Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ren: “Honey, we are here.”

Makoto (sleepy): “Wha…”

It was already afternoon and Makoto woke up to see through the window of the family’s car the view of the verdant farming fields and the orange sky. This was very different from the usual sights of Tokyo where everywhere you saw there were tall buildings with colorful advertisements.

Hana: “Are we there yet, Daddy?”

Ren: “Yes, we are.”

Makoto: “What time is it?”

Ren: “It’s 5PM.”

Hana: “Mommy look! A cow!”

Makoto: “That’s nice.”

The town of Inaba is a peaceful rural town far away from any of the big cities of Japan. It started as a mining town and later it expanded into the agrarian and commercial town it’s today. To some people such a place would be considered boring and to others it’s a nice place to live without so much stress. Of course, the town isn’t stuck in traditionalism and after the establishment of a Junes store years ago there have been plans to modernize part of the town with new residential areas and stores.

Hana: “Daddy, are we going to the new house now?”

Ren: “Not tonight, sweetheart. Tomorrow I will be given the keys by the landlord so tonight we are going to sleep at a hotel.”

Makoto: “And we still have to wait for the moving company to deliver all our stuff to the new house.”

Ren could feel the bitterness in the voice of his wife and he understood she was in a lot of pain.

Ren: “Hey.”

Ren touched one of Makoto’s hands with his free hand while he was still driving.

Ren: “It will be okay. We are in this together.”

Makoto felt reassured by her husband’s words even though she felt she wanted to cry.

Makoto: “I know.”

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Yukiko: “Welcome to the Amagi Inn.”

A black haired woman wearing a traditional service yukata received the Amamiya-Niijimas.

Hana: “You look so pretty.”

Yukiko: “Oh thank you. My name is Yukiko by the way.”

Ren: “I am Ren and this is my wife Makoto and our daughter Hana. We reserved a room yesterday.”

Yukiko: “Oh right, here you are registered, although it says here that your reservation is for next week.”

Makoto: “You have to be kidding me.”

Yukiko sweated nervously.

Yukiko: “This must be an error from the Maddice software we use. The technician warned me about this.”

Both Makoto and Ren felt angry about EMMA messing with them from the grave.

Yukiko: “Your room is currently in use by other people that reserved last night after you. I am really sorry for this mistake.”

Ren: “There must be a free room we can pay for tonight.”

Yukiko: “There isn’t… Unless… There’s a room I can give to you just for tonight, but it’s kind of risky.”

Makoto: “Why is it risky?”

Yukiko: “The room has already been paid for in advance by some frequent clients, but tonight they aren’t using it. I could let you in free of charge since you already paid.”

Makoto (whispering): “Are you sure there isn’t at least another hotel close by?”

Ren (whispering): “Do you want to sleep at a motel in the middle of the road?”

Makoto sighed.

Makoto: “We will take that room then.”

Yukiko: “I apologize for the inconvenience again.”

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After Hana fell asleep, both Ren and Makoto laid there on the beds of the tatami looking at the roof thoughtfully.

Makoto: “This is the end, isn’t it?”

Ren: “It isn’t.”

Makoto: “I thought I could make a difference.”

Ren: “Makoto…”

As soon as Ren saw the tears flowing over Makoto’s cheeks, he pulled her into a hug.

Makoto (crying): “I am such an idiot.”

Ren: “You aren’t.”

Ren caressed Makoto’s back and just like with his daughter when she is crying she made a whistling sound to attempt to calm down his wife from the emotional breakdown she was having.

Ren: “We have to rest now. Tomorrow we will worry about all our problems.”

Ren cleaned Makoto’s tears.

Makoto: “Right.”

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The next morning, Makoto and Ren realize some weird stuff about the room they and their daughter spent the night at.

Hana: “Mommy, Daddy, look what I found!”

A gigantic brassier being held by her 5 year old girl isn’t something Makoto wanted to see after all the emotional drama of last night, but after so many days of crying this somehow made Makoto laugh.

Makoto: “Pffft! Hahahaha!”

Hana: “Mommy, this one is more big than yours.”

Ren: “It’s ‘bigger’, Hana.”

Hana: “That’s what I said.”

Makoto: “Hahahaha!”

Ren: “I think your mom finally snapped.”

Makoto: “Hah… Let’s get out of here before we find more weird stuff.”

Fortunately for Makoto’s sanity, Yukiko had cleaned that room well after all the mess the previous clients made last time. The G sized brassier is the only thing the temporary manager of the Amagi Inn missed.

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Somewhere else, in the residential area, Chie Satonaka had just woken up. She was laying on the tatami of the living room surrounded by a few empty cans of beer and she was only wearing her underwear and a t-shirt with the logo of a rock band.

Chie: “Ugh… My head.”

Chie isn’t an alcoholic, but she has the bad habit of buying a six pack of beer, 5 instant ramen bowls and marathon movies every Saturday night, and the combination of all that chaos always leaves her weakened on the mornings of Sundays.

Chie: “Shit, I need an aspirin.”

After putting on some pants, the tomboy proceeded to clean up her mess from last night and put all the trash in a bag. Most of the trash she had accumulated for the past few days were containers of instant ramen and of take out food.

Chie: “I am really missing Yu’s cooking right now. Lucky Rise, she took away the only good chef of our group of friends.”

Like any residential area, there are public garbage cans and that’s where Chie gets rid of all her accumulated trash each weekend.

Chie: “Seriously, what I would do to eat his pasta right now with bacon and…”

Makoto: “Excuse me.”

Chie: “Huh?”

Chie got surprised by the brunette with long hair and crimson looking eyes wearing a buttoned shirt and black jeans.

Makoto: “I wanted to know if I am in the right direction.”

Chie: “We all want to know that sometimes.”

Makoto: “I mean, is this the right address?”

Makoto showed a piece of paper to the short haired woman carrying a bag of trash.

Chie: “That is a few houses from here. Hey, that means we are neighbors! Chie Satonaka, by the way!”

Chie held a greasy hand for Makoto to held and Makoto nervously grabbed it.

Makoto: “I am Mako-”

Chie: “Wait a minute! Hey you!”

Chie got angry and unheld Makoto’s hand to point at the source of her anger, a small fox standing over a garbage can.

Chie: “You won’t escape this time, you furry devil!”

Chie threw her trash bag to the side and one not so empty bowl of ramen came out flying and hitting Makoto’s white buttoned shirt. Before Makoto could shout Chie started to chase the tiny fox and until the two enemies disappeared from Makoto’s sight.

Makoto: “Great. Just great. After killing two gods my luck became shit just as Yusuke said.”

Makoto returned to the car and her husband and daughter saw how furious she looked.

Ren: “So…”

Makoto: “We are close to our new home.”

Hana: “Mommy, I saw the baby fox run away that way!”

Makoto: “Very good, Hana.”

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The new Amamiya-Niijima home is a very modest house with a traditional Japanese design. It has two floors with a living room, a kitchen, enough rooms for a small family, a backyard with a tree and a small space for gardening. Little Hana was already running around the backyard and trying to catch bugs.

Ren: “Back in Tokyo we couldn’t have afforded this kind of place.”

Makoto: “I envy Hana. She is just so innocent and finds happiness in the simple things. I hate being here.”

Ren: “We have only been here for less than 24 hours.”

Makoto: “We slept in a room that was probably used for inappropriate stuff, I was thrown instant ramen and the moving service will take an extra day to arrive here. Oh god, this was the best shirt I packed!”

Ren: “We all have bad days.”

Ren and Makoto sat on the wooden steps facing the backyard to see their daughter chasing a cricket.

Makoto: “That little girl thinks I am a superhero, but I am just a failure.”

Ren: “Just because you were sent to Smallville doesn’t mean this is your end, Superwoman. You can still be the justice seeker we all love.”

Makoto: “As if there will be much justice to do here. I checked the records and there has been no big crimes in Inaba since 2011. The last time the police had actual work to do here was when a cop became insane and started a killing spree that lasted all that year. After that this town returned to being as peaceful as Le Blanc on a quiet day.”

Ren: “Now I am missing Le Blanc already.”

Makoto: “The reason I was sent here was basically to end my career. I get to keep my job as a public servant, but by working in the most peaceful place ever I can’t advance ranks further to reach my goal of reforming the system.”

Ren: “Bastards.”

Makoto: “I agree. I guess this is the kind of stuff Zenkichi warned me about.”

Makoto looked at the clouds passing through the blue sky.

Makoto: “It just hit me how different this place sounds.”

Ren: “This is the sound of a town that doesn’t know road rage.”

Makoto: “So no Harus then.”

Ren: “Hah!”

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The next day, at the Inaba Police Department.

Ryotaro: “Let’s see. Four years at the Tokyo University and graduating with honors, completed the basic training with an award as best rookie in the force, with a record of arrests of-”

Ryotaro Dojima used to be a former detective of the police department of Inaba, but after many years of service he now works as an officer of a higher rank and manages the department as a veteran. He would have preferred to still do detective work until his retirement, but after a leg injury years ago he has to work now doing only administrative work. There’s still some fire in this old man and his subordinates know this well.

Ryotaro: “This is quite an exceptional curriculum. The only thing I find odd is that someone like you was transferred all the way from Tokyo to here.”

Makoto: “I guess the higher ups wanted to add new blood.”

Ryotaro: “Yeah, I am not buying that.”

The old man closed Makoto’s files and rested his head on his hands.

Ryotaro: “A few years ago a fellow officer was transferred from a big city to Inaba too and I didn’t question it at the time. He was a wimp to be honest and a lazy ass, but he was quite nice to everyone that met him.”

Makoto didn’t know where this was going.

Ryotaro: “If I had checked his background better I would have realized there was something fucked up about him before he… let’s just say he is finally paying for his crimes.”

Makoto: “Oh…”

Makoto realized what he was talking about.

Ryotaro: “So I checked beyond your letter of recommendation and you have a reputation as a troublemaker that disobeys orders.”

Makoto: “That’s an exaggeration.”

Ryotaro: “Whatever the case, it’s obvious you are walking on thin ice.”

The judging eyes of the veteran made Makoto feels nervous. He didn’t knew the full story and probably doesn’t care. Ryotaro’s only concern was the safety of his community.

Ryotaro: “Anyway, if you want a second chance you will have to work hard to earn it.”

Makoto: “I will do my best.”

Ryotaro: “Good, because if you don’t show your commitment I am authorized to take away your badge. Are we clear?”

Makoto wondered if this is how Ren felt when he first met Sojiro.

Makoto: “Yes.”

Ryotaro: “Good. Now, let me show you around.”

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Chie: “Doo doo doo doo doo…”

Chie was currently on her desk scribbling on a notepad doodles of her and Yukiko holding hands and with hearts around them.

Chie: “And now I declare you wife and wi-”

Ryotaro: “Satonaka.”

Chie immediately stood up.

Chie: “Yes boss!”

Ryotaro: “I want you to meet your new partner.”

Makoto: “What?”

Both Makoto and Chie looked at each other confused for a brief moment.

Chie: "Howdy neighbor!"

Chapter Text

Chie Satonaka can be described as a person who enjoys the simple things in life, which to her are beef, movies and sleeping. After graduating from high school, Chie directly applied to law enforcement, although it took her two attempts to pass the entrance exam. Her time training to be a police officer was average since she excelled at physical training, but was bad at more formal work, like paperwork. Thankfully for her, Dojima advocated for her to be on the force since he knows her well from her days as a young investigator, although he doesn’t let her slack at work just because she is a friend.

Ryotaro: “You already know each other?”

Makoto: “I met her yesterday.”

Chie: “She lives close to my place!”

Ryotaro: “This actually makes things easier. Satonaka, Niijima-san has been transferred from Tokyo and will be working at our department starting today.”

Chie: “Wow, you come from Tokyo? That's so cool!”

Makoto: “Yes… I used to work for the police department there.”

Ryotaro: “Since she is new to Inaba I think you can help her get up to date with what we usually do here, especially since you really need a partner right now.”

Chie: “Gosh darn it, are you still reprimanding about what happened with Kyoko?”

Ryotaro: “Yes.”

Chie: “Jeez.”

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The commercial district of Inaba is small and humble, with very old stores selling fried tofu, herbal remedies and even metalcrafts. Makoto and Chie has parked their police bikes close to the gas station to start their patrol of the area.

Chie: “I usually start patrolling the commercial district early in the morning, which is good because I can buy coffee at the gas station before starting and then eat lunch at the grill further down the street.”

Makoto: “Why are we on patrol? I thought you were a detective like me.”

Chie: “I am, but since there hasn’t been any big crimes in years it’s more useful to be out here helping out our fellow officers, and besides Dojima will call us immediately if an emergency happens.”

Makoto was already feeling depressed because of this downgrade from her work at Tokyo imprisoning serial killers, mobsters, corrupt politicians and sexual predators. If Dojima wanted he could order Makoto to be in charge of patrolling parking lots and she couldn’t complain.

Chie: “You aren’t very talkative are you?”

Makoto: “I have been feeling a little under the weather these past few days.”

Chie: “Man, that sucks. Hey, if you need something to feel better there’s some calming tea at Shiroku’s.”

Makoto: “I really don’t-”

Chie: “C’mon, it’s on our route and I want to say hello to the old lady.”

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Over the last 20 years there have been many changes on Inaba, but Old Lady Shiroku has kept her store running with the same traditional charm of the days of the Investigation Team thanks to Old Lady Shiroku’s dedication to her craft and the steady income coming from people getting drunk at night when the store becomes a pub.

Makoto: “Is that Old Lady Shiroku?”

Chie: “People say she is as old as the local shrine.”

Old Lady Shiroku was very old now and sitting on a rocking chair.

Shiroku: “Hello there young ladies.”

Store manager: “Lady Shiroku, please don’t smoke in front of the cops!”

Shiroku: “I have a prescription, dear.”

By the way, weed has been legalized in Japan by this time.

Makoto: “It’s okay.”

Chie: “My partner is feeling under the weather. Do you have something that can help?”

The very senile old lady smoking weed from her rocking chair held a plastic bag with weed.

Store manager: “No, Lady Shiroku!”

Makoto: “Do you have an aspirin?”

Before the store manager could answer, the door of the store opened, causing a bell to ring. Into the store came a really REALLY big woman. Saying she was fat would be a short description of her measures. Her cheeks were puffy, her lips were thick looking at her thick legs made Makoto fear what would happen if such a woman stepped on her feet by accident.

Hanako: “Satonaka.”

Chie: “Ohtani.”

Hanako: “Hey, pretty guy. Is my delivery here?”

Store manager (nervously): “O-oh, right.”

The store manager took out from the counter of the store a big bottle of wine. Hanako grabbed it with an appreciative look.

Hanako: “Excellent, the other girls will be so happy at this week’s reunion.”

The obese woman realized there was a new face there and took a look at Makoto.

Hanako: “Are you new in town?”

Makoto: “Y-yes.”

Hanako: “Marvelous, we are always looking for new people to join our society.”

Chie: “Hey, don’t try to recruit my partner into your weird club.”

Hanako: “You are just jealous because you weren’t invited.”

Chie: “Jealous of what?”

Somehow Hanako took out a presentation card from her fancy pink coat and handed it to the new arrival.

Hanako: “The Women’s Society of Inaba is dedicated to promoting and protecting the beauty of our community. If you are interested our number is there. Toodles.”

The overweight woman left the store cheerfully.

Makoto: “I don’t know what just happened.”

Chie: “Hanako Ohtani is a big jerk, that’s all you need to know.”

Makoto looked at the presentation card she was holding and it showed a cherry blossom as the logo of the Women’s Society of Inaba.

Makoto: “Huh. It is perfumed.”

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The next stop on the patrolling route of the commercial district was the Tatsuhime Shrine. This place is usually visited by people seeking good fortune. Makoto was a bit confused about why they were visiting this shrine.

Makoto: “Are you religious?”

Chie: “No, but I always like to make a small prayer every day.”

The two women threw one coin each at the altar and the two gave specific prayers. Makoto’s was a prayer to overcome this obstacle in front of her; Chie’s was a prayer for love.

Makoto: “We are almost done patrolling this area, so-”

Chie: “Shhh!”

Chie made a gesture of silence. After a few seconds the two heard a bird singing.

Chie: “No, it wasn’t him.”

Makoto: “Who?”

Chie: “The Devil of Inaba. It’s a tiny fox that has been terrorizing the town all this year.”

Makoto: “You can’t be serious.”

Chie: “I am serious. That furry critter has assaulted the kitchens of at least 5 restaurants and the bakery department of Junes. No one in the police force, nor animal control, has been able to capture that rascal. He is the most wanted criminal of this town in this decade.”

Makoto: “The most wanted criminal is a fox?”

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Back at the new home of the Amamiya-Niijimas, Ren was putting the clothes to dry outside in the backyard garden.

Ren: “I am a shapeshifteeeer… At Poe’s Masqueraaaade…”

To Ren’s surprise, a tiny fox was sitting on the grass, listening to him singing.

Ren: “Hello?”

The fox made a strange noise that sounded like a kid's laughter.

Ren: “If you say ‘chaos reigns’ I am taking my family out of here immediately.”

Ren really regretted watching that movie and he wasn’t surprised the director is a horrible person. Thankfully, this infant fox was just there chilling out.

Ren: “Are you the little troublemaker from the ‘wanted’ posters around the neighborhood?”

Hana (voice coming from the house): “Daddy, a ghost ate our food!”

Ren: “What?”

Ren turned from looking at his daughter through the glass door to the fox and the little furry devil had already disappeared.

Ren: “Good grief, I was outsmarted by a common thief. Hana, we are going out for groceries.”

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The Junes Department Store was build more than 20 years ago and it’s presence signified a big social change for Inaba. People were able to get many products at affordable prices, like food, clothes, furniture, electronics and other commodities, and because of the need for workers many people got new jobs, especially students that wanted to get enough income to move to the cities. Of course, there were also problems caused by the introduction of a corporate mega store, like the loss of income for the commercial district that was barely able to compete with all the new products and cheaper prices. 20 years ago the clash between modernity and tradition was really tense, but now Junes has become part of everyday life like any of the other businesses of Inaba.

???: “We won’t stand for this! This is our town!”

Mob: “Yeah!”

Makoto and Chie had just arrived at the construction area close to Junes and saw how a middle aged woman wearing a large sun hat and an elegant dress was shouting through a megaphone while surrounded by other protesters.

Chie: “Not again!”

Makoto: “I take it that something illegal is happening.”

As if Chie was already familiar with the mob leader she approached her.

Chie: “Kashiwagi, you can't make a manifestation here… again.”

Noriko: “I am exercising my right as a citizen to protest against the evils that threaten our dear town, especially the gentrification that is endangering our livelihoods.”

Chie: “You don’t even have a real job!”

Makoto: “Sadly she does have the right to protest.”

Chie: “What?!”

Noriko (with a smug smile): “Ohoho, finally someone that understands. I thought all of Dojima’s people were idiots.”

Makoto: “However, what isn’t legal is that you are doing your manifestation in private land and you are obstructing passage to cars, which is a danger to both your group and drivers.”

Noriko: “I take it back, you are just another dog of the government.”

Chie: “Hey, don’t get all cocky!”

Noriko: “Do you want a repeat of last time?

Chie was already angry, but when she saw her partner it was a different form of anger she hadn’t seen before. Makoto’s crimson eyes seemed to shine red.

Makoto: “Is your car the pink one parked over there.”

Noriko: “Yes? What about that? Are you threatening my car like all corrupt cops do?”

Makoto's suspicions were right after seeing the fashion of this woman.

Makoto: “It’s parked in a space exclusive for people with disabilities.”

Kashiwagi froze in that moment of time.

Makoto: “Also, may I see the inside of it?”

Chie: “Why do you want to see the inside of that disaster on wheels?”

Noriko (sweating nervously): “Y-yes, why would you want to do that?”

Makoto: “If my suspicions are correct, someone who recklessly parks their car where they shouldn’t usually have committed the same crime more than once. Again, I am asking if you may allow me to check inside your car?”

Kashiwagi desperately tried to run away and Chie was already going to sprint after her, but Makoto rapidly caught the woman and held her.

Makoto: “Running from questioning looks really bad no matter how you look at it.”

Noriko: “I have constitutional rights!”

Makoto: “Chie, handcuff her, please.”

Chie: “On it!”

The other protesters started to shout insults at the two cops, but once they saw the “Niijima Glare” they stayed quiet.

Hana: “Daddy look! Mommy caught a baddie!”

Makoto turned around with worry when she heard her daughter’s voice and saw 15 meters away the 5 year old girl holding hands with her father.

Makoto: “H-hi!”

Ren awkwardly waved at his wife.

Chie: *handcuffing Kashiwagi* “Those are you husband and daughter? Wow, your daughter is so cute! I like her hairband!”

Noriko: “I will sue you both!”

Chie: “You said the same last time.”

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There was something strange at Junes and Ren could feel it. He somehow felt a calling coming from the area of electronics. A black screen was calling him to the other side.

Hana: “D-d–a-a-a-a-d!”

Ren: “Huh?”

Ren was called back to his senses when he heard his daughter vibrating at high speed at the massage couch.

Ren: “Hana, don’t play with this stuff. We don’t own any of this.”

???: “May I interest you in the Relax 5000?”

Ren jumped away after hearing a male voice so close to him. Standing to his left side was a blonde man with blue eyes, a wide smile and a very clean uniform.

Teddie: “Smiley day to you! How may I help you?”

Ren: “By respecting my personal boundaries.”

Hana: “D-a-a-d, c-a-a-n w-e-e g-e-e-t t-h-i-i-s c-h-a-a-i-ir?”

Ren: “Hana, we can’t.”

Teddie: “You can with our 10 payments plan.”

Ren: “We really don’t need one. I was just looking for an HDMI cable.”

Teddie: “Sure we have those, but you can get it as an extra with our special Blu-ray offer of-”

Ren: “Nope! We aren’t-”

Hana: “Dad, they have the Jack Bros movie!”

Ren: “How did you moved so fast from-”

Ren felt annoyed by the smug smile of this blonde man.

Ren: “Fine.”

Chapter Text

Ryotaro: “Kashiwagi?”

Chie: “Yes.”

Ryotaro: “Not again.”

Makoto and Chie were sitting on chairs in front of Dojima’s desk and he looked very stressed with his hands covering his face.

Makoto: “I take it this isn’t the first time she has been arrested.”

Ryotaro: “Knowing the Women’s Society, they will send their lawyer to take her out like last time, but considering there wasn’t violence this time they can’t make a case.”

Makoto: “Violence?”

Chie looked ashamed after this comment from Dojima.

Chie: “I… may have punched her.”

Ryotaro: “I had to smooth things that time and I hope you are well behaved now.”

Chie (looking sad): “Yes sir.”

Makoto: “Why is that woman continuing to cause so much trouble? Is she an activist?”

Ryotaro: “She thinks she is one, but isn’t. Five years ago the city hall allowed the construction of an apartment complex and since then the Women’s Society have been causing all sorts of trouble on some kind of witch hunt to ‘preserve the beauty of Inaba’.”

Makoto: “Not to sound disrespectful, but if there are protests against a construction shouldn’t city hall consider this for their decisions?”

Ryotaro: “I don’t know most of the time what the mayor is doing these days. All I know is that he keeps ignoring all this chaos and we get the short end of the stick.”

Chie: “Meanwhile, Kashiwagi brags to be a knight of justice on her Instagram and has made me look like a bad guy. I was thrown a 777 slushie once.”

Makoto was now realizing that she just got involved in a mess of gentrification, corporate lobbying and social media harassment, which made her remember all those small Phan-site missions she participated on during her youth. Sadly, there are no metaverse powers present to deal with all of this.

Ryotaro: “I will deal with Kashiwagi’s mess. You two just go back to work.”

Chie: “Yes, sir!”

Makoto: “Understood.”

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Back at the Amamiya-Niijima home, Ren was busy unpacking stuff he brought from Tokyo while Hana was on the living room distracted with the movie her father bought from Junes.

Hana: “Daddy, look! The Jack Bros. are so funny!”

Ren: “That’s good, Hana.”

Among the things Ren was unpacking were some framed photos he treasured a lot, like the one of his and Makoto’s wedding day, the one of the birth of Hana, Makoto’s graduation, when Futaba became the new owner of Le Blanc, etc. He was already feeling nostalgic about the time he, his wife and friends used to change hearts and reform society for the better.

Hana: “Jack Bros. are the bestt! Jack Bros. na na na!”

Ren smiled and thought to himself “I am where I need to be”. His thoughts were interrupted when someone rang the ringbell of the entrance’s door.

Ren: “Hello?”

Yukiko: “Greetings.”

Ren was confused about why the woman from the Amagi Inn was at the entrance of his rented house. She looked less formal now with a long sleeved pink dress, jeans and a ponytail and for some reason she was holding a tupperware.

Ren: “Are you-”

Yukiko: “I am so sorry for coming here so suddenly, Mr. Amamiya, but after what happened at the inn I wanted to apologize for our administrative mistake.”

Ren: “It isn’t no problem at-”

Hana: “Hi Ms. Yukiko!”

Yukiko: “Aww it’s so nice to meet you again!”

Ren: “By the way, how did you know where we live?”

Yukiko: “A friend told me today that your wife and her are coworkers and neighbors now so I decided to give you a welcome to our town and offer an apology.”

Ren: “And you found us without knowing our address?”

Yukiko: “I was going to ask my friend for your address since she usually gets back from work at this hour, but I immediately recognized your vehicle with the ‘TAKE YOUR HEART’ slogan pasted on the back.”

Futaba’s parting gift for her friends was subtle as Ryuji screaming “We are the Phantom Thieves!” and Ren was regretting allowing his gremlin friend to paste that decoration where anyone could see it.

Ren: “That’s understandable.”

Yukiko: “Now that I think about it, knowing my friend she probably dragged your wife to Aiya.”

Ren: “Is that a bar?”

Yukiko: “A Chinese restaurant, though beer can be served. Anyway, I brought you this as an apology.”

The black haired girl offered the tupperware to Ren and he accepted it.

Ren: “This is actually appreciated since I didn’t have time to cook dinner today.”

Yukiko: “I hope you will like it. It’s a special dish of pork beef with rice, cucumber and-”

Hana: “Ms. Yukiko, are you flirting with my daddy?”

Yukiko: “No?”

Ren: “Hana, that isn’t what is happening.”

Hana: “Mommy is a police girl and won’t like Daddy to be stolen.”

Ren: “Oh god.”

Yukiko: “Hana, you don’t have to worry about that. I already have someone I love very much.”

Hana: “Aww! Is he a good man like Daddy?”

Yukiko: “Y-yes… a good man.”

Ren: “She does this every time a woman talks to me.”

Hana: “I protect Daddy so only Mommy is with him and Aunt Futaba too.”

Ren’s mind: ‘What lies are you telling my daughter, Futaba!’

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Chie: “Thanks for the dinner!”

The Chinese Diner Aiya is owned by Aika Nakamura and is the place where one can get the legendary Mega Beef Bowl that is said to be the “portal to the meat dimension”. The only people that have been able to finish the crazy dish are Chie, Teddie and a gray haired guy that is currently traveling with his celebrity wife and children.

Chie: “I hope you like beef ramen, it’s the best of Inaba.”

Makoto: “This is kind of a heavy meal.”

Chie slurped some of the noodles.

Chie: “Shoo good!”

The lack of tabletop manners of Chie reminded Makoto of Ryuji. She was surprised it was possible for a woman to eat that way, although her experience hanging out with Futaba showed not all women follow proper etiquette.

Chie: “Yo gotta eat while it’s hot. Nobody likes cold noodles.”

Makoto: “I must admit it does smell nice.”

Makoto took a bite of a chunk of beef wrapped around some noodles and her eyes opened wide.

Chie: “Aha! That’s the look of someone who eats from Aiya for the first time!”

Makoto: “It does taste good, although, not to brag about, but my husband is on another cooking level.”

Chie: “I will have to be the judge of that. Is he some kind of chef?”

Makoto: “Not in a professional way, but yes.”

Chie: “Man, it must be nice to have someone at home that cooks meals for you.”

Makoto: “No husband?”

Chie: “Not even a boyfriend. The closest to that was a friend that always brought me lunch to school, but he was taken later.”

Chie wanted to talk about her true love, but she didn’t want the risk of this information being heard by Dojima and everyone else at the police department. She could lose so much if the wrong person heard about this.

Chie: “But enough about men, I want to know about you. Have you ever shot at someone?”

Makoto: “What?!”

Chie: “I mean, big cities usually have dangerous criminals and I wondered if you had been in a shootout against some mobsters, or something like that.”

Makoto: “It isn’t like in the movies. Gun violence is statistically rare in Japan and even criminal organizations like the yakuza seem to abide by gun restrictions to avoid getting the attention of authorities.”

Chie: “But have you been in some police operation to crack down the baddies?”

Makoto: “Yes.”

Chie: “Ohoho!”

Makoto was able to distract Chie with her long explanation about gun violence since she didn’t want this jovial woman to know that she indeed had shot someone. Not a shadow, not a god, but a human person.

Chie: “Tell me the details!”

Makoto: “Some of the details are too technical and you probably know them from training.”

Chie: “I barely remember half of what we were trained about. Some of that stuff was boring.”

Chie slurped again more ramen pasta.

Makoto (deadpan): “How are you a detective?”

The older woman swallowed a lot of pasta and beef before answering.

Chie: (burps) “I may not have a fancy education, but I have solved cases around here. I found out who had been stealing money from the farmers market at Junes and found a kid that had been lost in the forest last month.”

Makoto’s serious expression softened.

Chie: “I know this is a small town where everything seems peaceful, but don’t get fooled. There’s always work to be done. That is why we enlisted, right? To help people.”

Makoto: “Right.”

Chie: “You should finish your bowl before it gets cold.”

Makoto: “You are right about that too.”

As the former Queen ate her dinner silently she thought about what her colleague said to her. Her motivation to be on the police force wasn’t as grand as Makoto’s, but was equally valid. Chie Satonaka worked for the good of the people of her community and was okay with her simple life of patrolling the streets and eating ramen.

Makoto: “There’s something that I am confused about. When I implied to Mrs. Kashiwagi my suspicions that she had unpaid parking tickets she immediately attempted to run away.”

Chie: “She probably had many.”

Makoto: “Maybe, but unless she has like 100 tickets inside her glove compartment that reaction was just absurd.”

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Later, when the night sky covered all of Inaba, Chie arrived at her home on her bike. As expected by her, she saw a red scooter parked next to the entrance of her home and this made her smile.

Chie: “Aww! She waited for me all this time!”

The detective parked her bike next to the red scooter and went to open the door to her home. The interior was dark and silent for a moment and Chie was confused.

Chie: “Yukiko, are you here?”

Yukiko: “Boo!”

Chie: “Aaah!”

Chie fell backwards on her butt after seeing the black haired woman with her hair covering her face like a Japanese ghost.

Yukiko: “Hahahahaha!”

Chie: “Goddammit Yukiko! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

The black haired woman extended a hand and helped the tomboy stand up.

Yukiko: “This was just such a good opportunity.”

Chie: “Why are you like this?!”

Yukiko: “You love me this way.”

Chie: “I know.”

Yukiko immediately closed the door of the house and rapidly grabbed Chie by the waist to make out with her.

Chie: (making out) “I… I am so-sorry… I-I took long-”

Yukiko helped her girlfriend remove her buttoned shirt, exposing her breasts covered by a bra.

Yukiko (panting): “You know I am patient… My Princess.”

Three nights per week Yukiko leaves the responsibilities of the administration of the Amagi Inn to the people she trusts and during those three nights she always goes to the Chie’s home. This is an arrangement the two agreed to to be together as a couple and no one but their group of friends knows about this.

Yukiko: (throwing her pants to the couch) “I met again Mr. Amamiya and his daughter today.”

Chie: (removing her bra) “Isn’t the little girl as cute as Nanako was?”

Yukiko: “She is!”

This is Japan, so they can’t be married, nor they can’t show their love in public. Chie could lose her job if the wrong people knew she is a lesbian and the Amagi Inn could get a bad reputation if it turned out the owner is bisexual.

Chie: (hugging Yukiko while naked) “I wish we could be a family.”

Yukiko: (hugging Chie while naked) “We are a family.”

Chie (sad): “It isn’t fair! I want us to be mommies too!”

Yukiko kissed the forehead of her lover and then kissed her lips.

Yukiko: “I know.”

Inaba is the home of this couple, but only behind the closed doors of this house they truly felt together and they are willing to protect this happiness through their shared strength.

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Makoto: “I am home.”

Hana (crying): “Mommy! Daddy is hurt!”

Makoto: “What?!”

Makoto ran to where she heard the sounds of pain made by her husband and found him lying on the floor of the living room.

Makoto: “Ren! Ren, can you hear me?!”

Ren: “Uuuuh…”

Makoto: “Wait… Could you be…”

Makoto dragged her husband to the bathroom and positioned his head in front of the toilet.

Makoto: “This is for your own good.”

Makoto opened Ren’s mouth and inserted her fingers into his throat to make him vomit.

Re: (vomiting) “Blaaargh! Agh!”

As Makoto suspected Ren ate something that intoxicated him and his body rejected it.

Hana: “Is Daddy going to die?!”

Makoto: “No, Daddy is fine. He must have eaten something he shouldn’t have.”

Not long after helping her husband throw up, Makoto found the remains of the culprit of his suffering. A tupperware with a half eaten rice dish laid at the top of the kitchen’s table and it generated an ominous aura.

Makoto: “The rice looks decent even if slightly burned, but the pork is undercooked, the sausage bits don’t smell good and there are many other things so wrong with this thing!”

Makoto deduced that whoever sent this tupperware is either an assassin, or the worst cook in all of Japan.

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Ren: “Where am I?”

Ren woke up resting on a surreal landscape of an endless prairie with a nocturnal sky illuminated by an aurora borealis.

???: “Hey.”

Ren: “Huh?”

The tiny fox was standing over a rock and looking at Ren.

???: “You aren’t that impressive.”

Ren: “Am I on drugs?”

???: “I thought the leader of the Phantom Thieves would be cool, but he was defeated by bad cooking.”

Ren: “I already have a furry friend that criticizes me, so get lost.”

???: “I am not your friend, bro.”

