Chapter 53 / Steadfast

May 27th 2012 / Early Afternoon
Music Studio - Tokyo

"Should we run through it again?" Rise asked me as I was getting up from the piano to my feet.

"Sure. Mitsuragi can take over the piano now. Sorry if I have been playing for most of the day. I guess I just get carried away sometimes when I'm on the piano," I turned to Saya as she shook her head.

"No, please, it's fine," Saya was incredibly understanding. "I always have time to practice, and as long as I have some occasions to play with everyone then I can keep up." She certainly had proven that. She was exceptionally talented as a piano player, but she could also do some other instruments as well. Having her play the piano while I focused on singing and the performance aspect is beneficial. Plus us being able to adapt to different situations was important. If my anxiety got too much she could easily step in to take over, and Rise could cover my parts in most of the songs except for the duet songs.

"Actually I think a break might be in order," a voice came from the entrance of the studio. Several individuals stood at the door, and the most prominent of them was my Mother, Tsukio Nanase. With her was Producer Ochimizu Kyoka, a long time friend of my Mother and also the one behind the concert that would be where we make our debut. Then five girls followed in behind them. The one up front was Mashita Kanami. She was a girl I had met when I was younger...although the two of us don't really remember it. Still ever since we had met up again we had kept in loose contact. The other four must have been the other members of Kanami's idol group, Kanamin's Kitchen.

"Alright, break time it is," I shrugged as they all came in.

"It's nice to see you guys again! Kayane-senpai and Rise-senpai," Kanami bounced up and eagerly took Rise's hand which she also eagerly returned.

"Oooo...it's Kanamin's Kitchen. Super awesome," Reiko, our sometimes over energetic drummer bounced forward towards the girls. "I'm Aizawa Reiko, so happy to meet you all. Big fan."

"Reiko, don't crowd them," Taro, our incredibly talented guitarist had swiftly pulled her back. The two were apparently childhood friends and they certainly acted the part. Well, despite the fact that Taro often seemed irritated with Reiko's over abundance of energy, the two were still around each other all the time. I suspect there was a reason why the two of them had stuck together all this time. Their talent and performance complimented each other. I wouldn't be surprised to learn if the two started playing music together.

"Taro...don't you know who they are?" She pouted looking at him.

"We're also going to be performing on the same stage as them. Be a little bit professional," Taro sighed.

"Should we take a seat?" I ask hoping to push things along. Kanami looked like she wanted to talk but we might as well get the business out of the way.

"Yeah, why don't you all take a seat. Ochimizu and I want to talk a bit about the festival. Since you are all the main acts," Mom motioned for everyone to take seats in the stadium like platform area's that are meant to hold different sections of a choir or band. Well the studio was occasionally used for orchestras.

We all sat down and got somewhat settled in. With Rise sitting next to me...and Kanami actually sitting on my other side. Not sure how to take the fact that it seemed like Kanami was actually happy to see me and Rise. With all the madness that had been happening lately it was hard to really settle into any sort of normalcy. Plus I had spent a lot of time with my sister. It was hardly a good time to let my thoughts wander.

"Let's start with brief introductions. I'm Tsukio Nanase, Manager of the band Synchronicity," Mom gave a short bow.

I stood up and turned to everyone, "My name is Ikakure Kayane, pianist, song writer and vocalist for Synchronicity."

"I'm Kujikawa Rise, and I am a vocalist in Synchronicity," Rise jumped up next. The other members of the band followed suite.

"Osagawa Taro, guitarist for Synchronicity," Taro kept his short.

"I already introduced myself but I'm the drummer for Synchronicity. So glad to meet you all," Reiko smiled and gave an exaggerated bow before Taro pulled her back to sit down.

"I'm Ichide Tsubasa, bassist and this is Mitsuragi Saya. She is the back up pianist and also fills in or other instruments in various songs," Tsubasa took the initiative to introduce Saya as well. Saya was a shy girl so this was probably best.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Saya politely bowed before moving back to sit down.

"I'm Ochimizu Kyoka, the lead Producer of the Love Meets Bonds festival. Unfortunately Inoue Minoru, Kanamin Kitchen's manager wasn't able to make it due to a meeting," Kyoka held a business tone and her gaze was unflinching. Her hair was black and stylized going down to her shoulder. What stood out was the streak of hair that was colored white on the right side that seemed to slightly obscure her eyes. She had a simple gray business suit on and held a notebook in her arms.

Kanami got up next, "I'm Mashita Kanami, although I'm known more as Kanamin. It's great to be able to meet and work with all of you." She gives a bow and smiles big before sitting back next to me. Today she has the wig she wears when she is Kanamin which is pink thick wavy hair. Though I know her natural hair was a very dark brown hair.

The next was a smaller girl, she had mulberry hair that was about shoulder length. She like the rest of the girls was wearing a simple comfortable outfit of blue jeans and had a bright pink top. "I'm Ujima Sumomo. I'm known in Kanamin's Kitchen as Momo-chan."

As Sumomo sat down the next girl was much taller. She had short auburn hair and along with blue jeans was wearing a dark brown shirt, "Um...I'm Nakahara Nozomi. It's...nice to meet you all." She seemed a bit shy actually. It's a bit different when things aren't in a strictly official sense.

The girl after her had long wavy blue hair and seemed to have a much more mature air around her. "Sayama Tomoe, it will be a good experience to be able to work next to such a group. Ive heard good things about you guys." She bowed respectfully as the last of the girls stood up.

Her hair was a light brown and had it back into a casual ponytail. She seemed to eye me for a moment, "Name is Uesugi Tamami. Rise-senpai, did you really leave the idol business for this guy?"

"Yep," Rise responds without missing a beat.

"Rise," I sigh. "Don't embellish the truth."

"Well it isn't completely wrong," Rise said and took my arm.

"You do realize we're not planning to tell the world we are together right?" I just felt exhausted with the way this is going.

"Don't worry. I've known these girls for a few years, they'd never tell anyone," Rise sounded confident.

"No fair, Rise-senpai. We're not even allowed to date anyone," Kanami mock pouted from my other side.

Ochimizu then loudly cleared her throat, "We do have things to discuss, if we may."

"As you already know, this concert is the biggest one Takura Productions is doing for the summer. And one that the headline performance will be done by Kanamin's Kitchen. Synchronicity will be playing the act before them. However, this isn't public knowledge, and won't be on any of the promotional material," My Mother jumped right in to the main points. "There is also something else we want to suggest."

"The name Love Meets Bonds was the goal for the whole concert and so after much discussion we thought it would be appropriate if you all performed the last song, together," Ochimizu added.

"I thought the last song was supposed to be Kanamin's Kitchen premiering their new song?" I ask having distinctly remembering that fact in the last meeting. It hadn't been a detail we were really meant to learn about but it was just something that came out naturally in the meeting. I thought it was a good idea. There wasn't anyway to know how fans would re-act to Synchronicitiy's debut...but the fans would definitely be pumped for a new track for Kanamin's Kitchen.

"It will still be the new song but it serves a double purpose," Ochimiszu explained but didn't elaborate.

Ah...so this was executive meddling. "So this serves as a proof of show that Takura Productions is approving of Rise's change in her career. And that were all still on good terms," I scratched my head. "I guess that means we will have to plan some joint rehearsals."

"That is so awesome! We get to sing with Kayane-senpai and Rise-senpai. We all got to hear some sample's from your guys' album, its really good," Kanami was smiling and I guess excited to be working with us. Well I wasn't sure what to say but it wasn't like it was unwelcomed.

"Tsukio-san, there is one thing I want to ask. And I talked about it briefly with you before. Did you and Ochimizu come to a decision?" Rise suddenly asked which made me raise an eyebrow.

