Akira waves as she passes, and heads upstairs to her attic room. 

From safely in bed, she texts Sakura-san exactly two words:

He confessed.

Good job, kid.

Thanks.

She lies back in bed and looks over at her Ryuk poster. 

What a thrill, honestly. 

She looks over at her pack. There's still a loose thread to clean up, there — the gold medal she got from Kamoshida's Palace. 

For the time being she tucks it under her futon. She doubts the police will have any reason to search her, and it shouldn't be missing from anywhere, right? It came from the Metaverse.

She kicks up her feet and waits for the customers to clear out. No doubt Boss will want a more full account.

Morgana curls up against her side while they wait.

"It really worked. We did it."

"Yeah." Akira smiles and looks down at Morgana. "We really did."

"I wonder..."

They trail off, and cuddle in against Akira some more.

Akira raises an eyebrow. "You wonder what?"

"If I'll ever get my memories back. I have ideas about where to look, but..."

They shrug.

"No guarantees."

"Maybe we can look sometime, once things settle down."

They nod.

"It's a useful place, too, so it won't just benefit me."

"How so?"

"There's a place called Mementos. It's basically everyone's Palace, and it's connected to everywhere. You can train with your Personas, practice tactics, change the hearts of people who are only a little distorted rather than enough to make their own Palace, and of course get loot like in a Palace."

"Huh. Cool!"

It's probably also somewhere she can take her estrogen in the Metaverse.

"Yeah! And I have a feeling that somewhere, deep deep inside, my missing memories are hiding in there."

"That's definitely something to investigate. I'm interested."

Morgana purrs and snuggles against her. "Thanks, Akira."

Akira gently pets Morgana. "Don't mention it."

Okay, all clear.

Akira comes downstairs and settles in at the bar.

"Hey, Boss."

Coffee, curry, tuna.

"So. The piece of shit owned up to everything?"

"Yeah. He called an assembly and confessed in front of all the students. He was clearly bearing a huge weight of guilt for everything he'd done. I was even a little worried we'd gone too far."

"Hm. With everything you said he did, you probably didn't. Good sign you care about that, though, kid."

He shakes his head.

"And this change of heart thing works on anyone?"

"It can't create new feelings or thoughts directly, only get rid of distortions that keep people from seeing the truth. How they react to that... depends on what the truth is. This gym teacher'd convinced himself that it was his privilege to abuse others and use them for his own gain. Take that away..."

"And the bastard is left with the memory of having done it but none of the self-righteous justification. Gotcha."

He sips his own coffee, looking thoughtful.

"What counts as a distortion?"

"I'm not sure how to put it precisely. After seeing what the gym teacher was like in the other world I have a sense of it, but give me a moment..."

She folds her arms. "I think... it's a matter of self-image. This gym teacher, in his own head, was a king with slaves to serve him. In the world he created, the students he harassed sexually were empty-headed and devoted to him, and the students he hurt physically were his prisoners, subject to arbitrary execution for any act of lese-majesté. It was really encompassing — a whole role he was acting out, complete with emotions that made no sense, like his contempt toward anyone who dared to resist him, and thoughts that were just plain incorrect, like characterizing Ann and Shiho as vapid. And all that, that whole world in his head where he was king, collapsed when we were able to take out the lynchpin that held it up."

"So to answer your question, I think anyone who's living off in a world that doesn't match to reality like that, inside their own head, could have the whole thing washed away by a change of heart."

He gives a contemplative hmph and looks down at his coffee for a long moment.

Eventually, he asks, "How do you know if someone has a distortion?"

"There's an app on my phone that takes three pieces of information - the name of the person, what real-world location they've distorted in their head, and the thing it's been distorted into, and if you have all that you can go into the world in their thoughts. I think it might tell me if a distortion - it's called a Palace - exists with less than the full three pieces, so long as I have something to give it." 

She gets her phone out and opens the Metaverse Navigator. "If you have someone you'd like me to check, I can try them by name and see if the app gives me anything."

"Futaba Sakura."

She closes her eyes for a moment and nods seriously. Someone Sojiro's actually related to...

She punches the name into the navigator and tries it.

The navigator blinks up a small screen. 

Destination Detected for Futaba Sakura. 

She looks at Boss. "They've got one."

He sighs hard and looks down.

"Don't do anything with that just yet. I'm gonna have to talk to her."

Akira nods. "Of course."

She hopes it's a more benign case than Kamoshida's was. Anyone with that distorted a worldview... must not be doing all that well.

Just then, his phone rings.

"Hello?

"Yes, I had to check.

"Of course I didn't. Not without—

"Right. I'll be there soon."

He hangs up and scratches the back of his head.

"Gonna have to close up early today. You got things here, kid?"

"Yeah, I think I know the basics of how to handle the kitchen by now. I'll make sure everything's put away properly, Boss."

"Thanks. You're a good kid, Akira."

He grabs his things and heads out.

"Wow. Who do you think this Futaba is? A relative of the Boss?"

"He seemed more concerned than hopeful. I get the vibe it's someone he wants to protect, rather than someone who he wants to see brought to justice..."

She bites he cheek. "Wife? Daughter? I don't know. I don't know anything about Boss' family life."

"Yeah. I hope they're okay, whoever they are. They probably aren't, though."

"Yeah."

Nothing like the world being awful as usual to kill a good mood. 

Akira picks at her curry a bit.

They headbutt Akira's shoulder.

"Futaba's lasted this long. We'll make things work out."

Akira nods. 

"Guess I should clear up the kitchen." 

She gets up from her seat and starts to putter. Work will clear her head a bit.

Things aren't too much of a mess, so it's pretty quick to clean up.

She supposes she should actually eat her curry too. It'd be a waste to let it go uneaten.

She eats. She gets the closed sign on the door. She turns out the lights on the ground floor. She goes upstairs and flops into bed again.

Just when one thing's done, another takes its place. 

She hopes Futaba is okay, whoever she is.

Morgana curls up on Akira's tummy and tries to purr reassuringly.

... At least she has Morgana and the Thieves. 

She lays her head back on her pillow and tries to sleep.

She eventually manages to drift off, and awakens once more in the nest of black pillows.

Akira sits up, stretches, looks around. 

She's back in the club-like living room again, with its bookcase, vinyl couch, and massive plasma TV. Joker's curled up on the couch, asleep. 

It seems she's going to have access to this mindspace every time she sleeps, then... 

And then Julie steps out of a door of black wood, one Akira hadn't noticed either of the previous times she was here.

She walks up to Akira with a big smile. "It is lovely to see you, moitié."

Akira smiles. "It's wonderful to see you, too." 

She gets to her feet and wraps Julie up in a firm hug.

Julie draws Akira close, hugs her tightly, and then presses a soft kiss to her lips.

"Hello, ma belle chérie," she murmurs.

"Hello, moitié." 

Akira kisses back softly and then separates. 

