11/28
Today was the first day of finals, and Yui was putting everything she had into them. After she was done with today's tests, she asked Chie how she was doing. Chie seemed more confident than she usually was during tests, which was a good sign of personal improvement. Yui promised they'd do something special after finals, which seemed like great motivation to do their best.
12/3
Yui and her friends were getting lunch at Aiya's, both to relax after finals and to reflect on the current state of the case.
"The fog definitely feels like the fog in the other world. But I can't understand why." Teddie stated.
"How's the case going, Naoto?" Yosuke asked Naoto.
"According to Adachi, they're not making much progress with Namatame's interrogation. Even though he's regained consciousness, he's not speaking coherently." Naoto said.
"We solved the case...and yet I still feel bummed out." Rise mumbled.
"Hey, don't be. All you can do is your best." Marie told her.
"Sensei?" Teddie asked Yui.
"Huh?"
"Can I stay here?"
"What made you ask that?"
"You kept your promise that you'd help find the culprit who was disrupting the other side. That means I have to go back now."
"Oh yeah, I guess that's true." Chie said.
"Teddie, don't worry about that. You can stay." Yui told Teddie.
"How long?"
"Forever, if you like."
Teddie immediately lit up upon hearing this, cheering up the others around him.
"Sensei! Do you mean it?" Teddie asked.
"Of course I do." Yui said with a smile.
"Teddie gets to stay? Good for him." Marie said.
"What are you saying, Marie-chan? You're not going anywhere." Yui told Marie.
"I mean, not for a while. But…"
"Marie-chan! This is going to sound weird but...move in with me!" Rise spoke up.
"Eh?!" Marie said, confused.
"Just until you have to go back home! Please? I promise I'll keep you warm and fed!" Rise cooed, wrapping her arms around Marie.
"Hey! Stop that! You're embarrassing me!" Marie responded with a deep blush.
"*giggle* Geez, at this point, you two might as well get married." Chie joked.
"I'll...I'll think about it." Marie told Rise.
"OK!" Rise said cheerfully, planting a kiss on Marie's cheek.
"Oh! Speaking of keeping warm…" Yui said.
Yui asked everyone to come with her to Junes to pick out a new kotatsu for Nanako.
"What a great idea, Yui-chan! A warm kotatsu with tangerines is the coziest combo!" Chie said.
"That sounds wonderful. I'd love to share one with you sometime." Yui said with a smile.
Kanji came back to the group after buying something for himself.
"Kanji-kun! What did you buy?" Rise asked curiously, taking the bag from Kanji to see its contents.
"Hey! You punk!" Kanji said angrily.
Rise pulled out a bundle of pink wool.
"Is that wool?" Naoto asked Kanji.
"I figured Nanako-chan and I could make some knitted animals when she gets better. So, that's what it's for." Kanji stated, a bit embarrassed.
"That's so sweet of you, Kanji-kun!" Rise commended.
"Since we're all here, why don't we pick out a Christmas present for Nanako-chan?" Yukiko suggested.
"A present? Well, I kind of figured the kotatsu would be enough…" Yui said.
"Come on, you have to do a little more than that!" Chie insisted.
"Hey! Why don't we have a homecoming party at your house?" Yosuke suggested.
"Oh, that does sound fun!" Yui agreed.
"We can bake a cake!" Chie said enthusiastically.
"That sounds wonderful!" Rise chimed.
"No way! Are you trying to put Nanako-chan back in the hospital?!" Yosuke protested.
Suddenly, Yui's phone began ringing, prompting her to answer it.
"Hi, it's Yui." Yui said.
"Y-Yui-chan…" Adachi stammered.
"Yes?" Yui asked, becoming concerned.
"Stay calm and listen to me...there's been a sudden change in Nanako-chan's condition! Hurry over to the hospital!" Adachi stated.
Yui felt her blood run cold upon hearing this news, immediately hanging up and heading straight for the hospital.
Yui waited outside the ICU doors, holding her breath and shaking as she stayed for the hospital staff to let her in. Her friends all stood by to support her, with Chie especially showing the most concern for her. Just then, a nurse came by and opened the door.
"Are you a family member?" The nurse asked Yui.
"Yes!" Yui replied.
"Right this way."
Yui slowly stood up and followed the nurse inside. As the doors closed behind them, Yui's friends greatly worried for her and her family.
Dojima was limping down the hallways of the hospital with a crutch, having caught word of Nanako's condition. He slowed himself whenever his wounds gave him pain, but he pushed himself to endure through it.
"Nanako-chan? Can you hear me? Your onee-chan is here!" The nurse told Nanako.
Nanako glanced around, barely maintaining consciousness.
