Part 79: 11/5/11-11/6/11

11/5/11

Meanwhile, elsewhere…



On the road to the Dojima residence…

VIDEO- "Revelations"

Click Here For Video!

How could it be her…!?
I know what you're thinking, but… Nanako-chan does fit the pattern.
She wasn't seen… but she was heard.
What!?
Do you remember the politician who visited a local school, and made the news several times?
In those interviews, he always quoted a particular student he spoke with.
The child became well-known while remaining anonymous… That girl was Nanako-chan!
A reporter who took interest in this released her photo and interview using her real name in today's evening paper.
But even before that… This is a small, rural town. Her identity must have been circulating for quite some time.
Oh my God…
I should've realized it much sooner…
But I was hung up on the idea of people who were "shown" on TV… It didn't occur to me that this would qualify…
Wh-What're we going to do? Nanako-chan's home alone right now, isn't she!?
I'm on my way there as we speak to check on her!
Yosuke-senpai is heading to the police station!
He said he called Kanji-kun too. They'll explain the situation there.
Alright, I'll join them right away! And I'll let Yukiko and Rise-chan know!
Yes, please do!

I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually I heard a commotion outside.



Hey, what do you think you're doing!? I didn't say you could go in there!
Nanako-chan's missing!
Wha--!? What do you mean!?
Naoto's on the phone, calling from Nanako-chan's… I mean, your house.
Shirogane!? You there? What the hell's going on!?
I'm at your house right now. The front door's open and there's no one inside.
…I'm afraid that Nanako-chan has been kidnapped by our serial killer.
Surely you must've known, Dojima-san!? The case isn't over yet!
……

Dojima tried to reach Nanako, with no luck.



Recorded Message: The number you have dialed is unavailable right now. The phone may be switched off or outside our coverage area.
Nanako…
Dojima-san…
Is this true? Has Nanako really been…?
We have to hurry.
Why…? Why Nanako!?
Um, it's probably because the media-
Wh-What are you doing?
Duty Officer: Traffic Division, Ohta speaking.
There's been a kidnapping! Get your men on it immediately! Start with checkpoints along the highway!
Duty Officer: Checkpoints!? Umm, could you explain the situation a little more-
Quit griping and get to it!
The victim's a seven-year-old girl… My daughter!
Duty Officer: Your daughter? Wait… What about the scene? What makes you think this is a kidnapping?
Th-That's…
Look, this could be connected to that multiple murder case!
Duty Officer: Connected…? But we caught the killer.
How long has she been missing? Have you received any notices or ransom letters?

At least Dojima believed us.



Duty Officer: Um, a-alright… I'll try contacting each of the departments…
Even if you tell 'em this is connected to the murders, we can't prove it…
And everyone on the force thinks this case is over and done with…
Wh-Where are you going!?
I'm gonna go look for my daughter!
If this is connected to that murder case, the top brass won't accept the facts until it's too late.
I'm not gonna wait for those clowns!
But do you even have any ideas or leads on who took her!? If they used a car, there's no way-
Shut up! That's why I'm hurrying!
> Dojima left by himself…
Augh… What am I gonna do? Dojima-san's run off half-cocked…
Adachi-san, we'll go look for her, too! So please… let him go!
Huh? You know I can't…

Just then, the others ran in.



Whoa, hey… If I let all you guys in here, then I'm really in trouble!
Besides, we don't even know if this thing's-
Quit your bitching! Now ain't the time for that shit!
The hell are we sitting here for when this guy's family's in danger!?
You gonna own up if something happens!? Huh!?
Kanji-kun!
I know how you feel, but if you don't tell me what's going on, there's really nothing I can do…
Ah, so you agree to release him once we explain the situation? Very well, then.
N-No, that's not what I meant…
In any case, if we run out blindly, we'll have no idea where to begin.
Let's all take a moment to stop and sort out the situation. Perhaps this will help Adachi-san understand as well.
There's no doubt in my mind that this is a kidnapping by the same culprit who was behind the others.
Now. Consider that the front door at Nanako-chan's house was open.
I examined it, and found no trace that entry had been forced…
You mean… Nanako-chan opened the door herself?
Precisely.
The culprit didn't sneak in. He came boldly up to the front door and pressed the doorbell.
Like how it was for all of us…

Adachi was already getting lost. Not a surprise I guess.



