Rem felt as if she was simultaneously wide-awake and dead on her feet as she drove through Mementos, Ryuji and Ann piled in the back taking a power nap. She could tell even Morgana was pooped, his engine no longer as boisterous as it was when they'd initially journeyed down.

It all came back to the one that called himself a 'Remnant'. The black-clad figure that had just appeared, thrashed the living daylights out of them, formed a contract, and left…

It was eye-opening and humbling to know that there were others out in the Metaverse that were capable of absolutely destroying them. She hadn't missed how they were getting slightly over their heads after stealing Kamoshida's hearts… it made her wonder how the Remnant had known exactly who they were.

She shook her head. Perhaps this was someone they were better off on staying away from his bad side. As much as he seemed to ruthlessly take them down it didn't seem like he had any personal problems with them with how he'd healed them with that weird golden drink. Add to the fact he was now a confidant… Rem didn't look forward to the day he became a real enemy.

Soon, the familiar escalators appeared leading up to the entrance of Mementos. She slammed her fist on the horn, a loud piercing screech rending through the air as Morgana yowled awake, sending his two sleeping occupants back into the world of the living.

"Rise and shine you two, I'm not going to be carrying you up the escalators," Rem honked the horn once more, the two moaning and groaning teens waking up bleary-eyed and confused.

"We're here already…? Coulda sworn it would've taken longer," Ryuji flopped over like a fish, still in the midst of waking up while Panther stretched, her spine popping.

"Still can't believe that happened…" Ann muttered despondently, "Let's just go home…"

"Yeah…" Ryuji agreed, rubbing the back of his neck as everyone piled out of the Monabus. Morgana transformed back into his normal form, a small frown on his face.

It seemed she wasn't the only one that had been humbled. Eventually, after another few seconds of wrangling, they made their way up the escalator which stood still, a lack of electricity preventing it from working.

The moment they got to the entrance, however, they tensed as they noticed a figure standing there. The tension eased slightly as they noticed that instead of the Remnant from earlier, it seemed to be some sort of child.

"Why are there so many people in Mementos!?" Morgana growled lightly as they moved closer.

The figure was a small boy in white. He wore a grey parka and boots with a pair of goggles around his neck while his legs were clad in black pants. Behind him was a small blue automobile with a pile of junk precariously piled on the back and tied down with copious amounts of rope.

It was strange Rem realised as she noticed the child-like figure move towards a large floating yellow orb filled with flowers just in front of him. "Hmm…" the boy hummed contently as he held a hand out to the flower orb, "I wonder what this one will show me."

Rem had to take a second and make sure she was seeing what she was seeing because she could have sworn that the flowers turned into orange juice. It seemed she wasn't the only one taken aback, however.

"Either that ass-whoopin' we took has taken a lot outta me, or did a buncha' mystical flowers turn into a glass of orange juice for anyone else?" Ryuji murmured as the four approached him warily.

The boy in white finally took notice of them. "Oh? I didn't realise there would be more people down here!" the child said surprised. "So, who're you guys?"

"WE should be asking YOU that!" Morgana bristled, his fur spiking slightly.

The boy in white's eyes widened before looking at them apologetically, "Good point. Sorry about that. I forgot that it's customary for a human to introduce itself before asking another human for its name."

"Thank for reminding me, Misterrr… um… Tanuki?" the boy tried before shaking his head, "No… um… hmmm… cat?" he hedged, Morgana bristling even more at the length of time it had taken the boy to reach that conclusion.

"What took so long to come up with 'Cat'!? And I'm not either of those!" Morgana yowled before he was picked up by the back his neckerchief, and found himself being hoisted into the air by Rem.

"Stop being rude," Rem chastised tiredly before hefting him onto his shoulder and away from the child in white.

"To be fair Mona… it's pretty easy for him to come to that conclusion," Ryuji hung his head in exasperation and exhaustion.

"My name is Jose. I'm looking for flowers," Jose introduced himself. "I'm pretty surprised to see some normal humans other than my big bro running around. I didn't realise that this place was so accessible to normal humans."

Rem's mind caught the middle of Jose's sentence.

"Big bro?" she asked curiously and with the slightest amount of apprehension.

