Never More

by Jenna Riedell

When Aika Nakamura moves to Inaba at the start of the school year, a series of impossible murders shakes the sleepy town to its core. But things aren't what they seem, and before long, Aika, along with a few of her classmates, is forced to awaken to the power of Persona to solve this mystery. Persona 4 featuring a female protagonist.

5. Chapter 5

Get ready for copious amounts of FILLER (more commonly known as Social Links).

---

"Are you kidding me?" Chie yelled the next day after school. "That's what you're worried about? I mean, of all things!"

"Dude, her uncle's terrifying," Yosuke said. "He went apeshit on that detective who accidentally arrested her that one time! He'll freak if he finds out that she's hanging out with someone like Kanji, especially since the two of them actually know each other."

"Seriously, of all things…" Chie grumbled.

"I have an excuse," Yukiko said helpfully. "We were sort of friends back when we were kids, so we just… rekindled our friendship, I guess."

"Yeah, and if people wonder why I'm hanging out with him, I can just say it's because of you," Chie said, "so can't you just use that excuse, Aika?"

"There's no way my uncle's going to buy that," Aika lamented before sighing and putting her head in her arms on top of her desk. "What are we going to do…?"

"You could say he's your boyfriend or something," Yukiko said.

"What, are you kidding?" Chie asked. "If her uncle's gonna freak out about her hanging out with him, there's no way in hell he's gonna let her date him. Besides – the whole town thinks she's with him." She jerked her thumb in Yosuke's direction.

Aika tried not to blush. She really did. "Th-The whole town?" she asked quietly.

"I've got it!" Yosuke yelled suddenly, slamming his hand down on Aika's desk and making her jump up in surprise. "A club. We'll start a club. Then we'll get Kanji to join, and that'll give us all an excuse to hang out with him!"

"Cool," Chie said blandly. "What kind of club?"

"How about a journalism club?" Yukiko suggested.

"I think there's already one of those," Aika said. When her friends stared at her in surprise, she clasped her hands together and tried to melt into the floor. "What? So I was sort of thinking of joining a club…"

"Ooh, how about this?" Chie asked excitedly. "A mystery club. We'll get information on the case, and then compile all our theories into an anthology for the culture festival! Ooh, or maybe we could write about investigation tips!"

"Isn't that too obvious?" Yosuke asked.

"But it'll be like hiding in plain sight!" Yukiko said. "And it'll give Aika an excuse to try to get information on the case out of her uncle."

"I still think he'd be suspicious," Aika admitted. "So how about a literature club instead? I don't think this school has one, and since people know Kanji-kun is into… girlier things, then it wouldn't look too weird if he joined a literature club, of all things."

"And he'll actually have to start coming to school too!" Yukiko added.

"Great!" Yosuke said, cutting both of them off. "So who's gonna be president?"

---

"Whaddya want?" Mr. Morooka asked rudely.

Yosuke stood before the fearsome teacher, with Aika trying to disappear behind him and Chie and Yukiko standing a little ways away. "Uh…" Yosuke said shakily. "W-We were just wondering if maybe we could start a club!"

"Oh yeah?" Mr. Morooka asked a little more softly. "What kind of club?"

"A literature club," Yosuke said quickly. "We're gonna write an anthology that we'll publish during the culture festival!"

The teacher's forehead creased as he frowned. "Who's president?"

"Yosuke," said Chie.

"Yosuke-kun," said Yukiko.

"Y-Yosuke…" said Aika.

"A-And we even have four people!" Chie added. "That's the minimum number of people to start of a club, right?"

"So lemme get this straight," Morooka said. "You brats just woke up today and thought you'd start a club, huh?"

"Actually, we've been thinking about this for a while," Yukiko said calmly. "It was my idea. We only just decided to put it into action."

Morooka stared at them evenly, his expression barely changing from his perpetual scowl. "So who's gonna be your club advisor?"

"C-Club advisor?" Aika squeaked.

Chie laughed nervously. "We never really thought about that…"

The teacher shrugged and pulled a sheet of paper out of a drawer, signing it at the bottom. "Lucky for you brats, I've got a lot of spare time this year."

"No!" Yosuke almost yelled. "I-I mean, y-you really don't have to go through all the trouble…"

"I won't be doing shit," Morooka said flatly. "You're on your own. Just don't do anything stupid that could get me in trouble. Use my classroom as your meeting place or whatever."

"Wha—seriously?" Yosuke spluttered.

Aika, Chie, and Yukiko simultaneously sighed in relief.

---

When Aika arrived at the shrine later, the fox from before greeted her almost immediately. Aika knelt down, and Kaede dropped a single bead into her hand. "Huh?" she asked. "What's this?" On closer inspection, it appeared to be one of the beads Teddie had so often given her. "Where did you find this?" Kaede simply stared at her, so Aika stroked the fox on the head. "Thank you, Kaede-chan. That was very thoughtful of you." As she stood up, she readjusted her bag's strap on her shoulder. "I should get going. See you later, Kaede-chan!"

But when she finally reached home and tried shutting the door, she was dismayed to find Kaede dashing into the house after her. "Wh-What? Kaede-chan, did you follow me?" The fox yipped in response.

Nanako chose that moment to greet her at the door. "Big Sis, you're home!" But as she saw the fox, she screamed.

"I-It's okay, Nanako," Aika said shakily. "U-Um… this is Kaede. She lives at the shrine, but she followed me home today for some reason. Um… she's actually really nice."

Nanako reached out to Kaede, who licked her hand. Nanako giggled. "She's so cute! Big Sis, can we keep her?"

"I don't know…" Aika said slowly. "I don't think Uncle would like it. Besides, I think she might already have a home, so…" Aika opened the front door, but Kaede refused to leave. "I-I guess you could stay for a little while…" Kaede yipped happily, and power surged within Aika.

"I'll get her some food!" Nanako said cheerfully as she ran into the kitchen.

"Ah… let me come too!" Aika called after her.

---

"Come on, Aika!" Chie yelled. "You can do it! Faster, faster, faster!" Aika ran several paces behind Chie, too out of breath to answer and wondering why something so painful was supposed to be good for her. Chie, standing by a tree near the Samegawa River, waved her arms above her head. At long last, Aika slapped the tree trunk weakly. "Don't sit down!" Chie said immediately. "You've gotta walk around a bit to cool down. Otherwise, you'll throw up."

When Aika finally caught her breath after pacing back and forth for a few minutes, she finally talked. "Why are we doing this again?"

"To toughen you up!" Chie said loudly. "I mean, sure, you've been doing a lot better fighting-wise lately, but that doesn't mean you can just stop training! Besides – our social lives kind of died last month, since we kept going inside the TV to train, so we need to keep our bodies in perfect condition and toughen them up outside the TV."

"I guess that makes sense…" Aika said quietly as she finally flopped down on the grass.

Chie sat down next to her, stretching her legs out and tapping her toes together. "Say, Aika, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while. Why didn't you have a Shadow?"

Aika shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just honest with myself, I guess? I-I mean, n-not that you aren't, but—"

"No, I see what you mean," Chie cut her off. "That thing came out of me what, a month ago? I still feel embarrassed about it…"

Aika sat up and drew her knees to her chest. I can tell her. It's only Chie. "I… I'm scared I'll get a Shadow too… if not now, then later."

Chie threw a sweaty and sticky arm around Aika's shoulders. "Then we'll just beat the shit out of it for you, Aika! You can count on us!" The surge of power Aika felt only complemented the warm feeling in her gut. "Okay, now for some crunches!"

"More?" Aika whined.

"What, you didn't think this was gonna get easier, did you?" Chie asked incredulously. "Come on, Aika! Let's go!"

---

Yukiko laid several travel brochures across the table. "Okay, so I picked all these up at the inn," she said. "Guests leave these lying around all the time, and I have to pick them up anyway, so… Can you help me choose where to go after I graduate high school?"

Aika picked one up, frowning at the near perfect picture of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. A blurb about the amazing city life popped out at her, and Aika cringed at how inaccurate it was. "Don't go to Tokyo," she said flatly. "It sure sounds glamorous, but it's so crowded, it takes a ridiculously long time to get anywhere. And there's so much pollution that the air smells really bad."

Yukiko's face fell as she took the brochure from Aika and ripped it cleanly in half. "So no Tokyo then… " She perked up slightly as she handed Aika another brochure. "Um, what about Okinawa?"

"Where in Okinawa?"

"Um… I don't really know…"

"Either way, the American military occupies a part of it."

"Is that bad?"

"Depends on how you feel about the government in general."

Yukiko's eyebrows furrowed. "You really hate it everywhere else but here, don't you?"

That threw Aika for a loop. "Huh?"

"Don't deny it! Then your Shadow will start picking on you!"

Aika sighed and drew her knees to her chest. "I don't… know… I love it here, but…"

Yukiko smiled gently. "Maybe it's not so much that you hate all those other places you've lived, but rather that you hated having to move around so much."

"Yeah, I did hate it," Aika said. "I still do, but…" She groaned in frustration. "I don't get why you hate it here so much. You don't have to worry about when Satomi Tadashi's going to send your parents all the way across Japan again, or worse, overseas, and—" Aika clapped a hand over her mouth; she'd said too much.

Yukiko's lips quirked upward into a half smile. "You miss them," she deduced. Aika averted her eyes downward and nodded. "So tell them that."

"I can't!" Aika protested. "Well… maybe I can, but…"

A surge of power welled up inside her, and Yukiko smiled. "You'll feel a lot better if you do."

---

The phone rang three times before her mother finally answered. "How's it going, favorite daughter of mine?"

And, all too quickly, Aika could feel herself slipping back into her routine. "Mom, I'm your only daughter."

"So your uncle's been telling me that you've been a social little butterfly lately. Good for you, Aika. You know, I'll be honest – I thought you forgot how to make friends altogether, since you haven't had any for a while."

"I thought I did too…"

"No, I'm really happy for you. I mean, when you think back on high school, I think you'll remember this year clearly."

Aika smiled bitterly, the faces of Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi, Yukiko, and Kanji floating to the surface of her mind. "Definitely." Then she thought back on her conversation with Yukiko earlier. "Um… Mom?"

"Yeah? Something wrong?"

"No… I mean, sort of, I guess… I just…" Aika squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the receiver tightly. "I miss you! I miss you a lot, a-and…"

"It's only for a year, Aika," Masami said calmly. "We'll be together again soon enough. You'll see."

Aika exhaled sharply, and it was as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Y-Yeah…"

"So what brought this on? Why the sudden nostalgia?"

"It's not sudden," Aika said quietly. "This has been a long time coming."

"Aw, sweetie… Tell you what. I'll see if we can finish earlier than planned. How does that sound?"

Maybe Aika would come to regret this later. Maybe she wouldn't. But at the moment, all she could think about was the prospect of seeing her parents sooner than originally planned. "Yeah, that would be great!"

"Okay." Power surged inside her as she continued talking to her mother for the next few hours.

---

The Sunday after rescuing Kanji, Aika came downstairs, having decided to heat up leftovers for breakfast and sleep in that morning, to Nanako sitting at the table, staring at a potted plant in front of her. "Good morning," Aika said. Nanako didn't respond; she simply stared forlornly at the plant before her. "Is something wrong?"

"Um…" Nanako said quietly. "We're growing veggies at school. The teacher gave us seedlings and told us to try growing them at home. I asked Dad, and he said I could plant them wherever I want. I don't know where's good, though…"

"How about that little plot of land next to the house?" Aika suggested, picking up the pot and examining the plant. It looked like a tomato, and she could already picture all the amazing dishes she could make with fresh tomatoes. "No one's using it."

"Yeah, that could work!" Nanako said cheerfully. "We don't use it, but it's still our yard."

"Okay! Let's get to work!" And, as it turned out, the yard was in no condition to use. There was a large mound of dirt and several rakes and shovels nearby, indicating that someone might have been trying to fix the yard before, but never got around to finishing it. "Um… this might take a while…"

"Let's get started, Big Sis!" Nanako said cheerfully, picking up a rake. Aika took a shovel and lifted some dirt out of the way. And, as the hours ticked by, the two of them managed to create a suitable garden. "Wow!" Nanako gushed. "Can we plant the seedlings now?"

"Go for it," Aika said tiredly with a smile, leaning against the fence. And as she watched Nanako dig, power surged within her. "But it doesn't end here. We still need to take care of them."

"Yeah, I know!" Nanako said cheerfully. "Ooh, I have an idea! We need to make a sign!"

"Right, because no one will know what we planted until they finish growing," Aika agreed. "Okay. What kind of sign do you want to make."

"Um… a big one!"

And, after creating a sign, Aika sighed in exhaustion. "We did it…"

"I'll be in charge of watering the plants," Nanako announced.

"I have a better idea," Aika said. "Let's take care of them together, since we planted them together.

"Okay!" Nanako said cheerfully. "If a lot of veggies grow, will our house be like Junes?"

Aika smiled sheepishly. "Not exactly, but close enough."

Nanako giggled. "I can't wait!" All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

---

Aika approached Yukiko hesitantly the next day after school. "U-Um… Yukiko?"

Yukiko smiled pleasantly. "Hey, Aika."

"I-I'm really sorry… a-about that time you asked me about different places, a-and I sort of…" Aika made a weird twisting motion with her hands that Yukiko somehow understood.

"It's okay," Yukiko said calmly. "I'm not mad. Though, uh… can I still get some advice?"

"Of course!" Aika said.

"I have about an hour to spare before I have to head back to the inn, so why don't we head down to the river for a bit?" They made small talk as they walked, never broaching on travel-related topics. Finally, when they sat down, Yukiko brought it up. "So here's a better question," she said. "You're the travel expert here, so what would you recommend? Besides Inaba, of course."

"Hmm…" Aika said slowly. "That depends. Do you prefer a city, or a village?"

"Definitely a city," Yukiko said excitedly. "Actually… maybe a less hectic city than Tokyo?"

"Well… Tsushima Island's really nice. Kind of touristy, though… Same with Karuizawa, except you'll get more Japanese people than Koreans. Yokohama's right by the sea, so it's really beautiful – that's probably my favorite place besides Inaba – and I think you'll really like Fukuoka."

"So many places to choose from…" Yukiko said quietly, her face growing paler.

"Are you okay?" Aika asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Yukiko assured her. "It's just a little overwhelming. I don't know how you can keep track of all these places."

"It's not like I got to choose where we'd move next," Aika said. "That depended on where Satomi Tadashi wanted my parents."

"Thanks anyway, Aika," Yukiko said. And then there was another surge of power as Aika smiled back. "Hmm… maybe I should work on learning how to live by myself…"

"That sounds like a better idea," Aika said. "I can help you learn to cook, if you'd like. You're probably already used to cleaning and picking up after yourself, huh?" And as the hours ticked by, they continued talking about everything under the sun regarding housework.

---

"Hey, Aika-chan! What brings you here?"

It was a peaceful evening in Junes, and though Nanako would probably be furious that Aika went without bringing her, there was a dish that Aika really wanted to try, and, well, priorities. And, coincidentally, she just so happened to run into her uncle's partner. "Good evening, Adachi-san," she said politely. "I'm just shopping for groceries. How about you?"