"I was about to get to that. Ochimizu was against the idea but..." Mom smiled.

"You never played fair, Nanase," Ochimizu muttered and surprisingly called my Mom bu her first name.

"Oh Kyoka-chan you've definitely made it harder for me over the years," Mom glanced over at her colleague and strangely felt like the two were definitely old friends. I couldn't remember the last time I had ever seen her friendly like this with anyone. "So for Synchronicity's debut, we are going to use Kayane and Rise's friends as dancers."

My jaw dropped, "As what?"

"I want them to be there Kayane. Besides what better stage than the Love Meets Bonds festival? We both made friends and we have come a long way because of their support. I couldn't imagine them not being a part of our debut. We owe it to them...to ourselves," Rise spoke it as if she had been ready for my resistance to this announcement. I couldn't argue her point at all.

I put my hand to my forehead, "We'll have to add additional days to the schedule as well as getting them all up to a level of confidence to preform. And..."

"...And you'll love every moment of it...trust me. I already made the arrangements for us to meet with them later today. I'll go with Tsukio-san to ask them," Rise smiled. She was certainly a sly one when she put her mind to it. I felt like this was a bit much...but if they were willing to do it...then I knew I would welcome it. I think having them there would help my nerves.

Rise and I already had most of the dances down. We had been drilling them every other night for a while now when we weren't performing with the band. The intention was to be a cross between Idol and a band. The fans would still get to see other aspects of what they loved about the Idol Rise...but I would be there too. Well okay, it that was the way it was going to be then there was no point dwelling on it. I was going to meet up with Setsuko, Labrys and Yoko after this...which is why she didn't ask me to go with them. We definitely had our work cut out for us.

"Let's not try to work ourselves to the bone," Taro commented. Unfortunately I think it was already too late for that.


May 27th, 2012 / Late Afternoon
Tokyo Local Ramen Shop

"Are you sure you are going to make it through this? This sounds like way too much work to handle," Setsuko said immediately after I told her all the new developments of today. We were sitting in a far off corner in the back of the ramen shop so I wasn't concerned about being overheard. Besides I wasn't really that recognizable as Rise was...at least not before we debut. I was sitting across from my sister, Setsuko. Sitting next to me was her adopted sister, Yoko. Labrys sat next to Setsuko.

"It wasn't like I had intended to take all this on. Then again I think Rise did this so that I would feel comfortable on stage. So if all my friends are there I might be less inclined to have a panic attack," I admitted before I took a bite of my ramen. I ordered it extra spicy but I could barely taste any spice at all. Man, people have weak standards to what is considered spicy.

"That is a good idea. Having familiar people around you can help ground you if you start to feel it coming. Though a lot of anxiety attacks are hard to tell if they will come or not. And panic attacks don't always have a clear reason as to why they happen," Yoko spoke up a bit. Setsuko had mentioned that Yoko was studying psychology, so she likely knew something about certain psychosis. "We get to go see your performance right?"

I chuckled, "I got all three of you backstage passes already. Aneki should see it in her email sometime soon," I said with a shrug. I said it casually and glanced at Setsuko. "Or should I call you Oneesan?"

"Whatever you want is fine," Setsuko then put her eyes down at her own ramen bowl and quickly took a bite.

"I'm curious though...Labrys do you remember of Oneesan and I called each other anything specifically?" I asked the android who had been rather quiet. I noticed that she looked a bit different though.

"Yes actually," Labrys spoke up. "Oneesan used to call you Kay-chan. And you would call her Nee-chan."

"Nee-chan," I said it and noticed Setsuko was smiling...and probably blushing, but the corner of the ramen shop we were in wasn't very bright so it would be hard to tell if she was or not. "Nee-chan it is then. I can't think of any better way to get used to having a sister than just going back into it."

"So...can I call you Kay-chan then?" Setsuko asked.

"You're the older sister, so I think you get to call me whatever you want," I couldn't help but chuckle. Yoko even laughed with me.

"You're so cute, Onee-chan," Yoko giggled.

"I talked with Mitsuru-sama before I got here. I heard you are getting used to the lab and making it your own," I had to bring it up. Shortly after Setsuko learned about what I had been through and time with Labrys she decided to join the Shadow Operatives along with me. Now she would have the resources of the Kirijo Group and also be able to oversee not just Labrys but Aigis' maintenance. Essentially by joining she was taking control of the Mechanical Maidens and things related to the Plume of Dusk. Even Yurika, who essentially acted like an artificial intelligence, although that was really underselling what Yurika really was. It had only been a couple of weeks but Setsuko was supposedly making plans to make seamless improvements to Labrys and Aigis. Specifically on their bodies that each weighed a ridiculous amount.

"I'll be able to continue other aspects of Father's research. I am still a bit hesitant to trust them though," Setsuko admitted. "But I could never do them on my own without major funding. And I can finally fix all the stupid junk they added to our Imouto. The Mechanical Maidens were never meant to be interfaced with other than or maintenance reasons. And even then it was designed to be unobtrusive. Aigis is even worse off. She has a built in kill switch that I am going to take out eventually. they really didn't understand Dad's research..."

"Considering the world was almost destroyed because of them, I don't think it could be more evident," I chuckled. "I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it. Oh but aren't we supposed to be celebrating your finals?"

"That's right! You were only four points away from a perfect score. As expected of our Onee-chan. Which by the way, Ikakure. I think we can totally count each other as honorary brother and sister. Us too, Labrys-chan," Yoko took my hand after I had put my chopsticks down and then reached over and grabbed Labrys' as well.

"Oh? Your older than me so I guess that means I have to call you Oneesan?" I grinned.

"Hmm...how about Nee-san? And I get to call you Kayane-chan," Yoko didn't miss a beat. "Although if you didn't have Rise..."

"Yoko!" Setsuko quickly spoke up.

"Settle down, Onee-chan. You get riled up way too quickly," Yoko giggled and I couldn't help but laugh myself as Yoko let my hand go. "What do you think Labrys?"

"Yeah, I think that's great. Can I call you Nee-san too?" Labrys was definitely happy. That accent was showing through as usual. What a strange family I'm a part of. Well, it isn't like life had ever been easy. No, nothing ever came close to being easy.

I wonder what Miyuki would have thought of all of this.

Do you really think you would even be here if Miyuki was alive? I mean it was our fault that she is dead to begin with. I saw him appear in the corner of the room. My Shadow. Don't worry, the others can't see me. Just us like always.

It wasn't like I believed that my Shadow had simply disappeared. But with the presence of that fake me during the incident with Kagutsuchi, it was hard for me to not think that this was connected. Still...was this just an indicator of me having lingering doubts in my mind? Something that I was maybe suppressing? But from what we learned a Shadow couldn't exist if you had your Persona...but yet it wasn't like the Shadow was gone. I think Setsuko had a better understanding about this. But I really didn't want to worry her about something like this when it could just be the result of my own worries.

"Labrys...have you spent time talking with Aigis?" I try to ignore my Shadow for now.

"Yes...and I apologized for how I first treated her and all of them," Labrys said and hung her head. I can't say it was really her fault. She had no knowledge of what had transpired since she had been shut down. Shut down and essentially thrown into a box and stuffed in storage because they couldn't do anything else with her. I guess that was thanks to Setsuko and I's Father and Labrys' black box which prevented them from ever gaining control of her. "I think I really hurt her feelings."

"Aigis was unaware of what had happened to you, or why you had been sealed away. She also was the last Mechanical Maiden that was made and consequently never got to spend time with others of her generation," Setsuko was speaking up now. Sounds like she didn't waste any time digging into the Kirijo Group files...or likely had talked a great deal with Aigis.

