Author's Notes: I forget if it was a part of the Pre-Order DLC, but when I got the game, it came with two themes. One had the Royal Knights on it while the other was a Cyber Sleuth character theme where it gives you all of the main characters and their names. So, spoilers prior to the end of her first case, of course Yuuko's name was given in the theme as Kamishiro Yuuko. I suppose it wasn't that big of a spoiler considering it's obvious Yuuko was using an alias. Also, another thing... Is it just me or are the character poses for Takumi, Kyoko, and Nokia a bit out of character? For one thing, Takumi and Nokia are way too cool... For Kyoko, I think it's mainly just because her fan-service-y design is a bit at odds against her straightforward detective persona.
Kyoko stared at the purple drink Takumi had sitting on the coffee table. "Just what is that?" she said, intrigued by the round black pearls settled on the bottom of the clear cup.
"Taro milk tea with boba," her assistant answered, taking a big sip of the drink. He pensively chewed on the tapioca balls as he swirled the cup around. "Would you like to try some, Kyoko-san?"
The detective curiously took a sip and closed her eyes. "The texture of the pearls is rather unique and quite enjoyable, but the taste…" she frowned as she returned the drink to the teen. "The taste could be improved," she concluded with a nod. "Perhaps with a bit of fruit yogurt… or soy sauce…" Takumi tensed up as he saw the gears in her mind beginning to turn. "It most definitely needs a green of some sort… Wheatgrass, maybe?" She sternly stared into the redhead's blue eyes. "What are the ingredients to that drink?"
"Plain black tea with milk and taro powder added to it," the boy frowned. "As for the pearls, they're tapioca. Don't tell me you have a new coffee recipe in mind now…"
"Oh, but of course," the woman nodded as a satisfied smile on her face. "I'd better start experimenting with these new ingredients right away. Adding tapioca will definitely improve the texture contrast of the coffee."
"Please don't…" Takumi begged her.
"But come to think of it, we're out of beans," Kyoko remembered, a disappointed frown settling on her face. "Pick up some more, would you?" she asked her assistant. "I used them all up crafting a new recipe yesterday."
"But I just picked up a batch three days ago!" Takumi exclaimed.
"Oho?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow at him. "You think I'm working you too hard? You've got a lot of nerve." She shook her head before sternly looking into his blue eyes. "Who exactly is giving you room and board again?"
The redhead tensed up at that. He let out a nervous chuckle as he started for the door. "A-alright… I'm going… But, uh… Kyoko-san?" His eyes darted towards his unguarded drink. "Please don't do anything strange to my drink while I'm gone," he requested.
"Oh? But its taste—" Kyoko blinked when the boy was already gone.
"Ah! Aiba-kun! Welcome back!" the owner to K-Café greeted their regular customer. "How can I help you today?"
"Kyoko-san needs more beans," Takumi nervously chuckled. "Do you have any available?"
"Buying more beans already?" the man raised an eyebrow at the teen as he handed the boy a bag. "I suppose with more employees, the supply is used up that much faster. Come to think of it, when you head back, why don't you buy some takoyaki from the third floor to go with your coffee?"
"Hm?" Takumi blinked at the man as he paid for the beans. "Why would I do that?"
"Only a child does no more than what they're asked," the owner crossed his arms at the boy. "Go above and beyond and you'll seem quite clever."
"I guess…" the redhead chuckled as he waved goodbye. "I was kinda hoping I could hurry back before Kyoko-san spikes my drink though," he muttered as he left the café. Once outside, he frowned at the bag in his hand. "Well, I got the coffee beans Kyoko asked for." He closed his eyes and shuddered. "What new horror will she create from these incredible beans that smell so good?"
Deciding to take the man's earlier advice, Takumi went down to the third floor and headed towards the takoyaki stand. He paused though when he saw a familiar girl with black hair staring at something.
"Eh? What's Kamishiro-san doing here?" Takumi asked himself. He shrugged as he approached her, but the girl didn't even notice he was standing right behind her. The boy smiled to himself when he heard her gulping. "Kamishiro-san?" Takumi called out to her. "What are you looking at?"
Surprised by his presence, Yuuko whirled around to face him. She tried to regain her composure and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Kamishiro-san?" Takumi stared at her in concern. "Are you alright?" The girl averted her eyes from his bright blue eyes. The boy blinked at her as the two fell into an extremely long awkward silence.
Unable to withstand it anymore, Yuuko turned around and ran away from him.
Takumi curiously turned towards the wall to see what had captured her attention. "Eh? There's a poster on the wall Kamishiro-san was staring at." He tilted his head to the side as he read what it said. "Let's see… 'Nationwide B-Level Gourmet Battle – Our Restaurant Becomes a Culinary Battleground! Grated Yam Ramen! Tuna Scraps Gyoza! The Famous Massive Frozen Custard Dim Sum!' It looks like this is what Kamishiro-san was looking at," Takumi smiled as he wiped the drool threatening to spill from his mouth. "Did I…? Did I hear her mouth water over this?" He chuckled as he swallowed the excess saliva still in his mouth. "She did. Her mouth was definitely watering. I have to admit though… it sounds pretty interesting…" He shook his head to himself and smiled before ordering three servings of takoyaki. And to go along with the K-Café owner's advice, Takumi went ahead and ordered some ice cream.
Kyoko turned away from her client as Takumi returned. "Oh, thanks for doing the shopping. We were waiting for you to get back. As you can see," she nodded over towards Yuuko sitting across from her, "a client has arrived."
"Hello," Yuuko politely greeted him.
Takumi wore a small smile as he nodded to her. "Hello, Kamishiro-san." He looked down at the food he was carrying. "Oh! Kyoko-san, I bought takoyaki and ice cream too while I was out." He quickly set everything down on the coffee table. "Kamishiro-san, I 'accidentally' bought an extra serving of both. Would like to have them?"
"Eh?" Yuuko stared at the food he placed down in front of her. "Ah…" she looked up towards the bright-eyed boy. She uncomfortably averted her gaze when she noticed Takumi's amused smile. She gulped as he continued to stare at her.
"Did your mouth water?" he teasingly asked. "Your mouth watered, didn't it?" He brought his hand up to his mouth as he was beginning to drool again too. "Your mouth watered! I know it did!"
Yuuko did her best to ignore him as she picked up the takoyaki from the table. "Thank you for the food," she firmly stated to him, hoping he would leave her alone as she ate.
Takumi blinked at her, not expecting her to have accepted the takoyaki so willingly. "Ah… No problem," he chuckled before starting to pick at the pieces in his own tray. "It's alright, Kamishiro-san. My mouth watered too."
