The Aeon Rank 2: To Carry Burdens Together
A vibration in his pocket got Ren out of the admittedly interesting lesson professor Kawakami was giving. With practised ease, the phone was taken out and opened on the relevant group chat.
Makoto – Fujimaru-san, are you available today?
M – Alibaba's Palace is giving us some trouble.
M – I would be grateful if you could give us some pointers.
Fujimaru – I'm free today.
M – Thank you.
M – I know yesterday was rough, so I won't ask anyone to participate if they don't want to.
Ryuji – I'll pass.
R – I can't feel my legs after running from that boulder.
Ann – I'm visiting Shiho today.
A – Sorry.
Y – The school makes us visit a museum today. In addition, I am still sore from yesterday's battles.
Y – Please go on without me.
"How do you feel? You think you can come with them?" Whispered Morgana from under his desk.
"Ready if you are." Confirmed Ren, tapping his answer.
"Don't we have a request pending as well? We could hit two birds at once." Recalled Morgana.
Ren – Morgana and I will be there.
M – Thank you.
F – See you there.
Ren quickly hid the phone and fell back to his attentive attitude the instant Kawakami's attention turned to him. The teacher moonlighting as his maid briefly paused to check on him before resuming her lesson, apparently having missed his little lapse of attention and satisfied from seeing him keep up. She was stressed enough by her jobs and her worries the little slacking off she allowed him to take would affect her classes, paying attention was the least he could do when she was teaching as usual. The rest of day went by with the slowness preceding action, the final lesson stretching in an agony of seconds before the final bell rang. Playing his role of dutiful and ordinary student, Ren moved through the mass of people and took the road to the subway. Sighing privately at the sight of every single seat being taken, as usual, he resolved to stand for the entire journey. Reaching the entrance of the stairs leading to Mementos, the leader of the Phantom Thieves made his usual scouting of the square. Nothing out of the ordinary. Toranosuke, his mentor in rhetoric, was absent, certainly preparing his next speech. Gods know he would need it, given how few were those who took attention only to sling the derogative "no good Tora" nickname at him. Noticing the very recognizable orange hair from afar, Ren sit down on one of the benches and simply waited for Ritsuka and Makoto to join him.
"Hi, Amamiya-kun! Not too tired I hope?" Pepped his senior, taking the sitting place instantly. "Given how Makoto looks like, I almost expected you to have some bags under the eyes."
"Yesterday was a bit hectic." He admitted, the memory of that giant boulder trap still fresh in his mind.
"You are exaggerating. I don't look so bad, do I?... at least I hope so. No one said anything at school."
"I'm pulling your leg." Admitted Ritsuka to Makoto, making her sigh in both tiredness and obvious realization. "Still, Ryuji did look like a zombie. Just a bit of grey powder and false blood, you wouldn't make the difference."
"Let's discuss it down there, alright?" Asked Makoto, to which Ritsuka promptly stood up. "Why sit down if you knew you would stand up so quickly?"
"I'm not passing any occasion to sit down." Replied the other girl with complete seriousness.
A few minutes and a Meta-Nav activation later, they were standing at the entrance of Mementos, where they organized a small briefing led by Mona.
"Alright, today we have two objectives. The first is our target, Nozomi Odo. He is a store manager stealing money from the checkout before accusing his part-time workers, blackmailing them into paying the amount he stole."
"Lovely." Deadpanned Ritsuka, features hidden behind a makeshift mask she had taken out of her bag.
"The second is to learn from Master how to better anticipate our enemies' action." Mona sighed, ears dropping. "I can't believe we choose that nickname in the end… Anyway, during our excursion in Alibaba's Palace, we exhausted ourselves in battle too much to progress further in the pyramid. We might be able to avoid many of them in our next visit, but it's for the best we improve as much as we can."
"There are only have us four, so there is no backup in case anything goes wrong. Fortunately, all of us save for Master can heal. Unless the target is far below our usual exploration, we should be fine." Resumed Queen.
Master nodded, hands on the weapons she carried. While they would prefer not to see her engage in close combat if possible, Joker found it more careful to grant her a melee as well as a ranged weapon, both courtesy of Iwai. Though he did not expect her to have very precise orders for her replicas that cost him a good chunk of money to be made so quickly. Money she casually reimbursed him immediately, making both Mona and himself raise a few eyebrows. They didn't investigate it yet, first because she didn't do anything that would warrant it overtly, second because he hoped she would come clean by herself. That aside, they were far more interesting than he expected. For her melee weapon she chose to use a telescopic spear, arguing she preferred the longer range to compensate for her lesser physical prowess.
