[ A few weeks after Rise's comeback performance...

POV - Dojima ]

"Bullying?"

Dojima could barely believe what he was being told. The mere idea of Nanako, of all people, bullying other students seemed insane.

"We've had multiple reports about it," the teacher explains, "from different students."

Dojima looks to his right, at his daughter. She's sat there in the seat next to his, looking almost unbothered.

No, 'unbothered' didn't quite cover it. She seemed almost happy to be here.

"Look, I just...have a hard time believing that can be true," Dojima says to the teacher. "Nanako's the sweetest kid. And yes, I know I'm biased, being her father, and all, but..."

The teacher sighs. She picks up the folder on her desk, and begins flicking through it.

"Insulting the appearance of other students, shoving their heads down the toilet—"

As the teacher began to rattle off the string of 'offences', Dojima awkwardly coughs. It's not like he can't grasp the seriousness of bullying as an issue, but even so, most of those sounded fairly typical.

"—telling other students to commit suicide, and threatening to stab them, shoot them, and to quote, 'destroy everyone they love'."

...

Okay, that caught his attention.

"W-What? Surely you're not serious?"

The teacher looks up from the folder, and shakes her head.

"Trust me, I wouldn't call in a parent like this over a joke, least of all you, Dojima-san...nevertheless, this has become a serious problem."

The teacher looks to Nanako, sternly.

"Your daughter is out of control."

"H-Hold on, isn't 'out of control' a little far?" asks Dojima. "I mean, I don't know the context, but I doubt Nanako would say stuff like that and seriously mean it—"

"Dojima-san, we're not kidding around," the teacher replies, "she's very fortunate that her father is a detective on the Inaba force, otherwise she'd have been in deep trouble already."

Dojima looks to his daughter.

"N-Nanako, that isn't true, is it?"

Nanako doesn't seem at all bothered by the situation. She grins at her dad, and nods her head.

"Mm-hm! It is!"

"W...W-What...?!"

"But I only did it to ugly girls!" she says. "So it should be okay, right?"

Dojima was sick with confusion.

"W-What on earth are you...?"

The teacher sighs, and leans back in her seat, with her arms folded.

"Ah, yes...Your daughter seems to have a thing about picking on students she finds 'ugly-looking'," she explains, "it's 'ugly b-word' this, and 'ugly looking goblin' that...Just today she beat up a girl, and when we asked her why she did it, she said it's because she was 'offended by her face'."

All of this...new influx of information was a lot for Dojima to take in. It was rather hurting his brain, and bewildering him, but nevertheless...the primary emotion inside of him right now was that of shame.

As a detective, he was good at keeping his cool, and make logical inferences. Just from the carefree way that his daughter was acting, he could tell that there had to be some semblance of truth behind what he was being told. He knew Nanako, and he knew that if she felt genuine shame, she'd become worried.

That must mean that she genuinely doesn't grasp what she had; from Dojima's persective anyway, done wrong—and that could only mean...

...

...

Dojima didn't want to believe it, but he had no choice. As a detective, he knew it was important to not get emotionally involved when it wouldn't help the situation.

In the end, Dojima decided to simply respond to the teacher with-

"I see..."

-before looking to Nanako, and shaking his head, in disapproval.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Dojima says to the teacher, "I promise, I'll talk to her, and make sure she understands what she is doing is not acceptable."

"I think you'd better," the teacher says, with a scoff, "our school's reputation is at stake. Any more of this, and we'll be forced to take very severe action. She's damn lucky that we haven't already."

"(...That's some serious bite this lady has, to talk like this to a detective.)"

Then again, Dojima wasn't in a position to argue against it—He didn't exactly like to just flaunt his authority like it was some sort of privilege. Particularly when he was talking to Nanako's teacher, as her father—something about it just wouldn't feel right.

After leaving the teacher's office, Dojima's entire demeanour suddenly shifted. He had been sure of himself only a moment ago, but now he wasn't so confident about how to handle this situation.

Just what was he supposed to do? He never foresaw an eventuality where he'd need to have a talk like this with Nanako.

"Dad, why do you look so angry...?"

Nanako's question, as the pair walk away from the school building, shakes Dojima's hesitations away.

He was glad she had been the one to do as such.

He lets out a sigh.

"Nanako, don't you understand what just happened in there?"

Nanako looks up at her father, and blinks.

"Erm...I got told off, right?"

"I think this goes beyond being 'told off', Nanako."

"(Okay, what am I meant to say? I mean, I can barely even process what I was told, let alone how to respond to it...)"

Had he seriously heard right? Did Nanako's teacher seriously just tell him that his daughter had been threatening people with suicide and death...over how they look?

Just, what was he supposed to do with that as a parent? He had no clue.

"...Look, I just want to ask again, because...frankly, I find it hard to believe...Did you seriously do what that woman just claimed?"

