Chapter 17
I own about this much of SMT and Persona… NOTHING! NOTHING!
This is the chapter of the Secret Laboratory. I managed to get this done really really quick.
After discussing Naoto's plight, the group entered the TV world to try and find Naoto from within. Souji decided the best course of action was to have Rise look for Naoto, even if would seem fruitless to find the detective. After all, they have had trouble finding people for the past couple of kidnappings. Rise had Himiko summoned and was searching for Naoto at that moment in the lobby. The satellite dish on the white-robed Persona was moving back in forth to search for Naoto.
"Someone's definitely in here," Rise said, "And the world seems to have grown larger."
Teddie seemed impressed, "That's amazing Rise-chan! There's no way my nose can pick up that much. Shall I give you a massage?" Souji and Rion both rolled their eyes.
Yosuke looked disturbed, "Don't bother her!" He didn't want her to be distracted. Rise was frustrated, "It's the same as last time. I know he's here, but I can't tell where."
"That's unfortunate…," Rion said, "But it was expected. It seems the fog is getting worse each time."
"I need something that'll help me understand him. I need some clues," Rise explained, "Without that, I have no idea which way we should look."
Kanji was annoyed, "Dammit! There's too much we don't know about that kid. But if we don't do something, he's gonna… "
"We get it, Kanji!" Souji exclaimed. He thought, "I wonder if Rion had a scanner if he could find Naoto."
Chie yelled at the first-year, "Hey, snap out of it! This is just like all of the other times! Let's not panic, keep an eye on the weather, and do this like always. We'll save him, no problem! First, we need to look for something that'll help us locate him."
Kanji tried to deny it, "I… I know… I wasn't panicking! We know he's over here… So all we gotta do is get him out."
"And I'm the Prime Minister…," Rion thought to himself, "Kanji is worried about her, even if he doesn't even know he's a she."
"I'm sorry I couldn't find him," Rise looked down as she dispelled her Persona, "All I need is some kind of hint to help me understand him better. Then I could find him for sure!"
"Well, Souji, we're going to need you for this…," Chie said.
"You gotta help Naoto!" Kanji begged.
"Alright, alright," Souji muttered, "Damn! And he says he isn't panicking. The only person I can count on not freak out is Rion, and he despises Naoto," Souji thought. He wondered if he could save Naoto if Kanji was that distracted.
So, everyone left the TV world to search for clues about Naoto Shirogane.
Souji's first place to visit was the Practice Building of Yasogami High. He went to the entryway between the classrooms and Practice Building to talk to various students who adored the Detective Prince.
Souji talked to a female high school student who seemed to know something about Naoto.
"What do you know about Naoto?" Souji asked.
"You want to hear about Shirogane-kun?" the girl responded, "Oh, this is interesting! I saw him get really angry!"
"Really… Do you know why?" Souji asked.
"I'm not sure what it was about, but he was with a policeman. I wonder what happened to make him shout like that. This was in the shopping district not too long ago."
"Thanks…"
"If he was with a police officer, could I ask Dojima? Uhh, maybe not…," Souji thought. Dojima was really suspicious of them.
So, Souji headed to the North Shopping District. He saw a police officer who was talking to another citizen about something.
When Souji tried to ask a question… "What do you want?" the officer said rudely, "I'm in the middle of something here, so don't bother me. If school's out, go home already. I swear… kids these days."
"What a bastard!" Souji muttered as he walked away from the police officer. He felt like giving the officer a gesture, but he thought the officer might see it.
Souji decided to try talking to someone else, as he headed to the Samegawa Floodplains to talk to Chie for a suggestion for whom.
"So, what do you think we should do, as the police are being jackasses about it," Souji said.
"Yeah… I guess it's no good unless we act like we're Naoto-kun's friends and we're worried about him. Something like, "He hasn't been to school recently and we're getting worried. Is he busy with police work?" Why not try something like that?" Chie suggested.
"I'll see if that works," Souji said.
Souji went back into the North Shopping District to talk to the police.
"You got some business with me, kid? Just cause I don't look it, I'm still busy, you know."
"I'm worried about Naoto…," Souji told the officer.
"Shirogane? Do you know him?" the officer asked.
"I go to school with Naoto," Souji responded.
"I haven't seen him at the station lately, either," the officer said, "Funny, it wasn't that long ago that'd be well around into the night, looking through the files. Even if he wasn't satisfied with the case's outcome, he seemed to be so focused that I thought he was obsessed with it."
"Obsessed?" Souji asked.
"Yeah, he would spend all day researching that case, and would never shut up about it. It gave me a headache," the officer said.
"Alright," Souji said.
Souji couldn't find anyone else to talk to that day, so he went home, ate dinner, and went to bed. The next day he had to deal with Sofue's questions. "Why did Magellan go on his journey around the world?" He mooched off of Rion, who told him it was for the money. He got it right, and he moved on for his search to find Naoto. Souji headed back to the Shopping District. He talked to another police officer he met on the Southside.
"How can I help you? Did you see anyone suspicious in the town?" the officer asked.
"No, Naoto hasn't been to school recently and we were worried," Souji responded.
"That kid has been skipping school to do his investigation? What's his problem, really? The department has all but closed the case. Just because he's not satisfied… Sheesh." The officer sounded annoyed. He shook his head at the whole thing.
"Sir?" Souji asked inquisitively.
"All we wanna do is shut the book on this thing so we don't have to deal with it anymore," the officer told him.
"Sounds like you don't give a damn," Souji thought.
The officer went on, "I wish he'd let it go already. No wonder the whole department treats him like a kid. He's getting all worked up over nothing. That's why everyone is giving him the cold shoulder, ya know?"
Souji thought he had enough for Rise to find Naoto. "I think it's enough," Souji thought, "I wonder if Rion thinks the same about Naoto?"
"Let's head into the TV everyone," Souji said as they met up at Junes, at their headquarters.
"Okay, we need to save Naoto!" Kanji exclaimed in exuberance.
As they reached the TV world, Souji headed over to Rise, who looked interested as he came over to give his information to her.
"You found some clues, right Senpai?" Rise asked, "Tell me, quick! I'll find him in a jiffy!"
He walked right up to Rise to tell her just that.
"So, did you find out more about Naoto-kun?" Rise asked.
"He's treated like a kid because Naoto is really obsessive about the cases even when they're already solved," Souji told the girl.
"I see… So he's being stubborn about the case… But it seems like it's rare for Naoto-kun to get worked up over something. Okay… I've got a good feel for him. I think I can do this," Rise told the leader, "It won't take me long to find him with my Persona, so be ready to follow me once I do!"
"Okay, we'll be ready," Souji replied, adjusting his blade. He lost another coat due to the darn thing.
