Fem-Souji/Yuu! When mysterious murders break out in the small town of Inaba, can Suzumi Seta the new transfer student from the City, solve the case? She can't do it alone, but will the many bonds she has made be enough to help her reach out to the truth?

Our beloved protagonist goes through something we like to call 'New Game Plus!' Except this time, he gets boobs. Fanfic will be based off the game, with minor changes and Anime references.

A/N: You should've seen me when I wrote out this Chapter. It was because of the large amounts of dialogue. . . No- not even. Because all the characters, mainly Yosuke, Chie and Teddie kept alternating when speaking, I got this long stretched out page full of messy words. Not only that, but I hate when I have to use things like, 'The Junes kid this,' and 'Green Jacket that'. It's just really vexing. There's nothing wrong with repeating their real names a lot, but it bothers me when I do so. Long story short, this Chapter and the next one took me a long time to complete. D: Having them speak so often is kinda troublesome, so I was forced to cut some irrelevant dialogue out of the story, sorry! But anyways, Enjoy and Review! Mem wants.

DISCLAIMER!: I don't own Persona! Or Atlus by any chance. . .
If I did- Yosuke would definitely be datable candidate for Souji. :U

Chapter 4: The TV World.

Thursday, April 14, 2011
- Rainy Morning-

First period today thankfully wasn't with King Moron. What happened from last night was still bugging me, but of course, it could've all been just a dream. . . Yet one that just felt so real. And as much as I wanted to tell Chie who was to my right, and Yosuke, who sat behind me, I'd have to wait until after school depending how busy I was going to be, trying to take notes and adapt to Yasogami's hectic classes. But when I say hectic, I meant plain weird. In front of me was a very. . . uniquely dressed teacher. And no, it had nothing to do with the top or bottom she wore, it was just her get-up. She had on an Egyptian hat perched on her head which looked of real gold, god knows where or how she obtained such an item. And then there was some kind of staff she had in her hands. . . Why should I even ask? No, rather- Why in the world was I speculating about this? She pointed at us with the cane and held it at her chest proudly. "Hello everyone. My name is Kimiko Sofue, and I don't know how much you know about world history, but I'm an expert." Ms. Sofue nods. "First, a little about me. I love to use my dowser and look for lost items, and there's nothing more quiet like a romance. In fact, world history is a magnificent romance. History is like a river; it was born in the past and flows forever forward. I hope we can all enjoy the profundity of history together. Hohoho. And since this is my first lecture, I'll start with an easy question." She gazes around the room, and to my dismay, or eyes lock. "Our transferette, Ms. Seta, please stand up."

" ! "I did as instructed, but hesitantly stood.

She asks, pointing the staff at my face, "When did A.D.- in other words, Anno Domini- begin?"

W-What was this, American religion? Let's see. . . Knowing that. . . I think I knew the answer. It had to do something with their version of 'God', and his son. . . "When Jesus was born."I gave the answer I thought was correct.

She nods with a satisfied smirk. "Ah, you seem to understand this well. And does anyone know what B.C. stands for? Oh, I'll just tell you. Before Christ, or the years before Christ was born. This is, of course, the way we count our years today, but it wasn't adopted in Western Europe until the 15th century. Hohoho, it was around that time that there were many religious wars and power shifts occurring. Anyhow, the world's beliefs have been in an ever-flowing tide since humanity began to emphasize religion. Most holidays are related to religion, you know. If you do some research, you may find some interesting facts. But regardless of the culture or the tradition, the tide decides who will survive in the present and the future. And those survivors ensure that their will is passed down to the next generation. . . But now it's time to start from the beginning. Let's take a look at the origin of civilization. . ."I sat down in relief. I had given the right answer! A wave of knowledge had swept over me, and I actually felt like I was getting somewhere. For the rest of the class, and for the rest of the day, and listened intently on the lectures. . .

. . .

