Part 78: 11/3/11-11/5/11

11/3/11

Had the day off today, but it was raining, which always sucks. I decided to go make the fox's rainy day a little better by telling it about the woman's wallet.



The rain stopped by nightfall, so I decided to head out to work at the hospital. Sayoko was waiting for me, she had something important to tell me.



> Sayoko asked you to come here…
I'm sorry. You're already done with work today, aren't you?
I wanted to say goodbye.
Goodbye?
…I'm leaving this hospital today.
> Sayoko looks straight into your eyes.
I grew to hate hospitals…
All the life and death… In the end everyone leaves, leaving me behind.
I was lonely…
Then I remembered.
I remembered that… I wanted to help. I became a nurse because I wanted to save people's lives.
I couldn't see that it was as simple as that…
No… I probably didn't want to see it.
> Sayoko smiles gently…
And to think that the one who would show me this is just some kind with a rag in his hand.
…I tend to go for older rich men, and I landed a child.
So… I'm going.

I was pretty shocked.



I'm going to be my own guide. Thinking, walking, taking responsibility for myself…
Once I've done all that, I think I can finally say that I've truly lived.
……
Will you take this?
> Sayoko gave you Hospital ID.
I give you the person I was when I was here.
> Sayoko looks at you gently…
> You feel a strong bond between Sayoko and yourself…

But for the first time she really seemed happy.



For once she was actually doing what she wanted, not going through the motions.



I'm going to say this. It's as much to myself as it is to you.
What's right… What you should choose to do in life… The answers to those things lie within you.
Now… So long.
> Sayoko left, never looking back.
> …You decided to go home.

11/4/11

Tonight was finally the night.



Been a while since it rained last, hasn't it?
The weather report says this rain's gonna last all night.
We're gonna have to watch the Midnight Channel.
You're right.
Only we know that the real killer is still out there, right?
Now that I think about it, we have to be even tougher now that the cops aren't on the case…

Mr. Hosoi is so strange.



Mr. Hosoi: You've gotta watch out for seasonal changes. I guess the fog made it that much worse this year.
Seriously, catching a cold is just dreadful. I have it worse than most of you; my moustache is such a pain…
…I apologize in advance if I mention anything too gross.
…Did I hear someone say I should just shave it off? I won't do that, and for a good reason.
Did you know that facial hair plays an important role for your body? Hana-chan!
Huh…? Wh-What? Facial hair…?
My bad, Souji. I wasn't paying attention…

I'm still not sure why shaving it off would hurt this at all.



Mr. Hosoi: Yup, you're right! I knew you'd get it, Hana-chan!
Facial hair excretes the accumulated toxic substances out of your body. Your hair does the same.
So when you guys are able to grow one, I want you all to take good care of your moustaches, alright?
…In fact, I think I'll put this on the test.
I think this is the most energetic I've ever seen this guy…
…Anyway, thanks.

It seems rumors about the fog are starting to spread.



Attendant: Pretty ridiculous, isn't it?
I feel very relaxed on rainy and foggy days… It seems the everyday noise just fades away.
Don't you think so too?

It is sort of nice sometimes. Anyway, I went to the shrine to see if the fox had another request for me.



The Samegawa made me think of that old guy who loves to fish down there, and sure enough that was who made the wish.



Old Man: …You know what I'm talkin' about, right? Samegawa has a Guardian in the river.
I've only seen him once, when I was younger…
I felt a tug I'd never felt before, and when I pulled…
He was huge! Not only that, but there was this godly aura around him…
I fought him for hours, but I lost 'im. No… I know he was just toying with me.
I kept on fishin' for years and years, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him one more time, but…
I'm an old man, and the strength is gone from these arms… Maybe it's time to hang up my rod for good.
…I just want to see him with my own two eyes one more time before I go to the big bait shop in the sky.
Then, I wouldn't have any regrets…
> The old fisherman looks off into the distance…
> …Perhaps he is the one who wrote that ema fox showed you.
> He wants to see the Guardian of Samegawa one more time…
Old Man: *sigh *
Are there any skilled young fishermen out there…?
> The old man glances in your direction…
> If you bring him a big fish, perhaps he would accept you…

Of course a while back I'd caught that horrible dragon monster in the river, which seemed to impress him.



