The Novelization of Persona 4- Chapter 24
Okay… I own nothing… really, nothing. SMT and Persona is owned by Atlus.
We're on Chapter 24? Really? Where do all the words go? Into my carpal tunnel… they do. Well… we're getting pretty close to the end as they'll be moving towards the truth. I'm making my character a bit of a jerk in this chapter, because most of them act rather stupid spending time figuring out just about nothing.
People seem to be wondering why we get side-tracked on angst. Well, we only get two categories, and romance fits too well when you add it in.
The walls of text from Namatame... well yeah.
As Souji was walking back from taking Yukiko to the bus stop, he noticed his cell phone was flashing. He had gotten text messages from friends while he was worrying about Nanako.
He was quite surprised about the number of people who actually texted him, and the nice, caring messages they sent. Kou and Daisuke sent him messages. Kou was much more composed and well-written, but that was to be expected. Ai sent him a message of concern about his cousin; he was a bit surprised about that. Even Miss Emo, the drama queen, literally, sent Souji some form of a sympathetic response worrying about his "little sis". Souji was touched.
"I sure have friends here," Souji thought, "Who would have thought?"
Souji rubbed his arms through his jacket. He was getting cold. He hurried home to his empty residence. They needed to find Teddie, and had to figure out what to do with Namatame. Tomorrow… would suck.
Souji cursed himself… he had ended up in the Velvet Room again. "Why me?" Souji thought.
"Welcome. It has been quite some time. Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world," Igor said as he gestured from his plush seat.
"Ya think?" Souji muttered from his mind, "I wonder if that could change somehow from the first to the millionth time I've been here while I'm sleeping?"
Meanwhile, Igor had continued, "I have summoned you within your dreams. Now then… your journey has taken you quite a distance so far. Do you believe you'll be able to successfully solve this mystery?"
Souji thought about it. He had possibly the two smartest people in the town with him, and himself. He felt as Adachi would say he was "a pretty sharp cookie." He just had to hope that Naoto and Rion would stay together until the end. So, he told Igor, "I can solve it."
"Splendid…," the long-nosed guy who made the fusions happen responded. He continued, "The precise destination of this vehicle… That, too, is getting rather hard to judge. If we continue driving blindly, we may end up leading you farther away from the mystery that you must reach. Well…? Why don't we take a moment to look back on your journey? It was for that purpose that I summoned you here tonight."
"Okay," Souji responded.
"Margaret," Igor told the beautiful girl sitting next to him. She nodded to the ugly fellow and Souji suddenly started hearing voices. He wondered if he should go to a psychiatrist, but decided against it.
Igor told him, "We are experiencing the words engraved into your memory during your journey."
Souji first heard Yosuke's voice, "Alright, Let's go ahead and think through this as much as we need."
"If only you and I would," Souji thought, "I pray that you do."
Kanji was next, "If we leave any unanswered questions behind, we'll just be lying to ourselves."
"Of course, we'll just have to find the truth ourselves," Souji thought.
"I'll think as hard as I can, and try to help," Rise said.
"I'll be counting on you," Souji thought. She was good for a smile.
Chie was the next to talk, "C'mon, we've accomplished this much together, haven't we?"
"There's no reason why we can't do this together," Souji thought.
Yukiko was next, "Right… Together."
"I'll be there… I can accomplish anything… if you're there," Souji thought.
Naoto and Rion were together saying, "The answer to this problem is simple, but we should do it together."
"I know…," Souji thought, "I need you guys."
Igor went on to say, "And it seems you have comrades with you as well… Those heading in the same direction through this dense fog."
Souji started hearing more voices. He heard Kou and Daisuke's voices of encouragement. He heard Ai and Yumi talk to him and give Souji support. He was surprised by the hidden friendship they had for him.
They car thingy that the Velvet Room supposedly was had suddenly stopped, and Igor had to hold onto his chair from being thrown off.
Margaret said to Souji, "We'll be parked for the moment while I confirm our current heading."