Nanako smiles, and nods her head, enthusiastically. Her enthusiasm in admitting to it was only helping to make Dojima even more bewildered.

Nevertheless, as bewildered as he was, Dojima also knew the situation was deadly serious. He knew that better than anyone, as a detective.

"Nanako, what...what on earth is wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

Dojima stops walking, and leans a nearby small wall, about wait high.

"D-Dad...?"

Dojima taps the space on the wall next to him, when Nanako stops and looks at him, bewilderedly.

"Sit down, we need to talk."

"B-But Dad..." Nanako whines, "I want to get home before Big Bro!"

Yu was visiting, and he had been staying, temporarily, at the Dojima residence, as always when he was in Inaba. Nanako liked to greet him whenever he got home.

"This is important Nanako," Dojima sternly tells her.

Nanako sighs, in a huff, and then plops herself down on the wall next to her father.

"Ew, the wall is wet!" she exclaims, "my butt feels weird!"

Dojima runs a hand over his face—He's in way over his head here...

"Nanako, forget about your wet butt—er...I-I mean, forget about that, okay?"

Nanako folds her arms, and sulks.

"Hmmh..."

"Nanako, what's gotten into you lately?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Dad?"

Dojima hadn't really paid it much mind—but after the talk with Nanako's teacher, it was beginning to sink into him as to how much Nanako had gotten obsessed with her own appearance lately. He had chalked it up to her natural curiosity as a growing girl—Plus, being around idols like Risette and Kanamin, it was bound to have something of an effect.

But even so...

"Well, let's begin with what your teacher just told me...Nanako, you do know that it's wrong to bully people, right?"

Nanako tilts her head, while swinging her little legs.

"Er...Yeah, I know that..." she says, like she's feeling patronised.

"Well, if you know that, why is your school telling me that you've been bullying people lately?"

"Because they're silly-bums!"

"...I beg your pardon?"

Nanako huffs her cheeks.

"They don't understand that I've been bullying ugly goblins, not people!"

Dojima blinks, sure that he misheard her.

"Goblins...? Wait, you're not...meaning that literally...?"

It wouldn't surprise him at this point if Nanako up and went 'yeah, I know real monsters'. He had experienced enough in his life that couldn't be explained already; what was another thing that couldn't be explained added onto it.

Hell, he almost wanted that to be the answer...

Because the alternative wasn't something he wanted to imagine was running through his daughter's head.

"I mean ugly girls!" Nanako exclaims—killing the little bit of hope that Dojima had. "They're not like normal people, so its okay to bully them!"

Dojima looks at Nanako like she had just grown a second head.

"...T-That's..."

"I bully them because I'm better than they are!" exclaims Nanako, "and because if I don't, I won't be pretty! I need to make them feel bad, or I can't be beautiful! And I want to be!"

Dojima was at a loss for words.

In his mind, her logic was backwards, and he couldn't even begin to process it. Which wasn't so strange for Nanako, given her young age; but then again, Nanako was particularly mature minded for someone so young.

Even so, it was the subject matter that was throwing him off.

"That's absolutely ridiculous Nanako, who the hell taught you to think like that?"

Maybe it was all of the evenings that she had spent being parented by the TV screen...

Yes, now that Dojima was beginning to get into that line of thinking, he was digging himself down into something like self-guilt.

Nevertheless, he takes in a breath, and tries to steady his thoughts.

"L-Look, no one is going to like you if you're a bully," Dojima says to Nanako, "and no one will like you especially if you act like you're better than they are."

Nanako seems genuinely bewildered.

"But...I AM better than they are..." she says, "if they're ugly, and I'm not, I should have the right to make them want to die! Because...if I think they should die, then they should!"

"T-That's—..."

Dojima was growing increasingly concerned for his daughter's mental health.

"(Maybe I should take her to see a professional...)"

"Is that why you've been threatening your school friends with death?"

Nanako scoffs.

"They're not my friends!" she exclaims, "they're useless ugly garbage! I'm pretty, so why would I be friends with them? "

"What about the girl you beat up today? Did you do that because you felt she was ugly?"

Nanako nods.

"Yeah! She offended me with her goblin face!"

Dojima shakes his head.

"She's not a goblin, Nanako, she's—"

"I know she's not literally a goblin, Dad, jeez..."

Dojima sighs.

"Okay, so then you should know that you shouldn't hurt people over their appearance."

"Huh? But why not?"

"Because it's wrong!" Dojima spits back, rather harshly. It throws Nanako off, who recluses into her shell a little.

Her heart begins to break a little bit—she had assumed her father would be on her side, and would support her growth into a beautiful girl who hated ugly people...

"B-But..."

"Listen to me, Nanako: hurting people over things they can't control is wrong. Do you understand?"

