen sick. There was NO CRIME taboo here. Anything was allowed as long as you don't end up hurting one of your fellow 'Blessed' or act against one of Shido's wishes.

And whatever they wanted their 'gracious' Captain provided for them. There were hallucinogens, prostitutes, or just a human body in whatever way you need to use them. In all shapes and colors. Akechi speculated that these must be her father's Cognition's of people who weren't as lucky as the ones he used constantly. They were without exception all desperate to remain on the Ark, by ANY means, even if it means being playthings of the Elite just waiting to be disposed. The masses were nothing but tools for him.

The worst of humanity was assembled on an Ark, to 'sail towards a happy future together'.

All with Masayoshi Shido as their Captain.

Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if she were to find the fuel room and just lay eyes upon a sea of corpses from the truly innocent or just masses that none of them bothered to care for.

Disgusted? Definitely. Surprised? Not in the slightest.

She often had to remind herself that she wasn't on this ship to be one of them. She wanted to see it sink, have all of them drown and descend into the depths of the sunken Tokyo.

At the same time, she had worked incredibly hard to get a Place on this Ark of Sin. Becoming one of Shido's most useful collaborators.

However, Akechi had also worked tirelessly to somehow go through this place. To no success. The Shadows were all far too strong for her. On a good day she could beat one without being on the verge of death afterwards, maybe two if she was extremely lucky. What little progress she made would be reset the next day.

An approach based on stealth wasn't that successful either. The dogs knew her scent by now and the guards seemed to sense her every movement.

But whatever approach she chose the by far most frustrating thing was when she would randomly be turned into a Mouse! A MOUSE! It should go without saying that being transformed against her will into a mouse was VERY infuriating.

The only thing she had accomplished was getting an overall feel for the Palace and have a good grasp on its layout, though she never succeeded in getting a letter of introduction.

Letters were a whole different subject of hatred for her. Some unimportant nobleman, clinging to his nonsense of blue blood had a letter and SHE didn't!?

This cabin was her biggest achievement in all her time of exploring this cruiser. She had climbed from the outside into an open window were the Cognition of a CEO's son had demanded to not be interrupted, while a foreign cleaning maid was in his room, who he had demanded to be.

One slaughter later, he was thrown overboard and the whimpering maid let out. He was also one of the first she had invaded the Palace of. Nowadays his psyche was shattered and he would constantly mumble about 'having to be a nice boy' while he rotted in his Prison Cell. A proof she showed Shido of her abilities.

It was a cozy room all things considered. Say what you will about Shido but the man knew how to design a living space.

On one end of the room was a King-sized bed, with direct view to a gigantic Flat screen TV. Adorning the walls were High quality pieces of Art, many she recognized being from the famous Madarame (only the best for the Ark). The floor was cushioned with fluffy red carpet. There was also a Minibar, a worktable, a dresser to walk in, a balcony and in the room next to the bedroom a bathroom, with an additional room for a whirlpool. It was more of a fancy apartment then a cabin really. She had repurposed this cabin as a sort of makeshift second Hideout. The drawers held some of her materials and equipment and one in particular had a bunch of flash drives full with dirt she had on Shido and his associates. Just to make sure his legacy would be truly destroyed. It seemed ironic to her that she kept it inside his Palace of all people, a Place no one could ever find it.

The reason this place hadn't already been infested with Shadows again was because one, there was no one who needed it anymore with the CEO son out of the picture and two, her two guard dogs. They technically fulfilled the requirement the Palace had for Shadows guarding a place so nobody bothered to check.

Loki had a special ability called 'Call of Chaos'. With it she could control, corrupt or manipulate a defeated enemy. It was what she had used for Psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns.

Psychotic breakdowns were easily done. She simple had to use Call of Chaos and their real self if given time, would go mad and soon get themselves arrested. Mental shutdowns were more complicated to do. She had to use Call of Chaos in a far more careful manner. By doing that she could implant commands for them to do in the real world and the pressure could led to a decrease in health and black shadow liquid pouring out of them. Still not lethal though.

There was a second type of mental shutdown Loki told her about and that was done by killing the Shadow of a Person. Not that she ever tried it.

Call of Chaos still had its flaws though. Well less flaws then conditions for the attack to work. The enemy had to either be on the brink of dead or be a lot weaker than her. If one was willingly accepting the Call, as she had done a few times against very strong shadows, it was also possible and could give them a powerboost.

It basically never worked on any of the Shadows in the Ark, except for these two.

