01 August 2010
Tokyo, Sports Stadium
Afternoon
Midori took a break as the brilliance of the chaos yesterday was finally revealed to her. With a clear set of people who had already secured their position in the top 16, the more intense conflict centred around those trying for those bottom slots. Everyone who didn't really have a chance to get in, like herself, could relax on the second day, allowing those who were still serious about trying to win a chance.
And as she watched, Aigis was beating them all.
Something she had said yesterday, it seemed, had lit a fire in her, and Aigis was completely dominating the field, to the point where she had overheard some of the other girls talking about the question now being who was going to be in second place.
Add to that the small crowd of University Scouts who were watching Aigis with barely disguised glee, and Midori would have been worried for her friend, except that she knew Mitsuru would take care of anyone who would take advantage of Aigis.
"You must be Midori-chan," an unfamiliar voice said as a girl a little older than Midori approached her table. She was from a school the blue-haired girl didn't recognize.
"I am," she said. "And you are?"
"Makoto," she replied, taking a seat without invitation. "Can I ask you a question or two?"
Midori ran the name through her mind, trying to place it – and quickly knew where she had heard it. "Makoto Kanjo?" She had no idea what was up with the other half of the girl's name, but let it slide. This person was in second place. "You may."
"Thank you." Makoto pulled some water from her bag and set it down on the table. "I've been watching her," there was no need to specify who 'her' was. "And I wanted to ask your advice."
On one hand, Midori was Aigis' friend, and wasn't going to betray her trust. On the other hand, if Makoto was going to ask her for advice in how to play against Aigis, she wasn't going to be much help. On the third hand, she was Aigis' friend. There was no way she was going to betray that.
"If you're going to ask me what her secret weakness is, I'm not going to tell you." She also doubted the girl across from her was a robot herself. "She's my friend."
"I wasn't going to," Makoto said. "Rather, as I think this tournament will come down to me and her, so I wanted to know what it was like facing her."
"Tough. I knew I was going to loose, so I just went all out."
"I noticed you do that a lot." Makoto observed. "You fight very hard, which is why I think you had the longest match against her." She looked over her shoulder, as though worried someone may think poorly of her for her chat with Mdori. "But she's an extremely technical player," for a moment Makoto looked at Midori, almost expecting her to take up the slack.
But she didn't. Going against her nature to chat and talk, Midori held her silence. After a few awkward moments, Makoto gave up and walked away, searching for some other avenue to make the prospect of victory all that much closer.
Releasing a stressed breath she didn't know that she was holding, Midori finished off her bottle.
"Are we interrupting anything?"
Midori knew the voice, but couldn't believe it. She twisted in her chair to confirm the truth of the matter. "ABEL!" She greeted the young man she hadn't seen in almost a year. "Atsuro!" Beside him was Abel's best friend, cap still over his head. "Why are you here?"
"What," Abel said as he and Atsuro took a seat. "Can't we meet up with a friend who is in town for the first time in a year?"
Midori smiled, and bowed in the chair. "Thank you for visiting. I didn't let you guys know because I didn't want to impose." She was glad to see them, as a reunion of Heroes was always a good thing. "So, how are things going? Where's Yoo-Hoo?"
"You mean Yuzu?" Abel corrected. "She had family things to take care of. But she wanted to say hello as well, so I'm passing on the greeting."
"You can tell her I said hello as well!" Midori replied. She glanced at Atsuro, then back at Abel. "So, did you watch any of my matches?"
"No, we just got here, Dolly." Atsuro explained.
"Hey! I'm not on camera. I'm Midori, thank you very much." The young girl chided her elder into using the correct name. "You think you can stick around?"
"Not for too long," Abel apologized. "Actually, Atsuro wanted to check your COMP. You have it with you?"
"No," Midori shook her head. She had left Frosty and her COMP back in Yasoinaba. "Too much of a distraction, and I didn't want to risk it getting stolen. Why?"
"Well," Atsuro replied, "I might be getting a job."
"Ooh! Nice!" Then she remembered what job he knew he was being scouted out for. "So, Kirijo Group?"
He nodded. "I've heard good things about you from Fuuka, and apparently you were used as a character reference?" He leaned in, looking her in the eyes, or trying to, if she would meet his. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing I shouldn't have."
Abel reached out to put his hand between the two of them, a buffer. "That's enough. I don't think we need to go prying. There's a lot of connections in play here." He looked to Atsuro. "You know that the Kirijo have admitted that their technology was used by the Cult. That Midori happened to meet up with the daughter of that family, that's just coincidence."
