4/16 SAT
Early Morning
School Zone, Samegawa Flood Plain
…What?
What just happened? I was having a moment with Yosuke-kun, then I felt something surge inside me, and then…"Create Personas"? I can do that? "Magician Arcana"? What is that? "New bond"? Wait a minute. I…I think I remember. Yeah…Igor and Margaret told me about this in my dream. I remember what they said…
"The Persona ability is the power to control and call upon an aspect of one's own heart...and the heart is empowered by the bonds it's owner makes with others. The more you involve yourself with others, the more you will develop your own Social Links. The power of these Social Links is what will develop and determine your Persona's abilities."
"The bonds that you make are necessary for more than just strengthening your Persona's abilities. At times, they may save you when you need them most and help light the way to the truth you are searching for."
Is…is this what they were both talking about?
"Um, Yura-chan?", Yosuke asks me. "Are you okay? You look a bit weirded out."
"Huh? Oh, um, don't worry about it.", I answer him. "Let's just head to school."
He gives me a weird look, he shrugs, and we both head to school together.
4/16 SAT
Early Morning
Yasogami High School
We both got to school without incident. We're waiting for Chie-chan to get to class so we can say sorry to her for making her worry so much yesterday. A few minutes after we get to class, Chie-chan arrives, and she looks…worried? Something ain't right. She quickly walks towards us.
"Oh! Chie!", Yosuke-kun greets her. "Look, about yesterday, we're sorry that we worried you, and-"
"Never mind that, there's no time! Listen, is Yukiko still not there?"
Yuki-chan? Did something happen to her?
"Huh? Yukiko-san? Um…no. At least, I don't think I've seen her today.", says Yosuke-kun to Chie-chan.
She turns towards me, expecting an answer. I haven't seen her either.
"Sorry.", I tell Chie-chan. "I ain't seen her today either. But if it helps, the last time I saw her was yesterday afternoon, after we came back from… "that place". I saw her on my way back home, and we talked for a bit."
"And…You're both positive that you haven't seen her today?", Chie-chan asks us, looking increasingly worried. What, is Yuki-chan missing or something?
Chie-chan looks increasingly worried…
"Hey, guys…is that stuff you were talking about real?", Chie-chan asks us again. "You know…about how people who end up on the Midnight Channel might end up in that other world?"
Yosuke-kun and I both exchange a worried look. Seriously, what's up with Chie-chan? Why is she asking questions about Yuki-chan and the Midnight Channel? What do they have to do with each other? Unless…
"Oh yeah, we were just talking about that.", Yosuke-kun tells her. "We were just talking about checking it out again later, and-"
"You guys both saw the Midnight Channel yesterday, right?", she asks us. Wait. She saw what was on there last night? With the woman in a kimono? And now, she's asking us about Yuki-chan. Who's apparently missing. And who was also wearing a kimono when I talked to her yesterday…Aw, crap.
"Chie-chan.", I ask her in a serious tone while putting my hands on her shoulders to get her attention. "You got her number, right?"
She looks surprised at how serious I look, but she nods.
"Call her. Now.", I tell her as seriously as I can.
She doesn't say a word. She immediately does what I tell her to do. She picks up her phone and starts dialing Yuki-chan's number. Please let this be a false alarm…we wait for a few seconds. After a bit, Chie-chan hungs up.
"No good…her voicemail picked up…s-she's not answering her phone!", she says, now even more worried than before.
"Are you serious…?", asks Yosuke-kun. "Could something have happened to Yukiko-san?"
"Calm down, you two.", I tell them, trying not to succumb to the feeling of worry in my stomach. There's still one more thing we can try. "Maybe something came up, or she's really busy with something at the Inn. Chie-chan, do you have a number for, I dunno, an inn employee or somebody else who usually sees Yuki-chan a lot while she's over there?"
"T-That's right!", Chie-chan says, a look of hope on her face. "That must be it! If she's helping at the inn right now, then she wouldn't be able too answer any calls! I'll go ahead and give the inn a call, just to be sure!"