"It's been an eventful few days."

Joker rouses herself from the couch and lets out a loud yawn. 

"You don't know the half of it. Julie and I have been maintaining the place and wouldn't you know what we found..."

She looks over at Julie. "Bedrooms first, or show her now?"

Julie hums, then nods. "Show her first, I think."

Joker nods. She gets up and gestures to the teak door. "After you," she says. "Don't touch anything, though."

Akira gets up and goes over to the teak door. 

It opens smoothly to her hand, revealing a narrow flight of stairs that descend into the earth. 

She looks back at Julie just once, then descends.

At the bottom is large room with a bare cement floor, dimly lit by bare lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. At the center of the room sits an enormous pool of slowly-churning black tar. Easily twenty feet across or more, and of indeterminate depth, the pool seems to have drained a ways from its peak levels, with a foot or so of cement basin revealed, though globs of tar seem to be congealing on the sides above the "waterline". Sitting on the rim of the pool, in little obsidian receptacles with channels open to the pool, are a number of small objects: cups of coffee, plates of curry, and in one case a large bento box decorated with an image of a familiar tree. Around the outside of that is a ring of rusted, twisted, spiked iron. The very air in this place feels toxic and oppressive, as though life is not meant to come down here. 

As the girls walk down, one of the questing tendrils of the pool reaches up into an obsidian receptacle and starts corroding a cup of coffee, eating away at it gradually, and then receding.

Julie follows close behind Joker and Akira, and wraps an arm around each when they reach the bottom.

Akira looks at the pool. 

She knows what this is, deep in her gut. It's — everything. All the hurts that have been piling up for so long. Her family. The system. The students at school. Kobayakawa and his "perverted horseplay." Everyone who doesn't understand her. Everything that sucks. 

She can feel it seethe. There's an oily weight in the air that threatens to choke her. To touch it would be beyond foolish. 

"... You didn't ask for this, did you?" 

"It came on its own," Joker confirms. "All I can say is told you so."

"It has its uses, chérie. I believe we can make things from it, from the globs that get left behind when it drains. Look at your dagger, mes chéries. What is it made of?"

Joker nods. "This. A part of it, anyway."

She comes over to the side of the pool and looks down at the globs of tar that have collected on its edges. 

"I can sense the potential in these leftover pieces. They're... Pains that have resolved, that are over now, that we can make something good of. The level's receded a lot since yesterday."

Akira approaches as well, cautious step by step. 

"I can sense it too. But it's not simple. It's still toxic, even if it's not... alive anymore."

"Peut-être... we should name the pains. There is a power in names, beloveds, and we can use that to reclaim the leftovers of the hurts you've worked so hard to resolve."

Akira nods, and sits by the edge of the pool, outside the circle of barbed iron. She can feel its hostility redouble, being approached so closely like this. 

Joker sits down next to her, and takes her hand. 

"You have to say it," she says. "It's your hurt to resolve."

Akira nods, and squeezes Joker's hand. She offers her free hand to Julie.

Julie smiles encouragingly and squeezes Akira's hand. 

"You can do this, moitié. We're with you."

"... things that have improved, recently..." 

Akira squeezes both her moitiés' hands, and breathes. 

"... Kamoshida, first and foremost. He confessed. He'll be going to jail. He certainly won't be harming anyone else, with the number we did on him. I still... wish I could have fixed it sooner... but watching him grovel was honestly really satisfying. It felt right. He deserves to feel like that for everything he's done."

She exhales. "Atop that... there's explaining you to the friend group, Joker. I was worried they wouldn't accept you. It's still a little awkward, which hurts a bit, but... It's still better than I imagined. They're good to me."

She squeezes Julie and Joker's hands. "And last... there's asking Ryuji out, and everyone deciding to date everyone... And that feels... It feels like a huge release. I didn't realize how worried I was that I'd be rejected, but instead I get to have all of them, and that — that's amazing. That's the best outcome. And I'm so happy to get to try it."

Akira takes another deep breath of the oily air. It seems to have receded a little, become slightly less oppressive. 

"I think that's everything. It's a lot and yet not so much, you know?"

Joker nods. "You've done well. I think the safest one to work with would be the dating one. Asking Ryuji out, the group all deciding to date. It's the one you've most resolved."

She gestures to the pool with her free hand. "Take another look."

Akira leans over and looks into the pool.

A group of tar globs have solidified into smooth, egg-shaped geodes of slightly-sparkly black stone in varying sizes. The biggest is perhaps a bit smaller than a melon, and they no longer exude a toxic aura.

Reaching in there would be foolish. 

"Julie, could you conjure some nice sturdy tongs for me?"

Julie looks thoughtful for a moment, then clasps her hands together. A flicker of cursefire blossoms between them, and then she spreads them apart, a pair of tongs of blue-black metal appearing between them.

"Aha. Merveilleux."

She flips the tongs over in her hand, grabbing them by the tip, and offers the handle to Akira with a smile.

"Will this suffice, chérie?"

"Yes, thank you."

Akira takes the tongs and looks into the pool. She holds Joker's hand firmly. 

"Be ready to pull me back if it grabs me. I don't know how alive this stuff is."

She leans over the pool, and lowers the tongs to grab the smallest of the geodes and pull it from the pool's side.

The tar slowly oozes toward her, but doesn't get close enough to reach before she's grabbed the geode and leaned back. It gradually recedes over the next minute or two.

Yeah, it definitely wants to get her. She's lucky it's slow. 

She examines the geode, making sure there's no more goo on it. 

"Beautiful," she says. "For all that it's solidified hurt."

Her instincts say touching it is safe...

"I'm going to grab it." 

She rests the geode in her other hand and gently releases the tongs, dropping the stone into her palm. 

It's comfortably cool. She can feel vitality in it, a strength that wants to be unleashed. Slow waves of red light wash through the scattered crystals on its outside as she holds it, in time with her heartbeat.

"It's been refined into something more than mere hurt, now. It's made of your strength, too, and the way you've grown beyond the pain. I wonder what's inside?"

"Only one way to find out." 

Akira raps the geode once on the edge of the pool, like she's cracking an egg into a saucepan. It fissures in her hand, and she lets the halves separate.

Inside, the walls of the geode are covered in jagged spikes of glittering black crystals, thrumming with hints of hidden power and glowing internally with red light. In the center of one side, there's a bit of a divot in the crystals, dipping down into an odd hole, and a strip of leather poking out.

Something about the leather feels like care, like fondness, like protective affection... And it feels an awful lot like Ann, Ryuji, and Shiho.

"Ooh. Trés belle, moitié. The crystals look as though they're made of your growing strength of heart. I suspect they can be used to improve various things, like perhaps your dagger. More uses will need some investigation, however. The leather strip looks fascinating."

"Useful crystals are nice. But I'm more interested in whatever this thing is..."

Akira carefully fishes out the strip of leather.

