Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs

by sithlorde1988

The sequel to Persona 5-The Phantom Files. A few years after Ren returns home, the Phantom Thieves find themselves drawn back into the Metaverse once again out of nowhere after a mysterious app surfaces with the powers to access the Metaverse. Can the Phantom Thieves stop a mysterious new group of individuals called Monarchs? Better summary in chapter 1! BOTH STORY AND EDITS DONE!

19. Meet Akane! Kukojima Mystery part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! I know, it's been a bit since I last typed a chapter for this story. I've been busy with stuff, plus the holidays were a thing, and I also had to wait on a few things to be sorted out before I could do this chapter. But here we are, with said things sorted out and dusted. And at last, it's time to commence Arc 4 of Rise of The Monarchs. This arc will be an interesting one, since like the first Phantom Files, this story will have a lot of change-ups happening during Arc 4, many of which were voted on by you, the readers. That said, let's get on to the disclaimer so we can get this show on the road.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (aside from the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Momoe, Taichi, the OC Personas Albus, Malefor, and any other OCs/OC Personas that show up in the story, all of which are made by, and thus belong to, me unless otherwise noted), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to a degree Koei Tecmo (mainly insofar as the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games are concerned), so all ownership credit for the Persona series goes to them!

And with those disclaimers out of the way, let's begin Arc 4! Here's chapter 19!

Chapter 19- Detour in Kyoto! Farewell, Sapporo! On to Kukojima! Mystery of Kukojima part 1

(In Sapporo, inside the camper, with Futaba, Makoto, Yusuke, Sojiro, Ryuji, Kusa, Ann, Haru, Ren, and Zenkichi)

After thinking it over, Ren spoke up from his spot in the shotgun seat next to Zenkichi, who was sat in the driver's seat.

"Well, we don't really have any reason left to remain here. Who's ready to get this show on the road and head to Okinawa?" Ren asked as Morgana looked up on hearing Ren's voice and spoke up.

"What're we gonna do? Oh, are we heading out?" Morgana asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, I think we've done all that we can here. Let's get going. We can't linger in Sapporo forever, no matter how pleasant and beautiful of a place it is." Ren said decisively. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Okay. We're off to Okinawa!" Morgana said, wincing as he heard both Ryuji and Futaba cheer at the same time.

"WOO-HOO! ROAD TRIP!" Ryuji and Futaba cheered, either not seeing or ignoring the twin set of exasperated/fond head-shakes from Makoto and Kusa at their simultaneous cheers. Zenkichi smirked and spoke up while Goro led Sumire, Morgana, and Sophia from the RV, the former of the three carrying Morgana in her arms.

"Heh, excitable bunch, aren't you? In any case, you ready? If so, hurry up and take a seat." Zenkichi said as the group nodded in agreement before those who didn't have a seat (Futaba and Kusa) quickly claimed seats on the bottom bunk in the back of the RV while everyone else got comfortable, as Zenkichi drove the RV out of the city as the trip to leave Sapporo started.

After a while, Makoto spoke up from the seat that she'd claimed behind Ren, who was sitting up in the shotgun seat at Zenkichi's request, much to Kusa's slight annoyance, as he'd wanted to ride shotgun, but he accepted Ren needed a turn too and let himself get comfortable on the bottom bunk, with a smirking Futaba quickly claiming the spot next to him as she got comfortable on him. Sojiro, meanwhile, took a seat with Yusuke and Ryuji in the booth seats.

Goro, for his part, had unfortunately drawn the short straw, and as a result, he had to go drive the Ferrari with Sumire, Morgana, and Sophia, the latter two sharing the backseat together while Sumire sat up front with Goro.

"Would you like me to drive for a while, Zenkichi?" Makoto asked Zenkichi, who shook his head and spoke up.

"Nah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me, Niijima. You guys just get some sleep. We've still got a long ways to go. Besides, you've already had to drive a lot to this point. You deserve a bit of a breather from being behind the wheel. Worst case, I'll pull over and have Amamiya the middle here swap spots with Amamiya the youngest so he can take the wheel for a bit.

After all, from what you all told me, five of you have licenses in the forms of you, Amamiya the youngest, Okumura, Sakura the elder, and Amamiya the eldest. However, Amamiya the eldest had to drive the Ferrari this time, so he likely won't be an option unless we have either you or Sakura the elder go relieve him as the driver of the other car, which is unlikely. So just relax, Niijima." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked as Ren looked at Zenkichi and spoke up.

"Makoto has a point. It's been a while since we started this drive. Don't be shy about speaking up if you need a break, Zenkichi." Ren said politely. Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks for the concern, but you young adults don't need to be worry over your elders like that. This is nothing for me." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"Very well. To be fair, you are an excellent driver. The RV tends to shake a lot more when I'm behind the wheel." Makoto said as Futaba chimed in from in the back of the RV, where she and Kusa were laid out together on the bottom bunk, with Haru having claimed the top bunk to get comfortable on.

"It also goes a bit faster with Zenkichi behind the wheel too! No offense Makoto, but you're kind of a slow driver at times." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up with a smirk from next to her.

"True, but she's also a safe driver. And I respect her for being smart about her driving. Sure, she could be faster, but better safe than sorry. But we both know Makoto deserves a break like this now and again." Kusa said sagely as he gently snaked an arm around Futaba's waist as she nodded, laying her head on Kusa's shoulder as Zenkichi spoke up from the driver's seat, smirking at Kusa's observation.

"Amamiya the youngest has a point. It really is better to be a safe driver than a sorry one. As for me? I may not look it, but I used to patrol in a squad car. Driving's second nature to me at this point." Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up with an impressed look on his face.

"Really? You used to patrol? That's impressive, Zenkichi." Ren said as Kusa spoke up from the back.

"Says the guy who literally drove a cat turned tour bus around for us when we used to go around Mementos to train." Kusa said slyly, getting amused giggles from Futaba and Ann for his playful quip as the former of the two spoke up.

"True, but if I recall correctly, the only reason you weren't driving is because Ren called you out for crashing too much. But as you pointed out, that only happened once, and only because the oncoming hazard in question came up too fast for you to brake in time. Luckily for you, it was on a video-game, so no one got hurt from the ensuing crash." Futaba said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Fair. But I'd like to think I've at least gotten somewhat better since then, if I was able to get my license on the first try." Kusa pointed out. Zenkichi spoke up with a nod.

"Impressive? Eh, it was just part of the job." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up at that point with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Umm, how tough is it? Belng police?" Makoto asked as Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"Well, it sure ain't easy. Why do you ask?" Zenkichi asked before he kept speaking to answer his own question as he recalled a detail that had been mentioned before about Makoto.

"Oh, right, now I remember. You're studying to become some police bigwig, aren't you?" Zenkichi said as Makoto spoeke up.

"Yes, but I've only just begun." Makoto said as Zenkichi shook his head and spoke up.

"I see. Wouldn't really recommend it myself, to tell you the truth. This job's nothing but hell. Your hours are a mess, you get transferred all over the place as the higher-ups deem necessary. And worst of all, if anything goes down at the scene, you get blamed." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up with a resolved nod.

"That may be so, but my heart's set on it. No matter how tough it may be to pull off, I want to become a police officer. I swore to myself I'd follow in my father's footsteps." Makoto said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"True. But you know full well that we'll always have your back, big sis. Sure, some of us will have it more than others, but we'll all be here for you if you need us." Ren said reassuringly to Makoto, who gave Ren a closed-eye smile as she spoke up, giggling as she saw Ryuji seemingly sleeping while sitting up with his arms crossed.

"Thank you, Ren. That's really reassuring to hear you say that, little bro." Makoto said as Zenkichi smiled from the driver's seat and spoke up.

"Well, if your heart's set, then do what you gotta do. But, as your future senior? I'll share this. The harder you work, the more you wind up putting the people in your life on the back burner." Zenkichi said before dryly scoffing as he kept speaking, not seeing Kusa lean up to give Zenkichi an intrigued look from the back as he kept speaking.

"Criminals don't care about your schedule. Tragedies don't care. You'll barely see your own home. Sit on that for a bit, then decide if the force is right for you." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up with a nod.

"I see. Well, I am already quite aware. And speaking of, don't you have any family waiting for you back home?" Makoto asked as Zenkichi gave a dry chuckle and spoke up, not that surprised by Makoto's stubborn insistence on being a police officer.

"Heh, good question." Zenkichi asked as Ren spoke up, noticing the slight unease in Zenkichi's expression.

"Trouble at home, Zenkichi?" Ren asked as Kusa huffed and spoke up from the back.

"Even if that is the case, is it really our business to be asking him about such things, Ren? Cut the man a bit of slack." Kusa said gently but rebukingly, getting approving nods from both Zenkichi and Sojiro, the latter of whom was sitting to the right of Ryuji and had heard Kusa's remark, agreeing with him.

"Aw, can it, Amamiya the middle. Your younger brother has a good point. Please, just mind your own business." Zenkichi said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Honestly? That's more than fair, Zenkichi. We shouldn't be nosing into your private affairs." Sojiro said as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Sakura the elder. And to answer your question, Amamiya the middle? Let's just say you've gotta think about yourself before you can worry about anyone else." Zenkichi said wisely as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Yes, I suppose that's true, Zenkichi." Makoto said as Zenkichi noticed the look on Makoto's face and spoke up.

"Hm? What's up now, Niijima?" Zenkichi Makoto spoke up.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, the way you spoke now, you just reminded me of my father, is all. He was an officer too, you see. Unfortunately, he lost his life on duty." Makoto said as Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"Ah, I see." Zenkichi said as Makoto gave Zenkichi a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Granted, he took his job a lot more seriously than you seem to, but when you boil it down, you two are actually quite similar." Makoto said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Heh, you shouldn't diss your father so badly, comparing him to me like that." Zenkichi said as Kusa huffed and spoke up from the back.

"That's actually kinda rude Zenkichi, even if it is basically a self-burn you gave yourself. After all, not all of us had the luxury of knowing our fathers to begin with. Just off the top of my head, I know of three people who didn't have their father around for most of their life, even if one of those people is currently driving the Ferrari with Sumire, Sophia, and Morgana. That being said, I might not know much about your personal situation, but you seem like you're a good father, Zenkichi.

But even so, don't talk like Makoto's dissing her dead father by comparing him to you. If that were true, she'd have compared him to someone like mine and Goro's father, who couldn't be bothered to be around for either one of his sons while they were growing up. But joke's on him, since Goro and I turned out pretty damn good even despite not having a lot of good male role models in our lives, Goro moreso than myself. Just putting that out there for you to consider." Kusa said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up, not seeing the mixed shocked/impressed look on Ren's face next to him at Kusa's bold admission.

"Mm. That's very profound but true, Amamiya the youngest. I apologize." Zenkichi said as Kusa nodded his understanding before Zenkichi kept speaking, addressing his next words to Makoto as he spoke.

"So, uh, Niijima? When you were little, your old man probably wasn't home often either, was he? How'd you feel about that?" Zenkichi asked as Makoto blinked and spoke up with a shocked look on her face.

"Huh? Ah, well, that's a good question. And in retrospect, I'm very proud. My father was an officer who acted on his beliefs, and never betrayed them, all the way to the end. He taught me that his duty was to keep people from being hurt." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up with a smile.

"Wow. Sounds like your father was a stand-up guy, Makoto. If I were you'd, I'd be proud to be his daughter." Kusa said kindly as Makoto smiled and spoke up with a nod.

"You have a good point, Kusa-kun. And I am proud to be his daughter. Granted, it may just be his influence on me, but I think becoming an officer is still an admirable path in life." Makoto said as Zenkichi dryly chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh. If only that were always true." Zenkichi said dryly before he kept speaking, Ren frowning as he noticed the disillusioned look on Zenkichi's face as he spoke.

"The truth is, our ability to help is restrained. The shrewder and more malicious the target, the less we can actually serve them justice. Held back by superiors, held back by the red tape, held back by all sorts of laws, we were held back by a lot. The only thing the police do is obey orders, above all else. Even when they involve total injustice or an absence of human logic. Basically, the cops I see every day are nothing but a bunch of spineless dogs. And for anyone curious? That includes when I'm lookin' in the mirror." Zenkichi said as Ren winced sympathetically and spoke up.

"You seem like a good guy, Zenkichi. But even so, I can't deny that you have a point. After all, I would know better than most of us how messed up the cops can be. If nothing else, they sure put me through hell, and Kusa as well to an extent given the fact that he got saddled with the job of being my court-appointed overseer during the year-long exile I had to serve in Yongen-Jaya, which ended a little over three years ago." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"While that is true, you left out the part where they also worked together to let a drunken piece of shit rapist walk free for the better part of a year after that before his own conscience got the better of him and he turned himself in and confessed all his crimes." Kusa said wisely. Zenkichi nodded approvingly to Ren's words and spoke up.

"I agree with Amamiya the youngest's words. Also, I've heard about what happened to you, Amamiya the middle. I'm impressed you never cracked under it all." Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Say what you will about Ren, but that man has a stronger will than most anyone I know, myself included, other than maybe Taba here. She's quite the fighter even if she doesn't look it." Kusa said, smiling as he lightly patted his smiling girlfriend on the head affectionately while he spoke. Zenkichi spoke up with a nod.

"I see. That's rather impressive." Zenkichi said before clearing his throat as he kept speaking, turning his gaze towards Makoto through the rear-view mirror as he kept speaking.

"But, ahem! Anyways, that wasn't what I was getting at. I meant when you were still just a kid, like a little girl, how did you feel about your dad rarely being home, Niijima?" Zenkichi asked as Makoto blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"Oh, when I was younger? I did understand that it was part of his job, but to be honest? I do remember missing him, still. But at least I always had my sister with me, not unlike how Ren-kun presumably always had Kusa-kun with him for the most part." Makoto said as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up with a nod.

"Hm, I see. Um, sorry to bother you with all that. You guys had better get to sleep already. If we run into trouble while you're all too tired, I'm the one who'll be in real deep shit." Zenkichi said as the group nodded and heeded his advice as the group decided to get some sleep while they could...

(The next afternoon, in the RV with Ren, Zenkichi, Makoto, Ann, Haru, Morgana, Sophia, Futaba, Kusa, and Sojiro)

"I slept so much that even sleep's boring now! What doooo, you guys?" Futaba asked as Kusa chuckled and spoke up from next to her, patting her on the shoulder comfortingly as he spoke.

"Cheer up, Taba. We've been driving through the night as far as I know, so we shouldn't have that far left to go before we reach our destination, with any luck. Besides, I didn't hear you complaining when we got to share that bottom bunk last night. A bit cramped, yes, but still worth it to be able to hold you close to me again." Kusa said wisely as Haru smiled and spoke up, finding Kusa and Futaba's dynamic adorable.

"Heh, leave it to you to find the positive in this, Kusa-kun. Well, is anyone feeling peckish yet? Although I suppose we've nearly reached Kyoto by now." Haru said as Ann turned to look at Morgana, who had swapped places with Ryuji and Yusuke alongside Sophia when the group had stopped off for a brief breakfast break after waking up. At this point, Goro was currently still driving the Ferrari, with Sumire sitting up front and Yusuke and Ryuji in the back. Ann then spoke up.

"C'mon, Morgana! You said you live to make ladies smile, right? Can't you and Kusa entertain us somehow?" Ann asked pleadingly as Kusa frowned and spoke up, clearly unimpressed with Ann's attempt to use him and Morgana as a source of entertainment.

"I'm sorry, but WHAT!? Do Morgana and I look like some sort of stand-up duo to you? Don't ask us to perform on the spot like that, Ann! Also, that's kind of a dick move, trying to play the 'make me smile' card on Morgana in front of Sophia like that. You're lucky Sumire decided to stay in the Ferrari with Goro at Ren's request. I'm legit impressed he's not having his girlfriend stay by his side. But I trust Ren to know what he's doing." Kusa said sagely. Before Ann could reply, an insistent ringing was heard from the front, prompting Zenkichi to groan and speak up, shocking most of the group as he swore while he spoke.

"Shit! Not now, of all the times!" Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up, giving Zenkichi an inquiring look while he spoke.

"Err, should I send it to voicemail, Zenkichi? It is your phone, after all." Ren said as Kusa spoke up with a huff.

"Uh, yeah! We shouldn't be nosing in his business like that! If anything, he should have one of us, preferably me, step outside while he briefly pulls over so they can explain that he's driving and he'll call them back when he's not behind the wheel." Kusa said as Zenkichi spoke up while shaking his head in the negative.

"Uhh, sorry, but that might take too long, and we don't have time to stop, Amamiya the youngest." Zenkichi said before turning to Ren as he kept speaking.

"Can you just, uh, answer for me? Sorry about that. Make it quick, though. Use what your brother said. Just say I'm driving, and that I'll call back later." Zenkichi said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Ohh, sure. Let Ren answer the phone. With all due respect to you bro, this is likely to end up a disaster. I want it on the record that I offered to handle it properly, but Zenkichi asked Ren to do it instead, so anything that happens as a result is both his and Ren's fault." Kusa said as Futaba spoke up with a nod, agreeing with Kusa's assessment of the situation.

"Seconded." Futaba said as Sojiro frowned and spoke up, deciding to try and be the voice of reason in this instance.

"Be fair here, Kusa. You did suggest pulling over, which isn't that practical in this situation. And I doubt it'll be as bad as you think." Sojiro said calmly as Kusa sighed and spoke up, accepting that Sojiro had a point.

"I hope you're right, Sojiro. Well, get it over with, Ren. Answer the phone." Kusa said, getting a nod of agreement from Ren, who checked the caller ID and saw the caller was someone named 'Akane'. Ren then answered the phone, but a feminine voice spoke up before he could say a word.

"Hello? It's way past noon. Where are you? Don't tell me you forgot what day it is! We were supposed to visit Mom's grave together." The voice that spoke up said, making Ren wince as he spoke up.

"Umm, sorry to hear that? But your dad's kinda driving right now and can't come to the phone, so he asked me to answer it for him." Ren said as kindly as he could, making the voice on the other end speak up in a mix of irritation and surprise.

"Huh? Who is this? Please give him his phone back." The voice of the girl that answered, a girl who was presumably named Akane, said as Ren winced and spoke up.

"I would, but he's driving right now and can't come to the phone, as I just said. But I can tell him to call you when he's not driving if you want." Ren said politely. The girl, who Ren was assuming was named Akane given that was the name on the caller ID, sighed and spoke up.

"Driving? Oh, I guess that makes sense he can't answer the phone if he's behind the wheel." The voice of what Ren was guessing to be Akane said as Ann spoke up, having seen the wince on Ren's face.

"What is it? Who's calling?" Ann said as Kusa groaned and spoke up so only Ann could hear.

"Ann! Don't speak up! You'll just make things worse." Kusa said with a frown as Sojiro nodded his agreement while Futaba smiled and lightly patted Kusa on the head reassuringly as Haru spoke up, making Kusa groan again.

"Is it some kind of emergency?" Haru said as Futaba looked towards Zenkichi and spoke up.

"Why don'tcha just pull over, Gramps?" Futaba said as Sojiro groaned and spoke up.

"Don't call him Gramps, Futaba. Also, all of you stay quiet. Ren's trying to handle a phone call for Zenkichi." Sojiro said firmly, making Ren wince as he heard the irate tone of voice that the girl had when she spoke up again.

