The next morning, the class was abuzz with people talking about what hero they picked and how they planned on making their posters.

"You got All Might, right, Kiberi-chan? Man, you're so lucky, there's tons of information about his debut!" Kaminari whined.

"Which is exactly why I picked him," the red head stated, though it was a lie. She only wanted to piss Endeavor off and completely forgot the other benefits of picking All Might. "What about you?"

"Mina, Mineta and I picked Midnight sensei." The blonde beamed.

"That's a bad idea," Jirou droned. "You have to make sure you everything's perfect since the actual subject you're talking about is our teacher. Good luck. If you mess up once, expect to be called out on it on the spot."

Mina paled. "Shit I didn't think of that!"

"Relax," Kaminari waved a hand. "Mineta's got us covered. You know tons of stuff about her, right?"

Mineta's facial express was full of panicked dread. "I only know her cup size!"

"SHIT WE'RE DOOMED!"

"Oh chill out you three," Shiina chuckled, patting Mina and Kaminari's shoulder. She ignored Mineta's wails about being left out. "You have until Saturday to get your information together. Just make sure you picked the right sources and you'll be fine."

Kaminari recovered quickly, taking her hand in his. "You sure know how to comfort a man, Kiberi-chan."

"Kaminari, let go of me, you're palms are sweaty."

"M-my bad..."

"You'll get her one day, tiger." Mina assured.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun!" Shiina called out. When the greenette turned to her, she gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry for stealing All Might away from you. I know how much of a fanboy you are." She said, glancing at his All Might pen and eraser set.

His eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't expecting an apology. "Ah! N-no, you don't have to apologize for that, it's nothing really! There are other heroes I could've chosen from, it's not you're fault, Midnight sensei picked you fair and square! It's probably because you got there faster than me, or maybe because Midnight sensei just really likes you or—"

"—Midoriya-kun." Shiina placed a hand on his shoulder but quickly retracted it when he started to literally melt.

"Y-yo—you're hand! On—on my shoulder!" He stuttered adorably.

"Uh, yeah," she said awkwardly. He's a jittery little virgin, isn't he? She thought in amusement. "Which hero did you end up picking since I took All Might from you?"

"Oh! I picked Recovery Girl!" A few flowers could be seen twirling behind him. "I did a lot of research on her background already and I think she's super cool! Plus, I figured it would be a nice thing to do after all the injuries she's healed for me..." He chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah, you're bone-breaking Quirk sounds like a handful..." She commented.

He sweatdropped. "I-it's not a bone-breaking Quirk—"

"—Oi, Deku, you picked that old hag, huh? Figures you'd pick such a lame hero!" Bakugou sneered.

"Vous monstre, how dare you call the backbone of UA an old hag!" Aoyama was aghast.

The spiky blonde narrowed his eyes. "Hah? I don't fucking speak croissant, you dumbass!"

"Porcs non cultivés!"

"What the fuck?!"

"K-Kacchan, Recovery Girl is the one who heals us after class..." Midoriya frowned.

"Bakugou, you should be more grateful towards her!" Iida scolded.

"Yeah, stop being an asshole." Shiina added, even though she had no idea who Recovery Girl was. Apparently she was UA's backbone though.

Even though the whole class was shouting obscenities at him, he only paid attention to her insult. He whipped around to glare at her. "HAH? The fuck did you call me Milk Jugs?!"

She raised her arms. "Seriously? You heard me? Whatever..." She sighed in irritation. "Who'd you pick, huh? I bet it's someone equally as shitty as you."

"Heh," he smirked. "I picked Endeavor."

"I stand corrected." She rolled her eyes. "You know, you kinda remind me of him, actually."

"Oh really?" His smirk widened.

"Yeah," she smiled. "You're a giant, walking dumpster-fire with an ego the size of his own loose asshole after getting fucked up over and over again by someone who will always be better than you."

Bakugou blew up his own desk before jumping up to his feet. "I'LL RIP THAT FUCKING MOUTH OFF YOUR GODDAMN—"

Somebody opened the door.

"Bakugou, go fetch another desk from the supply room. Kiberi, stop riling him up." Aizawa lazily ordered, trudging into the classroom, bandaged up as usual.

After Bakugou returned with a brand new desk, homeroom officially began.