Atsuro fell back in his chair. "Sorry. It's just, I'm still a little wound up about that, you know? Out of nowhere I get a job offer because of things I didn't do, or rather, only dealt with after the fact."
"Your apology is accepted." Midori said to keep the peace. From her position, she had a good view of the stairs coming up from the arena floor, which is why she had it in the first place. So when she saw Rio and Aigis, she stood up and waved! "RIO! AIGIS!"
The two Gekkoukan representatives came over to the table, with the two men making room. "So," Rio said, slightly giggling, "two boyfriends?"
Midori's brain faulted as Atsuro laughed. "Sorry," he said, "Abel here's got his own girl. No, we're friends who live in the city." He introduced the two of them, and Rio did the same. "You all from the same school?"
"Used to be," Rio said. "Then Midori had to move and ruin all my plans."
"Hey! I did not!" Midori objected just as she saw that Aigis and Abel were looking at each other. And not in the polite way either. "No! She said as as she stood up and leaned over the table. "No! You're not!" She glared between the two of them, to the confusion of Rio and Atsuro. "Excuse me," she apologized to the two of them before running around the table, and grabbing Aigis and Abel to drag them away.
As the three of them left for a quieter corner, Rio looked to Atsuro. "Well, that's confusing. Any idea?"
Atsuro shook his head in the negative.
Once Midori felt they were far enough away that no one could over hear them, she turned on the two of them. "No!" She hissed, pointing a finger between them. "No fighting! No thinking bad thoughts, no nothing! You are both my friends, and I will not let either of you throw a punch or whatever because even I think that's a stupid plot!"
Aigis and Abel shared a look. "Alright," he said. "No fighting. I'll take your word on that."
"I understand," Aigis confirmed as well, though the two of them shared a look that spoke that they would simply delay anything until Midori wasn't around. "I am sorry," she apologized.
"Me too," Abel at least had the grace to rub the back of his head as Midori tried to drill holes in the two of them with her eyes.
"Good." Her expression softened. "Now be friends, or I'll beat up both of you. At the same time." She smiled and turned her back on the two in order to head back to the table and her other waiting friends.
Abel waited a moment first. "Afterwards?" He asked.
"On the roof," Aigis replied, making the commitment to show up.
"Are you two coming?" Midori called out from ahead of them. "Don't make me come back there!"
"Coming!" Aigis said, glancing once more at Abel.
As they were returning to their seats, Midori took the opportunity to ask Abel a question that she couldn't get an answer from anyone else. "So, um, when Mari-sensei came back to Tokyo for that month, did anything bad happen?"
Abel shook his head, thankful that the cosplay girl had enough tact to not spell things out. And that he had been warned that she was concerned by Amane. "Nothing out of the ordinary," he replied. "Although I'm told that a lot of mothers became friends while in the hospital."
"Oh! That's always nice to hear." Midori had another question for him but couldn't ask it in front of Aigis.
Back at the table, she stood for a moment as the others reclaimed their seats. "So, Atsuro?"
"Yes?" the computer programmer looked thankful that he could not be distracted from being alone with Rio at the table.
"I realized that if you're going to take that job with Mits.. Kirijo-san, then you'll be working with Aigis in the future!"
Atusro looked at Aigis in shock, followed by the robot acting as though this was the first time she had seen him, examining him closely. "I was not aware that this was the person that Fuuka had vetted."
"Well, he is!" Midori announced.
"So, what do you do with this mysterious job?" Atsuro asked, curious given that all he knew was that it was a technical position.
"I would only be able to tell you once you have accepted the job and been briefed fully." Aigis was all business, only causing more curiosity from the people present.
"Don't suppose you can tell me, eh?" Atsuro switched to focusing on Midori, who only shook her head.
"Sorry, she tried to recruit me, but I turned her down."
"Now you have me really curious!" He said back. "I know Fuuka from online, you apparently know what's going on, but won't tell me, and Ai-chan here is already involved?"
"Please don't call me Ai-chan," Aigis retorted, perhaps just a little harshly. "Not even Midori, my best friend, gets to call me that."
"She's pretty sensitive about her name," Midori explained, having taken her seat. "Just apologize, and all will be well."
"Sorry," Atsuro bowed slightly in his seat without any further prompting.
"Forgiven," Aigis replied. "If you'll excuse me, I believe my next match is scheduled right away. She stood, with Rio right behind her. "It was nice to meet both of you."
