So, I ended up at the second floor display hall, at the canned film festival with some of the others until Yu showed up.
"Yo. We were just talking about this movie..." Junpei greeted Yu. "Take a look at what's showing. "Happily Ever After: A Montage of the Most Beautiful Weddings"...What do you think?"
"Of course you want to see it! We have to see it! There's no other choice! We'll die if we don't!" Rei was really excited about it.
"Oh, uh, is that so...? I wasn't expecting a high schooler to be so interested in weddings..." Junpei commented.
"You were pretty keen on all that "destined partner" stuff, huh, Rei-chan?" Yosuke smiled.
"Rei-san is...what you'd call a girl with a dream." Naoto responded.
"I have heard that everyone has dreams." Aigis said.
"Hm? Well, yes, that's true, but there's a slight difference in what I meant by dreams there..."
"Dreams aren't something you have, they're something you achieve!" Rei explained.
"Achieve..." Aigis repeated.
"...Or so they say, but I think you should just have dreams." Rei finished.
"Hm...?"
"I mean, when would a Prince ever..." Rei gasped. "Um...Hey, Yo-chan...Are you...really a prince? The Prince of Disappointment...What kingdom is that?"
"The Kingdom of Disappointment." I answered, shrugging.
"Hold on! I'd be a disappointment my whole life if I was a prince of the Kingdom of Disappointment!" Yosuke protested.
"So you're not...?" Rei looked let down.
"Errr...uhhh...O-Of course I'm a prince. I'm the first Prince of Disappointia. I'll be ascending the throne soon!" Yosuke back-pedalled, trying to cheer her up.
"...This is so sad." Junpei muttered.
"Yosuke-senpai's quite kind and caring...So he can't say no." Naoto smiled.
"He's too good of a person."
"Would you please stop acting like I'm doomed to be "the nice guy" forever!?" Yosuke interrupted.
"Perhaps that is why Kyoka-senpai took an interest in you." Naoto showed a rare moment of mischievousness and I looked at her in surprise.
"H-How'd you know...!?"
"Don't just go along with it so casually!" Yosuke snapped at me, distressed now.
"Wait, seriously!? Are you guys together!?" Junpei looked surprised as well.
"N-No, we're not..." Yosuke answered him, looking flustered and embarrassed.
"I have heard that Naoto-san is the "Detective Prince". Does that make you a prince too, Yu-san?" Aigis asked our leader.
"Of course I am." Yu answered as blankly as ever.
"You two are princes too!?" Rei looked at him excitedly.
"A third prince...Yasogami High must have a unique educational program if so much royalty attends it." Aigis said.
"...Hm? Now that I think about it, where's Zen-kun?" Naoto wondered.
"He went on patrol." Rei answered. "I told him I'd be okay on my own. It's not dangerous unless I go in the labyrinth, after all. I think Zen is having fun too, now that you're all here. It was just us two for the longest time...I hope you all get along with Zen."
"Haha, of course. You two are the perfect couple, always looking out for one another." Naoto smiled at her.
"C-C-Couple...!?" Rei blushed. "...Do we look like a couple?"
"You do. It's adorable." I grinned at her and she seemed to panic so I snickered with amusement.
We talked a bit more about Zen and Rei, embarrassing her quite a bit, then decided to go watch the film together. It was kinda boring to me, but Rei seemed interested, so it was worth it to watch her talk about it afterward, even if she did get pretty hung up on what foods they were eating rather than the actual wedding thing.
I wandered around for a bit, but then I was hungry, so I went with some of the others for a light meal.
"Arf! Arf!" Koromaru greeted Yu when he walked over to us.
"Yo! You hungry?" Yosuke asked.
"You can't fight on an empty stomach, after all." Junpei added.
"Hm...? What does that phrase mean?" Aigis asked.
"If your stomach growled during a group date, it'd hurt your image, right? You only get one first impression, so you gotta make sure to eat first! That's what it means."
"Eat first...I understand." Aigis said.
"There you go, makin' shit up again..." Shinjiro sighed.
"Arf." Koromaru seemed to agree with him.
"Don't group dates usually take place at venues where you'll be eating at them anyway...?" I tilted my head in confusion.
"...Still, I wonder why it's a "Group Date Cafe"." Naoto spoke up.
"It's just pouring salt in our wounds..." Yosuke sighed.
"I don't know much about the Group Date Cafe you all hosted for your display, though..."
"There's not much to know..." I shrugged.
"Having that in your Culture Festival is pretty cool. I guess your school must be pretty advanced!" Junpei said.
