Akira and Mishima bolt after Ryuji who was heading to the PE faculty office. When Akira and Ryuji manage to make it outside, barely passing the large crowds of students, they view Shiho on a gurney. She had survived but sustained serious injuries; Ann volunteered to go with Shiho while the boys noticed Mishima run away from the scene. Sensing he may be involved in this, they go after the teen. The duo corners Mishima and makes him profess how Kamoshida called her out. How Kamoshida would call someone out to the teacher's room and beat them. Ryuji was furious at this and ran to confront the teacher, which led to where the three teens are now.

Kamoshida sat by a desk in the corner of the PE faculty office. Ryuji raises his fist for a swift moment, "You bastard! The hell did you do to that girl!?"

In response, the teacher waves his hand dismissively "What are you talking about?"

Ryuji kicks a folding chair to the side with rage, "Don't play dumb with me!"

"That is enough!"

Mishima shakes his head, "What you did... wasn't coaching...!"

The rest look over to the blue-haired boy as Kamoshida says, "What did you say?"

His voice becomes louder, "You... you ordered me to call Suzui here... I can only imagine what you did to her...!"

Kamoshida gets out of his chair, crossing his arms as his thick eyebrows arch down in displeasure, "You're going on and on about things you have no proof of... Basically, you're making these claims because you can't be a regular on the team, right?"

The blue-haired teen glares at Kamoshida, "That's not what this is about...!"

"Even if it is exactly as you imagine it to be, hypothetically speaking... what can you do? We just received a call from a hospital. Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are slim... How would someone like that make a statement?" Kamoshida pretends to look upset at his news, "There's no chance of her getting better, I hear... Ohhh, the poor girl." Akira glares at the man who was pretending to be concerned, the teacher truly was vile.

Mishima mutters in disbelief, "No... That can't be..."

The blonde's fists begin to shake, "You goddamn...!"

Kamoshida places his hands on his hips, "This, again...? Does this mean we need to have yet another case of 'self-defence'?"

"Just shut your mouth, you son of a bitch!" Ryuji prepares to swing his fist into Kamooshida's smug face yet Akira grabs his arm mid-swing. "Why're you stoppin' me...?!" As much as Akira wanted to see this man beaten to a pulp, he knew it would cause more trouble for them. The faculty would believe Kamoshida if he claimed the blonde just attacked him out of nowhere; thanks to rumours and previous events, Ryuji and Akira will always be seen as churlish individuals. Akira shakes his head at Ryuji, uttering to not let this man get to him. Ryuji snatches his arm away from Akira, "But still!"

"Oh? You're stopping him? What a surprise. there's no need to hold back. Why not attack me?... Ohhh, you caaaan't. Hahahah, but of course you can't!" The smug bastard walks back to his desk, "Everyone present right now will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

Appalled by the teacher's statement, Mishima steps forward, "You can't make a decision like that...!"

Kamoshida glares at the three, "Who would seriously consider what scum like you say? You threatened me too, Mishima, so you're just as responsible." Mishima murmurs a 'huh' as the PE teacher continues on, "To think you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as you on the team. You act like you're a victim, but you leaked his criminal records didn't you? It's all over the internet, correct? How terrible."

Ryuji and Akira turn their heads to Mishima, who falls to his knees in distress, "He told me to do it. I had no choice..."

Kamoshida laughs like a cartoon villain, "Now, are we finished here? You're all expelled! You're done for; your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight."

"I can't believe this asshole's gettin' away with this...!"

The Umbra witch scowls at Kamoshida before stating, "He'll eat his words."

It doesn't take long for Ryuji to clock in what Akira meant by this, "...Oh right. We have that!"

"Huh? Have you lost your minds?" Kamoshida waves his hand dismissively, "You worthless kids aren't making any sense, but sure, go ahead and try. After all, you'll have plenty of time to kill until expulsion." The teens leave the PE faculty office, Ryuji has his answer now. When the school day has ended, Ryuji and Akira meet at their usual spot. Morgana was already present, standing on the table waiting for them. The blonde confirms he is willing for Kamoshida to have a mental shutdown; someone almost died because of him. Ryuji can't let that man walk around with no consequences.

Before Morgana can explain how to destroy the palace, "Is it true that you're getting expelled?" Their heads turn to see Ann standing behind them, "Everyone's talkin' about it..."

Ryuji scowls at the ground, mumbling "That asshole's at it again!" He looks back at Ann, "So you came all the way to tell us that?"

She takes a beat of silence, pondering her words "If you're going to deal with Kamoshida... let me in on it too. I can't just sit back and do nothing after what happened to Shiho."

"This has nothing to do with you... Don't butt your head into this..." Ryuji sighs, a subtle serious tone in his voice.

Ann repairs to make a long retort, "But it does! Shiho's my-"

Ryuji doesn't let her finish, "I said don't get in our way!" Ann vexed by not only this conversation but recent events, departs from the scene. Even though Akira understands her anger, they can't let her join them in taking down Kamoshida. They can't allow her into the Metaverse if she has no way to defend herself. Wanting to deal with Kamoshida, the trio strolls out of the school and into the alleyway they previously ended up in on their last visit to the palace. Akira taps on the red eye icon on his phone screen, activating it to allow them to now stand in front of the castle. The teens are in their phantom thieve's attire while Morgana is no longer a normal cat. "All right! Time to bust on through!"

"What is this?!" Somehow, Ann has travelled into the Metaverse with the trio. She eyes the three new figures facing her as Ryuji blurts out her name, "That voice... Sakamoto?!... And are you Kurusu-kun?!"

Ryuji stutters, "Wh-wh-why are you here?!"

"How should I know?!" Ann assessed her surroundings, too many questions were forming in her head. She starts to blurt out the first few she thought of, "What's going on? Hey, where are we?! Isn't this the school?!"

Breaking out of his lovestruck gaze, Morgana speaks up "I see. Perhaps she was dragged in because of that app thing. If multiple people can enter with the person who uses it, it stands to reason it'll pull anyone nearby."

"For real?"

Ann's eyes widen, "Wait, so THIS is related to Kamoshida?!"

Scratching the back of his head, Ryuji says "Anyways, you gotta leave!"

Ann tries to argue back with her friend but stops upon hearing Morgana talk, "No way! It talked?! Oh my god, it's a monster cat!" Since Ann wasn't budging, the other blonde concluded they had to force her out. Even though the Umbra witch felt bad to do so, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to have her trail alongside them. After dragging the blonde back into reality, the trio stood outside of the castle to discuss code names. Morgana has already decided on calling Akira 'Joker' which the teen didn't mind. Ryuji settled on the code name 'Skull' and Morgana was now named 'Mona'. It was finally time to begin infiltration, sneaking through the exposed vent they are able to hear Kamoshida's booming voice in the large foyer. The king was donating a heavy reward for any guard to kill the intruders. Mona contemplates that it'd be idiotic for them to try and fight the group of guards. They open the opposite doors to the room they were previously in to be greeted by a single soldier.

