Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today is March 5th, 2011. A prior trip to Yakushima brought to light a piece of Kirijo Group history thought to have been lost — the existence of a second Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon still in working condition. Codenamed Labrys of the 5th generation, she was sealed away along with various other artifacts found in the old ergonomics lab for unknown reasons. By the nature of her being an Anti-Shadow Weapon, it's possible she has developed a heart, and it simply wouldn't be right to keep a possibly sentient being locked up in a metal container for eternity, would it?

This leads back to a limousine driving across the Japanese countryside. Each person inside has a long and supernatural history with each other. In the passenger seats sat the company CEO, Mitsuru Kirijo; Aigis, a 7th generation Anti-Shadow Weapon, presumed to be the last of her kind until recently; and finally, Akihiko Sanada, a former high school boxing captain who had just come home from a globe-trotting quest to improve his strength. He doesn't have any big expectations to live up to, no gods to kill (well, not yet, at least), he just trains for the thrill of self-improvement.

“What's wrong, Aigis?” Mitsuru notices that Aigis has a somber look on her face.

“It's… strange, knowing that you have had a sister for years that you never had the chance to meet. On the other hand, however, I get to meet her for the first time soon.”

“Yeah,” Akihiko offhandedly agrees. The history of his own sister isn't lost on anyone present in the passenger seat. “You know, it's been a while since I've seen a new face in this team. Is it weird to say that I almost missed getting into fights with Metis?”

“Yes. However, it is not surprising. You have a habit of rising to the challenge, no matter how daunting or absurd.” Aigis said.

Akihiko has no idea how to take this statement.

The driver of the limousine, Kikuno Saikawa, turns to the passengers with a notice. “Lady Mitsuru, I’m afraid we will have to take a quick detour to get some gas.”

“Understood,” Mitsuru responds swiftly. The two have known each other since childhood, starting when Kikuno was first employed at the Kirijo estate as a maid, and her dutiful nature has remained ever since those days. If anything, it only amplified over the years. If you asked Mitsuru about the most vital non-Persona user to the Shadow Operatives, Kikuno would be her immediate answer. It also helps that she's talented in a large variety of things. For instance, did you know that she's a licensed helicopter pilot? And that's merely scratching the surface.

Akihiko continued his conversation with Aigis. “Actually, now that I think about it, how did it feel, having Metis… reunite with you? Is she still… there?”

“She is still a part of me, as Psyche,” Aigis answers “We talk, sometimes. Actually, I wonder if Junpei-san hears Medea speak to him alongside Trismigistus…”

“Know what, I should probably text him about that.” Akihiko flips open his work phone and starts clicking away at it when suddenly, the sound of metal creaking comes from the trunk. There's only one metal thing it could be, since the trunk doors don't sound like they haven't seen a drop of lubricant in years.

“She's awake. I can feel it,” Aigis mutters, her Papillon Heart feeling a resonant sensation it never had before, and all in attendance besides the driver turn to face the noise.

“Kikuno, pull over.” At Mitsuru's curt command, the limo curves to the side of the road and stops. Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru all race out of the limo…

… Just in time to witness the trunk door fly off as a winged girl made of steel hops out and runs into the woods.

Aigis processed Labrys’s appearance immediately. Where brass-colored metal would be on herself, steel would be on her. Where porcelain-colored armor would be on herself… more steel on her. A long baby blue ponytail contrasts her ruby red eyes.

And she looks terrified.

The others barely had time to process what happened when Aigis disables her movement limiters and gives chase. 

“Labrys, wait!”

The two run through the woods, Labrys trying to lose Aigis through sudden turns and trying to hide behind trees. However, Aigis was simply engineered with superior speed, and would usually catch up before long.

“I promise, we need no harm!” Aigis called out

“Then stop tryna follow me!” Labrys responds. In a rather prominent Kansai accent, no less. Odd, but the prospects of that will have to be thought about later.

A sharp right turn from the girl catches Aigis off guard. A quick survey of the surrounding area doesn't seem to show any signs of her. And then something unexpected happens — her heart’s resonance abruptly fades. About thirty seconds of searching later, and it feels like Labrys just… disappeared.

“Come in, Aigis,” the voice of Mitsuru emanated through her head from Artemesia’s ability. It's been a while since Mitsuru was in charge of navigation, or so Aigis has heard. While Fuuka’s ability felt soft and omnipotent, Mitsuru's feels direct and commanding.

“I copy,” Aigis confirms. “I… lost her. It's like she disappeared.”

“I saw. Though on my end, it wasn't so much that she disappeared, so much as it felt like Artemesia's signal was being jammed somehow. Is that one of her abilities…?”

“Perhaps….” Aigis pondered. “An Anti-Shadow Weapon with stealth capabilities doesn't sound too far out of the ordinary. After all, knowing is half the battle, as they say. It would be difficult for Shadows to fight against a foe they could not see.”

However, that still leaves the question of why I do not have similar functions, Aigis thinks to herself. She would have to ask those Kirijo engineers herself, and who knows who or where they are?

“Agreed,” Mitsuru says. “I will be contacting a handful of operatives to search the area. Akihiko and I will be on the lookout as well. Keep going.”

“Understood,” Aigis says, and resumes her search.

This is going to be a long one, isn't it?

It was an ordinary day when the Inaba PD received a call from an unidentified party asking them to be on the lookout for a girl with red eyes and a long blue ponytail. Responds to the name Labrys, they say. Dojima, the one who decided to pick up the phone, says that they'll see what they can do, then hangs up.

He has no idea what a girl like that would be doing in Inaba, but he guesses he'll keep an eye out for her, if it makes those classified clients happy.

Chapter Text

April had just come to a close, and so had the case of Yukiko Amagi 's disappearance, thanks to the efforts of a small group of magic high schoolers. To make things sweeter, Golden Week was coming up. Today is May 4th, Nature Day, and Yu Narukami has decided to spend the day by taking Nanako to Junes. Yes, Inaba's small and quiet enough to where the local pass time is hanging out at the nearby department store, but it's not that bad when you've got some friends to talk with. It's also a bonus when one of your friends, Yosuke, works there.

Yu, Nanako, and Yosuke are joined at the Junes electronics department by Kou and Daisuke, the captains of Yasogami’s sport teams.

“Nanako-chan sure loves this place,” Yosuke remarks. “The first thing that came out of her mouth when I asked where she wanted to go was ‘Junes!’” The word Junes was emphasized to match Nanako’s enthusiasm.

