Chapter 28: Investigative Reasoning


May 13th, Teddie's hub space

"Sorry Shirou-sensei," Teddie frowned. "All I can smell is an ordinary scarf." As an afterthought, the bear leaned forward and took another quick whiff of the cloth. "…made of linen."

The human members of the Investigation Team slumped in defeat. "Well, we crossed the bridge," said Yosuke. "Now what?"

"Unless we're missing something important, I guess we can cross off this scarf as being connected to the case." Shirou honestly had mixed feelings about this revelation. His magecraft had only picked up the finer details of how the scarf was made, and nothing odd or supernatural about it.

"So there's nothing we can do about it then," Yukiko frowned, fidgeting with her red-rimmed glasses. She was the newest member of the Investigation Team, but she was determined to help in the case and offer her input whenever possible.

"Can we throw it away now?" Chie asked. "Seeing that scarf is giving me bad memories of that room."

Shirou shook his head. "It may not be important now, but I would prefer to keep this close in case it does become important later. Besides, it would be a waste of cloth and money to just discard it."

"If it's all the same, can I have it?"

Everyone turned to the headphone clad teen, expectantly holding out his hand. "I don't mind," Shirou held out the scarf to him. "But why?"

Yosuke accepted the cloth and started tying it around his neck. "If this is really one of Ms. Yamano's scarves, I want to have a constant reminder about the lives at stake."

"I have to say Hanamura-kun," said Yukiko. "It looks great on you."

"Why thank you, Amagi-san," he smiled, arranging the scarf around his neck. "I was looking for a new-"

"Especially the flower-like pattern."

Yosuke blinked and stared at the cloth around his neck. "Ah crud, I forgot about that."

"Well forget about it now!" Teddie huffed and pointed. "You still didn't tell me why you brought a vixen here! You're violating my house rules!"

"You have house rules?" Shirou asked innocently.

"You have a house?" Yosuke raised an eyebrow.

"It's the principle of the matter!"

Teddie's gloved hand was directed to a bored looking fox, sitting and staring at them close to the tower of TVs used as the exit. It was odd enough that the smart animal managed to follow them through Junes security to the food court, but when they jumped into the electronics TV, the fox jumped in after them.

Yukiko shrugged. "Usagi just followed us. We didn't tell her anything."

Everyone, including the fox, stared at her incredulously. "Usagi?"

"That's her name," the raven haired beauty smiled. "She doesn't have any name or identification of her own, so I made one for her. Besides, she's kind of like the Hare of Inaba right? A fox, yet named rabbit! Hehehe!"

Yukiko was close to breaking into hysterics but the deadpanning fox didn't share her amusement. With a defiant huff-like "Yip!", the still unnamed mammal trotted away from the students by several steps. Then it curled into a ball, tail tucked and ears folded down as if resting.

"I don't think she likes it," said Teddie.

"Obviously," Yosuke rolled his eyes. "Who would want to be named after a rabbit, anyway?"

Yukiko stared to the ground, downcast. "But it's a cute name."

Chie quickly patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure you had the right idea, Yukiko," she said. "But maybe we should use a name that the fox would like."

"We could always ask."

"You do it then, leader," Yosuke suggested. "You're the only one who can understand that animal anyway."

Shirou shrugged, but walked over to the fox anyway. It really wasn't that difficult to talk and listen. "Let's just get this out of the way. Are you a boy?"

The fox's head was lying on its crossed paws, eyes closed. It shook its head left to right, but remained "napping".

"Are you a girl, then?"

A nod motion. Girl it is, then.

"Do you have a name of your own?"

The fox didn't move right away, but eventually nodded.

"Can you tell me?"

Another pause. The fox opened her eyes and started flexing her paws to scratch the floor she was resting on.

"You can't," Shirou realized. "Have you forgotten?"

The fox slowly nodded. This complicated matters, then.

"Would you like for us to come up with a new one in the meantime?" He asked. At her nod, he started to think of what would suit a female fox. It would probably help if he had a Hermit-aligned Persona to help.

"How about Kitsune?"

The fox made a disappointed growl.

"Yeah you're right, too cliché. Inari?" Her eyes opened and glanced up in thought. Then she closed and shook her head. "Too obvious I guess. …Usagi?"

The fox fully turned her head and stared at him with the same deadpan look she gave Yukiko. "I was just teasing!" Shirou insisted.

"How about Tama-chan?"

The fox's ears and eyelids shot up. She and Shirou turned to the bear that suggested the name, and was beaming at his own suggestion.

"Tama means ball or jewel. Seeing her all curled up reminded me of a ball, and Tama-chan just has a cute ring to it!"

Yosuke frowned. "That's a little bland, don't you-? Whoa!"

The fox suddenly bolted and jumped the mascot bear, startling Yosuke and the girls. As Teddie initially flailed from falling down, the fox held her place and licked his face much like a dog excited to see her owner.

"Ah! Ah! Aa-huh? Oh, uh, good Tama-chan! Good, good girl!"

"I guess she likes the name after all," Chie smiled. At least it wouldn't be as weird as calling the fox by its species or referring her as an "it".

"It does have a nice ring to it," Shirou agreed. Tama the fox. It actually sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember why.

"Awww," Yukiko sighed in disappointment. "I wish she was that excited with me when I called her Usagi. Do you prefer Usagi-chan, then?" The only reaction this got Yukiko was Tama to stop licking Teddie, stare at her even more incredulously, and jump away, annoyed.

"Let it go, Yukiko," the tomboy said to her upset friend. "Let's not turn this into another Chosokabe."

Shirou blinked. "'Chosokabe? The samurai clan?"

"Long story."

Teddie righted himself, and with a big smile, squeak-stepped over to the beauty. "You can get all the kisses you want if you score with me, Yuki-chan!"