Igor told Souji, "As I mentioned previously, this year signaled a great change in your life. Though there isn't much time left, it can be worth your while to take the time to stop and reflect."
Margaret added, "People are like water flowing in a river. There is only one stream, but all who pass through it are affected differently. Some travel fast, some change course… Experiencing countless events as they travel down the river of time."
"I didn't know she was a Taoist," Souji thought.
"Just so…," Igor said, "The state of this room reflects the scenery of your heart."
"So, I want a car?" Souji thought.
Igor continued, "Perhaps this is a time for contemplation rather than action." As this was said, he was thankfully kicked out of the Velvet Room.
Souji was roughly awoken by a doorbell. He quickly threw on clothes to see who was at the door. He grabbed some random piece of a grain dish, threw it in his mouth, and answered the door. It was Yosuke. "Great…," Souji thought, "Did he have to wake me at 8:00 a.m.?"
Yosuke looked worried as he said, "Teddie's missing!"
Souji shook his head, "Great…" "Where did the idiot bear get to?" he thought.
"I looked all over the neighborhood, but I couldn't find him anywhere," Yosuke explained.
"This is troublesome," Souji said.
"Yeah, I agree. He's been acting weird lately," Yosuke nodded. He told Souji, "Rise and the others are checking inside the TV to see if he's gone back to the other side."
"So, are we going to Junes?" Souji asked.
"Yeah…," Yosuke responded.
"Let's go," Souji said.
Everyone except Kanji, Rion, and Rise were at Junes discussing where Teddie might be. The pair had arrived a short while later after they searched for him in the TV.
Kanji sighed and said to Souji who sitting next to Yukiko, "It's no use, man. We can't find him."
"No luck for me either," Rise said sadly, "I didn't sense anything over there. The fog's so dense, it might be affecting my readings." She put her head down, "I wish I could do better… I'm sorry."
"You're fine, Rise-chan…," Rion said as he took a seat next to Naoto, "It's more like shooting through tofu with that fog."
Rise smiled at Rion, a look that didn't go unnoticed by Naoto, or Souji for that matter.
Yosuke shook his head as he said, "That Ted… Don't tell me really went back to his world this time."
"I hope not," Souji said, "We need him here."
Yosuke said, "We told him over and over that he could that he could stay here."
"But… if he still thinks that Nanako is gone," Souji shook his head, "Let's think about this."
"That's what we need to do, right?" Yosuke guessed, "He plays dumb a lot, but he's attached to us deep down… He wouldn't disappear without saying anything to us, right?"
"That seems reasonable," Rion nodded.
Naoto looked at Souji, and then at Rion as she said, "I'm worried for Teddie myself, but let's trust in him and await for his return. Right now, let's concentrate on the case."
"I can't hurt him again," she thought. Her grandfather had questioned her on why she was out so late, but she used Nanako-chan for an excuse. The second part of why she was out so late, just wouldn't work as an excuse, not for her grampa. How do you explain that you spent an hour holding your boyfriend because he believed Shadows killed his parents?
She shook her head, "It won't be long before Namatame is transferred to another location. We must hurry, or we will miss our only chance to get his perspective on this."
Yosuke crossed his arms and said, "Y'know, I've been thinking about the case, since, but something just doesn't seem right…"
"Now it hits you," Rion thought. Souji saw his trademark pushing up his glasses, which means at least for one person in the group, "What the hell is wrong with you?" and Souji chuckled.
"Let's quickly review the facts," Naoto said. She started off with, "Of all the victims, only two were killed: Ms. Yamano, the announcer, and Saki-san. From the documents we found in the car we know that Namatame had some sort of dealings with them. After that, there were multiple attempted murders, in which we were targeted. It was only when he took Nanako-chan that we caught him in the act, indentifying his modus operandi in the process."
Kanji responded, "When I hear you put it like that, sounds like the dude's guilty."
"Listen, Kanji…," Souji said, gesturing for Naoto to keep talking.
