4/16

Ann's text had come in the early hours and woken Akira from sleep. Morgana, from where he'd lay curled near the foot of the bed, never stirred. Akira queued up the message, flooding his face with blue light.

ANN : Can we meet up before school? Just the two of us?

Akira had watched enough TV to know that this message typically acted as code that a girl wanted to confess her feelings. However, he also knew that was not what this was.

AKIRA: Sure.

And now Akira approaches the awning where the two had first met, though neither had known the other’s name. Ann is already there, and when she spots Akira coming, she raises a hand in greeting and gives him a small smile. Uncertain of how to respond, Akira mimics the gesture and grins.

Morgana had insisted on attending, but Akira had insisted right back that this would be between Ann and himself. Since Ryuji wasn't attending either, Morgana certainly didn't need to be there. Akira had instead assigned Morgana the rather important task of stalking the outskirts of Shujin, doing his best to keep track of Kamoshida's movements and - if possible - discerning his overall mental state.

"Hey," Ann says as Akira joins her beneath the awning. It is a sunny day, but they both stand in the shade.

"Hi," Akira replies, then nods towards the alleyway that leads towards Shujin. "Want to step off the street?" Akira glances back towards the road, already filled with cars. "Kamoshida could pull up any second."

"Well, about that-" Ann starts, then stops, swallows, and appears to steel herself, flattening her face. "Yes, let's go." The two head deeper into the alley, and Ann turns to face Akira. "I'm pretty sure you can guess what all this is about."

"Kamoshida's deal," Akira says. After his lengthy discussion with Morgana the night before, Akira had played out this scenario in his head multiple times. In the end, he'd determined to keep things as direct as possible. After all, Joker had whispered in his ear. We're both trying to take down Kamoshida, but it doesn't mean we're friends. That had stung, but Akira smothered the thought. Taking down Kamoshida and protecting everyone had to take priority.

"Yeah," Ann says. She takes a breath. "If you hadn't accidentally sucked me into the Palace, if I hadn't awakened Carmen, would you have told me about Kamoshida's deal with you?"

Akira looks her in the eye. He has prepared for this, but it takes him longer to reply than he thought it would. "No."

Ann's face falls a little. "But why? Aren't we friends?"

Akira feels something catch in his throat, but he barrels ahead and says, "You said it yourself. Everything about the Metaverse, about Kamoshida's Castle, is unbelievable. Would you have trusted me if I told you Morgana could talk, even if all you heard was meowing?

“What would you have done if I told you about Kamoshida's deal but then told you not to worry because Ryuji and I had a plan to 'steal his heart?' You wouldn't have believed us. We’d have sounded crazy. What would you have done, then? Gone to Kamoshida? Watch us get expelled? Your best friend had just jumped off a building, Ann. I was trying to-"

"Don't," Ann snaps. "Don't bring Shiho into this." Her hands curl into fists. "I know I was upset, Akira. I know just how upset I was, but I'm not as big of an idiot as people like to think I am. Yeah, I was upset, but I could still think. I wouldn't have just run off and confronted Kamoshida like Ryuji did. Even though you only agreed to Kamoshida's deal to buy yourselves more time, you still did it behind my back, which I totally get, but to not tell me? To not even try to explain things to me? You could've done that, at least."

Akira feels his blood start to pump faster and wills himself to stay calm. Whatever you do, don't sound condescending. "You said it last night. If we tried to tell you about the Metaverse, you wouldn't have-"

"If you tried explaining it to me, yeah," Ann retorts before Akira can finish. "But you could've proved it all just by showing me the app on your phone."

Akira blinks.

He had not thought of that.

"When I found you guys yesterday in the alcove, you could’ve said, ‘We know it sounds crazy, but trust us. We’ve got a plan, and we can prove it to you.’ You could’ve shown me Kamoshida’s Castle instead of dragging me in by accident and then shoving me out with no explanation. I would’ve believed you because I would have seen it."

Oh.

Oh shit.

Akira takes his glasses from his face and rubs his eyes. How could he not have seen that? Because he thought in terms of secrecy, compartmentalization, and - as his father would have put it - damage control. When you were doing something clandestine, you didn't tell more people. That was just obvious. But this-

Akira's head swirls for a moment, and he tips a bit as a dizzy spell strikes, but he rights himself with one hand against the alley and looks up at Ann. We're both trying to take down Kamoshida, and I want to be friends.

"When you told us you 'wanted in' yesterday, Ryuji and I could've brought you to this alley and taken you into the Metaverse. We could've shown you the Castle, explained the deal, and told you about our plan to steal Kamoshida’s Treasure. Then, we could've shown you how to get back to the real world and warned you against coming back in because there were dangerous things called Shadows inside, and you didn’t have a Persona for protection. And because you're not stupid, you would've listened."