As she pulls it out, it turns out to be longer, and longer, and longer than she expects. Eventually, after more than two feet of leather have pulled free, she finds the other end. It's smooth, soft, and a deep, orchid tone of violet.

"What do you make of this?" Akira passes it over to Joker.

Joker feels it in her hands, the sense of warmth that radiates from it, the comfort of it...

"I think it's a wrap for the hilt of my dagger," she says. "To make it easier to wield."

Akira smiles. "Awwwwww... That's kind of adorable." 

She takes the leather again and holds it just to feel the comfort that radiates from it. 

"... Yeah, I think you're right. It's made from... being accepted. That feeling we get from the Phantom Thieves."

Joker smiles and claps her hand on Akira's shoulder. "Good job."

"... Thanks." Akira passes the wrap back to Joker. "Here, you can keep this for now." 

She picks up the tongs again, and fishes out the second small geode. It cracks satisfyingly on the edge of the pool, but inside are only the same rows of glittering crystals as the first. 

Akira looks at the big, melon-sized geode. 

"I'm going to try for the big one, now. I don't think I'll be able to get it with the tongs. I'll need both hands. Again, be ready to grab me." 

She reaches in to lay her hands firmly on either end of the larger geode, and pulls.

The sludge flows a bit quicker, this time, managing to stretch just barely far enough to brush against one of Akira's knuckles as she grabs the big geode.

A shock of visceral terror flashes through her like a lightning strike, briefly filling her entire focus with crushing misery and the need to escape. Her heart pounds, her breath quickens, her skin turns clammy, her palms sweat.

She jerks away on instinct, and the geode flies from her hands to shatter on the basement floor. 

Her breath rushes and her heart thuds. She feels like she's dying. She's going to die she's going to die —

Joker grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her away. With her gloved hand she brushes the small amount of oil on Akira's hand off her skin, then extends her tainted glove towards Julie for her to burn away with cursefire.

The unnatural panic subsides as quickly as it came. Akira feels like she just ran a marathon, but she's okay. She's intact. She's alive.

"Fuck," she swears.

Julie glares at the goop and snaps her fingers. Cursefire quickly consumes it in a blue-black burst, leaving nothing behind.

Then she wraps her arms tightly around Akira and Joker, crushing them both to her chest, with Akira in the middle. 

"Oh mon cœur. I'm here. Désolée, ma chérie. pauvre chérie, that looked like it felt awful."

Akira breathes slowly, taking a moment to process. 

"That... we just got very lucky. If such a small amount did that..." 

She hugs Joker and Julie as close as she can.

"Next time, let the girl with gloves do that. Or at least wear some yourself." 

Joker hugs Akira close. "I was really worried for a moment."

Julie is in no hurry to separate after that. She holds her moitiés close and strokes Akira's hair and whispers soft reassurances.

"Joker is correct. We will have to do better, next time."

Akira exhales. "Yeah. We can consider that a lesson learned, I guess." 

She lays her head against Julie's shoulder and breathes. 

After a few moments her gaze goes to the shattered geode on the floor. 

"... Let's clean up that mess," she says after a moment. "It'll help me focus."

Joker rolls her eyes. "You stay and hug Julie, I'll sort through the mess." 

She goes and crouches by the shattered stone and starts gathering up the shards. 

There are quite a lot of loose crystals revealed, and two big chunks of geode, each with a similar distorted hole to what the leather strip came from. One seems to have a piece of tech, maybe about the size of a large smartphone, just barely poking out. The other has a slim wooden box.

Joker returns with the two large pieces, one in each hand. 

"Care to do the honours?" she asks Akira.

Akira carefully lets go of Julie, and takes the electronic device out of the left-hand chunk of geode. Turning it over in her hands, she inspects it.

It's a handheld touchscreen device of some sort. One surface seems to be clear crystal, while the other is a smooth black stone with hints of red swirls through it. It seems to have a power button on the right edge, and a small mystery button on the bottom edge.

Somewhat ominous.

"Hold this for a moment, I want to see what's in the box."

She passes the device to Joker. 

Joker sets down the empty chunk of crystal, and takes the device. Then she extends the chunk of crystal with the box in it.

Akira eases the box out of the geode, and sees if she can get it open.

It's an elegant box made of a dark-looking wood, with delicate carvings of vines crisscrossing the surface. There's a little piece near the edge that she can twist, and that unlatches the top, allowing it to open almost like a book. Inside is a slim deck of cards. They appear to be the major arcana of the tarot, with a few atypical arcana included as well. They're done in an inky graffiti style in black and red. A few of them — Lovers, Chariot, Resurrection, Death, Magician, Heirophant, Fool, and Lust — are faintly glowing red.

A tarot deck...? 

That's certainly a potent symbol. And it's not the usual arcana, either...

She closes the box again. 

"Let's experiment with these upstairs. I can hardly breathe down here."

Joker nods. She sweeps the crystals into a pocket of her coat, then takes the device in both her hands and leads the way up the steps to the living room.

Akira follows, tarot deck in hand.

Joker settles on the left side of the living room couch and waits for the others to join her. 

Akira sits in the middle, and pats the seat to her right for Julie to join her.

Julie sits down next to Akira with a smile, wrapping an arm around her and gazing at the prizes from the geode curiously. 

"This looks quite interesting. I wonder what it will do?"

"I wonder as well."

Akira takes the device from Joker and thumbs the power button. 

It boots up with a bright splash of red, with black graffiti-style writing declaring it an ArcanaPad. Once it's loaded, it has a clock tracking the outside world's time, judging by how slowly and inconsistently it seems to move, and two icons currently available. One is labeled "Confidant Tracker", while the other is "Persona Manager".

Akira's eyebrows rise. 

She bonks on "Confidant Tracker."

It opens and displays a black screen with large red-outlined white text that reads "No Arcana Inserted".

So it goes with the cards. 

She opens the box and picks a glowing card off the top — the Fool. 

Now how does she get this in there? Does it use this second button?

She tries pressing the second button.

A hidden panel on the back of the device pops open, revealing a miniature scanner bed, just big enough to snugly fit a tarot card.

She lays the Fool card face down on the scanner bed, and closes the panel. 

It closes with a satisfying snap, and when she turns the device back over, the display has updated. At the very top are a small image of the card, along with a small stylized graphic of Joker's head. Just below that, it provides some information:

Fool Confidant

Name: Joker

Persona: Julie (Shared with Akira)

Rank: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Bio: One third of the Trickster System. The alternate version of myself that suddenly woke up in my head after I visited the Metaverse a few times. Seems to enjoy criminal activity, recreational surgery, lying, and sleeping with everything in sight. She's surprisingly good at diagnosing my issues, though. Is this really who I am deep down?

Recently: I've introduced her to the Thieves. The reception was generally positive, if awkward. I'm not sure where we're going to go from here.

Akira's eyebrows rise. "The Trickster System? Okay. I'm glad it includes Julie in that..."

