Chapter Text
[Now arriving at Yasoinaba.....Yasoinaba....]
Where was he? What's with all the noise?
“...o..ro...”
Who's calling for him right now? Was he in class? Did he actually fall asleep in class?!
“..Goro...”
No, the voice calling for him doesn't sound like any of his teachers. Was he home then, with Narukami? He couldn't focus his eyesight to look at his surroundings, as they were still mostly shut, but he could feel someone shaking him lightly. It was probably Yu then. But wasn't it Sunday? It had been a half day yesterday, so they shouldn't school today. He even made sure all his homework was done the other night before calling Saito to ask about his Golden Week plans. Golden Week..? How much longer would they have until the break?
“..no school today. Let me sleep in.. please...” Goro manages to mumble out as he curls back up into the train seat.
Another gentle shake of his body is enough to make him open his eyes to reveal the change of scenery. This wasn't their room! Goro was about a few seconds away from panicking before Yu calls for his attention.
“Morning sleepyhead.” he teases as he runs a hand through his chestnut locks, trying to style his bed hair into something more manageable. The boy spots a black but sleek ribbon visible in Yu's other hand, likely to tie his messy hair back. It's just like him to know how Goro likes to wear it casually. He hears Yu asking him something else, and he tries to focus in on it to learn more of their situation after his messy recollection of their location thanks to his long rest.
“Are you ready to meet my friends and family here in Inaba?”
“Inaba?” He asks quietly as the boy moves to finally uncurl himself from his current position, stretching in the seat before rubbing away the sleepiness from his eyes. He can hear Yu talking a bit more as he's trying to become more aware of the world around him, taking a look outside from the window he had been resting against as he slept. They certainly weren't in Tokyo...then just how long had he been asleep?!
“I know going to a small town out in the countryside isn't exactly the most exciting thing to do for Golden Week, but I wanted you to see the place I really call home.”
Wait, did he say Golden Week?
“I-It's Golden Week already?” Goro asks with surprise visible in his expression. This elicits quiet laughter from his guardian as the older boy sits next to him on the edge of the train seat, and takes a moment to calm down.
“You must have had quite the dream if you forgot it's Golden Week. I remember how excited you were last night when I said we're heading out for the train station...” Yu hums as Goro's cheeks burn, knowing that his guardian is just teasing him again.
“Now I remember! You woke me up at the dead of night to get on the train!” He huffs, crossing his arms childishly, Yu chuckling quietly.
“We had to leave before my parents noticed us. They don't exactly approve of me going back to Inaba, much less the fact I'm fostering a child under their roof unknowingly...” he starts before returning back to his chuckling. “Then again, when did they even care to pay attention to me unless it suits their needs?”
Goro likes this about Narukami Yu, his clear rebellion by just being caring towards others. Yu was clearly done with pleasing like authority figures and his own parents, instead focusing his attention on the people he wants to be with. He admires his guardian for risking his own place in his family to make sure Goro has one of his own with him. “Such a rebellious son they raised..” he adds quietly as a playful jab, all before the two look to each other and laugh in their seats, his prior drowsiness dissipating in the warm laughter that fills the mostly empty train car.
-
Yu had dreamt of the Velvet Room...
Yu Narukami had a dream of the Velvet Room despite the fact the fog incident was dealt with and Inaba murder case was closed.
He can remember it clearly, it happened after the train transfer from the Yasogami Terminal. Yu had put Goro in a piggy-back carry on his back, so the younger could sleep peacefully as he handled the transfer as the oldest and the one responsible for their safety for the trip. Once they were in the mostly empty train car, he set the boy down in the window seat so no one would be able to mess with his ward and made the choice to rest for just a few hours to regain some energy after the busy night of traveling.
Though the memory of what happened inside the limousine designed Velvet Room was still foggy, he didn't want to wake Goro with his own panicking. Yu kept everything inside for now, needing to focus and think it over before he acted accordingly.
“We're just on our way to Inaba... Back home..” he thought to himself as he gazed at Goro, sleeping at his side, then looked out the window the boy was resting against.
His dream of the Velvet Room, while having the dream at all bothered him, he had the chance to reflect on it now. As he became more lucid to the waking world, he noticed a few things that were different about that introduction versus the one he had back when he first came to Inaba. Igor had mentioned ruin and misfortune in his future back then, but this time he had just greeted him and instead mentioned a most interesting fate if he remembers it properly. Back then, it was just a warning of what was to come and how he'd come into play, how he'd eventually forge his contract with them to ensure humanity didn't fall to ruin.
In order to become his true self, one worthy of his ultimate persona, the trials, the pain and suffering had been necessary all in order to reach out for the truth, but he had never been alone through it all. He overcame all the ordeals of the murder case, the kidnappings, the fog, all of it, thanks to the bonds he developed and grew here. The memories he made in Inaba became the very foundation of the self he was building today, one that was far more rebellious than what his parents had raised him as.
Yu wonders if this was just a dream of his past, or perhaps a warning that another ordeal is coming. Even if there was another coming in the near future, he knew he wouldn't face it alone now that he was here, this place where his bonds of inner strength and the truth were born.
