Incoming headcanon.
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Naoto could do nothing but gape along with the rest of the Persona-users. Adachi was loose? She'd heard from her senpai that they'd run into him "abiding by the rules of the game" during the tournament, but never had the opportunity to confront the murderer herself. Minazuki had freed him hoping his status as an agent of chaos would throw the Investigation Team off-track, but failed to account for his rehabilitation. When it was all over, Adachi willingly went back to prison on his own. But the tournament was over. What was his plan now?
Kanji voiced what they were all thinking. "How the hell did that asshole get out of prison AGAIN?"
"I'm assuming," Naoto replied to him, "in the exact same manner he escaped previously: Minazuki."
From behind her, Akihiko seemed irritated. "I really should have punched that kid out when I had the chance." His own encounter with Adachi had been surprisingly helpful; Teddie told them how Adachi actually cleared away the Shadows so their exhausted party could make it to Junes. He claimed the Shadows sensed a kindred spirit in him, and so he was able to move freely among them. Perhaps Akihiko regretted owing his life to such a person?
"I don't think Dojima-san is going to be very happy when he finds out about this," said Yukiko.
"Yeah, no kiddin'!" agreed Kanji.
"Wait, wouldn't the place you got arrested be the last place you'd go if you got out of prison?" Yukari asked. The Shadow Operatives all exhibited various degrees of skepticism.
"Maybe he just really craves Junes cabbage?" joked Yosuke.
"Nobody craves Junes anything, Yosuke – shut up," Chie quickly admonished him.
"Regardless," Naoto cut them both off before another legendary argument could derail them, "having Adachi-san on the playing field complicates things quite a bit. He swears allegiance to no one but himself, meaning there is no way of knowing whether he'll aid us or hinder us."
"Ugh!" groaned Teddie, "Adachy-baby, Mr. Red Menace, no Sensei...what else could go wrong?"
The answer to that question came as they left Junes, only to be met by some vaguely familiar faces. "Ah! Your information was correct, Margaret!"
"Do you doubt my sources?"
"I? No! It was Theodore who suggested that perhaps you don't know as much about the mortal realm as you claimed."
The crowd that had been watching the news now pointed and laughed at a group of unusual people failing to realize the spectacle they were making outside of the store, their bright blue clothing standing out in contrast to their blindingly white hair. The shorter of the two women was currently selling out a taller man, who cowered before the elder woman.
"Wh-! Sister, that is a falsehood! I said nothing of the sort! I-I-I swear it!" The man sputtered.
"Good job, daruma, thanks," Junpei snarked.
"If we could focus," the woman in the blue peacoat said sharply, causing the other two to stop their quarreling. She looked as if she regretted being here as she added, "Greetings, associates of our guests. As you no doubt remember, I am Margaret...unfortunately flanked by my less-than-agreeable siblings, Elizabeth and Theodore."
"Delighted to make your acquaintance!" Elizabeth chirped. She elbowed Theodore in the stomach.
"Ouch! Um...I-I, too, am delighted." Theodore grimaced as he tried to bow. "Sister, that smarts!"
"I wasn't aware you were familiar with smarts," teased Elizabeth. She turned to the others. "Please forgive our dear brother for being woefully ignorant. He was under the impression that he was going to be a man named Frank upon meeting you."
This effectively stunned the Persona-users until Ken piped up. "Oh, no – he must have said he would 'be frank with us' - he's just going to cut to the chase."
"Why is Frank going to cut Chase? Oh! Has he dishonored the man's family? I wish to aid him, then!" Elizabeth seemed to be the one ignorant of the mortal realm as she misinterpreted everything that was said to her.
"We're...having two separate conversations here, aren't we?" said Akihiko.
"Elizabeth-san? Ain't you supposed to be in that Starry Night place right about now?" Labrys asked. This meant nothing to Naoto and her friends, but it struck a chord with the Shadow Operatives.
"I have time," Elizabeth said flippantly. "I'm sure I can assist my siblings and this Frank character and still return to the Sea of Souls to await Erebus before you can blink!"
"I don't really need to blink, you know," Labrys was also missing the point. "I'm a robot. I only blink because it gives people the jibblies when I don't for a while. No, seriously, ask Aigis!"
"Now she's got Labrys doing it!" groaned Yosuke.
Mitsuru decided to just circumvent the silliness and marched over to where Margaret was losing her patience. "Margaret, was it? I suppose I needn't point out to you that there are no Wild Cards in the vicinity. Is this something that will affect us all?"
