A/N: As expected of the title, the team manages to enter the striptease... man, the music for that dungeon is awesome. Which reminds me, now I have to play the game again since I reached the part I paused at, which is at the entrance of Rise's dungeon... it's like scrambling into an inferno of 'what the hell was I planning to do before all this' and 'oh god game mechanics'. Welp.

/and finding mistakes when reading this fanfic's chapters are still painful to see and fix ;w;

Guest2 - Well, I hope I can portray her well. I tend to go OOC whenever I try to write, but I hope I won't go too far on that road! Also, glad you like the camping chapters. Yes, Yui is in too deep... and she can only go deeper from there, hehe.

Mr Giraffe (Guest)
- I've never been in a crush before, so I don't know how a real girl would react around a guy they like, much less a crossdressing girl lol. But I have this weird thing for eye contact... my time of watching Korean dramas are giving me way too many ideas. But it's like, there's something about that moment where their eyes lock and everything feels like it slows down or freezes... I adore those moments XD oh, and it doesnt help that i imagine everything in a comic style...
- Nah, P5 protag isn't going to crossdress like Yui, but I'll think of something when the time comes for me to start the fanfic
- Welp, that's how Margaret speaks in the game anyway :3
- Regular boy vs Ex-delinquent girl, what'cha think? Hahaha- anyway, Yui finally has a max social link with him so yay

After school ended, the group gathered at Junes to talk about what they saw yesterday night.

One thing for sure, they could rule out the assumption that the victims were connected to the incident with Ms. Yamano. Plus, the 'TV show' that appears on the Midnight Channel apparently does not occur until after the person entered the TV. But as they discussed more on the topic, more questions arose about the Midnight Channel and the killer's motive… though one thing for sure, they had another shot at stopping the killer. So, they'll be starting another stakeout.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Before going to Marukyu Tofu, they stopped by Shiroku Store first to get some stuff.

"We gotta go with donuts and milk," Chie suggested. Yosuke looked at her and nodded in agreement. "You said it. There's no better meal than that for a man on a stakeout. Oh, and throw in some disposable diapers."

"For what!? They don't even sell those here!"

"We have 'em at Junes."

The brunette shook her head. She didn't need to know that. "Too much information!"

Kanji glanced at the two. "You guys finished yet? Let's hurry up and get going."

Just then, the young detective who was handling the traffic yesterday entered the store. Yu narrowed his eyes in suspicion – he had a feeling that Adachi was… kind of following them. Surprise evident on his face, Yosuke asked the detective why he was here. Adachi scratched the back of his head. "Oh, uh… well… I'm doing legwork. Ugh, what did I do to deserve babysitting detail…? I-I mean, it's nothing major. It's not like Dojima-san ordered me here. So what are you kids up to? Buying snacks?"

"We were just about to head over to the tofu shop to see Rise-chan."

"Oh… I see. H-Heyyy! I'm on my way there too!"

"Oh, then why don't we go there together?" Chie offered. When she saw the looks she got from the others, she tried to make them see the reason why. "C'mon, he's a detective on active duty. Not a bad guy to have around!"

They all relented in the end, and so they began the stakeout at the tofu shop.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

After a small while there, Yukiko noticed that some freaky guy was up on a pole outside the shop. Upon being noticed, the guy ran away quickly. The group including Adachi gave chase, cornering him at the gas station – and the busy road behind it. The suspicious man was panicking. "D-don't come near me!"

"Shaddup! What kinda idiot would listen to-" Kanji was yelling at him when he was cut off by the guy yelling out.

"I-I'll do it, you know! What're you gonna do if I get run over!?"

"Wh-what…!?" Yosuke's eyes widened. This guy can't be serious…

"N-No! If the suspect gets injured, the police will be held responsible… they'll get really angry, and…" Adachi then realised what he just said. "…Um."

At those words, the suspicious man took a few steps back. "I'll do it, I swear! S-So get outta here and stop chasing me!"

Now they needed to stop him from doing that. Yosuke looked at Yu. "H-Hey, what should we do?" he asked in a murmur. The silver-haired boy quickly took in the situation and picked a choice. "We need to tackle him from the front. Think you can do that?" he asked him. Yosuke nodded. "Should be no problem."

"Alright… Kanji? You up for it?" Due to the tense situation, Yu was able to keep calm as he looked at the blond. Kanji nodded too, a determined expression on his face. "Yeah, let's take him down."

