Hey guys! It's... It's been a hot minute XD. Honestly, Persona burn out is so real. I still love it to death, I really do. But I am in a lot a fandoms and then mixed together with IRL stuff, it's been... It's been rough. But with Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica around the corner, I'm wanting to come back to my Persona fics to try and complete them, mainly this one since there's three more big bosses, unless I have the cast fight the Reaper lol. But anyway, here is the long awaited, Chapter 70. I still find it funny I left it on Chapter 69, hehehe. Getting close to 100, I wanna finish on 100 but I don't think we will unless I drag it out a lot lol.

10/9

On my way to go and see Kuroda, I saw the person who was afraid of cats and approached him. He had scratches on him, did the cat attack him? "Hello there! The Red Goldfish you gave me... Thanks to that, the kitties were all over me! Ooh, those kittie-witties were soooo cute! The feeling of their soft fur is great! I almost want to get married more for the cat than Miyoko~San! Ooh, I want a kitty-kiss!" Uhhh... At least he's not afraid of them...? I-I don't know what to say to this. I'm just gonna walk away, and get my reward from the fox later on.

Kuroda was sitting by the riverbed as I sat with her. "Yui~Chan, do my clothes smell of incense? My husband's tsuki meinichi is today, and I've just come back from visiting his grave." O-Oh... Uh, "That must have been tough." Was all I could think of to say. She chuckled, "Oh, no. The cemetery is right over there. I don't have to walk very far.". The elderly woman's gaze moved to look at the river, "Do you know what Death is? Death is the entity that takes people to the gods. For those trying to reach the gods, and to the families of those people, Death can be an ally." 'Death' can be an ally, huh? I looked at my palm, "I don't really know." I said. "When a person dies... the people who are left behind start to grieve, right? 'Why did that person have to die?' That's the question everyone wants to know the answer to. How is it right that this life had to come to an end...? The person did nothing wrong, and yet... We want to think that they went to the gods... They've been summoned to Heaven, and there's nothing we can do about it. We try to convince ourselves of that... Sometimes... we look forward to Death taking them up to the gods... You don't quite understand it yet, do you?" Kuroda placed her hand on mine with her head tilted. I whispered loud enough to hear, "I'm sorry, I don't...". And she chuckled. "That's how it should be. The innocence and happiness of youth." I could feel the kindness she's giving me, making me smile with her.

Rank 4

Her gaze returned to the river, "I looked forward to Death too much... and became Death myself. Before I realized it, I..." She stopped herself and turned to me. "I'm sorry. You don't want to hear this, do you? I'm going home now. You be careful, too." And with that, we parted ways. There really isn't much to say when the topic is something I yet to experience, having someone close to me pass away... But I don't know why, hearing her talk to me about this stuff... It feels... Nice... I don't know how to put it in any other way, that's just how I feel when I listen to her.

10/10

There wasn't school today and part of me wanted to talk to Kuroda again so I went to the floodplain. When she saw me, she smiled. "I'm happy we could meet again, Yui~Chan. Why do you keep coming back? It must be boring, listening to this old bag's stories..." I shook my head, "Your stories are really interesting, Kuroda~San!". Kuroda hummed happily, "Well, you're just a special girl, aren't you? Enough about me. I want to hear something from you. Tell me anything.". Hmm, what should I tell her? Oh! "Well..." I proceeded to tell her my majorly complicated love life, making the elderly woman chuckle. "Oh my, what a pickle you're in. Well, you're smart, I have a feeling things will end well. I wish I could listen to your stories forever and ever." Kuroda smiled.

Rank 5

However, her smile faded. "But... I do not want to see you anymore." Huh? "Why not?" I asked, "I'm sorry... You just... not only do you look like how I looked when I was your age, but even to the way you speak... It all reminds me of him too much... Thank you for everything... Goodbye..." She left with a sad look on her face. D-Did I do something...? Maybe for now, I'll leave her alone. Not for long, though, since we still have a social link... Just in time too, school's tomorrow and exams are soon.