She looks over at Joker. "Uh, I — yeah. Maybe don't read over my shoulder for this part."

"It's nothing I don't already know. It's cute that it rates the relationship out of ten, though. You always did like your ranking systems." 

She raises an eyebrow. "What does the persona manager do?"

Akira backs out and tries it.

A similar failure message as when she first started the Confidant Tracker appears, reading, "No Fusion Suite Paired."

"Well, it is a good thing we have one of those, then."

"Yeeeeeeees but for right this moment let's not go there. I want to try some of these other arcanas."

She presses the button that opens the back again.

There's the Fool Arcana, still face-down in the scanner tray.

She takes it out and puts in... Resurrection. 

"What, not going to try Lust?"

"Oh, shut up."

Akira seals the device again and opens the Confidant Tracker.

Now it displays a Shiho graphic in place of the Joker graphic, with an updated card image.

Resurrection Confidant

Name: Shiho Suzui

Persona: Bradamante

Rating: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Bio: Ann's middle school crush and primary girlfriend, who had to be saved from a cruel fate at Kamoshida's hands. A Phantom Thief and technically also my girlfriend. Clearly lives for Ann's sake. Thoughtful. Good at research.

Recently: We talked about the goth and vkei scenes and decided to go to a concert together in july. I'm excited! I wonder what our relationship will be like by then...?

Huh. Alright. 

She's not sure what the point of this device is if it just displays information she already knows... 

"Okay... probably we should try 'pairing' this like it says is necessary for the persona manager."

"Probably a smart move." Joker drums her fingers on the couch's armrest. "Care to pass that?"

Akira hands the device over.

Joker inspects it. 

"I think we need... some form of cradle for this... And for that I think we'll need an office. It'll take up space."

Akira sighs and nods. "Alright."

She offers one hand to Julie and one to Joker.

Joker takes Akira's hand in hers. 

Julie takes Akira and Joker's hands in her own, completing the loop. She closes her eyes.

"Picture a place where we can work, and organize things, my loves. Tell a story of someplace safe to take notes in, someplace safe to store tools, someplace functional. What is our office like, moitiés?"

Akira closes her eyes and concentrates. 

A desk. A glass-topped one like her father had... 

It's hard to get further than that. School's never been a good place for her. Textbooks in a bookshelf, obviously. Somewhere to put her pack...

It's hard to imagine an office where she'd actually be comfortable.

Joker closes her eyes and concentrates as well.

And as she feels her loves' envisioned designs take shape, she pushes energy through them and into their world. It settles into place with a click they can all feel in the fabric of the place. The fusion suite's door vanishes, and a new door to the presumable office appears.

"That should do it, chéries. Shall we take a look?"

Akira gets up. 

"This is going to suck," she says. But she goes and gets the door. 

The room behind it is choked with dust, layers upon layers of it on every surface. The carpet is dirty grey; when she flicks the light switch, only a single bulb in the overhead fixture sputters to life, lighting the room in dim off-orange.   

A huge glass-topped desk dominates the room: it faces the door. A nameplate sits on it, as well as several heavy stacks of textbooks. A chunky black desktop computer takes up the left hand side, while the right-hand side is buried in sheaves of paper. A rickety wooden chair sits behind it, its black wood split and splintered to such a degree that it's clearly unsafe to sit on. 

Bookcases flank the desk on either side, crammed with textbook after textbook. A snap-together molecular model sits in the one patch of free space, suspiciously free of dust. 

Along the back wall, there's a calendar set to this January, with every day marked with the word DEADLINE in thick black marker and the date of Akira's arrest circled thrice. Next to it is a timesheet full of entries in crabbed handwriting, and a thick teak door that leads... somewhere. 

Joker comes in, and nods. 

"Yeah," she says. "That was about what I was expecting."

Julie smiles sadly and steps in as well, squeezing her loves. "We'll work through it, moitiés. One piece at a time."

She picks up the nameplate and examines it, then frowns and shakes her head, setting it back down. It reads "Principal Kobayakawa".

"I would like to destroy this, but like any of the hurt that leaks into these newly-created rooms, it will just come back in some other fashion, I'm sure, until you process it."

Akira comes over to the desk in the dim orange light, and looks up at the ceiling fixture. 

"Let's start by replacing the lights so we can actually see what we're doing. Then the desk, I think."

She looks over at Joker. "Pass me one of those crystals?"

Joker pulls a thumb-sized chunk of crystal out of her pocket, and hands it to Akira.

Akira settles the crystal in her hands, and stares up at the light fixture above her. She could do this the long way, but she has a feeling any repair wouldn't last long with the room in this state. She needs to use a little of her strength on this. 

She presses the crystal between her palms, and the light above slowly reddens and intensifies, until the whole room is picked out in scarlet light. It's eerie at best, but at least now she can see what the hell she's doing. 

The small crystal fractures, and its inner light goes out. It dissolves into black flakes, which then disintegrate into dust.

"There," she says. "I don't think this will last, but it'll buy us time to clean this place up a bit and install a proper repair."

Joker nods. "Let's use it well." 

She goes over to the desk and starts brushing dust off the surfaces.

Akira comes over and starts cleaning off the papers on the right side of the desk. 

Most of the pieces are old report cards, tracking her spotty academic record. She's never been great at school, for all that she tries hard. The concepts just don't quite stick the way they should. 

Mind you, that might have had something to do with her being depressed, friendless and alone in the wrong body... 

Keeping that in mind, most of the old grade records dissolve away as she goes through them. Water off a duck's back. They didn't see the real her. She's doing better now. 

The expulsion papers halfway down the stack stop her cold, though. Her old school had wanted nothing to do with a student that had assaulted a reputable gentleman. And the school before that, she'd been transferred out of because her studies were suffering so badly...

She takes a deep breath and sets the two expulsion documents to the side. They can get filed. That's what she has a desk with desk drawers for. 

Beneath them is more arrest paperwork. It's in the past. She's making the best of her new chance, with better and more people than before. Most of it dissolves as well.

At the bottom of the stack is her wallet, in amid a tangle with a doctor's stethoscope and an elementary-school pencil case. It's empty except for a single glass card that shines with brilliant inner fire. The card is engraved and inlaid with gold; her own face stares back at her, and next to it a single huge legend: 

NAME: AKIRA KURUSU
GENDER: F

It's her Shujin Academy student ID. 

... She can't help it, that brings a small smile to her face.

Joker claps her on the shoulder. "See? There is some good in all this after all. We've just got to look for it."

Akira nods, and hugs the card close to her heart.

Julie smiles tenderly and hugs them both tightly. "Just so, chérie. And we will find it all."

Akira nods, and tucks the card back in her wallet and her wallet back into her dress' right-hand pocket.

She goes back to the desk and unzips the pencil case.

... It's full of blood-draw needles. 

She zips it shut again and passes it to Joker. "I think this is yours," she says.

