Gardening

The Investigation Team was back in the TV. The Secret Laboratory spread out before them as they systematically explored its halls. It had taken a couple of days of searching the town and a few days trekking the maze, but now they were nearly at the end: Naoto was just in reach. They agreed to finish the dungeon and rescue him by the end of the day.

Yosuke's blood burned with resolve. Naoto's life lay on the line, and while they'd stared such risks in the face before, none of them had determined Yua's happiness so much.

Yua had been different since Naoto disappeared. That was to be expected, but Yosuke never realized how much the disappearance affected the team until they were in the midst of their investigation. During discussions and battles, she seemed distant, focused on something else. The team had come to the rescue more than once that day. It felt like they were moving through the dungeon slower, making careless mistakes, wasting time.

What made it worse was that she just didn't want to talk about Naoto. Yosuke understood that part: it was hard talking about their relationship when the boy detective was in danger. But she hadn't told the group about it either. Maybe it was a complicated relationship? But that shouldn't matter now. Yosuke couldn't understand why she wouldn't tell them. He knew the Investigation Team would be more than understanding if she did. Still, he respected her wishes enough not to talk about it either. And Yosuke was fine with the fact that Yua also chose not to speak with him about Naoto.

But Yosuke wasn't going to let that get in the way. He would do whatever it took to make things right—even if that left him behind. Yosuke tried to filter out the thoughts by wearing his headphones.

As they were turning another corner in the winding corridors, Chie caught his eye with a snappy gesture. She scowled at him and pointed to her ears. Great, he would get another lecture about how he shouldn't listen to music in dungeons. He sighed and turned down the volume.

"Hey, Hanamura, got a sec?" Chie grabbed him.

"Well—yeah, but you don't have to manhandle me," Yosuke whined, pulled off his headphones, and slowed his pace so that they were walking a bit behind the group. "What's up?"

Chie crossed her arms, "So, what happened the other day?"

"Other day?"

"Y'know," Chie shot him a look, "when you acted all crazy and wanted to run off to Junes in the middle of class. What was that about?"

"It, uh," Yosuke paused. "It was nothing. I was just getting worried about Naoto."

"Well, that's a stupid lie," Chie grumbled. "You were all freaky about Yua not showing up."

"What? No…" He said, convincingly. "I just got worried. That's all."

Chie cocked an eyebrow, "But you were freaking out, and Yua wasn't picking up the phone, and now Yua's all mopey. So, I know something happened." Chie pouted. "Did you hit on her again?"

"No, I didn't. Nothing's going on; you're just overthinking it."

"You better tell me, or I'm kicking you in the shins."

"Hey, I'm not—" Yosuke barely dodged a swipe at his shins. "Would you calm—"

"Wait! I smell something!"

The entire Investigation Team came to a halt as Teddie sniffed the air like a bloodhound on the trail of a criminal.

"Something smells like…" Teddie drifted off. "Smells like…"

He paused.

The bear sprinted away without warning, leaving the Investigation Team in the dust.

"Ted! Wait!" Yosuke groaned. "That bear is going to be the end of me."

"Let's go after him," Yua said, and they followed suit down the mechanical hallways.

After curbing corners and dodging shadows, they found the bear fighting a couple on his own. The Investigation Team joined the fray with personas at the ready. Within a couple of minutes, the shadows had been defeated, but none of them were happy as the bear waddled over to the dissolving remains of a shadow and dug around.

"Teddie," Rise whined, "You can't just run off like that!"

"Dude, it's 'save Naoto day,'" Yosuke panted. "We can't get sidetracked!"

"Oh, but I found something really important!" He picked up a mystery object and turned around to present it to the group: "Tada!"

"A stuffed animal?" Yukiko questioned as she examined the remnants of a small plush animal. The bunny had been ripped in half, and Teddie held each half in either of his paws.

"Sensei's stuffed animal!" Teddie declared. "I can tell by the smell. It smells like many things, but Sensei's is the best smell of them all!"

"That's just gross," Chie whined while Teddie gave the remains to Yua, who looked perplexed.

"Ted, there are some thoughts that you should keep inside that empty head of yours," Yosuke sighed.

Yua prodded the mangled mess in her hands, reached into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, "Yeah, it's my phone charm."

"How'd it end up here?" Rise asked.

"Awwww! It's all messed up!" Kanji whined. "Its fluffy ears are all dirty. It took three days to get it right!" He whipped around and balled up his fists. "Ted, did ya steal the animal and tear it up outta jealousy, ya pervy bear?!"

