Chapter 5: To Face Oneself

04/14 Friday, 2011

They managed to get through the entrance. Once they were inside, they noticed that the inside is much more vast compared to the entrance and the building would suggest. The atmosphere around them was blue, neon lights hanging from horizontal metal beams, and red and blue cloth with Japanese words. They were also barrels as well as refrigerators that was full of liquors.

"Dammit, not again." Yosuke commented.

"What even is this place?" Agumon wondered.

"If I have to guess, this is a place based somewhere in the Human World." Otamamon guessed.

"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?" The voice of a middle aged man suddenly echoed through the place.

"I-Is this...Senpai's dad?" Yosuke wondered aloud.

"You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations!" The voice said. "Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"

"I… I can't believe this. She seemed like she had fun at work. She never said anything like this to me…" Yosuke muttered.

"Is this… how Saki-senpai saw things?" Yu wondered aloud before he and the others saw something of interest on the table just ahead of them, causing them to approach said table.

On the table were photos of all the times Saki spent with Yosuke. All of which were torn apart.

"These photos… Is this…" He took a step forward and felt that he was stepping on something. He looked down and saw a familiar movie ticket in the same state as the photos. "And… this is the ticket I gave her. Why did she tear them all up?"

"I never had the chance to say it…" Saki's voice could be heard throughout the layout.

"Is that Saki-senpai's voice?" Yosuke asked.

"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…" Her voice began.

"Huh? Me…?" The headphones boy muttered.

"… that he was a pain in the ass." Saki's voice finished, much to Yosuke's disbelief. "I was only nice to him because his dad was the manager of Junes. But he takes it completely the wrong way and now that idiot thinks I like him… What a dip."

"N-No… That can't be true…" He wished that what he was hearing was not true.

"Yosuke…" Otamamon said as he looked at his fated partner with worry.

"Who cares about Junes? It's all that store's fault that my family's business is in shambles! And now everyone over in the Shopping District, even my own parents, hate me. Screw them all! I wish everything was gone!"

"Lies… All lies…" Yosuke tried so hard to deny it. "Saki-senpai would never think that."

"You're right. She doesn't. Poor Saki-senpai…" A familiar, yet distorted mocking voice, could be heard as they saw something up ahead. The figure looked exactly like Yosuke, save for golden eyes and the lack of glasses that were given by Teddie. "That's because I'M the one who thinks everything is a pain in the ass. Hahaha…"

"H-Huh? Two Yosukes?" Teddie said.

"That one looks very dangerous." Otamamon said as he tensed up.

"Who are you!?" Yosuke asked before realizing what his lookalike was saying. "I-I wouldn't think that…"

"Hahaha… Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself?" The Yosuke lookalike said. "Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"

"Yosuke. Is that what you're thinking?" Otamamon said. "There's something said from this Other Yosuke that is not a complete lie."

"No, it isn't! That's not—"

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation." The Yosuke lookalike interrupted. "And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…"

"S-Stop it!" He said desperately.

"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that? Because I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole?" The Yosuke lookalike said with a malicious smile. "A world inside the TV—now that's exciting! Not to mention there was a monster who considered you to be its 'fated partner' or whatever the hell that was? That's even more so! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?"

"That's not true… Stop… Stop it…" Yosuke denied.

"You're just trying to act like a big shot. If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!" The Yosuke lookalike mocked him.

"That's not true! What are you!? Who are you!?" The headphones boy asked desperately.

"*chuckle* I already told ya. I'm you! Your Shadow! There's nothing I don't know about you!" The Yosuke lookalike told him.

"Screw that! I don't know you!" The headphones boy snapped.

"Wait, Yosuke! Don't—" Otamamon tried to warn his fated partner but it was too late.

"You can't be me, you son of a bitch!" Yosuke rejected his 'other self'.

"Hahahahahaha! That's right, say it again!" Instead of reacting in anger, The Yosuke lookalike simply cackled madly before daring the real Yosuke to repeat his sentence.

"You're not me! You're nothing like me!"

It was then that a black and red aura began to enveloped the Yosuke lookalike.

"Watch out, Yu! That other Yosuke is going to lose it!" Agumon warned his fated partner.

