Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s the year 2002, and it’s currently playtime at school. Ren Amamiya is six years old, and will turn seven on Halloween. His father is a police officer, but isn’t very nice. His mom runs a pottery store, and she’s great and nice. He doesn’t really understand why his father gets so mean, especially after drinking so much alcohol. He wishes he would stop.

Things seem normal until he suddenly hears a commotion. He turns to see a boy with dark brown hair being picked on by other boys. Seems they are bulling him because of the cute lunch box he has on him, and he’s currently on the ground.

He heads towards the group. “Hey! Leave him alone.”

The other boys turned their heads to see Ren and don’t look impressed.

“This ain’t any of your business, pipsqueak!”
“Unless you wanna get beat up too, scram.”
“Stay out of this, Amamiya.”

The bullied boy is quite surprised by this. “Why are you…?”

Ren narrows his eyes at the bullies. “Bullying is wrong and I’m not gonna stand you picking on him.”

“Even with that stupid girly lunch box he has?”

Ren looks at it but then smiles. “It looks like a cool box to me. Not my fault you guys can’t tell when something looks good or not.”

This seems to piss the bullies as they get mad.

“What was that?!”
“That’s it, get him!”

But before the bullies could attack Ren, a teacher comes over to break up the situation. After a scolding, the bullies end up walking away.

Ren turns towards the other boy. “Are you okay?”

“Uh y-yeah. Why did you do that?”

“Because you were being bullied. It’s what a hero would do.”

The boy rubs his neck. “Even though I like cute things?”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking cute things. I like them too.”

This gets a smile out of him. “R-Really? You’re not messing with me?”

Ren shakes his head, then offers a hand up. “My name’s Ren Amamiya. What’s your name?”

The boy pauses before then accepting the hand up, and gets up. “Kanji Tatsumi. It’s nice to meet ya.”

“Same. Let’s be friends.”

Kanji’s smile brightens. “Yeah!”

-----

From then on, Ren and Kanji became friends and even become best friends. They both found that they both liked creating things. While Kanji mainly focused on sewing (well when he was old enough to be able to do that), Ren did all sorts of crafts. Drawing, making props and masks, even pottery like his mom.

Kanji’s parents very much accepted Ren, and sometimes Ren would get lessons on sewing. It was the one thing he found he wasn’t great at, but that was just fine.

It did have the side-effect of others keeping away from Ren, due to his association with Kanji, but Ren didn’t care. Kanji is his first and only true friend. And he didn’t need anyone else. Plus their opinions on what’s ‘girly’ and what boys are ‘supposed to do’ was stupid.

Ren’s mom adored Kanji while Ren’s father was indifferent and kept a cold distance. Kanji didn’t seem to like his father, which Ren couldn’t blame him. His father’s awful, even though he’s a cop.

There would be times that Ren had to stay at the Tatsumis’ whenever his dad got really bad with both the drinking, and the yelling and hitting. It’s those times that he wished Kanji’s dad was his dad. Then he and Kanji could be brothers. Kanji’s mom is also really nice, and always willing to listen to him, and give comforting words.

Over the years, it was just the two of them, Kanji’s parents, and Ren’s mom. It was all Ren needed and he was happy, even despite his situation at home. They both even managed to enjoy the first year of middle school together. But all good things do come to an end.

March 2009, right before they were to start their second year of middle school, and a couple months after Kanji turned 13, was when things came crashing down.

Ren didn’t get much details, but Kanji’s dad got into an accident and didn’t make it. He couldn’t be there for Kanji and his mom at the time, having been busy helping his own mom in her shop. Kanji’s behavior changed. He started to distance himself from Ren, started bleaching his hair and wearing punk clothes. Ren tried to be there for him, but Kanji kept pushing him away.

Then Ren’s faher found out that Kanji has become a delinquent, and demanded that he end his friendship with Kanji, because he didn’t want his son to be associated with a punk.

It wasn’t until a couple nights later that he ran into Kanji. Kanji tries to leave, but Ren stops him. “Wait, we need to talk.”

Kanji pauses before then making a sigh. “Fine. What is it?”

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

Kanji makes a ‘tch’. “What, did your old man not say anything?”

Ren suddenly felt fear. Did something else happen?

“What thing?”
“That I’m a good-for-nothing punk, and that you shouldn’t be friends with me?”

Oh shit. That was exactly what Ren was afraid of.

“Did father say that to you?”
“No I overheard him talking with the other cop. You know he never liked me.”

Ren could feel himself starting to panic.

“That doesn’t matter! Even if father has forbidden me to be friends with you, we can still be—”

Kanji glares at Ren. “Oh and what if that makes him beat you and your mom up more than he already does? Besides, my dad told me I needed to be strong and that means I can’t have you around.”

“That’s not what he—”

Suddenly, Kanji grabs Ren by the collar. “What the hell makes you think you know what he said. You weren’t there when he died!”

“I’m sorry! I would have been there if I could.”

“Not the point and you know it,” he shoves Ren away. “Besides, you would be better without having me as your ball and chain.”

He turns around, facing away from Ren.

“Go home Amamiya. I don’t want to see your face again.”

Then Kanji walks away, and Ren is left standing heartbroken.

Kanji used his last name, when they had been first-name basis for years. It really does seem like their friendship is over. And now he’s truly alone. His father had even won.

Ren had to fight not to cry as he turns around and heads home. Hoping his mom doesn’t ask what’s wrong.

-----

From that point forward, Ren changed as well. From being very confidant in himself and not caring what other people thought, to being quiet and keeping away from others. Although he didn’t change his hair, he did start to wear fake glasses to make it easier to blend into the background. He spent the rest of middle school keeping to himself.

He managed to pass the high school entrance exam just fine. Which is good as he needed to get good grades. He plans on focusing on his studies in high school, so that he can get to a good enough college, and leave Inaba forever. He’s never left Inaba before, but it’s clear that he needs to escape. Even if that means leaving his mom behind. He wants to bring her with, but he knows she would never willingly give up her shop.

Especially since her store and the Tatsumis’ are the only ones doing just fine, despite the new Junes causing a lot of the stores in the shopping district to go out of business. Both stores are doing something Junes isn’t. He does feel bad for that Hanamura guy. He seems like a nice guy from the outside, but it’s too dangerous. What if it happened again and he would be forced to lose another possible friend? It’s too much and it’s been a lonely two years as it is.

At least it’s three more years. Three more years and then he’s free. He has no idea what he wants to do with his life, but it would mean freedom from his father’s abuse.

He just hopes he can survive until then.

Chapter Text

Yu Narukami had become used to moving and transferring to schools at this point, but he had no idea that life would turn upside down that much for him. A serial murder case, the TV World, him gaining powers… Even today was a lot. First from Yosuke pulling out swords at Junes and getting them arrested, then finding out that Yukiko has gone missing.

It seems he and Yosuke might have to stop Chie from doing something reckless later today. She had already gone up ahead of him and Yosuke while they finished preparing to go back into the TV World to rescue Yukiko. He can’t exactly blame her as it is her best friend that has been kidnapped, and honestly he feels like he’d do the same for the friendships that’s he made so far in such a short amount of time.

He has so much in his mind that he doesn’t quite look where he’s going, and the next thing he knows, he feels something crash against him and then fall. Which snaps him out of his thoughts, and he sees that he accidentally ran into someone. A boy with curly black hair, glasses and dark grey eyes. He’s wearing the same school uniform as them. There’s also a bag of groceries on the ground, which the boy seemed to have dropped.

“Ahh, sorry.”

The boy shakes his head and starts to get up. “It’s fine, I wasn’t looking either.”

“Something wrong, Yu?”

Yosuke appears from behind and notices the boy. “Amamiya-kun?”

Amamiya picked up the bag and was about to grab the groceries when he looks up at his name being called.

“Oh, hi Hanamura-sempai. It’s rare to see you outside of school.”

Yu squats down to help with getting Amamiya’s groceries off the ground, and he accepts the help. Thankfully it wasn’t anything that was ruined or bruised too bad, and everything got put back in the bag.

“Oh! Well, it’s been a pretty busy day helping Yu here with getting used to the country life,” he turns his head towards to Yu. “Yu, this is Ren Amamiya. He’s a first year at our school.”

He smiles. “I’m Yu Narukami, same grade as Yosuke. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Ren shifts his hold on his bag and toys with a lock of his bangs. Nervous tic perhaps? “How’s the town so far for you? I know there’s not much here, and it gets pretty quiet....Well usually quiet anyway.”

Ah right, the murder case.

“It’s not too bad. I live with my uncle and cousin while my parents are out of the country. I like the calmness of the town, as I lived in Tokyo before.”

Yosuke injects into the conversation. “He’s Dojima-san’s nephew. Not that I want to think about the police right now—” he pauses at that and gets nervous. “Actually never mind that.”

At Amamiya’s raised eyebrow, Yu answers.

“We got in trouble earlier due to a misunderstanding, but it got cleared up with Dojima-san’s help.”

An amused smile shows up on Amamiya’s face, and it seems like he’s trying not to laugh. “Oh geez. Good thing it was with Dojima-san and not my father. He wouldn’t have been as forgiving.”

He can’t help but make a slight laugh. “Well in that case, I guess Yosuke was lucky I was there so we could get out of there faster.”

Yosuke gives him a look that’s between embarrassed and wanting to punch him.

“I’d ask what kind of misunderstanding it was, but I think for Hanamura-sempai’s dignity, it might be best left unsaid.”

That gets Yosuke to relax. “Yeah, let’s not talk about it.”

Just then a phone goes off, and it seems it was Amamiya’s, as he manages to move a hand to his pocket to get it out, and then opens it up.

“Looks like my mom is wondering what’s taking so long with the groceries. I should get going. It was nice meeting you, Narukami-sempai. See you two at school.”

Seems he’s not quite comfortable with first names yet, which is fair. They did just meet. Though he’s certainly interested in getting to know him better. If Amamiya lets him.

“Oh right, sorry for bumping into you again. It was nice to meet you as well, Amamiya-kun.”
“See ya later.”

Then Amamiya leaves. That just leaves tonight in going back to Junes and heading into the TV to rescue Yukiko.

-----

When Ren started to walk away, he notices something strange. He noticed that both of them suddenly look serious and Hanamura pointing to Junes and he barely hears a ‘tonight’ from him, while Narukami nods with him.

Sure, Hanamura is the manager’s son, and Narukami could have gotten a job there, but something about that didn’t seem right. It doesn’t seem like an upperclassman thing.

Even after he got home and delivered the groceries, it kept bugging him. Eventually it drove him crazy and he sneaked out to get to Junes. Thankfully it seems nobody has either noticed or care that he was there.

He searches around the store until he ends up at the electronics section, where he almost runs into them and-- Satonaka-sempai?

Luckily he’s able to hide around the corner before he could be spotted, and quietly watches them.

All three of them look really tired, especially Satonaka. Narukami and Hanamura look like they were in a physical fight. Satonaka looks upset while Hanamura is looking at her with concern.

“We’ll make sure to check the weather tomorrow, okay?”
“Sorry, I just...Yukiko.”

Narukami gives her a reassuring look. “Yeah, we’ll get her, I promise.”

Yukiko? As in Yukiko Amagi? He did overhear his dad complain about her disappearance earlier. But what did they mean by ‘get’ her? Sure, it could something as noble as rescuing her from the killer. It could also mean they want to get her before the killer does. The way his sempais have been acting is really suspicious. He doesn’t really know Narukami, and given the way people treat Hanamura, he could see him snapping.

“Let’s get some dinner and then head home for today. We’ll resume tomorrow night.”

Both Hanamura and Satonaka nod at that.

Ren sees them leave, and once the coast is clear, he comes out of his hiding place. “Tomorrow night, huh?”

He makes a note to get a camera and a voice recorder just in case they are doing something bad after all.

The next night, Ren managed to beat the three to Junes and made sure to stay hidden once they arrived. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but what he wasn’t expecting was them entering a TV. He stood in shock for a moment, then moved to try to see if he could get in too, but his hand doesn’t go in like theirs did.

“What the hell?”

Are they magicians? What just happened here?!

Clearly he needs to have evidence of what he saw, so he hides behind the corner again and gets his camera ready to take pictures. He also has his voice recorder for later.

It takes some time, but not only do the three of them return, but Amagi-sempai is there with them this time. Wearing a pink kimono. Ren made sure to take a couple pictures, hoping none of them hear the clicks of the camera.

They don’t seem to have heard it and currently both Hanamura and Satonaka are propping up Amagi, who clearly looks exhausted. Despite that, they seem relieved. Which is rather odd behavior if they were kidnappers. How did she even end up inside the TV anyway? Either way, he needs answers.

“Come on, let’s head to the food court before someone starts looking at us.”

Oh the irony of that statement from Narukami.

Ren carefully follows them to the food court and takes a seat at a nearby table. It’s dark enough that it isn’t a problem. He takes out his voice recorder and starts recording them. Making sure to pay attention closely.

He can’t get everything they said, but he gets enough to understand the conversation. Apparently Amagi was taken in the same way of the past two victims. That announcer and Konishi-sempai. Ren was never close to her or her little brother, but he’s known the Konishis for years.

Apparently whoever showed up on the Midnight Channel was Amagi’s ‘shadow’. Whatever the hell that means. Satonaka mentions a ‘Teddie’ and it sounds like the three of them have been trying to figure out who the kidnapper/killer is, rather than being the kidnappers themselves. He stopped recording at that point.

Satonaka and Amagi leave to go to the police station to report that she’s been found and call off the missing person notice. Narukami and Hanamura make some small talk before leaving as well. Leaving Ren alone.

So he was wrong. They weren’t the bad guys, and now he feels both bad and stupid for thinking they were kidnappers. They clearly know more than the police, and there’s something supernatural going on. Somehow involving an entire world inside the TV.

He should go to them tomorrow to confess what he did and apologize but… what if that angers them/makes them panic, and they throw him into the TV? After all, if the police knew what they were doing, it would make it almost impossible to save any future victims. Plus he basically has what could be seen as blackmail material. Not that he was planning to do that.

Part of him considers destroying what he made. However…

“No. I’ll keep it to myself.” Pretend he’s not in the know.

Damn he’s such a coward.

Chapter Text

The exams came and yesterday was the last of the exams. Yu feels like he did well enough, but he will have to see what the results will look like next week. Which left him free to hang out with others, though he decided to check on Adachi at his uncle’s request and sure enough, he was able to start a link with the man. Jester wasn’t exactly a standard card, so he makes a mental note to look it up later.

That night as he was sitting in the living room with Nanako and his uncle, a special TV news program starts up on TV. It starts off on being about a biker gang disturbing Inaba by riding their motorcycles at night, and then mentions one of the ‘apparent’ leaders seemingly attacking the camera crew. It shows a young man with bleached blonde hair and in punk attire. Although his eyes are blurred, the guy’s voice isn’t censored.

“The hell are you punks doing here?”

Dojima lowers his paper, seemingly recognizing that voice. “Still up to the same old tricks?”

Nanako turns her head towards Dojima. “Do you know him dad?”

“Well, I know him through work. His name is Kanji Tatsumi. He’s quite a handful. He’s been crushing biker gangs in the area since middle school, but I thought he got into a high school and started attending class.”

Nanako seems to accept it and they turn back their attention on the TV.

“Man that blur sure is pointless. It’s obvious who it is.” Dojima explains that Tatsumi’s family runs a historic textile shop and that apparently Tatsumi beat all them up by himself because the noise was keeping his mother up at night. Which while he think is nice, it’s way too violent. Then comments that at this rate, she might have to apologize for him again.

Then something else on the program pops that gets all of their attention.

“We interviewed a local boy about the local biker gang. Here is that interview.”

Suddenly, it appears to be Amamiya on the screen, even with the, rather pointless, blur on his face. He can tell from his body language that he’s clearly uncomfortable.

“So can you tell us anything about the local biker gangs?”

“Not much. You would be better off asking the cops, assuming they would have anything to say.”

Dojima’s face falls. “Oh you have got to be kidding me. How are they this bad at making people anonymous?”

This time, Yu speaks up. “That’s Amamiya-kun, isn’t it?”

“Ah so you’ve met him already. His father is one of my co-workers, and his mom runs the historic pottery shop right across from the Tatsumis.”

“Say I heard your dad is a cop, has he told you anything juicy?”

“Uh no? My father takes his job very seriously. Are we done here? I really need to get going.”

Then after some words from the host of the program, it ends.

Dojima sighs. “I have a feeling his father is gonna be pissed. I hope he’ll understand it’s clearly not the kid’s fault.”

Nanako frowns. “Is he a mean person?”

“Well, he’s very strict and by the books. His uncle is my boss, so it’s a generational thing.”

Yu makes another mental note to ask Amamiya tomorrow. For now, he’ll take it easy tonight.

-----

Man, why did those damn tv crew had to bother him during Golden Week? His father was of course pissed when he came onto the program, and of course didn’t listen to him when he tried to explain that he didn’t choose to interview with them, so he got hit for it.

So the next day, Ren comes to school with a cut lip and crooked glasses. Technically he doesn’t actually need them to see, but it helps him blend into the background. He should look into getting another pair when he gets a chance. Just in case this pair breaks completely. At least he remembered to bring his umbrella for the rain.

He does his best to ignore the looks of pity from other students and do his best to go about his day. Then the school day ended and just as when he thinks he’s in the clear, Narukami, Hanamura, Satonaka, and Amagi spot him and come over to him.

Hanamura’s eyes widen. “Whoa, what happened to you?”

“I’m fine. I fell down the stairs and hit my face, which is why my glasses are a little messed up. I can be a real klutz at home.”

He tries not to cringe. He knows that’s like the most cliché excuse an abuse victim gives, but it was the best he could come up with on the fly that sounded even remotely plausible. Though given the concerned expressions on their faces, they don’t buy it.

“Amamiya-kun, are you sure you’re alright?”

“I am. Really.” Please don’t push it.

The others exchange looks, but thankfully don’t push it. Narukami speaks up next.

“That program last night, was that you and Tatsumi-kun on there?”

He nods. “Yeah, it was. I was keeping to myself and they shoved their microphones in my face. I should have just walked away, and now father is pissed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he bothers Kanji more than usual.”

Shit. He let that first name slip and no honorific either.

Satonaka seems to pick it up and tilts her head slightly. “Say weren’t you two close before? I don’t see you two hang out anymore.”

He tenses up. He cannot handle this right now.

He turns his back at them. “I don’t want to talk about it. Good day.”

Before the others can say another word to him, he rushes off. He hates how much of a coward he is, but he’s not in the right head space to talk about it. Even after two years, it still hurts.

-----

Amamiya’s behavior is really starting to concern Yu. Since the moment they met, he’s been very nervous and dodgy with them, the way he responded to that last sketch was odd, and now he is obviously lying about his injury and damaged glasses. It’s not the first time either. Is he in some kind of trouble? But there isn’t anything he can do about it.

So instead, he focuses on the Midnight Channel coming tonight.

He turns in early to stay up until midnight. Even making sure it’s still raining out for it to come on. He waits around until midnight hits. Sure enough, it comes on, but what he sees is not what he expected.

Rather than being one figure that appears on TV, there’s two of them. They both appear to be high school aged boys. Unfortunately the image is really unfocused and it’s difficult to tell who either of them are. Then the Midnight Channel ends.

Just as when he thought of calling Yosuke, his phone rings and it’s Yosuke. He answers the phone.

“Hey did you see that? That looked like two guys. Why were there two of them? I wish I could tell what either of them looked like.”

“Let’s get together tomorrow and discuss it more.”

“Right. Goodnight, partner.”

Yu hangs up and gets ready to go to bed.

The next day, Yu meets up with the others at the Junes food court. Yosuke tries to sound professional, but Chie tells him to take a breath. Yukiko asks if this makes it their ‘special headquarters’, which both Yosuke and Chie agree with it.

Then Yu speaks. “About last night, did you see the Midnight Channel?”

Chie nods. “Yeah, I couldn’t get a good view of either of them, but they were both guys, right?”

Yu nods. “They both look like high schoolers.”

“So that’s how I looked on TV.” then Yukiko frowns. “But why was there two people this time? The rumors only mention one person.”

Yosuke responses to that question. “Yeah it definitely breaks the pattern.”

“Not just that, wasn’t it women who were tied to the first incident?”
“That’s what we thought, but we still don’t know who either of them that we saw.”

Yukiko asks Yosuke if the Midnight Channel changed after she got kidnapped, and Yosuke confirms it. Mentioning how it looked like a low-budget TV show. Seems Teddie was right in that they saw the other Yukiko in that world. Yukiko points out they couldn’t clearly see it last night, so both guys are safe for now.

“If we can figure out who either of them are, could we prevent them from being taken?”
“Yeah, and we might be able to catch the killer at the same time. Only problem is figuring who the new Midnight Channel stars are.”

Chie frowns.

“Not that I doubt it, but can we keep both of them safe?”

Yu chimes in, wanting to give reassurance. “We have to try. If we can prevent at least one of them from being taken, then it’s still a win. Let’s wait another night and see if we can get a better picture of them and then we can step in.”

The other three nods and that ends the meeting.

Yu waits around for midnight again, hoping tonight will give them a better idea of who they need to warn. As expected, the midnight channel comes on. This time it shows one guy throwing a punch forward while the other is holding up his hands, as if trying to shield himself from an attack. Does this mean the guy on the left is attacking the other?

More disturbingly, the two are then shown close up. While it’s still unfocused, he realizes he’s seen both of them before. Then it ends again.

Yu pulls out his phone and calls Yosuke this time.

“Good I was about to call you. Did you see that?”

“Yeah, I think that was Kanji Tatsumi and Amamiya-kun.”

“I agree, it was definitely them. They were both on that special news report.” Then Yosuke seems to realize something. “Oh yeah, you asked Amamiya-kun about it before and he confirmed it. How did we not realize it yesterday?”

“At least we have a lead. Let’s meet up tomorrow after school to figure out our next move.”

Yosuke agrees but then decides to ask him something off-topic.

“So what do you think about either Yukiko or Chie? I mean, which one is your type?”

Honestly, he doesn’t feel anything for either of them other than viewing them as friends. He decides to be honest with his answer and he feels his courage go up a little.

Yosuke laughs. “Kinda harsh, don’t you think? Well I kinda understand. They’re great girls, but you saw their ugly sides right off, and I guess first impressions sticks huh? Don’t worry, this is between you and me. Okay, see you tomorrow.”

The phone hangs up and Yu goes to bed again.

After school, they sit around the classroom. Chie starts.

“The guys that were on TV last night, it was them wasn’t it?”

“Yeah Kanji Tatsumi and Amamiya-kun.”

Yosuke frowns. “Man that Tatsumi seems really scary. He was shouting at the camera to ‘get bent’ and everything.”

“I saw it too. He wasn’t like that when he was younger.”

This surprises Yu, Yosuke, and Chie.

“You know him, Yukiko?”

Yukiko nods at Chie’s question. “Uh-huh, but we haven’t talked to each other in a long time. His family runs a textile shop, and we’ve been a customer for theirs for a long time. So I speak with Kanji-kun’s mother from time to time.”

“What about Amamiya-kun?”

“I admit, I don’t know him as well as Kanji-kun, but I know his mother runs the pottery shop across the street from the textile shop.” she then looks down nervously. “I think I recall sometimes seeing the two of them hang out, but that stopped a couple years ago during my last year in middle school. I wonder what happened.”

“You mean they had a falling out?”
“It’s a possibility.”

Yosuke then speaks up. “I think we should talk with Amamiya-kun first. Not only because he’s more friendly, but maybe we can ask what happened to them too.”

“And he might know how we should approach Kanji-kun.”

It might be rather fast for him to go with first name with Kanji, but Yu has a tendency to copy others sometimes.

“Yeah, definitely Amamiya-kun first. You said the pottery shop right? If he’s there, we might be able to talk with him.”

Yu and the girls agree and decide to head over to there. At the shopping district, they were about to head towards the pottery shop when they notice Kanji up ahead talking with some boy in a hat. They quickly hide behind the newspaper box, which does nothing to actually hide them.

Seems they are planning on meeting each other tomorrow after school, though Kanji-kun seems rather nervous about it. Especially after the boy in the hat walks away.

“D-Did he say he was interested? He’s a guy and I’m a guy. But he’s interested in me?”

But then, much to Yu’s and the others’ surprise, Amamiya shows up.

“Hey Kanji, we need to talk.”

Kanji-kun’s eyes widen for a moment, then he starts getting pissed. “That’s Tatsumi to you, Amamiya. Don’t you remember we’re not supposed to talk to each other anymore?”

Amamiya cringes but continues. “There’s someone that might be after both of us, and—”

“The hell do I care?! Get bent!”
“But Kanji-!”

Kanji-kun then shoves against Amamiya hard, causing the other boy to fall and land on his butt.

“Don’t talk to me again.” He then storms off.

For a second, Yu thought he saw sadness in Kanji-kun’s face, but he isn’t sure.

Yu and the others come out of their hiding place and walk up to Amamiya.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Amamiya was looking ahead with a look of deep sadness when he’s startled by Chie’s question. “O-Oh, Satonaka-sempai. I’m okay.”

She helps him up and he dusts himself off.

Yu decides to ask a question. “What you said a moment ago, were you trying to warn him?”

“Yes. I saw the Midnight Channel and I recognized both myself and Kan- Tatsumi. And given what happened to Amagi-sempai, I couldn’t take any chances.”

He corrected himself despite saying his first name without honorific a moment ago.

“What exactly happened with you two? Didn’t you two hang out until a couple years ago?”

At Yukiko’s question, Amamiya tenses up again and is silent for a moment. As if he’s trying to decide what to answer.

Yosuke gives him a concerned look. “Hey, why don’t we head to the Junes food court and we can talk more there? Even if you’re not ready to answer, we do have stuff to ask you.”

“...Okay.”

So all five of them get to Junes and once they are all seated with drinks, Yosuke starts with the questions.

“So, you and Tatsumi-kun were friends, right? What happened?”

Amamiya holds his hands together nervously and looks down at his soda. “We’ve known each other since we were both little, and for a while, things were great. But then Kanji’s dad got into an accident and died at the hospital. I couldn’t be there at the time because I was needed at home. After that, he started to change. He bleached his hair, dressed in punk clothes, and then started keeping a distance from me. At first I tried to give him space to heal, but then my father said I needed to end my friendship with him because he didn’t want me to be associated with a troublemaker.”

Then he toys with a lock of hair. “I had no choice, but to end things with him. It’s not as if he wanted to be around me anyway.”

There it is again. Something about that last statement sounded forced. As if he’s lying once again. Even if it sounds plausible, he has a gut feeling Amamiya isn’t being truthful here either.

Chie however seems to buy it. “Do you regret ending the friendship?”

“...Yes.”

Seems he’s not budging on that lie. Yu throws his own question. “Have you seen anything strange or anyone suspicious lately?”

Amamiya shakes his head, before toying with his hair again. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

He’s starting to see a pattern. Every time he lies, he toys with his bangs. So it’s not just a nervous tick.

“Amamiya-kun, you—”

But a phone ringing interrupts Yu and Amamiya checks his phone. “Shit, now?”

“Need to be somewhere?”

He puts away his phone. “Yeah. Unless you guys have other questions I need to go.”

There’s a pause, but it doesn’t seem like they have any other questions. At least for now.

“No, that was all.”

Amamiya nods and gets up from his chair and grabs his drink. “I’ll watch my back and be careful. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get through to Kanji, I mean Tatsumi, but try to watch what you say. Anything weird could set him off at this point.”

Then Amamiya leaves again.

They all decide to try again with Kanji-kun tomorrow and hope he’ll listen like with Amamiya. Even if their efforts only save Amamiya from getting kidnapped, it would at least give them a slight win over the killer.

Unfortunately the stakeout proved to be a disaster, and Yosuke messing up with his words did indeed set Kanji-kun off like Amamiya predicted. After that, Yu and the others just hope that at least they managed to prevent one kidnapping, even if it means having to just rescue Kanji-kun. Still, it was better to watch the Midnight Channel for any updates.

That night, Yu waits around for midnight. Yukiko calls him briefly that she heard from Kanji-kun’s mother that he seems to have gone missing. Which wasn’t good. Then the call ends and not too much later, midnight came.

The tv turns on with the familiar yellow glow and the image that shows is crystal clear. In the background appear to be two shots of two different buildings, though it’s difficult to tell what they look like. Then two people appear on screen, whose appearances are like night and day, and are clearly at said different locations.

One of them seems to be Kanji-kun, who is wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. The other appears to be Amamiya, who’s wearing a nice black business suit with a black shirt, and a red tie. His glasses are noticeably missing, and his usual messy curly hair has been cleaned up by being parted slightly.

‘Kanji-kun’ is the first one to speak.

“Hel-LO, dear viewers. This is a special double feature! With your hosts, Kanji Tatsumi--”
‘Amamiya’ grins and speaks up. “And Ren Amamiya. This is Kanji Tatsumi’s Bad Bad Bathhouse, and Ren Amamiya’s Mansion of Love.”

Then two titles pops up above them and says ‘Kanji’s Tatsumi’s Bad Bad Bathouse’ and ‘Ren Amamiya’s Mansion of Love’.

“Tonight, we will feature two superb sites for those searching for sublime love that surpasses the separation of the sexes!”

Then ‘Kanji-kun’ makes a flirty growl.

“And love that is blind to gender.” ‘Amamiya’ flicks some of his hair in a flirty matter, and it manages to produce sparkles for a second.

“Goodness gracious, just imagine the things that might happen to either of us in either place. Oooh!”
‘Amamiya’ makes a chuckle. “Now I know what you might be thinking. Ren-kun, why don’t you and Kanji-kun just be with each other instead?”

“And I say that’s silly! We’re just the bestest buds evar.”
“Besides, why limit myself when there’s beautiful people out there for me to find, and cute guys for Kanji to find instead?”

‘Kanji-kun’ grins. “Exactly! Well then, let’s get this show on the road. Good luck, Ren!”

“And good luck to you too Kanji. See you all there!”
“Tootaloo!”

Then both boys turn away to leave. It’s impossible to tell where either boys are going, but the broadcast ends right then.

Yu is stunned by what he saw. Not only was that Kanji-kun on the Midnight Channel, but it was Amamiya too. Somehow he also got kidnapped despite warning him.

Then Yu’s phone goes off and Yosuke is on the phone. He’s of course flustered and having a hard time with words.

He’ll have to calm him down. “That was definitely Kanji-kun and Amamiya-kun.”

Luckily that snaps Yosuke out of it. “Oh yeah you’re right. What in the world was that? Dammit, they both got kidnapped, even though Amamiya-kun was aware that he was being targeted. We should have stayed and held our ground a little longer. Or keep a better eye on Amamiya-kun.”

“We did what we could. We just have to rescue both of them.”

“Yeah, of course. What was behind the both of them though? They looked like they were in different places. Does that mean there’s two dungeons to go to?”

“Let’s talk with the girls tomorrow to come up with a plan.”

Yosuke agrees and the call ends.

He’s got a bad feeling about this…

Chapter Text

The school day ended, and Yu and the others speak with each other in the classroom again as planned. Yosuke makes a frustrated sigh.

“Given the pattern so far, both Tatsumi-kun and Amamiya-kun are already inside the TV.”

Yeah it’s pretty obvious. The others talk about the Midnight Channel and realize that it’s possible a bunch of people are watching it. Which could cause a huge panic if it spreads far enough. Yosuke also concludes that Teddie might be right in that the missing people themselves create the image people see. So it’s not random. Chie notes that Yukiko had a show, but she has no memory of it.

“Speaking of which, man they were like night and day. What in the world was that about?”

Yukiko makes a thoughtful look. “I do admit Amamiya-kun did look nice in that suit. He knows how to dress up well.”

Chie nods. “Yeah, he did look cute, but something about it was off.”

“You mean the lack of glasses? That was rather odd.”

Yosuke cringes. “And I don’t wanna think about Kanji-kun’s ‘outfit’, if you can even call it that.”

They are clearly getting off-track, so Yu chimes in.

“Either way, we need to rescue them both. Let’s head over there.”

The others nod and Yu gets a rank up on the fool social link. Rank 3 to be exact.

After that, they all head to Junes and enter the TV. Inside the TV World, Teddie is there, but seems bummed out. Yosuke is the one to ask a question.

“Hey Teddie, is there a couple guys in here?”
“Yep. I think there’s two people here.”

“You think? Do you know where either of them are?” Chie asks.
“I dunno.”

“We think one of them is a boy named Kanji Tatsumi, and the other is a boy named Ren Amamiya.”

Teddie repeats what he said. Chie then asks Teddie if he’s not feeling well.

“Well I sniff and sniff, but I can’t tell where either smells are coming from. I do know they are coming from different directions. I just can’t make heads or tails what.”

Yosuke frowns at this. “So that confirms that the both of them are being held in two different dungeons. Which means we’ll have to decide who to rescue first.”

Yu had a feeling it would be the case. After all, it was obvious they weren’t in the same space.

“Let’s see where both dungeons are before we decide on it.”

Teddie shakes his head. “I dunno where this Kanji person, or that Ren-Ren person is though.”

“If you can’t figure out where either of them is, we’re in deep trouble. We can’t just wander around aimlessly in here.”

Then Teddie seems to get an idea. He asks about a clue for both of them, as he might be able to concentrate better with a clue for each of them.

“Something about either of them huh? Well for Tatsumi-kun, I can’t really think of anything other than the rumors about him. As for Amamiya-kun, he had mentioned his dad being a cop and his mom owning a pottery shop, but otherwise I don’t know him that well.”

That’s true, none of them really know Amamiya-kun that well. It doesn’t help that he tends to keep a distance and be dodgy and lie.

