Well, here we are at chapter 10. I thought we'd never reach this point, but finally we've arrived. These next few story beats will be nothing short of a wild ride. Thank you all for accompanying us.
The Amagi Obsession
Chapter 10: Pressure
It was evening in Inaba. The small country town was once again covered in an eerie fog and the paranoia associated with it had returned. The streets were relatively empty with only streetlamps to illuminate the darkness. Few shops remained open at this hour, but the people brave enough to trek the streets at night were nestled there, eating, and drinking amongst themselves.
Four blocks of Inaba had been receiving much traffic this evening. Red and blue lights cut through the fog like a knife. The Inaba police department was out in full force searching for their missing girl, Chie Satonaka. Tomorrow would mark the fourteenth day of her disappearance. Police were growing desperate and more aggressive in their search. Most of Inaba's residents did their best to stay out of their way. However, that didn't stop the police from knocking on every door and conducting on the spot searches.
This directive had come down directly from Dojima himself.
Nestled in between the four blocks was the Amagi Inn. Despite the rising tension within Inaba, the inn maintained its position as a popular tourist attraction. Rarely were its hospitable doors ever closed to the public. Outside guests continued to party, aloof to the pressure of their surroundings, nor to the crack forming the inn's very foundation.
Within one heiress' room, the very crack began to splinter and spread.
Beep, beep, beep.
A flash shone through the dark room, illuminating everything in sight. From its depths a hand emerged, it grasped desperately until it found the edges of a screen. A grunt followed by another arm breeching the surface. From the ripples of the TV screen emerged Yukiko Amagi. Her black hair came down to the floor first, her entire body came shortly after. Had a bystander been watching, the scene would have been reminiscent of a Japanese horror flick.
Yukiko hit the ground with a thud and gasped for air. She had been in the shadow world for hours searching for Teddie to no avail and had finally reached her limit before decided to leave. The thick fog had left the air humid. She tried to roll over, but her hips were sore and legs heavy. Now that the adrenaline was beginning to wane, exhaustion hit her like a freight train.
She hadn't used that many spells since the Investigation Team went to confront Adachi.
Being spent was an understatement.
The sound of buzzing reverberated throughout the room.
Yukiko glanced up. Her TV still had a static screen. The static was almost hypnotic, it was almost as if she could see a faint outline of herself. As if the Midnight Channel was there luring her in. She quickly averted her eyes. They hadn't seen the Midnight Channel since defeating Adachi. Even still, the faint glowering of the screen left an uneasy pit in her stomach.
If the TV world is influenced by collective cognitive thought, who's to say Chie's kidnapping wouldn't lead to its return?
The Amagi Inn was in the crosshairs of the public once more. Mayumi Yamano had been the first victim of the TV world and was a guest of the Amagi Inn. Now Chie Satonaka could quite possibly be its last.
Was karma finally coming full circle for her family?
Yukiko banished the thought and mustered the strength to stand up. She turned off her TV and began to change out of her school clothes. The seifuku wasn't in good condition. It had been damaged from her fight with Teddie and couldn't be used anymore. Yukiko didn't like parting with her uniforms as they were very expensive and tailor made specifically for her, but there was no way she could explain the damage to her mother. And if Mrs. Amagi found out, she would be livid.
Begrudgingly she tossed it into the trash bin.
"Dammit! Teddie got away." She cursed through grit teeth. Yukiko bit her nail and stared at her mirror. "What do I do now? If he gets out of the shadow world, then that's it… "
Yukiko's heart started to pound. If Teddie successfully found a way out, the first person he would go to would be Yosuke. Shortly after, Yu would be the next to find out. The thought of being confronted by the subject of her affection made her heart ache. After that Naoto would have her in cuffs with a smug grin on her face.
There would be no getting out of that.
"I can't let that happen."
A knock at the door sounded followed by a familiar, "Yukiko? Yukiko, are you back?" It was her mother. The noise from the guests was so boisterous she could hardly hear her voice.
"Not now, I'm busy with homework!" She replied. Yukiko was in no mood to entertain any guests tonight. She just needed one night to herself to get things figured out with zero distractions.
