#it's less bad in the femc path but still

[bigboobshaunt]

Mitsuru's dad is so hot I went cross-eyed

[volkodava]

Hello my Tumblr friends! Some of you liked the idea of Postapocalypse!AU, as well as the Junpei design I drew earlier. So I pulled myself together and drew portraits for the entire main cast of characters. I must say that they here are closer to the age of P4AU. It was challenging but fun to come up with designs and backstories for them that overlapped with the originals. Although I still haven't thought through some details… But I hope you will enjoy!

FeMC/Minako/Kotone

Yes, this AU uses a female protagonist. She emerged from the Wasteland and all she knows is that she had some important mission. She is cheerful and always believes in the best. There are "XXII"-shaped scars on both sides of her head, similar to a brand. She seems to know what this is supposed to mean, but she won't tell anyone.

Status: Unknown

Yukari

The best long-range power of SEES. She lost her father due to the fault of Mitsuru's father. She was looking for Mitsuru to take revenge, but instead she found her best friend. She can often be bitchy and sometimes too straightforward, but no one heals other people’s wounds better than her. She received a scar on her face from an unsuccessfully broken bow string.

Status: Alive

Junpei

He makes bad jokes and swears a lot to hide his insecurities. Creates chaos almost everywhere it appears. He seems rude and ill-mannered, although he is a hopeless romantic at heart. But if you really make him angry, he destroys everything in his path (ask Takaya and Jin, oh no, sorry, no one will ask them anymore). Ultimately, his concern for Chidori allows him to shed his clown mask and show a different side of himself.

Status: Alive

Fuuka

A mechanic girl found by SEES in a sand labyrinth. She suffers from strabismus, but this did not stop her from completely restoring Aigis and collecting several more useful items for SEES. Has a phenomenal memory. Probably the only one who never started a conflict first.

Status: Alive

Aigis/A.I.G.I.S.

Initially, it was a cleaning robot, on which someone put a yellow wig and a ribbon. It rusted in a landfill for a long time until FeMС found it. Gradually he begins to become interested in the world around him and acquires a desire to find out what a person is and how to be one.

Status: Functioning

Mitsuru

Official leader of SEES. Several years ago, during a shelter fire, she lost her father and was injured herself. She hides the burned part of her face under her hair. She is cold and difficult to compromise, but always acts as a negotiator between gangs of raiders, trying to extract the maximum benefit. Has many useful connections in Port Island.

Status: Alive

Akihiko

Fan of fights without rules. More reasonable and less impulsive than Junpei, but if the two of them are together, then somewhere nearby there is trouble that they got into. Lost his little sister in a shelter fire and still tries to drown out those memories with alcohol. He often misses Shinjiro. Perhaps he was Mitsuru's partner a couple of times, but in the Wasteland no one cares who sleeps with whom.

Status: Alive

Shinjiro

A wandering raider that periodically joins SEES and then leaves. Akihiko's former friend. Little emotional. Lost an eye in one of the raider skirmishes. He tends to evaluate people by their usefulness to society, but in the end he admits that he was wrong too often. For some time he was dependent on Strega's help, but later this developed into enmity. Alas, this did not end well.

Status: Dead

Ken

Practically the “son of the regiment”, he was found at one of the temporary sites along with the body of his deceased mother and taken into the care of SEES. Refused to move to Port Island, choosing to stay in the shelter. Having already seen a lot of things he shouldn't have seen, he wants to become stronger to change the world. Gets close to Shinjiro, reading him as a fatherly/brotherly figure. Nevertheless, he gets very angry when he is overprotected.

Status: Alive

Koromaru

Good boy. One day he just showed up at the shelter and everyone just accepted it. He warned everyone about the attacks several times, after which he received a collar and his own bowl. A good fighter, he always follows those who go on forays into the Wasteland. Perhaps the only one who simply enjoys life.

Status: Alive

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 55: Paths Collide

In class the next day, Ren was watching the clock. As each second passed, she grew more and more nervous about the meeting Makoto summoned her for. What kind of situation was waiting for her? Was everything going to crumble at her feet? Would the Phantom Thieves be outed? Nothing was out of the question. After all, Makoto had figured them out; anything was possible.

