BRIAN

I closed the door to Kiriko's apartment after helping her get to bed. She was sleeping like a kid… full of energy my ass. But I can't say that I was particularly surprised, she still had to get used to the Metaverse, being exhausted every time the switch happened was fairly normal. I just hoped that she would get used to it quicker than I did, but she was showing some good adaptability, so I wasn't terribly concerned.

I walked up to my own apartment, intent on searching online for more informations about my next target, when Yoshida-san called out to me and handed me a box, with my name on it. Obviously I hadn't given my address to anyone, which meant that it could be only one person.

Thanking the man, I went into my living room, tearing away at the box. Inside, protected by some polystyrene, were some advanced looking ear pieces, alongside a letter. Opening it, my suspicions were revealed to be correct.

Helloooo Knight! In light of what you told me yesterday, I decided to reward your honesty by sending you some top of the generation ear pieces! They're all connected to their own frequencies, sound is crispy clear and almost impossible to hack to boot! Use them however you see fit with Kiriko Kamori, to improve your communication. I'm sending a couple of spares just in case you decide to further expand your little team. Don't ever go around and tell that I'm not a fair boss!

Of course, once you finish reading, destroy this letter. I wish you the best of luck!

S.

They even knew her name… damn, I really had no hope to even try and lie about it, didn't I? My boss was scary, their web of information was seemingly endless…

I pocketed two of the pieces, shredded the letter and threw it into the fireplace, with the intention of giving one of the former to my companion later when she'd wake up. Then I sat down in front of my computer and booted it up, starting simple with just Norumi Mikoto's name through the archives that my boss offered me.

I didn't find much, except for some criminal records. She suffered from an obsessive disorder, which made her latch onto anyone that showed her genuine kindness, to the point of stalking, and outright killing whenever this person was in any perceived danger, on top of doing whatever this person wanted. Almost like a real life yandere.

That was an advantage, if I could find out who her current obsession was. I resolved to poking around when I would meet her Shadow face to face. By playing my cards right I could even avoid wasting time fighting her. It was fool's hope, of course, but one can only dream...

All right… she should have gone to Hanamura on that same day. From my, admittedly, limited research, the Hashimoto had complete control over the Kanezaka police department… but the one in the neighboring town was still a work in progress, which meant that things were bound to be slower.

If luck was on my side, it would mean that her interrogation would be delayed by at the very least a day. So, with some haste, there was the possibility that Kiriko and I could even intercept the woman before she even gained access to the prisoner. I tapped my fingers on the table, mulling the new informations inside my head. Or… maybe I could let her do it?

Change her heart after the deed is done would mean more to extrapolate from her after kicking her ass. I shook my head, dispelling the idea.

No point, if I wanted to know more about the Yōkai, I could just ask Kiriko. And speaking of her, in her black and white vision of the world, she would have never allowed that. I exhaled through my nose, feeling irritation at being blocked that way. Having a partner was advantageous, sure, but it also meant that I had to deal with her feelings and opinions, which hadn't been an issue up until then, since I always worked either alone or with like minded people.

My boss would have said something about "broadening my horizons", but did it had to be so complicated?! For me at least, my social skills were still terrible.

The rest of the informations about the target were mostly useless, so I shut everything down, reclining back against my chair, my thoughts wondering to Kiriko one more time.

Her… "recruitment" was unorthodox at best, her sense of morality and justice would have been both an advantage and a detriment, but her talent was undeniable. There were plenty of pros and cons to the entire situation, but hopefully, after everything was said and done, it would have been the end of our… partnership. I always believed that I worked better alone, after all.

I exhaled, looking at the clock on my phone. Time in the Metaverse flowed faster than in the real world, which meant that we came back early in the evening. It had been a couple of hours since then and it was almost dinner time. I got up with the intention of making something, when someone knocked at my door. Opening it revealed the slightly disheveled woman that invaded my thoughts these last couple of days. She looked kind of panicked as well, but she relaxed upon seeing me.

"Hey Brian… I really collapsed today huh? Not my greatest moment…"

She laughed a bit, more than likely self-conscious.

"I expected that. You'll get used to it soon, I promise. Want to come in? I was about to make myself something to eat".