"Ha! That's right. I am ME now." The Yosuke lookalike proclaimed. "I'm not you any more, see!?"

A surge of black and red aura began to completely envelop the lookalike. Once it disappeared, they noticed that the lookalike had transformed.

Standing before them was a monstrous frog-like creature with a black humanoid portion on the top. The top half has yellow four-star shuriken shaped 'eyes', a pair of elongated arms with yellow gloves, and a long, red scarf. The bottom half is dominantly in green camo pattern with frog-like forelimbs, a permanent, yellow, V shaped grin "mouth", a pair of eye sockets with red horizontal line-shaped eyes.

"I am a shadow… The true self…" Shadow Yosuke proclaimed. "I'll crush everything that bores me… Starting with you!" He said before pointing towards Yosuke. "Get out of my sight!"It leaped upwards before slamming down on the ground, causing barriers of wind shot forward towards everyone.

"Gah!" Yu grunted as he got hit especially hard by the wind attack as he fell down to the ground.

The others also experienced the brunt of the attack, especially Yosuke as he was knocked unconscious.

"Yosuke!" Otamamon rushed towards his fated partner to check up on him. Fortunately, it was nothing too severe. "Good. He's just out cold."

"This one's much tougher than the last type! Be careful!" Teddie warned Yu.

"Okay." Yu said as he was helped by Agumon to get up before readying his golf club. "Let's go, Agumon!"

"Yeah!" Agumon complied as he and his fated partner rushed towards the large Shadow.

"Izanagi, Zio!" Yu crushed the card that was manifested on his hand, causing the Persona to manifest and shot a bolt of yellow electricity towards Shadow Yosuke, landing not only a super effective attack but also causing the Shadow to be flipped upside down.

"Whoa… What is that?" Agumon wondered as he saw a Persona for the first time.

"It's Izanagi. My Persona…" Yu answered.

"Sensei! This one's also weak to electric attacks!" Teddie informed.

"Agumon, it's your turn!" Yu told his Partner Beastial.

"All right! Pepper Breath!" Agumon said as he launched an orange and red fireball towards the downed Shadow, successfully hitting it.

"Now, Cleave!" Yu commanded as Izanagi swung his spear to do a vertical slash.

"… Pain in the ass!" Shadow Yosuke said as he got up. "Tch! You and that annoying lizard are starting to piss me off!" He proclaimed. "Hey, you noisy bat! I know you're here! Get me a helper!"

It was then that the aforementioned creature made its presence known to Yu and the others before leaving towards somewhere.

"Is that… a musical note with wings?" Yu wondered.

"That's a Sounbirdmon. That's not good." Agumon said.

"What does it do?" Before Yu could get his answer, something came down from above and into the battlefield.

It was a large, purple creature that looked like a chrysalis. It has a red horn on its head, yellow spikes circling around its torso and yellow stinger, yellow eyes, and black patterns that make its "eyebrows". The most prominent feature of it is that it has six tentacles with yellow, bladed tips extending from its back.

"What the bear!? That bat-thing just summoned a Beastial!" Teddie exclaimed.

"That's a Chrysalimon." Otamamon said, informing both Yu and Agumon. "I'd be careful if I were you two, this one's nothing like those Keramon."

"There. Now, it's 2-on-2. Help me crush these losers!" Shadow Yosuke said as Chrysalimon roared.

"Izanagi!" Yu shouted as he commanded his Persona to use Zio once more, striking Shadow Yosuke down once more.

"Shit! Not again!?" Shadow Yosuke cursed as he fell down.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon launched another attack towards Chrysalimon, but the attack did not faze its shell.

The cocoon Beastial responded by having its bladed tentacles thrust towards the small Beastial. Fortunately, Agumon managed the assault, albeit barely.

"Spitfire Blast!" The baby dinosaur Beastial shouted as it spewed a stream of red and orange fire towards the bigger Beastial, but the attack failed to do anything.

"Looks like not even Agumon's Spitfire Blast did anything to Chrysalimon." Otamamon said. "That shell must be crazy tough if it can take a direct hit from those two attacks."

Chrysalimon growled as its horn glowed red. "Unconnect Buster!" It shot a red laser towards Agumon, successfully hitting him.

"Gaaah!" Agumon shouted in pain as he fell to his side.