But the circumstances are different for her, as compared to us.
Remember what Nanako-chan said when we were at the hot springs?
"I always do what my dad tells me, like not opening the door for strangers."
So is the killer… someone Nana-chan knows?
Senpai, do you have any insight into this possibility?
Someone at her school?
No… I doubt she'd let her guard down for anyone who rarely came to their house…
And I'd rule out her classmates. This is beyond the capacity of an elementary school student.
Hmm… I don't think we can limit ourselves to people Nanako-chan knows…
I agree… Then let us change our perspective slightly.
We know for certain that the culprit must be using a large-screen TV.
Huh…? TV? What?
Each victim was taken at a different scene, yet was thrown into a TV almost immediately after being kidnapped…
I would go as far as to say that it took place in front of their houses.
Therefore, the culprit must be taking a TV with him as he goes.
You think he's using a car?
Given the efficiency of the culprit's methods, I would assume a vehicle larger than a sedan. However…
No unusual vehicles have been sighted. I'd expect someone to notice, since most of the victims vanished during the day…
So it's someone Nanako-chan knows, who has a car… But it's a car that can't be seen?
I think we can rule out the possibility that no one happened to see the vehicle…
Especially since it's happened so many times now.
A car no one would notice…? Is there such a thing? What would it be…?

A vehicle nobody would notice. A vehicle large enough to hold a big-screen TV. Why didn't we think of it before?



That's right… Now I remember…
A delivery came! It was a delivery truck!
No one looks twice at a delivery truck, no matter where it's parked…
And if it were a local company, it'd be the same deliveryman every time so he's not a "stranger" to Nanako-chan.
She must've received packages form him during the times she was home alone, meaning we wouldn't know his face…
Adachi-san! Is there anyone who fits this profile!?
A profile formed by a bunch of kids talking it over…?
Let's see… A delivery company, huh?
I dunno, take it from a detective… I think this is gonna be… a lot more difficult than-
Hey…!
Maybe you're not too far off base…
Dojima-san put this stuff together to reinvestigate the first case-the murder of that announcer…
And there's a deliveryman mentioned right here…
I better go tell Dojima-san!
After resigning from his last job, he took up the family delivery business… Before that, he was… a council secretary!

I'd seen him around town so damn many times. How could I have missed it?



The enka singer's husband!
All we know about him is his occupation, but I'd say that's enough of a lead to tell us where to go next.
The address is… It's not far from here!
*sigh * I give him the clue, and he still finds an excuse to chew me out…
Is he gonna be okay…? The killer's not just a normal guy.
Nana-chan…!
Adachi-san!
If there's been a break in the case, I'd better hurry to the scene.
I'll just have to hope nothing happens here while I'm gone… I didn't see anything.
Adachi-san…
Let's go to Namatame's place! Dojima-san's probably on this way now!

We ran out, hoping we were in time.

VIDEO- "Crash"

Click Here For Video!









The smoke in the distance told us we were too late…



An accident…?
*gasp *

When we got there, Adachi was already checking out Dojima.



Wh-Where's Nanako…?
Hello? We need an ambulance, quickly. There's been an accident. One adult male is injured…
That's right, I should call backup, too! We gotta find Namatame!
Nanako… Where's Nanako…?
*gasp * What happened…!?
…was on my way to Namatame's house… when I saw him… drive past me…
I… I gave chase… and he… dammit…
Where's Nanako…? And Namatame…?
Find them… Please…!
But how…?
Oh yeah, maybe there's clues in the truck!
Wait, you can't! We need to preserve the scene!
Then allow me. If it rains again while we wait, the information we need will be lost regardless.
Look! There really is a TV in there!
Yes, large enough for persons of any size to fit through.
I also recovered a diary from the driver's seat… Most likely kept by Namatame himself.

There was no question it was him.



