May 17, 2014 (Saturday)

"Makoto Nijima," Goro echoed. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to bother you, but I noticed you're wearing a Shujin Academy uniform, and I had a question for you."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Your school has been in the news recently for its athletics. Apparently you have an outstanding volleyball program."

She shifted and looked around, evidently looking for an escape from this conversation. "I don't know very much about it. I'm not really into sports, and I'm only a first year student."

"I'm a first year, too." Goro smiled at her. "I was wondering if I could get a tour of the grounds? I've been thinking about transferring, as my school year has been off to a somewhat rocky start."

"Is that so." Practically Makoto's entire body was turned away from him now. "Well, it's a Saturday afternoon, so the grounds are most likely closed. The most I could do is walk you to the gate."

"Would you be so kind?"

Makoto appeared to bite back a sigh. "I suppose so, but I do have somewhere to be. It'll have to be quick."

"Of course." He started to follow the potential new team member. "I normally wouldn't impose like this, but I've been looking for an in for some time now. Do you think any of the staff are still there?"

"It's possible," Makoto said, "but I don't think so. Most people have probably gone home by now."

Goro continued to force conversation as they made their way to Shujin. He wasn't really sure where he was going with this; Makoto only gave short answers to his questions, which made it difficult to evaluate her. If he could find some way to bring her into the Metaverse, they could see if she had the potential to use a Persona. However, although the day's events had been harrowing, he wasn't quite so desperate as to drag her into Mementos; there was no need to make a civilian panic. He'd have to keep chipping away and see what he could find out.

They stood before the school gates, and Goro put a gloved hand to his chin. "So this is Shujin Academy?"

His vision went red for a moment, and he nearly staggered. Could he really be that lucky? What was this force that kept leading him to the most opportune people at the most opportune moments?

"Yes," Makoto said. "I'm surprised that you've never been here before if you're so interested in our athletics."

"I haven't had the time." Goro spared a glance to his bag, and Morgana's wide eyes looked up at him. He knew they were onto something, and so quickly after discussing both a new team member and a new Palace.

"Do you play any sports yourself?" Makoto asked. She leaned over a bit, also trying to look into Goro's bag. "They do seem time-consuming."

"I dabble in kendo, but I'm trying to focus on academics and orchestra for now," Goro said, subtly shifting the bag closer to his side. "More extracurriculars would be a bit too much to handle."

"I'm sure," Makoto said. "I just joined student council, and it seems like quite the time commitment." She straightened up and narrowed her eyes at Goro. "Why are you getting involved with two clubs if you just want to transfer schools anyway?"

"It's good to practice when you can." Goro waved his hand at the school, searching his mind for questions that would lead them somewhere. "Who are some of your teachers? Do you find their teaching styles effective?"

Makoto listed a few names, but there were no reactions. Goro nodded. "And who runs the student council?"

"The student council president handles most of the meetings, but Principal Kobayakawa sometimes attends to see how things are going."

Another flash of red made Goro's vision swim. He was very much struggling to stay upright, which drew even more of Makoto's suspicion.

"Are you feeling well?" she asked. "There's a bench nearby if you want to sit."

With his bulky bag, she probably thought he was dealing drugs or something of that nature. He needed to figure out the distortion and get her on board quickly. "I'll be alright. Just not sleeping well." True. "I can't remember what the news segment mentioned in relation to Kobayakawa. It couldn't have something to do with a gymnasium, could it?" Nothing. "No, it wasn't about the athletics team, for once."

Makoto leaned over again to get a closer look at Goro's face. "I don't remember any news segment about our principal. When was this?"

"A few months ago, before the year started." Goro closed his eyes, still swaying on his feet a bit. "I'm trying to remember what it was about... a laboratory?" Nothing. "Stadium? Park? Construction site?" Nothing, nothing, nothing.

"Akechi, you're starting to frighten me," Makoto said. Goro felt his stomach drop. "Shall I call the police? I doubt they'd take you away to prison for acting strange, but I suspect that something else is—"

There it was. Everything went hazy and condensed back into a crumbling prison. Morgana was standing at his side immediately—no, that couldn't be right. Where was his bag? He scanned the ground to see it beside him, but he didn't remember setting it down.

Maybe he should have taken Makoto up on the offer to sit down.