"What was that I couldn't hear you?" Her mother asked whilst sliding her door open.
"I said not now!" Yukiko snapped at her mother.
Mrs. Amagi flinched at her tone and was caught off guard at the vitriol in her voice. Yukiko wasn't one to normally yell at her parents, so she was startled by the outburst. Still, she continued. "It won't take long. We could just use your help on the floor is all. We have a huge party tonight and Ami called out sick again so-"
Yukiko cut her off. "Ugh! You always do this. I tell you I'm busy, but time and time again you ignore me. Yukiko the maids need you, Yukiko could you help in the kitchen, Yukiko could you see to the guests!" She mocked her mother. "I've had enough! Sometimes, I just need to be by myself! I have a lot going on too, you know! Much more than these dumb guests and this stupid inn!"
Mrs. Amagi stood in front of her daughter stunned to speak.
"You know what? I don't even know if I want to run this inn." Yukiko continued her tirade. "Maybe it hasn't occurred to you that your daughter can do something better with her life than simply fall in line like you did! I'm sorry your parents asked you to inherit the inn, but I refuse to be dealt the same. I've got top marks at school, a great social life, and could get a recommendation from the principal if I wanted. Any college would take me! I do everything that you ask of me, but still, you shove your expectations down my throat. Hell, Chie just disappeared, and have I gotten a break? School, work, looking for her, being questioned by the police, it never stops..."
Yukiko stood a few feet from Mrs. Amagi, her arms shaking. Her hair was frazzled, and eyes dilated. Her fingers curled into her hands so tightly they might draw blood.
"Look… I don't ask for much." She said with a huff, finally regaining her composure. "All I need is one night."
There was a long pause between them. Her mother's expression had gone from stunned to stern to finally softening. Mrs. Amagi sighed and finally managed to speak.
"Put some clothes on before you catch a cold."
With that she closed the door leaving Yukiko alone in her room.
Yukiko stood alone before looking down at her body. Her mother was right. Nothing, but bear skin. She hadn't bothered to replace her attire. Taking a deep breath, the girl decided to get into her night gown. As she dressed herself a chill passed down her spine. Never had she spoken to her mother like that. Stress was something she had always been able to manage well, but it felt as though the top of the kettle was starting to boil over.
The pressure was becoming too much to handle.
This was a problem of her own creating and she had to solve it somehow.
Moving back over to her bed she stared out the window.
The police would be out there all night again. Dazzling blue and red lights shone throughout the fog. Focusing on the rotating pattern began to ease the mind and make her sleepy.
"Tomorrow is Sunday," she thought. Their one day off from school. She had to figure out a way to end things for good. Or it would be too late to come back. Slowly her eyes began to drift, and she fell into a deep slumber.
…
Morning came all to quickly for the Amagi heiress. Birds chirped outside, sunshine crept through the blinds, and the familiar footsteps of the morning staff could be heard. It didn't take long for Yukiko to wake up. She had always been an early bird even on the weekends. For once she was surprised. Neither her mother nor any of the maids had come to wake her up.
It was rare that she could experience a Sunday morning without being bothered to help prep breakfast or start the laundry. She laid in bed and relished the peace it provided her for a short time.
After last night she assumed her mother was giving her the benefit of the doubt. Mrs. Amagi had been very much in her right to strike Yukiko if she so chose. Still the Amagi matriarch was above that. "I screwed up." She murmured rubbing her forehead.
"When everything is over, I'll apologize to her."
Yukiko wasted no time getting to the hot spring and washing off. The unusualness of not being bothered continued. The morning staff greeted her, but none dared ask her to do any tasks. She was grateful. It was nice to have some peace.
"Perhaps this could become a trend." She thought.
Thankfully within the inn there were also no police in sight. This calmed her mind a bit. While she still saw squad cars outside the window, not having them within her general vicinity was a plus.
After completing her morning ritual Yukiko returned to her room. She got dressed and brushed her hair. Regrettably her favorite red winter coat was the victim of her fight with Teddie. The red leather linings were scorched. She frowned at the sight of it. "Maybe Kanji's mom can take a look at it." She mused.
