Chase The Truth

Chapter 29: The Suspect

Begin

~Normal POV

7/26 - Tuesday

Summer vacation finally started tomorrow. But tonight, there was a more important issue at hand. It had been raining all day, and it continued well into the night. It was getting close to midnight, and Yu was in his room waiting. He wondered what might happen. There's been no news relating to potential victims lately. Maybe they were lucky? Maybe there wouldn't be anything on at all this time? Maybe the culprit had finally given up now that the police were on the hunt?

The clock struck midnight and the tv turned on. To Yu's utter and complete shock, the image was extremely clear! With high-quality footage of a person's face already in view! Somebody was inside the tv without them even knowing yet?!

The person on the screen was a boy. He looked to be standing in an odd looking castle of sorts, with his back against the wall. He was young- high school age at least. He was staring into the camera with a dead-eyed expression. He was dressed casually in an orange sweater and blue jeans. He was breathing hard for some reason. But the most disturbing thing about this boy was that Yu recognized him. He had short messy black hair and wide black eyes, with a very pale complexion. It was very familiar.

"You all think you can see me? You all think you know everything about me? Heheheh... Then try and catch me."

The tv turned back off. Yu felt his blood run cold. "What the fuck was that..." He muttered, quietly. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he quickly answered it.

"Hey did you see that?!" Yosuke asked, shakily.

"Damn right I did," Yu answered, "And it's gonna haunt my fucking nightmares..."

"Who was that guy? I don't know him... Have you ever seen him on the news or some television special?"

"Never..."

"He seemed really gloomy... like a zombie-" Yosuke was interrupted by Teddie crying out for him. "Alright already, I hear you! Sorry, I'm gonna give the phone to Ted."

"Oh good, he got to see the Midnight Channel too."

"Sensei, it's me, Teddie!" Teddie said into the phone, a little more loudly than he probably should given the time. "I finally got to see the Midnight Channel with my own eyes. Now I know exactly what's happening! That guy's suppressed emotions are resonating with the other side, which are picked up by the tvs over here. It's clear now that it's not being filmed by anyone. Mystery solved! But that kid... He must already be inside the other world! What are we gonna do?!"

So that was it. Tvs in their world simply picked up the raging emotions from the other side of people who were thrown in. And the Midnight Channel projected them into a viewing format. In the style of a tv show. Well, it wasn't the most clear explanation, at least they had one at all. It sounded vaguely similar to accidentally picking up a radio broadcast.

"Well, first we need to find out more about the situation, then we'll make a plan. I'll see you both tomorrow..."

~...

7/27 - Wednesday

Once everyone arrived at the headquarters, the first thing they did was send Rise and Teddie to scope out the tv world first. To confirm that the boy was in there, and to possibly see if they could track him right away. Yu didn't have high hopes for them to do that part though. They didn't even know that kid. The only thing he knew was that he was extremely familiar, but damn he simply could not place where he saw him!

"You guys all saw it, right?" Yosuke asked.

"Couldn't possibly miss it." Kanji said, bluntly. "That fucker is creepy as hell! And the shit he said made my blood boil. That mumbling of his and those fish-like eyes pissed me off even more. Who the hell is he?!"

"I wish I fucking knew," Yu said, rubbing his temples in frustration. "I swear I've seen him before! But I can't remember where..."

"I was shocked when I saw how clearly his face was shown." Yukiko said, "So I called Chie and while we were talking, it hit me... Maybe that boy is the culprit!"

"It's just a hunch," Chie added, "But it makes sense."

Yosuke put on a thoughtful expression. "Shorty did say the suspect was a high schooler, the police are after him for the murder of King Moron. So to see that on tv last night, at a time like this. I mean, he even taunted the viewers saying, 'Try and catch me.'"

Yu couldn't argue with this theory. It was the best answer that fit. That boy definitely fit their personal image of the culprit: a creepy male who looked and acted all kinds of suspicious.

"Uhhh, so?" Kanji said, quizzically, not really getting where they were going with this.

"Alright, let's say there's this high school student." Yosuke started. "We'll call him Shin. For some random reason, who knows why, Shin is able to enter the other world. Then Shin, again for some random reason, starts throwing people into that world, intending to kill them. The police can't prove the other world exists, so it's the perfect crime. He can't possibly be caught. Now imagine you're Shin, but after a while, people stop dying after you throw them in the tv. You don't know why. You want to kill King Moron, but the tv is out, so you have to do it personally. Now the police are onto you. As a result, you- I mean Shin- is a wanted criminal, and there's no place for him to run."

This seemed to make Kanji understand. "So you're saying he went into the other world to dodge the cops? Ohh, that's why he said catch me if you can. Wow, senpai, you're smarter than you look!"

Yosuke gave him an annoyed look. "Geez, you can piss me off sometimes..."

"We still don't know why he targeted people who are shown on tv. But if he had a personal grudge against Mr. Morooka, that explains one thing-" Yukiko said, "With a strong enough motive, wouldn't he forsake the untraceable tv method and try to kill Mr. Morooka on his own? If you think about it that way, it sort of makes sense why he died without appearing on tv. But I wonder what he's going to do now that he's in there... With Teddie on this side, there's no way for him to get out..."

"...Y-You don't think he's gonna get desperate and..." Chie shuddered. "He did look depressed, like it was the end of the world..."

"No, I don't think that's it." Yosuke answered. "He's gotta know that the people he threw into the tv have come back to this side. I can see missing Yukiko or Kanji. But Rise, a celebrity... there's no way he wouldn't know she's still alive. So that means he knows there's a way out of the tv world. As for the rest... we'll just have to ask him face to face."

It was at this point when Rise returned to their table. She didn't look too happy with the info she had to give.

"Hey, good timing!" Chie said. "How did it go?"

"Not good." Rise said, frowning, "There's not enough information to go on. But at least we're positive that someone's in there..."

"Well, that's one point in our favor," Yu said.

"Where's Teddie," Yosuke asked.

"He's still looking."

"It makes sense that we can't track this guy." Yu said, simply. "We don't even know his name. We'll have to split up and ask around again; somebody around here has to know him."

~End of Chapter