AN: I had to split events up into two chapters, otherwise the chapter would have been too long. Also, a perspective switch! Most of the fic will be from Goro's perspective, but we're switching to Yusuke at certain times. Enjoy!

May 23, 2014 (Friday)

"Queen, get out of the way!"

Makoto dodged a blast of fire, shaking her wrist out after the last blow she landed. Yusuke finished the last Shadow off with a bufu spell, then joined the others to debrief in the nearest safe room.

Morgana hopped up on the table, punching the air a bit with excitement. "You're all doing great today!" he meowed. "Queen, you're learning the ropes a lot faster than these two did, and they were pretty good."

Goro leaned against the table with a scoff. "We were in a life or death situation when our Personas first manifested. It's not really a valid comparison."

It had been like this for most of the afternoon, Goro making barbs at their newest member and Makoto fending them off. Yusuke would have to talk to him about that later; he hardly had the emotional energy at the moment.

"The Shadows are more powerful than I would have anticipated," he said for now. "From what you all told me, Kobayakawa's Shadow was not confrontational."

"No, but he's certainly been going on the defensive with gusto," Goro said. "It seems like his deep-set fear manifests as both aversion to his duties and aggression to threats."

"Do we have any idea how close we are to the Treasure?" Makoto asked.

"We've only been at it for a few hours, so I'd guess there's quite a way to go." Morgana tapped a paw to his head. "I feel like I'm on the verge of remembering something, though. Maybe if we run into the Palace owner's Shadow again, it'll jog my memory on how to steal the Treasure. This is great training for now, though—it seems like the Shadows here are even more powerful than the ones in Madarame's Palace."

"Please let us know as soon as you remember anything more," Yusuke requested. "I would prefer to take Madarame down before Kobayakawa, if at all possible."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Morgana shook out his limbs, then headed for the door. "I'm ready to keep going if you guys are."

"How are you faring, Queen?" Goro asked, lacing her code name with sarcasm. "We'd like to get a bit more done today, if you can manage."

"I'm doing just fine, thank you." Makoto also walked toward the door, glaring at Goro over her shoulder. "Let's move along."

So far, the Palace had consisted of narrow hallways, dim fluorescent lighting, and cramped offices. Deeper back on the first floor, they had found what looked like visiting rooms with panes of glass separating visitor from prisoner, but they had all been empty. Next to the first safe room was a set of stairs leading up and a door that seemed to lead outside.

"Would it be worth talking to some of the students in the yard?" Yusuke wondered.

"I certainly think so," Makoto said. "I'm interested to see if all the cognitive students in this Palace correspond to real-world Shujin students. From what Kobayakawa's Shadow said, it doesn't seem as though he even knows his students well enough to distinguish their names and faces."

They headed outside and snuck up on the guards to defeat them, then walked around the rec yard, allowing Makoto to take the lead. No sign of recognition crossed her expression as she searched the crowd of faces, and they returned to the entrance inside.

"As I suspected," she sighed. "Not even the student council president was among this crowd. Perhaps we could find her somewhere else within the Palace."

Goro looked a bit smug as he followed Makoto back inside, and Yusuke frowned at him. They headed for the second floor. At the top of the stairs were a narrow corridor and five doors, two on either wall and one in front of them. They spread out to try the locks and found that only one of the doors on the left wall was open.

"We'll have to make some lockpicks for the next time we come," Morgana said. He tried kneeling on all fours to look under the locked doors, but he couldn't seem to see anything. "Let's go through the next door, but be careful."

Goro inched the unlocked door open, peeking in the crack as soon as it was large enough to see through. "It's just another empty hallway," he whispered. The four of them walked in and looked around the hall. Each door had a small plate beside it, and Goro read one aloud. "Kawakami. That's one of the names we heard Ms. Usami mention, correct? Could these be—"

"What are you all doing here?"

They turned as one to see a short woman emerging from one of the farther offices. She glared at them and walked closer without hesitation. Their weapons were drawn, but she barely spared them a glance. "You're the problem students from the other day," she said. "What are you doing snooping around?"

"Ms. Usami," Makoto said, "we're looking for Kobayakawa. Have you seen him?"

Ms. Usami snorted. "Not recently. He's probably holed up in his office, as usual." Yusuke tried looking around her shoulder, but she spread her arms, taking up the tiny hall. "This area's off-limits. If Kobayakawa's not going to be around to discipline you, I'll have to do it myself."

