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  April 10th, 3:20 pm
Big Bang Burger, Shibuya

---Music: Maya Fey ~ Turnabout Sisters Theme 2002 ---

"Look, Nick! I'm the Captain now!" Maya declares proudly, puffing out her chest to display the fancy badge she just won for completing the Big Bang Challenge. How she ate that massive burger, I'll never know...
"That was honestly one of the more impressive things I've seen in my life, I'll admit," I smile at her endearing antics.
Carefully holding both sides of the rocket-shaped badge with the edges of her fingertips, she adjusts the angle back and forth, probably enamored by the way the light in the room reflects off of it. "I think I'll give this to Pearly when we get back home, she loves shiny things."
Though I'm not one for fast food, I will admit that Big Bang Burger has really good slushies, which I finish the last of as I try to fight off a brain freeze. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun, Maya," I voice.
"Yeah!" she agrees with pep, "Though I'm surprised at how quickly this trip changed from business to leisure."
"Haha. It is a vacation, we should enjoy it!" I encourage.
"Still," she changes subject, "I can't believe nobody at the Meiji Shrine had even heard of spirit channeling. There goes one of the main places I was expecting to find some results!"
"And none of the libraries had anything on the Kurain channeling technique... color me surprised," I add, "And we went to two absolutely gigantic ones."
"Not to mention Jinbocho! You'd think with an entire section of town dedicated to book stores, we'd find SOMETHING left behind by the Fey clan," Maya sighs.
"I guess Ami Fey kept to secrecy more than we thought," I reason.
Maya leans her cheek into her palm. "I had expected her to have left some kind of legacy in Japan, but so far nothing at all has turned up."
"Yeah... weird," I agree, "Have you ever considered cutting out the middle man and going directly to Khura'in?"
"I've thought about it... but nobody seems to really know much about that country. They seem pretty isolated from it all," she explains. "Plus, that seems like a big jump. Going from one little colony in the United States all the way back to the source. I feel like I'd lose a lot of the details and enrichment of the journey."
I shrug. I'm nowhere near as qualified to make judgment calls on this sort of thing. "Well. I suppose we can take a break from our search and find other things to do. I bet there are plenty of places to go for tourists like us."
"There's apparently a super fancy buffet at the Wilton Hotel nearby!" Maya spouts with enthusiastic energy.
"Maya, we just ate," I point out.
"I know. I'm just suggesting we make a note, for later," she smiles with content.
"How about that seaside park? Odaiba?" I suggest, "The big bridge there reminds me of London, maybe going there will bring back some neat memories."
"Well, while we're deciding where to go, why don't we walk around down town for a bit?" she compromises.
"Sounds good to me."

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 3:28 pm
Shibuya Central Street

---Music: Investigation ~ Opening 2007 ---

This area is certainly bustling, and I can see why. Practically any kind of store or entertainment can be found just around the corner. A big movie theater, an arcade, plenty of restaurants and convenience stores... you name it.
"I can't believe they even have a maid cafe," Maya giggles, "We should have stopped in there."
"I think you and I both have had enough of maid cafes for the rest of this year, no offense," I jest.
Maya tugs at my sleeve to get my attention as she points. "Hey, a book store! Why don't we go in there to look?"
I shrug. "Sure, that's fine."
We enter the small shop, and Maya immediately starts scanning all of the books on the walls one by one. By this point, I don't even know what we are expecting to find, to be honest. I severely doubt that Ami Fey left a memoir laying around, and spirit channeling doesn't seem to be something that anyone around here is even aware of.
There's a TV in the corner of the room, playing the news. I listen in without necessarily meaning to, because the content being discussed catches my ears.

---(Music End)---

It looks like it's one of those round table events with several newscasters all holding an open discussion. "And, despite the sudden death of Vi Aipi-san, the vote was still held."
Oh, they are talking about Vi Aipi. Now they broadcast has definitely gotten my attention.
"That would normally be rather strange, but it isn't surprising with the rate the motion has been moving at. Many politicians hold incredibly determined stances on the issue."
"Which makes it even more strange that the deciding vote was from Suingu Tsuzuru, who had been extremely vocal about rejecting the bill."
"That's right, isn't it. The tariff increase goes against everything on Tsuzuru-san's election platform. He was extremely opposed to increasing the taxation on foreign imports, claiming it to be counter productive to foreign relationships. That he voted opposite to his stance is basically career suicide. He essentially betrayed the voters who elected him."
Something about their discussion stands out to me. I think back to the trial from earlier this morning. This Alibaba person claims that Kaz Mizusawa was acting differently than he usually would. He (or she?) suggested that Kaz wasn't in the right state of mind, and even said something along the lines of his personality changing. Maybe because the event is fresh on my mind, hearing about a politician voting opposite of how they would have sounds very similar.
Ultimately, the thoughts pass. I still continue listening to the TV as Maya continues her search.
"You raise a good point. But whether or not his career fails seems irrelevant, now that the vote has passed. The repercussions will continue for years to come."
"If I'm understanding correctly, now that the movement has passed, the taxation will indeed increase. What exactly is the benefit to this decision?"
"Proponents of the new tariff laws claim that Japan as a whole has become a weak force in the global market. By strengthening domestic industry, many politicians are speculating that the economy will benefit, eventually strengthening our country."
"It's a peculiar thing, the vote was very close. It feels like the stars aligned for this to go into effect. The new laws would have been rejected had Tsuzuru-san voted against it like he had been very vocal about doing. Even with his surprise turn of face, the vote would have been a tie if Vi Aipi had been present, as he had advocated a rejection of the new tariffs as well."
"The death of a representative, along with a shocking change of heart of one of the voters... to call this turn of events unexpected would be an understatement. The representative who introduced the bill, Kigeki Yokubō, had this to say in response:"
Another clip plays, changing to a man in a white suit inside of some sort of congress type building. He has white hair that seems rather crazy, with wavy, curved spikes jetting out which make him look like the mad scientist type of cartoon character. He holds papers in his hand, presumably what he is reading his notes from as he addresses the other politicians in the room. The footage begins in the middle of a speech that has already started.
"... And though I recognize that complete agreement was not reached, I am still proud to be a part of this motion, which I believe will ultimately be for the benefit of us all. With this as a first step, I plan to continue working towards a more competitive, more self-sufficient state. I urge all of my peers to move into the future with an open mind as we see to it that these new policies come into being."
Back to the news room. "These are days of change indeed. We'll just have to wait and see just how the state of Japan will adapt in the near future."
"Nick!" Maya shouts, snapping me out of my trance, "I couldn't find anything on spirit channeling or spirit mediums. Let's just keep going."
That was... strange. I find myself having my attention more and more taken by the foreign politics going on right now. I suppose getting wrapped up in a murder trial of a politician right off the bat hasn't really helped on that front.
Though I'm feeling vaguely unsettled, I lay the thoughts to rest without letting them impede our vacation. "Where to now?" I ask Maya.
She shrugs with a smile dispelling any care in the world. "Well, did we finally decide on a place to go next? Let's just get to walking towards the Subways and we'll probably decide by the time we get there."

  April 10th, 3:40 pm
Shibuya Station Square

Even having lived in a huge city most of my life, the size and scale of Tokyo are still incredibly impressive. Being in a huge town square really showcases just how many hundreds of thousands are going about their business in the busy streets between all of the colossal buildings. It's strange to think that the events of the murder trial we had just been through went right through this area on the route we are traveling now.
Without warning, a booming voice loud enough for the entire square to hear blasts from the largest buildings in the vicinity, each of which have gigantic television screens.

---Music: Borderline of Madness ---

"Breaking News!" a reporter shouts, "We bring you news of a terrible development directly from the neighboring nation of Koridai. At approximately 11:00 am JST, Vice President Tyson Rant gunned down three of the most powerful officials of the Koridainian government, including President Richard Tator. The entire state is in chaos."
The square rumbles with the chatters and gossip of everyone who had heard the announcement, and we all watch intently as more details will be revealed.
  "Rant was immediately subdued by military police as soon as the murder happened, and he did not survive the gun wounds inflicted on him during his capture. This leaves Koridai without either leader. Vice President Rant has consistently proven himself to be one of the most loyal patriots in the country's history, so assassinating the President is an alarming and frankly horrifying turn of events."
  This is seriously uncanny. How many times in one day am I going to experience or hear about situations where someone acts completely different to commit a controversial--or even heinous--action?

