"W-What…?" Naoto stammered. "Y-You knew I'm...I'm a girl?"

"I'm...kind of knowing it." Feeling diffident, Minato trailed his eyes off Naoto and decided to push the ball to Yu. "How about you, Yu?"

"You knew it too, Yu-kun?" Yukiko and Chie let out a small gasp, while the guys widened their eyes in shock, especially Kanji.

"He's...not a guy!?"

"Well...I kind of notice the unusualness." Yu scratched his cheek. "But I only confirm it until this moment."

"T-That's not the issue!" Naoto screamed in embarrassment.

"Hahaha...not an issue? Then, why are you mimicking those same men? What's the point? What exactly are you trying to justify?" Shadow Naoto laughed, shaking her head repeatedly.

"What…?" Biting her bottom lip, Naoto clenched her fist tightly. "You think I want to be a girl? I don't even have a chance to choose my gender! That's why I…!"

"You needn't suffer anymore. That's why you're undergoing this body alteration produce to begin with. Turn into a man...that's what you wish, right? Since I am you."

"That's...not true! I become a man because I want to be, even I am not the one to begin with! What's wrong with that!?" Ignoring the team, Naoto shouted at her Shadow. "Don't pretend you know me! You're nothing like me!"

"Urg-oh…"

"What's wrong with that? We'll just do our things, like the previous, right?" Huffing, Kanji took a step forward.

"Wow...looks who's talking here?" Yosuke shrugged, letting out a small laughter while taking out his weapon.

"But Kanji's beary right!"

"Yeah, I totally agree with that!"

"Look, they're all fired up." Sighing, Minato rubbed his hair, smiling bitterly. He was the one responsible for this, right? Now it seemed everyone took it as theirs.

Such a warm feeling to have comrades to support at the back. It lifted a lot of his burden.

"Kanji's telling the truth, that's all." Yu grinned.

"Hahahaha...finally, I am free! I am not you...so you better die here!"

Shadow Naoto turned into a figure with robotic wings and ray guns. It flew up to the sky, looking at the team from up.

"Guys, leave Naoto-kun to me! Please be careful!" Rise took Naoto in her arms, pulling her away from the battlefield. She then summoned Himiko to help the team.

Suddenly, a ray surrounded the team. They shocked, ready to face any attack coming from Shadow. However, it didn't feel hurt or pain or anything, but something did feel wrong.

"W-What's that?"

"Take this!"

Shadow Naoto used Mabufudyne on them. Yukiko managed to dodge the attack, but the others all got hit, even Chie.

"W-Why!? My persona should nullify the Ice attack!" Chie rubbed her knee, feeling numb for the moment. She had a hard time to remain her balance and fell to her back.

Seeing that, Yosuke rushed to her. Shadow Naoto took the chance and cast Garudyne on him. The fierce wind blew him away from reaching Chie.

"Yosuke!"

"Dammit!" Twitching his face, Yosuke tried to endure the pain in his back.

"Chie! Yosuke-kun!" Yukiko summoned Amaterasu to heal them. However, before she could do so, Shadow Naoto charged out on her by launching an assault. Gasping, knowing she couldn't dodge it, she shut her eyes closed.

"Yukiko!"

Opening one of her eyes, she saw the gray-haired boy shielded her, while Kanji and Teddie ran circle to the back of Shadow Naoto and attacked.

"T-Thank you, Yu-kun, Kanji-kun, and Teddie…" Sighing, Yukiko quickly heals Chie and Yosuke.

"Guys, be extra careful. Your elements resistance has been nullified!" Rise let out a small gasp.

"That's the cause, huh…?" Yosuke groaned in pain. Even Diarahan healed the wound, it didn't wipe off the pain.

"Yu, we need a strategy." Minato changed his persona to Thanatos. Orpheus Telos was a good choice, but not under this condition. It didn't change the fact which persona to use now. By all means, he decided Thanatos would be the best choice.

