Minato and Minako blinked as they saw Teddie lounging on the massage chair that Minato had bought the other day. It was then that Minako's cellphone rang. Minako headed to another room to answer it while Minato questioned Teddie.

"Teddie...what are you doing here?" Minato asked slowly.

"Well, I was really bored over there. And I decided to come over here for a change, it just never occurred to me to do it before!" Teddie said, turning up the vibration setting on the massage chair.

Minako then came running into the room, looking worried.

"Mr. Morooka has been murdered, and Souji-kun is wondering if he's been on the other side lately." Minako said.

"Murdered huh?" Minato said. "Hey Teddie, has anyone been on the other side, or were you alone as always?"

"Alone as always." Teddie answered.

"Are you sure?" Minako asked.

"Positive!" Teddie smiled.

"Well, it's true that the midnight channel was blank last night, and Teddie says he didn't sense anything so..." Minako said. "It must mean that Mr. Morooka was never on that side."

Minako and Minato's conversation was interrupted however when Teddie butt in.

"Hey, I wanna go somewhere!" Teddie said, hopping off the chair after turning it off.

"Uhh...where?" Minako asked.

"I want to give this to Rise-chan. This is for her." Teddie said before handing Minato a pair of pink glasses. "Rise-chan is probably going to back you all up from now on, so I'm going to fight alongside with you guys with everything I've got."

"Well, alright..." Minato said.


"Why did you bring him over here?" Yosuke asked, referring to Teddie as they all sat in the Junes food court.

"Actually, when we came down this morning, he was already out." Minako said. "So we just brought him here. He said that no one's been over in the TV world lately."

"You sure?" Yosuke asked.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Teddie said, annoyed.

"And he didn't show up on the midnight channel either." Chie said.

"What's up with that?" Kanji asked.

"Then he was killed over here? Why not throw him into a TV like all the rest?" Chie asked.

"I don't know." Souji shrugged.

"Yeah... Why only King Moron?" Yosuke asked.

"Maybe the culprit thought he couldn't kill any more people by throwing them into TVs." Yukiko said. "I mean, we prevented his last three attempts in a row."

"So they snuffed someone on our side this time to make sure it worked." Kanji said, growling slightly. "Dammit, if that's true, then we have no ways of preventing the murders unless we catch the killer!"

"We need more clues." Minako said. "I wonder if Rise-chan is up and around yet."

"Yeah, we'll have to put our hopes on her." Yosuke sighed.

"Ughh...It's so hot out!" Teddie whined. "I'm taking this off!"

Yosuke however, prevent him from taking his head off. "Oh no you don't! There are kids around, they'll be scarred for life if they see an empty mascot walking around. Have a little consideration, man."

"I'm glad you're back to normal though, your fur is all fuzzy again!" Yukiko smiled.

"C-Can I feel it...?" Kanji asked.

"No." Teddie said. "Actually, I'm no longer a hollow bear! Mwahahaha! I trained and trained, hoping to score with Chie-chan and Yuki-chan since Mina-chan is taken. And now I finally have an inside!"

"Yeah...good job with that." Chie said, wincing slightly.

"Come on! Can't we give it a rest with the whole 'Scoring' thing?" Yukiko demanded.

"Dude, you're hollow. Taking your head off isn't going to cool you down!" Yosuke said.

"But I just told you! I'm not hollow anymore!" Teddie frowned. "Agh...it's too hot, I can't stand it!"

Teddie then started to unzip his head. Everyone watched with baited breaths as the head finally came off, revealing a beautiful blonde boy with bright blue eyes. Sweat rolled off his form, making him glisten as he took a long drink from Chie's soda.

"Ahhh~ That's much better." The new Teddie said, smiling refreshingly with sparkles flying about.

"No way..." Chie gasped.

Teddie then turned to both Yukiko and Chie, smiling charmingly at them. "Hey Chie-chan, Yuki-chan."

"Uhh...yes?" Chie asked.

"Do you have anything to wear? I'm basically like a newborn at the moment." Teddie smiled.

