Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, or most of the characters within this story as they belong to Atlus.

oOoOoOo

Veluti In Speculum

Chapter 10: Fractures

oOoOoOo

We're sorry. The number you have reached is no longer available. Please hang up and try again.

"Dammit…"

The numbers beeped as he dialed again.

Click!

We're sorry. The number you have reached is no longer available. Please hang up an—

"Dammit! She ain't pickin' up!" Kanji snapped, closing his phone and pocketing it.

Chie looked livid, "Of all the times she doesn't answer her phone! What the hell could she be doing!?" She closed her eyes, tapping her temple for a moment before nodding, "Let's just check the TV and make sure Nanako-chan's okay. Then we can go drag Naoto's ass over here."

"But isn't it weird? Naoto always answers her phone," Rise replied.

Yosuke crossed his arms, "Then what about the voice messages you had to leave yesterday?"

"… Fine. Teddie, let's go find Nanako-chan," Rise said. The red and blue bear nodded and together, they lead the way to the electronics department in Junes. After making sure the coast was clear, Teddie jumped into the TV. Rise followed after him while Yosuke and Yukiko helped Souji through the TV next. Chie and Kanji were on watch duty, but then stepped through once the others were gone.

Kanzeon appeared as Rise clasped her hands. The satellite persona lowered the scarlet visor over Rise's eyes and began scanning back and forth over the TV world. Teddie stood nearby, sniffing as well. It wouldn't take too long.

Souji looked down, frowning. "If only we knew ahead of time," he whispered, "Nanako wouldn't even be here… I saw Namatame around town and I never suspected anything…"

"Don't blame yourself, Souji," Yukiko sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Nanako-chan was on TV recently too… we probably should've suspected that it might happen and all watch over her. Instead, none of us noticed until she was already gone."

Souji balled his hand into a fist, but then slumped his head, nodding, "Right…"

"… This is strange," Rise whispered.

Teddie nodded, "Bear-y strange…"

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Kanji asked, staring at the two.

Rise lowered her hands and looked around, her eye brows furrowed. She was troubled, but they didn't expect her to say, "Nanako-chan isn't here and neither is Namatame. The TV world is exactly the same as we left it last month."

"B-But that's impossible! Are you sure Kanzeon isn't having trouble scanning through the fog?" Chie asked, alarmed.

Rise glowered, "Hey, when I have trouble, I have to get more information on the person. I'm sure we all know Nanako-chan pretty well so I should've found it by now."

"So… she just not here? T-Then where could she be?" Chie asked, frowning again, "She can't be anywhere except here, right?"

"… Wait a second. Don't you guys think its weird the delivery truck was still at Souji's house? If I was Namatame, I'd at least try getting away from the scene of the crime, but he didn't," Yosuke said, closing his eyes, "There has to be something we're missing. The TV was in the back, but… he couldn't have just popped in there, foreseeing he was going to be discovered… Hell, coming in here would be a last resort."

"Well, it sounds like you're trying to suggest they just… disappeared," Yukiko said, sounding skeptical.

Souji shook his head, "If she's not in here, I think we just better leave and go see Naoto. Maybe she could figure something out."

"Right. Let's go then," Kanji snorted. They all turned to the stack of small TVs and paused. Eyes turned on Souji who blinked and looked down at his still casted leg.

"… how's this gonna work?"

oOoOoOo

It took several tries before they could get out of the TV and quickly, they made their way over to Naoto's house. Chie still marveled at the size, looking around and she noticed how the garden was back to normal. It didn't even look like it had been trashed a few weeks ago, but that was beside the point now. Yukiko rang the doorbell and then waited. Slowly, the door opened and Yakushiji stood there, looking a little hot under the collar, "Oh, good day. How can I help you?"

"We wanted to speak with Naoto-kun. Is she home at the moment?" Yukiko asked. The others just waited around the front, listening somewhat detachedly for Yakushiji's reply.

Yukiko watched as Yakushiji's face fell, "I'm sorry. Shirogane-sama isn't present right now. She was called to the city on emergency business and won't be back until tomorrow."

"Oh… uhm, did she get a new phone number? We want to contact her if that's…"

"I'm afraid she didn't," Yakushiji said, shaking his head, "The criminal has been said to tap phone lines and she'd rather not have a phone with her on the case."

"Well that's dangerous… oh well. Thank you, Yakushiji-san," Yukiko replied, bowing. Yakushiji nodded, smiling falsely, and closed the door.

The others turned after the door closed. Rise frowned, "Well, she is a detective first so I guess it's not a surprise if another department needs her to help out suddenly."

"Bull shit. Yakushiji-san was lyin'," Kanji snapped, evidently pissed. "He was standin' weird and you could hear his voice waver."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Yosuke added. He placed a hand on his chin, rubbing his cheek, "But why? Think she's grounded?"

"Pft! N-Naoto-kun? Grounded? Yeah, right. You can't even make a sentence without sounding ridiculous if it's Naoto-kun we're talking about," Yukiko snickered.

"Replace Naoto with Yosuke and then it works," Chie said, laughing along with Yukiko. Yosuke scowled over at them, but then looked over at Rise and Teddie. They were laughing too, but Souji and Kanji were out. He knew Souji was thinking, but what the hell was Kanji doing?

