4/16, SATURDAY, EARLY MORNING, RAINING

It was raining as Tsuyoi walked to school, feeling less sore because of his nights rest.

"Yo!" He heard Yosuke called.

Yosuke walked over, limping. "You saw what was on TV, right?"

"Of course."

"I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it. Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something." Yosuke decided.

"Alright."

"If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this." Yosuke pondered. "Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims... if someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable." Yosuke said with vindication.

"We need to find the culprit...no matter what it takes! There's no way the police can do it... who'd believe that the murderer kills people by throwing them into the TV?"

"Let's bring an end to this." Tsuyoi agreed.

"Yeah... I agree." Yosuke paused. "You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because I have the same power... Persona, wasn't it? Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case. Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first..."

Yosuke smiled. "I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case." He blushed. "Well, let's do our best!"

Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yosuke is trying his best to cope with what has happen.

Tsuyoi felt a budding relationship, and he-

I am thou... Thou art I...
Thou hast established a new bond

Thanks, Izanagi.

It brings thee closer to the truth,

...?

Thou shalt be blessed pursing the truth with The Young Magus, Hanamura Yosuke.

Oh, okay.

Tsuyoi hoped this wouldn't happen every time he made a friend.

Considering his luck, he assumed Izanagi would.

Was his true self an asshole?

By the way -- what the hell even is a "Magus"?

The Magus, otherwise known as The Magician: first of the Major Arcana or trump cards in a tarot deck. In tarot readings, Magician signifies action, initiative, creativity, and the conscious mind.

Oh, thanks.

FLOODPLAIN -> YASOGAMI
EARLY MORNING -> still early morning lol

The classroom was fairly empty, considering it was so early.

"By the way... Yosuke-san- how are your bruises?"

Yosuke shrugged. "The cut is fine, but the shirts I wore now are stained so I can't ever use them again." He laughed. "I had to throw them out under my dad's nose - he would've freaked out."

"Anything else?"

Yosuke sighed. "My uh, arm has a nasty burn on now." Yosuke answers. "It stung like hell when I took my clothes off, but I wrapped in some ace bandages - plus it feels a lot better."

"I'm sorry about that."

"No worries." Yosuke sighed. "What I'm realing worried about is Rohan and Tomoko seeing it..."

"Rohan and Tomoko?"

"Rohan is my older brother. Tomoko is my four year old sister." Yosuke leaned in forward. "By the way..." He paused, blushing. "I uh, I horked up in the shower last night."

"Excuse me?" Tsuyoi asked in utter confusion.

Before Yosuke can explained, Chie entered the classroom in a frenzy.

"Um... Chie!"

"Um, about yesterday-- we're sorry we worried you." Tsuyoi apologized.

"Never mind that." Chie said, "Is Yukiko still not here?"

"Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh... no? At least, I haven't seen her today." Yosuke answered awkwardly.

"I saw her after I left Junes yesterday."

"Oh man... What should I do? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know, all that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world?"

"Oh, we were just talking about that earlier." Yosuke stated. "We're thinking of checking it out later--"

"The person on TV yesterday... I think it was Yukiko." Chie mumbles out. "That kimono looked like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during that interview a few days ago too. I got worried, so I emailed here last night, but she hasn't responded. I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today. I-I..."

"Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?" Yosuke said, trying to calm her.

"No..."

"When people go missing, they're thrown into the TV, entering that other world." Tsuyoi explained.

"What's that supposed to mean? Wait, are you saying..." Chie paused in horror. "Yukiko was thrown in there!?"

"We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first." Yosuke said, calming the brunette down.

"Give her another call." Tsuyoi stated.

Chie quickly pulled her phone out - mashing Yukiko's digits.

There was a minuet of silence.

"No good... her voicemail picked up."

Chie tried to call again.

"S-She's not answering..." She mumbled out.

"Are you serious? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place?" Tsuyoi asked Yosuke.

"S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something..." Chie paused. "Oh, or she might be helping at the inn! She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it!"

"Yeah, but would she skip school for that?"

"W-Well, I'll give the inn a call. Umm..." She paused to scroll through her phone. "I've got the number here somewhere..."

"C'mon, Yukiko...Pick up..." She said worriedly. "Oh, is this Yukiko!? Thank god, she's there!"

