Nanako Explains It All

by Angevon

Nanako Dojima is a sixteen-year-old transfer student to Inaba. She awakens to the mysterious power of 'Persona' and then rocks everyone's world. Character Swap AU: Nanako is the protagonist, and Souji is her little cousin. Other changes have occurred as well! [Both 'Souji' and 'Yu' versions are available!]

42. Chapter 42 - Idle Business

[Summary: An idol comes to town, and things get busy! Just maybe not for the idol.]

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[8/21: Sunday]

The festival was going on for a second day, but Aunt Seta just wanted to relax at home. As a result, Nanako decided to take Souji there herself. She was glad he'd had fun with the adults yesterday, but she'd wanted so much to spend time with him herself. Now she had her chance!

And Naoto was coming, too! The detective needed some fresh air—she was staying cooped up indoors far more than was healthy, in Nanako's opinion, either at home or at the police station. She didn't have a meeting today, so there was no excuse.

Nanako eschewed her yukata because she hadn't had a chance to clean it up after it got, well, snotted. Instead she wore a white sundress made of light cotton. Souji, though, was wearing his jinbei again because he hardly had the opportunity to wear it. And, of course, he was just too cute in it.

It was a pretty great day, nice and sunny. Maybe too sunny; she worried about Souji getting sunburned again. At this rate he was finally going to develop a healthy tan. Naoto could use it, too, really, but she was wearing her plaid pants and a long sleeved shirt despite the heat, so there was little chance of that happening.

"Soooo Souji~" Nanako trilled, her mood buoyant, "is there anything you missed yesterday that you wanted to do? Maybe... we can catch a friend for your little fish!"

The goldfish he'd caught yesterday was in a bowl on the kitchen counter at home. They'd have to pick up some fish food for it while they were out. Hmm, would the gas station sell something like that? Maybe they'd run into Izaya. She wondered what Souji would make of him. Would he be creeped out by him the way she'd been when she'd first met him?

"I want to see the master in action," she said, tousling his hair.

"I-I'll catch one for you, bis sis," Souji promised. "And... and for big bro, too!"

"I would be delighted," Naoto replied.

"Then let's do that first," Nanako said with a decisive nod. "We can always return home to put the fish in the bowl, and then come back to the festival after that!"

They turned into the central shopping district. The street was much busier than the previous day had been. Had all these people realized they were missing out and suddenly decided to come? The summer festival only came once a year, after all!

The crowd became very thick some distance away from the shrine. "U-umm," Souji verbalized. His grip on Nanako's hand became vice-like. There were too many people for him to be comfortable with.

Nanako led him to a slightly less-crowded area in front of a closed-down store. "Geez, how are we even supposed to enjoy the festival," she muttered. She couldn't see a way through the throng of people. At this rate, they wouldn't even be able to reach the shrine. "You'd think they'd put up barricades or something. Form a line or somehow limit the amount of people who can be in the area."

"I don't believe these people are here for the festival," Naoto remarked. "Observe: most of them are holding up their phones with the camera function turned on."

"Huh? But what are they trying to take pictures of?"

"Haven't the foggiest idea. The crowd is thickest at that store there." Naoto took out a pair of binoculars and looked, but her height limited the effectiveness of this method of investigation.

Nanako lifted Souji onto her shoulders and had Naoto hand the boy the binoculars. "What do you see, Sou-chan?"

"I-It's the Maru... Th-there's a sign. It says... umm..."

"The tofu shop?" Nanako asked.

"It says... they're out of tofu..."

"What a scandal," Nanako said. That definitely didn't explain the crowd! "Well, I wonder if we can go around the back and get to the festival from the northern end. Do you wanna stay up there, Sou-chan?"

He didn't answer—he was suddenly waving excitedly at the crowd. She had to grab onto his legs because he almost unbalanced himself and fell off.

"Sou-chan? Wh-what are you...?"

"Kanji-san!" he cried happily, and sure enough, Kanji was heading right towards them. He was wearing a sleeveless jinbei with a black and white shark pattern.

"Hey, Senpai!" Kanji greeted. "And Souji, and Naoto. You three tryin' to get to the festival?"

"Yeah. What the heck is going on?"

"It's Rise Kujikawa," he explained. "She's taking a break from showbiz, and she lives here, so... News got out, and now every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to try and meet her and get an autograph."

"Or her phone number," Nanako muttered. Now that he mentioned it, the gathered crowd did seem to contain a high percentage of neckbeard otakus.

"Adachi-san... doesn't look very happy," Souji murmured. Nanako glanced up and saw that he was looking through the binoculars again.

"I s'pose he was called in for security," Nanako said. "He doesn't look very intimidating, though. I think it's the hair. I'm sure there are better guys at the station for this kind of job. Don't you think so, Shirogane-san?"

"The Inaba PD does seem shorthanded," Naoto replied. "Or perhaps he volunteered."

"Maybe they offered him a pay bonus."

Kanji scratched his head and glanced at the crowd. "If you wanna get to the shrine, I could maybe clear a path for you. People like to stay out of my way."

"Your tattoo is missing!" Nanako pointed to his left shoulder. "I don't know if people are gonna think you're all that tough without it."

Kanji looked sheepish at having to admit it was a fake tattoo all along. "With all that racket everyone was makin', I forgot all about that..."

You're such a sweetie, Nanako thought. "I think," she said, "that..." She paused with a frown, considering the crowd. "We'll just go have a picnic instead. Is that okay, Sou-chan?"

Souji nodded and handed the binoculars back to Naoto. Yeah, they didn't need to fight with the crowd. There were plenty of other things they could do on such a nice day!

Cicadas were chirping in full force at the flood plain's picnic table. Naoto sat with Nanako and Souji, and Kanji sat across from them—Nanako had invited him along. After taking everyone's orders, she called Aiya for delivery and wondered how Aika would get through the crowd at the shopping district.

Although Nanako had called and invited her, Saki couldn't skip out on her responsibilities to her family today. With all those people around, surely someone would stop by the liquor store and buy some booze. Regardless, Nanako decided to order her girlfriend some surprise delivery too. "Could you put a note on the order? 'Thanks for a truly sugoi booty call' and draw a winky emote at the end! Yep, yep, that's perfect!"

"I won't even contemplate what that meant," Naoto commented dryly after she'd hung up. Kanji, too, had pink cheeks. Nanako just stuck her tongue out at both of them.

While waiting for the food, Nanako asked for more information about Rise Kujikawa. "If there's a crowd like that, there's no doubt she's going to be on the news," she said, raising her eyebrow to pass a significant look at the two DEATH Squad members present at the table.

"The timing seems suspicious," Naoto agreed. "But if she is taking a break from the entertainment industry, she is leaving it just in time for the second term of school."

"Will she go to Yasogami?" Nanako wondered.

"Probably," Kanji said. "She'd be a first year, like me."

"Huh," said Nanako, thinking. If she was going to be on the news, she'd be on the Midnight Channel, no doubt about it. She was totally going to be the next target. Nanako would have to check the weather report as soon as she could and try to figure out when it would rain next.

"School starts next week," Kanji remarked. "I mean, not this week, but the week after."

School... Nanako stopped thinking for a moment, because it reminded her of Mr. Morooka. She shook her head to clear it. "So soon, huh... Sou-chan, are you excited to go back? I think you haven't seen Takeyoshi-kun in a while! You can show him your plushies. Oh, we can bake cookies for you to bring in on the first day. Would you like that?"

Souji looked up hopefully. "D-dinosaur cookies?"

"Of course," she promised, hugging him.

"Naoto," Kanji said. "Do you go to school...?"

"I have outside arrangements for my education," Naoto replied. "If I did attend school, I would be in your year, Kanji-san."

"Huh... So... you're my age?"

"He's my age!" Nanako corrected. "Sorry, Kanji-kun. You're the baby in the group. Minus Sou-chan, of course!"

Kanji looked dejected. "I'm really the youngest?"

Who was the oldest? Since Yosuke wasn't part of the group anymore, that label fell to Chie.

"Age is just a number," Nanako said with a sagely nod. "I mean, Aunt Seta is much older than Adachi-san, but I don't think that's stopping either of them."

"Adachi-san," Naoto repeated. "The man at the tofu shop. Come to think of it, he's often present during meetings at the station, though I've not interacted with him beyond that. You say he is courting your aunt?"

"More like the other way around. You'd know if you stuck around on Wednesdays!" Nanako teased, but the detective merely nodded.

"I did hear his voice yesterday," she mused, and seemed to have more to say, but a glance at Souji stopped her. That was probably for the best. Nanako didn't want to explain the basics of a booty call to him until he was at least thirteen.

"Big sis," he said suddenly, his face screwed up in thought. "What's c-courting mean...?"

Oh shit, Nanako thought. "A-Adachi-san used to be really lazy," she said hastily, "but I think he's been getting better because he has someone to impress!" She tickled Souji's sides until he was giggling. "Isn't that right, Sou-chaaaaan? He's your friend now~"

"S-stop it, big sis!" he wailed, flailing his arms.

"That Adachi guy leaves me alone," Kanji said, after he finally closed his agape mouth. "Just like all the other cops, really. But if the little guy likes him, I guess he can't be all bad, yeah?"

Nanako paused in tickling her cousin, thinking about how Adachi knew about the Junes break-in. Should she tell them...? No, it would be better if they didn't know. It was personal, between her and the detective. And definitely not in front of Souji, anyway.

Naoto cleared her throat. "Returning to the topic of school... I have been negligent in my studies. I've been considering enrolling in the public school."

Both Nanako and Kanji perked up. "What, Yasogami High?"

"I could be another ear to the ground, so to speak. It would be useful for me to to be assigned the same class as Kujikawa-san, if your suspicions are correct."

"It would make gathering the Squad together a bit easier," Nanako mused.

"And I'd be close by if you need me, Nanako-san." Naoto's small smile was determined. "A voice of reason, perhaps?"

Was Naoto saying she wanted to keep an eye on her during school? Nanako would have been flattered if it wasn't for the awful truth that she really did need someone to do that.

Who was she kidding? This was Shirogane—she was flattered anyway!

"You should definitely consider it," Nanako declared. "It'd help you bond with the rest of the gang, too. Which you're going to have to do, you know. Souji's met all my friends. It's your turn, now."

"We've certainly got off on the wrong foot," Naoto murmured. "I hope we'll be able to get along."

"Everyone's... n-nice," Souji contributed. "And... and you're nice, so..."

