[Nothing doing,] you text Mariko later that night. [Shibutani didn't believe me.]

It was a long shot to begin with, but it was the only one you had. Fortunately, you're far too exhausted for your mind to entertain any thoughts about the Yatabuya. Instead, you ate a short, silent dinner and went straight upstairs to your room.

A gentle buzz at your thigh snaps your eyes from the ceiling.

[It was worth a try. Did you tell him about the Book?]

[Yeah, why?]

[Good. At least that means he won't become one of our enemies.]

You hadn't considered that, but she's right. Shibutani at least seems like he'd be smart enough to avoid the Book whether he believed you or not.

[That's a relief. But we're still going to have to be really careful from now on.]

[Yup. We should set up a place to meet on our way to and from school so that we can stay together. Passing periods, too.]

[Guess that's the best we can do for now.]

[It'll be okay. We'll look out for each other! 'Night!]

['Night.]

You set your phone down beside you, letting the blue light illuminate the darkened room for a little while longer before it goes out and you close your eyes.

• • • •

The two of them seem to be waiting expectantly for you when you open your eyes. It's been a while since you last visited the Velvet Room, so their sudden appearance is somewhat startling.

"Welcome back," croons Elizabeth. "How bittersweet to see you again, honored guest." Minato nods, pursing his lips.

"You've taken another step towards pulling back the veil from this scheme. And yet…" She puts a finger to her lips, unconvincingly feigning concern. "…in doing so, you've put yourself in grave danger."

"I know that. It's just…we don't have any direction here. Terminating Clouds isn't solving anything. What good is a Persona, when the problem is in our world? I'm…not sure what I should do about this."

Elizabeth and Minato exchange a brief glance before turning to you with concerned expressions.

"Mmm. Do you feel as though you've come to an impasse? What will you do, then? Will you surrender your fate so easily?"

Your brow furrows. "Nothing like that. We've come too far already."

You pause, casting about for the right way to express your doubts.

"It's more that…something doesn't feel right about this. And the way you're always acting around me – you know what it is, don't you?"

Elizabeth and Minato exchange glances before fixing you with serious glares.

"Calamity adopts many forms, and often does its utmost to conceal its true self. In this sense, we understand little more than you do.

"But take heart: this unease you feel is a reaction. The closer you come to dragging these wretched forces into the light, the harder they will try to suppress you. And if you haven't the courage to see it through, they will devour you from the shadows," Elizabeth says.

"Right. No answers, then."

"Our purpose is to guide, rather than to rob you of the strength that accompanies revelation. To this end, we can offer you a tool that may aid your cause. Master, would you?"

She turns to Minato, who nods wordlessly. Turning to you, he utters, "Your Personas. Agathion. Bifrons."

Unbidden, the two of them manifest before you. Minato closes his eyes and smiles. "Now. Fusion."

Before you can react, two onyx coffins appear and snap shut around your Personas.

"Hey!" you shout, but Elizabeth holds up her hand, bidding you to watch.

With a casual twirl of his finger, Minato sets the coffins spinning faster and faster until they blur together. By the time they slow, only one remains.

Suddenly, a loud bang rattles the lid of the coffin, making you jump. The being inside bangs again, harder, and the lid flies open. What emerges is no longer Agathion or Bifrons.

Violet, toned, and nude, the creature brandishes two curved swords towards you, their keen edges nearly clipping your bangs.

"I am known as Yaksini. Am I to understand that I am a shade of you? You had better not disappoint me."

And with that, it vanishes, but you can sense its presence within a deep chamber of your mind. Despite being an utterly new Persona, it feels as familiar and natural within you as Bifrons and Agathion, as if you had simply unlocked a door in your house that had always been there, but you had never entered.

"Bifrons…Agathion…what did you do with them?" you ask.

"This is fusion," Elizabeth says with a smirk. "Within you dwell many selves, but very few can be discovered traveling the land of dreams. Combining these simple aspects of yourself will help you awaken to sides of yourself that are more…complex. And far more powerful."

She's telling the truth. Yaksini presence is much more commanding than Agathion or Bifrons ever were. Maybe even more significant than Launcelot. The strength it exudes is already beginning to ease your frustration, and replace it with confidence.

"This is tremendous," you say. "Thanks."