"Huh?" Kyoko stared at her assistant oddly. "Mouth-watering? What are you talking about? This is our client…"
"Kamishiro Yuuko," the girl nodded as she savored the ice cream Takumi had bought.
"Hmm," Kyoko crossed her arms and smirked at the client. "Now then, Kamishiro Yuuko-san. What matter of case brings you to us?"
"Right…" Yuuko set down her empty container and nodded. "I want you to investigate my father."
"Eh!?" Takumi nearly choked on his thankfully untouched milk tea.
"You mean Kamishiro Satoru-san, the former president of Kamishiro Enterprise?" Kyoko asked.
"Yes," the girl nodded.
"He passed away last year. It was reported to have been a suicide, correct?"
"No! That isn't true!" Yuuko tensed up. "My father would never kill himself!" Kyoko was a bit surprised by her reaction and Yuuko quickly brought her hands up to her mouth. "Oh… I'm sorry for the outburst."
"No, there's nothing to apologize for," Kyoko calmly stated. "But why do you believe he wouldn't do it? Do you have some proof that he wasn't suicidal?"
"I…" Yuuko lowered her gaze. "No, I don't." She frowned as she looked up to Kyoko again. "That's exactly why I've come to you."
"I see," Kyoko nodded. "That makes sense."
"If you want clues, then you may want to start with Yamashina Makoto, whom I had you investigate the other day," Yuuko told them. "He was a researcher for Kamishiro until last year. He left the company around the same time my father died and then he disappeared."
"So you believe Yamashina is connected to your father's death in some way?"
"Yes," the girl nodded. "Even if there's no direct connection, I'm certain he must know something about my father's death."
"Hmm," Kyoko smirked behind her hand. "So you had us investigate Yamashina Makoto as a prelude to this case, then. That was your way of testing us."
"Eh?" Takumi blinked at Yuuko. "Really…?"
Yuuko frowned at him but said nothing.
"Since you've brought another case to us, that implies that we passed your test," Kyoko smiled in satisfaction.
The raven-haired girl knit her eyebrows together. "I apologize. There are so few people around me who I can trust," she said with a frown as she stared at the empty food trays in front of her. "I… I'm so very sorry for my, ah, little ruse," she said, lifting her gaze to Takumi.
"Kamishiro-san…" The redhead frowned to himself as he sensed a strange painful loneliness coming from the girl. After a while, he cracked a small smile for her. "You don't have to apologize," Takumi ended up shaking his head. "I'm sure you have your reasons to be cautious. I'm sorry if I was out of line during the conclusion of our last case."
"Eh?" Yuuko blinked at him, surprised he was apologizing to her.
Kyoko chuckled at the teens as they sheepishly looked away from each other. "I hope such an honest answer is proof that we have earned your trust," the detective smiled at their client. Yuuko turned to her in surprise. Kyoko nodded to the girl. "We shall investigate your father's death."
"Just leave it to us," Takumi nodded in agreement.
"Th-thank you," Yuuko gratefully smiled. "Thank you so much!"
Takumi blinked when he realized it was the first time he had ever seen the girl smile. "Ah…" So cute… He was quickly shaken out of his thoughts when a Digivice began to ring.
"Oh…" Yuuko frowned and stared at the pair of goggles wrapped around her left arm. "Please excuse me for a moment," she told the two as she answered. "Hello? Yes… No… No, there's no problem," she said. "Yes… Yes… What?" She glanced back towards the detective and her assistant. "N-no, I-I'm alone!" She knit her eyebrows together. "I understand. I'll be right back. Please wait at the head office, Rie-san. Goodbye." She quickly hung up and frowned at the investigators. "I'm sorry. Something came up all of a sudden."
"So it appears," Kyoko smirked. "Please leave the investigation to us."
"Thank you very much!" Yuuko bowed to them. "Goodbye for now."
Takumi watched the girl leave before the woman behind him started addressing him. "This could turn out to be a really big case," Kyoko mused. "We've got to go all-out and solve it."
"Yeah…" the boy seriously nodded. "I can tell she's desperate to find out anything she can about her father…" He frowned to himself as he could somewhat relate.
"If all goes well, we could expose Kamishiro's past, along with the company's inner workings. I should ask Detective Matayoshi for his help." Kyoko stood up and returned to her desk. "All right, let's get started on the case. I'll go over the information on Yamashina Makoto again. While I'm doing that, I want you to go back out to his home and pay him another visit."
"Alright then," Takumi nodded as he cleared the coffee table of garbage. "But… will that really help us?"
"I don't know if we'll get anything new, but…" Kyoko smirked at him. "Well, we have nothing to lose, I guess."
"Nothing to lose…?" the boy blinked at her.
"Nothing to lose…" Kyoko brought her hand up to her chin. "Nothing to lose… Hmm."
"What is it, Kyoko-san?" Takumi asked.
"No, sorry," the woman chuckled. "Never mind. It's nothing important."
"Are you sure?" the boy knit his eyebrows together.
"We have nothing to lose. It's something my father used to say a lot," she fondly recalled. "It's an abbreviation for 'trying because you have nothing to lose'. My father said something different, though. 'You have nothing to lose alongside friends'. I always thought it should be abbreviated as 'nothing to lose together', but…" she smiled behind her hand. "It's a rather elegant and refined expression, don't you think?"
"You have nothing to lose alongside friends…" Takumi pensively repeated.
"Well, no need to think too deeply on it," Kyoko chuckled. "That would be inelegant."
"Eh? A-alright then…" the boy crookedly smiled.
"Okay, enough chit-chat," the detective seriously nodded to him. "Get on the case for me. Head to Yamashina Makoto's place. And this time, make him talk. I'm counting on you."
"Understood!" Takumi sharply nodded before heading out.
Yamashina opened the door and blinked when he noticed it was the red-haired boy from the other day. "Oh…? You're… that assistant detective, correct? Did you need something?"
"Yes," Takumi nodded. "I was wondering if you know anything about a certain person."
"You're a stubborn one," the man crossed his arms. "How many times do I have to tell you?" he shook his head. "I don't know any Kamishiro!"
"I didn't mention anything about it being Kamishiro," Takumi shook his head and frowned at the man. "Where did you hear that name?
"You're asking if I've never heard of them? The first I heard of them was from you." The man paused for a moment. "No, it was before that… On the news, I think?" He brought a hand up to his head. "Wait, no. Maybe… I heard it from… my daughter?"
"Your daughter…?" the detective's assistant knit his eyebrows together.
