Archive of Our Own

“Sensei…? What’s inside of a human?” Teddie asked; he himself was hollow. 

Rise’s dungeon was full of magazines, all highlighting what the perfect human should look like, devoid of blemishes, free from marks, pretty faces, and thin limbs. 

Pages of women and men with their mouths wide open, perfect teeth, pink tongues, waiting for… something, descriptions of those depicted right underneath, all of the faces, other than Rise’s, lacking any feature other than a mouth. 

What lay beyond a tongue and a singular row of teeth, however… Teddie found he was drawing a blank. 

Yosuke quickly tugged the magazine out of Teddie’s paws with a shriek.

“Ugh! Put that down!” he scoffed, “you shouldn’t even be looking at those!” 

“Why not?” Teddie questioned.

Yosuke’s face flushed pink as he turned to Yu, looking for the strength to answer, or maybe he was hoping that Sensei would answer for him. 

“You’re too young,” Sensei decided on.

That answer was simple and to the point, but it posed another question, something else that Teddie had been wondering for some time.

“How old am I?” Teddie tilted his head, “How old are you guys?”

“We’re all teenagers,” Chie answered, “Rise-chan is about our age, but she’s younger, like Kanji-kun, but I don’t think she’s the same age as Kanji-kun, Yosuke-kun is older, but only by a week.” Chie tapped her chin.

Teddie must’ve made an expression, because Yosuke sighed.

“You’re confusing him, genius!” he jeered.

“Well, sorry, I didn’t see you explaining anything!” Chie lightly kicked Yosuke in the shin, causing him to yelp and hop backwards.

“I think Teddie’s looking for numbers,” Yukiko placed a gentle hand on Chie’s shoulder and kneeled in front of Teddie as if he were a child, “Yu-kun, Chie, and I are the same age, we’re all sixteen, Yosuke-kun’s birthday, the day he was born, was a week ago, he just turned seventeen — every time your birthday passes, annually, the number goes up — Kanji-kun is a year younger than all of us, he’s fifteen, and we think Rise-chan is around the same,” Yukiko explained. 

“Yeah, yer a different case!” Chie smiled, “With the way you act, you’ve gotta be younger!” 

“He’s like a newborn,” Kanji hummed.

Teddie knows what a newborn is: a fresh human being. 

Teddie is not a human… he’s a Teddie. 

“Don’t be dense — he’s walking and talking, he’s younger for sure, but he’s not a newborn,” Yosuke stared at Teddie like he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at, “He’s like thirteen, minimum.” 

Teddie knew his numbers, and he knew that ‘thirteen’ was four whole years younger than Yosuke’s age.

“I agree,” Chie nodded.

“Thirteen for sure,” Yukiko conceded. 

“Yeah, more like a younger brother!” Kanji chuckled. 

Something in Teddie swelled, something made of flesh, of tissue, something living.

“Woahwoahwoah! I’m honored to be your kouhai! I won’t let any of you or Sensei down!” Teddie pressed his paws together.

Sensei ended up seeing Teddie’s shadow, something existential and ominous, depressive and nihilistic, Teddie promised Yosuke, promised Chie, and Yukiko, and Kanji, and Rise, and Sensei that he would become a new man, better, stronger, reliable.

Teddie hated being alone.

He ventured back into Rise’s dungeon, hiding from any lingering shadows, and he collected every magazine that he came across.

Teddie was eager to learn and eager to change, even if that meant building himself from scratch. 

The magazines showed human bodies, many of them belonging to women, commenting on the importance of soft and supple skin, gentle dimples, and long eyelashes. In contrast, the bodies of men suggested that short, styled hair, a tapered look with broad shoulders, and a soft yet defined jawline were ideal. 

Both overlapped with pale skin, wide eyes, and a slim waist. 

Teddie wasn’t sure which one he should focus on, so he decided his new self would incorporate both feminine and masculine attributes.

Sensei never did tell Teddie what was inside of a human — the magazines with repeated mouths, showed Teddie what he already knew; teeth, tongue, uvula, taste buds… but Teddie shrugged it off, as long as he looked human on the outside, he supposed it didn’t really matter what went inside. 

Halfway through his creation, as he was putting the eyes and teeth in place, just like making glasses, he recalled what Kanji had said earlier: ‘more like a younger brother,’ and with a delighted chuckle, he remembered a conversation he had with the team before Kanji even joined.

“You look really cute, but yer sayin’ all this stuff, and you don’t really know what it means!” Chie scolded just as Teddie had stopped asking about ‘scoring’ and what that meant. 

“Oh,” Teddie pouted, “I might not be a beary bright bear, but I’ll keep doing my best!” 

“Don’t worry,” Yosuke joined the conversation, “we’ll teach you, like you’re our little sibling or something.”

Yosuke reached to ruffle Teddie’s fur, hand heavy, much to Teddie’s annoyance with the treatment of his gorgeous mane. 

Yosuke.

Yosuke would be Teddie’s older brother.

Yosuke was a perfect fit; he was hard-working, and smart, and he knew all about what Teddie should and shouldn’t get into — he would be perfect, they would be perfect. 

Perfectly brothers.

Perfectly Hanamura. 

Teddie carved his new body to be like Yosuke’s; slimmed his waist down just below the measurements he recalled, shortened the shins, the thighs, the arms, and the spine when he remembered that younger brothers were supposed to be shorter. Pressed the eyelids away just so, and made sure his skin was free of blemishes, free of marks, free of veins, other than the soft patch of freckles above his nose. 

When it came to the finer details, he left them blank or guessed, things like what should be inside of a human being? Blank. Did humans have longer canines than bears did? He never saw any on Yosuke, so he kept them sharp, but short. He wasn’t sure how good a human’s sense of smell should be, so he kept it similar to his own. What exactly should be on the upper and lower halves of a human torso? Blank. 

When Teddie finally emerged from his suit, there was blood, there was no pain, but there was lots of blood, approximately 5 liters; he didn’t know where to fit it, so he didn’t. He cried in triumph as he moved all ten of his fingers before his eyes, and like a baby lamb, he wobbled to his feet, almost slipping on the blood as he tried taking a step forward. 

Alternate Inaba’s river was cold against his newborn — fresh human being — skin. Teddie washed his hair until the water was clear, until he was just able to feel the water pass through his fingers and his toes, between his knees and lap over his shoulders, what he wouldn’t have given to feel the sun on his newborn skin instead of the clouds of fog overhead. 

The first time Teddie pressed his hand through the TV, he didn’t know what to think. The static was warm around his fingers; it licked against him, beckoned him towards the other side.

What a beautifully eventful day! Teddie was able to meet with his friends in the human world! He remembered the way that everyone’s jaws dropped when he took off his suit and tossed his hair — happy that everyone was appreciative of his work.

Chie and Yukiko took him into Junes to find an outfit to cover his newborn skin, and he was already getting stares from people.

Now he was positioned in front of a mirror, carefully looking at his naked body.

Smooth all the way down, he couldn’t help but peek at the posters of models in outfits placed around the mirror.