"Do I hear a bunch of girls with you? WHAT AN ASSHOLE! You're just out partying right now, aren't you!?" Akane said as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"Oof, she sounds livid. I blame Zenkichi for letting Ren answer the phone. He should've known it would turn out like this." Kusa said disapprovingly. Zenkichi winced at Kusa's words, but couldn't disagree with them, instead just letting out what appeared to be a cross of a sigh and a whimper, knowing he was likely going to be in for it later. The girl kept speaking, not giving Ren a chance to try and appease her.

"You really are the worst! Don't bother coming home again! You don't even deserve to visit Mom's grave!" Akane spat, hanging up before anything further could be said, leaving Ren and Zenkichi to share a wince in the front while Kusa crossed his arms, frowning at the predictable turn of events that had played out as Makoto spoke up.

"Um, I don't know the details, but I'm guessing that wasn't what whoever called wanted to hear. So, is everything all right?" Makoto asked as Ren spoke up with a wince.

"No. She is not happy right now. I think we should've let Kusa answer it instead, since he'd have probably handled it a lot better than I did." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"No kidding! I know you meant well, but you forget that your luck has a funny way of shooting you in the foot when you least expect it, Ren. And then Taba, Ann and Haru chiming in when they did certainly didn't do the situation any favors either. I'm sorry, but there's a right way to handle things and a wrong way, and this was most definitely NOT the right way to handle it." Kusa said bluntly. Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Ah, I think Amamiya the youngest is right. Also, I see." Zenkichi asked as Futaba spoke up.

"So, who was that, anyway?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Zenkichi can correct me on this if I'm wrong, but given the look on his face, I'd say that was his kid, wanting to know where he is." Kusa said sagely as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"You're absolutely correct, Amamiya the youngest. That was my daughter on the phone." Zenkichi said as everyone else but Sojiro, Ren, and Kusa exchanged shocked looks at Zenkichi's reveal as Futaba spoke up in surprise.

"Daughter? YOU have one?" Futaba asked with wide eyes as Kusa spoke up, surprised by how dismissive Futaba's question had sounded.

"Be nice, Taba! Of course he's got a daughter! Why else would he be working so hard to make ends meet if not for his kid's sake? Also, I would think you'd be empathizing with her a bit more, considering she sounded like she was pretty close to your age, maybe a couple years younger than you." Kusa rebuked Futaba gently but firmly, amid an approving nod from Sojiro. Zenkichi winced and spoke up with a frown.

"Gah, dammit! Sorry, time to floor it now! Hang onto your seats, everyone!" Zenkichi said as he put the pedal to the medal, making a shocked Goro swear a blue streak under his breath in the Ferrari behind him, ignoring the equally surprised looks on the faces of Sumire, Ryuji, and Yusuke, who were also in the Ferrari and had not heard Goro swear much, as he sped up to keep up with Zenkichi as the two cars sped to Kyoto...

(A short time later, in the Kyoto city limits, inside the RV with Ren, Zenkichi, Makoto, Ann, Haru, Morgana, Sophia, Sojiro, Kusa, Futaba, Goro, Yusuke, Ryuji, and Sumire)

"Okay, we're in Kyoto city limits, is this good? I really have to go." Zenkichi said. Kusa spoke up with a nod, guessing that Zenkichi was in a hurry.

"Should be fine, Zenkichi. I'm guessing from the look on your face that you have somewhere to be. So don't let us hold you up. Go handle your business. We'll be fine without you for a while if need be." Kusa said kindly as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you for understanding. Just park this somewhere and check out the temples or something. I'll be in touch tomorrow." Zenkichi said as Makoto blinked and spoke up in confusion.

"Wait, tomorrow? Where is there overnight-?" Makoto asked in confusion as Zenkichi dashed off in a hurry without answering Makoto's question, a slam of the RV door as he bolted the only answer Makoto got. After Zenkichi left. Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"What in the heck?" Futaba asked as Yusuke spoke up with a frown.

"Good question. From what I can tell, he's been in quite the state since that phone call you said Ren helped Zenkichi with earlier, Kusa." Yusuke said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"You mean the phone call that Ren, Ann, Taba, and Haru made a mess of with their unneeded commentary?" Kusa asked, fixing the four named people with a stern but disappointed frown. Sumire noticed the look on Kusa's face and spoke up to try and pacify him.

"Cut them a break, Kusa. It's not like Ren meant for all that to happen. I'll admit that Ann and Futaba had no reason at all to speak up, but Ren was trying to smooth it over by all accounts, so at least be a bit more lenient with him." Sumire said as an amused Goro spoke up with a smirk.

"Believe it or not? This is actually pretty lenient for Kusa, Sumire-san. If he was really livid, he'd have been swearing a lot more and not been as inclined to filter his words. So I think he's being quite calm right now. Not that I have room to talk, given how colorful my reaction to Zenkichi abruptly deciding to speed and make me have to do the same to keep up with him was. Sorry about my language back there, Sumire, Yusuke, and Ryuji. I shouldn't have cussed around you." Goro said apologetically as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"That's okay, Goro. Given the circumstances, your reaction would be quite understandable, even if I don't know that I agree with you calling Zenkichi a 'senile old fudgehead', to paraphrase your exact words. I refuse to repeat the actual words you used, out of not wanting to swear around Sophia." Sumire said as Goro winced and apologized to Sumire, who forgave Goro while Kusa sighed and nodded his understanding of the rebuke Sumire had given him as Sumire kept speaking.

"That said, I wonder why Zenkichi left in such a hurry just now?" Sumire asked as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Good question, Sumire. Maybe plans to keep, or somethin'?" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up from the shotgun seat.

"Honestly? From what I did hear, apparently he was expected at someone's grave. From what Zenkichi's daughter, who is apparently named Akane according to Zenkichi's caller ID, said before, he's apparently supposed to be paying his respects to her mom with her? I don't know the details past that?" Ren said. Kusa blinked at this, before his eyes widened in realization as an epiphany hit him a moment later. However, before he could voice his realization, a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which had remained oddly silent to that point, preceded Sophia speaking up for the first time in a while.

"Hmm. Based on my deductions, and the bit of the call I was able to listen in on through Sumire's phone, today seems to be the day Zenkichi's wife passed away. He is due at her grave to pay respects." Sophia said as Haru spoke up in confusion.

"Zenkichi-san's wife isn't alive anymore? She passed away?" Haru asked as Kusa spoke up.

"That's typically why someone would be at a person's grave to pay respects, Haru. Usually, that's what happens if they've passed away. So that seems like a safe assumption to make, Haru." Kusa said, sounding like he was fighting to keep his voice civil and not light into several people at that point. Yusuke then spoke up with his own realization.

"I see. That's why his daughter demanded to know where he was." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up for the first time since the trip started, not seeing the unimpressed frown Kusa aimed at him for what he said next.

"Ohh, Zenkichi, you poor thing. Why didn't he confide in us? He could've just told us what was going on!" Morgana said before yelping in surprise when he was lightly but firmly snatched up and found himself looking into the rather annoyed eyes of Kusa, who spoke up with a very controlled but distinctly irritated tone.

"And why would it be ANY business of ours regarding what's happening in his personal life, Morgana? We don't know him very well at this point, and we're only tentatively in an alliance with him due to having a common goal. So he has no reason whatsoever to have to share anything with us about his private life. For you to suggest otherwise is honestly a bit of a dick move on your part." Kusa said bluntly as the others winced at his tone, but couldn't refute any of what Kusa said, as he was right. Ann then spoke up.

"Also, wasn't the way she was talking to him, like, really bad? Especially for today?" Ann asked as Sophia spoke up with a pensive look on her face.

"Indeed. She was enraged by the sound of young female voices. She surmised, 'You're just out partying right now, aren't you?' when she heard those voices." Sophia said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Wow, talk about getting the wrong idea." Futaba said as Sojiro spoke up, seeing Kusa's expression and wanting to cut in before Kusa could say something he might regret later.

"To be fair, you didn't have to chime in and ask Zenkichi to pull over. Of course his daughter would take it bad if she heard a girl she didn't know saying 'Pull over, Gramps.' That's just common sense. Also, Ann's questions didn't exactly give a good impression either. If that's all she heard, I don't blame her if she assumed her dad was at a brothel or something instead of where he was supposed to be, hence how hard she lit into him." Sojiro pointed out as Kusa sighed, took a deep breath to calm himself, and smiled before he spoke up approvingly.

"That's a very good point, Sojiro. I think we can all agree that this was just a massive string of unfortunate events that just occurred. But from now on, don't speak up when someone's on the phone, just to be safe." Kusa said as Haru gasped and spoke up.

"Oh! That's terrible! We need to go and straighten things out with her, right away!" Haru said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"That is true, but I feel like having everyone going together might make things worse. If anything, you all can stay here with Sojiro, while I go by myself and apologize to Zenkichi's daughter for all of you. I feel like that's the best way to clear things up." Kusa said as Goro spoke up.

"Yeah, because some guy Zenkichi-san's daughter barely knows walking up and trying to pacify her on behalf of his friends isn't gonna be just as strange? I get what you're going for, but we'd be better off all going, if anyone's going. At least, that way you can be there to run damage control if needed, Kusa." Goro pointed out as Kusa frowned, seemingly contemplating Goro's words as Ren spoke up.

"Here's another idea. Maybe we should stay out of it? Kusa did say before this wasn't really our business. If anything, we can apologize to Akane if we happen to be allowed to meet her." Ren suggested. Morgana frowned at Ren's idea and spoke up with a head shake.

"WHAT!? We can't do that! We're the ones who talked him into that whole mess!" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up in annoyance.

"First of all, the only ones who 'talked him into that whole mess' as you put it were Ren, Haru, Futaba, and to a lesser degree Ann, so they're the only ones who would really have a reason to need to apologize. However, at the same time, I dunno that they wouldn't just manage to dig themselves into a deeper hole if they went alone. And also, don't presume to speak for everyone!" Kusa firmly but gently rebuked Morgana. Before Morgana could reply to Kusa's words, Sophia spoke up.

"I have found only one cemetery in the vicinity. He will be there." Sophia said as Kusa spoke up.

"You guys aren't gonna listen if I advise you to stay here and let me and Ren handle it, are you?" Kusa said, getting a series of negative head-shakes from everyone else with the exceptions of Ren and Makoto, who knew Kusa had a point. Kusa sighed and spoke up, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.

"Fine! We'll go together. But let me make one thing perfectly clear to all of you. If I hear any of you guys trying to make things worse, I will be absolutely livid, and you'll be dealing with me afterwards." Kusa said firmly as the others nodded and the group headed off to the indicated cemetery to try and catch to Zenkichi in hopes of making things right...

(A short time later, in a nearby cemetery, with Zenkichi and his daughter)

As Zenkichi ran, huffing and puffing, to a cemetery, he caught up to his daughter, a girl with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair, a petite yet model-like build, a cute face that had a button nose, a prominent chin and slightly pursed lips, along with striking chocolate brown eyes that were glued to the phone screen in front of her, where she was reading over an article she'd pulled up about a recent sports event she'd been following. The girl was so engrossed in her article, she almost didn't hear Zenkichi as he spoke up.

"Whew. Oh, I'm sorry for being late today, of all days." Zenkichi said apologetically as his daughter sighed and looked up from her article when she heard Zenkichi's voice. Zenkichi winced at the lack of a reaction in his daughter's expression and spoke up in concern.

"Uh, Akane?" Zenkichi asked the now-named Akane, who huffed, and turned away.

"Save it! I'm not here for excuses! Go have fun with your girls, since they were clearly more important than paying your respects to your dead wife. Goodbye." Akane said, turning to start walking away, only for Zenkichi to stop her before she could leave by speaking up.

"No, no! You don't understand! I'm on the job right now!" Zenkichi said as Akane frowned at him and spoke up with a pissed-off look on her face.

"You weren't here for Mom on the day you needed to be here for her the most! I don't care what excuses you have! Do not come near me again, got it? Can't even catch Mom's killer." Akane said scathingly as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Oh!" Zenkichi said, not able to argue, nor able to look Akane in the eyes, making her huff as she spoke up.

"Can't even look your daughter in the eye? Of course! You refuse to face up to anything." Akane said, huffing as she briefly crossed her arms in annoyance, the action managing to draw the camera to her modest yet clearly defined large-B cup breasts, eventually uncrossing them as she spoke up.

"Hmph. The way I see it, you're no father to me." Akane said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Uh, well, that's not wrong. But you know, I do try to do the best I can by you, even if I'm not around as much as I'd like to be." Zenkichi said as the group winced, having caught up to Zenkichi in time to hear Akane say Zenkichi was no father to her, making Ryuji and Goro both wince at the scathing tone in the girl's words. Futaba then spoke up with her own wince, not seeing the slow shake of Kusa's head at what she said next.

"What do we even do!? We really crashed that ship by the looks of it." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up in a tone that was very clearly straining to stay calm and civil.

"We aren't gonna do a thing, for now. We're gonna try and let Zenkichi work this out on his own, since this is really not a matter for us to weigh in on. If the chance comes to apologize, we'll step in, but only then." Kusa said firmly as Goro spoke up.

"Is that gonna be before or after Zenkichi gets chewed up, spit out, and tossed aside by his own daughter?" Goro asked dryly. Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Ouch, looks like she's really eviscerating him over there." Morgana said as Makoto spoke up.

"I know where you're coming from, Kusa. But when you think about it, this whole thing is entirely our fault. We're the ones who should explain everything." Makoto said as the group ignored Kusa's protests and walked over to try and intercede on Zenkichi's behalf, Zenkichi wincing at Akane's scathing rebukes of him and thus not hearing Ann speak up.

"Um, um! Hang on a second? Please?" Ann said as Akane aimed a confused look at the others before her eyes seemed to land on Kusa and Ren in particular, the latter of which spoke up.

"Please don't be mad at your father. This is all a misunderstanding." Ren said honestly, ignoring the exasperated grumbling from Kusa behind him. Zenkichi, on the other hand, heard Ren's voice and spun around to face the group and spoke up in annoyance.

"Wha-? YOU guys! What're you doing here!?" Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Apparently, they believe it's their fault that your daughter's livid with you right now, Zenkichi. And to be fair? It really is some of their faults. For one, Ren had no business handling that phone call the way he did, even if he did try to intercede somewhat on your behalf early on. For another, the girls who spoke up should've just kept quiet and not chimed in until Ren could finish the call.

So, if anything, the following people need to apologize: Ren, Ann, Futaba, and Haru. The rest of us can also apologize for any inconvenience our actions caused you on this most important day. Also, allow me to offer my condolences to the both of you on your loss." Kusa said honestly. Akane blinked at Kusa's response before frowning as she looked the others over, eventually speaking up while cocking her head slightly to the side in confusion.

"Okay, but, whoooo exactly are you all?" Akane asked as Ren spoke up.

"Bluntly put? We're co-workers of his, as well as his ride here, even if he was doing most of the driving." Ren said honestly as Kusa spoke up.

"Exactly, what Ren here said. We're working on a case with him, and that case happened to be in Kukojima. But Zenkichi here planned to take time to come and be here for you and pay his respects, so please try to understand that he didn't mean to make you wait so long." Kusa said sincerely. Akane blinked at Ren's response but nodded to Kusa as she spoke up.

"Oookay, fair enough. And if that's true, what do you want?" Akane said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Oof, she's totally suspicious of us right now. To be fair, I would be too, but I know what's going on, where she doesn't." Futaba said as Haru spoke up with a wince.

"Sorry to barge in on this, but please, we have to tell you something first!" Haru said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Why did you come here!? I told you, wait until tomorrow!" Zenkichi said as Yusuke spoke up with a wince.

"True. But, well, we are the ones responsible for upsetting your daughter." Yusuke said, not hearing or ignoring Kusa grumbling what sounded like 'no shit, Sherlock!' under his breath as Makoto spoke up.

"Um, Akane-chan, right? We're working a case together, so we were all travelling together as a group until he ran off to meet you." Makoto said as Goro spoke up.

"Technically, he didn't run off so much as say he had to go and asked us to wait for him to reach out tomorrow." Goro pointed out as Makoto kept speaking as if Goro hadn't interrupted.

"Since your father volunteered to handle the driving for us, Ren here answered the phone instead." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"Over my suggestion to not let him do so. I very clearly suggested that I be the one to answer it, since I would've stepped out of the trailer to handle the call, so that there wouldn't be any voices butting in and giving you the wrong idea." Kusa said firmly as Ren spoke up.

"That's right. So if anything, this is my fault for not being more professional when handling your call earlier. Sorry about that." Ren said honestly. Akane's eyes widened slightly at that point as she spoke up, suddenly looking sheepish at how she'd reacted before.

"Ah, so when I talked to you before, that was when-?" Akane said as Haru nodded and spoke up before Kusa could do so.

"Mmhm, that was when he was driving us all to Kyoto. We're so sorry we upset you." Haru said as Akane blinked at the confirmation and spoke up with a slightly abashed and sheepish tone.

"Oh, uh, right. I see. In that case, please excuse my awful behavior. I'm sorry for jumping the gun and making a scene like that." Akane said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, little one. Given what you heard, how can you be expected not to react the way you did? And Haru, Ann, and Futaba chiming in when they did likely didn't help matters. So it's not exactly your fault that you'd figure your dad was with a bunch of girls. After all, what else are you supposed to think?" Kusa said kindly. Futaba blinked at Akane's apology and spoke up.

"Whoa, she's so well-behaved! She's already more mature than Ryuji." Futaba said as Sumire giggled and spoke up, ignoring the twin sputters from Kusa and Ryuji after hearing what she said next.

"You say that like that's a high bar to set, Futaba." Sumire quipped as Kusa spoke up, deciding to cut Ryuji off before he could put his foot in his mouth with both Zenkichi and Akane.

"Not helping, Sumire! And Futaba, kindly don't bash Ryuji like that in front of people we barely know. That's rude." Kusa said firmly as Sojiro spoke up with a nod.

"Kusa's right. Don't bash people like that unless you're at home and alone, Futaba." Sojiro scolded Futaba. Ryuji frowned at Futaba and spoke up.

"Shut up!" Ryuji snapped at Futaba before turning to Akane as he kept speaking.

"But for real, you sure don't seem like you'd be HIS kid." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Ryuji, I get that Futaba just bashed you, but that's not an excuse to take your anger out on Zenkichi like that." Kusa said as Zenkichi spoke up, glaring at Ryuji.

"You shut up, Sakamoto! And thank you for at least trying to be considerate, Amamiya the youngest." Zenkichi said as Kusa nodded his agreement before Ann spoke up, looking at Akane, and speaking up.

"So, Akane-chan! You and your dad made a promise about today, right?" Ann asked as Kusa spoke up.

"And how is that in any way our business to know that, Ann?" Kusa asked, but Makoto spoke up before Ann could answer Kusa.

"We are so sorry he got here late. That's totally our fault, too." Makoto said as Akane frowned and spoke up, not wanting to look the group in the eyes after how she'd lashed out at her dad in front of them.

"Oh no, it's okay. I understand why he was late. It's fine." Akane said as Zenkichi turned to face Akane as he spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too, Akane. I promise, I really did remember it was today, honest! It's just, this case is dragging us all over the place, and, heheh-" Zenkichi said, chuckling nervously, but an annoyed Akane cut in and interrupted him mid-sentence.

"What's so funny?" Akane asked as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Hrgh, I didn't mean to laugh. Well, uh, hm." Zenkichi said as Akane spoke up, giving Zenkichi an irate look, clearly frustrated with her dad as she spoke.

