"Yo Ann, what's bonkin'?
The blond girl rolled her eyes. "Ryuji, what does that even mean?"
Her friend Shiho let out a small smile beside her, amused by their antics.
"Come on, it sounds cool!" Ryuji defended,
"Oh, are you Sakamoto-kun?" Shiho asked. "Ann's told me a lot about you."
"S-Shiho!" Ann gasped.
"Oh yeah, what'd she say?" Ryuji grinned.
"Something about… owning her money." Shiho recalled.
"Hahaha… oh yeah, that's right!" Ann laughed. "You never paid me back for the money I lent you in middle school."
"Come on, you still remember that?" Ryuji groaned. "That was years ago!"
"Yeah, so it's collected years of interest!" Ann grinned. "Time to pay up!"
"FOR REAL?!"
Shiho let out a small laugh from besides Ann.
Ryuji glanced at Shiho, letting out a small gasp.
"Woah, what happened to your leg?" Ryuji asked, pointing at her brace.
Shiho's expression darkened. "It's… just from training."
"Kamoshida's your coach, ain't he?" Ryuji grumbled. "Did he do anything to you?!"
"Ryuji!" Ann yelled.
"I-It was just a mistake from practice." Shiho excused. "I tripped and fell badly on my leg."
Ann bit her lip, glancing at Shiho as if she wanted to say something.
"Suzui-san?"
The three students turned around to find a timid-looking boy walking towards them.
"Is that Mishima? He looks rough." Ryuji thought, noting the bruises on his face.
"K-Kamoshida wanted to speak with you." Mishima told her.
Shiho's body stiffened. "W-Why does he want to see me?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell me." Mishima told her.
"I-It's probably just something to do with the rally or practice." Ann encouraged.
"You're just going to do what he wants?!" Ryuji protested. "What if he-"
"Drop it, Ryuji!" Ann shouted, cutting him off.
"Thank you for the concern, but… It'll be fine." Shiho whispered.
She walked towards the P.E faculty office, Mishima walking away as well.
"You're just gonna let her go?!" Ryuji yelled. "If Kamoshida is doing somethin' to you two-"
"I told you to drop it!" Ann yelled back, storming off.
"...Damn it." Ryuji grumbled as she walked away.
"Looks like… we made it out ok." Makoto panted.
Ren glanced around, confirming that they were back in the real world.
"Yeah… so tomorrow, we'll be talking to those athletes." Ren recalled.
"That's the plan. We can talk to them during the rally tomorrow." Makoto confirmed. "But right now, I'm exhausted."
"Same here." Ren nodded. "Not to mention starving."
"We must have spent an hour or two in there." Makoto assumed. "And I haven't eaten since lunchtime."
"Well, I know a cafe with some great curry." Ren brought up. "The two of us could go together if you'd like."
Wait… was he asking her out?!
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, I wanted to thank you." Ren admitted. "You did save my life yesterday."
"There's no need to thank me." she told him. "And you saved my life too."
"True, but you're also tutoring me." he pointed out. "...And, well, I told my guardian I'd bring you."
"Your guardian?"
"He owns the cafe." Ren clarified.
"I see… but why did you say you'd bring me?" she asked.
"He wants me home as soon as school ends, and was skeptical when I told him I have mandatory tutoring." he explained.
"Oh, of course." she nodded.
She mentally chastised herself. Of course he wouldn't want to ask her out.
"Lead the way, then." she said.
Ren brought her to a small cafe in Yongen-Jaya. For a moment, she thought that the cafe was closed, considering the lack of customers. Ren just chuckled, saying that was normal for this place.
As they opened the door, a ball rang, alerting a middle aged man behind the counter to their presence.
"Where were you?" the man grumbled. "I thought I told you to come back right after…"
The man's expression shifted when he locked eyes with her.
"Oh? Are you with him?" he wondered.
"I told you about my tutor, right?" Ren asked. "This is her."
"It's good to meet you, sir." she greeted. "I'm the student council president at Shujin. The principal tasked me with tutoring him every day after school."
"Huh… so he was telling the truth." the man muttered. "Well, I'm Sojiro Sakura, the kid's guardian. But everyone calls me Boss."
