The Sea of Souls, an endless expanse filled with infinite lights. While one could mistake them for stars, each one is actually a soul, waiting for its chance to be born. All that exists within is an ornate golden gate, from which a petrified girl hangs from. As fragile as she looks, this is the Messiah, the girl who achieved the power to change the universe and sealed away the primordial deity Nyx, preventing her from uniting with Erebus, a being formed of humanity's malice and its desire for the world to come to an end.

Speaking of…, she dryly thought out of the darkness came two sets of red eyes, the body of the beast forming quickly after, a grotesque equine appearance, with wicked horns atop its head. Right on cue.

While she couldn't move, she was able to weather his strikes, the Seal in no danger of falling. The beast makes more for an annoyance than a true threat, especially since… And there she is.

Floating through the void effortlessly, clad in a blue dress, with yellow eyes and platinum blond hair, came the former Velvet Room attendant, Elizabeth. If she could smile, she would upon seeing her faithful friend who ruled over power, take the time to visit her.

"Ah, how nice it is to see you once again Kotone. I wish I could say it was just a pleasure call, but alas, I do have a reason to speak to you." Hearing the roar of the beast next to them, the woman smiled, "Let me take care of this first. Private conversations should be private after all."

With that, Elizabeth disappeared, taking Erebus with her. And soon enough, the blue-garbed woman returned. "Now that that nuisance is taken care of, I'm here to tell you that my search for an escape to your plight has borne fruit!" With that, she floated over to the door and deftly removed one of her chains.

"Elizabeth!? No, what are you doing!? The eccentric woman locked herself in the cuff, taking the petrified free hand in hers with the same smile on her face.

"Naturally, you can not be truly free, as you were the one to craft the seal with your life, but with me taking part of your burden, some of your soul can return to the mortal coil. I certainly hope you haven't been given a proper burial yet, or I'll be seeing you in about ninety minutes." She gave a laugh at the dark joke, before starting to change, becoming part of the seal herself, and letting Kotone take her first breath in years.

Thank you, Elizabeth. I'm not going to waste this chance.

On Earth, in a Kirijo-owned hospital, the comatose body of a brunette teenager slowly opened her eyes for the first time in four years, as if waking from a long, vivid dream. Her senses slowly returning, she tries to pull the blanket tighter around herself but finds it almost impossible to lift her hands, the hospital comforter too heavy on her weakened body.

She feels the tube going through her nasal canal, keeping her lungs working as they were supposed to, can feel every single needle embedded in her body to sustain the life she had so readily sacrificed and for the first time in a very long while, Kotone Shiomi felt panic.

Fighting against her own dilapidated body, the Fool tries instinctively to sit up, to move, to escape, and it is her struggle that finally makes the alarm on her heart monitor go off and a nurse come running inside. The man looks at her with wide eyes and rushes to hold the barely struggling girl down as he hits the button to summon the on-call doctor.

As they wait he tries to soothe her, but Kotone can't hear him. All she cares about is the sunlight coming through the window she notices for the first time, the ray falling onto her bed and it is the most beautiful thing she has ever been blessed to see.

The imperious Mitsuru Kirijo, idly pushed a lock of her perfect red mane out of her face as she sat in the boardroom, listening to a report with thinly veiled disinterest. She kept appraised of the markets on her own, and knew that things were fine, especially thanks to the new deal she had just signed with the government regarding the Shadow Operatives.

The meeting is suddenly interrupted by a woman with seafoam hair, who rushes into the room with uncharacteristic rudeness, interrupting the branch manager mid-sentence. She bends over with an almost panicked expression to whisper to the heiress's ear something that makes the redhead bolt from her seat, motioning for her blonde bodyguard and secretary, Aigis, to stand with her. "It seems I have more important matters to attend to. I will be off."

"But ma'am…"

She looked at the board member with irritation. "I trusted the board to run the company through my school years, I think I can trust you with one quarterly report." With the others in the room sufficiently cowed, the three women left, finding a man with silver hair and his own suit outside by Mitsuru's car.

