2/27

Goro

I spent my time yesterday going around the Village, putting up the posters and passing out the flyers for Mystia and Kyouko's rock concert tomorrow, as promised. Then I went to Mokou's place to pick up some phoenix fire ashes, on the condition that I go drinking with her later that week. Finally, I stopped by Eientei to pick up some more meds. After all, we were going into a strange new fortress, and I wanted to be absolutely prepared.

This morning, I sent out a message, asking everyone to meet up later to go infiltrate the fortress. When I arrived near the Geyser Center, unsurprisingly Aya was the first one present, with the others arriving one-by-one. As Reimu arrived, though, I noticed something very different.

"Why are you blue?" I asked her. She was wearing an outfit resembling her normal shrine maiden attire, but which was blue everywhere it was normally red.

Reimu looked down at herself, then looked at me and said, "because I can be."

"I like that attitude," Marisa said, smiling.

"I think you look better in blue," Nitori commented. "Like, Iunno, something about you just makes me think you should be blue, except for those red eyes, which stand out even more, like some kinda demon."

"Well, I suppose any youkai I go to exterminate would think I'm a demon out to kill them," Reimu replied.

"Why do you have red eyes, though?" I asked.

"I mean, it's a Hakurei thing," Reimu said. "Me and my ancestors have just always had red eyes. She looked at me. "Besides, you're one to talk. Your eyes are kinda dull-red too."

I chuckled. "I suppose so."

"And my eyes are red just because I'm a tengu," Aya said.

"Sometimes I get red-eye anytime Yuyuko-sama meets with someone and they talk long into the night," Youmu commented.

"That doesn't count," Marisa said. "Also, 'ya really gotta make her have a designated bedtime. She can be kind of a big child sometimes, but don't tell her I said that."

"I know, I know…"

Once everyone had arrived, we made our way to the boiler which served as our entry point. I showed Aya how to use her key, which she used to send us all into the fortress.

Once inside the safe room, we looked around, before our eyes turned to what looked like a spirit writhing in pain in the corner.

"The heck is that?" Marisa exclaimed.

"Is that a shadow?" Byakuren asked. "How did it get in here?"

Nitori scanned it. "No… it's not a shadow."

"Wait…" Youmu looked at it. "That's an evil spirit, like the ones that normally live in Former Hell. I guess it got caught up when we were entering the fortress, and…"

"And now it's dying because we cut it off from Outside magic," I remarked.

We watched the spirit convulse in agony for a few moments, before it finally keeled over. Then it shone brightly and shrunk down, before the light died down, revealing a glassy stone with a red hitaikakushi in the center.

I picked up the stone and examined it. "I wonder if this was the spirit Utsuho mentioned that was causing damage to the boilers."

"It must be," Reimu said. "She said it was haunting this boiler in particular."

I decided to pocket the stone. "In any case, I'll hold onto it and give it to her later." I looked over to Aya. "Now, before we begin, we'll need to give you a code name, just like the rest of us. We won't be able to communicate effectively if you don't have one."

"Ah, yes, right," Aya said. "Well, I mean, how did you all come up with yours? Maybe that'll help me figure out my own?"

"Our code names reflect either our appearances or some facet of our personality," Youmu said.

"Plus, they need to be snappy and roll off the tongue," Marisa added.

"I see…" Aya thought.

"We should start with obvious ideas," Nitori said. "Obviously, 'Crow' is already taken, but… Viking?"

Aya seemed conflicted. "I mean, I look like one, but… I don't… really feel like one either."

"And it's kind of clunky," Reimu said.

"Agreed," I said. "Maybe… Well, 'Valkyrie' doesn't have a great rhythm, either. Actually, anything with more than two syllables."

"Hunter?" Youmu suggested.

"...too literal, I feel," Mamiko said.

"What should we do, then?" Byakuren asked.

"Now, hold on a minute," Marisa said. "She's got a Norse theme goin' on, but you guys are all just scratchin' the surface."

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"I've got some knowledge of Norse Mythology, I'll have 'ya know," Marisa boasted. "And crows and ravens are actually pretty significant. It fits her perfectly, if you ask me."

"How so?" Aya asked.

"Well, Odin is the big dude of the Norse Pantheon. He's got two messenger ravens at his sides, and two wolves at his feet. The wolves serve as his guard dogs, and the ravens fly around the world, gathering information and tellin' him what they find. It's like tengu society, actually: the wolves are the guardians, and the ravens are the messengers, just like how you're a reporter seekin' the truth, and Momiji and the others guard the mountain from intruders. So… of course you'd have a Norse theme goin' on, with an explorer and huntress as your Persona."

Aya nodded. "I see. You know more than you let on, Starburst."

"Thanks," Marisa smiled. "And good on 'ya for rememberin' the code name."

"No problem," Aya said. "And, well, I can go with that name. Raven, I mean. Of course, technically, crows and ravens are slightly different animals, but I think your analogy is spot-on, and really applies to me." She looked at me. "Besides, you're already 'Crow,' but even then, Raven is a bit more poetic, more powerful-sounding if I say so myself. Ravens are wilderness birds, not like sociable crows. They haunt the mountains, forests and valleys, bringing portents of doom but also heralding divine beings, like Odin, or Amaterasu. I am their messenger, the hunter of the corrupt and the wicked, those who would let law bow to selfishness and chaos."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," I smiled. "So, 'Raven' it is then?"

"If you don't mind," Aya said.

"Excellent," I nodded. "Then, from here on, you'll be known as Raven in the Metaverse. Do not forget it."

"I won't," Aya said.

"By the way," Nitori said, "before we head out…" She rummaged inside her back and pulled out a ring with a dark gem on it. "I managed to compress that youma book from the other day into this thing. It's more compact, and should be a bit more focused."

I took the ring from her and slipped it on. "Thank you, Doktor. I'm sure this will prove to be useful."

Marisa looked at the ring. "Daaamn, you're a pretty good artificer, turnin' that youma book into that!"

"I mean, I can only do it here, not in the real world," Nitori shrugged. "Also…" She performed a quick scan of Aya.

"What's that for?" Aya asked.

"I have to scan all new recruits to see what their strengths and weaknesses are, so nobody gets killed." She looked at her PDA. "Well, this is no surprise: Wind attacks won't really phase you, but we need to keep you away from Electricity, which'll clip your wings just like that."