Lying on the ground, next to the bed she lay on, was Cerberus the guard dog of Hades in Greek mythology. His white mane looked surprisingly fluffy and she sometimes had to supress the urge to pet him. Standing guard on the door was the 'hound of Chulainn' Cu Chulainn, famous for his warp spasms that made even his allies stay out of his way in battle. Both of them were unmoving, like statues unless spoken too.

They were the only ones she managed to do this trick on. Sadly they were also the weakest among their kind represented in this ship. That was also why she didn't decide to use them in one of her attempts to move onward. Even with the Powerboost she could give them it wouldn't be enough in the long run. She rather had one area save for herself then losing her guards only to gain nothing. She also was incapable of getting them out of this Palace.

Akechi had trained this little trick in Mementos too. She got a good hang on it by now and a few puppets stationed there like an Angel that always hid somewhere in the subway. It was a good way to get some quick healing when she was there. However occasionally they would be near unfindable in Mementos labyrinth like tunnels. On some occasions they were even torn apart by the Reaper, maybe because he could sense something was different with them?

And no she never attempted to control the Reaper.

The idea was… intriguing however. Maybe she would try it someday.

Loki had told her after his awakening that he could feel the Power of the Wildcard inside her, the ability to wield more then one Persona. However when she tried to use Call of Chaos to have them 'enter' her, they only grew more docile. She never managed to get a second Persona… until Robin Hood came through Akira.

Which eventually led her full circle to her current dilemma.

"Loki?" she asked the Persona hovering above her. The trickster God seemingly had anticipated for her to finally say something.

"Yeah?"

"Am I a dumbass?"

"Oh definitely."

She gave him a small glare, slightly offended, even if she couldn't actually fight that statement. Loki only raised his hands in defense. "Hey was I supposed to lie? I am a Trickster but I am gonna speak my mind when I believe you did something stupid."

Akechi sighed in recognition. Of course she knew she did something stupid, it still wasn't nice hearing it. She had hoped for… well for something else.

She would have asked Robin Hood but he had decided to rest inside Akechi's soul till tomorrow, leaving the two alone. Especially considering that he would be the only persona she was going to use in Kamoshida's Palace.

There was one more thing, while both Persona and Wildcard knew the later had done something stupid, they couldn't really agree on what.

In Goro's eyes, trusting Akira with the Metaverse Navigator was incredibly foolish of her. Was she an emotional whore of sorts? There she meets ONE guy who makes her genuinely feel good and seems to understand her and she immediately tells him one of her biggest secrets? It had been a decision in the moment, partly influenced by shock and realization of how alike they were. Now that she could think a bit clearer, she realized just how much of an idiot she was. Sure she wanted to help him… and that blonde… but it would probably be for the best had she just lied and told him not to worry about it, taking matters into her own hands regarding Kamoshida…

but NO. No, some part of her actually wanted to tell him. And it felt GOOD to finally talk it out. Now she was about to explore a Palace with someone else tomorrow.

Goro still wasn't sure if that thought excited or terrified her. Or both? Maybe nether? She had no idea she just felt stupid.

Loki however, had a completely different reason and it was much simpler then whatever mess was currently on her mind.

He was, simply put, scared shitless of Akira. Even more then that Kamoshida seemed to be today.

"I still don't get why you make such a big deal about it."

"Is the concept of 'I want to live' and 'keep the Devil away from me' this hard to grasp?"

"Not really but remember Robin? He said that…"

"I know what he said. Hell I know exactly the same thing! But believe me when I say that something is seriously WRONG with that boy."

He sat up in the air, on his burning hot sword, looking down at her as if trying to imitate a stern father. The best father figure she had honestly.

"A World Persona is not supposed to be awoken too. After many trials and hardships sure maybe THAN but not as your awakening! They are also not rising from the sea of souls until the World is royally messed up and I am talking 'Armageddon and Ragnarok have a baby' levels of messed up! Besides, it is one thing for a World Persona to be pretty much Jesus or a Japanese God but the DEVIL?! Just how utterly FUCKED is this World that the DEVIL needs to fix things?! I am half expecting it to rain blood and giant skeletons to appear in Tokyo any moment."

Admittedly, Akechi could see his point. She only heard about these 'World' Personas since today but from the looks of it they were incredibly strong. She was not going to deny that she felt a tad bit jealous that he had one and she didn't… but instead of jealousy she mostly felt more intrigued by this revelation, surprisingly enough. It even somehow excited her. Still she didn't see any reason for Loki to be THIS out of character.

