With six eyes looking at her, (and a figurative fourth set if one considered Morgana) Makoto did not want to seem indecisive regarding her first decision for the team. Combat training was going to be essential for all of them. Guns and blades would serve well against the vamp-slave ghouls and the lesser servants, but against the might of a noble? The personas were essential, and the Sakamotos needed to learn how to use them. That would provide the single greatest increase in the team's capabilities.

"Ann. Ryuji," said Makoto, "I'd like to start with your personas. Morgana? Are you willing to teach them how to do it?"

Ren obligingly held up his left palm. Morgana's feline face was clearly evident, as was its apparent enthusiasm for the situation. "Yes! I'll help Lady Ann become a master in no time!"

Ann's face showed mild surprise. "Lady?"

"What about me?" said Ryuji.

"Yes, fine, you too," said Morgana. "It will take a lot more work, but I'll do it."

"Ha!," said Ryuji, looking at his sister. "The cat's gonna teach me more!"

Ann's mouth tightened up as she apparently tried to avoid laughing.

"I'm not a cat," grumbled Morgana.

Through the short exchange, Ren sat placidly, seeming somewhat bored. Makoto realized he would need to be as willing to train the Sakamoto's as Morgana was, since Ren's left hand couldn't exactly be anyplace he was not.

"Ren-" Makoto said, drawing Ren's grey eyes back to her. She hesitated, realizing she used his first name in front of the Sakamotos. But, well- they were close associates now, right? "Ren," Makoto said again, "what do you think?"

He nodded at her. "I think that is the best choice." His eyes shifted back to Ann and Ryuji. "If you two can learn to control your personas, you will become essential to us."

That brought a determined look to Ann's face and an eager grin to Ryuji's. They both seemed to swell with pride and energy. Makoto wondered if Ren had picked his words intentionally, so as to inspire and motivate: The Sakamotos would not just be hangers-on; They would be essential. And that idea seemed to have resonated with them both. Makoto had not considered the emotional impact of what she said to her new teammates, but now her mind churned with the concept and its implications:

If she was to be 'a leader' she would need to calculate the emotional state of her subordinates; Their personalities, their preferences, even their prevalent mood could be essential to their performance and capabilities at any given moment. She would need to-

"Makoto?" said Ann.

Makoto jerked out of her thoughts and realized everyone at the table was looking at her expectantly. Their silverware was on the table, their plates more or less empty- or non-existent in Ren's case. Breakfast was over. It was time to put the plan to action.

"Oh," said Makoto. "Let's get started. You're all dressed for practice? Oh, Ann. I suppose that dress is all you have? Well, it will do for now. I'll send for the tailor and I'll have some appropriate clothing made for you."

Makoto stood. The others followed her lead, pushing back their chairs.

"That's not necessary, Makoto," murmured Ann, though Makoto thought she saw a twinkle of excitement in the girl's eye.

"You can't fight vampires in a long skirt, Ann," said Makoto. Then she eyed Ryuji, who was wearing trousers and tunic, like any working man in the city. That would do for training, but not for hunting. It wasn't just clothing the Sakamoto's needed: they needed some protection, too. And weapons. "And we'll have you fitted for a bit of armor. Do you still have your guard's equipment, Ryuji?"

"Naw, they took it back when I quit," said Ryuji, following as Makoto led them from the dining room and into the hall.

Makoto knew equipping the two Sakamotos would be somewhat expensive, but worth it. Outfitting her teammates was akin to outfitting herself, as it increased their collective likelihood of success. It was an investment, and it would only be a dent in the estate's monthly finances.

At the end of the hall, Makoto opened the door to the back porch and stepped out into the morning light. The bright sunshine felt warm to her skin, which reminded her of Ren's particularities. Would outdoor practice be possible in the daylight? She turned to find Ren following the Sakamotos out onto the porch and into the light, his wide-brimmed hat carefully shadowing his face. He seemed fine today. Perhaps there was nothing to worry aboutl.

