"Normally I'd be taking the center stage, but a support role is good too."

Sayaka was standing at the back of the action with Teddie. The others were ahead of them, taking out all the Shadows.

Since she wasn't fighting directly, Sayaka was carrying several of the supplies the group had brought in with them. It might seem demeaning, but considering she couldn't fight the Shadows herself, it was the logical thing to do.

"They're doing really well…" Teddie said quietly.

"Well, with Kyoko leading them, it's only natural." Sayaka said.

"They don't even really need me anymore…" Teddie said sadly.

"Wait, what?" Sayaka looked at the bear. "What are you even talking about?"

"Once they don't need me anymore, they'll just throw me away…" Teddie muttered. "This nose is going out of business, and I can't even help them fight…"

"Hey, none of that!" Sayaka gently slapped the bear's rosy cheeks.

"Eh?!"

"Do Kyoko and the others really look like the type of people that'll just dump you?" Sayaka asked him. "That goes for me too!"

"Well, no…"

"Then it's exactly that." Sayaka said. "I can't fight like them, and I can't even do all those amazing things you do to find people and figure out weaknesses, but I'm still here, aren't I? I'm still doing my best!"

"Yeah… you are!"

"So let's do our best to help our friends, together!"

"Yeah! Let's do it!"

"Yo, catch up you two!" Kanji called back. "We found the stairs!"

"Let's go, Teddie!" Sayaka smiled, pulling the bear along.

"W-Wait! You're gonna pull out some of my fur!"

They made it to the next floor, as the voice of Rise's Shadow reverberated throughout the halls.

"Wow! I'm so happy you came!" The voice rang out.

I'm not. Sayaka thought.

"But still, I'm a little embarrassed...So I'm gonna turn out the lights!"

As if on cue, the lights were all killed. It wasn't total darkness for them, thankfully, but the way forward was extremely obscured.

"Hrm?! If she turned off the lights, then that means…" Teddie thought long and hard. "Am I about to climb the stairway to adulthood?!"

"No. No." Sayaka said firmly, although slightly blushing. "Teddie, no."

"But-"

"No. Try to stay focused, alright?"

"Okay…"

"Everyone, stay close." Kyoko ordered. "Stay within view, and keep to one wall."

"Oh, I get it." Yosuke said. "That way we won't get lost."

Kyoko led the group, making sure to stay together. It was quite difficult for them to proceed, thanks to the fact that the Shadows weren't bothered by the darkness, meaning they were ambushed quite often. Thankfully, with Chie and Yukiko always on standby with their ranged attacks, they weren't in much danger.

Sayaka ran up to join Kyoko at the front. "How do you know we're going the right way?"

"I don't." Kyoko admitted. "But knowing the Shadow…"

They eventually ran into a curtain, one that was moving far more compared to the others throughout the club. The voices came from behind it.

"You came! Okay. I'm ready for anything…"

Teddie swallowed, before looking up at Kyoko. "...Are you ready, Sensei?"

"Admittedly, I'm not." Kyoko said. "But this is something we need to do."

She put one hand out, and took a deep breath before pushing past the curtain. The others ran in behind her. Through the darkness, they saw the glowing yellow eyes of Rise's Shadow.

"It's my first time… please be gentle… I'm turning on the lights, okay?"

The lights flicked on… to reveal a massive snake-like Shadow, ready to strike.

"Whoooooooa?!" Teddie shouted.

"Teddie, Sayaka, get back!" Kyoko shouted, drawing her knife.

The snake bore its fangs and charged, but Kanji ran forward to intercept it. "Take-Mikazuchi!"

Kanji's huge Persona materialized, deflecting the snake's strike with its weapon. The shadow tried to bite down on Take-Mikazuchi, but the Persona shoved its weapon into the mouth of the monster, preventing it from attacking. Kanji winced, as he felt his Persona struggle against the jaws of the serpent. It wouldn't be long before it overpowered him.

"Need some backup here!" Kanji called.

"Attack it with everything you have!" Kyoko shouted.

"Right!"

"Zionga!"

"Garula!"

"Bufula!"

"Agilao!"

A blast from each of the elements slammed into the snake, causing it to hiss and reel back. This freed up Kanji's Persona.

