Orihime left the café. Ren offered to take her home, seeing as how Shadows had been coming into reality and he had already come across two. But Orihime answered that she would be fine and left.
Morgana and Ren shared a nod, and Morgana quietly trailed after her.
Sojiro didn't say a thing. That cat was smart. He'd come back.
After the two remaining in the café closed up, Sojiro left and told the kid to finish his homework and get some rest.
Ren sat at the same booth he always did whenever he worked on his homework in silence before he chuckled.
"Miss Sakura, we can talk now."
His phone didn't buzz.
"Superman could beat Goku."
BZZT.
.
BZZT.
.
BZZT.
Ren let his phone blow up with a smile before he activated his Third Eye and stared directly at the camera that was hidden on the shelf with the coffee beans.
He picked up his phone and gave a laugh. "Relax, I'm joking."
He began to read his messages before muttering, "Or am I?"
RING RING RING.
His cell phone began to ring, and he smoothly answered.
"Ren here."
"You're a heathen, harem-protagonist-kun!"
Ren was silent for a moment before asking, "What?"
The girl groaned in defeat.
"So tell me about what's going on. I only know the basics. I have some background in psychology, and everything you keep talking about seems to tie into it in some way."
Ren was silent, hesitating before giving a sigh. "I'd like to meet you in person to tell you everything..."
"...This line is secure. But whoever is protecting your data might be able to listen in..."
She paused. "I guess I can meet you soon."
Ren nodded, pausing once more before saying, "I will trust you because you are Sojiro's daughter. He is a good man. You're surely a good person too."
"..."
Futaba was silent.
"Maybe..."
Ren waited patiently.
"Ugh! You're annoying!!!" Futaba groaned. "FINE! I'll ask Sojiro to introduce us. You're not allowed in my room, though!"
BEEP.
She had hung up. Perhaps she was embarrassed.
'Harem-Protagonist-kun?' he thought. 'That's Yu, not me... I don't des—'
'Trickster,' a gentle voice said in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.
'...Thanks, Angel. It must be the Sakura family's way of teasing me.'
The Persona didn't respond. He couldn't tell if they agreed or not, but he felt comfortable for now.
---
Morgana silent trailed behind Orihime. She was in a good mood and humming. He wondered why she was in such good spirits but he couldn't focus entirely on that thought.
'Zorro, are we being followed?' he silent asked his persona.
Zorro was silent, seemingly considering something before he said,
'Trust your senses, Mi otro yo.' before falling silent.
'That sounds like a yes.' Morgana thought with narrowed eyes.
Luckily Yu had kept his word and sent an evoker attached to a collar. It looked specially made for him.
'yu said they had a companion who uses the same thing. Is it that Teddie guy? No...he said the companion was quite old. Are they like me? Stuck in a strange form?' he struggled, before shaking his head.
'i don't think Margaret will tell me...but she kept smiling at me like she recognized me. And the velvet room...'
He stopping brooding and kept an eye on Orihime, preparing to activate the Evoker whenever he had to.
---
Orihime smoothly returned home. Morgana was guessing he must have been imagining being watched.
So many strange things have been happening lately. Maybe he was just paranoid? Everything he thought he knew about the metaverse was fragmented and incomplete. But it wasn't wrong for the most part. Ren trusted him. The team trusted him. He wanted to answer that trust. But he was still lost on who he was.
As Morgana walked past the shack nearby Orihime's apartment, he didn't notice he was being watched from a distance by a man with a green striped hat and a black cat who was sitting on his shoulder.
"Are you sure about this Kisuke? If you kill this cat I will beat you within an inch of your life. Then heal you with kido and do it again." The cat growled in his ear. She wouldn't stand seeing a fellow shape shifter die!
"...if my dream was accurate. That cat is stronger than you think. We are just leading a weak hollow towards it. If it can't handle it, my dream was wrong and we will save it. But..."
Urahara focused on the cat. It was way to intelligent to be normal. He was sure that this thing was special. Maybe not like them, but similar to Yoruichi. Maybe.
'The consciousness, huh? I am a soul body. Why did I never consider why I am conscious?' he thought with narrowed eyes as he waved his cane, severing the binding on a nearby hollow...
---
ROARR!
Morgana snapped to attention, jumping into the shadows. A small monster appeared. A bone-white mask. Solid black. Almost like it had just formed. It kept grabbing at its mask like it wanted to take it off, but every time it touched the mask, it got angrier and louder, its aura increasing.
'A Shadow!' Morgana was stunned. This one also had a hole in its chest. But it was noticeably weaker than the massive one the team had come across before.
'I have to do something or people will get hurt!' he thought frantically while looking around.
'Good. No one is here.'
He dashed out of the dark and into the streetlight, intercepting the monster in the road.
Nearby, Urahara and Yoruichi stood in the air invisibly.
"Watch," Urahara said quietly, nervous for the first time in millennia. This was unknown ground for him.
ROARRR!
The monster suddenly shifted its attention to Morgana.
"YOUR SOUL. STRONG!" it growled.
?!?!
"That thing shouldn't be able to talk! It's too weak!" Yoruichi said before changing her stance, ready to save the cat at a moment's notice.
But she suddenly saw the cat glow before a line of blue light shot through his neck, making the sound of shattering glass.
The cat meowed loudly.
---
"PERSONA!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Come! Zorro!"
---