"I apologize if you need him home earlier. I could bring this up to the principal, and he could arrange something." she told him.
Sojiro shook his head. "That's fine. As long as I know what he's doing. You two must be pretty hungry, though. Let me fix you up some curry."
"I… didn't bring any money with me." Makoto replied.
"Don't worry about paying." Sojiro dismissed. "It's on the house. Consider it thanks for keeping him out of trouble."
"Did you really need to add that?" Ren groaned.
The two teens sat across from each other at a booth, making small talk until Sojiro brought them curry and, strangely enough, coffee as well.
"They actually go really well together." Ren explained.
"You like coffee?" Sojiro asked.
"I've only had coffee a few times, and I wasn't too fond of it." Makoto admitted.
"Sounds like you've never had real coffee." Sojiro grinned.
She took a sip of her coffee, eyes widening before taking a much bigger sip.
"This is really good!" she complemented.
"Heh, told you." Sojiro grinned. "Anyway, I'm going to go grab some groceries. Don't touch anything while I'm gone."
As Sojiro exited the cafe, Ren and Makoto quickly began to dig into their curry.
"I was a little skeptical at first, but this is really tasty." Makoto confessed. "...Although, now that I think about it, my sister was talking about a nice cafe in Yongen-Jaya the other day."
"Maybe you two could stop by more often." Ren suggested.
She bit her lip, remembering her sister's words. She didn't want her hanging out with a 'criminal' like him.
"Ren, can I ask you something?" Makoto wondered. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, though."
"Uh, sure." Ren shrugged.
"How did... that assault on your record happen, if you don't mind me asking?"
He seemed to hesitate for a few moments, seemingly contemplating whether to tell her or not.
"Well… I suppose I can tell you." Ren said.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"It's ok." Ren insisted. "I trust you, Makoto."
She let out a small smile.
Ren took a deep breath, leaning back in the booth.
"Truth be told, I was framed." he claimed.
"Framed?"
He nodded and began to tell her his story. According to him, he had actually intervened when he saw a man trying to assault a woman, but the man used his power and influence to have the police and the woman take his side.
A few days ago, she wouldn't have believed it. She would have insisted the police would have taken his side if he was in the right.
But now…
Now she wasn't so sure...
"That's… I don't know what to say..." she trailed off.
"It's ok." Ren whispered. "It's a pretty crazy story. I'm not surprised that you don't believe me."
He maintained a pleasant smile on his face as he said that…
But when she took a closer look, she saw that it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
An expression she was all too familiar with.
"I never said I didn't believe you." she whispered.
"Huh?"
"For the longest time, I would always assume that authority figures had the best intentions." she recalled. "I'm not so sure of that anymore, though. But one thing that I am sure about is that you're a good person, Ren. You saved me from Kamoshida, and I'm sure you saved that other woman too."
"Y-You… really believe me?" Ren asked in disbelief.
"I trust you too, Ren." she expressed, beaming at him.
His expression changed from shock to happiness, flashing a smile at her.
A real smile this time.
"Thank you…" he whispered. "Thank you… no one's ever believed me before."
They stared into each other's eyes, and for some reason, she felt her cheeks begin to heat up, and she had a sort of fluttery feeling in her stomach.
"What's going on?" Makoto thought to herself. "Is the curry and coffee too hot? Am I just really tired?"
At the very least, he seemed to be feeling something similar, as his face looked red too.
*Ding*
"Alright, I'm back." Sojiro muttered, walking back into the cafe.
"Eep!" she gasped, jumping in her chair.
"Something wrong?" the older man asked.
"Oh no, it's nothing." Makoto assured him. "I was just surprised, is all."
Sojiro nodded, going behind the counter to put the groceries away before going outside for a smoke.
"There was one more thing I wanted to discuss." Makoto told him.
"What would that be?" Ren wondered.
"It's just… I noticed that we've been calling each other by our first names for a bit." she said.
"Oh, my bad." Ren apologized. "I didn't even realize."
She shook her head. "It's ok. I don't mind. Do you?"
"Well, if you don't mind, then neither do I." Ren smiled. "I mean, we are friends."