Ren: “I am not your bro, buddy.”

Outside of Ren’s hallucination, Ren was resting on Makoto’s lap and she ruffled his hair.

Makoto: “I know this has been a series of many bad days, but thank you for being by my side.”

Ren: “Stupid… fox…”

Makoto: “Yes, Hana told me about the fox that ate our food. He is a famous criminal around here.”

Ren: “I will… catch you… I will catch you…”

Makoto: “I think I will give this town a chance, at least for our family’s sake.”

Chapter Text

The Amagi Inn is considered the treasure of Yasoinaba because of the hot springs on which it was founded and for many generations it has been run as a successful business by the Amagi family, of which the “heiress” is Yukiko Amagi. Years ago, Yukiko considered leaving the inn to make her own life outside of the expectations imposed on her, but thanks to the moral support of a friend and getting a better understanding of the people working at the inn she learned to accept the legacy of her family, but she won’t let the expectations of other crush her spirit again.

Yukiko: “Welcome to the Amagi Inn.”

Since Yukiko became the owner of the Inn there have been many improvements, like the recreation area founded 5 years ago where clients can practice yoga and traditional crafting, and there’s the Children’s Corner where little kids can play while their parents are busy relaxing. The most dependable person on all these activities has been the local buff bespectacled accountant and loveable father Kanji Tatsumi.

Kanji: “And then the tiger and the crocodile became friends.”

Little kids: “Yays!”

Yukiko: “Kanji, can you cover for Erika-san? She said she wasn’t feeling good this morning.”

Kanji: “Again? Aww jeez, fine. Be thankful I like teaching handicrafts.”

Reception worker: “Yukiko-san, the software of the reception is failing again.”

Yukiko: “Ugh! I will deal with it.”

There are two problems Yukiko hasn’t been able to solve despite years of experience as owner and temporary manager of the Amagi Inn. The first one is the software from Maddice that hasn’t been changed. Yukiko’s mother bought this software to help improve the administration of the inn and it is helpful most of the time, but after the summer of the 2017 a series of glitches started to happen with the software: room service got assigned to the wrong rooms, the fire alarm system got triggered thrice on that year and sometimes room registrations got the date wrong. Over the following years many technicians have come to repair all the mistakes, sometimes there are some minor glitches that happen every once in a while.

Yukiko: “The computer isn’t broken, you just have to reinitiate it. See, it’s as good as before.”

Makoto: “Ms. Amagi.”

In front of the reception desk was Detective Makoto Niijima holding a very familiar tupperware and over the plastic cover was a crayon drawing of Yukiko on a dress.

Yukiko: “Niijima-san, it’s so good to see you. Is Chie with you?”

Makoto: “She is arguing with an elderly man outside.”

Chie (voice from far away): “He deserved that red card!”

Elder Man (voice from far away): “The referee was an idiot!”

Yukiko: “She does get passionate about soccer discussions.”

Makoto: “I noticed. I wanted to return this and give you this drawing from my daughter.”

Yukiko: “Aww! She drew me as a princess!”

Makoto thought the evil queen from Snow White would fit better after what Yukiko did to Ren.

Yukiko: “By the way, did you enjoy the dinner I prepared for you?”

Makoto: “You cooked this?”

Yukiko: “Oh yes, although I don’t cook much lately with all the work I have to do. All the cooking here is done by my chef, but after how I messed up your room registration last time I wanted to try cooking again and made a simple dish. Tell me, is it good enough to cook for… Someone special?”

Yukiko’s eyes shimmered like those of an excited teenager in love, even with more intensity than when she had a crush on Yu. However, the crimson eyed brunette in front of him was having none of this innocent optimism right now since this is something she thought needed to be talked about in the most honest way possible.

Makoto: “This dish is horrible.”

Every employee close by that heard this and imagined a disc scratch.

Yukiko: “Horrible?”

Makoto: “The rice looks decent, but the meat is undercooked, or expired, and there are bits of food that shouldn’t be on this kind of mix like cucumber, pumpkin seeds and a cheese I don’t think is safe for consumption. My husband was so tired he didn’t notice he was eating something poisonous and ended up curling on the floor of our house in pain, scaring our daughter. I had to drag him to the bathroom and make him vomit to save him.”

The seriousness with which Makoto said this made Yukiko feel ashamed in a way she hadn’t felt before. This wasn’t like when Yu made simple gestures to indicate she needed to improve her cooking skills, or when Yosuke screamed like an idiot about how her food is a “biological danger”. This woman in front of her explained without any filter everything wrong with her cooking and didn’t soften the impact of her words.

Yukiko: “I-I am so sorry.”

Makoto: “Thankfully our Hana didn’t eat any of this since she isn’t as strong as her dad.”

Yukiko: “I am really REALLY sorry!”

Makoto: “Good grief. Can you take me to your kitchen now?”

Yukiko: “What?”

Makoto: “I can spare half an hour, so please take me to your kitchen.”

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At the kitchen of the Amagi Inn.

Chie: “Hey Kanji, why did my partner take Yukiko to the kitchen?”

Kanji: “I think this is a cooking lesson?”

Yukiko nervously cut some vegetables while Makoto was behind her and glaring at her with her crimson eyes that were now almost red.

Makoto: “That’s right, you should only use the vegetables that have been confirmed to be washed.”

The chef of the kitchen mouthed the words “thank you” to Makoto as if he had seen many times Yukiko make many mistakes no normal person should make.

Yukiko (sweating): “Okay, so now I just have to put all these veggies on the pan-”

Makoto (aggressive): “Are you willingly ignoring the recipe in front of you?”

Yukiko: “Well, I thought-”

Makoto (Sae mode activated): “Answer me!”

Yukiko, Chie, Kanji and the chef felt shivers running down their spines as if they were being judged by a higher authority.

Yukiko: “Okay, I did try to skip a few steps!”

Makoto: “You can’t skip steps if you don’t know where you are going. This is a simple dish anyone should be able to prepare.”

Chie: “Don’t you think you are being harsh on Yukiko?”

Yukiko: “It’s okay Chie, I think I am getting the hang of this. So do I boil everything?”

Makoto: “Yes, everything has to be boiled before being mixed in the pan with the meat and the sauce, and those two things should be prepared separately before that.”

Makoto looked at the hour on her phone.

Makoto: “I have work to do now, but I am trusting your chef to make sure you don’t serve raw meat.”

The chef took Makoto's warning seriously.

Makoto: “Let’s get back to work, Chie.”

Chie (scared): “O-okay.”

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A tiny furry thief had entered the backyard of the Amamiya-Niijima family, attracted by the scent of delicious beef and potatoes spiced with curry sauce. This is a smell this thief hasn’t smelt before and it tempted him like a succubus tempting potential prey on the metaverse. He followed the scent and found a large plate of food resting over a blanquet and there was a calling card next to the plate with the following text:

“To the Gluttonous Thief of Inaba, we are going to change your heart. Sincerely, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

To this thief, this was a divine plate. He couldn’t ignore the recipe of Wakaba Isshiki passed down to a worthy heir of scruffy hair, but like any fool he realized too late he had been tricked. The powerful scent of the curry had hid something evil, a smell of dread on the level of curse magic. After finally noticing the smell of this aberration, the little fox jumped away from the plate in fear and started to cough with the realization he shouldn’t have eaten the curry.

“Run away!” was all the fox could think and he ran away very fast. He wasn’t going to allow these humans to poison him.

Hana: “Daddy, he found out!”

Ren and Hana got out of the bushes.

Ren: “Hana, where did the thief go?”

The 5 year old girl approached the cursed plate and glared at the trail of crumbs the fox left on the grass.

Hana: “That way!”

Ren: “Good job. You are an excellent tracker.”

Hana: “Daddy, isn’t grandma Wakaba in heaven going to get angry for mixing her food with Miss Yukiko’s?”

Ren: “1)Aunt Futaba isn’t your second mom and 2)this is for a noble cause.”

Ren and his daughter followed the almost invisible trail left by the thief and this quest went on for a few hours, with Ren carrying a backpack of supplies and a net to catch the thief.

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After the daily patrol of the shopping district of Inaba, Chie and Makoto stood watch at the train station as a last minute job from their boss. It turns out a suspect of government corruption is on the run and was last seen entering a train on this route, so all police departments close by have been notified.

Chie: “Do you think we can catch this asshole?”

Makoto: “I doubt we will get to participate in the arrest, but we better keep an eye for any strange looking person. The suspect is a 1.75 meters tall middle aged man, black haired and balding, has a bear and was last seen wearing a green jacket. There’s also the detail that he has a moon tattoo on his left wrist because of his days as an initiate of the ADP.”

Chie: “Oh, that weird cult. He will probably get rid of his jacket and get a new one to cover his wrist.”

Makoto: “He probably isn’t that smart since he covered his footprints in the most clumsy way possible, making our resident fox thief look like a professional.”

Chie: “Hah!”

Somewhere else the little fox sneezed.

Chie (serious): “Makoto, I know Yukiko isn’t the best cook, but you shouldn’t have been so mean to her.”

Makoto rested her back against a wall and looked at the empty area of the train tracks.

Makoto: “I know I was cruel, but it was clear she wasn’t going to learn properly unless someone said her mistakes properly. Has nobody ever been honest with her about her cooking?”

Chie looked away from Makoto in shame.

Chie: “I am not a good cook either, so I thought it was unfair to criticize her, and her mom’s former employees always made sure to keep her away from the kitchen many times.”

The tomboy remembered when she had diarrhea the day after she ate her girlfriend’s stew.

Chie: “But she is working hard to improve at her own pace, okay? Managing the inn and studying online courses has taken a toll on her so I understand she hasn’t many chances to become better at not making toxic waste.”

Makoto: (facepalming) “You are aware and you still are defensive of her food?”

Before Chie could awkwardly try to defend the love of her life, the train arrived and the two detectives had to move to search for the criminal suspected of stealing money for public works. The train was quite loaded with people at this time of day, so the search for a balding man with a green jacket was going to be difficult.

Chie: “Excuse me sir, can you show me your wrists?”

Since the police department of Inaba is currently kind of understaffed, this made the search more difficult.

Makoto: “Please excuse me, excuse me, ouch! Sorry!”

The Shinkansen train the two detectives are currently exploring has 12 cars and approximately 7 people have left the car and the guard working along with the two detectives can confirm it. It’s highly unlikely that the suspect hasn’t left the train, or he was caught at the previous station.

Chie: “If I were a cowardly public servant, where could I hide?”

Chie thought about something so dumb she was probably right, so she went to check the bathrooms.

Chie: “And bathroom numero uno is… empty.”

Meanwhile, Makoto was cautiously taking a look at all the passengers she walked by. While she lacked her husband’s “Third Eye”, which Hana seems to have inherited, Makoto became good at finding clues through years of training her senses. She could smell the perfume of the old lady on the third car, hear the German electronic music coming from the big earphones of a hipster boy, sense the change of temperature as she crossed each car and sense that seats on the back of car 5 have been replaced with newer ones.

Chie: “And shit hole number 3 is… full of shit…”

The criminal wasn’t smart, but even a dumb person could think of something clever when running away to save their own asses. As Chie had suspected, he had hid in a bathroom stall and what confirmed this suspicion was that Makoto found the most likely seat of the suspect with a trail of cheese snacks leading to the bathroom stall number 7.

Makoto: (holding a bit of green fur) “Betrayed by the quality of your own clothes and your bad habits.”

The younger Niijima sister smiled and thought that this could be her chance to prove herself. If she catches this wanted criminal maybe, just maybe her superiors from Tokyo will realize they made a mistake by attempting to get rid of her.

Then Makoto was pulled back to reality.

Makoto: “Huh?”

A little hand was pulling the sleeve of Makoto’s jacket. When she turned her eyes down she saw a girl she suspected was 8 years old and with begging eyes was pulling Makoto’s sleeve.

Makoto: “What’s wrong?”

Middle aged man: “Ah… Yoko, stop bothering the uniformed lady… She does that a lot.”

The teary eyes, the messed up hair, the marks of slapping on the hands of the little girl and the nervous voice and sweating of the man beside her were red flags.

Makoto: “Sir, are you the father of this girl?”

Middle aged man: “O-of course I am, what kind of question is that?”

Makoto: “Is her mother here too?”

Little girl: “Ma-”

The little girl wasn’t letting go of Makoto’s sleeve even if her father was pulling her back.

Middle aged man (looking more suspicious): “H-her mother is in the bathroom.”

Makoto: “The bathroom is close by so I can wait for her to come out.”

Middle aged man: “N-no, she…”

Chie approached Makoto with a curious look.

Chie: “Partner, what is going on?”

Makoto: “Sir, I need your wife’s phone to call her just to be sure this isn’t what I think it is.”

Middle aged man: “I understand, just let me stand up to grab my phone.”

Makoto wasn’t being fooled by this man’s attempt to escape.

Makoto: “Go on.”

She was right, this man attempted to run away and pulled the girl with him, but what Makoto didn’t expect was that he was holding a switchblade.

Middle aged man: “Stay back! Stay back! I just want to save my daughter!”

The sight of a struggling little girl being held by a crazy man triggered some uncomfortable memories of Chie and she immediately pointed her gun at the criminal and Makoto did the same.

Chie: “Leave her alone, you sicko!”

Middle aged man: “You don’t understand! Her mom wants to take her away from me! Only I can cure her!”

Makoto: “Drop that knife now or we will be forced to shoot you.”

Many of the passengers left the car once the confrontation started and even the cowardly wanted criminal that was hiding at the bathroom stall ran away with a toilet paper stuck on one of his shoes. Makoto was aware of this and felt angrier.

Middle aged man (looking deranged): “You won’t separate a father from his kid, would you?!”

Makoto: “If you are her father you have to know this is wrong. She is scared and wants her mom.”

Little girl: “Ma!”

The man walked away slowly while dragging his daughter with him and all the two police women could do was follow them and point their guns at him. Eventually he got out of the train and the guard that was supposed to keep an eye for the corrupt politician got confused and had to focus on detaining the kidnapper with a knife.

Middle aged man: “If we can’t escape, then we will die here and be together in heaven!”

Chie: “No!”

Before this monster could stab his own daughter his hand holding the switchblade was shot in a precisive way by Makoto, and this was followed by another shot on his shoulder and another one on a side of his torso. This was the brutal marksmanship of a woman that has shot countless enemies on the metaverse with a revolver replica and she had shot with no hesitation and the conviction that she was doing what is right. She immediately lunged forward after shooting the kidnapper three times and with her left fist punched him so strongly he fell unconscious on the floor.

Little girl: “MAMA!”

Makoto: (hugs the little girl) “It’s okay, you are safe now.”

Chie was speechless about what she just saw and the guard of the train station called the security services.

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At Ryotaro’s office.

Ryotaro: “The suspect escaped and was last seen running through the forest. I can barely imagine the amount of paperwork that has to be done for this mess.”

Makoto: “I am taking responsibility for this.”

Makoto and Chie were sitting in front of the desk of their boss and Chie still looked at Makoto with wide eyes.

Ryotaro: “No, the responsibility has to be shared and I am sure there are people back on Tokyo that would want to use this situation as an excuse to fire you, and I would have if not for the fact that you saved a life today.”

Dojima gave Makoto a smile which contrasted with his grumpy expression from days ago when he threatened to fire her if she messed up badly.

Ryotaro: “The girl you rescued is Yoko Hinoka and she was kidnapped from a children’s hospital yesterday in a prefecture far away, so the news about her kidnapping wouldn’t have reached us in time to do anything. If you hadn't been there to help her, only God knows what would have happened.”

Makoto: “I…”

Makoto had many feelings at that moment: relief that the girl was safe, anger towards the man that harmed said girl and guilt about not having been able to control her rage and almost killed that man.

Makoto (with tears on her eyes): “I almost killed him.”

Ryotaro: “I know, and I would have done the same. My own daughter almost became a victim of the serial murder case years ago.”

Makoto: “What?”

Chie: “Boss, you don’t have to-”

Ryotaro: “She has to listen to this to understand. I was a workaholic obsessed with my job and a quest for revenge, but when my daughter was kidnapped I stopped caring about all that and focused all my anger on seeking to save her. Of course, I ended up crashing when pursuing him and Chie and her friends had to find them.”

Makoto: “You did?”

Chie: “Yeah, I have been helping Dojima to serve justice since before I graduated high school.”

Ryotaro: “It’s true I could have handled that situation better, but I have learned that sometimes you have to act fast, or you won’t save anyone. Of course, this isn’t encouragement to be reckless, I am just saying you acted in the way you thought was the best.”

Makoto: “I was so angry…”

Makoto felt the hand of Chie touching her shoulder in a reassuring way.

Chie: “You did good today, partner. Be proud of what you accomplished.”

Makoto: “Thanks.”

This morning Chie had started to think Makoto was kind of a tight ass, but now she felt great respect for her, not just because of how she dealt with the kidnapper like an action hero, but because of how she comforted the girl until she was taken by child services. It was clear Makoto was a good mom to her own daughter and just a good mother figure to other children.

Chie: “I am also very pissed off that that guy kidnapped his own daughter. What the heck was his deal?”

Ryotaro: “According to her mother, she was going to take Yoko to a medical research institute for children with mental disabilities, which is located in the USA. Her father was against this since he thought she only needed prayer to be healed.”

Chie: “Another wacky cultist?! Why do so many people believe dumb shit?!”

Makoto: “Besides the former ADP, there are also modern spiritual movements with similar dangerous beliefs, like the Happy Science cult and the Church of Scientology.”

Chie: “Sciento what?”

Makoto: “We are lucky the detainee was just an independent criminal from a fringe Christian group and not a member of any of these cults, or we would have lawyers suing us.”

Ryotaro: “And I already am dealing with the local fake feminists trying to sue me every time I just do my job.”

Chie: “Heh.”

Ryotaro: “Now, as much as I would like to congratulate Niijima more for her heroism, you two have a lot of paperwork to do. Are we clear?”

Chie and Makoto: “Yes, sir.”

Police officer: “Boss! A man called us and said he and his daughter found the hideout of the fox!”

Ryotaro and Chie: “Wait what?!”

Makoto smiled a modest smile.

Makoto: “I know who did it.”

Chapter Text

Ren Amamiya is a man of many talents. During high school he was a coffee barista apprentice of Sojiro Sakura and a club barista apprentice of Lala Escargot; worked as a clerk in a flower shop, a 777, a beef bowl shop and a shop of replicas of weapons; was the unpaid assistant of a progressive politician; was the guinea pig of unethical clinical trials; was the guinea pig of Haru Okumura; became the confidant of more than 20 people; became a famous vigilante that helped reform society for the better and saved the world two times; became Makoto’s fake boyfriend and later her real boyfriend.

Hana: “Daddy, the fox went through here!”

Makoto originally wanted their relationship to go slow and steady, but the two couldn’t stay away from each other for too long and Ren ended up moving to Tokyo to be with her. They got married before Makoto graduated college and by the time Makoto was starting to serve as a police officer she already got pregnant.

Ren: “Don’t get too far, Hana. Oh god, I need to exercise more.”

When Makoto told Ren he was going to be a dad he became really happy, but when Hana was born reality hit him. He is a father now and this little girl depends on him.

Hana: “Daddy, why is uncle Yusuke called Fox?”

Ren: “Because he used to wear a fox max.”

Hana: “Really? Now he wears that weird shirt over another shirt.”

Ren: “It’s a vest, Hana. Vests are like jackets, but without sleeves.”

Hana: “Auntie Futaba says it looks dumb.”

Ren: “She says that, but she loves him.”

Hana: “Nu uh, Auntie loves Daddy.”

Ren: “Good grief.”

It has been years since Ren was a hero of the world, but now he is the hero of his daughter. Of course the life of a househusband isn’t as glamorous as the life of a phantom thief and sometimes Ren misses seeing his wife wearing a tight leather suit with spikes, but every time he sees his daughter smile his days shine brighter.

Ren: “I only have eyes for Mommy.”

Although Makoto does wear a tight leather suit with spikes for Ren during his birthday, her birthday, Valentine’s Day, White Day and Halloween. After all these years the two are still very intense.

Ren: “Huh?”

Standing over a farming field was a single scarecrow that seemed peculiar.

Hana: “Daddy… I-it’s the Boogeyman!”

Hana ran behind Ren’s legs.

Ren: “It’s just a scarecrow Hana. A very ugly scarecrow.”

Ren approached the scarecrow and Hana tried to pull his leg.

Hana: “Daddy, don’t! It’s the Boogeyman! He eats people!”

Ren: “It isn’t a real monster.” (removes the gas mask from the scarecrow) “See?”

It was odd that a scarecrow was wearing a gas mask, and even more odd that it was wearing a formal black suit with a white buttoned shirt and a crimson tie. The most unnerving thing though was that the face painted on the burlap head of the scarecrow. It was like a mocking smile.

Hana: “Daddy, how do you know when a monster is real?”

Daddy: “Well, there are two kinds of monsters. First, There are the scary looking ones that you see in movies.”

Hana: “Mommy doesn’t like those.”

Daddy: “Yes, she doesn’t like spooky movies. Those are the monsters that are easy to see. Now, the second kind aren’t so easy to see because they dress as regular people.”

Hana: “Like the scarecrow!”

Daddy: “Yes and like with the scarecrow if you are smart you can see they aren’t what they seem. They can pretend to be someone they aren’t to lie to you and harm you.”

Hana: “Like the bald man!”

Ren: “Yes, the bald man was a monster.”

Hana: “He sent Daddy to jail and then Auntie Sae and Mommy rescued Daddy!”

Ren: “Just don’t tell that story to your teachers.”

Ren and Hana continued following the trail of the fox across some green hills and passed by a farmer on a tractor.

Hana: “Hello!” (waving her hands)

Farmer: “Howdy!”

Ren waved at the farmer.

Hana: “Daddy, there are many grandpas and grandmas in this town.”

Ren: “I think I will become like Grandpa Sojiro soon. Maybe I should start a garden to pass the time.”

Hana: “Oh! I want to plant potatoes and carrots, but not beans. Ew.”

Ren: “There won’t be beans, but your mother will insist that I buy some for dinner.”

Hana: “Why?!”

The trail left by the fox led to a path to the woods close to the farmlands and when both father and daughter looked at the path in front of them they realized there were many steps of fox paws printed on mud.

Hana: “Daddy, is this like the dark world of the stories of the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren: “No, this is much cleaner.”

The trail of footprints continued through the path of mud and throughout it there were a few Shinto statues decorating the area. Ren didn’t like this at all.

Hana: “Daddy, how much longer until we find the fox? I am tired.”

Ren: “I think the little thief is trying to trick us.”

Ren used his Third Eye to see that the most recent footprints deviated from the long path ahead and they went to a difficult to see path hidden by some bushes. This thief must have done this same trick to lose the authorities, but he made the mistake of messing with Joker. Even before becoming a dad Ren continued delivering justice outside of law by being his sister-in-law’s most trusted private eye and sometimes he cooperated with her husband, officer Zenkichi Hasegawa, to solve cases of the weird kind.

Ren: “Hana, I think this small criminal is as smart as Morgana.”

Hana: “That’s smart! Morgana always finds the toys I lose!”

Ren: “Well, this furry guy probably plays by the same rules. Hana, we have to be sneaky.”

The toddler nodded and she followed her father’s instructions about walking slowly while crouching. Ren’s hide and seek lessons have been very good.

Ren (whispering): “Now stay quiet and listen.”

The sound of small footsteps was heard and later a cute sniff. Ren had found the thief and if he wanted he could capture him with a surprise attack. Of course, like that time Of course, past experiences have taught him a few lessons about surprise attacks: 1)don’t surprise attack a woman at a high school’s haunted house; 2)don’t surprise attack a metaverse being shaped like a cat; 3)don’t surprise attack Makoto; 4)don’t surprise attack Ryuji and Ann’s son with a birthday prank. Telling people “reveal yourself” doesn’t have the same effect outside of the metaverse and less if you smash a piece of cake against the face of a little kid.

Ren (whispering): “C’mon, reveal your hideout, you little monster.”

From the corner of a tree Ren saw the orange fur of the thief descend below the ground level, meaning there was some depression on the ground ahead.

Ren: “Okay, let’s see where… Oh god.”

Hana: “Wow!”

This isn’t what Ren expected at all.

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Chie: “Holy cow!”

After finding the hideout of the Devil of Inaba, Ren immediately called the police to get his wife’s help since she is better at catching criminals than him. He also had to take Hana back to the house since she was too tired from walking and needed to sleep and it was getting late.

Ryotaro: “You have to be kidding me.”

Chie: “Same.”

Makoto: “Am I missing some context?”

The whole police of Inaba surrounded a great pit on the ground that had in the middle of it a great mountain of electronics, especially television and computer screens, some of which were very old.

Ryotaro: “Chie, do you think-”

Chie: “I mean, a fox used to follow Yu, but-”

Chie turned around to look at her confused partner.

Makoto: “Do you know anything about what is happening? Why is there a giant pile of screens in this forest?”

Chie and her boss looked at each other nervously.

Chie: “P-probably a lazy garbage man threw all of these here.”

Makoto: “On a path with no space for heavy vehicles and no evidence of wheel tracks?”

Ryotaro: “We will investigate this illegal waste disposal pit later. Right now we have to catch this thief once and for all.”

Chie: “R-right!”

Makoto: “Fine.”

The veteran and the tomboy sighed with relief and continued their search for the critter that had been terrorizing the restaurants of the town and high school’s bake sale. The search for said critter continued for half an hour with many uniformed officers flashing their lights to the darkest corners of the pit where the fox could be hiding. The place was like a labyrinth of garbage with 30 years of history of electronics.

Makoto: “LG, Magnavox, Sony…”

Makoto found large televisions like the one her dad bought once for her and Sae to watch cartoons. Nowadays everyone uses 4K televisions connected to the internet.

Makoto: “Why would a fox hide in this trash pit? Huh?”

While Makoto was distracted with something, Ryotaro and Chie were inspecting the great mountain of televisions and found they were all dirty with paw prints of foxes.

Chie: “Did all the foxes of Inaba make this thing?”

Ryotaro: “It couldn’t be. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Chie: “The OG Fox must have died a long time ago, so maybe his children’s children continued his work.”

Ryotaro: “Yu said the Fox only helped at the shrine and after that that place has only been maintained by humans.”

Chie: “Maybe the foxes are trying to make their own religious temple?”

Police officer (shouting from far away): “Niijima caught the Devil!”

Chie: “Two criminals caught in one day! My partner is so cool!”

Ryotaro: “She and her family keep surprising us.”

What Chie, Ryotaro and the other police officers didn’t know was that when Makoto caught the fox she saw him getting out of a tv screen.

Makoto: (holding the fox with a net) “What exactly are you?”

Chie (screaming for afar): “Hoi! Partner!”

Makoto was certain this was a metaverse situation, but she wasn’t certain that the police of Inaba were aware of this so she would have to confide only on her husband for the moment.

Chie: “You actually did it! You caught the furry devil!”

Makoto: “Y-yes. It was no problem.”

The little fox tried to escape, but his legs got entangled on the net so he couldn’t move properly.

Chie: “Aha! You were defeated, you scoundrel! Everyone, three hurrays for the coolest detective!”

All of the police men and women congratulated Makoto for her success and all she could do was just awkwardly smile. Just a few hours ago she rescued a kidnapped girl and now she had just witnessed metaverse activity in a garbage pit located in a forest. Her stress levels were very high right now.

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Makoto: “Ren.”

Ren (sleepy): “Yes…”

The two spouses were cuddling on their bed. It has been a very long day and the two had seen a lot.

Makoto: “You do know there’s some metaverse stuff happening here, right?”

Ren: “I suspected that.”

Makoto: “To think we would deal with this kind of stuff again.”

Ren: “That isn’t the only thing worrying you, is it?”

Makoto: “You probably heard what happened at the train station.”

Ren kissed Makoto’s forehead.

Ren: “All I did today was find a fox’s hideout for my Phantom Thief ego. You saved a girl like our daughter. You are amazing”

Makoto: “But I-”

Ren: “Do you regret what happened last time?”

Makoto: “... No.”

Ren: “You took a harsh choice and chose wisely. Don’t regret the good you have made.”

Makoto: “But we are-I mean, we were the Phantom Thieves. I shouldn’t have killed a person, no matter how evil they were.”

Ren caressed his wife’s hair to reassure her.

Ren: “We stole the twisted desires of evil people not because we wanted to make them suffer, but because we wanted to save the victims. The day you stood for yourself and awakened your persona was the day I knew how strong you are and fell in love with you.”

Makoto blushed and hugged Ren tightly.

Ren: “I will always remind you you are a good person, don’t forget it.”

Makoto: “Thank you.”

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At Chie’s home, she was resting on the tatami and holding her phone close to her right ear.

Chie: “Yukiko, are you asleep?”

Yukiko (through the phone): “No, I was just planning stuff for the next class of tomorrow. I am going to teach proper tea etiquette.”

Chie: “You have so much work.”

Yukiko: “I know, and the Summer Festival will make it harder for me to get a break.”

Chie: “That is a shame, I wanted to take you on a date.”

Yukiko: “Chie, you know we can’t.”

Chie: “I mean, we both can go dressed with yukatas and everybody will think we are just two friends hanging out. Well, I have to wear my uniform during the event, but I can pass by the inn as part of my job.”

Yukiko: “That would be nice.”

The two women really wanted to hold each other at that moment.

Chie: “Remember how we expected Yu to ask out any of us two for the festival?”

Yukiko: “He went out with Rise instead.”

Chie: “That was a big surprise, to think the new kid would score with the local idol.”

Yukiko: “I felt kind of disappointed at the time. I thought he would reciprocate my feelings for him.”

Chie: “I am thankful he didn’t.”

Chie remembered that day at the festival, how she saw Yukiko sitting alone at a bench.

Chie: “As much as I think Yu is the coolest guy, I mostly wanted to be with you and when I saw you alone wearing your pretty pink yukata I took my chance and asked you to hang out with me, just the two of us.”

Yukiko blushed and suppressed a giggle.

Yukiko: “Pfft. You became my Charming Princess.”

Chie: “Don’t laugh! I am trying to be romantic!”

Yukiko: “I am sorry, it’s just that what you are saying is so cute!”

Chie needed this. She needed to hear her beloved’s happy voice. After such a stressful day, hearing Yukiko’s awkward laughter shined a bright light for her.

Chie: “I love you, Yukiko.”

Yukiko: “I love you, Chie.”

Chapter Text

Ryotaro: “Niijima, Satonaka, you are being invited to a dinner at the mayor's house.”

Makoto: “Huh?”

Chie: “What?!”

It has been 3 days since the incident at the train station and during that time Makoto and Chie worked on all the paperwork of the arrest of the kidnapper and the failed arrest of the fugitive politician. To Makoto this wasn’t different from the usual paperwork she did at Tokyo, but to Chie it was annoying since bureaucracy wasn’t her favorite thing about being in law enforcement.

Ryotaro: “It seems the mayor wants to congratulate the ‘Heroic Duo of Inaba’ at a dinner party with all the important people from the town. This is obviously a publicity stunt.”’

Makoto: “Heroic Duo of Inaba? Good grief.”

Makoto covered her face in shame. She didn’t like when her friends gave her nicknames and she didn’t like it either when her coworkers did the same. Fist of the Phantom Star, Shoulder Pads, Steel Cowgirl, Bon Jovi, Iron Thighs, Spikey, Martial Arts Champion of the End of the Century, Female Kenshiro, Chun Li, Tifa the Second, Makoto Balboa, Lady Yakuza, Dragon Empress, Phantom Thief Mom, etc. The only nickname that she liked was Queen, and that was the title her husband gave to her. For some reason she felt that name suited her.

Chie: “Should I even be included? All I did was point a gun at the criminal while Makoto did all the action like Clint Eastwood. Oh, that should be your nickname, partner!”

Makoto slammed her head against her desk, making a few papers fall.

Chie: “It’s a work in progress.”

Ryotaro: “The mayor is insisting that both of you go, but he also requests the attendance of Niijima’s husband.”

Makoto: (raising her head up) “Ren?”

Ryotaro: “Finding the location of the fox’s hideout already made him a celebrity among the elderly population of Inaba.”

Makoto: “That sure will boost his ego.”

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During these past few days, the Amamiya-Niijima household has been receiving constant visits from neighbors wanting to thank Ren and Makoto for the capture of the little orange thief that has been messing with many private parties and destroyed many vegetable gardens.

Old woman: “Thank you for catching that thief.” (hands a basket with daikon radish to Ren)

Ren: “Thanks. I really appreciate this.”

The kitchen’s table was covered with daikon radish.

Hana: “Daddy, we are being invaded by radish!”

Ren: “I know and I think we will get more today.”

The doorbell rang for the 10th time that day.

Ren: “Hello?”

Taro: “Is this Amamiya residence?”

Ren: “Amamiya-Niijima.”

Taro: “Right, my apologies.”

Ren: “Are those cookies?”

Taro: “Oh… yes. I made them myself.”

Hana: “Daddy, is someone giving your poisoned food again?”

Ren: “Hana! Please excuse me daughter, sir.”

Taro: “It’s okay and the cookies aren’t poisoned, little girl. See?”

The old man took a bite from one of the chocolate chip cookies on the tupperware.

Taro: (chewing) “Iamgettingdahangofit.” (swallows) “This is probably my best batch so far.”

Ren: (eats a cookie) “This is definitely good, and definitely not poisoned. Try one Hana.”

Hana (shyly): “Okay.”

When the little girl took a bite of a cookie her face enlightened.

Hana (smiling widely): “Hmmm! They taste like Auntie Haru’s cookies!”

Ren: “Indeed.”

Taro: “I am thankful that you like them. Now that the fox thief has been apprehended I think I think it’s the right time for me to sell desserts at the farmers market.”

Ren: “Then I hope to see you there, Misteeeeer…”

Taro: “Taro Namatame.”

Ren: “Ren Amamiya, or Amamiya-Niijima if my wife allowed me to change my name, and this little one is Hana.”

Hana: “I am 5!”

Taro: “It is nice meeting you, Amamiya-Niijimas.”

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Makoto arrived at home after a long day of archiving files and all she wanted was just to rest on her couch and get a shoulder massage from her husband.