"I don't know," the man shook his head. "Ask my daughter… Ask Chika. I… need to lie down… I suddenly feel dizzy…"
"Where can I find your daughter?" Takumi asked.
"Chika? She said she was going to Shibuya, I believe. A new single from a band was going to be available for a limited time at Shibuya Records."
"Is that band Jimiken?" the redhead frowned.
"Jimiken?" Yamashina shook his head. "No, that wasn't it." He grabbed the door and apologized to the boy. "You really must excuse me."
Takumi turned around and seriously frowned to himself. "Let's go to Shibuya Records to talk to Yamashina's daughter, Chika!"
Chika frowned when she saw the familiar red-haired boy coming towards her. "It's you again…"
"Sorry for disturbing you, Chika-san," Takumi politely bowed, "but I have some questions for you."
"You say you have questions? Again?" she sighed and shook her head at him. "We just want to be left alone."
"I-I understand…" the boy nervously scratched his face, "but it's very important that I ask them."
"Well? What is it now?"
"What can you tell me about your father, Yamashina Makoto-san?"
"What?" the girl blinked at him. "About my dad? There's not really much to say." She frowned as she tried to remember anything she could bring up. "Hmm… Until recently, my dad was a workaholic. He didn't even come home on his days off. But he seemed to change more recently. His focus shifted to taking care of his family."
Takumi knit his eyebrows together and crossed his arms. "Do you know what brought about this change?"
"I'm not sure why, exactly," Chika shook her head. "Maybe something changed with his work? Before, I know he worked for a place called the Nile Corporation, but…"
"Nile—?" Takumi frowned when his Digivice began ringing.
Chika quickly used this as a chance to get away from the nosy boy. "Shouldn't you be on your way? I don't have much free time, either. Can I go now?"
Takumi flashed her a smile and nodded. "Thank you for your help, Chika-san." As the girl walked away, he quickly answered the call.
"How did it go?" Kyoko asked him. "Get any useful clues?"
"I learned that Yamashina Makoto-san used to work at a company known as the Nile Corporation," Takumi nodded.
"Hmm. The Nile Corporation?" Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth. "I hadn't thought there'd be a connection there."
"Huh? You're familiar with them, Kyoko-san?"
She nodded. "The Nile Corporation… Our paths have crossed before. Detective Matayoshi looked into the company once before," she explained. "My father was involved in that investigation, too. They were following up on a 'hunch', apparently. Okay. You can look into the Nile Corporation for me. You might be able to get some info at the corporate pavilion near the EDEN entrance. I'll look into the case files that my father and Detective Matayoshi put together back then."
"Understood," Takumi nodded.
"All right, I'm counting on you," she sternly told him.
"To the corporate pavilion near the EDEN entrance!" Takumi cried as he started for the closest terminal.
"Excuse me," Takumi politely bowed to the businessman. "Do you know anything about a company known as the Nile Corporation?"
"Nile Corporation?" the man blinked at the boy in surprise. "That's the company created to research the EDEN avatar system, isn't it? I think they were bought out by some big company a long time ago, though. They aren't around anymore," the man shook his head.
"Ah, I see. Thank you for the information," Takumi bowed. He headed towards the terminal before stopping to close his eyes. "So the company was bought out? Could it have been by Kamishiro Enterprise?" He opened his eyes as it was an easy deduction. "Better head back to the office."
As he returned to the agency, Takumi blinked as Kyoko had a guest in the office. "Detective Matayoshi!"
"Well hello there, young assistant!" the man brightly smiled at him. "Are you getting used to working as a detective?"
"More or less," the redhead smiled back. "But uh…" he knit his eyebrows together in confusion.
"What's with that look?" Matayoshi chuckled. "You're looking at me like I'm not supposed to be here. Kyo-chan can tell you why I'm here," he nodded to the woman sitting across from him.
"Well, something strange has happened and we can't find the Nile Corporation case files," Kyoko explained. "So I thought I'd ask someone directly involved with the case itself."
Matayoshi crossed his arms and sternly nodded. "Of course you didn't find them. All the files are stored together at Kamishiro."
"At Kamishiro?" Kyoko crossed her arms.
"I'm ashamed to have to admit this, but we had to leave the files there," the veteran detective sighed.
"Why?" Takumi asked, tilting his head to the side. "Does it have to do with Kamishiro buying out the company?"
"This was that 'hunch' of yours, isn't it?" Kyoko asked.
"Yes…" Matayoshi nodded to them both. "At the time, suspicions were raised that Kamishiro had acquired the Nile Corporation illicitly. Your father and I were investigating that when we ran into a little problem."
"A problem?" Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth.
"Pressure came down from up top. We were forced to abandon the case," Matayoshi explained. "At the time, we were also forced to hand over all case files to Kamishiro, too."
"So Kamishiro pulled the strings. That was a self-incriminating move, wasn't it?"
"That was the implied understanding," the detective nodded. "Since we knew how bad it was, we decided to keep silent track of where the case files were stored. I kept track even after your father passed away. Now, the files are being stored deep within Kamishiro's main server, the Avalon server. I'm sure it's in the part of cyberspace Kamishiro employees call the 'confidential database'."
"So the data is there?" Takumi asked.
The older detective shook his head. "When I say I've kept track, it's not like I've confirmed the data's location firsthand. At best it's conjecture based on info from scans of the environs. Call it my intuition."
Kyoko chuckled at that. "That's good enough for me." She smirked as a plan began to formulate in her mind. "Well then, I say it's about time we had them return what they've been keeping for us."
Matayoshi stared at her with wide eyes. "Listen to me, Kyo-chan. This is Kamishiro we're dealing with." A stern frown appeared on his face. "How do you plan to get around the top-notch security of a world-renowned company?"
"Let's learn from the case of the Robbing Rooster," she merely stated. "We don't force our way through a closed gate. Instead, we employ strategy, and have them open it for us."
"So you mean like a Trojan Horse?" Takumi smiled as he sensed what she was thinking.
"Whoa, hey now," Matayoshi shook his head at them. "Is that even possible?"
Kyoko chuckled. "A good detective makes the impossible possible. What? We already have a rooster of our own lined up. Someone who can crow in just the way we need. And we'll get her to help us when it comes to infiltrating Kamishiro."
"Should we really get her involved though?" Takumi asked with concern. "I know it's her case, but—"
"Aha, speak of the devil," Kyoko smirked as the door to the agency opened.
"Excuse me," Yuuko nodded to them as she entered.
"Kamishiro-san…!" Takumi jumped as she was standing directly behind him.
