The Day After

July 16: 2011

Early morning, on the way to school.

According to Yu, there was another person that showed up on the Midnight Channel last night. The two of us walked to school, and ran into Yosuke.

"Yo. You saw what was on last night right?" He asked. "I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on the TV, we can't ignore it. Let's go check it out after school, maybe Teddie can tell us something. If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims, if someone's using that works as a weapon, it's unforgivable. We need to find the culprit, no matter what it takes. There's no way the police can do it, who'd believe the murderer kills people by throwing them into the TV?"

"Let's do it." I said

"Cool, it's reassuring to hear someone else say it. You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV like you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because I have the same power! Persona wasn't it? Could it be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case? Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first, and, whatever your ability is. I feel like, as long as you guys are with me, I can find the culprit and crack the case! Well, let's do our best!" He said

Huh, even with all the mystery swirling around, Yosuke's trying his hardest to move on. This could be the start of a great friendship.

Thou art I, and I am Thou

Thou hast established a new Bond

It Brings Thee closer to the Truth

Thou shalt be blessed when using the power of the Magician.

Magician Social Link: Rank 1

In the classroom.

"Chie! Um, about yesterday, we're sorry we worried you." Yosuke said

"Never mind that! Is Yukiko still not here?" She asked

"Huh? Yukiko-san? Uh, no. At least, I haven't seen her today." Yosuke said

"Oh man, what should I do? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know, all that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world?" She asked

"Oh we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later." Yosuke said

"The person on TV yesterday, I think it was Yukiko." Chie said. "The Kimono looked like the one she wears at the Inn, and she wore it during that interview a few days ago too." Chie said. "I got worried, so I emailed her last night and she hasn't responded. I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today. I, I-"

"Calm down. We get the picture, and you still haven't heard from her?" Yosuke asked

"No!"

We summed up all the information we got in the other world for Chie.

"What's that supposed to mean? Wait, are you saying Yukiko was thrown in there!?" Chie asked

"We don't know yet for sure, we should check to see if she's safe first." Yosuke said. "Give her another call."

Chie phoned Yukiko.

"No good! Her voicemail picked up. She's not answering!" Chie said

"Are you serious? Then, is Yukiko inside that place?"

"Stop it! Something must've come up! Like an errand or something. Or she she might be helping at the Inn! She wouldn't be able to answer her cell phone if that's it." Chie said

"Yeah but would she skip school for that?" Yosuke asked

"Well, I'll give the Inn a call, umm, I've got the number here somewhere. C'mon Yukiko, pick up. Oh! Is this Yukiko!? Thank god, she's there! Uh huh, uh huh I see. Ah, uh, it was nothing. Haha, I'll email you again later. *sigh*, she was over at the Inn. She said that they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah, now that I think about it, this has happened before too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the Inn tomorrow too. Oh for crying out loud Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine! And you were all, "Is Yukiko inside that place?" Hmph!"

"Sorry. But there is a reason we thought that." Yosuke said

"Oh yeah? What?" Chie asked

"Well we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world. I mean it makes sense right? People show up on TV because they're inside the TV. But Yukiko's still here in our world, we might want to see what this is about. Alright let's meet up at Junes after school." Yosuke said.

I got a phone call from Dojima.

"Hey, it's me. I need you to come down to the police station right after school. You're not in trouble, but we need to check all ends for this investigation-"

"And since the bodies only started showing up after I got here, you want to make sure I'm not in anyway involved. I figured as much." I said

"That and there's something else that we need to discuss." He said

"Alright, I'll see you there. Sorry guys you're gonna have to investigate without me, the cops think I'm a suspect and want to talk to me." I said quietly.

"It's alright, we'll let you know what we find." Yosuke said.

After school. At the police station. I was brought to an interrogation room, and Dojima was in there with me. Last time I was in one of these, it didn't end well.

"A bit unusual for you to phone my cell phone, I would've thought that you'd come to the school directly." I said

"Regardless of your record, all of the cops here know you didn't do it, the assault that is. Just an unfortunate circumstance." Dojima said. "Where the hell is Adachi? He's supposed to be investigating this with me."

The cop that was with Dojima on my first day at school walked into the room. He had a bit of a nervous look on his face.

"Sorry I'm late Dojima-san." He said

"Just make sure to be here on time. This won't take long, I'm not doing the interrogating though. I'm just acting as an alibi, and to make sure nothing happens." Dojima said

"Alright, let's get this over with. Where were you April 12th at around Midnight?" Adachi asked

"I was at Dojima's house, I had just finished my homework and went to sleep right away." I said.

