Pre-Chapter Review Answer Corner GO!

DarkLord98 - That might be a hint of Rusei x Naoto you're seeing, I will neither confirm nor deny if that is actually the case. And Yosuke has a bad time in the upcoming fight so I think his karma is balanced by way of like, 5k volts worth of lightning coursing through him. Maybe. I don't get how karma works sometimes.

Cody the Worldwalker - Never played PQ admittedly, so I'll have to look into what happens with him and Ken there. Though you might enjoy what'll be happening with Kanji and Rusei, since well... Spoiler warning, but Yosuke doesn't have the Best Friend slot for Rusei like he does with Yu Narukami.

And now, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

"Well, at least it's less steamy INSIDE this place." Roy remarked, walking backwards through the sauna. "Which kinda seems backwards, but this place is basically magical..."

"Dude, watch where you're going. You're giving me heart attacks doin' that."

Yukiko looked around, scratching her head. "I'm not sure I understand this place... I mean, I understand its implications, but... why is it tied to Kanji-kun? Is he...?"

"A question that might become clear once we encounter him." noted Rusei. "It's possible something happened that caused him to question his sexuality, but until we hear it from Kanji-san himself, it's all speculation."

"At least the Shadows stand out." Aigis noted, pointing towards to large, comically overweight police officer looking entities.

"...They have a hole in their gut and a key floating in it." Yosuke stated, adjusting his glasses. "...Now I'm more worried those things will try to literally eat me."

"Reasonable fear to have."

Several skirmishes with Shadows across several floors later, and the Investigation team came to a stop near a closed door.

"Holy hell, what kind of training did you two have?!" Chie sighed, slumping against a wall as she looked at Roy and Aigis. "The only time I've seen people fight like that is when the main character and the rival team up in Trial of the Dragon!"

Aigis shrugged, leaning on her spear. "We spent six months fighting shadows together, for starters. He'd also taught me a few of his moves, among other oddball 'training' ideas he had."

"Hey, when logic and physics yield to you, Street Fighter is a perfectly valid piece of reference material!"

"And yet you can strike in tandem like it's second nature to you." Rusei noted, shifting his grip on his sword's sheath. "Though I suppose real combat is a faster teacher than sparring..."

"Pretty much. Especially when superpowers are involved..." said Roy, rolling his shoulder as he looked at Teddie. "Hey Ted, you getting a whiff of anything super dangerous up ahead?"

The bear started sniffing, eyes snapping open a moment later. "Ooh, this presence... I think ti's Kanji-kun!" The bear waddled over to the door. "He's right through here!"

Yukiko hustled over to the door, throwing it open and running in. "He is in here! Kanji-kun!"

"Hey, wait for us!"

The rest of the Investigation Team scurried after Yukiko, stopping beside her as someone stood a few feet away with his back to the group.

"Hey, Tatsumi!" Roy called out. "You okay?"

Hearing the name, the man span around... a dark purple aura flaring up around him and more acutely drawing attention to the fact he was only clad in a loincloth.

"Oooh, my my! Thank you for your undivided attention!" cooed Shadow Kanji, winking at the group as he held up a microphone. "At last, I've penetrated the facility! These images are coming to you live from inside this steamy paradise, but I've yet to have any charming encounters. Could this hot fog be the cause? It's like steam rising from sweat! Mmm, my body's tingling with excitement!"

Applause rang out from nowhere as a sign appeared above Shadow Kanji, reading 'MEN ONLY! Kanji Tatsumi in Rosy Steam Paradise'.

"...Alright. Definitely offended on my brother's behalf now." Rusei deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The sound of many voices cheering or murmuring put the whole team on edge, however.

"Where are those coming from?" asked Aigis, looking around. "Shouldn't only the victim be in here...?"

"I was thinking the same thing... but are people able to watch this from the outside?"

Chie seemed to panic. "What, you mean everybody watching the Midnight Channel? Yikes... if people are watching this, Kanji-kun's gonna be a legend in a way he never intended..."

"Uwaaah... the Shadows are getting really restless!" Teddie exclaimed.

"That elusive thing I truly yearn for... Will I finally find it here? Teehee!" sang Shadow Kanji, turning and running deeper into the sauna. "Onward and deeper to reach further realms of romance! Let's get going, dammit!"

