Emiko Vaughn had spent the past few weeks in England, visiting with her dad's side of the family. She'd been living in her mom's hometown of Inaba since the first grade, where she had met her longtime best friends, Nanako Dojima and Takeyoshi Aragaki. She liked England, but she couldn't imagine living anywhere but Inaba. She felt relieved to be home, and quickly sent out texts to her favorite people. Nanako answered right away, and they agreed to meet at Aiya for lunch.
Emiko hadn't heard back from Takeyoshi, but she sent another text with the time and place for her lunch meetup with Nanako, hoping that he would show up. She pigtailed her long, bleached blonde hair and put on the cute new outfit she had picked up on her trip. She put a lot of work into her appearance most of the time anyway, but if there was even a chance Takeyoshi might be there, it was worth going the extra mile. Emiko coated her lashes in black mascara, and dabbed on a touch of shiny lipgloss before heading out into the shopping district. When she saw Nanako waiting outside Aiya, she broke into a run. "Nanako-chan!" she shouted as she crashed into her best friend, pulling her into a hug.
"Emi-chan! I'm so glad you're home!" Nanako exclaimed happily. "Shall we head in?" she asked, gesturing to the restaurant.
"Oh," Emiko replied, feeling slightly crushed and hoping it didn't show. "Sure, that sounds great."
Nanako raised her eyebrows. "Something's wrong?" she asked gently.
"Not really," Emiko sighed. "I texted Yoshi-kun this morning and he never answered. And I let him know we'd be meeting here, so I thought maybe…" She shrugged. "You know what? It's totally fine. You and I have tons to catch up on anyway." She linked her arm with Nanako's, and they headed into the restaurant, grabbing a booth in the back corner. They had learned long ago that it was the best place to talk in Aiya if you didn't want everyone listening in.
"So how was London? Your outfit is really pretty," Nanako commented. Nanako always noticed important things.
"Oh, it was really nice! And thanks. I'm so glad I'm home, though. I missed you guys so much!" She had been trying to stop thinking about Takeyoshi, but there he was again. "Have you… seen Yoshi-kun much lately?" she asked, trying to sound casual about it.
"Not really. I've actually been really busy since you've been gone."
"Oooh, details, please! What's going on?"
"Hmm, let's see…" Nanako was trying to decide how to not tell her best friend about all of the chaos without her figuring it out anyway. Not that she would be able to guess about Personas and jumping into TV's, Nanako thought. "Lots of family-like news, mostly. Kanji and Naoto are having a baby."
"Aww, finally! That's so sweet!" Emiko replied.
"Right? And Yukiko and Naoki are finally engaged," Nanako continued.
"For real? That took forever!" The girls shared a giggle. "What about you, Nanako? What's new in your own life?"
"Well, umm.. Teddie and I are, well. Dating." It's probably better to tell her that than 'I learned new magic spells inside a television.'
"What?! Oh my goodness, Nanako-chan! I'm so happy for you! What made you finally go for it?" Emiko asked.
"It just felt right. I mean, you know me. I've loved him forever."
"I know," Emiko said dreamily. Then she frowned. Where on earth was Takeyoshi? "Nanako-chan?"
"Mmm hmm?"
"I can't seem to shake the feeling that something's wrong. With Takeyoshi-kun, I mean."
"Let's go look for him after lunch. He's got to be around here somewhere, right?"
"Right. Thanks," she replied.
They looked all over town, but Takeyoshi seemed to be nowhere. Nanako was starting to worry as much as Emiko when they hadn't located him by dinnertime. "I think that I should ask some friends to help us figure out where he is," Nanako said cautiously.
"Huh? Like who?" Emiko asked, confused.
"Just… Teddie, and some kids I know from school." Nanako pulled out her phone and sent a group text to her recently formed team.
I'm having trouble locating my friend Takeyoshi. Can you guys come to Junes? I have another friend with me and we're really worried about him.
My shift ends in 30 minutes! I'll wait for you all at the food court!
The others responded shortly, promising to be there as well. "Come on, Emi-chan. We're meeting the others at Junes."
"Hmm. Alright, Nanako-chan," Emiko answered. She wasn't sure why Nanako was being so secretive. Who were these friends that Emiko didn't know about?
When they arrived at Junes, Teddie was waiting. "Hiya, Emi-chan!" he said brightly as he wrapped an arm around Nanako.
"Hello, Teddie! Oh my gosh, you guys are so cute together!"
Teddie blushed a little. "Oh, well, thanks, Emi-chan!"
When the others arrived, Emiko was even more confused. "You guys are first years, right?" she asked. "How do you all know each other?"
"Oh!" Nanako said with surprise. "Well, I know Miusagi through Kanji, and Sanae is a friend of his."
"Alright," Emiko said. "So how are we going to find Takeyoshi-kun with their help if we couldn't find him ourselves?"
Nanako sighed. "It's a long, weird story. And I will tell it to you, but let's get started first. Teddie?"
"Right, follow me!" he said cheerfully, leading them all to the electronics department. They stopped by a big TV in the middle, and Teddie looked around nervously. "Umm, you all wait here. I'll be right back!" He jumped into the TV, and Nanako quickly put her hand over Emiko's mouth as she started to shout in surprise.
"You maybe should have told her that part first," Miusagi said with a grin.
"Yeah," Emiko agreed in a whisper. "What the heck was that?"
"Don't worry, I still think it's weird, too," Sanae added.
Teddie popped back out of the TV a moment later. "I definitely smell someone in there, Nana-chan," he said. "And I think you're right that it's Yoshi-kun."
Nanako frowned. "That's not what I wanted to hear, but at least we know what we have to do now."
"What's that?" Emiko asked.
"We're going to rescue him. Come on, Emi-chan. Let's go get a snack at the food court so we can fill you in on everything.
"I want to help," Emiko said when the others had finished telling her what was going on.
"You don't have a persona," Miusagi said.
"Well none of you did either, so what makes you think I won't get one if I go in there with you?"
"She has a point," Teddie said quietly.
"Thank you, Teddie," Emiko beamed.
Nanako nodded. "Alright. You can come with us when we go in tomorrow. But you're going to stay close to me, and you'll hang back when we fight. As things are right now, you're completely defenseless."
"That's fine, Nanako-chan. I'll behave," Emiko said with a soft smile.
"I'm going to call Souji and the others. Maybe some of them can meet up tomorrow, and show Sanae some weapons."
"Oh, right," Miusagi said, frowning. "You haven't fought yet, Sana-chan."
Sanae shrugged. "I think the bigger issue is that it's supposed to rain tonight, isn't it?" she added.
"Ok, guys. Everyone watch the Midnight Channel tonight, then. If Takeyoshi-kun is inside the TV, he might show up on it. We'll meet back here tomorrow after school."