"Regarding the messed up World part, you DO remember what kind of ship we are on right now don't you? I say the Armageddon and Ragnarok Baby has long since grown up and had babies of his own with Doomsday for THIS to exist. And about the Devil bit-"

"Are you about to play the LITERAL Devil's advocate?"

"…I mean kinda? Look all I am saying is that Akira doesn't seem to be a bad person."

"Then explain his little slip when you talked."

Admittedly THAT had been on Goro's mind too. Akira was always seemed so in control and even as he was in panic he hadn't been like… that. It was like he was completely out of it, his mind somewhere far away. She gave a shrug towards the Nordic God, "He had just entered the Metaverse for the first time. Maybe me giving him my okay just made him realize that yes he WILL go back. He was determent before but perhaps a small part of him just wanted an excuse. I mean, you know how much of a wreck I was."

The Trickster sunk his head, having seemingly given up. "Alright fine. Still I am wary of that boy. Just keep him away from me. Don't call me out instead of the Archer unless its an emergency alright?"

Goro nodded her head in confirmation. "You are being surprisingly accepting of my choice all things considered."

It was hard for her to make it out but she thought Loki smiled at her. "Do you still remember what I told you years back? Take the life you wish for? I am not about to go in the way of something you wish. I will help you getting it, even if I don think it is a smart thing to do."

She gave him a smile in return. When there was one thing in this World you could rely on than it was your Persona. This loyalty, she doubted any human would be capable of such. It made her feel guilty for making him this worried in regards to Akira.

It really WAS odd seeing Loki like that.

Despite him being her true self, she was not one to deny he wouldn't look out of place in a Horror movie about Eldritch abominations. It seemed all but inconceivable for something like him to feel fear.

His large body in black and white pattern, reminiscent of the 'dazzle camouflage' of World War 1 warships. The horns emerging from his head, that looked like they belonged to a snail parasite. The blade he wielded being nothing but an extremely hot blade which needed to be held by a pair of large pliers. Everything about him just screamed directionless or sickening. If it wouldn't be for the fact she had grown so unnaturally close to him she would possibly question his loyalty just by design alone. But even without that, she sometimes found herself looking at him and asking just who he really was.

This was unsettling for a number of reasons. He was supposed to be her right? It made her smile fall and turn her look back again to the ceiling, avoiding Loki's gaze.

Just how utterly… broken was she?

Well, that might be a question asked to late.

But she couldn't deny that something wasn't right with her. The Metaverse had a tendency to bring out who you truly are beneath all these masks and lies you tell yourself. Another reason why she was worried about tomorrow.

She stood up from the bed, walking towards a full body mirror in a corner. Eyeing her Outfit she released a resigned sigh, mentally preparing herself for the shock on Akira's face. "I am going to give him quite the scare wont I?"

She and Loki really were a match made in Hell. As sick as Loki looked, she matched him in terms of Horror factor. The mask she wore was a deep black, covering her entire head and with a voice modulator (as if she needed to hide her voice in this World, was she this paranoid?). The rest of her body was adorned with black armour, chains on random locations and a torn cape falling down her back, reminding her of a clipped wing. This was her idea of a rebel? She didn't even knew that this was it before looking at herself way back when.

Loki told her it was an armour fitting for a Berserker, meant to inspire pure terror in all enemies.

Then… why did she feel like she was looking at a Prisoner waiting to be executed? Hardly an image of a rebel, or a fighter, or someone who upholds justice.

Compare that to Akira's description of his Personas. One… a noble demon fighting tyranny in a generals suit. The other… a Gentleman with aesthetics of a demon. She had little doubt his Metaverse outfit looked much different then one of the two.

Compare it to Robin Hood even. The Persona that kept on claiming he was awoken trough Akira. The leader of the Merry Man looked more like a Superhero then a Thief. His large muscular body and imposing stance, while holding himself with this grace and elegance. All the while he could be mistaken with a Superman who had decided to wear white and take lesson from Green Arrow. A protector of the innocent and vanquisher of evil.

There was nothing about Robin that could make Akira… or Ryuko and Morgana for that matter… look at him in disgust. A standard she couldn't live up too.

Another reason she wanted to go with Robin Hood instead of Loki even before the enemy of the Aesir made his demands. Aside from still wanting to get accustomed with Robin.

But no matter how good of an impression Robin could make… her outfit would shatter it. This was just who she was beneath the façade of a detective Princess. A terrifying Monster, driven by hatred.

She hadn't heard Loki gliding over to hear, only noticing his presence in her lamentation when he had put a hand on her shoulder. He always seemed to know what she was currently thinking about, likely because he really did.

He carefully took of her helmet/mask and held it in his hand, looking at it in deep thought she guessed.

