Vol 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)

White and Black

[In addition to referring to “complete opposites”, this is also a nod to Naoto and Sousei’s surnaane” ami” is black]

April 1Yagokoro PoliceFifth Basement FloorSpecial Forensics Division

The nextthe wake-up coffee that Tsuge-san had made The coffee was perfect in the chilly air that suffused the fifth basement floor

“Hoho Boy, that really looks good on you!”

Tsuge-san was energetic even in the

“Haa, thank you, very much”

On the other hand, it was only natural that I should give such an unenergetic answer Though I was a girl, being fussed over as one was troublesoin with

As was to be expected, the Yagokoro High School uniform that had been prepared for irls’ sailor uniform had been prepared, I would also have been lost As far as the probles were complex

“Tsuge-san, coffee for me too Thanks as always”

Touko-san entered the director’s office, languidly brushi+ng up her glossy black hair After throwing out a single “Good , she audaciously threw her curvy body across the sofa

“I see you’re working hard this , Touko-san”

“I didn’t sleep”

“Was there a proble?”

“The other reat help that I can leave the Yagokoro High School case to Naoto”

Incidentally, it didn’t seem that Touko-san cared at all that I was dressed as a male student

Touko-san knew ender On the contrary, e first ynous than I do now, she said, “What a cute girl,” and realized lance like few people had before

It may have been that, because I myself was as uncertain as I looked, I was unconcerned with li how I acted in front of other people

“Yes, Queen, the strong lukewarm coffee you ordered”

“Ah, that’s right, you were drinking lukewarht, Touko-san? Is there a reason for that?”

I had thethe stainless steel cup to which Tsuge-san had added the “least hot” coffee yesterday

“…It’s so I can be ready if anything happens The faster I can down it the sooner I can ht?”

As I looked at Touko-san, who answered with a serious expression, I nodded in adly trivial matters was just like Touko-san, and I honestly respected her for it, but:

“She’s lying, you know She just can’t take hot food Touko’s always been bad with hot things”

Tsuge-san whispered into ht beside me At the same time as I was surprised that even the absolutely flawless Touko Aoi had a weak point, Touko-san, who had been bluffing, laughed cutely

While taking a cup froe-san, Touko-san said, “How is he?” and lifted her upper body froe-san responded, and Touko-san said, “Naoto has school, so I’d like you to hurry,” downed her coffee in one go, swung both her legs like a pendulu up from the sofa

I also reluctantly left the director’s office to

I still harbored a bit of a grudge Touko-san had her reasons and was keeping silent, but I was skeptical about her real intentions inGenesis and I into partners

I would not be able to ith so any ill will, even if it wasn’t on purpose In this case, if our two-ation, ould not be able to each entrust our back to our partners, as would be normal, and so it would be much preferable and I would feel ation

On this floor with a good view all around, only the adjustment room was enclosed in white walls

The twisted iron door grated as Tsuge-san opened it The inside of the rooital machinery In the center of the rooht find in a dental clinic, and Genesis in question was sleeping on that chair His sleeping face was calm, as if yesterday’s beastlike form had been a lie

“Let’s reboot him”

When Tsuge-san gave the signal, his subordinates in the rooan to skillfully operate their keyboards while checking the huge display in front of them When done, they hit the enter key so forcefully the noise was audible

Incoan to rapidly scroll across the display like a co up Then at the end, only one sentence, “ALL COMPLETE”, remained on the display

The excessivelike, “What was the experiment about?”

Tsuge-san had told me, “In the middle of the mind interference experiment, Genesis went berserk” It was an explanation that I was unable to understand, as I was ignorant about robots

I ht that, Genesis’s eyelids fluttered open as he lay stretched out on the chair in the center of the rooaze wandered across his surroundings as if to ascertain the situation, until he was looking in our direction At the same time, Genesis’s voice came forth

“Graain!”

The first words he spoke were swears

“Don’t fuck with me! You crackpot scientist!”

Genesis ju, and the multiple colored cords connected to his body writhed like snakes and danced in the air all at once

“Shut your trap! I warned you in the beginning there was a high chance of failure and you should give up!”

“You called yourself a top-class scientist and said you’d make it work!”

As Genesis ranted, his long legs took one stride after another in our direction

“That’s why you’re called a crackpot, Gramps!”

