Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 69: Cold Case

Wicked Plan - Persona 5

Everyone took a bit of a breather after the beach trip, but the next morning, Shuichi stood outside the tall building of the Kirigiri Detective Agency, holding a lunch box in his hand.

Kyoko, diligent as she was, had gotten back to work almost immediately when she'd gone home from the beach. Clearly, what she'd said about not using her off days willingly was true.

It wasn't that she didn't trust the other detectives in the KDA; otherwise, she would never have gone to the beach with them in the first place. But it was clear she felt most comfortable when she was in her office overlooking some cases.

Shuichi couldn't fault her for that. If it wasn't for his part-time job as a vigilante, he'd probably be slaving away at the SDA as well, instead of taking advantage of the freedom his uncle provided him.

Given everything that had transpired here, it was understandable that Shuichi had been delaying his return to this building for some time. However, he was confident that under Kyoko's management, the agency was now a much safer place, even though many people carried the sins of the grandfather over onto her.

Shuichi figured it would be best to let the rumors stay rumors. All he cared about was the truth, and what he himself believed in. He smiled as he walked through the doors, seeing the receptionist at the desk on her computer. As he approached, she looked up to greet him.

"Kirigiri Detective Agency, what can we-Oh! Saihara-kun! It's been such a long time!" she smiled, "What brings you here?"

"I made Kirigiri-sama a lunch, so I'm going to go see if she's willing to eat it," Shuichi explained, "She hasn't eaten since she came back from her vacation, right? I know it's working hours, but she's been expecting me."

"Of course," the receptionist lady smiled, opening the gate for him, "she's not currently having anybody visit. I trust you can find your way up to her office yourself?"

"Yes, thank you," Shuichi nodded, "How have things been here, since I was last here?"

"Oh, not much has changed, honestly," the receptionist shook her head, "We've gotten some new clients, and of course Kirigiri-san has had her own cases, but business is business. You don't need to worry about that anymore."

"Alright. Thank you then," Shuichi nodded again as he walked through the gate, "Have a nice day."

"Same to you."

Shuichi made his way up to Kyoko's office, passing by the other detectives who seemed to be busy. It was the first time he was truly seeing the agency from the inside again since everything went down, and it seemed whatever fears and worries he had were unwarranted. A couple of people looked his way, and a few even gave him a brief but friendly greeting, surprised to see him again.

Shuichi knocked on Kyoko's office door, hearing the detective's voice from the other side.

"Come in."

Shuichi did, smiling as he closed the door behind him, seeing the lavender-haired detective looking over a file. Kyoko looked up and smiled.

"So you really did show up after all," she commented, putting the folder down, "and you brought a lunch?"

"I told you I would," Shuichi smiled, "Thank you for having me. I know you're probably busy."

"No, thank you for coming today," Kyoko shook her head, "It's actually nice to have you around. I was hoping you would come back here to talk to me at some point, but I didn't want to force you. After what my grandfather did to you, I wouldn't have blamed you if you never wanted to set sight on this building again."