What in Gwyn's name was a "keeper?"

A Fire Keeper? No, that couldn't be it, they were all females. Plus this world didn't even have bonfires in the first place. What in blazes did it mean, then? As much as Astaire racked his brain over the matter, he just couldn't seem to make sense of it.

"Grandma!" Rise scolded, looking upset for some indiscernible reason. Was it related to what a keeper was? Was it bad, then? An insult of some kind? For what purpose? Hadn't they been threatening to have the prior perpetrator hauled off anyway? What had he done?

The train of thought setting off through Astaire's head soon found itself bereft of brakes, running a mile a minute with no signs of stopping. His eyes seemed to glaze over as he slowly tapped his chin in thought, questions piling on top of other questions and pulling him ever deeper into a maddening spiral of unknowing.

Between her granddaughter's puffy-cheeked look of betrayal and the towering fellow's absent look of bewilderment, it was hard not to laugh in their faces. Not that Rise's grandmother held herself back at all, snickering mischievously. Rise was cute at the best of times, but that face? The face only her Grandma had ever been able to coax out of her? That was the tops.

"Oh come now, Rise-chan. Hardly anything wrong with telling someone he's done a good job now, is there?" She teased slyly. She knew that Rise knew what her original intent had been, her face said as much. But if she wanted to obscure said intent, she had no choice but to play along. She stamped a foot and crossed her arms, cheeks still puffed out. Bingo. "And a mighty fine job it was. I think I've got goosebumps!" She resumed, turning her attention to the fellow in blue.

Still knee-deep in thought over what the hell a "keeper" was, the introspective line of inquiry was abruptly tugged loose, bringing Astaire back to the real world. "Pardon? You've got what now?"

"Goosebumps, goosebumps! There's nothing that gets me quite like seeing someone get their comeuppance, I'll tell you. Only thing better than seeing it is dishing it out yourself!" The old lady enthused, rolling up the sleeves of her yukata and punching the air. "Ooh, if you hadn't been here I'd have given him what-for myself, I'd have!"

Despite her diminutive stature, the elder's vim and vigour couldn't keep Astaire's grin down. "Good thing I came when I did, then. You'd probably have left him hobbling rather than sprinting."

"You bet I would've!" She boasted, brimming with an energy that coaxed laughs from the both of them. Even Rise, who'd remained quiet up until then, couldn't resist a light chuckle. "I'll admit, I wasn't sure what to think when I first saw you two in the paper..." Astaire froze. Not this again. "...But I think I'd be loathe to say my Rise-chan isn't in good hands after today." The old woman gave the knight a low bow, eyes wide as he tried to think of how to respond. "Please continue to take good care of my Granddaughter, if you would. It's hard to keep up when you're my age."

Her request hit Astaire deeply. A direct request from his charge's progenitors, a blessing of trust in him based on very little. To say it moved him wasn't giving the act justice. The only response he could see as fitting was to recall the act once taught to him by Princess Dusk. Head lowered, hands together. "It'd be my pleasure, Ma'am."

Seeing the exchange as evidence they were more or less done, Rise stepped forward, clearing her throat. "Why, it's enough to make an old woman jealous." Her Grandma began, stopping her in her tracks. "Prancing around with a big lug like yourself, ready to run headlong into whatever at a moment's notice with not a word of complaint." Oh no. Please no. Rise opened her mouth to interrupt, but... "I know if it were me, I'd have a hard time keeping my hands off." The old woman winked and nudged.

"OkayIthinkwe'llbegoingnowthanksGrandmabye!" Rise blurted out all at once, latching onto Astaire's arm with a vicegrip from both of hers and dragging him off down the street. Destination: anywhere but freaking here.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Grandma added, cackling again as Rise abruptly unhooked herself from Astaire's arm, getting far too pent up in far too short a period of time. She puffed her cheeks out again, looking like tomatoes when tinged with the deep red that'd shot onto her face. Arms back to being crossed, she strode off down the street, ears as close to letting out steam as they humanly could be.

As oblivious as he was strong, Astaire could do naught but take after her, completely oblvious.

"Alright I admit it, I'm guilty!" Teddie blurted out without warning. "I can't deny it any longer, it wasn't my fault, it was impulse! A crime of passion! I couldn't hold myself back, I swear!" He insisted, clutching his face dramatically and staring off into the distance. "Yes… I'm guilty! Guilty of being head-over-heels over Nao-chan!" He finished, clutching at his heart as he clenched his free fist.

"Be serious Teddie, we haven't got all day." Naoto replied flatly, pencil held at the ready over her notebook as she and Teddie sat in the Junes food court. He'd seemed like a reasonable choice at first. Out of all the long-term members of the Investigation Team, he was the only one to have originally come from another world, so it seemed logical for him to have the most knowledge of how their current predicament might work.

Of course, there was just one problem with this thought. It was Teddie. "How could anyone keep calm under these circumstances? Grilled one-on=one by the famous Detective Prince! It's more than a bear can bear!"

"If you don't stop acting like this, I might have to call Yosuke-senpai over to get your supervisor. Unless you told him you were meeting with me instead of working?"

Immediately, Teddie was sat straight, arms on the table and a serious look drawn on his face. "I'm ready. Hit me, Nao-chan."

The complete 180-shift in Teddie's mood was something to behold. Proud that her idea worked, Naoto smiled to herself as she settled into Interrogation Mode. "Alright. Due to recent events, there's a probable chance that the world Astaire-san originally came from is somehow interfering with our own. I don't know how or why, but the things that have happened as of late all have to do with that other world. I don't suppose you could hazard a guess as to why, could you?"

"Hrrrmmmm…" Teddie closed his eyes and screwed up his face in thought. He at the very least looked like he was trying. "Your guess is as good as mine, Nao-chan. I don't know that much about Stairry-kun's world, it's probably nothing like mine!" He finally admitted. Of course it'd be too easy for him to just know off the top of his head. Even still, Naoto felt a little let down at the lack of a conclusion. "...Although… doesn't that sound kinda similar to what happened last year when the fog wouldn't let up?"

Naoto's eyes went wide. He was right. The Shadow World had interfered with their own before. "Teddie… That's actually a valid point!"

"Rrrrr! Why is that so surprising?! I'm a beary reliable bear!"

"That you are, evidently." Naoto admitted, trying her best to recall the events of last year.

The fog was going to envelop Earth if left unchecked, and was brought about by Ameno-sagiri, a powerful foe inside the TV World who believed that doing what it did was the desire of all mankind…

Well that didn't take long. "There's a snag in that line of thinking, I'm afraid." Naoto pointed out, relaxing in her seat ever so slightly, the rush of finding a possible lead wearing off. "That series of events had a mastermind. A being who had a motive, as well as the means to carry it out. As it stands now, this case is lacking such a figure."

Teddie's reaction was a bit more dramatic, dropping his head onto the table and rolling on the spot. "Back to square one, huh? It was all going so well, too…" He moped.

However, at least one of them wasn't going to lose hope that easily. "That doesn't mean there's no such culprit this time. Just because we don't know of their existence doesn't mean they don't exist at all. Although I don't know how exactly we'd go about confirming their existence, either…"

Snap. Her eyes were on Teddie as he snapped his fingers, a light bulb having been lit somewhere in his head. "Nao-chan, I think I know where to look!" The look of sheer disbelief Naoto couldn't resist wearing spurred him on. "Last time, we only got to face that monster in the TV when we chased down the killer in their own area of the TV, right?" Naoto nodded slowly. "Well… heeheehee… Guess who knows about an area of the TV we haven't fully explored yet?"

