Chapter 11
I am butchering dialogue, battles, and s-links to get the novel version respectable. I can make characters more cynical, mean, out of character, and amusing. My character is "special" personality-wise.
I own nothing… including SMT and Persona.
Today, Rise is joining, and its blond Teddie time! We are slowly moving towards our first pairing. Rion will start a real rivalry shortly, and he's figured out something important, but won't tell anyone what he knows. He won't tell until canon game-time anyway. It's just beyond obvious that anyone would know… So, enjoy, hopefully…
One more thing, my chapters may slow down soon. Only for a week or two. Auf Wiedersehen.
When they got to the plaza, the group started looking over the teenager and the bear that was squashed from the club. They all seemed quite worn out and tired. If the blood running down Souji's arm because of a cut on his right shoulder did not prove it, maybe it was the large bird egg bruise on Yosuke's forehead. They were an amusing sight, if you liked looking at that sort of thing. Souji just wanted for Yukiko to heal them, but Yukiko doubted she had enough strength to heal everyone.
"Are you feeling okay, Rise-chan?" Yukiko asked, "We're almost outside."
She ignored her own woes and weariness, "I'm all right. I'm more worried about Teddie." She looked genuinely worried about the moving pancake.
Kanji was worried too, "You okay there? We gotta go back for now."
"Hey…," Yosuke said as Teddie had stopped by the right side of the plaza.
"My beautiful fur is all rough and coarse," Teddie told them, "And my nose hasn't been working too well either… So while I wait for my fur to grow back, I'm going to train hard!" He started doing crunches randomly as he jumped on the floor, "Nobody can stop moi! Here goes, huh!"
"You do that, Teddie," Rion said. He picked out a shard of ice that was still lodged in his leg.
Yosuke sweated as he asked the now exercising pancake, "What's gotten into you, Teddie?" He put his hand on his forehead, "Damn, this hurts…," he thought about his bruise.
"Don't, talk, to, me, please!" Teddie said to them during his workout, "One more set! Huh! Another one! Huh!"
"Leave the dude be," Kanji told them, "Comes a time when a man has to stand on his own two feet."
Chie looked at Yosuke, "Uh, I'm not sure this is one of those times."
"Yeah, I don't know," Souji replied.
"Well then, Chie and I will take Rise-chan home," Yukiko nodded.
"She'll need a lot of rest. We can talk after she has regained her strength," Souji said.
"Okay… Rest and recovery is top priority for everyone. We've all had a rather rough day," Rion told them. He just shook his head at the exercising bear.
Chie looked at the bear, "Well… um… Good luck, Teddie."
"Just kick back and wait for my wonderful comeback! Peace out!" Teddie yelled.
"Good luck, Teddie," Souji said as the others headed out through the three little TVs that they had to go in one limb at a time to get through.
"I said this before, but I sense something special about you… Sensei," Teddie said as Souji started to walk away, "There must be something only I can do. That's how I feel when I'm with Sensei. That's why I'm gonna get stronger. To find my special thing!" He growled.
"You do that," Souji said as he left.
"Here goes! Huh!" Teddie continued exercising as Souji stuck his right arm in the top TV.
When he left, Souji got comforting looks from the others at a job well done and headed back to his little sis' place. Souji even got a congratulatory remark from his favorite girl.
"Good job, Souji-kun," Yukiko smiled at him. It was taking everything she had not to blush.
"Thanks… you too," Souji smiled back. "Souji-kun? I hope Yosuke or Rion did not hear it," Souji thought, "Then again, I'm definitely using Rion jumping in front of Teddie's boom for Rise."
Nanako and Souji were sitting down for dinner when Ryotaro came home from work. Nanako shouted with Dojima's arrival, "He's back!" She ran to meet him at the door.
It was Adachi who was there first, however, and he was leading him in as he said, "Whoa there! Careful now, Dojima-san!"
"If Adachi is here," Souji thought, "Then Dojima has to be wasted." Souji could almost chuckle, but he didn't want to break the bandage on his shoulder.
"Ow!" Dojima exclaimed as he tripped over the entryway, "Dammit! Who built a shtep here!"
"That'd be the carpenters, Sir!" Adachi answered as he helped him and said, "C'mon, don't take your anger out on the house. That won't solve anything."
Adachi finally got through the entryway supporting Dojima on his shoulder. Souji got up with Nanako to help Adachi with Dojima.
"Whoo… I'm home, Nanako! I'm back!" Dojima exclaimed in a slurred voice. He waved in the direction of the true provider of the household.
"Welcome back…," Nanako said timidly.
Souji wondered if Drunk Dojima was commonplace and if Nanako was scared. "Should I be worried too?"
"Oh, hi Nanako-chan," Adachi said, "Sorry, but could you get his futon ready?"
She nodded and ran off to go get his futon ready for him to sleep in. Nanako would escape any scariness, leaving Souji and Adachi to his wrath.
As Adachi helped him to the couch, he said to Souji, who was still standing by, "Phew! I think he had a little too much to drink, haha."
Dojima complained with a slur, "How else am I supposed to deal with this crap, hic. Friggin' fancy talking kid."
"Must be that kid that Rion is always freakin' out about," Souji thought, "I'll have to tell him about this."
"I've been in this line'a work… since you were all learin' yers times tables," Dojima complained from the couch. He was slumped down, his legs bent.
Adachi explained to Souji, "The prefectural police sent in special investigational support. 'Cause you know, we haven't really made any progress on those serial murder cases since they started in April, haha. So this special support is supposedly some hot-shot detective from a well-known private agency. "
"I know, we've seen him before," Souji thought, "I'll tell Rion that my uncle's department is bringing in that kid. I wonder what Kanji will think. I probably should not tell him. He'd probably be even worse." He had a memory of the time they had done surveillance the day before Kanji was kidnapped, and Souji shuddered.
"But you should have the seen the look on my face when I met him. He's only a kid your age! I hear he's a pretty sharp cookie though," Adachi explained.
Dojima wasn't convinced and rebuked Adachi, "Aww… He's a brat like any other. Ain't nothin' he can do to help hic. He goes on and on about deductions and deductions… Heh. Ace or no ace, the prefeckshure oughtta be more careful in giving us brats to babysit. Condes… Consdesing' bashterds… hic."