Makoto: “Honey, I am home.”

Ren: “Mako, the joke only works if we are two guys.”

Makoto: “I don’t care, I am tired.”

The brunette detective left her coat on a chair and rested on the couch like she intended. She closed her eyes for a moment and smelled the daikon soup essence floating in the air.

Makoto: “Radish soup?”

Ren: “We are eating radish plates for the next three weeks, courtesy of our lovely neighbors.”

Makoto (sarcastic): “Wonderful.”

Makoto turned her head in the direction of the TV and saw Hana watching an animated series about a talking blue dog.

Hana: “Mommy, the blue dog is a girl!”

Makoto: “That’s nice sweetie.”

The little girls stood up and grabbed a panda plushie she then put over Makoto’s chest.

Hana: “Buchimaru wants Mommy to be happy.”

Makoto: “I am happy.”

Hana: “Mommy is always sleepy and looks sad.”

Makoto just realized her daughter has been seeing her being angsty since they left Tokyo and that made her feel a bit guilty.

Makoto: “Mommy just went through many tough days, but now she will try to be happy.”

The brunette woman changed her position from resting to sitting and grabbed her daughter to hug her.

Hana: “Yay! I love you Mommy!”

Makoto: “I love you, Hana!”

Ren: “Daikon is ready!”

Dinners at the Amamiya-Niijima home are very noisy, with everyone talking and plates of food moving around. Makoto is thankful for this since when she used to live with her sister, dinners were silent and any attempt to start a conversation with Sae ended in Sae either only asking about Makoto’s grades, or Sae reprimanding Makoto for being “naive”. Now she and Sae are on better terms and have their own families that make every day better.

Hana: “And then Mr. Namatame said ‘Big Bang Burger? More like Diarrhea Burger’.”

Ren: “We didn’t tell him we are friends of the CEO.”

Makoto: “I'm glad you are making friends with the locals. Also, speaking of befriending locals, we have been invited to a dinner party at the mayor's house this weekend.”

Ren: “For real?”

Hana: “Oh no! Daddy became Uncle Ryuji!”

Makoto: “Don’t worry sweetheart, Mommy will make Daddy less dumb.”

Ren: “Ouch! That hurts! Anyway, should I wear my formal outfit, or rent a gala suit?”

Makoto: “Your formal outfit should be fine. What I am concerned about is that we need a babysitter for Hana.”

Hana: “But I want to go to the party!”

Ren: “Hana, it’s a party for adults, you will get bored.”

Hana: “Then why do you go if it’s boring?”

Ren: “She has a point.”

Makoto: “Ren.”

Ren: “Can’t we leave her with Chie?”

Makoto: “Chie is going to the event too, so we better start seeking a babysitter for situations like this.”

Ren: “Now I am missing when we had Futaba helping.”

Hana: “Daddy should have married auntie too so she can live at our house.”

Makoto (with mocking intentions): “Hah!”

Ren: “Hana, I keep saying Daddy and Auntie are just friends.”

Makoto: “And if Daddy and Auntie did anything bad Mommy would be very angry and Daddy would be kicked out.”

Ren: “What your mom said.”

Hana: “But Auntie likes Mommy too and Mommy says girls can like girls.”

Ren contained his laughter and Makoto started to blush.

Makoto: “Yes, girls can like girls, but Mommy only likes Daddy.”

Makoto now remembered that years ago she had recurrent dreams for some reason during a week. Her dreams were about dancing routines: one where she and Ren danced very passionately, one where she and Akechi tried to kill each other and for some reason one about Futaba trying to touch Makoto’s butt. According to Ren, some stuff happened at the Velvet Room during that week which not even he remembers fully, but if there are three things the two are certain about is that the two love each other, Makoto wants to kill Akechi and Futaba may have romantic and sexual feelings for Makoto.

Hana: “Ouh, I wanted to have two mommies. That way I can brag about that to the other kids.”

Ren: “Our daughter is progressive.”

Makoto: “Please just eat all your soup before it gets cold, you two.”

Ren and Hana: “Yes Ma’am.”

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The house of the mayor is a mansion near the woods of Yasoinaba, a modern looking building of minimalistic design that was built recently and contrasts a lot with the local Japanese architecture.

Ren: “How much money does the mayor make to live with so much luxury?”

Makoto: “This isn’t different from the construction sites I have been patrolling with Chie.”

Ren: “Could the mayor be in cahoots with powerful corporations?”

Makoto: “My my, playing detective again?”

Ren and Makoto got out of their vehicle after parking near the entrance. Ren was wearing a formal black suit with a red tie, a gray coat; polished black shoes and a pair of fake glasses with a silver frame; Makoto was wearing a long dark blue strap dress with high heels, her eyes had blue shading, her lips were painted crimson, her long hair was styled to have a bun on the back and she was also wearing her classic braided hairband. The braided headband is too elegant for police work, so Makoto only wears it outside of work hours.

Chie: “Hey partner!”

It was a rarity to see Chie wear a short orange dress in public and it was even more rare to see her with make up. Even her short hair looked like it had been styled and instead of sports shoes she was wearing heels. Of course, she was having trouble walking with them.

Chie: “Woah! I haven’t used this in a long while. Oh mama, look at you all fancy like royalty!”

Ren snickered.

Chie: “You totally look like another person outside of work hours.

Makoto: “Thanks. You also look pretty yourself, Chie.”

Chie: “Aww.”

Ren: “No compliments for me?”

Chie: “You have a suave kind of style, Amamiya. It reminds me of my friend Yu.”

Ren: “Is that the guy that teaches art classes at the Amagi Inn?”

Chie: “No, that is Kanji.”

On the way to entering the mansion, Ren noticed Makoto looked worried.

Ren: “Still worried about Hana?”

Makoto: “This is the first time we leave her with someone we don’t know and I am scared.”

Ren: “Well, your boss and Chie talked well about this woman, so that should be enough assurance.”

Makoto: “Maybe, but what if Hana can’t sleep because there’s no one familiar close by?”

Ren: “If something happens we will be called.”

Ren held Makoto’s hand tightly.

Makoto: “Right.”

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Throughout her life Hana has been babysitted by everyone in her family: her famous aunt Ann and her strong uncle Ryuji, her rich aunt Haru, her fun aunt Futaba, her serious aunt Sae and her long haired uncle Zenkichi, her artist uncle Yusuke and her grandpa Sojiro. This is the first time she has been left with another person she doesn’t know and she is kind of shy about being left with another adult if her parents aren’t close by.

Nanako: “I made small burger bites for dinner. They are tasty.”

The long haired brunette working in the kitchen resembled her mom a bit, but instead of crimson eyes her eyes are brown and her facial expression was more jovial. Also, her brunette hair was styled in a similar way to Futaba’s. It was kind of uncanny and Hana was hiding behind a corner nervously.

Nanako: “What’s wrong little one?”

Hana: “...”

Fortunately, Nanako Dojima was good at dealing with shy kids because of her part time job at a daycare.

Nanako: “Mind if I put on some music?”

The young woman took out her phone and started playing the soundtrack of Rise’s most recent album and as soon as Rise’s voice sounded Nanako started to sing along and snap her fingers.

Nanako (singing): “I am makin’ my way. I am makin’ my way.

From the top of the highest mountain. Through the skies over Japan’s Sea.

I am makin’ my way. I am makin’ my way.”

The amateur singing of Nanako made the little girl giggle.

Nanako: “See, I made you laugh.”

Nanako is currently on her summer break from college and is staying at her father’s place. She plans to work as a teacher and is working on a thesis about how to approach kids that have suffered family losses, or are going through depression.

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The interior of the mansion of the major had a clash of two aesthetics: classic and modern. It was the kind of place you would see in magazines of celebrities, with abstract paintings and a golden painted motorcycle as a centerpiece of the eclectic collection of random items.

Mayor: “Be welcome to my not so humble home!”

Kyosuke “Davidson” Ishigami is the mayor of Inaba. He is a man in his 40s who has signs of balding and wears an elegant suit with golden embroidery and if one looked at the corners of his sleeves one could see small golden motorcycle wheel cufflinks. Ren of course noticed.

Mayor: “It’s a pleasure to meet the iconic police duo from the news in person.”

Chie: “Sir, you already met me years ago.”

Mayor: “I did? I probably didn’t notice since my days going full speed on the road.”

Chie remembered this guy mostly stood close to a convenience store and talked to strangers about his dreams of riding his own motorcycle. After he finally got a bike all he did was do stunts to impress people and at some point in his life he used his stuntman public image to promote his career as a politician.

Mayor: “But that is all in the past now. Now I focus on getting to know the people of my beloved town. By the way, is it true you shot the kidnapper on the train 10 times?”

Makoto (embarrassed): “Only 3 times.”

Ren: “My wife is also a biker too.”

Makoto hit Ren’s ribs with her elbow.

Mayor: “Really? Sweet! Then I can see you must be like a cowboy from the big city of Tokyo.”

Chie: “That’s what I have been telling her!”

Makoto really felt uncomfortable about all these compliments that destroyed whatever remained of her femininity and professionalism, especially since her husband and her work partner were contributing to this.

Formally Suited man: “Mr. Mayor, we would like to talk to you.”

Mayor: “Ugh! I apologize, but I have to talk with some sharks. In the meantime, enjoy some drinks and get to know some of the local celebrities.”

The mayor walked casually to talk with a group of men and women wearing very expensive clothes and to Ren and Makoto this group looked like the kind of people Masayoshi Shido surrounded himself with.

Ren: “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

Makoto: “Yeah. Chie, do you know who those people are?”

Chie: “I think that guy over there is the one managing the construction site close to Junes, and that one over there appeared on the newspapers once. I think he is making an expansion at the area of the ski resort.”

Ren: “Wait, there’s a ski resort?! We have to go there!”

Makoto: “I doubt it is open during this time of year.”

Chie: “It’s actually open. Two years ago a snowless ski slope was built to increase tourism during spring and summer. Later, a kiddie ski slope was made too.”

Ren: “More reasons for us to go.”

Makoto: “Knowing you, you will only go to the kiddie slope with Hana.”

Hanako: “Well well, I am surprised to see you here Satonaka.”

The gigantic morbidly obese woman stood behind the three former Persona users like a threatening presence. She was wearing a sleeved purple dress and her hair was done into a puffy style that could be considered a mockery of Haru Okumura’s. To make herself look more pretentious, Hanako wore big sunglasses despite being inside a building and at night.

Chie (whispering to Makoto): “Oh right, I forgot the witches come to these kinds of events.”

Hanako: “Since you are the honored figures of tonight I guess past grievances should be put aside, especially since my true enemy is talking with Major Ishigami right now.”

Hanako noticed Ren and a big scary smile appeared on her face.

Hanako: “Oh my, we haven’t been presented yet. I am Hanako Othani of the Women’s Society of Inaba.”

Hanako grabbed Ren’s right hand too tightly and shook it a bit too hard.

Ren: “Oh hi, I am Ren Amami-”

Hanako: “Oh yes, the hero that found where the furry thief had been hiding. Such a clever and handsome man.”

The predatory look the fat woman was giving Ren made him feel scared for his life like he hasn’t before. On an instinctual level he knew he wasn’t safe and on a more rational level he remembered something similar that made chills go down his spine. Years ago, he felt great anger when the fat bastard mobster Junya Kaneshiro threatened Makoto and that anger motivated Ren to kick the ass of Kaneshiro. Now Ren felt the roles were reversed since besides feeling very afraid he also felt the subtle anger coming from Makoto’s serious eyes.

Makoto (with a fake smile): “Ren is my beloved husband and also a good father to our child.”

Hanako: “Aww, it’s so hard to find good men these days. You must feel very lucky.”

Makoto: (tries really hard not to use the Niijima Glare) “That is why I am very protective of him.”

Ren felt so awkward he tried to change the conversation topic.

Ren: “So… there’s a women’s society I didn’t know about.”

Hanako: “Oh right I should explain our society’s goals to new arrivals to our town. We are an organization of citizens who work to preserve the cultural integrity of our beloved Yasoinaba.”

Chie rolled her eyes.

Makoto: “So that protest at the construction site-”

Hanako: “Those white collar sharks over there talking with the mayor have been bringing all their corporate trash to our town without consulting anyone. Of course we all liked when a Starbuck’s was built in close proximity, but then a Big Bang Burger arrived later, followed by an American donut store.”

Ren started to sweat nervously about the Krispy Kreme donuts he bought from Junes this morning.

Hanako: “It’s thanks to our actions that local businesses don’t get crushed by outsiders and the summer festival gets funds for every year.”

Noriko (from far away): “Hey, Hanako darling!”

Hanako: “Oh yeah, I forgot the other girls want to talk with-”

Chie: “I will pass.”

Chie walked away and grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter.

Ren (whispering): “Should we? This woman looks like a female Kaneshiro and she probably blackmails people.”

Makoto (whispering): “Let’s just greet these people with basic courtesy and join Chie later.”

On one side of the room were reunited close to 10 women dressed all with elegant clothes. At the center of the group with Noriko Kashiwagi talking about something inappropriate.

Noriko: “And then the waitress opened the door and-”

Kashiwagi’s face turned sour when she saw Makoto approaching.

Noriko (bitter): “Oh if it isn’t the heroine everyone is talking about.”

Nakayama (excited): “Wait, is that the detective from the news?!”

Yumi: “She is?!”

The Women’s Society of Inaba has some notable faces: former high school actress and now progressive politician Yumi Ozawa; housewife and activist Eri Minami; teacher and new age spiritualist Mrs. Nakayama.

Eri: “Officer Niijima, I have wanted to meet you. My teenage daughter says you are her heroine.”

Makoto: “O-oh, thank you.”

Nakayama: “It must have been fate that you were at the right place at the right time.”

Makoto: “Okay?”

Yumi: “Yours and Detective Satonaka’s works are examples to follow.”

Makoto: “Thank you.”

The other well dressed women started to bombard Makoto with praises and questions, making her feel overwhelmed.

Yumi: “Where’s Detective Satonaka by the way?”

Noriko: “She is probably getting drunk with Ms. Amagi as their two women's singles club.”

Makoto: “I don’t appreciate that you are badmouthing my partner.”

Eri: “Please ignore her when she is bitter.”

Yumi: “We always do that.”

Noriko: “So rude. I am just pointing out how weird it is that those two have been single for such a long time. Almost every handsome man of Inaba has attempted to court Ms. Amagi and she continues rejecting them. What a waste.”

Yumi (whispers to Makoto): “Says the woman that married her own student.”

Noriko: “Speaking of handsome men, who is this bespectacled specimen?”

Ren: “I am Ren and I am married to her.” (holds Makoto’s hand up in front of them)

Makoto: “That makes him untouchable.”

Nakayama immediately approached Ren with a big smile.

Nakayama: “Thank you so much for finding that devil! He destroyed my precious carrots before I could harvest them!”

While Ren and Makoto got too much attention, Chie had found Yukiko, but she wasn’t alone.

Insistent Man: “Ms. Amagi, think about my proposition. It could benefit both of us.”

Yukiko: “I am not seeking any fast fortunes, nor empty relationships.”

Insistent Man: “If only you could give me a chance to prove I am worth-”

Chie: “Dude, she said to piss off.”

Chie casually pushed aside the man annoying her girlfriend and he walked away fuming with anger.

Chie: “How have you been doing? Isn’t your ‘boyfriend’ worried about you being here all alone?”

Yukiko started to laugh and snort.

Chie: “Was that too much?”

Yukiko: “I am sorry, it was just that the delivery of that line was so funny.”

The two women smiled awkwardly at each other and blushed intensively. Chie was admiring the body shape of Yukiko covered by her long pink dress and how her pretty face looked with makeup.

Chie: “You look divine tonight.”

Yukiko: “You are very pretty too.”

Chie: “Nanako helped me get ready for the party since Kanji was busy with a class.”

Yukiko: “Fiddlesticks, that job should be done by Erika. That woman keeps making excuses for not working.”

Chie: “You should consider firing her if she keeps ditching responsibilities.”

Yukiko: “I am tempted to do that, but enough about work. How does it feel to be a celebrity right now?”

Chie: “The celebrities are my neighbors, I was just there on both the arrest of the kidnapper and the capture of the fox. I guess you could say I was the secondary character of someone else’s story.”

Yukiko: “You are the heroine of your own story. You saved a kid once and made him reunite with his parents. It wasn’t a grand heroic rescue with blasting guns, but you made people happy that day.”

Chie: “You do know how to lift my spirits, Yukiko.”

Just a few meters away from this couple, Ren and Makoto were walking away from the crowd of women that had bombarded them with too many questions.

Makoto: “I don’t know how my sister can handle these social gatherings.”

Ren: “I hope I never get to see that big woman again.”

Makoto: “Hey, there are Chie and Yuki-”

Ren stopped Makoto with one hand.

Makoto: “Ren, what are you-”

Ren: “Let’s not interrupt them.”

Makoto: “What are you saying?”

Ren: “Look at their hands.”

Chie and Yukiko were currently sitting on two chairs drinking champagne and if one looked closely Yukiko had her hand over Chie’s. Ren also noticed how the two looked at each other.

Makoto: “Are you implying they are-”

Ren: “Yes.”

Makoto: “Don’t tell me you believed what the creepy middle aged woman said about them.”

Ren: “She said it was suspicious that they are single, she didn’t say why they present themselves as singles. It all fits together right now.”

Ren remembered what Yukiko said about a person special to her when she delivered her toxic dish.

Makoto: “They could just be very good friends.”

Ren: “The romantic eye stares, the hand holding, picking an isolated corner of a room to talk.”

Makoto: “...”

Multiple flashbacks about Ren and Makoto awkwardly studying together and cuddling outside of the view of anyone passed by the mind of Makoto. Of course, Ren and Makoto weren’t very open about their relationship in public since they were taking things slowly and they didn’t want Sae to find out they were dating back then; meanwhile, the two spouses were aware why two women would be very secretive about their relationship, especially in rural Japan.

Makoto: “You are very good at noticing this kind of stuff.”

Ren: “I noticed Ryuji and Ann’s not so secret relationship and that Futaba finds both of us attractive.”

Makoto: “Good grief. Let’s just move somewhere else before-”

Chie: “Hey! Makoto! Ren!”

Makoto: “Let’s pretend we didn;t notice anything.”

Ren: “Agreed.”

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Somewhere else, the little fox thief was inside a cell and waiting for his rescuers.

Guard: “You aren’t so tough now eh? What a joke we all worried about.”

The guard left the room to continue playing his gacha game until the end of his turn. Unbeknownst to him, two small foxes came out of the old tv on the security room and stealthily passed by without the guard noticing. The two rescuers grabbed the keys of the cells and proceeded to free their compatriot.

Fox Thief (in Fox language): “Thanks for everything.”

The three foxes walked out of that place in such a casual way that one could think they were fox versions of the Phantom Thieves.

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Back at the party, the two main couples of this story were sitting on a pair of couches around a table with 5 empty glasses on it. The only sober person of this group was Ren who knew he was going to be the designated driver for tonight. Makoto was only slightly tipsy since she knows her limits and trusts Ren to keep her from breaking those limits. Chie and Yukiko were already in a state only their friends knew about.

Yukiko (dizzy): “Just hear me… Hear me out… Why does every time the Feathermen punch monsters sparks fly?”

Chie (dizzy): “That is to show how powerful they are.”

Makoto: “I think that effect was made to make the violence unrealistic.”

Yukiko: “Also… why do big explosions happen behind them… every goddamn time.”

Ren: “I think you have drunk too much, Ms. Amagi.”

Yukiko: “I… I will tell you when I have… have drunk too much.”

Chie: “Hey, what if we play a game now.”

Mayor (already too drunk): “What kind of game?”

The sight of the drunken mayor coming behind the seat where Chie was sitting surprised everyone.

Chie: “We can play King’s Game.”

Yukiko: “Yay!”

Makoto: “Isn’t that an anime?”

Ren: “No, it’s a game where one person tells another random person to do something.”

Mayor: “That sounds like fun! Woo!”

In the first Round of King’s Game, the king was Yukiko.

Yukiko: “Number 3 should… sit on my lap.”

Makoto sighed.

Makoto: “Should I really?”

Ren: “I trust the serial killing chef to not molest you.”

Makoto: “Why do you have to say it that way?! Good grief.”

Makoto sat on Yukiko’s lap awkwardly.

Chie: “Aww! Not fair!”

Yukiko: “You look like such a doll… So cute.”

Makoto: “How long should I sit?”

Yukiko: “As long as the king wants.”

Mayor: “Oh this is cool! I want to be the king next!”

Angry woman: “There you are!”

Mayor: “Oh shit!”

The mayor ran away from his wife, leaving the main group to their own game. In the next round the king was Chie.

Chie: “I dare… I dare number 2 to kiss me!”

To Chie’s surprise Ren approached her in a romantic looking way and kissed her forehead. The gentleness with which he did it made her blush despite her orientation.

Makoto (Niijima glaring): “I hope that was just part of the game.”

Yukiko (drunkenly angry): “Hey, don’t get so touchy touchy with my Chie!”

In the final round the king was Ren, and this was planned by him since with his dexterous hands and Third Eye he made sure to get the result he wanted.

Ren: “Number 1, I want to whisper my order to you.”

Makoto looked at her stick and saw the number 1 on it. She knew what Ren was planning.

Ren: (whispers to his wife’s ear)

Makoto: “Oh… Ooooooh!”

Chie: “What did… What did he challenged you to do?”

Makoto: “Something I will do later.”

The rest of the evening was uneventful, with a few social interactions of not great importance and later Ren driving everyone as the designated driver. He left the two girlfriends at the Amagi Inn by request of them and after that he and Makoto returned back home, where Hana was sleeping on the tatami and Nanako was cleaning the kitchen. Everything went peacefully that night.

That was until Makoto decided to follow Ren’s request and the two were thankful Hana was asleep so they could get a bit kinky.

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Somewhere else, Noriko Kashiwagi was drunkenly walking back to her home.

Noriko: “Stupid… Stupid Niijima… Everyone thinks that bitch… is so cool…”

She forgot she arrived at the mansion in Hanako's car and her husband stayed at home to take care of their kids.

Noriko: “Hubbie, I miss you so much already!”

In this drunken state, Noriko didn’t notice the fog approaching her and the shady figure walking inside the fog.

Noriko: “Love me love me, say that you love me! Fool me fool-”

A hand covered with leather covered Noriko’s mouth and she tried to struggle, but something was making her feel very tired. All she could see before falling asleep was a gas mask.

???: “Good night.”

Chapter Text

Chie: “Ugh, this hangover is horrible!”

Chie woke up naked and next to Yukiko on a futon and the only thing covering the naked bodies of the two of them was a quilt with drawings of cats.

Chie: “Yukiko… Are you awake?”

Yukiko (sleepy): “Yes mom… I studied for the exam…”

Chie: “I barely remember what we did last night.”

The tomboy found her dress and underwear in different locations of Yukiko’s room and for some reason she found her shoes on Yukiko’s feet.

Chie: “Oh I remember now.”

???: “Yukiko, are you there?”

Chie recognized the voice and got scared. It was Yukiko’s mother and her voice reminded Chie of one of the rules the two girlfriends follow: don’t stay at the Amagi Inn during the night.

Yukiko’s mother: “Yukiko, don’t tell me you stood awake late after the Mayor’s dinner.”

Yukiko (barely awake): “Mom? I-I am going out now.”

Yukiko’s mother: “Please put your clothes on first. I don’t want a repeat of the naked incident from last time.”

Chie helped Yukiko get dressed.

Chie (whispering): “I will get out through our secret escape route, so don’t worry about our mom finding out.”

Yukiko ((barely awake): “Worry about what?”

This drunken mistake shouldn’t be a problem for Chie Satonaka’s cleverness since she planned an escape route for a situation like this one. She moved through the rooms adjacent to Yukiko’s in a stealthy way and after getting to an open area she climbed a wall and landed on some bushes. For such a display of athleticism she should be recruited for the Japanese Olympic team and she would certainly give a better example of honorary behavior than a certain disgraced volleyball athlete that is currently in prison.

Chie: “Damn! That was close!”

Snarky woman: “Detective Satonaka?”

Chie: “Uh…”

A black haired woman with glasses and an employee uniform of the Amagi Inn was standing just a few meters away from Chie.

Chie: “What’s up, Erika?”

Erika: “Whatever, I don’t get paid enough to care.”

Chie awkwardly walked away and thanked the gods that the witness of her romantic adventures is just a lazy employee too apathetic to pay attention to the signs that Chie had sex with a woman. Such signs include light pink lipstick marks on her lips and her neck.

Chie: “Well, time to call my partner to give me a ride back home.”

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Thankfully for Chie, Makoto was able to give her a ride back home on her own family vehicle, but there was something off.

Chie: “There’s something different about you, partner.”

Makoto: “Maybe it’s the new shampoo I have been using.”

Makoto obviously noticed the disheveled appearance of Chie and didn’t mention anything, but Chie really wanted to point out what she thought was making Makoto look different from her usual appearance.

Chie: “There’s something really noticeable right now…”

Makoto: “I am wearing my usual clothes.”

Chie: “Wait…”

Chie looked at Makoto’s face very closely, confusing Makoto.

Chie: “You look like you are sparkling, like you are no longer all gloomy and-OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!”

Makoto (blushing): “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Chie: “How long has it been since you two-”

Makoto: “... Three weeks.”

Chie: “Holy shit!”

Makoto (blushing with a smile): “I had been very tired and stressed for a long time and my libido was almost dead. Right now I feel so blissful.”

After the incident that got Makoto transferred to the police department of Inaba, she was so angsty all she and Ren did for the following weeks was cuddling to comfort her, but Ren took advantage of the King’s Game from last night to finally pound some happiness into his wife the best way he knows. His command was “let me enter through the main door tonight”.

Chie: “Damn! Mr. Ren Amamiya is very talented!”

Makoto: “You have no idea. He even gave me a back massage and I felt like a weight had been removed from my shoulders.”

Chie: “Hoo boy!”

Makoto: “I feel like I can do anything now with a clear head.”

Chie: “That is post nut clarity talking.”

Makoto: “Whatever it is, I feel energized, revitalized and ready to work on whatever Dojima tells us to do.”

Chie: “But first I need to get a shower.”

Before they could arrive at the residential area where the two live, the two got an emergency call from their boss.

Ryotaro (voice only): “Niijima, can you get Satonaka?”

Makoto: “She is with me right now, sir.”

Chie: “Hi!”

Ryotaro: “That makes things easier. I need you two to go to the hospital now.”

Chie: “The hospital?”

Makoto: “What is the situation?”

Ryotaro: “A farmer found Noriko Kashiwagi unconscious.”

Chie and Makoto: “What?!”

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Back at the Amamiya-Niijima home, Ren was smiling widely while cooking breakfast for his daughter.

Hana: “Daddy, Nana-chan is so cool! She drew me a pretty flower and told me how to do one.”

Ren: “That’s great, Hana.”

Like every morning since they arrived at Inaba, someone rang the doorbell. Ren had become aware that the people of Inaba have a stronger sense of community than the neighbors of the apartment complex where he and his family used to live in and it was very common for them to interact with each other on a daily basis.

Nanako (voice only): “Mr. Amamiya, are you there? I left my pencil bag in your kitchen.”

Ren found the pencil bag and smiled when he saw the logo of a keychain of the Phantom Thieves on it. Then, he opened the door and found the brunette young lady he met yesterday. Now that he wasn’t so busy putting on his tie like last time he was able to notice how uncanny it was that this girl looks like a mix of his wife and Futaba.

Hana: “Nana-chan!”

Nanako: “Oh hi, Hana-chan!”

Hana: “I drew this flower for you!”

Nanako: “Oh this one looks pretty.”

This was something cute to look at, but Ren is also a devious person and he was already thinking of hiring Nanako more frequently just so he and Makoto can have more fun, which is something he thinks his wife needs to get her head out of overthinking work stuff. Also, he wasn’t going to deny he enjoys making his wife happy.

Ren: “I found your pencil bag.”

Nanako: “Thank you! This was a gift from a friend and if I lost it I would feel sad about it.”

Ren: “So your friend is a fan of the Phantom Thieves?”

Nanako: “He is a big fan, although my dad thinks they were just attention seekers.”

Ren made a mental note to not talk about the Phantom Thieves close to Makoto’s boss.

Nanako: “I just think this looks neat, especially the red top hat.”

Hana: “Big Sis Akane collects all their toys and clothes.”

Ren: “Yeah, I have a niece that is into them a lot.”

Hana: “She says she wants to marry their leader, the Joker.”

Ren already felt as if Zenkichi was cursing him from another side of Japan.

Nanako: (giggles) “Well, I have to go now, I have work at the Amagi Inn and-”

Nanako got paralyzed with fear when she turned momentarily to a side of the street and saw someone she didn’t want to see again.

Ren: “You have to work on something?”

Nanako: “Y-yes. I-I have to go now.”

Nanako awkwardly walked away, leaving Ren confused. He looked around to see what could have caused her to become so nervous and found old man Namatame walking a big dog out. Ren thought she either doesn’t want to interact with Namatame, or she must be afraid of dogs, just like how his wife is afraid of ghosts.

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Chie: “Holy molly!”

Makoto: “Oh god.”

The detective duo saw Noriko Kashiwagi on a hospital bed and with a breathing device connected to her mouth and nose.

Doctor: “She was found around 9AM this morning, but we can’t determine the hour at which she fell into a coma.”

Makoto: “Are there any traumas?”

Doctor: “None. We performed an X-ray test and there are no abnormalities, but we will perform a TAC later.”

Makoto heard some nurses mumbling something in the background. One of the things she could understand was “not again”.

Chie: “Mako, you saw her at the party with her club, right?”

Makoto: “Yes, but we left the party before her I think. We should ask her friends if they know where she went after the party and at what time.”

Makoto didn’t think too much about what happened. She suspected Kashiwagi must have had a stroke, or something similar, and that the TAC would reveal a health issue that must be treated. Of course, this doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel sad about the comatose woman since she knows what it’s like when a person is unconscious for a long time and she was thinking about Futaba of course.

Chie: “Man, I know she is a jerk, but what happened to her is horrible.”

Makoto: “Has any family come to visit her?”

Doctor: “Her husband left half an hour ago, but I think he will return-”

Distressed Man: “Hello?”

At the entrance of the room was a black haired man and he was carrying a baby on a kangaroo baby carrier. Behind him was a younger woman carrying another baby in a portable baby carrier.

Makoto: “Are you the husband of Noriko Kashiwagi?”

Distressed Man: “Yes. Is something bad happening about my wife?”

Cynical Sister: “When is nothing bad happening about her?”

Distressed Man: (groans) “Are you serious?!”

Makoto: “Nothing bad is happening about your wife. We just want to ask you a few questions.”

Distressed Man: “I understand.”

It was clear this man had been crying all morning because of how red his eyes looked. When he looked at his comatose wife he cried again for a bit.

Distressed Man (crying): (holding Kashiwagi’s hand) “Everything is going to be okay… I am so sorry for everything…”

After leaving the two babies under the care of their aunt, the two detectives left the room with the saddened husband and started asking standard questions.

Chie: “At what hour were you notified by the hospital about your wife’s condition?”

Distressed Man: “This morning, I think at 10. I was making breakfast.”

Makoto: “Your wife was last seen at a party last night, are you aware of that?”

Distressed Man: “Yes…”

Chie: “Why weren’t you with her last night?”

Distressed Man: “I was taking care of our kids while she… just went on her own.”

Makoto: “Well, next question-”

Distressed Man: “I told her to not go.”

Makoto: “Pardon?”

Distressed Man: “She promised she won’t drink, but every time she goes out with those… Those women she drinks a lot.”

This person became a sobbing mess again.

Chie: “Do you need to sit down?”

Distressed Man (crying): “We had a fight last night and I… I screamed at her! I told her horrible things! I told her she cared more about her stupid club than our family!”

Both detectives nodded in agreement about trying another time to ask questions to this man since he wasn’t in a state for more inquiries. His sister on the other hand was more direct answering questions.

Cynical Sister: “That hag left many drunken audio messages to my brother last night.”

The younger woman showed the detectives the phone of her brother and the last message was sent at 2:15AM.

Makoto: “Can we hear the last message?”

The sister-in-law of Kashiwagi played the message immediately.

Noriko (voice only): “I am sowy! I am sowy! I was a biiiitch! I am coming home, baby!”

Chie: “Now we have a time frame, partner!”

Makoto: “Thank you so much for your help.”

Cynical Sister: “If you ask for my opinion she must have passed out and hit herself really hard. That woman keeps causing problems for my brother even when unconscious.”

Chie: “I get you don’t like her.”

Cynical Sister: “That is an understatement. She was a teacher when my brother was still in high school and years later somehow he fell for her charms like an idiot and now he is tied to her after somehow she became pregnant with twins.”

Chie and Makoto felt really awkward hearing this family drama that had nothing to do with their standard report. This had nothing to do with them and they had mixed feelings about Kashiwagi. The comatose woman connected to life support wasn’t saint, but it felt wrong to hear insults towards her while in this state.

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Hana: “Daddy!”

Ren: “Hana, what’s wrong? Oh god!”

Ren looked at the garden in the backyard through the sliding glass and like his daughter he was horrified about what he was looking at. The garden had been vandalized, the drying clothes on the clothes lines had been tattered, or stolen, and there were hundreds of tiny pieces of animal excrement spread through the garden.

Hana (crying): (hugging her father’s leg) “Daddy! It was the Boogeyman! He followed us home!”

Ren (angered) “No, this was no monster, this was the work of cowards.”

After helping his daughter calm down and go to her room to not look at the disaster behind their new home, Ren got out to inspect the scene of the crime. His Third Eye was seeing all the hundreds of tiny paw prints around him and the smell of shit disgusted him. What made him angrier though was seeing that the tiny foxes had torn to shreds Hana’s pink pajamas, which he knows she likes a lot.

Ren: “I see what you did. You all waited until Hana and I went to buy groceries and you left your threat. This isn’t the first time someone has threatened me and my family and I will make sure you too regret it.”

Somewhere in the peaceful area of the metaverse of the collective subconscious of the people of Inaba, Satanael was standing like a demonic presence among the shadows of the people of Inaba and he showed the true emotions of Ren right now: unadulterated rage. If this persona could talk to Ren again, he would tell him what he already knows, that these criminals have to be defeated.

