Sokila was wearing a little chef's hat.

Arranged before her were four bowls of...questionable content, courtesy of her senpai.

"So...what should I try first?"

Lavenza's attempt at raising her hand was thwarted by Elizabeth bull-rushing towards the dining table (which was now sitting near the wall furthest from the stage...and since when had there been a dining room table?), knocking her younger sister out of the way.

"Me! Me me. Pick ME!" Elizabeth looked towards Margaret and Theodore. "I believe that will suffice to claim the 'dibs'?"

"Is something so legendary that easily obtained...?" wondered Theo.

Margaret simply shook her head. Lavenza rose with a pout, glaring angrily at her impulsive sister.

Sokila ignored all this, looking at the bubbly red soup that Elizabeth had concocted. With a determined nod, she wrapped her mouth around a large spoonful...

"...well?" inquired Elizabeth. "I used a Hell Biker as a base, and added plenty of Agnis and Salamanders for flavor!"

...and with a flurry of blinks, Sokila opened her mouth wide to belch fire.

Margaret and Theo stared calmly at the charred Elizabeth, who seemed rather unaffected by the display. Lavenza quietly muttered something along the lines of 'serves you right'.

Sokila...well, she was more confused than anything. "I can breathe fire? COOL! Uh, I mean, HOT!" She blinked again. "...how did I breathe fire?"

"Did you destroy her taste buds from the sheer heat?" pondered Theo with a fearful look.

Margaret ignored her brother's baseless inquiry. "Well, you are One Who Rules Over Power, much like us. The connection we have with our Guests demands nothing less...and for one with Shinji Ikari's Potential, your ceiling is quite high indeed."

Sokila blinked, not quite sure what she meant.

Elizabeth — after dousing the fire threatening to consume her hat — helpfully explained, "she means that you can thrash your Guest silly, should you so desire."

Sokila's eyes widened with surprised shock. "B-b-but that would be mean! And he might hate me! Nuh-uh, you can't make me fight my Guest!" With a frustrated flailing of the arms, she accidentally knocked the bowls over, mixing all of the food(?) together-!

"Oh dear," moaned Theo.

KABOOM!

As the Attendants all dived for cover from the sudden explosion of elemental energy, Igor simply watched their shenanigans with amusement.

The faint haze of blue began to brighten-

xxxx

/Sunday: July 26, 2015/

/Courtyards, Hakone Academy/

"Surprised you're already up and at it," admitted Toji Suzuhara as he jogged alongside Shinji Ikari.

"You really think so?" asked Shinji.

"Well, you practically slept like a dead man after exams wrapped up yesterday."

"...well-"

"And hey, I get it. You had a bunch of crap to deal with, what with the Ghosts and the Acolytes and whatnot."

"It was pretty exhausting," admitted Shinji.

"Anyhow...gonna be visiting my sister today. Mind coming with?"

Shinji nearly faltered midstep. "Eh? M-Me?!"

"Well...at this point, why not? Ken's doing intern crap, and Nagisa...far as I'm concerned, he's too damn weird to let anywhere near my sister."

"...but why me?"

"Hey, you've seen my Shadow. Figured it can't be anymore embarrassing than that, right?"

"...I guess so..."

"All right then!"

The two boys continued their morning jog for about another hour. By the end of it, Shinji was feeling a bit more vigorous than before...but not by much.

xxxx

One public bus ride later, Toji and Shinji were walking into the hospital lobby. "You're gonna need to get a visitor's badge...eh, you probably know this already."

"...well, I haven't exactly been to a hospital without being a patient," admitted Shinji. (That time in the Metaverse didn't quite count.)

"...man, you have crappy luck."

Shinji couldn't quite deny that.

So as Toji walked him through the process (because it was clear enough that the staff recognized him by now) and got him his laminated visitor's badge, Shinji found himself looking around...only to blink at the sight of a young man with silvery hair cut into a distinctive bowl, wearing the clothes of one of the hospital orderlies. Wait...is that Narukami-san...? "Um, Suzuhara-san...I have to take care of something real quick." He began walking away.

"Hey wait, the room is-!"

"I know where your sister is," he called over his shoulder.

"How do...oh. Wait. Metaverse stuff. Right." Toji smacked his forehead. "Keep forgetting that."