They all had a hole in their abdomen, but Teddie was much too inexperienced to know if everyone had a hole in their abdomen.

There came a gentle knock at the changing room door.

“Are you doing okay in there, Teddie?” Yukiko questioned, her voice muffled by the door between them, “Have you tried anything on yet?”

That’s right! There was a pile of clothes that Chie and Yukiko had picked out in the corner of the room. Teddie had just finished getting out of his suit, this time, thankfully, without 5 liters of blood to follow.

“Yuki-chan, I can bear-ly hear you!” Teddie laughed as he pressed himself against the wooden door. He pressed his hand to the doorknob, turning it. If he opened the door, he would be able to see his friends again.

He wouldn’t be alone in this small room.

“Don’t open the door if yer not dressed, idiot!” Chie shrieked and kicked the door closed. When Teddie tried to push the door again, it wouldn’t budge; he could guess that all of her weight was left on it from the other side.

Teddie backed up and tried to ignore how small the room felt.

“Okay,” he chuckled as he stared into the overwhelming pile of clothes, “Errr… what do I start with?” 

“Socks!” Chie said at the same time Yukiko hushed, “Underwear.”

“Uhhhhh…” Teddie hesitated, unsure which item was which.

He could hear both of the girls slip against the door in exasperation on the other side. 

“This is going to be a long day,” Chie sighed. 

The slide of fabric against his newborn skin was delicious; he had never felt anything like it before. Silk, he found, was his favorite; the fabric was breathable and smooth, and his shirt was allll silk. His pants didn’t matter as much; they weren’t the focus point of his outfit. 

“You look…” Chie squinted as she trailed off.

“... like Teddie, you look like our Teddie,” Yukiko finished.

“Yeah,” Chie huffed as she pressed her shoulder to Yukiko’s, exhausted, “we should be gettin’ back to the group anyway, we’ve taken long enough, they’re prob’ly worried.”

Teddie giggles as he follows Yukiko and Chie out of Junes, getting twice as many stares as he did on his way in. 

The sun was warm outside; much, much warmer than it ever got in the TV World. Teddie could hear the soft buzz of cicadas all around and smell the pavement getting hot — it made every light breeze that would blow through the silk of his shirt even sweeter. 

“Here,” Kanji unwrapped a topsicle and handed it to Teddie, “this’ll keep ya cool.” 

Teddie took the topsicle from Kanji’s hands, which were also overly warm, much warmer than his own.

“Thanks!” he hummed as he turned back to the small rotating fan at the counter of the shop. He let the artificial breeze wash over him, blowing away any sweat.

“What’re you jus’ holdin’ it for?” Kanji chuckled, and with a lick of his own topsicle, he said, “You're s’pposed to eat it.”

Oh. Teddie looked down at the topsicle in his hand. It was already starting to melt, the oppressive summer heat doing no favors to increase the longevity of such a frozen treat.

A small, cold, and sticky trickle had already started to make its way down his thumb, keeping its path down his wrist.

Teddie carefully moved his arm to tentatively lick it. 

The flavors on his tongue were immediate — salty, from what he assumed was his skin, layered in sweat, and then sweet, from the topsicle — sweet, creamy, and cold; it made the inside of his mouth cold, the empty space inside of him, the hollowness, became cold too.

“Mmmm!” Teddie exclaimed, “It’s cold when you eat it, too!”

Kanji laughed at him, a gentle guffaw, while the person behind the counter gave him an odd look.

“Try not to touch anything that looks important,” Yosuke turned on the light as he let Teddie into his house, “my parents aren’t home tonight, so I’ll talk to them about you tomorrow.”

Yosuke's house smelled like him, fresh oranges; the open windows invited the delicate sound of wooden windchimes clunking together, and the complex scent of petrichor.

The house was cozy, not entirely gigantic, but much larger than he had been expecting, especially for a family of three.

“Remove your shoes,” Yosuke hummed as he hooked a finger underneath the collar of his shoe, which dully thumped to the floor.

“Right!” Teddie mirrored what he saw Yosuke doing, finding that his shoes wouldn’t budge as easily, “Yosuke-nii, my shoes won’t come off!” he whined. 

“That’s because your laces are still done, Ted,” Yosuke explained. 

“My laces?” Teddie questioned.

“Yeah,” Yosuke kneeled, and he put his hands on the strings protruding from Teddie’s shoes, “here, I’ll do one, you do the other.”

Yosuke pulled the long, non-looped edge of the lace, and it came undone easily. He carefully pulled at the tongue of the shoe, loosening it up enough for Teddie to slip free.

“Okay, your turn.” Yosuke stood up and placed his hands on his hips. 

Teddie repeated the instruction and found it just as easy to do as it was to watch.

With that swelling ache of flesh, Teddie realized he was right — Yosuke was the perfect fit, Yosuke was perfect to teach Teddie all about humanity, all about what it meant to be human. 

Teddie hoped Yosuke would teach him everything.

“Who did your laces, anyways?” Yosuke asked, “They’re tied like someone fought with them.”

“Chie!” Teddie nodded.

“I’ll teach you how to properly tie your laces in the morning,” Yosuke sighed. 

Yosuke’s room was smaller than the living room, but it smelled more like oranges and coughdrops than downstairs.

“You’ll sleep in the closet,” Yosuke explained, “on the bright side, you’ll have privacy — if you keep this door shut — if you open it, I’ll be able to see you.”

Teddie’s bed was slightly above the ground within the closet; there were multiple pillows and blankets, it looked comfortable and warm. 

Teddie placed his bag down, the one Yukiko had delicately handed him when they had parted for the evening, full of his extra undergarments; she’d pressed the handles into his palm and made sure that each of his fingers were wrapped around it before letting go. 

As soon as Teddie was sure that the bag was safely on the ground, he climbed into his bed and allowed the mattress to give underneath him.

It was soft, and like the silk decorating his newborn skin, it was smooth.

Teddie giggled as he nuzzled into the pillow.

This was much nicer than his hiding arrangements in the TV World; wherever the shadows weren’t. These arrangements included a lot of nights spent underneath cold, cold boxes, pressed against the hard ground, trying to silently cry and wipe away his tears without alerting any stray shadows.

“I'm glad you like it,” Yosuke smiled, “of course we'll make it more ‘you’, but for now let's hit the hay.” 

Gentle rain pattered on the roof of the house. Teddie kept the closet door shut, mainly because Yosuke had asked him to, especially if he was going to sleep in only his underwear. 

Teddie didn't understand the idea of sleeping in clothes, however, especially when there was so much for his newborn skin to feel, there was so much for his elbows to catch on, to bump against, or his stomach to press to.

There was a gentle flash outside the closet, glowing faintly beneath the door. It piqued Teddie's interest.

Suddenly, without any warning, a large sound startled Teddie into sitting up.

It sounded like ‘buh-VOOM’, something horrifying that crackled through the expansive sky above them.

Teddie could hear a soft gasp on the other side of the closet, and then an even gentler groan.

The floor creaked when Yosuke moved, carefully; the sounds of him sneaking across the room caused Teddie to focus in.

