Chapter Six
It was raining today, after saying goodbye to Nanako at the Samegawa flood plain, Naruto was on his way to school, using his clear white umbrella to block off the rain.
While walking, he noticed a girl looking at him from the side.
He turned and gave her a wink.
A hint of discomfort crossed her features for a split second. She glanced away with her nose turned up, as if smelling something disgusting.
Naruto snapped his fingers. "Damn, Yosuke." Naruto groaned, standing there awkwardly in the rain. He sighed like a wounded soldier on a battlefield.
There goes the classic Uzumaki charm, but he can understand. First impressions of the new transfer student was the memory of vomiting? Pretty sure even the guys would stay away from him a bit.
Seems like the Uzumaki charm faded, no longer in luck.
Naruto gave a helpless shrug. Well, we can't all be winners in life…
"Huh. Naruto? Perfect timing! Make some space for me!" a familiar voice called out.
Looking to see who was calling him, Naruto jumped when a figure rushed to his side and forced herself under his umbrella.
Seeing that it was Chie, Naruto smiled brightly, tilting the umbrella to cover both of them. "Yo. What's soaking, Satonaka?"
"Oh. Haha." Chie rolled her eyes.
"What? Forgot your umbrella today?" Naruto asked with a tilted head.
Chie, from his question, giggled nervously as she played with her fingers. "I, um, did have my own umbrella, but I saw this kung fu movie last night where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves…"
Seeing the blond's puzzled stare, Chie gave a shaking smile, fidgeting in her place. "And… I may have accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the movie."
"Ptsh…" Naruto's smile extended before a small laugh came out.
"You…" Chie pouted. "Hmph! Why are you being so mean in the morning?"
Naruto laughed harder causing Chie to scowl.
When Naruto's laugh died down, he shook his head already imagining the scene where Chie grabbed the umbrella and tried to use it as some kind of spring to launch herself forward, only for the umbrella to snap under the pressure.
"Oh, Chie…" Naruto turned back.
The next second, he was just staring.
He didn't get a good look earlier, but looking at Chie closely…
Chie was currently pouting at him, hands on her hips. Due to the rain, the water made her usually tidy hair flatten, strands of it sticking to her skin. Her face was wet in a way that made Naruto focused more on her soft chestnut colored eyes and pink lips.
The light drizzle had turned her cheeks a delicate shade of pink, accentuating her nose that cutely twitched.
Her athletic school jacket, soaked through the rain, clung snugly to her slender frame, outlining curves that Naruto hadn't paid much attention to until now.
"Hm. What's wrong?" Chie blinked when she saw Naruto staring at her with wide eyes.
"Ah! Uh." Naruto turned his head away, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "It's nothing. Nothing at all…"
Chie raised an eyebrow at his flustered appearance, she glanced down at herself then noticed how Naruto's cheeks had a tint of pink on them.
The tomboy thought of something.
No way, was Naruto… checking her out?
Looking at the shy expression Naruto had, Chie felt a flutter of surprise.
Although she didn't care much about appearances, most guys in their school were usually fixated on Yukiko, the Amagi heiress whose traditionally beautiful looks and ladylike behavior exuded an effortless charm that seemed to draw everyone's attention.
Even with or without Yukiko by her side, it was rare for anyone to notice or even take a single look at her in a way that Naruto was doing now.
Of course, even if there was someone, she didn't care what any of those perverts thought about. On the other hand, for a guy, someone that she knew, to openly look at her and just her alone…
A mixture of emotions welled up inside Chie. A gentle swell of flattery mingled with a touch of embarrassment and pride. A warm feeling spread throughout her chest. She placed a hand over her bosom, practically feeling her heart skip a beat.
It felt… odd, but… not in a bad way.
Chie shyly smirked at Naruto who was busy staring at a tree as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
A part of her wanted to tease the boy, but decided to give him a break.
She glanced up at him with a playful glint in her eye. "Well, come on, Naruto. Let's go, don't want to miss a free breakfast meal in the cafeteria today."