So Shinji quietly followed Yu Narukami, who was getting onto an elevator with a rolling cart full of freshly laundered linens and blankets. The high school student simply looked quietly at him while pressing one button: 8 (wow, what a coincidence). Right as the doors closed, the older boy asked, "so why are you following me? Your friend might get lonely. Or lost. This hospital's kind of big."

Shinji blinked, as if just now thinking about it (seriously, why did you follow him?). "Well..."

"In fact, there was one visitor about a year ago who got stuck in the elevator with a patient that had a very unstable gastrointestinal system. Imagine 'silent, but deadly'...then throw out the silence and add more deadliness. Imagine being stuck with that for an hour. That could happen to you, and that would be very unfortunate. So, why did you follow me?"

The sudden swerve from non-sequitur to question actually hurt. "...uh-"

Ding, chimed the elevator; they were on the third floor. Some nurses stepped on, talking amongst themselves. Shinji and Narukami stepped back to give them more space (though a couple seemed to look at Narukami with an...amorous expression?). As the nurses pressed their own buttons — 4, 5, and 6 — Narukami repeated his question.

Shinji finally admitted, "I'm...not sure why."

Narukami lightly sighed. "I should have seen the signs."

"What signs-?"

"You're not the first kouhai to have fallen for me. I'm flattered, but you're not my type."

Shinji flushed with impulsive outrage and embarrassment (all the while trying to ignore the sudden glares of jealousy that some of the nurses sent his way?), sputtering, "t-t-that's not it at all!"

Narukami continued on as if he hadn't heard his protest. "Then again, if you do find out what my type is, could you tell me? I forget sometimes."

"...eh?!"

Narukami didn't provide any further commentary, so Shinji simply remained silent. (You went to this guy for tutoring and he instead decided to take you fishing with his buddies. This whole conversation seems perfectly normal by comparison.) By the time they arrived on the eighth floor, the nurses had already stepped out; as such, there was nothing to prevent Shinji from asking a different question. "So...you work here?" (Great job, brain. It's not like he's wearing the clothes of an orderly for fun. Of COURSE he works here!)

"Part time. Would prefer to work elsewhere, but the old lady happens to be here, so..."

"Old lady?" Context was key. "Like...your mother?"

"Someone more important." Narukami briefly paused, as if recognizing how odd that sounded. "Sorry. My parents are kind of...distant. But she...doesn't have anyone left in her family. So I try to make it easier for her."

He rolled the cart down the hall, briefly tapping at the hand sanitizer pump outside the door before knocking in a distinctive pattern. Bum, bada-bah-dah, bum bum, went his knuckles against the hard surface. With that done, he opened the door. "Hello Miss Dojima. I brought fresh linens, still nice and warm."

Shinji quietly followed, looking over Narukami's shoulder; lying on the bed, hooked up to numerous scanners, was an aged woman with a very matronly air. However, the joyous smile on her wrinkled face had the character of someone much younger and livelier. "Oh, you're far too polite for someone so young, Yu-kun...I've told you before to call me Nanako-chan." Her brown eyes slowly tracked towards him. "Ah...someone much younger...you've brought a friend? How wonderful: I like meeting new people!"

Narukami grinned bitterly (though not so much that this woman could tell). "Funny; I seem to recall you telling me about how, as a kid, you were very shy around new people."

The woman giggled quietly; it was the breathy sound of someone who wanted to laugh harder, yet now lacked the physical ability to do so. "Well...as you said, I was much younger. Everyone grows up eventually."

With practiced ease, Narukami lifted Nanako out of her bed — not jostling any of the sensors connected to her body — and into a nearby sofa chair, allowing him to switch out her linens and blankets with new ones. As he did so, the elderly lady cheerfully and calmly talked to Shinji as though he were an old friend. "Been really good about not having any accidents lately, it's just so awful getting old at times...you should enjoy your youth, you know? After all, I used to run my own grocery store and garden and all of that fine stuff, back when I was a big girl..."

Shinji nodded along, not really having anything to contribute since the woman seemed fine with talking to her heart's content.

"Okay Miss Dojima, it's ready."

The old woman didn't bother to correct Narukami on the name as she was placed back onto the hospital bed; as she was covered back up, she visibly snuggled deeper, sighing at the feel of warm cotton. "I wish you worked here more often, Yu-kun; why don't you drop out of school and work here full-time?"

"As much as I'd like to spend more time with you, I have a lot of things to take care of at school. It would be...improper, for me to leave now."

