Her persona emerged in a brilliant glow, its tails lashing around its frame as it moved.
"Woah, Tawakemono-Sensei is really fired up." Chie noted as the others summoned their own personas.
"The suspect is within our grasp. It's the job of the police to protect the public. And that's what I am going to do." She explained, her persona bouncing in front of her.
"Then let's take him down." Yu added as he stood beside Shi. They all braced as blocks suddenly appeared out of the air. They moved to surround the shadow, forming an outer shell. It looked like a character from an old video game.
"Dammit." Kanji murmured, the last block falling into place before he could get an attack in.
"You'll have to destroy the outer shell before you can get him." Rise said, her persona scanning the shadow before them.
"I am….. a shadow. Come…..I'll end your emptiness." The shadow spoke.
"Is that supposed to be a game character? Geez, how insulting can you get?" Yosuke demanded.
"Come…." The shadow continued.
"You want it? You're going to wish you never asked for it." Shi growled as her Persona stood beside her. She glanced at it before pointing at the shadow. "Get him." Her persona charged forward, its masks switching to launch attacks at the shadow as she watched. She wanted to end this. She had to end this. If she did, then she could focus on her life, on her relationship with Adachi. The thought of it seemed to inspire her and her persona.
It let out a howl, the blast hitting the shadow and blowing a hole right through the shell, exposing the shadow behind it. A explosion, similar to a mushroom cloud appeared as the shell exploded, knocking the shadow to the ground. Her persona hopped back as Yu stepped beside her.
"You're kicking ass Tawakemono-Sensei!" Kanji cheered as the shadow struggled to get up, having been bombarded by attacks from the others.
"There's no need to be scared. It'll be quick." The shadow spoke softly, its voice sounded distorted and electronic. It let out an awful cry, lighting striking the ground at random as it shrieked.
"Is that what you told Saki-senpai when you murdered her?!" Yosuke yelled, his persona throwing its shuriken at the shadow. It deflected the blades, blocks starting to form around it again as it stared them down.
"The shell takes time to reform! We have to destroy it before that happens!" Rise yelled.
"Not on my watch!" Kanji yelled as his persona charged forward, followed by Yukiko's, Chie's and Teddie's. They stood, their arms raised as they held blocks up to hold them in place. More blocks started to fall.
"Stop them!" Shi yelled, her persona charging forward. It braced itself on the blocks the others held up before using its tails to hold the other blocks. Its legs trembled as it tried to hold the blocks, struggling until Yosuke's persona came to help it.
"Why….? Don't you want to be at ease?" The shadow asked as they fought to hold the blocks back. Shi grimaced, feeling the pain her persona felt shoot through her shoulder. Yosuke grimaced beside her, the two of them bearing the majority of the blocks.
"I…..I need proof that I exist…..That's why…. I have to kill you!" The shadow spoke again. It let out the awful cry again, more lightning striking the ground.
"Do it partner!" Yosuke yelled to Yu. Yu nodded, raising his hand as persona after persona bombarded the shadow.
"He can change?" Rise noted, stood beside Shi as they watched him.
"Izanagi!" Yu yelled, his persona charging forward and slicing into the shadow. It let out one final shriek before collapsing in a cloud of cubes and energy. The black dust faded to reveal Mitsuo on the ground, the boy groaning as he sat up.
"Finally awake huh? You've been a major pain in our ass." Yosuke snapped.
"What the…. You guys…. Who the hell are you guys?!" Mitsuo snapped back. He paused as he fixed on Shi.
"The police are after you. You are the suspect in the murder of Mr Morooka." Shi said, seeming oddly calm. "Are you the killer?"
"All of the cases….. All on me…. Aha…. Hahaha! That's right! I did it!" He laughed.
"You piece of shit!" Kanji yelled.
"And not just that bastard Morooka…. That stupid announcer and the Konishi bitch too! I killed all of them! It was all me!" Mitsuo insisted. Behind him, the shadow which had been swaying silently faded.
"Wh...where did it go?" Rise gasped.
"What's happening here?" Chie murmured. Mitsuo turned as he noticed their stunned looks. He laughed as he realised.
"It's gone…. That frickin' monster disappeared! Take that, son of a bitch!" He laughed before collapsing with a groan. Shi moved closer as the others jolted, taking his wrist and checking him over.
"It's ok. He's exhausted but if we get him out of here he will be ok." Shi said, looking Yu in the eye. He nodded before stepping forward to help her escort him out of the TV world.
Once back in Junes, Shi went to move away as Mitsuo spoke.
"Where….am I? Why….am I here? What the hell are you guys?" He murmured. Shi rolled her eyes, moving away to phone Dojima as the others spoke to him.
"Dojima-San? It's Shi. I found our suspect. I have him at Junes." She explained to him. She turned slowly to face them as Dojima spoke to her.
"You found him! Right, we are on our way. Do not let that suspect out of your sight." Dojima yelled down the phone. She listened to him climbing into a vehicle, the door slamming shut.
"Oddly enough, I have some help." She began to explain, only to freeze as she saw Kanji pulling Mitsuo up by his collar.
"Kanji-kun!" Shi snapped, moving the phone from her ear and stepping forward.
"Kill you? It ain't gonna be that easy you piece of shit! What you did can never be taken back! No, you're going to own up for your crimes to the police and Tawakemono-Sensei, and then you're going to pay for what you did. You ain't going to be allowed to kick the bucket until you understand exactly what it is you've done!" Kanji yelled, throwing Mitsuo back to the ground.
"Why dammit! Why did she have to die because of this bastard!?" Yosuke yelled, his fist clenched tight.