"Huh?" Naruto looked at her before nodding. "Mmm."
And so, Naruto and Chie walked together through the rain as other students passed by them as well.
At some moments, there were times when the two would bump into each other due to walking so close to avoid the rain beneath the umbrella.
Naruto, thinking he was sneaky, occasionally glanced at Chie several times throughout their journey.
Chie had a poker face on.
"Um." Naruto was unsure, "You okay there, Chie? Your face is kind of red?"
Chie jumped at his question, "I-I'm fine! Totally fine!" seeing that they were close to the school, she turned to Naruto. "I-It's kinda awkward to only bring this up now, but… we're pretty close here…"
She coughed into her hand, pointing her thumb down the road. "U-Um, since we're so close to the school already, I'm gonna just go ahead and run the rest of the way!"
Turning to leave, a hand grasped her arm, pulling her back.
"H-Hey…" Chie squeaked.
Naruto frowned. "Why don't you just stay here? I don't have a problem walking with you. Plus, you might get a cold running through the rain…"
The worried expression on Naruto's face made Chie groan.
She made a move to tug her arm back, but Naruto didn't let go.
The two were locked in a staring contest before a wild grin appeared on Naruto's face.
He let go of Chie's arm. "Since you want to run, then… how about a race?"
Chie was stunned. "Huh?! We're BOTH gonna run through the rain?!"
Naruto hummed, looking to the sky before giving her a sidelong glance. "What was that, Ms. Satonaka? I could have sworn… was that the sound of a… chicken…?"
"..."
The area was quiet until a scream broke it.
"Hu-What did you call me?!" Chie shouted, her face breaking out in a scowl.
Naruto, like some street gangster, lifted his chin high. He swiped his lips, arrogantly looking down at Chie.
"What. Scared?" Naruto teased.
Chie, she knew that she was being played. She knows it! But being called a chicken? Oh oh oh! The nerve of him! Who does he think he is?!
Not only that, but didn't he know that he was the reason why she was acting all weird and stuff in the first place?!
Her eyes flashed with indignation at the playful taunt. "I am not a chicken!" she retorted.
As soon as she finished, Naruto did something that caused her jaw to drop.
At that moment, regardless of the stares that the passing students gave him, Naruto began flapping his arms like wings. He opened his cocky mouth, making clucking sounds. "Bawk, bawk, bawk! Chicken. Chicken~ I'm Chie Chicken! Nice to meet you. Bawk, bawk~!"
"Oh! Oh! The nerve of…!" Chie threw her arms up in the air.
Naruto: "Bawk bawk!"
Chie lifted a fist, "Naruto, you-!"
Naruto: "Bawk bawk bawk!"
Chie's lips twitched, fire comparable to that of a thousand suns lit up in her eyes. "I'm warning you!"
Naruto twirled in his spot, stomping on the ground, wildly flapping away.
Because of that small twirl, to add insult to injury, when the umbrella briefly moved away the rain hit Chie's face, causing her to sputter.
Ending the ever so taunting Art of the Dancing Chicken, Naruto looked at Chie with a chirp. "Bawk-a-waaaaak~!"
Chie knew it. She knew that he was tricking her!
But even so… Her face flushed with anger.
"Alright! Alright!" Chie came up, poking a finger into Naruto's chest. She glanced at that stupid smirk on his face, she'll wipe it off once she floors him! "Okay, Naruto! You want a race, then you're on! Let's race… but how about we make it interesting!"
"What do you have in mind?" Naruto grinned.
Chie scratched her chin in thought. She looked up and down at Naruto. For a second, she was going to suggest that the loser buys the winner food, but she threw it in the back of her mind knowing that Naruto was so poor that he makes the homeless look rich.
While grinning, Naruto was confused on the inside. Huh. Why did it feel like someone was talking bad about him?
It took a bit before Chie snapped her fingers. Her regular smirk plastered on her face. "Loser have to share half of their breakfast plate to the winner! Deal?!"
Chie lifted her hand to Naruto.
Naruto confidently shook her hand. "Deal!"
