A/N: Dang, it has been quite a while since I last updated. Things have been a little hectic, so I apologize for the delay. Hopefully I'll be able to get my next one out quite a bit sooner, I don't like leaving you guys without an update so long. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and if you do, please feel free to review!

Although clouds had gathered in the skies of Inaba, there had yet to be the sustained period of rain necessary to cause the occurrence of the Midnight Channel. Deciding to take advantage of the weather while she could, Chie had decided to train, and Yu was more than happy to accept the invitation that she had extended to him. They made their way to the same spot off of the Samegawa Riverbank that they had went to last time, their last session proving it to be a suitable training ground. They had begun basic exercises when a familiar presence entered the area. Chie turned around and was greeted with the site of Nanako, who seemed equally surprised at their presence.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nanako asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"Training!" Chie replied, enthusiastic as ever.

"What are you training for Chie-san?"

Chie pondered for a moment, not quite sure how to respond. Probably best not to mention that we're fighting shadows in a hidden world that exists inside of TV's, Chie thought. Thinking hard, Chie mused further, My shadow, it was the embodiment of all my weakness, I have to be stronger than that. Looking up to face Nanako she declared, "Myself, I guess… if that makes sense?"

Nanako nodded brightly, exclaiming, "That's neat!"

"You think so?" Chie replied, a little surprised at Nanako's reaction.

Nanako nodded again in assent. She was smiling sweetly at Chie when something appeared to capture her interest. "A grasshopper!" She exclaimed excitedly, seemingly thrilled at the prospect.

On the other hand, Chie's mental alarms were going off nearly instantly. "Wha! Where?" Turning around, she scanned the area for the offending creature.

"It's on your back now," Nanako pointed out, seemingly oblivious to Chie's aversion to bugs.

Unable to contain a shriek, Chie moved erratically in a vain attempt to get the grasshopper off. Standing still for a moment she cupped her face in her hands in an attempt to calm down. "Someone please get that thing off of me!"

Without hesitation, Nanako approached Chie and gently removed the bug, carefully placing it on the nearby tree. "You don't like bugs?" Nanako asked.

Chie shuddered at the mere suggestion, finding nothing even remotely appealing about the creatures. "Nope, not at all! The legs and the scuttling, ugh- they're just gross!"

"But grasshoppers are cute." Nanako protested.

Chie scoffed, "Man you are just like Yukiko." Reminiscing she told them, "When we were little she was always trying to show me bugs that she had found. Didn't like them then, don't like 'em now. I still freak out around them… kinda lame huh?"

"I don't know, I thought it was kind of cute," Yu replied, smiling slyly.

Chie's cheeks immediately flushed crimson. "H-hey! Don't go saying stuff like that!" Cute, huh? Chie mused. Not one person had commented her like that, excluding Yukiko of course. With her complete disregard for 'girly' stuff, and affinity for martial arts and kung fu flicks, cute was possibly the complete opposite way to describe her. Still, it feels sorta nice, Chie thought.

Nanako interrupted her thoughts, "Its okay Chie-san! There are lots of people in my class who are scared of bugs too!"

Chie smiled back at Nanako. "Thanks Nanako-chan, that makes me feel a lot better! Hey, do you want to train with us? C'mon I'll show you a kata."

Nanako enthusiastically agreed, diligently mimicking the basic martial arts movements Chie was performing, with Chie eventually roping Yu in to join them, much to Nanako's delight. As the sun began to set, Nanako decided to go home, citing that her father would be less than pleased if she ended up staying out late, leaving Chie and Yu alone at the river bank.

"Man, I gotta work on this fear of bugs, I don't wanna look like a wuss in front of Nanako-chan. It's kinda funny huh? Shadows are one thing, but bugs- blegh," Chie shuddered, cringing at the mere thought.

"What about those shadows that looked like beetles?" Yu asked curiously. "Then again, if the way you sent those things flying was any indication…"

"Heh, yeah… not a fan of those either," Chie laughed. "Still, it won't be a problem, I won't lose!" Chie said firmly.

Yu nodded in approval, having come to recognize that once Chie put her mind to something, there wasn't much that could get in the way.

"Well, I guess we can call it a day for now," Chie said, somewhat disappointed that they hadn't been able to do a substantial amount of training. "We wouldn't want to wear ourselves out before the big day right?"

Yu nodded grimly; although the morning's rain hadn't carried on to the afternoon, the weather reports indicated that the next day would have persistent rain throughout the day and into the night.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow!" Chie said cheerfully, not wanting to end the day's session on a gloomy note. Yu nodded, returning her smile and waving farewell as they went their separate ways.

