Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Fate or anything in the nasuverse, any resemblance to any other Persona 4/Fate fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please, constructive criticism only.
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[07/10 July, Dojima Residence, Inaba]
Yu was busy spending his Sunday morning in his room having just woken up. It had been nearly two weeks since the gang had rescued Rise. After yesterday with Marie and Adachi Yu had decided to just hang out in his room practising his Origami when all of sudden his phone began to ring.
"Why is Chie calling me?" Yu wondered aloud.
"Hello?"
"D-D-Did you hear yet?!" Chie asked nervously.
"Hear what, Chie?" Yu asked.
"They found a dead body just outside the Shopping District!" Chie said.
"Is it Rise?!" Yu asked his blood turning cold.
"No! It's not Rise! They said it was a man in his thirties or something. I don't get it! I mean, we…" Chie paused and took a deep breath "We're all meeting at Aiya come over right away!'
"Hold on, I need a favour from you." Yu interrupted Chie before she could hang up. "Li Shuwen has been teaching you his invisibility technique right? How good would you say you are at using it?"
"I'd need to install him to use it. It'll take me years to get a grasp on the technique proper." Chie replied, "Why?"
"Here's what I want you to do…." Yu gave Chie his instructions and after he left the house and locked the door. He ran as fast as he could to Aiya.
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[Aiya, Shopping district, Inaba]
"Damn it…" Kanji pounded his fist on the table in anger after the team had ordered their food. "I don't believe it. This blows our theory about our victims being on the news. King Moron's never even been news or TV!"
"Yeah and he wasn't on the Midnight Channel either" Yukiko added
"I can't believe this happened." Yosuke said angrily "And where the hell is Chie?!"
"Relax, she's doing something for me and should be here in a minute."
"Hey, guys sorry I'm late. Here you go Narukami I did everything asked." Chie said handing Yu and notepad which had several pages filled.
"Thank you, is this everything you heard?" Yu asked as he began reading the notes.
"Yup, everything I could hear before I started to run out of prana," Chie replied whipping some sweat from her forehead as she sat down and ordered good. "That technique really takes a lot of focus."
"What's with the notes man?" Kanji asked.
"I had Chie eavesdrop on the police at the crime scene and take notes what she saw and overheard," Yu answered as he finished reading notes and took out his phone and began doing an internet search.
"Oh, so did she get anything good from the cops?" Yosuke asked.
"…I see that would make sense," Yu mumbled to himself after a few minutes of reading the web page he had open before putting his phone away.
He was sure that the Midnight Channel was related to the murders somehow. They were just missing something important.
"So what did you find out?" Yukiko asked.
"Yeah man don't keep us in the dark." Kanji agreed.
"Here's your order," Aika said, bringing the group each a mega beef bowl.
"Huh?! None of us ordered this!" Yosuke told her.
"Normally, we only offer this on rainy days." Aika told them.
"Th-That's..." Yu's eyes widened "It takes Understanding to accept everything, Knowledge to set a good pace, Courage to attack the pile of meat, and Diligence to keep eating. It takes all of that to finish the Mega Beef Bowl!"
"Thanks, but why?" Kanji asked
"Please enjoy," Aika said walking away to the kitchen
"Well, let's chow down," Chie exclaimed
Taking his time to eat Yu began explaining what he pieced together from his internet search and the information from Chie.
"Ok, according to these notes the detectives on the scene think that this latest murder might the work of a copycat killer using our killer's methods to cover up their crime," Yu explained reading through the notes again and taking occasional bites from the Mega Beef Bowl.
"Wait, so someone's using the killer to cover up their murder. But why?" Yukiko asked.
"To know that, you have to dig deeper into the history of this town, which is what I was doing on my phone." Yu replied, "You see, Mr Morooka was secretly a devout catholic."
"What no way, King Moron was catholic?" Yosuke yelled with disbelief.
"You're shitting me right?" Kanji was equally disbelieving.
"No it's true, I heard….the cops talking about it," Chie said between slurps of her bowl.
"So he was catholic, but what's that got to do with anything?" Yukiko wondered "And what did you mean the history of the town?"
