Kyoko had accompanied Kanji on the walk home from school. He told her that his mother wanted to meet his new friends (which Kyoko presumed was because Kanji had never brought friends home before).

"Gotta warn you, there's nothin' fun here." Kanji said.

"I've been here a few times before." Kyoko said. "I've been considering purchasing something, actually."

"Really? Ma's gonna be ecstatic to hear that." Kanji said, as he slid open the door. "Hey Ma, I'm home…"

There was no answer. Kyoko raised a brow as Kanji closed the door.

"She ain't here. What's she doin' leaving the store open...?" Kanji wondered.

"Did she say she would be on an errand of sorts?" Kyoko suggested.

"Nah, nothing like that. If she was, she'd have the closed sign up." Kanji said.

"Kan-chan! There you are!"

The owner of Aiya quickly ran up to them.

"Is something wrong?" Kyoko asked him.

"I have to tell him." He turned to Kanji. "Your mother's in the hospital!"

"The hospital...?" Kanji took a step back.

The moment Kyoko registered those words, her hand slightly tightened. "Kanji, we need to go now."

"Huh...?" He looked at her. "Oh, y-yeah... I need to go... and see…"

"Sir, do you know which hospital she's located at?" Kyoko asked the Aiya owner.

"I only heard from a customer, but she's at Inaba Municipal Hospital!" He said.

"Thank you. Kanji, let's go."

"R-Right!"

The two arrived at the hospital. Kanji ran in, and Kyoko wasn't far behind.

"Ma!" Kanji shouted.

"Kanji, lower your voice. This is a hospital." Kyoko said, before looking down the hall to see his mother walking up. She had a young boy with her. "She's over there."

Kanji quickly went up to her. "You all right!? You were taken to the hospital!? Someone do this to you...!?"

"Goodness, but you look pale." His mother said.

"Never mind me! What about you...!?" Kanjie started, before he noticed his mother seemed fine. "...Huh!? You're okay?"

"I wasn't taken to the hospital. I took someone." She said.

"Miscommunication thanks to word of mouth." Kyoko realized.

"The poor thing got hit by a bicycle right in front of our shop." Kanji's mother said, gesturing to the little boy with her. "He hit his head, so I had a doctor examine him."

"No head trauma of any sort?" Kyoko asked, kneeling down to get to eye level with the boy.

"He said there's no damage, thank goodness." Kanji's mother said, before turning to her son. "The one who hit him was a boy from your school. When he saw the poor child fall, he ran away. Why don't you find him and give him a little scolding?"

"Cut the crap!" Kanji yelled. "You've got no idea how I felt!"

Kyoko stood up, as the boy hid behind her.

"Kanji-"

"Haha, I'm fine." His mother said reassuringly. "Your mother isn't kicking the bucket that easily. It's not like you to get so worried over such a little thing."

"Shut up, you old cow!" Kanji yelled, before turning and running.

"Kanji!"

He had a head start, but Kyoko easily managed to track him down, sitting down on one of the chairs in the hall. He looked up to see Kyoko approach.

"...Sorry. Looks like it was no big deal…" He said, looking back down.

"I don't blame your reaction." Kyoko said.

"Y-Yeah? If it's not just me, then... I guess it's okay."

He still looked embarrassed as he stood up.

"I thought I faced alla my bad parts back there… But not everything can change just like that, huh...?"

"Things like this always take time." Kyoko said.

"Yeah… Oh, uh... Sorry for draggin' you around." He apologized. "If I'd been by myself, I might been even more scared... Hah. Hope I can repay the favor."

"It's no issue with me. You don't have to repay me anything." Kyoko said, feeling Kanji's trust supporting their bond.

His eyes glanced over behind Kyoko for a second. "...I'm goin' home."

He walked off at a rushed pace. Kyoko heard footsteps to see Kanji's mother walking up with the young boy.

"That boy… We were both going home... He didn't have to run away like that." His mother said, before looking at Kyoko. "Oh... You're Kyoko-kun? You came to our store with Yuki-chan, right?"

"Yes, I did." Kyoko confirmed.

"I've been hearing a lot about you from Kanji." His mother said. ""Senpai this" and "Senpai that"... He must really like you."

"Really now?" Kyoko said.

"I'm sorry to have made you both come all the way here. He hates hospitals, you see…" Kanji's mother said. "His father... my husband died here."

Kyoko widened her eyes. His father…

"Kanji happened to be somewhere else when he collapsed…" She continued. "So I think he was scared today."

"That's… I see."