"The UA Sports festival is drawing near." Aizawa stated.

"That's a super normal school event!" Almost everybody shouted.

Shiina blinked. "Uh, well what did you guys expect?"

"Something life-threatening." Sero chirped.

"Ahhh."

"Is it okay to have a Sports Festival after villains snuck inside?" Jirou asked.

"What if they attack us again or something...?" Mashirao trailed off.

"Apparently, they think of it as a UA showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event." He droned before his tone became more serious. "Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be cancelled because of a few villains."

"But that's a good reason, isn't it? It's just a festival for sports." Mineta fretted.

Midoriya turned around to face him. "Mineta, you've never seen the UA Sports Festival?"

That was a surprise. Shiina was sure everyone in Japan watched UA's Sports Festivals. Even she watched it despite the fact it aired at the same time as Fashion Runway.

"Of course I have! But that's not what I meant!"

Aizawa continued on, "Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And now, for Japan, what has taken the place of those Olympics is the UA sports festival!"

"Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching. For scouting purposes!" Momo informed.

"I know that..." Mineta moped.

"After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agency as a sidekick." Kaminari grinned.

"A lot of people miss their chance to become independent after that and become eternal sidekicks, though." Jirou said, shooting the blonde a pointed look. "Kaminari, I feel like you'd be one of them. Since you're dumb."

His exterior crumbled.

"Aww don't be like that, Jirou-chan," Shiina giggled. "He may be dumb, but he's really cute, don't you think?"

"Don't encourage him..." Jirou sighed, seeing Kaminari's eyes glaze over with love and adoration.

"You think I'd make a cute sidekick?!" Kaminari squeaked.

"The cutest." She winked, making him melt in his seat. She chuckled under her breath and turned her attention to Aizawa.

"Of course, joining a famous hero agency will get you more experience and popularity. Time is limited." He said seriously. "If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. One chance a year—a total of just three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!"

Since Shiina was never interested in becoming a hero—and wasn't even interested now, to be honest—she could care less about preparing for the sports festival. Beating Shido in his own Palace counted as preparation already, didn't it?

When lunchtime came, the students gathered around to talk about the upcoming sports festival rather than go out to eat.

"Will you be training, Shiina?" Shouto asked, knowing that his sister had a penchant for going out every day rather than do school-related things.

The twins were in their own secluded corner of the room, with Shiina sitting on top of a desk and Shouto choosing to stand. It was quieter in their area, but they could still hear everything going on.

"It's not like it matters." Shiina shrugged uncaringly, her face set into a dismissive expression. "That man is still in the hospital so it's not like he can make me train. Besides... you know I never wanted this."

Shouto frowned. "But Shiina... he could punish you if you fail."

She waved a hand. "He'll punish me either way for hospitalizing him."

"I just don't want him to hurt you." He said.

She smiled softly. "It's okay, Shouto. There's only one first place and we can't both have it. One of us will be punished and I'd rather have it be me than you."

His frowned deepened. He hated the thought of her acting as a sacrificial piece for their father's rage. He opened his mouth to protest when another voice chimed in on their conversation.

"Kiberi-chan, Todoroki-kun!" A wild Kaminari appeared. "What's up with the solemn faces? Aren't you guys excited for the sports festival?"

"We were just discussing strategies." Shiina lied swiftly, making Shouto quirk a brow at how easily the lie came to her. It made him wonder if she had ever lied to him about some things...

"Whoa," he gaped. "Discussing strategies when the sports festival's still two weeks away... You guys are serious about this huh?"

"Well yeah," she grinned. "I mean, we wouldn't wanna make an ass out of ourselves, you know?"

"That would be embarrassing..." He nodded, shuddering. "Man, imagine screwing up in front of all of Japan..."

"That reminds me, I have to figure out what to wear...!" Shiina gasped. "All of Japan will be watching me! I have to make sure I look cute. Neh, Kaminari, do you think I should wear shorts or really tight leggings?"

Before Kaminari could even begin to imagine her in either outfit, Todoroki grabbed his sister's hand and began dragging her out the door.

"Let's eat lunch already." He muttered.

"Eh, but Sho-chan, I wasn't done talking! I still need his opinion!"

"It doesn't matter. We'll most likely be wearing our PE uniforms anyway."