Adachi said to Souji, "The kid said, as long as he can be of assistance is solving a difficult case, he won't require a reward. Well, you can imagine the shine the higher-ups took to him after that. So we can't exactly turn him down."
"Adachi!" Dojima yelled at the defective.
Adachi shied back as he apologized meekly, "Sorry! Me and my big mouth…"
"You run your mouth like this is all shome kinda joke," Dojima lectured, "It's your fault to begin with, for jumping the gun and hauling in that Peeping Tom!"
"Oh… Haha… Umm," Adachi laughed nervously.
"And you!" Dojima turned his face towards Souji and went off on him, "You'cn take your shame of the blame too. Always wandering around crime scenes whenever somethin' happens."
"I have a reason to be there," Souji thought, "At least we don't suck, unlike you. We're actually doing something about this."
Nanako ran up to Adachi and Souji, "His futon's ready."
"Finally… We can get him to bed," Souji thought thankfully.
Adachi helped Dojima to his feet, "Alright Dojima-san, up and at'em. Nanako-chan has your futon all ready for you." Adachi supported him and walked him up as Dojima mumbled about something.
"…. Sure does stink like sake in here," Nanako complained.
"I agree, Nanako," Souji said, "It's pretty nasty. "Though, I could use some after seeing what I saw and doing what I did today," Souji thought.
Souji got some much needed rest that night as he went up to his room. Two peoples' Shadows in one day, "Not a good day," he thought. Not having to bother with rescuing someone the next day was nice.
School was still annoying. "Take the good with the bad," Souji thought as he headed towards school. He still wasn't really thinking that as he got the question which was the real river. He decided to ask the one who always knew everything.
"Hey, Rion, what's the answer?"
"Pis Pis…"
"Really?"
"Yeah, now go say it."
Souji answered and got praised. He felt bad cause Rion always got really hard questions too, but oh well, that wasn't his problem. He hung out with Rion then to make up for it and they talked around Junes. Souji would have rather lit a bag of poo at King Moron's place. "You know, I bet Rion probably would do that with me. He probably knows where Moron lives," Souji thought.
"Hey Rion," Souji said as they were at Junes.
"Hmm?" Rion looked at the leader.
"Do you know where King Moron lives?" Souji asked.
"Yes…, why?" Rion responded.
"I have an idea…," Souji said with a smirk.
"And that would be…," Rion tilted his head at Souji's comment.
Friday was rather boring, but he hung out with Kanji. They made sock puppets together. "Now I know why he gets ridiculed," Souji thought, "But it is pretty interesting to go sewing."
On, Saturday, he fell asleep in class again until he got yelled at by Sofue. He wanted to play basketball, but they did not have enough players for a game. So, Souji and Daisuke started recruiting and blackmailing people to play for next time.
Sunday, he hung out with Miss emo (aka) Yumi, Daisuke, and Kou. That made for one awkward meal at Aiya. At least he felt smarter after that.
The next school week started with Souji helping Yosuke with reasoning skills. The King of Morons was not mad at him, at least. He noticed, that his pants still smelled like dog poo. He chuckled.
Yukiko had brought him to a grocery store, and went on and on about how she worked on her cooking skills.
"Even though I want to do this by myself, they keep trying to take the knives away from me," Yukiko said.
"They should let you do this on your own," Souji said.
"That's what Kasai said," Yukiko nodded.
"What'd she say," Souji said curiously.
"Let her make it on her own. If she wants to make a dish for a boy she likes, then let her do it," Yukiko was blushing like mad.
Souji was struck speechless. "If Rion was here to hear this… or Yosuke," Souji thought.
It probably would be worse if Yosuke heard it. Rion probably wouldn't say anything except to him; Yosuke would probably make a huge fuss to everyone in general.
"Hey! Big bro! Why are you eating the pudding I made?" Nanako asked after she got home from a friend's house.
Souji had wanted a snack, and had must not have seen the label "Nanako's pudding" on the top.
"Well…," he started with an awkward explanation, but he felt courageous enough to try and lie his way out of it, "You see… I umm…"
"So, you ate my pudding! That was for Dad!" Nanako looked slightly mad for once.
"….," Souji could not say anything, especially after what happened early today.
His stomach suddenly didn't feel good from what he had just consumed. Nanako's pudding she had made at school… must have been missing an ingredient.
"Sorry, gotta go!" Souji said, as he threw up all over the floor before he could run over to the restroom.
"Eww…," Nanako said, "My pudding is all over the floor!"
Dojima got home before they could clean up the mess, "Who threw up all over the kitchen?!"
That Wednesday he made lunch for Yukiko, which she loved. "I wish I made food like this," she said, "My food isn't as good as you make." She pouted at first jokingly, but she blushed. "Can you teach me?"
He got some question about the Man-Yoshu poems that day from Hosoi. The answer was some long-winded person, and he didn't feel like answering, so Souji didn't.
Friday was rainy, so nothing happened of importance beyond Nanako attempting to burn the house down by "trying" to make fried chicken. Saturday, he was supposed to watch the Midnight Channel to see if Rise was thrown back in. Souji hoped that didn't happen.
"Today ended on a wet note, and expect the fog to roll in," the weather lady said.
"Blah blah…," Souji said, "It'll be foggy overnight, and by the end of tomorrow, it won't."
"You don't like the weathergirl?" Nanako asked.
"The meteorologist is just very repetitive," Souji said as he headed upstairs, "The fog always rolls in after a few days of rain. It's like we're not expecting for it to come in."
Souji made sure it was still raining as Midnight approached. Sure enough, as the clock struck 12 a.m., the yellow screen came on. And sure enough, no one was on. "What a surprise," Souji thought.
The 10th would be a day where they would meet up with Rise. They decided they would meet up at the Electronics Department of Junes first. They noticed something even though was no Rise murder. There would be a huge problem.
"Did you hear yet?" Chie said from the phone.
"No?" Souji said, confused.
"They found a dead body just outside the shopping district," Chie said, "I don't get it! I mean…" Chie was at a loss.
"Calm down," Souji said.
