Satomi Miura would be the first to admit that she wasn't the most skilled pickpocket. Her skills paled in comparison to Atsuko's, after all. But she had always been a fairly fast runner, something that was further enhanced in both of them after they'd had back-to-back Awakenings during the Outbreak.

So why was this twig so stupid fast!?

"Look, if you want me to stop chasing you, all you have to do is give it back!" the kid called up at them. He was chasing after them with fast, loping strides, his movements quick and birdlike. Atsu grabbed Satomi's arm and diverted the both of them into a nearby alleyway, ducking out a few seconds later and doubling back on the next side street. The kid they'd robbed didn't miss a beat, turning on a dime as he dashed out of the alley in pursuit. Atsu cursed and ducked into another alley, Satomi hot on his heels.

After another couple of turns, the two of them realized the kid was no longer on their heels; he must have paused for breath. Atsuko and Satomi slowed their escape to a light jog that they could each maintain for far longer, allowing them to catch their own second winds while staying on the move.

A sharp meow was heard down another side street. Birthday Cake was standing in front of an old house in a clear state of disuse. It would make a half-decent place of retreat. Atsuko quickly picked the lock on the door and the trio slipped inside.

Satomi took a few seconds to fully get her breath back. "Phew. I'm sorry, Atsu. I didn't think he'd notice."

"Well, either he noticed or one of those other people did," Atsuko told her. "It's generally much harder to try and lift someone's wallet when they're in a group. Either way, I think we managed to get away." Atsuko let out a whistle and a short laugh. "Man, haha, I don't think we've had to run like that since we fled Kyoto. Anyway, let's open this thing up and-"

CRASH!

Atsuko had pulled the boy's wallet out when there was a shattering sound and a shockwave from the window as something burst into the house from outside, slamming into the ground in the space between them. The teenaged boy they'd robbed no more than five minutes earlier had blasted through the window and landed on the floor with one hand on the floor in a ninja pose. A pair of feathery wings, constructed of azure light and flame, still blazed half-spread against his shoulder blades.

The boy rose to his full height in one clean motion, backhandedly dusting off his shoulders of rubble as the wings collapsed and vanished in twin puffs of flame. "You two sure led me on a merry chase. But next time you want to lose someone, make sure you're not also being tracked from above."

Satomi gulped. This was bad. When she and Atsuko had entered the house, they'd moved into what had once been the living room and spread out to either side, hoping to stay undetected from the windows. Bird-kid, having come in through the main window, was not only positioned between them, but also was the closest one to both the window and the entrance hall. Additionally, a closer inspection revealed that he wasn't the twig that Satomi had initially assumed; while he was certainly slight of frame, the arms that emerged from the short sleeves of his green t-shirt bore compact and well-defined muscles, and his right hand was badly scarred, indicating combat experience. The trio's only saving grace right now was that there was only one of him.

Birthday Cake hissed at Bird-kid from Atsu's feet. Bird-kid turned a baleful eye on the brown-backed cat. The two stared into each other's faces for a moment before Bird-kid shifted his gaze to Atsu.

"If you're so hard up that you're resorting to picking pockets, I'm willing to let you take the cash in my wallet and walk away, so long as you don't touch my IDs or anything."

Satomi was surprised yet again. Instead of trying to take his wallet back by force or calling the police, he was offering them a deal instead? Was it a trick? Or was he being sincere? Satomi met Atsu's gaze on the other side of the room. Her normally-relaxed lover was wide-eyed, his expression betraying a mixture of fear and distrust. Satomi subtly shook her head, doing everything she could to telegraph a silent Don't do it through her expression.

Bird-kid glanced back at her. Atsuko struck.

"Veles!"

Atsuko's Eiha struck Bird-kid like a liver shot, causing him to scream in pain and drop like a sack of potatoes, weak to Curse magic. "RUN!" Atsuko yelled at Satomi, darting for the broken window. Satomi, reacting quickly to the unexpected stroke of luck that Atsuko was able to target Bird-kid's weakness, summoned her own magic, using her psychic powers to blast the window into a wider hole and clear out the sharp-edged broken glass. Then they were both on the outside and running for the fence, hoping to scale it and be safe. But the few seconds it took for Atsuko to get a hand on top of the fence was not enough.

"MAKOUHA!" came a roar from inside the old house, and flashes of Bless magic exploded around them. Atsuko screamed just like Bird-kid had done earlier, dropping off the fence and crumpling to the ground. "Atsu!" Satomi exclaimed, but her momentary distraction was enough for her to feel a hand of violet energy form around her ankle and yank her off the fence to join her lover on the ground.

Bird-kid, now furious, leapt through the broken window after them with an angry snarl, his eyes blazing crimson. "I don't know why I even bother," he spat. "I tried to be lenient with you. I gave you a choice. No more holding back."

