It was Friday night.

That meant drinks, relaxing, and the company of a friend, Mondo Owada. He owned a lucrative bar in the quartz sector. It was far from home, but it was worth it.

That said…He was not happy to see a scuffle between two (moderately inebriated) men the moment he walked in.

"Now then, what do you have to say to each other?" He clapped his hands together.

"Tch." Both men clicked their tongues, turning away.

"Guys…" Naegi grew out the syllable.

"My bad."

"Yeah…mine too."

"Now shake." Naegi said. The drunkards shook their heads and went opposite ways.

"Too much to ask?" The brown-haired man shrugged, then dropped by the counter.

"Thanks for the hand, Naegi. Those boys would have gone bananas if you hadn't dropped in at the right time." Mondo Owada had short-brown hair, and was one year older. They'd known each other since elementary school. Naegi met new friends, however he either parted with some or, like Togami, reunited with later. Owada on the other hand, was Naegi's oldest and closest friend.

"Yeah, lucky me." Naegi droned. "And don't you mean you'd have gone bananas?"

Owada flips him the middle finger.

Naegi refrains from teasing the muscular man, once renowned for excessive violence, lest old habits get turned on him.

"Today's on the house."

Naegi squinted. "Is that supposed to be a reward? But I don't think you've ever made me pay before."

"Should I start then?" The ex-delinquent cracked a grin at the smaller man's profuse headshaking. "Just my thanks to an officer who actually cares to do their job properly, without making a mess."

"I'm only doing my part." Naegi watched the beer froth.

"Ain't complaining there. Now, I'd be happy if you didn't go brainwashing me with that pacifist crap." He joked. They brought out the best of each other, one could say.

From there, Naegi got down to business. Presenting his friend with an abridged of the cult related case along with the disappearances.

"They're called Atua's Apostles. Have you heard anything?" Naegi asked.

Owada rubbed his chin. "I think so. About as far as a few months back. Nothing you'd find useful."

"That long…" It lines up with the briefing. "Okay, could you keep me updated?"

"Don't see why not…but ya even allowed to tell me about work?"

Naegi smiled nervously. "I trust you…just don't tell Togami."

"I still can't believe you're working for that asshole." Owada said bewildered. "But trust huh? Weird thing to say to a guy you've known over a decade but still call by a surname."

"It's not like that." Naegi raised his hands placatively.

"I'm yanking your chain." Owada laughed.

The younger male slouched back into his seat, looking down at his glass

"Hey, Makoto…you heard about those serial murders?"

"I'm actually on that case." Kirigiri was, technically. But where she went, so did he.

Owada tenses. "If something happens, I'm punching Byakuya's lights out." When it came to the police chief, his personality reverted to his teenage years.

"No fighting."

"This is one point I ain't budging from. I never approved of you getting into police work."

"Not this again." Naegi groaned. "I can take care of myself. Always have."

"You mean Sayaka took care of you." Owada cast him an unimpressed look. "What's she been up to these days?"

The change in topic was welcome. "She called me a while back saying she might drop by sometime in June."

"Still at that fancy college?"

Naegi nodded.

"Glad I'm not in her shoes. Can you imagine still having to attend classes?"

"It can't be helped. She was scouted for a director's position." Not like it was any easier for him to imagine what that responsibility was like, but it had to take a lot of education and skill.

"To think that scary chick might be one of those bigwigs running the country. Those diamond class are something else. They get so many perks, even get to travel. I always wanted to see the outside of this place." Owada said.

"If you want to sight-see, there's a whole lot even inside the city. Go to another district."

"It's not the same, ya know? Like, I wanna see what's outside for once." Owada scratched his head. "Not like I've got the time for adventuring though. With the family, job and all."

Naegi shared the sentiment however, outside the outskirts of the city...was mostly uncharted territory. Most of Hope's Peak's resources went into rebuilding. It was only recently that it re-established relations with the outside world. The borders were officially open…but the price you'd need to pay to get in? They might as well have been locked shut.

"You could have become a cop if you wanted. You're more than qualified." Owada was an Imperial Topaz, the greatest variation of the fourth rank and had quality equivalent to the Beryl-class. That's the only reason they were able to attend the same school.

"I prefer it here. There's just somethings you can do when you don't have to worry about the law grabbing you by the balls."

"I so didn't hear that."

"I trust you won't rat me out."

Both men laughed. Their moment of peace disturbed when Naegi felt a pair of hands slither down his neck and wrap around him. "Look what I found ~." A sickeningly sweet voice whispered. Naegi recognized it anywhere.