You're sister is a well bred survivor. She knows how to take advantage of situations and isn't afraid to turn things to her favor. She is certainly nothing like you. You didn't even deal with a fraction of the problems she has and you tried to end your own life. Truly we are a pathetic human being. My Shadow was more than glad to add that observation. I couldn't argue that though...my sister truly was amazing. Not only did she deal with the Dark Hour for ten years of her life but in that time she had pushed herself to be able to make her own robotic feet so that she could fight in the Dark Hour. She was concerned for Yoko, as one of the nights it had appeared she was being targeted.

"Aigis did say she felt guilty about it," Labrys commented. "I'm just so glad that we are all back together."

Minus two dead parents. But sure, be happy. My Shadow mocked.

I picked up my chop sticks once more and ate more of my ramen. "Nee-chan...what happened with your wedding?"

Setsuko still reacted to me calling her Nee-chan. It was definitely a new experience but it didn't feel embarrassing to me. It felt oddly natural. Plus I felt if I didn't treat her like my sister then I would never get used to that fact. She put her own chop sticks down.

"The wedding is tentatively canceled," Setsuko said after a moment. "Kichiro was understanding when I told him I had gotten a job and with finals happening it was just too chaotic."

Oh? Maybe our sister is worse at relationships than we are. Now that is pretty amusing. Just think of how badly Rise will cry when she realizes we've been cutting again. Breaking our promises is pretty bad. Hmm...nope we're still way worse. Nee-chan is definitely way better off than we are. Hey...do you think Rise would break up with us? Kick us to the curb? Maybe tell at us that she hates us...we certainly deserve it. My Shadow continued to taunt. I found myself clutching my arm. I really do hate myself.

"And she plans to spend more time with him and actually talk to him. You really need to decide how you really feel or him. It isn't fair to Kichiro if you don't feel anything for him," Yoko even sounded irritated.

"Yeah, I know...you've lectured me enough about the whole thing," Setsuko sighed.

"Life has changed rapidly for all of us lately. I heard that Mitsuru-sama even offered you a position in the Shadow Operatives, Nee-san," I looked to Yoko.

"She said she'd pay or my schooling and hire me as the Shadow Operatives psychologist in the future. Given my exposure it makes sense. Better to have those that have that knowledge close. And I can help Onee-chan with her research and offer an aspect she isn't knowledgeable in," Yoko seemed like she had already made up her mind.

"I guess we'll all be working together then," I smiled slightly before taking another bite of my ramen. My bowl was almost empty now. "Life sure is unpredictable."

Just wait until you see what happens next. My Shadow grinned but then was gone.


May 27th, 2012 / Late Afternoon
Inaba - Junes Food Court

YU'S POINT OF VIEW

"Thanks again for going out of your way to pick me up," I thanked Tsukio Nanase who was currently driving the car. Rise was up in the passenger seat while I was sitting in the back. "Is Kayane-senpai meeting up with his sister?"

"Not a problem," Tsukio replied. "You can't blame him. Honestly I'm ashamed I never did the research and found it out before him. Well, it was a chaotic time for both of us back then. I can't wait to be able to spend more time with the girl. She is quite intelligent."

I'm not sure calling her intelligent was enough. Frankly, she was a genius. Her robotic leg was more than proof of that. It was far more advanced than ones used on the market. Then again she was also used to fighting against Shadows. And that was certainly not something to forget about. Having heard what she had gone through had put more perspective on my own journey. I awakened to a power that was fueled by my bonds with my friends. I couldn't imagine having to face Shadows on my own and yet that was exactly what Setsuko had done. Not to mention she had lost a leg and yet she figured out a means to survive and fight as a child.

Yukiko and I had discussed it just a few days ago over the phone. About how in hindsight we had been lucky. I mean it wasn't like what we had faced had been easy, but for us...our lives had generally been peaceful and normal up until that point. None of use had been aware of the Dark Hour that had been in the world for ten years. After learning all of that...it just showed just how vast the world was...and how dangerous.

"I wanted to go with him, but this is important," Rise spoke up. "I figured you would agree to it pretty quickly, Senpai. But what do you think the others will say?"

Us being on stage...well it isn't like we have zero experience of doing it. But this would be on a much grander scale than it had ever been before. It would certainly be a nice change of pace from all the things that had been happening lately. Though it also meant a rough rehearsal schedule was ahead for us to be able to get to an acceptable level. Still to see both my friends moving forward with their lives was heartwarming. Especially since it had to be hard for Kayane to get into the industry when he had anxiety issues. And he was also a part of the Shadow Operatives.

Though the biggest change was the appearance of his sister, Setsuko. And that is on top o learning about his parents and Labrys. None of it was exactly easy. Yukiko and I had been trying to think of more ways we could support him and Rise. So there wasn't any doubt what the others answer would be.

"I don't think there is anything to worry about," I said after a moment and we came to a stop in the parking lot of Junes. I was also glad to have an excuse to see Yukiko. And this was also another good reason for me to see more of her. "So Naoto is going to be showing up too huh?"

"Yeah, she should be here," Rise said as she was pulling out her phone and we all stepped out of the car. "It's pretty hot today."

"I'll stop by and grab some drinks for everyone. Want to help me out, Yu-chan?" Tsukio asked.

"Sure, that is going to be a lot of drinks to carry. You go on ahead to the others, Rise-san," I said as we split up upon entering Junes.

"Tell me the truth...how do you think my son is doing?" Tsukio asked the moment Rise was out of earshot. The question caught me off guard.

"Honestly?" I sighed as I thought about it for a moment. The last few times I had seen him had certainly not been easy ones. And if I had to wager a guess...well it wasn't good. "I think he's hiding something."

"You are probably right," Tsukio said as we were now gathering different drinks. I picked out most of them since I knew the preferences of my friends. "Everything is moving so fast, and I haven't had time to spend much time with Kay-chan. I know he has Rise-chan to look after him but would it be too much for me to ask you to do the same?"

I shook my head, "No, not at all. He's been a good friend but he has a tendency to try to do everything himself. If anything happens, I'll be sure to do all I can to help him."

"Thanks, Yu-chan," Tsukio smiled briefly before we bought the drinks and then headed up to the food court. It was easy to find my friends. They were in the same spot we usually sat at.

"Hey everyone," I approached the table and noticed that Naoto was here as well. It was good to see everyone again. It feels like the last time I was here had been too much craziness going on for us to even spend any time together.

"Sensei! Woo-hoo! It's Sensei in 3D!" Teddie exclaimed and bounced over to me.

"Yo, partner! Let me give you a hand," Yosuke got up and helped me put the drinks on the table. "Hah, it feels like we haven't seen each other in forever."

"It is good to see you all. It isn't like I was gone for that long though," I said as I finally had my hands free.

"Hey Senpai, you've been okay?" Kanji asks. I noticed he was sporting a much different look. He even had on glasses and his hair was pretty well groomed. "The weather channel's been makin' a big deal about how it's been rainin' apes and gorillas in the city."

"Yeah, he phrase is 'cats and dogs', buddy. The only 'gorilla' here is the one that almost put me in a headlock. Anyways, um..." Yosuke looked to Tsukio

"Hello, Tsukio-san. I've heard you've been super busy with Kayane and Rise's debut coming up. I guess being their manager keeps you super busy," Yukiko said this while also taking the moment to move next to me and take my arm.

"You could say that. Managing a band is a bit different than Idols but its been a good learning experience. It's nice to see all of you again. I wish Kay-chan could have come but he already had plans with Setsuko-chan," Tsukio smiled and exchanged a quick hello with everyone. "Please take a drink and sit down."