When the time for lunch came, Ren got up immediately. Ann turned around and asked “Hey, wanna eat lunch together?” with her enthusiasm draining with each word as she took notice of her friend’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Ren said. “Makoto asked to meet with me. Well, ‘asked’ is a very generous way of putting it.”

“I see…” Ann said. “Wait, you call her by her first name? Why?”

“Oh…” Ren said, realizing it herself. “I’m not entirely sure. But I guess that I’ve been getting so used to it with you guys, that it’s kind of rubbed off on me.”

“Huh” Ann said

“Well, come what may, I gotta do this” Ren said, trying to psych herself up.

“Good luck,” Ann said. Ren nodded. She left the classroom. With every step, Ren’s heart pounded. Despite her fear, she kept marching forward.

Once she entered the student council room, she came face to face with Makoto. Makoto’s face looked deathly serious. Nervous as she was, Ren let out a “Hey…”

Makoto continued to look at her with that icy glare. Eventually though, that broke. Her face turned from anger to sorrow in a near instant, as she sat down. “Oooooooooohhhhhhhh” she moaned.

Ren was surprised. “Um, What happened?” she asked, as she sat across from her.

Makoto put her head in her hands for a few seconds. She then sighed, lightly pounded her fists on the table, and then looked up at Ren. “We have a problem.” After Makoto explained everything, she finished by saying “so, we need a new strategy, and fast.”

Ren was stunned. “Well, that’s certainly a lot.”

“You don’t have anything that would help, do you?” Makoto asked.

“Well, we met some of the gang members who were tasking students to move the drugs,” Ren said. “I could describe them to you, but…”

Makoto sighed. “That’d be helpful if we didn’t have to worry about Kisa. If this mob leader hears that the police are sniffing out his henchmen, he’ll probably release the photo before anything can happen.”

“Yeah…” Ren relented. She focused herself. “So, we’re going to find an underground method of figuring this guy out.” Makoto nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you this, you came to the right people.”

“Don’t I know it…” Makoto said, still worried.

“Hey” Ren said. “We’re going to do this. I promise.”

Makoto was assured by this, nodded, and smiled for the first time today. “Yeah Thanks.” Ren smiled back, got up, and left the room. She got out her phone and began to text.

Ren: We have a problem.

Ann: I hope it’s not too serious.

Ren: It’s not worst-case scenario, but it’s not great.

Yusuke: Well, I guess that’s some kind of silver lining.

Ren: We should meet up to discuss this in full.

Ren: Maybe somewhere a little more private this time.

Jose: Why do you figure that?

Ren: Well, if these gangsters hear we’re after them, then it’ll be game-set-match.

Jose: Oh, so we won’t have the element of surprise.

Jose: Gotcha.

Sumire: So, where should we go?

Ryuji: How about a karaoke bar?

Yusuke: That’s not bad actually.

Jose: Yeah, even if there are gangsters there, they won’t be about to hear us over the music they’re singing.

Ann: Gangsters go to karaoke?

Ryuji: I think so.

Ann: I don’t know what kind of songs they would sing.

Ryuji: It’s probably not what you’d expect.

Ryuji: Probably stuff like “All Day Princess” or that Fool song.

Ann: Fool song?

Ryuji: Yeah, I can’t remember the name, but it’s become kind of popular on the internet.

Ann: Oh, I know what song you mean now. Yeah.

Ren: Getting back on topic, that does sound like a good plan.

Ren: Does anyone have any preferences, or just whatever’s close by?

Yusuke: I think we should meet at the usual spot and decide then.

Sumire: Good thinking, Yusuke-senpai.

Ryuji: Works for me.

Ann: Same.

Jose: Same.

Ren: Well then, until this afternoon.

Ren put her phone away, and then proceeded to eat lunch in the remainder of time before classes started up again.

After school, the Phantom Thieves met up, looked up a karaoke bar, and headed over. Once inside, Ren explained the situation. “Huh…” Ann said, stunned and saddened by what happened.

