Part 96: 12/7/11

12/7/11

We returned to the TV world after school to search for Adachi.

VIDEO- "The Nose Knows"

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If Rise-chan couldn't find him, I really doubt someone with a dried-up nose like me will be much help…
Hmm… Mmmmmm…
I do smell Adachy-baby in here, but the fog is completely covering up his scent…
Teddie… You can't do it either?
Wh-When you look at me with those eyes… I get this feeling… I've gotta sniff him out no matter what…!
This is my time to shine! Mm… Hrmmm…
Ooh, I'm getting something!

It seemed Teddie just needed the right motivation.



Teddie…?
Hey, quit wandering around! You better not flake out on us again.
Huh…? I sense it from… thisaway.
Is it Adachi!?
Umm…
How do I put it… It's kinda hazy, but at the same time, it feels like I've got a whopper on the line…
I don't get it…
Veeery suspicious… This definitely smells.
But that's weird…
If I remember right, that's where Sensei, Yosuke, and Chie-chan came from when I met them for the first time…
When we first…? Where was that?
Ohhhh… You mean that creepy-ass room where all the faces on the posters were cut out?
Yep… there's someone there!
Teddie! You really are amazing!
I-It was just dumb luck… It's because that's where I first sensed Sensei and the others…
That's why it kinda smelled over there…
Ahh, I see.
Wait… did you say it smelled…?

By the way Chie and I have made a pact to never let Yosuke forget this for the rest of his days. It's even going to be on his tombstone.



Huh…? You're saying… he peed his pants there!?
E-Eww…! I don't wanna hear it!
Oh, you lie so bad! Dude, I did not piss my pants!
Chie! Quit spreading random rumors about stuff like that!
Uhhh, well, it happened so long ago… My memory's kinda fuzzy, you know…
Oookaaay guys, enough fuzziness! Follow me, the master of fuzzy logic!
…Heehee.
S-Snrk…
Haha, I haven't heard you crack up in a while, Yukiko.
…Though I really wonder sometime about your sense of "humor."
> A cheerful mood has returned to the group, thanks to Teddie.
> And you've taken another step toward the truth…

We had to return to where our journeys in the TV had started.



And sure enough Adachi was waiting for us there.

VIDEO- "Adachi's Story"

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I noticed her first… and she just had to run off and have an affair…



Oh… it's you guys. You're very persistent…

I thought it was best to just get right to the important questions.



You're getting on my nerves, kid…
Answer the question!
Did you or did you not throw Ms. Yamano into the TV!?
It was an accident. She started struggling… What else was I supposed to do?
I called her out to the lobby because I wanted to ask her something. And then she started getting hysterical on me…

Adachi was in a talkative mood it seemed.



And what's this "something important" you called me out here for?
What they say on the news isn't true, it is?
All that talk about you having an affair and whatnot… It's all a lie, right?
Why do I have to explain myself to you…?
I see… So you don't deny it.
You caught my eye, but it turns out you're another worthless bitch…
What's wrong with you…?
D-Don't make me call for help!
Ugh, shut up, shut up, shut up.
I think you need to see what it's like to fear for your life… It'll get your head straight.
Wh-What're you going to do…!?
Sh-She fell in…
Ha…hahaha… Wow… So people can go completely inside…

Crazy son of a bitch.



That… happened in our lobby…?
I learned about the Midnight Channel through some rumor. You hear a lot of fishy stories like that on the force.
But it was pure coincidence that I touched the screen and discovered my power.
I burst out laughing when I found out. I knew right away that this was going to be interesting!
So you tested it out on Mayumi Yamano.
Nah, it was nothing like that. I'm a very sincere fellow.
I was just trying to punish the stupid bitch a little for betraying me.
Yeah, putting them inside the TV was never the plan…
But y'know, both Mayumi and that dippy high school girl struggled for no reason…
Then you were responsible for Saki-senpai's death…!
Saki…? Oh yeah… her name was Saki Konishi… or something like that.
At first, I just called her in 'cause of work-related stuff. Her being the one who found Mayumi's body and all.
And naturally, if there was any chance she'd seen something, I'd need to know, right?
So I was all set to be a nice guy to her, and then that bitch…

Then he just made things worse, creepy fuck.