"According to what I found out, back in Nineteen twenty-two, the Vatican bought some land in Inaba and built a church." Yu began his explanation "It was a pretty small congregation but they bothered no one. Nothing happened until Nineteen fifty-three when there was a massacre."
The team collectively gulped their food down and stared at the Fool in shock.
"M-massacre?" Chie swallowed nervously.
"I never heard anything about that," Yukiko stated her voice shaking.
"Yeah me either," Kanji said.
"I'm not surprised, the town tried to keep the incident hushed up but it wasn't very effective. You see the congregation was slaughtered by a mob, but the priest survived and fled back to the Vatican. In so doing the Vatican who still had some pull on the world stage condemned the town believing it to be full of hate and intolerance. Inaba which relies on tourism for its economy has been dying ever since then."
"Wait….i thought Junes was responsible for that?" Chie asked pausing in her meal. "That's what everyone thinks anyway."
"It's quite the opposite actually, Junes is just a convenient target people are using so they don't have to acknowledge this incident which brought great dishonour to the town as the perpetrators were never caught. Junes hire's all of its staff locally and the prices are relatively cheap compared to the shopping district. Junes may be Inaba's last hope, it's creating jobs and like it or not is bolstering the economy as it forces other stores to either compete or close down."
"So, all this time Junes was saving the town?" Kanji wondered thinking on the information.
"Indeed, you see before they bought out the land and announced they were coming the town council was considering plans to demolish the shopping district and building an attraction that would revitalise the town's tourist industry. These plans were public knowledge, and Junes would have no doubt known about them before moving to the town."
"Wait, so if Junes wanted all the local competitors out of the way, they could have just waited for the shopping district to be gone and then come in, they'd have nothing to worry about then." Chie pointed out. "But they're coming kept the shopping district doing right?"
"Hold on, that's nice and all but what's this gotta do with King Moron?" Kanji interrupted.
"Back on subject, as I said King Moron was a devout catholic albeit privately. It's been this way ever since the massacre because the mob who committed the crime was never caught. After that, any surviving Christians in the town likely went underground and worshipped in private where no one would find out. The theory is that the copycat found out somehow that Mr Morooka was Christian and killed him because of that. The problem is, anyone who was taught by him could be a suspect because of the way he was towards students."
"So this murderer is just using our killer to hide their crime?" Yukiko asked.
"That is one theory, but we can't rule out the possibility that it could be our killer," Yu stated taking a breath and seeing that he was halfway through the Mega Beef Bowl, he still had the rapt attention of his friends. "We don't know what kind of person we're dealing with, it's possible that they've become angry and committed this murder out of a childish need to feel like they're still winning. If so then this is good for us, because in doing a murder outside the TV World they have to have used a weapon instead of letting the shadows do their work, so that would leave a murder weapon somewhere, plus in order to get the body up there they would have left fingerprints and some of their own DNA behind."
"Hey that's right, I've been wondering, why haven't the cops been able to get fingerprints or DNA from the other victims?" Yosuke asked, "With a town this small it wouldn't be too hard to get everyone's fingerprints, anyone who refused would look suspicious."
"I can answer that, look at this." Yu withdrew his smartphone which had a blank screen as it was in sleep mode. "I've been using this touchscreen phone for over a year, do you notice anything odd?"
"Wait a minute, if you've been using a touch screen phone for over a year, then why are there so few finger marks on it?" Yukiko asked, indeed the screen looked very clean apart from a few barely visible finger marks.
"Exactly, you see I noted that when we go through the portal to the TV World, the finger-marks and prints and stray DNA on my phone would disappear, I only noticed it recently," Yu told them now three-quarters of the way through his bowl. "This is why the police haven't been able to find fingerprints or DNA on the other victims because transitioning between the world erases them."
"Alright, so are we dealing with the killer or a copycat on this one?" Kanji asked putting his bowl down and giving up along with Yosuke.
"Personally, I think this may just be a copycat, there's no reason for our killer to get sloppy now. He's made sure not to show his face to any of you or leave any real clues, such a methodical person wouldn't lash out now. But we should keep an eye on the Midnight Channel just in case. Who knows if it is a copycat, then the real deal might not like someone deciding to try and pin things like this on him."