Naoto continued, "As a result of Namatame's arrest, the police admitted that Mitsuo Kubo was a mere copycat killer."
Yosuke gestured to Naoto, "Back up to yesterday… Remember when you said Namatame didn't have a motive to kill the announcer? That's what's bothering me."
Rise said in response, "Right… Either he's completely nuts, or we're misunderstanding something."
Kanji looked confused, "You lost me…"
Rion sighed and pushed up his glasses. Souji fought the urge to burst out laughing.
Yukiko explained to Kanji, "She's trying to say that if Namatame is sane, that there may be facts in the case we don't know about yet."
"Sane or insane… Sounds like a play I saw before," Rise said.
"Just about half of the Shakespeare tragedies are about people losing their identity, and in the process, their sanity," Rion said, "Why is this any different?"
Souji fought back a laugh as he thought, "So… are we insane? Rion probably thinks we are, him included."
"When he talks about "saving" people, what does that actually mean?" Yosuke asked.
"It has to include throwing people in the TV after kidnapping them… us included," Souji said with a shrug.
Naoto put her head down and asked, "Could he mean… saving them through death? He did call himself a "savior" and said that the other side is a "wonderful world"."
"So, they'll be saved if they'll die?" Kanji muttered to them, "What a bunch of crap… The bastard shoulda have gone and "saved" himself." He looked at Souji, "Whaddya think, Senpai?"
"There's something else," Souji said. It just didn't sit right with him. It was obvious that Rion had something to say.
"If you think about it normally, it's gotta be him. But there ain't nothing normal about that world anyways…," Kanji said.
Rion pushed up his glasses and said, "Can I speak now?" They all looked at him in suprise, "This everything about Namatame saying it was a "wonderful world." That was his Shadow saying it. The real Namatame was confused. When he came into Heaven, he found it be as much as Hell as you did with the Shadows. It was no "wonderful world". He wanted to save her, not kill her."
"There's something I've been wondering about for a while," Yukiko put forth after Rion talked, "When we first encountered him, he said… "You're the ones I saved… Don't worry, I'll save this girl too." To reiterate what Rion is thinking, if he "saves" people by killing them, did he save us too?"
"He would have failed in saving you," Souji finished.
Naoto looked at all three of them, "You raise a good point. If he thinks that salvation comes only through death, his words to us make no sense." She stared straight at Rion, "And another thing… The Namatame who appeared on the Midnight Channel said he failed to save Nanako-chan."
Chie said, "Well, maybe he really is trying to save the victims by putting them inside the TV."
Most of the group looked like Chie said something amazing as Chie said, "C'mon, don't get all quiet like that. You guys know I just say the first dumb thing that pops into my head. Haha…"
Naoto just said, "The possibility that he truly intended to save us."
"But he's still the one who threw in Saki-senpai and the announcer, right?" Yosuke said. He seemed adamant not to let this go, "Sure, we haven't nailed down his motives, but that doesn't change the fact that he killed them." Rion just pushed up his glasses, causing an indentation on the ridge of his nose. It seemed like Rion was losing his patience with him, and Souji was too. "Or what, you think someone else is involved? What makes you think so?"
Rion said, shaking his head, "Hard evidence is not going to pop out in front of us here. But there is one fact, and one piece of evidence that does not point towards Namatame."
Souji knew that fact so he thought of what might work. He shook his head of everything that had happened, "The diary points at Namatame, and the alibi doesn't work either. The copycat muder is irrelevant. So…," he was thinking. It popped into his head. Souji told them all of a sudden, "The warning letters that I received. It just doesn't fit with Namatame."
Yosuke responded, "Warning letter…? Oh yeah… Whatever happened to that thing?"
Chie said, "If Namatame's the killer, he must've been the one who wrote it, right?"
"Let's review them," Naoto said.
"The first one said… dont rescue anymore," Souji told them, "The second one said… If you dont stop this time, someone close to you will be put in and killed."
"Yes, that's right," Naoto said.