"Geh," Aya grunted. "We have to stop patrols all the time because of lightning, and I need to avoid it here, too. Honestly…"

I turned toward the door. "We should get started. We'll likely have much ground to cover."

"Understood," the group said, before we filed out into the corridor beyond.


We stepped outside, and not a moment after we did, a wisp came out of Reimu's gohei and formed on the ground into Father Frost.

"Hee-ho!" he greeted us. "Time to take down another fortress, ho!"

"Er," Aya stepped back. "What is this? "

"A shadow that took up residence in my gohei after we started exploring fortresses," Reimu explained. "Don't ask me why."

Byakuren knelt down to his level, and I swore I could see him staring at her cleavage for a moment before looking away. "He's very round," she commented. "I never could have imagined a snow demon looking like this."

"I'm not a demon, hee-ho!" he complained, before looking around at the hallway we were in. "This isn't the place for a priest. Time to adapt, improvise and overcome!" Again, he spun around rapidly in a very cartoonish fashion; when he stopped, he was dressed in a snappy black business suit with shined leather shoes, a red tie and a white undershirt, and his head was topped with a gaudy blonde combover.

"I'm Trump Frost!" he declared. He pointed at us and said, "you're fired, ho!"

I groaned. "Just when I thought I'd never be reminded of him ever again…" he then disappeared into Reimu's gohei again, and she held it up.

"I can't believe he actually changes his appearance and his name with every new fortress we explore," she said. "Well, whatever. Let's move on."

"Agreed," I said.

The first thing we wanted to do was find a way further up into the building, as the core was at or near the top with near certainty. I advised against entering the main atrium, so instead we combed the halls, looking for stairs, an alternate way to the elevators, or possibly access to the elevator shaft so that we could sneak up the building by riding atop the cars. Of course, we did encounter shadow guards, who took the appearance of both security detail as well as office workers and other staff; their shadow forms included the likes of Koppa Tengu, Okuninushi, Oni, Sui-Ki, Fuu-Ki, Nekomata, Othrus and Neko Shogun, all of which I was able to negotiate with to add their masks to my collection. All the while, Aya observed the enemies and how we fought them, then joined the fray once she had an idea of how they behaved. Besides the Wind skills she had previously demonstrated, she also had Sukukaja and single-target healing at her disposal; in addition, she was incredibly agile, dodging enemy strikes before retaliating with shots, strikes and spells which almost always hit their mark.

"Impressive," I complimented, after she struck down a group of enemies.

"Thanks," she said. "Of course, I'm the guard captain for a reason: I've got lots of training and combat experience under my belt."

"I can't say I've actually seen you fight before," Reimu said, "outside of Spell Card duels, I mean. Whenever I see you, you're always out getting material for your paper."

"I don't fight as much as I used to," Aya replied. "Ever since the Border went up, Youkai Mountain just hasn't had as many threats for us to defend it against as it used to."

"There is that," Marisa said. "And then of course 'ya got that trigger-happy shrine maiden at the summit who also burns threats for 'ya."

Aya chuckled. "Heh, true. She's a piece of work, isn't she?"

Byakuren then turned her head, then walked toward a door marked "elevator maintenance." "Look at this," she said, waving us over.

"Here we go," I said. "We might be able to get on top of the elevators and hitch a ride up."

Mamiko tried the door, but couldn't open it. "It's locked."

Youmu pointed out a black box with a red light on top of it. "What's this?"

"It must be a card scanner," I said. "Outside, physical locks on doors are being replaced with devices which will unlock the door if you scan a key card or badge, controlling who can access the area behind the door." I looked up. "Keeping with the theme of the fortress, and its basis in the Tengu caste system, Megumu must wish to keep anyone she believes to be inferior on the lower floors, and only the privileged few can access the higher floors."

"Sounds about right," Aya grumbled. "So, how do we get past?"

"We could just kick down the door," Marisa suggested, grinning.

I shook my head. "That's not likely to work. We're in the cognitive world, so things would not work according to how they would in the physical world, due to being affected solely by Megumu's cognition. This door could resist any amount of physical force, because as long as Megumu's cognition is that only those who are allowed to by her can move up in society, there is no way to 'brute force' our way up." I thought for a moment. "That said, two of the locations I visited with the Phantom Thieves had similar blockades as this, and in each case, there were shadows who held keys to get past."

"So you're suggesting…" Nitori asked.

"We should steal a key card from a shadow," I finished. "If we wait near here, a shadow will likely come by to open the door. Then we ambush it, kill it, and take the key card from it."

"I see," Marisa said. She looked around, and saw a corner near the door. "Let's hide there and wait."

"Got it." We dashed around the corner, and I peeked around it while the others stood guard to ward off threats. A few minutes later, a shadow came by, presenting its card to open the door. I quickly swooped in, tore off its mask, and we all assaulted the Kurama Tengu that formed from it. It put up quite a fight, but we emerged victorious, collecting both the key card and the loot it left behind at the same time.

"Alright, awesome," Marisa smiled. "Let's head in." We made our way inside. The room was lit by a few dim light bulbs, and a chain-link partition separated us from the elevator cars, which went up and down at a high speed.

"So what's the plan?" Aya asked.

"We climb up on top of the elevators and ride them all the way to the highest floor," I said. We climbed atop some crates, waited for all three elevator cars to come down to the ground floor at the same time, then quickly dashed on top of them and let them take us further up. Two of them stopped on lower floors, while the one me, Nitori and Mamiko occupied, reached the highest floor. I saw a catwalk leading to a vent cover, which we were quick to jump up onto. As the other elevator cars arrived, I waved the others onto the catwalk, until eventually all of us were on it. I went over to the vent, checked for shadow guards, then kicked it out and rolled out, with the others following me out one-by-one.

"Alright, we're up," I said, looking around to get my bearings. On one side, I could see a crowd of Tengu at a bar drinking coffee.

"Uh, aren't those-"

I shook my head. "No, Raven, those are cognitions, representations of real people in Megumu's mind. They're not shadows, but rather mutable dolls which reflect how she sees each of them."

Marisa stepped forward. "So, we at the top floor?"

I looked out the window, and could see the rest of the building piercing further up into the sky. "No. We still have much further to go."

"Huh?" Reimu was confused. "But, those elevators didn't go any further up! How could we not be at the top?"

