Persona: A Novelization 4

by RionAgrias

If Persona 4 was a novella, loosely based. There is one OC, out of request. The battle style is also written differently from the actual game style, so please bear with me. I am editing every chapter. Bear with me as I slowly fix grammar and formatting.

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I own nothing, Atlus does.

This is where the story goes loopy for a while. Fortune goes crazy and starts early. The story goes from Naoto coming back and moving to just about the cusp of the Cultural Festival. One more evolution coming through this Chapter. Please don't shoot me for where the story is heading.

---

Souji woke up knowing that Naoto was safe. That was one less thing to worry about. He only had to worry about the real killer, the real kidnapper, and inebriated Adachi. When Souji got dressed up, he realized something. Letting Rion go ahead for the second time… Rion had not changed at all. He was just like he was at the beginning. Rion was still overprotective and overbearing. "How'd he even get his Persona?" Souji thought, "Is he living a lie, too?"

His first day after saving Naoto was a Thursday, and school seemed like a breeze after that.

Souji decided he would hang out with Yukiko, as a good boyfriend should. So, he made plans during lunch to meet up with Yukiko. Neither Nanako, nor Dojima would be home this evening, so it promised to be a good time. After school, Yukiko met Souji and left for Souji's house.

"Perfect…," Souji thought.

Rion was with Rise at the floodplains going over about Rise's return to show business when both of them saw Yukiko and Souji walking back to Souji's place. Rise had just gotten there, and she looked a little aghast.

"Do I want to know what's going on?" Rise rolled her eyes.

"Not really…," Rion answered, "I don't think Dojima is coming home today. I think Nanako is going to a friend's house. That's what I heard from Souji."

"I see… So that means," Rise just got a picture in her head of what would be going on and immediately went back two steps, "Ooh… disgusting."

Rion looked at her… wondering what Rise would do if she was in Yukiko's position. He put that thought out of his mind as well. It may have been even worse.

"So… what did you want to show me, and why did you have me bring my sax?" Rion asked. He had been asked for some help a few days before.

Rise handed him a CD, and some sheet music, "I'm composition class. I finally wrote a song that I got a halfway-decent grade on. But…."

"So… you want someone like me to try and be the accompanist?" Rion looked incredulous. He obviously knew of Rise's skill, and he knew he was about six billion steps below her on the totem pole, music-wise.

"If you would, Senpai…," Rise had her puppy-dog eyes out.

"Let me look at the sheet music… I'll see what you got," Rion took a look. It needed some work. He tried to make a few quick changes and started the song to the best of his ability. At least Rion was good at music theory. The best of his ability, playing-wise, wasn't that great compared to Rise. Unfortunately, it would have to do. He finished and looked relieved to be done with it. It was not easy.

"Thank you so much!" Rise exclaimed after he finished, "It was nice hearing someone else work with something I did."

"I hope you didn't mind me changing a few things…," Rion shrugged his shoulders.

Rise smiled, "No, no… I think it probably made it sound much better, Senpai."

"Can we try it again, with me singing?" Rise asked.

"Alright," Rion said as he picked up his saxophone, "Prepare for me to get blown out of the water."

Rise chuckled as they started the song.

As Nanako returned home, she returned to see that Souji was one very happy camper sitting on the couch.

"Hi Big bro!" she said as she came through the door.

"Hi Nanako," he responded.

"You look happy…," she said as she removed her shoes and sat down.

He smiled, "I am… What should we have to eat?"

"Umm… I don't know," Nanako said, "I'll see what's in the fridge." As Nanako opened the fridge, she turned around, "I'm glad you're happy, Big bro."

All Souji knew was that he was going to sleep well tonight.

He spent Friday hanging out with Rion, of all people, at Junes. He almost questioned why he'd been around Rise so much, but he didn't. He talked to Yukiko and hung out with her on Sunday when she called on Saturday night. Sunday night, he spent with Nanako-chan, and Dojima.

"Hey, Big bro!" Nanako exclaimed, "Since we're all together now, we should plan to do something some day."

Dojima came up behind Souji who was sitting across from Nanako, "Yeah that sounds like a good idea. Once I'm done with all this work, and you're done with your schoolwork, we can all go out on a trip."

"That sounds like fun," Souji said.

"Ooh…," Nanako had an idea, "Souji should ask his friends to come."

Dojima was thinking, "Maybe… we'll see."

The rest of the night was spent talking between the three about what they could do on this trip.

Monday, Souji somehow ended up talking to Kanji. Kanji had been making dolls for people, and was showing Souji. Somehow, Kanji had roped Souji into teaching him how to make oven mitts.

"Isn't this cool, Senpai?" Kanji inquired as they knitted.

"Sure…," Souji said a bit skeptically.

"It's cool that we get to hang out. First, I felt a bit out of place, but I feel like I finally fit in with you guys."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Kanji," Souji told him, "I'm sure it's also nice that you found out that Naoto is a girl."

Kanji blushed, "Hey… don't tell people about that."

"Alright, alright…," Souji said, "I'm just teasing you."

"But yeah, I'm glad…"

The pair kept knitting when something shone above Kanji. His black and white Persona changed into a flaming red one with a flame sword. It had turned into "Rokuten Maoh."

"This is my new power…," Kanji said, "Thanks, Senpai."

"Don't mention it…," Souji said as he kept knitting his oven mitt. The oven mitt didn't exactly look like anything you could stick your hand into.

He spent his days answering questions in school, getting answers from Rion, and spending time with Yukiko.

He also played basketball. Basketball, which was much more enjoyable in the past, didn't seem as fun as before. He'd rather be with Yukiko. It would suck when he would have plans, and she would have to leave to work at the Inn.

He dreaded Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On the 2nd of October, he did get to see Yukiko. Yet, it wasn't with her exclusively. She was with Rise, Chie, and Kanji. Souji was only slightly put out. "Dammit!" he thought.

Souji used his time wisely before it was supposed to rain again. He got his answers off of Rion when Souji was called on. When that idiot, Kondo, asked how much we sweat off in daily use… He just mooched off Rion.

"What's the answer?" he asked.

Rion sighed, ".5 liters."

He answered, and was praised by the moron who didn't know PE or English.

The next day, the only normal looking teacher asked why ginkgo trees changed color. Yosuke asked Souji, who asked Rion. Rion told Yosuke that it was because the aging of the green pigment. When he got it right, he thanked both of them.

"Why'd he thank me?" Souji wondered, "It's not like I knew the answer."

Souji didn't bother paying attention in most of his classes, or study. He could just get it right just through by reading random books, or eating ramen. "Amazing, how that worked," he often wondered.

---

October 5th… Rion had an umbrella and he was walking to a large home/mansion with a gated entrance. He pressed the buzzer near the gate and waited for a response.

"Do you have an appointment?" the voice asked.

"No, I'm just here to check up on someone's condition…," Rion responded. He shook his head. "How did I get stuck with this job?" Rion pushed up his glasses and sighed.

The gate opened and Rion walked forward. Rion was met at the gate by a tall man in black. He was rather regal looking, and wore sunglasses, even in the rain.

"May I ask how you know Naoto-sama?" he asked. The man looked dangerous in his own right.

"I go to school with her. I'm checking up on her at the request of her classmates and myself," Rion said. He emphasized the "her".

"Oh…," the man said. If he was surprised by the fact that Rion knew Naoto's secret, he hid it well. The man then told Rion, "Well… she's doing much better, but I'm afraid she won't be back at school for another couple of days. Can you pass that along to them?"

"I understand… umm," Rion was trying to say goodbye.

"Yakushiji."

"Rion Ishinata."

"Goodbye, Yakushiji-san," Rion nodded.

"And you as well," Yakushiji nodded back.

As Rion left, "Well, that will not be awkward at all." He pushed up his glasses again.

---

It was raining on the 5th of October, and Souji had returned to his uncle's place after eating some ramen. The news was on as usual.

"And now the weather," the anchor lady said, "The week ended on a wet note as rain clouds moved into area. As a result, a thick fog is expected to form in the Inaba region later tonight."

"I guess I better check out the Midnight Channel," Souji thought to himself, "Yay for yellow screens."

He hung out with Nanako for a little while, made sure she went to bed at a normal hour, and went up himself to make sure it was raining. As Midnight approached and passed, the yellow, splotchy screen came on. Nobody was on the TV. It seemed that it was safe.

---

In the shopping district,

"Again… Dammit!" a voice yelled.

---

The day came when Naoto would return to school. They would meet the "girl" detective at school to see how she was doing.

When the older group were walking up to school: Yosuke, Chie, Souji, and Rion; they noticed Naoto coming up to them. They met at the school gates with Naoto at the gateway.

"Are you feeling better now?" Chie asked.

"Yes, thanks to all of you," Naoto replied with a hand gesture, "I'd like to thank you once again for what happened."

Yosuke shook his head, "Don't mention it," he looked at the girl, "But hey, your uniform…"

Naoto looked a little taken aback, "Huh? Ah… yes. After contemplating the matter, I went with what I've been wearing thus far. There's no need for you to…"

"Still shy as none other…," Rion muttered. Naoto looked at Rion funny.

Two boys came walking past the school gates.

"Hey, it's the Detective Prince," one said.

The other one said, "That's no Prince. I heard "he's" a she."

The first was a bit shocked, "Huh!? You serious? If he's a she, then uh… oh crap!"

Two girls had walked up behind the two boys.

A blue-haired girl said, "Aww… I'm kinda disappointed, but then again, there's something neat about it."

The other, brown-haired girl responded, "Yeah… If you look at it a certain way, doesn't she seem pretty cool?"

The group rolled their eyes in unison. Rion fought back an urge to laugh again. Souji hit him on the shoulder when he noticed. "He has issues," Souji thought.

"My, my… Rumors spread so quickly," Naoto muttered.

"Get used to it…," Souji said, "It happened to everyone. But… we're on your side."

Naoto blushed, "Thanks. But it doesn't bother me at all. There's no need to worry on my behalf. So please treat me as you did before."

Rion looked at her with an eyebrow raised, and Naoto responded to his look, "Except you…"

"As you wish…," he said in his typical monotone voice. He was thinking, "No way in hell am I doing that Princess."

Naoto got back to her detective mode as she said, "That aside, I'd like to discuss the case with you all. We're dealing with a kidnap-and-murder case perpetrated by someone lurking in this very town. And it isn't over yet." When Souji, Yosuke, and Chie seemed a little confused, "Let's go over the finer points after school."

"We'll all meet up after school then," Souji said.

"Alright," Yosuke said.

The group went off to the boring and monotonous classes where Kashiwagi ranted about Kujikawa. Rion fell asleep again, and Souji joined him shortly after. After school, they met up at the Junes food court as Naoto asked.

Naoto took a spot between Teddie and Yukiko, while Kanji, Rise, and Rion were all standing. The little table of their headquarters was getting crowded. "We can't take anymore, if you're asking me," Souji thought, "Though what kind of Personas and Shadows would come out next?"

Naoto started the conversation of how she was kidnapped, "First, I heard the doorbell ring. But when I opened the front door, I saw no one there… Just as alarm bells sounded in my mind, someone grabbed me roughly from behind and covered my mouth with something. Immediately afterward, I was put into something like a sack and most likely carried on the culprit's shoulder."

"Wow, how could you remember all that?" Rise asked. She seemed surprised considering the memory loss suffered by most of the kidnap victims thrown in the TV.

"The culprit seems to have used a chemical to incapacitate me, but luckily I wasn't completely unconscious," Naoto responded.

Rion looked at them and explained, "Chloroform… If not properly used, or the proper kind, will not cause immediate incapacitation of the victim."

"I had been expecting a trick along those lines, so I was somewhat prepared," Naoto continued after Rion's explanation, "And of course, I was desperate to gather as much information as I could."