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After the questioning at the hospital was done, Chie and Makoto went to the the place where Kashiwagi was found. Also, Chie hasn’t changed back to her more professional clothes, to her annoyance.

Chie: “Why are we going to that farm? There are already officers keeping an eye there for the inspection.”

Makoto: “There’s something off. There are no visible signs of injuries on Kashiwagi and until we get the results of the toxicology test I requested we can’t discard that she wasn’t poisoned.”

Chie: “Poisoned?! Someone tried to kill her?!”

Makoto: “Not necessarily. She could have ingested something during last night's party, or afterwards. I am trying to find any logical leads to what could have happened and maybe there’s something the officers at the farm are missing.”

Makoto parked her family car on the side of the road close to the farm and she and Chie got out.

Chie: “I have to admit this is really odd.”

Makoto: “Have you ever seen someone fall into a coma with no explicable reasons?”

Chie: “Yes, and this is why this is disconcerting.”

As is standard procedure, the area where Kashiwagi was found was surrounded by police tape and there were police officers keeping watch while a reporter was interviewing the farmer that found the former teacher.

Stoic Officer: “Niijima, Satonaka.”

Makoto: “Good afternoon. We came for the investigation of this case. I got authorization by Dojima.”

Stoic Officer: “Suit yourselves. I doubt you will find anything more.”

Makoto put on a medical mask and a pair of plastic gloves before entering the suspected crime scene. To Chie and the other two officers it looked like she was in a CSI series.

Stoic Officer: “Does she think this is a crime scene?”

Snarky Officer: “The tape is just a formality, you know.”

Chie: “Shush, let my partner do her job.”

This wasn’t a murder scene, so there wasn’t as much care to preserve the place of a possible crime scene, especially in a rural town where no big crimes have happened in a long time. However, that didn’t stop Makoto from working as the professional she is and she was careful to check around the area where Noriko Kashiwagi had been found.

Makoto: “Shoe prints?”

The only visible shoe prints were those of the shoes of the police officers that came early in the day and those of the farmer that found Kashiwagi.

Makoto: “Wait… Kashiwagi’s high heels.”

Makoto remembered Kashiwagi was wearing high heel bright shoes last night.

Makoto (shouting to her coworkers): “Was Kashiwagi wearing shoes when you found her?”

Chie: “Was she wearing any shoes?”

Stoic Officer: “We found her wearing only one shoe.”

Snarky Officer: “She must have lost it while walking drunk.”

Makoto saw no prints of high heels close by, especially in the soft ground. She knew high heels leave very specific markings in the ground thanks to seeing Ann wearing high heels many times during photoshoots.

Makoto: “The prints of shoes and boots are usually ridged, especially with the softness of the ground, but there are no marks of the specific shapes of Kashiwagi’s high heel shoes, not even the holes her heels should have left. Those are difficult to erase even with the passage of people. Also, why would someone walk all the way here with only one shoe?”

Snarky Officer: “Drunk people do weird things.”

Chie remembered the incident of this morning and felt called out, but then she remembered exactly why Yukiko was wearing her shoes. Chie had removed her shoes because of how tiresome it was to walk with them while being inebriated and considering throwing them away until Yukiko told her she would take care of them.

Chie: “Even when I have been drunk I would complain about high heels after a long time walking. She should have removed both shoes, not just one.”

Makoto was already making a theory of what happened and the implications scared her, but she needed more information before she could start treating this as a criminal case. The visible evidence pointed at mundane explanations for what could have happened, but if one looked at the fine details and thought about the odd circumstances, then there was the grim possibility that Kashiwagi had been drugged, kidnapped and left somewhere far away from the Mayor’s mansion.

Chie: “Is there anything else, partner?”

Makoto: “I think the previous officers did a good job retrieving possible evidence, so I am done here for the-”

Makoto saw on a small branch close to where Kashiwagi was found an entangled small string of fabric. She grabbed it and put it inside an evidence bag.

Makoto: “This was at the height of the ankles, very difficult to see.”

Chie: “Partner, Dojima called! He wants us to report back.”

Makoto: “Tell him we are on our way.”

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At the police department of Inaba.

Ryotaro: “You think someone kidnapped Kashiwagi?”

Makoto: “This is just a theory.”

Chie: “It makes sense the way she explained it to me on the way here.”

Makoto: “There’s no way a drunken woman with just one shoe walked all the way from Mayor Ishigami’s home to the farm of Mr. Higashino without getting her uncovered feet injured. I called the doctor taking care of her and both of her feet were surprisingly fine. If her toxicology test shows the presence of another substance besides the alcohol then my suspicions would be right.”

Chie: “Wait, was she roofied?!”

Ryotaro: “Thankfully not. There was no evidence of sexual assault found, but if it turns out Kashiwagi was attacked last night I am worried about the possibility of a criminal being on the lose, and actually a dangerous one instead of the cowardly corrupt politician of last time.”

Makoto: “The weirdest thing is the lack of a trail. It was as if Kashiwagi had been left there out of thin air.”

That last sentence Makoto said sent shivers down the spines of both Chie and Ryotaro.

Makoto: “That’s why my theory continues being a theory. I can’t think of a way she could have been transported from point A to point B without a trail, not even her missing shoe, although that one could still be close to the mansion.”

Makoto considered the possibility of metaverse transportation, but she wasn’t going to say that in front of her boss and coworker. Sadly, she wasn’t aware the two were very familiar with the idea of people disappearing one night and reappearing later through supernatural means, and the two local police officers were thankful Noriko Kashiwagi didn’t appear dead on a telephone pole.

Ryotaro: “Niijima… Have you told anyone else about this theory of yours?"

Makoto: “No sir.”

Ryotaro: “Good. You can get back to work. We will talk about this tomorrow.”

Chie and Makoto: “Yes sir.”

It was clear Ryotaro felt something was very wrong in Inaba and he was hoping this was just a mundane situation. Once the two detectives were out of his office he covered his face with his own hands.

Ryotaro (with a low voice): “God please, I don’t want that to happen again.”

Meanwhile, the two detectives were back at their decks writing their reports of the day.

Chie: “I haven’t changed all day and I really need a shower! I didn’t want a second Adachi incident to happen today!”

Makoto: “Adachi incident?”

Chie: “He is the asshole cop that became a serial killer.”

Makoto: “Oh. How does that case relate to this one?”

Chie thought it wouldn't be bad to tell the “official” story.

Chie: “Well, when the first victim appeared nobody was sure if she died by an accident, or by a murder. Adachi’s method of murder left no noticeable evidence for the police at the time. It was as if a ghost had killed the victim.”

Makoto: “Exactly what method of murder he used?”

Chie: “Well… I haven’t read the full details of the case, but he was able to incapacitate his victims and killed them elsewhere without leaving any trace. After the victims died their corpses were left over telephone poles so they would become charred.”

Makoto: “That would make it difficult for any forensics team to do their job. Wait…”

Makoto remembered something important.

Makoto: “Dojima said someone kidnapped his daughter. Was she-”

Chie: “This is where things get complicated. After the first two victims, Adachi realized he needed to change his modus operandi, so he manipulated someone to do the kidnapping for him.”

Makoto: “How did he manipulate someone to kidnap people?”

Chie: “This person, Taro Namatame, was the lover of the first victim, Mayumi Amano, and her death made him a little unstable and easy to be tricked by Adachi. He made him think he was saving people from the killer, but was actually sending them to be killed. Makoto? Are you okay?”

Makoto’s face looked pale for a moment.

Makoto: “Did this man… Namatame… Did he kidnap Dojima’s daughter?”

Chie: “Yes. Are you okay? You look like you have seen a ghost.”

Hana: “And then Mr. Namatame said ‘Big Bang Burger? More like Diarrhea Burger’.” 

Ren: “We didn’t tell him we are friends of the CEO.”

Makoto: “... Was mr. Namatame sentenced?

Chie: “He was in prison for a few months, but the court freed him because he wasn’t aware of what Adachi was doing.”

Makoto (scared): “Chie, I think Taro Namatame lives in the same street as us.”

Chie: “He does? I mean, I knew he still lived in Inaba.”

Makoto (more scared): “Chie, my husband let a child kidnapper into our house! Oh god, and Nanako babysitted Hana last night! What would have happened if she had seen him?!”

Chie: “Okay, don’t panic. Are you sure it was him?”

Makoto: (packing her things) “Taro Namatame. Ren said me that is his name”

Chie: “Okay, don’t panic. Namatame is a chill guy now. He even became the mayor if Inaba once.”

Makoto (panicking): “The mayor was a kidnapper?!”

Makoto pushed her chair aside and started to run. Chie chased after her to attempt to stop her.

Chie: “Makoto, that was a long time ago and he no longer kidnaps people!”

Makoto: “I have to make sure my baby is safe!”

Chie: “You can’t leave me here! I came with you in your car!"

Chapter Text

It has been a week and a half since the Kashiwagi incident and rumors about a mysterious attacker have dissipated. Of course, the results of the TAC and the toxicology test didn’t show any satisfactory results, leaving what happened a mystery to the authorities, and without any solid evidence to back up her theory Makoto had to put on hold the investigation of what happened to Kashiwagi.

Right now she has other worries now that she was going to throw away the weekly trash on the neighborhood’s recycling units.

Makoto: “Please don’t be here, please don’t be here…”

There was no one else when Makoto went to throw away her home’s garbage.

Makoto: “Why am I being so paranoid? I am still in my pajamas and-”

Chie: “Partner.”

Makoto: “Ah!”

Makoto jumped away and fell on her butt with her bag of garbage falling along with her and spilling crumbled pieces of paper.

Chie: “Are you okay?”

The tomboy helped her coworker stand up.

Makoto: “I am fine, I just don’t like sudden surprises.”

Chie: “Partner, can we talk about what happened?”

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One and a half weeks ago, Makoto had driven towards her home in a fit of panic to check if her family were okay.

Makoto (panicking): “Please be okay! Please be okay!”

Makoto prayed to whatever god she had not helped to kill that Ren and Hana were fine, that she was just taking a bad decision based on paranoia, but when she saw her baby girl sitting at the entrance of their home crying all her motherly instincts went on overload and she got out of her family car fast.

???: “Hey, are you okay? What happened?”

Hana (crying): “Mi-Mister… Mister Namatame?”

The sudden explosion of the motherly instincts and the fast reaction to looking at the owner of that voice triggered in Makoto a response her more rational self won’t believe she did. She immediately grabbed Hana and went inside the house, closing the door.”

Hana: “Mommy!”

Makoto (crying): “Everything will be fine now!”

Makoto hugged tightly her daughter.

Ren: “Makoto? Was that Mr. Namatame outside?”

Makoto: “Ren, don’t open the door!”

Ren: “What?”

Makoto: “Just don’t!”

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After Makoto became more rational later and Ren explained what happened that day she started to feel a lot of guilt about how she behaved.

Makoto: “I know I behaved like an asshole. Hana shouldn’t have seen me in that state.”

Chie: “And you left me to walk on my own back home.”

Makoto: “That too.”

Chie: “Are you afraid of interacting with Namatame again? I told you he is a weak old man and can’t do anything bad.”

Makoto: “I know, you have explained to me many times, but I am ashamed of what I did to him in front of my own daughter and husband.”

Chie: “You aren’t the first person who has done that to him. After what he did to Nanako, people saw him as scum, like if he was the actual serial killer, or a pedophile. Some of my friends even wanted him dead.”

Makoto: “Kidnapping people doesn’t make anyone look good at all.”

Chie: “He was in a bad place and doing what he thought was right, even if it was wrong and harmed many people. It took him a lot of hard work to get back the trust of people and walk outside without the fear of being thrown stones.”

Makoto: “I just wanted to protect my family.”

Chie put a hand on Makoto’s shoulder in a reassuring way.

Chie: “I can’t blame you for that, but I can’t let you go off the rails like that next time you have a panic attack. You can’t protect people if you act like that.”

Makoto: “I know.”

Chie: “C’mon, let’s prepare for work. I will invite you some coffee to cheer you up.

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At the train station of Yasoinaba arrived two people who were summoned by duty. One came to help his former leader defeat an army of critters and the other came to fill paperwork.

Smug Inspector: “Ugh. The faster I get done with this the better.”

???: “Woosh!”

Smug Inspector: “Agh! When did a cat get into the train?!”

Of the two new arrivals, only the cat was the more interesting person to talk about.

Morgana: “Mwehehe!”

The bureaucrat with the excessive amount of hair gel and the briefcase wasn’t as interesting as the former Phantom Thief running through Inaba. He was Hidetoshi Odagiri, and was a very boring person with a very boring job. In contrast, Morgana was a supernatural cat that is sensitive to metaverse stuff and can persuade the leader of the Phantom Thieves to sleep early. Morgana was obviously the back up Ren requested to deal with the threat of the foxes, but sadly his story has to wait because now is Hidetoshi’s turn to have some importance to the story, even if it’s very little importance.

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Back at the police department of Inaba.

Lazy Police Officer: “Who is the man arguing with the boss?”

Gossipy Secretary: “It’s one of those fancy guys from Public Security. I think he is here because of the case of the runaway politician.”

Diligent Police Officer: “A PubSec guy? Things must be serious if one was sent all the way here!

Gossipy Secretary: “Keep your voice down.”

Inside the office of Dojima, the old man was really stressed with the way the uniformed bureaucrat was talking. Not even Adachi had made him feel this stressed with his incompetence.

Hidetoshi: “The failure of the capture of such a suspect reflects poorly the quality of work of this department and it’s a shame that not even the security of the train station were enough to apprehend him before he ran away and-” (checks his notes) “-hid on the forest were no one has been able to find him.”

Ryotaro (very annoyed): “If you have read the report you know we had a hostage situation at the same time and that became a priority.”

Hidetoshi: “That is true, but the successes of that day don’t excuse all the problems in your way of organizing the police department Yasoinaba.”

Ryotaro: “You must be very popular at parties.”

Hidetoshi: “I am simply doing my job, not one I enjoy, but one that must be done.”

While Hidetoshi continued to annoy Dojima, Makoto and Chie were busy working on a report about the arrest of some bikers.

Makoto: “Ugh, I hate writing a report every time some asshole wants to go above the speed limit and without a helmet. Even in Tokyo those people make my blood boil with anger.”

Chie: “It gets worse during the later summer when school is out.”

Makoto: “I just want to get done with this so I can check the lab results I requested.”

Chie: “I thought we were going to put on hold the investigation about Kashiwagi.”

Makoto: “I know, but I sent that strange string of fabric to the lab and I am anxious about the results.”

Chie: “I get you, it’s probably the closest we have to an actual criminal case and it’s kind of exciting, but also scary.”

Diligent Police Officer: “Hey, do you guys know that the boss is talking with a Public Security agent right now?”

Chie: “Public Security?”

Makoto got curious since she knew the work of Public Security, not only from her days working for the metropolitan police of Tokyo, but also from her days as a Phantom Thief. Also, her brother-in-law is a PubSec agent and another Phantom Thief, although older than everyone in the original group.

Makoto: “Do you know the name of this agent?”

Diligent Police Officer: “I think Hide-Hidesomething?”

Makoto groaned.

Chie: “Do you know him?”

Makoto: “Hidetoshi Odagiri. My brother-in-law complained about this new Public Security Inspector and warned me to stay away from him to avoid hearing one of his long speeches about following protocols and social contract.”

Makoto could well remember how Zenkichi looked stressed during the Christmas dinner at his and Sae’s home. He complained on and on about this bureaucrat making everyone check files for a case even during the week of Christmas. It was a pointless task and Christmas was almost ruined for Zenkichi if not for Sae revealing she was pregnant.

Makoto: “It would be best to not interact with-”

Hidetoshi: “Detective Makoto Niijima, I presume?”

Makoto mentally screamed. Then, she stood up to greet the inspector formally.

Makoto: “Inspector.”

Hidetoshi: “I was told by your superior that you and your partner were in charge of the hostage situation.”

Chie: “You can address me directly.”

Hidetoshi: “Pardon me rudeness, I had a very tense discussion just a few seconds ago, so I am a bit distracted.”

Chie was already disliking this guy because of his smug face and his way of speaking, as if he felt superior to everyone else.

Hidetoshi: “I wanted to congratulate both of you for your service, but especially you.”

Makoto: “Me?”

Hidetoshi: “Your brave rescue of an innocent civilian is a redeeming act after your mistake at the prefecture of Tokyo.”

Makoto’s eyes widened with surprise and she clenched her fists.

Makoto: “Y-you know about that?”

Hidetoshi: “Of course, I had to do a fast background research for my report and found this information, and I must say you are close to getting out of thin ice.”

Chie: “Hey, what is that supposed to mean?!”

Hidetoshi: “I am just complimenting her dedication to make amends for her past actions.”

Makoto suddenly felt all the shame she had forgotten get back to her. She thought she was all over it after days of breathing the fresh air of Inaba and spending more time with her family, but the shadows of her past still threatened her conscience.

Ryotaro: “I think that is enough of you talking to my people, inspector.”

Hidetoshi could feel the dreadful presence of Dojima behind him and knew that he had to leave immediately.

Hidetoshi: “I-I will return tomorrow to discuss-”

Ryotaro: “Now!”

The inspector left the building awkwardly to avoid the anger of Dojima. Meanwhile, Makoto had fallen on her chair and was heavily breathing, and Chie tried to make her calm down.

Chie: “It’s okay, he is gone.”

Makoto didn’t know what to answer and wanted to cry, but didn’t for fear of looking weak in front of her boss and colleagues.

Ryotaro: “Good grief. Satonaka, get her out to get some fresh air and return to work once she is better.”

Chie: “Yes boss.”

Makoto: “Sir, I am okay-”

Ryotaro: “You really need a break, especially after all the work I have assigned you. That is an order.”

Makoto: “... Yes sir.”

Ryotaro: “I am already too stressed to deal with the crap of that snake from PubSec.”

Dojima was really feeling bad about what Odagiri said to Makoto, although there was one bit of information the inspector said while in Dojima’s office that was making the veteran be worried about.

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Hidetoshi: “I checked the profile of your new hero detective, and there’s something off about her.”

Ryotaro: “I already know she killed someone, but she did it for a good reason.”

Hidetoshi: “Putting aside that she broke the laws of this country regarding the handling of criminals, it seems she appears in very important files of PubSec.”

Ryotaro: “What do you mean?”

Hidetoshi: “Let’s cut to the chase. Someone in Tokyo wants to destroy detective Niijima’s career, so they moved some strings to get a Public Security inspector to find dirt on her.”

Ryotaro: “So you are aware of this and you are still doing this?”

Hidetoshi: “Of course I think this is stupid and I just want to be done with this to get back to Tatsumi Port Island to be with my family for the summer, but then I found among the files of officer Niijima not dirt, but something peculiar. There is a file from 2017 where her name is mentioned, along with that of different individuals, some which include her husband, fellow Shujin Academy students and one student from Kosei High School.”

Ryotaro: “And?”

Hidetoshi: “Almost all digital records of PubSec regarding this group of people had been erased with official credentials of someone of high rank at the time, but there was one hand written document that survived this purge. Got stuck on a corner of a filing cabinet and was ignored for so long until I found it.”

Ryotaro: “So what you are saying is that Niijima was in some kind of club being investigated by the government? Is that all?”

Hidetoshi: “As far as I know, yes, but if I were you I would keep an eye on her. I also know about the last time a cop betrayed your department.”

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Outside of the police department, Makoto was sitting on a bench holding her own arms and crying. Chie sat next to her and was holding a bottle of water.

Chie: “Do you want some water?”

Makoto (crying): “I am fine.”

Chie: “No you are not. This is more than just the Namatame situation we talked about this morning. Makoto, what is actually happening that is making you so upset?”

Makoto was looking at her shoes in shame.

Makoto: “Many years ago I tried to be someone who I wasn’t, an obedient girl that did everything she was told just because I wanted the approval of someone close to me.”

Chie: “Oh…”

Makoto: “It got so bad I was gaslighted into a situation where too much responsibility was put on my shoulders and I became as jaded as the person I tried to get the approval from, but I became tired of that person I was becoming and tried something desperate to do what is right.”

Chie: “That sounds like some good personal growth.”

Makoto: “Then I did something very reckless and got kidnapped by mobsters.”

Chie: “Wait what?!”

Chie’s eyes were wide with surprise and her jaw dropped.

Makoto: “I let myself be kidnapped to help find a criminal boss, thinking this was the only way to do that and it worked, but…”

Makoto remembered clearly how Kaneshiro’s goons had restrained her and taken pictures of her to send to her fellow Phantom Thieves, clothed pictures, but it was still a terrifying experience. During that time she was afraid they would tear her clothes and rape her.

Makoto: “When my friends arrived, the mob boss threatened us with blackmail and I knew that if he wasn’t defeated I…”

Makoto still remembered when Kaneshiro pulled her hair to threaten her. She remembered all the evil messages sent to her phone with threats to make her a prostitute. She remembered how she looked worried at each corner when walking alone, fearing that at any time goons would take her away into a black van.

Chie: “Oh my god!”

She also remembered the rage, the desire for justice burning inside of her heart. She had stood on the metaverse without falling and teared off her own mask ignoring the pain it caused her. This wish for a better future was stronger than all the sadness she had endured and this renewed fire pushed her to fight against criminals, starting with the fast bastard Kaneshiro.

Makoto (with a weak smile): “But that story has a happy ending. By standing for what I truly believe in I finally were able to break free from being a cowardly girl. Yes, what I experienced is something I don’t want anyone else to go through, but I had to to help stop a monster. The victory we earned was proof that evil can be stopped if you just listen to your heart.”

Chie heard this painful yet hopeful story and smiled despite her urge to cry. She wasn’t aware that Makoto was a Persona user like her, but she knew this woman had gone through similar hardships in a quest for justice.

Chie: “You are braver than what I thought, partner. I can’t imagine myself going through what you did.”

Makoto: “After that I kept going through the path I chose to serve justice to people and still try to do that. I wanted to study and train to be a police officer, to ascend the ranks to reform the police and to keep people safe from the monsters out there.”

Chie: “What happened then?”

Makoto: “I broke one of my own rules and killed a criminal.”

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It was almost a year ago when it happened.

Makoto was leading a raid operation at a bar in Shinjuku, the red light district in Tokyo. She led 10 officers to the place to arrest a foreign businessman suspected of charges of human trafficking. This was a very rich man with political connections, but if he was caught red handed he would be arrested, and if the information was right he would be found doing a transaction with a local mobster on that day.

And the information was right, but one bit of information missing was that two of the foreign goons at the negotiation were armed.

Makoto: “Everyone take cover!”

In Japan, possession of firearms by private individuals is strictly illegal, so this was a big surprise for the raid team. However, they were an elite team carefully selected for these kinds of missions and Makoto as the leader of the raid had better marksmanship than the goons.

Serious Police Officer: “Tatsuo has been wounded!”

Makoto: “Take him away!”

Of the 10 officers that went on that raid, only Makoto and four others participated in the shootout inside the fancy room where the businessmen, 2 of his goons and 3 mobsters had been exchanging great quantities of money for 5 women forced to prostitution that were there too; the remaining officers made sure to cover any entrance to avoid any escape attempts; the 2 goons were injured by Makoto and a fellow officer; 1 officer had to take away an injured colleague; 1 mobster ran away, but was detained by an officer that arrived soon after hearing the shootout; of all the present victims of forced prostitution 3 ran away and 2 cowered on the floor in fear; the foreign businessman and the remaining mobsters were detained.

Makoto: “Kamado, call an ambulance for the injured; Oki, call for reinforcements in case we-”

??? (in a foreign language): “Help!”

Makoto heard the screams coming from a bathroom inside the room and when she opened the door her eyes shined red with rage. She saw a girl not older than 15 naked, crying and being grabbed by the waist by a mobster she recognized as a local mob boss.

Makoto: (pointing her gun at the mobster) “Unhand her now!”

Makoto threatened the criminal to get the girl to safety and he had no choice but to do as told since he was unarmed.

Makoto: (still pointing her gun) “It’s okay, you are safe now.”

Girl: (nervously nods and walks away crying)

The girl was guided to safety by one of the cops and this story could have ended there with an heroic rescue and all the victims and injured people being taken by ambulances, but just a few seconds after this the mobster in the bathroom started to shout things he shouldn’t have said.

Greedy Mobster: “You think you have won, officer Niijima?! Yes, I know who you are rising star of the police! After I get out I will go visit your little girl!”

That was the biggest mistake any criminal could have done.

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Makoto: “I shot him.”

Chie: “Oh my god!”

Makoto: “I shot an unarmed detainee in front of my colleagues and that was all it took for the higher ups to put an end to my career. Of course they couldn’t fire me after the work I have done, so they threw me here to not ‘cause any trouble’. So that’s the story of how I fucked up and not only I ruined my career, but broke one of my moral rules of not killing. I thought I was strong for not becoming traumatized from what happened to me, but when I saw that girl in that state… and when that monster threatened my daughter I-”

Chie immediately hugged Makoto.

Chie (crying): “Waaaaaaaah!”

Makoto: “Huh?”

Chie: “You didn’t deserve any of that bullshit! I would have done the same to that asshole!”

Makoto: “Please don’t kill people for my sake.”

Chie: “You are such a good person and a good mommy! I want to be a mommy like you!”

Makoto: “Weren’t you trying to cheer me up just a few minutes ago?”

Chie stopped hugging Makoto and cleaned off her tears, but not all of them.

Chie: “I am so sorry, I got very emotional there. Now I know why you are so protective and fierce. Also, screw that PubSec guy!”

Makoto: “I didn’t sense any malice in his words, but what he said made me think how my mistake is a brand of shame that is permanently on files of the government. I will always be seen as the “hysterical woman” that destroyed her career. I could have become a sergeant and this criminal was mostly bluffing.”

Chie: “But what if he wasn’t bluffing? You said he knew your name and that you have a daughter, so would have attempted to do something evil. Even if you did something wrong, you listened to your heart telling you to protect what you love.”

There was a conviction in Chie’s eyes that showed the sincerity of her words.

Chie: “Sure, you could have handled it better, but your heart is in the right place, don’t forget that. I have seen you work, and you aren’t some cold uncaring machine, you are a human that puts others before herself. You risked losing your chance to catch a corrupt guy just so you could protect a girl that pulled your shirt. How many uniformed dudes would have bothered to pay attention to what a kid has to say?”

Makoto smiled at Chie.

Makoto: “Thanks for enduring me for these past few weeks.”

Chie: “You have been my coolest partner so far and I don’t want to lose such a nice kohai after the previous one ditched me.”

Makoto: “They ditched you?”

Chie: “I maaaay have punched her asshole boyfriend…”

Makoto snorted a laugh.

Chie: “I know it sounds funny, but I punched him because he came to the police department once to throw insults at her and I just couldn’t let that happen. It turns out some people double down when you point out their lovers are toxic, so she requested to be transferred somewhere else to not deal with the ‘crazy tomboy’.”

Makoto had done a 180 degree mood change by laughing some more, something Chie thought was a good thing.

Makoto: Ahahahahaha!”

Chie: “I guess you really like physical comedy.”

Makoto: “Aha… I am sorry, it’s just that this reminded me of something funny from my past and I couldn’t help myself but find this a hilarious coincidence.”

Chie: “Well, I hope I was able to help you.”

Makoto: “You did, although I know this is something I have to deal with every day and I am thankful there are people that help me every time I doubt my own self-worth.”

Chie: “Jeez, Ren must have it hard.”

Makoto: “He has helped a lot since we were teens and I am always thankful to have met him. He is the kind of person that will stop what they are doing to help a stranger in need, even if they are ungrateful at first.”

Makoto remembered well the first time she met Ren. It wasn’t when she was investigating the Phantom Thieves, it was when Ren entered the library of Shujin for the first time and he approached her in a friendly way to make a casual conversation. Makoto of course was bitter that day because of so much studying and student council responsibilities, so she insulted him and told him in an “educated” way to get out of her presence. Makoto only remembered that interaction a month later when she realized that guy with glasses was her suspect of Kamoshida’s change of heart and she felt ashamed of herself later once he showed his true colors as a cool guy, like whenever he easily found her spying on him.

Ren (with a smug smile): (lowers the upside down magazine covering Makoto’s face) “You know, if you want to confess your feelings there are better ways.”

Makoto (blushing): “T-this isn’t what it looks like!” (covers her face with the upside down magazine)

The fact that the two had a cute moment in Hawaii a few months later seemed like something out of a fairy tale and when he declared his feelings for her at Lala’s bar it became a reality. It became even more real when Ren got of of jail and he and Makoto embraced tightly.

Makoto: “I just hope he is doing okay since he had to leave so much behind because of me.”

Chie: “He must be fine.”

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At the public recreation area close to the river.

Hana: “Morgana!”

The little girl squished the face of the former advisor of the Phantom Thieves.

Morgana: “Yes… I missed you too.”

Ren: “It’s good to see you traveled fine all the way from Tokyo.”

Morgana: “I hope you pay me with some fatty tuna as you promised since I missed a fancy dinner at Ann’s place.”

Ren: “I know you very well.”

Ren had called Morgana after the attack of the fox to his garden since he needed a metaverse entity to help him explore the mysterious tv network covering Inaba. Ren had checked every television he could and they all emitted the same metaverse presence he had felt in specific places at Tokyo, but there was no Velvet Room door anywhere to be seen, although he didn’t expect to see any Velvet Room attendant since Igor apparently retired and Lavenza had taken his duties since 2017. Ren hadn’t seen any Velvet Room attendant since he started college, which is probably a sign that the Velvet Room is being used by new wildcards. Without any blue clothed people to help him, Ren has to ask for help from the not-cat creature that is made of the hopes and dreams of humanity, and who has spent the last few years being Ann and Ryuji’s guest.

Morgana: (still being squished by the 5 year old girl) “So, have you tried to put your head inside one of those tvs?”

Ren: “I did, and it was nothing like Mementos.”

Morgana: “How so?”

Ren: “If Mementos can be described as an urban nightmare, this new area is like a peaceful forest. It is actually very pretty and the shadows didn’t even try to attack me.”

Morgana: (being hugged tightly) “The cognition of the people of rural towns is very different from that of people of big cities. Even when walking into this town I didn’t feel any of the gloom you can feel even without power at the subway station of Tokyo. This would be the ideal place to be if it weren’t lacking the feminine presence of Lady Ann.”

Ren: “Dude, she is married and has a kid.”

Morgana: “You underestimate our platonic love, my fellow masked vigilante.”

Hana: “Daddy, what is Morgana saying?”

Ren: “That he likes how you hug him.”

Hana: “Aww!” (continues squishing the cat)

Morgana: “You are a jerk.”

Nanako: “Hello, Mr. Amamiya!”

The young woman that uncannily looked like a mix of Ren’s wife and Futaba approached the group.

Nanako: “And hello you little angel.”

Hana: “Nana-chan!”

Hana freed Morgana to greet Nanako by hugging her legs.

Morgana: “Finally free!”

Nanako: “I didn’t know you had a cat.”

Ren: “Some friends told us to watch over him. So, do I need to pay an inscription fee?”

Nanako: “There’s no need for an inscription. You can leave Hana in our care from one to two hours, although we do require your phone number so we can call you in case of an emergency.”

Ren: “That is reasonable.”

Hana: “Daddy, aren’t you staying to play?”

Ren: (kneeling to be at Hana’s level) “Daddy has to do something important with Morgana, but you can play with Nana-chan until I get back.”

Hana: “Promise you will be safe, Daddy.”

Ren: “I promise.”

Morgana: “Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave your daughter in a new daycare just when Makoto had a panic attack as you told me?”

Ren: “The metaverse is too dangerous for a little girl.”

Nanako: “Huh?”

Ren realized he shouldn’t have said that out loud in front of this person that he thinks doesn’t know about the metaverse.

Ren: “I have to go now.” (grabs Morgana and walks away)

Nanako didn’t understand any of that anyway.

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Somewhere in a darkened room, a shadowy figure is sitting over a pillow and their shape is illuminated by the screen of a laptop. The laptop looks custom made and has a Medjed sticker.

??? (distorted male voice coming from the laptop): “What is a Public Security Inspector doing here?! Did he found about the project?!”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Relax, no one has found out about the project. From what I have gathered, this is just some annoying bureaucrat sent to inspect the quality of the police department after the situation at the train station.”

???: “If someone finds out this whole operation is over. Do you understand?”

Shadowy Female Figure: “The police have no idea what happened to that MILF, but there’s no way they will find any clues after our lab rat. Everyone either thinks she hit her head hard, or that this was just their local curse thing.”

???: “You better be right, or you will have to face consequences.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Yeah yeah, I know your threats. Even if someone does find a clue of what is going on, I have a contingency plan that will clean our hands of any responsibility.”

???: “Good to know. Also, how are preparations for the next run going?”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Subject M001 will be ready for the next test run this weekend and I have a good target in mind.”

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Back at the police department.

Makoto was looking at the lab’s test results with confusion.

Chie: (writing) “So, what did you find out?”

Makoto: “It’s just a regular string of clothing with no blood and no other biological clues besides the pollen from the farm field I found it at.”

Chie: “So I guess that is a dead end?”

Makoto: “Not quite. It’s a very new fabric, almost clean. The most notable characteristic is the hue of the color. It’s kind of an opaque light blue green.”

Chie: “Why is that color so interesting?”

Makoto: “Besides the fact that Kashiwagi, nor anyone at the party that we know about, was wearing clothes with that color, nor the farmer that found her had clothes of that color, or of that quality, it’s too clean despite the environment I found it in and the color is one I know very well.”

Chie: “You do?”

Makoto: “Yeah, it’s the color of the clothes of Japanese prisoners.”

Chie: “What?!”

Makoto: “The evidence is too vague to be conclusive, and there could be a logical explanation, but I am really curious about this.”

Chie: “Holy shit!”

Chie’s mind was already connecting the dots and thinking about a possible explanation Makoto didn’t know about.

Chie: “I think I have an idea, but I would have to consult with Dojima about it and he will probably not like it.”

Makoto: “If you know of anything that can help find out what happened to Kashiwagi it would be good to know about it.”

Chie: “It’s… kind of classified information.”