Rise summoned her Persona, pointed in the direction that Naoto had disappeared and they followed her to the location of Naoto's disappearance. It looked like a fortress, with satellite dishes on top.
"What is this place?" Kanji asked as the whole group made a circle by the place.
"It's all sci-fi. Doesn't this remind you of the secret hideouts in those action shows?" Yosuke put forth.
"Oh yeah, I used to watch Featherman all the time when I was a kid," Kanji replied.
Rise told the group, "I heard those are really tough shoots. A lot of the actors do their own stunts, like jumping through fire themselves."
"If you can do their stunts, you don't need to have great acting skills," Rion muttered to himself.
"Well, it's every man's dream to do that stuff," Yosuke said.
"Yeah, I can understand that. They're action-based, like those kung-fu movies," Chie pointed out.
"Who wouldn't want to do that?" Souji asked.
"Doesn't the phrase, "secret hideout" have an exciting ring to it?" Chie asked.
"I understand that," Souji said.
"Actually, when I was a kid, I had my own secret place near the mountain by Yukiko's house," Chie turned to Souji and raised herself in a martial arts pose, "I'd pretend that a legendary kung-fu master was teaching me special techniques. Hwataa!"
"You got it all wrong…," Yosuke muttered, "But hey, so this secret hideout thing came from Naoto's mind right? I guess our proper boy detective isn't as grown up as he thinks."
"You thought Naoto was grown up," Rion rolled his eyes; "You have to be joking. Naoto is only a kid."
The group looked at him funny and Souji disrupted it by saying, "Let's just get going."
They entered the Secret Laboratory, as the group decided to call it. It seemed like a better name than Rise's "dungeon", which they called the Marukyu Striptease. Souji had gotten the group new weaponry since their last visit into TV, and he acquired new Personas as well.
Tajikarawo and Rion felt worthless early on here.
They were walking along the 1st floor when they encountered not 1, but 2 kinds of rock Shadows. Rion knew when a rock Shadow came by, you don't bother attacking it. So, like a smart Persona-user, he did something else.
"Tajikarawo! "Marakukaja!" Rion exclaimed as he rolled away from not one but two different kinds of boulders.
The boulders kept rolling into the others, and Yukiko did her job with her new Persona, "Amaterasu!" "Mediarama!"
Souji faced down some of the boulders and yelled, "Dominion!" "Mahamaon!" It made all of those Shadows disappear.
"Don't let me miss me out on the fun!" Yosuke said, hitting his card, "Susano-O!" "Margarula!" He had attacked the other boulder Shadows and it blew them away.
They turned the corner only to walk into an unmoving statue. Chie walked towards it. "I got it!"
"I don't know if this is a good idea," Rion said.
"Protect me, Tomoe!" "Black Spot!" Tomoe didn't protect Chie, as she went flying backwards and hit the ground hard.
Rise yelled, "Yukiko, its weak against fire!"
"Hear me Amaterasu!" "Agilao!" It knocked over the Shadow.
"Let's kill it!" Souji exclaimed as he drew his blade and cleaved it in half.
They walked right past it only to see more licker Shadows. Their tongues hit Souji in the face.
"Souji-kun!" Yukiko yelled, grabbing Souji as she her card simultaneously, "Maragion!" The flames reneged back to Yukiko as she fell back.
"Ahh!" Yukiko cried out as the lickers started casting their own, "Maragion!" and hit Chie as well. It knocked her over.
"Yuki-chan!" Teddie exclaimed, "Go Kintoki-Douji!" "Mabufula!" The tongues got stuck to the floor and Rion took out his ninjato and started lopping them off.
After Teddie's "Mediarama!", the group didn't run into any new enemies until the stairs of the 1st basement. They were trees… Shadows that looked like trees.
"Quit hitting me dammit!" Kanji yelled, as the branches of the Shadow slammed into him. Electricity didn't work against it and he used "Fatal End!".
So, what did Souji suggest? Well, what do trees do? They burn.
"Let's go!" "Amaterasu! Maragion!"
The group was running towards the 3rd floor "basement" when Chie was knocked over by a fiery blast. "Agidyne" was the spell, and it had only been used by Black Frost before. There was a large group of the Shadows that pooled around them. The groups of Shadows were the lady-like dancers with heart-shaped heads that carried swords. Yukiko quickly picked up Chie from the ground, and got themselves ready for a fight. They were the Shadows Rion loved to fight.
"Back each other up," Souji commanded, "Yukiko and Teddie will heal when necessary, but otherwise anything goes."
"Let's dance!" Rion yelled as the Personas, their users, and shadows collided.
"Let's go!" Yosuke exclaimed as his kunai struck one of the Shadows.
He removed the blade, parried with the other, and struck again. Souji's sword cleaved through one of the shadows, blade and skin. Setanta's spear lifted the shadow up into the air and it was struck by Tajikarawo's staff, ripping it away from the spear. Amaterasu's blades shredded the monsters, and Chie's feet followed. Finally, the barrage of Shadows stopped, and the group was able to reach the 3rd basement.
Teddie groaned at seeing a never-ending labyrinthine-looking base. Souji looked at Teddie, "Well, what did you expect?"
"I don't think I can bear this!"
Souji shook his head as they continued onward. The enemies they started encountering in the 3rd floor were quite different from the ones in the previous two.
There was this annoying whirling tower Shadow. Fire and electricity were ineffective against it, so Kanji and Yukiko's Persona were worthless. The rest of the group had to pick up the slack.
"Fire attacks are ineffective against this one," Rise told them as Yosuke lifted the tower into the air with "Garula" from Jiraiya and Chie slammed into the ground with her greaves.
"Bufudyne!" Teddie yelled as it leveled the Shadow.
Walking through a doorway, there were spinning rings like seen on Susano-O, but encased by sand.
"They're reflecting elements," Souji said, "We'll just have to use physical attacks.
"Torrent Shot!" Rion exclaimed as Tajikarawo's staff pierced through the sand and it spilled out.
They walked into a tank Shadow randomly. It liked to roll into the Persona-users.
"Zionga!" Kanji yelled. The lightning went straight back into Kanji's chest… "Damn…" He went flying.
"I was bearly there to save you in time," Teddie said as he caught Kanji.
"Shut up Teddie," Kanji said.
When they found it weak against ice, Chie and Teddie had a field day against the tanks. Kintoki-Douji and Tomoe froze the tank's controls and Souji finished it off with his sword.
There was another gigas enemy with long flowing hair. They decided to let Rion handle it when they found it had no particular weaknesses and it reflected fire and electricity.
"Three on one?" Rion smirked, "Hardly fair odds for you guys."
When the others turned back around, Rion was cleaning his sword on one of the gigai's hair before it disappeared. The group looked dismayed, "What?" Rion raised his hands in the air.