"We're all meeting at Junes… Come right away…," Chie told Souji.
That's why the meeting with Teddie would be important. Everyone was there except Yosuke.
"Youske went to check out the scene, he should be back soon," Chie said.
"Yeah, it was murder, alright," Yosuke said when he got back, "The body was hanging upside down on an apartment roof railing."
"How could that be…?" Yukiko asked.
"That's not all. The victim was King Moron," Yosuke confirmed.
They all stood up at that. It seemed to be quite a shock to all.
"No freakin' way!" Souji thought.
"King Moron?" Chie asked in surprise.
"You mean Senpai's teacher?" Kanji asked.
"Why?" Souji asked.
"It certainly isn't very logical," Rion said. He shook his head.
"What on earth is going on here!?" Chie yelled.
"How am I supposed to know? I talked to a guy who saw it," Yosuke said.
Kanji said, "Gotta be shitting me. I thought they target people on TV. I never see King Moron on TV or the Midnight Channel."
"I don't understand why this happened," Souji said.
"I thought we finally figured something out. Was it all just some big coincidence?" Chie asked.
Yukiko muttered in annoyance, "Maybe the Midnight Channel doesn't have anything to do with it."
"Dammit, we came so far, and now we're back to square one!" Yosuke yelled, "Were we in over our heads? Trying to catch a killer not even the police could catch?"
"Are we so sure? We don't know anything about the details yet," Rion said.
"It's too early to give up, just like Rion said," Souji tried to calm it down.
"Damn straight!" Kanji yelled, "We started this thing cause the police can't tell their asses from their elbows. We give up now and this shithead is gonna run lose forever. This ain't the time for bitchin' and moaning. We just got keep on keepin' on."
"Inspiration from Kanji," Souji chuckled. "He's right though…," Souji thought.
"Kanji-kun…," Yukiko said.
"Big talk from someone like you, Kanji," Yosuke said.
Kanji was surprised, "What's that supposed'ta mean?"
Yosuke sighed, "I know. We're dealing with a murderer here, but we've all risked our lives to get this far. No way we'll back down. And we promised the bear too."
"Hey, that's right. Maybe Teddie knows something," Chie conjectured.
"Let's go see him, then," Souji said.
The group got up and started walking towards the televisions and away from the food.
When they got to the Elec. Department, they were surprised. There was actual staff there by the Electronic Department. "What is staff doing here?" Souji wondered.
"Huh, there is staff here?" Chie asked.
"Now that's unusual," Yosuke said. He walked up to the staff, "Hi there! Did something unusual happen?"
"Ah, Yosuke-kun!" a female staff member tried to get Yosuke's attention.
"Great timing! Did the manager tell you anything about this? There's been this weird mascot around the department for a while now. Is there some kind of campaign on today?" a male staff member asked.
"Mascot?" Yosuke asked. He was confused.
Souji wondered to himself, "I think I know what this is about… and this is bad."
"He said his name was Terry? Eddie?" the male one was trying to think of its name. "Well, there are no customers around so I guess it's fine. I better get back to my station." They walked away from the department.
"Please don't tell me…," Yosuke said worriedly.
"Whoa! He's here!" Chie yelled as she looked to her left.
"What! Teddie's here?" Souji exclaimed. His worst fears had come true. Well not his worst fears, but he had thought something like this would happen, and it did.
Teddie was in a massage chair by the Electronic Department. It looked like he was having a good time.
"What are you doing here?" Souji asked.
"Aaaah, this really hits the spot!" Teddie exclaimed.
"What the… I mean how did you?" Yosuke asked in amazement.
"It took you guys long enough. I've been waiting," Teddie said.
Yukiko asked, "Teddie, are you okay on this side?"
"How did you even leave your side?" Kanji wondered.
"Of course I can come out. There's an exit," Teddie said.
"That does make perfect sense after all," Rion said. He pushed up his glasses.
"It just never occurred to me to do it before. But spending time with you guys sparked my curiosity about this world. I did wonder if it was a good idea, but my feet started moving before I could decide. And when I thought about it, I had nowhere to go, and it was a waste to go back. So, I waited here for you guys. Oh, someone asked for my name, so I told them I'm Teddie," Teddie explained to all of them.
Chie said with a sigh, "So that's why."
"Oh yeah, there's something we need to ask you," Yukiko said, "How long have you been here, Teddie? Did anyone enter the other world?" It was a question that all of them wanted answered.
"I stayed until the fog entered into my side, but no one came," Teddie said frankly.
Yosuke asked, "You're positive? You really didn't sense a single person?"
"I just said that I didn't. I was all by myself, like always," Teddie responded.
"And your nose wasn't clogged or anything?" Yosuke asked.
"Aren't you listening? I was utterly, totally, and 100% alone. That's why I came here. But I can understand if you don't believe me. My senses aren't that good lately anyways," Teddie berated Yosuke.
"I believe you, Teddie. You were all alone," Souji said.
"Oh! Sensei's heart is radiating with pure gold!" Teddie said.
"Well, it's true that the Midnight Channel was blank last night," Chie said reluctantly, "And even before that, Teddie said he didn't sense anything, right? Does that mean, King Moron was never on that side?"
"Then we don't know what's going on," Souji said.
"Hey, hey, I wanna go somewhere!" Teddie exclaimed as he jumped off the chair.
"Huh? Now ain't the time, dude… You really don't plan on going back, do you?" Kanji asked, "Where do you wanna go anyways?"
"I wanna give this to Rise-chan! It's for her!" Teddie said.
He took a pair of Teddie glasses from his side and showed them to the group. Teddie gave them to Souji.
"Rise-chan will probably back us up from now on. So I'm gonna fight alongside you with everything I got! Don't think of me as the same little cute Teddie! I'm an all new model. I have a powerful attack, an unbeatable defense, and a winning smile! Today begins the New Legend of Teddie!" Teddie gave his passionate speech.
"Wow! A new legend…," Yukiko said in awe.
"I don't know if this is a good thing," Rion said as he rolled his eyes.
"Uh-oh, people are starting to stare," Yosuke warned, "Will you keep it down, Ted? C'mon, let's go somewhere else."