Rusei hummed, tapping his foot. "That was Shadow Kanji... meaning the real one's likely at the absolute end of this place, same as Yukiko-san."

"And that the Shadows like to yammer away at whoever enters their domain..." added Roy. "We better get a move on."

"Yes, exact..." Rusei paused, eyes darting back and forth. His stance shifted, one of his hands now partially covering his face. "...Do you feel that?"

Aigis looked at the wild card curiously. "Feel what?"

"That presence..." he continued, still looking around. "My sword hand twitches..."

"Jesus H Christ, Katsuro infected your god damn mind."

It took a moment for Rusei to register that statement, upon which he coughed, taking a normal standing posture. "...Apologies. It... felt as though I could sense something moving beyond a wall..."

"...Like what, a Shadow?"

"Most likely? Not Shadow Kanji, but... one of the weaker ones?"

Aigis hummed. "Perhaps your Persona has the capacity for sensory abilities?"

"Do they normally make people pose like a video game character and talking about twitchy hands?"

Roy let out a snort. "No, that's probably just his kendo teacher's influence on him. But if he can sense Shadows... that's honestly impressive. It's gotta be like Mitsuru's, though... no way he'd have a scanner and still be able to fight with it."

"Well, it's not as if we won't have an opportunity to test your theory..."

As the Investigation Team swiftly discovered as they delved deeper into the Sauna, Rusei's awareness of Shadows was better than most, if still quite limited to 'which direction it is', 'how close', and 'is it looking this way'. They also discovered Shadows that looked like literal rocks, which hit about as hard as rocks logically would. After about the fifth group of them, however, Roy started going on a long rant involving a lot of shouts of 'ARGH' that, to his further frustration, caused another group of the rock shadows to appear. He was not a happy camper about that.

Eventually, they came across another room that the Shadow was hiding in... along side a particular kind of Shadow that Roy and Aigis knew all too well.

"HULKSTER GONNA TAKE ON ALL COMERS"

"...Of course." Roy deadpanned. "Of fucking course in the Big Gay Sauna we would find fucking Gigas Shadows. I really, really need to slap Anansi for this."

"Hehe, Welcome to Man's World!" Shadow Kanji exclaimed from the rafter it was sitting on. "This place is heating up from the sudden entry of a fine young man! To celebrate this encounter, I've prepared a special stage tonight; A single match with no time limit! Who will be left standing in the end?!"

"Wait, you want one of us to fight that thing!?"

The Shadow paused, as if considering it. "...Y'know, that might be more fun to watch! Two muscular strangers throwing down, man to man..."

"...Would I be allowed to enter in that case?" Aigis inquired, resting her spear over her shoulder.

"Hm, a girl who likes to scrap? Now there's a surprise!" said the Shadow. "But what the hell, why not? Get up there and throw down, blondie! Pour out your hot blood and guts!"

"Hehe, Hulkster don't care if you're a guy or gal! You wanna brawl, I'll give ya a brawl!"

Aigis smiled, stepping past the Investigation team to be in the 'arena' within the room. "Very well. Try not to disappoint me, then."

"TALK SHIT GET HIT, GIRLIE"

The Gigas immediately tried to flatten Aigis, who sidestepped the attack as a circle of blue flames sprang up around her feet.

"Athena!"

The goddess arose at Aigis' command, an aura of purple light surging up around her for a split second before Athena lashed out with her spear. To Aigis' surprise, however, the Gigas caught the weapon and delivered a brutal retaliation by way of a punch to Athena's face. The Persona vanished a moment later, Aigis staggering a bit.

"Hmph... You can counter."

"LIKE ANY GOOD FIGHTER WOULD."

"Unfortunately, I don't feel like dealing with you for much longer." she sighed, the sapphire inferno arising once more. "Merlin!"

The Legendary Wizard emerged from the flames, hands held above his head as an orb of light appeared before him. With a flourish, the orb lanced out with several beams, each one piercing through one of the Shadow's limbs.

"GAH! STUPID... MAGIC TRICK... FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

Aigis smirked as another orb appeared in Merlin's hand. "I am no man."

At that, the orb shot out and took off the Gigas' head, the body evaporating a moment later.

"Wait wait, whoa, back the hell up!" Yosuke exclaimed, flailing his arms. "Aigis has more than one Persona as well?!"

"It's part of my shenanigans, actually." said Roy, flicking a Persona card into his hand. "Aigis and I share what was originally MY Wild Card ability between us. It's ah... complicated."