She perked Immediately.

"If you'll have me, of course!"

I smiled, having correctly guessed her to be someone driven by her stomach.

"Good thing that you passed by. We should continue our conversation from yesterday, right?"

She nodded and walked in, a slight spring in her step. I couldn't help but wonder why…

KIRIKO

For the second time in just as many days, I woke up after completely draining myself of any energy that I had. I recovered a lot more quick that time, meaning that I was getting accustomed to the Metaverse… especially considering the fact that Brian moped the floor with me not long before.

Honestly, the fact that I was back on my feet as fast as I did was more than enough proof of how quick I was adapting, in his words.

Speaking of him, I analyzed my situation fast. I was knocked out. Brian obviously would have preferred going at it alone. I started fearing that I had been left behind. Without even bothering to fix myself, I bolted out of my door and knocked on his. Once more, I was being irrational, I knew that. But the fear of being abandoned into this new reality was too great for rational thought.

When he opened it, I was massively relieved. He hadn't left me for fend for myself, good. I felt even better when he invited me to eat with him. More food made by him? Sign me in, right away!

Dinner was a simple affair, just some beef stew, but goddamn was it delicious! Yup, the other day wasn't a fluke, that was the confirmation. We sat down after eating and prepared to resume our conversation.

"All right then, where do you want to…"

I cut in sharply.

"You shot me earlier. But you said that I wouldn't have died. Explain".

I was still a teensy tiny bit salty about that. Just a little.

"Right. That. Okay then, do you remember when I told you that the Metaverse was a cognitive world, correct?"

I nodded, remembering the explanation clearly.

"Our cognition as Persona Users does have an impact on it, even if it is muted, since we don't have Shadows anymore. We can't change things around us, but what we owe is free game. Our weapons and outfits, for the most part. In the former's case, we decide when our blades and rounds are dull or lethal, while in the latter's we change how Shadows perceive us on a physical level. Useful in ways that you'll know later on".

Riiiiight. So, even if he did hit me with his bullets, I wouldn't have found myself with a hole in my forehead. It also explained why Shindo Ōkusa hadn't been cut into ribbons. I blinked lightly, one more question bounding in my head.

"What happens if we kill someone's Shadow? Shindo's just kind of… disappeared after you threatened it".

"Killing someone's Shadow doesn't directly cause a person's death, if that's what you're wondering. But what it does, is destroy everything that makes someone… them. Their desires, dreams, objectives… all gone. They would become a vegetable, incapable of even living by themselves. This is a state called 'Mental Arrest'. Death usually comes right after".

Oh… wow. That… sounded like a terrible way to go. It dawned on me just… how much power the two of us actually had. We could literally do whatever we wanted and never face the consequences of it. It was a scary thought… the amount of responsibility needed to even have a Persona was astounding. I asked myself how he could cope with it all… but I knew that he wasn't going to be answering that anytime soon.

"What happened to him, then?"

"By not killing the Shadow and forcing it to go back to him, we replaced Ōkusa's dark desires with an overwhelming need to apologize and make up for what he did. It's the safe way to change someone's heart".

So, there was a way to not kill them all. Good, I was getting anxious for a moment. I had already seen the result of our handiwork, of course, but the sudden spike in anxiety that I had wasn't helping matters.

Better to change the subject.

"Yesterday you mentioned 'special Shadows'. Care to elaborate?"

"That's… slightly more complicated. I'm not going to give all the details right away, as to not overwhelm you, but the gist of it is this: sometimes a person's desires become so big and twisted that they grow and they take actual, physical shape in the Metaverse. Depending on what those desires are, they can spawn either a Palace or a Jail. The rest will come when we come across either of the two".

I tilted my head sideways.

"When, exactly?"

"Soon enough. For example, I know from reliable sources that there is a Palace in Hanamura, more than likely belonging to the leader of the Hashimoto, whoever they are".

Sources? Who? When did he get that bit of information? Questions after questions started piling up… but they weren't Metaverse related, unfortunately.

"I think we can wrap it for today. Better to tune in early, we have to reach Hanamura tomorrow in a timely manner. I'll have to get some bus tickets or something…"

"No need for that".