“Who could blame her?” Kou says. “This place has everything… It's like a storehouse of magic. I can see why she likes it.”

“I mean, I wouldn't exactly call it Destiny Land or anything, but compared to everything else here, it might as well be.” Yu digresses.

“Anyways, isn't she cute?” Kou asks. “I have a younger sister, but she barely even compares to Nanako-chan.”

“I’m not cute…” Nanako murmurs shyly at Kou’s words.

“Oh, sorry, did I say something wrong?” Kou asked in concern.

“Don't worry, you're not cute.” Daisuke… reassured. The other boys gawked in awe at his apparent obliviousness.

“Daisuke!” Kou reprimanded his fellow sports captain.

“You can't just say that to someone! Are you stupid or something?” Yosuke added.

“No, I’m pretty sure his name is Daisuke,” Yu snarked.

“Yeah, see? He gets it,” Daisuke gestures to Yu.

“Yeah, right…” Yosuke trails off in joking suspicion.

Nanako looks at one of the large TVs on display – the large TV, Yu mentally notes. “B-big bro… That TV is huge…”

“I feel like if I watched sports on a TV like this, I’d get sucked through the screen and fall right onto the stadium,” Daisuke joked. Yu and Yosuke both tried pretending that TVs sucking people inside wasn’t a thing that actually happens.

“C’mon, like that would actually happen…” Yosuke scoffed, almost too hard. Yu was a little afraid one of the others would catch on, but it seemed he was in the clear.

On the topic of clearing things, he kinda needed to pee.

He quickly excused himself, trusting the fellow second-years with Nanako as he made his way to the corner of the store. But then, just as he almost got there, he heard a conversation between a couple of middle-aged ladies. What he heard was… curious, to say the least.

“I tell you,” said a short lady to her taller friend, “I saw someone who looked exactly like me over by the food court!”

“Yoko, are you sure you didn’t just see someone wearing a similar outfit?” The taller woman questioned.

“That’s the crazy part! It wasn’t just her clothes! It looked like the man in the mirror jumped out into the real world and started living my life for me! Went over to ask her a question, and she ran like the wind! That was the work of a yokai, I tell you!”

“Then it was just some girl who managed to look like you that day, big deal.”

“Well, if it's just a coincidence, how come I heard that Masao once saw two of the same girl on the opposite ends of the Samegawa?”

“You wouldn't happen to be talking about that pair of identical twins I see from time to time, are you?

“I swear, I'm not!”

The conversation between the two ladies went on from there, but Yu got the important details. He’s seen Shadows replicate their other selves a few times, but that was relegated to the TV world. If supernatural stuff like that is going down in the real world…

Well, that can wait until a little later. Besides, it might just be as simple as some old wives tale meant to scare people. Inaba seems like a town ripe with superstition, after all.

The next day came, and Yu found himself without anything planned. That didn't mean that there wasn't anything to do, he'd just have to think about it a little. Let's see… checking the fridge, it doesn't seem in desperate need of restocking, but he could probably fetch some ingredients for bentos or something. Most of his time at Junes was spent talking rather than looking for anything, after all.

So, here he is at the Junes grocery section, looking for anything that seemed like an interesting ingredient. He'd just placed an onion into his shopping basket when Chie came up to greet him, holding a basket of her own.

“Oh, you're here too?” Chie asked. Yu nodded in response. “I'm just here to get the groceries for my parents. Looks like they're out of the onions mom wanted, though…. Wait a minute, you have the last one!”

“Oh, this?” Yu held up the onion in his basket. “I don't actually need it that much. You can have it if you want.”

“Oh, really? Sweet!” Chie eagerly placed the onion into her basket. “Thanks!”

“No problem,” Yu said as Chie headed down the grocery aisle, waving a hand behind herself in goodbye. Yu returned to browsing the vegetables for a while, eventually picking out some minced garlic that was on sale along with some tater longs.

After purchasing his goods, Yu decided to take a scenic detour to the Samegawa Floodplain. A few young kids were outside playing, but standing by the river was Chie. She quickly rushed up the stone steps to catch up to him.

“Hey, long time no see!” She said… oddly enough.

“Chie, we just met at Junes,” Yu states.

“Uh- y-yeah! Exactly! I'm just kidding!” Chie says with an odd underlying uncertainty. It's almost as if she's trying to convince herself more than she's trying to convince Yu.

“Yeah…” Yu tried to hide his concern, but he's not sure if it's working. Chie's expression doesn't seem to give any clues one way or another. “Anyways, what are your plans for Golden Week? I don't really have much of anything, if you wanna do something.”

“Oh, plans? Well… I don't really have anything planned either. I've been trying my hand at making some new friends…. No dice so far, but hey, I've got you and Yukiko, don't I?”

“You bet,” Yu assured. “Also, are you okay? You seem-”

“Fine!” Chie interjects before shrinking in on herself. “Sorry, I'm just… really anxious over something. Geez, I'm such a mess...”

“Well… whatever it is that's eating you up, I'd be happy to listen. We're a team, and if I'm gonna be a leader, I've gotta look out for my teammates, right?”

Chie looks taken aback, her eyes evading contact bashfully. “I… thanks, really, but I think it's just a me problem.”

“If you say so… but please, don't be afraid to reach out okay?”

Chie seems hesitant for a second, but eventually responds, “Okay.”

And then, Yu felt a bond form. Not level up, form , for the first time. Before he could process it, Margaret's voice whispered to his soul to announce it.

I am thou, and thou art I…

Thou hast established a new bond, which brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana…

… What?

That… that's not right… right? Yu thought to himself. I mean, maybe this is just some error in the Velvet Room, like someone mixed up the cards or something…

… Or perhaps his hunches held more ground than he'd thought.

“What’re ya starin’ at?”

… And Chie’s sudden switch to a Kansai accent isn't helping those suspicions.

“I…” Yu tried desperately to not look suspicious, biting his mouth to keep it in a straight line. “Sorry, I just realized I forgot to take out the trash last night.” He's speaking so hastily, it'd probably be a miracle if Chie believed him, or perhaps that's just his panic speaking. “I should probably get it done sooner rather than later. See you around!”

“See ya!” Chie waves goodbye after suddenly dropping the accent and runs off at a fork in the road… faster than Yu has ever seen her run, or… anyone run for that matter. It almost makes him question if it's even possible for humans to run that fast.