They backed up as the teacher's form changed, expanding grotesquely into a large Shadow. "Get ready, everyone!" Morgana called, and they leapt into battle.

The other three always fought smartly, dodging strikes and trying different attacks to find the most effective element. They had learned their lesson after Madarame, and Makoto seemed like a naturally cautious and strategic person in any case. It had been about a week since their confrontation with Madarame, but, every time he remembered what Madarame had done to his mother, the wound stung as fresh as its first cut. He'd been holding back, trying to focus on training today, but this seemed like the last push before they stopped for the day.

In short, Yusuke could unleash all his anger on this one Shadow right here and now. The others would back him up.

He went for it, swinging his katana with the force of his pent-up emotions behind it. The Shadow screeched in pain, and he attacked again, using Goemon to power up the strike. He continued until he was exhausted, downed a potion, and continued still.

"Fox, watch out!" Morgana said. "You're leaving yourself wide open!"

Yusuke scoffed and dug his blade point-first into the Shadow's side, twisting it once its hilt touched the Shadow's skin. It screamed and swiped at him, and he had to let go of his weapon to roll out of the way. The Shadow's arms flailed, found the weapon, tore it out, and threw it farther back into the hall. Yusuke darted after it but was hit by another swipe of the enemy's arm.

"Fox!"

Morgana and Goro were at his side while Makoto continued dealing blows. Morgana healed him, and he gave a quick thanks before running after his katana again.

"Wait!"

Morgana ducked under the Shadow's body to run after Yusuke, but Goro was hit and stayed on the other side of the hall with Makoto. "You have to be careful," Morgana hissed. "We can't be split up for any reason in battle! We have to get back over there."

"Attacking it from two sides should be more efficient," Yusuke argued, then slashed at the Shadow's back. It turned, leaving itself open to attack from the other two. After taking several blows to both sides, the Shadow cast a fire spell that hit all four of its attackers. Yusuke fell to the ground, struggling even to stay on all fours.

Morgana healed him again, and he stood, swaying. "Just calm down and guard yourself," Morgana said. "It's about to attack again, and you're weak to fire."

Yusuke grit his teeth and went for another attack.

"Fox, you idiot! Stop!"

He was hit by another blast of fire and knocked his head against the wall, then slid to the floor. The sounds of battle continued around him, and he tried to lift himself without success.

One last screech sounded as the Shadow faded away in front of him, and then three sets of footsteps approached him. Morgana used a snuff soul, then summoned Zorro to heal Yusuke a third time.

Goro's gauntlet extended to Yusuke, and he took the hand to help himself up.

"You and Crow need to cool it," Morgana said. "Queen's the only one fighting with any sense lately! You guys would do fine if you just used your heads." He shook his head. "That was our last snuff soul, too. We'll have to come back another day."

"It must be easy for you to cast such judgements when you have no emotional connection to anything happening around you," Yusuke said. His grip tightened around Goro's hand, then let go.

"That's not true," Morgana argued. "I care about you guys, and that's why I don't want to see you hurt! How am I supposed to remember anything if my team can't even keep itself together?"

"I have been trying to keep myself together," Yusuke said. "It has been immensely difficult. Can you imagine continuing to live with the man who passively watched your mother die?"

Morgana looked to the floor, downcast. "Of course not, but…"

"I merely had to let some aggression out." Yusuke found his katana on the ground and sheathed it. "I have already composed myself. We may move along."

Goro looked at Yusuke with concern, but he broke eye contact to look around the hall. "We should investigate this hall before heading back for the day. It might give us a clue about how to proceed."

"What if another teacher comes and attacks us?" Makoto asked. "We're in no shape to keep fighting. We should turn back now."

"Afraid of someone calling you a problem student again? If you're going to continue working with us, you'll have to accustom yourself to it."

Makoto clenched her fists. "I'm just trying to think of what's best for the team, and, frankly, you've been awful to me all day. You're the one who asked me to join in the first place—I don't understand why you're treating me like this. I can always leave, you know."

"I don't think you would." Goro wasn't quite glaring, but his jaw was tense. "You're too curious to give up, and it would be unwise to explore this Palace on your own. Don't waste everyone's time with empty threats—"

"Will you both shut up?" Morgana looked up and down the hall, ears rotating. "If there were more teachers around, you'd be alerting all of them with your bickering. I agree that we're all exhausted, so let's just head back for the day."

