Reverse Tarot - nanako-dojima

Hey, kid. I know what we're talking about sounds insane, but you just have to trust us on this, okay?

6:26 PM

I know they don't really want to go into it with you, and I'm not really sure where the hell to start, but... If you got any questions about it, you can always come to me.

I know better than to stick my nose into police procedure, even if it's a field I'm going into. That being said, I'm very curious, so I'd be very interested to hear any details that aren't classified

...God, I'm going to sound insane... Please don't tell Dojima-san some of the stuff I'm gonna tell you, alright?

Cross my heart

Thank God

6:36 PM

Okay, so... You remember the year Yu-kun and I were in Inaba, right?

6:36 PM

And those murders that took place?

There were three right?

6:37 PM

God that was a long time ago

One was committed by someone else, and had an obvious cause of death.

6:38 PM

The other two had no trace of what could have killed them. The lab had nothing on them, and it was eventually ruled as simply unknown.

6:39 PM

The real cause of their deaths was getting put into that other world we've been talking about, and overcome and killed by those shadows we've been talking about.

6:41 PM

They were put through the TV. So was everyone else who "ran away." Amagi, Tatsumi, Kujikawa, Kubo, Shirogane, and...

6:41 PM

...Do you remember anything from around November?

I'll be honest, that was like, 10 years ago, I hardly remember anything

6:42 PM

I was 7 lol

...Guess you have a point

6:44 PM

...Anyway, Yu-kun and the others always went in there and saved the people who got thrown in before they were torn apart like Yamano and Konishi. That's how all of this started, and that's why we're all involved now

I mean, looking back I always kinda figured that's how everyone met. I hope you realize that I can't believe this story though. Like, throwing people into TVs and getting killed by monsters? That's crazy even for you Ojiisan

Yeah, I know

6:47 PM

But all I can really say is that it's true

6:48 PM

You don't have to take my word for it, though. I'm sure Yu-kun and his friends have their fair share to say on all it, too

I might need a little more proof than just words if I'm going to believe something this ludicrous tbh

...I would take you in, but I'd rather not have your father and brother killing me

If you don't wanna show me for whatever reason that's fine, I don't think it's up to them

6:54 PM

But hey, far be it from me to make my own decisions, right?

...Ugh, you're way too good at getting your way

6:55 PM

Do you want me to show you?

I like knowing what's going on, so if you're not afraid of getting in trouble, then yeah

6:57 PM

I promise I won't tell dad or Bro

Don't tell anyone else either, okay? This could get me in serious trouble if anyone found out...

I know how to keep a secret, I'm not 7 anymore

Okay, I get you. I just need to double check

I'm still in Inaba for now, I'm not going anywhere for at least a month

7:01 PM

Or ever if dad gets his way

You know he just worries. He might have forced Yu-kun and I into his family, but you're still his only daughter

I know I know, I get it, it's just annoying sometimes

Hey, better than he cares than not, yeah?

Yeah that's true

If you move out to Tokyo, you're gonna have him calling all the time and your brother visiting 24/7. I don't think you're ever escaping either of them

It's not like I wanna escape, it'd just be nice to like, decide things for myself sometimes, you know?

I get you. Your dad's pretty overbearing. I'm seriously glad not to be working under him anymore... Uh, no offense

7:11 PM

I'm sure they'll eventually give you some space, but they just worry. Especially your brother over all this

7:12 PM

There's a lot of similarities to what happened back in Inaba. I just don't think he wants another repeat

I guess that makes sense, but who knows, maybe I could even help somehow

Our organization is pretty big, especially with the reserve members

7:16 PM

I don't think we're that concerned with help anymore

7:17 PM

...Besides the point, though. I'll figure out a time to talk you to the other world. Just tell me when you aren't busy with school and all that, and I'll try to make a trip down there.

The semester’s pretty much over at this point, I should be free whenever

I'll try to get down there in the next few days, then

Sounds good! I'll see you then

Inaba had never been a particularly comfortable place for Adachi. Ever since the day he’d arrived well over a decade again, he’d looked at it in disdain, and nothing much had changed since then. Sure, he had his fond memories with the Dojima family, and he’d always end up coming over for the holidays out of obligation, but walking through the streets made him feel like a criminal on trial, keeping his head low to avoid meeting anyone’s gaze and straight to the Inaba residence from out where he’d parked his car a few blocks out. Sure, his appearance may have changed to make him pretty much unrecognizable to most, and few could recall the name of the actual Inaba killer, but the memory of what he’d done still hung in the air, even as the town had become more lively and grown into something a little beyond its hick origins. It was hard to escape that, even if people passed by without giving him a second glance in most cases. He was still the killer that’d haunted the place until the day he died. Double, triple check to make sure Dojima-san wasn’t home as he approached their residence—That man didn’t need to know he was anywhere near Inaba right now. There would be way too many questions if that man caught him popping up out of the blue, and trying to explain why he was really there wasn’t going to end well for any of them. Best case scenario, he was kicked out of the family. Worst… Well, that was pretty obvious.

