61 You Got a Friend in Me

With Ann by there side, the boys knew better than to continue through the palace. They quickly gathered their bearings before moving to leaving the palace.

Along the way, Ann was like a machine gun, shooting question after question at them. And, since she was going out with Axel, the other three numbskulls decided to push all her questions onto him.

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Needless to say, Axel glared at them as he answered her to the best of his ability. He didn't know everything about 'Persona 5', so some of her questions ended up being skipped or only partially answered.

After a few minutes, the group finally came to the boarder between the cognitive world and reality. Axel, however, was the only person who noticed Akira silently walk off.

He also noticed a small, blonde loli wearing what seemed to be a warden's uniform standing next to a… floating door. She suddenly threw the door open as she jumped behind Akira and booted him into the door.

Axel's lips twitched as he tried not to burst into laughter. However, he also noticed that Akira seemed to come flying back out right after he entered.

Ignoring the smile on his face, Axel clapped his hands together and said, "Alrighty people, huddle up!"

Once everyone was gathered and focused on him, Axel turned serious as he said, "Tomorrow, Ann and I will try and talk to Shiho. We'll try and gather something from her."

Pointing at Akira and Ryuji, he continued, "You two, can I count on you to gather statements from other students? Ryuji, you learned the faces of those shadow students in the dungeon, right?"

Ryuji nodded.

"Excellent! Remember, be… gentle when you bring it up. Kamoshida is a thorough scumbag so expect resistance when your questioning them. Morgana!" Axel said.

Looking towards the tense cat, Axel smiled as he said, "Your gonna have to be our trainer. After school, we'll meet on the roof and reenter the palace. Your job is to teach mainly Akira, Ryuji and any new recruits the ins and outs of infiltration. Can you do it?"

Morgana visibly relaxed as he confidently replied, "Of course!"

Axel nodded, "That's good. Is there anything I missed?"

Seeing no reply, Axel was about to dismiss them when Ann suddenly raised her hand. Axel raised an eyebrow as he signal her to take the stage.

"After talking to Shiho… what will I do? I mean, I can't really fight but I really want to help…" Said Ann, her voice becoming a whisper at the end of her sentence.

Now, Axel was slightly torn on what to do. On one hand, he wanted her to stay as far away from Kamoshida's palace as possible. That place was disgusting and Axel didn't want his girlfriend getting hurt. Or worse.

However, on the other hand, he knew she would only grow if she accompanied them. It was only a matter of time before she unlocked her persona, enabling her to live up to her destiny.

After a few silent minutes of debating in his head, Axel suddenly sighed as he said, "You can come with us as well. However, you need to be by my side at all times, are we clear?"

Before she could reply, Axel's face hardened as he said, "I mean it Ann. If you are to come with us, the only way you'll be able to safely explore by yourself is if you can use a persona. Even then, exploring by yourself is the fastest way to get yourself thrown in a cell. Just ask Morgana."

A look of exasperation appeared on Morgana's face as he said, "You get caught once and suddenly your the example of what 'not' to do."

Everyone chuckled as Ann nodded, adopting a serious expression as she said, "Yes sir!"

"Good. Everyone! Get alot of rest tonight because we have a long day tomorrow." Said Axle. At almost the same time he finished speaking, the group walked into the gap between worlds.

It wasn't long before they appeared in the alley near the school. The group broke up and headed home. They knew that tomorrow was going to be a hectic day.

---

*Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!*

Early in the morning, an alarm blared as Axel groggily woke up. Stella was still summoned due to him being unable to cancel or use his skills but she was currently watching over Shiho.

Sadly, due to his skills being locked until he completes 'Kamoshida's Palace', Axel couldn't sense where she was and he lost the ability to communicate telepathically with her.

Since her parents were out of town on a business trip, Ann ended up staying overnight. They didn't get up to any 'hanky panky' last night but that's not to say Ann didn't try to tempt him.

Ann wanted to take her mind off her worries if only for a second but Axel was just too worry to be in the mood.

The pair quickly got changed before heading off the school, even going so far as to forgo breakfast.

Once they arrived, the pair saw Akira and Ryuji, as well as a small black cat in Akira's bag. They were already scurrying around, gathering as much evidence as they could.

Ann decided that it would be best if they split up to look for Shiho, leaving Axel all on his lonesome. Just as he was about to begin his search, a small blur latched onto his arm.

He was about to greet Stella when she cut him off as she frantically screamed, "Axel! It's Shiho… she's about to jump off the roof!"

Axel froze as his blood went cold. Without even asking where she was, Axel bulldozed straight through the students entering the school and run to the courtyard.

Suddenly, a sharp gasp caught his attention as he saw a shocked female student looking at the sky. He turned towards what she was looking at and paled.

Shiho was standing right on the ledge of the roof, her eyes empty as she stared over the edge.

'No no no no no…' Axel repeatedly screamed in his mind. He knew he wouldn't make it if he tried to get to the roof so the best he could do was…

At the moment she jumped, Axel was already on the move. He put gold medalist to shame as he dashed across the courtyard, shoving everyone out of the way.

As he became face to face with the school building, instead of slowing down, Axel sped up and jumped. Using the windowsills as platforms, Axel pushed his body to it's limits as he quickly scaled the building.

All anyone could see was a blur run through the courtyard before climbing halfway up the school building.

With little to no choice, Axel grit his teeth as he pushed himself off the wall, wrapping Shiho in his arms as he fiercely roared, "I FUCKING GOT THIS!!!"

The pair plummeted to the ground, hard. Axel winced as he made contact with the ground. Two storeys was not a pleasant height to fall from. However, he managed to absorb most of the impact.

Shiho, at first, was stunned silent as she stared at Magna with wide eyes. Then, without her noticing, tears slowly streamed down her face as she shakily muttered, "Y-you… you saved me?"

Even though he was in pain, Axel still managed to shoot her a bright smile as he said, "Of course I did… that's what friends are for… right?"

With the adrenaline fading from her body, the shock from both her attempted suicide and failing moments later, Shiho's mind collapsed. As the world around her slowly dimmed, the last thing in her mind was Axel's smile.