"Indeed. It is our fervent hope that this will help you surmount the challenges you face. It is only when you choose to surrender that hope is truly lost. Believe in your own strength, honored guest, and we will continue to help you cultivate it. Until we meet again…"

The Velvet Room begins to shimmer as she finishes speaking, and sleep swoops in to smother your consciousness once more.

• • • •

The next morning, Mariko and Hayate join you on your way to school. But as you draw near the front gates, it becomes quickly apparent that something's not right. There's a throng of students crowded around the entrance murmuring amongst themselves and craning their necks to see what's going on. What's more, there's an ambulance parked just outside.

Quickly, you spot Nisekao in the crowd and push your way over.

"Hey, what's going on?" you ask. Nisekao turns to you, his expression puzzled.

"I dunno. Th-They're not letting anyone in…but someone m-must be hurt, right?" He nods towards the ambulance.

"Hey! Stand aside! Make some room! Come on!"

At that moment, shouts rise up from the other side of the crowd, and everyone awkwardly shuffles aside to let two EMTs carrying a stretcher hurry past.

"Easy, easy now."

As they lift the stretcher into the ambulance, you can see who's on the stretcher – a boy, maybe your year or older, you're not sure. You don't know him personally. But his bloodied face lolls to the side, and his eyes lock with Nisekao's.

"You…this is your fault…" he groans before the ambulance doors shut behind him.

Whispers start to break out again as the sirens fade into the distance.

"Was he talking to the quiet kid?"

"Yeah, the creepy guy in the chair."

"He couldn't have done that to him, could he?"

"I heard he owed him money. D'you think he used Avalon?"

A sense of unease breaks over you, and you become aware of an increasing number of eyes settling on Nisekao.

"Hey, c'mon. Let's get out of here."

"Ah! R-Right," he says.

The four of you dart around to the side of the school and enter through the doors near the practical building. From there, you make your way to Nisekao's classroom. Given the commotion near the entrance, you're surprised to find Koharu already at her desk. Judging from her expression, she feels similarly.

"Whoa, you made it. Does that mean they've cleared everything up downstairs?"

"Yeah," you say. "They were loading some kid into an ambulance. Do you know what's going on?"

She snorts. "More or less. Some of those thugs you've been messing around with shook him down for money."

"Money?"

"I think? I wasn't about to go anywhere near it. That's just what some of the people who saw it happen were saying."

You turn to Nisekao. "There isn't anything to what they were saying outside, right? Did you owe that guy money?"

Nisekao furiously shakes his head. "N-No! No matter what they say, I-I don't owe anyone anything! B-Besides, I didn't beat him up!"

"It's all right, I know. And I believe you. I just…wanted to make sure, is all."

"Well, that's great and all, but I don't think everyone else sees it the same way," Koharu says with a pointed glance towards a boy and girl in the corner of the room who are eyeing Nisekao with poisonous glares.

"What's their problem?" asks Hayate.

Nisekao starts to answer him, but before he can speak, the chime of the intercom and voice of the principal over the PA interrupts.

"Attention, students. The…situation from earlier this morning has been dealt with and details are being provided to the proper authorities. Homeroom classes will continue on time. Make your way to your homerooms at once. Thank you."

"…Later, then," you say. "Stick with him until lunch, alright?" you tell Koharu. She purses her lips and shoots you a look, but doesn't protest. With a backwards glance over your shoulder at the two students in the corner – now heading to their seats with eyes still fixed on Nisekao – you, Hayate, and Mariko head to your own homeroom.

• • • •

Focusing on your classes is difficult under the circumstances, but lunch comes around quickly regardless. However, all students are forced to take their lunch in their homerooms today, so you aren't able to touch base with Nisekao and Koharu until the end of the day. When you meet them by the stairs, they're unharmed, but clearly on edge.

"Good to see you made it through the day! Thanks, Koharu," says Mariko.

Koharu heaves a weary sigh. "I don't know why those guys have it out for you, but they were chomping at the bit to start something. Next time, ask before you volunteer me for something."

"Yeah, doing someone a favor must be real exhausting for you," says Hayate. Koharu flips him off in return.

"C'mon. Let's go grab our stuff and get out of here," you say.