Souji shook his head, "Rion is that cocky?" he was thinking, "But, we expect him to win."
In the middle of the cross-shaped fourth floor, they found a door that could not be opened.
"I guess we're not allowed in," Chie said.
"We're not important enough," Souji muttered.
"Like hell we aren't!" Kanji yelled, "We need to save Naoto right now, and nothing is going to stop us!" He slammed his chair into the locked door.
Yosuke put his hand on Kanji's shoulder, "Calm down Kanji…"
Rion said calmly, "Save your energy for another day,"
The group decided that it would be best to not bother going to the 5th floor until they had rested for at least one day.
As the group walked out from the TV, most of the group looked rather tired and worn-out. Souji turned to them and said, "We'll meet up the day after tomorrow and move forward from there."
Kanji wasn't happy with that order, "Why aren't we going to try and save Naoto tomorrow!?"
Both Chie and Yosuke looked worried. They didn't want Kanji to blow up. He looked like he was ready to go back in this evening by himself. Betraying an order was a no-no. Souji looked at Kanji… he didn't want Kanji to die. The only person he trusted to even go off alone for a little while was Rion, and even then… we were nearby.
Yukiko tried to calm him down, "There are plenty of days until the fog comes Kanji-kun."
Kanji wasn't buying it, "Dammit! The longer we wait the worse it will get dammit!"
"Moron…," Rion thought as he placed his hand on Kanji's shoulder and spun him around, "You can calm down and wait or you can be a liability to the group," he told him, "It won't help Naoto if we get ourselves killed in the process rushing this."
Kanji seemed to calm down a little, "You're right…," Kanji relaxed and brushed off Rion's shoulder, "We need to wait."
"Alright," Souji reminded them, seeing that peace had returned. It was nice to see Rion being logical. "Thankfully, it's all smoothed over," Souji thought to himself. He then said, "We'll meet at Junes in the daytime on Monday on our day off."
Souji walked home after saying goodbye to Yukiko and flopped down on his bed after getting home to the Dojima residence. He just felt a "little tired" as Souji hit his futon.
The next day was a good day for him to recharge his batteries. Souji decided he would hang out with Kanji for the day. After convincing Kanji that it would be okay to hang out while Naoto was missing, Kanji taught Souji how to sew. It was a little creepy, but Souji felt he needed to help Kanji relax a little. As Kanji and Souji parted, he saw Rion and Rise talking. He caught snippets of their conversation. They seemed to be together, but not really so. He wasn't exactly sure what it was about. He knew Rion, so he didn't think it was anything serious. Yet, he still thought it was weird, "What the hell is he doing around Rise all the time? Am I missing something? He isn't yelling at her like he does around Naoto. Maybe he isn't… umm…" he thought. He just went back to home and replied to Nanako, "Hey, good evening Nanako."
The next day was a day off from school. Yet, Souji had to go into the TV to save Naoto.
"Are we all here then?" asked Souji as they gathered at Junes.
"Yep. We are all ready to go!" Chie said with a smile.
"Alright then, let's get ready," Souji said.
"Let's go Senpai," Rise said.
As the group headed into the TV, they moved onto the 5th floor, which brought on new enemies and pain.
"Uggh… This is so annoying," Rise muttered, "I'm tired of analyzing new enemies every couple of floors."
"Tell me about it," Yosuke said, "I never know if my attacks will work, or if I'll get blasted in the face."
"Oh, shut up will you!" Souji said as he faced an enemy.
The one that was facing Souji was a police-type of shadow. It was a variant of the one they had faced before. They soon realized that any magic they cast at it was useless, and worse, it reflected back at them. Souji should have just figured this out from the last time he faced a similar type of these Shadows.
"Damn it all!" Yosuke yelled, "Didn't I just tell you this!?"
"Oh shut up!" Souji yelled as he brought his katana to his shoulder, "Chie, Kanji, Rion: it's up to you three to blaze through these shadows."
Rion didn't bother summoning Tajikarawo. He only did if it was to protect the others from harm. It seemed amusing to Souji how Rion's blade managed to hook on the center of the police Shadow's key and flip him end over end. Afterwards, he would cut the Shadow in half. Rion seemed almost malicious in battle. Methodical and driven towards the Shadows' destruction was Rion's cause.
Chie and Kanji were a little more frantic in destroying the Shadows. Take-Mikazuchi and Tomoe were summoned right away for their "Black Spot!" and "Mighty Swing!". Though it seemed to drain their own strength, Chie and Kanji mustered up enough strength to drive either their legs or chairs into the enemies.
There were other enemies of course. Another snake Shadow appeared in groups of two or three as they walked down a path in the 5th floor.
"These again…?" Yosuke asked.
As it charged Yukiko, Souji jumped in the way, "Hell no!" "Dominion!" "Mahamon!"
"Thank you, Souji-kun!" Yukiko exclaimed as the snake Shadows disappeared in the white light that enveloped them.
As they walked to the 6th floor, they were confronted by a group of balances. They processed to aim at Souji and cast "Ziodyne!" and only cast "Ziodyne!" at Souji. It did no damage at all.
"Everyone, don't bother summoning," Souji said, "Just whack at them if they're just dead set at trying to kill me with lightning."
"Sounds good to me," Rion said as he drew his staff.
The balances were dispatched by staff, sword, kunai, shield, greaves, and claws.
They were blocked from moving on past the bottom of the 6th floor.
As they tried to turn around, they were attacked.
They were more of those absurd flimsy genome-looking shadows. It was amazing what Yosuke's Susano-O and Teddie/Chie's Kinoki-Douji and Tomoe's attacks can do to those things. "Magarula" and "Bufula" (Mabufula" in the case of Teddie), are wonderful things.
At a different part of the end of the 6th floor, they reached a chest, as Souji opened it… There was a card inside. It read… Research ID.
"I wonder if we can get into that room on the 4th floor that was locked through this," Souji said.
"We should try," Yosuke responded.
"Let's head on over then," Rion said.
The group was a little tired after whacking at stuff, and they were sure there was something waiting for them.
Rise said to them, "I don't know if we are ready for anything that might be waiting for us."
"Can you clear a path for us Rion so we can get back to the 4th basement?" Souji asked. He knew he was probably the least tired and in the best shape. He knew he'd be taking advantage of him. Plus, there was the off chance he could get hurt.
Rion only nodded and ran off, "Meet you there," he said before he turned around, his staff waving as Tajikarawo came to his side. Souji knew he wasn't joking around about clearing a path then.
"Are you sure about this?" Rise asked, "Going off on his own?"
Souji responded, "We've already cleared out a lot of them. You have to trust Rion."