"Teddie is that really you?" Minako asked with wide eyes, Minato was shocked as well.

"Uhh..." Yukiko was speechless.

"Wait, did you say you're like a newborn?" Chie asked, wide-eyed. "Th-Then don't take the bottom part off! You need some clothes, right? C'mon, let's go look around..."

Teddie then went off with the girls to shop for clothes.

The boys who were left behind however, were still shocked.

"That's... Teddie...?" Kanji gaped. "He said that he's not hollow anymore... So, like... he grew himself a body in there?"

"What kind of creature would do that?!" Yosuke asked, grimacing.

"Whatever kind of creature Teddie is...?" Souji said. "Maybe it's a side effect from him gaining a persona."

"Seems like it." Yosuke said.

"Well, it's better than him walking around in a bear suit." Minato said.

"True." Yosuke agreed. "Oh, hey, weren't we gonna see about talking to Rise? I was so shocked that I lost track of what we were talking about. Let's head over to Rise's place. As for Teddie...He's with the girls so he should be fine."


"MmmMmm!" Kanji smiled, licking his frozen treat. "It's finally the season for topsicles again!"

Yosuke looked up from the one he was eating, turning to Kanji. "Dude, how many are you going to eat? You're going to get a stomach ache."

Kanji shrugged. Minato too was enjoying his lemon topsicle, hardly being able to have any sort of frozen treats on Port Island.

The girls then came up to them, Minako instantly zipped to Minato's side and took a bite out of his topsicle, making him pout slightly. Minako giggled before going into the store to buy some topsicles for herself, giving one of them to Minato.

"Sorry we're late..." Chie said.

"How'd it take it that long to find clothes for Ted?" Yosuke asked.

Teddie then came along. He was dressed in a white suave dress shirt with an open collar and a rose on his breast pocket along with black slacks.

"Whoa...! I-Is that you, Teddie?" Yosuke asked, stunned at Teddie's new look.

"Oui, monsieur! How do I look?" Teddie asked, sparkling.

"C'est magnifique." Souji complemented.

"Ugh...don't encourage him." Chie said. "Minako-sempai was the one who chose and paid for the outfit. But I have to say, it totally blew my mind, but he's Teddie alright. This guy had to make it a huge ordeal... Everything was new to him, so it turned into a big mess. He was so excited in the women's section that he started blabbering... Hey, you can't just go around doing whatever you please when you're in this form, got it?"

Teddie nodded, sullen.

"Well he can't help it. It's his first time in our world." Yukiko said, defending Teddie.

"Alright, you don't need to get all mopey like that Teddie. I never said I won't forgive you!" Chie said.

"I'm so glad! I was worried that you didn't like me anymore." Teddie said, relieved.

"Man... if you can behave yourself, you'll be pretty cute." Chie smiled.

"Is he cute...? What do you think Kanji?" Yosuke asked, looking at Kanji meaningfully.

"Huh? What're you asking me for?" Kanji asked, confused.

"Well, I was just wondering if he was your type." Yosuke shrugged.

"Why do you always have to bring that up, Yosuke?" Souji asked, frowning slightly.

"Ohhh...I get it..." Kanji smirked. "What you're really asking is... 'Will you please beat the shit out of me, Kanji?'."

Yukiko and Minako started to giggle and laugh.

"You should." Minato said, surprising Kanji, Yosuke, and Souji. "If you keeps teasing you about it, you should stop it once and for all."

"D-Don't support him!" Yosuke panicked as he watched Kanji start to crack his knuckles. "Alright, alright! I'll stop teasing him, sheesh, it was just a joke..."

Kanji nodded before going back to eating his topsicles.

"Oh, please don't fight over me, baby." Teddie smiled.

"Shuddup! You picking a fight with me?!" Kanji snapped.

"I have Minako, so...no thanks." Minato deadpanned.

"Hahahahaha!" Yukiko laughed, Minako had already calmed down and was now starting to eat her own topsicle.

