[May 19th, Togo household]

Just like before, Hifumi found herself sitting in her room, staring at the window leading to outside. As the rain kept colliding with the glass, the sound that it made filled the void that is her room.

For the last few days, she had been looking out from this window, catching glimpse of the trio of The Fools. Coming to the road right opposite of her house, and disappeared into thin air like they were never there in the first place.

To the 'other side', as Ichijo mentioned when they met.

What exactly was that they were mentioning?

However, there was another thing that made her more concerned. Every time they came back from that 'other side', they looked like they just barely escaped through hell.

Tired, beaten up, and some clear stains of blood in one day.

She wanted to help them, but... how?

Seeing how the trio came and stopped at the same spot as before, a sense of worry couldn't help but emerge from the depth of her heart. Would they end up the same as before? Would they... even get out this time?

Was her decision to post that request wrong the whole time?

"...I am doing this again..." Shaking her head, Hifumi hastily dragged her mind out from this looming abyss of question and self-doubt. "Kamisaki-san said that they will be alright... I should put some trust in them."

Turning back at the room itself, she was about to turn away when the world around her distorted. It felt like... the world around her was made out of water for a second, and... the room around her turned into a large and empty hall, with a red Shinto at the end of the hall toward a shrine.

And in the middle of it was a white floating orb.

"W-wha-"

Before she could even muster out a word, the world around her returned to normal. Leaving her completely confused and scared of what just happened.

"What... just happened?"


[Mitsuyo's palace]

By this point, they didn't know how, but the sense of distorted reality somewhat became a norm for them. Not that it was a great feeling in the first place, but it felt... more and more familiar to all of them.

Now inside the saferoom on the second floor, The Fools wasted no time before leaving the room itself. Even though there wasn't a deadline forcing them to finish this palace as quickly as possible, but they still couldn't afford to drag this palace out for too long.

Without hesitation, they easily fought off a few shadow guards who were in their way. From how bad the last battle went for them, the trio had to take some battle on, to train themselves to be a bit better.

After dealing with a few shadows and avoiding some of them, the trio reached the locked door connected to the next floor. And Jester put the lance piece they got from that projector room, with the door opened with a low hum as its massive weight dragged along the ground.

The room was a near-perfect replica of the previous 'elevator room' they encountered, but with a slight red-ish aesthetic over everything. And a map of the third floor nailed to a frame that hung on the wall.

Taking the map off from the wall, the trio immediately started examining the next floor they're about to explore. "Hmm… that's weird," Jester commented, pointing at the large empty area right outside of the elevator room. "An arena right outside of the room…"

"That means one thing," Raven said, crossing his arms. "We have to fight that cognition being once we arrived at the third floor."

"You mean that girl?" Swan asked, a slight unease clear under her tone.

"Well, she did say we're gonna have a rematch on the next floor, that's pretty much unavoidable," With a small sigh, the Victorian-like thief shifted his focus onto the other part of the map. "But here… there's another projector room, and a dark room? What is that?"

"Darkroom is the room we develop photos," Raven explained, his eyes slightly widened in surprise and intrigue. "I did not expect to have something right up at my own profession, but in this case… that means we might have some kind of film to develop."

"Oh… okay…" Trailing off, Swan's eyes darted between the map and the other two. "So not only we're gonna fight that masked girl, or whatever. We also might have another memory to watch through… And a photo to develop…"

"We can handle it, I'm sure," Jester said, glancing over both of them with a faint smile of reassurance.

With that said, the trio nodded and moved to the next floor, somewhat readied for what's to come.

Just like what the map showed, the trio was greeted by a large arena once they stepped out of the elevator. And the walls around them were made out of wood as well, instead of the gold and silver they encountered on the previous floors.

However, sitting right in the middle of the arena in a knelt position, the masked girl was facing away as the trio arrived.

"So... you're finally here, Phantom thieves,"She said, standing up from her kneel and faced them. "Quicker than I thought, especially after that battle with one of the captains."

"We have someone to save, after all," Unsheathing his sword cane, Raven narrowed his gaze on her. And Jester with Swan found themselves agreeing his words, after all, they were going to save someone from her own grief. And they readied their weapon, alongside Raven.

"Right, you're here for Mitsuyo-sama, after all," She said, uncharacteristically serious and solemn. Without a word, the masked girl extended her hand to her side, and a double-bladed spear appeared and within her grasp. "I have one of the pieces needed for this floor. But if you want it, you'll have to take it."

