I'm honestly surprised with the positive responses this has received. With Persona 4 being kind of an old game I thought this would be more niche but I'm glad you guys are enjoying it.
Naruto descended the stairs to what was becoming a common occurrence. Nanako was just finishing serving breakfast but stopped what she was doing when she saw him. She rushed over to him, looking up at him expectantly but didn't say anything.
"Morning, Nanako-chan," Naruto said in greeting as he patted her head.
She pouted at him.
"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.
"How's your foot?" Nanako asked.
Naruto stared at her for a moment before recalling the confusing events of the night before. "Oh, that? I'm fine, thanks for worrying about me."
Nanako flushed slightly and returned to her tasks.
"Dad said he was going to make up for yesterday so we're going for ice cream today," Nanako announced over breakfast. "He said it would be just the two of us, but I can ask him to let you come along if you want?"
"We'll all go together another time. I think you should enjoy some time together with your old man," Naruto chuckled at her pout. "I mean your dad."
"Okay," Nanako smiled at him. "Maybe we can all go to Junes this weekend?"
"Sounds like fun to me," Naruto agreed and received another beaming smile in return.
In what was now routine, Naruto walked Nanako to her school and then made his own way to his, lost in thought along the way. There were many things on his mind, mainly questioning whether or not the night before actually happened or if it was nothing more than another vivid dream.
"Move over!"
Naruto was surprised to find Chie had forced herself beneath his umbrella, bumping into him and leaving them walking shoulder to shoulder. She grinned at him, hair matted down from the rain, face wet. Her uniform and green sports jacket were both almost soaked, making them cling to her body in a way that made him feel extremely flustered.
"Ah, g-good morning, Satanako-san," Naruto cursed his sudden stuttering. "Forgot your umbrella this morning?"
"Well I did have my own umbrella but I watched this kung fu movie where they used it to pull off some sweet moves," Chie giggle sheepishly with a blush. "So I kinda broke mine trying out some of those moves. Hey, don't you judge me!"
Naruto laughed alongside her. "I won't, I promise."
He was once again left stricken by her dimpled smile, which quickly fell away to one of nervousness.
"So, the midnight channel," Chie began nervously. "Did you try it last night?"
"I did," Naruto looked to Chie, hoping he wouldn't make a fool of himself. "It was weird, I heard a voice and then the tv —"
"So you saw it too!?" Chie moved even closer to him, which only resulted in pushing him aside some more. "Wait, what voice? I only saw flashes of a girl. Ew, does that mean my soulmate's a girl?" She made a face. "She had shoulder length brown hair and she was wearing our school's uniform."
Naruto's eyes widened in realization. The fact was lost in the splitting headache, the voice that followed, and the fact he was able to stick his hand through the television, but as Chie described the girl, he realized he could see her in his mind's eye. "I saw one too. Same look and everything."
"Does that mean we have the same soulmate?" Chie looked uncomfortable. "But I don't like girls. Or wait, did you see a specific girl?"
"No, no one I recognized but I didn't get a good look either. I think there's more going on here," Naruto palmed the back of his head nervously. "After seeing the girl and hearing the voices, I kinda stuck my hand through my tv."
"What? You punched your tv?" Chie gasped and her eyes darted to the hand that was holding their umbrella.
"No, I mean i was able to push my hand through the tv screen itself. It felt...I don't know, cold? It was really weird. Did anything like that happen to you?" Naruto asked. He knew how he must have sounded so he decided to leave out the fact something grabbed his arm out of his recounting.
Chie looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uhh, no. But I didn't try either. Are you sure maybe it wasn't a dream?"
"I'm sure it wasn't," Naruto sighed and looked to the falling sky through his clear umbrella. The rain was beginning to come fall heavier and faster. "But we can talk about this later with Yosuke. See if he saw anything too."
"Good idea, it's really starting to come down," Chie said, moving in closer to his side.
All the oddities of the midnight channel aside, Naruto found he was enjoying walking so close together with Chie. That was until she stopped in place abruptly, blushing slightly.
"Uh, I think I'll just run the rest of the way," Chie looked away from him.
"What, why?" Naruto didn't like this development.
"Because I just realized what this looks like," Chie's blush darkened. "You know, us sharing an umbrella like this. People'll start spreading dumb rumors about us."
Naruto felt his own face heat up but decided to be brave in that moment. "Who cares what other people'll say? Besides, I don't want you catching a cold."