Old Man: That Huge Fish you got there… It's not bad…
…Will you listen to my final wish?
Your skill, your eyes… I want to see you give it a try.
I want you to land the Guardian! You can do it!
…Please! This old man's beggin' you!
I'll catch the Guardian.
Old Man: I see…! I see, I see!
Alright, I'll give you this! My Angler's Set.
I carved this rod by hand, with all my fishin' spirit. If anything can catch the Guardian, it's this.
…Oh, and try it on rainy days. It'll be harder for the fish to notice your presence when it's raining.
And, this is my ultimate fishin' advice! Listen close, because I ain't gonna repeat myself.
If you start pullin' when a fish pokes the bait, the fish'll run away, right?
So… if you don't want to catch that fish, pull the bait away before it bites!
You'll keep your bait, and the fish you don't want will swim away. Just keep repeating that… You get my drift?
I'm counting on you!

I sat there for what felt like days, pulling my line back from the light nibbles. Then, suddenly, I felt an almighty tug. After a brutal battle, I pulled ashore the great fish responsible.



Old Man: Ooooh!!
Th-Th-That… That must be!
*cough * *cough *
*pant * *pant *
*sigh * You scared me. I thought I was gonna die…
So, that thing you've got there must be the Guardian…
Congratulations, youngster!!
I… I don't have any more regrets… Now I can live out the rest of my life in peace…
……
YEAH RIGHT! I'm gonna fish! You hear me!? I'm going to FISH!
Ya brat! Why don't we have a competition, eh!? Wahahaha!
> You accomplished the request written on the ema!

It was getting cold as I got home.

VIDEO- "The Midnight Channel"

Click Here For Video!

Did he forget his keys?
It was the deliveryman. He was asking where Mr. Takahashi's house is…

Just then we got a call.



Oh, hi Dad!
Uh-huh… All right. It's okay, I know it's your job.
Uh-huh… Uh-huh. Big bro's with me, so… Okay, byebye.
Dad says he's coming home tomorrow.
But I'm not lonely… You're here with me.
> Nanako is smiling cheerfully…
It's cold today too…
Wanna bring out the kotatsu?
Dad said we could pull it out if it got too cold.
That'll make it nice and warm!

We pulled it out, but were disappointed.



Okay, I'm turning it on.
What…? It's not coming on. Looks like it's broken.
> Nanako is disappointed…
Let's get the best one.
Huh? We can buy one? At Junes?
Yaaay! When you have some time, let's go to Junes!
> You promised to go shopping with Nanako.

I put Nanako to bed later, and waited for the Midnight Channel. I have no idea who it could have been though.



> …It's a silhouette!
> But it looks even blurrier than usual… You can't even tell what gender the person is…
Hey, did you see that!?
It was really blurry, but you saw someone on the screen, right?
Dammit… Is there gonna be another kidnapping…?
Let's get together as soon as we can tomorrow.
The one just now was too blurry to jump to any conclusions.
But maybe someone has an idea of who it might be… We definitely need to talk.
Just remember to keep your schedule open tomorrow after school.
> Yosuke hung up.
> …You decide to go to bed.

How can we protect someone when we don't know who they are?

11/5/11

Where do I start on this? Okay, okay, how did we get to this point. That's a good place. We got together to talk about what we'd seen on the Midnight Channel after school.

VIDEO- "Complications"

Click Here For Video!

To think a master of deduction and evidence would strain her eyes over an urban legend like this…
And yet… I definitely saw someone.
Could any of you tell who it was?
From a fuzzy picture like that? No way.
How about the regular TV? Has anyone become famous around here lately?
I can't think of any offhand…
I suppose these was that politician who visited to quell the rumors about the fog. His statement was read on TV…
But the chances of him being the one are slim. He returned immediately to the city after his inquiry.
Hrmmm…
Hm? What's the matter?
Oh yeah, they stuck you with the midnight shift for falling asleep on the beds in housewares.
I told you to use the TV in the electronics department, right? Did you remember to check it out?
How rude! I made a promise with Nanako-chan and I'm serious about living!
From what I saw… wasn't the person on TV last night pretty small?

None of us were quite sure what we'd seen.



It was probably just a dream or your imagination.
Either way, though, did you sense anyone in that world?
Nope. No one's come so far.
Then we might have to wait one more night and see…
Yeah, I guess so…
Good thing it looks like the rain'll keep up all night. Don't forget to check again later on.

When Dojima got in, he had a letter in his hands. That was where things started to go wrong.



Welcome back!
Dad, the kotatsu's broken. Can me and big bro go buy a new one?
The kotatsu…? Ahh, it's already that season, huh? Yeah, the weather has been odd lately…
All right, I'll leave it up to you. Get whichever kind you want.
Is that a letter?
It's for you, but…
> The letter is addressed to "Mr. Souji Seta"…
> But the name and address of the sender are nowhere to be found…
> There are no stamps or postmarks on it…
> There is only one sentence…
The Letter: "if you dont stop this time someone close will be put in and killed"
> ……
> Could he have sent another warning because another person appeared on the Midnight Channel…?