8:21 PM

“Hey, Nana-chan.” At least he’d been polite enough to holler and place a couple lazy knocks outside the sliding door before slipping it open a few moments later. Dojima-san never unlocked his front door—Always too trusting, just like his nephew. It’d make him laugh if it didn’t feel so irresponsible, considering what happened to Nana-chan, but he wasn’t looking to focus on any of that now, stepping through without bothering to take his shoes off before coming in, eyes falling onto the living room television. They’d replaced it a while ago, considering how much time Dojima-san and Nana-chan spent watching it. It’d gotten to the size that someone could even fit through it, now. …If he’d been entirely honest with himself, the idea of going back into the TV World made him nauseous as hell. Not that he remembered some of the shit he’d done in there first hand, but he’d sure as shit heard about it. After all, he was stuck with this power because of that whole incident, whether he wanted it or not. Stupid power, stupid situation, stupid responsibilities… Ugh, it was all stupid. “You ready?” For a brief moment, he felt around in his pockets, making sure his revolver and a few knives had stayed neatly tucked under his jackets. Sure, an ex-serial killer shouldn’t have been trusted with that sort of stuff, but being a Shadow Operative gave him some more leeway there. Still not something he wanted to show off in a small town, especially one that he had such a reputation in. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like when we get in there. Stay close, alright? The last time he’d seen it was… Well, it must’ve been the P-1 Climax since he was fully in there, albeit for a brief moment. He’d occasionally thought about going in further, to see what it’d turned into, but he never got much further than sticking his hand in before pulling himself out, unable to commit to being confronted with his sins in such a direct way.

8:21 PM

Then again, this was sure a hell of a lot safer than Phlegethon, and if he still had any power over the place, then they shouldn’t have been faced with any issues. Well… Hopefully. Wasn’t like he was an expert on any of that—All he knew was that world had been more than willing to welcome him back in the day, and hopefully this visit would bring him similar fortune for Nana-chan’s sake.

"One sec!" she called back at the knocks. She'd heard them from her room, figuring Adachi would just let himself in. Some things never changed. Nanako was just finishing up getting ready for the trek, tying up her hair and throwing on her oversized letterman jacket. It was comfy and warm, and she couldn't be sure exactly how long of a trip this was going to be. She paused a moment before exiting her room however, glancing down at the little flashlight on her desk. Eh, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it right? She gave it a little shake and turned it on just to make sure it worked, then slipped it into her pocket before joining her "uncle" in the main room. She gave him a little smile and a wave in greeting. Man, dad would probably not be happy at all if he found out about this. Good. He couldn't baby her forever after all. Felt kind of nice to do something without him knowing. And he wouldn't know, as long as they got back in a reasonable time. "Ready as I'll ever be," she replied. "Don't worry, I won't wander off on you Ojiisan." A smug smirk was on her lips. She couldn't wait to see what he had in store for her. What could he possibly be planning on passing off as a world in the TV? This could end up being really funny. "Let's not waste any time, I gotta be back here and you have to be gone by the time dad gets home from the office, so lead the way."

Seeing his niece, he’d returned the smile and wave, a rare sight from someone like him. Though, Nana-chan tended to bring out those sorts of uncommon things from him. She wasn’t annoying, like her brother, or pushy and bossy as hell, like her dad. Compared to them, she was actually bearable. Though, he had to second think that with the look the teen gave him as she spoke. Where’d she even learn that sort of look…? Certainly not her golden boy brother, and probably not her dad either. Whatever the source, it felt seriously mocking… …Jeez, when he thought about it like that, maybe he knew the exact place she got that from. “It should just be a quick trip.” He brushed off his thoughts there, not wanting to think about any sort of terrible influence he could have been on that kid. Granted, wasn’t like any of this was good, but wasn’t like he cared that much. She deserved to know, especially with the shit she’d gone through as a kid, and everything the girl got shoved into now. Yu-kun could baby her all he wanted, but that wasn’t going to help anyone, especially not Nana-chan. “I don’t think anything should even be much of a threat there.” Not that he knew that for sure, but, hey, if he had any sort of sway over that world nowadays, he’d make sure that nothing would get close to Nana-chan. The least he could do if he was dragging his old partner’s kid into that world, willingly or not. His eyes fell onto the television again, silently approaching it as a weight grew on his chest. Wasn’t like that power would’ve gone away, but… Best to test it out, anyway. Tapping on the screen, he watched as waves formed in response to his touch, and, making sure Nana-chan had a decent view of his contact with the screen, he took a sharp breath and shoved his hand in.