As they got to their table to talk, Teddie was the main focus of the conversation. Well, that and the murder of King Moron.
"Let's get this all settled," Rion said, "This will be pretty much pointless anyways. But let's get all the facts together."
"Okay, just to make sure, I'm going to ask one last time," Yosuke was going to ask, "Nobody was over there, except for you, when the fog came back, correct?"
"That's what I've been saying!" Teddie said again.
"He was a no-show on the Midnight Channel," Rion said, "Unless he was turned into yellow fog."
Kanji asked, "What's up with that?"
Souji said, "I think we know that King Moron was not thrown into the TV."
"Then, what, he was killed over on this side?" Chie wondered, "Why not throw him over here like all the rest?"
"They never intended to," Souji said.
"You mean they never intended to?" Yosuke asked, "So you're saying he wasn't like the other victims to begin with? But why?"
"Maybe the culprit thought he couldn't kill anymore people by throwing them into the TV," Yukiko suggested, "I mean, we prevented the last three attempts in a row."
"Ahh… I get you. That could be it," Chie said.
"So, they snuffed someone on our side to make sure it worked," Kanji said.
"That is one theory, but we would have to take a look at the body, which we won't get, and we would have to question the culprit, whom we haven't cornered," Rion said.
"If that's true, we have no way of preventing the murders unless we catch the killer, dammit!" Kanji yelled.
"We need more clues," Chie said.
"That, I agree with," Souji said, "There's too much we still don't know."
"I wonder if Rise-chan is up and around yet." Chie wondered.
"Yeah… We'll have to put our hopes on her," Yosuke responded.
"It's so hot out here," Teddie said all of a sudden.
"Yeah, it's a hot day," Rion agreed with Teddie, "The humidity is above-average."
"I'm taking this off!" Teddie exclaimed, talking about his bear suit.
"What!" Souji said, "Aren't you empty inside?"
"Kids will be scarred for life if they see an empty mascot walking around!" Yosuke exclaimed.
Yukiko said cheerfully, "I'm glad you're back to normal though. Your fur is all fuzzy again."
"Can I feel it?" Kanji asked.
"Not again," Rion thought.
"No!" Teddie rebuked then said happily, "Actually, I'm no longer a hollow bear!" Teddie said happily, "I trained and trained, hoping someday to score with Chie-chan and Yuki-chan… And now I finally have an inside."
"Yeah… Good job with that," Chie said sarcastically.
"Only through me, will you even touch Yukiko," Souji thought.
"Come on! Can't we give it a rest with the whole scoring thing?" Yukiko glared at the bear as she said scathingly.
Souji was glaring at the bear as well, Yosuke was too. Rion and Kanji just shrugged.
"Dude, you're hollow! Taking your head off isn't going to cool you down," Yosuke said.
"But I just told you, I'm not hollow anymore," Teddie told Yosuke, "Agh! It's too hot! I can't take it anymore!"
He started to remove his head, unzipping the top… and inside was a blond-haired teenager-like boy. Teddie grabbed a soda and downed it one gulp. It was Rion's soda.
"Whoa… What the hell?" Yosuke yelled.
"There's a body inside!" Souji exclaimed.
"Much better!" Teddie sighed in relief.
"No way!" Chie was in disbelief.
"Now that hit the spot!" Teddie said in relief.
"That was mine…," Rion muttered about his drink.
The human Teddie stared at the girls.
"Hey Chie-chan, Yuki-chan…," Teddie said seductively.
"Yes…?" Chie wondered. She was still confused in how he had an inside.
"Do you have anything to wear? I'm basically like a newborn at the moment," Teddie told her with the same voice.
"Teddie, is that really you?" Chie asked.
"Umm…," Yukiko was speechless. She didn't expect Teddie to have someone or something inside of him either.
"Wait, did you say you were like a newborn?" Chie asked, a little freaked, "Then don't take the bottom part off," she blushed and said worriedly, "You need some clothes right? C'mon, let's go look around."
Chie and Yukiko went off to take Teddie clothes shopping throughout the upper levels of Junes.
"That's Teddie?" Kanji asked, "He said he's not hollow anymore, so he like grew himself a body in there." Kanji seemed to be a little surprised himself.
"What kinda creature would do that?" Yosuke asked.
"Teddie would," Souji responded, "He wanted to be able to interact with us more often."
"Well then, what is he?" Yosuke asked.
"I think we all know the answer to that," Rion said, "A pervert."
"It's not like this is the weirdest thing we've seen here," Souji said.
"I gotta admit, it's better than him walking around in his bear suit," Yosuke said, "Oh, hey, weren't we going to see about talking to Rise? I was so shocked I lost track of what we were talking about."
"I think anyone would," Souji said, "Who wouldn't with a thing like Teddie growing a human in it."
"Let's head over to Rise's place, then. Teddie is with the girls. She should be fine," Yosuke said.
Rion shook his head as he muttered, "We should hope he does not get into too much trouble. He is with the girls."
They started off towards Rise's tofu shop, but beforehand, Souji went home to change into something more comfortable.
When Souji was finished changing, Kanji, Souji, Yosuke, and Rion stopped by Shiroku. They were all eating Topsicles. Souji's tongue was frozen from the cold ice on his tongue. "I cansh talsh," Souji was trying to say.
"Mmm… It's finally the season for Topsicles again," Kanji smiled with juice running down his hand.
"Dude, how many are you going to eat? You're going to get a stomachache!" Yosuke asked Kanji.
"He's eating till he explodes," Souji said, chuckling with his tongue finally unstuck. He had stopped eating.
The girls walked up, and Chie said, "Sorry, we're late."
"How long did it take you to find clothes for Ted?" Yosuke asked.
Teddie walked forwards in blue flaring pants, and a white button shirt that flared at the collar …
"He is dressed like a freakin' Frenchman," Rion muttered.
"Whoa' is that you, Teddie?" Yosuke asked.
"Oui, monsieur! How do I look?" Teddie asked.
Rion shook his head and said, "Je ne sais pas. Il est voyant." He looked at Teddie, "I do suggest you stop trying to speak Français"
"You look great!" Souji said sarcastically.