"Same," he said with a casual smirk. "Say, that dinner you made the other day was really good."

Aika couldn't help but blush. "Oh, thank you… U-Um, if you'd like to come over again tonight, you're more than welcome."

"I might just take you up on that offer," Adachi said. "I kind of suck at cooking anyway."

---

Nanako was excited to have Adachi home for dinner again, especially, since it looked like Uncle wasn't going to come home that night. The three of them sat at the table, and Aika couldn't help but wonder just when and how Adachi became a part of their little family. Not that she was complaining, of course. "Wow, Aika-chan, this croquette is amazing!" Adachi gushed.

"Thank you," Aika said pleasantly. "It's a new recipe I wanted to try out."

"Really?" Adachi asked. "You follow recipes?"

"Um…" And suddenly, Aika felt extremely self-conscious. Was he making some sort of comment about her cooking skills? Did he respect those who didn't use recipes more than those that did? "I-I… B-Both, I guess… Most of the stuff I make just comes from playing around with recipes I found in books or online. I-I'm pretty sure a lot of them aren't exactly the same as the original recipes, th-though…"

"Well," Adachi said fleetingly, popping some food into his mouth, "you won't have to worry about finding yourself a good husband. I mean, you're cute, you never go too far out of line, and you can cook. That's pretty much the entire package for an ideal wife." Aika turned a furious shade of red as she briefly wondered if Yosuke thought she was ideal wife material. She shook her head furiously to banish the thought. "Oh, sorry. Did you already have a special someone in mind?"

"N-No!" Aika shrieked, but her shaking hands and flushed face said otherwise. "I-I mean…"

Adachi laughed. "I'm just teasing you, Aika-chan."

There was a surge of power as they continued to eat, making small talk along the way.

---

Aika finally paid another visit to the Velvet Room the day after having dinner with Adachi. "Welcome back," Margaret greeted. "It's been a while since your last visit. How have you been?"

"Good," Aika said. "We saved someone last week."

Margaret's smile turned genuine. "Congratulations," she said. "The result of your mastery of multiple Personae, no doubt."

Aika smiled sheepishly. "Actually, for the actual fight, I didn't use any except for Aoandon."

Margaret's eyes widened in surprise. "Really, now? So you actually have managed to possess and strengthen the Wild Card without actually using it any more than you have to? I must say, I'm impressed. The previous resident never resolved to do what you are trying to do."

"Oh yeah, about that…" Aika said slowest. "What kind of a person was she?" Margaret's expression hardened. "I-I'm sorry… I'm just curious…"

Margaret sighed and pat the velvet seat next to her, and Aika sat down as per her instruction. "Makoto. Master Makoto. That was her name."

"Makoto, huh?" Aika whispered, staring upward. In the corner of her eye, she could see Igor's hands tense.

"She was bright, optimistic, and honestly a little foolish," Margaret said wistfully, before chuckling to herself. "It really is no wonder that my brother got along with her so well."

Aika clasped her hands tightly together and stared downward. "Did something happen to her?"

"Why do you want to know?" Igor interjected, his voice hard, his question probing.

Aika immediately backtracked. "I-I'm sorry… I-It's just th-that…"

Margaret smiled gently at her. "You assume that something happened to her based on our reactions when you ask about her." Aika nodded. "So allow me to ask you something in return. Why do you want to know about Master Makoto so badly?"

"I-It's just that…" Aika said quietly. "I just thought that… that if I knew what her task was, what exactly it was that she did, then I could… try to follow her example. Try to be like her."

Margaret slammed the Persona Compendium shut, her expression thunderous. "Absolutely not!" Aika jumped and backed away from her; it was the first time she'd heard the normally calm and reserved woman raise her voice for anything. There was a surge of power, and surely Margaret was aware of it, but Aika couldn't bring herself to care. The blonde woman sighed, looking away from Aika. "Please leave."

"I-I'm sorry…" Aika whispered. "I-I didn't mean to—"

"Master Aika, if you do not leave this instant, I will say something that I know for certain that I will regret later," Margaret said evenly, yet tersely. "Please leave."

And as Aika left the Velvet Room, she couldn't stop thinking about what she possibly could have done to offend Margaret, to hurt her so badly.

---

Aika spent the rest of the day in a daze. It was so bad that she was forced to choose the simplest recipe she could think of for dinner that night, and then she still messed up. She didn't miss the way Uncle and Nanako didn't clean their plates like usual, but she somehow couldn't bring herself to care. Her conversation with Margaret still buzzed in her head, refusing to leave her alone. Nanako went upstairs shortly afterwards, and as Aika made to do the dishes, Uncle stopped her. "I'll take care of it," he said.

"N-No, it's okay—" Aika tried to protest, but Uncle had already swept the dishes out of her hands and taken them to the sink.

"So what's wrong?" he asked so casually that Aika almost felt comfortable answering him completely honestly. "And don't tell me that nothing's wrong. So spill."

Aika sighed; there really was no avoiding it now. "My friend's mad at me, and I don't know why."

"Oh, I see," Uncle said. "Friend drama. So what happened? What did you do to make her mad?"

"I don't know!" Aika spluttered. "I just… I asked her about… someone she knew before, and she suddenly got all…"

"Did you ever think that maybe it was a touchy subject for her?" Uncle asked.

"Yeah, I know that now, but—"

"So apologize to her for bringing it up," Uncle said. "Look… You… You need to be a little more sensitive. You can't be so blunt all the time."

"I'm not blunt," Aika denied quickly.

"Yes, you are," Uncle cut in. "Or rather, you can be. Just…try to see things from your friend's perspective. So she's got this friend who she hasn't seen in a while, you said? And you come in, guns blazing, asking about everything there is to know about her. That's a little…" He made a gesture with his hands.

"Yeah…" Aika said quietly. "I understand."

"Good," Uncle said gently. "You're doing great so far, but it's okay to mess up sometimes. Remember that."

"Thanks, Uncle…" And then, after the surge of power, she and her uncle made small talk until it was time to go to bed.

---

That Sunday, as per an overheard classmate's discussion, Aika watched a mail order TV show. An infectiously cheery song played in the beginning: "Here comes Tanakaaaa over the waves to youuuu…"

A cocky-looking man in a blue suit appeared on the screen. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to… Tanaka's Amazing Commodities!"

"Granter of your desires!" voices sang.

"This is Tanaka's Amazing Commodities, the mail order television program, broadcasted live to you!" Tanaka announced. "We guarantee your purchase will meet your satisfaction for a fair market price!" Aika gripped her phone tightly, ready to call at any moment. "Now, let's introduce the products available for these three days! It's one Jingi Fundoshi! It'll boost your vitality! I'll add two Slimming Foods to your Jingi Fundoshi, all for the low price of only 11,800 yen!" Aika loosened her grip on her cell phone slightly. We've got another fantastic product on sale today! One Inaba Trout! A fresh combo! On top of this, I'll add two Amber Seema for only 2980 yen!"

Aika called in at this point. "H-Hello…" she said shyly. "Um… I-I'd like to order the Inaba Trout combo…" And, in a few seconds, the deal was done. Aika sighed in relief and switched off the television.

---

Kanji met them on the rooftop the next day after school. "H-Hi there!" he greeted shakily.

"Hello," Aika said pleasantly.

Chie snorted in laughter. "Where'd the manners come from?"

"Well, um…" Kanji muttered. "I didn't know you guys were my senpai." This made everyone laugh, and Kanji himself even cracked a small smile. "Uh… Thanks a bunch, though I don't really remember what happened…"

They all exchanged looks, and Yukiko nodded. "There are some things we'd like you to tell us," she said.

"First off, who was that boy you met with?" Chie asked.

"You were on a date, huh?" Aika asked.

Chie groaned as Kanji flinched. "Would you just drop the date thing already?" she deadpanned.

"I-I don't really know much about him," Kanji admitted. "I mean, I've only met him twice…"

"So it was love at first sight then," Aika concluded.

"H-Hey, it ain't like that!" Kanji yelled. "He just asked me stuff like… if anything different happened lately. I dunno where my head was at… When I came to my senses, I blurted out that I wanted to see him again." His face turned red, and Aika smiled knowingly.

"Not one word, Aika," Chie said flatly.

"I, uh…" Kanji said quietly. "… I don't really get it myself. Girls are so loud and obnoxious, so, y'know… I really don't like dealing with 'em. Guys are a lot more laid back. S-So, uh… I started thinking, what if I'm the type who never gets interested in girls? And I couldn't accept that, so I just kept spinning around and around in my head."

"All because of a few psychos?" Chie asked. "That's so sad…"

"Well, I can understand the part about being more relaxed around dudes," Yosuke said finally.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chie demanded. "We're not good enough for you?"

"So, are you okay now, Kanji-kun?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," Kanji replied, smiling. "I mean, it was all in my head, when y'get down to it. I was the one shutting out that stuff."

Aika tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, uh…" Kanji said slowly. "Our family's run a textile shop for generations… oh yeah, you already knew that. My parents are kinda weird… They say stuff like, 'Dyes are one with the universe,' and 'Cloth is alive…' That's the kinda house I grew up in, so I've been interested in sewing and stuff since I was a kid. But the second I say stuff like that, people look at me funny…" Kanji groaned and smacked his forehead. "Shit, what's with me today? I'm going on and on about myself…"

Aika smiled at him. "Don't worry about it."

Kanji laughed. "I've never talked about any of this stuff before. Guess I never had anyone to tell it to."

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Chie asked, grinning.

"I guess I wasn't really afraid of girls," Kanji said slowly. "I was just scared of people in general. But all that's behind me."

"Wow, I'm surprised," Chie said. "You're a good kid."

"D-Don't call me a good kid!" Kanji shot back, blushing.

"No need to get embarrassed," Yosuke said with a chuckle. "You can take it." Aika giggled at that. "Oh, speaking of which… Is there anything you remember after you ran into us the second time? You know, after you chased us away, and almost hit Aika, and said you were gonna take us down."

Aika felt her face heat up, but no one seemed to notice. "I think I went home," Kanji said. "I was gonna sleep it off in my room. Wait, I think someone came…"

"To your house?" Yukiko asked. "Who was it, Kanji-kun?"

"It was just a feeling I had," Kanji said. "I don't know if anyone actually came… Other than that, I remember some weird, dark entrance thing, and when I woke up, I was laid out on the floor of that sauna place."

"A dark entrance…" Yukiko mused. "Could it have been a TV?"

"Huh?" Kanji asked. "Now that you mention it, maybe so… Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Yukiko said. "I was just wondering."

"Did the police ask you anything?" Aika asked. My uncle specifically?

"Well, my mom had called the cops to look for me, so they questioned me for a while," Kanji answered. "I told them exactly what I told you, and they looked at me like I was crazy."

"So, are you guys playing detective or somethin'?" Kanji asked.

"Or something," Aika replied.

"Anything I can do to help?" Kanji asked, punching his fist in the air. "If there's some bastard out there who put me through this, I ain't gonna rest until I make 'em pay."

"Seriously?" Yosuke asked. "Awesome! You'd make a great addition to our team! And there's finally gonna be another guy here!"

"What's wrong with us girls?" Chie asked.

"Kanji's right," Yosuke said. "You're all psycho."

"Not all of us, surely," Yukiko said quietly.

"I haven't done anything to you…" Aika mumbled.

Yosuke chuckled. "Just kidding. You guys are great."

"I'll do my best!" Kanji said. And then there was a surge of power that made Aika feel warm inside, and she smiled.

"Should we take him to our special headquarters?" Yukiko asked.

"We're still calling it that?" Chie asked.

"Wh-What's that?" Kanji gasped.

"C'mon, let's go," Yosuke said, smiling.

---

Kanji practically inhaled his steak. "Man, you eat a lot…" Yosuke muttered. "Were you listening to what we were saying?"

Kanji swallowed and set down his chopsticks. "Wait, so someone's killing people with a TV?" he asked. "What, is he beating them to death?"

"No, they weren't being beaten with a TV!" Yosuke snapped. "Weren't you listening at all?"

"Don't worry," Chie said. "He'll understand once he sees the place with his own eyes."

"Oh yeah!" Aika quipped. "There's one more thing. Unofficially, we're investigating this case, but officially, we're… a literature club."

"A what now?" Kanji asked.

"It's our cover," Aika explained. "Um… my uncle's a detective, and he's very… protective of me. So if he finds out that I'm hanging around with you without a good reason, he'll freak. So we really need you to officially join our club."

"A literature club?" Kanji asked. "Seriously? That's the best cover you could come up with?"

"No one's gonna pay any attention to us anyway," Yosuke said. "So we'll just… blend into the background. And it's better for all of us, 'cause you kind of have a reputation around here."

"Please join our club," Aika begged.

"Well…" Kanji said. "Y-Yeah, sure, I guess…"

Aika sighed in relief. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "We meet in room 2-B on Tuesdays after school. We pretty much just stay there and talk about stuff so that people think we're actually doing something. Attendance is mandatory."

"What, are you president or somethin'?" Kanji asked.

"No," Aika said. "Yosuke is."

"I still can't believe you guys pushed me into that…" Yosuke grumbled.

"Okay, back to the case," Chie said. "So the killer kidnapped him first, then threw him into the TV. Just like with Yukiko…"

"This show's been pretty crazy lately, huh?" Aika heard someone else say.

"Yeah, I wonder who'll show up next," another voice responded.

"I know before it came on that he'd be the next one to appear," the first voice said. "What's that dude's name? That first-year who used to be in a biker gang…"

Kanji stood up. "Who the hell d'ya think was next?" he demanded. "His name is Kanji Tatsumi. And he wasn't in a biker gang – he's the one that beat the shit out of those leathered-up pansies! So who are you dipshits?"

Aika couldn't help but laugh as the two students talking at a table nearby ran away. "That was amazing," she said.

"Boring…" Kanji muttered.

"I can't stand it," Chie grumbled. "Sure, they have no idea it's related to the murders, but still… How can they talk about their schoolmate like that?"

"They're like onlookers at a car crash," Yosuke said. "As long as it's not happening to them, they're dying to see…"

"So now we know that the victims won't necessarily be female," Aika said before sighing heavily. "We're back at square one…"

"But what about the other part?" Yukiko asked. "That people involved in the initial case, about Ms. Yamano, are the targets.

"But Kanji-kun didn't have anything to do with her," Aika pointed out.

"Hmm…" Chie said. "Think we're wrong about this one too?"

"I dunno," Yosuke said with a sigh. "That announcer was involved with their mothers, not them. We haven't come up with a reason yet why the killer would target their children. But if that really is the case, then Aika might be in trouble, since her uncle's pretty freaking involved."

Kanji smirked knowingly. "You guys sayin' you don't have any clues?" he asked innocently. "Well listen up, 'cause I got somethin' big." He pulled a set of bundled sheets of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Aika. "When I made my comeback at school today, there was this annoying brat hanging around. Turns out he was snooping around about Senpai's and my disappearance, so I took this from him. I dunno what the hell this all is, though."

Aika flipped through the pages. "It's just a bunch of lists," she said. "There's this enka album chart. Misuzu Hiiragi's is on the top of the list."

"I hear her album sales have gone up since the incident," Chie said. "If she knows about it and she's using it to sell her songs, that's pretty sketchy."

