We all split up to hide from Shadow Shirogane's aging ray. The girls were near Teddie and Ryuto, Kanji was by himself, and I still had Yosuke who was getting more senile by the minute. "C'mOn, LeT mE gIvE yOu A fUlL bOdY mAkEoVeR!" Ugh, if only we could summon our Personas without worrying about being hit. Suddenly, it attacked the place the girls were hiding in, leading them to run away. "WATCH OUT!" "I REALLY DON'T WANT WRINKLES!" "I'D RATHER DIE!" They all said, running away. The ray was about to hit Rise but Ryuto blocked her with his Persona, leading to him getting hit. "Ryu~Chan!" I called out but it was too late, he became old. "Ryu, I'm sorry!" His twin yelled while running away, "That bitch always leaves me out to dry..." While he just laid there. "Teddie! Roll to me and bring Ryu~Chan!" Teddie saluted before rolling to me and grabbing Ryuto while saying, "Bear-al roll! Bear-al roll".

"Hey old buddy... I feel you've been so good to me over the years." The elderly Yosuke said. Yep, he's getting more senile. "Not really, I've been the same." A hesitation overlapped my voice, "You and me, we've been old chums for decades now!" Uh... "Or less than a year...". "Feels like yesterday, we were young whippersnappers entering the TV, looking for Naoto." He's getting his days mixed up... "Yeah, actually, that happened today.". I noticed that the Shadow was still after the girls and had them cornered nearby. Before it could hit them with the aging ray, Chie pulled Teddie in front of them, letting him get it by it instead. Wow, poor Teddie. "What's happening, he's getting all raggedy!" Rise chirped, "Is that... A mushroom? Ugh, he smells!" Yukiko added, "And now he's changing colors!" And Chie finished. They then collectively said, "Ew, he's gross!" before pushing him and running away. Yep, poor Teddie. "Those old hags are so mean to me." They are.

Shadow Shirogane got bored of us and flew to the real Shirogane, "sOrRy fOr ThE wAiT. nOw ThEn, LeT's BeGiN wItH tHe OpErAtIoN!" Before the Shadow could do anything, a lighting bolt came and hit its gun off balance, it was Kanji! "Don't forget about me, Freak!" He said while hanging on the side. I have to help him! "Persona change, Neko Shogun!" Neko Shogun appeared and casted Zionga at the Shadow, knocking it back a little. But in turn, it hit Take-Mikazuchi with a different laser, knocking the Persona back and putting kanji in a corner. "No! Persona change, Izanagi!" Neko Shogun shifted into Izanagi as my Persona hit the Shadow with its long sword. A wind turbine appeared from the wall as Izanagi barely dodged, that would've been bad. "She's gonna do the same attack, hurry and change Personas!" "Got it! Hitokotonushi!" Izanagi changed forms as another wind turbine hit me, but didn't do anything. "She's about to use a fire attack next!" "Gdon!" Gdon appeared and absorbed that fire like it was nothing, "Rampage!" I attacked but it just dodged out of my line of fire. This is getting annoying.

"Watch out! I see a lighting attack coming!" "Mhm! High Pixie!" This time it was High Pixie taking the lighting attack in stride, "Zionga!" Dang it, another miss... "It's no use! She's too fast for you to hit! You need to slow her down!" Slow her down? "Persona change, Succubus! Mudoon!" A dark circle appeared around Shadow Shirogane, but it faded without doing anything. Crap... "yOu ArE sO aNnOyInG!" It casted the aging ray from behind me, as I got hit. The girls cried out to me, except for Rise. She said, "Even when she's ancient, she's still amazing!". I could feel my skin getting looser and looser as I walked back to Yosuke and Ryuto. "Look at you! Still up and kicking!" Yosuke noted, "I don't know, my bones aren't as good as they were a few seconds ago..." was my response. "I wish I could do a little shumthing for you, Kitty. But my hands can't stop shaking..." Ryuto told me as I sat down, taking in deep breaths. "Mistressss!" Teddie rolled to us, "Iv'e go this nagging feeling that this tired old noggin of mine is forgetting something." I patted the old bear, "Try your best at remembering, Ted. We need to get back into the fight.".