A quick explanation of how he'd met Rise and Astaire in the TV World on the day of their first meeting followed. A new piece of the world made entirely from scratch? This could have been big. Possibly even the first step on the team's way to figuring out what was going on, and more importantly, how to solve it. So shocked was Naoto at the revelation that she'd forgotten entirely about taking notes. The moment she caught herself on, the pencil was practically left smoking at the tip after she finally concluded.

Naoto massaged her now-cramped hand as she thought about how unwise such an idea had been. "I can't believe it. We actually have a legitimate line of investigation!" Though she wasn't proud to admit it, Naoto hadn't actually been expecting much of Teddie. She'd been expecting to have compiled a list of guesses, theories and "what-ifs," not an actual point of interest. She had to hand it to him, Teddie had certainly outdone himself.

"There you are!" Another manner in which Teddie'd outdone himself was shirking off work responsibilities for so long. He cried out as Yosuke snuck up behind him and pinched his ear, dragging him out of the seat. "You'd better have some kind of an explanation for just bailing out, or I'll turn you into a Teddie-skin rug!" Only once he'd expressed his frustrations did he turn and take notice of who exactly he'd been seated with. "Eh? Naoto? What are you doing here?"

As thoroughly intrigued as she was about the lead, Naoto paused. Was telling Yosuke really a good idea right now? He'd made it perfectly clear how he felt about their new acquaintance from the first moment he'd appeared before them as a human. Telling him that he was suspected of causing all these disasters certainly wouldn't do that sentiment any favours. At the same time, Yosuke was still a part of the team. She couldn't not tell him, as it'd only make his mood worse upon finding out later.

Just as she was at a loss for what to do, a grey-haired guardian emerged from Junes proper. "Hey, Naoto. Have you been waiting long?" Yu asked as cooly as ever, arriving with timing that could only be said to be perfect. "I haven't got much time to kill since it's a school night, so we'd better get a move on."

Almost like he was able to read her thoughts. Naoto got up wordlessly and glanced back at Teddie and Yosuke, now engaged in a headlock after grabbing by the ear had failed. "Hey, partner!" Yosuke managed between groans, trying to keep the bear held, suppressing him with a noogie. "Shoulda known Naoto wouldn't come all this way just to meet with you, you slacker!"

His form was excellent, inescapable. Even Kanji would have struggled to do a better job. "Alright Yosuke, give him a break already." Yu said, guiltily trying to stifle a laugh.

"It was him taking a break that got him into this mess in the first place!" Unfortunately for Yosuke, the momentary lapse in attention cost him his captive as Teddie gracefully slipped from his grasp and shot between his legs, shouting gleefully that he was free. "Welp, there he goes. No hope of catching him now." Lamented Yosuke as he rested his hands on his hips. "By the way, what gives with the meeting? You two figure something out?"

Just as Naoto felt at a loss as to what to answer him with, Yu interjected. "Maybe. We can't be sure of anything until we've looked into it. If we find out anything worth investigating, we'll be sure to fill you and everyone else in." He dodged expertly, shooting his partner a glint-eyed thumbs up at the end.

Well, that about settled it. "Gotcha. Keep me posted!" And with a returned thumbs up to the two of them, Yosuke took off in hot pursuit of his golden-haired companion, disappearing into the waning evening crowds without a trace.

Given they were the only two left, both detective and senpai turned and began making their way towards their destination. "Thanks for your assistance. I didn't want to give Yosuke-senpai any reason to be in a fouler mood than he's already been in." Naoto said finally, feeling like she could actually breathe again.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." His unexpectedly grim tone was such an abrupt change from earlier that it honestly caught Naoto off guard. "Depending on what Igor tells us, he may have every right to be." Yu said not a word more as Naoto found herself having to pick up her pace to keep up with him.

Bear-Made Glasses (Ultramarine).

"Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…"

A pair of glasses assembled through unknown means...

"Twenty six, twenty seven…"

...and said to provide the wearer greater clarity.

"Twenty eight! Twenty nine!"

Lessens the effects of…

"THIRTY!"

Astaire leapt in surprise as the familiarly enthusiastic voice ejected him from his thoughts, ripping his focus from the glasses in his hand to the multitudinous sachets of soy sauce which tumbled from atop his arms, scattering across the table and floor. "Huh? How did… huh?" Every move he made seem to send more sachets cascading to the ground, only furthering his confusion.

"Yesss! Told you I could get twenty or more!" Boasted Chie from across the table, fistpumping to comemorate her victory, seemingly uncaring of the mess she and Astaire had just made. "I bet if I tried it again I could get up to forty next time…" She grinned vexatiously, already eyeing up her victim as though planning where she'd strike next time.

Ignoring her worrying look in his direction, it came to Astaire's attention that he had no clue where he was. Given Rise was sat next to Chie on the other side of the table, he could do little but meet her eyes and hope for answers. "Don't look at me, that's what you get for not snapping out of it for so long!" Though she tried, she wasn't concealing her laugh very well.

"Where-?" As Astaire turned his head, another three sachets toppled from atop his head. "Where exactly-?" And then another two from behind both his ears. "For Gwyn's sake, how many more of these blasted things are on me?!" He finally snapped, flapping his arms and knocking around his head like a shaken ragdoll.

At that, there was little point in trying to hide it anymore. Rise buried her mouth in her hands as she and Chie burst out in fits of laughter. All Astaire could do was try and shrink back into his coat, looking much like a very annoyed aquamarine turtle. "Well that's what you get for going all-" Chie mimicked the pose he'd been holding the glasses in, "-on us! We had to drag you in here ourselves!"

Finally free of sachets, Astaire glanced around at wherever "here" was. It seemed pretty similar to Hagakure back in the city, albeit with less prying eyes and a much smaller premises. In any case, it smelled just as good, if not better. "...You're going to have to refresh my memory, I'm afraid. Last I checked, Ms. Satonaka wasn't even with us."

It was a good thing Rise had a strong jaw bone, or her mouth might have rocketed down and sent the table into Astaire's face. "That far back?! It's been like twenty minutes since we met up!" She was met with a blank stare. He really hadn't a clue. "Alright alright alright. Do you remember us leaving my Grandma's place?"

"Ah, about that! Can you explain to me what exactly a keep-"

"ANYWAY." Rise might as well have brandished a knife with how sharply she cut him off. "Afterwards, do you remember us deciding to get food when we realised we hadn't eaten since lunch?"

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time passed by as Astaire propped his head up on the table, gazing to the ceiling in deep thought as he drummed his fingers off his cheek. "...Er…" Rise was practically off her seat entirely as she leaned over in anticipation. "...Yes! Yes, I remember! You said you were starving because of that omele-" He was again abruptly cut off as a sachet bounced squarely off his nose.

"Good job, Astaire-kun!" Rise faux-praised him, sachets lodged between her fingers like shuriken as she glared daggers at him. "And what happened after that?"

"I'm not entirely sure I want to remember if you're going to keep looking at me like that." Many a fierce look Astaire had been given from one beast or another, but they paled in comparison to the one Rise was shooting him right now. Deadly eyes draped with clumps of hair up above, damp from the rain. "Wait, that's right! It started raining after we left!"

Everything sounded about normal. What could have happened? "Bingo!" Rise cheered, a few sirens away from sounding like a cheesy game show host. "It's time for your final question of the night!" A conclusion she must have come to as well, evidently. "Can you remember me saying we needed to keep dry or else my bra would start peeking through my- Hey!"