With a flourish, Yukiko whipped her hand down and fully opened her steel-bladed hand fan in front of her face with a loud "sheen!" Another unique product from Daidara's Metalworks, and one that the young heiress wielded as much as a dancer would. "What was that, Teddie?" she asked sweetly, hiding her predatory smile behind her fan.

The bear suddenly thought better of his choice of words and gulped. "Uh, nothing!"

"Now that the name issue of the fox's name is resolved," Yosuke said, turning away from the scary heiress. "There's still the question of how and why Tama-chan followed us here?"

Tama glanced to Shirou expectantly, drawing memory to the "negotiations". "Well," he said. "She expressed concern that the leaves are only for emergencies and for those that needed them most. I guess she followed us here to see if my story held merit."

"Yip!" nodded Tama.

"Awesome!" Yosuke smiled, kneeling down and holding out his hands. "Can we please have some, Tama-chan? I think a dozen or so would be a good start! The Shadows here hurt like nobody's business!"

Tama craned her head down to the apron tied around her neck. In her mouth she pulled out a long rectangular frame with beads on sliding rings. A soroban, or abacus as they're commonly called outside Japan.

As the others watched in confusion, Tama swiftly moved her paws on the upright frame, moving beds up and down in a seemingly playful manner. But they soon realized she was making calculations of some sort.

The fox eventually finished, and stared at them waiting. "Uh," Chie started. "Did it just do what I think it did?"

"You mean make a calculation?" Yosuke asked rhetorically. "Let's see, I think that those two are 6's, followed by-"

"294,766."

Everyone turned to Yukiko, seeing her staring intently at the device. "Come again?"

"That's the total that reads on the soroban," she explained. "294,766."

Tama nodded and confirmed her answer. It took another moment for Yukiko's classmates to recover, and realize just how bright a student she really was.

"Okay," said Yosuke. "But what does that number mean?"

"Well, it's certainly not something as outrageous as the price of the leaves!" Chie waved dismissively. A pause later, she turned to the fox to be sure. "Is it?"

Tama nodded.

"Huh. It is."

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed. "That makes sense."

Eventually the thought caught up to everyone. They immediately glanced back to the soroban (mentally double checking that the number was indeed 294,766) and then back to the happy fox, exclaiming, "What?!"

"That's more than the cost of our armor and weapons!" Chie cried.

"Hell, that's more than I made all year at Junes!" Yosuke added. "Are you saying that some stinking leaves are worth more than I'll ever amount to?!"

"Yip!" was Tama's immediate answer, spoken so fast clearly it could be heard as "Yep!"

The Junes employee had never felt so insulted and so depressed in his life. A damn fox thought he was worthless! He pinched the hem of his new scarf and pulled it up to hide his solemn face while Teddie patted his back in comfort.

Shirou coughed awkwardly. "W-well, we agreed on a discount earlier, correct? We're high school students and can only make so much money on our own."

Tama raised an expecting eyebrow. Shirou fought the urge to sigh.

"Such as help granting the ema wishes and cleaning up the shrine."

"Yip!"


May 15th, Central Shopping District

Whenever Naoto Shirogane was around, he was seen following Kanji like a chaperone. The Investigation Team first noticed this when Kanji walked to school on the 13th with the blue hat boy following him as far as the gate. And without fail, he would return to the gate just as school ended before leaving with Kanji. No one questioned or confronted the bleached teen about this, as they were scared to confront the scowling biker crusher.

Instead, several girls tried to make small talk with Shirogane, whether it was for getting information or making a pass on him. He was polite enough to respond back, but remained curt and distant as to discourage them until Kanji arrived.

Today was Sunday, and the Investigation Team (plus the curious and stealthy Tama) hid themselves behind both ends of the torii gate, listening and watching for any activity at the textile shop. As of a quarter after one, the whole street was silent, which was both a good and bad thing.

"I wish we could just go in there and talk to Kanji-kun," Yukiko lamented. Her arms hugged the sleeves of her long red dress, and tucked her head down around her flame-patterned scarf (Yosuke had tried to trade scarfs with her once he saw it, but she refused). "We can't help him waiting out here."

"You want to talk to that guy?" Yosuke asked from the torri post he was hiding behind. "That's practically suicide!"

"Exaggerations aside, I have to agree with Hanamura on this one. He doesn't look like the kind of guy you want to get lost in an alley with."

"Kanji-kun must have his reasons," Yukiko assured her best friend crouching next to her. "For all I've known him, he was actually rather shy and considerate, and he always helped his mother around in the store."

Yosuke stared at her in growing disbelief. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Kanji Tatsumi?"

As curious as Shirou was about Kanji's past self, it would have to wait for another time. He and Yosuke sat at the end of the gate closest to the shop, and his reinforced hearing was able to pick up sounds from the door. "Someone's coming," he quickly warned them, and they fell into silence.

The store door opened, and Naoto stepped out first. He took two steps toward the sidewalk before turning and watching Kanji put on his shoes on and calling back inside, "We'll be back soon, Ma!" As the taller teen closed the door behind him and buttoned his leather jacket, he grumbled bitterly, "Let's get this over with."

"You don't have to do this, you know," the shorter boy offered. "Your mother was more than willing to run the errand herself."

"And stay cooped up in the house with you? Knowing my Ma, it'll take her hours to get to Okina and back, and I need the fresh air."

"You also realize I have to come along as well, correct?"

Kanji shrugged as the two of them walked up the street hill. "Yeah, well, I figured you'd be bored too so this gives us both something to do."

Shirou frowned as their voices drifted away into whispers. He could only use his reinforcement for so long before wearing out his nerve circuit (and Pixie was adamant to tell him that this would be the last one). As long as he could get close enough without raising their suspicion, he could easily eavesdrop on whatever they had to say.

