Spoiler: one of the Persona 3 Dancing costumes will semi-happen in this chapter. Not the costume itself, but the context of the costume.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Megami Tensei franchise or Symphogear

"Remember, the party is tonight," said Kanade as she and Makoto sat at a table inside a café, ignoring the other customers as they tried to subtly watch. "So I need to know that you'll be ready to deliver on time."

Nodding, Makoto finished his tea before responding. "I know. I need to finish cooking the food and deliver it before the concert ends to surprise her when she gets back. Just make sure that she doesn't find out, that's your job." Getting up, he said, "I'm already nearly finished, so there's nothing else to do aside from cooking the eggs and meat, which can be done between the time the concert ends and the time you get back." He was about to head to the counter to pay when Kanade held up a hand.

"It's fine, I'll pay for it," she said. "It's the least I can do for making such a big request." Getting up and pulling out her wallet, she headed to the counter and paid for their meal. Joining Makoto at the café entrance, she added, "Besides, I sprung it on you so suddenly. Just saying sorry isn't enough for that kind of thing."

"Don't worry, it doesn't bother me," said Makoto as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Besides, it's a lot healthier than what she usually eats."

Kanade burst into laughter. Kanade managed to say, "You can say that again! Whenever I bought snacks, at least half of them would be eaten up by Tsubasa by the time I finally ate just one!" Calming down, she finished, "Anyways, I'm going to go check on Tsubasa and make sure she doesn't push herself too hard before the concert tonight. See you later!" She lightly jogged down the street, waving a hand casually.

Waving back, Makoto headed in the opposite direction. Strolling casually, he scratched the back of his neck as his eyes wandered around. There were some clothing stores, a few more cafés like the one he was just at, an antique store, Tsubasa accompanying Hibiki and Miku as they headed in the direction of the local movie theater, a surprising amount of stor- wait, what?

Stopping, Makoto suddenly turned around to look properly. Indeed, the three girls were headed towards the movie theater. "Not my business," he mumbled, returning to his own devices. But before he could take more than a few steps, a firm grip on his shoulder pulled him back and behind the corner.

"Change of plans, we're following them," said Kanade, her face stony.

"… Why?"

"Because I want to see what Tsubasa's going to do while hanging out with girls in her age range other than me, of course!" chirped Kanade.

"I was going to-" started Makoto, not wanting to get dragged into whatever Kanade wanted to do.

"You don't have anything to do right now, so come with me. We're getting disguises." She promptly dragged Makoto into a nearby store, walking straight up to the woman operating the cashier. "Hey Misato, this is a Code Kabuki. You know what to do."

Nodding, the woman replied, "Come this way." She led the two to a back room and opened the hidden door, leading to a large room filled with clothes. "Take your pick," said Misato. "Make sure to bring back anything you take in one piece. Section Two's budget isn't that great when it comes to clothes."

"Sure thing, we'll make sure to bring them back the way we got them," replied Kanade as she grabbed some clothes. "You go get dressed too, teach. Think of this as payback for the training." Heading into a dressing room, she slammed the door shut and soon the shuffling of clothes was heard.

Sighing in resignation, Makoto turned to look at the clothes, then at the cosmetics section. "Those are for hiding certain features and not just for regular makeup, right?" he asked. When Misato nodded, he walked over and grabbed several articles of clothing, briefly stopping at the cosmetics section to grab a few more things. "I'll be using these." He promptly headed into another dressing room, closing the door behind him.

Several minutes later, Kanade walked out of her dressing room, grinning cockily. Adjusting her clothes to better hide the chest binder she was wearing, she casually checked herself out in the mirror. "Damn, I make one good-looking guy. There's no way Tsubasa will see through this disguise." She wore a black jacket over a white shirt, blue jeans that were loose enough to hide the curves of her lower body, and red sneakers that added a couple centimeters to her height. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, tied by a simple black rubber hairband. Brushing a hand through her bangs, she nodded to herself proudly. "Hey Makoto, you done yet?" she called.