Upon entering battle with the enemy -who was a flying fairy woman- Mona briefs them on a new tactic, "Remember how I taught you about Hold-ups and All-out attacks? I'll teach you their practical use now. There's another use for Hold-ups besides simply defeating enemies. Shadows are beings born from people's hearts, so naturally, they can talk too. In other words, you can communicate with them. Get it? If you talk to them when they're cornered, they might offer money or items since they don't want to die. In fact, talking has a better chance of scoring something great, as opposed to just offing them. Well then, let's do the first step: knock all the enemies down and do a Hold-up!"

Following his colleague's instructions, Joker fires a bullet knocking down the flying fairy. They close in on the enemy and Joker pressures her to give him an item; she replies that she doesn't have anything on her. She requests if they could work something out yet Joker says back that they chose the wrong enemy. The response seems to make the fairy realise something, she doesn't belong to King Kamoshida. The fairy wings flap as she reveals her true self is a Pixie. A bright blue light shelters the Pixie to abruptly take the form of Joker's mask. The mask glides towards the Umbra witch, resting itself where his mask was.

His friends stare in astonishment, Skull's mouth agape "Wh-what the hell was that about? The enemy got sucked into Joker's mask!"

The blonde looks to Mona for an explanation, "I-I have no idea! I wasn't expecting that either..."

In the open doorway, an armoured soldier appears, they swiftly notice the intruders and change their form into two green-horned beasts. Joker could sense a new possibility stemming inside him, he possessed the pixie in his roster. Could this be the same feeling his parents have when summoning various infernals? Calling out Pixie, she uses Zio and knocks down one enemy. Mona's eyes widen in surprise as Joker uses his extra turn to topple the remaining horse. Surrounding the two beasts, Joker pursues to negotiate with one of the horses. The Umbra witch is curious about how many of these personas he can wield; it would be beneficial to hold various types of personas during battle. Luckily, Joker successfully convinces the horse -revealing themselves to be called Bicorn- to join Joker in battle. Mona was astounded by this new potential, "Holy... Does this mean you can wield multiple personas?"

Joker mainly shrugs, "It would seem so..."

Puzzled by what had just happened, Skull asks Mona for an explanation. Mona spells out, "He sealed the enemy's appearance and powers into his mask, and made it his new persona... Is such a feat even possible? Even I've never seen anyone pull that off!"

"Well then, this will come in handy then won't it?"

Despite Joker's question being rhetorical, Mona says, "Of course it will! Only one heart per person, so normally a person can only have one persona!" The cat grins, "Incredible! That ability will give us a huge advantage in battle! All right, try to do that more if the opportunity arises! You better help out too, Skull!"

Skull enthusiastically responds, "Hell yeah! We'll hold every last one of 'em up!" And with that, the trio ventured onward into the West Building. They pass through a room with three guards patrolling, simply they ambush one at a time without raising the security level. During one of these battles, Joker obtained another persona named Jack-o-lantern. Setting foot into another hallway, they view a safe room at the end of the hall. They go inside the safe room to discuss their search strategy for the treasure.

After some time inside the safe room, the trio began to hear muffled voices "Still, why was the princess in such an odd place?"

They fall silent to eavesdrop on the guards, Mona jumps right against the door, "I could have sworn we were pursuing the readings of an intruder..."

"It doesn't matter now. We must take her back to King Kamoshida!"

Skull questions this princess while Mona leaves the area to look more into the situation. With the cat no longer in the room, Skull comments on his misdoubts about Mona that Joker doesn't agree with. Granted, Mona had some mysterious vibe to him but he doesn't seem the type to be deceitful. Upon reminding Skull to use codenames, Mona returns with a troubled look. He notifies the group that Ann has travelled back into the palace and has been captured by shadows. Pushing the double doors open, Joker guides his friends out of the safe room and towards Ann's voice echoing in the halls. Following her voice they are led to a hallway that was previously closed, the red carpet advanced up to a set of grey doors while rows of soldier's armour were displayed on each side of the small hallway. Upon entering the room, the trio are faced with a rather unsettling sight. Four faceless girls in various risque positions, their gym shorts being their gym shorts being the only coverage of their birthday suits.

The male blonde scowls at the sight, "Is that what he thinks of the girls on the volleyball team?!" Mona's head twists to the right, making the trio focus on the reason why they set foot into the room. Ann was strapped to -what Joker could describe as- a BDSM contraption that spread her legs while chaining her arms up and over her head. Two guards were stationed on each side and a gold armoured guard stood in front of Ann while Kamoshida stood behind his soldiers with the 'princess'.

As Skulls shouts out Ann's name, Kamoshida sighs in irritation "Just when I was about to start enjoying myself..."

Ann tugs at her confines, "What's the deal with this guy?!"

Kamoshida ignores the teen's panic, "...How many times are you gonna come back?" He eyes Ann, "I bet you're just like those thieves. You came because you were pissed at me, huh? But, ah... I forgot that chick's name, but it's your fault she jumped, you know." Ann stares at him wide-eyed, "You were so reluctant to throw yourself onto me that I had her to take your place."

"You bastard!" The golden guard marches closer to Ann which makes her gasp with terror. Although Skull tries to stop the soldier, Kamoshida demands the intruder to stand back or they'll kill Ann. Craving to help the teen, Skull looks to Mona on what to do only for his ally to be unsure of how to act.

Gazing at the weapons pointed at her, Ann bitterly says "Is this... my punishment for what happened to Shiho?"

The king relishes in her defeated look, "That's more like it. You should've looked like this from the start."

"Shiho... I'm so sorry..."

Joker couldn't let this go on any longer. He can't let Ann believe in Kamoshida's manipulative words. "You're just going to listen to him? Don't give in to his drivel!"

Ann looks at Joker before speaking up, "... You're right. Letting this piece of shit toy with me..." She lets out a weak laugh, "What was I thinking?!"