"Don't encourage him," Chie shook her head and said, "I have to say, it totally blew my mind, but he's Teddie alright. This guy had to make it a huge ordeal. Everything was new to him, so it turned into a big mess. He was so excited in the women's section that he started blabbering."
She started lecturing him as she looked at him, "Hey, you can't just do whatever you please when you're in this form, okay?"
Yosuke muttered and asked, "Did he get into the lingerie?"
Teddie looked at his feet in shame.
Yukiko was nicer as she explained, "Well, he can't help it. It's his first time in our world."
Chie sighed, "All right, you don't need to get all mopey about it. I never said I wouldn't forgive you."
Teddie started looking happy again as he said with all smiles, "I'm so glad! I was worried that you didn't like me anymore."
"Man… If you can behave yourself, you'll be pretty cute," Chie chuckled.
"Don't encourage him," Yosuke said, but he asked, "Is he cute? What do you think, Kanji?"
Kanji looked confused, "Huh? What're you asking me for?"
"Well, I was just wondering if he was your type," Yosuke wondered.
"Ohh… I get it!" Kanji said. He went on to say, "What you're really asking is "Will you please beat the shit out of me, Kanji?""
"Snrk…," Yukiko started laughing like crazy again. She was holding her sides and laughing.
"You got to be kidding me," Souji started to say.
"It ain't funny, Yukiko-senpai!" Kanji told her.
"She obviously thinks otherwise," Rion said. He shook his head.
"S-sorr… hehe," Yukiko was still laughing.
"You'll have to forgive Yukiko. She's helpless once she gets this way," Chie apologized to Kanji.
"Oooh… Please everyone! Don't fight over me, baby!" Teddie put in to Kanji.
"Shuddup! You picking a fight with me!?" Kanji yelled at the bear-human thingy.
Teddie shut up.
"It's best to stay quiet," Souji thought.
"Ahahahahaha!" Yukiko's laughing was out of control.
"Geez… oh well," Yosuke was resigned towards Kanji. He handed a 1000-yen bill to Kanji, "Here, Kanji. Get whatever ice cream you want, just share it with Teddie. We're gonna head for the tofu shop. Wait here until we get back."
Teddie exclaimed, "Wow, you're rich!"
"No, he isn't," Souji thought, "I make more money selling teeth from licking Shadows."
Kanji looked nervous as he responded, "I can't just take this from you."
Yosuke reasoned, "Think of it as a welcome-back party for Teddie. Just don't go around making a racket." He told Kanji and Teddie to not cause trouble.
"Good luck with that," Souji thought.
Chie looked at Yukiko and back to Yosuke, "Whoa, Yosuke, what's gotten into you? You're acting like a real senpai all of a sudden. Oh I get it. You might say differently, but you're still nice to Teddie." She praised him, "I'm glad Yosuke's developing into such a mature adult. Someone who doesn't let trifles bother him."
"Here it comes," Souji thought, "What happened…"
Yosuke looked worried, "What…? You're worrying me, Chie."
"Oh, it's about Teddie's clothes, that's all. We didn't have the money for them, so we charged the rest to you," Chie brushed it off like it was nothing.
"Charge?" Yosuke was speechless. He went from speechless to rage in a second as he exploded at the martial artist, "WHAT!? You put it on my account! What the hell, Chie!? I never said you could do that."
Chie yelled back, "What else were we supposed to do!? That stuff was expensive, even for Junes."
"You seriously charged it to me?" Yosuke didn't want to believe it as he said, "Why did you do that? You know I've been saving up for a motorcycle."
"Oh, that. You don't need one," Chie told him frankly.
"What!?" Yosuke yelled.
"C'mon, baby. Stop fighting over…," Teddie started to say.
Yosuke yelled at Teddie, "Shuddup! This is your fault, y'know!" He growled and pointed at Teddie's clothes like it was his fault because he grew a body, "You listen here Ted. You better take really, really, REALLY good care of that. If you put even a single tear in it, I'll make the next set of clothes out of the bear hide you took off." Teddie put his head down.
As Chie and Yosuke started fighting and yelling, Rion went in to break it up. That involves lifting both of them up and grabbing them by the scruffs of their necks and lifting them from each other.
"I'll let you use my motorcycle, Yosuke, only if you and Chie stop trying to kill each other," Rion said.
If only that had stopped Chie and Yosuke from fighting… It didn't.
"Yo, Teddie, don't let it get you down," Kanji told him through Chie and Yosuke's yelling, "Let's go get some Topsicles."
As Rion held Yosuke and Chie away from each other, Teddie ran away with Kanji to get them some Topsicles.
"Let's go on ahead, they look like they'll be a while," Yukiko told Souji.
"Alright," Souji said, "I don't know if it'll end anytime soon." Souji thought, "It isn't."
"Fine, if you wish to continue fighting, then you may do so," Rion said as he let them go. "Let's go," he said as he walked off to join Souji and Yukiko towards the tofu shop.
The three of them walked to the front of the tofu shop, only to see the small boy that Dojima was muttering drunkenly about earlier. The boy walked out of the shop and noticed them as the three did likewise.
"Ahh… I had a feeling you would come," the boy said.
"Oh shit, I know what's bugging me now." Rion thought, "I finally know why I'm so annoyed…"
"You're…," Yukiko said to the boy.
He walked forward to the group and said to them, "Are you here to ingratiate yourself with Rise Kujikawa now?"
Rion rolled his eyes as they flashed in rage again, "Why would we have to curry favor with her?" He said it as if it was as common as day.
Naoto looked at Rion funny, as Naoto had noticed Rion's funny look.
"Geez… Why did the clerk even let them charge it to someone else's account?" Yosuke asked to himself as he walked up with Chie. He noticed the boy as well, "Huh? Wait, you're that guy we saw with Kanji!"
"Precisely," he said to the group, "I don't believe we've met since then. In fact, I don't believe I've even introduced myself." He said, "My name is Naoto Shirogane. I'm investigating the multiple murders that have occurred here."
"Could it be? It has to be. Then that would mean that… Oh shit!" Rion's brain was going a mile a minute, "What a freakin' joke. The voice… The effin voice! How can they not see that!? Then looking at… you got to be kidding me." Rion had to use every ounce of his control not to lash out and yell.