His ears were still good, like they were before he carved his newborn body, just like any bear worth his salt.

Teddie could hear Yosuke come to a stop right outside of the closet, most likely staring at the TV mounted on the wall. 

He stayed there for about ten minutes of slow silence before he padded back to his own bed. 

Then there was the gentle sound of a phone clicking open, and a few buttons being pressed.

A few more seconds of silence.

“Nobody on the TV tonight,” Yosuke's voice was soft as he talked to whoever was on the other side, “I can't believe we both woke up at midnight again,” he laughed.

Oh, Teddie realized, so this was somebody who knew about the TV World.

The voice on the other end responded, much too quiet for Teddie to pick out any words.

Yosuke gently turned over in his bed, his chuckle warm.

“Of course, I just always hope it's over,” Yosuke huffed.

So this was someone who knew about the murders?

Teddie sat forward.

The voice on the other end was deep, husky, but light, seemingly just for Yosuke.

“Oh yeah?” Yosuke turned again, his voice sounded like a smile, “Are you setting up a training date?” 

The voice spoke back.

“See you then, partner,” Yosuke whispered, his voice taking on a humorous lilt.

There was only one person that Yosuke called ‘partner’, especially in that foreign tone — suddenly the conversation seemed much too important to listen in to. Sensei, of all people, deserved that privacy.

Awareness came to Teddie slowly, slowly, and syrupy; he could already smell the fresh and dewy morning air, oranges, and coughdrops.

And something else wafted through the air, something sweet and warm.

It made Teddie melt even further into the sheets.

His first night of sleep, and he was already excited for tonight. 

There was a gentle knock on the closet door. 

Teddie sluggishly pulled the sheets over his body. He purred at the sensation.

“Yes?” He hummed as he turned his head on the pillow to face the door.

“Come down for breakfast,” Yosuke's muffled voice came from the other side, “and please make sure you're fully dressed.”

“Of course, Yosuke-nii!” Teddie chuckled.

As Teddie descended the stairs, he heard a woman speaking before he saw her.

“He sounds like a nice young man. Where did you meet him again?” She asked.

“Oh, uh, foreign exchange, Mr. Morooka was supposed to figure out the arrangements, but…” Yosuke's voice sounded tight, uncertain.

The woman didn't seem to pick up on it; she let out an upset sigh.

“It’s a shame,” her voice took on a frown.

Then a man’s voice, deep yet smooth, sounded.

“He might’ve been harsh, but nobody deserves to die like that,” he agreed.

Teddie carefully tiptoed down the rest of the stairs, doing his best to stay quiet, just like he was hiding from any shadow.

“Oh! There he is!” The woman spotted him.

The hairs on the back of Teddie’s neck stood up, the same reaction he remembered as a bear, his fur puffing up right before he’d have to go running from an inky substance twice his size. 

The woman must’ve noticed his apprehension.

“Ah! I didn’t mean to scare him. Does he speak Japanese?” She hushed towards Yosuke.

“Fluently,” Yosuke took a drink of whatever was in his glass with a roll of his eyes before seeming to catch himself, “he learned all by himself!” He choked. 

“Impressive!” The man sang into his cup.

“It’s nice to meet you, Teddie-chan!” The woman exclaimed, she crossed the room to throw her arms around him, “You’re very little in comparison to my Yosuke! And ‘Teddie’, what a cute name, did you know that name shares kanji with the word ‘bear’? Now there’s a fun fact to share with your parents!” 

“Mom!” Yosuke stood up from his chair a little too quickly.

Teddie watched him from over the woman’s shoulder, panicked expression and tense shoulders — the man across the table watched with interest at Yosuke’s strange actions.

Teddie carefully brought his arms to wrap around the woman, not too tightly.

“...Mom?” Teddie asked, he allowed himself to wrap his lips around the words too, in the exact way Yosuke had, the kanji for ‘mama’.

The words felt unfamiliar on his tongue, but like a new start, like home nonetheless. 

“Yes!” The woman, Yosuke’s mom, Mrs. Hanamura, laughed. “Yosuke was just telling us that you had nowhere to stay since Mr. Morooka-” she trailed off, almost as if she were unsure whether she was supposed to mention this unknown ‘Morooka.’ 

Yosuke was making an expression at him from behind Mrs. Hanamura.

Teddie decided to stay quiet. 

“He’s not that talkative,” Yosuke panicked, “we have school anyway, let’s get him food, and we’ll head out!” 

Teddie almost cried when the food touched his tongue. The pancakes were fluffy, the fruit was tart, and if he piled his plate with both and added syrup, it made a wonderful combination that made him shout out praises for Mrs. Hanamura’s cooking.

The man across the table, who must’ve been Mr. Hanamura, cackled out a ‘damn right!’

Yosuke ended up sneaking him right back into their bedroom, through the window.

“I thought we were going to school, Yosuke-nii!” Teddie whined, crocodile tears.

“You barely made it past breakfast,” Yosuke hissed, “there are books, school books, manga, coloring books, crossword puzzles, whatever, just… entertain yourself until I get home, then, we'll meet up with the others.”

“Okay, Yosuke-nii!” Teddie smiled.

“Don't make any noise until you hear the front door shut four times, okay? I'll be back,” Yosuke instructed.

Teddie had colored in several ‘manga’ before he got bored.

The door had shut for the fourth time three hours ago, and now the house was quiet and still.

This was the same as being stuck in the TV World, but with less fog and more silence. 

Teddie stood up and decided to explore.

Yosuke's room was still pretty spacious.

Even if it was the space he was confined to, he would find a way to make the day fun until he was able to see Sensei and the others.

Teddie wondered if Yosuke had anything else to do rather than look through endless pages of pictures or words.

The first distraction he found was underneath Yosuke’s bed; however, it was more pages of pictures — seemingly of half-naked women, who pulled at their shirts like they needed them off.

Teddie liked his shirt and couldn’t imagine removing it unless he was laying on fresh sheets. 

He also noticed that they all had that hole in their abdomen, just like the people posing in the photos at the Junes changing rooms. 

The magazines in Rise’s dungeon hadn’t shown anything of the sort, and now Teddie was confused.

Just as soon as he was imagining it was a lady-only trait — and that he would much like being a lady if it meant having this interesting addition — he spotted another magazine hidden underneath all of the others.

This one featured men. 

The images inside were underwear advertisements; there were a few tank-top advertisements, the men posed with their backs arched, and their arms stretched. 

These men had the abdominal hole, too!

Thoroughly confused about what it could be used for, Teddie carefully placed the magazines on top of Yosuke’s bed to remind himself to ask when his older brother returned home. 

After a few moments, he found a TV remote lying on the table in the middle of the room and curiously pressed a few buttons.

Nothing happened. 

Teddie pressed a few more random buttons, twirling to try to find where the TV’s sensor was.

And with the click, the monitor turned on.

Some odd channel was playing.

“-Now returning to our 24/7 concert marathon!” A gentle lady’s voice sang before the TV blasted with heavy rock.

