Part 101: December 5 Part 2: The Moment of Truth

-The Path is Open-


The finalized design for Teddie. The central point of his design was that he would be a character everyone could love.



> ...Of course, if you look only at the circumstances, you can't completely rule out that possibility. Adachi may have been able to keep an eye on your actions. He would have been able to approach your house with ease, and he knows the area well...Thinking about it, you encountered him many times while investigating the case. You learned much about the police's movements from Adachi as well. There is no exact reason to doubt him, but something is bothering you. However...







> ...Should you tell your friends your suspicions about Adachi being the culprit?

(Nail him to the mother fucking wall)

> You spoke Adachi's name...

Huh...? What about him?
Detective Adachi...A member of the police force...That is an interesting approach. It would certainly explain the lack of witness reports...It's the same reason no one ever reported seeing Namatame's truck.
This is a small town, so everyone must've known who he is. And since he's a detective, people definitely wouldn't have thought of him as being suspicious.
In fact, he could use his position to his advantage and hide critical information.
Huh...Well, if you think of it that way, I guess it's possible...
But we're talking about Adachi here, right?
I mean really, Adachi? He's your textbook lousy detective...
Are we really on the right track here...?
Actually...regarding Detective Adachi...I'm not sure how to put it, but there's something that's been bothering me about him for some time now...
Yeah? Hmm...
Perhaps it's just my imagination, so I shouldn't speak too--
Achoo!
Whew, it's cold! I think we've cooled down enough here...Let's go back in.

-Deduction-


That can't be...I mean, he said he came to escort Ms. Yamano and...
What...? Was he at your inn when the announcer was staying there?
When Ms. Yamano was staying at our inn, the media were swarming all over it. That's when Adachi-san arrived, saying he had been assigned to guard her...He told our waitress that fame could be rough...
Guard her...? He didn't spend the night there?
Huh...I wonder if he knew Ms. Yamano...
I dunno about that, but I heard he did call out to a girl in my class. I found out this afternoon. But I thought, y'know, that's just how cops are, so I didn't think it had anything to do with the case...
Detective Adachi also questioned Saki-san, the one who found the announcer's body, on numerous occasions. I heard it was because there was so little information about the case at the time, but...
It's certainly unusual to question someone with as strong an alibi as hers multiple times...
Then you think he had something else on his mind?
And that "something" is what connects those two victims to Adachi-san...? Come to think of it...We've been running into that guy a lot, in all sorts of places. And every time, he'd tell us what the police were doing before saying "Oops, I said too much" and clamming up.
Was that all to throw us off the trail...?
It would be no problem for him to drop that warning letter into your mailbox, either...
Not to mention the fact that he can destroy any evidence that might point to him.

> Various peculiarities have begun to cast a suspicious shadow on Adachi...

Then...is it really Adachi-san...?
We need to confirm this.
This is still only a tentative theory. We should work to confirm it as soon as possible.


Something has occurred to me about the case, and I'd like to get Detective Adachi's input on it...
Hm...? The transport? It's right now!? Right, I-I see...Thank you!
What was that about a transport...!?
Detective Adachi is headed to the hospital to prepare for Namatame's relocation. We must head there at once!

> Things are moving quickly now...You feel that you are getting closer to the truth.



-Who's There?-


Hey, do you know where Dojima-san went? They told me he snuck out of his room again...
Nurse: I assure you, we've made it clear to him several times that he needs to stay put, but he keeps going off on his own...
Geez...With Namatame finally relocated, I was looking forward to going home...
So...he's been relocated. I've been wondering...You seem to be in a terrible hurry to get him out of this hospital.
Huh? Oh, well, yeah.
I mean, we can't leave him here with Dojima-san and Nanako-chan around...
Didn't you guys think so, too?
Hey, what are you doing here, anyway? Nanako-chan's room is in the other wing. Don't you think you should leave before Dojima-san finds you? If he catches you, he'll start pestering you again.


