Souji studied the comb in his hands carefully, examining it from every angle, attempting to find something out of the ordinary. But despite his best efforts, there was nothing strange about the comb, other than it seemed to be made from a bamboo not found in the Inaba region, and it had a very unique design. "Sorry, Marie-chan" he said, handing the comb back to the Velvet Room dweller. "As far as I can tell, it's just a comb."
Marie looked downcast; she'd been hoping there would be something more. After their latest visit with Marie, the twins had been tasked with helping Marie regain her lost memories. Today, they were attempting to start that process, but it seemed to be starting poorly. Yu looked at the comb himself, taking it from Marie after asking her permission.
"Huh…" he said, looking at the comb plainly. "Y'know, there's not a single shop around here that sells such ornate combs…this one looks like a museum piece too." Marie shifted her gaze to Yu as he spoke, a hopeful look on her face. Yu smiled as he noticed the change in his friend's mood. "I have an idea. Why not take this to Kanji's shop, Tatsumi Textiles!"
Souji nodded, inwardly berating himself for not seeing such an obvious answer. He made a note to begin working on that, and then suggested they head out.
"Of course there's another person on the Midnight Channel! Y'know, forget saving Rise and having Naoto tracking our every movement, we now have another person to save; and it's that weird kid that hit on Yukiko at the beginning of the year!"
Souji was pacing around the twins room, ranting quietly so as not to wake the rest of the household. Yu looked at his brother, confused. "Okay? So we just need to get some information on the kid, and go rescue him. What's the big deal?"
Souji turned around, looking at his brother a bit incredulously. "What's the big deal?" he asked. "The deal is that we're being watched! Anything we do is suspect, and I'm pretty sure Naoto's mentioned something to Dojima, 'cause he's been asking more and more questions recently! And now we have 'the killer'…" Souji threw his hands up in air quotations, sarcastic tone portraying what he thought about such "evidence." "…trapped in the T.V world. Hell, we just got our scooters a couple of weeks ago! We've barely been able to use them, other than going to Okina a couple of times and finally finding that damned beach!"
Souji continued ranting, oblivious to the fact that Yu was tuning him out as he listened to Teddie, who had taken over Yosuke's phone after the brunette had called, much to Yosuke's chagrin.
Souji was going on and on about the scooters, having received Dojima's old scooter as a reward for being a huge help at the station, while Yu had won a nice black scooter at a raffle for part-timers at Junes; he'd taken Yosuke up on his offer, and he, Yosuke, and Teddie would often be found scurrying around Junes, picking up the slack Yosuke normally had to do by himself.
Yu sighed as he hung up, and grabbed his brother, halting both his speech and motion. "I get it, you're upset. Calm down." Yu said, smiling at his brother. Souji didn't do this very often, and Yu had learned to just let him vent when he got to this point; it solved the situation faster than trying to rationalize his problems. Souji took a deep breath, thankful that Yu had stopped him before he'd woken up the house with his outburst. The two dressed themselves for bed, and fell asleep shortly thereafter. It was going to be a long few days.
Honestly, Yu was having fun. They'd come to the T.V world after spending a couple of days gathering information on one "Mitsuo Kubo", and had discovered that the world he'd created was stylized after a retro video game, complete with 8-bit music and everything. They had entered and ascended the many levels of the dungeon, discovering that Mitsuo was taking credit for the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, as well as King Moron. However, despite all of that, Yu was enjoying himself.
According to Rise, they were a floor below Mitsuo and his Shadow, and had just reached the stairs after cutting down more shadows. "Y'know, for a crazed lunatic, the kid creates a pretty decent game!" quipped the silver-haired youth as he rummaged through the remains of their latest foe, searching for the items it had left behind.
Yosuke and Souji nodded, grinning. "Yeah, well…every boy enjoys video games!" Yosuke said, deftly twirling his Nata.
The girls all sighed as one; they couldn't believe what they were hearing. "You guys do know that we're here for business, right?" Chie said, exasperated.
Souji looked at the martial artist, raising his hands innocently. "What, we can't combine the business of getting Mitsuo out and enjoy ourselves at the same time?" asked the teen, giving the girls puppy eyes.
Kanji shook his head. "Geez, senpai, you're really surprising sometimes, y'know?"