As they walked back towards the 4th basement, no Shadows were coming towards them. All they were seeing was black smoke. It seems as if Rion was doing his job.
"He really is crazy, isn't he?" Yukiko asked.
"He's just being diligent," Souji responded.
"I don't think I could bear the load he has," Teddie said.
Yosuke looked at the bear, "Now's not the time for jokes."
"You said it," Chie muttered as Teddie started looking downtrodden.
As the group walked around in the 4th basement, they reached the door that had been previous locked, seeing Rion finish off the last Shadow that had blocked their path. It was one of the gigas that had previously hounded them so much earlier. The black smoke filled the air from the gigas's painful death as Rion made Tajikarawo disappear.
"What took you so long?" Rion asked.
Rise looked at him, "Well, we are tired…"
"Right…," Rion said disbelievingly.
"Are you okay?" Yukiko asked, looking at some bruises and cuts on his forearms,
"Maybe I should heal you."
"Save your energy," Rion told her, "There's probably something we need to worry about on the opposite side of that door." Souji shook his head at his friend's insanity.
When they looked at the door, the door told them in a robotic voice, "The Research Area Is Beyond This Point. Entry Is Forbidden To Ordinary Combatants. Please Present Your ID."
The group used their Research ID to get into the door.
"Hold onto your asses, people," Souji said as they entered.
"This isn't so bad," Kanji said as nothing but regular Shadows were there. He would feel differently when the group would reach the next door.
Rise would inform Souji and the group as she summoned Himiko when they were about to open that door, "Be careful! I sense a strong presence beyond this door!"
"Alright, we're going in!" Souji said, "Again, hold onto your ass!"
Yosuke pretended to hold onto his ass as Souji started to open the door until Chie hit him. "Hey! That hurts!"
What the group saw before them as they entered was a huge freakin' machine, robot, something or other.
The machine told them, "INTRUDER DETECTED WITHIN THE RESEARCH AREA. ELIMINATION PROCEEDING." And so the battle began.
"Oh, shit!" Yosuke muttered.
"Oh, be careful. This one's strong," Rise said as they started fighting.
The enemy was pretty predictable. It always started by using "Power Charge". It followed up with an attack called "Herculean Strike" that hit everyone. Souji soon found out that "Herculean Strike" hurt like hell. He also knew that Dominion would not be a useful Persona in the battle. Dominion wasn't very resistant from shadows slamming swords into it. Souji readied his sword and slammed his sword into a new card. "Rangda!" Souji would be satisfied with this Persona. It was resistant to physical attacks. If only he was as well.
"Everyone, try and get clear of his attacks!" Souji yelled, "Guard after he charges!"
Rion, who had been knocked back at least five to ten feet while protecting himself with his staff in a diagonal motion, "I know! What the hell do you think I'm doing?"
"Guys!" Rise yelled, "Magic is your best chance to win!"
"Schiesse," Rion muttered, "I guess I'm useless again…" He yelled to his Persona, who was in a guarded state, "Tajikarawo! Matarukaja! Keep them protected… use Tetrakarn any chance you get on the others!"
Yukiko was the strongest damage dealer, magic-wise, but she was a healer as well. So, Teddie took over the healing duties with Kintoki-Douji. The rocket-wielding Persona used "Mediarama!" on the others when they needed it.
The robotic Shadow was strong from any attacks made against it physically, but it didn't stop the humans from landing its own when it was attacking the whole group at once. Kunai flashed, a chair landed blows, kicks hit the shadow, swords sliced, and claws pierced into the shadow. Rion ran towards the Shadow with his ninjato bared, and the Shadow swung his sword down. Rion spun back to the left of the Shadow, ran up the side of the Shadow, pushed off to the ground, and ran back to it to drive his ninjato into the left body circuitry.
It was rather insignificant damage compared to the blasts of magic from Amaterasu and Rangda. Their "Agidyne!" burned and charred the robot. Tomoe froze the robot long enough with "Bufula!" for Take-Mikazuchi to use "Zionga!" to fry its circuitry. As soon as it recovered it would be blown into the air by Jiraiya with "Garula!". The rest of the Personas were used in healing or support duties.
Unfortunately, it was taking too long. Far too often did Teddie have to heal, or Rion have to recast support spells. They were getting tired. They already had gone through multiple floors today, and they were fighting an extremely hard enemy afterwards. Souji had his blade bared, Rangda had charged at the Shadow, flames flaring as it came to life. Souji was in good health still, but his mind was tired. The casting was taking a toll on him. He couldn't really think straight. Neither could Yukiko, or Teddie for that matter.
"Dammit!" Souji thought to himself, "We need to finish this."
He charged with his sword at his right side facing downward, and flipped it to his left when he reached the shadow so he could thrust it when he got to the Shadow. When he made contact, the Shadow started shaking erratically. "What the hell is going on?" Souji asked.
"I'm not sure…," Chie said. She wiped the sweat and dried blood off her brow. "Have we killed it?"
Rise wasn't so sure… "Oh my god! You guys need to run!"
Rion knew they couldn't get away, "You all need to try and guard against this!" he yelled.
"What do you mean guard?" Kanji gestured, "You mean it's going to blow or something?"
"Blow up?" Yosuke looked confused, then shocked, "You're kidding me, right?"
"It's unbearievable!" Teddie said.
"Just listen to Rion!" Souji yelled.
Rion took a deep breath as he sheathed his blade, and released his staff again. He put it across his body. He sighed, "Just try and hold on!"
Everyone else moved into a position to protect themselves, whether it was putting a fan in front of them, or holding a knee over their body.
The robot suddenly stopped shaking. Rise yelled, "This is it!" The attack was called "Last Resort!" When it stopped shaking; it blew up in a big blast. Needless to say, it knocked everyone off their feet. Luckily, everyone was still standing afterwards, metaphorically speaking.
Souji was the second to get up actually. Third, really, since Rise was clear of everything and wasn't knocked over. Rion was supporting himself on his staff, breathing heavily, but he seemed okay. He asked, "Everyone okay?" to the open-eyed group sprawled on the floor. They nodded.
"That hurt like a bitch," Yosuke said as he staggered up.
"Yosuke-kun!" Yukiko admonished him, but she did look hurt as Souji gave her a hand as she said, "I admit it was painful when it hit me."
Kanji and Chie were woozy. When they got up, they stumbled into each other and fell over again. Yukiko started laughing.
"Shut up Yukiko," Chie muttered.
Souji shook his head, "Okay, I think we're done…" They picked up a Leader Card and headed out.
The group left the TV world and promised they'd come back the next day to finish saving Naoto. Even Kanji didn't complain this time. He was too tired to resist. Souji walked Yukiko to the bus station and started walking home. When he arrived home, he got his usual, "Welcome home, big bro!" from Nanako, and responded with a "Hello, Nanako."
