Part 74: October 6 - October 7: XIII. Death

-New Days-


Yes, thanks to all of you. I'd like to thank you once again for what happened.
Don't mention it. But hey, your uniform...
Huh? Ah...yes. After contemplating the matter, I went with what I've been wearing thus far. There's no need for you to...


Knowledgeable student: That's no prince. I heard "he's" a she!
Rumor-loving student: Huh!? Y-You serious!? If he's a she, then uh...O-Oh crap!
Short-haired girl: Aww...I'm kinda disappointed, but then again, there's something neat about it...
Brown-haired girl: Yeah...If you look at it a certain way, doesn't she seem pretty cool?


We're on your side.
Th-Thank you...But it doesn't bother me at all. There's no need to worry on my behalf. So please treat me as you did before.
That aside, I'd like to discuss the case with you all. We're dealing with a kidnap-and-murder case perpetrated by someone lurking in this very town. And it isn't over yet...Let's go over the finer points after school.

> Junes food court...

-Deduction-


But when I opened the front door, I saw no one there...Just as alarm bells sounded in my mind, someone grabbed me roughly from behind and covered my mouth with something. Immediately afterward, I was put into something like a sack and most likely carried on the culprit's shoulder.
Wow, how could you remember all that?
The culprit seems to have used a chemical to incapacitate me, but luckily I wasn't completely unconscious. I had been expecting a trick along those lines, so I was somewhat prepared. And of course, I was desperate to gather as much information as I could.
No wonder you're an ace detective.
That ain't something to be proud of. You are too damn calm about all this...
Judging by their actions and body type, I'd say the culprit is definitely a man. I heard no conversations or voices, so I believe he is acting alone.
It's after that that things get murky. I felt a single impact, which I assume is when I was thrown into the TV...But the time from kidnapping to that point seemed too short. It was a matter of minutes.
So you were immediately thrown inside the TV after being kidnapped...Oh! Could there have been a TV on the side of the road!?
Regrettably, my memory from there on is a blur...
I see...
But man...The killer came right up to the door and rang the bell? That's just crazy.
I finally understand why you all testified that you couldn't recall much of what happened. Such a bizarre experience, with mental and physical fatigue on top of it...It's only natural to be confused. And going by the surrounding circumstances, my kidnapping and everyone else's were near identical...There is no question that the culprit is the same in each case.
So...that Mitsuo boy, who said he killed King Moron...
Everything makes sense now. I can't say for sure until I gather more concrete evidence...But Mitsuo's only victim was Mr. Morooka. It was a copycat killing that mimicked the true culprit's method.
No wonder King Moron's death broke the pattern in so many ways...
The question remains, though, as to how Kubo learned of that world.
That's it! That's what was bothering me!
Mitsuo could enter the TV, right? Then why didn't he kill King Moron that way?
I believe he didn't understand the other world as well as the true culprit. Even though I can now enter it myself, it wouldn't occur to me to use it for murder...And remember, the previous corpses left no sign that their deaths had anything to do with the other world. After Kubo became wanted, leaving him with nowhere to run, he probably thought for the first time: "What if I put my entire body into the TV?" The bizarre condition of the corpses that caused so much commotion is probably because they died on the other side...It's a simpler explanation than figuring out why the killer would risk disposing of the bodies in such a way. Which means their inexplicable condition of being hung on a foggy day wasn't due to the culprit making a statement...Much of our speculation could be tested if we could ask Kubo in person. However...
I've unfortunately been taken off the investigation. And I highly doubt that the police will believe any of this...
They wouldn't admit that it wasn't Mitsuo in the first place...Once you've said something on TV, it's not easy to admit you were wrong.
I believe the primary cause of my dismissal was because I raised that possibility to them. The police won't readily concede that they made false charges...All the more so if the accused is a juvenile. In fact, the overwhelming sentiment with the police force is to end this case with his arrest.
Even if it's possible there's another killer!?
Those dickheads...I had a feeling that would be the case. Not that I trusted 'em in the first place.
But uh, Naoto...If you were that calm when it happened to you, couldn't you have, you know...I'm not saying you shoulda caught him, but isn't it kinda sad for an ace detective to go down that easily...?
U-Um...To tell you the truth, I was really scared...I-I'm sorry...
It can't be helped. None of us could resist the culprit, either. Don't forget, Naoto-kun is younger than us, and she's a girl.
Oh, yeah, that's true. I keep forgetting when I see her talking like this. You know, Naoto...
What is it?
You got balls, for a girl.
R-Regardless, I have no doubt that the culprit will continue with his attacks.
We can only watch and wait for him to make the next move...But this is no longer a mere job, or someone else's affair. I want to know the truth of why we were targeted. Please allow me to join your effort.
Of course.
Thank you very much.
I'll do my best, Leader.

> Naoto joined the group! She'll definitely be a strong asset in solving the case.


