Sumire's heart beat energetically in her chest, like she were mere moments away from a career-defining performance. Her excitement far greater than it should have been. After all, it wasn't like this was anything so grand as taking the stage in front of hundreds or thousands of people. She was simply going to see a friend. First thing in the morning. Probably before he even woke up. Hoping to surprise him.

Surprise him with...

She controlled her breathing. A tactic she had learned and used many times for gymnastics. The context might have been so very different, but the problem and solution was the same as ever. She knocked gently on the cafe door. Waited patiently. Swallowed. What if no one was there yet? She hadn't thought of that. It was a food service business and those tended to require a lot more preparation before opening but she didn't know if that was true for a cafe.

But before her self-doubt could turn into recriminations of herself for being stupid and not thinking her idea through, a bespectacled, middle-aged man opened the door slightly. An attention-grabbing bell making the gentlest ring above. "We're not open for business yet," the man said, looking her up and down. "Can I... Help you?"

"Umm... Y-Yes," she stuttered slightly, "I'm a friend of Ren. And Futaba?" She didn't know Futaba near as well but she liked to think they were friends. After all, if you couldn't call someone a friend after making out with them while you were both getting double-penetrated by tentacles, who could you? "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Sumire Yoshizawa."

"Ohhh," the man spoke in sudden understanding, opening the door wider. "I see. That new friend of theirs, Futaba talked a lot about you. Ren not so much but he's pretty private about a lot of things. Can't imagine where he got it from." He began to step aside. "I'm Sojiro Sakura, Futaba's father. Come on in."

"Ah, thank you," she smiled gratefully, taking quick steps inside. For a brief moment considering removing her shoes until she realised this was a business before it was a home. "I'm sorry for the intrusion so early in the morning."

"That's alright," he assured her, moving around behind the counter. "I get here early most days now, just in case my dumb kids have the bright idea to play hooky having sex all day."

Sumire wondered if he even noticed he referred to Ren as his own just then. "I'm sure they're responsible enough to know better." She was quick to catch the wrongness of that statement. "I'm sure Ren's responsible enough to talk her around at least."

"Heh," the cafe owner chuckled, "Yeah, it's tricky to make that argument, I would know. Frankly she doesn't really need school for most of the regular reasons. But for dealing with people and learning a little responsibility?" He shrugged. "So since neither of them thought to tell me you'd be coming by this morning I bet you're here to surprise them?"

Her cheeks burned, her reason for coming over and his guessing it bringing a fresh wave of embarrassment. "Y-yes." Not so much Futaba, but... "Is that alright?"

Amusement was alight in his eyes but he didn't say anything or laugh at her. "Not a problem at all, so long as you all remember you have school. I think they're still asleep. You go on up."

"Thank you, sir," she bowed before walking in the direction he nodded. The stairs in the back. She quickly took off her shoes at the foot of the stairs, her socks padding up to the attic room. At the top, she saw them. Futaba's ginger hair spread out over another figure made it harder to see who her bedmate was. Not that Sumire needed to confirm.

Quietly, she shed her uniform, then her underwear, finally her socks, folded them and put them all to one side on Ren's table. Quiet as a mouse she tiptoed across the floorboards to the foot of Ren's bed. Then naked as the day she was born, she lifted the bottom end of the blanket to climb under, up between Ren's legs. Futaba's knee got slightly in the way but she carefully made her way toward her objective.

Her touch, her affection didn't start there, however. It started with his shin, then up to his thigh, gradually moving to the more sensitive area so he wouldn't suddenly wake. Gently, her fingers raised his package, bringing it to prominence and already getting an encouraging twitch from his manhood. Smiling, she gave his sac a soft kiss, then another on the hooded head of his penis. Her fingertip gently glided along it from root to tip, coaxing it to wakefulness before the rest of him. Again. Again. More peppered kisses over his balls and hardening organ before her tongue flicked out to leave playful licks wherever she ventured.

His cock was roused from its slumber. Not entirely. More like she had its attention, like the crown was just peeking out to see what she would do next. And for its curiosity, it was rewarded with a long lick from the base, right up the underside until her tongue trailed along the thin membrane of skin to give the faintest flick at the head. Then her mouth returned low, to gently suckle on one of his balls. Her fingers danced along the shaft in a loose grip, giving what couldn't quite be called a handjob as she lavished his scrotum with affection.