"Indeed." Margaret straightened up, and Naoto couldn't help but be struck by the similarities between the two women. "We, in fact, are not here on behalf of the Velvet Room-"
"-because it's missing." Theodore finished.
"THEODORE!" Margaret snapped. Naoto felt the distinct presence of a Persona threatening to awaken.
"How do you lose a room?" wondered Yukiko.
"If I understand correctly...this 'Velvet Room' is the place where Yu-senpai, Aigis-san – and your late friend, I suspect – went in order to obtain their many Personas." Naoto had several theories. Yu had spoken at length about this mystical blue limousine he entered in his dreams and in the TV World, where Margaret and a man with a comically long nose assisted him in "fusing" Personas. He also claimed that Marie, the enigmatic emo girl who arrived in town at the same time he did, was originally from this room. Had anyone else told her this, Naoto would have immediately had them screened for illegal substance use. The appearance of Margaret – and her dragging them into a TV to retrieve a missing Marie – verified this outlandish tale. The Shadow Operatives and their team of Persona-users existing meant that there must always be one person who could wield multiple Personas in each area of supernatural disturbance – and in conjunction with that, one Velvet Room.
"Shortly after our last guest refused the services of the Velvet Room," began Margaret.
"-Sho-kun?" Labrys, as usual, reacted instinctively.
"-the Room itself became...how shall I put this?"
"I believe the kids these days are using the term 'wonky'!" Elizabeth offered.
"Wonky Velvet sounds like somethin' my old man woulda let me practice making pillows with 'cause it wasn't fit for resale," said Kanji.
"Or Rise-chan's strip club dungeon," muttered Yukiko. Naoto really hoped the others didn't hear her. The team's dungeons were a sore subject for everyone involved.
"I implore you to take this matter seriously!" said Theodore. He seemed to have very little self-esteem compared to his sisters. "We've never been cut off from Master Igor before!"
Margaret had a slightly more viable complaint. "In addition to limited support for our guests, it seems we are unable to monitor the state of your bonds – which is most worrying. The Wild Card draws its greatest strength from these bonds they've cultivated."
"Bonds" was a word that was thrown around quite a bit this past year. All of the Investigation Team members had benefited from creating new bonds or strengthening old ones, becoming a close-knit pack of friends. One god after another seemed to enjoy testing these bonds, pitting them against one another, forcing them to reevaluate their sense of justice. But they had passed these tests. They all knew how important it was to have friends and loved ones to remind you that life was worth living, however much the world made you feel otherwise. Was outside help really necessary?
Mitsuru seemed to share Naoto's sentiment. "I'm certain we'll be able to handle that on our own," she said.
"Nevertheless," Margaret continued, "we would be doing our guests a great disservice had we not warned you all."
"Warned?" Akihiko asked. If these Velvet people felt the need to approach them, did that mean they were aware of something else happening in the future? Another tournament, or worse?
"Nothing meaningless happens in the Velvet Room. Even the closing of the Room must have a reason. If we cannot assist our guests, then perhaps their journeys are coming to an end."
"Oh, that's not ominous," Yosuke muttered. "Better get Yu on the horn."
"Aren't you a little late with that?" Yukari asked, and both Mitsuru and Fuuka turned to her worriedly. Their leader and Wild Card had passed away three years ago, and the fact that none of the Shadow Operatives talked openly about him suggested there were still some bitter feelings about his death. Their bonds seemed to be going strong without him, though, which may have been a testament to his influence. Naoto's team owed a lot to Yu for being the catalyst for their soul-searching, guiding them to face themselves. If the Velvet Room chose Wild Cards for their therapeutic acumen, they certainly chose right in Yu.
"Perhaps," said Elizabeth, "Perhaps...not." For the first time since their meeting, the normally whimsical girl looked sad. She must have been the late Makoto Yuki's assistant the way Margaret had been Yu's – and from the looks of it, something more. Yukari also seemed to miss him greatly. Well, there was Naoto's answer to a question that had been weighing on her mind ever since they met the other team. It seemed it was all too easy for everyone to fall for a Wild Card.
Akihiko was beginning to wonder if he'd ever have a chance to talk to Mitsuru, or if the rotting corpse of Tsukuda himself would just show up and interrupt them. To say he was surprised when Mitsuru pulled him aside was an understatement.
"Akihiko," Mitsuru seemed nervous, "walk with me?"
