I tried to get this up a few hours earlier, but I just missed it. Oh, well. I may be a bit late, but I'm wishing a very happy birthday to our favorite Detective Prince!
Happy birthday, Naoto!
-Purple
Everything was hazy, and I don't remember much at all. I remember being carried on Kanji Tatsumi's back, but other than that, all I remember was a blur. We had left the room where my Shadow had attacked, and made our way through the labyrinth of the secret laboratory, though the others seemed as if they knew very well how to get out. I felt myself becoming weaker. My body was going limp and there was definitely something wrong. I wondered if this was just fatigue, or if this environment had something to do with it. I barely noticed that my face was buried in Kanji's shoulder as he carried me, and the world seemed to be spinning around me. I don't even recall what kind of things they said, because everything was so fuzzy to me.
I remember a door opening and revealing the world outside the secret laboratory, but it wasn't what I had expected it to be. Outside, there seemed to be an endless sea of trees, and the sky above was pulsing with ominous shades of red and black. Fog filled the area, and it was so thick I could barely see. Just as I began to wonder how the others could see through it, I noticed that they had all been wearing glasses the entire time. I deduced that these glasses must have some kind of technology built into them that allowed them to see through the fog. The idea somewhat intrigued me. It reminded me of some kind of gadget I would have loved to build when I was a child.
The group somehow found their way through the fog and the trees, and we ended up in a strange place that resembled a TV studio, at least from the blurry image I could remember. There was a tall figure that somehow appeared to look like a stack of retro television sets... And after seeing that, everything went blank for me. The next thing I remember was that I was sitting on the floor of what I guessed was the electronics department at Junes, for some reason. It felt as if everything had been a dream... But no, it was all too real to be a dream. It was much too real...
"Hey... Hey!" Kanji's voice sounded through the deafening ringing in my ears. My vision had gone dark, and I had begun to let the gnawing feeling of unconsciousness take me, before he spoke up. My body was numb, and I was weaker than I had ever felt before. All energy that had previously been in me had been wiped, and I found myself to be breathing heavily with exhaustion.
"Sheesh..." Chie's voice came from beside me, "She really put her life on the line for this..."
I heard Yukiko's voice as well. "But without her efforts, we'd never have realized... That the culprit is still at large."
There was a short pause, and then Kanji spoke up again, sounding very concerned. "You're too freaking reckless, dammit..."
Reckless, huh? Well... I guess he could say that, but my actions hadn't been strickly out of recklessness. I lifted my head and looked up at them to tell them the reason I had taken such a risk. "I never doubted that you would come for me..." I said, "Although the reality turned out to be far what I'd imagined."
Kanji looked somewhat pale when I looked at him. He looked as if he had been very worried. "Tch... What a dumbass. You're no genius at all. We were tearing our hair out over you..."
Rise looked at him with a smile. "So you did worry about her, Kanji! Awww..."
Kanji looked flustered. "Shuddup! M-mind your own damn business!"
"I'll take her home," Yukiko said, "I don't think she can go back by herself."
I looked down. I didn't want them to have to go out of their way just to see that I got home. It would have been weak of me to request help for something I could do myself. "It's... All right... I can..." I felt weaker than I had expected. My energy was completely drained from me.
"No way, missy!" Rise spoke up, "Don't think that doing everything on your own is the 'adult' thing to do! C'mon, let's go. Grab on!" She held out her arm to me.
I pouted, gritting my teeth. This was humiliating to me. Nonetheless, I felt much too weak to make it home on my own. I worried about fainting even before I could leave Junes. Reluctantly, I lifted my head and nodded. Then, I grabbed hold of Rise's hands, and she pulled me to my feet.
"Your hands are shaking," Rise said softly, "And they're freezing, too... Come to think of it, you look really pale..." As I stood up, I was struck with a wave of dizziness. I wanted nothing more than to just get back to my house and lie down. I groaned as Rise and Yukiko lifted me up with my arms around their shoulders.