Everyone was a bit curious as to what this was all about. I couldn't blame them, but then again...I did know what it was about. "Nice to see you, Naoto-san. How has work been?"

"Thankfully nothing as complicated or dangerous as it had been previously," Naoto said as she settled down at the table, sitting next to Kanji. After a moment we were all settled in. Yukiko helped passed out the drinks to everyone before she sat next to me.

"By the way, Rise-chan," Chie spoke up. "What's all this important business you were talking about on the phone? I mean, you and Tsukio-san came all the way here to tell us about something, right? Even having Yu-kun and Naoto-chan show up too."

"Mmhm, well... I actually have a favor to ask of everyone," Rise started.

"A favor? What is it?" Chie asked.

"Ohh ho ho ho, I get it now. Rise-chan's here to scout me as a brand-new idol, huh?" Teddie proclaimed.

Tsukio was laughing a bit now and I couldn't help but chuckle myself.

"But I already have an exclusivity deal with Junes. Me, an idol... I don't know if I could bear the pressure!" Teddie continued.

"Uh, no..." Chie shook her head.

"Dude, you're just a part-timer anyway," Yosuke added.

"I want all of you to perform as backup dancers for Synchronicity at the Love Meets Bonds festival," Rise asks straight out.

"Backup dancers!?" Both Yosuke and Chie said simultaneously.

"Huh? Backup dancers..." Yukiko blinked from next to me.

Then everyone else repeated it as if they hadn't heard it correctly.

"Ohhhhh, I see, backup dancers! Right! Phew, I was kinda surprised there, ahaha..." Chie had a nervous look in her eyes.

"Chie, you know what a backup dancer is?" Yukiko asked probably sensing Chie's confusion.

"Well, I mean... not exactly..." Chie was definitely unsure. "But since it has 'backup' in it, it's nothing too big, right?"

"Backup dancers are just... that, right? Y'know, guys that dance... in the back?" Kanji didn't seem confident either.

"Ahhh, okay, I get it. Dancing in the back! So that's what we're going to..." Chie frowned.

"I think she's going to break," Yosuke muttered.

"You mean w-we're going to dance!" Chie said a half beat after Yosuke's comment. "B-backing up Kayane-senpai and Rise-chan!? Us?"

"That's right," Rise answered. "Synchronicity is making their debut. We'll be playing before Kanamin's Kitchen. But I'm worried about Kayane and how his anxeity issues. So I thought about it and with the theme of the festival I thought it be great if you were all there performing with us. I think Kayane would be more comfortable and would let him relax and enjoy himself. It is a tight time schedule as its only about a month away."

"Wha-Whoa whoa whoa! A month? And us being on stage with your band? Th-That's an impossible deadline! I mean, I don't even know where to start!" Yosuke was already doubting it. I couldn't blame him. It was a lot of work to do. "Look, if we could somehow become expert dancers in a month, then everyone in school would be professionals."

"Yeah! Dancing together sounds like a lot of fun. I'd like to try," Yukiko jumped in and immediately dismissed Yosuke's concerns. I couldn't help but chuckle. Leave it to my girlfriend to just charge into it.

"What...!?" Yosuke was alarmed.

"After all, Rise-chan personally asked us. And it is or Kayane-senpai's sake too. Plus, we learned how to dance during PE at school, right?" Yukiko was reminding them of a few things...not that dancing at PE would be close to what we would need to do...but some experience with dancing would certainly help in this case.

"Oh yeah, we did. Like this, and this, and one of these... hwataaa! Right!" Chie bounced up and spun around before ending with a kick. That looked more like one of the martial arts kata's she practices. Though in actuality being able to do stuff like that already would make it easier for Chie.

"Pretty sure we never did that..." Kanji mutters. "I guess you already knew about this, Yu-senpai. And you're okay with it?"

"Why not? Plus Rise-san is concerned about Kayane-senpai. And considering how much has changed in his life lately...I think it would be a good idea for us to be with him. I believe he needs our support now more than ever." I said after a moment.

"Yeesh, how can I argue against that?" Yosuke sighs.

"Then I don't got a reason to say no either! I'm in," Kanji speaks up.

"Sounds like fun! I know all about that stuff! It's like, 'Yo my name's Teddie I'm a lyrical beast! I love the ladies and Personas and Topsicle feasts!' ... Right?" Teddie's mini rap mad most of us groan a little bit.

"Are you serious? That's not even close to dancing," Yosuke shook his head and looked around. "No one's even trying to back out of this one, huh?"

"To be honest, I expected this reaction," Naoto smiled a bit. "I was surprised as well when I heard about her plans, but I imagined this is how it would turn out." I guess Rise had talked to Naoto previously about this idea. Not surprising. I think Rise was probably closest to Naoto of all the other girls. Though there was a bit of tension between them. The reason for that was a bit more...complicated.

"Appearing in this thing's fine and all, but do we even have the time to practice?" Kanji spoke up. "Senpai and Naoto ain't around here for long, and we don't know what the hell we're supposed to do."

"Oh, that's right, huh," Chie considers for a moment. "We have classes so it's not like we can visit the music studio every day."

"True... I'll be pretty busy helping out at home as well," Yukiko sank a bit in her chair.

"Already taken care of," Tsukio then puts a bag on the table and smiles. "I have DVD's for all of you. It has the whole routine for the LMB. But it isn't like you won't be able to practice with Kayane or Rise. Whenever we are able we can get practice in and both Kayane and Rise already know the dance, so either of them would be able to teach it to you. These DVD's do have commentary from a famous instructor, so even with the DVD's alone should be able to help you all practice on your own. The only thing is that I will need you to take time off school from July 24th to the 28th. That's five days total. Those are pivotal rehearsal time to bring it all together before the performance. And if you all agree with this I will be talking to each of your parents to tell them the details. Since there will be a lot of cameras and I'll need their permission before I can give you all the final okay."

"Yikes... We're gonna be on TV?" Chie was the one to shrink back this time but Yosuke put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Wow... Finally, Teddie's grand debut in living rooms across the nation," Teddie had stars in his eyes at this point.

"TV, huh...? That I didn't know," I guess it makes sense, this was sounding to be a big event. "Considering how difficult this will be for Kayane, its a small price to pay."

"And don't worry, it isn't like you guys are doing this or free. You will all be appropriately paid for your time on stage. Just have fun with it by just being the group you've always been. It's thanks to all of you that my son is taking this step. And I'm grateful you will all be there with him to continue to support him," Tsukio then got to her feet and bowed to all of us.

"He supported all of us too," I said after a moment. Kayane would never realize what he had done for all of us. How his words are more powerful than he realizes. It's a reason why his music resonates with us so much. "I couldn't imagine us not being there when he needs us."

"Well as crazy as it will be I'm not about to say no. Alright, fine. Let's do this," Yosuke was grinning but he knew we were in for a rough ride.

"We got both Kayane-senpai and Rise-chan to teach us so I'm sure we'll manage," Yukiko was definitely excited about this.

"Yeah, let's do our best," I added.

Yosuke then grinned a bit, "Heheh... Now that it's been decided, time to get hyped! Don't blame me i my slick moves send you head over heels for me!"

"Oh, don't worry, that's impossible," Yukiko said it matter-of-factly. Brutal as always.

Chie instead pulled something else out of his words, "Wait, you can dance?"

"Can't you see I'm trying to pump myself up here? There's no way I'm gonna be ready in time otherwise," Yosuke explained.

"Oh right, by the way...your practices with Kayane and Rise will be recorded," Tsukio adds.

"Recording? Wait...like on camera?" Kanji is a bit alarmed by this.