"Not necessarily."

This caught her by surprise, "What?"

"Trust me. Okay?"

Of course she trusted Loki. She would have never made it this far without him. She nodded as a reply.

"Close your eyes."

Goro did as she was told.

As soon as she did, she felt her body be encased in familiar crimson flames. It was an… odd sensation. This was unlike when she would summon him or Robin. It was… a weird sensation.

What next happened surprised her even more. She could… feel how something about the flames changed. And how they changed her. She felt her armour give way to something new. The fire continued its work and she didn't dare open her eyes. One more time she was swallowed by them…

"Open them."

She did…

And was rendered speechless.

She… THIS was her!?

She took a good long look at the reflection in the mirror, eyes wide in awe.

She had long elbow long gloves on, white in colour except for the red and golden lines at the end. As a top an white sleeveless uniform had taken hold, with two golden shoulder plates with frills at the end. The uniform went past her hip and slightly covered a short skirt, just like the rest of her outfit a clean white. A golden belt with an golden 'A' on its lace, standing out from a red background, was holding both in place, sitting above skirt and uniform. This mixture of red, gold and white reminded her very strongly of Robin Hood. Falling behind her was an untorn red cape, splitting in half equally as if to imitate red wings. Her feet were covered by a pure white boots with golden accents, revealing her legs starting a little beneath her kneecaps. A golden Tiara shone on her forehead with a red gem on the Front. Matching it was a collar around her neck, crimson red with a golden A on front. The crimson flames that would always erupt from her soul were replaced with those of an azure blue colour.

Goro now wore what seemed to be the attire for a noble, but roguish Princess.

It was… amazing! Like she was looking at a completely different person! Like she was standing in front of a heroine from something like Sailor Moon. This was someone you could see yourself hiding behind against a horde of Shadows.

"Figured we shouldn't give them any reason to feel warry of you." Loki commented, putting her mask on her face again. It wasn't a helmet anymore. Instead it was a simple but elegant red mask with a long nose, reminding her of a woodpecker, fitting perfectly beneath the Tiara. "What do you think?"

"I… I had no idea you could do that."

"Honestly? Me neither. But I figured since you were so worried about your outfit that I could at least try. These outfits are just a matter of Cognition and Willpower really, connected to your Persona. So with that I just tried making you one that doesn't scream 'Killing Machine' taking inspiration from the Archer. I wanted something that says 'cute Anime Heroine'."

Still amazed beyond belief, she simple forced out words of gratitude, a soft smile on her face. "Thank you."

Loki gave her a small laugh, "Not for that… Hikari."

Her smile fell a bit. "Can you… please not call me that?"

Loki hesitated, before nodding again. "Sorry. I thought this might be an appropriate moment. You know… emotional wise."

She understood his reasoning. This WAS an emotional moment and she really was grateful but… she just didn't like being reminded of her real name.

Just who WAS Hikari Fukumoto? She was a nobody. A child that was abandoned by the world. Some cursed girl who's mother committed suicide. Hikari Fukumoto was weak, unable to do anything against anybody.

She changed her name to Goro Akechi once she started to approach Shido. Goro was a boys name and it threw people of when they agreed to meet her through messages or calls. She did so on purpose, sexism being one of the few things she and Sae could agree on was a hazzle and hoping having a boys name would make it easier for her somehow. She also didn't want Shido to know who she really was until his life crumbled around him.

It also helped her escape the irony of her names meaning. Nothing was bright in her life. And her origin was far from blessed. That cruel irony was reality however.

Nothing about Goro Akechi was real.

Robin respected that this was the identity she had crafted for herself. Loki however never wanted to call her Goro or Akechi, always using terms like kid or girl or rarely boss.

Understandable in a way. But her true name was still… extremely personal to her. At the same time… she kind of wanted someone to say it. No human had told her it in these past years. "Its fine just… just not now okay?"

"Okay. Now come on, let's get out of here. You need some rest too if you want to infiltrate tomorrow."

---

It had taken a while for the two Thieves to calm down again. Akira's clothes and Morgana's fur had a few wet spots.

It probably took them over an hour of just embracing each other to get themselves settled into a normal state of mind again. At first they enjoyed the company… just happy to be reunited again.

Akira also took the opportunity to tell Morgana of the things he hadn't been there for.

They… talked about a lot.

He had told him how it wasn't only he that had died in the battle against Yaldabaoth. That at the end it was only Akira and the malevolent god. Morgana, horrified at hearing he wasn't the only one who died, had attempted to cheer Akira up, told him it wasn't his fault, but Akira shoot his attempts down and continued.