1:07 AM

“Cool party trick, huh?” The light laugh that accompanied his words certainly seemed casual, but the edge that permeated his body language couldn’t be ignored. His arm felt completely numb through the screen, swirling circles around his lower arm feeling sickening to watch. At least there wasn’t a face or body on the other side, but it certainly wasn’t a great sight anymore. Oh, well. Wasn’t much he could do about that now, simply yanking his hand out and shaking it a bit to get feeling back. Sheesh, that really stinged… He almost felt bad about bringing the girl in there, but, hey, this was what she wanted. As long as he stayed by her side, nothing should have gone wrong. “I gotta grab your arm real quick to get you in there; hope you don’t mind.” Considering his… History, that sort of warning was practically a necessity. Nana-chan couldn’t have been oblivious, even if her dad and brother tried to keep all that away from her and the Kirijo Group had mostly buried it after they had taken him in. At the very least, she had to know that he killed those two women—So, a quick warning was practically necessary, even if he’d never dare do any of that shit to her. “I’ll go in first, and you can tear away from me if you have your doubts. I can make it back by myself easily, so you don’t have to worry if you get cold feet.” After looking for confirmation that it was okay, he hesitantly reached for Nanako’s wrist, wrapping his hand lightly around and directing her towards the television stand. God, this was insane… Dragging a girl the same age as… Her... Into that place again…

1:07 AM

The thought made him cringe, almost letting go of Nana-chan’s arm instinctively. Instead, he let that fire burn against the palm of his hand, reaching out his freehand onto the base of the television for some stabilization before putting one foot in. He shot back one more quick glance, trying to gauge Nana-chan’s emotions before pulling up his other foot and slipping through the screen, feeling himself become weightless as his entire body had finally fallen in and the colors warped his vision. Ugh, what a pain… But, if Nana-chan wanted to see the other world, he couldn’t say no. All he could do was make sure to keep her safe.

Nanako maintained her smirk as she watched the man approach the TV. That expression of smugness turned to bewilderment however when he fully stuck his hand inside. That was definitely not something their TV had done before. She tilted her head, trying to see if he was doing something with his sleeve, but from all angles, the only possibility was that his hand was through the screen. A soft, "Whoa..." slipped out as she moved closer to get a better look. 'Cool party trick' hardly covered it. This was absolutely unreal. "Hey, you do what you gotta do," she replied, offering Adachi her arm. Of course she knew what he'd done. You don't just get arrested for no reason. Even if he wasn't away for as long as one would normally expect for a double homicide, it was a pretty easy line to draw. Despite this however, she'd lived with this man around long enough that she felt confident that she was safe. Otherwise he would've done something sooner she figured, and not waited until some whacko chatroom caused this whole situation to play out. She listened carefully to his instructions, making note of his offer to back out. Fat chance of that. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they said. Still, she nodded in acknowledgement, just to try and assuage any bad feelings he was surely having at the moment. It was written all over how he was acting honestly. Upon seeing him slip through the screen, it actually hit her how absolutely insane this was. There was a moment of hesitation where she almost pulled back, but her curiosity was greater than her worry, and so she grabbed tighter and let herself be pulled in after him. The weightlessness was one thing, but the tingling was something else entirely. Like pinpricks across her skin, there wasn't a single square centimeter of her skin that wasn't alight. She wanted to shut her eyes, but the mesmerizing swirls of color forced her to watch as she fell through to the other side of the screen.

Sheesh, even a decade later and the landing was still rough as hell… Couldn't they have at least upgraded the entrance to have some softer cushioning? As is, his back had come crashing with the ground, pain shooting through his spine when he made contact. Wasn't near the worst sensation he'd been through, but it certainly wasn't goddamn pleasant, either. How the kids dealt with this every time they fell in was beyond him… …Was pretty strange they ended up on the stage, though. From what he'd heard, the place had been pretty cleaned up since Izanami went away. Some sort of paradise, or whatever the hell that kid was on about, except for when Hi-no-Kagutsuchi had been fucking around. Then again, guess his presence wasn't much different from that deity lady fucking shit up in there. This was her domain, and in some ways, it was probably still his, too, even if he didn't feel the same sort of invigorating power he had before. Probably wasn’t a good sign to have that sort of shit popping back up, but he’d hopefully be able to deal with anything coming their way without having to pull out Magatsu-Izanagi. The kid really didn’t need to see that. Speaking of… After lazily pushing himself up off the ground, his eyes flickered to Nana-chan. It’d been so long since he’d first entered a place like this that he’d gotten used to it, but the whiplash of the whole experience probably wasn’t the best for someone new like her. "You okay, kid?" It was the least courtesy he could show, even if he hadn’t bothered holding a hand out to help her out. Instead, he’d been too focused on scanning the area, checking out some iconography he’d only gotten a glimpse of briefly during his time there. Televisions stacked up in a safety hazard collection, outlines of bodies on the ground, catwalks all the way around. Sure was one weirdass place, even all these years later.

3:17 AM

Least the fog was gone, even if it wasn’t the most intriguing place without it. Made it easier to see in than the last time he’d been there, stumbling into Yamano-san’s room and Magatsu-Inaba, and didn’t make it nearly as stressful leading someone like Nana-chan in here. There’d be no way for her to get swallowed up and killed, even if things went horribly wrong. Seemed like a win to him. "See those TVs? They’re our ticket out." There was no need to gesture to them, seeing that they were the centerpiece of the whole place. Still, he gave a light nod of his head towards it while he unzipped his outer jacket and threw it onto the ground. Wasn't like he needed so many layers in here—he'd just end up getting held back by it all. "We should probably head down that way. Shopping district should be pretty safe." When he'd been in control over the place, he'd developed some almost supernatural grasp of the layout, despite staying largely to Yamano-san’s room and his own fucked up distortion of reality. Made it pretty easy to navigate even all these years later, turning around to face the nearest catwalk and starting on a leisurely stroll, holding back the impulse to whistle as his eyes scanned around for any potential danger. It all looked fine, but even with shit like this, he couldn't be too careful.