"...Yukiko, you are the main healer. I'll leave it to you!"

"Roger!"

"Teddie and Yosuke, support us with any skills you have! The others, attack Shadow Naoto!"

"""Yes!"""

"Explore weakness!"

Everyone used their perspective element attack on Shadow Naoto, trying to figure out its weakness. However, the result was disappointed. They couldn't figure anything from the attack.

"No element weakness!"

Seeing that, Minato summoned Thanatos and used Brave Blade to see if the attack worked on Shadow Naoto. But the result was same. Shadow Naoto did receive damage, but the damage seemed to be minor.

"...The physical attack doesn't seem to be her weakness as well…"

Meaning Shadow Naoto had no weakness. It seemed this was going to be a tough and lengthy fight. Minato let out a small curse, returning to the others' side.

"Everyone, just use your best attack! Yukiko, focus on healing!" Yu ordered, changing to Hariti. He chose this persona because Hariti consisted healing, supporting and attacking magic. Even if anyone of them was unable, he could take the role. For attacking, he would rely on Minato and the others.

Seeing the choice of his persona, Minato knew exactly what in his mind. Looking at the team, excluding Yukiko, Teddie, and Yosuke, he, Kanji and Chie would be the only main attackers. They would charge out without worrying about healing or supporting.

A wise tactic sounded like the plan Yu would choose.

"Thanatos!"

"Suzuka Gongen!"

"Rokuten Maou!"

The three of them summoned their personas and charged out. At the same time, Yosuke used Masukukaja, while Teddie used Matarukaja on them. Yu also used Marakukaja to ensure their defenses.

Oh the other hand, Shadow Naoto used Heat Riser on herself. Rise immediately detected the raising of her status and informed the team.

Their attacks were difficult to hit Shadow Naoto after boosting her status. Still, some of the attacks landed on her, minor damage though.

"How dare you…!" Cursing, Shadow Naoto cast Maragidyne.

Unable to dodge it, Chie was hit and fell to her knee.

"Hmm...I can still...fight!"

"Chie, hold on!" Seeing that, Yukiko quickly cast Diarahan on her, while Yu helped Chie to get up on her feet.

"Kanji, don't get distracted!" Minato shouted, unsheathing his sword and rushed to Shadow Naoto. With Shadow Naoto in mid-air, a normal attack couldn't reach to her. To get to her, Thanatos grabbed his arm and tossed him up to the air. "I'm going to save Naoto...take this!"

Thorning down his sword, Minato sprinted down quickly, aiming to Shadow Naoto. However, Shadow Naoto simply raised her arm to defend and sent him a sidekick.

"Save me? Hah, what a joke!" Shadow Naoto grabbed Minato's neck, lifting her arm. "Just lie down and let me drill holes on your body!"

"Minato!"

Yu and Yosuke summoned their personas at the same time. Ice froze Shadow Naoto's arm, while the wind blew Minato off from her.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" While Shadow Naoto with her arm froze, Kanji immediately followed up the attack. He might not as smart as Yu and Minato, but he was powerful on the battlefield.

"Argh!"

"Here...take this!" Suzuka Gongen threw out her long blade, hitting Shadow Naoto with critically. "This is my revenge!"

"You okay, Minato-san?"

"...I'm fine." Minato nodded to Yukiko to assure her again.

"Why won't you all lie down and die!? You children can't do anything at all!"

"What's that? Compare to Shadow Rise, you're nothing!" Kanji yelled out. Hearing that, Rise alerted and complained.

"What do you mean by that, stupid Kanji!" Her face was as red as the tomato.

"...Although I feel sorry for Rise, Kanji does have point." Yu chuckled bitterly, and everyone agreed with him.

"Senpai…!" Rise covered her face. "I hate you, Kanji!"

"Alright everyone, let's continue attacking her!" Yu announced, pointing at Shadow Naoto.