Daydreaming about the possibilities of what may be in store this Golden Week as he looked out the window, that's when it hit him. “Damn it, I forgot Yosuke's gift!” he grumbled to himself, grabbing the backpack resting under his seat and pulling it out. After rustling through his bag of souvenirs, the missing magazine confirmed he had indeed forgotten the gift for Yosuke that Teddie requested him to get.
He sighed and rested his head against the train seat, frustrated he forgot something. Even if it was something as silly as Yosuke's goods, Yu did want to cheer him up. Then again, he doubted his partner would appreciate it if his best friend just brought him something like that as an extra gift, much less if Yosuke found out it was Teddie's idea that he get it.
Yu wanted to be upset at it a little longer, anything to get his mind away from the dream from earlier, but the sounds of mumbling and soft snores from the young preteen sleeping against the window drew him out of that. Yeah, he had better things to overthink and worry about than a possible prophetic dream or forgetting an unasked for gift for his best friend. Right now he wanted to ensure Goro would have a good time and would get along with everyone.
[Now arriving at Yasoinaba.....Yasoinaba....]
Oh, it looks like they were there already. Yu must have woken up right on time then! He slips out of his edge seat to start pulling down their luggage, getting it set at the ready against the empty seats near them. Giving the preteen a gentle shake at his side while calling his name is enough to drag Goro out of his sleepy daze.
“Morning sleepyhead.” he greets warmly as he runs a hand through Goro's chestnut hair, noticing how messy it had gotten during their ride there. “It was probably from all the tossing and turning in his sleep...” Yu wonders to himself, making him feel justified about keeping his usual bowl cut hairstyle. It was, in his opinion, much easier to maintain than his ward's mane of hair every morning.
“I should probably help him out with it.” He thinks to himself as he pulls out a sleek black ribbon from Goro's bag on the ground, and starts to get to work on his hair. As he works on making a comfortable yet casual ponytail with Goro's hair, he is silently grateful for his time with Nanako. He'd probably struggle with this a lot more without the experiences he had with her and tying her pigtails some days back when he had lived with the Dojimas.
Since they had started living together, Yu had noticed that first impressions seemed extremely important to Goro, so Yu opted to help his ward with his hair while chatting him out of his sleepy stupor.
“Are you ready to meet my friends and family here in Inaba?”
-
Once the train comes to a complete stop, Yu took his cue to start leading Goro out of the car and out into the station. The silver-haired teen can feel the wave of nostalgia hitting him as the smell of the fresh Inaba air breezes past them, his ward at his side looking at him with feigned annoyance and a quick roll of his ruby red eyes. Maybe Goro has a point, he is overly sentimental, but that's hardly on him! Yu just wanted to cherish the memorable things in life that were important to him.
“You ready?” he asks the younger boy.
“Absolutely.”
With that kind of confident response, Yu takes it as confirmation and steps off onto the station platform, then helping Goro off, before the two walk over to the front of the train station. As they wait out front, Yu goes over the texts on his phone, sighing as he remembers his uncle wouldn't be there to pick him up this time around. As he puts away his flip phone and looks to Goro, he notices how the boy was gazing over the quiet morning scenery of Inaba.
“It has its own kind of charm, doesn't it?” the older of the two asks, only receiving a quiet nod back as a response. That brings a small smile to Yu's face as they overlook the town from the station for a moment before a familiar silhouette runs up to the duo.
“Nanako..?”
“Big bro!” cries out a little girl with short pigtails, held back by pink ribbons. Nanako proceeds to bury herself into a hug with Yu, who meets her halfway and leaves his luggage behind to lift her up into the air to spin her quickly before pulling her into the hug. The moment is heartwarming for the two involved, having missed each other dearly even if it's only May and he left only two months prior. It takes a moment for Yu to remember in his euphoria of seeing his little sister that Goro is just behind them, and they need to get back to the Dojima residence to rest before touring his ward around the town he called home. He sets Nanako down and walks her over to where Goro was waiting behind them and where he left his stuff, chuckling all the while.
“You came to meet me here all on your own?” he asks, a little surprised his uncle let her walk here on her own, especially after everything that happened. Then again, Inaba stayed quiet after the case was solved from what he heard from his friends, so he could see his uncle letting up on his over protectiveness of Nanako if that's true.
“Don't worry, dad knows all about it! He gave me money for the bus! He said he couldn't make it, so I came instead.” she explains before giving his hand a tight squeeze of affection. “Welcome back big bro! I wanted to see you so much!” Nanako restates right before they come face to face with Goro, her expression dimming a bit in confusion while the boy looks a bit anxious to meet her as well.
“Thanks for coming out to meet me. I'm happy to see you again too.” Yu returns as he slips his hand out of Nanako's hold to grab his luggage, then watches the two kids staring at each other with uncertainty. He realizes he needs to explain himself.
Clearing his throat to get the attention of both children, he begins. “Nanako. This isn't exactly the present from Tokyo that I mentioned on the phone, but I'd like you to meet someone. Go on, introduce yourself Goro.” he starts as the boy takes his cue from Yu to greet her.