"And," Ann puts in. "I would've helped. Maybe not in the Castle, maybe not with Carmen, but if I'd known, I could've helped you stall for time. We could've pretended that you were trying to convince me to go to Kamoshida."

Akira nods, then thinks of something. "And if we'd told you about the possibility of Kamoshida's death? What would your reaction have been then?"

Ann frowns. "I hate him. Honestly, I’ve gone back and forth on that. I’d prefer for him to rot in jail. But I'd accept his death too. Besides, stealing Kamoshida’s Treasure might not kill him. Morgana isn't sure."

That about covers it, Akira thinks. He exhales and wills his mind, still spinning, to slow. "I'm sorry, Ann," he says. "I honestly didn't think of just showing you the Metaverse. I don't know what your reaction would've been if we'd prepared you ahead of time, but I could've handled things a lot better than I did yesterday. I didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't want to involve more people than necessary. I didn't want you to be an accomplice or an accessory, even though you’re both now. I'm sorry."

Ann lets out a frustrated groan. "Akira, look, I get it. Okay? I do. I do. And I appreciate that you were trying to look out for me and protect me. But you can trust me to make my own decisions, and you can trust me to know when not to overreact. I want to bring Kamoshida down. I want to avenge Shiho. But I also don't want us to get caught or for you guys to get expelled." She stomps forward and holds out a fist. Akira manages not to flinch but then realizes Ann is not trying to punch him. "Can we just be partners? The four of us? Let's work together, all of us, and give that bastard Kamoshida what he deserves."

Akira smiles at Ann and raises his own fist. "Yes," he says and presses his fist to Ann's. "You've got a deal."

Ann's cheeks color and she pulls her hand back. "Right, so, okay. That was a little corny," she says as she shakes her hand.

"Why are you shaking it?" Akira asks, still smiling. "I'm not contagious with anything."

"Oh, be quiet," Ann says and leans back on the wall. "I thought about this whole conversation a lot last night. Then I felt guilty because I wasn't thinking about Shiho, and then I thought I was crazy because I'd just been to the Metaverse, and how was I not thinking about that whole mess?" She chuckles and shakes her head. "Talk about having your world turned upside down."

"Or inside out, in this case," Akira replies and leans alongside her against the wall. "Any word on Shiho?"

Ann shakes her head. "No. She's still in a coma. I spoke to her Mom last night, but the doctors don't know how long she'll be like that." She doesn't mention the possibility that Shiho might never wake up again, but Akira hears it nonetheless. "I can't do anything about that, though. I'll visit her as much as I can, but what I can do is help you guys steal Kamoshida's Treasure. And I've got an idea for that."

Akira nods, willing her to continue.

"Just now, when we were talking, do you remember how I said that we could've pretended that you were trying to convince me to go to Kamoshida?"

"Yes," Akira says. I bet I can guess where this is going.

"I think we should do that."

"You want to trick Kamoshida into thinking that I'm doing what he wants?" Akira asks.

"Yes," Ann says, her energy returning. "Now that I'm in on the plan, it makes sense. We'll be together a lot anyway, planning our infiltration. So we might as well put that to use, yeah?"

Akira nods. "He'll see me with you, and if he ever asks me about it, I can tell him I'm trying to convince you."

"I know we've still got to steal the Treasure, but this way, we can maybe keep him off our backs."

"I agree," Akira replies. "We can stick close to each other while we're at school." He frowns. "Ryuji won't like this idea."

Ann shrugs. "True, but if we're both onboard, we can convince him." They lapse into silence for a few moments, and then Ann seems to deflate a little. "Still, this is all so crazy. Yesterday was the most insane day of my life. Who would've thought a place like that could exist?" She straightens a bit and turns to Akira. "How'd you guys end up there the first time, anyway?" Akira begins to give a brief rundown of his first day in the Castle, but Ann shakes her head. "No, I mean, like, how'd you even get the app on your phone in the first place?"

"I'm not sure," Akira replies and fills her in on the details surrounding Igor. "But Ryuji thinks I may be dreaming all that," he finishes and smirks. "I only ever end up in the Velvet Room when I'm asleep, so... yeah. Maybe it is all just a dream, but I've got no other idea how the app got on my phone. I tried to figure out when exactly it downloaded, but from what I can tell, it just popped up at the same time I approached Shibuya that first day."

"Weird," Ann says. "But I guess that's less important than using it to stop Kamoshida. At least for now."

"Right," Akira says and pushes himself off the wall. "Should we head to school?"

