Chapter Thirty-Five

After Sunday's breakfast with Sojiro, Yume returns to her apartment to find a very nervous Hitoshi. She pulls out the stool and locks the door, not taking her eyes off him, "What is it?"

"Let's go to the Library today," he says, picking up and putting down more bits and bobs. "You haven't been in a while, right?"

"I guess we can go later," Yume drawls, heading for her room. "I'm having lunch today with Ryuji and his mum and your mother."

"Later is fine!" Hitoshi is quick to assure her.

Yume gives him one last suspicious look, and then goes for a quick nap. It's probably more testing. Maybe there'll finally be time to read more about Fools.

"Is my son taking care of you?" Ms. Eguchi asks as they head to her car. Yume is quick to assure that yes, he most certainly is. The woman hums. "Well, maybe we can contact your parents about making him your guardian."

"I already did," Yume grins bright and cutely. The papers are printed, and all she needs is Hitoshi's signature along with a third party to sign and approve it. "They're thinking about it."

Ms. Eguchi mutters some things under her breath that Yume pretends not to hear. They arrive at the park with little fanfare. Yume cheerfully shouts out her friend's name and rushes over to meet him.

He noogies her. "Not the hair! Not the hair!"

Ryuji laughs and eases off. "Come on, sis! Ma's got today all planned out!"

Yume smiles and keeps Ryuji busy while the adults talk. Lunch begins tame, with childish insults between the kids and easy teasing about the foods they like. Half of their orders end up on each others' plate, comparing favourites.

"Two of my boys were picky eaters," Ms. Eguchi giggles behind her coffee. "I'm glad Yume likes everything."

That's mostly true. She hates rutabagas, but luckily it isn't a common dish vegetable in Japan. "Was Hitoshi a picky eater?"

Ms. Eguchi shakes her head and explains to the confused mother, "My youngest boy. No, Yume, he ate everything he could. Never enjoyed things too spicy, though."

"I'll eat anything!" Ryuji declares. "I'll even eat worms!"

"No, you won't," his mother smiles, a scold behind it. "Because if you did, we'd have to have a talk like the time you ate mud."

He deflates, and Yume pokes his hand, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't have to ever eat worms or dirt. Only good food!"

"Good food for us!" he cheers and gets back to eating.

Yume blinks cutely and smiles at Ryuji's mother. "Don't worry, Ms. Sakamoto. I'll make sure to take care of Ryuji. He's my little brother."

"You're the little sister!" Ryuji shouts through a mouthful of food. They get into a footsie fight, Yume smiling evilly while he tries not to choke when cackling.

It's up to Maki Eguchi to pave the reassuring path Yume started. She promises the wary and hopeful Ms. Sakamoto, "We can keep an eye on Ryuji, if you ever need someone to watch him. My youngest, Hitoshi, is going to be Yume's guardian soon. If not me, then there will always be someone to look after the kids."

Ryuji's mother takes a deep breath, nodding and tugging at her long sleeves, "Thank you."

Ms. Eguchi squeezes Yume's hand, eyes warning her not to push anymore. The girl smiles back.

;;;

It isn't hard to tell Hitoshi is hiding something. Yume once grew up looking for those who bury their secrets; she uses the best of their skills now. Once upon a time, she could spot the guiltiest people from miles away. From the signs, Hitoshi does not deal well with hiding things that happened recently. His role in questioning her, for example, was not subtle nor smooth. Hiding the Metaverse from his family, however, is old news. He'll only get better at tucking away his behind-the-scenes role when he has an actual job.

Yume lets it all slide, because there is not much she can do to get out of their visit to the Library. She does want to go. The stress she's carried since Hitoshi pretty-much moved-in hasn't abated, and his secrecy is only making her frayed nerves worse. Better to get this over with.

Hitoshi drops his card first. Yume waits a minute before dropping her own. On the Library stairs, she smiles and takes the hand he offers.

"Chemist, Angel!" Hitoshi calls out. "We're here!

"Are the others around?"

Yume trips. Should have known.

Over by the front desk are two Persona users she doesn't know.

Hitoshi is never allowed to hide things again while in the apartment.

"Hi there," the taller of the two kneels down before her. She recognizes Tetsuya, even with the mask on. "You're Cheater, yes?"

"Hai!" Yume nods, trying hard not to clutch Hitoshi's hand. It would serve him right.

"I'm Ace," Tetsuya grins and holds out a hand. "Leader of the Phantom Thieves. It's nice to finally meet you!"