Atsuko shook off the daze of having his weakness targeted and subtly rolled back onto his feet, while still remaining in a crouching position. Veles flashed into existence behind him, the antlered, bearded shapeshifting god floating cross-legged as he strummed his zither instrument and pointed with his spear at the enemy. "Eiha." The flash of darkness blasted against Bird-kid, but this time, there was no scream of pain or dropping to the ground. Instead, when the smoke cleared, the first thing Atsuko and Satomi saw was a sword, constructed of azure light, held backhandedly by an arm covered in azure-fire armor.

Bird-kid flicked the sword up so he was forehanding it and swung it down by his side. His eyes burned with the same azure fire. "Good thing the wings aren't the only thing I can create from Archangel."

Satomi's heart sank. Not only had they just blown their chance to get off lightly with this guy, he was also a Persona-user. One with a power that neither of them had seen before or knew the limits of.

They were in trouble now.

I was pissed off. But even so, I couldn't afford to just rage out at these two. If the one was a Persona-user, the other probably was too, maybe even the cat as well. I was outnumbered, and even if I was a Wild Card, there was no guarantee that I had a Persona that could counter both of them. Either way, I would have to make the fight quick, as I could already feel the strain of having to rely on Magician's Flame so much. Having used a speed boost, wings, and now armor and a sword had put a drain on my magic, and while it wasn't as bad as it had been last week when I'd just picked up the ability, maintaining the constructs for a significant period of time, particularly since an arming sword and armor on my right arm was the strongest construct I could put together from Archangel, was taxing to say the least.

Moving quickly, I slashed the sword in front of me while simultaneously calling on Archangel, blasting them both with another Makouha. The androgynous person in the coat with the Curse magic cried out again as he failed to dodge. I felt a twinge of guilt as I remembered how the pain had exploded across my nervous system when he'd hit Archangel's weakness, but I stamped it down. I needed him out of the fight quickly or he'd try it again.

Now that he was down and out of the way, I switched to Nigi Mitama for its resistance to Curse magic, allowing the sword and armor to fade while I took the opportunity to heal myself a little. And it was a good thing that I did, because once the dust had cleared, the girl was on her feet and had her own Persona by her side, a beautiful woman in a short, ragged Greek chiton with a lantern in her hand, her skin tanned and her left index finger cut and bleeding.

"Psyche, Psi!"

Psychic magic exploded in my face, but the resulting pain was not debilitating like it had been when Coat had hit my weakness. Unfortunately, it also gave Coat enough time to get back on their feet, and they also blasted me with another wave of Curse magic. Only for it to barely do any damage at all.

Their eyes widened. "Wha-?"

I smirked. "Try to keep up. Gryphon!"

I blasted Coat with a Zan spell, the colorless beam of Force magic blasting them back through the fence and out of the fight. Since they were already low on health, it would be a bad idea for them to try to continue fighting.

"ATSUKO!" the girl cried out. She rounded on me again and bombarded me with more Psychic magic. I switched to Deinonychus for a resistance to Psychic magic and the pain immediately lessened.

"Garu," I commanded, causing Deinonychus to launch a blast of wind that caused the girl to stagger back. "Enough," I commanded. "This fight is over."

Satomi snarled angrily at Bird-kid. "I'm still standing!"

"Which is why I'm giving you the chance to back off while you still can!" Bird-kid shot back. "Why do you think I gave you a chance to just take the money and leave the rest? I'm trying to stop people from getting hurt!"

"You sure didn't have a problem blasting Atsu through the fence just now!" Satomi's mind was racing. Psyche still had Dazzler, if she could manage to hit him with it, she would be guaranteed to drop him with her next spell-

"Would he have stopped attacking me if I hadn't?" Bird-kid demanded.

"Atsu's not a he."

"Fine, they. Would they have stopped?"

Satomi was quiet for a minute. "...probably not."

Bird-kid nodded and straightened back up. "Didn't think so." He summoned the blue teardrop Persona and pointed at Satomi, enveloping her in healing light.

Satomi was stunned. "Wha-? But, why?"

"Since you didn't immediately rush to heal your friend, I'm guessing you don't have healing magic."

Satomi glanced at the ground. "Atsu's the one with healing magic," she muttered.

Bird-kid shrugged. "Eh, I'll heal them too anyway." He strode over to the hole in the fence and slipped through to where Atsuko had managed to push themself onto their hands and knees. Satomi darted through the hole herself to find Atsuko getting to their feet, already enveloped with healing light. Their eyes immediately sought out Satomi.

"Sato!" they yelled, scrambling to their feet and rushing to seize Satomi in their customary rough embrace. "Are you hurt? Should I heal you?"

"Not anymore," Satomi told them gently, squeezing them back with fervor. "He healed me too."