A few minutes later and part of the team was beaten and groaning at their full stomachs, these included Yukiko, Kanji and Yosuke.
"Seriously, what's with this monster?" Kanji asked
"At least we made a dent in it... I think." Yukiko said looking into her bowl
"Done." "Me as well."
The three looked at Chie and Yu, their jaws all dropped as they saw empty bowls in front of the pair who had to their shock had beaten the unbeatable mega beef bowl challenge.
"No way" Kanji muttered
"You two beat it, man, you have monster appetites," Yosuke exclaimed
"That's so cool you beat it," Yukiko exclaimed to Chie.
"That'll be three thousand yen each from the rest of you," Aika said tonelessly shocking the three.
"What?!" Yosuke exclaimed, "You said it was on the house."
"It is, if you finish it, that's always been the offer remember?" Aika said.
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[Junes, Inaba ]
After finishing paying for their food the team decided to go Junes to check up on Teddie and stopped when they three employees hanging around the electronics department.
"Oh, Yosuke perfect timing. Some guy named Doug Teddie is here for you" one of the salesmen said.
"What? Doug Teddie?" Yosuke questioned.
They ran over to the massage chairs and sure enough, sitting on one was Teddie being massage by the chair.
"OHHHHH! This is Amazing!" Teddie said through the vibrations of the chair.
"Woah he's here" Chie exclaimed
"This chair is pretty bear-ific" Teddie sighed.
"You look very comfy there," Yu said.
"What the heck are you thinking coming here?!" Yosuke demanded.
"It's about time you guys showed up," Teddie said, "I've been waiting."
"You can leave the TV?" Yukiko questioned
"Who knew that could happen" Kanji commented.
"Yeah, of course, I can leave the TV, there is an exit!" Teddie said in a 'duh' tone of voice "It just never actually crossed my mind to try and use it before. But after spending so much time with you guys I wanted to come and see you in your world."
'I've even seen a few pretty girls in her with skimpy clothing that didn't seem like bitches.' Avenger commented appearing in Spirit Form.
"Yeah well that happens" Yu deadpanned
"Yay I just knew that you would understand me Sensei," Teddie said, "Oh someone asked me what my name was so I said Duh, Teddie."
"Doug Teddie got it" Chie sighed
"Listen, Teddie, there's something really important we need to ask you," Yosuke said
"Yeah what?" Teddie asked
The gang grabbed Teddie out the chair and took him out to their usual table in the food court.
"You're absolutely positive that no one's been inside the TV since we were there?" Yosuke asked
"Yes, how many times do I have to tell you yes!" Teddie yelled with annoyance "I made a full recovery all by my bear-some self
"Man if King Moron never went into the TV set then…" Yosuke trailed off
"Then uncle was right," Yu said, "He was killed in our world, which in theory should mean that it's easier to catch him because he would have left fingerprints and DNA behind."
"Uhhh, I'm BEARY hot! I need to take my head off," Teddie complained sweat somehow forming on his costume.
He then began to remove his head before Yosuke grabbed him
"NO! You've got kids watching! It'll scar them for life if they see an empty mascot!"
"Get off" Teddie yelled shoving Yosuke off of him "Besides it's not empty anymore!"
"Stop!" Yosuke protested.
Teddie unzipped his head and popped it off, everybody gasped in surprise Just as Teddie had said he wasn't empty anymore, Inside was a bare-chested blond-haired boy covered in sweat.
"Whoa! NO WAY!" Chie exclaimed.
"AHHHH…Much…BETTER!" The boy said.
The boy picked up a bottle of water to drink and then he started chugging.
"AH! Now that hit the spot!" The boy said sounding refreshed.
"Teddie?" Chie asked, in shock.
"Yup, it's me…" Teddie confirmed.
"How?"
"I grew a body because I wanted to score with Yukiko and Chie"
The girls sweat dropped.
"You grew a body…to score?!" Chie choked.
"I really do wish we could drop that subject" Yukiko grumbled.
"By the way, are there any clothes around here?" Teddie asked, "I'm as naked as a new-born baby right now."
Yukiko and Chie blushed and grabbed Teddies lower fur and kept it covered as the three ran inside Junes presumably for the clothing department.