"Onee-chan? Where are you?" Nanako said weakly.
"Here! I'm right here!" Yui said in a desperate voice.
Nanako turned to look at Yui. Though she had been hooked up to an oxygen concentrator, it was clear that she was on her last legs, a fact that pained Yui deeply.
"Please stay awake! Your dad will be here soon!" Yui pleaded.
"Oto-san…" Nanako muttered.
"Fight for us, Nanako-chan! I picked out a kotatsu for you! We can buy one together! OK?" Yui said, putting on a weak smile for her.
Despite saying all this to her, Nanako could not find the strength to smile. Yui started to lose her composure.
"Please...don't go...I wanted to make snowmen with you...with my sister…" Yui whimpered, tears beginning to form.
Nanako groaned weakly as her heart rate began to slow down.
"Onee-chan...I'm scared…" Nanako muttered.
Yui choked back her tears as she watched Nanako's breathing get slower and slower, until Nanako's eyes drifted closed.
"Dad…"
With one last breath, Nanako slipped away, and her heart rate flatlined. In that moment, Yui completely broke down, erupting into a torrent of tears and sobs. Dojima came into the room shortly afterward. Upon seeing Yui crying, he instantly knew what had happened. He hobbled over to his daughter's bedside, his face showing more pain than ever before and his heart breaking in a way he never knew was possible.
"Nanako…" Dojima whimpered.
One of the nurses told Yui's friends the terrible news, causing all of them to grieve. Rise sobbed while Marie held her close, crying along with her. Naoto shed some tears despite her best efforts to hold it together. Yukiko and Chie held each other as they cried in despair, Chie in particular repeatedly muttering, "She can't be…". Teddie, strangely, couldn't bring himself to cry, but still found himself choking back his breath. Yosuke desperately tried to hold back his tears, while Kanji repeatedly slammed his fist into the wall, cursing and weeping the entire time. Dojima walked out of the ICU, looking incredibly forlorn as he continued walking down the hall. Adachi arrived in time to see this all unfold. He was about to ask what had happened, but understood when he read the room.
Yui stepped out of the ICU, having cried her heart out. She hung her head in sorrow, unable to look at her friends. Chie let go of Yukiko and ran up to Yui, hugging her tightly. Just when Yui thought she couldn't cry anymore, she returned Chie's embrace as she shed a few more tears.
"I'm sorry, Yui-chan…" Chie muttered.
Yui said nothing in response, only having the strength to breath a sad sigh.
"Dojima-san?" Adachi said, watching Dojima walk away.
When Adachi realized where Dojima was going, his eyes widened in horror.
"Wait...that's the way to Namatame's room!" Adachi said fearfully.
Yui and her friends were brought to attention. Despite all of them still grieving, they quickly went after Dojima. All except for Teddie, who instead went into the ICU and stood over Nanako. He knelt down beside the bed and clutched Nanako's hand before breaking down into sobs.
"Let go of me! I have to talk to him!" Dojima shouted as two of his fellow policemen held him back from the door to Namatame's room.
"Dojima-san, please! You don't have permission to go in there!" The policeman pleaded.
Dojima turned to look at the policeman with a cold, almost defeated stare.
"Permission? Who gave him permission to kill my daughter? Why does he get to live when Nanako is dead?" Dojima muttered.
Dojima continued to strain against them, growing angrier by the second.
"Why?! Why did Nanako have to die?! Give her back! Give me back my daughter!" Dojima shouted, his anger mixed with anguish.
Adachi ran by to catch the commotion, followed closely behind by Yui and her friends.
"Dojima-san! Stop!" Adachi called out.
"I'm gonna...I'm gonna kill him!" Dojima roared, breaking free from the other police officers.
Before Dojima could reach the door however, his wounds opened up again, causing him to wretch in pain before falling to the floor.
"Dojima-san!" Yui cried out.
"Nanako...she was all I had…" Dojima sobbed, completely crushed.
"Get him to his room, quick!" Adachi told the other policemen.
"Yes!" The policemen responded, picking Dojima off the floor.
The policemen carried Dojima away, while Adachi picked up Dojima's crutch and went with them.
"I know how you feel, Dojima-san...I want to kill him too…" Adachi muttered.
Yui stared at the door to Namatame's room.
"Dojima-san wasn't really going to kill Namatame, was he?" Chie asked.
"His only daughter just died. I don't blame him for anything at this point…" Kanji answered.
"First he killed Saki-senpai, and now Nanako-chan!" Yosuke said angrily.
"Why? Why is he the one that lived?" Rise asked.
"It's so unfair. It shouldn't be like this…" Marie muttered.