“Ah! Um...Hello Nanako-chan. I-I'm in your care!” The preteen greets before giving a quick bow to Nanako, trying to be polite rather than confident as he had been caught off-guard with the sudden introduction and was flustered.
Judging by Nanako's puzzled expression, she'd need a bit more context to why Goro had come with him to Inaba for the vacation, so Yu continues. “Goro has been under my care since April, but we only just finished the foster paperwork a week or two ago. I hope you'll treat him as nicely as you treated me when I first arrived.”
He could practically see the gears turning in Nanako's head before her expression brightened up significantly and she moved up to him expectantly, gasping at the idea that came in mind after Yu's explanation. “You mean I can have two big bros now?!” she asks with visible excitement, unaware how her statement had flustered Goro further in the background.
“You can, as long as you're sure Goro's okay with it too, alright Nanako?” Yu answers back, holding back a grin as he hears Goro coughing in surprise behind them.
Nanako takes that as a yes before she walks over to Goro and smiles warmly at him. “Let's get along lots, okay Goro-nii?” she asks sweetly and holds out a hand to him, the boy's cheeks still a bright red as he moves to accept the hand and shake it.
“Y-Yeah Nanako-chan...” he answers awkwardly, looking to Yu for help as the teen chuckles at his slight distress of the situation. He'll help him out.
“Nanako, we should get going, shouldn't we? Do we have anything in the fridge at home? We could surprise uncle with homemade dinner instead of takeout.” The teen offers as Nanako gasps happily, letting go of Goro's hand to gesture back to her brother.
“We bought lots! Dad and I bought a ton of stuff since you were coming to visit.” She explains before giggling. “Big bro, can I help you cook?”
There's a twinkle in Goro's eyes when he hears Nanako's innocent request. The boy had always been a bit of a competitive person, especially since he's insistent on proving his worth, despite how many times Yu's assured him that he cares for Goro as he is and doesn't need to prove himself. From the look in his eyes, Yu could tell his ward refused to be outdone, even if it was by his little cousin. “I'd like to assist as well Yu. After all, my arrival is supposed to be a surprise isn't it? Why not celebrate it?” he asks, an ambitious grin on his face as Nanako naively smiles along with.
“Let's do it big bro~!”
With two pairs of eyes looking up at him expectantly, Yu is weak and gives in with a sigh, walking with the two children at his side, each holding onto the arm on their side, idly chattering about as they make their way to the Dojima residence. Seeing that his uncle's car wasn't in the driveway, he knew they'd be in the clear to work on the surprise dinner tonight. Nanako lets go of him to unlock the door and welcome them inside, all before leading them upstairs to a room Yu was very familiar to.
“Just set your stuff down for now Goro. We'll have time to unpack before we eat. If I know my uncle, he's probably been assigned a new case or bigger workload than usual today.” Yu states as he sets his own suitcase to the side of the couch, his ward following his instructions and setting his luggage against a corner in the room. He'd be sleeping in it until he stops by Junes to see about a pull out bed or a spare futon to put in the room. It was just enough to be back at the Dojima household to feel like he's at home again, closing his eyes to embrace the room he truly called his own before he felt a gentle tug at his jacket.
“Yu, we should head downstairs now, right?” Goro asks quietly, only receiving a slight chuckle and a quick but affectionate ruffle to his hair.
“You're right Goro. Come on, let's not leave Nanako waiting. After all, I've been wanting to give you some more cooking lessons, especially after the pancakes incident last week.” He teases, waiting for Goro's inevitable reaction.
He's rewarded with a sigh and slight glare for bringing it up. “Pancakes... I don't want to hear that word for at least another month. You really won't let that go, will you?” the preteen asks, ignoring Yu's quiet snort.
“Nope. Don't worry, I know everyone's kitchen horror stories, like Mystery Food X or the Valentine's Day fiasco..” Yu starts, trailing off as he thinks back to those days. He remembers how much his stomach hated him for putting himself through such horrors, but today's not that day. He'd be sure to tutor Goro and Nanako in proper cooking etiquette so they don't poison anyone else ever again.
“Come along now. Let's get started!” Yu calls out to his ward, the younger following him as they go back downstairs and greet the waiting Nanako.
-
With all the time they had while Dojima was away, the trio managed to whip up quite the spread. Goro had been setting the food down on the dining table so everyone could pick and grab what they wanted, as Nanako and Yu were making the final decorations on the cheesecake. Then the doorbell rang, and Goro watched as the little girl stepped away from the decorations to open the door.
“Dad's home!” she shouted with glee.
He could feel the butterflies in his stomach again, and set the food down quickly before hastily making his way over to Yu, moving to hide like the child he really was, and went behind his legs. Goro was nervous, much more so than he had been when introducing himself to Nanako. After all, she was just a child, but this was different. Ryotaro Dojima wasn't just Yu's uncle, no, he just also happened to be a detective for the Inaba police.
“Welcome home uncle.” Yu greets warmly from their spot in the kitchen, a hand moving back for Goro to latch onto. He hated that Narukami knew him so well at this point, but he quickly grabs at the hand and squeezes it close to him to attempt and alleviate some of his nerves.
