(If you really don't care what happens to Zero and Alice, skip to like the end of the chapter. There was a dilly-dally scene that got cut due to the crash, but it wasn't plot-related.)

Tuesday was a tense day at the hospital. You weren't entirely sure if you were going to talk to Zero, but you were more concerned about meeting with someone else that day. While scrubbing down a vacant room, you wondered what you would do if she managed to find you...

"Souji?"

You were out of time to think.

Before looking in her direction, you knew it was Alice's voice. You greeted her and asked her why she was at the hospital. She never really had told you why she would frequently visit...

"I was, um," she stuttered. "Well, it's just, you know, Zero wasn't at the arcade last week. He won't tell me why. I was just wondering... did you know anything about it?"

Well... yes, you knew something, you told her hesitantly. If Zero was unwilling to have any contact with her, it was time to get involved. You couldn't believe he was still avoiding her... didn't he know it wasn't going to solve anything?

You told Alice that his problem likely had to do with rescuing her in the TV world.

"Oh, he... he doesn't like me because of my Shadow?"

Sort of. You replayed the scene in your mind. You told her about the Shadow itself: her magic powers, her taunts, and how you had to team up to defeat her. But she had so many tricks, it wasn't enough. Zero's Persona beheaded her right after she said some... things.

"What things?"

These were delicate facts; you didn't want to mess them up or you would cause more trouble. You tried to tell her from the best of your memory... her Shadow berated Zero for hiding things, for stalking her, and for using her friends.

I hate you for that!

After she screamed things she hated about him, his Persona beheaded her Shadow.

Alice gasped. "Sh-she, I mean, I," she panicked. "And all this time, I never even apologized... how horrible..."

You remembered Zero's last words: she should regret nothing. You didn't believe she really hated Zero, but you wanted her to know that the Shadow's overreaction was caused by something rooted in her. You didn't know what it was, but she had to realize what her Shadow was talking about before Zero can believe anything she tells him. What the Shadow said had some truth in it, and she had to accept that.

She faced the ground. "Zero... he's... he's really distant. I don't ever know what he's thinking. And I kind of thought he was scary at first... I guess I was just frustrated..." she shook her head. "I need to talk to him about it... can you still contact him? I'm sorry to ask this, but I don't think he'll talk to me..."

He didn't have any animosity toward you, and you figured you could give her once chance. You asked her to think over her words carefully, and you would bring her to Zero after work on Thursday.

She nodded. "Thank you so much."

-.

The sun was setting faster as the year progressed; though the sky had yet to shift in color, the sun was at an angle that Thursday evening so that the light had cast a large shadow to the east side of the hospital. You told Alice to wait behind the west side of the building, while Zero would wait by the south side. The man was calm when he saw you, but when you led him to Alice, his expression grew bitter.

"What?" he said as Alice stared at him. "I hope you're not here to apologize."

She was too scared to talk, but you told Zero to hear her out. You could sense he was unwilling to hear any more, but he trusted you enough to obey your command. You looked back at Alice and hoped she would be less intimidated with you around. She looked back at you, then to Zero, and then to the ground before she started.

"My Shadow... it said some things I wish I could take back," she said.

"Don't lie about it," he snapped. "If you want me to leave you alone-"

"It's not like that!"

He stopped, and she continued.

"I just mean... the way she said it, and the way you took it... those were wrong. I can't hide anything anymore, because of her, so," her speech was jumbled and she was nervous, "I think, all she meant was... I don't understand you. And even now, you ignored me without saying anything. How could you think I was okay with that...?"

She lifted her head and tried to look at Zero's face. You could see the anger she had built up inside before. She didn't yell; it was more of an angry plead.

"I don't want you to keep secrets from me," she continued, "I know you say one thing and mean another thing. And I... I do hate when you do that to me."

The words were similar to the bitter memory; yet coming from the real Alice, they had a different feeling to them. She was more rational, and instead of only seeing her dark side, you and Zero could see all of her personality.

"But I could never hate you forever! I sometimes get mad at you, and I don't always say it," she looked at the ground again, "but I don't think you're a bad person."

She looked up as a shadow loomed over her. Zero had stood closer.

"Souji," Zero said loudly, surprising you and Alice. Until then, you weren't sure they remembered you were standing there. "I think your job is done."

He clearly wanted you to leave them alone. Alice looked back and smiled at you briefly. In the second that the two of them looked in your eyes, you could feel their gratitude; upon trying to help them, your relationship with both Alice and Zero grew stronger.

You awkwardly waved goodbye and left.

-.

As you took a detour through the park to get home, you could sense that someone was following you. Someone you knew rather well, so it was no surprise when she finally spoke.

"I don't know what you did, Souji, but good job."

Devil Zukin landed at your side, descending from a nearby tree. You assumed she had been hopping from tree to tree; that would've explained the faint rustling noises you heard on your walk, despite the lack of a good breeze. Was she referring to Zero and Alice? You told her you didn't do much; once Alice knew what her Shadow said, she was able to think about it. It was a matter of having her explain to Zero what she was hiding.

"You understand the thoughts of a Shadow better than any of us," she noted. "Alice likely needed the encouragement to become one with her Shadow, rather than shun its words as she probably would've otherwise. And now, the couple is back together"

Yeah... what, what?

"Well, they are a work in progress," she clarified. "I believe Zero has feelings for Alice, and so I have been trying to bring them together. It was going well... until that incident."

The journey in the TV world wasn't as bad as she made it sound. It proved that the two of them were keeping secrets from each other. Sometimes, it's beneficial for things like that to happen so they could fix their issues in the real world.

You thought back to what she was saying about them. You had grown close to Alice, and all that time you spent with her meant nothing...?

Zukin smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, then. To have your love lost to another is never a pleasant feeling. But if you truly love her, I cannot talk you out of it."

Well... you weren't seriously in love with a sweet, pretty girl you only talked to on occasion. She was nearly perfect, but you had to accept that you would have competition for a girl like her. And besides, you knew you weren't going to be in New York forever, and the two of you were probably going to have to say goodbye before you were in different countries. You would be better off knowing there was no future for the two of you...

You froze, realizing that you said most of this out loud.

"Then there is hope for you," Zukin said, putting her gloved hands on your shoulders. She stared into your eyes blankly, but she sounded melancholy. "I wish you the best of luck in finding the one you love."

Her lack of cheer made you unsure if you were supposed to smile, but you did anyway. It amused you that a creature given the name Devil Zukin was attempting to sympathize with you; you couldn't believe that she was really evil inside.

Your smile spread back to her. Her gloomy eyes softened and seemed to glow from the light of the sunset. Your relationship with her seemed to grow stronger...

You told her you had to get going, and she let go of you.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

Right; tomorrow would be Friday, and everybody would be there that week.

(And so, they made up without making out. Believe whatever you want happened after you left; I just think I promised I would not write any make out scenes. And I don't like writing them to begin with, to be honest, lolz. And, really, I don't want Zero and Alice to be romantic in this story; I'm just writing for the dramaaaaa and plot.)