Yosuke then handed a 1000 yen bill to Kanji. "Here Kanji, get whatever ice cream you want, just share it with Teddie. Wait here until we get back."

Teddie looked amazed. "Wow, you're rich!"

"No, not really. The rich ones are Minako-sempai and Minato-sempai." Yosuke shrugged.

"I can't just take this from you." Kanji protested.

"It's fine, just think of it as a welcome back party for Teddie." Yosuke smiled. "Just don't go around making a racket."


After Minako and Minato finished their topsicles, they went ahead of Kanji and Teddie, only to see a boy who remarkably resembled Minato, introducing himself to the group.

The boy soon left however, sparing the two a glance before leaving.

"Oh! Rise-chan!" Yukiko gasped. Minako and Minato turned to look at the newcomer, who was indeed Rise. "Are you okay now?"

Rise nodded. "Are you all here to check up on me?" She looked happier as she set her eyes on both Minato and Souji.

"Yeah." Yosuke nodded.

"Oh, um... Do you guys have a moment?" Rise asked. "There's something I wanna tell you. Follow me, my grandma is taking care of the shop today."

"Huh? Sure, okay." Yosuke said.


The group headed to Tatsuhime shrine to talk. The group talked to Rise about her side of the story, unfortunately, there was no info on the killer.

"Um... so..." Rise said.

"Hmm...? What's up?" Chie asked.

"Um... I-I really appreciate what you did for me... Thank you soooo much! I love you guys!" Rise said happily, catching everyone off guard from her new cheerful demeaner.

"You don't have to thank us." Minako said. "We couldn't just let you die in there."

"Dude... She's so cute...!" Yosuke said, suddenly giddy. "Man, it's finally hitting me that you're the real deal. You really are Risette."

"Well, I know I sounded gloomy and all from stress, so... I-I thought you might not like me that way." Rise said giving glances towards Souji and Minato. However, once she caught the sight of Minato's hand holding Minako's, she focused her attention on Souji. "Do I...sound weird? Oh, but I guess it sounds more natural this way to the public. I'm sorry, I've practically lost touch with what the normal me is like."

"There's no need to apologize, just do what comes naturally." Chie smiled.

"Everyone as multiple sides to them, you don't have to decide on just one." Minako said.

"It sounds better when Minako-sempai says it." Chie said.

"Thanks." Rise said. "I'm glad you're the first people I got to know here."

"That reminds me, Teddie says that these are for you." Minato said, pulling a pair of pink glasses out of his pocket and handing them to Rise, who took it gratefully.

"Sempai, would you be struggling in that world without my help?" Rise asked. "I can help you in that world right? With my power..."

Minato nodded. "Yes, we need all the support we can get."

"Those glasses are kinda like proof that you're one of us..." Yosuke said as Souji explained the uses of the glasses.

"I see, I do remember you all wearing glasses over there." Rise nodded. "Thanks sempai, now I'm part of the team too! I'll also start attending Yasogami High tomorrow, and I don't have any friends yet, so don't ignore me okay? I do owe you my life so...you know..."

Souji nodded and smiled, making Rise blush.

'So who's the one she's crushing on now, Souji?' Minato thought smugly.

Then the group started to complain about the exams that were coming up, except for Rise who remained cheerful and optimistic.

"Hey!" Kanji said as he came over. "Dude, Teddie ate 5 topsicles. Though, if you count the ones I ate before, that makes six, so I still win!"

Yosuke sweatdropped. "No one asked."

"We're all done talking already!" Rise smiled before clinging to Souji's arm. "Let's go sempai!"

Rise gazed at Souji dreamily, although the latter was oblivious to the looks he was getting.

Minako smiled before clinging to Minato's arm the same way Rise was clinging to Souji's, making Minato smile slightly.

"Uhhh...when did you get so chipper?" Kanji asked.

"Do you go to Yasogami like sempai? I'll be starting school there tomorrow, so I hope we get along too!" Rise said.

"Huh? Oh... cool." Kanji said. "Umm... what grade are you in?"