Yume widens her eyes and smiles cutely. "You're the ones going after Madam Himura!" She takes his hand.

There is a rush over her. A cool sort of feeling that turns into a churning – burning – sense in her stomach. Yume chalks it up to nerves, retracting her hand and using all the patience she learned from her last life to not wipe it on her shirt. Tetsuya is still grinning when he tells her, "We actually changed Himura's heart yesterday."

Yume sags. "She's… she's changed? She's not going to be mean anymore?"

"She'll be nicer," he pats her head, the cool feeling quickly coming and going. It's almost like being doused in water as it breaks her from shock. "You won't have to worry about her bothering anyone anymore."

Yume wrestles her hand from Hitoshi and does something she truly means for the first time this life. The little girl bows to show her respect. "Thank you, Master Ace."

"Oh, just Ace kid," Tetsuya turns to Hitoshi, hissing, "she's so nice."

Hitoshi blinks. Looks at the girl with a serious expression. Looks to his friend. "Right…"

"Thank you, Mr. Spike," Yume bows to her soon-to-be guardian. Hitoshi makes a noise of protest. She turns and bows once more to Tetsuya. "Please give my thanks to the others of your team."

"We didn't do it for free," drawls the teenager with dark blue hair, making her way over. "You owe us one-million yen."

Yume blinks at who is likely Tae behind the beaked mask. Dark blue isn't a common hair colour.

"Don't," Hitoshi groans. "Bones doesn't mean that, Cheater. Becoming your guardian is payment enough."

"Okay," Yume gives the most adorable smile. Tae and Tetsuya melt their guards right before her eyes.

"The rest of the team is stopping by today," Tetsuya tells her. "We're all excited to meet you. It's not every day we meet people able to use the Metaverse Navigator."

"I look forward to meeting you all too!" Yume lies perfectly. So much for staying out of the plot. At least she's got one dungeon under her belt, even if she didn't fight/find the boss. "I hope we can all be great friends!"

Level ones don't survive long alone. At the very least, they can get her through a tutorial battle.

;;;

It starts out as a trickle of unease. It isn't unusual to feel this during his mother's tea parties, though Akira normally ends up bored more than anything. A trickle of unease, and then a spot in his chest which feels too hot and too cold. Akira rubs it once, and then goes back to playing the perfect child. The feelings don't fade, instead spreading outwards ever-so-slowly as the hour passes.

It doesn't hurt, but it isn't pleasant. It gets worse when, bored and lonely, Akira thinks, I wish Yume was here.

He can ignore the blazing in his chest when he reads the books she bought him. Dinner is spent in uncomfortable, stilted quiet as his parents race through their family meal. Akira is doing his best not to panic, counting down the minutes in the dark with a phone at ready.

He dials when he's sure no one else is awake.

"Ishii family household, Ishii Yume speaking."

Akira breathes, easy and effortless. The raw hot-cold in his chest dies down to a pleasant hum, the world feeling so much easier. "Hi, Yume."

He doesn't question the deep, low-level emotions he doesn't know the name of yet. He just knows that Yume is his best friend.

(The Fool bond knows someone tried to take her from him and want retribution to be paid for the slight.)

For now, everything is fine.

;;;

One by one, the Phantom Thieves fell to Cheater's cuteness. Tae had The Talk with the girl, Daichi got to answer questions about Japan's laws, Sadayo got to practice teaching with the girl, and even Hiroki could not hold any issues about doing Himura's dungeon first.

For Tetsuya, Cheater makes him think of his little sister. Cheater is even younger, and he regrets someone so tiny had to face a palace. Those things are the longest-lasting, worst distortions of people. They do not change without the aid of a Persona user. Thinking about a child having to face it-

There are echoes of a ruin ending in his memories. Old, fractured things of a future that will not come to pass. He is glad the girl didn't try fighting anything on her own.

What Tetsuya is not happy about is not making a link with her.

"There's nothing you can do," Chemist tells him. "There's so little on female Fools that I can only guess you'll eventually match, or you won't."

"It's not that big a deal," Angel rolls her eyes.

Maybe not to you, Tetsuya glares a bit before sighing, but I'd rather be free of the Library's contract. "Sure. That was a bust, but what about her potential? Do you think she has any future as a Phantom Thief?"

Chemist smiles, "Of course! A couple years of training, and I think she'd be able to fight Shadows. For now, why not try her out as a scout?"

"Scout?"

"Well," Angel drops her books on the counter, "why not have her look through the Check-In Hotel? Even just sending her through the ground-floor would be a good way to realise if mapping Himura's palace was a fluke."