---Music: Tension ---

I hear a group of people talking nearby. They are dressed sharply in suits, and look to be of older age. "Do you think this has to do with the tariff vote?" one of them asks.
"God... that traitor Suingu, We would have rejected the new laws had he not turned face."
They seem to be politicians themselves. "Doesn't this assassination come at a suspicious time?" another one of them poses.
"It's seriously absurd for this to happen so close to the tariff vote."
"Excuse me," I say, trying to politely enter the conversation, "But what does that event have to do with this assassination?"
One of them answers me quite swiftly. "Koridai was really opposed to the matter. Their president was vocally speaking out about how much a tariff will stress trade relationships. Called it a breech of good faith even."
"And now that their president is gone, they are without leadership on top of the new trade struggles with Japan. Things are about to get really bad over there."
"With things how they are, I've even heard some Japanese military officials advocating going in to intervene."
"Now that's a shocking idea..."
"You doing ok, Nick? You look troubled," Maya notices, pulling my attention away from the politicians. They seem to be walking away anyway.
I haven't showed anyone the phone alerts from Alibaba, and Maya wasn't watching the news story in the bookstore earlier. I suppose she hasn't gotten enough information to draw the same connections I have. I take a moment to explain my thoughts. "Maya, during the trial today, I got mysterious text messages from someone who claimed that Kaz Mizusawa was not in the right state of mind, and even suggested that his personality had been altered. He or she claimed that's why Kaz murdered his own client."
She listens carefully and I continue speaking. "And while you were in the bookstore, I was watching a news report. Apparently, a controversial vote just passed specifically because one of the representatives voted completely opposite of how he had promised to vote. And it's the very same vote that they just mentioned in that report, related to Koridai."
She seems to get the idea, and jumps in on my reasoning. "And now they are talking on the news about a ridiculously unexpected assassination... are you thinking all of this is related?"
"Well... I'm not sure. It's a HUGE stretch, but... bizarre, contradictory actions seem to be a recurring event today. And the thing that person said about personalities changing just stands out to me..."
"Do you think this has to do with those 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' that everyone was buzzing about a while back?" she suggests.
I kinda recall what she is talking about, but at the time I just thought that was the title of some new show from Global Studios or something. I never looked into the matter.
Maya must have noticed that she's lost me. "It was this shadow group of people who used some kind of super powers or something to change people's hearts," she explains with her head cocked to the side in thought, but something causes her to lose her zeal. "Though, I think they ended up catching the guy who lead the group. So they probably aren't relevant anymore."
"Still," I continue, at this point thinking aloud and talking to myself just as much as Maya, "With the amount of supernatural stuff I've seen in my life..."
"I wonder if those mysterious texts you got can even be trusted, though..." Maya asks, bringing the credibility of the entire scenario into question.
"That's a good point. I have no reason to believe them at face value," I reply, by now looking at my phone and skimming back over the log of messages from earlier.
"Yeah. All of these events could just be coincidental. You'd really be jumping the gun to assume a relationship between three completely separate events. Heck, this news announcement isn't even from the same country."
"Yeah... that would be kinda crazy for something to be happening on a global scale."

---(Music End)---

She nods her head. "For real. Plus, you're connecting assassination with random texts from a stranger. Maybe before assuming there's some kind of supernatural illuminati, we should confirm whether you were just getting pranked or not," she points out.
I guess I really have been hopping to a lot of absurd conclusions, and the egg on my face proves it. "Well, there was part of the messages that was very specific," I mention, showing Maya my phone screen and pointing at the messages I'm referring to.

???: To do that, I need you to mention a specific trial from two years ago to prove with precedence that changing of personality can affect a situation.
???: "Japan v. Masayoshi Shido."

"I've heard of Shido. He was on the news when we were riding the train the other day," Maya recalls with surprising clarity.
I think back to the report that was playing while we were on the train. "Masayoshi Shido... a politician who was the head of some conspiracy and the center of a huge scandal, if I recall."
Maya has already taken out her phone, and is browsing the internet for more information. "It says he won the 2016 election in December and became the Prime Minister, but almost immediately confessed to murders and turned himself in."
"Anything else noteworthy about him, or that trial?" I ask.
"Well... multiple news outlets are mentioning those Phantom Thieves we talked about earlier. Even highly credible news sites are claiming that the Phantom Thieves 'stole his heart,' which is what made him confess out of guilt."
"'Stole his heart?'" I repeat, encouraging more of an explanation.
"That's what they called it," Maya clarifies. "Like I said, the Phantom Thieves would allegedly force people to have changes of heart which would cause criminals to feel remorse for their actions."
"So... were they criminals too? Or more like Vigilantes?" I question.
"That's a good word for it, I think," Maya agrees, "They had just as many supporters as they did those opposed to their actions."
I feel like there's electricity running through my brain, almost as if I'm in full courtroom mode. I go back to thinking about the mysterious texts. "So... for this mysterious messenger to refer to this trial by name, almost two and a half years after the fact, while also speaking about personality change..."
With my mind moving a mile a minute, I consider another off the walls idea. "What if this Alibaba person who texted me is one of those Phantom Thieves?"

---Music: Logic ~ The Way to the Truth ---

I hold my chin and begin to deeply consider what I already know. "Call me crazy, but I feel like a lot of this is starting to come together."
"Let's lay this all out, before we start confusing ourselves," Maya suggests.
"Alright. Well, we're looking at three separate concepts here," I begin explaining, "The first of which is all of the events I've seen today leaving me wondering if personalities are being changed. The second is what we know about Japan v. Masayoshi Shido, and how his personality was changed by vigilantes. The third thing we're considering is that I was texted by someone intimately aware of both of the first two things I just mentioned. This is where my intuition is telling me to draw a connection."
Now that we're on the same page, she's able to jump into the brainstorming. Maya and I are so attuned to each other that she's already putting her head together with mine. "So... Japan v. Masayoshi Shido involved Shido, a criminal, having his personality changed. The Phantom Thieves were likely responsible for this. They'd be directly related and knowledgeable about the entire circumstances surrounding personality changes, which are what we are thinking is happening here in the present."
I nod my head. "Hmm... do you think this means, that these Phantom Thieves have come back after all of these years, and are changing personalities again?"
"See, that doesn't line up with the tone that Alibaba had while communicating with you," Maya rebukes, "They were cautious about Mizusawa, and were warning you to be careful around him. That doesn't sound like what someone would do if they were behind his actions."
She's right about that. "And the brief bit Alibaba sent me after the trial was essentially a congratulations for catching him."
Maya seems entranced in thought, and suddenly she snaps her fingers. "Oh! Ok, here's an idea: maybe, someone ELSE is changing personalities recently, and this Alibaba person is following their actions and trying to investigate," she theorizes, before holding her hand out towards me. "Hey, can I see your phone for a second? I just realized, we could have texted Alibaba from the start to ask them directly! DUH! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
Wow, that's... wow. Here we are with our heads smoking from over-thinking things when we could have just tried contacting the source of all of this. I hand her my phone and she goes right to my messages to pull up the conversation.

---(Music End)---

She spends a few moments typing out a message, and taps the screen to send it. She taps the screen again, and once more after that. "Uh... it's not sending."
"Let me see," I request, and she delivers my phone back to me. Sure enough, the message she typed out just gives an error when I try to send it. "That's really strange."
"It's like the number doesn't exist. Maybe Alibaba used a disposable phone, or a fake number or something," Maya suggests
"Whatever the case, making himself unable to be contacted in return is a fairy cautionary thing to do," I figure, "So now we know that Alibaba is being very careful, and is probably savvy with technology if he knows tricks like that."
Maya scratches her chin. "Well... so, we can't contact Alibaba, and there's no real way to investigate any further, huh?"
I continue looking at my phone screen. "There's still one lead left. Japan v. Masayoshi Shido... that's a route we can explore."
Maya is already on her own phone, looking up more information. "Well, the Shido guy is in custody right now. Visiting hours should still be going on. We might be able to go talk with him."
"I'm a little hesitant," I admit, "He is a murderer after all... who knows how a conversation with someone like that could go."
"Well, this can be a valuable experience," Maya begins to explain, "It depends on how he'll act when we speak with him. We can see first hand if his heart was really stolen, and his personality changed. In theory, even though he was a murderer, he should be pretty remorseful."
I'm seeing where she's coming from. "And if it is possible for that to happen, Shido may be the best person available to learn more about personality changes. Maybe he can clue us in on what happened a few years ago, and see if any of the events happening today are any similar."
Maya claps her hands decisively. "Well, sounds like we have our next move planned out. What do you say we get going?"

  April 10th, 4:13 pm
  Suramā Prison Facility, Visiting Area

I suppose no matter where you go, a detention center-styled place is always going to look pretty similar. This room is filled with the familiar sights of bulletproof glass separating us from a different room, cameras everywhere, and a dutiful guard watching their post. Though, this place seems a bit more high security than the detention centers I'm used to.
"I feel like it's kind of crazy they had to do a background check on us before seeing this guy..." Maya grumbles.
"It's a necessary precaution in this specific situation," the guard standing at the side of the room explains, "You two should be fine as you are foreigners, but a lot of Shido's former cohorts have tried to see him here, and we stopped taking any chances."
"Is he... really still that dangerous?" I ask.
"We can't be sure. He seems to be pacified, but there's no telling what could happen," the guard responds uneasily.
Maya and I look at each other. I think we're on the right track here, going to meet Shido like this.

  ---Music: Blood of Villain ---

On the other side of the glass, a door opens, and another guard leads a man in an orange prison uniform into the room. The man in the uniform is bald, he has indentations on the bridge of his nose from where glasses would have been worn, and his face is incredibly stern. Even his eyes look steely; he gives the impression of a no-nonsense type of guy. There's a chair facing the glass, which he pulls back to make room for himself to sit in it. He hunches his back forward in order to lean his elbows against his thighs, and clasps his hands together in front of his mouth. Even his posture seems confrontational, and a tad intimidating. However, it doesn't seem like he's staring us down, more like he's lost in thoughts miles away. He closes his eyes for a few moments and takes a deep breath.

---(Music End)---

"Hello," he greets, in a voice much less deep than his appearance lead me to expect. In fact, his tone of voice sounds rather... meek. "Who might you be?"

