Work Text:
MARCH 26th, 2012
He sat down in the new desk, but it had an odd and uncomfortable feeling to it. After all, this was his desk over a year ago. Back in the big city, returning to this school didn’t feel right. He couldn’t look to his right and see multiple drawings of various types of meat or the waterfall of long, flowing black hair. He couldn’t hear the loud bass of music playing behind him during class. Walking down the hallways didn’t feel familiar either. He never heard the call of, “Yo, senpai!”, had to look down to speak with the detective, or feel a tap on his shoulder to turn and be greeted by an idol’s smile. There was no going to the mall and hearing the title of “Sensei!”. And no going home to sing along to the Theme of Junes or being asked how he took his coffee.
Dare him to say it, but Souji Seta was lonely and this wasn’t the type of life he wished to return to.
But what didn’t help this feeling was that he… lied to his friends and his extended family. Constant questions of about the true killer of Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano . But he knew… and he kept that secret safe. From time to time, he would eye his cell phone sitting on the edge of the table in the room, waiting for the screen to light up… waiting for it to display a certain name... but it never did.
Months passed and he tried forgot about the crimes, murders, and the TV world. Out of sight, out of mind.
Souji sunk into the daily routine of going to school, talking with others, studying… the things he did in Inaba. He just got used to the silence of not having the bonds like he used to.
And then, the seasons changed and suddenly…. it was winter.
DECEMBER 24th, 2012
Even though the town was surrounded by buildings, it was exceptionally cold. A small chill traveled up his spine as he rubbed his hands against the arms of his jacket.
“Christmas Eve already…” he said to himself. He recalled on vague memories of a Christmas party (that almost went horribly wrong) and a smile danced on his lips.
The Inaba crew hadn’t called and texted in a while but he never questioned it. It’s not like he did the same. Souji felt like he couldn’t go back there. If he did… he would be reminded what actions he took, or rather, didn’t take.
But he received the worst reminder possible… on Christmas.
DECEMBER 25th, 2012
The vibrating of the cell phone went off at 7am. Not realizing what the noise was, he turned over in his sleep, keeping warm under the covers. The buzzing finally stopped until--
It started up again.
And then stopped
And again
And again
And again.
And again.
And again.
Frustrated, he threw the covers and walked over angrily to the table. It was set in his mind that Yosuke (or Teddie off Yosuke’s phone) would call constantly until he picked up. As Souji reached out for the phone, he froze. He could feel that his breathing went heavy and his eyes suddenly were not able to focus. It was then he had taken a sudden step back.
TORHU ADACHI
No, not after all this time. How long had he waited for a phone call, that phone call? And now? Why now? No, no… Souji backed far enough to hit the edge of his bed and fell into the comforter.
No, this was a dream. Quickly, he hid himself under the covers and shut his eyes. The vibration of the cellphone went off again and he tried to block it out. The buzzing brought up memories of betrayal, denial, and…
You’re just as much at fault as he is.
No, no, I didn’t kill them!
But you destroyed the evidence linking to the real killer. Their blood is also on your hands.
Without realizing it, he slipped into a stressful sleep, memories resounding while the seeming lie of the past year played on.
“Is there anyone else we can think of being the killer?”
“Did we overlook something?”
“Was it really Namatame?”
“We might need a break from the investigation.”
“If it ain’t Namatame, then who did it?”
“It had to be someone who was watching us.”
“They have to know about the TV world.”
“But no one saw anything suspicious.”
“Do you know anyone else that could have been the murderer?”
No, there’s no one else.
Liar, you know who it is.
Yellow eyes opened wide and a sharp intake of breath was blocked since his mouth was covered. Trying to run away from the nightmare, Souji tried to get out of bed only to feel his wrists heavy and pinned down above his head. Looking straight up at the added weight, yellow blinked away to gray, noticing what, or rather, who was holding him down.
“I thought I told you to answer your phone when I call you, partner. Don’t think about screaming, well not like it would matter, your parents aren’t here.”
Souji’s eyes fought to focus to see the truth he was unwilling to accept hovering above him.
Adachi.
Gray eyes slammed shut and the memories flooded back in. And when he opened them again after a few moments, not able to handle the rush of the recall.
“Oh? You’ve must have missed me, showing eyes like that….”
The internal struggle to accept one’s self and the choices they have made.
No, he’s just trying to get me to…. calm down, self.
Souji blinked twice, ignoring the struggle between the shadow of his past and his currently reality.
“Now, if you ask nicely, I can let go. Oh wait, I guess you can’t!” A maniacal laughter filled the room, but slowly, ever so slowly, Adachi lifted his hand.
“A-- Adachi-san…”
“I thought I told you not to underestimate the Japanese police. I could have easily asked Dojima-san where you were, but that would have been no fun.”
“I didn’t-- I didn’t know you were calling.”
“You don’t have to lie, I was watching you, from the window,” the male motioned over to his previous front row seat. “When you saw my name on the screen, you displayed the most wonderful reaction. Oh well… I figured since it’s Christmas and all, I should give you the best present, me~ since you’re so accepting of trash like myself… But it seems like you’ve been struggling all this time. What’s bothering you, Souji-kun?”
Souji tried his best to find his voice again. But when the words left his lips, they sounded…. hurt… betrayed… He had given up everything. His friends, his uncle...even Nanako… to keep this one person safe from harm. And that one person never called. In turn for abandoning his friends and family, did that one person discard him too?
“Why-- did you….” The teenager shook his head, “You never called.”
“What are you talking about? I just called you about fifteen times just now.”
“I was… waiting…”
There was an uncomfortable shift in weight on the bed. What did he just say?
“I’m sorry but can you repeat that?”
“All this time-- I was waiting… I thought… you forgot about me.”
“Forgot about you? HAHA Are you even listening to yourself right now? You sound like an abandoned wife...”
It took a moment for Adachi to look over the one under him. Did he actually… look hurt? No, there’s no way someone could-- Not for him… Not after constant years of rejection from his coworkers, colleagues, and any females. The older male’s face twisted in displeasure.