Bear-Made Glasses (Ultramarine).

A pair of-

"Gimmie those!" Chie snapped the glasses out of Astaire's quickly tightening grip, leaving him able only to blink dumbly as he resumed proper consciousness. "Welp, guess that about nails it down." She concluded with a shrug.

Oh wow, that was the reason? Rise had anticipated that he'd simply looked at the glasses on a whim and found himself spirited away, but seemingly that wasn't it. She laughed again. Unlike before, it was a gentle laugh. One borne not from the hapless knight's comical bewilderment, but his bashfulness. "Hee… you're just like a little kid, Astaire-kun. So innocent." She giggled.

It was impossible to keep eye contact. It was like trying to push together two matching magnet ends, one of which was powered by the heat encroaching on Astaire's ears. Every time it seemed like his eyes might settle on her, they were off to another part of the room. Gods above. Gods above. What in Lordran could have prepared him for a situation like this?

The more agitated he got, the more she looked at him. It was that laugh of hers. That laugh which strung up his heart like a spear through the chest. It didn't stop. The longer he tried to ignore it, the longer he wound up doing something which spurred it on even more. Eventually, Astaire was reduced to burying his head in his hands, having nowhere else to go.

He felt the spear twist and writhe in the wound, as though naught but ripping his heart out entirely would stop it. There was no denying what it meant. He felt as though opening his eyes would show his shadow on the other end of the shaft. Taunting him. Goading him. "Admit it." It whispered. "Say it. You can't ignore it any longer."

"She's cute, alright?!" He shouted inwardly. "She's unbearably cute! A being so delightful that Lordran could never have produced her like! Not even an equal, nothing close!" There. He admitted it.

Bop. Bop. Something was hitting off the backs of his hands. "Earth to Astaire-kun. Earth to Astaire-kun." He parted them in the middle, receiving another sachet to the face as thrown by Chie. "Jeez, even without the glasses you're a spacer. You feeling alright?" She asked, a look of genuine concern on her face betraying the next shot she was lining up.

Absolutely not. Not at all. His admittance didn't make him feel better, not even a little. A monsoon of guilt poured down inside him as he met the girls' eyes again. It was the one thing he wasn't supposed to do. One solitary thing. That was it. Put aside your own desires and goals for the benefit of others, in the name of Lord Gwyn. The sun may have burnt him to a crisp for his disobedience, his selfishness, or anything else, it wouldn't have made a difference. Try as he might, he couldn't help it.

THWACK. Astaire's knees thumped off the bottom of the table as he recoiled in shock from the Mach-10 packet of soy sauce that had nearly torn his head from his neck. Whatever look of concern Chie had, it had been replaced with a look unseen outside the circles of Hell itself. "Would you cut that out?! You could at least pretend like you want to be here!"

"W-What?!" His and Rise's looks matched perfectly. Apparently she hadn't been expecting it either. "N-No, I… I'm sort of… I can't…" Astaire stammered uselessly. Finally, he just gave up. A sigh of resignation settled him on one answer. "Forgive me, the both of you. I'm afraid my thoughts are a bit out of sorts, I just can't seem to be relieved of them." He said lamentingly.

He jumped again as Chie reached across the table and straight up smacked him in the forehead. Not a serious smack, more to bring his attention to her. "Don't think, feel!" She recited passionately as she flung back into her seat. "Whatever it is you're hung up on, ignore it! Focusing for too long on one thing will only make it consume you until it's all you can think about!" It was a small wonder Chie's fervent enthusiasm didn't actually set her alight altogether. "If you have time to worry about it now, you'll have time to worry about it later. But later won't have food as good, so pay attention, would you?!"

Astaire made a pertinent note to self: Never space out in front of Chie again.

That aside, he could see the sense in her words. Getting distracted like that was a bad habit to get into, at least when they were out in the open. Focus renewed, Astaire smacked both sides of his face, as though seeking to shatter every botheration occluding his senses proper. "Not a problem! Consider my mind awash from worry henceforth! Now, what are we ordering?"

"Don't worry, we ordered you something while you were all-" Rise assumed his glasses-trance pose herself, much to Chie's amusement.

"Wait, you did?" Though that was probably for the best, given Astaire's usual aptitude for reading. "What could you possibly have ordered me?"

Then he saw it.

It loomed into view from across the room, carried by a girl with short blue hair. "See, while you were out of it, I explained to Chie-senpai that you basically inhale everything put in front of you." Including a supernova omelette, which she'd omitted. "So we both agreed that we needed to see who was the bigger eater."

Chie pounded a fist against her palm. "I'll warn you right now, if you don't slow down and eat like a normal person, you've got no chance." She boasted, teeth on show like a ravenous shark. "Not that you ever had one to begin with."

The bowl placed in front of Rise was fine. Normal. Reasonably sized. Nothing any more surprising than what she'd ordered at Hagakure.

The bowls placed in front of Astaire and Chie were less fine.

Earlier in the day, Astaire had told himself that he'd humour Kanji with his little lesson in foulmouthery, even if he didn't take it to heart. Vulgarity didn't befit a knight, much less one pledged to Lord Gwyn.

"Holy shit." This was before he met the Aiya Rainy Day Special.

"Welcome. It has been some time." The ever-familiar voice greeted Yu as the unmistakably blue room faded into view. Though swamped with familiar sights, something was definitely different. A sound. The sound of cards being shuffled. "Nothing in this room happens without reason. I sense you have questions in need of answers." Yu nodded simply. How Igor knew was anyone's guess. "Sadly, I cannot impart the knowledge you seek." The deck of cards rung out as they impacted against the table, aligning the deck uniformly. "The cards, however, may yet."

From the deck slid out a line of four cards. With a quick gesture from his hands, Igor wordlessly commanded them to unveil themselves. As the results laid themselves bare, for the briefest moment, Yu swore he saw Igor's permanent grin falter a bit. It was so brief as to be nigh imperceptible, but something made caused the involuntary twitch.

Yu gulped. If it could rattle Igor even slightly, this wasn't going to be good.

The first card stood to attention. "The Moon, in the upright position. A symbol of madness, darkness, illusions and trickery, amongst other things. Perhaps even a signification of hidden enemies in one's midst." Off to a great start so far.

The second card made itself known. "The Lovers, in the reversed position." Rise's arcana. "An indication of failure, and foolish designs to follow."

God, could it get much worse?

Had he said it openly, Yu would have cursed himself and his big mouth at the sight of the third card. "The Fool, in the reversed position." First Rise's arcana, now his? "Representing freedom and spontaneity." Well, that didn't sound too bad. "Then again, it is easy to perceive oneself as free when held in a cloud of ignorance and negligence."

At this point, Yu just wanted it to be over, if only to know that after the fourth card things couldn't possibly get worse. Yet his eyes widened at the sight of it all the same. It was an arcana he didn't recognise. A woman, with various beasts set underneath her. Number 11. "The Lust, in the upright position. A symbol of passion, inner strength and unconditional devotion."

Ah. That's why he didn't recognise it. "That's Astaire-san's arcana, isn't it?" Yu concluded. Though perhaps Astaire's strength was more outer than inner. "But how's that fit in with the other three? I was honestly expecting more doom and gloom."

Trickery, darkness, hidden enemies, ignorance, failure and Astaire's arcana? How did it all fit together?

If Yosuke had been there, he could hazard a guess at what he'd say. That Astaire was the hidden enemy, and was preying on their ignorance to lead to their downfall. For all Yu knew, that might even have been accurate. But what reason would he have? What part of latching onto the most heavily monitored member of the Investigation Team made betraying them any easier? If he was some kind of evil, he was going about it a bad way.