Sighing after returning home from a long day of school, Chie walked into her home out of the pouring rain. After school, she had extended an invitation to Yu to try his hand at Aiya's infamous rainy day special: The Mega Beef Bowl. Despite their valiant efforts, in the end, they both ended up leaving the restaurant with their wallets noticeably lighter. Yu had kindly offered to walk her home, and seeing as she had neglected to bring an umbrella that day, she had accepted, glad to be spared from the persistent rain. It was the second time that day they had shared the umbrella, with Chie quickly seeking solace under it after catching him on his way to school, which did not go unnoticed by Yosuke, much to her chagrin.

Chie sighed, carelessly removing her shoes near the entrance before advancing to the living room where her mother was intently watching the news. The coverage was apparently about the local biker gangs, with a reporter attempting to interview one of the supposed members, which needless to say did not end well. The hapless reporter was quickly chased away by the enraged teenager.

"Get bent!"

Despite the blur, Chie's mother seemed to instantly recognize the youth. "My, it looks like Tatsumi-san's son is off causing trouble again. Poor woman, always having to deal with all of this." Noticing Chie had arrived home, she quickly greeted her daughter. "Oh, Chie-chan, I hadn't heard you come in! How was school today?"

Chie briefly summarized the day's events, relating the usual list of things that she had been able to glean from Yukiko's notes for the day. Satisfied at the fact that her daughter appeared not to be sleeping in class, Chie's mother returned her attention to the news, allowing Chie to retreat to her room. Putting her back down as she entered her room, she shifted her gaze immediately to the clock mounted on her wall. With several hours until midnight and the rain drastically limiting her activities, there was only one option remaining. Homework, Chie groaned inwardly.

Grudgingly she pulled out a few of assignments and began to examine her history homework. With the aid of the notes she had copied from Yukiko, she managed to answer some of the questions, but her concentration was waning by the moment and she soon began doodling stick figures in martial arts poses in the margins. Realizing herself, Chie sighed in defeat before slamming down her pen in frustration, opting to turn her attention to the punching bag that was in her room. Hearing the ruckus from the living room, her mother cautioned that they had just gotten the shoji fixed, prompting Chie to roll her eyes as she recalled the earlier incident.

Between punctuated bursts of homework, training, kung fu shows, as well as dinner, midnight was now quickly approaching. Chie sat on her futon anxiously, the only noise in the room the quiet ticking of the wall clock coupled with the gentle pattering of rain against her window. Finally the hand struck twelve, and Chie watched her TV screen intently. Suddenly static erupted onto the television, a shrouded figure in the midst of it all. Chie strained to make out any detail, and before she knew it her screen darkened again. Sighing in frustration at the futility of her efforts, Chie opted to call Yu to see if he had had more luck.

With Yu picking up, Chie asked, "Did you see that?"

"Yeah, couldn't really tell who it was though," Yu replied.

"It looked kinda like a guy though… but if that's true then that means we were all wrong about the killer!"

"We should meet up tomorrow and hear what everyone else saw before we jump to any conclusions," Yu said calmly.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Get some rest Chie, goodnight."

"Yeah, you too," Chie replied, closing her phone slowly. Lying back in her futon, she sighed, her mind wandering restlessly. As she was about to doze off, her phone rang loudly, causing Chie to jolt up with a start. Quickly grabbing her phone she picked up, and much to her lack of surprise, Yosuke was on the other line.

"Yo, Chie! Did you check out the Midnight Channel? Looked like some dude if you ask me… but if that's true, then that's a break in the pattern. Man, just when I thought we were getting somewhere…"

"Yu-kun said we shouldn't think about it too much, we're gonna meet up at the usual place to see if everyone saw the same thing."

"Oh so you already talked to partner, huh?" Yosuke said, and Chie could practically see the smug look on his face as he taunted her. "Have you guys been doin' lots of 'close quarters' training lately?"

"I'm hanging up now," Chie replied, rolling her eyes.

"I think that's a y-"

Chie clapped her phone shut, unwilling to listen to Yosuke's perverted fantasies. Closing her eyes, she thought that it was as good a time as ever to try to get some sleep before the morning came.

Meanwhile, at the Dojima Residence

Yu sat still at his work table, having not moved since he had watched the Midnight Channel, his mind teeming over the case. Suddenly his phone rang, breaking his train of thought. Seeing that it was Yosuke, he picked up, and was greeted by the jokester's usual enthusiasm.