"Agumon—Gaah!" Yu said before he was struck from behind by Shadow Yosuke, who had recovered from being struck by a super effective attack.

"Ha! Moron. Don't turn your back on your opponent!" Shadow Yosuke mocked before he leaped upward and slamming himself to the ground, causing another barrier of wind to hit Yu, causing to him fall down

"This is bad! Sensei and Agumon are getting overwhelmed!" Teddie said.

"I guess it's too much for them…" Otamamon said as he looked at his unconscious partner. 'If only he wasn't knocked out. I could've helped those two…'

"This… isn't looking good for us…" Yu stated. "At this rate, we'll die for sure…"

"Don't… say that, Yu." He turned to see Agumon. "I… can still fight…!"

"Agumon, don't…" Yu tried to dissuade his Partner Beastial from acting rashly. 'Was coming here… Was searching for the truth… a mistake? Even with Izanagi, it's not enough… Should we get out of here…?'

Agumon realized that his fated partner was on the verge of giving up. "Yu! Pull yourself together, Yu!"

'What should I do…?' Yu pondered.

"If things keep going like this, everyone'll be wiped out!" The baby dinosaur Beastial said as his words came through.

'No… I won't give up on finding the truth.' Yu proclaimed in his head. 'Not after I made a promise to Teddie…' He said as he looked towards Teddie. 'I'll fight on… to reach out to the truth!' He then got up. "Strong as they may be, I won't give up! I'll fight for the sake of my friends and for the truth!"

"Yu… Your feelings for your friends and the determination to find the truth are giving me strength to fight!" Agumon said as he got up.

"All right, Agumon! Let's do this!" Yu said as he readied his golf club.

"Yeah!" Agumon before he felt something rising within him. "Oh…? What's this…?" It was then that he was enveloped by a rising yellow aura. "Grgh… Gaah…"

"Agumon, what's wrong?" Yu asked.

"I know we're in trouble here, but…" The baby dinosaur Beastial began before the light enveloping him became much brighter. "Somehow, I'm bursting with energy!"

"What…?" Yu was dumbfounded by this event.

"Agumon evolves to…!" It was then Agumon underwent a transformation of some kind.

He began to grow in size as well as his three fingered claws, legs, and tail. When the light died down, Agumon's new form was shown in its full splendor, which more or less looked like a fully-matured theropod dinosaur. Its body was now orange with blue stripes on its arms, legs, neck, thorax, and tail. He has spikes with blue tips protruding on his arms, shoulders, and jaw. Covering the top half of his head is a brown helmet with three horns and multiple spikes. The helmet also had red stripes and red tips on the spikes. And he also has red training bracers on each arm.

"GeoGreymon!" The newly evolved Beastial roared.

"Whoa! What happened to Agumon!?" Teddie exclaimed at seeing the process.

"I think Agumon evolved…" Otamamon explained.

"Evolve?" Yu repeated as he looked at his partner. "Agumon… is that you?"

"No… Not Agumon." GeoGreymon told his partner. "I'll protect everyone… as GeoGreymon."

"GeoGreymon? Okay…" Yu then turned towards his opponents. "Let's go, GeoGreymon!"

"Right!" GeoGreymon said as he rushed towards.

"Tch! This doesn't mean shit!" Shadow Yosuke scoffed as he tried using one of his forelegs to pound Yu, but You had a countermeasure ready.

"Rakukaja!" Yu then was enveloped in purple aura, raising his defense. When the attack hit him, it did not hurt as much as before. "Zio!" Izanagi then manifested behind Yu as it struck Shadow Yosuke once more, causing it to fall down.

GeoGreymon charged towards Chrysalimon as the latter thrusted its bladed tentacles forward, intending to hit the former with them. GeoGreymon managed to dodge all of them. "Horn Impulse!" The dinosaur Beastial shouted as he slammed his head to Chrysalimon. "Hrah!" The horned dinosaur Beastial slammed his tail on the other Beastial, causing the shell to crack.

Chrysalimon roared before the tips of its bladed tentacles glow purple. "Data Crusher!" It then launched its tentacles forward.

"Watch out, GeoGreymon!" Otamamon shouted.

