Chapter 1: A Very “Haunted” Arrival

“We’ll arrive at the Yasogami Terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba City and Yasoinaba Station, please go to the other side of the platform.”

With that announcement, the white-haired young man smiled as he looked out the train window.

It had been a few months, but Yu Narukami was finally returning to Inaba for summer vacation! Even though it seemed weird for a city boy to be attached to a rural town like Inaba, he couldn’t help but just grow really attached to it because of last year’s events. Not only that but one important thing always made him miss that old-timey place…

His friends and family in there.

2011 was an unforgettable year and he couldn’t be more grateful for spending that entire year in a small rural city like Inaba. He made such great memories there and forged unbreakable bonds there that helped him shape who he was now. Of course, there was the occasional bad memory here and there, but not like that’d plague his thoughts on the city forever. 

It also seemed his friends also missed him a lot as well. One of them wouldn’t stop begging him to come over during the summer, promising to do great things during the break. Not only that, it seemed all of them would be there for fun as well, even people as busy as a certain pop idol and a detective.

He could already tell that he was gonna enjoy this vacation.

Yu got up from his seat and took his bag packed with his belongings. With that, he went in front of one of the wagon’s doors and waited for the train to reach its destination. A minute later, the train finally stopped and the doors opened, a smile escaping the young man’s face. 

The gray-haired high school student left the station and stopped to look around slowly, taking in his surroundings. It was a sunny summer day, and the feel of the temperature hitting exactly the right spot just made it a bit more comforting to be back. Just like before, the streets weren’t crowded and so few cars passed by, there weren’t even that many people walking on the sidewalk. “I’m back.”

A bit of a breeze brushed past him, lifting his hair a little before he smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked at it and opened the most recent messages as he thought. ‘Dojima said he’d be waiting by the station…’ Yu gave one last glance around before spotting his uncle’s car parked next to a store with no one inside, giving the young man a look of confusion. He then looked back down in confusion. ‘Where is he?’

“Surprise, big bro!”

Yu felt a sudden tackle from behind while also feeling something wrap around his stomach. By the voice, he knew who it was. “I’m shaking a bit.” Lied Narukami with a smile, trying to make his sister proud of herself for the ( definitely) successful scare. 

“Hehe, I got you!” The voice laughed before unwrapping her arms from the young man’s torso. Yu turned around and saw a young girl who mostly wore and had two pigtails for hair. “It’s so good to see you again, big bro!”

“It’s good to see you too, Nanako.” Narukami said before wrapping his little sister in his arms, and hugging her as she did the same. Sure, it felt a bit uncomfortable with his bag hanging on his shoulder, but he could endure it, even for a hug.

The grey-haired boy could hear footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw his uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, approaching them, with his coat over his shoulders as usual. “So, did Nanako manage to get you?”

The two siblings stopped hugging each other and Yu nodded to his uncle. “Mhm, yeah, she did. She got me good.” He lied again with a smile.

“Hihi! I surprised big bro so hard that he even started shaking!” Nanako added, throwing her arms in the air. 

“Heh, grown soft, eh? And here I thought the big cities did the opposite of softening someone.” Dojima approached Yu before offering a free hand to his nephew. “Welcome back, Yu.”

Narukami shook the detective’s hand and replied. “Glad to be back.”

After some seconds, their hands parted. “So, I know it’s only been a few months, but Nanako has been missing you a lot.” Dojima rubbed the back of his head. “To be honest, I did also miss you a bit. The house felt a bit empty without you around.”

Nanako blushed a bit and folded her arms behind her back, looking away a bit embarrassed after Dojima’s confession. “Can’t your breaks come sooner? Four months is too long for me…”

The young adult chuckled a bit before responding. “I also wished they came a little sooner, but sadly, life doesn’t give you that many breaks.” He then tilted his head once he analyzed Nanako a bit further. “By the way, have you grown a bit taller?”

The girl smiled, happy that her big bro noticed the change. “Yeah, I did! Not a lot, but I did! Someday in the future, I’ll become just as tall as you one day and do more things together, big bro!”

“I’m sure that’ll be the case.” Yu nodded with a smile.

