A couple of weeks went by, and while Kaede's pregnancy stayed rather rough with the side, Angie's went much smoother. Angie was still able to operate the church as normal, but most days Kaede was unable to leave the bathroom due to her constant throwing up. Kaede assumed that this was because she was just simply farther along than she was, but she wasn't an expert on the subject. Was Angie just blessed because she was Atua's most loyal subject, she thought to herself.

Her condition got worse and stayed that way for a while, but it couldn't be too bad with Shuichi at her side. The stress that had been building up for him for the last few weeks was killing him, however, and the addition of a child in a little under six months wasn't going to help that out. If he could handle this, he could handle a baby. There's no person in the world he'd rather raise a child with than the love of his life, so it couldn't be too bad.

Over the last week, her struggles had lessened. She was able to escape the horrible puking for hours at a time, although she still felt it a danger to leave the house for extended amounts of time. Shuichi knew that he had to make this easier for her, even for one day. If she could barely leave, he had to bring what was outside of their home to it, and he felt there no better way of doing this than bringing in some of her best friends and their spouses (coincidentally some of Shuichi's best friends) for lunch. The couples being invited had all been friends since high school, having become a very close friend group. With them still living relatively close to each other, it was rather obvious that they reunite the group for an occasion like this.

The first couple being invited was that of Maki and Kaito Momota. Although Maki was the detective's coworker, he was friends with Kaito long before they ever met the girls they loved. Shuichi always felt lucky to have Kaito as a friend, he wasn't always the brightest but they considered themselves to be 'bros'. The two would often work out together, and Kaito was a pretty great motivator for the often unconfident Shuichi as well. Meanwhile, the often cold and unpleasant Maki was the polar opposite of the cheerful Kaede, but once they became acquainted in high school, there was no turning back. Like Shuichi, Maki didn't have an amazing home life, and this influenced much of her behavior, but Kaede helped to liven her up. Even if she still mostly acted the same, she became a much happier person thanks to her.

The other couple invited was Miu and Kiibo Idabashi. Miu met Shuichi and Kaede later in their school days than the others because she moved in from another city. She was shy and timid around those she didn't know, but once she entered their friend group, and she showed her true loud and vulgar colors as she acquainted with the others. One of those others was Kiibo, a kind tech and robotics expert who was far too innocent for her liking. Miu also took interest in his tech, and that's how they bonded. Their contrast was obvious, too, with Miu being loud, vulgar and overtly sexual and Kiibo being more level headed.

"Can this really be considered a date if it's in our own home?" Kaede asked jokingly as she watched Shuichi make the food for a change, some salads and rice.

He chuckled but replied in a legitimate manner anyway. "Well, it's more of a date for them then it is for us. Since we don't see them too often, that could make it a date. Besides, we don't need to get out of the house to have a nice time with our friends, and it takes the stress off of your back."

She nodded, it wasn't easy to do anything with a child growing in her. A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang for the first time and in walked Kaito and Maki. Maki sat down on the couch next to Kaede as Kaito hugged Shuichi aggressively. "My man! Long time, no see. What's up? If the wife giving you any troubles at work?" he asked, Shuichi's face practically buried in his muscular pecs.

Maki looked at him from the couch and smirked. "Shut up." she bluntly muttered, hardly able to contain laughter.

"She's great, but I see her nearly every day, and that's not the case for you." said Shuichi, having barely escaped the Kaito's double-armed grip.

The boys walked over to the couch as well. "And how are you doing?" Kaito asked Kaede.

"Well, I guess. I'm only now starting to see the differences in my body, with the kid in there." she responded, poking her own belly.

"I'm somewhat glad we haven't had a child yet. I'd probably have to take a break from my job for a few months and considering he can't keep a stable source of income for more than a couple months, we'd be kinda screwed." said Maki, a smirk almost forming on her face. It would be funnier to her if it wasn't horrible.

Kaito shrugged. "Well, life hasn't really been the same since the space academy found out I cheated on that test. I've always seen life as a game you gotta win, and for now, I've lost."

He didn't always say smart things, or at the very least smart-sounding things, but they all recognized it as a good thing that Kaito understood his wrongdoings. The short moment of deep thought was interrupted by the arrival of Miu Iruma, who made sure that feeling never showed up for the remainder of the date. "What's up, bitches? Glad to hear your whore's doing well, Shuichi." she said, with Kiibo behind her wincing at his wife's comments. She said things like this so often that it no longer phased any of them.

"And I'm glad to see you're doing well, too." said Shuichi, pulling out chairs for the two.

He passed the salads out to his guests before sitting down. "Kaede, please assure us you're doing fine now. I've been worrying about you!" Kiibo requested. Everyone knew he worried a bit too much.

Kaede laughed. "I'm fine! Really, I am. It's alright. There's always gonna be a few hiccups down the road, but I'm good, I swear!" she exclaimed, laughing to herself a bit. She wasn't the one to lie to a friend.

The lunch continued as normal, the occasional small talk starting, but nothing too noteworthy from either of the six, until a question that no one really wanted to bring up was asked. "Is there anything new on the cult case?" asked Maki.

Shuichi shook his head. "Not really. I'm sure something horrible and noteworthy will happen sometime soon." he replied.

"Cult case? What's this about a cult case?" Kiibo asked curiously from across the table.