"No wonder you're an ace detective…," Teddie seemed in awe.

Kanji looked at her, "That ain't something to be proud of. You are too damn calm about all of this."

Souji nodded as Naoto continued, "Judging by their actions and body type, I'd say the culprit is definitely a man. I heard no conversations or voices, so I believe he is acting alone. It's after that that things get murky. I felt a single impact, which I assume is when I was thrown inside the TV. But the time of kidnapping to that point seemed too short… It was a matter of minutes."

"So you were immediately thrown inside the TV after being kidnapped?" Chie asked.

"Does that mean there was a TV on site?" Souji asked.

Naoto shrugged her shoulders, "Regrettably, my memory from there on is a blur."

"I see…," Yosuke then exclaimed, "The killer came up to the door and rang the bell? That's just crazy!"

"The culprit seemed to have done that almost every time," Souji responded.

Naoto told the group, "I finally understand why you all testified that you couldn't recall much of what happened. Such a bizarre experience, with mental and physical fatigue on top of it… It's only natural to be confused. As Souji said, going by the surrounding circumstances, my kidnapping and everyone else's were near identical… There is no question that the culprit is the same in each case."

"So… that Mitsuo boy, who said he killed King Moron…," Chie was saying.

The detective put forth, "Everything makes sense now. I can't make sure until I gather more concrete evidence. But Mitsuo's Kubo only victim was Mr. Morooka. It was a copycat killing that mimicked the true culprit's method."

"No wonder King Moron's death broke the pattern in so many ways!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"The question remains, though, as to how Kubo learned of that world," Naoto wondered

Rion rolled his eyes. He was thinking, "Maybe he didn't learn of his world on his own. He learned the hard way."

"That's it! That's what's been bothering me!" Chie told Naoto, "Mitsuo could enter the TV, right? Then why didn't he kill King Moron that way?"

"I believe he didn't understand the other world as well as the true culprit," Naoto responded to Chie, "Even though I can now enter it myself, it wouldn't occur to me to use it for murder. And remember, the previous corpses left no sign that their deaths had anything to do with the other world. After Kubo became wanted, leaving him with nowhere left to run, he probably thought for the first time… "What if I put my entire body into the TV?" The bizarre condition of the corpses that caused such a commotion is probably because they died on the other side. It's a simpler explanation than figuring out why the killer would risk disposing of the bodies in such a way. Which means their inexplicable condition of being hung on a foggy day wasn't due to the culprit making a statement. Much of our speculation could be tested if we asked Kubo in person. However… I've unfortunately been taken off the investigation."

"Someone's been too nosy," Rion said almost jokingly as Naoto glared at him. Then it was Kanji's turn to glare at him. Rion just chuckled.

"Is it Rion's whole purpose to be an ass to Naoto?" Souji thought.

Naoto regained her composure, "Even if we did get a chance, I highly doubt the police would believe any of this."

"They wouldn't admit it wasn't Kubo in the first place," Rise said, "Once you've said something on TV, it's not easy to admit you were wrong."

"They want this closed as fast as possible," Souji nodded.

"I believe the primary cause of my dismissal was because I raised that possibility to them," Naoto told them, "The police won't readily concede that they made false charges. All the more so if the convicted is a juvenile. In fact, the overwhelming sentiment within the police force is to end this case with his arrest."

Most of the group looked shocked; Souji and Rion rolled their eyes. "He's insane, remember," Rion said.

"Even if it's possible that there is another killer?" Chie asked.

Kanji muttered, "Those dickheads… I had a feeling that would be the case. Not that I trusted them in the first place."

Yosuke asked, "Hey Naoto… If you were that calm when you were kidnapped… Couldn't you have umm..? Couldn't you have at least escaped?"

Naoto looked distressed, "Umm… To tell you the truth, I was really scared. I'm sorry."

"It can't be helped…," Yukiko told her, "None of us could resist the culprit, either. Don't forget, Naoto-kun is younger than us, and she's a girl."

"Well… At least you did better than Kanji…," Rion rolled his eyes, "He's much bigger and he was captured with even more ease." Kanji glared at him. He didn't like being made a fool of. Souji thought it was because it was in front of Naoto.

Yosuke responded to Yukiko's comment, "Oh yeah, that's true… I keep forgetting when I see her talking like this." Yosuke looked at Naoto and said, "You know Naoto?"

"What is it?" as she raised her head, which was previously down in shame.

Yosuke said, "You've got balls, for a girl."

Naoto started to blush, and Chie hit him on the head, "Dumbass…," she muttered.

"Regardless…," she said as red rose on her cheeks, "I have no doubt that the culprit will continue with his attacks. We can only watch and wait for him to make the next move. But this is no longer a mere job, or someone else's affair. I want to know the truth on why we were targeted." She looked at the group surrounding her, "Please allow me to join your effort."

"Of course… Like we wouldn't let you," Souji said.

"Thank you very much," She sounds grateful, "I'll do my best, Souji."

Everyone turned to Teddie as he started talking, "Since I'm the King of the Geniuses, I knew it would turn out this way. Ta-da! Nao-chan's glasses!" Teddie pulled out a pair of dark-blue glasses.

"Wait, you're a genius?" Souji asked, and Teddie put his head down.

"Thank you…," Naoto said tentatively as she took them. She smiled and said, "They told me about you Teddie. I can sympathize with your drive to find yourself. If I may help in any way, let me know."

Teddie looked happy, "Wow… What a nice girl!"

As the group was about to leave to head out for the day, Souji went over and whispered to Naoto, "Thanks for joining."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We need more smart people here," Souji said.

"Smart people?" Naoto was confused.

"Most of the time, we get endless drabble from Yosuke, nonstop talk about modeling from Rise, repeated stuff from Chie, Kanji's beyond hopeless, and Teddie. Chie will give us a brilliant answer once in a blue moon and that's about it."

"What about Yukiko?" Naoto asked, "She's your girlfriend."

"She's smart, but when she starts laughing or when she's around Chie, umm… yeah. Oh, and I distract her."

"So, who is smart?" Naoto wondered.

"Basically, we count on Rion," Souji told him, "But you have to get him to talk."

"What do you mean get him to talk?" Naoto asked, "And Rion's a moron!"

"Unless he has a reason, or is driven to, he won't talk," Souji said. He thought for a second, "Oh yeah, when he's around you. He talks a bit. But it usually isn't about the case." He chuckled at that, "Oh, he's not a moron, trust me on this."

"I think this is an important enough matter of him to talk, or give his opinion," Naoto said, "But about Rion's mode of conversation around me, I'll deal with that as I see fit."

"He'll let everyone else give out their ideas, no matter how stupid they are, first. With Yosuke, we'll never get a chance to talk," Souji said frankly, "So you better get used to it."

With that Souji said goodbye to leave. Naoto watched and observed how the different people left and reacted. Yukiko was with Souji. Teddie left with Yosuke. Chie and Kanji went home alone, but Chie was pretty close to Yosuke, it seemed. Kanji did seem to have an urge to stay around, but he didn't. Rise was trailing along, and talking to Rion. It gave Naoto a lot to think about, at the very least.

Souji left to go to Dojima's house and to make dinner after dropping Yukiko off at the bus station. He didn't feel like waiting for Dojima to make coffee either, so he made it himself.

The next day, around the end of the day, Naoto came into their classroom. The 2nd years looked slightly surprised.

"Excuse me," Naoto said to bring attention to herself. The group turned their heads as Naoto walked towards them. Souji was talking to Yukiko, and Chie was talking to Yosuke.

"I wonder why she came here." Souji wondered to himself.

Naoto asked as she came next to Chie, "Do you have time after school today?"

"Did something happen?" Chie asked.

Naoto answered, "No… Rather, I'd like to have a doctor examine Teddie."

"A doctor?" Yosuke asked, confused.

"You mean a vet?" Yukiko joked.

Souji laughed.

Naoto sweat-dropped, "The normal kind, actually. If you are free, I've scheduled a check-up for him after school today. A thorough physical examination might be a good first step in figuring out what Teddie is."

"Couldn't hurt, I guess," Souji said.

"And I thought it might be a good idea for the rest of us to get checkups as well," Naoto insisted.

"Why?" Souji asked.

"We should see if the fog over there or the powers we've gained have had any negative effects on our health. Since you've all been active on the other side far longer than I have, you should definitely be examined."

Rion opened his eyes as he adjusted his glasses. No one was sure if he even paying attention before that, "I guess you want us to see if we were irradiated by the fog, or something of that nature. See if we are growing a third arm, or eye in the near future."

Souji fought back an urge to laugh. You could tell he was secretly joking and yanking Naoto's chain. He felt that this whole thing would be pointless.

Naoto looked a little uneasy at Rion's comments. She seriously doubted that they would grow third arms.

Yosuke, looking at both of them, said, "Negative effects! D-don't drop scary stuff on us like it's nothing. Yeah, but I never even thought about that."

"I doubt we are anything but normal still," Rion told Yosuke, "Unless it's from high grade radiation like PU-238, it'd take a while for us to turn into scary monsters."

Now everything was looking Rion like he was crazy, and he had grown the third arm he was mentioning early.

"Anyways," Naoto continued, "I've arranged to have Kanji-kun and Rise-san looked at as well."

Chie looked at her with respect, "Wow, you're on the ball about all this… Are you sure you're not an adult?"

Yosuke teased, "Her height's a big giveaway though."

"Nice, Yosuke…," Souji thought.

"That isn't very nice," Naoto said, obviously annoyed, but she said, "Well... I'll see you all after school."

After school, they headed to the Inaba's only real hospital. Souji had worked their part-time, until he got himself fired for kicking a nurse's ass who tried to feel her up. "Good times," Souji thought as he made his way there, "I got a hell of a lot of hush-up money for that."

He thought Rion worked here though. Souji and the others were prodded, tested, measured, and run through their paces at the request of the doctors. "Why the hell are we doing this again?" Souji wondered, "Oh yeah… they think we are going to go crazy or something…" Souji flexed his third arm that was growing out of his chest.

Everyone but Naoto and Teddie had met in a hallway outside some of the examination rooms after they were finished being prodded and given more radiation than the fog ever gave them. That's what an X-Ray does, after all.

"That was just an ordinary checkup," Yosuke admitted.

Kanji seemed disappointed, "I was kinda looking forward to getting into some gigantic machine and being spun around."

"You mean you weren't?" Souji said jokingly, drawing looks.

"Was there really a point to this?" Rise asked, "The doctors looked confused too…"

"I've already had a physical this year," Rion said, "They didn't understand why I needed another cardio "running" test, another six X-Rays, more measurements, and so on."

Yukiko noticed that Naoto and Teddie were returning, "Oh, they're back."

Naoto looked apologetic, "I'm very sorry for the wait."

Teddie joked, "I'm beary sorry for the wait."

"So, what did they find out about our furry friend here?" Souji asked.

Naoto told the group, "They did indeed… They found out that they can't find out anything about him."

"That's not really what I expected to hear," Souji said as the group looked confused.

"I even had them take an X-Ray, but nothing came up on it," Naoto explained, "No matter how many times they tried, it would always be too blurry to read."

"So… They found there was nothing inside him…," Rion muttered.

"A visual examination and standard palpitations indicated that he seems perfectly normal. Since the machine could be malfunctioning, they told me to try another hospital if we're still worried about him."

Naoto looked sad, "I felt bad for making the doctors go through all this."

"So, he is different…," Yukiko said.

"So… we know he can pee, and see, but we can't find anything else inside of him…," Rion said. The group rolled their eyes at him.

Teddie was unsure, "Oh my… what should I do? They took a look at everything inside of me." Souji rolled his eyes at the bear thingy.