He was interested in them, "Mind if I ask you a few questions on the subject? The latest victim, Kinshiro Morooka… He was a teacher at the school you all attend, correct?"
"That is correct," Souji said.
"So, what are you getting at?" Chie asked.
"The public is focused on the fact that he is associated with the second victim's school… But in truth, that's irrelevant," Naoto said, "What intrigues me is the inconsistency. This Morooka… has never appeared on television."
The group pretty much looked in shock, "Well, the person is a detective," Rion thought, "Honesty my ass, however…"
"What do you make of that?" Naoto asked.
Yosuke answered nervously, "How are we supposed to know?"
"Well, we'll leave it at that," Naoto said. As the detective walked off, Naoto told them, "For my part, I would like to solve this case as quickly as possible. I'll be keeping an eye on you all. Well then, until we meet again."
"Who is that guy?" Yosuke asked.
"A detective that was hired by the prefectural police that was sent here to solve this case because our current police detectives are inadequate," Souji answered.
"How do you know?" Yosuke asked.
"My uncle," Souji said. Souji saw that Rion looked like he was about to kill someone, and he attributed it to the kid. He would definitely have to discuss it with Rion. But, something seemed different this time. It was like Rion had figured out something, and it pissed Rion off.
"It felt like he completely saw through us. He even knew about the TV thing," Chie said.
As they were lamenting over the fact that Naoto had saw right through them. Rise walked up behind them and scared them.
"Oh… Hi," Rise said in a long orange shirt that ended in flair, and tight white cargos.
"Rise-chan!" Yukiko said vehemently, "Are you okay now?"
"Good, good," Yosuke said.
"You are so obsessive with her," Chie thought.
"Are you all here to check up on me?" Rise asked.
"I guess so," Souji said.
"Well, yeah," Yosuke added.
"Oh, um… Do you guys have a moment?" she asked the group, "There's something I want to tell you. Follow me. My grandma is taking care of the shop today."
"Huh? Sure, okay," Yosuke said.
Rion just said, "As you wish." He had calmed down by now, pushed everything out of his mind.
What was there of the group followed Rise to the Tatsuhime Shrine. The group idly chatted on the way to the shrine. Mainly making sure Rise was okay. She stopped at the back of the shrine to talk to the rest of them.
"Yeah, I remember being at my house," Rise said about her kidnapping, "When I came to, though, I was already in the other world."
Chie looked exasperated, "Still no real information of the killer."
"We met this weird kid named Naoto a second ago," Yosuke said.
Rise told them, "Oh… He's come to the shop several times. He asked me a lot about the incident. I didn't tell him anything about the other world, though. I figured it'd be a waste of time. Actually, he asked me about you guys too, but I just made some stuff up."
"Oh, really," Souji said.
Rise nodded, "Like, they found me unconscious on the roof at Junes."
Rion looked at her and said, "I guess that's pretty accurate, given the circumstances."
Rise looked at her feet, "Um… so…"
Chie asked her, "Hmm… What's up?
"Umm… I really appreciate what you did for me," Rise said slowly. She suddenly got really giddy and changed her attitude completely and she said, "Thank you so much! I love you guys!"
They looked surprised at the change in personality, but happy.
"That's nice," Souji thought.
"Huh? Aww, you don't have to thank us," Chie said.
Yosuke blushed, "Dude… She's so cute!"
Chie glared at him and was staring daggers at the Junes apprentice.
"Man, it's finally hitting me that you're the real deal. You really are Risette."
Rise explained, "Well, I know I sounded all gloomy and all from stress, so I thought… You might not like me that way," She looked at them, "Do I sound weird?" She then said, "Oh, but I guess it sounds more natural this way to the public. I'm sorry, I've practically lost touch what the normal me is like."
"Haha, no need to apologize. Just do what comes naturally," Chie said.
"We're a weird bunch, so whatever is normal to you is probably incredibly weird," Rion said.
"You're not kidding," Souji thought.
Yukiko told her, "I think everyone has multiple sides to them. You don't have to force yourself to decide on just one."
Chie laughed, "It sounds convincing when Yukiko says it."
"That's because Yukiko said it," Souji said.
"Souji!" Chie yelled.
"Huh? Really?" Yukiko wondered.
"Thanks," Rise said. She chuckled, "I'm glad you were the first people I got to know here."
"Oh yeah, we almost forgot your present. The Teddie Glasses," Chie said, "Um… you don't have to take them, but… Well…"
Souji gave her the glasses, but as he was going to Rise asked, "Senpai? Would you be struggling without my help? I can help you in that world, right? With my power… So wouldn't it be better if I joined the team?"
He nodded and handed her the glasses as Souji told him, "Well, we don't have anyone who can sense the enemies anymore."
"Its proof that you are part of the team," Yosuke said.
"When you aren't using your Persona, it's the only way you'll be able to see through the fog," Rion said.
"I see. I do remember you all wearing glasses over there," She pointed at Rion, "Well, he wears them here, too. Anyways… Thanks, Senpai! Now, I'm part of the team, too!"
"Only fools rush blindly into a fight anyways," Rion thought.
Rise said, "I'll be going to Yasogami High, starting tomorrow. But I don't have any friends yet, so don't ignore me, alright?" She blushed, "I do owe you my life, so… you know."
"You can leave it to me," Souji said,
"Wow, I didn't realize you were so cool, Senpai," Rise said.
"This sure is a rough time to transfer here, though," Yosuke told them.
Souji said simply, "Just kidnappings, King Moron's death, plus the fact that exams are coming soon."
"Exams!" Yosuke said, "Now I'm depressed too. I wonder if there is any chance they'll be canceled."
"I doubt it. They always hold exams, rain or shine," Chie said.
"One teacher's death will not deter the faculty from holding the exams. They are simply too important. Besides, they have national standards to uphold," Rion said simply.
"Damn, Rion!" Yosuke put his head down, "You keep making it worse…,"
Rise chuckled, "I almost got killed by all those monsters. Compared to that, exams are nothing."
"Alrighty then, let's discuss this case some more tomorrow at our special headquarters," Yosuke said.