The girl in question was understandably quite frightened, but Morgana did most of the explaining while Goro regained his bearings. What kind of Palace was this? Madarame's was opulent; this was decrepit and almost tragic to look at. Kobayakawa must have despised his job if this was how he thought of the school, or he must have been doing something wrong. Perhaps both.

"Akechi?"

He turned, swallowing hard as his vision swam. Makoto's panicked red eyes cut through the shifting haze of black. "Yes?"

"I don't understand what's going on," she said. "Did you slip me something?"

Again with the drugs. "No, I assure you that this is very real." He held up his phone to show her the app. "As Morgana said, this must be the reality that exists in your principal's mind. I do want to apologize for acting so strangely, but we are in need of help."

"I..." Makoto looked around, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just wanted to go study. I don't want to get involved with whatever this is."

Maybe in another life, one where he felt more secure in his home, Goro would've felt the same. As it was, he was getting more irritated and tired with every sentence he managed to grind out. "Aren't you the least bit curious? It's not every day you have an opportunity like this, to experience how someone else sees the world." He tapped the edge of his phone to his head. "And your principal, no less. Perhaps you could learn something from taking a look around."

Predictably, that seemed to get her. She looked toward the prison entrance, arms still tightly crossed. "But those Shadows you mentioned, aren't they hostile? How am I supposed to fight back without a Persona?"

She'd already picked up some of the terminology. Perhaps she'd prove competent. "We'll avoid them for today," Goro said. "We should just do a preliminary round of scouting."

They probably shouldn't, actually, considering how exhausted Goro and Morgana both were, but he didn't know if he'd be able to convince Makoto to come here a second time. If she had the potential, she had to activate it today, which probably meant they had to be in a desperate situation. The thought itself almost doubled Goro's exhaustion, and he reached down to ensure that his stock of potions wasn't completely drained.

"Are you sure about this, Crow?" Morgana asked. "We've done a lot already today. I think looking around is a pretty stupid idea, honestly."

"We'll stay out of sight." That was a lie. He'd make a beeline for Kobayakawa's Shadow and decide what to do from there. "It can't hurt to take a preliminary look around and come back with Fox tomorrow."

"You and Fox are so stubborn!" Despite his complaints, Morgana walked alongside Goro as they started off. "If you keep it up, it's going to get you in serious trouble. Again."

Makoto asked more questions about the unfamiliar terms as they headed for the entrance, and Morgana continued to answer most of them. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be any guards in front of the building; there was a fenced-in recreational area to their left, similar to the exercise yard one might see in a regular prison, but only a few figures were moving. Many students appeared to be sitting still on the ground and talking freely with each other. The Shadows, who took a similar form as the guards in Madarame's Palace, seemed to allow the chatter. Their heads rotated aimlessly, and their batons hung limp in their hands.

Morgana eased open the front door and waved the other two over. "Quiet—it looks like there are Shadows in there."

Makoto reached the door first and gasped. "That's him," she whispered. Goro was glad to see that she was invested now, and even more glad that they had found Kobayakawa's Shadow so quickly. His home life may have been hell, but at least he had a bed to return to soon.

Goro stood on tiptoe to look over Makoto's head. He saw more guards and one slight figure beside a large one.

"No one's been paying attention in any of my math classes," the slight figure complained. "2-A is especially bad; nearly everyone failed their exams last week. Can't you hold an assembly or something?"

"Why can't you teach them properly?" the larger figure asked. Goro could see the fluorescent lights shining on his bald head.

"It's not my fault," the teacher snapped back. "I've tried to impart my excitement about mathematics onto them. I've even lectured them for their poor class participation, but nothing gets through to them. It's your fault that they don't care about learning! Shujin is supposed to get young people excited for their futures, but your apathy has clearly rubbed off on them."

"Ms. Usami, I am doing all I can—"

"Evidently not. Do you want someone else to write an assembly speech for you? Maybe Ms. Kawakami or some other teacher could help you actually do your job right."

If a confrontation like this had happened in Madarame's Palace, the Shadows would have attacked the offending party by now. Why were the guards just standing there with their heads down?

Kobayakawa hung his head, as well. "I didn't want this," he groaned.

"Didn't want what? Your students to be such disappointments? They're just a reflection of you."

"I don't want this job."

"Then quit and let someone more competent take over."