"Akihiko, I take it you got the message?" Mitsuru asked as she let the others with her into the backseat

"Who you think told Fuuka?" He asked, as he got into the passenger seat. "I'd have called for a driver, but I know you'd get there faster."

She pulled out a pair of sunglasses as she got behind the wheel. "You three might want to hold on to something."

Her bow was knocked out of her hand, and she was pressed against the wall, as Feather Red raised his blade to attack her.

"Stop this," Feather Pink gasped out, "This isn't you! You need to fight harder…." She struggled to take off her mask, showing her shock of beautiful brown hair. "You have to remember my face, right?"

Feather Red's sword hand wavered, before dropping her and the weapon, grabbing his own head and letting out a cry as his memories fought against the spell he was under, before-

"And that's a wrap people!" The director said, "That was some great acting from you two. We might need you to dub over some lines Yukari, but as far as action, I think we're good to go."

She smiled gratefully, grabbed a bottle of water, and checked her phone, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, before running back over to the director. "Um, I have to go. It's a family emergency. But in a few days I can get into the booth for the redubs."

The director seemed fine and waved her off. "Go ahead, the sooner you handle it the sooner we can have you back. Alright, Feather Black you're protecting Blue from the bull monster, places, people!"

Yukari was already gone before he called action.

"Ken Amada, report to the principal's office."

The boy in question stuffed his books into his bags among the chorus of "ooooooo's" from his classmates before the teacher but them all off. "Go ahead, and hen you come back, try not to make a disruption on your way back in." With her consent, he quietly left the classroom and headed to the office.

The principal was a short, portly man with rounded spectacles and greyed hair, along with a moustache to match. "Honestly, I know she's the one who's family build the school, but she should have more respect for her elders…" He grumbled as he noticed Ken was there.

"Am I in trouble sir?" He asked, confused.

"No, well maybe. Not with the school. Kirijo-san just called and asked for you, she said it was "deathly important" and to bring your dog. I don't know what exactly she meant, but as your guardian she did also excuse you from class."

"Thank you, sir." He said, before running out the door. He had to swing by the dorms to pick up Koromaru, after all.

"Alright, bring it in!" All the kids ran up when Junpei called for them, his red-haired girlfriend watching a little ways off in her usual gothic lolita outfit, drawing. "That was a great practice, you guys just need to get a little faster with picking up and throwing those grounders. Think you can try and work on it before our next game?"

The kids nodded as Junpei looked over to the one kid a little taller than the rest. "Goro, I want you to be more careful. You're one heck of a good pitcher. And while we're all a team, it'll be a whole lot harder to win if someone can't bring their best, okay?"

"Got it coach Iori!" He said as he left with the rest of the team, before Junpei made his way over to his girlfriend.

"The kids really like you." Chidori remarked.

"Well, they just need someone who gets them to motivate them. I'm not the smartest guy, but they just need someone to believe in them, like I have."

She playfully gave him a shove. "Speaking of, you got a text earlier. Seems the other important girl in your life is back." There wasn't a hint of jealousy in her soft voice, being fully aware his love for Kotone was of a different kind. "I think I'll head home. I'll keep dinner warm."

Junpei doesn't even hear the last part as he began to run toward the train station.

Under normal circumstances, a case like Kotone's wouldn't have been allowed visitors so soon. There was constant tests and medication adjustments as the doctors struggled to accommodate their miracle patient, the girl who woke up after four years of what could only be described as one power outage away from death. She was in a delicate condition; her body naturally having degraded over the years of being bed bound. Surprisingly however, her mental state seemed way too good for one who had just lost four years of their life, her brain scans showing the organ to be in unusually pristine condition. It defied all logic and explanation, but it is that (along with some strong-arming from the owner herself) that finally allows Kotone to have her first batch of visitors a few days later.

Kotone tried to make herself comfortable after her physical therapy session. Having been bathed and fed the hospital goop that was the only thing she could consume as of now; she had settled in for her afternoon nap when the baseball coach came crashing into her room.

Out of sheer instinct, Kotone reached to her hip, where her Evoker used to be, but froze mid-movement when she came face to face with her old friend.