Kamoshida begins to boast, "It's like I always say. Slaves should just behave and-"

"...Shut up! I've had enough of this... You've pissed me off you son of a bitch!" Ann's body begins to rock from side to side, sweat along with droll drips down her face. Squels of pain escaped her mouth, her head felt as if it was going to explode. A feminine voice calls out to her, telling Ann that the other self is itching to reveal themselves. It wasn't until the blonde's body went limp, she whispered "I hear you... Carmen." Upon lifting her head, a red cat-shaped mask masquerades on her face, "You're right. No more holding back!" It seems Ann was awakening her persona. Thanks to the strength of her persona, Ann is able to burst through her straps -freeing herself from the contraption- and rip the mask off with a screech. A blue firestorm circles her body, allowing a tall woman to transmit behind Ann. She had fuchsia coloured skin yet a majority of her body was covered thanks to her long flowing red ballgown. Carmen wore a mask and had her hair in spiralling pigtails which reflects her summoner's mask and hairstyle. Resting between her scarlet red lips was a lit cigar while a black chocker tightly embraced her neck. The black corset exposed a generous amount of Carmen's big chest while her opera gloves and heeled boots shared red heart designs. Carmen's right foot was planted on the back of a suited man with a metallic pink box for his head; another man was attached to Carmenvia a pair of thorny vines held in her left hand. she evokes the same confidence as Madama Butterfly does. Ann now donned a red latex catsuit hugging her figure, thigh-high boots in a darker shade of red, pink gloves and a clip-on tail on the back of her catsuit. With this new power, Ann is assertive enough to punt a soldier's sword from their grip and leap in the air to grab the weapon. The sharpness of the blade allows Ann to slice through the princess who vanishes into black smoke. While Kamoshida cowers in fear, the gold-armoured knight steps forward to defend his king. Ann's eyes knit together as her head turns to the soldier and Kamoshida, "You know what? I'm not some cheap girl you toy with... you scumbag."

Kamoshida retorts with a lazy insult, "Bitch...!"

The boys stand by Ann's side as she continues, "You stole everything from Shiho... You destroyed her... Now it's your turn!" Pointing at the king, she yells, "I will rob you of everything!"

"How dare you! Enough of your insolence!" The gold-armoured soldier reveals its true form; a large purple demon resting on a floating toilet. What an... odd demon to form into.

Ann balls her left hand into a fist, "No, I've had enough of you. No one's gonna stop me now! Let's go, Carmen!" She takes advantage of this moment to attack, using a skill named 'Agi' to down the demon. The team perform an All-out attack though the enemy still stands. Joker calls out Jack-o-lantern using the same skill, repeating their attack, weakening the demon. When Mona uses Garu, unfortunately, it doesn't do as much damage due to the demon's resistance to wind. Skull's physical attack doesn't help that much either. The demon performs its own wind attack that assaults every party member aside from Joker who dodges at the last minute; Skull is toppled landing on his bottom while Ann's and Mona's health is reduced. Within Witch time, Joker uses Agi knocking the enemy off its seat. Ann raises a brow once time resumes, "Wait when did-?"

Mona interrupts her, "Let's not worry about that! Come on let's finish this!" With one more All-out attack, they defeated the demon. Anxious after witnessing the battle, Kamoshida runs away like the coward he is. Ann falters to her knees despite wanting to catch the man. Although Skull begins to question the blonde, Mona focuses on comforting and calming her down. Ann doesn't get any calmer when she realises her new outfit. Since they aren't able to continue their infiltration, mainly due to a search party likely to begin, they decide to retreat to the real world. The four return back in the alleyway though they quickly change their location to explain the Palace to Ann.

While Ryuji buys them some drinks, Morgana gives an explanation to Ann for what has just occurred. It took five minutes for Ryuji to return with a bottle in each hand, offering them to Ann and Akira. Ann stares down at her feet, "Honestly, I still can't believe what happened... And my power... my Persona..."

"It's the will of your rebellion, Lady Ann. With it, you'll be able to fight in that other world."

She looks back at Morgana, "So if what you told me is true, we can make Kamoshida have a change of heart, right? Is it really possible? Can we actually force him to confess his crimes?"

Ryuji answers, "The volleyball team keepin' quiet about this, while teachers and parents turn a blind eye. If guys like us try and complain, they're just gonna shoot us down. Goin' in all on this plan is the only choice we got."

Ann twists her body to face him fully, "Then let me help too. I want to make him pay for what happened to Shiho. He just keeps going like nothing happened, even after what he did to her... I'll never forgive him."

It takes a couple of seconds for Ryuji to respond in surprise, "Wait, did you just say, 'let me help'? You mean, you want us to take you along?"

"Don't act like I'm going to drag you down. Weren't you watching? I can fight too."

Unsure of how to respond, Ryuji gazes at Akira to decide. "She'll be great." They will need an extra person on the team anyway. The more the merrier in Akira's mind.

Tilting his head slightly, Ryuji asks, "Even you're on board with this?"

Morgana adds, "I agree as well. We are lacking in manpower, after all. Don't worry, I'll protect her." Akira's lips subtly move upward in a smirk upon hearing Morgana's gallant attitude. It was cute how caring Morgana was regarding Ann's safety.

"Even if you said no, I'd just go in alone."

Ryuji lets out a short groan, "Oh right, she can go by herself... I guess it'd be more dangerous turnin' her down... Rgh, fine..."

Ann smiles, "Then it's decided. Well, I hope we get along!" She turns to Akira, "I'm going to make Kamoshida atone for what he did. Not just for Shiho's sake... but for everything he's done. I won't let any more people suffer because of him. I'll do whatever it takes!" Akira could sense a strong fighting resolve from the blonde...

I am thou, thou art I...
Thou has acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chain of captivity.

With the birth of the Lovers Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power...

Before leaving the group, Ann exchanges numbers with the boys and says her goodbyes. Upon Ryuji commenting on how it would be easier if the group had a quicker way to meet up, Morgana suggests they use the school rooftop as a secret hideout. He also says that he will live with Akira since he can't contact them while in the other world. Although the Umbra witch is rather hesitant to let the cat sleep in his room, he realises he could use Purgatorio when he leaves at night. Akira doesn't want to expose that other part of his life to his friends, there's enough confusion with the Metaverse so he wants to make sure they don't know more about his 'family work' yet. With a goodbye from Ryuji and a promise for everyone to meet on the school rooftop tomorrow, Akira and Morgana take the train to Cafe Lablanc. Opening the front door to Lablanc, Aira's eyes stop on a woman sitting in one of the booths. Her outfit had a punk rock aesthetic with her dark blue bob hairstyle; Akira found her pretty cool. However, he couldn't even say hello to her due to Sojiro ushering him to go upstairs. When he gets closer to the stairs, he stops in his tracks upon hearing the woman stand and thanks Sojiro for the coffee before leaving. Akira inquires about the woman, and Sojiro explains how she is the head doctor of the clinic down the street. There have been rumours that she gives crappy examinations and sells some weird medicines. Sojiro doesn't care about the rumours though, he believes they should just leave her alone. Getting impatient, Morgana voices whether they've made it home yet, rushing Akira upstairs and into his room to avoid suspicion from Sojiro.