Atsuko turned his suspicious gaze on Bird-kid. "Why?"

Bird-kid shrugged. "Why not? You're fellow Persona-users. Making an enemy of you would be a waste. Same with having you thrown in jail for robbing me. So let's start over, shall we?" He cleared his throat. "The name's Kenzo Okuda. Pleased to meet you." He gave them both a disarming smile.

Satomi gave him an unimpressed look. "If you're trying to be some kind of ikemen protagonist, it's not working."

Okuda hung his head with a melodramatic sigh. "Lord, why must you constantly torture me with the knowledge that girls find me repulsive?"

To Satomi's surprise, Atsuko actually laughed at that. "Okay, fine. You can have this back." They tossed the wallet back to Okuda. "I'm Atsuko Maki, and this is my lover, Satomi Miura."

"Nice to meet you both," Okuda replied. "And thanks. You have any preferences when it comes to food?"

"Not really," Satomi answered. "Why?"

"Hold on for a moment." Okuda took out his phone and sent a quick text to someone. "Glad I got his number before this started," he muttered. After a short wait, he received a reply. He looked up and smiled at them. "Looks like we have a recommendation for a Chinese Diner. Any objections?"

So that was an emphatic no. Satomi and Atsuko (once they had demanded I refer to them by their first names) had eagerly ordered as much food as they thought they could stomach once they realized it was on me. Evidently, they put far more stock in favors than promises.

While they ate, (I only had myself a soft drink) I fished for information, learning that the two of them were originally natives from Kyoto and that Atsuko had been an infamous thief in that area, and that Satomi had grown up in a less-than-caring home and had bonded with Atsuko on one of her many escapes from her house. After the Outbreak, they found themselves Awakening to Personas and eventually decided to slowly start traveling north, hoping to find refuge somewhere with more Persona-users. When they'd finished giving me their story, I explained to them the concepts of Wild Cards and Zero Skills, something they hadn't heard of before.

"So what, does that make you some kind of chosen one?" Satomi asked.

"Pfft, no. We still don't know the exact reason why some people are Wild Cards and some aren't, but there are some ideas floating around about it having to do with Wild Cards being more mentally adaptable and such than most people. We're capable of changing ourselves more than most, so we have the ability to take on other Personae."

Atsuko swallowed a particularly large mouthful of noodles. "Still, that Zero Skill of yours is pretty cool. Does every Wild Card have a different one?"

"As far as I know," I told them, "and I've met a few Wild Cards already, one of whom was the guy I was getting the number of when you robbed me. And let's just say, I'm not sure if you're lucky or unlucky that you targeted me and not him, because if my friend is right, he might be the strongest Persona-user in the world."

"What makes you say that?" both of them chorused. Satomi sounded suspicious, while Atsuko sounded genuinely curious.

"He's a Phantom Class Wild Card who has reached his full potential similar to the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, but he's been doing this Persona stuff for years longer than him."

Then I had to explain Phantom Class to them. And Hunter and Sage Class as well for good measure.

"Damn," Satomi said faintly. "All this Persona stuff is far more complex than I thought."

"We've barely scratched the surface of the tip of the iceberg," I told them both. "I haven't even gotten into Shadow Nests, the Metaverse as a whole, Personal and Corporeal Shadows, Shadow combat strategies, the effects of cognition, Vanes of Order, Navigators, the reason why the Shadows are appearing in the real world in the first-"

"Okay, okay! That's enough for now!" Satomi interrupted before heaving a sigh and laying her head in her hands. "Atsu, what have we gotten ourselves into? We gain magic powers and run away from Kyoto to escape the supernatural monsters, and now we're told it's essentially our duty to fight them?"

Atsuko patted her on the back. "I feel you, love. This entire thing is madness on a scale even I have to take seriously."

"Believe me, it's almost definitely only going to get crazier from here," I told them seriously. "Who knows what could end up happening down the line, particularly since the Metaverse is almost entirely unexplored. Either way, this stuff is monsters and magic and nothing that any sane person on this planet ever expected to be real. People like us are the only thing standing between this world and a tidal wave of darkness, and if we want to be able to live to see another day, we need to get stronger. Prepare for the flood. Every Shadow we kill is another one that can't hurt someone. Long as we focus on that, we can stay alive."

Satomi held up one hand. "Look, if you're going to ask us to join you in a legendary crusade against the forces of darkness, we're gonna have to pass on that."

Both Atsuko and I burst out laughing at that. "Heck no. I'm just a weird high schooler who does blacksmithing as a day job and Shadow hunting as a night job. My mom would kill me if I went off and did something that stupid. Protecting the people around me is about the extent of my current ambitions. What about you?"