---Music: Cross-Examination ~ Moderato 2002 ---

"My name is Maya and this is Phoenix," my partner answers, "We're in the legal field."
"Lawyers, eh?" he infers, "And how can I be of help to you?" he asks. His voice sounds earnest and his disposition seems almost submissive. I can tell from his inflection that he is more than willing to cooperate.
"Well, Shido-san..." I begin, "We've come here because details of your actions in the past have become pertinent to us. We're currently looking into a matter which may be supernatural, and perhaps you could be able to explain to us just what happened in the last few years, before you were arrested."
"What all did you do two years ago?" Maya takes over, initiating a barrage of inquiries, "How does a person's personality get changed? Why did the Phantom Thieves steal your heart? Why-"
"How about one question at a time, Maya?" I calmly interject.
Shido closes his eyes and chuckles a bit. "She's certainly an excitable one. I take it you are talking about Cognitive Psience."
Just by playing off each other's context clues, we already seem to be on the same page. "I've never heard of that before. Could you explain a little bit about what that is, exactly?"
Shido meditates, deeply contemplating the question. "I have to ask... why exactly do you want to learn about this?"
He seems prepared to skirt our questions if I'm not clear in my intentions. "Well, Shido-san, we're concerned by the possibility of unnatural events that may be happening right now. If we're correct in our thinking, we have reason to believe events from your past may have some form of relation to what we're investigating."
He continues processing his thoughts in inner deliberation, and it's quite a pause before he answers. Though, it's not so much an answer as it is him talking to himself, it sounds like. "Hmm... I suppose it could be possible to do with Cognitive Psience..."
"What are you talking about, Shido-san?" Maya questions.
His response seems to be a brief respite from a trance. "You said something about personalities changing. I take it that's what you are concerned about. As far as that goes, someone's heart being changed isn't unprecedented, but I've never seen personalities being changed in any other way... but I think that it could be hypothetically possible if one were to use Cognitive Psience..."

---(Music End)---



His sudden shout catches me off guard. He snaps like a lightning bolt, jumping from his chair and slamming his hands against the window sill under the glass, leaning forward towards us and suddenly raising his voice to a shout. "What exactly is going on out there? Is there someone abusing cognition again?! Tell me everything!"

---Music: Restlessness ---

His alacrity is startling to say the least. Maya even scooted her chair back in reflex. "I'm not certain about anything right now, but on at least three separate occasions I've witnessed or heard about situations where otherwise trustworthy people have gone completely against their values, as if their personalities had been altered. It started with a bodyguard who murdered his own client, which I didn't think much about at first because it seemed like he had a reasonable motive. But an anonymous source contacted me, and if they are to be believed, the bodyguard could have very well not been in his own state of mind."
"And just a little while ago," Maya jumps in, "A vice president in some foreign country killed the president, it's all over the news!"
"What?? Who, and where?!" Shido begs for answers.
"Some place called Koridai," Maya elaborates, "And the vice president was one of the most loyal people there to the president. The world is completely shocked."
Shido's expression becomes blank, and he slowly sits back down, and recollects himself into his hunched, thinking posture once more.
"I know that it's crazy to link such a high profile event in a foreign country to such a small scale case as the bodyguard, but another event happened which got me thinking even more. A vote just passed on some kind of tariff laws because a politician voted completely opposite how he had promised to vote. And, get this... the other politician who was murdered by the bodyguard would have been a tie-breaking vote, as well."
I can tell Shido is listening carefully to every word I'm saying, so I press on. "So, that leads me to believe the bodyguard assassinating the politician had underlying political motives... so that's a potential direct connection between two events where someone's personality had hypothetically 'changed,'" I cautiously surmise.
"That's... even still a rather large jump, going from a regular congressional vote to a foreign presidential assassination," Shido points out.
"I'd normally agree, but I heard something interesting after the fact. Koridai was tangentially involved with the circumstances surrounding the vote that I just mentioned. They were highly opposed to the new laws going into effect, even."
"... and just like that, suddenly three separate instances of bizarre personality changes all become linked..." Shido follows.
"Does any of this sound familiar to what you've experienced?" Maya asks, without getting an answer for a few moments of uncomfortable silence on both sides of the glass.
Shido finally speaks up. "It's astounding for you to have thought so much into something so vague. But, I must admit... this sounds like what I had done in the past. Based on what you told me, I believe it's completely possible that someone could be abusing Cognitive Psience in pursuit of some secret goal."
I bow politely. "Shido-san, will you tell us everything you know about this Cognitive Psience?"
He turns his head to the side with hesitation. "You could be getting into something well over your head here... you understand that, right? Especially if there's a criminal out there with ambitions strong enough to assassinate a foreign leader like that."
Maya answers even before I do. "We get into all kinds of dangerous situations all the time! Heck, not too long ago, I was kidnapped and held hostage!" she claims. What a strange statement to make with a smile on her face...
I contribute a reply of my own. "I... really don't want to ignore it if there is someone out there killing people. It doesn't sit right with me."
He takes our request into consideration, surely mulling over whether or not to help us. He opens his eyes and stares sharply. "If there truly is another conspiracy going on involving the cognitive world... I feel it my duty to do what I can to prevent more tragedies, like the ones I caused."
"The... cognitive world?" I repeat, confused.
He holds his eyes closed once more for a deep breath, before standing up straight and looking at me with determined resolve. "I'll tell you everything I know."

---Music: Confess the Truth 2002 ---

"There was a woman who dedicated her life to studying the effects of human cognition on our reality, as well as the effects on a reality that we didn't know about. Her name was Wakaba Isshiki, and through her hard work and brilliant mind, a new world was discovered. The world of cognition... what we came to call the 'Metaverse.' She didn't have a name for it at the time, but she saw hope within this world. The ability to help heal deep trauma, mental scarring... an unprecedented breakthrough for psychology."
Now that he's standing, he begins slowly pacing back and forth between the walls at his sides. "In another life I may have been able to call her a friend. But no, I was too ambitious. Too driven. Too greedy for power. Back then... I let nothing stand in my way in my pursuit of more influence. And what I saw in this Metaverse was unlimited potential."
"What exactly is the Metaverse?" Maya asks.
"It was alternate reality within our own minds, shaped by the inner thoughts and subconscious of ourselves. For those with incredibly strong desires, the Metaverse was extremely malleable. When one's world views and cognitions were distorted enough, the reality of the Metaverse would change to reflect how that person saw the world. Eventually, we came to call those locations 'palaces.' For example, I've been told that when my views were still distorted, I didn't see the Diet Building as just a building anymore. I saw it as my own personal ship, staying afloat while the rest of Tokyo and Japan sank hopelessly. In the Metaverse, that became reality... the Phantom Thieves actually entered the Metaverse and infiltrated that cruise ship in order to confront my shadow and change my heart."
I'm trying my best to keep up, but I have plenty of questions. "Your shadow? What does that mean?"
"You can view them as a part of our true selves. A shadow is a manifestation of our subconscious which exists within the Metaverse. Whereas we humans choose to hide or ignore facets of ourselves that we don't like, a shadow will instead embrace them, and confidently at that. The whole concept is a Freudian mess, if you ask me... and the details aren't terribly important. What is important, however, is what I discovered: a shadow is intrinsically linked to the real person. To that end, if one could enter the cognitive world and kill a person's shadow... the real person can't withstand the trauma. Bleeding from the eyes and mouth while the pupils disappear and all mental function ceases, leading to effectively the death of that person... that's what we called a 'mental shutdown.' And it was a clean way to kill a target without leaving any tangible evidence. A perfect tool for assassinations."
"However," Shido continues, "The Phantom Thieves of Hearts somehow came to possess the ability to enter the Metaverse as well, and they discovered a different element of cognition: that shadows can be reasoned with, and that twisted desires can be stolen. I don't know how they managed it, but they gained the ability to steal away the evil from within corrupted individuals, leading that person to have a change of heart. That heavy guilt and desire to repent are the closest things I've seen to what you've said about personality changes. I've never seen or heard of a way within the Metaverse to change a personality in any other way that that. It's what they eventually did to me."
Maya comes in at a new angle. "Do you know anything about the Phantom Thieves? Surely they know about how to access the Metaverse."
"They've long since disbanded. I only ever personally saw one of them... and he told me the Metaverse doesn't even exist anymore. I'm not sure how or why, and perhaps he was lying to me just in case I still had evil left in me. I robbed that young man, and so many others, of so much..."