"I can't."

Ms. Usami scoffed. "Fine. I suppose you'll have to be content with this status quo, then." She turned on her heel and stormed off, muttering to herself.

Just in front of Goro, Makoto leaned in closer to hear more of Ms. Usami's words, but the rusty metal door squealed on its hinges. All the figures in the room turned, and the three thieves didn't manage to duck out of the way in time. In all honesty, Goro made sure to be seen before hiding.

Morgana's head whipped around as he looked for another hiding spot. Several pairs of footsteps were drawing closer, and the grounds were too open for them to find anywhere to hide—which, Goro now realized, would be a pain when they returned later, but it suited him just fine for now. Both doors swung open, and Makoto and Morgana froze.

"And look at this!" Ms. Usami yelled, gesturing to them with both arms. "Some of them have escaped, and you haven't even noticed. Complete incompetence, as usual."

Kobayakawa's Shadow blinked slowly at them, not bothering to make a move yet. From this distance, Goro could see that Kobayakawa's uniform was only slightly different from the students', and his irises were the same shade of yellow as Madarame's. His eyes were reddened where they should have been white.

"Why not just let them go?" he sighed. "We're better off without a few troublemakers."

"You have to discipline them," Ms. Usami said. "As I said, it's your job to shape them into respectable young people. This is your chance!"

Kobayakawa's eyes looked a bit more alert as he looked over the three of them. Makoto straightened up and asked, "Principal, what's going on? You always seem so confident during council meetings."

"I've only mustered the energy to attend a few. If I attended every one, the students would notice my weakness," the Shadow answered. "You seemed like a promising first year, if I remember correctly. It's a shame you're showing your true colors now."

Makoto's shoulders tensed closer to her ears. "I'm not doing anything wrong! What is all this? You didn't answer me."

"This is Shujin," he said, squinting. "A prison of my own making."

"I can see that it's Shujin," Makoto snapped. "That still doesn't answer the question. What have you done with all the students?"

Ms. Usami laughed behind him and the guards. "Not much, that's for certain."

Kobayakawa's head rotated slowly, as if taking in the grounds for the first time. "I haven't done much of anything," he confirmed. "The vast majority of these students are none of my concern. They should figure out how to do things on their own; I never wanted the responsibility of so many young futures."

"You don't... care about them?" Makoto asked. "I thought teachers, and especially principals, were supposed to do everything they could to help their students. You even said that yourself at the very first meeting of the year."

How idealistic. Goro choked back a laugh of his own.

After another stretch of silence, Makoto grit her teeth and said, "I was counting on you and the other adults at Shujin to help me get into university. I'm already prepared to work hard, but if you're not willing to put forth the same effort, then why did you take this job?"

Kobayakawa finally looked up at the red-grey sky. "The prestige, I suppose."

"Guys, they're not moving to attack yet," Morgana hissed. "We have to get out of here—"

"No." Makoto lifted a hand to her head. "You took on such a heavy responsibility—one you didn't even want—just for the prestige? I've already started planning my future around a principal who doesn't care about whether his students succeed or not?"

His silence was answer enough, and Makoto's fingers tensed over her forehead. She doubled over but didn't collapse; Goro and Morgana were at her sides in a moment. Just as quickly, they both stuttered a step back when Makoto's Persona manifested. All the Shadows present backed up, as well, but the guards managed to ready their batons as Ms. Usami and Kobayakawa fled.

Morgana huffed. "At least we don't have to fight those two. Okay, Makoto, I'll walk you through the basics of battle—"

She tore through a Shadow with a flash of blue light and heat, and Morgana cut himself off. "Guess you got it. Okay, let's go, then!"

They made quick work of the guards; after weeks of training at Madarame's Palace, the lesser Shadows here were easy to dispatch, especially with Makoto's skill set. After they finished, Makoto moved to follow Kobayakawa, but Goro collapsed to one knee behind her. Morgana's huge eyes took up his field of vision in the next moment.

"You idiot," he admonished. "You've pushed yourself way too hard today! You should've just let me and Makoto handle it."

Goro let out a breathy laugh. "It's easier with three fighters. We were outnumbered."

Morgana shook his head, exasperated. "We gotta get you out of here. Makoto, can you help?"