Placing his bag on his bed, Morgana jumps out. He grimaces at his new home, "What the... What is this place?! Is this some kind of abandoned house?!" They begin to hear someone walking up the stairs.

Morgana lies down on his front once Sojiro comes into view, he glares at Akira "Hey! Are you-" He notices the cat on the teen's bed, "I was wondering why I heard meowing... What did you bring it here for?"

Akira answers with a simple excuse, "It was abandoned."

"That's... that's a shame." The excuse seemed to tug at Sojiro's heartstrings, "Look, this place is a restaurant. Animals are a no-go... Though I guess you might stay on good behaviour if you've got a pet to take care of..." He mutters, "Fine. But keep it quiet when we're open for business. And don't let it roam downstairs, or I'll toss you out. Oh, and I'm not gonna take care of it. That's all on you." Sojiro heads back downstairs only to return seconds later with food on a plate. He places in front of the cat, "Seriously... It had to keep calling out in that cute little voice..." He turns to Akira, "Make sure you wash that dish. By the way... Have you decided on a name?" Akira replies with Morgana, "I was hoping I'd get to name it..." He then leaves with a somewhat disappointed look. It seems the man has a soft spot for cats as well.

Once Sojiro was out of the room, Morgana smirked, "Looks like the chief likes me better than you. And to be honest, this place is heaven compared to Kamoshida's cells." Morgana tilts his head, "...Remember how you guys asked me before what I am? To be honest... I don't remember anything about my birth. I think the Metaverse distortions made me lose both my memories and my true form."

For some odd reason, Akira reminisces on Rodin's story about his mummy. She apparently spent twenty years with amnesia, it wasn't until Enzo told her about a lead on 'the Left Eye' that she was able to gain her memories back. She ventured to a city called Vigrid, catalyzing events that helped her regain her memory. Invading the palace could help Morgana to gain his memories and supposedly his true form, "Is that form a cat...?"

Morgana makes a pout, "I mean, why else would a cat be able to talk like this? There's no other possible explanation. There's no doubt that the distortions were what caused me to lose my true self. I'm sure that once they're purged, I'll finally be able to get that self back. And I have a pretty good idea of how to do it too. That's why I was in the castle in the first place." Morgana focuses on his food, the rich smell makes him smile. "Come to think of it, I didn't get hungry in that other world..." The cat munches down on his dinner within 5 minutes. A huge satisfied grin plastered on his face, "Let me make myself clear; Your taking care of me won't be for nothing. It'll be give and take. Due to my knowledge and dexterous nature, I have a lot of intel on infiltration tools."

Akira perks up, "Really?" He has only used his Umbra magic to unlock doors so learning to make these tools can be an advantage in not only the Metaverse but real life too.

"Whoa, I can't tell you more unless we settle on a deal. In exchange for you keeping me here, I'll teach you about these tools. How does that sound?"

With a smirk, Akira replies "Let's do this."

Morgana's lips perk upward, "I like that answer... Hehehe, then it's a deal then."

I am thou, thou art I...
Thou has acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chain of captivity.

With the birth of the Magician Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power...

"I'll lecture you about the infiltration tools over time. By the way, the power you used in the Palace was seriously amazing. Especially that unique skill from your persona; slowing time will greatly benefit us during battle." Akira merely nods in agreement. "All right, I'm gonna stick with you wherever you go from today on. I expect great things from you. Don't let me down, okay?" Finishing the conversation with Akira answering ok to the cat, he begins to get ready for bed. As he pulls his nightshirt over his head, Akira's phone pings. He picks it up to see a text from Ann; she is thanking him for saving her. Akira texts back that she should also thank Ryuji. There was also a text from his mummy, mentioning she would come over to give him his 'special items' in the morning. Akira replies with a thank you before placing his phone down. Now it's time to sleep after this exhausting day finally.

16 April 2018

With Morgana hopping into Akira's bag, he heads downstairs to begin his way to school. Yet he is stopped at the bottom of the stairs by someone wrapping their arms around him, barely missing Morgana crushing him in the hug as well. "Good morning little Kiki!"

It was his mummy, wearing light blue flare pants and a matching cami crop top. Along with some jewellery, noticeably a jaded necklace digging into Akira's chest. With a big smile, Akira returned the hug, "Good morning! Is everything ok at home?"

Bayonetta pulls away, "Everything's well, I hope everything is fine on your end?" Akira nods, he doesn't want her to worry about this Kamoshida situation. It would probably be best to tell her after they steal his heart; despite loving his mummy to bits, he doesn't want her to weasel her way into this. Bayonetta's glance told Akira there was some doubt in her, "Good..." Luckily she's not going to push him for the truth, "Now, let's get going." Bayonetta links her arm with his and begins to lead him towards the door, picking up a bag on her way out. Sojiro mainly observed them leaving, somewhat stunned by that woman who just waltzed into his cafe without a care in the world. She didn't even acknowledge him.

Morgana pops his head out from the small open zipped area of Akira's bag, "Who's this lady?"

"My mummy, please stay quiet so she doesn't notice you." Akira quickly whispers, if she caught him keeping a cat she'd take Morgana to dote on him. The young witch is well aware of his mummy's fondness for cats, black cats specifically.

During their walk to the train station, Bayonetta was mostly asking Akira about his first few days at Shujin. Akira does his best to answer without mentioning Kamoshida or the Metaverse, he doesn't want to focus on these right now. He just wants to enjoy the little amount of time he has with his mummy. His mother had probably caught her up on the cognitive science business anyway. If he just avoids talking about it then she won't try to get involved (hopefully).

While they sat on the second train to Shujin, Bayonetta finally mentions, "So when were you going to tell me about this Kamoshida business?"

Akira's back straightened, he could tell from her tone she was a little bit miffed he hadn't informed her of anything. "I... I was planning to tell you but only after we sorted everything out."

"We?"

"My friends and I. How do you know about this anyway?" He questions, Akira only told Luka about the Kamoshida business (At least the more specific things involved).

Bayonetta smirks, "Our dear Chesshire has told me about this Kamoshida..." Meaning that she had made Luka spill the beans, "There's also that Metaverse nonsense Jeanne has told me about. You know, Jeanne and myself can-"

Akira shakes his head, "No mummy, I appreciate that you want to help..." He pauses to think of the right wording, "But I feel like I need to do this on my own."