"It's still called that?" Souji asked.
"I guess," Rion said, "I don't set the rules here."
Kanji had come up while they were talking to Rise and after she had gotten all giddy.
"Yo, how's it going?" Kanji asked as he walked up, "Dude, Teddie ate five Topsicles. Though if you count the ones I had before, that makes six, so I still win."
"This matters why?" Souji asked.
"You know no one asked…," Yosuke said.
"We're all done talking already," Rise told Kanji. "Let's go Senpai!" She told Souji as she put her arm around his.
"Is she hitting on me?" Souji thought, "That's not going to look good on my chances with Yukiko."
Yukiko was glaring at Rise.
"Was this a good thing?" Souji thought.
"Uhh… When did you get so chipper?" Kanji asked Rise.
Rise asked Kanji, "Do you go to Yasogami, like Senpai? I'll be starting school there tomorrow, so I hope we get along too."
"Huh? Oh... cool," Kanji said as he asked, "Uhh… What grade are you in?"
Yukiko who was glaring at Rise, started laughing all of a sudden, "Snrk…" Her personality had changed just like that.
Yosuke ignored her completely as he asked Kanji, "So, where's Teddie?"
"He's over there, finishing his fifth Topsicle. What are we going to do with him?" Kanji asked.
"We should let him get a headache," Rion said, "One of us has to put him up. Not a girl mind you… That would be a catastrophe." Souji most definitely agreed with that scenario.
Yosuke sighed, "I guess I'll take him home."
After they left, Rion and Souji talked at the shrine before the fox attacked them.
"So, I guess you got a new admirer," Rion said.
"I don't know if I want one," Souji said, "Yukiko looked pissed."
Rion looked at him, "You still going for Yukiko? I know she likes you."
"I am, and I know. What about you?" Souji asked.
"I could care less, right now. If I ever feel like it, I'll take the opportunity," Rion said.
"Well, you seem to put yourself on a limb to help people often enough. You were awfully quiet when Naoto was talking to us, and during Rise's conversation," Souji told him.
Rion shook his head, "There is just something that I think I figured out now. I think all of you should figure it out on your own. Rise's Persona is far too important to go to waste, and we can let the detective run around for now. Naoto is harmless for the moment," Rion told the leader.
"Naoto's harmless?" Souji looked confused. "What the hell is Rion talking about?" Souji thought.
"Don't ask…," Rion said, "Just think on it. Use your grey matter."
"Right… Well, I'm beginning to think that the others will believe you are too quiet," Souji advised him.
"And you aren't? You're supposed to be leading when Yosuke never shuts up," Rion said back.
"That's true… Yosuke never shuts up," Souji chuckled.
Rion and Souji continued chatting a little before leaving and heading back.
After going home, and greeting Nanako with "Good evening, little sis." They made some dinner, courtesy of Souji's excellent cooking skills. During dinner, they watched the news.
"Good evening, this is Niteline News. Our top story for the night concerns the latest developments in an ongoing story," The announcer said, "The serial murder case has claimed a third victim. The news shocked local residents, who has not seen another murder in three months, and had assumed the spree had reached its end."
"Only because we're saving peoples' asses," Souji thought.
"The deceased taught at a local high school. Since his body was arranged in a similar matter as the last two victims."
"What's wrong?" Nanako asked innocently, "What was it someone you know?"
"My teacher…," Souji said.
"He died?" Nanako asked worriedly. She seemed scared.
"Don't worry," Souji calmed her down, "They'll catch them."
"I'm all right," Nanako said, a little more at ease.
The announcer started talking again, "This marks the second consecutive death after Saki Konishi's, where the target was involved with Yasogami High. Mr. Morooka was known for his strict teaching methods, and is said to have had constant friction with his students. The police will be pursuing this line of inquiry, and are planning to begin a large-scale investigation starting tomorrow. We now turn to our reporter at the scene for more details."
Nanako said, "Dad won't be coming home again today." She looked sad.
Souji decided to show a magic trick. He detached one of his fingers from his hand, and put it on his other.
"Huh? Do it again! Do it again!" Nanako demanded.
This time he did it with the opposite hand.
"It moved!" Nanako said in disbelief, "Hey! How did you do that? Tell me!"
Nanako seemed happy again.
"That's good. An unhappy Nanako would be annoying. She probably wouldn't wake me up," Souji thought. He went over to reattach his fingers… just kidding.
Unfortunately, his sleep was interrupted by the Velvet Room. He got some shit about making more complicated fusions. "Great, so I can make me some Trumpeter? Wait, what the hell is a Trumpeter?" he thought, "I'll have to ask Rion, I guess."
On the way to school, he talked to Yosuke…
"I can't believe our homeroom teacher is killed," Yosuke said.
"Even Moron didn't deserve that kind of detention," Souji said.
"I couldn't really sleep last night," Yosuke said, "You okay?"
"I'm okay, I guess," Souji said.
Yosuke responded, "Well, if we get depressed, we can't catch the killer."
"That's true," Souji said.
"I wonder who our new homeroom teacher is?" Yosuke asked.
"Hopefully someone better than King Moron," Souji wished.
"Yeah, I don't think they can find anyone worse than him," Yosuke said.
They met Rion at the gate.
Souji had something to ask.
"Rion, what's a Trumpeter?" Souji asked and Yosuke looked confused.
"A Trumpeter?" Rion looked at him oddly, "The angel of judgment that sounds the horns when the world is about to end?"
"Okay, thanks," Souji nodded.
"Alright…," Rion looked slightly confused at Souji's questioning.
The three just talked randomly until they got to homeroom, which was bustling about King Moron's death.
"Hey is that stuff about King Moron real?"
"It was on TV! It must be true."
The door opened, and in came the skanky-looking woman. She was wearing a black button-up with the top few buttons undone. Her purple vest was ugly, and her pants seemed out of date. She looked down at the students, exposing the chest skin of her shirt for all.
"Good mornin'," the skank said, "I'm Noriko Kashiwagi, your new homeroom class teacher starting today. You all probably know already, but now that Mr. Morooka has passed away… I'll be taking good care of you, instead." She sounded like a skank too.
"What the hell is wrong with this lady?" Souji whispered to everyone.
