September 28th, Wednesday, Secret Headquarters

"Okay, let me get this straight..." - Said Yosuke - "The... These scientists created several robots with consciousnesses, got them all to duel to the death and... And tried to torture the remaining one into developing a persona?"

The temperature in the room dropped some more degrees; Sayoko, Yukiko, Yumi and Miss Sofue were shivering.

"Yes." - Said Mitsuru, her tone measured, polite and calm.

And anyone could see and, due to the cold, feel that she was absolutely furious.

"H-h-how did you find out?" - Asked Miss Sofue - "A-a-and... P-please... C-calm down..."

"At Uehara's request, which I do not know how she made him honor, Minazuki informed to her his previous plans and brought me lost files from my company this morning. The scientists still work for it, no less..." - Said Mitsuru - "And I am calm."

"Mitsuru, sweetie? I think she meant controlling your power? You're pissed off enough that you're making the room colder..." - I said, gently.

"Oh." - Was her response, as the temperature got slightly more bearable - "Her name is Labrys. I will reactivate her and apologize to her at the nearest lab, which we shall reach by my private jet. And then, outside her view, I will have a conversation with the scientists responsible for that. You are all invited and I would very much like at least some of you to join."

"Uh... Why bring us along?" - Asked my uncle - "I mean, I'll go, but..."

"So you can prevent me from killing them." - Said Mitsuru, in the same incredibly calm tone she had been using thus far.

"That does qualify as a good reason..." - Said Naoto, softly.

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September 28th, Wednesday, Kirijo Labs

"Do it, Ibuki." - Said Mitsuru.

The techie - a mousy and cute woman with short brown hair - began to work the controls and we saw as the girl, not at all unlike Aigis, opened her eyes.

"First, Labrys, I wish to apologize." - Said Mitsuru.

"Ya didn't do anything. Well... That I know of? Who are ya, anyways?" - Asked Labrys - "An' all these people..."

"An affiliated company of the Kirijo group did, thirteen years ago." - Said Mitsuru.

"Oh. Weren't ya, like, seven back then?" - Asked Labrys - "Look. Whatever. Just... What will ya do with me now?"

"Nothing unless you wish it." - Said Mitsuru - "You are your own person. The very least I can do is to help you achieve your dreams."

It was weird to see an android looking stunned, but weird was pretty much default by now.

Labrys pondered, looking down.

"I... I need ta... Well, t'know more about ya... And... I dunno, this... But... I do have a thing I wanted..." - She said.

"Name it." - Said Mitsuru.

"I wanna be a normal girl... Be a schoolgirl, too... I..." - Labrys trailed off.

"You want friends." - Said Rise, smiling.

"I believe the school part can easily be arranged..." - Said Miss Sofue.

"Heh." - Said Mitsuru - "The simplest things that were denied to you. That is all you wish?"

"Well, for now, yeah... I mean... I don't wanna fight anymore..." - Said Labrys - "I mean, I might, t'protect my friends an' all... But... Then again... I mean, I'm not human..."

"Permission to speak?" - Asked the techie.

"Granted." - Said Mitsuru.

"Labrys?" - Asked Ibuki - "Tell me. By proportion to the body, how much does a human leg weigh?"

"Uh... About a seventh?" - Said Labrys.

"Suppose I run a school in which fourteen of the students have prosthetic left legs. The school can legally hold one hundred and fifty students. There are one hundred and thirty-six students without said prosthetics and fourteen with them. Am I allowed to bring two more students in?" - Asked Ibuki.

"Of course not." - Said Labrys.

"Then why do you not extend that same thought to yourself?" - Asked Ibuki - "You are human. That your physical parts are machinery means nothing in face of that undeniable fact."

Rise smiled lightly.

"Hmm... You know... I have some cash left over from the idol work. Chie, Yukiko, Naoto, Yumi... What do you girls say to a girl's afternoon out with Labrys?"

"Uhm..." - Naoto blushed.

"Come on, Naoto, it'll be fun!" - Said Yumi - "I'm in.

"I shall tell Kikuno to see to your expenses and transportation." - Said Mitsuru, smiling lightly.

"Uh, really? Ya'd do this for me?" - Asked Labrys.

"You want to learn how to teenage girl, right?" - Asked Chie - "Well, shopping sprees are part of the deal."

"Wow..." - Labrys muttered - "Uh... Thanks... I... I might be a bit... Uhm, I dunno... Maladjusted?"

"Everyone has traumas, Labrys. You'll deal with yours. And we'll be glad to help." - Said my uncle.

Labrys nodded as she got up.

"So... Uh... Let's go."

The other girls nodded and left.

"Okay." - Said Mitsuru - "Now for part two... Ibuki. Please leave this room and send in the doctors I sent for."

The mousy techie nodded.

"Is there anything else?" - She asked.

"Yes. Select two other technicians at your level or lower, whomever you wish. You are promoted to the places of the people you'll send in, effective immediately, with you as their leader." - Said Mitsuru.

"Huh? E-er... O-okay?" - Was the techie's response.

"You are confused. Very well, I shall explain. Do you recall your exchange with Labrys not five minutes ago? That was the sound of you earning your promotion." - Said Mitsuru - "Now, please, do send in the ones you'll be replacing, for I need to have a conversation with them."

Ibuki did just that.

An older guy with a tie, a woman in her late thirties with a ponytail and a rather unkempt guy in his forties entered the room.