Chie assured him, "She just said they couldn't find anything on the X-Ray, you dork."

"But at least they didn't find anything wrong with him, right?" Kanji asked, "Man, we know at least as much about Teddie as we do about those Personas and Shadows…"

"Oh yeah…," Yosuke said, "I tried looking them up on the library and the net…"

"You did research?" Souji thought to himself, bewildered. Yosuke did something outside of school related to knowledge.

"Persona means something like, another personality. And I think they listed "Shadow" under related terms," Yosuke continued.

"Shadows are Shadows… I think they're what come out of people," Teddie explained, "Um… I can't really explain."

"I performed my own research after the incident. "Persona" and "Shadow" are common psychological terms. Of course, the ones we are familiar with don't quite fit those definitions. This is what was written in an unofficial project document that I happened to come across. A Shadow is suppressed power, and when it is controlled by one's ego, it becomes a Persona," Naoto explained.

"It becomes a Persona?" Kanji looked confused, "What, does that mean they're basically the same thing?"

Rion explained in his normal, low, and monotone voice, "A Persona is another personality of ourselves… That would be a facet, or another side of your personality. Like a diamond, many sides that we show ourselves… Just like a Shadow is a facet that we are unwilling to accept that we've come across. When we accept that "Shadow", it in sense becomes our Persona. Alike, but not quite the same thing."

Kanji nodded, "You're right. All those Shadows we beat the shit out of did become our Personas… Ahh, who cares about the details… It doesn't matter what they are. If they get in our way, I'll crush them."

"Well put…," Souji said. He did think, "Rion, Naoto, and even Yosuke really did their work. But, I don't think Rion researched… He just pulled that out of his ass."

Naoto looked deflated, "Still… I couldn't find any information on how they're related to the other world."

Rise sighed, "There's so much stuff about us that we don't have a clue about."

Teddie smirked as he said, "There are some things we do know, though."

The group suddenly looked uneasy at Teddie's comment. Souji thought, "I'm going to either really like this, or not like this at all."

"Hmhmm… I got a bunch of awesome data with me," Teddie said.

Now the group looked really confused, and really uneasy. "I don't know how to feel," Souji thought.

Rion thought," Oh dear… But…," He suddenly smirked.

Teddie said, "It's kinda embarrassing that I'm the only one who had personal details shown to the world, so…,"

"Oh shit!" Souji thought as Teddie pulled papers out. Papers that had everyone's results, "This is crazy…"

"Tadaa!" As Teddie pulled out the papers, "Nowadays, information wants to be free," Teddie explained, "Therefore, I'll break the ice by announcing the results of everyone's physical examinations."

Chie was astounded, and ready to kill, "Wha!? No you won't! Give 'em to me, Now!"

Teddie began, "First place in the "shortest legs division" is… Huh? Who woulda guessed?"

Before Teddie announced, Yosuke butted in, "It's not me is it? Hey, what kinda things did they examine anyways?"

"It's Chie…," Rion said plainly.

"How did you know?" Teddie asked, looking in shock, "Have you seen her legs?"

"No, proportionately, she just has short legs," Rion explained.

"You're going to die, Rion," Chie advanced towards Rion. Rion backed away in supposed fright, and Souji knew it was a bad to come near Chie right now. She had readied her supposedly "short legs" for a "Galactic Punt"

Yosuke came up with a great idea, "Hey, if you're gonna blab it all, you might as well tell us all of the girls' measurements!"

This did not go over well with the girls.

Chie responded first. She had turned away from Rion and yelled at Yosuke, "WHAT!? Are you a complete and utter moron!?" This was not her day.

Rise didn't really seem phased by Yosuke's comments, "Sure, go right ahead. My profile's been public knowledge for ages. Oh, but my bust size is 2cm smaller then they print. The agency insisted."

"No! Don't say mine!" Yukiko was adamantly against the idea of everyone hearing her measurements.

"No, tell us!" Souji was thinking.

Rise assuaged Yukiko, "Aww, I bet guys won't care what size you are, Senpai. And having modestly sized breasts like yours would definitely make it easier to wear a kimono."

Yukiko was astounded and blushing at the same time, "What!?"

Rise had taken the papers and was looking them over, "Oh yeah, Naoto-kun's is in here too, huh? Umm… let's see… Naoto-kun's is…"

Something had shocked Rise, "Is this… for real? Wait, isn't this measured wrong?"

Rion had started chuckling. "She was hiding a lot it seems. I figured as much," Rion thought to himself, "No wonder she slapped me."

Naoto had realized what had taken place and walked up and taken the papers away, blushing, "Anyways!" She looked at them, trying to stop Rion from laughing any harder than he was. She was failing, "The important thing is that according to the examination results, nothing's wrong with our health!" Naoto had a fierce tone in her voice as she put forth, "So we won't be needing these anymore! I'm going to go shred them!" Naoto walked off to get rid of the results as Rion continued to laugh. The rest of them could only stare as Kanji looked incredulous.

"You mean you didn't know?" Rion smirked, "Naoto hides just about everything."

"What's with Rion?" Souji asked.

"What is with Rion?" Kanji asked, "Is there something I'm missing?"

Yosuke changed the subject, "Uhh… Well thank goodness everyone's healthy!"

"You're right, let's go home," Chie tried to rush everyone out of there. Chie hit Rion on the shoulder on the way out.

As they were leaving, Souji was left with Teddie all alone.

"After all that, they found out nothing about me…," Teddie looked depressed, "I wonder what I really am."

"You know we'll find out together, right?" Souji reassured the bear-human.

"Yeah… Thanks, Sensei!" Teddie looked a little happier.

As they were dawdling, Yosuke yelled, "Hey! If you don't hurry, we're gonna leave you guys behind!"

At the Dojima household: Dojima, Nanako, and Souji all talked and drank coffee together until bedtime. This did result in Souji not being able to fall asleep until 3am, but he had a bonding experience.

Souji ran into Naoto the next day on the way to school near the gates. Naoto told Souji something, "I'm not in the mood to do schoolwork or studying at all, especially with the kidnapper loose."

"Neither am I," Souji responded, "I'd rather just find our culprit and be done with it."

"Well, I guess we just have to wait and see," Naoto told him.

(I'm jumping the pseudo Fortune-Link by about 2 weeks.)

Souji got a question in his English class by the PE teacher that day. It was a question about Predicate Nominatives. "Mr. Kondo is a super awesome teacher," Souji answered that "teacher" is the PN, and he was praised. Souji was happy, and he felt smarter.

Souji promised that he would study with Yukiko later on today, but he went out for a breath of fresh air first in the shopping district, even if it was raining.

A man in a black suit gestured over to him holding an umbrella over his head. He looked at Souji as he came over and stuck his hands in his pockets. As soon as Souji got there, the man in black started blabbing questions at Souji like nobody's business. He was testing to see how smart Souji was. Souji kind of wished Rion was here to help him, but he buckled down and started answering all the crap this guy was spewing out. He thanked god for all the ramen he had even eaten in his life. When Souji was finished answering the spiel, the man seemed satisfied.

"I see, I see… You are quite an interesting young man," the man said.

"Okay…," Souji thought.

The man continued, "Do you know Naoto-sama… Oh, er…" The man suddenly became flustered.

"Now… he's turning creepy...," Souji thought, "Naoto-sama?"

"You know a detective by the name of Naoto Shirogane, correct?" the man in black asked.

"I do know him," Souji told him. "I know lots about Naoto. We know Naoto's weaknesses," Souji thought.

"Yes, I know you know him," the man said.

"That is creepy," Souji thought, "Can you get any creepier?"'

"Deliver this to him. He will understand," the man said.

"Umm…," Souji didn't really feel like doing this. He needed to get back to Yukiko. He promised he would study with her. At that moment, Rion was passing by, not even carrying an umbrella. He was headed back to his place, it seemed. Souji flagged him down.

"Oh… Rion!" Souji yelled.

"What?" Rion asked.

"Can you handle this?" he pointed to the man in black.

Rion sighed, "Whatever…"

"I have to go, mister whoever you are," he started walking away, but as he left he turned and told the man, "This guy is much smarter than me, and knows Naoto as you know already, I'm sure."

Souji rushed back to the school. He was late in meeting Yukiko. He ran up to the second-floor and ran to the library. As he entered, he saw Yukiko waiting for him at the table.

"You're late…," Yukiko muttered.

"I was held up by someone," Souji told him in an apologizing tone.

Yukiko told him, "It's okay… We'll make it up later… You'll make it up for me."

Souji smiled as they got to studying. He was out of the fire after all.

---

Rion walked over to the man in black. The man in black stared at him, like he was judging the value of a horse. Rion had his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, and had a disinterested look on his face. He seemed like he didn't really care.

Rion broke the ice, "Hello, Yakushiji-san."

The man in black was only slightly surprised, "So… you do remember me, Mr. Ishinata"

"Of course I do," Rion told him, "You were there when I asked if Naoto was recovering."

"I had told you that Naoto is getting better and to tell them so," Yakushiji said.

Rion nodded, "So, you want me to deliver this card?" as Yakushiji nodded, "So, are we playing a game?"

"A game… In a sense, yes," the secretary said.

"You want me to make Naoto realize who she really is and was? You don't make this easy, do you?" Rion asked.

Yakushiji chuckled, "You catch on rather quickly. But can you help?"

"I guess, but I will have to put my own twist on the plan."

Yakushiji looked confused, "What do you mean? Do you even know what I'm planning on doing?"

"I have an idea… I guess I'm just a pawn too. I have something I want Naoto to realize as well," Rion shrugged his shoulders.

"Just be careful not to hurt Naoto-sama," Yakushiji said as he handed over the card. Rion walked away from the North District and towards the Shrine. He was eventually headed back towards Yasogami.

"I promise nothing, Yakushiji," Rion said to himself, "Whatever happens, it's all up to her actions."

Naoto wasn't really doing anything in particular. She didn't really feel like studying today. She didn't really need to either. The subjects that would be covered weren't difficult, nor the formulas needed to solve them. Being a 1st year was boring to her. It was times like these; she wished she could grow up faster. "I'd rather be searching for our killer," she muttered.

She soon decided it was a waste of time to be here at the school when she could be re-evaluating what the group had already found. Before Naoto could reach the exit of the school, she had run into the person she did not want into… Rion, who had returned, only slightly soaked.

"Uhh… Rion?" Naoto looked at the wet individual who had tormented her many times in the past. She spoke her words in utter confusion on why he wasn't prepared for onslaught of inclement weather, "I believe you are drenched."

"That is a brilliant deduction, Naoto," Rion told her mockingly. Rion brushed back his hair to wipe off a few drops of rains from his face.

"I'd like to thank you again… for helping to save me," Naoto said almost shyly.

Rion looked at her slanting his eyes, "I did not lead the expedition, so am I the one you should be thanking?"

"You may be right," She was taken aback by his honesty, but continued, "I apologize, but I have something I want to think about." She was again thinking about leaving for her home to go over the clues she had gathered. Really, he was not the person she wanted to see at the moment.

Rion decided it was time to start the game Yakushiji had asked him to play. He was a pawn for this game, but he would get to pull the strings as well. It was time to make her the puppet for Yakushiji.

Rion handed Naoto the thick card given to him by the man in black. "I have something for you," Rion told her.

"What's this?" Naoto asked.

"It's a card, obviously," Rion rolled his eyes; "It was given to me by a man in black. He said you would understand." Rion thought to himself. "That sounds suspicious, doesn't it?"

"He said I'd understand?" Naoto sounded confused, "What's that supposed to mean?" Naoto thought to herself, "At least he's being serious, but what is this?"

