The God Slayer of Inaba 18

Yū had to admit, his car was definitely sticking out in the small town as he drove through the streets he had long since memorized while making his way towards the Dojima residence. Honestly the simple fact that he was back in Inaba after so long was such a relief.

That's not to say he hated it in Tokyo but it wasn't the same without everyone he had gotten so close to over the previous year. Coming home to Nanako's bright smile, hanging out with Yosuke in the shopping district and at Junes, training with Chie down by the Samegawa flood plain and much more besides that… everywhere he looked he was bombarded with memories of just how good the previous year had been for him.

So when he finally reached the Dojima residence, he couldn't stop himself from smiling as he parked just outside and off the road, knowing from the presence of the car parked at the side that his uncle would be at home despite calling earlier about having to work extra.

Still, at least his uncle had only called to let him know that he had to work again today in case he didn't finish before he arrived, unlike Teddie who had called about getting souvenirs… or more specifically, one involving nurses for Yosuke.

He honestly didn't know his partner had a nurse fetish, not that he blamed the guy, after getting close to Sayoko he understood just how tempting a nurse could be.

But still, he would rather not buy his friend porn because his parents found and burned it… seriously, if Yosuke wanted porn, he could buy his own.

Though he wasn't going to let the guy off the hook that easily.

It didn't take long after bringing the car to a halt for him to pick up his bag and make his way into the house and for the first time in far too long he found himself calling out something he never expected to say when he was younger.

"I'm home," his call was neither quiet nor excessively loud as he entered the house he had long since come to consider his real home.

"Ah! Welcome home Onii-chan!" the ever familiar voice of his little cousin called out with joy clear in her tone and he found himself letting out a smile upon once again hearing the voice of the little girl that was like a sister to him.

It didn't take long for him to find the primary schooler rushing towards him and practically jumping into stomach.

"Hello Nanako-chan," he found himself saying softly as the young girl hugged him with all her might.

It really was just so nice to be back in the house that had felt more like home than anywhere he had ever been before.

And honestly, it was all because of this little girl that was currently attaching herself to him like a limpet.

An exceptionally cute limpet but that wasn't the point.

"Come on now Nanako, let your onii-chan get unpacked," he found himself looking up and offering his uncle a smile as he noticed the large platter of premium sushi sitting at the small table, "how have you been Yū?"

"Good, and is the department still working you to the bone?" he asked with a jovial grin.

"Hah, sorry about the call earlier but I was called in because of a recent incident," the man admitted with a soft smile, "why don't you just put your things down and join us, you can get unpacked later."

"Thank's Dojima-san," his response was earnest but despite that he almost had to bite his lip not to call him Onii-chan… after all, he still remembered the time the man had said talking to him felt more like talking to a brother than a nephew.

Dinner was a comfortable affair, honestly it felt like the time he had been away had never happened at all… like he had simply spent the rest of his time there instead of in a big city.

It was just such a warm and comfortable atmosphere that a stranger would assume he had lived there his entire life.

Of course he knew that wasn't true.

The fact was that he had only met the two less than one and a half years ago and that he had only lived with them for a little over a year.

On top of that he was now a Campione… he was a king but no one that looked at the scene he was currently partaking in now would ever be able to tell that he now existed on a higher level to anyone else in Inaba.

Time passed by with idle chatter, with him letting Nanako and his uncle know about his new acquaintances, the fact he was now involved with the History Compilation Committee and how he had been teaching some people how to cook.

Dojima simply told him about how things had died down since the investigation was closed and Adachi was put behind bars… apparently he still visited his old partner on a regular basis, though he admitted that he didn't like seeing the man acting that way… because it made him wonder where he had gone wrong and misjudged him so badly.

As for Nanako… well, she was talking about a play that she was in that Dojima-san had managed to get time off to see… honestly he could tell just from the tone of her voice that it really made her happy.

"All right, I think we've held your Onii-chan up long enough," Dojima eventually said after the meal was finished and they were left simply listening to Nanako talk about everything she could cram into a mealtime chat, "go on Yū, your rooms ready."

He let out a smile at that.

Not the room… or the spare room… his room.

It just came out of his uncle's mouth so naturally that he knew the man still considered him to live here even if he wasn't around anymore.

"Thanks Dojima-san," he let out a beatific smile as he rose from his seat, "we'll talk some more later okay Nanako-chan?"

"Uh huh," the firm nod his little cousin gave made it clear she was willing to wait, after all, they had the rest of the summer to catch up with each other.