"Dude grew a human inside himself?" Kanji asked raising his eyebrow
"Good for him," Yu said.
"I'm totally freaked out," Yosuke said, "What kind of a bear is that?"
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[North Shopping district, Inaba ]
Yu, Yosuke and Kanji were all stood outside a store in the northern shopping district. Currently, they were all eating topsicles in order to cool down after spending so much time in the summer sun while waiting for the girls to come back. Yosuke and Kanji (though mostly Yosuke had whispered to him, interrogating him about his superhero identity)
"Mmm-MMMM! It's finally the season for topsicles again," Kanji said.
"Dude, how many are you gonna eat? You're gonna get a stomach ache." Kanji was eating one topsicle while holding another.
After a while, Chie and Yukiko finally showed up.
"Sorry, we're late…" Chie gasped.
"How'd it take you that long to find clothes for Ted?" Yosuke asked.
A blond boy walked up in a white silk shirt with the collar and first two buttons below open, exposing part of his chest. There were ruffles running down either side and there was a rose pinned to his chest. He wore black slacks that if it wasn't made of silk, it looked close. He was wearing black short boots.
"Whoa! Teddie, is that you?" Yosuke asked.
"Oui, Monsieur! How do I look?" Teddie replied while seeming to sparkle.
"C'est Magnifique!" Yu grinned.
"Don't encourage him…" Chie grimaced.
"This is wrong, look who are you really?" Yosuke asked in disbelief.
"Look I didn't believe it at first either but trust me it's definitely Teddie," Chie said. "In fact, he's so much like Teddie it's annoying."
"He went totally berserk in the ladies lingerie department" Yukio elaborated.
"You think so?" Teddie asked
"Listen, dude, if you're gonna unzip and turn into a human then you've gotta control your impulses okay?!" Chie snapped
"But it's my first time here," Teddie said looking down.
"Look we're not mad" Yukiko assured him "we're just giving you advice."
"Thank goodness I thought that maybe you two hated me now," Teddie said bouncing back from his depression pretty quickly.
"By the way, where's Teddie's other head?" Yosuke asked.
Yu looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him. Teddie's head was still back on the table at Junes.
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Nanako looked around June's before spotting what she was after. Country pickled radishes.
"Yay, two left" Nanako reached for one before a hand grabbed both and shoved them in her basket.
"Hey kid they're mine you gotta problem with that?" he demanded causing Nanako to step back in fear "Don't be rude, you little brat. You do not want to make me mad. Cause if you do then"
Kubo reached for Nanako who was paralysed in fear, only to stop as a foot planted itself in his face sending him to the ground.
The offender was wearing an old style kimono coloured blue; it had loose arm sleeves that were draped over most of her arms, leaving her shoulders bare. She wore black shoes that served to increase her height ever so slightly, with indigo stockings over her legs. The most noticeable thing about her, however, was the pair of orange ears peeking out through a mass of pink hair and a fox tail poking from the rear of clothing. Completing the outfit was the domino mask covering her eyes.
"Hey, what the hell?" Kubo felt a weight on his chest and saw the girl was standing on him. "Get off me, you crazy bitch."
"Never fear citizens, be it criminals or bullies. Tamamo-chan partner of Space Samurai Y will always be here to help." Tamamo-chan declared placing her hand son her hips and laughing
"Nanako are you ok?" Yu asked appearing from down the aisle.
"Yeah I'm fine thanks, big bro" Nanako replied, "Who's this?"
"I am Tamamo-chan, superherione extraordinaire." Tamamo-chan declared "Fear not citizens, this fish-eyed creep shall bother you no longer."
"Oh wow, another superhero, that's so cool," Nanako exclaimed.
"Hey, you freeze!" Yu looked to see the detective Naoto running down the aisle making a beeline for the heroine, with Adachi in tow.
"Tamamo -chan cannot be chained by the likes of you." The Heroine cried pointing one finger at the sky.
She suddenly used one foot to kick off the ground causing Kubo to start sliding along recently waxed floor like a snowboard. Kubo screamed like a little girl as he slid at high speed along the floor and into a stack of tin cans knocking him out. Seconds before impact the girl jumped and landed in a very acrobatic fashion on one of the light fixtures on the ceiling.