…

These questions are making his head hurt. Maybe he should return back home.

The Investigation Team met up after school the next day.

“Ugh, why do the holidays have to end so fast…?” Chie groaned what everyone was thinking.

“At least they were peaceful,” Yosuke noted. “I listened in on the housewives gossiping at Junes, but it didn’t seem like anything happened. And I haven’t heard anything about any sudden disappearances either. Y’think Yukiko could’ve been the last of the victims?”

“We don't know that for sure,” Yu cautioned. “Maybe the killer was simply enjoying the Golden Week holiday.”

“Oh, don't be ridiculous!” Chie bit back.

“But it is true…” Yukiko says. “We shouldn't relax so long as the culprit remains at large.”

“I wonder… will someone else appear on TV again when it rains?” Yosuke ponders. “If only we knew literally anything about the murderer…”

“Well, if anyone shows up, we'll be there to save them,” Yu assures. “And if we're going to make it out with the latest victim, we'll all have to be on our A Game. Speaking of…” Yu paused. He almost doesn't want to bring this up, but he'll probably miss out on the chance to say it soon. Consequences be damned, here goes… “Chie, do you remember the talk we had yesterday at the Samegawa?”

“Uh, what talk? I never saw you there,” Chie corrected. Yu was pretty sure she'd say this — dreaded it, even — but he can't not bring up who (or what) he saw. Unexplainable things in Inaba were usually connected to the TV World somehow, so there's a non-zero chance that this is connected to the case.

“Just as I thought,” Yu sighed. “Yosuke, did you hear any ladies talk about seeing copies of people? Perhaps any mention of yokai or the like?”

“Well, now that I think about it,” Yosuke pondered, “I think so… Wait, what?” 

“Yu, where the hell are you going with this?” Chie asks as she desperately tries to cover up her apparent fear.

“I've overheard some woman talk about how her and some other guy had apparently seen their doppelgangers,” Yu explains. “When the woman went to confront hers, it ran away. I went to talk to Chie, or what I thought was Chie, by the Samegawa. She seemed really anxious about something, so I went to comfort her, but something about her seemed odd. So we wave goodbye, and then she runs off like forgot she left the oven on at home. If what that lady was saying holds any merit-”

“Woah woah woah, hold on!” Chie interjected. “That's ridiculous, right? I mean, why would a ghost want to be me? There's like, so many other people more important or interesting than me.” She tries to alleviate her fear by laughing it off, but it doesn’t seem to fool anyone, not even the literal Fool.

“The funny thing is, that's basically what that one lady I heard it from said,” Yu points out.

“Maybe the spirit is just shy,” Yukiko hypothesizes, who's taking this supernatural detour of the conversation surprisingly well. “I mean, it seems to run off when confronted. Oh, maybe that's why it disguises itself too!”

“Actually, Yukiko… might have a point there.” Yosuke comments. “Who knows, maybe this Casper is a friendly ghost after all, and all we gotta do is-”

“Okay guys, sc-screw this, I'm outta here!” Suddenly, Chie bolted out of the room in fear. The remaining friends all look between each other and the door Chie ran out of. No one said anything for a few seconds.

“Well… I guess she doesn't like ghost stories,” Yosuke tries breaking the awkward silence.

“Yeah…” Yukiko, a known Chie mannerism expert, agreed. 

Suddenly, Yu had an intense pondering look on his face. “Wait a minute… dang it!”

“What? Partner, what happened?” Yosuke was quick to be concerned.

“Midterms are coming up, and I think I need to catch up on my studying…”

“Oh damn, really?” Yosuke’s fears dissipate like cotton candy in a river, but get quickly replaced by new, more realistic ones. “Yeah, I think I'm screwed…. Hey Yukiko, think you can share some of your smarts? You rank the top of every exam, you gotta know something about studying.”

“Oh, sure. How about we form a study group?” Yukiko replied.

“Sounds good,” Yu agreed. “We'll probably just meet at the floodplain pavilion if that's alright with everyone. Is someone gonna call Chie over?”

“I will!” Yukiko immediately volunteered, to the surprise of nobody.

Four teenagers would spend the rest of the afternoon at a pavilion by the Samegawa Floodplain going over various academic topics. Yosuke and Chie usually asked questions, and Yukiko and Yu usually provided answers. Every so often, someone would interject with some jokes or gossip to relieve the monotony of studying. Studying with friends felt so much more different than studying alone simply just because you had someone to share the boredom with.

An unseen bystander nearby silently yearned to have those same connections.

Chapter Text

The days rolled by, and nothing really happened. Well, there were midterm exams, but most people would like to pretend that they didn't happen, either from boredom, dread, or some mix of the two.

On May 13th, Yu watched a TV special on biker gangs. According to Dojima, the rowdy boy who really didn't like being surprise interviewed was Kanji Tatsumi, an almost impossibly tall boy who's apparently still in high school. His family owns the textile shop in town, but his real claim to fame was his biker gang-crushing spree that started in middle school; considering his size, it's not that hard to believe. Apparently, it's because the biker gangs keep his mom awake at night.

On May 14th, a tall, blurry figure appeared on the Midnight Channel with what looked to be a jacket hanging loose from its shoulders. Maybe Yu was just imagining things from sleepiness, but he felt like there had to be a connection there somewhere.

A few days pass, and he and his friends find out from increasingly clearer images on the Midnight Channel that Kanji Tatsumi was indeed the man on the screen. They devise a plan to (morally) stalk Kanji, attempting to warn him in an attempt to prevent him from falling into the TV World. Other than being chased across town by a man with fiery temper and learning that he sometimes talks with a boy who wears a lot of blue (Yu wondered if he had any affiliation with the Velvet Room, and then he remembered that people can like the color blue without being a sorcerer from a dream limousine. And besides, he feels like he would've met him by now if that were the case), they didn't feel like they did or learned very much.

May 17th comes around, and it's almost midnight. Yu answers his cellphone; it's Yukiko.

“Oh, hello? It's Yukiko. I’m sorry to call so late, but Kanji seems to be missing! I had some calls to make for the inn, so I called up the textile shop as well. When I spoke to Kanji-kun’s mother, she told me he left the house and hasn't returned since. She says this happens all the time but… I don't know, what do you think?”

Yu is thinking about a lot of things, first and foremost being Oh God and We fucked up , followed closely by Well, I saved three people so far, surely the fourth won't be so bad?