"It was interesting to get used to, after having only had Athena for so long..." Aigis commented. "Stranger still once we discovered it was shared between us both."

Rusei hummed. "An interesting quirk, but we should get moving again... OH! Does anyone need some tea?"

"I'd like some, yes." Yukiko said, raising her hand. "I really want to see if it's as rejuvenating as you think it is..."

"Well, I did get it from a kitsune..."

Yosuke laughed. "Seriously? Dude, you gotta not be so gullible then. How much cash did they get from you?"

"None, Daidara-san paid for it."

"Oh, so it's also Roy's uncle who's a dope. Gotcha." he hummed, walking past Rusei and Yukiko. "Well let's move, no sense wasting time here. Walking and drinking bad tea ain't hard."

"...He's really convinced yokai aren't possible." Roy noted quietly, looking at Chie. "Despite hanging around two and having magic powers."

Chie shrugged. "Probably for the sake of his brain, really... most of the yokai in town tend to avoid making a show of themselves anyways."

"It's gonna be amazing when he does actually realize it's the case, though."

Aigis laughed. "I'm sure it will be."

"Holy crap, this stuff is amazing! I feel great!"

"I told you it's from a kitsune..."

"Dude, yokai aren't real. You still got scammed, just... not as bad as I thought."

Roy leaned over to whisper to Chie. "Seems denial is not just a river in Egypt."

Teddie came to a stop at a set of double doors on what they suspected was the final floor of the dungeon. "Hm? Oh! I can sense Kanji! He's right behind this door!"

"KNOCK KNOCK" Roy shouted, kicking the doors open. "The cavalry has arrived!"

"There they are!"

Kanji himself, however, didn't seem to notice the Investigation Team's arrival. He was muttering to himself, shaking his head as he stared at his doppelganger.

"Oh, come now, enough with the charade." said the Shadow, hands on its hips. "Isn't it awful to deceive people, especially yourself?"

"Th-that has nothin' to do with it!" Kanji exclaimed, swinging his arm out.

"What, aren't I what you really want?" Shadow Kanji asked, sounding hurt. "After all, girls are so cruel... Ohh, how I hate them! So arrogant and self-centered! Crying if you get angry, gossiping behind your back at the drop of a hat, spreading nasty lies... Even looking at me like some..." the Shadow's face contorted angrily. "Some disgusting THING and say I'm a weirdo, laughing all the while!"

Rusei's eye twitched. He'd heard things like that before, and they didn't sit any better with him now than they did then.

"'You like to sew? What a queer!' 'Painting is so not you.' 'But you're a guy...' 'You don't act like a guy...' 'why aren't you manly...?' What does it mean to be 'a guy', huh?!" the Shadow demanded. "What does it MEAN to be 'manly?' Girls are so scary..."

"I-I ain't scared of 'em!" Kanji shouted, putting the Investigation Team on edge.

"It's egging him on pretty hard..." Yosuke noted. "The hell do we do? It's probably gonna block us from trying to get to Kanji..."

"Most likely..." agreed Rusei. "We may just have to wait it out and fight the Shadow..."

The Shadow chuckled. "Men are much better... they'd never say those awful, degrading things... Yes, I vastly prefer men..."

"You'd be in for quite the rude awakening in that case." Rusei noted loudly, trying to get the Shadow's attention. "I've seen quite the opposite happen."

A glare aimed at Rusei was the only response the Shadow gave, turning its gaze back to its other self. "Come on, you know it's true."

"Hell with that!" retorted Kanji. "What makes you think you can say that shit with my face?!"

"Why, you're me, and I'm you..." replied the Shadow. "You do know that, don't you?"

Kanji shook his head. "No... Nuh-uh, no way! There's... there's no way in hell that you're me!"

A deep cackle escaped the Shadow as its aura flared up even larger. "You're me, and there's NO denying it!"

With a burst of darkness, Kanji was knocked flat on the ground and in the place of the formerly almost naked shadow was a giant, overly muscular figure with black and white skin. A bed of roses with a heavily makeup covered copy of Kanji in the middle served as the beings head, while in its massive arms it carried a pair of giant, metal male symbols.

"Teddie, help be move Kanji out of the way!" Aigis shouted, grabbing the unconscious teen by the arm.

"O-Okay!"