The detective cleared his throat, calling his nephew and daughter’s attention. “Let’s not just spend the entire day out here. Besides, Nanako’s surprise wasn’t the only one planned for you today.” Yu tilted his head in confusion before Dojima motioned to the car. “Let’s go to our place, I’m sure you’d like what’s waiting for you there.”

Without any further prompt, the three of them entered Dojima’s car and the detective drove towards his house. Unlike last time, the detective didn’t stop by the gas station to fill the tank. A part of Yu wanted to pass by there to see if she was there or not, but from the glimpse he got when they passed by the gas station, he didn’t spot any suspicious attendant. Sure, she said she would leave this world alone for now, but he wouldn’t know if she was lying or not.

Can gods like her even lie? 

Anyway, that was a question for later. Narukami had a summer vacation to enjoy for now so he wanted to stay positive that she nor any other god like her would interfere.

Once they reached the Dojima household, they exited the car. Once Yu exited the car, he looked around and analyzed the house he stayed in for the entirety of last year. It was still the same as ever, with no misplaced objects or any new outside furniture, just the same as before. Well, it was to be expected, it had only been a few months since he left Inaba.

Dojima unlocked the door and opened it, looking back at Yu with a smile and motioning inside. “Welcome back to your second home, kiddo.”

The young man smiled and took a few steps inside before realizing something. Even if it was sunny outside, it was kinda hard to see with the lights turned off. Wait… why was the back of the house covered? “Hm?” Yu looked back and realized that neither Nanako nor Dojima walked inside. The young man turned around and called. “Guys? What’s-”

Suddenly, the lights turned on and Yu turned to look at the living room again while the sound of party poppers echoed throughout the house.

“Welcome back to Inaba!”

Yu flinched a little from the surprise, his mouth a bit agape. In the living room, all of his friends he made last year were there, some with party poppers in their hands. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Teddie in his human body, and even Rise and Naoto who also had a life outside Inaba like me. 

Geez, Yosuke was not lying when he said everyone would be here for the summer. But even so, this warm welcome was unexpected and actually startled Yu a little bit. However, after the scare, Yu perked up and smiled. “Guys, you’re all here!”

“‘Course we are, dude!” Yosuke said, walking to the grey-haired boy and hugging him with a single arm. “Were you not expecting all of us to be here or something?”

As the rest of the group approached, Teddie cried out. “Senseeeei!!! I missed you beary much!!! You don’t know what it’s like having just Yosuke be the one to entertain me and give me the necessary care!!!”

Yosuke looked a bit angrily at Teddie. “What’s that supposed to mean, bear!? I’m not supposed to treat you like a king!”

“‘Sides, it hasn’t been that long since he’s been out. Four months ain’t that much.” Kanji reasoned, crossing his arms. He then grinned. “But glad to have you back.”

Suddenly, Rise pushed Yosuke away with her shoulder as she hugged Narukami, a tad bit clingy. “I missed him way more than everyone here! Senpai, why didn’t you come to any of my shows!? I wanted to see you at least in the crowd!”

“Um, sorry, I watched online.” Yu apologized a bit nervously.

“Cut the guy some slack here.” Chie said while putting her hands on her sides. “He was probably busy studying the whole time. After all, it is his final year of high school like us.”

“Yeah, exams have been kicking Yosuke’s gut just in the first semester, imagine the entrance exams.” Yukiko said with a chuckle.

Yosuke deflated a bit with a pained expression. “Did you really need to reveal that? And why me specifically? Chie is on the same boat as me!”

“Huh!? I’m not getting low grades as much as you are!” Chie responded a bit annoyedly.

Naoto smiled as she put a hand on her side. “Sounds like you two have to pull your weight even more in the second semester if you even reach the entrance exams.” She then looked at Yu. “Anyway, it’s good to see you again, Narukami.”

“Same as everyone else here.” The young man answered with a nod.

Footsteps approached from behind and Yu turned around as Rise released him from the clingy hug. Dojima and Nanako approached with smiles on their faces before the detective asked. “So, how did you like that surprise?”

Narukami nodded. “I liked it a lot. But that doesn’t top Nanako’s though.” He could feel everyone dropping behind him, clearly shocked. 