Rion shrugged his shoulders, "How would I know? I am but a messenger boy, am I not?"

Naoto was thinking before she said, "Excuse me, but could you accompany me for a brief period? I'd like to hear more about what transpired when you were given this card. Please… it won't take long."

Rion held his hands in his pockets before he sighed, "I guess… I don't feel like studying either. It's not like 3rd year subjects interest me." Rion couldn't really tell about that he knew the man in black, or that Souji was the first person the man contacted, not even the fact that he's playing this game as well.

Naoto ended up dragging Rion along to the benches in Samegawa. It was where Rion sometimes met Rise to work on her self-confidence. Luckily, they weren't meeting today. Rion wondered if that might have caused some strife between them. He shook his head, there was far too much stuff going on.

The pair were sitting across from each other and Naoto started off, "I apologize. I wanted to talk someplace quiet. I wanted to know what sort of man gave this to you."

"A man who knew I knew you, Naoto," Rion said. "I hope he knew you," Rion thought, "He works for you and your grandfather."

"He knew that you knew me? He must have known you well." Naoto looked at him, "He wouldn't have entrusted his delivery to anyone he didn't know." Naoto started thinking seriously.

"That is a possibility," Rion tried to look conspicuous.

"But this is a small town… He could have easily looked up my address," Naoto also conjectured.

"That is also a possibility," Rion suggested. Rion rolled his eyes

"I wonder why he bothered to go to the trouble of giving the letter to you. That is interesting," Naoto was pondering, "Is he involved with our case? Or another case altogether? If it's me he's after, he could be anyone."

"I don't think we have enough to go on here," Rion said.

Naoto looked annoyed at the lack of information, "Oh, I'll keep the card. The man is most likely still in Inaba. I cannot drag you further into this."

Rion looked at Naoto with a conspicuous smile, "I can't really back out. I am the one who gave it to you."

"Huh?" Naoto's voice almost raised by a half-step and Rion smiled on the inside. Naoto continued, "Er, well… It's good to know you're worried about me, but…" Naoto was thinking.

"I really don't trust you to be honest anyways," Rion told her plainly, "I don't want to have to come chasing after you. We kind of need you if we want to solve our big case," Rion said plainly. He closed his eyes and rolled his eyes inwardly, "I don't like lying and playing with people's feelings," he thought.

Naoto was really shocked after hearing that, "I apologize, I seem to have a tin ear for other people's feelings… Yosuke-san told me so before. I'll look into this card and report my findings to you. So… don't worry about me. I was told you are the other "brains" of the group." Naoto thought, "Though I don't trust you either."

Rion shrugged his shoulders, "Alright… if anything comes up."

"Oh… while I managed to get you out in the open for once, can we talk?" Naoto asked.

"About?" Rion responded.

"Why you don't share your opinions?" Naoto inquired, "Souji told me you understand more of what's going on then anyone else."

"Do you trust me?" Rion looked at her sideways. When he saw Naoto's look, "I guess you don't."

"I'd like to able to," Naoto said.

"I'd rather let everyone else say what they think before I say my share," Rion told her. He then said, "Besides, do you think you could a word in edgewise with Yosuke talking?"

Naoto chuckled but then got serious, "Though I understand, if you have a plausible opinion that is logical, wouldn't it be wise to interrupt and discuss it?"

"In some cases, yes," Rion shrugged his shoulders, "But it is also worthwhile to hear everything first, before letting the fool speak."

Naoto sighed. She didn't think she was getting anywhere with him.

"So, is there something you wish to ask?" Naoto looked at the young man.

You'd almost think Rion would break out of his composure and laugh, but he stayed in his rigid mode and said, "What wouldn't I ask about?"

"Well… start on something," Naoto said.

"I guess the quintessential question is… Why do you still hide everything, and why are you so afraid?" Rion put his question forward. "I probably should not have started with that," Rion thought, "She's not going to answer."

"That was rather blunt. I don't think I can answer that right now," Rion could see that Naoto was rather troubled by his question.

"I knew that," Rion said.

"Then why did you ask?" Naoto asked as she sighed.

"It doesn't matter," Rion shrugged as he rolled his eyes, "Okay, I'll ask about other things."

The topics soon changed to food and other mundane subjects. The one important subject that was talked about was the murder case, which was lively with both Rion and Naoto sharing their thoughts about the killer. Naoto thought it was nice to share a good intellectual conversation about the murder. She'd invite Souji the next time, and the three would figure out the killer in no time at all.

Souji got home after studying. It was another lively, "Welcome home, Big bro!" from Nanako and some reading time from a book about some loser teacher who was a wimp.

Souji thought a lot of teachers sucked in general, and he wanted a good one for once. He had a few days off from school. Sunday was an obvious one, but also Monday was a holiday as well.

He spent Sunday hanging out Yosuke and Teddie at fall air, the changing leaves, and constricting metal chairs called for a great time. It would be except for Teddie trying to think of ways to pick up Naoto, Chie, or Rise. He even felt Yosuke getting slightly annoyed by all this. He was sure Kanji would be too if he saw Teddie trying to pick up Naoto.

He was thinking to himself again, "Maybe Yosuke likes Chie, or… does he still think Rise is a cutie pie?" Then again, Rion spends more time around Rise then anyone else, and Yosuke hasn't said anything, so Souji wasn't sure. Anyways, Rion spends more time around Rise then anyone other girl. Souji was deep in thought. Well, deeper in thought than the fur ball and the person who loves to talk.

Monday, Souji spent his day where he was supposed to. He was with Yukiko. Where did he spend his day with Yukiko? In his room, thank you very much.

"I'm having a good time," Yukiko said. She was currently nestled under his shoulder, sitting on his couch.

"I'm glad," Souji responded.

Yes, it was a good day.

As Souji trudged his way back to school, Souji ran into Chie. Chie had formed a study group. Souji was kind of annoyed as he thought, "Well, we know Chie and Yosuke will only bicker. Teddie will come and won't have anything to study. Rion sits in our class, but studies 3rd year courses. He's probably still bored. Naoto will be bored too and will bicker with Rion. Rise and Kanji are hopeless at studying. At least Yukiko will be there. I can study with her. Knowing Chie and Yukiko, they'll bring Nanako along, and I'll have someone else to talk to."

During class, the crazy ass history teacher whose head was slowly being suffocated by her headdress asked him what feature demeaned Louis XIV. Souji answered it, "His height." Souji felt special.

Oddly enough, the teacher must have been high, because she also called on Rion for a question. Rion was sleeping during class. He was probably bored shitless because he probably knew everything in the 2nd year courses.

The question was, who were the monarchs killed in the French Revolution? Rion didn't even open his eyes, "Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette." Rion promptly fell back asleep, but not before saying, "They also murdered the leader who had orchestrated the first part of the French Revolution, Robespierre."

Souji was sure now; Rion was the biggest smart-ass ever. Souji wasn't sure if he took any of his studies seriously. By the look of it, Rion didn't care. The only time Rion really got into it was in the TV. There, he was cool, relaxed, and could be as angry as hell. Souji was the commander and leader, but Rion was the field general. Souji would learn the weaknesses and resistances as they happened, but Rion almost always knew beforehand. As Souji would tell them what to do, Rion made it happen.

---

Rion's days off were a little different.

On the days he had no chances to play the game; he spent his time working with Rise's self-esteem problems. Rise's issues were dissipating, but she still needed to stand up to people in real-life. Yet, Rion had two days to work on it.

"I think I've finally figured out how to stand up to everyone now," Rise said proudly.

They were at the shrine. Rise was standing with her back to the shrine, while Rion was in front of her. Rion didn't seem to be quite as confident as her at her chances of dealing with her malcontents.

"Actually, I have a few reservations," Rion told her his feelings.

Rise looked disappointed, "What's that, Senpai?"

"I'm just not sure if you can handle the various kinds of people that may challenge you, Rise-chan," Rion told her.

Rise thought to herself, "What does he mean? He's calling me Rise-chan? Only Teddie calls me that, and he just does that to try and pick me up. Teddie's just silly." She decided to say, "What kind of people?"

"I'm not just talking about directors and producers. I'm talking about paparazzi. I'm talking about fan boys and fan girls. I'm talking about fellow idols that might try undermining you," Rion was getting serious, "People like Kanami, which see you returning as a threat to their position."

"Rion… do you think it's that bad?" Rise asked.

"I think we still have a lot of work to do," Rion told her straight out.

"Well… I guess so…," Rise said. She sounds a little skeptical as they began working.

That day and the next were spent on that as Rion headed to Junes for the study session. He brought a few of his 3rd year textbooks. He didn't know why the stupid ass teacher called on him in the 2nd year classes. It was pointless really. He had basically skipped a grade. He used his class time to sleep. He didn't work all night for nothing. He couldn't wait to just get this stupid entrance exam over with. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be for a while. He would have to settle with helping the others, and not falling asleep during this exam.

Teddie and Nanako were already at their study table when the 2nd years arrived. They were talking as Chie came up to them, "Oh, Hi Nanako-chan, hi Teddie!"

Teddie replied, "Hey, greetings to you!"

Nanako also replied, "Greetings to you."

"Oh my god, Teddie has brainwashed my cousin," Souji thought in horror, "He's a pedobear!"

Yukiko didn't seem to be fazed like Souji, "It looks like you're having fun."

"You do seem like you are enjoying yourself," Rion said. However, he was thinking, "Freakin' bear. He's creepy."

Kanji was next to arrive, "Yo!" he announced himself as he came up.

Naoto and Rise came up to surround the group as Rise said, "Wow, everyone's here!"

Nanako seemed happy, "So many people!"

They all got down to studying. Rise was sitting next to Kanji. They were next to Chie and Yosuke. Yukiko and Souji were flanked by Naoto and Teddie. Rion was sitting next to Naoto. Teddie was sitting next to his Sensei, while Nanako was sitting next to Yosuke.

"Why did everyone come here?" Teddie asked. He seemed perplexed by the mass amount of people. They weren't going into the TV, not with Nanako here.

Yosuke didn't seem too happy when he said, "Exam Study Group!" He sighed, "Times like these, I'm jealous of Teddie."

"Exams?" Teddie looked confused.

"Exams are things that test your knowledge that you supposedly learned in school," Rion told him.

"I think everyone is jealous of Teddie," Souji said, while thinking, "Except Rion…"

Yukiko tried to raise Yosuke's spirits, "Come on now! Let's start with proving the trigonometric identities."

Chie looked dismayed as she said, "Argh… Jumping straight into math!"

"Ours is the section in trig functions, right?" Rise questioned Kanji, "The one where we find the area of a triangle given two sides and…"

Kanji looked confused as he turned to her, "Huh? You find the area of a triangle with… You know, that thing." Kanji was clueless, as everyone shook their heads, "Uhh, base by height by 2?"

Rise looked confounded by his stupidity in math. Even she wasn't this hopeless.

"If you don't mind, shall I teach you?" Naoto asked. She was being friendly

Rion thought to himself, "I'm sure Kanji would like nothing better than her private lessons from Naoto Shirogane."

Yosuke decided he wanted to ask for some help from Naoto too. He winked, "Oh? Are you as smart as I thought? Could you uhh… lend me a hand too?"

Naoto looked nervous. She obviously didn't want to help Yosuke, "Oh, um… I wouldn't know where to begin with second-year subjects."

Yosuke was disappointed, "Aww… What's up with that? Useless after all."

Naoto was pissed, "Don't call me useless!"

Rion tried to calm everyone down, "Okay everyone… I'll help out Yosuke. Calm down Naoto. I'm sure Yosuke just crashed his bicycle into the trashcan one too many times."
Yosuke still seemed amused though, but was relieved he was being helped, "Hehehe… I think I know what buttons to push to get Naoto-kun all riled up." He continued with a smile, "You're pretty cute when you're angry."

