It's hard to believe that it's almost been one year already. One year since the fall of the Demiurge. One year since my alter-ego's name, "Joker", was spoken about amongst news reporters and online forums. Looking back on it, it all seems like one big fever dream. After all, how could it have been real? A group of thieves running around in a world created by one's most blinding desires, wielding the ability to take said desires and change one's hearts? It all seems like a child's fantasy. It's almost as if the whole ordeal was exaggerated out of proportions by some wayward rumors that coincidentally didn't contradict anything that was going on.

And yet, here I was.

Surrounded by those same thieves that I worked with all those months ago. Each and every one of them smiling, talking about the adventures we had, talking about the demons we fought. And, above all else, talking about how much they missed me. When I look at them from my car seat, when I take my part of their discussions, when I remember the things they remember, I know. I know that it was all real.

"Ryuji, are you sure that you should be the one to drive this thing?" Makoto asked, eyebrow raised and showing concern.

"The hell's that supposed to mean? We're making good time, aren't we?" Ryuji replied, about as oblivious as ever.

"You idiot, that's the point! You're going 10 above the speed limit!" Ann added. Those two have been at each other's throats since we got to Sumaru City. It's no surprise that she complained to him the moment that the opportunity aroused. "It would be one thing if we were still on the highway, but we're in the middle of a city!"

"R-E-L-A-X, I've been to this place before. They don't exactly have the most proactive police force in the country. I'm sure that we can go in-and-out before anyone even notices." Ryuji stated, his confidence seeping worry into all who can hear. "Besides, the sooner we reach Tokyo, the sooner we can celebrate our summer vacation together. All of us! Isn't that what we all want?"

Morgana let out a sigh before complaining. "Dammit Ryuji, do you have any self-restraint?" When those words came out of his mouth, Ryuji's muscles became visibly pent up, His face grew pink, and his eyes started to narrow. This was not going to end well. "Why don't we park somewhere and have lady Ann switch seats with you? I'm sure she wouldn't be stupid enough to drive too fast in a city."

"Ryuji whipped his head back, taking his eyes off the road, and yelled at the top of his lungs "THE HELL DIDJA JUST SAY TO ME?!"

It was at that moment that his hand started to slip. The car swerved left and right, veering off straight into a stop sign, and nearly missing a pedestrian. Everyone was screaming as Ryuji tried to retake control of the van.
"HIT THE BRAKES!" Makoto yelled, trying to out-volume all of the screaming. Upon hearing this, Ryuji did as the queen commanded. Slamming on the brakes as hard as he could, bulldozing through another sign with a screech of the tires. Thankfully, the van finally came to a halt. In a parking spot no less.

"…okay, maybe someone else should take the wheel." Ryuji whispered to himself, his voice quivering from the adrenaline.

"YOU THINK?!" Ann replied.

As everyone tried to collect themselves, our biggest worry became a reality.

"Oh no." stated Haru, as a siren sounded off in the distance. We had never been on good terms with police officers before, but at least back then they were looking for some magical thieves that didn't even exist in the real world. Now they are coming to see what kind of idiot would cause all of this damage.

I could hear Futaba hyperventilating next to me. I don't blame her, my anxiety was also skyrocketing. My heartbeat was growing faster and faster the closer that the siren became.

"J-Just stay calm, everyone." Makoto said, trying to reassure us. "We'll just explain that it was all one big accident. I'm sure that as soon as they see we're just a bunch of high schoolers that they'll let us go with a warning."

In a few moments the siren sound became much clearer. We could hear the motorcycle engine as the officer parked behind us. No-one dared to look in his direction as he shut down his bike and turned off the siren.

"Roll down the window." Makoto demanded, with Ryuji complying in the moment.

As the officer walked up to the driver's side, we were greeted by an unexpected figure. The man was not wearing standard police uniform, instead opting for a red biking suit with a large, black "X" insignia on the front. Furthermore, his reddish hair was messy and unkept, as if he didn't care about what other people thought about his looks.

With one look at us, the officer let out a sigh with the biggest face palm we have ever seen. "Jesus fucking Christ…" He said under his voice.

"H-How can I help you, officer?" Ryuji asked, trying his best to hide his vulgar-boy mannerism… He didn't do a good job.

The officer moved his hand away from his face. "Well, I WAS going to pull you guys over for speeding," All of our eyes shot towards Ryuji's direction, as a single drop of sweat ran down his back. ", But you kids had to go and make things a HELL of a lot more complicated, didn't you?"

"W-Wait officer, I can explain!" pleaded Ryuji.

"I'm listening." The officer replied. For whatever reason, Ryuji froze upon hearing this. Was he not expecting the officer to hear him out, or did he just forget what he was going to say? Either way, Makoto kicked the back of his seat to snap him out of it.