"Wait, where's Teddie?" Yosuke asked.

Kanji pointed down the path. "He's over there, finishing his fifth Topsicle. So, what're we going to do with him?"

Yosuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, I guess I'll take him home."


"So, who's your new homeroom teacher?" Minako asked.

"Ughhh...Kashiwagi." Yosuke groaned.

"Even I'm disturbed by her, she keeps giving me these looks like she's going to eat me or something..." Souji muttered.

"Oh her? She's our biology teacher." Minato said. "And I know what you mean..."

"You do?" Souji asked.

Minato nodded with a shiver. Minako frowned.

"She keeps giving Minato looks, and keeps winking at him." Minako said.

"I'm not surprised Sempai, Minato is one of the most popular guys in school, if not the most popular." Yosuke said. "Actually, I heard that you two are the hottest couple, they call you the MinaxMina pair."

"MinaxMina?" Minato asked. "Makes sense I suppose, sounds like someone who's an anime fan would come up with."

"Souji here is also really popular, believe it or not." Yosuke said, patting Souji on the back.

"I'm not surprised. Souji is smart, good looking, and charming." Minako complemented, making Minato frown slightly. He hugged Minako closer to him as he glared slightly at Souji, who coughed and looked away from the blue haired senior. Minato even noticed that the silver haired junior was blushing from Minako's complement.

"Anyways, we're meeting up later at the Junes Food Court." Yosuke said.

"Got it." Minako nodded.


"So what do you guys think about King Moron's case?" Yosuke asked. "He didn't show up on the midnight channel even once."

"If this person had been inside the TV, I would've sensed it." Teddie said. "My nose isn't as sharp now, but I can tell that much."

"But they found the body on a foggy day again right?" Chie asked. "They said on the news that the crime scene was just the way it was for that announcer and Saki-sempai."

"Though, the killer could've easily just looked at the weather forecast for the days that it's going to be foggy and with a bit of strength, setting up the murder scene wouldn't be that hard." Minako said.

"I really wonder about the culprit's motives... Why was Mr. Morooka targeted?" Yukiko asked.

"Hope it wasn't personal, 'cause there's way too many people who hated King Moron's guts." Kanji said.

"But didn't you say it's people who get famous on TV who are targeted?" Rise asked. "If the killer is choosing targets by watching TV, I picture him as someone who doesn't know the victims at all."

"I would guess that's means that there's either a second, copy cat killer out there, or that the killer decided to change tactics." Minato said.

"Yeah, we should give up trying to find motives." Souji said. "There are too many people who can hold grudges against a person for no or petty reasons, even if you've never met them before.

"But with King Moron, he didn't appear on the Midnight Channel or regular TV..." Chie said before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! I don't get this at all!"

"Man, two victims alone from our school." Kanji said. "That's gotta set off the police's alarm bells. They're not gonna leave any stones unturned."

"You know to be honest, somewhere deep inside, I thought maybe King Moron was the killer..." Yosuke said, looking down at the table in front of him. "The news says that he was the second victim from Yasogami High, but we all know that's not the case. And I've heard him say more than once that so-and-so deserves to die... But now... I feel bad that I've doubted him. He was a capital-A asshole, but that doesn't justify killing him... I feel sorry for him, and not just him, the other victims as well. I can't forgive the killer no matter what!"

"Well, we'll do what we can." Minato said.

"For Mr. Morooka's sake too." Minako added.

"At this rate, you have to figure that the killer has something to do with the school, right?" Chie asked. "So why don't we split up and-"

"That won't be necessary." A familiar voice said, before it revealed himself to be Naoto Shirogane.

"You...?" Kanji went wide-eyed.

"There is no need to examine the case of Mr. Morooka any further." Naoto said.

"Wh-Why's that?" Chie asked.

"Apparently, the police have found a suspect. It would be best to let them handle the case from here." Naoto said.

"H-How do you know?" Yosuke asked, surprised and doubtful.

"I'm on this case as a special investigator, by request of the prefectural police." Naoto explained.