"Ah, you're so mature for your age...as polite as some of the other orderlies are, I can tell that most of them don't really care. They smile and play the part, but none of them mean it like you do." The woman leaned back into her pillow, staring up at the ceiling with a solemn gaze. "Yes...meaning it..."

Shinji inwardly grimaced at the sudden awkwardness, but Narukami seemed to take it in stride. His senpai said some warm platitudes before reaching to place the used linens into a basket underneath his rolling cart. Taking this as a sign that they were about to leave, Shinji walked between Narukami and the bed to walk towards the door-ow ow OW. Shinji paled at the sudden grip on his wrist; Nanako Dojima had grabbed it like a vice, and her right eye was suddenly a piercing yellow. "Wha-?"

"Liberator," hissed the woman, sounding monstrous and otherworldly. "Free us; FREE US!"

"I don't-!" What's happening?!

Calmly and quietly, Narukami placed his hands on top of hers, chanting quietly in a singsong voice. "Everyday young life, Junesu...keitai katate no...eigyou ojisan..." The lyrics he spoke seemed to work their magic on the old woman, as her eye color reverted to normal with a few soft blinks. "Are you okay, Nanako-chan?"

"...feel tired..." She glanced up at the silver-haired student, a strange yet weak smile on her face. "It's strange...I never had siblings...but I want to call you Big Bro...isn't that silly...?"

Narukami simply smiled. "It'll be time for lunch soon. After I make the rest of my rounds, I'll make sure to come back to bring you to the day room. In the meantime, do you want me to turn on the television?"

"If you would be so kind," she whispered, staring towards the flatscreen affixed to the wall. "I miss the big old television sets...where you could sit down and get up close and personal..." Narukami flipped the television on, which was set to a channel dedicated to classic programming. On it was displayed the introductory title sequence of an old show called Everyday's Great at Your Junes! "Ah, what great timing!" With a happy grin, she looked at Shinji — seemingly oblivious to how she had just grabbed him — and breathily said, "can you believe they made a show about my store? What a crazy world we live in, isn't it?"

"...yeah..."

"Please don't hesitate to call the nurses if something changes," diplomatically said Narukami, lightly bowing towards her. "Have a good day, Miss Dojima."

"Goodbye," murmured the woman, already wrapped up in her show. The last thing they heard before closing the door was her humming the theme song.

Shinji was honestly perplexed. "...what was...?" His senpai simply gestured with a finger towards an open room in the side of the hallway. It was a small break room of sorts, holding a water fountain, a few vending machines, and a number of benches. Rolling his linen cart along the wall, Narukami took a seat on one of the benches and motioned for Shinji to sit down beside him. Right after doing so, Shinji finally asked, "What happened?"

"The patients on this floor are all victims of some form of cognitive or spiritual malady, much like your friend's younger sister at the end of the hall," calmly answered Narukami. "Miss Dojima's no exception."

"...what happened to her?"

"She used to run her own grocery store called Junes out of Fuefuki, over fifty kilometers northwest of Tokyo-3. It grew to be a pretty successful regional chain, to the point where most people remember it for the slice-of-life anime. Then Second Impact happened, and she lost her father, along with most of the people she grew up with. A few years later, she was the victim of Angel Syndrome herself, except...the damage wasn't total, like it is with almost everyone else. Don't know much of the details since I'm just an orderly, but I've got good ears." Leaning back against the bench, he added, "her Shadow, in order to survive the damage caused by an Acolyte, fused with her. That's why she sometimes manifests those...odd characteristics." Those last words had been said with a forced air of diplomacy. "It's why this hospital is almost like a nursing home for certain patients, because of the research opportunity they present. They're not invasive or harmful, as far as I can tell...but from what I've been able to gather, she has no one."

"...she seemed to like you."

"Yeah. Strange, isn't it? I'm practically a complete stranger, yet..." Those piercing gray eyes turned towards him, and Shinji suddenly felt so very small. "Rumors travel pretty quickly at school...people like to talk about what exactly that message from Strega means."

Oh. (Not him too...) "...well-"

"I'm not going to trouble you about it. After all, you did destroy the giant crystal that's now sitting outside the city. That being said...things have gone like they are for long enough...and you, for whatever reason, have the power to do something about it. To keep what happened to Miss Dojima and all the other victims from repeating itself." With a strangely heavy air, he asked, "no matter what happens...will you see this through to the end?"