But as you reach the shoe cupboards, you're met with an arresting sight - Nisekao's has been vandalized again. The entire inside has been daubed with black paint, with threatening messages left in red. They range from foul slurs to straight up death threats. The contents of the cupboard have been destroyed and strewn across the ground. His shoes look like they've sliced open with box cutters, and the week's homework has been shredded into pieces.

"What the…" you breathe, but another voice chimes in from behind you.

"Looks like the freak got what he deserved."

All of you turn to see the two students from Nisekao's homeroom eying him with gleeful disdain.

"How dare you-" Your fist clenches, and you're about to give them a piece of your mind, but Mariko pulls you back.

"Tetsuo, no!" She then turns to the other students. "You shouldn't talk about him like that. He hasn't done anything wrong!"

The boy and girl glance at each other, then burst into laughter. "He hasn't done anything wrong!" they mock. The girl spits at your feet. "Fuck off. It's all his fault Shibata-kun got attacked. You heard him, right?"

"How's that?" Hayate asks.

The boy rolls his eyes. "This son of a bitch owes Shibata-kun quite a lot of money. If Shibata-kun could've just paid those gangsters, none of this would have happened. No matter how you think about it, he's responsible."

"Yeah. You're in deep shit, you know. Shibata-kun's dad is supposed to be a pretty powerful guy. Think he'll sue your family for this?" the girl says, and the two of them start snickering again.

"That's enough bullshit. If this kid really is from a family of hotshots, he should have enough money to cover his own debts. Honestly, if he was stupid enough to borrow money from the Yatabuya in the first place, it sounds like he's the one who got was coming to him," you say.

Their laughter stops.

"A-Are you stupid or something? We were there, we were witnesses! We could say you were involved, so maybe you wanna think twice before you talk shit!"

You narrow your eyes towards them. It's taking a Herculean effort not to throw a punch at this point.

"You know I'm on the Disciplinary Committee, right? Are you really just going to admit to me that you're gonna go around spreading more lies?"

"O-Oh yeah? You are, huh? Then where's your armband?"

You wince. It's probably somewhere on your desk at home under a bunch of other stuff. Like a couple of hyenas smelling a fresh corpse, they step forward.

"Uh-huh. That's right, you don't have one. You should've just kept your mouth shut and stayed away. 'Cause now, this is your problem, too."

"Hmm? And what problem would that be?"

Out of nowhere, the towering figure of Shibutani looms above you, making the bullies jump. Putting on fake smiles, they sheepishly point towards Niskao's cupboard and start backing away.

"Guh! Sh-Shibutani-senpai! We d-didn't see you! It's, uh…this cupboard! It's, uh…look!"

Shibutani strides over to inspect the cupboard, and as he does, they push past you and escape out the front doors.

"Hey! Hold on!" shouts Hayate, but to no avail. They've already broken into a jog across the front courtyard. "Friggin' cowards," he mutters.

Meanwhile, Shibutani is staring at Nisekao's cupboard with his hands on his knees, his eyes vacant and tired.

"Unacceptable," he says, finally. "Unacceptable. Whoever is responsible could not have done this without being seen – and no one thought to put a stop to it?" He turns towards Nisekao, and drops onto his hands and knees.

"My deepest apologies! The responsibility for this lies with me!"

You all take a step back. "What are you talking about, Shibutani-senpai? You can't be everywhere. This isn't your fault," you say. Shibutani clenches his fists tighter, but does not rise.

"Irrelevant!" Wearily, he gets back on his feet. "It is the responsibility of the Disciplinary Committee to enforce the rules, no matter the circumstances."

Hayate tentatively clears his throat. "No disrespect, Shibutani-senpai, but…Tetsuo is right. I don't think there's anything you could've done. But those guys definitely did this! You could still write them up!"

But Shibutani isn't listening. He paces back and forth in the hall, muttering to himself.

"Perhaps…maybe if I had completed this morning's report more quickly, I could have started my rounds sooner. Or, if I had been on the grounds this morning instead of the halls…"

"Shibutani-senpai…i-it's okay…" Nisekao says. Shibutani stops and stares directly at him.

"I apologize, but I must disagree. What has happened to you is sickening, and I won't stand for it. I promise, that one way or another, I will deliver you the justice you deserve. Now, if you'll excuse me, Principal Handa is expecting my report of this morning's incident."

