Like a Light From Above

by Cosmic Sky

People could be hurt in different ways, and be healed in different ways. As a professional doctor, even a disgraced one, Tae knew of certain ways to heal the body. Healing the mind though? That took a special kind of medicine, one she was in need of. Some people could administer it in abundance. Akira was one such person. His treatment, she had to admit, was almost divine.

3. Chapter 3-My Real Dream

Hey, everyone. Sorry for the months long break in an update, especially for the final chapter of this little story. October was a stressful month and so too was the first week of November, but all that is in the past. Speaking of the past, there's going to be some discussion over that this chapter, which will be the last one and focus on the Royal's anti-villain, Takuto Maruki! Now, both he and Tae are doctors, albeit from two different fields and having gone through two different paths in life, but again, a certain teenager from the country has caused their paths to cross somewhat. Enjoy one last chapter of character study, fluff, and headcanons!

I do not own anything.

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Like a Light from Above

Chapter 3-My Real Dream

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September 3rd, Takemi Clinic…

"Persona…meaning…mask." Tae repeated.

Akira silently nodded, quietly bracing himself for what was to follow…which he didn't really know to be certain. Really, no matter how many times he tried going over it in his head…it never sounded easier. The Metaverse and all that came with it wasn't something that could be explained so easily in words, it had to be experienced. And experiencing it tended to be equal-parts exhilarating and equal-parts dangerous. Sometimes the latter outweighing the former; that's precisely why he'd ended up here at his girlfriend's clinic being treated for a seemingly spontaneous wound that had appeared out of nowhere. Such a wound wasn't the first, nor would it be the last at the rate he was going.

Something that Tae was well aware of as she always tended to them. After months of doing so, he couldn't blame her for getting curious and finally asking him for an explanation.

So he gave it to her.

Tae was an attentive listener while also tending to his wound. Luckily, it was nothing too serious, but he was still right to come get it checked out. Knowing her though, she would have likely insisted that he did go get it looked at, serious or not. It had been subtle, but Akira had noticed how after beginning their relationship, she'd become a tad more protective of him, which was entirely natural. He wasn't just her patient anymore-he was her boyfriend. As much as Tae may have tried to come off as disinterested and nonchalant, she was a woman of deep emotional commitment, it was a trait about her that Akira had found deeply attractive. When he realized that the love he felt for her was mutual, he also realized that he couldn't take that care for granted. Looking back on it, somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that evening that there would come a point when he would have to tell her the truth. If he ever entered a relationship with someone other than his immediate teammates this moment was going to come.

He'd be lying through his teeth if he didn't say that he was nervous.

Silently, he watched Tae's face for any sign of a reaction. It was immediately clear that she was…processing it, she could see by the way her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of it. Quite a struggle considering that he told her of a place that defied sense and rationality as most people, especially professionals such as herself, knew it.

Tae sat back in her chair, her gaze shifting as she couldn't keep her eyes focused on him. They moved downward, a hand going to her chin-it was a common gesture she did when giving deep thought to something. He'd certainly given her something to think about.

"Tae, I know it all sounds crazy, but…it's…it's real." Finally spoke the black-haired teen. It was an impulsive thing to say, something born from his growing uncertainty about his girlfriend's reaction. Honestly, between the two of them, he was the one most likely to be called mentally called unhinged in some way. After all, he was the one talking about a parallel world where magic and monsters existed, and that this world was a byproduct of the collective human psyche, and its…more detailed areas a result of individual human thoughts and repressed thoughts and feelings.

She looked to him, her hazel brown eyes firing invisible hooks that sunk into him as they always did. He went dead quiet as the formerly disgraced doctor began to speak. "I believe you, Akira."

It felt like a bomb had gone off and they were no standing in the smoke-ridden aftermath. Said smoke steadily gave way to a surprisingly clear blue sky with a shining sun, its light shining down upon Akira. The source of the light were the beautiful and cool brown eyes of the woman in front of him. Eyes that could be sharp as knives, cackle with dark amusement, and soften with immense tenderness. It was tenderness that he saw as he looked to her, a breath of relief leaving him. Tae flashed him a smile, not a cocky one, but one of reassurance.

Mature as Akira may have been, he was still young, not a legal adult by the standards of society. And yet, as Tae had learned, he'd seen more than apparently had witnessed in their whole lifetimes, mundane and apparently extradentary. Heavily extradentary.

"That said…it's a lot to take in. I mean, a parallel world that exists in tandem with our own? One where individuals such as yourself can wield supernatural powers and explore it. It's the kind of urban fantasy story I'd expect out of a manga or TV show." Spoke up the town doctor with a whimsical look in her eyes. Her posture spoke of relaxation in spite of the fact that her mind was still running with possibilities, so many possibilities that it honestly surprised her. About a month after making that deal with Akira, she did honestly begin to wonder what he was up to, what activities could he have been getting into that required the use of such experimental and powerful medicine. Of course, she wasn't complaining as he more than made sure to fulfill his end of their bargain…but Tae wondered, and worried. She worried when he would come in with injuries that spoke of not a simple accident, but what amounted to a deliberate attempt to kill him. The same went for some of the friends he brought in, all of them carrying various wounds that told her the story of a group of kids who were doing a little more than just running around Tokyo.

Now she knew they'd apparently been running around Tokyo's psychic underbelly.

"Believe me, I know. It was quite a lot to handle when me and Ryuji were first dragged into the Metaverse. Hell, I honestly woke up the next morning half-believing it was a dream…until running into Morgana again." Akira mused with a bit of a wistful smile on his face. It was honestly hard to believe the existence of the supernatural was once completely alien and unknown to him; now, he readily accepted it as part of his daily life. Looking at his girlfriend, he realized that he was now going to ask her to do the same.

"Morgana…that part of the story I'm honestly still a little hung up on. It's just so…so…geez, I guess the word I'm looking for is stereotypical." Finally exhumed the doctor, crossing her shapely legs and her arms, a look of mild frustration on her face. Truth be told, she always found Morgana to be a cute and somewhat interesting cat. The fact of the matter was she noticed how sometimes he seemed a little too smart for your common cat, even if he'd supposed lived on the streets for who knew how long. "Another world, supernatural powers and monsters, and in the midst of it all is a talking cat…which can apparently also turn into a car."

"Hey, blame the people's cognition on that one, and we were just as surprised as you would be." Akira defended with a bit of a laugh. "Still, I'll admit that you're right in that having a talking animal in the midst of all this does sound kind of…well, yeah, it does sound like the one essential piece. He actually is since without him, I don't think the Phantom Thieves would have gotten off the ground."

"Hm, and he claims he was once human?" Tae questioned.

"He tells us he was…" Looking over his girlfriend, Akira made a guess about what was running through her mind. "You don't believe he ever was human, do you?"

It wasn't an accusatory statement, just an open question. Tae considered it a blessing that her boyfriend's feline companion wasn't with him this time. From what he'd told her, Morgana implored Akira to keep all aspects of his Phantom Thief life a tightly-guarded secret. He had every right to as if anyone were to find out, disaster wouldn't even begin to cover it. "It is…hard to take in, which is saying something on top of everything you just told me. Hell, you could even argue it's maybe hypocritical. You've told me that your former high school gym teacher could transform into a giant long-tongued demonic king and a banker and Yakuza loan shark transformed into a humanoid fly, and those are just these so-called Palace Rulers." There was a pause on her part as she looked deeply into Akira's eyes. "Is it possible that Morgana is a…"

"Shadow?" Akira answered for her. "I've…thought about it, granted I've never talked to Morgana about it."

"I think it's best you keep it that way." From what she was grasping, these Shadows were manifestations of the human psyche, particularly monstrous and twisted manifestations that often represented the negativity of their "creators". They were in a sense, inner demons made manifest in a world where the desires of the hearts and minds were able to manifest in a physical form. Sharing a somewhat similar principle to them, yet being distinct in their own right were these "Personas", the power wielded by her boyfriend and his fellow Phantom Thieves. "But you told me that Morgana has a Persona himself."

"Yep, Zorro, the legendary outlaw. It has to be seen to believe." Akira laughed.

Tae laughed back. "A lot of this sounds like it has to be seen to believed. In particular…I'm curious as to what you look like in this Metaverse." Quick as it was, a light pink tint colored her boyfriend's cheeks. She'd spoken the honest truth in that she was curious…especially in regards to Akira. He'd told her how when they entered the Metaverse, he and his allies changed outfits into what he called their "thief costumes". The firs thing Tae thought of where various Henshin heroes such as Kamen Riders; Kamen Rider Ryuki jumped to her mind since a parallel world was involved. And that world carried dangers that were all too real. "Tell me…what kind of dark hero do you change into, Akira?"

The flirty tone of her voice sent a thrill up the teenager's spine, it also caused the pink tint on his face to grow a bit brighter. "Well…exactly as you said, a dark hero. Black coat, black undershirt, red gloves, and a white mask theater mask with black markings. I look like a rogue…exactly what society chose to paint me as and what I've chosen to become. In a way, all of our outfits are based off of our Personas."

"And yours is…Arsène Lupin." Tae recalled. That was another thing that caught her attention-how the Personas of her boyfriend and his allies all seemed to be based on rogues and outlaws: a phantom thief of literature, an infamous pirate, a seductress from an opera, and even one of Japan's own folk heroes. There was definitely a pattern there, one that Tae felt was a sign of something…greater. "I'd like to meet him."

Unknown to Tae, the entity that she wished to meet was sitting right beside her boyfriend, but she couldn't see him. She couldn't see his great black feather wings, the scarlet-red outfit he wore, and the blazing face that stared back at her. He was smiling at her.