“I just need some sort of hint of what either of those guys are really like.”

Yukiko then suggests they go ask around for people who know either of them.

Then Yosuke realizes something. “Oh I just realized, we never had that chance to visit either store. Maybe we should visit both of them to start with.”

Yu nods. “Sounds like a plan. We can go from there if we need more information.”

Thus Yu and the others leave the TV world to head towards the Shopping District.

-----

Ren starts to stir to consciousness, and sits up with a pained groan. He feels like his head is pounding. He looks around and he has no clue where he is. He seems to be in some kind of bedroom, but not one he’s even seen. The bed is clearly a western-style bed, along with other furniture that also look western. It’s as if he was taken from Japan and put in a foreign country.

“Where am I?”

He gets up to his feet. He searches for a door and starts to head towards the door when he hears a voice. A voice that sounds just like his.

“Like the place? I’d suggest getting comfortable for a while.”

Ren turns around and his eyes widen in shock. He sees a yellow-eyed version of him, who is wearing a suit and tie, and had ditched the glasses.

“What the hell? Why do you look like me?”

“I’ll explain once our rescuers come here. For now, you’re safe and won’t come to harm.”

He doesn’t like this, but what choice does he have?

-----

Yu and the others reach the Shopping District and an old woman in a kimono is standing outside of the textile shop.

Yukiko’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh that’s Kanji-kun’s mother.”

They all walk up to her, and she forces a smile. “Hello. Are you here to ask about Kanji too? Sheesh, I wonder where he’s wandered off to now. He’s always like this.”

Looks are exchanged between them. Do they tell her he’s been kidnapped?

She seems to not notice their look and continues. “Come to think of it, a young boy in a hat came by the other day asking about Kanji. I talked with him, but I haven’t seen him lately.”

A young boy in a hat? Could it be the guy Tatsumi-kun was speaking with before?

“Do you know where this boy usually hangs out?”
“Oh Yukiko-chan, I didn’t notice you there. I see him at Junes from time to time. He’s usually by himself.”

Yu nods. “Thank you for the help. We’ll try to find him for you.”

“Thank you. Before you go, would you please check on Amamiya-san at the store from across the street? It seems her son is missing too. She’s been through a lot and I have no doubt she’s worried.”

“We were planning on heading there next. We’ll let her know.”

Tatsumi-kun’s mother nods before heading back inside the textile shop.

Chie speaks up. “I wonder if the boy with the hat is the same guy that Kanji-kun was talking to before.”

“Should we head to Junes to find him, or go to the pottery shop first?”

Yu considers Yosuke’s question for a moment before answering. “I don’t think all four of us need to be at each place at once. I think we should split up so we have more ground to cover.”

“Oh that’s a good idea.”
“Sounds pretty reasonable.”
“So how should we split this, partner?”

“Yosuke and I can visit the pottery shop while you two find that guy at Junes.”

The others agree, and the girls leave to Junes. Yu and Yosuke head inside the pottery store. Inside, it does seem quite old-fashioned, but it does have quite the variety of products. Pots, planters, plates, bowls, even some more decorative items made entirely of clay.

Then a woman in another kimono notices them and limps closer to them. The resemblance to Amamiya-kun is really strong. She has the same black curly hair, but put up in a bun, and same eye shape (though her eye color is brown rather than dark grey). Only real thing different is that her nose is smaller.

She’s also sporting a bruise on one of her cheeks. She smiles but it’s a pained one and forced. “Welcome to the Amamiya’s pottery shop. Is there anything you are looking for?”

Why is he getting a sense of deja vu?

“We came over for Amamiya-kun and we heard from Tatsumi-san that he’s gone missing. She says she’s concerned about you.”

She fidgets with her hands nervously. “That’s quite sweet of her. It’s true that my son is not here and has been gone since last night. He didn’t leave any note, and his father is currently looking for him. I wonder where he and Tatsumi-kun went.”

Sounds about right. As much as he shouldn’t ask, his gut is telling him he should say something. “Sorry if it’s rude to ask, but what happened to your face?”

The woman makes a nervous laugh. “Oh this bruise? I tripped down the stairs and hit my face. I can be a real klutz at home. Especially since my legs aren’t what they used to be.”

A feeling of cold dread fills Yu. Those words just now. He’s heard them before. It’s the same lie Amamiya-kun made about his injury.

He looks over to Yosuke, who also has the same look of shock before forcing himself to calm down.

“We’ll keep an eye out for Amamiya-kun and let you know.”
“Thank you. I hope he—”

But before she can finish, a loud booming voice from the back of the store can be heard, and it belongs to a man’s voice.

“What is that goddamn brat?! When I find the little shit, I’ll smack him so hard, he won’t dare run away from home again.”

Amamiya-san flinches at this, fear on her face very briefly.

“That must be my husband. Please let me know when you find Ren-kun.”

She gets up and starts to walk, but then trips and falls.

“Are you okay? Do you need help?”

“Hurry and get over here, woman! I want my beer!”

She cringes and gives that forced smile again. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine. Good day, you two.”

Then she forces herself to get back up and limps away.

Yu and Yosuke turn towards each other.

“What she said just now, that was the same lie Amamiya-kun made before.”

“Let’s head to Junes and meet up with the girls.”

Both boys head over to Junes, where they find the girls at the food court. They all gather at the table to discuss.

“Did you find that guy?”
“No, we couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“Seems he isn’t visiting Junes today.”

Well that’s unfortunate.

“Then we’ll have to check tomorrow.”

Hopefully he’ll be here after school.

“So what did you guys find at the store?”

Yu frowns. This is going to be heavy.

“Remember the other day when Amamiya-kun had a cut lip and claimed he fell down the stairs? His mom said the same lie. She even said ‘I can be a real klutz at home’, just like Amamiya-kun.”

Both girls give a look of concern.

“What could it mean? Why would they both say that?”

Yosuke sighs. “I hate to say it Chie, but it seems to be pointing towards Amamiya-kun and his mom being abused by his dad. I mean the falling down the stairs lie is pretty standard with abuse victims.”

Rather than give looks of shock, the girls instead give each other a look.

“Something up?”

Yukiko is the one to answer, but she suddenly seems nervous. “Umm, there have been some rumors regarding the Amamiyas, but I wasn’t sure if it was true or not. And it didn’t seem like any of my business.”

“What rumors?” Yu asks.

“Apparently Detective Amamiya has a drinking problem and has gotten in trouble for drinking on the job, but his uncle is the head of police, so he always gets away with it. There’s also been talk of yelling from their house at night. Some people have seen him hit his wife and Ren-kun from time to time, but nobody will do anything because of the head of police protecting him.”

Yosuke’s face tenses up. “How is this the first I’ve heard of it? I’ve been here for months.”

“If I had to guess, it’s not usually in public.”

Still it’s pretty bad.

“Okay so we know the situation with him, but that doesn’t really explain him as a person.”
“I wonder if that boy with the hat spoke with Ren-kun or not.”

Yukiko raises a good point. It’s worth asking him about it.

“We’ll have to ask him when we get a chance to talk with him.”

So the meeting ends, and everyone goes their separate ways. They check the next day, but they had just barely missed him. Thankfully the day after that, they managed to find him in the entrance.

“Is there something you need?”

Yu nods. “Yes, we have a couple questions to ask.”

“Very well, ask away.”

Yosuke starts. “Did things seem strange to you when you spoke with Tatsumi-kun?”

“If you mean recent events, then yes there was something out of the ordinary. When I spoke with him, I felt something from him, so I told him he was an odd person. His expression changed quite suddenly at that. I believe his actions were somewhat forced and unnatural throughout my time with him. He may have some sort of complex, but I don’t have any evidence of this.”

Yu and the others pause at this to take in the new information.

“A complex, huh? That would explain a lot.”

“Indeed. And your other question?”

This time Yu is the one to ask.

“Have you spoken with Ren Amamiya recently?”

“Yes, I have spoken to Amamiya-kun, right after my talk with Tatsumi-kun. I felt a sense of him putting up a wall, as if he felt afraid to let others in. Which might be a result of his falling out with Tatsumi-kun. He also allowed me to look at his sketchbook. He is a pretty talented artist, but I did notice something with his art. He tended to draw dark and macabre things most of the time, and there was one drawing that stood out to me.”

“What kind of drawing?”

“It was that of a crying child in the middle of two adults, one man attacking a woman. It might be a reference to the abuse he and his mother are currently suffering.”

While it was obvious, this more than confirms it.

“So he is being abused.”

The boy tips his hat down sadly. “Unfortunately so. I hardly had to do any digging, what with Detective Amamiya being so blatant with it. And I believe the reason he doesn’t bother hiding it at all is because his uncle, Amamiya-kun’s great uncle, Hiroshi Amamiya, is using his position as police chief to allow him to get away with anything. I wish I had more means to directly help Amamiya-kun and his mother, but I am quite limited in what I can do.”

He then straightens his hat. “I do also get the sense he’s quite lonely as well. No doubt due to his poor excuse of a father.”

Yukiko looks down sadly. “Poor Ren-kun...”

“I hope that helped you out. Unless you have further questions.”

Yosuke shakes his head. “No, I think we got everything. Thanks for answering us.”

“Then a good day to you all.”

The boy leaves after that.

“Think we got enough to give Teddie?”

“I think so. Let’s go.” Which the others had no argument against that.

However, when they get to the food court, the fox from the shrine is there. He explains the fox and the encounter in the shrine. Seems the fox wants to follow them into the TV World and is willing to help heal them in exchange for money.

Despite the weirdness, they agree and head inside the TV World and meet with Teddie.

“Oh you found clues. Though I think telling me it all at once might confuse my nose.”

It makes sense since they are in different places.

“Let’s start with Kanji-kun then.”

They explain what they learned about Tatsumi-kun.

“Hmm, a complex. T-That’s it? That’s all I have to go on? You’re working me to the stuffing.” Despite saying that, Teddie sniffs and sure enough, finds it and directs them to where Tatsumi-kun is.

They get there and it turns out to be the entrance to a sauna. It’s awfully muggy. Worse, music and creepy voices can be heard. Making everyone uncomfortable.

“Ugg, can we just find Amamiya-kun’s dungeon already? I don’t wanna go in that sauna.”

Then they give the clue for Amamiya-kun.

“So he puts up walls because he’s scared of getting close to others. That’s it?! Again?!”

“Well there is his dad abusing him and his mom.”

When Teddie gets confused by this, they have to explain it to him. The bear then makes a look of sadness.

“But why? Why would Ren-Ren’s daddy hurt him and his mommy? That’s so mean! I don’t get it.”
“There are bad people that hurt others, Ted.”
“We’ll save him Teddie.”

At Yukiko’s words, it does seem to calm Teddie down. “Okay, I’ll sniff real hard and find him.”

He takes a sniff and again, he finds it. It’s in the opposite direction of the sauna and after some walking, they find what appears to be a western-style mansion. There’s several palm trees, and there’s a car nearby. Which is clearly a foreign car, given by the fact that the steering wheel is on the opposite side than it would be on a japanese car. Also a pool is there.

“A mansion?! Wow, this looks amazing.”
“Are those palm trees? It feels like we’ve left Japan and ended up in america.”
“Yeah like in Los Angeles or something.”

Yu looks over the place. It really is like night and day with them. But it also presented a problem. Aside from the obvious fact that they are in two different buildings, there’s no way to save the both of them at the same time. Sure, if they had a much bigger team and another navigator on hand, they could split up, but it’s clear they will have to make a choice.

“We should head back to discuss what to do next.”

It was better to do that rather than stand out here to decide. So they head back to the TV studio, where the fox is waiting for them. Then the discussion begins and Yosuke starts.

“Okay so it’s pretty obvious we’re gonna have to choose who to rescue first as there’s no way we can do both at the same time. My vote’s on Amamiya-kun. An american mansion is way better than that creepy sauna!”

Chie narrows her eyes. “Oh come on, Yosuke! Quit being such a chicken! Shouldn’t we rescue Kanji-kun first? He could be useful in rescuing Ren-kun, assuming he awakens to a persona.”

“That’s if he would want to help, Chie. They had that falling out, remember?”
“But still! My vote’s on Kanji-kun.”

Yukiko frowns. “I dunno. I feel like they both need rescuing eventually. I would go with whoever you guys want to rescue first.”

“Looks like you’re the tie-breaker, partner. Who should we rescue first? Tatsumi-kun, or Amamiya-kun.”

Yu tenses up. It’s clear this decision is very important and he will have to choose carefully. Who should they rescue first? Yosuke might have a point in that Tatsumi-kun might not want to help after rescuing, but how do they know that will be the case? After all, they only have Amamiya-kun’s side of the story.

But on the other hand, would Amamiya want to help with the rescue, assuming he awakens either?

However either way, they both need saving. He just needs to choose who to save first.

Chapter Text

There’s a pause as Yu considers which one of them to rescue first. After taking a moment to think on it, he comes to a decision.

“We’ll rescue Tatsumi-kun first.”

Yosuke sighs but doesn’t fight it. “Let’s just get it over with then.”

They head back into the sauna and if the steam was bad outside, it’s even worse inside. While the glasses do help, it’s not by much. So they have to be careful as they go through the sauna. The first couple floors aren’t so bad. The shadows aren’t too tough in fighting them, though Yu can’t say he’s surprised to see some of the shadows resemble cops.

It’s the third floor that Tatsumi-kun’s shadow can be seen seemingly talking to the camera, before then leaving. Not having noticed them. However, something was left behind on the ground.

Chie moves to pick it up and it turns out to be a photograph of a much younger Tatsumi-kun (with his natural hair color) and a younger Amamiya-kun, who doesn’t have any glasses. They are both clearly elementary school age, and at a playground. Tatsumi-kun is holding up a cute looking lunchbox while Amamiya-kun is holding a Featherman lunchbox.

The others hover around to see the picture. Both girls have smiles on their faces.

“Aww that’s so cute.”
“Kanji-kun and Ren-kun look quite happy here.”

Yosuke and Teddie also take a look.

“So is that what Kanji and Ren-Ren looked like when they were little?”
“Looks like it.”

After a moment, Chie hands the photo to Yu, who puts it away for safekeeping. “Let’s keep moving.”

After fighting some more shadows, this time a couple rocks with a mask and hands, and ones that look like cupid, they move onto the next floor.

Tatsumi-kun’s voice is heard again. This time saying how he can’t back down and he has to show how ‘manly’ he is. Then another photo drops down from above. Yosuke catches it and shows the others.

This one shows them older, likely during their first year of middle school. Tatsumi-kun is shown making some kind of scarf while Amamiya-kun is painting on a clay doll.

“Is that Tatsumi-kun knitting? That’s weird.”
Yukiko gives Yosuke a look. “Is it really? His family runs a textile shop. I don’t see anything wrong with boys making scarfs.”
“That looks like some kind of clay doll Ren-kun is making. That’s really neat.”
“More like also weird.”

Chie proceeds to kick Yosuke in the shin. “Knock it off, Yosuke.”
“Ow! Chie!”

Looks like he needs to step in. “Guys, calm down. We gotta work together if we are to reach Tatsumi-kun.”

The others do calm down and agree to stop fighting with each other.

They move onto the next floor and once again, Tatsumi-kun’s voice can be heard again.

“A man’s got this thing called pride.” He goes onto say how he’ll never lose.

Once it gets quiet, the steam and heat gets hotter, which makes things even worse. Yu can barely notice a new photo dropping down, and he catches it.

This one shows Amamiya-kun and Tatsumi-kun at a dinner table with Tatsumi-kun’s mother and a man that has a strong resemblance to Tatsumi-kun.

“Is that Kanji-kun’s dad?”
“It must be before he passed away.”
“Amamiya-kun did mention what happened to him and it changed things between them.”

He has to imagine the father’s death had an impact on Amamiya-kun too.

“What happened to Kanji’s daddy?”

Ah right, Teddie doesn’t know. They explain what happened to him, and Teddie makes another look of sadness, this time with his eyes tearing up.

“P-Poor Kanji. He lost his daddy and then lost Ren-Ren as a friend. Why did he push him away? I can get that he was sad that his daddy is gone, but…. Why?”

“Grief can do strange things to people, Ted. Hopefully when we save him, we can convince him to at least talk with Amamiya-kun.” Teddie makes a confused look and then Yosuke sighs. “I mean Ren-kun.”

“We’ll save both of them. First we need to get to Tats-- Kanji-kun.” Might as well shift to first names with both of them. Especially if they both land on the team with personas.

After more shadow fights, they move onto the sixth floor. Kanji’s voice is heard as usual, but this time it’s different. Teddie’s eyes widen,

“Whoa, I can feel the other Kanji staring at us.”

“Hey there, cutie pie! Are you trying to break the barrier of the acceptable like me?”
“No, Sensei and the others came to rescue Kanji!”
“Oooh! Does that mean you’re yearning for me? Oh that makes me so happy! Well then, I must simply prepare something spectacular for you. I am so looking forward to see you soon. In the meantime, here’s a little gift from me. Tootaloo~!”

Then before anyone else can say something, a puff of smoke appears briefly. When it clears, there appears to be some kind of clay doll. A different one from one of the photographs and less crude, and it also has a tiny kimono and yarn for hair.

The others pause to make sure it’s not a shadow, but when it doesn’t move, Yu moves closer to it. The moment he picks it up, everything turns white and a vision plays out.

Kanji’s been working on a project with his best friend Ren. For finals, people are paired up to create something together, and they just happened to be paired up. Which worked for the best as nobody else would have been willing to work with them, and instead make them do the whole project on their own.

They had decided on using both of their skills by making a clay doll of Princess Kaguya. Kanji, with his mom’s help, made the tiny kimono for the doll and glue the yarn hair on, while Ren made the clay body itself and paint the face.

It’s not perfect as they are middle schoolers, but it was the best thing they made ever. Sure they get teased a lot, but surely once they see it, even they will have to admit it’s amazing. What could possibly go wrong?

The day came where Kanji and Ren are asked to present their completed project. Kanji lets Ren do the talking since he’s better at that than him.

“And now we present our masterpiece: Princess Kaguya!” He removes the sheet covering the doll.

For a moment, there’s silence. For just a moment, Kanji felt hopeful that maybe finally he and Ren might get respect, and judging by the look on Ren’s face, he was likely thinking the same thing. But something unexpected happened. They start laughing. Laughing at them. And then cruel comments came in.

“Oh my god, you two made a doll? That’s so queer.”
“As usual, you two are sissies.”
“Talk about embarrassing.”

Kanji could start to feel his blood boil.

“The hell are you all laughing at?”

Ren scoffs. “Clearly nobody else here knows what good art looks like.”

Any hopes of at least the teacher being more impressed are shattered when the female teacher frowns.

“While I can see you two did a good job making the doll, shouldn’t you two have made something more...fitting of boys?”

This causes more laughs and Kanji clenches his fists. This is bullshit!

Ren is not doing much better, but he’s clearly trying to hold his own anger back. And unless he’s seeing something, he might be holding back tears too.

They are gonna need to talk after school.

Everything shifts back to normal and Yu opens his eyes to see the vision is over. He turns towards the others and it seems they saw the vision too. Yosuke looks guilty while the girls and Teddie look sad.

“Poor Kanji-kun and Ren-kun. They didn’t deserve that at all.”
“Yeah, it’s not fair! That Princess Kaguya doll was awesome, especially from two boys at that age.”
“The way those people were laughing at Ren-Ren and Kanji was not nice at all. I don’t get how it was funny that they made that doll. I thought it was really cool.”

Yosuke doesn’t say a word. Yu turns to Yosuke and steps closer. “Yosuke…”

The other teen sighed. “I know. I was an asshole earlier with calling what they were making before weird. It explains why Kanji-kun got really mad at us using the word strange.”

It did, and it seems Ren-kun’s warning was justified.

He decides to hold onto the doll for now. If at least to see how either of them react to it. They move onto the next floor, which has even more steam, though at least it doesn’t seem like the heat increased.

“Hang in there, guys!”

After Teddie’s encouragement, they eventually spot a door and after going through it, both Shadow Kanji is waiting, along with a big shadow. Which looks like a lot like that one american wrestler. It seems Shadow Kanji is challenging them to fight this shadow, and then he leaves while the shadow gets ready to attack them.

The shadow was pretty tough. No weaknesses and it could hit like a truck. It takes some time, but eventually they manage to defeat the shadow. Once it’s gone, it leaves behind a bathhouse key. Which could be useful for later. Either during this trip, or if they return to it at a later date. Since Yukiko’s castle is still around.

They get to the next floor, expecting Kanji’s voice. Indeed they hear his voice again and it sounds like more of Kanji’s thoughts. Perhaps he didn’t want to become a delinquent? But something else he said bothers him.

“Ren… You were always there for me, but it’s not safe now. Not with your piece of shit dad around to hurt you and your mom. Besides, I was just dragging you down with me this whole time. And I need to be a man now.”

Yukiko at this point looks like she’s about to cry. “Kanji-kun...”

“Dragging him down? What does that mean?”
“You know, I’m starting to wonder if there was more to what Ren-kun was saying before. About how he had to end the friendship.”

Chie has a point. After all, he’s already been suspecting that he was lying. Maybe it was actually the other way around? Either way, they needed to keep going.
The next floor has Kanji’s voice saying ‘this place is wonderful’, which is a worrying sign. Even Teddie seems to agree, and urges everyone to hurry. They all try to move faster as they get past shadows.

Once they reach the tenth floor, Teddie pauses then frowns.

“I can’t hear Kanji’s voice anymore.”

However this pushes him to try harder to find Kanji. Luckily it seems to work.

“I think I’ve made a comeback. Kanji’s not far from here.”

This turns out to be the next floor, which finally seems like the final one. Given how huge the two doors are in front of them. They are all exhausted, but they need to keep going. So Yu takes out a Soma and uses it to heal all of them.

“Everyone ready?”

The others nod and they all head towards the door and burst into the room. Not only is Shadow Kanji there, but the real Kanji is there too.

“There they are!”
“Kanji-kun!”

Despite that, neither of them seem to acknowledge them.

“Oh, come now. Enough with the charade. Isn’t it awful to deceive people? To deceive yourself? What’s so bad about doing what I want to do?”

“That has nothing to do with it.”

“I’m what you really want, aren’t I?”

“Hell no!”

“Oh, how I hate girls. So arrogant and self-centered! They cry if you get angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies… They look at me like some...some disgusting THING and say that I’m a weirdo. Laughing at me, all the while!”

The shadow things pulls up a few quotes, some of them familiar.

“What does it mean to be ‘a guy’? What does it mean to be ‘manly’? Girls are so scary.”

“I-I ain’t scared of them!”

Then Shadow Kanji says how he vastly prefers men since they wouldn’t do the things girls would do.

“To hell with that! What makes you think you can say that shit with my face?!”

“Why, you’re me and I’m you. You do know that, don’t you?”

And the dreaded words come out of Kanji. “There’s no way in hell that you’re me!”

This causes dark energy to gather and Shadow Kanji transforms into some kind of giant, with a tiny him surrounded by roses. The giant body carrying two mars symbols. Kanji himself falls into unconsciousness. Two more shadows also appear; Nice Guy and Tough Guy.

Yu and the others move forward while Teddie sticks by Kanji. Then the battle begins.

“I am a shadow…The true self. I’m just being true to myself. And that’s why…I’ll get rid of anything in my way!”
“Are these Kanji-kun’s true feelings?”
“This isn’t really him! It’s just his emotions going haywire.”

This proved to be even tougher than the last strong one, and even Shadow Yukiko. On top of being strong, he had those two minions working for him. Nice Guy cleared provided buffs while Tough Guy did the attacking. Even worse, the boys would get poisoned while the girls were hit with the rage status effect.

After some time, Nice Guy goes down first. Then Tough Guy. And then finally Shadow Kanji himself. Who changes back to normal following his defeat.

Kanji starts to wake up and stand back up.

“Kanji-kun!”
“Wait, Yukiko! Something’s wrong.”

Shadow Kanji stands back up.

“It’s still coming for us! Kanji is still rejecting it.”
“Well, I can’t blame him with this many witnesses.”

“Such a passionate approach.”
“What?”
“It’s been years since someone showed such understanding. There was someone before that did. Hmm who was it again? Oh right, Ren.”

Kanji tenses up. “What about him?”

The shadow makes giggles at that. “Don’t play dumb with me. You remember him, don’t you? How you two were such best buds ever, and then it happened. How our old man said in his dying breath that we had to be a man. You knew you couldn’t use such a crunch anymore and be his ball and chain. So you cast him aside.”

Kanji freezes while everyone else’s eyes widen in shock. Chie is the one to break the ice.

“Wait a minute! Ren-kun said that he was the one who ended the friendship. Are you saying he lied?”

Shadow Kanji grins. “Is that what Ren said? Aww how sweet. Lying for little old me. But so typical of him. He always looked out for us and bail us out when we were in trouble. He never even cared when everyone made fun of us. Of course we had to end things. To be a man, we can’t use him for our strength anymore.”

“That’s…”

Yu turns towards Kanji. “There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

Kanji casts his eyes down. “...Yeah, there is. I overheard his dad and another cop talk shit about me. How I’m a good-for-nothing punk that R-- Amamiya shouldn’t be friends with.”

“That’s not all. There was more they said, right?”

Kanji sighs before continuing. “Ren’s dad said that if Ren refuses to stop being friends with me, he might break his wife’s other leg.”

“What?!”
“Then the reason Amamiya-san is limping is because Ren-kun’s dad broke her leg?”
“That bastard! I so want to give him a good stomping!”
“Chie, that would get you arrested.”

This made things so much worse. But wait...something doesn’t make sense here.

“Did you tell Ren-kun about that?”

“I…”
“No he didn’t. If we had, Ren would have been soooo pissed and got himself hurt or worse trying to fight him. So he had to be pushed away to protect him.”

“No, that was just you running away.”

Yosuke, Teddie and the girls’ are stunned at Yu’s statement.

“Yu—”

“You know the abuse hasn’t stopped, and even if you think you were just using him, he wasn’t using you. He clearly misses you as a friend, and even lied to us to shield you from criticism, even though you were the one to break the friendship. You really cared about him, don’t you? Still do?”

“Yu-kun, that’s enough. You’re being way too harsh.”
“Naw he’s right. I’ve been a shit friend and a coward. I had been only thinking of myself the whole time. Trying so hard to be a man when he was accepting me all along. It’s no wonder I have something like that inside me.”

Yosuke is caught off guard by this. “Kanji you’re—”

“Yeah I know. I’ve known all this time that I had something like you. It ain’t about guys or chicks, I just get scared shitless of being rejected. Despite Ren trying so hard to have my back the whole time. I’ve been a goddamn coward and a total pansy that tried to get everyone to hate me, even him.”

“You gotta be brave, Kanji-kun.”

Kanji seems a bit surprised by Yu using his first name, but doesn’t comment on it. Perhaps he didn’t notice Yosuke doing the same thing?

“I know, I know. I need to accept this, right?” He steps closer to his shadow self. “I already know you’re me. You’re me and I’m you, dammit.”

Shadow Kanji makes a genuine smile before he becomes covered in blue light. Then he is replaced by what looks like a huge skeleton guy holding a lightning bolt. After a moment, the persona turns into a card and floats down to Kanji. Absorbing into him.

Then Kanji falls backwards onto the floor, while Yu and the others gather around Kanji.

“Kanji-kun!”
“Let’s get him out of here.”

They all help Kanji up and guide out of the sauna. Once they reach the TV studio, Teddie makes the exit tv while the fox was waiting for them. Just as when it seems like they were going to leave, Chie lets something slip.

“Alright, that was one down, one more to go! We should be able to rescue Ren-kun next time.”
“Chie--!”

Kanji snaps his head up in shock, despite how tired he is.
“What?! Ren’s in here?! Why the hell are we leaving then?”

“You just awakened to your persona and need rest. He’s—”

Kanji then tries to struggle against Yosuke and Yu. “Let me go! I gotta get back there!”

Teddie holds up his hands. “Easy Kanji! As long as the fog here doesn’t lift, the shadows won’t hurt Ren-Ren.”

That does make him stop struggling, but he raises an eyebrow.

“Ren-Ren? It’s just one Ren.”
“Ted has a habit of using nicknames with some people.”
Yu then speaks up.

“We’ll need you at your full strength if we’re gonna save him. We’ll explain more later.”

“…Fine. But you’re not rescuing him without me. I need to man up for the shit I pulled and apologize to him.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t. We’ll need all the help we can get.”

They get out of the TV World and Kanji falls onto his butt, but Yosuke helps him up.

“I’ll help this guy home. If anyone asks, I’ll just say I found him somewhere like this.”

Then they all separate to head home. That night, Dojima brought home dinner, so the three of them are having dinner when Dojima strikes up a conversation.

“Oh hey I almost forgot. Remember that Kanji Tatsumi guy I told you about? You know, the one that went nuts on that news special. His family’s shop called to report him missing, but now he’s been found. I thought I’d let you know, since you go to the same high school.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

At first it seems like that’s all there is to that, but then Dojima talks again.

“One other thing. Some people have seen you around both the pottery stop and the textile shop, I hear. Neither one are the kind of stores students normally shop at. Just what kind of business did you have at either places?”

Oh crap. Even though they never went into the textile shop, it seems they were too obvious. This is not good if the next potential victim ends up kidnapped. Still, Yu does his best to calm down and answer.

“A friend took me to the textile shop, and then Tatsumi-san wanted us to give Amamiya-san a message. Amamiya-san told us R-- er Amamiya-kun is missing too. Has he been found as well?”

The question works to throw Dojima off. “…Not yet. His father has been worse than usual trying to look for his kid. I’m sure the kid will be found soon. Your friend, I assume must be that Amagi girl. Her family’s inn buys their stuff wholesale.”

Dojima then sighs. “Fine. Just don’t get yourself in over your head, okay?”

Yu nods. Then Nanako looks over them, then frowns. “Are you fighting again?”

Both Yu and Dojima have to reassure her that they aren’t fighting, and that it’s fine. Once dinner is over, he heads back to his room to get some rest.

He’s glad Kanji-kun is willing to help save Ren-kun when he’s able to help fight with them. A part of him had worried he wouldn’t, but thankfully they didn’t have to convince him.

He has no idea what’s in store for them in Ren’s dungeon. But one thing is for sure… There’s clearly secrets that Ren-kun has been hiding and not just about his situation with his abusive dad. He just hopes they will be able to pull through this too.

Chapter Text

Kanji felt like shit the next day. As much as he wanted to just shrug it off and help rescue Ren, his body would not cooperate. And while his head is slightly better than it had been in years, there’s still that weight of guilt on him. He thought distancing himself was the right thing to do. Not only as a way to not make Ren be his crutch, but also to protect Ren’s mom. Turns out he was being a dumbass and a shit friend.

He’s not sure what his dad meant when he said he had to be strong, but it’s clear pushing Ren away wasn’t it.

That said, it took the day after tomorrow before he had enough rest to jump back into the TV to save Ren.

That bear Teddie is rather cute, but wouldn’t let him pet him. The prank with the stupid glasses angered him, but at least he managed to get a real pair of glasses. Shades even. And they work well to see through this fog.

He followed to where Ren is being held and is surprised when they come across some mansion that he’s never seen before. He’s pretty sure he would know if there was a mansion like this in Inaba. Also he’s never seen palm trees in person before. He’s only seen them in movies or tv shows.

Then Narukami-sempai spoke. “Okay, since we have more members, we’ll have to start having others in the back. Chie, mind being in the back?”

“Fine by me. I’ll make sure to watch your backs.”
“Then let’s head inside.”

Good. He’s glad he’s in the front lines.

They head inside and the place looks pretty ugly. There’s so much there that it’s hard to look at. It’s like if someone had way too much stuff, and couldn’t decide on a theme for the house itself. Sure a lot of the stuff is what you would expect in a museum, but it sure makes the place look like a mess.

“Man what a dump.”
“It certainly looks like a real mess.”
“You would think with how the outside looked nice, that it would be nice on the inside too.”

Narukami shrugs. “Just goes to show there’s more to things than it meets the eye.”
They start to go through the first floor. So far, it’s pretty familiar in terms of enemies as some of the same ones that was in Kanji’s dungeon is here. They manage to find the stairs, which was a spiral one, and reach the second floor. But when they do, they hear a voice.

“Bring me my beer woman! Shut the hell up brat! You better not go against my authority or I will kick your ass. Don’t bother talking, my uncle shields me.”

Kanji’s hands turn into fists. He knows that voice belongs to Ren’s shitty dad. But then another voice pops that surprises him.

“Ren dear, I know your father is bad but he is family. I’m fine, really. Please don’t worry about me. Listen to your father Ren.”

Then Ren’s own voice appears.

“I hate him! I hate him with ever fiber of my being. I wish he would die so mom and I can be left alone.”

After that, the voices stop.

“Was that things his parents have told him?”

Narukami frowned. “It sounds like his mom has been beaten down from the abuse, yet Ren-kun hasn’t.”

“Yeah Ren always had a real strong sense of justice. He could never stand by when someone was gettin’ wronged.”

That’s one of the main reasons he had tried to push Ren away.

Satonaka-sempai gets mad. “We gotta do something about the situation after we rescue Ren-kun!”
“Like what? His great uncle is the head of the police and nobody will or can stand up to them.”
“But…”

Not that he doesn’t see what Hanamura-sempai is saying, but it is bullshit that everyone is too scared shitless to do anything about the abuse going on.

“We’ll save him first and then we’ll figure something out later.”

Kanji and the others nod, and then keep going.

Once they make it onto the third floor (after fighting more shadows), they come across what looks like Ren, but something isn’t right. Not only was he in some suit and tie, his glasses were missing and his hair parted differently. Hell, he seems to have glowing yellow eyes. He’s holding onto a microphone.