"Come down here right now," Naoto ordered glaring at the newest masked hero in town.
"I shall not be caged!" Tamamo-chan yelled as she began leaping from fixture to fixture intent on making her escape.
"So, are you going to buy those radishes?" Yu asked pointing at the radishes which were now in Nanako's basket.
"Thanks, big bro," Nanako said looking up at him "But tell me what are you doing here?"
"This belongs to a friend of mine, he forgot it here," Yu stated showing her Teddie's head.
Fortunately, Nanako was not as easily shaken as other little kids and was not freaked out at the sight of it. He decided to escort Nanako around the store a bit more, in case that weirdo woke up and tried something.
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"My beautiful head!" Teddie exclaimed gleefully taking it from Yu after he returned from the store. "Thank you, Sensei"
"Isn't it great that you're no longer empty?" Yu asked Teddie.
"Yes…But I still don't know who I am…" Teddie said sadly, before changing his expression as Yu put his hand on Teddie's shoulder.
"Let me help you with your search," Yu said, "We'll find your inner you."
"Geez, fine here." Yosuke handed Kanji a 1000 Yen bill. "Buy whatever Ice cream and candy you want…Just share it with Teddie."
"You're RICH!" Teddie exclaimed.
"We should get him to buy all our ice cream from now on." Angra Mainyu commented.
"He is the Prince of Junes!" Yu chuckled.
"We're going to head for the Tofu shop. Just wait here."
"I can't just take this from you Senpai!" Kanji said with surprise.
"Nice job Yosuke that was very mature," Chie said apparently trying to butter Yosuke up. "Oh…I get it…you may say differently, but you're still nice to Teddie."
"Huh?" Yosuke was confused that Chie was being so pleasant to him.
You know it's really nice to see you're grown up side." Chie nodded trying still trying to butter Yosuke up "Thank god you're an adult because adults never sweat the small stuff."
"You're up to something, so what is it?" Yosuke asked suspiciously sweat dropping at Chie's words.
"Well, you see Teddie did need clothes so we charged them to you," Chie admitted nervously
"WHAT?! Hold on, you mean I'm paying?! How the hell did I get volunteered for that?" Yosuke demanded angrily
"What else were we supposed to do?! That stuff was expensive, even for Junes!" Chie yelled getting just as angry.
"Woah hot stuff there's no need to fight over-" Teddie was cut off by Yosuke
"You shut up, this is all your stupid fault you know" Yosuke yelled before turning back to Chie.
"Come one let's go get some topsicles," Kanji said to Teddie.
"Ok give me one sec," Teddie said before handing Yu a pair of pink glasses "Here these are for Rise."
Teddie then ran off to catch up with Kanji.
"Ummm…it looks like they might be a while so why don't we go one ahead to the Tofu shop?" Yukiko asked
"Sure, let's just leave them be," Yu said joining Yukiko in walking away to check on Rise at the tofu shop.
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[07/10 South Shopping District, Inaba]
As they walked and left Yosuke and Chie to argue, Yu and Yukiko stopped short when they saw a familiar face staring at the tofu shop. It was a boy wearing a blue hat that had been hanging around Inaba the past few months. As well as chasing down Space Samurai Y and the new Tamamo-chan.
"Hey that's the boy that was talking to Kanji both before and after he got kidnapped right." Yukiko pointed out.
"Yeah it is and we talking to him for clues when Kanji went missing," Yu reminded her out.
"So you did come here today," the boy said turning to face them when he noticed their presence "
Chie and Yosuke stopped arguing when Yosuke noticed the boy and pointed it out to Chie.
"Here to try and win over Rise Kujikawa next?"
"Narukami" Yosuke and Chie ran over to see what was going on.
"Ah, so you're all here, I haven't properly introduced myself to you." the boy said. "Naoto Shirogane, detective, I'm currently helping the local police with the investigation of the serial murders."
"A bit short for a detective." Angra Mainyu commented.
"He could do with working out a bit more." Li Shuwen said.
"The police really are stumped if they're calling in outside help," Semiramis said.