"On the Outside, it's very rare for elevators in skyscrapers to go all the way from the bottom to the top floor, due to technical and physical limitations. Instead, there are many different sets of elevators, with one going to a certain floor, called a 'sky lobby,' then another set of elevators on that floor which will take you further up." I looked around. "There must be another set of elevators near here if that's the case."

Nitori then turned her head and pointed, "hey, what's this over here?"

We went over to where she was pointing, and saw more sets of elevators. We also observed that they had red doors. Approaching one of them, I tried pressing the up button, only to be met with an error message on a screen next to it.

"ERROR: INSUFFICIENT ACCESS PRIVILEGES. VISITORS AND EMPLOYEES MUST HAVE A RED CARD TO ACCESS FLOORS 51-80."

I stepped back, and thought. "Hmm. Seems another access card is needed to use these elevators."

"Should we just try and find another shadow who might have one?" Youmu suggested.

I thought some more, then said, "Actually, I think I know what's going on here." I turned to Aya. "I'll need to explain this to Raven so that she understands."

"Me?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "In both of the previous fortresses we infiltrated, there were three 'Will Seeds,' congealed masses formed from the ruler's deepest desires. They always consist of one red, one green and one blue one, and are usually found in that order. Taking one of the Will Seeds removes a component of the security; taking all three is necessary to open the path to the Core." I turned back to the elevators. "The red color on these doors must correspond to the red Will Seeds. If we claim it, the security protocol should become disabled, allowing us access to the upper floors."

"Yeah, but where are we gonna find it?" Marisa said. She looked at the floor marker plaque. "It says we're on the 50th floor. That thing could be on any of the floors below, and it'll take us forever and a half to comb all the-"

Then, Nitori's scanner reacted to something. "Hold it a moment." She walked over to a nearby wall, which had a complete floor plan for evacuation purposes. She then scanned it, adding the map to her database, then projected the various floors in front of her.

"Did you get a map?" Youmu asked her.

"Yes," Nitori said. "A complete floor plan of each of the floors below this one." She flipped through the maps, then pointed at one. "Bingo. Floor 34. Our Will Seed is there."

"Great," Reimu said. "Let's head down."


We used the same elevator-sneaking trick to arrive at the 34th floor, to avoid any shadows that might be going up or down. We arrived at a small lobby, with a desk manned by a shadow guard.

"Welcome," the guard said. "Do you have business here?"

"Why…" I quickly drew my gun and plugged its skull with a bullet. "Yes, we do." We knocked out the Koppa Tengu shadows that popped out, I pocketed the blank cards they dropped, and we made our way past the door inside.

When we opened the door, we discovered an expansive cubicle farm past it, staffed entirely by diminutive, red humanoids with long noses and long, pointed ears reminiscent of goblins. All were busily clacking away at typewriters, and many showed signs of exhaustion.

"What… are these?" Youmu asked.

"These are long-nosed Tengu," Aya explained. "They're the background workers who do all the menial work, away from the rest of Tengu society."

"So THIS is what they look like," Reimu mused. "...no offense, but they're kind of ugly."

"I know, right? You're not the only person who thinks that," Aya replied. "Still, they're hard workers by nature, and they take pride in what they do, never objecting to instructions given. Of course, that also makes them easy to exploit, especially since they're the most numerous of any type of Tengu and breed the quickest, too."

I looked out at the maze of cubicles, and the small army of workers staffing them. "And since they're also not at all human-like, that makes it easier to treat them as sub-human - or, I suppose, sub-youkai in this case - and more like dispensable livestock."

Aya sighed. "You hit it right on the head there."

Byakuren also sighed. "It saddens me whenever one group treats other groups as inferior, due to differing features, and uses that basis to deny them rights and basic decency. That sort of thing was all too common back in my day, well over a millenia ago."

"Indeed," I nodded. "There have been many cases across the world of one group of humans enslaving others and treating them as less than human. Europeans enslaving Africans, Japanese enslaving Chinese and Koreans, the Mongols enslaving anyone whose domains they conquered… even today, the underlying racist ideologies persist."

Marisa stepped forward. "Y'know, reflection' on philosophy's great and all, but this ain't the time for that. We got a job to do."

I followed her. "Right. We should keep going."

"Should I scout for threats?" Aya asked.

I looked at her rifle, and said, "I have an idea. Since you have that sniper rifle, anytime you're not in the forward group, you should be hiding in the shadows behind and around us, picking off threats you see and alerting us to traps and ambushes."

"Understood." She then dashed away, and we continued forward.

We made our way through the maze of cubicles, catching some of the things the long-nosed Tengu were saying.

"Just gotta get through 500 more pages of paperwork and I'll get my ten-minute break!"

"What am I gonna get for lunch today? Maybe if I impress 'em, I'll get two grains of rice!"

"Geh…" Aya shook her fist. "The way she sees them and treats them…" She shook her head. "We'll set her straight, just as long as we bring down this place."

"Exactly," I affirmed. We continued to navigate the cubicle farm, cracking open treasure chests hidden inside them, taking down shadows patrolling the place, eventually making our way to a vent on the floor and a locked "authorized personnel only" door next to it.

"I'll bet our Will Seed is in there," Marisa grinned.

"Indeed," Nitori said. "It should be somewhere behind this door."

"But… How do we get inside?" Youmu asked.

I looked at the vent. "We take a shortcut." I kicked off the vent cover, climbed in, and told everyone, "follow me." One-by-one, they filed in, and we snaked through the vent, around every turn, through the cramped space.

"...hey, stop breathin' on my ass."

"Oh, sorry."

"Can you hurry up, Priest? You're blocking the way."

"Apologies, I'm just having trouble squeezing through."

"Betcha it's those funbags on your chest."

"Funbags?"

"Oh, never mind."

"Hey, be careful what you're doing, Fury, you almost poked me with your scabbard!"

"I'm sorry, my bad."

"I smell piss."

"It wasn't me!"

"*cough cough* It's really dusty here."

"Wonder if there's rats."

"I thought I saw a cockroach."

"Friggin' Japanese goblins, don't know how to clean a vent."

"What's that green stuff?"

"I wouldn't touch it."

"Am I getting fat?"

"Pretty sure it's just your butt."

"When will you shut up about my butt?"

"She also has to get those wings through."

"Thank you, Doktor."

"And she has a nice butt."

"..."

Once we made it through, we found ourselves inside a large, cluttered storage space with catwalks above us, crates stacked up atop each other, dividers everywhere, and, if I listened closely, the telltale whispers of the nearby Will Seed.