Naruto closed his umbrella, and strapped it to the side of his backpack.
This act allowed the rain to finally fall on the two of them.
Neither complained as they both had fire in their eyes.
Chie went into position, a confident look on her face.
Naruto challenging her of all people to a race? A race! Hah! She can't wait to see that smile fall off from his stupidly handsome face! It will make it even better once he offers up half of his food to her!
She can see it now, a depressed teary eyed Naruto giving his plate to Chie who was laughing in victory.
On the side, Naruto slightly lowered his body. "Alright! On the count of three we'll begin the race to the school! One…"
Chie braced herself, her spirit was peaking.
"... twothree!" Naruto shouted suddenly, taking off in a burst of speed, his laughter trailing behind him.
Chie, who was still in position, blankly stared at Naruto's back.
Upon realizing what happened, completely caught off guard by the early start, she cried out in shock and injustice!
"Hey! That's not fair! Get back here, Naruto Uzumaaaaaaki~!"
Chie gave chase crazily, adrenaline pumping through her competitive veins. Why that no good-!
Her school bag bounced against her back as she dashed down the road.
Naruto, on his end, was laughing like the devil possessed. "Hahaha! This is a piece of cake!"
"Na-ru-to~!" an angry growl barked out.
"Huh?!" Naruto turned his head with shocked eyes. How did she catch up?!
Seeing Naruto's shocked look, Chie sneered, her chest heaving as her legs springed forward.
"Oh shit!" Naruto ran forward. "You'll never beat me, Chie! Eat my dust!"
"No! You eat my dust, Naruto!"
Naruto glanced over his shoulder, a wide grin on his face as he pushed everything he got into his legs!
Chie's expression was no longer angry, but was now determined. Her features lit up with the challenge, suddenly finding herself swept up in the exhilaration of the race.
Grins and laughter filled the streets with the sound of their footsteps on the wet pavement as the cool raindrops splashed around them, adding to the adrenaline rush.
Seeing the school building in sight, Naruto was sprinting, his arms waving forward and back as if swimming in the air, "Can't wait for your breakfast, Chie! Yum! I can almost taste it on the tip of my tongue!"
"In your dreams, Naruto!" Chie shouted, her legs going into a blur. "I wouldn't be Satonaka Chie if I lose!"
As they finally nearing the school's entrance, the two jumped forward at the same time.
"Noooooo~!" Naruto cried out, which was music to Chie's ears, whose laughter shook the air.
They both jumped at the same time, but Chie was the one who reached the entrance first, meaning…
The winner of this race was Satonaka Chie!
Chie bent down, hands on her knees while huffing.
Naruto came up to her with an amazed smile.
Their chests heaving from their race, large smiles were placed on.
"Al-Alright…" Naruto managed between breaths, still smiling widely, "You win. You're pretty fast, Chie. Have to admit that."
Chie smiled back, her eyes sparkling. "You're not so bad yourself, Naruto."
The two stood there for a moment, smiling at each other's drenched appearance.
"You still have to give me half your tray! You promised!"
"Yeah, well, I'll stick to the end of my deal. Oh, yeah, Chie. There is something you don't know about me yet…"
"Hm. What's that?"
"When Uzumaki Naruto makes a promise," Naruto smirked, pointing at himself with his thumb. He gave a wink, "I always make sure to keep my word, dattebayo!"
Later that day, looking at their class schedule, Naruto and Chie went to history class, where a teacher wearing an Egyptian themed headwear, holding a cane of some sort, was introducing herself.
"Hello, everyone." She smiled at her class.
"Good morning, Sensei!" her class responded back.
The teacher nodded, waving her crook to the side under the interested eyes of her students. "Some of you know me, and for others for the first time, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sofue Kimiko, and I don't know how much you know about world history, but I'm an expert."
She wrote her name on the chalkboard for everyone to see. "First, a little about me. I love to use my dowser to look for lost items, and there's nothing quite like a romance."
Naruto's eyes look on with interest.
Yukiko's eyes were slowly closing, before opening back up. A yawn escaped from her mouth.
