[Summary: Nanako and Naoto see their plan through to the bitter end.]
[7/24: Sunday]
"Celebrity wasn't my intention." Naoto's voice was a murmur on the phone.
"Yeah..."
Nanako had planned to meet with the detective bright and early at his apartment to begin the next scheme of their plan, but neither of them had expected the huge crowd to assemble around the place. Amateur film crews, journalists, and curious onlookers all blocked the path, even in spite of the morning rain. Everyone wanted to hear more from the Detective Prince after last night's interview on Niteline. Nanako had resorted to calling him on the phone instead of wading through the crowd.
"I'm afraid I might be trapped in my apartment for the moment," Naoto concluded. "I'm currently reluctant to make any attempt to address the crowd."
"I... I don't blame you," Nanako answered. As she watched, another news van arrived on scene, unloading several more people with cameras and microphones. One reporter set up an overlarge umbrella for his crew in case the rain returned. Some of the cameras were protected by plastic bags wrapped over them.
"I've already disabled my doorbell." Naoto sighed. "But I think the knocking and shouting is worse. I can't concentrate with all this disturbance."
"Do they even know you're home?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I made the mistake of answering the first visitor's call this morning, and although I shut the door in the miscreant's face, he must have informed those that came after that I was, indeed, in. But I'm afraid that even if I did manage to escape, the crowd would simply follow me. We'll make little progress today, Nanako-san."
Nanako scowled into the phone. She would drag everyone away one-by-one if she had to.
But maybe she wouldn't have to. As she watched, a few policemen approached the scene. They carried traffic-directing wands and began to try to push people away from the apartment. An officer tried to appeal to the crowd to leave the area because they were disrupting the lives of other residents in the area. It didn't work half as well at deterring the crowd as the barricades they began to set up.
"Hold on, Shirogane-san!" she called into the phone. "Maybe the police aren't so bad. I think they're bringing you backup."
"An interesting development." In the background from Naoto's apartment was a knocking sound. "It appears they wish to speak with me. I can't imagine why."
Nanako snickered at his dry tone and then let him off the phone to deal with these new guests. She was contemplating her next move when she realized that Naoto was not allowing said guests into his apartment. Instead, he was addressing them in front of his door. She made a beeline for the barricade. This was something she couldn't miss.
In fact, it was something other people shouldn't miss either. She rounded up several of the stragglers remaining from the broken-up crowd and urged them to follow her. Soon the barricade was surrounded on the one side by a group of curious onlookers, all straining to hear the conversation going on in front of the complex.
"The responsibility for failing to have me sign a non-disclosure agreement ultimately falls to you," Naoto was saying. "By breaking contract, you waived all rights to privacy concerning the discoveries I have brought to light. Your incompetence, Superintendent, and the incompetence of your superiors, led to this situation." Naoto paused. He glanced pointedly at the audience behind the barricade. "The public deserves to be made aware."
The superintendent's teeth ground loud enough to be heard even from a distance behind the barricade. "Be that as it may... Despite the childishness of your decision to go to the news," – the man spat the word – "we are willing to reinstate the contract and bring you back on the case, Shirogane-kun."
"I would prefer to draw up a new contract. As a matter of fact, I've taken the liberty to write it myself. Here." Naoto took out a folded paper from his pants pocket and handed it to the man. "I understand you'll need some time to peruse it. I suggest you take it to your superiors before making a decision."
"...You'll hear from us."
"You know where I live."
The superintendent put the contract away in his coat with such reluctance that he crumpled the paper. Then he motioned to the other officers who had been standing with him, and they followed him past the barricade and out of the area. One policeman was left behind to tend the barricade. He told the crowd to move along, and eventually most of it dispersed. Nanako remained behind, hoping he'd soon go away, but it seemed like his job today was to play guard.
Fortunately, Naoto had seen her in the crowd. He stepped forward now to get the officer's attention and told him to let Nanako through. "She looks like trouble, s-sir," the man said, dubious.
Naoto's amused smile matched Nanako's own. "Quite."
"You don't know the half of it," Nanako told the officer as he let her through. She thanked him on the other side, which surprised him and made her smile.
A short time later saw Naoto and Nanako having tea in the detective's apartment. "As amusing as that diversion was," Naoto said, "we are behind schedule."
"Did you add that compensation clause to the contract like I told you?" Nanako asked.
The detective assured her that he had. "It's strange, isn't it, how working for free makes others think your time isn't valuable. They are in for a rude awakening."
"And the rudest is yet to come," Nanako agreed. She waved her hand at the tea table. On it was an array of unidentifiable electronic parts. "I see you've been busy this morning. Is that the camera?"
Naoto nodded and picked up a part that looked like a metal bracelet and turned it around in his hands. "After some further adjustments, I will be mounting it to the door. This apartment only has one entrance. Since I don't have a delivery door, the culprit's tactics might very well change. The windows are tightly locked, and should someone try to enter that way, it would likely draw attention to the other residents."