Ann nods and hefts her bag on her shoulder. "Sounds good. I need to swing by the faculty office anyway." She pats her bag. "Kawakami-sensei asked me to collect some paperwork a little while ago. Updated syllabus confirmation signatures or something. I had to get one from everyone in the class." She smiles at Akira. "I guess you don't count. Mishima should've done it since he's our Class Rep, but whatever. This is just Kawakami's way of trying to get me more involved in the school. She pulls something like this every once in a while. She tried last year too. Hasn't worked yet."

"I never asked," Akira says as they turn towards the school. "But are you in any clubs or anything? I know Ryuji was on the track team until he crossed paths with Kamoshida."

"Nope," Ann says, shaking her head. "I've got some stuff I do outside of school. People already have a low opinion of me, so when school ends, I like to just leave." She frowns as they step out of the alley and head towards Shujin's main gate. "I know the RINE chatter is all about you now, but it wasn't so long ago that it was all about me."

That must've been what Shiho meant, Akira thinks, as they climb the stairs.

There are few students in the hall as Akira and Ann head towards the faculty room, but those present stare at the two as they pass. Akira does his best to ignore this, while Ann makes it look effortless. Outside the door to the office, Ann rummages around in her bookbag for a few moments, then pulls a somewhat crumpled assortment of documents from her bag with a firm yank. Her cheeks redden when she sees Akira's brows go up. "Shut up," she says.

"I didn't say anything," Akira protests.

Ann opens the door, and they step inside. "Excuse us," she calls.

The faculty office is empty save for the mop of thick black hair that is Kawakami-sensei. "Oh good, you're here," Ann says and starts to make her way towards her. "I just wanted to bring these-" She stops.

Akira, trying to make himself inconspicuous near the door, starts at the sudden silence. Only, it isn’t entirely silent. From the direction of Kawakami comes a soft noise, a kind of light sniffling. Akira approaches Ann and peers over her shoulder.

Kawakami is sitting at her desk, and her eyes are red from crying. She is desperately patting at them with a tissue, which only makes it worse. "Oh good," she snaps. "Kurusu's here too."

"S-sorry," Ann replies. "You wanted these and-"

"No," Kawakami says with a quick shake of her head. "It's fine. You're right. I did. Thank you, Takamaki." With her free hand, she reaches out to retrieve the papers. Ann holds them out to her as if trying to get them away from her own body. When Kawakami's hand closes on them, Ann snatches her own away and takes a few steps back. "Any, um, issues?" Kawakami asks.

"N-no," Ann replies and lowers her eyes. Akira is busy pretending to focus on anything else in the room.

"Are you o-" Kawakami starts, then stops and shakes her head. A sad smile is on her face. "Stupid question." She stands up suddenly and says, "Listen, I-" at the same time, Ann quickly says, "We need to go."

"Oh," Kawakami replies, blinking.

"Yeah," Ann mutters. "Because we've got a...thing - class! Class, to get to."

"Right, no, of course. That is coming up," Kawakami says. She takes a deep breath, shuts her eyes, and gently sets the papers on her desk. When Kawakami looks at them again, she says, "Thank you for bringing me these, Takamaki. I hope they weren't too much of a hassle."

"It was fine," Takamaki says, backing away. "Really."

Akira nods his head towards Kawakami and begins to follow Ann out. The woman watches them walk away for a few moments, then collapses back into her chair.

Ann and Akira exit the faculty room and turn for the stairwell. "What was that about?" Akira asks.

"Let's just forget it," Ann whispers. But they haven't taken more than a few steps when she says, "Shiho, probably."

"You think?" Akira asks, turning back towards the faculty room.

Ann shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. Forget it. Let's go."

Akira turns and follows Ann. A pang of uncertainty lances through him, but he shoves it down. Don’t forget, a voice in his head says. Kawakami knew about the rumors surrounding you, and she didn’t say a thing.

#

Akira sweats all through his morning class. "Don't worry about it," Morgana whispers from time to time. "No one can see me in here." The cat treats his desk's underside as a crawlspace. He lays on his side, tail swishing lazily against Akira’s thigh.

"This was a bad idea," Akira says.

"It'll be fine."

“You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on Kamoshida,” Akira hisses.

“I was, but for the next two periods, he’s in his office. He’s got forms to complete. Permission slips for the volleyball team to compete at Kosei High next month.”

“How do you know that?”

“I am a thief, you know. I snuck into his office this morning after you oh-so-heartlessly cast me aside and stole a look at his schedule.”

“How’d you know it was Kamoshida’s?”

Morgana pokes his head out of the desk and rolls his eyes. “Good question. How could I possibly have figured out the office with the door marked ‘Suguru Kamoshida’ was Kamoshida’s?”

“Fair point,” Akira concedes.