“So, we’re back to square one,” Yusuke noted.

They could hear someone doing karaoke in the next room over. “Man, that guy sucks,”Ryuji said.

“Um, I agree, but we should be more focused,” Sumire said.

“It IS a bit loud though,” Jose said.

“Yeah,” Sumire agreed.

“So, the question is now, how do we figure out this guy’s name without ringing any alarm bells?” Ren asked.

“Well, maybe we should ask somebody who knows their name already?” Ann said, half sure of herself.

“And who would that be?” Ryuji retorted.

Sumire got an idea. “Wait! Do you think that reporter would know?”

“Reporter?” Yusuke askd.

“Yeah,” Sumire responded. “When we were investigating Madarame at the exhibit, we saw this reporter getting kicked out. We followed up with her.”

“She seemed to have a keen eye on whatever information is floating around,” Ren added. “She knew about the abuse allegations toward Madarame.”

“Oh, but, don’t we need information to talk to her?” Sumire said.

“A hurdle already?” Ryuji moaned.

“I thought as a former track star, a hurdle would be nothing,” Morgana remarked.

“You little…” Ryuji grumbled.

Morgana chuckled to himself. Ren then smiled deviously. “Oh no, I know that smile,” Morgana said. “You have an idea that’s potentially dangerous.”

“Well, kind of,” Ren said. “I’m just thinking, between a second major confession, and the interview recently, the Phantom Thieves have a lot of sway.”

“Where are you going with this?” Ann asked.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to send us up the river!” Morgana said, panicked.

“No no,” Ren said. “We’re a team. Besides, I’m probably going to need you all if this keeps going. But we have a good amount of information we can reveal without playing our full hand. That might be worth a little something.”

“I’d say it's at least worth an attempt, '' Yusuke reasoned. “We can’t afford to waste time after all. At most, we have until the semester ends.”

“And we don’t know if or when Eris will induct another person into her ranks,” Jose added.

“Yeah. Let’s go for it” Ann said.

“Are you sure?” Ren asked, smiling.

Before Ann could answer, Sumire jumped in and said “Well, I know if I was in danger, I’d want to be helped as soon as possible.”

Ren was impressed. “Alright, good enough for me.” She sifted through her things to pluck out the business card of Ichiko Ohya. She sent her a message.

A few minutes later, Ren received a reply. “What does it say?” Sumire asked.

“She’s agreed to meet up” Ren said, honestly stunned this would work.

“Great!” Ann cheered.

“So, when?” Morgana asked.

“She said tomorrow at this place called ‘Crossroads’ in Shinjuku” Ren answered.

“Shinjuku, huh,” Ryuji said.

“Well, I can’t make it,”Sumire said. “I promised I’d be at practice, and that usually wears me out after.”

“Didn’t your coach say it was OK to miss some?” Ann asked.

“Yeah, but I promised some friends…” Sumire explained.

“Oh. Well, have fun then” Ann said.

Ren smiled. “I think the less people coming with the better.”

“Well, you should go,” Yusuke said. “You’re the one that reached out after all.”

“Makes sense,” Jose said.

“Of course,” Ren said. “But I still want someone to come with me.”

“I’ll go,” Ryuji said.

“Are you sure?” Ren asked.

“Yeah” Ryuji said. “I still feel guilty about getting us into this mess anyways…”

Ren smiled. “Hey.” Ryuji looked up. “It’s OK. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, we have found our next big target. So in a way, we should thank you.”

“Does this mean you’ll pay me back for the ramen?” Ryuji asked, hopefully.

“Nope,” Ren answered directly.

“Figures” Ryuji said, hopes crushed. Everyone had a good little chuckle.

The buzzer came up, stating their time was up. “Do you wish to stay and actually do some karaoke?” Yusuke asked.

“It IS a nice way to blow off some steam,” Sumire said.

“I’m alright for it,” Ren said. “One hour of just us? No business?” Everyone agreed to it. Ren made an extension to their time, and they spent the next hour karaoking and having a good time as friends and teammates. After which, they left, preparing for the next step of the mission.