"Junpei?"

Her voice comes out hoarse and uncertain, a far cry from the lively ad energetic tone she used to possess. His eyes roam her face as if he can't believe his own sight, as if Kotone is a figment of his imagination.

"Move it, Stupei."

The harsh command comes from behind him, as Yukari Takeba marches into the room. Hot on her heels is the imperious redhead, Mitsuru Kirijo, moving as if she owns the place (she probably does), staring at Kotone with her cool glare softening at the current condition of her underclassman.

Finally, her shoulders relax and, before anyone can so much as try to stop her, she closes the distance between them and wraps the brunette in a hug. "You made us wait, you damned fool."

She felt herself tearing up as she tried to place her own hands around Mitsuru but the movement proves too much too soon for her. Her body slumps against Mitsuru's chest despite her best efforts to remain sitting up and before the redhead can grasp her tighter, Kotone feels herself falling until hands behind her head and back help her

Grey finds red as she looks at who's holding her, seeing Akihiko Sanada. "Don't be stupid. There is nothing to feel bad about, you idiot." The boxer reassures her, his own eyes flecking with unshed tears.

Kotone blinks at him once, twice, as she finally manages to force a smile on her face. He lets her go and helps her settle back in, pulling the covers over her once more. She doesn't miss the way his face tightens just the tiniest bit when he takes in the state of her body for a brief moment, but she decides not to think about it.

Because he is right.

"Everyone… you came."

There is nothing to feel bad about anymore.

"We did." Fuuka responds, entering the room with a clipboard in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. "We came here as soon as we found out you woke up, but we weren't allowed inside.", she explains, before sending a sidelong glance at Mitsuru. "Technically we still aren't, but someone bullied her way here."

"And I'd do it again." Mitsuru huffs, crossing her arms under her chest. "It's been two weeks."

As Ken and even Koromaru shuffle into the apparently spacey room, Kotone feels her heart accelerating as the slew of familiar and yet new faces comes more solidly into focus. Last but not least to enter is Aigis, the android that had managed to acquire its own soul through the relationships they had created together.

There is a lot she wants to ask, but only one thing that she really needs to know.

"Aigis, what is today's date?"

"September 21st, 2014."

Four years.

She had suspected that the length of time she as gone was considerable, but four years? Did that mean that she was now, what, twenty one?

She had barely made it to the roof, to celebrate her graduation with everyone. She had been rotting away, body and soul, holding back Nyx, the End herself, while life moved on beyond her, without her. There is a pang of sorrow at that but shakes it away as best she can. She doesn't regret her decision. Kotone Shomi did the best thing she could with the options available to her at the time. She had watched her best friend and companion die and become a monster right before her eyes, had fought and killed him. With her sacrifice, she had managed to protect the world and the people she loved.

Right. She had nothing to feel bad about.

Four years.

"And while you've been medically dead, none of us believed you were gone forever, so you never were declared legally dead, meaning that your trust fund and all your personal effects, are still yours."

"Um, Senpai," Yukari brought up, "I'm not sure if that's really relevant."

Ken Amada, once the small, cute kid that had blushed whenever she patted his head had grown taller, slimmer, the baby fat all but gone from his frame. Taking his hand in hers, it seemed ironic that his small, chubby hand was now big enough to take in her own and cover them whole. She wondered how it must be like for him, seeing his big sister-figure in this condition.

"Senpai. I am glad you are back." he says simply and it's all she needs to hear for the gloom to dissipate.

"Oh, come here, you."

Before the now-teen can protest, she weakly pulls him to her, and she knows he could have stopped her had he wanted to, but almost gratefully, he allows it to happen. Hesitantly as of afraid to break her, he awkwardly hugs her back. "I missed you too, senpai."

She releases him after a short while and before she knows it, the room comes alive with chatter. For a few precious minutes, it's as if she never left.

"You are going to have to get used to being here for several more months as you undergo physical therapy for your body, sorry to say. The doctors are still figuring out a routine for a living corpse." Mitsuru chuckled as the auburn-haired girl pouted at that.