Ah, if only there was a way to bring her into the Metaverse, but doing so would come with such dangers, wouldn't it? You don't think it would be worth it, do you, Akira? Mused the Fool-aligned Persona remarked.

Akira's thoughts were always an open book to his Persona. It was natural since Arsene was a part of him, his other self, his inner self. There was little that he could keep from the darkness-using phantom thief; at times he was relieved for that, and other times he was a tad angered at it. In the end, he knew that when Arsene picked at him, it was his way of forcing Akira to advance; such a habit was borne from Akira himself as it was something that he tended to do himself. What goes around comes around as they say.

"It's too dangerous." He spoke in a whisper, his hands briefly tightening.

"But not too dangerous for you." The response caught him off-guard. Akira looked up and was slightly surprised to see that Tae had risen from her chair and walked over to him. Her hand fell atop of his knuckles, gently caressing it. She held onto him as she took a seat to his right. Their fingers laced together. "Akira…while I'm happy you told me all of this…it's…going to make me worry about you even more."

His eyes went downcast. "Yeah…that's why I…sort of held off on telling you. I knew that I would probably have to one day, but…"

"Having to choose between worrying about the known and worrying about the unknown." Finished the punk-rock woman. It wasn't any easier for her to say than it was for Akira to hear. Their grip on each other tightened as the realization truly sunk in. She could understand Akira's motives, simply accepting his tale required a huge leap of faith. However, once that leap was made, one would have to face a brave new world of wondrous and horrific unknows; it was entirely possible jumping back into the chasm would have been preferable to facing those horrors. But not for Tae. On some level, she always wanted to know, especially as she grew closer to Akira, close enough that the thought of anything happening to him filled her with dread and horror that could freeze her cold. If something did happen to him she would have wanted to know what, perhaps even pushing past some barriers she normally wouldn't. Would she have been able to accept any of this if it hadn't been Akira explaining it to her? Would she have accepted it? Would she have believed that she could have done more? "This power, Persona…is it possible that…it could awaken in other people?"

He looked to her with eyes filled with sympathy and longing.

This is somewhat unexpected, but a rather interesting thought to ponder. What would happen if this fair doctor stepped into the Metaverse and managed to awaken a Persona? Oh, I do believe you two could form a battle couple as I believe they're called! Wouldn't that be quite exciting! Arsène chimed from within his head. But would that excitement be worth the danger that she would face. Especially with this mysterious Black Mask lurking about?

Akira's entire body tensed. Kaneshiro's words about a mysterious black-garbed Persona-user rung in his head like a distant bell. He knew in his heart that at some point, his team was likely going to encounter this mysterious individual, it was about as inevitable as two master swordsmen crossing paths and challenging one another to a duel. There was now logic behind it, just a sheer gut feeling that he had. In his months as a Phantom Thief, Akira had learned to trust his gut when it spoke to him-it was telling him that this clash with this Black Mask character was going to be one hell of a battle, even with all of his teammates and his own arsenal of Personas. Drifting his over to Tae, his heart seized up at the possibility of her being anywhere near that kind of battle. Battles between Persona-users and Shadows…they really were the stuff of fantasy, the clashes that resembled ancient battles between gods and heroes and monsters. All of which could pop up in a battle in the Metaverse.

Without a word, he ripped his hand away from Tae's. Her confusion was short-lived as that same arm wrapped around her shoulders, pressing her up against her boyfriend's chest. A crimson blush immediately spread across her face.

In spite of it, the goth doctor held onto some form of composure. "So, I'm…guessing that that's a hard no to me possibly going to the Metaverse."

"Even if I knew how to take you there, I don't think I would, not even if you threatened to lobotomize me." He responded in a flat tone.

She'd been expecting something along those lines. Though he styled himself a rogue and an outcast, Akira had quite a sense of chivalry. Tae found that trait admirable and even attractive. It was deeply ironic that for a person who society had effectively discarded like a piece of trash, he still cared so much about others. Including those who at times made an attempt to drive him away like her. Instead, he clung on, offering a shoulder to lean on and a helping hand, sure, it might have come in exchange for something, but there was genuine empathy in him. As Tae had subtly learned, when Akira let people in, he tended to become attached to them, doing his best to protect them as he was doing now.

The truth of the matter was, in spite of her medical knowledge, he was more of an expert on this than her. He was the one who'd spent months exploring a place where death lurked around every corner; Akira himself had also become that dark shadow waiting in the wings and striking with lethal intent against the dark and the wicked.

A modern-day dark knight, but to the rest of the world, I guess you're more a rogue. Thought the former outcast doctor. The more she thought about it, the more the pieces seemed to come together. While the supernatural aspects were still going to take some time…understanding Akira's place in all of this was growing easier. Long story short, there was trouble brewing, trouble that many either didn't know or turned a blind eye to leaving it up to arguably the last person expected to rise up and do the right thing. Doing that wasn't easy, doing that was dangerous and at times deeply costly to the one setting out to do so. How was it that such a task fell to a high schooler? A kid from the countryside who was in the wrong place at the wrong time? That part was undoubtedly like something out of a manga or video game.

But as it so often had to be affirmed…this was real life. A story book happy ending wasn't a guarantee, even if they fought like hell to achieve one. Which they were certainly going to do.

Tae reached up caressed her boyfriend's face. When she started treating his wound and he decided to give her the full story on what he was doing, he removed his glasses. It hadn't surprised her to learn that Akira didn't really need glasses, there were a front, just like his "meek and docile" act that he put up to avoid getting into trouble. She had to admit, the glasses helped sell that look, even she had been a little fooled when he first came to her asking for medicine. It was what she saw beyond them that caught her attention-a firmness would be unshaken unless she put forth great effort on her part. Tae had no idea how strong that resolution was, it was just a real shame that Akira had to hide it from the rest of the world. Corresponding, it made her feel somewhat happy when she was able to see it for herself; all the better when that resolution rose up in defense of her.

There were times when she had to reach down and find her own inner strength for his sake. Now that she knew he really was putting his life at risk against truly insurmountable odds she knew there were going to be days when she would need every ounce of that strength.

"Just promise me that you'll come back to me, my little guinea pig." Came her voice in a soft whisper.

"Hey, it's me, when do I ever miss a chance to stop by and see my favorite back-alley doctor?" Akira chirped back causing her to laugh. A sense of deep joy and relief sweeping through him, Akira leaned forward and planted his lips atop his girlfriend's. There was a brief giggle on her part before she began to put her backing into the kiss. Alas, it was short lived.

"Um, excuse me? I'm here to see a Dr. Takemi?" Came a voice over the intercom that caused the two of them to break apart.

"Duty calls it seems." Whispered the high school student with a chuckle. He was taking the interruption a tad bit better than his girlfriend, who let out a heavy sigh at it. "I'll help out like I usually do, I am after all your assistant."

Behind her somewhat annoyed frown, Tae quietly blinked in surprise. That shock stayed with her as she went out to meet her next patient, a somewhat elderly man. As they finished treating him, two more patients came in next. Akira helped get them settled in while she tended to the first patient before sending him on his way with a clean bill of health. All the while, Akira was his usual self. He'd learned quite a great deal of medical knowledge under her, in some cases, it'd become a bit of a requirement since he became her unofficial assistant.

That meant that he'd had to absorb some somewhat basic and even somewhat medical knowledge on top of all the other skills he had to learn upon coming to Tokyo…including fighting. Even as she went about her usual routine, Tae couldn't help but picture her boyfriend moving through Mementos and this so-called Palaces, slashing and blasting at monstrous entities with knives and bullets, and that was on top of commanding supernatural creatures himself, all of which were apparently took the form of various figures from various mythologies and histories. That was something else that struck her.

"What I have…it's something called the Wild Card, it…allows me to use multiple Personas."

"Whereas your teammates can only use one. Wild Card…and your codename is Joker. Wonderfully fitting, perhaps even by design."

"It does feel that way, doesn't it? Sometimes I shift through so many Personas I forget there's one that…really represents me, that is truly me."

Multitasking was something she'd gotten good at in her youth, it allowed her to walk with a greater air of confidence about herself. Even while treating patients, she could at times divert a small portion of her mind to other topics, especially topics that had hooked her attention. Learning of the existence of another world certainly could do that. Now that she knew, Tae accepted that this Metaverse and this power called Persona wasn't going to be leaving her head any time soon, especially if she spent more time with Akira. Which she was probably going to do.

She was definitely going to do that.

About an hour later after things had quieted down, she asked him if he was up for a date. His answer was immediate and obvious, all he needed to do was call in to a few people to let them know he was going to be occupied for the rest of the afternoon. She asked him if he had any plans and he responded nothing that he couldn't move to another day.

Tae had a funny feeling in her chest. There was joy and something else…something resembling relief.

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Long after she'd returned home and begun getting ready for bed did Tae well and truly begin to stop and examine why she was feeling the way she did. In fact, once she got home and allowed her bottom to touch the couch did she stop and truly let everything she'd heard that afternoon truly crash into her. She was dating more than just a minor, she was dating someone who held a supernatural power that allowed him to explore a supernatural world where thoughts and cognition ruled.