Kyoko chuckled at their client's impeccable timing. "Once again, you've arrived right on time." She introduced the girl to the man on the sofa. "This is my client, Kamishiro Yuuko."
"Um…" Yuuko frowned. "Has there been any progress?"
"Kamishiro… Yuuko!?" Matayoshi blinked at the raven-haired teen in surprise. "You don't mean the former president's…" After a while, he crossed his arms and smiled. "I see! No one would question her if she were to walk into corporate HQ!"
"What!? I…" Yuuko stared at the three investigators in confusion. "Who is this?"
"Young lady," Matayoshi cried out in a pleading tone, "we need your assistance. Please!"
"Eh?" Yuuko was a bit taken aback. "Eh?"
Takumi seriously looked into her eyes before closing them. "It seems as though fate has chosen you over me to cut a path through darkness this time, Kamishiro Yuuko-san," he stated with a nod. "No matter, I will help you in any way I can."
"Eh? Eh!?" Yuuko shook her head as the strange boy suddenly knelt before her as if he were a knight, ready to serve her. "Eh?"
Yuuko brought her hand up to her mouth after the situation was completely explained to her. "I see…"
"What do you say?" Kyoko asked. "We really need your help with the investigation."
"That's… fine," Yuuko nodded. "I want to know if my suspicions are correct as well, after all." Matayoshi smiled at her answer. "But I am a minor," the girl pointed out, "and as such, my authority within the company is rather restricted. I doubt I'll be able to do much more than get you into the lobby of the main office." She paused as she studied Takumi. "Let me think about this… If I were inviting friends from school to take a tour… It shouldn't be an issue getting you in to the lobby, I think."
Matayoshi crossed his arms. "It'd be hard passing me and Kyo-chan off as your friends. Worst case, they might recognize us, too."
Kyoko chuckled as she nodded to Takumi. "So long as you could get my assistant in, that would be terrific. Could you manage that?"
"But then how do we get to the confidential database?" Yuuko asked. "Do you have some means of doing that?"
Takumi smirked as getting into inaccessible networks was his specialty. "I have my ways," he stated.
The raven-haired girl frowned at him. "Even if your assistant WERE a world-class hacker, I doubt it's even possible."
"A Cyber Sleuth can make the impossible possible," the boy's smile never faltered. "And I guess we're lucky I'm a Cyber Sleuth."
Yuuko continued to stare at him but Kyoko was satisfied with her assistant's answer. "Well, there we have it, Kamishiro Yuuko-san. Leave the domain of cyber sleuthing to us."
"That's right!" Takumi nodded.
Yuuko studied the confident teen for a while longer before rising to her feet. "Very well. I'll go and get things set up."
As soon as she was gone, Matayoshi raised an eyebrow at the two younger detectives. "What are you actually going to do, Kyo-chan?"
"To get in?" Kyoko asked. "I have an idea, actually…"
"Oh?" the old man smirked.
"There was this one case where I got my hands on a little program…" Kyoko smugly crossed her arms. "I'm thinking of having it customized for my assistant, with the help of someone I know."
"Ah… The Baku?" Takumi guessed.
Kyoko nodded to him. "Shall we get started with the preparations? My dear assistant, start by heading to Mikagura Mirei's place. I'll let her know you're coming and why. You can get the details from her."
"Understood!" the redhead nodded.
Takumi nodded to Mirei as he entered the DigiLab. "Kyoko-san said for me to come visit."
"My preparations are complete," she nodded back. "Go ahead. Take this program."
The redhead closed his eyes as the program installed itself into his half-cyber body. "Stealth Hide? Did you build this program from scratch?"
"Ah… No, it's a hacking skill program repurposed from the Baku program Kyoko gave me," she explained. "By using this, you'll be able to almost perfectly mask your account information. Effectively, you'll be invisible."
"Really!?" Takumi tested the power and watched as his body completely disappeared. Even his own Digivice couldn't pick up his information. "Ah… this will come in handy," the boy nodded to her as he reappeared.
"Given your half-cyber body, you should be able to use that skill not only in cyberspace, but in the real world as well," Mirei smiled at him. "This skill could potentially be used for a wide variety of crimes… But given your deepening bond with Digimon, I trust you won't use it for evil purposes," she stated with a nod.
"Of course I won't," Takumi seriously responded.
"That was rhetorical, dear," the woman chuckled. "I see all."
"I guess this was 'fated' too then…" the boy nervously smiled.
"You are a Cyber Sleuth, no?" Mirei asked, pushing up her glasses. "Someday, you must expose my secrets."
"R-right…" Takumi turned to leave. "Thanks for the new program. I'd better get in touch with Kyoko-san now."
Mirei nodded as she returned to tending the boy's DigiFarm. Kyoko appeared on the display and smiled at her assistant. "Hmm. Things went well, it seems," the detective noted.
"Yeah, I got the modified Baku program," Takumi nodded.
"I'm sure you have many questions," Kyoko smirked, "but start by focusing on the relevant case. I heard from Kamishiro Yuuko-san earlier and you've been invited to Kamishiro's corporate headquarters."
Takumi's Digivice beeped to notify him that he got a new URL. The assistant's eyes widened in surprise. "Already?"
His boss seriously nodded her head. "Access this URL to access an account with privileges to tour the corporate office. The privileges are limited to the lobby, but that should be enough to let you get in without too much more trouble."
"Right," the boy nodded. "I'll be on the lookout for a way to Connect Jump further into the system."
"We've had our rooster crow," Kyoko chuckled, "Now to set the fox loose in the henhouse. You've gotten some handy hacking skills, I know, but you'll need to think on your feet in there. Be the wolf in sheep's clothing! It'll take all your cunning, skill, and bravery to sneak on in and waltz out with the grand prize. Also," the woman became serious, "for the record, Detective Matayoshi isn't involved with obtaining and using the hacking skills for this case. Keep that in mind."
"So I'll need to keep a low profile," Takumi nodded. "I understand, Kyoko-san. Don't worry. This won't be a repeat of what happened back at the hospital."
Satisfied with his answer, Kyoko gave him an encouraging smile. "Now then, let's get this job done. Go; expose Kamishiro for what it really is. Kamishiro Yuuko is waiting so head to Kamishiro's headquarters."
"Right away!" Takumi replied before the connection dropped. "Anyway, I guess I'd better follow this corporate tour URL to Kamishiro's corporate headquarters.
Takumi looked around the lobby of the headquarters in wonder. "Oh, wow… It's pretty impressive…" He blinked when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Really… You're sooo late!" a girl tried to scold him in a flat tone. "I got exhausted just waiting for you."