"What?! Those ugly things?! Nooooo!"

As the twins left the classroom, a pair of green eyes watched them with concern.

— ❤ —

"There's a crafts place we can go to on the way to my apartment," Ken said as he zipped up his backpack. "We can go there to get our supplies. What was it we needed?"

"A large piece of corrugated cardboard, some paint, and brushes. You already have an exacto knife, right?" Shiina asked, finishing her packing.

The brunette nodded. "Yeah. Um, about our supplies... Are we gonna split the money up or?"

"I'll take care of the money." Shouto said stoically, stepping in between them.

Ken stared at him in surprise. "You're gonna pay for all of it? Is that really okay...?"

"Sho-chan's loaded, don't worry." Shiina reassured. Money was one of the very few perks of being Endeavor's 'favorite child'.

Suddenly, she turned her attention to the door where a bunch of students blocked the way.

"W-what's going on?!" Uraraka stepped back as more nameless students began to congest the hallway outside of the classroom.

"What business do you have with Class A?" Iida asked.

"We can't get out!" Mineta complained. "What'd you come here for, anyway?"

"Scouting out the enemy, small fry. We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival." Bakugou said gruffly, walking towards the door. Shiina was impressed by how calm he seemed. She expected him to blast the crowd away by now.

"There's no point in doing stuff like that." The blonde glared at the unfortunate, pointy-eared soul standing in front of him. "Out of my way, extras!"

"Stop calling people 'extras' just because you don't know them!" Iida scolded while Midoriya looked like he was having an aneurysm.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like," Shiina perked up at the familiar voice. An even more familiar boy shoved his way up to the front of the crowd. "But you seem pretty arrogant. Are all the students in the hero course like this? Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned."

Shiina was bouncing on her feet. "I know that boy!" She whispered excitedly.

"There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?" Shinsou questioned Bakugou, who still hadn't blown up. "The school has left those us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems they may also transfer people out."

The last sentence made a few of the students tense up.

"'Scouting out the enemy'?" Shinsou echoed. "I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war."

Before Bakugou could retort, another voice shouted .

"Hey, hey!" A silver haired boy barked. "I'm from Class B next door! I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourself! If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight! You ignorin' me, bastard?!" He screamed as Bakugou simply walked away.

"Wait a minute Bakugou, what are you gonna do about this?!" Kirishima demanded. "It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Huh?"

"It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top." And with that, Bakugou walked through the crowd of people who parted like the red sea for him.

After that, the students finally dispersed.

"Uh, be right back!" Shiina said to her two partners before bolting out the door to go chase after a certain student.

"Shinsouuuuuuu!" She sang, skipping after him down the hallway.

He stopped walking to face her. "Crazy cat lady." He acknowledged.

"Don't call me that, you jerk," she huffed. "Dude, that was pret-ty bold of you to declare war on my crazy-as-fuck class. You know we got a student with a bone-breaking Quirk? That's how fucked up we are."

He rose a brow. "How'd a guy with a bone-breaking Quirk end up in the hero course?"

"No, no, he's, like, so strong that he could break his own bones or something like that," she shrugged. "Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk about!"

"Okay..." He trailed off, staring at her expectantly. When she still didn't say anything, he sighed. "Kiberi, get to the point, please?"

"Oh right," she chuckled while he rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to wish you luck!"

"For the sports festival?" He asked.

"Nah, you'll be fine for that. You'd probably end up in first place with your Quirk. I meant good luck on getting into the hero course!" She beamed. "I didn't know you could replace someone from the hero course... Your Quirk's a helluva lot better compared to some kids in class, so you'd be accepted easily."

He blinked, speechless before a tiny smile appeared on his face. "You... You're really confident in me, huh...?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Nothing, it's just..." He scratched the back of his head. "Not a lot of people view my Quirk the same way you do."

"What do you mean?" She tilted her head.

"I can brainwash people," he said, his smile gone. "People think... it's villainous."

"Your Quirk's not villainous," she insisted. "It's only villainous if the user is doing villainous things with it. And I don't think you're the type to go around brainwashing people for your own selfish needs. If you were, you would've brainwashed a beauty store employee to give you free eye cream products a looong time ago."

"For a second, I thought I was gonna fall in love with you," he deadpanned. "But then you go and call out my eye bags."