The air was...heavy. Thick. Why? There was an undeniable gravity to Narukami-senpai's words that shouldn't have been possible.

His Other and the Beast both stood behind him.

"Take a stand."

"...I...I will."

Yu Narukami nodded. "...good."

(Little did Shinji know, but elsewhere in the city, Minato Arisato and Ren Amamiya both looked up with alarm and knowing...and finally, acceptance.)

xxxx

And all the while, on a subconscious level, in words he had no way of knowing...a familiar voice spoke, within the depths of his being:

I am thou, thou art I...
Thou hast acquired a new bond.

It shall lead thou to the truth
that parts the seas of depravity.

Take hold of the Judgement Arcana,
and let it guide you
to a new Promised Land...

xxxx

"Your friend's probably waiting for you." Yu Narukami rose, looking down at the young man he now had a bond with. "Try not to get lost, kouhai."

"Oh. Right. Thank you, senpai." Shinji lightly bowed before scurrying on, walking-but-not-quite-running down the hall to where Sakura Suzuhara's room was.

Yu Narukami waited a few seconds before he quietly whipped out his phone, opening a familiar chatroom.

Emo-senpai: well?
Frizzy Hair: don't leave us in suspense

Yu calmly responded.

The Investigator: He was ready.

Emo-senpai: If you say so.
Frizzy Hair: Better late than never, eh? :/

Narukami pocketed his phone, confident with the decision he had made, before rising up to continue his rounds. The work of an orderly is never done, he mused.

xxxx

Toji's expression was somewhat accusatory as Shinji finally entered the room. "About time. What took ya?"

"Um...there was someone at school that I saw working here. I got to speaking with them and..." (He paled as a bony hand clutched him tight, speaking with the tone of someone who demanded absolution and mercy and had been DENIED FOR COUNTLESS AGES-) "...lost track of time."

"Eh. Well, you're here." He gestured toward the bed wherein his little sister slept, connected to machines that were far more elaborate than those in Nanako Dojima's room. "Sakura Suzuhara, this is Shinji Ikari. Ikari, Sakura."

"...can...can she hear us?" With how still and silent she was, it wasn't hard to imagine her as one of the dead.

"She can, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Way it's been described to me, it's that she ain't in a coma or anything. Brain's working just fine...but her soul ain't. She just can't...do anything."

"That sounds..." Like being stuck in a prison, bound and gagged and shrouded in darkness that you couldn't escape. A hellish existence.

Toji huffed. "I see the look on your face. It could be something awful. Could be that she's fashioned an imaginary world for herself to pass the time. The doctors say that her brain doesn't show any of the usual signs of stress, so who's to say? She can't answer, plain and simple. I've...had to live with that."

"...is there a way of healing her?"

"If there is one, it hasn't been found yet." Sighing, he sat on a nearby chair, resting elbows on his knees. Somehow, the motion felt more appropriate for a tired and weary father than that of an older brother. "You might be thinking it's cruel to even talk like this. To get her hopes up. But...not talking like it ain't a thing would be even worse, you know? To just ignore it, like it ain't even thing." The boy looked down at his hands, in the manner of one confessing their sins. "Learned the hard way that doesn't go so well in the long term. You get what I'm saying?"

Shinji thought of his power. His role in a world threatened with extinction by the Angels. The growing disdain of Evangelion, fed by Strega. His father (oh gods, always his father). "...yeah."

"But, I've talked about horrible stuff enough. I brought you here so Sakura could have some cool things to hear about."

"Cool things?" he repeated, unable to apply the term to himself with any success. "Um...I don't know if I count-"

"Ah, nonsense! You destroyed a giant crystal monster that was apparently the cause of all those Acolytes that I fought alongside Ken and sensei during the new moon. I've already said enough about how awesome we were, but I bet Sakura would like to hear someone else yak for a change."

"...well...are you sure-?"

"Hell yes I am!"

"But, why me? I'm not family, and...well, besides being roommates, we still don't know each other that well."

"Besides having 'crappy dad' situations for very different reasons?" remarked Toji with a raised eyebrow. "Well, you saved me from my own Shadow, for one. And you've saved me indirectly with all that Evangelion stuff you do. So...yeah. Obsessing over the manners of it all seems sort of pointless."

That was a fair enough observation to make. (He wished that he could so easily forget the rules — written and unwritten — regarding social niceties.) Sighing, Shinji pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed, staring at the young girl's stoic, apathetic face. "Hello, Suzuhara-chan...I hope you don't mind if I call you that."