Makoto (not amused): “Are you pulling that crap on me?”

Chie: “Trust me on this one, okay? There’s stuff Dojima likes to keep secret for safety and if he agrees to what I have to say he may allow us to research more into this.”

Makoto sighed.

Makoto: “I trust your judgment on this one, Chie.”

Chie: “I won’t disappoint you partner.”

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At Dojima’s home.

Ryotaro: “Absolutely not!”

Chie: “C’mon!”

Dojima was sitting on a couch and was applying some cream to his bad leg.

Chie: “And can you stop doing that when I am here?! It’s kind of gross!”

Ryotaro: “Chie, I can’t trust Niijima with knowledge about how Adachi killed all those people.”

Chie: “She is a good person, boss!”

Ryotaro: “She is, but she is also volatile in extreme situations. She has seen stuff not even I have seen, stuff that leaves scars. If we tell her there’s another dimension with monsters she will either think we are crazy, or have another panic attack.”

Chie: “I admit the story sounds absurd, but she is a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”

Ryotaro: “Sometimes the strongest of people are the ones that have gone through a lot of shit. Have you even told her anything about Adachi?”

Chie: “Only the official version.”

Ryotaro: “We have to be careful with who knows the real story, for the sake of the people we protect.”

Chie: “At some point we will have to tell everyone the truth, not only her.”

Ryotaro: “Do you remember what happened in Tokyo in 2016? Some corrupt politician is said to have caused mental shutdowns on people to boost his career.”

Chie: “We really didn’t confirm if that was a Midnight Channel thing, but I felt something off during Christmas that year.”

Chie and Yukiko were on a date at the inn during Christmas, but the two felt like a psychic wave hitting them and there were shadows walking around them that only them and other friends of Yu could see.

Ryotaro: “The fact that I was even able to see those… shadows… proves that the corrupt politician was into weird magic shit.”

Dojima had seen a Jack Frost freezing the garden of his house.

Ryotaro: “Then there was that story from Tatsumi Port Island about people behaving like zombies. I have no proof that it’s connected to what happened in Tokyo, but there are similarities there.”

Chie: “I can see how bad it would be if Kashiwagi wakes up as a zombie. Wait a minute, I think the reason all those bad things happen without resistance is because not everyone knows about all this. People could defend themselves if they knew about it.”

Ryotaro: “I know people well enough to know the dangers of making something public in such a drastic way. Niijima and everyone else in Inaba have to live in peace while we carry the burden of such knowledge.”

Ryotaro: “At least let me talk to that bastard!”

Ryotaro: “That is a big no. Tell Niijima that you should stop this nonsense and focus on actually working. There’s no need to chase a ghost that can no longer harm this town.”

Chie walked away disappointed.

Chie: (not turning around to face Dojima) “If Yu knew what was happening he would do something.”

Chie left and closed the door behind her.

Ryotaro: “Well, Yu isn’t here.”

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At the electrodomestics store of Junes.

Morgana: “Why are we here and not at your home?”

Ren: “Because my tv isn’t big enough for me to enter if you get stuck there and need rescue.”

Morgana: “What about that pile of tvs on the forest you talked about?”

Ren: “The police are keeping a watch over that place until they decide what to do with all those tvs, so we have to do things in a subtle way.”

Morgana: “Subtle way? We are in the open here.”

Ren: “I will find an excuse if that annoying blonde guy appears.”

Morgana entered a tv screen and on the other side found what Ren described to him: peaceful greenery. It was a land created from the memories of the elders of Inaba and taught to the new generations through traditions. This was a paradise of resting, a reminder of the beauty of simplicity and the happiness that can be achieved in the hearts of humans.

Morgana: “This is so pretty! Why did we get the shitty Mementos, palaces and prisons?”

Morgana was so entranced he didn’t notice he no longer was in cat form, but in his anthropomorphic cat form and walking with his two legs. The grass felt so nice to the touch and colorful night sky made him feel blissful.

Morgana: “Whoa! I have my metaverse form back!”

Ren: (shoving his head inside the screen) “That must mean this really is an area of the metaverse.”

Morgana: “Wait, a shadow!”

A shadow passed next to Morgana and he stood in a defensive mode. However, the shadow ignored Morgana as if it was distracted with the scenery.

Morgana: “Huh.”

Ren: “I told you shadows aren’t as hostile as back in Tokyo.”

Morgana: “I should still be careful.”

The not cat walked up a grassy hill and looked at a pristine body of water.

Morgana: “This looks even better than the fishing pond of Tokyo!”

After a while exploring this verdant heaven, Morgana found something that looked man made: Shinto arches. There were lines of hundreds of Shinto arches crossing this land like if this was a sacred place.

Morgana: “What kind of power could have made all this? Yalda is dead and there’s no sign of any distortion from a palace ruler. This is something else we are dealing with.”

Teddie: “Hello there!”

Morgana turned around after feeling the presence of a shadow and to his surprise this shadow had the shape of a bear mascot suit.

Morgana: “You are a shadow?”

Teddie: “I am more than a shadow, I am Teddie! And who are you little cat?”

Morgana: “I am NOT a cat! I am Morgana, thief extraordinaire of the Phantom Thieves!”

Teddie: “What is a thief doing in my home?! Oh! Are you here to steal my fur?!”

Morgana: “No, why would I want your fur?”

Teddie: “My fur is so soft and pretty! You must have fallen to his allure!”

Morgana: “I don’t want a shadow’s fur!”

Teddie: “Stop saying the S word! I am sensitive about that!”

These two argued for a long time while Ren waited next to the television.

Ren: “What is taking him so long?”

Chapter Text

Makoto: “I lied to Chie.”

Ren: “Huh?”

Both Ren and Makoto laid naked in their bed and were heavily panting.

Makoto: “I told her the reason I was sent here.”

Ren caressed Makoto’s face.

Ren: “The real reason, or the one you tell to yourself and others?”

Makoto touched Ren’s hand and she looked at him directly into his eyes with tears in her eyes.

Makoto: “I hesitated, Ren. After that monster threatened our daughter I wanted to shoot him, I wanted to kill him, to paint the wall behind him red, but…”

Makoto closed her eyes and she could still remember how her hands were shaking that day. Her steady aim wasn’t present that time, like if she was doubting what she wanted to do next.

Makoto: “I took too long to make up my mind and someone else took the choice from me.”

Girl (in a foreign language): “Kill him!”

Ren: “It wasn’t your fault.”

Makoto (crying): “If I hadn’t been so weak I could have done my duty. I could have been better.”

Makoto remembered how the girl she had rescued had jumped towards her to attempt to grab her gun. She also remembered the eyes of the girl, eyes of someone that had been clearly injected with too many drugs and had been subjected to so much suffering. She knew this well not only because of the cases she had worked on, but also from seeing how her husband looked after being drugged and beaten down by Shido’s minions.

Ren: “It wasn’t your fault.”

Makoto (crying): “In that bathroom there were only two people alive and a corpse, and my back up, who were busy taking out the detained criminals, only heard a shot and some screams. I could have said the truth, I could have saved myself the shame and humiliation, but that would have meant throwing an innocent girl into a bus.”

In Japan law enforcement is very strict about cases of murder and even self defense murder is considered a crime. This is why cases like those of Akira Konoe’ premeditated murder of his abusive father are still discussed in law schools.

Sae: “Are you really risking your whole career to protect someone who didn’t even want to confess to the murder?!”

Makoto: “Who do you think would have had it worse at a court? A police officer with family in law enforcement and many achievements, or an undocumented immigrant who doesn’t even know Japanese to defend herself?”

Ren: “But you weren’t even allowed to explain yourself first. One of your ‘colleagues’ tattletailed on you to get rid of you and get your promotion.”

Makoto: “And I made things worse by lying to my superior and saying I shot the detainee by accident, just as Sae told me to say so I won’t get convicted.”

That was the lie Makoto had to legally keep to protect herself and protect the other girl, but everyone else that she used to work with didn’t buy it and either felt pity for her for taking a hard decision, or mocked her and spread their own lies about her, like “her lawyer sister must have sued the department” and “she must have had sex with the boss to keep her job”. All these lies reached her and Ren and even though Ren didn’t believe them he knew they were harming Makoto’s mental health.

Makoto: “You know what makes me feel really bad? That I thought that if I could redeem myself by doing another heroic act I could prove I am still a capable person that can be trusted and maybe, just maybe, go back to my plans to reform the police. How foolish I was. At this point I no longer care about any promotions, or repairing my reputation. If I have to be known as a hysterical woman, a killer, or a psycho bitch that is what I deserve for failing to do my duty.”

Ren approached Makoto and hugged her.

Ren: “You don’t deserve any of that. It isn't a weakness to care for your child and it isn't a weakness to care for others. You are a good person, Makoto, please remember that.”

Makoto hugged Ren back and kissed his neck.

Ren: “Please stop lying to yourself and others. Hana doesn’t want to see her mom cry and neither do I.”

Makoto smiled while still crying.

Makoto: “I will do my best.”

While Ren and Makoto continued their intimate moment and Hana was sleeping very comfortably with her new pajamas, Morgana was at the rooftop appreciating the suburban scenery.

Morgana: “This place fits with the description of the Pueblos Magicos (Magical Towns) of Mexico: charming little places in the countryside that have a great historical significance and their cultural heritage is protected by the town’s people and the government. Of course, there’s actual magic here and it can be felt in the air.”

Sophia (on a phone screen): “You were right Mona-chan, this metaverse landscape is a cognitive construction older than the palaces and the prisons. Not even EMMA could have created such a beautiful place.”

Morgana: “Take that technology billionaires!”

Sophia: “I also sent the data to Futaba and she says this could prove her mother’s theories about cognitive psience. The fact that no researcher has made a study of the paranormal phenomena of Yasoinaba must mean that either this is a groundbreaking discovery, or someone is keeping this place in the shadows.”

Morgana: “Probably the second option. Also, those foxes are really strange since they have made a network of Shinto arches to travel safely across the metaverse. I entered from a TV in Junes and came out of a TV in a random house, scaring some kids.”

Sophia: “What about the bear shadow you met?”

Morgana: “He is just a weirdo, so it’s best if we ignore him.”

Somewhere else, Teddie sneezed.

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At Chie’s lonesome residence, she was navigating through the internet to see stuff that could be helpful to her, but so far the results weren’t very favorable.

Chie (reading out loud): “While homosexuality isn’t illegal in Japan and there are prefectures where same sex couples are recognized, they don’t have the same basic rights of married straight couples… This sucks.”

When reading a Wikipedia article there was a small section that contained the specific information Chie was looking for.

Chie (reading out loud): “Let’s see… same sex couples aren’t legally allowed to adopt in any of the known prefectures of Japan blah blah blah-Wait, I can’t get artificially inseminated?!”

The only cases in Japan where a homosexual couples are legally allowed to raise a child are those where parents already with their own kids designate another person a second parent, but it’s something too specific to apply to.

Chie: “Maybe if I get preg… No, Yukiko won’t agree to that.”

Chie was thinking many crazy plans that night, like maybe going to the USA to get an artificial insemination treatment, or move out of Inaba with Yukiko to a country where the two can be together, but many of the options would be too expensive, take too much time, or require to leave their hometown. She got tired of searching for information and closed her laptop with tears in her eyes.

Chie: “Maybe… Just maybe…”

Chie took out her smartphone and checked her contacts and she looked at the only person in her group of close friends she hasn’t talked that much to in a long time. She pressed his name and the phone started to ring.

A few seconds later he answered.

Yosuke: “Chie? It’s the middle of the ni-”

Chie immediately regretted her actions and ended the call. Then, she broke into tears and curled into a ball on her tatami.

Chie (crying): “I am sorry Yukiko! I am sorry!”

Chie felt guilty for considering the idea of having sex with a friend just to get pregnant, especially a very close friend that knows Yukiko too.

Chie: “I am sorry…”

She continued to cry until she fell asleep.

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Somewhere at the ski resort of the region, a man wearing a bathrobe was sitting on a couch and watching on a 4K television a concert of the idol Rise Kujikawa. In his youth he was a fan of her Risette persona, but still followed her career as she became a professional musician.

Rise (on the tv): “To all my fans, you are awesome! And to my husband and kids, I love you!”

It’s kind of odd for an idol to still be famous after getting married and having kids, but Rise made it work through her talent and also some behind the scenes work done by her husband, who is said to have developed a complex network of allies with his social skills.

Big Shot Entrepreneur: “Oh this takes me back to simpler times, when I was a young high school lad and everyone went to concerts to see pretty girls.”

This man is a big city businessman that became inspired by the influence of Rise’s music to invest in developments in Rise’s hometown, the place where she rediscovered her passion for music to create his favorite song, Sapphire. It’s his dream to allow more people to see the beauty of rural Japan and something he has been working hard for the past few years.

Rise (on the tv): “And now I will sing a favorite of the fans.”

Sadly, his story ends tonight.

Rise (on the tv): “I am makin’ my way. I am makin’ my way.

From the top of the highest mountain. Through the skies over Japan’s Sea.

I am makin’ my-”

This man now laid as a corpse on the hard floor below the balcony of his room and it was being seen by a shadowy figure wearing a gas mask.

??? (distorted voice) “Test run number 2 has been a success.”

Somewhere else, a shadowy figure looked at her laptop and smiled a devilish smile.

Shadowy Female Figure: “I want to see how the police try to figure this out.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Makoto: “So, he fell from the balcony and died from the impact.”

Chie: “Pretty much.”

The forensics team was currently marking the area around the corpse and the two detectives were watching the process unfold from the balcony.

Makoto: “I don’t understand. How did he fell? The floor here is dry and there are no slippery objects that could cause such an accident.”

Chie: “Maybe he was drunk.”

Makoto walked carefully around the area where other cops and members of the forensics team were working and went to open the fridge of the room. She found one bottle of milk and a six pack of 1UP.

Makoto: “There are no alcoholic drinks here and the milk is unopened.”

Chie looked at the fence of the balcony and gave it a small kick.

Chie: “How long will it take for forensics to check every fingerprint on this fence?”

Makoto: “I want to say a few hours, but we don’t have fancy computers here like in Tokyo.”

Makoto thought of every possible scenario with the evidence available to them. It was possible that the entrepreneur had lost balance at the fence and fell backwards, or that he went crazy and decided to jump and kill himself, or that someone pushed him to his death. The murder scenario was doubtful at the moment since the door was closed from the inside of the room and the security cameras outside didn’t show anyone else besides the resident of this room entering.

Chie: “Makoto, there’s something I don’t like about how this guy fell.”

Makoto: “The fact that his bathrobe opened when he fell?”

Both women looked uncomfortably at the exposed corpse with colorful underwear down below.

Chie: “Besides that. The way he landed on the floor is too horizontal. If he had slipped and fell backwards he should have crashed in a sideways kind of way.”

Makoto: “That is an oversimplification, but I see your point.”

Hidetoshi: “So you suspect this is a murder case, Ms. Satonaka?”

Both women groaned and turned around to see the annoying PubSec agent standing at the entrance of the room.

Chie: “Shouldn’t you be going back to wherever Kappa pond you come from?”

Hidetoshi: “I don’t get your joke, but I guess you are insulting me.”

Makoto: “I thought you had to talk with Dojima and then write a report to your superiors.”

Hidetoshi: “I was going to do that, but after I heard the news of the incident I had to come see the police be at actual work for an objective report and I am surprised by the quality of the work done.”

The smug face and the tone of voice of this guy was getting on the nerves of every police officer and forensics expert on hearing range.

Hidetoshi: “Getting back to my question, why do you suggest this is a murder case?”

Chie: “It just looks off how he felt.”

Hidetoshi: “That’s all? Basing an argument on a feeling seems a little unprofessional.”

Chie wanted to shout at this guy, but Makoto looked at her and shook her head to gesture “just don’t”.

Makoto: “And what is the explanation you can come up with, inspector?”

Hidetoshi: “This isn’t my area of specialty, but the evidence points at a simple explanation. Mr. Okami had entered his room at 9PM, according to the security camera in the corridor outside, and later he wasn’t seen again until 7AM, when the staff of the resort reported finding his corpse. Without any visible sign of struggle and no recordings of another person entering the room, murder is the least likely reason for his death and everything can be explained as a simple accident.”

Makoto: “Then what can you say about the TV?”

Hidetoshi: “The TV?”

Makoto: “According to the staff, the TV was on when they entered the room and it was showing a paid live event, a concert of the musician Rise Kujikawa.”

Forensic Professional: “Rise is awesome!”

Chie: “Yeah!”

Makoto: “There’s a reclinable sofa chair facing directly at the screen and there’s a bag of unfinished potato chips and smartphone on the small table next to the sofa chair, the two of which are currently being analyzed. Why would a person go outside to the balcony if they were entertained by a paid live event and didn’t even bring their smartphone with them in case they needed to have an important call outside?”

Hidetoshi: “Maybe he wanted to admire the nocturnal scenery, or the construction works outside. He was in charge of the development of this area.”

Makoto: “I guess we have to wait until the lab results are finished to see what theory is right.”

Hidetoshi: “Fair enough.”

Hidetoshi turned around to walk outside.

Hidetoshi: “By the way, I want to apologize for my rudeness yesterday.”

Makoto: “That is appreciated.”

Once Hidetoshi was out of the room, both Makoto and Chie sighed.

Forensic Professional: “That guy is unbearable.”

Chie: “Tell me about it! He must think I am some illiterate country woman since he only apologized to Makoto.”

Makoto: “Hopefully he goes back to wherever he came from after today. We have so much work to do today.”

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Nanako: “And a 1 and a 2 and-” (starts playing her guitar)

At the recreation area close to the Samegawa River, Nanako was doing her job of taking care of many little kids and it was a fun day like usual. Among the kids she has the responsibility of entertaining and protecting are the 6 year old twins of Kanji and Naoto, Kei and Kai and the daughter of Ren and Makoto, Hana. Kei is introverted as both of her parents and Kai likes to imitate the bravado his parents show publicly.

Kai: “My mom is the best detective in the world! She can catch all criminals!”

Hana: “Nuh uh, my mom is the best detective!”

Kai: “Nuh uh! Mine is the best!”

Hana: “Nuh uh! Mine is!”

Kei: (covering her ears) “Please stop fighting.”

Nanako: (giggles) “There’s no need to argue kids, both of you have cool moms. Now what song do you want me to play-”

Nanako’s phone began to ring a very peculiar ringtone, like something from a heist movie.

Nanako: “Sorry kids, I have to answer a call.”

Nanako signaled a coworker to watch over the kids while she took a call with someone very important to her.

Nanako (in Spanish): “Hola cariño, ¿cómo has estado? [Hello sweetie, how have you been?]” (changes back to Japanese and giggles) “Like my Spanish? I have been practicing.”

At the same time, the kids were playing a game that the other caretaker wasn’t sure they should be playing.

Kai (imitating Naoto’s voice): “Oh yes, the victim was bonked with a hammer very hard.”

Hana (imitating Makoto’s voice): “Everyone put the yellow tape around! This is a crime scene!”

Kei: (laying on the grass) “I am a corpse.”

Nervous Caretaker: “K-kids, I don’t think this is appropriate? Won’t you prefer to play hide and seek?”

Nanako: (still using her phone) “No, I haven’t told my dad yet. I will try to explain things to him and… Look, he is kind of conservative about stuff like this and I don’t want to make him mad.”

Hana: “This looks like the work of the man with the gas mask, the Boogeyman!”

Kai: “I will avenge you, Kei!”

Kei: “Yay!”

Nervous Caretaker: “N-Nanako-san, are you done talking with your boyfriend?!”

Nanako (blushing): “I-in a minute.”

Nanako turned away to finish the conversation.

Nanako: “I will talk to you later, Raul. Bye. Kisses. Mua.”

On the screen of Nanako’s phone appeared a photo of her and her parents and she felt uncomfortable.

Nanako (worried): “How do I tell my dad?”

Nervous Caretaker: “Kids no! Don’t play with fake guns!”

Nanako shook her head.

Nanako: “Job first, talking with dad later.”

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Back at the ski resort, Chie and Makoto got to the lobby on an elevator and continued talking about the case.

Chie: “What if someone went over the rooftop of the building and landed on the balcony?”

Makoto: “That would be improbable since to jump down from that height could be dangerous for most people.”

Makoto mentally said to herself “Ren and I can do that jump though”.

Gossipy Maid (whispering): “Was it really just an accident?”

Scaredy Maid (whispering): “What oif it was You-Know-Who?”

Gossip Maid (whispering): “It can’t be, he is in a prison far away.”

Makoto noticed how Chie looked uncomfortable.

Chie: “Why do people like to spread rumors like that? It’s so annoyi-”

Chie was so distracted she stopped against the great mass of fat of Hanako Othani. The gigantic woman was dressed in a casual flowery strap dress and holding a handcrafted bag.

Chie (muffled): “Mph!”

Hanako: “Oh, I didn’t notice you there Satonaka.”

Chie regained her composure.

Chie (deadpan): “Othani.”

Hanako: “You must be investigating the death of Mr.Okami. What a tragedy?”

Makoto: “You knew him?”

Hanako: “I knew him? I despised what he was trying to do.”

In the very little time Makoto has had to meet Hanako Othani over the last few weeks she has come to the conclusion that she is a self centered person with a complex of grandeur. She is a very simple person to understand, or so Makoto thought. Now Hanako was showing some serious side.

Hanako: “He came with a bunch of big city sharks to ‘modernize’ Inaba. What a naive little guy.”

Chie: “That guy just died!”

Hanako: “And I will show my respects at the funeral.”

Cute Minion Girl: “Hanako-senpai!”

Hanako: “If you will excuse me officers, I have a brunch to attend.”

That lack of empathy was making Makoto feel very disgusted. It was the same kind of tactless behavior that she saw when people had insulted Ren, or Ann, or… herself

Chie: “Ugh! She has always been a big bitch! Why was she even here? Just to mock a dead guy?”

Makoto: “Some people don’t realize they are being malicious, or plain stupid.”

Chie: “Like the PubSec guy Hidebullshit. I swear that if he tries to belittle me again I will-”

Once again Chie couldn’t finish a sentence, but this time it was because she saw someone he she didn’t want to see right now.

Yosuke: “Chie?”

Chie (nervous): “H-hi.”

Yosuke: “You must be here on duty. Man, that was horrible.”

Chie: “Yes… very horrible.”

Yosuke: “Oh, are you Chie’s new partner?”

Makoto: “Yes, I am detective Makoto Niijima.”

Yosuke: “Yosuke Hanamura.”

The detective and the businessmen shook hands in a formal way while Chie wanted to run away as fast as she could.

Yosuke: “Mr. Okami was one of my associates and also a good friend of mine, so this really hits hard.”

Makoto: “Wait, are you by any chance-”

Yosuke: “Oh yes, I am the owner of Hanamura Distribution Company.”

Chie (out of her fearful state): “You actually named it that?!”

Yosuke: “Do you know how hard it’s to name a private business?”

Chie: “You could have used a short name, or not used your last name.”

Yosuke: “What would you have called it then?”

Chie: “Something much cooler I guess.”

Makoto: (suppresses a short giggle) “I can see you must be really good friends.”

Chie: “I knew this idiot from high school.”

Yosuke: “Look who's talking. I had to help you study math.”

Makoto was very amused seeing these two argue with each other so effortlessly that she would have shipped them if not for the fact that she knows that Chie swings the other way.

Yosuke: “Anyway, I only came all this way here for… Obvious reasons. Buuuut… Want to hang out after work?”

Chie (shy): “Y-yeah… That would be nice.”

Yosuke: “Of course I will also invite Yukiko, Teddie, Kanji and Marie since I know the others are out of the region.”

Chie: “It would have been nice if the whole gang was here.”

Yosuke said goodbye and went his own way after that meeting.

Chie: “Hey Mako, how did you know what company he is the big CEO of?”

Makoto: “There’s a big billboard of his company close to the entrance of Inaba and some trucks have the HDC logo.”

Chie: “That is his logo?! Jeez, I thought it was an HD television company.”

Makoto: “From what I have read about the works being done in Inaba, the Hanamura Distribution Company, Okami Enterprises and other 5 companies form a small keiretsu focused on agriculture, fishing, land development, commerce and tourism. I suspect some representatives of this group were at the party of the mayor.”

Chie: “I knew Yosuke became a big shot, but I didn’t expect he would be one of the corporate overlords! I was joking when I said all those things to him about him coming to destroy Inaba!”

Makoto: “It’s kind of a morally gray situation since the work being done here can lead to more work opportunities, but can also lead to a cultural clash with the locals. However, with the death of one of the CEOs of the keiretsu whatever projects they have can be at risk. I have seen what happens when a CEO dies and the results can be really bad.”

Makoto remembered the death of Kunikazu Okumura and the description Haru gave about the temporary crisis of leadership of Okumura Foods.

Chie: “I just hope Yosuke doesn’t get involved with something really dangerous.”

Chie was able to put to the side her fears about what happened last night, but she felt there’s something she has to discuss with Yukiko and maybe also discuss with Yosuke.

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Later at night, a group of old friends reunited at the pub of Lady Shiroku since now they are adults that can drink alcohol.

Kanji (already drunk): “Poor Nanaaaako… She is babysitting my kids and I am here-here getting wasted…”

Yosuke: “How did you get drunk with just two beers?”

Teddy: “Parenting can be very stressful, especially when your special lady isn’t here to make you happy.”

Yukiko: “Teddy!”

Kanji: “She’s busy… busy with work overseas… solving some case.”

Chie: “I wonder what kind of mystery she is solving now. Probably a murder on a train?”

Marie: “I know what it is to miss someone. I miss my Yu-Yu so much and want to be in his arms.”

Yosuke: “Dude is married and with kids.”

Marie: “I know, but whenever Yu and Rise are here I am one call away for when they want to spice things up.”

Chie snorted her drink, Kanji got confused and everyone else felt weirded out.

Chie: “Have you three been… doing it?!”

Yukiko: “Tell the details!”

Teddy: “And be very descriptive!”

Yosuke: “What the fuck, guys?!”

Marie: “One thing led to another and we shared a room in a hotel in Osaka. I think it was by the time I sensed some computery thing in the other world.”

During the days when Maddice was experimenting on the metaverse with the creation of the Prisons, Rise had taken a short break from her tour and spent a very hot weekend with her boyfriend/future fiance and a certain female weather forecaster. The three were too distracted to notice the clashing happening in the metaverse area close by, which was caused by Joker (Ren),Queen (Makoto), Noir (Haru) and Wolf (Zenkichi) fighting Akira Konoe.

Chie: “I know this comes out of nowhere, but speaking of the other world, I think there’s some weird shit happening here.”

Teddy: “I know, those foxes keep creating Shinto arcs all over the place.”

Chie and Yukiko: “What?!”

Kanji: “Wa?”

Chie: “Why didn’t you said anything about that?! We have been dealing with the fox situation for months now!”

Teddy: “Nobody asked me.”

Yosuke: “I am at a lost here. What is happening?”

Marie: “I am as confused as you.”

Yukiko: “A fox had been stealing food from many local businesses and farms and nobody has been able to capture him.”

Chie: “Until my partner’s husband found where the critter was hiding, and check this out, it was a temple made of TVs and computers!”

Kanji: “That doesn’t sound good…” (starts feeling nauseous)

Marie: “TVs… Hmmm…”

Chie: “And even when the little thief got captured, he somehow escaped and left a threat at my partner’s home. It seems there’s a whole gang of orange devils using the other world to do their crimes, as if they were the Phantom Foxes of Snacks.”

Yukiko: “Ohohoho!”

Chie: “What is with you right now?”

Yukiko (smiling widely): “I just imagined some tiny fox puppies dressed with cute masks.”

Teddy: “And now one of those Phantom Thieves is walking on my turf.”

Everyone stood silent.

Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke and Marie: “What?!”

Kanji: (vomits)

Yosuke: “Bro!”

Yukiko: “Kanji-kun!”

Bartender: “Ugh.” (takes out cleaning supplies)

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Ren: “I can’t believe I bought an expensive 4K TV to explore the metaverse.”

Futaba (through a webcam): “I have spent more money on my collectable figures, so this is a small price to pay for cognitive psience. The P is silent to avoid confusion.”

Ren entered through the TV and his regular stay at home dad clothes were replaced with his Joker clothes, which he hadn’t seen since 2017.

Ren: “Still fit me.”

Futaba (voice only): “You can admire your beauty some other time. Now do as an astronaut and explore the unknown!”

Ren did as Futaba said and jumped around as if he was an astronaut, although he just looked like a grown man dressed in an edgy way and jumping as if he was splashing on the ground, but instead of water it was just the usual magical sparkles. He really missed the experience of being a Phantom Thief.

Futaba: “What do you see?”

Ren: “Shinto arches everywhere.”

Futaba: “The torii symbolize the entrance to a sacred place, like a sanctuary. Considering the network they form, this could be the metaverse equivalent of the webway from Warhammer 40K.”

Ren: “Is there any creepy clown god here?”

Futaba: “I doubt thousands of people would worship a clown.”

Ren saw some foxes running through the arches and ran towards them with the supernatural speed he gets in this world, although he stumbled a bit because of years of not doing it.

Ren: “Got you.”

It was very easy for Ren to capture a bunch of foxes by summoning a Arsene to grab each of them at high speed and putting all of them into a net.

Ren: “Aha!”

Futaba: “That’s my Joker! Now we put all these thieves into a prison!”

It was very easy to transport all those tiny foxes with Arsene’s help, and the job became easier with Futaba’s idea of pouring all the foxes through another TV and into an animal containment cell in the backyard of Ren and Makoto.

Ren: “The hardest part will be to explain to animal control how we captured tens of baby foxes.”

Futaba: “I am sure you will find a good lie.”

Ren: “My lies don’t last long though.”

Ren starts coming out of the TV.

Futaba: “I miss you guys.”

Ren: “We miss you and the others.”

Futaba: “You know what I mean.”

Ren crawled out of the TV and into his living room. Then he sighed.

Ren: “Futaba, I can’t reciprocate your feelings, I am a married man.”

Futaba (on the computer): “But I love Makoto too!”

Makoto: “What?”

Hana: “Daddy, did you just come out of the TV?”

On the living room Ren was laying on the floor, Makoto had just entered the house and was holding a bucket of fried chicken, Hana was wearing her pajamas and just came out of her bed and Futaba was on the screen of Ren’s laptop looking nervous.

Morgana: (casually walking in) “Oh crap! I forgot to watch for the kid!”

Futaba: “M-Makoto… How much of that did you hear?”

Makoto: “Futa-”

Futaba disconnected the call and her screen went blank.

Ren: “It isn’t what it looks like.”

Makoto: “I know, I heard you and appreciate your fidelity, but this is too much right now.”

Hana: “Mommy, Daddy came out of the TV!”

Makoto: “Right, we also have to explain this to Hana.”

Hana: “Mommy, are you and Daddy marrying Auntie Futaba?”

Makoto: “No, we aren’t marrying your aunt. Ren, can you help me set the table? We have a long conversation to have with our daughter.”

The two parents knew one day they would have to have a talk with their daughter about the metaverse, but they didn’t expect that it would be so soon. They really didn’t want their daughter to get involved with any supernatural stuff, but since it seems they continue getting involved with supernatural stuff it’s better to inform Hana for her own safety.

Makoto: (serving fried chicken) “Hana, it seems today is the day we have an important talk.”

Hana: “Are you telling me where babies come from?”

Makoto: “Not that talk. It’s about why your Daddy came out of the TV.”

Ren: (pouring some tea into a cup) “Daddy was exploring a… the spirit world.”

Makoto froze a bit with what Ren just said.

Hana: “Ghosts are real?!”

Makoto: “No!”

Ren: “Yes.” (gives a wink to a nervous Makoto) “And Daddy was making sure no ghosts were coming from our TV. There are no ghosts at all here.”

Hana: “Aww! But I wanted to meet a ghost!”

Ren: “But your mom is scared of ghosts, so we can’t have one wandering here.”

Hana: “Okay.”

Makoto sighed with relief.

Hana: “Can I enter the TV?”

Makoto: “No, you can’t.”

Ren: “Daddy can because of… a fairy. A blue fairy.”

Hana (very excited): “Like the ones from cartoons?”

Makoto (with a devilish smirk): “Yes, but if Daddy says any of this to people that aren’t part of our family he will lose his powers.”

Hana: “Oh no!”

Ren: “So yeah, don’t tell any of your friends about this, for the sake of the world.”

Hana: “Okay!”

Even if Hana told the other kids about this, the story is so absurd they won’t believe it, or they would believe it and forget about it when they become older. Hana on the other hand can’t forget something like this and now thinks her dad is like a superhero.

Hana: (biting the chicken) “Yummy!”

Makoto (whispering): “Let’s hope she forgets this when she grows up.”

Ren (whispering): “Nah, she inherited your intelligence.”

Hana: “Mommy, if Auntie likes you that means she is gay?”

This is another topic Makoto knew she would have to deal with eventually, but she didn’t expect Hana would change topics so fast after finding out supernatural things are real. She guessed this is normal of kids her age.

Makoto: “No, Auntie Futaba likes boys and girls.”

Hana: “Is she half gay? Like the half and half ice cream?”

Makoto: “If you put it that way, yes.”

Ren: “Now I want ice cream.”

Hana: “Is Mommy gay?”

Makoto: “No, Mommy likes Daddy.”

Hana: “Now I feel sad.”

Makoto: “Why?”

Hana: “Cuz Auntie likes Daddy and Mommy, but you don’t like her, so she is lonely.”

The train of thought Hana went through impressed both of her parents.

Ren: “Well, just because you love someone doesn’t mean they will love you the same way.”

Ren knew this bitter truth since just after he started dating Makoto he had to shot down Futaba’s implied love confession by basically saying it would be best if they remained as friends.

Makoto: “Imagine if you had to marry someone you don’t love. Would that make you happy?”

Hana: “No, I only want to marry someone like Daddy!”

Ren: “Aww!”

Hana: “Are you sure sure you don’t like Auntie?”

Makoto: “I only like her as a friend and that should be enough.”

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After Hana finally went to sleep, the stress of the night had finally subsided.

Ren: “About the foxes I have imprisoned in the garden, I think it will be best if-”

Makoto interrupted Ren with a kiss and pushed him towards their bed.