Teddie yelped, and startled, he changed the channel. 

“-ust look at that beautiful color,” an older woman showcased a younger woman applying some kind of powder on her face to make her cheeks appear light and pink, “and it’s a perfect fit, that’s our shade ‘Baby-Angel’.” 

There were different shades, too, pinks, oranges, and even purples.

Teddie carefully sat down at the edge of Yosuke’s bed and watched.

When Yosuke came home, he threw his bag onto the floor, took one look at the TV, and huffed out a laugh.

“What are you watching?” He asked. 

“Can we go buy makeup, Yosuke-nii?” Teddie asked absentmindedly, but he didn’t turn his face from the TV. The women were applying something called eyeshadow, a specific kind that was sheer yet sparkly. 

“That kind of thing is for girls, Ted,” Yosuke hummed, like it was simple, “boys don’t wear that stuff.” 

Only then did Teddie turn from the TV and fit Yosuke with an odd look. 

“Why not?” He questioned.

“Girls like to look pretty,” Yosuke shrugged, “boys don’t really care.”

“I like to look pretty,” Teddie looked back to the women applying gloss to their lips, a variety of colors and numbers decorated the screen, “does that make me a girl?” 

“What?!” Yosuke sputtered, something halfway between a laugh and a shriek, “No, there are a lot of things that differ between boys and girls.” 

The odd look didn’t leave Teddie’s face until he remembered the magazines lying on the bed.

“That’s right! Speaking of, Yosuke-nii-” Teddie didn’t get too far with revealing the magazines before Yosuke squawked.

“What the hell are you doing with those!?” Yosuke quickly snatched the magazines away from Teddie’s very human hands, leaving him with a deep settling feeling of familiarity, “There are some things a man keeps to himself, Ted! This is one of them!” 

“I- uh- I don’t understand, Yosuke-nii-” Teddie shrank back into the bed with a pitiful yelp, “I’m sorry!” 

Yosuke’s face was fully flushed, he held the magazines so the ads and barcodes were facing Teddie, he looked angry, but his body language read embarrassed. 

The red that had crawled down his neck calmed, slowly, and Yosuke looked over Teddie’s face. 

He sighed, and his eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowing to the side before he sat down at the edge of the bed.

“Of course you wouldn’t understand,” Yosuke’s voice took on a soft edge, “it’s… not your fault, I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.”

Teddie carefully watched Yosuke, who, for a moment, was as scary as a shadow, morph into something more patient and calm.

“You can, uh, ask whatever questions you’d like. I can’t say I’ll be any good at answering them, but it’s gotta be scary being in an unfamiliar body.” Yosuke sheepishly placed the magazines back in front of Teddie, but strangely enough, carefully tucked the men’s underwear advertisements back under his bed. 

“I know my body beary well, Yosuke-nii, I made it!” Teddie giggled.

Yosuke gave him a slightly disconcerted look.

Teddie moved forward to grab one and flip through the pages, much to Yosuke’s embarrassment.

“I was going to ask about this!” Teddie pointed to the strange abdominal hole that he had been seeing around on every model with their navel exposed. 

Yosuke squinted at the paper and then looked bewildered. 

“A belly button?” Yosuke questioned.

“So that’s what it's called!!” Teddie exclaimed, he looked back down at the magazine and pressed his finger to the ‘belly button’ on the page. 

Teddie couldn’t help but notice the silence that followed. 

He looked up to see Yosuke staring.

“Teddie, do you-” he cleared his throat and swallowed, “do you… not have a belly button?”

Teddie shook his head.

“I saw one yesterday in a picture, but I didn’t see them while I was making my body,” Teddie sighed, “I’ll get one though!” 

“... Get… one?” Yosuke asked.

“Why do humans have belly buttons, anyway?” Teddie hummed. 

Yosuke hesitated for a moment, seemingly unnerved.

“Uhh, when humans are… born, no wait- when humans are in the act of being created, they’re connected to their mother to take nutrients, right? This connection happens in the form of an umbilical cord… and then when they’re born, there’s no need for those nutrients anymore, so the doctor cuts the cord, and uh… it eventually heals into a belly button,” Yosuke explained. He looked awkward as he sputtered out the information, like he wasn’t quite sure himself. 

“Ohhhhhhh,” Teddie nodded, “Yosuke-nii! Can I see your belly button?!” he pressed his palms together.

“H-Huh?! What? Why?!” Yosuke was halfway to putting the magazines back where they were hidden before he whipped his head to stare. 

“I need a reference! I want to make sure I get it right!” Teddie whined.

Yosuke hesitated again, and he looked at Teddie like he had grown another head. Teddie carefully reached up and touched his neck just to make sure he hadn’t.

“Ugh, jeez.. Just… don’t be weird,” Yosuke grimaced.

Yosuke carefully lifted his shirt, just enough for Teddie to see his belly button.

It was a tiny hole, shallow and thin, narrow; it looked athletic, which might’ve just been because of Yosuke’s naturally lithe stature. 

Teddie reached to press a finger right into it.

“Teddie! What did I just say?!” Yosuke shrieked, ticklish, he pushed Teddie’s hand away, and shoved the hem of his shirt downwards, right back over his navel. 

Just as soon as Teddie sat back, trying to measure in his mind where his would go and how shallow it would be, Yosuke’s phone rang.

“That’s probably Yu,” Yosuke breathed in relief, “we should meet up with the others.”

The TV World was doing just fine without Teddie, and there was no need for him to go back to being alone.

Behind the comfort and privacy of the closet door, Teddie allowed his body to distort. 

He didn’t have much time to get this perfect, maybe one shot at it, changes were easier to make within the alternate Inaba — no deadlines, no time passed. 

Here, he pressed into his mattress for comfort, body nothing more than sinew and ichor; the soft sheets grounded him as he slowly formed, improvement imminent. 

Teddie lowered his vessel onto the pillow, pitiful form letting out gross, pained sounds. 

It required more focus to make changes outside of the fog, he found.

His vessel formed his forehead. Teddie pushed his head impossibly further into the pillow, with another wet sob.

The fingers he had formed gripped at his sheets — completion crawled down his shoulders, up his calves, from the top of his spine to the back of his thighs.

Straight to the middle of his abdomen.

Teddie turned and fell back onto his bed with a sigh, reached down to place his hand over the belly button he made, and laughed.

Teddie copied exactly what he remembered Yosuke’s looking like - shallow, athletic, and narrow.

It was identical to Yosuke's connection to Mrs. Hanamura — soon enough, it would be as if Teddie were a part of the family.

He quieted his own breathing to listen to the gentle snores outside the closet.

Only minutes ago did Yosuke and Sensei complete their nightly phone call.

This time, Teddie heard something peculiar.

This time, Yosuke whispered a gentle “I wish you were here, partner,” and stretched thin along his mattress, before he curled into sleep. 

Love was fascinating to Teddie; he knew there were many different kinds of love, platonic, familial, romantic — Teddie wanted to love and to be loved.

It was possible that Yosuke loved Sensei.