The fight continued. Minato, Chie and Kanji still the main attackers, while Yukiko remained as the healer, and Yosuke and Teddie as supporters. The fight lasted longer than expected, but Shadow Naoto eventually went down after a while.

"Guys, a little more! She's weaker now!" Rise informed the team.

"Why...why struggle so much!?"

Shadow Naoto cast Maragidyne. The air filled with the burned smell. Her magic laid on the three attackers and hit Chie badly. However, her wound was rapidly healed with Yukiko and Yu cast healing magic.

"Why struggle so much?" Thanatos winded to her back, blade ready to wield down. Minato glared at Shadow Naoto with evoker pointed at his forehead. His breath was unstable. He was clearly exhausted at this moment. "...To defeat you, of course."

Thanatos wielded his blade down fiercely, slashing Shadow Naoto with no mercy. Without the way to resist, Shadow Naoto let out a scream and fell down to the ground.

"Argh…!"

She tried to struggle to get up, but her strength no permitted. Soon, she collapsed and returned to human form.

The real Naoto slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw Rise's surprised yet relieved face.

"Oh...you're awake!"

"I'm…" Naoto rubbed her head, having a hard time to remember what was happened a moment ago. Then, she saw the team and Minato gathered around her. "Minato-san...and everyone. yeah... I remember you all arriving, and…"

Her gaze trailed to the one before her, the same face of her, the one she's denying all the times.

"... …"

Shadow Naoto remained unmoved, watching at Naoto.

"...Naoto, although I have no right to say this…" Sighing, Minato scratched his cheek while taking a step closer to Naoto. "It's time you should accept for who you are. We were born without the way to choose our gender. Why not proof yourself as a remarkable person and cross the border of gender?"

Naoto first bit her bottom lip with a sad look. But then she lifted her head, sighing deeply.

"...I'm sort of like you, Minato-san. I lost both my parents in an accident. I was still young, so my grandfather took me in. I was inept at making friends...so I spent my times reading detective novels in my grandfather's study."

"When I grow up...I'm gonna be an awesome, hard-boiled detective…!"

Naoto nodded as to agree to Shadow Naoto's words.

"My parents were proud of their job. I have no qualms about following in their footsteps. An inherited occupation can feel stifling to many, but I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could be a detective myself...Perhaps I inherited that desire from them as well."

She paused for a while, lowering her head staring at her feet.

"I was always alone...seeing that, my grandfather must have believed it was his duty to help me realize my dream. I secretly aided my grandfather with his clients...and before I knew it, people started calling me Junior Detective. At first, I was delighted, but not everything went so smoothly…"

"Naoto-kun…"

"Not everyone welcomes my collaboration when it comes to solving cases. My status as a child was sufficient to offend many of those whom I worked with. Were that the only issue, then it would have resolved itself with time. But though I would one day change from a child to an adult, I will never change from a woman to a man."

Yukiko shook her head, smiling at Naoto.

"...Naoto-kun, you must know already that what you yearned for isn't to become an adult or become a boy, right?"

Her smile was so soft that it melted the ice within Naoto's heart. She looked at those gathered around her. Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Kanji, Yukiko, Rise, Teddie...and Minato. They looked at her as Naoto Shirogane, not a detective her, nor a boy version of Naoto Shirogane.

It was her, only her.

She let out a small chuckle, looking straight to Shadow Naoto. It was the same face of her, the childish her, the girly of part her...the part she kept denying.

"I'm sorry...I kept ignoring you, pretending you didn't exist. But you are me...and I am you. You've always been inside of me. What I should yearn for...no, what I should strive for isn't to become a man." Naoto looked to Minato who stood not far from her. "It's to accept myself for who I really am."

Shadow Naoto let out some dazzling light, transforming from a shadow to persona Sukuna Hikona resided within Naoto.

After the long event, her strength had finally come to limit. She collapsed right after accepting her persona.

"Naoto!"

"Naoto-kun!"

Watching at their worried faces, Naoto couldn't help but sigh and smiled bitterly. She then looked at Minato.