The dressing door opened, and the figure who walked out caused Kanade's eyes to widen. A girl about her height stood there, looking at Kanade passively. Her blue hair framed a face lightly covered with makeup, held back by a simple white hairclip. She wore a pale teal cardigan over a cream-colored blouse, and her long skirt that reached down to her ankles was a dark shade of beige. Finally, peeking out from the hem of the skirt were simple white flats.

Kanade was at a loss for words. Just who was this girl? She didn't recall seeing such a person in Sector Two before. Before she could say anything, she finally noticed the girl's eyes – silvery blue eyes that were extremely familiar. "Wait, is that you, Makoto?" she sputtered.

Nodding, the now-revealed Makoto answered, "Yeah. They won't know it's me." Blinking, he gave Kanade a once-over. "Oh, you had the same idea. Cool." Without breaking his pace, he headed for the exit. "What names do we use so they don't know it's us?"

Quickly following him, Kanade fumbled over her words. "Uh, I'll be… Kanata Arou. You can be, um, Mikoto Yuuhi." Ignoring Misato's snort of amusement at the blatantly unoriginal names, she continued, "Anyways, let's go. I managed to see what movie they bought tickets for. There should still be time for us to buy a ticket and get in before it starts."

After hurrying to the theater and buying their tickets, the duo was lucky to get tickets that got them seats near Tsubasa, Hibiki, and Miku. Subtly glancing over, Kanade whispered, "Seriously? That's her disguise? Anyone would be able to see through it if they noticed similarities and put two and two together."

Faintly nodding in agreement, Makoto murmured, "She could have at least worn fake glasses or changed her hairstyle. It would be harder to recognize that way."

Sighing and turning to the screen, Kanade replied, "Well, no use talking about it now. Let's see whatever it is they wanted to watch. I think the movie was called Happy Love or something like that." Leaning back in her seat, she stifled a yawn as the lights darkened.

Throughout the movie, Kanade threw discreet glances towards Tsubasa, eager to see how her long-time friend would act around people other than her or the usual Section Two agents. Casually running a hand through her hair, she fidgeted in her seat, hoping for the movie to be over since it wasn't one she'd usually watch. Ironically, it helped sell her disguise when Tsubasa glanced over after noticing something moving in the corner of her sight.

After the movie ended, Kanade sighed in relief as she stepped out of the theater. Makoto followed shortly behind, rubbing the bleariness out of his eyes. Standing to the side, they pretended to leave, but subtly changed directions to follow the trio again.

Wrapping an arm around Makoto's shoulder and pulling him close, she leaned in and whispered, "They haven't noticed us yet. Wanna mess with them and see if they recognize us?"

Makoto responded, "I thought we were trying to avoid that."

Chuckling, Kanade pulled him along. "I know, but this is too good to pass up!" She walked up next to Tsubasa, Hibiki, and Miku, smiling cockily. Keeping in pace with them for a few seconds, she eventually guided Makoto to a nearby food joint.

"Come on, Mikoto, let's get something. It's my treat," she casually said, making sure the three girls saw them. "I'll get a burger. What about you?"

Speaking in a falsetto, Makoto responded, "I'll get the chicken sandwich. Kanata, just remember to get drinks too this time, alright? You keep mixing up single orders and combos."

Neither of them failed to notice how Tsubasa, Hibiki, and Miku didn't recognize them.

Several minutes later, as Makoto and Kanade ate their meals, they took discreet glances at the trio who were enjoying their own meal at another table. "What are you doing with the photos you took?" asked Makoto as he wiped his hands clean.

"Oh, not much," said Kanade, "I'll probably just make a collage with them as a gift to Kanade. That, or upload it to Zwei Wing's socials in a prank video. I just gotta run a couple things by Shinji, Aoi, and Sakuya first so people don't get too upset by how we look in the photos."

Finishing off his drink, Makoto asked, "Are you done now? I know that you're not officially returning yet, but shouldn't you still be at the rehearsal today?"

Stiffening, Kanade's face went blank. "Crap," she muttered, "I knew I was forgetting something." Pulling out her phone and checking the time, she sighed in relief. "There's still some time, though we might as well finish up early so I can prepare things in advance."

Throwing the trash away into a nearby bin, Makoto said, "Okay, let's go back and get ready."