He hummed, curious, while I grinned.

"We can use my motorcycle! It's both faster and cheaper, I promise. Maybe not as comfortable, but we get the good with the bad, you know?"

I see his eyes widen for a moment, but not in surprise. Was that... panic? It was gone as soon at it arrived.

"I see. Well, that sounds perfect, to be honest. When do you want to meet then? Your bike, your rules".

There was something he wasn't telling me... like usual, I would add. I decided to per it go, for the moment.

"Hanamura is just an hour away from here, so we can take it easy. Send me a message after lunch and we can go, how about that?"

He blinked, almost as if remembering something.

"Right, we do have to exchange numbers, do we? How come that never came up…?"

That… was a good fucking question. Even just beyond the Metaverse stuff, I still wanted to keep in touch, even after…

After… he left. The thought… bothered me a lot more than it had any right to. But I rationalized quickly, by telling myself that of course I was going to be upset about a friend leaving. Nothing wrong or weird about that.

Snapping out of it with a shake of my head, we exchanged numbers and bid goodnight with a smile and a wave. As I made it back in my apartment, showered and lay back down on my bed, I started sorting out my rampant thoughts.

Metaverse, cognition, Personas, Shadows, Brian… thinking about him brought another issue to the surface.

We were going to go to Hanamura the day after. On the same bike, likely he'll have to hug my midriff to keep his balance. Poor guy was not going to be very happy about that, the way he struggled to communicate properly wasn't lost on me, after all. The way I always had to force the words out of his mouth was plenty of evidence.

That was going to be awkward, I could already tell.

BRIAN

The morning after came without too much fanfare. I slept in a little bit that day, knowing that I would need the extra energy to handle the entirety of what Kiriko and I would have to deal with.

Kiriko and I… thinking about it still made me uneasy. It would keep on making me feel like that for quite a while after. I really wasn't used to anything that had been happening on those days. And I had no idea how much things were going to change not too much later.

Lunch was also a quick affair, after which I sent a message to my temporary partner and asked if she was ready. Her answer came only a couple of minutes later, in the form of a thumbs up emoji.

The two of us met on the corridor and descended together, after which she told me to wait while she retrieved her motorcycle. Once she was gone, it hit me what was about to happen.

I was going to share a bike with another person. Even if said person was a… "friend", it still gave me a tiny bit of anxiety. Up until that moment, the last time I was so close to another human being while not in combat would have been…

I managed to snap out of it when I heard the rumbling of Kiriko's vehicle, just as I was about to start smelling the blood once again. I didn't want to think about it anymore… I refused to think about it. Not at that moment, when my full focus was required.

When she arrived, she gazed at my face. Her concern was obvious even through the helmet that she wore.

"Hey… are you okay? We don't have to use this, you know? We can always take the bus, like you wanted…"

I took a deep breath and climbed behind her.

"It's okay. This way is faster… and the sooner we start, the sooner we can save your people".

Appealing to her sense of justice was the way to get her to do what I wanted, and it worked like a charm. I could easily imagine her expression hardening as she nodded resolutely, handing me a spare helmet to don on my head and revving her bike, before finally speeding away. Predictably, I had to hold onto her to not fall off, which caused a spike in my anxiety…

But I didn't let go, even if I wanted to.

While we went, I closed my eyes and pictured what we would have to do after reaching Hanamura. Go to the police station, see if Norumi Mikoto was still present, check whether she was interrogating Kiriko's Yōkai friend, go to the Metaverse, defeat her Shadow, learn the name of our next target and their location, then finally move on from there, depending on how tired we would be after the fight.

While musing on our game plan, the time passed relatively quickly, I even managed to momentarily forget about my excessive closeness to my companion. Which was good, since I was two seconds away from freaking out, to be completely honest.

An unnatural reaction, even for my standards. Something that would dawn on me only much later, indicating just how differently I saw Kiriko, when compared to everyone else.

We reached our destination after approximately one hour of constant driving, and I must admit… the town was really, really pretty. Small, for sure, but quiet and cozy. But it was just an illusion, masking its corrupt underbelly. I remember reading about Hanamura before accepting my contract, particularly about the Shimada clan, which held the helms of the entire neighborhood, including Kanezaka.