Suddenly, they heard a loud sound coming from the room, prompting them to go inside and investigate. They saw Namatame on the floor, having fallen backward from an open window, evidently trying to escape.
"Going somewhere, Namatame?" Yui asked Namatame, anger painting her voice.
Namatame looked up at them with fear in his eyes.
"Nanako-chan is dead because of you!" Yukiko shouted.
"I-I…" Namatame said weakly.
Just then, the clock on the wall struck midnight, and the TV in the room flashed on, showing a static filled image on Namatame.
"The Midnight Channel!" Yui exclaimed.
"I failed to save her. And it's all your fault!" Shadow Namatame stated.
"What's going on? His Shadow is showing up even though we already beat him?" Yosuke said in confusion.
"They can't legally kill me anyway." Shadow Namatame said with a devilish grin.
"What's this? Is that how you really feel?" Kanji angrily asked Namatame.
"N-no! I-" Namatame began to say.
"I don't care about the law! We're not letting you walk away after what you did!" Kanji stated.
"If the law can't touch you, we'll just punish you ourselves!" Yosuke told Namatame.
"Wait, Yosuke! What are you saying?!" Chie asked in horror.
"Do as you like. You hate me, don't you? I don't care. You won't kill me. I know you can't! You don't have it in you!" Shadow Namatame spouted, taunting the others, Yui especially.
Yui clenched her fist in rage.
"I will continue to save them. It is my mission!" Shadow Namatame said with a cackle.
The TV shuts off, blanketing the room in darkness.
"He gave us permission." Kanji said gravely.
Kanji began moving towards Namatame.
"Wait! Kanji-kun!" Yukiko pleaded, moving in front of Namatame.
"Move it, senpai." Kanji said with a glare.
"Please! Don't do it!" Yukiko said desperately.
"Hm...I didn't expect to see such a large TV in a hospital room." Naoto commented.
"Naoto-chan?" Chie asked.
"It wouldn't be our fault if he escaped into the TV. Of course, there may not be a way out for him once he goes in..." Naoto said darkly.
Namatame quickly realizes what Naoto is insinuating and begins cowering, begging for mercy.
"Wait! You're not seriously suggesting…" Rise said.
"Of course she is. Isn't that what we're all thinking?" Marie asked grimly.
"We can't do that!" Chie protested.
"So what? You're fine with things the way they are?" Yosuke asked angrily.
"It's not about that!" Chie responded.
"No! It's not like he said! This is a misunderstanding!" Namatame insisted desperately, crawling for the door.
Yui stood in Namatame's path, glaring at him for a moment before tearing her gaze away. Without looking back at him, Yui coldly, and thoughtlessly, pointed toward the TV, her gesture's meaning clear to Kanji and Yosuke. Kanji and Yosuke grabbed a wailing Namatame by the collar and dragged him towards the TV, much to the horror of Chie, Yukiko and Rise.
"Senpai! What are you doing?!" Rise shrieked.
"Yui-chan! Don't let them do this!" Chie begged Yui.
"If you don't want to be a part of this, then leave…" Yosuke told the others.
"No! Please! Don't! I just wanted to save her!" Namatame screamed.
"He's acting so pathetic…" Naoto muttered.
"I can't stand hearing him. Hurry up and get rid of him, already." Marie growled.
Yosuke and Kanji managed to press Namatame against the TV screen, but Namatame was able to resist by grabbing the edges. It was clear however, that he would not be able to hold on for long.
"I just wanted to save her! I didn't want her to die!" Namatame screamed.
Yui brought herself to look at Namatame one last time. She saw his face contorted in fear and his eyes filled to the brim with terror. For a brief moment, she also saw the image of Nanako smiling and laughing, long before she ever ended up the way she was now. This vision caused Yui to come to her senses.
"Stop!" Yui shouted as she ran over and pulled Namatame away from the TV, tossing him to the floor.
Yui was breathing heavily, feeling light headed after using a lot of her energy to resist both Yosuke and Kanji. Namatame curled up into a fetal position while Yosuke and Kanji stared at Yui in bewilderment.
"What the hell, Yui?!" Yosuke shouted at her.
"We can't! We can't do this!" Yui told Yosuke in between breaths.
"What are you talking about?! At this rate, he's going to get away scot-free! Is that what you want?!" Yosuke argued.
"If we do this to him, we're no better than he is!" Yui shouted furiously.
Everyone stared at Yui as a moment of clarity shone through to all of them. Yui walked over to the wall and leaned against it, sliding down as she buried her face into her arms.
"If we do this, we'd be murderers too. I can't live with that on my conscience. But...I don't know what else to do now…I don't know what to do anymore..." Yui whimpered, before beginning to sob.
