Part 43: 7/27/11-7/29/11

7/27/11

It was the first day of summer break, but we didn't exactly have time to rest.

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Now, about what happened last night… You guys saw it, right?
Yeah. Shit he said made my blood boil.
That mumbling of his and those fish-like eyes pissed me off even more.
Who the hell is he?

I said what I think we were all thinking.



Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
You too, Yosuke-kun?
It's just a hunch, but it makes sense.
We've been told the suspect is a high schooler… The police are after him for the murder of King Moron.
So to see that on TV last night, at a time like this…
I mean, he even taunted the viewers, saying, "Try and catch me…"
Uhhhh… So?
Alright, let's say there's this high school student. We'll call him Shin.
For some random reason, who knows why, Shin is able to enter the other world.
Then Shin, again for some random reason, starts throwing people into that world, intending to kill them.
The police can't prove the other world exists, so it's the perfect crime. He can't possibly be caught.
Now imagine you're Shin, but after a while, people stop dying when you throw them in the TV. You don't know why.
You want to kill King Moron, but the TV is out, so you have to do it personally. Now the police are on to you.
As a result, you-I mean Shin-is a wanted criminal, and there's no place for him to run.
So… you're saying he went into the other world to dodge the cops?
Ohhhh… So that's why he said, "Catch me if you can…" Wow Senpai, you're smarter than you look!
Geez, you can piss me off sometimes.

I think Yosuke's on to something.



But if he had a personal grudge against Mr. Morooka, that explains one thing.
With a strong enough motive, wouldn't he forsake the untraceable TV method and try to kill Mr. Morooka on his own?
If you think about it that way, it sort of makes sense why Mr. Morooka died without appearing on TV.
But I wonder what that boy's going to do, now that he's in there…
With Teddie on this side, there's no way for him to get out…
Y-You don't think… he's gonna get desperate and end it all…?
He did look depressed, like it was the end of the world…
No, I don't think that's it.
The killer has to know that the people he threw into the TV have come back to this side.
I can see missing Yukiko or Kanji. But Rise, a celebrity… There's no way the killer wouldn't know she's still alive.
So that means he knows there's a way out of the TV world.
As for the rest… We'll just have to ask him face to face.

Rise returned just then, but the news wasn't so good.



Not good. There's not enough information to go on.
But at least we're positive that someone's in there…
I see… Wait, where's Teddie?
He's still looking.
Alright. So we need to find out who that guy is…
…and if he is in fact the one the police are after.
Once we figure that out, we just do our thing.
That's right!
If he really is the killer and he's escaped into the other world, the police don't have a chance of catching him.
So it's all on us!
> Everyone's heart was united by the desire to solve the case!

Still, we've got to do what we can.



Well then, let's get digging!
> It seems you'll need more information on that boy to make any progress.
> You should ask around about him…

We didn't have much to go on unfortunately.



We don't know anything about that boy… Not even his name. This is hard…
Well, I'll try my best and get as much information as possible.

Kanji did have a good idea, though.



It's pretty tough… Seems like no one knows anything, huh?
But instead of bitchin' about it, why don't we go right to the source?
Just ask Dojima-san. He's your uncle, right? He'd tell you something.
> Maybe Kanji's suggestion is right…
> But you wonder if Dojima will say anything…

It was worth a try of course.



You… I told you not to stick your neck into things! There's no way I'd tell you!
Geez… Damn, where did that Adachi go off to…?
> You can't seem to get anything out of him…

Shouldn't have expected anything different.



Ah… Well, can't help it if he gets mad.
I guess all we can do is look for someone who can tell us a little more.



O-Of course I'm perfectly capable of gathering intel while I'm eating!
Mmm… But it seems like most people don't know anything about the incident.
How about… the police?

I think I know who we need to talk to, but he's nowhere to be found. I ended up having to kill the rest of the day, and I decided to head to the hospital again when I got home.



> You busily cleaned the recently vacated hospital room…
> ……!?
> You thought you heard a woman's scream coming from somewhere…
> You decided to pretend not to notice and continue cleaning…

I found out what had been going on soon enough.



