Mitsuru's "light lunch" must have looked like a banquet to the Investigation Team, because it sure as hell did to Akihiko – and he thought he was used to her by now. It was partially Kikuno's fault; the overachieving maid wanted to make sure everyone was well-fed, under the impression that non-Mitsuru teenagers could put away mass quantities of food (she ended up being right). They staggered back into the living room.

"I never thought I'd say this," Chie was saying, "but I never want to look at another piece of meat in my life."

The IT shared a collective gasp. Yosuke, who had been about to sit down, suddenly leapt up, grabbed his chest, and dramatically collapsed onto the couch. "No...meat...for Chie?! Gah!"

"Are you hurt, Yosuke-kun?" Yukiko didn't seem to get it. Then she gasped. "Maybe you could help me with my special medical training!"

"Yeah, wrap him up real tight, Yukiko," Chie retorted, "Make sure you get his fat mouth first."

Mitsuru watched all this go down with a wistful expression on her face. Akihiko shared her sentiment. If only they could be carefree kids again...those of them who'd been carefree kids in the first place. "Shall we continue?" she asked. Why she was punishing herself like this, no one knew.

The next video opened on another empty hallway...until scientists and maids were seen frantically running up and down it.

"Where could she have gotten to?"

"Have you tried the library?"

"Kirijo-sama isn't going to like this!"

Kouetsu came lumbering down the hallway and paused when he saw the commotion. "What's all this nonsense?" he bellowed.

Two scientists managed to crash into one another in their haste. "Oh, Kirijo-sama! Er...there's been a slight...holdup with today's experiment," the taller scientist managed to sputter.

"Holdup?"

"Yes, we've...well, this idiot," the other scientist glared at his coworker, "somehow managed to lose...Young Miss Kirijo." He quickly hid his face to avoid Kouetsu's wrath.

"YOU WHAT?" Kouetsu proved he was Mitsuru's grandfather as his temper flared. The scientists immediately prostrated themselves. "WHERE IS TSUKUDA?!"

"He is outside, Kirijo-sama!" Tall Scientist sobbed in the direction of the floor.

Kouetsu stormed off without giving them a second look. Outside in the courtyard, he found Tsukuda addressing a copse of trees. "Come now," he was saying, "this is not proper behavior for a young lady of your stature. Won't you come down from there?"

"No!" came a tiny voice from among the leaves.

Akihiko burst into laughter as he realized what was going on. "You're up a goddamn tree?" he chuckled.

"I didn't know you could climb trees, Mitsuru-san," said Ken.

Mitsuru blushed. "They told me I couldn't," she explained. Yeah, that sounded about right.

Kouetsu lost what little patience he had. "Mitsuru! What is the meaning of this? You will get out of that tree at once!"

Mitsuru whimpered and abandoned her stubborn streak. "I...I can't get down," she fibbed, "It's higher than I thought it would be. I'm afraid!"

"This is ridiculous. Someone get a ladder!"

Two more people entered the scene, one vaguely familiar, the other a stranger until he opened his mouth. "Well, well, Kirijo-san, I beLEAF we have a problem here!" he giggled. "It appears that the illusTREEous Tsukuda has been STUMPed! Oh, I'm hot today, hee hee!"

The Shadow Operatives cringed. "Ugh! Ikutsuki's there, too?" Yukari bitched.

"Wow – those are beary bad jokes," said Teddie Teddie. If he thought your jokes were bad...

Standing next to Ikutsuki – with two whole eyes – was none other than Takeharu Kirijo. He still had that same determined grimace, which intensified as he neared his father. "Father...is there a problem here?"

Kouetsu couldn't even spare a smile for his own son. "Your daughter," he grumbled, "is making a scene. I won't have the Kirijo name sullied by such melodramatic, childish behavior!"

"Mitsuru is a child," Takeharu insisted. "She is five. Have you tried talking to her?" He approached the tree and his voice got much gentler. "Mitsuru, what is the matter?"