Makoto took a step closer, but Goro staggered to his feet first. "I'll be fine." He steadied himself through another wave of vertigo, then took out his phone. "Shall we go?"

"We should've left as soon as we discovered the Palace," Morgana said.

"Yes, but we have that new team member that we wanted now."

Makoto squinted her eyes at him through her metallic mask. "Excuse me, what are you talking about?"

"We'll explain soon. Get ready to leave for now." Goro hit the button to exit the Metaverse, and, as soon as they manifested by the real-world Shujin, he found a wall to lean against.

Morgana hopped up beside him, and Goro again let him do most of the talking. They ended with an appeal for help with the Madarame situation.

"I think we can change Kobayakawa's way of thinking if we explore his Palace some more, and then you could help us with Madarame and my memories in return," Morgana said. "Maybe he'll be a better principal if we can cause a change of heart." He paused, then looked at Goro with wide eyes. "Oh, that's another term! Have you been writing these down?"

Goro tapped his temple. "It's all here. Can you elaborate on what that term means?"

Morgana's tail swished against Goro's shoulder as he spoke excitedly. "It's like changing the way the target thinks. If we take the Treasure, their cognition and behavior should change in the real world. I feel like that's definitely better than trying to defeat their Shadow! We should be extra careful not to get spotted next time."

Makoto frowned. "Three of you were just fighting a powerful Shadow without knowing what the outcome would be if you defeated it?"

"We weren't going to kill it." As much as Goro might have wanted to. "Without knowing how to get the Treasure to manifest, that was the best we could do."

She crossed her arms, rocking from side to side a bit as she thought. "It does sound like you need help, and I'd like to investigate further." She spared a glance for her school bag, forgotten by the side of the building during their excursion to the Metaverse. "I really was going to go study, but I'd like to meet this Kitagawa before I make any decisions. When we can arrange a meeting?"

"Tomorrow should be fine," Goro said. "We were already planning to discuss the next course of action soon. The issue is finding a meeting place."

No one's home was an option, as everyone's guardians were watchful. Makoto suggested a diner in Shibuya where there was enough general chatter for their conversation to be kept private, and they decided on a meeting time.

"I'll ask Yusuke if that works for him and get back to you," Goro said. "How can I contact you?"

"You can text me at this number." Makoto pulled up her contact information and showed him, then tilted her head upon seeing Goro's hesitation. "Something wrong?"

"I don't have a phone plan, and Yusuke doesn't have a cell phone," Goro explained. "We've been communicating via landline phones, so I will have to call you to confirm our meeting time." He copied her information and handed her phone back.

Some mixture of confusion and sympathy painted Makoto's face. "I guess you weren't kidding about being cut off."

Goro fought back a surge of anger. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to bring another member in; he didn't need some stranger's sympathy, and he certainly didn't need someone knowing any details of his home life.

But this was for Yusuke. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and forced his smile back into place. "I'll call you later this evening, if that's acceptable."

Makoto agreed to keep an eye on her phone, and they parted ways. Goro was tempted to down another potion as a strong headache took hold, but he made it home before his foster parents did. That was one success from this disaster of a day.

He collapsed onto his bed, and Morgana padded over to sit next to his head. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Awful," Goro admitted.

"That's your own fault." Morgana's tail hit him again. "When Yusuke and I said we should get a new team member, we didn't mean right away."

Goro shot upright. "I forgot to call Yusuke." He ignored the pounding pain in his head for a few more minutes and went to the common room. Morgana followed, complaining about Goro pushing himself too hard. Goro ignored him as he dialed the number.

"Ichiryusai Madarame's residence," a familiar voice answered. "With whom am I speaking?"

"This is Goro."

"Ah." Not his usual enthusiastic response, but not entirely dismissive, either. The knot in Goro's stomach tightened nonetheless. "What do we need to discuss?"

Goro rushed through an explanation of the afternoon's events, eager to hear that tone of hope in Yusuke's voice again. "We were going to meet tomorrow in Shibuya around one o'clock," he concluded. "Will you be able to make that time?"

Yusuke paused, and Goro waited, holding his breath. "I should be able to," he finally said. "But are you feeling well? You were nearly passed out earlier; it was incredibly foolish of you to rush into a different Palace today."