Chie appeared surprised by his words and stared at him, wide eyed long enough to make him avert his own eyes in embarrassment.
"I guess you have a point," Chie said softly. "Thank you, Naruto-san."
Naruto laughed nervously. "It's nothing, Satanako-san."
"Hey!" Chie pouted at him. "What's with the formalities, we're friends, right?"
Naruto finally worked up the courage to look back at her to find she was grinning at him, her cheek dimpling adorably with a light blush across her cheeks.
"Then it's just Naruto to you too, Chie," Naruto said.
They shared what had to be a pair of dumb grins before resuming their walk to school, shoulder to shoulder.
Classes went by like normal. He had lunch with Yosuke where they confirmed what they saw with one another. Though Yosuke also didn't seem to hear any voices, and much like Chie, he didn't think to press his hand to the television after leaving him alone in that experience, which was beginning to concern decided they would discuss things further with Chie as a group after school as neither could make sense of what they all saw.
The day came to an end and Naruto was sitting at his desk, waiting for Yosuke to return from wherever he'd gone off to. As he did, he heard two girls gossiping about the recent murders, reminding him of the fact that beyond the midnight channel, there was a murderer on the loose.
One of the girls mentioned it was Yosuke's crush, Saki, who found the body.
"Hey, you talk to Satanako-san yet?" Yosuke asked.
Naruto looked to him, wondering if he'd heard the rumor yet. "Not yet. I'm not sure where she is."
As if conjured, Chie entered the room, her attention on him immediately. She rushed over to his desk and slammed her hands on it. "Have you heard the rumors yet?"
"What rumors?" Yosuke asked.
Chie seemed to realize Yosuke was also there and pulled away to address them both. "They're saying Saki-sempai was the one who found the body," she said conspiratorially.
"That would explain why she seemed so off yesterday," Yosuke said thoughtfully, almost hopefully.
Naruto hoped for her sake it wasn't because though he didn't like the way she was treating Yosuke, the idea of stumbling upon a murder victim sounded haunting.
Yukiko stood abruptly with her things in hand, looking rather frazzled.
"You working at the inn again today?" Chie called to her.
"Things have been rather busy as of late," Yukiko said in confirmation and quickly made her way out of the room.
"Is she okay?" Naruto asked Chie. "She seemed a little worried."
"She's been really busy with the inn lately," Chie looked somewhat concerned. "But I'm sure she'll be fine. Anyways, did you guys talk about that yet?" She finished in a whisper.
"Yeah, Naruto told me you saw it too," Yosuke said. "Though I don't know about the voice and tv thing."
"I'm telling you it's true," Naruto sighed and looked to Chie. "You believe me, right?"
"I still maintain that maybe it was a dream." Chie suggested sheepishly. "I mean, we were all up pretty late last night, right?"
"Maybe," Naruto relented for the sake of his image. Neither seemed to believe him but he was almost certain the events of the night form before real.
"Still though," Yosuke continued. "It's a little weird we all saw the same girl. Maybe it was just what was on tv, but with a bad signal because of the storm?"
"Yes but didn't you have the tv turned off like I told you?" Chie asked and continued at his nod. "Then that doesn't really make sense."
"None of it really does," Naruto concluded.
They were thoughtfully silent for a stretch until Chie abruptly began to giggle to herself.
"What's so funny?" Yosuke asked.
"Oh nothing," Chie grinned at Naruto mischievously. "I'm just imagining Naruto getting stuck halfway in a small tv with only his butt and legs sticking out."
Naruto palmed the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Come on, Chie."
"Already on first name bases are we?" Yosuke teased as he looked between the two.
Naruto felt his face heat up but it was Chie who beat him to the punch.
"Shut up, Yosuke!" Chie flushed lightly. "Speaking of tv's, that reminds me. My parents have been thinking of getting a new one for a while now."
Naruto was grateful for the distraction.
"Flatscreens are pretty popular these days," Yosuke added thoughtfully. "Hey, you guys wanna go check them out today? We've been beefing up our electronics department lately, maybe you'll see one you'll like," he suggested, looking between both of them.
"Oh definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics and I've just got to see my kung-fu movies on the big screen!" Chie was getting riled up and she proceeded to take up a generic kung-fu pose and made a cute sound to accompany it.
Naruto was treated to a prime view of her legs and had to try his best to keep from staring.
"Right," Yosuke rolled his eyes and seemed to ignore Chie, grinning at Naruto "We've got some pretty big one's. Who knows, maybe you'll find one big enough to fit in."