"W-We are?" she stammered.
"W-Well, I know we've only known each other for a short time, but we've been through a lot." he reminded her. "We did save each other's lives, after all."
"That's true…" she agreed. "And I certainly would like to be friends."
"And so would I." Ren grinned. "So we're friends!"
She let out a small giggle. "I suppose it really is that simple. Sorry, I… don't really have much experience with friends…"
"Neither do I, to be honest." Ren admitted. "I was pretty quiet as a kid."
"Well, I'm glad to have you on my side." Makoto admitted. "I'm afraid that the other students don't trust me. They think I'm some sort of unapproachable robot."
Seeing the huge smirk on Ren's face, she immediately regretted what she said.
"Beep Boop."
"D-Don't tease me!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist." Ren chuckled. "But in all honesty, I promise that, as your friend, I'll support you against Kamoshida."
"And I'll do the same." she nodded.
As they promised to support each other, a soft, soothing voice whispered in her head. Like Johanna, she had never heard it before, but it seemed familiar all the same.
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
FOOL CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"Now then, there's one more thing..." she trailed off.
With a bright smile on her face, she grabbed a large textbook and placed it on the table.
"You don't think I was going to let you get out of studying… did you?"
Ren could only groan, his fate sealed.
After a long hour of studying, Makoto excused herself, heading home.
After she left, Sojiro looked at Ren, a sly grin on his face.
"What?" Ren asked.
"Not even here for a week and you're already bringing girls home." Sojiro grinned. "Hoo boy…"
Ren blanched, his face flush.
She arrived at home, only to find her sister absent. She must have been spending the night at work again.
Feeling her phone buzzing, she noticed that she got a message from Eiko.
Eiko: Hey, you wanna see my collection?
Makoto: Your collection?
Eiko: My Buchimaru collection, duh!
Makoto: Oh! Yes, please show me!
Eiko: K, gimme a sec.
Eiko posted a picture filled with all sorts of Buchimaru merch. Shirts, plushies, pillows, cups, pins, figures, and more...
Makoto: That's quite the collection! I'm a little jealous to be honest…
Eiko: I know, it's awesome, right? Do you have a collection too?
Makoto: I do, but it'll take me a bit to find everything.
Eiko: That's cool. You can show me another time. But what about your crush ;)
Makoto: What?!
Eiko: I saw the two of you outside of school again. What were you two getting up too?
Makoto: Nothing! We just went over to the cafe that he lives at, that's all! We needed to meet with his guardian.
Eiko: Oh wow! A dinner date, and he took you to his home to meet his guardian! Damn Miss Prez, you work fast!
She could feel her face begin to heat up again. Why did it keep doing that?!
Makoto: There's nothing like that between me and Ren!
Eiko: Oh? Already on a first name basis, huh? ( ͡° ᴥ ͡°)
Her cheeks grew redder, and she began to feel the urge to throw her phone across the room.
Makoto: He was just thanking me for tutoring him! All we did was study!
Eiko: Study huh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Makoto: Eiko, what's with those strange faces?
Eiko: What, you haven't seen that emoji before?
Makoto: Emoji? Eiko, did you make a typo?
Eiko: lol good one Miss Prez.
She frowned. Did Eiko think she was joking?
Typing…
Eiko: Um…
Typing…
Eiko: OMG, you're serious.
Makoto: OMG?
Eiko: Short for oh my God. Like, OMG, I need to, like, teach you all about texting lingo and emojis and stuff.
Eiko: Tell you what, Miss Prez. Why don't we go shopping one of these days at the mall?
Makoto: Really? Sure, I'd like that.
Eiko: Great! I text you when I'm free!
Despite everything that had happened, she couldn't help but let out a smile. She certainly hadn't expected to make two friends today.
Speaking of which, a notification on her phone alerted her to the Ren texting her.
Ren: Thanks again for tutoring me.
Makoto: It's no trouble. Good night, Ren.
Ren: Good night… Miss Beep Boop.
She dropped her phone, burying her face in her pillow to let out an embarrassed whine.
She awoke to find herself back in the Velvet Room.
"Must have fallen asleep." she muttered to herself.
