bad end.

how long? that’s a very good question. time seems so much faster in here ; it’s easy to lose track of it.

“ i’m not sure, ” he admits.             “ longer than i planned. there are shadows everywhere – more                than there used to be. they’re stronger now, too. exploring                alone was a bad idea. “

he hadn’t taken that into consideration, either. all in all, it wasn’t one of his better plans. of course, that implies that there was a plan to begin with. he’s becoming more and more impulsive lately. it should probably be concerning, but with everything else that’s been on his mind he’s hardly even noticed.

“ i’m alright, though. don’t worry about me.                                                           in the meantime, we should probably get out of here. “

jesus. being unsure of how much time he’s spent in the tv world can pretty much confirm it’s been way too fucking long. & if he        souji seta, wielder of multiple persona & more power than the rest of them could ever dare to hope for        is categorizing the shadows as strong, then that’s spells serious trouble.

“ you’re an idiot if you think i’m not   going to worry about you, partner. ”

his eyes flick back with a half-roll of his eyes,  but he grabs ahold of souji’s wrist to physically drag him back toward the studio so they can get the hell out. nerves alighted, he can’t help but ramble. 

“ if it’s foggy outside  &  the shadows are  stronger  because of it...   but our fog doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere any time soon...   shit.  doesn’t that sound like bad news to you?  i mean, it’s not like   they can exit the tv, right? ”

“Only by a couple of years.  And how about you tell me what’s going on in yours first?  Right now, I’m trying not to give out major life spoilers.  Have you finished the investigation?  Graduated?  What’s currently happening in your life?”

this is so bizarre. this will never stop being bizarre. part of him doesn’t even  want to divulge any details, because            just because!!

                        “ ‘ major life spoilers ’? that’s a thing? ” 

well. he supposes he can’t blame yosuke for being hurt. they’re “partners.” even now, in spite of everything, that holds true. souji is almost - almost - ashamed to admit he hadn’t even considered telling anyone of his arrival. no one else had crossed his mind.

              “ it was an… impromptu visit. “ to say the least. “ i’m sorry i didn’t say anything. “

he’s not sure he is, but he figures an apology is due.

     “ i wanted to see what things were like in here        before i went home, since the fog is so thick        outside. “

it’s better than he expected; he was alive, at least, and hadn’t sustained any injuries he couldn’t take care of himself.

                                                         “ why are you here? “

“ that’s... okay, i guess. ”

IT’S EASY TO TRUST SOUJI, to forgive him, simply because it’s habitual. while his initial reaction is wrought with disbelief & hurt, everything boils down to the fact that souji has a reason for everything        usually, a good reason. ( still, he could’ve at least sent yosuke a text before climbing into this alter-dimensional hell. )

       “ me too. for the most part, anyway. we always knew that the       fog & the tv world were connected, & ours just      hasn’t gone       away. it has to mean something. ”

                    he sighs, momentarily overcome by irritation & worry.

     Again, Naoto is silent for a long, long moment before responding. What CAN they do? Two of their dearest friends are gone, lost to Death’s embrace – or perhaps something worse – and their beloved leader has left Inaba to suffer without his guidance.

     The very air they breathe feels wrong. Somewhere, they messed up, but–

     –Where?

     “N-no, you’re right. If anyone is to do something, it has to be us, just…” Naoto lets out a heavy sigh. “–Can I confess something to you? It may sound ridiculous.”

         “ uh        sure. ”

HE LIKES NAOTO.   once he’d gotten over the shock  & confusion of her shadow, he warmed up to her fairly quickly.   they never really got the chance to be friends, because it was so soon after she’d joined that things went straight to shit ( nanako, namatame      & then piece by piece, everything else fell away ) but he can’t say he would’ve been against it. hell, she’s cool.

still,  it’s been a year since then.   that’s a pretty big gap to fill. she’s probably only confiding in him now because of his vague familiarity within a pool of the unknown.

five word prompts. ( ACCEPTING )

“ don’t need to tell me that. ”

HE’S JUST AS GUILTY of being a compulsive liar. it comes so easy to him, even ( especially? ) during the investigation, when every excuse concerning his whereabouts became  polished as time passed. flawless. believable.

“ gotta say, though          lately, people haven’t been   pulling any punches.  seems like there’s no reason   to hide what you’re really feeling anymore. ”

( oh, great. another one. )

“ yeah. i heard. ”whether or not he comprehends it is still up in the air.

five word prompts. ( ACCEPTING )

LEAVE IT TO CHIE to grace him with such an eloquent way with words. well, whatever. that’s what he gets for sneaking into the tv by himself & getting caught on his way out. he avoids her pissy gaze & stares instead at some sign that’s advertising a sale long expired.

five word prompts. ( ACCEPTING )

THE ALERT FOR AN INCOMING MESSAGE startles him. they’ve become alarmingly infrequent lately, & to be honest, he gets it. somehow, even something as simple as grabbing his phone to compose a text exhausts him. he manages to fight the lethargy when he registers just WHO it is that’s contacting him        but the weak upturn of his lips, born from exasperated amusement, comes unbidden.

[ sms → katsuragi ]srsly? THTS what u decide 2 go with?

five word prompts. ( ACCEPTING )

he sure as hell wasn’t expecting to find souji inside of the tv. he’d given in to the desire to explore,  disregarded the last of his caution  ( there are more shadows than there’d EVER been before, faster & stronger ) & went looking for answers. going solo was probably a stupid idea, but       he just can’t find it in himself to care anymore.

& souji doesn’t so much as greet him.

                   “ what that supposed to mean? dude, you can’t be here. i mean        it doesn’t make sense. you never told me you were back. ”

could he have jumped into a tv back home & managed to find his way here? that seems incredibly unlikely. more realistically, he just… neglected to inform yosuke of his presence. cool.

“Me? Uh… Pretty normal? Midnight Channel’s gone. TV World’s all… peaceful. I mean, it was, but then it got messed up again, but it’s fine now? Yu lives in the city, but, you know, he visits…”

“ peaceful? like        low shadow activity? ”

             partner’s situation is, apparently, universal.

     …

     Yosuke is right, of course. Ever since that dreadful day, things have been different in Inaba. The fog grows heavier with every passing day, thick enough to choke on, insidious and carrying with it an atmosphere of danger that Naoto can’t quite place. They’re missing something. Every single one of her instincts tells her that, but she doesn’t know what. 

     She doesn’t think Namatame was the culprit anymore, but who would believe her if she dared suggest such a thing? The murders have stopped, the kidnappings have stopped, but– Things just feel wrong. 

     “…No,” she finally replies, letting out a heavy sigh. “I feel restless. We never learned what happened to Teddie, and there’s so much we never found out, about the Midnight Channel, about everything. And– shouldn’t the fog have left by now…?”

everything she mentions         it’s shit yosuke’s already thought about. had nightmares about. teddie’s makeshift bed is still tucked away in his closet even though he knows it’ll never be used again. every other day he considers stepping inside of that tv ( maybe just for the hell of it ) as if it’ll provide answers.

“ s’not like we have any resources for this kind of thing.   WE’RE the ones that have the most experience. ”

                        they’re at an impasse. a dead end. 

“Well even if I was a shadow, I wouldn’t try to kill you? So…” I mean, really, what could he do to prove himself?

“Kinda? Pretty much?”

         “ ... “

this guy’s an idiot. it’s hard enough to look at somebody wearing your face,  but to hear him say i won’t kill you as if that’s something someone can just blindly trust...