After school the next day, Ren went home to change. After all, despite recent improvements, “Shinjuku on a Saturday night” still had a certain connotation to it. Ren figured it’d be better not to show up in school clothes. She took one of her part time jobs for the rest of the afternoon.

Evening came. She clocked out of work and headed for the station. She was there first, so decided to wait for Ryuji. “Yo!” he called. Ren looked as he ran over. “Sup?”

“You’re really wearing your school uniform?” Morgana said.

“What? I didn’t have time to change” Ryuji said. “My mom had me doin’ some errands. Besides, it’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Ren said. “For your sake.” She started heading for the train.

“Hey, c’mon, don’t be like that,” Ryuji said, catching up to her. “We’re getting some good information tonight. I can feel it.”

Ren smiled. “With optimism like that, I can’t stay mad at you.”

“But you won’t pay me back…” Ryuji said softly.

“You deserve it” Ren retorted playfully. They got in and headed to Shinjuku.

When they arrived, the two took a good look around. “Um, do you wanna ask for directions?” Ryuji asked.

Ren shook her head. “I don’t think two kids asking about a bar is a good look.”

“Right,” Ryuji said. They looked at the area again. “Well, we should start looking then.” The two of them began their trek into the heart of Shinjuku. They saw a variety of things. Shady people selling stuff, hosts and hostesses trying to attract business, and people being drunk, angry, or both littering the streets. “Woah,” Ryuji remarked.

“Halt!” said a commanding voice. A police officer stopped the two of them.

“Oh crap” Ryuji worried.

“What are you two doing here?” the officer asked.

Ren calmly smiled and said “We’re just some college students looking for a good time.”

“College students, eh?” the officer said. He believed it for almost a second. “Wait, those pants…”

“Ryuji…” Morgana moaned.

“Those are part of the uniform for Shujin, aren’t they?” the officer asked.

“Uh, nope, they’re designer pants” Ryuji said, trying to lie.

“No no, I’ve seen them on the news” the officer said. “You’re just some high school punks, ain’t ya?”

“Crap!” Morgana muttered.

Ren shot a glance at Ryuji. “Don’t worry, I have a way out of this” he whispered. “On the count of three, we use a bit of my training. One...two...three!” Ryuji bolted off. A split second later, Ren ran off as well, smiling.

“HEY YOU KIDS! GET BACK HERE!” the cop shouted. He began giving chase. Despite the cop’s protests, Ryuji and Ren went sprinting around Shinjuku, hoping to shake off the officer. The two kids ran around a corner. As they kept dashing, someone pulled the both of them into an alleyway, taking them by surprise. The officer continued running to where he thought they went. “Where’d they go?” he said, before he continued running.

Once the cop was away, Ryuji shouted “HOLYSHITWHATWASTHAT?!”

“Calm down!” said the person who dragged them in. The two kids looked at them to see a woman dressed in some peculiar clothes.

“I’m sorry about him,” Ren said. “Thank you.”

Ryuji was still baffled, but felt it would be rude to not also thank this mysterious woman. “Thank you! … S-sorry…”

The woman giggled. “It’s OK. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“How did you do that anyway?” Ren asked.

“Well...I can sort of tell these things…” she said. This left Ren and Ryuji a bit confused. “Follow me,” she continued. She left the ally with the two teens following her. They arrived at a small table. She sat down on the side closer to the buildings. “I’m a fortune teller.”

“I see,” Ren said.

“Really?” Ryuji questioned.

“You’re skeptical about THAT of all things?!” Morgana snipped.

“If you want, I can read your fortune,” the woman said.

“Well, we’re kind of busy right now,” Ren said. “But I’ll be sure to stop by again sometime.”

“I’d love to see you,” she said. Ren and Ryuji started to leave. “By the way, get to the street, take a right, go past the flower shop, and it will be on your right.”

Ren and Ryuji looked over, somewhat confused. Ren nodded and said “Thanks.” They proceed to follow the fortune teller’s directions.