There's been a lot of noise today for some reason...
D-Dojima-san! What're you doing here!?
Namatame's already been relocated. I was looking for you so I could tell you that.
You did what!? Who authorized that!? There's still more I need to ask him about!
G-Gimme a break, D-Dojima-san!
Those first two murders have been bothering me...His motives are shaky, and his alibi is rock solid. We closed a lot of loopholes on the basis of his testimony, but that part's still nagging at me...
Is this more of your "detective's intuition?" He's already been relocated...It's no use hassling me about it.
And you kids should really get home, too. You're gonna get in the way of police business.
What's gotten into you today...? It's odd to see you taking work so seriously...
C-C'mon, I'm always giving 110% when it comes to the job! You should get back to work too, Dojima-san. Your current assignment: Get better as soon as possible!
...What are you all doing here?
We came to confirm something...with Adachi-san.

> You should question Adachi...

(About when Yamano vanished)
The time the announcer went missing...?
I can't say for sure offhand...It's not like I saw her or anything. That was months and months ago, too. My memory's kinda hazy that far back...
(About Saki's interrogation)
Why wouldn't I question her? She discovered the announcer's body.
But she didn't know much about it, so I only talked with her once or twice. Was that all you wanted to ask? Well, I hope it helped.

> There is still something you need to question Adachi about...

(About the warning letter)
Warning letter?
The one that was delivered to his house. It's in police custody now, correct?
Uhh...I don't really remember.
Hey, whaddya mean you don't remember? I gave it to you to take down to the crime lab for processing. You're telling me you forgot!?
Ha...haha, I'm sorry...Your accident was right after that, and what with one thing and another, it sorta slipped my mind...B-Besides, that thing was just a prank, wasn't it?
Geez, what're you asking me all this for!? For crying out loud, what's this all supposed to be about!? Dojima-san, you really need to get back to your bed. That's why your wounds aren't healing. And you all need to go home right now! Do you have any idea what time it is!?
I'm going back...I need to get to the station to report in.


We know for certain now that the first two murders weren't Namatame's doing. Someone else killed them. Adachi-san...Do you have any idea who that might be?
I-I have no idea what you're talking about...
'Cause we think it mighta been you.
What!? Th-That's ridiculous! We already know Namatame's the one who put them all in!


What did you just say...?
Put them all in...? What's this "putting them in" business? Do you know something about the method behind their murders...? Don't tell me all that talk about TVs and whatnot from before was...
I see...Now I finally understand. To tell the truth, Adachi-san, I've been fixated on something you once said. Before, I didn't know why...Only that it sounded a wrong note to me.
Do you recall when I read Namatame's diary at the scene of Dojima-san's accident? At the time, I said, "Even the victims who survived and were never released to the public are written here." And in response, your words were, "Wow...Then that settles it." How, I wonder, would that "settle" anything? At the time, the police had no idea that there had been other attempted murders related to the case...You had no reason to say such a thing. After all, there are countless examples of people disappearing for a few days...Yet when I read the list of names, you raised no objection. Odd, that. What do you say to that, Detective Adachi?
I-I don't know! I-I said I'm busy...!









-Who's There?-

> Namatame's hospital room...Adachi isn't here either...


Dammit...Where the hell'd he go?


I contacted security...Nobody's seen Adachi, and there's no record of anyone leaving this area. So he must still be in this ward somewhere...
He's still here...? But we looked...We didn't find him anywhere...
That bastard...Ungh...


Nurse: For heaven's sake, what are we going to do with you...!?
Sorry. I got carried away...
Nurse: Do you even want to get better!? If you keep this up, there could be lasting damages! Have you forgotten how much trouble it caused you last time!?
You're right...Sorry...
You've got to find Adachi. I need to square this away with him...Please.