Then, the uncle enters his line of sight.
“Yu, welcome back. How was the ride here? Hope Nanako didn't keep you waiting for too long at the station, did she?” The man jokes lightly, chuckling before the little girl huffs and slaps lightly at her father's side. “Ow! I was just teasing you Nanako. I know you'd never want to make your brother wait.” he explains as Nanako walks over to the table.
“Dad! We cooked dinner! We've been waiting to surprise you this whole time.” she exclaims as she gestures to the kitchen. “Big bro did all the hard stuff, while he let Goro-nii and I help!”
And she blew it! Nanako didn't even give Yu or himself a chance to explain, giving them away unknowingly.
“Goro...nii?” he hears the man say as he takes a closer look at Yu in the kitchen, Goro trying his best to hide behind his guardian as he hears the footsteps coming closer.
“Yu, is this who you mentioned on the phone?” Dojima questions the teen trying to glance behind him to see the younger boy.
He only gets a confirmation via a quiet nod from Yu, before he looks back at Goro briefly then back at his uncle. “This is Akechi Goro. Officially, he's been a foster child under my care for about a week or two, but unofficially, I've been taking care of him for about a month now.” Yu states in a neutral manner, ignoring his own uncle's perplexed expression while still shielding Goro behind him.
“Yu, you're only seventeen. Not to say that I'm not proud you're helping someone out of a bad situation, but you're too young for this kind of responsibility... Does my sister even know about him?” Dojima questions before a younger voice breaks through the impending conflict.
“Dad. This isn't the police station.” Nanako points out, cutting through the interrogation.
“Nanako...”
The preteen hears Yu sigh in relief as his own protective hold on Goro loosens. Did this happen often?!
“Big bro knows what he's doing. You trusted him with me, and now, I get another big brother!” the young girl encourages before pulling her father away from her cousin and his ward. “C'mon. Let's eat. I'm hungry and the food's gonna get all cold.”
No one could argue with that as Goro's stomach growled at the mention of food, all before Dojima's did the same a few moments afterwards. Yu and Nanako burst into laughter as Goro joined them after, leaving Dojima to chuckle along as the last to join. That certainly did break away the tense atmosphere, leaving something much more warmer and familial behind for them to enjoy.
-
Dinner ended up being a memorable time, and the perfect chance for his uncle and cousin to meet the new addition to their family. More importantly, it felt like the two months Yu had been away in Tokyo never happened. Moments like this only solidified the idea that he felt he had always been part of the Dojima family and had lived there his whole life. The only change now was that he brought someone who was also in need of this domesticity, a home and family from which bonds could develop from. Yu hoped his uncle would be understanding of that, for Goro's sake at least, because he considered Goro as part of his own family since he began to live and care for the younger boy.
Nanako had fallen asleep eventually, tiring herself out from the excitement of the day. Goro retired back to their room so he could unpack first, or at least that's what his excuse was. At last, the only ones left were Yu and his uncle, alone in the living room.
That's when the interrogation really began.
His uncle waited a minute or two, listening to see if they'd have any little eavesdroppers coming down to listen in on a private conversation, then sighed and relaxed his position.
“You knew this was coming Yu... Come on, take a seat. Let's chat.”
He could feel a sense of hesitancy and uncertainty from his uncle, but Yu needed to come clean with this right here and now to avoid any future misunderstandings. He moves to take a seat on the dining room table rather than the low table in the living room, as Dojima gets his mug and Yu's, starting to prepare some coffee.
“How did you meet him?” his uncle starts.
“By chance. I was late coming back from kendo club one day, and it was storming. I tried to make it over to the subway as fast as I could until I noticed him. From where I stood that day, it looked like a child, huddled under the gutters of an alleyway, soaked and shaking from the storm. I was going to leave them be, until I noticed they were crying. That instantly reminded me of Nanako, during the night she ran off to the riverbank... After that, I couldn't just leave them there.” Yu recounts, staring off into space as he thinks back to that day, then laughs quietly. “I almost didn't follow through until Goro noticed I had been paying attention to him and started walking over to him. When he grabbed onto my pants and hid behind me from some officers, I knew I was going to follow through on at least helping him for the night.”
“And when you got back home, your parents didn't stop you?”
The dark expression on Yu's face said everything Ryotaro needed to know. As per usual, it seemed Yu's parents weren't home often. Even if they were home, he personally doubted they ever stopped to check up on their son unless it regarded his studies, their image or if they'd be moving again soon.
“I see.” Dojima muttered before sighing. “It was supposed to be the night, then what happened?”
“Then I found out how alone in the world he was. How he hadn't been shown kindness in a long time, and that he blamed himself for being alone and saw himself as a waste of space. To see that in a kid...It was awful uncle...” The teen trails off before grief fills his eyes. “Uncle, he lost his mother, while his father abandoned them before he was even born.” he nearly shouts as he tightens his fingers into a fist, upset over the fact that had been Goro's life before their chance meeting. If he had chosen to turn his back on the child, what would have become of the boy?