“Something happened,” is the thought that Yu decided to say out loud. He can't help a mild tremor in his voice, but he'd be lying by omission if he said he wasn't scared.

“I think so too,” Yukiko agreed. “Maybe he's…” She clears her throat. “Well, it's going to rain again tonight. Maybe the Midnight Channel will come on. Then we'll know for sure if something happened to Kanji-kun or not. I'll be watching too. Talk to you later.”

Yukiko hung up, and all at once the silence felt too loud.

A few hours of watching real TV later, and Yu’s dread hasn't really gone away. It also doesn't help that nothing good was on. It's now 11:50-something, and he almost can't bear looking at the now unplugged TV, but he needs to know what happened to Kanji, fear or secondhand embarrassment be damned.

The last few seconds of 11:59 tick by. The rain outside gradually picks up in intensity…

And a clear picture is shown. 

Oh God, there was a clear picture. 

The screen showed a steamy wooden hallway with a nearly naked and very effeminate Kanji talking about it being “a superb site for sublime love that surpasses the separation of the sexes.”

Even after Kanji’s Shadow skipped into steamy obscurity and the show faded into nothingness, Yu’s jaw was wide enough to fit a full melon inside.

At least Yukiko had clothes! Couldn't whoever's behind this have been kind enough to give the guy some boxers or… literally anything more than a towel? Do the Shadows have a say in this? Are they doing this on purpose to embarrass us? Do they need to unionize for a more balanced costume budget-

Yu’s internal rant is cut off by a call from Yosuke, which he's barely cognizant enough to answer. He seems just about as baffled as he is, giving his inability to form a coherent sentence.

“H-hey! What the… what- why, just-”

“Calm down,” Yu says. “I saw it too.”

“B-but it was completely over the top! That towel leaves nothing to the imagination!” Yosuke retorts. “Anyways… it really was Kanji, huh? Dammit, we were so close but he still slipped by us. If only we stayed there a little longer…”

“We tried our best,” Yu assured, mostly because Yosuke's what-ifs are cutting real close to his own fears, and the less he thinks about it, the better. “Best thing we can do now is trek through his TV place and save him before it's too late.”

“Yeah, speaking of, what is his TV… place… okay this naming thing isn't working, how about we call them something else like, uh… episodes! Yeah, episodes!”

“Because of the TV World? That's actually kinda clever,” Yu praised.

“Thanks, I try.” Yu could practically hear Yosuke smirking from the other end. “Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed now. We should come up with a plan to save Kanji tomorrow.”

“Fair. G’night.” After Yu bid his farewells, he hung up and went to sleep for the night.

Once again, Yu and his friends meet at the Junes food court. This time, Yukiko is here too.

Yosuke sighed. “So, given the pattern, Kanji's already inside the TV…”

“I wonder what the Midnight Channel really is…” Yukiko thought out loud.

“You’d think it'd just be one of those paranormal things you tell your friends to mess with them, but when I gave it a try… it was real. And it has this connection to a whole other world.” Chie says.

“How’d the rumor go again? If you stare into a turned-off TV on a rainy night…”

“At midnight, you'll see your soulmate,” Yosuke finished Yukiko’s sentence. “Of course, we know that's a bunch of bull, because there's no way everyone's soulmate is Kanji. Anyways, it's the kinda thing that's ridiculous enough that you wouldn't think to do it unless someone told you about it, right? But it does work — and not just once, but multiple times. If this rumor spreads and a bunch of people start watching the Midnight Channel…”

“There'd be a huge panic,” Chie finishes. “And the rumors… ugh, I don't even wanna think about it!”

The fact that the Midnight Channel had now twice depicted its victims as members of some weird late-night shows about finding love… It's the perfect storm to brew rumors about who the person on TV has a crush on. There's also the fact that Yukiko’s Shadow longed for Chie, her ‘prince,’ and how Kanji’s Shadow is… the way that he is…

Is the Midnight Channel homophobic?

…

Yu should probably stop thinking about this.

“Seriously, imagine if everyone was talking about Kanji's Shadow and his… everything,” Yu comments, salvaging the sensible parts of his mental ramblings. “Now, I personally don't care which way a man swings, but others might get-”

“Yeah, we get it,” Yosuke interrupted, determined to pull the emergency brake on Yu’s thought. Yu stares at him a little, trying to figure out why, but decides to say nothing. “Anyways, if Teddie is right, then the missing people themselves create the stuff we see, so it's not random…”

Chie sighs. “Yukiko had a show like that too, but she didn't remember doing anything like that…”

“Um,” Yukiko starts. “This may be off topic, but the killer is watching the shows that come on, right?”

“No doubt,” Chie answers. “I bet that sicko’s sitting back and laughing his ass off at the ‘show’ that comes on after he throws people into the TV!”

“Yeah that is possible,” Yosuke noted. “Ugh, now all I can think of is the kind’a sicko who's responsible for all of this.” He then puts on a mocking voice of a slimy creep. “‘I wanna see everything about you, Yuki-chan!’”

“Ew, ew, ew!” Chie retorts, repulsed. “Wait, if people were watching Yukiko's show, were they watching something about me too?”

No one really knew the answer, but they wouldn't be surprised if the answer was yes.

“Oh, that is IT!” Chie stood up with righteous anger. “That killer is dead meat, you hear me!? I'm gonna kick his ass to Mars so fast it ain't even funny! Alright guys, first we rescue Kanji, then we crush the killer, crush the killer, and send his scrawny ass to hell! Now who's with me!?”

With renewed resolve (mostly out of fear of Chie's seething rage), the group of high schoolers rallied to solve these murders once and for all.

[RANK UP! Fool (The Investigation Team): Rank 3]

…

Yukiko was giggling to herself. “Ch-Chie, th-those last two were the same thing…”

“I know, shush…” Despite her prior rant, Chie seems rather deflated and embarrassed. Maybe all that yelling tired her out?

Yu and his friends go visit Teddie in the TV World to see if their mascot bear friend can find Kanji. Teddie confirms that he knows that there's someone inside, but he can't tell exactly where they are. Apparently, if the team gives him clues on what Kanji's like, he'll be able to find him better.

This is how Yu found himself back at the Samegawa Floodplain again. Not because that's where his investigation led him — he already interviewed everyone here, and any new faces he found were also people he talked to — but because his investigation is going nowhere fast, and he needs some place to sit for a while.