"Father!" A few leaves fell to the ground as a small leg appeared. "Father, you're here!"

"Your father is very busy at work, young lady!" Kouetsu snapped. The leg retracted. "You've interrupted him with your selfishness!"

"I'm sorry, Father!" sniffled Mitsuru.

"That's quite all right, Mitsuru," Takeharu glared at his father. "Now, why are you hiding up in this tree?"

"If I may go out on a LIMB-" Ikutsuki blurted out, grinning like an idiot.

"Oh, God, kill him now!" Junpei facepalmed.

"-perhaps Young Miss Kirijo-chan is scheduled for another round of experiments?"

Takeharu whirled around. "Father! Those experiments were highly dangerous! Mitsuru is..."

"...Old enough to make her own decisions." Kouetsu finished for him. "And Mitsuru agreed to assist in our research, didn't you, Mitsuru?"

"Y-yes, Grand-père."

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Takeharu sounded like he was going to climb the tree himself if he thought Mitsuru was upset.

More of Mitsuru appeared, including her little face. "I'm going to make you proud, Father!" she declared, "You'll see!" And she dropped to the ground unscathed so she could hug her father – to the aggravation of the servants, who had just arrived with a ladder. The moment Takeharu let his little girl go, Kouetsu grabbed her arm and all but dragged her into the building, Ikutsuki trotting behind like a happy-go-lucky dog. Tsukuda shook his head and followed.

"Aww, Mitsuru-san was a real daddy's girl!" Rise chirped.

Yukari was sniffling as expected, and was it Akihiko's imagination, or was Naoto tearing up? That didn't seem like her at all. Even Kanji looked emotional! Dads sure were a sore subject with Persona-users.

Mitsuru was put in another hospital bed as Tsukuda walked in and bolted the door. "Now that we've had our little fun," he spat, "we're not going to run away again, are we?"

The tone of his voice made Mitsuru shake. Her eyes widened as he approached the bed. "No, no, I'll be good, I promise! Please..."

"You enjoyed making me look like a fool in front of your grandfather, didn't you, Mitsuru-chan?"

"No!"

Tsukuda put down his clipboard and took Mitsuru's tiny wrist. He reached down beside the bed and brought up a strap, the sight of which made both Mitsurus burst into tears.

Akihiko reached for Mitsuru's hand without even thinking.

Tsukuda had strapped her to the bed.

"This is sick," Yu's sister complex had kicked in, "This is just sick."

The machine began whirring again, and Teddie Teddie began to get agitated. "LIES!" he shouted. He could hear the Shadow talking to young Mitsuru again. "Mitchan's Pops seemed like a beary nice guy!"

"You can understand the Shadow, Teddie?" Aigis asked him.

"Why is it talking about her dad?" Yukari asked. She had started holding Mitsuru's other hand, her Evoker out on the coffee table in case she needed to do any healing.

"It's trying to make her sad enough that her Shadow will come out!" This seemed to strike a chord with the IT, and they looked even more worried. Tsukuda had mentioned in the last recording that the other patients had died after a few days. Did they develop Apathy Syndrome and just stop caring?

Teddie Teddie continued. "Little girls like Mitchan and Nana-chan don't have Shadows because they're too young and innocent and don't have grown-up fears," he explained. He shook his little fist at the screen. "But they have little girl fears!"

Yu looked like he had something to say but really, really didn't want to say it. "What kind of fears?"

"They're afraid...their mommies and daddies don't love them – that they never should have been born!" Teddie Teddie sounded as if he were near tears himself. "That's why Daddy's always gone all the time. He didn't want a little girl. He wanted a boy."

"That's not true at all-" Yu barely managed to get out before Naoto immediately rebuked it, "It doesn't have to be true, so long as there's one seed of doubt." Her throat sounded tight. Akihiko wondered if she'd started dressing as a boy for reasons besides the police force.