"Guessed that," Swan said. "You needed a reason for us to fight."

"You can say that." Feeling a smirk crept up under the mask, she played around with the spear for a bit. "I guess it'd be a good fight, for the both of us."

With that said, she instantly sprang to her feet and dashed, leaping into the air with her spear raised. And without hesitation, Raven instantly rushed to before them, his sword cane raised and just in time to block the attack.

Rolling backward to gather a bit of distance, Jester hastily raised his revolver, and with Moriarty materialized behind him. "Revolver Shot!" He cried, pulling the trigger alongside his Persona.

However, the masked girl instantly bent her entire body backward and dodged the bullets, carrying the momentum into a backflip. And just as she was about to rush toward them again, Swan's whipsword came out of aside and wrapped itself around the spear's handle, forcing the two into a tug of war.

"Now!"

Taking this as his opportunity, Raven summoned Fou Roux and sent another wave of radioactive ice shards. Then Jester hastily rushed as quick as he could, his scythe readied to strike.

But before either of them could hit her, the masked girl suddenly twisted the handle of her spear, splitting the spear into two board swords. And Swan fell as the balance, allowing her to instantly parried Jester's attack. Dodging the barrage of ice shards at the same time.

Seeing how the distance was gained between them, the half-Frenchman adjusted his mask as if it was his glasses. "I guess it is time to use that skill…" Murmuring to himself, Fou Roux materialized behind him again. "At Eternity's Gate."

(At Eternity's Gate: Greatly reduce foe's hit rate and dodge rate.)

As the mechanical figure curled up as if it was in pain before stretching its limbs, the cognitive girl felt her body got much heavier. As if mountains worth of iron chain tied to her.

And taking this as his opportunity, Raven sprung to his feet and straight to her, his cane sword already cut deep into her right arm, severing it before she could even do anything.

"What-" Surprised by the sudden change of the flow of their fight, she hastily raised the sword in her left arm and blocked his next strike in time. And the two locked into a blade lock. "So just as I thought, you did keep some tricks in your sleeves."

Taking this as his cue, Jester summoned Moriarty and sent a burst of curse energy, just at the same time as Le Pucelle sent a burst of light. The two elemental attacks hit her in unison.

Feeling that her balance started to tremble, the masked girl raised her foot and kicked Raven away. And she hastily picked up the severed arm and reattached it, clutching and relaxing her right hands before tightened her grip on the sword.

After a brief silence fell on the entire arena, their fight continued. Sparks rained down as metal clashed between one another, alongside the light and curse energy flashing and bolting through the arena. And it kept going for a while, without and visible advantage on either side.

Staying a few steps behind the other two, Jester aimed his revolver and focused… And for some reason, a hint of red glowed from the cylinder, much to his surprise. Even if there were questions, but… he couldn't care less right now.

Noticing his aim, Swan immediately grabbed Raven's shoulder and jumped away, giving their leader a split second of the window. And for that second, everything seemed to be stopped.

Without a second thought, he pulled the trigger. And he instantly felt a huge recoil striking toward him, much bigger than a usual shot from this same gun. Surprised by it, he couldn't even react before being knocked back to the ground.

But the bullet hit.

Sending the masked girl back, some distance was created between her and the trio. Slumped and with heavy breathings, they were about to continue the fight when they saw it.

They broke off a big piece of her mask, and showed what's underneath it. It was a golden eye, a golden eye that even shined under the bright light illuminating the entire arena.

And right next to it was a red string tied to the hair, with the knot resembling a three-leaf clover.

With her fingers tracing the broken edges of her mask, the masked girl mumbled something to herself before focusing back onto the trio. "Impressive, you managed to damage my mask," She said, amusement clear behind her exposed eye and voice."I guess I still underestimated your skills and power, foolish me."

"Wait... the eye..." Eyes widened, Jester couldn't believe what was showing in front of him. "I... no way, it's a shadow..."

"A shadow? How... how did it got here?" Swan asked, her mind went into overdrive for possibilities. "No, if it's a shadow... who's shadow is she..."

However, crouched behind both of them, Raven's focus placed on a certain hairpiece visible through the broken mask. It was clear that who exactly this shadow belonged to, but the question was... Why?

But before any one of them could speak another word, the shadow took out something from her outfit's pocket. "So, I am keeping my promise, here is one of the pieces you're looking for," She said, tossing a knight piece and a small circular box toward them. "Just don't let me see you three being beaten by one of those underlings again, Phantom Thieves. I won't be the knight in shining armor when that happens."