"There's something that I'd like your take on if you don't mind."
"What is it?"
"The latest victim Kinshiro Morooka, I believe he was a teacher at your school?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Chie asked.
"The second victim Saki Konishi also attended your school. The media is way too focused on that right now but it's irrelevant. There is something far more important to consider."
"Like what? Stop beating around the bush." Yosuke demanded impatiently
"Your Mr Morooka was not on television before he died. Isn't that interesting?" Naoto said eyeing Yu suspiciously.
"I have a question for you detective," Yu said.
"What is it?" Naoto replied.
"What was the cause of death for Ms Yamano and Saki Konishi in the police report again?"
"….The cause was unknown." Naoto answered eyeing Yu.
"Indeed, but the town already knows that Mr Morooka died due to blunt force trauma to the back of the head. So…the killer went from using a method that uses no trace of how the victim died or even who was responsible, to something amateurish as blunt force and potentially leaving a murder weapon and fingerprints. Isn't that interesting?"
Naoto placed his hand to his chin and suddenly went into deep thought. Yu motioned at the others with his head and started walking away with them. Naoto still lost in thought began robotically walking in the other direction, the gears in his head still turning.
Eventually, when he was out of sight they were greeted by Rise.
"Hi everyone." She greeted them.
"Rise it's you, are you feeling better now?" Yukiko asked
"You bet she is!" Tamamo said popping up with an excited look on her face. "She's better than ok!"
" Do you guys mind if we go somewhere else?" Rise requested. "My grandma's taking care of the shop today and she might get worried if she overheard us talking."
"Sure lead the way," Yu said
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[Tatsuhime Shrine, North Shopping District, Inaba ]
Rise had lead the group up the stairs and to the nearby Tatsuhime shrine, where they with the exception of Kanji and Teddie all gathered around Rise who was recounting what happened to her before winding up in the TV world.
'Nothing says inconspicuous like six teenagers talking at a shrine' Cu Chulainn said sarcastically 'Nope, nothing suspicious looking going on here'
"Oh man this sucks, so you have no idea who pushed you inside the TV?" Yosuke asked with a sigh.
"That's right I just remember waking up when I was on the other side." Rise explained
"That's the same story for Kanji and me too," Yukiko said
"It's fine, we expected as much." Yu said "Our killer is devious; he wouldn't let himself be caught so easily. He probably used chloroform or something along those lines to prevent any victims from identifying him. I think that proves that our killer knows that sending people through the TV isn't a foolproof way of killing them."
"Umm….listen" Rise nervously shuffled from one foot to the other.
Yu snapped to look at Rise, pulling out his detective mode.
"Thanks for saving my life guys," Rise said gratefully "I'm happier than I've been in forever."
"Huh...? Awww, you don't have to thank us!" Chie laughed nervously
"Dude...She's so cute...Man, it's finally hitting me that you're the real deal. You really are Risette." Yosuke sighed going into fanboy mode.
"So what do you think? Can I help you all find this guy?" Rise asked.
"Sure I think it would be great to have you on the team," Yu said walking over to Rise and handing her the pair of glasses that Teddie gave him earlier.
"Thanks," Rise said taking the glasses and putting them on. "These are proof that I'm one you now, they're great just like the ones you guys were all wearing."
"Yup, you're officially one of the group," Yu said giving her a smile.
"I'm so glad we're all friends," Rise said
"Dude I'm friends with Risette finally my teen years don't totally suck." Yosuke cheered.
"Yo. How's it going?" Kanji greeted them "Dude, Teddie ate five topsicles, though if you count the ones I had before, that makes six, so I still win."
"No one asked..." Yosuke sighed
"We're all done talking already!" Suddenly Rise latched onto Yu's arm "Let's go, Senpai!"
"Where's Teddie?" Yosuke asked as Kanji returned.
"He's over there, finishing up his fifth Topsicle. What are we gonna do with him?"
"Well...I guess I'll take him home..." Yosuke sighed
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[07/11 July, Class 2-2, Yasogami High, Inaba]
"So is the story true about King Moron…?" One girl asked as Yu, Chie, Yosuke and Yukiko sat in class.