"I am a shadow... the TRUE self..." declared the Berserk Shadow Kanji, flexing its arms in a way that caused two smaller, yet equally muscular Shadows to appear on either side of him. One had a white 'N' on the black half of its body, while the other had a black 'T' on the white half of itself. "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?"

Yosuke shook his head. "No... I'm pretty sure this isn't really him! It's just his emotions going haywire!"

"Honestly, I'm quite inclined to agree." added Rusei. "Quite perceptive of you to notice, Yosuke-san."

The Shadow scoffed. "This has nothing to do with you guys anymore! Didn't I just say I'm gonna get rid of you?!"

"Hehehe... I want that the red one and the twiggy one!" sang the Shadow marked with an 'T', gesturing towards Roy and Yosuke. "Nicey, which one you want?"

The other Shadow laughed. "The sword boy, Toughy!"

"Well I'm standing right here." said Roy, holding his arms out. "Fucking FIGHT ME!"

'Toughy' wasted no time obliging, rushing forward with more speed than it logically should've had and snatching both Roy and Yosuke off the ground, crashing into a wall on the far side of the room.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" Chie exclaimed, Tomoe bursting into existence and launching a blast of ice at Toughy. The attack did little beyond make the Shadow laugh with glee. "Wha-?! It didn't do anything!"

Yukiko, meanwhile, had attempted to set fire to 'Nicey', only to get a similar reaction. "I can't hurt the other one!"

"My my, what RUDE little women!" exclaimed Shadow Kanji, a wave of red energy emanating from its body for a moment. "It'd be much better if you'd just LEAVE!"

Yukiko and Chie's heads both snapped towards the massive Shadow, eyes burning with rage. "EXCUSE ME?!"

"Wh-Whaa! Y-Yuki-chan and Chie-chan are pissed off!"

"Rather obvious, Teddie." noted Aigis, who looked completely unphased compared to the other girls. "Roy, are you alright?"

As if to answer her question, the Tough Guy Shadow flew past her with Tsuchigumo hot on its heels.

"Yeah, but Mr. T there played grab ass with us!" Roy reported, supporting Yosuke so he could actually stand. "Looks like it poisoned Yosuke with it, too! Or maybe that was the creepy whispering it was doing at the same time. Not sure!"

"Ugh... I feel like I'm gonna hurl..." groaned the brunet. "Like every flu I've ever had at once..."

"Hey little man, let me whisper in your ear~!" exclaimed Nicey, wiggling its fingers as it strode towards Rusei.

"I'd prefer if you didn't, thank you!" retorted the Wild Card, slashing at the Shadow's hands with his sword. "I like having my personal space not intruded upon!"

"My my, what a FIERCE little man!" noted Shadow Kanji, putting is arms through the loops of the mars symbols. "But can you handle THIS?!"

Upon flexing its arms, fanatical sparks of lightning arced through the entire room, most of the Investigation Team shouting in pain, though Yosuke and Aigis most of all due to their Persona's vulnerabilities.

"Hehehe... what wonderful screams~!" exclaimed Toughy, throwing Tsuchigumo off of itself. "I want to hear MORE~!"

"How about NO?" Roy asked, a card spinning in his hand. "Osiris!"

The broken god surged into existence, lashing out with the kopesh blade it carried while Roy hurried over to Aigis.

"Ngh... thank you."

"Might wanna tag in someone else to handle this."

"Good idea..."

"SURPRISE~!"

Aigis and Roy whirled around, seeing Shadow Kanji barreling towards them with its mars symbols poised to crush them. Fortunately for them, a flash of azure heralded something getting in the way.

"Paladin, push him back!" shouted Rusei, the holy knight shifting its stance so as to shove Shadow Kanji back with its shield.

"Hey, thanks for the save!"

"Do something about the entourage, please!" Rusei called out, still keeping Shadow Kanji distracted with Paladin. "One of them is healing the main Shadow!"

A scream of hate echoed as Chie dove at one of the smaller Shadows, furiously trying to kick it to death with little success as Yukiko followed suit, aiming to smack it with her fan.

"Sure, but can you do something about those two and Yosuke?" asked Roy, switching his persona. "He's still on the floor trying not to puke."

"In a moment, still busy with the big one!"

"Aigis, switch to Persephone! I have an idea."

Aigis nodded, a card hovering before her. "Ready!"