"Eh, go for it," said Toji, giving him permission by proxy.

"...it's honestly odd, talking about my battles outside of a debriefing." There, all details were extracted with excruciating precision, because NERV demanded it. Here...he doubted it mattered. "But...think of a blue gem. A shiny crystal, like any other piece of quartz you'd find on the ground, except with a pure color like the deep blue sea, unlike any other...imagine if it were alive. Imagine if it...hated you. That it wanted to hurt you, because of it. It could live, and grow, and strike with light and heat and parts of itself. Me and my friend," and he felt no hesitation in thinking of Rei Ayanami as a friend, "were surrounded by it. It was like...being in another world. A world that was alive and wanted you to die." Should I really be talking like this to a little girl?

The Beast grinned; its teeth were smeared with blood.

"She may be little, and she may be a girl, but she is far from being a 'little girl'..."

The Beast leaned down, running a wickedly sharp finger across Sakura Suzuhara's scalp.

"This world robbed her of her childhood; you cannot hurt that which is already gone."

"...but we had to fight, regardless. Because it was necessary. Because no one else could. This living crystal...called itself Ramiel. And Ramiel hurt us both very much...but we were still able to fight back. We had to." Rei's back, burned and bleeding, came to mind within an instant. He had no clue if he would reach the level of self-mastery required to ignore such a painful wound. (He briefly wondered if he even wanted to.) "Imagine a river of pure sunlight, pouring down from the heavens...faster than any waterfall. Hot, like the worst sunburn." His soul, however, had held strong against the torrent. "I threw my friend through it, with all the power I had...and she pierced through the other side with a single blow. And just like that...it was over." He leaned back, briefly expecting to see Sakura Suzuhara looking back at him with unease, fear, or even revulsion.

His Other shook his head.

"Your nature seems inclined towards pessimism and cynicism...even if there's no reason to."

His Other held up a mirror.

"Have you ever wondered why?"

Naturally, Sakura Suzuhara was still quiet and unmoving.

Toji Suzuhara, on the other hand, looked rather taken aback. "...so it was like that, huh?"

"...more or less."

"...damn."

"What is it?"

"Dunno, just...well, the whole apprenticeship thing with Sakamoto-sensei got me thinking of my Persona and our fights in video game terms. Like the Acolytes' Shadows were just bosses to be put down, you know? But...the way you describe it is something else."

"Well...it's not a game, Suzuhara-san," he solemnly said. "People have died."

"...yeah. I'm aware," he muttered. "Guess it's a good thing to be reminded of that..." Inhaling deeply, he slapped at his knees to refocus. "Well, that's all pretty awesome to hear, but I'm sure you have some amusing stories to share too, don't you? Like, it can't all be doom and gloom, yeah?"

You'd be surprised. (He has no clue.) "...um, have you told her about Misato-san's pet penguin?"

Toji snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! Can't believe I forgot to mention that the last time I was around. Okay sis, so imagine a penguin...you know what penguins look like, right? Well, imagine a bird that doesn't fly, with flippers instead of wings. Now, imagine that this bird can also play cards."

The two boys spent the next two hours filling the air with various stories of their lives in Tokyo-3, veering away from darker subject matter. It wasn't until hospital personnel told them it was time for another round of tests on Suzuhara-chan that the boys were eventually ushered out. This was how they found themselves waiting for the elevator to reach the eighth floor, making plans to grab lunch somewhere nearby. "...Suzuhara-san."

"Yeah?"

"...thanks for inviting me."

"What for? It just felt proper, is all."

"It still can't have been easy, sharing this with someone you've known for less than two months." There were things he thought about regarding family that he hadn't shared with anyone, including those he had known for much longer. "And...I know that I'm far from the best at talking..."

Toji shrugged, looking rather uneasy by this show of honest self-deprecation. "Eh, you're just a kid like me. Can't be trusted with being good at everything, you know?"

"...I'm being trusted to save the world," he said. "Being 'just a kid'...I don't think that matters much, anymore..."

Toji snorted. "Heck, you're preaching to the converted."