---Music: Regret ---

"From the very beginning I was a monster... I killed Wakaba Isshiki. I stole her research and used it against her to cause her mind to shut down. To cover it up, I forged a suicide note and blamed the incident on Wakaba's daughter. My stomach is in knots thinking of how much pain I caused that poor girl."
Shido's eyes are becoming more and more red, and I can see moisture building up in them. "I never once stopped. Death after death, I continued destroying anyone who stood in the way of my ambitions. I let other influential individuals, who I carefully selected, know about the Metaverse. I used the Metaverse to both bribe and blackmail, and to murder indiscriminately. I stopped at nothing until gaining the most powerful seat in the nation, as the Prime Minister. For that foolish goal, I killed again and again... and I betrayed those who helped to get me there."
  From the corner of my eyes I can see Maya with a serious look on her face. "Mr. Shido... please, tell us more about this Metaverse. I want to do whatever I can to help, but we don't know anything about this 'cognitive science' stuff, or even have a clue how someone could be using the Metaverse."
"I... don't know. The means I had to interact with the Metaverse was from another person. It was only through the actions of my son that I had any influence within the cognitive world. And now he's gone... I think I may have killed him too... I--I...I...
Shido raises his head up to the sky and yells as if in immense pain, causing both Maya and me to shiver in our seats. By the time he finishes, even the guards are concerned, and Shido is outright sobbing.
"Thank God above that those Phantom Thieves put an end to that despicable man I once was! I could live a thousand lifetimes of penance and it wouldn't be enough to atone for what I've done!"
He rubs his wrists against his eyes aggressively, struggling to keep up with the tears as more of them pour. "I'm scared... terrified thinking that someone else out there could be making the same mistakes I did. Committing the same evils I did..."
Shido drops down to his knees, bowing at us with such genuine force that his fists and his forehead grind against the ground. "Maya-san, Phoenix-san... I beg you. If there is anything you can do to put a stop to the abuse of Cognitive Psience..."
"Shido-san," I speak gravely, "I promise you that I'll do everything within my power to find out the truth about what's going on. But we need your help in learning more about this Cognitive Psience."
  Shido has to overcome a fit of coughing and choking over his sobs before he can respond. "I think... you'd get the best results by going through Wakaba's research. Perhaps there's something in her research that I overlooked."
"Where is that research now...?" I question.
"I'm sure by now it's all scattered around throughout the network of associates I had built up. They probably fought like dogs over the scraps I had left behind. I can only pray that they all got their just deserts. I've implicated and testified against as many of them as I could..."
I suppose it wouldn't be that easy anyway. "Do you have any idea where even part of that research may have ended up?"
In one clean sweep, he wipes the tears from his face with a slide from his forearm. "The physical research papers are probably long gone by now. But I... had a bit of a contingency, in case this were to happen. I had all of the documents backed up onto a hard drive, which I entrusted to my son, Goro Akechi. I didn't trust him at the time, but I saw no harm in leaving a copy with him, especially since he was the only other one to already know the details of the Metaverse, and doing so in turn helped him to trust me. I... don't know his fate. But I would assume the data is still somewhere in his home."
Shido sighs. "I don't recall anything within that research specifically explaining a way to alter personality, however."
By now, Shido has raised himself from the ground enough to be in a kneeling position. "I do have one clue left, that may help you in some way. There was an item somehow connected to the research, but even I never made sense of how. It was a pearl, one that Isshiki-san kept in a ring box. I discretely donated it to a reputable museum to be held safely, just in case it ever became relevant. It should still be on display there now."
Maya's eyebrow is raised pretty high right now. "A pearl? What in the world could that have to do with any of this?"
"I never understood the mystery behind it, if it had been some sort of clue or piece of a puzzle," Shido admits, "I'll give you the addresses of the apartment and the museum."
"Well... solving mysteries is our specialty!" Maya reassures him.
I stand and bow politely. "Thank you for all of your help, Shido-san. We'll make good use of what you've told us."
"I pray for you success. And, please... stay safe. If you or anyone else were to be hurt because of me and the legacy I've left behind... I... I..."
"C'mon, Nick. Let's get going, before it gets too late," Maya tells me.
The door closes behind us, and we begin walking as a guard leads us out of the facility. As the two of us walk through the hallway, we're left with the lingering echo of Masayoshi Shido's quiet sobs.
"So, what are you thinking, Nick?" Maya asks me with a nudge.
"Well... if Masayoshi Shido was truly an evil man who had his heart and personality changed, then the proof was right in front of us. And with everything he just told us... I believe that I was right to feel suspicious of the events happening right now."
"I guess we'll have to keep our eyes and ears on the news to see if any more strange happenings take place. Until then, let's learn everything we can about the Metaverse!"
"I'm with you on that one," I agree, "Let's go check out that hard drive and see if we can get that research."

---(Music End)---

April 10th, 6:30 pm
Goro Akechi's Apartment

---Music: Investigation ~ Core 2002 ---

As Maya and I stand outside of the front door of Goro Akechi's apartment, we are aided by Detective Ritsu, who we contacted a short while ago.
Maya bows to the detective. "Thank you again for getting the search warrant for us!"
He nods his head and tips his hat. "You were right to come to the police with your suspicions. I'm not sure I believe you quite yet, but..." he begins, before picking up excitement in his voice, "Ooooo, I can't help but feel enthusiastic about a good mystery. Plus, I get to see the home of Goro Akechi, the ace detective..."
He takes a deep breath. "Still, I have to insist we stay professional about this. I'm strictly only letting you in here because the drive Masayoshi Shido told you about may aid police in convicting Kaz Mizusawa. If your personality alteration theory holds water, that is."
I nod my head. I did indeed come to Detective Ritsu under the pretense of further investigating Mizusawa's actions. When the time comes, I plan to inform him of my thoughts on the other events happening recently. But, until I can find a way to prove that personality changes are happening on a multi-national scale, I plan to stay quiet on that, lest I sound absolutely crazy.
Ritsu unlocks the door and enters the apartment. Though the sun is setting, it's still bright enough outside for the windows to illuminate the room, so we don't need to flip on any lights. The interior is fairy studious. It reminds me of Edgeworth's office, almost. There's a tall bookshelf filled to the brim taking up an entire wall's space, even. However, the rest is modest. There seems to be bedroom in the back, a bathroom to the side, and not much else. It's rather dusty, too. Seems like no one has been in here for a long time.
"I doubt someone as smart as Akechi-kun would have left something as important as those research documents out in the open. He probably has the drive hidden somewhere clever," Ritsu points out.
"Looks like this is going to take some effort," Maya jokes.
The three of us spread out and begin looking in different rooms, with myself going to the bedroom. I open and close the drawers of a dresser in sequence, finding nothing unusual. There's nothing underneath the bed, either.
  I shuffle through a few more things without much success, and eventually make my way to the closet. I pull a cord to turn on the light inside the small closet, and look around a bit. Just clothes, seemingly. I turn my head upwards, and what do you know, there's a key hanging from a hook above the door frame. Pretty sneaky hiding spot. This key could be important, so I hold on to it.
As I return to the main room, I see that Ritsu has gathered Maya and they are standing around the dining table in the main room, and he has planted a briefcase on the center. It's a dull silver color, and has a large "A." on it. "Check this out," Ritsu draws to our attention, "I found this by the wall over there. This is the briefcase he used to carry around all the time. This has gotta be where he'd keep something important. But, it's locked unfortunately."
I present the key I found to the detective. "Think this might help?"
"Good find, Mr. Wright!" Ritsu compliments me, "Let's try it out."
He slides the key in and turns it, and the briefcase opens up. Inside, all we find are school books and other papers.
"This looks like a dud," Maya groans.
"What about this sticky note?" I draw attention to.
Inside the case is a slip of paper with a foreign phrase written on it. "What does it say, Nick?"
I read the words on the paper, probably completely butchering the pronunciations. I think this is French, and I for sure don't speak French. "Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l’admire,” is all it reads.
"Oh!" Ritsu explains with positivity, "I know this quote! It's from a Sherlock Holmes book!"
We both look at him with surprise. "What? I like detective novels..."
"What does the quote mean?" Maya prods.
"Something along the lines of 'a fool always finds a bigger fool to admire him,' if I recall. It's from the book 'A Study in Scarlet.'"
"Everything else in the briefcase was neatly organized, which makes this random note stand out. Perhaps this is a clue of some sort?" I deduce.
We put our heads together to think of what that means. Hopefully it isn't just some random memo to study for an exam or something. "Hey, I think I saw a book with that title on the shelf over there," Maya speaks up with excitement.
The three of us walk over to the shelf and scan it again to locate the book in question. "Found it!" Maya announces, pulling the famous mystery novel from the shelf. Behind it, it seems like there's a safe embedded into the wall.
  "Looks like we found something big!" Ritsu exclaims.
"What's the combination to open it, though..." I wonder.
"It... looks like it doesn't have a keypad for a combination," Ritsu notices, "It has a slot for some sort of key card, instead."
"Oh! So THAT'S what this was!" Maya shouts excitedly. She reveals a novelty bookmark with a design displaying the main antagonist of the first Avengers movie. "He was using this to hold a page in one of the school books in his briefcase, and I noticed it has one of those black credit card-like lines on it. I bet it'll fit!"
Sure enough, the bookmark slides into the slot perfectly, and the safe opens with a click. Between having a Loki bookmark and a briefcase with a giant A on it, I can't help but wonder if this Akechi guy is just a big Marvel fan. "Nice work, Miss Maya!" Ritsu praises.
We open the safe door all the way, and inside it we find a hard drive, as well as a picture of a young woman with a small boy standing next to her.
"Looks like we found what we came for, good job everyone," I congratulate.
"Let's get this back to the station. We can hook it up to my desktop there and start reading through this stuff," the detective suggests.

What a day this has been. A murder trial, a potential conspiracy, a former criminal changed completely, and mystery after mystery. For now, all we can do is get to the bottom of this research left behind by Miss Wakaba Isshiki. With any luck, we'll be able to glean some useful information from it, and be off to a good start on our quest to find out just what the heck is going on right now.

  CHAPTER ONE END.