Ren: “Are you sure?”

Makoto: “Ren, I saw a dead body this morning, had to inspect a crime scene thoroughly and made the paperwork for the case for hours and later I returned home and had to tell to our daughter a flawed description of the metaverse and your powers just so she doesn’t know her dad is the famous Joker of the Phantom Thieves.”

Ren: “There’s also the Futaba situation.”

Makoto: “I am too stressed and want you to pound me to kingdom come so I can sleep comfortably.”

Sadly for Ren and Makoto, their marital fun had to wait a bit longer since someone was ringing the doorbell.

Makoto (angry and horny): “Who is it now?!”

Makoto went downstairs with her buttoned shirt wrongly buttoned and opened the door to find a crying Chie.

Chie (sobbing uncontrollably while drunk): “Makwoto! I fukeet all!”

Makoto: “Good grief.”

Chapter Text

Somewhere in the central shopping district, a young man is standing in front of the bookstore and looking at the books on a discount box. One book has the title “The Okumura Way”.

???: “Pedazo de mierda.”

Bookstore owner: “Oh… ah… Are you looking for something?”

???: “...”

The young man left the bookstore, leaving the owner of the establishment scared.

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Chie: “Ugh, my head!”

Chie had woken up on the couch of Ren and Makoto and her current hangover was worse than previous ones.

Hana: “Good morning, Chie-san!”

The little girl was standing next to Chie’s head and looked cheerful.

Chie: “So loud…”

Hana: “Daddy made breakfast!”

Chie: “Jeez, I don’t know if I should.”

Makoto: “You will.”

Makoto left a Pocari Sweat drink on the armrest where Chie was resting her head.

Makoto: “You look worse than my husband during last year’s Halloween.”

Ren (from the kitchen): “Hey!”

Makoto: “You vomited over my sister’s houseplants.”

The breakfast at the Amamiya-Niijima household that morning consisted of omelets with rice, miso soup and fried fish. This was the first time in a long while that Chie had eaten a decent homemade breakfast, especially since all she “cooked” were fried eggs a bit burned, beans from a can and instant ramen. She depended too much on Yukiko to bring her food from the Amagi Inn, NOT cooked by Yukiko, but now she doubted she was going to get such delicious and nutritious food ever again.

Chie (with teary eyes): “Oh god this is so good! This is better than the food from Yuki-” (suddenly starts to cry)

Hana: “Daddy, your food is so good it made her cry!”

Ren: “I don’t think that is what is happening here.”

Makoto: (patting Chie’s back) “Can you please tell us what happened last night?”

Last night Chie arrived unannounced and cockblocked Ren and Makoto with her drunken crying that lasted for three hours until she fell asleep on their couch. They still had sex though.

Chie: (cleaning her tears and trying not to cry again) “It-It’s kind of complicated… Yukiko and I… are really good friends, but I…”

Makoto: “There’s no need for you to expla-”

Hana: “Mommy, are Chie-san and Yukiko-san gays?”

Both Ren and Makoto wanted to facepalm and Chie’s jaw dropped.

Chie: “How does she know?!”

Makoto: “She has been asking over and over if some people are gay, which is very disrespectful, Hana.”

Hana: “Sorry Mommy.”

Chie: “Oh… I guess now you know.”

Ren: “I already knew.”

Makoto: “Ren.”

Chie: “Were we being too obvious?!”

Makoto: “I don’t think so.”

Ren: “My LGBT radar is rarely wrong.”

Makoto: “You don’t have an LGBT radar.”

Ren: “I was right about Futaba.”

Makoto: “Good grief.”

Chie: “Please don’t tell the boss. I owe him so much and I don’t want to lose his respect… And my job.”

Makoto: “Is Dojima homophobic?”

Chie: (fiddling with her food) “I don’t know, but he is old fashioned and very judgemental.”

Ryotaro: “Why do politicians keep talking about gay people? Nobody cares about any of that.”

Chie: “And even if he had no problem, I am not risking someone else at work knowing since people can be fired because of rumors.”

Makoto: “That’s sadly true. Also, I am not telling Dojima since that would be morally wrong.”

Chie (with teary eyes again): “Thank you!”

Ren: “Can you finally tell us why you crashed on our couch last night? Not that we mind since many of our friends have done that.”

Hana: (counting with her fingers) “Auntie Futaba, Auntie Sae, Uncle Yusuke, Miss Ichinose…”

Chie looked at her mis soup thoughtfully and remembered what happened last night. After her friends and her talked about the current metaverse stuff happening and the presence of the Phantom Thieves, she had asked Yukiko and Yosuke to stay to talk about something more private.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yosuke: “You want what?!”

Yukiko: “Chie!!!!”

Chie (nervously): “I mean… It could be a one time thing, right?”

Yosuke: “I-I don’t know what to say.”

Yukiko (angry): “Why didn't you consult me first about this?!”

Chie: “I… I don’t know, I thought this way we could finally be a family!”

Yukiko: “Aren’t we already a family?!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chie: “Then Yukiko left after saying I was a selfish jerk and I felt so horrible I went for an extra round of beer.”

Makoto: “I can understand why she would be upset.”

Chie: “And all because I want to be a mom.”

Hana: “Mommy, why can’t Chie-san and Yukiko-san have babies?”

Makoto: “Ren, can you explain that to our child in a respectful way?”

Ren: “Bluey, Onesies.”

Hana (saddened): “Oh… It wasn’t meant to be.”

Chie: “Why does that sentence summarize many things about my life?!”

Makoto: “Look Chie, I don’t know what you are going through, but I think you have to talk with Yukiko soon.”

Chie: “I know, but I don’t know if she wants to see me now.”

Ren: “Just do what I do whenever I make Makoto angry: buy flowers and beg for forgiveness.”

Makoto: “But don’t drive like crazy like my husband did once. He could have had a car accident on his way to beg for my forgiveness at my sister’s apartment.”

The author of this fanfiction smiles after making that meta reference to a previous work.

Chie: “Maybe, but I think that should be done after work since the boss wants us to finish the report of the death of Yosuke’s friend.”

As if doing a summoning, Makoto’s radio activated.

Ryotaro (voice only): “Niijima, is Satonaka with you?”

Makoto: “Yes sir.”

Ryotaro: “Someone called early this morning to report of a thug scaring people downtown and while I don’t know if this is a prank, or not, I would like you to deal with that since the officer patrolling there got scared like a coward and called for backup.”

Makoto: “Want me to glare at this suspect?”

Ryotaro: “Yes.”

Makoto: “Good.”

Makoto took a sip of her coffee and stood up.

Makoto: “Chie, go take your uniform, we have a job to do.”

Chie (with toast on her mouth): “Hmm?”

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Back at the central shopping district, specifically a small market of vegetables. Many people were looking curiously at the stranger that had recently arrived in their town and some were too scared to interact with him.

??? (with a mix of Japanese and Spanish): “I would like one of these, porfavor.”

Old woman (nervously): “Excuse me?”

???: “Un rabano… please?”

Makoto and Chie parked their bikes close by and went to see what the commotion was about and Makoto was confused about what was happening.

Makoto: “Wait, that is the ‘thug’ we were called to apprehend?”

Chie: “He does seem a bit thuggish.”

The person everyone was focused on was a tall and muscular man with scruffy black hair and dark skin, someone of Latino descent. Seeing a person of such description in rural Japan is rare, even in modern times since Japan has low migration and it would be more likely to see foreigners in the big cities. Also, this person looked extra intimidating with piercings on his ears, a military themed jacket and a pair of dirty boots.

Bratty Teenager: “Hey, [REDACTED SLUR]!”

A teenager threw a slushie kind of drink at the stranger and some other teenagers began to laugh.

Chie: “Hey, you morons!”

Cowardly Teenager: “Shit dude, it’s Satonaka!”

The one that threw the drink attempted to run, but was caught by Chie, who sprinted 50 meters to reach him really fast and grappled him before he could attempt to parkour through an alleyway.

Makoto: “Are you okay?”

Makoto approached the stranger, but he glared at her with angry eyes that made her think as if she was seeing the angry eyes of her own sister.

Makoto: “Let me help clean you.”

???: (stepping away) “No te me acerques, fascista!”

Makoto (in English): “Can we talk? I can help you.”

The stranger went quiet for a moment before he decided to speak again.

??? (in English with bits of Spanish): “I… I want to… reach esta dirección.”

The stranger took out a scrap of paper with a direction written on it and Makoto read it.

Makoto: “I know that street. First you have to go through here and then-”

Makoto gave directions to the stranger and he went on his way. Meanwhile, Chie was reprimanding the teenagers at the market.

Chie: “If I see any of you throwing objects at people again I will take the culprit to spend a few hours on a cell and your parents will know about it. Am I clear?”

Teenagers: “Yes, Ms. Satonaka.”

Makoto: “It turns out the ‘suspect’ was just wandering around in search of directions, but people were too scared, or didn’t understand his way of speaking Japanese.”

Chie: “We better call the boss to clarify this.”

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At the Amagi Inn, Yukiko was clearly bitter and everyone around her noticed it. There was an aura of dread coming from her that was a bit out of character and many thought it would be best to stay away from the owner of the Amagi Inn until she calmed down.

Yukiko: “Stupid Maddice software! Why can’t you go one day without glitching?!”

Erika: “Hey, lady boss.”

Yukiko: “Yes?”

Erika: “Do I really have to babysit those brats? I have better things to do.”

Yukiko (deadpan): “Do you really think you can ask for a change of shift after skipping work for so many days?”

Erika: “I guess not.”

Yukiko (with a forced smile): “It’s good that you understand.”

The hipstery woman turned around and walked away and it was clear she didn’t have the same respect for Yukiko everyone else had.

Erika (whispering in English): ‘Fucking lesbian.’

Yukiko heard this and knew it must have been some kind of insult, but she was too tired to deal with an irresponsible employee.

Yumi: “Good afternoon, Amagi-san.”

A short black haired woman with a long sunhat stood in front of the reception desk and was holding a bag with colorful embroidery.

Yukiko: “Ozawa-san, are you here for the registration?”

Yumi: “Yes. Without Kashiwagi-san I have to take some of her responsibilities.”

Yukiko: “I am sorry about what happened to her.”

Yumi: “It’s something tragic, but at least she is alive and her family keeps her company, although…”

Yumi looked a bit distracted.

Yukiko: “Although?”

Yumi: “I don’t know if I should speak of this, but… Before the incident… She and Ohtani-san had a big argument about the direction of the Women’s Society.”

Yukiko: “Oh my.”

Yumi: “Since then Ohtani-san doesn’t want to talk about her, nor has gone to visit her. It’s kind of odd since they used to be such good friends.”

Yukiko: “I know that very well.”

Yukiko remembered how the two women continued to attend the Amagi Inn for the following years after that pageant where Naoto defeated them as the most beautiful girl of the school. To this day Yukiko wonders how Hanako Ohtani got so many votes. Either she tried to rig the voting, or some boys were into chubby girls.

EMMA: “#@&#PHAN…*&FGSDG—--THOM…”

Yukiko: “Sorry, the computer does that sometimes.”

Suddenly, Yukiko’s smartphone rang and she checked it. She didn’t look pleased with the multiple texts sent by Chie.

Yumi: “Shouldn’t you answer?”

Yukiko (bitter): “Not at the moment. This person will have to wait a long time.”

Yumi: “Ooooh, I get it. I did the same when my husband forgot our anniversary once. Now he marks the date with a red marker every year.”

Yukiko: “When should I start talking to… them again?”

Yumi: “You have to vent a little and let him think of whatever he did.”

Yukiko: “Thanks for the advice.”

Yumi: “Also, don’t go overboard and break a tv.”

Yukiko (concerned): “Okay?”

Yumi: “Oh! I should clarify that it wasn't me who broke the tv, but Kashiwagi-san.”

Yukiko: “Oh my!”

Yumi looked around.

Yumi: “Can I tell you something I saw?”

Yukiko: “Huh?”

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The police department of Yasoinaba was busy like always with all the usual paperwork to be done, some people being detained for minor crimes and the constant calls from animal related robberies.

Tired Police Officer (on a phone): “Yes Ma'am, I understand Ma’am. Have a good day.” (hangs the phone) “Hey, Niijima-san, can your husband catch another fox?”

Some people laughed.

Makoto: (writing text) “At least he has caught something.”

More people laughed.

Chie: “Mako, Yukiko hasn’t answered any of my messages! This is driving me crazy!”

Makoto: “I don’t blame her for being evasive right now. I would kick Ren out of the house if he asked me if he could have sex with someone else.”

Makoto said this while thinking about what Futaba said the other day. One thing was Futaba crushing on Ren, but Futaba explicitly saying she loves both Ren and Makoto was something else. Now the metaverse dreams she had about Futaba chasing her to touch her butt made more sense and that worried her. All those times at bathhouses where she hung out with the girls of the Phantom Thieves, was Futaba ogling her for lustful reasons? For now she was only certain she needed to apologize more to Ren and their friends about what happened at a certain bathhouse where she went berserk.

Chie: “I just want to talk to her, but she doesn’t even answer my calls! This is so frustrating!”

Nanako: “Where is he?!”

Chie, Makoto and other people turned their attention from whatever they were doing to the very familiar voice of Nanako Dojima, the daughter of their boss.

Nanako: “I want to talk to my dad!”

Gossipy Secretary (nervously): “He is busy right now.”

Nanako: “Ugh!”

Nanako opened the door of her father’s office despite the secretary telling her to not do it and found her father having an argument with Hidetoshi.

Hidetoshi: “As I was saying-”

Ryotaro: “Nanako?”

Nanako: “Dad, you asshole!”

Ryotaro and everyone else in earshot was speechless about hearing Nanako of all people say an R rated insult.

Hidetoshi: “Young miss, this is an official-”

Ryotaro: “Out now!”

Hidetoshi walked away with a look of confusion.

Ryotaro: “Nanako, what is this all about?”

Nanako: “Your people arrested Raul!”

Ryotaro: “Who the heck is Raul?”

While Nanako was arguing with her father inside his office, Chie and Makoto were surprised when they saw the latino they had met earlier being guided into the direction of the cell area by a fellow officer.

Tired Police Officer: “Dude.”

Incompetent Police Officer: “What?”

Makoto: “I told everyone it was a misunderstanding!”

Chie: “Did you have your radio turned off?!”

Incompetent Police Officer: “What? Of course I… Oh shit.”

???: “Idiota.”

Nanako had come out of her father’s office and she looked at the latino with worry.

Nanako: “Free him immediately! He did nothing wrong!”

Makoto: “She is right, he was just wandering the town.”

Incompetent Police Officer (nervously): “B-but he had entered the garden of the boss! That is trespassing!”

Nanako: “Raul, why did you trespass into my dad’s house?”

Raul: “I wanted to surprise you.”

Nanako (blushing): “Oh…”

Makoto looked at Nanako and then at this scruffy foreigner with many piercings, and just a few seconds later she got the realization.

Makoto (smiling): “He tried to pull a Ren Amamiya.”

Chie: “Why do you use your husband’s name for an action?”

Makoto: “Because he broke into my apartment once to leave a present for our one year dating anniversary.”

Chie: “Oh… Ooooooh!!!!”

After Raul was freed from the handcuffs imposed on him, Ryotaro came out of his office to see the person his daughter insisted on freeing.

Ryotaro: (walking awkwardly with his injured leg) “Nanako, who is this man? Is he a friend of yours?”

Nanako turned to face her father and looked scared at first, but when she felt Raul’s hand holding hers she felt reassured.

Nanako: “He is my boyfriend, Raul Alba.”

To Ryotaro Dojima time seemed to slow down.

When a daughter presents her boyfriend to her father it’s normally expected that the father will react with either confusion, or aggression, to the idea of his daughter being “taken away” by a stranger. In this case, what entered Ryotaro’s mind wasn’t confusion, or anger, but fear. The man holding hands with Nanako was more than one head taller than her, and looked strange with his scruffy hair, piercings and military jacket.

Ryotaro: “Your boyfriend?”

Everyone in the police department was witnessing what was happening as if it was a scene from a soap opera and even Chie and Makoto were amused.

Ryotaro: “How?”

Nanako: “I met him at the voluntary group in Tokyo.”

Raul: “It’s good to finally meet you Señor Dojima.”

Raul held up his hand and waited for his possible future father-in-law to shake it, which he did awkwardly while looking down to avoid eye contact.

Ryotaro: “Oh wow… Your hands are big…”

Nanako: “Raul, are you staying somewhere?”

Raul: “Aún no, I just arrived en la mañana.”

Nanako: “You can stay in our guest room, right dad?”

Ryotaro: “I… I don’t know. That place is a storage area right now.”

Nanako’s smile disappeared after hearing her father say this. She knew he was lying since the guest room was always clean in case Yu and his family visited them.

Raul: “It’s okay, I heard there’s a hacienda here. The Ama-Amagi place?”

Nanako (still saddened): “The Amagi Inn. The owner is a friend of mine, so maybe he can get you a room.”

After some more talking about some mundane topics related to tourism and some more flirty kind of comments, Nanako and Raul left the police department and Ryotaro continued to stand on the same place he had been standing since he knew his daughter is an adult now.

Chie: “Boss?”

Ryotaro: “I… will be in my office.”

Everyone in the police department stood in silence as Dojima awkwardly walked back to his office and once he closed the door whispery gossips were heard everywhere.

Chie: “Wow, the boss really fucked up.”

Makoto: “How so?”

Chie: “He basically told that guy there was no room for him.”

Makoto: “Do you think the boss is racist?”

Chie: “He keeps his opinions to himself, but whatever the case he hurt Nanako.”

Makoto: “Do you think she will be okay?”

Chie: “She is a tough girl, but by god, this is really sad.”

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Somewhere in the metaverse, Ren was capturing more foxes with the help of Morgana and Sophia. This has become like a game of hide and seek where three persona users run through a network of shinto arches and capture small critters.

Sophia: “Found three on this bush!”

Morgana: “Found two below the bridge!”

Ren stored every fox on a net with a look of worry as if he wasn’t focused on the task he had to do.

Sophia: (holding a fox) “Ren-senpai, you look distressed. Is something wrong?”

Ren: “Futaba hasn’t answered any messages since yesterday. Do you know if she is okay, Sophia?”

Sophia: “I checked Futaba’s social media and she hasn’t posted any memes yet.”

Ren: “That isn’t good.”

Morgana: “Ren, it isn’t your fault what is happening with her. She has to learn that she can’t always have everything she wants.”

Ren: “But I think I got too close to her, more than what is normal for a friendship. Maybe I lead her on and because of that she can’t move on? That must be it, I am a horrible friend. Why else would she be attracted to a married man?”

Both the Not Cat and the AI looked at each other with smug smiles.

Sophia: “Ren-senpai, are you really that dense?”

Ren: “Huh?”

Morgana: “You are a very nice guy and kind of handsome if I say so as a manly man.”

Sophia: “I can assure you most of the women of the Phantom Thieves were in love with you for your kindness.”

Ren: “I mean, I know I am handsome, but that can’t be it. It took me a long time to get Makoto to notice me.”

Morgana: “She was in love with you from the beginning and it was clear to everyone, you moron. She was just as dense as you until you broke the ice.”

Ren: “Okay… What about Ann? She was clearly in love with Ryuji.”

Sophia: “The two didn’t start dating until Fall of 2017.”

Morgana: “It’s hard for me to admit it, but Lady Ann was interested in you for a while until you and Makoto started making out at the hideout.”

Ren: “Haru?”

Sophia: “Do you really want me to answer that?”

Ren: “Oh god.”

Morgana: “Yeah, you are a rizz king. Big deal.”

Sophia: “Makoto-senpai also has quote rizz quote, considering how much Futaba-san has many positive online interactions with her. Of course, Makoto-senpai thought Futaba-san’s flirting was ironic before the events of yesterday.”

Morgana: “Ugh, social media.”

Ren: “I can’t blame Futaba for that, Makoto really is hot.”

Ren sighed.

Ren: “Maybe in another life we could have been a happy polycule, but now I am living this life now and I have to take responsibility.”

Morgana: “I also blame Yusuke for not making a move on her. Why is everyone in our group of friends so insecure when it comes to romance?”

Teddie: “There you are, Phantom Thieves!”

The three members of the Phantom Thieves turned to the source of the funny voice and saw a guy with a bear mascot suit running towards them.

Teddie: “I see you are in cahoots with the foxes!”

Morgana: “Oh shit, it’s this guy again.”

Sophia: “His voice makes me think of a funny robot, or a gnome.”

Teddie: “I can’t let you mess with our home!”

Ren: “This is a misunderstanding, sir.”

Teddie: “You aren’t welcome here, thieves! Kamui-Moshiri!”

Behind the bear appeared a colorful rocket-like persona with a crown and a cape and it propelled itself towards the Phantom Thieves. Fortunately for the thieves, the impact was easily stopped by a single hand of Pandora, Sophia’s persona that looks like a woman with erotic clothes, a box on her head and rectangles floating around her.

Sophia: “I can’t let you harm my friends, Mr. Bear.”

Teddie: “Then we must fight!”

Ren: “Morgana, I left Hana at the daycare. How long do you think it will take to defeat this bear?”

Morgana: “Not much if this is a 3 vs 1 battle.”

Behind Ren appeared the gigantic shadow of Satanael and Ren’s eyes glowed red.

Ren: “Then let’s make this quick.”

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Back at the Amagi Inn.

Yukiko: “I think I have an available room, Mr. Alba.”

Raul: “Thank you, miss.”

Nanako: “I am sorry to bother you, Yukiko.”

Yukiko: “It’s no problem at all.”

The giant foreigner looked at his worried girlfriend and grabbed her shoulder in a reassuring way.

Raul: “Everything va a estar bien.”

Nanako: “You saw how my dad looked at you, or more specifically didn’t even look at you. I am really sorry for how he treated you.”

Raul: “I am used to it.”

Nanako: “You shouldn’t be used to it! No one should!”

Nanako turned to face Raul with a look of sadness that would make any person with a heart feel her pain. He then grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with a smile.

Raul: “Baby, mírame. I am not angry about that. Your dad hasn’t kicked me out of town like a frickin klansman, so there’s hope to make him like me.”

Nanako: “I just want you two to get along.”

Raul: “Aun hay tiempo, amor.”

Raul kissed Nanako’s forehead and that public display of affection made Yukiko feel jealous of them for being able to do that.

Yukiko: “I will guide you to your room now.”

On the way to the temporary room of Raul, the group passed by a very stressed Erika, who took a look at the new arrival.

Erika: “My my! Papacito!”

Nanako glared at this disrespectful employee and held tight the arm of her lover.

Yukiko: “Please ignore Erika. She lacks any respect for other people.”

Raul: “I noticed.”

Nanako: “Why haven’t you fired her yet?”

Yukiko: “She is here as part of a special academic program, so she will be my problem until Fall. Americans can be so weird sometimes.”

Raul: “I will avoid la gringa then.”

Nanako: (giggles)

After explaining some of the basic rules of the inn and what to find in each room, Yukiko returned to do her shores as half time manager and even made sure Erika actually worked during the handicrafts class for kids. It was clear Erika disliked kids.

The day could have ended like any other, until…

Chie: “Yukiko.”

She arrived.

Yukiko (serious): “Chie.”

Chie stood at the front desk holding a bouquet of flowers.

Yukiko: “You can’t be serious. Do you know what this would look like if anyone saw this?”

Yukiko was angry, but she mentally was squealing about the flowers her girlfriend had brought for her.

Chie (with teary eyes): “I don’t care what anyone thinks! I want to apologize for what I said!”

Yukiko: “I…”

Yukiko took a deep breath.

Yukiko: “Follow me.”

The following conversation isn’t one that can be as openly discussed as the one between Nanako and Raul, so Yukiko’s room is the place to go. What Yukiko didn’t know is that someone else had entered her room during the time she had been busy at work.

Yukiko: (opens the sliding door) “What the-”

There were more flowery decorations spread across the room and hanging from a sliding door was a banner with painted letters that said “FORGIVE ME FOR BEING AN IDIOT”. All of this had been done by Ren, Makoto and Hana, who had been hiding behind some bushes outside.

Hana (whispering): “We did a Ren Amamiya!”

Ren (whispering): “That banner is one of my best works.”

Makoto (whispering): “Shhh! We have to be quiet.”

Yukiko was speechless and her jaw was hanging.

Chie: “Yukiko, I am sorry for being a selfish jerk. You are my family, with or without a baby. I was so desperate to be a mom that I forgot that.”

Yukiko: “Chie…”

Chie: “It’s just that… ever since Yu and the other started having kids I felt we were being left behind and I wanted to have some of that happiness they have and…”

Chie couldn’t finish her sentence because she started to cry and this was followed by Yukiko hugging her.

Yukiko (beginning to cry): “It’s okay.”

Chie: “I sowry!”

Yukiko: “I sowy too!”

The Not Cat spying on the two girlfriends gave the signal of “victory” to the Amamiya-Niijimas and the three cheered with a low volume.

Hana (cheering with low volume): “Yay!”

Makoto (whispering): “This is definitely one of our best works.”

Ren (whispering): “You planned all this, I just followed orders.”

Makoto: “By the way, Sophia said something about a bear.”

Ren: “He won’t be a problem anymore after scaring him with Satanael.”

Makoto: “Isn’t it overkill to use Satanael like that?”

Ren: “What’s the worst that can happen from doing that?”

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Somewhere else at the Amagi Inn.

Teddie (crying): “It was a big and scary monster!”

The blonde humanoid shadow was in a panic and hugging a very confused Yosuke.

Yosuke: “Slow down! You just came out of the tv and started shouting random things about a monster.”

Teddie: “I saw then Yosuke! I saw the Phantom Thieves! They are in cahoots with the foxes!”

Yosuke: “Are you sure? Couldn’t they have been regular shadows?”

Teddie: “They were definitely not shadows! They had personas and one of them was gigantic and scary like a demon!”

Yosuke thought deeply about what Teddie said and a theory formed in his mind.

Yosuke: “Wait a minute… Teddie, do you remember what the Phantom Thieves are famous for?”

Teddie: “Wearing stupid Halloween masks?”

Yosuke: “No, people in the news said they changed the hearts of people they targeted, like politicians and other important people. I remember now. There was a bunch of news about people having mental breakdowns and causing traffic accidents.”

Yosuke imagined what happened to his business partner. He must have had an inexplicable mental breakdown and fell backwards to his death.

Yosuke: “What if they are the ones behind the stuff Chie talked about? Kashiwagi being in a coma? Okami’s death?”

Teddie: “They are certainly dangerous, especially the black haired one with the demon persona. He looked like an anime villain!”

Yosuke: “Even if they aren’t the culprits of these tragedies, we have to find these guys to know how to stop whoever is behind all this. However, if they did kill my friend for some anti-capitalist bullshit I won’t rest until I bring them to justice.”

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Shadowy Female Figure: “The police haven’t declared this a murder case yet, which is according to plan.”

??? (distorted voice): “We have found information about the leading detective of the investigation and she is a threat.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Detective Makoto Niijima? She is hardly a threat. She was assigned to work with a bumbling idiot whose only achievement was to rescue a lost kid.”

???: “Detective Niijima shouldn’t be underestimated. Her record of arrests surpasses that of many officers of her generation and she could have been a commissioner if given the opportunity.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Could have. She was thrown here after going postal on a mobster.”

???: “If she finds a connection to us you know what will happen.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Everything will be fine. These incompetent cops will be too busy for weeks until they decide this was just an accident and then move on to the next thing in their agenda. By the time someone realizes there’s a pattern, this project will be completed and no evidence of our presence will be left. By the way, the guys at the lab said our test subject is getting anxious. I need you to handle him better so he is more cooperative.”

???: “I still don’t understand why this psychopath has to be the test subject when there are other metaverse sensible people we can use.”

Shadow Female Figure: “Because this guy is a mass of raw power we can shape to be anything we want AND he has ties to this area of the metaverse. His origin is here and with our technology he can easily phase in and out like a ghost.”

???: “He is too unstable and will kill you if you lose control of him.”

Shadow Female Figure: “Our precious labrat will be euthanized if he tries anything funny. Why do you think I always order an explosive collar to be put around his neck?”

In another location far far away from that dark room, a man wearing a prisoner uniform was sitting on a chair and was staring blankly at a wall. The wall this man was looking at was in the direction of Inaba.

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Makoto: “Ren, do the honors.”

Ren: “On it.”

Right now, the Amamiya-Niijimas (except a sleepy Hana) and Chie and Yukiko were attempting to break into Kashiwagi’s car.

Chie: “How does he know how to open a car without keys?”

Makoto: “Ren is a jack of all trades. Sometimes I required his services for stuff I didn’t want to do.”

Ren: (fidgeting with his tools) “I have done a lot of dirty work for you, like that time in the Red District.”

Makoto: “What happened with Eiko wasn’t police work.”

Ren: “No, the other thing.”

Makoto blushed.

Chie: “What other thing?”

Yukiko: “I am curious too.”

Makoto: “Ren, please don’t.”

Ren: “Someone in the force suggested Makoto should do an undercover operative dressed in a… less than modest way.”

Makoto (nervous): “Ren, don’t.”

Ren: “I mean, I know my wife is sexy, but when she told me I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

Makoto: “Ren…”

Ren: “So I dressed as a hooker.”

Chie and Yukiko: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!”

Makoto (embarrassed): “Why do you keep telling that story?”

Ren: “I use comedy to break the tension from personal dramas.”

Yukiko: “So, did you actually did sex work?”

Makoto: “Yukiko-san!”

Ren: “No, I just stood in an area offering flyers with a fake number and watched the moves of mobsters while my wife was keeping an eye on me from afar.”

The door of the car was opened and Ren made a gesture like that of a magician that has finished a performance.

Makoto: “Let’s see if there’s actually something in the glovebox like I suspected, or we will all look like fools.”

Inside the glovebox of Kashiwagi there were tens of unpaid parking tickets.

Chie: “We were right! She had many of these!”

Makoto: “But not enough to be something to be very protective about. What is this?”

Below many parking tickets there was a box of what looked like prescription medicine with English words and scribbles in Japanese.

Makoto: “These scribbles look like consumption indications.”

Chie: “Was Kashiwagi sick or something?”

Yukiko: “No, it’s a fertility drug.”

Chie: “How do you know that?”

Yukiko: “The cute symbol that looks like a woman holding a baby.”

Chie: “Oh yeah. Aww.”

Makoto: “I will ask Sophia to investigate this drug once we return home.”

Ren: “So, why did we break into the car of a milf again?”

Makoto: “You can call it an informed hunch. I was running out of ideas of where to find information about the case of Noriko Kashiwagi since there was barely anything in her home that could lead to any useful clues.”

Chie: “If we didn’t find anything on her crappy car this could have been just our way to vent about everything that happened today. However, Yukiko brought a piece of information that we needed.”

Yukiko: “According to Yumi Ozawa, a few times she saw Kashiwagi speaking with a hooded figure inside her car. She suspected it must have been an affair of the sexual kind.”

Chie: “With Kashiwagi that is an expected theory. She probably fucked 10 guys before settling with someone way younger than her.”

Makoto: “WAY YOUNGER. Her husband confirmed the two had been married for quite some time and their only children are babies. If she used this foreign fertility drug she probably acquired it from an illegal source by the looks of it.”

Ren: “She really was desperate to be a mother.”

Chie: “Jeez, I can empathize with that feeling.”

Yukiko held Chie’s hand and the two smiled at each other.

Yukiko: “It truly feels nice to be open like this with other people.”

Ren: “You don’t have to worry about us tattletaling on you. LGBT solidarity!”

Makoto: “I even have a demisexual pin for pride month.”

Ren: “Nonbinary pride!”

Chie: “You Metropolitan people have it easy!”

Yukiko: “Also, do you really count as LGBT if you get the privileges of straight couples?”

Ren: “That is a debate that has caused a lot of conflict since 2010.”

Makoto: “We can continue talking about that once we get out of here to avoid being arrested by our coworkers. Also, Hana is asleep on our car and needs to go to her own bed.”

Chie: “Got it.”

Chapter Text

After the night where the Amamiya-Niijimas and the Amagi-Satonakas had illegally broken into the car of Kashiawagi, the mood of these two families had improved a lot. It wasn’t really about solving the case, but about the feeling of bonding and being honest about many things. The four adults talked a lot during the course of the night, including some truths that they felt needed to be said.

Makoto: “I am sorry for not telling you all the truth about why I was sent here.”

Chie: “This doesn’t change how I see you, Mako-chan. I think you are a good person.”

They also talked about some not serious stuff.

Ren: “You like ghost stories, eh?”

Yukiko: “Oh yes!”

Makoto: “Ren, no!”

This is something these people felt was missing from their lives for a long time. Ever since the Investigation Team went their own ways in life they rarely get together as the full group because of their responsibilities of work and/or parenthood: Yu, Rise and their kids moved somewhere else and travel a lot, only visiting Inaba during vacations; Marie keeps working on tv, but sometimes she goes out with Yu and Rise; Kanji is busy as a dad with a job while Naoto keeps doing investigative jobs all over the world; Yosuke manages a company and has to move constantly across the region; Teddie is the only one with a lot of free time. These two women of course interact with many of their local friends daily, but work keeps them too occupied to casually hang out with their friends.

Yukiko: “Want to hang out with us during the Summer Festival?”

Chie: “Oh yeah! I forgot to ask if you had any plans, Mako-chan.”

Makoto: “We heard about the event and thought of bringing Hana.”

Ren: “I hope there’s no rain like in my first festival at Tokyo.”

As for Ren and Makoto, moving to Inaba meant leaving most of their friends and family behind. The isolation caused by being new in a place different from your previous home is something Ren has dealt with before during his probation, but now Makoto has suffered it since she hasn’t seen Sae and the rest of her new family, including her new baby nephew. Makoto wanted to become independent from Sae, not to feel disconnected from her, and besides this problem there was also the situation of Futaba. If Makoto and Ren were in Tokyo they would talk things out with Futaba and reach an understanding, but distance and daily responsibilities don’t allow that and Futaba seems to want to avoid the couple because of guilt and shame.

These two couples have their own problems they have to deal with on their own, but for now they will enjoy their time hanging out in this little town and maybe help each other out if they can.

