"I see." And he examines her face behind its black mask, wondering how much she knows. The faceless image of his mother still hovers, as it likes to do at the worst times, pricking what's left of his conscience. "How long have you been here?"

Because he's been here a month, comparing notes. He's learned a lot about himself, and what he might have been and still could be, or not; more about Shujin's school counsellor than he ever expected to need; a startling amount about the young head of the Kirijo Group, who's approached him a couple of times at parties; and even how to summon a Persona in what passes for the real world.

But nobody—not a single soul—has suggested to him, at any point, that Haru Okumura might be complicit in his crimes....