The train was closing to its stop. Bayonetta sighs, "...Very well then," She stands up, offering her right hand to her son "Just know that your family are here for you." Bayonetta wanted to act on this horrid situation. It wasn't bad enough that her child was being falsely labelled as a criminal, he now had to deal with some arrogant creep along with this so-called Metaverse. All she wants is for Akira to be safe and happy... but Bayonetta knows she (unfortunately) can't gun down this foul man. After speaking with Jeanne and this conversation with her child, Bayonetta needs to restrain herself to allow Akira to defend himself. This is something Akira must manage on his own.

With a minor smile, the young witch accepts Bayonetta's hand as they both leave the train. Stepping out of the underground station, they begin to walk towards Shujin Academy hand in hand. Ignoring the shocked looks and curious whispers from the few students staring at them. Upon the side of the school being in eye view, Bayonetta stops "This is where we depart little Kiki." She swiftly kisses his cheek and opens her bag "Have fun on this new adventure of yours! Make sure your toys are kept safe." In one quick motion, The Umbra witch removes the No Place Like Home guns into an Umbra symbol behind Akira's back.

Before she departs, Akira hugs her and says goodbye as he watches her walk back the way they did.

"Your mom knows about this?!" Morgana hisses, popping his head out of the open zipper. Akira was hoping that cat wouldn't have been able to hear his mummy speaking from inside the bag. "How many people have you told?!"

Akira sighs, "Don't worry, it's only my parents and they won't spread this around." Other than Rodin and Luka, they won't tell anyone else. Nobody else will most likely not understand anyway.

Morgana groans in frustration, "...Fine then... But if any of this is heard outside of our group you are solely held responsible, got it?" The teen just nods as he walks onward. However, he soon stops to overhear a conversation between two girls; they are talking about various drugs one of them was taking due to their sickness and the other suggested going to the clinic. Inspiring Morgana to mention the doctor in Leblanc yesterday, she could possibly have some strong medicine to benefit the group in the Metaverse. Before he can extend his idea further, Ryuji walks beside Akira and offers to walk with him. The rest of the day flies by until the final class, Akira heads up to the rooftop to meet with Ann and Ryuji. Despite Ryuji being eager to steal the treasure, Morgana stops to explain they must prepare first. They'll need better equipment, stocking up on medicine and getting amour/defence. Ryuji was covering the amour and equipment while Akira and Morgana were going to get the medicine.

Upon arriving in the backstreets of Yongen, Morgana pushes for them to see that doctor from Leblanc. Akira locates the clinic -across from the closed theatre- and devises a lie to receive some medicine. If he told her the true reason for wanting medicine then she'd think he was insane. Stepping into the clinic, Akira's eyes were already set on the doctor; she sat behind the counter with a rather monotone look on her face. She does seem to recognise Akira but she doesn't seem to care too much so she just asks what is he here for. Akira responds that his body is feeling lethargic; there is a beat of silence before she leads him to the exam room.

The doctor sits across from Akira, a clipboard in her left hand while a black pen is held in the other. At first, she was going to give him some painkillers but decided on some sleeping pills upon realising she was out of stock. Akira highly doubts sleeping pills will help the team in the metaverse; what could they do with sleeping pills? Force their enemies to swallow them? He asks for any alternate medicines to take, earning a glare from the doctor "Huh? You're the patient here, you know. Do you think you should be telling me how to do my job?... So, it's just like I thought." Did she catch on that quickly? "You're not sick at all, are you? I'm not as dumb as I look, you know... I'm guessing you're here because you heard the rumours about me, huh?"

Akira nods, "That's right." Might as well be honest with her, the doctor would probably get annoyed with him lying again.

"You're one of those patients with an ulterior motive huh? What's the world coming to?" Akira looks down with a tinge of shame, "I guess high school kids have it tough nowadays too, hu? Well, fine I'll prescribe you some medication." The witch's head zips up at the doctor, "But only medication that will help you recover your health. I guess it's fine. You seem pretty earnest, and you don't look like you'll be any trouble." She rubs the back of her neck "This is my private practice. All the medicine I dispense is original. I have a license to make my own formulas. You've likely seen them being sold at various hospitals. It's your responsibility to take care of yourself. So if that's okay with you, stop by anytime."

With a thankful smile, Akira says "That'll really help. Thank you."

She returns the smile, "Great. It's nice that you're quick on the update... Saves me the hassle. You're a pretty weird kid, you know? I wonder what you're going to use the medicine for... Well, as long as you don't cause me any trouble, it's not my problem..." The doctor twists her chair to face her computer, opening a tab to display the medicines Akira can buy from her. Thanks to his parents, Akira had enough money to buy every item available with more to spare. It also helps that Rodin is willing to exchange halos for yen. He bought every item, ranging between three to seven of each item. She offers the teen good luck as he thanks her, leaving the exam to surprisingly face a businessman standing there. Akira moves to the side, allowing the man to enter the exam room as he shuts the door behind him. Curious about this man, Akira eavesdrops on his conversation with the doctor. The conversation leads to the man expanding the rumours surrounding the doctor, how she is developing experimental drugs and medicine that could be super stimulant. The man seems to have a vendetta against the doctor; he claims the doctor to be a disgrace to the medical community. How Tae Takemi will never-

"Hey, is somebody there?!" Akira's feet rapidly head to the exit, barely getting caught snooping. Once they are outside of the clinic, Morgana theorises that the doctor could be hiding some extra strong medicine. Grasping what Morgana was on about, Akira comments on how they could use that. Morgana grins in agreement as Akira's phone pings a notification. It's a text from the group chat.

Ryuji: So you know the store I mentioned, with the model guns?
It's in Shibuya. I can go with you if you want.

Akira was under the impression Ryuji would go and get their equipment, does he want Akira to join him?

Akira: Sounds good.

Ryuji: Sweet.
Welp, let's figure out where to meet.
You at least know how to get to Shibuya Station, yeah?

Ann: Hey, I can't make it. Can I trust you guys to check the place out for me?

Ryuji: You can't come?

Ann: Not tomorrow.
I made plans to see Shiho in the hospital.

Ryuji: Ah, gotcha.
Don't worry, we got this
Well, seeya in Shibuya, Akira! I'll be in the front of the station.

17 April 2018

A bright neon sign sat above the shop... Untouchable.