Since I'm the King of the Geniuses, I knew it would work out this way...

-New Days-

Ta-da! Nao-chan's glasses!
Th-Thank you...
They told me about you, Teddie.
I can sympathize with your drive to find yourself. If I may help in any way, let me know.
Wow...What a nice girl!

> The true culprit is still at large. For now, you'll just have to wait for them to make the next move...






Did something happen?
No...Rather, I'd like to have a doctor examine Teddie.
A doctor?
You mean a vet?
The normal kind, actually. If you're free, I've scheduled a checkup for him after school today. A thorough physical examination might be a good first step in figuring out what Teddie is. And I thought it might be a good idea for the rest of us to get checkups as well. We should see if the fog over there or the power we've gained have had any negative effects on our health. Since you all have been active on the other side far longer than I have, you should definitely be examined.
Negative effects!? D-Don't drop scary stuff on us like it's nothing...But, yeah--I never even thought about that.
I've arranged to have Kanji-kun and Rise-san looked at as well.
Wow, you're on the ball about this...Are you sure you're not an adult?
Her height's a big giveaway, though.
Well...I'll see you all after school.

> You'll be going to the hospital after school at Naoto's recommendation...Everyone underwent a thorough physical at the hospital Naoto recommended.

-New Days-


I was kinda looking forward to getting into some gigantic machine and being spun around.
Was there really a point to this? The doctors looked confused, too...
Oh, they're back.


I'm bear-y sorry for the wait.
So did they find out anything about Teddie?
They did indeed...They found out that they can't tell anything about him.
I even had them take an X-Ray, but nothing came up on it.
No matter how many times they tried, it would always be too blurry to read.
A visual examination and standard palpations indicated that he seems perfectly normal. Since the machine could be malfunctioning, they told me to try another hospital if we're still worried about him.
I felt bad for making them go through all this...
So, he is different...
Oh my, what should I do?
They took a look at everything inside me.
She just said they couldn't see anything on the X-Ray, you dork.
But at least they didn't find anything wrong with him, right?
Man, we know about as much about Teddie as we do those Personas and Shadows...
Oh yeah, I tried looking them up at the library and on the net. Persona means something like, another personality. And I think they listed "Shadow" under the related terms...
Shadows are Shadows...I think they're something that comes out of people.
Um, I can't really explain...
I performed my own research after the incident. "Persona" and "Shadow" are common psychological terms. Of course, the ones we are familiar with don't quite fit those definitions. This is what was written in an unofficial project document that I happened to come across. A shadow is suppressed power, and when controlled by one's ego, it becomes a Persona...
It becomes a Persona...? What does that mean? Th-They're basically the same thing?
Then again, all those Shadows we beat the shit out of did turn into Personas...
Ahh, who cares about the details...It doesn't matter what they are. If they get in our way, I'll crush 'em.
Still, I couldn't find any information on how they're related to the other world.
*sigh* There's so much stuff about us that we don't have a clue about...
There's some things we do know, though. Hmhmm...I got a bunch of awesome data with me.
It's kinda embarrassing that I'm the only one who had personal details shown to the world, so...


Nowadays, information wants to be free! Therefore, I'll break the ice by announcing the results of everyone's physical exams!
Wha--!? No you won't! Give 'em to me, NOW!




Look--If you're gonna blab it all...You might as well tell us the girls' measurements!
WHAT!? Are you a complete and utter moron!?
Sure, go right ahead. My profile's been public knowledge for ages. Oh, but my bust size is 2cm smaller than they print. My agency insisted.
N-No! Don't say mine!
Aww, I bet guys won't care what size you are, Senpai. And having modestly sized breasts like yours would definitely make it easier to wear a kimono.
Wh-What...!?
Oh yeah, Naoto-kun's is in here too, huh? Umm, let's see...Naoto-kun's is...
......
Is this...for real? Wait, isn't this measured wrong?


The important thing is that according to the examination results, nothing's wrong with our health! So we won't be needing these anymore! I'm going to go shred them!
Uhhh...Well, thank goodness everyone's healthy!
Y-You're right! Let's go home!


We'll find out together.
Yeah...Thanks, Sensei!

> Teddie is gazing at you with gratitude in his eyes...




Heeeey! If you don't hurry, we're gonna leave you guys behind!

Naoto is back and fit for duty.





The last team member, and one of the best. Naoto is not weak to any element, and can learn all four Dynes through Bike Date. She doesn't get any Boosts or Amps, but instead she gets Mind Charge, which grants a similar increase to damage-per-round. Her real specialties, however, are Light, Dark, and Almighty. Naoto will be able to take out the trash faster than anyone else on the team except Sanzo, and with Megido attacks she'll be effective against just about everything. Naoto's main weakness, apart from not having nearly enough skill slots for all her awesome shit, is that her best skills are expensive and she tends to run out of SP faster than the other kids. Rise's Vigor Song takes care of that nicely, though.