Souji was still getting his bearings when he heard footsteps approach behind him. He turned towards the sound, and couldn't help but grin as he saw the looks on his friends' faces. The teens stood shocked as they looked at the boy who'd disappeared right before their eyes.
"Dude…" Yosuke mumbled, face as white as a sheet. Chie and Yukiko began stammering gibberish, unable to find any words to express their surprise. Kanji took a step back, bumping into Teddie, who looked at the silverette with a mixture of glee and awe spread across his face.
Yu shook his head, doing a double take to make sure he was really seeing his twin brother again. The other twin had thrown himself into his work during the past month, drowning his sorrow with exertion in hopes that it may distract him from Souji's absence. His legs felt weak, and he leaned on Rise, who could only hold her hands to her mouth as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Souji smiled warmly, feeling his own eyes sting as he saw the faces of the people he'd been taken from, and looked around for the one person he had yet to see.
A small figure clad in navy blue stood in the back of the group, and Souji's eyes widened as he saw her approach quickly. He crossed the short distance to her as she moved, and held Naoto tightly as the sleuth threw her arms around her boyfriend's torso, any shyness or embarrassment she felt melting away as she reunited with the boy she loved so dearly.
"Naoto…" Souji croaked hoarsely as he said her name, letting his tears flow freely as he held the detective close, feeling his heart pound as he felt her squeeze him tighter in return.
"I…I thought…you were gone!" Naoto muttered, voice somewhat muffled by Souji's robe. She would have to ask about that later, but right now, all she could think about was him; that she hadn't lost him; how he'd come back to her; that he was here now and that was all that mattered. The rest of the group came running over, embracing Souji as one as they expressed their relief at his return. Souji looked at his friends, each one bearing a large smile, some with tear stains on their cheeks. He had never felt more glad to see them than he did now, but a small flag that raised itself in his mind caused him to break away from his friends mass hug, though he held on to Naoto's hand tightly.
"What's going on? Why are you all here?" he asked, directing his question mainly at his brother. The group's cheerful mood suddenly darkened, and Yu caught his brother up to speed. He'd have to question him later, Nanako needed them now. Souji's face blanched as he heard about the events he'd missed this past month, and shook his head as Yu told him about Nanako's most recent news.
"We need to get up there, now." Yu finished, already moving towards the door.
"Yeah, standing here won't get us anywhere." Souji agreed, and the reunited Investigation Team ran into the hospital, feeling the urgency of the situation once more.
Souji leaned his head against the doorframe outside of Nanako's room. Yu and Dojima were inside, along with Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Teddie. Souji had found himself unable to remain in the room after Nanako's breathing had stilled, and had come out to see Kanji pacing nervously around, Rise crying, and Naoto looking downcast, tears threatening to fall for the second time that night. The three had looked up as Souji as he'd walked out, and one look at his face had answered their unspoken question.
Kanji walked over to the wall next to the door, throwing a punch at it as he screamed. Rise broke even further into tears, sobbing loudly as she felt her heart plummet to the ground. Naoto could only mutter Nanako's name, and looked towards Souji. The silver-haired youth looked gaunt, more-so now than he had outside the hospital. What could have possibly happened to him, Naoto couldn't guess, but he was obviously not as healthy as she'd last seen him, and Nanako's death had just made his condition worse.
Dojima exited the room, ignoring the teens as he walked by. He even ignored Adachi, who had yet to hear the news about Nanako. "Dojima-san…? What's with that look?" Adachi turned to the teens, not registering Souji's presence as he looked at the others faces. "Huh? What's wrong, everyone...? Huh...? Wait...I-Is Nanako-chan...?" Adachi turned back to look down the hall where Dojima had gone. "B-But then...where did Dojima-san go? His room isn't that way—Wait a sec, that's the way to...!"