"Yeah! We can bond over how cute my little cousin is!" Nanako cuddled him, though underneath the action she was wondering about her use of the word 'bond.' The DEATH Squad was a social link, after all. She wondered if it was broken, or damaged somehow, now that Yosuke had left, but decided that probably not. Mr. Morooka was still...

Nanako shook her head.

Maybe her Fool social link was one of those spider things. How did it go again? What mattered was keeping the head alive? She chuckled to herself. Some head they had to deal with.

Her cousin began to wriggle out of her grasp. "What's the matter, Sou-chan?" she asked.

"It's partner...!" he said. "Can I... can I say hello to him...?"

"Partner?"

She looked towards the road beside the picnic area, and sure enough, Yosuke was walking along it. He was heading away from the shopping district, possibly towards Junes. She wondered if he'd heard the news about Risette. He was a fan, wasn't he?

More importantly, did her promise not to bother Yosuke extend to Souji? The way the boy was looking so hopefully up at her tugged at her heart. She relented with a sigh. "Yeah, you can go talk to him. But don't bother him too much, okay?"

Souji gave her a hug before hopping off the bench and running after his 'partner,' who seemed quite startled to be suddenly accosted by a six-year-old.

Nanako was too far away to hear their words, but Yosuke definitely glanced at the picnic table and saw the three of them there. He didn't wave or anything, and neither did Nanako.

To his credit, Yosuke didn't try to shrug the boy off or otherwise ignore him. Instead, he walked him to the river and they sat on the grass and apparently began to talk.

"I really don't get it," Nanako muttered. "Yosuke never seemed the type to be good with kids."

"I'm sure myself and Kanji-san gave off a similar impression," Naoto said.

"True enough, 'big bro,'" she conceded. "Souji-kun really hit it off with Yosuke though, and it's kind of weird. They've only seen each other maybe three times? Maybe it's the hair."

"There could be worse influences on your cousin." Naoto was smiling playfully.

"Harsh, Shirogane-san!"

"He gives off a friendly vibe, something that perhaps attracts children. An aura of playful innocence, perhaps?"

"Innocence?" Nanako and Kanji declared at the same time. They had gone to the bathhouse together with him, after all!

Naoto rolled her shoulders in a small shrug. "I'm not all that familiar with him. But he was competent in his handling of the Kubo situation, which gives him good marks in my books, your disagreements with him notwithstanding. At the same time, I'm well-aware that I wouldn't have been rescued that night if he'd been able to dissuade you from your plan. I'm unsure how to process my feelings regarding that."

"Y-yeah," said Kanji. "You don't wanna be in there with your Shadow any longer than you need to be. Take it from me."

"I wonder what they're talking about," Nanako mused. "Probably the festival."

They were done talking, apparently, because Yosuke suddenly stood up and then helped Souji to his feet. Then Yosuke took a step away, but Souji didn't let go of his hand, and he tripped and fell into the grass, the boy falling with him. Neither were hurt, however, as evidenced by the boy's giggles that carried on the wind.

Nanako felt something unpleasant stirring within her at the sound, but she squashed it immediately. Souji could be friends with anyone he wanted.

Yosuke pushed Souji towards the picnic area. Souji took a few steps before looking back at his friend, who waved a goodbye to him before heading on his way.

Souji rejoined Nanako with a satisfied smile on his face.

"So...?" Nanako asked. "What did you talk about?"

To her surprise, Souji's lips were sealed. He was grinning up at her and shaking his head.

"What? You're going to tell me!"

Now Souji was blushing and shaking his head more vigorously. Huh... he really wasn't going to tell her. Astonishing!

And Nanako couldn't even call Yosuke to ask. Despite how happy Souji was, she was annoyed. More than anything, though, she was annoyed about how annoyed she was!

At least Yosuke hadn't told Souji about his falling out with her. He really could be sensitive, huh?

"Ya had fun?" Kanji asked.

Souji nodded. "B-but I don't think... he likes to hold hands..."

Nanako laughed despite herself. "Sou-chan, you might be coming on too strong for him."

"He's going to work now," Souji continued. "At Junes... C-can we visit sometime, big sis? I know... Saki-san..."

"What about Saki-senpai?"

"She works there too. We can visit t-together. Can we, can we please? Then... we could have another root beer..."

Was the boy suggesting a double-date? "I'm not even sure what to say to that, Sou-chan," Nanako said.

"Say 'yes,' maybe," Kanji suggested, and she wrinkled her nose at him.

She couldn't just say yes like that! It wasn't that easy. She couldn't expect Yosuke to want to hang out with her 6-year-old cousin, not when they weren't even talking. Not when she'd promised him...

She noticed Naoto tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at her.

"A-all right," she blurted out, not liking that look on the detective's face. "You can see him again, honey. But don't forget that Kanji-kun is your friend too." She waggled her eyebrows at Kanji. He was asking for this! "You can talk to him about anything and he'll teach you more crafts!"

"That's right," Kanji said. "You wanna make a dinosaur, right?"

"Y-yeah!" Souji declared, looking at Kanji with big eyes. "And I wanna show it to... Mama, and Adachi-san, and partner! And Yuuta-kun, and, and...!"

Nanako derailed him with a sudden question. "Can you go show Kanji-kun the big fish in the river for me?"

Souji blinked, then nodded, and Kanji gave Nanako a curious look before following the boy away from the picnic table.

When they were out of hearing, Naoto spoke. "Your promise to Hanamura... is it really such a serious matter?"

"Yes," Nanako answered firmly.

"Why is that?"

"Because I needed him to help me, and... I was desperate. I needed him to help me rescue..." She averted her gaze with a grimace.

"To reach Kubo," Naoto finished. "And get your revenge. I remember, Nanako-san."

"Y-yeah... but I always meant to rescue you, too!"

Naoto shook her head. "You don't need to justify yourself, Nanako-san. I understand." Her face held a hint of amusement. "And you did come for me. That's what matters most."

Nanako rested her head on the table and unconsciously stroked the grain with her nails. "I promised not to bother Yosuke ever again. I wasn't a good friend to him, and to be honest, he didn't understand what I was going through. He thought Mr. Morooka was just another dead body. I guess that's no excuse to how I acted, but..."

Naoto regarded her silently, perhaps knowing she wasn't finished.

"I don't know anything anymore," Nanako said. "I just know that I'm going to keep my promises from now on. The one to him, and... one other."

---

[8/22: Monday]

The DEATH Squad met at the 'secret headquarters' at the Junes food court, minus Yosuke because Nanako had asked Saki when he wasn't working so that they wouldn't risk involving him. Nanako did not sit at the head of the table. She wanted to address her team without feeling like she was bossing them around. Instead, she sat centered on the bench, Naoto to her right and Kanji to her left. The green-and-red girlfriends were sitting on the opposite side of the long table.

"All right, so, I guess we should have some proper introductions," Nanako said, starting things off. She waved to indicate Naoto. "Girls, this is Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince and newest member of the DEATH Squad. He's our inside scoop with the police department. He's handy with a gun and his Persona specializes in light and dark and some powerful starlight thing that I'm kinda scared to see again, to be honest. I mean, it blew the roof off of Kubo's dungeon..."

"Welcome to the team," Yukiko said, bowing in place. "I'm Yukiko Amagi. And this is my friend Chie Satonaka."

"How d'you do," Chie said, not bowing or anything. "I mean, we kinda already met before."

"Indeed," said Naoto, tipping her hat. "The circumstances weren't the best, but, Satonaka-san, I hope we can become... compatriots. In fact, I'll be going to Yasogami as a first-year student once second term starts."

Chie tilted her head to consider it. "Huh, well that's cool."

"He'll keep me in line," Nanako said with a nod. "Anyway, Kanji-kun already knows him. So that's that. Do you have any questions for him?"

"You're on the case, so... well, what do you know?" Chie asked. "Are the police any closer than we are to finding the culprit? Any chance of this being over before the year's through?"

"Before the year's through?" Nanako repeated. "Man... But it's been four months already, hasn't it?"

"It has," Naoto confirmed. "As for the police's progress, they're conflicted as it has come to light that the true culprit must be among them or, at minimum, aided by one of their own. Kubo's escape from their custody is simply inexplicable. Overnight he vanished from his holding cell. And, as it turns out, the keys to the holding cells aren't that difficult to obtain. Essentially, it could've been anyone who knew where they were kept."

"Aren't there procedures to deal with that kind of situation?" Chie asked. "I mean, there should be! Like, make a list of everyone who could've got the key, question everyone who worked there that night..."

"Internal investigations do have procedures," Naoto said. "Very time-consuming procedures. Often outsiders must be called in to avoid controversy, but that can demoralize the local officers. I'm not sure if you are aware of how unhappy the local police were when I was initially brought in simply because I was a young outsider."

"I think Adachi-san called you a 'cocky detective kid,'" Nanako contributed. "Though he wasn't wrong! But if his opinion is the main opinion among his pals, yeah... I could see the higher-ups resisting prefectural involvement."

"Simply put," Naoto said, spreading her hands, "it's all a mess. To be fair, there are some who are doing their best, but the Inaba PD was not equipped to deal with an event like this, and I believe it won't be even by the time it's all over."

"That's not encouraging!" Chie chided.

"But we already knew that, didn't we?" said Yukiko. "We already knew that we're the only ones who could do this."

"The police can't go in the TV," Nanako said. "This mission of ours... it's serious. I mean, we all knew that it was serious, but I don't think we knew just how serious until..."

She trailed off. Everyone was looking at her.

"I messed up," she went on. "...I wonder if all our bodies would've showed up at once over the town. Wonder what the police would make of that. Could one person really string up all those bodies at once?"

Chie's face was ashen, along with Kanji's, but Yukiko looked thoughtful.

"That would be quite a trick," Yukiko said. "I wonder if mine would end up over the inn. I suppose not. How would the TV World know I lived there?"

"D-don't think about that," Chie said, poking her friend in the shoulder.

"Actually, it's likely we'd all end up along the fence here." Nanako indicated the chain-link fence that encircled the rooftop food court. "Or over the police department. Since that'd be where we'd died. That's right. I haven't told you..."

Nanako went on to explain how she, Kanji, and Naoto had mapped the TV World to locations in the real world.

"We're sure that Ms. Yamano was thrown into a TV at the Amagi Inn. You guys have a big TV somewhere there, right?"

Yukiko nodded. "The lobby has a large one. I suppose that must've been the one he used. We have another in my parents' bedroom, but they would've been there at the time."

"And the culprit put you in the one he keeps in his truck. He didn't drive you far, if anywhere, before putting you in."

"We don't have a big TV at my place," Kanji contributed, "so I musta been put in the truck's TV, too."