  ---(Music End)---

  ---Music: Jingle ~ That's All For Today ---

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  April 10th, 3:20 pm
Big Bang Burger, Shibuya

---Music: Maya Fey ~ Turnabout Sisters Theme 2002 ---

"Look, Nick! I'm the Captain now!" Maya declares proudly, puffing out her chest to display the fancy badge she just won for completing the Big Bang Challenge. How she ate that massive burger, I'll never know...
"That was honestly one of the more impressive things I've seen in my life, I'll admit," I smile at her endearing antics.
Carefully holding both sides of the rocket-shaped badge with the edges of her fingertips, she adjusts the angle back and forth, probably enamored by the way the light in the room reflects off of it. "I think I'll give this to Pearly when we get back home, she loves shiny things."
Though I'm not one for fast food, I will admit that Big Bang Burger has really good slushies, which I finish the last of as I try to fight off a brain freeze. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun, Maya," I voice.
"Yeah!" she agrees with pep, "Though I'm surprised at how quickly this trip changed from business to leisure."
"Haha. It is a vacation, we should enjoy it!" I encourage.
"Still," she changes subject, "I can't believe nobody at the Meiji Shrine had even heard of spirit channeling. There goes one of the main places I was expecting to find some results!"
"And none of the libraries had anything on the Kurain channeling technique... color me surprised," I add, "And we went to two absolutely gigantic ones."
"Not to mention Jinbocho! You'd think with an entire section of town dedicated to book stores, we'd find SOMETHING left behind by the Fey clan," Maya sighs.
"I guess Ami Fey kept to secrecy more than we thought," I reason.
Maya leans her cheek into her palm. "I had expected her to have left some kind of legacy in Japan, but so far nothing at all has turned up."
"Yeah... weird," I agree, "Have you ever considered cutting out the middle man and going directly to Khura'in?"
"I've thought about it... but nobody seems to really know much about that country. They seem pretty isolated from it all," she explains. "Plus, that seems like a big jump. Going from one little colony in the United States all the way back to the source. I feel like I'd lose a lot of the details and enrichment of the journey."
I shrug. I'm nowhere near as qualified to make judgment calls on this sort of thing. "Well. I suppose we can take a break from our search and find other things to do. I bet there are plenty of places to go for tourists like us."
"There's apparently a super fancy buffet at the Wilton Hotel nearby!" Maya spouts with enthusiastic energy.
"Maya, we just ate," I point out.
"I know. I'm just suggesting we make a note, for later," she smiles with content.
"How about that seaside park? Odaiba?" I suggest, "The big bridge there reminds me of London, maybe going there will bring back some neat memories."
"Well, while we're deciding where to go, why don't we walk around down town for a bit?" she compromises.
"Sounds good to me."

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 3:28 pm
Shibuya Central Street

---Music: Investigation ~ Opening 2007 ---

This area is certainly bustling, and I can see why. Practically any kind of store or entertainment can be found just around the corner. A big movie theater, an arcade, plenty of restaurants and convenience stores... you name it.
"I can't believe they even have a maid cafe," Maya giggles, "We should have stopped in there."
"I think you and I both have had enough of maid cafes for the rest of this year, no offense," I jest.
Maya tugs at my sleeve to get my attention as she points. "Hey, a book store! Why don't we go in there to look?"
I shrug. "Sure, that's fine."
We enter the small shop, and Maya immediately starts scanning all of the books on the walls one by one. By this point, I don't even know what we are expecting to find, to be honest. I severely doubt that Ami Fey left a memoir laying around, and spirit channeling doesn't seem to be something that anyone around here is even aware of.
There's a TV in the corner of the room, playing the news. I listen in without necessarily meaning to, because the content being discussed catches my ears.

---(Music End)---

It looks like it's one of those round table events with several newscasters all holding an open discussion. "And, despite the sudden death of Vi Aipi-san, the vote was still held."
Oh, they are talking about Vi Aipi. Now they broadcast has definitely gotten my attention.
"That would normally be rather strange, but it isn't surprising with the rate the motion has been moving at. Many politicians hold incredibly determined stances on the issue."
"Which makes it even more strange that the deciding vote was from Suingu Tsuzuru, who had been extremely vocal about rejecting the bill."
"That's right, isn't it. The tariff increase goes against everything on Tsuzuru-san's election platform. He was extremely opposed to increasing the taxation on foreign imports, claiming it to be counter productive to foreign relationships. That he voted opposite to his stance is basically career suicide. He essentially betrayed the voters who elected him."
Something about their discussion stands out to me. I think back to the trial from earlier this morning. This Alibaba person claims that Kaz Mizusawa was acting differently than he usually would. He (or she?) suggested that Kaz wasn't in the right state of mind, and even said something along the lines of his personality changing. Maybe because the event is fresh on my mind, hearing about a politician voting opposite of how they would have sounds very similar.
Ultimately, the thoughts pass. I still continue listening to the TV as Maya continues her search.
"You raise a good point. But whether or not his career fails seems irrelevant, now that the vote has passed. The repercussions will continue for years to come."
"If I'm understanding correctly, now that the movement has passed, the taxation will indeed increase. What exactly is the benefit to this decision?"
"Proponents of the new tariff laws claim that Japan as a whole has become a weak force in the global market. By strengthening domestic industry, many politicians are speculating that the economy will benefit, eventually strengthening our country."
"It's a peculiar thing, the vote was very close. It feels like the stars aligned for this to go into effect. The new laws would have been rejected had Tsuzuru-san voted against it like he had been very vocal about doing. Even with his surprise turn of face, the vote would have been a tie if Vi Aipi had been present, as he had advocated a rejection of the new tariffs as well."
"The death of a representative, along with a shocking change of heart of one of the voters... to call this turn of events unexpected would be an understatement. The representative who introduced the bill, Kigeki Yokubō, had this to say in response:"
Another clip plays, changing to a man in a white suit inside of some sort of congress type building. He has white hair that seems rather crazy, with wavy, curved spikes jetting out which make him look like the mad scientist type of cartoon character. He holds papers in his hand, presumably what he is reading his notes from as he addresses the other politicians in the room. The footage begins in the middle of a speech that has already started.
"... And though I recognize that complete agreement was not reached, I am still proud to be a part of this motion, which I believe will ultimately be for the benefit of us all. With this as a first step, I plan to continue working towards a more competitive, more self-sufficient state. I urge all of my peers to move into the future with an open mind as we see to it that these new policies come into being."
Back to the news room. "These are days of change indeed. We'll just have to wait and see just how the state of Japan will adapt in the near future."
"Nick!" Maya shouts, snapping me out of my trance, "I couldn't find anything on spirit channeling or spirit mediums. Let's just keep going."
That was... strange. I find myself having my attention more and more taken by the foreign politics going on right now. I suppose getting wrapped up in a murder trial of a politician right off the bat hasn't really helped on that front.
Though I'm feeling vaguely unsettled, I lay the thoughts to rest without letting them impede our vacation. "Where to now?" I ask Maya.
She shrugs with a smile dispelling any care in the world. "Well, did we finally decide on a place to go next? Let's just get to walking towards the Subways and we'll probably decide by the time we get there."

  April 10th, 3:40 pm
Shibuya Station Square

Even having lived in a huge city most of my life, the size and scale of Tokyo are still incredibly impressive. Being in a huge town square really showcases just how many hundreds of thousands are going about their business in the busy streets between all of the colossal buildings. It's strange to think that the events of the murder trial we had just been through went right through this area on the route we are traveling now.
Without warning, a booming voice loud enough for the entire square to hear blasts from the largest buildings in the vicinity, each of which have gigantic television screens.

---Music: Borderline of Madness ---

"Breaking News!" a reporter shouts, "We bring you news of a terrible development directly from the neighboring nation of Koridai. At approximately 11:00 am JST, Vice President Tyson Rant gunned down three of the most powerful officials of the Koridainian government, including President Richard Tator. The entire state is in chaos."
The square rumbles with the chatters and gossip of everyone who had heard the announcement, and we all watch intently as more details will be revealed.
  "Rant was immediately subdued by military police as soon as the murder happened, and he did not survive the gun wounds inflicted on him during his capture. This leaves Koridai without either leader. Vice President Rant has consistently proven himself to be one of the most loyal patriots in the country's history, so assassinating the President is an alarming and frankly horrifying turn of events."
  This is seriously uncanny. How many times in one day am I going to experience or hear about situations where someone acts completely different to commit a controversial--or even heinous--action?