Nanako blushed a bit. “Tihi, thanks, big bro!”

Yosuke crossed his arms and looked down disappointedly. “C’mon bro, at least give some credit to us!”

“Yeah, you didn’t even try the meal we’ve made for your arrival!” Yukiko said while lifting a finger before moving to the kitchen. Narukami subtly flinched, nervousness taking him. “Chie, come on, help me, it’s time to prove that we can improve!”

“Right back at ya, Yukiko!” 

As the two girls moved to the small kitchen, Yosuke moved over to Teddie and whispered. “Brought the ‘Lifesaver?’ ” 

“Yup!” Teddie whispered back. “I’ve already replaced it with the pot of poison like you said to do!”

Yosuke grinned. “Good!” He then looked at Yu a bit smugly. “Don’t worry though, I have a good feeling that they did improve from the last two times.”

Kanji scratched his cheek and asked. “What makes ya say that? You made it sound like they were the never improvin’ when they announced they were cookin’ the party’s meal…”

Teddie backed Yosuke up. “It’s a gut feeling of course! After all, it’d be beary upsetting if Yuki-chan and Chie-chan hadn’t learned everything after poisoning Sensei!”

“We heard that!!!” Chie shouted from the kitchen. In less than a minute, Chie and Yukiko brought a black pot to the table, inside it, a delicious smell emanated from it that left everyone surprised and enchanted by the smell alone. “Let’s see what you think about this then!”

However, even with the smell, there were still some unsure individuals. “Um… are you sure that Nanako can eat it…?” Rise asked, looking at Nanako in concern.

“Don’t worry, their cooking isn’t as bad as everyone complains it to be.” The little girl sniffed the food a bit more. “Besides, I feel like they did pretty good with this one!”

Yosuke muttered to himself as he crossed his arms. “Poor innocent little Nanako…”

Naoto tipped her blue hat. “Well, only one way to find out then.”

With that, everyone got a portion of their food already in their bowl. It was a mushroom soup coupled with a few pieces of seasoned steak. Even though the ingredients could be used to make something as delicious as a delicacy made in heaven, knowing these were the same people who were the culprits behind the curry incident that cooked the meal, it could be ingredients used in a recipe of disaster. 

That’s why Yu was hesitant to take at least one bite as flashbacks of the curry incident from last year started kicking in, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

Yu glanced at the two professional chefs staring daggers at him, basically forcing him to not back down from it. Not like he wouldn’t back out from eating it, he had the courage necessary to eat the soup. They made it for him, therefore he would not waste it.

With a heavy heart, Yu scooped a bit of the soup with the spoon and slowly but surely brought it to his mouth. He bit down on the spoon, the contents of the soup covering his tongue as he savored it slowly and absorbed the good-tasting-

… wait, good-tasting?

Yu gulped down the soup and thought back on the taste, his spoon down to the bowl again and took another bite, and another, silently just finishing the whole soup in a matter of a minute. Chie and Yukiko looked at themselves in confusion before the former asked. “So… how is it?”

“I never thought I’d be saying this but…” The young man looked at the two girls. “But it’s pretty good. You two really outdone yourselves with this one.”

“R-really!?” They said simultaneously.

Yukiko looked away, smiling a bit sheepishly. “Well, we had a bit of difficulty figuring out what to put in the soup…” 

“But we’re glad you liked it!” Chie finished, blushing a bit before laughing sheepishly.

Yosuke subtly turned to Teddie and whispered close to him with a grin. “Mission successful!”

As Teddie winked back at Yosuke, Naoto tried a bit of the soup herself, humming in thought after the taste settled in her head. “Hm… this taste feels… familiar.” Chie looked at the young detective in confusion, making Yosuke flinch a bit. “The meat used in this feels like the meat from Yaso-”

“A-anyway!” Yosuke nervously interrupted Naoto, looking at Yu. “So dude, how’s being a third year like, aside from the hard exams?”

“They aren’t that hard, I think you should just study more.” The gray-haired student said as he ate more of the soup. 