"You should set an alarm on the windows anyway," Nanako advised, but Naoto told her that he already had. "Did you get a motion sensor for the door?"
"I'll be installing it soon. By the way, Nanako-san, with all that excitement, I neglected to tell you something that I understand you've been wanting to hear."
The detective handed her a photograph across the table. She peered down at it. It was a dark-eyed boy's middle school yearbook picture. In it, he was wearing a black suit and a teal tie. The caption read, 'Mitsuo Kubo.'
"This..." she began.
"That is the culprit the police have apprehended for Mr. Morooka's murder. You were interested in knowing his name. I discovered it with some help from a computer database."
"I think I called that guy a 'cumbag' once," Nanako muttered. "I recognize that beauty mark under his left eye." She'd seen him around town a few times, too, wasting time in the shopping district like many teenagers did after school. He was always wearing Internet meme shirts.
She pocketed the picture, not that it mattered anymore. He was already apprehended, but... who knew? Maybe she'd get her chance yet. She thanked Naoto, regardless, and they returned to the topic of their plan.
"We should set up some sort of alert system," she said. "I still have school the next two days, so that's going to take a chunk of my time, though we might have early release on Tuesday, what with it being the last day and all. Probably not."
"Not to worry," Naoto replied. "I've obtained a mini GPS tracker that I will keep on my person. We'll set your phone and my laptop computer to receive alerts. It can be set to alert you immediately when I'm outside of my normal range."
Nanako brought out her phone. The detective noticed the cracked screen and offered to replace it for her. "It still works," she said. "Don't worry about it. Let's set this thing up!"
Some hours later, Nanako left Naoto's apartment. She felt an overabundance of excitement. They'd set up the camera, the GPS unit, the motion devices... And she'd warned Naoto at length what to expect if the worst happened. Now they just had to wait for the culprit to act. It would be a nervous, expectant wait, that was for sure.
Nanako headed to the Konishi Liquor store. She wanted to see Saki and apologize once again for pawning the kids onto her this morning, though Saki had taken on the task without complaint. She also wanted to hear how the encounter with Yuuta's mom went.
She passed by the Moel gas station and Izaya was there, standing under the awning in his work uniform. He nodded at her with a wicked-looking smile, and she waved back at him but continued on her way. It was still really cloudy out, and as she splashed through a large puddle, she thought that he probably wasn't going to get much business today.
The Velvet Room door shimmered by the bookstore. She paused by it. Something that had been bothering her came to her then. Marie hadn't been there the last time she'd been inside. She'd been too enraged at the time to care, but she'd noticed the rude girl's absence. She considered whether she cared enough now to inquire within, and then sighed and decided she probably should. She took the key out of her pocket and opened the door.
False alarm, apparently. Marie was there, sitting to Igor's right. The girl was staring down at the floor and didn't look up when Nanako entered. The change from her usual cheeky attitude was troubling somehow. Nanako decided to try and reassure her. "I know I've been ignoring you, Marie, but I don't have anything against you. Wanna hang out?"
"Can't," the girl muttered without looking up.
"Why not?" Nanako frowned. She knew the girl was probably a social link.
Without looking up, Marie waved a hand at the other residents. "I can't leave when my 'existence is wavering,' or something. I don't get it either."
Nanako turned her gaze on Igor, but Margaret was the one who spoke up. "It is not always safe for Marie to leave this place. When she is free, you might see her in your world, standing outside our door."
Now Marie's eyes snapped up. "Outside? You mean I can go outside sometimes? Why didn't you tell me this before!?"
"Only when your existence isn't wavering," Margaret said with a tired sigh.
"What'll happen if she goes outside now?" Nanako asked.
"End of the world, maybe," said Marie. When Nanako raised an eyebrow, she added, "Kidding. Wouldn't that be a neat trick? Hey, that... that gives me an idea." She took out a small spiral notebook and began to write on it. After a moment she paused, looking up thoughtfully and tapping her chin with her pen. "What rhymes with apocalypse?"
"Whips," said Nanako.
"Hmm! Or chips."
"Or unzips."
"Don't let Marie detain you," Margaret interrupted, rubbing her temple in the universal gesture of tiredness. "Please."
"Time doesn't pass in here, right?" Nanako replied. "I'm not being detained." Entertained, maybe, but not detained.
"Poetry doesn't have to rhyme," Marie commented. "It's just more fun if it does. But it's also more restrictive, and sometimes your pathos needs the freedom of not having a rhyme."
"Have you tried haiku before? That's pretty fun."
Marie gave her a puzzled look. "What the heck is 'high coo'?"
"Man, how sheltered are you? Haiku is—"
Margaret ahem'd so loudly that Nanako instinctively stopped to look at her. "Don't. Let us. Detain you," the woman repeated, enunciating each word slowly.
Without thinking about it, Nanako rubbed her jaw where Margaret had punched her so long ago. "I'll bring in some samples next time," she promised Marie. "I'd better get going."
The clouds seemed to be getting darker in the sky. According to the weather report, it wasn't supposed to rain past noon today, but obviously the report was inaccurate for once.