Souji ate a quick dinner and fell asleep on the futon almost automatically.
The next day, a Tuesday, went by quickly. At least, the school day did. For Souji, at least one interesting thing happened during school. It was at the end of lunch. The leader ate with Yukiko, and had choked down some concoction she had made for him. As they walked down from the roof, Souji saw Rise talking to Rion. She looked worried.
"You're talking about running through alone?" she asked.
"Idiot… He's doing that again…," Souji thought. He knew, however, it was for Naoto's safety. He walked up to the pair, and Rise saw her as another one of her senpai, maybe one who could talk some sense into Rion.
"Oh, Souji-kun… What do you need?" Rise asked.
Souji took out the Leader ID and handed it to Rion, "Don't die… or I'll kill you."
Rion chuckled. Souji noticed he had been doing that more often as Rion said, "I'll try not to."
"You're giving it to him?" she wondered, "So… You're letting him go alone…" Rise looked distressed and worried.
Rion shook his head, "I'll be fine." Rion thought, "She should be fine, but I should be there anyways. I won't die, but she might kill me, not her Shadow."
"I won't be able to scan for you. There will probably be new enemies you haven't seen yet," Rise looked flustered.
"Don't worry, Rise. The last time I went alone in a dungeon was at your place," Rion explained.
Souji smiled, "If there's anyone who can make it through and kill everything, it's Rion. Just remember to leave the ID where we can find it."
Rise still didn't believe them and glared at Rion to prove her point, but Rion nodded to Souji. Souji chuckled. It looked like Rion had more explaining to do, but it wasn't his fault.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Kanji had heard the conversation as well. He walked up to Rion and got in his face before Rion could walk away and head back to Souji's classroom.
"You're going up ahead of all of us to save Naoto?" Kanji looked steamed as he questioned Rion, "Then… I'm coming with you."
Rion rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry Kanji. You wouldn't be able to keep up. You'd only be in my way."
Kanji grabbed the older boy by his collar and attempted to lift him into the air. Rise gasped, "What are you doing Kanji-kun!?"
"You're going to take me with you! There's no way in hell I wouldn't be able to keep up with you!" Kanji yelled.
Rion put one finger on each of his arms and they went limp, therefore letting Rion drop to the ground. He said to Kanji, "Trust me… You wouldn't survive. I'm telling you that you would only get in my way. You would be in Naoto's way."
Kanji looked pissed, "Don't tell me… That I can't do this…"
Rion walked away from everyone, and as he walked towards 2-2, he turned around and said, "You'll have plenty of chances to beat down Naoto's Shadow in due time."
Kanji wanted to chase after Rion, but Souji held him back. He told Kanji, "It's not worth it. He's right, you know. He runs with pure speed and reckless abandon. You've seen him in action. He cuts down Shadows without them noticing he's there."
"But…," Kanji tried to argue.
"Remember what he said…," Souji told Kanji, "You'll get to use your strengths soon enough."
Kanji shrugged off Souji's hand and stomped off. By the time school was over, Rion was already inside the TV.
Souji chuckled, "He skipped part of school? I'm rubbing off on him."
"So… Rion is probably somewhere in the dungeon by now?" Chie asked.
"He doesn't follow the rules at all. We aren't supposed to go alone!" Yosuke exclaimed.
Souji looked at them, "I know, but Rion is doing this to make sure Naoto's Shadow doesn't transform before we get there."
Yukiko wondered, "You know what's odd? That Naoto didn't appear to us like Kanji or Rise's shadow did at certain points in the dungeon."
Souji responded, "That is different. Naoto's Shadow is probably just waiting for us then."
"Okay guys, let's go. We all just grin and bear it!" Teddie said.
And so, they found the ID right by the door. It seemed that Rion already had used it.
"Its proof that Rion was here," Souji said.
Yosuke nodded as the leader inserted the ID and entered the 7th basement. More exciting new Shadows to fight appeared in front of the group.
First Shadow on the 7th floor was Souji's favorite in anyplace he visited. Could you tell he was kidding? It was a dice Shadow.
"Damn it!" Yosuke yelled.
"Use light…," Souji said. He had figured out the problem in beating them, "Dominion!" "Mahamaon!"
"You're a genius!" Teddie exclaimed.
Of course, they had to run into an enemy that reflected physical attacks. It was a large and imposing Shadow that looked like a large monster carrying a sword.
"Magarula!" Yosuke finally countered it with his wind. It was a painful fight that required some healing after Chie's and Kanji's mistakes.
"I hope Rion didn't try and fight those," Souji said.
"Yay, another tank Shadow!" Souji exclaimed as the splash damage knocked him off his feet.
"Bufudyne!" Teddie yelled, "Go, Kintoki-Douji!"
"Hear me, Amaterasu!" "Agidyne!" Yukiko attacked with blazing flames.
The mix of fire and ice eventually extinguished the tank.
On the tip of the 8th floor, there was a new Shadow they hadn't seen before that casted both "Garudyne!" and "Bufudyne!" It had a crescent-shaped wing on top of a weird animal body.
Teddie attacked, "Bufudyne!" Back the attack went, and painful it was.
Yosuke attacked as well, "Garula!" The attack had no effect on the Shadows.
"Amaterasu!" "Agidyne!" "Dominion!" "Ziodyne!" Yukiko and Souji attacked together as the other effective magic-users.
Those were the only attacks that worked decently, so that's what they used to demolish the Shadows.
Of course, it wouldn't be a dungeon, if on the 8th floor… they didn't encounter one of those powerful knights. As the Shadow started the "Power Charge!" the group decided to attack with everyone.
"Garula!" Yosuke yelled, and it didn't work on. "Damn it… Susano-O is worthless against them."
Well, thankfully they had time to use "Mighty Swing!" "Black Spot!" "Agidyne!" "Bufudyne!" "Ziodyne!" at the same time. Souji almost felt sorry for the knight, almost.
"Here's the stairs to go down," Chie said.
Unfortunately, there were fish Shadows in the way, who casted "Mudo" at her. Souji threw a doll at Chie to take the blow. "Thanks," Chie said.
"Just let Souji kill it!" Chie exclaimed as Souji dispatched the fish with "Mahamaon."
Still, reaching the 9th basement wore the group out. It was time to save Naoto for real.
"I sense someone beyond this door!" Rise said.
"Let's go guys…," Souji said, as they opened the door, or whatever.
As they ran into the room, they saw Rion standing to the left, and they saw Naoto and the shadow.
Kanji yelled, "Naoto!"
There was one nasty looking machine in the background. God only knows what it was used for. Though Souji had an idea remembering what the Midnight Channel had to say, experimentation or something.