Well, we'll get to that. But you know, I saw you this afternoon.
You were getting pretty cozy with that Namatame…
Huh… So I'm not good enough for you?
Well, I know how to deal with girls like you…
N-No…!
God, these high school girls today. This world's gone straight to shit.
When I was in school, I wasn't allowed to do anything but study my ass off…
I was supposed to be the best of the best, and instead they stick me in the boonies…
But I guess I got this sweet power to make up for it.
*chuckle * Life's not so bad after all.
Get on your knees and beg, and maybe I'll let you out!
Yeah, like that'll happen. *chuckle *
As if I'd walk into a deathtrap like that…

To have killed her over something like that…



You son of a bitch…!
C'mon, gimme a break.
I didn't know it was dangerous inside the TV. It's not like I was trying to kill them.
I mean, I'm sure they hit on Namatame, not the other way around.
A council secretary will one day rise to public office himself. Mayumi and that high schooler were just gold digging.
They got exactly what they deserved. I didn't do anything wrong at all.
Shut the hell up!
You knew from what happened to Mayumi Yamano that people die in here!
*sigh *
So what if I knew?

I had a funny feeling he'd done something to convince Namatame to take the path he did.



Nah… He called the police in the middle of the night, just after they found that Saki girl's body.
The rest of the force had their hands full with the double homicide, and it happened that I was the one who took the call.
Namatame said the police refused to take him seriously… You were responsible for that, then.
Oh, quite the contrary.
If anyone else had taken the call, sure, but I actually did believe him, y'know…?

The truth was worse than I'd thought.



And now you're seeing a girl in a kimono on that weird program, and you think she'll die too. Is that right?
Namatame-san… Do you seriously expect us to believe something like that?
B-But… it's true! If there's any way the police can protect her…
Listen… There's no way the police are going to make a move based on a fantasy story like that.
……
It does sound interesting, though…
B-But…
Oh, I have an idea…
If you really want to save her that much… Why not do it yourself?
Like…
You could shelter her somewhere. Some place where no one could find her.
Where no one could find her…?
Save her yourself… You can do it.
I'm busy, so I'm hanging up now. Bye.

Even the people he didn't directly kill he'd put in horrible danger.



Of all the people who could've received Namatame's call, it ended up being me. Talk about luck!
All I did was give him a little push…
And he completely bought into his vision of this world. The more people you guys saved, the more he'd kidnap…
Both sides had the best of intentions, so the game of cat and mouse would never end… Haha, it was awesome.
You gotta be shittin' me…!
Why…? What reasons could you have for doing that!?
Reasons…? None, really.
I could do it, that's all. And it was fun… I guess that's my reason?
Y-You murdered people just for the fun of it!?
C'mon… All I did was put people in here. I didn't murder them.
And Namatame did most of it.
I had nothing to do with any of you.
You're just dodging the blame!
Yeah? Then how would you prove it?
"He put people inside TVs"? Haha, you think the police are that stupid?
Grrrrr, what a jerkwad…!
I do admit, though. I never though you guys would manage to track me down.
I like that, Games like this gotta have surprises or they get boring fast.

He thought it was all a game…



Then… you mean to say that Mitsuo Kubo's disappearance was your doing as well?
I did sense something odd in his course of action…
If he had special powers and wanted attention, why resort to a regular copycat crime?
But that wasn't the case… Kubo had no such powers. In fact, he was thrown in by you… Am I correct?
It had been a while since I last put someone inside the TV, so I really got a kick out of that one.
Why did you do that…?
And… how come Mitsuo didn't say anything about you…?
Haha, you think that didn't occur to me before I did it? C'mon, I'm a detective.
I let him through to a room at the station with a TV, switched off the lights, and did it quick while he was still startled.
As long as he didn't see me push him in, and no one else did either, no one would believe him… even if he survived.
Of course, I don't think the Kubo kid ever figured out what happened, haha.
Wait, the police station…?
Yeah… he turned himself in pretty quick, actually. This was back when we didn't even know enough to issue a search warrant.
But the other officers decided it was just a prank, so they pawned him off on me.
I didn't blame them… I mean, a kid coming and saying, "I did it all! It was me"? Who'd believe him?
But it looked bad… I didn't think anyone would come forward and take the blame for all the incidents.
The police were desperate to pin it on anyone… If this kid really did it, they might have announced the case was closed.