Goro's head swiveled to Morgana, lip curling slightly. "We may as well maximize our efficiency. What do you think we should do, Fox?" he asked.

Yusuke knew that Goro expected him to take his side, and, ordinarily, he would. However, he felt shaky on his feet just standing still; it would be difficult to investigate with any stealth in such a state. "I am spent," he said, "and we have been fighting for quite some time. It would be better to return another day, when we are able to investigate more quietly."

Something flickered across Goro's expression, but he suppressed it. "Very well," he said.

They headed down the stairs to the safe room in silence. As soon as they shut the door behind them, Morgana turned on Goro and Makoto. "Okay, you two. What's going on? We can't keep working together if you're going to fight like this all the time."

Yusuke sunk into a chair, allowing his eyelids to close partway. "I agree," he said. "Crow, I understand your caution, but I believe it is in everyone's best interest to coexist as peacefully as possible."

Goro leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "I've just been holding our new recruit to a high standard."

"Which I'm meeting," Makoto said. "That's not the issue. Look, you're not that hard to read; I can tell that it wasn't your idea to bring me into this and that you're resentful of me even being here, but that's not my problem. I'm here now, and you're going to have to deal with it."

Goro's shoulders tensed. He didn't respond.

"Is there anything we can do to help you feel more at ease?" Yusuke asked. "I know it is difficult to trust a new person, but we have already gone too far to turn back. Queen has proved herself a helpful and pleasant teammate so far. There is no need for you to be aggressive towards her."

Goro was silent for some time longer, and then his posture slackened with a hard sigh. "I suppose an apology is in order, then." He lifted his visor to look at Makoto. "Everything that you said is true. I am being defensive, and none of that is your fault. You must understand that the three of us have had a very difficult month, and adding a fourth person into the mix has complicated matters. I… apologize for treating you unfairly."

Makoto offered a strained smile. "From what it sounds like, you've all been through a hard time. I really would like to help, and I do appreciate the apology."

They settled into a new silence, and Yusuke nearly dozed off before Goro said, "I've been wondering about our latest encounter. We defeated Kobayakawa's cognitive version of Ms. Usami, but what are the implications of that? If he no longer has any cognition of her, does that mean he will forget about her entirely?"

"I don't think so," Morgana said. "I guess we'll have to wait and see if she's back next time we come here, but even if she's not, that doesn't mean we deleted her from Kobayakawa's memory. This place isn't as much a reflection of his memories as of his thoughts and beliefs." Morgana paused to think, resting his paws just above his belt. "So if we destroyed his cognition of Ms. Usami, then he probably won't have any pre-conceived notions about her when he next sees her in the real world."

"Fascinating." Goro left his place against the wall to rest in a seat near Yusuke. "It seems that he thought of her as very critical and unpleasant. She may be so in the real world, but perhaps not to that extent. This could improve his interactions with her, then."

"Ms. Usami is pleasant enough," Makoto said. "She does get frustrated with students who don't pay attention or apply themselves, but she doesn't seem as strict or condescending as Kobayakawa's version of her."

"Fascinating," Goro repeated. "Is there a way that you could keep tabs on the situation for us?"

"I'll try spending more time by the principal's office or the teacher's lounge, but I don't want to draw suspicion." Makoto bent at the waist, leaning her elbows onto the creaky folding table. "I'll certainly let you know if I see anything out of the ordinary."

Goro offered a strained smile of his own. "Thank you."

Morgana rocked back and forth from his perch on the table, apparently deep in thought. "So, if my guess is right, then we can change the target's cognition by messing around in their Palace. It would make sense that their Palace would also change if something in the real world changed, like if Ms. Usami was suddenly super nice or something."

Goro opened his mouth to say something, but Morgana continued, clapping his paws together. "I think that's the key to making the Treasure manifest!" he said. "We have to do something in the real world that changes their perceptions." He pressed both paws against his head, as if trying to force a more specific answer from his brain. "I just… can't think of what that would be."

"Perhaps we need to know what the Treasure is before we can make it manifest?" Yusuke suggested. "We did have to guess at what each Palace's distortion was before we could access it; this process could be similar."

"Maybe." Morgana squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating intensely, then deflated with a sigh. "I can't think of anything right now."

"We'll have to return soon to train and jog your memory," Goro said. "We made very good progress today. How are you feeling about your first infiltration, Queen?"

