The team spent a long afternoon roaming the streets of Inaba, asking anyone that would listen about the murders from earlier that year, or about Teddie. Rise in particular had to put up with an obstinate fan who ignored her questions in lieu of asking his own. Eventually, after coming to the determination that there was nothing to be gained from further questioning, they met up at Aiya's. Chie groaned as she sat at the table next to the bar. "I'm seriously pooped." Souji had to admit, the martial artist looked exhausted, as did they all.
Chie looked at Naoto sympathetically. "This stuff's a lot harder when you don't have a badge to flash...I walked around all day and didn't hear anything good" she said, nodding appreciatively at the sleuth. She, along with the twins and Yosuke, had taken a seat at the bar and was now facing the others, who were sitting at Chie's table so as to make communication easier. Yukiko shook her head and slumped a bit in her chair, an uncharacteristic action for the young innkeeper.
"It was the same for me. There was absolutely no talk about the case whatsoever, let alone the true culprit."
Rise mentioned her struggle with many people bombarding her with questions instead, and the team collectively sighed. Yosuke leaned back against the bar. "What should we do…?" he asked tiredly to no one in particular. Chie looked thoughtful for a moment, then a small smile flashed onto her face as she turned into her chair to look at the restaurant's owner.
"One steak bowl, please!" yelled the martial artist, earning a smile from the owner/chef and a reproachful glare from her boyfriend.
"That's not what I meant…" he started, but breathed deeply as he rubbed his face with his hands. "Then again, I guess we might as well take a break...I'll have a crab and egg fried rice." Yosuke turned around to the bar as he ordered, with Kanji ordering a bowl of roast pork ramen, with extra noodles. The rest of the team placed their respective orders, and waited in silence until their food came.
They began to make small talk as they ate, unconsciously deciding to avoid the topic of their search. The four at the bar were discussing the upcoming holidays; Yosuke seemed to have something in mind, but refused to elaborate on the subject. Naoto had to lean in close to Souji in order to hear the brunette's words, not that Souji minded having Naoto closer to him. Chie, Yukiko, and Rise had taken to teasing Kanji, whose gentle demeanour provided a seemingly endless source of ammunition. Despite having opened up to the twins (the tall youth had decided to hold "Oven Mitt Puppets 101" in their room after coming to terms with himself), Kanji still felt embarrassed on the subject of his hobbies. The group finished their meal, and Chie spoke up first, returning to the topic of their search. After everyone had shared their information, the martial artist appeared glum.
"So, to sum up: There really was no new information...The end?" Chie looked around, hoping someone smarter might have seen something she didn't.
Naoto shook her head in frustration as the martial artist glanced at her. "The police had an unusually large number of officers in their initial investigation of the first two incidents. To find facts that even they overlooked would be difficult indeed, now that over half a year has passed. There wasn't a single report of suspicious persons being witnessed to begin with...Ms. Yamano had ardent fans whereas Saki-san didn't, but otherwise the conditions are the same." Souji nodded in agreement. He'd even called up some of the officers at the department that he'd befriended, but they'd had no new information to provide him with. He had silently thanked whatever god was watching over him that they hadn't asked questions; the teen assumed that the officers thought he was picking up another case they'd thought was closed, as he was wont to do.
Yosuke shifted in his seat to look at Naoto. "Do you have anything, Naoto? Any new, uh...deductions?" The sleuth sighed exasperatedly as she answered him. She mumbled something about needing fresh air, and headed outside, exposing the group to a blast of cold as she opened the door to the restaurant. The twins looked at each other, silver eyes meeting silver-gold: the blue flecks Souji had seen in The Velvet Room had been the reflection of the room's interior lighting, much to the boys chagrin. As if communicating telepathically, the two stood up, claiming that they would also be heading outside. Yosuke, feeling left out, made as if to follow them before being held back by Chie, who had decided she wanted to ask the brunette something.