"THE CAT MADE FUN OF ME!" Ryuji exclaimed, do to the sudden kick of the seat startling him.

Every single one of our mouths dropped upon hearing that.

Why?

Just,

Why?

Even if it was an accident, why in god's name would you EVER let something like that come out of your mouth?!

The officer's eyebrow rose. "What?" I'm actually surprised that he was able to keep his composure after hearing something as ridiculous as that.

Ryuji tried his best to spin that statement "N-N-No, I didn't mean… what I meant was that the cat said… NO! I-I-I m-mean did to me was call me an… W-WAIT! That's not what I…"

"Get out of the car." The officer interrupted, with a commanding voice. "All of you, get in line with your hands behind your head."

We all did as he said, with a passing glare at Ryuji. Each of us stood on the sidewalk facing away from the building behind us. The officer started to pat down my shirt and pants.

"W-Wait, you're not going to do that to all of us, are you?" Futaba asked, blushing a bit.

"That's the idea" the officer replied, not even looking in her direction.

"Officer, this really isn't necessary. This is all just one big accident. If you could just let me explai…" Makoto said before being interrupted.

"You don't know what is and is not necessary, kid. I'm older than you, which means I do. So just let me check you guys for substances in peace. The sooner I can get this done, the sooner you all can be on your way."

I don't know why, but something about what he said made me snap. What did he mean by that? That because we we're younger than him that we don't get a say in anything? That we are just supposed to let him do what he wanted uncontested? It almost reminded me of the shadows that we fought during our heists. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. My anger grew and grew until I had to let it out.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, straight into the officer's ears as he was on his knees patting me down.

He looked at me, with a slight twitch of his eye. "Did you just…"

"WE DIDN'T KILL ANYONE, DID WE? NO-ONE GOT HURT RIGHT? ALL THAT WAS DAMAGED WAS SOME STUPID SIGNS THAT ARNE'T EVEN WORTH ANYTHING!" The officer started to get back up on his feet. "STOP TREATING US LIKE CRIMINALS! WE HAVEN'T EVEN DONE ANYTHING!"

"This isn't about what you have and haven't done," the officer replied with a stern, but not loud voice. "This is about what you could have done, the people that you could have hurt. Kids like you need to learn that, even if no-one was hurt, shit like this can't go unpunished." The officer started to get up in my face. "So, like I said, if you just keep quiet and let me…"

…

He Froze.

…

I don't know why, but he was mesmerized by something behind me.

…

Me and everyone else were confused at the officer's sudden pause to his rant. I looked behind me to see what the big deal was.

…

…

"Kismet Publishing"

That's what the sign on the building read. What was the big deal about some magazine company? Why was it so important that the officer stopped in his tracks?

Just then, two girls walked out of the front door, one was muscly and wearing fitness gear, while the other would have been pretty average looking if it weren't for her odd brown-and-pink dress.

The girl in brown stopped a few steps in front of the building. Staring at the officer the same way he was staring at her.

"What the- Maya, come on." The muscly girl said. "The bus can't wait forever." She grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. "Er… Maya?" It was then that this "Maya" started beeding.

"THE HELL?!" the muscly girl exclaimed as Maya started to cry. "Oh god, Maya! What happened to your side? MAYA?!" Maya ran back inside the building, with the other girl chasing after her.

"What on earth…" Yusuke asked himself. Within moments, the sound of a motorcycle speeding away gathered everyone's attention. The police officer was nowhere to be seen.

"Wha-What just happened?" Haru asked, just about as confused as everyone else there.

"Eh, who cares?" said the now smiling Ryuji. "All this means is that we can get back to Tokyo without having to worry about wasting time here." Ryuji started marching to the driver's door.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ann shouted as she tried to get to the driver's seat before Ryuji could.

Everyone else shrugged and followed the two's footsteps. Soon enough, we were back on the road again, this time with a much, much , MUCH more responsible driver behind the wheel. Still, something didn't feel right. Something about that whole ordeal with the officer and the girl. Did they know each other? Why did she start bleeding? And more importantly, why couldn't I shake off the feeling that someone was watching us? While I was thinking this, Futaba started tugging on my shirt.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "You've been quiet for the past hour"

My eyes widened with that statement. I haven't even realized that I was thinking about Sumaru City for so long. I guess the idea of being watched has always been a massive concern for me. Maybe I was just overthinking this. Maybe I was stressing myself out over nothing.

Or maybe…

"Hey Futaba" I asked. "Did you notice something strange back in the City?"

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"Well, I mean…"

...

...

"Did you also see the black butterfly?"