Last night was a blur but she remembered being a hot mess. The thought of her mother staring at her while she went on a tirade whilst naked, wasn't something she wanted to remember.
"If Chie found out something like that had happened her teasing would be endless."
Yukiko paused at the thought.
After everything she had said, everything she had done. Why now was she still thinking fondly of her friend? She had doubts yesterday about attacking Teddie, but she still went through with it anyway. It was too late to regret anything. Yukiko was a lot of things, but she refused to be a half measure. She banished the thought and then checked the time. "10 AM. I shouldn't waste any more time. I need to get down to the river and…" Yukiko looked around the room.
"It's gone!" She squeaked. Yukiko hopped up from her vanity desk and glanced wildly around the room. It was nowhere in sight. "The phone!?"
Yukiko looked under the covers, behind her dresser and, and under the bed.
Nothing. Her heart was beginning to pound hard.
"What if the maids came in and found it? What if the police did a search while I was bathing!?" Yukiko paced around her room running the scenarios in her brain. "What if I left it in the TV world and Teddie finds it?!"
While pacing in circles, her foot slammed against a trash bin spilling its contents all over the floor.
"Tch." Yukiko tsked in annoyance and reached down to clean the mess. Her hand stopped before her eyes fell on the burnt school uniform. There in sight was Chie's phone, sticking out of her skirt pocket like a sore thumb. She snatched it up and held it triumphantly.
"Thank goodness." She gasped in disbelief. The thought of losing the device had almost given her a mini heart attack. "I can't believe I was so stupid. If the police had found this, I don't know what I'd do." Yukiko wiped her forehead in relief. She could no longer afford to be careless. It was now or never.
"No more distractions." Yukiko said, placing the phone in her pocket and leaving her room. "I'm getting rid of this thing now."
The inside of the Amagi Inn had been very quiet in the morning, despite its hectic evening guests. Yukiko had guessed they must have checked out in the morning given the behavior of the staff. The staff was very lax this morning and Yukiko felt slightly envious. Despite having a fresh night's rest, she still felt slightly restless. While the bath and self-pampering had been nice, discovering Chie's phone again reminded her of the avoidable truth.
She was in deep shit.
The scent of breakfast found its way around the halls and Yukiko was almost instinctively drawn towards the kitchen. However, she was a woman on a mission. Breakfast could wait until after the smoking gun was buried under the water. She made her way towards the front door only to be stopped.
"Yukiko." She heard her name called from behind.
Yukiko turned around to come face to face with her mother. Mrs. Amagi stood with her arms crossed and a concerned expression. "You're going out?" she asked, her eyes averting from her daughter's.
Yukiko caught note of that. It wasn't normal behavior for her mother, usually she was direct with her conversations and wasn't one for small talk.
"Yeah, for a bit. I wanted to go out for a walk." Yukiko lied instinctively. "With the police all over and Chie missing. I don't know… everything's just been so claustrophobic lately."
Mrs. Amagi nodded understandably. "Well, I won't hold you up. I just wanted to say that we never really had the chance to sit down and talk about Chie. Together I mean. I know how close you two are, and I know that with managing the inn I've been rather… neglectful of your needs lately."
"My needs?"
"Yes." Mrs. Amagi looked at her daughter with a firm expression and spoke. "I want you to know, that if you need someone to confide in. You can speak to me Yukiko. You're my only daughter and I love you."
Yukiko was stunned. She rubbed her arm. "I love you to mom…"
"And… we'll discuss the inn and your future later."
Mrs. Amagi left, leaving Yukiko alone in the lobby.
The conversation had caught the young woman off guard, but she felt something burning inside her chest. The pressure she felt before was still there. Even still, she would bear it. This lie, this obsession as Chie put it, had to be kept secret at all costs. Not only had she needed to protect Yu from the truth, but her mother as well.
…
Inaba was normally a quiet town, but the police were out in droves swarming Inaba in search of any bit of information they could find on Chie's phone. The four blocks near the Amagi Inn seemed almost impossible to escape unnoticed, but somehow Yukiko managed to finally slip through the cracks without being caught.