"Also, you told me none of this. Couldn't you have simply explained all of this to me before today?" Akane asked as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"She's really ripping into him at an adult level." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up with a nod.

"That's true. But she's within her rights to do so if what she said about Zenkichi not letting her in on things is true." Kusa pointed out sagely as Goro spoke up.

"Agreed. But I think Kusa's just this prickly right now because this is probably hard for him to see, having someone actually have their dad around but seemingly reject him the way Akane-chan just tried to reject Zenkichi." Goro said as Yusuke winced and spoke up before Kusa could do more than give Goro a shocked look.

"True. But to think she's so cold to her father on such a day as this." Yusuke said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"To be fair, she's probably still hurting from her loss, given what today seems to be. So we can't be too mad at her for having a poor way of coping with pain. I'd know better than most how that feels." Sumire said with a sigh, smiling as she felt Ren slip his hand into hers to give her hand a gentle but reassuring squeeze of comfort. Ann then spoke up.

"Uh, ohhhh, good point! But you know how the police can't talk about active cases and stuff, right?" Ann said imploringly as Makoto nodded, taking Ann's cue and speaking up.

"Ann's right. In the force, any information about a case that leaks to the public could ruin all our hard work." Makoto said as Akane sighed in annoyance and spoke up.

"Ugh, I hate that you two have a point." Akane said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown, shocking Zenkichi with what he said next.

"C'mon, just cut him some slack." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with a frown.

"Ryuji!" Ann said as Sojiro spoke up reprovingly, agreeing with Ryuji's words.

"Don't rebuke him, Ann. Ryuji's trying to come to Zenkichi's defense here, I think." Sojiro said wisely as Ryuji nodded approvingly to Sojiro's remark and spoke up.

"That's right, Sojiro. And, to be honest? Sure, I don't got a right to talk, considerin' all the hell I put my own mom through in the past few years. But, he's taking care of you, right? So don't go bitin' his head off over this." Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up.

"Yeah, if I did that to Sojiro? It'd probably take him the better part of the year to recover." Futaba said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"No, Taba. If you ever talked to Sojiro like Akane just spoke to Zenkichi, especially where I can hear? Warranted or not, I will punish you for it. And it won't be in the fun, kinky way either." Kusa said bluntly, getting an approving nod from Sojiro, who agreed with Kusa, as Akane winced and spoke up.

"I mean, I can see how this looks bad. But it's not like I always rag on my dad. I do love him, even if I just gave him grief." Akane said as Haru smiled, seeing the worry in Akane's eyes and speaking up to reassure her.

"Um, we're not trying to pile on you, though. I'm sure you have your own reasons for what you said." Haru said as Makoto spoke up with a wince.

"True. But his delay really was because of work. Please don't blame him for that." Makoto said as Ren went to speak up, before noticing the warning look on Kusa's face and reconsidering what he was about to say.

"Haru and Makoto are correct. We're the ones to blame for your dad's tardiness in arriving, not your dad. So if anything, it's our fault." Ren said, getting approving nods from Sojiro and Kusa at his attempt to take responsibility, and even Goro gave Ren an approving smile. Akane sighed at Ren's admission, eventually nodding as she spoke up.

"I understand." Akane said as Makoto gave Akane a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Thank you, Akane-chan." Makoto said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Yes, what Makoto said. We especially regret causing trouble on such an important day." Yusuke said as Makoto spoke up, not seeing the twin looks of shock on Zenkichi and Kusa's faces at what she asked next.

"Please, may we pay our respects as well?" Makoto asked as Akane blinked at the request, speaking up before Kusa could do more than sputter at how bold Makoto's request was.

"Sure." Akane said as Zenkichi turned to the others and spoke up.

"Guys, uh, I wish you hadn't come when you did. But, at the same time? I'm glad you did, so thanks." Zenkichi said as Morgana spoke up, not seeing the appalled looks he got from both Ren and Sumire, nor feeling the annoyed flick he got on the back of the head from Kusa at what he said next.

"Don't sweat it, it was our pleasure. But don't forget you owe us one too, Zenkichi." Morgana said, as Kusa spoke up with a frown while glaring at Morgana.

"That was totally uncalled for, Morgana! Zenkichi doesn't owe us anything! And to say such a thing on such an important day!? How big of a frickin' dick can you be, man!?" Kusa scolded Morgana, glaring at the wincing cat with a frown. Zenkichi walked over and spoke up.

"Thank you Kusa, but maybe don't berate him in front of my daughter, yeah? Also, hey! Zip on the lips, Cat! I am not explaining all this to Akane!" Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up with a nod.

"Uhh, right. Sorry about that, Zenkichi. Kinda forgot myself for a moment in the heat of taking Morgana to task for what he said to you." Kusa said sheepishly as Morgana spoke up.

"Don't worry, Akane can't hear a thing. C'mon, let's go pay our respects." Morgana said as Goro frowned and spoke up.

"Riiight. Akane-san totally can't hear you meowing over here, Morgana. Keep telling yourself that. That's a good way to make a good first impression on a lady." Goro said dryly, making Ren and Kusa both have to fight the urge to laugh at the stunned expression on Morgana's face after Goro's calm yet firm rebuke.

After that, the group took turns offering their prayers to the deceased, eventually ending on Akane, who nearly broke down crying when offering her respects, only to be surprised when she felt a gentle pat on the shoulder, making her look up to see Zenkichi giving her a reassuring smile, knowing this was a hard moment for her and trying to be there for her. After Akane stepped back, Zenkichi spoke up.

"So, five years since your death already, huh? It's funny how fast time flies by when working hard." Zenkichi said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"If it's not too rude, how did your wife die?" Ren asked, as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"Ren! That's not something you ask someone on a day like this! Have some tact, bro." Kusa said bluntly, trying to keep his tone civil. Ren winced and spoke up.

"Sorry. But was it an accident, by chance?" Ren asked, ignoring the glare Kusa shot him. Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"It was-" Zenkichi said as Akane interrupted him mid-sentence by speaking up.

"Well, I should go home. It was nice of you all to come and clear the air on my dad's behalf." Akane said honestly, shocking both Ren and Futaba, but especially Zenkichi, when she stopped in front of Kusa and smiled slightly before speaking up.

"And thank you for at least trying to be understanding when you spoke up. I know I didn't acknowledge any of what you said, but I appreciated the effort just the same." Akane said with a smile, making Kusa blink and speak up.

"No problem. I know that something like this is really not a time or place for tactless remarks or color commentary, so I was doing my best to make sure the others didn't have a collective 'foot in mouth' moment, so to speak. I apologize if any of what was said upset you at all. That was not our intention at all." Kusa said honestly as Akane chuckled and spoke up.

"That's okay, I didn't mind. Well, I guess I better head home." Akane said with a shy sort of smile, extending a hand out for Kusa to shake, which he shook despite his confusion as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Oh? In that case, why don't we go together? I'll order some takeout and-" Zenkichi said as Akane spoke up with an icy glare.

"No, thank you. I want nothing to do with you." Akane said before turning on her heel and stalking off, ignoring Zenkichi sputtering and calling her name as she left. Zenkichi then spoke up.

"Ah-! Hey! Akane!" Zenkichi said as Ann spoke up with a wince.

"She's not stopping, is she?" Ann asked as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Boy is she icing Zenkichi out or what? This isn't just some 'teen rebel' thing." Futaba said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"More to the point, why was she so almost warm and polite to Kusa one second, but then icy and harsh to Zenkichi the next?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up.

"Maybe she's a tsundere?" Ren suggested as Goro spoke up dryly.

"Tsun-!? Ren, get real! Akane-san is not a tsundere. I'd be more apt to call Futaba a tsundere than I would be to call Akane-san one." Goro said as Kusa frowned at Goro calling Futaba a tsundere and spoke up.

"Hey, leave Taba out of this, Goro! She might have made a few mistakes today, but she's still my girlfriend, dammit." Kusa said as Haru winced and spoke up.

"Kusa-kun is right. Akane-chan is just going through a lot. But she's so polite, too. She does seem like she has a bit of an issue with mood swings. I really wonder what could have happened." Haru said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hey, sorry about all that. You guys really did save me back there." Zenkichi said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"That's what we do in this group. You have our back, and we have yours. We're just respectful of one another like that, even if some of us have a funny way of showing it at times." Kusa said, shooting a wincing Morgana a pointed glare. Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Well, I've got to get home, but I'll see you all around. Be in touch, yeah?" Zenkichi asked as Ryuji spoke up.

"Fine by us, buuut to be honest? You sure you're good to just go home like that?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi chuckled nervously and spoke up.

"Ah, don't worry. She's just at that age, you know?" Zenkichi said as Kusa sputtered and spoke up.

"That age? Just from a glance, she looks like she's around 17, Zenkichi. I'm pretty sure that's more than 'just at that age', to be honest. I think Taba was closer to the mark with her 'teen rebel' comment before." Kusa said sagely. Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Kusa-kun. Also, I know you don't get home too often, but is everything okay there? Akane-chan's eating well and all that?" Makoto said as Sojiro frowned at the tactless question coming from the normally very tactful Makoto and spoke up.

"Is now REALLY the time to ask Zenkichi stuff like that, Makoto? I would think that you wouldn't ask him something like that when we're all still at his wife's grave." Sojiro pointed out bluntly. Zenkichi nodded his approval of Sojiro's words and spoke up.

"Thank you. But to answer your question, Niijima? Yeah, my wife's parents are just next door most of the time. She just shuts herself up in her room every day, is all. She's not really a particularly social or outgoing person from what my wife's parents told me recently. Moreover, they also mentioned that she always eats in her room, typically easy, packaged stuff that she doesn't have to cook." Zenkichi said, not seeing the odd looks that Makoto, Ann, and even Goro were all aiming at Futaba, but Ann spoke up before Futaba could say a word.

"Really? It's that bad?" Ann asked as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"Truth be told? I'm always at work, so I really don't know anything about her diet." Zenkichi said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"True, but even so? She's a growing young lady. I hope she's at least eating well to some extent." Haru said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"I mean, I do send her money, at least. She's already a second-year in high school. I'm pretty sure she's set in her ways." Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Maybe. But if I'm right, she might also be just set in her coping mechanisms. Futaba here used to be that same way when we first met her, but over time, we, and by we, I mostly mean myself, coaxed Taba out of her shell and got her to slowly open up to us and take chances on the outside world. And by doing so, not only did our group succeed in helping Futaba get some much-needed healing and closure from a painful event she'd lived though, but we also got the added bonus of curing her of her former shut-in ways bit-by-bit. So it's possible your daughter's the way she is as a coping mechanism." Kusa said gently as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Kusa has a point. Akane does remind me a lot of Futaba in some ways. And since you've been so helpful to us, I feel like we should help you out in return by doing what we can to help your daughter somehow." Ren said as both Zenkichi and Kusa winced at how Ren had worded his response. Ann nodded and spoke up before either Kusa or Zenkichi had a chance to do so.

"Yeah, true. And after what we put her through, I want to at least do something nice for her today." Ann said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"I agree. And if we're being honest? Her dad's taken decent care of us so far. So why don't we treat him and the kid to a nice meal?" Futaba said as both Zenkichi and Kusa blinked at this, but before either could speak up, Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"That's a great idea. I'd like to speak more with her. We can even help cook!" Makoto said as Sumire spoke up with a frown.

"Um, Makoto? I get where you're coming from, but isn't that kind of rude for us to just invite ourselves over to treat Zenkichi and his daughter without getting their okay first?" Sumire asked, getting an approving nod from both Kusa and Zenkichi as the latter spoke up.

"It really is." Zenkichi said agreeably as Haru spoke up as if neither Sumire or Zenkichi had interrupted.

"Sounds like we'll need to stay over tonight. Let's make sure we pick up plenty of groceries." Haru said as Morgana spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"I agree with Haru. All right! Everyone, after Akane!" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Wait, what!? Hold on! How the heck do you expect Zenkichi's house to accommodate ten young adults, a very spry elder gentleman, an AI who lives in Sumire's phone and, with all apologies to Morgana, a cat? How big do you think his and Akane's place is?" Kusa asked in disbelief, getting an approving nod from Zenkichi. However, most of the group filed off after Morgana and Haru, leaving Kusa and Zenkichi to sputter after them as the latter spoke up.

"Huh?" Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up with a sigh.

"And there they go. Sorry about them, Zenkichi. I guess they invited themselves over for dinner tonight. If you don't want them doing that, we can try to dissuade them, but it might be a rather uphill struggle doing so." Kusa said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Wha-Wait a minute, everyone! You can't just invite yourselves over like that, dammit! At least Amamiya the youngest here is considerate enough to think about what others want!" Zenkichi yelled after the others, only for his words to fall on deaf ears as the rest of the group kept walking, making Kusa shake his head and speak up.

"We better go after them, Zenkichi. Sorry again for crashing your place like that, but I don't know that we can talk them out of it at this point." Kusa said as Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"It's fine, Amamiya the youngest. At least you have the decency to apologize, unlike your friends." Zenkichi said as he yelled after the rest of the group's retreating backs while giving chase with Kusa, who merely gave Zenkichi a sympathetic nod as he kept pace with him.

"Hey! Hey, you damn kids! Are you seriously crashing my place!?" Zenkichi said, frowning as no one answered him, other than Kusa giving him a sympathetic look. Zenkichi then kept speaking as he ran after the others.

"Hey! Am I just talking to myself heeere!?" Zenkichi said as he and Kusa gave chase to the group...

(A short time later, at Akane and Zenkichi's place, with Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Zenkichi, Ryuji, Kusa, Morgana, Haru, Goro, Sojiro, Futaba, Makoto, Ann, Yusuke, and Akane)

"Akane-chan, could you please pass the potatoes?" Makoto asked Akane as the two worked with Ann and Yusuke to prepare the meal. Akane smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Oh, of course." Akane said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile and a giggle.

"Ahahaha, no need to be so formal with us! We can keep it real." Ann said as Akane spoke up with a blink and a smile.

"Real? Okay, thanks for that." Akane said as Ann spoke up with a smile.

"Mmhm, you got it!" Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Akane, would you mind helping me cut the carrots?" Yusuke asked as Akane blinked but nodded as she spoke up.

"Huh? Uh, okay, sure." Akane said as Haru giggled from the kitchen table, where she was sitting with Goro, Morgana, Sojiro, and Futaba,

"Hee hee! Well, they seem to be getting along rather well." Haru said as Kusa huffed and spoke up from his spot next to Ryuji on the ground.

"If you say so, Haru. I feel like it's more Yusuke, Ann and Makoto trying to ingratiate themselves with Akane than anything, though." Kusa said dryly as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Maybe, but that's just how they are, Kusa. That said, I guess she's warmin' up to us, huh? I seriously didn't think that could happen when we first met her." Ryuji said as Kusa sighed and spoke up.

"Well, to be fair, Ryuji? You're probably not wrong. After all, for all that most of you can be tactless and insensitive most of the time, you guys really are pretty awesome once you take the time to look past all that. Also, it's difficult to hang out with you all and not eventually warm to you. I can vouch for that. After all, it took me the best part of the year that Ren and I lived in Yongen-Jaya to really start warming to most of you, even if I spent a lot of that time being a pretty big dick to you and Makoto. Sorry again about that, Ryuji." Kusa said as Ryuji smiled and spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, man. We forgave you for that ages ago." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I think that's just proof that Akane's a good kid, or rather a fine young woman, since I'm pretty sure you can't call a second-year in high school a child." Ren said wisely. At that point, a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"I can no longer sit idly by. I want to help too. Oh, I've got it! I'll find an award-winning recipe and-" Sophia said before Futaba spoke up and cut her off mid-sentence.

"Chill your circuits, Sophia! The curry always tastes good when you make it together with someone." Futaba said as a confused Sophia spoke up.

"Is that so?" Sophia asked as Sumire spoke up with a nod, agreeing with Futaba's words even if she thought Futaba was a bit biased in her opinion.

"She's not wrong, but at the same time, she might be a bit biased when it comes to curry." Sumire said as Zenkichi huffed and spoke up.

"I can't believe you've all raided my house like this, dammit. You guys have some serious nerve. At least to his credit, Amamiya the youngest didn't rush off like the rest of you to invite himself over. Sometimes, I wonder if he's the only one of you, other than maybe Sakura the elder, who has more than three brain cells." Zenkichi said irately as Kusa spoke up with a wince.

"Yeeah, I can understand that you'd be annoyed at them for inviting themselves over, but that's just how these guys are sometimes, Zenkichi. I might get annoyed at them for how they are a lot, but they really do mean well at the end of the day. So as much as they annoy me at times, I can't stay mad at any of them for long. Honestly, if she ever decides to be more sociable and outgoing, and wants to? Akane might be surprised by how well she fits in with the rest of us." Kusa said with a sage nod and a wry smirk. Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Good point, Amamiya the youngest. Although, truth be told? I can't remember the last time this place felt so alive." Zenkichi said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Hey, so, can we ask something, Gramps?" Ryuji asked, not seeing the warning look on Kusa's face as he kept speaking following Zenkichi's nod.

"You don't gotta answer if you don't wanna, but I can't help but wonder. What happened with Akane's mom?" Ryuji asked as both Sojiro and Kusa spoke up.

"RYUJI!" Sojiro and Kusa both rebuked Ryuji as Sumire spoke up with a disapproving frown.

"Is that REALLY an appropriate question to ask today, of all days?" Sumire asked bluntly. Zenkichi groaned at the question, but made no move to answer right away. After a bit, he sighed and spoke up.

"Vehicular manslaughter. A hit-and-run." Zenkichi said as Futaba and Sojiro exchanged surprised looks before the latter spoke up.

"That's terrible, Zenkichi. I'm sorry to hear that happened to her. For what it's worth, Futaba and I can relate, since that's very similar to how Futaba's mom, Wakaba, died. The only real difference is that, as far as I can tell? Your wife wasn't the victim of a mental shutdown on top of being the victim of a hit-and-run." Sojiro said in what he hoped was a commiserating tone, getting an appreciative nod from Zenkichi, who spoke up.

"I-I had no idea, Sakura the elder. You and Sakura the younger have my sympathy." Zenkichi said kindly as Sojiro nodded appreciatively. Eventually, Ryuji frowned and spoke up to end the awkward silence that had ensued after Sojiro's reveal about the similarities between the death of Akane's mother and that of Futaba's mother, during which Futaba and Akane had exchanged a wince at how painful their main point of commonality was.

"Ah, so that's what she meant before. She said something about the killer too, right? Did they ever get caught?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"No case was ever pursued. Any suspect is way outta my reach." Zenkichi said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"They're out of your reach, you say? I take that to mean this suspect is someone who's fairly influential and powerful, then?" Ren said, trying to be somewhat tactful with his question. Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"Thank you for your tactfulness Amamiya the middle, but it's none of your concern." Zenkichi said as Goro nodded and spoke up.

"As it should be. I mean, honestly. Who just asks someone an entirely rude and wholly inappropriate question like that on such an important day?" Goro asked with a huff, amid approving nods from Zenkichi and Kusa. Ryuji spoke up with a confused look.

"Sure, but-" Ryuji started to say before Makoto unintentionally cut Ryuji off mid-sentence by calling out from the kitchen.

"Hey, Ren, would you mind putting the finishing touches on this?" Makoto called out as Zenkichi jumped on the subject change and spoke up.