Only when that shaft stood proudly did she deign to revisit it with more than her nimble fingers. Only when it demanded she attend it did she return her lips to the head, give it another longer and deeper kiss, before taking the first couple of inches into her mouth.

The time for being careful and gentle had passed. As she took him inside, she sucked with vigour on that hardened shaft of cockflesh, her tongue flicking and twirling over the head as one hand stroked the rest, the other fondling his balls.

Inevitably, Ren woke up with a pleased groan, bringing a smile to Sumire's eyes that her lips couldn't share. "Oh, Futaba," he groaned. A twinge of dissatisfaction rose in her breast until she realised it was a fair conclusion to draw. "Have you been practicing? Your technique's way different."

"Ngh, practicing what?" Futaba spoke, her body rolling away from the thing that had interrupted her sleep so rudely.

Anticipation burned in Sumire as the beat of confused silence dragged on. The covers came flying away from Ren to reveal the eager redhead once again kissing her way up the side of his shaft. "Good morning, Ren," she greeted him with a shy smile that didn't at all match her actions, her mouth once again diving onto his rod to slather her tongue over it.

"Reeeen...!" Futaba groaned, "Coverrrs– Oh." She looked down at the girl with her boyfriend's cock in her mouth. Blinked hard, multiple times. "That's Sumire, right? I can't really tell without my glasses."

"Yeah," Ren answered, staring down at the girl happily sucking his meat. "Good morning to you too."

She nodded, returning her full attention to sucking him off.

"Well, you were wondering where you and her stand," Futaba mused as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Looks like fuck friends at the very least. But coming over in the morning to suck you off says maybe more than that. What do you think, Sumire?"

She thought it was rude to talk about her intentions like that for her when her mouth was occupied. But Futaba had... Issues.

Which, as if to prove it, "Well, waste not, want not," Futaba announced, crawling her way under the gymnast. Laying on her back she went directly for the prize she sought, toying with Sumire's pussy first with her hands before her tongue joined the fray.

It wasn't what the gymnast was after, but she wouldn't push Futaba away. For a recently recovered hikikomori she was weirdly skilled at eating pussy, though Sumire only had one point of comparison. So skilled that Sumire became bolder far earlier than she intended, freeing one of her hands to take Ren's and place it on the back of her head.

"Right, sorry," he apologised for just laying there not taking part in any way. He softly stroked her hair as her head bobbed up and down.

He... Hadn't seemed to have interpreted her message correctly. Her hand moved back to rest atop his, exerting just enough pressure to hopefully get her point across.

"Oh," he murmured with a pensive look in his eyes. At least he understood her intentions, even if he looked uncertain. "This is what you want?" he asked, applying pressure, forcing her just a little deeper.

She nodded as best she could, her eyes shining with hope that he would give her what she wanted. What she had begun to crave since her experiences in Ann's vault. Was it wrong? Did it say things about her? About how she still felt about herself? Probably. Did she care about that in this moment? Absolutely not. She had all the time in the world for self-reflection. In this moment she wanted someone to use her again.

"Alright," he said with unease and control a lot of boys wouldn't have in this situation. "Are you ready?"

She took her hand away from his, braced against his thighs, ready and waiting for what she needed. And Ren didn't disappoint. She felt the pressure on the back of her head grow heavier, forcing her to slide inches more down his cock, her tongue sliding against the underside of his organ as it neared the entrance to her throat. Just a little more...

But instead, Ren eased her away again, grabbing a handful of her hair to pull her back no matter how much she wanted him to just ram her all the way down. Even having done it once before, even with her begging him, he was being kind. Considerate. It was a little irritating. He pushed her down again, just the slightest bit further, then pulled her back. Down again, holding her there with his crown prodding the entrance. All the while she could feel Futaba's tongue slithering against her folds.

Then, after holding her there for a good few seconds, letting her suck it as best she could with her movement so restricted, he forced her all the way down in one go. Her throat forcefully opened for his meat. At the same time Futaba's tongue finally dove deep into her pussy, writhing and swirling inside her, the other girl's lower lip flicking over her button.

She struggled just a little on instinct, her nose buried in the phantom thief's crotch, her chin resting on his balls. She couldn't breathe. Once again Ren held her in place while she groaned from the combination of his forcefulness and Futaba's ministrations. She felt two fingers slide into her backdoor, prying open yet another hole for their amusement. She forgot Ren's timidity to use her like this again. Even if he had been hesitant, he still gave her what she craved.