As soon as the two of them were out of earshot, Atsuro leaned in to whisper in a most conspiratorial manner. "Alright Midori, what is up with Aigis?"
"What do you mean?" Midori put on her best poker face. "Aigis is completely normal." For a given definition of 'normal' that included Robots with a soul.
"Yeah, well, there's something off about her."
"So what?" Midori shot back, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Not anger. Not yet, at least. "She's my friend, and I'm not going to let you think poorly about her."
"Whoa! I'm not saying she's wrong!" Atsuro backpedaled as fast as he could. "I'm just saying there's something.. off about her." He looked to Abel for support, but got nothing. "Maybe it's just the hair..." he muttered to himself, trailing off.
"I have a question, now that the two of them are gone," Midori looked at Abel. "This one is a bit more serious."
"Oh?" Abel indicated that she should ask away.
"Well," she swallowed due to nervousness. "Is it true, what they say? That people with unusual hair colours," she pulled a few strands forward to display what she meant, "that they have demonic heritage?"
An awkward silence descended as Abel considered his response. "I think, Midori, that there's a confirmation bias at work there. People expect to see unusual people being, well, unusual, so they latch onto the more visible as a means to separate out the ordinary from the extraordinary. That such a tale exists, that you're worried about it... Well, you shouldn't be. I mean, you could ask a geneticist about the hair, and I'm sure they'll give you a normal, rational explanation. You don't need to go looking for... extreme answers."
"Alright." Midori said, not to happy with the lack of a flat 'No', but unwilling to press the issue when Abel had given an answer. "Thanks for that." She stood up. "But if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go cheer Aigis on now. Say hello to everyone for me."
"We will," Abel replied with a smile, the Demon King content that he hadn't made a mess of that.
Night
He stood on top of the stadium, where normal people couldn't get too without equipment, training, and a safety second to watch over them. Abel was playing with his COMP while waiting for his appointment.
He wasn't disappointed. He could feel her arrive, the subtle thump on the roof as she landed. Putting his toy away, he lowered his headphones. "Aigis."
"Abel."
"Thank you for coming," he saw that she wasn't wearing anything except for the small bow tie around her neck. "Robot. Wow. Wasn't expecting that."
"You're not human yourself," she replied, on guard, but not yet ready for the fight.
"No. It is a long and complicated story."
"Midori knows."
"It seems like she knows more than she lets on to either of us," Abel agreed. "But that is not for the here and now. Can we both agree to keep her out of this?"
"Of course. A mutual explanation then?"
"As long as you understand that what you tell me does not go past me, and what I tell you does not go past you."
Aigis thought that over. "I find that acceptable." She looked around to make sure that they were alone. And if what he told her was serious enough, then promise or not, she would tell Mitsuru. "Who shall start?"
"I got a coin," Abel said, picking one out of his pocket and tossing it to Aigis, who caught and examined it for any trick. "Want to flip for it?"
Aigis nodded, and held the coin, ready for a deception. She flicked it, and Abel called out "Heads."
It landed on his side, and he sighed. "Well, looks like I go first. Hrm, where to begin..? Well, what do you know about the Tokyo Lockdown?"
"A bit," Aigis replied. "Although I now suspect that is not enough."
"No," Abel noted, "probably not. Let me tell you what happened to me, and you can judge the rest for yourself. It started when my cousin, Naoya, summoned me and a couple of my friends – Atsuro, whom you've met, and Yuzu, another friend of mine, and gave us some COMPs..."
02 August 2010
Tokyo, Dormitory
Early Morning
Aigis was glad that she didn't need to sleep, though shutting down in a facsimile of rest was good for her systems. After returning to the room she shared with Chidori, whom she found gently snoring, she sat down to think about what she had been told, and what she had said.
The first, and most important thing was that Midori had lied. All for reasons she understood, and that she would use as well. There was no logic in faulting her for the origin of the deception. But the rest of it was so...
No, it wasn't impossible. It was just so far outside her expectations that she didn't know what to do about it.
It also meant that some of the conclusions that Mitsuru had arrived at were faulty. And yet, they were not at the same time. She had reciprocated the tale of the War of Bel with the arrival of Nyx and the Shadows, and the two of them had compared notes on the nature of their foes.
But he had also mentioned that Black Frost had joined them on the last day, and Aigis responded that he was Midori's Persona.
Abel shook his head. "No, Black Frost is my General, my representative in Hell while I stay here in Tokyo. Whatever Midori is using, it's not him."