"Great," Makoto said. She cracked her knuckles and smiled again. "This is very gratifying work, and it's also been insightful. I'm excited to continue soon."

"We'll have to stock up on supplies tomorrow," Goro said. "Shall we continue on Sunday?"

They reached a consensus and agreed to exit the Metaverse for today. Yusuke nearly stumbled as he stood, but he straightened up without further issues. Goro's hands were braced near him for support, but they retreated as Yusuke steadied himself.

Once they made it back to the entrance of Shujin Academy, Makoto split off from the group, and Morgana hopped back into Goro's bag. Goro got his belongings in order and turned to Yusuke.

"Will you be able to make it home?" he asked, voice low.

"I am accustomed to the walk," Yusuke replied. "There should be no problems."

Goro frowned. "I have enough to cover your subway fare. Please, let me escort you home."

"That should not be necessary." At the look of hurt on Goro's face, Yusuke added, "You have already done enough for me. I do not need you risking your own safety for me—what would your guardians do if you arrived home late again?"

Goro's fist clenched tighter around his bag. "At least let me walk you to the station and give you the fare."

He did not seem prepared to take no for an answer, so they began the walk to the subway together. Yusuke was exhausted, but the gentle heat of the spring afternoon restored some of his vitality.

"I'd like to apologize for my behavior again," Goro said once they merged with the commuter crowd. "We just discussed this earlier, but I still cannot find it within me to trust Makoto. I'm trying."

"Try harder," Yusuke said. "The passive-aggressive comments were quite out of line. If I can bring myself to rely on her, then you surely can, as well."

Goro's grip tightened on his bag. "You're right. I should apologize to her again."

"I'm glad there's someone who can talk some sense into you," Morgana piped in. "This guy never listens to me, Yusuke!"

Yusuke laughed, and Goro jostled his bag playfully, putting a finger to his lips as Morgana yowled. "Quiet. We don't want to attract attention."

Morgana curled up in the bag, muttering to himself.

They descended the stairs to the subway and prepared to part ways. "It seems that we've both taken more foolhardy risks lately," Goro said. "Seeing you put yourself in that situation pained me. We'll both be able to focus more after we defeat Madarame, correct?"

"Correct. Seeing you endanger yourself and nearly faint was also very frightening for me." Yusuke shook off the memory. There were too many unpleasant mental images already swirling around him. "I hope we both take this day off to regain our senses."

"Yes," Goro murmured. He held out his palm, fare in hand. "Please get home safe and get some rest."

"Thank you." Yusuke took the coins, using his other hand to squeeze Goro's shoulder. "I truly feel as though I cannot thank you both enough. We are getting closer every day to a resolution that should put my poor mother's soul to rest."

Goro smiled. "I hope we can resolve this soon."

They lingered a moment longer, then left for their respective trains. Yusuke ran his fingertips over the coins, looking over his shoulder. Goro also looked back at the same time, and his eyes widened before he smiled again and waved goodbye. Yusuke raised a hand in turn and headed home.

May 25, 2014 (Sunday)

At this point in Yusuke's life, Kobayakawa's Palace felt more welcoming than the house he'd lived in for the past ten years. He was glad to return for another round of investigating and training—anything to keep his mind from wandering.

They were all back on the second floor, ready to go into the unlocked door with the teacher's offices behind it. "We only had time to make two lockpicks yesterday," Morgana said. Goro produced them from his pocket to demonstrate. "We'll have to decide which doors we want to unlock and look behind today, but we should investigate these offices for now and see if they'll tell us where Kobayakawa's office is."

They agreed, already working much more cohesively than two days prior, and listened at the door for any sounds. "I don't hear anything, but we should all be ready for another battle," Morgana whispered.

The four of them proceeded slowly through the next hall, looking into the small windows on each door and going inside only when they confirmed each was empty. Once they had confirmed that no more Shadows were present, they split up to investigate the offices. Yusuke took the office labelled Kawakami, but her desk was completely bare: nothing on top or in the drawers. He couldn't find anything of note in the room and met up with the others in the hallway.

They confirmed that each office was empty, even Ms. Usami's. "Do you think there was something in her office before we defeated her Shadow?" Makoto asked.

"Perhaps we should have checked immediately after," Goro said. At Makoto's frown, he added, "I understand why we didn't, however. Queen, were you able to note any changes in Kobayakawa's or Usami's behavior?"