"Be careful with her," the silver-haired student said calmly.
"I'll be fine," I said weakly, and then looked curiously at him. He had a small smile on his face, and looked very pleased that I was alright. I couldn't help but grin a little, feeling the extremely warm aura that came off of him. Then, I remembered. "By the way, what was your name, again?"
He looked at me with his deep grey eyes, and his smile widened politely. "My name's Yu Narukami," he said.
"Yu Narukami," I repeated to myself to etch the name into my mind. It was a decent name. "Well, thank you for saving me. All of you. I knew that you would come..." I grinned weakly.
"Don't worry about it," said Yosuke, "Just go home and take as much time as you need to relax. That world can be a real strain on you."
I nodded, and then Rise and Yukiko turned me around and began to walk out. When we exited the building, I saw that the sky was dark, and it was late in the evening. I wondered how long I had been gone. If it had been just before midnight when I was kidnapped, did that mean I had been gone for the whole day? "How long have I been gone?" I asked.
"A few days," Yukiko answered apologetically.
"What!?" I was shocked. "It only felt like a day at the most!"
"You were probably unconscious for a long time," Yukiko said, "I know I was... I went through the same thing."
"So did I," Rise said sullenly, "That world does wonders on your mind..."
"I guessed that this had happened to you as well," I sighed, "Seeing as I have been observing you all for quite some time now... You both, as well as Kanji, all went missing for periods of a few days before suddenly turning up without an explanation. It's not surprising that this happened for me as well... But still..." I groaned. "What am I going to tell my grandfather...?"
"I told my parents that I didn't remember what happened," Yukiko said.
"I told my grandmother that, too," said Rise, "Because that was somewhat true, at least. But you were trying to prove that the case wasn't closed, right? So at least now people might believe you!"
I sighed. I honestly didn't know how my grandfather or Yakushiji would react. However, most of what I felt was guilt. They must have been worried beyond belief for me.
"Don't worry, Naoto-kun," Yukiko said reassuringly, "I'm sure your grandfather will be relieved to see you after having gone missing for so long."
"Yeah," I said.
"For now, you just need to take some time to rest," said Rise, "Take all the time you need, and when you're ready to come back to school, we'll discuss the case."
Discuss the case... I liked the sound of that. I may have been booted off the official case, but that didn't mean I couldn't still help with it. "That sounds great." I grinned optimistically, feeling myself begin to strengthen slightly.
After a few minutes, we stood at the beginning of the walkway which led to my house. I was thankful to the two girls for helping me, however reluctant I had been. I stood on my own and tipped the brim of my hat to them in thanks. "Thank you very much. You've been a lot of help."
"Do you want us to walk with you the rest of the way?" Rise asked cheerfully.
"We can help explain your disappearance to your grandfather, if you'd like," Yukiko said.
"That won't be necessary," I said, "But thank you. I think I need to handle this on my own. There are a few things I'd like to say to him, as well."
They both nodded. "We'll see you later, then," Rise said, "Make sure to rest up."
"Good luck," said Yukiko. The two of them turned and began to walk off.
I turned and walked up the path to the front steps of my house. Peering into the window, I felt a warm wave of relaxation come over me. Considering everything I had just gone through, I felt downright blessed to finally be back home. However, when I reached up to knock on the door, I hesitated for a long while. My heart skipped a beat and I stood there nervously with a lump in my throat. I didn't know what awaited me inside, whether I would be scolded, grounded, or worse... But I had to do this. Part of me wished for Yukiko and Rise to be there with me, but I kept telling myself that I needed to stay strong and do this by myself. Swallowing hard, I lightly knocked on the door.
After a few moments, the latch began to open. It all seemed to happen so slowly before my eyes, and I braced myself for what would happen. For a split second, Yakushiji's grey eyes appeared before me, and with a gasp, I was suddenly enveloped in a tangle of arms. "Shirogane!" Yakushiji wailed, "Shirogane, get over here!"