"Thanks for the assist!" Kanji called. "Let's fry this bastard!"

His Persona raised his weapon, zapping the snake for more damage. It hissed, slithering around the battlefield and dodging more of the blasts. It swung its tail into the ground, kicking up chunks of the floor and hiding itself in dust. Just before it could die down, it reared its head high, before spewing a noxious gas from its mouth.

"Don't breathe that in!" Yosuke shouted.

Everyone moved back and put an arm over their face. Unfortunately for Kyoko, she didn't see a puddle left over from one of Chie's ice attacks, and slipped onto her back.

"Kyoko!" Yosuke shouted, as the mist enveloped her.

Staying back wasn't an option anymore. Sayaka pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around her face to make a makeshift mask. She ran forward into the poisonous smog.

"Sayaka!" Teddie shouted in alarm.

The smog stung her eyes a bit, but she needed to keep them open. Slowing down, she reached down and patted the ground until she felt her friend. Scooping Kyoko into her arms, she turned around and ran.

"The Shadow's attacking again!" Teddie yelled. "You got to move!"

Sayaka didn't look back, but heard the hissing. With one last leap, she got out of the fog, as the Shadow slammed its tail into the ground where she was seconds ago.

"Yosuke!" Sayaka called. "Can you guys keep it busy?!"

"You got it!" Yosuke said, flashing a thumbs up before Jiraiya blasted a burst of wind in the Shadow's face, as he led the rest of the team to defend their poisoned leader.

Sayaka set Kyoko down. The detective was struggling to breath, and was sweating. Sayaka loosened Kyoko's collar and tie a bit to let her breathe easier.

"We'll get through this. We'll get through this." Sayaka said, trying to reassure Kyoko, as well as herself.

"Sayaka, check Sensei's bag!" Teddie suggested. "There might be something in there that can help!"

Nodding, Sayaka rummaged through Kyoko's bag, seeing an assortment of different items. Admittedly, she was a bit concerned at seeing several drugs, but knew Kyoko and the others were responsible. Pushing through the piles, she happened upon a thermos labeled "Dokudami Tea."

"Bingo!" Sayaka pulled it out and carefully unscrewed it. She remembered seeing a TV commercial that explained the tea was effective at removing harmful toxins and other ailments. She poured out a cup, still warm. She grasped Kyoko's face and gently poured it down her throat. Once the cup was drained, Sayaka could see the improvement happen. Kyoko's breathing became less ragged, and she opened her eyes.

"You alright?" Sayaka asked.

"Better…" Kyoko breathed out, sitting up. "...Thanks, Sayaka."

"No problem." Sayaka grinned.

"Hwoa-tah!"

Tomoe launched Chie off of its staff, letting her deliver a flying kick straight into the snake's eye. It hissed, slithering back. As Chie landed on the ground, she saw that the snake was slithering over ice chunks on the floor with zero issue, but small explosions peppered its skin whenever it touched a small flame on the floor.

"That snake is weak to fire attacks!" Chie realized. "Light it up, Yukiko!"

"You got it!" Yukiko opened up her fans. "Konohana Sakuya! Agilao!"

She shot several bursts of fire at the Shadow, blasting it in the face. The snake hissed and fell onto its back.

"Let's give it a pounding!" Kanji shouted.

"Yeah!" Chie agreed. "Let's go!"

Yosuke and Yukiko joined in as they attacked the Shadow from every direction, finally damaging it enough and causing it to go up in a burst of darkness.

"Yes!" Yosuke did a small fist pump. "We did it!"

"Barely." Yukiko noted, as Sayaka joined up, helping Kyoko walk.

"What is this immense feeling of… disappointment?" Teddie asked, now that the danger was over. "Well, we can't press on any more today. Sensei needs some rest."

"I'm fine-" Kyoko immediately put a hand over her mouth, fighting down the urge to heave.

"Yeah, no." Yosuke said. "We still have a lot of time. Let's head back."

Sayaka looked at her recovering friend. "Hey, mind if you take me to your place?"

"...huh?"

"Sorry for intruding…!"