Ding, chimed the elevator. As the boys stepped and waited for the cab to descend, Shinji couldn't help but think that he had gotten to know quite a bit more about Toji today...

xxxx

After grabbing a quick lunch with Toji, Shinji found himself wandering. Storm clouds were gathering in the sky, pregnant with rain; it was fitting weather, given the heavy conversations he'd had so far that day. It also provided him an opportunity to ponder PILATE's question from the other day. There were so many facets to consider, that it was honestly...intimidating. An oni...a rival lord...what lengths are justified...? The fact that the MAGI had mentioned 'consistency'...well, it certainly didn't make him look forward to answering. Getting into the heads of the characters in the hypothetical scenario was even more difficult as a result. If only he had a bit more empathy, then it would've been easier...maybe...?

Fortunately, there was someone around to provide a distraction.

And 'distraction' was definitely the right word, because what else could describe an axe-wielding girl tailing a blue-haired high school student along the city streets? Why is Kirishima-san following Minato Arisato...? Intrigued (and possibly concerned for Arisato's health), he began following Kirishima from a distance. (And honestly, he was so used to seeing her in the bodysuit that the fact she was wearing jeans and a Featherman T-shirt only made the inclusion of her usual weapons even weirder.)

Naturally, this meant he was witness to the instances where Kirishima was pulled over by local cops on the beat, because she had a giant axe and shield on her back. He could only wonder what was on the slip of paper that she kept showing them, but it was apparently enough to get them off of her case. (He sensed Misato-san's hand here, for some reason.) Onward she went, until he eventually followed her to a row of hedge bushes arranged around a restaurant's outdoor dining area. She was actually peering over them, looking through the windows...at Minato Arisato, eating a sandwich.

His presence was finally noticed, as Mana glanced over her shoulder. "...were you following me?"

"...yes?"

"How come?"

"Because you were following Arisato-san."

"Why follow me because of that? Do you know him?"

(How was it that she had been the one acting incredibly sketchy, yet was somehow capable of making him sound like the one at fault?) "...well, he tutored me once. Kind of."

"In what? Wielding enhanced anti-Ghost weaponry?"

Shinji blinked out of confusion. Eh? "Well...I'd say fishing, except he didn't actually fish. That was more Narukami-san and Amamiya-san."

Mana's face curdled into a disgruntled expression. "...how about this, if you shift us to the Metaverse real quick, I'll tell you why I'm following him. I'd rather be somewhere with less...squishy people around."

"...er, right now?"

"You want to know or not?"

"Okay, okay!" There were multiple reasons as to why shifting into the Metaverse in broad daylight was a bad idea, if only because public sentiment related to anything Metaverse-related was on...shaky grounds, now. But, the possibility of simply saying 'no' or 'just a minute' to the bossy girl seemed to escape him, so he grabbed onto her shoulder and began to concentrate-

xxxx

-the world was gray in its entirety...but only for an instant.

"Ah...the story of your life, isn't it?" said the voice of his Other.

He didn't have time to ponder the meaning behind that question, because the transition was quick-

xxxx

-and just like that, the two were in the Metaverse. Archetypes evoking spirits of gluttony and sloth hovered about the cafe's cognitive double, which appeared to be made of meat and cheese. "Well...we're here."

"So we are. Follow me." Without hesitation, Kirishima flexed her knees and leapt into the air, already taking advantage of her weapons' enhancements in the more malleable environment of the cognitive world. Within a matter of minutes, she had scaled the building in its entirety.

"...hmph," muttered Shinji, unable to help the brief burst of irritation that flickered through him.

"Women, am I right?" joked a nearby Incubus that was floating on by.

He shot the perverted Archetype an exasperated glare before summoning a Persona: one of the newer ones that he had obtained during the heavy glut of missions over the course of final exams. "Koppa Tengu!" The masked bird-man, unlike many of his other Personas, was only slightly bigger than he was; as such, when muscular arms latched onto him, it didn't feel quite so overwhelming. Gray, hawk-like wings flapped as they ascended ever higher, eventually coming level to where Kirishima-san stood. The avian ninja deposited him onto the roof, nodding with satisfaction before dispersing into bolts of blue flame. "Okay...so, why were you following Arisato-san?"

"Because he did something that's supposed to be impossible for normal people."

"...which would be?"

Slowly, Kirishima pulled AIGIS and LABRYS off of her back, resting them against the hard surface of the roof. The undulating black and red pattern of the sky provided a stark contrast to her silhouette, making her words sound all the more meaningful. "He synchronized with them...and used them to cut down an Acolyte. During the last new moon."

Shinji boggled, because Arisato's frame did not look like it could withstand an axe of such size. "He did that?"

