Part 68: 10/4/11-10/6/11

10/4/11

Ugh, today. At least it wasn't raining in the morning, there is that.



Mr. Kondo: Remember, though, you should always drink water afterwards! If you can, drink 2.5 liters of water everyday!
Why 2.5 liters, you ask? Well, I'll tell you! That's how much water you lose on a daily average.
…Hmm, I choose you, Souji!
How much of those 2.5 liters of water do you think you lose by sweating? On average, of course.

It's not really that much percent wise.



Mr. Kondo: Wow, how'd you know that!? I'm impressed, Souji!
About 1.5 liters of water leave your body through waste, about .5 liters leave through breathing, and .5 from sweat!
So you lose water from just being alive! See why it's so important to drink it!?
I especially recommend that you drink water after exercise! Well, that's it for today! You're… DISMISSED!

Then it started raining. It's supposed to continue through the night and on to tomorrow, which means the fog is coming soon.

10/5/11

Ughh, not only is it raining, not only is the fog coming, but now this.



Mr. Yamada: Must mean it's really autumn now. Yes, the season of classic love.
Imagine a couple, walking down a road lined with trees… Their hands join, their lips come closer… I better stop!
A-Ahem, speaking of trees… Ginkgo trees are stinky. Do you guys know how horrible it is to clean up around them?
Oh yeah… Anyone have any idea why a ginkgo tree's leaves turn from green to yellow?
Umm… I feel bad picking on Yukiko-san, so… Yosuke!
Why doesn't he feel bad about picking on me…?
Umm… Any ideas, Souji?

Pretend I said something profound about chlorophyll here.



Mr. Yamada: Wow, good job. I had faith that you'd get it right, Yosuke!
The green coloration is caused by chlorophyll, and as it ages, the leaf's true color emerges: yellow.
People think the leaves turn from green to yellow, but what you're actually seeing are their original colors.
Though, the color change in maple leaves is a very different process. But that's more of Ms. Kashiwagi's field! Haha!
Ahhh… So the original color makes autumn more beautiful. That's pretty crazy…
Well, thanks, Souji.

I went to Aiya for my customary celebratory Aiya bowl. It tasted like victory.



Weather Announcer: The week ended on a wet note as rain clouds moved into the area.
As a result, a thick fog is expected to form in the Inaba region later tonight…
> It seems the fog will set in tonight…

And of course it did.



> The fog has set in…
> No one is appearing on the Midnight Channel.
> Since Naoto has been rescued, it seems the killer was thwarted this time…

Still, we're no closer right now. Hopefully Naoto has something for us when she gets back.

Meanwhile…



10/6/11

Naoto was feeling better today, it's good to see her back.

VIDEO- "Naoto's Return"

Click Here For Video!

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…
Rumor-Loving Student: Hey, it's the Detective Prince.
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?
My, my… Rumors spread so quickly.

The rumors don't matter, though.



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.

We all headed to Junes. Naoto had some details none of the others had managed to pick up.



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 inside the TV…
But the time from kidnapping to that point seemed too short… It was a matter of minutes.

I'm never sure where Chie gets these ideas but they can't all be gold.



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 Kubo's only victim was Mr. Morooka. It was a copycat killing that mimicked the 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!

This one was a bit better actually.



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 such 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 within the police force is to end this case with his arrest.

It looks like we're on our own, as always. And Yosuke's still a dick, also as always.



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…
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.

I mean seriously, way to go numbnuts.



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.

We've grown into a pretty solid little team here, I think.



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.

Maybe we can really do this. Maybe we can really stop this bastard.



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

Still, all we can do for now is wait and see. And exams. Ugh.