He pulled her up again, enough to dislodge him from her throat, enough for her to take a quick breath before he shoved her back down. Abusing her poor throat for his own gratification, and as a result, satisfying Sumire at the same time. Constantly straining, constantly struggling for breath, the stress forcing her brain to send panicked signals throughout her body, taking the experience to new heights of depraved ecstasy. Yes! She needed this! Her eyes stared up at him blearily, hoping he could see just how good this was for her. Hoping she could make him understand that. It made her feel right. To be used. To be punished. She didn't have the luxury of thinking, of questioning herself or her worth. All she had was the next moment she could take a breath before she was hilted on cock again.

Was it coincidence that she reached her climax at the same moment Ren grunted out his own release? That at the same moment Futaba was drinking down her juices Sumire was being force-fed dollops of hot, sticky cum? She doubted it. It just proved how much she loved being a toy. Toys didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations.

... There was self-reflection rearing its ugly head again. Right on time after her release. She did her best to refocus on her task of making sure not to let any of Ren's cum spill from between her lips now that he had let her go. Her lips slid upward, making sure to tongue clean every inch as she went. Not that it wouldn't be a mess despite her efforts. She made an exaggerated popping sound as she came fully free from his manhood, hoping he'd find it funny, or arousing. Or both. She wanted him to be happy with her.

"Feeling a little neglected down here..."

"Oh! Sorry!" Sumire apologised to the girl beneath her. Even if Futaba's efforts hadn't been asked for or needed for her to enjoy herself, it would be rude to not return the favour. She lowered herself, brought her mouth down to Futaba's slim and delicate little pussy. Even if Futaba was quite good at this, Sumire wasn't a complete novice either, even if she didn't get quite as much joy from the task as she did with Ren.

Only a couple of minutes into her reciprocal oral, Sumire felt the bed shift as Ren got up. She only glanced his way for an instant. Expecting him to start getting ready for the day while the girls amused themselves. Instead she got a mild surprise as she felt Futaba's hands spread her cheeks open and Ren's renewed hardness delved into her tightest hole. "Unnnnngh!" she let out a guttural groan as she felt him plunder her ass. The first real dick to ever do so. A persona didn't count, fun as it was. There was no replacing the real thing. "Yes!" she cried out before burying her face in Futaba's pussy again.

No thinking. No judging. Just pleasing. Just being used. Her reprieve.

A good fifteen minutes later, the three of them emerged from the attic room. Not in uniform but in light clothing. A trip to the bathhouse in order after their active morning. They couldn't all three borrow the shower at Sojiro's house. Naturally, the bathhouse was unisex, no need for gender separation of bathing and changing rooms when outright sex in the street is technically legal.

The only rule for the facility was no sex in the baths. That would just be rude, and a little unhygienic. Though there were baths that did allow that kind of thing.

Futaba and Sumire sat either side of Ren in the bath, each leaning their head on a shoulder.

"Sumire," Ren spoke, and his tone alone made her worried. She knew he had noticed something. He was perceptive enough to put some pieces together on his own, especially with all he knew about her. She really didn't want to talk about this. "Before... Futaba bought up something I wanted to talk to you about."

Futaba? Oh! "You mean... What we... What you are to me." It was an easier subject than what she feared. Even if it meant talking about something less than acceptable, even in this more libertine society. "I don't really know. I..." She looked around. There weren't many in the baths but few didn't mean none when it came to topics like this. "You aren't my first... Sexual partner in this reality. My first was... Kasumi." She spoke the name in barely a whisper, even though no one else in the bath knew her or that the girl she was referring to was her twin. "We're... Fairly intimate. She took drastic measures when... When I was feeling really down on myself and... It just kept going from there."

She dared to look at him then. To see his reaction. She didn't know why she was preparing herself for judgement. That was never something she could realistically have expected to see on his face. Just like always, he was listening to her, letting her speak before forming any conclusions. Even Futaba didn't feel the need to make lewd comments for once. If there was ever a moment for the newly free-spirited girl to keep quiet, this was it. And Sumire appreciated it.

"Even so," she continued sadly, "She... This Kasumi doesn't know. She'll never know what I did. She's willing to share her love with me and I want to return that. I killed her. I want... Even if it's not forever, even if it all gets erased, while I live in this world I can show her how much I love her."

"Is that why you're punishing yourself?"