Some of the kids at the orphanage had been dropped off there by relatives, and once they stopped dreaming about their parents changing their minds and dramatically rescuing them, they would cry themselves to sleep wondering if they just weren't good enough to be loved. Their lament was always the same: Was it because I was bad? Did I do something wrong? Why don't they want me? Watching them harden and turn away from the world that refused them was always heartbreaking to see. Those orphans must've had really dark Shadows.

On-screen, Mitsuru finally stopped crying and attempted to pick her head up. "What?" she called out, "Wh-who's that?"

Tsukuda's grin was eerie. "Do you hear a voice?" he asked. He brought out more needles and dragged the machine over until it was practically in bed with Mitsuru. "What is it saying?"

But Mitsuru had gone silent with a look of abject fear on her face. Whatever she was hearing had traumatized her. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head violently. Sweat ran down her face as she began panting. Suddenly, she flinched, crying out...and the Plume of Dusk cracked.

In another room, Kouetsu and Ikutsuki were observing the procedure through a two-way mirror, watching with bated breath. Ikutsuki bounced on his chair like he'd been waiting to use the bathroom for hours. When the Plume cracked, he leapt up. "Did you see that!?" he shouted, even though it was obvious Kouetsu had been watching the same thing he was, "She caused a reaction! No one's ever done that before!"

"She's fighting back," Kouetsu beamed, "Her will is strong. She's a Kirijo through and through."

The door to the observation room slammed open. "Father, I demand to know what you are d-Mitsuru? Mitsuru!" Takeharu had arrived, and to his horror, found his little girl writhing in agony while everyone around her just watched. He leapt at the glass as if he could shatter it with his fury alone. "MITSURU!"

She couldn't have heard him. He didn't have the intercom on. But Mitsuru sensed him somehow, and opened her eyes anyway. The moment she saw her father, her eyes lit up, and the machine began beeping wildly. The Plume of Dusk exploded.

Everyone leapt up. "She broke the machine!" Ikutsuki began dancing with glee. "I can't believe it! She broke the machine at five years old!"

"How is that even possible?" Kouetsu wondered.

Takeharu had escaped in the excitement, and broke into the operating room where Mitsuru was shaking in the fetal position. "Mitsuru, you're safe now! I'm taking you home!" He tore the restraints away and Mitsuru came back to life.

"Fa...ther?" she tried to say, but her voice was faint and scratchy, as if she'd been screaming for hours.

Her little hand found his collar, and she pulled herself to his neck, burying her face in his shirt, seeking comfort in his familiar scent.

Junpei saw his opportunity and took it. "Is that how all the experiments went?" he asked, "For everyone?"

Mitsuru couldn't look at him. "I would assume so," she said, "I wasn't aware there were any other victims until we confronted Strega." She swallowed nervously. Mitsuru, nervous? "I think Chidori knew. I can't be certain, but...she would stare at me until I felt that I had been stripped bare and everything I'd been thinking was hers to analyze, and yet, she never stared at you or Akihiko that same way. Perhaps she refused to speak to me because in her mind, I was a hypocrite."

Chidori had given Akihiko the creeps, with her monotone voice and blasé acceptance of death. He could have done without watching her Persona try to strangle her as well. He tried to imagine a tiny Goth girl strapped to a bed, being confronted with a Plume of Dusk and...what? Dead-eye staring it down? "How'd they manage to survive this?" he wondered. He hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud until Junpei glared at him.

"Fatalism?" Mitsuru suggested. "If you've fully accepted the advent of your death, I suppose Shadows might seem welcoming."

"If the only survivors of the Potential experiments were Mitsuru-san, the three members of Strega, and Minazuki," Naoto gripped her chin and mused, "what was the common thread between the five of them?" It must be easier to be on the ball when you weigh less than the ball. The petite girl could be dangerous if left to her own devices. Akihiko was grateful she was now on their side.

