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

Chapter 105: Spirits and Sentiment and Splendor

Suspicion - Persona 5

The morning was cold and crisp, a light fog rolling in from the horizon. Makoto had met up with Shuichi and Momoji outside the Saihara Detective Agency, where they'd made plans to investigate the home of the late Noriko Noya. His hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, Makoto took in a deep breath, mentally preparing for whatever they might find at the scene.

"Are you ready to head to the house?" Shuichi, as calm and composed as ever, adjusted his hat and glanced at Momoji. It was the same cap that he used to wear to avert his eyes, but this time, it was just part of his professional getup.

Momoji nodded, her usual enthusiasm tempered with a quiet resolve.

"Yeah. We've been over the basics, and I've got a few things I can share with you guys," she told them. "I think it'll be useful, but...well, that's up to you to decide."

Makoto glanced between them both, feeling a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

"I'll take whatever help we can get," he gave a small, reassuring smile. "Let's just hope we find something useful."

Shuichi led the way, and they fell into step behind him, walking through the city streets to Noriko's house. The area around them was calm, almost eerily so, despite the tension hanging thick in the air.

"The crime scene's been preserved for a while now. It should have been closed, but my uncle managed to keep the property open until the case is fully solved," Shuichi explained. "So, anything in there should still be relatively untouched. It'll give us a clearer picture of what happened."

"That's a relief," Makoto said with a nod. "I didn't know how much we'd be able to figure out from something that had been cleaned up or disturbed."

"Exactly," Shuichi replied. "If we're lucky, we'll find something that makes sense of it all."

A few minutes later, they reached Noriko's house, a tall, contemporary building that stood out against the drab sky. The place exuded a calm, almost eerie atmosphere, as if the house were holding its breath.

"Looks like a ghost house..." Makoto couldn't help but voice his thoughts. Momoji nodded, hesitating before speaking up.

"It may very well be," she said. "Ghosts are vengeful spirits who can't let go of the past or their worldly attachments, and Noriko...she was going through some really tough stuff before her death."

"Besides the fact that you're talking nonsense, since ghosts don't exist," Shuichi turned to her, noting the solemnity in her voice, "what do you mean? I thought we had most of her background already."

With a detached look on her face, Momoji's gaze shifted to the house.

"Well, that's what I meant earlier. I did some background digging into Noriko Noya and the other victims of the case," Momoji explained. "In Noriko's case, her mother passed away not long before the incident. It wasn't sudden or unexpected, but it left Noriko...in a bad place. She had a lot of unresolved feelings, and it was affecting her. It's not something many people knew, but I thought you should hear about it."

"I...didn't realize she was dealing with that," Makoto frowned, processing the information. "Her mother's death, you said? Was she living alone?"

"Yeah," Momoji confirmed. "She had no other immediate family around. She was trying to hold things together, but it seems like the emotional strain took a toll on her. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that there was a string of evidence pointing otherwise, I would have happily ruled this death a suicide."

"I don't see how that connects to her death yet, but it might still be important," Shuichi spoke up, his voice calm. "Let's keep that in mind while we're investigating."