Her gun, which she admitted to have some experience with already, was a Calico M950 submachine gun with a special top mounted helical magazine. Iwai had been quite grumpy about it, saying the extra weight would screw over the center of gravity and that no one knowing their stuff would actually use such a weapon, but Master had insisted for it to be made exactly like that. And by "some experience", it was clear she either practised in the range a lot or had to use it in real situation, because her precision was much better than that of Panther.
"Alright. Do you guys have a specific order in mind?" She asked, making Joker think for a bit.
"Let's tackle on the target first."
"I agree. Once it's done, we can come back to the upper layers and practice more safely." Supported Queen.
Mona agreed as well, and soon they rode on the path to the lower depths. The unusual emptiness of the van allowed the Phantom Thieves to get more comfortable, with Mona focusing on scanning and Joker on driving, Queen and Master stroke up a conversation.
"What's posing you problems in Alibaba's Palace?"
"The Shadows are more dangerous than in the previous ones. The most worrisome we fought yet is a sort of Anubis. It has no weaknesses, and its light and dark spells can render someone unconscious instantly if it connect. We had to retreat rather than risk a prolonged confrontation."
"So that's why you want to learn how to anticipate better. You can't risk getting hit at all."
"Exactly. I understand it is mainly a lack of experience on our part, but any tip you can give us is welcome."
Master pondered, closing her amber eyes as she hummed for a bit.
"You're right that it mostly boils down to experience. But there are ways to predict your opponent's actions, even if they are stronger and faster than you. In fact, it may be advantageous if your opponent is stronger."
"It sounds rather counter-intuitive."
"I known, but it makes sense once you have seen it for yourself. Though it also depends on what you are fighting. If your opponent is simply strong, you must adapt differently than with one who is both strong and skilled."
"That one is rather obvious, don't you think?" Pointed out Morgana, and Joker internally nodded.
"Not in the way you may think." Master's fingers tapped on the seat. "You do aikido, right? Using opponent's momentum and that sort of stuff. A strong but unskilled opponent will charge right at you. But against a good one, let's say one who either know martial arts or whose body or fighting style makes it invalid. What do you do?"
"Observe and learn?" Suggested Joker, which earned a shrug from the orange-haired girl.
"Good enough if you are certain you can defend, sure. But if a single attack slipping through is fatal, like with that Anubis you mentioned, you can't rely on simply trying to react. You must be able to see where they will attack. Even if you aren't sure how they will do it, it'll leave you with the best chances to get through."
"Do you have perhaps an example in mind? Right now, I have trouble conceptualizing how it is possible." Said Queen, a bit perplexed.
"Remember the fight you let me command, the first time we went to Mementos together?"
"Vividly. You did as if you knew exactly what would happen."
"Part of it was how much weaker the enemies were than you." Admitted Master. "I did apply the principle I explained however."
Still focusing on avoiding the Shadows around, Joker took the opportunity of a railway going deeper into the section to think back to that fight. One of the things that stood out the most was how little he had been involved. His senior barely made use of him and instead focused almost all of the lifting on Skull, Phanther and Fox. He had discussed about it with Mona, and in the end their theories converged together: she wanted to demonstrate she doesn't need to rely on him. Usually he was the one issuing commands when needed, but it wasn't all. His versatility in using Persona made Joker the cornerstone of the team, something everyone was aware of, and he either complemented the strengths of the others or covered whatever weaknesses they had. Yet in that fight, all he did was fire a single bullet, something anyone, even perhaps Master herself could have done had she been in possession of a gun… Joker focused on that, his intuition whispering he was on the right track. He fired a single bullet. To what end? To destroy the Shadow menacing Panther. Why had the Shadow been in range of attacking Panther in the first place? Because there had been no one to block its path. Skull had been focused on his target. Fox was firing at the Shadow, and it could have destroyed it. Why didn't it happen? Right, it used one of his owns as a living shield. And while Fox ended in just the right place to destroy the sleeping angelic knight, he did let Panther defenceless. If Joker hadn't been ready to shoot at Master's order… The pieces al fell into place.