"What's that creepy sound?" Aya asked.

"That is the Will Seed," I explained. "The sounds you are hearing are Megumu's innermost thoughts, repressed deep within her psyche, locked away in the depths of her consciousness." I looked up. "There. I can hear it coming from up there. We can climb up the crates, up to the catwalks, and…"

"Hello again, Day Breakers," came Megumu's voice from an intercom.

Instantly, we drew our weapons and formed a circle. "Where are you?"

"I see you've found my secret stash, and cut your way through my guards," she said.

"We know your crimes!" Aya proclaimed. "And we're coming right for you!"

Megumu clicked. "You'll never make it up my career ladder with that attitude. Very few make it past my interview process; Tengu society wants only the best, after all."

"More like YOU only want whoever the hell you want!" Aya shot back.

"Now now, I am an equal opportunity employer. Those who pass my evaluations make it to the final interview."

"What evaluations?" I asked.

Megumu chuckled. "Well, whether you know it or not, you all just showed up for the first one." The intercom cut off, and the moment it did, a wall on the other side from us began lifting up, revealing a massive robot on the other side decked out in maple leaf and other Tengu-related decals. It activated, stepped forward, and roared.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Metal Gear?"

"What now?" Marisa asked, before narrowly dodging a tail strike. Somehow, a cognitive version of Metal Gear RAY was present inside the fortress, for… whatever reason. Regardless, we all realized we had a lethal threat on our hands, and instantly split up, each of us dodging its strikes, laser cannons, gunfire, and charges while retaliating. Byakuren managed to rip off the tail and use it as a flail to parry its attacks, me and Marisa used Electric and Nuclear attacks to try and short-circuit it, and Mamiko and Reimu worked to knock off its protective armor. Then Aya jumped up on top and drove her spear through its head, disabling it long enough for Youmu to jump up, summon her Persona, and unleashed a combination sword attack which split the robot clean in half, its halves falling to the floor and exploding on impact.

As Youmu landed back on the ground and sheathed her sword, we all gave her a round of applause. "Well done, Fury," I said.

Youmu smiled. "It really wasn't that hard, but I appreciate the praise…"

"'Not that hard?' You just fukkin' sliced a mech in half!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Come now, it was a team effort," Byakuren said. "Alone, none of us would have stood a chance, but working together, we were able to make short work of that mechanical beast."

"Agreed," I nodded. "...still, that robot was a video game character. How on Earth would Megumu know anything about it?"

Aya thought for a moment, then said, "I think I remember her bragging about something called a 'Playstation' that she bought at Kourindou one time, that came with a game she was really into."

"A video game, huh…" I thought about it, then realized that the game in question had to be Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Looking at the room we were in, and thinking back to the places we had so far seen in the fortress, I realized it might partially be based on the World Marshal headquarters in that game. I knew a person's cognition was heavily influenced by the sights, sounds and ideas they consumed. Depending on how absorbed she was in the game, that could help me get an idea of what else to expect further up.

Hopefully not someone or something jacked up on nanomachines.

…son.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Marisa asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said. I found a stack of crates by the wall, jumped over, and motioned everyone else to follow me up. We hopped and skipped across the stacks of crates, up the catwalks, and used our grappling hooks to clear a gap between us and what was clearly the door leading to the room where the Will Seed was kept. Slashing the vines, I thrust the door open, revealing the seed, right there in the center of the room.

"...I alone can lead Tengu society to greatness… I'm the only one who can keep us from tearing each other apart… that smug bitch would never understand… keeping everyone in their designated place is the only way to avoid bloodshed… I will prove to everyone that I am credit to our race, to our people…"

Aya went over to the Will Seed, hesitated for a moment, then picked it up, causing the whispers to stop. "So… this thing represents her desires? Looks like a skull…"

"Indeed," I nodded. "And those voices…"

Aya sighed. "It's clear she wants to matter, and is scared of being just another face on the street. I knew she was always a bit troubled, but Jesus…"

"Forcing her will and her vision upon the people, whether they want it or not…" Byakuren shook her head. "Of course, Buddhism expects and instructs that one look to enlighten themselves, and learn to love themselves and their person, as one cannot function if they hate who they are. But one must also consider the needs and wants of others too, and not force their vision upon them, as Megumu is doing here."

"I just thought that Tengu society was rigid, and run in ways humans could never understand," Reimu commented. "To think the whole system was the brainchild of one woman and her grief and envy…"

"I'm the oldest person here besides Priest," Aya explained. "This system has been in place for far longer than the rest of you have been alive. So long, that everyone just kind of accepts that that's how Tengu are. No human remembers it being any different. No one, except Akyuu. I've read through the first few volumes of her Gensokyo Chronicles, they include mentions of how things used to be before Megumu rose in power and started instilling her will and twisted system on everyone else."

I thought for a moment. "I see. It's interesting hearing how legends unfolded as they happened, how such things stemmed from relatively ordinary circumstances. A woman, jealous of a more successful peer, seeking revenge by burying her in an unfair system, no matter the cost to anyone else…" I looked up. "Still, it's not like she's completely inferior by any means. It's not easy to climb social or political ladders. She must possess incredible charisma and determination to get to where she is."

"I mean, she had a goal," Marisa said, "and she had something motivating her, a will not to be forgotten, and rage against a peer. I know better than anyone that few things motivate someone to better themselves than feeling like they're inadequate or disadvantaged. After all, the lower you start, the more you can climb."

"True," Byakuren said. "...However, she's become so obsessed with her perceived flaws, that she fails to recognize her strengths and use them for noble purposes."

"It's unfortunate how someone can become so self-loathing like that," Mamiko said. "It's exactly the sort of curse that the Evil One inflicts upon the unenlightened…"

I gave Marisa the Will Seed, then said, "there is only one way to fix this. We must continue up the building. Let's return to the 50th floor, and see if we can proceed further up."

"Of course," Nitori said. We returned to the elevator, taking out a lone shadow along the way, and made our way back up.

Once we were back on the 50th floor, we returned to the red elevators, only to notice that they had changed.

"The doors aren't red anymore," Reimu commented.

Youmu pressed an up button. "And there's no message saying we can't go further up."

A few elevator doors then opened up. "Excellent," I said. "It seems we can proceed further up into the fortress." We all got into one of the elevator cars, then proceeded to the highest accessible floor, floor 80.