"Perhaps…" Igor began, wresting Yu from his ruminating on the matter. "It would be prudent to consider to whom the moniker of "ignorant" best applies, as a start."

Ignorant, huh? Well, working on the "Astaire is evil" presumption, the entire team (barring Rise, in some capacity,) could be said to be ignorant in regards to what they knew about the knight himself.

...Actually, wasn't he himself much the same? From what he'd said about his shadow, he didn't exactly sound like an expert when it came to remembering things about himself either. Couldn't he be described as the most ignorant out of any of them? Taking that as the case, could it be that the "hidden enemy" was only hidden because of his ignorance towards them? Could he have been tricked into ignorance?

This wasn't going to be a one man job, clearly. "Thanks, Igor. I think we can figure it out from here. You've been a big help." Yu said, beginning to feel his consciousness fade as he departed for his physical body.

"Ah, one more thing." Of all the times to make an addendum, Igor had to choose the moments leading up to Yu leaving. Godforbid he say anything while his thoughts were all there. "Looking back towards the previous year for answers would be a wise decision. The Sea of Souls may yet provide you new insight."

His final words still ringing in his ears, Yu took a fresh breath as he returned to his body. The sound of rain hitting an umbrella was the first to greet him upon his arrival, as carried by a very rigid Naoto. She gasped slightly as he stretched the stiffness out of his limbs. Given his body had been completely still for the past few minutes, he could hardly blame her. "Here, give me that." He pried the umbrella from her, allowing her to finally relieve her arm of duty.

She huddled her arms closer in to herself, feeling the damp seeping into her clothes. "Thank you, Senpai. What did he end up telling you?" Naoto asked quickly, not wanting to stay out in the rain any longer than need be.

"Nothing straightforward or positive, anyway." Not that he hadn't expected as much. "You wouldn't happen to know much about tarot readings, would you?"

The sigh he earned in response was a pretty good indicator. "I suppose I may learn. I doubt Grandpa would have much in the way of reading material on the matter, though…" She noted, gazing at the ground.

"He also happened to say that looking at last year might be helpful." Yu added, suddenly finding Naoto at full attention. "Yeah, just like Teddie suggested. Looks like he might be onto something after all." He said, rubbing his chin in thought with his free hand. Onto something they may have been, but what?

The rate at which clues were beginning to pile up was becoming too rapid to ignore. "In that case, I think it'd be wise if we sought out the area Teddie mentioned within the TV, as soon as possible. I'll contact everyone and-"

She was cut off midway to her cellphone as Yu raised a hand. "I'll take care of that. In the meantime, why don't you think about what the Tarot stuff meant? I'll text you the details later, then we can compare notes." Well, leader's orders, there was no use fighting it. An affirmative nod from the both of them solidified their plans proper.

It took a moment in the following silence for Yu to notice that the umbrella had stopped making such a racket. "Oh, looks like the rain's clearing up. We'd probably be better off getting back to Junes before it starts up again." Yu suggested as he began walking off.

"Actually, Senpai…" Yu peered over his shoulder, head cocked. "Go on without me. I have some other matters to attend to here. I'll be right along afterwards." Her back was already turned and her cap pitched down before Yu could even inquire further, taking off down the street without looking back.

Well, whatever floated her boat. "Probably going to look for a book on Tarot cards or something." Yu thought to himself.

...Hang on, wasn't the bookstore the other way down the street?

"Euurgh…"

"Didn't I say you never had a chance?" Chie boasted smugly between chews.

"That's what you get for being such a greedy-guts, Astaire-kun." Rise shrugged.

It wasn't greed so much as a lack of any comparable sustenance for as long as Astaire could remember. Who could resist wolfing down everything after never having eaten? Evidently, someone who tried such an approach on the Rainy Day Special, if Astaire was anything to go by. He'd never experienced a food coma before, but it made him wish someone would impale him again just to give the food somewhere to go.

Defeatedly slumped in his chair, barely able to move a muscle, Astaire could do little but follow Chie's hand in horror as she continued putting food away, a dire look on his face. "I'm beginning to suspect that I'd rather take another Washing Pole to the back than try eating that again." He managed to say, his mouth being the only part of him willing to move.

Chie stopped mid-chew, a stray bit of beef hanging from her mouth. "Take a what to the where now?"

As much as he'd liked to have elucidated, Astaire had felt better bleeding out on the ground than he did now. That much was evident just by looking at him, leaving Rise in charge of the explanation. Seeing as telling everyone in Aiya that Astaire had torn up the kids' playground didn't seem like the best idea, she kept her tone hushed.

She wasn't even done with the story and Chie had already forgotten about the beef bowl, having instead turned her full attention to Rise's retelling of the battle. "...and then, he went behind him when his guard was down and just ran his sword all the way through his back!" She continued, pointing at her chest and motioning how the blade had travelled.

This fact earned Astaire another of those looks from Chie. One of those ones Rise had given him when he'd recounted how the Undead Burg had went. That look of "How the hell are you still alive after that?" He didn't know what else to do but shrug. Never mind how it happened, just be thankful that it did.

"...and then he dropped to the ground, and didn't get up. He just fell like a ragdoll, and then the spirit turned to the door and started kicking and kicking and the kids and I didn't know what to do and he just wouldn't get up and-!"

"Woah, woah, take a breath, Rise-chan!" Her mania quickly getting out of hand, Chie had given her shoulder a shake to snap out of it.

It stopped her mad rambling, but it didn't stem the tears which had formed around her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's… It was just so scary! I thought he'd-! That the kids and I were going to-!" She tried to say it, but couldn't. She stopped herself as the tears overwhelmed her, memories of that exact moment replaying in her head again.

She wasn't fully bawling, but she afforded a light sob or two as she dried her eyes. It was enough to pick at Astaire's heart yet again. He'd seen her after all had been said and done, but he'd no idea how hopeless a situation it had looked to everyone else in the thick of it.

He honestly wasn't sure how to interpret it. Nobody had ever shed tears over any death of his before now. "Anyway, I got back up and sent him back whence he came. That was all." He summarised, now having balanced out his blood-beef ratio. No point in Rise fighting off more tears to finish it herself.

Yet Chie looked between the two of them with eyes wide. "It got that bad and you still got up and finished it off?" Another one of those looks to ensure Astaire was, in fact, not dead. "Holy cow. People from your world are really something, Astaire-kun."

"You don't know the half of it."

As Rise collected herself, Chie found her eyes drawn to the glasses that they'd confiscated earlier. She picked them up with the hand not supporting her head, examining them from a few angles. "Oh yeah, what's up with the spacing out over these? Something wrong with them?"

"I believe so. They make me feel… odd, for some reason." Astaire began, his brow creasing as he shot a pointed look back at Chie. "A reason I believe I'd almost deduced, until somebody thought it wise to bury me in sauce parcels."

A practiced flick splayed open the legs of the glasses in Chie's hand as she gave them a curious look, finally settling on putting them on. "Oh my gosh, wow!"

"What? What is it?!" Astaire and Rise both asked in unison, practically jumping down her throat.

"...They're completely normal. Just like my pair." Her dinner partners slunk disappointedly back into their respective chairs, heads back as they groaned. "C'mon Rise-chan, try them on." She said as she offered the glasses to her kouhai.