Yep, "rough" was certainly one way to describe the landing. She smacked into the ground on her side, her hip landing square on the flashlight in her pocket. Well, whether it was broken or not, she was definitely going to have a bruise there tomorrow. With a bit of a groan, Nanako sat herself up and took a look around. "Holy shit...." The words were little more than a whisper on her lips as she took in the sights. It took a moment for her thoughts to center and finally get her to stand. "Yeah I'm okay. Maybe some bruises, but I'll live." Her eyes followed his instructions, noting the stack of televisions in the middle of the stage area. Man, those were old CRTs too. Talk about ancient. That was about all the evidence she needed that this place was used ten years ago. Still though, this was absolutely crazy. Who built all of this stuff anyway? How was it all even here? No time to dwell on it though, they had tracks to make. She nodded and followed along. Well, if this place was just like town, she could probably navigate it pretty well too. Honestly, how could anyone get lost in here? "Soooo why's all this stuff here anyway? Did someone really just build a full replica of Inaba in the TV and call it a day? Why would anyone do that?"

Now she was getting into the annoying questions… Not that Nana-chan was annoying, but they weren’t exactly questions he wanted to answer (or even knew how, really). Still, if she was the one asking, he’d at least make an attempt. "Everyone sorta did." Of course she wouldn’t take an answer that simple, as much as he really wished she would… "Subconscious minds manifested this world, and a powerful being gave people the power to enter it." That’s what he’d been told, at least. No reason to question the sort of shit that came out of Yu-kun’s mouth—Even trying to take the time to understand it, he still barely had a grasp on that shit. Really, all of this still felt like something he’d been learning day by day, just grasping onto what little he did truly comprehend in order to get a better picture of all he dealt with. "It'd take all day to actually explain it." That was better than ’I can’t make sense of it either,’ at least. Made him sound oh-so-slightly smarter than tripping over himself trying to get into the details that still felt strange or off. At least he could rattle off whatever else he remembered from Yu-kun. Some stuff the kid had even apparently heard from him—not that he remembered much of anything from his time going through his world after a certain point. "Let's just say it's connected to human desires to be entertained. Midnight Channel, kidnappings, killings, fog—They were all related to this place." Would that be enough? It sure as hell better have been, since he wasn’t gonna be able to fumble his way around that much longer, especially now that they’d gotten off the catwalk and into the actual district.

9:43 AM

“Don’t think there’s any dungeons ‘round here…” His muttering ways had gotten the better of him as he glanced around, giving their surroundings a second glance while he thought out the game plan. They could go to one, but it wasn’t like it’d do much good. Besides, they’d either been from those brats that Adachi didn’t want to pry into, his own which he was sure was next to inaccessible now, or… …No way in hell he’d go near that place. Especially not with Nana-chan. An automatic veto to all ideas there. But… Well, he’d look stupid as hell if it failed, but he could at least try something. “Stand back, and please don’t laugh at me if nothing happens…” A quick glance back to Nana-chan to make sure that she was safe. Even then, he still lightly held out an arm in front of her for whatever little defense that’d offer with those freaks. That is, if he’d even get one out here. Ugh… He’d already committed to the idea, so might as well as just rip off the bandaid if it’d actually work or not. Thinking back to what exactly the process was of getting those pieces of shit to patrol his place wasn’t exactly easy, with how blurry all that shit could be, but it couldn’t’ve been much different that bringing something out like Magatsu-Izanagi in here. Just had to visualize those pieces of shit, think about some sort of fucked up stuff, and maybe— Didn’t even need a third step, it seemed, as a furious, chained up lion with a ball and chain with a face plastered on it appeared. Wasn’t the most frightening thing—especially not compared to a lot of the shadows he’d come across during work—but at least it wasn’t one of those fucking tongue things. Even with it being a pretty average shadow, his eyes widened at the sight, having to do a double take at the display.

9:43 AM

“Oh! Wow!” How else was he supposed to react? Really, it was a shock that he held himself together that well, as well as the time it took him to collect himself, doing his best to shut his agape mouth and shrug it off. “I mean… Yeah, of course that worked.” Sure, it wasn’t a super strong one, but, hey, that shitty deity’s curse on him at least gave him something other than a powerful parasite. And it didn’t seem to be attacking, either—Maybe it was simply respecting him, like the shadows had when he was in this world before. Damn, if only all places had shadows that acted like this towards him… “This is a shadow.” Hey, now there was some shit he could actually describe… Still not well, of course, but it was a little easier and simpler than the whole TV World mess. “They’re manifestations of the parts people want to hide, taking on pretty random forms. You don’t gotta worry—This one isn’t very strong, and it isn’t attacking like they usually do.” As if to prove his point about its power, he swiftly whipped out his revolver and took a couple shots at the hellish thing, watching as it instantly turned back into splattering goop. Ugh, how pathetic… Though, maybe it’d just submitted so quickly because he’d essentially ushered it to its death as its creator. Huh… Pretty fucked up thinking about it like that, ignoring all the potential animal cruelty aspects to the display if not for the black mess it turned into.