"Yeah. Katsuragi said I had a free day to myself, so I've been walking around trying to find him."

"...why?"

"Because he actually taught me something about my own damned weapons! Doesn't that strike you as suspicious?"

It honestly did. "Did...you tell anyone else?"

Mana went still, as one suddenly reminded of something. "...no, actually."

"...why?"

"...not sure." Mana honestly sounded...really perturbed, and worried. "I...made it a point to bring him up to Katsuragi, in case he was some secret A.T. Agent or Cognitive Freelancer or something like that...but...with everything that happened that day...I guess it just slipped my mind to talk about him during my debriefing."

"...huh." That was oddly concerning, yet...for some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to feel too bothered about Arisato. (Little did he know that the Velvet Room's protection of its Guests extended even against the actions of other Guests...sometimes. And not always with consistency. Fortunately, this was one of those times.) He just mentally chalked it up to just another one of his senpai's oddities. "Were you...going to turn him in?"

"Hell no, I wanted to find out what he knew so I could become stronger," she immediately retorted, moving back to more familiar territory. "It's...important. You know why it's important."

Shinji felt somber, already recognizing the turn in dialogue based on the emotional conversations he'd already had today. "Your brothers..."

"I...I think I've got Katsuragi's trust. I'd like to think that, anyway. Don't know how, but I think I do. I just don't know if her word alone will be enough to let me start searching for them." She sat down on the roof, gazing at the imposing form of the Cognitive Protection Center, looming over them like an oppressive judge. "...I asked her."

"Asked...what?"

"If those Ocular Drone things had spotted anyone matching my brothers' description. Not a trace. Which means wherever they ended up is beyond the Hakone region. Which is reasonable, because they busted out somewhere around Tokyo-1...except Katsuragi also said she'd passed on their descriptions to the other Task Force stations throughout the Kanto, Chūbu, and Tōhoku regions. So far...nothing." Her green eyes were overshadowed by her chestnut bangs, but they did little to hide the despair which threatened to break free. "Which means I have to take a more active role. I have to."

The quiet desperation in Kirishima's voice was difficult to bear. "So...what are you going to do?"

"Do more missions. Do more work. As much as I need to do until I can be trusted to go off on my own."

"...you don't think Misato-san would go along with you?"

"No," she immediately answered. Then she paused, as though correcting herself. "Well...maybe. She might, if she didn't have her duties to worry about. She...hasn't been around her apartment, that much."

"Really?" Then again, who was he to talk? He and Ayanami (and, presumably, Asuka Langley-Sohryu) had been run ragged over the course of summer finals. "Well...Kirishima-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Do...do you trust me?"

She shot him a confused look. "...can't say I do. We may be allies, but we're not friends."

"...well...I can understand that." They hadn't exactly started on the best foot. "But...I can still help, can't I?"

"How? You don't exactly have much in the way of free time yourself."

"Well, why not come with me on more missions? We...did pretty well on our mission to America. We would just make sure everything is cleared with Misato-san and your custodian first."

Mana snorted. "I nearly died against the Reaper the last time we worked together. You're expected to fight Angels. Quite frankly...you're out of my league. You've more than made that clear." The bitterness in her voice made Shinji wince...but he couldn't blame her.

(His rage was something that writhed and rattled as something alive; Mana, who had so earnestly tried to kill him earlier, was now pleading for her life. He was done. He was...simply done. "I don't care." With those words, he raised his shovel up high.)

An involuntary shudder went through him, as he recalled how closely he had come to murdering her. I wonder how I looked to her? Even though apologies had been made, what could words truly amount to without action? "Well...I could help...couldn't I?"

"...how?"

"I need practice with controlling this power of mine." He never wanted to risk losing himself to his rage again. "And...I'll be able to handle your power. You...won't have to hold back."

"Very backhanded way of saying that I'm too weak to be a threat to you."

"N-no, that's not what I was saying-!"

"And you'd be right. I already threw everything I had against you at Tokita's lab...and I came up short. No point in denying that." She glanced down at her axe and shield, a complicated expression on her face: a mixture of earnest longing and defeated resignation...culminating into frustrated determination. "But...you really mean it? You're willing to help me get stronger?"

"Why not?"

"...the lengths you people go to for someone who previously tried killing you, I swear..." Huffing and puffing, Mana finally stood with a bit more confidence, her expression losing its former hesitancy. "Okay then. We're in the Metaverse. Might as well start now."