"Save"? the hell's he mean by that?
*gasp * This… It's a list of the victims' home addresses!
Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi…
Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa…
Even the victims who survived and were never released to the public are written here.
I note that Mr. Morooka's address is absent from the list…
Wow… Then that settles it.
The last date is today's…
"I can't believe such a small child appeared on it. I must save this child, no matter what."
Is that… about Nanako-chan!?
"I managed to take her to safety.
"The police have been active lately…
"This will probably be the last time I write in this diary. I've done everything I can…"
It's clear now… He used the same trick on all the victims.
He'd just ring the bell, like he was making a normal delivery, then throw the victim into the TV in his truck…
Namatame is the killer!
We need to go save Nanako-chan! Here, let's use this TV and-

I was almost ready to jump in myself but Teddie and Rise stopped us.



It doesn't seem like it's going to be foggy tomorrow, so we should go in tomorrow, the same way as usual!
But…!
If we fail, who's going to save Nanako-chan!?
Saving her will be our top priority from tomorrow forward. We'll leave Namatame's whereabouts to the police.
Dojima-san…

Naoto and I rode with Dojima to the hospital.

VIDEO- "The Promised Land"

Click Here For Video!

> It looks like he's regained consciousness.
You guys…
Are you all right…?
I must look like hell right now…
……
Nanako…
She's… my reason for living…
If I lose her… I might as well be dead…
……
She must be so scared right now… Waiting for someone to save her…
And… here I am… *cough * *cough *
When she needs me most… I'm helpless…
What kind of a father am I…? I can't even protect my own daughter…!
Dojima-san…
If anything happens to Nanako…
I'll make Namatame pay…!
You can save Nanako, right…? I trust you… Please… save her for me…!
You're the only ones I can turn to right now…
Please…

One thing's for sure, we'll bring her back or die in the attempt.



We will rescue Nanako-chan at any cost.
It may take some time, but you must put your faith in us and wait for us to return with her.

I don't know if I'm even going to be able to sleep. I've got to try, though, we're going in tomorrow. We'll bring her back, for sure.

11/6/11

We got together as soon as everyone was up and ready.



Definitely. There's no mistake.
The police should be pursuing Namatame, so let's focus on saving Nanako-chan.
Yeah. We're the only ones who can.
We'll save her no matter what.
I often thought it might be impossible, but we've finally cornered the culprit…
We made it this far… We won't let him take Nanako-chan's life!
Yeah… This is it! Let's go all-out and get it done!
I made a promise with Nana-chan!
I said that we'd play again… and that everything would be okay… I promised her that!
Yeah, so let's save her.
We're doing it for Dojima-san, too. Hehe, he'll owe us another watermelon.
Regardless, we must do whatever we can with what we have now.
This is something only we can accomplish…
C'mon, we can do this, guys! No problem!
Yeah. We do this the same way as always.
All we gotta do is find Nanako-chan before the next foggy day and get her out of there.
Nothing to it. Let's keep calm, be careful, and get it done.
> Everyone's feelings are one.

We had just one goal: Get in and rescue Nanako.



We entered the TV, the fog was thicker than I'd ever seen it.



Does this have something to do with all the fuss about the fog lately…?
Something's weird in here…
I think all the commotion in town has been affecting this world, too.
Well, we need to hurry now.
Rise, can you tell which direction Nanako-chan is in?
I sense her… That way.
Wow… What's this warm feeling…?
Senpai, we need to save her!
Let's go!

What we found wasn't like anything we'd ever seen in the TV.



This… is Nanako-chan's…?
It's so beautiful… It's like a storybook vision of heaven.
Like heaven, huh…
Deep down, Nanako-chan must really miss her…
I'm sure she does. She's only a child…
> In her heart of hearts, Nanako seems to have missed her deceased mother…
We have to do everything in our power to rescue her!
I'll need all of you.
Of course!
We're gonna rescue Nana-chan, no matter what!
We can find Namatame later and give him what's coming to him then.
First, we need to rescue Nanako-chan!

We prepared for our most tense rescue. We couldn't imagine the horrors that were waiting behind those gates…

Next Time On Persona 4: Love And Peace