The day before the fireworks festival

Souji was sitting at his uncle's desk at the Inaba police station, looking through one of the many reports he'd been handed for filing. Over the short few weeks he'd been helping here, Souji had helped to reduce his uncles' workload almost tenfold, he'd become good friends with Adachi, and was the talk of the station for his quick wit and keen eye. Unless Naoto was in. The talk would instead turn to mutterings and groans about the young boy's fervent insistence that the case wasn't over.

Souji agreed, albeit secretly due to his personal involvement being unknown to all but his friends, and in his discussions with Dojima on the subject had learned that his uncle was also inclined to agree with Naoto, but couldn't throw his full support behind him due to the Prefectural Police's decision to close the case after the arrest of Mitsuo Kubo. A slight cough caught his attention, and Souji looked up to see the sleuth standing a couple of feet away, looking at him expectantly.

"Ah… how can I help you, Shirogane-sama?" asked the silverette, placing the file he'd just finished into the cabinet on his right. Naoto waited until Souji was finished before answering the youth.

"Come with me. I'd like your assistance." Souji stared at the Detective Prince, somewhat perplexed as to what was going on before rising, deciding it would be better to simply go and find out rather than asking questions. Naoto nodded, and turned to head towards the detention wing, Souji following close behind. The pair stopped short of the detention hall, and Naoto pulled Souji into a secluded side-area, speaking in hushed tones.

"I need your help, Seta-san." He said, eyes darting behind the teen to ensure they weren't seen.

"What do you mean?" Souji asked. Naoto turned his full attention to Souji, a hard and determined look in his eyes.

"The case isn't over. I know you believe that as well; Dojima-san has spoken with me in confidence about his and yours stances on this." Souji nodded, he'd also been told as much before. "However, I need to crack Mitsuo Kubo, who repeatedly states that he killed all three victims. Bearing that in mind, I'd like your help."

Souji cocked his head to one side. "How so? What would you have me do?" he asked the young detective, mind whirling as he answered his own question.

"I need you to interrogate Kubo in my place. This will have to be off the record; it was the only way I could get it approved. Nothing Mitsuo says can be used against him, nor can it be used to re-open the Yamano case."

Souji nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed at what he was being asked to do. "And you will be observing this alone, I take it?" Naoto nodded. "You'll be in the interrogation room alone with Kubo; I'll be in the observation unit alone." He gave Souji a wry smile. "Since this was my idea, no one else wanted to have anything to do with it. Will you help me?"

The boy's eyes took on a slight appearance of pleading, and something in that look broke the reservations Souji had. "Of course, Shirogane-sama. I'd be glad to help."

Naoto let go a sigh of relief. "Thank you. And please, don't call me Shirogane-sama. It makes me feel…uncomfortable." Souji nodded "Would just Naoto work then?" he asked.

Naoto nodded, satisfied with the change. "Let's go. The interrogation begins soon."

Souji waited outside for a few minutes, going over Mitsuo's background before entering. He would have to be very careful; if he let slip anything about the T.V world, or allowed Mitsuo to say anything, he could easily be dead in the water. He adjusted the earpiece on his head to rest a bit more comfortably; Naoto had given this to Souji so that he could relay instructions and questions to the silverette inconspicuously. Taking a steadying breath, Souji opened the door, composing his face into a small frown.

Mitsuo's head was pointed at the table, his eyes closed as his cuffed hands fidgeted in his lap. Souji placed the file lightly on the table and sat down opposite from Mitsuo, studying the boy carefully. He was dressed in the same orange shirt Souji had seen him in last, albeit it was actually cleaner; apparently they had given him spare clothes and cleaned this set. His hair was unkempt, and his mouth was moving slightly, as if he was whispering to himself, but no noise came from him. "Hello, Mitsuo" said the silverette quietly.

Mistuo's head snapped up, and he gazed at Souji in fear. "Wh-what are you doing here?" the boy asked.

"Interesting…have you two met before? Ah that's right, you and your friends apprehended him after you saw him stalking Yukiko Amagi. Continue."

Naoto's voice came through the earpiece as he remembered the story Souji and Yu had come up with to explain how they'd come across Mitsuo after bringing him back to this world.

"Ah, so you do remember me…that's good, Mitsuo." Souji tapped the file lightly. "You know, not many people in this world would have confessed to murder. You must be a very brave individual, or a very stupid one."