All three elder boys turned to their underclassmen, grinning. "Of course!" they chirped in unison, earning a small round of giggling from Yukiko while Chie sighed again.
Rise gazed at the elder boys; staring at Yu, specifically. "Wow, Senpai, you're really cool sometimes!"
Souji shook his head, enjoying the compliment and laughing inwardly as his brother blushed furiously while Yosuke looked away, whistling. "C'mon" said the silverette, fixing his Tonfa, "Let's head up and get Mitsuo. I've got a few questions for him."
Souji stood dumbstruck, staring at the dissolving Shadow as Mitsuo continued to reject it, maniacally claiming that he had murdered all three people repeatedly. "Wait, how….does that mean he didn't face himself? He didn't get a Persona!" Rise said, looking confused. Kanji and Yosuke began interrogating the offending boy while the girls crowded around, adding in their two cents every now and then.
Yu approached Souji, who had reversed the ends of his Tonfa so that the blades were facing away from his hands, metal caps of the blunt ends shining in the arena light. "Somethings wrong with this situation…" the team leader mused, looking down thoughtfully, chewing on the toothpick that had found its way into the boy's mouth.
Yu stood patiently on one side of his brother while Teddie approached from the other. "What's wrong, Sensei?" the bear asked, looking concernedly at the silverette.
Souji shook his head. "I never believed Mitsuo to be the killer…and the way he was rejecting his shadow…" He paused, looking up and walking to the spot where the Shadow had disappeared, summoning his Persona. Teddie and Yu looked at each other, and walked closer to Souji, who began doing something with Morpheus. The large Persona reached down, placing a hand on the spot where Souji was looking, and the images of Mitsuo and his shadow from moments earlier began to replay.
"Woah…didn't know Morpheus could do that…" Yu spoke, looking at his brother, a look of awe on his face. Teddie was squealing quietly as he stared at the images, asking Souji how he'd done that.
"Morpheus commands dreams." Souji said, staring intently at the scene before him, watching as it replayed over and over, voices speaking as Mitsuo rejected his shadow. "This is him connecting to the dream-world, pulling a memory from my head and allowing me to visualize it without the distractions of my own thoughts erasing the image." Yu whistled lightly, impressed by the strange power Souji and his Persona wielded. Souji began to speak, voicing the thoughts in his head. "Mitsuo's shadow never made mention of the deaths of Yamano or Saki; it just repeatedly claimed that it was 'empty'…and Mitsuo was rejecting it by claiming he'd killed those two, as well as Morooka…"
Yu looked at the images, mind following what Souji was saying, but not making the connection Souji seemed to be laying out. "So, what does that mean then? Are you saying Mitsuo didn't kill those three?"
Souji shook his head. "No, he definitely killed. But…" he trailed off, thinking. "…I don't think he killed Yamano and Saki. But Morooka's death was different. Blunt force assault killed him; an identifiable cause. Neither Yamano or Saki had an identifiable cause of death." Souji nodded, coming to what he believed to be the truth. "I believe…Mitsuo killed Morooka as a copycat killing. Remember how the voice in the dungeon said he'd leveled up after each killing? The first two increased his loneliness or some such drivel, but Morooka's killing increased his fame. He probably did so to get noticed."
Yu nodded, seeing what Souji was saying.
"Hey, we should probably get outta here!"
The twins and Teddie turned around, Morpheus and the images disappearing as they did so. Yosuke was calling them over, and they saw that Kanji was carrying Mitsuo over his shoulder, unconscious as Kanji had knocked him out. Souji, Yu, and Teddie jogged over, catching up to their friends so that they could leave the dungeon, new information whirling through Souji's head.
The Investigation team stared up at the sky, fireworks bursting in the air. They gazed at them, enjoying the simple pleasure of each other's company. A lot had happened in the past few weeks; the summer festival had happened, and Teddie had stolen the girls from the boys, much to Yosuke and Yu's chagrin. Souji looked over at the two aforementioned boys.
Chie and Yosuke were standing next to each other, Yosuke's arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her in close. Rise was holding Yu's arm, holding hands with him and leaning her head on his arm. The silverette was smiling, leaning his head on hers. The two had recently started going out, and Souji was already tired of hearing his brother's ecstatic ramblings, but he enjoyed the fact that his brother had found happiness with Rise. The fight to get her out of the T.V world had been a tough one, but Yu had made sure that they made it out safely.