Jose nodded. "Mhmm… he helps me and brings me flowers for my research. He went down earlier and said he'd be back in a few hours."

Rem looked at Ryuji and Ann with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Uh… hey, Jose?" Ann crouched down so she was eye-level with the boy. "Does your 'big bro' wear all black? Like maybe a knee-length black jacket, black mask with red lenses and his hair slicked back?" she asked.

Jose nodded enthusiastically. "Mhmm, that's him! Did you meet him?"

"Uh… 'meet' ain't exactly the word I'd use, but yeah… we saw him alright," Ryuji winced, rubbing the spot along his rib where Jose's 'big bro' had used that short sword of his to send him into the ground along with everyone else.

At least Rem knew now that he had some sort of relation with Jose. "Does he have a name?" she asked curiously, wondering if they'd be able to find him on the MetaNav.

"Ummm…" Jose placed a finger up to his chin and pursed his lips, his brow furrowing and scrunching, "Actually, I don't think he's ever told me his name. I just started calling him big bro after I met him."

"Darn, thought you might've been onto something," Morgana muttered on Rem's shoulders. But of course not, that would've been too easy.

"Never mind that for now," Ann shook her head, wavy blonde pig-tails swinging behind her. "You said he helps you with your research? Does that have something to do with the floating flower thing from earlier?"

"That's right, pretty lady," Jose nodded, "These flowers help me with my research. I'm collecting as many of them as I can because I'm studying humans."

"Study humans?" Ryuji asked surprised, "That's why you turned a flower into orange juice?"

"Yup," was Jose's succinct reply.

"Drinking flower-orange juice counts as studying?" he whispered to himself. Rem was already able to tell where his thought process was going considering the upcoming exams.

Her hand flitted upwards and smacked the back of Ryuji's head lightly, just strong enough to bring him back into the grasp of reality. "No drinking flower juice from the creepy subway just to get out of studying," she reprimanded sternly.

"Aww, c'mon…" Ryuji pouted.

"Would you guys like to help me with my research as well? There's a human saying that 'two heads are better than one', so six heads are better than two, right?" Jose offered.

"Do you just want us to collect flowers for you?" Ann asked curiously.

"Yup, I wouldn't ask you to do it for free, though," Jose nodded before making a motion to the pile of junk on his automobile. "I find all kinds of stuff you can use while you're exploring. I'll trade you some of that stuff for more flowers."

"Uh… Joker? Whaddya think about this?" Ryuji turned to Rem looking for advice. "As much as I hate his brother for kickin' our butts, Jose doesn't seem all too bad. Should we try an' get him some flowers?"

Morgana's ears flattened against his rotund head displaying his lack of certainty. "More equipment sounds good but we don't know this kid… and with his ties to the Remnant… we've gotta be careful Joker," he whispered from Rem's shoulder.

It didn't seem like Ann was too concerned as she just waved off everyone's worries. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Let's give him a hand," she suggested, "He seems like he could use it, and it shouldn't be too hard to pick flowers while we're exploring, right?"

Ryuji nodded his head understandingly, bringing a hand to his chin and scratching but gave Ann a sideways knowing glance. "Okay… any OTHER reasons?" he smirked.

"Hehe, he called me 'pretty lady'," Ann giggled swaying her arms from side-to-side in ill-concealed delight.

"Nooo! Lady Ann…" Morgana whined piteously directly next to Rem's ear causing her to recoil and push him off.

"Eh, it's prolly fine," Ryuji waved off Morgana's whine. "If we can get some useful stuff out of this, and so long as you're cool with it Joker, I don't see a problem with it."

Jose looked up at Rem as the leader of their ragtag group. "Well, what do you say? Are young to be helping me find some flowers?"

Rem thought about it for a moment. All they really need to do was collect flowers in exchange for items, something of which shouldn't be too hard and it could also mean that they could get some information on the Remnant.

"I don't see why not," Rem said coming to a decision.

"Great!" Jose cheered while holding out a hand. "My big bro once told me that humans clasp each other's hands and shake them together for a variety of reasons. In our case, it's to display that a deal has been accepted. He called it a handshake."

Rem rose a brow. It seemed that the Remnant wasn't nearly as intimidating as he made himself seem… or perhaps he was only nice with Jose?