Yu then gave the brunet a signal to do the distraction. "Okay, on my mark…" Yosuke told them, before he suddenly pointed behind the man. "Look over there! A Martian!" he shouted, taking the guy by surprise. Then, the trio of boys tackled him down before the suspicious man could do anything drastic. The attempt was successful, and soon they dragged him away from the road to the front of the gas station.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Taking a closer look at the man, Yu noted that the guy had a camera and bore a look that reminded him of those… pervert photographers that secretly take photos of idols without their knowledge. Was this really the murderer…? He was too sloppy to be the murderer that has been a step ahead of them twice and managed to take two other lives before Yukiko was kidnapped… anyway, the suspicious man was angry at being tackled, as expected. "H-how dare you assault an ordinary citizen like—" He was cut off by Kanji who yelled at him. "Shut the hell up, murderer! We're taking your punk ass in!"

"Wha-!? Time out! What do you mean, 'murderer'!?"

"It's no use playing dumb!" Chie gave the man a stern look.

"W-Wait a second! I just really like Risette, so I wanted to take a peek in her room… look, see!" The man held up the camera that hung around his neck. "All I've got on me is a bunch of cameras!"

Adachi seemed convinced that the guy was the killer. "Yep, you're the culprit, all right. No two ways about it." He looked at the group of teenagers that had helped him catch the man with a smile. "All right, I'll take it from here." A serious expression appeared on his face when he looked back at the guy. "We'll hear your story down at the station…" Then for a moment, he seemed to get excited. "Oh, how I've waited to use that line!"

"P-Please! Let me go! I didn't do anything wrong! I-I know for a fact it's not a crime in this country to take secret pictures!"

"Hey, don't you understand what's happening here? You're under suspicion of murder! Come with me! We'll talk about this later!" Adachi told the man in a sombre tone, going over to cuff the man's hands up. He then grinned at the others. "Wow, that went better than I thought! What a coup! I gotta thank you guys for all your help! Well done!"

"Oh… sure!" Yosuke nodded in surprise. They're actually being thanked by a detective…

"But you really should stop getting involved with this stuff. It's dangerous. I know Dojima-san was worried sick." Adachi looked at the man with a stern look. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Is it… really over?" Yosuke murmured, blinking a few times. Did they finally managed to catch the killer…?

"Rest is up to the cops…" Kanji muttered, looking at Adachi and the suspicious man. Chie was excited at the fact that they solved the mystery. "Looks like the killer was a pervert, just like we thought. Wait… does this mean the case is closed? Seriously!? Awesome!"

"Hey, we should let Rise know the good news!" Yosuke then suggested. They all nodded in agreement and were about to enter the shop when Rise's grandmother went to the entrance of it. "Oh, hello. Would you like some tofu?"

"Oh, h-hello. Umm…"

"Oh, did you come to see Rise? She seems to have gone out, unfortunately…"

"Huh? But wasn't she just here?"

"She does that sometimes. She'll just wander out without a word… you must forgive her. She's quite worn out, in many ways."

"She left… without saying anything?"

"C'mon, you worry too much! She must've just stepped out. I mean, we caught the guy," Adachi told the brunet with a smile. The guy they caught looked at him in shock. "Wh-What are you talking about…?"

"We'll discuss it later. If you'll excuse me, I've gotta take this guy in for questioning," The young detective then said to the teenagers. A grin appeared on his face as he left with the suspicious man. "Man, I can't wait to see the look on Dojima-san's face!"

However, now there was something troubling the group.

"She left without saying anything…? Could that mean…?" Yukiko murmured, worry in her voice. "Shouldn't we look for her!? She can't have gone far." Yosuke was getting worried too. Chie nodded at that. "Y-yeah, I agree!"

So the five of them tried to search for Rise…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

…But their efforts brought nothing as they gathered up at the tofu shop again.

"I can't find her anywhere. What about you guys?" Chie asked the others. Yukiko shook her head. "None of the neighbours have seen her…" she told them.

"Maybe we're just not looking in the right places… but where could she have gone?"

Yosuke sighed. "Dammit, this can't be good. I hope I'm wrong…"

"Well, we did everything we can. No use griping about it." Kanji spoke up. He was right – if they really did fail, then the best they could do was to save her from that world. "The weatherman says it's gonna rain tonight, so let's just keep our fingers crossed and tune in."