"Oh Shinsou, we all know you'll fall in love with me soon," she flipped her hair back as if she was in some hair commercial. "It's called the Shiina Effect. I already have, like, ten guys in my harem. I know you'll be joining them soon enough."

"Your cats don't count, Kiberi."

"For the hundredth time, I'm not a crazy cat lady!"

He snickered under his breath. "Yeah, sure, okay."

She pouted. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Never."

She sighed in defeat. "Great... Oh well. I should go back to class. You better get to training, Shinsou!"

"Wait," he called out to her. "Didn't you say you had a brother in the hero course?"

Ohhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiit!

"Is it that loud, red haired guy? The one with the spikes?" He asked.

She blinked. He thinks my brother's Kirishima?!

"Uhhhhh sorry, but I gotta go feed my cats! Bye!"

She sprinted away.

— ❤ —

"Your plan is to make a giant cardboard cut-out of All Might's head?" Ken asked in amazement. "You can do that?"

"Mmhm," Shiina smiled pleasantly. "I'm good with sharp things. I'll do all the cutting and painting and I'll make sure our poster looks super pretty too. All you guys have to do is the research part."

"So you want us to do the hard part." Ken pointed out.

"What? Psh, no," she scoffed, even though he was spot on. "My part's super hard."

"Riiiiight."

"You know, something tells me that you're just pissy 'cause I didn't pick your beloved Featherman R." She quipped.

His cheeks turned pink. "They're fictional heroes, Shiina!"

"You probably know all about their debut." She barreled on as if he never spoke.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation and turned to Shouto, who offered to carry the cardboard piece while Ken had the paints and brushes (and Shiina carried nothing but her bag, what a shocker). "How do you deal with her, Todoroki-san?"

Heterochromatic eyes narrowed with animosity. "You don't like Shiina?"

Ken paled. "Er, no, that's not what I meant!"

"Relax, Sho-chan," Shiina bumped shoulders with him. "Kenny likes me plenty, right?"

"Yes?" He said nervously.

Shouto grunted, but directed his glare elsewhere.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived in front of a four story apartment complex.

Ken led them up the second floor and stopped in front of a door labelled 288. He fished around for his keys before finding them and unlocking the door, letting Shiina peer in and admire the interior.

It spacious and grand. Not as luxurious as Akechi's but a lot more homier. Her eyes trailed down on the medium-brown wooden floorboards, leading up towards a cream colored circular rug where two dark chocolate colored couches were stationed along with a rich brown leather recliner. There was a small dining table with only four chairs and in front of it, was a flat screened TV blaring some boxing match.

Before Shiina could admire the place further, a loud bark was heard.

"Oh, Koromaru!" Ken laughed as an albino Shiba Inu ran around his legs. "Hold on, boy, let me take my shoes off."

"You have a dog?!" Shiina smiled widely, bursting with excitement.

"Yeah. This is Koromaru. I forgot to mention him... You guys don't have any dog allergies do you?" He asked apologetically.

Shouto shook his head while Shiina crouched down. "Can I pet him? Can I?" She asked eagerly.

"Go ahead. Koromaru's real nice." Unless you're Tatsumi-san. He mentally added. 

"Shiina, your shoes..." Shouto sighed.

"Later, later! Come pet the dog, Sho-chan!" She squealed.

"...Fine..." Setting the board down, he slowly reached out for the dog's head. Koromaru made no qualms against it and even encouraged it by gently bumping his head against Shouto's palm.

Soft... Shouto thought.

After the twins removed their shoes and finished their petting session (well, Shouto finished, but Shiina didn't), Ken closed and locked the door when a new voice called out his name.

"Ken? That you?"

"Yeah, I'm over at the living room!" Ken called back.

A figure emerged from the hallway, and he looked nothing like Ken. This guy was buff, with silvery short locks of hair and grey eyes. He bared no resemblance to Ken, so who was he?

The young man's eyes widened when he saw Shiina. He tensed up, as if expecting a fight. He started to speak, but his kind tone sounded very forced and his expression looked more constipated than friendly. "You must be Kiberi Shiina. The new Persona user Ken told me about."

Shiina and Ken's eyes simultaneously widened. They stole glances at Shouto and discreetly gestured to him.

The man finally noticed Shouto. "Oh... Shit."