Shaking her head, Rem accepted the proffered hand and shook it. "I look forward to helping you," Rem smiled.

"Thanks," Jose nodded

"Wait, wait, hang on a second! We still have no idea who this kid is!" Morgana disagreed with the decision apparently with a large amount of vehemence as he whirled to look at Jose. "Don't go thankin' us just yet, bud!" Morgana said to the child that was slightly taller than him.

"Aw, are you tired, kitty? You seem grumpy," Jose looked at Morgana with a downcast expression. Rem let out the smallest giggle as she watched Morgana's attempt at intimidating Jose fail to do anything.

"I am NOT a cat! And I'm NOT grumpy!" Morgana bristled.

That seemed to cheer Jose up somehow. "O-Oh, okay – the, are you hungry?" he asked curiously. "I learned that hunger can make a person turn grumpy," Jose said before rustling through his pockets and withdrawing a small cookie packet that looked surprisingly uncrumpled, "Here, you can have this."

Morgana sweat-dropped at the offering. "Thanks, but I'll pass…"

"C'mon Mona, you're making the kid worry about ya even more," Ryuji remarked shaking his head at their cat, "Guess there's no way outta this one."

Morgana crumpled dramatically to the floor.

Eventually, the four stood back as Jose clambered into his blue automobile. Now that Rem got a better look at it, she actually noticed there were some golden balloons in the shape of stars attached to the back. "I'll be around Mementos looking for flowers, so stop by and say hi if you see me," Jose smiled before it dropped into an expression of thinking. "And I guess just gathering flowers would be kind of boring, huh? Since you humans seem to enjoy playing so much, I'll come up with a game for you."

Just as he was about to press down on his accelerator his face seemed to light up in one of comprehension. "I just remembered something my big bro always says to me: Good Job!" he squeaked his car horn for emphasis.

His car squeaked into the depths of Mementos with a very cartoonish sound of the wheels moving.

The four stared at his retreating car, Ryuji hanging his head in exhaustion as he left. "Man, I'm pooped after that…" Ryuji moaned.

"We didn't even do anything, we just talked," Ann retorted with a raised brow but relaxed as she through about Jose. "But… he said he was studying humans… does that mean he isn't one? I mean he just seemed like some nice kid."

Rem saw Morgana's ears flatten once more as he gained a contemplative look on his face, "Well, he certainly didn't feel like a Shadow… so I wouldn't say he's dangerous… that Remnant big brother of his on the other hand…"

"Ugh, don't remind me…" Ryuji groaned. "We're gonna be getting' our ass handed to us the deeper we go into Mementos. Why'd you agree to getting' our asses kicked again?" he asked, the question directed at Rem.

"He said there were people that would crush us…" Rem said shrugging, "I'd rather get out butts kicked by him and learn, rather than getting our butts kicked and… well, die."

"Man, I know you have logic and all but it still sucks to think about it," Ryuji complained. "Well at least for the next time we come here, if we see any of those flowers Jose wants, I guess we can grab 'em for him."

Honk Honk

A familiar sound of a car horn honking caused them to look up, finding Jose driving back to them. Jose's car came to a screeching halt in front of them, Jose himself quickly clambering out of his car and over to them.

"I totally forgot!" Jose exclaimed, "There's something I was meaning to give to all of you!"

Rem cocked her head to the side quizzically, "What would that be?"

"This!" Jose held up what looked like a blue star-shaped pendant charm with a smattering of green, yellow and pink. "I picked it up while I was exploring earlier."

"Huh? What the heck is that?" Ryuji asked as he inspected the star charm.

"It's a star, dummy…" Jose giggled. "At least, that's what they look like, so that what I call them.

"A star?" Morgana asked doubtfully.

"Um, so, what about it did you want to show us?" Ann asked.

"Well, I found out something interesting. Humans make wishes on stars, right? Stars granting wishes…" Jose said before trailing off and shaking his head, "Anyways, this star is going to grant your wishes."

Rem stared bug-eyed at the seemingly innocuous star-shaped charm. "Our wishes?!" Morgana exclaimed, the rest of the group in similar states of shock and awe.