The third video jumped several years and was labeled "16-5-99". Now it was the Shadow Operatives' turn to tense up. This was the year the whole world gained visitation rights to Hell.

It opened on a different location than the first two – a homier lounge – and Aigis perked up. "This is Yakushima," she said. Mitsuru nodded.

This time, a woman entered the room. She looked very much like Mitsuru, aside from her hair and eyes. Her posture and manners were both aristocratic and yet rehearsed, as if she was worried that someone would remove her from this plush life at any moment.

"Madam Hanae-sama," a maid addressed her, and Yukari moved closer to Mitsuru. Her mother. Akihiko found himself completely entranced by this glimpse into Mitsuru's future, courtesy of her past. She was going to grow up even more gorgeous than she was now, a feat Akihiko would have said was impossible. The only things Mitsuru ever told them about her mother was that she was sickly, and often went abroad for medical treatments. He got the feeling they weren't really that close.

Hanae accepted the tea offered to her and drank it hesitantly. "Is she asleep?" she asked the maid.

"The young miss was very agitated this evening," the maid reported, "She kept inquiring about her father and insisting she be allowed to contact him."

"She hates being left at home without him," Hanae nodded.

"And you, Madam?"

Even her furrowed brow was the same as Mitsuru's. "I've grown accustomed to it," Hanae said softly.

This relatively peaceful moment was interrupted by a scream. "FATHER, FATHER, FATHER!" Mitsuru came running into the room in a nightgown sobbing, her hair askew and falling over her face.

"Oh, ma petite!" Hanae caught her daughter, "What's the matter, hmm? Did you have a bad dream?"

"It was green, it was all green and there was blood and I couldn't find anyone and...where's Father? They have to find him! G-Grand-père..." She collapsed into her mother's chest, crying too hard to get the words out.

"Darling, it was just a dream. Your father will be back soon, you'll see."

"Mine won't," Yukari mumbled. Lucky for her, Akihiko couldn't smack her without getting Mitsuru as well.

The door to the lounge slammed open and men in riot gear barged in, accompanied by Kirijo scientists and police officers. "Kirijo-san," an officer said, "I'm afraid we have some horrible news for you,"

Hanae gasped and fell back onto the couch. Mitsuru began wailing.

"There's been an accident at Tatsumi Port Island," the officer began, "We're not sure what actually happened, but an hour ago, the laboratory owned by the Kirijo Group suffered an explosion that nearly decimated the surrounding areas. The officer removed his hat, and Akihiko knew what was coming. "There were no survivors, ma'am."

Hanae covered her face with shaking hands – but Mitsuru stood up. "No! Father is alive!"

"Miss Kirijo," the scientists were taken aback, "how did you know that? We'd only just received word-"

"What's this all about?" the officer demanded, "Did you not give the research lab as the last known location of Takeharu Kirijo? You people may think you're above the law, but this is a matter of national security! Civilian casualties are being reported as we speak. People are going hysterical, claiming they've seen coffins and some kind of tower-"

"THAT'S WHERE FATHER WENT!" Mitsuru shrieked.

"There is no such tower on Tatsumi Port Island," the officer insisted.

"It's gone now," said Mitsuru, "Everything green is gone now, but when it all turned green, I heard-"

The scientist who spoke earlier just stared at Mitsuru before realizing something. "Young Miss, perhaps your father will want to hear your story when he returns." Turning so only she could see him, he placed his finger over his lips in a silencing gesture.

Another officer barged in. "Lieutenant! There's some sort of disturbance going on at the Moonlight Bridge!" he said.

The lieutenant clearly wanted to interrogate them some more, but he produced a card instead. "We'll be returning tomorrow morning to continue this," he said. "This entire property will be under surveillance. Don't leave this city."