"Haha, but it's good to see you." Kanji's mother smiled. "He's always had trouble getting along with people. He didn't have any friends like you before."

"I can assume there were numerous reasons for that." Kyoko deduced.

"He would always rather play house instead of catch, or go to home ec instead of P.E. So he never had any male friends, but the girls didn't accept him either." Kanji's mother said. "After a while, he started getting into fights every day and bleaching his hair… I was worried about him... But lately, he seems to be having fun. Please take care of him."

"Of course." Kyoko briefly bowed her head.

She waved Kanji's mother off as she went to take the younger boy back to his house. Kyoko looked back at the hospital. It was quite quiet now at this late hour.

Was it… like this for my mother as well…? I never saw her when she passed on… if I spoke to my father, would I have acted like that? Would Kanji, or any of the others be supporting me if I was the one in his situation?

These questions were stuck in her mind as she went home.

A few days had passed, and Yosuke had called Kyoko. The two of them were standing on the hill overlooking the town. Yosuke had brought her over for some reason, and she had the time.

"I hated this place when I first came to Inaba. You can tell how small the town is from up here." Yosuke confessed. "But looking at it now… It's a nice town."

Kyoko looked at Yosuke and saw the rather sad smile on his face. "Cheer up. It's not like you to have that face."

"If it were only that easy." Yosuke said, with a bit of a self-mocking smirk before looking back out. "I want to tell Saki-senpai something. That what's important… isn't where you are."

"This town I hated so much? Now, I love it." Yosuke said. "There's still nothing here, but I have family and friends… and you. The important things are never far off… They're all around you."

Yosuke blushed a bit at that, as Kyoko kept staring at him.

"I always wanted to be "special."" Yosuke said. "I thought my life'd finally have meaning if I was "special" to someone. That's why I was really excited when I got my Persona. But I really didn't need it… It's not what you have or what you can do… Just being born, living your life… Before you know it, you're already special to someone."

Kyoko nodded at that. It's not a title that makes someone special or anything like that, after all. Something she and several Ultimates all agreed upon.

"Yeah… Like you… You're special to me, you know?" Yosuke said, briefly rubbing his nose.

Kyoko felt their bond grow stronger, but noticed his words. "By special to you, do you mean-?"

"Alright, let's see if we can find everyone's house from here!" Yosuke said, leaning on the fence. "There's Junes, and that's the main street, so… My house is there, the one with that funky roof. Meaning yours is…"

Chie had taken Kyoko to the Samegawa riverbank for further training, as she hopped from foot to foot.

"In the movie I watched the other day, this guy knocked down a tree using only his leg!" Chie recalled. "How does someone kick that hard…? Just practice?"

"I… that shouldn't be physically possible." Kyoko said. "The amount of force needed to kick over a tree is…"

She trailed off, looking behind Chie. Takeshi had seen the two and walked over. "Ch-Chie!"

"Oh, hey Takeshi…" Chie said. "W-Were you robbed again?"

"No…" Takeshi shook his head. "I took off right after that, right? So I thought I'd apologize…"

"...Why don't you be a man and admit you ran away?" Chie asked.

"Wh-What? Where you this anal before?" Takeshi asked, surprised. "Tch, if you lose that sunny attitude, you won't have anything left."

"Oh shut up!" Chie said.

"Speaking of which… What's up with Yukiko-san?" He suddenly asked. "I saw her with you the other day… She seemed weirdly cheerful… She had this funky laugh, y'know?"

"That funky laugh… That's how she really is." Chie said.

"Oh, you've rubbed off on her, huh? I can't believe it…" Takeshi sighed. "That's not Yukiko-san. She was better gloomy…"

Kyoko was very close to speaking up, but saw the look in Chie's eyes.

"Look. If you get into trouble again, I'll step in and help." Chie told him.

"Huh? Oh, uh… Thanks."

"So why don't you shut your mouth about Yukiko!?" She snapped. "You don't know anything about her! She's a good person, got it!?"

"Wh-What the hell?" Takeshi took a step back, before he turned and left.

"Are you alright?" Kyoko asked Chie, once Takeshi had gone.

"I just remembered…" Chie said. "Way back, I saw Yukiko sitting by the road, holding a dog. I asked her what's up and she said she ran away from home. She'd picked up the dog, but her parents told her she couldn't have a pet, and that she'd have to get rid of it…"

I could imagine that was due to running the inn… Kyoko guessed.