- After School -

"Y-Yo. Um. . ." I saw Yosuke walking over to me in the corner of my eye, looking a little bit pale. I face him and cock my head. . . Oh- that's right, I had to tell them about last night too. . . However, he stutters, trying to look for words. " ? " I cocked my head again. If he wanted to say something, couldn't he just say it straight out, and not make me nervous in any way? "It's uh, not really that important, but. . . Well, yesterday on TV, I. . . The brunette pinches the space in between his eyes brows before he could get done with anything. "Oh, uhh. . . Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later. Ahaha. . ." Chie walked over to us seconds later with a concerned look on her face. If anything, I thought the first thing she'd talk to us about, was about how the Midnight Channel was true. Unless everything that had happened yesterday was a dream, of course. Hands on her hips as usual, she motions to the boy beside me. "Yosuke, did you hear the rumor? Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body."

"I wonder if that's why she looked so down. . . She doesn't seem to be at school today either."he frowns.

Yukiko stands up, trying to head to the door as quick as possible. But she is, however, stopped by Green Jacket. "Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?"

"Things are really out of hand right now. . . I'm sorry." and she leaves yet seemed to agree with me that she was acting strange as we exchanged glances of concern. Then again, I only met her two days ago. "Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?"he asks Satonaka.

"I-I guess they're running her ragged. . ." The girl then jumps at something that had formed in her head. "By the way, did you see. . . it. . . last night?"

"Huh. . . ? Uh, well. . . What about you?"Yosuke suddenly tries to shy away from answering the topic.

"I did! I seriously saw a girl!" she yells. "But. . . my soul mate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure. . . Her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform, and. . . " Yosuke interrupts, breaking into a cold sweat. " ! Hey. . . I think that's the same person I saw. I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier. . ."

"Wait, so you saw it too! And we saw the same girl. . . ? Does that mean. . . we have the same soul mate?"

"How should I know?" he then gazes over to me. "How 'bout you? Did you see it?"

I nodded frantically. Now was my chance to tell them. "W-Well. About that. . . I wanted to tell you guys about last night that's been bothering me. You see. . . . . ." I told them about what happened with the Midnight Channel, not missing one detail. As I mentioned the voice in my head, their faces scrunched up into confusion. That however, was the first thing. The second thing was how my arm had sunk into the TV- that part being in which I felt I lost them completely. The two brunette's looked at me in disbelief, sweat dropping. A silence passes as I finish, but Hanamura takes the initiative to keep the conversation alive. "It sounds like we all saw the same person. . . But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your TV. . . ? Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of it." he laughs heartily. "That'd be one interesting dream, though." Chie brings up. "I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic." I shake my head. I couldn't just toss aside the fact it felt so real though. . . She continues, "Well, if it had been bigger, the-" . . . and stops as if she thought of something great in reply to that. "Ohhh, that reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV."

"Oh yeah? Well, flat-screen TV's are definitely these days." Yosuke tells her. "Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."

"Oh, definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've just gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen! Hwa-taaaa!"

I watched as Chie mimicked a pose as if she was ready to fight. Yosuke, who ignored that, turned back to me and winked. "We've got some pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for your small body to fit into, hehe."Part of me wanted to throw him back into a trashcan and watch him roll all over the place. But as I suspected, they didn't believe me at all. . . Th-Then again- it was hard to try and believe myself after all that's happened. I mean, sticking my hand into the TV? Maybe it was something I ate last night from Aiya. . . I decided to go with them to Junes.

. . .

'Junes, Electronic department'. . .

I found myself standing with those two, in front of one of the largest TV's in the isle. Chie in the middle, Yosuke on the right, and me on the left. The Junes kid, looked rather pleased with himself for showing this to us. "Wow, this is huge! And. . ." We all stared at it for a good while until Satonaka decided to look at the price. "Holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?" I looked over her shoulder to look at the tag. One zero. . . Two zeros. . . Three, Four. . ! Who could actually afford this? I highly doubted that there was anyone in the city, let alone Inaba, who would actually pay their good hard-earned yen for this. "I dunno. . . Rich folks?" Yosuke seemed to answer our question. "Honestly, not many people shop for TV's here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

She nods, but in disappointment. "Huh. . . Not worth trying then, I guess. Well, at least looking is free."

The two of them shrug their shoulders and stare at the screen in front of them. . . then to me . . . and then back at it again. Stepping forward, both brunette's try patting it with their hands. The TV was moved back a tiny bit, but nothing actually happened. ". . ."Even after all that, they still were curious to try it out. . .? . . . They step back, unsuccessful.