“Now, keep your voice down,” Morgana whispers. “You’re going to draw unwanted attention!” Akira clamps down on his tongue and chooses not to remind Morgana that his presence in his desk alone should be enough to draw attention.

Oddly enough, no one seems to notice, not even the Boy who sits behind Akira.

They are only a few minutes into the lecture when Ryuji texts the group.

RYUJI : Yo! Let's meet on the roof after school! Time to take down the Castle!

ANN : Don't text us when we're in class!

RYUJI : You guys aren’t paying attention, are you?

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Akira stifles a sigh and responds.

AKIRA : I have a cat in my desk. I haven't heard a word anyone's said all day.

RYUJI : HUH?

RYUJI : Oh right, Mona. How's he doing?

"Tell him I'm fine."

AKIRA : He says he's fine.

ANN : Guys, enough! We're gonna get in trouble!

RYUJI : Afterschool then?

ANN : OMG YES OK?

RYUJI : Cool.

Eventually, Morgana scampers out a window during a short break, and Akira breathes a sigh of relief. Ann turns to him and asks, “Are you okay?”

“He’s not staying in my desk again. I didn’t hear a word from either class. If he kept this up, I wouldn’t get a single answer right all year.”

#

The day continues to drag itself along until the middle of the afternoon, when Akira hears a loud, rhythmic sound coming from the hall. Thump. Thump. Thump. Like footsteps, but heavier. Much heavier. As if thick metal encased the feet.

The bell rings, and the students turn in their chairs to talk amongst themselves.

“I’ll be back,” Ann says, standing.

“Do you hear that?” Akira asks.

Ann blinks at him. “Hear what?” She steps away with a shrug when Akira doesn’t respond. She walks to the door, slides it open, and steps out into the hall, disappearing around the corner.

A moment later, the terribly loud footsteps reveal themselves as a Shadow – a guard from Kamoshida’s Castle - passes the door. Akira reels back in his chair, but the Shadow doesn’t turn its masked face towards him before it continues marching.

What the fuck?

Akira shoots out of his chair and jogs to the door. He pauses before he sticks his head out, half expecting the thing to be waiting for him to make himself vulnerable. As he does so, the noise vanishes, and when Akira looks, the Shadow is gone.

But it had been a Shadow. The full armor, the mask, it even made the same sound as it stomped through the halls as the Shadows did in Kamoshida’s Castle.

A hallucination? Akira wonders.

Maybe we should get that MRI, Joker suggests.

If Morgana had been back in his desk, Akira would’ve asked him about it, but nothing they’d discussed previously suggested that the Shadows could leave the Metaverse and enter the real world. Besides, no one in class seems to have heard it or seen it. Ann should have been able to hear it, at least, and she should’ve spotted it the moment she stepped out into the hall, but she’d said nothing.

Alright, Akira thinks. A lot is going on. This gets a pass. But only if it doesn’t happen again. If it does, it’s emergency meeting time.

#

Makoto clears her throat.

The two second years stop, their feet frozen upon the stairs.

"The roof," Makoto says, "is off-limits."

Akira Kurusu and Ann Takamaki turn to face her. Takamaki's face is pale and surprised, and Kurusu looks just as guilty.

What are they doing together? Makoto wonders. She knows they share the same class, and she remembers Akira being there when Takamaki had rushed to Shiho's side. God, was that only yesterday? She had not thought they were well-acquainted. Makoto had not considered Kurusu well-acquainted with anyone, save for Sakamoto. And here, she had caught them ascending past the third floor.

"Oh," Kurusu replies. "Uh. I was looking for the library."

Takamaki straightens like she's answering a question in class. "And I am showing him where the library is, Miss President."

"On the roof?" Makoto asks.

Akira shrugs. "I don't know my way around yet."

Makoto glances at Takamaki. The girl makes a short, "Blerb," noise before she can summon the words to say, "And I don't go to the library often, so I am not sure where it is." She turns to Kurusu. "You should not have picked me to be your guide."

Something hitches in Akira’s face, a look of disbelief, before he looks back at Makoto and says, “Um.”

Makoto regards both students for a moment, then sighs and shakes her head. Damn, there I go again. “I didn’t mean to be inquisitive. I don’t believe I have ever seen you in the library, Takamaki, and I am there quite often.” She offers a smile. “I could show it to you. Takamaki, I’m sure your academic performance would improve if you made use of Shujin’s many resources.”

“Gee,” Takamaki cuts in, frowning. “Thanks.”

IDIOT, screams Makoto’s brain. She holds up a hand. “N-no, I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. And now wouldn’t be a good time, probably. What with-” She halts, the unspoken name hovering in the air between them. MASSIVE IDIOT, her brain rages. She glances at Akira, but he does not appear willing to help, as his brows are raised in an unmistakable look that reads ‘Yikes.’