When we arrived, we found ourselves in another sky lobby. This one had noticeably better decor than the one down below, with polished granite flooring and mahogany tables, with a few cognitive crow tengu sitting at a bar similar to the one on the 50th floor, but with more exotic fare on tap. Being higher up, we also had a better view of the city outside: it was sprawling and dominated by other high-rises with outlandish facades, seemingly set atop a mountain or plateau piercing high into the sky, with clouds obscuring the view down below.

"I wonder how high up we are," I asked.

"Pretty high, I would imagine," Aya said. "Youkai Mountain in real life is higher than Mt. Fuji. It'd make sense if Megumu thought it pierced right into the stars or something."

Marisa wandered off to the side, and found another map. "Hey, guys, I found another map."

"Let me see," Nitori said. Like the previous map, she scanned it and uploaded it into her database before studying it. "Hmm… Well, this is troubling. It appears to show the rest of the building, but… it only tells us where the Green one is, not the Blue one. If I had to guess, the blue one is in the hands of a Fiend."

"A Fiend?" Aya asked.

"In our past two fortresses, the blue ones were both held by skeletal demons," Reimu explained. "They claimed to serve the 'Agent of Providence,' although they wouldn't explain who or what that was beyond the name. They were pretty powerful, but they both also tested us with things other than combat. We're starting to think it might be a pattern, that the blue one is always in the hand of a skeletal Fiend who roams the fortress and tests us with riddles."

"Ah, I see…"

"I can tell us where the green one is, however," Nitori said. "It's on…" She sighed. "...floor 69."

I facepalmed. "...really? Is she a child?" I shook my head. "Anyway, we should make our way down." I led the others back into the elevators and we made our way down to the 69th floor.


Upon arrival, we found ourselves faced with a metal door labeled "mechanical." Byakuren was able to bash the door in, allowing us to access a gray, metallic space lit up with fluorescent lights and filled with pipes, grates, boxes, control panels and scattered equipment. Shadows dressed as maintenance staff wandered all over the place, which we of course mugged for cash and items and whose masks I picked up for fusion fodder. We also managed to discover a Safe Room, which we could use to go back down to the first floor quickly and which I could use to fuse more Personas; in particular, I found I could now fuse two particular previous adversaries, Matador and Suzaku. These two were quite powerful, and allowed me to even more easily beat up shadows, take no prisoners, and, of course, gather more loot.

Busting open a treasure chest, Byakuren pulled out a pair of spiked brass knuckles, while Aya reached in and got both a spear of better quality than the one she was using, as well as a more professionally made scoped rifle, which she took a moment to inspect.

"This… this is a nice weapon," she said.

Youmu pulled out a handle, which she could attach to her sword, causing it to transmute into the HF blade Raiden used from the game. She swung it around with her hand as a test. "What kind of blade is this?"

"Just another sign Megumu is obsessed with that game," I said.

Reimu inspected her new gun, which was reminiscent of the Pulse Rifles from Half Life. "It seems rather convenient that weapons and gear that we just so happen to all like to use are in the chests."

"I've always wondered that myself," I said, twirling around a new dagger. "I suspect it also has to do with cognition: we expect these chests to contain valuable items, moreso if they're shiny and gold, so when we open them they actually do contain valuable items."

"Oy, and I thought Gensokyo makes no sense sometimes," Marisa said. She tested her new revolver by shooting a panel on the other side of the room, causing a door to slide open. "C'mon, let's go."

We continued picking through the mechanical area, clearing gaps and climbing ledges with our grappling hooks, reaping shadows, and finding the codes to open certain doors so that we could proceed. Eventually, we came to a straight hallway, with the Will Seed door on the other side.

"Alright, finally," Nitori said. "Thought that maze of metal would never end."

I looked up. "Let's keep our wits about us. We don't want to be ambushed." We stayed close together, wary of our surroundings. Mamiko, intrepid as ever, walked slightly ahead of us, staff ready and looking for danger.

"Greetings, heroes of justice."

We stopped and drew our guns. "Who goes there?" I said. I looked around for any sign of movement, listened for any sounds, any footsteps, any breathing. Nitori looked at her PDA, and said:

"Watch out! Bogey at 3 o'clock!"

We faced left and immediately parried the white blur that came out of the pipe work. Then it jumped up and shot lightning bolts down which we hurriedly sidestepped, followed by another lunge down to our position which Aya repelled with a swift, upward kick.

Silence, for a moment, before the figure landed in front of us on all fours: a large, fearsome white tiger with black stripes, yellow eyes and large, sharp claws and fangs.

"...and you are?" I asked.

"I am the one assigned to protect this vault," the beast proclaimed. "And you are all thieves, intruders into this building. My orders come from Iizunamaru-dono herself."

"And your orders are to kill us?" Aya asked, deadpan.

"Yes," it replied, with blue sparks and arcs of electricity crackling in the air around it.

"Well, then, let's get it over with," Marisa said. "This place ain't big enough for the both of us." She began to walk forward, claws bared, before Reimu stopped her.

"Careful, Starburst," she cautioned. "This is another one of the Four Gods, the White Tiger. We'll be in for a rough fight, for sure."

"The White Tiger…" Aya held out her spear. "In other words, the spirit of Autumn, the season of Tengu and falling leaves. In that case… I'll have to show you what the true power of Autumn is."

"Your arrogance is as severe as your recklessness. EXTERMINATE!" Byakko suddenly pounced toward Aya, but she quickly reacted by using Garula to push it back, then rushing in to jab it with her spear. In the process, the beast let out a whelp, which Nitori soon confirmed to mean a Wind weakness, in exchange for Electric (obviously) and Bless being ineffective.

"It doesn't seem like Priest will be able to do too much," Nitori commented. "You should hang back and provide support."

"Understood," Byakuren said. The rest of us all jumped into the fray, myself utilizing Matador to strike at its weakness too. Besides electricity, Byakko also attacked with fierce lunges, claw strikes, bites, and tackles, but our numbers were able to overwhelm the beast. After rebounding from our assault, it declared, "continuing alone would be foolish. Backup required!" It roared, prompting two Othrus shadows to spawn in and join the fight.

"Be careful, everyone!" I cautioned. "They can close in on us easily!"

"Looks bad! But Trump Frost is here to help!" Trump Frost popped out of Reimu's gohei, prompting a small groan from her, but she shrugged, realizing that she needed his help. The two of them charged the attack dogs, with Trump Frost casting Bufula on one of them, freezing it solid.