"Another point I can bring up…," Rion smiled on the inside.

As expected, Naoto was flustered, "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Oh Yosuke, if you need buttons to press to make Naoto all angry, just ask," Rion teased.

"Shut up, Rion," Naoto muttered.

Souji laughed and said, "This is funny." He thought, "I don't even have to study."

Yukiko hit him on the back of the head, "Souji-kun!"

Rion had put his hands together for meditation, his calculus book untouched and forgotten, and Kanji had given up, "That's it, I quit. This just ain't my thing. To hell with the exams. 'S time for my Animal Crackers."

"Oh god," Souji said as Kanji was about to pull them out, "Don't start this again."

Rise suddenly looked happy as Kanji pulled out said crackers. She emitted excitedly, "Ooh, can I have some too!? I wanna find the penguin!"

"Not the damn penguin!" Rion thought.

Kanji was affronted as he said, "Hands off the penguin! It's mine!"

"Forget it… I can't think," Yosuke said in dismay as he sighed.

As they were all lightly studying, Nanako said, "Teddie said he doesn't know who he is. That's so weird." She was chuckling innocently.

Teddie explained, "My life on this side is really fun. But the more I feel that way, the more I want to know who I really am… I've surfed the net, read manga, watched TV. I even went to a place called the libeary, but I still can't find anything about me.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't find much help in those places," Souji said to him.

Teddie continued, "Still, I'm starting to get an idea."

"An idea?" Souji's girlfriend asked.

Chie looked surprised, "Whoa, isn't this your first time sharing a theory about yourself?"

"I lived in that other world. That world was my reality," Teddie said, "But now, I have a feeling that it was born from the minds of people on this side. And over in that place filled with Shadows, I think I was some sort of special being."

"A special being?" Yosuke asked.

Teddie lamented as he put his head down, "I don't remember anything from back then, though. Maybe it's that "amnesia" thing I read about in a book the other day."

"It's true," Naoto conjectured, "There are some aspects of the other world that make it seem as though it's rooted in human thoughts."

"Is there any point in putting ideas like that in something we don't even have enough rudimentary ideas to start drawing conclusions about?" Rion discussed.

Naoto pointed out after him, maybe to disprove him, "The fact that you existed in such a world from the beginning adds credibility to your theory." It became a favorite game of theirs, trying to make each look stupid.

"I guess you are a "special being" on the other side, Teddie," Souji told Teddie, "I guess that just part of your memory is missing at this point."

Naoto asked, "What is the earliest memory that comes to your mind?"

Teddie gestured and said, "It's from a while ago. I've always lived there, as far as I could tell. Then it started to get noisy, so when I happened to bump into Sensei and Yosuke, I asked them to do something about it."

Naoto conjectured, "I see… If you've always been on that side, you'd have sense of time or days."

Rion shrugged, "I think it would be near impossible to guess a lifespan, or the age of Teddie."

Nanako looked completely confused and when Chie noticed this she said, "Oops, that's right! Nanako-chan's completely clueless about all this!" She apologized, "I'm sorry Nanako-chan. We didn't mean to leave you out."

"I'm sorry Little sis," Souji said.

Nanako made her own guess, "Hey… I think Teddie must be a king," she started to explain her reasoning, "I read in a story that a king was all alone in a forest because of a bad guy's curse. Isn't that what happened to you, Teddie?"

Teddie put his spin on it, "A King… Well! When you put it that way, it sounds about right."

"Oh, here we go…," Rion thought. Souji was thinking the same thing.

"Oh dear," Souji thought, "It's all Rion's fault."

"Teddie…? A King…?" Yukiko was amused, close to laughing. She giggled, "I can see him wearing a cape."

Chie sighed, "Sheesh, Yukiko… You go into laughing fits in front of anyone now."

"Tell me about it," Souji said, thinking of their times together.

Kanji put his head down, "Can we… not talk about Teddie being a King?"

Rion chuckled. He remembered the time he spiked the drinks and caused Teddie to kiss Kanji. "Good times," Rion thought.

"Hm… What's with that face?" Yosuke asked. He had seemed to have forgotten

"Teddie really was a king," he proclaimed, "There were all these other Kings too, and we all…"

Rion lost his composure and started to laugh until Naoto glared at him and hit him in the shoulder. It only made Rion laugh harder. Souji wondered why Rion started laughing more around Naoto and Rise especially. "Are they supplying him with drugs or something?" Souji thought, "They must be getting them from the fox."

Chie remembered and said before Nanako heard, "Hey! He's talking about what happened at the club!" Chie whispered at Teddie, "Quiet you! Not in front of Nanako-chan!"

Not even Rion wanted Teddie to reveal what happened in front of Nanako. In the end, they all went to buy drinks, non-alcoholic ones with Nanako. Teddie was left alone talking with Souji.

"Am I really a King?" Teddie asked Souji.

"You could be, Teddie," Souji responded.

Teddie laughed, "If I'm a King, I'll get to smooch girls every day."

"I don't think that's how it works, Teddie," Souji rolled his eyes.

Teddie said confidently, "I have this fuzzy feeling that I'll find out sooner or later with your help, Sensei."

Souji nodded before Nanako called out, "Big bro, Teddie, is melon soda okay?"

They both nodded as Nanako got them their drinks. At least a few of them got a little studying done before they left for their respective homes.

Nanako, who walked home with Souji, told him how much fun she had with his friends.

Before his test, Souji spent Wednesday studying with Yukiko in the rain, and Thursday studying with Chie who had begged him for help. At least Souji felt a little more prepared. Souji also got pegged with questions both of those days. "How much does it cost to make a yen piece?" He guessed two yen, and was right. "Amazing?" he thought. And, then that nasty, skanky homeroom teacher asked "What happens if you touch a plant?", "It grows faster." She wanted to put a question on the test about her measurements. "What a skank!" Souji thought.

-

Rion was not going to study. He refused to. So, he decided to play the game with his favorite Princess. He found Miss Naoto Shirogane and decided to bug her.

"Hello, Princess," Rion bugged her.

"I'd prefer you not call me that," Naoto said, "but besides that… Do you have time to talk with me?"

"No, Naoto-kun. I just came to get inside your head," Rion said, "That's why I came over here. I figured that you had made a conclusion."

"You're right, okay then," Naoto rolled her eyes. She was relieved on the inside that the joking conversation was over. She was almost happy that they could get down to business. Maybe they could be serious for once.

They once again returned to the bench in Samegawa after they had gathered their things.

"Let's hear what you got, Naoto-kun," Rion said.

"As you can see, nothing is written on it. It's just a plain white card," Naoto told him.

"That's pretty obvious," Rion told her. He laughed on the inside.

Naoto rolled her eyes, "But it does feel a bit stiff, given its thinness. Without any indications of its contents however, I have no idea who sent it," Naoto decided to give her conclusion, "I'd chalk it up as a prank."

Rion was shaking his head, well on the inside, "Somebody failed. We don't want her to think of it as a prank. Plan B, here we go."

"Well, that's no fun, is it?" Rion said to her. "Let's hope this works," Rion thought.

Naoto laughed, "One would expect to be more," Naoto smiled.

Rion was thinking, "She smiled. Genuine smile, score 1 point."

Naoto's phone rang out. She picked it up, "Ah, excuse me," asking Rion to wait a moment.

"Yes, it's me," Naoto as she opened her cell phone.

"Ahh, Yakushiji-san. What's the matter?"

"A thief? In the Shirogane Estate?"

"Yes… Yes… I see…"

"I don't keep anything in that room I'd miss terribly."

"You have already reported this to the police, I assume? Then, I'll leave the rest to you."

"As long is Grampa is safe, it doesn't matter. I can't take my eyes off this case yet."

Naoto hung up the phone.

Rion was thinking, "It looks like Yakushiji did his part." He asked, "What happened?"

Naoto was distracted until she heard Rion's voice, "Oh… Sorry. You heard, didn't you?"

"Umm… Kind of hard not to," Rion told Naoto. "I wonder how much he stole," Rion thought, "The more he steals, the more time I'll have to work."

Naoto was kind of uncomfortable as she explained, "That was from Yakushiji, my Grampa's secretary. It appears that someone has broken into the Shirogane Estate. It seems my room was targeted, and he wanted to know if I could think of any particular item the thief would have been after. Several items pertaining to me were also stolen from Grampa's inventory. I don't know about those, but my belongings aren't of any particular value, so…"

"The card…," Rion pointed out.

"Right… That's what I was thinking," Naoto said.

"You should be careful," Rion told her.

"Umm… Thanks for your consideration," Naoto responded. She looked uncomfortable. She wasn't used to Rion being nice, "Regardless, I'd rather you not worry about me. We do have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Exams…," Rion rolled his eyes, while Naoto did the same, "And a case that we have to wait for a kidnapper to make his next move."

"Yet, I'm not sure of how to react of you… umm… worrying about me," Naoto was still uncomfortable.

Rion shook his head, "I'll try not to show any more human emotions then."

That almost brought a smile to Naoto's face, but she was still edgy.

"I have to take you home, Naoto," Rion told her.

"I told you not to worry," Naoto responded.

Rion looked at her, "Your grandfather would want me to. He'd worry otherwise. Now let me."

She stopped resisting after Rion bugged her some more, and let the almost lazy, nonchalant young man walk her home.

"So, what do you think of the kidnapper's methods?" Naoto asked as she was walking back.

"They're a bit sloppy. The more they try, the more likely they'll be found out," Rion responded.

The next day, Rion bugged Naoto again. "This is rather enjoyable, not just important," Rion thought to himself, "It's a way to rile her up."

"I need to take you home, Naoto-kun. Who knows? You may get attacked," Rion told her as he walked up to her on the day before the exam.

"What? That isn't necessary," Naoto sputtered, "But… I guess it'll be alright." She assented to his wish.

As they were by the shoe lockers, Naoto pulled out a letter.

"This?" she said as she pulled it out.

"What is it?" Rion asked.

"This was in my shoe locker," showing the note to Rion.

"More cards? Quite repetitive," Rion said. One part of playing this game is trying not to spoil the fun. He had a façade to keep up.

"It's not related. This time, the sender's name is clearly written. Judging by the name and handwriting, the sender is a woman. She thoughtfully provided her name and year."

"Well, that's nice," Rion said sarcastically. "Don't they know that Naoto is a girl?" Rion thought.

"There's a heart-shaped seal, so I doubt it's related to the case," Naoto rolled her eyes, "So, there's no need to read it."

"I have to agree with you," Rion said.

She left for a moment and came back. Naoto told Rion, "I apologize. I wasted your time with this pointlessness. How misleading. A signed letter at a time like this."

Rion shrugged, "Its fine. That is disappointing, however." Rion was laughing at this inwardly. This was pointless. It had nothing do with his "game."

"I can't get rid of it on school premises, so I'll take it home and feed it to the shredder," Naoto told him.

"That works," Rion said.

"No matter the gender, I had no intention of reading the letter," Naoto said. She was rather blunt. She did feel a little inkling in that heart of hers when thinking about others that could have sent letters, however. She shrugged off the feeling and said, "I don't have time to deal with needless love affairs. I assume you are the same?" Rion felt bad for Kanji. He wondered what he had to do about that.

Rion nodded. He didn't need love. Love was pointless. Love gets you killed.

"People saying they love without knowing me. Ludicrous," Naoto muttered, "Let's go, Senpai. I have some questions regarding the murders I'd like to ask you. Do you mind if we stop somewhere along the way?"

"Fine with me, I guess," Rion said.

He would use this time to ask his own questions outside of dealing with murders.