GeoGreymon braced himself for the attack as he managed to endure the assault before he used his right claw to slash the left side of Chrysalimon's tentancles.

The cocoon Beastial roared in pain as the sliced tentacles disintegrated when it fell to the floor. It then proceeded to attack with its left tentacles but GeoGreymon slashed them down as well, leaving the hostile Beastial defenseless.

"Dammit… Dammit!" Shadow Yosuke said as he recovered. "Why are you this strong!? It's not fair! This is supposed to be the part where you lose!"

"Let's finish this." Yu said as he summoned Izanagi one more time. "Zio! And then, Cleave!"

The masked Persona proceeded to shoot Shadow Yosuke with a bolt of electricity before he swung his spear to deal the final blow.

"What the hell!?" Shadow Yosuke shouted before it fell down, defeated. It then turned back into his original self.

"It's my turn! Mega Flame!" GeoGreymon roared as he spewed a powerful stream of red and orange fire to Chrysalimon, causing it to be engulfed by the attack.

Chrysalimon roared one last time before it disintegrated into red particles.

GeoGreymon roared in victory as he reverted back to Agumon in a yellow light.

"Looks like we're done here." Otamamon as he heard groaning from Yosuke,

"Owww…" Yosuke groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. This did not go unnoticed.

"Yosuke!" Otamamon shouted as Yu, Agumon, and Teddie rushed towards him.

"Yosuke, are you okay?" Yu asked as he helped Yosuke stand up.

"YYeah… What happened?" He asked before he noticed his Shadow self.

Instead of throwing insults at the other self like before, Shadow Yosuke simply stood there.

"You… You're… not me…" Yosuke rejected his Shadow self.

"Yosuke… Believe it or not. That thing came from you." Otamamon reasoned with his fated partner. "It's hard to swallow, I know, but you have to accept it."

"Yeah. Otherwise, it'll go berserk again." Teddie added.

Yosuke was unsure if he should acknowledge his other self.

"You have to be brave." Yu assured him.

"Brave, huh…?" Yosuke repeated as he reluctantly swallowed his pride. "Dammit… It hurts to face yourself…" He then approached his Shadow self. "I knew it wasn't lying… But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it." He continued. "You're me… and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me."

Shadow Yosuke nodded before he was enveloped in a bright blue before transforming again but this time into a Persona. The form he assumed was more humanoid compared to before. Aside from the "eyes" and the red scarf that he kept from his previous form, he had some slight changes. The "eye sockets" became a pair of antennas, the V-shaped "mouth" now adorning his chest, a four starred shuriken attached in the palm of each hand, and his body in a full-body white jumpsuit with a slight green camo on the hands and near the feet.

The Shadow-turned Persona turned into a card which was then absorbed into Yosuke's chest.

"This is my Persona… Jiraiya…" Yosuke muttered. "When we heard of Senpai's voice… I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside." He remarked. "'He was a pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out. Geez, this is so embarrassing…" He felt all the strength he had left his body as he knelt down.

"Yosuke!" Otamamon shouted worriedly.

"I'm fine… Just a little tired." Yosuke assured his Partner Beastial before glancing towards Teddie. "Hey, Teddie. Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?"

"I think so." Teddie replied. "The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk… And you saw what happened next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the host."

"That explains why that other Yosuke is almost identical to Yosuke. And why he became berserk when Yosuke refused to acknowledge him." Yu remarked.

"I think I get it." Otamamon said.

"Me too." Agumon added.

"So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world…" Yosuke muttered.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out… This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here." Teddie explained. "I don't hear any more voices. I think we're done with this place. Let's go back."

And with that, the group left the liquor store.

Yu and the others made it back to the drop point.

"Hey, Teddie. You said that this place is reality for people who enter, right?" Yosuke asked. "So that shopping district, and the weird room we saw before… Did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality? I guess what I'm trying to ask is: Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?"

"I don't know. It's never happened before." Teddie answered. "But that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them."

"This world killed them?" Yu asked.

"The fog does lift here sometimes. The Shadows get really violent then. I always get so scared. I have to hide when it happens! I sensed people here twice before. But both of them disappeared after the fog lifted…"

"So let's get this straight—Senpai and that Yamano lady were thrown in here, and since they couldn't get out, they wandered around. After a while, that Shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, it went berserk, and it ended up killing them…" The headphones boy recounted. "Does that sound right? So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure." The mysterious bear replied. "You were lucky. Sensei, me, Agumon, and Otamamon were here with you…" He continued.