Chie-chan then starts frantically dialing on her phone.
"Yeah, but would she skip school for that, though?", asks Yosuke-kun to me while whispering.
"I dunno.", I reply to him. "But I really hope that's the case, because otherwise, we got ourselves a big problem."
We look at Chie-chan, and we wait while she talks on the phone with somebody at the Inn.
"Huh? Is this Yukiko? Thank god! She's over there!", she says with a smile.
Me and Yosuke-kun both release a sigh of relief. Chie-chan really had us worried there for a minute!
"Uh-huh…okay…I understand. Oh, don't…don't worry about it. It was nothing. Hahaha…I'll email you later. Bye!"
She then hangs up. Obviously, she was talking to Yuki-chan.
"Good news.", she tells us while smiling. "It was a false alarm. She's helping over at the inn. You were right, Yura-chan. She was just really busy over there and had to skip school for today, because they had a big group reservation and she needed to help out over there. In fact, I don't think this is the first time this has happened. She said she'll be helping at the inn tomorrow too."
I'm glad that Yuki-chan's safe, but man, Chie-chan really got us worried for nothing, didn't she?
Her expression the shifts from relief to anger. "For crying out loud, guys! You had me worried over practically nothing! She was fine all along!"
"Hey, don't try to blame this on us!" I counter. "You're the one who made us super worried by barging in here and implying that something bad had happened to Yuki-chan! Why did you even bring her up with the Midnight Channel, anyway? Sure, there was a woman with a kimono on there, but that doesn't mean it was Yuki-chan!"
Chie-chan looks baffled at that statement. "But…but her kimono looked like the one Yukiko wears at the inn! And she wore it during that interview too, when she appeared on TV last night! I even e-mailed her last night before going to bed, but she hadn't responded then, so I started getting worried…"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it was her who appeared on the Midnight Channel last night.", counters Yosuke-kun. "Besides, you think that Yukiko-san is the only girl who wears kimonos like that? Newsflash: THIS IS JAPAN. There's tons of other women who have to wear kimonos like that, either as uniforms for their respective line of work every day, for going at celebrations or parties, or for whatever other kind of reason or occasion you can think of."
Chie-chan looks like she wants to say something at that, but she can't come up with anything.
"Look.", I tell her. "We thought that people who are shown on the Midnight Channel might end up getting' thrown into that world. So, when you told us that Yuki-chan was missin', and you went on and implied that she might've been the one who appeared on TV last night…"
"Right.", says Yosuke-kun. "But we don't know for sure that it was actually Yukiko-san or not. In fact, this morning, me and Yura-chan were theorizing that it might've been Misuzu Hiragii, since she's connected to Ms. Yamano and she's often seen wearing a kimono. But there's no point in speculating now. We were thinking of meeting up with Teddie after school to see if he could tell us something. Do you want to come with us…?"
Chie-chan hesitates for a bit, and then sighs.
"Fine. So, we all agree to meet up after school at Junes, right?"
"Yeah.", Yosuke-kun answers her. "We'll all regroup there after school. Don't be late."
4/16 SAT
After School
Junes, Electronics Department
"…Holy crap…If I hadn't seen the place with my own eyes, I would've never believed that story.", Chie-chan says, a bit overwhelmed by everything I just told her. While we've been walking to Junes together, I've been explaining and recapping again to her everything that happened yesterday in detail. Well, everything minus the part about me being a robot, of course. I brought a boxed lunch with me today. Nanako insisted on making one for me again. What a sweet girl…too bad I can't enjoy it, since I can't eat. I guess I could give it to Teddie again. He seemed to really enjoy the last one I gave him.
"Okay, okay, guys. That's enough about my sorry escapades.", Yosuke-kun tells us as we make our way to the TV we used yesterday. "Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside the TV."