Kotone had another thought swirling around in her head. "You guys did recover my MP3 player and kept all my CDs, right?"

Fuuka, as if expecting the inquiry, produced the device. "I remade the headphones for you to increase the quality, and loaded on some of the music you missed for you.

"If I wasn't bound to this bed, I could kiss you."

"Come on! Come on, you can do it Kotone!"

Junpei may be excited to watch her bounce on the fucking ball like some twisted clown, but Kotone would be even more excited to throw said ball right at his head. Her therapist, a young woman in her late twenties named Bella, shook her head a little, keeping the chuckle that threatened to spill from her mouth at bay through sheer power of will. Kotone might have been impressed if she wasn't sweating like an ass in a hamam trying to stay on top of the damn thing.

"I can ask him to wait outside, you know." she offered, ignoring the offended gasp from Junpei.

"I will have you know, Kotone would never-"

"Get him out."

"Kotone!"

The torture lasted another half hour before her session was over and she was given the all clear for the evening. After she was helped back on her wheelchair and they exited the training room, Junpei was still outside, pouting on the floor with a can of soda in hand. The moment he saw them, he jumped back on is feet and put a hand on the back of her chair.

"'S fine doc, I can take her!"

Giving Kotone a glance to confirm, Bella lets go of the handles and crouches in front of her patient, taking her hand in hers. The once almost skeletal hand with the barely functioning fingers, which had, in the past few months, regained a little bit of their old strength.

She wondered if she would be able to pull the trigger, if she had to.

"You have done good work. I am glad we had the chance to work together."

Kotone smiles back at her softly. "Me too. See you next week."

Satisfied with that, the blond woman stands again and nods at Junpei, who takes the handles of her chair and begins the short trek to her room.

"Ready to move out?"

"More than you know."

"Yeah, no, I get it. I bet it must be awesome, being able to go to the bathroom by yourself and eat solids again! And I suppose being able to sleep in a real bed doesn't much hurt either!"

Kotone chuckled and the rest of the way was quiet, until they reached the door of her room. Instead of Junpei simply opening the door and letting her in, he stopped a few feet ahead and moved in front of her, bending over to be eye level with her.

Kotone raises her eyebrow. "What's up with you today?"

"Well." he cleared his throat before continuing. "I just wanted to say… well." The blush that coloured his cheeks clued her in that this was meant to be a serious moment for her friend, and so she waited. "I mean. Kotone."

"That's my name, yeah."

"No, what I want to say is…. I am proud of you. I am proud to be your friend, and I am proud to have fought by your side. You are a special person for all of us, true, but I can only speak for myself when I say, thank you. For your sacrifice, for being my friend. I will always be here for you." Stunned by the sudden confession, she stared at him for a moment before placing a hand on his shoulder, tugging at him to come closer. Getting the hint, Junpei hugs her back, a hand holding her head in his chest. "I am so happy that you found your way back to us, Kotone."

She doesn't say anything, simply allows herself to bask in the warmth of her dear friend and comrade. The moment ends a little too soon when he pulls himself back to his feet and wipes his eyes with his arm. "Well, I better gat back to the Missus." He joked.

Kotone laughed as well, as they pulled apart. "You know, when we met you were a childish unbelievable asshole. I'm glad you grew up and got your dream girl."

He rubbed the back of his neck, a little taken aback by her bluntness. "Couldn't have done it without my best friend. See you soon."

"Later, Junpei~" She waved him off before going back to her bed.

Kotone spent the next few weeks catching up with everyone, only breaking when it was time for therapy. She understands they all have jobs, and so would drift in and out of her hospital-bound life as they're needed elsewhere. But that was fine. She needed to recover her strength to properly enjoy the world with them anyway.

At first, the most she could do was work the buttons on her MP3 player, but she slowly recovered strength to sit up. After about two weeks, she was able to get to the bathroom without ringing for a nurse, which she would have to say was one of the happiest days of her life.