"eHeHeHeHeHe, ThAt WaS fUn." Shadow Shirogane chuckled. Soon enough, the real Shirogane got tired of it all. "Stop it... Leave them be! Don't hurt them anymore, please!", "I jUsT nEeD tHeM tO sIt StIlL... oThErWiSe, HoW cOuLd I fIlL tHeIr BoDiEs Up WiTh HoLeS? eVeR sInCe I wAs LiTlLe, I'vE bEeN bAd At MaKiNg FrIeNdS. tHeN mY pArEnTs DiEd In ThAt AcCiDeNt AnD gRaNdFaThEr ToOk Me In. I hAd A sIsTeR oF sOmEsOrT, bUt ShE wOuLd AlSo LeAvE mE. i HaVeN't MaDe A sInGle SiNcE. dUrInG tHaT tImE, tHaT's WhEn My GrAnDfAtHeR wOuLd LeT mE tAg AlOnG aNd HeLp SoLvE hIs CaSeS. bEfOrE lOnG, i WaS tHe GeNiUs, ChIlD dEtEcTiVe. AhAhAhAhAhAhA!" Shirogane... Mnngh! I need to do something! "What I should do now is try to fuse... Uh... How do I fuse them again?" "Mistress!". Yosuke chuckled, "Getting old is a real kick in the keister!". Shadow Shirogane continued its monologue, "aT fIrSt, EvErYoNe WeNt CrAzY oVeR mE. tHeN tHe CrItIcS tRiEd To DiScReDiT mE, pOiNtInG tO mY aGe Or GeNdEr. ThAt'S wHeN i DeCiDeD tO gRoW uP, aNd BeCoMe An AdUlT. bUt, It'S mUcH hArDeR tO cHaNgE tHe FaCt ThAt I'm A gIrL! aNd GrOwInG uP wIlL nEvEr ChAnGe tHaT fAcT. tHaT's WhY mY lItTlE gIfT tO yOu Is GoInG tO bE a WhOlE nEw LiFe!" I've gotta stop this...!

"CUT THE CRAP, BITCH!" Kanji! He broke through the rubble and threw a rock at Shadow Shirogane, even though it missed. "Look, I really suck at making friends too. But who gives a shit?! These guys accepted me for who I am, struggles and all. And I'm pretty damn sure they'll do the same for you!" Kanji... "I rEaLly HaTe MuScLe-BoUnD bUfFoOnS." The bleach blond boy then had his Persona grab onto a metal girder and charged towards the enemy. "Oh, youth. Why is it always wasted on the young?" We were just watching events unfold since we really couldn't do anything. "Oh, I just remem-bear-ed. I can bear-come young again!" Teddie perked up. "You coulda remembered a whole lot earlier?" Ryuto angrily said, "It's rude to make your elders wait!" Followed by Yosuke shaking his fist. "I believe in you, Teddie. Help us out!" With my words, he shakily summoned his Persona. "Gah! Kintoki-Douji! Use the Energy Shower!" The round Persona rolled back and raised its arms as a blue circle formed around us. Slowly but surely, our ages returned to normal! "Re-energize!" "This is awesome!" "Hell yeah!" I closed my eyes and felt my youth return to me.

"I feel like a new woman! Ryu~Chan, help me with this fusion!" We held hands and started concentrating. Margaret's voice crept into my mind, "You wish to use the ultimate Persona of the Devil Arcana without it being at its maxed state?" I do. "With the strength of your bond with the Devil, you will now have this power temporarily." That's all I needed to hear. Six cards appeared between Ryuto and I as I smirked. "Beelzebub!" I fused them together as they combined into a giant fly. "You will only have five minutes using this Persona before it fades, use it well." I will, Margaret. "Whoa, what's that?" Chie quizzed, "Is that... A fly?" "No way, it's way too big!". Take-Mikazuchi threw the girder at the Shadow, but it missed again. This made the Shadow hit him more with the ray gun over and over again. Another smirk grew on my face, this was my chance!

With Beelzubub's speed, I was able to hit the enemy with ease, leaving it even slower than before. "dIE, fLy!" More laser rays came after Beelzebub but it was able to dodge with ease. "Mabufudyne!" Giant ice blocks surrounded the Shadow, while also freezing its laser gun too. "Kanji! Take Shirogane and run! All of you run too! I'm gonna blow this place up!" Yosuke was taken aback, "What?!" "Just go! I'll be right behind you!". Kanji followed my orders and pulled Shirogane out of her binds and followed the others in running. I let Beelzebub use its most powerful move it had, Megidoloan, before running out. Explosions could be heard as I kept running. That was until the five minutes of using Beelzebub came to an end, leading me to fall. Thankfully, I was outside already and someone caught me, it was Rise. "Thank you..." I muttered as she helped me to my feet. Shirogane dropped from Kanji's back and looked at the now destroyed secret base.

She looked down, "Well... I guess you all know my whole story..." Shirogane... "Do you think others won't take you seriously as a girl? Is that why you dress as a boy?" Yukiko inquired, "It just doesn't match my image of a cool detective. And I don't wanna get sidelined by the stupid critics... So why give them any more ammunition for that? Of course I don't see myself as a boy, but at the same time, I don't know how to put it all together. First they criticized me for my age, and then my sister's death... Me turning out to be a girl would be the straw that would break the camel's back...". "Your sister?" I asked, "Her name was Minako Arisato, an orphan that my grandfather took in who passed away last year. She was the only one... Other than my grandfather who supported me in what I did... Her passing changed me... I thought, if I kept it up and became a great detective, she would be proud of me..." Would she really want you to hide who you are, especially since you're not really committed to being a boy? "Sounds like a load of shit to me." I wouldn't say it like that, but I agree with Kanji.

