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On his way home from his first day of work at his uncle’s detective agency, Yu had stopped by JUNES to buy some Topsicles for his cousin, along with some other groceries. He’d only been living in Inaba for a couple of weeks, but the small time was already a refreshing change of pace. As he was shopping, a very nice (but very exhausted-looking) young man, his badge reading Yosuke, had helped him reach a box on a high shelf, and they’d gotten to talking. Despite his exhaustion, Yosuke seemed nice enough, and Yu felt like he was getting to know him rather well.
Then, alarms started blaring, making Yu wince. “Oh, dear…”
To his confusion, Yosuke merely groaned. “Sorry, man… I gotta deal with this.”
“Deal with what?”
“Just… give me like ten minutes, and I’ll be right back.”
Yosuke dashed off without another word, and Yu couldn’t help but follow. What if Yosuke held some responsibility for whatever was going on? He couldn’t ignore that.
Yu watched in awe as Yosuke unzipped his backpack and a red, blue and yellow creature tumbled out. “Looks like she’s here to cause trouble again… at least it’s only her,” the man grumbled. “Come on, Ted.”
“I have a feeling this is going to go bear-y well!” the creature chirped. Giving Yosuke a look of annoyance, it added, “Let’s try and stop her for good this time!”
“That’s what you said last time…” Yosuke sighed. “Let's get this over with.”
In a burst of light, Yosuke was transformed. Instead of his dreary JUNES uniform, he wore a black blazer and trousers, with a bright orange t-shirt and bandana, as well as orange gloves and a mask.
As if on cue, one of the walls of the building caved in, and a black-haired girl, maybe sixteen or so, made her grand entrance. “Quiver before me, mortals! Or I’ll… ummm…”
Cricking his neck from side to side, Yosuke stepped out of the backrooms, the door hitting the wall with an authoritative sound. “Come on, Marie. Don’t do this.”
“I-I’m not Marie! For the last time, I’m–”
“Lady Mist of the Dark Void. Yeah, I know. Can’t you just… go home? Do you even have a home?”
“You’re supposed to listen to me monologue!” Marie - or Lady Mist of the Dark Void, Yu supposed - whined. “You’re doing it wrong!”
“Look, stop blowing up walls!” Yosuke snapped. “Someday, you’re going to hurt someone!”
Marie stuck out her tongue. “Make me!”
For all Marie’s posturing, Yu could tell she really was just a kid.
“I don’t wanna hurt you, Marie, but–”
“Urghhh, you’re so annoying!” Marie pointed at Yosuke with her staff, blasting him backwards with some sort of laser-beam. “Fight me or else!”
When she went to fire that laser beam at Yosuke again, while he was still on the floor, struggling to get up, Yu did something he didn’t expect from himself. He grabbed a trash can lid from the nearby home goods section and jumped in front of the blast, reflecting it right back at Marie.
“Owwww!” Marie clutched at her arm, where the blast had hit her. “No fair! You’re not supposed to have a sidekick! Uggggh… I’m outta here.”
Yosuke swore under his breath at the sight. “He’s not–”
“I’m not–”
Before Yosuke could protest, Marie had vanished in a puff of mist.
“She, uhh… really doesn’t like it when I don’t ‘play fair,’” Yosuke murmured. “Have we met?”
“I… might have seen you transform?” Yu said quietly.
Even more quietly, Yosuke muttered, “Shit…”
“I won’t tell anyone!” Yu added quickly. “I think it’s… pretty cool, to be honest. My cousin loves magical girls. She’s a huge fan of Magical Detective Loveline.” A moment later, he amended, “I won’t tell her about this. Not if you don’t want me to.”
“It’s kinda gotta stay a secret,” Yosuke admitted. “I appreciate you keeping it one.”
“Can do.” After a moment, Yu said, “Wanna get dinner with me at Aiya’s? I’m somewhat new in town and… I could use a friend.”
“You too, huh? What the hell. Sure. My shift’s over now, too.”
“Uhh… what about the hole in the wall?”
“Oh, shit, yeah. One second.”
With a wave of his staff, Yosuke had mended the wall and transformed back into his JUNES uniform. Once Teddie had hopped back into his bag, they were ready to leave.
“You know, I’ve met the actress for Detective Loveline,” Yosuke remarked, as he and Yu left JUNES together. “There was an incident where Marie thought she was a real threat, and… point is, maybe I could pull some strings. Get her to agree to meet your cousin. I prolly owe you and all, so…”
“If you did that, I’d probably have to marry you,” Yu joked.
It really had been a joke at the time. Neither of them knew how right it would end up being.
Margaret de la Vacío was growing tired of Marie coming home in tears because of that awful magical boy. Honestly, would it have been so difficult for him to help Marie with her request? Why did he always have to resort to fighting her? The poor girl only wanted to get her memories back…
Being a mother was not easy. Margaret didn't regret it, but it was still… difficult, sometimes. Marie was her entire world, and it hurt to know that her daughter was hurting.
Perhaps they were looking for answers in the wrong place. Perhaps magic was not the answer. Perhaps a mortal perspective would be more helpful than that of a magical boy - least of all that one.
Perhaps… Margaret should do her own part in finding an answer for Marie’s amnesia.
Drifting through the sleepy town of Inaba, she noticed a small building with a sign labeling it a ‘Detective Agency’. Truthfully, Margaret had never heard of such a place, but she was aware that detecting meant locating things. Perhaps there was a mortal here who could help locate her daughter’s missing memories?
Entering the building, Margaret found it mostly empty. A lone man sat behind the counter – he had the slightest hint of a beard and wore his shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Secretly, Margaret found herself appreciating his appearance.
The man didn’t seem to have noticed her entrance, so she greeted, “I understand that you have a talent for finding things.”
The man jumped a bit, halfway out of his seat before sitting back down. “I suppose that’s part of what I do.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “What are you trying to find?”
“My daughter’s memories,” Margaret replied.
“Your daughter’s… memories?” The man leaned back in his chair. “Not my usual forte, but… I’ll give it a go.”
“I appreciate this, truly. We have sought out… other means for quite a long time, so to have your help is something I will not forget.”
“Wait… where are my manners?” The man held out his hand. “I’m Dojima Ryotaro.”
“Margaret.”
“No last name?”
Margaret chuckled. “It’s a mouthful for this country, I’m told. Margaret de la Vacío.”
“De la Vacío…” Ryotaro pronounced the C more like a Z, but he came close, and Margaret could appreciate that. “I’ll try to get that right.”
Ryotaro had the feeling this… case, whatever it may be, would be his most memorable yet.