"Except for you."

"Yes. Except for me. I'm bringing you along to take notes about the interrogation. Hopefully, we can get him to talk before his lawyer gets here."

"And if his lawyer is there?"

"Then we'll have to find another way to get him to talk. But let me worry about that." Sae said with a wink. The elevator door opened up, revealing nothing but a long hallway, and the only door was at the end of it. As they approached, Sae stopped and turned to her newest assistant.

"Remember, note down anything you find useful. Also, be sure to write down certain tics he does, like eye twitches, and what triggered them."

"Got it."

"In that case, are you ready?"

"Absolutely."

"Good."

Sae opened the door, revealing a man with blonde hair with two loose and curly strands framing his face. He was wearing a green button-up shirt with a white coat and purple tie with yellow cats on it. His eyes were violet in color, and seemed to hold a cold, calculating, and piercing gaze to them, not unlike Sae's own eyes. The difference was that his eyes held complete boredom, while Sae's held determination.

"Hello Yoshikage. I trust you know who I am?"

The man simply nodded.

"Alright then. This young man is my assistant Yu Narukami."

"Hello." Yu greeted.

"That's a very nice suit. Could you tell me where you got it?" Sae questioned.

"I want my lawyer."

"Well, that's very suspicious."

"You heard me. I'm not saying anything until my lawyer gets here."

"Are you sure that's very wise? I'm here to help you."

"No you're not. I know your reputation. Though I'm a little surprised a woman has more balls than everyone else here."

Yu scanned Sae's face. If she had any anger at the remark, she certainly didn't show it. Still holding the neutral stance she had at the start of the interrogation, she continued questioning him.

"There's a reason for that. I've heard of your reputation. You're well-known and feared throughout the criminal underworld and the police force. Your crimes read like a novel."

"That ain't true. There's only one crime I've been accused of."

"And your victims are just as many. Almost like you had difficulty controlling yourself." She continued, ignoring his remark.

"Well I can't help it. The girls dress like sluts, they're pretty much asking for me to show them what a real man is like. And I'm more than happy to oblige."

"I don't believe that anyone has ever asked to be murdered. And I doubly doubt a real man would do just that, let alone with pride." Yu pointed out.

"Fuck off old man. Go back to the nursing home you came from."

"I see. Thank you for the confession Yoshikage."

"Confession? I didn't-"

"They're pretty much asking for me to show them what a real man is like. And I'm more than happy to oblige." Yu quoted, which made the accused widen his eyes.

The two silver-haired individuals left the room, the confession recorded and on tape. As they rode up in the elevator, Sae turned to her ward.

"So, what did you get down?"

"First, what he was accused of. Second, he unwittingly confessed. Third, his eye twitched when I countered his talk of being a 'real man', which suggests that he has some degree of pride in his definition of being a 'real man'. Fourth, his middle and index fingers almost kept clicking non-stop when you brought up the yakuza, suggesting that he holds some semblance of fear for them. Perhaps his connections aren't as strong as we've been led to believe. And that's about it. How'd I do?"

"Impressive. Very impressive. Though that was a surprisingly easy interrogation. I wish they all went down so quickly and effortlessly."

Sae turned to him and smiled. In her eyes were acknowledgement, and… something else. Something that almost seemed to be a mix between sending a warning and accepting a challenge. Yu knew that his guardian's smile was genuine, but it wasn't because of joy, but rather… excitement, like she had something to look forward to.

This was a test Yu. And we passed. Now, she's silently telling us that we have her full attention. From here on out, we'll have to proceed with caution.

Agreed. We don't know the lengths she'll go to to find… whatever she wants to find.

Do you think she knows that we're the leader of the Team?

If she did, she'd confront us. As it stands, I think she's just testing us, like you said.

Doing crime while living with the person who punishes criminals. This should prove very exciting. Just don't get caught, alright?

I won't.

"Think it was because he let his guard down and thought that because you're a woman, you couldn't do it?" Yu asked.