“I’ll talk to you later, Akira,” Takamaki mutters and begins to head back down the stairs.

“Wait,” Makoto says quickly. Takamaki stops and turns back to her, a sour twist to her mouth. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about your friend, Takamaki.”

Takamaki looks up at her until Makoto begins to feel uncomfortable. “Her name is Shiho Suzui,” Ann finally says.

“Yes, I know, I-”

But Takamaki turns. “Everyone sure is sorry today.” Takamaki continues down the stairs towards the lower levels.

“Don’t be hard on her,” comes a voice, and Makoto realizes she’s still in the tiny stairwell space with Akira Kurusu. He regards her, his face not entirely blank. He looks as if he’s about to say something else, but then he shrugs and stays silent.

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Yeah,” Kurusu says. “I know.”

Makoto is surprised to find that means a lot to her. “Come. I’ll show you to the library.”

Kurusu takes a step towards her and says, "Thank you."

Makoto half-turns away from him and averts her eyes. She sees Suzui on the ground in the courtyard and Takamaki crying over her body. "If you were looking to start our study sessions today, I'm afraid I can't. I apologize. After yesterday-"

Kurusu spares her from having to continue. "Oh, yeah. Hey. Don't worry about it. I just wanted a book." She sets off down the hall. Kurusu follows her.

The library is claustrophobic with desks, tables, and stacks. A mass of eyes shoot Kurusu’s way once they enter, and despite the large sign over the door that reads, ‘Quiet, Please,’ whispers sprout in force.

"Isn't that the second year with the record?"

"What's he doing here?"

"He's not going to study, is he?"

"I don't like this. He's got a crazy look in his eyes."

"You don't think he's going to attack us, do you?"

Makoto steps up alongside him, and the murmurs dim but do not die. She turns to Kurusu and says, "I'm sorry about-"

"It's fine," Kurusu mutters. He grabs a book off the nearest shelf and shuffles over to the circulation desk. "This is the book I wanted anyway."

Makoto glances at the title. "'The Biology of Shrimp?' That's an, um, interesting choice."

Kurusu pales. "I need it, for, uh work. And food. I help make food for work."

"Oh."

The girl at the circulation desk does not meet Kurusu's eyes as she checks the book out. When he takes it back, she gasps out a little frightened squeak. Akira scowls, tucks the book under his arm, and turns to leave.

"Kurusu," Makoto says.

He looks at her. "Yeah?"

"We'll begin our sessions on Monday."

"Sure," Kurusu says. "I'll see you then, Niijima-senpai." He nods to her once, then slides open the door to the library and rushes out.

Makoto stares at the open door. 'The Biology of Shrimp?' Yeah, right.

#

When Morgana finished his proposal, Ryuji stood up, fists clenched. "What'd ya mean, wait? That's bullshit!"

Morgana sighs. "Look, genius. Remember when he first flew into Kamoshida's Pleasure Hall? Akira and I got stomped on. We would've died if you hadn't awakened Captain Kidd. And yesterday, if Lady Ann hadn't summoned Carmen, we would've been in real trouble."

Ann looks over at Akira and mouths the words, "Lady Ann?"

Akira shrugs.

"My point is, we need to be cautious. We need to prepare. We should stock up on medical supplies we can use when we're inside."

Ryuji's jaw drops. "Like potions in a video game!"

Morgana rolls his eyes as Akira laughs. Akira and Morgana had spent the previous night discussing the Metaverse. Akira had prepared a list of questions for Morgana in the hopes of gaining more of an insight into how best to stop Kamoshida. Morgana’s answer to many of his questions had, frustratingly, been ‘I don’t know.’ However, those questions prompted additional avenues of discussion, which started them talking about cognition and how you could use it to influence the physical reality within the Metaverse. Akira had drawn the exact parallel as Ryuji.

“Fine, yes,” Morgana says. “If your cognition allows you to view them that way, then sure. We should also bring food. The Palace is huge, and we don't know how soon we’ll come across another Safe Room. We don't even know the general layout of the place. We could be there for hours. If we run out of energy or get hurt too badly, it might be difficult to get back out."

"Alright," Ann says. "Food shouldn't be a problem, but where are we going to get medical supplies? I don't think they sell more than aspirin and bandages at the pharmacy."

"Well, about that," Morgana says and turns to Akira. "Joker here happens to know a super-sexy doctor who might be able to assist us.”

Ryuji grins. "Whoa, dude! Details, now!"

“I don’t remember telling you she was super sexy,” Akira says.

“I inferred it,” Morgana responds.