"C'mon, off to work! It'd better turn out to be worth the hassle." Zenkichi said as Ren nodded before heading to help out in the kitchen, not seeing the very annoyed glares that Ryuji was getting from Goro, Sumire, Sojiro, Zenkichi and Kusa as a result...

(A while later, in the dining room of Zenkichi and Akane's place, with Ren, Ann, Sojiro, Zenkichi, Akane, Futaba, Kusa, Makoto, Haru, Goro, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Ryuji, and Morgana)

"Mmmm! So good! These vegetables in Kyoto make curry so amazing!" Ann said as Futaba spoke up.

"Really? Lemme try, lemme try!" Futaba said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Jeez, what are you Taba, a kindergartner? Go on and try it already." Kusa said jokingly as Futaba playfully stuck her tongue out childishly at Kusa, getting an amused giggle from Akane as she tried the curry before smiling while she spoke up.

"Hmmm!? This IS delicious! I'll have to report this back to Sojiro!" Futaba said as Sojiro swallowed his bite and spoke up.

"You know I'm right here, right? And I agree. This is some good curry. Not on the level of my curry, but pretty dang close." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Heh, and just like that? Coffee Daddy has spoken and given his verdict." Kusa said with an amused smirk, making a confused Akane speak up.

"Coffee Daddy?" Akane asked as Kusa winced and bit back several swear words when he realized what he'd just said and who he'd said it in front of. After giving Zenkichi an apologetic look, Kusa spoke up sheepishly.

"Uhh, yeah. I forgot you were here for a second when I said that, to be honest. Sorry about that, Akane. To explain the name I just used, that's a nickname that we've taken to calling Sojiro due to his expertise with coffee and curry, which is to expected when you run the Leblanc Coffee and Curry restaurant in Yongen-Jaya like Sojiro does. Also, Sojiro was like a father to both Ren and myself while we both lived in the attic of Leblanc for a year before Ren went back home a bit over three years ago. So I kind of call Sojiro that as a mix of a nickname and a term of endearment. Does that make sense?" Kusa said as Akane smiled and nodded approvingly as she spoke up.

"Yep. Thanks for the clarification, Kusa. And speaking of nicknames, is it true your nickname is the Kung-Fu Dragon?" Akane asked a suddenly wide-eyed Kusa, who spoke up.

"Yeah, that's correct. But how do you know that nickname, Akane? Did you look it up online or something?" Kusa asked as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, and no. I saw it when watching some old high-school martial arts exhibitions from a couple years ago. One of the ones I particularly remember enjoying was the semifinal bout between Shujin Academy and Yasoinaba High. At first, it looked bad for Shujin when their first two battlers were taken down by the first battler sent out by Yasoinaba. But then the tables turned quickly when Shujin sent out their hot-shot new recruit, who was apparently a second-year at the time.

From there, that recruit managed to single-handedly dispatch all three of the battlers from Yasoinaba with relative ease, though the last battler did give him a bit of grief, managing to actually score a few good hits on him. I seem to recall that the commentators of the match referred to the recruit as the 'Kung-Fu Dragon'.

Interestingly, Shujin went on to take the title that year, largely on the success of that recruit. According to some notes I found on the recruit, he impressed the team so much, he was named captain in his third year after winning MVP in the final bout the previous year. Once he took over the leadership, Shujin then proceeded to go on a historic undefeated run to take the title for the second straight year, cementing the captain's place in the history books." Akane said as Kusa winced and sheepishly chuckled and spoke up.

"Oh, wow. Did that really make the news? I had no idea it did, if so. But yes, that would be me. I just don't try to brag about it since I believe that it's unprofessional to boast and/or gloat after a hard-fought win, not to mention it's an extreme disrespect to your opponent to throw their failure in their face in such a way. Interestingly, I got several different scholarships offered to me from my success with the martial arts team.

However, despite getting all those scholarships, I eventually turned them all down because I wanted to wait to see what college Taba decided to go to, so that she and I could attend the same college together. After all, I want my girlfriend to know I've got her back at all times." Kusa said happily, smirking at the shy sort of smile on Futaba's face, before wincing at the slightly crestfallen, if slightly hurt, look on Akane's face. Kusa then kept speaking up with a sheepish look on his face.

"Umm, I'm sorry to be so indelicate about that. Did you have feelings for the 'Kung-Fu Dragon', by chance? Because I'll be honest with you about something if so. I'm sure you're a wonderful young woman and all Akane, but you're a little too young for me to really be interested in you as more than a friend. And I'm not the type of man to hurt those I care about by getting with other people.

However, Futaba is a bit on the bi-curious side, so maybe you can try and entice her into letting you try stuff with us? But not until you're at least a year or two older, if it happens at all. I don't want Zenkichi to have any reason to want to put a bounty on both my head and Futaba's for breaking any laws." Kusa said kindly as Akane smiled and spoke up understandingly.

"I get it. Thank you for being honest with me, Amam-I mean, Kusa." Akane said as Kusa nodded before the subject was thankfully changed by the least likely source imaginable: Yusuke breaking into tears at how good the food was. Ryuji saw this and spoke up with a frown.

"Seriously? Yeah, I knew he'd lose it." Ryuji said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she'd set on the ground next to her, preceded Sophia speaking up, a shocked look on her face as she spoke, though it was hard to tell she was shocked with the slight frown she had.

"Curry that moves diners to tears? I wish I could try it." Sophia said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Uh, how would that even work?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up from next to Kusa.

"I want some too, but it's still too hot right now." Morgana said as Makoto gave Morgana a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Don't worry, Morgana. We'll be sure to leave some for you too." Makoto said as Morgana spoke up with a glinty closed-eye grin.

"Myeheh! The brains of the operation thinks of everything!" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up with a mix of a frown and a confused look.

"Oh? I'm quite jealous of you, Meowgana." Sophia said as both Kusa and Sumire gave Sophia confused looks at what she'd said, while Morgana pouted and spoke up.

"EXCUSE me? What did you just call me, Lady Sophia? 'Meowgana'?" Morgana said as Akane turned to give Makoto a confused look while speaking up.

"Um, who were you talking to?" Akane asked as Makoto spoke up nervously.

"Ah! Uh, just myself! Eheheh, heh." Makoto said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Really? That's the best response you could come up with?" Kusa said before he looked at Akane and kept speaking, turning to give the others a look that clearly said 'play along!' as he spoke.

"She was talking to the cat. We can't really understand Morgana that well, per se, but there are times when we can get a good idea of what he's trying to say, so we try to make him feel included by speaking to him. And as it so happens, Morgana is a huge fan of curry. So Makoto was saying she'd be sure to give him some later if there were enough leftovers. As for the other voice, that was an AI that Sumire has installed on her phone." Kusa said as Akane spoke up with a nod before Morgana could do more than give Kusa an indignant glare at being called a cat, the look on Akane's face as she spoke suggesting that she was apparently quite accepting of Kusa's explanation.

"Ah, I see. I didn't know Sumire had an AI on her phone. So this AI you spoke of is kinda like EMMA, then?" Akane said, not seeing the wide-eyed looks of surprise that Ren, Goro, and Kusa all exchanged with Zenkichi at what Akane had just said. Sumire noticed the awkward silence and spoke up.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. But at the same time, we're not fully certain if Sophia, which is the name of the AI living in my phone, is like EMMA or not, since Sophia said she has no memories of herself that she can recall, or so she told us when we met her." Sumire explained, getting an understanding nod from Akane as Ren handed Sumire her phone, which she turned the screen on and positioned it to face towards Akane in time for a 'BIP!' to precede Sophia speaking up while smiling at Akane.

"Hi, Akane! I am Sophia, humanity's companion." Sophia said as she introduced herself to Akane, who could only blink in surprise and then smile at Sophia as Makoto managed to recover at that point and spoke up to change the subject before Akane could verbally reply to Sophia's introduction.

"Anyways, how's our curry, Akane-chan? Do you like it?" Makoto asked as Zenkichi spoke up while Akane started to try it out.

"Is it good, Akane?" Zenkichi said as Akane tried a bite of the curry before her eyes widened and her face broke out into one of the biggest and brightest smiles that Zenkichi could remember seeing on it in a while as she spoke up.

"Mmmm! Mmm, it's delicious!" Akane said, though because her mouth was full, all the others heard was 'Ish delicioush!', prompting Sumire and Ren to exchange amused smirks while Futaba giggled at the expected reaction from Akane. Zenkichi chuckled and spoke up in relief while smiling.

"Good! I'm glad." Zenkichi said as Morgana spoke up, looking at Sophia and speaking up at a level that only they, and an amused Kusa, could hear.

"We'd better keep our mouths shut here, Lady Sophia." Morgana said as Sophia sighed and nodded before she spoke up with a pout.

"Aw, man." Sophia said as Kusa spoke up so only Morgana and Sophia could hear.

"Next time, keep your voices down so we don't have to fumble with awkward explanations, yeah? Speaking of, sorry for calling you a cat back there, Morgana. But it was the easiest way to explain that, and your form is that of a cat in every way that matters. And Sophia? I get you're curious and all, but think before you speak." Kusa said, getting understanding nods from both Morgana and Sophia as Ren blinked while eating as a realization occurred to him.

That realization was Ren realizing that the Kamo eggplant in the meal gives the curry an amazing flavor that he hoped to replicate at some point. Ren then felt himself getting inspired by the meal. From that, Ren somehow acquired a 'Kyoto Curry Recipe' key item. Morgana saw the look on Ren's face and spoke up so only Ren could hear, a closed-eye smile on his face as he spoke.

"Ooh, did you just come up with a new dish!? I can't wait to try it out!" Morgana said as Ren merely nodded. After a bit, most of the plates were cleaned as both Futaba and Yusuke got up to get seconds.

"Oh man, I could eat this all day! Time for another round!" Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up boldly.

"Not so fast, Futaba! I'm taking another helping first!" Yusuke said firmly as Kusa winced at hearing Yusuke's words from his spot on the couch next to Zenkichi, idly giving Morgana, who'd gotten up on the arm of the couch, some head pats. Makoto frowned at the banter and spoke up.

"All right, break it up. There's still more than enough to go around." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"That's true, but this is Taba we're talking about, Makoto. I don't know if you realize this or not, but she can get insanely territorial when it comes to curry." Kusa said with a wince as Akane smiled and spoke up, seemingly looking at Ren as she spoke up.

"It really is good though. Do you think I could make it by myself?" Akane asked Ren, who smiled encouragingly and spoke up.

"If you put in the practice, most anything is possible." Ren said sagely, getting approving nods from Sumire, Makoto, and Zenkichi as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Right! I'll do my best!" Akane said as Futaba spoke up, having chosen that moment to walk back out.

"Mmhm! Mastering this isn't easy-you'll have to learn how to 'curry' your weight in the kitchen!" Futaba said as both Sojiro and Kusa groaned and spoke up.

"Really, Futaba?" Sojiro said with a sigh as Kusa spoke up with a wince while giving Futaba a disapproving glare for her terrible pun.

"Normally I laugh at those sorts of jokes, but that was just terrible, Taba. Never make that sort of pun, whether it be in my presence or Sojiro's, again." Kusa said as Sojiro, Goro, and Ren nodded their agreement. Futaba blinked and nodded before turning and returning to the kitchen with a shrug. After she left, Ann turned to Akane and spoke up, not seeing the four sets of widened eyes her next comment would get from Ren, Kusa, Sojiro, and Zenkichi.

"Oh, I've got an idea! Wanna take a bath later, Akane-chan?" Ann asked as Akane blinked and spoke up, making sure she'd heard Ann correctly.

"Huh? A bath?" Akane asked in surprise as Ann nodded with a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Mmhm. That's the best way for us girls to get to know each other better! I can teach you all the super-model secrets to glowing skin!" Ann said as Ren blinked at Ann's remark before he spoke up.

"Is that really the best way for girls to get to know each other? As I recall, that wasn't at all how you got to know either Sumire, Makoto, Haru, OR Futaba, Ann." Ren asked as Zenkichi spoke up, being reminded of something Kusa had previously mentioned about Ann by Ren's question.

"Oh, that's right. Isn't Takamaki the one you said has a girlfriend, Amamiya the youngest? Should I be worried she's making a pass at my daughter?" Zenkichi said as to his surprise, Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Nah, not at all, Zenkichi. Ann just took a bit of a liking to Akane, that's all. If anything, I think she's more apt to see her as a little sister than in any sort of romantic way. Also, I know for a fact Ann would never leave Suzui-san for anyone. And to be blunt? Ann would be a fool to do that." Kusa said sagely, getting approving nods from both Ren and Ryuji, who also knew Shiho and agreed with Kusa that she was quite a catch for Ann. Akane, for her part, smiled at Ann and spoke up, surprising everyone but Ann with what she said next.

"Really!? That'd be great!" Akane said as Haru spoke up, shocking both Kusa and Goro with her next words.

"I'd like to learn those too! Mind if I joined you?" Haru said as Goro blinked and spoke up, making both Ren and Kusa grin at the slight pout on Goro's face as he spoke.

"Seriously!? Haru's also trying to join Zenkichi-san's daughter in the tub? Should I be worried about losing her?" Goro said as Kusa surprised both Goro and Zenkichi by once again laughing as he spoke up.

"Nah, I wouldn't be worried. For all we know, maybe she wants to learn those tricks to surprise and impress you, Goro. Don't be so quick to assume the worst, man." Kusa said sagely as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"Really? C'mon, how big do you think the bathroom is here?" Zenkichi asked, but was ignored as Akane and some of the ladies went off to share a bath together, despite Zenkichi's protests...

(A short time later, in the living room of Zenkichi and Akane's house, with Zenkichi, Sojiro, Goro, Futaba, Kusa, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji)

"You really saved my ass back there. The place may be cramped, but it's yours for the night." Zenkichi said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I'm glad it all worked out in the end, Zenkichi." Ren said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Yeah, after how many times of me having to basically yell at people for being tactless?" Kusa asked dryly, getting a smile and a shoulder pat from Futaba as Zenkichi spoke up with a frown.

"Amamiya the youngest has a point. Who the hell would ever guess the Phantom Thieves are a buncha softies?" Zenkichi asked as Kusa spoke up with wide eyes.

"REALLY!? Don't be saying that so loudly if you don't want Akane knowing about us, Zenkichi. Or are you saying you don't care if your daughter knows who we are?" Kusa asked as Zenkichi winced, realizing Kusa had a point. Yusuke spoke up before Zenkichi could answer Kusa, though.

"If someone is suffering, it's only right to provide aid when possible." Yusuke said as Goro spoke up with a sly grin.

"Unless said person is too far in their suffering to save, in which case the only humane option is to put them out of their misery." Goro said with a wry smirk as Kusa spoke up.

"Pretty sure that's not so much a Phantom Thieves philosophy as it is more of a philosophy that you personally live by, Goro. And didn't we already have a discussion about murder not being your go-to solution for things?" Kusa said in concern as Zenkichi spoke up with a frown.

"Does Amamiya the eldest always make such off-color jokes?" Zenkichi asked with a frown as Kusa spoke up.

"Normally? No. Goro's just in a facetious mood right now, I think. That, or he's a bit salty that Haru seems interested in Akane." Kusa said as Goro frowned and spoke up.

"Very funny, Kusa. I think I get why Ren calls you an instigator, though." Goro said as Ren spoke up while giving Goro a commiserating smile.

"That is part of it, but also because he likes to bust my balls when I least expected it, which caused me no small amount of mortification and embarrassment when I first started getting to know Sumire here. Luckily we found our way to each other in the end, so it was worth it." Ren said as Sumire nodded, leaning her head happily onto Ren's shoulder with a content and genuine smile on her face as Ryuji spoke up.

"Yeah, Ren's got a point. Back to the remarks Yusuke made a bit ago. We just do what we know we gotta do." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up with a nod.

"Yep. Help the weak and crush the strong! That's the Phantom Thieves way, and always will be!" Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"And we never forget when someone provides us a meal or a roof. Ever." Yusuke said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, really? Heh. Well, at any rate, I still wanted to thank you guys properly. Even if some part of it was having so many people around, and possibly even having Amamiya the youngest in particular around, it's been a long time since I've seen Akane so happy." Zenkichi said as Kusa blinked and spoke up.

"Yeeah, we didn't mind helping at all. And as sweet as I think it is that your daughter seems to have such a high opinion of me, I stand by what I said earlier. She's a nice young woman and all, but I'm already quite happily spoken for by Futaba here. And as much as I don't want to hurt her feelings, it's unlikely I'll be able to give your daughter what she wants unless Futaba agrees to it first, since I'm not about to break her heart just to make Akane happy." Kusa said honestly as Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"I'm not ruling anything out at this point. But you did have a point before about wanting to wait for her to be a little older to be on the safe side, Kusa. Probably a good idea." Futaba said as Ryuji winced and spoke up, deciding to change the subject before Futaba could dig herself and/or Kusa into any deeper of a hole with Zenkichi.

"Riiight. So, Gramps, not to be that guy that keeps bringing up a sore subject, but about what we were sayin' earlier, and the question you never answered-" Ryuji said as Zenkichi cut him off by choosing that precise moment to suddenly yawn as he spoke up.

"Ahh. Mm, sorry. A whole day's driving, finally catching up to me when I least expect it. Anyways, you were saying, Sakamoto?" Zenkichi said as Ryuji got the hint and spoke up.

"Ah, it's nothin'. Forget I brought it up." Ryuji said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Sorry, but I gotta hit the hay. Would you guys mind hanging out with Akane in her room for a bit? She's into some kind of online thing lately. Something to do with some show about her faves, whatever that means?" Zenkichi said, noticing the wary glances that Ren and Kusa exchanged with one another before both turned to Goro, who nodded to the unspoken question raised by Ren and Kusa as Zenkichi kept speaking as if he hadn't seen a thing.

"Anyways, as I was saying. Clearly, I don't know anything about it, but I'm sure she'd be happy to fill you guys in on it." Zenkichi said as Futaba spoke up before any of the guys could do so, being the only girl still in the room aside from Sumire, who was presently leaning into Ren with a content smile on her face.

"Roger that! We've gotcha covered." Futaba said before turning to Ren and Sumire with an amused smirk on her face.

"Hear that, Ren? You're gonna have to break up the cozy little moment you've got going with Sumire. We've accepted a mission!" Futaba said as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up.

"That's rather bold of you to assume that everyone here accepted the same mission you did, Futaba." Sojiro said in amusement as a surprised Kusa blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, what!? Hold up, Taba! Did you just say 'we' accepted a mission? If so, what the hell do you mean 'we'? You were the one who accepted it! That doesn't mean the rest of us also accepted it!" Kusa pointed out as Futaba slyly looked into Kusa's eyes and spoke up while giving him her best puppy-dog pout.

"Aww, come on. You can't seriously mean to tell me you don't want to help little old me with this mission, Kusa?" Futaba said slyly while batting her eyelashes coyly as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Dammit, I hate when you do that, especially when it's in front of Sojiro. You know I can't say no to that face, Taba." Kusa said, ignoring the amused chuckles from Ren and Goro at his reaction as he sighed and nodded his agreement to help Futaba, before the group waited on Akane, Ann, Haru, and Makoto to finish their bath then headed up to Akane's room at Zenkichi's request.