“ You’re serious? Are you fucking serious right now? I am ASKING YOU ARE YOU SERIOUS?? Just what the hell is wrong with you?!”
Adachi sat back on the bed, releasing Souji’s wrists. His reaction was of a cat backed into a corner, reeling backwards away from the teenager. Finding his hands free, the boy sat up and tried not to think about the red pressure marks that resided around his wrists.
“Adachi-san…”
“Don’t say it, don’t you dare fucking say it.”
Except that didn’t exactly sound like a threat. Adachi’s voice was weak and almost cracked in between his words of refusal.
“Adachi-san.”
“Just what the hell is wrong with you kid? Damn it…”
Adachi rested a hand against his forehead. But he too, was trying to move on. From the murders, from the stupid boy who played detective and destroyed evidence that kept the constantly discarded cop safe. He was here to play a joke, not to have his repressed feelings kick him in the face.
[FLASHBACK]
MAY 23rd, 2012
It had been two months since Souji left Inaba. While the fog never quite lifted and Namatame behind bars (still adamantly refusing to admit to the two murders), things seemed to be looking up. Inaba turned back into its old… boring… self...even if it was temporary.
Having the day off from work, Tohru Adachi looked down at his cell phone. He smirked as he thought about the final words he told the gray haired boy.
Goodbye partner.
He knew that Souji would never tell, but he couldn’t help the excitement of being in control over him. The teenager’s actions caused Adachi to get off scott-free and made all his time in Inaba playing Sherlock and Holmes wasted and a lie. But knew he that he kept this boy easily around his finger. There was no way Souji Seta could escape Tohru Adachi.
“Maybe I’ll just call him today just to fuck with him.”
He’d pull up the number… but never hit dial.
“Nah… I’ll break him a little more.”
And then time passed without him realizing it.
AUGUST 15th, 2012
There was less time to mess around, seeing that even though the murder case was over (closed tight as far as he was concerned), but some people were still falling ill from the fog, the residents committing petty crimes, and accident reports were on the rise. Because of it, it left little time to be idling. Dojima would constantly bark orders and when Adachi got sick of it all, the older male would turn around and invite him over for a beer.
Ah yes, this is how things should be. Stupid nephew getting in the way, taking his place next to Dojima and Nanako. Finally… finally he had regained a sense of belonging.
Except there was something missing.
A void of another kind that needed to be filled.
SEPTEMBER 26th, 2012
One night after work, Ryotaro, Adachi, and Nanako walked hand in hand back to the Dojima residence.
“Dad, have you spoken to Big Bro?”
“Big Bro?” The younger detective questioned silently to himself.
“Now that I think of it, no, I haven’t heard from him.” There was a small pause as Ryotaro looked at Adachi. “You remember him right? My nephew that came to stay with us… huh… over a half a year ago now.”
It was then that Tohru let Nanako’s hand slip out of his and he stopped walking.
“Adachi-san?” The female child voice questioned.
“Adachi-san.”
“Adachi-san?”
“Adachi-san!”
Tohru took a couple of steps back, hand covering his face. That voice… his voice, kept ringing in his head. Flashbacks of that stupid kid with the bowl cut hair… constantly trying to take care of him with food, random conversations, and…
Damn it, he forgot about that little shit.
“Adachi, you all right?” A strong hand landed on his shoulder.
Taking a deep breath in and releasing it out moments later, Adachi placed a small smile on his face.
“I think… I might head home if that’s all right. Sorry Nanako-chan that I can’t play with you today.”
“It’s okay! Feel better…”
As they waved goodbye to each other, Adachi waited until the family was out of sight before his lips twisted into a corrupted smile. And it stayed there until he unlocked the front door of his apartment.
With his phone in hand, one simple flick of the wrist, he opened the flip phone. Opening up his contacts and scrolling through his contact lists, he finally came across one name.
SOUJI SETA
But no matter how long his thumb hovered over the green button to dial, he couldn’t bring himself to press it. There was something stopping him, something he didn’t want to admit… something… he didn’t want to face.
With a distinctive SNAP, his cell phone broke into two after clashing with the wall.
“Damn that kid. I’m the one who’s supposed to be in control here. Not you.”
DECEMBER 23rd, 2012
When the seasons changed again, fall had left and winter arrived. It wasn’t much of a change, just colder weather with the never ending fog.
“Adachi, you’ve been clocking in a lot of overtime,” Dojima’s voice rang out as he moved over to the desk next to him. It was a chilly Sunday afternoon.
“Ah yeah, well, there’s been a lot going on in town.”
“Ain’t that the truth; but the seems to be calming down some cause of the holidays.”
“Uh, I guess it is, sir.”
Tohru’s hand went to the back of his head as he laughed uneasily.
“Should be quiet for the next few days. Take the rest of the week off.”
“A-- are you sure sir?”
“Won’t be if I had said it. Finish up here and go home before I change my mind.”
“Uh-- ah-- yes sir!”
DECEMBER 24th, 2012
“Christmas Eve…”
Tohru looked up at the sky.
“Heh…”
Of course it was a holiday where people were either leaving town to see their loved ones or stay in for the same reason.
“Fucking couples and their goddamn happiness.”
But isn’t that what’s missing for you?
Shut the fuck up, you.
Not everyone had a handle on the voice in their head.
Turning the key in the lock, the young police detective entered his residence. Closing the door behind him, he wandered into his bedroom and sat in the far corner.
Will you press it this time?
Taking his new cellphone out of his pocket, he looked down at the screen at the only contact name he even bothered to restore.
SOUJI SETA
“Ugh.”
[/FLASHBACK]
DECEMBER 25th, 2012
“Let me ask you something.”
“Hm?”
“You had your friends right? That sick, disgusting thing you call a 'bond'. You ever know what it felt like to have that stupid shit broken over and over again?”
The male teenager… didn’t exactly know how to answer that question, or even if he should.