"Yeah…I saw it on the news…" Another girl said.
"More importantly is it true that Risette has transferred to our school?" A boy asked eagerly
The door opened and a woman walked in, she was wearing slightly open button down blouse, tights, well-coiffed hair and high heels.
"Well now, good morning," A sultry voice said. "I'm Noriko Kashiwagi …I'm your new homeroom teacher and I'll be taking the place of the late Mr Morooka's, nice to meet ya. I don't mean to dive right but I should remind you that the finals are next week. Please don't let my bewitching looks distract you from your studying."
"From King Moron to Kashiwagi…It's scholastic whiplash!" Yosuke muttered to Yu.
'Meh, I've seen better' Cú Chulainn commented causing Chie and Yukiko to snicker.
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"Ugh! I don't know what to do about exams!" Yosuke complained.
"We can all study together, Yosuke" Yukiko suggested.
"Yukiko…" The team all stared at the voice.
"I remember him from yesterday," Yu said, stomping the urge to summon one of his Persona's in public to teach this guy a lesson if only to avoid causing a panic.
"You again…" Chie growled remembering him from a couple of months ago.
"Come on…come with me Yukiko…" the strange boy said, "Come to my world!"
He put his hand on Yukiko's arm, the girl tried to pull away but his grip was firm.
"Yo! Back off!" Chie yelled grabbing the boy's wrist causing him to release Yukiko, then Chie proceeded to flip him onto his back.
"AGH DAMN YOU!" the boy growled "Yukiko! Come on, come with me!"
"Um? Who are you?" Yukiko asked
"Sheesh, you've totally wiped this freak from your memory." Chie sighed
The strange boy looked crushed, that Yukiko had forgotten him.
"Are you messing with me?!" The boy demanded "Huh?"
"What's going on? What do you want with Yukiko?" Kanji demanded walking over to his friends. Hercules appeared behind him in spirit form giving off an intimidating presence even to those who couldn't see him.
"You…You MORON!" the boy found his and ran off… "You'll regret this."
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[07/23 July, Dojima Residence, Inaba]
Two weeks passed and exams had finally finished much to everyone's relief. The team was all gathered in Junes to celebrate freedom from exams and the beginning of summer.
"AHHH Exams are over!" Yosuke sighed with relief.
"Speak for yourself, why do we need to learn English? If I have to I'll use auto-correct!" Rise said.
"I don't think that's the point" Kanji sighed.
"So Senpai…How did you do?" Rise asked.
"My pen wouldn't stop moving," Yu said confidently.
"Wow! That's Impressive!" Rise said with a smile.
"So where's Teddie?" Yukiko asked changing the subject.
"He's been staying at Yosuke's house as far I know," Chie said.
"Oh him, we have him working as a Mascot to earn his keep," Yosuke said pointing at the end of the food court. Teddie was in his bear costume handing out balloons to the kids, laughing and talking with them.
Teddie had handed out all the balloons and then noticed the others. He came over to them.
"What's up guys?" Teddie asked, "If you're hunting studs again I'm right here."
"That's IT! That subject is OFF LIMITS!" Yukiko cried in annoyance.
"This is really annoying why do we have to put up with these brats? Let's just steal some cash and pay the whiner rent that way." Angra Mainyu suggested
"That's a beary bad thing to do." Teddie replied
"I'm the Persona and you're acting like the fucking conscience, gimme a break." Avenger grumbled.
"Sorry Ted, this is more like a group date than some sleazy pick-up joint," Yosuke said. "There's even one girl for every guy."
"There'll never be a group date with you involved" Chie waved him off.
"Well even if did have a group data somehow or another King Moron would find out and start screaming at us," Yosuke said.
"But King Moron is gone…" Yu pointed out.
"He was an ass," Chie said.
"I didn't like King Moron either …but he didn't deserve to die like that."
"I don't think anyone liked that creep." Yosuke sighed. "But man, NO ONE deserves to go out like that."
"Alright everyone we've got to catch this guy, for King Moron's sake and everyone else's sake too," Yu said.
"Yeah, I know the Midnight Channel hasn't been airing lately, but we can't quit," Yosuke said.