Cognition…she'd heard Akira use that word several times. Apparently, the entire Metaverse was built on such a concept. This Mementos that he and his team explored, the collective Palace for the populace of Tokyo, took the form of a massive twisted subway. That part Tae had found somewhat easy to accept, if one had to give form to the collective psyche of Japan's capital, a subway did the trick-a massive sprawling subterranean complex that was apparently haunted. Akira outright described it as bearing some likeness to Yomi, the Japanese underworld where Izanami was condemned following her death by childbirth and abandonment by Izanagi. Sitting up upon her couch. Tae couldn't help but wonder if it was possible the legends of the underworld had somehow been influenced by this Mementos. As soon as she contemplated the thought, she backtracked. The legend of Izanagi and Izanami was arguably as old as the country itself, which predated metropolitan Tokyo by several centuries, thousands of years even.

"Cognition," She repeated. Cognition meant how one saw things, how they believed those things to operate and exist as funneled through their lens. "If that's the case…it isn't the people that shaped the myth, the myth shaped the people and perhaps their viewpoint of what hell could look like." It was undeniable that she was curious as to what this Metaverse looked like, what it felt like. As much as Tae wanted to know, she knew that there was a possibility that she might have been better off not seeing it. Her hands rose and wrapped around herself, mimicking as best she could the way Akira had held her. It was the hold of a man who wanted to protect her, keep her safe from the horrors that he had seen. She had little doubt that Akira had exaggerated the dangers he'd faced in this Metaverse; the wounds that she had to treat told her that the danger was great and real. Learning that Akira had been facing such risks on an almost daily basis was…well, it left Tae with a bit of a mixed reaction. Now in the comfort of her apartment, she was able to confront that reaction.

She was excited to learn she was dating such an interesting person, but also scared beyond imaging for that person's safety. Every time he ventured into the Metaverse, Akira was facing death, along with potentially something that was going to break his sanity. It was both amazing a tad unnerving how he could stand to face such horrors after having his life so suddenly and completely uprooted. Sitting on it, Tae contemplated if he used his excursions into the Metaverse as a type of venting experience, him and his teammates, all of whom had been through considerable emotional trauma. Apparently, it was that same trauma that gave them the strength to don their masks and act as the Phantom Thieves of Heart. Tae had to admit, it was one hell of a stress reliever, but one that came with risks of inducing more stress on the band of teenagers, who already had enough to balance on their plate.

And since the latter half of August, Akira had a relationship with her to balance. Yes, that's where a portion of her anxiety lay.

For all intents and purposes, Akira was living a double-life, practically the life of a superhero.

The doctor stopped and shook her head, a self-conscious blush coloring her cheeks. "Did I…really just think of him as a superhero?" A tiny voice in the back of her mockingly replied that she just did. It wasn't like Akira was lacking in many of the factors needed: a tragic event shaping him into who he is, leading a seemingly mundane life, said life primarily being that of an social outcast, possessing abilities that no other ordinary person possesses, doing extradentary things that very few could possible dream of, fighting the good fight when no one else would, and having an animal companion by his side. Okay, that last part wasn't always necessary, but Akira had humorously stated that Morgana was something akin to an animal sidekick. In spite of that, he saw the supposedly talking feline as a valuable partner and friend whom he could depend on. Albeit from the sounds of things, he and Ryuji had been having some larger than average arguments.

Admittedly, Tae couldn't help but laugh at the image of a human arguing with a cat. Then again, said cat had quite a sassy attitude, and the human in question had quite a forceful one as well from what she knew. She supposed it was no surprise that Ryuji and Morgana tended to have a love-hate relationship. Again, a part of her wished she could see said relationship; she also worried if that back and forth would somehow affect the team, namely if it could get them, Akira especially, hurt in the long run.

In the end, it all came back to her boyfriend, the leader of this little band of Thieves who'd taken Tokyo, and arguably the rest of the world by storm. Here she was sitting on her couch with information that hundreds might have killed for.

"Akira," She whispered as she unfastened her heels and hiked her legs up, a habit she sometimes fell into when truly losing herself in thought. "How many times are you going to put yourself in harm's way? What's going to happen when you…run into a threat stronger than you can handle?" As much as she didn't want to think about it, Tae felt her mind drifting to that what-if. Now that she knew that she knew what Akira spent so much of his time doing, she couldn't stop herself from thinking up possibility after possibility. This included possibilities where he either got himself critically injured…or killed. The latter caused her heartbeat to slow to a crawl and a cold sweat to break out across her body. One way or another, he managed to leave this Metaverse time after time, sometimes beaten and battered, but alive. What would happen if a day came when he…didn't?

The silence of her apartment did little favors to her psyche, which she struggled to regain control of.

"I'm dating a superhero…so that means that I…have to deal with the risks too." Tae reasoned. Again, as she spoke the words, the full weight of her situation hit her.

And then her phone rang.

Her heartbeat a distant echo in her ear, she answered it, already having seen who it was calling her. "Hey," she began in a casual voice that belayed the anxiety taking root within her.

"Hey, you made it back home safely?" Akira responded from the other end.

"You're making it sound like I had to walk through a warzone to get home." Tae chirped. Just hearing his voice lit a fire in her that drove back the darkness that was threatening to consume her from within. His laughter caused the fire to grow, further burning away the approaching shadows. "Akira…"

"I just…wanted to make sure you were alright. Sorry if I'm coming off as clingy." Spoke the sixteen-year-old.

Tae was silent for a minute before responding in a soft tone. "Better you be that than disinterested in my welfare." That was the truth of it, the other truth that had been taking root inside of her. As the fire came, so did the water, granting the flower of relief all that it needed to bloom within her. "I'm…actually kind of glad that you called."

"Do you want me to come over?" The response was immediate, and completely in-line with Akira's character. When it came to her, he tended to drop everything and come to her aid, even if it came at personal risk and cost to himself. He was living proof that perhaps chivalry wasn't totally dead.

"No, no, just…just being able to talk with you is good enough." She responded after a quick breath. "I'm not some delicate flower that has to be tended to day and night." There was a pause on her end as she mulled over what to say next. Tae valued her strength and independence, but she also valued the people in her life, what few remained. Akira was at the top of that list so if something happened to him then it was going to have a major affect on her. "But I would like to know that the sun will eventually come out again."

Brief as it was, he laughed. "Hey, for the most beautiful flower in the entire garden, the sun will always find a way to shine again."

They both laughed at the joking reassurance. It was even funnier considering that Akira's name contained the kanji for "daybreak" in it. As he'd told her, according to his parents, he'd been born in the early hours of the morning, daybreak indeed, on top of being the light of their lives. He was also the light of her life, and the light of so many others. He really was quite the light bringer.

But the world had a habit of coming down hard on those who possessed such altruistic traits. Akira had ended up in this entire mess because he chose to step into a scuffle and do the wrong thing instead of turning a blind eye like countless others would have. Ironically, the damnation that followed allowed him to bring salvation to so many others, including her.

Who was she to tell him to stop?

"Look, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't scared, for you. After hearing all of that…I am scared for your safety." The punk rock woman admitted after what felt like a century of internal debating within herself. Now that she finally let out it, she felt like a weight had been lifted from off her shoulders. In exchange, a weight had been placed on her boyfriend. "Don't start blaming yourself for this, Akira. I'm the one who asked you to tell me the truth…and I got it. Now, like with everything in life, I have to deal with it." Tae paused and thought over what she just said. From the other end, Akira wasn't able to see the steely expression that took hold of her face. "We will deal with it."

There was a slight hush on the other end, no doubt Akira taking a gasp of breath.

Tae smirked, "What? Were you expecting me to break out in tears or something about you putting your life in danger over and over again? Go on ahead, go do that, I promise, I'll always be waiting to put you back together again…the same way that you helped put me back together."

For a moment there was silence on the other end. Tae wasn't worried as she knew Akira. He respected the decision that she made, or those that were actually serious anyway. When he spoke again, she could detect what sounded very much like relief in his voice. "You know, I can end up coming into the clinic with some strange as hell injuries."

"You already have, and I've fixed you up all the same, so I don't think doing so again in the future is going to be a big problem. On top of that, I'm probably making history being one of the first doctors to…" Tae stopped as another thought crossed her mind. The doctor, the borderline scientist in her, had been rather exuberant to learn of the Metaverse's existence while the woman in her, the lover in her, had become consumed with worry. Now that the latter had been placated, the former was climbing its way back up to the top. Cognition. She thought in her head. That was the center word Akira had used in describing the Metaverse, itself a supernatural place that existed as a mirror to their own reality. Such a thing was the stuff of science fiction, but digging deep into her mind she recalled a few scientists over the years who had delved into such territory believing it to be real. The train of thought was further bolstered when she remembered where her boyfriend was from-originally, his family had lived in Sumaru City before moving to the seaside suburb of Meguro. Sumaru City. "Hey, you said that originally you were born in Sumaru City?"

"Yep, the same city where reportedly aliens invaded, genies and dragons and ghosts and all sorts of monsters walked the streets. Oh, and the city where Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou died. Small wonder my dad wanted to move away from the city. In fact, if he ever learned that I was involved in even half of this, he and my mom would be screaming for me to come home, consequences be damned." Akira mused. The first portion of his statement had sounded humorous, but toward the end his voice became considerably more…emotional. He knew his parents, even though they sent him away, they loved him and would have given anything for him to have stayed in Meguro. Unfortunately, the bald-headed bastard he'd crossed had made that impossible with his assault accusations. "You know, I kind of wonder if my parents looked at some potential schools in Sumaru City. Particularly anyone not named Seven Sisters High."

"Sounds like your dad really wanted to get out of the city and never look back. Truth be told, I'm a little curious myself and would like to visit it."

"Maybe we can one day, maybe this summer when school lets out."

"Do you know enough to show me around the city?"