"Uh...yeah, okay." Something was up. The way things were going, it was unlikely the universe decided to cut him a break and let him finally warn Mitsuru her nightmares weren't over yet.
They walked silently for a while, until they reached the riverbank where only a few random birds would hear them. Mitsuru tried to start the conversation at least twice before deciding on something to open with. "I'd never noticed how much warmer it was in the countryside."
"Yeah, this shirt's starting to kill me." Akihiko had always been good at finding the perfect opening to strike, but the rules of boxing did not apply to conversations with Mitsuru.
"It's a nice shirt," Mitsuru said, before flinching as if he actually did strike her. Come on, they were alone! They both knew she appreciated what was under the shirt more. What, was a bird gonna report to the press? Kirijo caught admiring orphan?
"Speaking of shirts and lack thereof, uh...sorry about...earlier." Now he was whiffing his punches. To be fair, there wasn't an easy way to say Sorry I faceplanted your boobs, it was the horny bear's fault.
Mitsuru smiled ruefully. "Just once, I would like our visit to Inaba to conclude without an incident." Yeah, this place was seriously bad luck for them. Why couldn't Naoto come out to Iwatodai for once? They assembled the whole damn team again, and she didn't tell them shit because of Teddie Teddie.
"Aw, where would the fun in that be?" Akihiko quipped, and managed to get one small chuckle out of Mitsuru. It would probably be the last time she got to laugh at all this week. He felt like an ass, but it would probably be better coming from him.
"Still...I broke a promise to Yukari in order to come here, because Shirogane allegedly had something important to tell me."
Ah. "That's why she was pissed?"
Mitsuru flinched again. He wasn't even aiming for her that time! "Did you know today was Yuki's birthday?"
"Hmm. Don't think he ever mentioned it. At least I remember my own – what the hell, Junpei?"
She didn't laugh. "I'm worried about her."
Mitsuru didn't openly declare her feelings about anyone, not even her father, or Akihiko himself. He knew that it had only taken a short time for her and Yukari to get to about the level he and Shinji were at, which was impressive. Maybe girls and their best friends were different, but when Shinji was going through shit, it killed him to watch.
"A short while after graduation," Mitsuru addressed the river rather then him, "I was straightening up the Student Council room when Chihiro Fushimi approached me – do you remember her?"
"Oh, the one who'd never seen a boy in her life before high school? I asked her where you were once, and she stared at me like I'd just summoned my Persona in front of her. I couldn't tell if she was going to wet her pants or faint – or both." He wondered where this was going. "Chie said she's president now. Can't imagine how that speech went!"
"It went fine – I wrote it," Mitsuru replied. "However, what Fushimi wanted that day was information about Yuki. He'd apparently...meant a lot to her."
"Wait, seriously?" Scuttlebutt in the boys' locker room had Makoto dating everyone from Yukari to Fuuka to that male exchange student. There were even rumors about Makoto and Mitsuru – which had left an unsettling feeling in Akihiko's stomach every time he heard them. Maybe if he'd realized what that was about earlier, things would have been different.
Mitsuru scowled. "Evidently, it came as a surprise to Fushimi as well. She was under the impression that he was dating Yukari...or perhaps Yamagishi...Aigis...a second-year I'm not familiar with – Nishiwaki?"
"I think she was a manager," remembered Akihiko, "Little kid, super tan, something like that?"
"Yuki appears to have charmed and wooed the entire female portion of Gekkoukan High." Mitsuru said bitterly.
Too bitterly.
Oh, God. No, no no no. FUCK.
"You gotta be kidding me."
That punch connected dead on. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but he did, and Mitsuru looked so fucking guilty that he wished he could take it back. So the rumors were true. He'd worried and wondered, but Mitsuru just confirmed right to his face that she was dating Makoto and a hole opened up in his chest.
Akihiko opened his mouth, but the only thing that came out was a small, "Why?"
"He asked me," she said, equally as tiny. She turned back to face him and his anger melted away when he realized she was crying. "He'd been asking me for months, but I never really had the time or inclination and I was fairly certain he was already involved – apparently he'd been very involved. I guess his Thursdays were free, so he thought, 'why not?' " The tears turned to snowflakes before hitting the ground. "I suppose on some level, I knew he'd been with someone else, but at that point, I didn't care. I was just so alone and...there was Yuki."
"Nice to see that his being a broke orphan didn't stop you or anything." Cheap shots at this point were all he had left.
Mitsuru's aim was true and cut deep. "It never stopped him, either."