With that said, she teleported herself away with a pool of black liquid.

And after she left, the whole arena was only filled with silence for a few long seconds. It was… a huge piece of information to process.

"So… this is a shadow…" Repeating his earlier words, The leader of The Fools glanced over to Swan, memories of her awakening came to mind. "Then… why? It didn't look like Mitsuyo's shadow-"

"It is definitely not Mitsuyo's shadow," Raven interrupted him. "I hope that I am wrong, but… it might be Togo-san's shadow instead."

"Togo- You mean Hifumi, right?" Swan asked, an eye raised in confusion. "But… there's no reason for her shadow to be here, she's the one who requested us to be here in the first place…"

"But your shadow also appeared out of nowhere, Swan," Jester said. "I mean, there's no reason for your shadow to be at Kamoshida's palace, but she still did anyway."

"I know, but…"

"There is no use to just stay here and theorize," Interrupting them again, the half-Frenchman stood up from his crouched position, taking both the small box and the piece from the ground. "We might get some answer the further we moved on."

"Yeah…" Nodding, Jester struggled a bit before getting himself up from the group, holding out a hand for Swan as well. "There's no use to sit here and just talk. Let's go, shall we?"

"Of course," Raven nodded, tossing the knight piece to him.


Even though with the question about that… shadows' true nature lingering inside their mind, but the trio couldn't afford to question too much. They had a bigger thing to worry about, after all.

After the fight, and getting the Knight piece from the shadow herself, the trio wasted no time and arrived at the locked door toward the next floor. However, there was a catch.

"So we need two pieces this time, huh?" Observing the text carved into a plate next to the door, Swan couldn't help but gave out a breath. "Well, I guess we're gonna stick to this floor for a bit longer here."

"At least we knew what we have to do to find the next piece," Raven said, glancing over in the direction toward the darkroom.

"Yeah, at least we got a lead to follow," Jester nodded, and the trio wasted no time and got to their feet.

And they arrived at the 'darkroom' as it was written on the map without too much hassle, nor too many guards that they had to deal with. Entering the room itself, it seemed to be a normal darkroom.

On one side, there was a cabinet filled with old-schooled movie films, each with a label stuck on the metal case protecting them. And on the other end was a smaller room, only to be illuminated up via a red light.

"Just as I thought, it is a dark room," Trying his hardest to suppress his mouth to curl up, Raven took out the small circular box and inspected it, and… it was a roll of film. "…Weird, why would she give us this as well?"

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he turned back and scanned the entire room before landing on Jester and Swan. "It would take me a while to develop them, so you two might have to wait for a while," He said, glancing over to a light table nearby. "But it would not be too long."

"O-oh well…" Exchanging an awkward gaze with each other, the two nodded in unison. "Just… go ahead and do your thing," Jester said, his gaze drifted toward the wall of movie films. "There might be something here as well."

"Thank you," With that said, Raven turned toward the darkroom and started the developing process. Meanwhile, Jester and Swan decided to take a look at the wall of movie films instead.

Taking a roll out from the wall, Jester raised an eye at the paper label stuck on the metal case. "'Childhood, BD1978'…?" Repeating the note written on the label, he opened the case and only saw a roll of 35mm film.

"Uh… that is this?" Swan asked, peeking over his shoulder with a raised eye. "I've never seen it before."

"It's a film roll, 35mm film roll to be exact," The Victorian-looking thief explained, closing the metal case and put the film back to the wall. "Basically, that roll is how video is before it turned digital."

Eyes widened in curiosity, the thief in white deadpanned after less than five seconds. "…Please don't tell me you knew that because of-"

"Of some research for a novel," Finishing the sentence for her, Jester only returned the deadpan look at her. "…Actually, did I say that this often?"

"Yeah, basically every time you knew about something," Giving out a long breath, Swan couldn't help but shook her head in disappointment. "You never noticed that?"

"Uh… I guess so…" Feeling the awkwardness between them grew, he quickly took another roll of film from the wall. "Anyway, this one is… 'First game, HS1994'…"

Meanwhile, inside the darkroom itself, Raven hastily checked the room for equipment. And weirdly, it had all those equipment and chemicals he needed.

"Okay, so developer, film stops, and fixer…" Placing all three bottles of chemicals needed, he took out a small developing tank, which is a small plastic bottle with a lid.