"Well sure...it be great to have material for a documentary. The band has been recording everything since the auditions. All at Kayane's request," Tsukio informed them. That was actually a bit surprising.

"It was Kayane's idea to get used to having camera's around. And then Tsukio-san could decide what to do with all the footage," Rise added more to the information. "It's also a good idea so you guys can see what you are doing wrong and doing right. It's a useful tool for nailing a performance. I'm gonna be honest with you... dance practice is way harder than you might think. Rhythm in dance needs a lot of movement you just don't do in your everyday life. So bringing you guys up to on-stage quality, getting that muscle memory down within a month... Honestly, it's going be hard. Even with Kayane and I helping you guys."

"Rise-san, that sounds unnecessarily ominous..." Naoto speaks up.

"Sorry, but it's the truth," Rise wasn't going to sugarcoat it which was a good idea. No point in hiding how hard it was going to be for us. "But if we can put or feelings right now into words, and share it with everyone when we're feeling down we can remember that feeling when we need it most, help each other back up, and get on the right track again."

That was an interesting way to put it, "I see... So it's a way of connecting all our feelings. Alright, let's do it."

"Exactly," Rise said as Tsukio was now pulling out a camera. These two had planned it this far huh? She wanted to give a way to keep everyones spirits high. "So we'll go around the group, and we'll all declare our resolutions for the camera. Okay?"

"Well this will be interesting," I said as Tsukio was now pointing the camera at me. "

"First up is Narukami Yu," Rise said as means of introduction to the camera.

Kanji gives a whistle, "Go, leader! Show us what you're made of, Senpai!" Seemed a bit unnecessary.

"Sensei, we've been waiting for you! Eeeeee! Sign my bear chest!" Teddie doesn't help the situation. I could only shake my head.

"Quiet down, you two," Yukiko shushed them.

Not sure how I was supposed to go about this so...I'll just roll with it and looked to the camera, "...Hello, I'm Narukami Yu. I spent last year here, in the town of Inaba. My parents had to work overseas, so I came here to stay with my uncle Dojima-san."

"Huh? Wait, does Dojima-san even know that Yu-kun is here? It was pretty sudden... Won't he be surprised?" Chie interrupted, obviously concerned about if I stay here for the night.

"Don't worry, I already called him. I didn't mention our meetup, but he said you should all stop by when we're ready," I told them.

"Man, it's hard to believe it's only been a year since you came to Yasogami," Yosuke was reminiscing. "When I heard a new guy was transferring in from the city, I felt like I'd finally have someone to talk to."

"It's been just a little bit over a year now. It was a big deal when Yu showed up to Yasogami High School. We don't see many transfer students after all," Yukiko added. "I can't imagine anyone leaving as big of an impact on this town like you did in just one year before you headed back to the city."

"Well that was a bit unexpected, but I had only ever planned to be here for a year," I said and realizing that while we were in a more candid conversation that Tsukio kept on filming us. I think this was more our style anyway.

"After all that crap last year, even Naoto went back to the city for her work stuff..." Kanji commented. "Though I guess because of Kayane-senpai and Rise-san's plans she is barely around this place too. Since then, big vacations are the only chance any of us really get to hang out."

It was certainly true, but it wasn't like we could avoid that from happening. Kayane had graduated and then Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko and I moved on into our third year in High School, with the rest moving into their second year. But it is what it is.

"Well, we all have our own professional and academic duties to attend to. Even those of us in the city don't get to meet all that often," Naoto further explained the complications.

"School on top of going back to the industry plus traveling back and forth all the time leads to not much down time," Rise added. "At least I'm not as busy as I used to be thanks to Tsukio-san controlling our schedule so we don't wear ourselves out before our debut."

"It isn't like we've forgotten about each other though. And we plan to keep connected," I said after a moment. I had experienced it before...and I'm sure Yosuke could attest to it. Often times when moving to a different place you would make promises to keep in touch with people, but that was often where it ended. If felt like I never really knew what a real bond was until I came to Inaba. Now I would never let these relationships slip away. "Friends separated by distance are still friends. Our hearts are one."

"Waaaaaaah! Sensei...! I'm... I'm so lonely without you!" Teddie was being over dramatic. "I'm drowning in my own tears!"

I ignored him, "There was a lot of stuff that happened here. And even more when I returned for Golden week. It certainly never dull in Inaba," I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Geez, no kiddin'. Both inside the TV and ou-"

"Kanji!" Rise quickly cut him off.

"Well even in dancing, we won't be beaten. Let's all do our best!" I decided to just finish it off before we got too far off on a tangent.

"Dude, it isn't like we are in some sort of competition," Yosuke shook his head.

Rise laughed, "Alright moving on, next is Hanamura Yosuke."

"Uhh, well... I'm Hanamura Yosuke. I work part-time here, at the Inaba branch of Junes... Oh, uh, my Dad's the manager here, I guess..." Yosuke was suddenly clamming up in front of the camera.

"What do you mean, 'I guess'...?" Teddie lets out an audible gasp. "No! Is Papa Hanamura not your real father!?"

"Stop nitpicking! That's not what I meant! And besides, you live with me! You already know this stuff!" Yosuke snaps back but oddly also snaps him from the nerves that had been building. "Uh, anyway, uh... right now I'm a third-year at Yasogami. I've known Chie, Yukiko-san and Yu-kun since my second year."

"You sound way too stiff. It's really weird," Chie comments from next to him.

"Oh, come on. The camera's still rolling, so c'mon... Gimme a break," Yosuke looked a bit frazzled at this point.

"I think you should just be yourself," Naoto says.

"There ain't no point in tryin' to act all cool. It ain't like you," Teddie quickly adds.

"There are indeed types like his: conversationally adept, but terrible at making speeches," Naoto throws more onto this now spreading fire.

"But Yosuke's everyone's favorite disappointment, so it's all good, right?" Teddie's words cause Yosuke to snap.

"Shut up, all of you, just shuddup! Whose introduction is this, anyway!?" Yosuke irritatingly calls out.

Tsukio is laughing from behind the camera, "Yosuke-kun, why don't you tell us if you have any kind of dancing background?"

"Oh, I'm curious about that too," Yukiko jumps in. "With those headphones you always have on it seems like you're listening to music all the time... I think you'd be good at it."

"Er, well... You know, I've given it a shot, nothing too serious, tried copying a couple fancy moves... But in terms of actual, serious dancing... probably not. But I can make up for a lack of experience with raw talent," Yosuke suddenly said probably a bit too proudly.

"You said it, not me. We have that recorded now. I'm not gonna go easy on you in practice," Rise grinned.

"Ahah... Did I say talent? Let me rephrase that. I'm friggin' terrified!" Yosuke shook his head.

"That's the prince of disappointment we all know..." Chie commented.

"Well, what did you expect!? I can't just do everything on my own!" Yosuke glared at his girlfriend. "And besides, you're comparing me to Yu! That is an unfair standard."

"Me? You think?" I scratched my head wondering why that had come up. Still Yosuke and Chie seemed close as always. This wasn't an indicator of a rift forming between them...was it?

"Alright, Chie-senpai, you're up!" Rise spoke up once more.

"M-Me!? Man, I-I'm nervous," Chie sat back a bit in her chair but Tsukio moved around the table to get a better angle on Chie anyway. Then after a moment she boldly started and looked right at the camera. "What's up, everyone. My name is Satonaka Chie. I'm classmates with Yosuke, Yu-kun and Yukiko. Oh and Yukiko's been my best friend since we were little kids. Um... I'll give it all I got onstage."

"That's it?" Kanji asks.