(A short time later, inside Akane's bedroom, with Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Goro, Haru, Futaba, Kusa, Morgana, Sojiro, Makoto, and Akane)

Once they got up to the room in question, Futaba's eyes widened in horror as she spoke up while the group looked around the room.

"Uh, whaaaaaaaaa!? What the heck is this?" Futaba asked as Yusuke spoke up in amazement and shock.

"Good God!" Yusuke said in disbelief as a sheepish Akane spoke up.

"So, this is my room, and, well, yeah." Akane said as most of the group could only gape in shock at what they were looking at, as pretty much the entire of Akane's bedroom was covered in various forms of Phantom Thieves merchandise, ranging from calling-card inspired posters, to various bobble-heads and accessories, even going as far as Phantom Thieves-inspired curtains, and even wall art.

To the shock of both Sojiro and Sumire, there was a queen-sized bed in the corner with a Phantom Thieves-patterned blanket draped over it. To Goro's amusement, he noticed figures on a shelf in the corner that looked like Yusuke, Haru, Ren, and Futaba. A wide-eyed Ann spoke up to voice what the group was thinking.

"Is this really all Phantom Thieves merch?" Ann asked as a stunned Ryuji spoke up.

"For real! I didn't even know they made this much stuff!" Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up, lowering her voice as she spoke in her shock.

"Well, uh, they are real famous, ya know? I'm pretty sure some of these were only posted on super-obscure websites, too." Futaba said as Haru spoke up in surprise.

"There are even some handmade ones in there." Haru said as Akane winced at the looks on everyone's faces and spoke up.

"It's too much, isn't it? I know, it's lame that I have so much stuff." Akane said as Makoto spoke up with a smile.

"No, that's not it, Akane-chan. You're into the Phantom Thieves, yeah?" Makoto asked as Akane nervously spoke up.

"Huh? Well, uh, I suppose you could say that? Yeah, I'm a fan of theirs." Akane said as Ren noticed that Makoto had given the rest of the group a rather loaded expression. Haru was the first to pick up on the unspoken cue and spoke up.

"How neat! We're all the same, then." Haru said awkwardly as this time, it was Akane's turn to speak up with wide eyes.

"HUH!? You mean, you're-?" Akane asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up with a grin.

"Uh, yyyyup! We're, uh, huge Phantom Thieves fans!" Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Right, right! I loooove the Phantom Thieves! Go, go, Phantom Thieves! Change their hearts and all that stuff!" Ann said as Kusa spoke up so only Futaba could hear.

"If we're into the Phantom Thieves, would that count as us being into ourselves?" Kusa asked, making Futaba shrug, not sure of the answer to that either. Ren, for his part, smiled and spoke up, seeing the look that both Goro and Sumire were giving him and re-thinking what he was about to say.

"Phantom Thieves for life." Ren said, changing his mind and not pointing out that Akane was speaking to the actual Phantom Thieves. Akane smiled and spoke up with pumped fists.

"Really? Awesome!" Akane said, not seeing Goro give an annoyed Kusa a smirk as he noticed the slight hint of pink in Akane's cheeks when looking at Kusa. Akane kept speaking at that point.

"Truth be told, I'm into the Phantom Thieves because they seem like the only ones changing this crappy world for the better. They're not just fighting with their lives to save people in trouble. They even inspire people to be stronger, too!" Akane said as both Sumire and Sojiro smiled at that, the latter speaking up with a smirk.

"Sumire and I can relate to that. To be honest? She and I were both saved by the Phantom Thieves in the past. And so was Futaba. So the three of us owe a lot to the Phantom Thieves." Sojiro said honestly as Goro spoke up.

"You could say the Phantom Thieves saved me as well at one point in the past. Before I met them, I was a very bitter, angry and hateful person. Now, I'm just a twisted, pancake-loving man." Goro said as Akane gasped, finding Goro's remark oddly familiar, as if it reminded her of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. However, before she could begin to voice her sudden thought, Sumire spoke up with a wry grin on her face, seeing a rare opportunity to tease Goro a bit.

"Mostly true, except you left out Haru-loving in that sentence." Sumire said with a sly smirk, giggling at the embarrassed flush of Goro's cheeks at her dig about him and Haru. Ren pouted at Sumire and spoke up.

"C'mon beautiful, don't tease Goro like that. And didn't you tell me once about the time that you were rescued from a bad situation by both Joker and Mona?" Ren said as Sumire saw the wink he gave her and nodded while speaking up.

"R-Right. I was saved by them. They were both so gallant and heroic." Sumire said, smiling and adding a swooning sigh for effect. Akane nodded and spoke up.

"Right? As of three years ago, they were up to ten or eleven members, but all their identities are still a mystery. Supposedly, they've added another member or two recently as well, bringing their numbers up to thirteen. From the footage online, they all seem so cool! I can't help but wonder who they really are!" Akane said, turning to look at the merchandise as she kept speaking, missing the horrified looks that Sojiro, Kusa, and Goro exchanged with one another, all three mouthing 'footage!?' to one another as Akane kept speaking as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"Especially the one who's always in the middle of most group shots. Y'know, the one with the trenchcoat and the short hair? He's so mysterious and charismatic. Ooh, and dreamy, too. But then again, the one in the dragon mask was pretty attractive as well, and the shorter one in the mascot outfit is cute too." Akane said with a sigh, not seeing Ren and Sumire both wince at this, nor Goro turning to give Ren an amused grin, realizing that Kusa might not be the only one Akane is into.

Ryuji, for his part, blinked and spoke up, drawing Sumire's attention to him and making her miss the look of horror on Sophia's face as she realized that Akane was referring to Morgana at one point.

"Oh, yeah? The one in the middle?" Ryuji said, his eyes widening in realization as he kept speaking up.

"OH?" Ryuji said as Ren turned to Sumire and spoke up.

"Maybe we should tell her the truth, if only so we can let her down gently so she doesn't waste her time pining for a guy she's got no shot with." Ren said as Sumire thought about it, neither Ren or Sumire seeing the shocked looks on Goro, Kusa, and Sojiro's faces on hearing Ren's suggestion. Sumire eventually spoke up.

"I can see the wisdom in it, but I think we should be okay if Futaba can keep her attention on her and Kusa and off of us." Sumire said so only Ren could hear. Makoto spoke up, changing the subject before Akane could question what Ren meant.

"You really do like the Phantom Thieves, huh?" Makoto asked as Ann spoke up with a frown.

"Damn, Akane-chan is so awesome, you guys!" Ann said, making Akane quietly gasp and speak up.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to rant like that for so long." Akane said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, it's no problem at all. I'd love to hear more about the Phantom Thieves." Haru said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Great! Oh! You know, maybe I could let you in on the show if you guys want." Akane said, shyly shuffling her feet in embarrassment. Ann blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hm? What show?" Ann asked as Akane spoke up.

"It's a livestream that's sort of, how to put this? All about the Phantom Thieves." Akane said as Makoto spoke up with wide eyes.

"Oh, yeah? How interesting." Makoto said as Haru nervously spoke up.

"Y-Yep, sounds like a great show!" Haru said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Okay, just gimme a sec to get set up. It's almost time!" Akane said as the group got comfortable...

(A short time later, in Akane's room, with Kusa, Yusuke, Goro, Makoto, Ann, Haru, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, Futaba, Morgana, Ryuji, Sojiro, and Akane)

Akane cleared her throat as she had a seat at her computer to start the show, putting on a voice that made both Kusa and Goro grin at how familiar it sounded, while Ren rolled his eyes, knowing they knew that it was his voice Akane was seemingly imitating.

"Hmph, hello out there! It's been some time since we last met, fellow Phantom Phreaks!" Akane said as Kusa turned to Goro and mouthed 'Phantom Phreaks!?', getting a shrug from Goro as Akane kept speaking.

"Let us enjoy our time together tonight, Phantom Thieves superfans from across the world! Hmph!" Akane said as Ann spoke up in shock.

"She mentioned a stream, but I didn't realize that SHE was the streamer!" Ann said as Futaba spoke up in surprise.

"Whaaa!? It's like a totally different personality!" Futaba said as Ryuji spoke up in shock.

"No way! So THIS is the 'online thing' she's into?" Ryuji said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I think she's doing the voice for that action figure?" Haru said as an amused Morgana turned to Ren and spoke up, barely stifling laughter as he spoke up.

"Is she seriously copying you?" Morgana asked Ren, who pouted and spoke up.

"I don't wanna talk about it. Also, that's not what I sound like." Ren said as Sumire giggled and spoke up from her spot in Ren's lap.

"I dunno, Ren. She is pretty good at what she does. Hee hee." Sumire said, happily leaning back against Ren's chest, making Ren smile as he wrapped his arms possessively around Sumire's waist, holding her close to him, getting a content smile from Sumire who didn't seem to mind Ren's need to hold her close that much. Kusa grinned and spoke up so only Goro could hear.

"Hey, Goro. 2000 yen says Ren and Sumire end up sneaking off to score a home-run tonight. You in?" Kusa said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"I don't mind losing that much yen, so bring it on." Goro said confidently as the two shook hands to seal the bet, both ignoring the mixed amused/disappointed huff from Sojiro, who'd heard their exchange, as Akane spoke up.

"Hmph! It is time to express our gratitude for the Phantom Thieves from the bottom of our hearts!" Akane said as a wide-eyed Yusuke spoke up in disbelief.

"Her channel has that many subs!? That says she has over 50,000 subscribers!" Yusuke said as both Goro and Kusa were suddenly very glad that they weren't drinking anything, otherwise they'd have both done epic spit-takes on hearing that. Kusa's eyes widened as he spoke up.

"How many!?" Kusa said as Goro spoke up.

"50,000!? That's a lot." Goro said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Mmhm. That's easily a mid-tier account. I'd bet she's pulling in a decent income from this." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Good point. We should do this too, I think." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"Ren? I love you and all, but we could never cut it as streamers, aside from maybe Kusa and Futaba, since they have the charisma for it." Sumire said honestly. Yusuke spoke up to cut off any teasing Goro could aim at Kusa, to Kusa's relief.

"So there are other supporters of the Phantom Thieves beyond the Phan-Site alone." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up in surprise at that point.

"Ohh yeah, I forgot that the Phan-Site was a thing for a while about three years ago. Speaking of, I wonder what Mishima's up to nowadays, now that he's no longer moderating the Phan-Site after it got taken down by the government in an attempt to sweep the Phantom Thieves' activities under the rug?" Kusa said as Sojiro spoke up.

"From what Futaba said once, apparently Mishima's the one who started the Phantom Thieves merch site that so many people get their gear from? According to her, the latest rumor on the web is that he got his hands on replicas of each of the Thieves' masks and has been selling them on the site and making a killing from it." Sojiro said as Goro spoke up.

"Replicas!?" Goro said as Kusa spoke up in shock.

"Each of the Thieves' masks!?" Kusa said as Futaba spoke up.

"Most of them. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have replicas of Seeker, Pendragon, Crow, or Draconis' masks yet. And he's having a difficult time replicating the Oracle visor." Futaba said wisely as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"It's embarrassing to admit, but having this many supporters? It feels kind of nice." Haru said as Akane spoke up again.

"My dear Phreaks! I'm sure you're aware of the Phantom Thieves' celebrated comeback. As of today, three more incidents fitting their M.O. have surfaced across Japan! This is cause for celebration! Let us welcome the return of the Phantom Thieves with open arms! Hahahaha!" Akane said as Yusuke spoke up in shock.

"You know, she really acts the part, doesn't she?" Yusuke said as Ann spoke up with a smile.

"True. Maybe she's just in an extra-good mood? Her dad did come home today." Ann said as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"I have to agree. She reminds me of when my own dad would finally come home." Makoto said as a shocked Ryuji spoke up, not seeing Goro and Kusa stifle laughs at what he said next.

"Really? You streamed like this too? What'd you call it, Fist of the Phantom Channel?" Ryuji said as Makoto frowned and spoke up, glaring at Ryuji while she spoke up for making another reference.

"You really wanna find out?" Makoto asked as Ryuji winced and spoke up, hoping to appease his angry girlfriend.

"No! No, no! Sorry, babe! It was a joke!" Ryuji said as the rest of the stream passed peacefully. When it ended, Akane turned to the group and spoke up.

"Well, that's basically what an episode's like for the most part." Akane said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"That was great! You're an excellent showrunner. Spectators seemed really into it, too." Haru said as Akane chuckled nervously and spoke up.

"Oh, thanks, eheh. I've been doing these ever since the Phantom Thieves first popped up a few years ago." Akane said as Ann spoke up in shock.

"Wow, kids these days are so impressive, aren't they?" Ann said as Futaba slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Really? Careful, Ann. Wouldn't want someone calling you a grandma." Futaba said teasingly as Kusa spoke up.

"Better that than what someone like Mishima would say. I swear I saw that crazy fool use the term GILF once in a Phan-Site post." Kusa said with a shudder. Ren just shrugged and spoke up.

"That sounds like something Mishima would say. Then again, we are talking about the same guy who once asked Futaba if she was a cam-girl." Ren pointed out as Kusa's eyes narrowed mulishly and he spoke up.

"Don't remind me of that, Ren. Mishima's thirsty ass is lucky that I have restraint and that Futaba was able to talk me down, otherwise I was about to smack the idiot out of him for that." Kusa said as Akane spoke up.

"I won't even ask what you're talking about, Amamiya the youngest. Anyways, I admit my grades are kind of slipping recently. Maybe I should probably scale back on the livestreams for a bit while my grades catch back up. Especially with college entrance exams coming up and all." Akane said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Oh. In that case, would you like some help studying?" Makoto asked as a wide-eyed Akane spoke up in surprise.

"Really? You mean it?" Akane said as Makoto spoke up.

"Of course. Would anyone mind?" Makoto asked as Ren spoke up.

"Have fun, Makoto. I feel like you'd be the best choice to tutor Akane, given that I barely made the top end of my class grade-wise, and I don't think Akane would get much done if we had Kusa tutor her, for obvious reasons. And I dunno if Haru remembers enough to be able to help tutor, or if Goro has the patience." Ren said slyly as Kusa huffed and sighed but said nothing as Akane smiled at Makoto and spoke up.

"Oh, thank you!" Akane said as the group headed back downstairs...

(Down in the living room of Akane and Zenkichi's place, with Makoto, Akane, Kusa, Futaba, Ann, Goro, Haru, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, Morgana, Sojiro, and Ryuji)

"Do you get it, Akane? You can do that with the parentheses any time you deal with factorization." Makoto said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Wow, thanks, Makoto-san! You're a really good teacher!" Akane said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"I'm glad to hear this is helping. Okay, on to the next one." Makoto said as Ann nervously chuckled and spoke up.

"Eheh, good thing we left this to Makoto, yeah? No way we would've been any help to her." Ann said as Goro grinned and spoke up from next to Ann and Haru.

"So you say, but I think that if he could keep her focused and on task, Kusa might've been at least some help. For all that he's one of the youngest of us, he did have some of the highest grades of us all." Goro said sagely as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, can I help that I tend to prioritize keeping my grades up above most everything else? The fact that having good grades was a requirement for both student council and the karate team is just a coincidence." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Good for you. And yeah, Ann. They weren't exactly fallin' over themselves for us to help out, anyways." Ryuji said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Considering you and Ann have some of the lowest grades in your age group, I'm not surprised. Usually people only want the best when hiring tutors. If not for her anxiety when interacting with new people, Futaba might have made a good tutor. Granted, I'm not sure if I approve of some of the more, err, 'unique' methods that she and Kusa devised for studying. But I suppose if it works, it works." Sojiro said as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it, Sojiro. Besides, you were only skeptical of that method because you consider Futaba to be like a daughter to you, and our 'method' might involve some slightly adult aspects." Kusa said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"Somehow, that seems on-brand for you two. Let me guess, your method is 'get a question right, lose a piece of clothing'? That sounds so much like something out of a dirty movie. Err, not that I have any frame of reference to compare your method to, of course." Sumire said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Sumire? I love you to bits, but you are a bad liar sometimes, beautiful. I know for a fact that Futaba coaxed you into watching those naughty films with her once for her 18th birthday, when she was still trying to sedu-err, I mean, have a casual fling with you. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure she's not that attracted to you anymore. Which I'm sure suits Kusa just fine, given how much he tried to erase the image of you flashing us from his mind after the King's Game party we had for Ann about three years and 9 months ago." Ren said, changing his choice of words mid-response after seeing the warning looks both Sojiro and Sumire gave him as a slightly annoyed Kusa spoke up, frowning at Ren as he spoke.

"Shut up, Ren! And you have no room to tease me about Sumire's naughty habits. Besides, I know for a fact that you watch those dirty videos that you and Sumire recorded for each other in your room at times. Mom and Dad told me about it the last time I was there visiting. Apparently, they heard you moaning Sumire's name out loud once in a very husky sounding way when walking past your room? Didn't think you were into cybering, but you do you, Ren." Kusa said as both Ren and Sumire blushed at Kusa calling them out on their more intimate habits before a red-faced Ren frowned at Kusa while he spoke up.

"Y-Yes, well, that's just-SHUT UP, KUSA!" Ren said as Akane spoke up with a grateful smile on her face, cutting in before Ren and Kusa could get into it, much to the relief of the others.

"Thank you so much for doing all this for me." Akane said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, it's the least I could do. We had to make up for intruding last-minute and everything." Makoto said as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"Oh no, not at all! I mean, like, it was nice to get to know you all like this. And honestly? I'm glad you did. Truth be told, it's been a long time since I hung out with someone like this." Akane said as Makoto spoke up.

"Really? What about your friends?" Makoto asked as Akane winced and spoke up.

"Well, to be honest? I grew up in Tokyo, so I don't really have any friends here." Akane said as Makoto spoke up in surprise.

"Oh, really? I thought your father was in the Kyoto police the entire time he worked as an officer." Makoto said as Akane winced and spoke up.

"Mmm, not necessarily. You see, after Mom's accident, he was transferred here from Tokyo. He said it's because my grandparents live here." Akane said as Makoto spoke up.

"To be honest? He seems like a good dad. He probably didn't want you to be alone all the time, Akane-chan." Makoto said as Akane frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's not it. He just wants to blow me off and go get drunk every night. Not just that, he refuses to acknowledge the truth! Mom was murdered and he won't-" Akane said before stopping herself mid-sentence, looking like she wanted to cry a bit. Makoto gasped at this, but said nothing as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Is that truly how you feel, Akane? I know you don't have the best relationship with Zenkichi, and probably little reason to trust him given what you've said, but surely you're not that fair disillusioned with him? He's not perfect, sure, but at least he wants to be around for you. Not all of us were so fortunate growing up. Both myself and Goro only met our father in the past couple of years, and that only because Goro happened to run into him and end up in his employ, while myself and Ren were banished into exile by him after Ren tried to stop his drunken ass from forcing himself onto some poor woman he worked with.

Then again, it's not like it's the first time he's done that to a woman, as both Ren and I's mother, along with Goro's mother, can attest. We don't have proof, but I'm nearly positive that Goro and I's biological father probably forced himself onto both my mom and Goro's, then ditched Goro's mom when he found out she was pregnant with Goro. As for me, he basically ditched my mom after forcing himself on her without even a hint that he cared if she was expecting his son, which she was.

