Author Note: I really didn't want to submit this one. Half of me wanted to just go and rewrite the whole thing from scratch as soon as I finished, but the other half was way too lazy to throw so much work away, no matter how bad I thought it was. I don't even know. Anyways, expect the next one in about 3-ish weeks. But don't expect much, am such a bad writer. As always, please criticize and review, always looking for comments. I'll try and get back to you guys this time, depending on how busy I am. Thanks, and I hope you guys enjoy this one.

The Emperor, The Strength, & The Star

Just another day, huh?

Sighing loudly, Akihiko Sanada continued to walk down the crowded streets. Ever since he had joined the Port Island Police Department after high school graduation, everything had been so simple. Sometimes, he thought, maybe too simple. Training at the academy had been a cinch, of course. All those hours spent in Tartarus had made him physically strong, and Mitsuru had pretty much hammered in proper responses and etiquette for almost any situation into him. Then he'd gotten his badge and almost every day had devolved into him haplessly patrolling the streets of Port Island.

At first, it wasn't so bad. Occasionally there would be a small dispute that he needed to settle, or an argument he needed to mediate, but nothing really exciting. Most of the time, he would patrol the streets for several hours with absolutely nothing going, just regular people going about their regular lives. This was supposed to be good, right? If nothing happened, then all was peaceful, and, as a police officer, he wanted that, right?

Well, it obviously didn't stop him from being bored out of his mind, though.

Just as he was wondering where he should stop by for lunch – a beef bowl sounded nice – his radio crackled on. Turning on the receiver, he answered, "Sanada here."

Over the electronic muffling, he clearly heard Kurosawa's voice, "Sanada, there seems to be some sort of disturbance at East Tatsumi Park. We couldn't get an accurate report, so go check it out. Report in if you need backup."

"Gotcha, I'll head right over." With a click, he flipped off the device and quickly inserted it back into its pocket. Maybe, just maybe, he could see some action today. Clenching his fists, he dashed towards the park, weaving through the crowds. The sight of a police officer running, even a regular patrolman like himself, was enough for people to clear the way.

Reaching the entrance of the park, he quickly looked around before hearing frantic screams coming from the…hot dog stand?

"Ahhh, get off! Someone help, he's ruining my fur!"

….okay. That was an oddly worded scream of help. Whatever, have to help. Heading in the direction of the scream, Akihiko quickly put on his best officer-voice he had, "What's going on here? I'm Officer Sanada of the Port Island PD, and I—"

*Bark*

The scene literally made Akihiko freeze in place. This was a "disturbance"? Who reported this? Before him stood a blue bear in a red-white suit rolling around on the floor as a pure-white dog gnawed at the bear's ankles. Every so often, the dog let go, only to bark some more before presuming its attack. Akihiko sighed in disappointment as he just happened to recognize that dog.

Koromaru...

Ever since that incident with the Abyss, the Shiba-Inu had chosen to go off on his own, not content to choose any one of SEES to keep him. Instead, every so often, he would show up at one of their doorsteps, staying for a few days before heading off to who knows where. Of course they did worry at first, but Koro-chan was as smart as dogs come, and always seemed to be able to take care of himself without causing trouble for others.

That's why Akihiko was just a little shocked at the dog attacking a random stranger. "Koro-chan!" he called out. "It's me, Akihiko! What do you think you're doing?"

For a second, the dog stilled its assault and turned towards the police officer. Warily, he let go of the bear and backed away towards Akihiko, never letting the bear out of his sights.

*Bark bark*

Bending down, Akihiko quickly patted Koromaru on the head, eliciting wags of delight from the canine. "C'mon, boy, you know better than to just attack someone in the park. I mean, just because his suit's a little weird..."

*Whine*

"Well, fine, I guess you had your reasons. Stay back for a second while I go talk to him first, alright?"

*Bark!*

Now what got into him? He had to admit, this bear...thing did look kind of odd, but it seemed harmless enough. Gazing at the bear now, it seemed to be stuck on its back, comically flailing its arms around trying to get back up. Yeah, definitely harmless. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed hold of one of the suit's arms and pulled it onto its feet.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asked, trying to sound as professional as he could, given the awkward situation.

Standing up, the mascot first looked all over his suit before releasing a sad sigh. "My beautiful fur is all ruined now..."

He would take that as a yes, despite the tone. Looking back at Koromaru, Akihiko noticed the dog was still growling dangerously at the cartoonish suit. After all this time, he instinctively trusted the dog's feelings, and knew that Koromaru wouldn't attack anyone without good reason. If that was the case then...

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but can you tell me exactly what happened here?"

As if finally noticing the man, the suited bear turned towards Akihiko. Waving his hands around, he immediately launched into his story. "It was terrible! Teddie only wanted to come here because Sensei told him that Nana-chan liked the gifts they sell here! But then Teddie didn't even know where to look, so I just wandered around. That's when he started eating me! It was so unbearable"

Hearing an angry bark in return, the officer feared he would have to tackle Koromaru just to keep the dog from launching itself at...Teddie. Still, that explained why this person was here...but nothing about the bear costume though. Or the Ikutsuki-level pun. Maybe he was hiding something underneath it?

"...sir, please step out of the costume."