The twins moved outside, feeling the chill in the air as they joined Naoto on the sidewalk. Yu had had the foresight to bring along a heavier jacket than normal after watching the weather report, and he placed the large white coat around his shoulders now, feeling the warmth return to his cold-shocked body. Souji was shivering slightly, suddenly wishing that Morpheus' robe had a little more insulation. As if in response to his thoughts, the cloth began moving on its own, changing quickly into a stylish blue-and-gold winter coat. Naoto and Yu noticed, raising their eyebrows at Souji, but said nothing, mutually deciding that whatever had happened with Morpheus had thrown the idea of impossibility out the window.
They heard the door open behind them, and Yosuke shuffled out, holding his arms as he attempted to retain whatever heat he could. "Brr…It's freezing out here" complained the Junes Prince, looking at his compatriots' coats jealously.
Naoto shook her head with a smile. "It's snowing…no wonder it's so cold."
The boys looked at the sky in surprise, seeing the flakes of snow falling lightly. Although it had fallen in Okina, the snow hadn't reached Inaba that night, marking this as the towns' first snowfall. "Maybe this'll help clear my head and get my deductive muscles flexing…too bad the fog's so thick. I bet the snow's really pretty." Yosuke looked back at the street ahead of him as he finished, followed by Yu and Souji as they too stared off into the distance. In conjunction, the boys' faces furrowed. Just out of reach, they could sense the answer. "What's the matter?" Yosuke asked, noticing the change in his friends' looks. Naoto turned too, looking quizzically at the silverettes, head tilted slightly.
The twins thought hard. Whoever the killer was, they had to have had contact with both Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. They also knew about the T.V world, if the warning letters were anything to go by. There was also the fact that no one had seen a single suspicious person around town, unless you accounted for Namatame, who was the subject of the townsfolks ire. Whoever the killer was, they'd either been unnoticed, or they were a familiar face around town. Souji's eyes widened as another fact struck him. The killer had to be able to approach Dojima's house to deliver the letters, without raising suspicion, and only a handful of people would be capable of doing that. In fact, almost every single one of them was in the immediate vicinity. Yu and Souji looked at each other in alarm. It couldn't be… They thought quickly. It seemed impossible, but also entirely possible at the same time. He'd been at the house many times; hell, the twins had invited him over for dinner before. He'd helped Nanako with her homework, and had offered some good advice to the twins on occasion, albeit with strange undertones the boys found uncomfortable. But as they thought about it, the idea seemed more and more promising. He'd easily be able to show up at their uncle's home without raising suspicion, and his job would have put him in the prime position to have access to Saki and Yamano. Not to mention he was largely responsible for informing the team of movements around town, seemingly on accident.
"But was it an accident?" Souji thought.
He'd also be able to keep any evidence pointing towards himself from seeing the light of day, not to mention he'd seemed very panicked when they'd apprehended that peeping tom outside Marukyu Tofu. But why? The twins created a close bond with him over the course of the year, even developing an Arcana from the relationship. Souji and Yu felt loathe to speak his name, but the desire to find the killer outweighed the momentary lapse of resolve. "Tohru Adachi…" they said in unison, earning surprised looks from Yosuke and Naoto.
"Detective Adachi...A member of the police force...That is an interesting approach. It would certainly explain the lack of witness reports...It's the same reason no one ever reported seeing Namatame's truck."
Yosuke shook his head. "This is a small town, so everyone must've known who he is. And since he's a detective, people definitely wouldn't have thought of him as being suspicious."
Naoto nodded absently at the brunettes words. "In fact, he could use his position to his advantage and hide critical information." She spoke determinedly, wheels inside her mind turning faster and faster.
"Huh...Well, if you think of it that way, I guess it's possible..." Yosuke mumbled, but sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "But we're talking about Adachi here, right? I mean really, Adachi? He's your textbook lousy detective... Are we really on the right track here...?"
Naoto turned to the three boys, an odd look on her face. "Actually...regarding Detective Adachi...I'm not sure how to put it, but there's something that's been bothering me about him for some time now..."