"She has an alibi, though," Yosuke pointed out. "I don't think this involves her… Let's move on."

"Okay," Aika said as she flipped to the next page. "It's a ranking of female announcers from different stations. Ms. Yamano's on here, but a little below the middle."

"Does this mean she wasn't that well-known since the incident?" Chie asked.

"It's just this guy's personal rankings, right?" Yosuke asked. "So it's nothing important. What does the next one say?"

"Um…" Aika said quietly. "I'm not sure. It says 'List of TV programs,' but… 'Mayumi Yamano, 4/11, Saki Konishi, 4/13…"

"Huh?" Yosuke asked. "April 11th…?"

"Oh, they found the first body on the day school started, so that would have been… the 12th," Chie said. "The 11th is the day before that…"

"That was the day she was killed, right?" Yukiko asked.

"I know I can't forget the day Saki-senpai's body was found…" Yosuke said quietly, and Aika's heart ached for him. "That was the 15th. So what's… 'Saki Konishi, April 13th'…?"

The answer came suddenly. "The day she came on TV!" Aika said. "I remember!"

"Wait, what?" Yosuke asked.

"That was the day I met her," Aika elaborated. "We first watched the Midnight Channel that day, right?"

Yosuke's expression hardened. "Yeah, there's no doubt about it…" he said quietly.

"Oh yeah, I saw that too," Chie said. "They were interviewing her 'cause she found the first body."

"Then this part," Yukiko said, taking the papers from Aika. "'Mayumi Yamano, April 11th'. Is that the day she appeared on TV too?"

"Oh yeah!" Chie said. "I remember now! That was the day the affair hit the news!"

"Hey, wait a sec," Yosuke said. "Yukiko, didn't you get interviewed too? When did that interview air?"

"I-I think it was when I was absent from school," Yukiko mumbled. "It was the first week for sure, but…"

"Wait, I remember!" Aika gasped. "It was the day I stayed home sick from school! After we went into the TV for the first time, remember? It came right after…" Aika trailed off and stared downward, remembering the cold feeling when she found out that Saki Konishi was dead. Yosuke sighed, seemingly catching on to her message.

"So that was April 15th," Yukiko said quickly. "And right after that, I was kidnapped."

"What about the television special you were on, Kanji-kun?" Aika asked.

"Oh yeah, that thing…" Kanji muttered. "Damn show made my mom go apeshit on me, and…"

"The date!" Yosuke snapped irritably. "Just tell us the date!"

"Uh, I don't remember the exact date," Kanji said, his eyes widening slightly. "But it wasn't too long before I met you guys."

"It was the day he first showed up on the Midnight Channel, I think," Aika said.

"It's true, then…" Yosuke said quietly. "Everyone was on TV before they disappeared."

"So you think the killer's targeting people he sees on TV?" Chie asked.

"I was so caught up with the news reports about the incidents that I didn't notice at all," Yukiko said.

"Yeah, it makes sense…" Aika said quietly. "Besides – when the killer failed with Yukiko, they moved to Kanji-kun instead of trying again."

"Maybe this 'being on TV' thing is some stupid rule that the killer's following," Yosuke suggested.

"That's right…" Chie gasped. "The killer could've targeted the same victim again…"

"I think there's a definite connection here between the kidnappings and the TV broadcasts," Yosuke retorted. "The victims weren't just involved with the first case. They were also shown on the mass media."

"But that doesn't explain the first case," Aika pointed out. "Mayumi Yamano's."

"Yeah, and what's the motive?" Yosuke asked. "Why kill someone just because they were on TV?" He groaned in frustration. "Damn it… Now that I think about it, we haven't gotten anywhere! Why can't I be smarter?"

"Yosuke…" Aika said quietly.

"Dude, why beat yourself up?" Kanji asked. "I think you guys are awesome. I mean, you guys noticed what was happening to me and even risked your lives to stop it. That's more than enough."

"You rescued me, too," Yukiko added. "We may not have solved the mystery, but we've saved two people already."

"That's true, but…" Yosuke protested weakly.

"What's more, everyone's deduction that Kanji-kun might be next was right on the nose," Yukiko continued.

"I know!" Chie whined. "We were so close!"

"Huh?" Kanji asked. "You guys knew before it happened? Damn, I wish you guys'd come a little earlier, then…" This earned a small smile from Yosuke, and Aika couldn't help but laugh along with Chie and Yukiko.

"Well, if we know this much," Chie said, "I think we can outsmart the killer next time. Then it's a countdown to their arrest."

"Don't forget," Yukiko said seriously. "It's always possible that Kanji-kun was the last target."

"Or so we hope…" Yosuke said. "We've thwarted them twice already. Here's hoping the killer's learned their lesson by now."

"Let's keep checking the Midnight Channel," Aika said. "The victims show up on there first, right?"

"That reminds me…" Chie said. "The school campout's next week. I hope it doesn't rain."

"School campout?" Aika asked.

"It's for both t he first-year and second-year students, so we'll see you there, Kanji-kun," Chie continued.

"Seriously?" Kanji asked incredulously. "School? What a drag… Mind if I order another grilled steak? I'm gonna finish this one while the next one's on the grill. We're… going Dutch on the meal, right?"

"Wait, what about Teddie?" Aika asked. "Kanji-kun still needs to meet him."

"Huh?" Kanji asked. "What's up?" Without warning, Chie and Yukiko grabbed each of Kanji's arms and dragged him into the electronics department. "Hey, hold up! My food!"

When Yosuke sighed again, Aika stared at him in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked distractedly. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

Aika averted her eyes downward. "It's about Konishi-senpai, isn't it?"

"Look, it's no big deal," Yosuke said fleetingly. "Just… me being all nostalgic, is all." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Really. Don't worry."

Feeling almost unnecessarily bold, Aika slipped her hand into Yosuke's, and they held hands as they walked together to the electronics department.

---

"Oh yeah…" Kanji said as he saw Teddie. "Now that you mention it, I kinda remember this thing… Didn't think it was a bear, though. By the way, why is it a bear?"

"I don't know," Teddie said sadly. "I've been wondering too."

Kanji's face flushed scarlet. "I-It's kinda cute," he said. "M-Mind if I pet you?"

"No touching allowed, mister!" Teddie retorted.

"Wha—" Kanji gasped. "Hey, don't give me any lip, bear!" Yukiko started laughing and didn't stop until almost a minute later. "By the way, I've been wondering. You were kidnapped too, right, Yukiko-senpai?"

"Yeah, it wasn't long before you," Yukiko replied.

"So like, that means you came out to everyone too?" Kanji asked.

"Wh-What?" Yukiko gasped. Then she glared at Kanji and slapped him hard on the jaw. "Oh, sorry," she said as he grunted in pain. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"M-My jaw!" Kanji groaned.

"I'll be more gentle next time," Yukiko said sincerely.

Kanji blushed at that. "G-Gentle?"

Chie groaned, and Teddie waddled over to Kanji. "Oh yeah! Here's a present from me, Kanji! It's to celebrate you joining the team!"

"W-Wait, Teddie, that's—" Aika protested.

"Hurry and put them on," Yukiko said. Aika sighed and Chie groaned again as Kanji put on the gag glasses reluctantly. Yukiko snorted in laughter. "I-It looks perfect on you…" Then she started laughing and didn't stop.

Yosuke chuckled. "Damn, dude," he said. "It looks great on you!"

"I had a normal pair ready for you," Teddie said. "But Yuki-chan insisted on this one. She wouldn't budge!"

Kanji raised his fist threateningly as Yukiko laughed harder. "Yeah, real funny, you smartass!"

"Wh-Why are you taking it out on me?" Teddie asked, pulling out another pair of glasses.

"Gimme that!" Kanji yelled, taking the glasses from the bear, practically growling in anger as he saw that it was another pair of gag glasses.

This time, Aika couldn't help but laugh. "You took my spare pair!" Teddie said. "Kanji, you must really like those." By now, even Chie was laughing. Kanji promptly took off the glasses and flung them out into the distance. Teddie pulled out one last pair of glasses. "This is the real one. It wasn't easy getting it to you."

Kanji put the glasses on immediately. "Why the hell did you bother making a spare if it's more useless crap?" he demanded. "Dammit! I'll get you guys for this someday…"

As everyone left, Aika was finally left alone with Yosuke. "So…" she mumbled. "Um…"

"I'm okay," he said, as if anticipating her question. "Really."

She exhaled sharply. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"H-Huh?" Yosuke asked, his face turning a little red.

"U-Um…" Aika mumbled, staring downward and clasping his hands together. "I-If you don't want to, th-that's okay…"

"N-No, it's fine," he said, before smiling gently at her. "Sure, I'll come. But… are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah!" Aika replied. "So… um… Shall we… go…?"

---

To her dismay, Uncle had decided to come home that night. Ryotaro Dojima crossed his arms, frowning sternly at Yosuke. "So," he drawled. "What's going on?"

"U-Um…" Aika mumbled. "U-Uncle, is it okay if he stays for dinner?"

Uncle raised one eyebrow and nodded stiffly. Snapping his fingers, he pointed to the spot at the table facing the couch. "Sit over there."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Yosuke said quickly as he ran over to the table. "H-Hey, Nanako-chan… Remember me?"

Nanako smiled at him. "Yeah, of course!" she replied.

"You haven't been sleeping with this guy, have you, Aika?" Uncle whispered.

"Wh-What?" Aika gasped, feeling her face heat up. "No!"

"Just checking," he said. "I mean, you've barely known this guy for two months. No need to rush into a relationship like that or anything."

"Uncle…" Aika moaned as she started washing vegetables. And, within an hour, she was done. Uncle sat across from Yosuke, glaring at him, and Nanako just looked uncomfortable through the whole ordeal. "Sorry for the wait," Aika said quietly as she set down some plates.

"Wow, this looks amazing, Aika," Yosuke said. But then Uncle gave him a pointed look, and he backed down immediately. No one said another word throughout dinner, and at the end, when Aika went to do the dishes, Yosuke joined her. "I think your uncle hates me," he whispered to her.

"Shh," Aika whispered back. "He's looking at us."

"Yeesh. Chie wasn't kidding when she said that the whole town thinks we're together."

"Are we?" Aika found herself asking before she could stop herself. When the words left her mouth, she froze. "I-I mean… I just… I don't know about this kind of stuff, so…"

"No," Yosuke said bluntly.

Aika wilted a little at that. "No?"

When he looked at her, Aika could see a swirl of emotions in his eyes. "It's not that I don't like you or anything. I think you're great. But… if there's one thing I learned today, it's that if I get into… any relationship now, I'll think of Saki-senpai. And I don't want to do that to you."

Aika felt her face was melting, because it felt so hot now. "Wh-What do you mean?"

Yosuke exhaled sharply. "What I mean is, I like you, Aika. But… I don't want you as my girlfriend just yet."

"I understand," Aika said, smiling at him. "I don't think I'm ready either. I have no idea what you're supposed to do when you're going out with someone anyway."

Yosuke chuckled, and Aika felt a surge of power within her. "Wow, that's a load off."

Aika giggled. "You said it."

"What're you laughing at, back there?" Uncle asked.

Aika almost groaned. "I'm telling him that story Auntie told me," she lied. "About that movie she made you watch with her, and you thought it would be stupid, but then by the end, you were—"

"That's enough!" Uncle yelled. "Don't… You didn't finish that story, did you?"

"Maybe," Aika said simply. "Maybe not."

Uncle sighed. "All right, I won't terrorize your boyfriend again."

"He's not my boyfriend." And for the first time, Aika felt no embarrassment, no furious sense of denial when she said this. Actually, for the first time, she felt calm when her relationship with Yosuke was brought up. And when Yosuke left that night, she actually felt happy about where her relationship with him was.

---

Aika sneezed for the umpteenth time that day and rubbed her nose. "Are you okay, Aika?" Yosuke asked.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I just caught a cold."

"You know, the rainy season's just about here," Yukiko said. "And it's been a little chilly lately, so that's probably why."

"Isn't it a little early?" Yosuke asked.

"Once it starts, it'll be raining every night," Yukiko pointed out. "We'll have to keep a constant eye on the Midnight Channel."

"Crap, I didn't even think about that…" Yosuke muttered. "I thought you were worried about the rain 'cause of the school campout."

"It sounds like a lot of fun," Aika said.

"That's right," Yukiko said. "It's the first time for you two."

"You realize the only purpose of the school campout is to 'develop a love for one's hometown in young people,' right?" Chie asked.

"Yeah, they tell us that up front," Yosuke said. "So?"

"Well you see," Chie continued. "The way we supposedly develop that love is by picking up trash off the mountain."

"Wait, what?" Aika asked.

"Picking up trash?" Yosuke said incredulously. "'Develop a love,' my ass! That's slave labor!"

"Well the night's kind of fun," Chie pointed out. "We cook our own meals with mess kits and sleep in tents."

"The four of us are in the same group," Yukiko added.

"The same group, huh?" Yosuke asked. "Does that mean we sleep together at night, too?"

"Th-They actually allow that?" Aika asked.

"Not exactly," Chie said. "If you leave your tent at night, you'll be expelled on the spot."

"But that means Yosuke's going to be all alone…" Aika mumbled.

"It's only for one night, and we disband before noon the next day," Yukiko said. "It doesn't last very long."

"We did have some fun at the river before going home last year," Chie said.

"Do they let you go swimming?" Yosuke asked.

"I think so?" Chie replied. "There's always someone who takes a dip, although we didn't."

"So, they let you go swimming, huh?" Yosuke asked, a mischievous smile on his face. Aika, Chie, and Yukiko just exchanged confused looks.

---

By the time the "club meeting" rolled around, Aika felt absolutely awful. She felt both hot and cold at the same time, her nose tickled constantly, just threatening to make her sneeze at a moment's notice, and she felt so dizzy that her vision was starting to blur around the edges a little. "Are you okay?" Chie asked her. "You don't look too good."

"I feel sick…" Aika said quietly, squeezing her eyes shut and then reopening them to clear her vision. "I think I have a fever."

"Maybe you should go to the infirmary," Yukiko suggested. "Come on. I'll walk with you."

---

Three students waited in the infirmary. "Ah, Yukiko-san," one girl said. "And… Aika-san, is it? The transfer student, right? Did one of you get hurt or something?"

"Aika isn't feeling well," Yukiko told the girl. "She caught a cold, and it got a lot worse after lunch."

"Oh, okay," the girl said. "Why don't you come over here?" She gestured toward a single cot behind a curtain, and Aika lay down without question. The girl placed one hand on Aika's forehead, and the other on her own. "Yeah, you definitely have a fever."

"Is it serious?" Yukiko asked concernedly.

"I don't think so," the girl replied. "I can't give you any medicine, though."

"Is it okay if I just rest here for a while?" Aika asked.

"Sure, no problem," the girl said. "We're going to make some rounds, but we'll be back soon. Do you think you'll be okay on your own?"

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine," Aika replied, smiling at her reassuringly.

"Okay, we'll be back soon." Yukiko left with the health committee members, leaving Aika alone, and she threw her arm lazily over her forehead..

