While you have been, for the most part, responsible about your summer homework, it comes to little surprise to you that certain of your friends have not. Futaba due to being busy looking into Morgana- who's hanging around today, for some reason- and Akira due to... well...
"Why are you keeping all of your school stuff with Amada-senpai?" Futaba asks, her head tilted slightly to the side.
Honestly, we stopped asking a long time ago.
"If I take it home, I won't be allowed to do my homework. At least... that's the feeling I get." This is the most detailed explanation Akira has ever given you for this whole thing, and it forces you to remind yourself that setting Mitsuru-san on his parents again won't really solve anything, if only because there are innocent people living in that building.
"We should probably start thinking about what you're going to do next year, though," You admit. "I'm not sure what's going to happen to this place after Mitsuru-san's year graduates, but I also know you can't just run to the middle school every day." It's the sort of thing that would probably bring up questions you're not really sure how to answer.
"...Maybe I could help?" Futaba suggests. "I mean, I probably don't have to worry about moving... Mom brought us here so she could study something she apparently can't get anywhere else."
It probably says something that you genuinely have to hope that she doesn't mean Tartarus.
I mean, the good news is, we never had to bail out any lost scientists. Bad news is, that could just mean they were eaten by lions.
Akira leans back. "Really? But... there really isn't anything all that special here... unless you count the library, and you haven't told her about that, right?"
"Of course not! I'm not stupid! The instant she hears anything about it, I won't be allowed to go there anymore, and there's so much for me to learn about there. Like Mona-chan!" She pats Morgana on the head.
Morgana grumbles at her too quietly for you to hear what he's saying. She doesn't respond, so you suppose it wasn't all that important.
Instead, you simply groan and pass over another pencil. "Can we please focus on actually doing homework now?"
Your vacation is nearly over. It is nearly time for the full moon.
It is also, as posters all over Paulownia Mall dictate, almost time for a concert, but you're not paying any particular attention to that part.
Mostly, you're just staring down a small section of hallway where you were once gathered to plot against your treacherous advisor, wishing that Lavenza could come out today. You think you'd like to gather together and plot ways to deal with the people who technically have custody of Akira at the moment.
...Well, maybe. If you could convince her that the other people living in that building don't deserve to actually be the target of her wrath.
...On second thought, maybe it's a good thing that Lavenza isn't here. You don't want to be the person who's responsible for a city block going up in flames.
"Are you looking at something?" You hear a female voice ask. You turn, and see a girl just a few years older than you, with long, wavy hair a similar shade to Futaba's eyes, if a few steps further removed from the color purple.
Rise-san!
"N-not really..." You don't want to explain the 'strange girl comes out of wall' thing to some random person you don't really know, no matter how strangely familiar she feels. Just because you recognize someone doesn't mean she's someone you should be confiding in right now.
...Right. She wouldn't be a Persona User yet. Give it another two years.
The girl nods along, looking right where you were staring before. "Weird, that there'd be a place like this just leading to nowhere... you could probably squeeze another shop in here... but it'd have to be a small one."
...Thinking about it, that's pretty much what the Velvet Room is. At least according to what you've heard of it. "...Maybe."
"Am I... being a bother?" The girl asks, sounding disappointed. "Sorry... I've just never been to this town before."
She hasn't, huh?
[ ] ...Then you should see if she needs someone to show her around.
[ ] ...Then you shouldn't bother her while she familiarizes herself with the place.
[ ] ...Then you can probably get away with warning her not to go out too late at night... even if she probably won't listen to an eleven-year-old.