"Of course." Akira responded with an upbeat voice that made Tae smile. That was the confident and playful young man that she'd come to fall for. It was nice to talk about future events like his summer vacation. If possible, Akira would probably press for something earlier, like Tae coming to his hometown of Meguro during winter break or even during spring break. It was fun to think about, and even relaxing. "Tae, I want you to know that no matter what we encounter in the Metaverse, I'll always come back to you, I promise."

"I know you will, my little guinea pig." The blue-haired doctor purred feeling her heart now sway in soft assurance that there was hope for the future. Maybe hope could linger on, even if it was hidden in darkness. Sometimes it took those stained by darkness to reach forward and grab it and bring it back to those who needed it. "In turn, I'll always be there waiting for you to come back, got it?"

"Oh yeah. Speaking of which…I forgot to ask you, my school's got a trip to Hawaii coming up in a few days. Do you want me to bring you anything back from the states?"

Truth be told, Tae was a little…jealous that her boyfriend was getting to take a vacation in the form of a school trip. Maybe it was for the best since the Phantom Thieves' reputation had truly begun to take off, perhaps it was best they take off for a few days. Granted, it did sound like a reward for them; quite interesting since the team was made up of students from Shujin. Or almost all of them, there was Morgana and Yusuke Kitagawa, and Futaba Sakura who was still somewhat reluctant to return to school. That part didn't surprise Tae, the girl was a recovering hikkoromori; for some of them, it took close to half a year to a full year before they were able to return to the outside world. No doubt Akira was going to pick up some souvenirs for her. And Tae could now include herself as well.

"I might have some ideas…"

---

September 9th, Minato City…

"If you're looking to add some flavor to the mix, I'd recommend the Lee Kum Kee over the Pearl River brand." Tae had no idea why she made the comment, it just slipped out of her.

The bespectacled man gave her a somewhat surprised look. Clearly he hadn't been expecting to get any advice on his food shopping, but his lips curled into a soft smile seconds later showing that he wasn't about to ignore it. "I take it that you're a fan of Chinese cuisine as well, miss?"

"I've had my experiences, pleasant experiences." Tae responded with a bit of a smile on her face. Though she'd experimented with food, it wasn't until she met Akira that she really opened up her taste buds. It definitely paid to have someone in her life who knew how to cook. That experience was doubled when she was introduced to his teacher, who was a pretty good cook in her own right, so much so that Tae had once questioned why she went into teaching when she might have made more money cooking. Like Tae, Sadayo Kawakami felt a passion when teaching just as she did with medicine. "What about you? Is this your first time trying it or feeding an urge you've always had?"

"Hm, a bit of both, though maybe more of the former. I'm following a recommendation that one of my patients gave me." The man responded with a warm smile.

His word phrasing and choose of items caused the gears in Tae's head to turn. It was entirely on reflex as she'd learned the ways of her boyfriend rather well. He knew a wide range of people that seemed to grow every month. It was a little absurd to think how Akira seemed to attract so many people. She spotted a few delicious treats that just needed to be popped open and enjoyed.

"The Plague herself." She introduced with a proud smirk. Though her reputation had been restored, her old nickname remained, partially of her own volition.

Hold on a minute, maybe you're getting just a little bit ahead of yourself. Quietly chastised the formerly disgraced doctor.

"Um, out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to be Tae Takemi, the physician who runs Takemi Clinic in Yongen-Jaya, would you?" Asked the glasses-wearing man.

He was…friendly-looking. Tae liked to believe she could at least read a little bit about people, and the man about four feet from her simply…stood out to her. He was dressed appropriately and casually for the early fall, a dark brown jacket that showed the somewhat lanky build he possessed. Much like her, he had a small basket in his arm that had been half-filled with cooking ingredients, mostly. Some the items he had on him were snacks that could be torn out of their wrappers and enjoyed in a second. Seeing them briefly made Tae consider grabbing some for herself to have at home.

"That would be me, the Plague." Tae answered with a smirk on her face. Some would have found it strange that she still used her old nickname, very much a derogatory name meant to put her down. Being the dark person she was, she accepted it, partially on account of her at the time mistaken belief that she was a plague on those around her. Then Akira came into her life and she learned to wear the title with pride while keeping true to her oath as a doctor.

The man's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "The Plague? Well, you're not exactly what I was expecting. You're a lot nicer looker." Tae's smirk widened, which served as an indicator to the man of what he'd just said, namely how it sounded. "I-I mean you look a lot nicer and more down to earth than I was expecting!"

"That's only because you've caught me when I'm not working." Chirped back the goth woman still wearing the same flirty smirk. "Trust me, I'd be much more terrifying when on the job."

He laughed at her remark while also following her advice on which type of soy sauce to get. "Any other culinary advice you'd like to give me? Or…perhaps I can give you some?" He chuckled at the way Tae raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm a bit of a doctor myself and try to have some snacks for my patients, to help put their minds at ease. Maybe you can consider giving it a shot yourself, Takemi-san."

Admittedly had given some thought to such a thing…once. The idea died as quickly as it had came considering that she wasn't aiming to be that kind of doctor. Actually, she never really saw herself as one of those friendly types of doctors who did their utmost to make patients feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Her particular tastes had always been a tad off putting to people, and that was before her reputation was smeared and she became an out and out pariah. Now with her reputation was a town doctor growing…maybe it was possible. When it came to food and how it affected the human body, she was pretty knowledgeable.

"How's about I keep on giving you some advice instead? I know a thing or two about which types of foods can help relax the muscles across the body." She kindly fired back.

"Would you be willing to take some time out of your afternoon to help little 'ole me?" The black-haired man laughed back.

"My schedule's relatively free this evening, so why the hell not." Tae responded back with a smile.

The rest of her stay in food market was spent not by herself, but with this bespectacled stranger whom she'd ran into by chance. He was nothing short of friendly, which Tae was somewhat appreciative of. That was something relaxing in his casual and friendly demeanor. She was also happy that he wasn't trying to flirt with her; instead, his focus was more on getting the shopping done and getting to know her. While they were both doctors, they specialized in different fields-her the body and medicine and he was apparently a psychiatrist. More accurately, he was now serving as the counselor at a school back in Shibuya-Shujin Academy. That confirmed who'd given him such culinary advice.

Frankly, Tae was a little happy that Akira was expanding his web of friends at Shujin. It wasn't like she had a riveting high school experience herself, but she was aware that they were an important time for people, especially teenagers on their way to adulthood. Not to mention after the incident with Kamoshida, even Tae could deduced that quite a few of the students could have used some honest-to-God counseling for the abuse the sexual predator had inflicted upon them. She hadn't expected to run into the man responsible for helping them deal with and hopefully overcome that abuse. Honestly, she still didn't know how helpfully he was, but from walking around with him and talking with him, Tae could tell that this man more than likely meant well. The thing was, therapy was a tricky business, harder than the biological treatments that she specialized in. One could have good intentions, but actually being able to reach out and communicate with someone, help them connect with themselves, and potentially pull themselves out of whatever runt they'd fallen into was easier said than done.

Remembering the last talk she had with Akira, she mused about how this man beside her was seemingly doing a good job of counseling the students of Shujin.

"Thanks again, Takemi-san, you might have saved me from making some…culinary mistakes." He commented as they exited the store, bags in their arms. Sunset had begun and began to paint the sky dusky shades of blue and purple with the brightness of the day fading.

"Hm, just consider it a bout of luck that you ran into me when you did and I chose to help. That said, if anything you got ends up giving you indigestion, feel free to stop on by my clinic. I promise I won't charge you too much for a checkup."

Again, he laughed in good humor. "Well, hopefully nothing I've gotten here will react too badly with my stomach, or the stomachs of the students I'm supposed to be tending to. They've…been through a lot, but some of them are a tad more resilient than I thought."

"Some people are like that, even kids. Life has a tendency of sucker punching you when you least expect it, but you take the hit, recognize the pain, and get up and move on." Responded the blue-haired doctor with a slight smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a slight change in her companion's eyes. Behind his black-rimmed glasses, there was a flicker of sorrow. In seeing it, Tae immediately recognized that this man had probably been dealt a sucker punch as well. One that he was still reeling from.

"I suppose that's true, though a little help from time to time doesn't hurt." Tae had to give him credit for his recovery.

"Sometimes we need that help so we can start the whole process…because we're incapable of truly doing so ourselves." Emotion sipped into her voice as her mind jumped to the image of her boyfriend, now thousands of miles away on a tropical island with his classmates. "Um, Maruki-san, if you don't mind me asking, if Shujin Academy is off on a field trip to Hawaii, shouldn't that include you?"

"Oh, me? Well, my contract with Shujin is still a bit shaky. As much as a trip to Hawaii sounds appealing, I'd rather stay here and keep on working with the school's students. They need me far more than I need sand in-between my toes and my shorts." The high school counselor answered with a laugh.

"Really? Well, you get points for dedication." Tae laughed back. Truth be told, if she were in the black-haired man's position, she might have taken up the offer to go. Partially on account of the fact that it would have kept her close to Akira. "Out of curiosity, how's the counseling been going? No offense, but the rumor goes that you were only hired to save the school's reputation."

"Truth be told, I'm not going to argue with you there. My employment was a little rushed because Principal Kobayakawa realized that they at least had to make it look like they were trying to take responsibility for letting Kamoshida run rampant." His answer somewhat surprised her, and impressed her. Tae had been expecting some half-hearted lie that was probably requirement when questioned about his sudden employment at Shujin. Apparently, the man wasn't going to give that, instead opting for the truth; Tae respected that and could see how Akira might have come to respect it as well. "On top of all that I'm…actually doing what you might call a bit of research."