Sleep remained stubbornly out of her grasp. She quickly lost track of time, and it wasn't until she heard the door open that she decided to look at the clock – by now, she had been lying down, trying to sleep for almost half an hour. "Sorry I'm late," a boy's voice said. There was a slight pause. "So everyone went on rounds already, huh…?" Aika cursed herself when she sneezed at precisely that moment. Any plans she had to remain inconspicuous and out of sight were promptly dashed as the boy pulled aside the curtain to look at her. It was a rather skinny boy, with light brown hair. He was tall, but he looked young – maybe he was a first year. When Aika sneezed again, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a light pink handkerchief. "Here," he said, handing it to her.

"Th-Thank you…" Aika said, taking it and wiping her nose with it.

His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, you're…" He glared at her. "You're Hanamura's girlfriend."

"No, I'm not," Aika said flatly. "But I am his friend."

"I hate him…" the boy muttered. "You too!"

Aika frowned slightly at him. "Wait, why?"

The boy sighed. "Forget it. I'm leaving."

It was only after he slammed the door shut behind him that Aika realized that she was still holding his handkerchief. "W-Wait! You forgot your…" But he was already gone. But somehow, when she lay back down, she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, the health committee members were back.

The girl from before had her hand pressed against Aika's forehead. "Oh, sorry," she said. "Did I wake you?"

"No, that's okay," Aika said, sitting up and rubbing your eyes.

The girl smiled. "You're still burning up a little, but you should be okay by tomorrow."

Aika sat up slowly, thankful that she didn't feel too dizzy anymore. "I think I'll go home now. Sorry for the trouble."

"Dress warm and get some rest!"

---

"Oh, hey," Yosuke said the next morning before class started. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, much better," Aika replied smiling. "But…"

"But?" Yosuke repeated, raising one eyebrow.

"There was this guy in the health committee," Aika explained. "A first year, I think. I mean, he looked young enough to be one. Anyway, he recognized me as your… friend."

"Girlfriend," Yosuke guessed. "Figures. Continue."

"And he said he hated you, and he hated me, and…" Aika reached into her schoolbag and pulled out the pink handkerchief. "He never took this back. So I need to give it back to him."

"First year who hates our guts, huh?" Yosuke asked. Then, as he stared at the handkerchief, he frowned. "Wait, let me see that." He took it from Aika and unfolded it, examining it from different angles. "This is Saki-senpai's. I'm sure of it."

"Wait, what?" Aika almost shrieked, because the idea of using a dead girl's handkerchief was so wrong on so many levels.

"But how did you get this? Unless…" His expression turned solemn. "Naoki Konishi. Her brother."

"That was her brother?" Aika asked incredulously. Actually, come to think of it, he did look a bit like Saki…

"Just forget about it," Yosuke said, handing the handkerchief back to her. "I doubt he'll take it back from you, so just give it to Kanji to give to him later. The two of them were friends back in the day, or so I've heard."

Aika crumpled the handkerchief in her hand. "… No. He let me borrow it, so I should be the one to return it."

"No, seriously, Aika," Yosuke said. "The guy's probably just a giant ball of angst and man pain right now – like me times a hundred – so he'll be—"

"I'll deal with it," Aika said stiffly.

---

Aika found him in the hallways after school. "Oh, it's you," he said a bit rudely when he saw her.

"Here," Aika said, held out the handkerchief to him. "This is yours. Thank you for letting me borrow it."

Naoki sighed. "You could've just thrown that away…" he pointed out.

Aika shook her head. "It wouldn't be right."

"This isn't even mine," Naoki said. "It's my sister's."

Aika sighed. "I know…" she said quietly. "That's why."

"What, did Hanamura tell you?" Naoki demanded.

"So what if he did?" Aika shot back.

Still, for reasons Aika didn't understand, he took the handkerchief. "My mom put this in my bag by mistake," he said solemnly as he shoved it in his pocket. "No one ever uses it anymore, so… I'm sure the handkerchief is glad to have been able to fulfill its duty." For the first time, he smiled at her. "Thank you."

Aika couldn't help but blush. "N-No, I should be the one thanking you," she said quickly. "F-For lending this to me, I mean…"

"No, i-it's okay," Naoki said quickly. "Oh, by the way – you probably already know this, but I'm Naoki Konishi."

Aika smiled at him in return. "I'm Aika Nakamura," she said.

"Um… I'm sorry for saying I hated you yesterday."

This threw Aika for a loop. "Oh… um… i-it's okay. Really."

Naoki smiled. "You know, you're not that bad."

Aika smiled sheepishly. "You aren't so bad yourself." And, for the first time in weeks, the voice in her head struck again, but Aika was somehow prepared for it this time.

Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Hanged Man Arcanum…

"I'm really sorry," Naoki said again. "I must've made you feel really uneasy, huh? And you were already sick to begin with. I… I quit the Association after that. It's not like I did that great a job at it anyway." He sighed. "Left behind again…"

Aika had never felt more sorry for someone in her entire life. "Um…" she said quietly. "If it's okay with you… maybe we could hang out sometime?"

"H-Huh?" Naoki mumbled. "Like a date? But aren't you already going out with Hanamura?"

"N-No!" Aika almost yelled. "It's not a date! A-And I'm not going out with him either!"

Naoki smiled gently. "Okay. I'm usually by our liquor store at the beginning of the week, so…"

"So I'll see you then," Aika finished. "Bye, Naoki-kun."

---

"Ugh, I don't believe this," Aika heard a whiny first year say after school the next day. "I can't believe they let that Tatsumi in here."

"I know, right?" another girl retorted. "I hear he started his own gang and goes around bullying people. How did we get to be in the same class as him?"

"Oh no…" Aika whispered as she broke into a run. She finally ran into Kanji outside the Practice Building.

"Oh hey, Senpai, what's up?"

"Are the rumors true?" Aika asked in a rush.

"Wh-What rumors?" Kanji asked.

Aika crossed her arms and glared at him, unable to describe how she got so angry in the first place. "Don't lie to me!" she yelled.

"H-Hey, just wait a…" Kanji began. "C'mon. Let's go talk somewhere else." He led her to the Samegawa Flood Plain and flopped down on the grass. "So what's up?"

"What's this about a gang of bullies?" Aika asked.

"How should I know?" Kanji retorted. "I didn't know we had one of those."

"Really? Because I heard that you were that particular gang's leader."

"What, you accusing me or somethin'?" Kanji demanded.

"Yeah, I am!" Aika yelled back.

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. "S-Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to piss you off… But I didn't do it!"

And then, it occurred to Aika that it was just a stupid rumor that someone had made up about them. "I'm sorry!" she said automatically, bowing to him. "I-It was just something I heard, a-and I panicked, and…"

"No worries," Kanji said, grinning at her. "'S my own fault rumors like that go around, huh? At this rate, I'll be causing trouble for you guys…"

"N-No, that's not…" Aika sighed. "I'm sorry, Kanji-kun. I just… I don't know why…"

"Nah, 's all good, Senpai," Kanji said, grinning. "Hey, listen. D'you think maybe you could hear me out when you've got time? I feel all cramped inside, and I'm too dumb to know what it's about."

Aika giggled. "Yes, of course," she said. And then, all too quickly, the voice in her head struck again.

Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Emperor Arcanum…

"To make sure I don't cause any trouble for you…" Kanji said slowly. "Maybe I should smack that gang of bullies around?"

"N-No, that would be bad!" Kanji just laughed, and Aika groaned. "I'm being serious, here…"

---

Later that day, the doorbell rang. "Delivery!" a man's voice called from the other side of the door.

"I wonder what that could be," Nanako said.

Aika shrugged and opened the door, revealing a tall, thin man with frown lines on his forehead and dark circles under his eyes. "Aika Nakamura?" he asked.

"Y-Yes?" Aika replied.

"I have a package for you from Tanaka's Amazing Commodities," the man said. Sure enough, a cardboard box lay by his feet. He handed Aika a clipboard with a pen. "Now, if you would sign here…"

"Thank you," Aika said as she signed and picked up the passage.

"Have a nice day," the man said stiffly, as if it were part of some sort of routine, and he made his way back to his large delivery truck. For reasons Aika didn't understand herself, she watched him. But the truck wouldn't start. It made spluttering noises, but refused to judge, and each time the deliveryman tried restarting it, she could hear his curses get louder and louder. Giving up after a fifth try, the man stepped out of the driver seat and sighed heavily.

"Um…" Aika said slowly. "D-Do you want to use our phone?" she asked.

The man stared at her with a strange look in his eyes. "Yes…" he said slowly. "Thank you."

Aika smiled as she let the deliveryman inside the house. "Don't mention it," she said. She led him to the phone, and he dialed a number and pressed the receiver to his ear. "Um… what's your name?"

"Hmm?" the man asked, his dark eyes drifting in her direction. "Oh. Taro Namatame."

"It's nice to meet you, Namatame-san," Aika and Nanako said simultaneously.

Then, Nanako gasped. "I know who you are!" she said. "You're that council secretary who keeps coming on TV!" Namatame stiffened, and Aika elbowed Nanako, giving her cousin a warning look.

"Ah, hello?" Namatame said into the phone. "Yes, my truck won't start… Mmhmm…" And as he talked on the phone, Aika prepared a cup of tea for him.

When he finally hung up, Aika guided him to the living room. "Please, sit down," she said. Namatame obeyed wordlessly, plopping down on the couch, and Aika pressed the teacup into his hands. "Here."

"Ah, thank you," Namatame said quickly before sipping his tea.

But though he remained silent, Aika didn't miss the tension in his shoulders, the frown lines creased on his forehead. "Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Yes, everything's fine," Namatame answered quickly. "But… things are complicated right now. There are people who need me."

"Who?" Nanako asked.

"People whom only I can help," Namatame clarified, "and I must do everything in my power to do so."

Aika smiled gently at him. "That's nice of you to go out of your way to help them like that," she said.

"Thank you, Nakamura-san," he said. "And… Dojima-san, correct?"

"Y-Yeah…" Nanako mumbled. When the voice struck in Aika's head yet again, she was completely confused.

Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Death Arcanum…

… with the delivery man? Aika thought. What? Why?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Namatame stood up. "I think that should be for me," he said. "Thank you for your hospitality, Nakamura-san and Dojima-san."

Aika bowed respectfully to him. "It was our pleasure," she said.

When he finally left, Nanako frowned slightly. "He's weird," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Aika replied.

---

Chie let out an ear-piercing scream. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!" she shrieked. Aika quickly removed the grasshopper that had secured itself onto Chie's jacket and released it into the grass. Chie gave a tremendous sigh of relief. "Thanks, Aika. I hate bugs…"

"It's okay," Aika said. "My mom hates them too."

"Really? Wow, I thought I was the only one." Chie suddenly laughed. "You know, you're kind of like Yukiko. She's totally fine with bugs… probably because she has to clear them out at the inn or something."

"It's not like I'm not scared of them," Aika said. "It's just that if they're not bothering me, then they're not scary."

"So what are you scared of?" Chie asked. "And don't say Shadows."

Aika exhaled sharply and thought for a while. Not bugs, or rodents, or any kind of weapons. But the answer was there, somewhere in the darkest corners of her mind – all she had to do was bring it out to the front. "This is going to sound kind of stupid, but… being alone, I guess."

"That's not stupid," Chie said. "But… you're not alone."

"Yeah, and I never was to begin with," Aika said. "I mean, no matter what, I've always had my family with me, so I have no reason to be so scared, but… I don't know. I'm just scared that something's going to happen that'll take everyone away from me, and…" She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just babbling."

"But it makes sense, though," Chie said. "And it kind of fits you, too."

"You think so?"

Chie nodded. "Yeah, of course. It's weird, though… you tried to push everyone away when you first got here."

Aika's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-You could tell?"

"Only because I've been dealing with Yukiko for so long," Chie replied with a smile. "Back before we became friends, she'd try to just… be on her own all the time. Like, she wouldn't let anyone get close."

"So how did you get close to her?" Aika asked.

Chie laughed nervously. "It's kind of embarrassing. I totally lost it one day and yelled at her for being such a doormat, and she started crying. We've been best friends ever since. But… it's great, having more than one best friend now."

"Huh? Who's the second one?"

"You. Then Yosuke's the third, and Kanji's almost the fourth."

There was a surge of power as Aika smiled. "You're one of my best friends too." And as the minutes ticked by, they talked instead of trained.

---

"Welcome home, Big Sis!" Nanako greeted cheerfully as Aika shut the door behind her. "Guess what? I bought a doggy brush at Junes so we can brush Kaede-chan!"

"Ooh, let's brush her today," Aika said excitedly. "You know, it's amazing how she manages to stay out of sight whenever Uncle comes home."

"Why don't we just ask Dad if we can keep her?" Nanako asked.

"Yeah, we should," Aika said, "but he might say no." At that moment, Kaede joined them, slinking by Nanako and resting her head on Aika's lap. "Hi, Kaede-chan. We're going to give you a good grooming today, okay?" Kaede yipped in approval, and Aika and Nanako set to work, and Kaede purred as they brushed her. At long last, Aika managed to brush every corner of Kaede's fur.

"Wow!" Nanako gushed, running her hand down Kaede's back. "It's so soft!"

"You loved that, didn't you, Kaede-chan?" Aika asked. Kaede yipped, and there was yet another surge of power.

"Let's brush her again, Big Sis!"

"Is that okay with you, Kaede-chan?"

The fox yipped happily at them both.

---

Later that night, Nanako sat at the table, looking forlorn. "Hey, Big Sis?" she said quietly. "What was Mom like?"

The question caught Aika completely off-guard. "H-Huh?" She never talked about Auntie with anyone – not even with Uncle or her parents.

"I… I don't remember her that well," Nanako admitted. "You and Dad always make her sound like an amazing person, so I want to know."

Aika sat down across from Nanako and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Auntie… she…" She was more of a mom to me than my real mom was. "She was the nicest person I've ever known."

"How?" Nanako asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well…" Aika said slowly. "A lot of this is from before you were born, by the way. She was… She was like my mom, really." Just say it. "Sometimes more than my real mom was. She just… She always wanted to take care of everyone. My dad, your dad… my mom never really let Auntie take care of her, but that never stopped her from trying."

"So she just… took care of everyone?"

And then it was as if Nanako wasn't even there, and Aika was finally able to talk freely and unbounded. "She always looked after me, you know. She'd always ask how I was doing, how I was handling moving to new places all the time… one time, she even offered to let me stay here in Inaba with her and Uncle while my parents moved around. I… I would've liked that, but I wanted to be with my parents more than I wanted to stay in one place, so I never did. And I could always talk to her about anything. I always thought… that as long as she was there, I'd be okay." And then she was gone, and I felt so lost and confused…

"She sounds wonderful," Nanako sighed. "Thank you for telling me about her, Big Sis. It sounds like it was hard for you."

"H-Huh?" Aika stammered. "N-No, it wasn't hard. Don't worry." There was a surge of power just as tears started stinging Aika's eyes. "But… um… can we not talk about this anymore?" Her voice came out strained, and Nanako, noticing her unease, quickly changed the subject.

---

That night, sleep eluded Aika entirely, and she made her way downstairs to make herself some tea. And as she did, her mind kept wandering back to her conversation with Nanako. Somewhere along the way, she remembered how good her aunt Chisato's tea was – Auntie would steep the tea leaves themselves in such a way that made the tea so much more flavorful than anything that came from a teabag. And though Aika frequently tried to do the same, she could never quite get it right.