They stopped at Souzai and discussed aspects the ways the murderer can be transporting the TV, while Rion choked on a piece of meat… just kidding.

Souji woke up on this dreaded Friday. It was the day of his 2nd midterms. At least he was prepared, well sort of. He thought he was. He headed out after a little breakfast with a small amount of trepidation.

Watching the river flow as he walked down the Samegawa Riverbank road, he met up with Chie, and Rion.

"Morning… Man, I studied for hours…," Chie said, exasperated, "Thanks again for helping me yesterday. Did you study?"

Souji nodded in thanks, "It gave me a chance to study as well. I needed to review."

"I asked you if you studied the last time we had exams too… Crap!" Chie looked down.

Souji looked at the stoic Rion and asked, "Did you study?" Souji knew he had harder tests than anyone else to take.

Rion shrugged his shoulders, "Not really…"

Souji shook his head, "Figures…"

Chie looked at Rion as they walked, "How could you not study? The exams are going to be excruciating!"

"No they won't. It's only going to affect the rest of your life. So, just do well," Rion said like it meant nothing.

Chie looked like he grew a second head, "How can he act so calm? Those tests mean everything?" She said to Souji as Rion walked past, "I just got to keep it together!"

"You will… He's just crazy…," Souji comforted her…, "Don't worry… You'll do better than Yosuke."

"That's not saying much," Chie sighed as the pair walked to class.

And then… The midterms began. The questions were rather easy for Souji to answer. They were all questions, formulas, and others that he remembered and studied over. It was odd, considered the small amount Souji had studied.

After the first two test days, Yosuke called Souji.

"You want to come to a study group? We do have four more days of testing?" Yosuke asked.

"Sure, why not?" Souji replied.

Souji came to Junes. Everyone but Teddie and Kanji were there to study. Souji thought, however, that Rion was there just to observe and hang out. He did think, "It's nice of him to be here and be friendly. He does try and be considerate to everyone."

"Hi guys… Sorry I'm late," Souji said as he got to the same table they met at the last study meeting.

"It's okay…," Yukiko said as Souji sat down next to here. Yosuke was across from Souji, and sitting next to Rise, who was sitting next to Rion. Naoto was sitting next to Rion. Chie was next to Yukiko.

"This is beginning to become a custom to meet here for this," Yosuke said, cracking open a book, "But that aside, can I borrow your notes?" he asked Souji.

Souji looked at him, "You can't have mine…"

Chie chuckled, "Borrowing notes is becoming a custom too. Alright, let's get started… But first, I want a melon soda."

"Is that your way of saying I'll let you borrow my notes if I buy you a melon soda?" Yosuke asked.

"Could be…" Chie winked.

Naoto smirked, "Hmhmhm, Chie-san and Yosuke-san seem to get along well."

"Why don't you two date?" Rise asked.

"That'd be perfect…," Souji told them.

Chie shook her head, "Never!"

"That was quick!" Yosuke responded quickly. It seemed like he was affronted. Maybe he did like her.

"Denial is the first stage of the truth," Rion told them.

Rise chuckled, "You too, Naoto! You could go out with Kanji!"

Naoto seemed to not like that idea, but she blushed anyways as she answered, "Please, stop it!"

"I think that'd be perfect for you, Naoto," Rion smirked.

"Shut up Rion!" Naoto exclaimed as she started blushing. Rion was teasing her again. He was far too good at it in Naoto's eyes.

"Aww, how cute!" Rise responded at the responses they gave.

"Hey, Senpai… Wouldn't Kanji-kun and Naoto-kun make a cute couple?" she asked Souji.

"I think so…," Souji answered. Souji didn't really care.

"Come on, don't joke like that…," Naoto answered, blushing.

Chie wanted revenge, "Hey… I see you spending all your time with Rion… How about you and Rion dating?" Chie asked Rise.

Rise chuckled, but blushed a little, "Hmm… I don't know, what would happen if we went out, Rion-senpai? Do you think that would affect my image?"

Rion shrugged, "I don't know. I can't predict the future." Souji rolled his eyes. He really couldn't tell if he liked Rise. Who knows if he liked anyone? He might like the girl that just always mutters about love on the first floor all day. She suddenly started saying she liked somebody all of a sudden.

"Does anything rile him up?" Rise asked. Souji looked at Rise. He was looking for signs of disappointment.

"Not really…," Souji answered.

"That's enough, guys," Yosuke answered, obviously disturbed by the exchanges, "Let's get back to studying!"

"Yosuke is encouraging us to study? I'd thought I'd never see the day…," Chie said.

"Oh… Shut up!" Yosuke muttered.

No real studying got done, but everyone talked for hours. It was entertaining for sure.

Souji was greeted by Nanako as he came home, "Welcome back!"

"Welcome back, Nanako," Souji returned.

"Good evening, Souji," Dojima said, as he was sitting, reading the newspaper.

Souji responded, "Hello, Dojima-san."

Souji decided to read instead of studying, but he felt smarter anyways. He was ready for the next four days of testing.

He knew all the answers again. "Boring…," he thought as he answered questions, "Maybe this is how Rion feels…"

When the testing was over, Rion returned from the 3rd year classroom to his own in 2-2. Yosuke was standing next to Souji, "It's finally over," as he yawned.

Chie was asking Yukiko about answers on the test, "Hey, about question 8…"

"Why are you so tired, Yosuke?" Souji asked.

"I pulled an all-nighter last night, so I'm ready to collapse any second now… I'm gonna head home," Yosuke told Souji, "See ya later, Souji."

"Bye...," Souji responded as Yosuke left.

Souji looked at Rion, "How was your exam?"

"Boring… I sat next to a guy who collapsed in the middle of the 3rd day. He had a nervous breakdown," Rion told him, "I'm guessing yours went well?"

"I thought I did well," Souji nodded.

"That's good. I expect to see yours at the top of the list," Rion told him.

Finally, the long midterms were over, and Souji was able to walk Yukiko home. She was rather nervous about the exam still. She spent most of the time on the way home asking questions about the exam. She wasn't as nervous as Chie, however.

"What about this question…?" she was asking.

"This answer is sodium bicarbonate," Souji responded.

"Oh, good," Yukiko looked relieved.

Souji wasn't sure who would be top of the 2nd years this midterm.

Oddly enough, Souji would have a bad experience that night.

---

Rion bugged Naoto after school.

"What? I just got out of exams?" Naoto was peeved after so long of answering boring and mundane questions that she was going to take her rage out on whoever bothered her… But she turned around and saw, Rion.

"I can come back later…," Rion was saying.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I was going to ask you if I could borrow you for a moment." Naoto asked.

"Umm… okay. I'll ignore the innuendo," Rion responded.

"Can you not make fun of me for one second?" Naoto muttered. She looked tired.

"Alright, I understand," Rion nodded, as he followed Naoto.

By the shoe lockers, Naoto pulled out something.

"Looks like Naoto found another card," Rion almost chuckled, "But this time… it's no love letter."

"You're right… It's that card," Naoto said, "It's unmistakable. It's the same cardstock, same size, and unsigned."

"Brilliant deduction as always…," Rion rolled his eyes.

Naoto expelled a deep breath in annoyance, "It's no doubt it's by the same person. Let's talk about it away from the school."

"Lead the way, Princess," Rion joked.

"I told you not to call me that…," Naoto said, annoyed.

"Well… you are a girl… You can't be a Prince… We already dealt with that fact in a TV…"

Rion was led to their favorite place of figuring crap out… the bench by the Floodplains.

The card read…
"Dear Detective,
Your prized possessions are
in my hands.
Can you recover them?
The game is afoot.
-The Phantom Thief"

"Man, he couldn't come with anything better than that," Rion thought of the letter, "Lame…"

"It seems this is the work of the figure who snuck into the Shirogane Estate. I'll send it Yakushiji-san so he can turn it into the police for evidence." Naoto looked annoyed, "The Phantom Thief? How absurd…."

"Great… Now she's reading my mind…," Rion thought, "What am I thinking of? Tacos, Dammit!"

"I do not have the time to waste on this…," Naoto muttered. "I have better things to do, solving a murder, and putting duct tape on this moron."

"That is true, in a sense," Rion said.

"We're dealing with a matter that has claimed lives; the stakes are entirely different," Naoto told Rion, "In contrast, we have a petty prankster, guilty of mere housebreaking, theft, and inscrutable threats." Naoto looked annoyed, "Just a ruffian who broke into the Shirogane Estate and threw down the gauntlet. That's why I don't like this!"

"Because… They struck you in the heart. They went right to a detective's house, and broke in. They issue threats, saying you aren't good enough to solve this case," Rion told her.

"I'd wish you weren't telling me everything, or always teasing me. Being one step ahead of me, or confusing me does not help me," Naoto told him, "I don't want to get involved in a childish game! Yet, if I ignore it… That would only make me angry."

"Well, we are the smartest… Let's catch him together. It won't take long," Rion suggested.

"Of course… you were the one to bring this card to me," Naoto agreed.

Rion nodded in agreement. "This is far too easy to bend her to my will," Rion thought.

"Let's work together on this…," Naoto hoped no one noticed the small blush on her cheeks. Luckily, Rion didn't.

"Alright then," Rion said, "Let's reexamine our first card here."

"Yes, there has to be a clue on this," Naoto said. She added, "Of course, I only want to work on this case in our free time."

"Don't worry, with all of this… we'll have plenty of it," Rion said, "I have some time left." He would have to hurry to work, but he had other work to do.

"Oh…," Naoto seemed surprised, "Well, I have the first card with me as well." She brought out both cards as laid them down, side by side, "I had talked to the store owner of Shiroku, and they carry cards of this kind. When I talked to the shopkeeper, her description matched the one you gave. This "Phantom Thief" purchased these cards mere days before handing one to you. Therefore, it's hard to imagine any elaborate process was performed on the card. "

"Yet, you aren't sure what it is…," Rion said.

"I do, however, detect a faint, lingering scent of citrus. It's very weak cologne, perhaps," Naoto suggested.

Rion shook his head, "I don't think so."

"Then, what do you think? I'm not sure what to do…," Naoto muttered.

Rion took out a matchbox, "I don't smoke, but I know a few things about being a detective. Have you ever heard of invisible ink?"

"Matches? You're burning it? Wait… Invisible ink? Could it be that simple?" Naoto looked dumbfounded.

"Well… I thought it was obvious…," Rion shrugged.

"Just don't burn anything down…," Naoto said, talking about burning the table, "Wait, let's go to Souji's house… We can use his stove…"

"Alright, but don't blame me if he's with Yukiko…," Rion said.

Naoto looked nervous, "You think… Yukiko is in Souji's room?"

"I think he's just taking her home… But we'll see…," Rion told her.

Luckily, the only person in Souji's house was Souji. Nanako was at a friend's home.

"Why are you here again?" Souji asked.

"To start a fire," Rion told him sarcastically, but then said, "To solve a mystery."

"Oh, okay…," Souji said, only slightly confused. "Then why are you with Naoto? Oh forget it, I don't want to know."

Naoto had put the card over the stove. Letters had appeared over the toasted card.

"You were right, Senpai," Naoto told Rion, "It was invisible ink."

Rion sounded affronted, if that was possible, "You sound like you expected me to be wrong."

"The citrus juices staining the paper burn first, making it legible," Naoto said.

"Now you're acting like I don't know how invisible ink works…," Rion rolled his eyes.

"Sorry…," Naoto said in an apologizing tone, "I wonder why a grown man is using such childish tricks."

"Maybe… because you are a child," Rion suggested.

"Do you want to get hit?" Naoto warned him.

"Don't kill the messenger. It's just a suggestion," Rion put his hands up.

"What does this mean?" Naoto pointed to a sentence, "Eating letters… With a red face… What does that mean?" She questioned Rion.