Sure, there's always tomorrow and a whole bunch of days after that to find clues, but where does that leave today? And who's to say that those days won't go as slow in the information department as this one?

… No, this is getting him nowhere. This is exactly why he needs to take a break.

Maybe he can try talking to that ghost again, that one with the Hermit arcana. He last encountered it by the little fishing dock, so maybe it'll be here again? Besides, Yukiko seemed interested in it, at least. Maybe he'll talk to her about it.

So he sits by the dock and waits…

… It doesn't take long for his sixth sense to perk up the hairs on his neck. He turns his head to the sides, but no one’s there. It doesn't shake the sensation that he's being watched.

I swear, someone's gonna be behind me in five, four, three-

“Oh, you like coming to the river too?”

Yu flinches at Yosuke's… well, a Yosuke's appearance at the top of the stone stairs. It was less like he came up to him, so much as he popped in out of nowhere, or maybe he's just making things up because he wasn't paying attention. It's a little strange how he hasn't mentioned anything about the investigation. You'd think he would, considering it was the thing everyone in their friend group was doing for the past hour or so.

Yu steeled his expression. “Yeah,” he replied. “Nice place to clear the mind, something I need right about now with… everything going on with me right now.”

“Oh, really?” ‘Yosuke’ asked. “What's up?”

Yeah, that's not him.

“Well, a friend of mine went missing, and we've been trying to find clues about him so that we can have an idea of where he is. You know, help the police find him and such,” Yu explained. Sure, it was a white lie, with this being the kind of case the police couldn't solve in a million years due to the whole supernatural aspect, but what this Yosuke doesn't know can't hurt him.

… Except by the look he's giving Yu, it clearly did.

“Okay, we can cut the charades now, right?” Not-Yosuke’s tone suddenly turns serious. “You know I'm not actually him , right?”

Yu bit his lips. He never quite expected him to just straight up admit to what he's doing. He has to be careful with these next few words. “How do you know?”

“I saw you with your friends earlier. You're not actually planning on talking to the police about people who die after being thrown through TVs and shown on freaky channels, are you?”

Oh… so the doppelganger was spying on them at the food court earlier today. Well, that's one can of worms spilt.

“... No,” Yu admits. “Frankly, the police’s chance of solving the case is slim to none considering all of the… borderline supernatural elements.”

“From what I've heard, you can cut the ‘borderline,’” ‘Yosuke' amended, a hint of laughter in its voice. “Next question… how long have you known about… me?”

“Chie was down here some time during Golden Week. That was you, right?”

“Dang, you're good at this,” ‘Yosuke' noted, more as an acknowledgement of his shortcomings than of Yu’s perception. “What are you, my number one fan or something?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think my friends would be pretty interested in meeting you — Yukiko especially — It's just a little awkward with the whole... ghost thing-"

“I'm not a ghost!” ‘Yosuke' refutes. “I'm not dead… but I guess I'm not really alive either…. Ugh, now I'm just confusing myself.”

Not really alive…? The thought rings in Yu's head for a while, but each reverberation doesn't make it make more sense. He knows that phrase has to be important somehow, but what does it mean?

… He should probably say something before his staring becomes too obvious.

“Uh, nice talk. I'll probably be busy these next couple of days but… same place? Same time-ish?”

The doppelganger’s face noticably relaxed. “Sure. It's not like I'm all that busy anyways. Also, think you could come by at night sometime? It's quiet, I’ve got nothing much to do, and we can… watchthestarsorsomethin’.”

“... Sounds fun, sure.” A smile creeped onto Yu’s face, and all he could think of was how maybe Yukiko had a good idea after all. Maybe he should tell her about what happened some time. There's still a victim to be found, but for now, he can take the edge off.

[RANK UP! Hermit (Shape Shifter): Rank 2]

Chapter Text

Good news: Teddie's found out where Kanji's at. Bad news: It's the most sweaty, oppressively humid sauna Yu has ever been to. Sweat and vapor cling to everyone's skin like morning dew on the grass, and the atmosphere is overall more uncomfortable than Yukiko's castle. Every few minutes, someone's thumbing their glasses to wipe the steam off. Even Teddie has to make sure his… eyes aren't fogged up (the less anyone thinks about it, the better). One of the few silver linings to this was that the floors seemed to be mostly devoid of Shadows, instead being littered with what appears to be dropped remains — yen, gems, parts that Daidara seems to like using, the works. The Investigation Team is on the fourth floor, and they've only seen five Shadows so far. Lucky, since they seem even tougher than the ones found in Yukiko’s castle.

“It's weird,” Teddie notes. “This place should be crawling with Shadows, but there's bear-ly any here.”

“Yeah, weird,” Yosuke agrees. “I swear, literally everything about this place is just full-on weird.”

“Yeah, you've been quite uncomfortable ever since we got here,” Yukiko checked in with her fellow teammate. “Is everything alright?”

“W-what about any part of this place is okay?” Yosuke stammers, his face getting even more red than the heat made it. “It’s hot as hell, I have to clean my glasses every ten seconds, and everything Kanji's Shadow says is some stupid innuendo!”

“W-we can take a break, if you want,” Teddie tries to arbitrate. “Sensei, do we have any Goho-Ms?”

Yu rummages through a gym bag, one he'd found in Dojima’s old things; all he sees are medications and various knick knacks dropped by Shadows. “Nope,” he sighs at his own lack of foresight. He thought he was forgetting something at the store. “I do have a bunch of smoke bombs though. While I'm here, anyone want some of these life stones?”

Another silver lining would have to be the medicine they've properly packed. Along with painkillers that magically seal up wounds, there's brittle glowing stones that Shadows sometimes drop that have the same effect. You can crush them in your hand, which is what most of the team did, but Chie thought about crushing one between her teeth. She quickly regretted that decision as she spat out some of the shards onto the ground.

“And why did you think that was a good idea?” Yosuke deadpans.

“Shut it,” Chie retorts, having learned her lesson already. “Anyways, how about we take a break here before we head back downstairs? It's not like there’s any Shadows around or anything.”

“Sure,” Yukiko agreed, sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor, everyone else following suit. “Phew, I haven't ran around like this in a long time. Sometimes it feels like I'm falling behind.”

“Hey, don't sweat it! You're actually doing pretty good for your first go at this. All of us struggled a little at the start, even Chie with her kung-fu moves,” Yosuke comforted.