As she sat on the couch, slowly sipping her tea, all she could hear was the ticking of the clock. But somehow, when the front door opened, she barely registered it. "What are you doing up?" she heard Uncle ask, as if from far away.

"I couldn't sleep," Aika said quietly. "A-Are you hungry?"

"No," Uncle said promptly, and Aika couldn't tell if it was because he genuinely wasn't hungry, or because he didn't want her to go through the trouble of making something for him. "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"

"How do you do that?" Aika asked him.

"Do what?" he retorted as he sat down next to her.

"How can you tell whenever I'm caught up with something?" she clarified. "Even Mom and Dad can't do that."

He tweaked her nose like he used to do when she was little and chuckled. "I'm just better at reading you, I guess. Then again, you're pretty easy to read, most of the time. So spill. What's got you all worked up?"

Aika exhaled sharply. "Nanako asked about Auntie today."

Uncle's expression barely changed, but she didn't miss the way his whole body seemed to stiffen. "What did you say?"

"Just… what kind of person she was, I guess," Aika said. "It's all a blur."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to him. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she admitted.

Uncle sighed heavily. "I miss her too, you know. Every day."

"Yeah, it's understandable that you still miss her," Aika huffed in annoyance, "but she was my aunt. Not my mom. And it's not like I saw her all that much of her either. It's been more than three years – I should be over this by now."

"It's okay if you're not," Uncle said. "It's okay to miss people, Aika. Even if it's been three years since they first left."

"You're only saying that because you miss her too."

Uncle sighed again and rested his head on top of hers. "Maybe…" Aika couldn't fathom why there was a surge of power then and there.

---

Aika piled vegetables into plastic bags at Junes. "Come on, Aika, give us something to do," Chie whined.

"We can cook too," Yukiko said. "What did you say you were making?"

"Curry," Aika said. "I think that'll be the easiest to make up in the mountains. Just leave it to me."

"At least let us help!" Chie said. She reached for a bag of flour and dumped it in Aika's shopping cart.

"You use potato starch to thicken curry, Chie," Aika said flatly. "Not flour."

"You're a real control freak, you know?" Chie moaned.

"Deal with it," Aika shot back. All in all, it was going to be an eventful next couple of days.

---

"Are you feeling better, Aika?" Yosuke asked. The two of them sat across from each other at a wooden table, while Chie and Yukiko cooked the food.

Aika buried her face in her arms. "Not really…" she mumbled. The camping trip was supposed to be fun. She wasn't supposed to get so carsick on the ride up that she had spend pretty much the entire day alternating between sleeping and trying not to throw up in a tent. And on top of that, she still felt sick to her stomach, and was nearly positive that she'd throw up again if she had to cook for everyone.

"Yeesh, I'm sorry you had to get so sick like that," Yosuke said. "At least you got out of picking up trash, though. That was murder on my back… Someone threw away an entire bike. Damn it, litterers should have to deal with their own garbage!"

"At least you didn't get sick on top of everything…" Aika grumbled.

"Think you'll be able to eat?" Yosuke asked, more concernedly.

"I hope so."

"S-Sorry for the wait…" Chie mumbled as she and Yukiko set two plates out in front of Yosuke and Aika. "We put a lot of love into it…"

"Kinda clichéd, but still awesome!" Yosuke said enthusiastically.

"Sorry, I'm not really hungry," Aika mumbled. And it had nothing to do with the awful smell coming from what was supposed to be curry, either.

"Okay, then!" Yosuke said. "Chow time!" But one bite sent him coughing and spluttering, and Aika buried her face in her arms because the smell was making her stomach turn. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Yosuke yelled. "I mean, what kind of—" A coughing fit cut him off, but he came back with equal force. "Curry's supposed to be 'really spicy' or 'kind of mild'! This just stinks! Didn't you say Aika bought all the ingredients? How could you possibly screw this up?"

"Well, it just didn't mix too well," Chie drawled. "But it does offer a wide variety of textures."

"It's nauseating!" Yosuke yelled.

"Come on!" Chie yelled back. "It's not that bad!"

"If that bus ride didn't kill Aika, this will!" Yosuke yelled.

By then, Aika had had it. She stood up and made her way over to the cooking area, thankful that Chie and Yukiko hadn't used all the ingredients. "Save the rice," she called over her shoulders, only half sure that Chie and Yukiko didn't mess the simplest part up. Within fifteen minutes, she had enough curry for four small portions, though she put more curry on Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko's plates than on her own, since she still wasn't sure if she could stomach it. "Sorry, there isn't much."

"At least it's edible!" Yosuke said as he snarfed down his portion. "Unlike some other people's."

"We're really sorry," Yukiko said.

"All right, back to your tents!" Mr. Morooka barked from somewhere on the left. By now, Yosuke was done with his portion and moving onto the second half of Aika's, and Chie and Yukiko were almost done. "Boys' tents are this way, and girls' tents are the other way! C'mon, people, look alive! Youngsters like yourselves should hurry up and get to bed after they eat!"

"I always thought that was bad for you…" Yukiko whispered.

"It's now time for us teachers to have some boo—I mean, err, off to bed! Lights out!"

"Aika, you're amazing," Yosuke said. "Teach them how to cook. Please, I'm begging you."

"I-If they want…" Aika said slowly. At that point, they went their separate ways.

---

"I don't believe this," Aika said flatly as she lay on her back and stared at the shadows dancing above. "I'm actually hungry."

"Didn't you eat too?" Chie asked.

"Yeah, a little," Aika replied. "I wonder if I'll get in trouble if I try cooking some more food."

"You'll set the tent on fire!" Chie yelled. "Or you'll get expelled if you leave the tent!"

Aika sighed and rolled onto her side. "Never mind… So do you guys feel like pulling an all-nighter?"

"Why?" Yukiko asked.

"If I stay up all night, I'll be able to sleep on the ride back, and I won't get carsick," Aika said. "Speaking of which… I thought it was four people to a tent, not three."

"The fourth person bailed," Chie said. "Lucky us, though."

"Hey," a voice whispered from outside. "You guys still up?"

"Senpai…" another voice whispered.

Chie squealed. "That's creeping me out!"

"It's just Yosuke-kun and Kanji-kun," Yukiko pointed out, opening the tent and revealing them crouched on the ground. "Hurry up and come inside."

"What, you guys couldn't sleep either?" Yosuke asked.

"Aika's not letting us," Chie moaned.

"Hey, you're the one that agreed!" Aika cried indignantly.

"So a sleepover, huh?" Kanji asked, settling down and crossing his legs. "Sounds fun."

"Uh, won't we get in trouble for this?" Yukiko asked.

"No worries," Yosuke said. "We'll just sneak out before everyone wakes up tomorrow."

"I can't believe I didn't pack any food…" Aika grumbled.

"What, don't tell me you're hungry," Yosuke said. "Aw man, if I knew that, I would've let you keep the other half of your curry…"

"I've got some animal crackers," Kanji said, opening a plastic bag and holding it out to Aika.

She reached inside and pulled out a cracker shaped like a penguin. "Oh, a penguin," she said.

"W-Wait, don't—" Kanji started, but she already bitten off the head. "DAMMIT, ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Be quiet!" Chie hissed.

"Th-That's the ultra-rare penguin!" Kanji moaned. "How could you just eat it, Senpai?"

"I-I'm sorry," Aika said. "I didn't know…" She popped the rest of the cracker into her mouth, and Kanji screamed in rage.

"You owe me fifty penguin cookies for this!" Kanji yelled.

"I-I'll see what I can do…" Aika mumbled quietly.

"Yeah, you better!"

---

Chie yawned the next morning. "Wow, I can't believe we actually stayed up all night…"

"Tell me about it," Yukiko retorted. "So are you tired, Aika?"

"Yeah…" Aika sighed. "I'll be able to sleep on the bus for sure."

"Hey guys!" Yosuke yelled, waving at them. He stood by a cliff overlooking a small waterfall, with Kanji at his side. "C'mon! Let's go swimming!"

"I'll pass," Chie said.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Yosuke prodded.

"No thank you," Yukiko said flatly.

"Hey!" Yosuke yelled. "You at least owe it to Aika to get in there!"

"H-Huh?" Aika asked. "Wh-Why are you dragging me into this?"

"Hey, Senpai, you do owe me for eating that penguin…" Kanji muttered dangerously, cracking his knuckles.

"I-I'm really sorry about that…" Aika said.

"It's your fault we had tiny ass portions yesterday," Yosuke pointed out.

"I don't think that warrants a swim," Yukiko said.

"Besides, we didn't bring any swimsuits," Chie added.

Yosuke flashed a mischievous smile, and seemingly out of nowhere, he and Kanji pulled out three bikinis. "We've got you covered."

"A-Are you serious?" Chie yelled.

"They're Junes-brand originals, from our brand new line of swimwear that just came in for the summer," Yosuke said proudly. "I had a clerk friend of mine choose 'em for me. Pretty swanky, huh?"

"Dude, that's just wrong…" Chie said.

"Did you have those this whole time?" Yukiko asked.

Kanji stomped over to Aika and handed her the swimsuit he was holding – an eggplant-colored bikini. "This one's yours, Aika-senpai."

"B-But I…" Aika protested weakly, stepping away from him.

"Ultra. Rare. Penguin."

"I'm sorry!"

"C'mon, let's all go swimming!" Yosuke said. And there really was no avoiding it now.

Aika wanted to die. She didn't think she could ever feel worse than she did the previous day or the time after she first went inside the TV, but this little incident sorely proved her wrong. The bikini Yosuke had gotten her was slightly loose, which forced her to tie it tighter around herself… which, in turn, accentuated curves that were otherwise invisible.

"Whoa…" Yosuke said as his eyes shifted from her, to Yukiko, to Chie. "… Man…" Kanji's face was bright red, and Aika stared downward, blushing as well.

"S-Stop staring at us like that!" Chie said.

"H-Hey…" Yukiko said quietly, blushing.

"C-Can I change back now…?" Aika mumbled.

"Ultra. Rare. Penguin."

"I'm sorry…" She exhaled sharply as she swung her arms back, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Okay… Let's get this over with…" She took a few steps back, and then ran off the edge of the cliff, cannonballing into the river below. The water was icy cold, and though she was shivering and her teeth were chattering, she laughed. "Come on in!" she called to her friends. "The water's great!"

"Well, if you say so…" Kanji said before diving in. He submerged coughing and spluttering and shivering. "What the—It's freezing in here! Senpai, you lied!" Aika simply stuck her tongue out at him. But by now, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko had dived in with them.

Aika laughed again. "This was a great trip," she said, staring up at the blue sky.

---

"So, how was the school camping trip?" Fuuji Nakamura asked on the phone that night.

"Man, I hated that thing," Masami said – they were on speakerphone, evidently. "The only fun part was swimming the morning after. Did you swim, Aika?"

"Yeah, we did," Aika said. "I ate a penguin animal cracker, and Kanji-kun got really mad—"

"You ate the ultra-rare penguin?" both her parents demanded simultaneously.

"… Yeah…" Aika said quietly.

"Aika, how could you?"

"I'm sorry…"

Her mother laughed. "Nah, we're just kidding," she said.

"Only not really, because you have no idea just how long I've been searching for that damn penguin," her father added.

"So how are things in France?" Aika asked.

"The food is unbelievable," her mother said. "Nothing compared to your cooking, of course, but still. You have got to try a croissant here."

"And the coffee," her father gushed.

"And the foie gras…" her mother added.

"You guys are making me hungry…" Aika whined. And as power surged within her, Aika hung up with her parents soon afterward and finally went to bed.

---

Aika finally mustered the courage to go back to the Velvet Room the next day. "Welcome," Igor said as she entered with his usual cryptic smile, while Margaret refused to look in her direction altogether.

Aika reached into the bag slung on her shoulder and pulled out two bentos. "U-Um… this is for you…" She handed one of them to Igor.

"Ah, how nice," the long-nosed man said as he opened the lid and sniffed it for all its worth.

Aika turned to Margaret, who still refused to look at her. "U-Um… Th-This one's yours, M-Margaret."

"Thank you," Margaret said stiffly, taking the bento and placing it next to her, all while refusing to meet Aika's gaze.

"U-Um…" Aika mumbled self-consciously. "I… I-I'm sorry about last time… I-I didn't know the p-previous guest here was such a t-touchy subject, a-and I didn't think, s-so…"

Margaret finally looked at her, an almost pained expression on her face. "Come," she said patting the seat next to her. "Sit with me." Aika obeyed, yet she sat completely still. "I'm not angry about what you asked me. You, by all means, have every right to know what happened to Master Makoto. The problem is what you said afterward. You said you wanted to be like her, and that is something I cannot allow."

"Why not?" Aika asked, despite herself.

Margaret sighed heavily. "Because Master Makoto is dead. She sacrificed her life to save the world. And though I want you to save the world as well, I cannot allow you to sacrifice your life to do so."

Aika stared downward, unsure of what to make of what Margaret just told her. "You sound like you knew her really well…" she whispered.

"I didn't," Margaret said. "Actually, I never met her at all… but, as I said before, my brother was close to her. And he was devastated after what happened, so I resolved to never let that happen again with future guests to the Velvet Room. And because you are the first since Master Makoto, I must take extra care." Margaret sighed. "I am not angry with you, Master Aika. All I want is for you to be more cautious than Master Makoto ever was."

"Thank you…" Aika said quietly. "Thank you for… caring about me, on that level."

Margaret smiled gently to her. "It's difficult for me not to." The surge of power indicating a leveled up Social Link almost killed the moment entirely.

---

"That concludes Rise Kujikawa's statement regarding her temporary leave of absence from the entertainment industry," said the agency spokesman on TV. "We're short on time, so if anyone has any remaining questions, we ask that you please keep them brief."

"I'm Ishioka from Lady's View," said another man's voice. "It says here that you'll be recuperating – are you facing physical problems?"

A girl with reddish brown hair pulled back into two ponytails appeared on the screen. "No, my health isn't an issue," she said quietly.

"Psychological problems, then?" Ishioka prodded.

"What?" the girl, Rise, no doubt, asked.

"Rumor has it that you'll be staying with your relatives, but isn't that in Inaba, where the murders have been taking place?"

"Huh? Um…"

"Is it true that they run a traditional tofu shop? Will you be helping out with the family business?"

"No more questions!" the agency spokesman interjected. "This press conference is over! Clear the way, please!"

The press conference erupted in to chaos, and Uncle reduced the volume. "Is Rise-chan quitting her job on TV?" Nanako asked.

"Who knows?" Uncle retorted. "But if this is her hometown, we'll have to deal with everyone who's trying to get a glimpse…"

A jingle came on TV, indicating a commercial break. "I'm tired of diets!" Aika heard the same girl from the report before say cheerfully. "Enough with going to the gym! Good thing there's something even I can handle!"

"Quelorie Magic is made for those worried about their calorie intake and body fat," said another voice on the commercial. "It'll slim you down in no time!"

"So she's an idol?" Aika asked.