To be frank, Akira wanted to scout out this shop Ryuji had mentioned; he's no stranger to stores such as these. A part of him was interested in finding another store to look for more weapons. It's not to disrespect his Uncle Rodin's work, Akira is just curious about various weapons that aren't made from an infernal. Inside the store, they meet the manager sitting in front of the cash register. Reading a magazine with his feet resting on the countertop. The manager takes more of an attentive approach to Akira upon realising he is a gun enthusiast, he even openly admits that he found the Umbra witch more interesting than Ryuji. Before giving his services to the teens, he makes them promise to keep the guns hidden from others and not have 'the fuzz' catch on to them. The manager stands up and heads to the back, soon returning with the equipment to show to the teens. Of course, Akira bought the equipment necessary for the mission: stronger weapons, greater protection and even some accessories. Now with their objection complete, Akira goes back home. In Leblanc, there was one customer who seemed to be a regular since he was talking casually with Sojiro. He wanted to strike up a conversation about the recent psychotic breakdown, unfortunately, Sojiro cut the conversation short making the customer leave with disappointment. Akira questions how this place is still open if he treats all of his customers like that. Within the pleasant solitude of his bedroom, Morgana jumps out of Akira's bag and on top of a table beside the stairs.

He really needed to find some time to clean the room properly; the overflowing books on the shelves were becoming an eyesore. There were also Akira's personal belongings that he should hide in case Morgana decides to snoop around. Whenever Morgana heads out to have some time to himself, Akira will take the opportunity to hide the journals about his Umbran clan, the hierarchy of the Laguna and the book about Infernal demons. Akira goes on his phone, viewing he has gotten a message from Ann 3 minutes ago. She was updating him on her friend Shiho; her condition is stable though she hasn't regained consciousness yet. The poor girl... they need to sort out this Kamoshida business as soon as possible.

Morgana speaks up, "We're just about ready to go to the palace. We just need to assemble some infiltration tools." He signals to the table in the far left corner, "Clean off that desk back there so we can use it." After Akira does as he is instructed, he sits down at the table while Morgana rests on the countertop. The cat somehow has the materials required for Akira to craft a lockpick. This seems to assure Morgana enough to say they are ready for the palace tomorrow. As Morgana was getting ready for bed, Akira began to ponder on some possibilities when in the Metaverse. Would his lollipops have the same effects? Could angels or demons travel into this Metaverse? Akira was desperate to expand his knowledge of this Metaverse business.

Guess that opportunity will be tomorrow.

18 April 2018

It was early in the morning when Kawakami asked Akira to follow her into the guidance counsellor's room. They bumped into Kamoshida and the redhead Akira previously met on the train. Kamoshida is already 'warning' the student about him, then again the rumours may have gotten to her before he did. Once the two sit down, Kawakami gets straight to the point and inquires if something happened between Akira and Kamoshida. Choosing to not give an honest answer, Akira questions why she is asking this. His teacher replies that Kamoshida had given her a brief lecture where Akira's name popped out. No surprise that Kamoshida is trying to bad mouth Akira to his homeroom teacher as well. She goes on to mention the female student from earlier, asking if Akira had flirted with her. Akira pulls a smirk at Kawakami, granted the girl was cute but Akira isn't focused on looking for a partner right now. She rants about Kamoshida having a close eye on the teen and how close Akira is getting with Sakamoto and the redhead. After making a joke about him naturally drawing athletes to himself, Kawakami eventually lets Akira leave.

At the end of the day, Akira and Morgana meet up with the rest of the group on the school's rooftop. They evaluate how much time they have until expulsion, the plan to steal the treasure and an explanation of Kamoshida's treasure. Once they locate and steal the treasure, the palace supposedly should tear itself down. The main goal for today was to find Kamoshida's treasure and secure an infiltration route. Akira takes out his phone, activating the app to transport the group into the Palace with each of them in their phantom thief attire.

This gave Skull the opportunity to 'examine' Ann's outfit. Blatantly eyeing her frame as his voice draws out, "But daaamn..."

Ann plays with her right ponytail, "hm? What's up?"

Skull stammers out, "N-nothing. I-I was just thinkin' we should choose a code name for you too."

"A code name?"

With a nod to each individual Skull gave out the code names for his team members. Mona looks over Ann, "Judging by your costume..." Skull comments on the tail and ears to help the trio brainstorm a code name. Unfortunately, it results in terrible names which results in Ann conjuring the code name 'Panther'. Well, it was classier than sexycat so they settled on Ann being called Panther. While Skull, Mona and Panther move onward to the castle, a voice beckons Joker causing him to freeze. He looks to the right, the voice belonged to Justine. She stood beside an opened door, blue smoke bled out of the doorway. Justine informed the witch that her master had requested his presence; Akira obliged and walked through the blue doorway. The world around him now conducts itself into the familiar jail cell from his dreams. Igor sat at his desk, still sporting that peculiar grin. He had called Akira to introduce him to a form of support during Akira's rehabilitation. To expand Akira's power to handle multiple personas, Igor provides a service called 'execution'. This allows Akira to execute two personas, fusing them to form a new -and possibly more powerful- persona. Akira selects Jack o lantern and Pixie, fusing them together to create Incubus. Akira hadn't encountered a demon like this before, it certainly had a more ordinary look compared to demons he has seen illustrated in his book of Infernal demons. Igor bestows the witch another gift named 'Third eye' that lets Akira identify things normally visible to the naked eye; It's somewhat similar to travelling into Purgatorio. Akira thanked Igor for his support before leaving through the blue portal and gathering back with his group. They quickly proceed to the safe room they found last time to be the starting point of their infiltration.

So far, their operation has gone smoothly.

The group had made it to the East Building Annex and found a safe room to rest inside. Joker checks up with his team, earning a response from Panther that she is a little weary but can keep going. This sparks a thought in the Umbra witch's head; this is the chance to test whether his lollipops have an effect on the Metaverse. Rustling through his left pocket, Joker says, "This might help you, Panther." He takes out a mega purple lollipop. If the lollipop increases his magic then surely it can increase Patnher's energy (SP).

Panther raises her right eyebrow while Skull and Mona tilt their heads, "A lollipop? Really joker?" He pushes her hand holding the lollipop closer to her face, insisting for her to eat it. With a shrug of her shoulders, Pather pops the lollipop into her mouth. It didn't take long for the rich taste to bombard her taste buds, making her hum in pleasure. She could even feel a sudden rush of magic within her. Tugging the candy out of her mouth, Pather smiles "Wow! That's really good, Joker. Where did you get these?"

"Yeah, I don't remember going out buying lollipops for the infiltration," Mona says with an incredulous tone.

Joker stuffs his hands in his pockets, keeping a chill demeanour, "I bought these before we started planning... I was just curious to see if they'd benefit us in the palace."

Skull jumps out of his seat, "Fine by me dude. Is there anything else you wanna say?"