In what way, Teddie wasn’t sure.

Until he saw it himself.

It was mesmerizing, the way that Sensei and Yosuke danced around each other during battle, the way their Personas seemed to draw closer together.

Teddie wanted that; he wanted his Persona to dance with someone else's the way Jiraiya did whenever Izanagi was near, he wanted a connection that ran as deep as his ego, his true self. He wanted to come home smelling like somebody else, just as Yosuke frequently came home smelling like Sensei. He wanted all the love he could receive.

“Aww, I think you’re lovable, Teddie,” Rise hummed while she looked through the clearance rack in Croco Fur.

Rise had dragged Teddie here to look at human cosmetics and clothes.

Yosuke wasn’t strict with the TV, but he would always express exasperation when Teddie chose the shopping channels. 

“Have you ever loved anyone before, Rise-chan?” Teddie asked.

“Oh, plenty of people, I love my family, I love my fans, I love my friends most of all!” Rise smiled brightly.

“The other kind of love,” Teddie sheepishly ducked to look between two identical shirts, one of them labeled ‘M’ and one labeled ‘S’ — what for, Teddie didn’t know. Yosuke usually did Teddie’s clothes shopping, or Mrs. Hanamura would pick up things she thought would suit Teddie; only a week after joining the family, he’d found a comfortable pajama set on the coffee table in Yosuke’s room with a piece of paper on it reading ‘Teddie-chan! ♡ ’.

They were all labeled ‘S’, however, which must’ve stood for ‘Size Teddie’. 

“Like romantically?” Rise asked, “I guess, there were some guys, but being an idol didn’t leave me much time for crushes,” she giggled, “I have time now though, I’m pursuing a few boys.”

“Do you- do you love me, Rise-chan?” Teddie gasped, hiding his face in a shirt he’d picked up, pink and striped. 

Rise looked surprised for a moment and then smiled, something gentle and patient.

“I do love you, Teddie,” she explained, “but you're more like a younger sibling to me. I love you like a best friend, like family. Does that make sense?”

Teddie thought for a moment, carefully over Rise’s words, before he nodded.

“How do you know if someone loves you, though, like, romantically?” Teddie frowned, his eyebrows creased.

“Well, they'll want to be close to you, for starters — usually this means a gentle caress here, brushed hands there,” Rise chirped, “They'll laugh at your jokes, carry your books, your bag, sometimes you'll see them looking at you, and you'll just know.” 

“...And, how do you know if you love someone?” Teddie leaned forward, interested.

“You'll want to be close to them,” Rise giggled, “you can't help but smile when they're near, and you'll feel butterflies in your stomach, like a tickle. Love is a beautiful thing!” She sang.

“Rise-chan… Do you think that Yosuke-nii is in love with Sensei?” Teddie questioned. He looked back at Rise when he felt her hands stiffen on his shoulders.

Rise turned to straighten one of the folded pieces on a shelf, a blouse of some kind. Teddie wondered if that shade of blue would complement his eyes. 

“I don't think it's any of our business, Teddie,” Rise’s voice had taken a quiet edge.

There was a pause, a lull in the conversation, which caused Teddie to look down at the shirt in his hands and tilt his head.

“This is all beary confusing,” Teddie whined, “are Yosuke-nii and Sensei not allowed to-?”

“No, no, no, Teddie, I didn’t mean that at all!” Rise gasped, her perfectly manicured hand pressed over her lips, “I just meant- Yosuke-senpai and Yu-senpai are entitled to their privacy, besides, we’re not here to focus on them, we’re here to focus on fashion, finding your personal style!” 

“On the TV, they’re always wearing bright colors, and putting stuff on their face! Stuff like...” Teddie hummed. He trailed off as soon as he spotted it. 

Right next to the tiny perfume section, and lying on the display was a powered blush, and not just any blush — ‘Baby-Angel.’ The blush that made the TV woman’s cheeks delightfully pink, delightfully glittery, delightfully human.

“Rise-chan! This showed up on the TV! This is what I want!” Teddie pointed, he locked his elbow with Rise’s and dragged her across the store. 

“Oh! Blush? Are you sure?” Rise blinked, “Obviously, I would like to find you more clothes, but I can get you one of these, and I’ll give you a brush for it. I’m kind of swimming in them at home!” 

“Oh yes, please, Rise-chan!” Teddie tapped at his cheeks in delight, “You can teach me how to apply it too!”

Teddie and Rise left Croco Fur with enough bags to crowd their arms, and Teddie had never felt more expensive taking the public train. 

“What do you have in your hands?” Yosuke asked as soon as Teddie walked through the door.

Mrs. Hanamura and Yosuke were in the kitchen, their hands hard at work wrapping gyoza wrapper around filling — Teddie himself was very often pushed away from this line of work, his hands weren't as practiced nor as deft, last time they had dumplings, the wrapper was stretched too thin, there was too much filling, and before Teddie had known it, each and every dumpling split at the seams in the steamer. 

“Rise-chan took me out shopping today!” Teddie hummed, “I bought some stuff for you guys!” 

“Oh, Teddie-chan! That's very sweet of you!” Mrs. Hanamura put a hand over the heart of her apron, which left a handprint of flour.

“Yeah, you didn't have to, Tedster,” Mr. Hanamura chuckled from his place at the table. He clicked the pen he was using on his head, “Thanks, kiddo!” 

“You didn't even see them yet!” Teddie giggled. He placed the bag down on the couch and carefully revealed the items of clothing

Teddie had picked out a wonderful white dress for Mrs. Hanamura. As soon as Teddie had seen it, he was reminded of ‘Mom’.

Then he’d picked out a matching dress shirt for Mr. Hanamura and a silly tie, complete with ornate rabbits and flowers.

And for Yosuke, a shirt that had caught Teddie’s eye at the beginning of their shopping trip — a nice “henley”, according to Rise, which was royal blue in color and, in Teddie’s opinion, hugged the waist all the right ways, he himself had a matching shirt in a bright ice blue. 

“That’s a girl’s shirt, Ted!” Yosuke shrieked, his thumb pressed a bit too hard against the gyoza wrapper.

Teddie looked down at the shirt in his hands and struggled to find where it was labeled for ladies. 

“Yosuke!” Mrs. Hanamura chastised, “It’s a perfectly good shirt, and you will be wearing it out when you meet that Narukami boy tomorrow.”

“What?! Mom!!” Yosuke protested; a red flush took over his cheeks.

The blush in Teddie’s smallest bag suddenly felt heavy, the tiny little heart-shaped compact, and one of Rise’s many light pink brushes, completing the set.

Teddie wondered if he should’ve done more research on humans before he completed his body. 

It would be far too exhausting to make changes now; if Teddie wanted to change anything else, he’d have to make the trek back to the TV World. 

He couldn’t risk losing form, not when he was so close to friends, to a family.

Teddie didn’t want anyone to see him like this.

He absentmindedly thought back to dinner — how Yosuke and Mrs. Hanamura had magically known how much filling to add to the gyoza wrapper without disturbing the dumpling. 

