Morgana Confidant

I returned home.

"Stay upstairs while we're open for business." said Sojiro.

"Thanks, I'll see you later." said a punk rock customer.

She had short dark hair, sporting a low cut blue dress with a spider design under a black jacket, a black choker, accompanied by several necklaces and a pair of high heeled platform shoes with matching torn leggings.

"Come back again. Phew, that was it for today. Oh, that customer just now? She's the head doctor over at that clinic down the street."

That woman is a doctor? She looked more like a punk rocker in that getup. Geez, when people say looks can be deceiving, they weren't kidding.

"Rumour has it she gives pretty crappy examinations and sells some weird homemade medicines on top of that. At least, that's what I've heard." Sojiro said, gruffly. "I haven't been there myself. They should really just leave her alone. It's not like she's getting in the way of their lives."

"Hey, are we there yet?" asked Morgana.

"Well, I've gotta get home and start making dinner."

Once I'd returned to my room, I placed my bag on my bed and unzipped it.

Morgana's head popped out and he said, "What the...? What is this place!? Is this some kind of abandoned house!?"

"Hey, are you...?"Sojiro stood at the top of the stairs.

All I could do was look back, sheepishly as the man's face formed a scowl.

"I was wandering why I heard meowing. What did you bring it here for!?"

"It doesn't have a home." I said.

"Nowhere, huh? Look, this place is a restaurant. Animals are a no-go. Though, I guess you might stay on good behaviour if you've got a pet to take care of. Fine but keep it quiet when we're open for business and don't let it roam downstairs or I'll toss it out. Oh, and I'm not gonna take care of it. That's all on you."

"I got it. Thanks for letting me keep him. I really appreciate it," I said.

Sojiro left.

"Was that the ruler of this place?" Morgana asked.

"The man, Sojiro, is the owner of the cafe, so calling him the ruler isn't that much of a stretch," I explained in terms that I hoped Morgana would understand.

"He seemed pretty understanding for someone who keeps you cramped up in this dump. Then again, I suppose to normal people I just sound like a meowing cat," Morgana said while looking around the shabby room in distain.

"Seriously, it had to keep calling out in that cute little voice," an exasperated, yet somewhat fond, voice spoke up.

I turned to see Sojiro walk up the stairs with what looked like a plate full of sliced meat.

"Make sure you wash that dish," Sojiro said to me.

I nodded in response.

Sojiro spoke up again in a more subdued tone, "By the way, have you decided on a name?"

"Yes, I did. I suggested the name Morgana and he seemed to like it," I said.

"Morgana, huh? I was hoping I'd get to name it," Sojiro admitted, bashfully, much to my surprise.

"Looks like the chief likes me better than you," Morgana said. "And to be honest, this place is heaven compared to Kamoshida's cells."

"Anything can be considered heaven compared to those cells." I said gruffly, as I recalled my first visit to the Velvet Room and Kamoshida's castle.

Waking up in a cell was something I was never going to get used to.

"Remember how you guys asked me before about what I am?" Morgana spoke up. "To be honest, I don't remember anything about my birth. I think the Metaverse's distortions made me lose both my memories and my true form."

"Is that form human?" I asked cautiously, quite curious about the odd cat before me but not wanting to sound rude at the moment.

"It has to be! I mean why else would a car the able to talk like this? There's no other possible explanation," Morgana insisted, sounding almost **** as he explained his reasoning. "There's no doubt that the distortions were what caused me to lose my real self. I'm sure that once they're purged, I'll finally be able to get that self back and I have a pretty good idea on how to do it too. That's why I was in the castle in the first place."

Morgana turned towards the plate that Sojiro had left behind.

"Come to think of it, I didn't get hungry over ran that world."

"Then go ahead and enjoy your first meal," I said, prompting the cat to begin chewing down in his meal.

"Let me make myself clear, your taking care of me won't be for nothing, it'll be give and take. Due to my knowledge and dexterous nature, I have a lot of intel on infiltration tools," Morgana said with a hard stare.

"What are those?" I questioned in an intrigued tone.

"Whoa, I can't tell you more unless we settle on a deal. In exchange for you keeping me here, I'll teach you about these tools. How does that sound?" Morgana questioned seriously.

"Let's do this."

"I like that answer," Morgana laughed. "Then it's a deal."

Morgana seemed rather happy.

--

"Skillful infiltrations and escapes to all manner of places..." said Sae. "There's even the possibly that you used special tools and had someone who manufactured them. Answer me!"

--

I am thou, thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Magician Persona, I have obtained the wings of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...

"I'll lecture you about the infiltration tools over time," said Morgana. "By the way, the power you used in the Palace was seriously amazing. The stronger that power gets, the more reliable it'll be as a trump card. Alright, I'm gonna stick with you wherever you go from today on. Persona are the strength born from one's heart. Depending on what kind of life experience you gain, I bet it'll affect that power as well and if you become acquainted with capable people, you might learn various useful skills too. This is all part of how deal, got it? I expect great things from you. Don't let me down, okay?" Morgana said in his usual cocky tone.

This is going to be the start of one of the oddest partnerships I've ever had but honestly, I couldn't complain. Despite how arrogant and cocky he could be, the little fur bucket wasn't all that bad. I never imagined something like this would happen when I first arrived in Tokyo, let alone all the other events that happened the past week.

Despite it, though, I was honestly having a well enough time so far, mostly in part of my newfound friendships.

"Also, I'll accompany you when you go out. Don't worry, it's free of charge. Getting around in cat form sounds pretty inconvenient, though. Well, it is what it is. I'll just have to deal with being carried in that bag of yours."

I got a message from Ann.

[Ann: Thanks for everything today.]

[Ann: You saved me and I didn't even thank you properly.]

[John: You should thank Ryuji.]

[Ann: I did a moment ago.]

[Ann: Anyway, I wanted to let you know at least.]

[Ann: See you tomorrow.]

"You guys send messages to each other with that thing, right?" asked Morgana. "I want in too, so I'm gonna have to ask you to type for me. At any rate, is this really a place for someone to live? Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day. Go the fuck to sleep, alright?"

As I went the fuck to sleep, I felt a strange weight pressing on my body. Is this the stress of Kamoshida's great threat weighting down on me?