"This is Todoroki Shouto," Ken said quickly in hopes to diffuse the awkward atmosphere. "The other classmate of mine I mentioned?"

"Right," he said with a tight-lipped smile, still cursing himself for the screw up. "It's nice to meet you guys. I'm Sanada Akihiko."

"Are you Kenny's brother?" Shiina blurted out. She really wanted to know.

He chuckled. "Nah, we're just friends who live with each other."

Shiina wondered how much trust Ken's parents had in him if they were willing to let their kid live with a friend. Maybe it was because they lived to far from UA while Akihiko lived closer?

"Anyways," Akihiko spoke up. "I was told you guys are here for a school project? You can do it here in the living room and use up whatever supplies you need. I'll make sure Koromaru doesn't get in your way. Come on, buddy." He patted his leg to catch the dog's attention. Koromaru barked, chasing after the silverette who dashed back into the hallways.

The three teens set up their own little 'art station' in the living room, right in front of the television since Shiina wanted to watch her favorite shows while working. The boys went into their research right away while Shiina busied herself with sketching the outlines of All Might's head shape onto the cardboard. 

"Okay, I'm done! Can someone give me the knife?" Shiina asked, hand outstretched for the sharp blade.

Shouto was the one to hand it to her, ever so slowly and with an added look of caution on his face. "Be careful." He said sternly, as if she was a clumsy five year old.

"Chill, Sho-chan, I'm not gonna cut my finger off."

He winced. "Shiina..."

"Fine, fine, I'll be careful." She groaned.

He nodded in approval and finally gave her the knife. Ken watched their dynamic in amusement. It was weird seeing how Shouto engaged with her. He was always so quiet and standoffish in class, never showing an ounce of friendliness or speaking unless it was necessary. He wondered just how close Shiina was to him for her to be able to get him to open up so easily.

After around ten minutes or so, Shiina was just about done with All Might's head. She just needed to finish cutting up his rabbit-ear styled hairdo and she could get right onto painting. As she swiftly maneuvered the blade around, her grip slipped and she ended up making a small slice on the pad of her thumb.

"Uh oh." She said quietly, shooting a glance at Shouto only to see him already at her side.

"I told you to be careful." He muttered, gently icing her finger.

"It's okay, it's just a tiny cut!" She assured.

"Still, you're—" He immediately stopped speaking.

Her face fell. "I'm not fragile anymore." She mumbled.

Suddenly, a band aid was thrust into her view. "Here," Ken said. "I figured you'd cut yourself so I brought some just in case."

She shoved her previous conversation with Shouto to the back of her head and plastered on a betrayed look. "You doubted my knifing skills?"

"Was I wrong to doubt them though?" He questioned, motioning to her bleeding thumb.

She nodded in acceptance and took the band aid. "Touche."

"Try to be careful next time. Sanada-san said I'm not allowed to evoke Kala-Nemi in the living room." He joked.

The atmosphere was now diffused thanks to Ken's interruption, but Shouto couldn't stop shooting Shiina apologetic looks. He didn't mean to slip up and almost call his sister fragile, but she had been Quirkless her entire life up until now. Shiina tried to understand, she really did, but would her family ever stop seeing Quirklessness as some sort of disability?

I guess they're not used to me being capable all of a sudden, she thought bitterly. I'll always be weak in their eyes.

Two hours passed and Shiina was now waiting for the paint to dry. She boredly looked up. "Any progress for you guys?"

"Yes, and luckily for you, we even wrote down things for you to say during the presentation." Ken replied.

She smiled. "Aww, you two are so sweet. Now Kenny, where's the bathroom? I need to take a piss."

"Eloquent as always," he chuckled, getting up to his feet. "Follow me."

He took her to a small bathroom located in the middle of the hallway. Her teal eyes instantly zeroed down on the plant inside the shower stall.

"Why on Earth did you guys put a plant in the shower stall?" She gave him an incredulous look.

He just shrugged. "Sanada-san said it was a great way to water the plant without ever forgetting to since we shower everyday. I figured it was a good idea. Besides, look how healthy it is."

He wasn't wrong. The weird plant did look healthy, but still...

"But what if you get soap on it?" She asked.

"Then the plant will be squeaky clean."