Chie was quick to refute. “Listen, just because I know kung-fu doesn't mean that I learned how to fight monsters inside the TV who are sometimes twice my size and breathe freaking fire.”

“Still, it means you're more trained for this than either of us, even Yu with all of his Personas.” Yosuke turned to the Yu in question. “Speaking of which, you still should probably tell us how you do that.”

“I'm… afraid I can't teach it. As far as I know, it just… happened like that,” Yu answers as best he can without mentioning the blue limo people who apparently deem him worthy of multiple evolving Personas. The less he thinks about it, the better.

“So what, you're just built different?” Yosuke asked, more jokingly than insultingly. 

“Like I said, I don't know how or why it happened, it just is.”

They sat like that for a while, resting their legs while keeping the mood up with small talk.

About five to seven minutes pass — the distant sound of something powerful shattering wood rings below the floor, and the conversation stops dead in its tracks. Several seconds of stunned silence pass, a question on everyone's mind, but it's Chie who decides to voice it.

“Guys…?” Chie asks, her voice a wavering stage whisper. “What the hell was that?”

“No clue, and honestly I'm a little afraid to ask-” Yosuke's response was interrupted by suddenly Teddie yelping. “... What? You found something?”

“Yeah! I don't know why, but I can smell someone else's Shadow somewhere below us! And they're beary powerful!”

“Someone… else? But wait, aren't they supposed to be inside their own place?” Yu questioned, his seriousness just barely forming a cover over a slowly developing panic in the back of his mind.

“That's what I thought, but… I think they're getting closer and closer! Guys, I really don't think you can take them on!”

Rhythmic thumping from below hammered from below. It sounded like footsteps, but from something with a full set of medieval armor on. Certainly not anything with ordinary shoes.

… Is a knight coming to kill them?

“Damn it! And right when we don't have any ways to get out…” Yosuke griped. “Yu, what's our escape plan-”

“Escape plan? That's cute.”

Every member of the Investigation Team collectively had a heart attack as they turned to face the sneer’s origin. Long blue ponytail, silver limbs and torso, red gauntlet-like hands, striking yellow eyes, and a massive battle-axe as tall as she is. It's a Shadow… but whose? It's not Kanji, and the blue-haired boy who seemed to know Kanji looked nothing like her. In fact, no one they interviewed looked even remotely like her outside of superficial similarities, which only loops back to the all important question: who the hell is she? And what kind of struggles does a person need to have in order for their Shadow to be a robot with a, and Yu cannot stress this enough, person-sized axe?

“So, you're the people she can't stop looking after. Especially you, Narukami.”

Yu’s breath hitched at being directly mentioned, which caused Yosuke to voice a question. “Wait, you know this person?”

“I… don't know,” Yu measured out his response, but in actuality, he had his suspicions. Shadows were formed from hidden feelings and truths, so maybe he can figure something out from the one in front of him.

The Shadow, however, seemed to notice his hesitation, taking a step forward as a challenge. “Oh really? You don't remember those times you two talked to each other by the riverside? When you tried oh so hard to pretend you couldn't see through the façade, but she was too stubborn to let it go for the longest time?”

Yu bit his lips into a straight line. Is… is she the Shadow of that Shape Shifter?

The Shadow barked a laugh at the look on his face. “Oh, so you do remember after all! But I didn't come here for you. Well, not really. I know she's hiding around here somewhere. You've all noticed it too, right? All the remains of Shadows scattered all over the floor, the lack of Shadows anywhere… It's all her way of helping you out without showing herself. Always wanting to help out, but too afraid to show her true face.” She points her axe forward, her face morphing into a wicked grin. “So, let's play a game. I'll count to ten, and if she doesn't come out and show herself, I'll hunt you all down as a little incentive. I'll even give you all a headstart.” She lowered her axe back into an idle, two-handed carry and closed her eyes. “Ooone…”

Everyone collectively booked it.

“Go go go!” Yosuke ushered as they frantically fled in a random direction, enhanced by the limbering effect of Jiraiya’s Sukukaja. Teddie made quick to correct them on the correct turns through the labyrinth that is this sauna. Everyone hurried to be the first one out that they often bumped into each other, but it served as impromptu adrenaline boosts. Ragged panting cries out among them as steamy vapor claims the air, making it hard to breathe.

Eventually, after running their lungs ragged, they make it back to the third floor, since the stairs were thankfully not too far away. The walls here emit a tinge of violent red when they never used to before. Teddie makes a concerned glance at the wall, but quickly falls back into running with everyone else. There's more pressing matters at hand. Everyone falls back into a sprint as they trek onwards-

“TEN!!”

… Well. This is the part where they all die now. Great. Yu had one word to say to all of this, perfectly encapsulated in a wheeze that’s less like spoken word and more like exhaled dejection concentrate.

“fhuck…”

Nevertheless, they had to get out of here, and fast.

“Ted, any chests on this floor we haven't checked?” Yosuke rasped.

“I-I think we got all of them here, but there might be some on the second floor! We found the stairs quickly on that one!”

“Got it,” Yu affirmed, as the team continued on with new direction, desperately trying to pay no mind to the fact that the hammering of the Shadow’s weird peg feet is hot on their tails.

And then, something that Yu could almost call the funniest thing he ever saw happened. The Shadow must've unlatched some mechanism on their arm (no one was exactly looking) before a red fist rockets into Chie’s backside, launching her several meters into the nearest wall with a squeal.

Again, it was almost funny, but living through it instead of watching it on LiveSpill makes it feel much different.

“CHIE!” Yukiko screams as her best friend is incapacitated with unsettling ease, and it's then when Yu realizes that oh fuck, she basically has no combat experience and this is one of the first Shadows she encounters.

A chain leading back into her arm reeled the hand back into its socket with a click.

“What? I thought I told you guys to run,” the Shadow taunted. “Oh well, guess it means I'll be getting to the fun part quicker!”

Yu swung his gym bag over to his front side, digging through it to find one of their smoke bombs. He throws it behind himself, which the Shadow handily catches… just as it erupts into an opaque white cloud.

“Oh, SONOVA-!”

Yu smirks at the Shadow's plight, gladly taking the opportunity to head over to Chie and quickly get her back on her feet with a revival bead as the Shadow blindly bumps into walls. As it turns out, the stairs to the second floor were just around the bend from where Chie dented the wall.

The second floor was more altered than the previous one. The walls continued to seethe, but now short metal chains hung from the ceiling, broken off either from rust or force.  Slate-colored concrete bled into the wooden tiles like half-real invasive mold.