Well, it was starting to make a bit of sense. Sort of. At the very least it wasn't hard to imagine that a world inside the TV wasn't made by natural means. This stuff seemed more like something out of a video game or an anime than something she was really experiencing. If it wasn't for the slowly swelling bruise on her hip, Nanako would have certainly believed she was dreaming. Looking back at the year her cousin originally spent with them, it also made sense that this place was tied to all of those murders. And it was pretty foggy back then too. But wait... "The Midnight Channel? That old urban legend?" Who would've thought an old wives' tale like that would've been caused by some crazy paranormal plane of existence? Or maybe that could only have been the explanation. She stopped when he got to the next part of the tour. He was trying something, that much was clear. She looked on, skeptical, ready to laugh if nothing happened just to tease him. Though when the monster popped into existence, she did take a step back in surprise, a hurried, "Holy shit!" slipping out. She was really glad her dad wasn't here to hear that, but this was probably an acceptable moment to swear. Nanako did relax a bit when it didn't make any moves toward them, but it was still kind of freaky. She took in the explanation as well, and it made sense too. It was basically the textbook definition of a shadow in the psychological sense. If this was a world of the collective unconscious, of course there would be manifestations of unconscious thought peppering it as well. Her thought was broken when she saw the pistol being drawn however, and she quickly covered her ears to dull the sound of gunfire. It wasn't very effective. Her ears still rang a bit afterward. Once she regained most of her sense of hearing, there was one question in particular that rose above all others. "So why can you make those things show up then?"

Of course she was gonna have questions, but did it have to be every single thing that came out of her mouth…? Felt like he was back at the station being interrogated again with how much confusion she had at all the shit he was saying… Least she wasn’t some pig looking to bust his skull open at the most minor provocation. Had that on the nearby jail, he guessed. “Thought that shit was made up at first too, and… Well, I guess it still sorta was.” Not everything about the legend itself was real, even if the Midnight Channel did exist… “People did pop-up on the TV at midnight, but instead of your soulmate like the rumor said, it was the next potential victim to get thrown in here. Pretty fucked up stuff, if you ask me.” Still was pretty strange how the first two people that showed up happened to be the two he… Whatever, it was just some wild coincidence. Nothing he needed to be thinking about right now, especially not in this place. Not that he had much time to, considering Nana-chan’s next question. “Hah?” It was a pretty off-putting question, leaving him with slightly widened eyes as he looked back in the middle of reloading his revolver. Sure, this wasn't exactly normal, but she couldn't know that. Maybe he did sorta make a big deal out of it, but still… “Well, I… Guess I’m not like other Persona users. I'm one of a kind.” That was putting it lightly, but he didn’t have the time to get into why he was different. Well… He also really didn’t want to have to get so deep into the whole situation with Nana-chan when he was already dropping so much on her… Especially not if it came to the point of having to summon his Persona to show her shit that words couldn’t express. Would’ve been nice to bring in someone who didn’t have a fucked-up migraine-inducing piece of shit in their head, like Yu-kun or Sho, but one of them wouldn’t agree to this whole mess, and the other was just more of a pain than he felt like dealing with right now.

8:50 PM

“It’d take too long to explain.” Probably would have needed a whole university course worth of lectures to even begin to get into all the shit that was fucked up with him. He’d just save her the trouble of not having to deal with that for now. “This is the only place I can pull shit like that. No real ruler makes it pretty malleable.” Not mentioning he had part of its old ruler in him, of course. Shit like that would’ve sounded even more fucked up… “Your brother and I work in places like this.” Moving on again before she could ask anymore questions, per the usual. Least he had the decency to tell the kid about this place, unlike the others—She wasn't entitled to knowing more than he wanted to give to any of her questions. “Course, they’re usually a little more hostile than this. This whole area’s been mostly secured—You probably would have noticed if it wasn’t, since it’s the main place connected to Inaba. It hasn’t really acted up since… A decade ago, I guess.” Was the P-1 Climax really that long ago…? Sheesh, he really felt old now…

One of a kind. That was a weird statement. She could tell from his hesitation that he wasn't particularly comfortable with that line of questioning, so she wouldn't push the issue. At least not right now. She could save that for another interrogation. There was another word that caught her attention however, 'ruler.' That was a little unnerving. Did that mean that Yu and Adachi regularly fought the kinds of things that made these worlds? Or no, the people made them, but something else ruled over it. It was weird, but utterly fascinating. "Yeah, I guess it has been a long time since something weird happened around here. I mean, other than Inaba's usual weirdness." She swore there was something in the water around here as it was. Maybe she should stop hanging out by the flood plain. "I think I'm starting to get it though. Some weird thing pops up and starts making stuff happen in here, it ends up affecting the people on the outside, then you guys come in and clean it up. And those shadow things try to stop you every step of the way. That sound about right?" She just wanted to clarify that she was following correctly. It was a lot to take in, and she was still processing some of it. "Man, it's like something out of a freakin' anime or something. If I wasn't seeing it, I never would've believed it."