With heavy hearts, they resorted to watching the Midnight Channel tonight.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

With the rain as her music, Yui stood in front of the TV in her room as she waited for midnight to strike. While she still hoped that Rise wasn't already kidnapped, the fact that her TV soon came to life with a clear and vivid image brought her worst fears to life. A figure then walked into the middle of the screen, revealing itself to be Rise in a golden coloured swimsuit… or rather, it was her Shadow.

"'Maru-Q! Push Risette!' Good evening, good evening! I'm Rise Kujikawa!" Rise's Shadow greeted herself. Yui was almost on the verge of covering her eyes as the camera then did a closeup on the Shadow's nearly naked body, slowly moving upwards. "This spring, one young girl levels up to become a high school idol… yayyy! So today, I'm gonna celebrate by pushing the limits of Standards & Practices! Does everybody know what time it is? Showtime! Show what, huh? Hmhmhm… e-very-thing!"

The camera focused back on the entrance, where Rise's Shadow ran forward and stood with her back to the screen. "Eee, how embarrassing! Is this too hot for TV!?" She turned around to face the camera, still smiling flirtatiously. "Well, if a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing all the way! I'm gonna bare it all for you! Heehee! Stay tuned!" The Midnight Channel ended there, leaving Yui feeling very uncomfortable at seeing a girl in a full bikini outfit. But the worst of all was that Rise was kidnapped, for sure.

Her cellphone soon rang out, and she took it out of her pocket to answer it. "Hello?"

It was Yosuke again. "Hey, d-did you see Risette on TV?! I-Is she serious about baring it all!? Is it me, or all these shows getting crazier and crazier!?" He sounded… excited, though.

"Let's rescue her quick before that happens."

"Y-Yeah, exactly. 'Cause I bet her Shadow self is gonna do whatever it wants again. But man… we couldn't prevent the kidnapping this time either… even when we knew who the target would be. That detective from this afternoon was no help at all. I guess we'll have to do everything ourselves… a-anyways, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow too, Yosuke." Yui ended the call and sighed. It was up to them to save Rise now… no one else could do that but them.

The next day, they all went into the TV world after school ended to meet up with Teddie.

"Heeeey, Teddie, you okay?" Chie noticed that the bear was facing away from them all. "I wasn't crying," Teddie told them, then he suddenly fell down to his hands and knees. "Everyone was having fun out there. You forgot all about me… I was abandoned."

"No, we would never do that!"

"I'm sorry… were you lonely?" Yukiko apologised before asking him. Teddie got up, sounding so despaired. "I was bored. It made me all listless. I'm a useless bear. I don't even know what I am. I couldn't figure it out… no one would come visit me… then I thought I heard voices coming from your world. They were all having so much fun… I was so lonely that I tried to cry. But I couldn't…"

"Well, you are hollow inside…" Yosuke muttered, his arms crossed. Teddie turned around to face him and stomped the ground angrily. "Shut up! Stop saying I'm hollow!"

"Don't snap at me! This is your world, isn't it!? You're the one who said you just want to live here peacefully, and made us promise to find the culprit!" The brunet yelled back at him, almost causing the bear to fall. Chie stepped forward to try and calm the bear down. "C'mon, I'm sure Teddie's just tired from thinking so much, right?"

Her words only made the bear turn away from them again. "When I'm alone, I think too much. It makes me even lonelier. I was so sad that my chest would burst and cotton would fly out…"

So, to calm him down, both Chie and Yukiko stroked Teddie's head. He soon turned around to give them a pitiful look. "Can I try scoring with you two someday?" he asked meekly. Chie smiled. "Sure, go right ahead!" she told him. Yukiko didn't seem so happy about this 'scoring' business. "Can we please drop the whole 'scoring' thing…?"

…They had more pressing matters to focus on.

"Anyways, we wanted to ask you something! How's it been over here? Did a girl called Rise Kujikawa show up? Can you sense anything?" Yosuke asked the bear. Teddie looked at him. "Rise Kujikawa? Hm…?"

"You can't tell…? You nose is kinda losing its edge lately, huh?"

Now Teddie was getting even sadder. "I'm a pretty shabby bear… soon, I won't be useful at all. Then I'll get thrown away…"

"No, that's not true…" Yu told him. They need him to solve this mystery, and that makes him an important member of this team.

"I can… stay with you all?"

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Of course."

"Okay. Then we'll go look for something that'll help you search, like last time," Chie said to the bear.