Before I knew it, my grandfather was also standing before me, bearing a look of shock and disbelief. "Naoto!" he cried out, wrapping his arms around me as well. I was compressed between the two men, and though I was utterly surprised, I felt safer than I had in a long while. I didn't know what to say. I just stood there, frozen in surprise and comfort.
"I've been torturing myself these past few days," Yakushiji said shakily, "I could have opened that door and then you would have been safe... I could have been there to stop the guy..."
"I am safe," I said reassuringly, "I'm safe now." It seemed they knew automatically that I had been kidnapped.
"I was so worried," my grandfather said, "I even offered help to the Inaba P.D. to try and track you down..."
"I'm okay," I insisted, "I'm sorry..."
"No," my grandfather said, "Don't be sorry, it was our fault... I thought I lost you... What did he do to you? Are you hurt? Where did he take you? How did you escape?"
I remembered what Yukiko had said. "I don't remember anything. All I remember is that I was found by a group of teenagers, and they brought me back here..."
The two men released their grip on me. My grandfather looked at me, shocked. "You weren't... Raped, were you?"
My face went pale. "No," I assured him, "I wasn't raped, I know that much..."
"Well," said Yakushiji, "You are safe now, and that's what matters... And it seems your gut feeling about the case was right, after all..." He grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Naoto..."
"Don't be," I said, and thought for a moment. I looked at my Grampa, feeling a slight twinge of pain in my chest. "Yakushiji-san... Would you mind if I spoke to my grandfather in private for a few minutes...?"
"Oh," Yakushiji said, "Anything, Naoto-sama. I was just about to leave for the night, anyway. I'm just so glad you're home..." He nodded to me, grabbed his coat from the coat rack, and went out to his car. I closed the door as my grandfather and I entered the house. He sat down in his armchair in the parlor, and then looked at me with a face full of seriousness.
"What did you want to tell me?" he asked, sounding concerned.
I removed my hat and my lip trembled. A lump grew yet again in my throat and I looked up to face my grandfather. The words came out softly and weakly. "Grampa..." I whimpered, "I'm sorry..." It all came pouring out at once, and tears began to form in my eyes. "I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry about everything..."
"Sorry?" Grampa said, leaning forward, "No, no... I already said it's not your fault..."
"No," I said, "I'm sorry about everything I've made you go through... And I'm sorry about the way I've been acting lately, as well..." Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I've been selfish and inconsiderate and all I've been thinking about is this damn case..."
"Come here," my grandfather said, holding out his arms. I approached him and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around him as I had done many times as a child, many years ago. I hugged him tightly, gritting my teeth and letting myself sob for the first time in God knows when. "Don't you worry," Grampa said, running his fingers through my hair, "I know that this time in your life can be exceptionally hard. Your father went through his own hard times as well... I've seen so much of him in you. Always rushing to get things done... Wanting to grow up as soon as possible..." He smiled. "He would be so proud of you if he could see you today... He would be proud beyond words..."
I gripped my grandfather's clothing tightly, trembling. I had forgotten the last time I had a good, long cry. It felt so refreshing and satisfying, but I also felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry that I'm crying..."
"No, don't be sorry," my grandfather chuckled, hugging me tightly. "Even adults have to cry sometimes."
I sat there with him for a few minutes, letting myself cry. The tears never seemed to end. It seemed as if everything I had been holding in throughout the years was suddenly coming out all at once. After a while, I felt fully refreshed, but exhausted. The sobs ended with a soft hiccup, and my grandfather got me a glass of water before I headed upstairs to my bedroom. I took a hearty few gulps of water, placed my hat down on my desk, and then plopped down on my bed without even bothering to change out of my clothes. So much had happened to me within the last few days, and now I could finally rest. I was so exhausted that it did not take long at all for me to fall into a deep, relaxing sleep. To my delight, I felt more at home than ever before.
