You sit around, and cards are passed out, and you can see bets silently being made on how long it will take Mitsuru-san to resort to cheating. Personally, you wouldn't be surprised if she starts immediately one night, after someone decides to make the rules of the game more complicated than they rightfully should be.
Makoto-san still just seems confused about the whole thing, and more than a little hesitant.
"Are you sure you want to play with the rest of us?" You ask, fully recognizing that the chances of getting an honest answer are perhaps a bit lower than they should be.
He rapidly nod. "O-of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He gives a nervous smile, silently pleading for you to shut up.
Sorry, Makoto-san. But this really is for your own good.
"...Because you always just go along with what everyone else says?" You've never seen him explicitly go against anyone before, and you think that should maybe be slightly worrying.
"He does have a point," Mitsuru-san states, not looking directly at Makoto-san. She hasn't made eye contact with him since that time she tried to read his mind and ended up with a week-long migraine. She hasn't said a word to you about what happened, but you assume it has something to do with Makoto-san's Personas. "You're easily the most agreeable person in SEES... and not in a good way."
"I'm... not sure what you mean."
"You... said something about it being wrong to say no?" Thinking about it, maybe you shouldn't be having this conversation directly before going into Tartarus, but... you guess it's too late now.
"Um... yes? Doesn't... don't most people know that?" He still seems really confused.
Mitsuru-san narrows her eyes. "And why do you think that?"
"Because that's... just the way things are? It's wrong to deny other people things that they want. I mean, that's what everyone in my family says..."
"...Yuki, I hate to tell you this, but I think your relatives just didn't want to deal with having a kid." Shinjiro-san sounds surprisingly sure of this. "Trust me, people don't just say that kind of stuff. Look, if you don't want to play cards, just go sit somewhere else. We don't mind... even if you and Yoshino are the only ones keeping Mitsuru honest."
Mitsuru-san doesn't even pretend to look affronted.
I almost miss when she was all serious, except now she actually remembers to eat most of the time.
...You think, if she starts reading people's minds partway through the game, you'll ask her if she can figure out what the rules are. They've already started slipping from your mind, and the game hasn't even really started yet.
By the time the others come back down, you've all begun to look into outright gambling while Mitsuru-san tries to retain order. Fuuka-san just seems amused by the whole thing, while Yukari-san looks glad that she's not involved in any of this.
Shinjiro-san and Chidori-san are still staying behind, as they hold no particular interest in Tartarus, and also you think Chidori-san and Junpei-san might actually be a thing now. Aigis-san, meanwhile, had to be physically restrained from following Makoto-san back through the teleporter. This is probably something you should be wary of.
Still, a nice, large group leaves plenty of people for you to stick near to.
[ ] Stay near Yukari-san.
[ ] Stay near Mitsuru-san.
[ ] Stay near Makoto-san.
[ ] Stay near Koromaru.