You can imagine the shock on both my face and Ren's when we eventually found out he was my biological father near the end of Ren's time in Yongen-Jaya. Anyways, back on topic? My point is that even though you might be mad at your father now, you should try to forgive him so you can cherish the time you have with him while you still can, since you never know when you won't have your dad around anymore." Kusa said dryly, turning to give Goro an apologetic look for putting their history on blast like that, getting an understanding smile from Goro while Akane winced at the harsh reveal from Kusa before she spoke up.

"I had no idea, Kusa-san. I'm sorry." Akane said apologetically as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"It's all right. You've been through so much, Akane-chan." Makoto said as Akane nodded and spoke up, not seeing Futaba wince at what she said next.

"I've just been so depressed ever since Mom died five years ago. I wasn't having fun with stuff like I used to. Before I even knew it, all my friends had ditched me." Akane said as Makoto spoke up with a frown.

"I see. That's quite unfortunate." Makoto said as Akane smiled slightly and spoke up.

"Yeah. But nowadays, I'm doing a lot better thanks to my subscribers on the channel. But when I'm not streaming, I still struggle a bit. I even get pretty lonely at times." Akane said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Mmhm, I see. You want to know something, Akane-chan? I lost my mother when I was young." Makoto said as Akane looked at her in shock and spoke up.

"Huh?" Akane asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. At that point, my father had to raise my sister and me all by himself. Not only that, but he was a police officer too. He would always be home so late, if at all, sometimes not being home for days or weeks at a time. It happened so often that I really believed for a while that he didn't care about us." Makoto said as Akane spoke up with a frown.

"Aww." Akane said as Makoto sighed and spoke up.

"But one day, he was struck by a vehicle during an investigation, and despite the doctors' best efforts to save him, he passed away." Makoto said as Akane winced and spoke up.

"Wow. I'm hearing so many sad stories. Between your story and Kusa-kun's, I'm not sure which one gets me harder. Also, I had no idea you had gone through that much, Makoto-san." Akane said as Makoto spoke up with a frown.

"True. Once he passed away, I had so many regrets at that point. I especially wished I'd shared more with my father. He had worked so hard for our family and for the public, and I never thanked him at all for it. Some daughter I turned out to be. I just thought over and over, 'There's so much I wish I could say.' And I know it's not my place to speak on your father and your relationship, but I want to. But even still, I wish you could find a way to not blame your father for his work. As both Kusa-kun and I can attest, you never know when you might not have your father around anymore. Or in Kusa's case, you might never get to know him." Makoto said as Akane spoke up with a frown.

"But he makes that so difficult when he's not around that often." Akane said as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Hm?" Makoto said as Akane shook her head and spoke up.

"Mm, it's nothing. Sorry to make you worry, Makoto-san." Akane said as Makoto spoke up.

"That's all right. If it's okay with you, would you tell me what happened between you and your father?" Makoto asked Akane, who winced and eventually spoke up.

"It's a long story. To start, I saw him. I saw the man that ran Mom over." Akane said as everyone else's eyes in the room widened at this and Makoto spoke up in shock.

"What!?" Makoto said in shock as Akane shook her head and spoke up.

"But it doesn't matter. In the end, they never arrested him. His secretary left behind some suicide note taking the blame for Mom's accident. Apparently it said, 'I'm the one who ran over that woman.' Hmph." Akane said as a flabbergasted Makoto spoke up.

"What? That doesn't make sense! If the police had an eyewitness, they'd never make such a huge error in their investigation." Makoto said as Akane nodded and spoke up.

"Heh, that's what he said, at first. Eventually he gave up on it too. Him and the rest of the police. And none of them listened to me. And I told them, so many times, what I saw. Why? Because I'm just some young teenager? The guy who killed my mom is still out there running free!" Akane said angrily as Makoto spoke up with a sigh.

"Akane-chan, I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for you." Makoto said as Akane spoke up again, sounding close to tears.

"He doesn't care about Mom anymore. He doesn't care about me. I know he's just trying to find the next woman so he can get on with his life. I know he thinks I'm just in the way. I wish that anyone but him was my father!" Akane said sadly as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Stop that." Makoto said firmly, shocking Akane, who spoke up in shock.

"Huh?" Akane said as Makoto spoke up with a firm look on her face that shocked both Kusa and Yusuke, who were in the best position to see it.

"There is absolutely no way that your father doesn't care about you. I know you've suffered a lot, Akane-chan, but even so? I really believe there has to be some sort of explanation for this. Hasegawa-san may seem like he doesn't care, but I have a feeling he does, in his own way. Just a bit ago, he went through a lot of effort trying to reunite a lost boy with his mom. He's been there for us as well." Makoto said as Akane blinked and spoke up.

"Really? But that doesn't add up. That's just surprising." Akane said as Makoto spoke up.

"I really mean it when I say Hasegawa-san reminds me of my own father." Makoto said as Akane blinked at Makoto and spoke up.

"Are you serious?" Akane asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Mm-hm. Even when I couldn't see him, he was always giving it his all for my sister and I. That's why, to this day, I believe that his family was always on his mind. And that's why I think your father's always working so hard as well, Akane-chan." Makoto said as Akane blinked in surprise and spoke up.

"Really?" Akane asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Mmhm. His face looks so much happier when you're around, Akane-chan. It's completely different from when he's out in the world. That should prove just how important you are to him. You're the biggest thing in his world." Makoto said as Akane gasped at this, but said nothing as Makoto kept speaking.

"Pushing him away isn't going to make you feel any better. It's only going to hurt you more. Instead, you should tell him how you really feel. Tell him everything, so you can't regret it later. No matter what you have to say, I know he'll listen to you." Makoto said as Akane gasped at this, but didn't immediately protest Makoto's words. To the group's surprise, the next sound from Akane was a sniffling sound. Before long, Akane seemed to be breaking into sobs. Makoto gasped at this and spoke up.

"I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to help, that's all." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up with a smile.

"I don't think those are tears of sadness, Makoto. I think those might be tears of joy, since I get the sense you might have brought some hope to Akane for the first time in a while. Not that I expect her to find it easy to make things right with her dad, because that's never an easy thing to do. I can attest to that. I might be mad at a lot of what Shido did to all of us several years ago, but I still made it a point to hear my dad out when he asked me to visit him in jail once. To my surprise, he actually apologized for not being around for most of my life, saying that as much as he regretted doing wrong by Goro, he regretted not being part of my life even more.

Apparently, I was the son he always wanted. Not to say that Goro wasn't, just that I apparently reminded him a lot of himself. Not sure if I'm amused by that or offended, to be honest. But at least he was willing to try. Unfortunately, I heard he was assassinated in jail not long after that by some people that his former allies know that were on the inside of the jail he was locked up in. But at least he died trying to atone for his sins if that's true.

However, oddly enough, there was no record that a body was ever found as of yet. So while it's not confirmed he's gone, I'm not getting my hopes up. That's why you should really try to patch things up with your father while you can, Akane. You never know when the same could happen to him. I know it won't be easy, but I have confidence you can do it." Kusa said, surprising everyone present, aside from Morgana and Futaba, who'd seen the sight before, by shedding a few tears of his own, not even blinking when Futaba reached up to hug him. Akane blinked at Kusa's words and spoke up.

"That's deep, Kusa. And no, Makoto. That's not why I'm crying. That's not it at all." Akane said around her sobs, managing to work through them enough to keep speaking.

"M-My mo... My mom said a lot of the same thing. She used to say I should be more understanding of others and try to be more forgiving." Akane said as Makoto gasped before wincing as she spoke up.

"I see. Please forgive me, I really didn't mean to do this to you, Akane-chan." Makoto said as she smiled and kept speaking.

"Feel free to talk with me anytime you want. I'll be there for you whenever you need it." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up at that point.

"I can't speak for the rest of us, but the same is at least true of myself and Ren. We'll try our best to be there for you when you need us. No one should have to go through what you do alone, Akane." Kusa said honestly as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"What Kusa says is true. During my time in Tokyo while enduring a year-long probation almost four years ago, I was able to get to know a lot of people there who all went through similar hardships, including my friends and especially my girlfriend. My point is that you are not so different from the rest of the people I met during that probation period, Akane-chan. If you ever need to talk about stuff like this, not only myself, but also the others as well, have your back." Ren said honestly, getting nods of agreement from everyone else, as well as a proud smile from his girlfriend for the words he'd just said to Akane. Akane, for her part, smiled into her sobs and spoke up.

"Thank you all so much." Akane said as Ryuji spoke up from nearby.

"Aww, what a heartfelt moment." Ryuji said as Futaba started sniffling, though Kusa was unsure if it was from Akane's story or from what Kusa himself had shared. At that point, Sophia spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Hmm, such a touching moment." Sophia said before speaking up to get Ren's attention, as he was closest to her despite her being in Sumire's phone.

"Hey, Ren? Why is Akane crying? Is she in pain?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"You'll get it one day. But maybe not today." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"That's not an acceptable answer, Ren." Sumire rebuked Ren before speaking up.

"To answer your question Sophia, Akane's having an emotional moment with Makoto, after they both shared rather painful memories of their past with one another as a means of bonding. So they're trying to share their pain with one another, if that makes sense. The fact that Kusa shared his own painful memory is both shocking and a bonus." Sumire said to Sophia, who spoke up in surprise.

"Really?" Sophia asked as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"Really. You might not think so Sophia, but I can tell you have a heart in there, even if you've not yet become fully cognizant of it. But Ren and I aren't giving up on you. We know you'll find it for yourself eventually. We plan to be there for you until you find it." Sumire said as Sophia gave Sumire a grateful smile before Haru spoke up.

"Akane-chan, you've been through so much in your young life, haven't you?" Haru said, sighing as she felt Goro gently wrap his arms around her, smiling as she buried her face in his chest for a bet to shed a few tears, getting an understanding smile from Goro, who merely ran his fingers comfortingly through Haru's hair. Morgana then spoke up at that point with a nod.

"Thank goodness Makoto was here to talk Akane down." Morgana said as Sophia and Sumire nodded their agreement while Yusuke spoke up.

"That poor girl has truly had it rough, hasn't she?" Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.

"Truth, Yusuke. Both Akane and Gramps're really torn up inside." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up.

"Agreed. Well, as touching as this bonding moment is, we ought to get to bed. We've got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Wait, so are we all going back to the RV to sleep in our beds/sleeping bags? Or are some of us taking the couches?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Honestly? I think that if she wants to, Makoto should have first choice if she wants to claim a spot here with Akane or not. I feel like those two are really going to be good for helping one another heal from their respective suffering. Then after her, we can draw straws for who else gets to sleep in here, likely on the ground." Kusa said as the group nodded and Akane spoke up.

"If Makoto wants, and it's not too embarrassing for her, I don't mind sharing my bed with her tonight." Akane said shyly as Ryuji gaped and did a good fish impression as he heard Akane asking his girlfriend to share a bed with her. Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"If you're sure you don't mind, I'd be delighted to share a bed with you, Akane-chan. I did say I want to be here for you however I can, after all." Makoto said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, if you're sharing a bed with Akane, we should let Goro and Haru share the couch in here if they want, and then figure out who gets Haru's bunk afterwards." Ann suggested as Goro spoke up.

"That's up to Haru, but I have no objections to it if that's what she wants." Goro said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I'd be happy to share the couch with you, Goro. After all, we haven't really had a lot of chances to cuddle together since we got together." Haru said with a smile, getting a nod of agreement from Goro. Kusa then spoke up.

"Well, if Haru and Goro are sharing the couch, and Makoto is sharing a bed with Akane, that leaves two open beds in the RV. And since myself and Ren both don't have girlfriends sleeping in here, maybe one of us can share the open bed with our girlfriend, probably Ren? Pretty sure the cubby bunk Taba uses can hold both our weight. Meanwhile, that leaves Yusuke, Ryuji, and Sojiro to divvy up the sleeping bags in the tent, and probably Morgana too, since I don't think we can trust him not to try and sneak into Ann's bunk and cuddle with her, the hopeless simp that he is." Kusa said, not seeing the conflicted look on Sophia's face at the mention of Morgana's simping for Ann. Sumire saw it and spoke up.

"That can work, but kindly don't mention Morgana's simping around Sophia, please. You know how that upsets her." Sumire rebuked Kusa, who winced and spoke up.

"Crap, I forgot about that. Sorry, Sophia. I didn't mean to upset you." Kusa said, turning to bow apologetically to Sophia for effect, making her smile as she spoke up.

"It's fine, Kusa. You didn't mean it. I get it." Sophia said as Kusa spoke up.

"Cool. Glad you're so understanding, Sophia." Kusa said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah, sleep sounds good. And now that I know I get to cuddle with Kusa tonight, my heart's all warm and fuzzy now, like one of those feel-good moments. I'm gonna sleep like a baby!" Futaba said as the group started dispersing for the night to go to bed, none of them hearing Zenkichi sigh on the stairs, having heard most of their conversation once he'd been woken up by Akane's outbursts during the part where Makoto got her to open up to her. Zenkichi then spoke to himself with a sigh.

"Those kids. Just when you think you've got 'em figured out, they find another way to shock you." Zenkichi said, a rare genuine smile spreading across his face as he went back to bed...

(The next afternoon, in the living room of Zenkichi and Akane's house, with Yusuke, Haru, Goro, Ren, Sojiro, Makoto, Kusa, Futaba, Morgana, Ryuji, Sumire, Sophia, Ann, Zenkichi, and Akane)

"Well, Akane, I've gotta get going. I'm on a job, and time waits for no man, I'm afraid." Zenkichi said as Akane huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph." Akane said, seemingly not interested in what her dad had to say as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Um, to be honest? Once the case is through, I'm gonna take some time off. What do you say we take a trip somewhere? How about we visit a theme park?" Zenkichi said as Akane frowned and spoke up.

"A theme park? Are you serious? You do realize that I'm 17, right Dad? I'm not a little kid anymore." Akane pointed out as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Oh, okay. I always forget that you're not a little girl anymore, somehow. Sorry." Zenkichi said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"Shit, it is tense here!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"You don't say? Were you not paying attention for most of last night, Ryuji? These two have a very complicated history! And that's not just gonna magically go away overnight just because they had one enjoyable meal together. These things take time." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. Oh boy, this is looking tense. Getting these two to open up is going to be a real hassle." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"A bit lonely, aren't we?" Ren asked Akane teasingly, hoping to take her mind off of the current situation. Akane frowned at Ren and spoke up.

"Don't tease me like that! C'mon, please just stay out of it." Akane said as Kusa spoke up with a nod.

"That's entirely fair, and we'll respect that." Kusa said, giving the others a look that dared them to disagree. Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Aw, are we still feeling pouty? Don't you think it's time to grow out of that whole tsundere thing?" Futaba asked as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"Do you really have room to say that, given how much of a shut-in you used to be, Futaba? If not for Kusa, I think you could've ended up a tsundere yourself." Sumire pointed out, making Futaba stick her tongue out childishly at Sumire in response, getting giggles from both Akane and Sophia as a result. Akane then turned to Futaba and spoke up in a mix of annoyance and embarrassment.

"You too, Futaba-chan!? C'mon, quit it!" Akane said as Sojiro spoke up with a smirk.

"Don't mind Futaba, little one. She means well, but sometimes she forgets to filter her thoughts before voicing them. To Kusa's credit, he's pretty good about being her filter in those situations." Sojiro said as Akane nodded before Yusuke spoke up, not seeing Kusa, Sumire, Goro, and Ren all facefault at what he said next.

"Will we ever be able to truly reunite father and daughter?" Yusuke asked as Goro spoke up with a frown.

"Did you really just ask that? Didn't we somewhat reunite them during dinner last night, Yusuke?" Goro asked as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"I think he meant well with his question, Goro. And Yusuke? Just give it a little more time to happen on its own before giving up. As for me, I hope they find the opportunity to bond." Haru said honestly as Makoto nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"I'm sure they'll make it. Right, Akane-chan?" Makoto asked, making Akane wince at the question before sighing as she spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess so." Akane said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Sorry to break up the moment, but the time has come. If we wait any longer, the ferry will depart before we arrive." Sophia said as Sumire spoke up.

"Is it already that late?" Sumire asked as Makoto spoke up with a nod.

"Seems like it, Sumire." Makoto said before turning to Akane as she kept speaking.

"Sounds like we have to get going. Take care, Akane-chan." Makoto said as Akane nodded and spoke up, smiling at Makoto as she spoke.

"Oh, right! Uh, thanks for everything!" Akane said before walking forward and offering something to Ren as she kept speaking.

"Um, here you go. It's like a Kyoto souvenir, and I want you to have it. I mean, you guys did so much for me, so this is the least I can do in return for your kindness." Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"Thank you." Ren said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"Was it really kindness, though? After all, most of this stemmed from the majority of us deciding to invite ourselves into the Hasegawa house last night, despite Zenkichi's protests. Yes, we were able to help Akane here a great deal in the process, but did we do enough to make up for basically ignoring Zenkichi's wishes to make that happen in the first place?" Kusa asked warily as Sojiro spoke up.

"That is true, but I seem to recall Zenkichi was thanking us for it by the end of the night, so I'm not sure he really is that bothered by it anymore." Sojiro pointed out. Ren nodded while accepting a 'Mini Umbrella' key item from Akane, who smiled at Ren and Kusa in particular as she spoke up.

"Promise to come back soon, you guys!" Akane said as Kusa and Zenkichi exchanged a skeptical glance at this, but Ann gave Akane a closed-eye smile and spoke up before either of them could voice their protests.

"Of course! Next time, we'll bring tons of snacks, and we can stay up all night gossiping!" Ann said as Goro dryly scoffed and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. I forgot that you used to be a gossip, Ann. Silly me." Goro deadpanned as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"You know you don't mind it that much, Goro." Haru said gently to Goro before turning to Akane and speaking up.

"Ooh, and we can share a bath again, too!" Haru said as Kusa turned to Sumire and spoke up.

"Are you as confused by those three and possibly Makoto sharing baths together as I am?" Kusa asked Sumire, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Fortunately, they kept it to the four of them. But if I were you, I'd be wary in case they try to rope Futaba into joining them in the bath next time." Sumire said sagely, making Kusa shrug and speak up.

"Eh, if that's what Taba wants to do, I won't stop her. After all, having more gal pals can only be good for her." Kusa said as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Ignoring the background commentary from Kusa-kun and Sumire, we'd be delighted to arrange another visit in the future. In the meantime, reach out to me anytime you like. I'm looking forward to hearing from you." Makoto said as Akane nodded and spoke up.

"Mmhm, got it! Have a good trip!" Akane said as Ren and Kusa exchanged a skeptical look as Ren spoke up.

"C'mon, say all your goodbyes. That includes your father. I know you're not thrilled with him, but he is still family." Ren said kindly, amid approving nods from Kusa, Sumire, Sojiro, and even Zenkichi. Akane blinked at this but sighed, knowing Ren was right. Reluctantly, Akane turned to her father and spoke up.

"Umm, how do I put this? I guess, take care and be careful." Akane said as Ryuji spoke up in shock, not seeing the smile that slowly crept across Zenkichi's face as he spoke.

"Uhh, is that it?" Ryuji asked skeptically, only for a happy Zenkichi to speak up while giving Akane one of the few closed-eye smiles the group could recall seeing on his face.

"Oh! Okay! Gotcha, I'll be careful!" Zenkichi said as Kusa blinked and spoke up.

"Is it me, or do these two have a very unique way of saying goodbye?" Kusa asked, trying to keep his question as tactful as possible. Morgana spoke up with wide eyes.