> Sayoko looks like she's in a bad mood…
…Did you hear that commotion?
That was the first time anyone ever called me a "slutty bitch" to my face…
It's like a soap opera.
Seriously.
When I laughed at her feeble attempt at an insult, she scratched at me. Who's the bitch now…?
> Sayoko smiles wryly…
At the previous hospital I worked at… I had a relationship with one of the doctors.
But… he had a wife.
She found out, I was forced to quit… and I started working here.
Not too long after, it seems he began flirting again, this time with a different nurse at the hospital.
I don't know what happened, but I got dragged back into it. His wife came all the way here to bitch at me.
*sigh * The other nurses were just watching, with these stupid smirks on their faces.

Not sure what she was expecting.



Haha… You're right. I'd probably do the same, in their place…
Strangers are strangers…
> Sayoko smiles wryly…
*sigh * Everything's just a pain.
It wasn't like this at first… when I first thought about becoming a nurse.
What am I working for…?
What am I living for…?

I tried to cheer her up.



Oh… I'm sorry, I was just grumbling to myself.
You're pretty bold, for a kid.
> Sayoko smiles…
> You feel you understand Sayoko more now…

I guess I succeeded.



I'd better go. I'm sure that bitch is gone by now.
Be careful going home.

I just hope we can find Adachi tomorrow.

7/28/11

We did indeed find Adachi today. He was much more helpful than Dojima.



Mm? Aaah! You startled me… Don't sneak up on me like that…!
Eh? What was I doing? Oh, uh, you know… Investigating…
I'll tell Dojima.
D-Did Dojima-san maybe say anything about it?
Just keep this a secret from him… Please!
…Wait, what? Clues to catch the suspect?
If I tell you, will you keep quiet!? Okay then… I'm just talking to myself here, but…
He supposedly had a part-time job in the shopping district.
Where was it? Oh… I don't think they told me that much.
> It seems that Adachi has purposely leaked some information.
> Where exactly did the suspicious boy work…?

Now we just had to figure out where this dude worked.



They were talking as if it was some kind of joke. It really made me angry…
The culprit worked part-time at one of the stores around here, right?
It may be in this shopping district… Well, we need to redouble our search and keep asking around!

I figured Rise's grandmother might know something.



Rise's Grandmother: Rise is not home yet.
> You asked her if a student was working part-time here.
Rise's Grandmother: A student? No, I am the only one who has been working here this entire time.
Thank goodness Rise has come back. She's been very helpful.
> It appears that the student you're looking for didn't work here…

However, down the block I had some better luck.



> You asked if a student was working here part-time.
Lady: Wh-Where'd you hear that from? I told him not to tell anyone…
…Anyway. Yes, he did work here for a short time.
But this was a while ago. He freaked out just from cutting the raw meat.
Hmm… I remember he had black eyes.
And what else…
…Oh yeah. He said the person who worked here before him was his classmate during middle school…
I see that kid-his classmate-around here sometimes. Maybe you should talk to him when you see him.
I don't know if you'll find him today, but he recently dyed his hair golden brown, so he should be easy to spot.
> You've obtained a lead about the boy.
> If you can find his golden brown-haired classmate, you'll probably obtain information about the boy…

Sure enough, he wasn't around. I hate having to just kill time, but if he's not around there's nothing I can do.

7/29/11

Hoo boy. Where to start? I found the kid with the brown hair earlier.



Student: You wanna see his picture?
Heh heh, you do, don't you?
Well, today's your lucky day, because me and my friends are going around showing it to everyone! Want a copy?

Sure enough that was him.



> There is no doubt that the boy in the picture is the one you saw on the Midnight Channel…
> A name is written below the picture…
> "Mitsuo Kubo"…
> So this is the suspicious boy's name…
> You should report to Rise.

We returned to the TV world. We didn't know then that our greatest test was waiting for us.

To be continued…

Next Time On Persona 4: The Ultimate Illusion