The journey after the journey finished begins. Do not be alarmed. We have summoned you in your dreams. Just because the car has reached its destination, and just because the fog has already cleared, doesn't mean the car will remain where it is, nor does it mean that we can see everything. There are still more places to be, more destinations to make. Humans are flowing in the river of time, and even though they already reached a place they wanted to be, time will eventually push them forward once more, granted with a new destination in mind, and running as quickly as before.
The cards that you have found throughout your last journey been returned to their rightful place. However, from one of the bonds you are affiliated with, a Seeker of Truth, you have access to persona of Lucifer, the Rebel King of Hell. Do not be alarmed, but do not be careless. It will be needed when the time comes.
We summoned you to prophesize the next mystery with your time. All the bonds that you have formed with those around you, though strong and unbreakable, has been shrouded in mystery, since time has pushed all those around you away. Time has strained the bonds, and the actions that brought your loved ones closer in your previous experience has now aided with time to expel those further away. You must atone for your many transgressions you have committed. If you atone, the mystery will be revealed, but not solved. And once all bonds have been defogged, you will have one final trial that you will have no part in.
That is the prophecy that I will give to you. Until we meet again, farewell.
The day is April 1.
"Nanako, we're going to the train station. We're going to pick up your big brother." Dojima said to his 10-year-old daughter. "Oh. Okay." Nanako replied. She was originally sitting in her room's desk, diligently doing her homework. Despite her empty response, she continued writing. "Nanako!" Dojima screamed. Nanako sighed, and put down her pencil. "Alright..." She slumped out of her chair, and walked out of her room. "What's the matter with you? I thought you'd be excited to see your big brother again." Nanako remained silent. Dojima shook his head in disappointment, and walked out to his white car, and drove off to the train station.
While driving, Dojima had a disappointed look on his face. He had random bursts of sighs. Otherwise, the car was absolutely silent. Even the engine, after an accident two years back, still remained very quiet. Noticing the quiet, Nanako placed earphones in her ear, and connected it to her MP3 player. When she hit play, the music was so loud that Dojima could hear the words of the song she was listening to. From his rear-view mirror, he could see that her earphones were on. "Nanako! What did I tell you about playing that device too loud?" Nanako took her earphones off, and looked at the mirror. "Shut up." The car came screeching to a halt. "Nanako. You know the area we're in now. Just... get out." Nanako picked up her things, opened the door, and slammed the door. Dojima wiped his forehead, and, for a moment, remained absolutely still. A honk came from behind him, and an angry orange-haired teen popped out of his window. "Move it! I got to go somewhere!" Dojima sighed, and began driving again, ignoring the agitated boy.
When Dojima arrived, there stood a teenager, with silky gray medium length hair. He donned a dark gray jacket and matching pants. He had a small briefcase with him, but other than that, he came empty handed. Dojima knew that this was his nephew. "Welcome back. Come, let's go home." Dojima said to his nephew. Yu simply nodded. Those two walked towards the car.
The car was about as silent as when Nanako was still in there. Dojima, already learned his lesson with Nanako, tried to conjure up some small talk. "So, you enjoyed being in Tokyo for a year?" Dojima asked. Yu looked out the window, while giving him a response, as well as nodding his head. "Ah. I bet you had a lot more to do there than here in Inaba, huh? Did you meet up with a couple of your old friends?" Yu nodded again, still looking out the window. The car stopped for a red light, and Yu's silver eyes widened. Outside, he saw a person, with a dark blue cap and a slightly darker blue overcoat. The person was standing there, looking at the floor, with one arm at her hip, looking like she was pondering on something. This person was Naoto.
Naoto looked up, and saw Yu. Yu lifted his arm to wave, but Naoto returned the wave with a cold glare. The ocean blue eyes that glared at him frosted his entire body.. Yu put his trembling hand down, his spine feeling like someone poured liquid nitrogen from inside of him. His body stiffened up, and his eyes looked back down. Things in Inaba certainly have changed. Igor definitely was telling the truth when he said that Yu's bonds, though strong previously, were definitely unknown to him now that he was gone.
Come to think of it, Yu never received any text messages or calls ever since he left. Just from that alone, the bonds from the past don't feel strong. They feel severed. The car drove off again, continuing to Dojima Residence. "Hey. Are you okay? This happened last time though... Are you tired from the train ride?" Dojima asked in concern. Yu responded that he was fine, though his head felt like it was splitting open, down the middle.
After another long awkward pause, Yu asked about Nanako. Dojima grimaced, and Yu took note of that. He came to realize that the question he asked may have been a bad one to ask at that time. "Oh... Nanako... she was misbehaving, and, well, I told her to just go home." The car began to slow down a little bit, and Dojima began looking down. "Heh... I'm a terrible parent..." Dojima started chuckling to himself, though it was clear that he was already bogged down by his own thoughts. The car suddenly jerked to a near stop. Blood splattered the windshield.
"What the..." Dojima began. He fully stopped, and quickly turned around. A old woman wearing a funeral outfit was on the floor, and a dark streak of red stained the concrete, the car, and even her. "Oh shit..." Dojima kicked the door open so hard, the door seemed to get slightly unwedged. He ran over to the woman, pulling out her cell phone, and calling the ambulance. Yu decided to just stay in the car. His mind was wrapped up in the ideas that Igor talked about. He seemed to be right. All the bonds that he seemed to have made unbreakable were now shown as a supreme enigma. He sighed and walked out of the vehicle.
"I... I did it... again..." Dojima mumbled to himself while on the phone, making sure Yu didn't hear. Yu walked closer to the woman. "Hey! Go back to the car. Okay?" Yu nodded. However, he was close enough to recognize the woman. That woman was Hisano Kuroda. Even though she was in excruciating pain, she had a weak smile on her face. "Go into the trunk of the car. I didn't tell you, but your scooter is there... I hope you still have your scooter license. Just... go home without me. Nanako should be there. I'll take care of this... I'll be home late. Okay?" Yu nodded again, and followed his frantically given instructions.
On his scooter heading towards the Dojima Residence, Yu began contemplating everything he has witnessed thus far. Naoto became very antagonistic of him, and Hisano was killed. Igor told him that his bonds would have been weakened. But... these bonds were unbreakable. Perhaps unbreakable doesn't mean unable to be weakened. Nothing really seems to make sense. After all that time in the other world, dealing with something as simple as social links wouldn't be terribly difficult, right? Though... Yu has to see for himself how bad everything has gone.
He finally arrived at the house, and rang the doorbell. Yu scratched his head from all that has occurred already. After a brief twenty seconds or so, he rang the doorbell again. Two minutes passed, and nothing happened. He tried opening the door. The door indeed was open. He slowly crept in, and looked around the house. It was, for the most part, absolutely the same as when he left. The house was so similar, it looked like it was stuck in time. He walked upstairs to his old room to see if everything was kept the same. Aside from all the things he took with him back to Tokyo, everything was the same. Television that broadcasted the Midnight Channel so many times, the bed that he slept in for just about every single day, even his desk where he studied, nothing seemed to be altered. If anything, the only difference aside from his things gone was the layers of dust that accumulated on the objects that remained.
Despite the dust, he jumped on top of the bed, and closed his eyes yet again. He knew that there was too much to think about. And as much as he wanted to put action right behind those thoughts, it wasn't the right time to do anything but reflect. His eyelids seemed to have a mind of its own. They would alternate between staying open or closed. Slowly, Yu's eyelids eventually yielded to his biological need of sleep. His eyes closed one last time, and he drifted to sleep.
The day is April 2.