She'd better head for shelter soon. The downpours in Inaba could get so strong that an umbrella wouldn't help all that much. She set a rapid pace for the liquor store.
A bell connected to the door rang when she entered. Saki's father, sitting behind the counter, took in her appearance and immediately told her to get out. "We don't sell to minors."
"I'm not here for booze, mister," she responded. "I just wanted to see if Saki-senpai is in."
The man's lip curled like he was biting back a comment. He shuffled to the back door, not taking his eyes from her for even a second. He called for Saki. "Your 'friend' is here to see you."
Nanako heard the judgmental way he'd said that and opened her mouth to say something, but then Saki appeared in the doorway wearing a rather ordinary brown dress. The smile that appeared on Saki's face upon seeing her made her set the retort aside. "Hey, Nanako. What are you doing here?"
The downpour of rain outside answered the question for her.
"Let's go upstairs," Saki invited. "I've seen your room. Now you can see mine."
Nanako followed her friend up, aware of the disapproving eye upon her. When Saki gestured for her to enter a room, Nanako paused before the door and whispered, "Your dad, he's... he's not going to yell at you about me later, is he? He didn't look happy to see me."
Saki shook her head. "You're just going to be another tiny bullet point on his long list of grievances about me. Don't sweat it."
"Senpai..."
"Do you not want to see my room?" Saki said. "Go in already!"
Saki's room reminded her of her own back in Tokyo, a typical girl's room with a vanity desk and a Western-style bed with a pink and white bed set that matched the curtains. The vanity mirror was so covered with old stickers and pictures that the mirror itself was almost invisible. The desk's surface was littered with lipstick and other makeup accessories and an array of hair clips. The standing closet in the corner was closed to prying eyes at the moment—too bad, she was curious about her senpai's fashion. And unlike Nanako's room, the bookshelf held actual books, not any manga. No, wait, there were a couple volumes of manga, but the rest was mostly school-related stuff and study guides. Saki was a senior, after all.
"Sorry, I only have one chair. I don't get many visitors. Go ahead and take it," Saki told her, indicating the wooden desk chair.
"I can sit on the bed." Without waiting for Saki's reply, Nanako moved past her friend and did exactly as she said.
"You would, wouldn't you." Saki sounded amused. "I was going to sit there."
"We can both sit here." Nanako patted the spot next to her, and Saki joined her. Before Nanako knew it, the older girl was running fingers through her hair. "S-Senpai!"
"You need to take better care of your hair," Saki murmured. "Shoving it in a ponytail as you do, it's disrespectful."
Nanako removed the scarf pinning her hair back and shook out her hair. Saki reached for her desk, took a hairbrush from it, and began to brush through Nanako's hair. "I have been letting it down—you saw it yesterday. But it was getting in my way today, so I had to pin it back." Wearing long hair around power tools was not a risk she'd take for the sake of fashion.
"Hmm. We should spend a day together," Saki said, "and I'll give you a makeover. Not today, I don't have everything I'd need."
"That sounds nice," Nanako murmured. She closed her eyes. Saki's strokes with the hairbrush were soft. It was very pleasant. "You know, Saki-senpai, I really feel like I can let my hair down around you. Figuratively speaking. And literally, I guess. I was surprised you were willing to spend a whole Saturday with me and the kids, but I think I shouldn't have been."
Saki slowed in the brushing. "Well... my boyfriend broke up with me, so it's not like I had anything else to do."
"Do you want me to punch him?"
"Nah," said Saki. "It was more of a mutual thing. I don't think he would've been much good for me in the long run. He was a bit... I dunno. We didn't have much in common and he was always trying to get discounts for liquor."
"What, and not at Junes?"
"There too, actually."
"You have more in common with Yosuke than you think," Nanako observed. She leaned her head back. Saki was now using her long nails in her hair instead of the brush and she loved it.
"Hana-chan." Saki sighed. "He's not boyfriend material. He's your typical high school virgin at this point in his life. Tries too hard, you know? Before Naoki died, he was always being super chivalrous to me just because I was nice to him."
"I haven't talked to him in a while," Nanako admitted, trying hard to suppress a sing-song 'not a virgin~.' "I don't think he approves of my new getup."
"Screw him," Saki said with feeling. "Not literally. If he can't see that you needed this, he isn't worth his discount."
They lapsed into an agreeable silence for a moment. "I could be your boyfriend," Nanako suggested quietly.
Saki paused in handling her hair for several seconds. "I feel like I must state the obvious. You aren't a boy."
"Tell me what a boy can do that I can't," Nanako declared.
"Well, there's—"
"I can do that."
Saki hesitated. "But then there's—"
"I can do that, too."
The older girl began to giggle. "You are something else. When Yuuta-kun called you 'Boss' yesterday I nearly laughed out loud."
"How did it go with his mom, by the way?"
"She came by about an hour after Featherman," Saki replied. "The boy was so happy to watch that show with Souji-kun, you really should've been there. Souji-kun even sung the theme song until he remembered he was being watched."