"I'd call it regressed, myself...I wish I could meet whatever wretch proposed such an idea." Naoto didn't look impressed.
"Y-Yeah, right?" Yosuke responded nervously as I began snickering.
"This place is supposed to be based on you guys' school, right?" Shinjiro asked.
"It isn't simply based on Yasogami High. It's almost exactly the same." Naoto replied. "Granted, there are a few differences, such as the greater number of rooms and different displays."
"I can't picture any normal school ever doin' a Group Date Cafe at their Culture Festival."
"I'll, uh...take that as a compliment..." Yosuke rubbed the back of his head.
"You haven't met our homeroom teacher..." I muttered, grimacing.
"I'm just sayin' this probably wasn't a coincidence." Shinjiro stated. "The way it's set up like your school, and the way it's got a Group Date Cafe like you did."
"Where are you going with this...?" Naoto asked.
"No idea." Shinjiro shrugged.
"Eh...?"
"There's no need to rush things. Let's do what we can now, and find the answers as they come. If we stress out too much over it, we might overlook something."
"Arf." Koromaru seemed to agree.
"Yes...that's true." Naoto smiled a bit and nodded.
"Damn...He's awesome..." Yosuke looked surprised.
"Wow..." I blinked at him in surprise, but then smiled with admiration. "Shinjiro-senpai's really level-headed. That's so cool!"
"Didn't I tell you to knock it off with the "senpai" stuff?" Shinjiro sighed at me. "We're not even enrolled at the same school."
"But you act like a senpai." I argued lightly with a smile. "And you're way better at fighting than I am. I want to learn from you and the others, so you're my senpai too now."
"...You don't look it, but you can be as stubborn as Aki..." He shook his head.
"Haha, Kyoka's usually more difficult to get calling you less formally at all, so she must've really hit it off with you guys." Yosuke seemed amused for some reason.
We continued to talk over our meal for a bit longer before parting ways to go do our own things again. I was feeling tired, so I found a classroom that was set up as a rest area to take a nap.
Yu woke me up to say we'd be going into You in Wonderland to fight a Card Solider FOE for Elizabeth, so we all got ready and headed in to fight one on the first floor. It was kinda difficult until we poisoned it and got a bind to stick, then it started weakening really quickly and we defeated it. We celebrated a little before heading back and Yu went to deliver the pompom or whatever that Elizabeth had wanted and complete the request. After he came back, it was decided we'd go ahead and complete Theodore's request for an arrow from the Group Date Cafe's first stop. Aigis showed us the way to the room with the two golden archer FOEs in it and Yu guided us around them. We used some winged sandals to get through the sea of spikes, even though we had been hit by the FOEs arrows while doing so, and retrieved the arrow that was stuck in the furthest wall. Aigis analyzed the arrow and confirmed it would satisfy the requirements, so we went through the door that was back there, found a treasure chest, and a one-way shortcut back into the other room. Then, on our way out of the labyrinth again, we fought Shadows until the snake one came up and Yu instructed us to bind it's agility before taking it out. That apparently made it drop some snakeskin Elizabeth wanted, so once we had that, we headed back to the Nurse's Office to recover while Yu reported the two requests finished. Theodore made some arrows for Zen's crossbow using the information the FOE's arrow gave him. Once everyone had recovered and made sure all our weapons were still in good shape, we decided we were all ready to continue on and went back into the labyrinth to that metal door.
"Time for an ordeal of love." Yu said as he pushed open the door.
Five Idle Basalt Shadows ambushed us once we entered the door, so we fought them.
"Heh, that's that!" Yosuke cheered after they were defeated. "Haven't we gotten much stronger than we were when we first got here?"
"We have, it's true. But that doesn't mean we're not still in danger past this point." Mitsuru replied. "Pride gives rise to carelessness. Overestimating our skills may cost us our lives."
"Uh...good point. Sorry...I'll keep that in mind."
With that, we headed through the next metal door. Past there, we found the stairs going down.
"Well, here we are on a new floor. Doesn't seem too bad." Chie said after we'd gone down to the second stop.
"I wonder where my destined partner is! This is so exciting!" Rei seemed energetic.
"Your destined prince is always by your side, for-" Teddie started, but Zen glared at him. "Eep!"
"Let's stop playing around and go on ahead." Minato suggested, so we did.
To our right, there was another metal door.
"This door won't open either...So that must mean..." Yukiko said.
"Yup, I'm sensing Shadows past that one too! I think it's another of those ordeals like on the last floor." Rise responded.
"Just like Mitchan and myself...the more ordeals of love we face, the fiercer our passion burns!" Teddie said.