Well, Chie-senpai seemed fine. No reason she shouldn't have been the same. She popped the glasses on eagerly. "Huh, you're right. Nothing out of the ordinary here." Just as Chie had said, sans colour they were just like her own. However, it wasn't like Astaire was lying. Something certainly had happened earlier, she'd seen it herself. "Maybe it was a one-time thing. Hold on a second."

Before he knew what was happening, Rise had leaned across the table and placed the glasses on his own face. As soon as the frames lined up with his eyes, it happened again. His coat seemed to suddenly weigh down harder on him, his body suddenly bereft of energy as he slumped back down in his chair. "It wasn't a one-time thing, Ms. Kujikawa." He mumbled lethargically.

Off. Astaire was fine, felt like a million souls. On. Bluuuuurgh. Off. Fine. On. Bluuuuurgh. Off-

"Alright, that's quite enough of that, thank you!" Astaire insisted, ducking away from Rise's next attempt frantically. "I don't know how I feel but I'd much rather save it for the walk back, if you don't mind!"

Mention of the walk back spurred Chie into looking at her phone, loathe though she was to stop watching Rise tease Astaire with his own glasses. "Oh shoot, it's that late?! I've gotta run off all this food!" She quickly slapped out a number of 1000 yen bills, eyes lingering sadly on the occupied bowl as she longed for the day she could finish it and eat for free. "I'll see you two later, but right now I've got a patrol to be continuing! Later!" And with that, Chie Satonaka bolted into the night, not even waiting to close the door after her.

Rise and Astaire blinked. She'd taken off so fast it hardly seemed real. Chie was to running as Astaire was to changing clothes, it seemed. "Well, I guess we'd better head back too. It is getting late, after all. Don't wanna get caught outside Junes without Yosuke's master key." Swiping up the bills Chie'd left and going over to pay for the rest.

Both bowls of beef lay cold and unfinished. If he hadn't recently challenged one to a bout and lost, Astaire might have felt worse about it. For the amount of large enemies he'd successfully defeated, for something bowl-sized to have brought about his downfall was a little embarrassing. "Mark my words, Rainy Day Special, you can't best me forever." He thought inwardly.

But now wasn't the time for revenge. Not yet, at least. The well-fed knight stretched himself out in his chair before getting up. As he pushed his chair in, a familiar sight from through the open door caught his eye. "I say, isn't that Ms. Shirogane?"

The tab paid, Rise's head shot around so quickly that she risked slapping herself with her own pigtails. A possessed look found its way to her eyes at the knight's words. A similarly possessed stare outside confirmed them. Naoto Shirogane had just passed by Aiya without noticing the both of them.

For the briefest of moments, Rise's mind was sent racing. Like the mind of a skilled mathematician, threaded details wove together in her head, stitching a tapestry upon which the final thought was sure to form.

Naoto was in the shopping district. Alone. At night. She didn't know they were there. She was walking down the street away from the bookstore. She wasn't stopping for food. That could have meant only one thing.

She was heading for Tatsumi Textiles.

To Kanji.

Fear gripped Astaire as something clawed at his shoulder. A fear comparable only to that produced by the Abyss itself. He dared to turn his head, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as he came face to face with a demon bearing an uncanny resemblance to Rise. "Astaire-kun." It uttered, a cheshire grin spread on its face. "We need to follow Naoto-kun right now."

To this day, there exists no word in the languages of men, giant, god or beast to properly convey the unbridled, primal terror set upon Knight Astaire that very moment.

This was ridiculous. Yu-senpai had already assured her that he'd contact everyone about the upcoming expedition when he returned home. There was no reason to be here. Just head back already.

Such thoughts buzzed around in Naoto's head like an irksome fly, and had been doing so all the way up the street. No matter how much her brain tried assuring her that such a course of action was illogical, her body kept on walking anyway.

No, of course there was a reason. She was so close to Tatsumi Textiles that she might as well tell Kanji ahead of time. There was nothing wrong with him being able to better prepare himself.

Then again, that didn't require a physical visit. She had his number after all, it would be all too easy to message him about the events. But at that rate she might as well just text everyone at once and let them all...

Naoto sighed. This was ridiculous.

Tarot cards. Kanji's mother seemed like a cultured sort of person, maybe she had a book on the subject. The bookstore down the road would be closing soon, chances are she'd miss it altogether. This was a better option by far. Ignoring the fact that she didn't even know if Kanji's mother owned the book. Also ignoring the fact that she'd have gotten to the bookstore in plenty of time had she not set off towards Tatsumi Textiles instead.

"N-Naoto? The hell you doin' here?"

Naoto blinked out of her contemplation like a balloon had been popped in her face. Kanji stood at the door of Tatsumi Textiles, which she distinctly remembered not being in front of when she'd started her musing.

Never mind how she got here, she was here all the same. Naoto quickly concealed her surprise under the brim of her hat as best she could. "Good evening, Kanji-kun. I imagine you're doing well?"

Kanji shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. "I-I guess." Don't, don't, don't ask why she was imagining that in the first place. Probably just being polite. That was it.

The silence set in quickly.

"I came to inform you that we'll be going into the TV World sometime soon. We have reason to believe there's something worth investigating inside, possibly related to the odd occurrences that've happened over the past few days." Naoto finally said, hand lowering from her hat.

"Really? Huh." Kanji glanced off to the side and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, that's cool and all, but, uh…" He paused, noticing the quizzical look Naoto shot him. "...Couldn't you have just messaged everyone about it? No reason to come all this way just to tell me."

Just as Naoto had told herself. She shook the thought out of her head. "I merely happened to be passing by as a result of another investigation." She lied. "I felt that, being as close by as I was, I might as well let you know ahead of time."

Whatever hint of deception had snuck into her explanation, it seemed to satisfy Kanji. He seemed to relax a bit as his arms returned to the side of the doorway. "S-Sure. Thanks for the heads up."

The silence loomed once again.

"Hey, uh-"

"I was wonder-"

Both started and stopped in unison. "Y-You first." Kanji stammered out.

Naoto cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you happened to possess any books on Tarot cards."

He'd probably think it was a stupid request. Coming to a textile shop for knowledge on soothsaying. He'd think it was stupid because it was stupid. Why had she thought this was a good idea? Who did she think she was- "Yeah, sure. Gimmie a minute."

Kanji dislodged himself from the doorway, turning just in time to miss the severe look of surprise on Naoto's face. He disappeared into a room at the back and, after a period of rummaging, reappeared with a thick, navy-coloured book. From the trace of dust that had escaped being wiped off, it was clear it hadn't been used for a while. "Here ya go."

Though she held out a hand and accepted the book, Naoto gazed at it like it had grown eyes and gazed back. "You actually had one? Of what benefit is a book on Tarot cards to a Textile store?" She asked, still in disbelief at what she was holding.

"My old lady bought it ages ago for some stupid reason. Sat gathering dust in the back ever since." It was only after answering the question that Kanji took notice of Naoto's general tone and shock. "What? You come askin' for a book when you didn't think we'd have it? The hell is that about?"

Yeah, what was that about? Again, Naoto shook the thought aside, harder this time. "Forgive me. Thank you for the book, Kanji-kun." Again, reaching for the hat was her first response.

Sadly, no amount of hat-brim-ducking-under shenanigans could wist away legitimate questions. "Whaddya even need that thing for, anyway? Thought detectives were all clues and evidence, not fortune-telling." Kanji asked, looking puzzled.

"Senpai received a fortune pertaining to our current situation from the Velvet Room. He asked me to try and interpret what it might mean." She admitted, running her hand up and down the spine of the book, her eyes still fixed on it.