"Isn't that kinda odd?" Rise asked. She continued, "Would someone who thinks he's saving people by killing them write stuff like "don't rescue" or "kill"?"
"Finally, someone gets it," Rion thought.
Kanji nodded, "Yeah, and the "will be put in and killed" part doesn't make sense either. If the killer was writing it, wouldn't it be more like "I'll put in and kill"?"
Chie looked at the group and asked, "Hey… could this mean?"
"Namatame did not write it," Souji answered.
"Yeah…," Chie said, "It's almost like… someone else wrote this letter."
Yukiko added from her side of the table, "But only the killer would write such a letter and deliver it to Dojima-san's house, right? If someone else wrote it, that could only mean…"
"Dear god…," Naoto exclaimed, "Since this was such an unusual case, I was absolutely convinced that other than the Kubo incident, there was one culprit." She thought, "No wonder Rion does not trust the police... or me to get anything right." She sighed.
"So Namatame really was trying to save his victims?" Rise asked.
"Well isn't it just opposite day," Souji thought. He said, "That's the idea."
Naoto answered, "Everything is exactly the opposite of what it first seemed. In Namatame's parlance, "failing" would have been the first two cases, when the victims died. If he had used his method twice, and failed both times, he would have hardly have continued using the TV. And yet he did." She finished by saying, "It all seems to suggest that someone else wrote those warning letters while observing the entire case."
Yosuke gestured, "Someone else… Then… It wasn't Namatame who killed Saki-senpai and the announcer!?"
"We can't say for certain yet," Naoto said, "We urgently need to speak with Namatame face to face."
"We won't have much time," Rion said, "They'll be tightening security, and after the attempt to escape and the attempt on his life; they'll have to be moving him."
"I have a plan," Naoto explained, "He's right. We need to go to the hospital immediately."
"Okay, let's go," Souji said as they made their way to the hospital were they all nearly threw Namatame in only one night before.
Naoto's plan was simple enough. Raise hell in the lobby, while Naoto gains entry with Souji with her detective status.
As Souji and Naoto walked up to the guard in the surgical ward, he came forward and told them, "Hey, this place is off-limits."
Naoto responded, "I'm a consultant with the police. I'd like a few words with Namatame-san. May I go in?" She flashed her badge. It was becoming useful in this hospital. Of course, the last time she used it was to break visiting hours to visit Rion.
The guard checked the ID and radioed in, "This is Unit 252 requesting confirmation of an ID… Name of Naoto Shirogane… Huh? Ah, understood. I see." He looked at the detective and said, "Well, you're on the list. I can give you a few minutes, but I'll have to record your conversation for security purposes. Not that I expect you to get anything coherent out of him. He's been spouting nothing but gibberish."
Naoto looked at Souji, then at the guard before she said, "I'd like him to accompany me as well. He has no identification, but this is an emergency situation and he's here in Detective Dojima's stead."
The policeman was confused, "Huh? Detective Dojima sent him? I wasn't informed of this?"
Naoto gestured, "I'll vouch for his identity." Souji just nodded. He was told by Naoto to let her do the talking.
The guard shook his head, "Well, I guess it's better than dealing with the man himself…" He looked like he had prior dealings with Detective Dojima, and they weren't pleasant, "We have our hands full with the transport procedures, so the last thing we need is Detective Dojima running wild. Detective Adachi is busy somewhere too."
The policeman's radio went off, "This is Unit 252. Huh? I see."
"Has something happened?" Naoto asked inquisitively.
"Something about a suspicious object in the lobby," the guard told her.
"Ah, well then, this works out nicely," she responded, "You should back up your colleagues downstairs. We'll keep watch over Namatame-san. A disturbance in the hospital lobby, after all… It sounds serious."
The guard nodded, "If anything happens, hit the nurse call button. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Understood," Naoto responded, "Please be careful." The guard ran off at these words.
"Well, that was simple enough," Souji said to her.
"I knew they were undermanned, but I didn't expect it to go this smoothly," Naoto responded.