The suit's cheerful expression looked back at him. "Huh, how come?"

He knew he didn't have a good reason. He couldn't even use his authority as a police officer, either. In the end, all Officer Akihiko Sanada could do was stare down Teddie with the coldest, authoritative face he could muster.

"Oh well, you seem like a nice person since you saved Teddie," he replied cheerfully. Reaching around to grab the zipper, the bear's head quickly came off to reveal a kid. Well, maybe "kid" was an exaggeration. Physically, he was only a few years younger, probably two or three, but something about him made him seem much younger. Still, the most startling feature was Teddie's eyes. A shade of blue that he had seen before...somewhere...

Aside from that, just being in the presence of Teddie felt like...like...

"Is this fine, mister?"

The sudden voice snapped him awake from his thoughts. He just lost whatever revelation he was about to make, and that just made him more annoyed. Scratching his head in frustration, he looked back at Koromaru, seeing that the canine's stance had not changed in the slightest. If only Akihiko could understand the dog, just like...

Aigis!

Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly scrolled down his address book. Aigis didn't have a cell phone...the last time he had seen her was when they had a reunion at the old dorm. If he remembered correctly, she was rooming with Takeba ever since the pair had graduated from Gekkoukan. The latter had gone to a university, and Aigis had chosen to follow.

Clicking on Takeba's number, he quickly half-yelled to Teddie. "Hold on for just a minute, this is important."

Not even bothering to look at the reaction on the blond boy's face, Akihiko turned towards Koromaru just as someone answered on the other end.

"...hello. Yukari-san is busy at the moment. If you want, I can take a message or tell her to—"

Perfect timing! "Aigis, this is Akihiko. Look, I know this is sudden, but can you help me out for a second?"

"Ah, Akihiko-san. Of course, how can I be of assistance?" she replied, without a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Well, Koromaru is acting a bit...odd. Well, odd as far I know, but anyway, look. I need you to translate what he's saying for me," he explained, trying to keep the urgency in his voice low in case Teddie was listening in.

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that. When I translate for Koro-chan, it is a combination of both his speech and body language."

"Is that so? Well, I guess if that's how it is, it can't be helped. Thanks anyway, Aigis," Akihiko replied, letting out a large sigh in the process. He closed his phone and patted Koromaru down, trying to at least lessen the dog's apparent anger. "Look boy, I just don't know what you're trying to tell me. He seems perfectly fine, and I can't really arrest him for no reason."

*Whimper*

What was he doing? He trusted Koromaru, sure, more than he trusted many people, but it's not as if he had any reason to take this kid in. He could already imagine the look on Kurosawa's face if he were to bring in a suspect for no better reason than "he gave me a bad feeling."

His face must've shown his frustration because at that moment, Teddie spoke up. "Mister, are you alright? Did your call not go well?"

Sigh. "Not well at all. Look, sorry for—"

"Oh, I bet it's 'cause of a girl, right? Teddie's always sad when Yuki-chan, Chie-chan, or Rise-chan don't want to go out," Teddie said, interrupting Akihiko's train of thought.

"What, that's not—"

"Don't worry mister. We just need to keep trying! With hard work, one day we'll both be able to score!" he continued, enthusiasm lacing his yells.

... what did this guy just imply? Flashes of a beach and an operation quickly entered his mind, but he quickly shoved them back down. No point remembering something like that, especially now. Letting out a deep sigh, he could only think about what a huge waste of time this was. Whatever this kid in front of him was, it certainly didn't seem like criminal material, especially now that he was droning on and on.

"Teddie. I'm sorry for wasting your time, and I'm sure Koromaru apologizes as well. Just stay out of trouble, alright?" he said with a note of finality in his voice.

Turning to leave, Akihiko reined Koromaru in as he walked away. Although, the dog still harbored a slight discomfort towards Teddie, he seemed more subdued. Akihiko wondered why...maybe because Koro-chan thought the same thing about Teddie that he did—that whatever uneasiness they felt was completely incomparable to the innate innocence that the blond, blue-eyed, bear-wearing mascot seemed to let off.

As the pair neared the edge of the park, and Akihiko's began to again think about his plans for lunch and the boredom of his life, his ears caught the sound of the kid yelling towards him from far away. "Don't look so sad, mister. Sensei always told me that no matter what, there are people who will be nice to Teddie, and you must be one of them! Teddie's beary happy because he made a new friend today, so you should be happy for saving Teddie! And, erm, what did Yosuke tell me to say when it's close to the new year...um, best wishes in the coming year! See ya, mister!"

A smile slipped across the officer's face. That's right. That's why he was able to do this job...not for himself but for helping others. Laughing to himself for forgetting something so basic, he could even feel Koromaru cheering up, as the dog began to skip forward alongside him. His pleasant mood lasted all the way to his favorite beef bowl restaurant, taking his seat, and ordering the usual alongside the Shiba-Inu.

'Best wishes in the coming year'? Damn right.

Replaying those words in his head, a weight seemed to suddenly fall on him and he stood up in realization. No wonder that kid seemed familiar. Those words, Koromaru's treatment, his own discomfort, that demeanor, those eyes—all of a sudden, they all added up to one thing: Ryoji Mochizuki.

Teddie...he was a Shadow.