"What did they say?" the auburn haired teen asked, as he and girls listened in.

"I think they're heading for someplace called 'Okina'," he told the team. "Where's Okina?"

"Okina City's about thirty minutes away by train," Yukiko answered. "I think Mrs. Tatsumi buys materials from the clothing store there, as does our inn sometimes."

"Let's hurry up and follow them," Chie said.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Yosuke said quickly, and held his arm out to stop the tomboy from running. "If we all follow them, we'd get spotted right away. I say we split into two groups. One team will follow them, and the other will stay here and stake out the shop. Tama-chan's good at hiding, sure, but she's still a fox that can't speak so she doesn't count for this." He turned to the shrine fox, and awkwardly added, "No offense."

The vixen closed her eyes and waved her black paw dismissively, as if saying, "None taken."

"I'll follow Kanji and Shirogane-san. I can… eavesdrop, on their conversations without being noticed," the magus explained. He hesitated to realize that he was about to use less than honest methods of his magecraft, but reasoned with himself that it's for Kanji's own safety.

Chie grinned with excitement; she couldn't ask a better partner on this sting. She didn't want Yukiko anywhere near either of those guys, and if she had to have a boy back her up in case a fight broke out, she would vastly prefer Emiya-kun as her back-up. "Awesome! Then let's-!"

But Emiya didn't seem to share her plan or hear her as he had another partner in mind. "Would you like to accompany me, Amagi?"

Yukiko eyes widened, taken aback by Emiya's proposal. "Me?"

"Her?" Yosuke echoed, turning and staring at him, baffled.

"Yrr?" Tama whined with a tilted head.

"It would be easier to blend in if you're there running errands for your inn. And you're probably the only one of us that can help convince Kanji to be more careful. Not only because of your history, but due to, uh," he paused in his explanation, as he recalled their DnD code. "'The Fire Castle Campaign'."

Chie was torn. As much as it made sense, she wanted to be the one to tag along. She wasn't sure what frustrated her more; the worry of her friend Yukiko being put in potential harm's way, or the growing envy in her heart that she wasn't picked.

"I," Yukiko rasped, slowly fighting her shyness. Her eyes glanced over to Chie's for a moment, and she quickly added, "I appreciate the offer, Emiya-kun, but I'm not sure if I can go with you. Not if someone else wants to go more."

Oh Yukiko, always so patient and thoughtful. No doubt; best friend ever. Chie couldn't help but to let a metaphorical cheer, and was ready to voice her opinion-

"No thanks," the headphone-clad student droned. "My legs are still sore from the training session the other day. If a fight breaks out with Kanji Tatsumi, he's gonna kick my ass one way or another. I'll stake out here."

And just like that, any negative feelings about Yukiko going vanished. After all, whoever doesn't go with Emiya-kun has to stay here with… Hanamura.

"I'll stake out too," she relented. "I suck at diplomacy stuff anyway."

"Are you sure?" Yukiko asked, frowning.

"Sure I'm sure!" Chie insisted with a smile and a wave. "Now go on! If you hurry, you can catch the same train they'll take to Okina!"

"She's right. Let's go, Amagi."

Yukiko hesitated for a moment before nodding off with Shirou. The two of them left their hiding spots and ran up the street. Kanji and Naoto were now long gone, so it was only a matter of heading to the train station before it leaves.

Chie watched them leave, fighting a frown and nagging doubt of her decision. She had no regret as it was better than having her poor Yukiko sit and listen to whatever came out of Hanamura's mouth.

Incidentally enough, he was now waving and calling out to them loudly with some "sage advice". "And don't forget to make it look like you're dating! It'll look more natural that way!"

Yep. No regret whatsoever.


Yaso-Okina Train Terminal

Shirou and Yukiko had just made the station as it was preparing to leave. Students and tourists alike were boarding the train to the city, but it was still small enough to make out the distinctive duo they were following. They sat a seat section away, within reinforced hearing range, and enjoyed the ride.

Yukiko passed the time watching the rural scenery pass out the window, feeling a sense of yearning for this trip to be real. That she was really leaving behind the town and inn that felt like a prison to her. That she could go beyond Okina City and see the rest of the world, prince or no prince. But she knew that now wasn't the time for romanticism. They had a case to solve.

"What's wrong?" Shirou asked her. He was looking at her with concern, noticing how she had been staring out the window since the train started moving.

"Oh, nothing," she said quickly. She didn't feel comfortable with herself admitting her runaway fantasies yet, but she didn't want to seem like a rude conversationalist either. "I was just wondering if Chie and Hanamura-kun would be all right by themselves."

The magus smiled assuredly. "They fought off and accepted the worse parts of themselves. They'll be fine, and besides, Tama's with them too."

Yes, she should have more confidence in them. Just as she should have more confidence in herself. Nothing will probably happen at the Textile Shop, anyway. Well, nothing bad, anyway. She earnestly hoped for that.

"But still, what if the culprit shows up? He might show up at the store, or he might come after me again along with Kanji-kun."

"Even if that does happen, I'll protect you Amagi."

The way he said it made it sound so simple and easy. She knew firsthand how strong he was fighting the monster that was now her Persona, but it did little to ease her heated emotions. She couldn't remember the last time a boy her age made her heart flutter like this before.

"Um," she blushed and smiled shyly. "O-okay. I'll be counting on you."

Shirou simply nodded, and the moment quickly passed. Whether or not they would actually pose as a couple, it shouldn't be too hard with how natural a charmer he was. Yukiko calmed herself enough to follow up, "As scary as it might be for the culprit to show up, I want to do my part as well and help you stop them."

The magus blinked, briefly glancing to the side. "Amagi."

"You saved my life after all, and I would hate to stand by and do nothing."