"Kamishiro-san…?" the redhead turned around and blinked at Yuuko in confusion.
"You're sooo late…" she awkwardly repeated herself. "I got ultra-super worried, you know." She looked away from him. "Oh, not that I was worried about you, you see…" she frowned as she continued trying to keep up the façade. "Don't get the wrong idea or anything."
"Eh…?" Takumi stared at her with a slight frown on his face. "What are you doing, Kamishiro-san?"
"Um… Aiba-san…? Wait, no… T-taku…?" she shook her head as she struggled to say his name. "Takumi-san? I need you to pretend that you're my friend here. Just follow my lead, all right?" she whispered to him.
"Eh…?" the boy nervously scratched his face. "That's not… how it goes… Y-yuuko-san."
"Is there, uh, anything the matter with that?" Yuuko asked him. "You can pretend to be my friend, right? A school friend? A normal friend-friend?"
"Um… How do I put this…?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together. "I'm sure this isn't how you act around your friends…"
"Eh? That's odd," the raven-haired girl brought her hand up to her mouth as she frowned to herself. "Were the files I dug up on friendship mistaken?"
"Files!?" the boy stared at her in disbelief before shaking his head. "Just be yourself! There's no need to act any differently from how you usually are."
"What? You want me to act like I normally do?" She knit her eyebrows at him. "I'm not sure I quite get what you're saying. If that's true, then you and I are already 'friends' after a fashion, no?"
Takumi could feel his cheeks warming up at how cute her clueless expression was. He quickly covered it up with a bright smile though. "That's right," he nodded. "We're friends, Yuuko-san. I like you fine the way you are."
Yuuko stared at him with a blush before covering her mouth with both hands as she gasped. "Oh, I see! That was just a joke that fell flat, right? That was part of the plan, right, Takumi-san?"
"Eh?" the boy blinked at her. "N-no… I was actually just being honest…"
"Things got a little too real for me there," Yuuko frowned. "I forgot to let myself play along!"
"Play… along?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together.
"What I mean is you've done your homework," the girl smiled at him. "I… seem to have misjudged you."
Takumi crookedly smirked at her smiling face. "Thank you…?"
"Anyway," Yuuko looked around them, "welcome to Kamishiro." She turned towards the lobby with a serious expression on her face. "Okay, let's pretend to tour the lobby. I'll pretend to show you around."
After a few minutes of following Yuuko, Takumi frowned as he didn't notice anywhere he could Connect Jump into. He shook his head as he called out to the girl. "Yuuko-san, this isn't working. I think we should separate and look around alone."
"What?" the other teen turned to look at him with a frown. "You're going to strike out on your own?"
"Yeah," Takumi nodded.
"But what's your actual plan for getting in?"
"You want to see?" the boy chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. He activated the Stealth Hide program and watched as the girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"Eh!?" Yuuko looked around the lobby for the boy before scanning for his presence with her Digivice. "How does a person just vanish!? Both the avatar… and the account info!"
"Oh my, Yuuko-sama," a man behind the girl blinked at her. "Where has your friend gotten off to?" he asked, looking around.
"Eh!?" she turned around in surprise. "M-my friend… has… um…" she frowned as she quickly made up something on the spot. "We're, uh… playing, um… hide and seek."
"Eh? Hide and seek?" the man stared at the girl in slight disbelief.
"Y-yes, that's right," Yuuko nodded, a determined glare on her face. "Is there a problem?"
"No… No problem, per se…" the employee shook his head.
"This is the perfect place for hide and seek," the girl further explained. "It's so spacious."
"I, uh, suppose it is," the man looked around the vast lobby. "Sure. There certainly is a lot of space here."
"By the way, I'm it," Yuuko nodded.
"Oh, uh, well then," the man nodded to her. "Good luck, I guess."
"Yes," the girl nodded. "I'm going to find my friend, just you watch!"
"That's the spirit!" the employee encouraged her. Yuuko cast her gaze away from the man as he remained standing there. She frowned as she pretended to look around for Takumi. Sensing his presence was just making things even more awkward, the man quickly excused himself. "Well then, give it your best shot. Say hello to your friend for me."
Yuuko let out a relieved sigh before turning to where Takumi had been standing before. "He says hello…"
Takumi chuckled as he deactivated the program. "So? What do you think, Yuuko-san?"
"A program that seals an account?" The girl brought her hand up to her mouth as she thought it through. "And this requires Digimon program hacking skills. Which," she knit her eyebrows together, "is completely illegal, I'll point out."
"W-well…" Takumi sheepishly scratched his face.
"But you and Kyoko-san DID say that cyber sleuthing was your area of expertise," Yuuko smiled at him, "so that's reassuring."
"Eh?" the boy's blue eyes looked up at her again. "Ah… y-yeah…"
Yuuko gave him a nod. "When you're finished, meet me here. We'll leave together." She lowered her gaze as a worried frown appeared on her face. "Please, try not to take too long. There's a limit to the time we can spend pretending to play hide and seek. We haven't much time to waste. Please hurry."
"I understand," Takumi nodded.
"I'll see you later, then."
"Just leave it to me," the boy seriously stated before looking around for an access point of some kind. "Kyoko-san told me to think on my feet," he muttered to himself. "But I don't see any place to Connect Jump into… Let me look around." After going around the lobby once, Takumi shook his head before returning to Yuuko. "Is there a way to get to the server directly from a terminal?"
"Hm? You couldn't find the link to the server on the terminal?" Yuuko asked him in mild surprise. "Ah… Server access rights are linked to each employee's avatar. The terminals have nothing to do with it. Meaning," the girl nodded, "the avatars themselves are the links.
"The avatars are the links…" Takumi thoughtfully repeated. "Okay, thank you. I'd better check the avatars of some Kamishiro employees." He started for the closest worker. "If I just look at avatars, they'll get suspicious… I'd better use Stealth Hide to sneak around," he muttered as he activated the program again. After checking a few employees, Takumi spotted a man muttering to himself about Kishibe. "That avatar! What servers can it access?" He searched through the man's data before he found what he was looking. Now, he just had to figure out how to use it. "Avatars are just data… Can I Connect Jump into it?" He held out his invisible right arm and smirked as his entire body was pulled into the avatar.
Yuuko wandered over to a remote corner of the lobby so she wouldn't be disturbed as she continued her fake game of hide and seek. She turned her head to look around as she made a quick call.
"How are things going?" Kyoko asked as she picked up. "I believe my assistant was in the middle of an operation when I noticed the connection link drop."
"Yes," Yuuko nodded as she peered around a corner. "There's nothing out of the ordinary here. Everything's still going according to plan."