Another answer, another puzzled expression. "He did? Do you even know much about Tarot cards and stuff?" She looked at him, brow lowered, then tapped the book. "Oh, right. Too bad you couldn't just get a straight answer out of 'em."

"My sentiments exactly." Naoto agreed, pinching the bridge of her nose exasperatedly. "I'll admit, I'm beginning to wish I'd declined Senpai's request…" She opened the book and quickly thumbed through the pages. "I'd rather not be bogged down having to read this while keeping track of all the other details of this case." Of which the pile just kept getting bigger. Just thinking about it made Naoto feel tired.

Kanji ran a hand down his face, his lower lip between his teeth. "How 'bout I read it then? Save you the trouble." The two looked at each other for a beat before Kanji's expression caved. "Alright, so maybe I ain't the best one to be askin' to read stuff. Feel like I gotta do something though, I lent you the damn book."

The thought entered Naoto's head and slid out before she could stop it. "What if we analysed it together?"

"YES!" Rise kept her voice as quiet as she could, but couldn't resist the rise in pitch, just short of a dog whistle. "I knew it! I just knew I knew it! Oh, isn't it great, Astaire-kun?!" She enthused, lightly tapping him on the side.

While her own expression could have lit up the entire street as she peeked around the edge of the wall, the same couldn't be said for the face that peeked out above hers. "Something about this seems a little more intrusive than I'm comfortable with."

"You don't understand! This is the culmination of a whole lot of hard work on my part! It's my right to see how this plays out!"

"You say that, but I can't help feeling like this is taking that sentiment a little far."

"I've known them for long enough that eavesdropping is a given, don't worry!"

Astaire sighed. "I'm not the expert on social graces here, but that doesn't sound right, even to my ears." He slowly slowly reeled back around the corner, resting his back against the wall and folding his arms. "Whatever you like, I suppose. I can only imagine Kanji would be a bit more respectful of our privacy if our positions were-"

"Ohmigosh!" Again with the dog-whistle pitch. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!" Rise pried herself away, stars in her eyes. "They totally just arranged to meet up in the city and talk about things over coffee!" She fanned her face, gazing at the ground and pacing in a small circle. "This is so, so, so great! I can hardly believe it!"

"Nor can I, given 'things' could refer to anything under the sun." Astaire said, entirely deadpan. "They could simply be meeting up to talk about-" Astaire ground to a halt as Rise's slender hands roughly grasped him by the lapels of his coat.

"There's only one thing two people do when they go way, way out of their way to meet up for coffee, and it's not to talk about the weather!" Rise insisted, rocking her taller companion back and forth on the spot.

"Could you please stop doing that?"

"It's a date, Astaire-kun! Naoto-kun and Kanji-kun are going on a date! This is serious business!" It was only after saying it that Rise had a thought. Immediately her shaking halted, her eyes meeting Astaire's as he looked completely stumped. "You… you do know what a date isdon't you?"

"Well it's settled, then." Naoto concluded, back straight and every other part of her stiff as a board. "I look forward to hearing your thoughts on your findings. Goodnight, Kanji-kun." She said quickly, abruptly turning on her heel and beginning the walk home.

Kanji felt unable to do much more than lightly wave at her back. "Y-Yeah, night." He returned, thankful that it was too dark to see how flushed his face was. He quickly turned and shut the door behind him, still a little shell shocked after what had just happened. He and Naoto. Meeting in Okina. Holy shit.

Wait, no. No, no, no. It was about those cards, nothing else. That was the reason.

Didn't seem like something they couldn't do at Junes or something, though. Hell was with that?

Either way, it'd be a bad idea to show up empty handed. Finish up cleaning the store and get looking into that tarot stuff, that's what he'd do.

"Hold up." Kanji realised, stopping dead in his tracks. "She just took the frickin' book I need to read up on this shit!"

While Kanji lamented giving away an old book on the one occasion where he'd actually need it, Naoto was busy making a beeline for Junes.

It had to have been in the heat of the moment. That was it. Feeling guilty for barging in so late in the evening and asking Kanji for something she'd never even expected him to have. That on its own was nonsensical. This was…

"...and it's gotta be somewhere romantic! Like the park with a bouquet of roses! Or going to see a movie or something!"

Hm. There was that. She had been meaning to go to the theatre in Okina and…

Wait a minute. Just who was she hearing?

Walking further on down the street, Naoto's eyebrows raised as she locked eyes with Astaire, his eyes like dinner plates as Rise rambled on and on in front of him, a finger raised as she instructed him on matters pertaining to… something.

Finally feeling like he could make a move, Astaire carefully tapped Rise on the shoulder. She paused mid-tirade, swinging around on the spot as he pointed behind her. Now both their eyes were wide. "Oh! H-Hey Naoto-kun!"

Naoto narrowed her eyes. "Rise-chan. Astaire-kun." She added a nod out of courtesy. "Might I ask what you two are doing here at this time of night?"

Busted.

"Well, uh… We were out for something to eat with Chie-senpai, see? And then we thought we'd…" Sit behind a wall and listen to you invite Kanji out on a date after the best part of a year being just as dense as each other?

Damnit, no. That was the truth. They needed one of the other things, the things that didn't happen. Yet as much as Rise tried recalling some of her mathematical calculation powers from earlier, she drew a blank. Why else would that have been here?

"I believe I heard you mentioning something about romantically going to the park? Or was it the movies?" Now it was Astaire's turn to go stiff as a board. "Far be it from me to advise others on their love lives, but I think I'd be right in saying there are better places to discuss such things. Especially when it's you, Rise-chan."

"Didn't I tell you earlier that I'm a knight and not a steed?!" Astaire said, now doubled over just as he had been earlier.

"You just took off out of nowhere! How do you expect me to keep up when you're so much taller than me?!" Rise said, slipping off his back as they came to rest outside Junes. "There were better ways out of that than dashing off like you stole something, you know!"

Astaire straightened himself out, arcing himself backwards as his back cracked. "Either way, it is getting late. We'd have ended up back here sooner or later as it was." He grunted, still a little surprised that he'd remembered the way back to Junes at all.

Rise sighed as they entered the thankfully empty elevator. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But still! Now Naoto-kun's going to think we're…!" She trailed off. From the way Astaire was hiding his face it was a safe bet to say he knew exactly what Naoto would think. "I mean, it could be worse. Out of everyone, Naoto-kun would be the last to blab about it."

As much as he wanted to forcefully remind her that there was nothing to blab about in reality, Astaire caught himself on. "If that's the case, I daresay it's a good sight better than her finding out why you were really there." The elevator pinged, inviting them out into Junes proper, electronics department well in sight.

An elbow impacted off Astaire's side. "What do you mean 'why I was there?' Don't act like you weren't listening in too!"

"I most certainly wasn't! I only came along because some demonic entity with pigtails had me under duress, it was that or be rent asunder there and then!" He reminded the little demoness at his side as he loomed over her, eyes narrowed.

Her giggle in response quickly set him straight. "Oh really? I thought big, strong knights like you were supposed to fight off demons pretty much seven days a week! Am I finally the first to beat you after all this time?" She cooed as she teasingly leaned her head into his arm. Junes was quiet this late in the evening, she could get away with it.

As much as he wanted to point out that killing demons was easier when they weren't as unbearably cute as Rise was, Astaire quickly held his tongue. This was a fight he'd just have to lose. "It seems that you are." He admitted with a smile, quickly jerking his arm away lest her demonic influence do anything else to him.