The result was instantaneous. Uncle raised one slightly accusing eyebrow at her, and Nanako gasped dramatically. "You've never heard of Rise Kujikawa?" she asked.

"Um…" Aika said quietly. "I've heard of her, but I've never really…"

Without warning, Nanako sprang up and yanked on Aika's arm, pulling her upstairs. "I'm going to tell you everything there is to know about Rise-chan!" she proclaimed. And all the while, Aika could swear she could hear Uncle laughing.

---

Kanji walked up to them after school the next day. "Yo," he said stiffly.

"Hey, there he is!" Chie said cheerfully. "You've been coming to school often lately. What's up?"

"It's this annoying thing called the mandatory attendance policy," Kanji groaned. "So hey, you guys see the news?"

"Oh, that stuff about Rise Kujikawa taking a break from showbiz?" Chie asked. "I wonder why. She was just getting popular lately…"

"Just goes to show that being an idol is tough work," Yosuke said.

"They were all ganging up on her…" Aika mumbled, thinking back to that one particularly persistent magazine reporter. "Why would anyone want to put themselves through that?"

"To become famous, duh," Chie said.

"It hasn't been that long since her debut, but she'll be a top-class idol in no time!" Yosuke said. "To be honest, I'm a fan, too. She's such a cutie pie!"

"A cutie pie?" Chie repeated. "What are you, eighty? But I think she used to live here, so she must have a lot of local fans."

"Nanako really likes her, at least," Aika said. "She gave me an entire crash course on all of Rise's work yesterday."

"The news said she's going to her grandmother's tofu shop, right?" Yukiko asked. "Do they mean Marukyu?"

"Wait, does that mean I can meet Rise if I go to her tofu shop?" Yosuke asked, sounding awed.

"I doubt it," Aika replied. "Uncle mentioned something about dealing with people who want to meet her, since she's coming back here. So there's probably going to be police everywhere. But that's not really the point."

"Huh?" Kanji asked. "What're you talking about?"

"Did you forget about the murders?" Chie demanded. "The connection between the victims might be the TV, remember? She could be the next target!"

"C'mon, it's not like Rise started showing up on TV just recently," Yosuke pointed out. "Also, how could Rise be connected to the incidents so far?"

"I did some research," Yukiko said. "It seems that Rise had no personal interaction with Ms. Yamano. They've just been on the same show once or twice."

"So if our assumptions are correct, she fits the pattern," Yosuke said. "She'll probably be targeted next. And if she is, that narrows down the killer's methods even further."

"What does that mean?" Kanji asked.

"If Rise is next, then that lets us rule out our theory that the targets have to be connected with the first case," Aika answered. "Right?"

"Right," Yukiko said. "And that means the killer's targets are people who've been shown on TV recently."

"All right!" Yosuke said excitedly. "Now we have to keep a close eye on everything Rise does!"

"You sound excited about this…" Aika muttered. "We should also start heading back into the TV to train, since we might have to do another rescue soon."

"Good idea," Chie said. "We've got this one in the bag!"

---

"Zio!" Kanji yelled as he vanquished the Shadow in front of him with a bolt of lightning. "Who comes up with these names anyway? 'Agi'? 'Garu'? 'Bufu'? 'Zio'? The hell?"

"Why don't you come up with something, then?" Yosuke asked, a hint of exasperation to his voice.

"Yeah, I can see it now…" Kanji said. "How about…" He ran toward another Shadow a little ways away and held his fist in the air. "Steelguard!" But nothing happened. As Aika went to cover him, the Shadow diverted all its attention to her.

"Hang in there, Aika!" Chie yelled as she ran over and tried to divert the Shadow's attention. "Kanji-kun! Kanji-kun! Don't just stand there!"

"Easy, Senpai, I got this…" Kanji said. "Steelguard!"

"It's not doing anything, so stop it!" Aika snapped at him as she destroyed the Shadow with a strike from her rod.

It was only the numerous videos Nanako had forced Aika to watch the previous night that allowed Aika to identify Rise Kujikawa on the Midnight Channel. It was only her silhouette, but it was definitely her. But for some reason, the camera kept zooming in on her hips and thighs…

And, as per routine, Yosuke called immediately afterward. "Hey, did you see that?" he asked. "That was Rise for sure! Rise Kujikawa!"

"Don't you sound excited about this…" Aika muttered.

"Oh…" Yosuke said slowly. "There's a chance she might get kidnapped, huh?"

"A pretty high chance, since we've never actually stopped the kidnapper before," Aika deadpanned.

"Why do you have to be like that, Aika?" Yosuke whined.

"Hey, did you hear?" Aika heard a girl in her class ask after school. "It looks like Rise Kujikawa really is here! You know the tofu store Marukyu? The owners of that place have the same last name: Kujikawa!"

"Seriously?" a boy retorted. "Hey, I practically live next door!"

"I've been hearing that there's a big crowd at Marukyu," Yukiko muttered as Aika gradually tuned out the other students' conversation.

"I'm not surprised," Chie deadpanned. "But was it really her on yesterday's Midnight Channel? Didn't she seem a little… different?"

"It was her!" Yosuke practically shouted, a bit to excitedly. "No doubt about it!" Aika shot him a glare, and Yosuke grinned sheepishly at her. "A-Anyway, I'm positive it was her!"

"Uh…" Kanji mumbled. "Are we going? I don't really care about celebrities, but it's not like I got anything better to do… Sure, I'll tag along."

"We're not going to get in!" Aika interjected. "If there's already a huge crowd there, there's no way they'll let us in!"

"You guys are on your own," Chie said flatly. "Sorry, but me and Yukiko have plans. Give us a call if anything comes up."

Aika sighed heavily as Chie and Yukiko walked off. "Okay… I think I'll try that new tofu recipe today. What do you say we… go buy some tofu?" She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

Yosuke put his arm around her shoulder and grinned mischievously. "Aika-chan? You're a genius."

---

The three walked to Marukyu's, and, sure enough, there was a large group of people huddled outside. And just at the curb was… "Adachi-san?" Aika said, tilting her head to the side.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked "Um, Mr. Detective, did something happen?"

"Oh, it's you guys," Adachi said absentmindedly. "Ai yi yi… These gawkers keep streaming in with their cars, trying to park in the middle of the shopping district."

"Why's that?" Kanji asked.

"Don't you know?" Adachi retorted. "Rise Kujikawa's here. Hey, did you see her already? Is she there? Which is it?"

"Um…" Aika mumbled. "We're just here to buy some tofu…"

Adachi smirked at her. "Sure you are, Aika-chan."

"Wait just a minute!" Kanji shouted. "Why's a plainclothes detective here doing traffic control?"

"Oh!" Adachi gasped. "Uh, well… The Inaba Police Department isn't that big, and we don't have enough staff… Speaking of which, I still have work to do, so I'll see you later." And with that, he shuffled away, a little too quickly.

"Dude…" Yosuke whispered. "You managed to scare off a police detective on active duty…"

"I wasn't trying to scare the guy," Kanji replied. "I just said what I was thinking."

"But it is weird for the police to come out like this," Aika pointed out. "Maybe they think Rise might be the next target too?"

"All right, clear out," Aika suddenly heard her uncle's voice from inside the tofu shop. "Coming through… Hey, Adachi!" Uncle walked out of the shop, gazing about the crowd for his partner. "Damn it… I told him not to leave his post…" Aika wanted to sink into the floor as Uncle inevitably saw her.

"H-Hi Uncle!" Aika greeted awkwardly. "We're just here to buy some tofu."

He leveled her with a flat stare. "Yeah," he said disbelievingly. "Right."

Aika leveled him with an equally flat stare. "I didn't even know who Rise Kujikawa was until Nanako told me about her a couple days ago," she pointed out. "Oh, speaking of which – do you think you'll be coming home tonight?"

"Could go either way," Uncle replied with a sigh. "I'm sure you guys already know this, but Rise Kujikawa's in there. Don't bother them too much. She might be a celebrity, but this is her home." He threw his coat over his shoulder. "I need to head back to the precinct."

"Bye Uncle!" Aika said, waving at him as he left.

"That cop's your uncle, eh…?" Kanji whispered, as soon as Uncle was out of earshot. "So he knows about the whole club situation, huh? That's why he didn't say anything when he saw me."

"Yeah…" Aika mumbled. "I hate lying to him like this…"

"It's not a complete lie," Yosuke assured her. "You really are going to pick up tofu, right? We just… happen to have another agenda too."

"It looks like he suspects you guys," Kanji pointed out.

"So if we say anything about the other world, we'll only look more suspicious," Yosuke replied. "They'll be watching us all the time."

"Man, this blows!" someone at the front of the crowd yelled. "There's no one in there but the old lady! Risette isn't here after all…"

"I heard that she really is already here, but it might've just been a rumor," another man said. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

And with that, the crowd slowly cleared out, leaving an empty doorway to the tofu shop. "A rumor?" Yosuke yelled. "What, she's not here? Seriously?"

"You sound like the world's about to end," Kanji scoffed.

"Shut up!" Yosuke shouted back.

"I'm still going in," Aika said, climbing the stairs to the tofu shop. "Speaking of which… you can't eat tofu, right Yosuke? I'll buy ganmodoki instead."

"Aw, thanks Aika!" Yosuke said. "Wait… what's ganmodoki? Is that the one with the rice cake in it?"

"There's no rice cakes in 'em," Kanji retorted. "They're sorta like… fried tofu patties with veggies and stuff mixed in, and—"

"Oh, gotcha," Yosuke interrupted him. "I know what you mean! I think I can eat that." The store was practically empty, except for someone bent over some merchandise in the back of the store. "Aw, man…" Yosuke whined. "Guess she really isn't here."

"Why don't you just ask if she's in back?" Kanji suggested. "'Scuse me!"

"Yes, may I help you?" an old lady asked, only the person in the back didn't react at all.

Sure enough, an old lady had approached them from the side. "What the—" Yosuke muttered. "Then who's that?"

The girl in the back of the store finally turned around, looking slightly irritated. "What?"

And, just like that, Aika could practically feel the blood draining from her face. Though she wasn't wearing nearly as much makeup as she usually did on TV, and her hair wasn't as meticulously styled, the resemblance was uncanny. It was Rise Kujikawa. All of a sudden, Aika's words died in her throat, and she stared at her feet while subtly trying to hide behind Yosuke and Kanji. Even though she didn't know much about Risette, she was still in the presence of a celebrity.

Kanji stepped forward, blowing Aika's cover. "Are you Rise?" he asked.

"Yeah," the girl replied. "So?"

"No way…" Yosuke gasped as he ran toward her. "Are you really Risette?"

"What do you want?" Rise almost whined.

"Gamodoki!" Aika squeaked, suddenly turning everyone's attention on herself. "U-Um… We're just here… to buy some gamodoki… if that's okay…" She felt like her face was on fire, and she couldn't bring herself to look anywhere but at her feet.

"Okay, how many?" Rise asked.

"U-Um… S-Six, please…" Aika stammered.

"Okay, I'll go get them," Rise said before making her way over to one corner of the store.

"Wow…" Yosuke whispered. "She's nothing like she seems on TV… I wonder if she's just tired…"

Rise handed Aika a plastic bag. "That'll be twelve hundred yen."

Aika's hands were shaking as she handed Rise the money. "U-Um… Th-Thank you… S-Sorry for bothering you!"

She shuffled towards the door, only to be interrupted by Yosuke. "Wait, we haven't done what we came for yet!" He turned to Rise, smiling sheepishly. "Uh, I know this is a pretty strange thing to ask, but have you noticed anything weird lately?"

"Weird?" Rise echoed. "Like stalkers? Are you guys fans of mine?"

"I wouldn't say 'we,' but yeah, dude here's a big fan," Kanji replied, slapping Yosuke on the back.

"Wh-Why would you say that?" Yosuke yelped. "A-Anyway, maybe you know already, but it's been dangerous in Inaba lately. That's why we've been investigating some stuff."

"Oh yeah?" Rise asked listlessly.

"Sorry…" Yosuke mumbled. "Let's see… Do you know about the TV show that comes on at midnight? I mean, it's not like regularly scheduled programming… How do I explain this…?"

"U-Um…" Aika piped up. "I-It's called the Midnight Channel."

"Yeah, I've heard about that," Rise replied. "I heard the rumors from some friends of mine. But that girl last night wasn't me. I've never been filmed wearing that swimsuit before. And the bustline… M-Mine aren't that big."

"Oh yeah, I can see that…" Yosuke mused. "W-Wait, never mind! I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize so much," Rise said with a giggle. "What's that show about anyway?"

"W-We don't really know…" Aika mumbled, feeling a little more confident. "It's… um… We…"

"We think the people who appear there are the ones who get kidnapped next," Yosuke filled in for her.

"I'm sorry…" Aika mumbled. "W-We're not lying…"

"Huh…" Rise said. "So that wasn't a dream. I was tired yesterday, but I couldn't sleep. And it was raining, so I decided to try the rumor I'd heard about… Hmm… All right. Thanks… I'll be careful."

"Um… Th-Thank you for the ganmo, a-and thanks for listening," Aika said, bowing.

As she, Kanji, and Yosuke exited the tofu shop, Yosuke elbowed her in the shoulder. "What were you getting all shy for?" he asked.

"She's kind of… well… famous," Aika replied, clutching the bag of ganmo tightly.

"You didn't get this nervous when we met Kanji," Yosuke pointed out.

"What?" Kanji yelled indignantly. "So a freakin' idol's scarier than me?"

Aika could swear she heard Rise giggle at that.

---

As it turned out, Uncle did come home that night… with a bag of tofu. "We sure have a lot of tofu," Nanako pointed out helpfully during dinner.

"Yeah, it tastes great," Uncle said distractedly, his mouth half full.

"Thank you, Uncle," Aika said with a smile, popping a piece of tofu into her mouth.

"So did you get to meet Rise Kujikawa today?" Uncle asked so nonchalantly that Aika wanted to tear her hair out.

"H-Huh?" Aika mumbled.

"Oh, come on," Uncle said. "It was really obvious. "You just wanted to meet a celebrity."

"… Maybe…"

Nanako gasped loudly. "You guys met Rise-chan?" she asked.

"Yup," Uncle replied. "She said something interesting, though. That two guys and a girl in high school warned her that she might be kidnapped." Aika froze. "That was you, wasn't it?"

She exhaled sharply, wondering how she could spin this around to divert any potential suspicion from his end. "I just… My friends and I have been analyzing the murders a lot, and we noticed that she had a lot in common with the recent victims. We just thought we should warn her. That's all."

"Wow…" Uncle said. "You guys actually figured that out? Good for you. Come join the force when you graduate."

Aika almost sighed in relief. Crisis averted.

---

"So about the Midnight Channel last night," Yosuke said at Junes the next day after school, "that had to be Rise Kujikawa. It even showed her face this time."

"So now we know for sure that people being broadcasted on TV are being targeted," Aika said.

"So does this mean we can rule out the assumption that all the victims are connected to the incident with Ms. Yamano?" Yukiko asked.

"Exactly," Yosuke replied. "As for Rise, I took a peek this morning, and she was still at the shop. So I'm guessing that that 'TV show' thing doesn't appear on the Midnight Channel until after the person enters the TV."