“That must be Ren-kun’s other self.”

He’s not sure what Amagi-sempai means, but then when a spotlight shines on the ‘other Ren’, he starts talking. And it sounds...off.

“Hello, dear viewers! I’m inside the mansion, coming to you live. So far, there appears to be guests after my own heart, but just where could they be? Perhaps the size of this house is hiding them, or perhaps there’s a secret hiding inside.”

Then he flicks his hair and it produces sparkles. As well as some sign appearing above him like this was some low-budget tv show. Ren Amamiya’s Mansion of Love, it’s called.

“...Was it like that with my shadow and Amagi-senpai’s shadow?”

No wonder Hanamura keeps looking at him funny when he thinks he doesn’t notice.

“Well, I’m gonna head further in. Perhaps I’ll find the one for me inside. See you all later~!”

Then he leaves, and as he does so, a purple energy wall suddenly appears, and blocks their path.

“The hell?”

Santonaka tries to break it with her persona, but it does no good.

“How are we supposed to get passed this?”

Narukami looks over and notices something. “Hold on.”

He goes over and picks up what appears to be a VHS tape. It’s labeled Memory #1.

“A video tape?”

Just then, a part of the floor opens and a large TV, along with a VHS player attached, pops up from the ground.

Satonaka is startled by that. “Where did that TV come from?!”

Hanamura turns his head towards Narukami. “You think we need to watch this tape to get past?”

“Only one way to find out.”

So, the videotape gets popped into the player and the TV turns on, and starts playing...

It shows a very young Ren, who looks to be about four or five, drawing on the floor by himself. It seems to be what looks like the mascot for those Destiny movies. Suddenly there’s yelling between two people, a man and a woman.

They are clearly getting into some kind of argument, and then out of nowhere, there’s a sound of bone cracking and a woman’s scream in pain.

Ren’s eyes widen and he runs towards the source of the scream. He opens a door, which reveals his dad having his foot on his mom’s leg and she’s crying in pain.

“Ichiro, p-please stop.”

Ren’s little hands ball up into fists. “Stop hurting mommy!”

He charges towards his dad, but his father slaps him away. “Know your place, brat. Or I’ll break your legs too.”

His mom’s eyes widen. “Please don’t! I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

“Good. Now stay out of my sight. I’m going to get beer.”

Then he heads out a door and slams it. Ren’s mother forces herself to crawl to reach Ren, who looks up with tears in his eyes.

“Why…? Why won’t father stop hurting us?”

Ren’s mother places a hand on Ren’s cheek. “Because he’s had a hard life, Ren-kun. I know he can be mean, but he’s providing for us.”

“But it’s wrong. He hurt your leg.”

“Yes dear, but I had it coming.”
“But--!”

His mother forces herself to sit up. “Could you make a call for me? I’m gonna need help with my leg.”

He nods and goes to make a phone call.

Once the video tape ends, the TV turns off and the energy wall disappears.

Kanji feels himself balling his hands into fists. He’s known about all this for years, but to see it for himself is rough.

But he’s gotta tough it out. It’s not about him. It’s about saving Ren and making things right.

----

Yu kept a calm face after the video tape they had watched. They knew about how Ren-kun’s dad had broken his mother’s leg, but seeing the aftermath was pretty bad. He can tell from the looks on the others’ faces that they are pretty affected by it too. The girls hugging each other, both Yosuke’s and Kanji-kun’s faces are grim, and Teddie’s eyes are watering.

“We need to keep going. It’s likely going to get worse from here, but he needs us.”

That does calm the others down and they keep going, doing their best to fight any shadows that get in their way. They reach the next floor and more voices can be heard.

“Urg I feel so sorry for that boy and his mother. Detective Amamiya seems like the real worst.”
“But the chief of police is that detective’s uncle, so he gets away with it. I suppose it is what it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually murdered either of them or both.”
“Oh no doubt he could get away with actual murder.”
“My guess would be the boy considering he’s been hanging around that Tatsumi child.”
“They are both quite strange. I feel bad for both families to be honest.”

Then the voices died down. Chie stomps on one of her feet.

“That’s bullshit! How dare they treat Ren-kun and his mom’s situation like it’s some sport.”

Yukiko shakes her head. “Unfortunately when you’re not involved in the situation, it can be easy for people to act that way.”

“It is bullshit. Like I don’t give a damn what they say about me, but they can get bent on the shit they are saying about Ren and his mom!”

But before more discussion can be had, a second video tape drops down and another energy barrier, along with another TV appears.

The other looks uneasy considering how bad the last tape was, but they don’t have much of a choice. Yu picks up the tape and puts it in. Watching the next video.

It shows Ren-kun at the same age and he’s at the police station. He’s speaking with a much younger Dojima-san, who is listening to Ren-kun’s story about his dad breaking his mom’s leg, with a concerned look.

“...I see. I’ve been hearing concerning reports about your parents, and it lines up with what they have been saying. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, mister.”

Then there’s static and it cuts to them again, but this time Ren-kun has his head lowered and Dojima-san has a look of guilt on his face.

“I’m sorry Amamiya-kun, there’s nothing I can do. Your great uncle is protecting your father, and I have to be able to put food on the table for my family.”
“It’s not fair. Why can my father hurt my mommy and be bad?”
“...I don’t know.” Dojima-san then moves a hand to the top of Ren-kun’s head and pats it.. “Do me a favor and try to protect your mom, okay?”
“Okay….”

Dojima-san then removes his hand and leaves. Ren-kun’s eyes starting to water again.

The TV turns off and the energy barrier disappears.

His uncle tried to intervene? No doubt he threatened to fire Dojima-san if he got more involved.

“Dojima-san…”
“No wonder it’s been going on way too long.”

Yu has to agree with Yosuke. Not only are people afraid, or apathetic, to get involved, but even those who try are stopped or gotten rid of. Ren-kun’s great uncle has way too much power.

After even more shadow fights, they get to the fifth floor. He expected to hear more voices, and he turned out to be right. Ren’s voice can be heard again.

“Everyone is scared of my father and my great uncle, or at least don’t care. They own this town, and there’s nothing anyone can do. I don’t understand why great uncle seems to hate me and my mom. At least that one old man was nice. Too bad he’s gone.”

“Old man?”

They get answers when not only another tape falls down, but it rains down a bunch of single-issue comic books. And of course another energy barrier.

“Comic books?”

Yosuke picks one up. “Holy shit! This is Cake Knight! And a really old one too. It must cost a ton of money to sell to collectors.”

Chie also picks one up. “And it’s clearly american as it’s in english and flipped from how a manga would be. Ugh english.”

Teddie picks up one. “So this is a comic book.” he tries to read it but is clearly struggling, and frowns. “I can’t read what it says. It’s got pretty pictures though.”

Kanji speaks up. “There used to be a neighbor that brought back all this from america, and even owned some Cake Knight movies that are in english. He said he learned english through Cake Knight and he tried to teach me english too. We didn't get far with that.”

“What did happen to that old man?”
“He passed away a couple years ago from old age.”

Yu picks up the video tape and has it play. This time around, it mostly plays a series of short scenes. The first one shows an old man showing his old collection of those same comic books and some VHS tapes. Then it shows Ren struggling to read one of the comics, but keeps going, then later watching a movie that is in english, but has japanese subtitles at least.

Then a third scene with Ren and a younger Kanji. As Kanji stated, Ren tried to teach him english, but it didn’t go well. Then a similar scene with Kanji trying to teach Ren how to sew and while he seems to be doing okay, he keeps accidentally poking himself with the needle.

Finally a scene showing with Ren’s father throwing those comics and VHS tapes into an open fire. With Ren clearly trying not to cry.

After that, the tape ends, the TV shuts off and the barrier disappears.

“He burned them?! Oh that bastard!”
“It’s not surprising at this point.”
“Maybe we should take all of this and give it to Ren-kun later? I’m sure he would be happy to see them.”

While Yukiko’s idea isn’t bad, he isn’t sure Ren would accept considering his dad. They do end up taking all of the comics with and move on. As well as fight more shadows.

On the sixth floor, Ren’s voice is heard but much like in Kanji’s dungeon, it’s different this time. It’s also unusually dark.

“Well, well, you’ve managed to come this far. That makes me very pleased. So, to mix things up, how about I give you all a puzzle to complete to test you?”

Then light pours down, showing seven easels that have names for each of them; Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiant, Mary Cassatt, Grant Wood and Gilbert Stuart. On the ground is seven paintings. The first one looks like a close-up of a purple flower, and the second one looks like a series of paint splatters. The third showing a bunch of soup cans that have different flavors labeled on them, fourth has a skull-like figure on it, and the fifth one shows a young girl with a huge hat on. The sixth one shows a couple standing outside a farmer house and the man holding a pitchfork. The final one shows a portrait of a man holding a sword in one hand and an open hand with the other.

“Place the painting to the correct american artist to move on. Good luck.”

Then it’s silent again as another energy barrier is put up.

Yukiko looks over the paintings. “These paintings are quite interesting. Though I think I’ve seen that one before.” she points to the farmer couple.

Yosuke also takes a look and he makes a look of surprise.

“Say this portrait with the old guy. Is he that american president George Washington?”

Yu nods. “I think so. Question is who painted this?”

It’s not as if school goes over foreign paintings.

“We’ll just have to guess and do trial and error.”

Which is exactly what ends up happening as they have to arrange the paintings until it’s finally correct. The names lighting up when they have the correct placement also helps. When they have all of them correct, the lights fully turn back on, and the names stop lighting up.

Then Ren’s voice can be heard, but it doesn’t seem to be his shadow this time.

“I wonder if I had been born in America, would I be happier? After all, it’s the ‘Land of the Free’. Either way, I’m going to move there after high school. Even if I have to leave mom behind. I have no choice. There isn’t a reason for me to stay.”

After that, the barrier finally disappears.

“Oh Ren-kun…”
“We gotta save him and show him he’s not alone.”
“Yeah and make things right.”

They move onto the next floor and again, both Shadow Ren and a mini-boss is waiting for them. This time, the mini-boss looks like an american greaser from the ‘50s and carrying a wooden bat that has metal spikes on it.

“Congratulations for making this far. You proved you got the brains, but do you have the brawn as well? Let’s see how strong you are. See you in a couple floors or so.”

Then the shadow self leaves and the battle begins.

The greaser shadow attacks by swinging it’s bat at them, but they all manage to dodge, while Teddie keeps a safe distance. It also attacks with dark and thunder skills. Kanji having no trouble with the thunder ones.

It proves to be strong, but thankfully it seems to be weak to both light and wind. After some time, the shadow goes down and they move on.

On the eighth floor, Ren’s voice is once again heard.

“There’s such corruption on the force and only Dojima-san seems to give a shit about our situation. I feel bad for him. He’s taking care of his kid on his own too.”

Then as usual, another tape and TV, another barrier. Yu doesn’t hesitate and grabs the tape to start watching it. It then plays…

It show Ren and he’s much older here. Which seems to mean it’s closer to the modern day. He’s talking with his dad.

“So, about that Junes. It seems one being built here has caused some harm to most of the local businesses, including the Konishis. And as good neighbors, we shouldn’t let them go out of business.”

He makes a look of confusion. “You want the pottery shop to partner up with the liquor store? I mean I could ask mom what she thinks—”

“No, you idiot. I’ve made a deal with them. I give you money, you go there to buy booze and bring it to me.”

This takes Ren off guard and his eyes widen. “Isn’t it illegal to sell alcohol to minors?”

Ren’s dad actually laughs. “Oh don’t worry. It’ll be hush-hush. I can get my booze without having to leave the house, they get extra money. It’s a win-win.”

Ren makes a flat look at this.

“You can just buy it yourself, father.”

This gets a smack from his dad. “Shut up, brat! Do as I say!”

Ren sighs. “Fine.”

Then it cuts to Ren, wearing a hoodie and having his hood up, visiting the liquor store. He meets with the parents, who take him into the back of the store.

“Why are we doing this when my father can buy his own booze?”

The man shakes his head. “He’s been getting concerns about drinking on the job lately, so we have to do this under the table.”
“Plus it’s Junes’ fault that our business is suffering. You and the Tatsumis are lucky.”

Ren accepts the bag of booze after paying, and heads off. While outside, a familiar orange-haired boy with headphones is seen in the background, but Ren walks past him. Seemingly not noticing him.

Yosuke’s eyes widen. “So that was him that night!”

“Wait, the Konishis have been illegally selling booze to Ren-kun?! But that’s stupid! I get they were hurting for money, but that’s still wrong.”

Chie’s not wrong there.

Kanji frowns at this. “Now that I think about it, I do recall seeing him a few days before I got taken, but I wasn’t sure if it was him or not. And I didn’t want to look closer to see if it was the case.”

“I wonder if Konishi-kun knows about this.”

Konishi-kun?

Yosuke seems to notice his confusion and clears things up.

“Naoki Konishi. He’s Saki-senpai’s little brother. I think he’s a first-year too.”

Kanji nods. “Yeah he is.”

The TV already turned off and the barrier gone, so it was time to keep moving. There thankfully wasn’t many shadows on that floor to fight. On the ninth floor, as expected, Ren’s voice is heard. But this time, it sounds like he’s on the verge of crying.

“I’m so sorry, Kanji. I wish I wasn’t such a coward. Even though I wanted to go against my father’s wishes, you knew. You knew I would eventually fold. That’s why you’ve been pushing me away, haven’t you? I miss you. I miss my best friend. Especially with how much you mean to me.”

Again, Kanji balls his hands up into fists, and his face is both anger and guilt.

“I also wish I could make friends with Hanamura-sempai and Narukami-sempai. They seem cool, but it’s not safe. Even if I manage to get close, father might forbid me again and then I’ll be all alone again.”

“We can be your friends, Ren-kun! Just let us in!”
“Oh Yosuke.”

Yu places a hand on Yosuke’s shoulder. “We’ll get to him and help him.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

Surprisingly no tape this time, so they all keep heading to the next floor, after even more shadow fights. They eventually find a room where it looks like a kitchen. And there’s a TV hanging in a corner up near the ceiling. The TV turns on, and Shadow Ren appears, smirking at them.

“Looks like you managed to get this far. How about one last test to see if you have what it takes to come to me? You’ve shown brains and brawn, but what about heart? Your final test is to bake a cake. But there’s a catch. This oven is an american oven, so it goes by fahrenheit rather than the celsius that you are familiar with. Of course, I will provide a recipe for you. But unfortunately, it’s only in english. Good luck~!”

Then the TV shuts off and several items appear. The book containing the recipe, mixing bowl, other cooking tools, and of course, the ingredients. Granted, it’s very basic and would make a yellow cake.

“Guess we should get started.”

They head into the kitchen and Yu looks over the book. It is indeed in english, and while he’s not perfect with it, he knows enough english to get past this.

“I’ll direct you guys since I can read this.”

Chie frowns at the ingredients. “Man, this will make for a boring cake. It should have some sardines to top it.”
“Oh that would be good. Along with some peppers.”

The guys except for Teddie give the girls the side-eye.

“Sardines? Peppers? Why would you want to put either on a cake?!”
“No offense sempais, but that sounds disgusting.”
"No."

Chie pouts. “You guys are no fun. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting.”

That’s...a red flag. Yu mentally notes to remember that later.

Despite the girls’ complaints, they all get to work. With Teddie mostly watching. Thankfully Yu was able to figure out the conversion of the temperature they need for the cake. (Turns out 350 degrees fahrenheit is 177 celsius.) Once they place the baked cake on the counter, it suddenly has pink frosting and little hearts on it.

Then the TV turns on again. “Nicely done! Now you’re ready. I’m on the next floor, waiting for you. As for that cake, well, Teddie over there can have it. I’m not sure it’s safe for humans to eat.”

“H-Huh, really?”

“Really. Anyway, I’ll see you all then.”

It turns off again.

Yu smiles. “Go ahead, Teddie.”

“Yay cake!”
Then Teddie starts to dig in, and well, it seems he hasn’t learned manners. Which is understandable really. But at least it’s adorable.

Yosuke and Kanji cringes, while the girls smile with amusement.

While Teddie was eating, Yu and the others heal up ‘cause the upcoming fight isn’t going to be easy. And once Teddie is done, they head to the final floor. Surprisingly no shadows was in the way this time. Which didn’t bode well.

Where beyond the door, awaits both the shadow and the real Ren. Who looks relieved to see them, rather than surprised.

“And you’ve all arrived, just as we expected.”

Expected? Wait what?

Chapter Text

Ren sees the confused looks on their faces. Not that he could blame them. They don’t know what he did last month.

“What do you mean expected?”

The impostor smirks and turns towards him. “Don’t you think there’s something you should confess to?”

Shit. He doesn’t have a choice now, doesn’t he? If this means they leave him behind to die, then so be it. He refuses to look at them as he answers.

“I...I saw you guys go into the TV and rescue Amagi-senpai.”

He hears gasps and a ‘what?!’ from, he assumes, Hanamura-sempai.

“And not just see. Also took pictures and even recorded audio of you.”

He couldn’t help but wince at Hanamura starting to shout at him. “Were you planning to blackmail us?!”

He forces himself to look up. “No! Of course not. I overheard you as I was walking away the first time we met, and it bugged me, so I went into Junes and saw the three of you, and the wording you guys said made me suspicious. I did spy on you that day, but overhearing your conversation with Amagi-sempai, I realized that I was wrong about you guys.”

He looks away again. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before. I was afraid of how you guys would react.”

Then he feels a hand on his shoulder and he looks to see it’s Narukami-sempai. “It’s okay. I get how it would look, but it’s obvious you haven’t said anything by now. I’m guessing that last drawing in your sketchbook was actually about what you saw?”

Ren nods. “Yeah, it doesn’t have anything to do with Alice in the Looking Glass.”

It seems Narukami’s words gets Hanamura to calm down as he no longer looks angry.

“Do you still have the photos and recording?”

He shakes his head. “I erased the recording and burned the photos.”

“Good.”

“Now that first confession has been made, isn’t there something else you should be saying?”

Ren could feel himself tensing up. “What other confession?”

The fake laughs. Honestly his condescending attitude is irritating. “Oh come now, don’t play dumb. There’s something much bigger that you are hiding from everyone. About what you truly are.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“There’s a lot of beautiful people out there. Pretty girls. Handsome guys. And yet, whenever you point out how good another guy looks, they look at you funny. Call you queer. Hell, there was those rumors in middle school how you and Kanji was dating, remember? After all, you two were the ‘school weirdos’.”

“And they were full of shit.”

Ren looks up and his eyes widen when he finally notices who else is with them. He hadn’t noticed until now. “Kanji?”

“How sweet of you to come. I see that you were rescued first.”

Honestly it’s shocking that Kanji would be here. Especially since he made it clear before that he wanted nothing to do with him.

“Yeah, I came here to help save ya and apologize. I’ve been a shit friend and should have supported you instead of leaving you to deal with your piece of shit dad alone. So I’m sorry, man.”
He felt his heart lighten. He was starting to lose hope that he could get his best friend back. And even if he didn’t fully understand why back then, and it hurt, but it didn’t matter. He wanted him back.

“I—”
“Apology not accepted.”

He turns and glares at that yellow-eyed bastard. “Hey! Don’t put words into my mouth!”

Unfortunately Ren gets ignored, and instead the impostor glares at Kanji.

“Do you have any goddamn idea how much pain you put me through?! I protected you and stood by you for years, and throwing me away was the thanks I get? Just because of that monster talking shit about you to another cop? Needing to become a man, my ass. You were my only friend and I’ve been alone for two years because of you.”

“That’s enough! He’s apologizing now. Isn’t that good enough?”

To Kanji’s credit, he keeps calm and cool head.

“I know I screwed up badly. There’s another reason I did that, though it ain’t an excuse.”

Another reason?

“Your dad said that if you didn’t stop being friends with me, he’ll break your mom’s other leg.”

Both Ren and his fake’s eyes widen at this and they respond at the same time.
“WHAT?!”
“WHAT?!”

Satonaka hits a fist into her other hand. “Don’t worry, Ren-kun. We’ll make sure your dad faces justice.”

“...You can’t. My great uncle, the chief of police, protects him. He’s gotten a couple police officers fired for trying to intervene. He threatened Dojima-san with his job. He has too much power.”

“We’ll find a way.”

He wants to believe Narukami, but…

“How naive. Conformity and not causing trouble for others is valued in this country. I hate it. I wish I was born in America. It’s why I plan to escape to there after high school, even if I have to leave mom behind.”

He notices the sad look on Amagi’s face and has to look away.

“But we’re getting off track. What I was talking about? Ah yes, how it’s such a curse that you can’t stop yourself from looking at other guys.”
“T-That’s not true! I’m straight.”
“Ha! Only half straight. Sure you’ve found yourself liking girls, even an idol like Risette. But that’s not all you find yourself attracted to.”

Hanamura gives Ren a weird look. “Half straight? What is he talking about?”

Ren couldn’t help but sigh at that. It’s not the first time he’s had that kind of question or reaction aimed at him. This fake already revealed the truth anyway.

“...I like both girls and other guys.” he flinches when he sees Hanamura step back in shock. “I know. I’m disgusting. I can’t really help it though.”

“Huh? No, I wasn’t—”
“You were thinking it, weren’t you sempai?”

At that, the others give Hanamura a glare.

“Seriously Yosuke, what is wrong with you?”
“You really are narrow-minded, aren’t you Yosuke-kun?”
“You maybe my sempai, but I ain’t afraid to kick your ass.”
“Yosuke...”

Hanamura cringes. “I swear I wasn’t thinking that! I just don’t get how you can like both girls and other guys.”
“It’s more than possible, Yosuke. Some people don’t have a preference or just not interested at all.”

Urg, this is getting frustrating.

“Yeah, I like both. There, you happy?”

“Oh I am. There’s just one more thing that you’re hiding. The biggest secret of them all.”

His blood starts to boil at this point. “Will you just shut up, already?! It’s bad enough you’ve had me confess a couple times, haven’t you had enough?”

“I would if you would stop denying yourself. Especially with how you try to keep everyone at arm’s length.”

“Please stop.”

“And despite that, your heart yearns for more. Not just friendship that you fear making because of that monster taking it away again. But also a certain someone.”

“Shut up!”

“Someone that you want to be with. That someone who you wish would feel the same way.”

“I said shut up!”

“Oh if you could only tell them how much you love him.”

Before anyone could try to stop him, Ren charges forward to attempt to punch the fake, but annoyingly, he dodged.

“But it’s clear you’re too much of a coward to say it. So I’ll say it for you.”

Ren tries again, but again, the other dodged.

“I love--”

“No!”

“Kanji Tatsumi!”

Ren felt himself freeze as he hears gasps of shock from everyone else, while he hears Kanji shout a “What?!”.

He turns towards Kanji. “Kanji, I… I…”

He tries to step closer, but Kanji backs away from him. Which hurts his heart. He also notices Hanamura’s stare at him. He has to turn away as he’s not sure he could deal with similar looks from everyone else, but also because his sight is being hindered by tears forming.

“See? I told you before that you wouldn’t be accepted, and I was right. After all, you’re me, and I’m you. You will never be loved and you don’t deserve it.”

At that moment, Ren reaches his breaking point and he snaps, angry tears rolling down his face.

“Shut the fuck up! You’re not me, you condescending fake!”

Dark energy gathers around the fake and he laughs again. “You said it. You actually said it. Now I can be myself!”

Ren collapses onto the ground as the fake starts transforming. Whatever form he takes, he loses consciousness before he can see the result.

-----

“I am a shadow, the true self. I’m gonna be true to myself, and I’ll tear anyone to pieces who tries to stop me! Not you, not my bastard of a father, nobody.”

This somehow went even worse than Yu expected. Sure it was likely that a fight with Ren-kun’s shadow was gonna happen. He just didn’t expect to learn that not only is he bisexual like him, but has a crush on Kanji-kun. It’s unfortunate that Ren-kun internalized such hatred towards himself just because he likes both genders.

The shadow had transformed and he took on a bird-like form like Yukiko’s shadow did. Unlike Shadow Yukiko, Shadow Ren wore a traditional kimono along with the bird wings and other bird features except for the face. It brought to mind a crow tengu, or at least some form of tengu. He also wasn’t huge either. Keeping the same size.

While the shadow isn’t inside a cage, he does have a ball and chain attached to one of the legs. Preventing it from being able to fly too far away.

Much like the fight with Kanji’s shadow, two other shadows appear as well. Rainbow Groom and Binary Bride. Rainbow Groom looks like a faceless man wearing a rainbow formal suit that’s also sparkling, while Binary Bride is a faceless woman with black flowing hair and wearing a white wedding dress with black trimmings.

It was also similar to Nice Guy and Tough Guy in their behavior as well. Much like Nice Guy, Binary Bride mainly focused on buffing Rainbow Groom and Shadow Ren. However, the bride could also heal them as well as remove debuffs. Thankfully Binary Bride proved to weak to physical attacks. Rainbow Groom however is proving to be tricker to take down.

It’s immune to physical attacks and it seems to change whatever it’s weakness is, as well as it’s elemental attacks. It takes a moment before Yu comes to a realization.

“That suit it’s wearing. It seems to change colors and that’s when it’s weakness changes.”

“You got it, Sensei! Pay attention to the color of the suit and attack with what you’ve got! Especially when it’s just a bunch of colors.” In other words, when it’s not a solid color, then it’s a free for all, minus physical attacks.

Right now, the suit is blue. Which means weak to fire. “Yukiko, focus on the shadow.” Then he summons a card. “Phoenix!”

A very colorful bird appears and sends out a Maragi at both Rainbow Groom and Shadow Ren, and Yukuko joins in with her persona Konohana Sakuya sending out an Agilao at Rainbow Groom.

It worked to knock down Rainbow Groom, but not Shadow Ren. After a bit, Rainbow Groom gets back up. The suit changes to yellow, and they do the same thing, but with Yosuke this time. When the groom’s suit changes to red, Chie has her turn. Then finally, it changes to green, which gives Kanji a turn.

After the cycle of hitting weaknesses and attacking it while it was down, Rainbow Groom dies, which just leaves Shadow Ren left.

“I’m not backing off, so fuck off and get out of my way!”

Then Shadow Ren proceeds to rabidly flap his wings, and he spins around, swinging the heavy metal ball at the others, smacking them with it and knocking them all down.

Luckily doing this attack also seems to tire out the shadow. Giving the others some time.

“That attack knocked the stuffing out of him. Now is your chance to attack!”

Yu and the others manage to get up and do another All Out Attack. The shadow gets back up and the battle continues. The shadow sends out both light and dark attacks, though not the instant kill types. Which did make things slightly easier, but not by much.

Then the shadow starts to flap his wings again.

“He’s getting ready to attack with that ball again. See if you can try to stop him in time.”

Which was a tall order given the lack of weaknesses. Still they do their best and manage to cause enough damage to prevent the attack.. But it also broke the chain, freeing Shadow Ren. The shadow then laughs.

“Ah that’s much better. Now I can use my full power on you. Get ready to die!”

The shadow is much faster and makes strong slashing attacks with his claws. Despite the increase in difficulty in the fight, they eventually manage to weaken Shadow Ren enough to get at low health.

“Dammit. I knew it. None of you accept me at all. If I’m destined to be forever alone, then I’ll...I’ll…”

But rather than finish that sentence, the shadow gets more into a frenzy, trying to kill everyone. It takes more time, but eventually…

“Damn you all!” is what the shadow said before collapsing to the floor, defeated.

There’s a pause and the girls look at Ren-kun with sadness, and a look of guilt on both Kanji’s and Yosuke’s faces.

Yu steps closer to check on Ren-kun when he starts to wake up. His eyes are red from crying and he looks like a mess. He’s refusing to look at anyone right now.

Kanji walks over to them. “Like I said, I really screwed up. I should have been fully honest and stick by you. I could say ‘sorry’ a hundred times, but it won’t mean shit by just words. But I won’t force you to deal with me if you don’t want anything to do with me. I wouldn’t blame ya. As for that last confession…”
Kanji rubs the back of his neck. “I gotta be honest. I’m flattered and all, but I don’t feel that way about you.”

This finally gets a response from Ren-kun as he nods. “I know. Not only because we haven’t really spoken in two years, but because I knew my crush is one-sided. Honestly, I rather have my best friend back than any real relationship.”

This surprises Kanji and his eyes widen. “Huh, really? Even after what I put you through?”

Ren looks up. “I get why you did that. You were both trying to protect me and my mom, and being in a lot of pain. It did hurt a lot and I tried to be there for you. All I ask is that, if you want to be friends again, to please don’t shut me out again. If you’re not comfortable saying something, that’s fine. Just don’t push me away.”

Kanji nods. “Yeah, I learned my lesson.” he then offers a hand up. “Friends?”

Ren returns the smile. “Friends.”

After Kanji helps Ren stand back up, they do a fist bump.

Yukiko walks closer. “Um, Ren-kun? I have a question. Do you not like being japanese?”

Ren shakes his head. “I’m not ashamed of being japanese, it’s just that everything I’ve learned about America, without having been there, just seems amazing. I’m fully aware that there’s plenty of problems there and it’s not a utopia. And I didn’t have a reason to stay.”

It sounds like since he and Kanji have made up, that changed. That said, there’s something he needs to say to Ren before he accepts his shadow.

-----

Ren felt much lighter. Sure Kanji didn’t feel the same way, but having his best friend back is much more important to him. Those two years were long.

He notices that Nakukami-sempai looks like he wants to say something. But before he can ask, his sempai speaks.

“Hey Ren-kun, about earlier… Please don’t call yourself disgusting. There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to both girls and other guys. That’s just being bisexual.”

“There’s a term for it?” he knew very little about this sort of thing. Especially since school doesn’t teach about it.

Narukami nods. “People are a lot more complex than what our society says it is. Plus you’re not alone. I’m bisexual too.”

His eyes widen in shock, and he barely notices the others’ reaction, who are no doubt shocked as well.

“R-Really?”

“Yes, really. I’ve been there with the confusion as such. If you need someone to talk to about that sort of thing, you can talk with me.”

He could feel warmth in his chest as in it sinks in that he really isn’t alone anymore. That he’s completely accepted. Maybe not by Hanamura, but it’s better than it was before.

“Thank you, Narukami-sempai.”

“You don’t need to do last name basis if you don’t want you, you know. I wouldn’t mind.”

He smiles again. “S-Sure thing, Yu-sempai.”

Then he turns towards his shadow, who returned to normal and has been rather quiet. He knows what he has to do.

“I’m sorry. I shoved you away because I was trying to protect myself, but all I was doing is sticking my head in the sand. I know I had something like you in me. I did spy on the others, I am bisexual, and I do have that crush on Kanji. But the last part doesn’t matter. Having that friendship with him again is far more important to me than any romantic relationship that could have happened.”

He then steps closer to him. “You are me, and I’m you.”

This gets a nod from his other self and then he starts to glow blue. A moment later, he’s replaced by what looked like a humanoid creature the size of a fairy. She has red hair pulled up in a traditional bun, wearing a kimono with a punkish pattern as well as traditional foot wear, pointy ears, and black feather wings on her back.

He then hears a voice that sounds similar to his, but much lighter. Much like how used to sound like when he was young.

I am Amanozako, goddess of rebellion. Together, we can push against society’s expectations and say to hell with it!

Ren chuckles at that and the persona disappears, a glass card floats down to him. It gets absorbed into him, and he finds himself falling down. He manages to land on one knee, keeping himself from completely collapsing.

“Ren!”
“Ren-kun!”
He cringes as the others gather around him. “I’m okay. Just really tired.”

“We should get you outta here.”

Ren doesn’t argue against it. He follows them and they end up in what looks like a TV studio. That bear, Teddie he assumes, taps on the floor and summons a bunch of TVs stacked together.

“By the way Ren-Ren, you can be my friend. I ain’t scared of your daddy.”

He can’t help but laugh at that. Sure the nickname is weird, but he’ll let it slide. “Sure. You’re that Teddie guy the others mentioned?”

“Yep, that’s me!”

Yu-sempai looks over to him with concern. “Let’s get going. See ya later, Teddie.”

They get into the TV and the moment they get out, Ren falls onto the floor. Landing on his ass.

“Urg shit. Hold on I’ll—” Kanji walks over to help him up. “Thanks Kanji.”

“No prob. Should I help you get home?”

Amagi-sempai moves closer.

“Actually, I can help Ren-kun home. I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

Kanji frowns. “Yeah it might be best for now. It’s gonna be a real battle.”

“I know there’s not much we can do right now, but please let us know if you need help.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, Amagi-sempai.”

Satonaka makes a light slap on Ren’s back. “Hey no need for formalities. Yukiko and I would be fine with first names too.”
“Right.”

Hanamura on the other hand is quiet at first, but when he does speak, it’s awkward.

“Sorry about how I acted back there. I’m still...learning I guess?”

“It’s fine, sempai. You don’t need to force it, I know where you stand.”

Hanamura cringes at that.

Ren had thought he seemed cool, but seeing his true colors really broke any possible pedestal he had for him. That said, he does get that he’s trying right now, but he’s not quite ready to accept the apology just yet.

“Take some time to rest. We can talk formally once you’re better.”

Ren nods. He’s not looking forward to how his dad reacts, but hopefully having Yukiko-sempai there helps keep him from completely going ham at him.

They separate and Yukiko helps him get home. Luckily his dad managed to behave enough to let Ren get to his room and the moment he lays down on his futon, after it get set up, he goes to sleep.

He has no idea what will happen now that everything has been revealed and he has a persona now, but one thing’s for sure.

He’s not alone anymore, and he never will be again.