We then look around, waiting to make sure that there aren't any customers before we try contacting Teddie. But there's just too many people.
"Why are there so many people today?", asks Chie-chan. "It wasn't like that yesterday."
"Aw, crap.", Yosuke-kun answers her. "That's right, I forgot. There's a big sale in the electronics section today."
That's gonna be a problem. How are we gonna-?
"I got it!", says Yosuke-kun with a "eureka" look on his face. "Chie, come over here and stand right next to me to make a wall!"
He then walks over next to me to block me from the other people in the electronics section.
"What?", Chie-chan asks him. "Oh, wait…I think I see where you're going with this."
She then walks over to him, and they both make a wall.
I think I get it too. "Good thinking, Yosuke-kun!", I tell him. "I think I get it!"
Obviously, they're making a wall so that I can dive in the TV to go talk to Teddie, right?
"Alright, Yura-chan, I need you to-"
I take a brief look around me to make sure that there aren't any people who can see me, and I dive straight into the TV like a dolphin.
4/16
After School
Backside Of The TV
After a short bit, I feel myself land somewhere. I open my eyes, and I see that I'm in the TV world again. I get up and I put on the glasses Teddie gave me.
"Hmm…? Miss President?"
Speaking of which, I hear his voice coming from beside me. I look where I heard it coming from, and I see him just standing there, looking at me. Has he…been standing near the entrance since we left yesterday?
"Hi, Teddie!", I greet him. "How're you doin'?"
"I'm fine!", he tells me. "But what about you? What are you doing here? Did something happen again in your world?"
"I'm fine, thanks for askin'.", I tell him. "But I watched the Midnight Channel last night, and I think I saw someone on there. So, me and my friends decided that it would be a good idea to pay you a visit and ask you if you've sensed anyone getting' dropped in here with you since last time."
"Who's "anyone"?", he asks me. "I'm a lonely little bear like always! And like always, this land is so bear-en…"
So, he ain't seen or sensed anyone getting thrown in here since the last time we spoke?
"So, there's nobody in here…?", I ask him. "Are ya sure?"
"I'm pretty sure!", he answers. "My nose is as good as ever! I'm telling you, nobody got thrown in here since yesterday!"
I see. So, either we were wrong about what we saw, or…the person just ain't been thrown in there yet.
"Okay.", I tell him. "Thanks, and please keep an eye out, alright? We'll be back tomorrow, and we'll ask you again. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!", he tells me enthusiastically. "I'll keep an eye out with my BEAR-y own eyes!"
I smile and I roll my eyes at him. "Here,", I say while pulling out the lunch I'd been meaning to give him. "This is for you! I noticed how you enjoyed the last one I gave you, so here ya go!"
His eyes widen and his face glows in happiness when he sees the lunch.
"Oooooh! What's this? You brought me another delicious lunch!", he says while I give the lunch to him. He looks at it and smells it. "Hmm! It smells delicious!"
Heh. He looks adorable like this. "I hope you enjoy it! See ya tomorrow, Teddie!"
"Bye, bye, Miss President! Thanks for the food!", He tells me.
He then starts wolfing it down, as I go into the exit to go back to my world.
4/16
After School
Junes, Electronics Department
I feel myself land on the ground. I open my eyes, and I pop right back out of where I was. I look to my side, and I see my friends…giving me baffled looks?
"What?", I ask them. "What's up, guys?"
"What do you mean, "what's up"?", Yosuke-kun asks me in annoyance. "You just dived straight into the TV without warning!"
"Yeah,", I tell him. "You were makin' that wall with Chie-chan so I could do that and go see Teddie, right?
"What? No!", he tells me. "I was just gonna tell you to stick your hand in the TV to beckon him or something, not outright dive in!"
Oops. I guess I misunderstood that one, didn't I?
He shrugs and sighs. "Look, that doesn't matter right now. Did you talk to Teddie and ask him what we needed to ask him?"