"…Or, it would be nice to think that," Jose shrugged. He looked up at Rem. "I'll give this to you. It's so sparkly and beautiful, you want it too, don't you?" he asked curiously as he offered it to Rem, "It can be a sign of our friendship! I know understand what that is from my studies!"

Rem knelt down and accepted it with a gentle smile. A hand reached up and rubbed the top of Jose's head. "Thank you, Jose… you did a good job," she smiled.

Jose looked at her silently for a moment, almost searchingly. "You know lady, you remind of my big bro! I'll call you big sis from now on!" he said, nodding his head affirmingly before Rem could stop him.

He'd clambered into his car and drove off, leaving the pendant in the hand of a gobsmack Rem.

"Welp, there he goes," Ryuji remarked as he watched the little childlike figure leave. "Man, 'pretty lady', 'big sis', how come I didn't get a nickname?"

Rem gave him a smug grin as she hefted the star-charm in her hand. "You just don't leave that much of an impression like us girls," she teased.

"Harsh… but maybe true…" Ryuji bemoaned before shaking his head and looking at the charm. "But a star, huh? He said it'd grant our wishes or somethin'…"

Morgana shook his head. "I highly doubt something like that would happen, even in Mementos…" he said before nodding at the charm anyway, "Well, I guess you can at least try making a wish…"

It seemed that Ann was more than on-board for that idea. "Okay… I wish for all-you-can-eat parfaits! With zero calories!" she exclaimed.

"An extra-large beef bowl! With pork soup on the side!" Ryuji exclaimed before the two looked at Rem.

"I don't know… Black Ivory coffee," Rem said shrugging only to get a disgusted reaction from Morgana.

"Eww, Rem! You really liked that stuff?" Morgana asked disgustedly.

Rem couldn't help but shrug. "For what it was… it was pretty good…."

The four looked at the star only to find no reaction.

"Well… nothing's happening…" Morgana wilted, along with Ann.

"Was Skull's wish too petty?"

"Mine? What about yours? Or Rem's?" Ryuji asked, almost feeling attacked by how he was being singled out.

"I guess things don't just happen that easily," Morgana murmured before looking at Rem. "But we can't just throw the thing away… Hold onto it for now."

"Way ahead of you Mona," Rem nodded, tucking it away into the pocket of her shorts.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but after just all of… this, everyone cool if we head home?" Ryuji asked, this time almost pleadingly. "All I want to do is go home and sleep like a log until tomorrow…"

Rem, Ann, and Morgana nodded at that, an idea that they all could get behind.

Akira found himself four days following his fight against the Phantom Thieves finding himself surprised at the announcement of a school assembly during the middle of exam week when he entered school. He didn't recall this happening last time.

He closed the umbrella he was sharing with Sumire, a heavy downpour coming today as he shook off the clinging moisture.

"I can't believe this… A school assembly? During exam week? The hell are they thinking?" a student muttered.

"It's the day after tomorrow, right? I wonder if it's gonna be about Mr. Kamoshida again…" another student replied looking at the announcement posted on the school bulletin board.

"Ugh, I can't believe that the school is messing around with our schedule like this…" the student complained.

"I don't care what it's about – it's gonna have nothing to do with us, students. I wish they'd stop dragging us into their mess."

"Are you worried about this Akira-senpai?" Sumire asked from his side only to get a shrug in response.

"Not too much," Akira said honestly. "I'm confident in my grades. How about you?"

"I think it wouldn't hurt for me to study after school between exams," she replied looking at the notice.

Akira rose a brow. "I'd offer to help but I'm not all too sure what subjects the first-years are studying, sorry I can't be of much help there," Akira apologised.

"Oh, don't worry senpai. I think I can handle it myself," Sumire waved him off but thanked for him for his gesture. "I think we should head to class; the exams will be starting in ten minutes."

Akira nodded and the two made their way to their respective morning homerooms.

After the first and second day of the exams came the day of the emergency morning assembly. As per usual, Akira stood in his spot at the back of the gymnasium, Sumire at his side. Thankfully the school had been kind enough to hold it in the afternoon, after the day's exam period.

Rumours and muttering flittered around the gymnasium as tired and exhausted exam student spilled into the gymnasium.

"A school-wide assembly, at this time of year? Really?"

"Think we can bring out flashcards in?"