Teddie felt very much like a dumpling as he forced his vessel to work with him.

He wondered how thin the line was between perfect and overstuffed, how much would split under pressure, and how much was too much.

Teddie gasped as tears fell onto his bed sheets, his eyelashes clumped together as he whined and thrashed — he did his best to pull himself together, but Teddie found that sometimes it was more comforting to let his form split and fall apart into shapeless form, amorphous. 

Surely his friends would leave him if they knew about this, if they ever figured out what he really was, and especially if they figured out that he didn’t know what he really was. 

He thought back to Yosuke, and imagined his older brother’s face contorting into something disgusted.

Nebulous, inky, and alone, Teddie cried. 

‘Baby-Angel’ was Teddie’s perfect shade, Rise had said as such after she taught him how to apply the cosmetic. 

Now, Teddie was left alone to wander in Inaba — he’d come across cats and dogs alike, which all sniffed at his hands and pockets, and with what little money Teddie had, he found his way to Aiya’s to buy some snacks for all the local wildlife. 

He was in the middle of trying to feed a beary rude bird some boiled broccoli when… a boy came to stand next to him.

“Are you?... trying to feed that to a bird?” He asked. 

The boy was a little bit taller than Teddie, with a slouched posture, and his head was decorated with a hat. 

“Yes! But no matter what I do, she won’t take it!” Teddie frustratedly stood on his tiptoes to try to offer the boiled broccoli to the bird again.

“How do you know it’s a she?” The boy questioned, tilting the bill of his hat upwards along with his head to look at the bird’s nest.

Teddie contemplated this for a moment.

“She sang to me all pretty before I came over, and all girls sing pretty,” Teddie shrugged, sticking his tongue out to the bird, before stuffing the piece of broccoli back into its original container. 

The boy laughed, more of a gentle snrk, before he covered his mouth with his hand and guffawed.

“You’re funny, man,” The boy hummed, “the name’s Toshiaki,” he held out his hand. 

“Teddie!” Teddie quickly shook Toshiaki’s hand.

“Teddie?... like the bear?” Toshiaki tilted his head, and he lightly grinned.

“Beary much like the bear!” Teddie aggressively nodded, a bright smile on his face. 

Toshiaki gave him a look.

“Are you from around here? I don’t think I recognize you from Yasogami,” Toshiaki put his hand back in his pocket, and Teddie tried to copy him, only scrambling to position both of them behind his back when he was met with shallow pockets. 

“The school? I’ve never been!” Teddie giggled, “Yosuke-nii says I’ll stick out too much, but I was thinking of sneaking in one of these days, just to see what it’s like!” 

“Yosuke? Like the Hanamura kid?” Toshiaki mused, “You’re friends with The Prince of Junes?” 

“More like two little cubs from the same den!” Teddie concluded. 

There was a moment of silence, and more of that look.

Teddie thought back to his conversation with Rise at Croco Fur — was this that look she was talking about? Teddie did feel a tickle in his stomach, but it was almost entirely indistinguishable from his nose telling him he was in trouble. 

He did recall Yosuke talking about nerves one day before a big fight with a Shadow, and Yukiko agreed, making note of the “butterflies” in her stomach.

Maybe, this is what love was supposed to feel like.

His entire being ached to be loved; the flesh within himself swelled at the thought of someone else giving him those looks. 

Teddie absentmindedly wondered if Toshiaki had a Persona — would it love his just the same as Yosuke-nii’s loved Sensei’s? 

“Hey, Teddie, would you wanna come meet some of my friends? I think they’d find you pretty funny too,” Toshiaki hummed, pointing a thumb back in the direction of the Samegawa Flood Plain. 

“Oh, absolutely!” Teddie exclaimed. 

Samegawa Flood Plain was brighter than the alternate Inaba’s; the grass was greener, and the breeze was fresh in comparison to the stagnant air in the TV World. The sun was bright too, leaving Teddie’s skin warm.

“You got lotsa freckles, just like the Junes kid,” one of Toshiaki’s friends frowned, “you sure he’s just friends with him?” The friend turned to Toshiaki, who shrugged.

“He says they’re close, maybe distant relatives?” Toshiaki sighed.

“Yosuke-nii and me are brothers!” Teddie politely corrected from where he sat, kindly, before the river. 

“How’s that possible?” Another friend asked, “I mean… you’re not Japanese,” the boy laughed.

“I speak Japanese just fine, I don’t know any other languages!” Teddie huffed. He was starting to get irritated by Toshiaki’s friends; they reminded him of the larger shadows back in the TV World, big careless brutes, who just used their size to intimidate others. 

Toshiaki didn’t do much to sway them from poking and prodding at him; Teddie was left to wonder if he had done something wrong. 

“He’s got bug eyes,” the first friend commented.

“And they’re blue,” the second friend leered, “the prince has brown eyes, yeah?”

“You wanted someone close to Hanamura. I got him for you,” Toshiaki groaned, “if he says he’s the prince’s brother, he’s the prince’s brother.” 

Teddie jumped as one of Toshiaki’s friends poked him directly in the side.

“You guys are looking for Yosuke-nii?” Teddie questioned.

Teddie sniffed the air for a moment; Yosuke’s scent wasn’t too far away, but it was hard to pinpoint under the lurking scent of danger, and Toshiaki was so close, he could smell the harsh woody scent of the boy’s cologne, and found himself backing up a little further to hide himself from Toshiaki’s friends. 

“We got a score to settle,” The first friend stretched his fingers until his knuckles cracked. 

“A score?” Teddie hummed, “You want to score with Yosuke-nii?” 

The speed at which the first friend’s fist collided with his face caused Teddie to fall backwards, pain bloomed at his cheek, and Teddie reached up a hand to smooth over the skin.

The first friend snorted, barely shaking the pain off of his own fist, before he surged forward and grabbed the collar of Teddie’s expensive silk shirt.

“I hate losers like you,” The first friend snarled in Teddie’s face, “you’re no better than a whiny, dumb girl.”

“He’s shaped like one, too,” The second friend frowned and squinted at Teddie's face, “is that makeup?”

“S-stop it!” Teddie cried and brought his hands up to push at the first friend’s wrists, to which the taller boy balled his fists even tighter and pushed Teddie backwards even further. Teddie fell into the river with a great resounding splash. 

The water was cold as it rushed over his body, almost painful as it traveled up his nose, into his eyes, and into his mouth.  There was something comforting about the chilled pain over the bruise that he could feel starting to form on his cheek.

Rough hands pulled him out of the water, and back to standing on his tiptoes to avoid falling over.

“Toshi-kun! Help!” Teddie shouted.

Toshiaki would save him — Toshiaki gave him the look, gave him the butterflies, took him to hang out with his friends, and seemed interested in the blabbering that Teddie so often knew annoyed his friends; it was just like the love Rise described!

“Aww, d'ya hear that, ‘Toshi-kun’, he likes you,” the first friend drawled, and the second friend chuckled.

As the brutish, larger boy shook Teddie back and forth by his slowly stretching shirt collar, Teddie leaned to look Toshiaki in the eyes.