... And there it was. It took a moment to arrive but it was inevitable. "If I could... I'd ask her to do it," she admitted. "She never would though. She could never treat me like that. She wouldn't understand and even if she could, she'd never bring herself to hurt me." The inferior twin took a heavy, steadying breath. "I know what this is. With a real persona it's impossible to hide from the things you don't want to admit. It's a curse of self-awareness. I... I want to be treated roughly. I want to be used. I want to be punished. No matter how much I know in my head I wasn't to blame... I still blame myself. I don't think that feeling will ever go away. If harsh, even painful intimacy lets me settle those feelings for a while... I'm okay with that."

"Sumire... That's not a solution."

"If there is a solution, I'd love to hear it," she smiled weakly, knowing just as he did that there was no way to just magically make everything better. Maruki proved that. "Please don't misunderstand. I enjoyed it. This morning, in the vault, in the den. It was an exhilarating rush every time. It just... Also helps me cope."

"As for what we are... I think Futaba said it best. When things go back to... The way they were... I don't know." It was a future, an inevitability she didn't like to contemplate. "But for now, sex friends? If you'll have me, that is."

He didn't really say much in response. Even when she looked up at him, silently begging him not to think less of her for her desires, while also expecting him to. This time without words, he did as he always did. He kissed her on the top of her head, held her close. With actions instead of words he told her he would be there for her, to support her in whatever way she needed support.

-(-)-

A Thursday night was a strange night to be spending in a jazz club. Nothing said that more than how thin the clientele were for the establishment. If nothing else it meant the service staff were more attentive and sociable than they might otherwise have been. Instead of being rushed off their feet attempting the demanded Japanese politeness and false smiles for every customer, they were more willing to stay and chat. Becoming part of the experience of visiting for the evening. Ren's waitress was quite talkative, it turned out. Not only that but also charming and well read. It was enough to distract him from how well her uniform showed off her shapely legs. He had never been here in this world and so was unprepared for the smart service clothing to have been replaced with what might have been more at home on a magician's sexy assistant. Pantyhose under a leotard with a button-up collar. A classy kind of sexy.

She was also distracting enough to keep his mind off of exactly how late Akechi was until the other young man walked down the stairs. "My apologies for my tardiness," the mousy-haired boy said without preamble, "A meeting ran long."

For some reason the waitress' eyes brightened on seeing the young detective. She took his order with refreshed enthusiasm before leaving the table with an entirely unnecessary wiggle and walking away.

Akechi was wholly indifferent to the look Ren was giving him. Instead he seemed to focus on something that interfered with the unimpressed gaze. "You can give me all of the dirty looks you like, Amamiya. I'll pay them no mind so long as you play the part of the herbivore."

"You think that's what I'm doing?"

"You are still wearing the glasses, aren't you?" the hidden monster asked airily. "Entirely cosmetic, entirely pointless save for making you look meek and harmless. Tell me, did they ever help you sell that image, even when people might have believed it?" He hummed a laugh. "They certainly won't believe it now, and yet you still wear them."

Ren shrugged. "What can I say? Wear a mask long enough and it becomes your real face. I got used to it."

"Please," the detective scoffed. "We both know that has never been and never will be your real face."

Making a show of conceding the point, Ren slid the cosmetic lenses off of his face, folded the arms and placed the pair of glasses on the table. "You're right." Folding his hands under his chin, the sharpness of Ren's, of Joker's eyes was clear to see without the humbling circular frames getting in the way. "And? Is that your real face now?" He smirked. Not one of amusement, or camaraderie. More an appreciation for a verbal spar. For as sick as it felt knowing what Akechi really was, Ren had honestly missed him and their little chats.

"Hm, hmhm," Akechi laughed quietly to himself. "I see. To be quite honest I didn't think it would take you quite this long to confront me on this. I almost began to believe you had lost your edge and had become just that trusting. That your alternate self had softened you. I'm glad you only slightly disappointed me."

"That's an interesting line from someone chiding me for hiding my true nature," Ren rebuked him. "I've seen your true face too. That's not what I'm seeing right now."

"Hm," he took his drink from the waitress with a nod of gratitude. "Does it bother you, Amamiya? Imagining I have some diabolical scheme in the works, some grand plan to undermine your efforts at the climactic moment?"

"Not particularly," Ren smiled. "It didn't come to much the last time you tried it."

"The most dangerous adversaries are those who live long enough to learn from their mistakes." He let his ominous comment sit as he swirled his drink for entirely no reason, taking a careful sip. "You know I did just arrive. I think we should table this particular line of conversation. I'd like to relax into the atmosphere a little. Enjoy the music, the ambience."