"Nah, I noticed it too. Whoa-ho! We might not have gotten much out of that, but it sure seemed to work for Zenkichi, though!" Morgana said in surprise. Goro scoffed and spoke up.

"I still think these two both have issues. But, I suppose I have no room to make such comments, given my own tumultuous relationship with my father, eh Kusa?" Goro said bluntly as Kusa shrugged before the group dispersed to catch the ferry, Kusa taking a turn driving the RV with Futaba sitting shotgun, and Makoto getting to drive the Ferrari with Haru riding shotgun and both Goro and Ryuji awkwardly sharing the backseat...

(Time skip-the next day, in a hotel near Kukojima, A certain girl's POV)

As my eyes fluttered open for the day, I slowly sat up and yawned, stretching my arms out as I slowly stretched out in a cat-like manner, paying little to no attention to the fact I was only clad in my underwear, despite sharing a hotel room with two others. I then shrugged, grabbing my outfit for the day and disappearing into the bathroom of the hotel room that I currently shared with my cousin and his newly-wed wife.

Oh, right, I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I? My name is Nanako Dojima. As unlikely as this might sound, my cousin, who I also tend to call 'Big Bro' on occasion as a sort of affectionate term of endearment, which when you think about it makes a lot of sense, especially given how close we got during the just under a year he spent living with me and my dad in Inaba back about eight years ago, when I was still just a little girl who was barely tall enough to reach the counter and do stuff on her own. But to be fair, I was only 6 and a half when Yu first came to stay with me and my father, compared to the 15 and a half I am now.

Anyways, my cousin brought me along on his honeymoon at me and my dad's request. Who is my cousin and his wife, you might ask? My cousin's name is Yu Narukami, and his wife? Believe it or not, my cousin was the lucky man who got to marry Risette! Yes, THAT Risette! Granted, her actual name is Rise Kujikawa, but she often just lets me call her 'Big Sis' regardless, since we practically see each other as family anyways.

But to make a long story short, the two of them fell in love with one another after a chance meeting they had at a tofu shop that Big Sis worked at with her grandmother, not long after Big Sis moved to Inaba for a year while taking a hiatus from show business following her short-lived disappearance and eventual rescue by my big bro and his friends, who she eventually worked with to solve some really important case involving a bad person killing people.

Once the case was solved, Big Sis made her return to show business in the form of a slow comeback. And because they knew I don't get to go on vacations a lot given the fact that my dad's job barely makes ends meet for us so we can keep living in the house we've had for as long as I can remember, Big Bro and Big Sis invited me to join them on their honeymoon after they got married in a grand ceremony this past December.

The wedding had been a glorious affair, with Yosuke serving as Big Bro's best man, and Labrys, an android that Big Bro, Big Sis, and their friends met during a case a few months after Yu had went back home, when he'd come back briefly to visit my dad and I for Golden Week, serving as an unlikely choice for Big Sis' maid of honor. On Big Bro's side, he'd also asked Kanji, Teddie, and his teammates from his time on the soccer team, Kou and Daisuke, to be his groomsmen.

Meanwhile, in addition to Labrys being her maid of honor, Big Sis had asked Yukiko, Chie, Marie, another girl who Big Bro and Big Sis knew, that also had a job as a weather forecaster, and Naoto to be her bridesmaids. To my amusement, I was asked to be their ring bearer, and I accepted. Interestingly, Labrys had apparently gotten her younger sister Aigis to be the flower girl, despite looking to be the same age as Labrys.

Personally? I think they only asked Labrys to be Big Sis' maid of honor instead of Yukiko or Naoto because they believe, as do I, that Yosuke is presumably quite smitten with Labrys, despite her being a robot. Needless to say, when Big Bro and Big Sis invited me to tag along on their honeymoon, I accepted their invitation rather quickly.

Granted, I think I'm lucky just to have my dad around, even if he has to work a lot. But he has an important job, since he's currently the acting head of the Inaba Police Department due to his success as a detective over the years. However, that success also has translated itself to a lot of overtime for Dad, so he's rarely around. But I'm used to it by now, and understand he has to do it to pay the bills, so I'm fine with being home alone a lot. Besides, I'm getting close enough to being the same age that Big Bro was when he lived with us in Inaba, so I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more exciting for me.

Admittedly, the year that Big Bro lived with us wasn't all fun and games, since I recall having a particularly nasty experience near the end of that time where I was captured by some creepy guy who claimed to be a deliveryman and tossed into another world that apparently exists inside of most televisions. YES, you heard me right. Another world. But I vaguely seem to recall a memory of that time, namely the moment that Big Bro and the others saved me from the bad man who'd captured me and got me out of the TV world, as I've heard them refer to that other world, safely.

I don't remember what happened after that very clearly, other than recalling a very brief period where I got to go and see my mom in heaven, during which time Mom advised me to be a good girl for Dad and not miss her too much. She also told me that she loved me very much and was proud of how mature I was. I'll admit that hearing that from her made me very happy, even if it made me sad to have to say good-bye to her again when I had to leave after Teddie managed to somehow revive me.

While I reflected on the year that Big Bro lived with me and Dad, I gathered my clothes for the day and got undressed before stepping into the shower and washing myself off carefully, eventually rinsing the soap off my body and turning the shower off as I reached for a towel to dry off.

As I stepped out of the shower, I let myself look my figure over in the mirror, admiring the rather shapely and attractive hourglass-shaped figure that I saw in the mirror, trying not to be too self-conscious about my rather wide for my age hips and my areolae being a bit larger than they should be when compared to the fact they were on my slightly small for my age mid-to-large B-cup breasts as I did so, pleased that I at least had more of a bustline at my age than both Chie-san and Yukiko-san supposedly had when they were both my age, assuming Teddie wasn't lying before when he told me the older girls' measurements.

I then giggled as I recalled the time Teddie told me the story of how he managed to get his hands on the medical records of everyone in Big Bro's friend group. I wasn't that interested in hearing about any of the guys' measurements, other than maybe Yosuke's, who I may or may not have had a tiny crush on when I was younger. but in my defense, what girl doesn't have at least one instance where they develop a crush on one of their big bro's friends? Of course, I eventually got over those feelings in due time. I think Yosuke's nice and all, but he just seems, I dunno, a bit too old for me?

But anyways, I did pay attention to the girls' measurements. You can imagine my shock when I found out from Teddie that Naoto-san had the biggest bust of the girls in Big Bro's friend group, with Big Sis being a close second despite there being a clear difference in size between them. Yukiko-san was third, and Chie-san was last by default. I heard that there was one more girl in Big Bro's friend group, but apparently Teddie couldn't get Marie-san's measurements. However, I've seen her pictures enough to figure she'd be right in-between Naoto-san and Big Sis in the rankings if I had to guess.

As I laughed at a memory of the horrified look on Teddie's face as he'd told me a story about the time that Marie-san chased him around with a murderous look in her eyes, I started getting dressed, reaching for a pair of silky silver panties that I pulled on, reaching for the matching silver bra with white lining that I slid on once I managed to clasp it into place.

After getting my new underwear on, I reached for the white spaghetti-strap top I'd picked out for myself, pulling it over my head and sliding it into place as I reached for the silver miniskirt I'd picked out, pulling it over my legs so that it covered my waist, briefly stepping back out of my panties to slide the nearly see-through black hose leggings that Rise-san had picked out for me as a birthday present this past year over my legs, sliding my panties back up afterwards.

Once I was dressed, I walked back into the room to grab the silver hair-clip I used to keep my shoulder-length dark brown hair in place, smiling as I looked at myself in the vanity mirror, admiring how my hair had dark pink highlights on the tips and what was supposed to be strawberry-blonde highlights on top, all while having an almost copper-brown/auburn overall look from the dye Rise had helped me put in it for my 15th birthday.

Naturally, Dad wasn't thrilled about it, but when I told him that his choices were either letting me get my hair colored, letting me get piercings, or going with Kanji's suggestion, which had been allowing me to get a tattoo, Dad quickly backed down and allowed me to get my hair colored, deeming it to be the safest of the three options. Personally, I'm glad that he opted for that option, since I'd rather have colored hair than nipple and nose piercings.

Why Big Sis wanted me to get those specific piercings, I will probably never understand. That just sounds incredibly painful to me. Once I finished fixing my hair into place, smiling as I saw the psuedo-braid I'd pulled my hair into in the back while letting it fan down the sides of my head, where it accentuated my figure quite nicely. I then looked around for Big Bro and Big Sis, frowning when I realized they were nowhere to be seen.

After a bit, I looked around to see if they'd left me a note, blinking when I found no such note. Eventually, I just picked up the phone and called the lobby to ask if they'd seen Big Bro or Big Sis. When the receptionist said they hadn't, I frowned and got worried. However, when the receptionist spoke up again, I realized I had bigger issues to worry about.

"So if I understand you correctly, your cousin and his wife left you alone in that hotel room, Miss Dojima?" The receptionist, a woman of around Big Sis' age, maybe 2 to 3 years older, asked as I spoke up.

"Uh-huh, that's correct. They were here when I went to bed last night, but they were gone when I went to look for them this morning. I wonder if they just went out and forgot to leave me a note?" I replied as the receptionist sighed and spoke up.

"And you say they were gone when you got up? Unfortunately, if you can't get in contact with them to verify their whereabouts, I might have to ask you to surrender that room. Hotel regulations prohibit me from allowing any guest under the age of 16 from having a room by themselves due to legal reasons. Something to do with young kids trying to scam hotel staff with convincing alibis and using stolen credit cards to rack up exorbitant room service bills in their parents' name? Seems outlandish to me, but it is what it is. But yeah, I'm sorry to say that unless they return in the next 24 hours, we're not gonna have a choice but to evict you from that room. But for now, it's yours still. Hopefully they return or you can find a roommate within the allotted time limit." The receptionist said as I frowned and spoke up.

"I see. So I have roughly a day from now to either hope Big Bro and Big Sis come back, or hope I luck into someone I can trust to share this room with me before then. Well, given I don't really know anyone around here since I don't live here, I'll have to pray for the best, I guess." I said with a sigh as the receptionist spoke up.

"Precisely. Note that you can come and go from the hotel freely in that time as long as you have your room key on you to get back into your room. Well, I wish you luck in your dilemma." The receptionist said before hanging up the phone as I sighed and sat on the nearest bed, wondering why Big Bro and Big Sis would leave me so suddenly. Granted, I do think I recall them whispering to each other when they thought I was asleep last night. Something to do with special beaches or something? I was half asleep, so I don't recall the particulars.

After a bit, I shrugged my shoulders and decided to slide my room key into the pocket of my miniskirt, figuring I should keep myself from getting locked out. From there, I decided to take a walk around the area and stretch my legs a bit. While I was walking around, I noted that not a lot of people were around the hotel. From what I heard some of the guests saying, apparently there was some scenic port area nearby by the name of Kukojima with a very pretty beach.

I blinked in shock when I heard that, wondering if maybe Big Bro and Big Sis went there. Having an idea, I stopped short of the door to the room, grabbing my day bag and discreetly grabbing the silver-and-white bikini that Rise had picked out for me, packing it into the bag along with my smartphone, so that I could hear it if Dad happened to call and check in, as he is sometimes apt to do that when I'm away from home for extended periods of time. After packing that and a change of clothes to be on the safe side, I opened the door to my hotel room and stepped out, deciding to walk down to the nearby beach and check it out for myself.

While walking around, I noticed a lot of people laying out working on their tans, making me shrug as I decided to change into my bikini to work on my own tan on a whim. Once I came out in my bikini after ducking into a nearby changing booth to change, I eventually found a spot to lay out and work on my tan, not noticing that I'd chosen to lay near another woman who was also tanning as I did so. As I laid out and worked on my tan, the other woman noticed me, seemingly looking me over in confusion before shrugging as she went back to her own tan, her light brown hair which she'd pulled into a loose ponytail laying lazily over one shoulder in an artful yet fashionable way.

After a while, I got up and decided to get changed and head back to the hotel, figuring I didn't want to get sunburn since I forgot my sunscreen at the hotel. I didn't notice the woman following my departure, with confusion in her chocolate brown eyes as she watched me walk off alone, starting the decently long walk back to the hotel.. Once I got back to the hotel, I blinked on seeing the person at the desk wave at me to call me over to the desk, which I did with confusion. Once I was at the desk, the receptionist spoke up.

"Ah, Miss Dojima. Good timing. We weren't able to get in contact with either your cousin or his wife, but we do have this young woman here looking for a room, and I recall mentioning you needed to find a roommate so you could keep the room your cousin and his wife reserved for the three of you for the duration of your stay in the area. So maybe you can let this young lady share your room with you?" The receptionist said as I turned to look at the woman the receptionist had indicated.

As I looked the woman over, I noticed that she was a bit on the slender and petite side like I was. Her black hair was pulled into a short ponytail that draped down behind her, allowing me a view of her dark brown eyes, noticing the stress visible therein. After looking the woman over, idly admiring the white tank top and red jean shorts the woman had on, I looked at the woman and spoke up.

"Um, not to be rude, but who are you? My name is Nanako Dojima." I said, introducing myself to the woman, who smiled and spoke up, her face splitting into a rather charming and pleasant smile as she spoke.

"Ah yes, how rude of me. Nice to meet you, Dojima-san. My name is Shiho Suzui. I came here to get a hotel room so I could surprise my girlfriend when she and her friends arrive in Kukojima in about two days' time, but the receptionist here said all the rooms they had were booked. She then mentioned that you needed to find a roommate so you didn't lose your room after your cousin and his wife up and vanished on you. So, if you like, I could be your roommate. And then we can spend time getting to know each other more while doing so, all while helping each other out in the process.

Oh, and before you mention needing to clear it with your dad, the receptionist already did that. Granted, your dad sounded very angry when the receptionist said that your cousin and his wife left you alone like they did. But he and I talked, and he said I sounded trustworthy, if you wanted to let me be your roommate and even watch out for you while you're staying here. But I understand if this is too sudden for you." The now-named Shiho said, extending a hand out to me, which I hesitated briefly before shaking, a smile on my face as I spoke up, deciding it couldn't hurt to let Shiho be my roommate.

"If you need a room to stay in, I don't mind sharing with you, Suzui-san. If anything, I should thank you for letting me not lose the hotel room that Big Bro and Big Sis booked for us to stay in for the two weeks we're staying here on Big Bro and Big Sis' honeymoon. So I'd be delighted to accept you as my roommate. If you'll follow me, I can show you to our room and let you get settled in. Oh, but a word of advice? If you do decide to lay on the other bed, lay under the sheets.

I say this because I'm pretty sure my cousin and his wife were doing naughty things on that bad the night we booked the room, since they asked me to go hang out in the lobby for about an hour before giving me a key to the room and pushing me out the door. Right around the point I went to take the elevator to the lobby, I heard a bunch of weird noises coming from the room. I didn't ask about them, because I didn't want to know what they were doing. But I can take a pretty good guess what they were up to, given they're on their honeymoon." I said with a smirk as Shiho blinked at this before eventually nodding her understanding and speaking up.

"Oh? I see. Your advice is duly noted, Dojima-san. Thank you. Shall we?" Shiho asked me as I nodded and we headed up to the room to get to know one another and get used to being temporary roommates...

(Time skip-The next day, on the ferry to Kukojima, with Zenkichi, Goro, Haru, Makoto, Sojiro, Ann, Futaba, Kusa, Ryuji, Morgana, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, and Yusuke, neutral POV)

"Wow, how pretty!" Haru said happily as the group looked out at the picturesque view of the ocean in the distance from the side of the ferry. Goro smiled and spoke up.

"True. There is just something about this view that is quite breathtaking and scenic. And that ocean looks so expansive and pure." Goro said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Right!? It's like a field of shining blue jewels! Oh, I know I'm gonna cry after seeing this." Ann said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up.

"Can't say as I'd blame you if you did cry, Ann. This is a rather majestic and pretty view. It's probably enough to move just about anyone to tears." Sojiro said wisely as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Sojiro. This view is beautiful. Ahh, now this is a sight to see. I'd love it even more if we were just here for a casual trip." Makoto said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"True. This isn't a view one gets to experience very often." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. Oh, but shouldn't you get your phone out so Sophia can see the view too, beautiful?" Ren suggested as Sumire blinked before gasping and nodded as she got her phone out, turning it so the screen was facing towards the ocean, holding it in one hand as Futaba spoke up.

"Whaddya think, Sophia? Pretty nice!" Futaba said as Sophia's eyes widened in wonder as she took in the view of the sea, her eyes seeming to gleam a bit in childlike wonder as she eventually spoke up in an awed voice.

"Wow, so pretty! So, this is the Okinawan sea, then? I feel like this must be an interesting return for Ren and Kusa, assuming what they said about living near here with their parents before they came to Yongen is true." Sophia said as Kusa nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"That was indeed true. But moreover, Goro also lived near Kukojima for a time with Ren and I's parents a couple years ago. But we already told that story back in Sendai after catching up to everyone alongside Sojiro." Kusa said as Sophia spoke up with a nod and a smile.

"I see. How pretty. What's it like under the water?" Sophia asked as Ren and Sumire looked at each other before Ren spoke up.

"Honestly? I've never seen it myself, but from what I've heard, the view down there is said to be very pretty, though I wonder how many people attributed that view to the local sea life and how many just chalked it up to all the girls swimming around in bikinis. Not that any of those girls holds a candle to Sumire here. She could probably enter herself into any sexiest bikini contest and she'd easily win, hands-down." Ren said honestly as Goro, Ryuji, Kusa, and Yusuke, along with Ann, all gave Ren skeptical looks, but Sumire smiled and spoke up before any of them could say anything.

"R-Really? You truly think that, Ren? How flattering. Thank you, Senpai." Sumire said, kissing Ren on the cheek in gratitude as Sophia giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, you two look so cute like that. But to what you said, Ren? Okay. I'd like to see that for myself one day." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up excitedly.

"Man, ain't ridin' on a big-ass ship like this so exciting!?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke nodded and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Indeed. Perhaps my adventurer's heart has been stirred, for I can feel a surge of passion within." Yusuke said as Futaba smiled and spoke up, her next words confusing most of the group.

"Okay then! No wasting this opportunity, people! It's time to get into formation! Ryuji! On your hands and knees!" Futaba said as both Ryuji and Kusa spoke up with wide eyes.

"WHAT!?" Ryuji and Kusa said simultaneously, not even blinking at their synchronicity. Ryuji then spoke up in confusion.

"Huh? On my what?" Ryuji asked, but Futaba ignored him to focus on Morgana as she spoke up.

"And you, Mona! Get on my head!" Futaba said as Kusa's eyes widened at what Futaba had said and he leaned in to whisper in her ear in a pointed tone.

"Ix-nay on the Ona-may while we're not in the Metaverse, Taba!" Kusa reprimanded Futaba, making her wince as she recalled that Zenkichi was in earshot as she whispered back.

"Crap, my bad. Forgot about Zenkichi for a second." Futaba said as Morgana blinked in confusion but spoke up with wide eyes.

"Uh, okay!?" Mona said as Futaba waited for a confused Morgana to get on her had before spreading her arms out in a random pose while standing on an equally confused Ryuji's back, not paying attention to the confused looks on most of the group's faces, nor listening when Goro leaned in to whisper into Kusa's ear.

"Is your girlfriend about to reference what I think she is?" Goro asked Kusa, who shrugged and whispered back to Goro.