"Oh I think you should," a voice said causing everyone to turn and see that it was Naoto.
"They know who the culprit is. You're done. Let the police do their job from here."
"They figured out who the murder is. Who is it?!" Chie said.
"They didn't choose to fill me in on that." Naoto stated, "but what I do know is that he is a high schooler just like we are."
"The killer's a high schooler?" Yukiko asked.
"You realise what this means. So the little game you were playing is now over…" Naoto said.
Everyone, including Teddie, bristled at that.
"We weren't just playing around," Yu said narrowing his eyes at Naoto.
"Listen creep this was far from a game!" Rise snapped.
"So you don't deny your involvement?" Naoto questioned calmly.
"I don't care if you're a detective or" Rise said. "Especially when it seems like this is no more than a puzzle to you. You're the one who seems to be treating it like a game, not us. "
"This game took the life of someone I cared about. We aren't just playing around" Yosuke said. "Besides we have a promise we have to keep."
"Y-Yosuke?!" Teddie's eyes grew teary.
"You think I'm playing?" Naoto said "maybe to a certain degree. I am"
"Tell me, what's a big detective doing slumming it here with us?" Yosuke asked teasingly. "Did they find the killer without you and tell you to hit the road?"
"They haven't caught the killer yet; they just know who it is and are after him." The detective paused. "It's sad that once they're through with me I have to move on, but that's the way it goes, I'm used to it."
"Yeah whatever" Kanji scoffed
"Well, I must be going now," with that Naoto turned and left.
"Is it true? That they have a suspect?" Rise asked.
"Does this mean that our group is finished?" Yukiko asked.
"Don't be so quick to jump to a conclusion, lass." Drake chimed in. "This is what I like to call, the calm before the storm."
"Remember what I said in Aiya's yesterday." Yu told them "There's still the possibility that their 'suspect' is a fraud. It's due to rain on Tuesday night, let's check the Midnight Channel just to be sure."
"He's right," Kanji said standing up "We have to check up just in case."
"So? Tuesday night then?" Yosuke asked looking around and getting nods.
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
Omake: Tamamo no Mae's Love Boot Camp.
When she got home Rise had sat down on her bed to relax. She picked up a short novel and began to read.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Rise let out a small scream as she tumbled off her bed in surprise as Tamamo popped up and yelled in her face.
"T-Tamamo what's wrong with you?" Rise demanded climbing back onto her bed and patting her chest to slow down her rapidly beating heart.
"I saw the way you were with Narukami," Tamamo said in a strangely serious voice, taking a seat on Rise's bed with her legs crossed as if leading a war council. "If you want to win the heart of a man like him you can't be all over him like that. Overly flirty behaviour like that will only get you friend-zoned because he'll think you're just doing it because it's your personality, AND I WILL NOT HAVE A MASTER BEING FRIEND-ZONED!"
Rise found herself unable to speak, she was surprised that Tamamo had not woken up the whole neighbourhood with that shout. It was then that Tamamo materialised and hauled Rise fully onto the bed and held her close.
"If you want to win him then you need to up your game." Tamamo growled, "Right now he's surrounded by a pair of cats who both have a head start on you."
"You mean Chie and Yukiko?" Rise asked finding herself caught up with the Caster's speech.
"Yes, that Yukiko has the shy, yet unreachable charm which attracts men like mountain climbers, and that Chie has a tomboyish charm that does attract certain men," Tamamo said examining Rise from different angles. "You need a charm of your own, the Tsundere option is out, that stopped being attractive to guys two decades ago, hmmm…. we'll think of something for your personal charm later. For now, we can work on your cooking."
"Why what's wrong with my cooking?" Rise asked nervously and flinched when Tamamo got in her face.
"What's not wrong? For one it's way too spicy, you use so much to cover up the ingredients you dump in at random." Tamamo scolded her before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the door. "Come on!"
"Wait where are we going?" Rise cried.
"I'm going to teach you how to cook properly, one of the ways to a man's heart is through his stomach and luckily for you, I was one of the best a when it came to cooking food in the emperor's court."
"But it's eleven o'clock at night!" Rise protested.
"Details!" Tamamo snapped not relenting and dragging Rise downstairs to cook.