Mitsuo relaxed, sensing what Souji was asking. "Y-yes, I did kill those three. That Yamano lady and that Konishi girl. And that stupid asshole, Morooka! I told him to stop, but he wouldn't listen!" Kubo's eyes became manic, and he started to grin slowly.

Souji continued on, Naoto occasionally speaking guidance into his ear, but Mitsuo just continued his mad ramblings about the murders. Souji sighed; he was getting nowhere with this. Suddenly, he felt a small weight settle onto his lap, and looked down to see what was there. His eyes widened in shock. "What the- Morpheus!? How is my Persona here in this world?!"

Souji's Persona was in his lap, tall enough to see over the table, and was holding his black staff in his right hand. He stood stock still, almost like some toy or model. Souji got an idea. He picked the Persona up and placed him on the table in front of him, keeping it out of Naoto's sight. "Mitsuo…" the silverette got the boys attention, and his eyes were drawn to the figure on the table in front of him.

"Wha-?" he began, but choked as he looked at the staff, which was now glowing. Mitsuo's eyes glazed over, his shoulders dropped, and he slowly stopped smiling, letting his face relax.

"Mitsuo…did you kill Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi?" Souji asked again quietly.

"No…" Mitsuo said slowly, looking tired. Souji heard Naoto gasp slightly in his earpiece

"Did you kill Kinshiro Morooka?" the silverette asked, looking at the boy intently.

"Yes…" Mitsuo said.

"Why did you kill Morooka?" Souji asked, feeling his pulse race.

"Because…he pissed me off. He was yelling at me about leaving the girls around town alone, and how they'd never like a guy like me. He called me a stalker." Mitsuo swayed slightly, a look of anger flashing in his eyes, but returned to the complacent look from before.

Morpheus disappeared as Souji got the truth from the boy, and he stood up, grabbing the file on the table. "Thank you, Mitsuo" was all he said as he left.

Naoto was outside to meet him shortly. "How did you do that?" he asked, looking gleeful and upset at the same time.

Souji shook his head. "I don't know. I guess he just got tired of being asked the same question over and over."

Naoto looked unconvinced, but shook his head. "I see…regardless, this information has convinced me. However, I can't use it with the police…" Naoto closed his eyes, and then sighed as he opened them. "This helped me greatly. You have my gratitude, Seta-san." He nodded at the silver-haired teen, and then walked off before getting a response.

Souji stared after him. "You're welcome, I guess…" he said at the detectives back, then shook his head. It was getting late, and Dojima was probably back with Adachi from wherever it was he had been. He headed back to the main office, trying to understand just how Morpheus had appeared here.

A few days later.

Souji couldn't speak. Hell, he could scarcely believe what was going on as he stared at the retreating figure of Naoto Shirogane in the Yasogami uniform as the boy walked into his school. "Senpai? That detective boy's our underclassman?" Chie asked, bewildered. Yosuke and Chie began talking animatedly about this development as Yu waved his hand in front of his brother's face.

"Yo, earth to Souji. Is anyone home?" he poked his brother's arm, but got no response. Yu then slapped his brother in the face, eliciting a gasp of pain as Souji's head flew sideways. "Good to see you've returned to the land of the living, bro." Yu smiled as Souji rubbed his face, giving his twin a hard glare. "Judging by that look on your face earlier, I'm gonna assume this was a surprise." Yu said.

Souji nodded. "He said he was getting pulled from the case, but I didn't imagine that he'd be enrolling here…" Souji mused.

Naoto had said he'd been living by himself in a nearby apartment, and Souji wondered if the young boy would be okay. "It's not like he has any friends to check up on him either…maybe I should try to get his cell number…." Souji shook his head as the bell rang; there'd be time enough for that later. Kashiwagi'd have their heads if they were late to class, despite the fact that all she was talking about was the upcoming school trip to Tatsumi Port Island.

Souji, Yu, Chie, Yukiko and Yosuke were hanging out by the lockers after school. The Investigation team hadn't had a lot to do after apprehending Mitsuo, as the case had been closed, and no one else had appeared on the Midnight Channel. Yosuke was commenting on that very fact now.

"C'mon, Yosuke, everything went back to normal. It's a good thing!"

Yosuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't mean it that way! It's just…"

Yukiko, who hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention, interrupted the brunette. "Hey, we're stopping by Junes later, right? Why don't we ask Naoto-kun to join us?" the innkeeper chirped. The team looked at Yukiko strangely. "Oh…I just thought, since he doesn't know anyone yet…that he might be lonely…" Yukiko looked at the team hopefully.