The duo stopped in front of the familiar TV set, eyes set on their reflections in the glass. This was it. The moment of truth. Rise gripped Astaire's wrist and looked up at him, expression hard. "You ready?" He nodded back, holding his glasses just shy of his nose. "Alright. Let's go."

The moment the lenses lined up with his eyes, Astaire felt the odd sensation from earlier come back in spades. It was like getting punched by some unseen assailant and having the wind knocked from his chest, with the exception that it never came back afterwards. The best way he could describe it was that he just felt… weaker, somehow.

Yet as the two of them touched down on the usual studio-esque landing spot, it became clear that whatever was wrong was a tap on the nose compared to TV Sickness.

"Still feeling funny?" Rise asked, though in truth the change was evident just to look at him. The fact that he was standing on his own two feet was already a marked improvement.

Astaire rolled his shoulders, twisted his neck, stretched his fingers, anything he could think of. Physically he appeared to be right as rain. Even mentally, he felt like he'd just stepped out of a warm shower. Save for the perplexing heaviness his coat was giving him, he'd never felt better. "Funny, but a different kind of funny. A better kind than I had earlier, at any rate." He shrugged. "Maybe after wearing them on the way back I'll feel a tad better."

Well, the glasses were doing something right. Rise nodded happily, pushing her own glasses up her nose as the two made off for the forest.

As Rise and Astaire neared their destination, the strange glasses-induced feeling failed to give way. It was far, far better than the alternative; Astaire was hard enough to carry as it was. Even still, it didn't explain what exactly the glasses were doing, and taking them off for another thorough examination wasn't really an option.

Thoughts of his progress in Aiya came to mind. 'Lessens the effects of...' something. What exactly could it be lessening? The sickness was gone, so it lessened the effects of the TV World, but that wouldn't explain why they were also making him weaker.

So deep in the well of cogitation was he that Astaire barely registered the statue in front of him as he walked straight into it, teetering backwards as he regained his bearings. "Oh. Oh my." He murmured as he drew his head back.

When the two of them had first entered the TV, there were two statues. Now there were eight of them. Some of which conjuring up a storm of feelings so muddled that neither Rise nor Astaire knew which to address first.

The two of them holding hands, as they'd done in the mansion. It was parallel to a statue of Rise barely dragging him through the TV world. "Oh yeah, you'd have missed these, wouldn't you? The last two times we've been through here, you were still feeling sick." Rise pointed out, noticeably less flustered about the bloody massive statue of the two of them holding hands than Astaire was. "These ones, though... ? Uh…"

She'd passed by the statue of Astaire beating the daylights out of two reporters, almost actively avoiding eye contact with it, and instead had placed her hand on its parallel cousin. An image of Astaire being run through with the Washing Pole, a mound of children reaching up from his feet towards him. "I say. If it weren't depicting me almost getting myself killed I'd have given my compliments to the artist." Astaire commented, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Finally, the newest two. Rise hiding her face as Astaire and her grandmother laughed, and Astaire and Kanji sitting and gazing at the sky together.

"Looks like you and Kanji-kun are getting along well! Must've been a good conversation if it ended up here." Rise again drew her attention away from the other statue, bringing focus to the other. "What were the two of you talking about?"

"Nothing." Astaire said entirely too quickly.

Oh, Gods. Rise turned with a sly look in her eye, remarkably similar to the one her Grandmother had been wearing earlier. He'd messed up. She was on to him. She sauntered towards him slowly, arms folded across her chest. "Oh, is that so?" Her lips curled into a smirk as she raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Looks like everything else shown here is kind of… important? Emotional? Something like that. So why would you two talking about nothing be here?"

There just wasn't an answer. Not one Astaire felt right giving, anyway. Divert her attention. Find something to get her off the topic. Something, anything. Even an inkling.

Suddenly, an idea. "I'll answer you if you answer me first." Astaire pointed up at the statue behind him, the one with Rise, himself and her grandmother. "Why were you covering your face earlier? And again, what exactly is a 'keeper' supposed to be?"

Rise opened her mouth as if to say something before it shut again. Her eyes widened and darted to and fro. "Wh-What?! That's not fair, I asked you first!" Her fists balled up just like they had earlier in front of her Grandmother.

"Ah-hah! I tried asking you what a keeper was back before we ate, so I've got you beat!" Astaire pointed out, a satisfied grin on his face.

Rise looked up at the statue, then at Astaire. Statue. Knight. Ground. Statue. Statue some more.

Finally, she narrowed her eyes and pouted. "Alright, you're off the hook."

A fresh sip from an Estus Flask could only scratch the levels of relief Astaire felt. "So too are you, apparently." He said, resisting the urge to sigh out loud in relief as he followed Rise through the exit.

Sleep wasn't coming easily. The surge of energy after taking the glasses off proved especially unhelpful in that regard. Rolling about on the floor didn't help things much, but ever still Astaire felt compelled to do so. He alternated between staring up at the ceiling, staring out at the moon hanging in the sky, and trying to avoid banging his head off the footboard of Rise's bed. In the rare few moments he stopped moving, the silence beyond Rise's light breaths was deafening.

Deafening silence gave way to ever more internal cogitating. More and more worries which dredged up alongside the moon. Questions and woes he had no answer to, yet kept ruminating on regardless. Though the room was silent, the voice in his head rung loud and true.

That was, until another voice cut in. "Astaire-kun…" Rise murmured from the bed above.

Whoever was paying to use the room below Rise's would've had good grounds to file a noise complaint, because Astaire swore he could feel his heart punch right out of his chest and begin assaulting the floor. She was asleep. She was saying his name in her sleep. Gods above. Gods above.

"...I can't get to sleep if you keep rolling around like that…" Rise sleepily added.

Oh, right. She wasn't asleep after all. Though his heart was still having a boxing match with his ribs, Astaire felt somewhat relieved. If she had been saying his name in her sleep, he might not have nodded off the entire night. "Apologies. I just can't seem to doze off proper."

"Something on your mind?" She sounded a little more awake now. Evidently neither of them were getting much sleep at this rate. "C'mon, skooch up here." Astaire's head rounded the footboard to see a dainty hand jutting out from under the covers and pointing at the floor below it. Well, he'd no reason not to. Astaire scuttled over on his hands and knees, lying parallel to Rise herself. Or at least the half of Rise's face which peeked out through a gap in her covers. "Good. Now tell me what's been rolling you around for the past half an hour."

Astaire lay back and entwined his fingers behind his head. "I'm simply thinking a tad too much, that's all."

"About what?"

He glanced away towards the wall. "Nothing a knight shouldn't be able to handle on their own."

The bedclothes shifted as Rise pouted underneath. "What did I tell you? Before you're a knight or anything else, you're a friend. Friends tell each other stuff like that." Though she said it, Astaire didn't follow up with anything. She let out a frustrated noise as she rolled over onto her other side. "Fine, don't tell me. Guess between this and the statues you can't tell me anything."

"No, it's…!" Astaire trailed of as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Talking things over might have been what friends did, but he'd been a knight long before he'd been anyone's friend, as far as he was aware. Maybe it was about time that changed. "...It's my shadow," He finally resumed, glad to see Rise's single eye shift around to meet his. "It speaks to me every night. Torments me in my dreams when it hasn't hijacked them entirely."

"You're scared, aren't you?"

A denial was halfway past his lips before he even consciously formed one. If it were anyone else, he might have let it slip by unhindered. But not now. It was time to start being more of a friend. "...Yes. I am."

Rise's eye widened slightly before quickly settling. "It's okay to be scared. I was scared of mine too."

Now it was Astaire's turn to be wide eyed. "You had one as well?"