"Hmm," Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth and hid her smirk. "Those are some impressive skills."
"Yes, I was a bit surprised, myself," Yuuko nodded, "to see how adept Takumi-san has gotten at using Digimon programs."
"No. I'm talking about you, Kamishiro Yuuko-san," Kyoko chuckled.
"Eh...!" Yuuko's eyes widened in surprise.
"The way you arranged the tour of the office and the way you've been responding to everything," Kyoko nodded. "You're quite good at thinking on your feet. I'd say you're an old hat at this sort of thing. Just who are you, exactly?" the woman asked.
The raven-haired teen lowered her gaze and knit her eyebrows together. "I don't know what to say…" She frowned as she thought back to what Takumi said before about her just being herself. "I'm just… me. I don't know who else I am supposed to be."
"Hmm…" Kyoko studied Yuuko for a bit longer before something on the monitor cut her eye. "Huh!?"
"Was there something else?" Yuuko asked.
"Oh… We've been made!"
"Eh…?" the girl tensed up and looked around. She flinched as the call temporarily filled with static. "Wh-what was that just now?"
"We could be in trouble," Kyoko calmly stated. "It seems our conversation is being eavesdropped on."
"What!?" Yuuko gasped.
"In all likelihood, someone has placed a wiretap program on your Digivice in the real world. I should have noticed it sooner," Kyoko frowned. "It takes some real skill to finagle this specific a frequency." She chuckled as it seems as though the detective had a rival hacker to contend with. "Whoever's doing this knows their stuff."
"Eavesdropping?" Yuuko lowered her gaze. "But that means…"
"Yeah," Kyoko nodded. "I hate to make this call, but you need to pull out of there as soon as possible. Consider it a valiant retreat of sorts. Slow and steady wins the race," she stated. "As I'm always telling my assistant, this line of work requires a patient and diligent disposition."
"But Takumi-san is still inside!" the girl worriedly exclaimed.
"Yes," the detective sighed as she tried to think of a way to deal with their current problem. "I doubt it'll be easy to get the 'abort mission' order through. But Takumi is my assistant," Kyoko stated with a sure smirk, "and should be able to figure something out."
"But that's—" Yuuko clenched her fists.
"You're not in a position to worry about anyone else right now," Kyoko sternly scolded the girl. "Hurry up and get out of there."
"Ah!" Yuuko paused as she knew the woman was right.
"I'll wait for whatever caused my assistant's little vanishing act to wear off," the detective calmly smiled. "On your way out, it should be possible to cover your tracks and employ some misdirection from the outside." Kyoko frowned as she looked over to her monitor. "It's too risky to keep this conversation going. I'm going to cut the line."
As soon as the woman hung up, Yuuko frowned to herself. "Takumi-san…" She shook her head before running towards the exit terminal.
ACCESSING SERVER…
DATA DOWNLOAD COMPLETE
"Good job, Togemon, Clockmon," Takumi nodded to his Data Digimon. He returned them to his Digivice before turning to leave. He paused though when he sensed someone coming.
"Man, he treats people like crap, too," the man sighed.
"Hey, knock it off!" his friend scolded him.
Takumi quickly activated his Stealth Hide and backed himself into the wall as three hackers wearing Zaxon vests walked in. "Ugh…" a girl groaned. "Is there even a reason why we're on lookout duty?"
"I know, right? Kamishiro's security measures are top-tier. No one's getting through that easy. What are you so scared of?"
Takumi smirked as they didn't notice his presence. He tried to edge closer to the terminal but paused. Oh no! I feel an electric sneeze coming on! He chuckled to himself. I should probably explain what that is! It's a physiological phenomenon that the digital body experiences during a dive into the Digital World. Essentially, there's no difference between that and a sneeze in the real world! It's just a sneeze, but it's a type of involuntary movement that your body can't hold back! He frowned as he looked between the three hackers. And right now is not the time for one!
"What a pain," a hacker shook his head. "Man, what a pain!"
"I told you to knock it off! This is where they're messing about. I'm sure I heard that somewhere," another hacker frowned as he looked around for the intruder they were supposed to be hunting.
"Ahhh…" Takumi brought his hand up to his mouth. "Ahh…!" He couldn't hold it in any longer and sneezed. "At-choo!"
"Yeah," the first hacker searched too. "Something would suddenly show up like—" he jumped back when Takumi appeared out of nowhere. "What the what!?"
"Ah, darn… My Stealth Hide wore off…" Takumi crookedly smiled.
"You!?" the girl glared at him. "Where did you pop up from!?"
"Who the hell are you!?" a boy growled. "You actually managed to break in!?" He shook his head as it was supposed to be impossible. "But this… This is Kamishiro we're talking about! Who the hell are you?"
"So like," the girl shook her head, "what're we going to do with this dweeb?"
The first hacker raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "What are we going to do? What we were ordered to do! Take care of the intruder!"
"You all…" another voice spoke up as a fourth hacker entered the room. "What are you doing here?"
Takumi paused as he looked up towards the person, hoping he came here to help him. "Yuugo…!"
Yuugo coolly frowned at the red-haired sleuth before narrowing his gaze on the three hackers. One of the hackers shook his head in fear. "Oh snap!" the hooded boy cried. "Yuugo!?"
"What the hell's Yuugo doing here!?" his friend cowered back.
"How the hell would I know!?" the girl angrily replied.
"Do you have fake Kamishiro employee IDs or…?" Yuugo brought his hand up to his mouth and studied the trio. "No, you were given access privileges, right? Someone from Kamishiro hired you?"
Takumi frowned as it didn't seem Yuugo was interested in his presence there. "Yuugo…?"
The light-haired boy continued to ignore the Cyber Sleuth. "Who was it?" he sternly asked the hackers. "Who brought you here?"
"H-hey, like, who knows, amirite?" the hacker wearing the green vest nervously asked.
"We don't gotta answer to you!" his friend wearing orange nodded in agreement.
"Uh, do we?" the girl tried to confidently challenge the legendary Zaxon leader.
Yuugo kept his gaze cold and steady. "You mean to bring shame to the Zaxon name?" he simply asked, placing a hand at his hip.
The hackers' bravado quickly faltered and Takumi tensed up as he sensed something coming. "Yuugo!" the redhead cried out as he sent his Digimon to intercept two flaming blue Digimon targeting the grey-eyed boy.
"Yoohoooooo!" Jimiken whooped as he entered the room. Yuugo turned to the rock star in confusion and shock. "Word up!" Jimiken chuckled as he began playing the air guitar. "Everyone's all here."