Adachi began stammering with nervous excitement, talking about Namatame and his room. Kanji turned to glare at the hapless detective, and stalked over to him, forcing him into the corner between the wall and the window of the hall. Rise stood up, calling for Yu and the others to come out. The rest of the teens ran out of the room at the idol's worried voice, and she explained that Dojima may have gone after Namatame.
Yosuke looked menacingly at Adachi, and had to be held back by Chie and Souji as he advanced upon the detective. "You transported him to the same hospital?! For crying out loud, he's the suspect in the case!" Adachi shook his head, stammering out an excuse to make up for his actions.
"Where is he, Adachi?!" Yu said coldly, glaring at his uncles' partner.
"I can't tell you! If I did, I'd be-." Adachi didn't get to finish as Kanji grabbed his shirt, lifting him up a few feet off the floor.
"Just tell us where he is already! Dojima-san's on his way, ain't he? You don't know what he's gonna do there if we don't stop him!"
Chie gasped, letting go of her boyfriend as she looked at the ex-punk. "Kanji-kun, you don't mean…?" Kanji ignored the martial artist, and slammed Adachi against the wall.
"Cough it up! Where's his room?" he yelled. Adachi managed to choke out the answer, and Kanji let him go, running towards Namatame's room, with the rest of the group close on his heels.
Namatame was on the floor, muttering to himself as he cowered in the corner of his room. He'd tried to jump out of the window, but had fallen back into his room, and now the Investigation Team surrounded him, minus Teddie, who hadn't left Nanako's side. "You have your life...and now you want your freedom, too!?" Yosuke spoke harshly, feeling bile rise in his throat as he looked at the face of the man responsible for the death of Saki Konishi.
Chie shook as adrenaline surged through her. "It's your fault that Nanako-chan's...!" she started, but couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, as if it might confirm the reality of the situation. Namatame mumbled weakly, but was interrupted as the large T.V in his room glared to life. The image of Namatame appeared on the screen, the world of Nanako's Heaven in the background.
"I failed to save her! It's because you got in my way!" said the image. Souji thought quickly as the rest of the team gawked. This had to be Namatame's Shadow, but hadn't they beaten him before?
Souji shook his head, thinking. "No, we never saw Namatame's shadow. We beat Namatame himself. So his shadow must still exist in that world."
Shadow-Namatame spoke up as Souji finished his thought. "I failed. But it wasn't my fault. And the law can't touch me anyway..." It cackled as the team stared dumbstruck at it.
"Is that what Namatame's really thinking!? Then...he wasn't deranged or anything...He knew what he was doing...!" Chie spoke softly, and Yosuke shook his head angrily. "To hell with the law...I won't ever forgive what you did...!" he said, and advanced on Namatame.
Namatame scrambled away from the brunette. "Th-This...Please...Stop..." he stammered, deranged fear in his eyes.
Kanji snorted. "Huh? Stop what? We ain't even done anything yet...Or do you want us to do something...? Something fitting for a bastard like you!"
Rise's eyes widened at Kanji's words, and she stammered his name out in an attempt to draw his attention away from Namatame. The Shadow on-screen laughed. "Do whatever you want. You hate me because the child died, don't you? I don't care either way. Living or dying makes no difference to me. But you...You're different." It chuckled before continuing. "You can't do such a thing. You wouldn't dare, right? I'll continue "saving" people...It's my mission...!" The T.V shut off, and the group all turned to face each other.
"My god..." Naoto muttered, looking at Namatame with hatred.
"He wants us to stop. What should we do?" Yosuke asked quietly. Chie looked at her boyfriend in alarm. "Wh-What do you mean...?" she asked.
Kanji answered her. "We can't let this bastard do whatever he pleases" said the punk-tailor, popping his knuckles.
Now it was Yukiko's turn to stare at the boys. "Still...What are you going to do?"
Yosuke shook his head in response. "No way I'm gonna walk out of here doing nothing..."
Chie looked mortified. "I-I understand, but..."