"Never thought I'll develop a roll of film in a shadow realm out of all places…"

Pouring the chemicals to a few mixing cylinders sitting aside, he checked the temperature of those solutions before checking the developing tank.

"Okay, now to the hard part," Nodding to himself, he opened the developing tank and took out the holder of the film roll.

Turning off the light for the entire room, he popped open the box and took out the film itself. And started loading the film into the holder. Thanks to his experience before, it didn't take too long for him to do that.

Once the roll of film had been inserted in the holder and the tank itself, Raven hastily covered it with the funnel before turning back on the light. And now, it's time for the development itself.


How long had passed since Raven entered the darkroom?

Sitting on the table and facing the wall of film rolls, Swan found her gaze drifted toward Jester. And… he had been looking through the film roll for a long while.

"'Proposal, UN1999', 'Marriage, UN1999'…"

Starting to feel bored with the countless reading of the label from the said leader, the thief in white couldn't help but let out a yawn. "You're done yet?" She asked, sitting at the table as she watched him.

"Well, I need to find something to pass the time," The Victorian-looking thief replied, putting the handful of films back to the cabinet. "Developing a film can take a while, after all."

"Yeah, it'll probably take a while," Glancing over to the darkroom where Raven was working, she only stretched her arms with slight tiredness. "Hey Jester, it's just… I want to talk a bit about Raven."

"Raven? What's wrong with him?"

"No, it wasn't like anything wrong with him," Shaking her head, Swan leaned back and used her arms to support her. "We just, we still didn't know too much about him at all. Even though it's been like… two weeks now since he joined?"

"Well, two weeks aren't like really long, and not enough to know someone," Jester shrugged, turning around and faced her, hands rested inside his jean's pockets. "But you have a point, he's just so secretive about himself… Maybe he just didn't want to talk about it?"

"It might be, but remember that time he acted weird right after we watched that video?" She asked. "It looked like that video had something just hit him, and… shouldn't we do something about it?"

"Yeah, we should," Giving out a small breath, the leader was about to say something more when Raven suddenly came out of the darkroom, a few short rolls of film in his hand.

"Here, freshly developed," He said, walking over to the light table. "And let's see what kind of images are in this roll."

Exchanging a surprised glance, the two had no choice but to leave this conversation behind for now, and return to their business and followed him.

Placing the film onto the light table, it was clear that only four frames in this entire roll could even develop any kind of image. Every single frame other than that was literally just some white image.

"Oh, it's a color-positive film," Looking through the frames, Raven raised an eye in confusion as one image was focused on some wall. And on the wall were only two letters, 'UN'. "And… what does that mean?"

Peeking through his shoulder, it didn't take Swan too long to realize what did those things meant. "Wait…" With her eyes scanned through the frames, she found her mind instantly went to overdrive. "The film rolls over there has some kind of code on them…"

"So these pictures might show which one we needed to bring to the projector room?" Jester asked, arm crossed as he pondered. "But just UN isn't enough… "

"There are still a few frames that have a clear image on them, Jester," Raven deadpanned, looking through the other three frames.

And just like the first one, they were focused on a wall, but instead of 'UN', it was only the number one to three. However, there was no way that they were enough to finish the last few numbers to identify the right film roll they needed.

Eyes narrowed, the half-Frenchman pondered for a few moments before noticing something else. Those numbers specifically appeared on the fifth, ninth, and nineteenth frames of the entire roll.

Arranging the three frames with the number in the frame itself, Raven raised an eye. "So… the nineteenth frame first, then ninth, and fifth…"

"Wait, I got it," Snapping his finger, Jester instantly rushed to the cabinets, searching through the film rolls before ending on a specific one. "'Reunion, UN1996'… There's only one film roll that matches the code in that film, so this should be the one."

Meanwhile, Swan just gave him a surprised look. "W-well, that was fast."

"I… agree," Subconsciously adjusted his mask like a pair of glasses, Raven couldn't help but gave out a sigh. Either way, let's hope it would be the right one."

With that, the trio wasted no time and moved to the projector room.


Entering the projector room, they were greeted by the same room as the one they encountered on the floor below. A table with the projector, a screen on the wall and surrounded by cabinets.

However, the projector was empty and without the film roll needed.