Having gone through this song and dance before, she got out of bed to face Igor.
"You wished to speak with me?" she asked.
"First, I have a question." Igor said. "Are you finding yourself more accustomed to this place?"
"Not fully." she admitted. "But I'm more used to it than I was before."
Igor's grin widened further. "Excellent. You're not shaken easily, I see."
"I don't know if I'd go that far…" Makoto trailed off.
"Building on what I said before, you needn't go through rehabilitation alone." Igor explained. "Allies will help you to avoid ruin. Why, you even formed a bond with a fellow Persona user today, did you not?"
"Ren…" she whispered.
"There are others that you shall help with their own rehabilitation, and in turn, they shall help yours." Igor told her.
"There are plenty of people with unique skill sets that can help you." Justine brought up.
"Yeah, they're not as weak as you, so make sure you get them on your side!" Caroline yelled.
"Weak… that's a bit much…" she whispered.
"That is not to say that you should seek these bonds purely for the purpose of growing stronger." Igor warned. "Bonds built on such superficial reasons will not work at all."
"I… don't know I'll be very good for this." she admitted. "I don't have a lot of friends…"
"Ah, but you already have plenty of people offering to help, do you not?" Igor asked.
"I suppose that he's right." she mused. "He looks a little strange, and I could do without all of his vague responses… but he seems genuine at least."
As she thought more about Igor's offer to help, the same voice that came to her with Ren at the cafe spoke again.
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Hunger Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
HUNGER CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"All the answers will come to you in time." Igor assured her. "For now, continue to work towards your rehabilitation."
"Our master's done speaking, so get lost, Inmate!" Caroline demanded.
She sighed, returning to the bed in her cell, hoping to get some rest.
4/13 Wednesday
The volleyball rally happened soon after classes began. She changed into her gym attire, heading to the gymnasium with the rest of the students. Spying Ren sitting by himself, she gave a small smile before sitting next to him.
"So, it's the faculty vs. the students, right?" Ren asked.
"That's right." she nodded.
A blonde boy, that she realized must be Ryuji Sakamoto, walked up to them. As soon as his eyes landed on her, however, he let out a scowl.
"What're you doin' here?" Ryuji muttered.
She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at his tone. "I'm simply watching the rally with another student. Is there a problem?"
"You keeping an eye on him like they told you to?" Ryuji accused.
"Ryuji…" Ren frowned.
"Absolutely not!" she denied. "That's not what I'm doing at all!"
"Whatever…" Ryuji grumbled.
The three of them watched the volleyball match between the two teams.
...Although calling it a match would be a bit generous, honestly. It was ridiculously one-sided, the student team getting completely destroyed as Kamoshida scored every single point in the game.
She watched as Kamoshida jumped into the air, getting ready for the spike.
He spiked the ball as hard as he could… and she winced when it hit a student in the face.
Kamoshida rushed over, calling for someone to bring him to the nurse's office, before quickly getting back to the game.
With what she knew now, she couldn't help but feel disturbed by what happened.
The rally ended shortly afterwards, and after changing back into her regular clothes, she navigated the halls until she found Ren talking to Ryuji.
"Effin' Kamoshida." Ryuji grumbled. "This whole rally was just to boost his ego! And did you see the way he pretended to care about Mishima?! What an asshole!"
"Excuse me." she greeted. "You two were about to question the athletes, correct?"
"What?! How did you know?!" Ryuji gasped.
"I told her." Ren confessed. "I thought she could help us."
"Man, I told you she doesn't care." Ryuji muttered.
She crossed her arms. "And what makes you say that?"
"Cause you didn't give a shit before!" Ryuji exclaimed. "You didn't care when the track team was disbanded."
"That… you hit Kamoshida!" she argued. "How can we trust you not to screw everything up?!"
"Makoto…" Ren muttered.
"How can we trust you not to report to Kamoshida or the principal?" Ryuji countered. "You're just a teacher's pet!"
"And you're just a hotheaded punk!" she yelled.
"Guys!"
Ren suddenly shouted, startling both of them.
"Please, stop…" Ren whispered. "Just… please, stop fighting."