"Yeah," Joker says. "Probably misplaced from the fusion room." She takes the pencil-case, and also picks up the stethoscope and loops it around her neck. "I'll put it there when we're done."

Julie arches an eyebrow and grins. "Indeed, mon cœur."

Akira goes on to the stack of textbooks. Most of them are quite heavy computer science texts, the same kind of detritus that was present in the kitchen. They're easy enough to dismiss; she's done her processing on that already. 

With another ten minutes of cleaning, Akira's down to the bare glass top of the desk. Not such a large task after all.

Should she try and boot the computer...? No, she needs to focus on getting the room squared away. 

She steps back to the calendar on the wall behind the desk and flips it forward to March, today's date. It has pages that far; and here is the date of her release, circled in green. A much better thing to remember. 

The timesheet next to the calendar comes off the wall when she pulls. Her parents never forced her to record what she was doing in fifteen-minute blocks, but they did get down as close as an hour before. Having them read her diary like that — 

It'll never happen again. 

She crumples the timesheet up and balls it in her hands, and it dissolves away. 

She'd sit and look through the desk drawers, but the chair...

She picks up the chair, and sure enough it falls apart into dust. She's never been comfortable sitting at her parents' desk. 

Still, she's making progress.

Joker gives her a thumbs-up. "We're getting there," she says. She pulls another hunk of crystal from her pocket. "Want a new chair?"

"Not just yet. Let me go through the bookshelves first."

Julie nods firmly and strokes Akira's hair. "Proud of you, moitié. We'll make a much more comfortable one when we're done."

Akira lets out a small sigh at the hair petting, then turns and looks at the bookshelf with the molecular model on it. 

There's something familiar about this molecule, but she can't quite put a finger on it. She was never very good at chemistry...

The rest of the model kit is under it, in a flat grey case. She opens it. 

Inside is her bottle of DIY estrogen. 

... She can't help it, she smirks a little. Of course. The model's an estrogen molecule. It's practically a taunt.

She takes the bottle out of the model kit. "This belongs in my bedroom, once we make it. For now... Julie, could you hold on to this?" She hands over the small bottle of pills.

"With pleasure, beloved."

She pockets the bottle for now, then kisses the top of Akira's head.

Akira flushes slightly and ducks her head. 

Then she returns to the shelves. Most of these are old textbooks; as she touches each book, it crumbles away, leaving behind empty space on the shelves. Her Shujin Academy texts are solid to the touch, though, and heavy like lead. If she fails school...

She leaves them be. 

On the bottom shelf of the bookcase, hiding behind the textbooks, there's an old volleyball. She presses it between her hands and it pops like a soap bubble and dissappears: Kamoshida's dealt with.

"Alright," she says. "Let's get a proper chair in here and go through the desk drawers."

"I have just the thing." Joker hefts a larger piece of crystal in her hands, and crushes it between her palms. In a moment, a sleek black office chair with built-in armrests appears at the table; its back and arms are covered in black and red graffiti, silhouettes of roses and thorns. 

"Not bad, eh?"

Akira's lips turn up. "I will admit it's not the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a normal office. And I think that's good, here." 

She sits. The chair's solid underneath her. 

She opens the top right desk drawer. 

Inside is her Peacemaker, sealed inside a police evidence bag.

"Great," she says. Yeah, she's still worried. She's taken precautions, of course she has, but she still can't shake the feeling that she's going to be caught with a fake gun at any moment. 

She closes the drawer. She doesn't need to mess with a firearm right now. 

The second drawer down is deeper. Inside it there's a sack of potatoes. Yes, Principal Kobayakawa does keep getting in her space, in one way or another. She hauls it out. 

"These can go to the kitchen," she says. "I bet they're still edible." And it'll help her to feel better if she gets to eat Kobayakawa's involvement in her life as delicious french fries or hashbrowns. 

She hands off the sack to Joker.

Joker takes it with a smirk, and ducks out to the kitchen.

Julie giggles warmly and nods. "A fitting fate." She kisses Joker's cheek as she departs, then Akira's as well, before kneeling down to peer through a drawer herself.

The left-hand desk drawer is full of old electronic cords, along with a dead smartphone, the screen broken in radiating cracks around the center. Next to them, buried in the mess, is Akira's old flat fox plushie that her parents threw away.

She picks up the old phone and shakes her head. "You deserved so much better than their treatment of you, mon trésor. Breaking your phone, keeping you trapped... despicable."

With a soft sigh, she sets it on the desk for Akira to see. 

Akira picks up the phone and nods seriously. 

"Yeah," she says. "I really did."

She presses it to her heart. She wishes that she could have kept it. There were so many precious things on it.

But it's in the past, now. 

It dissolves away in her hands, and leaves behind a small gleaming jewel, just the size of her pinky. A memory, perhaps.

"We may be able to recover something with that, peut-être. Best save it. And on a brighter note," she pulls out the fox plushie with a smile.

Akira grins when she sees the plushie, and outright grabs it from Julie and hugs it close. 

"I missed you, Mimi." She squeezes the plushie and skritches it behind the ears.

"A well-deserved reunion. chérie. I'm sure Mimi missed you as well."

She smiles at Akira's adorable behavior, then looks back down into the drawer and starts pulling out cables and coiling them neatly.

Most of the cables just disintegrate once disturbed, but there does seem to be a single device in here that's intact and solid: an onyx charging cradle with a cord to plug into the desktop computer's USB slot. It has the same deep red swirl patterns as the Arcana device.

"Aha. This appears to be what we were looking for, mon cœur."

She sets it on the desk.

Akira picks up the cradle and plugs the USB cable into the computer's front USB slot. 

"Alright," she says. She pulls the Arcana reader out of her pocket and slots the device into the cradle.

The computer's black case cracks and becomes glossy, shot through with the same deep red swirls as the cradle itself. It boots up; a moment later the display cracks through and becomes made of the same glossy crystal. Large red letters flash onto the screen.

PAIRING WITH FUSION ROOM

Akira startles, then nods. "It seems to be working, whatever it's doing..."

PAIRING COMPLETE. WELCOME, AKIRA KURUSU.

The computer screen flashes up the same two-button menu as the phone has. 

"Parfait, chérie. That should be useful."

She kisses Akira's hand softly and smiles.

Joker comes back into the room a moment later, and looks over the resulting setup. "Ah," she says. "You got it set up. Cool."

Akira taps Persona Manager on the new, glossy touchscreen.

A graffiti-styled two-panel interface appears, with a list of Personas in the smaller left-hand panel, and information on the selected Persona in the right-hand one. Each Persona has elemental affinities and weaknesses listed, along with capabilities, stats, and the Arcana they belong to.

The Arcana they belong to... 

Does that mean there's some connection between her friends and her Personas...?

"Julie, Joker, what do you make of this?"