Naoto walked over to the T.V, looking it up and down. "This must be a luxury suite. Most hospital wards don't have such large televisions...Why, with something like this in the room, this man could escape at any time...Although once he enters...he may find there's no way out." She spoke calmly and quietly, and Souji could sense the malice in her voice.
"Wait a second! Y-You don't mean...Are you...serious...?" Rise stammered. The group broke out into argument, Yosuke and Kanji insisting that something be done while Chie, Yukiko, and Rise insisted that their intentions were wrong. Yosuke hushed them all, and looked towards the twins. Yu stood at the back of the group, face contorted in anger, while Souji stood next to the T.V, eyes closed as he sorted his thoughts. Something was wrong with this situation, and it wasn't just the decisions that were being made. What Namatame's shadow had said didn't add up quite right. Souji couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Namatame began crawling slowly towards the door while the teens were distracted.
"If any of you want no part in this, just leave the room. I'm not gonna force you to stay. As for me, nothing could make me forgive this bastard...But before we do this, I want to hear what you two think." Yosuke addressed the twins in turn.
Yu didn't respond immediately, so Souji spoke up instead. "Wait a second…Something's off about this whole thing." Yosuke's gaze turned fiery as he looked at Souji. "What do you mean, 'something's off'? Namatame's Shadow just told us what he was really thinking!"
Souji shook his head. "Did you forget already? The Shadows don't necessarily reveal the truth of a person, they only show that persons darkest thoughts. Do you really think Chie would have used Yukiko as a stool, like her shadow said she would? Or how about Rise? What makes you think she'd strip? Think for a moment, Yosuke!"
The brunette looked stunned for a moment, but waved away Souji's explanation. "Look, that's true for their cases, but we know Namatame's behind all of this! He thought he was 'saving' people by throwing them into the T.V! What more proof do you need!?" Yosuke's voice began getting louder and louder as he spoke.
Souji looked hard at the teen. "I need to know Namatame's true feelings! I'm not going to act on a damned whim because I heard one side of the story from the most untrustworthy source in existence!"
Yosuke shook his head. "Who gives a damn about that bastards feelings!? He's the one who killed Saki-senpai and that announcer!"
Souji crossed his arms. "We're missing something, Yosuke! I'm not condemning a man to death unless I know for certain he's guilty!"
Yu finally spoke up, voice quiet. "He's responsible for Nanako's death, Souji. We know that's true." Yu looked at his brother, silently daring him to respond. Souji returned the glare, searching for an answer that might stall whatever was going on.
"Are you gonna let him get away with that?! To hell with your 'something's missing'! Are we doing this or not? That's all I give a damn about right now!" Yosuke said harshly, causing Souji's attention to divert momentarily to him.
"To hell with all this crap." Yu said, and stalked over to Namatame, who had made it halfway to the door at this point.
The silverette grabbed Namatame's hospital gown at the neck, clenching a fistful of the material as he began to drag the man towards the T.V. Chie made as if to stop him, but Yosuke blocked her path, shaking his head. Kanji moved in front of Yukiko and Rise, preventing them from interfering as well. Yu was two feet from the T.V when movement flashed in front of him.
Souji's fist connected hard with his brother's face, and Yu reeled backwards from the impact, letting go of Namatame, who scampered back to the corner he'd been in previously. Yu steadied himself, and launched himself at his twin, rage blinding him. A wild fist lashed out at Souji, but the battle Souji'd had with Morpheus had served to heighten his awareness, and the youth sidestepped out of Yu's path. Grabbing his brother by the collar, Souji pulled Yu down hard as he brought his knee up into Yu's stomach. Without waiting for the other boy to recover, Souji pressed forward, grabbing Yu by the hair and wrenching him upright. Souji hooked his leg behind Yu's, and pushed hard, throwing his entire weight behind the action. Yu tripped backwards, falling onto the soft hospital bed that Souji had thrown him towards.
