A/N: Prompt fill. Warning for violence at the end, mild cursing, a few liberties taken with logic definitions. Naoto, Souji, Kanji (with some Kanji/Naoto).
To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.
The research question is paramount; the Problem, or Problem Statement.
Problem: Souji is lying unconscious on the ground in Magatsu Inaba. Naoto is lying next to him. She does not know why.
A problem is answered by drawing conclusions from observations.
Observations (one through four):
1. Souji's breath is warm and uneven against her cheek.
2. Blood is pooling beneath his head.
3. There is a hole in the ceiling approximately eight-point-five meters above them.
4. The rest of the team are within neither sight nor hearing range.
Naoto considers a fifth observation - her neck is wet and her ears are ringing - but it bears no relevance to the problem at hand. The conclusion, at this point, is that they became separated from the group and fell down through to a lower level, causing Souji to suffer a head trauma which he has thus far survived.
She forces herself into a sitting position and says his name. No response. His hair is matted with blood.
Falling through a hole in the floor. Ridiculous. The others will laugh, Naoto thinks, and sighs.
Moving a patient with a potential brain injury contradicts accepted medical guidelines - but Magatsu Inaba is unsafe, and remaining in the same location might prove fatal to them both.
Fortunately, Souji isn't as heavy as he appears. Naoto lifts him with less effort than expected and, despite the height difference, is able to support him against her right shoulder. He coughs wetly at the motion, splattering blood against her jacket.
Her vision is blurred and the walls shift. They will need assistance leaving.
Naoto focuses. Rise?
--to-kun!! Are--with you--lost, where are--please don't--
Rise's voice, distorted and panicked, cuts out entirely. A consequence of concussion. Naoto's head does not hurt but she senses liquid dripping down her neck, beginning somewhere near her ear.
"They won't come. They don't know where you are," says Souji. When Naoto turns to look at him, his head hangs limp.
The scientific method is based on the principle of cause and effect.
Effect: This level of Magatsu Inaba is empty of Shadows.
Cause: To be determined.
Souji is growing heavier.
Hypothesis: n. pl. hy•poth•e•ses (-sz)
[Greek: from hypotithenai (to put under, suppose)]
1. A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem to be tested by further investigation.
2. An assumption or concession made for the sake of argument.
Hypothesis: The rest of the team are not coming to help them.
A hypothesis explains evidence gained from observation.
- Rise has made no further attempt at contact.
- They have been stumbling through the corridors for an indeterminate length of time.
This hypothesis is weak; the evidence alone suggests nothing. Naoto concludes that it must be rejected.
Adachi is not here either - the others may be occupied fighting him. Tackling Adachi without their leader is close to suicide, but her comrades have never been famed for their clarity of thought.
Naoto puts Souji down and sits beside him in an attempt to quell the nausea swirling in her stomach. His bones appear to be shifting beneath his skin, so she arranges him carefully on the floor, limbs and spine straight.
Precision is crucial. Places, people and dates: all filed, logged, categorized, every detail accurate to a fault. It's therefore troubling that she does not remember how they fell through from the upper level to begin with - or the chain of events that led them to separate from the team.
...Who was on the team? Chie? Yukiko? Kanji was there, she decides. Of course he would be. He grows tense whenever Souji attempts to assign them to different groups.
Kanji is inexplicable.
Souji peers up at her from the floor. "He's not coming either."
"You're unconscious," Naoto informs him.
Souji is too heavy to lift. Naoto is too tired to stand. His breathing is wheezing, uneven. Both her ears are trickling liquid.
How will they get out?
"Are you going to get out?" Souji flops over, bones grinding against the floor. "That's the real question, Shirogane."
Plurium Interrogationum: A question with a false, disputed, or question-begging presupposition. How careless.
Naoto lies down.
Some time later - minutes, hours, days - a face swims into her field of vision. Bleached hair, almost red under the light. Shining metal.
Kanji's eyes widen. "Shit, Naoto. You okay?"
"Rise sent me. She found you."
Naoto, now able to stand, shakes her head. Sending a search party of one is irrational; idiotic, even.
"Ain't her fault. They're all busy fighting." Kanji sighs. "'Fraid I'm all you get." His fingers brush through her hair. "Better than nothing, right?"
Naoto leans towards his hand, thinking: why would they do that alone, they need a strategist.
"I know. I told 'em. But you know how they get. Never think things through." He points at Souji. "How's Senpai doin'?"
Impossible to tell. His head is still bleeding - there's blood soaking his jacket, covering his face, staining the floor - but Naoto can't find the wound. His bones are wrong.
Kanji nods. "Yeah. I see it. Guess we'll just take him back upstairs." He bends and hoists Souji over his shoulder. "S'okay, Naoto, I'll get you out of here."
Naoto--help, you need--calm or--Senpa--please, Nao--
Rise's voice, still distorted. As expected, since Naoto's ears are still trickling something warm.
Rise should be concentrating on the fight instead. There are no Shadows here and Kanji is leading the way.
"She's just worried about you," Kanji says. He turns towards her, Souji swinging limp against his back, and nods towards her arm. "Your shirt's torn."
The right sleeve is cleanly sliced through, almost elbow to wrist. She ought to have noticed it sooner. After months fighting inside the television, this is one of her few remaining good shirts.
"Don't worry," Kanji tells her. "I'll fix it for you later, promise."
The corridors are endless. Naoto is beginning to wonder if Kanji's sense of direction is as good as he claims.
"Just a long way back, thass all. You shouldn't have split up from us like that."
The action is irrational (idiotic, even) and therefore not one Naoto would have pursued. Kanji is wrong.