Hah…? That was… Actually a pretty decent explanation, considering how little she'd known up to a few minutes ago. It certainly brought a smirk to his face, glancing back to her for a moment before continuing on. “You're taking to it way quicker than Dojima-san.” Of course, he wasn't surprised—Kid was a prodigy. That title could've just been bias, but, hey, he had some right to be proud of his niece for getting it in record time while barely being phased. “I still don't think he'll ever get it no matter how many times Yu-kun and I explain it to him… Uh, don't tell him that.” Just like clockwork, there was his airy, noticeably feigned laugh to lighten the mood, just the same as it'd always been. Wasn't like he ever laughed for real—that false sound was about as close as he'd ever get, really. Certainly wasn't laughing at the next comment, though. Comparing it to anime, huh…? Guess he could see the comparison, but… Guess he wouldn't compare it to the bright and happy stuff, that's for sure. “Trust me, it isn’t really easy to wrap your head around, no matter how long you’ve been doing this.” Even he struggled to believe it was entirely real for a while—Just about everyone around him was seemingly desperate to prove that it wasn't for their own sanities. After adjusting long enough, he'd at least gotten to the point of accepting this was just his life, no matter how much people believed in it or not. “But, honestly, the work’s kind of boring after a while. Just getting hurt again and again, going against the same old enemies, with the same old tactics… It’s one of those depressing anime where there aren’t any happy endings.” …Sheesh, he'd just stress the kid out about her big brother talking like that. Never was one for comfort or positivity, but he didn't want to leave her awake at night wondering what might happen to him if he could avoid it. Dojima-san would probably kill him for worrying his daughter…

10:52 PM

“There's pretty good employee benefits, at least.” Maybe not the best go-to, but it was hard to think of any when they were having near death experiences every time they went on the field, not to mention dealing with assholes cops that made him want to go into fight or flight nowadays. “We're a part of the Kirijo Group, so we basically get all the positives of working for them and then some, and it's pretty easy work when there's nothing going on in Japan.” However rare that was. Though, when threats did pop-up outside of Japan, he was almost relieved that his deal meant he wasn't allowed out of the country. Fighting incessantly was for kids like Makoto-kun and Yu-kun—he was way too old for that now. At least, he felt that way, considering the number Magatsu-Izanagi had done on him… “Anyway,” the high drawl of his voice was meant to knock both of them out of any potential negative or unrelated trains of thoughts, continuing to walk around aimlessly as he observed their surroundings a little longer. Still no sight of any aggressive shadows, but who knew if that'd last forever. “I don’t think there’s much else to show you. You have the basic idea already, so you probably can’t get much more from this place.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but he didn’t really feel like showing her much else. Too many bad memories, or shit that’d only worry her more. Still, if he knew one thing about the Dojima bloodline, they sure as hell wouldn't let go easily if they had something on their mind. The whole lot were stubborn ass bastards—and, by now, he'd learned that there wasn't much of a way to get out of that, even for him.

"Yeah well, dad never was quick on the uptake with anything. I still don't think he totally understands how basketball works even though he's been to all of my games for the last three years." It wasn't like it was that hard either. You throw a ball into a hoop to score, you can't move while holding the ball. That's all you really needed to understand to follow along, and yet.... Anyway, back on topic. Adachi was definitely right, this was pretty hard to wrap her head around. The basics at least made enough sense that she could get the gist, but she was sure the deeper she tried to dig, the more confusing it would get. Not to mention dangerous with how he talked about it. Come to think of it, how many times did she see Yu with a new bruise or scar over the years? "Sheesh, Kirijo's wrapped up in all of this too?" Not that she was surprised. They were absolutely massive, so it made sense that they'd have their fingers in this too. Still, no wonder they threw around money like it was going out of style. Probably had pretty good health coverage too with how dangerous the job was. "Hey, if you say so," she replied with a shrug. She was sure there was more to learn about this place, and maybe she'd try to do her own digging at some point. Not in here of course, she didn't want to get stuck or anything, but it couldn't hurt to probe some people and try to get some more info. She wouldn't press her luck for now though. Honestly, Nanako counted herself lucky that she was here to begin with. It was probably going to keep her up tonight thinking about it, but for now she was content with at least getting the basics.