Yukiko was lucky the river was just about a 20-minute walk from her home.
When she arrived, there was no one to be seen. She was thankful for that fact. The river wasn't particularly a hot spot for the town, but every blue moon you could catch someone fishing or skipping rocks downstream.
The fog outside made it difficult to see.
She could barely see where the river began from where it ended. Yukiko made her way down to the edge of the water and bent down to touch it.
"Good" She commented. There was enough downward power that the river could carry Chie's phone downstream if it picked up. The last thing she wanted was for the phone to just be sitting at the bottom and just for the police to find it later. Or be unintentionally fished out after months.
All ties to this phone had to be severed.
Yukiko pulled the flip phone out of her pocket and held it for a moment. She fiddled around with it in her hands and took one last hard stare at it. The device was green and yellow, Chie's signature colors. The top was adorned with a plethora of smiley face stickers. It was irrevocably Chie's. Her personality was all over it. Twas also the last piece of physical evidence linking Yukiko to the crime. She had bittersweet feelings about this.
Yukiko squeezed the phone and walked backwards up the shoreline.
"I'm sorry Chie."
Yukiko sighed and with one step forward went to toss the phone.
"Hey there senpai! Out skipping rocks huh?"
Yukiko froze. Slowly she turned around only to see Kanji sitting feet apart for her with a smirk on his face.
"Ka- Kanji-kun!?" Yukiko stumbled on her words. "Wha- what are you doing here?"
"Did he see the phone? He's sitting down, he must have been here awhile. He had to have seen it!" Yukiko thought as she stared at him. She quickly turned around to compose herself, shoving the phone in her coat pocket in the process.
"Oh, you know, just bumming around." Kanji grumbled. He stood up and headed over to where Yukiko stood frozen in place. "Saw you walking around and thought I'd might come over and shoot the shit. Aside from the meetings I haven't really seen much of you these past few days."
"Wh- what do you mean?" Yukiko asked, taking a few steps back. Her boots touched the edge of the water. When Kanji towered over her like that, he was a lot more intimidating. The teen might have been younger, but he was still taller and more built than anyone she personally knew. He was a powerhouse. Compared to him, she was a twig.
Kanji tsked. "You know what the hell I mean."
Yukiko couldn't tell if he was irritated at her response or her demeanor. She tried to play her usual composed self. "I've been around as much as I've been able. You know my mother needs my help at the inn."
Kanji frowned at her response and shouted. "Chie-senpai's been missing for weeks, fuck the inn!"
Yukiko flinched at his sudden outburst.
Kanji took notice and rubbed his neck uncomfortably before murmuring. "Look, my bad. I jus' know you both are close is all. We haven't seen much of you these past few days. So… you know what I'm trying to say. We've all been worried about you."
The heiress was taken aback. Sincerity wasn't something she ever expected out of Kanji.
The tall freshman made his way over to the edge of the bank and picked up a large stone. He cocked his arm back and let loose. The stone skid across the surface of the water with ease. Yukiko stood by anxiously and watched him continue to skip the stones. Inside her head, trying to formulate what her next move would be.
"Naoto asked me to look after you." He muttered, his back still facing her.
"She did?" Yukiko asked. Alarm bells ringing once in her head.
"Yeah, says you've been acting weird recently." Kanji continued. "I told her everyone has their own way of dealing with crap, but Naoto, I don't know. She seemed serious. Like she wouldn't let it go, but I don't really like doing anything behind someone's back. Not really my style."
Yukiko balled her fists. The mere mention of the detective prince's name was enough to leave a sour taste in her mouth. She silently stared at Kanji's back as he continued speaking.
"I'm sure she's just as stressed as any of us… Anyways, I don't think you're being weird or nothing. All I'm saying is that if you need someone to talk to you can hit me up. I know I'm not as cool as Chie-senpai, but I'm a lot cooler to chill with than Teddie. He can be a bit much sometimes."
"Teddie?" Yukiko echoed him. "Did you just say Teddie?"