Nanako begins to tear up...

"...N-No it's not..."

"What was that?"

Nanako scrunches up her face. She jumps from the wall, and turns on her father.

"I-I said, it's NOT wrong! They're subhuman, a-and need to be hurt! T-That's what R-Rise-chan told me—"

"R-...Rise...?"

Dojima's eyes widen—Nanako slams a palm over her mouth.

"N-No, I-!"

"Wait, don't tell me...she's the one who told you to think like this?"

Dojima was stunned—He didn't think Rise was the type—she always presented herself as so modest and down-to-earth.

"T-That's—"

Nanako feels the walls close in around her—She had let that slip out, and now she had dunked Rise in it.

"W-Why, Dad...?" Nanako asks, tearfully, "why are you being so mean? Do you not think I deserve to be pretty?"

"What?"

Dojima shakes his head.

"Of course I think you—Look, it's not even about that."

"Yes it is!" Nanako rants back at him, "you...want to make me ugly! You want ugliness to spread, like it's a virus...!"

"W-What on EARTH are you—"

Nanako shakes her head feverishly—

"I won't let you...! I...I won't let you do that, Dad...!"

Nanako suddenly sprints away—It takes Dojima a few seconds to register what just happened.

"H-Hey, wait-!"

By the time he does, it's too late—Nanako had already put too much distance between herself and him. She had ducked into the backstreets, and by the time Dojima got onto his legs and bolted after her—

"Dammit, which way did she go?"

She was already out of sight.

[ POV - Nanako ]

Nanako ran as fast as her little legs could carry her—She ran, ran and ran, with as much speed as she could muster up.

Of course, there was only one place where she could be possibly going, and Dojima knew it. And Nanako knew that her father knew it, as well; home, to be with her beloved big bro.

There was nothing else she'd do when this emotionally devastated.

Nevertheless, in her emotional state, Nanako had taken the wrong route, which led her down an usual path. That allowed her to easily throw her father off.

As she continued to run, and run, Nanako eventually grew tired—both physically, and emotionally. She began to come to a stop, as she takes in a deep breath. Rubbing the tears from her eyes, she begins to feel annoyed at her father's words—

His words to her had felt like a betrayal on his part. That was how she perceived them.

"I-I...I don't want to be nice to ugly people...I want to hurt them..."

Why couldn't she just do that?

Was Rise really wrong with what she had told her, or was her father just ignorant? She wasn't sure...

"...Ngh..."

"Don't cry, child..."

A voice suddenly calls out from close-by.

Nanako gasps, and leaps behind a nearby telephone pole, in fright.

"Haha...There's no need to be afraid..."

From out of the darkness emerges a figure—Nanako had always been taught the importance of stranger danger, and was getting ready to bolt it—But then she caught sight of the mystery person. They were a beautiful-looking woman, garbed in blue attire.

"...W-Who are...you...?" Nanako asks, with wide eyes. Noticing the woman's beauty, and warm demeanour, Nanako slowly came out from behind the pole.

Instead of answering her question, the woman simply chuckles.

"You are Nanako Dojima, correct...? You are destined for a tremendous future, child..."

"A-A... tremendous future...?"

The woman nods.

"Yes...Your hatred for ugly people is justified," she says.

Nanako's eyes widen.

"Ah! Y-You...know about that...?"

"I have been observing you and your activities for some time now," the woman explains, "and although I shouldn't so much be appearing before you like this, I felt like it was, in this rare instance, a necessity..."

Nanako was absolutely bewildered...

But nevertheless, it was clear that this woman was on her side...

"D-...Daddy doesn't want me to hate ugly people..." Nanako says, sadly, "he thinks it's wrong..."

"The ability to overcome that resistance is your destiny, Nanako," the woman says, "you mustn't falter on what you know to be true."

"W-What I...know to be true..."

The woman smiles with unexpected tenderness.

"You are destined for a beautiful future..." she says, "just as long as you keep the truth of your hatred inside of you..."

"T-Truth of my...hatred..."

Nanako jumps up to the woman—

"H-Hey, Miss, erm...a-am I going to turn out really, really beautiful...?"

The woman closes her eyes.

"Physically, yes, you turn out wonderfully," she tells Nanako.

"R-Really...?!"

"But whether or not you ruin that beauty by subcoming to the normality that is all around you...that is yet to be seen."

"S-Subcoming to the normality around me...?"

Nanako looks around herself, as though trying to look for the 'normality' the woman is talking about.

The woman chuckles lightly.

"That isn't meant literally, but rather...it refers to the idea of what is normal and right..."

"L-Like...that it's wrong to hurt ugly people...?"

The woman smiles.

"Perhaps...If you can shatter that lie, you might stand a chance at reach your end destiny, Nanako..."

"R-Really?!"