"If it's burning so fiercely, perhaps it needs some ice to cool it." Mitsuru responded coldly, getting ready to summon her Persona.
"P-Please don't freeze me!"
"Enough of this foolishness. Let's proceed." Mitsuru turned her back on the bear and we continued to explore the floor.
We fought some Shadows, then came across a conveyor belt on the floor.
"...That floor's moving." Chie pointed out in confusion.
"Yeah, it is. I guess it'll carry you if you stand on it." Shinjiro responded.
"Oh, like the ones at the really big train stations!? I've seen them on TV before!"
"Do you not have any in your city...? They're properly known as moving walkways." Mitsuru said.
"I always wanted to get on one of these." Chie looked excited. "Hey, can we ride it? Please? Please?"
"Wait! There's no knowing what could be awaiting us ahead. If we're going to ride it, we should wait to do so until we're fully prepared. Is that clear?"
"Alright." Yu answered and stepped onto it immediately, so the rest of us followed and it took us to a tile of floor between more moving walkways.
"That was fast! A lot faster than I thought it would be! And it's useful, too!" Chie was probably more excited than she should be about this.
"Uhh, please let me apologize on behalf of our rowdy country mouse." Yosuke sighed.
"N-No worries." Mitsuru responded, seeming to be sweating a bit. "It can be useful, depending on how we use it...But it's quite fast, and getting off midway is dangerous. We'll need to think about where it will take us and change over to the next one. Remember that, Satonaka."
"R-Roger that!" Chie answered a bit nervously.
Yu drew out the moving walkways we could see on his map and seemed to be planning routes on how to get where using them. Then, we headed through the door we could get to and found more moving walkways for Yu to start mapping out. Once he finished, we got onto the walkway he indicated and continued with our exploration. We came to a dead end after getting off the thing, then I noticed Chie looked depressed and she sighed.
"...What's wrong?" Ken asked her.
"It's the end of the world..." Chie said miserably.
"Huh!? Wh-What happened!?"
"Somebody stole my meat jelly!" She looked mad now.
"Huh? ...What!?" Ken looked surprised.
"Meat jelly!?" Junpei repeated in shock.
"That sounds gross." Minato commented blandly.
"Huh, you don't know what it is!? It's a famous revolution in the world of dessert meats!" Chie exclaimed. "It's meat, but it's sweet and smooth...C'mon, it's the meat-based confection filled with harmonious contradiction!"
"Nothing about that sounds appetizing..." Yukari muttered.
"I left some on the table by the entrance to the labyrinth so I'd have a snack ready when I got back! But when I did come back...it was gone!" Chie cried.
"It's your own fault for leaving it lying around in a place like that." Yosuke said.
"What!? Hey, are you saying YOU did it!? You'd better apologize this instant!"
"I wouldn't put that crap in my mouth even if you paid me! You should be the one apologizing to me!" Yosuke argued. "Because when you left your jelly there, you stopped so suddenly that I tripped over you! And then I hit my...I hit the corner of the table! I thought I was gonna die. And that's the most pathetic way to go."
"...You've really got it rough." Shinjiro commented, looking sympathetic.
Yosuke sighed. "Finally, someone who understands..."
"Huh...Then I hope you remember when I said that if anything happens to my meat jelly, you're a dead man." Chie said to Yosuke. "You should be glad I let you live this long!"
"That's it..." Yosuke looked pissed.
"C'mon guys, stop." I sighed, getting between the two before they could start yelling.
"P-Please, calm down. Don't you realize how ridiculous you both sound right now?" Naoto stood next to me. "And yet, I cannot allow a theft to go unpunished. The culprit could be among us as we speak..."
"Yosuke!?" Chie asked.
"Dammit, it's not me!" Yosuke protested.
"Chie-senpai, I'd like to speak with you later about what happened. I'll put it out as a request. We can try solving this case together. I'm looking forward to working with you." Naoto turned to Yu, who nodded.
"Okay, now that that's settled, let's move on." I sighed and we continued on our way.
We headed through a door nearby and came to find it led to another dead end.
"Aww, it's just a dead end..." Yosuke was disappointed.
"Where we drifted was a dead end...That is the epitome of love." Teddie said.
"How does that describe our situation at all?" Shinjiro asked.
"I can just tell! This place is filled with the ABCs of love!"
"Then what's the deal with these moving walkways?"
"U-Umm...They signify letting things take their own course...I-I think."
"Reaching a dead end by letting things take their own course...That makes sense, in a way." Naoto acknowledged.
"Don't listen to him. The only thing he's letting take its own course is his weird-ass thought patterns." Yosuke shook his head.