He had told him that Lavenza and Igor were still in charge of the Velvet Room, to the Magician's great joy. He told him about Satanael and that he contacted him instead of Arsene, awakening today. That had made the feline confess that he was freaked out when he had felt the Metaverse shake and an intense spike of energy this morning and even more surprised that it was his leader who did that. He had half expected Yaldabaoth to appear.

Akira hadn't told him about the larger circumstances of his awakening however… like what almost happened with Ryuko… It just didn't feel right talking about it.

Back to the cheerful things, he had told Morgana of the large amount of Yen under is bed, showing it too him. The felines eyes almost fell out at all of that, estimating there to be at least several billions.

An afterwards reaction was Morgana doing the 'begging cat' look and asking for Sushi. And how could Akira refuse him? He would buy some tomorrow.

He had also explained his ideas regarding helping others before it is too late or sooner then before. Shiho, Futaba, Okumura and also explained his visit today to Kaneshiro's Palace. The last bit had caused the blue eyes to widen just a little before Morgana had simply chuckled, somehow not surprised that Akira would just casually hand out billions using his new found wealth. "You never change do you?" he had asked with a smile and Akira only shrugged with one of his own.

But all good things must come to an end. And how did their cheerful reunion end?

Morgana asked who the girl with Akira was. And where Ryuji was.

"Yeah… ähm…. Morgana? You might wanna sit down for this one."

So, Morgana sat down.

Akira told him the current situation regarding… genders.

Morgana stared at him.

And continued to stare at him.

And continued to stare at him.

His blue eyes widened as a first reaction… realization finally kicking in.

He fell straight to the side… an empty look on his face. Akira took pity on the Cat, remembering his own shock and placed his limb body on the comfortable bed.

…

Morgana has been like this for over 20 minutes.

"Morgana?" Akira was getting worried, sitting next to him this whole time. "Are you alrig-?"

Then Morgana finally had a reaction.

"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ah yes, there it was.

Morgana sprang to his feet, jumping in the air out of shock with his fur standing up. Gibberish Akira couldn't make out was coming out of Mona's mouth as he tried to make sense of it, restlessly walking all over the place.

"Gbif… bu… Ryu…. Ko… gsoo…sku…gir…fo…yu….go...cro… NYYAAAAAAAH!"

It was weird being an observer of such a freak out.

"Okay just calm down." Akira tried to settle Morgana's nerves. Unsurprisingly it wasn't working.

Morgana violently shook his head, taking in a deep breath… he finally managed one coherent word.

"HOW!?"

"Because fate!"

"But… HOW!?"

"Hey Morgana, look I know EXACTLY how you feel believe me! I had the same reaction but… it is just something that is happening."

"HOOOOOW!?"

In hindsight he could hardly blame Arsene and Lavenza for laughing at his reaction. If he was anything like Morgana…

Morgana sat down again, with a thousand-yard stare in his blue eyes. "Uhhhhhhh. This is. So… Ryuji is a girl. So is Yusuke. And Akechi."

"Ryuko, Yuzu and Akechi respectively. Akechi didn't had a name change oddly enough."

"….What the hell?"

"I know Morgana." He said in understanding while petting his head. The cat sighed, before his eyes widened… "Hang on…"

"Hmm?" Akira made a questioning sound.

"Akira. How do you know Akechi is a girl?"

The Fool rubbed the back of his neck, feeling particularly foolish. Of course he would ask that.

Taking a deep breath he explained how he had collided with Akechi right after the reset. He also explained how they had somehow gotten closer through the small amount of time they spent together and of his plan to make her a Phantom Thief founding member.

Morgana just sat there, taking al the information in like a dry sponge, before opening his mouth.

"Akira do you take constructive criticism regarding your plan?"

"Ähm. Yeah?"

"It fucking sucks."

…

WOW.

He had no idea Morgana could curse. Had he reserved that bomb for a moment like this?

"That's… not constructive criticism." Was his somewhat weak counter.

"Because an idea like that isn't DESERVING of constructive criticism!" Morgana shouted at him, seeming infuriated at this idea even. "You plan on having a SERIAL KILLER on the Phantom Thieves!? The personal assassin of SHIDO!? PERMANENTLY!?"

"Hey we don't know that!"

"EXCUSE YOU!?" Morgana just screamed in pure shock, even greater then when he was inflicted with shock after a Zio spell hit him.

Akira winced inwardly at the tone his friend was using. "Call it a gut feeling but… I think Goro might be different this time."