"… Do you guys hear somethin'?" Kanji asked suddenly and all of them stopped, looking over at the towering teen. He walked forward, listening and disappeared around the corner, heading towards the gardens. The others exchanged looks, but then followed after him, rounding the corner towards the garden. Whatever it was, it apparently wasn't in the garden. He was still turned around, trying to find the source of the 'noise' he heard. "Up there…" he mumbled and looked up to the second floor.

At one of the windows was the familiar black form of Gouto pawing furiously at the window pane. Rise cocked her head, "Why is Gouto-kun pawing at that window?"

"Maybe he's locked in. Cats do that sometimes," Kanji replied.

"But why would…?" Yukiko started, but another voice cut her off.

"Is someone outside? Hello?"

"W-Who said that…!?" Yosuke asked, getting into a defensive position and looking around. A sharp, tapping noise responded and all eyes fell. Staring up at them through a grate of some kind was Naoto.

"If this pile wasn't unsteady enough…" she muttered, looking down for a second while the others gathered around.

"Naoto-kun, what are you doing in there?" Yukiko asked, kneeling down. "It looks like you're a prisoner or something," she added, shaking her head.

"Call it extreme house arrest…" Naoto sighed, "My grampa found me digging around for information in the attic yesterday and he wasn't particularly pleased when I told him why." She shook her head, "Not only that, but he took Gouto and my cell phone away last night. You were trying to call me Chie-senpai. Did something happen?"

"Nanako-chan was… taken last night," Chie explained. Naoto was about to speak, but Chie raised a hand, "That's not it. The person who took her was Namatame, that guy having the affair with that Yamano lady."

"Did you find any clues? How about checking the TV today?"

"He was driving a delivery truck with a TV stashed in the back. It's registered to him and… well, it was kinda still in front of Senpai's house," Rise said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "And we checked inside the TV today; nothing. There wasn't a new dungeon and I couldn't sense Nanako-chan at all."

"I-It's like Nana-chan and that guy disappeared," Teddie said, frowning, "Y-You have to know what happened, Nao-chan! Where could they be? Nana-chan must be so scared…"

"… I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine at the moment. I don't have the faintest idea where they could be," Naoto whispered, gazing away. She shook her head, "I find my father's journal and then this happens… nothing makes any sense anymore…"

"Find anything out 'bout your parents in his journal?" Kanji asked.

Naoto nodded, "Quite… I found out my parents had an arranged marriage."

"Oh, ouch… how did that work out?" Yosuke wondered out loud.

She shook her head, "I haven't read yet… Everyone, the only time I'm being allowed out of here is for school. You'll have to find out what's happening and I suggest being inconspicuous if you must see me." She closed her eyes, "I have a feeling that my grampa will have escorts at school the moment the bell rings."

"Why did he do this? This is a little overboard," Souji commented.

"That I don't know either…" she trailed and looked back for a moment, "Someone's coming. Get out of here and start looking for clues… the last thing I need is any of you getting in trouble."

He was about to say more, but a knocking at the far door in the basement alerted him. He nodded and then looked at the others, "Let's go. We'll be back, Naoto."

They didn't get a reply. She was already gone.

oOoOoOo

Souji's cell phone was ringing non-stop as they walked around Inaba, looking for clues. Finally, he pulled it out, looking at the caller ID. Why would Adachi be calling him? Maybe they found out something about Nanako's disappearance? He shrugged and opened it, raising it to his ear, "Souji speaking."

"A-ah! S-Souji! Your uncle!"

"… What do you mean my uncle? Did something happen? Is he okay?"

He stopped walking and the others paused, looking back at the mention of his uncle.

"O-okay… it was like this. I was going to get him coffee like always and then I went back to the office. I don't know how, but… he's gone."

Souji's eyes widened for a split second, but then narrowed, "Adachi, he could've just stepped outside or some--"

"No! I checked with everyone in the station to see if he walked by and nothing! I'm heading towards the shopping districts to see if he somehow slipped out… Oh wait, I see you!"

Souji blinked and lowered the phone, raising his eyes up. Waving frantically a few blocks away and running towards them was Adachi. His fingers got tangled as he pocketed his cell phone, but then he was full out running towards them. Kanji scowled, "The hell's he doing here?"

"My uncle 'disappeared' so he's checking the district," Souji replied, "Guess it won't hurt if he helps us…"

He trailed as Teddie yelped and Rise gasped, "Oh my God!"

"AHHH!"

Adachi was yelling in pain and the sky seemed to ripple around him. Everyone stared, horrified because, the moment they blinked, Adachi was gone. Silence rang for a moment until Souji raised his phone and hit re-dial.

We're sorry. The number you have reached is no longer available. Please hang up and try again.

He tried again… and again, but the message played over and over for the Investigation Team to hear.

We're sorry. The number you have reached is no longer available. Please hang up and try again.

"W-W-Where… did he…?" Yosuke couldn't even get the whole question out, but it was understandable. Hell, it wasn't every day that someone just… disappeared into thin air; right for everyone to see except… Around them, shoppers continued to hustle about like nothing happened, shop keepers swept their store steps and organized their merchandise, children continued to walk and chat and laugh…

What the hell was going on?

oOoOoOo

Me: Bed time again… Sleep calling… review please.