Naoto didn't finish, letting loose a small sneeze. Souji looked at her with concern. "Let's head back inside and warm up. We can talk about it more without catching a cold." The others nodded, and filed back inside the Chinese restaurant to inform the team of their possible discovery.
"...What are you all doing here?" Dojima looked questioningly at the assembled Investigation Team surrounding Adachi. They had gone to the hospital after Naoto had checked for the detective's current location, and had found him in the East wing.
"We came to confirm something...with Adachi-san." Yosuke said, crossing his arms in front of him as he glared at the man in question. Without waiting for a response, Souji and Yu began barraging him with questions about Yamano and Saki, causing the detective to stutter helplessly in response. A question about the warning letter caused Adachi to falter even more, and the detective claimed to have forgotten about it.
Dojima turned to his partner angrily. "Hey, whaddya mean you don't remember? I gave it to you to take down to the crime lab for processing. You're telling me you forgot!?"
Adachi looked uncomfortable. "Ha...haha, I'm sorry...Your accident was right after that, and what with one thing and another, it sorta slipped my mind...B-Besides, that thing was just a prank, wasn't it?" The look on the Adachi's face turned into one of extreme annoyance, almost one of anger. "Geez, what're you asking me all this for!? For crying out loud, what's this all supposed to be about!? Dojima-san, you really need to get back to your bed. That's why your wounds aren't healing. And you all need to go home right now! Do you have any idea what time it is!?" The detective made as if to leave as he claimed to be heading to the station, but the intimidating figure that was Kanji halted the detective in his tracks, sweating nervously as the tall boy glared down at the smaller man.
"Just one more thing, please." Naoto spoke politely, and Souji grinned in spite of himself at the sleuth's habitual use of manners. "We know for certain now that the first two murders weren't Namatame's doing. Someone else killed them. Adachi-san...Do you have any idea who that might be?" Adachi looked incredibly flustered at Naoto's questioning, stammering out a weak denial.
Kanji looked hard at the detective, uncrossing his arms as he did so. "'Cause we think it mighta been you" he said menacingly, taking a step towards Adachi.
The detective's face contorted in angry fear, and spoke loudly. "What!? Th-That's ridiculous! We already know Namatame's the one who put them all in!" Adachi had slipped up, and the grin that had adorned Souji's face turned into a malicious frown, eyebrows coming down low, making the teen look ferocious. Yu held a similar look, and moved closer.
"What did you just say…?" the silverette asked quietly, knowing that they had just received their confession.
"Put them all in...? What's this "putting them in" business? Do you know something about the method behind their murders...? Don't tell me all that talk about TVs and whatnot from before was..." Dojima looked between the teens and Adachi suspiciously, his gaze lingering on his partner for longer than the teens.
"I see...Now I finally understand. To tell the truth, Adachi-san, I've been fixated on something you once said. Before, I didn't know why...Only that it sounded a wrong note to me." Naoto placed her right hand on her waist, making as if to speak, but Souji's voice spoke out just as she finished, and the sleuth remained silent as the team's leader spoke.
"Y'know, I've been wondering about what you said that night, back at the roadside. You remember, don't you? Naoto had just pulled out Namatame's journal, reading off the list of victims. I believe you said, 'Wow...Then that settles it'. I'd love to know what you meant by that, Adachi-san, because I fail to see how that 'settles' a damned thing." Souji's voice grew a bit louder, and the Investigation Team grinned in spite of the situation; it had been quite some time since they'd witnessed Souji rant, and were somewhat glad it wasn't directed at them for once.
"A list of names means nothing, regardless of what those names are. For all you knew, those names could have been Namatame keeping records of the people that had disappeared. We know now that most of the names on that list had been of people that Namatame had kidnapped, but two of them are out of place. Not to mention that, at the time, the police hadn't known of any other attempted murders at the time. After all, it's not uncommon for people to go missing for a few days at a time around here. I should know, I'm the one sorting the paperwork involving such cases!" Souji glared at Adachi, and as he spoke, he reached into the interior of his robe-jacket, and produced the journal. Morpheus' power was coming in handy in a way Souji was starting to love. "The names in question are of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, Detective Adachi. The reason they're in question is that Namatame had never kidnapped or harmed either person. Much to the contrary, he had no connection to Yamano's death, and had tried to warn Saki Konishi on a hunch. The first person he kidnapped is standing here right now!"