The trio of hackers brightened at the sight of their savior. "It's really him! Jimiken and his Air Guitar to Drive Demons Wild!"
"Yes! I am Jimiken!" the man cried out. "Yaa-hoooo!" Yuugo quickly regained his composure and glared at the supposed admin of Zaxon. "Thank you very much, Yuugo-san," Jimiken stopped swinging his arms and smirked at the leader of Zaxon. "What a coincidence, running into you here. Such a coincidence that it rocks! Are you feeling me?"
"You're wrapped up in this, too?" Yuugo asked with a frown. "What's going on here?"
"Gee, what indeed?" Jimiken teasingly asked back. "What could it be? Lemme throw the same question right back atcha! So like, why? Why are you here?" He chuckled as he turned to look towards Takumi. "By which I mean, is that your excuse?"
Takumi blinked at Jimiken in surprise. Me…? "Yuugo…?" The redhead looked over towards the light-haired boy for an explanation.
Yuugo simply closed his eyes, resulting in Jimiken to laugh at his reaction. "Cat got your tongue?" the man continued. "I see. Yeah, that makes sense. Lemme guess. You can't tell me, can you?" The rock star smirked as he placed his hands on his hips, "Yuugo-chan?"
The Zaxon leader opened his eyes and faltered at that. "Ah…"
"Y-yuugo…" Takumi noticed the usually composed hacker was at a complete loss for words.
"Okay, okay…" Jimiken shook his head at the light-haired teen. "Okay, okay, okay! But any dang way, on to more important things!" He smirked before looking back at Takumi. "Let's say that I owe you pretty big for the other day, uh-huh? As my special way of saying 'thank you', I'll knock you out, black and blue!"
Takumi's Digimon tensed up as their tactician smirked at the rock star. "Ah… You don't have to thank me," the Cyber Sleuth chuckled. "I'll be glad to give you another show."
"How about you be good little boys and girls… and become my new number-one fans!" Jimiken declared as he began to play his air guitar.
"Time for another performance!" Takumi called out to his Digimon.
"Is it coming across?" Jimiken chuckled as his BlueMeramon simultaneously flexed. "This feeling?" His Digimon roared as they attacked the three Digimon in their way.
"Frost Knuckle!" the pair cried as they raised their fist.
"Garurumon (Black), cover Togemon and Clockmon!" Takumi ordered.
"Ice Wall!" The wolf breathed out a wall of ice to block the attacks as the two Data Digimon quickly switched out.
One BlueMeramon flared up as he began pounding at the wall. When the ice shattered, its partner quickly grabbed the wolf and threw it aside. "Ice Bomb!" A blue ball of energy charged in his hand as he threw it towards Garurumon (Black).
"Snowball Fight!" Yukidarumon countered the orb with snowballs and icy explosion erupted.
Galgomon quickly defended Garurumon (Black) before pointing his Gatling arms at the enemy. He quickly began firing to give his teammate some cover as he recovered. When Garurumon (Black) was finally back onto his feet, Galgomon rushed forward, swinging his arm upwards. "Dum Dum Upper!" he cried as he caught one of the BlueMeramon square in the jaw.
The other BlueMeramon took advantage of the Vaccine's opening. "Cold Flame!"
"Foxfire!" Garurumon (Black) ferociously growled to defend his friend.
Yukidarumon slipped behind both BlueMeramon and glared at them. "Zettai Reido Punch!"
Takumi frowned as both flaming Digimon were pretty sturdy. "Three Adults against two Perfects…" he shook his head. "They might hold the power advantage, but we'll show them the strength of our bonds!"
"What's this?" Jimiken laughed at the naïve boy. "Is that what you're feeling? What a rocking joke!"
Both BlueMeramon flared up and roared. "Vision Bind!"
Takumi winced as both Virus Digimon lit up the room with their intense blue flames. He brought his arms up to cover his eyes but tensed up when he felt the Digital Waves shift around him. He clenched his teeth as the BlueMeramon came straight towards him. The Cyber Sleuth braced himself for an attack but gasped when his Garurumon (Black) let out a fierce howl, stunning the two Viruses.
"Dum Dum Upper!"
"Zettai Reido Punch!"
Galgomon and Yukidarumon tackled into the BlueMeramon and pushed them back before the pair could harm their master. Takumi's vision cleared and he smiled when his Digimon managed to subdue the BlueMeramon on their own. "Everyone…" he smiled as his team returned to him. "You did great!" he laughed.
Jimiken backed up into the wall in disbelief. "Oof! Say whaaaaat!?" He shook his head. "Hang—on—what is this…? What!?" He frowned at the fallen BlueMeramon. "These Digimon are hella weak! This ain't rock. It ain't fooling around, either!" He brought hand up to his forehead. "Hold on. What? Today's been kinda…" he cleared his throat a few times. "My throat is all…" he coughed to clear it, "Kinda messed up!" he hacked. He shook his head and placed his hands over his heart. "Are you feeling me?"
"Yes, of course!" his lackey hackers cheered.
"All righty," Jimiken smiled at his loyal posse. "On THAT note…" he looked towards Yuugo and Takumi before taking off in the opposite direction.
Yuugo frowned at that. "Huh…?" He wanted to go after them but suddenly remembered Takumi was there. He urgently looked towards the red-haired sleuth. "You should get out of here, quickly. I've disabled security in the surrounding area. If you go now, you should be able to get out safely."
"Alright, thanks!" Takumi nodded. Yuugo nodded back to him before departing. "W-wait, Yuugo…!" Takumi tried calling out to him but the other hacker was already gone. The Cyber Sleuth frowned to himself as he wanted to go over his thoughts on why Yuugo had been there in the first place, but a call suddenly came in from Kyoko.
"There! I got through!" the woman cried out. "Abort mission! Get out of there now!" she urgently told her assistant.
"H-huh!?" Takumi blinked at her. "Did something happen?" He shook his head as he told her the results of his operation. "Well, I managed to download the database so I'll leave right away."
"Oh?" the detective smirked at his successful endeavors. "You found the case files? All the more reason to hurry and get out," she nodded. "Our plans were leaked to the enemy," she explained. "I don't know how bad the damage is."
"Ah… that explains why there were hackers here…" Takumi nodded.
"For right now, just be careful," Kyoko warned him.
"Understood," Takumi said, cutting the call. He frowned to himself as the mystery of Yuugo would have to wait until later.
Yuuko spotted Takumi as he reappeared at the terminal. She quickly pulled on his arm to get him away from the lobby's open area. "The office has been in an uproar for a while now. Was everything all right?" she asked. "They didn't find you, did they?"
