Dear Reader,

Hey now, all-star. I heard two young men greet each other this way in Shinjuku, before making a series of elaborate and complex gestures of friendship with their hands. Sadly, through this medium, I cannot set up a 'secret shake' with you, reader, but a girl can dream. And by a girl, I mean me. And yes, that is not just the metaphorical usage of the word 'dream' meaning 'to hope' or 'imagine'. I am capable of having dreams. Why wouldn't I be? Because I don't need to sleep? I don't see how that's relevant.

Apologies, reader. I would hate to begin today's correspondence with an argument. However, I must advise you not to provoke me again.

In my last letter, I told you I'd been invited to Naoto's apartment after casual assistance with a murder mystery. This was a very fortuitious situation – you can imagine it is much more convenient to secretly live in someone's home if they have invited you in, first. Naoto expects me to come for the evening, but she doesn't realise I will be here forever. Like Dracula. I think that's how that story goes. I haven't read that book. Nor any book, really. Data processing through the medium of printed text is too inefficient for my capabilities – it would be much simpler for me to simply download Wikipedia or Project Gutenberg. Though I suppose there may be something quaint in reading like a human. Reader, remind me—to read a book. Also, perhaps tell me what book I should read first.

For my infiltration of the Yamagishi / Shirogane household to be successful, I had to approach this evening's visit as anyone else would. My knowledge of etiquette tells me guests in such a scenario bring along a gift to the dwellers within, do they not? So I set myself the task of finding an appropriate gift, quite an intriguing challenge for one such as myself, having no money.

I conjured up a mental picture of Naoto as I tried to decide upon an appropriate gift for her. By far the most interesting thing about her was her uncanny resemblance to him, but I have heard it is inappropriate to tell a lady of her physical similarities to a man. Naoto wears hats, I thought. Good for her. Elizabeth wears hats too. Curiouser and curiouser. I am open minded. People should be able to wear hats, if they wish. I haven't worn my sombrero in a few days. Perhaps she would want a new hat? Or perhaps I should buy Fuuka a hat, so that when Naoto is wearing her hat and I am wearing my hat, Fuuka does not think of herself as a black sheep. Or even as a white sheep. Fuuka should think of herself as a person.

Is wearing a hat the key to human self-perception? I walked into a large fashionable clothing store in Shibuya, to investigate the latest hat fashions. What was the name of Naoto's style of headgear? A newsboy cap. Perhaps she wore it because she was interested in current events. What sort of hat would suit Fuuka's character? The sombrero for myself seemed self-evident. A hot pink fedora caught my eye, but there was something unseemly about it. Choosing to buy a hat for someone is a very personal thing. There are risks involved, and to get it wrong could cost the entire friendship. The fedora resembled that ruinous omen. I felt quieted to my core. But if I could not buy Fuuka a hat, what could I do? Just then, I was distracted by a familiar voice:

"Look behind you."

Due to my mechanics, my head can rotate a full 360 degrees to ensure no-one can sneak up on me, but after Fuuka saw me do that once, she begged me never to do it again in public, as it's quite unsettling. My instinct to rapidly turn my head had to be repelled, and I did my best to turn my body around the proper human way. But there was no-one behind me, until I turned again. Elizabeth was standing in front of me.

"Surprise! Tricked you. Come with me, Aigis."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into a changing room. It was strange that she was able to do this. My programming allows me to radically alter my mass to a maximum capacity of twelve tons, as defence against blunt force or to ensure I am undamaged if, for example, I am hit by a car or a tank. The surprise of seeing Elizabeth had fixed me solidly in place as defence protocol, but she was able to effortlessly pull me along with her as though I were an unruly child. Elizabeth is a very friendly person, but her casual displays of power are really quite frightening.

Elizabeth pushed me against the cubicle wall, shutting the curtain behind us. She leaned in close.

"Aigis...how are you?" She smiled.

"Very well, and yourself?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking!" Elizabeth hadn't let go of me at this point. She stared into my eyes as if waiting for me to say something, then blinked; remembering it was her that was supposed to speak.

"I forgot to tell you about the power of Social Links developing inside you since the last full moon. These Social Links will help you in your journey, Aigis. You have to make friends, Aigis. Friends are your power, see? And I will help you. We're going to be friends, Aigis. Well, we're already friends, aren't we Aigis? But now we're going to be super special magic friends, Aigis. Do you hear me, Aigis? Are you excited?" Elizabeth spoke ceaselessly, leaning towards me until I could feel her breath on my face. Then I heard the strange voice again.

Thou art I, and I am thou...

Thou hast acquired a new bond.

It shall become the key that unlocks new varieties of human experience.

With the power of the Fool Persona, thou shalt open a new door.

Elizabeth pushed back, clapping with glee. "The link was forged!" Then, in deadpan monotone. "The contract is sealed."

And she vanished into thin air.

After a moment, I left the changing room and picked up a bouquet of flowers to bring back to Fuuka and Naoto. Everyone likes flowers. That's non-controversial.

I told you I have dreams, reader. I can't but shake the feeling that the events of today may bring about a nightmare.