Sayaka slipped off her shoes, as did Kyoko as they walked into the Dojima residence. Kyoko was still feeling a bit under the weather, but was at least able to walk now. Nanako walked into view to greet them.

"Welcome back-oh!"

"Hey there!" Sayaka smiled. "Kyoko's just feeling a little under the weather, so could you get her something to drink? I'll take her to the couch."

"Oh, okay."

Nanako went to the kitchen to make some coffee for Kyoko (learning how to prepare coffee came with having Ryotaro Dojima as a father) as Sayaka sat Kyoko down onto the couch.

"Feeling any better?" Sayaka asked, sitting down next to her.

"Somewhat." Kyoko admitted.

"Who is that, by the way?" Sayaka asked, looking at Nanako making the coffee.

"That's Nanako Dojima, my younger cousin." Kyoko explained, sitting up as some of the color returned to her face. "Though our relationship is a lot more like sisters."

"So you're a big sister now?" Sayaka asked, stars in her eyes, before shaking Kyoko by the shoulders. "Aww, that is sooooo cute!"

"Please don't shake me…" Kyoko said, feeling the nausea creep back up.

"Here you go, Big Sis." Nanako said, holding up the cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Nanako." Kyoko smiled, taking the cup and patting her on the head.

Sayaka made a sound comparable to a hamster, seeing the cute scene before her.

"Big Sis, is she a friend of yours?" Nanako asked, turning to Sayaka.

"Mm." Kyoko nodded. "Though, I think she'll be the one that wants to introduce herself."

"Appreciate it." Sayaka said, before looking at Nanako. "Nice to meet you, Nanako. I'm Sayaka Maizono. I was a classmate of hers back at her old school."

"Sayaka Maizono… oh, I know you!" Nanako exclaimed.

"You do? Are you a fan of mine?" Sayaka asked.

"Not me, but a lot of my friends are." Nanako said.

"That so?" Sayaka smiled. "Guess I gotta pay a visit to your school sometime!"

"You're going to cause a big scene if you do that, Sayaka." Kyoko said, taking a sip off her coffee.

"I'll go in disguise."

"Then they won't recognize you."

"Spoil my fun, why don't you."

"I already did."

Sayaka playfully hit Kyoko in the arm. Kyoko briefly rolled her eyes, coughing lightly into her fist.

"You definitely need some rest, Kyoko." Sayaka said, helping up her friend. "Nanako, where's her room?"

"Up the stairs and second door on the right." Nanako said.

"Thanks." Sayaka said as she walked up the stairs with Kyoko. "By the way, do you have a spare futon? I'll be staying the night."

"You're what?" Kyoko asked, voice slightly raised her hand holding the coffee jittered.

"Shhh." Sayaka put a finger to Kyoko's lip. "Rest up."

It was relatively late when Dojima got back home. He rubbed the back of his head as he opened the door.

"Every day's great at your Junes!"

Nanako was still up? He could've sworn he had told Kyoko that Nanako should be in bed at least before 11.

"Wow, you're a fantastic singer, Nanako! I bet you could totally make it as an idol!"

Dojima raised a brow. That wasn't Kyoko speaking. The voice was far more cheerful and energetic than her niece. Walking in, he saw a new face at the table.

"Oh, welcome home, Dad!" Nanako said, standing up to greet him.

"Nanako, who's this?" Dojima asked.

"Um, hello!" Sayaka said, standing up as well. "My name is Sayaka Maizono, sir!"

"Maizono…?" Dojima put a hand under his chin as he tried to recall the name. "Heard a couple of the younger guys at the station bring up that name. You're the pop sensation, yeah?"

"The very same, sir." Sayaka nodded.

"Okay, but that doesn't really explain why you're in my house." Dojima said. "...wait, do you know my niece?"

"Kyoko? Yes, we were classmates at Hope's Peak." Sayaka said. "I'm visiting Inaba, you see."

"And you're in my house, because…?"

"Oh uh, Kyoko was feeling a little under the weather, so I decided to come over and help out a bit." Sayaka explained. "Though, I don't think I really needed to. Nanako here does a good job already!"

Nanako looked a little bashful at the praise.