Naoto turned to the rest of the group. Naoto was in front of a bawling shadow in a labcoat. It was the one that was on the Midnight Channel.
"Ah, it's about time you arrived," Naoto said calmly.
"I know… you guys are slow," Rion muttered.
"Dealing with this child has been quite a pain," Naoto continued. "I've had to deal with two of them," Naoto was thinking.
Rion was thinking to himself, "Don't push the Shadow… The more time we have to rest the better"
Naoto started to walk towards the group, which alerted the Shadow, "No! No, no, don't go!"
Naoto turned back around and said, "It's useless speaking with you. I need to go back now."
The Shadow seemed distressed, "Why? Why are you leaving me here? Why am I always being left alone? It's so lonely! I don't wanna be alone!"
Rion was still thinking, "I know where this is going… Oh, this is going to be so much fun…, not"
Yukiko tried to comfort the real Naoto, knowing it was the real Naoto's feelings, "Naoto-kun."
"You wear the same face as me. It's as if you are implying we're one and the same," Naoto told the Shadow, "But the difference between you and me is…"
Rion could almost laugh as Naoto's Shadow started to speak out with much more vigor and a nastier voice, "Why delude yourself!?" The shadow spoke harshly, "I am you! These childish gestures are no mere affectation. They're the truth." Naoto's shadow continued, "The fools all say it, don't they? "You're only a child." "Keep out of our business, kid," and so forth. No matter how many cases you spend hours cogitating over, no matter how many crimes you solve, you're a child in their eyes. It's your brain they're interested in. The grey matter locked up in that skull. As long as they need it, you're an ace detective! But once they're done, it's back to the playpen with you. You haven't the means to deal with society's two-faced nature . You're just a lonely child."
"Naoto…," Yosuke tried to comfort Naoto.
The shadow mocked Naoto, "I wanna be a grown up… I wanna be a big boy right now! Then they'll see who I am! I… I want a reason for me to stay…"
Naoto struck back, "That's enough. I can find my own reason for living."
The Shadow laughed, "Hah… I'm telling you that's impossible. You are but a child. How can you change that essential truth?"
Naoto was getting annoyed, "Stop it!"
Naoto's shadow was in full swing by now, "At your core, you admire the sort of "cool" and "strong" men who populate detective fiction. But in trying to emulate them, you must know that in truth, you're nothing of the sort— you're a child. There's no avoiding first principles… Admit that you're a child, and admit there is nothing that you can do about it," The shadow pointed at the machine behind them, "Now then! Our analysis is complete. Let us begin the body alteration procedure." The Shadow glared at Naoto, "You have no objections, do you… "Naoto" Shirogane?" The Shadow stressed the Naoto part of the detective's name.
"Stop it!" Naoto yelled. Naoto's voice was getting higher by the minute.
"Joy! The shit is about to hit the fan!" Rion thought, "This is not the ideal way I'd have them find out, but this will do."
"Naoto… Such a cool, manly, name!" the Shadow taunted.
"It means honesty too," Rion chuckled inwardly.
"But a name doesn't change the truth. It doesn't let you cross the barrier between the sexes," the Shadow had continued while Rion was thinking, "How could you become an ideal man when you never were male to begin with?"
Everyone in the group… besides Rion looked shell-shocked. Rion was laughing his ass off.
"Wait, what…? Did he… Did I hear that right?" Yosuke looked astonished.
"He's not a guy?" Kanji looked freaked, but maybe relieved.
"He's not a guy…," Souji said, "That's almost expected." Souji thought, "So… that's what Rion knew…" Souji was holding back a laugh, "I kind of understand why he would be mad, but still."
Rion stopped chuckling, "I'm surprised you had not figured that out by now. It was pretty obvious."
Naoto seemed not amused and unaffected, "I won't throw a tantrum. That accomplishes nothing."
The Shadow started to laugh, "Hahaha! How often have I've heard those words from the adults! "Throwing a tantrum won't solve anything Naoto-kun," and other such bilge! They made you cry, didn't they?" The Shadow questioned her. The Shadow still taunted her, "Yet here you are, mimicking those same men. What exactly are you trying to justify?"
"Does she need a reason?" Rion said in the corner.
"What…?" Naoto looked out of place.
"It's all right. You don't need a reason anymore. That's why you are undergoing this body alteration procedure to begin with. You throw a tantrum, but it fails to change the situation a single bit… I can quite understand the feeling. After all… I am you," The Shadow said.
"That's not true!" Naoto screamed. She had lost control… The pitch of her voice had reached a new height. It was at least two and a half octaves above its usual level.
"Don't say it!" Chie tried to warn Naoto of the impending disaster to come.
Rion was on the side, "Oh… like that's going to stop her from saying it."
"It's okay… Let the kid spill the whole thing," Kanji had shook his head, "If not, Naoto is just going to keep on hurting. We'll just do our job and kick the Shadow's ass. Yeah?"
Souji nodded his head, "Like we'd lose…"
The fire behind Naoto's Shadow was increasing as she was laughing, "Ahahaha! As if you know anything about me! You'll kick my ass, huh? Fine… Go ahead and try, you lizard-brained, imbecile!"
"Like you know anything about kicking ass, Shirogane!" Rion had released his staff, and pulled his blade, "Kanji will do a more than adequate job."
"Save the discussion for later!" Yosuke told them as the Shadow started to transform as the purple fire started rising from Naoto's Shadow.
"Here it comes!" Rise told the group.
"Stand at the ready everyone!" Souji said as Naoto's Shadow transformed.
The Shadow still looked like a detective and Naoto, but it was much larger. It was a robot, and it was all silver. It had large wings with flashing lights on the ends, and had ray guns in each hand. It also had creepy-colored eyes that were in rings.
"I am a shadow… The true self," The transformed Shadow said, "What? Are you sick of yourselves too? Very well… Let the special operation commence!"
"Pssh…," Rion smirked, "I'll warn you; this will be painful."
"Operation…?" Teddie sounded worried, "I hate ouchies!"
"Have you made up your mind?" The Shadow taunted, "Then let us commence!"
Souji had picked a new Persona especially for this battle. A specially fused "Gabriel" that had some special spells added to it. The first thing he would use is "Mind Charge" followed by the charged "Bufudyne!"
Teddie followed up, "Bearsona! Matarukaja!"
"Go forth! Amaterasu! Agidyne!" Yukiko yelled to burn the Shadow.
"Here goes! Jiraiya!" Yosuke yelled, "Garula!" to put high concentrated wind into the body of the Shadow.
They kept up the barrage, "Protect me Tomoe! Black Spot!" Chie yelled.
"Take-Mikazuchi! Zionga!"