“Anything and everything you do, any dream that you work up and build will be crushed by the reality that you’ll never be good enough. Someone will always be better. Someone will always take the spotlight you deserve to be in. Even you did it to me.”
“That’s not--”
“Don’t you fucking tell me it isn’t true. Don’t you dare say that. The world isn’t sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns.”
Souji let it a small grunt while Adahi rested his head in his hands, covering his face. The teenager thought back for a moment. He caused Adachi to be replaced? But when? How?
Until it clicked that the male entered Inaba way after the detective did. Tohru found a sense of belonging with Nanako and Ryotaro. But when Souji arrived in the Dojima household, everything changed.
“Adachi-san, I think… you’re thinking about this all wrong.”
“Oh? And how is that? You think you know everything? You’d just a damn kid.”
“No, but--”
“But what?”
“I think… I understand. I can’t talk about your past experiences because I don’t know them, but… I didn’t mean to make you feel like I took your place. I just--”
“Did all those nice things for me for self-indulgence and self-gratification. Yeah I kn--”
“No! I-- I didn’t…”
“THEN PROVE IT!”
How was he supposed to prove something like that?
It didn’t long for Souji to excuse and remove himself from the uncomfortable air in his bedroom to travel to the kitchen to prepare tea for himself and Adachi. In preparing the tea, Souji thought back on Adachi’s words. How could he prove that he actually cared about the man and it wasn’t because of some twisted way to please himself? Or how could he prove that he always had a place; that there’s no one better?
Opening in the cabinet to look for another cup, his eye caught a mug far in the back of the corner. He didn’t exactly tell Dojima that he took it… but he didn’t notice it? Moreover, he forgot about it himself, but perhaps… it might have been the only way to prove his point. After pouring the hot liquid, Souji returned to this room, mugs in hand.
“Here, Adachi-san,” he offered the red mug to him.
Tohru reached out for it, feeling the heat from its contents and didn’t consider bringing it to his lips, not yet.
“You know, I took that mug from my uncle’s house.”
“So in being my accomplice, you’ve also taken up stealing. Nice.”
“I… never got the chance to tell you something important about that mug.”
“And what’s that?”
“It's yours. We,” he paused and shook his head, “I picked this out for you.”
“The hell are you going on, kid?”
“That the things I did. They… they weren’t for me, they were for you and I wasn’t looking for anything in return. I believed that we shared, no, share a bond. Just like now.”
“Are you even listening to yourself? You know the world is full of shit.”
“I do, but being with others… changes that. The year I was Inaba, I threw everything away. My trust, friendships, family… But the one thing... I didn’t leave behind was--”
“Don’t say it… I know what you’re going to say.”
Adachi placed his red mug down on the table and looked at the young boy.
“I get it. But don’t you regret this.”
“I don’t regret burning that letter. I accepted you and the type of person you are the moment I did that.” Souji replied with a soft smile.
“Huh… Well, at least this shit’s not illegal now.”
All it took was a grab of his shirt to pull the young adult forward to kiss him.
“You’ve got the holiday off. You should come back with me.”
“Back to...?”
“To backwater country."
“Inaba? I-- I can’t go back.”
What? Scared?
Suddenly, Souji threaded his fingers into his hair, gripping his head.
You know if you go back, you have to face the truth. That you lied to your friends, betrayed them and your family…. that you stained your hands red.
“No, no!”
And what’s more… if you decide to go back, what are you going to do? Turn yourself in for destroying evidence? And what will you destroy then? The one that links your precious love interest to the murders. So not only will you destroy your only single bond, but yours and his life. HAHAHAHAHA you’re damned anyway you look at it.
“I won’t choose that path.”
What other path is to take?
“Sou--”
“I can’t go back. I can’t face everyone. I can’t…”
“Come on, I’ll be with you,” Adachi said with a sly voice as he wrapped an arm around Souji’s shoulder.
“If I stay here, I won’t lose anything… I can’t lose what I have left.”
“Well I sure can’t stay here with you. Unless your parents are okay seeing you with an older male ‘friend’ that is.”
“...”
“It’s the police’s duty to protect people right. And like I said before, as a criminal, I have to keep tabs on you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, not while you’re under my watch.”
“Adachi-san…”
“Trust me, I’ll take care of you.”
And back to Inaba they went for the winter holiday.
DECEMBER 26th, 2012
“It ain’t much, but you can stay here. You can’t go back to Dojima-san and Nanako right?”
“...”
Souji’s mind was situated on other things as they arrived back at Adachi’s apartment in the early morning. The whole ride back, he didn’t feel well. A sigh fell from Adachi’s lips.
“Get some rest. You look like crap.”
“...thanks…”
“Don’t leave this apartment unless I tell you to, got it?”
Souji answered with a simple nod before heading off to the bedroom.
So now we’re back. We’re back to where it all began. This is going to be great. I can’t wait to see you bend and break because even I know you won’t be able to accept what you did. You’ll keep denying it… denying me. But just remember, I am you and I also know what we did.
When the teenager woke gasping for air and quickly sat up, he caused Tohru to fall off the bed in shock.
“Can’t even change the washcloth on your head in peace, sheesh.”
“A-- Adachi-san…?”
“Hm?”
Souji grabbed the washcloth that had placed itself on his lap and looked over at the detective who was now sitting on the floor.
“What’s wrong kid? You’ve been acting funny ever since we left your place.”
He took a long pause, searching for an answer… but sadly couldn’t come up with one.
“Forget it. Wash your face and come out to eat.”
And two days quietly passed like that.
DECEMBER 28th, 2014
Until Adachi was called into work on his holiday.
“I should be back in a couple of hours. Remember, don’t leave.”
“I won’t…. Have a good day.”
“Who are you, my wife?”
The older male smirked and walked out the door. The kid might have been a pain in the ass before, but there was something refreshing and reassuring about keeping him around.
A few hours passed before dinner rolled around and Souji realized there wasn’t anything in the fridge to eat. Adachi had been going to the store and picking up whatever he could to nurse the teenager. And now that he was feeling better, he thought he should return the favor.