". . . Nope, can't get in. Figures."

"Haha, this proves it. It was all just a dream."

I watch as they both chat about it. Yosuke places his hand in back of the TV. "Besides, these flat-screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side. . . Argh, what am I saying!" he flips his brownish-orange hair back and pats the girl next to him on the shoulder. "So, Chie. What kind of TV are you guys in the market for?" The girl puts her balled fist against her lower lip. "O-Oh, they said they wanted one that's cheap. You got any suggestions?" They walk over to a smaller TV to the right. It was not even half the size of the one in front of me, so I assumed it would be at a better price. The male clears his throat and speaks in a mock professional tone. "Well, Miss, might I suggest this one over here? It's the newest model, just released this spring. . ." She smacks him in the back of the head after bending down to read the sticker. "Wha- that's not cheap at all! There's way too many zeros!"

. . . They seem to drift off further down the isle. . . As for me, I return my gaze to the gigantic flat-screen in front of my face. With a TV this big, I really might be able to go inside of it and not get stuck. . . I stepped forward to test if what happened yesterday was a dream or not. There were many things going on inside my head. . . What was that voice, calling me? What if the rules only applied to the Midnight Channel? "Hm. . ." I placed my hands on the screen. . . " ! " To my horror, my hand slipped in cleanly. Being so unprepared for this, I almost lost my balance and fell right through. "G-Gosh. . ." Was the only word I had for all this. . . I could only gaze at my hand in disbelief. Yosuke came back to check on me, strangely- at the best andworst time.

"Oh yeah, Suzumi-chan, what kind of TV do you- !"

Chie comes to the scene. "Huh? Something wrong, Yosuke- !"

"I-Is her arm. . . in the TV. . . !"

I gazed at them worriedly, and then back to my hands that seemed to have sunk deeper in as the seconds passed by.

"Whoa. . . Uhhh. . . Is that some kinda. . . new model? L-Like with a new function?"

"Hell no!"

The both of them rush over to me, staring in awe as more than half my arm was being surrounded by ripples of light. Honestly, I was scared half to death that I was proving my own doubts correct. New questions were already forming in my head, however. What was going on? How. . . Was this even possible? "You gotta be kidding me. . . Did you really stick your hand through the screen?" Chie flusteredly gasped and inched closer and closer to the screen. I only looked at her with that 'well, what does it look like to you?' face. I tried to process everything, but to no avail. My eyes, to my dismay, weren't deceiving me at all. "Oh man. . . This is for real. . . That's some magic trick, man! S-So how's it work, huh! What's the magician's secret!" And to the male, I shook my head. Both of them were staring holes into me, astonished. . . "Hm."It then occurred to me seconds later, that I may be able to put in more than just my arm. . . Holding on to the table beneath me for support, I stuck my head in.

"H-HEY, don't do that! What're you doing!"Yosuke exclaims and tries to pull me back out.

"Oh my God!"Chie screams.

I look within the surroundings, and tell them, ". . . There's empty space inside. . ."

"Wh-What do you mean, 'inside'!"

"Wh-What do you mean, 'empty space'!"

I look all around, but all there was is. . . Fog. "It's. . . Very spacious in here. . ."

"Wh-What do you mean, 'spacious'!"

"I mean, what's going on!"

Though I could barely make out what they were saying from the other side, I could tell just the kind of commotion they were making. Chie and Yosuke were moving or running around so much, that it caused my long skirt to flow with the wind currents they had been making. ". . ." I knew it would be best if I pulled out to stop them from making a ruckus, but I felt as though I wanted to find out what was really here- what was calling me- no matter how weird the result. Chie and Yosuke's voices were slightly drowned out by the static. . .

"Holy crap. . . I-I think this is all too much for my bladder. . ."

"What the-? Are you gonna pee your pants!"

"I've been holding it in all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go. . . Aaarrgh! Can't. . . hold it. . . anymore. . . !"

He ran to the left, but momentarily came back. . .

"Shit! Costumers! They're coming!"I heard him yell.