"Didn't he say he came here to help out with the murder case?" Yosuke asked, and Souji nodded affirmatively. "With the case closed, he's just an ordinary guy now."

Yu and Souji glanced at each other. Although Souji had shared the events from the police station with his brother, the twins had decided to withhold the information from the rest of the team. "Hello Senpai!" Rise walked up, grabbing Yu's arm and giving him a kiss on the cheek as she greeted the 2nd years.

Yosuke continued. "Maybe he transferred here out of plain stubbornness. 'Cause he doesn't seem like he's only in it for fun"

Rise looked confused. "We're talking about going to see if Naoto wants to hang out." Yu informed his girlfriend, who brightened at the idea.

"That sounds like fun!" she said, and the team walked over to Rise's class to find the young detective. They saw him backed against a wall by two girls, who seemed a bit…excited.

"You dunno the area yet, right? C'mon, we'll show you around."

"There's probably tons of places to hang out that only we'd know about."

The girls moved a bit closer to Naoto, who shook his head and reached up to hold his cap. "That won't be necessary" he said. "I'm not interested in "hanging out", and neither am I interested in you two." The girls looked pissed, and pressed closer to Naoto.

"Huh? Hey, what did you say?!"

"What's with that attitude? We're just trying to be friendly."

Before he knew what he was doing, Souji had stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to back off. I already have a reservation on Naoto-kun's time" Souji interposed himself between Naoto and the girls, who had stepped back at the sight of the teens eyes; his silver gaze sent warning signs ringing through their heads.

As Fortune would have it, Kanji walked out of his class at that exact moment, right behind the girls. He stopped as he noticed his friends walking up, and then saw Souji and Naoto in front of him. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, blushing slightly as he saw the look on Naoto's face.

"Oh…um…"

"We'll just be going now…"

The girls hurried away, and the Investigation team broke into laughter, except for Kanji, who was still confused as to what was going on.

Souji turned around, smiling lightly. "Sorry, Naoto, but they didn't look exactly friendly."

Naoto shook his head, still looking a bit shocked. "You have my thanks, Senpai. May I help you?"

Chie spoke up excitedly. "Hey, Naoto-kun! If you're not doing anything after school, wanna come with us?" she looked at the sleuth fervently.

"Come with…you mean me?" Naoto looked shocked and confused again as the team nodded. "…Perhaps, another time. I have some things to mull over…"

Rise looked at her classmate questioningly. "Things to mull over?" she asked.

"He's still thinking about the case" Souji thought knowingly.

Naoto looked back at Souji. "I must go straight home today. I promised my Grampa so." The team looked sullen, except for Kanji, who looked surprised at the mention of the word "Grampa". Naoto apologized, and took his leave of the team.

The team was sitting around their usual spot at Junes, discussing Naoto's debut at Yasogami.

"…he has this mysterious air around him that draws your attention" Yukiko finished, describing how Naoto was a little different.

"Whoa, Yukiko, I never knew…You like younger guys?" The raven-haired innkeeper blushed furiously, and Souji noticed Kanji shift in his seat and look away. Chie spoke up, pointing out Naoto's earlier comment about "things to mull over".

"He's gotta be talking about the murder case" said the martial artist. The team looked puzzled. Chie briefly mentioned that Junes was no longer the team's special headquarters, which made everyone feel depressed.

Yosuke sought to brighten the mood by discussing the class trip. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Tatsumi Port Island." replied Yukiko knowingly. Yu looked up, surprised. He had a pen-pal from the high school in that city, Gekkoukan High School. He briefly thought about writing him, but decided against it. Junpei had told him he'd been busy with something the last time they had spoken, and it had been a long time since then. Two years, actually. Junpei had probably graduated by now.

Rise spoke up, and the team planned events to do briefly, until Chie told them about the scheduling behind it, explaining that it was a social studies trip. Kanji and Rise informed the team that the first years would be there as well, telling the team they could ditch if they wanted to, with Yukiko explaining that the trip was a bit like the campout. "Doesn't this seem like a pain in the ass to anyone else?" Yosuke asked. Chie and Kanji nodded.

"Some people were against the idea, but it's already been decided. King Moron planned it."

Yosuke groaned. Teddie came up behind them. "No! King Moron!" he groaned, imitating Yosuke. The team discussed a few more things, Teddie interposing a question every so often, then parted ways to head home.