“Ugh, whatever,” Toshiaki turned his head and tipped the bill of his hat down.

Somewhere deep within, Kintoki-Douji sobbed, bawled, and cried. Kintoki-Douji rubbed his eyes and wailed, heartbroken and alone, his inner ego shattered, his Persona left to pick up the pieces and mourn what he so blindly trusted.

Vision unfocused, Teddie frowned and tilted his head, which was quickly squished between the painful index finger and thumb of Toshiaki's friend.

He clawed at the first boy’s arms, a little bit less caring now that he understood that he was all on his own.

Kintoki-Douji grew restless, anger swelled deep within, and childish rage hummed beneath his skin.

Teddie moved quickly to bite at the finger closest to his mouth.

“Ahk! You little bastard!” The first boy hissed and pulled one hand back to inspect his wound. At the same time, the other remained on his jaw and quickly began to grow painful, compensating for the loss of grip on surface — rough fingers dug into the back of his neck, while a harsh thumb pressed scarily close to his eye.

“If you wanna act like a girl so bad, we’ll treat you just like the skirt you are!” The second boy came forward now, too, not as large as the first boy, but still definitely taller than Teddie.

A rough hand came up to his chest to rip the delicate silk protecting his body, viciously, the buttons popped, and clinked against the rocks near the shore.

“No!” Teddie shrieked.

Toshiaki was nowhere to be seen behind the two boys, most likely stalking off somewhere to feel better about being alone. 

“Dude.. he doesn’t have nipples,” The second boy guffawed, an ugly sound, and a painful calloused hand pinched at his chest, while the first boy reached a hand to feel as well, rubbing a thumb hard enough into the skin to bruise. 

“Help! Sensei! Yosuke-nii! Chie-chan! Kanji! Help!” Teddie could feel Kintoki-Douji’s anger quickly falling into fear, and Teddie’s eyes watered.

“Nobody’s comin’ to help you, freak!” The first boy forcefully turned his head and shouted into his ear, “Now shut up!”

A hand closed tight around his throat and slammed Teddie down into the river again, so just his head was submerged.

The taller boy held him there, under the water, while Teddie did his best to fight back with the limited range of motion he had, kicking where he could, flailing his arms with tight fists.

He felt as if he was going to die.

The cold rushing water concealed the sound of the bullies yelling at him. 

Maybe this was for the best… he was never truly human anyway.

As soon as his vision started to blur, a tall silhouette appeared behind the bullies, tapped the one holding Teddie down on the shoulder, and as soon as the first boy turned around, he was decked at breakneck speed. The tall silhouette grabbed the second boy by the back of the shirt collar and threw him across the shore. 

A second silhouette, almost as tall, but more gentle in shape, reached for him, and Teddie weakly reached back until he was hoisted upwards.

“Teddie,” Yu breathed.

“Sensei..” Teddie cried and coughed, “You came for me!”

Somewhere beyond Sensei’s kind face, the bullies screamed for mercy as Kanji pummeled their faces, keeping them in check with his much larger form and much stronger fists.

“Yeah! How does it feel, assholes?” Kanji taunted, lifting both bullies by their collars at once.

“Of course, we came for you, Teddie,” Yu moved so he was blocking the sight of Kanji and the bullies from Teddie, whose bleary eyes focused right onto Yu’s face, “we were nearby when we heard you, are you okay?” 

Teddie’s bottom lip quivered, the skin on his chest was already turning a painful red, and his favorite shirt was ruined, buttons missing among the rocks from the bullies ripping it open, not to mention the numb edge his bruised cheek was taking on.

Sensei noticed this, and although Teddie couldn’t see his eyebrows under ashen blonde bangs, he did see the way Sensei’s eyes darkened.

Yu very quietly and politely stood up, gave Teddie a quick pat on the head, and turned to place a hand on Kanji’s shoulder.

Kanji stepped back, revealing the shaking bullies with blooming bruises of their own — and Yu knocked the first boy out cold. He grabbed the second one by the collar and dragged him into the river.

The only part of Sensei bruised from battle was his knuckles.

Demure and silent, he very carefully helped Teddie stand up and wrapped his jacket around the blonde’s shoulders.

“Sensei.. Are you mad at me?” Teddie asked

“Why would I be mad at you?” Yu questioned, his voice had taken on a softer edge, one Teddie knew he used frequently with the children at the daycare.

“Yosuke-nii told me not to talk to strangers, and I- I..” Teddie sniffled.

“You didn’t do anythin’ wrong,” Kanji said.

“That’s right,” Yu nodded, “you couldn’t have known… I don’t think you should blame yourself.” 

“Thank you, Sensei, Kanji-kun,” Teddie sniffled, “I’m such a lucky bear!” He cried. 

“Let’s get you home,” Kanji grunted, offering an arm for Teddie to take, most likely out of commiseration, but Teddie knew Kanji was just a gentleman. 

The walk home was cold; the wind seemed to seep right through his skin and deep inside, what with Teddie’s soaked clothes — only Kanji’s warm skin and Yu’s large jacket kept him from shivering.

Even safe within his suit, Teddie felt cold. He shivered despite his fur and the blanket Yosuke had gently wrapped around him a few minutes ago.

He thought back to Toshiaki, who was probably somewhere… unbothered. Despite what he just did, Toshiaki would probably go home to his loving parents, who would be none the wiser to their son’s evil habits, and Toshiaki would continue living a human life despite finding no beauty in it.

Teddie didn’t know whether to be sad or angry. 

The hushed voices of Yosuke-nii and Sensei rang behind the door.

Teddie curled up impossibly tighter, pulled the blanket over his eyes, reached his paws up to cover his ears, and quietly cried. 

Yosuke very carefully lifted the blanket to look into Teddie’s eyes, his mouth quirked up into a slight smile, and he pointed towards his own ear. 

He was very softly illuminated by the setting sun outside, and the rust shade of his hair only managed to look more orange; the light caught on the crease between his eyebrows, and it only served to make him look even more human. 

Teddie slowly removed his paws from his ears, and Yosuke let out a soft breath. He reached forward to wipe the tears from Teddie’s cheeks.

“We should get you into the bath, Ted,” Yosuke spoke in the softest tone Teddie had ever heard from him, “I don’t want you getting a cold.” 

Teddie nodded and numbly followed as Yosuke took one of Teddie’s paws in both of his hands and heaved him upwards.

“...Can I still have the blanket?” Teddie whispered, his nose twitching, the blanket smelled like home, and like safety.

“How about I fluff it and give it to you right after your bath?” Yosuke hummed.

Teddie nodded, and he kept his eyes on the floor. 

Yosuke had already drawn a bath, Teddie noticed. As soon as they entered the bathroom, the gentle scent of mugwort, Teddie’s favorite, wafted through the air, clean and citrusy, which only had Teddie tearing up more.

“We should do this in your human form, to make sure you’re fully warmed through,” Yosuke murmured — he was soft and gentle as he took the blanket from Teddie’s shoulders, and turned to allow him to do whatever he needed to do. 