“Come on, dude, I got bullied enough already…” Yosuke perked up as he was reminded of something, a prime spot to change the subject to not make Chie or Yukiko suspicious AND prevent him bullied further. “By the way, remember that strange video game I talked to you about on the phone?” Yu nodded. “Since everyone’s here… how about we test it out? It even has multiplayer from what I’ve seen of it.”

“Eh, video games ain’t my thing.” Kanji said before he started munching on a piece of steak. “Can watch you guys play though-”

Teddie interrupted. “Come on Kanji, it’ll be fun! From what I’ve seen of Yosuke’s gameplay, it’s filled with cute little animal creatures in them!”

The blonde-haired student blushed a bit as he started reconsidering his options. “Well, maybe a few minutes of it ain’t gonna be so bad…” He looked away and put up a bit of a brute act. “Just gonna play it to get new material to knit new creatures, alright!?”

“Gotta ask, Yosuke-senpai.” Rise turned to Yosuke. “What’s so strange about this game anyway? Sounds ordinary from what you’re saying.”

Yosuke put his bowl on the table and crossed his arms. “Well, the game itself isn’t strange but the background of it kinda is. I was in a rental store one day searching for a cool movie to watch and suddenly came across it. The cover felt a bit out of place, found it in the movie section too. And then when I asked the lady that runs the store about it, she said that she doesn’t even know where it came from and that she didn’t put it in there. She even gave it to me for free.”

“That sounds odd…” Rise admitted, subtly inching closer to Yu. 

“And let me tell you, that isn’t the last thing freaky about it!” Teddie piped up. “When Yosuke tried it out for the time, his TV spazzed out multiple times! It made me a beary scared bear when it happened the first time! And those raspy whispers were coming out of it, it was just unbearable!”

Chie gritted her teeth in nervousness. “Geez, that’s freaky…”

“Dude, I already told you, that’s called static.” Yosuke said to Teddie with a frown.

“Hm… maybe we should try it out on another TV to see if it’s just a problem with yours.” Narukami suggested.

“If you’re gonna use another TV to try that broken game of yours, absolutely not ours.” Dojima piped up. “These things are expensive these days and I’m not in the mood to buy another.”

“Is there a ghost in your game?” Nanako asked, tilting her head curiously to Yosuke.

“What? No, the game isn’t haunted, of course, it’s just a bit… weird.” Yosuke said while looking away uncertainly.

“Are you sure you didn’t take a ghost to your house? Now it’s probably cursing everything there as we speak.” Yukiko hypothesized.

“D-don’t say that!” The ginger-haired student said.

As Naoto put her bowl on the table, she said. “While I don’t believe in ghosts, even after everything we’ve seen last year… I think we should at least investigate it to see what’s the problem with it.”

“Where do you suggest we take the game to, then? My house’s TV is as old as… I dunno, it’s just old.” Kanji spoke.

“Why don’t you take the game to Junes? There’s a bunch of great TVs there!” Nanako suggested with a smile. “Besides, I wanna go there again with big bro too!”

Yosuke sighed. “Listen Nanako, I don’t think my dad-”

“I think we could do that.” Yu said after humming a bit, drawing a confused expression from Yosuke. “It’s gonna be quick, it’ll be just a test after all. Besides, Junes isn’t that packed at this time of the year.”

Yosuke looked away, scratching the side of his head. “Well, guess you have a point, dude.” He sighed before crossing his arms. “Fine, we’ll go to the electronics department tomorrow. But you guys have to keep vigilant, alright!?”

Yu nodded before a sudden tug on his sleeve pulled his attention to the side, seeing Nanako with a pleading look on her face. “Big bro, I can come, right?”

“Yeah, you can.” The young adult smiled.

“Yay! Thanks, big bro!”

Dojima sighed. “As long as you don’t cause any trouble or pull Nanako into your mess, I’ll let you off the grid for now.” 

Naoto nodded. “Thank you, Dojima-san.”

With that decided, the welcome party continued smoothly as usual. Each of them shared their own experiences while being a bit away from each other. Yu talked about life in the city, Rise spoke about some of the difficulties of being a pop idle, while Naoto admitted that the cases that she was involved in were nothing much. Overall, it was a pleasant experience that Narukami enjoyed a lot.