"Amagi-!"

"I mean, I'm sure there's something I can-"

When calling her name didn't work, Shirou lightly but forcefully nudged her shoulder. His face was facing straight ahead, and he merely glanced to her while briefly holding a finger up and close to his lips. Blushing at her blunder, Yukiko quickly realized that he was trying to listen in on them again and kept quiet.


Kanji slouched in his seat, trying to ignore the pint-sized teen standing next to him and holding the rail. This Naoto guy has been tailing his ass for days, running like clockwork, and he still couldn't get a feel out of him. Most of the time he didn't say anything, do anything. He just stood around and watched him like a hawk.

Or rather, like a cop.

That was the condition of his bail this time. Because the cops were too pussyfoot to admit they didn't have enough of their own guys to monitor his actions, they stuck some private eye shrimp on him and called it a day. Kanji wasn't happy to have any officer following him around, but it was clear that the feeling was mutual. He hadn't forgotten how crestfallen the poor guy looked when told he had to get stuck with him (more so than any other cop he ever met, actually).

Besides, he wasn't a total pain in the ass. He was quiet most of the time, never blew his hat off, and even his Ma liked him. In fact, he looked kind of cute with his large blue hat, dull blue eyes, and thin li-

Kanji turned away scowling and fuming. So what if he was just a little androgini- anderge… whatever. There were plenty of guys who could pull that off, especially in Japan.

Naoto seemed to notice his discomfort, as he turned to ask, "Are you all right?"

At least the kid only talked when it was necessary. "Just peachy," he grumbled. "The sooner I pick up Ma's ordered fabrics the better."

Naoto nodded as if satisfied and resumed watching the scenery in silence. It got on Kanji's nerves so he decided to ask a few questions he had on his mind. "How long do you have to keep following me again?"

"…Indefinitely."

Kanji noticed he had a stern frown on his face when he said that. He didn't like the word much either. "And that means forever right?"

"Or for an unspecified time until further notice," Naoto clarified. "But in a way, yes."

"Great," Kanji spat. "Can't you just let me go early on good behavior?"

"It's not that simple," he now whispered, wary of whoever might eavesdrop. "You're likely to be the serial murderer's next target, and you need to be monitored at all times."

"Do the cops honestly believe that?"

No, they didn't. The Inaba Police Department didn't see the severity of the situation despite two people already dying. They assumed Amagi's survival and a month of inactivity was enough for the culprit to cut his losses. Not many policemen liked hearing the possibility of another dead body hanging from a telephone pole, either.

Naoto went on a hunch that the culprit was going after people that had been on the Inaba news one way or another. The Yamano Scandal, Konishi and Amagi's interviews and most recently, Kanji's act of vigilantism. But instead of acting on this lead, they assigned the blue haired teen to Kanji as a means to kill two birds with one stone.

Naoto was no stranger to higher-ups being annoyed by the age and skill difference of fellow police enforcement, but this was the first time the detective was kicked upstairs, so to speak.

"What they believe or not doesn't matter," Naoto said, avoiding the question. "As long as I'm here, there won't be any more victims."

"I can take care of myself," Kanji scoffed.

"Maybe in a fight of attrition," Naoto allowed. "But the culprit won't necessarily try to overpower you as much as catch you off guard."

Kanji grumbled in his seat along the words of "-cking bastard." With nothing else left to say or ask, the two sat in comfortable silence until the train came to a stop at their destination. Almost immediately, Naoto grabbed Kanji by the arm and dragged him out of the train at a sprint.

"Dude's got a hell of an arm!" The delinquent praised. He didn't expect that much from the detective. Though he was just as confused as to why the sudden rush. And why, after running down the station stairway, they had sprinted hard left instead of right.

"H-hey, Croco Fur's that way!" Kanji exclaimed and pointed to the store behind them. That was the whole reason they came on this trip in the first place.

But Naoto didn't let up, and for the first time he saw the kid look fierce and worried. "We're being followed."


Okina Station

The first thing Shirou noticed about Okina was the people.

In Inaba, the rural country town was barely big enough to have its own school district. Between bad weather and only minimal tourist attractions (such as the Amagi Inn), not many people come and stay for long.

The crowd of people walking in front of the station, between stores, and the streets beyond was staggeringly bigger than any crowd gathering he had seen in Inaba. It wasn't as big as Fuyuki City of course, but from the station stop alone Okina appeared to have a lot more convenient stores for tourists.

From the left side of the station, there was a "30 frame" brand movie theater (currently show-casing an old samurai movie he was sure Fuji-nee would have loved), a humble bookstore, and a Police station with a cop standing on patrol. A line was forming outside the gaudy theater for tickets, and a few kids were seen arguing with a business about the unveiling of a "crane game".

On the right was the clothing store with clothes racks and post cards sitting just by the doors. The stylized sign stationed above the glass sliding doors and oddly pinkish décor inside read "Croco Fur"; the place Kanji and Naoto were heading for. Next to that on the station strip was a small establishment called "Café Chagall", with a sign out front promoting its "Owner's Original Blend".

If nothing else, Okina Station was the perfect tourist trap.

"I don't see them anywhere," he said as he searched each end of the street. How could a tall student and short boy disappear so quickly in a crowd?

"I'm sorry," Yukiko frowned from beside him. "I think Naoto-kun saw me while you were listening in, as he took off with Kanji-kun right after. This is my fault." She knew she should have pushed Chie more into coming instead of her.

"Accidents happen," the magus shrugged. "Now that I think about it, what were you trying to say before?"

"Oh, just me rambling on without realizing," she said. "I don't spend a lot of time talking to boys my age, as they usually just want to ask me vague questions like what I'm doing after school."

"The Princess Amagi Challenge."

"Excuse me?"