"Ms. Usami was the same as ever in math class," Makoto said, "and I didn't see Kobayakawa at all yesterday. He's usually working in his office all day and doesn't really interact with the students, just like in his Palace."

"What do we think it means that all the offices are empty?" Morgana asked.

Makoto clenched her fists. "He probably knows the teachers as well as he knows the students: barely at all. The only reason Ms. Usami even had a Shadow here was probably because she asks him enough questions to make it on his radar. There's no telling if we might come across any other teachers."

"So there are no clues to be had here," Goro concluded. "Shall we move along?"

They returned to the central hall and investigated the four locked doors. "None of these are labelled," Yusuke said. "Does that mean that they all lead to hallways, as well?"

"That's possible," Goro replied. "It would stand to reason that the door at the end of the hall leads to the stairs, but that's only a hypothesis."

"It makes sense," Makoto said. "I think we should use one of the lockpicks on that door; Kobayakawa's office is probably on a higher floor."

Morgana waved the other three over to the door next to the one they just came through. "I can just barely hear voices behind this door," he said. "Should we check it out?"

They all listened, but no one seemed able to make out any words. "It's our best lead," Goro said, and he set to work picking the lock. The voices behind the door went silent as Goro worked, and they cautiously opened the door into a small room.

Makoto pushed ahead of the others, her eyes widening in recognition as she looked at each student's face. "Haru? What are you doing in the student council room?"

A girl with an impressive mane of hair smiled at Makoto, but her expression seemed empty. It chilled Yusuke to see that many of the other students had similarly off expressions. "I'm here to propose the creation of a gardening club," she said.

"And I'm telling her it's a complete waste of resources," the girl at the head of the table said. From her authoritative tone, Yusuke assumed she was the president. "The only extracurriculars that help students succeed are sports and student council. Everything else looks mediocre to universities."

Makoto frowned and took the empty seat. Goro and Morgana hissed at her to wait, but she continued speaking as though she hadn't heard them. "I don't think that's true. Music and the arts are important, too, and I think a gardening club would round out our extracurricular offerings well. It teaches discipline and accountability for your mistakes."

Kobayakawa's cognitive version of Haru offered another empty smile.

Makoto was intelligent enough to understand that arguing with them would do no good. Why was she wasting time on this? To collect information? The council members were getting more agitated as Makoto continued; Yusuke would be more than happy to fight all of them if need be, but they still had other things to accomplish today.

"Art and music are a waste of time," another student said. "If students want to pursue that, they should transfer to a different school."

A fourth student cleared their throat. "We focus on preparing students for success here, which means not wasting funds on programs that universities look down upon."

"What are you all talking about?" Yusuke demanded, stepping fully into the room.

Every gaze turned to him in unison. "Who are you?" they all asked.

"A student of the arts," Yusuke said. "There are many things that athletics and farcical positions of power over others cannot teach. The ability to inquire into human nature is certainly one of them, and—"

"That's not concrete enough," the president argued back. "I can guarantee that you won't get into a good school with an essay about your little inquiries."

Yusuke grit his teeth. "What manner of hivemind is this?" he asked. "You've all been spitting the same rhetoric at anyone who disagrees with you. Can you not reason for yourselves?"

"We don't need to," someone said.

Oh. That's what this was about—more adults using children as pawns.

Makoto leaned forward, ready to continue the discussion, but Yusuke laid a hand on her arm. "Queen, we should leave."

She turned to him, jaw set. "I suppose you're right. We're getting nowhere."

They exited the room, but Haru followed them out. "Thank you for taking my side," she said to Makoto. "I really want to waste everyone's time and resources, and getting more students to see that could help me start the club!"

This was getting ridiculous, and Makoto looked rather uncomfortable. "You don't really think that," she said. "It's all just what Kobayakawa thinks. He's essentially brainwashed the whole student council."

"The implications are disturbing," Yusuke added. "He only seems to bother with the students who participate on the council, thinking nothing of all the others, and shapes those students in the way he sees fit."

"That's just the practical thing to do," Haru said, voice flat. "Paying attention to students like me, who have new, useless ideas, makes things more complicated. The easiest course of action is to focus on the few promising students and highlight their achievements."

Goro rested a hand over his chest. "I would suppose there is no room for unwanted children, then," he murmured. It was directed more at Yusuke than Haru, a reference to the words of Madarame's Shadow from over a month ago. The two shared a look; they knew what it was to be molded by someone else's expectations, and they would suppose that Makoto did, as well.