"Really?" Tae responded in genuine surprise. Akira hadn't mentioned that part to her. "Does this project have something to do with you agreeing to take on the counseling position at Shujin?"

"Hm, somewhat. Ultimately, I came to Shujin because I believed I could help."

"You have been helping." Tae blurted out, rather impulsively. It was too late to take it back as Maruki was looking to her with curiosity. She could see the gears turning in his head.

Thankfully, he didn't press the issue. "Well, I'm happy to hear that, Takemi-san. Have a nice evening, and thanks again for the shopping help."

"Take care." She watched him walk across the street and disappear into the crowd. Throughout the entirety of their conversation, a certain someone's name hadn't come up once, yet Tae had a feeling that Akira had been a thought in both their minds. She connected the dots as to who the man was once she learned he was a counselor at Shujin. Something told her that he'd subtly pieced together her connection to Akira through the advice she'd given in regards to food and her statement about how he was actually helping the students at Shujin. And yet not once was Akira's name spoken from either of their lips.

Speaking of which, Tae looked up to the darkening sky and thought of her boyfriend. "Here's hoping that you're having fun, my little guinea pig. And you better not be looking at other women." She added with a giggle.

---

January 3rd, Daiba Park…

"If I told you…that…the world we're seeing now, the world we're sitting in, that it was all fake, would you believe me?" Akira questioned giving his girlfriend's hand a tight squeeze while looking her in the eye.

What Tae saw in them was nothing short of full honesty, something that was needed for any relationship to work.

She had that in him. "As outlandish as that sounds…yes, I would believe it, Akira." Change was the law of life, and it was a force that acted with a swiftness that could put lightning to shame. In the blink of an eye all that one knew could be inverted and their perceptions of the world flipped upside down. Tae had been a witness to that herself; one day, she'd had a bright future ahead of her, a seemingly ordinary life, and then the next, it was all gone. She was on a dark path where there was no light of glory or triumph to be had for her. Darkness was all that lay ahead of her.

But then came the light of salvation in the form of the teenager sitting in front of her, holding her hand and looking into her caramel brown eyes with his stormy gray eyes. When they hardened with focus, Tae always found herself quietly enchanted by them; this time was no different. In them, she could always find the truth.

Once again, a sigh of relief was expunged through the teenager's lips, manifesting as a breath of cold air that slowly moved across the space between them. "Thank you, Tae." Akira spoke with shimmering eyes. "Honestly, with this one I was scared that you were going to say that I've finally cracked and lost my mind."

"Hey, I'm pretty sure I already lost mine some time again." Coolly fired back the doctor with a smile. Her lover smiled back at her before leaning in and connecting their lips. The wet chill seemingly disappeared as they basked in the taste of one another. It wasn't until the need for air that they separated, lips and cheeks beat red. The nose of the park rung in their ears as they took a short break to compose themselves. She looked around them as she quietly took in the magnitude of her boyfriend's words. "When Tokyo started growing giant bony spikes and the sky started raining blood is when I realized that just about anything is possible, especially here in this town, which apparently has a giant subway acting as a metaphysical manifestation of the collective human psyche."

"Do you ever get tired of phrasing it in such a long way?" Akira asked with a sly smile on his face.

"Nope, every time I say it, I'll admit, it does sound pretty…amazing. It's all so incredible and at times hard to take in…scary too." She was far past the point of trying to seem unshakable. Twice her bravado had been challenged, the first time being the gravest. That was when Akira was faired to her clinic looking like he'd had the shit beaten out of him-which Tae latter learned he had. Seeing his mangled body had caused her heart to stop dead in its tracks; thankfully, it resumed beating again a second later and she barked orders to his two friends to take him inside so she could treat him. Even now little over a month later, the memory was raw in her mind; odds were it would never entirely fade. The second blow had come just a few weeks later during what Akira had hoped would be the team's final battle, one that would take place at the heart of Mementos. Said battle had resulted in the sky turning red, raining blood, bones shooting out of the ground and people suddenly disappearing in black whisps. All of it literally topped by the battle taking place overhead in a metaphysical heaven, a group of teenagers against a so-called god. A battle that the former had won thanks to her boyfriend…who apparently blew a hole in said god's head. Not that the world at large knew that. "So…all of this is…"

"Off." Akira answered looking back at the park with her. Residual snow from Christmas still lingered on the ground; in fact, much of it had frozen meaning it wasn't going anywhere. In fact, it was going to be added to in the coming days. "People that should be dead are walking around like they've been alive all along."

"Futaba's…mother, Wakabe Ishikki." Slowly spoke the punk rock woman to which her lover nodded. It had been extremely surreal bumping into a person whom Tae knew in her heart to be dead. She'd read the official record of the incident when she began researching cognitive psience, which had happened a few days after Akira told her the truth of the Metaverse. Seeing her alive and well with Futaba immediately made her suspect that something had gone wrong in the Metaverse. "Okay, so the dead walk among us, the former villainous have been redeemed and…everyone seems so happy. As in more than it's a new year kind of happy."

Akira wasn't blind to the way Tae's hand went to her chest. It worried him. "Tae, have you suspected that something been off for the past few days?"

"Some of my patients have come in, talking about things like lost relatives and loved ones as if they've been alive all along. Bad breaks up have suddenly been mended and again, act as if they never happened in the first place. Turns of fortune and all that." When she looked to Akira, there was a little bit of a hazy glow in her eyes that was compliment by the warm smile she gave him. They could have been in the middle of a howling blizzard, but Akira's presence was the fire she needed to stay warm and light her way. "If I had to guess, someone's tapping int Memento's power."

"Pretty much. It's a Palace owner, but this is one is…different." He paused as he tried to figure out how to explain it to his girlfriend. Or more accurately, he tried to figure out the best way to tell her that this Palace wasn't located in the Metaverse, that it was in the real world. The way his girlfriend was staring at him told him that she was probably already on that train of thought. There was no use in putting up roadblocks in front of her. "Follow me, and stick close."

"Don't I always stick close to you? I am the Plague in case you forgot." She wicked.

Snickering, the teenager leaned forward and stole a kiss from his goth girlfriend. Even better, it made her blush a pretty shade of pink.

Tae had never really been the touchy-feely type of person; she would argue that even now she wasn't that type of person. But as with many things, it was different with Akira. He was her boyfriend thus she never felt anything short of absolute joy when they held hands. She also felt safe, which wasn't a feeling she'd felt since her childhood, holding onto the hands of her parents. Like them, she let Akira guide her from the park toward what she quietly recognized to the be the area's latest stadium. The closer they got, the more…fuzzy Tae's vision became, particularly as she tried to focus on what seemed to be a distortion above the construction site. Something wasn't right.

"Try not to…freak out, okay?" Akira asked as they came to a stop and he gripped both of her hands with his.

"Is it as bad as before?" Questioned the doctor with a raised eyebrow.

He shook his head. "No, but it is is…surreal, that's the best way I can describe it." Shutting his eyes, he concentrated, reaching out to his girlfriend. This was the first time he'd tried something like this, and it was with someone who didn't even have a Persona. If anything, he should have been trying this on his teammates, rousing them from the dream-like state they'd all fallen into. But this was how things had turned out and he was going to press onward with his former rival and one of his classmates.

She felt it- a sudden unexplainable pulse that spread through her. Tae looked ahead and saw a massive black-winged figure with bright red eyes. It absolutely towered over her, yet Tae wasn't scared. The figure reached out its hand and Tae mirrored the action.

See that which is unseen. See that testament to sorrow, the beacon of false salvation masquerading as utopia. Boomed the voice.

Looking up again, Tae saw it, and her breath was taken away by the obscene, otherworldly structure that rose above the construction site to touch the gray skies. A massive tower was made out of rectangular platinum plates that twisted upward, ending in a massive sphere that gave off a near heavenly light. It was all practically too much to take in, yet Tae tried, her eyes scanning over every detail. The architecture was…unearthly, she knew that no human hands could have crafted such a structure. Instead, what she saw had been crafted from the mind, the mind of an individual with a very distorted desire. The glow of the sphere at the time caught her attention and held it as Tae found it hard to look away. It was impossible to know for sure…but she could feel that there was something up there at the top, no doubt the Palace's Ruler if her knowledge of the Metaverse was as accurate as she'd have liked it to be.

Ultimately, it took five minutes and several longs blinks for her to look away. When she looked back, she saw Akira's face was grim. "Now you know what a Palace looks like."

"And I won't be forgetting it any time soon." It was amazing how her voice wasn't as shaky as it should have been. Perhaps seeing Tokyo become hell on earth had left her with a stronger tolerance for the supernatural than she thought. That didn't mean that she hadn't been rattled by what she saw. "Akira, that's…how did…no one else can see that?"

"Just me, Goro, and Kasumi. Not even Morgana can see it, and he's now a human being like he always wanted." The Wild Card stated. "None of this is normal, not even for us."

Internally, she was taken aback in learning that Goro Akechi could see the Palace as well. Then again, technically speaking, he was one of those who should have been dead. "You know, I have felt some…fuzziness when looking at Morgana. Like there's something about him that I'm forgetting."

"He used to be a cat, my cat." Akira answered. He looked all around him half-expecting Shadows to suddenly burst from the ground or drop from the sky and attack him for speaking of the reality he knew. Maybe he was being paranoid, but they were in such uncharted territory he didn't know what to expect. "In fact, all of this stuff really started after New Year. Akechi and I talked about it as he's noticed the abnormalities as well. Then we met up with Kasumi and she pointed this out to us."