"That... is likely to be related. That awful man spoke a great of strong relationships, strength of heart, and Personas, yes? In a manner suggestive of a belief that they were all connected?"

"That does make sense..."

"I think it's pretty obvious. You're a different person around different people, yeah? When you connect with someone they strengthen you in some ways and weaken you in others. It's natural that Personas would react to that shift in who you are."

"That does make sense. I wonder if any of these Personas are connected to Arcana I have relationships for..."

She browses the list. Julie is Fool, Pixie is Lovers, and Jack'O'Lantern is Magician. All three of them are cards that are glowing...

"Magician or Lovers next?"

"Oh, gotta be Lovers."

"Oui, chérie, let's see Lovers."

"Oh, alright."

Akira pops out the Ressurection card and inserts the Lovers card.

And the picture updates to Ann.

Lovers Confidant

Name: Ann Takamaki

Persona: Carmen

Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Bio: Though she may seem vulnerable at first, Ann has a core of steel. Dedicated and deeply devoted to those she cares about, she's as fierce on the battlefield as she is beautiful. She seems smart enough too, even if she hasn't looked too engaged in class. Though her primary is Shiho, she's still interested in dating me for reasons I do not fathom.

Recently: Proposed that everyone in the Thieves date each other, thus realizing a dream of mine I had not really expected to come true. I feel so grateful to her for keeping my secrets and being so kind.

"Interesting. So there's some connection between Ann and the Pixie persona..."

Julie squeezes Akira and Joker gently, humming thoughtfully. "The only thing that comes to mind is fusion. If every Persona has an Arcana — and now that I consider it my instincts say they do — then perhaps the result of a fusion is stronger based on the strength of the relationships matching either the source or result Personas. Not sure which."

"I guess that would make sense, but I'm not at all excited to try it."

"Not even a little?"

"No, not even a little."

Julie smirks and shakes her head, giggling softly. "Oh, you'll get me on the table soon enough, moitié. We can let our chérie rest and recover a little longer before pulling her along to discover new kinks, non?"

"Oh, alright." Joker rolls her eyes. "Let's at least make her put the Lust card in the machine though." 

She kisses Joker softly and nods, then turns to Akira. "You should indeed check every active Arcana, mon cœur."

Akira sighs. "Oh, alright." 

She takes out the Lovers card and puts in the Lust card.

And the picture updates to a portrait of Julie's mindspace self.

Lust Confidant

Name: Julie D'Aubigny

Persona: N/A (is a Persona)

Ranking: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Bio: The third member of the Trickster system. A bisexual disaster who once stole a corpse and lit fire to a convent so she could have a few evenings with her girlfriend — or the part of me that resonates with her, at least. Incredibly forward, seems to think kissing is a usual greeting. Often slips into french when she feels enthusiastic. Has unusual uses for cursed fire. Hard to tell what she's really thinking beneath all the flowery language and professions of love. 

Recently: She took my virginity, in mindspace at least. It was... really great. But I don't know how to relate to her as a person. How can she be so effusively in love with me? Does she really mean it?

Akira winces at the two-star rating. 

"... Yeah, that's pretty much accurate..."

"Oh Akira, chérie." She squeezes Akira's hand softly and smiles bittersweetly. "I mean every word, Akira. I do not blame you for disbelieving, though. I am well aware that I can be a lot to take in, at times, especially for one who has been so deprived of the love you deserve for so long."

Her eyes fall to their joined hands. 

"Would that I knew a way to share with you everything that I feel, so you could judge my sincerity for yourself."

Akira nods. 

"If only."

"We will learn it in time, moitié. I have faith in us. I have faith in you," she replies, a soft, confident smile on her face.

Akira can't help but smile back. "Alright," she says. "Till then..."

She looks back at the deck of cards. "We should look through the—"

The resonant chime of the clock in the living room interrupts her.

"Oh, damn." She doesn't say it with much force. Her heart's been pried into enough for one night. 

"See you, Julie, Joker. I'll be back."

Julie kisses Akira's hand softly. 

"You will, and I'll be with you through the intervening daylight until then. You need only ask."

"That goes for me as well."

Joker gives Akira a casual salute. "Say hi to Ryuji for me."

And then Akira's view fades to black, and she wakes up in her bed in Leblanc's attic, on a sunny Sunday morning, 4/17.

She sits up in bed and just breathes for a long moment. 

... did she really join a new school, start dating three people, lose her virginity to her alternate self, and discover magic, develop it into a weapon, and take down a serial abuser with it all in one week? 

What a fucking week. 

She opens her phone. 

Hey all

good morning 

hard to believe it's only been a week since I joined Shujin 

whatcha all doing?

Making breakfast for Ann before her modeling gig. <3

You?

Just woke up. Working on relaxing. It's been such a week. 

She probably shouldn't mention Futaba, whoever she is. 

Ann there with you?

Hi yeah here I am ♡ 

It's wonderful to have Shiho around, she's so tender 

a real morning pick-me-up, better than coffee

Awwww hi

glad you two are having fun <3

mmornin

just woke up

hey ryuji <3

it's that day already 

when do you wanna get together? I haven't looked at the showing times for Kung Fu Panda yet

hey Akira

anytime after an hour or two? gonna have breakfast with ma

good to hear from you

you deserve to relax <3

glad to see happy Shiho/Ann hours too

Yeah, I wanna take some time and just be normal for a bit 

I'll probably take a slow breakfast too

do you wanna make this a lunch date or a dinner date? I like the first a bit more.

lunch date means more time to hang after without keepin you up

yeah I was thinking the same thing 

alright let me have a look at the showing schedule

When around lunch is Kung Fu Panda playing?

There's a 10:00, an 11:00, and a 12:45.

How do you feel about the 11:00 showing?

sounds great

I'm happy for you two. <3

seconding shiho here ♡

Alright, so probably I leave Yongen-Jaya around 10 then so we've got time to grab snacks and tickets and hang a bit before the movie?

sounds great!

i'll leave just a bit before that

Meet you in the lobby around 10:30 then <3

see you then!

... she has a date... 

It's feeling really really real all of a sudden.

You got this, Akira. 

I believe in you, chérie. I am certain you and Ryuji will have fun together.

Thanks, you two.

Akira gets up out of bed and considers what to wear. 

Obviously not the school uniform. Floor length skirt? ... Honestly she's feeling less like that was a good purchase now. The one piece dress Ann got her...? 

Oh, definitely the cute one-piece. Has Ryuji even seen that yet? 

I honestly couldn't tell you, it's been such a week. You're sure? It's kind of short...

What's the point of knowing how to tuck if you don't ever do it?

Show off those lovely legs for that boy of yours, mon cœur. I promise he'll be quite taken with you. Besides, it's very silly to buy a short dress and then never wear it out of fear of being too short, non?

I guess I should really shave my legs, but I can hardly do that in Leblanc's bathroom...

Did Ann say anything about your legs earlier? They're fine. I get fussing, but...