"YOU DON'T SAY!?"

"NOT LIKE THAT! I mean… I can't shake this feeling of that maybe she is… better this time. Not all murdery. You get me?"

"Oh I get you alright!" the feline snapped once more, "I also know what that feeling is you mean. But its not coming from your gut!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Now HE was getting offended.

"Maybe if you were thinking with what's between your ears and not what's between your legs you would realize that your horrible excuse of a plan can only end badly!"

"WHAT!?" Okay he was definitely offended. "Are you accusing me of trying to save someones life with the sole reason of getting under her skirt!?"

Morgana took a step back, surprised at Akira's intense reaction. He tried to make a counter, but Akira cut him of.

"NO! Don't speak right now you Kit Kat! I have you know that I don't care in the slightest about Goro being a guy or a girl! I would have planned the same thing if none of that had happened! I am not trying to excuse her! I am not trying to say she doesn't deserve punishment but there is no way in HELL that I will let Crow die again like that! Disposed like trash with not even a body left! She will pay for the things she did but I will NOT let her die again! NOBODY is going to die this time!"

When Akira was done, Morgana simply didn't say anything. They both knew the… impact Akechi dying had on Akira. That he hadn't managed to save him was one of the biggest regrets he had… well ONE of his biggest by now.

The black cat sighed in apology, "Sorry for assuming. I just… you have to understand that this idea is insane right?"

Akira, now somewhat calmer again himself, relented. He had no problem admitting THAT. "I know. But hey… nothing ventured, nothing gained. I simply want to fix everything I couldn't fix and she is part of that."

"I get that. But please lets talk about this a bit more in detail before you do something drastic alright?"

…

"…Well about THAT."

"…Akira please don't tell me you already carried out your crazy plan."

"To be fair Morgana your like 90 percent of my impulse control."

"…Do you mind leaning down?"

Akira leaned his head down to Morgana's level.

Morgana slapped him.

If it wouldn't be for the fact that he was slapped with a Cat paw it might have actually hurt.

"I probably deserved that."

"Yep."

…

The two stared at each other for a good minute, before loudly laughing. The Trickster couldn't help but find it great that despite of everything they could always go into their established dynamic. Something he really missed with his other friends, having to reforge them surely over the coming year.

Morgana stopped laughing soon enough, resigning himself to the Wildcard's plan. "Alright fine. We let her be a founding member. Still this was very brash of you."

"Probably but if we were to try at some point after they are formed she would already be against us. Now she wants to explore the Castle with us. I say that is as good a start as any."

"True. Well since we already have this opportunity we can try and make things right. I… do have a few things I want to fix myself."

Akira raised an eyebrow at that and Morgana elaborated after a sigh, "I… am aware I wasn't always the easiest to be around."

A hand scratched his ears, making him relax a little. "It's fine." Akira told him, knowing very well what Morgana was talking about. Hell, Akira had actually cussed him out a few times when the Cat went too far... and after that whole mess before Okumura gave him a particularly big tongue lashing. "All in the past. You had a bit of an identity crisis. Speaking of just why are you suddenly so onboard with being a Cat?"

"Being human was an idea I had to try and explain what I was. Now that I know who I am, I don't need to be one anymore to feel fulfilled. I am fine being a Cat for now. My obsession with becoming human made some problems, as did my… infatuation with Lad-… Ann, too so I wanted to put an end to that. Besides… being a Velvet Room attendant AND the embodiment of humanities hope is far better anyway." His voice gained a slightly cocky tone at the end. Something that Akira inwardly chuckled at. Yeah this was Morgana.

"I am happy to see your identity crisis is resolved." The Fool teased the Magician.

"Why thank you! But for real now, I intend on changing who I am." His guide exclaimed determent, "I… had a lot to think about and I really do believe I could have handled things better in the past. I did treat all of you badly at times, especially Ryuji. I won't make the same mistake again… well… with Ryuko."

The raven smiled. He always did knew Morgana was softer than he let on and cared about the blonde more then he used to admit. "Good to hear. But you are not about to start calling her Lady Ryuko right?"

…

"Come down here so I can slap you again."

"It was a valid question!"

Morgana rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Point is I am going to give my all to the Phantom Thieves and act as the guide I was destined to be. Now, " he held out his paw as if to make a determent handshake, "Let's show that grail he picked the wrong enemy!"

He couldn't agree more, grasping Morgana's paw with his own hand. The two time travellers had a mission and wether it were Kings, Shoguns, Criminals, Politicians or Gods… no one would stop them.