“It’s just to the convenience store. It should be all right.”
How wrong he was.
After purchasing various item, at least enough to cover for the rest of his stay and leave leftovers for Adachi, Souji gripped the bag he was holding and walked out the double doors.
“Senpai? Ain’t that you?”
Souji froze and did everything he could not to drop the bag. As the footsteps came closer, he steeled himself to face reality.
“Yo, senpai! Why didn’t ya tell anyone ya were comin’ back?”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA this is CLASSIC! Oh man…. stop hahahaha just stop now!! The girly man teenager is the first one you come across? So… what will you do…?
“K-- Kanji…,” Souji said, turning around, but keeping his eyes on the concrete below him.
“Yo!,” a pause, “Uh senpai, ya doin’ all right?”
“I’m fine Kanji. It’s been a while”
Just carry on a normal conversation. It’ll be okay.
“Yeah and the fog is as thick as ever. Almost didn’t recognize ya. So how ya been?”
“ Ah-- hm, I’ve been great! Man it’s good to be back! Stop it…”
“Senpai?”
“ H-- how about you, how have you been cause I don’t want to talk about me. Brings up some real bad memories. SHUT UP!”
The leader of the now broken up Investigation Team heard his own voice echo, which caught the attention of some bystanders. Kanji took a step back in shock.
“S--sorry Kanji, I need to go.”
“W--wait! Senpai!”
Kanji caught the boy’s shoulder, which caused him to turn slightly as he started his getaway. It was only for a moment, but Kanji knew what he saw. And last time he checked, Souji Seta, in fact, did not have yellow colored eyes. In his confusion, he loosened his grip and caused him to get dash in the other direction.
“What’s happened ta ya...senpai?”
Souji ran into the residence and after slamming the front door shut, he slid down the back of it. His breathing was ragged and uneven and his eyes failed to focus. He remained in that spot, gripping his head, trying to calm down. The shadow-- it was trying to take over. It had something to do with the heavy fog and returning to Inaba; the urges were worse than before…
He felt his conscious slipping there after, laying on the cool floor in the doorway.
It was only twenty minutes later that Tohru returned to his home, only to have the door close in his face as he tried to open it.
“The hell-?”
Forcing the door to stay ajar to leave enough space to stick his head in, as he moved closer, a plastic bag gave way to a body lying on the floor.
“You’ve got to be kidding me… I’m not cut out to be your Prince Charming, kid.”
Adachi did what he could to force his way into his own apartment and dragged (because he sure enough couldn’t lift him at deadweight) Souji into the bedroom.
An hour or two later, an aroma filled the space, causing Sleeping Beauty to awake from his slumber. He sat up in bed, slowly, blinking to focus his eyes, and again, a washcloth fell into his lap.
“What… happened?”
“You passed out in my doorway. That’s what happened," Adachi explained, leaning against the bedroom's door frame. "How did you expect me to get in? Moreover, didn’t I tell you to stay here and not leave?”
“I was just…”
“... well?”
“...”
“Whatever, wash your face. It ain’t much and I’m no cook, but there’s food on the table, thanks to you.”
“Thank you.”
“And… I’m getting you talk tonight. I’m not going to have another episode where I feel like I almost need to break into my own apartment.”
And that was that.
Considering rice porridge wasn’t terrible to make and pretty hard to screw up, Souji was able to fill his stomach and start to feel better. After taking a sip of water, he caught Adachi’s eyes on him. He could only guess that was his cue to start talking.
“Kanji…”
“Haa? What about him?”
“He saw me.”
“Of all the-- he’s gonna run off and tell the others you’re around. I’m telling you this for the last time, don’t leave this damn apartment!”
DECEMBER 29th, 2012
“You mean you saw him?”
“Ya, I’m sure.”
“He didn’t even call.”
“He must of had his reasons.”
“But how could he? Doesn’t he know how much we missed him?”
“We haven’t exactly been keeping in contact with him either.”
The Ex-Investigation Team (sans their leader and Teddie) met at Junes after Yosuke received a call from Kanji.
“But somethin’ ain’t right with him.”
“What do you mean?” Naoto questioned.
“He reminded me when we were in the TV, strugglin’ to accept our true selves.”
“Wait, I thought senpai--,” Rise started to say, but Yosuke cut her off.
“Hold on before we jump to conclusions here. What do you mean by that, Kanji?”
“I mean his eyes were yellow, dude and he was talking to himself. What the hell else do you think I mean?!”
“But everything was fine, right?” Chie pondered.
“Then perhaps something happened before he left. Maybe that triggered it.”
“It might be a stretch, but are you thinking he lied to us about knowing who could have done it?” Yukiko finally spoke up.
“There’s one way to find out,” Yosuke started and stood up him his chair.
“Hanamura-senpai, please allow me to take care of this.”
“Naoto?”
“You lose your temper too quickly and if senpai ran away from Kanji, he might be wrestling with the fact there’s something he’s been keeping to himself for the past eleven months. I promise to call if something happens.”
“All right Naoto, we leave it in your hands.”
Properly abiding by Adachi’s rule, Souji stayed inside another day while the police officer stepped out to take care of an errand for Dojima-san (on his day off too). And very much unlike the previous day, Souji stood in the kitchen, cooking for him and Tohru. As he turned off the fire from the pot, his cell phone started to ring.
Pi pi pi
“Adachi-san?”
He should have looked at the caller ID.
“Senpai?”
Souji backed away the phone from his ear and looked at who was calling.
NAOTO SHIROGANE
“I see, so that’s where you are staying. Kanji told us you arrived in Inaba. I won’t question why you didn’t tell us, but can we meet? It’ll be just the both of us.”
“I-- can’t.”
“Senpai…”
“...”
“Just ten minutes of your time. I won’t tell the others we met.”
“...”
“Senpai?”
Oh look it’s the gender confused TRAP. That’s a voice we haven’t heard in a while. You know~ we have some really ANNOYING underclassman to deal with.