"Do you really have to ask?" Rion rolled his eyes. He thought, "And she's the detective." He decided to tell her after a pause, "It's a mailbox, Princess."

"You're calling her Princess now?" Souji asked.

"I've always called her Princess," Rion explained.

"Don't call me Princess!" Naoto really did hit Rion on the head this time, "But… You're right… It does seem to be a mailbox. There's one in the shopping district. Let's go."

"Oh, boy…," Rion thought as he was dragged around by Naoto, "I'm going to be late for work."

He yelled at Souji, "Bye… Thanks for letting us use your stove…!"

"You are welcome!" Souji yelled back as he was pulled out of the house.

"Has Rion been collared twice now? Or has he collared two?" Souji said to himself as the door was shut. He pushed it out of his mind as he remembered the kiss he received as he took Yukiko to the bus stop.

The pair ended up outside Daidara, at the mailbox. There was an item behind the mailbox, which Naoto removed.

"What is it?" Rion asked.

"This is… Why did Grampa keep this?" Naoto asked. She seemed confused.

"Well, you got it back… That's all that matters," Rion said.

"Yes… That's right…," Naoto said timidly. She continued, "I made this… when I was a child. It's a detective badge."

"Aww… how cute…," Rion said.

"Shut up!" Naoto told him, "However, There is no real function to it though."

"It's still cute…," Rion said again.

"Quit saying that…," Naoto tried to stop him. She regained her composure and said, "The thief did this, and all for a stolen detective badge? I have an idea for who the Phantom Thief might be, but I have none as to his motive."

"You got to admit, he knows how to hit you where it hurts," Rion smirked.

Naoto rolled her eyes at Rion's inane comments as she said, "This has become an important case to me. Though, I couldn't have solved it without you."

"Yes, I'm a better detective than the Princess…," Rion smirked.

"I'm warning you…," There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She did say, however, "I wouldn't have bothered otherwise, but thank you."

"Well, you're welcome…," Rion said.

"I wouldn't normal play these games. But, I'd rather play this one out. If you would help… There are things I want to know about you… Things that bug me…," Naoto said.

"When we have time, I'll help," Rion told her.

"Oh, yes… Let's," Naoto agreed, "Can I ask you something?"

"Okay… If I get to ask something in return," Rion said.

"Why do you tease people?" she asked.

"I do it to ask people to show their real selves… It's as simple as that," Rion shrugged.

"Oh… I see. So… when you call me…," Naoto was saying.

"I call you Princess because you don't act girl-y enough…," Rion said, "You try to act like a boy even after all the things you've been through."

"Oh…," Naoto said, "But… I don't want to. I choose not to."

"Inside, I know you want to. We have too many sides to us to choose from," Rion told her, "You are fixated on that certain one. I guess you choose that one because you are scared to show any other sides."

"You don't know that…," Naoto said.

Rion turned away and walked away. Not noticing the blush on Naoto's cheeks. Or she thought he didn't. "He didn't ask a question…," Naoto muttered.

Souji was relaxing after watching Rion being pulled out by Naoto. He was waiting for his "little sis" to come home. So, he turned on the TV, and watched Junes commercials. He struggled not to fall asleep, "How does she stand this?" Souji wondered.

Suddenly, Nanako had returned from the friend's house.

"I'm home!" Nanako proclaimed as she returned.

"Welcome back," Souji responded. He walked toward Nanako who was also walking toward Souji.

"Oh, welcome back," Nanako said, "There was a letter in the mailbox for you." She handed Souji a letter.

"Thanks, Nanako," Souji told her as he took it from her hands. It was addressed to him, but there was no return address. "What the hell?" he said to himself.

He took out the letter and read it…

"don't rescue anymore…"

Souji was confused, "What the fuck?" Hopefully Nanako didn't hear that.

Nanako didn't seem to hear it, but she walked up to him, and obviously seemed confused, "Is it from a friend?" she asked, confused.

"I don't think so…," Souji told her.

Nanako suddenly remembered, "Oh, my show is about to start!" She ran to the TV and turned it on.

Souji thought maybe the letter might be a warning from the killer. Though, it could be a joke. "I should talk to everyone about this… Well, Yosuke will give us his two cents… but I'll ask Yukiko and Naoto. I'll just call Rion the night after and he'll figure it out. He'll never talk."

The TV show Nanako was watching was disturbing. No 7yr old should be watching that show. It reminded him of some show he used to watch as a kid, Death Note or something. It must be because his father is a detective. But, Souji put it out of his mind as he went to bed.

At lunch, everyone met on the roof to discuss the freaky letter that Souji had gotten in his mailbox. The group was in a circle. Rise and Chie were sitting down on the lower area, with Yosuke and Kanji sitting on the higher echelon. Souji and Yukiko were standing next to each other, while Naoto and Rion were standing next to each other.

Souji showed everyone the letter.

"don't rescue anymore," Naoto read the letter, "Is this a warning?"

"Sounds like it…," Rion said. "Somebody doesn't like us," Rion thought.

"No punctuation or capitalization? What a cliché," Chie pointed out. Chie wondered what was going on.

Kanji asked, "Ain't this just a prank? The kinda stuff that only happens in movies?"

"I don't know about this…," Souji responded.

"Did you show this to your uncle?" Yosuke asked.

"Oh, that's a brilliant idea, No!" Souji told Yosuke. Souji rolled his eyes.

"Senpai," Naoto told Souji, "Dojima-san is trustworthy, but it may be best to keep this to ourselves. He will ask why you received such a letter, and if he were to put you under surveillance, our hands would be tied."

"Don't remind me about what would happen," Souji said, "We know."

"Like last time…," Rion rolled his eyes, "They set Adachi on us, and we missed saving Rise."

Rise didn't know that, and looked annoyed as Souji said, "Yeah, I forgot about that."

"If this letter is real, what's most important isn't what it says. It's the fact that it was delivered to the Dojima residence, addressed directly to you," Naoto continued, "This means that the culprit knows in great detail who has been interfering with his crimes."

"He could have delivered it to any of our households, Souji," Rion said, "But he chose to deliver it the Dojima residence."

It seemed that she was going to say the exact same thing, so she said, "I'd have that letter checked at a crime lab… But even then, I'd doubt they'd find anything. The text is a warning, while the subtext expresses the culprit's confidence that we can't use it to pinpoint his identity."

Chie looked exasperated, "So, it's useless to tell the police… In fact, it would make things worse."

Yosuke put his head down. He looked worried, "Cross your fingers that it's just a prank."

"I think the chances of that are slim… This message is too specific, too perfect to be a prank," Yukiko muttered. She asked, "But how could the killer know so much about us? Could he be watching us from somewhere?"

Yosuke looked at them, "Teddie's been saying for a while that when we're over there, he senses someone watching us." He seemed to have a revelation, "Wait… Every time we went on the other side to rescue someone, did we end up on the Midnight Channel ourselves?"

Chie was skeptical, "I dunno… It seems like no one else knows what we're doing…"

Souji said, "We only hear stories of the people kidnapped afterwards. We never hear about people rescuing them."

Chie agreed, "I haven't heard any rumors about us at school. Even the people I know check that channel haven't said anything. All I hear is about those who disappear like Souji said."

"I see…," Yosuke was saying, "Come to think of it, how the Midnight Channel works is still a mystery."

"Let's put aside for now the matter of what the world really is. There's too little data to go on. For now, we need to keep in mind that the culprit knows who we are. As long as we are aware of that, it will be enough for now," Naoto said.

"I guess there's no use worrying about it," Souji said.

"Isn't freaking out over speculation is just what the killer would want us to do?" Yosuke asked.

"Yosuke's right," Souji nodded.

"Yeah…," Chie agreed.

"We'll just have to wait until a move is made…," Souji admitted.

"All right… Mind if I change the subject a little?" Chie asked.

"Okay…," Souji responded to Chie.

"The Culture Festival is just around the corner. What's our class doing again?" Chie asked the 2nd years.

Yosuke told Chie, "Oh yeah, it hasn't been decided yet, huh?"

Yukiko admitted, "I heard we'll be voting on it soon… But aren't they still gathering ideas?"

Yosuke suddenly got a look on his face, and Chie looked worried, "Whoa! I think Yosuke just got a bolt of inspiration. Whatever it is, it'll be out there. I'd bet my lunch on it."

Rise wanted someone to walk with her. "Ooh… Do you know who you'll be going around the campus with during the festival, Senpai?" she asked Rion, "My schedule is still wide open!"

"Me?" Rion asked, "You sure you don't want to go with Yosuke? Or with Kanji?" He didn't seem to care much. Souji wondered if Rion would just sleep through the whole thing.

Rise played with her hair, "No, I think they'd rather go with other people." Chie glared at her. Naoto looked alarmed. She looked at Rion, "So, will you come?"

"I have a bad idea about our class's activity, so I guess I'll come," Rion accepted the offer, "I'm sure it will make a stir to see you walking around with someone during the festival."

Rise looked happy with Rion's answer. Rise and Rion together at the Culture Festival, it looked suspicious to Souji. "Yeah, those two together would cause a stir, but I want to see Kanji and Naoto walking around," Souji thought. He was laughing on the inside.

"How'd I know she'd do something like this?" Chie rolled her eyes.

The group left to do whatever they want.

For some reason, the basketball gym was open for practice today. So… Souji played some basketball. Unfortunately, Souji got stuck polishing balls while Kou chased after Chie. "This sucks major balls," he thought.

---

Rion decided he really had nothing to do after school. But, when he was leaving, he spotted Naoto getting ready to leave herself.

"Time to play our little game…," he smirked.

Rion came up behind the diminutive detective and tapped her on the shoulder. Needless to say, she was a little shocked.

"Rion!" she exclaimed, "You know we're on edge as it is."

"Lighten up a little…," Rion shook his head, "If you get kidnapped again while I can see you, then I'll be impressed."

Naoto grumbled, "Anyways, I have a couple of clues and new challenges from our thief."

"Great…," Rion said. He thought, "Let's get this show on the road."

"The Phantom Thief knows where I live…," Naoto told Rion, "He put this card in my mailbox."

"Well… he did rob you…," Rion said. Naoto responded by glaring at his obviousness.

"Then why did he have you deliver the first card?" Naoto wondered.

"We looked "close", yet we aren't," Rion joked, "Unless you want us to be?" He laughed until Naoto hit him over the head. "I guess not…"

Naoto still chuckled at the chance to hit Rion, "That is a good judge of character. Well, this is what the card says…"
When the banks close, the fruit trees
grows. By the large seven at the third I chose.

"It's darker this time… Don't you agree?" Naoto asked, "Cryptic? With fruit tree, I get the idea of the first card."

Rion shook his head in disagreement.

"By the "seven" and the "third", then? What do those mean?" Naoto wondered.

Naoto noticed Rion was slumped over. She was annoyed, "Are you paying attention!?"

"Oh… I thought you were the detective...," Rion told her, "I already know the answer."

"Well… I need your help," Naoto told him.

"See… Well, what's the magic word?" Rion asked jokingly.

Naoto wasn't happy, "Please…,"

"Much better… The numbers are important. Seven and third…," Rion told them.

"The seven and the third," Naoto pondered. She suddenly came to a realization, "The third and seventh word!"

"Good job…," Rion rolled his eyes as Naoto glared at him for the millionth time in a few days time.

"So… "Banks" and "tree"… We need to find the largest tree by the riverbank," Naoto confirmed.

"Lead the way, Princess," Rion shrugged.

"Shut up!" Naoto said, but she dragged him along regardless.

Scouring the river banks, by a tree, they found a watch.

"This brings back memories," Naoto said.

"A watch…," Rion said as he adjusted his glasses.

