August 9th, Tuesday, Velvet Room

"Oh, I actually think he'd be a Kanji-grade rebel!" - Said Rise, giggling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" - Asked Kanji, annoyed.

"Or maybe all emotional!" - Said Chie - "He's so calm usually and so on..."

As it turned out, having someone become your twin in a room filled with people that saw their twins as the selves they kept hidden was fertile grounds for discussion.

"Then again... Why didn't Yu ever have to fight his shadow?" - Asked my uncle.

"Okay, let's go with that." - I said - "That is weird... And let me guess, you can't or won't answer, yes, Igor?"

Igor just smiled and shook his head, seeming to have the time of his life.

"Did you not ever experience anything out of the ordinary before?" - Asked Miss Sofue - "Out-of-body experiences, premonitions, anything?"

"No." - I said - "I... Could do this when I got here and saw the Midnight Channel..." - I said.

"Yet one more matter that needs investigating." - Said Naoto - "I do believe we should look into all of this... Especially as the world changes..."

Mitsuru nodded.

"Your school will take a three-day class trip to Iwatodai in September 8th, yes, Miss Sofue?" - She asked.

Miss Sofue nodded.

"Until Friday the tenth, yes." - She said.

"Very well. I shall see that Gekkoukan extends the invitation for another day and then you can pay visits to a few specific facilities, extending it into a Sunday holiday for the students that wish to spend another day in Iwatodai." - Said Mitsuru - "I shall see to the extra lodging of the students, of course."

"We shall visit the facilities of the Kirijo Group, then?" - Asked Naoto.

Mitsuru nodded.

"Correct."

"Quite a bit of effort you're making just on our account." - Said my uncle.

Mitsuru smirked.

"It's nothing. Besides, it needs doing; Shirogane's, Tatsumi's, Hanamura's and Satonaka's relatives are as yet unaware of their extracurricular activities, yes? As well as Ozawa's."

"Yep." - Said Chie.

"That is correct." - Said Naoto.

"Yeah, I'm not about to tell my mom I'm fighting monsters." - Said Kanji.

"Ditto..." - Said Yosuke - "But isn't that costing you a lot?"

"A pittance." - Said Mitsuru, smirking.

I then heard my voice.

"Okay... So it wasn't a dream..." - Said Yumi.

"Hey, Yumi-chan, do us all a favor? Go all epic-sounding and say I am a shadow, the true self!, please?" - Said Sayoko, smiling widely, before I could say anything - "Really, we have to see this..."

I sighed.

My twin smirked.

"Let me guess. It's what the shadow selves say when you anger them? Very well, then." - She turned towards me and sneered in a way that nearly convinced me - "You pretend you're all cool and calm, but deep down you want to protect people and you know you can't protect everyone... And that hurts and you still need to keep it cool... And I know it... Because I am you!"

If you can't beat them...

"You're not me!" - I said, mustering as much fake indignancy as I could.

Suddenly, Yumi began to grow and take on the form of a gigantic semi-metallic corpse riddled with blades all throughout the grayish, dying body and holding two swords by the blades.

"I am a shadow, the true self!" - It shouted, with a distorted tone, with everyone looking... Rather horrified.

The shadow being disappeared as everyone clapped.

"Uh... Okay..." - Said Yumi - "The being wasn't my doing..."

Margaret smirked.

"We are allowed to enjoy ourselves." - She said - "The illusion was my doing."

"Ohkaaaay..." - I said - "Now that it's all done, will you please change back?"

Yumi smirked and changed back to herself.

"Okay. Ozawa. We might need you to stay here for a while, say, a week." - Said my uncle.

"So I'm disappeared long enough for it to be an issue." - She said - "Is it a problem for you guys?" - She asked, turning to Igor.

"We shall see to your accomodations..." - Said Igor, smiling - "After all, do you already not live between dream and reality?"

"I guess that's him granting permission..." - Said Yosuke.

"Do you want us to give any message to your parents?" - Asked Yukiko.

Yumi sighed.

"I can't seem like I ran away, can I? Especially if... Ugh. Just... Tell them I'm okay and to go with the vanished thing for a while, I don't know... You know what? Tell them whatever you want." - She said, finally - "I can't even think of that right now."

"I'll just tell them you're in a safe place, pretending to still be disappeared, in order to aid the police in an investigation." - Said my uncle - "And not to tell anyone else, including anyone within the police, as it is a matter of internal affairs and I am in charge of investigating within the police side. Just make some statement as to the day and so on and I'll catch it on my cell phone."

Yumi did so.

"Well, okay. So, now, I wait... Guess I can review the script." - She said.

"Don't worry, Yumi-chan. I will come to visit you here everyday and cheer you up!" - Said Teddie.

Yumi looked at Teddie.

"Heh. I guess at least part of me would love that, right? Besides... A talking teddy bear. How bad can it be?" - She smirked.

"Teddie needs some refining, but he is innocent to a fault and does have quite a heart." - Said Miss Sofue.

Yumi nodded.

"Okay. We'll talk." - She said, smiling a bit, then looked at Igor and Margaret - "And, if you want, we can talk as well."

Margaret nodded.

"The Hostess is human and has so far been agreeable. And my sister has gone away, against her orders, to look to aid a human that sacrificed himself to prevent a catastrophe. So I wish to know more as to the reasons for that behavior..."

"She likes him." - Said Yumi, smiling.

"Wait... Elizabeth... Likes Minato?" - Asked Mitsuru.

"Now you connected the dots?" - Asked Sayoko - "Really, Mitsuru, do you think these mega-hyper-powerful beings that govern a place between dream and reality and talk to us cryptically because they have to be all neutral and whatever just do stuff for people on a whim?"

"I granted Nanako Dojima the power of flight." - Said Margaret - "Is that not a whim?"

"No, Margaret, that is a case in point!" - Was Sayoko's response, laughing out loud - "From what they told me, Igor let you do that and you did it because that adorable kid captivated you by complimenting your eyes... Now, tell me. You met her. Wouldn't you like to do a lot of stuff for her?"

"...I see. I... Shall learn more by talking with Ozawa, then." - Said Margaret - "And... If the master allows, I shall also visit you and your daughter as well." - She said, turning to my uncle.

"Sure." - Said my uncle, smirking, while Igor just nodded, with his usual toothy grin.

"You know, if you weren't already dating Kimiko here, Nanako would be one hell of an icebreaker..." - Said Sayoko.

"I talked to her and found her adorable before I talked to him, in point of fact." - Said Miss Sofue.

"Called it." - Said Sayoko.

Yukiko had looked completely serious and in control up to that point.

Igor turned to her.

"By all means, Hostess, feel free to react as you would..."

Her giggling fit lasted a good ten minutes; by then, we had said our goodbyes and were leaving.