“Where?”
“Sorry?”
“Just ten minutes.”
“Please meet me as the police station, tonight, after hours. Dojima-san won’t be there. I’ll be waiting for however long it takes.”
click
That could have been the worst possible place to meet.
Souji waited until Adachi’s returned home and shared a comforting dinner with him.
“You’re really trying to become my wife, aren’t you?”
“...”
“Joking, geez, take a joke. I appreciate the food, all right?”
But that wasn’t what Souji was upset about.
He was turning into a habitual liar.
When Adachi was sound asleep just before eleven, Souji slipped out of the apartment and made his way towards the police station. There was only one worker sitting at a desk, passed out on his shift. Naoto nodded to her older classman and then led him inside the interrogation room.
Once there, a flash of memories played out.
White and black.
“So what will you do?”
Green.
Fire.
“Senpai, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah…” Her words jolting him back to reality.
“As promised I won’t ask why we weren’t contacted upon your return. But I do have something to say. There’s something that you’ve kept from all of us. The others are suspicious of what it might be, but I now know what it is. I only have one question. Was it that you couldn’t trust us that you decided on that path?”
Oh man, she’s good. She hit the nail right on the head.
“I-- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He could feel a bead of sweat that dripped down the back of his neck. What did she know? Souji needed to find that out first.
“Perhaps… this will explain it. I’m sure what this was another ‘accident’.”
Taking the remote from the table, the Detective Prince turned on the TV and played back a certain tape from earlier that year.
“Do you remember this? It’s the threatening letter that got sent to your house. I accidently forgot to forward it over to Forensics. I’m sure it was just a prank, but maybe it’s connected to the murders.”
“!”
“The real killer wouldn’t want the police to have this. That means you’re with me, right? So if I’m the real killer, and you’re with me, then that makes you my partner in crime. Isn’t that right?”
“How did you--”
“I had to figure out who you might have seen before you left. My assumption was everything was fine up until we last looked over the facts of the case. And even then, there was no change. So I started from the day you departed, with the intent of going backwards from there. It seems I made the right choice.”
“But--”
“
Usually there’s a switch to flip to start a recording of anything or anyone who is brought into the room. My guess is that Adachi-san turned it in by accident when he reentered the room.”
“
Well?”
“No! I didn’t-- You weren’t supposed to know!”
“You burned evidence, senpai. The proof is right here. If Adachi-san is the murderer of Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano, you destroyed the one thing linking him to the murders. And you’ve committed a crime as well.”
Naoto pressed the red button to cut off the TV.
“Why did you do it senpai? Why did you throw away everything we worked for?”
A deafening silence filled the room as Souji hung his head low, bangs covering his face.
“Senpai, please answer me!”
There was only a minute of silence before something unnatural and corrupted pierced the air.
“ There’s nothing I could say that would be a good enough answer for you, right~? ”
“Sen...pai…?”
Without realizing it, Naoto took a step back. Something wasn’t right. Despite telling Yosuke she would handle it alone because his temper would cloud his judgement, Naoto cursed herself for pushing Souji into a corner, which was far worse.
“ HAHAHAHA yes~! Now look what you did, you made his conscious slip between the cracks with all that pressure you put on him and now… HE LET ME OUT! HAHAHA! Ahh it's good to be back in Trash Town. ”
Souji’s head snapped back unnaturally as he laughed. Once he came down from his high, yellow shadow like eyes glared right at her.
“ Let me tell you something you little trap, we’ve been running away from the truth. Sure we might have accepted all of you and your issues, but who said anything about me accepting my own? Or rather, all of you accepted me on the surface and none of you really knew anything about me. Could any of you accept me now that I am an accomplice in two murders? Can you honestly say that you will continue to stand by my side knowing that their blood is on my hands as well? ”
“I--,we--”
Two strides forward and the shadow of his true self picked up the detective by the collar, lifting her off the ground.
“ I wanted to accept someone like the old me. I didn’t want to see someone go through the loneliness I experienced. I threw away everything for him, not for our circus! ”
“Sen...p--”
“ You know what they say: love is blind and OH BOY AM I BLIND. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA .”
With one quick motion, Souji threw Naoto across the room, crashing into the wall.
“ Naoto! Oh, trying to regain control are you? W-- what do you think you’re doing?”
The only thing he knew to do in this situation was to run…. and within four walls, there usually was nowhere to run.
Except into the TV.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
“Hey, is everything alright in here? Shirogane-kun? Hey! Shirogane-kun!”
DECEMBER 30th, 2012
Adachi woke up at midnight to the sound of white noise and a bright light. Turning over to ignore it, he felt the bed was cold.
“Souji?”
But he wasn’t there.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked towards the source of light that was in the dark room.
“What the hell--”
Frames clear as day rolled on to show a desolate image of a teenager male walking aimlessly in a broken town of Inaba.
“Bastard!”
Adachi grabbed his cell phone and called a certain prince.
“You gather your little shit league of friends and meet me at the shrine, now!”
It took twenty minutes to gather the crew, but they all arrived at the shine.
“What the hell did you bastards do?”
“Whoa Adachi-sa--”
“I’M ASKING WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU BASTARDS DO? AND WHERE’S NAOTO FUCKING SHIROGANE?”
Everyone recoiled in shock. Adachi was usually calm, meek, and very aloof. He came off as the opposite now.
“Uh, I couldn’t get in contact with Naoto. Although when I called her, someone from the police station picked up her phone and said she was unconscious by herself in the interrogation room. They moved her to the hospital,” Yosuke confessed.
“The hell? What was she doing passed out in the room by herself?” Kanji questioned.
“I-- I don’t know. She said she was going to meet up with Souji to talk to him about something, but she didn’t tell us what.”
“But did senpai go? Didn’t you just say that she was in the room alone?” Rise asked.
“True, then maybe--” Yukiko was cut off by Adachi’s laughter.