"Enoshima? What are you doing here?" He grimaced, saying nothing of her chest pressing against the back of his head. She'd caught him off-guard again.

"Having fun. What else?" A woman who wouldn't fail to pass for a model sat beside Naegi.

"You again, huh?" Owada addressed the blonde with a tired frown. "Thought you'd be out for a week with how much you drank last night."

"You know each other?" Naegi blinked

"Enoshima drops bye every now and then. Also has a habit of downing a tenth of my stock before I tell her to stop and go home."

Naegi looks around the bar, then settled on the sole blonde. "What happened to your date?"

"I dumped that poser." She puffed her cheeks, then glared at him. "Maybe it wouldn't have been the worst valentines' day ever, if you had come along like I asked."

"If you thought I'd say yes to that invitation, you're crazy." He faced forward and prompted a refill from Owada. Just recalling that awkward exchange from the previous night was enough.

Owada's purple irises shift between the two. A smirk finds its way to his gruff features. "I almost forget how cold you can be, Naegi."

"She's only a new neighbour." Naegi had an unsettling feeling that he knew where this conversation was going.

"Isn't he awful?" Enoshima whined dramatically. Naegi could already grab a handle on her whimsical personality and preference for theatrics.

"Don't beat yourself up, Enoshima. There's a whole list where you're coming from. Naegi here's been breaking hearts since high school. He's nice to anyone but ended up rejecting everyone who had the guts to ask him out." Owada explained.

Enoshima gasped. "…Don't tell me he's gay. That's like, twice as much work for me!"

The alcohol in front of the young detective looked so much more inviting.

"I don't have a clue. Why don't we ask him?"

Naegi chugged down his glass in one gulp. Anything to distance himself from this discussion.

It's a shame neither of them could take a hint.

"Oh well. I like a challenge." Enoshima shifted closer.

"Tell you what. You manage to do the impossible and one night will be on the house." Owada was gambling…right in front of him…

"Have you forgotten I'm here?" Naegi asked…only to be ignored.

Being perfectly fair, he ignored them first.

"Deal. Now hit me." Enoshima raised a pitcher into the air.

"I think you've had enough." Naegi said an hour later. Owada hadn't been exaggerating about Enoshima's drinking habits.

"I'd hafta agree."

She slurred unintelligibly in response. Naegi'd been too transfixed by how much she'd taken in that he failed to stop her in time. If anything, he strangely felt like cheering her on to see at what point she'd drop.

"I'll…get her home."

"Want me to call a taxi?"

"I've got it." Naegi whipped out his cell

"Good evening, Naegi." Said the electronic voice

"Yo, Fujisaki." Owada greeted.

"Owada-san. Good evening." Alter ego recognized the bartender's voice. In respect to that, Naegi tersely held the phone out to Owada.

"…Nice to see you too, kid." A forlorn smile crossed the former delinquent's face.

A pregnant pause passed between them for a moment.

"Could you call a taxi?" Naegi asked the A.I

"Can do! Estimated time of arrival is 11 minutes."

Naegi nodded and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Chihiro's program doing good work for you guys down at the precinct?" Owada asked.

"You bet. And it's not just us. Most of the city is managed by Alter Ego at the center…Fujisaki was a genius." Alter Ego was an artificial intelligence created by Chihiro Fujisaki and one of the foundations for Hope's Peak's technological advancements. It could communicate with other humans with such fluency and fluidity that scientists who understood the concept doubted Alter Ego was truly computerized data. Naegi'd heard the men up top would sooner believe Alter Ego was a soul trapped in a machine. As ironic as that through process was, it evidenced just how far ahead Fujisaki was for his time; prodigious couldn't even begin to describe that kind of talent. Unfortunately, that talent came at a price.

"That's for damn sure. That kid could do anything he put his mind to. Thanks to him, we don't have to breathe that rotten air anymore."

"Is that why you were always jealous of him?" Naegi teased.

"You need another reminder of why I used to be the leader of the crazy diamonds?"

"No thanks. One punch was enough for a lifetime." Naegi waved a hand back and forth.

"By the way. How's the family?"

"Just peachy. Glad you asked, Daiya's starting school next season."

Naegi beamed "That's great. Bet he's still as adorable as ever." He still remembered Owada's adopted son clinging to him like he was candy.

"Yeah, not much changed. He still asks for you sometimes. You should drop by once in a while. Taka would be glad to have you over. If he's got time."