The leader shakes his head and turns to leave the safe room, his team swiftly join him. As they search for the tower, they discover what looks to be a church's nave. A pair of dark brown pews led the group to a colossal statue of the king. The statue was in pink with Kamoshida raising his left arm to hold a volleyball, his right hand was raised as if he was about to hit the volleyball. The scenery flashes to the school gym for a brief moment; Kamoshida must think he should be seen as some type of god. He has an ego as big as a mammoth. While the two blondes share their disgust for the man, a mysterious voice calls out to them. Unexpectedly, an angel appears in front of them decked out in silver armour. Their red eyes pierce through Joker's as their ruby-coloured wings flap lifting them off the ground. The angel prepares his ambush, charging up his physical strength to perform a more powerful attack. Mona recommends they guard since the angel is trying to do something. Each member shields themselves before the angel strikes at Mona, the cat groaning in pain even though he still stands. Joker allows his new persona -Silky- to use an ice attack while Panther summons Carmen to heal Mona. Skull swings his heavy club at the angel for Mona to follow up with Garu. The angel composes itself to potentially get ready to charge an attack. Joker switches his persona to Arsene to test if Eiha -a skill that causes curse damage- harms the enemy greatly. Despite his temptation egging him to bring out his No Place Like Home guns, Joker holds himself back from letting them enter the battle. Wary of his friends' reactions to his new weapons, Joker decides to only take them out when necessary. Mona echos his Garu skill onto the enemy as Skull and Panther use their persona skills too. The angel begins to charge up his attack, and everyone apart from Joker guards. He'll take the risk and try to dodge this attack, if he can activate Witch Time then this battle could end quickly. The heavenly punisher sees the opportunity and Cleaves at Joker who successfully dodges last minute. The young witch retorts 'Nice Try!' before assaulting the angel with multiple slashes from his dagger and kicks. He gets back into position as the time limit ends, it takes a beat until Mona realises Joker has used his unique ability. He praises their leader before piercing the angel with his curved sword. Although his other teammates were puzzled by their enemy suddenly having a lower health bar they continued their onslaught. Panther ends the battle with an Agi attack from Carmen. The team are able to have a few seconds to rest until they are surrounded by guards. Joker acts rapidly, grabbing his friends to grapple onto the statue's underarms to escape.

Once they're out of danger, Skull remarks "Hey, during that fight, why did the guy have like most of his health down in seconds?"

Panther nods, "Yeah... It was kinda like during my first battle. One second that demon was standing and then the next it was on the floor."

"Allow me to explain," Mona pats Joker's leg, "This guy's persona has a very special ability. When he flourishingly dodges an attack, Joker can stop time which allows him to have an extra turn. Guess you can say it's similar to a Baton pass but it only affects himself."

"It's more of slowing down time than stopping it..." Joker murmurs.

Pather hums taking in the information, "Really? That's pretty cool!"

Skull nods in agreement, "Yeah! Dude, why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

"I-I didn't think it would matter that much. It's just another skill from my persona." Joker's right-hand moves to rub his opposite elbow in an attempt to look nervous.

Mona smiles up at their leader, "Another skill that greatly benefits us! Now let's continue our infiltration." The Phantom thieves jump and climb around the pillars, eventually finding a new hallway. Most likely leading them to the tower. As they sprint down this hallway, Mona stops the group upon viewing something odd in the distance. Using the grappling hook, the team hops over the two balconies to face a green mossy-leaved wall. Some strings of leaves were covering some red double doors. Slashing through these mossy vines, Joker opens the doors to be met with a gloomy room. A gloomy room with an odd skull item in the centre. The crew circle the object and questions what and why it's here. Thankfully, Mona can explain what they've found is a Will Seed, a result of the palace ruler's distortions. He even urges Joker to take the seed as it can be some good loot. Once the red glowing skull makes contact with Joker's palm, the team could feel some of their SP recover. There are two to find in the palace (according to Mona) so Joker leads the team onward. Mentally noting to look out for those types of rooms.

After a couple of fights and utilizing a hidden grappling hook opportunity, the Phantom thieves make it inside the tower and discover a room with blatant distortions. Parts of the floor would rise/fall either blocking small areas or leaving empty holes to fall into if they aren't careful. There are even statues of women's torso wearing a gym uniform, their backs arching to accentuate their curves. However, the group aren't able to fully assess their surroundings when they spot a guard in the distance. Joker ambushes the enemy, causing their amour to mould onto the ground and take the form of two ladies fluttering in the air with their bat-like wings. They wore thigh-high black stockings with matching opera gloves, wearing a tight one-piece bikini. It didn't take long to find their weakness, Mona knocks the ladies down using his Garu skill. Joker triumphantly attains a new persona, her name's Succubus. This sparks something for Joker, if he obtains angel/demon personas would he still have to summon them with his hair? Looks like the only way to find out is to ambush another enemy; they soon locate a single guard patrolling right by a safe room. Swiftly, Joker jumps onto the guard's shoulders and rips their mask off. Revealing two Incubus and one Succubus. Letting out an ill-defined breath, Joker calls out Succubus causing the mask to fade from his face into blue fire. However, his tailcoat begins to retreat up the witch's body along with his pants. Exposing his legs, arms and the majority of his back. The popped collar stayed as it now was connected to his waistcoat, which now opened to reveal his chest. The clothing connects at his thorax (just under his chest) to trail down the front of his waist and his hair now creating bikini-cut underwear. As the Succubus appears, this clarifies to Joker when he summons an angel/demon persona it will require his mask and hair to use them.

The Phantom thieves stare at their leader's new attire -or lack of it- in shock. "Wha- what the hell?!" Skull stutters out in disbelief. "Mona, do you know why clothes are suddenly disappearing?!"

Mona shakes his head, "I-I have no idea!" He has never seen a persona user have such a sudden change in their uniform. Maybe it's another unique skill Joker has. "Maybe it's because of the persona he is wielding... I can't be too certain."

Panther, a faint blush hidden by her mask, glances at Joker, "Hey, are you ok Joker?"

Joker smiles and nods at the girl before Succubus strikes one of the Incubuses, brainwashing the demon to attack another fellow Incubus. Mona topples the single Succubus and does a baton pass to Panther, permitting her to target the Incubus' fire weakness. The team performs an All-out attack ending the battle; the three thieves continue to question the Umbra witch on why his clothing changed upon calling a persona. Despite the two blondes wanting an explanation for what had just happened, Mona changes the subject by saying they continue onward before more soldiers appear. With a tinge of hesitance in their steps, the two blondes follow Joker and Mona into another safe room.