"Yeah," said Nanako. "We have his methodology down. Now I want to bring your attention to Rise Kujikawa. She's totally going to be the next target. Her airbrushed face is plastered all over the local news, though they haven't got an actual sighting with her yet, as far as I'm aware. But you know the news. They're persistent, and heck, maybe just her name being thrown around every minute of the day will be enough to signal the Midnight Channel to put her on it."

"What are we going to do about it?" Chie asked.

"As soon as she's on the Midnight Channel," Nanako said, "we'll confront her and put pressure on her agents to get her out of this damn town until the Midnight Channel stops showing her. Shirogane-san has the influence now to make it happen, hopefully. If that doesn't work, we'll come up with a second plan. I'd rather not try to set up another trap using Kujikawa as bait. It's just too damned risky."

"But without a trap, we won't be able to catch the culprit," Chie pointed out.

"Well, there are many different ways this could go down. One thing's for sure, Kujikawa is a freaking idol. She's got to have a bunch of tough of bodyguards to keep the creeps away. If the culprit follows her out of town, well, one of them'll be sure to stop him. Unless our culprit is a master of disguise or something... But there's the fact that TVs don't work outside of a certain radius from Inaba."

"Is that true, Senpai?" Kanji seemed surprised.

"Yep. Shirogane-san and I mapped out the radius. I'll give you all a map if you'd like." Nanako paused. "Now I'm imagining the culprit trying to shove Kujikawa into a TV and it not working at all. That might be more dangerous than letting him put her in."

"Nanako..." said Chie with a sigh. "I'm still mad that you left me and Yukiko out of all this. But I gotta admit, you were pretty darn thorough to figure that out."

Naoto spoke up now. "There's more. My kidnapping was videotaped, and we've been able to glean some information regarding the culprit from the footage. He's a man of medium build, somewhat taller than average, between 172 and 180 cm in height. His age is indeterminate but they don't believe he's a teenager."

"Lotsa people fit that description," Kanji muttered.

"He also wore a jumpsuit," Naoto went on, "as if he was a maintenance worker. I suspect that's how he acquired the key to my apartment. Unfortunately, my camera did not record in color, so we don't know exactly what color it was except that the shade was rather light. But since there are only so many services in Inaba that have such uniforms, we should be able to narrow it down over time without the need to resort to setting a trap."

"Too bad he didn't wear a name tag," Kanji remarked. "If I could remember the color, we'd have it solved, is that what you're sayin'?"

"That would narrow it down further," Naoto admitted, "but at this point I'm going to have to believe that memory is lost. I didn't catch sight of the color myself, although I'm sure I must have..."

"Don't beat yourselves up over it," Chie said. "We're making progress! We're still going..." She trailed off for a second, her brow coming together. Then she looked up at Nanako suddenly. "Oh, by the way... Have you noticed that Junes has a lot of cameras? I checked it out while I was shopping. I was wondering if there'd be problems because of that. I mean if any of us were seen on camera... wouldn't the police be suspicious of that?"

Nanako opened and closed her mouth and then looked at Naoto.

"That is odd," the detective murmured. "The report said there wasn't any footage from the store. Perhaps these cameras were installed after the fact."

"Oh, that could be," Chie said. "Maybe we can ask Yosuke if that's true."

"Nah," said Nanako breezily. "I'll ask Saki-senpai. Heck, I can ask her now. I'm sure she's bored." She took out her phone and began to text her girlfriend about it.

"The new cameras bring up an important issue," Naoto said. "Your forays into the TV World may have been recorded. If there's a new one in the electronics department, our activity might be hampered. Unless, perhaps, some of these new cameras are dupes or simply unmonitored. The expense of constantly recording and keeping such recordings is rather high, even for a superstore."

There was silence after that, broken by Chie's murmur: "We really screwed up, didn't we?"

"I screwed up," Nanako corrected. "I'm the leader—or was—so the responsibility falls to me."

"No, we're a team," Chie said with surprising savagery. "There's no 'I' in 'team,' Nanako!"

"But we're not a team," Yukiko said. "We're... a DEATH Squad!"

She began to giggle, and Chie rolled her eyes and took her friend by the arm and began to shake her in the attempt to calm her down.

"I screwed up more, though. I mean, there's more I haven't told you." Nanako sighed and put down her phone. Texting Saki had reminded her that she was still keeping secrets. "I've told Saki-senpai about what we're doing. About the TV World. I haven't shown her it and I don't plan to, but she knows. She's my girlfriend, and I know that doesn't really excuse it, but... yeah."

She gripped the edge of the table tightly, expecting Chie to start shouting at her at any second. When no words came, she brought her gaze up to meet the other girl's eyes, only to find an inquisitive stare waiting for her.

Then Kanji spoke up. "W-well, y'see, Saki-senpai, she's pretty smart, so—"

Nanako stopped him by setting a hand on his arm. "It was when I was in the hospital. I was doped up on painkillers but also pretty shaken up over everything that happened, and... I mean, I thought I'd broken our team apart forever. I still might have, at least part of it." At that, she looked to the far end of the table where Yosuke used to sit. Far from her because of how she'd liked to kick him under the table. That seemed so petty now.

"Hey," Chie interrupted. "It's okay. I mean, Yukiko... She told me how you were feeling after visiting you in the hospital, so..."

The corners of Yukiko's lips turned up. "If friends abandoned friends after screw-ups," she said, "I wouldn't be with Chie anymore. Twice over." She nudged Chie playfully.

"I wasn't really listening at the time," Chie admitted, "but... I can understand now."

There was a soft chuckle to Nanako's right. "We are all a bunch of screw-ups," Naoto remarked. "But I believe we are a bunch of screw-ups worth fighting for."

---

[8/23: Tuesday]

It was time for Nanako to spend all of her cash. Although she hadn't worked at the day care since—damn, who knew anymore?—her allowance added up to a not insignificant amount. She was lucky, perhaps, that her dad hadn't cut her allowance off, considering she still hadn't called him at all. And summer break was nearing its end, so she'd have to do that soon.

She intended to go to Daidara's, but stopped in the middle of the street upon seeing the Velvet Room's azure door. Not only did she need new gear, but she definitely needed to fuse new Personas. The cost could become astronomical. What took priority? After some internal debate, she passed the door and went into the blacksmith's shop. A new Persona would be no good if she didn't have any way to defend herself before summoning it, and it would help only her directly—she needed to outfit everyone with updated equipment.

Old man Daidara showed her all sorts of new things he'd made from the various Shadow bits she'd brought him. A dangerous-looking set of steel-toed boots, an elegant fan with a swan motif, a set of razor-sharp knives...

These new items looked great and all, but she simply couldn't afford everything. Why did the cost ramp up so exponentially...? Heck, why did she have to pay at all when she provided most of the materials for his art? She supposed he had to make a profit somehow.

Perhaps more importantly, Daidara had never batted even a single eyelash at the truly bizarre stuff she tried selling him. Molars and fangs that obviously came from no known living creature, rare minerals, oddly-shaped rubbery objects, ugly old lamps... Nor did he question the need for high schoolers to have fully-functional weapons and armor. Heh, maybe in the past he'd been a Persona-user. He certainly had the battle scars.

Regardless, as a result, Nanako only purchased the essentials: a new naginata to replace the one she'd lost in the battle with Shadow Teddie and a set of armor for Naoto. Daidara promised to modify the armor if it didn't fit, and Nanako took his word for it.

The money leftover she would spend on fusion, or that was the plan. She headed into the Velvet Room. Margaret was already giving her the haughty and suspicious look she wore nowadays whenever she had to deal with Nanako. Her expression totally changed when Nanako told her she was there to fuse.

"Let's see what we can make with this shit, all right?" Nanako said in a self-depreciating way. Her cards were so pitiful—it was easy to see now. She would never forget how much it hurt when she'd been burned with Jack Frost equipped.

"Your experience with fusion is... lacking," Margaret stated while Nanako was poking at her cards on the table and trying to figure out what combo would make anything remotely useful. The fusions available for her assembled cards left a lot to be desired.

"Tell me about it," Nanako said, splaying her fingers over her face in frustration.

Margaret hid a smile behind her hand. "Ah, but I believe Master neglected to mention something to you. Fusion isn't limited to just two cards... There is such a thing as triple fusion."

"What, three cards at once?"

Margaret began to show Nanako what she could make with the cards she had via triple fusion.

Eventually she found a combo that would give her a big red demon with a sword: Oni.

"Well, it looks strong," Nanako remarked. "I guess I'll go for it!"

Instead of working her magic, Margaret paused. "This Persona... you haven't established the link to strengthen it."

"Yeah?" said Nanako in a neutral tone. She wondered if it was the one she'd avoided just the other day at the festival... the Balls Club link.

"You should attempt to establish as many links as possible." Margaret sounded a tad reproachful. "It can only help you in the end."

"Help me or hurt me? Because Mr. Morooka's broken because he's dead, Teddie's never was, Marie's won't get started though I know she has one and I've been as nice to her as I can be, yours felt like it was gonna break just for me being too casual about your name..."

Margaret paused again, lifting one of her long nails to her chin in thought. "It's interesting," she said. "I may be overstepping my bounds in saying this, but your links are quite fragile, moreso than any other guest's."

"Maybe it's because I'm a bad friend."

Nanako had only been interested in the Balls Club because of its stupid nickname. Not because she'd really wanted to be friends with them. She recalled how Yosuke'd joined the band club. She hadn't even considered joining the band with him or otherwise trying to support his decision. Instead, in her single-minded fervor, she'd tried to force him into the Balls Club with her.

She had a social link with Margaret, too. But it wasn't like she wanted to be friends with that damned cougar or anything. She was a resident of the Velvet Room. What could Nanako do for her? She didn't want to be shown around town like Marie did. And speaking of Marie, Nanako didn't care too much for her, in all honesty.

And why wasn't Yuuta a link? She'd done a lot for the boy and she wanted him to be happy, just like her dear little Hermit. And how much closer could she really get to her own mother—especially via long distance?

"Is that what you think?" Margaret inquired. "Perhaps it's simply part of your nature. Every Wild Card is different, or so I understand. The fragility of these bonds may seem to be a weakness, but perhaps it is compensated for by a strength in another department."

"You can call me special all you want, but I'm not sure I'm going to believe it anymore," Nanako told her frankly. "Not in a positive way, at least. I've hurt my friends and, well, my Magician link isn't broken, but it's definitely not going anywhere. I haven't had a Chariot event in, like, forever either." She hesitated. "They don't have an expiration date or anything, do they?"

"None of your links are broken," Margaret said. "And they cannot break from neglect alone."