"Yep, that's it," Chie nods. You know thinking about it, neither Yosuke or Chie had mentioned the fact that they were dating. Well they were sitting close to each other and it wasn't like I had mentioned I was dating Yukiko either. Maybe I'm just thinking too much about it.

"Why don't you talk a little more?" I say after a moment. It was super short compared to Yosuke's and I's introductions.

"Huhh? Well, I don't have anything else to say," Chie frowned.

"Well... This sort of simplicity does somewhat suit you," Naoto commented.

"Yeah, but it's a bit too simple. There's plenty of things to say," Yosuke was trying to encourage her a bit.

Chie just came up blank though, "Ugh, like what?"

"Like the fact you like meat, or... What your favorite kind of meat is," Teddie suggested.

Chie's eyes twitched for a moment, "What, I'm just the 'meat girl' now!?"

"Oh, how about kung fu? You should talk about kung fu, Chie!" Yukiko interjected. "You've been training pretty hard, haven't you? Down at the Samegawa riverbank."

"Ooooh! Now that I can talk about! Right now, I'm studying the Brazillian kick," Chie was definitely proud of it.

"An expert technique where you can change your kick's direction, correct? It's impressive," Naoto praised and stopped there. Our time fighting wasn't over for certain. There was still the fake Kayane Shadow that was in the wild somewhere. All of us were training in one way or another to keep ourselves fit...just in case another incident was to occur.

"Training at the riverbed? Chie-senpai, are you taking the proper measures against sunburn?" Rise raised a different concern. "You should really take care of that. If you're reckless, then you're going to get skin problems."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Let's not diverge too far off. Who's next?"

"Alright then. Next is Amagi Yukiko," Rise moved us along.

"Okay, I'm Amagi Yukiko. I'll do my best not to get in Rise-chan's way," Yukiko spoke.

"Come on, Yukiko. Have a little bit more confidence in yourself," I commented.

Teddie then whistles in a way that immediately makes me a bit irritated. But he continues, "Yeah, Yuki-chan. Graceful... Elegant... Beautiful. A real idol of femininity. Her house is a famous traditional inn, y'know!"

"Well, if Yukiko-san tells everyone she's gonna be on TV, all the guys at school are gonna be glued to their sets," Yosuke adds. I didn't want to be reminded of the fact that Yukiko was popular with the guys at Yasogami.

"Then I'll just make sure to dance extra close to Yu, so they know I'm already taken," Yukiko then boldly proclaims. "That's right, Yu, is my boyfriend."

I grin...I probably should have guessed. I hadn't really ever been jealous before...but being separated from her tended to bring those emotions up. It's hard when I don't get to see her for weeks at a time, even if we talk on the phone nearly every night.

"I suppose that being on TV naturally means... we'll be seen by people we know," Naoto expresses a concern.

"We'd better train our asses off, or we're gonna get laughed outta school," Kanji makes an unnecessary comment.

"Hey, if we're going to enter, it's better than not being noticed, right? And it's not like the Midnight Channel, where everyone ends up seeing the parts of us we hate most," Chie says it so casually that I don't think anyone noticed.

"...That was pretty rough," Kanji sighs.

"Could we... avoid that subject? We'd only be rubbing salt on our wounds..." Naoto averts her eyes.

"W-Well, we gotta stop getting distracted," Rise quickly interjects. "After all, this is supposed to be all about Yukiko-senpai. So, Yukiko-senpai, do you have any experience dancing? You look like you'd be good at the traditional Japanese ones."

"Yuki-chan is pretty good with hand fans..." Teddie thinks or a moment. "Oh, but maybe she's already caught Saturday night fever!"

"What is this, the seventies? Teddie, have you really been here long enough that you can make such a dated reference?" Yosuke muttered.

"Maybe you should revoke his movie watching privileges," I comment.

"What have you been watching, you stupid bear?" Kanji asked.

"Hey, hey!" Teddie was alarmed.

"Well I actually have performed a couple traditional Japanese dances before but those are very different from the dancing we'll have to do. In that sense, I don't have much experience with dancing. Oh, but I am interested, though. ...Oh, this is completely unrealted, but I've also been studying cooking." Yukiko quickly changes the subject.

"Cooking? Do we really gotta talk about that now?" Kanji was suddenly nervous.

Considering what we have dealt with in the past with the girls cooking it had been a legitimate concern. But Yukiko had made leaps and bounds of progress lately. As long as she didn't get overly excited and tried to add a bunch to the recipe.

"O-Oh... Ah... Yuki-chan's cooking, eheh..." Teddie gave an uneasy chuckle.

"Give it a rest guys. She's made a lot of progress," I said after a moment which stunned Yosuke and the other guys.

"Dude, you can't be serious," Yosuke whispered over to me.

"Is there a problem?" Chie eyed Yosuke.

"Nope, no ma'am," he straightened up.

Well, whatever. Yukiko was determined to get better and better. I was going to encourage her and help her as much as I could.

"Okay, next up is me," Rise suddenly proclaimed to keep us moving. She looked to the camera, "Hi there. I'm Kujikawa Rise. But all of you probably know me better as Risette. Sorry if I worried you when I took my sudden break. But I've re-evaluated my career and decided to move forward with my new band. I can't wait to show you the powered-up all-new me along with the rest of Synchronicity at LMB!"

"Whoa...! It's really Risette..." Yosuke said after a moment. "It feels like its been a while since you've been this pumped."

"Wow... idols are so amazing... Okay, now I want to go to this LMB festival," Chie nodded.

"...Why are you gettin' all starstruck, Chie-senpai? Besides isn't Rise-san dumping the Risette name?" Kanji pointed out. "Hold on. The heck are you doin' with all the Risette crap anyway? I thought this wasn't about talkin' to your fans. It was somethin' for us to have for ourselves."

"He's right. We need a message from you too, Rise-san," I chuckled a bit. It was entertaining how Rise could flip a switch and go into idol mode. I bet Kayane had noticed her habit of doing just that as well.

"Oh, right. Sorry... Forget all that. Let me take it again from the top," Rise shook her head and took a deep breath before she started once more. "I'm Kujikawa Rise, a second-year high schooler. And I am a part of the new band Synchronicity that I started along with some of my new friends. Last year... a lot of things happened and led to me taking a break from being an idol. So I stayed here at my Grandmother's place in Inaba, helping out at her tofu shop. Here I met Yu-senpai and everyone else. Eventually I also got to know Kayane-senpai and got to perform with him at the culture festival. Thanks to that it led to a lot of talks and eventually led to the two of us creating a band together. And thanks to our partnership with my old agency we are able to make our debut at the LMB. It's thanks to everyone that I have the courage to come back to sing and dance on stage once again."

"I'm glad you're so resolute. You're amazing Rise-chan," Yukiko smiled.

"But... I'm starting to realize how important this start will be for us. It's a lot different from the Idol world. It's unknown to me. Although Kayane says that it won't be too much different. As a lot of what we do won't be too much different than Idols. Still, I lost a lot of starring roles in movies...and it will take effort to get back up to that point I was at before. Although I don't think it will be the same. Still, I'm okay with that," Rise smiled a bit. She was so much stronger now than she had been in the past. She had been plenty strong on her own...but Kayane and his presence added a drive to her she didn't have before. I think she was stronger now because of him. Not just because he supported her...but because she wanted to be strong in order to support him. But what she wasn't saying was how worried she was.

She wanted our help for Kayane's sake. For his anxiety issues...but I felt like there was another reason...one she wasn't quite ready to talk about. Well, if we were going to be there...then we would be ready to help at a moments notice. I'm starting to feel like us being a part of this was something that needed to happen. If we weren't then something horrible might happen.

"Anyway... Teddie, it's your turn," Rise then pushed us onward.