Shirogane looked up, "You know the real truth, right? You don't really want to become an adult. And for that matter, be changed into a man." You framed it great, Yukiko. I knelt to Shirogane's level and smiled, "I may not have known your sister, but I'm sure that she knows that you know what the right thing to do is.". Shirogane blushed a little and muttered something I couldn't hear, but she eventually stood up. Behind her, her Shadow manifested. "Look, I tried my best to ignore you... And lock the child deep inside... But no matter how hard I try, you were always there. I am you... And you are me..." Shirogane... "It'S bEeN mY dReAm... To SoMeDaY, bEcOmE a CoOl, HaRd-BoIlEd DeTeCtIvE!". "What I should've wished for-- no. What I will wish for, is to not become an adult of a man. But to accept myself for who I really am. And to accept you, just as you are."

The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest... Naoto has faced her other self... She has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Sukuna-Hikona.

Shirogane chuckled, "I don't know how you guys did it. It's impressive! Keeping this secret for so long, no wonder the police couldn't gain any traction in this ca-" and suddenly, she collapsed. Thankfully, Kanji was able to catch her. "Heh, that's quite a fight you had!" Yeah, both in and out of the TV... "You went all out. You put your life on the line." That's because out of everyone in Inaba, she placed her trust in us. "I had faith in all of you, I knew you guys would come for me." Kanji scoffed, "Dumbass! It was a huge gamble. You ain't no genius at all, you're just frickin' crazy." The blue haired girl looked up to the sky, "Heh, maybe... But now we know for sure... This case is far from solved." That means we've got to keep going all out, until this case gets closed. She removed all doubts we had about that.

~Timeskip~

Yukiko and Chie offered to take her home after we disbanded. Yosuke offered to walk me home again as I accepted. Rise looked discouraged for a bit but quickly returned to her normal self. It was a quiet walk that ended with the normal kiss on the cheek and parting. "I'm home!" "Heyyy, welcome baaack!" Adachi? And... He's drunk... "Sorry, we got off early today..." And looks like one of you is having fun. "C'mon, take a seat." Adachi started chugging a bottle of sake while pointing to the cushion across from him as I sat on it. "They found Naoto~Kun! Oh, uh, do you know who Naoto~Kun is? He just up and vanished without a word, but it looks like he's back now. Way to put a scare into everyone... Yeesh!" I have to quickly think of something that won't tip them off... "I'm relieved." Okay, that was good. Dojima eyed me, "...You don't seem surprised. You didn't already know he was found, did you?" Crap! "Awww, you really oughtta do somethin' about that habit of yours, Dojima~San. They go to the same school. Rumors spread fast out here, y'know. But man, why'd Naoto~Kun disappear? I guess he can be a little difficult... Maybe he got sulky after being given the boot and ran away from home? But I tell you, I was shocked to hear that he up and vanished like that. If there'd been a fourth kidnapping and murder, we'd be back to square one again..." He really should keep his mouth shut when Nanako's here. "Adachi..." Even Dojima agrees.

"You know what sucks? We still don't have proof that the Kubo kid murdered anyone besides Mr. Morooka. How're we gonna make a case like this? I wonder if Dojima~San's instinct is right... Maybe there really is another perp out there. The real one..." Finally, Dojima grabbed a newspaper and wacked Adachi on the head. "Adachi! How many times I gotta say it!? Quit running your mouth like that! And you, Don't worry about the case. Just go study like a normal student. If you don't..." He took a deep breath, "I'm going to bed." And with that, he left for his room. Dojima... "Sorry... I killed the mood there. But yeah, I can totally understand why Dojima-san's worried. Just leave the case to us police. You know the problems it could cause if something happened, right? Like, if it happened that you were mixed up in it, we'd be real worried..." I know Dojima cares about me, but this is what we need to do.

"Are more scary things going to happen?" Nanako asked worriedly, "N-No way, Nanako~Chan! Everything's all right now! We caught the bad man, so no more scary things will happen. Right? Everything's just fine." Adachi's words made Nanako sigh in relief, "A-Anyways, your dad's just a worrywart. Leave it to me! You might not know to look at me, but I got the most brains in the whole police department! Oh... Was that hard to understand...? Did you get it...? W-Well, now that Dojima-san's gone, I should get going too... G'nite!" And with that, he left. Yeah, I'm not convinced he's the brains of the police department with the amount of times he runs his mouth. "What does 'got brains' mean?" The little girl tugged on my shirt, "He thinks he's smart." I answered as she just replied with, 'Oh.'. Even this six year old isn't impressed, Adachi.

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