"But... Mr. Morooka..."

Margaret shook her head. "Your Hierophant link isn't broken. Remember what my master said."

Nanako glanced at Igor, who seemed to be sleeping with his eyes wide open.

Death is not the end for a social link.

"What does it mean?" Nanako asked.

"I wonder," Margaret said. She chuckled, and for once, Nanako wasn't angry with her.

---

[8/24: Wednesday]

"We don't have Teddie anymore."

The words were still hard on her throat, but Nanako promised herself she wouldn't cry.

"Obviously, our performance in the last few fights could have been much better, even though we did have him then."

Everyone nodded solemnly. They were gathered at the TV World backlot, right at the center of the bulls-eye.

"I'd love to let you guys believe I am a super badass who didn't need anyone else to rescue Shirogane-san, but actually my experience in his dungeon would be best described as Metal Gear Nanako. There's something else bothering me, though."

Nanako took a deep breath.

"Our enemy overpowered Kanji-kun and outsmarted Shirogane-san and me; sooner or later, we're going to confront him, and chances are it's gonna be inside a TV. Now, he probably has a gun, and in here we have no chance of getting help from anywhere. We need to shape up."

"I have a license to carry firearms, myself," Naoto said, drawing a handgun from her coat. "With that in mind, I have thought of a few experiments to determine how dangerous the culprit is, and how we might stand a better chance against them."

"We need a way to test how reliable our healing is," Yukiko said almost immediately. Naoto watched her intently. "I wasn't able to heal Nanako the last time we were here, nor my own arm. I had thought that maybe there was a limit to the injuries we could fix, but then I managed to heal her ear just now."

Naoto nodded. "Though," the detective added, "the exams confirmed that her ear was healing on its own, just very slowly."

"Right," Yukiko said, "so we should find out exactly what kind of injuries we can heal, and whether Diarahan can heal graver injuries than Diarama."

"B-But," Chie chimed in, "how are we supposed to do that without, y'know, hurting ourselves?"

"Short of sacrificing kittens or something," Kanji mumbled, and there was a moment of silence as everyone stared at him with horror in their eyes.

"Well, Shirogane-san is a sharp shot," Nanako started some time later, and was immediately cut off.

"What?!" said everyone except for Naoto, though even the detective didn't seem all that comfortable with the idea despite having discussed it with Nanako extensively for the past week.

"Are you crazy?" Chie asked eventually.

"Yes," Nanako answered. "This is better than getting shot during battle, and Yukiko is right, we do need to find out what we can and can't heal; besides, the guinea pig here will be me."

It then became apparent that nearly everyone was more worried at the thought of getting shot themselves, rather than Nanako alone getting shot—though, to their credit, after a second or so they seemed pretty worried about that too.

"N-Nanako," Chie tried, "you could die."

"I won't," Nanako said, at the same time both Naoto and Kanji said, "She won't."

Chie stared at Kanji like he was insane.

"I've seen him shoot," he said, "and they probably talked about this a lot before coming to us."

"Shirogane-san obviously won't shoot me through the heart or anything," Nanako clarified, noting once again that Kanji was by far the most level-headed member of her DEATH Squad.

"What we are going to do first is write a list of injuries you have had in the past. I have tested my gun on Shadows, and they seemed no more effective than your own melee weapons. In fact, though fighting in here does make you stronger, when inside this place, your bodies seem to follow what Nanako-san dubs 'TV World logic,' and behave in a manner similar to the Shadows themselves."

"Our Personas' strengths are our strengths, and their weaknesses are our weaknesses," Nanako declared poetically, having those lines already filled under 'haiku time with Marie and Margie' in the back of her mind.

"Now that you mention it," Yukiko said, "even attacks that our Personas are weak against only manage to knock us down, as long as the foe isn't terribly stronger than us, at any rate."

"Yeah..." Chie said slowly, then paused. "Oh! Doesn't the same happen to Shadows too?"

"Yeah! I thought it was weird how sometimes they all get knocked down so we can gang up on them, but now it makes sense," Yukiko said.

"What we are going to test," Naoto said, "is whether that applies to damage inflicted on us by other humans."

"We already tried hurting each other in less drastic ways," Nanako added, "and my Dia managed to heal every single injury without fault."

Everyone seemed reasonably calmed by this information, except for Chie, who just stared at her somewhat bitterly.

"I wish you'd include us in that stuff, you know," she said. "We're part of the squad too."

"I dunno about you, senpai, but I'm okay with this," Kanji said. "I bet we'd slow them down bigtime if they had to argue us into helping every single time, like they're doing right now."

"Not getting shot is also a plus," Yukiko said quietly, "but, I do wish you'd ask us for help more often, Nanako, even if things are going to be drastic. Sometimes it feels as though you and Shirogane-kun carry the entire team on your backs."

Nanako gave it some thought. Kanji was right, of course, but so was Yukiko. Naoto had been a godsend, like it or not her presence had improved their investigations tenfold, but even before she'd joined, Nanako had done a lot of things on her own, things that in hindsight could have been done better and easier if she'd asked for help, like investigating the Amagi Inn, for instance.

"You're both right," she said, deciding that honesty was the best option. "I've always had the habit of doing things on my own, and no one can quite match me in the crazy scale as Shirogane-san, so we've been working together a lot, even before she joined."

Nanako pointedly ignored Naoto's mumbling of something like "I'll take that as compliment," because it was a compliment.

(Though, Nanako suspected, she and Naoto probably had very different reasons for doing what they did.)

"I know I've been neglecting you guys, though," she continued. "I'm sorry."

Chie smiled at her. "I know you are, Nanako." She sighed. "Well, before you two get to shooting each other, can I just suggest something?"

"Shoot. Uh, I mean... Go ahead."

"We could spar. You know, get used to fighting human enemies some. I bet that's gonna be just as important as avoiding bullets, when it comes down to it."

Nanako's gobsmacked expression turned into a smile, which then widened into a grin, and Chie thought—well Nanako couldn't read minds yet but she was pretty sure this is what she thought—that whatever she'd just said would come back to bite her in the ass.

"Why, Chie," Nanako said, unable to suppress the joy in her voice, "that's a wonderful idea."

"Um," Chie said eloquently.

"Of course, some of us don't use regular weapons, but that's what makes this training important," she continued.

"I did buy this steel fan from Daidara-san last week," Yukiko added helpfully, raising the admittedly impressive fighting game-esque fan for them to see. "He made it from some things I found in Kubo's dungeon, plus actual steel, so it should be extra strong."

Chie seemed horrified and aroused all at the same time.

"Well, since we're doing this, check this shit out," Kanji said, drawing an ancient medieval-looking shield that looked as though it was made from pure silver. It covered the entire length of his body once put on the ground. "I got me this huge ass shield, he said it was a tower shield or something, I dunno. Should be able to smack some Shadows up good, though."

"I find the legality of this questionable," Naoto said, "but perhaps I, too, should visit this Daidara person, and see if he can work with my guns."

"That old man is great," Nanako agreed, all aroused and not the least bit horrified.

"I saw him too," Chie said sheepishly, "but he isn't finished with my order yet."

"Well, this should be fun!" Nanako said, and she raised her worn but trusted naginata.

---

When she finally got past her horror, Chie was pretty into the idea, deciding that they should have brackets, drawing them up and then announcing, in her best martial arts master voice, that the tournament was about to begin, while ominously declaring that the first fight would be just a taste of things to come. Nanako had to admit she sounded pretty cool.

The brackets were like this:

a) Naoto vs. Yukiko
b) Nanako vs. Kanji
c) A winner vs. Chie
d) B winner vs. C winner

Naoto would use pressurized pellets rather than bullets, Nanako would use a wooden naginata (or, in layman's terms, an old mop they swiped from Junes), and Kanji would use a folding chair. Chie kept her greaves, and since the steel fan (which, when closed, looked suspiciously like a dagger, or maybe a butcher knife) was the first remotely lethal weapon they'd ever seen Yukiko use, no one said anything when she stepped into the poorly drawn ring with it.

Naoto drew her gun. Yukiko opened her fan.

Chie was too into her role as referee to worry about her girlfriend, for once.

"Hajime!" she declared, and Naoto proved to be stone cold as she almost immediately raised her gun and shot, clearly aiming for Yukiko. Chie was about to scream again when her princess, against all odds, quickly raised her metal fan in time to block the pellet. Wasting no time, Yukiko closed the fan and threw it at the detective, who had to duck for cover. The metal fan stuck to a wall, demonstrating its power. Nanako would be having second thoughts right about now, if she wasn't Nanako.

Yukiko wasn't done; before Naoto could complete her combat roll, she raised another fan, a simple paper one she'd been keeping tied to her skirt, and everyone knew what that meant. "Konohana-Sakuya!" she yelled, sending a maelstrom of flames forward as though fanning a bonfire.

Naoto was far from helpless, however. As soon as she finished her roll, she raised her Persona card and shot it. The resulting blue mist was quickly dispelled by the approaching heat, but the trusty moth boy was ready. With a gesture of his master's hand, Sukuna-Hikona flew directly into the fire, slashing his sword faster than humanly possible, such that the fire, too, was reduced to nothing. Everyone expected the Persona to keep going, but instead he disappeared, Naoto having other plans in mind.

"This is pretty intense, senpai..." Kanji said, obviously worried for them.

"Shows what would happen if we were to fight another Persona-user," Nanako said with a shrug. "I'm sure they can handle it."

Yukiko now had only her harmless paper fan. If she wanted her cool metal one back, she'd have to close the distance between herself and Naoto, and Yukiko was simply not fit for close combat quarters. Nanako had initially thought Naoto wasn't either, but those thick soles of hers packed quite the, uh, kick, and she'd mentioned taking self-defense classes in the past.

"Sukuna-Hikona!" Naoto called again, and this time the moth boy circled his master almost faster than the eye could see—a buff, maybe?

"Yukiko, watch out!" cried Chie, but Yukiko (literally) waved her concerns away.

Nanako, meanwhile, had other thoughts. Does she plan on using that creepy starlight skill against Yukiko? Oh man, we'd better find some cover!

Yukiko ran towards Naoto with surprising speed, but the detective was prepared. As the girl approached, she summoned her Persona once again, ready for her final blow, but then...

"Hwataaaaaaaaah!" Yukiko screamed, shocking everyone as she punted the poor moth boy, shattering him completely and sending Naoto into a daze. Right after, she round-housed Naoto herself, sending her outside what they'd been calling the arena.

Oh, right... Her girlfriend was Chie.

"Yame!" Chie again screamed; her eyes were hearts. "Winner: Yukiko Amagi!"