Yosuke stood up from his seat in shock. "What?!"

"They found a suspect...?! Who is it?!" Chie asked.

"As to his name, I haven't been informed." Naoto replied. "I do know that he's a high schooler. It isn't public knowledge yet, but he isn't a student of your high school. It seems they are quite confident that this boy is the killer. They have testimonies directly linking him with the incident. I expect it's only a matter of time before he is apprehended. Soon this case will be solved, and your town will once again be its peaceful, rustic self."

"The suspect... is a high schooler?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "All right, so why come and tell us? That's confidential info, right? Why run here and spill it?"

"Your 'game' will soon reach its end." Naoto said. "I felt that I should at least let you know that."

Minato stared coldly at the boy, making Minako touch his shoulder gently, calming him down.

"It's not a game to us." Souji said coldly.

"You don't deny, then, that you have been involved yourselves in the matter?" Naoto asked.

"What does it matter to you? You already have your suspect, don't you?" Minako asked.

"Well, no matter. I have no reason to say anything further." Naoto said.

"A game...?" Rise said angrily. "Aren't you the one who thinks of this as a game?"

Naoto looked shocked and slightly angered at that.

"I don't care if you're a special investigator or an amateur sleuth... All you're doing is solving mysteries." Rise said.

"What could you possibly know about us?" Minato asked.

"You're the one who's playing a game here!" Rise accused.

Naoto widened his eyes.

"One of the victims... she meant a lot to me. How could I possibly treat this like a game?" Yosuke demanded. "Plus... we made a promise."

Teddie looked at Yosuke with watering eyes. "Y-Y-Yosuke..."

"A game..." Naoto said thoughtfully. "That may be quite true."

"Why so understanding all of a sudden?" Souji asked.

"Oh, I get it." Yosuke said, smiling like he had won a million yen. "I was wondering why you'd be wandering around like this when the police have a suspect... What, did they get rid of you know that they have their man? Is that why you came here? You were lonely?"

"Yosuke, that was going too far!" Minako scolded, making Yosuke flinch slightly.

"It's fine." Naoto said, although it seemed that Yosuke's remark had hit a sore spot. "Detectives aren't involved with arrests. And we never harbor any special emotions regarding a case, either. Still... It is rather unfortunate that people are only attentive so long as our services are required. But then, I'm accustomed to it."

Kanji looked at the table in front of him thoughtfully.

"Much about this case was perplexing, but its solution was surprisingly simple..." Naoto said, as if she was doubting the case was really over. "Well then, I'll be going now."

Naoto then left, leaving the group slightly confused.

"What was that about...? He just said his piece and left...?" Chie asked. "He said that they have a suspect... but is this really going to solve everything?"

"Who knows..." Yosuke sighed.

"Should we call it a day?" Souji asked.

"Ah!" Minako exclaimed suddenly, making everyone turn to her in surprise. "There's a sale on bulk boxes of topsicles and soda today! I better get to it before they're sold out!"

"You need some help sempai? Heavy lifting is sort of my thing." Kanji offered.

"Thanks, help would be appreciated." Minako smiled.

"I can help too." Souji said.

"Thank you." Minako said.


"Man, you sure bought a lot, how're you going to eat and drink all of this?" Kanji asked, carrying two cases of soda and a case of topsicles.

"We'll manage, don't worry." Minako said, carrying a box of topsicles.

Once they arrived to their house, Minako thanked them and gave the two some topsicles and soda before they left. Minato and Minako then loaded the Topsicles into the freezer and left the extra soda cases beside the fridge while the rest was inside the fridge.

The two then sat down on the couch, each eating a topsicle.

"So, I bet Naoto is a girl." Minako smiled, making Minato raise a brow.

"You noticed too?" Minato asked. "His...or her voice is to feminine to be that of a boy, that and she doesn't have an adam's apple."

"True. How long do you think it'll take the group to find out?" Minako asked.

Minato shrugged, taking a bite out of his topsicle. "Who knows..."