After that, we backtracked and went on a different moving walkway path, but it only led to a treasure box with armour in it and we had to get back to where we had been before and take the other moving walkway to a different section. There, we activated a shortcut back to the area where the stairs were and then went through another door.
"Whew...Going back and forth like this is wearing me out..." Yosuke said.
"It would be nice if we could take a break..." Ken responded.
"There is some good news for you stray lambs." The mechanical voice spoke up suddenly. "The next Selection Room of Destiny...is five steps away. You consider whether it is best to come or not come; proceed or remain in place..."
"That's pretty vague." Shinjiro muttered.
"Well, we can't stop now. C'mon, let's keep going." Akihiko urged.
We went to go, but got attacked by Shadows and had to fight them before we could go very far. We found a Power Spot and gathered materials before going through the selection room door to find the next one chained shut again.
"The stray lambs have arrived. Hello on this new floor as well." The mechanical voice said once we were in the room.
"Hold on. Could you tell us what exactly you are?" Naoto asked.
"You have passed through the second question of death, and emerged as heroes who still venture forth." The voice ignored her. "In honour of this, a special third question has been prepared. Steel yourselves before you answer."
"...It's no use. It doesn't seem interested in conversation." Naoto shook her head. "It looks as though the only thing we can do is to answer its questions and move forward."
"Now then, here is question number three. What surprised you about the one you fell in love with?"
"They're a crane, not a human." Yu answered.
"Are you referring to the story of the crane wife?" Naoto asked.
"Ooh, I remember reading that when I was a kid." Yukari smiled.
"You can never look inside me, okay?" Teddie jumped in.
"That's fine, we already know what's in there." Chie sighed.
The chains disappeared, so we continued on our way. We headed through a door, fought some Shadows, headed through another door, found a Power Spot, a treasure box with an accessory to prevent paralysis in it, and then we came across a spacious room that seemed safe enough to take a short break in.
"Rei-chan, Rei-chan! I have something nice for you! Here you go! Poink!" Teddie pulled out a candy from somewhere and gave it to Rei.
"Wow! It's a plum candy! Plums are known for being "plump"!" Rei seemed happy.
"I'm filled with tons of treasures! How about it, Rei-chan? Are you falling for me yet? I have other things too, like coupons for Junes, that pinup book from Yosuke's room, and delicious sweets!"
"You have sweets!? Teddie, can you open up!? I'm just going to peek! Just a peek! Is it this? This red button!? Do I have to press it!? Like this!?" Rei began trying to press Teddie's red button with impressive force.
"Aieeeee! I'm under attack! Heeeeelp!"
"Is there a button used to open and close your body, Teddie?" Aigis asked.
"Oh my! Are you curious about me too, Ai-chan?"
"If dummy buttons were also built into you, then I infer that it must be an extremely important system...In that case, however, why were they placed in such an exposed area? In my case, all critical parts which manage my system are hidden where they are not easily accessed."
""Parts"? Ai-chan, are you...?"
"I am Aigis, the "Last Number" of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons. I am a humanoid robot."
"Oooh! So you aren't human! No wonder I thought you were way too cute!"
"As they say, "You are too kind.""
"It seems like I'm not really human either, so we have that in common."
"But you seemed to be a human male inside your costume."
"This is just a disguise to avoid suspicion." Teddie said, popping off his costume's head. "I had one of those X-ray thingies, but it didn't show anything. So I'm searching for who I really am."
"I see..."
"That's why I get the sense we're two peas in a pod, Ai-chan!" Teddie got back in his costume.
"Yes, I feel as if I am sensing something from you too."
"It can only be...love...As a "getting to know you" gesture, would you like to press my button too? Myehehehe..."
"Like this?" Aigis raised her hands and shot him with the guns in her fingers.
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
"...She has great aim." Zen commented, seeming to be in approval.
"The button was less durable than I anticipated. I will hold back on my firepower next time." Aigis said.
"So, you really are a robot...! What incredible technology...! Just how...?" Naoto looked excited as she spoke up to Aigis with interest, then blushed a bit sheepishly. "Um, may I...touch you?"
"It is possible to poink as well." Aigis replied.
"Poink!?" Naoto repeated in confusion.
"Specifically, my head." Aigis didn't really explain.
"Oh no, please don't!" Naoto apparently had an idea of what she meant, but I didn't.
"Naoto's totally fascinated with her. You okay with this, Kanji?" Yosuke asked.
"Eh. I can't beat poinkin'." Kanji responded.
"Me too! I can poink my newborn self too!" Teddie had apparently recovered from being shot.