Thinking aloud, Aigis walked herself through the logic. "We know that Personas are the result of ones internal mindscape. And the Black Frost that you met and lead is not the same one that she wields in combat. However, at the first, there was the incident where it seemed like the Persona she summoned... wasn't. She called for the demon Black Frost, and not the Persona."
"And," Abel continued, "when this Igor person met her, he fashioned for her an outlet for her natural power that invoked the image of Black Frost – Frosty."
"He manipulated her into a safety net, to prevent her from doing wrong while giving her the support of her friend." It also explained why Midori was so eager and willing to be Aigis' friend after discovering that she was a robot. She had made friends with an even more inhuman existence, leaving Aigis to be relatively normal in comparison.
"But what is the source of that strength, so wild that Igor would need to protect her and us from it?"
"I think we're asking the wrong question there," Abel replied. "I mean, it's obvious that Frosty doesn't obey the restrictions that you are aware of, yet you seem to have people devoted to matching her. What if Igor did what he did to push you all in a direction you wouldn't have normally considered?"
"That is possible." Aigis had to admit that her own research, plus the efforts of Fuuka and Akihiko, all inspired by Midori's casual example.
"But as for why her?" Abel shrugged. "Who knows? Random chance happens. It could have been anyone from the Lockdown who went to Tatsumi, and she just got caught up in it first."
"I think," Aigis grinned, "that had she known about it, she would have forced herself into the situation in the first place."
"Jumping in without considering the consequences is something she does." Abel agreed.
Back in the present, Aigis resolved several things. First, she would edit her encounter with Abel to fit the existing information set that Mitsuru had. Not mentioning Demons and Angels as real, but note her encounter with the other 'Wild Card' in Tokyo, and their comparison of notes regarding their respective problems. Ideally, this would allow Mitsuru to reinforce her choices to research and develop this power born of humans. It would serve them well, should things fall apart again.
Secondly, she would not tell Midori of this encounter. While her appreciation for her friend had deepened as she came to understand the lengths to which Midori would go, Aigis foresaw far too many outcomes where this would backfire in a most spectacular manner. To think that she would share the same burden as her friend, yet could not tell her weighed heavily on her own heart, but it was a weight that must be borne.
But all that was in the future. Today, with greater resolve, she would fight for a first place finish in the tournament.
The Hills
Afternoon
Abel slipped into the empty room, and walked to the middle of it. The physical location of the Babel Server when it was present in the Human world was still a good point to reach through to other realms and talk. And right now, he wanted to talk to one person in particular.
"HEEE-HOO! You called for me-hee?" The voice of Black Frost echoed in his head, but not so much that it distracted him in any way.
"Hey Frost," Abel said conversationally. "When were you going to tell me that you met Midori last year?"
Even across the distance of universes, the feelings of shame at being caught were familiar enough that he rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Well, you better explain to me your side of the story," he commanded of his loyal General.
There would be plenty of time to try and figure out if the SDF needed to be told about this later.
03 August 2010
Yasoinaba Train Station
Afternoon
Eri hopped off the train first, humid from the constant rainfall of the two days previous. "I did not miss this at all," she said as Midori stepped out behind her. "The rain, I mean."
Midori nodded as she checked her carry-on luggage again. "Come on, let's grab our stuff and find Saki." Eri nodded in agreement and the two headed for where the luggage was being pulled off the train. As they were the only two on this trip, it was easy enough to thank the conductor for his hard work.
"Where is she?" Eri complained as she looked around the nearly empty station. "It's not like our train was early. Or late." She checked her watch to emphasize the point.
Midori didn't really have an answer, so she just picked up her bags. "Maybe they're waiting outside?"
"Seems possible," Eri agreed as she grabbed her bags as well. "But it's good to be home!"
The two girls walked out of the station, and into the afternoon showers past the eaves.
"Midori! Eri!" The two looked into the parking lot where a figure approached out of the mists. Kanako appeared, under her umbrella. "Hey! Saki got really busy, and her family couldn't come to pick you guys up, so she called my parents!" The explanation was spoken over the sound of the rain as she passed out a couple umbrella for the two arrivals. "Figured you might not have one, it's been crazy with the downpour today."
Midori bowed in appreciation. "Thanks! Man, you missed so much!"
"I heard your friend Aigis won!" Kanako said as the three tried to arrange bags and umbrellas with not enough hands. "And you didn't even break into the top half." There was no recrimination there.
"That's what I get for playing against people so much better than me," Midori agreed. "So, we drop of Eri first, then me?"
"That's the plan!"