Chapter Text

Once they all separated, Yu went back home. No doubt Dojima might grill him again, but he will handle it.

As expected during the evening, Dojima comes home with dinner again. It’s quiet at first, but then Dojima decides to speak up.

“Remember the other night where I said that Tatsumi kid was found, but not the Amamiya kid? Well he’s been found too.”

“That’s a relief.”

Dojima makes a nod. Yu had expected a question to come, but it didn’t. So he decides to ask one himself.

“Is it true that Amamiya-kun’s great uncle is the chief of police?”

“That’s right. Hiroshi Amamiya. I’ve heard the Amamiya family has had a long line of being in the police or military. Even samurai supposedly.”

Nanako looks up in surprise and awe. “Really?! That sounds so cool.”

Oh if she only knew the true nature of both Ren’s great uncle and father.

“The boss doesn’t get seen much except by Detective Amamiya. He seems to mostly keep to himself.”

“Not even to visit or come for dinner?”

Dojima shrugs. “No clue and it’s really none of my business.” he then gives Yu a look again. “Any reason you’re asking?”

Ack. “I was curious. R-- Amamiya-kun mentioned him once.”

Although he doesn’t look entirely convinced, he doesn’t push it, so the rest of the night is quiet. And frankly, Yu’s very tired from everything that happened in that mansion.

The next couple weeks went by, as he and the others waited for Kanji and Ren to recover. He had worried that Ren’s father would try something, but thankfully it seems he was allowing Ren to rest. Either because Ren’s mother finally stood up to him, or because he likely realized he couldn’t force him to go to school while sick.

Then that monday came, and both boys were fully rested. Yu managed to meet Ren at the gates.

“Morning, are you doing okay?”

Ren nods. “Thankfully father has kept to himself. He did give me the riot act and I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t clearly exhausted, he would have beat the shit out of me. Plus my mom did talk to him twice when he tried to push me to get to school sooner.”

“I’m glad.” As tempting as it was to talk further, they did need to get to school. “If you run into Kanji, let him know that me and the others want to meet both of you on the school rooftop after school.”

“Got it, I’ll let him know.”

Then they both head inside. The school day passes and then Yu heads up to the roof. Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko are there, but it seems Kanji and Ren aren’t there yet. Thankfully it’s not long after that both underclassmen show up.

Ren waves while Kanji makes an awkward “H-Hi there…”

To Ren’s credit, he seems to notice that right away, and lightly nudges him. “Relax Kanji. They maybe our sempais, but there’s no need to be nervous.”

“Oh right.” he rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Thanks a bunch for rescuing the both of us. Even if I can’t really remember what happened.”

“I barely do either to be honest.”

Which makes sense as Yukiko could barely remember either. Speaking of which, she speaks up.

“We’d like to ask both of you some questions.”

Ren nods. “Sure, fire away.”

Then it’s Chie’s turn. “First off, who was that boy you were speaking to, Kanji-kun?”

Kanji is caught off guard by this but answers. “I really don’t know much about him. I mean we only met twice.”

“Yeah, but you walked home from school with him. What did you two talk about?”
“Uh well, he mainly asked if anything different happened lately,” Kanji then started to blush. “I dunno where my head was at, but I told him I would like to see him again.”

“To a guy.” which earns Yosuke a punch on the shoulder from Chie, and glares from both girls.

Yu looks over to Ren to see his reaction and he’s smiling. Perhaps he’s already starting to let go of his crush on Kanji. He wasn’t surprised by Kanji turning him down after all.

Kanji nods. “I don’t get it either. Girls are so loud and obnoxious, so I don’t like dealing with them. Guys are a lot more laid-back. So I started wondering what if I’m not the type into girls? And I couldn’t accept that, so I kept spinning around and around in my head.”

“Well I can understand being more relaxed around dudes.”

“And you’ve got plenty to time to figure out if you’re into dudes, girls, or neither. No need to stress over it.”

This does help to calm Kanji down and he smiles. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Ren.”

“No problem man.”

Yu decides to ask his own question or two. “How’re you feeling? What about you Ren?”

“I’m fine now. I mean, it was all in my head when you think about it.”
“Same here. If anything, it feels nice not having to lie and shoulder everything on my own now. If at least to help deal with my home situation.”

Right, the abuse going on.

“If there’s anything we can do, please let us know.”

Ren toys with a lock nervously, but Yu isn’t getting the sense of him lying this time. “Thanks Yu-sempai. Too bad those personas don’t have the power to do something like, a change of heart on my father.”

Chie frowns. “Wouldn’t that be brainwashing?”

Kanji makes a ‘tch’. “He would deserve it.”

Then Yosuke asks another question. “Say, is there anything you remember after you ran into us the second time? You know, after you chased us away and said you were gonna take us down.”

Ren sighs at that. “I did warn you guys.”

Kanji however looks confused. “Huh? I just went home and was gonna sleep it off in my room, but I think someone came.”

“To your house? Who was it?”
“Uh well, it was just a feeling I had. I dunno if anyone actually came. Other than that, I remember some weird dark entrance thing. When I woke up, I was laid out on the floor of that sauna place.”

“Yours was a sauna?” Ah right, Ren was stuck in the mansion, so he wouldn’t have been able to see the Midnight Channel.

“Yep. Honestly yours is better since there’s no steam there.”

Ren rolls his eyes. “A mansion that was designed by a rich guy with no taste in design at all.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

Yosuke turns his head towards Ren. “What about you after you left Junes?”

“I went back to the pottery shop and Shirogane was there. He asked me pretty much the same questions, and then bought some plates before leaving. Then the next night, I think I heard someone call me too. When I went to the front door, I think I saw a truck or something, and then the next time I remember, there was some dark entrance. After that, I woke up on the carpet floor of the master bedroom in that mansion. My shadow was there and told me to get comfortable while we wait for you guys to rescue me.”

“A truck? Do you recall what the logo on it was?”

Ren shakes his head at Yukiko’s question. “Sorry I don’t really remember.”

Chie shrugs. “Well at least it’s another clue.”

“A dark entrance… could it have been a TV?”
“Could be. If there really is a vehicle involved, then a truck would be big enough to carry it around. A delivery truck perhaps?”

Ren has a good point. But then again, he didn’t seem so sure. It would explain a lot to be honest.

“Did the police ask you two anything?”

“Well, my mom called the cops to look for me for a while, so they questioned me. I told them exactly what I told you and they looked at me like I was crazy.”
“As you might know, my father went to look for me for a while, and I got questioned by them too. I told them I couldn’t really remember very well, and the next time I remember, I woke up at Junes. Of course he didn’t believe me and gave me the riot act at home for quote, un-quote, ‘running away like a total brat’ and then demanded to know if I was associating with Kanji again. Because he assumes Kanji also run away from home due to gang activity or something like that.”

Chie growls in frustration. “What the hell is wrong with that guy?! Why does he keep thinking people are running away?”

Kanji doesn’t seem surprised by Ren’s words. “That bastard is a delusional drunk asshole. He’s the worst kind of cop there is.”

Yukiko turns her head towards Ren this time and frowns. “Your father hasn’t hurt you since we rescued you, has he Ren-kun?”

“No, surprisingly enough. After he grilled me, he did seem to want to beat me up, but mom stood up to him. In fact, she did that two more times while I was recovering. I think my kidnapping might have been a wake-up call for her. I do worry what he might do something to her if she keeps standing up for me.”

Like if he does break her other leg, or worse, break her hands and arms. Her hands being broken would destroy the business, and they would be stuck relying on Ren’s father for money.

“There’s got to be a way to stop him!”
“Like what Chie? There’s nothing we can do right now. Ren’s great uncle has too much power and is protecting him.”
“Still…”

Honestly it’s frustrating. All they can do for now is support Ren the best they can, and look into ways to eventually stop Ren’s father. As well as focus on the case.

Speaking of which, Kanji then gives his own question. “Are you guys playing detective or something?”

“I think it’s more than just playing detective.”

Chie nods. “That’s right. We’re trying to figure out who the killer is.”

“Anything I can do to help? If there’s some bastard out there who put me and Ren through this, then I ain’t gonna rest until I make them pay.”
“If Kanji is joining, then I will too. I want them to face justice for what he did to us and Yukiko-sempai. As well as the first two victims.”

Yosuke smiles at this. “Seriously? Awesome. That would be great having you two to the team.”

Ren seems surprised by this judging by the look on his face. Which Chie notices and laughs.

“Why are you so surprised? It would be great to have both of you on the team, and Kanji-kun’s persona especially looks badass.”

Kanji makes a nervous laugh. “Uh thanks, sempai.”

“What do you say, Yu?”

Yu nods. “Welcome to the team, you two.”

“Thank you sir! I’ll put my life on the line for you guys. I’ll do my best.”
“Yes, thank you Yu-sempai. I won’t let you down either.”

Kanji and Ren then share a fist bump. Seems they now have two more members to the team, and both of them will be strong assets to the team. Kanji for his strength, and Ren for his wits and observation skills.

Rank up!! Fool, rank 4

“Should we take them to our special headquarters?”
“We’re still calling it that?”
“The Junes food court, you mean?”

This surprises Yu and the other second years.

“How did you know?”
“Because I spied on you guys, remember? Plus it’s pretty obvious. I get the convenience, but shouldn’t we meet somewhere more private so we don’t get overheard so easily?”

“Dude, c’mon. Most people wouldn’t take us seriously. Any talk of shadows and personas would sound like something out of a video game or manga.”
“I don’t know, Yosuke-kun. I think he does raise a fair point. What if the culprit overhears us one of these days?”

Yu has to agree with her. But where else could they go?

“Where would you suggest?”

The dark-haired first year pauses for a moment to think, before answering. “How about the gazebo at the flood plain? It’s quiet there and doesn’t get a lot of traffic.”

“I suppose that could work for now, but if our team gets too big, we’ll need a bigger place.”

Yosuke’s also got a point there. “We’ll have to play it by ear by then.”

So instead of heading to Junes, they meet up at the flood plain and meet under the gazebo, and gather around the table. It’s not big, but at least it’ll work. Yu, Yosuke and Chie sat on one side, while Ren, Kanji and Yukiko sat on the other.

“Let’s go over the case. Both Ren and Kanji have proven that our assumption that the killer only targets women are false.”

Yosuke frowns. “And now we have no idea who the next target will be. Or targets if multiple people are gonna be targeted at once.”
“What was the other assumption that we had?”
“People involved with the first two victims.”

Ren shakes his head. “That Yamano lady never came to the pottery shop.”
“She came to the textile shop to pick up a couple scarves but only took one with her. The other one is still on sale I think.”
“Plus thinking on it, why target the kids of those directly involved with her? That makes no sense.”

He’s got a point there.

Then Kanji grins. “You guys saying you don’t have any clues? Well, listen up ‘cause I got something big.” he then pulls out what looks like paper.

“What’s that?”

“When I made my comeback this morning, some annoying kid was hanging out. Turns out he was snooping around about sempai’s, Ren’s and my disappearance so I took it from him. Dunno what the hell this all is though.”
“And you took it anyway?”
“Huh, I wasn’t aware that there were others besides myself and Shirogane looking into things. Good job, Kanji.”
“Heh, no prob.”

Yu accepts the paper from Kanji and goes through it. It’s a bunch of lists. The female announcer ranking and enka album chart lists didn’t really help, but then he looks at the list of recent TV programs. Mayumi Yamano, April 11th, and Saki Konishi, April 13th. The second date is when she had appeared on TV. And Chie confirms that the first date was when Yamano-san appeared on TV because that was when the affair hit.

Yosuke asks if Yukiko got interviewed as well and when did it air. She confirms it and says it was when she was absent from school. And also when he and Yukiko met at the embankment, and she was wearing her kimono. She had gone shopping that day, so it was the 15th. She was kidnapped right after that.

Yu turns his head towards Ren. “Ren, what about the special both you and Kanji were on?”

“It was May 13th.”
“Huh, I hadn’t remembered the exact date other than it wasn’t that long before I met you guys. Program made my mom go ape shit on me.”

Yosuke frowns. “So it’s true then. Everyone was on TV before they disappeared.”

Could the killer be targeting those that appear on TV? Yosuke even points out that the killer moved onto Kanji and Ren, instead of trying again with Yukiko. However, if that’s true, it makes no sense as a motive.

“Dammit, why can’t I be smarter?!”
“Dude. Why beat yourself up? I think you guys are awesome. I mean, you guys noticed what was happening to me and Ren, and risked your lives to stop it. That’s more than enough.”
“Kanji’s right. You guys saved us and Yukiko-sempai. That’s a lot more than what the cops can do.”
“I agree. We may not have solved the mystery, but we have saved three people already.”
“And we were so close too!”

Kanji’s eyes widened. “Huh, you guys knew before it happened? Damn, I wish you guys had come earlier then.”

“You wouldn’t have listened. Hell, you weren’t ready to listen to me when I tried to warn you too.”

That makes Kanji make a look of guilt. “Yeah that’s a good point.”

“We’ll get them next time for sure.”

He couldn’t agree more, and he sees that the others seem to agree with Ren as well.

Yukiko comments that Kanji and Ren might be the last targets, and Yosuke says that perhaps after being thwarted three times now, maybe they will have learned their lessons.

“Anyway, let’s keep checking on the Midnight Channel when it rains as usual.”

Everyone nods.

“We should bring Ren-kun to the TV World so he can get his glasses.”

While they should, there was something Yu needed to do first. “Before we head to Junes, there’s some things I need to show both Kanji and Ren.”
“Oh you mean the stuff we found in both the sauna and the mansion?”

This gets the first years’ attention.

“You found something there?”
“What is it?”

Yu then goes through his bag. He takes out a large envelope and pulls out the three photos. “We found these at the sauna.”

He hands the photos to Ren, and both Ren and Kanji takes a look at them.

“Oh hey it’s us.” he switches to the second picture. “I remember this. Art class had us making all sorts of things, and we had a free period where we could create whatever we wanted, for the most part.”

“Yeah I remember all the clay figures you used to make. Do you still do those?”
“Not as often as I used to, but I’ve been meaning to get back into it.”

Ren switches to the third one and Ren makes a sad smile while Kanji slumped his shoulders.

“That was…”
“Yeah. I always enjoyed whenever I got to eat dinner with your parents. I miss those times.”
“...Me too.”

Looks like he should show them the next thing. “There was also something else in the sauna that you two should see.”

He pulls out the old clay doll, which makes both boys’ eyes widen in shock.

“T-That’s…!”
“The hell?! That’s the Princess Kaguya doll we made back in middle school.”
“How is it possible? It was destroyed.”

The second years are taken aback at this.

Chie huffs in anger. “You’ve got to be kidding me! It was bad enough that they laughed, and made fun of you guys. They seriously broke it too?!”

“How do you--?”

Yosuke interrupts. “When we found that doll, it showed us the memory of that day. That was seriously not cool what happened.”

Kanji makes a ‘tch’. “And our teacher didn’t even back us up.”
“I’ve heard she recently transferred jobs, and is not in Inaba anymore.”
“Good.”

Looks like neither Kanji nor Ren seemed to have liked her. He can’t really blame them.

“As for the mansion, we found a bunch of comics and most of them I couldn’t bring them here, but I have them in a cardboard box. And I did bring one of the issues to show you.”

He takes out the comic and hands it to Ren. He makes a gasp.

“Mystery Comics number forty-five?! This is super rare. Does this mean you have other Cake Knight comics too?”

“Yep. We saw some of your memories and one of them was your dad destroying your old collection. Do you want the comics back?”

Ren frowns and places the comic back down on the table. “As much as I would love that, if I tried to bring them home, my father would burn them again. Think you can hold onto them for me? At least for a while?”

“Sure, I can do that.”

Ren gives the comic back to him and Yu puts it away. Making a mental note to put it in the cardboard box with the other comics.

“Anything else?”

“No, that’s about it. Let’s head over there.”

Everyone proceeds to leave and head towards Junes.

-----

Ren enters the TV with the others in the electronics section of Junes, and he manages to land in a roll since he had been prepared. He stands up, and it’s not long before they are all greeted by Teddie, who looks a little nervous.

“H-Hey guys. You’re here for Ren-Ren’s new glasses, right? Well uh… I’m kinda having trouble with them.”

Yu-sempai makes a questioning look. “What’s the problem?”

Teddie takes what looks like over-sized glasses. Way too big to fit on a person’s face. “I tried to make them big enough to fit around his other glasses, but I keep making them too beary big.”

Something clicks in Ren’s head. Looks like he needs to clarify things.

“I see the problem,” he takes off his glasses. “Truth is, this pair of glasses isn’t prescription.”

“What’s that?”

“Basically the lenses don’t do anything. They don’t correct vision or anything.”

This seems to surprise most of the others except Yu.

Yukiko-sempai’s eyes widened. “Oh so that’s why your shadow wasn’t wearing glasses."

Ren nods. “I started wearing them to make myself blend into the background. I thought I had to, but I haven’t thought of stopping it.”

“Oh Ren-kun.”

Teddie however smiles. “Now that’s just silly. You don’t need to hide yourself. In that case, glasses coming right up!”

The bear turns away for a moment, and then a moment later, presents what looks like a pair of black glasses. Unlike his usual pair, the frames are rectangular, as well as a few lines of color near the frames.

He accepts the glasses and puts it on. Right away, he can see a lot more clearly. It’s as if the fog doesn’t exist. That said, he had prepared for this, so got out his glasses case to put his old pair inside, and put that back in his pocket.

Teddie then mentions that he senses a powerful shadow in Yukiko’s castle, which works out as they were planning on starting there to train Ren.

“Then let’s head over there.”

Ren and the others follow Yu towards the castle.

------

Yu had Ren, Kanji, and Yukiko in the front this time as they went through the castle again, though it was the first time for the first years.

Kanji he already knew was pretty strong. Ren on the other hand, proved to be a quick learner and quick on his feet, through not as fast as Yosuke. He uses a knife similar to how Yosuke uses two kunais. His persona seems to focus on dark attacks, but he also has a mazio, a tarunda for a de-buff and he got strong enough to gain the media skill. So he can also help with healing, through not as good as Yukiko.

They managed to reach the top and find the strong shadow there, Contrarian King. As expected, it resisted dark attacks, but Ren was useful in providing support along with Yukiko. It takes a bit, but they manage to take it down.

Once the shadow was defeated, a rather nice fan was found, so Yukiko took it for her own. Which could mean if stronger shadows show up at the sauna and the mansion, there could be a nice weapon for the first years to find.

After that, it was decided to stop training for today. They all exit, and while most of the others leave, he notices Ren is sticking around a little longer.

“What’s up?”

Ren blinks in surprise but quickly relaxes.

“Uh well, thanks for having me in the team. It felt really nice to fight like that, and I plan to keep doing my best.”

“No problem. You did good work, and seem like a natural.”

Ren toys with a lock of his hair. “Ha, thanks. Since I’ll be around more often, how about we exchange numbers?”

Yu nods and they exchange numbers.

“We should hang out sometime.”

Again Ren seems surprised, but then smiles. “Sure thing, sempai. I’ll let you know when I’m available.”

Then that familiar whisper appear in his head.

Adjustment? He’s fairly sure that’s not part of the standard deck. He’ll have to research it later.

“See ya later, sempai.”

Then Ren leaves, and Yu himself leaves not long after. He’s glad to have started a bond with Ren, and hopefully in time, they can get closer as well.

He’s gonna sleep well tonight. He hopes next time, they manage to prevent the killer from kidnapping in the next victim this time.

Chapter Text

The next day, Ren got called to speak with Detective Dojima after school. Apparently he had tried to contact him sooner, but both of his parents had refused. His father because he’s an asshole, and his mom because of concern over him.

He went over to the police station and into one of the rooms to talk. Mostly as a follow-up to when Ren spoke to the police before. Ren confirmed the story that his sempais came up with, and told about his kidnapping. Making sure to avoid talking about the TV World or shadows.

“So, you actually tried to warn Tatsumi-kun before both of you got kidnapped, and then you later got kidnapped yourself.”

Ren nods. “I noticed a pattern that whoever appeared on tv lately would later get kidnapped. First that announcer, then Konishi-sempai, and then Amagi-sempai. And the fact both Kanji and I showed up on that tv news special seems to confirm that pattern.”

The detective pauses, then sighs. “...I see you have a sharp mind. You could make a decent detective yourself one day.”

He couldn’t help but make a slight face. “No offense Dojima-san, but I have no interest in joining the force.”

“There is being a private or independant detective, but that’s up to you what you want to do with your life.”

“Like Shirogane-san?”

This seems to annoy Dojima, but he quickly calms down. “I’ll admit that it’s frustrating that they sent a kid like Shirogane-kun here to help, and the kid did make similar comments earlier about the pattern.”

“As far as I can tell, Shirogane-san has a lot of talent despite being my age, and coming from a long line of detectives. If he’s saying the same thing, then in my opinion, maybe you should at least consider what he’s saying?”

Even before they properly met in person, Ren was pretty familiar with Shirogane. Not as a fan, but because he’s heard a lot about him, especially his now deceased parents.

This gets a glare for a moment before then calming down again. “Anything else you would like to tell me?”

“Nope, that’s about it.”
“Then you can go.”

He gets up and leaves. Even if Dojima hates how Shirogane is involved, he hopes he swallows his pride, and at least hears Shirogane out.

------

The previous day, Yu had been forced by his teacher to help out with the student health association. It was inconvenient, but at least he got to finally meet Naoki Konishi. Though sadly the first year seems to hate him and Yosuke. He can understand why, but he wants to make friends with him anyway.

After school, Yosuke comes to him and it seems he wants to get a motorcycle license just to try to pick up girls with scooters.

“Hey sempai, about that camping trip…”

Yu and Yosuke turn their heads to see it was Kanji that spoke, and Ren is there with him.

“You guys busy right now?”
“We can come back later or something.”

Yosuke shakes his head. “Kinda, we’re talking about getting motorcycle licenses.”

Kanji makes a puzzled look. “You guys don’t have them yet?”

“What? No. I… does that mean you--?”
“Nah I’m still 15.”
“Then why did you say it like that?!” Yosuke then calms down. “What about you Ren?”

Ren shakes his head. “No, I’m 15 as well. My birthday is not until October.”

October, huh? Yu can’t help but be curious. “What date in October?”

“The 31st.”

Yosuke is taken aback by this. “Dude, you were born on Halloween?! That...that explains a lot actually.”

The bleached haired first-year raises an eyebrow.

“The hell does that mean?”

Ren on the other hand, makes a small laugh. Clearly amused by the question. “Funny how that works, huh?”

Then Yosuke explains his ‘Up Close and Personal’ plan, and Ren gives Yosuke an unimpressed look.

“Seriously? Your plan is to get a license so you can bother some women in an attempt to get a girlfriend? How desperate are you?”

This gets a glare from him. “That’s why I said we can’t get you two involved in our Up Close and Personal plan. You just wouldn’t get it.”

“No, I got it crystal clear. If you wanna get a license and a scooter to hang out in Okina or something, cool. But sempai, you don’t need a girlfriend to be happy. There’s no rush to date.”

Yosuke sighs. “Whatever man. Anyway, I’m serious. If we have motorcycles, we can go all over, it’ll be fun!”

He does have a point there. “I’ll look into it.”

“Cool. See ya later partner.” Yosuke then leaves.

Kanji rubs the back of his neck. “I better head home. I promised Ma I’d come home early.”

“That’s fine.”
“No problem, see ya later Kanji.”

The other first-year nods and leaves. Then Ren turns towards Yu and suddenly looks nervous.

“Um, if you have time, can we go up to the roof to talk?”

Yu gets a sense that this could be important. Plus a good opportunity to rank up the social link.

“Sure.”
“Thanks Yu-sempai.”

They head up to the roof and once they are sitting down, Yu asks a question.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Ren nervously toys with a lock of hair. “Remember how you offered to talk about being bisexual back at the mansion? I’ve been thinking about it and I’d like to talk about it now.”

He knew it would come up sooner or later.

“Of course. Is there any questions you would like to ask me, or just need to get things off your chest?”

Ren pauses for a moment before answering. “I thought about what you said in that I’m not disgusting for liking both guys and girls. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear that. My father is very narrow-minded, even moreso than Yosuke-sempai. And my mom...well she thinks that sort of thing needs to be kept private.”

Yu couldn’t help but sigh at the mention of Yosuke. “I know Yosuke had outbursts in both your and Kanji’s dungeons, but he is trying.”

“I know. I thought he was cool, but I guess I didn’t know him at all.”
“I’ll talk with him again.”

Ren shakes his head. “No, you don’t need to do that. As long as he keeps his views to himself, I can work with him in the team.”

Seems there’s some work to do before Ren (and likely Kanji) will learn to trust Yosuke. He just hopes Yosuke won’t make things worse between them.

“If he does say something, please let me know, alright?”
“Sure thing.”

Then there’s another pause before then Ren asks a question. “How did you figure out you’re bi?”

“During middle school, I started to notice other guys and how cute they could be. At first I was confused as I thought girls looked cute too, and I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling with other guys was an actual crush, or just admiration. I did eventually figure it out, but it took some time.”

“I see… To be honest, I only really realized during the first year of middle school that I’m bi. During that year, I started to notice Kanji and at first, I was really confused too as I really like Risette, but by the end of the school year, I realized I had a crush on him. Before I could confess to him, Kanji’s dad died and you know the rest.”

It does explain a lot.

“Do you still have a crush on Kanij?”

Ren shakes his head. “Not anymore. I was prepared for the rejection, plus having my best friend back was exactly what I needed.”

Well that confirms what he already suspected. Good to know that he isn’t hurting anymore.

“You should take your time, and not try to rush into a relationship.”

Ren makes a sheepish smile at that. “I know. I’m still learning to accept myself. Plus I’m too busy with the case anyway.”

“And you’ll have my, and the others’ support.”

This changes his smile to a happier one. “Thanks Yu-sempai. It really means a lot.”

Yu can tell the talk, even if it wasn’t much, seems to have really helped the first year.

Rank up!! Adjustment, rank 2

Then Ren makes a small grin. “So...have you had any crushes in the past?”

Yu gets flustered by this, but continues with their small talk until it was time to go home.

------

After a week had passed, where Yu did gain a social link with Naoki Konishi, learned to ride Dojima’s old scooter (apparently he used to be a punk when he was a teen), and got a couple more jobs, he and Yosuke arrive at the Okina Station.

“Hello Okina Station. This was easier than I thought.”
Then suddenly, there’s a couple bells ringing and both he and Yosuke turn around to see that both Kanji and Ren ended up following them on bicycles.

“They actually followed us on the way here.”

Both first years pulled up to them. Kanji grins at them. “That was a breeze. It was no sweat keeping up with a couple of guys not used to their scooters yet.” he turns his head towards Ren. “Right, Ren?”

Ren nods and takes off his helmet.

Yosuke scoffs.

“If I hadn’t run out of gas back there, I’d have left both of you in the dust.” he looks to the side. “I shouldn’t have gotten cheap on gas so I could have more money on hand.”

“Sure.” then Ren gives Yosuke a look. “So, are you still intending to bother some girls to try to get their numbers?”

“Urg, you still don’t get it. Why did you two come anyway?”
“What’s it to ya? We got some stuff to get from here, and maybe hang out.”
“Since you’re clearly not going to listen to reason, don’t come crying to me when you end up pissing off some girl’s boyfriend or end up being scammed.”

“Guys…” This is not good. It doesn’t take a scientist to see there’s tension in the air.

“Whatever, let’s go Ren.”
“...Right.”

Both first years then leave.

“Man, what’s that guy’s problem?”
“I think he’s worried about you.”
Yosuke shrugs. “I guess, but he doesn’t have to be a jerk about it.”

Looks like he may have to talk to him later. But in the meantime, he might as well go through with Yosuke’s plan.

“About that plan.”
“Oh right yeah, let’s get this plan underway.”

Which means waiting. And waiting they did. For three hours, nothing happens.

Just then, Kanji and Ren comes back. Ren is carrying a couple bags on him.

“Sorry that we made you guys wait. We had some…” then he looks between them. “No luck huh?”

“That or maybe he was delusional enough to think girls will throw themselves at him just because he got a bike.”
“Oh shut up! Quit being on a high horse.”
Kanji steps in with a glare. “Dude, can it. He’s just trying to look out for you.”
“Also unlike you, I have the ability to see things from other people’s point of view.”
“Why you—”

Yeah no, he needs to stop this now.

“Guys, enough! Quit fighting.”

All three freeze up by that before then calming down. They give quick apologies.

“A-Anyway, I’m sure if we hang around a little longer...”
“Dude the sun is gonna set. Maybe there’s some holes in your plan after all.”
“He’s right. Unless you want to do some quick shopping, you might as well head back before it gets too dark.”
Yosuke starts to say something but then turns towards to Yu. “C’mon partner, we can still do this plan right?”

He pauses. While part of him wanted to still help Yosuke out with this plan, it’s becoming more apparent that this plan isn’t working out. Plus the part of him just wanting to go home is winning. He would suggest seeing a movie, but it’s obvious that things are too tense for that to work.

“Maybe we should just go home.”

Ren lets out a sigh of relief, while Yosuke makes a look of disappointment.

“Lame. I guess I’m outnumbered here.”

While getting here by bike was good in that at least Yu has another place to go, it’s clear this has been a waste of time, as well as worrying.

They all head back, and Yu figures out something else to do with his time before heading back home.

The next day after school, Yu made sure the girls were on a tight leash as he knew they couldn’t be trusted to make the right call ingredients wise for the curry. They weren’t happy with it, but after bringing up the ‘sardines on cake’ suggestion from Ren’s mansion, they relented.

However as he went to bed early that night to be ready for the camp out tomorrow, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Yosuke and the first years have been clashing with each other, and it’s only a matter of time until a big fight happens. Either in the real world or in the TV World. The latter would be especially bad if they need to rescue the next potential victim.

He just hopes the camp out will turn out okay, and things are peaceful.

Chapter Text

Well, having to spend all day cleaning up the mountain sucked. Apparently from what Ren heard, Yu-sempai made sure the girls didn’t get creative with their dinner, so that wasn’t a disaster. His and Kanji’s dinner with the other first-years was fine.

Unfortunately, those guys decided to be dicks and kicked both him and Kanji out of their tent, so they had to sneak into Yu’s and Yosuke-sempai’s tent.

“How did you two end up here?”
“My teach threatened to hold me back a year if I didn’t show.”
“And the first years tent kicked us out ‘cause apparently they said they couldn’t sleep with us around,” he shakes his head. “I hope they hurt their backs from sleeping on rocks.”

Yu frowns.

“That’s pretty unfair of them to do that.”

Kanji shrugs. “It’s whatever.” he looks around. “Is it just you two in this tent?”

Yosuke nods. “The others called in sick. Smart move.”

“Then is it fine for us to sleep here?”

“You two can stay as long as you want.”

“Thank you.”
“Hey, you’re a real stand-up guy, sempai. Don’t worry, we won’t make any trouble for you. They won’t catch us unless either of us make a ruckus.”
“Which won’t happen.”

Yosuke makes a look of annoyance. “Alright, alright, you two can sleep over there.”

Both Ren and Kanji look at the end. “Dude, there’s a huge rock over there. How are either of us supposed to sleep? It’d hurt like hell.”

“Yeah I’m not sure about that either.”

“Pipe down you two. Didn’t you say you weren’t gonna make any noise.”

Ren gives an unimpressed look. “We’re just pointing out that it doesn’t look like you could sleep on it.”

“Yo, couldn’t you just move a little further back?”
“Nope, there’s a slope just past here. I’d roll down the hill in my sleep. If you two don’t like it here, go back to the first years tent.”

Did he not listen to them?

“We can’t. They kicked us out remember?”
“Then don’t complain.”

Ren’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t say anything else.

There’s silence for a moment, then Kanji decides to change the subject.

“Hey, wasn’t your teacher some guy called King Moron? That guy stopped us outside earlier, and he pissed me so bad, I was about to lose it. He was going on and on about how we were in middle school, when he doesn’t know shit about that.”

Ren toys with a lock of his hair. “Yeah he was saying crap about the both of us. Even said that if we caused trouble, we would be expelled immediately.”

“It ain’t funny man.”

“He also said quote, unquote, ‘for a police officer, clearly your father isn’t punishing you enough. For letting you become such a delinquent’.”

Then Kanji mentions that King Moron had apparently talked shit about the two murder victims. Which frankly disgusts him. Especially given how ‘unsurprising how unfaithful people and people who run away from home meet bad ends.’ Though Kanji isn’t sure if it’s the truth or not, since everyone hates Morooka.

Yosuke mentions that Morooka did the same thing when he moved to Inaba last year.

“Even if it’s only a little true, it still pisses me off. The dickhead’s a teacher for god’s sake.”
“Aw don’t waste your energy on that clown.”

Yu, who had been quiet, speaks up. “Think we should try to get some sleep?”

“Might as well.”
“So I guess me and Kanji on one side, and you and Yosuke-sempai on the other?”
“Sure, I can work with that. What about you, Yosuke?”

There’s a pause and suddenly Yosuke looks...uncomfortable.

“Yosuke?”
“Hey, sempai you okay man?”
“Something on your mind?”

There’s some hesitation, then Yosuke answers. Or rather asks a question of his own.

“...Why did you two come to this tent?”
“We already told ya.”
“Yeah, they kicked us out.” he’s starting to get a really bad feeling about this. “Why are you asking?”

“Well this is good as time as any to ask so, I want you two to be honest with us.”
“Uh...okay?”

Ren feels himself tense up. Please let this not be what he thinks it is. “Sure but what’s wrong?”

“Ren, you’re bisexual right?”
“Yes.”
“Kanji, are you really...you know?”
“Am I really what?”