"Oh yeah," he let out a small laugh as he picked up one of the bags he had brought inside, "I almost forgot… your souvenirs."

And with that he returned to the table and handed out the gifts he had gotten them.

A stuffed platypus for Nanako and a pair of swimming trunks for Dojima.

"This… is revenge isn't it?" the detective asked with a sweatdrop.

Yū simply found himself letting out a chuckle before pulling out another gift, "just a joke."

And with that he pulled out a phone number.

"What's this?" his uncle asked and he could understand the man's confusion.

"It's the number of my contact in the History Compilation Committee," he told him seriously, "they have resources that the police don't…"

He let his statement hang and from the widening of his uncle's eyes, it became clear what he was saying.

"No… it won't matter," he honestly expected his uncle to say that, though he could tell he was simply thinking in a way that wouldn't get his hopes up, "besides, what sort of things do they have that the police don't?"

"Things that could've helped them solve the incidents last year," that seemed to give the man pause before he let out a sigh of defeat.

"Yū… are you getting involved in strange things again?" he asked, earning a confused glance from Nanako.

"I didn't really have a choice this time," he admitted, "they came to me about it."

The older man let out a sigh before whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the third person in the room.

"Otou-san! Stop picking on Onii-chan!" Nanako's voice cut in through the room and she once again caused the older man to back down.

"It's all right Nanako-chan," he said with a soft smile, "Dojima-san is just worried about me."

She didn't seem too happy with him defending her father over this matter but the simple fact was that he understood why the man was so concerned.

Then again, just how much worse would the man feel if he found out that his job with the HCC was to kill gods ?

"Anyway, I'm going to call it a night now, I'll see you two tomorrow," he said, honestly, driving for hours on end was not a pleasant experience but he had to admit that it was nice to have some space and not have to worry about his luggage and how much he could carry from his parents place to the station and then from the station to the Dojima residence.

"All right then, good night Yū," the oldest in the room said with a soft voice.

"Good night Onii-chan!" Nanako also responded with a certain level of cheer as he turned around and made his way up to the room he had spent a year staying in.

When he reached the room he was greeted by a sight that had him smiling again… it was almost exactly the same as when he had left.

He found his eyes drawn towards the set of shelves that stood next to the door and let out a small laugh, he had always wondered how he had a model of a Jack Frost Persona but now he was beginning to realize that there was likely others that had seen it throughout the ages and no one had ever said anything about it outside of stories that were simply dismissed as fairy tales.

However, he soon found himself looking towards the window.

Sometime during the meal it had started to rain and he found himself shaking his head clear of any thoughts that were trying to force themselves into his head.

The midnight channel had been dealt with and there was no way it was going to come back.

Besides, this was the start of the summer holidays and he was sure as hell going to spend as much time with his friends and family as he could.

Looking at the time, he found his heart racing once more as it neared midnight, it was something that he knew shouldn't be happening… they had stopped the midnight channel last year after all… and beyond that he was now a Campione… but something about midnight on a rainy day just reminded him of those days… of those times when they sat up watching a blank screen for just a glimpse of who the next victim was and how close to being killed they were.

In the end, it had become so ingrained into his being that even during his time in Tokyo he still watched his blank TV at midnight if it was raining.

He knew nothing would happen but for some reason he just knew his friends would be doing the same thing… it was one of the things that connected them all after all.

So he watched the screen just as he always did. Feeling his resolve fading as time got closer and closer.

Really… why did he just know that the screen was going to turn on?

His eyes widened upon seeing the screen turn on to reveal an advert he had never seen before.

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 precious Nanako-chan! The sister-complex kingpin of steel! Narukami Yū! It's only natural!

Wage slave in the boonies by day, hero by night! Captain ressentiment! Hanamura Yosuke! Everything that bores me has got to go!

A spunky dragon with deadly legs! The carnivore who's discarded womanhood! Satonaka Chie! You need to eat more meat!

Please escort me to the ring my prince! The unconquerable snow black! Amagai Yukiko! I'll finish you in one strike!

Blooming roses and bulging muscles! The bloodcurdling beefcake emperor! Tatsumi Kanji! Deep in the realms of romance!

The body of a child, the brain of a genius! The two thousand IQ killjoy detective! Shirogane Naoto! Is this an army of idiots?

Fight! And survive towards the one throne waiting at the end! 

The P1 Grand-prix where fierce fights will be fought! 