Chie was busy paying attention to the teacher, while also doodling on an empty sheet of her notebook.
However, none of them noticed Yosuke, who was clenching his fists at his desk, a worried expression on his face.
That thing he saw last night, on the Midnight Channel, Saki-senpai was in trouble.
She was scared, running from something, someone.
When he woke up in the morning, he thought of last night to be nothing more than a dream, but when he tapped against the television screen, the familiar gray waves pulsed again…
Worried about Saki-senpai, Yosuke rode his bike to school to get there in the morning, and to his worry, Saki-senpai didn't show up.
He asked several of her friends, but none of them saw her today.
She was absent today, just that, she would come back tomorrow, or so he first thought.
He then went to check up with her younger brother, Konishi Naoki. Although the guy doesn't like him for some reason, he gave Yosuke an answer that instantly put him on edge.
Saki-senpai… she didn't come back home last night…
Naoki told him that just a few days ago, his sister was arguing with their father. The argument escalated into screams despite their mother stepping in to try to ease the situation.
Naoki thought that's why his sister didn't show up home last night. Perhaps she thought back to the argument and became angry, or maybe his dad and mom said something that irritated her again.
The younger brother wasn't all too worried. After all, his sister is safe. She could be hanging around at a friend's house to cool her head or something…
It also gives an opportunity for not just her, but for mom and dad as well to calm the hell down.
It was that answer that made Yosuke agitated.
Saki-senpai didn't come home last night, so where could she be…
Was she really at a friend's house? not only that, but with what he saw last night, something tells him that something bad is going to happen.
Welp, it's decided. Tonight, Yosuke will sneak out of his house and stay in the shopping district to save her.
Even he himself didn't know what exactly he saw last night, or what the Midnight Channel was. But all he knew was that in the shopping district, Saki-senpai would be in danger.
Not only that, but today he heard some rumors floating about that the body that was hanging, some say that it was Konishi Saki who found it…
There's too many things going on and this Midnight Channel…! Maybe it was a warning…
Warning him of the danger coming about? Why? Yosuke doesn't know.
But he'll be damned if he just goes back to his bed while Saki-senpai is being attacked…
"... And since this is my first lecture, I'll start with an easy question." Ms. Sofue said. Her eyes scanned around, pausing at Naruto.
Should she ask the new transferee?
Her eyes were soon attracted to Hanamura Yosuke, who was sitting at his desk in a daze. Ms. Sofue frowned, was he… not paying attention to her lecture?
"Mr. Hanamura, please stand up."
The class' gazes were drawn to Yosuke who remained silent.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem, Mr. Hanamura, please stand up." Ms. Sofue asked once more.
Yosuke didn't respond, silently staring at his desk.
Chie and Yukiko looked at each other in confusion.
"Pssh. Yosuke!" Naruto whispered, "The teacher is calling for you!"
Seeing that Yosuke wasn't responding and that Ms. Sofue was getting more irritated by the second, Naruto pulled out his eraser bar and threw it.
Striking Yosuke directly on the forehead.
"O-Ow! What the hell…!" Yosuke cursed as a few laughs came out around him.
Yosuke looked up to finally see the unhappy history teacher, who gripped the crook harder in her hand. "Um…"
"Thank you for helping me get his attention, Mr. Uzumaki, but can you please do so in a way that does not involve hurling objects through the air, disrupting the class, next time?"
Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry…"
"Apology accepted." Ms. Sofue nodded with a smile, her smile slipped off her face when looking at Yosuke. "And Mr. Hanamura, I expect you to pay attention to my lectures in the future. Understood?"
"Y-Yes. Sorry about that, Sofue-sensei." Yosuke nodded.
"Good." Ms. Sofue then smiled. "Now please stand up to answer this question…"
Yosuke groaned out loud.
At the end of the day, when the school bell rang, everyone gave a soft cheer.
Naruto stretched out on his desk. "Gotta say, history class here was a lot of fun." he smirked, "Back in the city, my teachers were usually uptight and boring, but Ms. Sofue made it so fun!"