“Alright,” Akira says, rolling his eyes at the cat. He quickly brings Ryuji up to speed on his close call with the train, which prompted Takemi’s visit. The rest is relatively straightforward. “She runs a clinic in my neighborhood.”

“Exactly!” Morgana says. “She could sell us medical supplies.”

Akira looks over at the cat. “And again, I have an issue with that plan. What am I supposed to do? Just ask her to sell us medicine for use in a cognitive Castle?”

“Just make something up,” Morgana says.

"Just make something up?" Akira asks. "What am I supposed to say?"

Ryuji raises his hand. "Hey, Mona, I've got a question."

"What is it?"

"Should we bring guns?"

"Huh?" Everyone asks.

Ryuji reddens a little and clears his throat. "Well, the Personas are great and all, but every time we've used them, we get all tired and shit. Shouldn't we get some other weapons? Akira's got his dagger, Ann's got her whip, you've got a sword, and I've..."

"Got a pipe?" Ann asks.

"Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. It just kind of appeared in my hands." He shakes his head. "But that's not my point. If everything in that world revolves around cognition, then couldn't we bring guns in and freak the Shadows out or something?"

Morgana looks up at the blonde boy. "Ryuji, that's..."

"Dumb," Ann finishes.

"Brilliant!" Morgana shouts.

Ryuji blinks. "Wait, for real?"

"Seriously?" Ann asks.

"That could totally work!" Morgana says. "Even if the weapons are fake, the Shadows won't know that. From their perspective, we're thieves. So they'd expect us to have working guns."

"So toy guns would work like real guns?" Akira asks. "That seems like a really dangerous theory to test out." This had not occurred to Akira, but it opened the way for other possibilities if it worked. What was to stop them from bringing a big black ball, sticking a fake ‘fuse’ on the end of it, writing ‘BOMB’ in big letters on the side, and throwing it at a Shadow? Would the Shadow expect it to explode? Why sneak through the Castle when they could just napalm their way through?

"Trust me, it'll work," Morgana says. "Not bad, Ryuji."

Ryuji beams. "In that case, I've got the perfect place to get em! It's an airsoft shop in Shibuya. Really out of the way."

"Alright then," Morgana says. "Then, this is the plan for today. Akira and I will go to the clinic and convince the doctor to sell us medicine."

"You mean, I'll convince her to sell us medicine. You're a cat."

"Whatever. While we're doing that, Ryuji, you take Lady Ann to this soft air place and buy some guns."

"Wait, why do I have to go?" Ann asks.

"Because someone's going to need to make sure he doesn't go overboard and draw suspicion."

"Oh. That's a good point."

"Alright!" Ryuji says, pumping his fist into the air. "Let's rock this shit!"

#

The clinic is a short walk from LeBlanc. It is a hole in the wall, a few steps up from the littered sidewalk, with an ugly blue sign the only indicator of its purpose.

Akira grips the doorknob. He feels a soft, pulsing vibration. What’s this? He walks inside. Music blasts his eardrums—Morgana yowls from inside the bag. Guitars screech fast and vicious beats and drums pound.

The singer belts out something Akira thinks is English, but the voice is so scratchy and warped, he cannot be sure.

The aural assault hits him from all sides, then promptly shuts off, and his ears just ring and ring.

He is in a waiting area. The walls are a dull, metallic grey. Two tattered, red cushioned couches sit parallel to one another. A blank bulletin board. A magazine rack with dusty, yellowed publications. Alongside the door he's just entered is a potted dracaena. It's dead.

"Sorry about that."

To his left is a large service window, behind which sits Doctor Takemi, feet up upon a cluttered desk. A large, expensive-looking radio hangs over the desk’s edge.

Her smile is coy. “I don’t get a lot of patients around this time.”

She wears a white medical coat over a short, dark blue dress cinched with a thin red belt. It looks more like something one might wear to a club rather than a doctor’s office. At the angle she’s sitting, the coat has slipped down to her upper arms, and Akira can see her shoulders, pale, bare, and curved. She’s still wearing the choker. And the high heels.

He feels his face redden. "That was loud,” he says.

"Smooth," Morgana whispers from the bag.

"That's the only way to play it. Otherwise, what's the point?" She bats long-lashed eyes at him and asks, “So, how’d it go?”

“How’d what go?” Akira asks, sticking his pinky into one ear to make sure there’s no damage.

Takemi frowns. “The MRI I told you to get?”

Akira sighs. “I haven’t gone yet.” Takemi lets out a little huff and begins to stand, so Akira quickly adds, “But Sakura-san is going to take me to the hospital soon. He’s going to set up the appointment today or tomorrow.”