“Well I’ll be…” Ryuji said in awe. They had arrived at Crossroads. “That lady is scary.”

“I disagree,” Ren said. “She did save us.”

“Well….yeah, you got a point…” Ryuji said. Ryuji looked at Ren. “Hey.” He got a little more serious. “You go. I’ll stay outside in case any other trouble comes up.”

“Thanks Ryuji,” she said, tousling his hair. “Hey. I know you’re trying your best. Don’t let stuff like this keep you down.”

Ryuji smiled. “Thanks.” Ren nodded and walked in.

Once she was in, she saw that there were two other women inside. One was the reporter she met before, and one was a large woman tending bar. “Heeeeeeeeeey!” Ohya said. “I’ve been waiting for you, ya know.”

Ren wasn’t sure what to think. “...Thanks?”

Ohya laughed. “You know, I had a feeling we’d see each other again. But where’s that red-haired girl you were with.”

“She’s busy,” Ren said.

“Aw, what a shame…” Ohya said. “Still, one out of two ain’t bad. AND you tell me you have juicy information. I can’t WAIT!” She turned to the bartender. “Lala-chan! Two shots!” Lala did nothing. “Huh? C’mon!”

“No,” Lala said. “I’m not letting a kid touch alcohol.”

“Oh. I assumed they were both for her” Ren said.

Ohya laughed again. “This kid gets it!”

“I’ll just take a water, if it’s all the same to you, Lala-chan, was it?” Ren said.

Lala nodded. “Smart kid. Makes me wonder what you’re doing with someone like this.”

“Lala-chan…” Ohya groaned. “Don’t be like that…”

“Besides, I’m no saint myself” Ren said, trying to relieve some pressure.

Lala sighed. “It’s fine. We’ve known each other for a while, so banter like that is common.”

“I see,” Ren said.

“Here you go” Lala said, giving Ren a glass of water, and Ohya those two shots.

Ohya down them, and found some new energy. “Alright! Let’s go!” Ohya walked over to a private area in the back. Ren followed her, taking a sip of her water. Once the two of them sat down, Ohya said “So. You wanna know what’s going on in Shibuya.”

Ren finished another sip. “Well, moreso what’s making it unsafe. Or who.”

“I see…” Ohya said. “Well, I certainly can help you, but I am going to need information in return.”

“That’s fine,” Ren said, taking another drink of her water.

“You said you had something about the Phantom Thieves?” Ohya inquired.

“Yeah” Ren answered. “What do you wish to know?”

“Hmmmm” Ohya wondered. “Well, there’s a lot of noise around them, but not much in the way of concrete information.”

“I assume they would prefer that,” Ren said.

“Right, of course,” Ohya said. “But I am wondering something. Their first target, that pervert teacher. How did they know to go after him? What guided them to him, you know?”

“I see,” Ren said. She took another sip. “Well, as it just so happens, I go to the school where that incident took place.”

“Really?” Ohya said. “Oh, uh are you OK talking about it then?”

“I’m fine,” Ren answered. “But I only just transferred there, so I don’t have as much knowledge.”

“Oh…” Ohya said, dejected.

“BUT I can give you someone to talk to who knows this better” Ren said.

“Really?” Ohya said 

Ren nodded. “Yeah. Just give me a second.” She set her water down and got out her phone. While she was doing that, Ohya ordered another drink from Lala.

Ren: Hey, you wanna do something for the PTs?

Mishima: Always!

Ren: Great! Can you talk to a reporter about Kamoshida without giving away too much, but still giving enough?

Mishima: A reporter? I dunno.

Mishima: What are they like?

Ren glanced at Ohya.

Ren: Her name is Ichiko Ohya, and she’s a bit of a free spirit.

Mishima: Really?

Mishima: Is she cute?

Ren: She’s something...

Mishima: I’m in.

Ren: Thanks.

Ren put her phone away. “Do you have a pen?” Ohya got one out and handed it to her. Ren took a napkin and wrote down Mishima’s contact information. “Here. This guy’s name is Mishima, and he had front row seats to Kamoshida’s theater of madness.”

