I own nothing. Monika does.

The same question had been plaguing Sayori's mind every day since her conversation with Yusuke. Could it really be possible that she liked Goro in that way? Mai hadn't brought it up since she had first asked, but the way the girl now looked at her made her aware that she was thinking about it. Sayori had longed for a distraction, but when one finally came, she found it rather bittersweet.

The two girl's had been enjoying tea together in the backroom, when Mai decided to turn on the news. "It's been a slow day!" Said Mai, trying to excuse her getting out of work. But when the screen lit up with the image of Yusuke's sensei, the artist Madarame, Sayori got a horrible feeling that something was wrong.

"I… I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist. Plainly put… I… plagiarized work…" The man seemed to feel truly guilty about what he was admitting to, judging by the breakdown that immediately followed. This situation felt all too familiar to Sayori. What the newscaster said next, however, had her gasping in concern.

"On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own," the TV flicked off, and Sayori looked over to see Mai, holding the remote, with a deep scowl on her face.

"The nerve of some people. Makes me sick." Mai looked at Sayori with concern. Sayori looked disturbed at the news. "Something up?"

"I actually spoke with Madarame's pupil, Yusuke Kitagawa, a couple of times. The news mentioned abuse of his pupils. I… I think I'm going to go check on him after I'm done here," Sayori grabbed her notebook and began to furiously scribble down lines of text.

"That's very kind of you, Sayori. I'd offer to come with, but I've got an important meeting I need to attend to, concerning my after school job," Mai scowled, giving Sayori the impression that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Anyway, I checked the news last night on my phone. Apparently, calling cards from the Phantom Thieves showed up at Madarame's exhibit," Mai spoke about this so casually, yet Sayori couldn't help but pause from her writing and look up in shock. This confirmed her suspicions. But before they could talk further, the bell rang. They were done for the day.

Sayori ripped the page out of her notebook and folded it up. Slipping all of her things into her backpack, Sayori paused to wave at Mai. She sent a quick text to Akechi to let him know she was probably going to be home later than usual, and set out.

Yusuke was exiting the shack-like house, loaded down with heavy boxes and a backpack, when Sayori arrived.

"Kitagawa-kun!" Sayori ran towards him, waving her arms to get his attention. After her last conversation with him, she figured it would be beneficial to get his attention quickly. Her tactic worked. Yusuke looked up in shock, nearly dropping two heavy boxes in the process. Sayori quickly closed the distance between them, putting her hands under the boxes and lifting up.

"Matsu-chan, what brings you here?" Yusuke asked, staring at her in slight awe. This confused Sayori.

"I saw the news. I didn't know that Madarame was so horrible, and I wanted to check on you. Also, why are you staring at me like that?" Sayori shifted the boxes slightly, making sure she had a good grip on them.

"No particular reason. I just had no idea you were so strong, Sayori. You're carrying those boxes almost effortlessly," He set his remaining box on the ground, and began digging through it. "I'm fine, by the way. I'm just in the process of moving out. The police left hours ago. I assume they found what they needed." While clearly quite tired after his long day, Yusuke still managed a smile for Sayori. "I was hoping I would run into you. I wanted to show you the painting you helped to inspire."

Sayori set her two boxes down and reached into her backpack. "Really? I wrote this after I found out, and I wanted to give it to you. It's a poem," Sayori grabbed the piece of paper, and handed it to Yusuke, who in turn took out a large canvas. Exchanging items, Sayori caught her breath.

The painting depicted a a dark foggy street, lit up only by the presence of a single streetlight. The light it cast gave the fog an almost humanoid shape. And it was obvious by the patterns of light that the lamp had a candle in it. Once again, Sayori felt a swell of homesickness rise inside of her. This painting really did remind her of Yuri. Glancing at Yusuke, she smiled lightly. He was currently reading the poem she had written not a half hour ago.

A tell tale heart confessed today,

of wrongs he had done in many ways.

But all the while I was wondering,

pondering,

hoping,

that the victim under the floor was alright.

"Hmm. It's quite heartwarming. I can tell that you more than likely wrote it with what happened today in mind," Yusuke folded up the paper and tucked it into the box he had put the painting in, before looking at Sayori's expression.

"I can see that my work has moved you as well. I was trying to paint what I believed would represent someone who has trouble moving on. The sadness you conveyed inspired me greatly, almost more so than Takamaki-san. While the modelling she displayed was exquisite, it wasn't enough for me to capture the true beauty I had in mind," Yusuke said the last part looking slightly saddened, but Sayori looked up in alarm.

"Takamaki-chan modelled for you?" Sayori recalled her conversation with the girl only a few weeks before. She hadn't wanted to go into details. Not to mention the circumstances… Sayori felt herself start to go pale. Yusuke noticed, and was about to ask what was wrong, when Sayori's phone blared and chirped. She recognized the ringtone as a notification, a text from her guardian, and subject of one of her latest troubles. Saved by the bell, Sayori thought as she got out her phone.