The words stung more than any of Morgana's lectures. "It was," Goro agreed, "but I'll be fine. I'll just rest up tonight. We're not doing anything more strenuous than talking tomorrow, so we should have some time to recover then, as well." A pause. "How are you feeling?"

Another pause, longer. "Conflicted. Sens— Madarame hasn't returned yet, and I do not know how I will react when he does. I suppose I will confine myself to my room for the evening."

Goro didn't know what to say. "I'm truly sorry. You should get some rest, too."

"I will." Yusuke's sigh settled heavily into his ear. "At times like this, I would normally lose myself in painting for some time, but my feelings on the medium are now more conflicted than ever. Perhaps I should take up sculpting."

Was he trying to make Goro feel even guiltier? If so, Goro certainly deserved it. "Perhaps," he echoed.

Pause. "Well. I will see you tomorrow, then. Rest up."

"You, too." He waited for Yusuke to hang up, but the click of the receiver took longer than usual to sound. Goro set the phone down and cradled his throbbing head.

Morgana nudged Goro's leg with his head. "Come on, dummy. Let's get you to bed."

May 18, 2014 (Sunday)

The four of them met the next day in front of the diner. Makoto had arrived earlier than everyone else, which gave Goro no time to speak privately with Yusuke in person.

Despite the crowd inside, the group secured a booth and leaned in close to hide Morgana. Yusuke offered up a few more details of his home life and his relationship with Madarame, stressing the importance of bringing Madarame to justice. Morgana and Goro had told Makoto the bare minimum yesterday; the personal details weren't theirs to reveal, after all. Makoto seemed a bit surprised by Yusuke's straightforwardness, but she was more indignant at his descriptions of the injustices against him and other pupils.

"Knowing all of this," she summarized, "I think I have to help you. Kitagawa, my sister is a prosecutor; she can handle the legal side of things in this case. In fact, she might be able to handle all of it, if you don't want to go into Madarame's Palace again."

"You may call me Yusuke. In regards to legality, the evidence and testimony that Goro has compiled is substantial, but it is certainly not a guarantee of our success. I would much more prefer to cover all our bases in both worlds."

"That's fine, but if he's as strong as you said, I'll need to train more before we make a move in case you have to fight him again. We still don't know how to steal his Treasure, correct?"

"That's right," Morgana confirmed. "We've looked up and down his whole Palace, but that piece of the puzzle hasn't come back to me yet. Maybe if we do a test run on Kobayakawa, I can figure it out while we're all training and exploring there."

From that point, they worked out a schedule. They'd start later in the week to give themselves more time to recover, then train in Kobayakawa's Palace until they felt strong and knowledgeable enough to try Madarame's Palace again. If Madarame was arrested, Makoto offered her sister's apartment for Yusuke to stay in. With Sae Nijima being a prosecutor, Goro doubted that she would let a minor live with them for long before sending Yusuke to a "proper facility"—an orphanage—but Makoto reassured him that Sae was not that callous. It was possible that she could even use her connections to find a suitable guardian for Yusuke and help him through the adoption process. Goro remained skeptical but continued to privately think through solutions of his own.

The discussion turned to their new discoveries about Shujin's principal. "Kobayakawa's Palace doesn't make sense to me at all," Morgana said. "I thought Palaces were made by people with very strong subconscious desires, but he's just a huge coward."

"Fear is a very strong emotion," Goro murmured. "Perhaps his attempts to repress that fear resulted in the formation of a Palace."

Morgana sighed through his nose. "What's so great about being the principal of a high school, anyway?"

"The school does have an interesting reputation," Goro said. "Being in charge of a place like that must look good to the public." Makoto nodded to confirm.

"I guess so, but he's not exactly a charismatic figure," Morgana said. "Leaders should inspire people; he should've known he wasn't cut out for the job!"

"He seems to be realizing it now," Makoto said. "He's been the principal for a few years now, as far as I know. If he's always been this useless at his job, it angers me to think about how many students' lives he must have passively ruined."

Goro and Yusuke shared a look before Goro broke eye contact, still unsure of how to act. The situation sounded familiar to both of them; adults in their lives were also taking on responsibilities that they didn't want simply for the prestige. Because foster children were seen as lesser, adopting one gave the parents a kindly reputation. A few of Goro's foster families had motivations along this line. Likewise, Madarame took on pupils, appearing to the public as a generous teacher and caretaker when he was nothing more than an abuser and a thief.