"The pleasant company?" Ren asked facetiously.

"Mayumi is certainly a benefit to this place," Akechi spoke with the same casual ease. "Very receptive. Very animated under stress."

"Hm," the thief chose not to comment, instead changing the subject for the sake of Akechi's preference. He had expected to spend his entire evening on this going in.

The conversation drifted, not onto any substantive topics. Mostly discussing surface level aspects of the difference between worlds. Notably, how much didn't change. Despite preaching openness and understanding, that largely seemed to focus specifically on personal relationships. Professional ones were mostly the same with the exception of sexual relationships between colleagues being far more common. And as for workplace dynamics, well Akechi had a limited field of experience of such matters but the gendered employment traditions seemed as strong as that had been, if not a little more stringent than before. Sae, to Akechi's perspective, was the same hardass workaholic as she had been in the old world. The necessity of her gender in her occupation.

It sadly explained why Naoto had still been intent on hiding her gender in this new reality before getting her memories back. Ren had to wonder if that was also Xochiquetzal's intention or merely a side effect. As far as her known profile from her mythology, her traditions seemed to align with clear gender roles.

"So you're still speaking with Sae, despite everything?" Ren asked.

"Hm." Akechi wore an expression of acceptance as he sipped his drink. The conversation was drifting back onto the more complex subjects. "Only once or twice over the past couple of months, in her professional capacity. The SIU still have jurisdiction over investigation of last year's events."

"And you're still a person of interest," Ren concluded. Akechi stayed smugly silent. "Are you going to make me ask?"

"You want to know why I'm still free as a bird?" the detective, or former detective asked. "It's quite simple really. I'm too vital to their efforts." He leaned forward, speaking a little quieter. "Did you really think after everything that happened, after Shido nearly overthrew the government using the power of the metaverse, they would be happy to simply leave it alone?"

"No, of course not. But I thought they would have a little more caution than to involve you beyond interrogating you for all you know and then throwing you in a deep, dark hole."

"And they might have, if they had the option." Akechi wore a victorious smirk. "But what can they do? They have a group of wild vigilantes on the loose. Consider yourself lucky Sae is in your corner. She's the hero of the SIU and the Diet right now. Her word has a lot of sway and she's saying it's best to leave you alone rather than force you into becoming a threat."

"So they stick to suits in black sedans stalking me," Ren snarked, adding, "and Naoto, I suppose."

"Just so. That, and making sure they have the ability to stop you if you get up to your old tricks. Enter me, the only other person who can allow them to operate and investigate safely in that world. They require my active cooperation and that gives me bargaining power. Not that they're even close to taking action yet. But they're intent on stopping that world from becoming your personal fiefdom." The former detective paused, his smirk slowly widening to a grin. "Well, for most of them it stops there. But there will always be those who only see power and a chance to take it."

Another piece of information slotted into Ren's thoughts. "Naoto's files said there were a group who studied and handled situations like the metaverse."

"Kirijo and friends, well remembered," Akechi agreed. "I imagine were this the old world, the Kirijo Group and Kirijo's group would have stepped in by now. But, here they're all unaware teenagers. Though I imagine if someone tries to push their luck too much they'll still have Xochiquetzal to deal with."

"You're very calm about all of this," Ren observed. "In fact, you're calm about everything. After seeing the real you, it's honestly kind of unnerving." He didn't know what that said about him that he found the ranting, murderous psychopath Akechi less unsettling.

"I," the other boy announced grandly, pompously, "Am going through therapy."

The thief couldn't help but snort. "You're kidding."

"You shouldn't mock someone seeking psychological help, Amamiya! It can work wonders! Like convincing a bunch of foolish bureaucrats that I can become a stable, functional member of society! Of course," he finished in a whisper with a slight rasp, "You and I know better."

"I'm just glad it's not as simple as you getting laid in this reality."

"I wouldn't say that didn't help," Akechi shrugged with one shoulder. "A good emotional and physical outlet can work wonders." He looked at the waitress significantly before his eyes returned to Ren. "A masochist. It doesn't matter what I do to her, she begs for more. It's hard to find women who are quite that accommodating, but teenage girls can be convinced of a lot of things, allowing me to expend some of my more vicious urges. Pleasure and pain are so intricately linked. You should know, having become intimate with Yoshizawa."