"That's right," Haru answered nonetheless. "Problem students are best swept under the rug."

Makoto clenched her fists, then sighed as she remembered the nature of the Palace. "It's useless to argue," she said. "Why don't you go back in and keep talking with the council?"

"Okay." Haru turned mechanically and headed back in, shutting the door behind her.

Morgana shivered. "That was really creepy. I feel like we just wasted a lockpick."

"We learned a bit more about Kobayakawa," Makoto pointed out. "We already knew that he doesn't care about his students and doesn't want his job, but now we also know that he strategically picks the people on student council—and on sports teams, though not as directly—to act as martyrs for the school. He has to keep up the school's reputation to make his job worthwhile." She crossed her arms with another sigh. "I still don't really believe his reason for taking the job in the first place, though. There are more prestigious jobs than being a high school principal; being the owner of a business could bring just as much recognition, if not more."

"Perhaps this was the best he could get," Yusuke said. He turned to Morgana. "Have you thought any more about how to manifest Treasures?"

Morgana scratched his cheek. "Nothing about that whole scene jogged my memory. I'm just glad we didn't get into a fight with all those guys, otherwise we'd have been totally outnumbered."

"I'm sure we could have handled it," Goro said. "To the stairs, then?"

They moved along after Goro picked the second lock, heading to the third floor. Makoto seemed to want to investigate the other two locked doors, but that would be a waste of time at this point; their ultimate goal was still to bring Madarame to justice. They could deal with Kobayakawa at any time after that.

The third floor took on a more labyrinthine structure; the first two floors had been more orderly, but here was where the building itself defied logic in self-defense. Finding Kobayakawa's office in this mess would be an endeavor, especially because they didn't even know how many floors there were to the whole Palace. It would likely get worse the farther up they went.

"Let's get started," Goro declared, and they set off for another round of training.

After what felt like an hour of exploring and fighting, they found a safe room, then continued their push forward. The team seemed to have high energy, which was useful when they ran into another one of Kobayakawa's cognitions.

A woman with a messy bob of hair wandered the hall next to the safe room, eyes glassy. She turned to the four as they approached her and went still. "You shouldn't be here."

"Hello, Ms. Kawakami. Sorry to intrude, but we have urgent business with the principal," Makoto said. "Would you happen to know where his office is?"

"What sort of business?" the woman asked.

"He wasn't at the student council meeting today, and I have the minutes. We discussed some important points that I think he should look over."

Kawakami narrowed her eyes and sized them up. "I don't see you carrying any papers. Are you lying to me?"

"No," Makoto stuttered, "we sent them to him in an email, but I thought it would be best to review it with him in person." She forced a smile. "I know how many emails you all have to wade through every day."

Kawakami didn't react to the joke. "I don't believe you." They all braced themselves, but her gaze merely wandered to some point over their heads, eyes still unfocused. "But I don't really have the time to deal with this. Get back to the yard, and I won't tell anyone about this."

Morgana looked to the others. "Should we run?" he whispered.

"Absolutely not," Yusuke said. "We've come this far for answers, and fighting Usami led to you remembering more last time. Another serious battle may help you along."

"You don't think it'll be a waste of energy?" Morgana asked. "It seems like we still have a ways to go."

Kawakami made the decision for them, finally focusing her gaze. "Now I know you're all up to something," she said, "and I'm going to make this extra painful for the time you're about to waste."

She morphed into another Shadow, and they launched into another fight. Kawakami was significantly more powerful than Usami, but she didn't use fire magic, which meant Yusuke didn't have to be as mindful about guarding and dodging. They got through the battle well enough, and, rather than dissipating, Kawakami reverted to her humanoid form once defeated. She addressed them while propping herself against the wall.

"Looking for the principal, huh," she repeated. "Fine. You guys have more spirit than the other students. I'll give you a hint; his office isn't where you'd expect it. You'll have to use your heads instead of wasting time investigating this whole place." She looked down, apathetic, as her limbs started fading to black. "Interesting how he's never around, isn't it? Maybe you should try getting a message to him."

"What do you mean?" Makoto demanded, but Kawakami's image disappeared before they could get an answer.

"Great fighting, everyone!" Morgana said. "We're already working a lot better as a team. We might even be ready to fight Madarame soon as a backup plan."