"Why don't we see if your head poinks off as well?" Yukiko smiled at him and he looked scared.
"Sh-She's so evil...!" Junpei seemed shocked.
"Zen, what's poinking? Can I do it?" Rei asked.
"Hmm. From the context, perhaps it means to make something come out?" Zen responded.
"Really? You managed to get something out of that...?" I muttered, still feeling pretty lost.
"I see!" Rei turned toward Minato. "Hey, Minato-kun? Ta-da...Poink!" She pulled a donut out of nowhere to give it to him.
"Where were you keeping that?" He asked.
"Ehehe...That's a bit of a secret. It could have been my pocket, but I already have a cookie in it-" Rei answered with a bit of a sheepish smile. "-and other things like cupcakes and anmitsu but oh, anmitsu ice cream is definitely the best! Let's eat this and keep going!" She got another donut out of nowhere.
"Man, I'd love to have your pockets, Rei-san..." I muttered, smiling a bit as I watched her eat with Minato.
After that, we moved on through the next door and found one of those archer FOEs again, but this time it was a pink baby thing on a blue horse baby thing.
"It's that guy again..." Yosuke sighed.
"This one seems to be a different colour." Zen pointed out.
"Mm-hm. It must be fashionable." Rei responded.
"Y-You think so...?" Yosuke asked. "I mean, that thing's definitely gonna shoot at us, huh..."
"Should we fire back?" Aigis asked.
"Wh-Whoa, hold on! That's an FOE! You don't want to pick a fight with that thing!" Rise spoke up. "Hm...it looks like one we've seen already, but it's apparently a different type. Based on what I'm sensing, it's not moving from its spot..."
Sure enough, the thing was just rotating in place.
"Looks like it does the same thing as the one on the last floor." Kanji said. "Let's be careful not to get shot at!"
Yu planned a route around it while drawing the map then we went to take that route, but I guess timed it wrong, since we got shot at.
"Ow! N-Not cool, shootin' at us from where we can't reach! Get over here and...!" Kanji shouted, but then paused and seemed to be blushing. "...? Wh-What's this feeling...? Is spring in the air...!?"
"I'm picking up an anomaly in Kanji-san's circuits and..." Aigis then began to act strangely. "Hmm...? My entire body...is being forced...to move forward!"
"Our legs are moving on their own..." Zen said as we were all forced to start walking toward the FOE.
"L-Leader! Everyone's acting strange since getting hit by that arrow!" Fuuka said. "You're all moving towards the FOE...P-Please, snap out of it!"
Luckily, we did snap out of it just before getting too close to the thing and ran away from it. We found a Power Spot, fought some Shadows, and headed through a door, then we came across another room with an FOE in it. Avoiding it went better than last time, then we came to a dead end.
"Yowch!" Junpei cried out. "Gah, a dead end...? I banged my head..."
"Including incidents within Tartarus, Junpei-san has now run into a total of 27 dead ends." Aigis stated.
"You're keeping track? What possible use could that be?" Yosuke asked.
"All the data I collect is piped to the database on Fuuka-san's PC." Aigis answered.
"That's right. I collect data on everyone and use it as reference for the next operation." Fuuka spoke up through the comms.
"That's amazing! You must be very good with computers. How did you learn to do that?" Yukiko asked.
"Oh, I've always had an interest in them as long as I can remember. As I used them, I started getting curious about their internal workings, so I began taking them apart too."
"Damn...That's impressive." Yosuke said.
"You must be good with your hands." Yukiko added.
"I'm sure you're just as well versed in the womanly arts! We've got someone like that, too..."
"...Why're you lookin' at me?" Kanji asked.
Fuuka giggled. "You think so...? Oh, I should treat you to some homemade cooking next time!"
"...!?" Shinjiro seemed shocked and concerned by that.
"Ooh, seriously!? Unlike some ingrates I could name, I'll be looking forward to that!" Yosuke grinned.
"...Why'd you look at me?" Chie questioned, annoyed.
"I hope you'll like it!" Fuuka said.
"Uhh...Should I tell him or..." Junpei said quietly to Shinjiro.
"D-Don't...It'll lead to secondary casualties..." Shinjiro responded and Koromaru whimpered.
From that exchange...I'm guessing Fuuka's about as good at cooking as Chie is. I hope Yosuke can handle it.
After that, we entered another door and went by a Selection Room door to find a dead end. Yukari was looking ahead, puzzled.
"Hm...? I dunno, but this place...Doesn't it feel like there's something out of place here?" She questioned.
"Where?" Yu asked.