---Music: Tension ---

I hear a group of people talking nearby. They are dressed sharply in suits, and look to be of older age. "Do you think this has to do with the tariff vote?" one of them asks.
"God... that traitor Suingu, We would have rejected the new laws had he not turned face."
They seem to be politicians themselves. "Doesn't this assassination come at a suspicious time?" another one of them poses.
"It's seriously absurd for this to happen so close to the tariff vote."
"Excuse me," I say, trying to politely enter the conversation, "But what does that event have to do with this assassination?"
One of them answers me quite swiftly. "Koridai was really opposed to the matter. Their president was vocally speaking out about how much a tariff will stress trade relationships. Called it a breech of good faith even."
"And now that their president is gone, they are without leadership on top of the new trade struggles with Japan. Things are about to get really bad over there."
"With things how they are, I've even heard some Japanese military officials advocating going in to intervene."
"Now that's a shocking idea..."
"You doing ok, Nick? You look troubled," Maya notices, pulling my attention away from the politicians. They seem to be walking away anyway.
I haven't showed anyone the phone alerts from Alibaba, and Maya wasn't watching the news story in the bookstore earlier. I suppose she hasn't gotten enough information to draw the same connections I have. I take a moment to explain my thoughts. "Maya, during the trial today, I got mysterious text messages from someone who claimed that Kaz Mizusawa was not in the right state of mind, and even suggested that his personality had been altered. He or she claimed that's why Kaz murdered his own client."
She listens carefully and I continue speaking. "And while you were in the bookstore, I was watching a news report. Apparently, a controversial vote just passed specifically because one of the representatives voted completely opposite of how he had promised to vote. And it's the very same vote that they just mentioned in that report, related to Koridai."
She seems to get the idea, and jumps in on my reasoning. "And now they are talking on the news about a ridiculously unexpected assassination... are you thinking all of this is related?"
"Well... I'm not sure. It's a HUGE stretch, but... bizarre, contradictory actions seem to be a recurring event today. And the thing that person said about personalities changing just stands out to me..."
"Do you think this has to do with those 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' that everyone was buzzing about a while back?" she suggests.
I kinda recall what she is talking about, but at the time I just thought that was the title of some new show from Global Studios or something. I never looked into the matter.
Maya must have noticed that she's lost me. "It was this shadow group of people who used some kind of super powers or something to change people's hearts," she explains with her head cocked to the side in thought, but something causes her to lose her zeal. "Though, I think they ended up catching the guy who lead the group. So they probably aren't relevant anymore."
"Still," I continue, at this point thinking aloud and talking to myself just as much as Maya, "With the amount of supernatural stuff I've seen in my life..."
"I wonder if those mysterious texts you got can even be trusted, though..." Maya asks, bringing the credibility of the entire scenario into question.
"That's a good point. I have no reason to believe them at face value," I reply, by now looking at my phone and skimming back over the log of messages from earlier.
"Yeah. All of these events could just be coincidental. You'd really be jumping the gun to assume a relationship between three completely separate events. Heck, this news announcement isn't even from the same country."
"Yeah... that would be kinda crazy for something to be happening on a global scale."

---(Music End)---

She nods her head. "For real. Plus, you're connecting assassination with random texts from a stranger. Maybe before assuming there's some kind of supernatural illuminati, we should confirm whether you were just getting pranked or not," she points out.
I guess I really have been hopping to a lot of absurd conclusions, and the egg on my face proves it. "Well, there was part of the messages that was very specific," I mention, showing Maya my phone screen and pointing at the messages I'm referring to.

???: To do that, I need you to mention a specific trial from two years ago to prove with precedence that changing of personality can affect a situation.
???: "Japan v. Masayoshi Shido."

"I've heard of Shido. He was on the news when we were riding the train the other day," Maya recalls with surprising clarity.
I think back to the report that was playing while we were on the train. "Masayoshi Shido... a politician who was the head of some conspiracy and the center of a huge scandal, if I recall."
Maya has already taken out her phone, and is browsing the internet for more information. "It says he won the 2016 election in December and became the Prime Minister, but almost immediately confessed to murders and turned himself in."
"Anything else noteworthy about him, or that trial?" I ask.
"Well... multiple news outlets are mentioning those Phantom Thieves we talked about earlier. Even highly credible news sites are claiming that the Phantom Thieves 'stole his heart,' which is what made him confess out of guilt."
"'Stole his heart?'" I repeat, encouraging more of an explanation.
"That's what they called it," Maya clarifies. "Like I said, the Phantom Thieves would allegedly force people to have changes of heart which would cause criminals to feel remorse for their actions."
"So... were they criminals too? Or more like Vigilantes?" I question.
"That's a good word for it, I think," Maya agrees, "They had just as many supporters as they did those opposed to their actions."
I feel like there's electricity running through my brain, almost as if I'm in full courtroom mode. I go back to thinking about the mysterious texts. "So... for this mysterious messenger to refer to this trial by name, almost two and a half years after the fact, while also speaking about personality change..."
With my mind moving a mile a minute, I consider another off the walls idea. "What if this Alibaba person who texted me is one of those Phantom Thieves?"

---Music: Logic ~ The Way to the Truth ---

I hold my chin and begin to deeply consider what I already know. "Call me crazy, but I feel like a lot of this is starting to come together."
"Let's lay this all out, before we start confusing ourselves," Maya suggests.
"Alright. Well, we're looking at three separate concepts here," I begin explaining, "The first of which is all of the events I've seen today leaving me wondering if personalities are being changed. The second is what we know about Japan v. Masayoshi Shido, and how his personality was changed by vigilantes. The third thing we're considering is that I was texted by someone intimately aware of both of the first two things I just mentioned. This is where my intuition is telling me to draw a connection."
Now that we're on the same page, she's able to jump into the brainstorming. Maya and I are so attuned to each other that she's already putting her head together with mine. "So... Japan v. Masayoshi Shido involved Shido, a criminal, having his personality changed. The Phantom Thieves were likely responsible for this. They'd be directly related and knowledgeable about the entire circumstances surrounding personality changes, which are what we are thinking is happening here in the present."
I nod my head. "Hmm... do you think this means, that these Phantom Thieves have come back after all of these years, and are changing personalities again?"
"See, that doesn't line up with the tone that Alibaba had while communicating with you," Maya rebukes, "They were cautious about Mizusawa, and were warning you to be careful around him. That doesn't sound like what someone would do if they were behind his actions."
She's right about that. "And the brief bit Alibaba sent me after the trial was essentially a congratulations for catching him."
Maya seems entranced in thought, and suddenly she snaps her fingers. "Oh! Ok, here's an idea: maybe, someone ELSE is changing personalities recently, and this Alibaba person is following their actions and trying to investigate," she theorizes, before holding her hand out towards me. "Hey, can I see your phone for a second? I just realized, we could have texted Alibaba from the start to ask them directly! DUH! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
Wow, that's... wow. Here we are with our heads smoking from over-thinking things when we could have just tried contacting the source of all of this. I hand her my phone and she goes right to my messages to pull up the conversation.

---(Music End)---

She spends a few moments typing out a message, and taps the screen to send it. She taps the screen again, and once more after that. "Uh... it's not sending."
"Let me see," I request, and she delivers my phone back to me. Sure enough, the message she typed out just gives an error when I try to send it. "That's really strange."
"It's like the number doesn't exist. Maybe Alibaba used a disposable phone, or a fake number or something," Maya suggests
"Whatever the case, making himself unable to be contacted in return is a fairy cautionary thing to do," I figure, "So now we know that Alibaba is being very careful, and is probably savvy with technology if he knows tricks like that."
Maya scratches her chin. "Well... so, we can't contact Alibaba, and there's no real way to investigate any further, huh?"
I continue looking at my phone screen. "There's still one lead left. Japan v. Masayoshi Shido... that's a route we can explore."
Maya is already on her own phone, looking up more information. "Well, the Shido guy is in custody right now. Visiting hours should still be going on. We might be able to go talk with him."
"I'm a little hesitant," I admit, "He is a murderer after all... who knows how a conversation with someone like that could go."
"Well, this can be a valuable experience," Maya begins to explain, "It depends on how he'll act when we speak with him. We can see first hand if his heart was really stolen, and his personality changed. In theory, even though he was a murderer, he should be pretty remorseful."
I'm seeing where she's coming from. "And if it is possible for that to happen, Shido may be the best person available to learn more about personality changes. Maybe he can clue us in on what happened a few years ago, and see if any of the events happening today are any similar."
Maya claps her hands decisively. "Well, sounds like we have our next move planned out. What do you say we get going?"

  April 10th, 4:13 pm
  Suramā Prison Facility, Visiting Area

I suppose no matter where you go, a detention center-styled place is always going to look pretty similar. This room is filled with the familiar sights of bulletproof glass separating us from a different room, cameras everywhere, and a dutiful guard watching their post. Though, this place seems a bit more high security than the detention centers I'm used to.
"I feel like it's kind of crazy they had to do a background check on us before seeing this guy..." Maya grumbles.
"It's a necessary precaution in this specific situation," the guard standing at the side of the room explains, "You two should be fine as you are foreigners, but a lot of Shido's former cohorts have tried to see him here, and we stopped taking any chances."
"Is he... really still that dangerous?" I ask.
"We can't be sure. He seems to be pacified, but there's no telling what could happen," the guard responds uneasily.
Maya and I look at each other. I think we're on the right track here, going to meet Shido like this.

  ---Music: Blood of Villain ---

On the other side of the glass, a door opens, and another guard leads a man in an orange prison uniform into the room. The man in the uniform is bald, he has indentations on the bridge of his nose from where glasses would have been worn, and his face is incredibly stern. Even his eyes look steely; he gives the impression of a no-nonsense type of guy. There's a chair facing the glass, which he pulls back to make room for himself to sit in it. He hunches his back forward in order to lean his elbows against his thighs, and clasps his hands together in front of his mouth. Even his posture seems confrontational, and a tad intimidating. However, it doesn't seem like he's staring us down, more like he's lost in thoughts miles away. He closes his eyes for a few moments and takes a deep breath.

---(Music End)---

"Hello," he greets, in a voice much less deep than his appearance lead me to expect. In fact, his tone of voice sounds rather... meek. "Who might you be?"