Shirou was surprised by her reaction. He would have thought a girl as popular as Yukiko Amagi would be aware of the rumors surrounding her. Perhaps the student body didn't feel a need to tell her in hopes of bettering their chances to ask her out?

But Yukiko wasn't the model student everyone thought her to be. She was rather naïve, nervous, and shy around others. She was also self-conscious about her being weak and afraid, but wanted to change that by joining the Investigation Team. Yukiko deserved to know what others really thought of her. They would search for the truth, after all.

"Remember how we saved your character Konohana Sakuya from the Fire Harpy? And how she wanted to serenade and 'score' a bunch of male suitors?"

Mentally processing the code, Yukiko scowled and flushed in embarrassment. Her Shadow was still herself, and she indirectly did say scoring. "What about it?"

"What your classmates do in talking with you," Shirou explained. "It's sort of like what Teddie does, but less obvious and honest."

Yukiko's scowl grew. "That explains a lot," she muttered rather darkly. She always knew she didn't like it when her male classmates talked to her for some reason. Chie must have realized that a long time ago, and always drove them away when she was feeling uncomfortable. Another thing to be grateful of from their friendship, really.

"I'm sorry you have to go through that," Shirou added. "I'm sure if someone took the time to get to know you, you'd be more comfortable around other guys. I can understand how difficult it is interacting with the opposite sex."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Because I'm not very good at talking with girls."

Yukiko blinked.

Shirou blinked twice back.

For a moment, neither student said anything and stared. Yukiko's calm façade broke when her cheeks puffed out and she tried in vain to stop herself. What followed was a spit-like sound before barreling into laughter.

"Pffffffffffffffffahahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!"

Shirou found himself smiling at her reaction, chuckling. And before long, he was laughing too. They both doubled over and used each other's bodies for support else they'd be literally rolling on the floor. By now anyone within earshot could hear and see them, but they didn't care about that.

"You-ohohohoh…" Yukiko wheezed and pointed, shaking her head with a giddy smile. "You are such a liar! Hahaha!" She slapped his arm for added emphasis, but he either didn't notice or care.

"Ahahaha…" Shirou calmed himself down first, and waited for Yukiko to finish before seriously answering, "It's true. Before Inaba, before all this, I was just some handyman that only had a few friends and didn't go around asking girls for dates."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. You and Chie get along great."

"It's just her personality. She reminds me a lot of Fuji-nee, really."

"I see. Still, I feel she has more fun being around you and Hanamura-kun lately." Yukiko smiled bashfully, feeling grateful and a little affectionate. "The same is true for me."

He was clearly different from any other boy she had met. The first time they were alone together, they just sat and ate dinner. No flirting, no weird questions, just silence. He was empathetic to a startling degree, and he helped bring out the best in others.

With Yukiko's feelings conveyed, a new bond was made. In the center image was a black priestess with a pointed back collar, and the rest of her lower body in a black hole. Outlines of white and red highlighted the shadowy figure's outline and features, making it easier to see with the narrow background of red sand, purple sky, and orange sun. A golden halo-like crown hovered perpendicular to the woman's head, the letter "J" was marked like face paint surrounding the eye, and the letter "B" was seen just to the upper right of the face outline. The Tarot card read as "II" below the image.

Thou art I, and I am thou.
Thou hast established a new bond.
It shall bring thee closer to the truth.
Thou shalt be blessed by Personae of the Priestess Arcana.

"That being said," Yukiko said, glancing around the station area. "We still need to find Kanji-kun and Naoto-kun."

"Let's split up then. I'll take the west side of the station by the theater, and you can check Croco Fur and the café on the east."

"Is that a good idea?" Yukiko could only imagine the number of things that could go wrong. What if they ended up lost? What if the culprit swooped in and kidnapped her again? Or Emiya-kun? What if Kanji-kun got violent again? So many what-ifs, and not enough time to search.

Instead of answering, Shirou reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his cellphone. "What's your cell number?"

Yukiko's eyes widened. "Wha-huh?"

"We're a team now, Amagi, and we'll need to call each other in case something happens. Besides which, this will help us keep in contact while we're looking around."

"O-oh, of course," Yukiko relaxed. She was worried over nothing, as Emiya-kun was more polite and courteous than to ask her out. But there was still a pang of disappointment in her heart…

After exchanging numbers, the two high school students went their separate ways to start the search. Yukiko made a final look back to her new friend and wished him luck. "Be careful, Emiya-kun."

"I'll be fine, Amagi," he smiled, glancing back to her as he kept walking. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Graaaaaaaaah!"

Apparently no one warned Shirou Emiya about "famous last words", or "tempting fate" for that matter. No sooner did he say that, as the magus passed the wall between the station and passed the wall that held together 30 frame, Kanji Tatsumi let out a battle cry and body-checked him onto the street before he knew what had literally hit him.


Kanji timed the move perfectly. He wanted nothing more than to go up and beat the damn ginger within an inch of his life, but Naoto told him to wait and listen. He had to admit, the kid knew what he was talking about, as he couldn't have asked for a better first strike.

The fact that the punk acted smug and confident enough to ask "What's the worst that could happen" was just the icing on the cake.

Wasting no time, Kanji pinned the guy's other teen's back with his knees and pulled his arm back with both of his. He also applied pressure in his arms to crack the limb, further debilitating him and earning the bleached haired boy a scream for his troubles.

"Emiya-kun!" he heard a spectator cry. So the asshole's name was "Emiya", huh? Good to know.

"How does the road taste, asshole?" Kanji taunted, further grinding his arms together.

"You… tell…" he wheezed back, slightly moving his free arm back. Before Kanji could retaliate, the ginger's arm shot back and somehow connected a backhand with his chin. "-ME!"