"Yup.", I answer him. "He told me that nobody got thrown in the TV world since we last came, but he told me that he'd keep an eye out."
Chie-chan looks a bit thoughtful at that,
"Well, that's good, but I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyways, just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Yeah.", Yosuke-kun answers her. "Besides, just 'cause nobody's been thrown in there today, doesn't mean it won't happen again in the future. And just to be safe, make sure you walk with her to school on Monday, while you're at it."
"Okay.", Chie-chan says. "On Monday, I'll go pick her up at her house."
"We should watch the Midnight Channel tonight.", Yosuke-kun says. "We might learn something new. And I really hope that it won't be Yukiko on there…let's exchange cell numbers to call each other tonight, Yura-chan, we'll watch the channel, and we'll call each other after."
"I got a better idea!", I tell them with excitement. "Chie-chan, give me your number too! Tonight, right before midnight, we'll call each other in a three-way call, and we'll watch the Midnight Channel together! It'll be like one of those "movie nights" you guys told me about!"
Chie-chan and Yosuke-kun both give me strange looks. "Uuuh, I get what you're saying, but that's not exactly what a movie night is, Yura-chan…", tells me Chie-chan.
We all exchange phone numbers with each other. An "inn", huh? I've never seen one of those before. I wonder what it's like? Maybe I can come with Chie-chan. An idea suddenly pops into my head.
"Oh, hey!", I say while looking at Chie-chan. "You said you were gonna go warn her at the inn, right? Can I come? Please? Pleaaaaase? I've never been to an inn before, so I'm curious to see what it's like!"
"Huh?", she asks me. "You wanna come with me? Well, sure, I don't see why not. It's not like we're stopping there for too long, anyways."
Awesome! I can't wait! We both say goodbye to Yosuke-kun, and we head over to the Amagi Inn together.
4/16 SAT
After School
Amagi Inn
We took a bus upwards the Samegawa River, which is where the inn is located. We just got off close to where the inn is.
"You've never been on a bus before today, Yura-chan?", asks me Chie-chan. "I sometimes take it to go to the inn when I need to, although I usually walk there."
"Yeah.", I tell Chie-chan. "I never really got to explore the city, as in any kind of city, or even use any kinds of public transport before today. In fact, I never even got to ride in any kind of vehicle whatsoever."
That's technically not a lie. I mean, before Inaba, I'd never been off the Island, so I've never been in a car, a plane, or anything like that.
"Well, damn! No offense, but your parents really suck! No friends, no going outside, no sports, no movies, no TV, no video games…no fun allowed! We need to fix that. Sometimes in the future, we're gonna hang out, watch a movie or two, and have some fun together!", she says with a smile. I return her smile.
"Aw, thanks, Chie-chan! I'm lookin' forward to it!"
We both make small talk as we walk towards the inn. Now that I can see it up close, I gotta say that it looks…pretty nice! It looks pretty old and rustic, in a traditional way. Makes sense, considering how old it's supposed to be. It suits the inn well!
"So, what do you think?", Chie-chan asks me when she sees my reaction. "Pretty nice inn, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is.", I say as we both walk in the inn's reception. I spot a few guests wandering around, and there's some employees there too, wearing kimonos, somewhat like the one Yuki-chan had yesterday. I see a female employee walk towards us. A waitress or receptionist, maybe? Chie-chan walks up to her and greets her.
"Hey, Kasai-san!" she asks to catch her attention. The employee, "Kasai-san", smiles at her.
"Chie-chan!", she say to her. I guess Chie-chan must come around here often enough that some of the employees know her. Kasai-san looks at me for a bit. "Are you here to talk to Yuki-chan? And who is this young lady? A new friend?"
Huh. She calls her that too?
"Yeah! This is Yura Narukami! She's a new transfer student at our school from out-of-town. Me and Yukiko became friends with her not too long ago. Speaking of which, is Yukiko around?", Chie-chan tells her. "I won't be long. I just need to talk to her about something."