Ren gave her a questioning glance, which made Makoto realize she was staring. She turned and led them down the porch steps and across the lawns. Ren didn't need more equipment, but clothing? Makoto recalled his rather dashing figure in the tuxedo at her ill-fated victory gala. What would Ren look like in some casual wear? Perhaps a white shirt, a burgundy vest, black slacks- perhaps a silver watch chain from the vest pocket? Could she get Ren to assent to a fitting?

Suddenly, Makoto heard the weight of silence on her own ears. Ann, Ryuji, and Ren were following her over the grass to the back gardens, and no one was saying a thing! Makoto refocused on her duties as a hostess and said: "These gardens are Mr. Yoshida's brainchild…"

She narrated as she went, offering a few tidbits of information about particular plants- all details she'd somehow retained from Yoshida's ramblings on summer mornings, when she'd been forced to help weed as a child. The others murmured appropriate polite responses.

Finally, they came upon a secluded sort of refuse area for compost and discarded trimmings. A small tool shed rested easily near a small grassy clearing, and trees and shrubs created a sort of horseshoe wall around the space. A year or so ago, a large tree had fallen in a storm, crushing a small greenhouse. The general apathy of the estate after Father's disappearance had not led to rebuilding; but the fallen tree had been chopped up, and there still remained a hearty stump where it once stood.

"This place will work," said Makoto. "Ren? Morgana? What about using that stump for now?"

Ren obligingly raised his left palm, Morgana's face already clearly evident there.

"It's perfect!" said Morgana, then his voice took on a strange, purring quality: "Do you want to go first, Lady Ann?"

"Um.. okay."

Ann stepped forward while Makoto and Ren stepped cautiously behind her. Makoto snagged Ryuji's shirt and pulled him back, too. The lightning blast in the library hadn't harmed him directly, so perhaps the user of a persona gained a certain immunity to its effects. Though Makoto doubted Ryuji would exhibit a similar resistance to whatever Ann's persona could do.

"So," said Morgana, "like I said: the basic concept is to imagine what you want your persona to do, and then call it by its name. But you need to be careful of what you imagine, because if you dream too big, you will be a moron like Ryuji."

"What!" said Ryuji, "I figured out how to use it, didn't I?!"

"You nearly killed Makoto and your sister," said Ren, his voice acidic.

Ryuji's mouth fell open in surprise. "For real?"

The surprise seemed genuine. Makoto realized Ann might not have fully informed her brother about the events yesterday. Yet Makoto also realized a session of the blame game would not help anything, so she thought of a way to turn the conversation back to the training.

"What was the last thing you remember from yesterday, Ryuji?" said Makoto, "Do you remember what you were thinking about as you said the name of your persona?"

Ryuji's mouth remained open as he turned his gaze to Makoto, but it closed with a click as he thought about her question. His face tightened, as if the act of recollection required his physical effort.

"I was thinking about the city gate," said Ryuji. "In the gate house, there is this big engine that opens and closes the big doors. When we turn it on, you can hear the power, you know? The electricity? It hums. And it's loud. Even before the engine actually starts moving."

Those gates were over ten meters high and almost a meter thick! The amount of power those engines required was probably enormous. Power lines running from the steam plants in the harbor back to the city gatehouses were as thick as Makoto's arm.

"That explains the explosion," said Makoto, "Your persona must have interpreted your thoughts into a command: a command to power an engine of that size."

"Right," said Morgana, "it seized upon Ryuji's cognition and attempted to make it reality."

But instead of sending power into an engine, it sent it into a wooden table. Ren was right: Ryuji could have killed all of them. And though Ryuji had seemed uninjured by the explosion itself, he was incapacitated by the effort.

"So when Ryuji's persona generated the power, it consumed some of his blood…" Makoto recalled out-loud..

"What!?"

Makoto ignored Ryuji's shock, and continued with her train of thought. "Could it kill him by generating too much power, and thus, taking too much blood?"

"Yes and no," said Morgana. "A persona is designed to not kill the user through an overdraw like you are thinking. But- I'm not sure it's impossible to circumvent that safety."

"So…" said Ann, "What do I do to not be a moron like Ryuji?"

"Hey!"