"That's true," Aika said. "With Kanji-kun, we saw him in town before his… special program came on."

"And Teddie said that it might be the victim's own creation upon entering that world," Chie added. "The one that shows up on TV is your Shadow. Princess Yukiko, Kanji-kun in a bath towel… But we see them on the Midnight Channel before they disappear too. You know, when it's really fuzzy and you can't tell who it is. How do you explain that part?"

"Yeah, it always happens before the person disappears," Yosuke said. "Like an advance notice."

"Or like a ransom note," Chie said. "But who are they announcing it to? And for what?"

"Is it possible that we see those images for the same reason?" Yukiko asked. "If the Midnight Channel shows the victim's true feelings… maybe it does the same for the culprit. Maybe what we're seeing is the culprit's intentions."

"So it is a ransom note," Aika said. "Besides – if the killer's throwing people into the TV, then they must have the same power that we do."

"So… when the killer thinks, 'I'm gonna attack someone now,' that's what we see on TV?" Chie asked.

"I don't know about that…" Yukiko said.

"Well, if we're gonna go that far with it, we might as well say that's the basis for that entire world," Yosuke said. "Like it's just some kinda mix of the minds of the victims and the killer… or maybe it's everyone's minds?"

"Thinking about this is giving me a headache…" Aika complained. "Kanji-kun, are you okay? You haven't said a word."

"Huh?" the first year mumbled. "Uh… Well, um…"

"You weren't sleeping, were you?" Chie demanded.

"O-Of course not!" Kanji yelled. "I was uh, lost in thought! But… why are we thinking so much about that world anyway? It's not like we have to know, and it'd be a lot easier if we just stopped thinking about it."

"But why would the culprit throw people inside the TV in the first place?" Yukiko asked.

"They must know by now that people die when they're in there long enough," Yosuke said. "There's no doubt it's attempted murder. So the TV's a good way to do that, because the police can never prove anything about the crime."

"Murder, huh?" Kanji asked. "So the killer's got a grudge against certain people? Well, I know there's a shitload of people who've got my number. What about you, Yukiko-senpai? Anyone hate you so bad that they'd get rid of you forever?"

"No," Yukiko replied automatically.

"Uh, Yukiko…" Chie said uncertainly. "There's always a slight chance and you just don't realize it…"

"Yeah, like Chie could suddenly get so jealous of you that she'd call a hitman on you," Yosuke said.

"Not this again…" Aika muttered. "But I can't think of anyone who'd have something against both Yukiko and Kanji-kun."

"That's not even getting into Ms. Yamano and Saki-senpai, either…" Yosuke said. "But on the bright side, we have another shot at getting ahead of the killer. We can leave the motive aside for now."

"Oh, by the way…" Aika quipped. "My uncle now knows that we talk about the murders a lot."

"How?" Kanji asked.

"You know how he was outside Marukyu yesterday? After we left, Rise apparently told him what we told her. So I… sort of told him the truth."

"He's not mad, is he?" Chie asked.

"No. Actually, he was kind of impressed that we figured out this much, and he wants us to join the police when we graduate high school."

"But now we know for sure that Rise's in danger," Yosuke said. "Especially if your uncle thinks so too."

"Does this mean we get to do another stakeout?" Chie asked a little excitedly.

"Hell yeah!" Yosuke replied just as enthusiastically. "This time, we'll catch 'em in the act!"

---

"Come on out, you bastard," Adachi said as soon as he stepped outside the tofu shop. "We're ready for you."

"Oh…" Aika said as soon as she saw him. "Hi there, Adachi-san."

"Hey, Aika-chan!" Adachi replied. "What brings you guys here?"

"We were just going to see Rise-chan," Yosuke said.

"I'm just doing some leg work," Adachi said. "It's not like Dojima-san ordered me here or anything…"

"Look up there!" Yukiko gasped suddenly, pointing at a man climbing up on a telephone pole. The man saw them immediately and slid down, taking off running as soon as he hit the ground.

"Hey, he's running away!" Chie yelled.

"Get back here!" Kanji roared. And they all took off running after the man on the telephone pole, who always remained a few paces ahead of them. "Stop running, dammit!"

"D-Don't come near me!" the man stammered.

"Shaddup!" Kanji yelled. "What kinda idiot would listen to—"

"I-I'll do it, you know!" the suspicious man said. "What're you gonna do if I get run over?"

"N-No!" Adachi yelled. "If the suspect gets injured, the police will be held responsible. They'll get really angry, and…"

"I'll do it, I swear!" the man whimpered. "S-So get outta here and stop chasing me!"

"Ready, Kanji?" Yosuke asked.

The first year nodded in response. "Ready."

Yosuke pointed out into the street. "Look over there! A Martian!" The man turned around, and Yosuke and Kanji promptly tackled him to the ground.

"H-How dare you assault an ordinary citizen like—"

"Shut the hell up, murderer!" Kanji yelled. "We're taking your punk ass in!"

"Wh-What?" the man stammered. "What do you mean, 'murderer'?"

"It's no use playing dumb!" Chie yelled.

"W-Wait a second!" the man whimpered. "I just really like Risette, so I wanted to take a peek in her room… Look, see! All I've got on me is a bunch of cameras!"

"Yep," Adachi said. "You're the culprit, all right. No two ways about it. All right, I'll take it from here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "We'll hear your story down at station… Oh, how I've waited to use that line!"

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

"Hey!" Adachi snapped. "Don't you understand what's happening here? You're under suspicion of murder! Come with me! We'll talk about this later!" As he handcuffed the man, Adachi smiled at the group. "I gotta thank you guys for all your help! Well done!"

"Oh… sure!" Yosuke said.

"But you really should stop getting involved in this stuff," Adachi said seriously. "Especially you, Aika-chan. Dojima-san's worried sick." He turned to glare at the man. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Is it… really over?" Yosuke asked dazedly as Adachi walked away.

"Rest is up to the cops…" Kanji said quietly.

"Looks like the killer was a pervert, just like we thought," Chie said.

"I don't know…" Aika said slowly. "Something doesn't feel right…"

"We should let Rise know the good news," Yukiko suggested as they passed by Marukyu.

As if on cue, Rise's grandmother walked outside. "Oh, hello," she said. "Would you like some tofu?"

"Oh…" Aika said quietly. "Um…"

"Oh, did you come to see Rise?" the old woman asked. "She seems to have gone out, unfortunately."

"Huh?" Yosuke asked. "But wasn't she just here?"

"She does that sometimes," the old woman said. "She'll just wander out without saying a word… You must forgive her. She's quite worn out, in many ways."

"She left… without saying anything?" Aika said faintly.

"C'mon, you worry too much!" Adachi said. "She must've just stepped out."

"What… but we caught the guy!" Chie protested.

"I know, right?" Adachi asked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta take this guy in for questioning. Man, I can't wait to see the look on Dojima-san's face!"

"We need to look for her," Aika said hurriedly as soon as Adachi left. "She can't have gone far." But no one could find her anywhere. "This can't be happening…"

"I hope we're wrong…" Yosuke said solemnly.

"Well, we did everything we can," Kanji said. "No use griping about it. The weatherman says it's gonna rain tonight, so let's just keep our fingers crossed and tune in."

---

A vivid image appeared on the Midnight Channel that night. "'Maru-Q!'" said the girl on the screen. "'Push Risette!' Good evening, good evening! I'm Rise Kujikawa!" She bent down, and the camera offered a generous view of her cleavage, prompting Aika to look away. "This spring, one young girl levels up to become a high school idol… Yay! So today, I'm gonna celebrate by pushing the limits of Standards and Practices! Does everybody know what time it is? Showtime! Show what, huh? Hmhmhm… E-very-thing!" Rise giggled as she turned her back to the camera. "How embarrassing! IS this too hot for TV?" She looked back to the camera over her shoulder. "Well, if a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing all the way! I'm gonna bare it all! Stay tuned!"

Aika almost didn't want to answer Yosuke's ensuing phone call, but she did anyway. "This is getting way out of hand," she moaned.

"Tell me about it," Yosuke replied. "Damn it, we shouldn't be getting used to this…"

"So tomorrow, we're going to rescue her," Aika said. "Right?"

"Duh," Yosuke answered.

---

"Hey, Teddie!" Chie greeted as soon as they landed in the TV world the next day. "You okay?"

"I wasn't crying…" Teddie said with his back turned to everyone. Then he unceremoniously flopped over onto his stomach. "Everyone was having fun out there. You forgot about me… I was abandoned."

"We would never do that!" Chie said.

"Were you lonely?" Yukiko asked.

"I was bored," Teddie said. "It made me all listless. I'm a useless bear. I don't even know what I am… I couldn't figure it out. It's all about training when you guys come in here. No one ever comes just to visit me… Then I thought I heard voices from your world. They were all having so much fun… I was so lonely that I tried to cry, but I couldn't!"

"Well, you are hollow inside," Yosuke pointed out.

"Yosuke!" Aika yelled, smacking his arm.

"Shut up!" Teddie cried. "Stop saying I'm hollow!"

"Don't snap at me!" Yosuke yelled to Teddie. "You're the one who said you just wanted to live here peacefully, and made us promise to find the culprit!"

"I'm sorry, Teddie," Aika said sincerely, hugging the bear. "I promise, I'll come visit you. Then you won't have to think so much."

"Aw, Teddie…" Yukiko said as she and Chie started petting his fur.

"Can I try scoring with you three some day?" Teddie asked glumly.

"Sure," Chie said. "Go right ahead."

"Can we please drop the whole 'scoring' thing?" Yukiko deadpanned.

"Okay, back to business," Yosuke said sharply. "Did a girl called Rise Kujikawa show up in here? Can you sense anything?"

"Rise Kujikawa?" Teddie repeated. "Hmm…"

"You can't tell?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "Your nose is kinda losing its edge lately, huh?"

"I can't smell her that well, but I can hear her," Teddie said. "She's really loud. But anyone could hear her here… I'm a pretty shabby bear. Soon, I won't be useful at all. Then I'll be thrown away…"

"That won't happen," Aika said, patting his head. "I promise. Actually, now that you mention it…" Off in the distance, she could hear… party music, almost. "I can hear it too."

"It's like she's used to being on TV," Teddie said. "Yuki-chan and Kanji were never this loud."

"That's 'cause she's an idol," Kanji said. "TV is her life."

"She's that-a-way!" Teddie said, spinning around and pointing to the right.

"All right, let's go," Yosuke said, and Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji followed him.

Aika stayed behind with Teddie. "Are you sure you're okay, Teddie?"

"There's a lot of things I don't understand…" he said glumly.

"We'll help you figure things out," Aika told him. "Don't worry."

"Thank you beary much," Teddie said. "You're really kind, Aika-chan. I'll try even harder from now on!"

Aika pat his head again. "Thank you, Teddie." And, all of a sudden, the voice in her head struck again.

Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Star Arcanum…

Teddie tugged on her hand, snapping her out of her daze. "Come on, Aika-chan! Let's go!"

---

"What is this place?" Chie asked as they finally entered the source of all the noise. "It's all dark…" Suddenly, lights flashed on, revealing a room entirely in red and pink, with a stage. "Whoa! Is this a…?"

"Oh, like the kind you always find in resort towns?" Yosuke asked excitedly.

"Yup," Aika deadpanned. "Definitely."

"Ah, I think you're right," Yukiko said. "Oh, b-but we don't have one. Our in is not like that…"

"Huh," Kanji said. "So this is a strip joint, eh?"

"Strip?" Teddie asked. "Oh, I know what that is! It's the thing zebras have, right?"

"N-Not exactly…" Aika said quietly.

"Strip…" Teddie said again. "Like a zebra, right? Right?"

"It's so bright in here…" Yukiko complained. "Even with the glasses on, my eyes hurt."

"Doesn't anyone get the joke?" Teddie whined. "Okay, let's try one more time… Strip… It's something zebra's have…"

"Can anyone shut this thing up?" Chie ranted.

"Huh?" Yukiko asked. "Zebra? Worry, what're we talking about?"

Teddie turned away, looking forlorn. "I-I won't say it again… Let's hurry on…"

---

Sure enough, behind a pink curtain, Rise and her Shadow where there before a pole on a stage. The Shadow laughed as everyone ran forward. "They're all watching!" it said excitedly. "All eyes are on me now!"

"Stop it!" the real Rise cried.

"Rise-san!" Aika called.

"Aw, what's the matter?" the Shadow taunted. "You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha? How's this?" The Shadow slinked around the pole, and Aika was almost positive that Yosuke's jaw had dropped open at this point and Kanji had a nosebleed.

"Please…" the real Rise begged. "Stop this…"

The Shadow laughed mercilessly. "Ooh, she wants me to stop! That's so funny! As if that's even close to what you're really thinking, you little skank! You're me, and obviously, I'm you!"

"No… That's not true!"

The Shadow laughed again, and a shiver ran down Aika's spine. "C'mon, look! You can't tear your eyes away! This is me! This is who I really am! Not Risette, the fake celebrity! Look at the girl right in front of you!"

"Poor thing…" Yukiko whispered.

"I'm sick of being some airhead cliché who chokes down everything she's fed and takes it all with a smile!" the Shadow ranted. "'Risette'? Who the hell is she? There's no such person in this world! I'm no one but myself! C'mon, look at me!"

"That's not—" Rise whimpered. "I-I…"

"Rise-san!" Aika cried, running forward to the girl.

"Well then, I guess it's time to prove it," the Shadow said. "I'm gonna show it all off! Let my naked truth be burned into your brains!"

Rise stood up, covering her ears. "Stop! Stop it! You're…"

"No, don't!" Aika yelled.

"You're not me!"

Darkness swirled around the Shadow, and Aika assumed a protective stance in front of Rise. "Get back!" she yelled as she called Aoandon in front of her.

The Shadow laughed. "I'm finally free!" And, in the blink of an eye, the Shadow attached itself to the ceiling. It had Rise's ponytails, but it was entirely naked, with a rainbow-colored body and a satellite for a face, swinging back and forth.

"Aika, be careful!" Yosuke yelled.

"I am a Shadow… the true self!"

"Persona!" Aika yelled as she mentally commanded Aonadon to cast Megidola on the Shadow. But the attack phased right through, barely affecting the Shadow at all. "Wh-What…?"

"I can see everything!" the Shadow gushed as a strange green light flooded the room. And for the next several agonizingly slow seconds, no attacks hit the Shadow. "Now it's my turn!" The Shadow dropped from the pole and lifted the pole with its bare hands. "See if you can dodge this!" There was a bright flash of light, and then pain exploded in Aika's chest. She must have collapsed at some point, because the next thing she knew, she was looking up at the Shadow.

"You've gotta be kidding…" Yosuke said weakly as he tried and failed to stand up.

"How're we supposed to win…?" Chie asked.

"A-Are we… going to die…?" Yukiko whispered.

"No!" Teddie yelled. "You guys can't die! Wh-What can I do…?"

Every part of Aika's body screamed in pain, and she was only half sure the tears that were leaking out of her eyes were because of it. "T-Teddie…" she managed to say, pushing herself up on violently trembling arms. "Y-You have to get Rise-san… out of here…" She collapsed back to the ground, and her head felt so, so light that she wasn't sure how longer she'd be able to stay conscious.