"Alright. Time to show all my honeys what a heartthrob bear I am," Teddie smiled big at the camera which had Tsukio laughing behind the camera but Teddie continued. "Well, I don't have my Teddie fur on today, so I have no choice but to come clean, and show my true, naked self."

"Good luck Teddie," Yukiko giggled.

"From an objective standpoint, though, I think it's fair to say that Teddie's appearance is rather attractive. After all, he won the 'Miss' Yasogami Crossdressing Pageant by a unanimous vote," Naoto pointed out.

"Oh? That's impressive," Tsukio commented from behind the camera. "Teddie does seem to have a good androgynous look to him. That would definitely help him. I'm not sure what all your usual 'bear' business is all about though."

"Tsuki-chan, you're overthinking it. I'm just plain old Teddie," Teddie interjected.

"Teddie... Oh...so like how teddy bears are intended to be more cute than intimidating. I get it now," Tsukio nodded.

"...He's sliding by even though there's no actual conversation going on. Is this some kind of power of his?" Yosuke muttered from next to me.

"It's hard to explain Teddie in general, so I say we should just leave it at that," Chie adds.

"Keep in mind Teddie, if you really want to express your feelings, you need to have a solid foundation. Since you'll be dancing you should all keep it in mind. As a friend of mind likes to put it, 'Use the power in your heart, own the stage, reach out and grab your audience's souls.' Honesty, he uses that phrase so much I wouldn't be surprised if every manager that ever worked with Takura Productions didn't know that by heart," Tsukio gave a short giggle. "Let's take a small break and I'll go get everyone another round of drinks. It's especially hot today."

"Tsukio-san...I can take care of it. You paid last time, so I can cover this one," I started to get up but Tsukio put her hand up.

"Nonsense. You're all working right now. And if it is business related then you aren't going to pay for anything," Tsukio said before she handed the camera to Rise and then walked off.

"Hey...doesn't that 'use the power in your heart' stuff kinda sound like... You know, Personas?" Chie asked when Tsukio was out of earshot.

"Well, it is a similar idea," Naoto nodded. "With Personas, we need the strength of heart to face ourselves. Perhaps this would be expressing that 'strength of heart.' Kayane-senpai once talked with me about how music and Persona's could be argued to be tied together. But he said it was about how truthful one could be in that expression. And he believed that was a key difference in performers."

"That does sound like something Kayane-senpai would say," Yukiko nodded.

Rise shifted slightly, "He can tell you know. Kayane has always been able to tell the truth just by listening."

I blinked for a moment. Looking back...she was right, "How did I not pick up on that before? It makes sense that Kayane could pick up on that stuff. He's incredibly skilled musician. He's been able to pick apart notes and differences in tone all this time. So he...could always tell when something was off or missing." I shook my head. I felt incredibly dense not realizing it. It was more than just Kayane being perceptive...it was when he heard it. He might not have been good at visual clues, but auditory was a much different aspect.

"He knows when you are lying or hiding something from him. He completely ruined the surprised for his graduation party all because he realized I was leaving out something in my words...or maybe that I was excited to see his eventual reaction. I completely blew it, and I knew I needed to be more careful around him," Rise frowned remembering. Yeah I had remembered that too. Kayane was always listening.

After a moment Tsukio-san was returned with a bag full of drinks and placed them on the table. "Alright, everyone grab a drink. I don't want to hear about any of you being dehydrated later, so water for all of you." Then she picked the camera back up from Rise and turned it back on. "Did I miss anything?"

"We we're just discussing Kayane's excellent hearing," Rise answered.

"Yeah, Kay-chan has better ears than I do," Tsukio smiled. "There is a reason I leave all the instrument tuning to him at the house. Oh but we should keep going before it gets even later."

"How about... Kanji-kun?" Rise suggested.

"Awright, I'm goin' for broke!" Kanji certainly sounded pumped as he was opening a bottle of water. "I'm Tatsumi Kanji. Yasogami High School second-year. My family runs the textile shop, Tatsumi Textiles in Inaba's Shopping District. And my hobby is, uh... It's knitting cute shit. So adorable, you'll get diabetes. I was all embarrassed at first, cause I thought men like me weren't s'posed to like that kinda stuff... But I met my senpai's and they accepted me... So I decided that from now on, I'm just gonna be me. Th-That's all."

"Oooh, Kanji... you always have so much girl power," Teddie declared.

"Of course, you'd never guess it just by listening to him talk," Yosuke shrugged.

"Y'know, though, just looking at one of Kanji-kun's dolls always makes me feel better," Chie admitted. "They're so good, it's hard to believe they were made by someone who looks like that."

"Looks like what?" Kanji exploded. "What, you're all just trash-talking me now?"

Yukiko ignored him and jumped right in, "Kanji-kun's a good cook, too. He was the one who gutted the fish when we had a hot pot together. When I saw him standing there holding the cleaver, though, I almost called the police on instinct."

"Don't call the cops on me!" Kanji yelled. "Can't I get a normal compliment instead of this back handed crap?"

"Let's not go overboard," Rise giggled.

"Well let's not go off track. Kanji's very kind. He's also good at taking care of others, and he can endure a lot," I couldn't really stop myself. "Though he could work on improving his grades a little more."

"Hey Hey...I'm working on it. I've already brought them up pretty far, you know," Kanji said proudly.

"So Kanji-kun, do you have any experience dancing?" Tsukio asked from behind the camera.

"Huh? Uh, never tried. But I'm actually kinda interested," Kanji admitted.

"That's news to me. I'm a bit surprised," Naoto spoke up.

"W-Well, I mean, kinda, yeah..." Kanji had been okay with the conversation up until Naoto spoke up. Well that wasn't too surprising. "And I been thinkin' it'd be good to keep all limber and stuff. So I'd do a ton of leg stretches after takin' a bath... Oh, yeah, and sometimes I do a sumo stomp or two."

"That's... not dancing," Chie stated. Seriously, what have you been doing Kanji to keep yourself in shape?

"But Kanji's tall, and he's got a lot of upper body strength. I bet he could do really dynamic and aggressive stuff. He'd look like a professional if we put in some power moves. Yeah, I think it'll be fun teaching him," Rise commented.

"Hell yeah! Hit me! Gimme everything you got!" Kanji was definitely pumped.

"Alright, well time for Naoto-kun," Rise moved it to the final person at our table.

"M-Me...?" Naoto looked like she was caught in headlights.

"Wooo! We've been waiting for you! The legendary Detective Prince!" Teddie of course had to start it off in his usual fashion.

"Let's see... Hmph. If this was a press conference I wouldn't be nervous, but I don't quite know where to begin..." Naoto shook her head.

"What're you saying? There's all kinds of cool stuff you can talk about," Yosuke quickly interjected. "I mean you're only a year younger than us, but you're a real, professional detective."

"Yeah, that's right. Nao-chan's reaaaaally smart! And on top of that, she seems cool and frosty on the outside, but she's really a cute girl inside," Teddie didn't really know how to phrase things.

"Hey...! Come on, Teddie, you can't just blurt that out. Now Naoto-kun has nothing to talk about," Chie groans.

"No, it helps to have it said or me," Naoto says. "To elaborate... I am the fifth generation of the Shirogane family, a distinguished bloodline of detectives... I currently assist my Grandfather in his work while studying to become a detective worthy of the Shirogane name."

"Come to think of it, Naoto-kun didn't tell us that when we first met," Yukiko says.

"Ah, that's right," I nodded.

"Didn't tell us? More like she put up tons of walls and went on full lockdown. We couldn't get to know her for a while," Kanji says.

"To be air it was the same for all of us," I quickly spoke up again.