"Yeah..." Kanji replied tossing his final stone. He wiped the dirt his hands off and turned around to face her. "Weren't you and him hanging after class yesterday? Saw you both chilling in Junes."
"What the hell…" Alarm bells continued to ring in Yukiko's head. She looked at Kanji's face with a mix of emotions. Then it all started to connect. Naoto and Dojima's unannounced arrival at the inn leading all the way to Kanji being here at the river now. Kanji had just admitted that Naoto told him to watch her.
A large excess of thoughts shot through her mind.
"Kanji was in Junes yesterday under Naoto's orders!"
"She's always been suspicious of me and sent him to spy!"
"And then he saw me and Teddie together!"
"How much did he see?"
"And if he saw me, does that mean he told Naoto where I went after class?"
"Then there's Teddie…"
"If Yosuke tells everyone Teddie is missing, this can be bad."
"Very, very bad."
"Kanji and he could corroborate their stories and it would lead back to me…"
"Kanji he's… I can't have him following me."
"It's a risk, I can't take."
"Senpai you alright?" Kanji asked taking a closer look at her. "You're getting pale?"
"I'm fine." Yukiko replied through pursed lips. Her tongue was dry and body shaky. She composed herself. Chie's phone still felt like a lump of stone in her coat. The weight of it felt like she was sinking to the bottom of a river. Still, Yukiko refused to drown. Naoto might have been smart, but the Amagi heiress needed to outsmart her. If Kanji was one of her tools to try and catch her, then Yukiko would use her greatest asset, manipulation.
Yukiko stuck her hands in her pocket, it was now or never for the Amagi heiress. She had been driven into a corner.
"Me and Teddie were at Junes yesterday." Yukiko admitted. "The truth is Kanji… I was showing him this."
Yukiko held out her hand in front of him, exposing Chie's cellphone.
Kanji's eyes widened at the sight of it.
"Senpai, what the hell!" He shouted, grabbing it. "It is really. IT IS! This is Chie-senpai's phone. Where did you find this? Did she come back to Inaba?!"
Yukiko shook her head. She changed her expression to that of a distressed damsel. "It was left at the Inn yesterday with a note to come out alone. Kanji- I think the kidnapper is trying to extort the Amagi Inn for Chie's return. I don't know who this is, or why this is happening to us."
"Why didn't you say anything?!" He demanded an answer.
"Calm down Kanji." Yukiko said recoiling. She regretted this but stuck to her lie. "I didn't want to freak everyone out, so I went to Teddie yesterday to tell him everything."
"What the hell?" Kanji's anger suddenly turned to concern. "Come alone? Alone where?"
"The rice fields on the outskirts of town." Yukiko lied through her teeth. "The letter they left told me to come out this morning if I ever wanted to see her again. I went to Teddie first because I didn't want to freak out Narukami-kun. I know that Yosuke is close with him and that he'd relay the news without making him freak out. They're supposed to meet me there this morning."
"No one told me anything about this?" Kanji looked even angrier.
Yukiko was treading some thin ice. She needed to be careful with her words.
"We didn't want to risk anything happening Kanji. If something does, you, Rise, and Naoto are still here to go straight to the police. Teddie would tell you." Yukiko hoped that Kanji would buy her lie. He wasn't stupid, but he was simple enough that she was sure he wouldn't poke holes in her story.
The Investigation Team had an unbreakable trust in one another, one that Yukiko continued to bastardize.
"So, what the hell are you doing out here?"
She put her hand on his shoulder. "I just needed to get my mind right before heading out. Walking by the river helps with that."
Kanji shrugged her off and huffed in frustration. He began to make his way back up the hill. "So, this fucker thinks he can just play my friends? Try and pick us off one by one. Fuck that! I will give him a taste of his own medicine when I get my hands on him."
"Kanji, where are you going?" Yukiko asked, chasing after him.
"You said the rice fields, right? Then what the hell are we wasting time for!" Kanji replied through grit teeth. "You got a scooter back at the inn, right? We're going out there together. Ain't no way I'm not backing you up on this."