"Not sure, to be honest. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three different movies she might be trying to reference." Kusa replied, before both Kusa and Goro winced as they heard what Futaba said next, her eyes seeming to gleam as she spoke up in a surprisingly happy-sounding voice.

"Feast your eyes on the splendor that is the classic movie poster pose! Annnnnd I, I, will always, love you!" Futaba said, making Kusa and Ren both blink as Ren turned to Kusa and speak up. *1*

"Ignoring the fact that Futaba still has a good set of pipes on her, since when does she know that song? I didn't think you'd let her see that movie?" Ren asked Kusa, who spoke up in confusion.

"I don't think she does. She just happened to try and reference as many classic pop culture moments as she could, and just so happened to stumble into not only one of the most classic movie poses ever, but also one of the most well-known songs ever. The fact that Taba does a damn good job singing it is just the icing on the cake, so to speak." Kusa said as Sojiro playfully booed and spoke up teasingly.

"Get off the stage! You did a terrible job recreating that! Also, get down before you drop the cat into the ocean, Futaba. I don't think we have the money to get Ren and Kusa a new one if you lose theirs." Sojiro rebuked Futaba as Makoto spoke up with a sweatdrop.

"Um, I think you've gotten it all wrong, Futaba-chan. And I believe we can blame Kusa for this, since it was probably somehow his fault you got that idea." Makoto said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Hey, don't blame me for this! That was all Taba's idea! Besides, I would never let her use Morgana as a hat like that." Kusa said with a frown not unlike the confused/annoyed look on Zenkichi's face as he watched the entire exchange unfold. Goro smirked and spoke up slyly.

"Let's be fair here, Makoto-san. If Kusa had put his girlfriend up to this, he'd have probably gotten dragged into it too." Goro said teasingly as Kusa pouted and spoke up.

"Goro? You suck. And what's worse is that you're not wrong." Kusa said while crossing his arms, drawing amused laughter from everyone else aside from Futaba, who also glared at Goro.

"LIES! I'd never drag Kusa into anything! I'd ask him to do it, then use my feminine charms to convince him." Futaba said as Kusa sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Yeeeah, that's what we're calling it. Probably safer that way. And less likely to have Sojiro looking to want my head on a silver platter." Kusa said with a shudder, getting laughs from the others as Ann spoke up.

"Anyways, back to what Futaba's doing. Isn't this just some kind of weird cheerleading routine?" Ann asked as Sumire sweatdropped and spoke up.

"I wouldn't call that a cheerleading routine in ANY sense of the term. And as an aspiring gymnast, I'm actually slightly offended that you would compare what Futaba's doing to cheerleading in such a casual way." Sumire said with a frown as Ren spoke up.

"Let's be fair here, beautiful. I bet you could totally rock the hell out of a cheerleader outfit if you tried." Ren said with a flirty wink, making Sumire blush as she spoke up while lightly swatting Ren on the arm in a mock-reproving manner, the smile on her face as she did so betraying her true feelings about Ren's compliments of her.

"R-Ren! Behave! No flirting with me in front of Sophia! She's way too young to learn such things!" Sumire said, her face flushing slightly in embarrassment from how much Ren's words had flattered her, as well as the unintentional mental image his comment had given her of her trying to seduce Ren with a very sexy cheerleader outfit. Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, what did I end up signing myself up for by working with you kids?" Zenkichi asked as Goro slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Welcome to the other side of having so many couples in one group, Zenkichi. Not that I have room to tease the others, given how close Haru and I have gotten." Goro said as Haru blushed and spoke up.

"G-Goro, quit teasing Zenkichi. Also, as far as Futaba-chan's little pose? I'd call it an impersonation of the 'Town Musicians of Bremen', to be honest." Haru said as Ren, Sojiro, and Kusa all spoke up in confusion.

"THE WHAT?" Ren, Sojiro, and Kusa asked as Goro spoke up.

"Pretty sure that's a fairy tale of some sort if I recall right. I believe I recall reading it in a book when I was younger." Goro said to Ren, Sojiro, and Kusa before turning to Haru as he kept speaking.

"And Haru? I don't think that's what Futaba-san was going for at all." Goro said as Ryuji grunted and spoke up from under Futaba.

"Ugh, just why did you need me for this?" Ryuji asked as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Probably because you have the sturdiest back out of all of us, not to mention the fact that Taba knows Makoto's the least likely of the other girls to smack her for using their boyfriend as a prop? Also, it was probably just a random choice." Kusa said with a grin as a sailor's voice could be heard from nearby.

"Hey, you! Get down! That's dangerous!" The sailor's voice scolded Futaba, getting everyone else aside from Ryuji and Zenkichi to sweatdrop nervously as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"You guys are so stupid sometimes, you know that?" Zenkichi asked as Goro spoke up with a smirk.

"Now you know how I felt when I first started working with them." Goro said in a commiserating tone, ignoring the many offended glares shot at him by the others. From there, the rest of the ferry trip went by peacefully as the group enjoyed themselves...

(Later that afternoon, at the ferry dock of Kukojima, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, and Zenkichi)

As the group looked around the bustling and lively port area they'd arrived in, most of the group admired all the shops and facilities on offer, ranging from shops to bike rental places to vending machines, and even a supermarket or two, as well as a couple restaurants. While most of the group was looking around the area, Ryuji was being seasick slightly as he spoke up.

"Ah, we finally made it back onto dry land. We were on that ship forever, or at least that's how long it felt. Urp, and I still feel like I'm on the waves." Ryuji said with a sigh. Yusuke smiled and spoke up with a closed-eye smirk.

"It was quite the rare experience, being surrounded by the dazzling sea like that." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up with a smile.

"So this is Kukojima, huh? There are more people than I expected." Morgana said as Futaba spoke up with an agreeable nod.

"Right? I was picturing something closer to an untouched island than all this." Futaba said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"It's funny you should say that, Sakura the younger. You see, this actually was a quiet place until just a few years ago, but then eventually some folks cooked up a mass migration plan. They even had a slogan: 'Find your new tropical life.' And all of a sudden, a population under 200 people suddenly explodes to nearly a thousand." Zenkichi said as Ren and Kusa exchanged shocked glances, recognizing the slogan that Zenkichi had said as one that Ren's dad had pitched to a committee about nine or ten years before their fateful year-long trip to Yongen. Haru spoke up before either of them could comment, though.

"The port area is really quite lively. It has a bit of a resort feel to it." Haru said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Ooh, in that case, it sounds like summer vacation's back on." Ann said excitedly as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"C'mon, you know we're not here to screw around." Zenkichi said with a frown that turned into a smile as he kept speaking.

"First thing we do is head for the research facility." Zenkichi said as Makoto nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"He's right, we should start there. I'd like to get the investigation underway as soon as possible." Makoto said as Ryuji sweatdropped and hung his head while speaking up.

"There go the two cops again!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"Pretty sure Makoto's not a cop yet. And even if she was, do you really want to be saying something like that about your girlfriend where she can hear? After all, who's to say she won't try and practice her detainment techniques on you, and not in the kinky way either." Kusa said before Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Not surprised you'd say that, Kusa. Oh, but if we're here? Maybe one of us should go check in with Mom and Dad and see if they know anything about this lab we're looking for?" Ren said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Way ahead of ya, Ren. I was actually thinking that if no one objects to it, I'd take Taba and Goro with me, and we'd go take a trip that way in the Ferrari to check in with them while you guys ask around here about the locals, and maybe even see what they know about this lab. Oh, and Taba? If we do that, remind me to give you back your beam staff, since I'm pretty sure I saw it in the trunk when Sojiro and I were loading stuff up in there before driving out to Sendai." Kusa said as Futaba nodded her agreement before Ren spoke up once more.

"I know how you feel, Ryuji. But part of being adults is making sure we get our work done before we get to have fun. Therefore, the case has to come first." Ren said sagely. Morgana nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed. We can enjoy our free time here once the case is solved. Our current objective is the lab Ichinose found." Morgana said as Ann pumped a fist and smiled as she spoke up.

"Okay, let's go! Um, but which way is it?" Ann asked as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"That's what you guys can ask around about. And while you all do that, I can take Goro, Taba, and also Morgana if he wants to come, and we can ask Ren and I's parents what they know. If I recall correctly, Ren's dad got laid off from a research facility around here somewhere a few years back, shortly after moving us all out here. Maybe it's the same lab that we're looking for?" Kusa said with a shrug as Sojiro spoke up.

"Ah, is that so? Interesting. I suppose that is fair that Futaba gets to meet your parents since I got to meet you before you and her started dating." Sojiro said as Futaba and Kusa exchanged an awkwardly embarrassed glance, not sure how to mention that they'd already introduced Futaba to Ren and Kusa's parents a couple years ago when Kusa and Futaba went out to see Ren for his 18th birthday, bringing Sumire with them so Ren could spend time with his girlfriend as a birthday present. Eventually, Kusa spoke up.

"I'm sure Mom and Dad will love Taba." Kusa said honestly as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Also, hit us with the deets, Sophia!" Futaba said as Sumire pulled her phone out in time for a 'BIP!' to precede Sophia speaking up.

"Hmm." Sophia said, sounding distracted. Ryuji was the first to react and spoke up in surprise.

"Huh? What's up?" Ryuji asked as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any information regarding the facility." Sophia said as Ryuji spoke up in shock.

"How the hell's THAT possible?" Ryuji asked in shock. Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"Good question. Well, Ichinose did say it wasn't exactly on the level, right? Maybe we just have to track it down ourselves. And I think Amamiya the youngest's suggestion has merit. Worst case, the Amamiya parents won't know anything. Best case, we get some info out of them. I see it as a win-win." Zenkichi said as Sophia sighed and spoke up.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help." Sophia said as Sumire smiled kindly at her and spoke up.

"Couldn't help? Don't be silly. You've been giving us plenty of help just being our friend, Sophia. Don't beat yourself up over this." Sumire said encouragingly. Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, M-err, I mean Sumire. That makes me feel better." Sophia said happily as Morgana spoke up, his words distracting the others from Sophia's near-slip of the tongue where she'd almost called Sumire 'Mama', much to Sophia's relief.

"Well, if that's the case, while Kusa brings myself, Futaba, and Goro to touch base with his and Ren's parents, the rest of us should ask around and see if we can find any locals who know about it." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"Right. Who do you think we should ask first? Oh, maybe the shopkeepers know something?" Ann said as Sumire turned and saw a shop nearby that caught her eye as she spoke up.

"Ohh, I see a souvenir shop over that way! I think I'm gonna go see if I can find any neat souvenirs to get my parents, and maybe one for Suzui-san too, since she's so close to Ann and all." Sumire said as she dashed off towards the shop in question, being followed by Yusuke, who spoke up excitedly.

"Wait, Sumire! I'll accompany you on the search for native crafts!" Yusuke said, dashing after Sumire. Ren sweatdropped, idly noting that the group had agreed to have the majority ask around the area for directions to the lab while Kusa took Goro, Futaba, and Morgana in the Ferrari to check in with his and Ren's parents to see if they knew anything.

As the group dispersed to do their tasks, Kusa swore under his breath as he had a hard time figuring out where he'd put the car keys, before recalling he'd left the keys to the Ferrari back in the RV and going inside to get them, stopping short mid-way through grabbing the Ferrari keys as he could hear a conversation outside the bottom-bunk window, making him squat down on the bottom bunk to listen in, only barely stifling a gasp as he recognized Zenkichi's voice, noticing on peeking out the window that Zenkichi was on the phone.

"Hello, Commissioner? It's Hasegawa." Kusa heard Zenkichi say through the slightly ajar window. As he listened in, Kusa heard a female's voice come from Zenkichi's phone, and that of an older female.

"What's the situation? It's unlike you to go dark for three days straight." The female's voice said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up once more.

"My apologies, Commissioner. I was on the ocean. I couldn't get a connection." Zenkichi said as Kusa heard the female's voice speak up again.

"The ocean?" The female's voice asked skeptically as Zenkichi spoke up, though Kusa could just barely see Zenkichi nodding through the window as he spoke.

"Correct. The investigation has led us to Okinawa. Supposedly there's a research facility here with ties to that EMMA app. This was the best lead I had. I brought the Phantom Thieves along with me." Kusa heard Zenkichi say, nearly jumping in surprise when he heard Goro speak up behind him.

"Kusa? What're you-?" Goro asked, making Kusa turn and quickly but silently shush Goro before gesturing towards the window and moving aside to let Goro sit next to him and see Zenkichi on the phone outside the window, making Goro nod in understanding as he fell silent and joined Kusa in eavesdropping on the conversation as the female's voice spoke up once more.

"Any chance of locating concrete evidence there?" The female's voice said, making Goro's eyes widen slightly before narrowing as he had a theory of who the owner of the female's voice could be before deciding not to voice said theory for the moment as he and Kusa kept listening while the latter saw Zenkichi shake his head in the negative while spying on him through the window before he spoke up once more.

"It's too soon to tell. I'll start by questioning the facility staff. If I find out they're covering their tracks, though, I'll have to escalate the investigation. And I'll definitely need you to send backup if that's how it pans out." Zenkichi said, making Goro and Kusa exchange shocked looks as they heard the female's voice speak up again.

"Fine. Keep me posted. We're still looking into Madicce on our end. I'll let you know should anything turn up." The female's voice said as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Thank you, ma'am." Zenkichi said as the female's voice spoke up once more, her next words making Kusa and Goro exchange wary looks at what was said next.

"Remember this much, Hasegawa: Even if you have an alliance with them for now, The Phantom Thieves are NOT solely in your pockets to help you track down the perpetrator. You are also keeping them close for when we are pressed to present a culprit. And when the time comes? You WILL turn them in immediately. Do NOT get too attached. Is that clear?" The female's voice said, making Kusa and Goro both quietly swear blue streaks under their breath at hearing that Zenkichi was in fact using the group, but they knew they needed to give Zenkichi the benefit of the doubt before assuming the worst of him, and so kept listening as Zenkichi spoke up after clearing his throat.

"Ahh, yes, ma'am. Understood." Zenkichi said before hanging up the call and sighing to himself as he spoke up once more.

"Ugh. How did things get so complicated? I know I'm only supposed to be using them, but they've done so much for me. Can I just turn my back on them like that? And that's not even mentioning what Akane would do to me if I did that. Heh, attached, she says? Not gonna happen." Zenkichi said to himself as Kusa and Goro exchanged significant looks, knowing they'd have to keep a close eye on Zenkichi in the coming days, since he could either be a great asset to the team, or a big threat...

(At the same time in the port villa of Kukojima, with Ren and Morgana)

"I wonder what's keeping Goro and Kusa? Well, while we wait, we should get going ourselves and see if we can track down this research lab." Morgana said as Ren nodded, deciding to start by looking around the area, hoping the group could find the lab Ichinose mentioned sooner than later, if only so that the group might have time to enjoy some of their time in Kukojima...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Sorry this one took so long to get done, but the poll was ongoing as of the point that I was about to type this chapter, so I had to wait for the results of said poll to be finalized so I could type this chapter out. And as the chapter revealed, one of the winners of the poll was the mystery Persona 4 character, or one Nanako Dojima! Not a choice many were expecting, I'm sure, but even so, it was one I wanted to do, since I felt it could be an interesting one to explore, especially given how much potential she has as a Persona-user, particularly when one takes into account what she went through near the end of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden.

Also, given the minor debacle that went down at the end of the voting window, it seemed only fair to have the top 3 from that poll be allowed into the story. And I can reveal here that that top 3 was in fact Shiho, Akane and Nanako, in that order! So all three of them will be part of the group by the end of the story. So congrats to anyone who voted for one of them.

And my commiserations to the two people that voted for Mishima, as he ended up taking 4th place. But if that wasn't bad enough, Maruki ended up finishing last in the end. So rough luck to those two options. But now that that's over, time to keep going with Arc 4. I'm excited to get through it, as I have a lot of unique twists in mind for this Jail in particular, several of which I doubt anyone will see coming. So there's that preview to look forward to.

Speaking of previews, the next chapter promises to be an interesting one, since it not only covers the investigation of the port, but the scouting of the lab, and even perhaps a certain well-known scene if there's room in the chapter for it. So there's that to look forward to.

Thanks as always to those who've read this far in the story, as it means a lot to me that you like the story enough to read this far into it. So thank you for your support. And don't be shy about leaving reviews or PMing me (if not both) with your thoughts/feedback/suggestions/constructive criticism on the story thus far, as I always enjoy hearing from my readers! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Legit not even kidding here, in canon Strikers, Futaba literally says this, minus the fact that her quote ends with 'And I-', but I feel like it was implied that the developers of Strikers were trying to reference the song 'I Will Always Love You' right there, especially with the fact that Futaba was actually singing the last two words somewhat. If I'm right, that's a pretty wild reference to make, but not an unwelcome one since 'I Will Always Love You' is a classic. How many of you reading this note agree with me?

PHANTOM THIEF LEVELS AND ALLY LISTINGS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 19

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 46 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 29), Orthrus (Level 36), Okuninushi (Level 46), Queen Mab (Level 46), Naga (Level 46), Valkyrie (Level 46), Hecatoncheires (Level 46) Equipped Persona: Okuninushi Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Tempest Slash (Physical), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Dodge Nuke (Passive), Dodge Wind (Passive), Makouga (Bless), Psy Boost (Passive)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 43 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zionga (Elec), Headbutt (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff), Attack Master (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Swift Strike (Physical), Shock Boost (Passive)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garula (Wind), Dormin Rush (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Magarula (Wind), Diarama (Healing), Recarm (Healing), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Dodge Ice (Passive), Fire Boost (Passive), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragion (Fire), Matarunda (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Speed Master (Passive), Taunt (Ailment), Knockdown Style (Passive), Vicious Strike (Physical), Tempest Slash (Physical), Mabufula (Ice), Dodge Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Freila (Nuclear), Defense Master (Passive), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafreila (Nuclear), Diarama (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Sledgehammer (Physical)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 44 Current/Partner Persona: Lucy Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Psy Boost (Passive), Evil Smile (Ailment), Triple Down (Gun), Technical Adept (Passive), Amrita Shower (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Gun Boost (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 46 Current Personas: Al Azif and Albus Equipped Persona: Al Azif Persona Moveset: Analysis (Passive), Moral Support (Passive), Active Support (Passive), Moral Boost (Passive), Active Boost (Passive), Moral Boost EX (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 42 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kouga? (Bless), Rakunda? (Support/Debuff), Diarama? (Healing), Makouga? (Bless), Mediarama? (Healing), Bless Boost? (Passive), Divine Grace? (Passive), Recarm? (Healing)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 44 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouga (Bless), Dodge Curse (Passive), Diarama (Healing), Bless Boost (Passive), Heat Wave (Physical), Makouga (Bless), Tempest Slash (Physical), Recarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Garula (Wind), Mediarama (Healing), Rising Slash (Physical), Megido (Almighty), Vicious Strike (Physical), Almighty Boost (Passive), Sukunda (Support/Debuff)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiga (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeiga (Curse), Deathbound (Physical), Rakunda (Support/Debuff), Mudo (Curse/insta-kill), Megido (Almighty), Curse Boost (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 42 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Assault Dive (Physical), Mapsio (Psy), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Boost (Passive), Mediarama (Healing), Evade Nuke (Passive), Concentrate (Support/Buff)

Allies: Zenkichi, Ichinose, Shiho, Akane