The rest of the group ran up, with Rion bringing up the rear. He was the one who had set up the disturbance with a few of Naoto's detective tools.
"Wow…," Chie said as she was the first to arrive.
"There's nothing much inside that "suspicious object"", Naoto said, "So he won't be gone long."
"Here's our chance to talk to him, so let's make the most of it," Souji said.
They walked into the room for the second time in twenty-four hours. Namatame was lying in the bed this time, staring at the window. Was he wishing he was outside, and free? Souji didn't know. They all wondered a lot of things as they made their way over to him, but they needed answers today.
Rion told them flat out before they got there that he was leaving this up to them. They could ask all the questions. Souji was kind of glad that he would get free rein, but he would probably ask Rion afterwards if he could fill in the gaps of anything he missed.
Naoto was the first to talk, "Namatame-san. There's something we'd like to ask you."
Namatame seemed distant, like he was still scared to death.
Naoto continued, "It's tempting to think that you were the culprit behind this entire case. And to be honest… there are many in this town who hope you are. But we are here to learn the truth. So please… Answer our questions."
Namatame finally looked at them with a different expression than before.
Souji decided this was the time to start asking questions. He asked, "Is "saving" killing people?"
Namatame shook his head, "No… If nobody saves them, they'll be killed. That's why… I put them in there."
"Well, that's what we thought," Souji thought. He asked next, "Did you kill Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano?"
Namatame shook his head again, "They were killed. I couldn't save them."
"Well, another idea confirmed," Souji thought. His final original question that Souji decided to ask, "Who did you throw in first?"
Namatame pointed at Yukiko.
Yukiko looked shocked, "Huh? Me?"
Namatame nodded.
Yukiko didn't know what to say.
Naoto took over, "Then tell me if my estimation is correct so far. After discovering the Yamano and Konishi incidents, you realized an appearance on the Midnight Channel meant certain death. Thus, to "save" her from that fate, you kidnapped Yukiko Amagi. You couldn't let her be killed, so you threw into the TV, preventing the killer in this world from reaching her. And you repeated the process, as more individuals appeared on the Midnight Channel." Naoto looked at them, "It all falls into place. His body is weak, but his mind is sound. He's trying to tell us the truth."
Yosuke said to her, "Yeah, but if the stuff he's saying is true."
Rise finished, "There's another killer who murdered the first two victims?"
Rion muttered, "By throwing them in a TV, no less…"
Naoto looked back at Namatame, "Indulge us in a few more questions."
Souji wracked his brain for more questions to ask Namatame while he had the chance, his only chance. "Why did you enter the TV?" was his question.
"I didn't know… I never thought… it would be that kind of place," Namatame explained.
Naoto looked at Rion. It was exactly what Rion said. Rion had just pushed his glasses in response.
Souji asked another question, "Why did you send the warning letters?" It seemed that would just confirm any doubts.
"What are you talking about?" Namatame looked confused.
Souji shook his head. Namatame didn't send them. Maybe he knew who killed them, "Who killed Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano?"
Namatame put his head down, "I have no idea. I want to know that too."
Naoto said, "As I thought"
Namatame put his head up and said, "You… believe me!?" He suddenly got excited, "Did they find him!? Did they find the one who would do such cruel things!?" He got sad again, "M… Mayumi…"
Naoto tried to work with Namatame as she said, "Please calm down. Our ability to find the culprit rests on you. We know about the other world. In fact, we're the only ones who can fully understand what you have to say."
Namatame picked up his head and asked, "Only… you…?"
Yosuke explained, "We did blame you for everything at first. But now, I think we can accept whatever you got to tell us… as truth."
"A complete reversal from about 12 hours ago," Souji thought.
"Please…," Naoto said, "Tell us everything you can… Calmly and slowly."
"You're willing to listen to my story?" Namatame asked.
"Yes…," Souji said, "We need to if we are going to find the killer."
Namatame sighed and took a deep breath as he began his story. "All right."