Meanwhile, Yosuke asked Teddie in a whisper. “By the way, what did you do with the poison in the pot?” 

“Oh, it’s simple! While figuring out where to take it, some dogs on the street look beary hungry. So I gave it to them! After all, there weren’t any ingredients that they couldn’t eat!” Teddie whispered back with a proud smile.

Yosuke blinked and he couldn’t help but ask loudly. “You did WHAT!?!?”

Meanwhile, many dogs were found on the street, fainting from the food they had just eaten. Fortunately, some people were already taking them to the vet.

---

After the party was over and everyone went to their respective homes (Rise was a bit of a struggle since she wouldn’t want to let go of Narukami), Yu spent the rest of the night with Nanako and Dojima while he got settled on their home. And after discussing with Yosuke about what to do about tomorrow on the phone, the young man finally went to bed.

Once asleep, his eyes opened to the inside of a fancy limousine. The inside was clad in blue, with some glasses of wine in it and a small table to the side. The vehicle wasn’t moving and was a bit foggy outside. Sitting on the side of the blue seat on the side, a woman with white hair and yellow eyes clad in blue. The young man remembered that woman.

Margaret turned to Yu with a smile. “Welcome to the Velvet Room, as my master would say.” She chuckled a little before continuing. “Unfortunately, my master is away on other important matters as we speak, therefore, he cannot be here to greet you. However, he has sent me to accompany you on the new journey that is brewing in the background.” 

She opened the tome on her lap. Even though it was nothing more than mere paper, the book displayed a blurry yet moving image. “An unexpected future has been predicted before his parting, and as it stands now, we’ve yet to decipher some things about this new fate. However, two things are clear about this new journey.” She looked back at the young man. “One: it is unlike others what my master or others like myself have seen. And two: the bonds you have matured will not be enough to survive the ordeal that has been placed upon you, thus putting you in a weaker state from your prime…”

Instead of her expression being one of melancholy, she instead smiled even with the dire news. “But even if that is the case, I have no doubt in my mind that you shall be able to overcome it.” She closed her book. “As I said before, the bonds that you have matured will not be enough to survive this ordeal. However, within these dire moments, there is always a glimmer of hope in the form of new bonds you shall make along the way. And keep in mind, that even with the absence of my master, you can always come back here in search of my assistance.” 

Margaret looked away from Yu, smiling with her eyes closed. “I hope you can find happiness even in this new and strange journey. But while doing that, I wish safe travels for you and your companions. And never forget, under any circumstances, never lose sight of the truth .”

Yu’s vision grew hazy, slowly but surely disappearing from the Velvet Room. After the young man fully exited the Velvet Room, Margaret hummed in thought and opened her eyes. Curiosity entered her mind. “I wonder… what kind of creature would he turn into? Hopefully a cuddly one.”

She chuckled at the thought.

---

The next morning, Yu and his friends went to Junes’ electronics department as they had planned yesterday. Of course, Nanako tagged along with Yu, and seeing the happiness on her face as she went to her favorite place with her big brother was all that he needed for this.

Before going to the TV section of the store, Nanako said she’d buy some stuff for later with the money Dojima lent her. Even if the young man was a bit concerned about seeing Nanako alone, she assured him that she’d be okay and that she’d see him immediately once she finished buying all the stuff.

With that, both siblings separated, and Narukami immediately went to the electronics area. In there, all of his friends were already there. Yosuke was still connecting his video game to the TV while the rest was waiting for him to finish. He probably asked them to guard the area, but only Naoto was keeping watch of their surroundings, therefore, she spotted him first.

“Ah, Narukami, there you are.” She said with a smile. “Yosuke is just finishing the preparations so you didn’t miss anything important.”

“I see.” Yu nodded as he got close to the group. “So… who’ll be playing?”

Teddie, who was in his original bear body, piped up and lifted an arm. “Me, Sensei! I need to show the girls how good I am at video games so they can fall for me and I finally score a date with them!”

Chie responded a little annoyed. “In your dreams, bear.”

Rise responded while inching closer to Yu. “Yeah, no chance, nothing do is gonna make me ditch Senpai!”