"Chie, Naruto, Yukiko-san." Yosuke walked up with a worried expression. "I'm sorry, guys, but before you all go… there's something I want to talk about."
"Sure," Naruto cracked his neck, "I can hang a bit."
"No problemo~" Chie said.
Yosuke turned to Yukiko with a hopeful expression.
"So sorry, Yosuke-san." Yukiko gave a tired smile at Yosuke, "Back at the inn, things are really out of hand right now… I'm sorry."
With that, Yukiko walked out of the classroom.
"She looks so stressed today." Naruto said with a frown.
Chie gave a helpless shrug. "Can't help it due to being the Amagi heiress and all. These past few days… I guess they're running her ragged…"
"By the way, did you see… it… last night?" Chie asked with a mysterious look.
"Nope. Not at all." Naruto was straightforward with his answer.
"Huh! What do you mean no?!" Chie growled, "I told you and Yosuke to…"
"Sorry, Chie, but staying up all the way to 12:00 midnight sounds too troublesome." Naruto said. "But what about you? You saw anyone?"
"In fact I did!" Chie gave a smile. "I saw a girl!"
Naruto snorted, looking at Chie with wide eyes. "Um, wow. Congrats. Didn't know you swung that way, Chie, but um. I'll cheer you on! I guess."
"Oh, shut up, Naruto." Chie pouted. "But… My soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean? And wipe that grin off your face right now!"
"Whoa. Hold on!" Naruto raised his hands in defense. "No shame, Chie. Listen. Whatever you decide, you'll have my support. Wait a minute…" he paused in thought. "I do remember seeing you and Yukiko hanging out a lot, and you did mention she was your best friend. So. Does that mean…?!"
Naruto ended his sentence, looking at Chie with a gossipy look.
Chie turned green at that thought, angrily stomping on Naruto's foot.
Naruto screamed.
Chie huffed. "Anyway, It's definitely a girl, but I couldn't quite tell who it was, the screen was all staticky."
"Wait…" Yosuke furrowed his brow. "You didn't get a clear image on the tv?"
"Clear image? No. Everything was just static images like a slideshow turning off and on. Let's see." Chie thought back to last night when she watched the Midnight Channel. "Her hair was brown, about, meh, shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform, and…"
Yosuke frowned as he listened. Chie's experience was much different from his. He had a clear image of Saki-senpai from the very beginning once after that first static image. Everything played out like a movie, while for Chie, it was different. For her, it was static throughout the time leaving only images.
What the hell is happening…
Yosuke turned to Naruto with a sigh. Only if Naruto watched the Midnight Channel too then he could compare notes.
"So what about you?" Chie asked Yosuke. "Did you see anyone on your end?"
Yosuke's jaw clenched before nodding. "Yeah. In fact I saw not only the same girl like yours, but… I even know who she was."
At this, Naruto and Chie looked surprised.
Yosuke was quiet, turning his head, he finally saw the last student leaving the class. Only the three of them were left in the classroom.
"You guys. I have something to tell you…" Yosuke's face was serious.
And then, after he told them about what happened last night, both Chie and Naruto were silent.
"So. Are you telling me that we saw the same girl, and that girl happened to be, Saki-senpai?" Chie started.
"And… your hand was able to go… into the tv?" Naruto propped his head with his hand.
The two looked at Yosuke with weird expressions.
"Hey, Yosuke, I'm excited that you have a date with Saki, but… Come on. Putting your hand into the tv? The tv being a… portal? You expect me to believe that?" Naruto said with doubt.
"Yeah, Yosuke. I mean, I guess that girl looked like Saki-senpai, but the whole putting your arm into the tv and the danger she's in… anyway. That'd be one interesting dream, though." Chie shook her head with a chuckle.
Yosuke was helpless. He figured this would happen, but he doesn't really blame them. Heck, if someone told him that their hand reached into the tv's screen like it was a portal to another dimension, he would have called them crazy too.
But… Yosuke bit his lips, looking at Naruto and Chie.