"Yeah. Everyone on the team did, save for Senpai." Somewhere under the covers, Rise shifted uncomfortably. "It's… not the sort of thing the others like asking about. They're too… personal. Like a mirror that reflects who you are deep down, in the absolute worst light possible."

That answered Astaire's next question before he'd even asked it. He rested his head back and resumed looking at the ceiling.

"Mine was a stripper."

Astaire blinked. "A… I'm sorry, what?"

Rise let out a hasty breath. Of course she'd be reciting this to the one person who needed it said out loud. "Someone who takes off their clothes until there's not much left to the imagination."

Good Gods in Heaven above. A loud thump sounded off the floor as Astaire's hands forgot to keep hold of his head. How could such an occupation exist? How could Rise's shadow resemble one in any way? He buried his face in the carpet as he tried ever so desperately to not picture what it might have looked like.

"It wasn't because I was… y'know, someone who got around. I wanted people to see the real me. Not the girl on the posters, on TV, in movies or in music videos, none of those. I wanted people to see the real me as much as I wanted to assure myself she existed in the first place." Even from down below, Astaire could see her curl up into a ball under the covers. She wasn't enjoying this. "Then Senpai and everyone else came to help me. I realised that there isn't any real me. All of those other Rises were just different sides of me, after all. There wasn't a real self to show because none of the others were fake."

Astaire looked at her in awe as she buried her face in her bed to hide the flush. Just like he'd done earlier when thinking of her earlier. When he had thoughts so shameful and personal that he couldn't stand facing the girl they were about. "Goodness." He finally managed, after a long silence. "And here I was thinking I was the stronger out of the two of us."

That brought her back into view. "Huh?" The wide eye managed to say.

"Facing that debauched image of yourself. Coming to terms with what it meant. Why, even being able to recount it back to me now. I'm impressed." He said, eyes wide and genuine.

"W-Well, you know…" Rise began, shifting about again. "We all saw yours, after all. It's only fair..."

"You yourself said it was a personal affair, didn't you? I very much doubt I'd get such an explanation from anyone else if I asked about their shadows." Not that he was stupid enough to ask the likes of Yukiko or Chie in the first place. "Thank you for telling me, truly."

Rise snuggled a bit further into her covers, now suddenly fascinated by every area that wasn't occupied by Astaire himself. "I-It's really not that big a deal, honest!" She lied entirely, glad only a fraction of her face was showing.

The two sat in silence for a while after, one looking at the other gazing thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "No real self, hm?" Astaire wondered out loud. "I wonder if that'd be the same for me." He met half of Rise's questioning gaze and carried on. "My shadow knows a lot about me that I don't. If it truly is me, I can only guess that accepting it would help me remember my supposed past lives as well. But…" He trailed off, eyes on the floor. "...if all these past selves are truly as different from myself as they are, what would gaining their memories do? If we were all so different, would an amalgamation of such even be me anymore?"

Rise hummed to herself. It sounded kind of similar to her situation, but she'd been aware of her other selves. She hadn't undergone some kind of partial-memory-wiping weird world reset situation, how could she even begin to guess what that would do to someone?

The simple answer was that she couldn't. The simple solution, then, was to trust her gut. "Sure you would be!" She began, finally freeing herself from her fabric cocoon and sitting upright, arms supporting her. "Even if you don't remember, you must've had a good reason to change so much, I just know it! And even if you didn't, all of that changing led up to you becoming the you that you are now! Just because you changed over time doesn't mean you're not still you!"

Astaire was dumbfounded, able only to sit with his mouth parted and eyes wide. Not only because Gwyn's beard did Rise look heart-stopping with her hair down, but because she'd struck at the heart of his worries after barely even hearing about them. Like a musician soothing a savage beast after first picking up the instrument. He tried to respond, but no words could express how he felt. None that he knew of, anyway.

After a while, he settled on a nod. "Right. I'd trust any conclusion you came to more than my own." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I might not be as strong as you were, facing your shadow immediately, but I think your words will make it a tad easier." He looked up and pumped a fist much like Chie had done earlier."Thank you. Again."

Rise giggled genuinely as she lay back on her side, propping her head up with her arm. "See? Being a friend before bring a knight isn't so bad after all, is it?"

Given the weight that was now absent from his chest, the answer was clear. "Indeed. I daresay it's not that bad at all." The two lay back down, both now feeling the onset of sleep begin to wade in from afar. "Say, Ms. Kujikawa?" Rise rolled her head over sleepily. "Is it… alright for me to stay here? In this room with you, that is." He rolled over, all of a sudden not quite as comfortable as he'd been. "I mean, I didn't really ask permission. It just sort of happened after I came here. Should you wish me to stay elsewhere, I'll-"

"I'll be honest." Rise interjected softly, eyes still closed. "Everyone in Inaba is so far away. I only really see Kanami and everyone else when we're working, and when I come back here, it's just me on my own. It's kinda nice having someone around to talk to all the time." She pulled her covers up over her face, leaning into the pillow. "I'd… like it if you stayed with me a little while longer." A beat followed where she could tell all too well that Astaire was wide-eyed again. "B-Besides! It's like Yosuke-senpai's situation with Teddie, right? It's not like you have anywhere else to go!" She quickly added.

The addition proved useful when beating away the red tint on Astaire's cheeks after the statement before it. He calmed down and let out a light chuckle. "Sounds like something else that friends get up to, if those two are at it. I suppose I just need to get used to it, still."

"Being friends is easy." Compared to being a knight, at least. "You just need to… y'know, loosen up. Stop bottling everything away and be a little more open with people. Don't run away from who you are." Like she had. Memories of talking to Yu welled up as she remembered coming to the similar conclusion a long time ago.

Stop bottling up. Be more honest. The words jostled and jumped around in Astaire's head as he looked over at the moonlight on the floor. Stop hiding things. Rise had opened up to him, surely he could do the same. Assuming what he was hiding was something that was appropriate to bring up.

No, no bottling it up. He had to start somewhere, even if it was just something small.

Telling himself that didn't make his throat feel any less tight at the thought of it, however. "S-Say, Ms. Kujikawa?" He managed to force out, about ready to cram a mace down his throat if it'd make it any easier.

"Hm?" She replied, now rolled over with her back to him.

Thank Gwyn for that, as if this wasn't hard enough already. "I, uh… I t-think…" Oh Gods. She was rolling over. No doubt wondering why he was stammering like a loon. If she turned to face him now he'd never spit it out. Welling up every ounce of courage he had, (while at the same time resisting the urge to bellow full-force) Astaire closed his eyes and braced.

"You look nice with your hair down!"

How the entire room wasn't lit up crimson was anybody's guess.

It took a couple of blinks for Rise to realise what'd just happened. She'd heard what'd been said. She'd seen the one who said it. Yet the connection that Astaire was the one who'd said it simply seemed far too outlandish to even consider.

At the same time, he was the only other person there. It couldn't have been anyone else. A fact which served to redden Rise's face too, once the thought settled in. "R-Really? You think so?" She answered at a pitch far too high to be considered casual. Astaire had quickly rolled his back to her once he'd spoken, but the single, sharp nod he gave in return said all he needed. Eyebrows still raised, Rise played with a stray lock of hair as she attempted a response. "Uh…" She wavered uncharacteristically "...Thanks, Astaire-kun. Goodnight."

It had been harder to settle on an answer than she'd thought. Nothing more needing to be said between the two of them, both roommates finally found themselves able to rest easy.

For the first time since he'd come to their world, Astaire's shadow remained remarkably silent.