"Uh-huh..." Chie answered to Yukiko. "Uh-huh, I see..."

"Ah, uh. Nah, it was nothing, haha. I'll email you again later..." She sighed, hanging up. "She was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out." She explained to the boys.

"Yeah...Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too." She reminisced.

"Oh, that's good."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine!" She then glared at Tsuyoi.
"And you were all, 'Is Yukiko-san inside that place?'." She mimicked, trying to sound bored. "Hmph."

Tsuyoi was somewhat insulted.

"S-Sorry...But there is a reason we thought that." Yosuke admitted.

"Oh yeah? What?"

"Well...we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world. I mean, it makes sense, right?" Yosuke explained. "People show up on TV because they're inside the TV. But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about."

"Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school."

YASOGAMI -> JUNES
EARLY MORNING -> AFTER SCHOOL

"I fought an opposite of Yosuke." Tsuyoi blurted. "A lot 'Yosuke''s damage transferred to Yosuke."

Yosuke smirked sheepishly. "See? That's why I was limping."

"Yosuke and I also have a psychic ghost friends now." Tsuyoi stated again. "We have obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships." Tsuyoi quoted. "I don't know what I did to obtain mine, but I beat the hell out of Yosuke's repressed feelings."

Yosuke blushed.

"...His shadow certainly did a number on him. Yosuke almost started crying."

"O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades." Yosuke squeaked.

"It wasn't annoying, Yosuke." Tsuyoi said, trying to make the Magus less embarrassed. "It was honestly kind of..." Cute? Endearing? Adorable? Why the hell am I pondering this? "...understandable."

"If I hadn't seen the place first hand..." Chie paused. "I'd never have believed a story like that."

"Yeah, no kidding. Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside..." Yosuke wondered.

"How? By talking to that Teddie guy?" Chie asked.

"Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around..." Yosuke grumbled. "I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today."

Yosuke perked his head up, like a lightbulb came on.

"I got it! C'mere a sec."

Tsuyoi leaned in.

"Try sticking your hand in and calling him over." Yosuke stated. "I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway." Yosuke added.

"Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me." Yosuke stated standing beside Tsuyoi.

"A wall?" Chie repeated.

Tsuyoi plunged his hand into the TV - it felt like jello.

Weird.

Then, there was a sharp surge of pain on his hand.

He hastily pulled it out, and there was a red ring (bite mark?) on his fingers.

"JESUS!" Tsuyoi squawked.

"Wh-what's wrong!?" Yosuke asked worriedly.

"Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!" Chie scolded. "D-Dude, is that a bite mark!? Are you okay!?"

"I feel like I'm going to cry..." Tsuyoi joked. Of course, with his blank face, he sounded serious. "...I'm fine." He reassured.

He wasn't lying, it did hurt.

"That's good..." Yosuke said, looking at Tsuyoi. "Sheesh, that bear must've done it."

"Hey, you! We know you're in there!" Chie squeaked at the TV.

"Ooh, ooh, is this a game?" Teddie's voice echoed.

"No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?" Yosuke scolded.

"Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always." Teddie answered. "This land feels so bear-ren..." Teddie joked.

"Shut it!" Chie snapped.

"So there's no one inside? You're sure?" Yosuke asked.

"I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!"

"...I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway." Chie mumbled. "Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still..."

"Yeah...you'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?" Tsuyoi stated.

"Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house." Chie promised.

"Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel. Cross your fingers that this is all a misunderstanding..." Yosuke paused. "What's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight."

"Sure." Tsuyoi stated. "My phones pretty old, so fair warning."

The two boys swapped numbers - surprisingly, Yosuke's phone was fine despite him being beaten yesterday.

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone!"... Tsuyoi knew that Yosuke dealt with an emotional beating, too...

"Alright, don't forget to watch tonight."

Was it really Yukiko who appeared last night?

You need to watch the Midnight Channel again tonight...

TSUYOI, YOSUKE, & CHIE @ JUNES AFTER SCHOOL -> DOJIMA AND ADACHI @ THE SHOPPING DISTRICT, EVENING

Adachi sighed deeply. "Looks like we've found all that we're gonna find here." Adachi groaned. "And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect..."

"We don't even know if this is a homicide." Dojima groaned, face palming.

"Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!"