Atsuko shrugged. "Just having food and shelter wherever we end up is about the most we can hope for at the moment. So if all the Persona-users you've referenced can help us out with some sort of arrangement, we'll most likely be able to help out wherever you need."

Satomi whirled around and directed a shocked look at her partner. "What!? You're saying we should work with them!?"

"Hey, I thought you were the one who was all for trusting other people around here, Sato," Atsuko told her. "Think about it. We work with them for a while, and not only do we get to train our fighting skills against creatures that basically everyone wants gone, but we might also get to earn some brownie points with people who we can cash in favors for later. And if we get paid to do it, even if it's just in food and a room, even better."

Satomi's face was comically bamboozled. "Who are you, and what have you done with Atsuko Maki!?" Both Atsuko and I burst out laughing again. Satomi couldn't help but join in after a few short seconds. "But for real, I never thought that you of all people would ever suggest we give up thieving."

Atsuko shrugged. "I know, it's fun, and it's been a way of life for me for years now. But that doesn't mean we're not still hurting people when we're taking their stuff, especially if they're good people like Mr. Multiple-Personas-and-Zero-Malice over there." They gestured at me.

"Thanks for the compliment, and yes," I agreed.

"So," Atsuko continued, "perhaps it would be best if we at least looked for other options for once? Just so we don't have to have the law constantly on our backs anymore?"

The two looked into each other's eyes, having a silent conversation. I had a feeling they weren't just planning on cooperating with me for now, but also intended to keep robbing jerks on the side and making plans for a quick escape if they needed them.

Their silent conversation was interrupted by the sound of the bell above the restaurant door ringing, followed by a familiar head of silver hair stepping inside, followed by two with long black hair. "Welcome!" came the voice of the server girl. "Been a while, Yu. Would you like a nikudon bowl?"

"Thanks, but not this time," Yu told her. "I'm here to pick up a few people who are already here." He turned towards our table.

Shen and Arisu had already spotted us and rushed over. "There you are!" Shen exclaimed. "Are you okay? These the guys who took your wallet?"

"And why did you buy them food?" Arisu asked suspiciously.

"Hey guys," I greeted them. "Yeah, we're fine. Turns out these two are a pair of Persona-users on the run from Kyoto who steal to survive. So yeah, I was feeling nice after beating them up and taking my wallet back and decided to buy them some food."

Atsuko smirked. "Big talk for a guy who went down in one hit."

I scoffed. "You were lucky to hit me while I had a weakness to Curse. If you'd followed up on that before I had a chance to change Personas instead of running away, you might've actually stood a chance. Instead, you ran away, giving me a chance to hit your weakness while your backs were turned, and then decided to do nothing but keep your distance and bombard me with spells."

Shen snickered at how I'd reversed Atsuko's dig, while Arisu facepalmed. "Seriously? You two don't have someone dedicated to support at least?"

Satomi explained, "I have an attack buff and a [Dizzy] spell, while Atsu has Physical skills and healing. Usually, I'm in the back, buffing Atsuko and trying to hit my ailment while Atsu holds off the enemy from the front with Physical skills. This guy threw off our usual tempo because Atsu kept thinking he was weak to his magic and kept trying to hit him with it, and then he got knocked out of the fight by the time he realized that wouldn't work anymore."

"You weren't much better!" Atsuko protested. "You didn't even think to use that [Dizzy] spell of yours! You just kept spamming Psi spells!"

"Amateurs!" Shen laughed. "Looks like they need some help. Are we adding them to our team?"

"A nice sentiment, but I think that would be a bit awkward," I turned down the suggestion. "Not just because we met when they robbed me, but also because I think these two really need to be a team of their own. They're practically connected at the hip."

The couple in question were now up in each other's faces and a heartbeat away from either fighting or kissing passionately.

Yu walked over and said, "Anyway, have these two learned not to pickpocket Persona-users, or do I need to give my uncle a call?"

"I'm fairly sure they've learned their lesson for now at least," I noted. "Either way, they're Persona-users who've been forced to steal to survive for a while now. You have any ideas for an arrangement where they could help with your Shadow patrols and earn some food and a roof over their heads while they're at it?"

Yu thoughtfully laid one hand on his chin. "A few I guess. I think I'll have to speak with my uncle and Namatame-san about it, but I'm fairly sure we can work something out. After all, more Persona-users is always a plus around here; we in the Investigation Team can't be everywhere at once after all."

"Investigation Team?" Satomi asked. "Who even are you?"

Yu smirked at her, and Satomi's cheeks turned pink. "The name's Yu Narukami, resident Wild Card of Yasoinaba and leader of the Investigation Team. We solved the case of the foggy day murders about seven years ago and kicked the ass of the goddess responsible for it. Now we patrol the countryside around here, hunt monsters, and guard the pocket dimension that was the source of all our original adventures. Nice to meet you."