"A-Abandon you?" Teddie asked. "I can't do that!"

"T-Teddie… P-Please…"

"Am I going to be all alone again?" Teddie asked, his voice rising in hysteria. "No… That's not what I want!"

The green light flooded the room again. "Shit!" Kanji cursed. "It's winding up again!"

"I…" Teddie mumbled. "I…"

"Okie dokie!" the Shadow said tauntingly. "Here we go again! Goodbye… forever!"

Aika pushed herself up again, and through the haze of pain, she could see Teddie waddling in front of the Shadow. "M-My body's moving on its own!" he wailed. "Wh-Why am I stepping forward? I-I feel like I'm going bear-serk!" And then he growled fiercely at the shadow. "I… I'll do it! Take a good look… at Teddie's last stand!"

"Teddie, n-no!" Aika screamed.

Light burst from Teddie's body. "Th-This high-energy reading…" the Shadow sia.d "Is it coming from that weird thing?"

"Teddie, what the hell are you doing?" Kanji yelled.

The light engulfed Teddie's body as he roared. "Teddie!" Yosuke yelled. There was an explosion, and then everything went black.

---

Aika groaned as consciousness returned to her too slowly. "Wh-What happened?" Her entire body felt so weak, and her legs shook as she forced herself to stand. Her head spun, and her vision blurred around the edges, but she forced herself forward anyway. A charred figure was lying on the ground a little ways away from Rise's Shadow, which was back to normal. "T-Teddie!" As she stumbled over, the others followed suit.

"You idiot…" Kanji said, his voice shaking with rage. "You coulda died!"

Teddie's body was entirely flat now, instead of the round bear suit that it was before. "Did I…" Teddie said quietly. "Did I help…?"

"You didn't just help," Yosuke said. "You saved our lives!"

"Neat!" Teddie said happily. "I'm so glad… I didn't want to be alone anymore…" As Teddie struggled to stand up, the strength left Aika's body, and she collapsed to her knees. "Wh-What in the world?" Then Teddie let out a wail. "No! My fine, silky fur… I was so proud of it!"

Yosuke chuckled. "Looks like he's gonna be just fine…"

Aika shakily stood up, and they all ran over to Rise and her Shadow, who were lying a little ways away. "Rise-chan!" Yukiko called.

"Wh-Where… am I?" the real Rise asked, grimacing in pain. "I'm sorry… It's all my fault…"

"D-Don't worry…" Aika said weakly. "Everything's going to be all right now…"

"Really?" Rise asked. "Thank god…" After standing up, she helped her Shadow up as well. "I'm sorry… You must've been in a lot of pain up to now. You're part of me, but I kept refusing to admit you existed… I was trying to figure out who the real me was. But I realize now that I was on the wrong track – there is no 'real' me. It just doesn't exist."

"There's no… real me…?" Teddie echoed faintly.

"You… me… even Risette…" Rise continued. "They were all born from me. All of them are… me." The Shadow nodded once, and the silhouette of a tall Persona in a white dress appeared in its place. Her body glowed blue for an instant, and then she collapsed to her knees.

"Rise-chan!" Yosuke called. "Careful!"

"I'm all right…" Rise said, accepting his help to stand up. "Hey, you're the one who came to the store, right?" She looked to Kanji. "You too…" At last, her gaze drifted to Aika. "Even you…"

Aika was getting really tired of collapsing. "H-Hey, Senpai!" Kanji yelled.

"I'm okay," Aika said. "That attack just got me worse than it got you guys…"

"I'm so sorry about that," Rise said. "Um…"

"Aika Nakamura," Aika supplied helpfully.

Yosuke's grin couldn't possibly get any wider. "And I'm Yosuke Hanamura!"

Kanji nodded once. "Kanji Tatsumi."

Chie giggled. "I'm Chie Satonaka!"

Yukiko smiled warmly. "And I'm Yukiko Amagi."

"I thought I recognized you guys…" Rise said. "Thanks, everyone."

"We'll explain everything later," Chie said. "But for right now—"

"There's…" Teddie said dully, as if in a trance. "… no real me…?"

Being the closest, Kanji stepped toward him in alarm. "H-Hey, Teddie…"

"No, get back!" Rise ordered. "Something's coming out of him!"

"Real?" a deep, distorted-sounding voice said. "Me?" The voice chuckled, and a shiver ran down Aika's spine. "Such foolishness…" A bear-shaped Shadow sprung out of Teddie's form, with glowing yellow eyes and a dark aura surrounding it.

"Th-This can't be happening…" Aika mumbled.

"It's like…" Rise said slowly. "Some powerful presence intervened…"

"Wh-What's going on?" Teddie yelped. He screamed when he turned around and saw his Shadow.

"The truth is unattainable…" the Shadow said coldly. "It will always be shrouded in fog. Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth. In which case, why? What sense is there in yearning for truth? Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in blissful ignorance… It is a much smarter way to exist."

"Come, Konohana Sakuya," Yukiko whispered as she had her Persona heal everyone.

"Everyone, take these," Yosuke whispered, passing beads and seeds along the group and giving the most Soul Drops to Aika. And at last, she was able to stand without fear of falling over again, though her legs still shook slightly.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Teddie asked. "I don't understand a word you're saying! You're just making it sound difficult because I'm not that smart! How rude! Maybe you can't tell, but I'm thinking as hard as I can!"

"It is those efforts that I am calling useless," the Shadow said in a monotone. "You are hollow. Empty."

"Damn it, I'm sorry, Teddie!" Yosuke yelled. "I didn't know that was bothering you that much!"

"At your core, you know this," the Shadow continued, as if Yosuke hadn't said a word. "You just cannot accept it. So you seek an alternate form… a denial of your nature. You have no lost memories. If you have forgotten anything, it is this truth."

"Th-That's… a lie…" Teddie said faintly.

"Shall I spell it out for you?" the Shadow asked. "You are but a mere—"

"I said shut up!" Teddie yelled. He flung a now flat limb at the Shadow, but his entire body bounced back in recoil.

"Teddie!" Yukiko cried in alarm.

"It is the same for you all…" the Shadow continued. "You undergo suffering because of your search for the truth. This world is filled with thick, heavy fog… How can you find something when you know not what you search for?"

"Th-The truth exists somewhere," Aika said uncertainly. "B-But…"

"Obtaining the truth is simple," the Shadow said. "All you have to do is believe that it is the truth… Then I will grant you one truth: you will all die here. You sought the truth, only to find death." An oppressive fog that even the glasses couldn't clear filled the room, and at the center, a giant bear sat in the Shadow's place. A large crack in its head revealed hollowness inside, and its piercing blue eyes gleamed despite the fog.

Then, it was as if the Shadow was sucking everything in the room toward it, and everyone grabbed onto poles to keep from being sent flying. Rise somehow went pole-less, and Aika grabbed the first year's arm to steady her. Then, the wind shifted direction, and everything that was sucked in went flying out. A particularly large chunk of debris was heading in Rise's direction, and Aika yanked her out of the way. "A-Are you okay?" Aika asked Rise.

"I'm the one who should be asking that, Senpai," Rise said. "I'm fine. Everyone, get ready."

"Hey, don't tell me you're fighting with us!" Chie said. "You can't take it!"

"I'm okay," Rise said. "I won't exactly be fighting anyway. It's my turn to save you!"

The Shadow leered at them. "I am a Shadow… the true self… I shall give you the 'truth' you claim to hold so dear: the inescapable fact of your death here!"

Aika assumed a fighting stance. "We have to save Teddie!"

"Foolish beings!" the Shadow said in a cold voice. "Accept your end with dignity and grace!"

She smashed her card with her rod. "Persona!" Tarunda, Rakunda, Sukunda!

"Hang in there, you guys!" Rise called. "I'm scanning it right now, but it's kind of hard to see through all the fog!"

"Take your time!" Yosuke yelled as he slammed one of his swords down on his card, and Jiraiya sent a gust of wind in the Shadow's direction.

"But please hurry," Yukiko said as her Persona engulfed the Shadow in flames.

"We don't know how long we can keep this up!" Chie yelled as Tomoe assaulted the Shadow with a barrage of attacks.

"We got this for now!" Kanji yelled as his Persona allowed electricity to rain down on the Shadow.

"Enough of this nonsense," the Shadow sneered as it lifted one enormous claw into the air. Energy gathered there in a dark sphere, and then the Shadow swung its arm across, and the energy knocked everyone down.

"Y-You've gotta be kidding…" Yosuke grunted. "Not again!"

Aika's head swam. "Found it!" she heard Rise say, as if from far away. "Its weak point is just below the head!"

She closed her eyes. Aoandon… I'm counting on you… "Persona!" Megido right below the head, and please don't miss! The world faded around her as she fell.

---

"Even Teddie had a hidden side…" Aika heard Chie say, as if from far away.

As Aika struggled to sit up, she saw everyone huddled around Teddie and his Shadow. Rise looked in her direction and smiled brightly. "Oh, Senpai!" She rushed over and helped Aika stand up, though Aika was forced to lean heavily on her.

"I…" Aika heard Teddie say as she dragged her feet forward with Rise's help. Her entire body felt like one giant bruise, and she felt so lightheaded, she was sure she was going to pass out. "I don't know who I am… I've thought a number of times… maybe there is no answer. But I'm here… I live here…"

"We're here for you, Teddie," Yosuke said. "You don't have to do this all on your own."

"I'm sure we'll find out about you, as we continue investigating this world," Yukiko said.

At that, tears welled up in Teddie's eyes. "Y-You guys… I'm one lucky bear!"

The Shadow suddenly began to glow. "Is that… a Persona…?" Aika whispered.

Teddie wobbled over to his Shadow, and a Persona soon took its place. "I can sense strong power from it," Rise said encouragingly. "It's awesome, Teddie." Then, all of a sudden, Rise collapsed, dragging Aika down with her.

"C'mon, let's hurry outside!" Yosuke said urgently.

---

"Are you feeling okay, Rise-chan?" Yukiko asked as soon as they reached their original meeting place in the TV world. "We're almost outside."

"I'm all right…" Rise said weakly. "I'm more worried about Aika-senpai and Teddie…"

"I-I'll be okay…" Aika said weakly, though the fact that Yosuke was the one holding her upright didn't help things. "T-Teddie, are you…?"

"I wanna be alone for a while," Teddie admitted.

"A-Are you sure?" Aika asked. "I-I can always…"

"My beautiful fur is all coarse and rough…" Teddie said glumly. "And my nose hasn't been working too well either." Teddie flopped onto his back, but then he started… doing crunches? "So while I wait for my fur to grow back, I'm gonna train hard! Nobody can stop moi! Here goes!"

"What's gotten into you?" Yosuke asked.

"Don't," Teddie said with one crunch. "Talk. To me. One more set!"

"Leave the dude be," Kanji said quietly. "Comes a time when a man's gotta stand on his own two feet."

"Uh, I'm not sure this is really one of those times," Chie said uncertainly.

"Chie and I will take Rise-chan home," Yukiko volunteered.

"Great," Yosuke said. "And I'll deal with Aika."

"I'm sorry about this…" Aika mumbled. "After all that training, too…"

"Don't worry!" Chie said. "You just plateaued! We'll make sure to toughen you up for the next one!"

"Besides, we had to fight two Shadows today, not one," Yosuke said. "We're all got our asses handed to us by one of them, anyway, and we're all dead tired. It's no big deal." He sighed. "Wait a minute… How're we gonna explain this to your uncle?"

"Well… uh…" Chie mumbled. "Good luck, Teddie!"

"Just sit back and wait for my wonderful comeback!" Teddie said in between crunches. "Peace out!"

"Good luck, Teddie," Aika said quietly before leaving with everyone else.

---

As it turned out, only Nanako was home, and Yosuke gave a tremendous sigh of relief. "Hey, Nanako-chan!" he greeted tiredly.

But Nanako didn't miss the way Aika was half-unconscious next to him. "Big Sis, are you okay?"

"She sort of… collapsed," Yosuke said evenly. "Y-Yeah, she said she was really tired all day, and then she almost passed out about half an hour ago, so…"

"I'm sorry about this…" Aika said weakly. "D-Do you think you could get my futon ready, Nanako?"

"Sure," Nanako said slowly, as if reluctant to leave her alone.

"Don't worry," Yosuke said, sensing her unease. "I'll look after her." Nanako relaxed ever so slightly and nodded before running upstairs. Yosuke led her over to the couch, and Aika all but collapsed onto it. "Yep. We really need to train more. We barely got any in before going in to save Rise."

"Is there anything I can do… so that attacks won't hurt me as much?" Aika asked, panting heavily.

"I don't know…" Yosuke said uncertainly. "You're back to only using one Persona again. What's up with that?"

It was only because she was so exhausted that she almost told him about the Social Links right then and there. "I feel better using Aoandon," she said. "That's all."

He simply shrugged and sat down next to her. "Seriously, though. Are you okay? You don't look well at all."

"Maybe I'll skip school tomorrow…"

"Yeah, you probably should." What happened next was a blur – all she could remember was that she fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

---

Social Links:

The Fool (the Investigation Team): Level 4
The Magician (Yosuke Hanamura): Level 4
The High Priestess (Yukiko Amagi): Level 3
The Empress (Margaret): Level 4
The Emperor (Kanji Tatsumi): Level 1
The Hierophant (Ryotaro Dojima): Level 4
The Chariot (Chie Satonaka): Level 4
The Justice (Nanako Dojima): Level 4
The Hermit (Kaede the fox): Level 3
The Hanged Man (Naoki Konishi): Level 1
The Death (Taro Namatame): Level 1
The Star (Teddie): Level 1
The Moon (Tohru Adachi): Level 2
The Sun (Fuuji and Masami Nakamura): Level 3

---

What's this? Is Namatame a Social Link? YOU BETCHA. Muahaha, I've been looking forward to dropping that bombshell ever since I posted the first chapter.

And HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS A LONG CHAPTER. Forty-eight pages, WHAT UP. Hopefully that compensates for the long absence? So a basic summary of the Social Links:

Yosuke: Your romantic advances were rejected, allowing you to LEVEL UP!
Chie: You shared your deep and meaningful fears with a friend who has less deep and meaningful fears herself. LEVEL UP!
Yukiko: You were a selfish little shit who turned her innocent question about the best cities to live in into a giant ranting session about how much your parents suck, and then you apologize for it later. LEVEL UP!
Kanji: You flipped your shit over a rumor you heard from some random girl at school, allowing you to LEVEL UP!
Naoki: You piss off a tsundere for being you, but then forget to give him back his handkerchief before he storms off, allowing you to LEVEL UP!
Margaret: You accidentally provoked her maternal instincts and inadvertently discovered why she's "The Empress" to begin with, allowing you to LEVEL UP!
Aaaaand that's all I've got. Stay tuned for more later.

So what happens when you have crappy defense? Attacks take away more HP than they would for people with higher defense. Hence how Aika ended up in a similar state to Rise at the end of this chapter, while no one else did.

Social Links are rather tedious to write, for obvious reasons. But my personal favorites in this are Yosuke's, Margaret's, Uncle's, and Nanako's. So in your review, let me know which Social Links you like the best and which ones you think are crap. Please review!