Bullying Dojima-san like this, it was almost a little hard to believe that they were in the other world… Well, except for the cold steel in his hand, all the fucked up landscape, and the red and black sky hovering menacingly over them. “I think it’s basically hopeless for your old man.” Sports weren’t exactly his speciality, either, but sitting next to Dojima-san at one of those games practically made him feel like an expert. The amount of times that he had to explain what the hell traveling was to him was as laughable as it was tragic… Hell, he was probably a jock, wasn’t he? Or a delinquent? Whatever, they were both hell of a lot more active than he’d ever been in high school. Whatever. Maybe he’d sit down Dojima-san for a lecture and quiz about all the rules later, but, for now, they didn’t need to be focusing on weird sports shit. “There’s a lot of backstory to their involvement.” Kirijo-san would probably kill him herself if he let any of that slip. Actually talking about all of that sounded like an absolute bore—That, and it’d take hours, so he decided to take a raincheck on that idea before he even started to get into it. “Let’s just say there’s a lot they’ve got to clean up after, and that’s part of our job in the Shadow Operatives.” Ugh… Yu-kun would kill him if he didn’t at least try to make out the negatives a little more, wouldn’t he…? Spinning the cylinder of his revolver one last time, he let out a quiet sigh, locking it into place and slipping it into its concealed holster. “Just remember—This isn’t shit you want to get yourself in, no matter how ‘cool’ it might look.” When he first got into this world, he thought it was fucking incredible, but he’d learned his lesson by now. That wasn’t something he wanted Nana-chan to have to learn the hard way. “It’s been a curse on me and your brother more than anything.”

9:27 PM

Albeit in different ways. Yu-kun’s Persona didn’t put him through intense, screech-inducing pain by simply summoning it, or put enough stress on him to bring him closer and closer to the point of almost killing him just by continual use, but this life hadn’t been good on him, either. No matter how much that kid denied it, this life couldn’t last him his entire life. Hell, if he kept going at the rate he was, Yu-kun wouldn’t have his life for much longer. Stupid t a fault, throwing himself into danger again and again like it was just part of the routine, getting scar after scar and brushing off near death situations like they were nothing. That martyr complex of his was damn stupid, and even more stupid when he had shit to live for. Did he even fucking care about what he had at stake? Or was he just so obsessed with playing the hero, “protecting everyone,” that he didn’t care if he actually died one of these times? That damn responsibility that had been put onto him as the representation of humanity’s hope by Izanami had fucked the kid over almost nearly as much as throwing the representation of humanity’s emptiness onto him. “Just… Listen to your brother, and try to keep yourself out of it.” God knows he couldn’t actually control her actions. She was as damn stubborn as the rest of her family, but, hey, if he stressed the fact he was actually serious for once in his life, maybe she’d actually consider it. Knowing how much he’d try to convince Dojima-san and Yu-kun of shit to little avail, he wasn’t too hopeful. “People that get involved in this shit get hurt and die, all the time. Yu-kun and his friends are lucky—But a lot of people aren't. And right now we’re fighting against something that’s probably gonna be gunning right for you if you’re anywhere in its radius, with how much me and Yu-kun pissed him off.”

9:27 PM

Even thinking about that bastard getting near Nana-chan made his chest tighten slightly, trying not to let it show in any of his body language. If that asshole dared, then he’d kill him in an instant. If they even could do that anymore, seeing how much more powerful he’d seemingly got since the last time they dealt with him. Maybe… Sheesh, why the hell was he even thinking about this right now!? He was just going to make himself way more goddamn paranoid, and only make Nana-chan anxious, and if things got too bad… Ugh, he didn’t even want to think about that piece of shit forcing itself out of him right now. “At least don’t be stupid enough to make any deals with any random voices in your head or weird people.” Doing his best to keep his voice steady, he took a second between his sentences to take a deep breath, not wanting his emotions to take over too much in a place like this. Maybe the former suggestion to Nana-chan would’ve sounded weird, if not for… Well, everything else around them. “Stranger danger, and all that.” Now, if she just stayed the hell out of Tokyo, then that wouldn’t be a major issue. Wasn’t real likely to happen, though, as much as he would have liked it to. All he could do now was give her general information and advice, and just hope she’d listen.

Well, if the apparent tension in the man's figure wasn't a clear enough indicator, the repeated assertions made sure to drive home the point that he was serious about all of that. Not that she really needed to be told. She could probably kick the ass of any random bozo on the street that tried to give her trouble, but she wasn't quite sure that aiming for the knee would work in this place. "Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I'm not out here trying to make a deal with the devil or something." She didn't even have much in the way of a joke for that. Honestly, Nanako was smart enough to tell when she was in over her head. This was almost certainly the deep end. Obviously she wanted to know more, but satisfying that curiosity was perhaps better done when things were a bit safer. But honestly, did Adachi really think that by showing her this place she'd be able to ignore it? It was like taking someone to a city of gold and telling them not to bring anything home. But she'd do as she was told for now. Things were pretty busy for her already, and adding paranormal investigation to the list wouldn't help her workload at all. Maybe after she was done with high school she'd poke her nose around a little more. At least enough to sate her thirst for knowledge. Who knew, maybe she'd finally be able to help the family with one of their "special" cases down the line. "So um, does that mean we're done here then? Or do you got more to show me?" She'd be very interested to see more of this world, but to tell the truth, she was starting to feel kind of tired too. All of her limbs felt heavy, like she'd just gotten done a big workout. Was that also some kind of magic thing about this place? No wonder it was so dangerous to people.

