"Hey Chie, are you ready to head back in today?" Yosuke asked as she walked up to them. "Time's starting to become a factor."
"I know, but what about you Yosuke?" Chie questioned. "You're still not at full strength and they're getting stronger."
"I know what you mean, but Yukiko is in danger the longer she's in there and as much as I want to take down the shadows myself I can still support the two of you." Yosuke pointed out. "It's not like I'm completely useless."
"He has a point Chie, besides the important thing is making sure we get to the top floor of the castle before it's too late." Yu added in agreement.
"I know but…" Chie started before pausing. "I'm worried about you too Yosuke, I mean… Look if you start to feel like it's too much let us know so we can get out of there alright?"
"Deal, we'll definitely rescue her." Yosuke nodded before three three of them walked into the classroom.
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"You guys are back; the shadows are starting to get restless." Teddie mentioned as Yu, Yosuke, and Chie walked up to him.
"What about Yukiko, is she ok?" Yosuke asked nervously. "The Shadows haven't…"
"Oh no, I still smell her in there." Teddie answered quickly. "Are you guys going to rescue her today?"
"That's the goal." Yu mentioned taking a deep breath. "Come on, the sooner we get to the castle the better."
"Yeah, you're right." Chie agreed as the four of them ran towards the castle.
"Don't worry Chie, I know we'll get her out." Yosuke reassured her. "We've come this far already; we're not giving up now."
Chie nodded with a smile as she looked at the castle in the distance.
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"Detctive Adachi, what is wrong with you people? This is a serial murderer and you haven't made any progress in finding a suspect." stated a police officer over the phone.
"Well this isn't a typical case and Dojima-san and I are…" Adachi started only to wince as the officer started yelling again.
"You listen here, the lack of progress on this one is seriously starting to make me question just how reliable the Inaba detective agency even is. This is just another case you haven't made any headway in, there's all the other cases and the fact that half the time Dojima doesn't even pay any attention because he's so wrapped up in that closed case." The officer snapped. "Now unless you can give me some indication you have an idea of what's going on I'm going to have to resort to drastic measures."
"Well… the thing is we're trying to figure things out but like I said it's an unusual case and we're trying to find a possible lead but so far we haven't gotten anything leading to a suspect." Adachi admitted.
"In other words you two aren't making any progress." the officer told him. "Clearly you two are incompetent as detectives and we need someone more reliable. Tell you partner that we're sending a specialist to handle this case."
"A specialist, I really don't think that's…" Adachi started.
"If it wasn't necessary you'd have a solid lead by now. Tell Dojima that we're sending that detective prince Naoto Shirogane to Inaba. Maybe he'll be able to make some progress on this case." the officer said before hanging up.
"The detective prince, I have a feeling Dojima-san isn't going to be happy about this." Adachi noted before sighing. "I should probably tell him though."
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"Tomoe, Bufu!" Chie called as her Persona appeared and froze one of the shadows approaching them before Yu slashed another one in half with his katana.
"How many shadows are there in here?" Yosuke questioned. "We haven't even gotten back to where that Knight was."
"I don't know, slicing up these shadows is pretty good exercise and the more practice we get fighting the more likely we'll be able to deal with Yukiko's shadow once we get to the top floor." Yu pointed out. "Not to mention that the more we know about the shadows the easier this is getting."
"Yeah, but we have limits. If we push ourselves too far we won't be able to keep ourselves safe let alone rescue Yukiko." Yosuke mentioned. "We need to be cautious."
"Yosuke's right, we need to keep our guard up and try to avoid fighting more shadows than we need to." Chie agreed causing Yu to stare at both of them.
"Alright, you two have a point the key is making sure we reach Yukiko." Yu sighed. "Teddie do you smell anymore shadows nearby?"
"No sensei, there are a lot of shadows but I think if we're beary careful we can avoid them." Teddie answered. "Follow Teddie."
"Lead the way." Chie nodded as the three persona users followed the bear farther into the castle.
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"Huh, don't you have to go to work dad?" Nanako asked curiously seeing him in the kitchen.
"Actually, right now Adachi and I are waiting for a new lead on the case so I thought I would be here when you got home." Dojima smiled. "That aside, I've been thinking about a lot of things, not the least of which is him. We should do something for him and his friends."
"Yeah, you're right." Nanako agreed with a smile. "What do you think we should do?"
"I'm not sure, we'll have to come up with something. I think we all want this case to end soon so we can try to have a relaxing year." Dojima admitted. "I think we all need it."
Nanako nodded in agreement before looking down. "It isn't fair for bad things to happen to him dad."
"No, it isn't. Adachi and I are going to do everything we can to keep him and his friends safe." Dojima smiled. "And the same goes for you."
Nanako smiled hearing that before sitting at the table and looking at the TV.
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"You were saying about avoiding the shadows?" Yosuke questioned as the four of them nearly ran into another group of shadows before summoning their personas.
"Talk later, right now just worry about surviving this battle." Yu told him. "Ukobach, Agi."