Teddie’s arms and ears slumped a bit. “Aww… but I’m still gonna play!”

“I’m just here for the cute creatures in the game, and ‘course, to see if Yosuke haunted himself or nah.” Kanji responded with crossed arms.

“Cut that ghost crap already, alright!? I told you I’m not haunted!” Yosuke said a bit nervously before sighing and pressing some buttons on the TV. “Anyway, it’s set up. Let’s just get over with this already…”

Teddie perked up and grabbed the wired controller that was lying on the floor. He then sat on the ground and grinned. “Alrighty! Time to show what this bear is truly capable of!”

Everyone turned their attention to the TV as the title screen of the game appeared. The name of the game was called “Pocket Dungeon” in a very colorful font. Besides the text, images of cute and colorful monster creatures appeared on the side, ranging from cute and cuddly to menacing and intimidating. Even though the title screen was normal, something felt odd about this title screen. There was no music playing, and what weirded Narukami out the most was that the name of the company that made the game didn’t appear on the title screen, which was odd. 

Kanji looked at some of the creatures and he admitted. “Damn, you weren’t lyin’ about the cute creatures…”

Yosuke grinned at him. “Teddie told ya so.”

Teddie pressed the Start Game option and was directed to a menu. The menu had a swirling background of colors and the UI read: “Choose your species!” while displaying some of the creatures available to control. There was a fire lizard, a grass cat, a water frog, a bipedal blue dog, and many others. If that were a bear in this one he knew immediately what Teddie would pick.

Oh look, a bear.

“Ooh, this guy perfectly matches my ferocious and charming personality! I’m going with it!” Teddie said as he picked up the brow teddy bear creature. While he did that, Yu and the others caught glimpses of static starting to form on the screen.

Yosuke noticed it, making him grimace. “It’s starting again…”

However, even with that, the mascot-like bear was oblivious to it. “Alright, name all set. Let’s goooo!” He then pressed the “OK” button. However, when he hit the button the entire screen turned into static, obscuring our vision of the game. Teddie blinked in confusion. “H-huh?”

Kanji tilted his head. “Did it do this last yah played?”

Yosuke looked at Kanji. “Huh? No, it didn’t.” He looked back at Teddie with a concerned frown. “Teddie, what did you do? These TVs are expensive, you know that!? My dad’s gonna kill me!”

Teddie dropped the controller and held his hands out defensively. “I-I did nothing! I just did what the game told me to!”

“Is it a problem with the wiring? Usually, video games don’t cause static like that.” Yukiko said while tapping her chin with a finger.

“Could just be a TV thing instead. If the game isn’t causing this maybe a bit of a knock to the TV would put it back to normal!” Chie suggested while putting a hand on her side.

Yosuke looked at the short-haired girl unamused. “Uh, no. This TV is brand new, there’s no way it’s breaking so early.”

Kanji suddenly approached the TV while rolling his shoulders. “At any case, it’s better givin’ this thing a knock or two to see if it gets back. No worries, gonna be real gentle with it.”

“I question your definition of gentle…” Yosuke said with a sigh.

Narukami added. “I’m not gonna pay for a new one.”

Naoto approached Kanji while a certain strange low sound made itself present in the background. “I don’t think this is the right idea to tackle the situation like this this…”

“Ya worry too much!” Kanji said, getting a bit pumped. “It’ll be quick and weak-… wait, you guys hearin’ that?”

The group stayed silent as they tried to pay attention to the sound that Kanji was talking about. Aside from the noises of the other electronics and the talking of some employees in the back of the store, they could hear a low humming sound that got louder and louder every second.

Rise hummed. “Now that you say it… I do hear it as well.” She looked around before focusing on the TV, realizing where the strange noise came from. “It’s coming from the TV…”

“Huh?” Kanji looked at the TV again. He crouched down once he saw something in the static getting more clear. It seemed to be some kind of silhouette getting bigger. Naoto noticed too and crouched as well along with Kanji. “What’s this-”

To the surprise of everyone in the area, the silhouette came out of the TV , bumping into Kanji and Naoto while making them both fall on their rear. Meanwhile, the others gasped in surprise at the scene they saw. 