10/11

Chie caught me walking to school, "Morning, Yui~Chan! We've got midterms later this week, huh? Oh, hey! We should have a study session with everybody else after school! We're all in the same boat, right? Let's help each other out!" I glared at her, 'help each other out', huh? I know what that means, she's gonna ask Yukiko and I for the answers. She caught onto me glaring at her, "That's right, help each other... Okay, so what if I'm more on the 'being helped' side than the 'helping others' side? Come on! Help those of us who are academically-challenged! I'll invite everyone! Please!" I couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, sure! Anyway, c'mon. The bell's gonna ring!" And with that, we went into the school.

~Timeskip~

Ms. Sofue finally isn't teaching us about Ancient Egypt. Not that I minded learning about Ancient Egypt, but it's nice to learn something else. "... Now, please take a look at the second page of the handout. It's about the French Dynasty. I'm gonna spend a little time covering the king who served during the golden age of the Bourbon dynasty, Louis XIV... Known as one of the most prolific rulers in France, he's also remembered for his famous line, 'I am the State.' His achievements turned France into one of Europe's most prestigious nations, earning him the title of 'Sun King.' He excelled in politics, and he's also the one responsible for building the Palace of Versailles. So... the Sun King certainly left his mark in history, but he also had an interesting personal quirk. Let's see... Yui~Chan, would you stand up, please? What part of his physical appearance was the Sun King, Louis XIV, most concerned with?" Oh, this I know. "His height!" I enthusiastically said, "Hohoho... You're right. He was a short man, who was concerned about his height. One record says he wore shoes with an 8 centimeter heel, and that he even specially ordered his wig. That wig alone was an astounding 20 centimeters tall! On top of that, he wore a hat with gorgeous feathers so he'd be seen as a great man worthy of being a king. Hoho, knowing that, doesn't it make you identify with him a little? Even though he was a monarch, he was still human. So... midterms start at the end of this week. Don't forget to review.". Thank god I was taught about Sun Kun, Louis XIV back in my old school...

~Timeskip~

Ai wanted to talk to me right when the bell rang, so I told the others that I'll meet them later at Junes. "What did you need, Ai?" I questioned her, "You're probably not going to remember this, but I'm gonna ask anyway. Do you remember when we skipped that one time and we went into the nurse's office to give us an excuse?". With a little hesitation, I nodded as my memories started coming back to that day. "Do you remember that kid I talked to? Naoki Konishi? I'm sure you know of his sister, Saki Konishi." Oh, him. "What about him?" My head tilted in curiosity, "Well... Just between me and you, ever since his sister passed away, I promised myself to keep an eye on him. Naoki and I were really close and I care for him. He was like a younger brother to me, someone I could occasionally pick on." She smiles somberly. "But... Saki passed away... Naoki became cold towards me and I haven't been able to speak to him lately. What I want to ask of you is that, if you have the time, could you try talking to him? You're probably the only person I can turn to, please?" This was an odd request but... "I'll try!" I told her as she jumped up and down excitedly. "Thank you, Yui! You're the best!" Ai hugged me before we split up.

At the shoe lockers, I saw Rise who was changing her shoes. "Hey, Rise~Tan! Are you also going to Junes?" I asked as she nodded hesitantly, "Let's go together then!". We walked in silence for a bit until Rise stopped in her place. "What's wrong?" The underclassman's expression was grim, which worried me. "Why are you still my friend, Yui?" Huh? "I tried to force myself on you... I'm a bad friend..." Rise... I took hold of her hand, "I'm not mad, Rise. I just want to know why." The pigtailed girl bit her lip. "I guess... I got jealous..." Jealous? "Whenever I try to ask you to hang out, Yosuke~Senpai beats me to it... I know I shouldn't be like this, we're all friends before all this feelings stuff but..." Her arms fell to her sides, "What I did was unforgivable, I'm so very sorry!" Tears started welling up in her eyes as I brought her closer to me and into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I promised you I wouldn't hurt either you or Yosuke, but look what I did... I hurt you..." I started lightly sobbing in her shirt, making her shocked. "N-No... Like I said, we're all friends before all these feelings and stuff. It's-" I cut her off, "I still hurt you, I'm sorry Rise." I pulled away from the hug and wiped away both of our tears. "How about this, after these exams, let's go out together. Deal?" A smile grew across her face, "Okay. I just ask you one thing. Don't forgive me for forcing myself on you. I don't want you to forgive something like that, it was disgusting of me to do.". "Okay." I told her as we held hands on our way to Junes. Ryuto was at the entrance waiting for us and the moment he saw Rise and I holding hands, he smiled. "You two made up?" He asked as I smirked and kissed Rise's cheek, "Does that answer your question?" Ryuto laughed at my response. Rise blushed a little, "Hey! He might think we're a couple, Yui!" and giggled as we went into the elevator.