---Music: Cross-Examination ~ Moderato 2002 ---

"My name is Maya and this is Phoenix," my partner answers, "We're in the legal field."
"Lawyers, eh?" he infers, "And how can I be of help to you?" he asks. His voice sounds earnest and his disposition seems almost submissive. I can tell from his inflection that he is more than willing to cooperate.
"Well, Shido-san..." I begin, "We've come here because details of your actions in the past have become pertinent to us. We're currently looking into a matter which may be supernatural, and perhaps you could be able to explain to us just what happened in the last few years, before you were arrested."
"What all did you do two years ago?" Maya takes over, initiating a barrage of inquiries, "How does a person's personality get changed? Why did the Phantom Thieves steal your heart? Why-"
"How about one question at a time, Maya?" I calmly interject.
Shido closes his eyes and chuckles a bit. "She's certainly an excitable one. I take it you are talking about Cognitive Psience."
Just by playing off each other's context clues, we already seem to be on the same page. "I've never heard of that before. Could you explain a little bit about what that is, exactly?"
Shido meditates, deeply contemplating the question. "I have to ask... why exactly do you want to learn about this?"
He seems prepared to skirt our questions if I'm not clear in my intentions. "Well, Shido-san, we're concerned by the possibility of unnatural events that may be happening right now. If we're correct in our thinking, we have reason to believe events from your past may have some form of relation to what we're investigating."
He continues processing his thoughts in inner deliberation, and it's quite a pause before he answers. Though, it's not so much an answer as it is him talking to himself, it sounds like. "Hmm... I suppose it could be possible to do with Cognitive Psience..."
"What are you talking about, Shido-san?" Maya questions.
His response seems to be a brief respite from a trance. "You said something about personalities changing. I take it that's what you are concerned about. As far as that goes, someone's heart being changed isn't unprecedented, but I've never seen personalities being changed in any other way... but I think that it could be hypothetically possible if one were to use Cognitive Psience..."

---(Music End)---



His sudden shout catches me off guard. He snaps like a lightning bolt, jumping from his chair and slamming his hands against the window sill under the glass, leaning forward towards us and suddenly raising his voice to a shout. "What exactly is going on out there? Is there someone abusing cognition again?! Tell me everything!"

---Music: Restlessness ---

His alacrity is startling to say the least. Maya even scooted her chair back in reflex. "I'm not certain about anything right now, but on at least three separate occasions I've witnessed or heard about situations where otherwise trustworthy people have gone completely against their values, as if their personalities had been altered. It started with a bodyguard who murdered his own client, which I didn't think much about at first because it seemed like he had a reasonable motive. But an anonymous source contacted me, and if they are to be believed, the bodyguard could have very well not been in his own state of mind."
"And just a little while ago," Maya jumps in, "A vice president in some foreign country killed the president, it's all over the news!"
"What?? Who, and where?!" Shido begs for answers.
"Some place called Koridai," Maya elaborates, "And the vice president was one of the most loyal people there to the president. The world is completely shocked."
Shido's expression becomes blank, and he slowly sits back down, and recollects himself into his hunched, thinking posture once more.
"I know that it's crazy to link such a high profile event in a foreign country to such a small scale case as the bodyguard, but another event happened which got me thinking even more. A vote just passed on some kind of tariff laws because a politician voted completely opposite how he had promised to vote. And, get this... the other politician who was murdered by the bodyguard would have been a tie-breaking vote, as well."
I can tell Shido is listening carefully to every word I'm saying, so I press on. "So, that leads me to believe the bodyguard assassinating the politician had underlying political motives... so that's a potential direct connection between two events where someone's personality had hypothetically 'changed,'" I cautiously surmise.
"That's... even still a rather large jump, going from a regular congressional vote to a foreign presidential assassination," Shido points out.
"I'd normally agree, but I heard something interesting after the fact. Koridai was tangentially involved with the circumstances surrounding the vote that I just mentioned. They were highly opposed to the new laws going into effect, even."
"... and just like that, suddenly three separate instances of bizarre personality changes all become linked..." Shido follows.
"Does any of this sound familiar to what you've experienced?" Maya asks, without getting an answer for a few moments of uncomfortable silence on both sides of the glass.
Shido finally speaks up. "It's astounding for you to have thought so much into something so vague. But, I must admit... this sounds like what I had done in the past. Based on what you told me, I believe it's completely possible that someone could be abusing Cognitive Psience in pursuit of some secret goal."
I bow politely. "Shido-san, will you tell us everything you know about this Cognitive Psience?"
He turns his head to the side with hesitation. "You could be getting into something well over your head here... you understand that, right? Especially if there's a criminal out there with ambitions strong enough to assassinate a foreign leader like that."
Maya answers even before I do. "We get into all kinds of dangerous situations all the time! Heck, not too long ago, I was kidnapped and held hostage!" she claims. What a strange statement to make with a smile on her face...
I contribute a reply of my own. "I... really don't want to ignore it if there is someone out there killing people. It doesn't sit right with me."
He takes our request into consideration, surely mulling over whether or not to help us. He opens his eyes and stares sharply. "If there truly is another conspiracy going on involving the cognitive world... I feel it my duty to do what I can to prevent more tragedies, like the ones I caused."
"The... cognitive world?" I repeat, confused.
He holds his eyes closed once more for a deep breath, before standing up straight and looking at me with determined resolve. "I'll tell you everything I know."

---Music: Confess the Truth 2002 ---

"There was a woman who dedicated her life to studying the effects of human cognition on our reality, as well as the effects on a reality that we didn't know about. Her name was Wakaba Isshiki, and through her hard work and brilliant mind, a new world was discovered. The world of cognition... what we came to call the 'Metaverse.' She didn't have a name for it at the time, but she saw hope within this world. The ability to help heal deep trauma, mental scarring... an unprecedented breakthrough for psychology."
Now that he's standing, he begins slowly pacing back and forth between the walls at his sides. "In another life I may have been able to call her a friend. But no, I was too ambitious. Too driven. Too greedy for power. Back then... I let nothing stand in my way in my pursuit of more influence. And what I saw in this Metaverse was unlimited potential."
"What exactly is the Metaverse?" Maya asks.
"It was alternate reality within our own minds, shaped by the inner thoughts and subconscious of ourselves. For those with incredibly strong desires, the Metaverse was extremely malleable. When one's world views and cognitions were distorted enough, the reality of the Metaverse would change to reflect how that person saw the world. Eventually, we came to call those locations 'palaces.' For example, I've been told that when my views were still distorted, I didn't see the Diet Building as just a building anymore. I saw it as my own personal ship, staying afloat while the rest of Tokyo and Japan sank hopelessly. In the Metaverse, that became reality... the Phantom Thieves actually entered the Metaverse and infiltrated that cruise ship in order to confront my shadow and change my heart."
I'm trying my best to keep up, but I have plenty of questions. "Your shadow? What does that mean?"
"You can view them as a part of our true selves. A shadow is a manifestation of our subconscious which exists within the Metaverse. Whereas we humans choose to hide or ignore facets of ourselves that we don't like, a shadow will instead embrace them, and confidently at that. The whole concept is a Freudian mess, if you ask me... and the details aren't terribly important. What is important, however, is what I discovered: a shadow is intrinsically linked to the real person. To that end, if one could enter the cognitive world and kill a person's shadow... the real person can't withstand the trauma. Bleeding from the eyes and mouth while the pupils disappear and all mental function ceases, leading to effectively the death of that person... that's what we called a 'mental shutdown.' And it was a clean way to kill a target without leaving any tangible evidence. A perfect tool for assassinations."
"However," Shido continues, "The Phantom Thieves of Hearts somehow came to possess the ability to enter the Metaverse as well, and they discovered a different element of cognition: that shadows can be reasoned with, and that twisted desires can be stolen. I don't know how they managed it, but they gained the ability to steal away the evil from within corrupted individuals, leading that person to have a change of heart. That heavy guilt and desire to repent are the closest things I've seen to what you've said about personality changes. I've never seen or heard of a way within the Metaverse to change a personality in any other way that that. It's what they eventually did to me."
Maya comes in at a new angle. "Do you know anything about the Phantom Thieves? Surely they know about how to access the Metaverse."
"They've long since disbanded. I only ever personally saw one of them... and he told me the Metaverse doesn't even exist anymore. I'm not sure how or why, and perhaps he was lying to me just in case I still had evil left in me. I robbed that young man, and so many others, of so much..."