Yosuke flinched hearing that before nodding as he summoned Jiraiya and moved back to let Yu and Chie take the front lines in the fight only to barely react in time as Chie kicked one of the shadows past his head.
"Whoa, hey are you alright Yosuke?" Chie asked nervously.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Yosuke replied. "Jiraiya, Sukukaja."
Chie smiled feeling the enhanced reflexes before stretching her legs. "Thanks, ok Tomoe Bufu."
As she said that Chie summoned her persona as it encased a shadow in ice only for a bolt of electricity to shatter it as Yu slashed another one in half.
"Just one enemy left, it's weak to wind." Teddie mentioned.
"You heard him Yosuke, this one's all yours." Chie grinned as he nodded and walked up.
"Let's do this Jiraiya." Yosuke called as his persona appeared and enveloped the shadow in a tornado destroying it.
"Nice one Yosuke." Chie grinned. "Come on, the sooner we reach Yukiko the better."
Yosuke and Yu nodded in agreement before the four of them ran farther into the castle only to pause when Teddie sniffed the air.
"She's really close you guys; I think we've almost found her." Teddie mentioned.
"You heard the bear, we're getting Yukiko out today." Yu told them as Yosuke and Chie nodded before the four of them ran down the halls of the castle.
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Dojima and Nanako were watching TV when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
"A visitor?" Nanako asked curiously as Dojima walked over and opened the door.
"Dojima-san, we just got some news from the central office. Apparently, they're sending a specialist in to help with this case." Adachi mentioned. "That detective prince."
"Shirogane? I've heard of him and to be honest he does good work." Dojima admitted. "I can't say I like the idea of someone coming to handle a case we're having a little trouble with but considering the circumstances I'll deal with it. Who knows, another mind might just be the key to solving this one."
"I guess, but I feel like with a little more time we could figure this one out ourselves. Not to mention that if a new detective suddenly arrives in town it might cause your nephew some unneeded stress." Adachi pointed out.
"I know what you mean, then again the more minds we have working together the better." Dojima mentioned. "If Shirogane does show up we'll have a better chance of solving the case by working with him."
"Dad, who's Shirogane?" Nanako asked curiously.
"Naoto Shirogane, the detective prince." Dojima answered. "Somebody really smart who's coming to help me and Adachi catch the bad guy."
"Oh, does that mean you can't find the bad guy?" Nanako inquired sadly.
"No, it means there are people who think we aren't finding the bad guy fast enough and that we need help." Adachi explained. "Your dad and I are really smart but with Naoto Shirogane helping us I know that the three of us will be able to find the bad guy, arrest whoever it is, and the rest of the year will be full of fun times for you and your cousin."
"He's right, actually that reminds me." Dojima mentioned. "We were thinking we should do something for Yu but don't have any ideas."
"Oh, um… well I guess maybe you two could invite his friends over for dinner?" Adachi suggested. "Just spend some time with his friends and family."
"You're talking about having dinner for…" Dojima started before pausing. "He was close with Yukiko Amagi, we have to make sure we find her first."
"That's a good point." Adachi mentioned. "Hopefully our lead gives us some useful information this time."
"Yeah, hopefully it will." Dojima agreed. "Thanks for stopping by Adachi, and letting us know about Shirogane."
"You're welcome, it was nice to see you both." Adachi smiled before waving goodbye to Nanako.
"Bye." Nanako smiled before Adachi walked off.
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"Chie, look out!" Yosuke cried just before a shadow hit her. "Damn it, we're so close but these shadows are pushing us to our limits."
"If you have time to complain you have time to help fight them." Yu mentioned before summoning Ukobach and having him envelop one of the shadows in flames.
"Right, Jiraiya." Yosuke called summoning his persona only for it to strike the shadow Yu had set on fire causing it to explode in a massive fireball that expanded to hit the other four shadows.
"Whoa, how did you know that would happen Yosuke?" Teddie inquired curiously.
"I didn't, but it's definitely something we need to keep in mind." Yosuke mentioned only to wince. "This is bad, I'm really starting to run out of strength."
"No, not now we're so close." Chie mentioned before getting to her feet and running over to him. "Give me your arm."
"Chie…" Yosuke whispered as she helped him. "Thanks, let's get Yukiko out safely."
"Right, the sooner we find Yukiko the better." Yu agreed only to suddenly wince. "None of us are in that good shape after fighting this many shadows, if we have to fight Yukiko's shadow our only chance is to be extremely careful and stay on guard."
Chie and Yosuke nodded before Yu opened a door leading to another staircase.
"Is that it Teddie?" Yosuke asked. "Yukiko is up these stairs?"
"Definitely there's no doubt." Teddie answered confidently.
"Then that's all there is too it, we're going up there and saving Yukiko today." Yu stated calmly.
"Exactly." Chie agreed as the four of them ran up the stairs.
(The Investigation Team have arrived at the top floor of Yukiko's Castle and are about to engage her and her shadow. Next chapter the battle with Shadow Yukiko will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)