The others were already at the giant table, exchanging notes with each other. On the side was Nanako and Teddie sitting at one of the tables. "Big sis!" The little girl ran up to me, "Hey, sweety! Hey, Teddie!" as I hugged her tightly and waved at the blond boy. "Hey, Nanako~Chan! Hey, Ted!" Chie greeted them as Teddie stood to attention. "Hey, greetings to you." He bowed as Nanako followed suit. Heh, it was cute. Yukiko giggled, "Looks like you're having fun.". We sat down as the first years walked up to us with a lot of snacks, "Yo!" Kanji waved, making Nanako chuckle. "Wow, everyone's here." Ryuto smirked, much to Yosuke, Chie, Kanji, and Rise's annoyance. Yeah, none of them wanna be here. At least Yukiko and Naoto are here, I won't be the only one tutoring them. "So many people!" "Why did everyone come here?" Nanako wondered as Teddie questioned. Yosuke perked up, "Exam study group! Sigh, times like these, I'm jealous of Teddie..." Same, Yosuke... same... "Come on now. Let's start with proving the trigonometric identities." Chie and I grimace at hearing about trigonometric identities. I may be fine at math, but I don't like trig. "Ours is the section on trig functions, right? The one where we find the area of a triangle given two sides and-" Kanji cut Rise off, "Huh? You find the area of a triangle with... You know, that thing. Uhh, base by height by 2?" I'm pretty sure it's not that... "Close, it's ½ multiplied by base and multiplied by height." Ryuto spoke up. Yeah, that seems right. Naoto leaned over to Kanji, "If you don't mind, shall I teach you?" making him go pink. Heh, cute. "Oh? Are you as smart as I thought? Could you uh... lend me a hand too...?" Naoto might be smart, but I don't think she knows about our material. "Oh, um... I wouldn't know where to begin with second-year subjects." Yeah, I knew it. "ww... What's up with that? Useless after all..." YOSUKE!? "D-DON'T CALL ME USELESS!" I slapped the back of Yosuke's head as he just chuckled, "I knew that was coming, Yui. And I think I've figured out what buttons to push to get Naoto~Kun riled up. You're pretty cute when you're angry." Naoto got flustered and I've gotta agree with Yosuke, she does look cute when she's angry. I still don't think what he did to make her mad was a good idea though. I slapped the back of Yosuke's head again, this time making sure I didn't make eye contact with him afterwards. "That's it, I quit. This just ain't my thing... The hell with the exams. Time for my animal crackers." Animal crackers? "Ooh, can I have some too? I wanna find the penguin!" Penguin? "Hands off the penguin! It's mine!" I am so lost right now... "Sigh, Forget it. I can't think..." Same, I'm throwing in the towel.