"No, but there are a lot of hackers around in the server," Takumi explained.
"I see," Yuuko nodded. "Then they're probably using all this hacker business to clean things up. I doubt Kamishiro would publicly admit to being infiltrated by hackers. It'd be a huge scandal. I'm guessing they'll keep this under wraps," she stated.
"We shouldn't stay any longer than necessary," Takumi suggested.
"Let's return to the detective agency, then," Yuuko agreed.
"Right," the red-haired boy nodded.
"Never underestimate an opponent, I suppose," Kyoko smirked at Matayoshi and Yuuko as they sat across from her. "You think someone really was eavesdropping?" Yuuko frowned at her Digivice but Kyoko chuckled. "Either way, we got the data we wanted. All's well that ends well and all that. Okay, let's check out our spoils," she nodded to her assistant.
Takumi quickly transferred the files and the four of them quickly sifted through the information. Matayoshi frowned as he skimmed through them. "There should be details of the illegal corporate buyout by Kamishiro in those files."
"There's information on the Nile Corporation as well," Kyoko nodded as she found something interesting. "Here it is! The file on Yamashina Makoto," she said, looking towards Yuuko.
"Yes, yes," Matayoshi nodded as he took a look at it too. "He was the lead researcher at Nile back then. It seems he was a man who took quite a lot of pride in his research."
"But he changed his line of work and insists he's never even heard of Kamishiro despite their having bought out his own former company," Kyoko crossed her arms as an intrigued smirk appeared on her face. "Hmm…"
"What's wrong, Kyo-chan?"
"Hmm… This is very interesting indeed." She pointed to another name on the file she was looking at. "There was another lead research at the Nile Corporation besides Yamashina Makoto… Suedou Akemi."
Yuuko gasped in surprise while Takumi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Suedou…?" he frowned as he remembered the eccentric scientist.
Matayoshi crossed his arms. "Ah, yes. I think I remember that guy… A misanthropist. He hated to be with other people and hardly left an impression. But what of it? What does he have to do with anything?"
Yuuko frowned. "I don't know the exact details, but… Suedou Akemi is said to be one of the architects of the foundation of the EDEN Network."
"EDEN!?" the older detective was taken aback. "Suedou was?"
"His main research was on turning human thought into data," the girl nodded. "The avatar system that forms the backbone of EDEN's virtual reality service was brought about almost entirely because of his work. But to think that he did that while at the Nile Corporation…" she brought her hand up to her mouth.
Kyoko did the same and closed her eyes as she considered the facts. "Hmm…"
"Say, Kyo-chan," Matayoshi stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "Could you let me handle this case for a bit?" Curious, Kyoko opened her eyes to look at him. "I've never stopped thinking about it. I want to go back over it one more time, real thorough. Doing it my… I mean, our way," he pulled his cap down.
"If a true detective like you says so… I have no reason to deny you," Kyoko nodded.
"Sorry," he gratefully nodded to her. "I'm going to borrow these files."
"Go right ahead," the woman smiled. "Say hi to my dad."
"Okay…" the man started for the door. "See you later, then."
"Well, there we are," Kyoko smirked. "A tried-and-true detective will continue the case."
"Yeah…" Takumi nodded. "But should we really leave it all to Detective Matayoshi?"
"I don't see a problem," Kyoko crossed her arms and smirked at the boy. "I figured we would continue to assist with the investigation, of course."
"Ah…" Yuuko looked between the two investigators across from her. She nodded as there was nothing else they could do. "If you'll excuse me, then." She stood and Takumi politely showed her out.
When her assistant shut the door, Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth. "Hmm… We all have our sorrows and our joys. I appreciate all of your efforts here," she smiled at the blue-eyed teenager. "This investigation involved some pretty thrilling stuff, even for a detective. You must be exhausted, body, mind and soul. Relax for a while."
Takumi brightly smiled at her and shook his head. "This might just be the adrenaline talking, but I'm not tired yet! A worried client and a puzzling case are calling! And dazzling rewards await us!" he declared.
"Hmm…" Kyoko chuckled at his energy. "You're certainly in good spirits. But what I mean is that you should rest while you can. That's one of your responsibilities, too. Because there will always be times when the cases won't wait and you won't be able to rest. So you should rest now while you can. Don't waste this window of opportunity."
The boy tilted his head to the side. "You say that, but I have to channel this energy somewhere, Kyoko-san."
"You're not convinced?" the woman raised an eyebrow at him. "You must be overflowing with energy." She looked around her office with a smile. "All right, I've got some work to give you. A special job that only you can do," she stated with an urgent nod.
"What is it?" Takumi eagerly asked. He paused as he noticed the scary smile on her face. "W-wait… You don't mean… a guinea pig for your latest caffeinated concoction!?"
Kyoko chuckled at his guess. "Such a rudimentary conjecture! No, the thought of you being a test subject was furthest from my mind. I was planning on giving you a treat. Hmm…" she took a moment to seriously consider what to put into his coffee.
"A… treat…?" Takumi gulped as he backed away from her. "How would it be a treat…?"
"Let's try to match things to your tastes this time," she suggested. "All right, to start with, which do you prefer? Salmon roe or sea urchin? I recommend both, personally," she stated with an eager smile.
"Ah… N-no… I'm completely okay, Kyoko-san…" he tried to protest but the woman ignored him. "Y-you don't have to…"
"Next I was thinking about adding in some stew. What do you like as far as ingredients go?" she asked. "Well, what might you like? Carrots, potatoes, beef, mushrooms… Or should we just throw them all in?"
Takumi let out a shaky chuckle before it turned into sobbing. "Why must the coffee gods punish me…?"
Final Notes: Well, I suppose there will be minor TakumiXYuuko shipping. It can't be helped given how adorable Yuuko is. She's not cute in the same way Fuuka is in Persona 3... It's more like the cute Mitsuru shows whenever she's in a fast food restaurant... Yuuko's a bit psychotic though... and she's very unstable if you insult her family... Oh well. Also, the whole 'nothing to lose' bit... The localization uses "NVNG" or "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained" and "SVSG" for "Something Ventured, Something Gained". It didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me though because the difference between those quotes is very subtle. The original Japanese is "Damemoto" for "Dame de motomoto" but Kyoko's dad played with the wording to say "Dame demo tomo to" which Kyoko shortens to "Dame tomo". As for Jimiken's "Are you picking up what I'm putting down?", I changed it to "Are you feeling me?" because he actually uses the English word "feeling" when he speaks. Plus, no... I'm not picking up what he puts down. For some reason, this saying irks me.