Nanako laughed. "Damn, I can't believe I missed—uhh." She paused. Saki's hand had suddenly crept into hers.
Saki wasn't quite looking at her. "You know, I feel like I'm almost normal around you, too. I think we understand each other pretty well."
"Damn right," said Nanako, keeping her hand exactly where it was. Saki's skin felt soft to the touch; she probably used hand lotion on a regular basis.
"I was thinking that maybe you can stay the night here," Saki suggested, trying to sound casual. "Sure, my dad might get pissed, but what can he do, short of kicking us both out?"
"If we do get kicked out, we'll just go back to my aunt's place anyway. I think we can't lose."
"Then it's settled," Saki declared.
[7/25: Monday]
Nanako swung by the Seta residence the next morning before school, partially to change but mostly to check in on her cousin. She found him in the kitchen cooking eggs over easy for himself, which made her feel all the more guilty for neglecting him. Whether he did it often or not, she was uncomfortable with him using the stove without supervision.
"Do you need... breakfast?" he asked upon seeing her.
She ignored the question, instead walking right over to him and hugging him. She didn't have to bend down since he was on his step stool, which allowed her to sneak a kiss into his hair, too. "I'm sorry I left you alone last night like that."
"M-Mama was home," he told her. "And... you called, so... that made it better."
She tickled him just a little and then asked him to cook up another slice of toast for her while she changed into fresh clothes. After breakfast she made sure he had his Loveline umbrella since it was cloudy out. It reminded her to ask what happened in the episodes of Loveline and Featherman that she'd missed. She gathered that Loveline had been a filler episode, and that Featherman was essentially a PSA about recycling.
"And then Condor said, 'I'll do it!' and... and then..."
Souji was looking up right at her while he spoke. Nanako stopped him suddenly. "Watch out, Sou-chan! There's a big puddle up ahead. You don't want to go to school with wet shoes, do you?"
He contemplated the puddle that stretched across the road. It didn't seem like there was an easy way around it.
She put her arms around his middle and picked him up. "B-big sis!" he protested. She skipped her way through the puddle with long strides, or as long as her short legs could manage, and then set him down on the other side, panting a little from the effort. He weighed more than he looked.
"Big sis..." he muttered in a somewhat scolding tone. "N-now your shoes are all wet... and y-your skirt too..."
She smiled at him and tousled his hair, and then smoothed it out again. It was starting to get long; he'd need it cut soon. Maybe she could cut it for him. Maybe she could enlist Saki's help with it and they'd do it together. They could both get a makeover!
"Summer break is soon," Souji observed. "Is that why you're so happy?"
"Huh?" She paused. "Yeah, some of the reason! I wonder if we can get your mom to go on a trip with us. Oh, and you know, Chie's birthday is this Saturday. We'll do something for her, how about it?"
He blinked at her, and then broke into a smile. "Yeah!"
"What do you think we should do? Bake a cake, or some cookies?"
"W-we should have a r-race," the boy answered. "And, and invite everyone. K-Kanji-san, and Y-Yu... Yukiko-san, and partner!"
"Perfect, honey," she told him. "All right, get along to school now." She turned him around and walked him the rest of the way to school, her shoes making a humorous squelching noise with every step. They probably wouldn't dry in her shoe locker, but she wasn't the only one. On rainy days, the school entrance hall often smelled like a swamp, and today was no exception. She was grateful, for once, to change into her indoor shoes.
In the classroom, she found Yosuke pacing around by her desk. He uncrossed his arms in his excitement at seeing her. "There you are! Did you watch the Midnight Channel last night?"
Since he was blocking the aisle, she couldn't get to her seat, so she sat on the top of her desk instead. She glanced at Chie, who was already sitting at her desk, but the girl was looking at something her phone. "No, actually. Don't tell me Ms. Kashiwagi died..."
"Well, maybe you should have." Yosuke sounded annoyed. "Because your boyfriend was on it."
"Boyfriend!?" Chie exclaimed, looking up.
"That guy with the hat," Yosuke explained. "I don't think he's really her boyfriend—why are you smiling like that, Nanako? It's creeping me out!"
"Heh heh," said Nanako.
"The news keeps going on and on about him," the boy continued. "Naoto Shirogane, the so-called 'Detective Prince.' Apparently he's at odds with the police."
"Yeah, I saw that segment on the news on Saturday, too," Chie said. "I didn't know they filmed live. The way the camera was shoved around like that, it felt like a trash TV show. It was pretty crazy!"
Yosuke took out his phone and showed the picture he'd taken of the silhouette on the Midnight Channel to both girls. From the cap alone, there was no doubt that it was Naoto.
"What are we gonna do about it, Nanako?" Yosuke asked. "You've met him before. Kanji, too, but I think you know him more. Should we set up times to watch him? Or we can warn him. He went public with the fact that there's a copycat killer, so he might not even be surprised that he's a target for the real killer."
"Don't worry about him," Nanako answered.