Oh shit is this really--?

“What I mean is...is Yu and I gonna be safe alone with both of you?”
“Wha-?!”

Ren’s eyes widen as well. Feeling like he had the wind knocked out of him. He should have seen this coming. He knows how Yosuke is narrow-minded, but having him actually say something like that to them… it hurt. A lot.

He can’t exactly hide the hurt look on his face.

Kanji on the other hand explodes in anger as he gets up. “What the hell did you just say?!”

Yu and Yosuke stand up as well.

“L-Look I’m just saying—”

Ren forces himself to stand as his own blood starts to boil. “Saying what? That you think we’re some creeps just because I’m not straight and Kanji may or may not be? Newsflash, asshole: I have no interest in you at all, and never will.”

“Yeah, same here!”
“That’s not it at all!”
“Then why the hell do you care? Hell, why aren’t you treating Yu-sempai the same way? He’s bi too.”
“He’s different.”
“How?”
“Uhh...umm...”

Kanji’s fists shake.

“Answer the fucking question!”

Yu tries to speak up. “Guys stop.”

“Fine! It’s because you two are weirdos and creep me out.”

Silence falls for a moment.

“I-I didn’t mean—”

Kanji turns away. “Screw this, I’m out of here!”

He then leaves the tent.

“Hey wait!”

Ren glares at Yos-- no Hanamura. “Fuck off Hanamura. Just fuck off.”

He rushes after Kanji. Not being able to stand it anymore. Honestly it’s a miracle they haven’t been heard by King Moron or any other teacher. Which would make a terrible night even worse.

At this rate, if Kanji decides to leave the team over Hanamura, he might follow after him.

------

Yu really should have seen this coming. He knew the tension between Yosuke and the first years was getting bad, but this is worse than he expected.

At least it seems Yosuke seems to be realizing that he messed up as a look of guilt is on his face. “Oh man, I really messed up this time.”

“Yes you did. What you said was cruel. How would you feel if I asked if the girls would be safe around you?”

Yosuke cringes at this, then he lowers his head. “Yeah you got a point. I also didn’t mean it when I said the creepy part. Think I should go after them to apologize?”

Yu shakes his head. “Better to wait until tomorrow morning. They might not want to listen right now.”

“Yeah…”

“Also, Ren had a point. How am I different from them? I’m bi too and yet you’ve been treating them differently. Why is that?”

Not surprisingly, Yosuke struggles to answer his question. Yu waits quietly for the answer, not looking away during that time. Finally Yosuke lets out a frustrated groan.

“Because I trust you.”

“Then why not give them a chance to earn your trust? Because all you’re doing is pushing them away, when they need support now more than ever.”

The other boy looks away sadly. “Assuming I hadn’t destroyed things too much tonight.”

“Just give them an apology tomorrow for now.”

Yosuke nods. They then try their best to get some sleep that night.

-----

After Ren left the tent with Kanji, they considered visiting the girls’ tent before then realizing they would just get their asses kicked for doing that. So they ended up going into the woods, and found a spot that allowed them to see the tents without being spotted. There’s some nice trees and they move there to sit under one of the trees.

Once they are both seated, they sit in silence for a moment until Ren breaks it. Though making sure not to be too loud.

“Damn that Hanamura. I don’t get what his issue is with us.”
“He’s an idiot and an asshole. If it ain’t for the case, I’d seriously bail.”
“If you did want to bail, I’d come with.”

Kanji lets out a ‘heh’. “Naw, you don’t need to do that. Hopefully Yu-sempai can straighten him out.”

“I hope so. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand it.”
“Yeah well, if he does it again, we should punch him.”

Ren takes out his phone. “A shame I didn’t bring my sketchbook.”
“Me too. Remember how we used to do that drawing game?”

That brings a smile to Ren’s face. “I remember. It was a lot of fun taking turns drawing something on the sketchbook. We should do that some time.”
“Yeah.”

But until then, they have to wait until dawn to try to sneak back into the first years’ tent, and hope they don’t get kicked out again. At least they have each other for company.

They end up staying up all night. Alternating between playing what games they have on their phone (snake for Kanji, solitaire for Ren), having short conversations or just quickly watching the stars. Eventually dawn starts to break, and they stay a little longer to see the colors of the sun rising before then sneaking back to the first years’ tent. Thankfully they were all still asleep.

Ren feels like garbage through breakfast and Kanji doesn’t seem much better. He definitely plans on taking a nap when he gets home (or at least go to bed early if not).

They were both about to head out when Hanamura comes up to them to get their attention.

“Hey about last night, I’m sorry.”

Ren gives a cold stare while Kanji crosses his arms.

“Which part?”

“Both for asking that horrible question and calling you two creepy. Yu pointed out how stupid the former sounded, and the other part I didn’t actually mean it. I blurted that out without thinking.”

Okay, so it’s a real apology, and judging by his tone and body language, he doesn’t seem like he’s being forced into it. Sure it’s possible Yu told him to apologize. However it does seem genuine.

Still there was something still bothering Ren.

“I gotta ask. What is your actual problem with us? You seem fine with Yu-sempai being bi, but not us. Is it because we’re first years?”
“You better answer honestly.” Kanji shoves a fist into his other hand. “’Cause I’m about ready to kick your ass.”

Hanamura flinches, but answers. “I’ve been panicking for a while, and I’ve been taking it out on you, and that’s not fair on both of you.”

“Panicking? Why the hell—”

Ren places a hand on Kanji’s shoulder.

“Wait Kanji.” then he drops his hand. “What do you mean by that exactly?”

“That I’m not normal.”

“By normal, you mean straight.”

Hanamura cringes at that. Seems Ren was right.

“You do know that homosexual behavior has been found in the wild with animals, right? It’s as normal as straight people.”

“….”

Looks like Hanamura has no argument against it.

“...Look, how about a truce? We do need to work together to solve the case.”

Kanji nods. “Truce. But if you pull that shit again with either of us, I reserve the right to punch you. Same with Ren.”
“Agreed.”

“Cool thanks, I’ll try my best. C’mon we should head back to find the others. I wanna take a swim in the river.”

Ren sighs at that. “Not a good idea, sempai. It’s too cold in the year to go swimming, you’ll freeze your butt off.”

Hanamura frowns.

“Aw c’mon, it can’t be that bad.”

Well if he wants to learn the hard way, he won’t stop him. Kanji likely isn’t gonna either.

They do meet up with the others, and Yu seems bothered while the girls are frowning.

“Are you okay, Yu-kun?”
“Yeah I—” then he notices them approach. “Oh there you are.”

Yukiko looks over them and gives a look of concern. “Are you two okay? You both look like you didn’t get any sleep.”

As tempting as it was to throw Hanamura under the bus, he did just apologize. Best to keep it vague.

“We didn’t but things are resolved now.”

Yu makes a look of relief.

“Good, I’m glad you three made up.”

Both girls give questioning looks.

“Did you guys get into a fight?”
“Did something happen?”

Hanamura rubs the back of his neck. “Like he said, it’s fine.”

Both girls look at each other, but don’t say anything.

The only ones that end up in the river was Yu and Yosuke. The girls did try to also warn Yosuke, but he didn’t listen and Yu decided to follow Yosuke. Which ends up being a mistake as right after both city boys got in the water, and clearly freezing their asses off, the sound of someone throwing up can be heard.

After that, they all leave and as soon as Ren got home, he went back to his futon to take a nap. Later that evening, Ren’s phone goes off and he checks it. It’s from Yu.

[>I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t stop Yosuke like I should have. Are you okay?]

Was that why he looked upset earlier? He replies back;

[>You have nothing to apologize for. It was Hanamura that needed to apologize and he did.]

There’s a slight pause, then an answer.

[>His behavior has been very concerning lately. I think a team meeting is needed tomorrow. Mind telling Kanji? I’ll tell the girls and Yosuke.]

Ah so either an intervention or an ultimatum. Possibly both.

[>Sure thing. See you tomorrow.]

Ren then calls Kanji and lets him know about the team meeting. Thankfully he was awake too and agrees to come. Then he goes back to bed so he’s ready for tomorrow.

-----

Yu had made sure he and most of the others would arrive before Yosuke. He hated that it’s come to this, but it’s become very clear that it’s a major problem and that if things didn’t change, the team might fall apart.

It was decided meeting at Junes again would be best for this time as while the gazebo was more secure, it was much further away. Yu and the others are seated and it’s not long before Yosuke arrives last.

“Sorry I’m late. I thought we were meeting at the gazebo again, but I saw you guys weren’t there.”

“Oh sorry, I guess I forgot to mention that detail.” Except Yu did that on purpose to slow him down.

“No worries man.” he takes a seat. “So did you find or think of something for the case?”

Bracing himself, Yu shakes his head before answering. “No, it’s something else, which is why we’re here instead. It’s about your recent behavior.”

He can see the other boy tense up. “Recent behavior?”

Kanji answers before Yu could.

“You’ve been a real asshole. Not only at that sauna and mansion, but the shit you pulled at the camp out.”

“I already apologized.”

When Yu speaks next, his tone changes to a more stern one.

“Yes but it’s become a concerning pattern, and it’s negatively affecting the team. It’s good that you did apologize, but it doesn’t change facts. And we’re concerned about you.”

Yukiko’s eyes narrow. “What exactly happened at the camp out that Yosuke-kun had to apologize for?”
“Yeah, tell us.”

Ren this time answers. “Kanji and I were kicked from the first years tent and we went to Yu-sempai’s and Hanamura-sempai’s tent, and at first it was just petty stuff like complaining about sleeping places, but that’s not the worst of it. He asked us if he and Yu-sempai would be safe with me and Kanji around, and then called us ‘creepy’.”

Both girls are startled by this, only to quickly become angry.

“What the hell Yosuke?! Seriously, what is wrong with you?”
“How horrible. No wonder you two looked tired.”

Kanji nods. “Yeah, we bailed after that, and then spent the rest of the night hiding from the teachers.”

Ren then sighs.

“Look, we don’t have to be friends if you don’t want to be. Just treat us like people. That’s all I can ask for.”

It seems his actions have finally fully sinking in because his face falls, and a look of guilt appears on his face.

“That’s not… I-I’m so sorry. I’ve really been horrible to you two and I need to stop. Really stop.”

“Yeah you better.” Kanji says.

Yu then speaks up. “I think we should head into the TV to do a team building exercise. It seems like it’s needed in this case.”

The others agreed and they head into the TV World. There, Teddie tells them that he senses a strong shadow in both the sauna and the mansion.

“Let’s do the sauna first, and either do the mansion next or save it for next time.”

So Yu has Yosuke, Kanji, and Ren in the front this time for the team building exercise. At first things are a bit awkward, but soon they get into the groove of fighting shadows.

They reach the end and find the next strong shadow, Intolerant Officer.

The shadow appeared to be weak to electricity, so it was a good thing Kanji is in front. It doesn’t take long until it’s taken down. Kanji looks ahead and spots what looks like a weapon for Kanji. An iron plate.

“Sweet! Got a good weapon for bashing shadows.”

Yu turns towards the others. “How are you guys? Think you guys want to do the mansion as well?”

“I’m up for it if you guys are.”
“We should get rid of the other strong shadow if we can. No reason to keep it around and risk damage.”
“Yeah I’m with Ren-kun. Let’s kick that shadow’s butt!”
“I can keep going.”

Seems they are in agreement. He uses a Soma to restore everyone including himself. “Let’s head over there.”

He also uses a Goho-M to get back to the entrance quicker, then they head off to the mansion.

Yu doesn’t change the line-up, which the girls are okay with. They go through the mansion, and thankfully they are not forced to do the puzzles again, or watch any tapes.

When they reach the bedroom on top, a strong shadow is there. It appears to be one of the dancer enemies, but this one is different. The lady is wearing a short sleeveless wedding dress while the guy is wearing the top part of a tuxedo.

Teddie chimes in. “That’s Wedding Dancer! Be beary careful everyone. This one is stronger than the last.”

“Bring it on!”

The battle then begins. The shadow sends out light attacks, including the insta-kill kind, which thankfully misses. This suggested a weakness to darkness and sure enough, Ren’s dark attacks prove to be just that.

That said, it was still tougher than the last one, but they manage to take it down.

Once the battle was over, a knife appeared on top of the bed. It’s quite simple and metallic, but it does look cool.

Ren picks it up. “This looks like a nice one.”

Yosuke and Kanji looks it over and both of them grin.

“Dude, that’s an awesome looking knife.”
“Yeah it looks badass!”

Ren smiles as well. “It does and it should make fighting shadows easier.”

“Let’s head back.”

Another Goho-m used and they head back. Even if it wasn’t much, Yu did see some improvement between Yosuke and the first-years. He’s sure in time, they will get closer. For now, things only just got repaired.

A couple days later, Yu comes across Ren at school, and it seems he wants to hang out despite the raining outside. So they decide to head to Aiya’s to eat.

Yu decides to go for the Mega Beef Bowl challenge. Sure, it’s likely he won’t succeed, but it’ll be useful for upping his stats. Ren just goes for a chicken katsu bowl instead.

They both eat their meal for a moment, then Ren breaks the silence.

“Ever since I came back home from my rescue, things have been tense at home. Mom’s been standing up to my dad and so far, he hasn’t done much yet. Other than drink as usual. I can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t let him pick on us anymore, or he’s bidding his time.”

He takes another bite of his chicken and swallows before continuing. “I’m worried. I’ve been lucky that he hasn’t found out about me being friends with Kanji again, but it’s only a matter of time. Hell, once he sees that we’re all hanging out with him, he might say or try something.”

Yu paused in his eating to answer.

“I think all we can do is wait. We haven’t figured out what to do yet with your situation, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to act prematurely.”

“I agree. I just can’t help but be on edge.”

“We’ll do what we can to help you and your mom. For now, we should focus on the case.”

Ren nods. “Yeah. The Midnight Channel is on tonight. Which is likely Risette.”

The previous day, they all met up and talked about the news special covering her and how she’s coming to Inaba on a hiatus. Yosuke had acted too eager due to being a fan, but they all shut him down quickly, and reminded him that she’s a person, and that she’s likely the next target.

While he did calm down, they will likely have to remind him again tomorrow.

They then resume their meal. Ren finishes his, but Yu wasn’t able to get far with it. After they pay for their food, they take out their umbrellas and step outside.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today. I’d offer for you to come over sometime but…”

Yeah for obvious reasons, that would be a bad idea. “Maybe sometime later, you could come over to mine.”

Ren perks up at this. “Oh for dinner? Sure thing. Just let me know when, alright?”

“Alright.”

Rank up!! Adjustment Rank 3

“See you tomorrow.”

Then they both separate and head home. Tonight will be the Midnight Channel. They need to see if Risette really will be the next target.

------

The Midnight Channel aired and the footage is vague. It shows a figure of a girl in a swimsuit. She seems to resemble Rise Kujikawa. Which given the pattern so far fits. As well as the provided testimony that Kanji Tatsumi and Ren Amamiya provided to the police, as well as Detective Dojima.

It seems Naoto’s suggestion of putting up cameras was warranted anyway. Even with the excuse of it being normal to provide extra security for a celebrity like Risette.

He brings his hands together in thought once the tv turned off.

“So...The Midnight Channel is real after all.”

He then takes out what looks like a photo that got damaged by fire. It isn’t enough to cover showing Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, and Chie Santonaka entering a TV. While one could assume that it’s a trick photo, it on top of the other evidence showed that it doesn’t seem to be the case.

Looks like on top of making sure Rise Kujikawa is safe, he’ll need to have a talk with that group within in the next couple of days…

Chapter Text

The next day after school, Yu and the others all gather in the classroom. Naturally there is chatter about Risette being in town, though there’s also disappointment that security was raised at the tofu shop.

Yukiko is the first to break the ice.

“I heard they set up security cameras around Marukyu.”
“Oh really? That’s really surprising.”
“Is it? She’s a celebrity so it makes sense to beef up security.”

Ren has a point there.

“Was it really her on the Midnight Channel though? Didn’t she seem a little different?”
“It was her, no doubt about it. Her curves, her post—”

Yosuke is interrupted by Chie elbowing him in the ribs.

“Knock it off, Yosuke! She’s a person, not a slab of meat.”

Yosuke pouts as he rubs his ribs but then perks up. “We should seriously go, even with the cameras there.”

“Yukiko and I have plans, so give us a call if anything happens.” Then the girls leave.

“Well I guess I got nothing better to do.”
“I would like to check on her, just in case. Maybe even warn her if she hadn’t been already.”

“Then shall we get going?”

The boys all go there and sure enough, there are security cameras there, and Adachi is there directing traffic. Which there is a lot of cars passing through more than usual.

“Those cameras are new.”

This gets Adachi’s attention. “Huh? Oh yeah, since Rise-chan has come into town, security is being tightened.”

“How come a plainclothes detective like you is doing traffic control?”

Seems Kanji’s question makes Adachi nervous.

“Oh well, the Inaba Police Department isn’t that big, and we don’t have enough staff.”

Ren’s eyes narrow at this. “And no doubt my father is too busy drinking to help.”

Adachi laughs at that.

“Oh c’mon now. He’s your dad. You should give him more respect,” then his smile disappears. “you’re likely not wrong through. Man it’s unfair that Amamiya gets special treatment just because our boss is his uncle.”

Right after he says this, a familiar voice calls out. “Hey Adachi! I’m not paying you to chat with civilians.”

This freaks Adachi out and he walks away, moving his arms wildly as if he was doing some kind of dance. A moment later, Dojima comes out and then notices them.

“What are you guys doing he--?” then he notices Kanji. “Kanji Tatsumi? Are you friends with them?”

“Like it’s any of your business.”

Ren places a hand on Kanji’s shoulder. “Easy Kanji.” then he turns towards Dojima. “Yes we’re friends with him. And we came to get some tofu.”

That didn’t seem to convince him. Yosuke then got a little more honest in that they want to see Rise. Thankfully that gets Dojima to back down, and he tells them to remember that this is her home, and not to bother them too much.

The boys nod. But then Dojima turns his head towards Ren. “Mind if I talk with you real quick?”

“Sure.” Ren looks over to Yu and the other boys. “I’ll meet you guys inside.”

So Yu goes into the tofu shop with Yosuke and Kanji, and shut the doors behind them.

-----

Ren had a suspicion on what Dojima wanted to talk about, and sure enough his suspicion is correct.

“Didn’t your father forbid you from being involved with Tatsumi?”

“I know, but I don’t care. My mom and I are so sick of his shit and we’ve been standing up to him, and he hasn’t done anything about it.”

“So far.” then Dojima sighs. “Please be careful. You and your mother are walking a dangerous path right now. If something happens—”

“Then I will have Kanji and my sempais to help me. They may not be police, but I’m not alone.”

“Just promise me to be careful.”

He nods. “I promise.”

“Alright. You may go now, but remember what I said before.”

“Of course. See you later, Dojima-san.”

Then he turns and heads inside the shop himself.

-----

Yu looks around a moment. It’s very traditional, which is to be expected.

Kanji turns to Yosuke. “So what are you getting?”

“Oh I’m not sure. I can’t really eat tofu.”

Tofu allergy? “What about ganmodoki?”

“Uh sure, but what are those?”

Before Yu can answer, someone else beats him to it. And it wasn’t Kanji. “It’s fried tofu mixed with vegetables and eggs.”

Yu and the others turn towards the voice, and it belonged to Naoto Shirogane, who is standing behind the counter and a woman is washing her hands in the back.

Kanji and Yosuke are both caught off guard, while Kanji starts to blush like crazy and turns away.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been assigned to keep watch over Rise Kujukawa given the recent news about her.”

Yosuke makes a look of confusion. “Oh yeah? Where is she right now? I only see that old lady over there—”

This makes Shirogane facepalm while the woman stands up straight. “Old lady? That’s a first.”

“Oh shit sorry! I-I mean…”
“Really sempai, you really do need to work on your observation skills.”

Looks like Ren got done talking with Dojima. He looks over to Shirogane. “Oh hey Shirogane-san.”

“Hello Amamiya-kun.” he then motions towards the cameras, which are also inside. “Shall we all move to continue our conversation?”

All of them? Wait a minute. Does Shirogane know something?

Rise makes a tired smile and nods. “Please follow me.”

All of them follow Rise past the blue curtain and the kitchen area. Rise tells her grandmother that she has important business to discuss with them, who merely waves them along with a smile. Then they end up in what looks like Rise’s bedroom. There’s even a tv there.

“D-Dude is this your room?!”

“My room doesn’t have cameras, so it seems like the safest place to have this conversation.”

Yosuke is about to freak out more when Kanji makes a light punch on Yosuke’s shoulder. “Calm the hell down man. She’s a person for god’s sake.”

Ren sighs at that.

Yu then turns towards Shirogane. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You four aren’t here to merely order tofu or to take a peak at Rise-san, are you?”

He has a bad feeling about this.

“What are you implying?”
“You guys are here to warn me too, aren’t you?”

Warn her too? “You’ve been warned?”

Shirogane answers for Rise. “Yes. I was the one who warned her. She and I both have seen the Midnight Channel.”

Yu and the other boys’ eyes widen.

“Wait what?!”
“You guys saw it?!”

Ren then calms down and asks his own question. “What are your current thoughts on the case?”

“I’m glad you asked. I’ve noticed a pattern with the victims. Namely that before the kidnappings of Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Ren Amamiya, they along with the first two victims appeared on television. However Amagi and you two returned alive. If those kidnappings were connected to the murder, what changed? I believe I may have an idea on what did change.”

He then reaches into his pocket and takes out what looks like a damaged photo that has himself, Yosuke and Chie entering the tv in Junes.

“Shit!”
“I thought you had that burned, Ren!”
“I thought so too! Dammit, I knew I forgot something that night.”

“So you don’t deny it. Why was this photo made?”

Ren then explains that he made that photo and another one, along with audio recordings, because he had been suspicious of Yu, Yosuke, and Chie. But then he saw that they rescued Yukiko. He had erased the audio recordings and had indeed burned the other photo.

“I see. I assume you had been distracted while attempting to burn evidence and then forgot about it.”
“...Yeah. My father called me inside and then I got too distracted to come back outside.”

“Furthermore, there’s been reports about teenage activity around the TVs at the electronics department at Junes. As well as a report of Yu Narukami and Yosuke Hanamura carrying model weapons, got arrested, and then seen later at Daidara Metalworks. I also looked over recorded conversations when Kanji Tatsumi and Ren Amamiya both spoke with police, including a second time with Amamiya-kun when Detective Dojima spoke with him personally.”

Kanji looks impressed. “Damn you’re good.”

Yu tries not to sigh. It seems even if they had kept quiet, Shirogane figured it out mostly on his own.

“And then after that, you watched the Midnight Channel.”

“Correct. I had heard about it previously, but I assumed it was merely the local urban legend. However, just as I was pondering over the case, I happened to chance seeing it for myself at home.”

He really seems as smart as a knife.

“Am I correct to assume those three along with Yukiko Amagi rescued both you and Tatsumi.”
“That’s right.”

It’s then that Rise finally asks a question of her own. “So you guys have been doing rescues and can somehow do so by entering a TV. Can you guys explain more about that?”

Since there was no point in hiding that, they proceed to explain the TV World and about personas and shadows. Granted they didn’t have proof of that part, but it seems like both Rise and Shirogane seem to believe them. Yu also shoves his arm into Rise’s TV as a demonstration, which shocks both the idol and detective.

“Wow that’s amazing.”

Shirogane is quiet for a moment, then he responds. “I do admit this is a lot to take in. I understand why you have been keeping this a secret. The police wouldn’t believe this and would rather close the case as quickly as possible instead of finding the truth.”

They would really do that?

Ren doesn’t look surprised by that. “Of course not. The fact that the case hasn’t been solved by now is making them look bad. Even my father won’t stop complaining about it.”

“Indeed. I have no intention of telling the police about this. I’m only searching for the truth, and if I have to work behind the police’s back on this, then I’ll do what I must.”

That’s a relief.

Yosuke shifts uncomfortably. “So what’s the plan now? Those cameras should prevent the killer from getting near Rise.”

“Unless they get desperate enough to attack her anyway.”

Kanji does raise a fair point. Hell, what’s to stop the killer from changing targets or methods?

“…Take me to this TV World.”

“Wha--?”
“No way, it’s too dangerous!”

Rise holds her hands together. “Hear me out. If there’s a chance the killer might go after me despite the cameras, wouldn’t it be better if I went inside and got a persona of my own?”

Yu makes a serious look. “Are you prepared to face yourself?”

The idol hesitates for a moment, then nods.

“I’ll do my best to prepare.”

“Shouldn’t we let the girls know what’s going on first? I think it would be a bad idea to decide without their input.”

Yosuke is right.

“Then perhaps we should all meet tomorrow and if they agree, we can go into the TV World right away.”

There’s definitely not enough time to go there today. Though Yu notices Shirogane said ‘we’.

“Dude, you don’t have a persona. It would be dangerous for you to come with.”

Shirogane narrows his eyes. “For your information, as a detective I am no stranger to danger, and I carry a gun so I can defend myself just fine.”

“If you do go with, you might have to face yourself too.”

At Ren’s words, Shirogane pauses again, then sighs. “I’ll do what I must.”

Yu can see there’s no convincing Shirogane out of it, so he doesn’t argue it.

“Then we’ll meet after school tomorrow.”

“I’ll call Chie later to let her know.”

He’ll let Yosuke handle it then.

With the meeting done, they all head back into the shop and they decide to buy some tofu. Yosuke briefly forgot that he can’t eat tofu, but he does order ganmodoki. Yu ordered momem, Kanji ordered some tofu as well, Ren ordered silken, and Shirogane also ordered ganmodoki.

Once those orders are done and money give, Rise gets to work. Then she gives everyone their bags. “I added a little extra as thanks.”

“Thanks Rise-san. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then with the exception of Shirogane, the boys separated for the day. Yosuke does call Chie and tells her to let Yukiko know as well.

------

The following day after school, Ren meets with the others, along with Rise, and Shirogane at the gazebo. Rise is wearing a hoodie with the hood up, sunglasses, and a face mask to hide her appearance.

Before they can move forward with taking both Rise and Shirogane into the TV World, everyone would need to be on board with it first. The girls had been given the short version of what happened, so after a recap, then it came the decision.

Chie-sempai grins. “I’d say go for it. If both of them get personas at once, that’s two more people on the team.”

Yukiko-sempai nods at that.

“And she would have protection against the killer. Having Naoto-kun on our side could be really helpful.”

“So if we’re all in agreement, then let’s head to Junes.”

Yu-sempai takes out a face mask and a few other items. Likely from the Shiroku Store. “You’ll need these. It’ll make more sense once we’re inside.”

Shirogane accepts them. “Very well.”

They head over to Junes, and the fox showed up to follow them inside. Ren switches to his TV World glasses, and Kanji and their sempais put their glasses on. Shirogane puts the face mask on.

Chie enters the TV first, then Yukiko, then Kanji, and then finally Hanamura-sempai, along with the fox.

Yu turns towards Ren. “Think you can help them inside.”

“No problem Yu-sempai.”

Then the silver-haired boy enters the TV. Ren turns towards Rise and Shirogane.

“Are you two ready?”

Both of them nod, then Ren grabs a hand from each of them. “Just as a headsup, the first landing is really rough.”

That’s the only warning he gives them before running into the TV and dragging both Rise and Shirogane with him. At some point during the fall, he ends up letting go and like before, lands on a roll.

Rise and Shirogane don’t land as gracefully. Shirogane sits up with a pained groan.

“Ow…”

Shirogane gets up and walks over to help Rise stand up. Ren also stands up and walks over with the others to greet Teddie, who has his back turned from them and his hands behind his back.

“You okay Teddie?”

“I sense something in the distance but the smell is weird. It doesn’t smell like a person, but it doesn’t smell like a shadow either. I can’t tell at all. I’m a useless bear.”

“Hey there’s no need for that. Why don’t we just investigate what it is and see for ourselves?”
“Ren-kun’s right. I don’t see the harm in finding out.”

“I guess so.” then Teddie notices Rise and Shirogane. “Who are these two?”

They explain the situation and both Rise and Shirogane introduce themselves.

“Hmhm… so Rise-chan and Nao-chan. Got it!”

Shirogane’s eyes narrow but doesn’t comment.

Yu looks at Teddie. “Can you take us to where the strange smell is?”

“No problem sensei. Follow me!”

Everyone follows Teddie and after some walking, they come across a dark place. Making it impossible to see. Then suddenly the lights turn on and up ahead is what looks like a strip club.

“A strip club?”
“Oh like those you find in resort towns.”

Teddie was about to make some joke but suddenly the ground shakes for a moment.
“Dude, what the hell was that?!”

Teddie’s eyes widen in fear. “S-Something’s here! And it’s beary strong.”

A pair of glowing eyes appear in the darkness. Before anyone can react, giant bear claws shoot out and grab both Teddie and Rise.

Rise screams and tries to get free. Teddie also struggles to get free as well.

“Rise-san!”
“Teddie!”

Then the both of them get pulled into the darkness and the glowing eyes disappear. It appears, whatever that thing was, kidnapped both Rise and Teddie.

This is bad. He’s starting to wonder if this was a mistake.

Chapter Text

Despite the worry and panic he feels, Yu forces himself to remain calm. As leader, he needs to stay focused.

“Ren, Kanji, and Yukiko, you three are up front. Rest of you is in the back.”

He doesn’t get any disagreements. He also looks over to Shirogane. “Since you don’t have a persona, those items are what you’ll need to fight the shadows with. Each of them have different weaknesses, so a gun won’t be enough.”

“Understood.”

Then they all head inside. Pounding music can be heard from above and lots of purple curtains. The floor is also carpeted, which is a change from past dungeons. The main bedroom at the mansion not withstanding.

The first couple floors are rough without having a navigator. It at least gave Shirogane a chance to learn how it works, even with his limited use of items. On the third floor, they come across a scene they weren’t expecting so soon.

Not only Rise’s shadow is there, but so is the real Rise. They appear to be just talking, at least for now.

“No you’re right. I do resent the fact that I have no real control over my life, even after getting away from idol work. As an idol my body, my imagine, my diet, everything was decided for me. And after mom and dad decided to discard me for taking a hiatus, I come back here and not only is there a killer on the loose, but I know most people are only coming to Marukyu because of me.”
“Then why do you put up with all of it with a smile? It burned you out badly.”

“Because maybe it wasn’t all that bad. I made people smile, especially my younger fans. It was just the grind that got to me,” she looks to the side. “Maybe there is no real me. Even if Risette is just a stage persona, it came from me. And that’s okay.”

The shadow’s eyes widen in shock. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re okay with all of this?”

“Yes. You’re part of me and I’m you. I’m ready to accept you.” she then offers a hand to her shadow, who ends up taking it.

The shadow then starts to glow and changes into a woman in white, with a satellite dish for a face.

“So you’re Himiko, my persona.”

The persona nods, but before anything else can happen a voice can be heard from above.

“There’s no...real me?”

“Teddie?!”
“Hey Ted, where are you?”

“There’s no real me…”

Rise tenses up. “Guys, we gotta—”

“THERE’S NO REAL ME!

That last part sounded warped and wrong, and to make things worse, suddenly a bunch of shadows appear.

“Oh shit!”

The persona hovers near Rise and slides the visor over her eyes. “Get ready everyone. I can navigate for you guys.”

Normally this would be a bad idea since she just awakened, but it doesn’t seem like they have much of a choice. “You heard her.”

The battle begins and despite the lack of experience, Rise is able to help them. It also helps that these shadows aren't that strong, so it doesn't take too much time before all of the shadows are defeated. Even if it was a larger number of shadows than usual.

Yu then turns towards Rise. “Are you okay? Usually awakening to a persona would be tiring.”

“Yes, I’m actually fine. Maybe it’s because we didn’t fight? Or at least I didn’t try to deny my shadow at all.”

Shirogane looks away and lowers the rim of his hat. Which Ren notices.

“You okay?”
“I’m fine. We should keep going and rescue Teddie.”

Yu isn’t sure he believes that, but he won’t push it. Ren also raises an eyebrow at this, though doesn’t say anything either.

“I’ll try to scan ahead to find him, but I know he’s not on this floor for sure.”

It was better to keep moving anyway.

They reach the next floor and Teddie’s voice can be heard again from above.

“I’m a useless bear. My nose has been getting weaker and weaker. If I completely lose my nose...Everyone won’t have a use for me anymore, and I’ll be more alone than ever.”

Chie couldn’t help but shout back. “You’re not useless Teddie!”

“We’ll save him. We gotta keep moving.”

After he said that, they keep on moving. Fighting shadows from time to time. They make it to the fifth floor, and again Teddie’s voice can be heard.

“Everyone is so strong. Even when they faced their shadows and it got scary, they had friends that bearlieve in them. They got stronger from accepting their other selves. But I don’t have another ‘me’ at all. I’m just Teddie, nothing more. If that’s all there is of me, then I’m nothing.”

“Oh Teddie.”

Again Shirogane seems uncomfortable by this, but neither Yu or Ren say anything.

They reach the sixth floor and already something is off. While it wasn’t as noticeable on the last floor, here the sound of the music is sounding rough. Like it’s been played over heavily damaged speakers. And everything looks slightly dusty.

However a deep voice suddenly speaks that doesn’t sound anything like Teddie.

“I know you’re there. Do you really think you can save him? It’s a pointless endeavor. Turn back if you wish to live.”

“Not a chance! We’ll save him.”

“It would be wise to turn back and leave the bear be. This is your only warning.”

Then the dark voice is gone.

“Was that Teddie’s shadow?”
“It’s gotta be, remember those bear claws?”

It is pretty obvious, but it does raise another question. Seems Shirogane seems to think the same as he asks a question of his own.