"It's literally the same as before…" Trailing off, Jester walked over to the projector and opened the film roll's case. "Okay, if my memories serve me right, this should be how I load it in…"

Seeing how he worked efficiently with the projector, which looked like something out of the 20s, Swan couldn't help but blink in surprise. "Wait, where the hell did you-"

"I bought an old second-hand film projector a year ago," He interrupted her without shutter, still working on the projector. "And yep, it's for research purposes."

"…Seriously?" Deadpanned, the thief in white couldn't help but sigh. "That again?"

"What again?" Blinking in slight confusion, Raven asked.

"I don't know what kind of novel he's writing, but apparently this became the reason he knew everything."

"Oh," He said. "It would not be that bad, right?"

"It's THAT bad."

"Okay okay, you can stop talking about my research addiction," Sighing, Jester did a double check before straightening up. "Anyway, it's loaded. Ready?"

Seeing the small nod from both of them, he pressed 'play', ready for what kind of memories they were about to see.

Just like how the last floor went, after a small countdown, it showed the main building of Tokyo University. And judging from how many people were recruiting for their own clubs, it seemed to be the first day for freshmen.

Walking up to a lone table, the cameraman lowered him/herself toward them. "Um… Excuse me, I would like to join the Shogi club." From the voice, the trio instantly recognized it as Mitsuyo, just like before.

Surprised by her words, the said person stirred awake and hastily grabbed his pen and tidied himself. "O-oh, just wait a minute, I have to find the application form-" Interrupting in mid-sentence, his head slowly turned toward her with a shocked look. "K-Kagawa?!"

"…Senpai?!" She yelped in surprise, lifting her glasses. "Wha- I uh… never expected to see you here!"

"Same for me," Taking a moment to recollect himself, the person, who was Togo Mamoru, said with a bit of joy and awkwardness. "But hey, congrats on getting into Todai. It wasn't easy, right?"

"Yeah, but at least I'm now here," Feeling a bright smile crept up, Mitsuyo quickly took the application form and fill it. "Here, I guess now I'm a part of the Shogi club, right?"

"Uh… Yeah," Blinked in even more shock, Mamoru had to take a double-take to process what just happened. "But anyway… How about we have lunch or dinner? Like… to catch up with one another."

"Of course!"

With that, the scene quickly changed to a small ramen shop in Kichijoji, with both of them happily eating their ramen.

"W-wow, this is… much better than what I used to," Mitsuyo said, lifting the bowl and hastily drank all of the remaining soup. "Thanks for the meal, Senpai!"

"Well, this is usually where I choose to eat," The senpai out of the duo shrugged, feeling a small giggle escaped his mouth as he watched her. "So Kagawa, didn't you always wanted to be an actress, or a cinematographer? Why did you still want to join the Shogi club?"

"Huh?! O-oh yeah, about that…" Trailing off, she lifted her glasses again, her gaze slowly drifted away from him. "I just… I still haven't beat you in a match, right?"

Eye widened in surprise, it took Mamoru a few moments before nodding. "Y-yeah, back in Shujin… But it's been like two years, I'm surprised that you still remembered it."

"Well, I can be a bit stubborn from time to time…"

"'A bit stubborn'," He giggled, taking a sip of the green tea placed next to the ramen. "That's the understatement of the decade."

"Okay, I can be REALLY stubborn," Puffing up her cheek, Mitsuyo jokingly glared at him for a few moments before winced with the strain. "Ahh… my cheek hurts…"

"I guess you didn't change that much at all," Mamoru Chuckled. "Still the same Oichi as before."

"Of course I am, but…" Trailing off, she looked down at the cup of tea she was holding. "How's the life in Todai been, Senpai? It's been two years, after all."

"Life in Todai…" He looked away to the busy street passing by the two of them, giving out a long breath. "In the end, I had to follow my family's view. So I am studying law, even though I enjoyed nothing from it."

"And other than the few friends I knew from Shogi club, you are the only one I knew," Seeing how Mitsuyo's face dropped at his own recollection, Mamoru hastily put on a smile to reassure her. "S-sorry for bringing the mood down, but at least… you're still the same person I knew."

"But…" Opening her mouth but with nothing came out, Mitsuyo clutched her eyes shut for a second before opening them again. "Isn't that just wasting your time? Wasting your time to meet someone else's expectation…"

"I know," Giving out another sigh, the future Shogi star found himself struggling to keep his mouth from dropping. "So… I am planning to change my major, or just drop out."

