Late Happy Valentine's Day/Single Awareness Day! I'd like to thank everyone who made it this far, thank you very much. I'd also like to thank Yami no Majou077 for following/favoriting. Also to MimiZ. I almost forgot about Persona 2 until you mentioned it. Yeah, Q is expensive, but I actually tried using Arena for reference on some of what I write here.
"Who knew you had it in you, Ted." Yosuke slapped Teddies back, making the bear lose balance. "I never knew you had a brain." This irked the Teddie. He was about to make Yosuke's ear fall off when Aigis and Labrys walked to where they were.
Aigis spoke first. "That was amazing, Teddie!" Teddie was on cloud nine. He turned to Labrys expecting her to compliment him as well. "Ya cheated, didn't ya?"
"Labby-chan, why!?" Teddie cried at the corner muttering things like, "I worked really hard to make you notice that I can be beary smart too."
"I think Teddie is broken, sister." Aigis looked at the bear with concern.
"Nah, he's fine," Labrys nonchalantly said.
The door opened revealing Yu and Ken. "You're back," Yu said to Yosuke who gave him a lazy wave in return. "You guys went here together?" Yu nodded and said "I needed to return something I borrowed."
"Don't tell me..." Everyone was surprised when Teddie suddenly spoke. "Ken-Ken likes those magazines with pretty ladies, as well?!" Ken looked confused. He tried to process what Teddie said but Yu distracted him by telling Teddie that he just returned the umbrella Minako lent him.
"So, what were you guys talking about before we came?" Yu gave Teddie a curious look as he waited for someone to answer.
He didn't wait too long because Aigis answered for everyone. "Teddie passed the entrance exam for Gekkoukan High School successfully."
Yu looked at the bear stunned. Teddie smirked at his reaction. "That's impossible..."
"Not you too, sensei!"
Ken chuckled. "Congratulations Teddie. Your hard work paid off." Teddie ran to Ken and placed his arms on the boy's shoulders. "At least someone acknowledges my hard work. From now on Ken-Ken is my only friend." The others just gave him a deadpan look and remained silent. "Say something!"
"I thought the meeting was cancelled," Ken said, breaking the silence. He received a message from Aigis, two days prior. "The meeting is cancelled," it said. He only found out that they have another meeting somewhere else when Yu came to the dorm.
"Yes, it was," Aigis said. "The meeting was cancelled because Mitsuru-san, Akihiko-san, Junpei-san, Yukari-san, and Fuuka-san have to go to the TV world to make sure that no one is trapped inside." Ken looked at her puzzled. Aigis continued. "They wanted to investigate the cause of the phenomenon so they can find an end to it as soon as possible."
"I see..." Ken digested the information in his mind. I should check it out later. First they could enter TVs in Port Island, now the Midnight Channel. What's next another full moon incident?
"So why are we here?" Yosuke asked. The door opened again, this time revealing Naoto. "I'm sorry I'm late. Please sit down, everyone." They all sat: Aigis, Labrys, and Teddie on the same couch. Opposite them Ken, Yu, and Yosuke. Naoto placed multiple files on the table before sitting on the recliner near Teddie and Yosuke.
"Minako Arisato. Date of birth April 1, 1993. According to this police report I found, she supposedly died on December 24, 2006 due to a severe concussion from a hit and run. Makoto Yuki was also a victim, but miraculously, he survived," Aigis' eyes widened slightly. "According to Yuki-san's hospital records, he had amnesia after the accident. A few days after the accident he became devastated. The doctors suspected that it must have been due to the shock from regaining some of his memories and Arisato's death.
"I checked Yuki-san's school profile just in case it might give us a clue of his relationship with Arisato-san. According to it, Yuki-san moved a lot. They believe that it was the cause of his apathetic nature and his preference for solitude. But then..."
"Then?" Yosuke said.
"Yuki-san started to actually interact with people normally during his first year in middle school. And according to this records, the sudden change of behavior was an influence of his seatmate, who is none other than Minako Arisato. But then he reverted back to his old self after she died."
"Why tell his story?" Labrys said, confused. "We ain't alive anymore."
"That's because there was another police report on the same hit and run incident on the exact same time and location. One where Arisato-san died. And the other," Naoto took one of the folders and spread the contents on the table, "where Yuki-san died.