It was that piece of information that made it easy to see why Yu chose to take in the boy. His uncle sighed as he served the coffee, feeling his own fists start to loosen as he moved to hold onto his cup of coffee, his cup that symbolized him belonging to this family.
His uncle takes a seat across from him and starts. “It's reckless that you did all this, but I can't exactly blame you. You got involved and now you've got to stick to your guns. Just, don't hesitate to reach out for help, okay Yu?”
Uncle Dojima was okay with this? He had expected a much worse reaction.
“You're a part of this family. You're Nanako's big brother, and practically my own son at this point. Kids...are a handful, especially when you're taking care of one on your own, so don't forget that you've got people behind you who want to help. Okay?” Dojima warns as he puts a hand on his shoulder, the teen offering a small but grateful smile in return, ecstatic that his uncle respected his decision.
“Of course, thanks uncle.” Yu returns softly before they sip at their coffees and begin discussing various things, from how Yu should proceed with the adoption process once he's old enough to do it, to how they're handling school life in Tokyo. Their evening chat goes off without a hitch after the rough start.
-
The lights are still on when Yu makes his way upstairs to the bedroom. As he opens the door, he smiles at the fact nothing has changed about it. He'd thank his uncle later for keeping his word about keeping the room ready for him whenever he wanted to come back. For now, it looks like Goro had unpacked at least, considering he was in his sleepwear and had taken a seat on the sofa, reading over one of the novels left behind in the room. If he was reading that right, his ward was currently reading “Witch Detective”, and he must have enjoyed it considering the small smile on his face.
“Having fun?” the teen asks as he makes his way into the room.
“It's...interesting to say the least. Not the usual detective story I'd enjoy, but it's decent.” he hears Goro hum before getting a question back. “Think I could go pick up a few books for myself tomorrow?”
Yu smiles softly, only growing more and more fond of Goro as the days go on. He really did make the right decision, and it helped knowing that he'd have assistance if he couldn't take care of him on his own. “Yeah, we can stop by the Yomenaido Bookstore and Junes to see if you can find anything you'd like.” he promises as he walks over to the window, peeking outside to see what the noises outside were.
“It's raining..?” Yu mutters in surprise as Goro looks up at him.
“It started only a few minutes ago while you were talking to Dojima-san. Though, it is a little weird it just started raining...” The younger mutters before looking over at the clock. “You guys must have been talking for a while, it's almost midnight. Just less than a minute now.”
“Really? Hmm. You should turn in for the night then. Tomorrow's a new day after all.” Yu encourages as he glances at the television set in their room.
“Fine.”
With that response back, he can hear Goro moving around behind him, turning off the light he was using to read, making it easier to see if the TV would turn on. “It's not gonna happen...” Yu thought to himself like a mantra, moving to grab his sleepwear by using his phone as a flashlight, hearing the rustling of bedsheets behind him, likely his ward going to bed.
As he listens to the clock ticking down to midnight, Yu reminisces about the Investigation Team, and how they stayed vigilant in watching the Midnight Channel once they figured out that they could use it to track any victims that were thrown in the TV. It's funny to think at this point that a rumor like the Midnight Channel would end up leading a group of high school students to band together to solve a serial murder case and take down several parts of one larger broken goddess, then have also befriended the true goddess once she came back together. Two months later and Yu's back to a quiet lifestyle, a peace he won't ever take for granted again, but he still had the bad habit of waiting until midnight to watch a television screen that would never come on.
“Nothing will show anymore, although....”
There was a sense of unease creeping up on him. Maybe it was because he was back in Inaba. That he unconsciously feared the threat of the Midnight Channel appearing, even though his friends confirmed the Midnight Channel never aired again after they took down Izanami-no-Okami. It could have been tension in his nerves after the talk with his uncle Dojima. He had been afraid he'd get confronted about fostering Goro, but their talk ended up okay. His uncle chose to respect him for his decision and offer help, rather than prematurely judge him and kick him out like he had feared. Still, he'd watch it tonight.
“Just in case.”
With that in mind, Yu attempted to calm down as he waited, moving over to grab his suitcase resting against the couch to change into his sleepwear in the darkness of the room. Or he had been until a familiar sound of static echoed in the room, the television screen filled with a yellow tinted snow static, then it started.
-
[ Rivals...They are...
Friends, yet powerful foes!
The desperate fighting program amongst high school students!
A new legend is about to start!
“May the manliest of all men! Come on down!”
Nobody touches his Nanako and Goro! The Sibling-Complex Kingpin of Steel, Yu Narukami!
“It's only natural.”
Wage slave in the boonies by day, hero by night. Captain Ressentiment, Yosuke Hanamura!
“Everything that bores me has gotta go!”
A spunky dragon with deadly legs! The Carnivore who's discarded Womanhood, Chie Satonaka!
“You need to eat more meat!”
Please escort me to the ring, my prince! The Unconquerable Snow Black, Yukiko Amagi!
“I'll finish you in one strike!”
Blooming Roses and Bulging Muscles! The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor, Kanji Tatsumi!
“Deep in the realms of romance!”
The body of a child – the brain of a genius! The 2000 IQ Killjoy Detective, Naoto Shirogane!
“Is this an army of idiots?”