In front of them, a strange white and yellow creature floated still, rubbing its star-shaped head with its small white hands. Its body was small, the size of a baby, with two yellow folds coming out of its back and small blue paper-like tassels coming out of the tips of its star-like head.

“Ack! My head…” The creature said while grunting in pain.

“YEAAAOOOWI!!!!” Teddie screamed before running behind a very shocked Yu, trembling. “S-Sensei, what is that!?”

Chie took a step back in confusion and shock. “Woah, woah, woah! What is that thing!?”

Yukiko gasped as she put her hands on her mouth. “Oh my god… there was a ghost in it all along!”

“Oh shit…! Don’t tell me I was actually being cursed all this time!” Yosuke said while trembling in fear and a bit of despair.

Rise quivered. “W-wait, that’s the ghost!?” She then ran towards Yu while screaming, slumped against his leg, and hugged it tightly. “Senpai, please protect me!” 

“W-wait, why do I have to confront it!?” Narukami asked a bit nervously.

Kanji looked up, seeing the creature locking eyes with him once it stopped rubbing its head. Instead of feeling afraid, he felt the opposite. “The hell…? Why is it so cute?”

Naoto noticed Kanji trying to touch it, her eyes widening. “Kanji, don’t! It could be dangerous!”

“What? It doesn’t look so bad!” Kanji argued. But before he could argue further, the creature spoke.

“I-I made it!” The group stopped panicking a bit once the star creature spoke again, this time in a more panicked tone as it looked at them. “Beings from the other world! My people need your help!”

The group became confused before some of them became scared again from assumptions. “Wait, it’s an alien!?” Yosuke asked in concern.

“A-an alien!? What is it doing on our planet then!?” Chie asked, getting more freaked out.

“I-it just said that it wants our help.” Yukiko responded, although, a bit nervous about the situation. She gained a bit of courage and took a step forward. “Hey… w-why do you need our help for…?”

The star creature responded hastily. “I don’t have much time! B-but my world is in grave danger of getting run over by these black and slimy creatures that suddenly appeared in certain places! A-and there’s this malicious controlling them and-” The creature interrupted itself once a low and dull moan could be heard coming from the TV. “Crap! It’s coming!”

Naoto and Kanji got up and the latter asked a bit freaked out. “What’s comin’!? And what do ya mean-”

Kanji got cut off when a bunch of dark blue and segmented hands came out of the TV screen and grabbed the star creature, wrapping around its limbs with their tendril-like arms and grabbing it by the torso. “PLEASE, HELP!!!”

Narukami wasted no time in getting out of Rise’s hold and went straight to the arms and the little creature. The young adult grabbed the star-headed being by the arms and started pulling it out of the arms’ hold, with little success in that endeavor. “A little help please!”

“O-on it, dude!” Yosuke shouted as he went to his friend and started helping him. “C’mon guys!”

“I-I’ll help you, Sensei!” Teddie exclaimed as he also went to the rescue. Even with all their strength combined, it wasn’t enough to release the creature. It was then that the others joined in, even Rise who was shaking earlier was there to help. However, despite their best efforts, the arms did not let go.

“You will not escape from me, Jirachi!” A deep and ethereal voice came from the TV screen while the hands started winning the tug-of-war.

The star creature’s belly opened up, revealing a hidden third eye that shone between the hand’s fingers. “P-please! Take this!” Out of the creature’s third eye came what appeared to be a glowing six-pointed star that, unfortunately, hit against Yu’s chest, making him let go of the star being, who supposedly was named Jirachi. With that, everyone fell on the floor on their rears and legs. “Please! Use that on necessary occasions! It’ll be helpful against- AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH…” 

With that, Jirachi was pulled back into the TV, their scream echoing across the room as the group caught their breath. Everything happened so quickly. From the way that star being just exited the TV out of nowhere, called for help and immediately those hands appeared… it was too fast for the group of friends, and yet, they managed to keep their calm… well, most of it.

Chie was the first one to speak. “… what the HELL was all of that!? What just happened!?” 