"That's exactly it. You're catching on quickly." Sae replied.

"Doesn't it get annoying? Being constantly underestimated?"

"At first, I hated it. But now, I realize I could make a cure for cancer, colonize Mars, and discover Atlantis, and it still wouldn't earn the respect of my peers. After I accepted that, I learned to appreciate the advantage of being underestimated. The looks of surprise never get old."

"That explains why you didn't have any reaction to his comment on you having more balls than everyone else."

"I actually took it as a compliment. Besides, I've heard so much worse from my coworkers."

"Really? Like what?"

"Let me think… She's only here because she flashed her tits. The only way she gets cases done is by screwing the jury. I'm pretty sure she whores her sister out for extra pay." the prosecutor listed off.

"That sounds awful."

"I got used to it. In fact, when I heard that your record was leaked, all I could think was how I was treated when I first started here."

"How'd you get over it?"

"I became the close-quarters combat instructor. And I got to decide who needs extra practice."

The doors opened, and the two of them shared a small chuckle at Sae's remark. Once their laughter had died down, they made their way over to Akechi's desk. The teen gave a small wave as they approached.

"Good evening Sae-san. How goes the case with Yoshikage?"

"A lot better than I thought Akechi. We got him to confess."

"Already? Well done." Akechi congratulated.

"We're not done yet. I need you to deal with the paperwork for prosecution while I try to get a judge that'll take the case. Yoshikage's reputation won't change just because I talked to him."

"Unfortunately. But I'll get right to work. May Narukami assist me? I could use the extra pair of hands."

Sae looked reluctant. Very reluctant. She pressed her index finger and thumb to her chin and stared at Yu long and hard, like a hunter debating whether or not to take a shot that wasn't all that clear. Finally, she let out a sigh.

"Fine. But I want him back before lunch break is over." Sae said.

"Thank you Sae-san."

The red-eyed prosecutor nodded and walked away, leaving Yu and his teammate alone.

"So where do we begin?" Yu asked, looking over the desk.

"Oh, I already did the paperwork. I could tell that you just wanted to get away from her."

"Was it that obvious?"

"No. I'm just that good."

"Well, if you did your work, what are we going to do?"

"Well… remember that diner I took you to?"

"Yea."

"They're serving pancakes now."

Now that it was getting close to noon, the diner was getting extremely crowded. Fortunately, since Akechi was one of the more frequent customers, they were able to find a spot for the Detective Prince and his friend. After they had ordered; Akechi with pancakes, and Yu with three corn dogs, the two high schoolers began to talk.

"How often do you come here in order to have the whole staff know your name?" Yu started.

"Yu, everyone knows my name. Famous detective, remember?"

"Yea, but you also know everyone else's."

"They have name tags."

"Akechi…" Yu pressed, refusing to let his curiosity go unfulfilled.

"I try to make it about twice a day. Three if I can."

"Wow. And you eat pancakes every time?"

"Of course not." Akechi said with a small chuckle before sitting.

"If I did, they'd stop being special."

"I sense a story behind this."

"It'll be a long one. And extremely personal."

"You just have to tell me the relevant bits."

"How about this; you tell me what you did to get a criminal record, and I'll tell you why pancakes are so near and dear to my heart."

Akechi knew why Yu had a record. He knew that his partner was innocent. And he had a good idea as to the identity of the man Yu met. But he wanted to see if Yu trusted him as much as he trusted Yu. The silver-eyed teen nodded.

"Fair enough. Though, I'm pretty sure you've already figured it out. Basically, I've been falsely accused of assault, and the reason for that is because the quote 'victim' was harassing a woman, and I stepped in. Because he was also a rich person with connections, he was able to create a rigged trail that would've landed me in juvie if it wasn't for my dad. And that's about it."

"You told that tale with relative ease."

"That's because I've told it before to Sae-san."

"True enough. In that case, get ready. My story… is going to be a heavy one."