"It's a text from Goro. He wants to know where I am. I need to meet him somewhere. I'm happy to know you're alright, Kitagawa-kun, but I have to go. I love your painting. Can I help you with these boxes before I go?" Sayori, without waiting for an answer, stacked the three boxes. Picking them up, she handed them off to Yusuke. She almost took them back when he nearly tipped over, but he waved her off. Making sure he had a firm hold on the boxes, she ran back the way she came, new worries plaguing her mind.

Ann was a victim of Kamoshida, the first target of the Phantom Thieves. Now she's modelled for Yusuke, the pupil of their second target. In both cases, she was somehow involved. Could that mean… no. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence. If the Phantom Thieves strike a third time, and I find out that Ann is somehow involved… Then I'll get suspicious.

Sayori finally settled her thoughts as she arrived at the place she needed to meet Akechi. Looking around the mostly vacant street, she almost didn't notice him leaning against a tree, with two things in his hands. Just seeing him reminded Sayori of her second conflict. She was a lot more hesitant to address it, so she simply walked up to meet him.

"Sayori! I was starting to get worried," Akechi said this with a small smile, looking relieved. Sayori's stomach flipped. Mai's words started ringing in her head.

"Hey, Goro. I'm sorry that I worried you. I only wanted to check on Kitagawa-kun. You saw the news too, right?" Sayori saw Akechi frown a little.

"Yeah, we can discuss it when we get home. I took my bike this morning, since it's such a nice day. I need to take it back with me, so I decided to escort you home today. You'll need this," Akechi handed Sayori one of the items in his hands, putting the other one on top of his head.

He was wearing a blue helmet. Sayori looked down and found a brand new pink one in her hands. Once she had strapped it onto her head, Akechi grabbed her wrist and lead her to his bike. Sayori immediately noticed a problem.

"But, there's only one seat. How can we both ride it?" Sayori felt herself blush. She tilted her head down and hoped Akechi wouldn't notice.

"You'll sit on the seat. I'll stand up and pedal," Akechi explained. He didn't seem too worried, so Sayori hesitantly sat down.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Sayori asked, as Akechi unlocked the chain on the bike and put the kickstand up.

"That's why we have helmets," He said casually. He got onto the bike, about to start pedaling. "By the way, this will probably go a lot more smoothly if you actually hold onto something." Without waiting for a reply, he sped off.

Panicked, Sayori grabbed onto the closest thing she could reach. She cursed her luck when she realized that closest thing was her guardian's waist. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked up, about to ask Akechi to slow down. But when she did, she started to enjoy the ride.

Sayori had never really gotten the chance to spend time with Akechi during the day. They were always so busy with other things, or spent their time in the apartment trying to solve what was appearing to be an unsolvable case. Sayori regretted that fact. Akechi's practically glowed with the evening sunlight on his face. He had such a carefree smile. The wind that picked up as he went down the bike path made his hair flow back, practically fluttering.

When he hit a bump in the road, Sayori wrapped her arms tighter around him. But she knew Akechi wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. He never had before. It was in that moment, that Sayori realized Mai was right. She liked Goro Akechi. The realization made Sayori's blush more pronounced. It was at that moment that Sayori realized the bike was slowing to a stop. Akechi was glancing at her.

"You look really hot."

Sayori stuttered, not really expecting the conversation to lead with that. As she tried to muster coherent words, the detective continued.

"You look like you're about to faint. Wanna head down a more shaded route?"

Realization dawned on Sayori as she tried to control her blush. "Oh! Um… Yes, please," she squeaked. Maybe the shade will hide my humiliation. She wrapped her arms back around his waist and tried to hide her face from his view. As they passed the last five minutes of the bike ride in silence, Sayori began to feel a pit form in her stomach.

fh = open("Zm9yZXNoYWRvdw== . txt", "r")

An interruption, a pause, an unknown factor. Things hidden just below the surface are about to be revealed. Soon, a dark conflict will make itself known, choices will have to be made, and nothing will be the same.

#apologies for being so vague. it was necessary. the last summary kinda lied, though, cause i'm not evil. I'm just… misunderstood. anyway, the so-called "great evil" that was mentioned before? i've been here the whole time.

#y͏͍̤̫̞͚o͙̰͕̳̗̮ͅu̝̼̹̞ ̷͉͖̲͓̣̦a̯̠͙r̬̰̜e̴n̵'͙͙̟ͅt͝ ͓̗̪̠͍r͞e͞a̵̲̙̪d̴̠y̡̰̭.̥͔͇̦̺̤̪

fh . close()