"I can't tell for sure. But I can kinda sense someone in here… I think I'll be able to find her. I just need some kind of hint," Teddie informed them. Then it'll be just like when they had to save Kanji – they need to find information about Rise that'll be enough for Teddie to find her whereabouts… guess they'll have to try asking around town. Everyone except Yu left first, leaving the boy with Teddie. "There's a lot of things I don't understand…" The bear admitted sadly.

Teddie kept talking as if he had to do this alone… but he doesn't. "Hey, we'll figure it out. I promise." Yu smiled gently at the bear. Even a smile appeared on Teddie's face at his words. "Thank you beary much. You're really kind, Sensei… I'll try even harder from now on," he told the boy. He's doing his best to try and find his role in life… now Yu could feel a faint bond forming between himself and Teddie.

Whispers spoke in his head again as the Star Social Link of the Star Arcana was formed.

…If the boy was honest, he wouldn't have expected to have a Social Link with a bear like Teddie.

"I'll be waiting here…" Teddie told him. Yu nodded, giving the bear a smile before he left for the real world. For a moment, Teddie stared as the silver-haired boy left the world. "Hmm… Sensei looks kinda like Yuki-chan and Chie-chan…"

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Back in the real world, Yu decided to go back to school to start off. After asking some students if they knew anything about Rise, he got information that there was a guy who was supposedly Rise's biggest fan at the school, so he looked for a guy who was probably the most pathetic person in the place… and sure enough, he was in luck. He found a fat boy on the second floor of the Practice Building who immediately gushed out about being Risette's biggest fan when he asked about her.

Holding back the urge to roll his eyes, Yu just went straight to the point. "Look, I just wanna know what's happening to her lately."

"…Oh, you just want like, a status update? Well, nothing's been bigger than the bomb she dropped about taking time off for a little R&R. Her blog may have some hints about why, but… well, there are a lot of theories out there. As a fan, I'm devastated. But I guess there's not much I can do about it… if you want more up-to-the-minute info, shouldn't you be asking someone in the media or something? Maybe I'll send a letter through her fan club… hmph, I wonder if those'll even reach her now…"

The fan wasn't really giving much important info. Yu reluctantly thanked the guy for telling him that and quickly left the school – maybe he could ask Rise's grandmother about this.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yu headed for the riverbank by the flood plains after hearing from Rise's grandmother about some person with a camera… a man of the paparazzi. When he arrived there, he soon realised that the man wasn't anywhere to be found, so he decided to ask around. A kind man just so happened to have the answers he needed.

"The paparazzi… I don't know much about them, but I see cameramen and the like around here sometimes. They're obviously from out of town, so they caught my eye. But now that you mention it, I haven't seen any today…" The man told him. Yu thanked him anyway – seems like he'll have to return here tomorrow. He began to walk back to school since Ai had asked if he wanted to hang out with her… when he noticed the dog again, with it growling at him when he got closer. He decided to talk gently to it again like last time. "I won't hurt you… really."

The dog whimpered, seemingly becoming less wary of him. Yu smiled, noticing how the dog wasn't running away now. It seemed that the dog liked him now… but it seems to be out of energy. Perhaps it's hungry… remembering that he had bought a steak skewer back on his trip to ask Rise's grandmother as a small snack, he decided to give that to the dog. He chuckled as the dog ate the steak, barking happily. It then ran away energetically… it should be able to return to its owner's house now.

With that done, Yu continued his walk to school. He'll report this to the fox another time.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

After agreeing to hang out with Ai, Yu waited by the shoe lockers as she told him that she had something to handle for a few moments and said that she would be right back. A familiar voice calling out to him made him turn around, revealing it to be Daisuke. "What's up, Yu? Our class had a guest speaker in the auditorium today, so..."

The silver-haired boy looked behind the brunet, seeing a trio of students who approached them both. "Oh yeah, you guys are both on the soccer team, huh?" One of them asked. The second of them then remembered something. "Hey... isn't Ai Ebihara your manager!?" he asked with wide eyes. The first student grinned. "Seriously!? Damn, now I'm jealous!"

Daisuke tried to recall that name. "Ai Ebihara...? Oh, her. She's never around."

"Heh, probably because she's always on the prowl for guys."

The student who was smirking spoke up. "Yeah, I heard she's pretty loose. And doesn't she look like she's got a sugar daddy or two?"

"Yeah, she's stacking the paper."

"I wonder how much she gets paid...?"

"Damn, dude, don't hold back or anything!"