"Well, you're in luck.", Kasai-san says. "She's on her break right now! I'll go get tell her that you're here!"
Kasai-san then goes around the corner, leaving me and Chie-chan to sit down and wait at the reception.
"Kasai-san is a waitress at the inn.", Chie-chan explains to me. "She and the other waitresses and chefs are pretty close to Yukiko."
Really? That must feel nice…almost like having a really big family. Maybe it was like that for me and my sisters too? On second thought, probably not. I doubt my creators would've allowed it.
After a minute or two, we see Yuki-chan come around the corner, still dressed in her kimono.
"Chie-chan! Yura-chan!", she says as sees us and walks towards us. "What are you both doing here?"
"Hey, Yuki-chan! How are you?", I ask her. "We came because we needed to talk to ya about somethin'!"
"Yeah." Chie-chan adds in. "We gotta warn you about something, so listen up!"
"Warn me…?", asks Yuki-chan. "Warn me about what?"
"Look.", I start. "You know about what happened recently to Saki-senpai, right?
"Yes…?", Yuki-chan asks me. "What about it?"
"Well, me, Yosuke and Yura-chan talked about it for a bit, And we think that whoever's been killing people recently is going after people who are connected to Ms. Yamano.", Chie-chan answers her. "You've heard how Saki was the one who discovered the body, right?"
"You don't think that the culprit could come after me, do you? Or anyone else that works at the inn…?", speculates Yuki-chan. "I mean, this is where Ms. Yamano was staying before she passed away. But still, why would the culprit come after me or anyone working here? I can't speak for everybody else that's here right now, but I didn't know Ms. Yamano, at least not personally. While she was staying here, I didn't even really interact with her, and she didn't really go outside her room because she didn't want to attract attention, so I didn't really know her or got to talk to her."
That's…kinda disappointing. I was hoping she could have some useful information about Ms. Yamano, but I guess not.
"Yeah, but remember, neither did Saki-senpai.", I tell her. "And look what happened to her."
"Good point.", Yuki-chan replies. "I…will consider being a bit more careful and vigilant around people I'm not familiar with. Thank you both for warning me about this."
"Okay. Just to be safe, I'll come pick you up on Monday, and we'll walk to school together.", Chie-chan tells Yuki-chan. "Oh! By the way, Yukiko, I was talking with Yura-chan on the way here, and we were talking about doing a movie night together with you and Yosuke at some point! I was thinking we could do something cool, like…"
And then, they both lose me, as they start talking about potential movies for the future "movie night". I dunno what they're talking about or referencing, and I wanna keep it a surprise, so I decide to back away a little to let them talk, while I explore the inn a bit. I discreetly walk around, and I see a lot of things that I didn't see before. More people in kimonos and bathing robes. Strange, sliding doors with no handles. And rooms with hot springs in them, although I didn't go in, just in case they were occupied.
After a few minutes of walking around, I stumble upon a door that says: "Kitchen. Employees only." Aw, so only employees can enter? I really wanted to look a bit. I would just look. I wouldn't even touch anything or bother anybody! I'm really curious, though…Wait, I have an idea. I look around to make sure nobody can see me, and I cast an illusion on myself, to become invisible and inaudible. I walk in the doors, and I see a kitchen where some employees are busy cooking food. I don't touch anything or anyone, but I sometimes peek over their shoulder to see what they're making. Watching them work is kinda fascinating.
After a bit, I decide to leave them alone to do their work, and I wander in the back of the kitchen, where I see that the back door is open. Next to the door, there's lots of boxes stacked on top of each other. I go outside, and I find myself in the back of the inn. I see a big white truck. I check my database, and it tells me that this is most likely a truck meant for deliveries. Since I'm no longer in the kitchen, I make sure that there's nobody around, and I de-cloak to make myself visible again. I look around in the back, and I don't see much. I'm about to head back in, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I see something approach in the distance. It's a man. He's coming towards this truck. He's wearing a gray uniform with a cap. I may as well say hi.