"It just feels kind of different from the other areas...Right? I don't know, maybe it's just me. But something just feels strange."
"If you think something's not quite right, you shouldn't ignore it." Yosuke said. "My dad once felt something off in his hip."
"Huh? Okay..." She looked kinda confused.
"But, he decided to ignore it and went to work that day anyway. My family runs a store...Like, a superstore."
She just stared at him silently.
"Anyway, he's always carrying heavy stuff, so just what you'd expect happened..."
"Are you done talking?" Yukari asked.
"...Er, yeah. Sorry." Yosuke looked a bit alarmed.
"Aw, I wanted to know what happened. I get the feeling I can guess, but..." I mumbled, a bit disappointed.
"Hmmm...I wonder what's causing this..." Yukari looked around thoughtfully.
"So, uh...Is she always getting ticked off about stuff?" Yosuke muttered.
Yu decided we should just move on for now, and we activated a shortcut before heading into the Selection Room and finding another chained door awaiting us.
"The path ahead appears to still be long and arduous." The mechanical voice spoke up again. "You must impulsively, methodically pull the threads of destiny toward you."
"Did someone say threads!? Just leave it to me!" Kanji said confidently.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's hurry up and get this over with." Junpei dismissed him.
"Now then, here is question number four." The voice said. "What kind of club would you be interested in joining?"
"The Gardening Club." Yu answered.
"For real!?" Chie looked surprised.
"I wouldn't think you'd take such an interest in it." Mitsuru commented.
"Oh yeah, Nanako-chan said you guys started taking care of a garden next to your house..." I realized, nodding. "That makes sense."
The chains disappeared, so we continued on through the next door. Then, we heard a clanging sound again.
"Hm? I have detected a loud sound. It originated north-northeast from here." Aigis said.
"So near the stairs we came from. Probably another door's ready to be opened." Shinjiro replied.
"Sh-Shin-chan...Are you mad...?" Rei asked hesitantly.
"Huh? I ain't mad."
"But your voice is scary! And so is your face!"
"Oh...Sorry. I'm always like this. I ain't mad or nothin', so don't worry about it. And stop calling me Shin-chan."
"O-Okay! Thanks, Shin-chan!" Rei smiled at him, seeming relieved.
Shinjiro sighed. "You're not gonna stop, are you...Anyways. Let's hurry up and go."
We went to a Power Spot, activated a shortcut, fought some Shadows, then headed back to that metal door by the stairs.
"Huh. That sound we heard...I wonder if it was letting us know we can open this door now." Chie said. "Do you think Shadows will attack us again, like that door on the first floor...?"
"That is a very likely possibility." Zen replied. "Fuuka, tell us what's beyond this door."
"Of course. There do seem to be Shadows waiting beyond it..." Fuuka answered. "Please be careful!"
"Let's head back for now." Yu decided, so we all exited the labyrinth and headed to the Nurse's Office to recover. Then, we were given the go-ahead to do whatever while Yu made preparations.
I ended up at the food court with Rei and the guys for a meal.
"Hey, why don't you eat something too? This place has a pretty good selection." Akihiko greeted Minato when he walked up to us.
"If we don't take breaks, we'll be worn out when it really counts." Yosuke agreed.
"Yeah, nothing good will come from overexerting ourselves." Yu added.
"Tell that to Rei. She's overexerting herself right this second." Shinjiro pointed out Rei eating her takoyaki way too quickly.
"Hot! Hot! Ish sho good!" She seemed happy, despite the fact she winced a little at the hotness. "Takoyaki always tastes best if you eat it within 20 seconds of it coming off the griddle!"
"R-Rei-chan? Why don't you cool it a little? You're gonna choke on your food." Junpei seemed worried about her.
"Hey, Kyoka, aren't you gonna say something?" Yosuke looked at me, but I just ate my own burning hot takoyaki as I sat next to the blonde.
"Ow! Ooh, she's right! It's best when it's hot...!" I exchanged grins with Rei as we both ate a bit fast.
"This is tough without Zen around..." Yosuke sighed.
"Oh, I accidentally finished mine...I was thinking about going poink too." Rei said suddenly, finishing off her takoyaki before me.
"...Poink?" Junpei repeated as I tilted my head at her in confusion.
"I want to poink too." Rei said earnestly.
"What?" Yosuke asked.
"Mm-hm, I wanna poink. I'm dying to do it!" Rei repeated and everyone started to get restless for some reason.
"R-Rei-chan? Do you know what "poinking" means?" Yosuke asked, seeming worried.
"Yep. Someone taught me!" Rei smiled.
"Wait-Eh-Huuuuuuuh!?"