Of course they would help Makoto with Kobayakawa, as she was helping them. Setting people like this straight was deeply important to both of them.

With all this understood but unsaid between Goro and Yusuke, the meeting disbanded. They agreed on their next infiltration date and parted ways in front of the diner. Makoto clutched her school bag to her side as she strode away, but Yusuke lingered on the street.

"I have no desire to go back just yet," he said to Goro. "Would you and Morgana like to spend some time together?"

The knot in Goro's stomach loosened, and he smiled. "Of course. Is there anything in particular you'd like to do?"

Yusuke looked around the street, eyes unfocused. "Nothing in particular interests me, except your company."

Goro stuttered for a moment. "I... would appreciate your company, as well." He stood, staring dumbly at Yusuke until he could think of a place to go. Yusuke watched passersby with lidded eyes, his long eyelashes casting shadows on his face. "Why don't we go back inside?" He was close enough to home here, so he could rush back when the time came. There was no need to take the subway somewhere else if all they wanted to do was talk.

"Very well." Yusuke spun on his heel and headed through the door, leaving Goro to scramble in his wake.

"You better pay attention to your curfew," Morgana reminded him.

"Don't worry about me," Goro said. At this point, Yusuke's needs were more important than his, anyway.

Once they were seated back at the diner, Yusuke began speaking. "I've been thinking myself in circles for the past twenty-four hours, and it's been an utter waste of time. I need something else to focus on, yet I cannot stop thinking about this whole disaster."

"How are you feeling, physically?" Goro asked. "I haven't been faring terribly well myself. You were right; it was foolish to push myself so hard, but I wanted to make it up to you."

Yusuke tilted his head. "Make what up to me?"

"This whole disaster, as you refer to it."

"Of course I am infuriated, but you are not at fault." Yusuke reached across the table to grasp Goro's forearm. "Discovering this has been painful beyond words, and it is likely true that I would never have learned of Madarame's true character if you and Morgana had not intervened, but I appreciate your intervention. Painful truths are still worth knowing."

"I agree," Goro said. "I also wanted to apologize for my foolhardy behavior during battle. If you and Morgana hadn't saved me, I could have died. I wouldn't want to leave you two to deal with the situation alone."

"We all must be more careful in the future, then." Yusuke's hand slid down Goro's arm, and he squeezed Goro's hand before leaning back into his seat. "I truly am grateful that you found another person to help us, but you shouldn't act so rashly."

"I know." Goro crossed his arms and also leaned back, checking on Morgana in the bag. He was napping, ears occasionally twitching. "We'll have to steel ourselves the next time we enter Madarame's Palace. The stakes are too high for our emotions to get in the way of success."

"Yes," Yusuke murmured. "Perhaps our new recruit could help us with that. She seems rather sharp."

"How are you feeling about all this?" Goro asked. "You trusted her with quite a bit of personal information. I'm not sure if she deserves that trust yet."

"If telling her of the pain we have all been through convinced her to help us, then I do not regret that exposition. I agree that she has not earned our trust, but, from what you described to me, she sounds powerful. She would make a valuable ally." Yusuke looked around the diner idly as he spoke, seeming somewhat more present than earlier on the street. "She also has not done anything to deem her untrustworthy as of yet, correct?"

"Correct," Goro echoed. "But with our respective pasts, you could understand my hesitation."

"Yes, of course, but…" Yusuke sighed. "Letting Madarame break my trust in everyone around me would be a way of letting him continue to have influence over my life, even after he is brought to justice and kept away from the pupils he harmed. I believe that we need to learn how to open our hearts to others and accept the risks associated with that."

Goro leaned even farther back, almost slouching in the booth. Goro may have been playing at maturity for years, but Yusuke was truly the more mature one if he believed in what he just said. Goro himself was absolutely not ready to trust another person, as much as he may have wanted to. He could still barely trust Morgana even after a month of working and living closely with him, yet he placed so much of his trust and emotional well-being in his connection to Yusuke. Much of that trust had been based on foolish nostalgia and sentiment, at least at first.

That didn't seem healthy, to be so wholly invested in one person, but what could Goro do about that? At this point, he and Yusuke only had each other and a talking cat to rely on.