"All you three, and now me, thanks to you using your powers to help me see it. From there, it sounds like you three are somehow focal points of this." Theorized the punk rock woman turning her attention back to the Palace. Something told her so long as she stayed near Akira, she'd be able to see it as clearly as she could now. In fact, she was sure that it was because she had such a strong bond with Akira she was able to even pick up on something being amiss. A strong bond. But…he has those with the rest of his teammates. Then again, he's not in love with them, nor has he…slept with any of them. She was thankfully that she had enough self-control not to blush at the implications of that last one. Curious as she may have been, that tidbit she wasn't interested in exploring. Not yet anyway. "You're the one who killed Yaldabaoth so that makes you a person of importance, Akechi was his other pawn and apparently died in Shido's Palace so that makes his case special too, all that leaves is Kasumi Yoshizawa, and I have no idea what her stake in any of this could be."

"Neither does she. It's just the three of us."

"You three have already explored some of the floors of that place, haven't you?" Asked the doctor with point-blank bluntness.

"Yeah, we have. Heh, a thief, a black knight, and a ballerina, what a crew." Laughed the knife-user.

"Yeah, sounds an awful lot like the plot of an urban fantasy manga." Her gloved hands reached up and touched his cheek. The glow of the Palace's upper level continued to shine, its light reminding her of a hypnotist's ring. Maybe that's what it was; it made a startling amount of sense as people had seemingly been granted their deepest desires even though they're impossible. It had a near holy-like beauty to it, but so too had the giant robotic monster that had attempted to deprive humanity of its free will. Just because something was holy didn't mean that it was good, if anything, sometimes that meant it was wickedness masquerading as holiness, or misguided good that had become something wicked. Tae had no doubt that the latter could be used to describe the light of the Palace. True light was standing right in front of her. "Just three of you, I suppose that's enough for an infiltration team. You three trust each other, right?"

"So far, I'd say we've made for a pretty formable team, especially since Goro and I can summon our Ultimate Personas." Responded the darkness-user with a bit of a grin. Upon seeing Satanael in person, Goro's eyes had lit up. Loki's would have too, if he had eyes-his mouth. It wasn't long before the two Wild Cards were competing against one another here and there. Kasumi had actually called them out on it. "Don't worry, I'm making sure to look after Kasumi, she is kind of the newest member of the team."

"How lucky she is, having two dark knights protecting her. I do hope that you won't be forgetting who you've already given an oath to, Akira." As she spoke, she glided her fingers up to the side of his hand, her gloves brushing up against his dark curls. He of course chuckled as he reached up and gently cradled her hand.

"Don't worry, at the end of the day, my heart already belongs to another. And I have every intention of ensuring it keeps on beating for that special someone." Feeling whimsical, the teenager held onto her hand as he fell to a signal knee.

Tae's cheeks exploded with color at the gesture. She supposed that she'd walked right into that way in calling him and the Prince Detective knights. At the very least the latter looked the part in his Metaverse outfit, supposedly. When it came to conduct, well, Akira fit the bill, even if he behaved like a rogue. He had the sense of chivalry and strong desire for justice that knights of legend were said to have possessed. Ironic considering that he'd been condemned by society and was perfectly within his rights to just walk away. He could have done that so many times, he could have done it now with this latest Palace. It wasn't like it was hurting anyone from what they could see, it was seemingly doing the opposite. But things were rarely what they seemed.

She knew that Akira could never turn a blind eye to such a thing with the possibility its purpose was sinister. It was a Palace, a creation of a distorted desire, that was always cause for concern.

It looked like her job as the Phantom Thieves Dark Physician wasn't quite over with just yet.

"Whatever you face in there, I trust you'll overcome it and keep your promise." Spoke the Plague giving Akira's hand a soft squeeze. He rose, his somewhat unusual height allowing him to practically tower over her. Even with the highest heels she owned, she could just barely surpass his chest. According to Akira, he'd gotten his height genes from his father, who in turn had inherited them from his father. Standing tall and walking tall, that was perhaps the Kurusu Family motto. Tae shut her eyes and basked in the warmth that his hug brought. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will, Tae, I promise." Whispered back the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Heart. It was reckless to have brought Tae here, to have shown her what they were up against this time. Still, she stood strong, and made it clear she had no intention of abandoning him, even if it seemed he was going to have to break the world. Her primary concern still lay with him.

Akira had no idea what he and his two comrades would face as they progressed higher up the mysterious tower, nor did he know what was happening to the world around him. All he knew for certain was that the woman he'd given his heart to was going to continue standing beside him. For all the uncertainty that the future held, that one fact was enough to put him at ease, and give him more strength to face forward and walk the path he'd chosen.

---

March 23rd, Chuo City...

When Tae saw him, she honestly did a double-take. Was this really happening? Was this set up by some invisible power? Was it pure coincidence? She was willing to bet her money on the last one, or she would have liked to. She had a choice of saying nothing and carrying on her business at the fish market or speaking to him.

Her decision was made in an instant.

"You're better off getting the blue mackerel over the King George Whiting."

He heard her, and he recognized her voice. As he turned to face her, Tae could see that he hadn't changed too much. She was rather grateful for that, she was grateful to see that he looked the same as the last time she saw him.

As expected, his lips curled into a smile. "Is that in terms of cooking or health terms?"

Tae smiled back at him. "Both. I can give you some advice on ways to cook it, if you want."

In contrast to the autumn weather that Maruki was dressed in when they first met, his clothing was a tad lighter, like hers. After all, they were in early spring with the weather growing warmer bit by bit. It wouldn't be long before the sakura trees began to blossom providing for a truly splendid sight. She was glad that apparently, Maruki had decided to live to see them.

"I'd be willing to take that advice." The black-haired man chirped with that same light-hearted smile. "It's good to see you again, Takemi-san."

"Likewise, Dr. Maruki." The Tsukiji Fish Market was booming as usual, which was both a boon and a hindrance. She'd gotten off work a tad latter than she would have liked to meaning that by the time she got down here, she'd have to do some searching for the fish that she'd set her sights on. It wouldn't be the first time she ran into this problem. Luckily, fortune was with her this time around. Along with maybe something else. "My boyfriend taught me some different ways to cook, I like to call him and get his input from time to time."

The former Palace owner's eyes lit up as he processed her statement. She could see the gears turning in his eyes. "T-T-This boyfriend of yours, he-"

"He's my little guinea pig, my research assistance and…my…muse if you want to get poetic. He's a reckless idiot who sticks his nose into other people's business, and that often ends up working out for the best for a lot of people." Tae explained, her self-assured smile never leaving her face. The more she talked, the happier she felt. "He's been through some tough times, but he's risen above them and kept on pushing forward. He taught me how to do it."

The hum and roar of the fish market encircled them like a cocoon. She'd given Maruki all the pieces he'd need to put the picture together. He was a smart man, a perspective man, something that she admired. What she didn't know was how he was going to react to Akira's name and defining trait being brought up.

His reaction was one of calm acceptance; Tae inwardly smiled as she saw not sorrow or pain but admiration in his eyes. "Honestly, he's probably the strongest person that I've ever met."

"Likewise." Tae chirped back with an accepting smile of her own.

It was a repeat of their encounter in Minato, albeit several things were different. In a sense, both of them were…free.

"So, you and Akira…"

"Yeah, for the record, it wasn't planned, it just…happened." Responded the punk rock doctor with a laugh. It was always funny to look back on. With Akira back in his hometown, she found herself looking back on those first few weeks of their relationship, strictly that of a doctor and her patient…and a researcher and her guinea pig. Neither was going to be easy to explain to her father or his parents when the time came to reveal their relationship.

"Love can be like that, and that's part of the fun aspect of it." The former cognitive scientist remarked with a laugh that showed he was taking the news well. "Don't worry, I won't press you for details, nor do I plan on telling anyone. Not after all that you and Akira have done for me." There was a pregnant pause as they stood to the side as a trio of individuals barreled down the street, no doubt eager to get to some newly brought in fish before they were bought up. As he watched them go, he felt a tingle go up his spine as he looked down to the doctor. "Dr. Takemi…am I correct in assuming that you…know certain things?"

"Well, I'm one of those girlfriends who makes sure she knows a majority of what's going on in their man's life. I know that my boyfriend is still on Japan's most-wanted list, even though he and his friends fought like hell to save the country and the world. Twice." Answered the former pariah in a nonchalant tone.

Maruki seemed somewhat happy that she was taking such a blasé attitude with this whole topic. "Twice," he mused looking downward. "So, I take it that means that you…know what I tried to do. And disapprove of it."

Tae listened to his tone of voice. He didn't sound as hurt as he could have been, but the sorrow was there. As far as she was concerned, he was entitled to be a little sad. Much like Akira and Akechi, he'd been given a power that allowed him to right the wrongs of his life and even the world at large. Unlike the two teenagers, he seemingly took that last one very far, too far as far as the Phantom Thieves and Tae herself were concerned. "What you tried to do…I don't think it was evil, but I don't quite think it was the right thing. I think that's how Akira and the others felt too. You weren't another Shido."

"I hope not, I never want to become the kind of man that he was." For arguably the first time, she saw a flicker of negativity on Maruki's face. His entire demeanor darkened indicating that she knew of the failed prime minister nominee's darker dealings. A heartbeat later and he confirmed the suspicion that was seeded in her mind. "He was the one responsible for knee-caping my research into cognitive psience back at the university where I worked at. I only found out after he confessed to his crimes. To be honest, I always had my doubts about him even before the election and he confessed everything he knew."