"Naoto, I told you already. Senpai vanished. I got hurt. You told Yukiko to take care of me and went after him." Kanji's voice tightens. "I told y'not to. Always sayin' I shouldn't act out, talkin' me down, then you go rush off like that."
Conclusion: Naoto did not need the help. Dealing with the situation alone was the logical choice.
"You forgot the first three steps," Kanji points out.
He's right. Problem. Hypothesis. Observations. Conclusion.
Souji lifts his head. "I'd give up on that, if I were you."
Let's try that again, Naoto thinks.
Problem: Did she behave irrationally by separating from the group?
Hypothesis: She did not behave irrationally by separating from the group.
Observations (five through seven):
5. Naoto is a brilliant detective.
6. Naoto is an adult.
7. Naoto does not need anyone.
Conclusion:
"There ain't one," Kanji says.
"Don't worry, Shirogane." Souji's smile is bright, blood between his teeth. "You'll be a big boy one day."
Kanji shoots him a glare. "Leave her alone. She'll figure it out, you'll see."
The corridors are endless.
"Something's up with your ears," Kanji tells her.
Naoto can't keep her balance. She stumbles.
Hypothesis: Her left leg is injured.
Evidence: It will no longer support her weight, and the angle of the tibia to the knee - approximately 33 degrees clockwise from the vertical - is highly abnormal.
Refutation: Nothing has happened to cause such an injury and there is no pain.
Conclusion: Her left leg is not injured.
Naoto attempts to stand. Her right leg pushes up as intended, but she cannot feel the left and falls again.
"Quit being so stubborn," Kanji growls as he lifts her from the ground. He bends and hoists Souji over his shoulder. "S'okay, Naoto, I'll get you out of here."
Observations (eight through ten):
8. Souji is still unconscious.
9. Kanji, improbably, is carrying them both; Souji slung over one shoulder, her cradled against his chest.
10. Her gun is missing.
"You dropped it," Kanji says. "Couple corridors ago."
Also improbable. The gun is attached to its holster precisely to prevent such an event. Naoto reaches down to her right side, searching for the cord - refutation - but her fingers will no longer bend.
Kanji glances down. "Don't worry, Naoto. S'probably why you dropped the gun. Senpai'll buy you a new one."
Wasteful, Naoto thinks. Daidara's prices are extortionate. She will need to apologize to Souji later.
"Nah, Senpai won't mind." He nods, shifting her against his chest. "Don't worry, alright?"
Kanji is blurring.
Naoto tries to focus. I'm sorry I left you behind. I assumed you would only slow me down.
"Quit lying to yourself," he tells her.
Kanji is wrong. Again.
A detective seeks the truth and unravels contradictions. Naoto is a detective. Therefore.
"Details, Naoto. You already put 'em together, right?"
The details add up to nothing. At least, nothing worth considering.
"Not like I'm gonna know if you don't tell me." He grimaces. "And you never did."
Nothing to tell. An invalid conclusion based on faulty evidence. Cum hoc ergo propter hoc. Accordingly, the hypothesis must be: rejected. Naoto would shake her head for emphasis, but her muscles are temporarily uncooperative.
"Can't even be honest now," Kanji mutters.
"Huh," Souji grins down at her, reversed, head dripping blood on her cheeks. "So that's why you've been asking for him."
Effect: Naoto cannot move.
Cause: To be determined.
"S'okay, Naoto, I'll get you out of here." She's over Kanji's shoulder now and Souji is gone. "Hold on a bit longer. You're s'posed to be tough, right?"
Hypothesis:
Naoto can't think of one.
"I'll fix it for you later," Kanji tells her.
The portal lies ahead, red and black, and she closes her eyes.
Observations (eleven and onward):
11. Her back is cold.
53. Her left leg is burning.
91. Something is still wrong with her ears.
A face swims into her vision.
"Awake again, huh?"
She tries to say Kanji's name. It turns into a choked splutter.
Adachi smiles, fingers toying with her shirt collar. "Sorry, Shirogane. Big ape's probably dead in a corridor."
Naoto attempts to push him away.
76. Her right arm does not move.
77. It's sliced open almost elbow to wrist, twitching bloody flesh pulled back from bone.
"I'd be careful with that, looks nasty." Perched on the edge of the metal table, Adachi twirls a knife in his hand. He reaches down and forces her head to the left.
27. Souji is on another table.
28. The table is covered in blood and so is he.
16. Adachi is pushing something sharp and cold inside her right ear.
Adachi's voice is distant, bubbling. "Seta never lasts very long, boring bastard. The cocky little defective prince is winning so far." He grins. "Or not."
Effect: Naoto falls unconscious.
Cause: Is no longer present.
Chain of Events Between: Irrelevant.
Naoto is still on her table and Souji is on his. His legs are clearly broken; she'd move to help him, but her own are uncooperative.
There are sounds outside the room. Raised voices, crackling fire, rushing wind, running feet. Naoto hears them on her left but she thinks the door is to her right.
Problem. Hypothesis. Observations. Conclusion. Too many steps. Naoto tries to call to Souji - who would be able to help - and manages a spluttering cough.
He turns his head towards her. "I'd give up on that, if I were you."
Prior information: Naoto does not need anyone.
The steps are closer, entering the room. The voices are loud but they all overlap and the silence on her right is far louder.
Observations (not yet numerated): Yosuke stumbles over to Souji, calling his name. Chie limps behind. Yukiko's hands tremble and glow. Rise is half-sobbing somewhere nearby. Teddie stands motionless by the wall.
Falling through a hole in the floor. Ridiculous.
Kanji is kneeling next to the table, one hand cradling her head. "S'okay, Naoto. I'll get you outta here."