"C'mon, Yosuke. You don't know what that is? Listen, poinking is where something precious like-" Yu started to explain, but Yosuke cut him off.
"Aaaah! Arrrgh! You idiot! Don't answer that!"
"No, keep going. What were you going to say?" Akihiko asked.
Shinjiro sighed. "Another idiot heard from..."
"Shinji! Who're you calling an idiot!?"
"Fine, you're a fool, then. A fool through and through!"
"Say that again!"
Junpei sighed. "Alright, guys. Calm down, both of you."
"...Hmph." Shinjiro turned his head.
"Um...What is poinking?" I spoke up, confused.
"N-Not you too, Kyoka...!" Yosuke whined.
"That aside, there was something else Rei-chan said..." Junpei decided to ignore that and looked to Rei. "You said, "I want to poink too..." What did you mean by the "too"?"
"Whoa, whoa...Did one of the girls...poink...?" Yosuke looked shocked.
"Pft!" Shinjiro choked on his drink and coughed as he spit it out.
"What's with your manners!? Don't spit out your drink!" Akihiko said to him, annoyed. "And hey! None of you have told me what "poinking" is!"
"Yeah, I wanna know too!" I added.
"Holy crap...They seriously don't know...!" Yosuke said, sweating.
"Then I'll show you right now!" Rei spoke up, smiling and started tugging at her uniform.
"Dude, we gotta put our foot down!" Junpei panicked.
"S-Stop her, Minato!" Shinjiro seemed to be panicking too.
"Here we go! Poink! Wheeeeeee!" Rei said.
"Wait! My poor heart...!" Yosuke was panicking now.
Candy came raining down from the sky, supposedly because Rei had thrown them up into the air.
"...Strawberry." Yu said blankly, looking at one he had caught.
"Strawberry's the most popular flavour!" Rei said.
"Yeah, it's pretty good." He replied, eating it.
"Ehehehe!" Rei blushed.
Shinjiro sighed and shook his head.
"Oh...So that's what she meant..." Junpei said.
"Um, Rei-chan...? This isn't what "poinking" means..." Yosuke muttered.
"You guys panic too much." Yu said.
"Especially Shin..." Minato stated and Shinjiro began coughing.
"...Leave me alone!" He seemed to be blushing.
"Hey! I keep asking, and no one's answered-What the hell is "poinking"!?" Akihiko was annoyed.
"Um, you can stop asking now..." Junpei muttered.
"...It's something dirty, isn't it?" I questioned flatly and they all looked away from me, seemingly flustered and unwilling to answer, so I sighed. "Fine. I'll look it up myself later."
"H-Hey! You don't need to know, okay!?" Yosuke seemed to panic at that, so I tilted my head and stared at him in confusion a bit longer. Of course, I didn't get any answers.
Naoto and Yu came by to ask me if I knew anything about Chie's meat jelly or if anyone was acting strange, but I hadn't even known she had the stuff here until she said someone stole it, so I couldn't help them out much. Then, everyone was gathered at the entrance to the Group Date Cafe by Yu.
"Now then, everyone. I would like to explain my hypothesis." Naoto started.
"Hold on! Theo...Is this true!?" Chie asked, considering Theodore was the accused thief here.
"Yes...I am truly sorry." Theodore hung his head.
"...That's it? Don't you have anything to say...? Like, that you were really hungry, and it looked too delicious to pass up?"
"There is a reason why Theo cannot explain it." Naoto told her.
"What reason...?"
"Chie-senpai, are you certain that you left your meat jelly on this desk?" Naoto pointed out a particular desk in front of the Group Date Cafe.
"Yeah..."
"And when we entered the labyrinth, Yosuke-senpai hit his...er...vitals on the desk. Do you remember that?" Naoto continued, a bit awkwardly.
"Yeah...? But the meat jelly was fine at the time, wasn't it?"
"Yes. The theft occurred after we entered the labyrinth. When Yosuke-senpai hit the desk, the blackboard on it moved. When the door shut, it knocked the blackboard over. And so, the meat jelly was squashed by the fallen blackboard. ...I had Koromaru-san sniff the area to verify that."
"S-Squashed!? But...I didn't see any trace of a mess when we came back." Chie seemed confused.
"That...is where Theo enters the narrative." Naoto replied. "Theo, you hid all traces that this ever happened, correct?"
"...Have you figured it all out then, Naoto?" Theodore asked.
"...No. Unfortunately, this is as far as I have been able to infer. I would like to hear the rest of the story from you, Theodore."
