When the dismissal bell rang, a wave of excitement rushed through my chest. I was one of the first out of my classroom as soon as the door slid open, and I quickly exchanged some things at my locker before heading out of the building. I high-tailed it down the road, ignoring the timid expressions given to me by the students I passed. My mind was on the case, and it excited me to become involved with it once again.

I arrived at Junes not too long after, heading to the food court, where I expected them to meet, since I had observed that they had often met there before. To my surprise, I was not the first one there, as I had been expecting. I cocked my head when I saw a bright ball of red and blue already pacing beside one of the tables.

"Excuse me," I spoke up as I approached the little mascot bear, who turned and looked at me when he heard my voice. "Teddie, was it? Is this where the others are meeting?"

Teddie seemed confused. "Hmm? They're meeting here?"

"You weren't informed?" I questioned. "They told me that the rest would meet here, as well..."

"Oh!" Teddie said cheerfully. "They must have agreed to come here after that school place. I don't go with them, so Yosuke just tells me after."

"You don't attend Yasogami?" I asked, "Huh, that's strange. I assumed that you must have, although that does explain why I have yet to see you there."

"I mean, I would love to go to school with everyone else," Teddie lamented, "But Yosuke says I need to stay here and not get into any trouble." He growled to himself, and then smiled. "But I don't mind. I love my job! Every day's great at your Junes!"

I tilted down the brim of my hat. "I see."

"But anyways, hi, Nao-chan! You're looking bear-y good today, and beautiful as always!" He beamed. "I'm guessing you're feeling much better!"

"I am," I blushed, taking a step backward. "M-Much obliged."

Teddie's ears perked up when he heard approaching footsteps, and he looked behind me. "Oh, here they come!"

I turned around to see the rest of the group making their way through the gates of the food court. Smiling, I tipped my hat to them when they saw me.

Chie-san and Rise-san ran ahead of the rest. "You're here!" Chie squealed in excitement.

"I made my way over as quickly as I could," I said. "I made sure not to waste any time."

"Let's get started, then," Yu said in his usual, warm voice. He smiled down at me as well as the others reached the table.

"Very well," I said, sitting down in a chair beside Teddie, who turned to face the table. The others took a seat as well, except for Rise and Kanji, who remained standing.

"First of all," Yukiko said, "Do you remember anything from the time you were kidnapped?"

I nodded. "Yes, and I have spent quite some time thinking about it and preparing to explain it to you." I stared forward at the table, recalling how it all began. "First, I heard the doorbell ring. But when I opened the front door, I saw no one there… Just as alarm bells sounded in my mind, someone grabbed me roughly from behind and covered my mouth with something. Immediately afterward, I was put into something like a sack and most likely carried on the culprit's shoulder."

"Wow," Rise said, "How could you remember all that?"

"The culprit seems to have used a chemical to incapacitate me," I said, "But luckily I wasn't completely unconscious. I had been expecting a trick along those lines, so I was somewhat prepared. And of course, I was desperate to gather as much information as I could."

"No wonder you're an ace detective," Teddie said.

"That ain't something to be proud of," Kanji said sternly, "You're too damn calm about all this."

I ignored his comment and continued with my explanation. "Judging by their actions and body type, I'd say the culprit is definitely a man. I heard no conversations or voices, so I believe he is acting alone. It's after that that things get murky… I felt a single impact, which I assume is when I was thrown inside the TV… But the time from kidnapping to that point seemed too short… It was a matter of minutes."

"So you were immediately thrown inside the TV after being kidnapped..." Chie said, thinking deeply. "Oh! Could there have been a TV on the side of the road!?"

I took what she said into account, but coudln't confirm nor deny it, seeing as at that point I had been falling unconscious because of the chemical the culprit had used. "Regrettably, my memory from there on is a blur..."

"I see..." Yosuke said, "But the killer came right up to the door and rang the bell? That's just crazy."

"I finally understand why you all testified that you couldn't recall much of what happened. Such a bizarre experience, with mental and physical fatigue on top of it… It's only natural to be confused. And going by the surrounding circumstances, my kidnapping and everyone else's were near identical… There is no question that the culprit is the same in each case."

"So..." Chie said, "That Mitsuo boy, who said he killed King Moron..."

"Everything makes sense now," I said. "I can't say for sure until I gather more concrete evidence… But Mitsuo Kubo's only victim was Mr. Morooka. It was a copycat killing that mimicked the culprit's method."

"No wonder King Moron's death broke the pattern in so many ways," said Yosuke.

"The question remains, though," I continued, "As to how Kubo learned of that world."

Chie looked up with wide eyes. "That's it! That's what was bothering me! Mitsuo could enter the TV, right? Then why didn't he kill King Moron that way?"