Tetsuya thinks about it. Nods slowly. "After we're sure Himura isn't causing any more problems." It would make their lives easier if it meant they didn't have to map an escape route, find the treasure, and battle hordes of enemies along the way. "And no mentioning this to Hitoshi until we're sure."

The Librarians roll their eyes in sync. "Of course."

;;;

For many reasons, Yume is twitchier by the time dance class begins Monday. She's more fake. Her smiles are a bit more strained and her true feelings about the day are shoved deep down until she can find alone time to process them. The emotional upheaval at meeting the Phantom Thieves yesterday – and they are so nice – doesn't help with what's to come. Yume is secretly, quietly, a mess.

Thankfully, Haru doesn't do more than give her a hug and whisper it's going to be okay. The other girls don't hear. A teacher from the older girls leads both groups to the performance hall. When they get there, harried dance instructors tell the groups, "Professor Himura will not be back until the performance night, as she has suddenly fallen ill."

Though it may be terrible for their teachers, a visible aura of relief falls over the children. Kotori even mutters, "Thank goodness."

Yume musters up a real smile. The Phantom Thieves came through. Looks like she's getting a new guardian.

It's one bright light in an otherwise mournful time.

;;;

The year is 2005, and this is apparently the last day to match. The more often Yume thinks about it, the less it hurts her head to remember. According to the Librarians, tomorrow does not exist.

Yume lights a candle every May thirty-first for her past-life's younger brother and older sister. If it's true that she was the cause of the calendar shift, then having her day of remembering scratched out is either her psyche saying move on or pouring salt into the wounds. She kind-of expects it's the latter.

In the quiet of her room, Yume stares at the burning wick. Her determination to see this through is interrupted by the phone ringing.

Yume cries silently as this time, Akira reads her a chapter from his favourite book.

Alone in her room, phone returned to its cradle, the silence is stifling. Yume watches the flame, wondering what will happen for a day that doesn't exist. One less day to practice dance, one less day without Hitoshi signed on as her guardian, one less phone call. No one will question the skipping days. No one will realize their timeline is a branch one.

Midnight ticks closer.

(As the origin of an extra day came from Japan, so too will the origin of the fix.)

The hour hits, and an intense smell fills the suddenly dark room. Yume's eyes have adjusted to it, even if her brain has not caught up. The candle has long melted, all the way to its base. What's surprising is the strong scent of coffee emitting from it.

Maybe not so surprising, Yume thinks as giggles bubble behind her lips. It releases the same time she starts crying. Then she opens a window because the smell is too strong, and the past-life memories are stronger. "What was I thinking?"

The world has righted itself, and because she remembers that fact means she does not get all the corrected memories with it. Yume flips the calendar to June and goes to bed.

A/N: The deadline approaches, the world shifts, and Akira is experiencing some side-effects. Yikes.

Thank you, xenocanaan, for your review! Here's a bit more, though better times are ahead. Again, thank you so much for your review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you, GlaresThatKill, for your review! Poor Akira really got the brunt of it this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you again for reviewing!

Thank you, starfish, for your review! Yep, Yume leveled up one way! Still stuck when it comes to the Metaverse, but probably the best for now. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you so much for your review!

Thank you, TheParadoxicalOxymoron, for your review! I was so happy when I found the pairing tag, and for Phantom Thieves tag so I could shuffle Sojiro in there. There's a lot going on in the background that will tie into the lack-of-communication from her parents, but it's not clearly stated what is connected yet. Thank you so much for your review, and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you, ChordOverstreetFan, for your reviews! I can understand this isn't a lot of people's favourite type of story. I hope there was something you liked in it, and that you do find a Persona story that you enjoy. If you are referring to a review I addressed in the last chapter, Akira is a five-years-old Fool with one, rank-one confidant. Anything can happen. Thank you for reviewing and, again, I hope you find a Persona story you enjoy.

Thank you, Avatar . NIX, for your review! Yep, and the recital date is approaching. Poor teachers are missing her, even if the kids don't. I hope it helped! Thank you for your review, and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you, RavenMichaelis, for your review! Almost there! Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you, Redbeltwolf, for your review! Now that Hitoshi's sticking around, he'll definitely get more time. Glad to hear you liked it! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you so much for your review!

Thank you, kalmaegi, for your review! Ace-Tetsuya's meeting with Cheater-Yume lead to this… disappointment on both ends. He's been studying on how to recruit her since their first meeting. There really has been a lot of news for P5. Thank you so much for your review, and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a fantastic day