"It's advanced for a watch, you know. It has a strong backlight. You can blind the enemy," Naoto told Rion.

"I'll make sure to move faster than you can shine it, then," Rion responded.

Naoto shook her head, "I doubt you could do that. Anyways, I modified this watch when I was young. I loved doing this sort of thing, when I was a child."

"Aren't you still a child?" Rion asked.

"I'm a teenager! A young adult!" Naoto rebuked him.

"Sorry…," Rion replied, "But, you should know… I'm really fast."

"Never mind," Naoto shook her head, "I always did prefer mechanical things than fluffy, cutesy objects."

"But, they're so cute…," Rion joked, "You know… even I had a stuffed animal once. It was so cute, it made Kanji's knitted animals go to shame. But, damn! He makes some cute things.

"What are you talking about!?" Naoto asked. "You had a stuffed animal? I thought all you ever had was weaponry in your crib," she thought.

"Nothing, go on…," Rion said.

"I like high places, so I had a secret base in the trees," Naoto continued.

"That would explain what we had to go through to get to your Shadow," Rion nodded.

"I just wonder… Why couldn't I have been born male?" Naoto wondered, "It just could have been so much easier for me. It's funny isn't it?" She looked at Rion expectantly.

"What's wrong with being a girl?" Rion responded, "I'm sure Kanji doesn't mind you being a girl."

"Senpai?" Naoto looked taken aback.

"More paths are open to you by the fact you are a girl than if you were a boy. You just haven't realized that yet," Rion told her.

"The fact that you can say that to me, why can't I complain?" Naoto nodded, "Even though you are quite abrasive, you do confuse me a lot."

Rion rolled his eyes, "I do that to people."

"I feel like I'm still a child when around you, Senpai," Naoto looked at him.

"Well… I am the oldest," Rion said.

"Rion-senpai?" Naoto asked, "What were you like as a child?"

"Me?" Rion had to think things through, "Well, I spent a lot of my early life studying in Britain where I was born. I was identified as a prodigal student of martial arts, and fencing; so they shipped me off around the country then to Japan to study various styles. That's why I never really became a social person. I don't think I was around enough people for a long enough time to learn social skills. When I moved here, I got bored with everything and decided I'd take my entrance exams early."

"I have one more clue, Senpai," Naoto said, "Will you take a look at it?"

"Sure," Rion said. "I guess we can speed up the process a little more," he thought.

They returned to the bench near Samegawa to discuss the next clue.

"I'm not sure what exactly the other item is we're searching for," Naoto said.

"Alright," Rion said, "Let's just figure it out, then." "Stupid Yakushiji…," Rion thought.

Rion and Naoto looked at the other card on the table.

"I received this card in the mail as well," Naoto told her rival.
Jury to not rest, or rout for fable.
Minus 40, Minus 4

"As is, it's complete nonsensical," Naoto muttered, "Does that mean its part of the riddle?"

He read over it for a second. "Concentrate on the numbers…," Rion told her, "Subtraction is the key to solving it." He put his hands behind his head like he was about to fall asleep.

At first, Naoto was shocked, "Subtract 40? Oh, subtract 40 from the sentence. "Jury to not rest, or rout for fable." From there you subtract 40 and 4," Naoto figured out.

Rion nodded in satisfaction with her answer, "See, that was not hard."

"So, the unnatural comma in the phrase corresponds to the two numbers," Naoto pointed out, "Subtract the letters in "forty" from the first part, and the ones in "four" from the second part. What remains in ju n es t able. Junes table."

Rion rolled his eyes, "Are we ready?"

"Let's go!" as Naoto dragged Rion to Junes.

"I'm a freakin' ragdoll!" Rion muttered to himself.

On the underside of the table was a ballpoint pen. Naoto grabbed the pen from the table next to the one they used as their "Secret Headquarters".

"A pen with a flashlight, and miniature telescope," Naoto told him.

"Flashy…," Rion said.

"Cute…," Naoto muttered, "I thought it was lost. I guess no one in my family likes to throw things away." Naoto was reminiscing, "When I had this, I was young. I was still dreaming of becoming a detective. No matter my gender, I never thought about it being an obstacle."

"You just had no one to compare yourself with," Rion said.

Naoto nodded, "I didn't have any friends either. It's now, when I finally have friends, that I worry more."

"It's probably because you don't want to lose them," Rion told her, "You finally have what you were searching for so long, and now that you have them; you are scared of losing them."

Naoto was struck by the truth Rion spoke.

"Do you think I'm undergoing a change? I feel that way," Naoto asked.

"No matter what, we'll be here. So, you don't have to be afraid. We're not going to leave," Rion shook his head, "We're not going to run away even if you grow six heads and start breathing fire."

Naoto looked at him, struggling to smile, "I see… The need to change, and the desire to stay the same are intertwined. It's scary."

"We all have to deal with that at some point. Evolution and adaptation is necessary," Rion pointed out.

She looked at him shyly, "I want to know how you dealt with that, Rion."

"I still am, Naoto. I always will be," Rion responded, "My personality is something that I still need to discover within myself. I was over-protective, but I will always be someone likes to watch over others. I can't change that part."

"I see…," Naoto said, "I didn't realize you were like that. You don't make sense at all sometimes."

As Rion left, Naoto hoped he she didn't see her blushing as he left.

The next day, in Souji's classroom, they all ended up watching the class representatives during homeroom chat about the Culture Festival. Souji sighed. It looked like they had to finally choose some random topic for the class to waste time on for a day.

The two reps, a male and a female, stood in front of the class. They looked very bored.

"Well, as you all know, next week is the Culture Festival," the male rep told the class, "And as you also know, we still haven't decided what our class is going to do for it." The rep sighed, "You guys don't care, do you?"

The female rep chimed in, "We are going to decide based on the suggestions we have so far. Please vote for one of them." The female read off the list, "Here they are… "Break area"… "Video room"… and "Study room"…"

The students looked pretty bored as well. One student said, "Wow… Sounds like whatever we pick, we don't need to put a lot of effort into it. Talk about lack of motivation."

Another said, "Yeah, but the easier the better, right?"

The female rep remembered, "Oh, one more… Um… "Group Date Café."

The class looked confused at that choice.

"Heeey, who put in a suggestion like that?" Yosuke said with a knowing smirk, "Was it you, Chie?" he asked the bowl-cut girl.

"We all know it was you, dumbass!" Souji thought.

"Yeah right!" She looked astounded at his joke, "Why would I do such a thing?"

Yukiko looked at both of them, "What's a group date café?"

"Who knows?" Chie said, "But I doubt anyone will vote for it. Our class seems like a serious bunch."

Yosuke was still smirking, "Yeah, it's probably a joke idea. You gotta have one weird one mixed in with the rest."

Chie looked disgusted, "Ugh… figures."

The female rep butted in, "We'll be passing around the vote sheet. Just circle one of the suggestions."

When it came around to Souji, he voted for Group date café.

"It'll probably win," he thought, "Our class is so stupid that it'll win. I'll get to hang out with Yukiko this way. Well, I'd hang out with her anyways."

When all the votes were cast, the male rep said, "Alright, time to count the votes . Uhh… the first vote is… group date café."

It continued that way until it won by an overwhelming margin.

"Huh, seriously?" the rep said.

The class looked pretty nervous, and shocked. Most didn't expect the date café to win.

"Wha… 1st place? What are we gonna do?" Yosuke was shocked.

"Don't ask me! This is your fault!" Chie exclaimed. She said, "I do wonder, though. Do all those people who voted for it realize that they have to run it themselves?"

Yukiko smiled nervously, "I've never been on a group date before, so I was a little curious. Is that okay?" as she looked at Souji. Souji nodded.

"What the… You voted for it!?" Chie was astounded.

Yukiko explained, "Yeah… I thought it would be sad if no one voted for it."

Chie tried to reason, "But Yosuke's the one behind it."

"Hey, it wasn't just me," Yosuke tried to get out of it, "It came in 1st place. The public agrees."

"I voted for it," Souji said.

"You too!?" Chie asked.

"So did I," Rion said.

"Why?" Chie questioned him.

"Because I'll be with Rise, not here," Rion joked.

"Well, since the majority rules, we'll be doing the group date café," the male rep said, but he was confused, "But what does that even mean? Is it like speed dating? Can we really pull this off? You'd all better pitch in on this."

One student asked, "Do you think the teachers will even approve of this?"

Another student replied, "Our teacher is Kashiwagi, do you think she would have objections?"

The male rep told them, "Kashiwagi is busy getting ready for those two notorious pageants. That's why she's leaving it up to us students to decide what to do."

One female student said in disgust, "Yeah, right! She just dumped it into our laps 'cause she didn't want to bother."

One student was worried, "Group date café? Do you think we'll have any customers?"

"Nope…," Souji said to himself.

Another female said, "Seriously, what is a group date café? I voted for it, and I don't even know what it is."

"How the heck is this going to turn out?" Chie muttered.

After finding out that they'll have to play with the Group Date Café, Souji decided to play some basketball. He tutored a smart-ass middle schooler with social disorders at night. "Get a makeover," he thought. He spent Sunday with an old lady who called herself "Death". "Umm… issues," Souji thought. He fished at night, and almost lost his fishing pole to a fish the size of Souji's umm… nevermind.

Monday, Souji would find his test scores.

"As long as I score at least 2nd," Souji thought. He wanted to beat Yukiko and score 1st, but he didn't mind finishing 2nd. Rion wasn't on the list anymore. He thanked God for that.

When the annoying girl called out that the list was out with the grades.

Yosuke muttered, "Ahh, the time for the awful truth."

"I don't know why she keeps calling it out," Souji says, "She usually has one of the lowest scores anyways."

Souji looked at his grades. He had the highest score. He beat Yukiko and completely outmatched Chie or Yosuke. He glanced over at the 1st year's scores. Naoto had the highest score in that class, Kanji… the lowest. Rion's scores were now lumped in with the 3rd years. Souji rolled his eyes, Rion had the top score, "Smart-ass," he muttered.

"Great job!" Yukiko told him. She didn't seem to mind that his boyfriend beat her.

"I can't believe I did that badly," Chie sighed.

"Here goes my chance in life," Yosuke shook his head.

After finding out his grades, and listening to his droning teachers; Souji decided to do something he hadn't done since April. He went to a Drama club meeting. He listened to thirty minutes of sob stories from the Drama class and left. He did that the next day too, for the same amount of time. He couldn't stand people like Yumi.

"Was I really that bored to go to Drama Club?" Souji wondered as he headed to his household.

"Welcome back!" Nanako greeted him.

Wednesday, he spent with Yukiko and spent it with Yukiko nestled in his arms. Souji soon decided that Wednesday was a much better day than the previous two days.

The next couple of days would be spent preparing for the Culture Festival… There would be some horrific results in store waiting for everyone involved.

Naoto found a letter in her shoebox on that Wednesday.

"What's this?" she said to herself.

It was made of almost similar card stock of what the Phantom Thief was using, so it made Naoto suspicious. "Could it be another clue from him?" But unlike any of the others, it had clear red letters instead of black.

It was addressed, "Honesty"

"Well… that makes it even more suspicious," Naoto told herself, "But, only a few of us know about the "Phantom Thief" so the likelihood that it is him is rather slim.

"Honesty…," she thought. "Could that mean me?" She wondered because Naoto means honesty, so it was addressed to Naoto.

Naoto flipped it over and read the contents.

You want to change, huh?

Respect that fact if you want to do what you do not want to

Be what you not want to be.

"What!?" Naoto looked at the card. "Do what I do want to do? Be what I want not to be?" Naoto tried to look for something more, "Is someone spying or could it be?" Naoto quickly tossed the card as she realized where it came from.