“How did you escape those claws, Rise-san?”
“I didn’t really escape so much as he dropped me onto the ground on the third floor, and took Teddie away. Right after that, my shadow appeared.”

So it was planned.

“Then we need to hurry.”

They move on, and on the next floor. The music is barely able to be heard and the place suddenly looks a bit run-down. Like it’s been around for many decades and clearly not in the best of shape. Then suddenly all the lights turn off.

“What the hell?!”

Shirogane takes out what looks like a flashlight and shines it on. “Got a flashlight here.”

“Good, we’re gonna need that light.”
“Of course, Narukami-san.”
“Please be careful guys. I can sense a strong shadow on this floor.”
“Is it Teddie’s shadow?”
“No, but we might need to fight it to get to the next floor.”

It takes some time, but they do find a purple curtain and enter inside. The lights turn on to reveal Amorous Snake. Although it proves to be strong, it’s weakness to fire meant Yukiko, Ren, and Yu could make quick work of it.

Then they are able to move on, especially with the rest of the floor has the lights turned back on. They move onto the eighth floor.

The music has stopped playing and it’s covered in dust. Like it hasn’t been visited in a few years. It’s getting more and more disturbing. Then Teddie’s voice can heard once again. Rather than his shadow.

“It gets so lonely being all by bearself. Everybody gets to have fun out there while I’m stuck here. Am I gonna get forgotten once the bad guy’s caught?”

“Teddie…”
“Have we really been treating him badly?”
“I don’t think it’s that, Yukiko. We hardly go here unless it’s to do with the case, or when we did that team building exercise a while back.”

Chie has a point. They only have seen him on business, and it seems it made him think that they would stop visiting once the killer was caught.

Yu clenches a fist. “Sounds like we need to prove that we care about him. Not just what he could provide for us.”

After more shadow fights, they reach the ninth floor and it’s even in worse shape. There’s cracks in the walls and water damage. It looks like it’s ready to be condemned. Just bad overall.

As expected, Teddie’s voice is heard again.

“Would it matter if I disappeared? After all, I’m gonna be left behind anyway. Maybe I should just disappear.”

It’s even worse than he thought. And judging by the others’ reactions, they are just as horrified as him.

Although he saw a look of sadness on Shirogane, his face changed back to neutral. “We must hurry.”

They do their best to rush through the floor and when they reach the next one, it’s just as bad. No voice this time either.

“I don’t hear him, but I can sense a really strong shadow on the next floor.”
“That must be where Teddie’s shadow is.”

After they manage to reach the final floor, and go through the curtain, they are proven correct.

Inside looks like ruins, with a dancing pole being the only thing standing. There’s two Teddies. The real one is trembling while the other has rather creepy oblong glowing yellow eyes. The shadow turns towards them with a blank expression. Adding to the creepy factor.

“Ah so you have all arrived. It’s clear none of you heeded my warning. Such foolishness.”

Yu does his best to keep calm as he responds to Shadow Teddie. “We’re here to save Teddie.”

Then Teddie notices them. “Y-You guys...”

“You have come all this way to ‘save’ him, and yet you don’t need the extent of his true nature. Is it because he is still needed even though his nose has been slowly failing?”

“Because he’s our friend.”

“Nothing but empty sentiment. It cannot change reality. It cannot change how hollow and empty he is.”

“Grr shut up!”

“At your core, you know this. You just cannot accept it, instead seeking a form of denial. There is no grand mystery. You have no lost memory. It’s a comfortable lie you tell yourself.”

“T-That’s a lie.”

“If you have forgotten anything, it’s this truth. That you are but a mere--”

“I said shut up!”

Teddie tries to attack the shadow, but he merely bounces off of it. His shadow not even bothering to move an inch.

“You all are also the same. Harming yourselves while searching for the truth. I suggest you return to the fog of lies. Forget everything you saw here.”

“Not a chance!”
“Yeah, Ren-kun’s right. We’re gonna save him no matter what.”

“Then I’ll grant you one truth. You will all die here. You all sought the truth, and instead you find death.”

Suddenly there’s shaking and then an abyss appears where that one pole used to be. The shadow forms giant claws, the same ones that grabbed Teddie and Rise earlier. Shadow Teddie attempts to grab Teddie with one of those claws, but Kanji summons his persona to grab Teddie instead. Bringing Teddie, who is now unconscious, to them.

“Get ready everyone!”

Right after Rise said that, the shadow transforms fully in it’s corrupted form.

“I am a shadow, the true self. I shall give you the 'truth' you claim to hold so dear...The inescapable fact of your death here.”

The battle then begins again. At first there isn’t much to him, but then the shadow does a Mind Charge, and then sends out a Mabufula. Unfortunately due to Shirogane not having a persona, he gets knocked unconscious as well. The others fare better, and Yukiko managed to dodge the attack.

“Naoto! Oh you’re gonna get it. Take-Mikazuchi!”

As the battle continues, Shadow Teddie proves to be rather tough. Eventually they do manage to defeat him and things shift back to normal. The shadow returning to his normal size. Teddie also wakes up and as soon as he gets up, everyone except for Shirogane, who is still unconscious, run over to Teddie with worry.

“Dude, are you okay?!”

Teddie nods. “I think so. That shadow grabbed me and Rise-chan and...” his eyes widen. “That’s right! We gotta save—”

“It’s okay Teddie, I’m safe.” Rise interrupts with a smile. “I was able to talk with my shadow and accept her.”

“What really?! That’s amazing Rise-chan.”

Ren then steps in. “I believe it’s your turn now.” he motions towards Shadow Teddie.

Teddie nods again, then turns towards his shadow.

“I..I don’t know who I am. I thought about a number of times that maybe there is no answer. But I’m here. I live here.”

Yu smiles. “And you’re not alone, Teddie.”

“Then I don’t have to do this alone?”

“Dude, we’ll help you figure it out.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out more about you as we continuing investigating this world.”
“Yukiko-sempai’s right. There’s still time and even then, you aren’t alone anymore.”

Teddie starts to tear up. “Y-You guys…”

He cries for a bit then the shadow starts to glow blue. Could it be..?

In that moment, the shadow is replaced by some kind of round stubby-limped looking robot holding a missile above it’s head. Complete with a cape.

“Is that my persona?”

“Looks like it.”

Rise speaks up, but she sounds strained. “I can sense strong power from it. It’s awesome Teddie.”

Then she collapses to her knees, which gets the others’ attention. It seems Rise has hit her limit.

“Let’s hurry outside.”
“Wait, what about Shirogane?”
Just then, a pained groan can be heard. Shirogane is finally waking up.

Kanji rushes over to him. “Naoto! Are you okay?!”

“Y-Yes, I’m alright.” he forces himself to sit up and he looks around quickly. “Is it over?”

“Yeah, it’s over. We kicked the shadow’s ass, then Ted accepted him. You missed seeing his new persona.”

“I see...” he sounds disappointed. Which is understandable.

“We should get both of them out of here.”

Kanji helps Naoto up, while Chie does the same with Rise. Yu uses a Goho-M and they head back to the TV studio.

There Teddie suddenly falls down. “Whoa! Darn it, why do I feel like I got the stuffing kicked out of me?”

“You did just awaken your persona. You should get some rest.”

“Okay.” Teddie rolls on his back again, this time by choice. “As soon as I’m done with this nap, I’m gonna train hard!”

Chie smiles at this. “That’s a great idea. Try not to overdue it though or you’ll hurt yourself.”

“No problem Chie-chan.”

Since it seems Teddie will be fine, there’s the matter of Rise and Shirogane.

“We should get Rise back home before anyone worries.”
“I’ll make sure to call Dojima-san to let him know we’re on our way.”
“Are you sure? You look really tired.”
“I’ll be alright. Let’s just get going.”

Except the TV exit isn’t there. “Uh Ted? We need the exit.”

“Oh right!” Teddie gets up and summons the exit TVs before then laying back down.

Most of the others head over there to leave the TV World while Yu sticks around a little longer.

“I said this before but, I can sense something special about you, sensei. There must be something only I can do. That’s how I feel when I’m with sensei. That’s why after my nap, I’m gonna get stronger. To find my special thing.”

Yu nods at this.

Rank up!! Star rank 2

Then Teddie yawns. “See ya later sensei.”

“Rest well.” Yu then leaves the TV World after that.

That night, Dojima comes home and Adachi is with him.

“What a day.”
“Tell me about it. That Shirogane kid is working really hard. Maybe a little too hard.”
“I did notice he seemed exhausted. I told him not to overwork himself.”

Time again to pretend to not know anything. “So is Rise-san still safe?”

Dojima nods. “Yeah, it seems the cameras have really made a difference, and not just in crowd control.”

They were successful in preventing the killer from kidnapping Rise, and hopefully this means they can do the same for the next potential victim. And maybe get closer to catching the killer.

The rest of the evening went well and Adachi eventually had to leave to go back home.

-------

Despite how tired he feels, Naoto sits at his desk in his room and his thoughts wander.

It’s frustrating. Sure, they were success in having Rise awaken to her persona and keep her safe from the killer. However, he was unconscious for most of the fight and while Teddie was accepting his shadow and apparently he awakened to his own persona as well.

He knows that he has the disadvantage of lacking the power of persona, but the fact that he went down so easily fighting Teddie’s shadow is disheartening. If he’s going to be able to keep up, he needs to face his own shadow. And the thought of the others learning his secret is terrifying. Even if he suspects that Ren might suspect something, or possibly have figured it out. He’s an artist and clearly has a sharp mind. Though if he has figured it out, he clearly hasn’t said anything to the others yet.

“Perhaps I should have a conversation with Amamiya-kun sometime.”

It might help to see where he is, and he could trust him with his secret. Logically he knows he can’t keep this up forever, but for now, he’ll do what he can to keep things hidden. Otherwise he could potentially lose everything.

Chapter Text

Almost two weeks pass and things are more quiet. It’s clear the cameras are working to keep the killer away and sure enough, last night’s Midnight Channel showed nothing. Rise is safe now. However, the next morning, Yu wakes up to the sound of police sirens. Did something happen?

Then Yu’s phone goes off and it’s Chie. “D-Did you hear about it, yet? They found a dead body just outside the shopping district!”

What?! That makes no sense. They made sure Rise didn’t get kidnapped.

“I don’t get it! We..I...Look we’re all meeting at Junes. Come over right away.”

Yu got dressed and did his best to hurry. On the way, he could see police tape around the water tower. Then he makes it to Junes, where Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, and Ren are already there.

Chie notices him and calls him over. Yu walks over and sits down.

“Yosuke went over to check the scene. He should be back soon.”

“And Shirogane?”

“Haven’t heard from him yet.”

Just then Yosuke rushes over and confirms that it was murder. It was hanging upside down apartment’s rooftop railing.”
“But how can that be?”
“That’s not all. The victim this time was King Moron.”

That surprises Yu and the others into standing up.

“K-King Moron?!”
“You mean that King Moron? Yu-sempai’s teacher?”
“Wh-Why? What on Earth is going on here?!”

“It’s a copycat killing.”

Yu and the others turn their heads towards who had said that and it belonged to Shirogane, who clearly didn’t sleep at all last night.

Ren raises an eyebrow. “Copycat?”

“Yes. The copycat killer was a high-school student named Mitsuo Kubo. It seems he was a former student of Yasogami High who got expelled by Morooka some time ago, and was forced to transfer schools. He had also briefly worked at Souzai Daigaku. His records are pretty mundane otherwise.”

“And the murder method?”
“Blunt force trauma to the head. Furthermore, I have my doubts that he was anywhere near the Amagi Inn at the time of Mayumi Yamano’s disappearance.”

“And I don’t think he’s a truck driver.”

At Ren’s observation, Shirogane nods. “There is that as well. Which we still haven’t found anything in terms of delivery trucks. It’s been quite difficult since not all drivers work in Inaba.”

Chie frowns. “Man, King Moron was a jerk but he didn’t deserve this. Why did he do it anyway?”

“It’s quite simple; attention. He confessed to it after Adachi-san had interrogated him.”

Adachi managed to make him confess?

“Wait what? That guy made him confess?”

“Dojima-san and I were just as surprised as you are. When we went into the interrogation room, he was curled up in a ball, and terrified. To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of it. Whatever he said or did, it left a strong impression.”

Yu shrugs. “He maybe lazy, but he’s not stupid. I guess he can step up when he needs to.”

“Anyway, we’ve submitted a statement to the press, which should broadcast tonight.”

Ren’s eyes widen. “Shirogane—”

“I know, Amamiya-kun. I submitted it myself. I won’t be appearing on camera myself. There’s a chance I’ll appear on the Midnight Channel.”

Kanji’s eyes narrow. “You’re making yourself bait? That’s way too careless!”

“I simply wish to test whenever you need a face seen as well to appear on the Midnight Channel, and there was no other way. There’s so much that we don’t understand about the Midnight Channel itself, and it could only help in gaining a better understanding of it.”

“...Fine.”

“All I ask is when the time comes, is to please allow me to explain myself. I’m fully aware that I will need to face my shadow. Especially if I’m going to continue fighting alongside you all in the TV World. The fight with Teddie’s shadow proves that I’m not nearly strong enough yet.”

Yukiko gives Shirogane a concerned look. “You don’t need to push yourself to prove your worth.”

“Thank you, but it must be done. I will have on me a recording device while I let myself get kidnapped. The cameras proved a deterrent to the killer, but if we want to catch them, a more subtle approach is necessary.”

Yosuke sighs. “I wanna believe that will work, but what if they change their methods since they keep failing?”

Shirogane shakes his head. “That’s unlikely. I believe the killer won’t want to risk leaving any physical evidence behind, and if anything, the TV World is the whole reason they have been on a killing and kidnapping spree. It’s the perfect crime.”

That seems to calm Yosuke down. “That’s a fair point.”

Ren toys with a lock of his hair. “The weather says we’re supposed to have a rainy night on the twelfth, then several days of sunny skies. So there’s plenty of time to prepare.”

“We’ll have to watch the Midnight Channel on tuesday night.”

Everyone agrees to Yu’s statement.

Just then, the elevator opens, and rushing out of it, and over to them, is Rise. She clearly had been running due to how out of breath she is for a moment.

“Guys, you gottta get downstairs. Teddie is here in the real world.”

Teddie, here? How is that possible?

Yosuke swears under his breath. “If Ted’s here, we gotta go down and do damage control.”

So they all head to the elevator and go back down. Rise guides them to where Teddie is, and sure enough, Teddie is in one of those message chairs that is currently vibrating, and enjoying it.

There’s also two adult employees that look more like office workers than workers at a store. Yosuke walks up to them and spins some damage control by claiming that Teddie is the new mascot for Junes.

In the meantime, Teddie notices Yu and everyone else. “Took you guys long enough. I’ve been waiting.”

“Teddie, are you okay on this side?”
“How did you even leave your side?”
“I dunno, I guess I can now. I couldn’t before, but I’m an all new bear.”

Shirogane cups his chin. “Fascinating. It sounds as though you awakening to a persona allowed you to enter this world when you couldn’t previously.”

Teddie perks up. “That’s right, Nao-chan. I’m glad you seem to be feeling better.” then Teddie’s eyes widen. “Oh I almost forgot. I got something for you and Rise-chan.”

He gets up and then takes out a couple of glasses. A pink pair and a light blue pair. Rise accepts the pink one while Shirogane grabs the other.

“Thanks Teddie.”
“Thank you.”

Then Teddie makes a look of determination. “From today on, I will fight alongside you. Rise-chan can do support.”

“That’s right. You can count on me.”

He can tell Teddie will be a strong asset to the team, and they have a new navigator. Sure Shirogane still needs to get his own persona, but he’s still an important part of the team.

Rank up!! Fool, rank 5

Just then, he notices that people around them are starting to stare. Seems Yosuke noticed too, and he suggest they head somewhere else. They all leave and end up at the food court. They have to move to a bigger table that can handle nine people, though they get a chair for Teddie just in case. Teddie sits on the chair while the others take either side of the big table.

Once everyone is sitting, Shirogane recaps for Rise and Teddie about the copycat killer, and that he plans on making himself bait for the real killer.

Rise frowns. “That’s really risky, but as long as you prepare yourself to face your shadow, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“As I said before, when the time comes, please allow me to explain. I’m not quite sure how to put it into words.”
“Ehh, I wouldn’t sweat it. We’ve all got secrets.”
“Perhaps, but it’s more complicated compared to the rest of you.”

Ren gives Shirogane a questioning look, but doesn’t say anything.

Then Teddie starts to pant. “It’s so hot. It’s taking it off.”

Yosuke’s eyes widen. “Wait, you’re not talking about your head, are you?”

When Teddie starts to reach for the zipper, Yosuke stops him with a hand.

“Cut it out! There’s kids watching. Geez, they will be scarred for life if they saw an empty mascot walking around.”
“But I wouldn’t show my empty insides. I’m no longer a hollow bear.”
“Ted—”
Chie intterupts. “Hey, he said he wouldn’t show his empty insides. Plus he can get over here now.”

“Let him Yosuke.”

That makes Yosuke let go.

“Thanks sensei. Now see the new me.”

Teddie reaches again for the zipper and unzips, then pops the head off. Revealing…

------

“Whoa! What the…?”
“No way!”

Teddie had changed and had revealed himself and, well…

On one hand, Ren can say from an objective point of view that Teddie’s new human form is beautiful. Smooth skin, perfect-looking blonde hair, and baby blue eyes. He would absolutely would want to paint Teddie, tastefully of course. Provided the bear could actually hold still to be a model anyway.

On the other hand, this is Teddie for fuck’s sake. He would never in a million years date him. Even if Teddie did like other guys that way, he’s basically a kid. It would be wrong. The way he’s drinking that water bottle doesn’t help either.

He has never felt so conflicted about someone before, and he doesn’t like it.

“Are you alright, Amamiya-kun?”

“I’m fine.” he forces himself to drink his own water to make himself calm down.

“Hey Chie-chan, Yuki-chan, Rise-chan? Do you have anything to wear? I’m like a newborn in here.”

He had been about to make another sip when Teddie said that, and he spits the water out in shock.

Logically he knows nudity is not nearly as a big deal as society makes it out to be. Sure he understands why a lot of people are uncomfortable about it, but it’s a part of life.

That said, he did not need to hear that Teddie is also naked under that suit.

Chie-sempai’s face turns pink. “Then don’t take the costume off!”

Kanji sighs, then gets up. “Yo Ted. Let’s get ya some threads.”

Rise gets up as well.

“I can help pay. I’ve got plenty of money.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Now let’s get Teddie some new clothes.”

Kanji and Rise then leave with Teddie back down again.

“Well then, I guess that means this meeting is adjourned?” Shirogane asks.

Yu-sempai nods. “Please be careful.”

“I will do my best, Narukami-san.”

With that, they all went their separate ways. Ren hears later that Yosuke is taking Teddie in since he can’t go anywhere else.

-------

That night, while Yu was eating dinner with Nanako, the news came on. They of course talk about how a third victim has been claimed, but it was a copycat killing. Then one of the announcers reads Shirogane’s statement out loud. Making it clear that it was a copycat killing done for the sake of attention, and that the real killer is still at large.

“The killer was a kid?”

Yu notices that Nanako seems to be scared, so he moves over to give her a hug. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be here with you.”

“Okay…”

Yu then lets go. He does a magic trick to try to cheer her up, which works. Then he went to bed once Nanako also went to sleep.

That night, he’s summoned to the Velvet Room, with Igor, Margaret, and Marie is there. It seems he’s been making good progress and because of that, he now has access to more advanced forms of fusion.

“One more thing before you go. Margaret wishes to speak with you about one of your bonds. The boy with the Adjustment arcana.”

Marie’s eyes light up. “Oh you mean Art Boy. I like him. He said my clothes look cool.”

So Marie has met Ren at some point. He had to wonder what that was like.

Margaret opens her book and flips through some pages before taking out what looks like one of those glass cards with the Adjustment arcana on it.

“There’s something special about this bond. What that is, is unclear, but it’s clear this bond may prove to be important, as you continue your journey.”
“We look forward to seeing how things progress further.”

Then the Velvet Room fades from Yu’s vision.

Right after school, everyone meets at Junes and takes the long table again.

Yosuke brings up their new teacher. “Man, what the heck was that about? She had no right saying shit about Rise at all.”

Rise shrugs. “Don’t worry about it, sempai. If she hates me that badly, that’s her problem not mine.”

Yukiko makes a look of discomfort.

“Honestly she was really creepy the whole time she was talking. I know it can be much harder to get married after a certain point but…”
“No kidding. Why can’t we just have a normal teacher for once?”

Then Shirogane clears his throat. “While that is disturbing, I believe we’re getting off-track.”

Shirogane regrets that the timing of his appearance on TV could have been better. If the weather stays rainy, then tomorrow night will have the Midnight Channel.

“There’s also something that’s been bothering me about this case.”

“What is it?”

“As I’ve been going over the details of this case, while it’s just hypothetical for now, there’s a possibility that the killer could have an accomplice.”

This catches the group off guard.

“An accomplice?! How the hell would there be one? Why make things more complicated than it needs to be?”
“Hey, if he thinks it’s possible, shouldn’t we consider it?”
“Chie-sempai is right. We hardly know anything about the killer. Complications are part of the business of detective work, so we shouldn’t focus too much on one truth and blind ourselves to other possibilities. After all, we don’t know a lot about the Midnight Channel and Teddie proved he could make himself human.”

That seems to get a rare smile out of Shirogane. “Yes, well said Amamiya-kun.”

Yosuke deflates at this.

“Yeah, I guess you got a point.”

“That said, please try not to let this affect your scores on your exams.”
“Oh come on! You’re way more important than some dumb exams.”

Shirogane is clearly caught off guard by this. “W-While I do appreciate the sentiment, your education is also very important.”

“I’m with Kanji-kun. You’re our friend, and we’re gonna worry about you.”

This surprises the detective.

“But we’ve only interacted when it comes to the case so far. We haven’t interacted in a casual setting, or bonded in that way.”

“Maybe not, but that can be fixed.”

Shirogane adjusts his hat with unease. “I...suppose.”

“After you recovered from being rescued, we should hang out with you.”
“I’ll consider it. In the meantime, you should focus on your exams and then the case.”

Since the case is at a standstill, it was best to end the meeting.

The next day, Yu went out riding around on his bike, that he got from Dojima, despite the raining. He thought he saw Ren and Kanji near the tofu shop, but didn’t think much of it. Plus he needed the practice with the new bike anyway.

That night, it was storming out, and he had to calm Nanako down the best he could. Then once she was back in her room, he waited for midnight. Surely, the Midnight Channel would air and it would prove once and for all if a face is needed to be shown for them to show up.

Sure enough when midnight strikes, the tv turns on. The image isn’t in great shape, but it’s clear the silhouette is of Shirogane.

Yu’s phone goes off and it’s Shirogane.

“Oh good, I got through. I have indeed appeared on the Midnight Channel. We now know with absolute certainty that a person’s face is not required to appear. This is highly valueable information.”

Yu’s phone then beeps. “I think someone’s trying to call me. Anything else you’d like to say before I go?”

“No, I’ll let you go. I will keep everyone posted.”

Then Shirogane hangs up, and then the next call goes through, and it’s Teddie using Yosuke’s phone. They talk for a while, Teddie having been really excited to see the Midnight Channel in person. Though he sadly needed to be explained what spam messages are.

Once that phone call was done, he gets a text message from Ren.

[>Did you see the Midnight Channel? That was definitely Shirogane-san.]

Yu replies back;

[>Yes I did, and so did Shirogane and both Teddie and Yosuke.]

[>We’ll have to wait to see what happens. Hopefully he keeps safe.]
[>By the way, let me know when you want me to come over to your place. Father’s been rather busy lately.]

Oh right they did consider making such plans, didn’t they?

[>Sure thing. I have work at the hospital for the next couple nights, but the evening after should be fine.]
[>Sounds good. I’ll see you then sempai.]

Yu smiles at the messages. While he doesn’t exactly have favorites, he’s been really enjoying spending time with Ren, and he’s looking forward to more. Plus he likely could use a home cooked meal in a peaceful home for a change.

There’s still exams and the case, but those can wait. For now, he should get some rest, and figure out what he’ll make for that night.

Chapter Text

Dojima stares, while sitting in his computer chair, at several computer monitors looking over security footage. Sure Kubo was caught and was clearly just a copycat killer, but he didn’t want to take any chances. It’s bad enough that his boss and other higher-ups are getting frustrated that this case hasn’t been solved by now. And Detective Amamiya being his usual drunk ass self isn’t helping.

As much as he doesn’t like having to work with a kid like Shirogane, his idea of putting up security cameras actually worked in their favor. Which has earned his respect a little. The cameras are staying up since it’s proved very useful.

That said, while going through the footage, he noticed something odd. For some reason, his nephew and some girl in short black hair and a hat would pop in and out of frame. It didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with the cameras. But it always happened in the area between Yomenaido Bookstore and Daidara Metalworks.

Just what the hell was going on?

“He better not be involved with this case.”

-----

Friday came around and Yu is at the stove, preparing tonight’s dinner, hambagu. And not just for Nanako and Dojima, but Ren has finally come over. Apparently Ren’s father is working late tonight, and his mom allowed him to go. Currently he’s sitting at the table with Nanako, having a conversation with her.

She had at first been a little shy, but quickly warmed up to him, especially when he had brought a sketchbook and drew her something.

“Aww that’s so cute! You’re really good at drawing.”
“Thanks. I got this good from years of practice. If you want to get good at any skill, it takes a lot of practice and hard work to get there.”
“Is that why big bro is so good at cooking?”

Yu turns his head slightly and answers.

“That’s right. I’ve cooked for a long time, so I’ve had plenty of practice.”

Dojima is currently making some coffee and he raises an eyebrow. “Since you were Nanako’s age?”

Yu tries not to wince. His parents weren’t usually around and they moved around so much, that he had no choice but to learn to cook for himself. There was only so many times you could microwave cups of ramen before you got sick from malnutrition.

“...Yeah.”

He tries his best to refocus on cooking and ignore the looks he’s getting. Maybe not concern from Nanako, but definitely at least Ren if not Dojima.

Truthfully, he hasn’t told really anyone about his childhood, not even Yosuke. He doesn’t really like to talk about his parents and his issues in general. He’s always been a better listener than talker. Plus helping others and making them happy made him happy in return. That’s all he can ask for.

After dinner is done cooking, all four of them eat at the living room table. The TV gets turned on, and it plays an episode of Featherman. In that episode, there was a theme on weddings and at some point, the team managed to trick the monster of the day to accidentally ‘pair up’ two of the guys members of the team, in order to break some curse. Turns out they knew it would because gay marriage isn’t legal, though they don’t directly say the word ‘gay marriage’.

Frankly it makes him uncomfortable, and he can tell it’s the same with Ren, due to how tense he looks all of the sudden.

Nanako makes a look of confusion. “Is it true two boys can’t get married?”

Before either he or Ren could answer, Dojima answers instead.

“That’s right. It’s also illegal for two women to marry each other as well. Only a man and a woman can get married in this country.”

This makes Nanako pout. “That’s not fair. Boys should be able to marry each other, and so should girls.”

Ren’s eyes widen slightly, but then suddenly he starts to make a grin.

“It really is a shame. If I could, I’d marry Yu-sempai for his cooking alone.”

Yu almost chokes his food at that, but manages to swallow it, and he feels his face heat up.

Dojima is also caught off guard by this while Nanako looks with bright, eager eyes.

“What--?”

The younger boy’s grin changes to a softer smile. “I’m just kidding, Dojima-san.”

“I’d be okay with you marrying big bro though.”

Oh Nanako.

Yu holds his chopsticks and tries to make the blush go away. “I’m flattered you think so. Even as a joke.”

Even though Ren wasn’t serious, he feels a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. He isn’t sure what it is just yet, but he feels like they are closer now. So the whisper that comes is no surprise to him.

Rank up!! Adjustment, rank 4

The rest of the dinner is pleasant and Ren draws something else for Nanako and rips it out of the book to let her keep it. Then he heads back home.

------

The next day, Ren got a message from Shirogane. It seems he wants to talk privately to him. He has an idea on what it is, so he decides to meet him at the gazebo after school.

Especially since Shirogane told them that apparently he came into contact with a man named Nametame. He appeared to have seen the Midnight Channel, and showed a lot of concern for him. He doesn’t think he’s are the killer, but he is a truck driver, and connected to the case.

“Thank you for coming, Amamiya-kun.”

“No problem. What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Shirogane suddenly starts to look nervous. “It’s about my shadow. I know that I cannot avoid it nor expect any of my secrets to not be revealed once I’ve been kidnapped. Perhaps telling at least someone about it might lighten the load, and make it easier for me to accept my shadow.”

He can understand why Shirogane wouldn’t trust Yosuke-sempai or Teddie with the secret. His other sempais, perhaps he’s not comfortable with them just yet. He’s a bit surprised Kanji and Rise weren’t called, but that’s up to him to decide who he trusts.

“I’m touched that you trust me with your secrets. I can assure you whatever you want to say, I won’t say anything.”

Shirogane nods. “Thank you.” he then sighs. “Truthfully part of the reason I wanted to speak with you is because I suspect you might already know the answer.”

Not surprising that Shirogane seemed to notice.

“I might, but I think it might be better for you to say it.” After all, if the point of this is to make facing himself easier, than it’s better that Shirogane puts it into words.

“That is a fair point. Very well.” he pauses before continuing. “To be honest, it’s been a struggle to be taken seriously due to my age. I have often gotten scorned for it and yet they use my skills for their own benefit. But if it was simply age, that issue would have resolved over time. As I get older, I fear presenting the image of a cool ace detective, the Detective Prince, would be become more difficult, and new complications would arise to replace it.”

He can see where this is going, but he lets the detective continue.

“I was born female. While my parents were both detectives, there’s a difference between a woman assisting her husband on cases, and a lone detective. I have wondered at times if things would have been easier if I had been born male. I also fear that if everyone saw me as a girl, then I would lose everything I have worked for.”

Just as he thought.

Shirogane gives him a look. “You don’t look surprised. Am I correct that you had already figured it out?”

Ren nods.

“I’m an artist, I know my anatomy. I can tell what a chest being bound down by medical tape looks like...Assuming it’s medical tape anyway.”

This gets a blush from Shirogane before shaking his (her?) head. “No, that’s a dangerous method of binding breasts down. If done improperly, you could break your ribs, or not be able to breathe properly. I use a binder, which is, I suppose, very much similar to a sports bra.”

“I see. While that had me suspicious, that wasn’t what gave it away to me. What did was your hands. Remember when I had to help you and Rise into the TV? I noticed how small your hands are. Even short guys would have bigger hands than that.”

Shirogane looks down at his (her?) hands before looking back up. “I figured as much. I did notice that you had squeezed my hand slightly, and held it a couple seconds longer than Rise-san’s.”

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t mistaking Rise’s hand for yours.”

“That’s perfectly logical. To be clear, I do feel comfortable presenting as a male, but I’m not sure if all this is because of the male-dominated job, or if I truly do identify as a boy.”

He’s questioning his gender too?

“If it makes you feel better, you might not be alone in the whole questioning gender thing. While a lot of days I’m okay with being a guy, sometimes I have days where I wished I was a girl. That I could look pretty, and be cute. I know it doesn’t make much sense.”

Shirogane smiles. “On the contrary, it makes perfect sense. It sounds like your gender might be more fluid than most people.”

“...Maybe. I wish I had a safe space to experiment to see if that’s really the case, or I’m just more in touch with my feminine side.”

The smile disappears. “Ah yes, your father. I can imagine he would not approve of it.”

“No, he would call me a fag and beat the shit of me. Like more so than normal. Though lately it hasn’t been as much. I highly doubt it was because of a change of heart.”

“I’m still trying to look into how I could help you, but I haven’t come up with anything yet. There’s too much at risk.”

Ren makes a sad smile. “That’s okay. Just having support is enough.”

“Well thank you for listening to me. Being able to finally tell someone does feel freeing I do admit.”

“Are you going to tell the others next?”

“I am considering telling Kanji-kun and Rise-san. But I’m not sure about Narukami-san, Amagi-san, or Satonaka-san. I don’t feel comfortable telling Hanamura-san or Teddie.”

Ren nods. “Makes sense. Either way, you’re welcome. Again, your secret is safe with me.”

“I am grateful for that,” they both get up from the table. “I will keep you and the others informed while I continue to wait.”

“Sounds good to me.” then Ren smiles again. This time a brighter one. “Oh just so you know, you can call me by my first name. You don’t need to feel pressure if you rather not me call you by your first name.”

Shirogane is surprised by that, but then smiles as well. “Seeing as we both shared about ourselves to each other, there’s no need for last name basis. Very well, Ren-kun. You can call Naoto.”

“Sure thing, Naoto. See ya later.”

Then they go their separate ways. Ren does hope that Naoto does at least tell Kanji and Rise. He knows those two can be trusted.

------

A couple days before exams, Yu noticed Dojima seemed to be acting strangely, and at first seemed like he wanted to talk to him about something, but backed off at the last moment. On the last day of exams, they all met after school at Junes. At first it was just talking about the exams, but then Shirogane revealed that Dojima had noticed something strange where the Velvet Room door is.

This meant he had to explain the Velvet Room, and that Marie came from there (as well as explain why Yosuke’s persona changed recently). Thankfully they were understanding, even if they didn’t quite fully understand it. He had asked if he should request that the entrance to the Velvet Room, in the real world, be moved. But Yukiko brought up a good point in that it might not matter at this point since Dojima is now suspicious of him.

There’s also a possibility that Nametame might be the kidnapper, but certainly not the killer. They have no choice but to wait to see what happens.