"Senpai…"

"It sucks, to be blunt… But maybe-"

"No, it's fine," She Interrupted him, shaking her head before giving him a warm smile, or the closest one she could muster. "I… I'll support you, no matter what."

"Thanks," Nodding, Mamoru stopped for a moment. "Actually… I… want you to call me something other than just 'senpai'. Maybe… uh… my name?"

"Your name?"

"Yeah, like just 'Mamoru', or anything other nicknames just for us."

"Uh…" Pondering, Mitsuyo clutched her eyes shut for a few seconds, before nodded with a small blush. "Okay, so… it's just Mamoru?"

"Anything you want, just no 'senpai', that's all," He said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, cheek reddened.

"…Call me by my name then, Senpa- Mamoru," Hastily corrected her own words, she brushed a part of her hair behind her ear. "I want us to be fair."

Eyes widened, Mamoru just stared at her for a few long seconds before nodded subtly. His blush only intensified. "O-okay then… Mitsuyo."

Flattered, Mitsuyo couldn't help but giggle at his embarrassing state. And Mamoru did the same after a bit, influenced by her infectious giggle. And the footage ended there.

As the silence slowly engulfed the entire room, the sound of the cabinet below opening became much louder than it should be. And the same could be said for Raven's murmuring as well.

"It's the same as what in dad's camera…" He said to himself, but still loud enough to be heard by Jester and Swan.

Holding out his hand but lowered, Jester only gave him a concerned look with Swan. "Raven? You're… fine, right?" He said.

"I am, just… some flashback, that's all," Shaking his head, Raven immediately walked over to the opened cabinet and took the other Knight piece. "Now we are finished with this room, we should move to the next floor."

Even if they wanted to say something, but Raven didn't look like he would like to talk about it. And… there really wasn't that much thing they could do.

Reluctantly, Swan and Jester kept this topic in the back of their mind and exited the room.


After the video ended, the trio continued their exploration, occasionally dealing with a few shadow guards that they couldn't avoid. Or ambush some easy targets for their combat experiences.

"So… I guess we are on to the next floor them," Standing before the locked door toward the next floor, Raven took out the other Knight Piece needed to open this door.

However, instead of the door opening they expected, a small plate opened. And… it looked like some kind of scanner. But the thing was that, it said that it required a 'Hime' piece.

"'Hime'?" Blinked in confusion, Jester turned back with a questioning look. "Uh… there isn't a Hime piece in Shogi, right?"

"Uh… I'm not that knowledgeable about Shogi," Swan said, crossing her arms in thought. "But even I had never heard of a Hime piece before…"

However, Raven pondered for a bit, before a certain piece of memory suddenly surfaced.

"Who gives you permission to kill them? Tell me, who?"

"H-Hime-sama... Why?"

"The shadow captain called Togo's shadow as 'Hime-Sama," He suddenly blurted out, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Back when she saved us from him."

"…Uh yeah, he did say that," Jester agreed, but the realization slowly dawned on him. The same for Swan.

"Since contacting or talking with her shadow in out of the option…" Trailing off, the half-Frenchman could only sigh to himself. As much as he didn't want to say it, but… this might be the only way that they could do it.

"…We might have to bring the real Togo here."

(To be continued.)


Preview:

As the only way slowly trends toward bringing Hifumi into the place, The Fools found themselves out of options.

As the only way slowly trends toward letting Ann accept the offer, The Phantom found themselves out of option.

As Yusuke found out the truth, he is forced into the heart of his master.

As Hifumi's doubt toward herself grew, she is forced to face her Mother's other-self.

Next Chapter:

"Doubt"

Stay Tuned!


So just in time, Chapter 25 is here! Even though it's a bit of a stretch XD.

So first, about the 'Todai' thing Mitsuyo and Mamoru said in the flashback, it is actually the real-life nickname for the Tokyo University. So here's for anyone who's confused about this.

Anyway, so we saw a bit of Hifumi's uh... visions (not like how Akira's visions are). This relates to her Persona and her overall role in the team is, and more of a tease XD.

And after that... the biggest twist of this chapter, even though I guess you all kinda predicted it with how obvious it is. But well, there's still one more twist about her, I'll keep it for now ;).

But in the end, now they kinda had to bring in the real Hifumi in the palace... So we're one step closer to the inevitable awakening of her, even though it'll still be one more chapter before that. So... a bit more wait for it, sorry.

Either way, I hope you all like the story so far, reviews are definitely welcome!