Akechi looked outside, watching people come and go, looking at their phones, idly chatting with friends, pushing past strangers, and generally going about their day without any concern for anything else around them. Oh how he wished he could be like that.

"It all begins with my mother. She had gotten wrapped up with a good-for-nothing man, and after having me, was abandoned by him. But she didn't hold it against me. Instead, she loved me as much as she could, but since we were poor on account of my father taking everything she had, she felt that wasn't enough. She would force herself to work several odd jobs a day, earning mere scraps for her back-breaking work. What money she earned went to giving me as good an education as possible. For her sake, I excelled in the classroom, mastered every subject I was given, completed every test flawlessly. But because of her work hours, she couldn't be around to celebrate my victories with me."

"That sounds awful."

"It was awful. Whenever she could come home, it was when I was gone. Finally, one night, I stayed up until one in the morning to see her. When she arrived and saw me half awake and waiting to see her, she went with what little spare money she had left over and bought a bell. A little, cracked copper bell. She told me that whenever I heard the bell ring, it meant that she was home, that the two of us were together at last. As I got older, she finally managed to land a stable job that didn't require her to puke her guts out in order to earn decent pay."

Akechi started to smile.

"Those were easily the best times of my life. She was there to congratulate me in victory, and patch me up in defeat."

"Is that where the pancakes come in?"

"Yes. Whenever I came home with news that I had scored the top of my class, mom would always go out, buy pancake mix, and make delicious pancakes for the two of us, and she would put in chocolate chips on special occasions like Christmas or my birthday."

Akechi's bright smile faded to a forlorn frown.

"But nothing good lasts forever. One day, while I was in seventh grade, a man came by to talk to my mom. After the two met, mom told me to go to my room, and then I heard loud arguing, and it ended with mom begging the man to 'spare him'. After the man left, mom got into my room, and hugged me tight. She told me she loved me more than anything in the world, that she was so proud of me, and that, despite the circumstances that led to my birth, she was happy she had me. She then made my favorite meal; pancakes, and after I was done eating and went to bed, she went out the door. For the next two days, the bell didn't ring. For the next two days, I had to eat instant ramen for dinner. For the next two days, I wondered when, if ever, my mother was coming back. On the third day, I got my answer. The door opened and three cops came in and told me the news; my mother died in a tragic accident. Since I was technically still young, I was thrown out of the house and into an orphanage. Since then, I worked odd jobs until I had enough money to get the apartment I live in now. And the rest is history."

"Wow. You're right. That story was heavy."

"Here you are boys. Sorry it took so long." The waitress said, dropping off their food.

"You know, I had something similar while dad was still coming to terms with mom's death." Yu said as the two started to eat.

"Really?"

"Yea. I was about in the second year of junior high. I had to find three part-time jobs; one was as a private tutor to a boy, another was as a daycare assistant, and the third was as a janitor in a hospital. All the money I earned went to us keeping our house and feeding me and my sister, who was entering kindergarten. This went on for about a year and a half, and for every day, I was forced to cook nothing but salmon."

"Ouch."

"Yea. Worse yet, there were times when I had extra cash, and dad would steal it to buy booze. Eventually, his superior came into the house. I overheard them arguing from my room, and I heard that if dad didn't pull himself together, he'd be fired. After that, I decided to intervene. It took a few months, and our talks would often devolved into brawls, but I was eventually able to get him to visit mom's grave. For the remaining year and the next, dad, Nanako and I were a family again. Everyone was talking about how brave, and strong I was for bring my father back from the brink. I also kept my jobs, and I was able to build such a good reputation that people would often come visit just to talk with the great Yu Narukami, expert teacher, babysitter, and janitor. In fact, Shu Nakajima, the kid I was teaching, often bragged that I was his tutor."

Yu looked out the window, smiling.

"In fact, when the Rise Kujikawa came to town to take a break from show biz, she came to the hospital to hide from paparazzi, and I shoved her into a broom closet. That's how we met."

"Haha. A story to tell future children."