Yeah, I think so. If he's the killer, he can go through, right?
You mean he went in through here?
We searched every inch in the direction he ran off...There's nowhere to hide. I don't think we coulda missed him.
He was cornered...It's highly probable that he escaped there. If he does indeed turn up on the other side, that should prove beyond a doubt that he is the true culprit.
Damn, so I guess we were right...What do we do now?
Let's go tomorrow.
I think it's too dangerous to go in from here. We're not 100% positive he used this TV, and on top of that, we don't know where it might lead.
Let's go in from Junes, like always. It'll be fine. So long as we're ready for him, we'll crush that jerk in one strike.

> The extremely suspicious detective, Adachi...You've taken another step closer to the truth...



> You split up for today and you all went back home. So much happened today...You're very tired...You should rest early today to get ready to pursue the true culprit, starting tomorrow.

-Aria of the Soul-



> ...This...It seems that you've come to the Velvet Room in your dreams again. But something is different this time...You don't see Igor, Margaret, or Marie...






I could ask you the same.
I see...How mysterious...There are so many things I don't know about.
But I did realize something...

-I'll Face Myself-

I've been thinking all this time...about who I really am. But I couldn't find the answer...I was "no one" from the start...Humans live in the other world, and Shadows live in this world...From the beginning...That's all there was to it. I was just a Shadow in that world...
Everyone's worried.
You're always so kind, Sensei...
I figured something out...That day at the hospital, I realized that I really can't do anything. As soon as I thought that, I lost consciousness...Then when I woke up, I was inside the fog. Shadows can't stay in the human world...They aren't allowed. I walked and walked, but there was nothing all around me...Just when I started thinking that I couldn't go anywhere, I heard the noise of a car...And then I was here. I remember lots of things now...My world is a place shaped by human thoughts...One day, a Shadow living in that world awakened to human emotions. But humans and Shadows are completely different entities...So he made himself forget that he was a Shadow...
He wanted to forget...He wanted people to like him...And that's how he came to look like this. I really am stupid. What the other Teddie said before...In the end, it was all true. No matter how much I search for myself, I have no self. There was no me to begin with...I'm just a Shadow that took a different form so humans would like me...It would've been better if I had never remembered, but I did...I'll probably turn back to a regular Shadow soon...Oh yeah, Sensei. One day, when you meet Nana-chan in heaven...Apologize for me...Tell her...I'm sorry I couldn't do anything...Tell her I'm really sorry...
Nanako is alive.
Huh...? R-Really!?

> You told Teddie about how Nanako came through.

Nana-chan's...Wow...That's wonderful...I'm so glad...
Glad that I could at least hear that...
Heehee...My heart feels so much lighter now...I'm starting to get sleepy...What a strange place. It feels so soothing...It's not like my world...Something just feels so nostalgic about this place. Could this be your dream world, Sensei...?
I don't know.
Aha...
But...I wonder why I met you here...What am I supposed to do now...?
Let's move on together.
But...I don't know what to look for or how to find it...No matter how hard I think, there's too many things my little brain can't understand...
But, I do understand one thing now...I'm glad that I met you, Sensei.

> You can sense Teddie's pure and deep gratitude.



-The Path is Open-

Whatever plagues might be unleashed, whatever torments and injustices might be visited upon us...hope remains.



Always.



-I'll Face Myself-



But I have to get going...This is your place. It doesn't seem like somewhere that I'd be allowed to stay...Goodbye...Sensei...

-Aria of the Soul-

> Before you know it, Teddie is gone, and Igor, Margaret, and Marie are sitting there once again...


This is a room for guests who have an ego that can be nurtured...Shadows--mere fragments broken off from the ego--have no place here. The water's strength has moved a single stone that had stopped, returning it once again into the flow...*chuckle* Very interesting.

> Igor has a meaningful smile on his face.

Well now...It's about time we departed once again. This vehicle is still on its journey...There is no reason to tarry here for long. Margaret?
We're ready to go. Let us depart.
Sanzo's course has been set. There are no more bad endings from here.
*chuckle* You are every inch the guest I had anticipated. Now, it's time for you to return. *chuckle* I am even more intrigued now as to where this is all headed.
We'll be waiting for your next visit.