Kanji's arms slipped out of the iron hold they held, allowing the ginger to swat his other hand away. He also managed to somehow roll out and away from his body weight, and the biker crasher soon found himself falling down to the road face first with a crash.

Well, damn. He's got some moves after all.

Kanji pushed himself back, seeing Emiya take a fighting stance and regarding him warily. "Everybody gets one," he said as he slipped into his own stance.

"Gets one what?" Emiya asked.

"One free hit. Now hold still while I-Ow! Oww, what the-OW!"

So focused on whatever Emiya was about to do next, Kanji didn't see or hear anyone march behind him and tug his ear back. It hurt like what his Ma would do whenever she got really pissed. But the one holding his ear wasn't his Ma, but one of her regular customers. She was also his upperclassman from the high school he went to. "Y-Yukiko-senpai?"

"Kanji Tatsumi, you stop this foolishness right now!" She scolded at him with an angry tone he never heard her utter before.

It wasn't the fact that he was afraid of a girl, but he flailed rather quickly to get her to let go. "Quit it! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

"You tackled Emiya-kun onto the ground and tried to crush his arm!" she cried. "What part of that screams right to you?"

"The right kind," he said (ignoring how wrong his own statement sounded), before pointing to the red-haired Emiya. He was now staring at him like a deer caught in headlights, about to be exposed for what he is. Why else would Naoto be spooked about being followed? He'd certainly never seen Emiya around before, and these freaky murders probably happened soon after he showed up. If the guy really wanted to kidnap him for murder or something, if he was the murderer the cops were having so much trouble finding, he wasn't going to take that lying down.

"Because that guy is the-!"

"That's enough, Kanji."

He blinked, turning to the detective. He too looked mad, but was doing a better job hiding it through words as opposed to body language. "You're already on probation with the Inaba Police, and your relationship with them is on thin ice as is. If you're going to carelessly make such accusations, the consequences will be severe."

That shut him up right away, and only an angered grunt escaped his lips. Cops and their rigid protocols, they always pissed him off.

Relieved to see that the crowd was now ignoring the short-lived fight, Naoto walked over and shook Emiya's hand. "I must apologize for Kanji's actions. I feel there was an error of communication on my part."

"It's all right," he tried brushing it off, probably to make a quick getaway. But Naoto wasn't letting him have any of that. His iron grip was still on the ginger's hand.

"Let's take this elsewhere," he said. "I'm sure we both have a lot of questions about each other."


Café Chagall

The places available for a quiet discussion were limited along Okina Station, but the café was the best one. The room was bright with the choice of wallpaper (yellow and light purple), floor (gray with white-lined diamonds) and furniture (small blue arm chairs, green couches and blue and white table clothes). The ambience was also nice with the few potted plants and soft music playing in the background. The only not so soft-looking thing in the building was the gruff-looking bald man who owned and ran the place.

Following the ordering of drinks, the first order of business that Naoto insisted was clearing up any notion that Shirou was the culprit (and calming the raven-haired girl down when she attempted to chide Kanji again). It was a simple matter of questioning his timing and place, with Yukiko's confirmation as proof. Kanji didn't apologize for his actions, but at least he recognized being in the wrong and kept quiet.

"Now that we have that issue resolved," Naoto began slowly. "I understand that you followed us here for something important?"

Shirou nodded. "We hoped to talk to Kanji in private though, as it personally involves him."

"If it's all the same, I would prefer to hear it as well." Sensing uneasiness from them, the androgynous boy reached one hand inside his jacket and brandished a leather fold-up pad. Embedded inside was a badge with an emblem of shield and read "Shirogane Branch" on the ribbon.

Shirou and Yukiko stared between the badge and the boy. "You're a police officer?" she asked. "But you don't look any older than any of us here!"

"And where's your picture?" Shirou asked. All he saw was a badge that his district name, but what about the holographic picture ID?

"The peculiars as to why I'm in this field of work are not important at the moment," he replied, pocketing the badge away. "As for the badge itself, it was custom-made for me as I work on cases all over Japan, and never settle in one place. That's why it's not a police badge. It's a detective's badge.

"In other words, I'm involved in this case, and have been assigned to watch and safeguard Kanji Tatsumi until further notice. If you have anything you need to talk to Kanji about, I have the right to know as well."

Suddenly a lot of his behavior and mannerisms made a lot of sense, as did the conversation on the train. But now this meant they absolutely couldn't tell Kanji or Naoto about the TV world. Hopefully a vague warning was enough.

"Well, I guess I'll just be frank," Shirou said, before turning to the tall teen sitting across from him. "We followed you here to try and see if you were all right. Possibly even warn you if we were lucky."

"I've got cops and stalkers following me all over now," Kanji droned sarcastically. "I must be one popular guy."

"Maybe more than you realize."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kanji, has anything strange happened around you lately?"

Kanji's eyes widened and he felt his body involuntarily twitch despite not moving at all. "S-strange? Strange how? What are you saying!?"

Shirou wasn't sure how to proceed. He had no Persona to resonate with Kanji, and they've just met under bad circumstances. Kanji's voice was rising, his body was tense, and he looked like he might break out to a fight again on impulse.

"I'm honestly not sure," he reasoned quickly. "I'm just asking if something felt out of the ordinary with you lately since your fight with the biker gang."

That seemed to work, as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "N-not really. I just started going to school again because Naoto and Ma forced me to." A moment later, his eyes open wide with a sudden realization. "Oh yeah, there's-"

He stopped himself, suddenly glancing to the detective next to him. "Tch," he grunted, and looked away again. "Nevermind, it's nothing."

"What is it?"

"I said it's nothing."

"Kanji-kun, please," Yukiko said. "We just want to help. If there's anything wrong with you-"

"I'm telling you it's nothing!" he slammed his fists to the table. "And nothing's wrong with me dammit!"