Nanako spoke up and changed the subject, "Teddie said he doesn't know who he is. That's so weird." Would Teddie vent to Nanako about this stuff? Not that I'm against it, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't understand the TV World, but it is kinda off hearing Nanako talk about it. "...My life on this side is really fun. But the more I feel that way, the more I want to know who I really am... I've surfed the net, read manga, watched TV... I even went to a place called the libeary, but I still can't find anything about me..." I guess it would be hard to find information about Teddie, I don't think anyone other than us knows of a creature like him. I would actually be shocked if there was a book about creatures like him to begin with. Yosuke verbalized the same idea I had and Teddie started beaming, "Still, I'm starting to get an idea...". An idea? "Whoa, isn't this your first time sharing a theory about yourself!?" This is way more important than our studies. Continue, Teddie! "I lived in that other world. That world was my reality... But now, I have a feeling that it was born from the minds of people on this side... And over in that place filled with Shadows, I think I was some sort of special being..." A special being? "I don't remember anything from back then, though... Maybe it's that 'amnesia' thing I read about in a book the other day." Huh, he knows about amnesia. "It's true... There are some aspects of the other world that make it seem as though it's rooted in human thoughts. Still, there's no point in applying the principles of logic and deduction to a place like that... But the fact that you existed in such a world from the beginning adds credibility to your theory. There is little doubt that you are a 'special being' on the other side. If you yourself know nothing about it, perhaps it's true that part of your memory is missing. Tell me, what is the earliest memory you can call to mind?" Crap, why didn't we ask this ages ago? Thank you, Naoto! "It's from a while ago. I've always lived there, as far as I could tell. Then it started to get noisy, so when I happened to bump into Mistress and Yosuke, I asked them to do something about it..." Huh, interesting... "I see... If you've always been on that side, you'd have no sense of time or days..." Yeah, that's something Yosuke, Chie, and I can attest to. We may not have been there for long, but the first time we went into that world, we didn't notice that it got late in the real world.

Nanako started looking confused, and Chie saw it. "Oops! That's right, Nanako~Chan is completely clueless about all of this! I'm sorry, Nanako-chan. We didn't mean to leave you out..." Crap, I forgot about that. She seems so included in our group that I forget she doesn't know anything about the other world. "Hey... I think Teddie must be a king. I read in a story that a king was all alone inside a forest because of a bad guy's curse. Isn't that what happened to you, Teddie?" Teddie is a king? "A King... Well! When you put it that way, it sounds about right..." Of course you would say that, Ted... "Teddie...? A King...? Hehehehehe! I can see him wearing a cape..." And there she goes on one of her laughing fits, I don't understand. "Can we... not talk about Teddie being a King...?" Hm? Why not? Yosuke shared my sense of questionability. "Please no..." Ryuto shared a grimace with Kanji. What's going on? "Teddie really was a King. There were all these other Kings too, and we all-" OKAY, I KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT NOW! "Shut up, bear! Not in front of Nanako~Chan!" Ryuto covered Teddie's mouth before he spoke more. "Let's go and get some food and drinks and forget about all of this, okay?" He suggested and everyone else agreed and left. All but Teddie and I. "Am I really a King?" He turned to me with hopeful eyes, heh. "Maybe! We need to find out, don't we?" He cheered in his seat, "Mwahaha! If I am a King, I'll get to smooch girls every day!" He then gave me a hug. "I have this fuzzy feeling that I'll find out sooner or later with your help, Mistress!" I will help you find out, Teddie. Don't ever doubt that.

Rank 7

Nanako ran back to us, "Big sis, Teddie, is melon soda okay?" I agreed as Teddie and I went to go get our own food.

~Timeskip~

Once everyone left, Nanako and I went on a mini grocery shopping trip for dinner for the next couple of days with Yosuke tagging along since he offered to give us discounts. We chatted a lot with Nanako running off and running back with some groceries. "It's been a while since we hung out like this, huh, Partner? Well, Nanako~Chan is here, but you know what I mean." "Heh, yeah. It's kinda nice! Hey, is your family still up for dinner?" I asked. "You're actually willing to come over for dinner?!" Yosuke's face flushed, leading me to chuckle. "Well, yeah! Not now or in a couple of days, but in like two of three weeks. I just want to know a day when we could make it happen." I explained, "Ah, okay. I'll ask my parents about it when I get home, I'm both excited and nervous about it.". Heh, at least he's honest. I'll admit, it's cute. "Big sis! I found some pickled radish for daddy!" I smiled, "Good job, sweetie!" The little girl squeals in happiness before running off to get something else. "Nanako~Chan is really attached to you, it's adorable." Yosuke commented, "I'm attached to her too, how could you not though? I'm pretty sure we're all attached to her." He agreed as we continued on with our shopping trip. Yosuke walked Nanako and I home and thankfully Dojima was home and willing to drop Yosuke back home. After saying our goodbyes and my usual kiss on Yosuke's cheek, Dojima and Yosuke left, leaving Nanako and I home to take care of the groceries before heading to bed.