"You're fired! Or maybe, iced, ho!" Youmu jumped in and froze the other one, before Reimu shot them both with Double Shot, killing them instantly. Byakko tried to attack from behind, but Youmu spun around quickly and slashed it in the face with her blade, then went full-on Blade Mode on it while it struggled to get up. Aya capitalized on its staggered state by throwing another Garula at it, then striking it with her spear. Once we were certain it was sufficiently weakened, we surrounded it and drew our guns.

"Ngh," it grunted. "How did you…"

"You fight because Megumu's twisted distortion forces you to," I said. "We fight because we choose to. We choose to eliminate distortion and darkness wherever it lurks. And now, that includes cutting the fog of distortion which shackles you, one of the Four Gods, Byakko."

"Byakko… I…" It struggled up onto its feet, then looked at me. "...I remember that name. I remember now… I was taken by a malevolent force, and made to guard this vault. You… you all have dispelled that curse put upon me." It bowed, then jumped up into the air and disappeared into light, leaving behind a pearly white fang.

I picked it up and examined it before putting it in my pocket. "Another distortion cleared, and another God freed. I'd say we're coming along quite well as Day Breakers."

"If you told me two months ago I'd be doin' somethin' like this, I'd think you were nuts," Marisa said.

"I'd say you're proving your worth as an incident resolver," Reimu added.

"I appreciate the compliment," I replied.


With the Green Will Seed in hand, we made our way back up, accessed the elevator that had previously been restricted by it, and made our way up to floor 100. Upon arrival, we assumed we had reached the top floor, seeing as there were no more elevators leading further up. The floor was different from the others, with a dark blue slate floor with dots denoting constellations in the starry sky, a grand chandelier dangling from the ceiling plated in gold, walls adorned with Megumu's personal insignia and more maple leaves, and in front of us, a grandiose oak desk with a Big Dipper emblazoned on the front and a luxurious leather chair behind it. This was, no doubt, Megumu's personal office.

"Seems we've entered the fuhrerbunker," Marisa commented.

"But Megumu isn't here," Aya said.

"Indeed," I noted, observing our surroundings. "This looks like it could be the core room, but then, we haven't found the blue Will Seed…"

Mamiko then noticed something and walked over behind the desk. "Look." She pointed at it with her staff: a blue door trimmed with gold which was, seemingly, yet another elevator door.

"Well, that answers that question," Reimu said.

"But, why would it be behind her desk?" Youmu asked.

"It must be a personal elevator," I said. "Another common feature of skyscrapers in real life is what is known as a 'penthouse,' a luxurious, multi-floor apartment, usually at the top of the building, in which the building's owner resides. They usually have an elevator which takes them straight down to their office, so that instead of fighting rush hour traffic or haggling with train or bus schedules, their 'commute' merely consists of a short elevator ride. Another possibility is that it leads to a private club house or lounge; often, the top floors of skyscrapers will be locked away from public access, and only select members of a group can gather in them, and partake in activities away from the masses. Sometimes, they might be one and the same, a penthouse with a luxurious guest room or floor that serves a similar purpose."

Reimu whistled. "It must really be something to be rich and famous on the Outside. My shrine barely gets enough donations to keep me fed and the place maintained as it is…"

"But I can only imagine that that fame and fortune comes at the expense of the hard-working citizens which they view as mere proles," Byakuren lamented. "Talents should be rewarded, but the rich have a duty to assist the poor, too."

The intercom came on again, and we looked up. "Well, well, well," said Megumu. "It would seem you have reached my office. You really are annoying, getting past my security like taking a can of Raid to a room full of mosquitoes."

"We're edging closer to you," Aya proclaimed. "Are you scared yet?"

"Scared? Oh, sweet, sweet Aya, there is nothing that scares me anymore. But there is quite a lot which annoys me to no end. And as long as you're here, I might as well have all of you take care of one such annoyance."

"Oh?" I asked, suspicious.

"Yes. Some prick with a skull face stole the key to my penthouse and ran off into the streets. If you really want to, you could go pursue him, but he's pretty tough; what are the chances that you'll survive, much less reclaim the key? Nonetheless, you are free to try. I wish you the best of luck, Day Breakers." This was followed by the intercom shutting off.

We walked over to the window, and looked down at the city below. "So… our last challenge is outside of this building," I said.

"This city's pretty big," Marisa said. "That dude could be anywhere."

"Then I'll just have to sniff him out," Nitori said.

"But why would Megumu herself tell us where the last Will Seed is?" Reimu asked.

"Probably because we've earned at least a little respect from her," Aya said. "We have gotten past all of her security and her guards up to this point, and made it to her office. In real life, the caste system limits upward movement, but exceptionally talented and charismatic individuals never escape the notice of the Daitengu."

"I see," I noted. "So even though this fortress represents her distortion, she is still able to recognize and reward talent, however little she may view it." I looked over at Marisa. "It's also possible that, as we already have two Will Seeds, we have eliminated enough of the distortion to start revealing what her personality and motivations are like in its absence." I looked back at the elevators. "And we can reveal even more if we go claim the final Will Seed."

So I led the others back down to the ground floor, and navigated the halls until we found a window to the outside which we could sneak out of, avoiding the front door. Once on the streets, we found a Safe Room resembling a police call box and took a moment to rest, while I took a moment to retreat to the Velvet Room and fuse some more Personas.

"I'm Moh Shuvuu. I'll be your mask and show you true love… hehe…"

Rika smirked. "Comin' along, Goro. Comin' along. Keep those fusions going!"

I looked at the card depicting the Persona I had just fused, and realized it had come into being with Magarula. "This Persona has Magarula," I noted.

"Oh, really?" Rika looked at her PDA. "Well then, if you got any Chariot or Moon Personas on you, we can go ahead and make that Barbatos I want!"

"Sounds like a plan." I put a Moh Shuvuu and Kin-Ki card into each of the fusion tanks, then Rika flipped the switch and let the fusion happen… or at least it would have, but the machines seemed to short out.

"...err…"

"Dammit!" Rika walked over and angrily punted one of the tanks with her boot, causing them to spit out the cards, which combined with an unusual red and white flash. And rather than the intended result, a small, white bunny came out.

"I am the Hare of Inaba. How lucky! With my mask, you'll never encounter misfortune ever again!" It turned into a mask, which I took, and looked at its card.