Nanako looks back to the woman—

"Is that true—"

-But she's not there anymore.

"Huh?"

...

After contemplating for a moment if she had just, somehow, imagined all of that, Nanako suddenly felt a fluffy feeling fill up her heart. It felt weightless, and light—lighter than it had been before.

She no longer felt bad over what her father had said to her.

"(I...I know that what Rise-chan taught me is right!)"

With her resolve stronger than ever, Nanako starts up again in the direction of home...

...

[ POV – Yu ]

Yu had been informed by his uncle, over a phone call, that he had to go and with Nanako to see her teacher. Yu didn't know what it was about, but he hoped that Nanako wasn't in any kind of serious trouble.

In any case, returning to an empty house had been rather sad—and he was feeling a little lonely. He had spent his afternoon after school hanging out with Yosuke and the others at Junes, but now he was feeling rather like he had nothing to do.

That's why it was a blessed relief for him when his cell had rung, and he noticed the caller I.D: "Dojima-san".

Although, Yu's relief didn't last for long.

"Run off...?"

"Yeah...You're not going to believe this, but that meeting I had to go to was about Nanako's poor behaviour at school."

"Her...poor behaviour...?"

'Nanako' and 'poor behaviour' were not words that Yu could ever think of putting together.

"Yeah, apparently she's been bullying other kids," Dojima says, his tone of voice making it clear how stunned he is over it.

"That's hard to believe," Yu replies.

"I told you so," says Dojima, "apparently, she's got it into her head that she's super pretty, and that that gives her the right to beat up other girls."

"...Is that so...?"

Strangely, Yu had actually heard something about this already—Dojima picks up on his nephew's rather strange reply, but he doesn't bother pressing him. He had bigger things to worry about.

"Anyway, we were just talking, then she got all emotional on me, and ran off," Dojima continues, "now I can't find her. But I assume she's probably heading back there, so..."

Almost as though his words had sparked it into happening, the front door suddenly opens—and Nanako comes bursting through it.

"A-Ah! She's just got back!"

"Oh, that's perfect," Dojima says, with a sigh of relief, "thank god. I'll be there myself soon too, so hold on tight okay? And tell Nanako to not go anywhere. I'm having some serious words with her when I get there."

Yu shivers—

He knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of Dojima's stern judgement. He feels rather sorry for poor Nanako.

Without so much as a closing goodbye, Dojima cuts off—

At the same time...

"Big bro!"

Nanako runs up to Yu, and wraps her arms around him.

"Nanako...welcome home," Yu says, while returning the hug, "you know, Dojima-san is worried about you?"

Nanako lets go of Yu, and holds at her own arm.

"I-I know..."

Yu can't help but notice how upset Nanako seems.

"...Say, is it true that you got into trouble for bullying ugly girls at school...?"

"...Did Dad tell you that...?"

Yu nods.

"Yeah, he just told me on the phone."

Nanako half turns away from her 'big bro', a little scared that he's going to betray her and her feelings too.

"..."

"Nanako.,.I want you to listen to me," Yu begins, "judging people over their appearance is—"

"I know," Nanako interjects in a huff, "you're going to tell me it's wrong, right?"

Yu smiles, and shakes his head.

"Actually, no. I was going to say...judging people over their appearance is right. It's the right thing to do, Nanako."

Nanako's eyes widen.

"R-Really...?"

"Yup," says Yu, with a nod, "I know about what happened with Yu and Rise...and that ugly girl who died, thanks to what you and Kanami-chan did."

"A-Ah!"

Yu pats at Nanako's head, and ruffles at her hair.

"I'm proud of you, Nanako...and I'm with you on this, every step of the way..."

"B...Big Bro...!"

Nanako was so relieved—she was relieved that her beloved Big Bro didn't betray her feelings like her father had.

She wraps her arms around him again, and hugs him tightly.

"I love you, Big Bro!"

Yu chuckles—

"Remember, Nanako, never treat ugly people nicely, always treat them cruelly."

Nanako nods—or at least, she tries to, while her head is still buried in Yu's chest.

"O-Okay! B-But...what about Dad...?"

"For now, let's keep it on the down low, okay?"

Nanako pulls back from Yu, and frowns.

"Huh? But why?"

"Sometimes you have to retreat if you want to move forward," Yu explains, "for now, you should pretend to him that you 'understand', and will 'stop'. But..."

"Oh!"

Nanako's eyes go wide.

"But I don't stop...and I do it again in the future...!"

Yu nods.

"You're still young," Yu tells her, "you have an advantage. So make the best of it."

She can pass off anything she does with the 'I'll learn as I get older' excuse—All while manipulating how people view ugly people from behind the scenes.

Yes, Yu was sure that Nanako was going to make a good, and beautiful ugly hater—He was very sure of it indeed...