Ren wasn't surprised his once rival knew about that. After Ann's vault it would have been easy to guess things might have moved in that direction.

"Different stimulus, same nerves," the former detective continued. "All sending signals to the brain telling them what to feel. So easy to confuse when someone knows what they're doing. There isn't much intimacy involved for me. Instead my partners are more like... Stress balls, you might say. Outlets. Nothing more."

As disconcerting as all that was, and how suddenly glad Ren was that Akechi never pursued Sumire because what a disaster that would have been, "And how much do the government know about what we've been doing?"

"Come now Amamiya, you know me better than that," the unhinged boy chided. "Over the past three weeks, how many times have we met?"

Less than a second to come to an answer. "Six times."

"Including the three minute conversation on the train platform, the visit to your little metaverse hideaway, and right now." Akechi agreed. "The first could be explained away as happenstance, the visit to your hideout couldn't be detected. That leaves four total occasions I've had to find some way to disappear without drawing suspicion. Child's play." He pursed his lips in thought. "However, I won't be able to leave the city quite so easily. If Shirogane convinces your bleeding heart to go save her boyfriend, or any of the others that might be located in Inaba, I won't be able to accompany you."

-(-)-

It felt like a lifetime ago when last Naoto Shirogane had gotten off the train at Yasoinaba Station. In truth, it had only been four months, but also in a way it was actually a lifetime. However, the sole true reason she would have come to visit the sleepy little town was not here. Kanji, Chie, Yukiko, Nanako, even Yosuke, none of them were here. Well, Nanako might have been but what a horrible experience that would be, the adorable girl not even recognising her. She had experienced that kind of heartbreak once already. She had no intention of going through it again.

No, it was important to stay on task. She wasn't here to sightsee, she wasn't here to meet up with friends. She was here to find a way to save them. And so she walked through the town, waited a half hour at the bus stop to get to the Amagi Inn. This was a simple test. This was the one for which she knew without a shadow of a doubt. The inn was the Amagi family's pride. This wouldn't change even if Yukiko had gone to school in Tokyo.

She pulled out her phone. "Yukiko Amagi."

"Subject located. Beginning navigation."

The world distorted and there she was in front of a grand castle of European design. That was one test that proved conclusive. The vaults weren't all located in Tokyo. If the vault wasn't here her time in Inaba might have been done, except perhaps a second instance to double check. And that meant she had a few more places to visit. Next, returning to the shopping district. To the north end where Tatsumi Textiles was located.

She took a deep, steadying breath. "Kanji Tatsumi."

"Subject located. Beginning navigation."

Once again in the metaverse, this time standing in front of a... Bathhouse for some reason. It wasn't important. She wouldn't be exploring today in any case. Not on her own. She wasn't quite that arrogant. Still, two locations that were exactly where she expected them to be. And so...

"Yu Narukami," she spoke into her phone standing in front of the Dojima residence. Or... What had been the Dojima residence in her world?

"Subject located. Beginning navigation."

Oh. Yu's vault was... Protected by fog. Well that was unsettling. And a reason to leave very quickly.

But after those three, her chances of finding vaults became far less. It was time to test the next hypothesis they had come up with for how vaults were located. Rise, well, her heart wasn't exactly located at Marukyu Tofu. Yosuke didn't live for Junes. And as she expected, neither were hits. If Rise's vault was anywhere, it was one that was almost certainly in Tokyo. She was a showbiz girl. Her vault was probably at her agency or some other place that was central to her career. Yosuke... Well, she had a suspicion and if she was right, it would prove how vaults were located. Though Chie's might also do so.

There weren't many places Chie's vault might be. The one thing she knew Chie was dedicated to was being a police officer. And so she went to the police station, pushed away the memories of her own time there. "Chie Satonaka."

"Subject not found."

"Damn."

Another long bus ride, this time along the coast, over the bridge to the beach town of Okina City.

It was a long shot but... "Yosuke Hanamura."

"Subject located. Beginning navigation."

She sniffed, smiling helplessly. Yosuke. City boy just looking for a good time, that was him. Still, this proved the hypothesis. The locations of the vaults were determined by the hearts of who they used to be, not who they were now. This world's Yosuke would have no reason to consider Okina as a special place when he had never been there. It meant Kirijo and her allies would be more difficult to retrieve, but at least they knew they were following the right lead.

Though that still left the question. If Chie's vault wasn't in Inaba, where was it?