Watching Shibutani trudge up the stairs, you wish there was something you could do to help. The Yatabuya are eating him alive, and all you can seem to do is watch.

"So, what's the story here, Nisekao? How'd they get it into their heads that you owe them money?" Hayate asks Nisekao.

Nisekao swallows hard, and doesn't reply for a moment.

"I…still don't really know. B-But it started at the end of last year. A-Are you all sure you want to listen to this?"

"C'mon, dude. We're friends, right? We've got your back. But we gotta know what's going on," you say.

"O-Okay, then. I'd checked out some books from the library to study for final exams. B-But they couldn't all fit in my bag, and it was kinda hard to c-carry them and use my wheelchair at the same time. That's when I ran into him."

"Who?" asks Mariko.

"Sh-Shibata-kun. The guy who got attacked today." He pauses again before continuing. "He offered to help c-carry my books. I didn't think too much of it, and I was really grateful. He seemed really nice, too. Then…he didn't really talk to me again for a while."

As Nisekao speaks, some pocket deep in the recesses of your memory starts flickering, almost like you know what's about to happen next, but you can't exactly say what.

"After finals, he came up to me again. But this time…h-he was totally different. He said he wanted money, that I owed him b-because he did me a favor. It didn't sound right, but it still kind of made sense, so…I gave him the money."

Your fist clenches itself. Your head starts to hurt.

"I sh-shouldn't have done that. The others, his f-friends, they started coming up to me next. Th-They'd ask for money, too, and to do their homework, and to get them food… It got to be too much, so at some point, I started saying no. They said it was no problem, so I figured that was that.

"But then, things started happening. Things started going missing from my cupboard, the handicap stalls in the bathrooms would always be out of order, and I'd find things stuck in the spokes of my chair…

"And then there were the rumors – I'd hear people say I was a stalker and a pervert, or that I was going to bring a weapon to school and hurt people. None of it was true, but whenever I tried to say so, they'd tell me off for eavesdropping.

"Of course, I'm not stupid. I knew who was doing all of this. So I went to tell Shibata-kun and his friends to stop. I-I completely lost my cool. I shouted at the top of my lungs, called them all sorts of names…wished them dead…

"I gave them exactly what they wanted. Shibata-kun just stared at me and said, 'I have no idea what you're talking about, Nisekao-kun. But those are some pretty hurtful things you just said. I think my parents and our teachers would be surprised to hear that's what you think. They might start to get the wrong ideas about you. Might even decide that it's not safe to have to have a schizo like you here at school.'

Your fingernails dig further into the flesh of your palm, and a warmth starts running down your knuckles.

"S-So…I'm stuck," Nisekao says, his eyes welling up with barely contained tears. "They know I can't do anything about them. Even if I told the teachers, it'd be my word against his, and his dad is on the school board. A-And after t-today…Shibata-kun's going to blame everything on me! I d-don't know what's going to happen!"

Hayate exhales loudly. "That's…fucked up, man. You've been keeping this to yourself this whole time?" Nisekao stares at his shoes and doesn't answer.

"Hey. Listen. There's no way we're going to let them get away with this. I don't care what they say they're gonna do. We'll back you up no matter what they try," you say.

"That's right. It doesn't have to be just your word against theirs. We know you haven't done anything wrong, Nisekao. We'll help you tell your side of the story," says Mariko.

"Me too," Koharu says, prompting bemused glances from the rest of you. "I know we don't really know each other very well, but…you shouldn't have to deal with this yourself, is all."

Nisekao considers you all gratefully. "Are you sure? Th-They could get you guys in trouble, too, you know."

"Maybe, but if I can get Shibutani-senpai to help out, I'm sure they'll back off," you say.

"You think?" says Hayate. "The guy seems like he's got a lot on his plate…"

"Well, just another reason to get rid of the Yatabuya. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can work on getting everything else back to normal."

"And if we're going to do that, we'll still need your help, Nisekao. So let's get started cleaning out your cupboard and redoing that homework! We can at least do that much," Mariko says.

Hayate and Koharu also nod their approval, and the five of you spend the afternoon doing your best to relieve as much of the burden from Nisekao's shoulders as you can. But all the while, something white-hot and furious in the corner of your mind flares up with every slur you erase from the polished wood, and you can't help but question why this pain feels so personal.