In between her sessions, she consumed as much media as she could get her hands on, looking through both news sites and entertainment to see what was new and what she missed. It wasn't like she had anything better to do in her hospital bed.

Though every night before bed, she did meditate, looking into her soul for her Personas. She had been told that with mental focus and training, she could manifest them and use them outside the Dark Hour. She had been disbelieving until Mitsuru showed her, the real form of Artemesia forming behind her. The rest of her friends confirmed that they had gotten the hang of it, and she was the one fallen behind. So for two hours, every night before bed she practiced. Every night, she'd try to feel her Personas within her, but couldn't quite feel the time was right

Two months after her waking, the tail end of November, as she watched the first snow flurries pass by her window, she felt ready to try. Picking the Evoker off her bedside table, she levelled it at her temple slowly. The familiar motion of levelling what looked like a handgun to her temple helping calm her further.

…It was a twisted life, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Persona"

She pulled the trigger, the familiar sound of shattered glass echoing as azure flame wrapped around her.

A figure appeared, looking mechanical, a bulky body with similar forearms and calves, connected to the torse by thin metal rods. It had a red scarf, flowing auburn hair, and a lyre upon its back. Her first Persona, Orpheus, had answered her call once more. And within her mind, she felt a lock open, as she fell back. If she was still The Fool, then for sure she still had her Wild Card abilities. She let her Persona disappear as she drifted off to what she thought would be sleep.

Rather she woke in a familiar blue room, sitting across a table from a bald man with bloodshot eyes and an unnaturally long nose. Next to him stood a man with golden eyes and hair, dressed in all blue. "Igor, Theo, the only way this could be better is if Liz was…." She let her voice trail off, a frown filling her face.

"Do not fret, honoured guest, she made her choice as did you. You remember your contract, correct?" Igor, the man with the nose asked. A piece of paper reappeared on the table with a wave of his hand, a piece of paper with only one sentence appearing.

Time never waits.

It delivers all equally to the same end

I hereby agree to the statement above,

I choseth this fate of my own free will

And underneath was her incredibly sloppy signature.

She softly smiled as she reviewed the simple contract she had signed that first night back in Iwatodai, and how it read ore like a poem than any binding document.

"Now," Igor continued, hands steepling, "You have fulfilled the terms of your contract. If you wish to renew it, there will be new terms." This made her eyebrows shoot up as Theodore pulled out a familiar tome to her. She had painstakingly filled in every page, her Persona Compendium. "If you choose to renew your contract, you may make use of your services at no cost, instead of your yen, we wish to hold your power as collateral.

"The Universe." She muttered under her breath. The final Arcana formed from her bonds with her friends, the infinite power to make the impossible, possible. "Can I really give that up?"

"You won't lose its power, but as long as you hold that power within you, you need no guidance or assistance from us. And you won't lose it, you will have it returned when our Master deems it necessary."

She mulled it over, the power she had cultivated and used as a last-ditch sacrifice, or getting to keep Igor and Theo on her path with her. Theo decision took only a few seconds, before she reached across the table, grabbed the quill from the pot near Igor and scribbled her name down again, resigning the contract.

With a wave of his hand, both disappeared, and Kotone felt something leave her, but "Shouldn't I feel any different?"

Theodore gave her a curious look. "It's very probable you don't notice the change. You've had the power of the Wild Card since that fateful night on the Moonlight Bridge. And you've spent over a year nurturing and cultivating it. While the Universe, you held for a matter of minutes and haven't been able to tap into before unlocking your power of Persona once more. So, since you were never used to the power and let it settle, you're not impeded by its absence."

One last item was placed on the table, a small key she swiftly pocketed. "As you are once again our guest, you will once again need the Velvet Key to find our door. Now you seem to be waking up, but you will see us again soon."

As per usual when she was called during her dreams, Kotone woke up not rested at all but put on a brave mask to face the new day.

"Now do it again Shiomi."

Kotone pouted as she began to play her scales and arpeggios on the keyboard that had been brought to her hospital room. Kotone had always had a knack for music, both piano and violin were talents she had, and while not a prodigy, she would say she was quite good, even from an early age. She did idly wonder if that was why the first Persona to answer her was Orpheus, Master of Stri-

"Again!"