"Wow," Nanako said, because someone had to say it. "Yukiko, that was..."

"Amazing!" Chie finished, almost going for a hug but hesitating at the last second. Chie really was prudish, wasn't she?

"I've been training," Yukiko admitted sheepishly.

"I see that now," said Naoto, climbing up the stage no worse for the wear. "I should not have underestimated you, Amagi-san."

Yukiko smiled coyly. "I was surprised by how you put away the flames!"

"I was surprised by how you blocked his bullet," Nanako added. "I had no idea you, or anyone, could do that."

"Well, it was only a pressurized pellet, but nevertheless the impact should have knocked the fan out of your hands," Naoto said.

"It was just like you said, Nanako," Yukiko said. When Nanako raised an eyebrow at her, she added, "You know, that thing about strengths and weaknesses."

Everyone nodded.

"Right," Nanako said. "Um, sorry that you lost, Shirogane-san."

Naoto simply smiled. "I shall endeavor to do better, next time."

Kanji scratched his head. "Speaking of, who's next?" he asked.

"You and me, big boy," Nanako answered, winking for added effect, though she realized after the fact that it probably made her look like Yosuke, and vowed never to do it again. "I hope you're ready!"

"Uh..." Kanji articulated.

"Heh heh heh..."

---

Despite his hesitation, Kanji seemed ready to throw down once he stepped into the ring, and despite her bravado, he and Nanako were pretty evenly matched. Oni and Queen Mab, the two Personas she'd recently fused with her few Persona cards, had no social links attached to them, which meant they only had their starting skills. One was strong against physical attacks, the other against electricity, the two areas Kanji excelled in, but she couldn't have them both out at the same time, so he might surprise her. Nanako brought Oni to the forefront of her mind anyway, knowing her friend preferred to just beat things up rather than dealing with 'that magic crap,' as he called it.

Nanako bowed. Kanji raised his folding chair, then awkwardly bowed too. Good thing it wasn't his tower shield, else she'd really be in trouble.

"Come at me with all you got, Kanji-kun," Nanako said, knowing how much of a softie he was.

Kanji nodded at her. "You too, senpai."

Nanako eyed her friend critically. Sure, he was strong and had good reflexes, having been in way more real world fights than her, but... she could take him.

"Hajime!" Chie shouted.

Nanako raised her naginata and stayed put, but Kanji charged at her right away. Though she figured he was as impulsive as she was, she'd had no idea how he would fight against a friend. Well, now she knew.

Kanji was ready to bring down his almighty folding chair on her, but Nanako simply sidestepped, briefly spinning as she did so to build momentum for a horizontal hit against his arm. Surprisingly, he just clenched his teeth and pushed it aside, swinging the chair against her again. This time she ducked, trying to bring Kanji down with a sweep on his legs, but they, too, proved to be resilient, and her surprise left her wide open to Kanji's kick, right to her stomach.

Nanako coughed out all the air in her lungs, but recovered in time with a backwards roll, pointing the wooden naginata at him.

"That wouldn't have worked with a real naginata, Kanji-kun," she informed him. "With TV world strength, I might even have cut your legs off."

Kanji swallowed audibly.

Nanako pointed the wooden naginata at him. "Come," she ordered.

What followed was more dance than battle, as Nanako circled Kanji while evading his every move, hitting him fast and hard whenever she could, and making up for the lack of damage by taunting him: "Did you know the aorta is the largest artery in the human body?" she asked, raising her naginata to his neck, but only lightly tapping him with it. "With a blade, this alone would have sprayed the arena with blood."

(Of course, blood wasn't that high in pressure, but he didn't need to know that.)

"These are your fingers, Kanji-kun," she said, again only lightly tapping them. "If broken, they might not heal correctly. You wouldn't be able to sew."

"The hell you getting at, Senpai?" he asked, twisting his body as he tried to hit her with the chair. Nanako ducked, then quickly raised the naginata as hard as she could against his hand, successfully making him drop the chair, which she immediately kicked out of the arena, even if taking the time to do so earned her another kick to the gut.

Nanako coughed the air out again, but there was also some blood this time. Kanji quickly ran to her side.

"You okay, Senpai?" he asked, helping her up. "S-sorry about that, but you were kinda pissing me off!"

Nanako sighed. "I was trying to get you to dodge, you big doof," she said, not letting go of his hand. "You won't be able to just ignore a gunshot wound, or even a knife one."

Kanji blushed a little. "You don't need to go all Bak Mei on me just to say that," he mumbled.

"No kidding," said Chie, obviously pleased with the kung fu movie reference. "Hey, where did you learn to fight like that, Nanako?"

"Fight like what?" Nanako asked, going for a bottle of water since obviously that fight wasn't going anywhere.

"You know, with a naginata!" the girl clarified, mimicking her moves excitedly.

Nanako raised an eyebrow at her. "I started using one when we bought weapons at Daidara, don't you remember?"

"I do, but... you fight like a character on a period drama."

"What, not a kung fu movie?" Nanako joked.

"The naginata is a Japanese weapon," Yukiko explained, "though the Chinese do have a similar weapon, the guan dao."

Chie shook her head. "No, it doesn't have anything to do with the weapon exactly, just... you don't make any unnecessary movements, and your footwork is really economical. I mean, just now you were fighting close quarters with a long ranged weapon, and you knew exactly where to step and how to move your body to hit where you wanted to."

"I used to drop this thing all the time, though," Nanako said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable by this line of thought.

Chie sighed exasperatedly. "That's not the point!"

"If what you say is true," Naoto suddenly interjected, "then you have mastered that weapon in a remarkably short time, Nanako-san."

I feel like I might have used one a long, long time ago, Nanako remembered thinking. "Whatever," she said. "Kanji-kun, you would have won that fight, so you're a finalist now, okay?"

"Sure thing, Senpai," Kanji said, and that was that, but what Nanako was really thinking was that her friends had a point.

---

Yukiko won against Chie, who was obviously reluctant to hurt her girlfriend even though they probably sparred all the time, so the finals were set to be Kanji versus Yukiko, an unlikely matchup if there ever was one.

Nanako was happy to see that Kanji took her advice to heart and actually dodged Yukiko's deadly fan several times. Unfortunately for him, the girl was a beast in battle, completely overwhelming the boy with her flames. Kanji just didn't know how to respond to long range magic, and his few attempts to use Take-Mikazuchi ended up with the big guy shattered.

Yukiko was the winner, and Nanako had a feeling Chie would have a very special reward for her, heh heh heh...

"That was enlightening," Naoto said, tipping his cap to her.

Kanji gave her a hearty slap on the back. "Yukiko-senpai is the strongest, huh? That ain't surprising, but congrats, man!"

"I am no man," Yukiko said, her tone surprisingly serious, but then that smile creeped up and well, you know the rest.

When her laughter finally subsided, the team decided to talk business.

"What did we learn?" Nanako asked them.

"That thing when your Persona breaks," Kanji offered. "I ain't seen any Shadows that can do that."

"I've experienced it once," Nanako said, her mouth a thin line. "During our last battle."

Everyone understood what that meant, and didn't press further.

"I think maybe that might be because Shadows rarely aim for our Personas," Yukiko suggested. "They seem much more interested in harming us."

"We also only summon our Personas briefly," Naoto added, "and as such, the Shadows have little time to counter. More important, however, is what happens to us when our Personas are shattered."

"You looked kinda out of it when Yukiko kicked yours to the curb," Chie said. "I'd never have come up with that, to be honest."

Yukiko smiled innocently. "Oh, the idea just came to me naturally," she said. Everyone shuddered.

"What did you feel, exactly?" Nanako asked the detective.

"The feeling is rather difficult to describe," Naoto admitted. "I suppose... Did you ever put down a pen, only to completely forget where a few seconds later?"

"I think so, yeah," Nanako answered.

"The experience was rather similar, only the pen was everything."

Nanako wanted to say that she understood, but... "What about you, Kanji-kun? What did you feel?"

"Distracted," Kanji answered with conviction. "You know, like when you're busy sewing and then Ma calls you up? You don't mess up or anything, but you also don't pay attention to the needle."

"Oh, I know what you mean!" Chie said suddenly. "Like when you're watching Trial of the Dragon and your dad knocks even though he knows you don't want to miss the Dragon Fist, and him knocking sort of already ruined it."

"Or when you're on the phone with a friend and the bird is making a huge fuss, so even though you heard your friend speak, you don't really know what she said," Yukiko finished.

"Wait, is that why you sometimes hum like you're listening but don't really add anything to the conversation?" Chie asked, seemingly outraged.

The conversation completely derailed, the DEATH Squad chatted animatedly about little everyday interruptions while Nanako just quietly scooted to the side, motioning for Naoto to follow her.

"Your friends are certainly a lively bunch," Naoto said.

"I'm starting to understand how Yukiko must feel whenever we get together to study," Nanako admitted. "It's probably getting dark out by now, so we don't have much time."

"I have refrained from making any comments in front of your friends, but... Nanako-san, are you truly sure about this?"

"I am."

---

The results were as follows:

Contact and near contact wounds could be healed with Diarama, but only to a certain degree. In order to heal tissue damage, Diarahan was needed. Once the wound became a scar, neither Diarama nor Diarahan could make it disappear. Hence, using the strongest spell first was preferable. Entry wounds could only be healed once the bullet was removed, and then only with Diarahan. Width of the wound was irrelevant. Diarama succeeded in closing large wounds produced by white weapons, but visibly failed to create new tissue when the wound had any stippling. Diarahan would try to push the bullet out of the wound, and fail to do any actual healing. Exit wounds could more easily be healed for this reason.

Wounds obtained on the outside world could not be healed with any spell, no matter how powerful. Regarding her ear injury, Naoto proposed that either the TV World had somehow registered that it happened inside itself, or that the ear was already healing naturally, and the spell instead produced a placebo effect, though even she admitted that the latter theory was fickle.

Not even Nanako dared to test what they could do about bone wounds. Not after her previous experience with them.

---

Nanako had only a few scars and a bandaged wrist to show for their work, but even so she chose to ride piggyback on Kanji for the trip home.

"We have learned a great deal today," Naoto assured her, and she nodded in agreement, not finding anything to say that hadn't already been said.

When they came out, Junes was almost closing. The sky outside was very clear, and though she couldn't see the moon from the angle her head was at, the stars were enough to distract her for most of the trip, until she finally found the energy to whisper:

"Kanji-kun?"

"Yeah?" Kanji asked, adjusting his grip on her.