"You deliberately created a weak point for the enemy to exploit, and turned it into a trap."
Master whistled appreciatively.
"Spot on."
"For real?" Mona almost strangled himself, the car making a small hiccup. "That's your way of doing it? Isn't that insanely dangerous?"
"I'm not sure I follow. That sounds like a basic feint." Asked Queen, showing once again her straightforward nature.
"Feinting is feigning a weakness and hoping your opponent falls for it. What Master is suggesting is leaving a very real hole open in our defences, so the enemy will try to use it when they notice it."
"And because of that, you can anticipate the enemy's action and act proactively instead of simply reacting…" Understood Queen at last, torn between incredulity and understanding. "That's insane. Aren't you risking more terrible consequences if that doesn't work? How do one even come up with such tactic?"
"You can't always compensate for your own weakness."
A chill ran through Joker's spine, and a brief look in the rear-view mirror confirmed his teammate was feeling much the same. Master's voice had changed in that instant. Wistful and cynical, her face closed, such a vastly different attitude the whiplash almost made him ride straight into the wrong path.
"Wise words. It is satisfying to see my Master erudite in the art of war."
The awkward mood didn't improve with the Shadow interjecting, the red horseman appearing physically and galloping aside the Mona car.
"Is something the matter?" Asked Master to her pet Shadow through the car window.
"I can feel several reflections of myself further ahead, bound by masks. I request youbring us to them."
"He is right. I can feel a large group of Shadow on the north-east." Confirmed Mona.
If the road continued the way Joker expected, it would be large detour, and they still weren't came close to the floor their target was in. Joker informed them of the fact without asking questions directly, trying to entice the Shadow into revealing his intentions.
"Fear not, Trickster. This endeavour shall be rewarded, you have my word."
He looked at Master, who was starring at the horseman with a sharp, questioning gaze. After a few seconds she nodded.
"I trust him. Do you think we can do it?"
Wasn't that an interesting question. Technically, yes, they weren't exactly on a time limit beside the Reaper, and they barely entered the floor in the first place, making that point a faraway danger. Some of the Shadows here could pose them a problem if they were ambushed, but they were a rarity and Joker was riding carefully following Mona scans. The question was, in the end: could he trust the Shadow? And by extension, did he trust Master, who was trusting the Shadow?
"It better be worth it." Said Joker before pushing the accelerator.
Just as expected, the path they took deviated from where the stairs leading to a deeper level, and they arrived in a large square surface where multiple groups of Shadows walked.
"A treasure chest! I can smell it!" Excitedly announced Mona.
Sure enough, Joker could see in the corner of the room, behind the Shadows, a locked dark gold chest resting upon geometrical pedestals. The reward announced by the horseman, perhaps? In any case, they would need to fight the Shadows firsts, as there wasn't enough room to avoid them. Three groups, two of them patrolling and the last one standing before the chest. A tricky situation, but not one unmanageable. The only danger was the possibility they were all strong Shadows, but Mona's scan didn't indicate anything of the sort.
"My reflections are protecting the treasure. The rest is insignificant."
"… He is right. The Shadows patrolling are very weak, we can probably take them all at once." Regrettably confirmed Mona.
"Let me go alone. I'll handle the Shadows of the chest." Proposed Master.
Queen and Joker looked at each others, unsure.
"Are you sure? You might be alone against multiple opponents." Warned Mona.
"I don't think it's going to be a fight. But just in case…"
To their stupefaction she opened the car door and jumped upon the massive black horse, catching the reins and adjusting her position with the ease of past experiences and her Shadow repositioning itself to leave more room upon the mount.
"You engage the walking Shadows, I rush past them. If anything happens, Eligor should retreat fast enough."
"… It could work." Concluded Joker after a bit of thinking.
Whenever he had a Persona inside him identical to a Shadow he faced in battle, he found himself able to negotiate much more easily. On the other hand, they still needed to down and surround them before they would accept to engage in dialogue, and he wasn't sure Master would be able to do so alone. Or perhaps would she? After all, it wasn't like him who had the Persona inside him, her Shadow was present physically. All in all, it was an opportunity to study how she approached Shadows alone, something they didn't find the occasion before.
"I'm not sure whether this is dangerous recklessness or calculated strategy, but I'll trust you this time." Sighed Queen, giving up on holding Master back. "But you must retreat if anything looks like it's going wrong. No playing heroes, alright?"