"That so? I appreciate it." Dojima smiled. "Though it is a bit late, and heading out now isn't really the best idea. I could drive you to wherever you're staying if-"

"Well, the thing is uh…" Sayaka rubbed the back of her head. "I was gonna stay the night since I found out Kyoko had a spare futon. Wouldn't sit well with me leaving my friend like that, especially since I know how she tends to act, even when she's sick. She's probably out of bed, doing some sort of work."

"Really? How do you know that?" Nanako asked.

"Because I'm psychic." Sayaka smiled.

"Wow, really?!" Nanako asked, awed.

"Psychics aren't real, Nanako." Dojima sighed.

"Man, you are just like your niece." Sayaka pouted. "Anyways, I guess I'll head up now, since it is pretty late. I bet it's way past Nanako's bedtime."

"That's right." Dojima said. "Come on, Nanako. You'd better get ready. Say goodnight to Kyoko's friend."

"Goodnight." Nanako said.

"Night, Nanako." Sayaka said, patting the girl on the head as she started up the stairs.

"Also, Nanako is not pursuing an idol career." Dojima added.

"Y-Yeah. Probably a good idea." Sayaka said, reconsidering her words as she reached the top.

"What's wrong with being an idol singer?" Nanako asked.

"I'll explain when you're older." Dojima told her.

Sayaka entered Kyoko's room and frowned.

"Oh, has my Uncle returned?" Kyoko asked.

Her psychic prediction was right on the money. The Ultimate Detective was out of bed, going through several sheets of paper, adding a few new notes here and there. What was rather comedic was how Kyoko was in her pajamas, and still had her gloves on.

"Kyoko, what part of "bed rest" do you not understand?" Sayaka asked.

"I'm fine." Kyoko told her.

"Kyoko, I'm an idol." Sayaka reminded her. "I know how people look when they need sleep; I've seen it in the mirror plenty of times."

"But-"

"If you want to do something, how about helping me." Sayaka said. "Do you have a spare set of PJs that I can borrow?"

"I should have a spare set in one of the boxes over there." Kyoko pointed to the corner.

Sayaka kneeled in the corner and opened the box to see some neatly folded pajamas that were still completely new. Unlike the more purple wardrobe that Kyoko was normally seen in, these were a shade of light blue.

"You've never worn these?" Sayaka asked, seeing that the price tags were still there.

"My uncle bought me them as a welcome present." Kyoko said. "Blue isn't really my style, and I already had my normal pair."

Sayaka changed out of her streetwear, slipping on the new pair (after cutting off the tags, of course). "Ooh, it feels nice."

"I'll get the spare futon." Kyoko said, briefly leaving the room.

Sayaka sat down on the couch in the room, twiddling her thumbs. She looked at the notes Kyoko had left on the desk about the case, seeing just how much detail was on them. It was clear that Kyoko's whole mind and soul was dedicated to figuring out the mystery.

"Just old times." Sayaka said, picking up the document that had her name, as well as date of arrival in Inaba.

"And like old times, you proceed to go through my notes without permission." Kyoko said as she came back into the room, the spare futon in her arms.

"I mean, letting me stay over gives me permission, right?" Sayaka asked.

"You invited yourself in, which would be considered trespassing." Kyoko said, spreading out the futon.

"Oh, you'd never arrest me. You know that." Sayaka smiled.

"It's tempting sometimes." Kyoko admitted.

Sayaka reached into her bag to pull out a toothbrush. Kyoko was about to ask why, but guessed it was some sort of natural preparation from her years as an idol. Sayaka went to go brush her teeth as Kyoko rearranged her investigation notes and neatly slid all of them into a large binder which she slid under her desk.

"By the way, are you going to share that at some point with the others or your uncle?" Sayaka asked, coming back rather quickly.

"How did you brush your teeth that fast?"

"Idol's secret." Sayaka dismissed. "But my question remains; when are you gonna share that?"

"I'll likely do that once we need to discuss the case in-depth with the other members." Kyoko said. "As for my uncle, I'm not officially investigating the case with police permission at the moment. My uncle hasn't directly pulled me onto the case yet, but on the off chance he does, I'll share."

"Why doesn't he bring you on, by the way?" Sayaka asked.