"Oh god," she snickered. "Is this what it's like to live with guys? I'm never getting male roommates. This is too chaotic for me."

He rolled his eyes in amusement and gently shoved her into the room. "Just do your business. Stop judging our plant."

"I'm not judging your plant, I'm judging your interior designing skills."

"Oh my god, Shiina."

"Okay, okay, I'll do my business. Now shoo." She ushered him away. Before he could get completely out of the room, he gripped the doorway, his expression lighting up as if he just remembered something.

"Oh wait, I forgot to tell you something. Sanada-san and I would like it if you stayed over for dinner. There's something we should discuss about." He whispered.

Persona related things, she guessed. "Got it. Now get out before I start becoming a human sprinkler machine."

"Are you always this nasty?"

"Gooo."

"Have fun." He said, ducking out of the room.

— ❤ —

Being such an amazing group of teens, they managed to get everything done at the end of the day. Their poster was all nicely made up, and they had their lines memorized for when they present on Saturday. Ken agreed to keep the poster at home with him and Shiina was currently having another petting session with Koromaru.

"Fuyumi's here." Shouto stated, getting up. He looked over at Shiina, who was still sitting on the floor with Koromaru on her lap.

"Um," she swallowed thickly, looking over at Akihiko and Ken, who were watching her intensely (how creepy). "Fuyumi doesn't have to drive me home. My, um, parents are already on the way." She still needed to keep up the whole 'I'm not related to the Todorokis' act up since she was in front of a classmate, and she braced herself for an interrogation once she got home. She knew he was already suspicious as to why she willingly wanted to stay longer.

"...Okay." The dual haired boy said stiffly. He collected his things and shoot his sister one last glance before nodding at the two boys. He exited through the door and exhaled.

There was something going on. Between Shiina and Ken and possibly even Akihiko. The two were much too interested in Shiina during their stay there. He wasn't blind. He could see how intently they stared at her, stealing glances whenever she wasn't looking (but he was). Their stares were analytical and calculating, thoughtful, as if they were trying to gather as much information as they could about her through their eyes.

There was something going on between them.

He knew that much. But he desperately wanted to know just what it was that they were involved in. What was the connection?

"You must be Kiberi Shiina. The new Persona user Ken told me about."

There. That was the connection, wasn't it? Persona was the name of both Shiina and Ken's Quirks. But the way Akihiko phrased it made it sound like they were in a whole different category than the rest.

Persona user... He pondered.

Meanwhile, Shiina was currently plopping herself down in front a table full of food. Koromaru slid his own food bowl closer to the table to join them in eating and neither boys voiced against it (it was probably a common occurrence then).

"You know, I was really surprised when Ken told me there was another Persona user in his class. At first I thought you were from Narukami's bunch, but then he told me that you had to rip your face off to summon your Persona?" He gave Shiina a look of confusion as he sliced away at his beef.

She gave Ken a deadpanning look. "Seriously? You said it like that?"

He shrugged.

"I don't rip my face off. Just half of it." She explained.

"Oh that makes it better."

"Eat your food, Ken." She shot. "And it's better than shooting yourself in the head. Has less of a shock factor."

"Are you sure? Your face gets all bloody." The brunette pointed out.

She waved him off. "The blood goes away after a while. Are there other people who summon their Personas differently?"

Akihiko nodded. "Mmhm," he swallowed his food down. "Narukami's bunch crushes a tarot card."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Sounds kinda lame, don't you think?"

Akihiko grinned. "I know right? Koromaru's collar also allows him to summon his own Persona."

Koromaru barked as if to confirm.

Shiina promptly choked on her water.

"Hckgha—!" She thumped against her chest. "I'm sorry, your dog can summon Personas too?"

"He's a special guy, right Koromaru?" Ken reached down to ruffle his fur.

"Does... does he talk too?" She asked cautiously, thinking of Morgana.

Akihiko gave her a weird look. "No, of course not..."

"Oh okay," she relaxed. "Sorry, it's just that my friends and I have this talking cat called Morgana who's a Persona user too."

Silence.

"He can also turn into various vehicles." She added.

Even more silence.

"You guys have a..." Akihiko trailed off, staring off into space in pure amazement.

"Apparently, my friends found him in the Metaverse." She said.

"The Metaverse?" Ken echoed.