---
Cut to a scene to a room with a table and a TV in the off position. Namatame is drinking a beer. The room is cluttered with books and random clothes scattered about.
Soon after my affair with Mayumi became common knowledge… I returned to my parents' home, as if to run away from the scandal. And I started drinking heavily to drown my anxieties. I hadn't been able to reach Mayumi at all, and that didn't help either.
"Mayumi, where are you?"
She'd been disgraced on all the afternoon shows and forced to resign from the program she was on. I caused her so much trouble. I wanted to at least apologize to her, but I couldn't even do that. I lost the will and energy to do anything. Then one day, the rumor I heard some time ago came back to me. Since I had nothing better to do, I sat down blankly in front of the TV and watched my own reflection.
Yellow screen comes on… Namatame stands up.
And all of a sudden, there was Mayumi.
"Mayumi, is that you?"
The Mayumi inside the TV looked as if she was calling to me for help.
Namatame runs up to the TV.
"Mayumi… Mayumi!"
When I reached out unthinkingly to touch her… My arm disappeared into the TV… as if I had dipped it into a pool of water. I was so shocked that I lost my balance and nearly fell face-first into the TV.
---
Return to reality
Namatame said, "I was so scared… I couldn't understand what had happened. I thought maybe I'd gone insane. In the end, I decided to think of it as just a dream, and I went back to the city the next day after finishing work. The next afternoon, when I got to work… I was fired on the spot, as I expected. That wasn't what broke me, though." Namatame hugged himself tightly, and looking down. "It was Mayumi being found dead. And not just that, but it had happened in my hometown. I was dumbstruck, but later on… I remembered the image of Mayumi I had seen that night. "Was it not a dream? Could it really have been an SOS from Mayumi?" I hadn't touched another TV, because the first time was so terrifying, but I decided to try it again. And I confirmed that it was not a dream. So that image… Was it something Mayumi showed me, calling for help? That's how I felt…" Namatame felt worn out.
Naoto entered with her own words, "And eventually… you learned of the Midnight Channel."
Namatame raised his head and said, "I remember that when Mayumi was alive, she was chasing a rumor about some bizarre TV program. I'd heard about it before, but I thought it was just an urban legend. But then Mayumi appeared on it, and later turned up dead. The more I thought about it, the harder it became for me to believe that the two events were unrelated. Soon after that, I returned to Inaba to answer the police's questions. I'd lost my job, and I wanted to know the truth of Mayumi's death for myself. Then, on another rainy night, someone else appeared on the Midnight Channel. It was a girl. She looked like she was calling for help, just like Mayumi. The first thing that came into my mind was, "Maybe this girl will be the next to die.""
Of course Yosuke spoke next about his former crush, "And that was Saki-senpai." Chie gave Yosuke a sympathetic look and grasped his hand, which he took.
Namatame continued, "I'd been following all the news about Mayumi, so I noticed right away that she was the girl who found Mayumi's body. And if my hunch was right, she'd be the next victim. I didn't want her to die the way Mayumi did. So I desperately kept watching… I was consumed with the idea of rescuing her. Then… little by little, her image on the screen came into sharper focus."
"It became sharper?" Chie asked. She was confused. It hadn't happened for her when she viewed it.
Yosuke sighed and asked, "How did you find out it was her?"
Namatame explained, "After I came back, my father couldn't bear to see me in such low spirits, and gave me a job in the family business. I met that girl when I delivered a package to the liquor store."
---
Floodplains, around where Rion met with both Naoto and Rise at various times…
Namatame is trying to explain something to Saki Konishi.
After agonizing over it, I decided to meet her… and told her to be careful.
Saki walked off, seemingly undaunted, and Namatame chases after her.
---
In front of the same TV again, Namatame is on the phone…
But that same night, on the TV… She looked as if she was being engulfed by some black shape… She was writhing in pain…
"That's why I warned her! Why won't she pick up the phone!? Come on! Please!"
---
Back to reality again,
"The next day, they found her dead," Namatame explained.