"Don't worry? But he's on his way to being kidnapped like Yukiko," Chie protested. "We know who the victim is for sure, so we can catch the jerk in the act!"
"And send him straight to hell," Nanako added aloud, though she hadn't meant to. "Don't worry about him," she repeated with conviction. "He can take care of himself."
"Uh, the killer caught Kanji," Yosuke pointed out. "Who in their right mind would kidnap Kanji?"
"Shirogane-san has a gun and lives right by the police station."
"Can't argue with that, I suppose," he conceded after a moment. "What do you want me to do, then? Watch the Midnight Channel again and see if it changes?"
"Exactly."
"All right. Will do." Yosuke nodded his head. "It'll be on. They say this rain will last all night. Funny, because earlier they said that it wasn't supposed to rain at all until tomorrow."
Nanako followed his gaze out the classroom window. Fog had formed on the inner glass, and an idle student whose desk was by the window was now writing nonsense words in the moisture.
The weather report hadn't said anything about a fog settling in.
While he was still occupied by the rain, Nanako kicked Yosuke's tush. "Move it. I need to get down."
"Hey!" he protested, rubbing the point of contact. "You could've just asked, sheesh." He moved out of her way and sat down in his own seat.
"More fun this way," she declared. She hopped to the floor and then sat down as Kashiwagi walked in to start homeroom.
Exam results were posted during lunch. With a resigned sigh, Nanako went with the rest of the team down to the first floor to see the damage all the stress had done to her.
Her scores in English and history went down from the previous exam, but there was marked improvement in philosophy and literature. The rest of her subjects remained about the same or had slight improvement. She was passing, but not outstanding. Still above Yosuke and Chie, she was proud to note.
"Man, Nanako," said Yosuke. "How did you get the highest score in philosophy? You even beat out Yukiko-san!"
A hushed silence came over the DEATH squad as everyone save Nanako stared hard at Yosuke.
"Damn, senpai," Kanji said. "Even I know that one."
"What?" said Yosuke, taking a step back. "What'd I do this time?"
"It's preeeetty obvious, Yosuke," Chie said slowly. "Actually, this is kinda like how you messed up with Souji-kun." Yosuke was staring at her blankly, so she added with a sigh, "Who was our philosophy teacher?"
"Well, King Moron," he answered. "But..."
To everyone's surprise, it was Yukiko who took the boy by the arm and pulled him down the hall some distance away. While she was speaking to him in low tones, Chie touched Nanako's arm. "Y-you know he's just... He didn't know."
Nanako stopped biting her fist. "Yeah. I should've kicked him harder this morning, eh?"
The corners of Chie's mouth turned up in a soft smile. "You know, I've never kicked anyone's ass before. You could order him to turn around, and..."
"Chie-senpai!" Kanji exclaimed. He seemed to be looking at her with new respect.
"Thank you, Chie," said Nanako, "but as tempting as it sounds—"
"—cared dearly for him." Yukiko's voice was carrying down the hall and getting louder as she continued. "He wasn't always the most professional teacher, and I will admit that he often wasn't, but he was our teacher, and he tried to make amends with some students, including me. Yes, he was still our teacher, and he deserves respect in death!" Yukiko paused in her shouting, and looked down at the floor. "Especially since he was given so little in life."
Yosuke stammered something at her, but he was too quiet to be heard from the distance. Yukiko, too, quieted down. She put a hand on his arm, making him flinch in surprise, and they spoke a few more words, and then Yukiko headed back to the group. She nodded at Nanako and then stepped to the side while Yosuke approached Nanako, his eyes wide with apprehension.
"Uh, umm, Nanako?" he said, stopping before her. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize Mr. Morooka was so important to you. A-and to Yukiko-san, too."
Nanako looked him up and down slowly, and his whole body tensed up. Then she sighed. "I think I'll forgive you... if you buy me a soda at Junes after school. And buy something for Yukiko, too."
Yosuke relaxed, and even risked a small smile. Nanako didn't smile back, but she declared that they ought to have lunch, and so they headed up the stairs to their classroom, Kanji staying behind since he was a first-year.
When they headed back to class, Nanako took Yukiko aside. "You were really fired up back there. I thought you said you were afraid of boys!"
Yukiko blinked at her. "Huh? Oh, well, it's just Yosuke-kun..."
Now Nanako smiled, and when Yukiko smiled back, she felt the Priestess link growing stronger.
The long picnic table was the only canopied table at the Junes food court. When the store had been designed, someone had failed to take into account Inaba's weather. Nanako was seated at said table's head, her typical spot. She enjoyed her large-size cup of The Natural while the rest of the squad talked about their plans for summer break.
She only half-listened. Every few minutes she'd poke her phone's screen and check to see if Naoto had moved at all. According to the GPS app, he was currently ensconced in the police department and had been in there pretty much all day. The app had been set so that it would cause the phone to beep if Naoto moved more than so many feet from his current position. She probably had a few more hours before it would signal her that Naoto was going home.