"Reach! Tajikarawo! Marakukaja!" came from Rion's voice.
The damage inflicted on the Shadow was quite impressive, but the Shadow would soon strike back.
The Shadow had this mean little attack called "Mute Ray!" which damage a member of the group, lower the amount of magic they could use, and lock away their Persona.
So, they had to use items to fix up the different members inflicted with the ailment. The shadow also had a neat trick of finding people's weaknesses, such as using "Bufudyne!" on Yukiko, or "Agidyne!" on Chie, or even "Garudyne!" on Kanji. It took a lot of diving in front of spells by other members of the team to minimize damage. Teddie was set on permanent healing duty very quickly into the duel because constant healing was needed. The shadow also liked to attack the enemy by flying straight at them. This "Brave Blade!" was a nasty attack and would do nasty damage. It was only nullified when Rion could try and predict it. He would then cast "Tetrakarn!" on the other members. This was draining however on Rion's normally perfect reaction time. A mix of "Tetrakarn!" and diving made him tired and bloody.
It was quite a pain when the Naoto would use "Mute Ray!" on Rion, and then while waiting for Rion so he could command his Persona again; the Shadow would attack Souji with "Brave Blade!"
"Dammit!" Souji yelled as he was knocked to the ground. He yelled at Rion, "Can't you move faster?"
Rion picked up Souji off the ground as Teddie healed him, "My mistake… I'll try not to get hit by a ray gun next time."
"That's all I ask," Souji smirked.
Souji responded by using his sword as a bat and knocking the Shadow down a peg. Chie's feet did some damage as well. The Shadow had some choice words after that.
She said, "No, no, that will never do! Patients must lie still for me to drill holes into them."
"Well… Go to hell!" Kanji yelled.
The Shadow had a new trick, which was quite a neat trick. Unfortunately, the others didn't think so. It was called "Element Zero". It nullified all of resistances the Personas had. Those strong against Electricity, Wind, Fire, Ice, or even Physical attacks weren't anymore. This peeved Souji when he was hit by the Shadow's "Bufudyne!"
The Shadow had another fun trick. It was called "Galgalim Eyes!". It would destroy your health, and make you really tired by firing both ray guns simultaneously. Using it on Teddie messed up our healer greatly.
"Teddie, you're hurt!" Rise yelled.
The group rushed to heal the bear. Souji switched Personas momentarily to Alraune. Souji casted "Energy Shower" to rid Teddie of his tiredness, while Yukiko cast "Diarama!" to heal his wounds.
The Shadow wasn't done though. It cast "Maziodyne!" to knock down Teddie, and damage everyone else.
"Makarakarn!" "Tetrakarn!" Rion yelled both almost all the time. Rion was trying to stop the Shadow from exploit any of the Persona-user's weaknesses.
When Teddie had gotten up from the Shadow's, he was mad, "I'm beary mad at you!" He made Kintoki-Douji use "Matarukaja!" to strengthen everyone then he followed by "Bufudyne!".
After the Shadow had knocked Teddie down, she had cast "Heat Riser!" on herself. Yosuke responded by having Jiraiya use "Dekaja!". Of course, the Shadow responded by using "Bufudyne!" on Amaterasu, and "Mute Ray!" on Kanji.
"Son of a bitch!" Kanji yelled. He did respond by throwing his chair into the Shadow.
Souji helped Yukiko up. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be alright," Yukiko responded, "Mediarama!"
The group was getting tired of being pummeled repeatedly, so they made a plan on the fly. Teddie and Yukiko's Personas, Kintoki-Douji and Amaterasu would be in constant healing mode, while the others would be in attack or support mode. In Tajikarawo's case, definitely support mode. Kanji's chair, Chie's kicks, Souji's sword, Yosuke's kunai, Yukiko's fan, Teddie's razor claw, and Rion's staff and sword knocked around the shadow. Meanwhile, Jiraiya's "Garula!", and Gabriel's "Bufudyne!" blew the Shadow into the air and froze it. Tomoe and Take-Mikazuchi provided their own punch with "Black Spot" and "Cruel Attack".
The Shadow was unhappy by these turn of events, "Why won't you lie down and die! You children can't do anything at all!"
The Shadow started making mistakes in battle, it casted "Agidyne!" on Amaterasu, which had no effect on her or Yukiko. It then used "Maziodyne!" on the party, but both Yosuke and Teddie had "Makarakarn!" cast on them, so the damage was reflected right back to it.
"That was a relief!" Yosuke sighed.
After making those mistakes, it started using "Element Zero!" again. They started guarding more often with everyone but Souji. Gabriel didn't have any weaknesses. When the affinities finally lifted, the attacking resumed.
Everyone gave one last push towards defeating the shadow. With one last "Bufula!" from Chie, the shadow started shutting down and disappeared into purple flames.
As Naoto lay on the ground Chie asked as Rise and Rion stood by, "So… Naoto-kun was a girl?"
Rion looked at her, "Well… yeah. You didn't know?" as Chie shook her head.
"Well… duh," Souji said, "Of course we didn't." "How long has he known?" he thought.
"It was easy to figure out…," Rion muttered.
Naoto seemed to have regained consciousness, "Ngh…"
Yukiko seemed worried for her, "Are you awake?"
Naoto started to get to her feet, "Where am I?" She seemed disoriented, "I remember you all arriving, and…" Naoto came to a realization, "That's right… You saw everything."
Naoto walked towards the Shadow. "… I lost both my parents in an accident. I was still young, so my grandfather took me in. I was inept at making friends… so I spent my time reading detective novels in my grandfather's study."
The Shadow said in a kiddy voice, "When I grow up… I'm going to be an awesome, hard-boiled detective."
"Funny, the only two Shadows I've seen talk after battle were Kanji and Naoto," Souji said quietly.
"My parents were proud of their job. I had no qualms about following in their footsteps," Naoto continued, "An inherited occupation can feel stifling to many, but I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could become a detective as well. Perhaps I inherited that desire from them as well. I was always alone… Seeing that, my grandfather must have believed it was his duty to help me realize my dream. I secretly aided my grandfather with his clients… And before I knew it, people were calling me Junior Detective. At first I was delighted, but not everything went so smoothly…"
Souji interrupted, "What was it you said, about "You're only a child?"
Naoto answered, "Not everyone welcomes my collaboration when it comes to solving cases… My status as a child was enough to offend many of those I worked with. Were that the only issue, then it would have resolved itself with time… But though I will one day change from child to adult, I will never change from a woman to a man…" She sounded put out.
"Depressed…," Rion thought.
"Do you not like being a girl?" Yukiko asked, "Is that why you always dress like a boy?"