"Yea. The only real stain I had was the fact that I was the only friend of a guy called Yosuke Hanamura, the son of the manager of Junes, a convenience store that was running local, family owned stores out of business."

"Sounds like you had everything; a loving family, good friends, a beautiful woman, stable jobs." Akechi listed.

"I did…"

Yu's smile faded.

"But then… that night happened."

"It must have been devastating."

"More than you know my friend. All of a sudden, I had lost all the stuff you had listed. I was fired from all my jobs, the beautiful woman was terrified of me, and my friends didn't even try to defend me. Nanako was too young to understand what was happening, and dad had to put up with the shame of being the father of a criminal. So much happened so fast that…"

Yu put down what remained of his food.

"That I started to tie a noose in my room. Dad happened to walk in just as I started to hang, and managed to stop me, and told me that he had managed to get Shujin to accept me. That there was hope. The rest, is history."

Akechi simply stared at his almost finished pancakes, as both of them lost their appetites.

"In other, more recent news; do you have to work tomorrow?" Yu asked, changing the subject.

"No. You?"

"Nope. And Shiho doesn't have volleyball practice."

"Truly? Then that means we can infiltrate the Palace tomorrow."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Perfect. In that case, let's eat and head back. Sae-san did say she wanted you back before lunch break was over."

Yu smiled. Thanks to Akechi opening up to him, and vice versa, he felt their bond had grown deeper.

Hifumi was currently in the middle of a match. Her opponent was another shogi player. She made a rather questionable move, which left herself wide open. Hifumi took the opportunity, slamming the shogi piece down with a loud CLACK , and had to suppress her smirk.

"Check."

She expected maybe some applause, but was instead greeted with a few murmurs of discontent from the audience. Hifumi bit her lip. The effects of her mother's work were starting to be felt more and more severely. Her opponent got up and bowed, but Hifumi could tell it was more the result of it being expected of her, rather than a show of sportsmanship. As everyone cleared out, Hifumi left too, picking up her things and making her way to the train station, when she suddenly heard a voice call out to her.

"Yo Hifumi. You were awesome out there. Another piece for the Togo Kingdom eh?" Ryuji asked as he ran to catch up to her.

"Yea. Another piece for the Togo Kingdom."

"Hey, what's wrong? You just won a match! You should be over the moon!"

"Yea…"

"Hifumi, what's wrong?" Ryuji asked, his previous enthusiasm no longer existent.

"It's just… you heard the crowd out there. They weren't happy about the fact that I won." Hifumi explained.

"Well eff them. They're just random nobodies. I'm happy you won." Ryuji said, placing his hand on Hifumi's shoulder, a gesture that made her smile.

"Thanks Ryuji. That means a lot."

The moment was killed once again when Hifumi's phone went off, and when the girl checked to see who it was from, her smile vanished.

Mom: if you're done with that game, head over to the studio. Some new dresses arrived, and I need you to model with them.

Hifumi's heart sank. More damage to her already badly hurt reputation. More fame for something that wasn't her passion. And more reason she should give up on her dream entirely. Ryuji moved a hand to her face, and it wasn't until he wiped away a tear that she realized she was crying.

"Hifumi. Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing."

"Bullshit."

"I need to get home."

"Let me come with you."

"You can't."

Ryuji grabbed her arm.

"Let go Ryuji."

"Hifumi, if there's some asshole out there hurtin' ya, let me know so I can kick his ass."

"You can't help with this Ryuji." Hifumi said as she started to struggle.

"Why not? I can't stand seeing ya hurt like this Hifumi."

"I don't want to burden you with this."

"Then what the hell are friends for?!"

"Playing a few matches, watching me play, and checking up on me in a church doesn't make us friends. Now let go!"

"You're right. Being there when it counts is what makes people friends, and that's what I'm doing now!"

"You won't understand!"

"Maybe that's because ya won't tell me!"

Hifumi stopped struggling, and sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Let's find somewhere quiet to talk."