10/12

Chie rushed up to me at the gate, "Yui~Chan! Good morning! You know... Lately, whenever we're 'over there,' I've been wondering... Does it feel like you've seen those Shadows before? I mean, we've fought robots and stuff that look like they're right out of some anime, right? Doesn't that bother you?" Huh, haven't thought about it like that. But... "Now that you mention it..." I continued my thoughts verbally. "Remember how our other selves had those logos like a TV show? Maybe it was like that for the same reason as to why the Shadows look like something from the TV. Teddie said before that the other world is related to our minds somehow. People who watch the Midnight Channel believe it's a TV show, and we treat that world as 'something inside the TV'... So maybe that's why... Or is it simply because all of us have had our brains soaked in television since we were kids? Hmmm... I guess I can't really deny that... I can't help watching Hong Kong action movies whenever they're on TV..." She kept on talking about multiple Hong Kong action movies, even giving me recommendations. "Let's watch some together some time, Chie!" Chie's eyes lit up, "YES, YES, YES! When we're both free, let's set up a time, date, and place and we can binge a lot of them!". Heh, I can't wait.

~Timeskip~

Math is... not bad. Unless you have a teacher who complains a lot... "With this equation, you can figure out the center of gravity... Did you copy that down? Not that you'll use it..." At least she's self-aware about this stuff. "Why would anyone need to find a center of gravity in real life, anyway? Sigh, It's soooo tiring coming up with stuff for the exams... All I wanna do is go home and play with my stocks. Even one yen makes a difference in the world of stocks. So addicting, too... I gotta start saving more money! Speaking of one yen... I've got an interesting fact for you. Hmm... I'll pick on Satonaka~San! ...Nah, Narukami~Chan! How much do you think it costs to make a one-yen coin?" Heh, it pays to have a family who has to know stuff like this. "Two yen." "Correct! It costs about two yen for every one-yen coin to be made! It's so inefficient... By the way, the cost of making coins or bills decreases as the value increases. Money isn't free, after all. I think I'll put this on the test that starts the day after tomorrow. Study hard!".

~Timeskip~

"Hey, is Narukami~San here?"

Hm? I turned my head to the entrance of the classroom, it was the school nurse talking to one of the students in the class. The student pointed at me as I walked to the two of them. "I'm sorry about this, Narukami~San. But one of our student health association members is sick and we need some help, especially since we have shipments coming in today. Do you mind helping out again? I'm asking you because you helped us out before." Huh, okay. "I don't mind helping out, just can you give me the rundown on what I need to do beforehand? It has been a while..." She nodded as we walked to the nurse's office, with her explaining what I needed to do. "You just need to wait for the shipment to arrive and organize them into the shelves. They're not complicated items, it's just gauze and antibiotic creams. If students come in for first aid, the first aid kit is on the wall for you to use. The other members are doing the rounds around the school and are unable to do it. And I have to attend a meeting in a few minutes so your help is very appreciated." She opened the door to reveal another student in the nurse's office.

"Oh, Konishi~Kun... Taiki~Kun told me that you weren't in today..." 'Konishi~Kun'? That's who Ai wanted me to check up on, Konishi~Senpai's brother. "I was here all day, I was waiting for the group to arrive..." He looked downcast, "They're already out doing the rounds... I'm so sorry! If I knew you were here, I would've waited for you before sending everyone out on their rounds and getting help from another student." Konishi looked at me and sighed. "There's a shipment coming in today, isn't there? I can help Senpai out with organizing everything." The nurse looked perplexed for a second before looking at the clock, "I have no time to talk about this, sure. I've got to go now." And with that, the nurse left, leaving Konishi and I in the nurse's office. Well, this is awkward... "You're Konishi, right? Saki Konishi's younger brother?" He kept quiet, "My name is-" "Yui Narukami, Ebi and Yosuke~San's friend, right?" He cut me off. Slowly, I nodded, leading him to sigh again. Ugh, I'm just going to rip the band-aid off. "Forgive me for being brash about this. Ai told me that you've been distant with her since your sister's passing, saying that you two were close until that day. She's worried about you." He kept quiet. Keep going, Yui. "I know I'm basically a stranger, but is there something wrong? If you won't talk to me, at least talk to Ai. She cares about you a lot. She even told me she sees you like a brother." At that moment the sound of a knock on the door filled the room. "Shipment for Yasogami High!". Konishi and I left to collect the boxes and returned them to the nurse's office. We were in an intense silence as we restocked the shelves. This is so awkward, ugh! I hate this so much! I shouldn't have said anything, I'm such an-