"I didn't take it!" Teddie flailed his arms and cowered. "I don't steal things!"

"You've got that TV in your room, Yua," Chie scratched her neck. "Maybe you put it in without thinking?"

"I don't think Yua would do that," Yukiko muttered.

"Maybe it's just easier to store that way," Teddie added, still cowering. "Yosuke puts garbage in the TV when he's too lazy to get up."

Yosuke whipped around, "Shut it, bear!"

"Yosuke, littering across dimensions, that's a whole new level of lazy," Chie said.

"That—that was one time!"

"Maybe, it just fell off in the TV world?" Rise shrugged.

Yukiko asked, "Then why's it here? We've never been here before."

"I guess the shadows picked it up and moved it?"

"When did you lose it?"

"I don't know," Yua muttered.

"Or maybe Ted stole it to make sure he's the only plush thing in Yua's life," Kanji growled. "Then he'd be the only thing Yua could snuggle."

Yukiko started a giggle fit.

Chie sighed, "That's…a theory."

"Nooooo! I—I'll prove it!" Teddie scuttled over to Yua and sniffed the stuffed animal again before declaring, "Adachi-san stole it!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes, "Adachi—now I know you're lying."

"Yeah, Ted, just admit it!" Chie groaned.

"It's the truth; I don't bear false witness!"

"Teddie, you have three seconds to tell the truth before I cast Agidyne," Yukiko snickered.

"I swear; I swear, I didn't touch it! This nose doesn't lie!"

"Hey, hey!" Yua's hand clasped around the pieces. "It doesn't matter. I have it back. We really should be focusing on Naoto right now."

"Oh," Yosuke stood at attention, realizing they'd fallen into an all-too-common distracting tangent. "Right! Let's get going!"

The group continued their search. Yua drifted forwards, holding the mauled bunny charm in her hands. Who could have guessed that Teddie's senses were that sharp? Had she really been over to Adachi's place enough that her things were starting to smell like him? Maybe perfume could cover the smell. But then again, it might not be a problem in the future.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Kanji stepped beside her with his hand outstretched.

"I'll take it, let me see if I can fix it," He muttered.

"Thank you," Yua handed the beat-up plush to him. She watched him fiddle with it briefly before he grumbled something and gently folded it into his pocket.

For as much wandering as the Investigation Team was doing, Yua's mind seemed to wander even further and into darker places. She couldn't stop replaying the argument with Adachi. She couldn't purge the horrible pit she felt in her stomach. She couldn't tell anybody.

The feeling only made her more keenly aware of Adachi's absence. They hadn't seen each other or spoken since. Before their romantic relationship, Adachi was her friend, and she missed that. Memories of him began to surface. Little Atsuki clobbered Adachi's hand. Adachi attempt to act "sick" to avoid work. Yua fixed his tie on that bright summer day.

She missed everything about him. He was funny and gentle. She wanted that back, all parts of it. He could be so scatterbrained at times. That box of evidence in his closet was really a lost cause at this point. The random thought could have made her laugh if it didn't leave her feeling so empty. She wanted him back so dearly, but she just couldn't reconcile it with this new feeling.

Adachi had hurt her and lied to her. He had dismissed her concerns and walked away. Yua kept battling her feelings. She still wanted to be near him, even after the pain. It was all so…

Confusing.

Yua was confusing, just like Adachi said. She'd gotten so angry when he accused her of being unclear with him. She tried to make it clear to have one demand on the table, and now, they were taking a break. He accused her of lying, and she accused him of sexual assault. It really had just spiraled downwards.

How had it gotten so out of hand?

The ever-present ache in her chest deepened.

"Hey, don't worry, Yua!" Yosuke came up alongside her. "We'll save Naoto!"

Naoto. Yua shook her head. There was no time to think about their fight. She just needed to save Naoto. She couldn't be selfish.

"Thank you, Yosuke," She nodded, and Yosuke grinned back.

Chie made a face and whispered to her, "If he hits on you, just hit him back."

Yua waved her tease off with a smirk.

As much as she regretted the break, she knew she couldn't go back, not yet. She still didn't know what she felt, and Naoto was still a priority. Yua just hoped Adachi wasn't mad at her anymore.

"So, how's it going with you and your girlfriend?"

Adachi grimaced.

The unwanted question came at a strategic time: Dojima had trapped Adachi in the passenger side of the car as they headed out to question some people about a crime that Adachi didn't care enough about to read the case file. And, apparently, Dojima didn't care enough about it either if he was using the time for idle chit-chat.