After he left, the scientist turned to the riot squad. "Get over there and find Kirijo-sama at once." He sure as hell did know something they weren't telling the cops. "Kouetsu-sama is dead," he said to the distraught women, "Something happened with the Shadows and the people in charge of them lost control, causing the entire lab to go up in flames. If Takeharu-sama is indeed alive, then he is now the inheritor of the Kirijo Group and all of its holdings."

Hanae's jaw dropped as she put the pieces together. "They suspect him?"

"Takeharu-sama was not there when we arrived on the scene, but a witness swears that directly after the explosion, around midnight, the sky suddenly turned green and he was surrounded by coffins. Takeharu-sama appeared and took several people with him to investigate this tower. I saw no such tower, Madam...but I did see this man suddenly appear out of nowhere. He was not there when I first arrived, and he says I wasn't there during this green period. I was-"

"-a coffin," finished Mitsuru. Hanae looked like she was about to faint.

"Young Miss, how long did this green period of coffins last?"

"Umm...not long? When I woke up, it was almost midnight."

"But it's just after midnight now!" the maid, who had been trying to clean up the mess left by the intruders, piped up.

"Do you know what your grandfather was attempting to do with these Shadows?" The scientist removed his glasses to clean them. Mitsuru just shook her head. "What you've just experienced is a time displacement phenomenon. It's what we've been studying. Shadows have the unique ability to transcend time as we know it. They aren't bound to normal dimensions like you or I..." He seemed to have forgotten he was talking to a little girl as he prattled on.

Hanae didn't look as if she got it, either, but she understood one thing: "Where is my husband?"

"I can't feel him anymore," Mitsuru said, sinking down into the sofa. She looked lost. "When everything was green, I could tell he was in danger, but now..."

"We are going to have to see if we can recreate tonight's conditions," explained the scientist. "If Takeharu-sama is indeed inside this...tower, then we have to find a way to make this tower manifest again. I have an idea, but it's just speculation at this point. Young Miss...I will return here at 11:45 pm tomorrow night. I'd like for you to wait up for me." And the scientist left them, pulling out his phone and calling people as he left the estate.

"This is when the phenomenon known as the Dark Hour began?" Naoto asked.

"Wait," said Chie, "You left your dad in that creepy tower all night?"

"Oh, time works differently in Tartarus," Fuuka explained, "Even if Kirijo-san wasn't rescued until the next night, it would have only felt like an hour to him." It was brave as hell of her to speak up. Akihiko knew that she'd feared for her life every second in Tartarus, and her already timid nature didn't help. They were shocked when she'd casually announced that she'd been successfully avoiding the Shadows without even having her Persona.

Sure enough, the next video opened with the unnamed scientist arriving at Yakushima to find Hanae and Mitsuru waiting for him. On Hanae's lap sat a book that she must have been reading to Mitsuru to pass the time. Akihiko and Naoto both reacted with amusement to the English title: The Time Machine.

"Good evening," said the scientist.

"Ah, Himura-san," Hanae finally gave him a name, "I must tell you, I don't approve of keeping my daughter awake at this hour of the night."

"I can't sleep, anyway," Mitsuru interjected.

Himura gave her a sympathetic glance. "It will be all right. Now, I'd like you to walk me through the previous evening. What were you doing at approximately this time last night?"

"I was dreaming of Father," Mitsuru began, "He and I were walking somewhere I've never been before. It was snowing...Father was telling me that...something was going to happen to Grand-père."

"What?"

"He didn't tell me, he just told me that I needed to be brave. We kept walking until I realized someone was watching us."

"Who, darling?" Hanae had tensed up.

"It was a woman in armor. She looked like someone I'd seen in a book, but she was real and I felt like I knew her." Well, now they knew for sure who that was. "I turned to ask Father who she was, but I couldn't find him! He disappeared, and I ran calling for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere!" She clenched her fists and tried not to cry. "When I woke up, everything was green, and I went looking for the servants – but all I could find were coffins!"

"And Takeharu-sama?"