She frowned, seeing the distress on his face. The last thing she wanted was to put him in an awkward position.
"You're right…" she admitted. "The wellbeing of the student body comes first."
Ryuji sighed. "Guess I'll start asking around then."
"We… should probably split up." Ren suggested. "Cover more ground that way."
She nodded. "I agree. I meet up with you two later."
She soured the halls, looking for anyone she recognized from the castle. They all said the same thing… that the injuries were from practice.
Just when she thought that it was hopeless, she ran into another athlete with a bandaged nose.
"Um… excuse me." she said, trying to get his attention.
"O-Oh, N-Niijima-senpai." the student said. "Did you need something?"
"Oh no, I just noticed that you're injured." she observed.
"T-That was just from practice." the student insisted.
"Was it similar to what happened to Mishima-kun?" she asked.
"Y-Yeah, something like that." the man stuttered. "But I don't have special training like him…"
"Special training?" she wondered.
"Er, it's nothing." the student muttered. "I need to go."
The student quickly walked away, but she had what she needed.
She met back up with the other two near the vending machine.
"Find anything?" she asked.
"Tch… nothing but an earful from Ann." Ryuji groaned.
"What did she say?" she asked.
"I think she's all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida." Ryuji grumbled. "She was telling us to stop snooping around."
"Maybe she was trying to warn us." Ren suggested.
"Do you think Kamoshida's abusing her too?" Makoto wondered.
"She ain't part of any sports team." Ryuji brought up, before his eyes widened in realization. "But one of her friends is…"
"I also heard a student talking about special training for Mishima-kun." she added.
"Sounds like we have a few leads." Ren said. "Have either of you tried talking to Ann?"
"I tried, but she wouldn't say anything to me." Ryuji replied.
"Same here…" she sighed.
"Well, third time's the charm, right?" Ren encouraged. "I'll try talking to her."
"Good luck." Makoto said.
After finalizing a plan, the three teens decided to call it a day.
As Ren and her walked to the student council room, he spoke up.
"Say, Makoto…." he trailed off. "I think that you and Ryuji should talk."
"About what?" she asked.
"About… what happened between him and Kamoshida." Ren answered. "I know that he can be a little hotheaded, but he's not a bad guy. And I don't think that you're a bad person either. That's why I think that if you two just talked, you'd be able to come to an understanding."
Perhaps she had lost her temper. Even if she was stressed out, it was no excuse for lashing out at people she should be helping.
"I'll try." she promised. "And I'm sorry. I'm sure you didn't enjoy seeing the two of us fight."
"It's ok." Ren smiled. "I'm sure if we team up, we can take down Kamoshida."
"First we need to team up to take down your homework." Makoto pointed out.
"Oh. Right." Ren muttered. "Well that's not nearly as exciting."
She let out a small giggle, flipping open her textbook.
After tutoring Ren, she went home, studying a bit herself before heading to bed.
4/14 Thursday
Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough. As soon as the lunchtime bell rang, she found Ryuji eating his lunch by himself.
"Sakamoto-kun, can we talk?" she requested.
"About what?" he muttered.
"About… what happened a year ago." she vaguely said.
"...Why do you care?" Ryuji scoffed.
She sat across from him at the table. "I know… that I haven't been doing a good job of looking out for my peers in the past. But I want to change that. That's why I want to hear your side of the story, not just what Kamoshida told everyone."
Ryuji sat in silence for a few moments before shrugging. "I guess I got nothin' to lose."
"Then…?"
Ryuji sighed. "Yeah, I hit Kamoshdia, and he busted up my leg in return. But he was provoking me!"
"Provoking you?" she repeated.
"That guy wanted to get rid of all the sports teams at school but his precious volleyball team." Ryuji scowled. "So he started targeting the track team."
"And he targeted you, since you were the leader of the team, correct?" Makoto assumed.
"Yeah… he started tellin' everyone private shit about my family." Ryuji frowned.
She looked down in shame. "I'm afraid that I wasn't paying any attention at the time."
"He just started bugging me over and over again." Ryuji recalled. "Saying shit about me and my mom… and then I just snapped."