Teddie hesitated when he finally got his claw to catch on the zipper.

And then he pulled.

His appearance in the mirror was horrible; an ugly purple swelled over his cheek, his chest was starting to bruise too, in the shape of hands pressing too roughly, and fingers pinching. His hair was still mussed, and he couldn’t find it in himself to smile at such a sad sight.

Teddie sank into the bath, which instantly worked to calm what ached, even if the chill that had worked its way through him earlier remained embedded at his core. 

“Okay,” Teddie’s voice came out broken, “you can look.”

Teddie tried to ignore the way Yosuke’s expression pinched, like he was trying to avoid showing any emotion other than a wave of calm. 

Yosuke quickly crossed to kneel next to the bath.

Teddie brought his knees up to his chest to try to hide some of the bruising.

Yosuke didn’t say anything; instead, he cupped his hands into the bathwater and gently brought his hands over Teddie’s shoulders, letting the water fall down his back, catching on the ridges of his spine, pleasantly warm. 

“I don’t think…” Teddie whispered, voice shrill and cracked, “I don’t think.. I- I want to be human anymore.”

“Ted,” Yosuke winced.

With careful hands, Yosuke reached for one of the shampoo bottles behind Teddie, and it was only as the gentle aroma of citrus and oranges hit his nose that Teddie noticed Yosuke was using his own shampoo, and not Teddie’s, which smelled more like a sickly sweet cupcake. 

It smelled like his older brother, like home.

After a quick rinse, Yosuke put his hands on his knees.

“I’m… going to throw your blanket into the dryer real quick, alright?” Yosuke reached to place a warm hand on Teddie’s shoulder, and Teddie didn’t turn to him, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Teddie nodded, eyes vacant. 

Teddie hugged himself tight in an attempt to keep any semblance of his form. His vessel tried to split multiple times, only encouraged by his downcast mood and the warm water seeping through his skin. 

Teddie sat up and bowed forward to submerge himself in the glassy reflective depths.

The sound of water quickly drowned out any sound around him.

Not quite rushing like the water flowed at the Flood Plain, but this was something much more serene — lapping, dull.

The water seemed to move through his form with every gentle lick to his skin.

Teddie's skin was far from newborn; it wasn't quite skin at all.

Teddie felt himself melt with the gentle swish of the eau — back… and forth, and back… and forth, and back… and forth — soon enough his body had fallen into a gentle trance, a resounding rhythm, one that felt much like the calm before his mind had come into existence.

Nothing more than the lifeblood around himself, Teddie drifted along with the mugwort and umbra. 

“Alright, Ted! That should be all… done when… you're…” Yosuke had started to explain before he laid eyes on Teddie's form.

Hideous and atramentous, any instinct Teddie had left told him to back into the corner of the tub.

Yosuke was looking at him, not at some bear costume, nor some uncanny representation of a human — Yosuke was looking at him.

“... Teddie?” He questioned, one of his hands reached for his back pocket, most likely to call for Sensei. 

Teddie flinched, seeing the exact horror he’d feared. 

He must've done something Teddie-like, because after he twitched, Yosuke’s shoulders dropped, he kneeled back down near the bathtub, and Teddie pressed his form even further against the porcelain.

Yosuke pursed his lips and placed his hand into the water.

It was quiet for a moment.

“Teddie, what… what you said, earlier, about not wanting to be human?” Yosuke swirled his hand calmly, causing new waves in the water, “I think I know how you feel… There was a long time where I felt like I wasn’t human, I didn’t have anybody, and I felt alone.. but.. then I met Narukami, and I got closer with Chie and Yukiko, Kanji joined our group, and Rise, and then there’s you, Ted.”

Teddie moved closer to Yosuke and wrapped what he could of his form around Yosuke’s wrist. Yosuke did not flinch away, nor did he look at Teddie with disgust.

“You are one of a kind, you’re special, and I’m sorry that you saw the worst of humanity today… I’m especially sorry it’s because they were looking for me. Still, I promise, as long as you walk the earth, as long as you decide to stay, you will always have us, and you’ll always have me,” Yosuke whispered, and he ran his hands down Teddie’s amorphous outline, much like a gentle pet, like how he would smooth back Teddie’s tuft of fur after a nightmare. 

Yosuke reached for one of the soap bottles with the hand that Teddie wasn’t grasping onto, and gently worked a lather down the shadowy and inky substance.

Yosuke kneaded and added more warm water, more mugwort oil, and citrus soap. Yosuke hummed, comforted, and soothed — a gentle loop of reassuring actions, until Teddie had the strength to reform his body.

He cried as he reformed. Yosuke held his hand, whispered gentle comforts, and kept calm enough for the two of them. Teddie jolted, and thrashed, and tossed, water hit the floor, hit Yosuke’s clothes, but Yosuke didn’t yell, he didn’t sigh, and he didn’t roll his eyes.

“It’s okay, take your time,” Yosuke breathed, deep soothing breaths, which Teddie attempted to copy. 

When Teddie finished his form, nothing had changed; he was still thoroughly bruised — perhaps he was just fine being entirely, truthfully, faithfully 100% Teddie. 

“Did you… mean all of that, Yosuke-nii?” Teddie asked.

“Hell yeah!” Yosuke’s eyebrows furrowed, and he covered Teddie’s hand with two of his own, “You’re not alone, and you won’t be alone, you’re perfectly fine the way you are, and if some dumb kid can’t see that, then… he’s missing out on a truly awesome friend.” 

“... Yosuke-niiiii!!” Teddie’s bottom lip quivered, and he jumped to embrace his brother.

“Dude! You’re all wet!!” Yosuke shrieked, but hugged back nonetheless, tight, warm, comforting. 

The fluffed blanket was warm around his shoulders; it smelled like the dryer sheets Mrs. Hanamura used for all the laundry — “Scent of the Sun,” the advertisement had said, which apparently meant something like linen and soap, paired with the warm and sweet undertones of the dryer.

Teddie didn’t know what went on inside a dryer as it worked, just as he didn’t know what went on inside a human as they worked.

But maybe such a question had no answer; everyone is special, everyone is different.

“Come on, Teddie, let’s get some rest,” Yosuke patted the space next to him in bed.

Teddie very unceremoniously dropped himself right next to Yosuke, and he positioned his freshly fluffed blanket so it covered both of them, gentle and toasty.

Tomorrow would be a new day, and though Teddie wasn’t a human himself, he knew what it meant to be human, and that already gave him a pretty far head start. 

Comfortably, Teddie wrapped his arms around Yosuke and pressed his ear right above Yosuke’s heart, which was beating something slow and secure. 

“Good night, Yosuke-nii,” Teddie hummed.

“‘Night, little bro,” Yosuke murmured.

Teddie gasped, looked up at Yosuke, who chuckled, and then took his place, using Yosuke’s chest as a pillow. 

He didn’t have to exactly… be human; he didn’t exactly have to be “perfectly Hanamura” to be Yosuke’s brother.

Teddie focused, steady.

And found his “heart” beating just in tandem.