"Sorry about our fight. I-I didn't mean to—"

"'s okay, Senpai," he interrupted, and was then interrupted himself, when Nanako tightened her hold, nuzzling her head against his neck.

"I was pumped to fight you," she said, "but when you just stood there and took my hits, I... I just couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened with a real naginata."

Kanji turned his head slightly.

"I really did want you to dodge," she went on, "n-not because you would need to in a real fight, but because seeing you h-hurt in my head over and over was just too much."

"You hit hard, Senpai," he admitted, "but don't worry, I knew what you were getting at. Though..."

"Yeah?"

"You need to be more careful too. The little guy ain't gonna like that you got new scars. ...Don't want to see you in pain again, either."

Though Nanako had no idea where Kanji learned that Souji hadn't reacted well to her scars, she found herself nodding once again.

This day was not any fun, she thought as they walked past the textile shop, but we won't lose anyone else, Teddie.

---

Adachi arrived at the Seta Residence that evening bearing a devastating surprise: he'd bought a new tie. More specifically, a pink tie.

Souji was in love. "I-It's pink!" He beamed, making Adachi blush self-consciously; he really wasn't used to the attention.

"I saw how good you looked in that jinbei and thought I might steal some of your charm," Adachi admitted sheepishly.

"The color suits you," Aunt Seta said in a surprisingly sultry tone that would have made Nanako blush if she wasn't, well, Nanako.

Naoto had insisted on not being home for the special Wednesday, so that was that, and they fell right back into the usual rhythm: Adachi complaining about work.

"That Kujikawa girl is something else." Adachi followed his words with a long sigh. "I don't know what all the fuss is about. She doesn't seem like anything special. But the top brass want to keep an eye on her."

"You know, I was almost scouted out by an idol agency," Aunt Seta commented. "They were holding auditions in our school's gymnasium after school one day. My girlfriends and I decided to give it a try. I impressed them enough that I was asked to return the next day, but when I did, I found that they'd already moved on to another school."

"Ouch," said Nanako sympathetically, but now she was trying to imagine an elementary school-age Aunt Seta and failing miserably. But 'girlfriends,' huh? She had no problem imagining that. "That's pretty rotten."

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "It's probably for the best. Most idols from that era didn't last. Their lives seemed glamorous from the outside, but I understand it's not like that at all on the inside. I wonder if the industry has changed much since then."

"Doubt it," Nanako muttered.

"You'd think with all the money she's got, she wouldn't have to rely on us police for protection," Adachi said with another sigh. "But you'd be wrong!"

"Wait, she doesn't have any bodyguards or anything?" Nanako wrinkled her brow.

"Not even one," Adachi reported. "Unless you count her grandma."

"...Are you shi—er," Nanako cut herself off because Souji was in the room. "—kidding me?" she continued less than smoothly. She couldn't help but rub her palm against her forehead in aggravation. Their plans to protect Kujikawa depended on the girl having competent bodyguards!

"She's being harassed by all sorts of creepers," Adachi continued. "We caught a guy trying to set up a camera outside of her bedroom window. You might see a story in the paper tomorrow about it. I really hope they didn't get a picture of me."

But you're wearing that awesome tie, Nanako almost protested. "You don't want to be the hero?" she asked instead with as much innocence as she could muster, which wasn't very much.

"I've had my share of media attention," he replied. "Trust me, nothing good comes from it."

At that, Aunt Seta placed a hand on Adachi's forearm as if in sympathy. It took Nanako a moment too long to figure out what he'd meant: he had to have been hounded by the news media after Sachio's death, being his partner and all...

"Hopefully it'll all die down soon," Adachi said. "I mean, I'm supposed to be a detective, not a babysitter! Not that the Kujikawa girl is any trouble. She's just helping her grandma run that tofu shop like a good little girl. She seems nothing like she is on TV."

Aunt Seta nodded and made a gesture with her hand. "She has to keep a low profile while in this retirement stage or else she won't have a job when she returns to the industry. Any sign of a scandal will kill her career."

Nanako began to contemplate how this could be used to her advantage. Surely it meant that the teen idol would have to take the threat of kidnapping seriously.

After a moment, she noticed Adachi eyeing her from across the table. "How long is she planning to retire?" Nanako asked casually, trying not to give herself away. "Did she say? My friends were wondering if she'll go to our school."

"She didn't," Adachi answered. "Not that I asked."

"Can't be too long," Aunt Seta murmured. "Time is ticking by. She's in the prime of her youth. That's her asset. If she doesn't capitalize on it now, there won't be a chance later. There's always someone else waiting in the wings."

"You know a lot about this industry, Auntie," Nanako remarked. "You don't work in it or something, do you?" Come to think of it, Nanako had no idea what her aunt's career consisted of. Well, aside from the fact that she had to work long hours... but that was the fate of any salaryperson in Japan, really. She'd just assumed it was a business-related job based on her daily attire.

"I have to be on top of these things to be able to relate to my clients," Aunt Seta said. "You'd be surprised how important these idols are to grown men and women. But mostly men."

"I couldn't care less," Adachi said.

"Aaaand maybe that's why they gave you the job to watch her!" Nanako pointed out. "You won't be trying to get her autograph while on duty."

Adachi began to laugh. "One of your little friends came by to do just that! But he wasn't buying any tofu, so I kicked him out."

"One of MY friends?" Nanako asked. "Today?" They'd been in the TV World all day, so it could only be...

"That Junes kid," Adachi confirmed. "You know, it's not my place to judge, but that kid definitely seems the type who wouldn't wash his hands after using the toilet."

"It's totally your place to judge," Nanako told him. "Especially since you're probably right!"

"Junes?" Souji spoke up to ask. "Are you talking about... p-partner?"

"Oh, what, now you have something to say?" Nanako teased. "You've been so quiet 'til now, Sou-chan!"

Souji's face became as pink as Adachi's tie. "W-well..."

"'Partner'?" Aunt Seta subjected her son to a quizzical look.

The little boy's eyes widened, the blush on his cheeks gone as fast as it had arrived. "Uh, umm..." he murmured.

He obviously didn't like being put on the spot like that, so Nanako decided to rescue him.

But before she could open her mouth, Souji had put on a determined face. "He's my com... compatriot," he said.

Aunt Seta looked even more puzzled by that. "Compatriot...? Did this 'partner' teach you that word?"

"N-no..." he said. "Th-that was... big bro."

Now it was Adachi's turn to be confused. "Big bro?"

"Shirogane-san," Nanako explained.

Confused perhaps even more, Adachi looked at Aunt Seta. "Shirogane-kun is his brother?"

Aunt Seta snorted and then began to cackle. A moment later and Adachi was laughing with her, the sound surprisingly infectious.

Then Adachi's laughter died, a faraway look coming to his face.

---

[8/25: Thursday]

Nanako spent much of the day teaching Souji the importance of cleanliness, not just in regards to washing his hands after he peed, but also in regards to sneezing, coughing, wiping his nose, and licking his fingers after handling food. Since she was already at it, she also taught him how to use disinfectant to clean up minor scrapes. The next time someone skinned a knee at school, Souji would be prepared.

Naoto helped, too, expanding Souji's knowledge by explaining the importance of being hydrated and exercising regularly—not that the detective herself ever followed that, what with all the coffee she drank and sitting around the house she did!

"Exercise, huh?" Nanako remarked. "You wanna come with me and Chie the next time we train?"

"Err," Naoto said hesitantly.

"It's f-fun," Souji said. "Big bro... you'd have fun with us."

"Us...?"

"Yep, Sou-chan comes, too!" Nanako poked her little cousin in the belly. "I didn't think you thought it was fun, though! You're always huffing and puffing. I thought for sure you'd prefer to stay at home!"

"But then... I wouldn't see Chie-san," Souji pointed out. "Sh-she's my compatriot, too."

At this rate, Souji would join the DEATH Squad. Nanako couldn't help but smile back at him. He was just too sweet a boy.

If only it wasn't raining today! She could make Souji play outside with her, since he apparently didn't hate the outdoors. Because of that, they stayed inside and watched a marathon of cartoons on the kids' channel: the complete opposite of exercising.

Regardless, they had so much fun that before they knew it, the day was over and it was time to put the boy to bed.

"Who do you want to read to you, Sou-chan?" Nanako asked while helping him into his pajamas. "Big sis or big bro?"

Souji looked from Nanako to Naoto and back again. "B-both...?" he suggested, a shy but playful smile on his face.

"Good answer," Nanako told him with a grin. "Come on, Shirogane-san! Let's do this."

Nanako had long since run out of Loveline manga to read to him, so she'd picked up some books at the central shopping district's bookstore. This one was a collection of short stories illustrated with cute pictures.

But pictures really weren't enough for Nanako—not when she could act the scenes out!

She scrounged through Souji's closet until she found a red blanket. She wrapped this around her head and shoulders, creating a sort of hooded shawl. She gently pulled Naoto close to her. "Red Oni," – she pointed to herself – "and Blue Oni," – she indicated Naoto – "live high up in the mountains. We've always lived there, as far as we can remember. It's always been just the two of us, and although we're very good friends, sometimes we feel lonely."

"Oh..." Souji murmured. He took his fox plushie out from under the blanket. "C-can Foxie visit you?"

"Sometimes we do get visitors!" Nanako said excitedly. "I really love seeing new people. But that's the problem, Sou-chan. They don't like to see me. I've got... big teeth," – she opened her mouth wide and gnashed her teeth together – "and long, sharp claws," – she raised her hands and curled her fingers – "and big horns coming out of my head! I'm an oni, and even though I really want to be friends with everyone, I'm kind of scary, don't you think?"

Souji looked thoughtful after hearing that. "You are scary... s-sometimes, big sis..."

"Hey!" Nanako protested.

Naoto chuckled, and Nanako couldn't help but giggle a little herself.

"Maybe I am," she admitted. "But anyway! Red Oni wishes he could go to the human town and make lots of friends, but when he tries to visit, everyone always runs away because he is just too scary. One day, Red Oni was feeling so very sad about it when Blue Oni had an idea." Nanako looked at Naoto and nodded, cuing the detective to take over the storytelling.

Naoto ahem'd. "What if I were to... cause trouble in the village." The detective raised an eyebrow, and Nanako almost laughed again. The Blue Oni sounded a little too cultured! But why not? Appearances were deceiving—that was a major point of the story, after all!

"Why would you do that?" Nanako asked with feigned surprise.

"Simple," the Blue Oni answered. "I will scare the people, and then you will come and rescue them from me. They'll regale you as a hero."

"That's a great idea!" the Red Oni exclaimed. "Let's do it!"