The battle begins tonight! 

Yū found himself unable to do anything more than stare in disbelief at the video that was played to him… that it looked like Teddie was hosting it didn't make him feel any better.

"Wha…?!" there was one other thing that made him gape on top of that, "sister-complex… kingpin… of steel?"

He forced that out of his head as he noted how he was on the screen and on top of that, the image was clear… but that sort of thing only happened when the person was already in the TV… but he wasn't in the TV so he shouldn't be showing up on it.

On top of that, that was definitely the Midnight channel, the TV wasn't even plugged in after all.

So he did the only thing that came naturally to him.

He pulled out his cell and found the one number he knew would always answer.

"H-Hello?! This is Yosuke…" it was clear the other boy was unprepared.

"Yosuke?" he didn't need to actually ask anything, they had a strong bond and needed barely any words to convey messages.

"I-It's nothing, I just freaked out when you called all of a sudden! Yeah, that's it… What's up? Hey, when do you want to meet?!" it was clear to him that his best friend was trying to cover up the fact he had seen the broadcast… then again, he hadn't told the "wage slave" he was coming over today.

"That's not why I was calling," he stated bluntly, "I saw the midnight channel, you saw it too right?"

"Huh?!" Yosuke sounded panicked by that claim, then again, the thought of the midnight channel spreading beyond Inaba was not a pleasant one at all.

Sure Teddie was supposed to tell him but then again, that bear wasn't the most reliable of messengers to say the least.

"Didn't Teddie tell you? Since we're meeting up early tomorrow, I drove up here today," he informed his friend, "I figured you wouldn't think I could've seen it, so I gave you a call."

"Ah… well, I didn't want to worry you," he sounded far more confident now that he knew there wasn't any secret to keep.

"Heh, so how about it? You're not going to leave this be, are you, Captain Ressentiment?" he decided to use the title bestowed upon his friend for the P1 Grand-Prix… it would definitely be one way of firing the other guy up after all.

"Wh-why'd you zero in on that part?!" he definitely sounded flustered, "did you see how they called you a 'Sister-Complex Kingpin'?"

"Haha, mine's not that bad," he honestly thought it was quite a creative nickname that zeroed in on something touchy about himself… then again, he was going to be protective of his cousin given how she had nearly died about half a year ago.

"You think?!" Yosuke sounded almost outraged by his claim, "oh… I oughtta tell you, that program's not the only strange thing lately… Teddie, Rise and Kanji aren't here either… they disappeared."

Yū found himself silent at that claim.

He wouldn't have been worried about Rise, knowing that she was regularly preparing for her comeback tour… except that she had told him herself that she was going to be taking some time off to meet with him and everyone else.

So he was worried and on top of that, Teddie and Kanji weren't the type to disappear either.

"All right, then we should get together tomorrow like we planned," he said calmly.

"Yeah, at the usual place," Yosuke didn't need to say anything else, everyone who was a member of the investigation team knew what that meant, "welcome back partner."

It was strange… to Yū it felt like he'd never left and he was suddenly being greeted in a manner that reminded him that he had been gone for who knows how long.

"It's good to be back," he admitted easily before remembering something that had previously slipped his mind, "oh right… sorry to say, I forgot to pick up your souvenir."

He knew this was just mean but it was the type of mean that friends were to each other all the time.

"A souvenir? Don't worry about it man," Yosuke definitely sounded like he didn't mind him forgetting, so he prepared to dig the knife into him.

"You sure? I thought you were really looking forward to it… those Nurses," he said with a certain teasing inflection in his tone.

"N… nurses?" Yosuke sounded like he was dreading what was to come.

"Yeah, Teddie asked me to get it for you, he said you were crushed that they got burned…" he had to stop himself from laughing as he made it clear what he was saying.

"W-wait, this is all!" Yosuke now sounded slightly panicked.

"I didn't know you were into nurses," his teasing continued and the next thing he knew Yosuke was speaking up again.

"Aaaaaaaah! Shut up! That's enough!" he was being rather loud in his response and Yū found himself cracking a smile, "dammit, you're trying to wind me up aren't you?! Stay home you jerk!"

"But I'm already here," he responded with a laugh, "well, I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, the two hung up on each other.

But still, the fact remained that they were going to have to prepare themselves for the next day, which would also mean making sure their weapons were ready for another trip into the TV if push came to shove.

So with a heavy heart he found himself going to bed in preparation of the day to come.