“I swear you brats never learn. Didn’t I tell you to STOP playing detective or someone was going to get hurt? The bastard THREW HIMSELF INTO THE TV BECAUSE YOU WENT SCREWING AROUND.”
“No!” Chie screamed covering her mouth too late.
“Now you’re all going to go home and FUCKING stay there. Don’t you DARE even THINK about entering the other side.”
“Just hold on a sec, how do ya know about--”
“Don’t you think I have some inside information being a police department and all? Now, GO THE FUCK HOME.”
And the Investigation Team ran off like cockroaches scared of the light.
“After everything, you’re going to leave me alone too? Your bonds don’t mean shit if you can’t even keep them!”
On the walk back to his apartment, Adachi thought back on the past couple of days with Souji. Back when the younger male left Inaba, this whole thing was suppose to be some sick twisted joke he could sit back and laugh about everyday. But now spending his days with the teenager, he realized he was hooked without seeing the bait held in front of him.
Now all he could think about was Souji and his bond and acceptance talk. All of that seemed like a lie now.
“You fucking abandoned me like everyone else and after you accepted this shit person I am. Where are you now huh? I should just let your ass ROT in there!”
But even then, something didn’t seem right about him when Adachi brought him back to Inaba. Souji seemed off and even though he said he was fine, Tohru saw right through the young adult, he knew that his state was getting progressively worse. The anger he held onto slowly slipped away, remembering that Souji didn’t want to return to Inaba in the first place.
“You’re making me feel like I’m at fault, aren’t you? That I forced you to make the choice to follow me down this path. But I know you'll say 'It's not like that, Adachi-san. I made that choice on my own.' Did I-- turn you into what you are now? Fuck, listen to me. Like a damn school girl who was dumped--”
[“Forgot about you? HAHA Are you even listening to yourself right now? You sound like an abandoned wife...”]
“Hahaha…. damn it…how ironic.”
Reaching his home, Adachi opened the door, closing and locking it behind him. As he entered the living room, he placed one hand on the black frame of the TV.
“Maybe it was I who abandoned you first. You kept waiting for that call and then I forgot.”
At that realization, Tohru let out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding. Just as he noticed Souji’s attachment to him, he now acknowledged the bond he was trying to deny he had with Souji. He could fully accept the truth that he had been attempting to deny the entire time.
“Now you’re going to make me play hero aren’t you? Don’t expect some grand white horse.”
And into the TV world he went.
Walking alone on the streets of Magatsu Inaba, he kept his eyes on the dotted lines. He went and betrayed everyone. And by everyone, it wasn’t just Yosuke, Kanji, Chie, Rise, Teddie, Naoto, Yukiko, Dojima, and Nanako. Another name fell within those numbers.
Tohru Adachi.
He couldn’t handle the pressure, couldn’t handle the acceptance of his actions. He was surrounded and blessed by fortune… only to throw it all away.
“Ah~ So it’s here that we meet face to face.”
Footsteps stopped and his head looked up, revealing bags under his eyes. Souji Seta was finally face to face with his Shadow. It was no longer the voice in his head, the conscious that repeatedly tried to take over.
“Look at you, you look pitiful and like shit. But I know why you’re feeling this way. You’re thinking about how much you betrayed everyone… and now, even yourself. You threw all of your friendships away, even after you went through all that work to accept their true selves.”
“Shut up…”
“The one bond, you broke by coming in here to see little ol’ me. You ran to me instead of back to your beloved… and you think he’s going to trust you? Save you?”
“Shut up…"
“And this was all because you couldn’t face the truth. You tore down those walls, broke each and every connection. No one will trust you, no one will come and save you. You want me to tell you the truth? You committed a crime, you tossed aside a year of friendship for nothing, betrayed not only your friends, but your family too. And for what? To stay connected to a person to who gave you months of paranoia, trust issues--”
“SHUT UP!”
“ We committed that crime. We killed Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. We said nothing while holding onto the truth of those murders. We burned everything that meant anything to us for the one thing we hated: to be alone. We wanted to sympathize, be the hero to someone who had always been abandoned. We didn’t want someone to be like how we were, so we accepted him and changed our world in an instant.”
“I-- you’re--”
“No, don’t say it!” But he couldn’t hear the call of his friends from the side of reality.
“YOU’RE NOT ME!”
“Oh, but I am you…”
A small vortex swirled around Souji’s other self. Arriving on the scene, Teddie pointed over to what was happening before him to Adachi (who literally stumbled upon him by accident).
“We’re too late-kuma~ And Sensei’s shadow… I can’t beat it all by myself.”
“No, it’s not too late.” And the last thing Teddie heard was running footsteps.
“Iza--”
Reaching out his hand, Souji was losing consciousness. But something didn’t feel right.
No, focus self. You-- you have to face-- I… can’t…. feel anything. They’re gone…. my personas are… gone!
“And you could have kept them if you had faced the truth HAHAHAHAHA!”
Souji felt himself fall backwards and then hit something that didn’t feel like the ground. He was still slightly upright, leaning against something, or rather, someone. His eyes saw a hand that reached past him and gripped the air.
“Magatsu Izanagi!”
“A..da...--”
And he slipped into darkness.
“Oh? Has the hard working husband come to save his stay at home wife?”
“Yep, here I am~” Adachi laughed.
“You think you can defeat me on his behalf?”
“Ah well, you can’t do something unless you try.”
“So you’re going to try and recover the one thing that will make you less lonely.”
“I am a selfish prick after all. Doing anything and everything for my self enjoyment. It’s why I threw them in the TV in the first place. But unlike this one here,” he looked down at Souji resting against him, “I know what I did and why I did it. Someone had to shake up this quiet backwater off the radar country. And what better person than me to do it? But enough with the chit-chat, I’m not here to save me from myself.”
Tohru laid Souji down on the ground and crouched down next to him. And with his thumb pointing over, he said,
“I’m here to save this little shit who actually means something to me. So,” he stood up, preparing himself, “if you don’t mind me getting this over with, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Come, Izanagi!”