Naruto gave Yosuke the finger but agreed to go along.
As it was still raining, Naruto once again shared his umbrella with Chie on the way to Junes. Yosuke of course teased them about it until Chie threatened to kick his head off his shoulders, shutting him up rather quickly. Naruto was admittedly disappointed to hear Chie say she would buy her own umbrella while they were at Junes and decided he also wanted to kick Yosuke's head off.
The electronics department was rather small compared to what he was used to in Tokyo, but Chie seemed impressed. She immediately rushed towards the largest television on display and looked at it in awe.
"It's so big! And holy crap, so expensive," the darkened television broadcasted Chie's shocked expression clearly. "Who buys something like this?"
"Rich folks," Yosuke said with a shrug. "Though not many people actually shop for tv's around here. It's why we don't really have clerks around; there's just no point."
Chie looked to Naruto with a defeated expression. "Well, I guess there's no point in trying to convince my folks to get one of these but hey, at least looking's free."
"Well maybe not this one, but there are others," Naruto motioned to the other televisions on display.
"Hey Satanako-san," Yosuke motioned to the television in front of them. "Maybe it's so expensive because it's a portal to another world!"
Chie grinned at Naruto teasingly and joined Yosuke in pressing their hands against the dark screen to expected results.
"You guys suck," Naruto said, crossing his arms.
Chie stuck her tongue out at him.
Yosuke chuckled while shaking his head. "Well anyway, what kind of tv were you guys thinking of getting?" He asked Chie.
"They said they wanted one that's cheap. You got anything like that?" Chie asked.
"Right this way," Yosuke motioned her along.
Naruto had to fight immature feelings of jealousy as he watched Yosuke put on a show, parodying a salesman, making Chie laugh. That was until she saw the prices of the model he was showing her and they began to argue. They continued on, browsing different options with Yosuke listing off features like a real salesman.
Their words resonated with him. He wasn't really offended by their teasing so much as he was concerned whether or not he imagined that part of the midnight channel. Naruto didn't think so considering both his friends saw what he did; he only wondered why they didn't hear the voice.
He turned to the television in front of him and approached it, immediately feeling the urge to touch the screen, much like he had the night before. Dread settled back into his belly and against his better judgment, he decided to test his own sanity.
His apprehension was reflected clearly on the large screen as he placed his palm against the screen, meeting no resistance. His hand sunk into the television up to his elbow, proving him right. Though he found no vindication in this revelation, only more questions and concerns.
"I knew it, it's real," Naruto muttered to himself.
"Naruto!" Chie was at his side, her eyes darting from his Naruto to the television. "You were telling the truth?"
Naruto didn't notice when they had joined his side.
"Oh man, this is for real!" Yosuke sounded stressed. "But how the hell are you doing that? What's your secret?"
"I don't know," Naruto looked back to the screen and decided to explore further. He leaned forward and plunged his whole upper body through the screen, finding the inside was dark but there was enough light to reveal a seemingly vast expanse of nothing.
"H-Hey, what're you doing, Naruto?" Chie scream's sounded muffled as she grabbed hold of his arm.
"Dude, don't stick your head in!" Yosuke also shouted and grabbed his shirt.
"It's dark and empty in here," Naruto reported. He was suddenly feeling drawn in by the darkness.
"Oh shit, Naruto, there are customers coming!" Yosuke sounded urgent as he pulled on his shirt.
"Come on, Naruto, get out of there!" Chie herself sounded extremely worried as she pulled at his arm.
Naruto was about to listen to them when he felt something grab hold of his shirt and pulled on him hard.
All three of them shouted as they fell into the television.
Naruto hit the ground on his back, knocking all the air out of his lungs. He heard Yosuke's shouts grow louder before crashing down beside him with a painful grunt. Something crashed on him hard, further delaying catching his breath.
After a few panic stricken moments, Naruto gasped as air returned to him. He held on to whatever had fallen on top of him until who, rather than what, began to squirm.
Chie sat up while rubbing her head and looked down to him. Her eyes widened and her face became red to match his as she realized she was straddling his stomach, his hands on her hips. With an awfully feminine screech, she pushed off him in a rush, knocking the wind out of him a third time.
"S-Sorry!" Chie grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet.
"It's fine," Naruto groaned, feeling as though his entire midsection was familiarly sore and he hoped he hadn't fractured anything on his fall or as a result of Chie's.