Kanji and Yukiko stood off to the side, whispering to each other, discussing the day-to-day business of their stores, and Kanji handed Yukiko a small knitted doll on a strap, a cell phone strap to be specific. Yukiko blushed, thanking the ex-punk, and looked back up to the sky, watching the fireworks gleam. Teddie and Nanako were standing together, happily shouting Teddie's version of "Tedmayaaa!" as the fireworks exploded.
Souji felt an ache in his chest as he looked back at his brother and Yosuke. "They really look like they're happy…" the silverette thought sadly, looking down at the ground.
Dojima came up behind him. "Why the long face?" his uncle asked quietly.
Souji shook his head, wiping his eyes a bit as he felt them begin to sting. "It's nothing…" he mumbled, looking back up. Dojima turned the boy to face him, and motioned for him to follow the elder detective to one of the nearby benches. They sat down, looking at the rest of the group as they continued to enjoy the fireworks.
"It's not nothing if you of all people looks to be on the verge of tears" Dojima said, turning to look at the young boy who'd come to be as a brother to the man.
Souji shook his head. "I guess…I'm just a little jealous." The youth said, looking back up at his friends.
Dojima nodded. "I bet I can guess why." He smiled gently, reaching over to squeeze the boys shoulder. "You'll find that kind of happiness someday, Souji. Trust me, I never thought I'd feel that way until Chisato and I met. She was one of the brightest points in my life." The detective's face flashed in pain, but returned to the gentle smile it had before; ever since Souji and Yu had helped him with himself and Nanako, the memories of his late wife weren't as painful as before. Souji's shoulders shook as he chuckled, a few tears managing to escape from the silverettes eyes. Dojima ruffled Souji's hair. "You'll find her someday Souji. Life has a funny way of working out like that." Dojima said wisely. He turned to give Souji a wry smile. "I think you'll find her sooner than you think."
Souji gave his uncle a smile of his own, a quizzical look in his eye. "What makes you say that?"
Dojima shrugged. "Just a feeling I had." said the elder detective.
Souji shook his head, grinning. "Your detective's intuition, huh?" The two sat in silence, watching the fireworks as they slowly started to end. "Thanks, Uncle Dojima" Souji said quietly.
His uncle smiled. "Anytime, Souji." was his response. He stood up, calling Nanako over. "I need to get Nanako back home. You guys don't stay out too late, okay?" The group of teens nodded, and walked back to the entrance of the hill. They began to reminisce about their summer, the good times and the bad all coming together. Souji thought back to the days long past.
He'd been so busy, he hadn't noticed that time had passed so quickly. The twins had helped Sayako remember her reason for working; the elderly lady had finally accepted her past; a young boy they'd been tutoring had managed to achieve his wish and made friends; the young child and his step-mother from the daycare had reconciled. The Fox's shrine was busier than ever, as the twins had finally completed the last of the ema requests, and Marie was struggling to regain her memories with the twins help. Kanji had opened up to Souji, and the two had cemented their bonds with each other, as had the rest of the group. Their Persona's had taken on new forms, becoming even stronger than ever before.
A statement from Kanji brought Souji back to the present. "Oh yeah. We should have asked that kid to come with us."
Yosuke looked at the younger boy questioningly. "What kid?" he asked, and Kanji shuffled a bit on his feet.
"Uh…well…" he muttered, and Souji understood who he was talking about.
"You mean Naoto?" he asked, and Kanji nodded. Souji thought about it; the idea was appealing, and he'd like to get to know the famous Detective Prince more. He was about their age, surely he could use some friends.
Rise nodded. "We might not ever see him again. I'd hate to leave him like that. I said some pretty harsh things…" the former idol looked downcast, and Yu gave her hand an appreciative squeeze.
Yosuke shook his head. "I doubt he was the type of guy who'd come watch fireworks anyways. Remember how he said he didn't have any friends, not that he'd want any?" The group looked sullen.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be such a downer." Rise apologized.
"It's fine. I mean, he was a pretty good-looking guy. He might've been a roadblock in…erm…other ways." Chie punched her boyfriend hard in the arm.
"Wow Yosuke, you really only think about girls, huh?" Teddie teased, earning a reproachful glare form the Junes Prince.
"Shut up, you were thinking it too!" The group laughed, passing a while in nostalgic discussion.