Dojima saw it and snatched it from my hand.



Not often we get letters with no return address on them.
So I was right…
Be straight with me… You're involved in the case, aren't you?
What are you up to?

I tried to get out of it again.



> You decided to make up an excuse…
So you're not going to be honest with me.
I've been treating you like family… That's why I never questioned you on this.
But I see that was a mistake… I should've intervened much earlier because I care for you.
I will have the truth from you today.
D-Dad…
We'll continue this somewhere else. But I'm not letting you leave until I'm convinced.
This is for your own good… Got that?
It's alright. We're not fighting.
We'll be right back, so don't wait up for us to get to bed… Okay?
> Nanako is scared…
We'll be back soon.
Okay… I'll be waiting.

And he took me down to the station. Someone tried to call me, I'm not sure who.

VIDEO- "Forebodings"

Click Here For Video!

> He took away your cell…
Now speak up. What have you gotten yourself into?
What was that warning letter about? Why would you be sent something like that?

I decided there was no point trying to hide what we were up to anymore, Dojima clearly wasn't buying the excuses.



> …You decide to explain everything to him.
Persona…?
People going inside a TV!?
……
I thought you'd finally tell me what's really going on here…
Enough! That's enough.
…I guess half a year wasn't long enough for you to trust me like your old man…
But I hoped you'd open up to me a little…
*sigh * It's a shame.
…Stay here for the night.
Whoa… Sorry!
Dang…
Go inside TVs… and Persona, huh…? Well, you can't blame him…
I mean, sure, I want to believe you.
And I know Dojima-san brought you here and asked those questions because he wants to believe you too.
Plus, you know, you'll be safe here.
He probably freaked out once he saw that letter and though he had to protect you.
Like what a father would do for his son. I think he cares for you a lot.
So yeah, don't take it so hard!

Adachi had a good explanation of the real source of this.



Guess he wasn't satisfied with the way the case wrapped up after all.
That's why he's even more sensitive about this and that-
A-Ahaha! I better shut up now before I get chewed out again.
Alright, I'll be just outside. If you need anything, let me know.

Meanwhile…



It's because I'm not working hard enough! There's no getting around it.
And you're proud of that because…?
Why am I taking care of you anyways…? *sigh * I shouldn't have bought you this…
Hang onto it, okay? It's your own cell.
I-I've entered the information age!
We'd get worried if we couldn't reach you.
It's just a cheap kid's model, though.
Th… Th-Thank you, Yosuke…
So, to use it, press this button…
Uhh, scrap that. Watch, I'll show you how I use mine.
He's not picking up…
It's raining right now, so I was gonna remind him about the Midnight Channel…
Does he not hear it because he's out?
I wanna go to Nana-chan's place! I promised to play with her lots!
We're not going. And go put those snacks back.
It's already dinnertime, so save 'em for your next visit.



I feel bad to think of her staying home all alone!
We could go take her some dinner! Please please please please!
Okay okay, I hear you! Geez…
So we can go!?
Sweet! You're so mature, Yosuke! My heart just skipped a beat because of your thoughtfulness.
Hang on a sec, I'll try calling again.
He's still not picking up…
Oh, duh. I forgot to try his home line…
Hello…?
Hey, Nanako-chan.
Um, is your brother home?
No.
He got a weird letter, and Dad saw it and got angry…
He took big bro to the police station…
W-Wait, what!? He got taken to the police station!?
Stop blabbering and let me talk too!
Good evening, this is your Teddie speaking.
Let's get together and eat snacks again!



We'll go check up on your brother and dad.
So don't worry, okay?
Wait, was it another warning letter!? Did he get a second one!?
And Dojima-san saw that, so… he took him to the station?
Teddie, gimme the phone back! I need to call the others!

I was stuck in the station with no hope of getting out anytime soon.



> …It's midnight.
> It was raining outside when you got here…
> Something may appear on the Midnight Channel…

How could I not recognize who was on it?



> It's blurry, but you can see a small silhouette…
> It's a girl… Most likely someone in grade school…
> This is… Nanako!
> You can't see her clearly…
> But there's no way you would mistake Nanako, whom you see every day…
> Nanako is on the Midnight Channel…
> Your uncle Dojima took away your cell phone…
> There's no way to contact your friends right now…!

All I could do was hope they would realize who it was in time…

To be continued…