"Oh man, I landed on my ass, and on my wallet," Yosuke groaned as he rubbed his butt. "And now I really have to pee."
Naruto himself helped Yosuke to his feet.
"Where are we?" Chie asked. "Are we inside of Junes?"
"No way, we don't have anything like this in Junes," Yosuke denied as he looked around.
It was hard to see far beyond a few feet as everything was cloaked in an oppressive fog and an odd lighting with no seeming origin, bathing everything in an eerie yellow tint. What little could be seen looked like a studio with two diverging sets of stairs on opposite sides that disappeared into the fog, along with production lights and scaffolding hanging from the ceiling.
"Are we still even alive?" Chie asked fearfully.
Her words and the genuine fear within them broke Naruto from his own mental fog. He approached Chie and looked her over. "Are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you?"
"I'm okay but…" Chie trailed off.
"I'm pretty sure my ass is cracked, thanks for asking," Yosuke cut in sarcastically.
Chie looked away from him and to their surroundings, hugging herself. "I really want to go home now."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Yosuke asked as he looked around. "Where did we even come from?"
"What're we going to do now?" Chie was looking to Naruto for answers.
"We'll find a way out of here and go home," Naruto said resolutely, though internally he was also panicking while feeling extremely guilty knowing they were stuck wherever they were because of him.
Chie didn't look at all relieved by his words. "But how?" She motioned to the vast area. "I don't see a way in or out."
"That's not right!" Yosuke was beginning to sound angry. "That can't be right! There has to be a way out of here, right?"
"I don't know, don't ask me!" Chie began to yell. "I can't take this anymore, I wanna go home right now!"
"Yeah, how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Yosuke yelled back.
They were beginning to lose themselves to panic. Yosuke looked frantic and afraid while Chie looked on the verge of tears. The last thing he needed was for them to be fighting.
"Guys calm down!" Naruto stepped between the two. "I know we're all scared right now but fighting won't get us anywhere."
"Y-You're right," Yosuke seemed to come to his senses first. He was taking deep calming breaths. "Okay, let's think this through."
Chie, on the other hand, still looked frightened.
"Chie, look at me," Naruto placed both hands on her shoulders, stealing her attention. "We're going to be okay, I promise. I'm here for you so please just take a breath and calm down."
"Okay," Chie nodded and started to breath. "Okay, I'm calm. Thank you, Naruto," she said, looking to him with a grateful expression.
"Anytime," Naruto said.
"We should start looking for a way out," Yosuke said.
Naruto was about to agree but hesitated seeing Yosuke dancing in place. "You okay?"
"I really need to pee," Yosuke groaned. "I didn't get a chance earlier. Feels like my bladder's gonna explode!"
"You're disgusting," Chie groused.
"Then let's get out of here," Naruto decided to take the initiative and looked around. "W'ere obviously not getting out the way we came considering we fell from up there."
They all stared up to see nothing but fog.
"I don't see a way out," Chie sounded nervous again. Is there even a way out?"
"There has to be," Yosuke said but didn't himself sound confident. "Right?"
"There is," Naruto said. "But we won't find it by standing here. Come on."
Chie moved to Naruto's side much in the way she did when they shared the umbrella as they began to explore the foggy surroundings. As they walked down a tighter corridor, their hands brushed occasionally and he was sorely tempted to take hold of hers but ultimately couldn't work up the courage to do so.
Their exploration of the fog was relatively silent and they walked aimlessly for long enough for Naruto to begin to internally question their progress. He didn't voice such thoughts so as not to further worry Chie and Yosuke, but he was truly considering whether or not they were any closer to a way out, or growing further away from it.
"Is that supposed to be a door?" Yosuke asked.
At the end of a hallway was something that resembled a door in shape, only glowing an eerie crimson with dark black spirals at the center.
"It almost kinda looks like a portal," Naruto commented but he wasn't sure.
"Should we go through it?" Chie asked cautiously. "What if it's dangerous?"
"You finally said something I agree with for once," Yosuke added.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Chie asked indignantly.
"Guys," Naruto cut in firmly before they could begin again. "Now's not the time for your bickering. We need to see if that leads anywhere."
"Are you kidding me?" Yosuke shook his head. "Going through portals is what got us in this mess to begin with!"
"But it could also be a way out of here," Chie shot back. She looked to Naruto with a nervous but small smile. "Besides, I think we should listen to Naruto."