Yui cried as the others stood so silently, all they could hear was the ticking clock. After a couple minutes, Chie went over to Yui and knelt down in front of her. When Yui looked up at Chie, Chie held out her arms for her. Yui fell into Chie's waiting arms, and the two of them hugged. After Yui finished crying, she dried her eyes and stood tall.
"Have we forgotten what our goal was?" Yui asked her friends.
The others waited for Yui to answer the question for them. Or rather, to reaffirm what they already knew.
"We're here to find the truth." Yui stated.
"What do you mean? This IS the truth! It's right in front of us!" Yosuke argued, not completely convinced.
"No. I feel something's wrong. Maybe we're misunderstanding something." Yui insisted.
"What could we be misunderstanding? Huh?" Yosuke asked, grabbing Yui's collar.
"Just calm down, Yosuke. And let go of my fucking shirt." Yui said firmly.
Yosuke quickly let go of Yui, apologizing for grabbing her like that. Naoto spoke up after recollecting herself.
"It's true that we haven't heard Namatame's side of the story. Given him a chance to speak for himself." Naoto noted.
"How am I supposed to understand the mind of a murderer who thinks he's saving people?!" Yosuke asked.
"Yosuke...I'm not convinced yet either. We need to come together on this." Chie told Yosuke.
"Yes, we can't stray now!" Yukiko agreed.
"We'd only be deceiving ourselves if we left things unresolved, right?" Kanji thought aloud.
"I'll do my best no matter what!" Rise stated.
"I thought the answer was clear, for once. But it looks like there's still more to learn." Marie commented.
Yosuke looked at everyone else before accepting what he needed to do.
"OK. I'm with you all. Let's keep searching for the truth." Yosuke said.
"Good. Thank you, everyone. I couldn't have wished for better friends, or a better team!" Yui said proudly.
Yui and the others went into the lobby to think more clearly, after making sure Namatame wouldn't try to escape again.
"One thing that bothers me...why did Namatame kill his mistress?" Yui asked her friends.
"Because he wanted to 'save' her?" Chie stated, emphasizing how off the phrase sounded.
"That bastard's sick in the head." Kanji commented.
"After the first murder, the police spoke with Namatame. There was nothing suspicious about his alibi, testimony or demeanor." Naoto explained.
"If you ask me, maybe he just put on a really good act. Maybe he wasn't trying to save her at all and just murdered her." Yosuke said dismissively.
"But that would make the reason for killing Yamano even more puzzling." Naoto responded.
"Maybe his wife was getting suspicious, and she was getting in the way." Rise guessed.
"Recall that by the time of the incident, Namatame already separated from Hiiragi, and she already knew about his affair with Yamano. And most importantly, Yamano's death came as a shock to Namatame." Naoto reminded everyone.
"We can't seem to figure out why Namatame killed Yamano. But then, why was her name in his journal?" Yui asked.
"Guys?" Marie spoke up.
"What is it Marie-chan?" Yui asked Marie.
"Where's Teddie?" Marie asked.
Everyone suddenly realized that Teddie hadn't come back from wherever he went off to. Yosuke tried to call him through his phone, but to no avail.
"Agh, maybe he went home already. I can't call home at this hour, so I guess I'll see him there." Yosuke muttered.
"Let's call it a night, everyone. Thank you for being here for me." Yui told everyone as they walked out of the hospital.
"Are you alright, Yui-chan?" Chie asked.
"I'm...I'm fine." Yui replied, no matter how much of a lie it was.
"Well then, I'm off. Good night everyone." Yosuke said as he walked home.
Kanji went home as well, with Yukiko and Naoto following shortly after him. Rise gave Marie one more hug for the night before going home herself. When Yui saw Chie and Marie stay behind, she understood why.
"You two can go home now." Yui told them, a bit too bluntly.
"I know you're not OK, Yui-chan…" Chie said quietly.
Yui tried laughing humorlessly at this, despite it doing absolutely nothing to suppress her emotions. At that moment, it began snowing, the faint and ephemeral snowflakes drifting down like flower petals. Yui started losing it again, choking up and sobbing.
"I wanted to make snowmen with my sister. I've never even had a sister to do that with...now I never will…" Yui said tearfully.
Yui shuffled over to Chie to hug her, and Chie held her like she would fall apart if she didn't.
"Did I make the right choice back there? Sparing him?" Yui asked.
"I know you did." Chie stated, despite her own uncertainty.
"You must have. You have to trust that you did. I do…" Marie told Yui.
Yui continued to cry, knowing that no matter how horrible today had been, tomorrow would still arrive nonetheless. No matter how much she cursed it, tomorrow would be a day without Nanako.
Author's Note(10-31-23): No, I'm not crying...