Getting up, Kanade sighed and replied, "Sure, but we need to go to the store and pick up our stuff first."

…

Makoto sweated slightly as he moved around the Section Two kitchen, taking an experimental taste of the broth as he quickly glanced between the clock and Section Two's security feed broadcasting the concert to him. "How much time is left?" he asked as he opened the line to the others.

"Hibiki's almost done dealing with the Noise that showed up," answered Aoi. "She was joined by Chris Yukine, who was using her Symphogear as well. The concert's almost over too, and factoring in the things Tsubasa will need to do before she can leave the venue, there's still time."

Sakuya continued, "Even more if we start messing with the traffic lights, though that should probably be a backup if we need to buy time. How's the surprise going on your end?"

Adjusting the heat on the stove and giving the meat the toothpick test, Makoto replied, "Almost done. The only thing left is to set up the table and lay out all the food. How long until it arrives?"

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door as Genjuro entered, carrying a box full of insulated containers. "I got everything," he grunted as he set the box aside and headed over to the table to set the dishes. "Hibiki-kun, Aoi, and Sakuya are on their way. Just focus on finishing the ramen. We'll reheat the rest of the food if we need to."

As if on cue, the three aforementioned people entered the kitchen as well. "I'm here!" shouted Hibiki as she nearly tripped. Stumbling over to Genjuro, she helped set up the table, grabbing the large container of rice and taking it to the microwave. "I'll heat the rice!"

Briskly walking over to the table, Aoi said, "I'll help the Commander set the dishes."

Sighing, Sakuya headed over to the drawers. "Guess I'll set up the utensils."

By the time Kanade, Tsubasa, and Shinji returned, everything was ready. Opening the door to the mess hall, Tsubasa looked around in frustration. "Why is the place empty? Just where did everyo-"

"Surprise!" exclaimed Genjuro as the lights suddenly turned on. "A congratulatory dinner for your first concert after recovery!"

Surprised, Tsubasa took a step back. "Wait, what?"

Coming out of their hiding spots, everyone joined Genjuro. Kanade explained, "This was all my idea. I figured that with everything that's been going on, you deserve something to help you relax. I mean, you can't do your best when you're stressed out, right?"

Sighing, Kanade smiled and said, "That is true. After all, a blade will break if it does not receive maintenance." Sitting down at the table, she looked at the assorted food. "Shall we eat?"

…

The next day, Makoto stared at an abandoned mansion as he, Genjuro, and a squad of Section Two agents approached the building. "So this is the place?" he as they reached the front door.

"Yes, this place is one of our leads," answered Genjuro as he broke down the door and headed towards the room at the end of the hall. "We have intel reporting suspicious activity in this place. At first, we thought it was squatters or a gang, but a report about men armed with firearms tipped us off."

As the group entered the main chambers, they came to the sight of Chris standing in the center of the room, surrounded by dead bodies. Turning around in shock, the girl denied, "Wait, it wasn't me! I didn't do it! Someone-" She tensed up when the agents rushed towards her, only to be surprised when they ignored her and started scouring the room for evidence.

Walking up to the girl, Genjuro patted her on the head. "We know you didn't do it. The culprit is someone who's been with you, and with us, from the very beginning."

Chris gaped in surprise, not having expected Section Two to not blame her as the culprit for the slaughter. Before she could press on, an agent interrupted her chain of thought.

"Commander Kazanari!" called the man, "I found a message!"

Looking over, Genjuro saw him reach for a slip of paper placed on one of the dead bodies. Eyes widening when he noticed the faintest glimmer of a steel thread attached to the paper, he shouted, "Stop! It's a trap!" However, he was too slow.

Next to him, Makoto quickly pulled out his Evoker and fired it. "Susanoo, Tetrakarn!" The Ultimate Persona waved his weapon, conjuring barriers around Makoto, Genjuro, Chris, and the agents just as the explosion consumed everything.

As the smoke cleared, Chris coughed as she pulled herself away from Genjuro, who had pulled her in close. "What the hell was that?" she spat.