"That makes two of us. It's fun tuning in and seeing how his trial is shaping up to me. Blackmail, extortion, sexual harassment, assault, actual physical assault, conspiracy to commit murder. Seriously, you'd think he walked off the screen of a TV drama and into real life." A hollow laugh left her lips at the irony of the statement. "Then again, this whole mess is pretty much what happens when you can turn fantasy into reality and vice versa."

"Yes, that's one way to look at it. Another I guess would be if you were given the power to act out your deepest desires, would you take it. Shido did…and…I took mine." Replacing the darkness was sorrow as he contemplated where the line between him and the almost would-be prime minister ended. Tae responded to that by jabbing at him with he elbow. "H-Hey, easy! I'm carrying precious fish here!"

"Then don't say stupid stuff that'll make me want to pull one of them out and slap you with it." Tae responded in a sing-song voice as she continued walking. She could practically see Maruki's face contort before an exhausted but accepted sigh left his lips. "There's a world of difference between you two. Unlike you, you actually give a damn about people, even if you tried to help in a…misguided manner."

"Misguided," he repeated.

"That's the best and only description I can give for trying to trap everyone in a lotus-eater illusion for all of eternity, or at least until you grew too old to sustain the illusion. Or until someone else knocked you off." Responded the doctor with utmost certainty. She stopped and faced him, her hazel brown eyes blazing with resilience as she stared into his widened brown eyes. "I already had this talk with Akechi, this whole self-pity schtick. It's fine if you want to wallow in it for a little bit, you're entitled to do that. What I can't and won't abide by is spending the rest of your life doing that. Akira taught me that, that even if you make a mistake and stumble, you can still pick yourself up and move on."

Her words had hit like thunder, leaving the stunned former therapist standing there looking like he'd just been struck dead-center.

To her credit, Tae gave him a few minutes to digest her words. She was well aware that after his Ultimate Persona had been defeated, he'd attempted suicide and would have succeeded had Akira not intervened. If anything, that was simply another triumph under his belt, another life he'd saved. Ironically, it'd come after a cathartic fist fight atop the crumbling remains of his Palace. That part Tae found herself struggling to picture. She could Akira fist fighting, hell, she'd seen him fight from time to time and his skills in the Metaverse carried over into real life. Stopping and looking back, she found it incredibly hard to picture the lanky bespectacled man behind her so much as throwing a punch, let alone giving Akira a bloody nose and a black eye.

At least until she saw him stand up straight and his eyes glisten with determination. It was cherry-topped with a grateful smile.

"Dr. Takemi, thank you, again." Maruki proclaimed giving the goth woman a bow as best he could.

"…You're welcome." Tae responded. "Now, if you don't mind, I should probably get a move on before these guys in here start going bad."

"Um, if you want, I could help you with that."

Tae blinked at him. "You have a car?"

He winked at her. "You can say that. Just follow me."

It'd been about two weeks since Tae had gotten inside of a taxi. Truthfully, she preferred taking the metro train or the bus to get where she needed to do as thousands of others did, but she wasn't averse to using a taxi every now and then. She just preferred it to be somewhat sanatory. That was the first question she asked before even getting into the car. Maruki laughed and told her that he was one of those taxi drivers who tried to keep his taxi as clean as possible, after all, he was a doctor.

"It's ironic but…I'm a doctor who needed some help from his own patients to get better." He spoke as he got behind the wheel and took to the road.

"Hey, it happens. It happened to me. Even though it's our job to know how to treat sickness and injuries…we sometimes need someone to treat us as well." She leaned back in her seat and rolled down the window. There was a pleasant spring breeze rolling in. It wasn't quite as warm as she would have liked it, but it was getting there. Rather than a quick transition, it was going to be a gradual one-from the dead of winter to the warmth of spring.

"Is it alright for me to assume that…Akira treated you as well?" Maruki questioned while keeping his eyes on the road. He could multitask. During the several weeks he'd begun working as a taxi driver, he'd gotten used to it, even finding enjoyment in it.

Shutting her eyes, the goth doctor let her mind drift back to the warm evening last April, going on a year ago. "Yep, he was a nosey, annoying kid. He pretty much burrowed his way into my life…and I want him to stay in it right up to the very end. He helped me through my worst times to my best. If I hit another rough patch, I know that he'll be there for me, and I'll be there for him." From her position in the backseat, Tae could see how her driver's body tensed, then relaxed. She remembered what Akira had told her he and the Thieves had discovered as they progressed through Maruki's Palace-the origin of his desire to wipe away the pain of reality. As with many things, it began with a loved one, his fiancée. She wasn't going to reveal that information, it was too personal and she felt it best to allow Maruki to have such things confined to himself until he felt ready to talk about it. Would he talk about it with her? Tae had no idea, but she wouldn't protest it. Damn, he's a therapist yet it feels like I'm the one playing therapist to him.

"Akira and the others…I…I tried to give them the life they wanted, their loved ones back, their dreams and inner wishes achieved, I thought I was doing the right thing." He spoke as they came before the light.

"You might have been…but there's a difference between having something given to you and struggling and achieving it yourself. Not to mention…as much as we may want the dead to return to us, they can't. The dead are dead and the living are living. The former are to be remembered by the latter, but the living have to strive forward and chart out their own path, through the highs and lows that come with it." As she paused, she reached up and placed her hand over her chest. Tae could feel her own heart beating a steady rhythm as she spoke. "My mom died about six years ago. I would give anything to have her back…but I know that I can't, she's passed on and watches over me from above. I always stop by and talk to her, tell her how I'm doing. One day, I'll see her again…but I want to be able to tell her so much about my life, about my achievements and my regrets, the people I've met…I'll tell her those things when we meet again in the next world."

"…That's…admirable, incredibly admirable, Dr. Takemi." Maruki said as he hit the gas again. Far from sounding angry, he actually sounded a little…happy. "The strength to pick yourself up and move on…I don't think I ever had that kind of power. Losing…losing the things precious to you-"

"Can break anyone, so don't feel so ashamed of it. Gaining things and losing things…that's part of life." Tae softly retorted. Her fingers curled against her chest as she recalled the day that her mother's heart monitor flatlined and she felt like a failure. It had been without a doubt one of the worst days of her life, and her father's. Naturally, he'd been the one to comfort her, echoing words that her mother had spoken to her.

"It was our deepest fear that we'd outlive you, Tae. That terror, it kept us up every night you were in the hospital. Instead, we always managed to walk out with you in our arms. That feeling, that was the best feeling that we could have asked for. We got to see you grow up into this amazing young woman, this amazing young doctor. Thanks to that, she was able to pass on with a smile on her face. Even though she's gone, she'll be right here with you, watching over you, Tae, just like I'll always be here for you."

That evening, Tae had said goodbye and made a vow. She said goodbye to her mother, and promised her that she would answer the prayers of others like her-those who wished to spend time with their loved ones for as long as they could. She could do that as a doctor. It was impossible to keep death at bay forever, but that didn't mean that one should give up on life. No, as a doctor, one should never give up on life.

"Even if life is full of hardship…it's worth it to struggle and rise up, to continuously press onward, right?" Spoke up the taxi driver. "Once upon a time…I don't think I would have been able to do that. If I had…Akira wouldn't have needed to knock some sense into me."

"He told me that you two had a fist fight, called it one of the best experiences of his life." Tae clarified.

Maruki laughed into his hand. It was a laugh of genuine surprise and what sounded like relief. "W-W-We kind of did. I sorta…stopped Mona from escaping and he jumped down to face me one last time. To be honest, it was pretty selfish of me, not to mention dangerous since my Palace was falling apart." It was clear he was aware of the situation he was in-driving in a car with a woman in the backseat, a woman whose boyfriend he just admitted to fighting with his bare fists. After thwarting an attempt to escape from a collapsing building. Oh, and said woman was a doctor with immense knowledge of the human body and its workings-in other words, what was needed to make it feel extreme pain. "Um, sorry about all of that. Like I said, it was pretty selfish of me to draw him into one last fight after he'd already defeated Adam Kadmon."

There was enough room in the backseat for her to cross her legs. Tae gave Maruki marks for keeping his eyes on the road instead of looking back at her. "Normally, you'd be paying a cost for that…but I'm in a merciful mood, not to mention you've been kind of enough to give me a ride back home, so I'll let it all slide. Should it happen again, I probably won't be in such a forgiving mood."

"Noted." Laughed the former cognitive researcher. "Truth be told, after our last battle, I'm not very eager to battle the Phantom Thieves again. They're one hell of a strong team. I can see how they were able to take down a god, especially with Akira at the head of the team. Heh, it's kind of fitting that his Personas all seemingly invoke the motif of a fallen angel."

"A fallen angel…you saw his final battle against Yaldabaoth." Tae theorized.

"That I did, I'm also assuming that you saw it as well. Truth be told, when I evolved Azathoth into Adam Kodmon, I thought I would have enough power to overcome Satanael. Heh, I like to think that I came close, with all due respect." As subtly as possible, he looked back at his passenger. He had to admit, it was oddly fitting how Akira specialized in Curse magic, wielding black and red darkness and his personal Personas seemingly followed a pattern of fallen angels. All of it fit how he himself had fallen. As he'd learned this evening, he was in a relationship with a punk rock woman who preferred to dress in dark clothing, namely black and shades of blue. In addition to that, Tae Takemi had a rather dark sense of humor, but beneath it lay the heart of a kind and noble woman. "Truth be told, I'd like to think my days of messing with cognition are over with, but…"

"You still want to continue your research into cognitive psience, don't you?" Tae guessed. Upon catching his eye in the reflection of the rearview mirror. "Hey, don't look so surprised. This whole metaphysical world born from human thought thing isn't something that a scientist can just walk away from…and you are still a scientist, right?"