Naruto smiled back at her.
"Fine," Yosuke sighed. "I guess there's really no where else to go. I just wish it wasn't so hard to see in all this damn fog."
With an agreement reached, they approached the doorway but stopped just short of entering it. The red energy seemed to stretch on forever and in combination with the swirling black streaks, created an odd spiraling illusion.
"What do we do now?" Yosuke asked.
"I'll go first," Naruto decided. "I'll let you guys know if it's safe."
"And if it isn't?" Chie asked, worried.
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there?" Naruto offered a shrug.
Chie didn't seem to like that response but didn't add anything.
"Well, here goes nothing," Naruto muttered. Despite taking point, he was just as lost and clueless as his friends and prayed to anyone listening that he would be okay. Just as he was about to go through, Chie spoke.
"Be careful," she said quietly.
He briefly turned and found her concern, both their concern, inspiring.
With a newfound courage in their reliance, Naruto stepped forward and through the doorway. He found the transition happened in what seemed like a blink of the eye. One moment he was looking down an endless red hallway, and the next he was in a bedroom.
Naruto turned around to fetch his friends but stopped short when he saw the blood smearing the walls. His already racing heart shot down into his stomach, until he realized it was paint. It had to be considering there was also splattering of white paint on the walls as well, along with posters of a woman in a red kimono. It was hard to tell who it was considering the faces were ripped off.
However, what he found most disturbing inside the room was the noose fashioned from the a red scarf hanging down from the ceiling and the chair beneath it.
"Naruto! Are you okay in there?" Chie's voice sounded distant.
Naruto looked towards the door to see Chie and Yosuke both looking back at him from outside of the doorway. Though as he got closer to them, it became apparent they couldn't see him as they would occasionally exchange concerned glances.
"What the hell is this place?" Naruto questioned himself before sparring the room a final glance. He decided there was nothing for them there and move through the doorway again.
"You're okay!" Chie seemed the most relieved.
"What was in there?" Yosuke asked.
"It looked like someone's room. Though it was messed up because there were posters on the walls with their faces ripped off…and a noose," Naruto finished reluctantly.
"A n-noose?" Chie looked frightened again and moved closer to Naruto.
"So there was a room in there?" Yosuke looked to the portal. "You disappeared the moment you stepped through. Did you just appear inside or did you have to walk a ways?"
"It was kinda like stepping through a normal doorway," Naruto was staring down the hallway they'd come down from. "But the rooms a dead end. Nothing in there but a horror show. We should probably head back where we came from and look for another way out."
"I agree," Chie added quickly.
"Was there by chance a restroom in there?" Yosuke asked as he held himself and was once again doing a jig. "I really have to piss now, like, I don't think I can hold out any longer."
"You're so gross!" Chie spat out.
"Just go then," Naruto sighed as Chie's appalled look fell on him. "What? We're in uncharted waters here. Can't have him pissing his pants if we need to run. Besides, it should be quick."
"At least someone understands!" Yosuke looked grateful as he rushed to a corner. "T-Turn around, the both of you!"
"Close your eyes and cover your ears. I'll let you know when he's done," Naruto instructed Chie.
"I don't want to," there was a quiver to Chie's words.
It took Naruto far longer than it should have to remember she was frightened.
"I'll be here, I promise," Naruto reassured her.
"Turn around!" Yosuke shouted at them. "I can't go if you're both looking!"
Naruto grabbed Chie's shoulders and gently turned her around, walking away a few paces.
"D-Don't go too far either!" Yosuke shouted after them.
"We're not!" Naruto called back and turned back to Chie. "Now close your eyes and cover your ears." He moved to her side until their shoulders were touching. "I'll be right beside you the whole time, I promise."
"Okay," Chie did as she was told and closed her eyes and covered her ears. A moment later, she leaned into him and they both waited for Yosuke to do his business.
"Much better!" Yosuke came back a moment later but then made a face and held his stomach.
"Don't tell me you have to do that too?" It was Naruto's turn to make a face.
"No!" Yosuke shook his head. "It's just that, I'm kinda feeling sick."
"Must be this place," Naruto said and tapped on Chie's shoulder, prompting her to open her eyes and uncover his ears. "Let's go."
They began their trek back from where they came.
"Hey Naruto," Chie began reluctantly.
"Yeah?" Naruto acknowledged.
"I'm feeling kinda sick," Chie said, holding her belly. "Kinda like I wanna throw up and my body's feeling a little heavy."