"He wants me to live a normal life here, I imagine." Kyoko said. "Though unlike my father, he's not completely against me doing investigative work."

The awkward silence at the mention of her father caused the silence to grow.

"It's late, we should go to sleep." Kyoko said suddenly, getting into her own futon.

"Aren't you gonna take those off?" Sayaka asked, looking at Kyoko's gloved hands.

"I sleep with them on." Kyoko lied through her teeth.

"...Kyoko, you know you don't have to keep the gloves on in front of me." Sayaka said softly.

Kyoko didn't respond, her expression unreadable.

"You've shown me and Makoto before… you don't have to hide it in front of us." Sayaka said. "You know, you could probably show the others, or even Nanako and your uncle-"

"No." Kyoko said quickly. "At least… not yet."

"...alright, if you say so. Take your time." Sayaka reassured. "If you want to keep them on for now, I'll respect that."

"...thank you."

Kyoko could hear glass shatter as her bond grew with Sayaka.

Thou art I... And I am Thou...

Thou has established a new bond...

It brings thee closer to the truth...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana…

"But we really should be going to sleep now." Kyoko said. "It has gotten late."

"Right, we don't wanna be too exhausted when we show up tomorrow. That'd be a disaster, huh?" Sayaka chuckled.

It was a good thing that they had gone to sleep when they did, since today they were pushing through like crazy. The Investigation Team had managed to clear multiple floors of Shadows. Practically nothing stood in their way.

"You're looking pretty chipper today." Chie noted.

"Well, I did actually get some sleep." Sayaka chuckled. "I've trained myself to be able to fall asleep with no problems. It's handy, being an idol."

"Wish I could have that power." Yosuke grumbled.

They reached another floor, and this one was only a hallway with a set of double curtains, larger than the others.

Teddie sniffed the air. "I think that girl named Rise is beyond here… but I'm not certain."

Seeing as they had some time to prepare, the team decided to take a quick break before tackling the next room. Sayaka had sat down next to Yosuke, who was absentmindedly twirling one of his kunai.

"So, just a refresher." Sayaka said. "The Shadow isn't how Rise truly is, right?"

Yosuke nods. "It's a twisted manifestation of how we don't want to be seen. It has some truth to it, but it's not the entire thing."

"...alright." Sayaka nodded. "I'd better keep that in mind, then. Oh, by the way-"

"Can you save it for after we save Rise?" Yosuke asked, seeing the others get up. "Looks like we're about ready to go."

Sayaka sighed. "Fine."

"Are you ready, everyone?" Kyoko asked.

They all nodded.

"All right…" Kyoko tightened her gloves. "Let's go."

Kyoko pushed back the curtains, as the team steeled themselves for the upcoming fights of their lives…

Kyoko's Social Links:

Magician (Yosuke Hanamura): Rank 8

Chariot (Chie Satonaka): Rank 7

Priestess (Yukiko Amagi): Rank 7

Emperor (Kanji Tatsumi): Rank 2

Star (Teddie): Rank 1

Hanged Man (Sayaka Maizono): Rank 1

Justice (Nanako Dojima): Rank 3

Hierophant (Ryotaro Dojima): Rank 3

Fool (The Investigation Team): Rank 4

Hope (Hope's Peak Academy Students): Rank 3

A/N: This new update has come out sooner than later, as it was Kyoko's birthday this week. Happy birthday Kyoko!

For FanFiction readers, we have a new cover, thanks to " /Bobby_Aditya_ep" on Twitter. Check them out, and say that I sent ya.

Now, we'll cover the elephant in the room. While I was debating whether or not Sayaka gets her own Social Link, or group her with the Hope Arcana, I realized that I'd have plenty of opportunities to cover her Social Links since I'm adapting out several of the non-party member ones already. Now, most people would probably put her under the Lovers, which is fitting, but Rise has already taken that. So instead, I went with Hanged Man. The wiki points out how "Hanged Man characters are sometimes self-sacrificial, but are more often notable for being caught between two different extremes, parties or stages in life." This ends up lining with how Sayaka has done several things to get to where she is now, even though she's not proud of it. Sayaka's character here is one that has accepted it at this point, so her Social Links are going to be a bit more unique, so stay tuned for that.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.