Rika slung her wrench over her shoulder. "Well, that was… unexpected. My first fusion accident. As in, the sorta thing I'm tryin' to make not happen."

"Indeed," I said. Obviously, the Hare of Inaba was not what I wanted. It did come with some useful skills, though, notably having Diarahan and Megido on it, so I simply accepted it as it was. Still, I did want to see my deal through, so I had no choice but to ask Lavenza to resummon them so we could do the fusion properly.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Lemme check." Rika walked over to the side to one of the curtains, unfurled it to reveal a door, and opened it to reveal Lavenza sitting on the floor, in front of a TV playing Super Smash Bros. Colosseum as the Heavy with a crumpled can of Red Bull to her side.

"Slackin' off at work again?" Rika asked.

Lavenza spun around and squeaked. "Don't scare me like that!" She paused the game, fetched the Compendium and came out to greet me. "Um, I apologize, Trickster. If you require me to summon a Persona, I can do so for a fee."

"Do you take Mastercard?" I asked.

"Er…"

"Oh, don't tease 'er," Rika grinned, lightly tapping me with her wrench.

"I'm Barbatos. If it's treasure, adventure, or a jolly good time you seek, then I will be your mask."

I took in the mask, and Rika grinned. "Good, good. You've got some real experience fusing Personas now."

"Thank you," I said. "And my reward?"

"Oh no," Rika said. "This one has an extra cost. Simply fusing the Persona I want isn't enough."

"Oh? What other cost is there?"

"If you're up to it, you'll accompany me on a visit to Makai," she said. "I got shit to take care of later this week, and I kinda wanna show you around."

I smiled. "Is this a date?"

Rika froze up and blushed, while Lavenza giggled.

"It would appear you have failed to consider what others would think if they were to see you taking a man around to see your home."

"S-SHUT UP!" Rika shouted, whacking her with her wrench to no discernible effect. I used the opportunity to slip out and get back to the mission.


Back on the streets, we looked around. We could see the front facade of the fortress - which looked similar enough to World Marshal's headquarters that I almost expected Monsoon to appear out of nowhere and start talking about memes. Cognitions of common Tengu criss-crossed the streets, going in and out of buildings, although we ourselves could not access them.

Mamiko looked up, taking in the shining, glass facades of all the buildings around us. "So this is an Outside city."

"Rather glorified, but yes," I nodded.

"This place is huge," Aya said. "And we could see from up there that it stretched out quite a bit."

"We should start moving, so that I can sniff out the Will Seed," Nitori said.

"Where could it be, though?" Marisa said. "This place is frickin' huge, and that tiny-ass Will Seed could be anywhere. I hope we don't hafta comb every street, alley and trash can, 'cause otherwise finding that thing is gonna take-"

Suddenly, a loud motorcycle whizzed right past us, leaving a trail of flames in its wake.

"What was that?" Youmu said.

We got our answer a few seconds later, when the same motorcycle came back toward us, spun donuts and spewed smoke, causing us to cover our mouths and cough. Once it finally stopped and the smoke cleared, it revealed a man with a skull for a head, decked out in full leather biker gear and jeans, riding a Harley-type bike with a blazing heart decal on the front and skull designs all over.

"'Sup." He stopped the bike and kicked the stand. "You must be the famous 'Day Breakers' I keep hearin' 'bout."

"And I take it you're a Fiend," I said back.

"The name's Hell Biker, and I'm one of the Big Guy's goons." He popped open the back compartment of his bike, and pulled out the Blue Will Seed. "I take it you're lookin' for this? Snagged it right outta that bird bitch's vault."

I adjusted my mask. "You always steal the blue ones. Why is that?"

"That's just what the Big Guy wants," he said. "And I ain't gonna question 'im. Said somethin' 'bout wantin' to test 'ya or somethin'." He put the Will Seed away. "'Course, I ain't gonna give this up to blokes like you like it's a charity. 'Ya want this Will Seed, 'ya gotta beat me in a good, honest race around the city."

"A race?" Aya asked.

"Ain't nobody got a ride that can outspeed mine," he boasted. "'Course, there's always the physical option, but I beat punks up in bars with my fists all the time. What chance you all got?"

"He's not bluffing," Nitori said, with her PDA out. "Even with our combined strength, it'd be a hell of a fight. We should take him up on his race offer, then try to win."

"But how are we going to race him?" Aya asked. "I don't have my normal speed in here.

"Hmm…" All of us thought, then our eyes gradually turned to Byakuren.

"Err…"

"I mean, you already have a bike," Reimu said. "Who else could race him but you?"

"Indeed," I said. "You are the best possible opponent for him."

Byakuren hesitated, before gathering her resolve and stepping forward. "Very well. I accept your challenge."

Hell Biker chuckled. "Heh. A biker chick, huh? Well, I'm not gonna lose to the likes of you!"

"Are you scared to lose to a lady?" Aya teased.

"'Course not!"

Hell Biker summoned some assistants to set up the race course. Daemons appeared to paint arrows on the ground and buildings with spray cans, dropped road barriers into place, and marked the starting line. Both Byakuren and Hell Biker lined up, the front tires on their rides stopping just short of the starting line and their engines rumbling in anticipation. Nitori hovered above them; she would be keeping up with the racers and providing live footage so that we could watch the race from where we stood.

"Please don't lose," I said to Byakuren before stepping back.

"I won't," she nodded confidently, revving the engine and focusing straight forward.

Nitori turned to face the two, and started the countdown. "We ready? Three… two… five… twenty…"

"Wait, what?" Hell Biker said in confusion.

"What's she doing?" Marisa asked.

"Six… pizza… french fry… alligator… a thousand…"

We watched as Nitori continued her unusual countdown. Byakuren was still focus, while Hell Biker was trailing off in annoyance.

"Four… eleven… cucumber, lamb sau-... ah, just go already."

Byakuren zoomed off, while Hell Biker looked up, exclaiming "wha- get back here!" He blazed off, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.

As they took off, we looked at the screen Nitori had left behind, providing a bird's eye view of the race. We watched the two as they sped around corners, jumping off ramps and over spike strips, and dodging shadows who would try to interfere with the race. Cognitive Tengu citizens jumped to safety as they blazed down the city streets.