Yukiko shifted on her feet, slightly uncomfortable, but kept her gaze focused on Adachi.
"So what does that mean to you, Adachi?!" Souji finished his rant, and continued to stare daggers at the man he'd believed to be his friend. Adachi's response was to run away, down the hall towards Namatame's old room. The team followed him, Dojima yelling behind them at Adachi as they ran. They burst into the room, but Adachi was nowhere in sight. After a quick round of questioning, the teens determined that he had escaped through the large T.V, the same one they had contemplated throwing Namatame into a few days earlier. "We'll wait until tomorrow." Souji said, thinking about the warning Teddie had given them so long ago. A thought struck him as he thought of the bear, and resolved to follow that line of thought later.
Dojima entered as he finished speaking. "Did you find him?" asked the elder detective, scowling as the team reported their results. "That bastard...Ungh..." Dojima winced and held his side. Luckily, one of the stubborn man's many nurses had followed the detective's trail of questions, and ran in. She escorted Dojima back to his room, chastising him for opening his wounds again, and the team stared silently after him.
"What in the world are you doing?" Yu asked, looking at his brother as if he were crazy. Souji sat at the tea table back at home, jacket hanging on the wall at the entrance.
"I'm testing a theory…" Souji murmured quietly. In front of him was a stack of tarot cards, and the boy had been staring at them for the better part of an hour, not moving himself or the cards.
Yu shook his head; Souji wasn't making any sense. "Are you going to enlighten me as to what this theory entails, or am I gonna have to play twenty questions?"
Souji gave his brother a wry smile before turning his attention back to the deck of cards in front of him. He closed his eyes as he focused on the image in his head. "To put it simply, I'm searching for something that's been lost" he said cryptically, earning an exasperated sigh from his brother.
"Well, let me know when you find him, Igor-san." muttered Yu, sitting on the couch and leaning his head back. Souji smiled at the reference to the master of The Velvet Room, but pushed the image out of his mind as he focused harder. Slowly, he reached out to hover his hand over the deck of cards. He lowered his arm until his fingers touched the deck, and a deft movement had spread them evenly across the table. As the image in his mind became ever sharper, Souji moved his hand across the line of cards slowly, stopping as he reached a card midway between the middle and the right end. He gingerly lifted the card up, and the image flashed brightly in his minds' eye. The silverette's mouth broke into a large grin as he opened his eyes, looking at the face of the card in his hand.
"Found him…" he murmured, gazing at the image of the Star Arcana on the card in his hand; he'd been right in asking Margaret if there were any spare decks of cards, like the ones Igor used for his own fortune telling.
"Found who now?" Yu asked, looking at his brother intently.
Souji turned to look at Yu, showing him the card in his hand. "I found Teddie" he said simply.
Yu looked shocked, and stood up quickly. "Where?" he asked, a note of urgency in his voice. Souji chuckled; Yu's face was fairly amusing to look at currently.
"Well, he's definitely not anywhere on earth, nor is he in the T.V world." Souji grinned slyly as he continued. "I suppose you could say he's currently between dream and reality, mind and matter."
Yu groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course, no wonder we couldn't find him." The youth sighed heavily. "I suppose that means we should head off to dreamland then."
Souji nodded, feeling tired as Yu mentioned sleep. "That's usually a good idea, regardless of the situation."
Yu laughed softly. "You know what, why not try it next time we're facing down hordes of shadows. Maybe they'll ignore us if we're asleep." Souji laughed with his brother, standing up as he did so. The twins cleaned up the cards from the table, gingerly placing them on the table near the kitchen before heading upstairs to sleep, and hopefully find Teddie.