…
Yukiko sat on the back of her scooter. Her hands her wrapped firmly around Kanji's waist. She rested her head against his back. An unreadable expression canvased her face. The boy had insisted on being the one to drive. It had been a while since she had been on the scooter, their summer trip to be exact. Now that seemed so long ago. What was once a leisurely way to traverse the road was now much grimmer.
The scooter's light barely cut through the thick fog that engulfed the roads. Despite Kanji's anger, he drove carefully. There would be no point going so far out if they got hit by a truck along the way.
"Damn." Kanji muttered. "I can barely see through this fog."
Yukiko looked up. They were outside the main confines of Inaba now and approaching the outskirts of the town. She could see some of the large transmission towers that stretched across the rice fields.
The pair were far from town and away from prying eyes.
The scooter traveled down the road for 20 more minutes before Yukiko finally spotted a large broken-down warehouse. She sat up and squeezed Kanji's shoulder.
"Around here should be good." She spoke. Gradually the scooter decreased in speed before pulling over to the side of the road.
Yukiko pulled out her phone and typed some numbers behind Kanji's back. "I just got a text from Narukami-kun." she lied. "He said they are inside."
"Huh. I don't see their bikes anywhere." Kanji observed.
"I'm sure they parked across the road or something." Yukiko dismissed him. "Let's get in there already. The fog is thick."
Yukiko and Kanji dismounted from the bike. The heiress made sure to reach near the back of her scooter. Inside the back compartment was a tire iron. She clutched onto it tightly and followed.
Kanji looked back and chuckled. "You're packing heat, eh senpai?"
"Best to come prepared. We won't be able to use our personas here."
"Better safe than sorry." Was his reply before making their way towards the warehouse.
The main facility before them was large and crumbling. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a rice mill. The place had been abandoned for some time. Inaba was an old town, so it wasn't out of the norm to have a couple of derelict structures around. Before the pair was a large, rusted door.
Kanji made his way over and placed his palms on the cold metal handles.
"Be careful." Yukiko warned him.
"I got this. It's nothing." Kanji huffed as he pulled the door open. The large metal shutters slid along the rusted grates with a loud screeching noise. It split the air like a scream. When enough of the door had been opened Kanji was the first to enter.
The air inside was musty with the smell of old rice and moist dirt. Nature had taken back over as tendrils and weeds sprung from the tiles. Inside, fog had seeped its way through. Making it hard to see. Yukiko could make out some of the metal fixtures and large bags of rice stacked up high. Everything was silent and ominous. Even machinery sat dormant. The place was truly a ghost town. There were holes in the ceiling that shone a faintness of light from the sky.
Her eyes darted to a nearby staircase that led to some office spaces above.
"Yo! Narukami, yal around?" Kanji shouted looking around confused. His voice reverberated through the hollow building.
Yukiko's felt her heart tense up.
"Maybe they're upstairs." She murmured. Averting her gaze to the staircase
Kanji turned his attention upstairs. His face grew concerned at the sound of silence. "Senpai stay close to me. Something don't feel right about this place." Yukiko did as commanded and stuck a couple of feet away from him, with the tire iron still tight in her grip.
The two made their way up the stairs. Each step creaking along the way.
"Yo! Come on, stop playing. This shit isn't funny!" Kanji called as they finally reached the peak of the stairs. "I'm not in the mood for one of your dumb pranks Teddie."
Kanji made his way towards one of the office doors and pushed it open. Inside was nothing. He tried the next, nothing again, and continued down the hall. Finally, after opening the final door, he turned back to Yukiko and asked. "Hey, are you sure this is the right place?" Only to find nothing.
The young Amagi heiress was gone.
"Huh? Senpai where'd you-"
CRACK!
Yukiko appeared from behind Kanji and struck him across the skull with the tire iron.
Kanji slammed to the floor like a bag of bricks. He lies motionless, his head bleeding at the vicious blow that caught him off guard, Yukiko towering over him with a crazed look in her eye as she stared at her latest victim. Her hands clutched around the bloodied tire iron with a tight grip.
"Sorry, Kanji…"
…
A/N: 7/5/2023, edited typos.