Yosuke sighed and shook his head.
"I knew she was gonna be murdered, but I couldn't save her," Namatame lamented, "I blamed myself, thinking there must have been something I could have done."
Namatame raised his head, "There was no one who depended on me. Nobody at work… not even my wife. Mayumi was the only one who accepted me for who I was. But she was murdered, and the same person killed another girl."
Namatame raised his voice slightly, "I was… I was beside myself… I couldn't forgive myself for doing nothing!"
"You really did love Ms. Yamano," Chie said sympathetically.
He looked at her and said, "Yes, from the bottom of my heart. Before I was married, my wife made it big in show business. I was happy for her, but it put a strain on our relationship."
"I think I can kinda relate," Rise said, and Souji rolled his eyes. He wondered if anyone else was doing the same thing right now.
Namatame continued, "It was around that time that I met Mayumi. She was interviewing our candidate for the next election. She was a big-name announcer, but she only worked for the local stations, and her attitude for work was similar to mine. We both came from Inaba… so she was easy to talk to… I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help getting intimate with her." He said sadly, "She gave meaning to my life." He put his head down again, "Soon after Saki-san was found dead, yet another girl appeared on TV."
As Namatame pointed at Yukiko, Souji grasped her hand, "That… was you."
---
Back to in front of the TV, Namatame is standing.
"She'll be kidnapped next, and then murdered. I can't let her end up like Mayumi and that other girl. This time, I'm gonna do something."
My opponent was a murderer that left no clues to his identity. I thought hard about what I could do to protect her from someone like that. "I'll never convince her… If they get suspicious and arrest me, who'll save her then?"
The girl inside the TV looked as if she was smiling at me. And that's when it hit me. I apparently had the power to go through the TV screen to the other side. Then, what if I put her into the TV and give her shelter there before the killer gets her? "What are you trying to tell me!? That it's safe over there!? Is that it!?"
The girl inside the TV seemed to smile at me again. And I thought, no matter what kind of place it might be, it's better than being slaughtered. Once things calmed down, I could just let her out again.
"If she's inside the TV… There's no way they can find her."
It felt as if everything was starting to come together in my mind. Could it be… that Mayumi gave me this power, to prevent any more victims from meeting her fate? Was it my mission to save people? But there was a big problem. If I explained the situation to the victim, they wouldn't understand. I had already tried that and failed miserably. It seemed that the only thing I could do was to take them away. If that was my mission… I'd just have to do it. Or so I thought.
"Mayumi… Please lend me your strength."
---
Thankfully, back to reality
Yukiko started the conversation after that, "So, since you thought who appeared on the Midnight Channel would be killed, you kidnapped us in order to save us."
Chie said with overtones of anger, "Mission!? Give me a break! You never stop and wondered about any of this!?"
Namatame tried to explain, "I thought I was the only who could help them. I did call the police, but they didn't believe me. I knew the area well, thanks to my job. I had a large truck, and I could move around without suspicion. I thought my job as a deliveryman would be the perfect cover for my mission. I thought no one else could do it." He looked at them, "But… are you telling me that I wasn't saving them?"
Naoto explained, "If a person is still within the TV world when the fog appears here, they will die. Beginning with Yukiko-san, the people you thought you were saving were, in fact, in mortal peril. It was my friends here who really saved them all."
"It's the exact method the real killer is using," Rion said, pushing his glasses into position.
"I had a feeling that was it," Namatame looked at the sheets, "When I went after that little girl and entered the TV myself… For the first time, I had some doubts about myself."
"You refer to Nanako-chan, correct?" Naoto inquired.
Namatame nodded, "The police were after me, so I had to get away. But I still felt that I needed to do everything I could to save that poor little girl. That's why I went in after her." He shook his head and explained, "But the TV world was completely different than I imagined. Such an abominable and grotesque place… I knew the three of you that I had "saved" had gone back to your normal lives, so I didn't realize how terrible that world was. I never knew… you couldn't even get out of that place on your own. I thought I was going insane. I probably did. And you know the rest. When I came to, I was lying in a hospital bed.