Nanako waved at Naoto, who stared in mild confusion before she understood the gestures she was making. Naoto then approached Souji's bed. The little boy blinked at the detective, wondering what was going on. Naoto gently tugged on his arm. "Come with me, human child. I will eat you... and your fox."

"N-not Foxie!" Souji cried. He tried to keep the plushie out of Naoto's grasp.

"Yes, Foxie," Naoto said evenly, reaching over him until her hand closed on the toy.

"Help!"

Nanako leaped forward. "Stop right there, Blue Oni! Little boy, I'll protect you!"

She and Naoto had a mock fight, and at the end, Naoto 'fled' by leaving the room.

Nanako pretended to pant for her breath. Then she turned to Souji and patted his head. "Little human boy! You're safe now, and so's your fox! I'll stay here and make sure that meanie Blue Oni doesn't try that again!"

"Yay," Souji cheered, grinning up at her.

"And from then on," Nanako said in her narrator voice, "Red Oni was loved by all of the people in the village for protecting that darling little boy, and he lived happily with them." She cuddled her cousin on the bed and then stopped abruptly. "But something wasn't right. What was it, Sou-chan?"

He blinked at her and thought for a moment. "Huh... Wh-whatever happened to... Blue...?"

"You got it," she said in a sad tone of voice. "Red Oni made lots of new friends, but he lost his very first friend, his most important friend... Well, they were still friends, but he couldn't visit Blue Oni in the mountains, or else the people might think he was betraying them."

"I-I forgive Blue..." Souji tried.

Nanako chuckled lightly. "I don't think your mama would forgive him for trying to eat you. It's all right, though. Even though Blue Oni was lonely now without Red Oni, he was happy that his friend had made new friends."

"That's sad," Souji said solemnly. "I hope... Blue finds friends, too."

"Well, we know Blue is very smart," she said, looking at the doorway to Souji's room and knowing Naoto was just standing there outside. "Maybe he'll even figure out a way to be friends with the humans, too, just like he figured out for Red."

"Yeah!" Souji suddenly hugged her arm, and then yawned against it. He closed his eyes and buried his face against the cloth of her blouse. His eyes didn't reopen.

"Uh, Sou-chan," Nanako said quietly.

He mumbled an incomprehensible answer.

She sighed and patted his head with her free hand, then smiled to herself and slowly worked on extracting her arm from him, replacing it swiftly with Foxie. She tucked him into the bed, turned out the light, and left the room.

"Guess you're gonna have to get changed in the dark," Nanako whispered to Naoto outside.

"He has a night light," Naoto pointed out. "It won't be impossible for me to change. But I think I won't be going to bed just yet. It's raining, after all. You're going to watch the Midnight Channel, yes?"

"Darn right," Nanako answered. "You gonna watch it with me?"

Naoto nodded, her mouth set into a grim line. They went upstairs to Nanako's room and sat on the small couch together.

"Thanks for playing along with me earlier, Blue Oni," Nanako said.

"Hmm?" Naoto murmured. "Oh, I enjoyed it. It reminded me of games I would play when I was a child. Since I didn't have any friends to play with, I had to take on all the roles myself."

"I wish I coulda seen that!"

"My grampa recorded my play once without my knowledge. When I found out, I concocted a secret mission to find the tape and destroy it."

"Did the plan work?"

"Yes and no," Naoto replied. "You see, my grampa is far more devious than I initially gave him credit for. I spent an entire week perfecting my plan to recover that tape. I waited for a day in which he would be out of the office, timed my break-in to be during my caretaker's lunch, and in fact the plan went without a hitch."

"So you got the tape?"

Naoto nodded. "I took it apart, piece by piece, learning in the process how VHS tapes work. It was an enlightening experience—but I digress. I destroyed the tape, never thinking about how the plan had gone, perhaps, too smoothly. You see, I didn't discover until several months later that Grampa had made multiple copies..."

"Now I see where you get it from," Nanako remarked, shaking her head. "I don't think I'd want to cross your grampa. That sounds like blackmail right there."

"Yes, he can embarrass me at any moment by sending a copy of that tape to any of my friends and acquaintances." Naoto laughed softly. "But he wouldn't do that."

"Same with my dad. He once threatened to lock me in a cell overnight, but I know he never would." Nanako paused. Would he...?

"Speaking of video tapes," Naoto murmured. "I was wondering if you had any record of my Midnight Channel, err, show?"

"I didn't have the VCR then," Nanako said. "You want to know what it was like? It was your Shadow implying that you were going to have an operation."

Naoto was quiet for a moment. "What would have happened if the Shadow had succeeded?"

"What?" Nanako frowned. "It would have killed you."

"I'm glad it didn't come to that, but..."

"Wait, did you mean... 'succeeded' as in, succeeded in the operation? Your Shadow wouldn't know how to perform surgery, Shirogane-san! It would have killed you."

"I'm aware of that," Naoto said calmly. Too calmly. The detective was gripping the arm of the couch hard enough to leave marks on the cloth.

Nanako blinked hard at her friend for a long moment. Oh, right... god, I'm such a dumbass.

Using the awkwardness as an excuse, Nanako adjusted her position until she was sitting right next to Naoto. "Did you... did you think about what your Shadow said?"

Naoto gave her a sharp glance. "Yes," she answered curtly.

Yikes, maybe she shouldn't pursue that line of thought anymore... Then again, Nanako wasn't exactly known for having tact, so she figured their friendship could survive this one thing.

"I wasn't lying to your Shadow, you know," Nanako said, hesitating only a little bit. "Whether you want to be a boy, or a girl, or even just a prince, I am a hundred percent behind you."

Naoto smiled weakly. "A prince, huh?"

"I told you, girls can be princes too!" Nanako said, lying her head against the detective's shoulder, which was hard given how short she was. "That being said, you can be a boy prince if you want. Or a boy princess!"

"I have no idea what to take from that, Nanako-san," Naoto admitted.

"I have this friend in Tokyo," Nanako started, "who had this huge identity crisis. You know, he wanted to be himself around everyone, but he couldn't, not at work, not around his family... especially not around his family."

Naoto's ears perked up at that last part. "His family did not support him?"

"No," Nanako said, closing her eyes in remembrance. That had been a pretty difficult time for her, too. "A-anyway," she continued hastily, "the deal was he was gay as heck and also an okama, but everyone just shut him down so hard that for a while, he wasn't sure who he was anymore, or who he should be. Around this time, he was living with this woman who worked in the same bar as him, because his dad had kicked him out, and she told him... us, really... that she'd gone through the same thing when she was younger. They weren't the same, though. My friend was an okama, but after a while he decided he liked being a dude, while the woman, well, she used to be a different person in the past. She told us about her time in the streets and how she changed her wardrobe and her name and became the person we met and loved."

Nanako blushed. She hadn't meant to say that last part, but clearly Shirogane-san had other concerns to pay any mind to it.

"I like my name," Naoto murmured, looking away.

Nanako raised her head and adjusted her position so as to be able to hug the detective. "What I'm saying is, whatever you want for yourself, whatever you feel is right, I will support you. Whether you need to talk to someone, or yell at someone, or look up sensitive stuff, I'm here for you, just like... just like you've been here for me, Shirogane-san. Remember that you are who you are, and I won't let anyone in the world say otherwise."

They shared a tender embrace, but Naoto's eyes were distant. "I have no idea what I want," the detective finally admitted after a few minutes of silence.

"That's fine, too," Nanako said, squeezing her friend tighter. "These things take time, and hey, I can help you figure it out. I could get you in contact with my friend in Tokyo!"

"I will consider it," Naoto said.

With the determined little nod the detective followed these words with, Nanako knew it wasn't a lie.

Naoto suddenly frowned. "Do you hear that?"

Nanako's head shot up. "Hear what? I don't hear anything."

"Precisely," Naoto murmured. "The rain's stopped."

"What?" Nanako hissed. She drew back her curtains and looked out the window. The only evidence that there had been any rain were the droplets still present on the glass.

And there were only a few minutes to spare before midnight.

Nanako began to curse in a way that would make even Aunt Seta's seasoned ears turn red. She threw herself back onto the couch with an overdramatic sigh. "I can't believe this..."

Naoto chuckled, apparently amused. "Brought down by hubris once again."

"Don't you start giving me philosophy lectures!"

In frustration Nanako went up to the TV and punched her hand right through the screen. It connected with nothing on the other side. She remembered how she'd once punched Teddie like this and her scowl deepened.

"On the bright side," Naoto said, "this allows us more time to prepare."

"True, but I would like to know for sure that Kujikawa's the next target. I mean, Kubo being on the Midnight Channel came outta the blue. The killer might try to trick us. We still haven't a damned clue as to what relationship he has to the Midnight Channel."

"The paranormal aspects of this case unsettle me," Naoto admitted. "I wonder if there is a logic to it."

"If there is, I'm sure you'll be the one to figure it out. Hey, is it raining across the street?"

Naoto looked through the blinds. "Hard to say. Your windows are fogged up."

"If it's raining somewhere else, the Midnight Channel has to still be airing."

"I've been wondering how far out it airs," Naoto said. "It seems logical that it matches the TV World influence. However, it's not something easy to test, nor probably important. I'm just curious."

"I feel you," Nanako murmured, only half listening. She was now playing with the TV, poking her fingers in and out in a rhythm. It reminded her of how this very TV had tried to suck her in that one time. What had that been? Teddie? How did she never think to ask him?

Well, too late now.

"As amusing as this light show is," Naoto said, watching her play with the TV, "I should probably be heading to sleep."

Nanako turned from the TV to give her friend a sly look. Like this was even past the detective's bedtime! She knew Naoto often stayed up later than this to review case files.

"All right then, Blue Oni," Nanako said with an overdrawn sigh. "It's supposed to rain again tomorrow. Better luck next time, eh?"

---

[8/26: Friday]

Aggravated by how she'd stayed up late for nothing—well, almost nothing, because talking with Naoto was always worth it—Nanako ordered her girlfriend out on a lunch date.

She met Saki right outside the liquor store, giving her a kiss in greeting, heedless of the fact that Saki's father was watching behind the door in obvious disapproval. It wasn't like he didn't know by now.

"Where do you want to go?" Saki asked.

"We're going out for tofu!" Nanako declared. She took her girlfriend's hand and began to walk her down the street.

"Tofu?" Without looking, Nanako could tell Saki was wrinkling her nose.

"Assuming that Marukyu place isn't out of tofu today," Nanako added. "Hmm, I wonder what kind my aunt likes so I can pick up some for dinner."

"If we're gonna have tofu, why not have it at Aiya?" Saki pointed out. "We're already there!"