"Kamoshida is just one of the many things wrong with this school…"

"I've got to hurry home and study!"

"That Kamoshida is still causing us trouble, even when he's gone…"

Akira perked up as he noticed Kobayakawa walk up to the microphone, however, without the podium that stood before him like last time. "Ever since that specific incident last time, many of you have voiced concerns that I could not bear to ignore," Kobayakawa begun. "We believe the mental health of our student body is absolutely vital, so we've acquired the services of a therapist."

Akira rose a brow. He didn't recall this happening last time. He wondered if this was simply another one of the deviations that Lavenza had mentioned.

"The floor is yours, Doctor…" Kobayakawa trailed off allowing a relatively young-looking man dressed in a lab coat, a blue-collared shirt and a navy blue tie along with long khaki pants to walk forward. He wore a pair of glasses that framed his brown eyes while a mop of curly but wavy hair sat upon the top of his head.

"What? No way?"

"Isn't he hot?"

That wasn't what caught Akira's attention.

No, what caught his attention was the sudden sharp intake of air beside him, causing him to look down at Sumire. She wore a face of stunned surprise as if she couldn't believe that the man upon the stage was even there. He felt something in his chest coil but it eased as he realised it was more a joyous shock rather than one of fear.

"It's nice to meet you all," the teacher wearing glasses greeted.

"Woah, his voice is sexy!"

"My name is-" he spoke before the mic cut out audibly causing him to let out a sound of confusion, tapping the Mic to make sure it was working before he tried again. "My name is Takuto Maruki," he introduced himself, "Thank you for welcoming me to your school."

"Maruki…?" Akira muttered curiously… he could've sworn he'd heard that name somewhere.

He bowed politely only to quickly hit his forehead against the microphone, a screeching whine to ring through the gymnasium causing some students to giggle. "No need to be formal with me, though. I'm just here to counsel anyone who's interested," he stated eliciting even more giggling from the female populace of the school.

"You can even call me Doc, if that would help you feel more comfortable. Any assistance you need, I'll be- Oh… perhaps not any money issues. I don't think I can be of much help in that regard…" he trailed off as Kobayakawa took the mic from him.

"Thank you, Doctor Maruki…" Kobayakawa said as he took centre stage, a slight amount of annoyance ringing his tone.

It hit Akira, finally putting the pieces together.

"For the most part, yes. My father around that time also suggested for me to go to a councillor… Councillor Maruki also suggested that sometimes if you can't solve your problems it's okay to run away… so I ended up transferring here to Shujin as an honours student with my gymnastics skill."

He was the councillor that Sumire had gone to following the car accident.

With the introduction of the new student councillor out of the way, the rest of the announcement was quickly wrapped up since it was still the middle of the exam week.

Akira looked down at Sumire, "Want to go say hi to him? He was your councillor, wasn't he?" he asked.

Sumire looked up at him in surprise, "...You remember that, Senpai?"

He gave her a confused look. "Why wouldn't I?"

Sumire didn't say anything. "If you don't mind I'd like to go talk to him," Sumire eventually said, Akira nodding at her words as he picked both his bag and her own.

"Let's get going then," Akira smiled.

Rem and Ann were walking through the school courtyard when Ryuji finally caught up to them following the introduction of the new student councillor.

"You ever expected this place to actually give a shit about our mental health?" Ryuji asked as he caught up to them.

"Well, our school's made national news. Maybe they figured they'd look even worse if they didn't do anything for us," Ann reasoned.

Ryuji nodded along. "And Doctor, uh… Doctor Whatshisname…" Ryuji tried to remember but failed.

"Maruki," Rem supplied, a raised brow as she saw said man approaching from behind Ryuji.

"Yeah – wasn't that guy basically clownin' it up onstage?" Ryuji asked, completely unaware that said man was right behind him. "You really think he'll do us any good?"

"Ryuji…" Ann hissed wincing as Doctor Maruki saddled up to the three.

"Hey there," the brown-haired doctor greeted, looking between the three. "Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san, right? And that would make you… Amamiya-san," he said, his eyes falling on Rem.

"How do you know our names?" Ryuji asked with a slight amount of hostility, suspicion in his eyes.