"I see… I probably would have done the same, to be honest." she admitted. "The way he acted was horrible, but… I need you to trust me, ok? Ren and I… we'll do something, ok?"
She had an idea… it was a tad farfetched, admittedly, but it was an idea to take down Kamoshida.
"What are you two gonna do?" Ryuji asked.
"I… can't tell you right now." she hesitantly said. "But I promise, I'll do everything I can to help all of Kamoshida's victims… and that includes you."
Ryuji sat still for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Well, I know Ren trusts you… so I guess I have to trust you too."
He still seemed reluctant, but it was better than before.
"Thank you." she smiled. "Thank you for placing your trust in me."
After finishing classes for the day, she met Ren in the student council room.
"Have you talked to Takamaki-san yet?" she asked.
"Not yet." Ren said. "I was planning to catch up to her later, but we might need to cut the study session short."
"Are you sure that's not an excuse to get out of studying?" she joked.
Ren mock gasped. "Why, Ms. Beep Boop, is that a joke I hear?"
"You know Ren, one of these days, I'll find an embarrassing nickname for you." she threatened.
"Well as long as it's not-"
"Finally! I found you two!"
Ren and Makoto quickly glanced around, wondering where the voice came from.
"Down here!"
They looked down, seeing a black cat looking at them.
"That voice… Morgana?!" Ren exclaimed.
"I thought that I heard some of the staff looking for a cat." Makoto muttered.
"I'm not a cat!" Morgana yelled.
"Um… you clearly are a cat." Ren pointed out. "Even more clearly than before."
"Stop saying I'm a cat!" Morgana barked.
"Ren… please tell me I'm not going insane and that you can hear him too." Makoto pleaded.
"Meow?" Ren questioned.
"...Honestly, I'd be worried if you didn't make a joke." she sighed.
"How did you get here anyway?" Ren asked. "You don't have a phone."
"When you're as skilled and experienced as me, you don't need one." Morgana bragged.
"And so modest, too…" she sarcastically mused.
"You said you were having trouble with Kamoshida." Morgana recalled. "Well I can help you!"
"Would it have to do with that castle?" Makoto asked. "I was… considering going back there."
"You were?" Ren asked.
"I was hoping that there would be a way to stop Kamoshida." she reasoned.
"Well, you're on the right track!" Morgana told her. "If we can get rid of that castle, we get rid of his distorted desires!"
"So, he'd become a good person?" Ren wondered.
"Yeah, you're getting it!" Morgana grinned. "And a good person would never be able to live with the guilt of their crime, so he'd have to confess."
"That would be incredible!" Makoto said excitedly.
"The thing is… his other desires might disappear as well." Morgana brought up. "His desires to sleep, eat… he could end up dead."
"D-Dead?!" Ren gasped. "I mean, he's an awful guy, but I don't want to kill him."
"Neither do I." Makoto agreed.
"Urgh, you two are so indecisive." Morgana grumbled. "Isn't this your only option? I'll come back later, so you should make up your minds by then."
As the not-cat walked off, she began to consider her options.
"I don't want to kill anyone, but what do you think?" Ren asked.
"I think that for now, we should work with what we have." she answered.
"Yeah. I'll try and talk to Takamaki-san then." Ren nodded.
They went their separate ways, but as she approached the exit, she spotted a member of the volleyball team out of the corner of her eye.
"Excuse me?"
The girl looked up, and she nearly winced when she saw the nasty bruise above her eye.
"You're… Suzui-san, yes?" Makoto asked. "Are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine." Shiho stammered.
"Are you sure? That's quite the bruise."
"It's nothing. Just an injury from practice." Shiho claimed.
She stepped in front of Shiho.
"It doesn't look like nothing to me." Makoto boldly claimed. "Suzui-san, if there's something going on, please speak to me."
"Niijima-sempai, I…" Shiho trailed off. "I… I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. I know some of the other students say you don't care, but… please, don't pay attention to them."
She frowned, trying to think of how to respond.
"I don't want him hurting you too…" Shiho whispered.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing!" Shiho stammered.
She stepped out the door, and as she watched Shiho walk in the direction of the P.E Faculty Office, she wondered if there was something else she could do.
Makoto Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 1
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 1