Naoto slowly but surely got up. “That’s… that’s what I’m trying to make sense of right now. It all went by too fast…”

Rise shifted her position on the ground as the rest of the group started getting up. “What were those things even? Were they actual ghosts or… wait… if they came out of the TV… does that mean those were shadows?”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m willing to bet those freaky hand thingies were…” Yosuke said as he helped Rise get up. “I mean, you saw how just grabbed that little guy?”

Yukiko looked at Teddie after she dusted herself. “Hey, Teddie. You know what shadows smell like, right? Were those guys truly shadows?”

The bear shook his head. “Nope! I was smelling the whole time and there wasn’t even a scent of shadows on them. And my nose isn’t as cloudy like that time!”

Narukami hummed for a moment, thinking about the events that just happened. ‘That creature… it was calling for help… it seemed that the situation in its world is really dire…’ He then looked down to find the six-pointed star that was spat out of Jirachi’s creepy third eye. He crouched and picked the object up, inspecting it a bit.

Kanji noticed the object in Yu’s hand and crouched down next to him, looking at the star. “Hey, what’s that glowy thingy?”

“No clue.” Narukami responded. “It just seemed to come out of that star guy’s eye…”

Yosuke groaned. “Ugh… what are we supposed to do now? We figured out the game’s deal, sure, but who knew it was of this scale?”

Yu got up again and looked at the static on the TV, putting the star object in his pants pocket. He was about to consider his options when suddenly, a creepy red and blue eye appeared in the middle of the static. It looked around before looking at Yu and the others. 

“I see you…”

Kanji took a defensive position, his face morphing into an angry scowl. “Shit, it’s back!?”

As the others of the group looked at the TV again, the entity continued speaking. “Did you honestly think that I would let the creatures of this world call their reinforcements to stop me, especially when one of you acquired the key? You are truly foolish!”

Suddenly, more creepy hands emerged from the TV, extending themselves to grab Yu’s friends. The young man looked at his friends get slowly dragged into the TV, shouting in pain. “No!” Yu shouted before he suddenly grabbed himself and started getting dragged to the TV as well.

“Oh nonononono! Not like this!” Chie screamed.

“Ngh, not us too!” Yosuke shouted.

Rise screamed as she struggled. “Get your disgusting hands off me!”

“This is bad!” Teddie screamed, flailing his arms since he was getting dragged by the leg. “This is beary bad!!!”

“I-I can’t… break free!” Naoto struggled, but the hand’s hold was tight on her.

Yu tried his best to get out of the limb’s grasp, but unfortunately, his efforts were just like his friends. All for nothing.

“B-big bro!?”

A sudden voice made him turn to the side as his friends were pulled into the TV one by one. He saw Nanako, staring at the scene with her eyes widened, the plastic bags slipping out of her hand. “W-what’s going on? What’s happening with you guys…!?”

Yu screamed as his body started phasing through the screen. “Nanako, get away from here! It’s not safe!”

The child instead did the opposite and went towards her brother, the bag falling out of her hand. “Big bro! Don’t go, please!” Since Narukami’s arms were free, Nanako tried grabbing one of his hands, however, it was too late. Narukami’s hand had already phased through the screen, leaving Nanako’s hand submerged in it like water. “BIG BROOOOOOO!!!”

“NANAKOOOOOOO!!!!”

As the group was getting pulled towards a white abyss, Narukami’s pocket started glowing brighter and brighter until the glow enveloped the young man. Yu’s eyes were forced close as the object in his pocket emitted a shockwave that disintegrated the hands holding him and his friends. Once his eyes opened, they were all floating in a white void, encased in a translucent golden orb that repelled the hands away.

“Sensei… what’s happening…?” Teddie asked from a small distance, floating in another part of the orb. 

“Dude, this feels like some sort of weird-ass dream…” Yosuke admitted as he touched the edge of the orb, realizing that it was basically like glass. 

Yu looked around before noticing the star object starting to float in front of him, glowing more than ever before. Was this the cause of the barrier…? “I wonder…” He started saying before he grabbed the star and held it in his palm. Suddenly, however, the star dissipated into Yu, the barrier disappearing along with it.

The group of friends started falling again.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH…”