"Ow!"

Crap, I cut myself while cutting the box open. It's a big cut too! Blood trickled from my hand as I rushed to the sink to run water over the wound. The water stung as the blood kept coming out. "Come here, Narukami." Konishi took my wrist and placed pressure on the wound with a paper towel. "Do you not know how to treat a cut? It won't stop bleeding if you just run water over it. Hold that " He told me as I did what he said. Konishi took some gauze, a piece of cloth, and rubbing alcohol and gestured to me to go to him. I do so and he starts by pouring the rubbing alcohol on my hand. It stung a lot, making me hiss from the pain. Konishi dried up the alcohol and placed a gauze on top of it. "Now where's the bandages..." He went looking for bandages, but grimaced after a while. "Dammit, there's not even bandages in the first aid kit. Well, this will have to do." He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around my hand. It was a cute handkerchief. "There. You can go home now, I'll do the rest of the restock." And with that, he went back to restock.

I left the room and ran into the other members of the student health association. "Narukami~Chan! We heard from the nurse that you were helping us, thank you so much!" One of them said before the three of them bowed at me. "It's not a problem, I'm glad to help!" I bowed towards them. "I'm surprised you finished the restocking, that was quick!" Oh, they don't know Konishi is here. "We're sorry to inconvenience you, Narukami~Senpai, Konishi~Kun wasn't here today so we really needed the help." Oh, do they not know he's here? "Yeah, he's so lucky. He's not forced to do his tasks for the student health association...", "I heard that he's exempt from homework. Is that true?", "What the hell!? That's so unfair!" I clenched my fists from hearing their words, my wound slightly hurting from the pressure. They kept talking about Konishi, and it's not good. "It would be greatly appreciated if the three of you stopped talking about Konishi like that, you may never know when those words may come back to bite you!" I mischievously giggled and smiled at them, and they looked at me scared. "W-What the hell are you t-talking abo- AH!" Konishi opened the door to the nurse's office and approached us. "KONISHI! UH, I GOTTA GO, SEE YOU!" One of them left and the other two left as well. "Did you hear all that? I quizzed and he nodded before leaving himself. This is going to take a while, but I will befriend him.

When I left the building, it started to rain. Thankfully, there was a small umbrella in my bag. Hmm, if it's raining, I should go and visit the fox. There's a request I haven't been able to turn in yet. I did so and was able to hang out with the fox for the rest of the day until the sun started to set.

Rank 8

~Timeskip~

I made it back home before Dojima came home and decided to make lunch for the three of us with the ingredients we bought yesterday. Hmmm... ah! I'll make some croquettes! But... how hot should the oil be... I'm not slow cooking it so, high it is! And they turned out beautiful too! I hope Nanako and Dojima like them!

Social Links

Fool Arcana= Rank 8

Magician Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Priestess Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Empress Arcana= Rank 7

Emperor Arcana= Rank 6

Hierophant Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED

Lovers Arcana= Rank 7

Chariot Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Justice Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Hermit Arcana= Rank 8

Fortune Arcana= Rank 0

Strength Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Hanged Man Arcana= Rank 0

Death Arcana= Rank 5

Temperance Arcana= Rank 4

Devil Arcana= Rank 9

Tower Arcana= Rank 0

Star Arcana= Rank 7

Moon Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Sun Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Judgement Arcana= Rank 0