I don't know...

You have a Frenchwoman in your head. You can get away with not shaving your legs, especially given that your hair has always been a bit fine, even before hormones. Either go without or find a waxing salon, chérie.

Yeep! 

I'll be good! 

I don't think that was meant as a threat. But it could be if you want it to be. 

A warm mental chuckle echoes for a moment, followed by an impression of a hug.

Indeed it was not. You do not deserve to fret about this, however. Either solve it quickly and comparatively lastingly, or ignore it, whichever is more comfortable for you.

You do know you could let me run the body for something like that, right? I'd probably enjoy it, honestly. 

It's probably not going to happen in the next three hours, whatever we do. 

It definitely won't happen if you don't try.

Are there waxing salons open at this hour on a Sunday? Check please, moitiés.

I don't —

Joker rolls her eyes internally, and just grabs the body directly from Akira. 

She starts to google waxing salons.

Wait — what — 

That's not supposed to happen — 

Akira quickly finds herself pulled into a mindspace hug, Julie stroking her hair gently. Breathe, chérie. This is just what it's like for Joker and I during your days, but a bit more jarring from the surprise. It is normal for plural systems, as I understand it. I just wanted a quick and simple answer about whether waxing was even possible today before you and Joker quibbled any longer about it.

Akira relaxes into Julie a little. The hug is... it helps. 

It is so weird to not have the body.

Joker finishes googling. 

There is indeed a waxing salon in the area that opens at nine.

How are we supposed to know if they're trans-friendly though?

Mmmm. Good point.

You could try calling them to ask?

That was a rhetorical question, Joker. 

I can make the call for you, if you want.

It's not going to happen, Joker. Sorry. 

I'll just have to ask Boss, I guess...

It's Sunday. Do you really think he'll close up shop to let you shave your legs? 

Asking him also sounds like a total nightmare. There is no non-awkward way to ask him this.

Who else could you even ask, though? It's Boss or a professional.

— Ann. I can ask Ann. She's got a bathroom, right? And Shiho's got a key to her place even if she has to leave for her modeling shoot, there's even enough time to get there and back —

... I think that plan is actually just crazy enough to work.

Then start a second group-chat with just Ann and Shiho on your way down for breakfast, loves. Bonne idée.

Akira invited Ann and Shiho to chat

Uh, hi girls

I have a awkward request to make

there's nowhere to shave my legs at leblanc and talking to Boss about using his bathroom sounds like a nightmare

Ann, can I come over and use your bathroom to prep for my date? 

Akira throws on her long skirt with the leaves and a basic blouse and heads downstairs while she waits for a response.

Good girl. 

Very good girl, chérie.

Sojiro slides Akira some curry and coffee as usual. "Morning, kid."

He looks just a bit tired, actually, like he was up late talking.

Makes sense, if he's been talking with whoever this Futaba is.

Akira sits and helps herself to curry. "Morning, Boss." She gives him an uncertain smile. "Nerves a little this morning. It's silly, this whole past week I wasn't really jittery and then I try and do something nice and now I'm a mess." 

She runs a hand through her hair and puffs out a breath.

He shrugs. "Sometimes it's easier to fight than relax, I guess. What d'you have planned?"

"Trying a date with a boy I met at school, actually. It's... my first time trying anything like that, so." She ducks her head and smiles.

He smiles. "Congrats, kid. Hope you have fun."

"Thanks, Boss."

Her phone vibrates. She picks it up and look at the messages. 

Yeah, I totally get it

Feel free to come over, I'll still be here (gig's in the afternoon)

I could even do makeup for you if you wanted me to

thanks so much Ann

you're a lifesaver

Definitely. I'll help too. Your complexion is closer to mine than Ann's.

Aww thanks Shiho

Ok, be over in an hour and a half or so, maybe a little later. I'll keep you posted.

She puts down the phone and smiles at Boss. "Thanks. I'm going to head over to Ann's place after breakfast for her to do makeup for me. She's done modeling jobs so she's got skills."

"Girl stuff," he acknowledges with a nod. 

See you soon <3

Akira nods. "Yeah, girl stuff."

She goes back to her curry.

Sojiro falls into a comfortable silence, tending the shop. Soon enough a couple customers arrive and he gets to work on their orders.

Akira takes her time finishing up — it's good to relax a bit — but soon enough it's time for her to depart for the train to Shibuya, and from thence to Ann's house. She makes sure to pack her short one-piece dress, and stops by the Body Chop in Shibuya to pick up some replacement heads for the razor she got at the thrift store. 

Soon enough, though, she's knocking on Ann's door.

Ann opens the door a moment later. 

"Hey!" She smiles and steps back from the door. "Come in, come in."

"Hey, Ann." Akira steps inside and takes off her shoes. "Nice to see you again."

Shiho smiles warmly at her. "Good to see you! Got my makeup out for you and Ann. What are you planning to wear?"

"I honestly have no idea, I don't know what all does what. I was thinking something more natural though?"

Shiho nods. "Natural's great, that's what I usually do when I wear makeup, but I meant your outfit."

"Oh! Um —"

Akira takes her pack off and pulls out her ruffled dress from it. "This," she says with a small smile.

"Oh that's so pretty! You'll look great! He'll love it."

"Aww. It's wonderful you're putting my gift to use like that." Ann smiles.

"It's shorter than I usually wear, though, so..." 

Akira ducks her head. "Joker's been teasing me about it."

"That's kind of cute in a weird way."

"Well, sometimes a little fond teasing helps you be brave. I know Bradamante nudges me sometimes."

"Yeah, it's all been very thoughtful. Though that doesn't make me not blush about it."

Shiho blushes for a moment, then tilts her head and replies, "W-well, good thing your blushes are so cute."

That gets one from Akira. "I, um." She ducks her head and looks away. 

"Thank you?"

"Adorable."

Shiho blushes a bit more and leans against Ann. 

"I... um... I had the thought, and Bradamante wouldn't let me keep it to myself."

She giggles softly and shakes her head.

Ann kisses Shiho's forehead. "Yeah, I know how that is. Carmen does the same for me." 

She looks over at Akira. "So, I bet you want to change? The bathroom's just over to the left here, but please don't feel rushed — I just don't want to hold you up unnecessarily."

Akira's blush stays — she's not used to girls kissing in front of her to any degree — but she nods. "Thank you, Ann. Yeah, I'll duck in and change quickly."

Shiho nods, still blushing a bit herself. "Take your time if you need to. You mentioned shaving your legs, too, right? Don't want you to forget anything. We've got plenty of time, don't we?"

Akira nods. "Yeah, thanks Shiho." 

She ducks into the bathroom and gets out her razor. It's not a very long or complicated process: honestly, it's a bit meditative, and leaves her feeling a little more herself. 