“At least you’re here for your follow-up,” Takemi says and reaches into a drawer, pulls out a clipboard equipped with a form. Not quite, Akira thinks, as she extends it out towards him. “Here, fill this out.”

"What's this?" Akira asks, accepting it.

"I need your information. You are at a doctor's office, after all." She tilts her head. “How have you been feeling? Any issues sleeping? Any headaches? Nausea?”

“No,” Akira says, picking up a pen from next to the window but not writing down anything just yet. “I feel fine, actually.”

“Nothing at all?” Takemi asks. “Kids your age do have a habit of running themselves ragged. And since you’re new in town and everything…” She trails off, letting the implication sit between them.

“I need some medicine,” Akira blurts. He makes no move to fill out the form.

Takemi smiles, but her eyes go hard. “Oh?”

“Y-yeah. It’s for my exams. To help my energy levels.”

Takemi unfolds her hands and leans back in her chair. Her painted nails drum against the top of her desk. “So, you need medicine to help with your exams?” He nods. She stands.

Vanishes around the corner.

The sky blue door in the lobby clicks unlocked, and Takemi opens it. "Come with me."

He follows her into the hall, and she leads him to a small examination room. The exam table is blue, plush, and covered with sanitary paper. She gestures to it with her thumb. "Have a seat."

Akira sets his bag - Morgana included - on the ground and hops up onto the table.

Next to the table is a small desk and a swivel chair. Takemi drops into it and spins around to face him. "What kind of game are you playing?" Her voice is still cool, still seductive, but there's an underlying harshness to it. "Is someone putting you up to this?"

"No, of course not."

"Then I suggest you come up with a better lie. Because 'medicine' and 'exams' rarely go together."

"I'm not lying," he says. He feels dirty, like he's just stepped through a cloud of dust and dirt. He realizes he is squirming beneath Takemi’s maple brown gaze, but he can't stop. "It’s for my entrance exams. For college. I really do need it."

"Hmm." Her eyes glaze over, and she stares up at the ceiling. She purses her lips and mutters a few things under her breath. Akira sits in silence. The full weight of what he is attempting to do crashes down upon him. I'm trying to illegally obtain medicine. Holy shit! I'm trying to ILLEGALLY. OBTAIN. MEDICINE. Why hadn't he thought this through? If Takemi reports him, he's finished. He'll get kicked out of school. He'll have violated his probation. He'll have to go back to juvenile and then to jail!

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

"How badly do you need it?"

Akira blinks. "Sorry, what?"

Takemi smiles at him. "How badly do you need it?"

"Um, pretty badly."

"I see." She reaches out and snatches the clipboard out of Akira's hands. "Didn't write anything, huh? Well, never mind. Neither of us wants this on the books. You understand that this is shady? As in, extremely shady. As in, you don't seem to grasp how shady this is, shady. So, let me ask you this. Have you ever been sick? Really sick, I mean?"

Akira shrugs. "I've gotten a cold a few times. Some sore throats and stuff."

"But no mono? Pneumonia? How about chickenpox? Anemia? Anything in your blood?"

"Uh, no."

"I see." She smiles. "And you’re sure you’re not suffering from any complications due to the train crash?” Akira shakes his head. “Good." She stands. "Please wait here."

Takemi walks out of the office. Morgana's head pokes out from the bag. "How is this convincing her?"

"What'd you expect?" Akira whispers. "I've never had to convince someone to sell me medicine before!"

"But you're so confident in the Metaverse, why can't you put some of that charm to use out here?"

"What charm?" Akira asks. Then he shakes his head. "Never mind that. This was a bad idea. We've got to get out of here. I could get in a lot of trouble for this, and -" He shuts up as the door opens.

Takemi returns with a small vial of red liquid in her hand. "Here," she says and hands it over to him.

"What is this?" Akira asks as he takes the vial. He sniffs it and cringes at the powerful, citrus-like odor.

"Something I've been working on." Takemi leans against the room's desk. "I'm not going to just sell you medicine without getting anything in return. So, let's make a deal. I sell you medicine, and the only medicine I deem safe for your use, and you help me with my little experiments."

Akira looks at the vial, then back up at the doctor. "You want me to drink this?"

"And you want me to sell you medicine."

"But what's in it?"

"It's something I'm developing. I want to see its effects on a regular body. You'll drink it, and I'll record the results."

"What's it going to do to me?"

"I don't know," Takemi says. Then, at the look Akira gives her, she says, “Well, I’ve got some idea of what it should do. But that's why I need to test it. If you’re feeling wonderful, as you claim, it shouldn’t have any adverse effects.”

“Isn’t this, uh, unethical?” Akira asks.