"It's like a different dimension," she began to explain. "Morgana—our all-things-Persona-related specialist—said the Metaverse was like a world where the human consciousness lies? Something about cognition and weird scientific talk like that. I didn't get it that much. We access it through a phone app." She whipped out her phone and showed them the creepy eye app that mysteriously appeared on her phone that one fateful day (where she may or may not have ran into Akihiko).

"Sounds a lot like the Midnight Channel," Ken muttered, looking over at Akihiko. "Don't you think so?"

He nodded in agreement. "Sounds a lot like it actually."

"Wait, so you guys can go a different world too?" She asked.

"Not exactly. The Investigation Team—Narukami's group—is able to enter this world in the TV called the Midnight Channel. Ken and I and our group experienced this phenomenon called the Dark Hour."

"We don't experience it anymore, thankfully..." Ken trailed off, his expression contorting into one of pain. Down below, Koromaru whimpered, bowing down his head. Shiina stared at them in concern.

"So the Midnight Channel," she spoke up, catching Akihiko's grateful look for changing the subject. "Are you saying there's a world inside the TV?"

"Yeah, though I don't suggest actually trying to enter it." Ken said, casting a wary look at their own television screen. "So far, there's only one person who can get you out, but he's rarely in there these days."

"I advise you not to try," Akihiko stated. "Ken's right. There's only one way out and even then the chances are slim. You could be trapped there and... well, it's just really dangerous."

She nodded in understanding. "Duly noted."

"You and your friends—the other Persona users," Akihiko began. "What exactly do you guys do in the Metaverse?"

This was what she prepared for. "We usually just roam around killing Shadows."

"So you haven't..." Ken trailed off, looking down on his plate.

Shiina rose a brow. "Haven't what?"

"Er, well..." He swallowed a lump. "Just... get ready okay? You and your friends... something big's going to come, trust me. It happened to all of us." He looked like he wanted to say more—hell, Akihiko looked like he wanted to say more too, but he forced himself to keep his mouth shut.

Shiina furrowed her brows, looking between them in pure befuddlement.

Something big's coming? She wondered to herself. It can't get any worse than Shido though, right?

Dinner finally ended moments later. Ken, being the good kid he was, took the dishes to the kitchen and began washing them. Shiina pretended to check her phone and informed Akihiko that her parents were here to pick her up.

"I'll walk you to the door." He offered. "Hey, um, Kiberi-san?" He said.

"Hm?"

"Do you have any older siblings?"

She frowned. This was what Ken had asked her before too...

He saw the look on her face and apologized. "Sorry, it's just that you look a lot like someone—"

"—you know." She finished. "Yeah, Ken informed me about him. Sort of. Said I looked like some other Persona."

"Did he tell you his name?"

She shook her head.

"His name's Minazuki Sho," he told her, and she made sure to commit the name to memory. She could tell by his expression that he didn't like the guy at all. "He gave us all a lot of trouble. He's extremely dangerous and he's wanted by the Shadow Operatives."

"What's that?" She asked.

"Oh right, you don't know..." He scratched the back of his head. "The Shadow Operatives is this section backed by the Kirijo Group. They hunt down Shadows and deal with any Persona related activity." He quickly explained and Shiina was left stunned at the fact that there was an actual organization centered around Personas. She wondered if they were suspicious of the Phantom Thieves... "At the moment Minazuki Sho's high on their wanted list. I know I'm bombarding you with a lot of information right now... but just be on the look out okay? He has your hair and eyes... and with a giant, X-shaped scar over his face. He'll be hard to miss."

"Okay... I got it. Minazuki Sho. X-shaped scar... and extremely dangerous." She gulped.

He patted your shoulder. "Thanks. Sorry if I was a little stiff around you in the beginning."

"It's because I reminded you of him, right?" She asked knowingly.

He nodded, his face darkening for a moment. "He nearly killed my friends and I... And a whole lot of innocent people too."

Just great, she thought bitterly. I not only look like my abusive dad, but I also look like another crazy, murderous psychopath.

She returned home late that night. As she locked the door behind her, she whirled around only to jump back in fright.

"We need to talk." Shouto said.

— author's note —
GUYS! I received my first ever fanart/fan edit for this story!!!
Take a look at 'em:

These beauties were made by MissNoir11 THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THEM!!