FIGHT!
-and survive towards the one throne waiting at the end!
The P-1 Grand Prix, where FIERCE FIGHTS will be FOUGHT!
THE BATTLE BEGINS T O N I G H T!]
-
“What on earth was that?!” Yu exclaimed, trying to hide his shock as he pulled out his phone, another voice pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Wha--!! How did they know our names!? A-And did they just call you a kingpin with a sibling complex?!” Goro cried out from the same room, Yu's head snapping to the side to make eye contact with the very awake preteen, horrified at what he witnessed.
There on the bed, Goro was sitting straight up, blankets bunched up in his hands, visibly unsettled from the broadcast. While he was luckily unaware of any visuals that the Midnight Channel had shown, he had been plenty awake to hear it all. Yu could see his ruby eyes staring straight at him, demanding an answer without saying it outright.
“I-I'm just as confused as you are..” The teen stutters out, both a half-truth and a half-lie. He knew this was the Midnight Channel's doing, but this was much different than what they ever experienced during the case! “And don't repeat that! There's so much wrong with that phrase, that I don't even know where to begin...” he mutters, Goro not content with the answer as he sees the boy crossing his arms in the dimly lit room.
“You think?!” he hears the boy growl in annoyance as Yu's phone rings. Pulling it out, he sees the familiar name pop up on his phone's preview screen, Yosuke Hanamura (Partner). He looks to Goro for a moment, who gestures for him to open it.
“Go on, take it. But you owe me answers!”
Yu never thought he'd get ordered around by a thirteen year old, but there's a first time for everything, and everyone seems to be on high alert at the moment. “Just give me a bit, okay Goro?” He starts as he picks up.
[“SHIT! Hello? Yu?! It's Yosuke!”]
“Yosuke... Don't tell me you-”
[“Damn it, you saw it too then right? Look, I'm trying not to freak out right now, especially by calling you this late, but we really have to meet in person tomorrow, okay? Early. Oh damn it, I can't believe this was shown outside of Inaba if you saw it!”]
Yu could tell by the tone of his voice that he was panicking really badly. He could push himself into a panic attack if he over thinks this too much. Then again, Yosuke's reaction is justified since the Midnight Channel airing again signals the start of a new crisis. “Calm down partner... Teddie was supposed to tell you that I'm in town already. I came in a day early since we agreed to meet tomorrow, and I didn't want the trip to affect me when I saw everyone again. No one else outside of Inaba saw that.” Yu reassures, feeling Goro's observant gaze watching and listening to him intently.
[“Really? You were here already! I assumed you weren't here yet, and I didn't want to rely on you for just an afterthought or irrational fear. I had been thinking that even if it showed up, that I could handle this on my own... But the second it came on, I knew I had to let you know, partner. I can't hide something like this when it involves you.”]
The sentiment brings a small smile to his face in the heat of their panics of the Midnight Channel returning. “Hah, you haven't changed. Thanks, but I'm not about to leave this be, even on my holiday. So how about it, Captain Ressentiment?” he teases, hoping to lighten the mood and ease his best friend's worries.
Yu tries to ignore the quiet gasp from his young ward, who put together who had called his guardian during questioning and was trying to digest through the rest of their conversation to find more clues. If the younger boy wasn't listening into his phone call with his friend, Yu would compliment him on the fact that Goro had what it takes to be a good detective considering his higher observational skills at this age.
[“Ugh, dude! Why'd you have to zero in on that part?! Did you see how they called you a Sibling-Complex Kingpin?”]
Yu snorts. It's a little funnier to hear when it's just his friend saying it and not some ominous television program saying it. “Mines not that bad.” he returns, a shout of “Yes it is!” countering him from the bedside.
[“You think--!! Wait, what was that?”]
Oh no, he'd heard Goro's remark! Yu didn't even think about if Yosuke had heard Goro's name during the broadcast, as he still hadn't told them in order to surprise them tomorrow. Now their meeting would be focused on this P-1 Grand Prix instead of just getting to hang out... He wasn't sure how he'd break the news to Goro tomorrow morning that he wouldn't be allowed to come.
“N-Nothing. I just was thinking about the titles, you know?”
[“Oh, okay. By the way, I oughtta tell you, that program's not the only strange thing lately. Teddie, Rise and Kanji all aren't here either... They disappeared.”]
This entire situation explains the bad feelings crawling up on him. There's no doubt that these two incidents were related somehow. “All right. We should get together tomorrow morning, then go check this out.”
[“Yeah, at the Junes food court. I know this isn't the best situation, but I'm glad you're back, partner.”]
Yu could feel the tension around his body fade away at the familiar nickname and warm welcome back from his best friend, leaving him with a small smile. “It's good to be back.” he hums in response before a grin replaces it, one final thought coming to mind to hopefully help them both ease up before tomorrow's new mission.
“By the way, I'm sorry I forgot your souvenir. The one Teddie told me about, with the nurses. I didn't know you were into them.” Yu adds with a mischievous tone of voice.
[“Nurses... wait, no! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Shut up! That's enough! Damn it, you're trying to wind me up on purpose, aren't you?!”]