"What! But we've got a girl half stuck in a TV here! Wh-What're we gonna do!"

That makes alarm bells ring inside my head. . . . I guess now would be a good time to get out before it was too late. . . "Mm."I tried finding the floor with my feet, when suddenly- it hit me. Literally. From my rear, something slammed into my back, causing me to jolt forward and fall in.

"What the! W-Wai-WHOA!"

. . .

As soon as I was pushed in, I knew I was going to be free falling somehow. And my guesses were correct. However, the fact that I was unexpectedly pushed in face-first, now hurdling through the air violently without any control of my body, and from god knows how high, made me scared. It was extremely hard to position myself for the impact of the ground. W-wait, was there even going to a ground? Or would I just continue f-falling! Suddenly, I could hear screams, indicating to me that somehow Chie and Yosuke where here too, falling with me for some reason. I braced myself for the pain, and sooner than I had expected, I impacted with the floor. . . "E-Eek. . .?" I did hit the ground, but didn't hear the similar, large cracking sound Chie had made earlier, or feel much pain. . . Speaking of which- why wasn't the ground hard? . . . ". . . !" I realized what I landed on wasn't the floor at all, but a Yosuke Hanamura cushion that broke my fall. All too surprised, I stood up and made sure I didn't injure him too much. "Arrghh. . . Why? I l think I landed. . . right on my wallet too. . . !" he grunted in agony. I couldn't help but feel guilty as he laid there. "Man. . . Where are we? What is this place. . . !" Chie looks around while rubbing her neck. "I-Is this someplace inside Junes?" I helped Yosuke stand because he practically looked dead. "H-Hell no, it isn't. I mean we fell through a TV! . . . . . . A-Actually, uh. What. . . Is going on here?"It was all. . . yellow and blurry. There wasn't much to with it obscuring our visions. All we could really accomplish was hopelessly scanning around in hopes of finding something while feeling totally and utterly befuddled. . .

"H-haa. . . So. . . uh. . . We're still alive. . . right?"Chie asks, but seemed to be on the verge of crying right now.

With pure understanding, I ask the two without trying to worry about anything else, "Are you guys okay?"

"I think my butt's cracked now. . ."Yosuke grimaces.

"Of course it is!"she yells.

"Whoa. . ."

"Wh-What now! Did you wet your pants!"

"No, stupid! Look around!"

" ? " What was there to see other then thick fog- "O-Oh. . . !" There were stage lights hanging from steel bars that towered over and shone on us, little bridges that led to who knows where, wires that hung from the setting, and ladders in the most random of places. . . This whole area was just more than creepy, and. . . oddly phosphorescent.- too drunk with yellow, and so cold. The messy fog had literally seemed to be leaking from every single corner and inch of this place. . . . How could I have fallen through a TV in Junes and end up here? "Is this. . . a studio? All this fog. . . Or is it smoke?"Chie had asked, which suddenly reminded me that I wasn't alone, much to my relief. She was right- it did look like some kind of studio.

"There's not place like this in Inaba, is there. . . ?"

"Hell no. . ." Yosuke steps in between us. "But man. . . this is huge. . ."

"What're we gonna do. . . ?"

. . . It seemed as though we could only do what we can at the moment. "Let's look around."I suggested to the two.

"B-but, wait! Look, we need to get home and-!" The girl ran around frantically to find any doors or ladders we could take to get out of here. ". . . H-Huh. . . ? Wait a minute. . . Which way did we come in from? I don't see a way in. . . or out!"

W-wait, what did she say. . . ! No way in or out? "H-Huh. . . !"

"What? That can't be right! H-How could that be!"

How could anyof this be? I really regretted sticking my hand in the TV now. . .

"I don't know! Don't ask me! I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!"Chie cries and stomps her foot repeatedly while yelling into the open space.

"Okay. . . so how!"