She stuck her tongue out childishly at Mitsuru before playing the drilled-in notes again, a bit more confidently and with better fluidity. With her physical therapy going so well, she needed to recover her dexterity, her fingers and toes. So, playing would help with the former.

Mitsuru had pulled some strings to let her even have a keyboard, and the redhead liked to drop in and oversee Kotone's progress.

"Can you still sight-read?" At the auburn-haired girl's affirmative nod, Mitsuru opened a songbook and selected the song for Kotone to play. It wasn't very difficult, but she was still just getting back into the swing of things. "We'll try at half tempo." She set the metronome to count the beats for Kotone, so she could focus on the music.

She fumbled over a few notes, but didn't stop until she finished the song. Music was one of the few anchors she had during the decade she had drifted around the world, since her parent's passing and her sinking into smiling depression. Letting it flow through her, it made her feel… good. She felt proper again.

Mitsuru looked at her watch. "Well, that's all the time we have. You'll need to rest your hands again."

Kotone pouted, "One more time? I know I have it."

Mitsuru was, to many people, a cold woman. But not heartless, and she eventually caved to Kotone's pout. "One more."

They played that song five more times before Mitsuru finally put her foot down.

The car pulled up to the building, Kotone in the backseat of the limousine Mitsuru had sent for her. In the back, as she felt it come toa stop, she quickly fired her Evoker. "Trumpeter, Heat Riser." At her command the figure of a skeletal angel appeared behind her, an orange, blue and green light all entered her, before she quickly dismissed it.

She was cheating a little by using the spell to augment her strength, toughness and agility, but it was all to help her return to a normal life faster. Using a Persona wasn't even the least bit taxing on her for something like this after her practice.

The door opened and one of Mitsuru's maids extended their hands, Kotone gratefully taking it and taking their assistance to walk to the door. "Thank you Kikuno-san. Would you like to come in?"

The maid stepped away. "No thank you. I have a few errands left to run, but us Kirijo staff have our own holiday party, so I'd rather not miss that." With a nod, Kotone put her key in the block and turned it, where she saw all her friends waiting for her, the place already decorated.

"Aww, you guys!" She said, as she began to float to her friends, giving each a hug.

Fuuka chuckled, "Well, we wanted to give you a celebration for being discharged from the hospital, and since it was so close to Christmas, we decided to spend it with you."

Kotone felt a warmth in her chest, even as she gave an impish grin. "Well, it's too bad none of you can still get dates."

"That's what you think." She blinked as she heard the voice, before seeing Chidori, the redhead in Junpei's arms. "Some of us brought our dates." She said in her usual dry tone, but it was still easy to tell she was happy enough to be there. While she and Kotone were neve friend, more often enemie, she did give the gothic lolit a tentative hug as well.

"Well, why don't we get started?" Yukari asked, and Kotone was more than happy to agree. Especially since she could smell the catering from the entranceway.

Kotone stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool night air, and looking up at the stars. It was a sham they were in the city, so only a few were visible. She heard the door open and someone join her. "Are you not enjoying yourself, Kotone?" She heard the mechanical maiden, Aigis ask.

She turned to smile at the blonde, red meeting blue. "Just taking a break… just thinking."

"About what, exactly?"

"Oh, just things. It's kinda hard to explain."

"You have another journey ahead of you, correct?" her eyes widened as Aigis giggled, reaching to Kotone and producing the Velvet Key. "After your sacrifice, I briefly received your powers of the Wild Card, and access to the Velvet Room. I've met Igor and know how cryptic he can be."

Kotone snatched her key back, looking away pensively. "Giving your life to save the world, just to have to save it again, all before I'm allowed to drive. It's not easy to grapple with. If I was a normal girl, I'd probably have cracked."

Aigis put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You're not a normal girl at all. You were damaged but were willing to open your heart and heal. To form bonds that not only helped you, but everyone around you." She let a small pause hang before adding, "You showed me that I have a heart despite not being human."