Yu didn't respond, too busy laughing to himself as Goro was left confused in the background about why nurses were brought up and why is it making Narukami laugh so hard?
[“Stay home, you jerk!”]
There was obvious pouting on the other side of the line, Yu wiping a small tear from his eye as he spoke back on the phone. “But I'm already here!” he returns back before fondly chuckling to himself once again. “I'll see you tomorrow, partner.”
He finally hangs up, and he's out of the pot and into the frying pan. Yu just really couldn't catch a break tonight, could he? “Alright Goro, what do you want to ask about?”
“That broadcast... The TV had been off the entire time, yet it came on without you even touching it. That's...not normal. And the person you had called on the phone, they were Hanamura Yosuke, right? The Captain Ressentiment of the P-1 Grand Prix?” Goro asks, looking for confirmation from Yu before the eldest of the two nods in defeat, taking a seat at the bedside so they could be quieter. “Judging by the fact both you and Yosuke-san were shocked about appearing on it, implies you didn't consent to appearing on that broadcast at all, nor had any knowledge of its existence in the first place. Then you mentioned that you're not going to ' let this be '. Just what's going on Yu?!” The brunette questions, as Yu hangs his head in defeat.
“Do you remember how Naoto was telling you about the serial murder case in Inaba when we were at the cafe?” The silver-haired teen asks, brushing away some hair from his eyes to look at Goro directly.
“I do.”
“This is related to that, and I need to figure out why there even was a broadcast in the first place.” He states firmly before two smaller hands grab at his own hand on the bed.
“Then take me with you! Someone new and unexpected might just be the upper hand you need to solve this!” Goro tries to reason as he gets a shake of the head, signaling a no.
“It's going to be dangerous. The answer is no.”
“I don't care!” The younger of the two shouts in the privacy of their own room, balancing his tone to be firm but quiet enough that they wouldn't wake Dojima and Nanako.
Even with the darkness of the room engulfing the two of them, he can see the glints of tears building in Goro's eyes. “What if you leave and you get hurt? I would never forgive myself then, because I didn't stop you. Right here, right now.” he states, his voice wavering as he speaks.
“How do you think I'd feel if you got hurt just following me? I just can't risk it. I'm sorry Goro.”
With a huff of the preteen, he knows that the other doesn't plan on letting up, but that they were done for the night. They both needed to cool off so they'd have level heads tomorrow morning to discuss this.
Running a hand through Goro's hair softly, he looks down at his ward, concern embedded in his gaze as the boy attempts to look everywhere but at him, anger and fear in those fiery red eyes. “Goodnight Goro. Sleep well.” he whispers before slipping away to go sleep on the couch, a soft response echoing back.
“...goodnight Yu. I-I wish you luck for tomorrow then.”
Yu didn't sleep well that night, but he was rested enough to get up early to meet up at Junes the next day.
-
“Hey, are you going somewhere?” Nanako called out.
He flinches. He'd been caught!
Goro had been trying to be careful, he didn't want Yu catching him deliberately disobeying him, but he needed to know that his guardian would be safe! He just had a feeling that something bad was going to happen considering the teen didn't want to talk with him about that weird broadcast last night.
He had planned to trail behind Yu, and had kept an eye out on him from the window in their room, looking to where he was going before rushing downstairs to follow. Then Nanako just had to spot him leaving instead of focusing on the TV. Groaning internally, he was afraid he was going to lose sight of Yu at this rate!
“J-Just about to. Yu said he'd wait up for me.” Goro lies, the little girl staring at him for a few moments before turning back to the TV program.
“Okay. I can watch the house while you're gone, so have fun! Oh! Take care of big bro, okay Goro-nii?” She cheers, making Goro think she bought it before she adds one more thing, implying she knew more than she let on. “He's probably gonna go be a cool hero with his friends, like they did when they saved me!”
It almost stopped him in his steps as he opened the door. “Saved her?” he contemplated before shaking his head. No, he had a target to follow for just being suspicious last night. “Mind telling me about it when I'm back Nanako-chan?” he asks quietly as he begins to step out.
“Uh-huh! Bye Goro-nii!” She cheers as Goro shuts the door, a hand trying to hide the pink engulfing his cheeks. He didn't know whether to be embarrassed or proud about the nickname, so he'd try to repress anything he felt about it.
Luckily, he managed to spot that familiar silver bowl cut farther up the street and began his pursuit. He wasn't going to lose him, especially over some secret.
-
The Junes food court was as lively as ever. Maybe even more so considering it's Golden Week. “I should bring Nanako and Goro along after we deal with the Midnight Channel.” he wondered to himself as he gazes over the rooftop of Junes for the first time in a long while, nostalgia rushing through him for a moment before a voice snaps him out of that trance.
“Ready for this partner?”
That's right. He and Yosuke had ended up running into each other in the elevators, and came up together. They greeted each other and made idle chat before they arrived since there were regular Junes customers riding with them, and they couldn't exactly talk about their new case in front of normal people.
It wasn't long until he and Yosuke spotted Yukiko and Chie, sitting down on a bench, waving them down when their eyes met. When they were all face to face with each other again after weaving through the crowds, the atmosphere around them became amicable. It was good to be back.