Last night, Saki-senpai was obviously being chased by something. He will be in the shopping district tonight, but whatever that was chasing her… could he handle that alone? Could he really protect her?
Chie knows kung fu, so she will definitely be useful, and Naruto has some training as well.
If three of them were together…
While Yosuke was deep in his thoughts, Chie talked about how her family has been talking about buying a bigger tv for the living room.
"T-That's it!" Yosuke said with Naruto and Chie jumping in shock. "Chie, Naruto. Let's go to Junes!"
"Oh, yeah." Naruto grinned. "I forgot, we literally have the son of the manager of one giant department store here!"
He leaned up to Yosuke's ear. "Hey, Yosuke. Think you can pull some strings and give us a discount? I've been meaning to buy new headphones for a while now…"
"That's a great idea!" Chie gasped with glee written over her face.
"Hahaha. Yeah, leave it to me." Yosuke laughed while inside he was on a mission.
Show them that he had this… tv power thing, and convince them to help him out tonight.
If he shows them… Well, seeing is believing.
They would surely hop on the Saki-senpai protection plane once they believed him.
Yosuke tightened up his fist. A determined look in his eye.
Saki-senpai. Wait for him!
Leaving school grounds and arriving to Junes, passing the food court, the trio went straight to the Electronics department.
"Whoa. So many headphones…" Naruto glanced at the many boxes stacked against each other. Each headphone has a different color, or a different design on them. All of them, however, have the Junes logo stamped on each box.
Naruto looked at the prices with some thought. "And reasonably priced too… oh yeah, still broke. Hmm. Maybe I can ask my uncle about giving me that 16 years of missed birthday money."
"Holy crap!" Chie dropped the price tag of a tv she liked in shock, "This is expensive!"
The tv was super large and big, watching her kung fu movies on them would be a dream come true!
But… Chie winced. The price! The price~ She doubts that if Yosuke did give her a discount, it won't be enough to buy this thing. "I'll look for something cheaper then…"
Yosuke was seriously looking at the large tv that was in front of them. His hands became a bit sweaty.
"Naruto, get over here." he called out.
"Hm. What's up?" Naruto walked up behind the pair with a box in his arm, containing a large yellow colored headphone.
"You guys…" Yosuke looked at Naruto and Chie with a serious expression. "About that thing from earlier. I can prove it here."
Naruto and Chie raised their eyebrows.
"Oh… is that about that part about sticking your hand in, Yosuke?" Chie muttered.
"Ugh. Yosuke." Naruto groaned. "Come on…"
"Please. You guys have to listen to me. I-I don't know what to do. The whole thing with the Midnight Channel, and Saki-senpai being in danger…" Yosuke pleaded. "You guys are the only ones I can count on. I know. I know. I might sound… crazy, delusional in your eyes, but you got to believe me!"
Chie glanced at Yosuke with a worried expression.
Naruto sighed. He walked up to the tv the two were looking at.
Naruto looked at Yosuke before lifting his hand.
In Yosuke's and Chie's nervous eyes. Naruto's hand touched the screen.
… Nothing happened.
Naruto gave a small nudge, causing the tv to be pushed back a bit before taking his hand off. "See…" he gave a small smile at Yosuke. "Nothing happened."
Chie sighed in relief. "Whoo~ Look at you guys. Getting me all nervous for nothing. Whelp. Hehehe, guess this proves it, Yosuke. It was all just a dream."
"B-But…" Yosuke stuttered.
"Hey, come on." Naruto slapped Yosuke's back with a grin. "You're all nervous about going on that date with Saki-senpai, that's all. That's cute. Nothing to be ashamed of. Saki-senpai is alright. She didn't come to school and the workers around in the food court said she didn't show up for work today, so maybe she's back home?"
"Now…" Naruto threw the box in his hand into the air before catching it. "Do you guys have any program that allows you to save items for the customer? Can you save me this headphone set? I'll get money soon. Promise. Just hold onto this for a few days for me."
"Oh. And don't forget about a tv. Introduce me to a cheaper one, will you?" Chie chirped.