"You may be right," Goro finally said aloud. "We'll keep working with Makoto and see how the situation develops. I am interested in learning more about Kobayakawa's Palace."

"I, as well."

They lapsed into silence, but Goro felt more relaxed around Yusuke now that some of his guilt had been absolved. Yusuke said it wasn't his fault, and of course it wasn't; this was all Madarame's fault, but Goro still felt terribly that he and Yusuke had to discover the true depths of Madarame's cruelty.

After listening to background chatter for a while longer, Yusuke stood. "I'm feeling better now. Thank you for speaking with me."

Goro swallowed as he checked the time on his phone. He didn't want to leave yet. "I still have some time before I have to be home, if you'd like to do something else."

Yusuke smiled and offered Goro a hand to help him out of the booth. Goro grabbed his bag, apologizing to Morgana as the cat awoke with a startle, and took Yusuke's hand to pull himself up. "What would you like to do?" Yusuke asked.

"A movie might help take your mind off everything," Goro said. This time, he squeezed Yusuke's hand in comfort before letting go. "There's a French film getting good reviews in the news."

Yusuke's eyes were lidded again, but he seemed more relaxed than dissociative. "That sounds lovely."

Lovely. Yusuke always chose such interesting words.

Goro broke eye contact and led them out of the building, then down the street to the theater. The movie was essentially a love story spanning several decades: not something that ordinarily would have interested Goro, but there were several family dramas out at the moment that would not have sat well with him or Yusuke. This was the best option, and it would give him something to talk about with film buffs, at least.

Morgana seemed more enraptured than Yusuke, which was not necessarily surprising; Morgana always loved to watch the news or even the commercials on television when Goro had the chance to use it, and the advertisements around the city interested him, as well.

From sneaking a few glances to his left, Goro could tell that Yusuke also seemed interested. Goro himself felt on edge the whole time, waiting for some aspect of family drama that would trigger memories of their current situation, but none came. The couple's families were hardly mentioned at all, which Goro was grateful for. It would be difficult to avoid media with that subject matter in the future, but he suspected that both of them would grow more tolerant as their wounds closed.

They had to get Madarame out of the picture before they could really begin healing, though.

Goro didn't end up paying as much attention to the film as he would have liked; he was ultimately too busy checking to see if Yusuke was enjoying himself to read all the subtitles, and he didn't understand much French. Nonetheless, as he stood, he was relieved to see a small smile on Yusuke's face.

"Thank you for this," Yusuke said as they exited. "It was just the diversion I needed." He turned his smile to Goro once they stood outside. "Something about listening to another language makes me feel as though I am truly a part of a larger world, and the film's overall optimistic but bittersweet tone was refreshing." He took a small notebook from his bag and wrote something down, then moved his pencil in longer strokes as he sketched. "I attempted to paint last night, but the anger and resentment the canvas evoked overwhelmed me. I may try sketching as an alternative and sharing the results with you."

"Of course," Goro said, returning the smile. Yusuke was too focused on his paper to notice, but he hoped that his tone conveyed his sincerity. "I would love to see your art whenever you feel like sharing."

"I wanna see, too!" Morgana said at Goro's side, and Goro nearly startled. He had forgotten Morgana was there for a moment.

Yusuke looked up with a laugh. "I may bring some sketches to our next meeting, then." He rubbed Goro's shoulder and patted Morgana's head, then started his walk home. "I will see you both soon."

"Call me if you need anything," Goro said. That offer wasn't really his to extend, as his foster parents would resent receiving a call from someone they didn't know, but he and Yusuke knew each other's schedules well enough that they could work around it. Morgana must also have picked up on the inconsistency from the strange look he gave Goro, but he didn't comment.

"The same goes to you." Yusuke waved over his shoulder, then mingled with the afternoon crowd and disappeared.

Goro began his own commute home, trying to think of nothing.

AN: Again, Makoto and Kobayakawa are a bit different here; 2 years before the game, I'd imagine that Makoto is determined but a bit more skittish than she is in the game. I also assumed that Kobayakawa would be more insecure in his position; I don't think we really know why he used his connections to get his job as principal in the first place, so I'm guessing. As always, feel free to ask for clarification (or let me know if you see any parts that look strange/incorrectly formatted; switching over from AO3 to this site is kind of tedious bc of formatting differences).