"We could go to the beach," Chie suggested. "We need to get more use out of those swimsuits Nanako bought us, right, Yukiko?"
Yukiko nodded instead of answering because she was busy eating the parfait provided by Yosuke.
"Could be fun," Yosuke murmured. "I guess."
"You guess!? You aren't gonna make a comment about how excited you are to see us in swimsuits again?" Chie almost sounded offended by his unnatural lack of enthusiasm.
He stopped fidgeting with his headphones cords. "Sorry, I'm just... If that guy might be kidnapped, shouldn't we get some training in? We'll have to rescue him. It's been a few weeks since we've been in the TV World. We should be ready."
"I can't," said Nanako. Her phone wouldn't work in there. She was looking at the screen closely right now. Naoto had moved about twenty feet from where he'd been sitting. Maybe he was getting coffee or using the bathroom.
She set the phone back down on the table and forced herself not to touch it for at least another five minutes. At this rate, she was turning into a creepy stalker!
She looked at the group. "But you guys can go. You don't need me. Remember, Rule #2 says no one goes alone. It's not 'no one goes without the boss.' And at the end of the day, the four of you can enjoy the bathhouse together."
"Without you?" Yosuke said. "It wouldn't be half as fun."
"He's right, Senpai," Kanji agreed.
Yosuke began to rub his face, possibly trying to cover up his blush.
"I'm not going to the bathhouse with the boys," Chie said, crossing her arms with finality.
"Why not?" asked Nanako. "There's multiple baths. You don't have to use the same one as them if you wanna be modest. And Kanji-kun will keep Yosuke in line if you're worried about him trying to peek."
Chie looked down at the table, and then at Nanako, a tinge of pink to her cheeks. "Maybe if you were going."
Nanako leaned her head back, appraising her friend. That had been unexpected!
"I'd feel better if the boys were outnumbered," Chie continued, and Nanako had to agree with that, at least.
"Maybe we shouldn't go in today," Yosuke mused. "We still have school tomorrow, and you know how exhausting it is in there. Since our break starts on Wednesday, maybe we can plan to go in on Thursday or Friday. Maybe Nanako will be free then, and we can make a day of it."
"We can have a picnic!" Yukiko said, her dark eyes sparkling. "We have plenty of food at the inn's kitchen. I can pack a basket, and..."
"And Yosuke can bring the drinks," Nanako said. "A picnic under a black and red sky. We can have it at the creepy shopping district and pretend we're the only survivors of an apocalypse that wiped out the rest of humanity." No one seemed enthusiastic about that, so she growled, "What's wrong with all of you?"
"It's a great idea!" said Yukiko, her dark eyes gleaming. "That out-of-place Junes jingle will underscore the desolation."
"Though we will risk getting the jingle stuck in our head," Nanako conceded. "It's a price I'm willing to pay."
"I get that every time I come here anyway," said Chie. She waved a hand, indicating the food court.
"If you've ever wondered why I always carry my headphones with me," Yosuke said. "That's why."
"It's a cute theme," said Kanji. "But I s'pose hearing it every day could be a bit much."
"I'm not here every day," Yosuke objected. "It's not like my home or anything!"
"Just his home away from home," Nanako murmured. It had been five minutes, right? She picked up the phone again—it had been less than three and a half minutes—and Naoto was back where he'd been earlier. She sighed loudly. "So training in the TV World slash picnic on Thursday or Friday, huh? And a beach trip sometime. Anything else going on this summer?"
"Are you going to visit Tokyo?" Yosuke asked.
Nanako stared up at the canopy, still holding her phone up to her face. She hadn't really given that any thought. She turned the question on him. "Are you going to visit the city you're from?"
He shook his head. "I don't really have any family there."
"What about Katsuragi?"
"What about him? I'm not going to visit just for one old friend! That's just weird. I'm not even that close to him."
"It's not weird," she said. "It's sweet."
"That's worse!"
"You should take Yukiko with you," she suggested. "She's always wanted to see the big city."
Yosuke stared at her, and then looked at Yukiko. "Err..." Then he looked at Chie and ducked his head. "N-no, I don't think I'm going there."
Ah, the glare of the kung fu girl was too much for him. Nanako chuckled. Maybe if she visited Tokyo, she'd bring Yukiko along herself.
[7/26: Tuesday]
Class was disrupted when police sirens roared by the school. While the other students crowded the windows, Nanako's blood froze. It hadn't been foggy last night. It hadn't! She turned to Yosuke behind her and grabbed him by his dress shirt's collar. "What was on the Midnight Channel!?" she demanded.
"J-just a silhouette again, I swear!" Yosuke squeaked.
She let him go and took out her phone. According to the app, Naoto was at the police station, as per usual. Unsettled, she left the room to call the boy. She walked towards the far stairwell while the phone rang, hoping to avoid any teacher in a lecturing mood.
"Yes?" Naoto answered on the third ring.
Nanako breathed a sigh of relief. "Everything okay over there? We just heard some sirens. I got a little worried."