"I'll take you up on that." And a successful one at that. His bar saw many customers daily, not exactly the most upstanding sort either. It made for a convenient spot for information digging where the police's information taps don't reach. "It's so weird thinking of you as a dad." He was the guy dads told their kids to stay away from.

"It's rewarding, you should try it some time."

"Eventually. But right now, it's not for me."

"No time like the present. Why don't you give Enoshima there a shot? She sounds fun and not to mention, one hell of a babe." Owada pointed to the party girl drooling on the counter in her sleep.

Naegi made a disgusted face. "I'm not that desperate. Besides, I barely know her."

"That right? She looked into you though."

"Enoshima just playing around. I'm barely hanging in here as it is."

"Quit making excuses. I never thought I'd hit it off with Taka either but look at us now."

"I'll think about it." That was the best compromise he could offer.

"Taxi's almost here!" Naegi's phone vibrated and he stood from his chair

"By the way. Looks like you'll be paying." Owada said suddenly

Naegi looked at his friend like he'd grown two heads. "You said it was free."

"Yours was. Hers on the other hand." He pointed to the passed out Enoshima.

Naegi fought back the urge to palm his forehead. "I'll have Alter Ego forward it to you." He slung Enoshima's arm over his shoulder and picked her up by the waist. "Later."

"Stay safe…and don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Shut up."

He walked her to the exit, where a taxi waited to take them home. And, of course, Enoshima made sure to latch onto him the whole way, giving the detective not a moment's peace.

The look Yukizome gave him when she saw the two enter the apartment was one Naegi wasn't going to forget any time soon.

When they finally reached the door, Naegi reached into the pockets of Enoshima's jeans, finding a key.

After a process of trial and error, he finally finds the bedroom and placed the owner on the queen-sized bed. He's thankful for the figurative and literal weight off his shoulders. It doesn't last long, an arm latches onto his wrist.

"You've got to be kidding me." Was the officer's reaction to suddenly being pulled onto the bed.

"Stay." She said, clearly still tipsy.

"You're drunk." He said, succinctly.

"I'm sober."

"Then you're not serious." Though this was likely the former case. "You probably won't remember a word I'm saying, but you ought to take better care of yourself."

He forcefully unlatched himself from the girl's grip and shoved her hand underneath the covers. He needed to lock the door… Enoshima could come pick up her key tomorrow.

He searched for anything he could use for a note. He tried her desk, where he got a closer look of the literature stacked atop it. Naegi found what he needed, but now his attention diverted to the open book atop the furniture. The cover was worn, and the text on the open pages were in a language he'd never seen before.

He shook his head. Those were his habits at work; he didn't have a right to snoop through someone's belongings without a warrant…and there wasn't a need for one here of all places. Instead, Naegi placed the note where it would easily be found.

He approaches the door. Curiously, he focuses on a set of shoes in front of the doorway. A man's pair. He… briefly spotted her date with those shoes. But…there was nobody else in the house.

"No good. The less I know about Enoshima's romantic escapades, the better." He left the lion's den and, once in the safety of his own home, let out a deep breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said. "It's too hot."

It was room temperature.


Owada closed the store entrance, turning on the alarms. He lit a cigarette and strolled towards his car, chuckling to himself. He'd seen a lot of folks come around and that chick looked like the type to chase after whatever she wanted until she got it. "Stay strong, Naegi…or I'll go broke in one night."

Owada was fine with either outcome, if not leaning towards Enoshima's success. He wouldn't hold his breath as many have tried, and they've all failed.

A strange sight distracted Owada. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of a teenager around his car. "What do you think you're doing?" Owada repressed his urge to sound threatening in case he came to a misunderstanding.

He saw a twinkle in the eyes of a girl, no older than fifteen. "Good evening, mister-"

"I haven't got all night. What're you selling?" She clearly wanted something from him. Usually, he'd tell her to scram, but Owada was always left in a good mood whenever Naegi came for a visit. And what was a brat like this doing roaming the streets at this hour anyway?

Heeding his words, she smiled sweetly. "Salvation."

Owada's immediate response would be to ask what the hell she was talking about, but she spoke with a fervor that gave the older man pause.

He'd listened in on crazies and drunks over the years. You'd have to be an idiot to take their ramblings at face value, however, even the nuttiest stories were rooted in some degree of truth. You just had to find the source.

So, he asked, "Who'll be saving me?"

She giggled at his question. "We can only save ourselves. Atua can teach us how."