His anger did startle them, but did little to convince that he was fine or that it wasn't important. Even Naoto found his behavior odd, but knew better than to confront him on that subject right now.

Kanji was too angry to answer the question… and perhaps something else. In any case, it was best to shelve this question for a later time else it would get violent again. "If I may ask on his behalf, why do you believe Kanji is the next target?"

Yukiko stiffened in her seat. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"It's only natural to come to this conclusion, since you're here Amagi-san," Naoto explained. "You want to warn Kanji about what will happen to him, and wouldn't have any reason to talk to him otherwise."

Yukiko frowned and stared at her cup on the table guiltily. Shirou spared Kanji one last look, who glared back as if daring him to speak again. "Don't the police have their own theories?" he asked. "You're watching over him, after all."

"And I need to make sure if our theories match. As much as I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt, you're still suspicious and likely to be the culprit."

He heard of Tohru Adachi joking on his own claim that Shirou Emiya's reappearance caused a stir of confusion with the police force, and possibly tied to the murders. His uncle Dojima was quick to dispel the rumors, but one couldn't be too careful.

Yukiko glared at the young boy. What was with these two accusing her friend of being her kidnapper when he gave his life to save her? "Emiya-kun's not the culprit!"

"Then prove it to me. Why do believe Kanji is next?"

Naoto wasn't budging on the issue. If there was anything that could help solve the case he would take it. The two second year students clearly knew something he didn't, and he wanted to find out what.

Shirou and Yukiko exchanged uneasy glances, as if mentally deciding what to say. Yukiko cleared her throat and answered for the both of them, "Well, it's not much to go on, but I was on the Inaba News before I was kidnapped."

"And?"

"And it might just be coincidence, but Mrs. Yamano and Konishi-senpai were also talked about on TV. Soon after they were seen on TV, they went missing and were found suspended on telephone poles."

Naoto nodded. He had come to the same conclusion based on the Mrs. Yamano scandal and Saki Konishi's "secret" interview. The rumor mill also implied that Yukiko was on the news, but it wasn't considered a detail important enough by the police department. But hearing it from her now helped confirm his beliefs, and he knew he was in the right warning them about Kanji's safety.

Too bad none of them took that claim seriously. It came with the territory of being a young boy detective along supposed older experts.

"Is there anything else you can tell me, Amagi-san?" Naoto pressed. "Something you can remember about your disappearance?"

"I've answered all the questions the police gave me already," she said. "And even then I couldn't remember much that was very helpful." The stuff she could remember, well… it wouldn't have helped the police on their case anyway.

"But you were gone longer than either Mrs. Yamano or Konishi. Your kidnapping broke from the last two, and by all accounts it shouldn't have. You're the only lead we have to catching this murderer, and for the sake of everyone in Inaba, you have to remember. You have to think harder and remember why you're still here."

Shirou was taken aback by Naoto's sudden tenacity. He understood more than anyone the seriousness of catching the culprit, because of the dream he needed to uphold for Kiritsugu. Neither he nor the others could fault Yukiko for not remembering anything more than a knock at the door, as their intent from the start was to rescue her.

But the detective seemed obsessed with getting more than that. His behavior change was subtle in contrast to Kanji's sudden outburst, yet no less sudden and alarming. Were the police just as desperate for answers, or was it just him going beyond the call of duty?

Yukiko more or less came to the same conclusion as Shirou did, and yet decided to answer as honestly as possible to his surprise. "Well, I remember being rescued."

"Amagi?"

Now we're getting somewhere, Naoto thought with no small amount of satisfaction. "What else?"

"I slept a lot in a big room," Yukiko continued. "I remember a giant monstrous bird, made of fire. She sounded like me, upset and furious about being alone and wanting a hero to save her. She was jealous of me, I guess, and wanted to kill me. Then a giant wave of ice came in and snuffed her out. In the wake of it was my best friend Chie, coming to my rescue. The next thing I knew, I was on the rooftop of Junes."

Sleeping… and a monster. Naoto fought the urge to frown. "That's a pretty vivid dream."

Yukiko shrugged with a sad smile. "It was the only good memory I had of my kidnapping. It gave me comfort and hope."

Shirou was impressed with Yukiko's half-truth. The whole scenario was dream-like and hard to explain in context. She didn't even say it was a dream, but had let Naoto come to that conclusion on his own.

"I see." In a way, it was truth to the young girl, and he could probably discern that the victims had all been drugged into a comatose state. There was an unsung hero that rescued her, but like the culprit they didn't make themselves known.

Seeing that there was nothing else to ask of them, the detective turned to the teen sitting to his right. "Kanji, you were about to say something before?" Surely he was calm enough to be approachable now-

"I ain't gonna say shit to you assholes."

Or not. Naoto tried again. "Kanji-"

He slammed his hands flat on the table and shot up, pushing the seat back. "I didn't come all the way to Okina to listen to some 20 question BS. I came to pick up Ma's order, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"Kanji, I can't let you leave out of my sight!" he called out to the leaving teen.

"Then I guess you better get your ass in gear, because I'm taking the next train home with or without you!" Without another word, Kanji Tatsumi left the café with a deliberate slam of the door.

Naoto sighed. Kanji's impatience and short temper made compromise difficult. There seemed to be some sort of trigger related to this behavior, but he didn't know him well enough to discern what. "I'm sorry, but it seems Kanji wishes to cut this meeting short."

"I suppose it's for the best," said Shirou. They managed to warn Kanji about the murderer, and in the end it depended on him to follow through or not. "Thank you for hearing us out."

"Please look after Kanji-kun," said Yukiko.

"Of course," Naoto nodded to them both. As an act of generosity, he left enough money to pay the bill for their drinks. Then he too was out the door.