"It was only your first day of school, how the hell did you already have homework?" He asked

"My homeroom teacher's a bit of a prick. If this is about that Yamano lady, I didn't even know who she was until I got to Inaba." I said.

"It checks out." Another officer said

"Ok, how about the 14th at the same time. Witnesses say you were at Junes earlier that day with the other victim, Saki Konishi." Adachi said

"Yes, I was there at Junes. Yosuke Hanamura had offered to show us around town, and took us to Junes to wrap up the tour. I had only met Saki briefly, it's terrible what happened to her. This whole situation has brought up a lot of bad memories." I said

"That's right, your parents' bodies were found in the same way. Perhaps the killer found his way to Inaba. Do you have any idea who it is, or maybe their motives?" Adachi asked

"I only know why he killed my parents. It, would've been about a year before I was born, my mother was assaulted, and, raped, by an unknown assailant. The night before they were murdered, they had mentioned something about finally figuring out the son of a bitch's name, that was all I heard before they found out I was there. My guess is that the killer did it to conceal his identity. But, in regards to the method, I have no idea." I said.

"That covers it, we're sorry for taking up your time." Adachi said. He's got a bit of a nervous look on his face. Probably his first time doing an interrogation.

Dojima led me out of the room.

"Are you alright?" He asked

"Yeah, just some, unpleasant memories got stirred up is all. You said we had one more thing to take care of?" I asked

"Yeah, your parole officer passed away. You've been assigned someone new, and it's gonna be your job to report to them now." He said

"Not to sound lazy or anything, but isn't it yours?" I asked

"Normally yes, but considering who was assigned, it'll be easier for you to report to them." He said as we went into another room, it's his office this time. A familiar blue haired teenager stood inside.

"It's about time, I can't believe they stuck me with parole duty. At least it's with a student-"

It's Naoto.

"Well, this is awkward." I said

"This is Detective Naoto Shirogane. You'll be reporting to him on a weekly basis. I, take it you two know each other already?" He asked

"Yeah, we bumped into each other a few times at school." He said.

That explains why I'm reporting to him now.

"I'll uh, let you two have the room for a minute. I'll see you at home." Dojima said to me as he walked out.

"I hope this doesn't put a dampener on our friendship." I said as I closed the door.

"It won't, just don't cause any trouble, and don't get in my way of the case. You do that, and we'll be fine." He said.

Thou Art I, and I am Thou

Thou hast established a new bond

It brings thee closer to the truth

Thou shalt be blessed when using the power of Fortune

Fortune Social Link: Rank 1

"We should exchange contact info for the sake of convenience." He said

We gave each other our numbers, then went out separate ways.

Evening, at the Konishi Crime Scene.

Adachi came running up to Dojima.

"Looks like we've found all we're gonna get here. And we've still got nothing that points to a suspect, other than what that kid told us." Adachi said

"We still don't even know if this is a homicide." Dojima said

"Well what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!" Adachi said

"... I know. We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it. If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp. But if that's true, what the hell is going on?" Dojima asked

"You know, I thought at first this all spun out of that love triangle." Adachi said

"No, that singer- Misuzu Hiiragi- has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it, and remember, the only reason that scandal went public was because Hiiragi herself broke it to the media. No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind." Dojima said

"Got a point there." Adachi said

"Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders. He's been working in the city for the past six months. Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of incident. There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night Mayumi Yamano died. And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making contact with Namatame before or after her disappearance." Dojima said

"You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary. He's practically as much as a victim as the Yamano girl." Adachi said

"Yeah, I agree. Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi. She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse, but I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive. She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found. The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up. But that hardly points to a motive, coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours."

"Yeah, I heard about that angle on the news too." Adachi said

"What!? Is the story about the Inn out already?" Dojima asked

"Ok, I got it! How's this? Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew! And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!" Adachi said

"..Either way, all we can do now is keep investigating anyone involved with the victims. Our perp, it has to be someone in Inaba."

"Oh! Is your detective's intuition at work?" Adachi said sarcastically

Back at the Dojima house.

Yu handed me Yosuke's number before we headed up for the night. It's raining, I better check the Midnight Channel again.

At Midnight.

I wonder if anything'll show up.

A video of Yukiko in a pink dress, holding a mic appeared. It looks like some kind of interview, this is different.

"Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise! I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to not a dream, not a hoax: Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming! And I came prepared! I've got my lacy unmentionables on stacked from top to bottom! I'm out to catch a whole harem and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine! Well, here I go!" She said

It zoomed out on a castle, with a red and black swirly door on it, similar to that room and the shop.