In the park, Hifumi finished explaining her predicament. She told Ryuji everything. How her mother forced her to model for agencies in order to raise money and get fame. How her modeling was effectively destroying her ability to pursue her dream. How getting famous attracted several people that only cared about her for her body, and the harassment was enough to force her out of her school for after hours.

"Damn. Sounds to me like your mom is ruining your life for her own damn reasons."

"That's not true. Mother had a difficult life, and she wants to make sure I don't go through the same hardships she does. She loves me. I know she does."

"Then how come she's making your life hell?"

"Well what do you know Ryuji? What hardships have you gone through in life?"

"Plenty."

"Like what?"

Ryuji looked down at his feet, and let out a long, collected sigh.

"My dad… used to be in the yakuza."

Hifumi's eyes widened, but before she could do anything, Ryuji also added.

"Used to be. When he was dating my mom, he kept on standing her up on dates, running off on dinners, and so on, because the yakuza called on him to work. Finally, she had enough, and gave him an ultimatum; her, or the clan. He chose her. But… the past has ways of biting ya in the ass. My dad's clan brother, Munehisa Iwai, kept trying to drag him back to that old life, but under the pretense of looking out for his 'brother'. Long story short, Iwai kept on trying to throw dad back into his old life, but it was for his own self interest rather than actually caring about dad, and my old man would've fallen for it if not for mom. Eventually, mom threatened to turn Iwai over to the cops if he didn't stop harassing us. So yea, I do know what it's like."

"Your story is different. This Iwai was only interested in your father, not you, and he did not care for you like mother did for me. No matter what she does, she does with me and my father in mind. Iwai didn't have a presence in your life like mother does in mine."

"Well… shit. That's a really good point. But your old lady, she ain't gonna stop, unless someone makes her. That's all I'm trying to say."

"I know you're trying to help, but it's not needed. But thank you for trusting me with what you told me today, I-"

Before Hifumi could continue, she was interrupted by the sound of a car approaching. Looking at the source, they saw it was a limo approaching. Once it stopped, a woman in a business suit stepped out and placed both hands on her hips as she glared at the two.

"Hifumi, who is this ruffian?" The woman asked in a harsh tone.

"Mother, this is Ryuji Sakamoto. Ryuji, this is my mother."

"Sakamoto. I've never heard of you. Hifumi, what are you doing hanging out with this nobody?"

"Ryuji has been helping me practice for my matches."

"Haven't I told you to abandon that ridiculous game? You're entering a new stage in your life, and you'll need to abandon the childish past times in order to excel in life."

Ryuji shot her a look. Hifumi decided to prove him wrong once and for all.

"Mother, shogi is more than just a childish past time for me. I've worked my whole life to be like father, to be a master. As much as I appreciate your efforts to look out for me, they are in direct contradiction with my goals."

"Sweetheart, your goals won't sustain you. Your goals aren't practical. Being a champion of shogi is like working for Big Bang Burger; easily replaceable. And that simply won't due for any daughter of mine."

"But mother-"

"Enough! We're late enough as is. Now get in the car, Hifumi. As for you, peasant, I don't want to see you so much as look in my daughter's general direction again, or I'll make sure you and your family live on the streets, am I clear?" She threatened.

Ryuji almost snarled at Mitsuyo, but managed to settle for a blank stare before Mitsuyo asked again.

"Am. I. Clear?"

"Yea."

"Splendid." Mitsuyo smiled with sadistic glee before turning back. Ryuji saw Hifumi give him an apologetic look as the car drove away. That was all the proof Ryuji needed. He pulled out his phone and went to a site made so that people could voice their problems in the hope that they'd get fixed. And this was a big problem. The site hadn't seen much activity for some time, the latest post was over a week ago. Most people only asked for petty things, and didn't even provide a name. Ryuji decided to not repeat their mistake as he began typing.

"Dear Phantom Team. A friend of mine is having her life ruled by her controlling bitch of a mom, and it's really taking its toll on her. Please take the heart of Mitsuyo Togo." -SharkBoi9001.