The conversation from that point on just got more and more vulgar. Yu almost had the urge to punch them in the head for talking about someone like that, but forced himself to speak in a calm manner. "Hey, you shouldn't speak about her like that."

Just like that, the conversation stopped abruptly. Hell, even Daisuke was offended. "Knock it off, guys. Maybe someone should spread some rumours about you, and we'll see how you like it," he told the trio. They decided to stop talking about Ai then. "Alright, alright... aw shit, I'm gonna be late for the meeting!" The three students quickly ran off in the direction of the auditorium, leaving Daisuke with Yu. "Sorry about that... sounds like they've got the hots for our manager. They were talking like that at practice too... but don't worry, I'll yell at them later, man," The brunet told him.

Yu nodded. "It's alright… but give them a good scolding for it, yeah?"

Daisuke just smiled. At least he was considerate enough to stop the trio from talking so vulgarly about Ai, even if she doesn't 'manage' the team. "Well, I'll see you later." He soon left, and right as the silver-haired boy was about to look back to the entrance, he noticed Ai coming out from the corner with a sad expression. Yu blinked a few times, unsure of how to approach this. "…Did you hear them?" he asked quietly. The dirty blonde looked down at the wooden floor, her sadness evident in her voice too. "They were practically yelling. Not that... stuff like that really bothers me. I expect it."

Yet, the sorrow in her eyes betrayed the words she spoke.

"They don't even know me. Why should I care what they think...? I'm fine..." Then, a rosy hue appeared on Ai's cheeks. She was blushing happily. "But... thanks."

In a way, Yu felt like he could understand Ai even better… because of it, the Moon Social Link grew stronger once more.

Ai stared at him in silence for a moment. "I'm gonna head home... and you're gonna walk with me," she told him. The silver-haired boy had no say in that and did as she told him to do… he walked her home first before going back to his own home.

Saturday was a rainy day, and Yu was worried if the guy who was a part of the paparazzi wouldn't be at the flood plains. Thankfully, he quickly noticed a man with a camera standing around in the area and he quickly approached him. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Hello, how's it going?" The photographer greeted him. "Well… I was wondering if you know anything about Rise Kujikawa…" Yu asked him.

"…Oh, you came to ask about Rise Kujikawa? You're looking for information about Rise, too?" The photographer was quiet for a moment, thinking about something. "…Well how about this? Why don't we exchange information? You tell me what you know, I'll tell you what I know. The people in the shopping district are making it hard for me to do any information gathering."

As much as this was violating Rise's right to a private life, Yu needed to do that so he and the others could save her from a fate of death in the TV world. "Well, she's apparently different on TV," he told the man.

"Hmm, as I thought… to be honest, I used to do a little digging into Risette's private life. I was surprised to discover she's totally different than on TV. You'd never recognize her in real life. Honestly, though, when you think of an idol you should honestly just assume 'manufactured personality', too."

The silver-haired boy was surprised to see that the photographer knew quite a lot about Rise. But this probably wasn't enough… he decided to tell the man something else when he was asked if he had any other information. "I think she's really stressed…"

"She's stressed, huh…? I guess that's what it is, then… you see, I've been trying to find the reason behind the shocking hiatus. And the most convincing thing I heard so far was that 'Risette' got tired of her made-up personality. Her identity as an idol, as opposed to how she normally is… she couldn't stand living two lives anymore… that sounds about right. Well, you didn't give me anything new, but thanks for the information. I can at least turn this into something…"

Yu nodded and thanked the man for the information. He went over to a tree to think over the information he just got from the paparazzo – it seemed like Rise was acting as a 'manufactured personality' and was worrying about her 'normal self' and her 'idol self'. She was surely worrying about her true self… for a moment, the boy felt like a hypocrite. Here he was, finding out why Rise was so stressed when he himself is living a life as a person of the opposite gender. He lived so long acting as someone he's not… when the time her lies are forced to be shed comes, would a trace of her still have remained in him? It felt like a long shot.

Sighing, he decided to go to Junes while sending a message to everyone in the team to gather there.

He might as well check the notice board in the shopping district for any new jobs while he was at it. Maybe he could take the hospital janitor job… as degrading it is to be a janitor, when would he ever work as one in the late future?

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Teddie, I got some information for you."

"Oh, Sensei!" Teddie smiled as Yu approached him. "Did you find out more about this girl Rise-chan?" He listened to what the silver-haired boy had to tell him. "Hmhm… her real self… I see… she's just like me. The delicate, sentimental type. Then… hrmmm…" He suddenly could smell something. "Whaah!? There's something out there! Is this it? Did I find her!? Follow me!"