"If you compare this file carefully with this one," she showed another file and handed it to Yosuke, "you can see that the only difference is who died and who survived."
"This is really strange," Teddie said as his scanned the documents. Ken felt a dull pain in his head but he ignored it.
"Arisato-san's hospital records look somehow identical to Yuki-san. Injuries, amnesia..."
"What about her school records?" Ken asked. "Are there any similarities there?"
"Yes, there is. There was a change in her personality. She was described to be very outgoing and altruistic, but was always alone. When Yuki-san 'died', she became more reserved and distant.
"Another similarity is there stay in Gekkoukan High, but I believe Mitsuru-san already told you that. Do all of you remember?" They all nodded. Her being a member of SEES and dying on the same day as Makoto, they remember it clearly even though most of them know very little of the blue-haired boy.
"They died on two different dates..." Yu was contemplating on the situation deeply. "This is really confusing."
"Why are you telling us this now?" Aigis was looking at Naoto with an unreadable expression. "We should wait for everyone to be here."
"I agree with you Aigis-san," Naoto replied. "Arisato-san maybe a very suspicious person and she seems to know a lot of what's happening, but I think it wouldn't be good for her emotional and mental state. I don't mean this the wrong way, but the seniors might be too emotionally attached to Yuki-san. They might not be able to control themselves and pressure the girl. Also, the fact that she's with two people that shouldn't be here adds up to that.
"Think of what they might do to her. They would surely harass her. Also, if you observe her closely during our encounter with her, there was always a look of hurt and deep sadness in her eyes... We need her. She' s might be the only key into solving this case. If she breaks before that, who knows what will happen."
"Understood." Aigis seemed to calm down. "...But what about me and Ken-san? We might just be like Mitsuru-san and the others."
"Because I trust that you won't do anything to her. I noticed how uneasy you looked when she was sent to the hospital with Mochizuki-san. The same goes for Ken-kun."
Ken jumped when the young detective suddenly turned to him. "Huh?"
"I trust that the two of you, and Teddie and Labrys will keep an eye on those three. And to make sure they won't do anything reckless."
"You're starting to sound like Mitchan, Nao-chan," Teddie intervened.
Naoto ignored him and waited for all of them to respond, properly.
"Understood."
"That is all," Naoto said. She looked tired. She has been searching and reading through files for days. The fact that some of Makoto Yuki's and Minako Arisato's files looked almost identical perplexed her so much. Why are their files like that? Should I dig deeper... Maybe I should investigate on Mochizuki-san and Aragaki-san too. The blue-haired woman let out a soft, weary sigh.
"I came to the Velvet Room before the Midnight channel appeared." They all turned to Yu. "Igor told me to beware of a full moon."
Aigis and Ken looked at each other. Their small exchange did not go unnoticed. "At least we have an idea when the next shadow will appear."
Ken walked back to the dorm, this time with Aigis, Labrys and Teddie; they were going to stay over the dorm from that day onwards. The four - though Teddie, unwillingly - decided to leave when Yosuke and Yu began planning ridiculous things like flying to the top of the tower using their persona. Teddie was about to join them but Naoto asked, with imploring eyes, Aigis, Ken, and Labrys to take the bear away. "I need to explain to them that they're plan would probably not work," was what Naoto said. "It would only worsen my headache if Teddie was there to come up with another ludicrous idea."
"So what's Mina-chan like, Ken?" Teddie asked.
Ken said what first came to his mind. "Well, she's really kind and upbeat. But she always keeps her problems to herself."
"How about the others?"
"Ryoji-san is almost like you. Shinjiro-san can be scary at times but he cares for Minako-san and Ryoji-san. Also, his cooking is amazing.".
"This would be fun!" Teddie grinned foolishly.
"We're here." When Ken opened the door he was greeted by the sight of a disheveled Minako, her hands raised in a very harmful manner, and Shinjiro, who had a bread knife in hand, standing over Ryoji who was squirming under their death glares. The four stared at them incredulously. Koromaru ran to them, but the scene before them made it hard to notice the albino dog.
Minako was the first to notice them. She tried to fix her hair, but it only got messier. She laughed nervously. "Uh... Welcome to Iwatodai dorm!"
Teddie smiled again. "I like it already."