Komaki Household
Midori thanked Kanako and her mother again for the lift before stepping into her house. The front door was locked, which wasn't unexpected as her daddy was out of town. "I'm home," she called out to the empty rooms as she slipped out of her shoes for something less wet.
"YOU'RE HOME!" Nanako cried out as she ran out of the living room and straight into Midori's legs. The sudden assault took her off guard, and she stumbled backward before bracing herself against the wall.
"Nana-chi? What are you doing here?" Midori regained her composure as Nanako buried her face in her stomach.
"I waited for you to come home!" Nanako said through muffled cloth. "I was worried you weren't going to come back!"
Confused, Midori pried her little sister away long enough to kneel down to be face to face with her. "What do you mean, I wasn't coming back? I was talking to you every night!" She didn't question her being here physically, knowing what her daddy and Uncle Ryotaro were capable of.
"You were gone, and I didn't see you and you weren't there to tuck me in and I was afraid you were not coming back!" Nanako re-wrapped herself around Midori in a hug which allowed the young girl to stand up and carry Nanako back into the living room where she saw colouring books on the low table with crayons piled into a bowl.
"There there," she whispered, figuring out the source of Nanako's worries. "Big sis isn't going to leave you. I may not always be around, but I will be there for you." She set her down on the pillow in front of the books. "Now, sit down. Have you had lunch yet?"
Nanako shook her head and Midori glanced at the clock. "Alright then, I'll make something quick for us to eat. You can watch TV if you want." She smiled and waited for Nanako to distract herself before turning to the kitchen. She was going to have to have a serious talk with her uncle about all this. Daddy would get a free pass.
06 August 2010
Tatsumi Port Island, Kirijo Group HQ
Daytime
Mitsuru finished reading the report that Aigis had filed concerning her encounter with the Persona user in Tokyo. "I should have sent you or myself to find and talk to him sooner," she berated herself. "I don't see any explanation for how he retained his power after the events last year." She looked up at Aigis, who was standing casually there in her school uniform.
"It may be an undiscovered aspect to the nature of the Wild Card," Aigis said without committing to any actual answer. "Midori reactivated in the presence of the Dark Hour, and there was no reason for her to assume that anyone else kept their Personas after the Lockdown was lifted."
Mitsuru made a noise of acceptance. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"Just two things. First, please do not inform Midori of the contents of that report. She was quite adamant that we all be friends, and given her drive to keep secrets, my going behind her back like that could be seen as a breach of trust."
"I think she's more likely to forgive you than you think," Mitsuru observed. "And the other?"
"When you seek to make contact again, let it be by just myself. I can talk to him as an equal now that the air of misconceptions have been cleared, and we can introduce him to others like Fuuka or yourself later."
"I don't see a reason why not. Although this will prove interesting when I get the acceptance from Atsuro-san." Mitsuru knew that the man she wanted already knew some of her secrets, even if he didn't know them, so she didn't want to be seen as forcing him into a job. If he chose to further his education first, that was acceptable, as she could keep tabs on him that way as well. "Well, there is no need to rush things at this juncture. Congratulations on your win, by the way. I have seen a lot of requests for you to go professional."
"I still have another year of High School," Aigis pointed out. "That is plenty of time to come to a firm decision."
"Good. Don't let the teachers at school pressure you unduly. If you feel they are, tell me and I will straighten them out."
"I doubt it will come to that," Aigis said, hoping that it was true.
Yasoinaba, Komaki Residence
Evening
Nanako was a good girl, watching the timer on the table as she carefully set the table for everyone for supper tonight. The timer was very important, as Big Sis told her it was for the pot currently heating on the stove.
She couldn't wait to grow up a bit more when she would be allowed to cook on the oven, rather than using just the toaster. Big sis had promised her that she would teach her on her next birthday! And Bis Sis kept her promises.
The phone started ringing, hanging on the wall of the living room. Nanako shot to her feet, almost knocking crayons off the tables, "I got it!" she said because she knew that Bis Sis was upstairs being busy with some of her friends who were also being over tonight.
Big Sis was very adamant that she only go into the room with all the Cameras and the sewing stuff when she was there, to avoid hurting herself. Nanako agreed, because Daddy was told it at the same time, and he agreed too.
"Thank you!" Big Sis called out from upstairs. The phone rang again, and Nanako reached up, stretching to grab the ringing handset. She flicked it off the cradle, and expertly caught it as it came down before it could bump her in the head.
"Hello?" she said.