Was she really brushing off everything she said…? Ugh, of course she was. Just like Dojima-san and Yu-kun, way too headstrong for her own good… If it has been one of them, they'd get some sort of snarky snap, forcing them to actually acknowledge all that he'd said, but at least he'd been able to hold himself back a little better with Nana-chan. "Yu-kun and I basically made a deal with a devil without knowing." Izanami wasn't that malicious, but she sure as hell hadn't cared what the effects of her involvement would do to any of them. They were just guinea pigs in her grand test of humanity. Not that the whole game even mattered—The world was just as shit after her test as before, if not worse. If she could've done a solid for them and took care of her son, then maybe he'd be able to forgive her for all the shit she pulled… But he guessed he was shit out of luck there. "You never truly know who you're dealing with—Casually shaking hands with a gas station attendant doesn't seem like it means anything, but that's what got us here." Well… He didn't exactly recall shaking hands, but, hey, that's what Yu-kun said happened, and Namatame seemed to remember shit vaguely enough that it seemed to all match up. Ha, who would have thought, a stupid ass, mundane handshake gave him the power to do that... It was so goddamn stupid. Not that he had much time to think about it, Nana-chan's words taking him out of his train of thought. Guess it probably wasn't best for her to stay here for much longer… Wasn't like there were any sort of shadows to tear her apart, but no matter how safe it was at a glance, the environment was still pretty damn oppressive.

8:09 PM

"There's one more thing I could show ya, but…" After trailing off, his eyes flickered to the side, staring out towards the disgusting hued scenery near the walkway to the entrance. That was a no-go. Nana-chan could never see that, even if she learned about everything else. "...It isn't something I feel like doing right now. It would give me a headache for the rest of the day if I did." That was far from the only reason, but it was genuine enough. Anything else he could say on the topic would have been a lot more worrying. Last thing he needed was his niece concerning herself over him—She had a hell of a lot on her plate to put her attention on whatever problems Magatsu-Izanagi had been putting on him. "We'll go out the same way we came in." A quick diversion, per the usual. Something he'd learned to combat against Yu-kun's desperate attempts to avoid talking about his own issues, playing a game of who would break first with distractions. "You should be able to exit on your own, at least, but you're not able to come back in without a Persona or one of us to guide you in." Well, that's the basic gist he got. The three of them that got cursed with Izanami's bullshit game were the guides to this stupid world—Only those that got some sort of higher power could actually make it in without them, and, as much as he believed in Nana-chan's coordination, he was sure she would have at least accidentally stumbled and put her hand through the TV at some point if her last visit had given her any sort of permanent entry.

8:09 PM

That was one weight off his shoulder. The last thing he needed her doing was seeing all the fucked up shit behind the TV screen, including all the shit he'd done. Magatsu Inaba, as much as he despised even acknowledging its existence, still seemed to exist on the couple of occasions he has visited. The rumble of Inaba, the places that he'd fucked up so much, the life that he'd thrown away, all sat there, tormenting him to the point he had to turn away before his emotions could ever overwhelm him. …At least that shit wouldn't have been an issue if she had somehow been able to enter this world. As far as he was aware, it'd go back to the idyllic state Yu-kun had explained to him as soon as he left and stopped distorting the place with what little of Izanami's power he had. Without its deity around, it has no reason to exist. "We're just about there." It wasn't too easy to tell, with how damn long this catwalk was… But, hey, being able to seemingly innately sense shit like that in the TV World was one of benefits to having a part of the God who ruled over this place in him, he guessed. "Just double checking there isn't anything else you want to know before we leave—I'm going to sneak out quick, or Dojima-san will catch me and I won't be able to get back to my place until morning…" It was a fate worse than death to get caught with Dojima-san, especially now that he couldn't drink… As much as he'd admittedly bonded, some days Adachi just couldn't handle it, and this had been no exception. Especially not with the reminders of everything he'd done being blasted through his skull the longer they were in there.

"Believe me, I already know all about stranger danger. I got enough talks about that under my belt from dad." It was really annoying sometimes. Of course Nanako appreciated that people wanted to look after her, but it was exhausting. She could hardly take the train to Okina with her friends without getting a lecture and a request to send a text when they got on the train home. She was intrigued by whatever Adachi was talking about, but she figured no matter how hard she pressed, she'd just get turned down. It kind of sucked that she couldn't get in on her own, or she'd definitely check it out herself. She caught the subtle glance, noting the direction. If she did ever manage to find her way back in, that'd be destination one. As far as questions, what wasn't there to ask? She felt like she was only allowed to take one bite of a delicious cake, and now she had to be tempted by the rest of it sitting on the counter mere feet away from her. It was totally unfair. Still though, it was a little difficult to sort through everything at the moment. Between the information she'd just been given and the fatigue setting into her bones, getting the questions formed wasn't happening. Maybe she'd write up a list later. "I think I'm good for right now," she said, unconvincingly. "I just hope dad's not already home. It'd be super awkward if we climbed out of the tv while he was sitting in the living room." Nanako didn't even want to think about how he'd react if that happened. It would be a mess for sure. How long were they even in here anyway? It felt like a while, but it was hard to tell.