"It's a safety precaution in case any rubble stayed on top of the barrier," explained Genjuro. "If such a situation happened, I would be able to keep it from falling on you."

"That's not what I meant!" retorted Chris. "None of you have a Gear! Why do you keep insisting on protecting people?"

"Gears have nothing to do with this," said Makoto. "It's about responsibility and following your beliefs."

"I'm doing it because compared to you, I'm still an adult," explained Genjuro. "And since I was meant to be your legal guardian, that makes your wellbeing my responsibility."

Chris scowled, a twisting feeling rising up in her chest. "Responsibility? Following your beliefs? Adults? Screw that shit!" Stomping on the ground and clenching her fists, she ranted, "I hate adults, especially my dead parents! I'm nothing like those idealistic cowards! Rescuing refugees from a war? Bringing peace to the world with the power of music? Any adult worth a damn wouldn't waste time on stupid wishes!"

Solemnly, Genjuro commented, "Stupid wishes?"

Chris continued, "Ending war? Just beat the shit out of anyone who even thinks about fighting! And if that doesn't work, then make it so that they can't even act on it ever again! That's the only realistic way to make it work!"

Sighing, Makoto asked, "Do you really think that'll work?"

Chris was confused. "What do you mean?" she snapped, "Of course it will!"

Genjuro stepped in. "But will it work every time? There will be those who oppose that approach and incite others to fight back." When Chris faltered and took a step back, he explained, "You said that real adults shouldn't waste their time on stupid wishes. Personally, I think it's because we're adults that we can follow our dreams and ideals. When you become an adult, you grow up and become stronger. And because of that, you get the chance to chase after the dreams you had as a child, and have the chance to make them real. And that makes your dreams and ambitions even more important than ever."

Makoto softly added, "Your parents didn't go to war because of stupid wishes." As the girl looked at him, he continued, "They knew that following their dream of making the world a better place would put themselves in danger. But they still did it because they wanted to."

Chris shakily asked, "W-what are you saying?"

Genjuro firmly explained, "They wanted to show you that dreams can come true. You can declare that you hate them all you want, but I know they loved you more than anything else in the world. That's why they set out to follow their dreams. It was all so you could grow up in a world full of peace and chase dreams of your own." Walking forwards, he pulled the girl into an embrace, gently patting her head.

Stiffening, Chris's eyes watered, then she burst into tears. Meanwhile, Makoto watched silently as the agents finished their checks and left the mansion.

A few minutes later, as everyone prepared to leave, Chris paused as she got close to Genjuro's car. "I shouldn't go with you…" she said, hesitating.

Turning around, Makoto faintly shook his head and replied, "You're not alone, and you don't have to be."

Sighing, Chris snarked, "We were enemies just a while ago. Do you really think we can join forces that quickly and easily? That's pretty idealistic coming from people who know how cruel the world is."

Smiling, the boy confessed, "One of my best friends was also my greatest enemy, but I'd still trust him to watch my back. I'll take those chances."

As Section Two began to pull out, Genjuro tossed a communicator to Chris. "Here. You can also use it to ride public transport and buy stuff from vending machines. It's pretty handy."

As he prepared to leave as well, Chris suddenly said, "Kadingir!" Genjuro turned to face her, while Makoto stiffened as the older Personas within his mind descended into cacophony. "I don't know what it is, but Finé said something about how it's complete now."

"I see," hummed Genjuro. "Thanks for telling us. There isn't a moment to lose." Driving away, he promptly contacted headquarters to call Hibiki, Kanade, and Tsubasa.

As Makoto revved his motorcycle and sped up to follow Genjuro's car, he sighed to himself, "So much for helping Tsubasa-san relax…"

I hate myself so much for getting so much writer's block on this chapter right after I promised myself that I'd try to pump out updates more frequently. That, and how over half of this chapter just feels like filler to me. Probably because it is.

Anyways, sorry about how the Shadows haven't appeared again since chapter six. They should return within the next chapter or two, along with an explanation of what's happened since they showed up.

Please tell me what you think, review, constructive criticism appreciated, and NO flames. Keep your insults to yourself. They contribute nothing to the story (unless you're insulting characters that honestly deserve the burns).