"The police are on their way." Shi said, moving past Yu and crouching in front of Mitsuo. The blank stare she got back made her sigh. She knew immediately what the defence would say if this got to trial. The sound of sirens made her stand up, turning as Dojima and Adachi both entered the electronics department.
"Shi-chan, where is he?" Dojima asked. Shi stepped aside briefly.
"Right here." She replied. "Would you care to do the honours Adachi?" She asked as she folded her arms and stood beside Dojima. Adachi nodded, stepping forward and reading Mitsuo his rights whilst placing him in handcuffs. But the boy said nothing, he merely laughed as he was led away, swiftly followed by Dojima and Shi.
Back at the station, Shi watched through a one way mirror as a SOCO took samples from Mitsuo.
"Why didn't you do it?" Adachi asked as he walked in with a cup of coffee for her.
"Technically, I caught him. So, to prevent the defence from claiming possible cross contamination, it is better to have someone else collect the evidence." She explained as she sipped the coffee. The two of them stood in silence for a bit, watching Mitsuo.
"So….this may be it then? It's finally over?" Adachi murmured. Shi said nothing, turning as the door opened to reveal Dojima.
"Shi-chan, this is probably going to take a while. Could you stop by my house and check on Nanako for me?" He asked her.
"Of course I can. It'll be nice to see her." Shi replied as she stretched. She placed a hand on Adachi's shoulder. "Drop me a text if you want picked up." She said before heading out of the door. She climbed into her car, feeling the sense of relief overwhelm her as it sank in. It was nearly over. She began to drive to Dojima's house before pausing. There was every chance Yu and his friends would be there. She smiled, heading to her own home to collect something before heading to the Dojima residence.
When she arrived, she rang the doorbell, waiting patiently. On her back, sat her guitar. She smiled as Nanako opened the door for her.
"Shi-chan! You came." The little girl cried happily as she hugged her.
"Judging from that reaction, Dojima-san phoned to say I was coming right?" She asked, stepping inside and changing into slippers as Nanako nodded. She gasped as she saw Shi's guitar.
"You bought your guitar Shi-chan?" She asked excitedly. "Will you sing me the song about the moon?" She asked as she pulled Shi into the living room. Shi chuckled as the others waved and greeted her. She paused as she saw the three plates on the counter, her stomach giving an angry grumble.
"Would you care for a bite, Tawakemono-Sensei?" Rise asked, noticing her looking at the food.
"Would you mind? I am starving. And these rice omelettes look good." Shi asked as she placed her guitar down.
"I wouldn't recommend that Tawakemono-Sensei." Yosuke said as she picked up a spoon. She took a spoonful of the first one.
"That is mine Tawakemono-Sensei." Yukiko said, watching intently. Shi took a bite before pausing. There was no taste to it. It was bland, so bland she couldn't even taste the ingredients.
"Well….that certainly is a interesting flavour. But it is edible which is a excellent start." She said before glancing at the middle one. Yukiko nodded, seemingly pleased with her response.
"I made that one." Chie said. Shi nodded, taking a bite of the food. She grimaced as a awful flavour hit her took.
"That's uh….that's not terrible." She said, taking a quick drink of water to try and wash the taste out of her mouth. "I have tasted worse. It's a good attempt Chie-chan." She added, which seemed to perk her up.
"Then you have to try mine Tawakemono-Sensei. You are certain to have a mature palate that is refined enough for it." Rise said firmly. Shi paused, looking at the red coloured food.
"Woah. Your food took Yukiko-senpai out in one strike. Do you really think Tawakemono-Sensei should try it?" Kanji said.
"It can't be that bad." Shi commented as she took a spoonful. She placed it into her mouth and immediately regretted it. "Gak" she gagged as the spice punched her in the face. Rise looked at her happily as she pulled the spoon from her mouth. "It's spicy." Shi noted, trying to ignore the dull, throbbing pain spreading through her jaw. "But, I imagine that if you like spice, it's delicious." She said. She quickly picked up her guitar and moved away from the food before it killed her.
"I didn't know you played, Tawakemono-Sensei." Yosuke said as she settled on the couch.
"I don't play that often anymore. But, I figured seeing as this is a special day, I would give you all a treat. So, Nanako-chan, do you want to pick the song?" She asked as she tuned the guitar. Nanako nodded happily.
"Sing the one about the moon and the river." She said happily. Shi paused before realising and starting to play a few notes.
"Moon river, wider than a mile. I'm crossing you in style, someday. Oh dream-maker, you heart-breaker. Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way." She sang softly as she played, making them all stare in surprise. Until Nanako began to sing with her.
"Two drifters, off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. We're after the same rainbow's end. Waitin' 'round the bend. My huckleberry friend, Moon river and me." She sang as she strummed the final few notes, smiling as Teddie cheered for her and the other clapped.
"That was amazing Tawakemono-Sensei." Chie cried happily as they watched her. Shi chuckled, placing her guitar down.
"I did say I would sing for you guys. I guess singing is easier for me when I have Nanako-chan with me." She said, wrapping her arm around Nanako's shoulders and hugging her.
"Shi-chan, are you coming to the summer festival?" Nanako asked her. Shi paused.
"I hadn't thought about it. But I can't see why not." She replied.
"Does that mean we will get to see Tawakemono-Sensei in a yukata?" Teddie asked excitedly. All the boys of the group paused before Shi cleared her throat.
"Provided my work doesn't get too busy." She added before she got to her feet. "Well, looks like you have no need for me here. I know you will look after Nanako. I will see you all later." She said, moving towards the door. She paused as her phone buzzed, indicating a text from Adachi, begging her to come pick him up. She smiled, turning back to wave before heading out the door. Everyone was happier, the entire atmosphere seemed more at ease. It was nearly over. And Shi couldn't wait.