"Well, at the time, I was already working with adult colleagues. And I worked quite hard to ensure I wouldn't be taken lightly just because I was a child or a girl. In hindsight, I was certainly putting on a front. After all, I'm still quite young, and assuredly a girl," Naoto spoke with a bit of regret but it wasn't like any of didn't understand what she had gone through. We were all familiar with what we all had gone through.

"Hey, everyone's got times they tried to act all cool," Kanji speaks up again. "It's bein' able to admit that stuff that means you've grown, right?"

"Yeah. It's the same for us," Chie was smiling slightly. "Sometimes, it's kinda depressing thinking about the past. I get moments like 'Aaagh, why did I think that'."

"It's a good thing. We are only here now because of what we all faced. Stronger than we would be otherwise," I said.

"It may not be the best time to mention this, but to be frank... I'm not confident at all with the idea of dancing. I have some experience with ballroom dancing, but not with the type that Rise-san needs from us," Naoto said.

"Some experience is better than none," Tsukio said after a moment. "Although it is a completely different style, it might help you pick it up a bit easier. As long as you haven't developed too many habits from ballroom dancing."

"Don't worry about it, Naoto-chan. You have both Kayane and I to teach you dance. I'm gonna be tough on you, though, so be prepared," Rise was smiling again.

"O-Okay... Please don't be too hard on me," Naoto smiled back.

"Alright. Thanks, Naoto-chan. I guess that means we've covered everyone," Rise seemed satisfied. "Hmm...is that Dojima-san over there?"

"Nana-chan's with him. Heeeeeeeey, over here!" Teddie gets up from his seat and is now waving his hands at my Uncle and cousin.

"Oh, Teddie-and Onii-chan's here, too," She smiling and comes over to my seat.

"Hey, Nanako," I greet her and give her a quick hug.

"Hey. I thought you'd be here," Dojima walks over. Well I wasn't too surprised he'd figure it out.

"But why are you here? Yu said that he didn't tell you where we'd meet..." Yosuke started but Dojima chuckled.

"What, you forgot? I'm a detective. Did you think I couldn't figure out where you kids usually hang out?" Dojima smiled. "I had some free time. So I figured I'd stop by while I was getting the shopping done."

"I see. Good for you, Nanako-chan," Yukiko said who had also taken a chance to steal a hug from my cousin. Well the two had gotten closer lately from what I could tell.

"Yeah. I love Junes. Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako cheerfully sang.

"D'aw. Nanako-chan, you can do that jingle even better than I can. Thank you for your patronage," Yosuke said.

"Oh, I know. We should have Dojima-san and Nanako-chan give us their comments, too." Rise spoke up. "I think Kayane would appreciate it too."

"Comment?" Nanako asks.

"Hold on, now, wh-what's this all about?" Dojima noted Tsukio who was still holding the camera but bringing it around to capture Nanako and Dojima.

"Well, everyone here is going to dance at Kay-chan and Rise-chan's debut of their band at the Love Meets Bonds festival. There is still some legal things to deal with, such as talking to with everyone's parents. But I can get free passes for you and Nanako-chan to attend. I know Kay-chan would love to have your support," Tsukio gave a rather brief explanation.

"I take it you already got the approval from your parents," Dojima looked to me.

"Yeah, but you know how my Mother is," I gave him a shrug.

He groaned, "Yeah."

"Onii-chan, you're going to be on TV with Kay -chan and Rise-chan? Wow!" Nanako seemed impressed with me.

"Well, I'll do my best to keep up with them," I gave her a smile.

"They have a lot of work to do, but the dance isn't that complicated, and everyone here is more than athletic enough," Rise chimed in.

"Looks like you all have your work cut out for you," Dojima shook his head. "So, what is this about a comment?"

"It be great if we could get you to comment for the video. To cheer us on. As our first and second fans," Rise explained.

"Ooh, that sounds good," Chie chimed in.

Dojima sighed, "You really want me to do this? Alright, fine. Camera's on?"

"Been rolling this whole time," Tsukio was laughing a bit behind the camera.

"Eesh, this is all over my head. If you're going to do it, then commit to it. Do your best, and be careful not to hurt yourself, or get heat stroke... Hm... Come on, Nanako. You say something too," Dojima looked like he was at a loss for words when put on the spot.

"Onii-chan, do your best! Rise-chan and everyone else too! Oooh wait is Kay-chan going to see this too?" Nanako asks me.

"Yep, this video is for him too," I answer.

"Kay-chan do your best! And teach me how to dance too," Nanako smiled big.

"Nanako-chan's dancing? That'd be great," Rise nodded. "She'd be soooo cute."

"Alright. We'll learn everything from Rise and then we'll show ya everythin' there is to it," Kanji said.

"I think Kayane would rather teach you himself. And we can even have your big bro there too," Rise said after a moment. Yeah I think Kayane would really enjoy something like that. He hadn't been able to see Nanako in a while. It be good to have him spend time with her. Anything that made Kayane a bit more relaxed with everything he had learned lately.

"Maybe we can arrange that sooner than later," I spoke up.

"That be great!" Nanako cheered.

"Anyway... We're done shopping, so we'll be heading home ahead of you," Dojima turns to me and hands me some money. "There isn't a lot at home, so if there's something you'd like, go ahead and buy it with this. Oh and Tsukio-san, if you want to stop by you are more than welcome. It might be takeout, but a meal's a meal."

"I'll keep it in mind," Tsukio smiles while still holding the camera.

"Come on, Nanako," Dojima then turned to leave.

"Bye-bye, onii-chan," Nanako says before joining Dojima.

"Yeah, see you later," I nod as they walk off.

"I wasn't expected that... I'm all excited now. I guess we got everything we needed. So maybe we should go shopping and then head over to Dojima-san's?" Rise said this as Tsukio was closing up the camera.

"Rise-chan, is Kayane-senpai going to be back in town tonight?" Naoto asks.

She shook her head, "No, he's going back to Kyoto with his sister. He'll be back in Inaba by the end of the week though."

"Seems kinda wrong for us to have a party without all the members of Synchronicity here though," I say after a moment. "Think we can get something arranged?"

"I can take care of that," Tsukio said after a moment. "Kay-chan could always use a reminder of all the people that are cheering him on."

As much as this was a celebration of Rise returning to the industry, along with Kayane's debut...it was also a reminder of the things we had gone through and the struggles we've had to come this far. Kayane likely never saw something like this happening to himself. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was keeping a great deal more in his head. I think there was a lot of concern that wasn't being said. And Rise was trying really hard to cover up her own anxiety as she was absolutely concerned about Kayane and how this would all happen. With the threat of the fake Shadow Kayane still out there...it was more than legitimate concerns to have.

Kayane...I hope you weren't hiding things. But I know when you need it...you'll come to us for help. I just hoped nothing happened before it was too late.


A/N:

Well maybe a closer update than usual but I am feeling pretty motivated, so I figure why wait? So here you go, Chapter 53. We get to see a bit from Kayane's perspective...which we haven't seen for a while. Then we spend the majority of our time with Yu.

Dancing All Night splits up into different paths so no surprise that is going to happen here. So Yu will be one of the perspectives we go to. But I'll let you all find out who are main perspectives will be by letting the story tell you.

The scene of the camera and the crew declaring their resolutions was something you actually unlock after completing Dancing All Night. Which I guess is because it is quite a long scene and delays you getting into the game, but there isn't any reason why I shouldn't include it here. This scene also happens a while before the proper start of the Dancing All Night events. Only a few more scene before we get to the start of the game. It's crazy to think how long I've been writing this fic.

I hope you'll stick with me until the end! Thanks for your time and I'll see you in the next chapter!