“You’re the only one who calls me that!”

Genesis and Tsuge-san argued fiercely in each other’s faces and glared at each other

“Umm, Touko-san, by any chance, could he still be berserk?”

I asked, and, “No, this is ‘nored her teers

“Really”

I became seriously worried about the future

I also thought so yesterday, but from this close, Genesis was very tall He was slender when coe-san, but there was little difference in height Touko-san was also tall for a woman, but even so, if the two of them stood back-to-back she would be about one head shorter than hiht difference similar to that between an adult and a child

The thing that surprised me most was Genesis’s “humanness” I did not know any other Suppression Weapon that was able to use such fluent language as he Though it wasn’t like his rude speech up until noas anything to be praised

Touko-san ht that the two of the

“Both of you, be quiet”

Touko-san declared coldly, and without wasting any rabbed their collars and spun them around Coupled with her lack of sleep, they had put her in an unusually unpleasant mood

The two of the the way in which they both immediately made faces that said they were in a bad situation

“Che, Touko’s mad at us because you were so loud, Gramps”

“You too, Genesis Don’t blame it all on me”

“Oi! Gramps! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by that codenaami’!”

[read Genesis, written so like “Sousei Record”]

“Don’t tell s I shouldn’t in the Special Forensics Division! It’s good practice to call you by codename with the researchers! Touko is the only one who knows that Sousei means you!”

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to be quiet? We don’t have much time”

Needless to say, the two of them instantly fell silent in the face of Touko-san’s overwhele-san, but even Genesis regarded Touko-san as an absolute authority

“Naoto, I’ll introduce you again This foul-ami, formerly known as Genesis”

“Ah? Touko, who the hell is this shorty?”

Sousei Kurogaazed down at ly

“I explained it to you the other day, Sousei This is Naoto shi+rogane, the detective ill be investigating the ‘Yagokoro High School student disappearance case’ with you”

Between his current rude behavior and yesterday’s violence, I still harbored a grudge, but nevertheless I said, “I’ane,” and bowed my head deeply, so as not to show a lack of

“Oi oi You’re joking, right? You’re reat as me babysit?”

Sousei Kurogahed deep in his throat

“Anyway, I don’t feel like cooperating with the police at all, got it? I don’t have any intention of so back to the Kirijo research facility as soon as possible and start theas a Suppression Weapon!”

Touko-san laughed indulgently

“So? Who was it exactly that smoldered away for how e-san?”

“If I reaht?”

In the next ami raised his voice

“W-wait! That was just because ory’ and couldn’t fight! It definitely wasn’t because I was unreliable!”

It seemed like his Persona was also a non-combative-type

“But now I’ve even successfully suht!”

Sousei Kurogaether the fragments of information, because he did not have a combative-type Persona, Genesis was labeled a “defective product” a the Suppression Weapons

“Sousei!” Touko-san repri messed up”

“That’s not all You didn’t see it, Sousei, but you caused trouble for a lot of people when you lost your senses Especially this boy, you attacked and nearly killed him, you know?”

Wearing a bitter expression, Sousei Kuroga look

“Hoould I know? But it’s bad for people outside the division to co”

That was ami could increase no further

“Touko-san I apologize, but I will proceed with this investigation ‘by myself’ Please excuse me”

I swiftly informed them and turned on my heel towards the elevator

The reason was not just that I was angry If I thought objectively, I would not be at all able to handle self-absorbed people such as Sousei Kuroga a robot or a hu

“Naoto, wait I didn’t want to say it like this unless I absolutely had to, but please indulge me and let me speak”

From behind me, Touko-san’s authoritative voice flowed

“Naoto shi+rogane, this is an order Partner with Sousei Kurogah School student disappearance case’”

Further manner, “I’ll be your supervisor within this jurisdiction You could say I’et it, don’t you? My orders are absolute”

“Please tell me the reason for this”

I looked back over ht at Touko-san

“I don’t want to say it like this either, but you do knoas nearly killed by hi him my partner, correct? If that isn’t the case, I cannot consent”

I declared in one breath Everything I had kept toout at once

When I saw Sousei Kuroga with his arht etic

“I didn’t really decide this on a whi That I sent word to you so that you would come to the Special Forensics Division office was also because I wanted you to meet Sousei”