She nodded seriously, and Joker focused on the plan. With a sudden burst of speed Mona rammed into the closest nest of Shadows, stunning them and alerting the others which converged on their position. As they stepped down from the car so Mona could transform back, the massive horseman and its passenger rushed over the other side, avoiding the main fighting and moving toward the other mass of Shadows. Trusting Master to manage, he focused on the enemies before him. Five Apsara, three Koppa Tengu, three Mokoi and a lone Jack Frost. Mona had been right, it was no more than small fries.
"Persona! No holds barred!" Yelled Queen as she jumped on Johanna and accelerated.
The angry biker slammed into several of the Apsara and instantly pulverized them, coming back to pass the baton to Joker who followed with Arsene, unleashing a torrent of shadows dissolving Jack Frost and the Koppa Tengu. Before the Mokoi could act Zorro zipped by and with a twist of rapier conjured several gusts of wind, striking their weakness and destroying them.
"Please, mercy! I have so much to live for!" The lonely remaining Apsara threw itself at their feet, begging.
Ignoring her for an instant, Joker checked beyond to see what was happening on the other side. Master was still on her mount, and while he couldn't hear was what said she was apparently engaged in discussion with the enemy Shadows, consisting of four identical version of her own. Returning to his willing hostage, he decided to milk the situation for what is what worth.
"Give me some mon-"
"Of course, here, take this! And this as well! Just take it all and leave me be!"
Joker didn't even finish his request before being showered with what was apparently all of the Shadows wordly possessions, totalling two thousand and six hundred yen and two soul drops. Not the worst of haul for such a feeble Shadow, which he let escape without more fuss.
"Done. Let's see how Master is faring." Asserted Queen.
The three of them ran closer, with the orange-haired girl making a reassuring head sign at their approach, and they caught up with the end of one of the Shadows' speech.
"… agreement. We will obey, O kin."
Master slid down the horse and stood aside the team as the Shadows started to walk closer to each others.
"What did we miss?" Asked Joker, eyeing the identical creatures.
"With Eligor present, it took very little to make them shed their masks." Said his senior, more relaxed than he expected as she… held her left hand toward the Shadows? "Negotiating took a bit more time, but they agreed."
"Agreed to wha-"
Mona's question was cut by the Shadows all dissolving into a black tar like substances, before it started slowly coalescing into a single mass. At the same time the elaborate tattoo upon the girl's hand shone brightly, as if to contrast the bubbling dark matter.
"What is happening? What do they do?" Frantically asked the cat jumping on the spot.
"Fusing together." Dropped Master, seemingly focusing intensely as the tattoo upon her hand shone brightly.
"Shadows can fuse? YOU are fusing them?" Gawked Mona, more and more panicked as the black mass took a more define form.
"Apparently."
"Apparently? Do you even know what you are doing?" Questioned Queen, her fists ready for a fight.
"Please. Trust me." She whispered before falling silent, the red light of her tattoo increasing in intensity.
The biker was hesitating but didn't try to interfere, probably fearing the repercussions of unthinking actions. The light from the tattoo dimmed, then disappeared. The familiar form of the red horseman and his mount emerged from the tar, the horse snorting excitedly. It looked identical in every respect to the creature it once was, down to the smallest detail, and yet…
"What the… what happened? What is this thing? It's nothing like before! I can't get a read! I'm not sure it's even a Shadow anymore!" Yelled Mona, on the verge of panic.
Joker made no rash move, waiting to see where it would go but keeping his hands on his gun and knife, just in case. The horseman advanced, extracting itself from the remnants of the tar which dissolved in Mementos' winds. Through his third eye, the Phantom Thief was certain of a single thing only: whereas it had been barely stronger than the regular Shadows of the same kind before, the entity before them was now vastly more powerful, perhaps even more than the Shadows in Alibaba's Palace. Twenty meters away, fifteen meters, ten meters… It stopped at ten meters, with Mona and Queen taking defensive postures.
"You have my gratitude for restoring me, even as partially."
The horseman and its mount bowed, its voice full of even greater deference than before. The orange-haired girl approached, her visage neutral, avoiding the hand Queen extended to catch her, until she was a single meter away from the creature.
"Do you still accept our contract?" She asked in a whisper so faint they barely heard it.
"You know our answer, Fujimaru Ritsuka. I, Eligos, fifteenth of the Demon Gods, have sworn allegiance to you and you alone, my Master."