“I've never seen anything like this before,” Teddie remarks with concern. “It's like this other Shadow's influence is so strong, its own episode is trying to form on top of this one!”

“I know Kanji could be a little… aggressive at times, but I don't think his heart would be… what, some sort of medieval dungeon?” Yukiko adds.

“Yeah. Also, I think the steam is letting up a little here, but now it smells like my attic. Just old, untouched, and… nevermind,” Yosuke notes.

“No, I get what you're saying,” Chie says, visibly straining as she rubs the spot where an assailant's fist collided with her spine. “Also, is something burning around here? Is it just me?”

Yu takes a whiff of the air. Along with what Yosuke was talking about, there is a hint of smoke in the air. Maybe some burnt plastic smell in there too. It's distant, maybe on the first floor, so he isn't too inclined to figure out the answer. He doesn't even know if he or anyone else here is going to make it out alive, he doesn't need to press his luck with detours. “Yeah. I smell the smoke, but whatever's burning seems far away.”

Just what is going on with that shape shifter he met at the riverside?

But more importantly, what's going on with the layout of this floor? Paths that clearly used to lead somewhere else turned into dead ends — either a hole threatened them with a nasty fall or a collection of debris blocked the way. Paths that used to lead to nothing formed passages of stone that led elsewhere, like a mineshaft in an otherwise untouched cave. It's just one of several things that make it clear that this floor isn't meant to be this way at all.

The group goes searching through the two-tone labyrinth, but so far they haven't found anything useful in the chests.

“Yeesh, I'd hate to be the architect for this place,” Chie commented.

“Actually, you make a good point. Are Shadows the ones who make all of these places? Do they get help from their little minion Shadows to help make it?” Yukiko hypothesizes, enthusiastic in spite of everything. “Now I'm kind of curious.”

“I dunno, but do you think Kanji's Shadow’s kinda pissed about all of this?” Chie gestures to the surrounding area. “I mean, it's his episode, or whatever Yosuke called it.”

“Yeah, this isn't exactly looking like a site for sublime love, or whatever he called it,” Yu jokes, which causes Yosuke to start averting his eyes for some reason.

“Sublime love?” Teddie questions? “But what's so romantic about saunas? Is it how squeaky clean you get after you're done?”

No one decided to answer that question. Then, the question was the last thing on their minds as that robot Shadow’s axe bursts through a wooden section of the wall, catching them all off guard. Several earthquake-like strikes of the massive weapon later, and the Shadow shoves herself through what remained of the wall effortlessly, rubble and dust following her.

She looks pissed.

“Okay, how the hell are you so good yet so terrible at running away!? I thought I gave you a good enough headstart…. Well, if she isn't going to come out, I guess it's time I hold up my end of the deal.”

She swung her axe back and bent into position to charge. Yu closed his eyes, and time seemed to slow down for him.

Is this seriously how it all ends? 

Some fluke with that not-ghost’s Shadow? 

Right when he was just getting to know her?

… What a stupid ending-

“PARTNER!”

In a flash of what Yu couldn't tell was bravery or stupidity, Yosuke yells and races past him, taking the full brunt on the axe swing and falling to the floor and oh fuck there's so much blood fuck fuck why did he do that!?

The assailant looked at her handiwork with amused curiosity. “Huh, so that's what humans are made out of… red liquid and a complete lack of common sense…” She turns to Yu with a too-wide smile. “... Isn’t that right, partner?”

An irked noise comes from Yu’s mouth, even as he tries to force his expression into neutrality. It doesn't matter how many times he tries to tell himself that people's Shadows are meant to rile them up — there's a reason every person they've found inside the TV ended up denying their Shadow, after all — because hearing the word partner come someone other than Yosuke or cowboys on TV sounds wrong, and the person in front of him knows it.

“Y'know, the other me used to have somethin’ of a partner once. We'd used ta sit on this one rock and look up at th’ stars….” The Shadow seems wistful for a brief moment, eyes briefly taken off of the group and seemingly into whatever memories she mentioned. About as quickly as it came, it fades, replaced by her usual mania.

She gives a pointed stare towards Yu: “She's dead now, but I've finally found someone who can fill that hole in my heart! Someone who actually wants to be around me!”

She made a leisurely approach towards Yu. His friends fell back, but he stood stalwart. Maybe his fight or flight response was malfunctioning, or he’s simply stunned by the weirdest reciprocation of friendship he's ever experienced… Maybe he's even brave, but he stood still in the face of what may or may not be certain doom.

“It doesn't matter that you're probably playing pretend, because so is she. Maybe that's why she's so obsessed with you. You know what it's like to put on a face for others, don't you?"

“That's not it, I do care about her!” Yu refutes. “I didn’t sit by the floodplain the other day for no reason; I came for her, not the role she plays to fit in. Besides, I don't think she was really cut out for acting anyway.” A smirk breaks out on his face, oddly enough.

The Shadow pauses for a second before a chuckle ripped out of her. “Yeah, that's the funny part — you don't get good results when you ask a machine built for combat to go hit up Broadway.”

… What?

“... Broadway's the right word for that, right? Or have you just figured it out?”

Yu hears someone whispering behind him and turns his attention, but not his face, towards it. He thinks he heard Teddie say something that sounded like “weak to ice?” He brings King Frost to the front of his mind just in case.

“No, I just… didn't expect you to know what that is but not that people bleed-”

“So what if I'm sheltered?!” The Shadow retorts in a flare of anger. “Y’all try and live a second in my shoes! You'd all be fucking dead!”

A snicker comes from behind Yu, and a quick glance reveals the culprit to be Yukiko, her face scrunched up in a failed attempt to suppress her laughter.

The steel Shadow points its axe at the offender. “Does the peanut gallery want summa this!? Huh!? Yeah, fucking thought so-”

“Oh, don't you dare!”

The Shadow’s attempts to regain her dignity kept her eyes away from Chie, who summoned Tomoe to launch a chunk of ice at the Shadow’s shoulder joint with Bufula. What miniscule amount of damage it dealt could barely be labeled a scratch, but as per Teddie's insight, it caused the Shadow’s body to seize up from the sudden chill. An almost animalistic grunt ripped out of her (... voice synthesizer?) as she falls forward in the direction of her axe, a single shaky knee preventing her from becoming totally flush with the floor.