Makoto: “Okay, I can do this.”

The next day, there was something left to do for Makoto to be at peace in her new home and she wanted to do this for Ren and Hana’s sake too. She rang the doorbell of a modest suburban house and waited for the owner of the house to come out.

Taro: (opens the door) “Hello? Niijima-san?”

Makoto: “G-good morning.”

Now that Makoto was looking closely, Taro Namatame looked quite weak. If he tried to attack her he would easily lose.

Makoto: “I want to apologize for what happened days ago.”

Taro: “Oh… It’s fine, really.”

Makoto: “It isn’t fine. I wasn’t in a good mental state that day and acted in a way I feel ashamed of.”

Taro: “I understand, really.”

Namatame sighed.

Taro: “You obviously know what I did to Dojima’s daughter.”

Makoto nodded with a feeling of discomfort.

Taro: “There’s no excuse for what I did, even if I was manipulated by a heartless monster who used my despair against me. I harmed those kids just because I thought I was saving them, because I thought… I could make things right for her.”

It was clear Namatame was barely keeping himself together from remembering his tragic past. His hands were shaking and he was making an effort not to cry in front of Makoto.

Makoto: “I am so sorry.”

Taro: “You shouldn’t be, you were just protecting your child like any parent would. I would have done the same in your place.”

Namatame said this while remembering what he talked with Mayumi many years ago, about wanting to have children with her. That dream was stolen from him and the void left caused him so much pain that lasted for years even after Adachi was arrested.

Taro: “To be honest, I have gotten worse reactions from other people. Once, a woman called me a pedophile and kicked me down there.”

Makoto: “Oh god.”

Taro: “The funny thing is that she was arrested for physical assault in public.”

Makoto gave an uncomfortable chuckle.

Makoto: “Anyway, besides apologizing, I want you to know that Ren and Hana liked your cookies.”

Taro: “That’s great, I can make a new batch… Only if you are okay with it.”

Makoto: “By all means.”

Makoto returned home with a new batch of cookies and even ate one before going to work.

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Chie: “Allright, time to see if there’s anything on the other side.”

Chie had requested Dojima to check again the suspected crime scene at the ski resort, but this time she was going to check for evidence “somewhere else”.

Chie: “Here goes nothing.”

The tomboy grabbed the sides of the tv screen (with gloves of course) and effortlessly pushed her own head into the metaverse. She opened her eyes and saw the grass on the floor. This is a sight Chie is familiar with since she has used the metaverse a few times as her vomit dumping grounds whenever she has gotten drunk.

Chie: “Wow, this place looks nicer when I am sober. Okay, let’s see if there are any clues here. Suzuka, can you help me?”

The armored woman persona appeared next to the tv shaped portal from which Chie’s head was coming out.

Suzuka: “You should know there’s a range of movement I have and after going beyond that I go back to you.”

Chie: “I am surprised that my subconscious is very smart.”

Suzuka: “You are smart, you are just too lazy to think deeply about things.”

Chie: “Oh yeah, you know me very well.”

Chie’s persona wandered a few meters away from the tv until she saw some shadows.

Suzuka: “These are regular shadows, nothing to worry-”

The shadows approached Suzuka like if they were desperate beggars and against their instincts of running away from a powerful persona.

Shadow 1: “Scared!”

Shadow 2: “Monster!”

Shadow 3: “Save us!”

Suzuka: “What the heck?”

The shadow then noticed Chie and began to run towards her. She got scared and got out of the metaverse with her heart beating fast.

Chie (scared): “Oh boy! Dojima isn’t going to like this!”

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Yosuke: “Hello, senpai.”

It was harsh for Yosuke to go to the local graveyard, but he felt he needed to pay his respects to his old friend, Saki Konishi, even if he knew she didn’t have a high opinion about when she was alive.

Yosuke: “Well, since the last time I talked with you things have been going great. I started a new project, my new apartment looks awesome and, you won’t believe it, I am getting married next year. It took me a long time to propose to her.”

Yosuke took a deep breath and looked around the graveyard. He saw a grave with baby products on it and felt saddened about what that meant.

Yosuke: “Want to know something funny? Chie had this weird plan just a few days ago about wanting me to be a donor for her and Yukiko. Would I have agreed to it? I don’t think so. It would make things too awkward since they are my friends. Can you even imagine me as a dad? Hah… That’s funny…”

Yosuke left a bouquet of flowers on Saki’s grave.

Yosuke: “Senpai, there’s someone out there repeating the same crimes as last time and I know I have to stop whoever is doing this. I don’t want anyone else to go through what happened to you.”

Yosuke may not be a saint, but he does care about the people of Inaba, at least the ones he has befriended, and if a devil walks around causing trouble he will make sure to break the devil’s horns.

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Ren: “Stop, just stop.”

Yukiko: “What?”

Makoto had persuaded Ren to teach Yukiko how to properly cook, and since he is a master at cooking and his skills are actually useful to help at the Amagi Inn for the Summer Festival’s preparations.

Ren: “Preparing curry is more a science than an art. Don’t skip steps.”

Yukiko: “I thought cooking is an art.”

Ren: “Not for Wakaba Ishiki. Gotta respect the work of that woman.”

Hana, who was sitting on a high chair, did a cross signal to honor Futaba’s mom.

Hana: “Rest her soul.”

Ren: “It seems the takoyakis in the oven are ready.”

Hard Working Chef: “On it.”

Helping at a professional kitchen was a good break for Ren since Morgana and Sophia were now taking care of the metaverse research and the captures of foxes, and after tasting Yukiko’s food last time he wanted to make sure she can cook something decent to not kill anyone, especially her own girlfriend.

Meanwhile, in a room of the inn, Kanji was measuring Nanako while she complained about her father. Her boyfriend, Raul Alba, was resting on a tatami and was amused by her ranting.

Nanako: “Oh how convenient is it that my dad has to stay at work every time I ask if we can have dinner.”

Raul: “He is policia, he must be busy.”

Nanako: “I know when he is really busy and he isn’t. When I was a kid he always arrived late at home tired, or drunk, but now? He is completely sober and actively avoiding me!”

Kanji: (measuring Nanako’s waist) “Not much has changed since last time.”

Nanako: “About my dad’s behavior?”

Kanji: “Your waist’s measures.”

Kanji took notes on a notebook that has some crayon scribbles from his children.

Kanji: “Take this from someone with many children: it’s hard to let go of your kids. I cried when my oldest daughter went on her first school trip outside of Inaba.”

Nanako: “You may be right, but what my dad is doing is… racist?”

Raul: “No creo que sea eso.”

Nanako: “Whatever the case is, I am no longer the little girl I used to be and my dad has to see me for who I am right now.”

Yukiko (voice from far away): “Aaaaaaaaah!”

Raul: “Que fue eso?”

Kanji: “Yukiko must have burned something.”

Indeed Yukiko had burned something. She had set on fire a dish and now there were ashes and extinguisher fluid all over it.

Ren: (holding the extinguisher) “Lesson #25: don’t play with fire.”

Yukiko: “I am sorry!”

Hana: “Grandpa Sojiro says don’t apologize, learn.”

Ren realized it was going to take more than this summer to put Yukiko on the right path for proper cooking, but he isn’t someone that gives up easily.

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Ryotaro: “It couldn’t have been Adachi.”

Ryotaro was in his office sitting on his chair and drinking apple juice from a cardboard box with a family friendly design. Chie was sitting in front of him and was holding a lot of paperwork.

Chie: “All evidence my partner and I gathered make it obvious it was him. The modus operandi, the physical evidence-”

Ryotaro: “A string of fabric isn’t enough evidence.”

Chie: “Then what about this? I went to the other world  as I told you I would and the shadows are scared of someone. They were so scared they even asked me for help.”

Ryotaro: “Look, I don’t know how that magical world works, but we are cops and do things with tangible evidence, and I have evidence that Adachi hasn’t gotten out of his cell. The people from Public Security have him locked with maximum security and he has no access to any electronics to escape to that other world. It’s almost like he is like that cannibal from those police movies.”

Chie: “Is he really still there?”

Ryotaro: “I get confirmation of his status every week since he was arrested.”

Chie: “Damn!”

Ryotaro: “All he does while imprisoned is sleep, exercise, eat, pee, shit, read and listen to the radio. That is a boring punishment for someone who killed people out of boredom.”

Chie: “And misogyny.”

Ryotaro: “Oh yeah, it’s easy to forget he hates women with how well behaved he is recently.”

Chie: “He was always good at not getting attention to himself by acting like a moron, so I can’t fully discard him as a suspect.”

Chie noticed her boss wasn’t focused on the current conversation. All his attention was on a photo of Nanako.

Chie: “Sir, I seriously think now is the time to interrogate Adachi.”

Ryotaro: “If you think that will help your investigation, I will ask for some favors, but you will have to go on your own. Niijima can’t be involved with this.”

Chie: “Understood, and boss.”

Ryotaro: “Huh?”

Chie: “Please talk with Nanako. She is worried about you.”

Dojima massaged his forehead and groaned. He really didn’t want to talk about his personal problems right now.

Ryotaro: “I really am not in the mood for this.”

Chie: “Boss, it’s your daughter, who I knew since she was a little girl.”

Ryotaro: “Just… Why? Why that guy? Is she in a very late rebellious phase?”

Chie: “I don’t think this is a phase, the two look very happy with each other.”

Ryotaro (very stressed): “Have you seen that guy?! He looks like a yakuza with his clothes, his piercings and that scary look on his face!”

Chie: “Boss, you are sounding a wee bit racist right now.”

Ryotaro: “I am not racist for worrying that my daughter is dating a thug. It would have been better if she had chosen a gentleman like-”

Chie: “Like Yu?”

Ryotaro: “Yeah!”

Chie (deadpan): “Figures. Yu told me of your cousin incest fantasy a long time ago.”

Ryotaro (worried): “I didn’t mean it like that! I mean, sure it would have been nice if we all lived together as a family and-”

Chie: “If you will excuse me I will get back to work.”

Chie left her boss’ office not wanting to hear his explanations about his ideas of valid forms of incest between cousins, which Yu once told her about. Everyone in the Investigation Team knew Nanako had a precocious crush on Yu and they were aware she would outgrow those feelings once she became older and learned more about herself, and she did. The only one who didn’t seem to outgrow that fantasy was her dad, who wished for Nanako to marry someone as kind and cool as Yu. It’s a shame he is very superficial about that and hasn’t even given Raul the chance to prove himself.

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Somewhere in Inaba, in a very secretive location, a group of scientists were checking the data obtained from their test subject.

Unethical Scientist: “Subject M001 will initiate metaverse run number 327. No target practice this time.”

A man with a prison uniform and a gas mask stood up from the hospital bed he was laying on and followed a trail of lights.

Snarky Researcher: “Who got the idea of putting a creepy mask on his face? He is already creepy as he is.”

Diligent Assistant: “The Doctor call it the Krieg Maske, it’s a customized device through which we can obtain information of the subjects’ activity in the metaverse and also give feedback to the subject.”

Snarky Researcher: “Isn’t it impossible to quantify information from that ghost dimension?”

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “You must be the new recruit. How is this rural shithole treating you?”

Snarky Researcher: “Very well I guess? Where is her voice coming from?”

Diligent Assistant: “The Doctor talks to us through special comms distributed through this complex.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “I reside in this town to check directly on the actions of the test subject and get rid of evidence. Also, anonymity is part of the contract I signed with the people funding this project.”

Snarky Researcher: “Great, we are left to tinker on Frankenstein.”

Diligent Assistant: “Actually, Frankenstein was the scientist, not the mons-”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Nobody cares about your geek trivia, rookie.”

Diligent Assistant: “Sorry, Doctor.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Now, send him on course number 5.”

Unethical Scientist: “On it.”

Subject M001 followed the trail of lights and the voices coming from the gas mask he was wearing. The voices told him to take a walk through the beach, to feel the waves washing his feet. He felt light as air as he walked through an endless coast and felt the warm of the sun on his body.

Subject M001: “Warm…”

He loved this feeling of peace, it was so kind to him.

Shadowy Female Figure: “Take my hand. Can you feel it?”

Subject M001: “So soft…”

The subject turned to look at a pretty woman. She was beautiful, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked almost like a model.

Shadowy Female Figure: “You are the most important person to me, don’t forget that.”

Subject M001: “I… I love-”

Suddenly, the perception of reality of this man was altered and he began to panic.

Subject M001: “No no no no no! Don’t take her from me! Give me back my angel!”

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “What the heck is going on?! He is phasing from world over and over!”

Unethical Scientist: “There’s an interference on the metaverse, a very big one. The sensors aren’t adjusted for this kind of change.”

What these evil scientists didn’t know was that at that moment, in that area of the metaverse, Morgana and Teddie were having another fight and were using very powerful attacks against each other. The psychic energies generated from those attacks were messing with the device on the head of Subject M001 and making him react negatively to the absence of his “angel”.

Morgana: “Want to give up?”

Teddie: “This bear doesn’t give up!”

Subject M001 began to glitch in and out of the two worlds and for a moment Morgana and Teddie saw an outburst of a dark mass of energy!

Subject M001: “GIVE HER BACK!”

Before the subject could unleash his power in an explosion, he heard again the voice of his angel, calling him back to the physical world. He fell on his knees on the sand of the beach of Inaba and was retrieved by a figure he thought was his angel.

Subject M001: “My angel…”

Shadow Female Figure: “Yes, I am your angel. I will take you back home.”

Nobody saw a pick up drive away from the beach and with a passenger hidden in the back.

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After many days of preparations, the streets of Inaba became more alive with all the decorations, many people wearing yukatas and every local business going the extra mile to show their festive spirit.

Aika: (selling food from a food cart) “Get free samples of gyozas! Eat them while they are hot!”

Daisuke: (managing a basketball game stand) “Want to test your ballin skills? (whispering) Am I saying it right? Ballin? (back to normal voice) “Win prizes throwing balls to the net.”

Yumi: (giving pamphlets to people) “Please support the work of the Women’s Society of Inaba. This year our organization helped raise money for the school’s extracurricular programs and the soccer team went to the championship with new uniforms.”

Mr. Edogawa: (sitting on a table and selling occult merch) “From my research I have found that this whole area is the epicenter of a supernatural phenomenon tied to divine forces from old times and the collective psychic power of all the inhabitants of this area.”

Of course, not every person could fully enjoy the festivities. Chie and Makoto were assigned to patrol during the afternoon of the festival and the most they could do before their break at night was to take a look at the scenery. Of course, Chie couldn’t conform to just appreciating things visually.

Chie: “Yummy!” (eats a kebab of meat.)

Makoto: “It has been a long time since I went to a festival. Last year I had so much work to do Ren had to take Hana on his own, and the year before that Hana got sick.”

Chie: “It must be hard to be a mom and a cop.”

Makoto: “My brother-in-law did warn me about the lack of time to spend with my family, but I knew the risk anyway and I took it for my goal of making the world safer for Hana and other kids. Besides, Ren has taken the more motherly responsibilities and Hana has always been surrounded by multiple aunts and uncles that care a lot about her.”

Of all of Ren and Makoto’s friends, Futaba was the one that was closer to Hana. Now that Makoto was in a better emotional state she realized Futaba was there many times when she couldn’t. The orange haired woman accompanied Ren and Hana during the festival at Tokyo and the year before that she was the one that took the most care of Hana when she was in bed for a whole week.

Makoto: “Though I feel I should have been there for her more. I wonder if this is how my father felt when he went to work every day.”

Chie: “Well, here you don’t have to worry about missing a lot. Look over there and you will see the prettiest girl.”

Makoto turned around and gasped with happiness when she saw her small 5 year old daughter dressed with a flowery yukata and with her hair adorned with a hairband like the one she used to wear when she was her age.

Hana: “Mommy!”

The little girl awkwardly attempted to run with her sandals and before she could fall she was grabbed by Makoto and lifted upwards.

Makoto: “You look so pretty!”

Hana: “Hahahaha!”

Makoto held Hana with one arm effortlessly and kissed her forehead. Then, she was greeted by Ren wearing a black yukata and behind him was Yukiko dressed with the most luxurious red yukata she can afford. Chie felt her heart beat as loud as drum when she saw this scarlet beauty that looked like a fiery goddess.

Chie: “H-hey.”

Yukiko gave one of her well known laughs, making the Amamiya-Niijima family feel a bit awkward.

Yukiko: “You should see your face right now! You look like a tomato!”

Chie: “Haha…” (whispers) “I love you.”

Makoto: “Well, since Chie and I have to keep an eye on the area, maybe we can accompany you for a bit.”

Ren: “My my, are you suggesting something irresponsible, Mrs. Niijima?”

Makoto: “Not very irresponsible. I can give the excuse that we are checking every food stand on this street.”

Chie: “I like that way of thinking!”

Yukiko: “You do that every year.”

The first stop was Aika’s food cart, which was the most successful business of the event.

Aika: “Please enjoy your gyozas.”

Chie: “Don’t mind if I do!”

Makoto (whispering): “Doesn’t her voice remind you of Morgana?”

Ren (whispering): “I thought it was more like Futaba’s.”

Hana (whispering): “I like to whisper too.”

The next stop was a stand from Tatsumi Textiles, where Kanji was selling plushies, clothes and bed covers.

Makoto (with eyes sparkling): “Woah.”

Ren: “How much for the comfy panda bed cover that my wife is eyeing?”

Kanji: “7000 yen, but I give it to you for 5000 if you can defeat me in arm wrestling.”

Makoto: “Deal!”

Ren, Chie and Yukiko warned Kanji to NOT DO IT.

Kanji: “Okay Mrs., you should know I can bench press-”

Everyone who knows Makoto well knows she is probably the strongest woman in all of Japan, which is yet to be contested by Mitsuru Kirijo. Kanji stood no chance and was now massaging his arm after being defeated.

Kanji: “Agh! That is a good grip! Okay, a deal is a deal. 5000 yen please.”

Hana: “Daddy, I want the dragon!”

Ren: “Do I have to arm wrestle for the dragon plushie?”

Kanji: “You can have it with a discount since I am down for the count. I wouldn’t be arm wrestling for a few hours.”

Ren: “Thank goodness I married the Martials Arts Champion of the End of the Centu-”

Makoto punched Ren’s shoulder.

Makoto: “Just don’t.”

Chie: “That was awesome! I have only defeated Kanji like twice in the last 5 years.”

Yukiko: “Kanji, where are your kids?”

Kanji: (still massaging his arm) “The older ones are babysitting the twins and you may see them later if you continue walking through here.”

Chie: “I am really jealous, you and Naoto had 5 kids.”

Yukiko: “You are such a stallion, Kanji.”

Kanji (blushing): “I just like to make my wife happy.”

Chie: “Oh, she is definitely happy.”

Yukiko: “Ohoho!”

Everyone in the Investigation Team is aware Kanji and Naoto are the most sexually active couple of the group and despite Naoto having to work overseas a lot she always finds the time to be pounded by Kanji until reaching heaven. Rise and Yu have the theory that Naoto’s breast size and Kanji’s huge manhood make those two have sex like crazy every time they are alone.

Makoto: “Can I arm wrestle you for this panda pillow?”

Kanji: “Just take it for free!”

The next stop was a dessert table managed by Namatame, who was selling cookies, muffins and other baked goods.

Hana: “Mr. Namatame!”

Taro: “Oh hi Hana, and hello to your parents as well.”

Namatame suddenly realized Chie and Yukiko were accompanying Ren and Makoto too.

Taro: “Oh, greetings officer Satonaka, Amagi-san.”

Yukiko: “It’s good to see you again at the festival. We missed you last year.”

Taro: “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sell today after what happened last time with the Women’s Society.”

Chie (serious): “Oh right, what Ohtani did.”

Ren: “What did she-... She is behind me.”

The ominous shadow of Hanako loomed over Ren like a presence scarier than every villain he has defeated. Of course, when your own persona is a demon lord of the size of a building you get used to ominous presences close by. Hanako was dressed in a regal way with a purple yukata with a rose pattern and her hair was done into a traditional Japanese style with lots of decorations, like hairpins and a red heart

Hanako: “Oh my, it’s a surprise to see you here again Namatame-san.”

Namatame: “Well, we do our best for the community.”

Chie: “Back off Ohtani. Unlike last year I am close to stop you.”

Hanako: “You are talking to me as if I were a soap opera villainess, dear Chie. I am here just taking a look at the scenery and-OH MY GOD WHO IS THIS ADORABLE LITTLE PRINCESS?!”

Hana became paralyzed with fear after being noticed by the gigantic obese woman.

Hanako: “She looks so tiny like a doll! I want to squeeze those cheeks!”

Hana regained some of her thought processes and the first thought she got was SEEK HELP. She hugged the leg of her own mother and as if showing the genetics of her mother started to shout for help.

Hana: “MOMMY, SAVE ME!”

Makoto: “I am sorry, but Hana has trouble trusting strangers.”

Hanako (offended): “Humf, that’s a shame.”

Cute Minion Girl: “Hanako-senpai! We were waiting for you!”

Hanako walked away, but not before doing a sleight of hand to steal an oatmeal cookie box from Namatame’s table. Only Ren and Hana noticed this.

Hana: “Mommy, she is evil.”

Makoto: “I don’t think she is evil, just very rude. Also, why were you scared?”

Hana: “Cuz she is so big it’s like an alien is inside her.”

Yukiko: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Chie: “Hah! That’s a good one.”

Hana: “And she stole cookies from Mr. Namatame, she is una vieja loca.”

Makoto: “Vieja loca?”

Hana: “Mr. Raul is teaching me Spanish, Mommy!”

Ren: “I think he only taught her how to say Spanish insults to not get caught.”

Hana: “La Gorda Fea.”

Makoto: “I will have a word with Nanako’s boyfriend later. Right now I am worried about why Ohtani-san was hostile to Namatame-san.”

Namatame looked a bit gloomy.

Taro: “Ohtani-san and I had a little disagreement.”

Yukiko: “She sat on your table on purpose and obliterated it!”

Chie: “And that cute looking girl following her made sure to distract me so I won’t be there to witness what happened.”

Taro: “Okay, it was a big disagreement. As everyone knows, I used to be the mayor and during my administration I worked closely with many social groups to improve things in Yasoinaba.”

Chie: “Like the social service clean up program.”

Yukiko: “I am surprised you remembered that.”

Chie: “I am not just a meathead.”

Taro: “Of course, I also worked with the two founders of the Women’s Society, Ohtani-san and Kashiwagi-san. It was nice to work with other people interested in revitalizing our town and they had many good ideas… At the time.”

Makoto: “Let me guess? They got addicted to power?”

Taro: “After I got out of office they continued their work as an independent group and became known as ‘champions of the people’ when later administrations focused more on economic growth than on the community, especially with the current mayor signing contracts without consulting anyone. Don’t get me wrong, Ishigami is a good guy, but he shouldn’t have been mayor with how irresponsible he is.”

Chie: “I got that impression.”

Ren: “Same.”

Taro: “Anyway, last year’s sales were destined for repairing the roof of Yasogami High School, but I got into a confrontation with Ohtani after she requested all businesses paid an extra fee. The excuse was that the idol group that came to perform during that festival was more expensive than what we had anticipated, but I questioned if that was the truth and other people joined me. As you can guess, Ohtani didn’t like that I started a small rebellion in her made up kingdom.”

Hana (with a mocking raspy voice): “The Gorda is like the Godfather.”

Makoto: “Ren!”

Ren: “Don’t look at me, blame Futaba for parodying the movie.”

Makoto: “Good grief. So Hanako Ohtani has been extorting people for charity money with questionable intentions?”

Chie: “And so far nobody can prove she is stealing money. I tried questioning some of her subordinates and associates with mixed results.”

Yukiko: “I wonder what she uses that money for. Her clothes and car don’t seem too luxurious and she has been living in the headquarters of her group on the periphery of Inaba.”

Makoto: “Why would she live on the periphery? Does she have a farm, or something similar?”

Taro: “She owns a botanical garden that was originally made for the reforestation program I started years ago. Today it’s the place where the Women’s Society have their workshops and retirements. To be honest, it isn’t that expensive to maintain with the budget their organization has. There’s something else Ohtani isn’t telling.

After leaving Namatame’s table, the group checked on more places and eventually the two detectives had to say goodbye to Ren, Hana and Yukiko as they went to check more of the festival. Makoto was thankful that they met with Kanji’s kids so they could accompany Hana.

Hana: “It’s a water balloon, it has water.”

Kai: “Nu-uh, it’s a water yo-yo. It bounces up and down.”

Kei: “Mine has sparkles.”

While this has been a fun night, Makoto felt there was a shadow over this small town that was threatening everyone in a subtle way. She attempted to connect all the dots and found that everything connected to the Women’s Society: Kashiwagi had an argument with Ohtani before the former fell into an inexplicable coma and it’s known by members of their organization that Kashiwagi had been meeting with a stranger; Ohtani is against the keiretsu that is expanding their power to this region and with the death of the person in charge of developments close to the resort there’s the chance that the developments will be canceled; the owners of independent businesses of Inaba had been extorted by Ohtani and nobody knows where that money goes.

“This would look like an absurd conspiracy”, is what Makoto thought and shook her head to focus on her work.

Meanwhile, Chie was thinking about what she was going to ask Adachi during the interrogation and was a bit anxious about it.

Makoto: “Did Dojima approve the interrogation you requested?”

Chie: “Y-yeah, but he… he said only I can interrogate Adachi.”

Makoto: “That’s odd.”

Chie: “Do you think I can’t do an interrogation?”

Makoto: “No, I am sure you are capable. It’s just that we both have been investigating this case and I want to know all the facts to find the culprit.”

Chie: “It’s just.. orders from the boss.”

Chie felt guilt about leaving Makoto on the dark and didn’t thought Dojima was being fair. It felt like treason after everything Makoto told her and did for her.

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Shadowy Female Figure (voice with a lot of background noise): “Initiate the next experiment.”

The man with the gas mask walked across a blurry surreal field of festival lights with the guidance of his “angel”.

Shadowy Female Figure: “There’s a monster threatening me, you have to kill it.”

Subject M001: “I will.”

As this man walked across the metaverse, all the surrounding shadows ran away from him and shouted for help. 

Shadow: “Monster! Monster! Monster!”

Shadow: “Child of evil!”

Shadow: “Emptiness!”

Whatever Subject M001 is, he is a walking darkness of that brings death and destruction.

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Raul: “Te ves hermosa.”

Nanako was dressed with a pink yukata, her hair was done into a bun with two pins and her face had makeup to look like a mature woman.

Nanako (blushing): “Thank you. Should we go now?”

Nanako and Raul held hands and walked together through the main street as if they were a newly wed couple, and one of them intended to make this a reality soon. Raul was hiding a wedding ring box inside one of his pockets.

Raul: “You were right. This place es mas bonito than in Tokyo.”

Nanako: “Bonito?”

Raul (in English): “Pretty.”

Nanako: “Oh, pretty. Yeah, I missed my home after so long and wanted to breathe the fresh air of the feels.”

Raul: “Lo entiendo. I miss my old home too.”

Nanako: “You were very little when you moved to Japan.”

Raul: “I was only 4 and everything era muy… diferente. Papa nos nacionalizo, said it was better to be Japanese than Mexican. I was very scared.”

Raul remembered when he was a child and other kids insulted him in a language he didn’t understand, but he guessed the insults were something related to his dark skin and scruffy hair.

Nanako: “It must have been rough.”

Raul: “I felt I was in an alien world and nobody liked me. The strangest day was a nightmare I felt I had while awake and nobody seemed to see the nightmare but me.”

The “nightmare” of Raul is a memory that still haunts him to this day. He remembered how after a terrible day of hearing his parents argue about money, he walked outside their apartment. He was just 5 years old when he saw the sky suddenly turn red and blood started to rain.

Raul: “I don’t know exactly que estaba mal con la lluvia, but I thought it looked like sang-like blood.”

Nanako: “That sounds horrible.”

Raul remembered how his parents disappeared from their home and how he ran downstairs to ask for help. He tried to ask a police officer for help, but besides not being aware of the blood rain and the monsters the uniformed man ignored him thinking he was just an obnoxious foreigner who couldn’t even speak Japanese.

Raul: “That was the worst day of life, until-”

Morgana: “Take the world!”

The nightmare ended when he heard the loud voice spreading across all of Tokyo and a strange symbol appeared on all the screens of Shibuya.

Raul: “Ya habia visto ese logo. Kids had been wearing masks and red capes that year to play pretend. I thought they were an anime, but they were real.”

Nanako: “That’s why you like the Phantom Thieves so much.”

Raul: “Whatever they did, they stopped the nightmare. Les debo mucho.”

Raul’s nightmare ended on a bittersweet note when he found himself on the street alone and didn’t know how to get back to his parents. It was cold outside and it had started to snow.

Sae: “Hey, are you lost?”

A gray haired woman with eyes as reddish as his had found him crying on a bench.

Sae (in English): “Do you need help?” (switches between languages awkwardly) “Aide? Ayuda?”

Raul: “And I owe a lot to that stranger that helped me get back home.”

Sae: “What a sad Christmas. I hope we find your parents kid so this can end on a positive note after I basically told my sister’s friend to go to prison. Why am I even telling you this? You don’t understand what I am saying. Oh well, this is better than spending Christmas alone and eating a piece of cake to deal with my absence of a love life.”

Chapter Text

The two detectives continued their patrol route through the streets of Inaba and after two hours they walked to the observation area where their families were waiting for them for the fireworks event that was going to start soon. It was a long way up through so many stairs, but it was just some casual exercise for these two fit women.

Chie: “And then Bruce Lee did a punch like hiya! And bam! The guy fell on his ass!”

Makoto: “You really like those old martial arts movies.”

Chie: “They are the best! Have you seen Jackie Chan? It’s so funny how he knocks people down and uses improvised weapons! I once tried to do one of his tricks with a garbage bin, but accidentally hit Yosuke. Wapow!”

Chie did a punching gesture and Makoto giggled about it.

Makoto: “So, have you taken any martial arts course?”

Chie: “I went to a dojo during high school, but everyone there was kind of amateurish and easy to defeat.”

In reality, Chie scared the people she fought with her shouting and lack of control over how much she punched.

Chie: “If I weren’t anti-Cobra Kai I would have gone no mercy on those scaredy cats.”

Makoto: “I thought kung fu is a defensive martial art.”

Chie: “It is, but that was a karate dojo and during tournaments you have to defeat your enemy fast. After the dojo I went to a kickboxing course for police training and it was a lot easier, but not as cool as kung fu, nor karate. How about you? Practiced any good martial arts?”

Makoto: “During middle school and high school I took a few martial arts courses, but mostly aikido. It was my sister’s idea to have a good curriculum of extracurricular activities, but I think aikido was my favorite.”

Chie: “Isn’t aikido the one old people practice like yoga?”

Makoto: “That is tai chi. Aikido is focused on being in harmony with the world around you.”

Chie: “That sounds like yoga.”

Makoto: “To be in harmony you need to be disciplined, have a clear mind, good breathing and learn to dodge, block, punch and bring down any jerk that disturbs that harmony.”

Chie: “Now we are talking! Did you win any aikido competitions?”

Makoto: “Aikido isn’t a competitive martial art.”

Chie: “Bummer.”

Makoto: “Buuuut I did get a few medals from open martial arts tournaments.”

Chie: “I knew it!”

Makoto: “Later in life I found aikido is very limited in application when doing work related to justice, so I had to be more pragmatic about how I fight.”

Chie: “Mixed martial arts?”

Makoto: “Yeah… Something like that.”

Makoto meant all the fighting she did at the metaverse and the sparring practices she had with Ren, Ryuji and Haru. Ren was good at non-traditional fighting practices, Ryuji was surprisingly good at making a workout routine for the group and Haru was a monster that matched her ferocity in battle.

Makoto: “I think I am becoming rusty and need to go back to the gym.”

Chie: “I can recommend one downtown. There’s even a boxing ring.”

Makoto: “That’s actually good. I can take Ren there so he gets back in shape with me. Scratch that, he needs it more than me.”

Chie: “Dad bod?”

Makoto: “He gained weight as I lost it after Hana’s birth.”

Chie: “Hah!”

Makoto: “Which is a shame since he used to have a six pack.”

Chie: “Seriously?”

The observation area where Ren, Hana, Yukiko, Kanji and his kids were at was the same place where the Investigation Team saw the fireworks during the year of Adachi’s crimes. This was a kind of sequel for the local people present.

Hana: (being held up by Ren) “Mommy! The fireworks will start soon!”

Ren: “Hana is very impatient since she is already sleepy.”

Hana: “I am no-” (yawns)

Makoto: “Oh sweetie.”

Chie: “Yukiko, Kanji, is anyone else of the group coming?”

Kanji: “Yosuke and Teddie are coming soon.”

Yukiko: “As for Marie, got a - and I quote - ‘call’ and went all the way to Tokyo.”

Chie: “Yu and Rise are coming?!”

Kanji: “Knowing their schedule I doubt it.”

Makoto: “Wait… Is your friend Rise…”

Ren: “The super musician that became a voice of our generation? Yukiko told us about it.”

Hana: “She made the songs Nana-chan likes to sing!”

Kei: (slightly pulling a side of Kanji’s pants) “Daddy, if Rise-san is coming, is mommy coming too?”

Kanji: “Sorry kiddo, but mommy ain’t coming until next month.”

Kei and Kai: “D’oh…”

The small kids weren’t the only ones saddened about Naoto not being there. The two teenagers Mitsuki and Raidou were a bit bitter and their young brother Kyouji was too distracted playing on Kanji’s phone, but still felt sad hearing the news.

Kyuoji: “That’s sad.”

Mitsuki: “I think mom cares about her job more than us.”

Kanji: “Don’t say that. You mom loves you all.”

Raidou: “Then why did she go overseas for some dumb case? Can’t the police from there do anything?”

Kai: “Mommy is the best detective in the world, that’s why they always call her!”

Mitsuki: “Open your eyes Kai, she isn’t Benoit Blanc! She is just doing work lazy people don’t want to do!”

Kei (slowly crying): “Don’t… don’t fight…”

Kanji kneeled down to hug his young daughter.

Kanji: “Mitsuki, just don’t. Not today.”

The teenager looked down to her feet in shame after she made her little sister cry with her outburst.