When Souji came to, he tried to sit up before a rush of wind blew past him and then there was yell that sounded like this own. He attempted to sit up again, rubbing his eyes trying to get them to focus. Once he opened them again, he saw Adachi standing in front of him. Next thing he knew, his face was planted against the concrete.
“You don’t know how to listen do you? When I tell you to stay home, you stay the fuck home.”
The teenager could only bring up a hand to where Adachi had punched him.
“Damn it. And here I thought I had something to hold on to….Who said it was okay for you to go off on your own trying to go to a place where I can’t reach you huh!?"
Adachi sat back, hand covering his face.
“You make me sick and I hate it, but I can’t fucking leave you alone.”
Trying to gather the strength to move closer, Souji wrapped his arms around the other man’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Adachi-san. I won’t go anywhere anymore.”
Tohru’s arms went to hug Souji’s waist, desperately trying to anchor himself. He believed he was going to lose the only thing and the only one who actually accepted him, twisted personality and all. A bond he held with Souji Seta.
The teenager’s shadow walked over to them, looking down on his true self. Keeping his ground, Souji glanced up.
“You’re right. I didn’t want to accept what I did, despite my words saying otherwise. Now, I can fully accept responsibility for my actions. Once this is all over, I’ll set this right with everyone. I won’t… run away anymore.”
His words caused Adachi to pull away from him and look up at him, confused.
“Do you realize what you’re saying? You can’t do that!”
“Adachi-san, I’ll tell my uncle what I did. That’s the only way that will help me accept my actions.”
“Are you crazy?! You’re going to fucking leave again?! Does the ‘bond” between us mean so fucking little to you?!”
Souji shook his head.
“I’m not going anywhere. You’ll know where I am. You said it before, you have to keep tabs on a criminal.”
“Damn it! That’s not what I meant! You can’t do this to yourself!”
“Adachi-san, it’s going to be okay. I won’t get you involved.”
“...”
“?”
“...--too.”
“Adachi-san?”
Souji thought he heard the older male mumble something, but didn’t quite catch it.
“I’ll go too. You said you were going to set things right, right? You can’t do that unless I turn myself in too.”
“Adachi-san…”
“You followed me down my path…. It’s your turn to lead. I’ll follow you down yours.”
“Adachi-san, are you--”
“Sure? Yeah, I am. And it’s Tohru.”
“Huh?”
“Hearing you call me by my last name is fucking annoying. Use my first.”
“All right, Tohru-san.”
Then Souji turned back to his shadow.
“I’ll face my friends and prepare myself as to if they’ll accept me or not. I won’t run away anymore. You are me and I won’t forget that.”
The shadow nodded, giving way to Souji’s original persona, Izanagi.
A sigh of relief fell from their lips at the same time. And when they realized this, both males let out a laugh and sat back, resting their hands on the ground behind them.
“Oh that’s right...”
Adachi placed a hand inside his jacket. A few moments passed before he pulled it back out and flicked something over to the younger one. The item reflected a hint of light before Souji caught it. As he questioned as to what the object was, he opened his hand and reflected in his irises was a ring.
“I lied when I said I had to run that errand for your uncle. Keep it for now.”
“...thanks…”
Souji placed the ring on his left ring finger which caused Adachi to grin.
“How did you know it belonged there?”
“Just a hunch.”
“It’s over now, isn’t it?” Souji said, offering a hand to pull Adachi back up.
“I’m not so--”
Adachi never got to finish his sentence as he was engulfed by black smoke.
“Tohru-san? Tohru-san!”
The slick black like substance pulled the detective away and transformed into a round and large neon colored eyeball.
“I’ll be taking back what’s mine! Come, Magatsu Izanagi!”
The colors of Izanagi has changed from what Souji was used to seeing. He could tell that this was a result of the fusion of their bond and acceptance from both sides.
Souji yelled out as the newly created persona used Vorpal Blade to destroy Ameno-sagiri. Through the smoke and ash, Adachi appeared unconscious and falling from the darkened sky. Souji rushed forward to catch him and did so successfully.
“Souji--”
“Don’t speak. Conserve your str--”
“No, I think this is as far as I go right now. But there’s something I need to tell you. Something’s not right… about all this.”
“?”
“There’s something bigger here. That thing… controlled me… I felt it when I entered this town but-- it has to be taking orders from someone, something else. Solve this mystery… and I’ll wait for you to come back on the other side. Sorry, I can’t… help… you…”
The last pathway in was usually the one out, so while Souji entered the TV world via the Interrogation Room at the police station, Adachi’s entry was from his house, so he wound up back in the apartment, the detective in his arms. Once he laid Adachi on the couch, Souji’s cell phone went off. This time, he was sure to check the caller id before he picked up.
“Yosuke?”
“Dude what the hell? Are you all right? I saw what happened on the TV.”
“I’m… I’m all right now.” A pause and then a sound of surprise. “Naoto! How--”
“She’s fine. Seems she was only knocked unconscious but she was taken to the hospital.”
“Thank goodness.”
“So, um, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Is it true what was said in there? It came off fuzzy at times, but… you and Adachi-san ar--”
“! Yosuke, let me call you back.”
“Wha--- hey!”
click
First Souji called for an ambulance and then his uncle. Ryotaro Dojima showed up right before the paramedics.
“I hope you have some sort of explanation for this: being in Adachi’s apartment and not calling when you returned. Nanako’s been asking about you, you know.”
“I know… and right now I shouldn’t ask for any favors, but--”
“What is it? You’re our family. I’m sure I can overlook the lack of contact right now.”
“Please take care of Tor-- Adachi-san for me. There’s one more thing I need to do. I’ll explain everything once it’s over and done.”
Dojima made a grunt of disapproval, but that changed once his nephew bowed deeply in front of him. Bringing up a hand to scratch the back of his head, he looked over at the paramedics.
“Take him out of here. Put him in the special ward and make sure he’s not disturbed.”
“Understood!”
