Junes Food Court
04/16 Sat
After School
When the school had finished, the three of them moved to Junes to avoid others from eavesdropping on their conversation.
"So that's why you guys think whoever gets thrown inside the TV will be killed…" Chie murmured to herself. "Speaking of which, who was that handsome dude you guys brought yesterday?"
"To be honest, we don't know for sure… We found him lying unconscious in that place, so we took him back with us. We don't even know if he's actually a victim or the culprit." Yu explained to her.
"Yeah, I spent hours last night trying to get him to answer my question… Shouldn't have tried…" Said Yosuke while yawning.
"What do you mean?"
"The guy can't talk at all," said Yosuke. "He could only answer my question by nodding or shrugging. I did heard someone said severe trauma may cause that but—"
"Just tell us what you know already!" Chie lashed her impatience at him.
"Okay, okay! Basically, he doesn't remember how he ended up in that place. He doesn't even know his own name. If the word 'mystery' is made for someone, it's for this guy."
"That's going to be difficult…" Yu murmured to himself. "I'll try asking my uncle about that, but what are we going to do if we can't find anything about him or his relatives?"
"Eh, I'll just have him working full time at Junes. The ladies in our store won't stop talking about how handsome that guy is, so I'm thinking we could use him to attract female customers. Of course, not as attractive as me, but—"
"Yeah, those tiny biceps of yours is a real lady-killer, alright." Chie said while rolling her eyes.
"Says the lady who only eats meat every day. At this rate, you're gonna get fa—"
*Crack*
Dojima Private Residence
04/16 Sat
Evening
"Uncle, will you be at the police station tomorrow?" Yu asked his uncle when they're drinking coffee together at the dining table. Nanako is there with them as she watches Junes commercial on TV.
"Hm? Well, I'll be investigating around the shopping district again with Adachi at noon, but I should be free in the morning. Why do you ask?"
"One of my friends and I found a teenage boy of our age unconscious near the river bank yesterday." Yu explained carefully so as to not reveal the existence of the TV world. "He doesn't seem to remember anything before we found him, even his own name. We don't think he's from Inaba, since my friend is pretty sure he had never seen him before."
Dojima put his cup down slowly at the table.
"A mysterious stranger in this town right the worst possible timing…" he said before staring intently at Yu. "If you ask me, his story sounds very convenient. You're not involved in anything dangerous, are you?"
Yu sweated a little at the accusation thrown by his uncle. But he still managed to answer his question without being suspicious.
"No, of course not. We just met him yesterday. But we can't get anything out of him either since he seems to have muteness. Right now, he's staying with my friend. We were wondering if you might find something about the teenager."
Dojima kept staring at Yu as he listened to the story, looking for the slightest hint of a lie. He doesn't detect any doubt in Yu's eyes, but he can't shake his gut feeling that his nephew is hiding something.
This is wrong… Dojima thought to himself. I shouldn't accuse my own family…
"… All right, I believe you. Get your friend to bring him to the station tomorrow morning. If he's truly a victim, we will do what we can to get him home.
"Thanks, uncle"
*bzzzt* *bzzzt*
Yu picked up his phone and lifted it to his ear, not bothering to look at the screen to figure out who had called.
"It's me"
"Yu, thank goodness you're still awake." Yosuke's voice can be heard over the phone. "Listen, Chie called me just now. Yukiko has been missing since this afternoon and her family can't find her anywhere until now."
Yu clenched his fist.
He and Yosuke had been prepared to catch the culprit, but they never guessed he would act this soon just a couple days after the second murder.
"Alright, calm down. We will ask Teddie first if he notice Yukiko had been thrown—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the TV in his room suddenly turned on by itself, showing a slightly blurry but vivid image of a castle.
Yukiko then appeared in a pink gown similar to a princess would wear while holding a microphone in her hands.
"Hello there! My name is Yukiko Amagi and I'm gonna score myself a hot stud!"
Yu can guess Yosuke is seeing the same thing he is now, since he barely heard his voice on the phone.
"My, it's embarrassing to say it out loud, but I won't stop here! It's time for Princess Yukiko's Hunt for Her Prince Charming! Well then, here I go!"
After saying that, Yukiko runs inside the portal leading to the castle. The TV then turned off by itself.
"Never mind…" Yu sweat drops. "Yukiko is definitely inside the TV world."
"Dude, what the hell was that?! It's like we're watching a poorly made and cheap TV program!"
"I know… More importantly, is that guy still living with you?"
"Yeah, I just checked his room a while ago and he's already asleep. Have you talked with your uncle yet?" asked Yosuke.
"Yeah, make sure you bring him to the station tomorrow morning. My uncle will investigate whatever he can from him. Also, tell Chie not to do anything by herself. Last thing we need is her getting stranded in that world"
"Okay partner, let's make sure we're ending this!"
"Yeah, we will," he replied.
Inaba Police Station
04/17 Sun
Noon
"Akihiko, wake up. Finish up your reports, we're going back to central soon."
"Yes, sir!"
Akihiko was busy organizing his report when Detective Kurosawa had caught him nodding off. They have been tasked by the central force to collect any information regarding the mysterious murder case in Inaba.
Normally, the Shadow Operatives will not interfere with a regular murder case. But the Inaba polices can't find any evidence nor deduce the cause of death for the two victims. Detective Kurosawa himself is convinced it wasn't because of their incompetence, since the investigation is led by Detective Dojima, who was known as an outstanding investigator.
Akihiko himself had helped with the police patrolling the area and searching for evidence around the two murders' vicinity, thus his reason for lack of sleep.
"Your friend is really something."
He turned to look at Detective Dojima speaking intensely to a young teenager with grey hair. What were they talking about?
"We tried looking for any match to his fingerprints, face recognition system, dental record, everything. None of them have any result. Our lie detector does not detect anything strange from him, so we can assume he's being honest with us."
"So we still don't know anything about him?" Another boy with brown hair wearing white jacket asked him.
"Unfortunately, no. I can't declare him innocent because of his circumstance, but for now he may return with you. However, I expect him to heed our call if there is any future investigation. Officer Sanada!"
Upon hearing his name being called, Akihiko swiftly approaches the detective.
"Yes, sir!"
"Please accompany them while they pick up their friend in the interrogation room. I'm going to go out with Adachi for a while." said Dojima as he hands him the key to the interrogation room.
"Understood, be careful out there, Dojima-san."
"Heh, I always do," Dojima smirked before leaving them.
"How do you guys know him?" Akihiko asked the grey haired boy while they followed him deeper inside the building.
"He's my uncle, I'm currently staying with him for the year."
"So that's why you can stay so calm while facing him directly… Did you guys know he has intimidated a thief into confessing his own crime with just his presence?" Akihiko said half-jokingly when he remembered the event.
"Err no, but I guess it's just another good reason not to get on his bad side," said Yosuke.
"Relax, if you guys didn't do anything wrong, he won't do anything to you. Here we are…"
He pulled out the key from his pocket before inserting it to the lock.
"Hey, your friends are here to pick you—"
Akihiko suddenly goes silent when he sees the figure sitting on a chair in the room. For a moment he doubted his own eyes, but there is no mistaking those crimson eyes and white hair. His expression is that of a shocked person while his mouth is wide open, uttering the single word that remains in his mind.
"Haruto?!"