"I thought it was just me," Yosuke added worriedly.
"I guess it's this place," Naruto wasn't personally feeling sick, but he did feel on edge, the feeling of danger never once subsiding since their arrival. He wasn't about to voice this feeling in order to spare his friends the panic.
He had to be strong for them.
"Do you think we'll get out of here?" Chie asked.
"I know we will," Naruto said with retrained confidence. A confidence he wasn't truly feeling.
They finally arrived back to where they first landed, much to the short lived relief of the group.
"Now what?"
Naruto realized both Yosuke and Chie were looking to him for guidance but he was also at a loss for what to do next.
"Guess we'll just choose another hallway until we find a way out," Naruto didn't mean to sound so unsure.
"Who knows how long that'll take," Chie was beginning to sound desperate again.
Before Naruto could offer another round of motivational words he couldn't fully endorse, he noticed something moving in the fog. He pushed Chie towards Yosuke and stood in front of both of them.
He silenced their protests immediately. "Quiet, something's coming," he whispered to them.
"W-What is it?" Chie asked fearfully as she pressed herself up behind him.
"I don't know," Naruto said.
"Oh man, it's coming closer!" Yosuke sounded equally frightened.
Naruto watched and waited as the figure approached, its silhouette morphing into something that almost resembled an oddly shaped teddy bear. It was a bear or something resembling one, they discovered when it came into viewing range through the fog.
It looked like a teddy bear with blue fur ending in a frazzled tip on its head, and bright beige fur on its face which housed a pair of large black eyes. Around its neck was a large zipper and below it wore a red jumpsuit with a white vertical center and three large red buttons along it.
"What are you?" Naruto asked the cartoonish bear.
"That's what I was gonna ask you guys," the bear seemed just as apprehensive as they were. "Who are you guys and what are you doing here?"
"Holy crap, it talks!" Yosuke shouted.
"Of course I talk," the bear seemed annoyed. "Seriously, what are you guys doing here?"
"What even is here?" Yosuke asked.
"What do you mean?" As the bear had no neck, it tilted its entire body to convey confusion. "Here is here."
"We're asking what this place is," Chie seemed to have regained her nerve and stepped out from behind Naruto. "So start talking or I'll kick your ass!"
"D-Don't yell at me!" The bear began to quiver.
"Let's let him talk," Naruto said as he pulled Chie back.
"I came to see what you guys are doing here," the bear began nervously. "Lately someone has been dropping people in here and it's starting to get annoying!"
"Hey! You're not making any sense and we're just going in circles, so how about you tell us what's going on here!" Chie shook Naruto's grasp and advanced on the bear.
It gasped and ran around to hide behind Naruto.
"Chie," he implored before turning to the bear behind him. "Look, all we're trying to do is find a way out of here. Is there anyway you can help us with that?"
"That's what I've been trying to say!" The bear seemed frustrated now.
It moved out from behind Naruto and waved a hand and three televisions stacked atop one another emerged from the ground.
"W-What the hell?" Yosuke shouted.
"There, that's your way out," the bear grumbled.
All three cautiously approached the television sets and found they were tuned to static. Before either of them could question exactly how they were to return, the bear forced them through the screen.
Yosuke fell through first, followed closely by Naruto, and then Chie. It felt like falling aimlessly through walls of infinite grey static until their descent was interrupted by a bright flash.
Naruto groaned as he landed on his back once more on something cold and hard. Department store music played and there was distant chatter of people in the distance, shaping the realization they were back at Junes.
It wasn't the only realization he came to.
"We have to stop meeting like this," Naruto joked to Chie, who had once again fallen on him, though this time they were belly to belly in a cross formation.
With another girly squeak, Chie was on her feet. She glared down at him while also offering her hand. Naruto reluctantly took it and was pulled roughly to his feet, meeting her flustered face mere inches from one another.
"You tell anyone about this and I'll kick your butt," Chie warned.
"I don't think anyone would believe me if I did," Naruto chuckled nervously.
Chie huffed and turned away. In doing so she also came to the same realization he had.
"We're back!" Yosuke cheered. "Man, I can't believe we made it out of there!"
"I can't believe that actually just happened," Chie was looking dour again. "I really wanna go home now guys. I'm still feeling kinda sick."
"Now that you mention it, I 'm still feely pretty shitty too," Yosuke agreed. "And I'd rather not try and make sense of what just happened. At least not right now. I'm exhausted."