I watched them both scream and yell at each other out of fear. By the looks of it, this was going in a very bad direction. If it kept going on, we'd have an all-out fight for all the wrong reasons. . . I stepped in between the two, nervously and pushed them away from each other. "L-Let's calm down, guys." Just being in between them was terrifying. There was some kind of aura that said 'I'm gonna tear you apart'. . . Yet- I had to deal with this somehow. I shot glares at them, meeting both of their pupils until they they stopped fidgeting uneasily. The flustered Junes kid clenches his fist and places a hand on my shoulder. "Y-You're. . . right. Let's calm down and think about this. . . A-All right. so we need to find a way out."

Satonaka wraps her arms around herself. "Is there really a way outta here?"

"We got in. . . so we must be able to get out somehow. If there's no exit, we're trapped, so let's cross our fingers and look around."

We all nodded in agreement, and decided to head North, since there was no choice but to continue onward. . .

. . .

Somehow, we found ourselves inside a room after entering from a 'creepy red vortex'. The place appeared to be normal, unlike everything else in this world. . . There was a wilting fig tree beside the bed, above the bed was a couple of book cases that were attached to the wall, and a chair was sitting alone in the middle of the room. I gazed to my left. . . . Figures that even if we looked out the window, the yellow fog would still be blocking our vision by blurring up the glass. It seemed as though we really weren't getting anywhere. . . The male brunette nudges me. "Hey, is it me or is the fog lighter here?" I nodded noting that too. He then took out his phone only to sigh heavily and put it away. "No service. What a surprise. . ."

"Can't you guys slow down a little? It's hard enough to see where you're going. . . " We hear Chie walk in from behind, pivoting on our heels to look at her. But to our horror, when we both turned, something extremely unpleasant on the walls had been ready to greet us- or give us heart attacks. . . Perhaps I spoke to soon. I bet she read the shocked expressions on our faces and also turned to look at what Yosuke and I were staring at. "Huh? What the. . . ! It's a dead end! There's no exit!"Chie complains there's no way out, which is of course, was something perfectly fine to be frustrated by in a situation like this. But I couldn't fathom why she chose to dwell on that, when the walls had multiples posters which had been slapped on poorly. They were of the same person, yet it was hard to tell who the face belonged to, because it was either ripped or scratched out by. . . c-claws. . .? That wasn't the end of it however, there was a red substance which was smeared all over the place and got on every single poster. To me, it looked like bright red paint, but. . . There was a high possibility it could also be what I assumed it was from the very beginning. Shivers went down my spine imagining what could've happened. I didn't want to be here anymore. The place looked like it was ripped right out of a horror movie.

Yosuke laughs grimly. "It keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go. . . " . . . but suddenly jolts, yelling; "Aargh! I can't hold it any longer. . . My bladder's gonna explode. . . !"

" ! "I step back in shock. What did that mean, 'he couldn't hold it anymore'! He dashes to the corner of the room.

"Yosuke! What're you doing!"Satonaka yells.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!"

"You're going here! Oh, you have GOT to be kidding. . ."

"T-Turn around! I can't go if everyone's watching!"

". . ."

". . ."

"Aaaaargh. . . I can't do it! It's all your fault if my bladder bursts!"he zips up his. . . ahem, coming back to us with a defeated and angry look.

"Like I care. . . Anyways. . . what's with this room? Check out these posters. . . Their faces are all cut out. . . Somebody must really hate this person."The girl speculates.

" Hm? " Yosuke gazes up above the chair, and it seemed as though he found something interesting. I look up too. "Dude. . . this chair and rope. . . " he shudders, "That kind of arrangement is never good. . . It's tied in a noose. . . Is this a scarf?"

We all laugh in a monochromatic tone.

"C'mon. . . Let's go back to where we came from, and look somewhere else for an exit. . ."Chie suggests.

We nod and head for the door. However, before we could even get three feet close to it, Yosuke stops and blocks the way. He gazes at the poster on the wall closest to the door and makes weird faces at it. "Hey. . . I think I've seen that poster before. . ."

"Who CARES! Let's go! I am sick of this place!" Green Jacket pushes him aside roughly. "And I'm not feeling so good. . ." she hangs her head in fatigue. ". . . . . Now that you mention it, me too. . ." he murmurs. . . . My body actually felt pretty heavy. My head also felt a tad strange. It was such a surprise to not notice how much I felt like lead a while ago, and after such a long period of time being here. ". . ." Could it be due to this place's oppressive atmosphere? . . . I shook my head, hanging it as well. I barely had enough energy to look Yosuke in the eye, but I knew he was looking at the two of us, worried. "Alright, let's go back. I'm seriously starting to feel sick. . ."We decided to leave the room.