“So is selling medicine to teenagers who don’t need it, but I’m not overly concerned with the moral applications of this right now. If you want me to sell you that medicine, you’d better drink mine.”

Akira steadies his hand, wets the inside of his mouth with his tongue, throws back the medicine, and swallows.

#

Akira's head feels like a horse has stepped on it.

Several times.

The dull fluorescents above burn into his eyes. He groans and throws his arm over his face to shield them.

"That was interesting."

Doctor Takemi sits at the desk, a smile on her face, scribbling on the clipboard. Everything comes back to him in a rush.

"What happened?"

"Do you want specifics?" Takemi asks.

"Well, yeah."

"First, you ingested my medicine. Then you promptly passed out. Your heart rate, respiration, everything was normal. A few minutes passed, and then you woke up."

"I don't remember."

"That's probably for the best. You started yelling at your bag."

"My bag?" Akira looks down at it. How long was I out? Morgana's been in there the whole time!

"You referred to it as Morgana. You kept shouting, 'Shut up, Morgana! We've got to get to the Castle!' over and over again. That went on for about another minute."

"Did, uh, the bag reply?"

Takemi looks flustered for a moment. Then she chuckles. "No. Fortunately, your bag didn't respond. You should apologize to it later."

"Right, so I guess everything-"

"Hold on. I'm not done. Then you zeroed in on me for a while."

Akira gulps. "What do you mean?"

"For a solid five minutes or so, you kept referring to me as, 'Sexy Lady.' You tried to sing that song too. Your English is terrible, by the way."

Akira's cheeks are on fire. "I'm really sorry."

"I'm not. It was hilarious."

"Is, uh, that all?"

"Pretty much. After your attempted advances, you passed out again. This time for half an hour. And then you woke up."

Akira sighs, mortified. "My head hurts."

"That's to be expected. It should go away in a bit." She sets the clipboard down and withdraws a small slip of paper from her coat pocket. "You upheld your end, so I'll do the same." She holds the form out to him, and Akira takes it, careful not to touch her fingers. "That's a list of medicine I'll be comfortable selling to you at a discount."

"I... thanks."

"It's mostly relaxants. Simple ones. Honestly, a lot of it's no stronger than aspirin. But, who knows? You help me out some more, and maybe I can sell you more."

"Wait, does that mean...?"

She grins, full and wide. "This is only the first test. I've got a couple more I need to run." She holds out her hand. "So, do we have a deal?"

Akira's throat tastes like ash. His head pounds. But he has what he needs. He reaches out and shakes her hand. "Deal."

#

That night, Akira apologizes to Morgana for yelling at him while under the influence of Takemi's bizarre concoction. Then he texts the others.

RYUJI : Dude! That's awesome! We're gonna kick this Palace's ass!

ANN : Way to go, Akira!

AKIRA : Thanks. How was the gun store?

RYUJI : Freakin' rad!

ANN : Terrible.

RYUJI : What’d you mean? You were psyched about that submachine gun you picked out!

ANN : Yeah, I was. But you're not allowed back there. EVER. AGAIN.

RYUJI : Why the hell not?

ANN : Because you kept asking weird questions.

ANN : Like, 'How much damage will this one do?'

ANN : And, 'Do you think this will scare them enough?'

ANN : The guy thinks we're going to rob a bank or something!

AKIRA : Did you tell him it's just for a Castle?

RYUJI : Relax, Ann. Guys like him always look suspicious. We got the guns, didn't we?

ANN : I guess that's true. We got you a pistol, Akira. I hope you're okay with it.

Morgana sets his paw on Akira's leg. "Ask them what they got me."

AKIRA : Morgana wants to know what you picked out for him.

ANN : Oh.

RYUJI : He needs a gun too? But he's a cat.

Morgana's jaw drops. "Are they serious? They didn't get me anything?"

AKIRA : Morgana does not approve.

ANN : We're sorry Morgana! :(

RYUJI : I've got it! There's this slingshot in my room from when I was a kid. He could use that!

"A slingshot? Tell them that this is unacceptable! Tell them I demand more!"

AKIRA : Morgana does not approve. Again.

ANN : I feel terrible. I just assumed that Morgana could hold his own. He's the Metaverse expert, after all.

Morgana reads this and recaptures some of his poise. "Lady Ann does make a good point. Fine. Tell Bonehead that I'll deign to use his childhood toy."

"Bonehead?" Akira asks.

"Y'know, because his name is Skull."

Akira smirks. "Heh. That's good."

AKIRA : Morgana deigns to use the slingshot.

RYUJI : It's a good slingshot...

ANN : So that settles it, yeah? Are we going in tomorrow?

AKIRA : We are.

RYUJI: Alright! Kamoshida's Treasure is as good as ours!