Maruki's eyes momentarily shifted downward to the steering wheel. It was clear that he was debating himself the answer to her question. Odds were, he was keenly aware that he'd briefly dipped into the 'mad scientist' archetype that was so common in fiction. Maruki always had a feeling the label would find him as the more he researched cognitive psience, the more outlandish it all seemed, except for the first few weeks, his research was actually accepted. It rather helped that it had some basis, basis stretching far back into the nineties.

Originally, Akira's family was from Sumaru City, in fact, he was born around the same time as those mysterious incidents and that mysterious serial-killer named Joker was running around. Mused the former high school counselor. It was quite a shock to learn that Akira had been born during the same year so much upheaval had happened. Sitting on it, Maruki could understand why his father would have wanted to leave the city and move out into the country to raise his newborn son. Fatherhood, From time to time, he found his mind drifting to the concepted. Whenever he did, Rumi's face always flashed through his mind followed by a sharp twinge of pain. "I would…I would like to, but-"

"Then just go out and do it. With Shido behind bars, I doubt that there'll be anyone there to obstruct your work. Hell, for all you know, there may be someone out there willing to fund your research." Tae continued.

"Would you be up for joining me if I asked for a research partner?" He politely questioned back.

"Hm, I'll take it under consideration. What's important is that you pick yourself up and move on with your life. Don't let one bad tragedy be the end of you…Akira taught me that, amongst a few other things. You can drop me off here." This had probably been the best taxi ride she'd ever had, all on account of the fact that she'd never had a conversation quite like this with her taxi driver.

It felt like it'd been years since he'd come to Yongen-Jaya; perhaps it was time he stopped by for a few visits. Maybe even see how the teachers and students at Shujin were doing in-person instead of just word-of-mouth. Looking at the neighborhood, he felt a sense of nostalgia as well as a sudden fire burn within him.

"You don't have to pay me for this treatment, Dr. Takemi." He spoke up as he saw her reaching into her purse to pull out some money. Throughout the entire trip he'd never turned on the meter. "Having this talk with you, I'd say that was payment enough. Again, thank you for it. Thanks for…not holding a grudge, and all the advice."

She flashed him a kind smile as she gathered her groceries. "Likewise, it was nice talking to you…and nice seeing that you're okay. Truth be told…I was a little worried about you. No offense, but you tend to come off as one of those nice guys who'll find themselves in trouble every now and then."

"Oh, trust me, that's me! In fact, just the other day I tripped and fell, spilling my food from Bang Burger. Luckily, the staff was kind enough to give me a second order free of charge." He explained with a bright smile on his face in spite of the somewhat embarrassing memory.

"See? Rise above those mishaps and keep on going. Heh, listen to me, I almost sound like Akira. I swear, he's got some sort of infectious disease that makes it possible to see the brighter side of things." Laughed the punk rock doctor.

"Heh, maybe, though personal…I like to see it as a guiding light. Something tells me that you do too." Based on the way she smiled, he'd hit the mark. "Akira…spring break is coming up and I'd like to think he could maybe return to Tokyo to see everyone."

"That's actually what he's planning on doing." As his girlfriend, it was only natural she was clued into the enigmatic Wild Card's plans. Especially since any plans he made to return to Tokyo would include her. "When he comes by, I'm sure he'd love to see you and everyone else. After a meeting with yours truly of course. I have to give him an examination to make sure he's been keeping himself in good health first." They both laughed at the statement. "Maruki-san…remember what I said. Thanks again, and goodnight."

"I will, and goodnight, Dr. Takemi." Responded the former Persona user, a light in his eyes that told Tae that her words had indeed been taken to heart.

She stepped back and watched him depart, no doubt back to his own home. Spinning on her heel, she made her way back to her apartment building, eventually reaching it and basking in the quiet sanctuary of her own home. It was a little amazing to think that it had remained constant through all the changes in her life, changes that had shook her to her core in a number of ways. Ultimately, she was the one who'd changed. The best changes in herself had come from the young man whom she called up on the phone once she got settled in, his culinary instructions she followed to the letter. Though she wished she was right beside her, Tae could be patient for a few weeks.

Before that time came, she would be stopping by Shujin Academy, a first for her. They were holding a gymnastics show for the first time and Tae wanted to see it. Specifically, there was one person she wanted to see-a former patient of hers.

Sumire Yoshizawa was another person who hadn't had it easy in life. Were it not Maruki's intervention, she might have even forfeited her life. Thankfully she hadn't done that; sure, she'd lost her way, but she'd found it again. That showed as she stepped forward and performed to the roar of approval from a packed gymnasium.

Tae quietly looked around and saw amongst the loudest shouts of approval came from her former teammates, her friends. She had to admit, it was nice seeing them all: Ryuji with his mother, Ann with her friend along with a blonde-haired woman whom she suspected to be her mother, Yusuke, the Niijima Sisters, Sojiro and Futaba, and Haru. It was only natural they would all be there, though the Phantom Thieves had officially disbanded, the bond that tied them all together remained strong. Such bonds were the most precious thing in the world and couldn't be broken so easily.

As she spied around the gymnasium, her belief was reaffirmed as three seats over, she caught a familiar face.

Maruki caught her eye and waved at her, then quickly turned his attention back to the woman beside him.

Looking further down, near the exit, a comforting smile crossed her face as she spotted a familiar mop of brown hair. The distance between them was great, but Tae recognized the loose brown hair. Right beside the boy was a man in a dark suit, probably his handler of some sort. It didn't matter though as one way or another, he'd been able to make the trip, of course he would. Rather the former assassin admitted it or not, he saw Sumire as a teammate…and as a friend.

"Hey! Hey! Turn the phone back on the action, we're missing it!"

"Oh, sorry about that."

Akira laughed as Tae swung her smart phone about thus allowing them to see what was happening on the ground-Sumire living up to her oath to try her hardest, for herself and for her sister. Both he and Morgana watched through the screen as she made use of all the hard work she'd put in over the last few months.

"Guess I owe you again, Tae." Spoke the black-haired teen with a chuckle as he watched his friend execute a perfect backflip that he knew would net her good scores from the judges.

"Just consider it another thing to make up for when you get back. I hope you'll be looking forward to it, my little guinea pig." The redeemed doctor purred to which she was met with resounding laughter from her boyfriend. They'd made a promise, and it was going to be kept as surely as light always found a way to piece through the darkness.

Speaking of which, light flooded in from the windows, warm sunlight shining through after a brief period of rain. It was the light of hope, the light of a future that all would continue to march toward, enduring pain and gaining strength from it along the way.

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Fin

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And so there it is, the end of a project I started over the summer and that has dragged on into the late fall. It's been a very winding couple of months which kept me from updating this story and getting it finished, but now it's done and I hope you all enjoyed it.

From the start, I planned on the third and final chapter which would feature Maruki be when Tae learned of the Metaverse and all the other supernatural details. It's pretty fun writing about the none Phantom Thief characters really learning about the Metaverse and its various workings, some of which even our lovable band of thieves figure out through exploration. Tae I picture being amongst the more curious-minded of the Confidants with her only real concern being the danger that Akira is putting himself in, and the resulting injuries she'd have to tend to. In The Royal, Tae's romance dialogue around Christmas mentions how the Phantom Thieves are practically superheroes, and that makes her the hero's girlfriend. It's a topic that I wanted to explore a bit, especially since the theme of this chapter was knowing the dangers of the future and choosing to press onward in spite of them. Loving someone who puts themselves in harm's way isn't easy, but if that love is true then it'll endure giving one the strength to look forward.

Some of the headcanons in this chapter involved the pasts of Akira and Tae. As a fan of the older games, I like to picture Akira having some connection to Sumaru City and the events of Eternal Punishment being referenced every now and then and even serving as a bit of background for some characters (at least in fan works like this the first few Persona games can be mentioned). With Tae, I decided that she would have experienced death in at least some form in her personal life in making her mother deceased. The Death Arcana doesn't always mean death, but rather cycles and changes, which sums up Tae's character arc well. Such a meaning ties in rather well with the theme of learning and growing from tragedy that comes with rejecting Maruki's false reality. On the topic of such, I went with a belief that those without some sort of strong desire yet connected to Akira had some level of resistance to Maruki's powers. Sojiro doesn't count because he misses Wakabe just as much as Futaba (and probably wishes he had a second chance to tell her how he really felt about her).

Originally, I did plan for more talks between Tae and Maruki since they're rather interesting foils to each other. Again, Tae's entire arc can be summed up with the theme of accepting the past can't be changed and realizing the present and future are to be cherished and enjoyed, things that Maruki doesn't realize until the end after he's been defeated. Like with Goro, instead of anger, she responded to his actions with sympathy, partially on account of in this imagining, she has experienced the death of a loved one, but she's made peace with said death and used it to motivate her to further achieve her dreams. I would love to write more interactions between them that explore the differences between them and probably will in the future as I write some more post-game stories set in the continuity of P5R.

The ending of this one was meant to tie everything together-Sumire gets a chance to perform as herself and with all the friends she's made watching, including Akira and Morgana who are miles away, but still supporting her. I'm a sucker for those kinds of heartwarming endings which Persona loves doing. Again, I hope you all enjoyed this story. Until next time, happy Thanksgiving everyone, and please stay safe and healthy!