. . .

The walk was tiresome and absolutely soul draining. To our relief, we managed to get back to where we started from. . . The lonely studio place. "Whew. . . We finally made it back here. . ." Chie leans on me a little for support. She was kind of dragging me down, but at the same time, really looked as though she was going to faint from exhaustion. I was forced to stand straight up so she wouldn't notice my terrible condition. Yosuke did, however, shooting me worried glances all the while. I could literally collapse any second if we didn't get out of here soon. "Wait. . . What's that. . . ?"

The brunette girl lazily picks up her arm and points ahead of me. We look over. " ! Th-There's something over there!"I see a wide shaded figure, bleeding through the fog. I couldn't make out the shape, but it was short. . . . It wasn't the one I had seen in my earlier dreams. . . But still. . . Was it going to attack us? What was it? I could hear it coming closer. . . And closer. . . We all stepped back to about as far as we could go. Behind us was a mini fence that separated the platform we were standing on, and the empty air beneath. I seriously did not want to find out how deep it went if I ever fell. The figure was so close, but we couldn't see a thing. . . Until it finally took one more step forward, revealing itself. . . . !

"What is this thing? A monkey? A bear. . .?"

"What in the world?"

In front of us was. . . This weird thing in a stuffed animal costume- a bear to be more precise. It had a metal zipper running across it's body which separated the top of his head and blue fur, with the red and white jumpsuit-like clothing it wore. It was short short, stubby, slightly cute, but still looked over the top creepy with it's glassy, doll-like eyes. It suddenly moved its hands. . . Almost as if. . . He was trying to talk? "Th-That's what I wanna know! Who are you guys. . . ?"

The girl leaning on the fence with me gasped. "It talked! Uhh. . . What are you! Y-You wanna fight!"She stepped up, going into her battle pose, however her fear and exhaustion was evident with all that shaking.

"D-Don't yell at me like that. . ." The Mysterious. . . thing, stepped back and held its head while cowering in fear. . . . I was scared too- and though I got this crazy idea all the sudden, maybe it would be better to ask it nicely. . . ". . .What are you?"

Its' ears perked up as soon as I asked a question. "I'm a bear. Can't you tell? I live here by myself. . . I've always lived here. It doesn't have a name."

The male brunette folded his arms in confusion. "You. . . live here?"

"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."It said.

"Huh? Throwing people in? What're you talking about?"

"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!"

"Hey, what's your problem?" The female brunette snaps at him. "What gives YOU the right to yell at us like that! What ARE you! Where are we! What the heck's going on here!" I couldn't blame her for reaching the limit already. . . But making the bear terrified wasn't going to help us one bit. With one swift movement, it started running. . . And ran- what? It ran behind me for cover. . . My sweat dropped. "U-Um. . ."I eyed it cautiously.

"I-I already told you. . . A-Anyways, you should hurry back. "

Yosuke flings his arms out in anger. "What it comes down to is, you want us to get outta here, right? Well, so do we! We just don't know how, dammit!"

"Urrrrgh! That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!"

"Like I keep saying, we don't know where the frickin' exit- Wait. . . What?"

The bear taps his left foot on the ground twice, and suddenly, a white cloud of smoke appeared in front of me out of nowhere. I coughed a little bit and stepped to my left to avoid losing breath. When it all cleared, there was three TVs in right in front of where I had been standing. Stacked one on top of the other. . . ". . . ." I regrouped with the befuddled Chie and Yosuke to get a better few of the screen. Behind the glass, I saw a perfectly clear image of Junes' electronics department, but no one milling around in the background. Wait, was this our way back home? We had to go through even more TVs? Actually. . . I figured as much.

"What the hell?"Yosuke pondered, touching the sides of the TVs.

"Wh-Where did these TVs come from!"

The mysterious bear walked up to us from behind. "Okay, now go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!"