The worst part is, he threw Kubo in just to continue his game.



That's why I told the others I sent him home. I came up with the idea to put him inside the TV on the spot.
The game would be over…? You threw him in just so your fun wouldn't end!?
You gotta have some excitement in life, don't you agree?
But then you guys put your foot in it yet again and ruined my fun.
Thanks to you, Kubo was arrested again, and everyone acted like he was the true culprit behind it all.
Tch… Couldn't they see how badly he copied the crime scene?
It worked out in the end, though, because good ol' Namatame kept saving people.
I guess the guy started to develop some kinda messiah complex, huh? What an idiot.
This is all a game to you…
How dare you murder people… murder Saki-senpai for such a stupid reason! You bastard… I'll never forgive you!
You can keep your forgiveness.
Our world will probably become just like this place soon enough anyways.
Didn't you notice? The fog's leaking out. Everything on that side's pretty much screwed…

Adachi's news was chilling.



Wh-What the hell's he talking about…?
This isn't his real body…
The real Adachi is somewhere else.
But this guy feels different from an ordinary Shadow… It doesn't seem like he's going berserk…
Wow, you can tell that much?
This me is just around to greet you guys and thank you for wasting your time by chasing me in here.
I'd say this world has taken a real shine to me… I feel like it's given me everything I've ever wanted.
And the monsters don't attack me at all. Maybe they can tell we have the same goal…?
The Shadows'… goal?
By the end of the year, Inaba will disappear completely into the fog. Soon, this place will be reality.
I'll be in this world, so if you want me, come and get me.
This world has a mind of its own. We'll see which of us it favors.
Keep your bullshit to yourself.
It's about time you shut the hell up. We'll finish this right now!

Adachi vanished in a flash of light as Kanji swung.



I'll be expecting you all… We'll put an end to this.
Get back here, you…!!
That stuff about the world's mind, and how this place will become our reality… Was he serious?
The rest of his confessions were consistent. We'd best proceed under the assumption that it's no lie.
It felt like… he's gained some strong power after coming here.
Not only that… Maybe he got taken over by that power.
So what he said about the two worlds becoming one… That's really gonna happen?
Didn't he say that it would happen by the end of this year!?
What happens then!?
I think he means… this world will engulf the human world.
The people in town are acting weird. It's like when the Shadows that emerged from people went berserk.
If the fog gets even thicker and this town is completely shut off from the outside world…
Then… the other side might become full of Shadows, like over here…
You mean, everyone's gonna turn into Shadows…!?
Dammit… Damn that bastard!
Why…? We went through so much to get here… And now it turns out he was pulling our strings this whole time!?

From this day forward that changes.



Yeah… It's about time we finished this. I don't want to feel this way ever again.
There's a path we can take now.
I sense Adachi's presence from that direction… He's taunting us.
Bring it on!
Let's go kick his ass, right now!
Wait! I suggest we prepare ourselves first.
We can't let him stab us in the back, ever again…
We must face him with all the power at our disposal, and defeat him without fail!
I'm a little worried what he means, "by the end of the year"… But now's not the time to freak out!
Let's get prepared! Let's get OVERprepared and leave footprints all over his stupid smug face!
> By pooling all your strength, the path to the truth has been opened…



Now we've got to get ready to take him out. Hmm… Every time I've helped someone, gotten closer to them, that voice has told me it's been bringing me closer to the truth. If that's really the case, that may be my strongest weapon in the battles to come…