She changes into the ruffled dress and does her tuck with a few of her more specialized supplies (thank goodness her family didn't figure out this pair of briefs was special), then puts her old clothes in her pack and steps out of the bathroom. She feels... Better. A little vulnerable  — her shoulders are cold  — but a little more centered too. More herself.

"Hey, you two," she says as she emerges.

Ann looks over and lightly applauds. "You look wonderful. Care to join us for your makeup?"

There's a slight flush on her cheeks.

Shiho's cheeks also color a bit again as she sees Akira emerge from the bathroom. "That's a really cute dress on you."

"Aw, thanks Shiho." She's also a little flushed. It's nice to get that reaction...

Akira comes and sits by the table. "So, um, how does all this work? Since we're doing a natural look, I'm guessing you just apply, like, foundation and concealer...?"

"And that's where you'd be wrong." Ann smirks. "We'll be doing a full face of makeup today, but it should be undetectable. Certainly undetectable to someone like Ryuji. We're going to be doing a 'your face but better' look. Foundation, concealer, mascara, blush, a nude lipstick, plus a number of secret weapons ranging from false lashes to subtle contouring to brow wax."

She drums her fingers against a makeup case on the table. It's as large as both her hands put together. "This will involve brushes close to your eyes for a lot of it, but we can take it slow and give you plenty of time." 

"If you're applying that much, wouldn't it be obvious...?"

"Not if you're good at it, and my Ann is great at it," Shiho brags with a grin.

"Yeah, you'd think so, but no. We're going to do a whole bunch of little subtle improvements that add up when put together." She pops her case open, revealing several rows of small bottles, brushes, a sponge, and a few odd implements that Akira has no clue to the identities of.

"We'll start with sun balm, then move to foundation and concealer, then do work on the lips, eyes and brows in that order." 

"What have I gotten myself into...?" 

Akira smiles despite herself. "Alright, teach me."

Shiho smiles and steps away for a moment, calling over her shoulder. "I'll grab a mirror so you can follow along with what we're doing. The angle will just be tricky, that's all."

She's back a moment later, positioning a free-standing mirror on the table behind her and Ann, just between them so Akira can get a glimpse of how things are progressing. Then she reaches up and gently removes Akira's glasses, setting them on the table. "Need these out of the way," she says as she does so, then flushes a bit as she looks back up. "You have really pretty eyes. Kind of stormy grey."

She shakes her head for a moment to clear her thoughts, then continues.

"First up is skin prep." She holds up a flattish tube of product. "This sun gel is both hydrating and sun-protecting, to keep your skin healthy. You want two fingers worth. I'll start on this and a lip balm while Ann picks out the right colors for your skin."

She squeezes out a strip of product down the length of the first two fingers on her left hand, then starts scooping little dabs of it up with a fingertip from her right and starts applying it spaced across Akira's face and neck. It's cool to the touch. Then she rubs her hands gently across Akira's face, smoothing the product across her skin in an even layer.

The world blurs out a little, and Akira takes a slow breath. She feels vulnerable with her glasses off in front of another person...

The touches so quickly on the glasses-removal's heels result in a very blushy Akira. She says nothing, though, so as not to disturb the application.

Ann's hands dance over her makeup kit, considering different shades of foundation, concealer, lip liner, lip tint and mascara. "It's important to match the undertones well or the results won't look natural," she says. "Fortunately I'm used to helping other models with their own makeup, so I have a pretty good eye..." 

She selects a set of tints. "I think we'll go with the number seventeen for the lips and cheeks. There's less range for the lip liner than for most of the rest of it." 

Shiho looks over at the selection and nods. "Yeah, I agree. Which tones of foundation and concealer do you think?"

She finishes applying the sun gel and wipes off her hands before grabbing the lip balm and very gently applying it to Akira's lips, blushing again.

"These two, I think." Ann passes the tubes for Shiho to look at.

"So one of the techniques we're going to be using today is mixing foundation with concealer. That gives a lot of the same benefit as pure concealer, but looks more natural."

Akira holds very still as Shiho's fingers run across her lips, tense and flushed. 

When Shiho finally pulls her fingers away, she manages to speak. 

"Huh. That's really interesting."

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."

Ann looks at Shiho. "Those tints look good to you?"

She glances at the tubes and nods. "Good eye as always." Then she gets out of Ann's way, grabbing the almost teardrop-shaped blending sponges while her girlfriend mixes and applies the concealer blend.

Ann selects a few areas to dab with concealer blend, then accepts one of the blending sponges from Shiho to smooth out the application. A layer of foundation then goes overtop of everything to smooth out Akira's skintone and make her skin look perfect. Ann's practiced hands are able to blend the foundation well, and soon Akira gets the basic effect in the mirror. 

Akira stays very still, and tenses when Ann tilts her cheek to dab the foundation on her neck as well. Her blush isn't dissipating at all. She can feel Ann's attention directed at her; her gaze is intense, meticulous. Ann looks at her like she's an art project...

She glances in the mirror when Ann's done. It's a little hard to tell with her glasses off, but even with this first step, she looks just a little better somehow. It's subtle, but definitely present. 

Apparently no one is escaping the blush here, because Shiho's definitely still blushing about this whole thing.

"One thing I learned from Ann is that some foundations take a while to set, so it's better to let it dry naturally a bit first to keep it from getting patchy," she adds while she grabs a brush and a tube of bronzer for Ann's next steps.

"That's why we'll be using cream products instead of dry ones for the whole rest of the look, until we finally set everything at the very end."

She takes the bronzer and the brush from Shiho, and does four very gentle lines with it; one to each side of the nose, one just above the center of Akira's lips, and one just below. If you didn't know what they were, they'd just look like natural shadows.

"Some styles do a lot more contouring than this, but for something that looks natural we want to keep it minimal."

While Ann's applying that, Shiho dabs some lip tint onto the back of her hand and then blends it out a bit with a fingertip, then she starts applying it very lightly to Akira's cheeks, under her eyes, and just over her lips. "And apparently using the lip tint as a cream blush makes the whole look more integrated and natural, since we're using the same tone on the rest of your face as on your lips, just thinned out a bit first."

Akira sits still and lets the girls make her over, not daring to speak for fear of smearing the lip tint. 

She's so doomed.

Is my sweet chérie un petit peu overwhelmed at such affectionate attention? From two very pretty girls, no less, both of whom are attracted to you?

Julie can read her like a book. 

Just a liiiiiiittle.

Ann takes a lip liner pencil from her kit, and looks at Akira. "I'm going to start on your eyeshadow now. I'm going to be working close up to your eyes for this; do your best not to blink and please hold still. Okay?"

"O-Okay." 

Akira holds still.

Ann leans in and starts to very gently apply the lip liner beneath Akira's eyes. 

"Brown eyeshadow looks natural, but for a real no-makeup look a lip pencil in a nude color can sometimes be even more subtle. I might start wearing faces like this to school again now that Kamoshida's out of the way..."

Akira holds still. "Yeah, I can see you have a real passion for this..."