Akira flops onto his bed with an exasperated sigh; he is worn out from today. After finding the treasure they decided to leave the Palace and go home. Akira and Morgana made it back to Leblanc around the evening so he spent the last few hours of his spare time studying and cleaning the rest of his bedroom. However, he isn't able to sleep when Morgana jumps beside the lying teen.

The cat looks over Akira's face, "So, care to explain what happened with your outfit during our infiltration?" Akira raises an eyebrow, pretending to be clueless to buy more time to think of an answer. Maybe he can use the excuse of his- "And don't say it's because of your persona. I've never seen a persona user have to alter their whole uniform just to summon a specific persona." There was some sternness in Morgana's voice. Ever since Morgana had met the teen he concluded he would be very useful in helping him recover his memories and true form. A part of him could perceive a special power within the teen as well... observing him slow down time by simply dodging attacks and his outfit changes could possibly be linked. Morgana needs to know the full extent of Akira's power.

The Umbra witch uses his elbows to perch himself up, averting his eyes away from his friend. His mind couldn't come up with a solid explanation in such a short amount of time; there was no other choice but to tell him the truth. Akira gazes back to Morgana, "If I tell you, you cannot tell Ryuji and Ann yet."

One of Morgana's ears dip down, "Why not?"

"What I'm about to tell you is something essential to me and I can't just share it with other people. I'm sure you won't kiss and tell," There was also the fact that he couldn't really talk to anyone but Ryuji, Ann and himself. Akira wouldn't have to worry about Morgana spreading this to multiple people. "Also, it will most likely confuse Ryuji and Ann, I want to wait until they fully understand the Metaverse before unloading something else for them." Morgana nods, staying silent to let Akira continue, "Now... Have you ever heard of an Umbra witch?"

Morgana becomes perplexed by the sudden question. He feels like he has heard of that before...? He repeats, "An Umbra witch?"

Akira makes an amused smile, nonplussed that Morgana wouldn't be aware of his ancient clan. "Decades ago there were two ancient clans; the Lumen sages and the Umbra witches. The sages were followers of light while the witches were the followers of the dark. Unfortunately, due to feuds between the clans and other events, both clans were shattered and resulted in very few survivors." Akira stands up and turns to have his body facing the end of the bed. "Luckily my parents-" Akira drags the word upon realising he can't say his parents lived through these hurdles decades ago. It would just cause more questions, "-great great great grandmothers still taught the dark arts from Umbran training, passing it down to generations. I was taught this Umbran training as well, one of the aspects of Umbran training is something called 'Witch Time'."

"I'm assuming that's when you slowed down time?" Akira answers the cat's question with a nod. "That's- wait so your parents taught this? Does that mean you can do this Witch Time ability in the real world?"

The Umbra witch grins and nods, taking a lockpick out of his pocket. He tosses it next to Morgana, "Yeah, I'll show you... Try throwing that at my face."

In spite of Morgana only having paws, he manages to pick up the lockpick and throws it towards the teen. Akira simply moves to the side two seconds before it can make contact with his face. Within the short timeframe, Akira struts over to the plant they had found while cleaning. The cat forms a muddled expression once Witch Time is over, Morgana's head twists around to search for Akira. He gasps, breathing out "Wow... That's excellent." Now Morgana is one hundred percent confident that Akira has some significant power; this will immensely help not only the phantom thieves but Morgana's personal goal too. Though his amazement is swiftly crowded by confusion, "But what about your clothes in the Metaverse? You still haven't explained about that."

With an awkward chuckle, Akira explains, "Well... To enhance an Umbra witch's power, they will bind a contract with a demon." Morgana begins to hum in interest, linking the very few similarities it has with personas. "In order to summon and control a demon, Umbra witches must use their hair. I know... it sounds weird but it's a great conduit for manifesting Inerfernals into the world. Umbra witches wear skin-tight clothing so it won't hinder their skills during battle; so we shape a battle uniform with our hair. Hence why I almost became naked when I summoned Succubus."

There was a pregnant pause in the room, Morgana seemed to be thinking of how to respond while Akira -for some odd reason- felt tense. Was it because he hadn't been this open about his personal business before? Morgana sighs, laying across the bed covers "Although it's a lot to take in, I understand this Umbran witch business." Akira's face relaxes and he sits next to his friend, "I do have more questions but I can see you're exhausted from today. So I'll hold them off for now, you need to focus on getting some sleep and when to send the calling card." Akira ends the conversation with an approving hum before properly getting into bed.

19 April 2018

Luka has a quick read through his notes... there were only three new pieces of writing. He hasn't been able to get four full pages of information on these breakdowns; even with the information from his collaborator. Who, at this moment, is drinking her fifth glass, her cheeks having a tint of red with occasional giggles leaving her lips. Then again, he probably shouldn't expected much since she is more focused on journalism in the entertainment department. Nobody else was willing to work with him for some odd reason. These psychotic breakdowns are reported yet no one seems fully interested in inspecting what exactly could be causing this.

Realising how late it has gotten, Luka gets up from his seat and bends back slightly to crack his back. He slides the amount of money to pay for the three drinks he had, "Thanks Lala," The woman nods back at him with a sweet smile, thanking him for being a gentleman these past few days. He looks down at the half-drunk journalists, "That's enough for today, Ohya. When shall we meet up again? I'm mostly free for the rest of the week."

Ohya giggles, "Fine by me! I will be free as well so... let's say Saturday?" Luka nods with a thumbs up as she raises her glass, "Great! I'll see if I can find any more info, see ya around Luka sweetie!"

The two wave goodbye as Luka leaves the bar, now walking through the brightly lighted and boisterous area of Shinjuku. Luka wasn't used to such a spirited area but there were some factors he liked. An example would be this cute fortune teller at the end of the street, despite his flirtation failing with the woman Luka did have an interesting fortune read to him. 'In the future, he will stumble upon something magnificent yet it will form a target on his back'. Luka was rather wary about this fortune, but it didn't deter him from his journalism. It wouldn't be shocking if his work gets him onto someone's bad side; it's not something he isn't used to. Speaking of getting on someone's bad side, he should check up on his nephew.

It only four rings until Akira's voice transits through the phone, "Hi Cheshire, how's everything?"

"Eh, could be better but I want to know how's everything with you."

Akira lets out an awkward chuckle, slowly deciding on what order the updates should be in, "I have made some more friends and I've managed to get some business sorted... mostly."

Luka didn't question the vagueness of his answer, the teen might be with a friend or with the old bird. "Good good..." He draws out his words. The two begin to chat about simple things - school work, areas of Toyko they've encountered, Akira's new friends- before calling it a night.

"So your uncle's a journalist?"

"Yeah he did try to help deal with Kamoshida but-"

"YOU'VE TOLD HIM TOO?!"