He released his hold and hand and paw sank on the bed again. "Alright than. We should meet up with Master Igor soon."

"I don't think that will be a problem. He told me he was still busy trying to build my Velvet Room so I assume he will just pull us in once we go to bed."

"What are we waiting for then? You look tired anyway."

The Cat's guess was spot on. He gave another sigh, "I… did had a very rough week."

"You really need to take care of yourself more."

Rolling his eyes at the remark, he bit back one of his own and headed to the bathroom. He washed himself, and soon enough he and his guide were lying in bed, awaiting to be pulled to a realm between dream and reality.

---

Akira awoke.

Curiosity was overwhelming him. After everything he learned about the true Master of the Velvet Room, he was incredibly excited to see what he had designed his home base of sorts, for the coming year to be.

He looked around himself, feeling the ground beneath him move upwards. Around him were blue walls and he was sitting on a comfortable blue leather chair. In front of him were an empty blue coach and a blue desk. Behind the coach… oddly enough he could see a light constantly flashing and… was that a clock above him?

Akira was slightly confused and allowed himself to guess. "Am I inside an elevator?"

This did surprise him a lot. Of all the things Igor could have made why an elevator? What had an elevator to do with…?

Hang on. Where was Morgana!?

He looked around, the feline nowhere to be found. What the...?

A sinking feeling began to take hold in Akira. Something was wrong. "Morgana?!"

"He isn't with us right now." He heard a voice from behind him.

His instincts kicked in immediately. He jumped from his seat and turned around, body tense and ready to attack. If this was another trick of Yalda-…

His eyes met… a girl?

Blinking at the surprising sight, he took a good look at the unexpected company.

The girl in front of him wore a school uniform he didn't recognize but clearly saw she outgrew quite a bit by now. She looked less then a girl but more like a woman in her twenties. She had striking intense red eyes and auburn hair put in a high ponytail, along with silver barrettes which formed the roman numeral XXII.

And there was something… intense about her. He couldn't put a finger on it but this woman could wield power or at the very least used to possess it.

"Where am I? Where is Morgana?" he asked hesitant, ready to jump if she were to do anything hostile. He had enough experiences with malevolent beings in the Velvet Room thank you very much!

The woman smiled at him softly, as if she read his mind and understood his apprehension. "I can assure you, your friend is fine. He is with Igor right now surely. As for where you are… well you are in MY Velvet Room. I wished to speak with you."

MY Velvet Room!?

Yaldabaoth had done something again hasn't he?! He needed to get out o-!

…What in the?

This chaotic presence inside him softened. As if it was… happy? Satanael was happy seeing this woman?

None of this made sense, but Akira knew that there was no way Satanael would be happy about anything involved with Yaldabaoth so what was going on here? He allowed himself to drop his guard a little, if Satanael could relax so could he. Still… this left him very confused.

She giggled a little bit at his tenseness. "I can understand this is all probably a shock to you but don't worry, I am a friend." There was something else her stance betrayed. She was holding herself back. But from what?

"Usually I know the names of my friends." He told the still unknown woman, guard completely dropped but still wary.

Her smile seemed to widen. "Very well. I'll tell you my name."

She took steps towards him and Akira's eyes glued on her every movement out of instinct. She stood mere inches away from him when she spoke again still smiling gently. Her red eyes were looking right through his silver ones and it made Akira feel like she was looking into his soul. "My name is Minako Arisato. I am a Wildcard like you."

…

Another… Another Wildcard?

Before he could properly process that information the woman, now identified as Minako lost the ability to hold herself back and lunged towards him…

Akira tensed up and…

…

And…

…

Was… hugged?

Yeah that was it. This 'Minako' person just threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and tightly clinging to him, face buried into his right shoulder.

The Wildcard had no idea what to make of… THIS reaction.

Then… Minako started sobbing into his shoulder.

This stunned him for a bit. Why was she crying?

Having no idea what any of that meant, he returned the hug, thinking about how he could comfort her. It didn't happen everyday that the Fool had to comfort a crying girl after all and he couldn't just do nothing.

Minako spoke up however, before he could think about that any longer too. The words that left her mouth, in between sobs, hit him to the very core.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear, sounding truly grateful.

"She… is thanking me? What?"

This other Wildcard… thanked him? For what? He didn't even know who she was till now! What did he do for her that she had to thank him for? It only left him further confused.

Akira simply stood there, completely dumbfounded, in a Velvet Room that wasn't his own, with a woman who cried tears of relief and he didn't even knew existed until now and who thanked him for reasons unknown to him.

Fate just constantly found new ways to surprise him didn't it?