“Good to see you guys again.” Yu starts with a fond smile.
Chie's practically bursting with excitement to see him again, greeting him with tons of energy. “Welcome back! We missed you. The guest of honor's finally here! You're looking well, Yu!”
Yukiko's quick to greet him once Chie's done, however, she looks a bit more hesitant. Something's on her mind. “Welcome back. Um, should we...?”
Yosuke notices her hesitate just as much as Yu had, speaking up for her. “Huh? Oh, he already knows about the Midnight Channel thing. I was the one who called him up about it last night right after it showed up. He...saw it, just like we did.”
With that, the Amagi heiress looks relieved that at least Yu was aware of what's going on. “I see. This has turned into a pretty thrown together reunion, hasn't it? But, I'm glad you came.” she greets, a softer smile on her face now that her worries were set at ease.
After the rough start, the group plays catch up for a while. However, it wasn't long until Yosuke cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. He had probably been waiting for the right moment to say whatever he's planning.
“Well it sucks that we can't hang out more before jumping into another mystery, but to celebrate our partner's return... I hereby reinstate the Investigation Team in response to the Midnight Channel going back on the air last night!” He states with pride as Yukiko lights up.
“Ah-ho~! The team is back!”
Chie quips back with glee as well. “Just hearing that name again gets me all fired up! Yeah! Let's do this!”
Yu smiles as he leads a small round of applause at the announcement, chuckling at the familiar scene they're making. It's been a while since they'd been active like this. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Yosuke slightly embarrassed at their actions.
“I don't think the applause is necessary...”
Chie and Yukiko just giggle amongst themselves as Yu gives his best friend a slight shrug, he thought it was absolutely warranted for an occasion like this. However, it wasn't long before the obvious absence of the rest of the Investigation Team began to unnerve them all, agreeing this was no time to be lax. They couldn't afford to slack off when their friends were missing and the TV world was active again. It was time to start figuring out the current situation before they went in.
-
Goro can see a small group of four teenagers, one who was very well known to him, but the others were still alien to him. For having some kind of secret to hide from him, talking in public space wasn't what he had in mind when he thought of some sort of group meeting. Maybe that was the point though, being so obvious that they'd get looked over by stupid luck. Whatever the case, he could only hear the tail end of their conversation.
First, Yu and these people, likely the rest of his friends that he heard stories of, were part of this group, and called themselves the Investigation Team. Not the most creative name, but he had to admit it had a good ring to it. Secondly, there were more people involved, several of which went missing! Naoto Shirogane was not only aware of their group, but a part of it too! She just wasn't able to make it to the meeting, or at least that's the excuse they got. He personally doubted that she wasn't already getting involved.
If Miss Shirogane is a true detective, there's no way she hadn't already started investigating without them, especially if it was dangerous. This only meant Goro felt justified that he had ignored Yu's warning to come along. If it really was dangerous, he wanted to know that the one person who truly cared for him, would come back safely.
Finally, there was the program itself. They called it the Midnight Channel, and it really did correlate to the Inaba serial murder case, just like Yu had hinted at last night. Apparently, if someone was “in” it and the program came out clear, that meant they were in trouble. So, if that thing had aired last night, were they targeting Yu and the rest of his friends now?!
The thing he couldn't wrap his mind around was when they said they'd be going into the TV, and they use something inside of it to exit it?! No one can just hop inside a TV! It's a solid object. Goro figured it could mean some kind of code for doing something else, but...
Whatever the case, the Investigation Team was on the move, with Yu leading the way! Goro had to follow without being seen! Who knows how furious his guardian would be if he knew he was disobeying him, but at this point, it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Slipping through the crowds with ease thanks to his shorter stature, he trails behind the group of four until they stop at in the electronics aisle, right in front of a large flat screen television. Did they know he was watching them and were just making fun of him?! No, they couldn't be...because their poses as they stood in front of the TV looked to be more hesitant than aware that he was watching. They looked around the aisles at all the people around, were they afraid of someone watching them? Luckily, he had hidden himself well in the closest aisle next to them.
However, the real shocker came when he noticed Yu moving first, poking a single finger at the television screen, then it rippled in response to the touch, like water! Holding back a gasp of surprise, he refocused himself to watching them, as they looked ready to move once a group of customers moved off to the next aisle. As Yu stuck his hand inside the screen and it lit up white against the group of teens, Goro watched in horror as they then dove inside once the coast was clear.
“Wait, no! Stop!” He shouted out as he attempted to reach them in time, but it had been too late. They had already entered this strange phenomenon via the television. The group of teens were gone. Yu was gone.
Holding back tears, Goro brushed a hand up against the rippling screen as a feeble attempt to try and bring back his guardian. That touch was all the TV needed before he felt his own hand slipping inside. He tried to pull it back, but he could feel something was pulling him in.
“No no no... Let me go!” The preteen cried, his eyes welling up with tears. He couldn't stop it! Goro could no longer fight against this phantom force and succumbed to it, sensing himself being pulled inside as he shut his eyes, falling into the TV just as Yu had.