She nodded, "My sex does not fit the ideal image for a detective. Beside, the police department is a male-dominated society. If they had the slightest concrete reason to look down on me, no one would need me anymore…"
Kanji put forth, "You don't know that."
"Hey…," Yukiko said, "You must know already that what you yearn for isn't to become an adult or to become a boy."
Naoto sighed, "You're absolutely right," Naoto turned to the Shadow and told it, "I'm sorry… I kept ignoring you, pretending that you didn't exist. But you are me… and I am you. You've always been inside of me. What I should yearn for… No, what I must strive for is not to become a man. It's to accept myself for who I really am."
The Shadow nodded and disappeared in purple smoke. It turned into a small, flying, blue Persona with an energy sword in its hand. "Sukuna-Hikona".
With that, Naoto fell to her knees and the group rushed to her side. She said to them, "In any event, you're a devious bunch… I can't believe you kept something like this hidden for so long. No wonder the perpetrator has been able to elude the police. But it's apparent now… This case is far from over."
Yosuke responded to the last part, "That's right… And you proved it, Naoto. Anyways, you can talk more later. We need to get you out of here."
When they got out of the TV, Kanji was trying to make sure Naoto was okay. She was basically carried out by Chie, Rise, and Yukiko. No boys would be allowed to touch her, especially Kanji that was for sure.
"Hey, hey!" Kanji yelled.
Naoto seemed exhausted and in no mood to do anything but collapse.
"Give her a second, okay?" Rion asked the bruiser, "She's tired." Souji was surprised by Rion's understanding.
Chie shook her head, "Sheesh… She really put her life on the line for this."
Yukiko responded, "But without her efforts, we'd have never realized… that the culprit is still at large."
"It sucks though that she had to go through that just to figure that out," Souji said.
Kanji told the girl, "You're too frickin' reckless dammit!"
"I never doubted that you'd all come for me…," Naoto said, looking at everyone individually, "Although, the reality turned out to be far beyond what I'd imagined." She stared at Rion, "You're stupid too. You came here first on your own."
"Duh…," Rion said, "I've done this before."
"Tch… What a dumbass…," Kanji said, "You're no genius at all. We were tearing our hair over you."
"So you did worry about her, Kanji! Awww…," Rise teased.
"Shuddup!" Kanji responded, "Mind your own damn business."
Yukiko said, "I'll take her home. I don't think she can go back by herself."
Naoto tried to resist, "It's alright… I can…"
Rise stopped that, "No way, missy! Don't think that doing everything on your own is the adult thing to do!" Rise had all the girls join in, "Come on! Let's go! Grab on!"
"If you don't, we'll tie you up and have Kanji take you back…," Rion told her jokingly. Naoto stopped struggling immediately.
Souji looked at Yukiko as she carried off Naoto and headed back to his home. The rest headed off as well. He said goodbye to Rion, who pushed up his glasses before leaving. Souji wrapped up his wrist; he had sprained it again, and started walking home.
When he got back, it was populated with not only Dojima and Nanako, but also Adachi. Dojima was on the couch, Nanako was sitting at the dinner table, while Adachi was swaying back and forth.
"Somebody's drunk…," Souji thought, "I wish I could get drunk… My day has been one hell of a long one. I should call Rion. He's probably gloating because he finally got out the fact that Naoto is a girl."
"Hey, welcome baaack!" Adachi greeted Souji as he came through the door.
"Umm… hi," Souji responded.
Dojima apologized, "Sorry, we got off early today."
"I understand."
"C'mon, take a seat," Adachi requested.
Souji took a seat across from the inebriated Adachi. He could smell the sake on Adachi's breath.
"They found Naoto-kun," Adachi told Souji, "Oh, uh, do you know who Naoto-kun is?" he asked, "He just up and vanished without a word, but it looks like he's back now. Way to put a scare into everyone… Sheesh."
"I'm relieved," Souji said, "I know Naoto-kun. Naoto goes to school with me."
"….," Dojima was thinking. He was suspicious, "You don't seem surprised. You didn't already know he was found, did you?" he asked
Adachi turned to Dojima, "Aww, you really oughtta do something about that habit of yours, Dojima-san. They go to the same school. Rumors spread fast here, y'know?"
"I heard it at school," Souji confirmed it.
"But man, why'd Naoto-kun disappear?" Adachi asked, "I guess he can be a little difficult… Maybe he got a little sulky after being given the boot and ran away from home? But I tell you, I was shocked to hear that he up and vanished like that. If there'd been a fourth kidnapping and murder, we'd be back to square one."
This didn't amuse Dojima, "Adachi…"
Adachi continued, "You know what sucks? We still don't have proof that the Kubo kid murdered anyone besides Mr. Morooka. How are we going to make a case out of this? I wonder if Dojima-san's instinct is right… Maybe there really is another perp out there. The real one."
"Duh, dipshit!" Souji said to himself.
Adachi was yelled at by Dojima who was quite angry, "Adachi! How many times do I have to say it!? Quit running your mouth like that!"
Adachi was apologetic, "Whoa! Sorry!"
Dojima switched his glare from Adachi to Souji, "Alright, see here!" Dojima stood up, "Don't worry about the case. Just study like a normal student," he threatened, "If you don't…" The fire went out of Dojima's eyes as he sighed, "I'm going to bed."
Adachi looked to Souji, "Sorry… I killed the mood there."
Souji shrugged like he didn't care. He didn't really care, as long as Dojima got off his back. He just wanted to solve the case.
"But yeah, I can totally see why Dojima-san is worried. Just leave the case to us police. You know the problems it would cause if something happened, right?" Adachi inquired, "Like if it happened that you were mixed up in it, we'd be really worried."
Souji nodded, "I get the idea." Inside, he had no intention of leaving it to them.
Nanako walked up to Souji and asked, "Are more scary things going to happen?"
Souji shook his head, "Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen."
Adachi looked appalled, "N-No way, Nanako-chan! Everything's alright now! We caught the bad man, so no more scary things will happen. Right? Everything's just fine."
"Okay…," Nanako said, but she didn't seem satisfied. It would probably take some more reassurance from her big bro later.
"Anyways, your dad is just a worrywart," Adachi said, "Leave it to me! You might not know to look at me, but I've got the most brains in the police department!" He looked at Nanako, confused, "Oh! Was that too hard to understand?"
Nanako shook her head as Adachi stood up, "Well, now that Dojima-san is gone. I should get going. G'nite." Adachi left the two of them alone in the family room area.
Nanako asked Souji, "What does "got brains" mean?"
"It means he's smart," Souji responded.
"Huh… So things will be all right then?"
"Yeah…," Souji put up a false front. Nanako didn't believe it.
Souji and Nanako hung out together for a little while before they went to bed. Souji was happy to relax and lay on his futon.