"Oh, hello." The voice on the other end was one she didn't know, and that meant she was a Stranger. And daddy had instructed her on how to talk to Strangers on the phone.
"Hello." Nanako replied.
"I may have dialled the wrong number. Is Midori Komaki-chan there?" The Stranger on the phone said.
"Who are you?" Nanako asked. She was told to find out the other person's name so she could tell that to who ever they were asking for.
"Oh, forgive me. My name is Mitsuru." The Stranger was careful in how she spoke to Nanako.
Holding the phone away from her face, Nanako looked up. "Big Sis! There's a Mi... Miso-chan on the phone!"
"Mi-tsu-ru." The Stranger spoke carefully, though Nanako wasn't talking into the phone, so she didn't hear the correction.
Big Sis came down the stairs, holding some of her sewing things in her hands and over her shoulder. "Miso-chan?" She repeated, sounding like she didn't know the name. "May I have the phone Nana-chi?"
Nanako handed her Big Sis the phone, and went back to the table to watch the timer and some Television.
Midori took the phone and cradled it in her shoulder as she reset the work over her shoulder. She couldn't leave her friends upstairs for too long. "This is Midori."
"Ah, there you are." Mitsuru's voice was clear, sending a shiver down Midori's spine. "I wasn't aware that you had a little sister."
Thankful for the casual conversation, rather than whatever doom Mitsuru had, Midori replied swiftly. "She's a neighbour's daughter whom I'm babysitting. She calls me Big Sis."
"Ah." Mitsuru noted, dropping the subject as one she now had all relevant information about. "You are probably wondering why I'm calling."
Midori wanted to slam her head against the wall at that, but kept her peace. "It is an unexpected call," she replied instead.
"I apologize for the delay, but I wanted to congratulate you on your performance at the tournament last weekend."
Midori blinked in surprise. "Thank you!" she reflexively said, politeness coming to the fore. "Although I didn't do that well."
"I saw the skill of the competition. Performing as well as you did against them speaks well of your skill. I am proud of you."
Oh, Midori thought. Mitsuru couldn't take credit for that. She wasn't on the team, or did any training. But she wasn't about to say that to her face, or over the phone. "Thank you for your kind words."
"You are welcome." Mitsuru accepted the sidestep without comment. "But I do have one more thing I would like to discuss with you."
"I'm still not joining~!" Midori immediately replied, putting her words into a tune. She could hear Mitsuru sigh in response, bringing a smile to her face.
"No, not about that directly. Aigis reported that she met Abel."
Oh. "That's it? Nothing happened. I made sure of it."
"So she reported, but I wanted your opinion of what you saw. Aigis still makes her reports all dry facts, and it can be hard to get a better understanding sometimes because of it."
Midori's mind raced before faulting. "Nothing happened," she repeated. "Abel and Atsuro met me in the cafeteria for a social visit at the same time Rio and Aigis. Aigis and Abel... they, well, it's like they knew that each other was special. So I told them in no uncertain terms that if anything bad happened, they would answer to me." Midori looked down at Nanako with a smile, seeing her engrossed in the show. "Anything else?"
"No, that matches what I have. Thank you." With that, Mitsuru hung up.
Tatsumi Port Island, Kirijo Group HQ
"Thank you, Kikuno." Mitsuru handed the phone back to her 'maid'. Saikawa bowed, and took it from her silently. "How are the preparations for tomorrow?"
"All Ergo Research materials have been secured to your specifications," Kikuno replied.
"I'm all ready on my end," Fuuka spoke up without taking her eyes from the computer screen in front of her. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"No, but while I would appreciate being able to do this within the confines of the Kirijo Group, having the assistance of Public Safety will go a long way toward our goal." Mitsuru stood up behind her desk and looked out over the darkening skies. "A new Dorm for future Persona users, an organization to deal with such threats. There is so much to do."
Fuuka sighed, raising her eyes. "You should slow down. The dorm can take care of itself, and I don't think they'll object to taking it over."
"No, I agree. But Akihiko is gone, Aigis is hiding something from her encounter last weekend, and Midori knows more than she's letting on as usual. That Kihara-san accepted my job offer within hours of that meeting just raises more suspicions."
"I'll be handling him," Fuuka pointed out. "Right now, I think you need to rest and prepare for tomorrow. You need to convince a lot of powerful people about the dangers of the Shadows."
"Yes. Yes. You're right. You keep telling me I need to stop micromanaging." Mitsuru picked up her jacket from her maid's arms. "Good night Fuuka. You go to bed soon yourself."