Ohya took the info. She looked it over. “I see… Well, a deal’s a deal.” She took a drink of her new beverage. “Ah. Junya Kaneshiro. He’s been running things in Shibuya. If you’re looking for some shady deals in the area, he’s probably the guy.”

Ren smiled. “Thanks!”

She started to leave, but Ohya interrupted. “Hey!” Ren stopped. “I like you kid. If you have any more information, feel free to stop over. I’ll be here.” She took another swig of her drink.

Ren was a tad bit nervous, but somewhat optimistic. “If I have anything, I’ll be sure to come over.”

“Yay!” Ohya cheered. She took another drink.

Ren walked out. “I hope you know how to handle yourself,” Lala remarked. “She can be a lot.”

Ren smiled. “I think between the two of us, we can manage.”

“Heh,” Lala said. “I could use someone like you around here more often.”

Ren nodded. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise” Lala said. Ren headed out.

While Ren was meeting with Ohya, Ryuji was standing outside, looking around. He started getting bored after a bit, and started trying to relieve that boredom. “C’mon Ryuji this is for Niijima and her friend. Keep focus.” He saw that there were a couple of stones at his feet. He kicked one, smiling. However, he stopped smiling when it hit someone. “Oh crap. I’m so sorry!” he called out.

The person he hit was a man, wearing an open black trenchcoat, blue pants, a white dress shirt, and a red and black striped tie. The man looked over, and Ryuji noticed he had short black hair, with a little coming over his forehead, and blue eyes. “It’s alright. No one was hurt.” Ryuji sighed, relieved. The man walked over. “So, the prosecutor’s office is hiring kids now?”

“Huh?” Ryuji said, confused.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear your mumblings” the man said. “You said you’re doing something for Niijima?”

“Oh” Ryuji said, surprised. “Oh, well, um, probably not the Niijima you’re thinking of. Unless she’s also student council president.”

“Huh. I see…” the man responded. He looked at Ryuji. “You go to Shujin, right?”

“Oh crap, not again!” Ryuji said.

He tried to book it, but the man stopped him. “Woah woah, relax” the man said. “I’m not gonna turn you in or anything.”

Ryuji groaned. “Sorry. I already let my friend down once tonight cause of this.”

The man smiled. “I get it. It’s not always easy to help friends. Trust me.”

Ryuji looked this man over. He SEEMS alright. He sighed. “My friend told me the same thing.”

“That’s the spirit,” the man said. “So, what are you doing out in Shinjuku anyways?”

“Oh, um, well…” Ryuji said, getting nervous. Don’t mention the Phantom Thieves. “We’re looking into something. Niijima-senpai put us up to it.”

“She did?” the man inquired.

“Yeah” Ryuji said. “There’s been a few incidents with some of our students, including one of Niijima-senpai’s fellow student council members. I think her name was Hagiwara. Anyway, we’re looking into a lead to help sort things out before things get out of control.”

“Hm,” the man grunted. He had a concerned look on his face. He shifted it to happy, and said “Well, I hope you figure this out. Seeya.” The man walked away.

A few minutes later, Ren came out of Crossroads. “Did you get it?” Ryuji asked.

Ren smiled and nodded. “Thanks for keeping watch.” The two headed out. Unbeknownst to them, the man Ryuji talked with was around the corner, spying on them. Once they had left, the man rushed into Crossroads.

Ohya and Lala took notice of this right away. “What do you want?” Ohya jeered.

The man became serious. “I should have known it was you.” Ohya raised her eyebrow. “Look, I know you just gave someone some information, and I want it.”

Ohya looked at him, took another drink, and said “Tough.” The man was surprised. “She gave me information, and I’m not going to turn my back on that for nothin’.”

The man smiled. “What if I have information of my own? Would you give it to me then?” he asked.

“Psh, better be worth something” Ohya said, brushing him off.

“Give me thirty minutes, and I promise, it’ll be worth more than gold,” the man said.

Ohya stared at him for a few seconds. “Fine.” The man left.

“You really think he’s got something?” Lala asked.

“Psh. He’s bluffing” Ohya answered.