"Now come back in before you get cold."

"I will, just give me a minute."

"Koromaru's starting to eye the tuna."

"And minute's up!" She laughed as she walked back inside with Aigis, to rescue her share of the tuna from the dog.

After the annual visit to the shine for new years, life went on. Mitsuru had staff to prepare food for Kotone, an on-call nurse, and staff to get her to and from personal training. Her body had recovered enough to where she could start to work toward her athleticism. Working on speed, endurance, as well as rebuilding her muscle mass and flexibility.

It was a chilly February when she came back from training, wanting to just get into the bath and soak her muscles, but found the door unlocked.

Glancing down, she saw three pairs of shows, which tipped her off to who was paying her a visit at least, so she dropped her guard and walked inside. "Hello people who do not live in my house."

Fuuka giggled from her position on the couch as Mitsuru stood. "Shiomi, please, have a seat. We have a few thing to discuss."

She did across from the three women, as Mitsuru laid out what she had been working on since the Fall. The Shadow Operatives, a shadowy paramilitary group separate from the SDF, led by Mitsuru. "What we do, is we monitor potential Shadow activity, and make sure to stamp it out before it can escalate into a situation like the Apathy Syndrome epidemic we dealt with before. And-"

"I'm in." She said, cutting off Mitsuru. "If my power can help people, I'm all in on that."

The redhead was pleased, before she pulled up a map of Japan on a tablet, setting it down so Kotone could pick it up and look at it. "I've already picked out your first assignment."

She looked at it curiously. "Kuoh Town?" She examined it closer. It was far enough away from Port Island she probably wouldn't have to see anyone who had gone to her wake five years ago.

Fuuka spoke up. "That's right. Juno's picked up something there for a while now. And we've confirmed with other members with sensory Personas. Something weird is there, and while it doesn't seem like Shadow activity and isn't expanding, it's supernatural."

"So, I'm going to live there for how long exactly?"

"The next year at a minimum, longer if you intend to continue your studies." Mitsuru said, a small smirk on her face as she looked at her junior's crestfallen pace as she produced some paperwork. "Now as an emancipated youth, sign these papers and we'll handle your transfer. As you did make it to graduation day, you'd be starting as a third-year student."

"Do I haaaaave to?" She whined, but under Mitsuru's frigid gaze, her hand moved by itself, signing and dating where indicated, before pushing the papers back.

"Lastly, your living arrangements."

"If I may, Mitsuru-san," Aigis spoke up, "I would like to accompany Kotone, as her only attendant." The other three women were surprised, but let the android continue. "Giving her any of your maids or butlers, while all very capable, would only draw more attention to her. A more modest accommodation with just us two will allow Kotone-san to fit in with her peers."

"Aigis…"She smiled, as truthfully, she didn't like being waited on like she had been during her recovery. Just because her parents had a lot of money didn't mean she hadn't learned to become self-sufficient.

"Furthermore, I am an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. In the case of an emergency, I am the best backup she could have, so be being on standby ideal."

She huffed a little, she could handle herself! But she would rather live with her good friend than staff she barely knew. Mitsuru seemed to agree because after some thought, she relented, her posture slacking slightly.

"I can see you thought hard about this. Very well, I'll get your paperwork squared away and next month, we can look for a suitable dwelling, or have one constructed."

As they got up to leave, Fuuka gave Kotone's shoulder a sympathetic pat. "I hear Kuoh Academy doesn't mark as hard as Gekkoukan, so you'll do fantastic," She tried to reassure the brunette, who was still sulking.

Rias Gremory stood in her usual spot, looking out the window of the old school building of Kuoh Academy, when something caught her eye. A glowing blue butterfly flew past, and while most seemed to ignore it, she definitely saw it.

While it wasn't cold anymore, butterflies were still not around this time of year, and as it passed her, she had to steel herself from what she felt. That small butterfly, the sheer power in its deceptively small frame, but in the second it took her to recover, it had fluttered away. Why had it made itself known to her at all?

This year was going to be a very eventful one, she just knew it.