"...So, this is what you call 'that side', huh?" She leaned against Yukiko for some supports. "Never judge a book by its cover...now I fully understand it."

"Don't say anything now. You should leave and get some rest."

"...The case...now we know it's far from over."

"Yeah, you prove it, Naoto." Yosuke sighed at her reckless operation.

"We can talk about this later. Kanji, can you help her to get out?" Yu asked.

"H-Huh!?" Kanji's face immediately burned. He was clearly flustered than before. "N-No way!"

"Aww...Kanji, you're such a dumb." Rise rolled her eyes, walking to Naoto and grabbed her instead.

"H-Hey, what do you mean by that!?"

Leaving Naoto with the girls, Yu and Minato headed home straightly to get some rest.

It was an exhausting day, and Minato missed the sofa at home so much that he could fall to sleep once hitting it.

However, when they got back home, they saw two pairs of shoes at the entrance.

"Heyyyy, welcome backkkkk!"

Minato immediately twisted his brow at the drunk man Adachi. He nodded to Dojima who was sitting on the couch and then walked up to the second floor.

"Minato…"

"Sorry, but I'm tired."

He could see Yu sighed and then gave him a wave. He knew it was rather rude since Adachi was a guest at home, but he really had no mood to entertain him.

He wasn't the owner of the house, either. It wasn't his responsibility, right?

He shrugged off the little guilty in his heart, closing the door behind and jumped to the sofa.

Today was tired...but he glad that they were able to save Naoto. To tell the truth, if anything happened to Naoto, he would never be able to forgive himself. Naoto trusted him so much and even told him the whole plan, wishing for nothing, only to save her if she was kidnapped.

If he failed to do that...he couldn't imagine it.

As he thought deeper, he almost fell into sleep, but only woke up by Dojima's shouting.

"Adachi! How many times I gotta say it!? Quit running your mouth like that!"

"Whoa! S-Sorry!"

Minato sat up, rubbing his eyes to listen to the conversation.

"Alright, see here!" It didn't seem Dojima was talking to Adachi, maybe to Yu? "Don't worry about the case. Just go study like a normal student. If you don't…"

Dojima's voice died out, and then someone walked away. It seemed Dojima didn't finish his talk and walked off.

What a detective Dojima was. He impressed Minato a lot. In some ways, he could stand against Naoto. He was so attentive to small details. Judging from the conversation, he must have noticed something unusual of Yu. Minato had no idea how Yu revealed hints to Dojima, but with Dojima's ability, he might have noticed from other aspects.

Later, when Adachi left, Yu got back to his room. He was surprised to see Minato was still awake.

"I thought you must have slept."

"...I was, but Dojima-san's voice caught my attention." Minato yawned. "He warned you, is it?"

"...Yeah, it's kind of a warning." Sighing, Yu took out the futon. "His instinct is terrible."

"You'll have to more careful."

Yu nodded. He knew it more than anyone.

"We know that the culprit is still at large, thanks to Naoto. However, we still don't know how we can reach to the culprit."

"Yeah...we have no clue about the culprit…" Something went across Minato's mind. Before Minato could catch it, it disappeared. "...?"

"What is it, Minato?"

"Uh...no, nothing."

Strange...he thought off something just now, and it seemed to be an important hint. But he couldn't remember it now...what is it?

"...I guess we should ask Naoto more about this when she's fully recovered. She's ready for this, so she may have hints." Yu said. "I'm pretty tired too...good night, Minato."

"Uh...yeah, good night."

Switching off the light, they both went to the bed. However, the strange feeling lingered in his mind that he was destined to not be able to sleep well.

Alright...sorry for the late update. I know I'm super late for this chapter…

Okay, now, I'm finally done with Naoto's side. The next will go into Nanako's. Twist plot will start from here, and the character that appears in the first chapter will show up in the twisted plot.

I'm not sure the next chapter is going to be late or not...so hope you stay tuned.

Thank you~