True enough. Nanako stopped walking. They stood right in front of the door to the Chinese diner.

"But I've never been to Marukyu," Nanako protested. "I hear it's good."

"It's just tofu," Saki said. "Without a beef bowl!"

"Oh?" said Nanako. "You want a beef bowl? I can give you a beef bowl."

Saki waggled her eyebrows.

Nanako waggled hers right back at her.

Saki waggled hers faster.

This went on for some time.

---

The tofu shop's front entrance wasn't even half as busy as it had been the last time Nanako had been around. Risette's retirement was already old news, it seemed.

In fact, as the two girls went through the entrance, a young man came walking out. "Man, there's no one in there but the old lady. Risette isn't here after all..." he muttered.

Nanako paused in the doorway to shoot him a look, but the man was already walking away, so only his back received her questioning gaze. Then she looked into the store. A copper-haired girl wearing a kerchief was working at a sink behind the counter.

"Senpai," Nanako whispered. "That's Risette right there, right?"

Saki made a show of squinting her eyes, then rubbing her eyes and blinking them as if she couldn't see. "Hmm..." Nanako rolled her own eyes, and then Saki finally answered, "Why, I do believe so!"

"Then what the hell was that guy's problem? Is he blind or something?"

"Maybe he didn't think it was her because she's not in a swimsuit."

Before Nanako could reply, the girl in the back answered, "You know it!"

Nanako blinked, and the girl flashed her a grin before turning off the sink, drying her hands, and coming up to the counter.

"Well," said Nanako. "With that sort of security, Risette, I can see why you don't have bodyguards or anything."

"Please call me Rise," the girl said, looking a little weary. "I'm not... Risette. That's a stage name."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I guess it must be annoying to have no one say your real name anymore, huh? Anyway, I'm Nanako, and this is my main babe Saki."

Saki waved.

"We wanna buy some tofu," Nanako concluded.

"Oh!" said Rise. She glanced somewhat worriedly at the door to the store's back area, then lifted her head, closed her eyes, and began to recite a lengthy list of today's special deals. "A-and, if you buy three pieces of ganmodoki, you'll get a free bonus!" she finished.

"What bonus?" Nanako asked. "Could it be a kiss from a cute girl?"

Saki smacked her butt for that, but it was totally worth it. Especially with how Rise grinned!

"Well, maybe~" Rise teased.

"Make it a 'definitely' and you got yourself a deal!" Nanako announced, but before Rise could reply, Saki was kissing Nanako right on the lips.

Nanako mmm'd into the lingering kiss, and when she drew away, Nanako said a sheepish, "N-nevermind, looks like I got it covered, heh heh."

All three began to giggle, and then Rise urged them to kiss again.

"If you insist," Saki murmured, and then she pulled Nanako into an even longer kiss.

"I don't remember Inaba being this exciting," Rise remarked. "I'm going to remember this tonight!"

Nanako pulled away from Saki and caught her breath before saying, "Actually, Inaba is a little too exciting lately," in a more serious tone.

Rise nodded, her copper curls bouncing along with the action. "I missed the festival because of the crowds."

"That's not what I meant," Nanako said. "You've heard about the serial murders, right?"

The former idol's pretty face twisted into a grimace. "My manager was hoping I wouldn't retire here because of that. But I want to help my grandma with the shop, so it was the only choice I had."

"How much do you know?" Nanako asked.

Rise was surprisingly on the ball about the whole ordeal, which sped things up. Nanako was getting tired of repeating the info to everyone.

"Interesting people who are on the news get targeted by the killer," Nanako said. "You fit the parameters, so I think you're going to be next. We'll find out for sure soon..." She trailed off there to glance outside the store. By the sunlight beaming down in front of the store, it seemed the clouds were clearing up. So much for the Midnight Channel showing up tonight. "Anyway, obviously, we don't want anything to happen to you, but since you don't have any bodyguards or anything, we might have to take some drastic measures to protect you."

Rise shifted her footing so that she had a hand on her hip. "Drastic how? You gonna tie me up somewhere?"

"Don't tempt her," Saki warned with a grin.

"I'm... I'm not into that!" Nanako claimed, an unexpected blush coming to her cheeks.

"You sure?" Saki asked.

"You know..." Nanako put on a thoughtful look. "We could always find out."

"I like you two," Rise said. She was grinning, too.

Nanako winked at her, which earned her another butt slap from Saki. Nanako was beginning to like those.

"Anyway," said Nanako, "I was thinking more that you should leave town for a few days."

Rise furrowed her brow. That was a no, then?

"Do you guys really think this stuff is that dangerous?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes," Nanako and Saki answered in unison.

"My brother was the second victim," Saki said without missing a beat.

"My friends..." Nanako hesitated, trying to get the facts and lies straight in her head. "I mean, my friend was kidnapped barely a month ago. He escaped by pure chance, and before that, a copycat killer even murdered a local teacher."

"I remember seeing something about that on the news," Rise admitted.

"There were other kidnapping attempts too. This really is dangerous, Rise-san."

"How do you... how do you know so much about this?" Rise asked. Damn, she was sharp, or maybe Nanako had just gotten used to the general Inaba uselessness. Now to decide how much she should tell... but she was developing a really bad track record of spilling secret TV World info.

"Can you give me a minute?" she asked instead. "I need to make a phone call. Senpai, can you stay here with her?"

Saki was puzzled, but nodded in agreement, and soon Nanako was outside dialing Chie's number.

"Hey, it's me. Is Yukiko with you?"

"Yeah," Chie answered. "Did something happen?"

"Kinda. I am—"

Just then, she saw Kanji setting up shop across the street, and so she called out to him.

"What's up, Senpai?" Kanji said, waltzing up to her.

Nanako put the phone on speaker mode and tried to scoot Kanji to somewhere more private, though in hindsight the tofu shop was exactly that. Saki was right, who wanted tofu, anyway?

"Me and Saki-senpai are talking to Rise Kujikawa," Nanako said to the phone and Kanji. "I found out she doesn't have any bodyguards, and though the plan was just to sense the mood a little bit, we're trying to convince her to leave town."

"That's big news, Nanako," Chie said. Her tone was already accusing.

"Look, the reason I called is that I'm not sure how much I should tell her, and thought I should run that by you two first."

Instant backpedaling.

"O-oh... w-well, what do you think, Yukiko?" Chie asked. There was some shuffling in the background as Yukiko seemed to get closer to the phone.

"I don't think she should know about the TV World," Yukiko said. "We already lost someone there," she added in a quiet voice.

"I agree," Nanako said. "I'd rather not endanger her like I did Shirogane-san. Idols are a bundle of issues, too, so I'm sure her Shadow would be pretty strong."

"Senpai," Kanji said somewhat awkwardly, "wouldn't it be good for her if she accepted her Shadow and joined us?"

"Not if she dies!" Nanako snapped at him. "I... sorry, I just mean, we got two lucky breaks with Yukiko and Shirogane-san, and you managed to stop your Shadow before it wrecked us, but so far our track record hasn't exactly been great!"

"I s'pose so."

Kanji was obviously feeling contrary, but he didn't say anything else.

"So, getting her to leave town," Nanako said, getting everyone back on track.

"That seems like the smart thing to do, yeah," Chie contributed. "Maybe you could tell her about the stuff Naoto-kun said on TV that one time?"

"That... is a great idea, Chie. Do we all agree we shouldn't tell her about the TV World, then?"

"I agree," Chie said.

"Me too," Yukiko added.

"Kanji-kun?"

Nanako looked at him with hopeful eyes. She got what he was saying, she really did, but... she learned from Teddie that confronting your innermost fears was no cakewalk; even Naoto'd had a hard time, and they had prepared for weeks!

"I agree too," Kanji eventually said, "but if she's nabbed, we go get her ASAP, deal?"

"Deal!" Nanako said, doing a little fist pump, and then she couldn't resist it, she went and hugged him, almost dropping her phone in the process, not that it could break the screen any further. "Thank you, everyone."

"Yeah, no problem!" Chie said, and it felt like she was smiling, but then the mood shifted abruptly. Nanako knew what it was about.

Everyone was wondering about Yosuke.

Back in the shop, Saki and Rise were exchanging hair tips and flirty banter which Nanako felt bad about interrupting, but she had to.

"So! I got something you should watch. Do you have internet in here?"

"Uh, yeah, upstairs..." Rise mumbled, sounding a bit confused.

"Then let's go."

---

The interview was over, but Rise continued to stare at the computer screen while it counted down the autoplay for the next video. Nanako paused it, then watched the girl blink for a bit before telling her that the situation hadn't really improved even though Naoto had proven his hypothesis correct by being the next victim.

"If anything," Nanako said, "things got even more dangerous after Shirogane-san was kidnapped."

"Why is this happening in my hometown?" Rise muttered, mostly to herself. "I might have left Inaba as soon as I got a contract, but I was born here, and my grandma has to live here." She looked up suddenly. "If I left, would the killer go after my grandma?"

"Kanji-kun, who lives across the way," – Nanako paused because Rise was nodding; she knew of Kanji – "Well, he was kidnapped, but his mom wasn't harmed in any way. In fact, she didn't know he was missing until later that night. The killer didn't have an interest in her at all. But if you're worried about that, it's not impossible to get a cop to watch over her while you're away, assuming she won't go with you."

"There's no way she'd close the store," Rise murmured with a half-smile. "Tofu runs through her veins."

"Maybe when you're out of town, you can eat real food," Nanako joked. "I bet you're eating it here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I mean, tofu's great, but only as a side dish!"

"She keeps trying to show me the business. I love how she treats me like a normal person, but I'm sorry, Grandma, tofu is just not the life for me!"

Nanako smiled at her, but then grew serious. "How soon can you leave? Tonight would be great."

Rise sucked on the end of some of loose hair from one of her pigtails. "Yeah, I think I could do that. I'd love to go somewhere my manager couldn't follow. Actually, that sounds great. Do you have a place in mind?"

"You know what," Nanako said. "Let me get you in contact with Shirogane-san. I'm sure he'll come up with a plan."

---

[Author's notes: This is probably the longest chapter we have so far! It's over 16,000 words.

We needed a story for Nanako to tell, and since Ore Monogatari had made the co-author cry, we decided that the Red Oni and Blue Oni story from it was a good one to use.

To reviewers: foursail - the coauthor says: This wasn't our goal, out of universe, but acceptance does seem more important to our characters than the truth. I'd say that focus is equally worthy!

Next Chapter: Yosuke Is In This One

The coauthor made me title it that. It is what it is, I suppose!]