"She looked like she was dead or something… I tried everything I could think of to make her laugh." Chie said. "And that's how we became friends…"

Chie turned to Kyoko, determination in her eyes.

"From that moment on… I told myself I'd protect Yukiko." Chie said. "But somewhere along the way, I messed up, and that Shadow popped out… After that, I thought I'd try to focus on what's good about me. I swore to quit being nothing but the girl Yukiko can rely on… So… I just tried my best. At finding the culprit and stuff… just generally being more reliable… That's all. … I feel like I missed the point…"

"Realizing your mistake is the first step." Kyoko said.

"...Thanks. You're too kind." Chie smiled. "But maybe… half a step?"

Chie chuckled at her little joke, as Kyoko smiled.

"I wonder if there's anyone out there… who can say, "This is what makes me worthwhile!"" Chie said. "I guess everyone's looking for it."

Kyoko felt their bond grow. "Well, don't stop looking now."

"Yeah, you're right." Chie said. "Oh, and that dog Yukiko picked up? It's gotten real fat at my place."

"You adopted it?" Kyoko asked.

"Yep! My folks were real understanding about it too." Chie said, grinning. "Come by and see it sometime! It smells, but it's cute! Maybe I'll walk it over to your house sometime!"

Chie's stomach started to growl.

"...man, did I really train that much?" Chie said. "Guess I worked up an appetite. Hey, wanna head over to Junes for some grub?"

"Lead the way." Kyoko said. She wouldn't mind a quick snack either.

When the two arrived at Junes, they ran into an unlikely duo.

"Oh, hey Kyoko! Chie!" Sayaka waved over to her friends, with Kanji alongside her.

"Sayaka, what brings you here?" Kyoko asked.

"Check this out!" Sayaka held up a small knit bunny keychain. It even had a pair of cool sunglasses on it. "Kanji made this for me!"

"Whooah, that's so cool!" Chie said, amazed.

"I just had to grab a few extra materials to make the sunglasses." Kanji explained. "Thought it was too extra, but she insisted."

"Yeah, and its totes adorbs now!" Sayaka grinned. "Thanks for this, Kanji!"

Kanji blushed in embarrassment. "S'not a big deal…"

"So why are you here?" Sayaka asked Kyoko and Chie.

"We were gonna get some food, so we're looking for Yosuke to do his usual thing." Chie said.

"Yosuke-senpai? I think I saw him helping out Yukiko-senpai in the grocery department. Said she needed the ingredients to try cooking something. He's stalling her though, since he knows what's up." Kanji said.

"Huh? What's wrong with her cooking?" Sayaka asked, as the other three shared a dark look.

"Kanji, we should supervise her so she doesn't make anything lethal." Kyoko said.

"Gotcha." Kanji nodded. "Let's go do this thing!"

Chie herself had her face in her hands, mainly to hide her guilt. Sayaka was still confused as they walked into the grocery department. While the others were focusing on stopping Yukiko from concocting something deadly, Kyoko noticed something from the corner of her eye.

And in an instant, she had rushed over. The others saw the movement, before they heard a yell of pain.

"Ow! You bitch, let me go!"

Kyoko had pinned a teenager to the ground, keeping his arms locked behind his back. Standing nearby was Nanako, trembling with a shopping basket in her arms. The others all rushed over in concern as well.

"Kyoko! What happened?!" Sayaka asked.

She looked up at the three, and they were shocked to see a look of controlled rage behind Kyoko's eyes. An expression they never saw from her. "I saw him about to hit Nanako."

"Wha-?! You bastard!" Chie said, ready to join in.

"You damn sicko…!" Kanji went over to Nanako, leaning down to her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… Big Sis helped me…" Nanako mumbled.

"You jerks!" The teenager shouted, trying to get free from Kyoko's grip. "This is assault! I'll call the cops on all of you!"

"Well, good luck with that."

Yosuke and Yukiko walked over. The latter went to help comfort Nanako, while Yosuke looked down at the teenager, still pinned.

"Hold on, that's the creepy guy that tried to hit on Yukiko!" Chie recognized. "Mitsuo or something!"

"So the guy's already got a track record, huh?" Yosuke sighed.

"Hey, get this crazy bitch off of me!" Mitsuo shouted. "She can't do this to me! I've been shopping here since I was a stupid kid myself! So that brat should show some- yeowgh!"

Kyoko tightened the arm lock, digging her elbows into his back.

"Two things, dude." Yosuke said in a controlled voice. "The first thing is that anyone with half a brain saw you were about to hit a six year old kid. You got a lot of witnesses here that'd pin it on you. And second, this is the dumber thing; you don't try to hit the six year old sister of a certified detective."