---

Did someone leave the Door open?

Well… I did. :) Bet you didn't see this coming. Hello Door-chan!

Before anyone is asking, no Minako is NOT part of the Harem. There will be NO Minako x Akira what so ever. Sorry for anyone who ships it but I have my reasons.

Okay now there was a lot that happened this chapter.

13K Words. Geez. Someone needs to stop me.

I think I may have gotten lazy near the end with Morgana and Akira. Sorry if that impacts the quality.

Akira has a plan to help people he couldn't help before for example with Kaneshiro.

And the reunion with Morgana. I know this is something a lot of looked forward to so I really hoped you enjoyed!

Then Ann and Shiho a small glimpse into heir relationship. Cute, adorable, wholesome, healthy. A joy to write scenes like these :)

There is also some new info. Appareantly some guy named Daiji. Now I will say yes he is an OC. I know some people don't like OC's but don't worry they will only serve to make the plot more interesting.

Then… we got to see Ryuko. Poor girl. I really don't like seeing her hurting. But being a girl instead of a guy… well it made things worse for our Skull.

Small lesson on Japanese things. Enjo Kosai is called an activity where girls date older man in exchange for money or gifts. It is seen as a sort of start into prostitution. It doesn't NEED to have anything to do with sex however. Some of these dates can range from simply talking and companionship to going out or groping. Someone doing Enjo Kosai can get a really ruined reputation if it comes out.

And no Ryuko did NEVER do Enjo Kosai. Take a wild guess who spread the rumour.

But because of the rumour things spiralled and now Ryuko is basically seen as a slut.

GOD I hate Kamoshithead. He will get what is coming to him soon enough.

But seriously someone needs to hug Ryuko. She had it rough. And after everything that happened she isn't in the best place mentally. Thankfully a Persona is there to offer comfort when needed and she is about to get hers soon enough.

Little confession? These types of things are something I am really worried about writing. This dark stuff that has the risk of hitting one of you readers close to home. I said it before and I say it again, I want to treat this kind of trauma seriously and not just side wave. If at any point it seems I may be disrespectful PLEASE tell me. The LAST THING I want to do is make any of you who may have had such an experience be uncomfortable or worse.

Persona is just… unfortunately a lot darker than people expect. And this story getting a lot darker than I intended it to be.

(I honestly find myself surprised just... how out of Control this story is at times. Like i didnt plan for almost over half of the scenes here. Akira just decided to go into Kaneshiro's Palace. The story just wanted to know how Ryuko is feeling after today. Same with Goro. It is kinda fascinating to have this get a mind of its own).

At least everyone can look forward to when Kamoshida begs on his knees for forgiveness that will never come and rots away in a jail cell for the rest of his life.

Speaking of girls with problems… we got some insight with our miss Akechi and in particular her relationship with Loki.

Like I said… pure evil Loki is overused and just doesn't sit right with me. So have a Trickster/Chaotic Neutral/Part time Dad Loki.

And Akechi's new costume. About that this will be the only time where I will change a costume of a character this much because of gender. I never liked it when people make genderbends for the sole reason of making characters dress suddenly slutty for no reason at all. So none of that. It will be a bit cuter and slightly more revealing maybe but nothing too drastic.

I basically took Goro's prince outfit from the game and kept the design but mixed a bit of Sailor Moon into it. I haven't been able to write it in yet but Goro is actually a fan of Anime like that so Loki tried to have her vision of a 'heroic' her be reminiscent to a hero she is familiar with. Hey we have a Catwoman expy so I don't think I am stretching anything here.

Her black mask outfit is unchanged however. And for the most part the other outfits will be the same.

Oh and her name… surprise. Little headcanon of mine that slipped in.

And back to Minako. Why was she so grateful to Akira? Well you will have to find out next chapter. But I think there is a chance some of you may be able to come up with a rough idea of WHY Minako could have wanted to speak with Akira and why she is so grateful. I mean… I basically spelled it out already.

Though in case it hasnt it any of you yet... actually no i wont spoil that. I am interested just how many will get what i am going for and those who dont, dont worry it will be official Next chapter.

But for anybody whos worried… don't be. You do NOT need to know anything about previous Persona games for this story. And they wont be THAT important just some references and some bigger worldbuilding. Maybe they will act as mentor figures for Akira but aside from that there is no need for you to know the story of P3 or the like. Hell I never even played these games (unfortunately).

BTW: Feel free to look up the english translation of Akira's (fictional) hometown. You find a small surprise.

Alright… now I believe I said everything, Have a good day and see you later :)