---Music: Regret ---

"From the very beginning I was a monster... I killed Wakaba Isshiki. I stole her research and used it against her to cause her mind to shut down. To cover it up, I forged a suicide note and blamed the incident on Wakaba's daughter. My stomach is in knots thinking of how much pain I caused that poor girl."
Shido's eyes are becoming more and more red, and I can see moisture building up in them. "I never once stopped. Death after death, I continued destroying anyone who stood in the way of my ambitions. I let other influential individuals, who I carefully selected, know about the Metaverse. I used the Metaverse to both bribe and blackmail, and to murder indiscriminately. I stopped at nothing until gaining the most powerful seat in the nation, as the Prime Minister. For that foolish goal, I killed again and again... and I betrayed those who helped to get me there."
  From the corner of my eyes I can see Maya with a serious look on her face. "Mr. Shido... please, tell us more about this Metaverse. I want to do whatever I can to help, but we don't know anything about this 'cognitive science' stuff, or even have a clue how someone could be using the Metaverse."
"I... don't know. The means I had to interact with the Metaverse was from another person. It was only through the actions of my son that I had any influence within the cognitive world. And now he's gone... I think I may have killed him too... I--I...I...
Shido raises his head up to the sky and yells as if in immense pain, causing both Maya and me to shiver in our seats. By the time he finishes, even the guards are concerned, and Shido is outright sobbing.
"Thank God above that those Phantom Thieves put an end to that despicable man I once was! I could live a thousand lifetimes of penance and it wouldn't be enough to atone for what I've done!"
He rubs his wrists against his eyes aggressively, struggling to keep up with the tears as more of them pour. "I'm scared... terrified thinking that someone else out there could be making the same mistakes I did. Committing the same evils I did..."
Shido drops down to his knees, bowing at us with such genuine force that his fists and his forehead grind against the ground. "Maya-san, Phoenix-san... I beg you. If there is anything you can do to put a stop to the abuse of Cognitive Psience..."
"Shido-san," I speak gravely, "I promise you that I'll do everything within my power to find out the truth about what's going on. But we need your help in learning more about this Cognitive Psience."
  Shido has to overcome a fit of coughing and choking over his sobs before he can respond. "I think... you'd get the best results by going through Wakaba's research. Perhaps there's something in her research that I overlooked."
"Where is that research now...?" I question.
"I'm sure by now it's all scattered around throughout the network of associates I had built up. They probably fought like dogs over the scraps I had left behind. I can only pray that they all got their just deserts. I've implicated and testified against as many of them as I could..."
I suppose it wouldn't be that easy anyway. "Do you have any idea where even part of that research may have ended up?"
In one clean sweep, he wipes the tears from his face with a slide from his forearm. "The physical research papers are probably long gone by now. But I... had a bit of a contingency, in case this were to happen. I had all of the documents backed up onto a hard drive, which I entrusted to my son, Goro Akechi. I didn't trust him at the time, but I saw no harm in leaving a copy with him, especially since he was the only other one to already know the details of the Metaverse, and doing so in turn helped him to trust me. I... don't know his fate. But I would assume the data is still somewhere in his home."
Shido sighs. "I don't recall anything within that research specifically explaining a way to alter personality, however."
By now, Shido has raised himself from the ground enough to be in a kneeling position. "I do have one clue left, that may help you in some way. There was an item somehow connected to the research, but even I never made sense of how. It was a pearl, one that Isshiki-san kept in a ring box. I discretely donated it to a reputable museum to be held safely, just in case it ever became relevant. It should still be on display there now."
Maya's eyebrow is raised pretty high right now. "A pearl? What in the world could that have to do with any of this?"
"I never understood the mystery behind it, if it had been some sort of clue or piece of a puzzle," Shido admits, "I'll give you the addresses of the apartment and the museum."
"Well... solving mysteries is our specialty!" Maya reassures him.
I stand and bow politely. "Thank you for all of your help, Shido-san. We'll make good use of what you've told us."
"I pray for you success. And, please... stay safe. If you or anyone else were to be hurt because of me and the legacy I've left behind... I... I..."
"C'mon, Nick. Let's get going, before it gets too late," Maya tells me.
The door closes behind us, and we begin walking as a guard leads us out of the facility. As the two of us walk through the hallway, we're left with the lingering echo of Masayoshi Shido's quiet sobs.
"So, what are you thinking, Nick?" Maya asks me with a nudge.
"Well... if Masayoshi Shido was truly an evil man who had his heart and personality changed, then the proof was right in front of us. And with everything he just told us... I believe that I was right to feel suspicious of the events happening right now."
"I guess we'll have to keep our eyes and ears on the news to see if any more strange happenings take place. Until then, let's learn everything we can about the Metaverse!"
"I'm with you on that one," I agree, "Let's go check out that hard drive and see if we can get that research."

---(Music End)---

April 10th, 6:30 pm
Goro Akechi's Apartment

---Music: Investigation ~ Core 2002 ---

As Maya and I stand outside of the front door of Goro Akechi's apartment, we are aided by Detective Ritsu, who we contacted a short while ago.
Maya bows to the detective. "Thank you again for getting the search warrant for us!"
He nods his head and tips his hat. "You were right to come to the police with your suspicions. I'm not sure I believe you quite yet, but..." he begins, before picking up excitement in his voice, "Ooooo, I can't help but feel enthusiastic about a good mystery. Plus, I get to see the home of Goro Akechi, the ace detective..."
He takes a deep breath. "Still, I have to insist we stay professional about this. I'm strictly only letting you in here because the drive Masayoshi Shido told you about may aid police in convicting Kaz Mizusawa. If your personality alteration theory holds water, that is."
I nod my head. I did indeed come to Detective Ritsu under the pretense of further investigating Mizusawa's actions. When the time comes, I plan to inform him of my thoughts on the other events happening recently. But, until I can find a way to prove that personality changes are happening on a multi-national scale, I plan to stay quiet on that, lest I sound absolutely crazy.
Ritsu unlocks the door and enters the apartment. Though the sun is setting, it's still bright enough outside for the windows to illuminate the room, so we don't need to flip on any lights. The interior is fairy studious. It reminds me of Edgeworth's office, almost. There's a tall bookshelf filled to the brim taking up an entire wall's space, even. However, the rest is modest. There seems to be bedroom in the back, a bathroom to the side, and not much else. It's rather dusty, too. Seems like no one has been in here for a long time.
"I doubt someone as smart as Akechi-kun would have left something as important as those research documents out in the open. He probably has the drive hidden somewhere clever," Ritsu points out.
"Looks like this is going to take some effort," Maya jokes.
The three of us spread out and begin looking in different rooms, with myself going to the bedroom. I open and close the drawers of a dresser in sequence, finding nothing unusual. There's nothing underneath the bed, either.
  I shuffle through a few more things without much success, and eventually make my way to the closet. I pull a cord to turn on the light inside the small closet, and look around a bit. Just clothes, seemingly. I turn my head upwards, and what do you know, there's a key hanging from a hook above the door frame. Pretty sneaky hiding spot. This key could be important, so I hold on to it.
As I return to the main room, I see that Ritsu has gathered Maya and they are standing around the dining table in the main room, and he has planted a briefcase on the center. It's a dull silver color, and has a large "A." on it. "Check this out," Ritsu draws to our attention, "I found this by the wall over there. This is the briefcase he used to carry around all the time. This has gotta be where he'd keep something important. But, it's locked unfortunately."
I present the key I found to the detective. "Think this might help?"
"Good find, Mr. Wright!" Ritsu compliments me, "Let's try it out."
He slides the key in and turns it, and the briefcase opens up. Inside, all we find are school books and other papers.
"This looks like a dud," Maya groans.
"What about this sticky note?" I draw attention to.
Inside the case is a slip of paper with a foreign phrase written on it. "What does it say, Nick?"
I read the words on the paper, probably completely butchering the pronunciations. I think this is French, and I for sure don't speak French. "Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l’admire,” is all it reads.
"Oh!" Ritsu explains with positivity, "I know this quote! It's from a Sherlock Holmes book!"
We both look at him with surprise. "What? I like detective novels..."
"What does the quote mean?" Maya prods.
"Something along the lines of 'a fool always finds a bigger fool to admire him,' if I recall. It's from the book 'A Study in Scarlet.'"
"Everything else in the briefcase was neatly organized, which makes this random note stand out. Perhaps this is a clue of some sort?" I deduce.
We put our heads together to think of what that means. Hopefully it isn't just some random memo to study for an exam or something. "Hey, I think I saw a book with that title on the shelf over there," Maya speaks up with excitement.
The three of us walk over to the shelf and scan it again to locate the book in question. "Found it!" Maya announces, pulling the famous mystery novel from the shelf. Behind it, it seems like there's a safe embedded into the wall.
  "Looks like we found something big!" Ritsu exclaims.
"What's the combination to open it, though..." I wonder.
"It... looks like it doesn't have a keypad for a combination," Ritsu notices, "It has a slot for some sort of key card, instead."
"Oh! So THAT'S what this was!" Maya shouts excitedly. She reveals a novelty bookmark with a design displaying the main antagonist of the first Avengers movie. "He was using this to hold a page in one of the school books in his briefcase, and I noticed it has one of those black credit card-like lines on it. I bet it'll fit!"
Sure enough, the bookmark slides into the slot perfectly, and the safe opens with a click. Between having a Loki bookmark and a briefcase with a giant A on it, I can't help but wonder if this Akechi guy is just a big Marvel fan. "Nice work, Miss Maya!" Ritsu praises.
We open the safe door all the way, and inside it we find a hard drive, as well as a picture of a young woman with a small boy standing next to her.
"Looks like we found what we came for, good job everyone," I congratulate.
"Let's get this back to the station. We can hook it up to my desktop there and start reading through this stuff," the detective suggests.

What a day this has been. A murder trial, a potential conspiracy, a former criminal changed completely, and mystery after mystery. For now, all we can do is get to the bottom of this research left behind by Miss Wakaba Isshiki. With any luck, we'll be able to glean some useful information from it, and be off to a good start on our quest to find out just what the heck is going on right now.

  CHAPTER ONE END.

  ---(Music End)---

  ---Music: Jingle ~ That's All For Today ---

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