"S-Shit, she's a cop?!" Mitsuo shouted. "Damn it, let me go! I'm not going to jail!"

"If it was up to me, you would be imprisoned for life." Kyoko said in a low voice, as Sayaka was already calling the police. "Be thankful."

"Kyoko-senpai, I can keep hold of him till the cops show up." Kanji said. "Your cousin wants ya."

Kyoko nodded, as Kanji walked over and made a solid grasp on Mitsuo's arms. She let go, and Mitsuo was struggling to get away. "No, arrest him! Kanji Tatsumi's a total criminal! Not me!"

"You got a fat mouth, asshole." Kanji grumbled.

Kyoko went over to Nanako, gently kneeling down. "Nanako, are you-"

Nanako had embraced Kyoko in a hug, crying. "Big Sis… Big Sis I was so scared…!"

Kyoko gently hugged her cousin, keeping her voice reassuring. "I'm here, Nanako. Your dad will be here soon too, so don't worry. I'm here."

The police had shown up in time, and Mitsuo was detained. Kyoko figured that he wouldn't be held for too long. Likely just a warning, but a heavy threat if he ever came close to any of them again. A few groceries had been damaged when Kyoko put him in his place, but Yosuke assured her that everything Mitsuo had on him was dirt cheap, so he wouldn't have to charge Kyoko anything for damages. If anything, the bill would go to Mitsuo instead.

Kyoko was sitting on one of the benches outside of Junes, with Nanako sitting beside her. The younger girl was tightly holding her hand for comfort. After making sure Nanako was fine and Dojima was on the way, the others had gone home. Nanako had thanked all of them for being there to help.

They heard a car pull up, as the door opened. "Nanako!"

Dojima ran out, putting his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Are you alright, Nanako?!"

"Daddy…" Nanako said, putting a hand on her father's. "Yeah, I'm okay. Big Sis and her friends were here."

"Thank goodness…" He briefly hugged Nanako, before turning to Kyoko. "I heard everything from the other guys on the force. I'd have kept that delinquent behind bars forever if it was up to me."

"We agree there." Kyoko nodded.

"Kyoko…" Dojima surprised Kyoko with a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping Nanako safe. If you weren't here…"

"It's what we do, isn't it, Uncle?" Kyoko smiled. "Not just as detectives, but as family."

"Yeah, you're right." Dojima smiled. "Let's go home."

"Wait, Dad." Nanako reached into her shopping bag and pulled something out. "Look! Country pickled radish!"

"So that's what you were doing…?" Dojima said. "I should've gone with you…"

"It's not just that, Uncle." Kyoko said. "Yosuke's father gave us a few more free groceries. As a small compensation for what happened. There are a few cuts of rare beef as well."

"Well then, looks like we're having a feast tonight!" Dojima laughed. "Come on, you two!"

The three got into the car, putting the groceries in the backseat and leaving Nanako in charge. As they drove, Nanako reached her hand forward, tapping Kyoko's elbow.

"Thank you, Big Sis." Nanako whispered.

Kyoko reached back, holding Nanako's smaller hand with her own. She could feel the warmth through her gloves.

A taxi rode into the town, with a noticeable insignia on the bumper. Sitting inside was a young woman garbed in a black and white dress. She had very long twin-drill pigtails. She was flipping a card in her hand, occasionally slotting it back into a deck. All without opening her eyes even. She could feel the car pull to a stop, as she opened her red eyes.

Celestia Ludenberg stepped out of her taxi and looked out at the small town of Inaba. She was curious why Sayaka had taken the chance to stay here with Kyoko, and found no reason from the view alone.

"What a quaint little boring town…"

Kyoko's Social Links:

Magician (Yosuke Hanamura): Rank 9

Chariot (Chie Satonaka): Rank 8

Priestess (Yukiko Amagi): Rank 7

Emperor (Kanji Tatsumi): Rank 3

Star (Teddie): Rank 2

Hanged Man (Sayaka Maizono): Rank 2

Justice (Nanako Dojima): Rank 3

Hierophant (Ryotaro Dojima): Rank 3

Fool (The Investigation Team): Rank 4

Hope (Hope's Peak Academy Students): Rank 3

A/N: It has been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, but my other fics took a lot of priority. Not much to say aside from a few Social Link upgrades and a bit of a sneak peek at the next arc. A look at our next roadblock, and a new face? What could I be cooking?

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.