"Right guys, come on!" Yu told the others as he began to follow the bear into the fog, and everyone else followed suit.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The place Teddie led the group to was pitch black…

"What is this place…? It's all dark…" Chie murmured, looking around warily. Right after she said that, the lights suddenly came to life and illuminated the place with its blaring spotlights. Now they could see the whole place, which was had a magenta colour to almost everything mixed with other colours… there were cushion chairs and tables, silk curtains with large heart shaped patterns on them, neon lights with alternating colours, and a stage leading up to the entrance of the place.

Yu recognized what kind of place it was in a heartbeat, causing his face to flush red awkwardly. This is… he didn't even dare to think it. At least he was in front of everyone, so he quickly calmed himself down so they didn't see the redness in his face.

"Whoa… is this a…?" Chie was surprised to see such a place. "Oh, like the kind you always find in resort towns!?" Yosuke recognized the place too. "Ah, I think you're right… oh! B-But we don't have one… our inn is not like that…!" Yukiko added quickly. "Huh. So this is a strip joint, eh?" Kanji commented, seemingly calm at all this. Teddie perked up at what the blond said. "Strip!? Aha! I know what that is! It's the thing zebras have, right!?" …He got no response from the others. "Strip… like a zebra, right!? Right!?"

Yukiko blinked a few times, not even hearing the bear's pun. "It's so bright here… even with the glasses on, my eyes hurt."

"Doesn't anyone get the joke!? Okay, let's try one more time… strip… it's something zebras have… eh?"

Chie glared at Teddie. "Can anyone shut this thing up!?"

Finally, the black-haired girl focused on what Chie and Teddie were talking about… well, a little. "Huh? Zebra…? Sorry, what're we talking about?"

…Was she not listening at all?

Teddie sighed morosely. "I-I won't say it again… let's hurry on…"

So, the group pushed on into the place – the Marukyu Striptease.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

On the third floor, Teddie smelled that something was on this floor.

He was right, as they entered a large hall upon opening one of the doors… and there was Rise's Shadow, clad in a golden coloured bikini while a dark blue aura emanated from her form. Her striking yellow eyes were wide and gleeful even as the group entered the place.

"It's Rise!" Yosuke noticed the Shadow standing there amidst the fog surrounding her. "But something's not right…" Chie also detected something off. "It must be her other self…" Yukiko murmured, watching as the Shadow then spoke into a microphone, a spotlight on her.

"Hello, all you fans out there! Thanks for coming today! Today, you're gonna see every last inch of me! What's that? You don't believe me? Ahahah! Okay, okay! Then why don't we- oh, but you won't be able to see with all this smoke, huh? Okie-dokie! Just follow me a little further in and I'll prove that I'm every bit as good as my word!" Above Rise's Shadow appeared a huge TV logo, now in bright purple and pink colours. On it were the words 'Maru-Q Midsummer Night's Dream Special, All the Way [Live! Hot!] Risette EXPOSED!'.

…Admittedly, it's way worse than last time.

Kanji had to look away from the sight in front of him. "W-Were we like that…? That's… going kinda far…" Even he couldn't believe what he was seeing… the fact that his Shadow might've been similar to this was embarrassing. The sudden cheering of a hidden crowd reminded the group of the fact that there was possibly real people watching this right now. "Sheesh, the roar of the crowd is insane this time… it's making me feel sick…" Chie muttered, looking a little troubled. "If people really are watching this… we gotta do something, and fast," Yosuke said, gripping his weapon tightly as the Shadow continued to speak.

"All right, Risetteers! Don't touch that dial! When we come back, you'll get a good, long look at the real me! Maru-Q!" Rise's Shadow then ran off. Yosuke realised the direness of the situation now. "W-We'd better move it! This is a thousand times worse than just hearing a few nasty secrets!"

Then they heard murmurs from every corner of the room. "The Shadows are really getting aggravated!" Teddie alerted the others. "What we just saw is what that Rise girl is suppressing! She'll be in trouble at this rate!"

Kanji now really felt like a member of the team. "So, guess I'm on the rescue team now. Alright, let's hurry up and go!"

The Investigation Team soon ran ahead in chase of the Shadow. Hopefully they could get to Rise before anything bad happens to her… if they could get there in one piece.