Touko-san began speaking in a composed voice

“It’s coane is an excellent detective and the shi+rogane lineage and the police go way back; even so, there is a deep-seated reluctance aation requests to outside individuals They’re guys who believe it’s a matter of honor”

Touko-san snorted as if to say they were stupid

“In the beginning, I thought that I’d leave the investigation up to your judgment as an outside contractor, Naoto At the same time, ould use this as a practice test to determine Sousei’s capabilities Sousei and Naoto are both unmistakably outsiders from the police The installation of the Special Forensics Division isn’t coet If we don’t show so”

“It’s asking too ive us money and keep their mouths shut The stuff that comes out of theto us researchers”

Tsuge-san shrugged his shoulders as he rolled his eyes

“Also, taking into account the connection between the two incidents where Sousei’s rae was stopped and where Naoto awakened to a new Persona, anyone would believe their partnershi+p to be extremely fortuitous”

“I see” I readily grasped the first reason

Even if it was the prestigious shi+rogane family, naturally a complicated situation arose between the detectives and the police with the power of the state I was familiar with that kind of treatment from my own experience

Touko-san heartily slapped Sousei Kurogami’s rear

“Hey! Touko!”

Without paying any mind to his confusion, Touko-san said with an extre as fellow Persona-users For now, give each other a ‘goodwill handshake’

“What is it? Hurry and shake hands”

Even at Touko-san’s urging, my ar to escape froical, but rather emotional

I was not confident that I would be able to well handle an impulsive person such as hi yesterday’s incident In addition to a my hand As the victi berserk, it did not ht about it, the less I wanted to shake his hand

However, Touko-san finally said, “It’s fate Shake hands iument, and we reluctantly shook hands

Sousei Kuroga his body It was a bit formal, but the feel of his palm did not differ from my own

Touko-san explained the general situation of the “Yagokoro High School student disappearance case” and quickly finished with, “I want you to read the report yourselves and drill the details of the case into your heads”

“Whatever The faster we finish this job, the faster I can blow this joint! So let’s go, shorty!” Sousei Kurogaetically to flee the room, but I immediately called him to stop: “Wait”

“Please don’t call ane”

Besides, I was not particularly short, but rather, Sousei Kurogami was so tall he would stand out in a crowd

“Huh?” Sousei Kurogami looked openly annoyed, as if he did not care about my objections

“What, it’s the truth, you know? Nothing wrong with calling a shorty a shorty”

“In that case, what if I called you ‘Simple-Minded-san’?”

“The hell! Who are you calling siht?”

“Aren’t those hasty reactions of yours ‘simple-minded’?”

Though Sousei Kurogaan eye “Ugh” Sousei Kurogami let out a short noise from his throat

“For now, since we’ll be acting together as partners, please call me by my name Then I’ll call you by name too”

“damn, you’re a cheeky bastard”

“My na, ‘Siain My name is Naoto–”

“Ahh! Geez! Shut up! I got it! I get it already! It’s Naoto! Naoto! That’s fine, right? So then you call me ‘Sousei-sama’”

“Yes, understood, ‘Sousei-san’”

“You!”

“Ah, if we don’t hurry, class will end Hurry up, Sousei-san Won’t Touko-san get ain if you’re too slow?”

“Y-yeah”

I was not satisfied, but I gave a sideways glance at Sousei-san, as nodding, and allowed myself a secret s was tolerable

Truthfully, losingto plan

“Since I wanted the investigation to go shtly,” was the advice that I received from Touko-san, which was helpful, but seemed likely to make my head hurt

I needed to be able to control ation partner, more for my own sake than anyone else’s

Soations required attention to detail and patience, and so if Sousei-san, as impulsive, was left to do as he pleased, who kneould happen A large sigh escaped me as if in answer

April 1Yagokoro Police StationParking Lot

It was severaldelayed by Sousei-san I had conated e parted, but there was no one waiting, and all that was in front of my eyes were a number of police cars and a red sports bike

I wondered if he had been ione on to school alone

I had not ht by the assistant chief as I was leaving the office, so I had given up I was finally released when I had reluctantly been raph, which I had never done before

“Can’t he have waited even a few h”

It was right after that

“–Ah? Isn’t it obvious? I won’t forgive you for reat self wait even one second!”

I is It was only natural That had been Sousei-san’s voice, but his body was nowhere to be seen

“Oi! Naoto! Over here, over here!”

