Sae simping is the only simping allowed; Friendship power is bullshit

It was around evening when Sojiro finally left Shin to his devices. As he didn't have anything else to do, he decided to experiment with his learning ability some more, since he only used it back when he wished for Sho's training.

The teen thought he ought to start small, and wanted to completely comprehend the lessons he had the previous day.

He mentally braced himself for the pain that was about to come, but the only thing he felt was a soft sting on his forehead. Along the pain came the wave of information. It wasn't much, but it definitely filled in the blanks in his knowledge.

The boy took a bold action, and wished to understand everything about the math taught in school since 1st grade until now.

In response, he got struck by a heavy headache. He could feel his legs get weaker, so he swiftly sat down on the sofa.

"What's wrong, Shin?" asked Morgana, concerned.

And he was right to be concerned, as Shin gripped his head tightly.

"I'm just... I got a headache." replied the teen.

'Should I continue with different subject or rest? Rest seems pretty tempting now but... Ah, fuck it!'

In the end, Shin barely managed to completely understand every subject up to his year. Obviously, he skipped over Art and Music. Getting a good grade for those subjects was easy and he wasn't particularly interested in them.

The teen had to drag his spent body into bed so he could sleep the headache away.

-INTERMISSION-

4th of May, in the attic of Cafe LeBlanc.

Shin woke up as fresh as a daisy, and what better way to start off the day than using an ability that causes you pain. The teen wanted some combat technique, so he decided to take up boxing. Not kickboxing, but simple boxing.

He was practicing his punches when Sojiro called him from down in the cafe.

"What's the problem?" he asked, while wiping his sweat with a towel.

"What were you doing up there?" Sojiro looked like he wanted to say something else at first, but changed his mind after he saw Shin wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and sweatpants.

"Exercising."

"..."

"I see... Anyway, I need you to do the dishes."

"Tch, that's all?"

"Just do it. Don't get cocky with me." said Sojiro with a frown.

At that moment, the door of the cafe opened as a woman with ashen brown hair entered.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"Not at all." replied Sojiro, as he shook his head.

The woman took a seat on one of the chairs near the counter. Although she was mainly looking at the menu, she also snuck a few glances at Shin.

"Is something wrong? You've been looking at me for some time, lady." said the teen.

"No, I just didn't think this place could afford a part-timer."

"That's pretty rude, you know. And what makes you think I am a part-timer?" asked Shin.

"Well, I doubt the owner would let just anyone walk in before the opening time. Besides, this room isn't really soundproof. I could hear you talk from outside." she said.

"I see. My situation is a bit complicated, so I'm not a part-timer." said Shin, scratching the back of his head.

"Aren't you a high schooler? Where do you attend?" asked the woman.

"Shujin Academy."

"Oh, someone I know goes there as well."

"Is that someone the student council president Makoto Niijima? I heard her sister is a prosecutor."

"That is right. My name is Sae Niijima. But tell me, how did you figure that out?" asked the woman, puzzled.

"You both have that special eye colour, you know. I couldn't help but think you're related." said Shin while looking into Sae's eyes.

The two wordlessly maintained eye contact for a few seconds before Sojiro coughed awkwardly. Sae adverted her gaze with a light blush, although Shin was unfazed.

The teen looked at the clock and said.

"As much as I love talking to beautiful ladies, I have somewhere I need to be soon."

Shin went back up in the attic to get changed out of his training clothes. A few minutes later, he walked out holding his usual bag and wearing an open black blazer over a white shirt, along with blue jeans.

By the time he went down, Sae had already left.

"What you did back then. That was nice." commented Sojiro.

He was washing the dishes while conversing with Shin.

"Could've been better if you had a coffee to serve her, but everyone's got to start somewhere."

"Is this your way to make me help in the cafe more?" deadpanned Shin.

"Yes."

"Such lack of shame..." muttered Morgana, from inside the bag.

"Well, sorry boss. I can't help out now. I have some tutoring to do." said Shin.

"Do you need tutoring that much?" asked Sojiro with a frown.

"I'm the tutor. They pay quite a lot of money."

"You're that smart?" asked the man, shocked.

"I feel offended."

"C'mon Shin. We can't be late." said Morgana.

-INTERMISSION-

"Sit down." said Hayato, pointing towards the armchair in front of him.

"So, why'd you call me here if it's not for tutoring." asked Shin.

"I just wanted to have a talk. About Nanako's progress..."

"She's doing good. Smart girl." commented Shin.

"Good, good. Now, that 'god' thing you were talking about before, do you have a plan or something?" asked the grey-haired man.

"You bet I do. I already told you before. I can deal with it."

"...Alright."

"What I'm quite interested in is, how you were able to summon your Persona in the real world." said Shin.

"'Real world?'"

Hayato frowned.

"Did Izanami reopen the TV world?"

The black-haired teen shook his head in response.

"No. This world is called Metaverse, and it overlaps with the real world."

"..."

"Metaverse? Really?"

"Yours is TV world, dude."

"But still..."

"So, again, how did you summon your Persona in the real world?"

"Well, I was fighting Izanami-no-Okami, and she was about to kill me and my friends. At that moment, this orb I got from old man Igor started glowing like crazy. Then I woke up in some blank space, and I remembered all of my bonds with my friends and family I made that past year."

"..."

"I channeled the power of my bonds through the World Arcana and upgraded Izanagi into Izanagi-no-Okami. I could summon him anywhere ever since."

"..."

"So, Friendship Power?"

"Basically."

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This chapter's additional info is on... Ultimate Personas!

An ultimate Persona or advanced Persona is a Persona formed when an individual takes up a resolution in their heart. The Persona is usually one of the strongest Personas the user can summon.

The ultimate Personas in Persona 5, like in Persona 4, are evolved forms of the initial Personas gained through maxing out the party member's Confidant relationship. All of the evolved Personas are described as trickster deities in-game.

Gameplay wise, ultimate Personas null whatever element their normal forms were previously resistant to, all the while gaining a resistance towards another element. They also gain an evade skill towards the element they are weak against, lowering their changes of being downed.

Persona 5 Royal, like Persona 4 Golden before, offers third tier Personas. During the process of ascending into the third tier, both first and second tier forms of that Phantom Thief's Persona fuse together. All third tier Personas are named after either the original names of the fictional characters their initial Personas represent or the historical basis for the same.

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Confidants:

Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 2

Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 2

Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 3

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 4

Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 3

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 3