"The police around me do seem to be in a tizzy," Naoto reported. "I haven't the foggiest idea why. Perhaps I should look into it."
"It's all right. Don't let it distract you. And sorry for bothering you."
"It's quite all right, Nanako-san. Since you are speaking, that Midnight Channel... I was awake at the time to 'tune in' last night. How strange, to see my own silhouette on there. It was like looking into a mirror in the dark."
Naoto went on to wonder about the mechanics behind the phenomenon. "What would happen if you put your hand into the screen while the Midnight Channel was on?"
"Chie tried that, actually," Nanako said. "I think it just makes the screen ripple. That's what happens when you put your hand in a TV that's on a normal program, anyway. I'm not sure, she was more excited about the fact that she could put her hand in the TV at the time," – and that the person on the screen was a girl, she mentally added – "to notice. Crap, Shirogane-san, I gotta go."
Students were beginning to stream out of their classes. It was probably time for the end of term assembly. She sneaked through the crowd until she was with her own class. It seemed that during the commotion over the sirens, Kashiwagi hadn't noticed that she was briefly missing.
"Everything okay?" Chie asked her.
"Yes, actually," Nanako answered.
"Good," said Yosuke. "I was worried you wouldn't come back. After the last time you rushed out like that..."
"When you say that, you make me want to skip the assembly now," Nanako told him. "Come on, let's get this over with."
The end-of-term assembly was, predictably, a waste. The principal stood up at the podium and spoke at length about how the students should set a good example because they represented the school even during the break. He talked about honesty, integrity, good behavior, all that jazz. Bored, Nanako tried to sneak a look at her phone when she thought Kashiwagi wasn't looking. Chie hissed at her just in time to avoid being caught.
Finally the students around her began to applaud. Nanako shifted from one foot to the other, but the assembly wasn't over. Some of the teachers had to speak, too. Nope, no early release today.
Chie patted her on the shoulder when she let out an exaggerated sigh and pointed out Yosuke, who had definitely put his headphones on and was listening to music instead of the lecture. His head kept bobbing to the beat, and he didn't realize he was doing it, which made it amusing to watch for at least a little bit.
"Where's Yukiko?" Nanako whispered. She'd been in class earlier, she remembered seeing her.
"She skipped!" Chie whispered back. "Just the assembly, anyway. She's helping the inn. It's going to be a busy summer for them, I can tell already. She doesn't like to miss assemblies."
"Mm," Nanako replied. Kashiwagi was glaring in their direction, partially because Chie didn't exactly know what constituted a whisper.
And then it was over. The students filed back to their classrooms, where they cleaned out their desks for the term and swept the school halls one last time, among other minor cleaning duties. Kashiwagi let them go with some final comment about how tiny her summer swimsuit was—not a visual anyone really needed on the last day of school, or any day, for that matter—and they were free.
"What are your plans now?" Chie asked. "Without Yukiko, I've got nothing."
"I am going home and taking a nap," said Yosuke. "Staying up past midnight takes its toll, you know. I need to catch up."
"You do that," Nanako told him. "Me, I think I'm gonna go see if my cousin is home. We have plans to make."
"If you guys wanna train," Chie said, "hit me up! I think I'll go see if the track team is meeting one last time. See you around!"
Nanako was glad Chie hadn't offered to come with, simply because her 'plans to make' with Souji involved Chie's birthday. Aiya apparently didn't do gift cards, but they did catering, which was something to consider, but they only catered for parties of over ten individuals. Even counting Chie's appetite for Aiya as two individuals, they didn't have enough to make it worth the catering expense. Chie probably wouldn't mind delivery, though, or the party being hosted at the restaurant itself.
Regardless, there was no question the primary food had to include beef. But what about the cake? Chie might like a meatloaf shaped as a cake, but the other guests wouldn't. Although Nanako wasn't too picky about food herself, she appreciated that some people had more refined palates than she did. She knew for sure that Yosuke was rather picky. He always picked the tofu out of his bento.
Maybe a strawberry cake with red frosting to make it look like it was a meatloaf. She had a feeling Chie would be disappointed that it wasn't an actual meatloaf...
"This is harder than I thought," she complained out loud.
"M-maybe Chie-san would be happy if we did anything," Souji suggested. "Maybe... maybe both?"
"What, a meatloaf for her and strawberry cake for us?" Nanako tapped her cheek with the pen she was using to brainstorm with. "We'd have to bake 'em separately. Yeah, that's doable. Good idea!"
What else, what else... She didn't want to go overboard with balloons and decorations like she had with Yosuke. Chie didn't seem like she'd be into that. Then again, she might. Hmm... Maybe she should call up Yukiko and see if the girl had insider info on this.
That movie Chie had liked, what had it been called? Trial of the Dragon, yeah. Could she use that as a theme somehow? Make everyone wear karate clothes. No, that was just getting weird.
"Dragons are cool..." Souji commented.