The red tattoo gleamed briefly, and the entity dispersed into red volutes that converged into the stylized shape, in an eerily similar way as it did the very first time it happened. With a heavy sigh, she turned back to join them. Her steps heavy and her breath deep, she stood before the group before speaking up.
"Eligor told me he could become stronger by fusing with Shadows of his own kind."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Asked Joker.
"He wasn't certain it would be possible in the first place, and only told me once they remembered themselves." She explained calmly. "I barely managed to convince the Shadows, and waiting any longer would have caused them to drift further apart."
"You still shouldn't have done it like this. Not without speaking about it first, and certainly not without everyone present."
That last part upon which Queen insisted visibly struck their comrade, making it clear she was aware of her fault. Would Joker have approved? Perhaps. Though even if he would have considered the possibility, he was certain the others would have refused. He could not reasonably speak about them of the Velvet Room, nor of the fusion process he witnessed within to create stronger Persona, the parallel and a gut feeling between the two being the reason he did not interfere in the process.
"It was a gamble. It could only work with enough of them, and I couldn't wait for another chance that could never come."
Joker nodded. Usually the Eligor Shadows only appeared alone with lesser Shadows or by two alone. He never saw a group of three, and the four of today were nothing short of a miracle in a twisted sense.
"But why? Why take such risks? Was it that important?" Insisted Queen, and Master shook her head.
"Because I can't get stronger. And I can't let my weakness drag you down."
The admission suddenly painted the whole event in a new light, and Joker shared an understanding look with the others. The Phantom Thieves were getting better, slowly but surely, with each excursion, each battle, their Persona became more powerful and subsequently strengthening themselves. But not Ritsuka. She had no Persona, preventing her from coming into the Palaces with them, and relied on the Shadow whose strength had shown limits already as they descended into Mementos.
"Fujimaru-san…" Mona empathized, unsurprisingly. Joker noticed his growing self-doubts as Queen proved to be a much better combat scanner than him on top of being just as efficient in healing.
"I can't fault you for wanting to help. But you must remember we are a team. Even if things become difficult, we can face them together." Insisted Queen.
"You are one of us." Confirmed Joker.
"… You're right." She walked to them, with apologetic and honest remorse. "I'm sorry. I won't happen again."
"Apologies accepted." Said Queen, relaxing her posture. "Let's do the request and get out of here, alright?"
"Let's open that chest first!" Insisted Mona, and soon the lock gave way to the lockpick Joker was carrying. "Ooooh, this looks nice!"
A Homunculus? Now that was a prize worth coming here. The small effigy could protect anyone from suffering the overwhelming, instant-kill like effects of powerful dark and light spells like those of the Anubis. Retreating quickly back to the Mona car, they descended to the next floor, then passed the limits to the next area, where Mona confirmed the presence of their target. Sure enough, the swirly cyclone of energy signalling a forming Palace was found and traversed, leaving them face to face with the culprit, a middle-aged man with an unpleasantly false smile.
"Welcome, welcome! How may I help you, ladies and gents of the Phantom Thieves?"
It only took a few exchange of words to see the depth of the man's corruption, someone treating his workers as properties he could exploit, abuse and discard as will. Soon enough he realized they were here for him and transformed into a white armored lancer.
"Outlaws who dare trespass in my sanctuary…"
"Run him down, Eligos!" Shouted Master before Shadow Odo could finish his speech.
In a flash the red horseman appeared and struck so fast Joker barely had the time to process it, its spear piercing the Shadow's and sending it reeling back with a deep, nasty wound.
"This much damage? Even though it resists physical attacks?" Exclaimed Queen with shock.
The red horseman disappeared after striking, leaving the field open as the enemy stood up, a murderous glint in its eyes. It ignored the nuclear blast from Queen and the wind of Mona as it seemed to focus a visible amount of energy. A charge, meaning a powerful physical assault! And he had no idea how strong it would be. Should they guard, or… remembering the words of his senior sparked a new decision.
"Mona, Master, spread out!" He ordered, and fortunately Mona and Queen's astonishment quickly gave way to understanding.
The ones he designated went out of the way, leaving Queen alone the closest in front of the Shadow. Who despite looking murderously at Master, instead directed its attention toward the most vulnerable target in a heartbeat…
"Eligos!"
"Johanna!"