"PERSONA"

A sea of blue flame encircled the two SEES Veterans as they unleashed their Personae in tandem.

"GATE OF DEMISE"

Hades and Persephone burst into existence, both holding a hand towards the ground for a moment before raising it, a massive black door appearing with the sound of torturous screams. The Nice Guy and Tough Guy turned their attention from Chie and Yukiko towards it, looking confused by the sudden appearance. An instant later, and the door violently burst open, a red portal within unleashing a myriad of ghostly hands that took hold of both Shadows, now bodily dragging them towards it.

"L-LET GO!" shouted the tough guy, sounding utterly terrified.

"I'M NOT INTO THIS SORT OF THING!" cried the Nice Guy, likewise not seeming fond of what was happening.

The two shadows clawed at the ground as the gasping hands pulled them towards the gate, though their struggle and screams were in vain as ultimately they were pulled in, the door slamming shut and vanishing with the sound of evil laughter.

"Wh-What the hell did you do?!" Shadow Kanji demanded, oblivious to the fact Paladin was gone and now Rusei's Pixie persona was healing the group. "Where'd they go?!"

"The grave." Roy answered simply, cracking his knuckles. "Now let's see how you like our undivided attention!"

"Rrgh... Get out of my way, or I'll crush you! I've already made my decision to act however I feel like!" snapped the Shadow, flexing again to unleash a wave of lightning at Roy. The redhead was caught off guard by the attack, getting blasted off his feet and into one of the tubs of water along the perimeter of the room. "I know you all thought I was 'weird', and deep down... you don't accept me AT ALL! No matter what, I WON'T LOSE!"

"LOOK OUT!"

A pair of large purple barriers appeared before the Investigation Team; One created by Paladin, the other by Athena, to block the follow up lightning attack the Shadow had made.

"Ngh...! It's stronger than it looks!"

Yosuke staggered to his feet, shaking his head. "I dunno, it looks pretty burly to begin with..."

"Konohana Sakuya!"

A wave of fire slammed into the Shadow, igniting the roses on its body. It flailed in panic, dropping the golden emblems it was carrying and screaming in pain.

"Tsukuyomi!" "Tomoe!"

Both Personas lashed out with their weapons, the former aiming low while the latter aimed high. Shadow Kanji's flailing eventually drove them back as it finally patted out the flames, leaving the roses withered and scorched.

"No, no! You can just back the hell off!" shouted the Shadow, a more defiant tone to is voice than the effeminate one it had used till then. "Better yet, get out of my way..."

Grabbing the male symbols off the ground, it hurled them towards the walls, both managing to land pointy end first. It then struck a more dramatic flexing pose, as lightning arced across its body.

"...RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

With a sudden shift of its stance, a torrent of lightning started racing around the entire battlefield, leaving the Investigation Team on the defensive. Aigis had managed to switch her Persona way from Athena, but Yosuke was significantly less lucky. He was screaming in pain as the electricity surged through his body, only stopping once a large beast seemingly made of lightning knocked him to the ground and loomed over him protectively.

"I got Yosuke covered!" Roy called out, stepping closer to where Raijuu was standing.

"Everyone, get close to me!" Aigis shouted, a massive golden dragon appearing behind her, shielding Yukiko and Chie with its wings as the lightning impacted it harmlessly. "Rusei-san, that means you as well!"

"I'm fine!" Rusei grunted, trying to press closer to Shadow Kanji despite the lightning barrage.

Roy turned to the other Wild Card, narrowing his eyes for a moment. "Rusei, I know well enough that Tsukuyomi's Ice resistant, not lightning resistant! What the hell are you thinking?!"

"There's someone in need of my help, and I'm going to damn well help them!"

"Rusei, this is not the time to be stubborn!" shouted the redhead. "Aigis and I can't cover you and keep the others safe!"

"Then don't!"

"THIS COULD FUCKING KILL YOU!"

As if in defiance of that reality, Tsukuyomi erupted from behind Rusei and shot forward through the storm.

"THEN IT SHOULD TRY HARDER."

The moon god lashed out with his sword, causing the Shadow to stop posing... though the lightning attack only lessened in intensity rather than cease entirely.

"Back off!" snapped Shadow Kanji, now getting into a brawl with Tsukuyomi.

"Make me!" Rusei retorted.

A hand on his shoulder only vaguely registered to him.