"Okay, why don't we start with a moment of silence for Mr. Morooka. Close your eyes, everyone," Kashiwagi commanded.
Everyone pretended to close their eyes and pretended to care.
"That should be enough," Kashiwagi said oddly seductively, after about five seconds. She continued by saying in the same odd seductive voice, "I'll do my best to fill Mr. Morooka's shoes. So our regular exams are still on track for next week."
A groan filled the classroom.
"It's like your principal said… It's times like these when the schedule is most important, Nori-chan," She giggled, "It must be tough for you. But that's what it means to become an adult, little by little."
"I already can't stand her," one student said.
"First King Moron, now Kashiwagi…? How much worse can it get?" another asked.
"Oh and one more thing…," Kashiwagi said, "That idol in our first-year class… Miss Kujikawa, was it?" Her voice turned vicious, "In person, she's nothing like she seems on TV, so don't get your hopes up, mmkay? What's so great about an idol anyway, right class? She's just a piece of inexperienced jailbait." Kashiwaga continued to go on about Kujikawa.
A student said, "What's up with her? Does she think she's Risette's rival?"
"She doesn't stand a chance against Risette. I heard Kashiwagi is on the wrong side of forty," another one said.
"I bet King Moron would have been ecstatic to hear Risette had enrolled here. Someone told me they saw him buying her pinup book."
"That sounds kind of pervy. He annoyed the hell out of me, but I feel bad that he got killed."
The student said, "Oh, did you hear? Risette was on a striptease show!"
The group noticed that pretty quickly and looked at each other. Souji saw Rion shake his head and Souji did the same.
"Huh? A striptease? Dude, if that was true, the paparazzi would've been all over it."
"I'm serious, but the reception got bad right when it was getting to the good part. It was on that Midnight Channel everyone keeps talking about."
"You actually believe that crap? How friggin' dense are you? Trust me, you were dreaming it."
"The rumor about the Midnight Channel is spreading," Chie said worriedly.
"It doesn't help that the ones on it are more famous as they get thrown in," Rion said calmly.
"We'd better wrap up this case quickly, then," Yosuke said.
"If we don't, who knows who it'll affect next?" Souji inquired.
"Anyways, let's meet up later. Don't make any plans for this afternoon," Yosuke made the decision instead of Souji.
"Well, I can't hang out with Yukiko by myself today," Souji thought, "Second banana, my ass, Yosuke."
They all met up at the covered table… Their group number was getting ridiculous, eight of them. Rise was sitting on the end across from Kanji, while Rion and Teddie were at the other end.
Chie complained at the table, "Ugh… Finals are next week. It's been a while since I failed."
"Yeah, if by a while, you mean all the time," Yosuke said.
"Now, that's rude," Rion said. He was reading a book.
"Shut up! Like you've ever seen my scores," Chie said angrily.
Yukiko told them cheerfully, "But Chie always has above-average marks in the subjects she doesn't fail."
"So she does fail…," Souji thought.
"Hey! Why'd you tell him? My scores just vary, yeah that's it!" Chie said.
"Hahaha!" Rise laughed.
"Rise-chan! You too?" Chie said.
She giggled, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. It's just I thought it would take me a while to find any friends at my new school."
"Well, extenuating conditions only helped," Rion muttered.
"Yeah, it was too bad we met under these circumstances," Chie said.
"Oh, yeah what do you think about King Moron's case?" Yosuke asked.
"Well, he didn't exactly show up on the Midnight Channel," Souji said.
Teddie said, "If this person would have been inside the TV, I would have sensed it. My nose isn't as sharp now, but I can still tell that much."
Souji nodded in agreement.
"But they found the body on a foggy day again, right?" Chie asked, "They said on the news that the crime scene was just the way it was for the announcer and Saki-senpai."
Souji said, "Does that really have to mean anything?"
"It could just be coincidence," Rion said.
"I really wonder about the culprit's motives. Why was Mr. Morooka targeted?" Yukiko wondered.
"Hope it wasn't personal, cause there's way too many people who hated King Moron's guts," Kanji said.
Rise asked, "But didn't you say it was people who get famous on TV get targeted? If the killer is choosing targets by watching TV, I picture him as someone who doesn't know the victims at all. I don't think it's worth trying to figure out motives for that type. There are too many people who hold grudges against you for no reason at all, even if you've never met them before."
"Ha, you sound like you speak from experience, Rise-chan," Chie said nervously.
Souji chuckled at that comment. Rion rolled his eyes.
"As we said, King Moron didn't appear on the Midnight Channel or the regular TV," Souji said.
"There are just too many things that do not fit with our regular circumstances. Unless something has radically changed in the case, this sounds like something completely separate from our previous cases," Rion stated.
"I don't get this at all, or what you're saying Rion," Chie was confused.
"It's just simple logic," Yosuke said. Souji doubted that Yosuke got it either.
"Shut up, Yosuke!" Chie said.
"Man, two victims in a row from our school," Kanji lamented, "That's gotta set off the police's alarm bells. They're not gonna leave any stones at school unturned."
"Y'know, to be honest. Somewhere deep inside, I thought that King Moron might be the killer," Yosuke said, "The news says he's the second victim from Yasogami High, but we all know that's not the case."
"Yeah, we have to factor in Yukiko, Kanji, and now Rise considering she was joining Yasogami," Souji said.
"I've heard him say more than once that so-and-so deserves to die," Yosuke said, "But now… I feel sorry now that I doubted him."
"I think we are all like that at times," Rion said, "It's what makes us human." He pushed up his glasses and he had put down his book.
Yosuke continued, "He was a capital-A asshole, but he didn't deserve to die. And not just King Moron… I feel sorry for all the victims. I can't forgive the killer, no matter what."
"Can anyone truly forgive the killer for what he did? For what he may try to do in the future?" Souji asked.
"Well, we'll do what we can. For King Moron's sake too," Chie told them, "At this rate, you have to figure that the killer has something to do with the school, right? So why don't we split up and…"
A voice rang out that made Rion cringe, "That won't be necessary,"
"I can't wait to expose that…," Rion was thinking as Naoto Shirogane walked up to the table.