"Arsene!"
"Zorro!"
The massive horseman appeared in front of Queen, taking the hit in her stead without flinching. At the same time Johanna and Arsene appeared, their combined elemental assaults pushing the Shadow back before Zorro struck with his signature lucky punch, which connected and sent Shadow Odo on the ground.
"Let's wipe 'em out!" Shouted Makoto as the Persona wielding Phantom Thieves became blurs of speed and violence, beating down their enemy until it stopped moving at all, at which moment Queen stood up and proudly took a pose.
"Fists of Justice!"
The thrill of victory was followed by the dissolution of Shadow Odo into his human form, before disappearing after being properly scolded for his crimes, leaving what looked like Chinese desserts behind.
"Your 'All-Out-Attack' is awesome." Said Master appreciatively. "I can't get enough of it no matter how many time I see it."
"I'll admit I tend to stop thinking and just go with the flow once it starts…" Sheepishly admitted Queen. "And, thank you for protecting me."
"No problems. I'm glad it worked as well as it did." Smiled the orange-haired girl.
"How did you know he would target Queen, Joker?" Asked Mona with curiosity.
"He wouldn't pass an opportunity to bully someone looking defenceless."
"A typical bully, alright. Nicely done. It seems this strategy can really work out."
"You guys really get the hang of things quickly." Complimented his senior and stretching.
"Don't expect us to forget how your Shadow almost destroyed the target. I'm quite sure you could have done it all by yourself." Pointed out Queen.
"It's not a Shadow." Interjected Mona. "Not anymore, at least. I don't know what it is, but it's a separate kind of being."
"Honestly? Just call it a demon. That's what it calls itself, after all." Proposed Master.
"I'm not sure I'm ready to accept the possible existence of demons yet… In any case, we did the request. Why not return at the entrance?"
"I agree."
"Same."
"On to the surface then." Concluded Joker.
The trip was fortunately uneventful, and they stretched at the entrance, a recommendation of Ryuji to avoid more cramps than necessary. Makoto went to Ritsuka's side, and Ren noticed she was hesitating in her steps.
"Fujimaru-san, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"I don't mean to pry, but… why do you want to assist us directly so badly? You could have helped us in other ways. What is pushing you to risk yourself to this point?"
Fujimaru didn't answer at first, packing her bag in silence before she spoke.
"I met someone, two years ago. When we met, she threw me out of the room. I slept through her presentation, so I can't blame her. Later we worked together for a bit, and she took every chance to remind me she was my superior. And yet… I started to understand her. Why she was like that. And she was beginning to warm up to me. I thought we would maybe become friends"
Her voice was flat, as neutral as it could be. And then, it cracked.
"She died. No one ever praised her. No one ever acknowledged her efforts. No one ever accepted her. She died, and all I could do was watch. I know I should not feel responsible. There was nothing I could do. Nothing… anyone… could have done…"
She closed her bag and put it on her back, still not facing them. Makoto covered her mouth with her hand, a horrified expression on her face mirrored by Morgana's own. Even Ren couldn't help but shudder.
"Fujimaru-san… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"Don't, Makoto-san. It's not your fault." She sighed, wearily. "Perhaps I should do as the Principal says and see Doctor Maruki…"
"He is a bit weird, but he means well." Ren encouraged her.
The Meta-Nav activated, and they returned to reality.
"Fujimaru-san." He called her as she was about to leave. This time, she turned around, head leaning down and eyes hidden. "We're here if you need us. Don't hesitate to ask, alright?"
"… Thank you, Amamiya-kun. I'll… I'll remember it."
He felt as if she was finally starting to open to them, even if only bit by bit.
Confidant: Ritsuka Fujimaru
Arcana: Aeon
Rank: 2
New ability: Groundwork for Survival
Allows you to see which team member will be targeted by the next enemy action on the analysis screen.
More chains broke within Ren's mind as he watched her leave. The three Phantom Thieves stood together in the subway stairs, deep in thoughts, until Morgana broke the silence.
"We should wait until Fujimaru-san speak herself of that to the others."
"Yes." Said Makoto and Ren in unisson.
Another chapter so quickly? Evidently yes, because I spent my whole weekend writing it when I thought I would do other things. I swear this story is possessing me. The next one won't be so quick to come, but I'm definitely fired up to continue at a good pace. Once again, a large thanks to everyone supporting this story!