"Let's start with something small," said Morgana. "Think of some small source of heat."

"Like the stove in our kitchen?" said Ann.

"Yes! Try that! Think of that, and then call your persona."

"Okay…"

Ann turned towards the nearby stump. She stood still, the small group quietly expectant.

"Carmen!" said Ann, pointing at the stump.

Nothing happened.

"Carmen!... Car-men!"

Nothing.

"What are you thinking about?" said Morgana.

"Our stove!" said Ann, a twinge of frustration in her voice.

"Maybe it needs to be bigger," said Ryuji. "Like a volcano or something."

Makoto had a brief vision of the entire estate burning in apocalyptic flame. "Let's stick to small for now. Ann, how are you thinking about the stove? What are you imagining?"

"Umm.. I'm thinking about how to start the fire. Using the flint and aiming for the tinder, you know?"

Makoto didn't know. She suddenly realized she'd never started a fire before. Fire was just there. Servants came into a cold room, and when they left, a fire was burning in the fireplace. She was aware of flint and tinder and such, but how exactly it was done… She should learn that…

"Don't think about starting the fire," said Morgana. "Think about what the oven is like when it's hot. Want the result, not the steps to get there."

"Okay.." said Ann, a little doubtfully.

She turned back towards the tree stump, the silent eyes of Makoto and the others on her back once more. A moment of silence.

"Carmen!"

Wuuffff

A chunk of the trunk's bark burst into flame. The fire undulated for a moment, smoked, died down and then went out- leaving behind a charred section of wood.

"I did it!" said Ann.

"See? Easy! Easy!" said Morgana. "Lady Ann is a master!"

"Well done, Ann," Makoto said, somewhat listlessly as she stared at the blackened bark or the tree trunk.

This young blond girl had just used vampiric magic to light something on fire- in the Niijima backyard. Deliberately and with control. It was no accident, no fluke. But a real, unmistakable, successful cast of a magic spell.

Ann had become a witch.

That was the goal of this whole exercise, of course. But now. Now, it all seemed very real, dangerously real. This mission… this… this team Makoto was gathering… it was real. It had real power. Dangerous power. And it was up to Makoto to use it. Even if she didn't want to, even if she wanted instead to go back to the carefree life of a debutante- which she didn't. That life died with Father. And since his death, Makoto had drifted. Drifted in Sae's wake as she followed Father's. Drifted in Ren's wake, who also was in Father's wake, by way of similar profession. Drifted seemingly into a noble vampire kill- and then into this very moment: an unlikely alliance of dhampir, heiress, and two impoverished teenagers from Yongen-Jaya; all gathered around a cindered stump and a mutual goal.

"My turn!" said Ryuji, his excited voice drawing Makoto back out of her own thoughts.

"Make sure to think of something smaller to-" said Morgana.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" said Ryuji. "Kidd!"

Makoto winced away from a white flash, a arcing line of light traced itself across the inside of her eyelids.

Kerrrack!

She heard debris striking objects all around her. The unmistakable sound of wood striking wood siding, likely the tool shed getting peppered by whatever was flying through the air. Makoto instinctively brought up an arm to protect her face, but amazingly, nothing struck her.

"Ow! Jeeze, Ryuji!" came Ann's voice. "You were supposed to think of something small!"

"I- I- did!" gasped Ryuji. At least he was conscious this time.

Makoto lowered her arm and opened her eyes. A black cloak was immediately in front of her. Ren's cloak. He was looking at her over his shoulder, and as soon as their eyes met, he stepped to the side. Without Ren in the way, Makoto could again see the stump- or the smoking half of the stump that remained. The other half seemed to have suffered the same fate as the library table. Ryuji was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. Ann and Ren were brushing bits of wood off of their clothing.

A thrill went through Makoto this time. That ruined stump could have been a ghoul, a transformed human, or even a noble. Ryuji could do the same to any of those things. More practice was needed, of course, but the potential was there. Ryuji was now a witch, too. Or was it wizard? Warlock? It didn't matter.

"Ryuji?" said Makoto.

"Yeah?"

"Good work."

"Hell yeah!"