"...I know. We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it. If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp. But if that's true...what the hell is going on?" Dojima rambled.

"You know, I thought at first this all spun out of that love triangle."

"No. That singer -- Misuzu Hiiragi -- has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it. And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Hiiragi herself broke it to the media. No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind."

"Got a point there..." Adachi mumbled.

"Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders. He's been working in the city for the past six months. Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident. There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died. And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making contact with Namatame before or after her disappearance..." Dojima explained in a long winded way.

"You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary. He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl." Adachi gossiped.

"Yeah, I agree. Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi. She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse...But I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive. She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found. The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up. But that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours." Dojima rambled.

Adachi scratched his head. "Yeah...I heard about that angle on the news, too."

"What!? Is the story about the inn out already?" Dojima squawked.

"Okay, I got it! How's this? Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew! And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!"

"...Either way, all we can do now is keep investigating anyone involved with the victims. Our perp..." Dojima paused for added effect for the reveal of a lifetime. "It has to be someone in Inaba."

"Ooh, is your detective's intuition at work?" Adachi stated sarcastically.

SHOPPING DISTRICT -> DOJIMA HOUSEHOLD, 12:00

Tsuyoi looked at the CRTV intently, holding his phone.

The TV buzzed to life. And the worse happened.

Yukiko Amagi. In a gaudy princess outfit. In front of a stereotypical European castle.

"Good evening!!" Yukiko squealed, her voice sounding... wrong. Tsuyoi couldn't tell why, it just did.

"Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise--I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud!" She said excitedly. "Welcome to 'Not a Dream, Not a Hoax' -- Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming!" 'Yukiko' said with glee.

"And I came prepared: I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom!" She squeezed her arms together, making her, uh, chest larger than it was. "I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine!"

She paused to twirl around.

"Well -- here I goooo!" She said cutely, running towards the castle behind her.

That was definitely Yukiko on the Midnight Channel.

"Signs of love overshadowed by dreams. Baby, don't worry coz you ain't alone. Only time running days without nights. Tears pass through." Tsuyoi's phone rang, Yosuke was calling him.

He picked up.

"H-hey, did you see that!?" Yosuke asked in a rush.

"Yes."

"That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her -- I mean, she even said her name! But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!?" Yosuke said in a whirlwind of fear. "And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show... was it like this before, too? What's going on!?"

"Calm down, Yosuke-san. Try to contact Chie." Tsuyoi comforted.

"Y-You're right! Let's get her to contact Yukiko-san! Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!"

I promised to meet up with Yosuke tomorrow...

Go to bed early tonight. Izanagi echoed in his mind.

SATURDAY 4/16 -> SUNDAY 4/17

- Social Links -

Tsuyoi Birodo (The Fool) - A seventeen year old boy from Tatsumi Port City. Is living in Yasoinaba because of his mother's work. Is The Fool arcana and wields the Persona Izanagi. Izanagi - Tsuyoi's persona and of The Fool arcana. The elder god and creator of Japan and his name means "He Who Invites".

Yosuke Hanamura (The Magus) - A sixteen year old in the same class as Tsuyoi. Works at the local Junes. Is The Magus arcana and wields the persona Jiraiya. Jiraiya - Yosuke's persona and of The Magus arcana. A fabled Ninja who can turn himself into a frog.
⬆️Rank up!!⬆️
>You and Yosuke want to solve the murders.

Chie Satonaka - A seventeen year old girl in Tsuyoi's class. Loves to practice Kun Fu.
Yukiko Amagi - A seventeen year old girl in Tsuyoi's class. Is the future owner of the Amagi Inn.
Teddie Kuma - A strange bear from the TV World.
Ryotaro Dojima - Tsuyoi's uncle and police detective.
Nanako Dojima - Tsuyoi's seven year old cousin.
Igor - A man helping Tsuyoi's destiny and runs the "Velvet Room".
Margaret - Igor's assistant.

NEXT TIME ON PERSONA 4: THE WRITTEN

Next chapter, chapter ten - Why is it Illegal to Have A Sword? Part one of LET'S SAVE CHIE AND YUKIKO, THE TWIN DRAGONS!

"HEY EVERY BODY!! I LOVE SWORDS!!"

>Next time on Persona 4: The Written - Yosuke-san and I go to prison.