A sigh distracted me from my thoughts, bringing my attention back to a smiling Kiriko.

"Man, this place brings back so many memories! You see that over there? That's arcade. Me and Genji would spend hours inside, playing games and challenging each other's high scores when we should have been training. My mother and Hanzo were always so mad at us, each and every time…"

Her expression turned nostalgic.

"I wonder where they are now…"

I let her have her moment while I checked the MetaNav. Norumi Mikoto was close by, but first, we had to find the police station and make confirmations about the prisoner. Preferably to the directly interested.

I turned back to see my partner back to the land of the living.

"Ready to go now?"

She nodded.

"Yup, I'm ready. Where to, oh leader?"

Her grin ticked me off, but I let it slide that time.

"Police station. You're going to go in ask if you can talk to your friend. If they do, go talk to them and… tell them what you want, I don't really care. Nothing about the Metaverse, obviously. If they say no… then that means they're being interrogated".

"Right. This way then, we gotta hurry!"

She started running and I fell into place behind. Her concern must have been through the roof, which is why it had been so easy to make her follow my pace. And now I had to match hers, which was a hell of a lot quicker than I thought. I just hoped that this Yōkai member was still intact, otherwise…

I'd have to contain her, lest she lost her patience again and screw up something else.

KIRIKO

My worst fear came into fruition. I asked at the station if I could see my friend who had been arrested two days earlier. They denied me, saying that she was currently unavailable, and to come back later. It took all of my willpower to not shout in the officer's face, aided by the memory of Yoshida-san and Akari getting into trouble because of my temper.

I trembled in anger while getting out, where Brian was waiting for me.

"She's getting interrogated! I don't think we have much time, we have to hurry! I know this girl, she's strong, but not invincible! Come on, let's get a move on and…!"

He pushed a finger against my lips, shutting me up. His eyes were steely.

"What's her name?"

"M-Maya. Her name is… Maya".

He nodded, with a small smile.

"We'll save her. I promise. But I need you to calm down. Breathe…"

I followed his instructions, breathing in and out like I had been taught. It didn't make me feel better, far from it, but at least I was calmer.

When I looked back up thank Brian, he was already moving towards an alley, motioning with his head to follow him. What the hell was that…?

First he calmed me down like an old master, then the next moment he was back to clamming up. I really didn't get him, at all. But it didn't matter at the moment, Maya needed us… and I was not going to hang back and let her suffer.

I reached my friend back in our chosen spot and inputted the "Overworld" coordinates, alongside Norumi Mikoto's name. The world shifted around us, signaling our entrance into the Metaverse.

The station was only a couple of blocks away, so our walk back was short. While we went, Brian handed me something. An ear piece.

"Gift from my boss. It should allow us to communicate while we're apart. Haven't tested them yet, but they should work".

This boss again… I should really ask more about this mysterious person. But there were more important things to worry about.

Once we were in range, in a flash of blue, Knight and Miko were ready to fight.

He looked at me, with just a touch of concern.

"Are you sure that you're okay? You know that I'm not to judge you if you want to sit this one out…"

I smiled, feeling happy that he cared enough to ask me that.

"No worries Knight! I've got your back!"

He nodded and we entered the crater where the police station is positioned in the real world, seeing Norumi Mikoto's Shadow.

"Huh? Who's there?! A couple more worthless worms getting in my way? How annoying, interrupting me right in the middle of executing the orders of my beloved…"

Beloved? What the hell… I turned towards Knight, only to see that he wasn't in the slightest bit confused.

Annoyance filtered through me. He kept all the informations to himself! Again!

It was at that moment that I truly started realizing what it meant working with him. And also the moment where I decided to shut that shit down as fast as possible. Possibly right after dealing with this bitch.

"Your beloved asked you to do this? Interesting…"

Interesting my ass!

"Yes! The boss himself asked me to bring this task to fruition! He said that only I could do it! And I have no intention of disappointing him! Which means…"

She transformed into her more… monstrous form. Another Bicorn, the same as the one that accompanied Shindo Ōkusa the day before.