"Well, you were trying to save people from death in the end," Souji shrugged.
Namatame shook his head, "But I ended up doing just the opposite. What a fool! I always wanted to enter the world of politics, and become useful to society. But after losing my job and the woman I loved… all I had left was this power. I convinced myself that world was some sort of sanctuary. And I believed myself to be a hero."
Yosuke was speechless, well most of the others were as well. Souji thought, "This guy's been through the crapper. I can pity him."
Namatame continued, "I never doubted what I saw on TV… and believed everything was as I wanted it to be. I didn't think for myself at all. That's why I couldn't protect them." Namatame was about to break down, "I'm to blame for all of this."
Souji said, "It's over… There's nothing to say about the past."
Namatame looked at the leader and said, "I suppose so. But the things I've done are too serious to be brushed aside like that." He put his head down again, which had to be bad for his neck after a while, and said, "I have no intentions of running away from my crimes. I'm prepared to face the consequences. Kidnapping is already a serious crime. And on top of that, I put all those lives in danger." He shook his head, "I'm sorry."
Souji couldn't help but to feel sorry for him as well.
Naoto responded, "The Midnight Channel and the other world… You can hardly be blamed for failing to understand them properly. We must apologize to you as well. Had we let our emotions blind us to the truth, we would have piled all the responsibility on you."
Yosuke gestured, "I guess from your point of view… people did stop dying once you started "saving" people. The more you did it, the more you really believed you were really preventing their deaths."
"I'm… such a joke…," Namatame said. He told them, "I'm sorry. I'm getting a little tired."
Right as he said that, the rent a cop came barging in. He yelled, "Wha!? What are you all crammed in here for!?"
Naoto explained, "My apologies. We will be leaving now." They had turned to go.
Namatame stopped them from leaving, "Wait!" They turned back to him, "I beg you. Please find whoever's behind this. You children are the only ones who know about that world."
"That's the plan," Souji responded.
"Thank you," Namatame said.
Naoto said to Souji, "It's all clear now. He never committed any murders. It was another party who threw the first two victims into the TV."
"Get out of here!" the rent a cop yelled, "I told you, he's almost ready to be transported! We can't have anything else happen. I better not see you kids again."
They stopped by Nanako-chan's room afterwards.
Yukiko said by Souji's side, "Nanako-chan looks like she's in pain. She's fighting for dear life."
Chie said to the group, "This was the last place saw Teddie, right? He was so worried for her."
Kanji shook his head, "How can he flake out like this when we have to find the real killer?"
Naoto said, "The police consider the matter closed. We'll have to do all the investigation ourselves from now on. Let's revisit Saki-san and Ms. Yamano's incidents and see if we can turn up fresh details."
"It's been over six months," Chie said, "Wouldn't the trail be cold?"
"We can't give up, can we?" Souji explained, "We are the only ones who can do anything."
"You never know," Yosuke said, "People may remember things now that they've had so much time to think about it."
"Or they've forgotten about it completely," Rion muttered.
"We'll just have to talk to people tomorrow," Souji said. Yosuke looked at him. It looked like he'd be in charge of the damn thing again.
"We'll meet in the evening to discuss what we find, I guess," Souji finished.
Yukiko added, "I hope we can find out something about Teddie as well."
They all left the hospital, at least knowing there was someone else out there whacking people. Who? Souji didn't know… But, he wanted to find out. He just needed that one clue to give him the real killer. He was tired of being lead down false roads anyways. Besides, that Velvet Limo was probably going backwards by all the wrong people they'd captured. Souji guessed that tomorrow… would be just another day, if he dragged Rion along with him. Souji just started walking back with Yukiko, wondering what he could do to find the killer that couldn't be caught.
(I stopped here because writing Namatame's reminiscing is so annoying that it drives you insane. I am so tired from working with grading work and doing Anthro Finals of my own. We are finally close to where we need to be.)