“Uncle!”
“Don’t leave me and Nanako waiting for too long, you hear?”
DECEMBER 30th, 2012
“None of you have to trust me fully right now. I would understand, but I need your help, one last time.”
The revived Investigation Team met at their usual location in Junes. Now everyone was gathered, Teddie and Naoto as well.
“So you’re saying Adachi-san believes someone else is behind this fog?” Yukiko inquired.
“And you want us to trust him…. after what he said in there…” Yosuke said, skeptical.
“...”
“Yosuke,” Chie elbowed the boy.
“Let’s not talk about that right now. What’s important is that we got somethin’ to finish, right?” Kanji said.
“Right,” Naoto nodded, placing a hand on the brim of her hat.
“We might not be able to trust him, but we trust you, senpai!” Rise chimed.
“Thank you….”
The group walked towards the electronics department in Junes. Teddie pulled Souji to walk a few steps behind.
“I heard everything-kuma. So it is true what the both of you did?”
“I promise I’ll explain everything once we finish this once and for all,” Souji smiled, placing a hand on Teddie’s head.
Naoto then turned around to face him. Teddie ran ahead to talk to the others.
“I know there’s a good explanation for all of this.”
“Naoto…”
“I will wait for you to explain everything.”
“Thank you and… sorry for what happened that night.”
“No need for apologizes, senpai. I know that wasn’t you so you have nothing to apologize for. Now, let’s go wrap of this case.”
It took a couple trips back and forth between both words to figure out what was going on. Thinking back on Adachi’s words and the strange phenomenon surrounding the town, Souji (with Naoto’s help) tracked down a suspect that no would have ever considered.
The gas attendant at the MOEL gas station. At first it didn’t click, but Souji remembered Adachi mentioning that something changed when he entered the town which brought the memory back after shaking hands with the attendant, he started not to feel well.
And with a long treacherous battle, Izanami-no-Okami was finally defeated, the fog retreated where it belonged and Inaba finally received the peace it deserved.
DECEMBER 31st, 2012
The team gathered themselves at Junes post-battle, upon Souji’s suggestion. It was quite a long explanation, but he told them the truth and how he never intended to lie to them. About how he came to that decision and burning the letter wasn’t something he regretted. That he didn’t mean to break the bonds or trust between them.
“So what are you doing to do, sensei?” Teddie questioned.
“The right thing.”
The rest of the group was confused as Souji got up and started to walk away. Not knowing what he was planning, they followed him as he walked out of Junes… all the way to the police station.
“Senpai!” Rise gasped. “No! You can’t.”
“I have to. This is how I can face myself and the decisions I made. I’m not asking for any of you to forgive me.”
“Ya sure this’s the right thing ta do?” Kanji asked, taking a step forward.
“Is this what you meant by ‘last time’?” Naoto inquired.
Souji only nodded in reply to both of their questions.
“There’s nothing we can say to change your mind, is there?” Chie said, feeling Yukiko bury her head into her shoulder.
He shook his head.
“I believe your decision is correct. I just wish… it didn’t have to come to this,” Naoto chimed in.
“I don’t even know what to say… I can’t believe this. You-- it’s just as if you killed Saki-senpai and you think turning yourself in is going to make it right? You just covered up the evidence! It means nothing if--”
“If what? If I don’t turn myself in too?”
“Adachi,” the whole team said in unison.
“Yo~”
A smile played upon his lips as he looked into the group, giving them a fake salute.
“Tohru-san.”
“Look, we’re not doing this for you. We’ve come this far and this is how our story ends. Tomorrow’s a new year and a new start. So you can either accept him like he accepted all of you or walk away and forget that we ever existed. Not that you’re going to see us for a while anyway~”
There was a long lul of silence as the team weighed out their options.
“You gave up on us… How could you?” Chie questioned rhetorically.
SNAP
“Chie, let’s go.”
“Huh, hey--” And Yukiko dragged Chie off, not being able to deal with the reality in front of her.
CRASH
“I-- don’t even know what ta say. You ain’t… the senpai I knew. I thought we were fighting for the same thing,” Kanji mumbled, looking down at the ground.
TEAR
“You betrayed Nana-chan… I don’t think I can forgive you for that.” The harshness of Teddie’s words caused Souji to look off to the side.
RIP
“Fuck you. I’m outta here,” and Yosuke turned heel to walk off.
SCRATCH
“Senpai….” Rise’s cries didn’t help the guilt that swelled up in his heart.
SHATTER
“So this is the end,” Naoto said, turning away from the criminals, leading Rise off to follow her and Kanji and Teddie following suit.
And when there was no one left of the investigation team standing in front of him, Souji lifted a hand to rest on his heart.
“They’re gone…”
But he didn’t mean his ex-teammates, but his personas carrying the Magician, Lovers, Wheel of Fortune, Emperor, Chariot, High Priestess, and Sun.
“See, what did I tell you?”
“...”
“You can’t expect others to do the same that you’ve done for them. That’s the truth. Not everyone lives by the Golden Rule like you.”
Before Souji could reply, he felt darkness come upon his eyes and his lips covered by something soft. And finally coming to the conclusion that he expected this outcome of his friends leaving in turn of keeping someone important close to him, he reacted to Adachi’s actions, kissing him back.
A long moment passed before either pulled away from each other and Adachi removed his hand from Souji’s eyes.
“But I can accept you, just like you did me.”
“Right.”
“You know my sentence will be a lot longer than yours… if I’m able to get out, right?”
“I know… and I’ll wait. That’s why you gave me this.”
Souji lifted up his hand and pointed to the ring.
“Yeah I guess,” Tohru nervously brought his hand to the back of his head, revealing the same ring on his own finger.
Souji looked at his reflection in the double doors in front of him.
“Come on and let’s get this over with. We’re doing this together right?”
“Right.”
Adachi took Souji’s hand and Souji let the detective lead him towards the path they chose. Now, everything would be solved and the case finally come to a close.
“Dojima-san…”
“Uncle…”