“Wow, nice shot, Chie!” Teddie congratulated his friend.

But weirdly enough, the good luck gets better. The next thing Yu knows, a silken pouch rolls in front of him from beyond the Shadow, as if someone tossed it over to him. He doesn't get to see his mystery assistant or thank them for saving their lives, but is he ever thankful for their help because drifting from it is the scent of home that only Goho-Ms could have.

“Everyone, here!” Yu commands as he holds out the Goho-M to his friends behind him. Now all he has to do is take a whiff and think of literally anywhere but here…

…

… And his friends find themselves back at the locker room that sits just outside the sauna. The welcoming pink and grey paint that used to cover the walls is peeling off, caked in dust like it hasn't been touched in decades. Behind the wallpaper is a crumbling wall of slate, sharing the same state of disarray as the wallpaper. The double doors have been replaced with an iron gate framed by an arch of rectangular stone. The very peak of the arch had a statue of a bull’s head on it, and the gate was surrounded by two lit torches, one left and one right. The scent of smoke and soot is stronger here, and it's not just because of the torches. If Yu had to guess, there's something burning somewhere in the two rows of lockers that surround them, but for now, he has to make sure his friends are okay.

“Does-” Chie starts, her words being interrupted as she puts a hand to the small of her back with a wince. Revival bead or not, that punch is going to hurt in the morning, at least by Yu’s estimate. “Does anyone know if there's a chiropractor somewhere in Okina? I think I need a massage, or like fifty…”

Yukiko offers to fetch a revival bead from Yu’s bag to heal up Yosuke, which he gladly allows, but he can't help but stare at her while she goes about it. How would he be in her shoes if this was his first encounter with the TV World? How would he be, knowing that the only reason they made it out was because fortune was in a good mood that day?

… That being said, who did throw that Goho-M-

“Yu?” 

Yukiko's notice snapped him out of his funk, and he's back in the real-ish world; the world where they just made it out of certain death alive; the world where no one had to die and be left behind; the world where they can all go home now.

“Oh, uh… Just wanted to say, I promise these expeditions aren't usually like…” Like a slasher film where all of the survivors were having a collective acid trip, he didn't say, but everyone could reasonably come to a similar conclusion. “Like, everything up until the third floor was about normal, but I never found anything like… that Shadow before.”

“Yeah, about that…” Yosuke grabbed his stomach as he stood up, the exhausted and flickering form of Jiraiya suturing his wound with Dia. Konohaya Sakuya appears from Yukiko to assist, healing appearing to be one of her biggest strengths. The frog ninja gave a thumbs up, while the bird lady gave a polite bow before both disappeared back into their respective owners. “Who was that chick? How does she know you? How does she know us?”

… This also appears to be the world where Yu has to answer questions he doesn't want to because usually, normal people don't like it when an invisible stalker has been tailing them for a while, and all he can really say to assure his friends is dude, she's fine, trust me.

“It's a bit of a story,” Yu settles on that excuse. “We should probably get out of here first. I need to take a 14-hour-long nap. Short answer, that second Chie I was talking to you guys earlier is some shape shifter, and that Shadow is probably what they look like under the disguise? Something like that.”

“Really…” Yosuke says. “... God, it's weird. Like, this should be registering as the weirdest thing ever, but it just isn't. Maybe we do need some sleep… But you are gonna have to explain yourself later, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Yu mumbles, his eyes idly tracing along the rows of lockers until he found one where a small stream of smoke poured out and his nose especially turned up at the smell. “... Hold on a second.” Perhaps against his better judgement, he walked up to one of the lockers and opened it up a peek, as it wasn't lock-protected.

Inside the locker was the (corpse?) of a humanoid robot. She had been shoved into the fetal position to make it fit. She was rather beautiful, with a white-green bun tied high on her head, just above her metal headband-like accessory. Or maybe they're headphones? Her ears aren't shown, after all. Below her chin and down to her waist, a black fabric covered her torso. Her limbs are covered in striped metal, giving an almost knightly appearance. Unlike everything else the shape shifter’s Shadow managed to affect, her body is surprisingly clean, her severed, burning neck wound and the soot surrounding it notwithstanding. Her lifeless eyes suddenly snapped towards Yu’s own-

Yu slammed the locker door with a rapturous clang, backing up into the adjacent set of lockers. He's not going near that bad omen with a ten-foot pole, no he damn well is not. His friends turn to him with concern.

Yosuke breaks the awkward silence. “Dude, what'd you find in th-”

“Nothing,” Yu snaps with more intensity than intended, but he also maybe he did intend it. He's tired, wired, and so is probably everyone else here. There's a nice comfy futon waiting for him at home.

“Okay, if you say so…” Yosuke replies, unconvinced that ‘nothing' could spark such a violent reaction.

And thus, the weary group of teenagers (and their bear friend) made their way back to the real world.

The dull ambiance of the pathways of the TV World swirled around the group of teenagers as they made their way back to the entrance.

“Hey, uh, Yu, can I say something?” Yukiko shyly asked.

“Sure,” Yu replied.

“Is it weird to say that all of that running was actually kind of thrilling?”

“... Maybe.”

“Huh… I thought you'd just say yes.”

“... Perhaps. Weirdly enough, I think I understand that girl a little bit more now.”

“Really…” Yosuke replied. “Because I think I understood her less than I did before I even knew she existed.”

“Maybe for you, but…” Yu trailed off briefly. “I dunno, Shadows don't lie when talking about their other selves. They might say terrible advice or piss you off, but ‘I am thou, thou art I’ and all that jazz.”

“Hrm…” Teddie started thinking aloud. “If you say that Kanji was big and scary in real life, but his Shadow is all lovey-dovey… If Miss Ponytail’s Shadow is mean and scary, maybe her other self is really nice?”

“Yeah, she is,” the thought slips too easily from Yu's mouth, and now Chie’s giving him a raised eyebrow. It's probably something to do with how the girl was pretending to be Chie when he first found her.

“Ooh! Sensei, is this what it means to score a hot stud?” Teddie asked excitedly.

No one spoke for a solid ten seconds.

“Um…” Yukiko mutters. “Let's not use those words when talking about a relationship, okay? They're… inappropriate.”

“Oookaaay…” Teddie mumbles in defeat.

No one spoke the rest of the way back to the real world. Only once they made it out did Yu say that they weren't going back inside for three days. Everyone collectively sighed in relief as they all went their separate ways.