Half an hour later, the man returned. He placed a flash drive down on the bar. “This is security footage of your associate Kayo wandering around the morning after that politician was found dead.” Ohya was shook to her core. She made a play for it, but the man retracted his hand. “The information.”

Ohya was breathing heavily. Lala was also impressed with what this guy was bringing to the table. Ohya eventually relented. “She...She was asking about why Shibuya was dangerous. So, I told her the man who is probably behind all of it.”

“And who might that be?” the man asked.

Ohya was hesitant. “...Junya Kaneshiro.”

This time, he was shaken to his core. He took a second to collect himself. He set the flash drive on the counter. “There. A deal’s a deal.” The man turned around and walked out.

He continued walking until he made it back to his apartment. He closed the door, and slumped down against it. He screamed in his hands. He took some more breaths. “Makoto...AND Kisa...getting involved with..with...that piece of GARBAGE?! GAH!”

He looked up. On his wall was a picture of a family, including a younger Kisa, but also excluding him. He walked over to it. He looked at Kisa in the picture. “What happened? Why aren’t you telling me things?” he asked. He looked at Kisa’s mom in the picture. “What am I going to tell you when things go wrong, sis?” He looked down.

He then looked over. There was another picture. This time, it was of a man, but also not him. Next to it, was a police badge. He walked over to it. Upon closer inspection, the badge reads “Nobuyuki Niijima, Tokyo P.D.” The man picked up the photo. “What would you do in a situation like this, Nobuyuki?”

There was a knock at his door. The man turned quickly. “Who’s there?” When there was no answer, he walked over to open the door. To his surprise, was a figure adorned in robes. “Who are you?”

They chuckled. “My name is Eris,” she said. She walked in, to the bemusement of the man. She turned back around as he closed the door.

“What do you want?” the man asked.

“Why, the same thing as you, of course,” Eris said. “I want that criminal scum off the streets.”

The man was confused and concerned. “Just let the police handle it.”

“I COULD,” Eris said. “But we both know how ineffective that can be.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You quit the force because of that, didn’t you?” The man became more fearful. “The way they ignored any leads on the murder of your partner.”

Eris started encircling this man. “And now, your partner’s daughter is getting involved with one of the most dangerous men in Tokyo. Not to mention your niece. Do you really expect the police to deal with this in a timely and efficient manner? Heh. Don’t answer. We both know what it would be.”

The man was petrified, but intrigued by this figure. “So what are you going to do about it?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m not going to do a whole lot,” Eris said. “But I know YOU can! You can help clean up Tokyo. Starting with the person threatening your niece and your partner’s daughter: Junya Kaneshiro.” She took out an apple. “All you have to do is take a bite, and you will have the power to make Tokyo safe from monsters like him. So what do you say, Naoko Hamasaki?”

Naoko was scared. But he was more scared of doing nothing. More scared that he would have to lose Kisa and Makoto to a criminal, like he lost his partner. More scared that the police wouldn’t do anything if the worst happened. He grabbed a hold of the apple and intently took a bite of it. Once he swallowed it, he started laughing like a mad man. “Excellent choice” Eris said. She faded away.

A little later, some of Kaneshiro’s goons were patrolling the area. Soon, they were stopped by Naoko. The goons were confused. “What do you want?”

Naoko looked up at them. “You work for Kaneshiro?” The goons were confused. “I have a message for him.”

The goons looked at each other. “Yeah?” one of them asked. “Well, we’re not your own personal postal service.”

“Heh. Poor move” Naoko said. He rushed up and punched him in the face, sending him flying with blood coming out of his nose.

“What the?!” said another goon. The remaining two took out knives. However, Naoko dodged the first knife, uppercut the attacker’s jaw, and pressed him into the wall. He elbowed the remaining guy in the sternum without turning around. The goon collapsed and dropped his knife. He reached for it, but Naoko stepped on his wrist before he could get it.

Naoko picked up the goon. “I just have a simple message. Tell Junya Kaneshiro that his days are numbered.” Naoko threw the guy down and walked off into the night.