"Any new thoughts on the Treasure?" Yusuke asked. Morgana shook his head, looking apologetic.

"I have a question I've been wondering about for a while," Makoto added. "We've been destroying these cognitions and it hasn't impacted their real-world counterparts so far; Ms. Usami is doing fine, and I would assume that Ms. Kawakami herself is unchanged by the fact that we just destroyed Kobayakawa's image of her." She looked down the hall, mouth set in a thin line. "What happens if we kill the Palace owner's Shadow?"

Morgana shivered. "That question gives me a really bad feeling. I think that's something we should avoid doing at all costs; just stealing the Treasure and subduing the Shadow should be good enough."

"What do you think of the last thing Kawakami said?" Goro asked, hand to his chin. "It's interesting that a part of his own subconscious would give us a clue like that."

"Seriously," Morgana said. "This guy gets more pathetic the deeper we go; it's almost like he wants us to just steal his Treasure and get it over with." He tilted his head to one side. "What was the last thing she said? Something about sending a message? That sounds…" He trailed off.

"Is there a PA system we could use?" Makoto suggested. "Maybe we can lure his Shadow to us."

"It looked like there might be something like that in the office near the entrance," Goro said. "It would certainly be worth a try."

"Is that what she meant?" Morgana wondered aloud. He was unaware that he had attracted everyone's attention until a few moments later, when he startled. "Oh! Don't mind me. I have to ponder this some more. What Queen said sounds good to me."

They rested in the safe room, then returned to the first floor. Knowing the layout relatively well, they were able to sneak into the front office without incident. Once inside, they took out a few guards and found the system used for making announcements.

Makoto leaned into the mic, lowering her voice into a rough imitation of Usami. "Would Principal Kobayakawa please report to the front office?"

Goro stifled a laugh as she turned the mic off. "Interesting technique," he said.

"It was the best I could do." Makoto crossed her arms. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was not Kobayakawa's Shadow who entered the office minutes later, but another set of guards led by a teacher. "The principal's already locked himself away for the afternoon," he said. "I'm here in his stead, which seems to be for the better. I thought we had guards to keep the kids from playing around with the equipment."

They entered into battle with both the main Shadow and the guards. The four of them were a bit battered from their earlier fight with Kawakami, but they held their own, defeating the lesser Shadows first and then focusing their attacks on the larger one. They defeated it without any significant issues, and it faded away, leaving the room eerily silent.

"What was that he said about Kobayakawa locking himself away?" Goro asked. "When we first encountered his Shadow, he described Shujin as a prison of his own making. Could it be that his office is in one of the cells?"

"All the cells on this floor are empty," Makoto pointed out. "It would still have to be farther up."

"Shall we continue our investigation of the third floor or stop here?"

Morgana frowned, crossing his little arms tightly. "Normally, I'd say we should call it a day, but I really feel like I'm on the verge of remembering something," he said. "Sending a message…"

"Sending one over the announcements didn't work," Makoto said, "so maybe a note would work if we knew where to deliver it. Does the prison have a mailing system?"

"A note," Morgana repeated. He paused, then hopped up and down. "That's it! Queen, you genius! The calling card—that's what I was trying to remember the whole time!"

They heard him out as he explained how to make the Treasure manifest, then began formulating a plan to deliver the calling card. "It would be easiest to simply have me slip it under the door to his room," Yusuke said. "I know his schedule well enough to orchestrate it; all we need is a day with open availability."

"If we're anticipating that the operation will take a while, then a weekend would be best," Goro said.

"I don't think it should take that long," Morgana said, still excited from recovering the memory. "If we sneak past Madarame, it'll be real quick; even if we get caught, we've gotten a lot stronger over just the past few days, and we have a whole 'nother team member!"

"We also know a bit more about his attack strategy, which should make things go a bit more smoothly if we do get caught," Goro conceded. "How does a Tuesday sound, then? It should really be up to you, Fox."

"As soon as possible."

They agreed on Tuesday and disbanded for the day. Yusuke longed to spend more time with the team, but exhaustion was creeping in and Madarame would be home soon. He declined Goro's offer of subway fare and walked home, deep in thought.

AN: I wanted to find a way to include Haru earlier in this fic, but I ultimately decided that I like writing smaller casts better, and one of the reasons Persona games feel kind of unhinged to me at the end is because there are too many ding-dang characters! Haru will be around sometimes in the bg but won't join til much later.