"Uhm, did you send for us, Kirijo-san?" - Asked the older guy as Mitsuru calmly walked past him to lock the only door out and pocket the key.

"Yes. I really wish to kill all of you, but that would bring about quite a lot of complications that, while not by any means impossible to deal with, would be rather inconvenient. So I decided I might let the three of you have a duel to the death, instead; I would then proceed to mentally scar for life the winner while they begged me not to, have them sleep in a coffin for years on end and never mention it to anybody else." - Said Mitsuru, in that same gentle and measured tone that we had been hearing for the past few hours - "But then I caught myself and wondered: what kind of people would do that? Et voilá, that kind of people now stands right before me. Now. You are all fired. What is more, I shall personally make sure that nobody ever hires you ever again. So you are fired and, as Uehara put it to me on the trip here, blackballed. Now, Kanji, please make sure I do not kill them."

Kanji got up calmly and wordlessly and began to punch the two men, several times, until the two were unconscious.

"I ain't hitting a woman, though." - He said, at last - "That's... I just won't, okay?"

"Now, now, Kanji-kun. While I do understand the fine line between abuse and equal treatment - even equal mistreatment, as it were - I, indeed, had expected you not to be willing to hit the woman." - Said Miss Sofue - "You are a gentleman, in all the best meanings of the word."

"Uh..." - The female scientist began.

"Luckily, I do not wish to see Mitsuru kill the female of the three and I very much am a woman." - She said, her tone every bit as calm as Mitsuru's, walking up to her, tripping her with the divining rod, climbing on top of her and beating her to a pulp.

"Oh, right, Kimiko's been waving a fifteen-pound flail around for the past few months..." - Said Sayoko, pensively, as she watched the onslaught - "That is good exercise..."

"Uh... Isn't it a problem with you being a cop and all?" - I asked.

"I'm outside Inaba, on paid leave, and the chief told me not to do police work." - Said my uncle - "Though, Kirijo, I have to ask..."

"No cameras." - Said Mitsuru, looking down at the unconscious scientists and smiling a very evil smile - "And the security detail will say they started a fight with them."

My uncle nodded.

"I see. And now we more or less found out how you got your persona." - He said.

Mitsuru's smile vanished instantly and she closed her eyes and nodded.

"I... Hope you do not think less of me." - She said.

"Are you kidding? I have that same smile whenever I make an arrest for DUI." - Said my uncle - "We should go home... And... Kimiko, Tatsumi, you might want to clean up your fists?"

Kanji simply pulled a handkerchief from his pocket - one with quite a few coagulated blood stains - and cleaned his hands. Miss Sofue looked around in vain for something to clean her hands with.

"Heh. Rookies." - Said Kanji, smirking, as he handed his handkerchief to my blushing teacher.

"Let us go somewhere else while the girls have their afternoon out... I wish to be... I wish not to be here." - Said Mitsuru, softly.

"And I still have to meet Naoki to tell him about the... Well, who the murderer is." - I said.

"Hmm." - Was Mitsuru's reaction as we left - "I... might have had an idea..."

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September 28th, Wednesday, Souzai Daigaku

"Okay, so..." - Said Naoki, still trying to process it all; I had first stopped home with him and showed him the TV trick - "You said... You found out who the killer was..."

I nodded and slowly explained it to him.

"Heh." - He muttered - "So, because of these supernatural events, Amagi floats. You got a girlfriend. Ozawa can transform. Miss Sofue can heal people. And I... Don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming you. But... The universe is truly not fair, is it?"

"It sucks." - I said - "I agree. But... Well, Mitsuru also lost quite a bit when..."

"When she saved the world. I know. I'm not made of glass. You don't need to keep comforting me or to turn things into a pissing contest... I just... Ugh. I mean, how do you even process this?" - He asked.

"I don't know. But Mitsuru might. And her friend doubly so." - I said.

"Who's this friend of hers again?" - Asked Naoki.

"Well... She's an android, so, y'know, she might not be... Uhm, fully functional in some, uhm... Biological aspects. She also lost her sister due to, well... Psychos and the supernatural." - I said.

"An android? Then again... Of course she's an android. Why wouldn't she be? And uhm... About us both losing our sisters, you know this isn't a hobby people bond over, right?" - He asked, blinking.

"True. But you won't be alone and neither will she." - I said.

"Right... And, wait, you said she's not fully functional in biological aspects... Are you trying to fix me up?" - He asked.

"Well... This isn't a double date, but you might at least befriend her..."

"Well, I guess... We can... Is that her?" - Asked Naoki, looking past me.

Labrys was wearing a light blue dress that hugged her curves pretty well, yet managed to stay cute.

Naoki blushed crimson as he looked at her. She and Mitsuru came over.

"Uhm, hey. So, you're that Konishi fella Mitsuru wanted t' introduce t'me?" - She asked.

"Your accent..." - he muttered.

"Is somethin' the matter with my accent?" - She asked, irritably.

"I... like the Kansai accent. It's cozy. Uhm, okay, that came out wrong." - He said, at last.

"Cozy?" - Asked Labrys - "Heh. I guess it might sound cozy... I'm Labrys."

"Naoki Konishi..." - He said.

"She will actually be joining your class at school..." - Said Mitsuru.

Naoki nodded, smiling.

"Nice to meet you."

"Your smile's pretty sad..." - Said Labrys, softly - "Why...?"

Naoki looked at me and Mitsuru. We nodded.

At the end, it sorta was a double date, mostly with him and Labrys talking to one another and ignoring us.