And needless to say, Adachi wasn't in the mood for talk. He'd ridden a wave of defiance for a few days after the break started, proud of his integrity. He knew he would win in the end. She'd come begging on her knees in just a bit… Now, it was a waiting game—see who broke first.

But as the days dragged on, and there was no word from Yua, Adachi started to consider that the break was turning into a permanent fix. For once, he was worried. If Yua broke it off, there'd be the issue of adding her to the list of unfortunate victims, and he still wasn't entirely sure how to go about it.

So, no, he wasn't in the mood to discuss his bitchy girlfriend with her uncle.

"Uh, whatsername." Dojima waved his hand around, prompting Adachi to speak after an uncomfortable amount of time passed.

"Uh," Adachi muttered and defaulted to the name on his phone. "Seta. Souji Seta."

"Is…" Dojima raised an eyebrow, "is that a woman's name?"

"Oh," Adachi backstepped, realizing he needed to be more careful. "Her parents really wanted a boy. I call her Jiji."

"So, how's it going between you two?"

Adachi nearly rolled his eyes. Of course, Dojima would ask now of all times. Ever since the morning he'd "caught" Adachi, his boss took it upon himself to offer unsolicited advice on the topic whenever he could.

"We're doing fine," Adachi muttered.

They drove in silence for a bit more.

"It's just—you seem off."

"I'm fine," Adachi snipped. "Couldn't have a care in the world."

"I noticed that you don't have any of those fancy lunches anymore. And you're not checking your phone every five minutes."

"Dojima-san, please—we just—it's not a big deal." He decided to offer something and hoped to shut down the entire conversation. "We hit a little bump, but we'll get over it."

"What happened?"

Nosey sonovabitch, "Nothing really, it was a stupid argument. Shouldn't have happened in the first place. Now, I'm just waiting for her to get over it."

"So, it's your fault," Adachi ground his teeth. "Have you apologized?"

"I have as much as I'm going to. It's her turn."

Dojima was silent for a second. Adachi figured he'd finally gotten a hint.

"A relationship is like a. . . like a … a garden," Dojima said. "You have to work on it every day to ensure that it's fruitful. You must get your hands dirty—pull weeds, or it'll die. There are sunny days, rainy days, and cold winter days where things seem bleak."

Adachi could cook an egg on his forehead.

"But, you've got to nurture it. Water it—and such," his boss blundered through the metaphor. "Uh, and then you've got to know when to just leave it for a bit. Sometimes, it blooms in absence, and sometimes it dies. Er, but if you've taken care of it, it should thrive—given time."

"You have to use a lot of bullshit for a garden to work, right?" Adachi spoke through his teeth.

"Ah," Dojima sighed. "Y'know, I guess a little here and there, but not too much."

"A lot of tools, too—shovels, rakes, hoes."

"Uh—I don't see how that—"

"I like my garden to have huge melons and peaches in it."

"Hey," Dojima growled, and his fist rose. Adachi flinched, waiting for impact. "I'm trying to," Dojima sighed, and his hand returned to the wheel, "I'm just trying to help. Ok? Forget it."

Dojima reached for the radio and turned on some music.

Adachi marveled at the fact that his head wasn't throbbing from abuse. Dojima set his jaw but ultimately looked defeated. Adachi looked out the window, pondering if the Dojima lineage was a special curse on his existence. But, the more he thought about it, the more familiar he realized this occurrence to be. Recently, Dojima came up to talk about something or other—he even brought the junior detective some coffee now and again. It had been a while since Dojima's fist had terrorized the side of his head.

Perhaps this was Yua's doing? He couldn't think of another reason his boss was suddenly so soft. Maybe it was a way to have her uncle report back to her? Adachi wasn't going to ponder why and only considered that she had something to do with Dojima's relaxed approach. Maybe, Adachi could use it to his advantage and send some kind of message through this interaction, and "I got in a fight with my idiot partner" was not a good image to put in Yua's mind.

It could only benefit his standing to continue a few more minutes of the abysmal conversation.

"Are you a good gardener, Dojima-san?"

"Uh," Dojima turned down the radio, "can't say I was the best. Sometimes I just didn't know what to do, sometimes I neglected it because I was being petty, now—I uh, I don't have one. But I miss every part of it, even pulling weeds." He was quiet for a moment. "I think about what I should have done, how I could have been better. But I can't go back. It's important. Tears you apart when it's gone."