Mitsuki: “Sorry.”

This was really awkward for the people watching this, but to Makoto this felt like an image of something she feared. She feared that one day Hana would think her mom works too much and that she is just there providing money for the family, but not love. What if Ren and she decided to have another kid and Ren was left with the duty of taking care of two kids on his own? She didn’t doubt Ren’s parental capabilities, but there’s a limit to how much a human can do and she has seen Ren looking tired at times. She also feared Hana would resent Makoto if she died in service, just like how Sae resented their father when he died and left the two sisters alone. Was this fear something so common in this line of duty that even Dojima was stressing over the future of his daughter?

Ren (whispering) “From what I heard Kanji’s wife is a private investigator more famous than Akechi.”

Makoto: “Oh.”

Teddie: “HI EVERYONE!!!!”

Ren mentally screamed as he heard the obnoxious voice of the salesman from June’s.

Yosuke: “What’s up?”

Chie: “Oh hi.”

There was still some tension between Chie and Yosuke after their last conversation. Yukiko held Chie’s arm to reassure her that things were okay.

Yukiko: “It’s good to see you both.”

Yosuke: “I will be staying in Inaba for a while until I deal with some stuff, so I hope I can continue staying at the inn.”

Yukiko: “You are always welcome, Yosuke.”

Teddie suddenly started to sniff and followed a scent towards Ren. The former leader of the Phantom Thieves felt uncomfortable with how close was this blonde man getting to him.

Ren: “Hi?”

Teddie: "You smell familiar.”

Hana: “Daddy, is he harassing you?”

Yosuke pulled away Teddie.

Yosuke (whispering): ‘Ted, don’t make a scene.’

Teddie (whispering): ‘He smells like one of the thieves!’

Yosuke (whispering): ‘Don’t speak about that here!’

Hana: “Are you two gay?”

Makoto: “Hana!”

Chie: “Hahaha!”

Yukiko: “Ohohohoho!”

Both Yosuke and Teddie awkwardly moved away from each other after the little girl asked her question. Everyone in their group of friends and the teenagers and kids were laughing to various degrees that ranged from short snorts to hysterical laughter in the case of Chie and Yukiko.

Yosuke: “We aren’t a couple! I have a fiancee!”

Teddie: “I don’t even like him that way!”

Mitsuki: “My my, when is the gay wedding?”

Kanji: “Mitsuki, knock it off.”

Makoto: “I am really really sorry. Hana is more well behaved than this.”

Yosuke: “I believe you, misunderstandings happen.”

Yosuke looked at Ren and thought about what Teddie said.

Yosuke: “I forgot to introduce myself. Yosuke Hanamura.”

Ren: “I heard about you. I am Ren Amamiya.”

Hana: “Daddy look, the fireworks!”

Hana was the first to notice the fireworks starting.

Kai: “Look at them exploding! So cool!”

Kei: “Woah!”

Kyouji: (takes pictures with Kanji’s phone)

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Somewhere downtown, a woman was talking through a communication device to her crew that had a lab somewhere else.

Shadowy Female Figure: “This next test run has three objectives: to test the indirect psychic influence of M001 on targets, to test his direct psychic influence and to test the limits of his Dark Hands. So far he can only put targets into a state of coma, but if his ability were unleashed beyond our test parameters he could perform a perfect assassination psychic assassination. This could put to shame Masayoshi Shido’s metaverse assassin.”

Snarky Researcher (voice only): “So who will be first? Some cranky old man?”

Diligent Assistant (voice only): “Do you have to make jokes about everything?”

Snarky Researcher (voice only): “So far a middle aged woman was put in a coma and some real estate big shot was thrown to his death. These are very random targets.”

Shadowy Female Figure: “Each target was chosen for specific reasons, and so are the three targets of today, starting with Ai Ebihara.”

Ai Ebihara is a former school diva with a bad attitude that after a lot of personal introspection and self care became a more caring person and now works as the owner of a boutique store.

Ai: “That yukata looks so good on you, Yumi!”

Yumi: “Thank you! Yours looks good too.”

Hanako (from afar): “Yumi dear, don’t let that harlot trick you!”

Ai made a mocking gesture by showing her tongue.

Yumi: “She still hasn’t forgotten about that guy.”

Ai: “It isn’t my fault that he crushed on me and decided to marry me.”

Yumi: “That is true. She made a similar tantrum when Yu chose Rise… which I can empathize with…”

Ai: “Oh yeah, we all crushed hard on him back then. He set a very high standard.”

Both women laughed about past romantic experiences without knowing that an ominous presence was very close to them. M001 was phasing slightly between dimensions and one of his hands was appearing behind Ai’s back. There was no contact, but Ai suddenly felt shivers going down her spine.

Ai: “...”

Yumi: “Ai-san, are you okay?”

Ai looked at her own arms and legs and started having hallucinations of her body suddenly getting chubbier.

Ai: “Oh no no no!”

She ran away in fear and felt very sick to the point of vomiting before falling down.

Yumi: “Ai!”

Some people went to help the woman that was currently curling in a fetal position on the floor and the mysterious evil scientist stood in the shadows with a smile on her face.

Shadowy Female Figure: “As with previous experiments, subject M001 can cause visual and auditory hallucinations on targets and the hallucinations are usually based on a fear, or trauma, the targets have. From what my source told me, Ai Ebihara had obesophobia during her late teenage years. I will report on the effects of this experiment later this week.”

M001 walked away from the crowd of worried people as the stealthiest spy and continued his assigned task.

Unethical Scientist (voice only): “Now we proceed to the second objective.”

The next target of M001 was Mr. Hosoi, a retired literature teacher that was currently selling puppets at the festival.

Mr. Hosoi: “Come buy a puppet! They are fun to play with!”

Mr. Hosoi (puppet): “They aren’t!”

Mr. Hosoi: “Oh shut up you!”

This poor old man felt a chill touch on his shoulder and suddenly he saw all the puppets on his table become alive, some of which looked like the Jack Bros.

Pyro Jack Puppet: “We are alive!”

King Frost Puppet: “Hahahahahaha!”

Black Frost Puppet: “Kill him!”

Jack Frost Puppet: “Hee ho!”

Mini Hosoi Puppet: “Fly you fool!”

Mr. Hosoi: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

An old man running away from an imaginary enemy is weird, but not something that would worry people that much, especially since Hosoi is seen as an eccentric, and this is something that was planned by the scientist in charge of this project.

Shadowy Female Figure: “The test of direct influence is a success. This will be an effective method for psychological warfare and manipulation of key targets.”

Diligent Assistant (voice only): “As expected of your great work, Doctor!”

Snarky Researcher (voice only): “Are you a simp or what?”

Diligent Assistant (voice only): “Shut up!”

Unethical Scientist (voice only): “Now we will proceed with the third objective of today’s experiment.”

For the third victim of the night, Old Lady Shiroku had been chosen. The old woman had to close the pub early because the Women’s Society requested a limitation of alcohol servings during fireworks event, which is a measure motivated by an accident a few years ago involving a drunk guy losing 3 fingers from his hand. Old Lady Shiroku just sat on a chair of the pub listening to calm music while smoking from her pipe, so she didn’t sense the dreadful presence coming closer to her.

Coincidentally, outside of the pub/pharmacy, Nanako and Raul were walking by and holding each other’s arms tightly.

Nanako (smiling): “You know… I told my Dad I would stay late helping Yukiko-san at the inn.”

Raul (blushing): “Oh dios…”

It was clear Raul and Nanako had different plans for the night since Raul was tightly holding a wedding ring box with a hand and waiting for his chance to propose to his girlfriend.

Raul: “Nana, I…”

Sadly, just when Raul was going to kneel and do the deed, he saw a shadow phasing through the sliding windowed door of the pub. It was a shadow that looked like a man with pajamas and a gas mask.

Nanako: “Raul?”

Raul: “Espera aqui.”

The scruffy looking man approached the door and saw through the glass how the shadow was putting his hands around the throat of the old woman sitting on her rocking chair.

Raul: “NO NO NO NO!”

He punched through the glass and desperately attempted to open the door from the other side.

Random Passerby: “Hey, what are you doing?!”

Scared Woman: “Help! Someone call the cops!”

It took Raul less than 10 seconds to force the door open and he sprinted to punch M001, knocking the boogeyman a few meters away.

Raul: “¿Qué clase de monstruo eres?!”

Subject M001: “I WILL KILL YOU!!!!”

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “No! You have to return! Get back to the base!”

Subject M001 begrudgingly followed orders and phased away from the pub to avoid being beaten by the obviously stronger person. Despite having metaverse powers of the curse kind, he was actually very weak physically.

Raul: “No escaparas, cobarde!”

Police officer: “Hands up where I can see them!”

Raul: “Mierda.”

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Hana (sleepy): “I had so much fun, Daddy…” (yawns) “The fireworks were so pretty.”

Ren: “Yeah, they were.”

Ren carefully tucked Hana into her bed and gave her the dragon plushie he bought from Kanji.

Hana: “I will name her Risette cuz of Nana-chan’s favorite singer.”

Ren: “I am sure Nanako will appreciate it.”

Hana: “Daddy, is Mommy angry at Auntie Futaba?”

Ren expected Hana to ask about the metaverse, or make another comment about gayness, but not this topic.

Ren: “No, Mommy isn’t angry at her. Why do you ask?”

Hana: “Is cuz Mommy looks angry when I ask when auntie will come home. I miss auntie.”

Ren sighed.

Ren: “Mommy and Auntie have to talk about things like adults to solve their problems.”

Hana: “I just want to see her. Auntie went to see fireworks with us before.”

Ren: “I miss her too, kid. I will talk with your mom about it.”

Ren kissed Hana’s forehead.

Hana: “Risette too.”

Ren: “Okay, one kiss for the dragon too.”

Hana: (giggles)

Unbeknownst to the people living in that home, including the cat shaped being and the AI, the boogeyman that attacked many people that night was running through a street close by and he stopped on his tracks when he sensed the presence of Ren’s power.

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “What are you doing?! Get back to the base right now!”

Subject M001’s mask had been damaged by Raul’s punch, making it difficult for him to accept the commands he was receiving. The presence of a powerful persona was like a call back to a past experience, about the time he was harmed by someone of similar great power.

Subject M001: “I WANT TO KILL HIM! I WANT TO KILL HIM!”

This monster was glitching between dimensions and slowly approached the Amamiya-Niijima residence while ignoring the commands to return to the base of operations of his masters. The desire to quench his bloodthirst was making him throw away any caution, even generating an aura of darkness that awoke local pets. The sounds of cats meowing and dogs barking made Hana wake up.

Hana: (yawning) “Who’s making all that noise?”

The little girl looked through the window of her own room the dreadful being approaching her house.

Hana: “Daddy! It’s the Boogeyman!”

Ren was in the living room waiting for Makoto to get home from her patrolling duties with Chie, so when he heard Hana’s screams he went upstairs to see what was happening, not knowing he had to go to the front of the house to confront the killer.

Morgana: (waking up) “What is she making so much noise for?”

Ren: “She probably had a nightmare.”

Morgana: “Wait… Something feels off.”

Outside of their home, the Boogeyman was going to phase through the door, but he was greeted by someone else.

Taro: “Hey!”

Subject M001: “...”

Taro: “I know what you are and you aren’t welcome here!”

Subject M001: “You…”

The Boogeyman turned away from the door and slowly approached Namatame, who also slowly backed away while holding a branch.

Taro: “If you are who I think you are, you should leave these people! They don’t deserve the pain we both went through! If you want to fight someone, fight another monster like me!”

Subject M001: “You aren’t a monster, you are just a cowardly old man. I. AM. A. MONSTER.”

Namatame had no time to react to the phasing creature flash stepping to strangle him. He felt suddenly a lot of pain both physically and psychically and the witness of this murder attempt was Hana.

Hana: “NAMATAME-SAN!!!!”

Ren (opening the door) “Hana?”

Ren approached the window and saw with a look of terror how the old man was being strangled by the figure with the gas mask. This state of fear didn’t last long as he sprinted downstairs to confront the killer.

Subject M001: “Soon you will see your bitch in hell.”

Namatame struggled to keep himself alive as he saw hallucinations of Mayumi being strangled by Adachi and being mauled by shadows. He was crying as his breath was going away.

Ren: “Show me your true form!”

This dark being felt the weight of an adult human over him and then felt how his mask was ripped apart from his face by a tight grip.

Subject M001: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!”

The Boogeyman pushed Ren away and desperately covered his bleeding face.

Ren: “What? Is this your face? Are you some kind of Rorschach knock off?”

Morgana: “Ren, throw that away!”

Ren: “What?”

Ren noticed the beeping light on the mask and threw it away. The mask suddenly disintegrated as if some anomalous metaverse process was happening.

Ren: “What the heck was that?”

Makoto: “Ren?!”

Makoto and Chie had arrived on time to see the killer running away through dimensional flash steps, so they chased after him on the police bikes they were conveniently driving for their patrolling.

Makoto: “Is that guy teleporting?!”

Chie: “That’s certainly odd!”

Chasing a dimension hopping killer through the suburban streets of Inaba at night wasn’t how Makoto and Chie had planned to end the night, but this was certainly something more in line with what they were best at.

Makoto: “I knew it! He is wearing a prisoner uniform!”

Makoto mentally made note of everything she could about the escaping killer’s physical appearance: his black hair, his many scars, his prisoner uniform, the devices attached to his body and that he was very scrawny. This guy is a weakling with super powers.

Chie: “You aren’t escaping justice, you jerk!”

The two women followed the killer into a tunnel and there the killer started to run like a feral animal with a trail of darkness being left behind him.

Subject M001: (still covering his face but glaring with one eye) “Leave me alone you whores!”

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “Get back to the base now!”

Subject M001: “Huh? My angel?”

Shadowy Female Figure (voice only): “Thank goodness I installed an emergency comm device. Get back before they catch you! I will guide you back!”

M001 stood at the end of the tunnel and before Chie could reach him he disappeared without leaving a trace.

Chie: “Shit! Fuck! Fucking shit!”

That was the last of the Boogeyman that was seen that day.

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Nanako: “Raul did nothing wrong!”

As a repetition of the events of a few days ago, Raul was again being detained at the police department after a misunderstanding.

Ryotaro: “Three witnesses saw him breaking and entering into the pub and an officer found him next to an unconscious Lady Shiroku. I knew he was bad news when I met him.”

Nanako: “He was trying to save her from the real killer! It must be Adachi!”

Ryotaro: “Adachi isn’t back, Nanako! He can’t harm anyone anymore, but this guy can and has harmed people before!”

Nanako: “What?!”

Ryotaro threw a folder on a table.

Ryotaro: “That’s right, I know what Mr. Alba’s criminal past.”

Raul (behind bars): “Figures.”

Nanako: “It’s not what you think, dad!”

Ryotaro: “Was his community service out of duty, or because he was paying back for past offenses? Vandalism, battery, physical assault, throwing a shoe at a politician in public… And recently he was seen attempting to free some of the caged foxes before he ran away.”

Nanako turned to look at Raul with worry.

Raul: “I had to.”

Nanako: “I know Raul isn’t a saint, but he isn’t a killer!”

Ryotaro: “I don’t know the truth either, but all evidence-”

Nanako: “You just want to get rid of him!”

Ryotaro: “I am trying to protect you from people like him!”

Nanako: “People like him?!”

Raul: “La cagaste.”

Ryotaro: “What did you say? If you are going to insult me, do it in Japanese.”

Nanako: “I don’t need your protection anymore! I am an adult and I make my own choices!”

Ryotaro: “As long as you live under my roof you have to listen to what I say!”

Nanako: “Then I don’t want to live with you anymore!”

Chie: “Boss!”

The detective duo arrived this time for another awkward meeting.

Ryotaro: “Not now!”

Makoto: “Sir, I don’t know what is happening here, but we have something serious to talk about.”

Chie: “We found the guy we were searching for! The mysterious killer we investigated!”

Makoto: “He put Taro Namatame in coma similar to Noriko Kashiwagi’s.”

Ryotaro looked confused for a moment and then turned to see his angry daughter who was very visibly crying.

Nanako: “See? You are a big stupid idiot.”

Ryotaro: “Nanako…”

Like last time, Nanako left with Raul, but this time she made it clear how she felt about her dad’s paranoid behavior.

Ryotaro: “I am a horrible dad, am I?”

Chie: “Right now? Yes.”

Many people in the police department nodded in unison.

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At Ryotaro Dojima’s office.

Ryotaro: “So… You're telling me a teleporting guy dressed with prisoner clothes is the culprit?”

Chie: “Pretty much.”

Makoto: “It seems he also wore a gas mask, but it got destroyed before we could get any biological evidence from it.”

Ryotaro: “Niijima, you seem awfully calm about finding out about all this.”

Makoto: “What? Are you implying you knew about something supernatural and didn’t expect me to know about it?”

Chie: “She is very understanding.”

Makoto: “Sir, I saw a fox come out of a tv weeks ago and didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure if this was a common occurrence here.”

Chie: “The tv stuff is common here.”

Ryotaro: “Satonaka.”

Chie: “She deserves to know after what happened tonight.”

Ryotaro felt very stressed about everything that had happened, and it was 4AM. He wanted to go back home and sleep and then talk to his daughter to solve their problems, but he was busy now dealing with supernatural problems again.

Ryotaro: “Satonaka, can you explain to Niijima what exactly we are dealing with?”

Chie: “Me? Usually the others talk about this, but okay. Do you know what the Midnight Channel is?”

Makoto: “Isn’t that a pornographic channel?”

Chie: “No, that is the ‘other’ Midnight Channel, the one with the old porn videos.”

Ryotaro: “Get to the point already.”

Chie: “There was this rumor in 2011 about some channel that if you watched at midnight you could see the love of your life… Which turned out to be right in my case.”

Ryotaro: “What?”

Chie: “Anyway! It turned out to be some strange magical dimension where people that fell on face their demons and if they weren’t rescued before it was late they got killed by some monsters called shadows.”

Makoto: “Shadows?”

Makoto was attentively listening to what Chie was saying.

Chie: “Yeah, these monsters that are actually the ugly side of people that nobody wants to show. They look like big humans made of darkness, but when they get angry they transform into colorful monsters.”

Makoto: “Aha…”

Chie: “And I know this is going to be hard to believe, but the serial killer I told you about? He threw all his victims to the Midnight Channel! That’s why nobody could find out how they were killed!”

Makoto: “So… This person… He entered through the television screens and kidnapped people to kill them?”

Chie: “No, well yes, but later he tricked Namatame to do the kidnapping.”

Makoto: “I remember you told me that. Sir, does anyone else outside of you two know anything about this phenomenon?”

Ryotaro: “Only a few people know about this and apparently some higher authorities too since in 2014 some men with uniforms came to make a mess of my office and demanded to know about something called ‘metaverse activity’.”

Makoto: “Wait, 2014?”

Makoto remembered well dates related to her own research of the metaverse and law enforcement, and 2014 was the year of a tragedy she knew very well that was connected to many things she knew about that dimension.

Makoto: “Did those men say who they sent them?”

Ryotaro: “They said they were working for something called the Special Investigations Unit, or something like that, but to be honest they looked like thugs with fancy shades.”

Makoto: “I know who they are.”

Ryotaro: “What?”

Chie: “Really?”

Makoto: “And I know who they used to work for, someone who killed more people than Tohru Adachi.”

2014 was the year when Wakaba Isshiki was assassinated in front of her daughter, Futaba Sakura, because of not wanting to give up on revealing knowledge about the metaverse. That year many scientists like here disappeared, or died, or started working for one of the most evil people in all of Japan. One researcher, Dr. Takuto Maruki, is said to have gotten their thesis discredited by intervention of this evil man, and because of lack of a way to defend himself had to abandon his research until the arrest of the man that sabotaged him.

Makoto: “Now that you have told me your story, do you want to hear mine?”

Chapter Text

It was early in the morning, like 5AM, and the two detectives of this story were currently on a bullet train headed towards Tokyo. Makoto was trying to get some sleep resting on a reclined chair and her eyes were covered with Ren’s cat themed sleep eye mask. Chie on the other hand looked at the fast moving environment through a window and was thinking deeply about what Makoto told her and Dojima very recently.

Makoto: “In 2016, the man known as Masayoshi Shido was responsible for a series of violent events that happened across Tokyo with the intention of causing mass panic so he could make himself look like a savior. The method he used was more pragmatic than what Tohru Adachi did here in Inaba. He was assisted by an assassin that had the power to enter into this place called the Metaverse and from there he was able to inflict brain damage to his victims, even killing them.”

Ryotaro: “I have heard about this story, but I didn’t know the full scope.”

Chie: “So he killed everyone who didn’t agree with his way of doing things? That’s evil! Good thing those Phantom Thieves stopped him.”

Ryotaro: “I still don’t think they aren’t as good as people say. They must have blackmailed him to confess his crimes on national tv.”

Makoto: “Independently of what you believe, Masayoshi Shido did indeed order the assassination of specific targets and caused many other people to end up in hospitals in a situation similar to what happened to Noriko Kashiwagi, Taro Namatame and Old Lady Shiroku. I can’t believe it took me this long to notice the similarities with the current case”

Ryotaro: “And how do you know all this information so conveniently?”

Chie: “Boss?”

Makoto: “Because my sister is the person responsible for making Masayoshi Shido and his men stay in prison for a very long time.”

Who is Makoto Niijima? That is a question Chie has been thinking about after what Dojima told her later after that conversation.

Ryotaro: “Like us, Niijima is hiding something, something big and I am not talking about the reason she was transferred here. Not only her, but her husband too. They were both being investigated by Public Security many years ago and it’s odd that they have connections with so many important people in law enforcement.”

The way Dojima said that implied that he wanted Chie to keep an eye on Makoto, but she thought he was being paranoid. Sure, Makoto seemed unfazed by the supernatural events happening in Inaba, but maybe something similar happened in Tokyo.

Chie: “Too much to think about.”

With so many thoughts on her mind, Chie focused on the one immediate thing she has to deal with: the case. Three people were in a comatose bed at the hospital of her hometown and the culprit was hiding somewhere and could attack at any time. The only thing she could do right now is to interrogate the man suspects has something to do with what is happening and maybe he will have a clue that can solve this mystery.

Chie: “I just hope we can stop him before it gets late.”

Meanwhile, Makoto was having trouble getting some actual sleep. Before going out with Chie she had to calm down Hana after what she had experienced.

Hana (crying): “Don’t go Mommy! The Boogeyman will return!”

Makoto: “I have to go to capture him.”

Hana: “He got Namatame-san and now he won’t wake up! I don’t want the monster to harm you too!”

Makoto: “Hana, I promise I will find the Boogeyman and put him in jail.”

Hana: “But what if the Boogeyman harms Mommy?!”

Makoto: “He won’t, because Mommy is the strongest woman in the world.”

Makoto woke up still tired and took off her sleep eye mask.

Chie: “Couldn’t get some sleep?”

Makoto: “No, and I haven’t been feeling well.”

Chie: “I know the feeling. The stress has been messing with me too.”

By 7AM the train arrived at the station of Tokyo and the place was heavily packed with tourists because of the summer vacations.

Chie: “Hey look!”

Many walls were plastered with posters of the next concert of Rise to promote her next album “Mama”. In the posters Rise looked gray, but there were spots of color on her and she was showing a serene smile.

Makoto: “Mama?”

Chie: “Oh right, Rise told me about this. It’s her way of honoring her daughter.”

Makoto: “Oh…”

Makoto had read a bit about Rise’s biography after Chie had talked a lot about her at work and found a tragic fact that was known by the fans of Rise.

Chie: “You probably know this already. She had a miscarriage of her first child.”

Makoto: “Yes…”

Chie: “She and Yu had prepared everything for months, but there were complications.”

Makoto instinctively grabbed her belly and thought about Hana and how much having a child gestating inside of her meant for her. She felt scared, insecure and constantly worried about every step she could take. Ren was in a worse state than her though, but that was something understandable. Even after Hana was born Makoto still feels the anxiety of being responsible for another life.

Chie: “She became depressed for two years and not only almost quit her career, but also tried to isolate herself from the world because the one thing she wanted the most was taken from her. Thankfully, her husband pulled her back to life.”

Makoto: “That’s a bittersweet story.”

Chie: “They tried again to have kids and succeeded A LOT! However, Rise-chan didn’t want her first child to be forgotten, so she has been working on this album like crazy for the past few years. Also, check this out, all of the money will be destined to hospitals and other charities. She didn’t want to profit from her own suffering nor the memory of her kid.”

Makoto: “That’s something admirable and I empathize with that.”

Chie: “I am sure you two would get along if you meet in the future. She is probably going back home soon.”

On the way to the parking lot where their transport was waiting for them, the two detectives passed by a TV screen showing an interview with the current prime minister of Japan.

Toshiro (on screen): “I thank the brave police officers that serve the people of this country for their continual duty to preserve the peace and safety of their fellow citizens. To all of you who work so hard to allow others to sleep peacefully at night, I thank you.”

Chie: “No wonder this guy got reelected thrice. He gives very good speeches.”

Makoto: “He is also known for his anti-Phantom Thief position in 2017, but people dismissed that easily since he was a way better option than the man he replaced.”

Chie: “That reminds me, I wanted to ask your opinion on the Phantom Thieves. Ren seems to be a fan since he has a sticker of them on your family car.”

Makoto: “That sticker was a parting gift from a friend, but Ren is a fan. As for me, I sympathize with their ideals, even if their methods were a bit morally questionable.”

Chie: “Brainwashing people does sound questionable.”

Makoto: “It wasn’t brainwashing. They stole the twisted desires of people with antisocial tendencies, some of which were diagnosed previously with a dangerous mental condition.”

Chie: “You do know a lot about them.”

Makoto: “Well… I was a teenager living here when they became popular and my sister was studying their case, so I heard a lot about them.”

Makoto wasn’t lying, but she was omitting information.

At the parking lot a jeep was at the ready to transport the detectives and a very familiar face for Makoto was waving his arm.

Zenkichi: “Yo! Little sister!”

Zenkichi Hasegawa looked like Makoto remembered since he was always wearing a uniform and casual shoes, but now he was shaved and his long hair was tied into a ponytail.

Makoto: “It’s good to see you again, Zenkichi.”

Makoto and Zenkichi hugged as if they haven’t seen each other in years, but it has only been a few months. She wished Sae and Akane were here too, but her sister was still on maternity leave and Akane was traveling.

Makoto: “Chie, this is my brother-in-law, Zenkichi Hasegawa.”

Chie: “He is your brother-in-law? Is your sister into silver foxes?”

Makoto snorted a laugh.

Zenkichi: “Yes, I am way older than my wife, but I still have rizz.”

Chie: “Hah! Nobody uses that word anymore!”

Zenkichi: “Good grief.”

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Back at Inaba.

Hana: “Come on!”

Hana was currently at the lobby of the Amagi Inn trying to enter the HD TV screen, but she couldn’t.

Raul: “What are you doing?”

Hana: “I am trying to enter the spirit world to see if the Boogeyman is coming, but I can’t.”

The Latino laughed about that.

Raul: “The only scary thing on those screens are the noticias.”

Hana: “Auntie Futaba says evil ghosts can come from the tv if you watch an evil movie.”

Raul: “Oh, ya vi esa película. Really scary.”

Unbeknownst to Raul, Nanako was hiding behind a wall and was highly tempted to cover her face with her own hair to scare her boyfriend.

Hana: “I know that is a movie, but the Boogeyman is real and if he comes here…”

Raul kneeled to be on Hana’s level, which was difficult since he is already very tall.

Raul: “Nothing is gonna happen to you kid, cuz you have friends protecting you, like Nana and la señorita Yukiko.”

Hana: “But what of the other kids? Mommy and Chie-chan went out and without them the town is in danger!”

Raul: “If what Nana has told me es verdad, this town has its protectors, like angeles de Dios.”

Nanako smiled.

Nanako (jokingly): “¿Tratas de convertirla al Cristianismo?” (translation: Trying to convert her to Christianity?)

Raul (surprised and sarcastic): “Oh, claro que no, solo trato de guiarla a la religión verdadera.” (translation: Oh, of course not, I am just trying to guide her to the true religion.)

Hana: “What are you saying? I only know Japanese.”

Nanako: “Nothing you have to worry about. Also, Raul is right, the kids of Inaba are protected by some of the bravest people I know.”

Nanako was obviously referring to her friends who somehow saved her and many people many years ago, but she didn’t know Hana had her own two guardians watching over her. Morgana was resting over the counter of the lobby and watching over Hana and Sophia was watching through a security camera.

Morgana: “How you doing, Sophia?”

Sophia (voice only) “I found that this inn has a fragment of EMMA that keeps hiding from me.”

Morgana: “It’s weird to meet again an old nemesis that has been reduced to a shadow of their former self. We should check if it isn’t related to what is-Meeeow!”

Yukiko grabbed Morgana in a stealthy way that surprised the master thief.

Yukiko (with a malicious smile): “Hello there.”

Morgana: “Meow?”

Yukiko: “Don’t try to fool me.”

For context, Ren had left Hana and Morgana on Yukiko’s care while he went to investigate on the metaverse about the Boogeyman, but no one in the Amamiya-Niijima family knew that Yukiko is a persona user and like Akechi Goro she heard Morgana ramble some human sounding words for the past few hours. Unlike Akechi, Yukiko isn’t dumb.

Yukiko: “Now, tell me what is happening here.”

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Chie: “Aww! How cute!”

On the way to the prison where Adachi was being held at, Zenkichi went full new dad and started showing digital pictures of his baby boy to Chie.

Zenkichi: “See those reddish brown eyes, those aren’t mine, those are all his mommy’s. The Niijima genes are strong, I tell you. That boy is going to scare many people with a single glare.”

Makoto: “You and Ren have a lot in common.”

Zenkichi: “Yeah, we both have good taste in women. See the woman with grayish hair? That’s the scariest best mom you will ever meet.”

Chie: (looking at pictures of Sae holding her baby at a hospital bed) “You are right! She looks as scary as Makoto!”

Makoto: “I am not scary… Most of the time.”

Chie: “You really are quite scary.”

Zenkichi: “In a good way. Sometimes you have to be aggressive to make things right and sometimes you have to be a scary monster to tell your teenage daughter to not go out wearing a skimpy short skirt.”

Makoto: “It’s surprising that Sis became a good motherly figure to Akane.”

Chie: “It must be hard to get married again.”

Zenkichi: “It’s, but after many years one realizes it’s awful to be alone and then you meet a sexy lawyer that takes you out of a crazy situation.”

Chie: “I think our boss needs a sexy lawyer too to not be such a tightass. Do you have any other sexy sister, Mako-chan?”

Makoto: “No and I don’t know anyone who would match Dojima’s standards.”

Chie: “He is very conservative.”

Zenkichi: “Also, not anyone can date a Niijima. Knowing Ren he must be stressed 24/7.”

Chie: “Hahahaha!”

Makoto: “Am I really stressing him?”

Chie: “He must love you really much.”

Zenkichi: “The guy has the patience of a saint. What about you Satonaka-san? Any special guy waiting for you at home?”

Chie: “C-certainly a guy… With a dick and everything.”

Makoto giggled.

Zenkichi: “That's a weird way of saying that, but okay. Look, we are almost there.”

After that journey on Zenkichi’s jeep, the two detectives entered the prison. As expected, they had to go through the usual protocol of passing through a metal detector, a check up to avoid the entrance of dangerous objects, sign all the obligatory paperwork and go to the bathroom at least two times during the whole process because Makoto for some reason felt a constant urge to pee.

Makoto: “That was odd, I only drank a bottle of water on the train.”

Chie: “We are here to interrogate an inmate.”

Grim Looking Warden: “Let’s see.” (checks some papers) “Oh… That guy. Good luck.”

Makoto didn’t like prisons at all since they always reminded her of the time Ren was imprisoned for one and a half months and she worked hard to get him out through legal means. Despite that dislike for concrete buildings where criminals are behind bars, she had to come to this kind of place many times for cases she worked on: murders, political corruption, organized crime, rape, human traffic, pedophilia, kidnapping, torture and even one case to arrest a superior at the police department. That case made Makoto get many enemies and is probably the reason many tried to get rid of her when the incident of her shooting a mobster happened.

Chie: “Are you okay, partner?”

Makoto: “I am fine. Only some nausea and indigestion I think.”

Chie: “Did you eat Yukiko’s food?”

Makoto: “Hell no!”

Chie: “That’s fair. Hey, are you worried that we could see any of the guys you put here?”

Makoto: “The chances of that are very low. Almost everyone who I am responsible for arresting is in other prisons, and even Junya Kaneshiro was transferred to another prefecture.”

Chie: “Is that-”

Makoto: “Yes, the guy who threatened to have me gang raped and forced to prostitution.”

Chie: (shivers) “Ugh! Adachi only threatened to kill everyone.”

Makoto: “He is a misanthropist, got it.”

Chie: “Hey, Zenkichi also came after us. Is he also here for a job?”

Makoto: “He is here to interrogate someone none of us two can interrogate and who is a bigger evil fish than Adachi.”

Chie: “Oh!”

Makoto had requested help from Sae and Zenkichi to get information from Masayoshi Shido, who coincidentally was put in the same high security prison as Adachi. The fact that these two men were in the same prison was too much of a big coincidence and when Makoto found out about this she and Ren called all the favors they could.

Makoto: “A Public Security agent such as Zenkichi can pull this off, especially since his former boss owes him many favors.”

Chie: “All this political conspiracy things are way over what I usually do at Inaba. It’s almost like we are in one of those weird European movies Naoto has made us watch. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was too much for me with all the gratuitous rape scenes and a very unlikeable protagonist.”

Makoto: “Thankfully our job here is more direct and only have to focus on interrogating an insane serial killer.”

Chie (sarcastic): “God bless the serial killers… I just realized what I just said is scary in context.”

Makoto: “Huh?”

Chie: “Nothing.”

If Marie heard this joke she would laugh.

To get to Adachi’s cell, Makoto and Chie were guided by two wardens through a series of corridors of brutalist aspect that reminded Chie of some internet stories she read when she was younger.

Chie (whispering): “Usually in movies when the police go to interrogate a criminal they pass through cells with many crazy people. These corridors look lifeless.”