"...wait." Shinji blinked. "Like...right here? On the rooftop?"

"Why not?" she said, repeating his exact tone from moments ago.

"Well, for starters, you two would likely cause a fuss." The duo gazed up; without them knowing, a trio of Ocular Drones had been watching them. "If you're going to train, would you mind relocating to somewhere outside of the city? I'd rather not risk disturbing ambient thoughts."

That voice...? "Akechi-san?"

"I'm glad you've managed to find some free time, Ikari-san. Though, given the fact that you've met double your monthly quota over the past week alone, I suppose I can't blame you."

"Uh...thanks?" For some reason, despite Goro Akechi's polite tone, there was something...vaguely insincere about it? "We'll be off then."

And so, despite some grumbling from Mana ("We were on top of a building that was over twenty stories tall, who were we gonna disturb?!"), they swiftly relocated to the top of Mount Ashigara, standing to the north of Tokyo-3's city limits. Kirishima stood with a wide stance, AIGIS held forward and LABRYS resting over her shoulders. "All right, Ikari...I'm ready!"

She sounds like she's trying to psyche herself up. (This is the first time you've fought since you nearly killed her. Of COURSE she's nervous!) "...Persona." This time, it was a an anthropomorphic feline that emerged, standing several feet tall. So fine was her black fur that it would have seemed scandalously unclothed at first glance (why do so many Archetypes look so perverted?), were it not for patches of white fur covering parts of the arms and torso. Only the upper half of her head was truly human, bearing yellow eyes and long brown hair. "Nekomata..." Mind and spirit slowly overlapped, though not to the same degree as in past battles; once a vague, violet outline overshadowed his Persona, he gave the command. "...you know what to do."

The mischievous feline giggled, flexing her claws as she moved forward.

Mere seconds letter, Mana Kirishima roared, and she punctuated that noisy cry by leaping forward with axe in mid-swing. Spiritually-enhanced claws met LABRYS's sharp blade; neither gave way.

Thus proceeded the next few hours, as Shinji's Personas — protected by Unit-01 — endured Mana Kirishima's assault. It was...exhausting, yet lively, in a way he couldn't quite describe.

And Mana Kirishima apparently felt the same when they returned to the real world, for her eyes — though wary and suspicious to some degree — no longer possessed the underlying current of bitterness and fear that had been there previous. "...thanks, Ikari," she managed to admit.

"Thank you," breathed Shinji, feeling the fatigue deep in his bones and mind. "For...giving me a chance...take care, okay...?"

"Likewise."

As they parted ways, Shinji felt that he understood Kirishima more...

xxxx

/Common Rooms, 1st Floor, Izanagi Dorms, Hakone Academy/

Shinji — calmly eating from a to-go box of noodles that he had grabbed on the way back — returned to a relatively raucous scene; dozens of junior high boys were gathered around the televisions in the common room, watching different olympic events simultaneously. The ambient chatter was hard to decipher, but he could make out some of the words.

"-come on Akinari Kamiki, you can't let that limp noodle from Korea out-wrestle you!"

"D'ya think Shu Nakajima will finally put the Chinese in their place at table tennis?"

"Eh, don't know. It's hard to believe ping pong is actually an Olympic sport..."

"I mean, fencing, I could get, but what about-?"

"...did Shinya Oda just get perfect bull's-eyes with all five shots?! Damn!"

It was an excitable storm of nationalistic fervor and competitive spirit.

Shinji didn't really much care for the former, and was way too tired for the latter.

Having grabbed a couch near the back of the common room (since they were too far away from the televisions to bother sitting in if you wanted to watch the TV sets, especially with so many people gathered at once), Shinji contented himself with finishing his noodles in silence, letting his peers' rambunctious cheers and groans and jeers wash over him. Maybe...I'll just close my eyes a little...it's been a long day...

Mere moments after kicking his feet up and falling across the couch, Shinji fell asleep.

xxxx

END OF 7/26/2015

xxxx

Author's Note: Well. We unlocked the Judgement Confidant (which is not just Yu Narukami, but ALL three Wild Cards; that's why Minato and Ren recognized the sudden change); meanwhile, Chariot (Toji) and Strength (Mana) both achieved Rank 2.

Poor Shinji has to make up for lost time since he started in June instead of April like the other protags. :V

/also
/some familiar names showed up
/in the last scene
/as some random Olympians