Shirou exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well, that didn't go quite as planned, but mission accomplished, right?"

"Yes," Yukiko nodded, before shifting her eyes to his body. "Um, you're not too hurt, are you?"

"Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix." He placed his arm on his right shoulder and rolled it in place for good measure. Compared to Shadows and Yomi demons, a brawl with Kanji was only a minor inconvenience.

Yukiko smiled in relief. Something about their team leader emulated confidence. He didn't even seem to hold it against Kanji for the fight, when he had put so many others in the hospital for making noise. "He's not really a bad person," she insisted.

"I can tell. He was dead set on that order, after all." He was brash and violent, but his actions first and foremost were to helping his mother. In a way, Kanji reminded Shirou of himself when he was young and frustrated over his dad's death.

Wait a minute.

"Amagi," he asked slowly. "I know this hasn't been brought up but… whatever happened to his dad?"

Yukiko's face fell. "Mr. Tatsumi, he… passed away years ago. Kanji-kun hasn't been the same since, now that I think about it."

A somber silence passed between the two before they eventually left and headed home. For Shirou, he realized just how much he emphasized with Kanji's struggles, especially after losing a father figure in his life. He wanted nothing more than to save Kanji from his own demons.


Evening, Dojima Residence

"You know, we haven't had much of a chance to talk like this since Golden Week."

It was a slow enough night that Dojima was able to come home on time. After seeing Nanako to bed, he found Shirou fiddling with what appeared to be an incomplete robot model in his room. The entire worktable was covered with old newspaper, paint, putty, and all sorts of tools. He didn't know why he did it, but he knelt next to Shirou and talked to him about work and school.

"You're busy with work all day," Shirou said, eyes and hands still focused on the complex pieces. "It's nothing to worry about, Doji-nii."

"Says you," Doji-nii teased. "You've got school work, plus your weekly MOEL job, and whatever you and your friends do after school. Aside from reading Taiga's books, this is probably the first thing I've seen you do that isn't a disguised favor for someone."

"Actually, I'm doing this for the old toy store owner at the Shopping District," Shirou admitted. "He seemed down that no one wanted the models since Junes opened, so I offered to build one in his stead." It was one of the many ema wishes he agreed to help Tama grant the other day, and he figured working on it would help get his mind off of Kanji.

Dojima found himself frowning and sweating from the back of his head. "You're… helping someone by building a model?"

"Me and Yosuke." It was hard to forget how boastful he was about his "mad junk kit skills", that only seemed to excite the store owner even more. "We're doing a race to see who can finish theirs first."

The Hanamura's son? Building a Shopping District toy model? Now Ryotaro had heard everything.

"Shirou, you really should consider smelling the flowers once in a while. You know, have fun. Your school days will be over before you know it."

The red-haired teen set the tools back down to the table and turned fully to his uncle. "I am having fun, Doji-nii. I hang out with Yosuke around town. I spar with Satonaka during weekends. I cook and play with Nanako every other night. But I don't live here in Inaba. I feel like I'm intruding in someone else's life that I have no business in."

"That's ridiculous," said Dojima. He wasn't going to let Shirou talk himself down like this as if he didn't belong. "The tests came back positive. You're my nephew Yu Narukami."

"And neither of us even knew that until half a year ago. At least when I'm doing jobs and favors like these, I feel like I'm earning my quota."

It was one of the main reasons why he delved head first into the murder case. Had he been given the option to refuse to help Teddie, he'd have no reason to stay in Inaba. He agreed to stay for the year on Doji-nii's request and Fuji-nee's permission, but anything longer than a month of lodging in their home would be superfluous.

Little did Shirou know that his words struck a chord in Dojima, who barely hid a pained wince under his breath. In their argument, Taiga called him out for chasing Chisato's killer while leaving Shirou in charge of Nanako. It was better than leaving the poor girl alone night after night, but it was still neglectful and an easy way out.

The last thing he wanted was to make his nephew feel like he owed them.

He silently mulled about what to say as Shirou returned to his model. A minute later, he found his words, "Nanako's taking quite a shine to you, you know. And she doesn't think you're an outsider at all."

Shirou's hands stopped.

"Look," he said, standing up and ready to leave. "Your guardian allowed you to come down here so we could start over as a family. We may have had a rocky start because of this murder business, but that's not important. All that matters to me is that you stay safe. I don't want to lose my nephew again."

Ryotaro had never been anywhere near the tragic events that befell his wife Chisato and sister Miya, but he felt the pain of loss all the same. He would make it up to Shirou one day, and Nanako as well. But only after the people responsible for Chisato, Yamano, and Konishi all paid for their crimes.

Shirou sat and stared at his uncle as he left the room, feeling a genuine sense of worry in his tone. He, too, cared about his well-being in pursuing the killer, and probably saw worth in his life just for being here. If he had known about his secret like Fuji-nee, would he have been as cordial to his wishes?

One thing at a time though. For the meantime, he'd see where this new bond would take him.

The "V" card of the Tarot appeared before his mind this time. The main image depicted what looked like an arrow with flowers attached to its sides on a blue background, but was really a close-up on a pope's blue hat. The top corners had two keys flipped and reflecting each other, while the bottom corners displayed two shadow figures sitting in a red and white space respectively, arms outstretched in front as if pleading to a higher being.

Thou art I, and I am thou.
Thou hast established a new bond.
It shall bring thee closer to the truth.
Thou shalt be blessed by Personae of the Hierophant Arcana.

So lost in the usual routine of Social Links, Shirou failed to realize what had happened until he heard the sound of a metal clip. He looked down and saw the pair of closed scissors in one hand… and a now shorted stub of a model piece in another. The snipped half was now resting on the work table under his hands.

The magus cringed. "I really hope that piece was supposed to come off."