“Eh?” I couldn’t help the sound of surprise that escapedfrom the red bike

“Eh!”

In the next moment, I was struck speechless I was so shocked I couldn’t believe it

To explain the reason, as I watched the red bike, it changed shape, and the next thing I knew, it had assuure right in front of my eyes

“So? Did that surprise you? I’ robot’! So you see, I’m different from those other robots!”

It was true that I was quite shocked I, who still lovedThat’s a! Sousei-san!” and was excited What in the world were the mechanics behind it?

“I want to take you apart sometime”

“Eh?”

Sousei-san was looking at me dubiously It seehts aloud

“I-it’s nothing”

Without thinking, I averted otten myself in my excitement

“You’re weird Well, whatever Anyway, get on”

The distance was not so great that I would be opposed to going on foot, but because Sousei-san said he would take erly turned into a bike

It was a sports bike characterized by a beautiful strea If I straddled it, I felt that I h we had not yet set off, I found myself lost in daydreaed me back to reality

“I thought you’re really tiny, but your body’s light too, Naoto Are you really a guy?”

I wondered if Sousei-san was joking But he had a point, and so I sighed, “Haa” and felt upset without much reason

“Hold on tight!”

Sousei-san started to move At the same time, my cheeks becaender, the present situation in which I was straddling hiain

“Well, to be honest I don’t really like letting a guy ride, but you’re rateful to me!”

It was not ender It just so happened that I was presenting myself as a male student That I spoke as I did and conducted myself as a boy was force of habit after many years

[technically that she calls herself “boku”]

“Yes Um, thank you very much”

I could not help but feel that I had missed the moment when I should have explained the truth

Like the don school that it was, Yagokoro High School faced the street, and because it was e volume of traffic That here the bike caested vehicles and arrived in the blink of an eye in front of the ate

The towering gate was made of brick The white iron fences were also of elaborate design The school building inside was not old but it had a retro design Much , as was typical of an affluent private school

–Yagokoro Private High School It was the only private school in the Yagokoro area, and the number of students in the whole school was about one hundred people in each year, or three hundred students total It ithin the prefecture but was a pro students for university

It seemed that many students still co at the school, students continued to be sed into the soleate one after another However, as could be expected, I was the only one of the students in front of the gate who had driven up on a motorbike, and so I stood out immensely

I briefly thought that this could be bad and was just thinking that we should remove ourselves to a place with fewer people Sousei-san, who a stir a to school

“Geez, they’re all brats!”

He was drawing attention to hihtest On the other hand, Sousei-san had taken human form without so much as a word to me, so I had fallen on my behind on the asphalt like a cowboy that hada rodeo

“Eh? What’s that?” “A r-robot? Is it real?” “Are they fil aabout at the school asse like that?”

The students were giving Sousei-san sidelong glances and whispering a an alien creature

I shooktheir distance That we had stood out like this fro made me depressed

On the way to the staff room, I said:

“Do you understand? Will you behave yourself as much as you can while I’m in class?”

I did not forget to give Sousei-san a warning based on his actions at the gate

Concerning the presence of the robot called Sousei Kurogami within the school, it seemed that the police’s efforts had secured approval for hiiven had been so to collect data from the classes”

However, seeing hoary the students were, it could not be said that they really had any understanding of Sousei-san, and if he did as he wanted, the resulting disturbance would bethan a fire

“Yeah! Leave it to ate perfectly until after school!”

My warning did not reach hi to hurt

“In any case, you must absolutely not cause a disturbance”

“You’re really annoying!”

“Do you knohose fault it is that I ?”

“Huh? Don’t you just have no balls?”

“If there’s any sort of probleht?”

“Hah! What a cowardly shorty, bringing up Touko’s name like that!”

That was the li branded a coward

“Did you already forget the disturbance you caused at the school gate? If so, you must be unbelievably birdbrained!”

Because I raised lanced at us simultaneously

“What was that! Who are you calling a birdbrain! You moron! Want me to shut that cheeky mouth of yours for you?”

Agitated, Sousei-san grabbed and lifted my collar Unusually, the blood had also rushed to lare with one of my own It was an explosive situation

It was at that irl echoed down the hall

“Big broooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“N-no way! Don’t screith ive me a break”