The next time Yu was able to hang out with Ren was the day after exams were over. This time, they decided to spend their sunday afternoon walking around, and they eventually end up on a hill overlooking the town. He’s been at this spot before with Yosuke.

And the thought about Yosuke makes Yu frown. Things are a bit awkward for a while between them, but it did get resolved. That said, he can’t help but carry some guilt.

Ren looks over to him with concern. “Is something wrong, sempai?”

He hesitated for a moment, considering not saying anything. But given how smart Ren is, he had doubts he could hide it from him. Might as well be honest.

“A few weeks ago when I was hanging out with Yosuke, he confessed his feelings for me.”

Ren’s eyes widen and he’s clearly been taken aback.

“What?! Really? I mean he did say he was feeling confused about himself when he apologized to me and Kanji, but wow.”

“Yeah. I had to turn him down. I just don’t feel that way towards him.”

“Did you two manage to make peace later?”

“Yeah. I still feel bad for having to do that.”

Ren toys with a lock of hair. “Leading him on would have been a dick move. He’s likely moved on now, or at least he’s not mad at you.”

There’s no arguing against that. They both go back to watching the view for a while. Then Ren breaks the silence again.

“I looked into what it would take to attend college in america, and it’s actually quite expensive, and getting the visa needed to do so seems like a lot of work. I do still intend on leaving Inaba once I finish high school.” Ren then looks to the side sadly. “If only I could take my mom with. She refuses to leave, even with all the abuse she suffers.”

“That’s her choice. As for colleges, you could go to one in Tokyo. Maybe even an art school.”

“Maybe. It would be more reasonable, even if actually living in the city would be a huge change. It’s different from just visiting a city sometimes.”

“Well you have plenty of time to think about it.”

Ren nods. “Have you thought about what college you’ll attend?”

“No. I know my parents expect me to go to the best college possible to get a high-paying career.” Which he isn’t sure if he wants that.

“Don’t most parents wish that anyway? Either way, we both got time to think about it.” then Ren smiles. “I wouldn’t mind going to the same one, even if you would be starting ahead of me.”

“We’ll have to see, but I’d like that.”

Ren’s smile gets brighter. “Me too.”

Rank up!! Adjustment, rank 5

They both start to head out since the sun is starting to set, when a group of stray cats walks up to them. Yu does his usual feeding them, and giving them attention. At first he’s too distracted by the cats to notice anything else, when Ren’s voice breaks him out of his trance.

“You’re so cute. Too bad I can’t take you home.”

Yu looks over and Ren is petting a beautiful black cat with white paws, a white mouth, and the end of the tail also white. The cat also has blue eyes, which is unusual for black cats.

As Ren is giving the cat attention, Yu’s attention redirects to Ren himself and…

While he did notice how nicely Ren’s shadow looked in that suit, he hadn’t stopped to think about how gorgeous Ren really is. His skin, his face, his eyes, all beautiful. Even his wild curls look nice on him. He knows from his shadow how he would look in a suit, and without the fake glasses on.

Honestly, he would love to have him in a suit for real, standing together while making vows to be together until death do them part. Then have the big kiss--

...Oh.

Well shit.

Chapter Text

It’s been weeks, and Dojima has been at it with looking over the footage. It’s pretty obvious something is going on with his nephew, but something else from the camera footage has caught his attention.

There’s footage of Amamiya-kun and Tatsumi-kun at the tofu shop, having a conversation. Which itself isn’t strange, but their conversation is.

”Man I know Naoto’s being careful, but I’m still worried.”
“I know, but all we can do is wait, and continue to watch the Midnight Channel.”
“Yeah… Could he right about--?”

Amamiya-kun stops him, and points at the cameras. “Wait, we should move away from the cameras. Should we head over to the river bank?”
“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting those are there. Let’s head over there.”

Then both boys leave.

The Midnight Channel? He had assumed it was just a local urban legend, but the way they are speaking, it’s as if it’s real. He’s already aware that Shirogane-kun has placed himself in the killer’s cross hairs. They seem aware of it as well. Could those two be involved in something? He knows Yu has been just as secretive as well.

Adding that with the strange footage of both Yu and that Marie girl appearing in and out of that spot, he has to wonder if there’s more to this case after all. Could it be supernatural? They never found the cause of death for the two victims.

He does a quick check, and it seems tuesday night is gonna rain. He will have to check it out for himself then.

-------

Tuesday morning arrives and Ren gets a voice message on his phone, which he plays out for Kanji on the way to school. It comes from Naoto.

“Ren-kun, if you don’t see me today, there’s a very strong possibility that I am in the TV World. I believe that by speaking about my darkest secrets to you, Rise-san, and Kanji-kun, I might be able to easily accept my shadow much like Rise-san. We don’t know what my shadow is capable of, so please plan accordingly, and wait for the Midnight Channel to air. I have another hypothesis that I wish to test out.”

Kanji curses under his breath and tries to make a call, but it doesn’t go through. “Dammit, it won’t go through.”

“Then we should all meet up after school.”

Ren then sends a quick message to Yu-sempai before heading to school with Kanji.

After school, they all decide to meet up at Junes even if it would be better to meet at the gazebo for privacy. It unfortunately has become too inconvenient to meet there anymore, there’s just too many people on the team now.

Ren plays the message again for the others, and when it’s done, Chie-sempai stands up from her chair.

“We’re not seriously just gonna wait until tomorrow, right? We could just go in there and bring him back here before dinner time!”

Yu shakes his head. “No, if we rush this, we risk being sloppy. And we should trust him. If he has a plan, we should follow it.”

“I agree with Yu-sempai. We should just take today to prepare, then go in tomorrow.”
“And I wanna see it again! The last one was way too fuzzy. But if Nao-chan really is inside the TV, then I could maybe make sense of it.”

Yukiko nods. “Not to mention that tomorrow is the first day of summer vacation. We would have more time to explore tomorrow if we waited.”

At that Chie slumps her shoulder. “Fiiine.”

After that, they all separate, and Yu helps Teddie with getting weapons, and other supplies while Ren himself went home.

That night, he gets out a camera to record the Midnight Channel. Although the audio recording and one of those photos had been destroyed, he decided to resume making records. It might not be perfect as obviously some stuff has been lost to time, but it’s better than nothing.

He hits record as the Midnight Channel starts. It shows what looks like some an operating room with rather frightening equipment. Perhaps reflecting Naoto’s uncertainly with his gender.

Naoto’s shadow appears on screen right after and strangely enough, the yellow eyes are visible for a change. He’s wearing a long white lab coat, with sleeves that are too long.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince. Or rather, the real Naoto Shirogane. Welcome to ‘Experiment of the Century: The Genome Project’. I will be experimenter in a forbidden, yet wonderful body alternation process. As for my experimentee…”

The shadow motions to the side, and the camera shifts slightly to reveal the real Naoto. Who is standing with his arms crossed next to the shadow. Rather than answer his shadow, he instead speaks to the ‘camera’.

“I’ve confirmed my suspicions. We shall discuss this when we meet again.”

This makes the shadow shakes his head.

“Oh there’s no point in trying to ignore me, ‘Naoto’. Isn’t there things you should be telling the whole world before we begin your new birth?”

Naoto narrows his eyes at the shadow. “I have the right to decide when and how to tell those I trust with my personal manners.”

Shadow Naoto chuckles at this.

“Not a rejection. How clever. But you know you only have a limited number of time before I lose all patience.”

“I’m well aware.”

Then the show ends. And he ends the recording just in time as Ren’s phone goes off right away. Naturally, it’s Kanji.

“The hell was that? As far as I know, we didn’t appear with our shadows when we were kidnapped.”

“Yeah, none of the others mentioned that, and I’m sure I would have remembered that. I do recall waking up to that room with my shadow, but that’s about it.”

It’s very strange. Hopefully Teddie will know something after seeing the actual Midnight Channel for himself.

“Huh....So uh, Naoto mentioned you and him talked a while back. You think what he told us will be enough?”

Oh good, so he and Rise know now. “It should be. I’m glad he did end up talking with you two. Was Rise apart of it?”

“Yep. Seems he trusts all three of us the most.”

“It makes sense and not just the fact that we’re first years. I just hope that Yosuke-sempai will behave this time.”

“If he doesn’t, I’ll kick his ass. It was bad enough how he acted at both the sauna and the mansion. Last thing we need is him freaking out.”

“Hopefully not. I know he’s been trying to be better, and he at least stopped denying the fact that he can be attracted to other guys.”

If they were in person, Ren would have likely seen Kanji’s eyes widen in shock.

“Wait, are you saying that Yosuke-sempai’s got a crush on another guy?”

Maybe he really shouldn’t be talking about this, but to be fair, it’s not as if Yu told him not to tell anyone.

“Well… apparently he recently went up to Yu-sempai, and confessed his feelings for him, but he got turned down.”

“Oh man, that sucks.”

“Yeah.” Hopefully now Yosuke can mellow out for the dungeon tomorrow. “Anyway, we should get some rest, and rescue Naoto after school.”

“Right. ‘Night Ren.”

After the call ends, Ren goes to bed. He hopes they won’t have trouble finding the dungeon so they don’t have to go around to ask for clues.

------

That morning, Yu got up early. He had spoken with Yosuke and Teddie, and Teddie seemed to have gotten a better idea about the Midnight Channel, which they will have to let the others know about it.

He came downstairs to find Dojima is there, having coffee. Why isn’t he at work?

The older man then notices him. “You’re up early.”

Yu wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he just heads towards the fridge, and then starts working on cooking some eggs. There’s some awkward silence at first before then Dojima break it.

“So do you have any big plans today?”

“I’m gonna head over to Junes to hang out with my friends.”

“Junes huh?...You sure go over there a lot.”

Yu shrugs as he cooks some eggs in a skillet. “It’s become our tradition at this point.”

“I see.” he then pours out a mug of coffee for Yu. “I’m guessing it’s to rescue Shirogane, right?”

Yu almost drops the bowl he was working with, but manages to catch it and place it on the counter. That’s not good.

“What do you mean? Has he gone missing?”

Dojima sighs.

“There’s no point in playing dumb. I’ve seen the Midnight Channel.”

Yu freezes up. He saw the Midnight Channel?!

“Look, I’m not mad at you. I’m frustrated that you keep involving yourself with the case, but it’s become clear there’s more to this case than meets the eye. Please be honest with me.”

Perhaps in hindsight, he should have seen this coming. He already noticed the strange things with the Velvet Room. But he’s still caught off guard by this.

He pauses before giving his answer. “Me and my friends were the ones who saved Yukiko, Kanji-kun, and Ren-kun. We have an ability to travel to another world through the TV screens, and I know that sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. I don’t exactly have much in terms of proof right now. However I really need to help go rescue Naoto.”

“Show me how it works. I need to know what you’re getting into.”

“I can give you an idea, but I can’t take you with us. That world takes your repressed feelings, and turns them into dangerous beings that will kill you if you reject them. As you saw, Naoto already has one in there. There’s...a lot more to explain.” he then turns off the stove. “Let me at least show you something.”

He heads over to the TV and he bends down slightly to stick an arm into the TV. Which causes the familiar black and white waves, and Dojima looks on with shock.

“What the hell?!”

Yu then removes his arm, the TV turning back to normal. He heads back to the shove to resume cooking.

“I’ll try to explain more later, but please let me go save him.”

Dojima rubs his temple in frustration.

“As much as I want to say no, I know doing so would put Shirogane’s life on the line. So fine. Go rescue him, then you need to explain everything.”

“Of course. No more secrets.”

He finishes cooking and Nanako comes down, and asks if they are fighting. Which they reassure her that they aren’t.

Once he’s done eating, Dojima reveals that he’s off work today, so he can spend time with Nanako for once. Which makes the little girl happy.

Yu heads out, and at Junes, he tells the others what happened.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“I wish I was Yosuke. But he saw the Midnight Channel. I had no choice but to explain and shove my arm into the TV in front of him.”

Ren frowns. “I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. He was already suspicious of you before.”

“Yeah but he let me explain a bit and is willing to listen. With your and Naoto’s permission, I think we should set up a meeting with my uncle and tell him everything.”

“Only if it’s just Dojima-san. I don’t trust Adachi-san to keep his mouth shut.”
“Gotta agree with Ren. That cop doesn’t know when to shut the hell up.”

Now it’s Yu’s turn to frown. He understands where the first year boys are coming from as it’s true that Adachi is known to be a blabbermouth, but they don’t seem to be giving him much credit. Still he knows better than to insist to get him involved.

“Plus if Naoto-kun’s theory of that Namatame guy not being the killer but the kidnapper is correct, we might need Dojima-san’s help with this.”

Rise’s got a point there.

Yosuke nods. “And he’s got more resources than we do. Both as a cop and as an adult.”

With that, they all head into the TV World, along with the fox, as usual. There Rise summons her persona to search for the dungeon.

“Found it.”

Chie is surprised by this. “Wow that was quick and didn’t need any hints this time.”

“Well that’s because Naoto-kun talked with Kanji-kun and I the day before he got kidnapped, and he talked with Ren-kun before that.”
“It ain’t anything personal. He felt the most comfortable with us about it.”
“Whatever you guys learn, please don’t go telling others about it.”

This makes Chie shove an elbow into Yosuke lightly. “Yeah Yosuke.”

“Oh c’mon! You’re being unfair.”

Ren gives a glare at that. “Have you forgotten how you acted in both the mansion and the sauna, as well as what happened on the camping trip?”

“No offense Yosuke, but you have run your mouth before.”

At their words, the other boy sighs. “Fine. I won’t say anything.”

After that is settled, they head towards where Rise found it, and it turns out it’s some kind of secret underground base. Like the kind you would see on Featherman.

“I guess our proper boy detective isn’t as grown-up as he looks.”

It is a bit surprising, but it goes to show there’s more to him that meets the eye.

“Ren, Kanji, Teddie, you are in front this time.”

Nobody had a problem with this, and they head inside.

------

It took a long time to get through the dungeon, and Ren’s now starting to get tired. Aside from the shadows, there also was a point where they had to backtrack to find the Leader Card, which would allow them to continue. And of course, they had to fight a boss for it; Dominating Machine.

It was honestly the toughest one they had fought yet. It was immune to darkness and light, and it could take a lot of hits no matter what. So it took a very long time before they finally managed to take it down, and get the card they needed.

While going through the dungeon, there was also times they came across security rooms that showed Naoto’s memories. The last memory that was shown, it wasn’t something he expected.

“Thank you for coming, Amamiya-kun.”

“No problem. What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Shirogane suddenly starts to look nervous. “It’s about my shadow. I know that I cannot avoid it nor expect any of my secrets to not be revealed once I’ve been kidnapped. Perhaps telling at least someone about it might lighten the load, and make it easier for me to accept my shadow.”

“I’m touched that you trust me with your secrets. I can assure you whatever you want to say, I won’t say anything.”

Shirogane nods. “Thank you.” he then sighs. “Truthfully part of the reason I wanted to speak with you is because I suspect you might already know the answer.”

“I might, but I think it might be better for you to say it.” After all, if the point of this is to make facing himself easier, than it’s better that Shirogane puts it into words.

“That is a fair point. Very well.”

However the footage briefly becomes corrupted before then it cuts to later in the same conversation, without any context given.

“--While a lot of days I’m okay with being a guy, sometimes I have days where I wished I was a girl. That I could look pretty and be cute. I know it doesn’t make much sense.”

Shirogane smiles. “On the contrary, it makes perfect sense. It sounds like your gender might be more fluid than most people.”

“...Maybe. I wish I had a safe space to experiment to see if that’s really the case, or I’m just more in touch with my feminine side.”

The smile disappears. “Ah yes, your father. I can imagine he would not approve of it.”

“No, he would call me a fag and beat the shit of me. Like more so than normal. Though lately it hasn’t been as much. I highly doubt it was because of a change of heart.”

“I’m still trying to look into how I could help you, but I haven’t come up with anything yet. There’s too much at risk.”

Ren makes a sad smile. “That’s okay. Just having support is enough.”

“Well thank you for listening to me. Being able to finally tell someone does feel freeing I do admit.”

The footage ends right there.

He felt quite upset getting outed to his friends like that, but thankfully it didn’t turn into a disaster. To Yosuke-sempai’s credit, he didn’t freak out or say anything horrible. Mostly he was just confused, which was understandable. Rise especially gave her support, and even offered to help him find a way to try out make-up and dresses behind his father’s back.

After that, they keep going and now they have arrived at the door leading to the room where Naoto and his shadow is located.

Yu-sempai uses a soma. “Are you all ready?”

He and the others nod, then head inside.

Inside is the same lab that was seen before on the Midnight Channel and both Naotos are there. Thankfully Naoto seem unhurt.

Kanji rushes forward. “Naoto! You ain’t hurt, are ya?”

Ren places a hand on Kanji’s shoulder. “Easy Kanji. He looks like he’s fine to me.”

“Yes, I am indeed alright.”

“So you all arrived. We are now here on the dawn of a new age! Provided he is willing to undergo the body alternation procedure. I merely wish to make his deepest desires--

“That’s enough. I can speak for myself.” Naoto then takes a deep breath before speaking. “Before I do begin, what have you learned from going through my dungeon?”

Yu is the one to speak. “There was various areas with security monitors and it showed us a few memories. We saw all the times you’ve spoken to Namatame and your kidnapping by him, how the police have often treated you with disdain and disrespect, that memory with your grandfather after you lost something dear to you, and even that conversation you had with Ren, though some of it was corrupted.”

“Mainly the parts about your secret wasn’t shown, but mine was fair game I guess.”

Naoto’s shoulders relax slightly. “My feelings appearing as security footage does make a lot of sense. I’m glad at least I wasn’t robbed of the chance to tell my secrets to you all. I do apologize that you had to explain your gender before you could have the chance, Ren-kun.”

“It was bound to come up sooner or later anyway.”

“Anything else?”

“You’ve always strived to follow in your parents’ footsteps, even with your age being a huge disadvantage. But there’s more of it, isn’t there?”

“You would be correct.”

Naoto sighs. “If it were age alone, the issue would resolve itself. I won’t deny that I’ve tried to act more mature for my age, and hide my more...’childish’ interests from others. As part of my image, I often acted as if I was better than everyone else, and I felt I had to in order to be taken more seriously. If I wasn’t extraordinary, I wouldn’t be needed at all.”

“Naoto-kun…”

“But there’s a hurdle that I cannot overcome. While I will age into an adult, I will never become a man. Due to the fact that I was not born male to begin with.”

Yu and Yukiko-sempai both don’t look too surprised. Perhaps they were already suspecting as much or figured it out on their own. Yosuke and Chie-sempai are much more shocked.

“Wait what? Did I hear that right?”
“Oh wow, really? I never would have guessed.”

Yukiko frowns. “I’m not sure I understand, but it’s not my place to speak for you.”

“So what, are you a girl or a guy?”

Ren starts to feel anger build up again. Especially seeing Naoto be caught off guard by that question and seemingly starting to get nervous.

“Well I...well…”
“Well what? What are we supposed to--?”

Kanji was about to intervene, but Ren beats him to it and gives Yosuke a punch to the shoulder.

“That’s enough!”
“Yeah seriously, cool it sempai!”

But the damage was done as the shadow makes a dark chuckle.

“That is the question, isn’t it? You are more comfortable presenting yourself as male, yet you are too afraid to fully transition. Questioning if that’s truly what you want, despite how being feminine makes your uncomfortable. Even questioning why it has to be one or the other. Which is it? Do you want to be a man, or to remain a woman?”

“….”

Naoto can’t seem to bring himself to answer.

“You can’t answer, can you? Perhaps by using the body alternation procedure, you can--”

“No! I refuse. I, I can find my own reason for living, regardless of what I am.”

“That’s impossible. Society has dictated that you have to choose. If you don’t, you will never be accepted as a detective. And you’ll fail the family legacy. Mom and dad would be so disappointed.”

Naoto’s eyes narrow at this. “How dare you!”

“It’s the truth. You mimic the same men that tell you that ‘throwing a tantrum won’t solve anything’, yet they made you cry, didn’t they? I understand that frustration. After all, I am you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Wait, Naoto-kun, don’t say it!”
Kanji shakes his head. “Let him. Naoto will just keep hurting if we don’t. We’ll just have to kick the shadow’s ass.”

Shadow Naoto laughs and a fiery blue glow appears on it’s body. “You’ll ‘kick my ass’ huh? Go ahead and try, you lizard-brain imbecile!”

Then the shadow transforms. For a change, the shadow didn’t grow in size. Instead, it transforms in what looks like half robot, half person, with jet wings. It flies into the air and points laser guns at them.

“I am a shadow, the true self! Are you sick of yourselves, too? Very well. Then let’s begin the special operation.”

“O-Operations?! I hate ouchies!”
“Bring it on man! I’ll pull you through this.”

“Have you made up your mind? Then let us commence.”

Rise sticks by Naoto, who is now unconscious as the battle begins.

The good news is that there weren’t any minions summoned for a change. The bad news is that Shadow Naoto hits like a truck, can hit them with different status effects, and even has a skill that can temporarily nullify their elemental resistances.

It was one of the hardest fights they had yet, but they barely managed to defeat Shadow Naoto. Who changed back to normal when it was over.

Not long after Naoto wakes up, and gets up.

“...I apologize everyone. I truly thought I had prepared myself for this moment, and yet I failed.”

Yosuke steps in. “No, it’s mainly my fault. I’m sorry I pushed you to answer. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut.”
“Hey don’t be so hard on yourself, Yosuke. It’s obvious that you’re trying to do better and honestly this is an improvement from the last times.”
“Chie is right, Yosuke-kun. While you were being a little insensitive, you clearly came from a well-meaning place.”

“I do have to agree. You were clearly trying to understand, so I won’t hold it against you.” he then turns away. “To be honest, I’m not sure how to define myself, at least in terms of my gender. Everything else is pretty straightforward.”

“Do you not like being a girl?”

“Not...necessarily. My sex doesn’t fit my ideal image of a detective, and it’s been very difficult to reconcile both my sex and my self-image. Even if you set aside from the patriarchy that dominates this country’s justice system, not just the police force which is male dominated. Unfortunately if I were to choose to live as a man fully, the requirements for being legally recognized as a man is quite brutal.”

“How so?” Yu asks.

“You are required to undergo intensive surgeries, including getting sterilized to quote, unquote, ‘avoid societal confusion’. Not to mention it also includes being forced to have to take a psychological evaluation. While it’s much too early for me to consider having children, I fear I might come to regret it if I decide I want to have them. Just have that doubt is enough to make me unsure of what would truly make me happy.”

Chie’s eyes widen at that. “Is that why these tools look so scary? Sheesh, no wonder. That sounds pretty horrible though.”

“It is. It leaves no room for anyone to decide for themselves what they wish to identify as.”

Kanji moves closer to Naoto. “Hey for what it’s worth, I don’t think it matters if you’re a guy or a chick. Or I guess kinda both like Ren. You’re cool as hell and I’m glad to get to know ya.”

“Thank you. That said, I’m not sure choosing ‘both’ would fit me either. I have no interest in presenting as female at all.”

Just then, Ren gets an idea in his head. As if a light bulb had turned on.

“Then how about choosing ‘neither’?”

Both Naoto and the shadow are surprised by that.

“Neither?”
“Care to explain?”

He shrugs. “I mean, you’re already rebelling in a way by going against society’s expectations, why not defy gender itself as well? I’m already rebelling by choose both. You can join me being in the middle, and you can always change your mind later. Hell, it might be possible I might change mine later. But either way, you don’t have to be alone with exploring that part of yourself.”

Naoto pauses and makes a thoughtful look. Seemingly considering his words.

“Hmm… that does sound appealing. Perhaps for now I’ll choose neither.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. If I do end up changing my mind later, then so be it.”

Shadow Naoto nods. “Very well. It sounds like a worthy experiment to try despite how difficult this choice will be.”

“I do have to apologize to you as well. I had been ignoring and trying to pretend you don’t exist. But you are me, and I am you. You’ve always been inside me. Perhaps we can explore denying gender together.”

The shadow nods and transforms. Much like Ren’s persona, it’s quite small and humanoid. However this persona is more bug like with antennae, blue skin, kite-looking wings and holding a sword, as well as wearing a tiny suit.

A moment later, the persona turns into a card and floats down to Naoto. Getting absorbed into them. Then they collapse to their knees.

“Man, what a way to start the summer break. At least now Naoto’s got a persona like us.”

Before Yu could fish out a Goho-M, Naoto beats him to the punch and uses it. Kanji and Ren help them up, and they all head towards the entrance.

Once they are back at Junes, Naoto takes out their phone and dials a number, then puts it on speaker. It only takes two rings before Dojima’s voice can be heard.

“Shirogane?!”
“Yes, I’m alright now.”
“Then they were successful in rescuing you after all.”
“What? How did you--?”

Yu steps in. “He saw the Midnight Channel last night. I didn’t have much of a choice but to tell him about it. I haven’t fully explained yet, and I’m not sure how without any proof.”

This makes Naoto sigh. “I see. Well, not to worry. I’ve been trying my best to collect evidence, even if some things have unfortunately been lost to time.”

Like how Ren burned that one photo and erased that voice recording, but he holds his tongue. At least for now.

“I’m willing to discuss further, but it will have to be after I recover. I haven’t been sleeping well in the last few days.”
“That’s fine. You do sound exhausted, and you deserve to rest after what happened to you. Just please promise me you won’t pull stunts like that again.”
“I’ll try to the best of my ability given the situation with the case. That said, please don’t tell Adachi-san about any of this.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of doing so. While the higher-ups would never believe in the supernatural, Adachi runs his mouth too much. I can’t trust him to keep quiet.”

Yosuke raises a hand. “Question: Where should we do this meeting? I’m not sure the Junes food court would be a good idea, and the gazebo at the flood plains is too small.”

“Hmm, I don’t think the station would be the best place either.”
“Then may I suggest the Shirogane estate? It should provide privacy, and have more than enough room for meetings.”

Both Yosuke and Chie’s eyes widen in shock at this.

“Dude, you have a mansion?!”
“How are we hearing about this now?”

Naoto turns their head to the side and scratches a cheek. “It didn’t seem important to the case. And it’s not really a mansion.”

“There’s no need to be modest, Naoto-kun.”

“Uh should we really still be calling hi- er them that?”
“Yes I would prefer to keep ‘-kun’ for the time being, especially in public. To keep things under wraps. And before you ask Dojima-san, it’s something personal. Nothing to do with the case.”
“Fair enough.”

After that, Dojima offers to drive Naoto home, which they accept. Yu goes with Dojima while everyone else went their own separate ways.

------

Once Yu and Dojima arrived home, there’s an air of awkwardness. It’s not until Nanako went to bed that they decided to talk in the kitchen. With Dojima having made some coffee.

“So, I understand that I will mostly likely get the full story whenever this meeting happens. As much as I want to ask questions now, I’m willing to wait.”

He feels relief at that. While he would be willing to explain more, he is quite tired from the dungeon and the fight with Shadow Naoto.

“Before I let you go to bed, I just wanted to say something. I know I might not be the most approachable guy, but if there’s anything you would like to tell me, I’ll hear it. I won’t push you.”

There is something. While he’s been open with this friends, he hasn’t told any adults about it yet. And at this point, he might as well tell him too.

“I’m bisexual.”

Dojima nearly drops his cup of coffee, but does catch it. Clearly he hadn’t expected him to say that or even reveal anything else tonight. He does manage to calm down though.

“Is that so?”

Yu nods.

“I see.” Dojima pauses for a moment, then continues. “I have no issues with that. As long as whoever you are dating doesn’t take advantage of you or hurts you, it’s fine.”

“Then if I were to get a boyfriend, you would have no problem with it?”

“Yeah. All I ask is to be careful.”

Yu relaxes at this. He’s glad his uncle fully supports him. He has doubts his parents would be just as open-minded. He makes a mental note to tell Nanako later.

“Of course. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Then you should head to bed and get some rest. Feel free to sleep in, you’ve earned it.”

“Good night, uncle.”

Yu heads up to his room. Although it didn’t earn a rank up, he does feel a lot better. No more secrets and he has support.

It hardly takes any time before he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

It does take a few days for both Naoto to fully recover, and for Dojima to be free to meet up with them at Naoto’s home. But on Monday afternoon, everyone met up at the manor.

When Yu first arrives, he notices there are many paintings. Paintings of family members, including one painting featuring a younger Naoto with, he assumes, their parents and grandfather. There’s also another painting that catches his attention. This one shows a beautiful kitsune standing at some ruins, of some castle, that had been long forgotten, while flowers bloom in the background. He looks down, and notices on the bottom right corner is a signature. A very familiar one he’s seen before.

Sure enough, Ren notices him looking at it and smiles.

“I see you noticed my painting. Naoto asked me to paint that for their grandfather’s birthday a while back. Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty proud of that piece.”

“And my grandfather loves it as well.”

Naoto had come from the side, so he hadn’t seen them at first.

“I’m glad to hear it. It’s not often I get commissioned on my work.”
“Well you are quite young, so you have a chance to make a professional career out of it.”
“That’s the plan. It may not make a lot of money, but as long as I can express myself out there, that’s fine by me.”

Then once Dojima-san arrived, then it was time to begin the meeting. Naoto had set up their laptop on a coffee table, to be connected with a wire towards the living room TV. They pick up a remote and the TV turns on to show a slide. This slide is titled ‘Searching for the Truth: The Murder Case So Far’.

“So before we go over what we know about the case so far, do you have any questions or needing clarification Dojima-san?”

Dojima-san nods. “So as I understand it, you kids travel to some other world through TVs. By ‘repressed feelings turning into dangerous beings’, can you explain what that is exactly?”

“Those ‘dangerous beings’ are called shadows. While most shadows in the TV World are mere mindless monsters, that world can bring out your own shadow out, and give them a physical form. As you saw from my own Midnight Channel. The shadow selves will act malicious, and throw all your darkest secrets back at you.”
“Yeah and if you reject it, it’ll go bearserk, and attack their other self.”

Dojima listens, then responds. “Then is that how the first two victims died? We never got an official cause of death from them.”

“Correct. Most of us had to face ourselves except for Yu-sempai, who already somehow had already awakened to his persona.”

Yu shrugs in response. “It might be because I have the Wild Card ability. Which lets use multiple personas.”

“...Right. What are personas exactly?”

“Personas is the embodiment of a person’s true self that has special abilities, and it’s what we can use to fight the shadows with.”

“I see.” Dojima pauses for a moment before continuing. “I think I got it now.”

Naoto taps on the laptop, and the next slide comes in. A picture of Mayumi Yamano appears on the screen.

“Let’s go over the facts, starting from the beginning. The first victim, Mayumi Yamano was caught in a cheating scandal with Taro Namatame, and was suspended from her job afterwards. Although I don’t have proof and I heard this secondhand, she had appeared on the Midnight Channel as just a silhouette. Her last known location was at the Amagi Inn, and as I’ve been told, the police officer assigned to watch was Tohru Adachi.”

“Apparently she was very demanding to my mother, and she had to step away to recover because it was too much for her.”

“She disappeared not long after, and then was later found dead hanging from TV antennas. Saki Konishi was the one to find her body, and she had also apparently appeared on the Midnight Channel. She disappeared and then found dead in the same way, by telephone pole. From what we can conclude from this, is that both victims were most likely pushed into the TV, and they were killed by their own shadows.”

Dojima nods. “Sounds about right. What about the kidnappings?”

Naoto moves to another slide. This one has two torsos of two people in silhouette, and has a label underneath them. One is ‘the killer’ and the other is ‘the kidnapper’.

This makes the older detective narrow his eyes in suspicion. “You believe that the killer has an accomplice? Explain.”

“We believe that someone who also has the same power has been throwing people into TVs in a misguided attempt to protect them from the killer. Based on the pattern, they go after people who appeared on the Midnight Channel and kidnap them, but leave them alone after they had been saved. They didn’t go after Rise-san because of the cameras. We had the benefit of Teddie explaining things to us, but it’s likely that they didn’t.

Furthermore, I know who the kidnapper is, and have audio proof of my own kidnapping.”

They take out an audio recorder than press play.

“I’m sorry, but this is to save you!”

“That voice…”

“Yes, it belongs to Taro Namatame. He has an alibi, drives a truck as a delivery man, and certainly has the means to do so in the open without being noticed. We don’t think he killed the first two victims, but he did kidnap Yukiko-san, Kanji-kun, Ren-kun, and myself.”

Chie frowns. “You aren’t gonna arrest him, are you?”

“No. As I told Yu before, I don’t plan on doing so. The higher-ups would never believe the supernatural, and would rather just have Namatame pinned as the killer to close the case faster. My question though is getting into contact with him.”

Naoto’s face hardens. “That is a good question. None of us has had contact with him other than the kidnappings, and I worry that he might not believe or listen to us.”

“I’ll do it.”

Everyone turns towards Ren.

“You were a victim of his. He might flee or panic.”

“I think I can still try. If at least I went with a more thankful tone.”

He’s not so sure if that’s a good idea.

“Maybe I should do it. He hasn’t kidnapped me nor have I appeared on the Midnight Channel.”

“Please let me at least try, Yu-sempai. I really think I can convince him to hear us out.”

Dojima crosses his arms.

“It is true that it’s a risk, but I’m not comfortable having my nephew around this man if it can be avoided.”

“And if it doesn’t work, Yu-sempai can be plan b.” Rise adds.

Although he didn’t like this, it didn’t seem Ren or his uncle could be convinced.

Naoto then speaks up again.

“I myself plan to speak with Naoki Konishi about his sister. Hopefully his testimony will help fill in the gap between her appearance on the Midnight Channel, and her body being found.”