Seeing them about to wander off, Yosuke panicked.
He really… he can't do this alone…
Then his eyes stopped at the tv.
Yosuke gulped, after making sure nobody but them were in the area, he lifted his hand.
He brought his right hand toward the tv.
Sure enough, just like last night, his hand touched the screen briefly before sliding in. From the place where his hand sunk in, around it were small gray waves traveling across the screen.
"Oh yeah, so what other tv brands do you-" Chie turned back to Yosuke before gaping.
"Yo, Chie." Naruto came back, but this time, including the headphone box that was in his hand, this time on his head was a brown cowboy hat. "Check out this hat I found. Somebody must've left it here in the electroni-what's up with you?"
Naruto stared at Satonaka's wide eyes and gaping mouth.
Chie was silent, she gripped Naruto's chin before turning his head to face the direction she was looking at.
Naruto was soon in the same state as Chie.
"What the hell?" he whispered, eyes and mouth wide open.
"Whoa…" Chie said.
"See! I told you! I was telling the truth!" Yosuke was extremely satisfied with their reactions.
"Uhhh… Is that some kinda… new model?" Chie came up to stand on the right side of Yosuke. Her eyes fixated on the spot where Yosuke's hand disappeared into. "L-Like with a new function?"
"I don't think a tv would do something crazy like that, Chie." Naruto muttered, coming up to Yosuke's left side.
"I…" Chie was rubbing her eyes, blinking, but nothing changed. The large screen tv was still there, and Yosuke's hand was still in it. "You gotta be kidding me… Did you really stick your hand through the screen?"
"Yeah…" Naruto was silent, mesmerized by the gray waves moving about. If he had to compare it to anything, it would be like throwing a stone into a pond. Right when that stone hits the water, all around the stone, the water would ripple outwards.
It feels weird. The way the gray waves moved, it reminded him of that dream. There was that giant cube that spun as the center opened up to him like a door.
It's giving him familiar vibes.
As he stared into the gray waves, an ominous feeling rose inside Naruto.
"Alright. W-We believe you, Yosuke." Naruto said, his voice tinged with panic. "P-Pull back your arm. This… the Midnight Channel, and Saki… we'll talk about this."
Removing his attention from the pair, Yosuke laid his eyes on the ripples. He started pulling his arm back out and inside again several times. It felt strange.
For a moment, a sense of excitement grew.
He was worried about Saki-senpai, yeah, but experiencing this again was so magical, it was just before that he was too concerned to notice it…
"Yosuke. Get your hand out of there!" Chie shouted, feeling that something was wrong.
Yosuke, however, was attracted to this strange phenomenon unfolding before him, unable to take his eyes away. Ignoring their pleas for him to stop, he leaned in closer, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Whoa, this is amazing! I wonder if I can put in more than just my arm…?"
Before Naruto or Chie could react, Yosuke plunged half of his body into the tv screen, disappearing up to his waist.
Chie let out a startled scream. "Oh my god!"
"What the hell! Don't do that, Yosuke!" Naruto panicked. He grabbed Yosuke's waist and started to pull.
"H-Hey!" Yosuke gripped the edge of the tv stand, refusing to budge.
Chie exchanged a worried glance with Naruto. "Yosuke, don't be stupid! Come out now!"
"Guys, it's… really really amazing! It seems so spacious in here… I think there's more room to…" Yosuke's voice came.
Naruto's grip tightened when he realized Yosuke wasn't climbing out, but crawling further in!
"You dumbass, get out of there! Chie! Help me!" Naruto screamed.
Chie was at Youske's side in a flash, pulling at his waist.
"Yosuke!" Chie yelled, voice laced with fear and urgency. "You idiot! Come out!"
Yosuke's legs began to kick wildly before in an instant he bent his knees at the edge of the screen.
The moment Yosuke pushed forward with his weight, Naruto and Chie both blinked when their bodies lost their footing.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Several screams rang out before the trio disappeared within the tv.
In the Electronics department of Junes, all that there was in front of the tv on the ground was a box containing yellow headphones.