"Well, I was informed of certain students before beginning my tenure here," Doctor Maruki admitted while he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Those students that have had… previous dealings and interactions with Mr. Kamoshida."

He looked over to Rem. "It must have been especially tough for you since he did admit that you were a target of his ire for a large portion of your time here before he turned himself in," Maruki said.

Rem shrugged. "I didn't expect that I'd end up trapped in a castle on my first day…" she said casually, Ryuji and Ann swivelling to look at her in panic. It wasn't as if he'd believe what she said anyway, so it wasn't like it hurt to be truthful.

"A… castle?" Maruki scratched his head in confusion.

"You idiot!" Ryuji hissed, shocked at what she'd admitted.

"Ahahah, it seems like she didn't get enough sleep last night, you know with exams and all," Ann covered up after Rem's admittance.

"So… whadyya want with us?" Ryuji asked, deflecting the question back at Maruki.

"Ah, yes I'd forgotten…" Maruki said looking at the three, "I know I already offered my services to the student body earlier, but would you three be interested in counselling?" he asked.

"Nope, not at all," came Ryuji's blunt reply.

"Huh?!" Maruki was taken aback by the complete and swift refusal.

"How's that in any way surprising?" Ryuji questioned.

Maruki was quick to laugh off Ryuji's bluntness though. "You were just a touch more emphatic about it than I'd expected…" Maruki admitted. "Ah! But, if you came to my office, you can have free snacks!"

That piqued Rem's interest.

"All you can eat…" Maruki offered, "…would be nice, but there's still plenty to be had. So, how about it?"

With her interest sufficiently piqued and her stomach hungry after a full day of exams, Rem leaned forward. "Tell me more of these snacks…" she requested earning her a surprised look from Ann and a gleeful look from Maruki.

"Hey, don't fall for that!" Ann admonished which Rem quickly shrugged off.

Maruki rubbed the back of his head again, a sheepish expression covering his face. "To be frank, I've been explicitly ordered to provide counselling to the students directly involved with Mr. Kamoshida. Students such as you three, and Kurusu-kun. It's in the school's interests… for its students."

"Ahhh, the school's interest, huh?" Ryuji glowered at Maruki.

"Oh, lay off him Ryuji, he's just the middle-man," Rem shook her head earning her a grateful look from Maruki.

"Thank you, Amamiya-san," Maruki gave her a small smile. "I understand that asking you to be open with a complete stranger like myself is a lot. Making this mandatory wouldn't do you any good, either. Might as well turn it into a worthwhile experience…"

"…Oh, I know! If you attend my counselling sessions, I'll teach you different ways to improve your mental acuity. Like, way to hone your concentration before exams, or not getting nervous on dates," Maruki offered professionally. "How's that sound…?"

"Uh…" Ann let out nervously.

"There are also snacks…"

And that was Rem's ticket in. "I'll go for it," she answered.

"And she fell for the snacks… dammit…" Ryuji hung his head, "…Still, I guess it'd just be more trouble if we didn't go…"

"Yeah…" Ann agreed.

Maruki looked at them in surprise. "Really? Then, I guess it's a deal," Maruki nodded gratefully. "I'll be in the nurse's office – feel free to come by whenever it's convenient for you."

The three nodded.

"Welp, we should get goin'." Ryuji muttered as he began to walk off.

"Okay, see you later!" Maruki waved as the two left, Rem quick to follow but was stopped as Maruki continued speaking. "Thanks for taking my counselling into consideration. Now that we have a deal, I promise I'll do my best to help you."

Rem nodded quietly.

She'd made a deal with Maruki.

The familiar sound of shattering chains echoed in the depths of her mind, a female's voice resounding in her head.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Councillor Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

shall lead to freedom and new power…

"Hey Rem, what's the hold-up…?" Ryuji called out.

"Sorry for keeping you like this but would you be able to direct me to Kurusu-kun before you leave?" Maruki asked politely, a bit awkward for continuing to hold her up.

Rem simply pointed directly behind him.

Maruki turned around to find himself eye-level with piercing grey eyes. "Oh! HelloI I didn't see you there!"

Akira gave an acknowledging wave to Rem which she returned before walking over to Ryuji and Ann.

"Yoshizawa-san! I wasn't aware you were already acquainted with Kurusu-kun…"