"Hey there, partner! Chie told me that you and her had already talked and planned for all the serious stuff. So now's a good time to discuss some, other, important stuff." A sense of dread washed over Yu, with Yosuke there was no telling what was coming next, if him searching beneath he futon for his 'stash' was any indication. "I was thinking we could talk about the lovely ladies of our group. Chie and Yukiko: Which one's your type?" Yu remained silent, and Yosuke goaded him on further. "You know what? I think I already know which way you're leaning… how was Aiya today anyway?" Laughing gleefuly at Yu's lack of a denial, he continued, "It's alright partner your secret is safe with me!"

"Comforting," Yu deadpanned.

"Aw, ye of little faith," Yosuke replied in mock offense. "Took the bait on that one though partner, if I didn't know before I definitely do now! Seriously though, Chie's a great girl though, really fun to hang out with. Anyways get some sleep partner, we're gonna need you at your best when we head back in there!"

"Will do," Yu replied, closing his phone and setting it on the table. Shaking his head at his friend's antics, he rose to set out his futon.

Chie woke with a start, coming back to reality after nodding off in class for what seemed like the millionth time. With their late night investigation doing little to ease the weight of her eyelids in her already less than exhilarating classes, Chie struggled to pay attention in today's math lecture. Doing her best to listen to her teacher, an expertly thrown paper airplane suddenly broke her concentration. Looking over her shoulder she was unsurprised to see Yosuke grinning at her cheekily.

Open it, he mouthed silently.

Although her common sense told her that whatever the plane's contents would likely just make her angry, curiosity won out and Chie apprehensively unfolded the plane. Inside an umbrella symbol was drawn, with Yu's name on one side of its handle and Chie's on the other (A/N For those that don't know, this is essentially the same as writing two people's name in a heart in Japan; sharing an umbrella is considered intimate). Quickly crumpling up the paper, Chie quickly glanced over at Yu, who thankfully hadn't noticed the exchange due to being absorbed in diligently writing notes. With crisis averted, Chie quickly launched an angry glare at Yosuke, who avoided her eyes, feigning innocence as he pretended to whistle. Shaking her head Chie again attempted to refocus on the day's material.

After school, Chie along with everyone else met at the now very familiar spot of the Junes food court, each prepared to discuss what they had seen.

"So from the looks of it," Yosuke began, "It was definitely a dude, big one too." Sighing in frustration, he ran his hand through his hair. "Well, there goes one theory…"

"He looked kinda familiar though," Chie noted, biting her lip as she strained to put her finger on what exactly made the figure stand out.

"Now that you mention it, I agree," Yu replied.

"You think you guys might be on to something?" Yosuke replied hopefully. "If we can figure out who it is, maybe we can stop the killer and put him away for good!"

Yu focused for a moment, and after a moment his eyes widened in sudden realization. "Kanji Tatsumi…"

"Yeah, that's right!" Chie exclaimed. "He was on TV last night, some news report about biker gangs or something!"

"Kanji-kun?" Yukiko asked, clearly perplexed.

"You know him Yukiko?" Chie asked, shocked that her friend knew someone who couldn't be more different in temperament from her raven-haired friend.

"Heck, even I've heard of him," Yosuke answered nonchalantly. "Dude's practically a legend, they say he's been in beating up bikers since middle school, some say he's even in a gang himself."

"A legend?" Yukiko asked, suddenly very excited.

"Not the kind you're thinking of," Yosuke said as he pinched the bridge of his nose at Yukiko's child-like naiveté.

"Oh…" Yukiko replied, appearing slightly crestfallen. "Well, he wasn't always like that. I knew him when he was younger; his mother runs a textile shop in the shopping district, sometimes my mother would take me to pick up orders. I still visit now occasionally on business for the inn."

"Alright, now we have something to work with!" Yosuke proclaimed enthusiastically. "Tonight we'll firm up if we really think it is Tatsumi, and if so, I say tomorrow we do some investigating!"

"Like a stakeout?" Chie replied, excited at the mere prospect.

"Yep!" Yosuke confirmed. "We'll see if we can get a bead on him tomorrow and see if we can get anything out of his mom, see if she's seen anything weird. Whaddaya say, oh fearless leader?"

"Pretty good plan… surprisingly," Yu replied, delivery as deadpan as usual, earning laughs from Chie and Yukiko.

"Hey, give me a little credit here!" Yosuke said indignantly, though his attempts at protest were ultimately in vain, his efforts at defense ultimately spurring on further laughter from his compatriots.