"... That I cannot let you two interfere! I will kill you both for him!"

The boss of the Hashimoto was a man then. I filed that bit of information in the back of my head, knowing that Knight was doing the same.

No more words were exchanged. The Bicorn neighed and charged us. I dodged, while my partner readied himself and blocked the attack with flat of his greatsword, giving me an opening to strike. My wakizashi flashed while I slashed, before being forced to disengage when the horse lashed out with her back hooves.

Knight also disengaged, ripping his mask while he went.

"Slaughter, Mordred!"

The massive suit of armor spawned on the field, raising his massive zweihander and slashing down. The Bicorn, unfortunately, dodged.

She was already proving a much tougher foe than Ōkusa. The difficulty of our opponents grew together with our strength.

My friend and I nodded at each other. Norumi might have been fast… but not fast enough to dodge two attacks at the same time.

My kunais and his pistol made their presence known. The Bicorn dodged Knight's pistol shots… but my blades found their mark.

Having staggered it, I decided to go press my offense.

"Hunt them down, Tamamo!"

My Persona flourished behind me, attacking with a powerful gust of wind. The attack wasn't very effective though, merely causing our enemy to focus on me.

Not relenting, I teleported to the Bicorn, while Knight attacked from the other side at the same time. A couple of minutes of slashing and dodging followed, until he spoke.

"Man, your boss must be truly desperate, sending someone weak like you to do his bidding!"

The horse neighed at that, retaliating even more violently. What the hell was that idiot doing?!

"Or maybe… he's not as smart or competent as you think he is!"

"MY BELOVED IS THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WORLD, SCUM!"

I understood then and there. He was making her angry. And when someone gets angry during a fight, they leave plenty of openings to exploit. Like… that one!

My blade struck the back of one of her knees, causing the Shadow to collapse. A chance that my partner didn't waste, summoning Mordred once more for another slash.

Both of us waited a moment to see if our opponent was going to get back up. She didn't, going back to her human form.

"My love… I'm sorry… I failed you…"

She sounded so miserable that I almost started feeling bad for her. Knight didn't though, marching up to her and grabbing her by the throat.

"Tell me the name of your colleague… if you don't wish to die, that is".

Ohi, he wasn't going to actually kill her, was he?!

"Never! I would never betray him like that! Maybe then… maybe then he will still want me!"

"Give me a break, you idiot. You failed your beloved already, he won't want to have anything to do with you already. He used you… and now he's going to throw you away".

"No! He… he wouldn't…!"

She was protesting… but the defeat in her eyes was obvious. She knew that he was right.

"He would. He never loved you. Ever. He was just abusing your devotion, not even bothering to look at you like a human being. Don't you want to make him pay?"

"I…"

She hesitated for a moment, before narrowing her eyes. As the old saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Kobayashi Ritsuko. This is the name of the person that I know. She's here in Hanamura, trying to coerce more local shops to join our protection bracket. Promise me that you will destroy them… that by the time you're done, the only thing left of the Hashimoto will be ashes!"

"I promise. Now, go back to your real self and surrender to the police. It's time for you to pay for everything that you have done".

She nodded, disappearing in a circle of light, just like Ōkusa did.

He stared at the fragments of light while I approached him. And I wasn't happy.

"We need to talk. Now".

Hell hath no fury indeed...

Hello?! Is this thing on?! It is?! Noice.

Welcome, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of UTFW, the show where going into hiatus is a sign of weakness.

Yup. We're still here. I did want to put a pause on this story, for several reasons. First because I got stuck midway through this chapter, with little to no idea on how to proceed. Second for a more practical reason. This is the story that takes the most effort to write, at least for me. A Healer's Oath is always between 1500/2000 words, Auraborne around 3000 and AIOS is between 3000/3500, while this one is always a near minimum of 4000, each chapter. But it's also the least followed one, which kind of tanked my motivation to write it.

But then I remembered that mama raised no fucking bitch and numbers don't really matter too much, because I have a story that I want to tell and goddamnit I'm gonna tell it, no matter what. So yeah, pretend that "hiatus" sign never happened, we're gonna keep trucking along.

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!