"He won't, but I sure will!" said Roy, grabbing the younger Wild Card and running back over to where Raijuu was. Yet in spite of that, Tsukuyomi was continuing his fight amid the storm.

"Ha... My my, you're a persistent one..." noted the Shadow, struggling to keep the Persona's sword at bay. "I'll have to take extra special care of you then~!"

Tsukuyomi's response was to feint, then blast the hulking creature with an ice attack directly to its stomach, knocking the wind out of it long enough for it to get more than a few solid attacks. When Shadow Kanji tried to retaliate, the Persona evaded before unleashing even more icy blasts, trapping the Shadow's legs and right arm.

-...And now the curtain closes.- Rusei thought, snapping his fingers. Tsukuyomi's eyes gleamed for a moment, then it rapidly slashed at Shadow Kanji, sheathing its sword as the attacks began cleaving it to pieces.

"N-no..." It whined, falling free of the ice as the lightning finally stopped surging across the room. "A-ACCEPT ME...!"

It exploded into black mist once it hit the ground, the three summoned Personas vanishing. Yosuke staggered to his feet, trying to dust himself off.

"Damn, that was... scary as hell..." he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Thanks for the save, Roy."

"No problem. Raijuu eats lightning, so the zaps were basically healing me..." replied the redhead, looking over towards Kanji. "Hey, big guy's waking up!"

"Kanji-kun!"

The bleach blond teen grunted as he slowly stood up. "Dammit..."

"...Wait, something's wrong!" exclaimed Aigis. "The Shadow's getting back up!"

"I-I think Kanji's still rejecting it!" shouted Teddie, peering out from his hiding spot.

"Such a passionate approach..." said the Shadow, in its non-berserk form. "I think you would make a wonderful boyfriend!"

Rusei rolled his shoulder. "Who was that directed at?"

"Enough... stop..."

"Why, you of course!" stated Shadow Kanji, gesturing towards Rusei. "Such intensity, but then... I don't... I don't care WHO it is, really... I just want someone, ANYONE, to please accept me..."

"What the hell are you blabbering about...?" Kanji demanded. "Stop..."

"Someone, accept me for who I am!"

"I SAID STOP!" Kanji roared, rushing forward and flattening his Shadow with a single punch. He gasped for breath before he started talking again. "Tch... Can't believe something like this is inside me..."

Yosuke looked between the Shadow and the victim in confusion. "Kanji?"

"Yeah, I know... I've known all this time I had something like you in my head!" exclaimed Kanji, trying his best to keep standing. "It... It ain't a matter of guys or chicks... I'm just scared shitless of being rejected. I'm a total pansy who tries to make everyone hate me, cuz..." He sighed. "...Cuz it's easier to deal with that way."

"You're not alone."

Roy and Yosuke both had to double take upon hearing that, now focused on Rusei instead of Kanji. The bleach blond looked over his shoulder, then sighed and turned back towards his Shadow.

"C'mon, get up." he said. "Anyone who looks like me, I know they ain't so weak that they can't take a punch."

Shadow Kanji slowly pushed himself to his feet, staring silently at its host.

"I already know that you're me..." stated Kanji. "...And I'm you, dammit!"

The Shadow smiled, a blue fire enveloping its form.

'I am thou... and thou art I... from the sea of thine soul, the acceptance of thine darkness as brought forth the strength of thine heart...'

In the Shadows place was a towering figure, a skeleton painted on its body as it carried a stylized bolt of lightning in its left hand.

'I am Take-Mikazuchi, God of Thunder...'

"Heh... cool..." Kanji chuckled, taking the card the Persona turned into, only to collapse a moment later. "Ngh! Shit..."

"Kanji!"

"Aigis, help me lift him!"

"Right!"

"Kanji-kun, are you okay?" Yukiko asked once they'd made it out of the TV World.

"It's... it's nothin'." Kanji replied, slowly standing up and almost losing his balance. "Whoa..." he shook his head lightly. "Heheh... Head spinnin' aside, I actually feel pretty great. Like my mind's clear as a monk's or some shit."

"No need to act so tough, dude." chuckled Roy. "Speaking form experience, that shit's killer on the stamina."

Kanji frowned lightly. "Hey, speakin' of that... what just happened...?"

"I'll explain along the way." said Rusei. "Roy-san, do you think you can help me get him home?"