Adachi was taken aback by the honest answer, "That's nice, but what do you do when there's no fruit? When the garden doesn't give you anything when you put in all the effort and still nothing happens? Sometimes it's pests; sometimes, it's the soil; and sometimes, the flowers won't let the bees pollinate. Then there's suddenly no beer allowed in the garden! What do you do then?"

Dojima studied him out of the corner of his eye, "Then if it's that important to have beer in the garden, it might be time to quit it. Pick up, find a new garden. But that doesn't seem to be what you want to do, is it."

Adachi paused for a moment. Aside from the pain in the ass resolution… "Not really. I've invested too much to let it go just yet. She'll come back soon enough."

"So, don't let small chores or a drink get in the way of a healthy and thriving garden."

"I'll think about it."

"I'm really ok with it… I am!"

Yosuke and Rise sat in silence at the Junes food court. Naoto was safe, and after a long and hard day's work, everyone else had gone home. Rise sat swinging her feet and leaning back as she observed the Prince of Junes in the wake of his most devastating defeat yet.

Yosuke's mood immediately soured after reaching the end of Naoto's dungeon and making a certain discovery.

Naoto was a girl.

Yua was dating her.

Didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this information meant that Yosuke wasn't in the same league—not even playing the same team as her. (Or was she playing on the same team as him? He was just confused.) As much as Yosuke tried to rationalize it, he didn't want to accept it just yet. He had started on the stages of grief and was firmly stuck somewhere between all five. Rise bought him a pity-soft drink, and he nursed it like a beer. He took a long sip before pressing his face into the metal table.

"It's not terrible; I mean, we can talk about girls now—I guess."

Rise nodded, taking a sip of her drink.

"And I'm fine with the whole… girl-girl thing, really! It's a whole genre of magazines at the store like that. I can be chill with this. It's like having a guy friend—a super cute, kind, girly guy friend that I," The last part of the sentence was largely incoherent.

"Uhuh."

"So, so what? Naoto's a girl. That's not a big deal—uh, in the city, kind of, maybe… I just, being—yeah," he muttered. "Now I know why she was being so quiet about it… Oh man, it's not like the city here at all."

"Yeah, that sucks," Rise nodded.

"I might have made it worse. Damnit. That's why she was all 'grow up, Yosuke' whenever I said something about Kanji being—the way he is. She took everything I was saying about that doofus and applied it to herself. Damn it, I've been an ass. That's why she was—aww—I'm an idiot!" He pulled himself up from the table. "I'll—I have to be a better friend. I've got to tell her that I'm totally ok with it, and that I won't make fun of her, and that I'm sorry, and that I'll bring her some of those magazines as a peace offering." He pulled out his phone.

"Woah, woah," Rise held up her hand, "take a second before you whip that out."

"You are perfectly unfazed by this. Did Yua ever," he made an unintelligible gesture with his hand, "did you get that feel from her? Did you just know and not tell me?"

"No," Rise smirked, "cause Yua's not a lesbian."

Yosuke shot Rise a look of disbelief, "You'd throttle me for having that level of denial."

"Not to stop you from trying to better yourself but," She took another sip, "She's not dating Naoto, dummy."

Yosuke snapped his phone shut, "How do you know? It's pretty clear they were dating when they…" Come to think of it, Yua really didn't seem extra thrilled to see Naoto accept her shadow. Yua had smiled and admitted Naoto into the group, but that was about it. No special embrace or kiss that he would expect from a missing boy—girlfriend. Maybe…

"I kind of figured it out once Naoto disappeared when Yua told me she'd…" Rise paused. "Let's say the timeline doesn't match up."

Yosuke tried to dissect her expression and thought about it. Timeline. He sat up straight as if rising from the dead. Hope restored!

"Oh yeah!" Yosuke snapped his fingers. "Naoto was taken closer towards the daytime. Yua was having dinner with him—her that night! Or… I guess she had dinner with whoever she's dating because it couldn't have been Naoto! It isn't Naoto! I have a chance!" he shook his head. "Wait, how long did you know it wasn't Naoto?"

"About a week."

"A week! And you didn't think to tell me?"

"The SUB Investigation Team is disbanded."

"That's not an excuse."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we just got back in business."

"Oh, that's right!" Yosuke muttered, "So, who is it now, or, who is it period?"

Rise smirked, "Someone shows up on the Midnight Channel, and two mysteries are reopened. The SUB Investigation Team has been reestablished!"