The two managed to stay close, and neither was ever far ahead or behind the other. They were close enough that they would actively try to interfere with each other's progress by tossing spells. Hell Biker had a preference for Fire and Curse spells, while Byakuren would retaliate with her Bless attacks. At one point, she tossed a Hama card behind her to try and trip him up in a way reminiscent of Mario Kart characters dropping banana peels behind them, only in this case it was a lethal attack instead of a minor nuisance. Whenever Hell Biker got ahead, he would have his bike spew thick, black smoke, obscuring Byakuren's vision and causing her to cough.

The race was a nail-biter all throughout, and it was never clear who would win. Eventually, the two came back into our vision, speeding down the long, straight stretch toward the finish line. As they came closer, all of us started cheering Byakuren on.

"Gogogo!"

"You can do it, Priest!"

"WOOOOO!"

We jumped up and down and shouted, as the two came barreling down. They were neck-and-neck, practically breathing on each other and glaring at one another as they gunned to cross the finish line first.

"Who's gonna win?" Reimu asked.

"No way to tell!" Aya exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Marisa had taken out a banana and started munching on it.

I looked over to her. "Hey, Starburst, can I borrow that?"

She looked at me. "What, my snack?"

"Only the peel," I said. Marisa shrugged, squeezed the banana out of the peel, then handed it to me. I then hurled the peel out onto the street where I thought Hell Biker would pass through.

The two racers came speeding by, and, like clockwork, Hell Biker passed over the peel, flipped up into the air, and landed upside down while Byakuren passed by, crossing the finish line.

"HELL YEAH!" We all shouted in unison, rushing over to congratulate her on her victory. As we did, Hell Biker got back up and confronted us.

"The hell was that about?!" he complained. "Y'all can't do that! I want a do-over!"

"Oh?" I asked him. "But at no point did you say we couldn't interfere. We just played along until the last moment."

"That's…" He stopped, then sighed. "Well, I mean, Matador and Daisoujou told me y'all were a buncha tricky little weasels." He looked over at Byakuren. "'Sides, you're the real deal. If I could have you in my gang, I would."

"So you are conceding defeat?" Byakuren smiled.

"I mean, good biker chicks are few and far between," Hell Biker shrugged. "Honestly, those donuts, turns, tricks… all that reminds me of my heyday."

He produced the blue Will Seed again, and presented it to her. "Here. You deserve it, one biker to 'nother."

Byakuren took it. "I appreciate it."

"Good." He got back onto his bike and revved it up. Just before taking off, he addressed me once more. "You got a pretty tight crew here, boss. Once you get strong enough, I'll come back and fight at your side. But I gotta tell 'ya: the rest of the gang is a lot tougher than me and the guys y'all have fought before me. And the Big Guy will rip 'ya up into tiny little shreds if you let 'im. So keep on beatin' up shadows and sharpening your skills. Until then, see 'ya later!" He then took off into the streets, rounded a corner, and disappeared from sight.

"Who's the 'big guy?'" Aya asked.

"Probably the 'Agent of Providence,'" I said. "It seems I was right: they're directing these Fiends to test us for unknown reasons."

"And that Hell Biker said he stole the seed from Megumu," Mamiko commented. "Might they also be working against the fortresses?"

"Perhaps," I said. I looked back at the skyscraper. "Regardless, we have our last seed." Byakuren held out the blue Seed, Marisa shot out the other two, and together they combined into the Crystal of Envy. "Let's head back up."

"Affirmative," Nitori said.


We arrived back at the 100th floor, and went straight for the elevators behind Megumu's desk. As expected, they worked, opening up and letting us in.

There was only one button inside the elevator, taking us up into Shadow Megumu's luxurious penthouse apartment. We looted some chests and containers, waylaid the shadow guard that was present, then made our way up the stairs until we arrived on top of the tower's helicopter landing pad. There, floating in the air above us, was the white, wispy cloud, Megumu's core.

Aya slowly walked up underneath it. "That's…"

"That's our target," I explained. "That's the core. It's intangible right now, because Megumu believes her distorted desires to be in no danger of being taken. Once we send her the calling card, however, it will materialize, allowing us to return here and take it."

"And Megumu will try to stop us?" Aya asked.

"Yes. Her shadow will be waiting for us, and make a last stand to defend it. We'll need to best her, then, once she's vulnerable, we persuade her to abandon her distorted ways and return to her real self. Only the fortress's owner can break the chains holding their desires in, we have discovered."

"I see," Aya nodded. "And to send her the calling card?"

"We'll discuss that after we leave here," Nitori explained.

I looked up at the core again. "We've secured our route. Shall we return to the real world?"

Marisa walked over to the edge and looked down. "I mean… we skipped most of the floors. I'll betcha that there's loads of treasure we could loot on our way out."

"I still have some energy left in me," Youmu said. "I wouldn't mind collecting some more treasure and training against more shadows before we leave."

I nodded. "Fair enough." I turned to Nitori. "Doktor, guide the way."

"Will do." We descended down to the lower floors. Nitori sniffed out and pointed us to the locations of the most valuable treasure on the floors we had not visited, practiced our fighting skills against more shadows, then, once we were satisfied with the loot we had gathered, returned to the real world to discuss our next steps.

We decided to gather at Marisa's house. Youmu cooked dinner for the rest of us, with me assisting her, and we sat down to eat.

"Your cooking is superb as always," Byakuren complimented.

"I've been preparing meals for Yuyuko-sama for decades," Youmu replied. "She demands only the best."

"This one makes killer Indian food," Marisa said, pointing at Mamiko.

"That is what I'm familiar with," she commented. "I was a shadow of a Buddhist figure. I suppose the skill was just born into me."

"So let me get this straight," Aya said. "You used to be one of those 'shadows,' before these guys came and freed you, then you somehow wandered to Alice's house and possessed a doll she had been working on."

"Yes," Mamiko nodded.

Aya slumped on the table. "Geez, this whole 'Metaverse' business is really complex."

"You'll get used to it the more you do it," I said. I sipped my tea. "Now then, the calling card. How should we send it?"

"I feel like what I did last time wouldn't work here," Marisa said. "The Tengu guard the mountain, and even if we had Aya do it I think it'd be easy for them to figure out who was dropping the cards."

"Then we'll need to figure out some other method," I said. I turned to Aya. "Do you happen to know what Megumu's daily schedule is like?"

Aya looked up. "You know, she did mention wanting to go to the concert down by the lake tomorrow night a couple days back. Maybe we could scatter them there?"

"I have a great idea," I said.