And there it was. Akihiko's failure to act had cost him Mitsuru. She was always so far above him that it literally and metaphorically stopped him cold. What could a guy like him offer her? She'd never go out with him! She'd laugh right in his face and slash his heart open in front of all their friends. He couldn't bring himself to ask her. Makoto did, and she was willing to date a broke orphan after all. And he was even MORE of an orphan, and MORE broke! What the hell did she see in that guy? He was like three feet tall, with no muscle tone whatsoever, probably couldn't even take a punch! Was she running her hands all over his chest-
He was going to puke if he had to picture that for one more second.
Mitsuru took advantage of his silence. "In retrospect, I suppose it was very convenient for Yuki that Father died when he did...Very convenient indeed." Okay, that was cold even for her. "Something Shirogane said to me regarding our leaders had me very suspicious. Do you remember how many people turned up for Yuki's funeral? People we didn't even know, most of them not even students?"
"Yeah, there was that monk who always hung out in the karaoke bar. I didn't think Makoto was the religious type, but...oh, and some businessman? That old couple from the bookstore? How does a guy who barely talks make so many weird friends?"
"Narukami allegedly has quite the contact list himself."
"Wait...so it's some Wild Card thing? What, are they collecting people?" All they really knew about Wild Cards were that they had tons of different Personas. Where, how, and why they got them was a mystery. But it did explain why Makoto was seen with so many different girls. He was getting Personas from them.
He was using them. Did he even love them?
"Yukari doesn't know anything about this," Mitsuru continued, "and I don't want her to find out because it would destroy her. She still loves him, Akihiko. I can't tell you how often she begins talking about him without realizing it. Aigis says she refuses to even entertain the idea of dating someone. If she thought for one moment that it wasn't the same for him..."
"Maybe you should've thought about that before you dated your best friend's boyfriend?"
"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!" Mitsuru snapped, frost appearing around their feet. Having scared herself with her own outburst, she stumbled over to the stairs and curled up on one, looking like a lost puppy. "I should have realized you wouldn't understand. I don't know where my head has been lately."
Akihiko found himself split being comforting her and walking away before he said something he didn't mean. He chose the latter. "I'll let you find it," he said, passing by her on the stairs before she realized he was tearing up, too.
"Akihiko?" No, he could not talk to her right now. He needed to punch something while screaming profanities at it. She got herself into this mess, she was just going to have to get herself out of it. "AKIHIKO!" He was NOT going to turn back and hug her, tell her everything would be all right! There was nothing all right about this!
He made it up to the picnic area before running out of patience and driving his fists into a nearby tree. "Fucking...asshole...one-eyed little PUNK!" He was pissed at Makoto. He was pissed at Mitsuru. He was mostly pissed at himself for sitting there twiddling his thumbs when all of this was going on. Why hadn't he noticed a damn thing? How did no one else notice them? If Yukari was so in love with that damn blue-headed clown, why didn't she realize he was carrying on behind her back with people who lived in the same building?
His hands were starting to bleed, but he just couldn't stop. This asshole had Mitsuru, and he just dumped her for someone else when he was done with her? After her father had just died?! What kind of an asshole does that? Mitsuru was vulnerable, and he just moved in for the kill because he needed a Persona?
The tree cracked, and Akihiko finally ran out of steam. His breath came in heaving sobs. This was a disaster. He lost Mitsuru before he'd even really had her and now he was vandalizing Inaba. They'd better have a bar or something around here. If he was going to damage anything else, it might as well be himself.
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I forgot why I sent Aigis away, but then I realized that she was briefly a Wild Card, and so she needed to be gone when the Velvet Siblings arrived.
Again, it's probably a bit early for the events of Persona 5 to get rolling, but perhaps someone refusing the Velvet Room would give Yaldabaoth an opportunity? Many people have pointed out that the older Persona-users should have been aware of Shadow activity and Persona-usage in Tokyo. Yaldabaoth's first act of business, then, would be to eliminate these people. My theory is still a work-in-progress, but I'll elaborate more on it later.
When the IT goes to Gekkoukan for the class trip in Golden, they meet Chihiro and she mentions a former president helped her write the address she gives to the class. This is most likely Mitsuru. She probably wrote most of the speeches.
Here once again is my headcanon. I cannot imagine how three girls and a girlbot all living together didn't know who was dating who, but let's just assume they didn't for the sake of drama. The others have sort of said their goodbyes and moved on, chalking it up as lost love, but Yukari is still carrying a torch.