"What's going on now! Whoa! Hey, what're you doing!"

"S-Stop pushing!"

. . .

"Huh? Is this. . . ?"

"Did we. . . make it back?"

We gazed around. Same abandoned carts, empty isles, catchy music. . . This was Junes alright. We were sitting in front of the TV we fell through, and we glared at it, as though it was mocking us. We all stood up, sluggish- fatigued out of our lives.

[[Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain!]]

Yosuke turns his head but suddenly whips back in shock. "That's right. . . Now I remember where I saw that poster before. . . Look over there! That's the poster we saw!"

"What's up now?" Chie and I looked over to the direction in which he was staring in. " ! Hey, you're right, they're the same. I couldn't tell before without the face, but it was Misuzu Hiiragi. . . She's been all over the news lately. Something about her husband having an affair with that announcer lady who died the other day."

If I looked closer to the poster, it did seem very familiar. And there was no doubt about it that they couldn't have not been the same posters. But. . . why?

"Hey, so does that mean. . . That weird room we saw. . . Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death. . .? Now that I think about it. . . there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling. . ." Yosuke cupped his chin with his hand, shifting his weight on to his other leg. ". . . Yaaargh, stop! No more! We gotta stop talking about this!" he yells suddenly. "I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain, I don't think my poor heart can take it anymore."

She sighs in agreement. "I'm feeling a chill too. . . Let's go home. . . I wanna lie down and rest."

The three of us parted ways, not talking about what had just happened anymore, and headed straight home. . .

. . .

- Evening -

As I returned to the residence, Dojima to my surprise, was already home and sitting at the table with Nanako. Both of them were absorbed in watching TV so their instant ramen could heat. The detective finally notices my presence. "Hey, welcome home." I nod sluggishly, sitting down on the mat at the table with them. Though the walk home in the relentless rain was 10x better than that walk in that TV world, I still felt terrible. Perhaps I should've just headed straight to my room and knocked out. . . Dojima gazes at me again. "Uh-Hmm. . . Well, I doubt you'd know. . . But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?". . . That name had alarm bells ringing throughout my head. She was Yosuke's senpai. What could he gain from asking me about her? Was it something important. . ? There was a good possibility, judging that he was a detective. And yet- this wasn't something I wanted to chat about at the moment. . .

"She discovered the body."I answered groggily.

He pauses for a few seconds, and scratches his head. "Yeah, it's true. . . To be honest. . . we got a call from her family. She's disappeared. We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet. . ."

. . . "Oh?"Was the only thing I can respond with before taking his sudden words into consideration.

He sighs. "Work just keeps piling up. . ."

The conversation ends, and we both turn out attention towards the TV for the news report. The announcer shuffles and looks over his papers as usual before gazing to see if the camera is recording or not.

[[And now, more on the case still casting a shadow over the foggy town of Inaba. Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the police investigation has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Amagi Inn. She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal. . . ?]]

" ? "The Amagi Inn. . . It's the inn that Yukiko's family runs. . .

A commentator from the sidelines butts in the special report. [[Oh yes, the Amagi Inn! Their hot springs are first-rate. The manager's teenage daughter also works there, and it's rumored that she'll take over the inn this spring. If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on the record! I should book another trip there!]]

The announcer, who was unexpectedly interrupted moves on. [[Uhh. . . I-I see. . . Moving along, it's time for the weather report. The rain has begun to subside. From now until morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Inaba region. Visibility will be severely reduced, so please be careful if you plan on driving in the area. . .]]The news continues.

Just before the announcer was found dead, she was apparently staying at the Amagi Inn, run by Yukiko's family. . . And it seems that whereabouts of Saki Konishi, who discovered the body, are unknown. . . ". . . Achoo!"I sneezed into arm. The slight chill bothered me.

"Are you sick?" Dojima patted me on the back, handing me a tissue. "You're probably still adjusting to the new environment. Nanako, could you get her some cold medicine?"

The little girl stand up and runs to the cabinets.

"You should get to bed after you take it."

. . . He was right. Hopefully the medicine would help, and I'd get better by tomorrow.

. . .

After taking the little pill, I headed upstairs to rest my heavy body and call it a day.