"Dammit! Senpai and that announcer...They were stuck here all alone. No one could save them!" Yosuke said as he tightened his fists.

"Yosuke…" Yu muttered.

"They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No Shadows attacked them." Teddie answered. "They attacked us, though...Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies. Same goes for Beastials too. Especially Soundbirdmon, who sent a bigger and stronger Beastial to attack us."

"Wait, Soundbirdmon?" Yosuke repeated. "And what do you mean 'bigger and stronger' Beastial?"

"While Yu and Agumon were fighting your Shadow, your Shadow called out a Soundbirdmon… And then it called out a Beastial called Chrysalimon as backup." Otamamon explained before he realized something. "And now that brought this up… I think Soundbirdmon might've been the one who provoked those Keramon into attacking us."

"Seriously?" Yosuke said. "I guess it's not only Shadows that'll be a huge pain in the ass."

"It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! Shadows and other hostile Beastials. And we might save people before the fog lifts here!" Teddie said.

"Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!? Like how you guys just saved me!?" Yosuke asked.

"We won't know unless we try." Yu answered.

"Anyways, we need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop." Yosuke told them. "Yeah… I'm finally starting to understand what's going on."

"U-Um… Can I ask something too?" Teddie asked aloud. "If Shadows are born from humans, and Beastial have always been here along with the Shadows, what was Teddie born from?"

"Wait. You don't know who you are? That's strange." Otamamon said. "And here I thought you're one of us, but that's obviously not the case. If your question's anything to go by."

"How come you don't know about yourself?" Agumon asked.

"I know some things. Mostly about this world… But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now. Though I'm positive that I'm not a Beastial…" Teddie replied.

"Are you serious? No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you." Yosuke remarked.

"Will you guys… come back here?" Teddie asked the two humans.

"Of course, we will." Yu assured. "After all, we made a promise."

"You'll… keep your word?"

"Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do." Yosuke told the mysterious bear.

"Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out." Teddie remembered. "But there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in from the same place every time. So we can meet up."

"The TV at Junes?" Yu asked.

"You could come in from somewhere else. But then you won't end up here." Teddie explained.

"You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be doooomed…" He continued before saying the last part with an ominous tone. "Got it!?"

"Well, pretty much…" Yosuke said. "Alright, can you show us the way out?"

"Roger that! One exit comin' right up!" Teddie then tapped his left foot three times before a familiar stack of TVs appeared from the poof of smoke.

"Whoa! What is that?" Agumon asked.

"I think this is a way out of this world." Otamamon guessed.

Yu and Yosuke approached the exit.

"Cool… First, we need to make sure there aren't any employees milling around out there…" Yosuke told Yu.

Teddie ignored the suggestion as he pushed them into the stack. "Okay! Go go go! Squiiiish!"

"Argh! Hey! Stop squeezing, you little–Whoa!" The headphones boy did not get to finish as he and his friend were pushed into the stack, exiting the world.

"Whoa! They just went through it." Otamamon said as he glanced towards the makeshift exit. 'I wonder if…'

Unbeknownst to the two, they were being by a caped figure. Nothing much is known about the figure… except for the glowing purple eyes that shined through the fog.

"So… Those saps managed to get human partners, huh?" The figure said before it let out a toothy grin. "This game might not be so boring after all…"

The figure's blue cape then turned to bat-like wings as it flew somewhere.

(Back in the Real World)

Yu and Yosuke successfully returned from the TV, which was not go unnoticed by a certain kung-fu loving girl.

"You… You made it baaaack…!" Chie said as she burst into tears.

"What's wrong with you…?" Yosuke asked dumbfounded.

"Don't act like you don't know!" Chie responded by throwing the rope towards Yosuke's feet, surprising him. "The rope's snapped as soon as you guys left and I've been worried sick this whole time!" She tearfully explained. "I'm so pissed at you right now! You jerk, I can't believe you put me through this! You guys suck!"

As the two boys were distracted by feeling guilty of making the girl of the group worried, the TV behind them light up and began rippling black and white. Sure enough, a certain pair came through it.