“That would be good.”

With nothing else to say, or at least Naoto didn’t seem to want to say anything else, the meeting ended. He hopes Ren meeting with Namatame doesn’t end up backfiring on them. A part of him wondered if he should have pushed harder.

Only thing he can do is wait.

------

The next morning, Ren went to search for Namatame. Luckily Rise contacted him telling him she spotted him near the tofu shop, so he went over there right away. At first Namatame did panic a little, but he was able to calm him down. By reassuring him that he just wanted to speak with him, so they went over to the gazebo at the Flood Plains.

At the moment, Ren can tell Namatame is super nervous, so he’ll have to be careful here.

“So, I just wanted to say I’m not mad about you kidnapping me. In fact, I do want to thank you for trying to look out for me, Kanji, and Yukiko-sempai.”

“Trying to?”

“That other world on the other side of the TV isn’t what you think it is. Sure me, Kanji, and Rise-san came out okay, but only because my friends who have the same power you do came inside, and rescued us.”

Nametame tenses up. “What do you mean by that?”

“There’s monsters in there. The same ones that killed Mayumi Yamano and Konishi-sempai. Hell I have the same power as you now, along with Kanji.”

He takes out a camera. “Let me show you something.”

He plays out a video showing Kanji at Junes, and the camera is a bit shaky. Kanji sticks his arm into a tv, which causes those black and white waves, then pulls it out. Ren asks Kanji to hold the camera, then he does the same. Then the video cuts there.

Namatame is stunned by this. “I...I don’t understand.”

“Look, I know you mean well, but there’s things about that world that you don’t know about. We had someone from that world guide us while you likely had no one. Naoto-kun doesn’t think you are the killer nor Detective Dojima. He knows the truth and he won’t arrest you either. Would you be able to meet up with us at Naoto-kun’s house some time? We can explain that world to you and help you there.”

The older man is silent for a moment, clearly upset. It takes longer before he speaks.

“I don’t know what to think.”

“Please think about it is all I ask. I can give you my contact, and connect you to Naoto-kun later.”

“Are you sure?”

Ren nods. “Positive.”

They exchanged numbers, then Namatame said farewell. Honestly, that went way better than he expected. Sure he had been nervous, but he was willing to listen. He just hopes he’ll accept the truth in time. Either way, it seems Yu-sempai was worrying for nothing.

...At least that’s what he thought until he went home.

At home, his father is there and he’s pissed. Great.

“What the hell were you doing with that man at the plains?”

“How did you--?”

“I saw you with him! I couldn’t hear what you two were saying, but I could tell it was suspicious.”

Shit. He had to lie and fast. So much for not lying anymore.

“I needed his help with a package that wasn’t being delivered, and I had to do so for the privacy of the store.”

“Cut the bullshit! I know you’re lying. Why were you really there with him?”

He glares at his father. “This isn’t the police station, and I didn’t commit a crime.”

This earns him a slap to the face.

“Shut the fuck up brat! I’ve been trying to be more patient lately with you and your mother, especially with her threat of divorce, and working harder to get this damn case solved. But my patience is running very thin.”

“Then divorce. I don’t care.”

“You…!”

The older man punches a wall, which leaves a hole. Then stomps off.

Ren sighs. He was starting to enjoy his father not being around so much, and minding to himself. He should have known it wouldn’t last.

His mother come up to him and sighs. “Ren honey, you know you shouldn’t antagonize him like that.”

“Why can’t you just divorce him? Our shop is doing fine compared to a lot of the other shops in the Shopping District.”
“I can’t.”

“Yes you can, you’re just too afraid to do so.”

He knows it’s harsh, but at this point, he’s starting to be mad at his mom for continuing to accept the abuse, and defend him.

She has a look of hurt on her face, but doesn’t argue.

He brushes past her and heads to his room. It’s gonna be tricky getting around his dad, but at least his friends has his back.

The following morning, he wakes up to his phone blowing up. Several text messages pop up;

[>What the hell?! Ma got a threatening letter from your piece of shit dad, taking shit about her and he knows we’re hanging out again.]
[>MY GRANDPA GOT LETTER FROM YER DAD THREATENING US OVER KANJI-KUN. PLZ RESPOND.]
[>Ren-kun, my parents got a horrible letter from your dad and they are freaking out. =O I had to tell them that Kanji-kun has been good.]
[>My parents received a letter from your father demanding I don’t associate with Kanji-kun anymore. Thankfully they seem to believe me that Kanji-kun hasn’t been acting up, but I’m worried.]
[>Grandma got a horrible letter this morning threatening us over me hanging out with Kanji. She’s really upset, but doesn’t want to keep me from my friend. What happened?]
[>wtf? my mom and dad got letter from yer dad n said for me to not hang out w/ kanji or else. what happen?]

Ren’s stomach dropped. Not only did his dad go and give threatening letter to his friends’ families, but he now knows he’s been associating with Kanji again! How did he find out?! And for how long has he known?

But he can start answering the texts, he gets a phone call and it’s from Yu.

“Ren, what’s going on? Dojima-san got a letter this morning from your dad, saying he’s failing as a cop for allowing me to associate with Kanji-kun. Did something happen last night?”

He forces himself to take a deep breath before answering.

“Last night, I got into an argument with my father. He saw me with Namatame, but thankfully he couldn’t hear our conversation. I meant to contact you guys about the result of speaking with Namatame, but I was too exhausted last night.”

“Do you need to stay over at my place?”

“I wish I could, but doing so now would be suspicious.” He wishes he could stay with Yu or Kanji, but it’s not safe to do so. “Is Dojima-san mad?”

“Yeah but not at you or me. He knows Kanji hasn’t acted up at all lately aside from the news special.”

That’s a relief.

“Oh thank god. The others also got letters, and I hope it won’t cause problems with the case.”

“We’ll make it work. Please try to be safe.”

“I will.”

The phone call ends. His gut is telling him things are about to explode. He answers the other texts, then decides to rest for today to prepare for the likely fight he’s gonna have with his father tomorrow.

------

Dojima is pissed.

He’s always hated Detective Amamiya. The man was a mean drunk and a spoiled kid despite being a grown man. His boss has enabled him for too long and doesn’t seem to care the damage it’s causing. Not to mention he’s lazy, even more so than Adachi. Honestly, he makes Adachi look like a hard worker by comparison.

But this was too far. The letter he got this morning really made his blood boil. How dare he try to tell him how to take care of his nephew?! He knows he did scare Nanako a little, but managed to calm her down. Yu had panicked and defended Tatsumi-kun, though calmed down once he reassured him that he wasn’t gonna keep him away from Tatsumi-kun.

He went into work already in a bad mood, when he saw something he didn’t see everyday. There's a crowd of people at the entrance who are quite angry, and Adachi is trying and failing to calm them down.

He recognizes all of them. There’s the Satonakas, the Amagis, and the Hanamuras, as well as Mrs. Tatsumi, the owner of Marukyu Tofu shop, and Mr. Shirogane. His butler is also with.

He also didn’t have to put two and two together to know that they likely got letters as well.

“What’s going on here?”

“We’re here to make a complaint against Detective Amamiya. He gave us threatening letters demanding we forbid our children and grandchildren from being friends with Tatsumi-kun.”
“How dare he tell us how to raise our kids?! He has no right!”
“Why should it be his business when it has nothing to do with his own son?”
“My Kanji hasn’t done anything wrong. Not since he went after those bikers a while back.”
“Not to mention he’s been seen drunk on the job recently.”
“He’s out of hand, Dojima-san. Can’t you do something?”

He can start to feel a headache forming, but he focuses.

“I’ll speak with both him and my boss, but I can’t promise that anything will happen.”

Mr. Shirogane nods. “That’s all we ask.”

Some of them are not happy with the answer, but it does calm them down. Then they all leave.

Adachi shakes his head. “Man, Amamiya sure made a real mess this time. Can we even complain to the boss about his nephew?”

“I’ll have to try and reason with him. Even he has to see it’s gotten out of control.”

But he had a feeling his words might land on deaf ears. Regardless, he expects the next few days are gonna be hell.

Chapter Text

That night, Ren’s father didn’t come home. He couldn’t really sleep. Expecting him to randomly come in, and beat the shit out of him, and likely his mom. It’s clear that he’s reached his breaking point, and who knows what he might be willing to do.

Morning came and he got up and dressed. He didn’t bother putting his glasses on. Not only because he doesn’t need them, but they would just get destroyed in a fight.

He heads into the kitchen and his mom is sitting at the table looking terrified. Thankfully his father isn’t there yet. He can also see dark circles under her eyes. Seems even she didn’t get any sleep at all. Not that he could blame her.

“Morning.”

She notices him and her fear turns into worry.

“Honey, I think you should stay over to one of your friends’ houses until it’s safe.”

“I’m not leaving you alone here.”

“But Ren—”

“No. Father might not just settle for seriously hurting you, and kill you. I refuse to let him hurt us anymore.”

“But he might hurt you too.”

“I can fight back and I’ll protect you.”

Just then the door slam open. Ren stands in front of his mom to act as a shield. His father comes in looking quite pissed, and judging by the smell, he’s drunk again.

“Those bastards! How dare they complain about me. It’s not my fault they are terrible at parenting.”

“You were the one that decided to send threatening letters to my friends’ families. You’re lucky you didn’t lose your job.”

“Shut up! Don’t talk back to your father.” he then looks over to Ren’s mom. “Come here, woman. I need to blow off some steam.”

Ren’s mom starts to get up, but Ren puts his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“No mom. You are not a punching bag or whatever he wants to do with you.”

“You little shit!”

Ren’s father throws a fist towards Ren, who dodged it. Then Ren let go to sidestep and charges forward with his own fist and punches his father in the face.

The drunk man stumbles but does manage to stay standing. He raises his fists and attacks Ren. They both get into blows as a full fist fight breaks out. Ren had been training with Kanji on the side to prepare for this moment, and for a while, it seemed like he was winning.

But then his father got the upper hand, and Ren ends up on the floor. His father proceeds to take out handcuffs and handcuff him. Then he drags Ren out of the house and onto the street. He then kicks the shit out of Ren, and all he can do is hold his arms up to shield his face.

“Ren!”
“Ren-kun!”

The kicking stops and Ren lowers his arms to see that Kanji, Rise, Teddie, and his sempais have arrived.

“How did you guys know?”

“Kanji-kun heard the commotion from your house so he contacted us right away.”

They start to walk towards Ren when Ren’s father pulls out a gun on them.

Teddie raises his hands. “Eep! Don’t shoot!”

“Don’t get any closer or I will blow this brat’s brains out.”

Yu-sempai glares at him. “Let him go!”

“You are no position to tell me what to do. Especially since your stupid uncle got fired.”

What?! Dojima-san is out of the job?

Even the others are shocked by this.

“Dojima-san got fired?”
“Why? He was a good detective.”

“He couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and went to my uncle with the complaints from your annoying shit parents. Wouldn’t back off when my uncle told him to ignore them, and my uncle fired him.”

Yukiko-sempai glares at his father with a fury that Ren has rarely seen outside of battle.

“How dare you insult our families. You have no right!”

Kanji also looks pissed. “Back off asshole! My ma has more balls than you.”

“Shut the hell up, brats. I’m the one with the gun. If you don’t watch it, I’ll kill him!”

In the corner of Ren’s eyes, he notices what seems to be a group of men and cameras, before quickly looking away so his father doesn’t notice.

He’s heard about a camera crew was harassing the Amagi Inn lately, and they seem to be the kind of sleezy type to make gross content regardless if it does damage or not. If they are filming right now, this could be his chance to finally stop his father and his great uncle.

He raises his voice slightly so the camera can pick it up.

“You can’t get away with this abuse of power! Surely this is illegal, even for the police.”

Ren’s father, either too drunk to notice what’s happening or not caring, laughs. “My uncle has a lot of power, both in terms of the police force and money. I can get away with anything. Even murder if I wanted to.”

He feels guilty for the next part, but it has to be done. Sorry Konishi-kun.

“Even with having the Konishis sell me booze to give to you?”

“It’s for the good of the Shopping District. They got extra cash, I get extra booze without having to go to the store as often. A win-win for everyone.”

“Why even do that when you can get it yourself?”

His father grins at Chie-sempai’s question. “The Konishis are loisng business to Junes, and they were willing to do anything to stay in business. Sure they got pity money after that slut daughter of those died, but by that point, they became my bitches.”

Yosuke-sempai gets angry at this. “You take that back, asshole!”

Yu places a hand on Yosuke’s shoulder.

“Don’t let him get to you.”

“Ha! She betrayed her family to work at Junes, so she deserved to die. Same with that whore announcer.”

So far, so good. Ren doesn’t need to look to see that the camera is still rolling, and his father is still unaware.

“Why does great uncle not care about me and mom? You beat us and broke mom’s leg on purpose years ago!”

Again, Ren’s father chuckles. “Because I’m the most important family he has. You’re lucky uncle wanted you born at all. He would have cut me off if I left.”

“You should have left. Mom and I would have been better off without you.”

Ren gets another kick, this one aimed at his gut.

“Shut the fuck up. I’m tired of you being a pain in my ass. I was gonna wait until you finished high school to kill your mother and have you framed for it, but I think I will instead frame you for the serial murder case. That way, this stupid case can finally be closed.”

This stuns not only him, but the others as well. Did his father, no sperm donor, just admit that he wants to kill his mother and frame him?

“You want to kill my mom?! You son of a—”

He gets kicked once more.

“Keep quiet! Your mother ruined my life getting pregnant with you. She should have aborted you, but she wouldn’t do it.”

“Bastard…”

“I am the king of this town! I can do anything! And nobody can stop me.”

Just then sirens can be heard and several cop cars appear, with officers coming out of the cars, pulling out their guns. Dojima, Naoto and Adachi also come out. While Naoto and Adachi have their own guns drawn, Dojima doesn’t.

Seems he really did get fired, but at least he was able to get a ride.

Ren’s father grins again, this time much wider. “Oh it’s over for you brat. Your future is gone.”

Dojima glares at him. “No, it’s you that’s finished Amamiya. We heard everything and it’s been broadcast live.”

“Broadcast?”

Then Ren’s father finally notices the camera crew, and his eyes widen in shock.

Naoto adjusts their hat with a free hand. “Everything you confessed has been heard. Chief of police Hiroshi Amamiya is being put under arrest as we speak. And now you are under arrest yourself. Domestic and child abuse, abuse of power, conspiracy to murder. Your uncle can’t save you this time from your own actions.”

Adachi has a serious look on his face while continuing to point his gun at the sperm donor.

“Put the gun down Amamiya and come quietly. As the kid said, it’s over.”

At first, he’s made speechless. Even in his drunken state, even he can see that he’s screwed now. Then suddenly he lets out an angry scream, and moves the gun towards Ren and…

BANG!

Everything felt like it was in slow motion and before he knew it, Yu was standing in front of him. And the bottom right side of his torso, Yu’s left, starts to turn pink.

Ren’s blood ran cold as he realized Yu had been shot.

Their friends and Dojima look on in horror as Yu collapses. Even Adachi has an ‘oh shit’ look on his face.

Naoto quickly aims and fires at the sperm donor’s arm, forcing him to drop the gun. Then several cops swarm in to arrest him. Soon enough, he’s knocked down and handcuffed. After that, Naoto heads over and help Ren out of his handcuffs.

Meanwhile the others run over to Yu, Kanji trying to stop the bleeding with his bare hands.

“That was way too careless, sempai! What were you thinking?!”
“Yu-kun, hang in there!”
“Someone call an ambulance.”

At Yukiko’s words, Dojima puts away his phone. “Already ahead of you. They are on their way.”

Ren can’t help but feel huge guilt. Was this his fault? Sure he wanted to stop his sperm donor and great uncle, but not like this. If Yu dies from this, he will never be able to forgive himself. He wouldn’t even blame the others for not forgiving him either.

Things at that point become a blur to Ren as Yu gets sent to the hospital, and at some point, he ends up there along with the others. He has no memory of actually getting there at all.

Just then a nurse comes up to them. It seems Yu is alive and they were able to get the bullet out, but he will need to stay in the hospital for a few days to recover. Currently he’s not in a state to have visitors outside of family right now, so they all have to go home.

As they get outside, Kanji has him step aside to talk.

“Hey, what happened to Yu-sempai wasn’t your fault.”

“But I-I didn’t want that to happen. When I noticed that TV crew, I thought it was finally my chance to expose them,” his vision gets blurry as tears form in his eyes. “And it did, but Yu-sempai got shot and I…I…”

The tears stream down his face before he could stop himself. Kanji pulls Ren into a hug and at that point, Ren starts to cry. All the fear, the pain, and the guilt is too much for him.

“He’s gonna be alright. They got the bullet out, he’ll recover. And both that piece of shit and his uncle won’t hurt you and your mom anymore.”

Logically he knows that. It’s just hard to ignore the pain in his heart, and the mental strain he’s been under for so long.

It takes some time but eventually Ren is able to calm down and stop crying. He separates from Kanji and wipes his eyes with a hand. Aside from the headache from crying, he’s also feeling the pain from his fist fight with his sperm donor. While he was able to avoid a black eye or anything broken, he’s pretty sure he’s gonna be quite bruised up if he isn’t already.

Just then his phone rings and he answers it and it’s his mom.

“Ren, are you okay?! I saw everything that happened.”

“I’m okay mom. We just got out of the hospital, and Yu-sempai has to spend a few days to recover. That sperm donor didn’t break anything.”

“You shouldn’t call him that.”

“Mom, he wanted to kill you and frame me after high school! And then he wanted to frame me for the serial murder. I may have his blood, but he’s not my father.”

He hears a sigh on the phone before his mom continues.

“We’ll talk about it later. Are you coming home?”

He pauses. Honestly he doesn’t want to, but would he be able to stay elsewhere for the night? Or have his mom come with for that matter?

“Hold on a moment.” he covers the phone and turns towards Kanji. “She’s asking if I want to come home, but I dunno. I don’t suppose you could let me stay over? Maybe bring mom too if I can convince her?”

“Of course man. After the shit day you’ve had, I can’t blame ya. Your mom’s free to come over too if she wants.”

Ren nods, then answers his mom. “I’m thinking of staying at Kanji’s for the night. Kanji says you can come over too, and we can stay at the Tatsumis for tonight. Might be good to get away from the house.”

“Oh no, that’s alright Ren. You can go stay with Kanji-kun tonight.”

Part of him is disappointed, but he knows how stubborn she can be. He knows it’s gonna be a struggle to get her to open her eyes about his dad.

“...Okay. I’ll need to grab some things at home, then I’ll head over there.”

“Sounds good. Please stay safe.”

“Sure thing, Bye mom.” then he hangs up. “She doesn’t want to come, but I can come over.”

“Guess she needs some alone time.”

That could be possible, but he isn’t sure about that.

Ren heads home to grab a bag with a change of clothes as well as his usual sleep clothes, his shampoo, and comb. Then he goes over to Kanji’s house. There, Kanji’s mom greets him warmly and suddenly he felt like he was a little kid again. A shame Kanji’s dad wasn’t around.

They had a peaceful dinner and the rest of the night was also peaceful. She was even kind enough to give him something to help with the pain.

He really did need a quiet place to rest and having his best friend near for comfort. He still feels guilty about what happened, but at least he was able to put his mind at ease enough to get some sleep. Luckily he was able to have a dreamless sleep that night.

------

In hindsight, what Yu did was stupid and careless. But when he saw that Ren’s dad was about to shoot Ren, he acted without thinking. Getting shot in real life is a lot more painful than the movies make it seem.

It took some time for him to wake up after the surgery and allow for family to visit. Dojima came alone as Nanako was at a friend’s house that night. No doubt she will come visit soon as well. He wishes he could call her to let her know he’s okay now. But alas.

“What the hell were you thinking?! You could have died had the bullet hit anything vital.”

“I know.”

Dojima sighs. “Well both Detective Amamiya and chief of police have both been arrested, but I don’t know much else since I was fired. I would not be surprised if I get re-hired or they beg me to come back. We’re already have a shortage of officers and this mess is going to make it worse.”

“Are we going to be okay or do I need to start paying the bills?”

The older man shakes his head. “No, that’s not your responsibility. If I don’t end up back on the force, I’ll...figure something out.”

Although Yu can tell by the look on his face that he’s devastated that he’s lost his job. Did he love that job that much? Or was it something to do with that newspaper article a while back that he was looking for?

“Uncle, did you find that copy of that news article you were looking for before?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I did find it. Were you worried about it? Not that it matters now.” he looks away. “It’s about Chisato, my wife. She was killed by a hit and run, and a suspect was never found. But that’s not a topic we should be discussing while you’re in the hospital.”

“Even if it’s about family?”

Dojima didn’t expect that response, but isn’t mad.

“...Alright fine, you win.” he pauses for a moment before he continues to speak. “When Nanako’s mother got run over, she was on her way to pick up Nanako from nursery school. It was a cold day and there was no witnesses, so they didn’t find her until much later. Until they got word to me, Nanako was waiting all alone at the nursery there. Waiting for a mother that would never come.”

Then Dojima rubs his temple. “I couldn’t tell Nanako that she had been killed. That her father, whose job is to catch criminals, couldn’t find a single lead. But I won’t give up. I might not be apart of the police force anymore, but I will find a way to find the bastard and catch him. Even if it means I have to sacrifice everything, including a social life. Nanako will understand—”

While it maybe a combination of the stress Yu’s been under, having been just shot, this hitting some nerves that remind him of his parents, and Dojima being unreasonable, something in him snaps. Anger quickly boils over before he can control himself, and he raises his voice.

“That’s just an excuse! Are you seriously telling me you’re going to run away, and abandon Nanako and I completely? Even if you manage to catch Aunt Chisato’s killer, it won’t bring her back.”

“Again, Nanako will understand.”

“She doesn’t. She’s a little kid. She doesn’t understand what you’ve been doing. Kids don’t see what’s going on in adults’ heads, they just see what’s around them. Spending lonely nights wondering if they are even good enough for their parents. Do you really want her to grow up feeling that way like I have?”

Dojima flinched as if he had been slapped in the face. “Yu…”

Yu lets out a sigh of his own and calms down. He shouldn’t have snapped like that, but he couldn’t help it. Plus it looked like Dojima needed a reality check.

“I can’t replace you, uncle. I won’t be here forever. So please, try harder and keep trying. Nanako needs you. I need you.”

“...You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m being an idiot.”

“I’m not the one that needs an apology, Nanako does. She does love you, you know.”

“Of course,” he lets out a ‘heh’. “Never imagined a kid having to knock some sense into me.”

He feels relief that his uncle is now seeing sense again, and maybe try to repair things between him and Nanako.

Rank up!! Hierophant, rank 6

“I’ll bring over Nanako tomorrow. It’s not as if I have any other place to be.”

He does smile a little at this. “Thanks. I do hope you get your job back.”

“I hope so too. There’s not a lot of job opportunities here.”

Dojima leaves to let Yu rest. It doesn’t take long until he ends up falling asleep.

-----

What did he do in his past life to deserve this? First Naoki lost his older sister earlier this year, and now tonight, his parents have been arrested. Sure his parents deserved it for being stupid, and getting themselves in a mess they couldn’t get out of. Just because the store was struggling because of Junes, and had they waited a few more months, then they wouldn’t have had to do that. Considering all the pity buying people had been doing after Saki died.

Now with his parents in jail, their store is gone. With nobody to run it, and even if there was someone willing to take it over, nobody would want to shop there given what his parents did. He didn’t want to take it over, but now he won’t have the chance to change his mind. And he has no idea what he’s gonna do with his life after he graduates high school either.

Not to mention he dreads how people will treat him now that his parents are now criminals, and given how his country’s society treats those connected to criminals, he might be in for a rough time. Even more so than before. The way people have been treating him before was bad as well, and he had been trying to tell people to stop treating him special. Now it might shift to the other extreme.

Too bad his only real friend Narukami-sempai is in the hospital for getting shot. Thank goodness he didn’t die. He feels alone as it is. His old friends had been staying away from him, and he never did get close with either Tatsumi or Amamiya.

As he sits in the living room, he tries to think. It’s way too quiet in the house now. Sure he could go ahead and work on homework, but he isn’t sure he can focus enough on doing that tonight. He briefly thought about eating a cream puff when he remembered he threw the last ones away because Saki wasn’t around to eat them before they got expired.

He finally lets out a sigh.

“This sucks.”

He then gets up to watch some TV. He grabs a remote and turns it on, sitting down on the couch. The TV turns onto some news. The news shows pictures of both Amamiya’s father and great uncle.

“Tonight, we bring you the latest breaking news. Earlier today, Detective Ichiro Amamiya and chief of police Hiroshi Amamiya have both been arrested for a number of charges. The now former detective was caught physically abusing his teenage son, and had shot another teenager with his gun. The boy is currently hospitalized, but will make a full recovery. The now former chief of police had been abusing his power, and covering for his nephew. Both of them will likely have to face trial later this month for their crimes.

On a similar note, two other arrests were made tonight.”

Then it shows pictures of his parents.

“Takahiro and Anzu Konishi were arrested for selling alcohol to a minor. Ichiro Amamiya had admitted to making an illegal deal with the Konishis to fuel his alcoholism. They are the parents of the previous victim of the serial murder case, Saki Konishi. With their arrest, their store becomes another in the latest in the Shopping District to close. Struggling to compete against Junes.”

At this point, he turns it off. Feeling even worse than before. Logically, he knows Amamiya did the right thing in exposing his parents, but he can’t help but feel irrationally angry at him.

“Damn that Amamiya…”

He might give him a piece of his mind tomorrow, but he’ll have to see how everyone treats him going forward. He then heads to bed, not exactly in the best mood.

Chapter Text

Yu doesn’t have much to do as he waited to recover in the hospital, other than watch TV or sleep. As someone used to doing a lot of things, it proves frustrating. The only thing he can look forward to is the visits from Nanako and his friends.

Afternoon arrives and both Dojima and Nanako show up. Nanako especially looks upset.

“Big bro!”

She runs up to him and wrap her arms around him, which does cause him some pain.

“N-Not so hard, Nanako. I’m still healing.”

When she hears that, she lets go. “Oh sorry.”

Dojima shakes his head.

“How are you feeling?”

“About the same.”

“The doctor did say that it would take a few more days before you can come home.”

Good thing it’s summer vacation, so he doesn’t have to worry about missed school work. He’s already got his summer homework done.

“Anyway, I do have some good news. I was contacted this morning and was offered my job back. They really can’t afford to lose anymore people, so they were pretty desperate to get me back. Even offering both a pay raise and a promotion to chief of police. I took the pay raise, but not the chief of police.”

Nanako looks up in confusion. “How come?”

“I don’t feel like it would have been earned. Plus I’m comfortable remaining a detective.”

And likely because it might get in the way of finding his aunt’s killer.

The rest of the visit was fine before both Dojima and Nanako went home. The next day, Yosuke and Teddie visits.

“Sensei!”

Teddie pulls him into a hug, which again, causes pain.

“Not so rough, Teddie.”

Teddie notices this and lets go. “Oh sorry.”

“Sheesh. You’re gonna make him stay longer if you don’t cut it. Anyway, how are you doing partner?”

“Okay I guess. It’s been pretty boring.”

“Yeah I don’t blame you there. Good thing there’s no school right now.”

“How are things in town?”

Yosuke frowns. “It’s been kinda tense. There’s been a lot of talk about what happened, and we did get asked if you were okay.”

It makes sense. On top of the murderer still out there, there’s now a huge scandal with the Inaba police. It’s no wonder that trust and faith in the police is now at an all-time low.

“How is Ren-kun and Konishi-kun?”

At that question, Yosuke cringes.

“Well we tried to speak with Konishi-kun, but he told us to leave him alone. Ren-kun seemed pretty bummed, but given everything that has happened, and the way some of the adults are talking trash about him and Konishi-kun, it makes sense that he would be like that.”

Given how their society works, he’s not surprised that people are treating them like criminals. Even though it wasn’t their fault at all.

“I’ll have a talk with him as soon as I’m about to get out of the hospital.” Hopefully Konishi-kun hasn’t regressed too much to the point he would have to start over with him.

The rest of the visit was fine as well. Sunday, Chie and Yukiko visited. Then Monday came, and most of the first years visited except for Ren.

When Yu asked about Ren, Naoto said that he’s been having a hard time, and they all had been trying to be there for him. It seems he has taken what happened to Yu really hard, and apparently things with his mother is awkward and tense at home. His mom is having a hard time accepting that her own husband wanted to kill her, and frame his son for crimes he didn’t commit, so it’s been causing arguments at home.

Rise said that they are trying to convince Ren to come visit, but he might need more time.

After that, the rest of the visit was nice. Tuesday both Kou and Daisuke came to visit to cheer him up. Which did work, but he’s wondering if Ren will ever come visit.

Then came today. Just as when Yu was starting to think Ren wasn’t going to come, he finally does. And he looks like a mess. While any injuries he got from his dad have healed or mostly healed by now, he does have bags under his eyes. Likely not having been sleeping well recently.

“H-Hey sempai. Sorry I took so long to visit. I uh, have been dealing with things since my sperm donor’s arrest. Heard Dojima-san got his job back, and I'm glad he did. Public Security had been here looking into everyone else on the force, and it looks bad. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to make some cops move over here.”

Obviously there’s no way they can solve it on their own, even with additional help, but it would be bad if the shortage is made much worse.

“I’m sure Adachi-san will get cleared.”

“Yeah, I hope so. He’s an idiot and a blabbermouth, but he doesn’t deserve to get fired.”

He has to agree with that, and not just because he has a social link with him.

“Are things okay at school with you?”

Ren toys with a lock of hair. “I already wasn’t liked by my peers before, so nothing really changed for me other than Konishi clearly being pissed at me for getting his parents arrested.”

He frowns at that.

“I did hear some things about what’s going on with Konishi-kun, and I’m concerned about him.”

“Maybe he might let you talk to him since he refuses to let us help him.” then Ren casts his eyes down. “Yu-sempai, did I do the right thing when exposing his parents’ crime? Or should have I not said that at all?”

Looks like Ren-kun is still feeling guilty about that.

“They would have been found out if you hadn’t mentioned it, Ren. It’s just so happened that things happened faster. So I don’t think you did the wrong thing.”

“But you don’t say it was the right way?”

“I don’t know. You didn’t do it out of maliciousness for Konishi-kun.”

“Yeah, but it’s my fault that he’s being treated like a pariah now. I don’t blame him for hating me.”

He shakes his head. “People are being too harsh on him. That’s not on you, okay?”

“...Okay.”

Something about that doesn’t sound convincing, and Ren still looks sad. Looks like he’ll have to do something about that.

“Hey, could you come closer?”

Ren raises an eyebrow. “Uh sure?”

He steps closer, and Yu forces himself to sit up so he can pull Ren into a hug. He’s healed enough where it doesn’t hurt like it would have, but it’s not comfortable.

Ren’s eyes widen at this and a blush forms.

“S-Sempai?”

“Please stop blaming yourself. You’re not the bad guy. I know things are rough right now for both you and Konishi-kun, but you don’t need to put the burden on your shoulders.”

There’s a pause before then Ren hugs back. “I-I know. It’s just...mom barely talks to me, and I can’t help but feel bad for my part in Konishi’s situation.”

“It’ll be okay, Ren. I’m sure both of them just need more time. You have me and everyone else to back you up.”

“Thank you, sempai.”

Rank up!! Adjustment, rank 6

They continue the hug, and Yu couldn’t help but move a hand to Ren’s hair to both give comfort, but also to feel it. It’s softer than he expected it to be, like cotton.

“Your hair is so soft.”

Ren’s face turns a darker shade of red, and he makes a small laugh. “Thanks. I do take good care of it.”

He then feels a hand to his own hair, and his own face heats up as his heart pounds for a moment. He has to use all his willpower not to pull him into a kiss. So he simply lets him touch his hair.

Eventually they do separate and let go, but he still has that warm feeling in his chest, even after Ren has to leave.

Thank god he can leave tomorrow. He might have to do his own love confession soon.

------

As Ren got home and back in his room, he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened at the hospital. While he feels lighter than he has all week, even if part of him still feels guilt, there was also something else. Something familiar.

He’s long gotten over his old crush on Kanji, and he’s been noticing Kanji’s crush on Naoto, though he’s also noticed he’s been getting closer to Rise as well. He’s not entirely sure what’s up there, but he’s happy for him either way.

The hug and having his hair felt was really nice. The hair touch especially made his heart flutter. Yu-sempai’s hair felt so soft, and he didn’t even seem to mind it. Part of him didn’t want it to end.

“Could it be…?”

He takes out his sketchbook to look through it. He notices that at some point, he started sketching Yu a lot. Either when he isn’t looking or just on his free time. Even the last drawing, which was made two days before his sperm donor’s arrest, was that of Yu.

Then it all clicks into place.

“I’ve got a crush on Yu-sempai.”

It makes a lot of sense in hindsight. He’s been the one to support him the entire time, and has always been there for him. Plus he does have good looks, even with his hair style. No wonder he’s falling for him.

He closes the sketchbook with a smile, even with Amanozako giggling with amusement in his head. This time, he’s going to confess his feelings himself, rather than let his other self do it for him. Even if he ends up with another rejection, at least he won’t be a coward for a change.

He puts the sketchbook away, and heads back into the living room, feeling quite happy. For a moment, he thought nothing could bring down his mood. Even if dinner is as quiet as usual, but when his mom turned on the TV, those good feelings disappeared.

Not only was the news talking about the Konishis again, but Konishi himself is clearly on TV being interviewed. Even with the poor attempt at making him anonymous.

Shit, he’s gonna be the next victim, isn’t he?