"Hi!", I say while waving at him.
"…Hi. What are you doing here?.", He says to me while giving me an odd look. I'm looking at his face, and…wait, do I know him? He looks familiar.
"…Can I help you, miss?", he asks me. Where have I seen him before? I check my memories, and…wait, is he-?
"I was just walking around, wandering at the inn, when I noticed this big white truck. Wait a minute…", I tell him. "I know you, don't I? You…you're…Taro Namatame, aren't you? The guy that's been on the news?"
Yeah, it's definitely him. He sighs.
"Ugh…I was hoping that nobody would recognize me. At least not more than necessary. Yeah, it's me. I'm the guy who was on the news not too long ago. That big white truck over there is mine. I'm a delivery guy, and I regularly deliver stuff to this inn and other places in town with this truck. You didn't check in there, did you?"
"What? No!", I tell him. "Like I said, I was just walking around the inn a bit, and I spotted this big white truck, and I got curious a bit, 'cause I had never seen one like that before."
He examines me a bit, and he sighs in relief when he sees I'm not lying.
"Well, that…that's good. What's in that truck is very, very important.", he tells me.
"For the inn, right?", I ask him.
"Huh? O-Oh! Y-Yeah, for the inn!", he says nervously. "Look, I don't really have time to talk right now. With everything that's been happening to me recently, and being on TV a lot, I really don't want to be recognized more than I have to. I've got some important work I need to do in…delivering stuff here. Just…just be on your way so I can finish my work, okay? Have a nice day."
He goes right in the inn, I shrug and I decide to keep walking around. He looked pretty nervous, for some reason. I guess he was scared of being recognized and asked questions about his affair with Ms. Yamano? I guess that if I got involved in a massive scandal and my reputation went down the drain, I'd wanna lay low and I wouldn't wanna be recognized either. After he lost his previous job, he must've gotten a new job as a deliveryman. I shrug and I keep walking around the inn for a bit.
After a few minutes, I circle back around the inn's entrance, and I walk back in the reception.. I see Chie-chan and Yuki-chan, still talking. They're so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice I was gone. I walk up to them to see if I can join their talk.
"…Oh! I apologize, but I must go. My break is about to end, and I must really be going to help out with the inn.", says Yuki-chan. "Take care, Chie! You too, Yura-chan!" Yuki-chan then walks back where she came from.
"Bye, Yukiko! See you tomorrow!", tells her Chie-chan.
"Take care!", I tell her too before she's gone.
We then start making our way out of the inn.
"Sorry for leaving you out of the conversation like that, Yura-chan!", tells me Chie-chan. "What were you doing? Where did you go?"
"Oh, nothin' much.", I tell her. "I was just walkin' around, explorin' a bit. This inn looks really nice! I've never been to a place like this, before!"
"Really? Great! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.", she tells me. "Now, about tonight…"
"Yeah.", I say to her. "A few minutes before midnight, we call each other in a three-way call, and we do the thing with the Midnight Channel. I'm countin' on you. Don't be late."
"You got it!", she declares. "I'll be there, Yura-chan!"
Once we're out of the inn, we both walk back home together and talk some more for a bit, before splitting up and going our separate ways to our respective homes.
4/16 SAT
Evening
Dojima Residence
It's gonna rain tonight., Today, things were pretty uneventful at the Dojima residence. Ryotaro still wasn't back from work, and Nanako just spent most of her time in front of the TV. I sat down and watched some of it with her, then I did the dishes and some house chores, and then Nanako went to bed. Once she did, I did some homework in my room to kill some time. Time passed, and midnight was approaching. At 11:55 PM, I decide tho call up Yosuke-kun and Chie-chan on a three way call. I hear a ringing noise in my phone, and I wait. Eventually, I hear their voices.
"Yo!", I hear Yosuke-kun say in a quiet tone.