"Whoa… So this is the human world…" Agumon said as he looked around at the new environment he just entered.

"I feel you, Agumon. This is totally different compared to our world." Otamamon added as he noticed the situation that he and his friend walked into. "Um… Is that a friend of yours, Yosuke? Why is she crying?"

"You could say that. We kinda forgot that she stayed behind here and made her… worry…" Yosuke slowly realized who was he talking to before he noticed the newcomer. He proceeded to shot a glance to unsure he was not hearing things. "What the…!?"

"Yosuke, who are you talking to?" Chie stopped crying and noticed the two Beastials. "What the!? Where did they come from!?"

"It looks like they followed us from the TV World." Yu guessed.

"Wait. You mean there are monsters in that world!?" The kung-fu loving girl said, offending the pair.

"Hey! We're not monsters!" Agumon snapped.

"I'm Otamamon and he's Agumon! We don't like being called 'monsters', you know!" Otamamon added.

"Holy crap! They can talk!?" Chie exclaimed.

"Hey, quiet down! Everyone will hear you." Yosuke reprimanded. "Why don't we call it a day? A lot of things happened and it left us very exhausted." He suggested before he glanced towards his female friend. "We'll tell you everything tomorrow. Sounds good?"

"Well… Okay" Chie said hesitantly, accepting to hear the explanation tomorrow as she wiped her tears. She looked at the two Beastials with a suspicious look. "But seriously, what're you two gonna do with them? People will go nuts for sure if they see you walking around with them."

It was then that they heard two sounds of stomach rumbling.

"Hehehe… It looks like we're hungry." Otamamon said sheepishly.

"Yeah, me too." Agumon added.

Yu and Yosuke tried to think of a way to solve this problem as they went to their separate ways to head on home.

(At Dojima Residence)

Somehow, Yu was able to smuggle Agumon into his room by talking to the only person in the house, who was Nanako. Though the little girl asked him about the bag of snacks he carried, the latter managed to come up with a lie and say that it was for helping him study. It helped that his uncle had not come home from work yet. Now, he was sitting with his younger cousin as they watched the news in the living room after settling things with Agumon.

"Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba." The news anchor began. "At around 7:00 A.M., local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area. Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body, police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The coroner's report has established Ms. Konishi's time of death at around 1:00 A.M. last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area."

"Another incident…" Nanako muttered sadly. "Dad won't be coming home tonight."

"Don't worry, I'll be here with you… along with Agumon.:" Yu stated before saying the last part quietly.

"... I'll be okay. Can you help me do some stuff around the house?" Nanako said

'She seems to be very reliable for her age.' Yu made a mental note of his younger cousin's maturity.

"... Amagi Inn, located upstream of the Samegawa River, is the town's oldest historical landmark. Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs." The news anchor continued.

"After the incident with Ms. Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes." The news reporter added as Yu saw someone shown on TV.

It was none other than Yukiko. She was wearing a pink kimono with flower patterns.

"Isn't that Yukiko…?" Yu muttered.

" In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school. Now that has a nice ring to it...Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!" The reporter said as he approached the girl in question.

"Hm…? Um… Are you speaking to me?" Yukiko asked after realizing that a reporter approached.

"We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true you're still in high school?" The reporter asked.

"Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily…" The girl in the kimono answered.

"Someday, though...That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."

"Huh? No, um…"

Yu could tell that the reporter was going off-topic with his interview.

"This is boring." Nanako remarked. "Oh, I need to do the dishes."

"Let me help." Yu volunteered.

"Okay."

And with that, the silver haired teen decided to help his cousin with the chores before going back to his room.

That's it for now and I hope this is enough.

Yu's Agumon will follow the evolution line that started with GeoGreymon. Why? Because his Mega form have a weapon very similar to his human partner's Ultimate Persona as well as fits the sun and light motif better, considering that Persona 4 has a bit of the sun motif.

Also... For those who have watched Digimon Ghost Game, you can guess who's the mystery figure. A little hint: He'll become the partner of one of the main antagonist in this story.

I'm gonna focus on writing new chapters on my other stories, so be sure to check them. I can't promise that I can post them but I'm gonna try.

Leave a review as always and see you later!