"Yeah, sure. Don't you think we should let him rest before dropping all this on him, though?"

Rusei shrugged. "A short version would certainly help at the least."

"Eh, true. C'mon big man, let's get you home."

"...So that place was what that killer was usin' to kill people?" Kanji asked as he leaned on Roy's shoulder, staggering along as he was escorted home. "Damn... that's messed up."

"Quite. It... effectively causes the victim's mind to tear itself apart from the inside."

Kanji winced. "Fuck, that's REALLY messed up... what about that big guy? Take-Mikazuchi?"

"What happens when you befriend your evil doppelganger." said Roy. "Basically you can use your soul to fight monsters now."

"...So what, I've got a Stand now?"

Rusei hummed, tapping his chin. "...Is that accurate, Roy? I believe I know that term, but I can't place it..."

"...Y'know, it actually is." admitted the redhead with a laugh. "I just started reading that series last week cuz my buddy kept telling me to join him in, and I quote, 'Jojo hell'."

"Oh, that series. That was it."

Kanji bobbed his head. "...I got any time-stopping vampires to worry about now, though?"

"Nah, just monsters made of repressed psychological issues. Nobody shouting 'Ora ora' to ruin your day, either."

"Cool."

Dojima looked up from his newspaper, eyebrow arched as he heard his nephew walk into the house. "You're back late... what happened?"

"Ah, I went for a walk with a classmate and we stumbled across someone unconscious on the ground." Rusei replied, pulling off his uniform jacket. "Turned out to be Kanji Tatsumi, so we helped him get home. Seemed like there was a lump on the back of his head."

"Really? Damn, and here I was expecting to spend part of the week lookin' for him." admitted Dojima. "Guess a couple of teenagers almost tripping over him is better than any of the alternatives..."

"Indeed. Ah, I'll get started on dinner. Sorry it's late."

The detective set his newspaper aside. "It's fine, but... I have to ask. I've heard some people saying you were seen around the Tatsumi's textile shop a few times recently. That's not the kind of shop students just opt to visit out of the blue..."

"Ah, Yukiko-san was talking the place up so I was curious and went with her." replied Rusei over his shoulder, pulling out the pots and pans he was going to use. "I actually ran into a surprising face while I was there."

"Who's surprising to find at a textile shop, that Hanamura kid?"

"Naoto Shirogane, actually."

Dojima's expression turned bewildered. "Shirogane?! What in the...? Why's a hotshot like that out here?"

Rusei shrugged. "I have no idea. I was just more surprised that they were in town at all..." he coughed nervously. "I'm ah... kind of a fan of theirs."

"...Seriously?"

"What, I can't be inspired by more than one person? Shirogane-san has solved 24 high-profile cases. That's quite impressive for someone who seems to be about my age."

Dojima frowned, but conceded a nod of agreement. "Yeah, that is pretty impressive. Just didn't think you were the type to follow celebrities."

"I'm not. I'd honestly prefer if the parasites left them to their lives outside of their carriers, personally."

"...Parasites?"

"Paparazzi and the sort."

"Ah, okay... just, don't get yourself in over your head?" requested Dojima. "I don't want your mom getting more gray hairs..."

Rusei laughed. "She has father to do that to her, don't worry."

Kanji groaned, sitting up in bed. He tiredly surveyed his room, finding nothing out of place... save for one thing. A note, folded up and sitting on his dresser. Curious, he climbed to his feet and strode over to pick it up, unfolding the piece of paper. An eyebrow arched at the contents.

"'If you have questions, feel free to call'... signed, Rusei Norimoto..." he read aloud, noting the cellphone number below the message. "...Oh yeah, he was the short guy who helped me home..."

"Kanji, are you awake?"

"Huh?" he turned his head, raising his voice a moment later. "Yeah Ma! What's up?"

"Did you see the note that young man left for you?"

He looked at the paper in his hands for moment. "...Yeah. The one on my dresser, right?"

"That's the one! I hope you thank him for bringing you home the next time you see him!"

Kanji smirked, digging his phone out of his pocket. "I will, Ma! You didn't raise no ungrateful snot, that's for sure!"

Author Notes - What dark god did I accidentally make a pact with for this much writing muse at once is the only question I have right now. How in the fuck did I get this chapter done this fast. What even is going on anymore.

Well, aside from Rusei having a few more moments of being something other than Stoic McBoring anyways.