"He was somewhere horrible! I-I could feel how frightened he was, and-FATHER IS HURT!" And the little girl collapsed in a puddle of curls and tears.

Himura had been taking notes, and as he glanced at his watch, the minute hand reached 12. "It is now that same time. Perhaps we will be fortunate, and that phenomenon-"

The footage jumped erratically and the sound cut out like one of Mitsuru's records scratching.

"What the hell was that?" Yosuke and the others flinched and covered their ears.

The footage began again. "-will occur once more. The time is now 12:01...Miss Kirijo?" Mitsuru had been sitting on the couch just a moment ago...but now she was cowering in a corner of the room. "How did you get over there?"

"Someone doctored the footage!" said Yukari. It sure looked like it.

Mitsuru smirked ruefully. "Have you forgotten already?"

"The Dark Hour causes all electronic devices to stop functioning," added Aigis, and realization slowly dawned on them. The cameras had stopped working and Himura had been Transmogrified.

"I don't understand!" Hanae was understandably confused, "I was watching Mitsuru, and then suddenly, she was gone! I didn't even blink!" She vainly tried to calm her terrified daughter. "Did...did the world go green again, ma petite? Were we coffins?" Mitsuru nodded, covering her face but peeking through her fingers.

Several maids entered the room sobbing. "Madam! They've found Kirijo-sama!"

"Where?" Himura grabbed her by the shoulders.

"On the island!" she cried, "He's alive, but he's been taken to the hospital. They say he just appeared out of thin air!"

Hanae quickly rose and scooped up Mitsuru. "Oh, thank heavens!" Hanae exclaimed. "Mitsuru, darling, you go to your room now and get some rest. I need to get to the hospital before the police do."

"But I have to speak to Father!" Mitsuru insisted. "He's the only one who knows what I saw!"

"She's right. I'm sure the young miss can sleep in the car," Himura assured her, "We must hurry, Kirijo-san!" They ran out of the room.

Everyone seemed to be focusing on a different fact. The IT were having trouble grasping the time situation Fuuka gave them. Yukari was convinced that Ikutsuki had personally filmed all of this footage, and it was probably tampered with, which was understandable up to a point.

Naoto, however, had seized a different element. "Himura..." she murmured, "I believe that name came up in my research."

"He was my grandfather's third-in-command, and assumed control after the explosion," Mitsuru explained, "Father excommunicated him as well."

"I may have located Himura-san, as well as several other top brass," said Naoto. Mitsuru stiffened up. "They've been living under assumed names, all over the country." She pulled a notebook out of her pocket. "Himura, Akasofu, Tokei...they weren't as well-hidden as your father had believed."

"What are you thinking?" Akihiko asked Mitsuru. He knew she wasn't going to just file this information away for later. There was a glint in her eyes that had been absent for way too long.

"I have to contact them," Mitsuru rose from her seat. "Ikutsuki must have had a reason to save this footage, and it most likely was Minazuki." She caught Akihiko's eye before adding, "You're free to enjoy Iwatodai before returning home, if you like. Just notify my driver when you're ready." And she closed herself in the study.

Yu and Naoto locked eyes. Now that he knew the signs, Akihiko could see Naoto's brain working. He'd better get his warmed up as well.

Minazuki is going to have no idea what hit him.


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OK, the wiki says that "during an investigation on Tartarus, Takeharu was attacked by Shadows. His eye was injured during the attack, thus why he wears an eyepatch." Mitsuru's memory in The Answer has a guy specifically say "it's only the second time anyone has been here without special equipment", so I guess the first time they went in was when it happened? Explains why they asked if it was okay for Mitsuru to be there.

I cannot for the life of me find the exact date for the '99 lab explosion, but the Aigis phone game supposedly takes place in May and ends with MC's car accident, so I guess that's when it happens? I picked a random date; I'd be interested to know if Japanese supplemental materials gave the actual day.