"Everyone, calm the hell down!" Souji yelled, looking around at the dazed faces of his friends. Yu groaned as he sat up, tenderly feeling his nose to check for a break. Souji glared at his brother. "If you throw Namatame in there, you'll be no better than him. I want to see him brought to justice just as much as you do, but killing him isn't the answer!" The group took a deep breath as Souji spoke, seeing the truth behind his words. Yosuke still grumbled occasionally, but a stern ribbing from Chie shut him up.
Naoto spoke up for the first time in a while after calming down. "You're right...We should calm down and think rationally about this. I realize now that we've heard almost nothing from Namatame's perspective. There's no denying that this man brought great harm to Nanako-chan...But other than that point, the rest comes from our assumptions based on watching the Midnight Channel a moment ago. I won't deny that we were blinded by the heat of the moment...trying to impute all responsibility to him rashly." Kanji and Yosuke spoke against her, but a deadly look from Souji made them take a step back.
"Namatame's in no condition to talk right now" said the silverette, looking at the stricken delivery-man. Namatame was curled up in the fetal position, eyes wide in terror as he muttered absolute gibberish. Souji moved to Naoto's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Despite what the detective had said, her fists were still clenched tightly, and the look she'd thrown at Namatame didn't serve to convince Souji that she had truly believed what she'd said. "Look, we'll come back tomorrow and see if he's capable of talking, alright? For now, we should leave."
Yosuke shook his head, but agreed anyways. "Fine, but if he ever does this again, nothing's going to stop me. I'll do anything…anywhere…anytime."
Souji nodded. "If that happens, I'll be right beside you. I feel the same way. But we aren't getting anywhere right now."
The team breathed a collective sigh, some in relief, others in frustration. Adachi came running in, ordering them to leave the room, and the team filed out of the room and stood outside, discussing what they'd just finished. Adachi came back out to hush them when a nurse came running up. "There you are! Please, come with me immediately!" The team left at the urging of Adachi, and followed the nurse to Nanako's room. The doctor stood by her bedside, adjusting the girls' sheets, but turned as the group entered.
Yu fell to his knees as he saw Nanako's chest rise and fall steadily, and Souji leaned hard on Naoto's shoulder, relief spreading over his face. The doctor was informing the group of Nanako' miraculous recovery, causing Kanji to whoop with elation while the girls began crying. "Miracles really do happen…" Naoto murmured, helping Souji stand a little taller as she did so.
Yosuke looked around, his smile fading as he did so. "Hey…Where's Teddie? I figured he wouldn't leave Nanako's side." The group began looking around as well, noting the bear-boy's absence. Yosuke resolved to call him once they left the hospital, figuring he'd simply wandered off. The group came together around Nanako's bed, hearts feeling light as they watched the young girl breathe, although they felt a twinge as they saw the strain she was under as she fought to stay alive. Slowly, quietly, the group made their way out of the hospital and onto Okina's streets. The buses would be running back to Inaba again soon, and most of the group left towards the nearest bus stop.
Souji and Yu stayed behind, standing at the entrance of the hospital. Yu looked at his brother, noting the change in his demeanour all of a sudden. The other boy was staring up into the night sky, watching the falling of the first snow of the year. The soft pat of footsteps made Yu turn towards the street, and he saw Yosuke walking back towards them, saying nothing as he approached the twins.
Souji sighed, clenching and unclenching his fists as he began to speak. "Did I…Did I do the right thing back there, stopping you guys?" he asked, blinking as snow fell onto his face. Yosuke said nothing, choosing instead to squeeze his best friends shoulder. Yu nodded firmly, and walked over to stand on his brothers other side, sensing his brother's need for some support. Wherever he'd gone, it had changed him, and Yu could only guess what had happened to make his brother look as weak as he did now. The three teens stared silently into the night, watching the snow fall softly until they heard Chie call for them, letting them know that the bus would be arriving soon.