"I guess I haven't talked about that yet, my accident." the detective apologized. "I've been investigating a religious death cult for the past year or so, at the request of a girl who has since been killed by said cult. They're damn good at removing all possible evidence of things, so I have little evidence. What I can say is that the two people who run the cult are named Angie and Korekiyo, and-"

Miu has been drinking a small glass of water as she listened to him, but the mention of a certain name made her comedically spit it all in the face of her husband. "Korekiyo? Like, the masked guy?" she shouted.

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, do you know him?"

"Know him? I used to date that god damn gimp! He was a kinky, creepy motherfucker!" she yelled excitedly as if she had missed the man and wanted to see him again.

"You've never told me about this guy." said Kiibo, wiping the water off his face with a napkin. He wasn't even surprised that she knew him, it seemed she'd dated or slept with every man in the country.

Miu stood up from her chair to emphasize her following story. "Let me tell ya. I met him a few weeks before I moved here, he was attractive and he said he was traveling from place to place for his dead sister or mom or something, it was some dead woman he was related to. Anyway, we talked for a bit, we definitely had hot sex, and then one day out of the fuckin' blue he tells me he's going back on his travels. And like, that's okay, I'm okay with a long-distance relationship but then that fucker tells me he's breaking up with me! He told me shit like 'I'm not the one' and 'I'm not worthy'. What a pompous piece of shit!" she explained.

By the end of her story, she was visibly upset. "I'm sure you're worthy and he's just rude, honey." comforted Kiibo, hugging her as she sat back down on the chair.

Shuichi wondered if it was a good idea to ask about this next sermon. "You know, dude, I could go to these sermons with you. It's not like I have literally anything else to do with my time right now." quietly requested Kaito.

It was a decent offer but Shuichi didn't know. He didn't see Kaito ridiculously often, so this could give them more time to see each other if by chance Kaede couldn't go for medical reasons. "This doesn't sound like a bad idea. It gives me insight, too. I'd go if I had the time." assured Maki.

"Well, I'll think about it." was the best he could answer at this point. He didn't think any of his friends hurt due to the Atua cult, but it was certainly a possibility.

As Miu continued to sulk about her memories of Korekiyo, Kiibo decided to talk to Kaede about much lighter topics. "How's the baby doing now?" he asked.

Kaede lightly rubbed her belly and responded "Doing good. Don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, but I'll find out soon enough."

"If it's a girl, name her after me. You know I deserve it." Miu smugly retorted.

The pregnant lady laughed. "You probably do, but I'm not sure about that one."

After a little while, Shuichi continued the story of the church that he tried to tell before. He told of the others of the church, it's practices and some of the teachings from the Tome of Absolution. Most were concerned yet intrigued, and Kaito was still willing to go to help his friend out. "Do you have any idea if other murders are going to happen?" asked Kiibo, him being one of the more interested people in the cult.

"I've only seen one, but the book implies that there's no issue with murder. Murder's fine if they have a motive that hurts them." he responded.

"Bah! If I were you, I'd want them all dead. I'd even try to do it myself!" Miu added.

Next to her, Maki nodded, saying "She does have a point. I'd do it for you."

Shuichi shook his head slightly. "I don't like the idea of killing people who can recover. Angie, Korekiyo, all of them are obviously unwell people, but I believe in the idea of recovery. Therapy and prison time would definitely help. If there's a way for a bloodless Atua church to become a reality, then I'm sure there can possibly be a compromise."

Kaede and Kiibo looked at him in definite agreement, but Maki still wasn't sure. "I wouldn't put your hopes up too much. I might not know what I'm talking about, but people like this usually can't just snap out of these radical views." she said adamantly.

"I believe anyone can recover!" Kaede yelled out of nowhere. "Especially in a situation like this! I don't know much about religion, but I know many of them were built on violence, violence that's now frowned upon by them!"

"I don't know shit about religion either, but weren't most of those violent acts thousands of years old? If this is happening now, then it would take a lot longer then you think." said Miu, not really wanting to get involved but making a solid point.

"I don't want to deal with this right now, I don't want a debate, is that okay? I have to think about this every day, every night, I barely get any rest because I still think of the girl that died because of them!" yelled Shuichi, almost on the verge of a breakdown. "I hate this situation and I need to put a stop to it. I just need the right evidence. I hope. I pray..." he continued, laying his head on the table.

Kaito and Kiibo, who has been having a small side conversation to ignore this debate, walked over to Shuichi and comforted him. "It's all gonna be fine, man. You'll avenge her, and I'll make sure to help you along the way." said Kaito.

Shuichi raised his head and thought that everything was going to work out. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thanks." he said.

The lunch continued for a little while longer until the four guests went home. After a little while, the detective went to talk to his wife. "So that was fun, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course it was! I always appreciate what you do for me, but... I'd really prefer if you didn't bring up the Atua cult as much." sincerely answered Kaede, smiling.

"I didn't try to bring it up. I don't want to think of it anymore. At least Kaito is going to help now." said Shuichi.

"Don't think about it as much. We have a kid on the way. Think about that, think about the good things. I know that's not easy, but I'm always here to help you, honey." she responded, kissing him on the forehead.

Shuichi wanted to tell her that it was more than 'not easy', but the idea of just not focusing on it was one he was willing to take, at least for a time. "I'll try. Love you." he whispered.

Kaede smiled back. "Love you too!"