"So, we're doing this?", Chie-chan says in a quiet tone too.
"Yeah.", I tell them in a quiet tone to not wake up Nanako..
We're all speaking softly and quietly to not wake up whoever else is sleeping in our respective houses.
"Are you two ready?", I ask them. "Then, let's do this."
We wait a couple of minutes, then, right before midnight, I walk up to my TV to stare into it.
"Are you guys in front of your TVs?", I ask them.
"Yeah. Could Yukiko really show up on there?", asks Chie-chan.
"I'm in front of my TV too.", says Yosuke-kun. "I hope it's not her, but that's what we're here to find out, right?"
I start seeing some static on my TV's screen.
I hear my friends gasp in surprise. They must be seeing the same thing on their TVs too.
"Fingers crossed, then.", I tell them. "Now be quiet, both of you. It's about to start."
The image on the TV is nothing but static for a moment, and none of us say anything for the time being. We wait…and wait…and wait…
…Until an image suddenly pops on the screen. This image is nothing like the one we saw yesterday. It's not nearly as fuzzy or unrecognizable. And this time…the person on there is clear and easy to recognize. To our great horror, it's exactly who we were afraid it was.
"…Yukiko?", Chie-chan asks, recognizing our friend. She's right. It is Yuki-chan. And she looks…weird.
"Is…is that Yukiko-san?", Yosuke-kun asks. "What is she wearing?"
She's wearing some kind of…frilly pink dress? What? Is…is that really her? The Yuki-chan on TV speaks into a microphone, in a rather uncharacteristic tone for the Yuki-chan I know.
"Good evening, everyone! I'm princess Yukiko, and I've got a big surprise for you all! I'm gonna go score myself…A HOT STUD!"
…Excuse me?
"Welcome to "Not a dream, not a hoax: Princess Yukiko's hunt for her prince charming"!"
Prince charming? What?
"And I came prepared!", she says while putting her hand in an…odd position. "I'm wearing my lacy unmentionables tonight! I'm stacked from top to bottom!"
Lacy unmentionables? What are those? What is even happening? This makes no sense!
"She's wearing what now?", asks Yosuke-kun.
"Yosuke, focus!", tells him Chie-chan.
"I'm out to catch a whole harem for myself!", says the Yuki-chan on the screen. "And the best of the lot is gonna be all mine!"
"Well, here I go! Wish me luck!", she says as she chuckles and turns around to go in…a giant castle? With another swirly red and black portal? Oh, that ain't good…
The program ends, and my screen goes black. The three of us remain silent for a few seconds, completely baffled by what we just saw.
"So…", I say to break the awkward silence. "Can anybody tell me what that was all about? 'Cause I didn't understand anything she was sayin'. Is there something you'd like to tell me about Yuki-chan, guys?"
"O-Of course not!", answers Chie-chan. "T-That was nothing like Yukiko at all! What the hell even was that stuff about hot studs and a prince charming? I completely agree with you when you say you don't get it, because I don't understand anything either!"
"But that was Yukiko-san for sure, wasn't it?", interjects Yosuke-kun. "It looked like her, and it sounded like her. She even said her name out loud. And she looked like she was on some kind of low-budget TV show. Was it like that before too? What's happening…? And did you guys notice? That black and red portal…"
"Yeah. Just like the ones we saw before in the creepy room and the fake liquor store. Both of you, calm down.", I tell them. "First things first, we need to contact Yuki-chan to make sure she's okay. Chie-chan, you got her number, so you do it."
"Good idea.", says Yosuke-kun. "Tomorrow's a Sunday, so we'll regroup at Junes, first thing in the morning."
"R-Right!", Chie-chan replies. "I-I'll do that right now!"
They both hang up, and I put my phone away. I still leave it on in case either of them wants to call me for whatever reason.
Seriously, what was that all about? I've got a lot to think about. I mean, princesses, castles and "lacy unmentionables"? "Lacy unmentionables"?
What even are those?