"...I arrived soon after you all had entered the labyrinth. I clearly remember Yosuke screaming and Chie shouting at him."
"...I was shouting? What did I say?" Chie asked.
"You said, "If anything happens to my meat jelly, you're a dead man!""
"Did you say this, Chie-senpai?" Naoto asked.
"Er, um...Uh...Ahahaha..." Chie laughed nervously.
"After that, events transpired exactly as you said. The closing door, the falling blackboard...the tragic splat. And I was the only one to witness the whole thing. Indeed, I knew that Yosuke's life depended on me..." Theodore said, hanging his head again.
"Which is why you decided to cover up the whole thing? You left traces of a "theft" to hide the truth." Naoto said.
"...It is true that Yosuke is truly the underlying cause of all this. However, was it truly a crime that warrants death...!? I turned the question over and over in my mind. By the time I realized it, I had already cleaned up the mess...and in doing so hidden a deep, dark secret."
"S-So naive...!" I muttered, unsure if I should be impressed or feel sorry for the guy.
"Er, you know...I wasn't really serious that I was going to kill him!" Chie told Theodore.
"I-Is that true!? I sincerely believed that you would end Yosuke's life...!" Theodore looked surprised.
"Of course I wouldn't!"
"...The mystery has been solved. It was caused by Theo's good intentions and Chie-senpai's foul tongue." Naoto stated.
"Urrgh...I guess I brought this on myself..." Chie deflated.
"Chie, a simple apology cannot undo what I have done...but I am truly sorry." Theodore told her.
"Y-You don't have to apologize! I mean, I was the one who said that horrible thing, and Yosuke smushed it anyway! And I'm sorry that I made you feel like you had to lie!"
"P-Please, you mustn't...! There is no need for you to apologize...!"
"Case closed." Naoto crossed her arms and nodded in approval.
"Hey, what? Are you saying this is all my fault?" Yosuke asked in disbelief.
"Not at all. This incident occurred due to Theo's actions." Elizabeth told him.
"E-Elizabeth..." Theodore looked at her.
"The most unforgivable thing is that he tried to lay the blame on me with his false accusation..."
"I-I'm sorry! However, I believed that you would be the best potential thief in order to confuse the investigation..."
"I don't remember raising you to be this way! Oh, this saddens me so...!" Elizabeth began to sob and choke, although I suspected it to be an act. "Oh, woe is me! Boo hoo hoo!"
"Ooooh, Theo. You made her cry." Marie said in disapproval.
"Er, I, uh...!" Theodore panicked.
"I suppose you could show your contrition by...hmm...Why don't you buy a meal for everyone present?" Margaret suggested.
"Y-Yes of course...! I will go immediately!" Theodore ran off.
"Er, I feel like I owe him another apology..." Chie mumbled, wincing for him.
"Not at all. Theo must learn that lying with good intent is nothing more than sticking one's nose where it is unwanted." Elizabeth said, seeming completely fine now.
"I kinda feel bad for him..." I muttered to myself, sweating at the thought of having sisters like that.
"I-In any case...That solves the mystery. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter." Naoto said to Yu.
"It's all thanks to you." Yu responded with a small smile.
"All I did was collect the physical evidence. You were the one to reach the thief first."
"I-I have brought food for everyone!" Theo came back with a huge pile of food.
"Oh, well, this is quite a grand party." Margaret said.
"Hmm...Here, I'll put this in for everyone, too! I mean, I did get everyone involved. So this is kinda my way for saying sorry..." Chie said, pulling out a package of something labelled "meat jelly" and offering it to everyone.
"Oh, you had more..." Yukari sighed.
"This is the absolutely last one I have! Make sure you savour every last bite!" Chie said.
"Uh, 'kay..." Yosuke muttered, looking reluctant.
"W-Well, why don't we give this "meat jelly" a try anyway, since it caused so much drama...?" Naoto suggested.
I was reluctant, but I joined everyone in having a small bite of the meat jelly. It was awful and difficult for me to swallow, but I did it and grimaced.
"Th-This is...Uh...How do I put it..." Shinjiro muttered, not looking happy with it either.
"It's gross..." Kanji provided.
"I feel like I'm gonna be sick..." I muttered, holding a hand over my stomach.
"Th-The meat is all squishy..." Fuuka said uneasily.
Koromaru whined, seeming to not like it either.
"Mmmm, it's so good! It's so ridiculously meaty! It's meatdiculous!" Chie was probably the only one who liked it. Well, actually, I think Rei may have liked it too, but I'm pretty sure she likes almost all foods.
After that, we all parted ways and I decided to go eat some chocolate donuts to get rid of the taste.