I thought about this for a moment. "I believe he didn't understand the other world as well as the true culprit," I said. "Even though I can now enter it myself, it wouldn't occur to me to use it for murder… And remember, the previous corpses left no sign that their deaths had anything to do with the other world. After Kubo became wanted, leaving him with nowhere to run, he probably thought for the first time… 'What if I put my entire body into the TV?' The bizarre condition of the corpses that caused such commotion is probably because they died on the other side… It's a simpler explanation than figuring out why the killer would risk disposing of the bodies in such a way. Which means their inexplicable condition of being hung on a foggy day wasn't due to the culprit making a statement… Much of our speculation could be tested if we could ask Kubo in person. However…" I looked down and sighed to myself in disgrace. "I've unfortunately been taken off the investigation. And I highly doubt that the police will believe any of this…"

"They wouldn't admit that it wasn't Mitsuo in the first place..." Rise said, "Once you've said something on TV, it's not easy to admit you were wrong." I assumed she was speaking from experience.

I thought a bit more about the discontinuation of my part in the case. " I believe the primary cause of my dismissal was because I raised that possibility to them. The police won't readily concede that they made false charges… All the more so if the accused is a juvenile. In fact, the overwhelming sentiment within the police force is to end this case with his arrest."

"Even if it's possible there's another killer!?" Chie exclaimed.

"Those dickheads..." Kanji growled, "I had a feeling that would be the case. Not that I trusted 'em in the first place."

"But uh, Naoto…" Yosuke spoke up, "If you were that calm when it happened to you, couldn't you have, you know… I'm not saying you shoulda caught him, but isn't it kinda sad for an ace detective to go down that easily…?"

I tensed up a bit inside. Thinking back on it, I would have wished to have somehow resisted my kidnapping and catch the killer in the act... However, strength had escaped me yet again at the time... "U-Um…" I swallowed, feeling my face growing hot and worried that they would be disappointed in me. "Um… To tell you the truth, I was really scared…" I looked around at them, hoping to God that they weren't disappointed at that failure. "I-I'm sorry…"

"It can't be helped," Yukiko said. I looked up at her, surprised at her reaction. She turned to the rest of the group. "None of us could resist the culprit, either. Don't forget, Naoto-kun is younger than us, and she's a girl."

Girl...? Of course... Again, my sex is brought up as an excuse...

"Oh, yeah, that's true," Yosuke said, "I keep forgetting when I see her talking like this." He turned to me and grinned. "You know, Naoto…"

"What is it?" I asked uneasily.

"You got balls, for a girl."

My face turned bright red and my eyes widened. His comment had caught me completely off-guard, and I was unsure of how to react. I decided to change the subject immediately, in case anyone else reiterated his words. "R-Regardless," I gulped, "I have no doubt that the culprit will continue with his attacks." I tried to calm down as much as possible. "We can only watch and wait for him to make the next move… But this is no longer a mere job, or someone else's affair." I assumed that now was the time that I should make my request. Thinking in the back of my mind about what Grampa had told me about my mother, I spoke up about what I desired most. "I want to know the truth of why we were targeted. Please allow me to join your effort." Once the words had escaped my mouth, there was no taking them back. I could only anticipate what they would say.

The others all looked to Yu, who looked straight at me, mulling it over. Then, he smiled, nodding. "Of course."

At these words, I couldn't help but smile. I rejoiced within myself, realizing in disbelief that I was once again a part of this case, official or not. I felt as if I couldn't have been more enthralled. "Thank you very much," I said, nodding to Yu and grinning, "I'll do my best, Leader."

Everyone else smiled back at me, as well. For the first time in a while, I actually felt somewhat accepted. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that I was with kids generally in my own age group. Usually, only adults could stand to have me around. Teddie looked up at me. "Since I'm the King of Geniuses, I knew it would work out this way…" From behind his back, he pulled out a pair of glasses similar to the ones the others wore within the TV world, which I had forgotten about up until this point. "Ta-da! Nao-chan's glasses!" I assumed that these could help me to see through the strange fog in that world, as well. They had round, clear lenses, and their rims were a soft, light shade of blue. I was honored that a pair would be fabricated for me, even before I was officially accepted into the group.

"Th-Thank you..." I said, blushing in gratitude and taking the glasses from him, proceeding to put them away in one of my pockets. I had come to develop an admiration for Teddie, especially after what Yosuke-san and Rise-san had told me during lunch. He was most intriguing, even more so with the way that his anatomy seemed to work. I also admired the amount of inner strength he seemed to possess. "They told me about you, Teddie. I can sympathize with your drive to find yourself. If I may help in any way, let me know."

"Wow..." Teddie said, smiling cheerfully and nuzzling up to me, "What a nice girl!"

"Just no 'scoring' business this time, please?" Yosuke said, sounding annoyed.

"What!?" Teddie exclaimed, "I'll have you know that I intend to treat Nao-chan with even more respect, because she's a girl and a cool, hard-boiled detective!"

I lowered the brim of my hat, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Just so you know, I have no interest in such flirtatious matters."

"Awwwww! Why not!?" Teddie whined.

The rest of the group laughed, and after hesitating a bit, I giggled as well, looking out to the horizon, which was painted gold by the distant autumn leaves, bedecked with the light of the early evening sun.