Something caught Naruto's attention. There was a display of a beautiful woman in a very familiar red kimono. "Who's that?" He asked, indicating to the display.
"Huh? Oh, that's Misuzu Hiiragi, why do you ask?" Chie said.
"Because that's the lady on the posters that were in that weird room. It has to be. What I don't get is why the faces were torn off," Naruto said.
"She's been all over the news lately," Chie continued with a disturbed expression. "Her husband was the one having an affair with that reporter lady who died."
"Didn't you say there was a noose in the room?" Yosuke asked.
"There was," Naruto confirmed grimly.
"Let's go home now," Chie said. "I can't deal with this anymore today."
"You're right, we can discuss what happened tomorrow after school. Let's just go home and rest," Naruto said.
Both nodded in agreement. Yozuke was the first to head out.
"I'll see you tomorrow Chie," Naruto said in parting.
"Wait, Naruto," Chie called after him. She appeared shy about something. "Would you mind maybe walking me home today? I'm still a little weirded out. B-But if you can't, I'd totally understand!"
"Sure," Naruto agreed with a smile.
Naruto walked Chie home and they shared an umbrella once more as neither wanted to spend anymore time at Junes. Though this time they were mostly silent along the way and it was hard for him to enjoy their closeness with the unease which had settled itself within his mind.
"This is it," Chie said softly. They were before a block of apartments. "Thanks again for walking me home, Naruto."
"Anytime, Chie," Naruto replied equally as softly.
They stared at one another, the tension between the two was too obvious for it not to be acknowledged by both.
"Do you think everything'll be okay?" Chie asked suddenly.
Naruto wasn't expecting the question and wasn't quite sure how to interpret it. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that, well I can't shake the feeling something's wrong. Like something bad's about to happen," Chie said, putting to words what he was feeling.
She was feeling vulnerable and so was he, but Naruto knew that he couldn't show it.
"Everything's going to be okay, Chie," Naruto offered the best reassuring smile he could muster. "I promise. And just so you know, I always keep my promises."
Chie rewarded him with another dimpled smile. The kind he was beginning to enjoy immensely.
"Yeah, I think you're right. Thanks again, Naruto," with that and a soft punch to his shoulder, she ran up the apartment stairs and disappeared within.
He wanted to take joy in the interaction but felt a sense of guilt for having lied to to her. He would make sure everything would be fine if it was within his power to do so, but feelings of uncertainty and dread persisted.
It was a sickening feeling that had settled in his belly and one he couldn't seem to shake, no matter how hard he tried to rationalize it.
When Naruto arrived home he found Ryutaro and Nanako sharing a ramen dinner as they watched the news together.
"Welcome home, Naruto!" Nanako greeted him with a beaming smile.
Somehow, the smile lessened the burden on his shoulders ever so slightly.
"Hello there, Nanako-chan," Naruto tried his best to return the smile, but he was finally beginning to feel the exhaustion of the events set in. He placed his bag down and allowed himself to fall across from his cousin, feeling too tired to feel left out of their ramen dinner.
"You look tired," Ryutaro commented, sounding equally tired himself.
"Long day," Naruto stated simply.
"I hear you," Ryutaro sighed and he looked somewhat troubled. "Say, not that you'd probably know but is there any chance you've heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?"
That peaked Naruto's interest. "Only that she was the one who found the body," he said, gauging his uncle's expression. "That and she was absent form school today. Why do you ask?"
"How did you know that?" Ryutaro asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I didn't for sure until now, It was just a rumor going around," Naruto said.
Ryutaro sighed. "Well she did and to be honest with you, now she's missing."
"Do you think one thing has something to do with the other?" Naruto asked, hoping he was speaking in enough coded language to avoid worrying Nanako, who was watching the two rather intently.
"I certainly hope not," Ryutaro sighed again in what was becoming a habitual expression. "Work just keeps piling up."
Their conversation died down when the news began speaking about the murdered reporter. She had been staying at the Amagi Inn, where Yukiko was briefly mentioned, followed by a troubling remark by the guest which seemed to even disturb the host.
Whatever was happening, Naruto couldn't shake the eerie there was more to come and it concerned him greatly. Especially considering just how normal everything seemed just the day before.
Naruto went to bed wondering what the coming days were to bring.
Just a heads up, the next chapter might take a little longer to come out. My work schedule's recently changed and now I've got less free time to write but I'll do my best to keep up with this.
Until next time!