"I don't think dragons were actually involved," Nanako replied with sorrow. "Oh, but I could be wrong! I never saw it. Why don't we have a movie night, you and me, and watch it? Heck, we can ask Chie to bring it over and we'll have a little get-together. I know Yosuke bought her a new copy. She won't have to know that it's research for her birthday."
"C-can we...?" Souji asked.
"Of course, Sou-chan!" Though Nanako would have to ask Chie if there were any scenes that could frighten the boy. Be sensitive to your family. She wasn't going to make another mistake with Souji if she could help it.
After dinner, Nanako was looking up meatloaf recipes on her phone when it began to beep at her. She almost dropped the damned thing in surprise—not that she'd notice any new cracks on the screen. She swiped away from the browser and to the GPS app to see what happened.
"The hell?" she whispered.
According to the app, Naoto was everywhere in Inaba at once.
Was it a glitch? The app's beeping was a cacophony as it tried to report every position as the detective's position.
After about a minute, the app finally righted itself and set the position to Naoto's apartment.
Nanako let out her breath in relief. Yeah, Naoto had probably just left the station and walked home. The app had alerted her around this time last night, too, and the night before that, but it had never glitched out like that, nor had it beeped so damn much. Just one beep—target on the move—and that was it. Not that noise. Her heart was only now calming down, and Souji was looking up at her from the book he was reading at the tea table.
It beeped at her again.
Signal lost.
Signal lost? Nanako stared at the screen and waited, but it wasn't finding the signal. A 'Help' menu popped up, and she touched it, but it only gave basic reasons the signal could be lost—the unit's batteries could be dead, the servers could be under maintenance...
She shook her head, closed the app, and called up Naoto. The phone went right to a recorded message: "The number you have dialed is unavailable right now. The phone may be switched off or outside our coverage area."
The signal was still lost on the app. Taking all of this information together, she could only come to one conclusion.
Naoto had been kidnapped and was in the TV.
She smiled with satisfaction.
Nanako relaxed on her couch in her room, awaiting midnight. She turned and moved the window curtain aside to check the weather outside. It was still a steady downpour. She tried to tell herself to relax, but she was shaking with excitement.
What sort of show would Naoto's be? Oh, man, what if it was like a film noir? It would be in black and white, and Naoto's Shadow would be smoking a cigarette while it had some monologue about troublesome dames.
Yosuke, please record this, she pleaded.
She could do it herself, actually. Didn't her phone have the capability? The GPS app hadn't taken up much space, and the show wouldn't last long anyway. Oh, but her card was mostly full because of that MMORPG she sometimes played. Maybe it was time to uninstall it. She hadn't played in forever, anyway.
Too late, now. It probably wouldn't be done uninstalling before midnight. She should've thought of it sooner. She sighed, put the phone down on the work table, and tried to make herself comfortable on the couch.
With the sound of static, the TV turned on. She opened her eyes wide, frantically trying to take everything in.
Naoto, no, his Shadow, stood in the center of the screen. He wore a white lab coat over his ordinary clothes and still had the signature cap. He introduced himself as the 'Detective Prince.' A sneer came across his features at the second word. Nanako recalled how he'd disliked that nickname.
The Shadow began to speak further, leaving her no time to contemplate it. "Welcome to 'Experiment of the Century: The Genome Project.' I will be experimentor and experimentee both in a forbidden yet wonderful bodily alteration process!"
Now Nanako noticed that behind the Shadow was a large operating table. Bodily alteration process? Was it... going to use that huge drill and saw connected to the table to operate on Naoto? She swallowed and ran her fingers down her stomach to quell the unease.
"I will share this glorious occasion, this memorable day, with all of you!"
On live TV?
No, she told herself. It was just a Shadow. Yukiko hadn't met any 'studs' in her dungeon, and Kanji hadn't found that 'sublime love' after all...
"All of you," the Shadow repeated. "You, who believe everything you see on TV."
The entire scene blinked out of sight with the sound of static, only for the screen to turn back on again with a new scene. A boy was standing in front of a castle's drawbridge. The background looked blocky, like it was from a 90s era video game.
The boy was not Naoto nor his Shadow. He had thin lips, dark eyes, a mole under his left eye, and wore a yellow shirt that had the letters 'WWW' across the chest.
"Try and catch me," the boy said.
The TV turned off.
Nanako opened and closed her mouth as dozens of questions vied for attention in her mind.
The boy was Mitsuo Kubo. Mr. Morooka's killer.
[AN: I've been trying very hard to keep the weather true to canon, but due to some of the divergence in plot, it had to rain on Sunday night for the Midnight Channel to air so that Naoto's silhouette could be on it. In the canon, it was already raining in the morning on Sunday so it's not too unreasonable that it'd keep raining... I'd talk more about this, but I don't want to spoil anything, hehe.
Also heck yeah, dual Midnight Channel! What would happen if two people were in the TV World at the same time? We toyed with the idea of their shows meshing together, but I'm pretty happy with simply having a second show air immediately after the first. It made Kubo's appearance there even more of a surprise, though maybe some of you following the game's timeline had expected it.
Next Chapter: Time Stands Still]