AN: I'm sorry, I had to do this. I love the idea too much!
So, this is a Nanako-centric fic, meaning that it will future Nanako as it's main character. The Investigation team will appear as will the other P4 characters, but this is Nanako's turn to shine... sort of.
Nanako's Persona (Personae) were inspired by Japanese mythology (much like Yu's Izanagi, Yosuke's Susanoo, Yukiko's Amaterasu etc.) and it was actually quite hard to find out any information that I could use for this fic of mine so take what I describe about these goddesses with a grain of salt, as I couldn't find a lot of information regarding them aside from the bare minimum. As for Nanako's Arcana, her Social Link one with Yu remains to be Justice but her Persona one will be Moon, unless someone else can help me come up with another one that would make a bit more sense.
Nanako's Persona/e will be adapt in healing, defence (Rakukaja and variations) and, having not be featured since the Persona 2 dualogy, water skills (such as Aquadyne and Malaquadyne later on for those of you who didn't get the pleasure of playing the Persona 2 games). Maybe some skills such as Recarm, too. But I will likely settle on Patra/Me Patra instead, we will see.
If you have any questions, PM me directly or leave them in the reviews for me to answer.
Spoilers: Regular November (Persona 4), for the true culprit, Heaven and it's Shadow boss ... all that jazz from November and onwards. So if you didn't play the game past November, I suggest turning back or reading with the warning in mind.
With Broken Wings
The Nanako One-Shot
Nanako Dojima was quietly sitting on her pillow as the rain loudly sounded against the house's windows.
Once again, she was alone. Her father was working late and her cousin (who now felt more like a brother than a cousin) was also strangely absent. The little brunette's eyes strayed towards the clock on the nearby wall, reading around ten in the evening now.
Her big brother was always home by nine at latest, so him being this late could only mean that something happened to him... right?
Just before she began to worry, the doorbell rang.
Confused as to who it could be this late, Nanako slowly got onto her tired legs - she really should have been in bed by now but it felt so cold getting ready to sleep on her own, when her father or brother would usually tuck her in and wish her good night - and walked over to the door, hoping against hope that it was her brother Yu (as she doubted her dad would be back today).
But as she couldn't reach the hole to see who it was, the little girl's attempting to be calm but welcoming voice sounded.
"H-Hello? Who is it?"
Both of her family members always told her to check who it was before she opened the door (especially now with her daddy's case seemingly becoming harder to solve) and Nanako felt like they would be proud of her for doing so now if they were home.
"Deliveryman! Please, open the door!"
The brunette's eyes strayed back to the clock. At this hour? Daddy said that deliveries were usually made during the day. Nanako also couldn't remember if her daddy or Yu had ordered something - she didn't do such things on her own - or if they maybe had told her that they were expecting something. But were they expecting a delivery today at such a late hour? Confused, she spoke.
"Delivery? I don't think we ordered anything..." she trailed off, remember that her father told her to always be polite with her elders. "... sir?"
"No, no..." the tone in the man's voice started to worry her a bit. He sounded worried, like something bad would happen if she didn't open the front door for him. "... it says on the box here the Dojima residence. I am not mistaken!"
Nanako shivered and started to move away from the locked door keeping them apart. Being a detective's daughter had it's parks and something in her (daddy called it a gut feeling?) told her to not open it. To never open it.
"Hello? Hello!?"
Deciding against answering his near franatic yells - she hoped he wouldn't wake the neighbours - the girl rushed for the phone to attempt and reach her father or brother or maybe one of her brother's friends like Yosuke-nii, who said that she could always count on him and the others. Just as she began to dial the last called number (which she recognized as Naoto-onee-chan's so it was likely Yu-nii's conversation with her from two days ago), the TV flickered to life, the familiar static sound suddenly causing her to feel cold.
Why was it turning on? She remembered turning it off when she moved to open the door...
Nanako didn't get to question the strange moment any longer as everything turned dark, seeing nothing but a silhoutte and a black mess of some kind. The last thing she heard distantly was Naoto-nee's worried voice over the hanging telephone handle.
"Nanako-chan? Nanako-chan, what's wrong? Answer me, please!"
- x -
Naoto Shirogane was rushing towards the holding cell, almost shouting into her phone for the little girl to answer her.
Some sort of watcher she was, the bluenette thought guilty, even after Yu-senpai asked her to keep an eye on his younger cousin, albeit she was more like a little sister to all of them. She should have gone to the Dojima's as soon as she heard those warning bells she used to always heed in the past.
Not really caring for the conversation Dojima-san was holding with Yu-san (or more like interrigation), Naoto busted in as soon as Yosuke-senpai began to speak, likely to defend his best friend.
"Dojima-san! I just got a call from Nanako-chan, but she isn't giving me any answers!"
"What!? But she never calls anyone without a good reason..." Dojima began to quickly take his phone out in an attempt to reach his daughter as Adachi watched him silently with a forlorn look on his face.
Naoto, however, didn't notice that as she was swamped by Yu-senpai's questions that she had no answer to. But if her deductions were right, they had to hurry.
Before the TV World took another innocent life.
- x -
"Where am I?"
A somewhat mad cackle was Nanako's answer as she slowly sat up and looked around.
The place she - they? - were in was bright, like a storybook version of heaven with the white columns and cheery blue sky adorning it's every edge. It felt warm. As though her beloved mommy was still...
"Don't worry!" the insane voice sounded again, breaking Nanako's thought pattern. "I will save you!"
Save her? Why did that sound like a curse rather than a blessing?
The little girl took a step back as the man advanced towards her, uncertain of what she would. Scared, she attempted to make a run for the stairs but, having anticipated that, the man reached out and grabbed her around the neck area, causing Nanako to gasp for air just as the huge doors opened.
"Nanako-chan!" that was the voice of one of her big brother's friends, right?
Worried that she was seeing things, the brunette couldn't help but notice the silver lining through the haze caused by lack of air. Her big brother... her brother was here to save her! As little as she was, that hair color was rare and she knew that.
"B-big bro..."
"Hang in there, Nanako-chan! Let her go, you bastard!" Chie Satonaka yelled at the man holding her, only for him to growl in response how he would save her.
The little girl barely managed to see the group attempting to move before they were stopped and then the questioning began...
"You are Taro Namatame, correct?" that blue-haired detective - Naoto-nee-chan - spoke in a reasonbly calm manner. "You are the murderer, aren't you? With that diary alone..."
Nanako didn't hear the response having fainted due to lack of hair to the shouts of her brother and the rest of the group.
- x -
"You will be alright, don't worry!"
The soothing voice woke up the little brunette after what felt like a long time. She looked up to see a forced smile on the face of Yukiko-san. Attempting to grin back, Nanako just noticed her big brother holding her.
"B-Big bro?"
"I'm here, everything will be fine..." he said calmly.
She could see the cracks appearing beneath his cool face but said nothing as the ambulance and the police arrived at Junes.
It was likely the first time in her life that she disliked the thought of being at Junes...
- x -
"Nana-chan is going to wake up right?"
Teddie looked up at his sensei tearfully as he held little Nanako's hand. The girl was tied up to various machines working to keep her alive and, since they've arrived from the department store, unconcious.
"The doctor said that nothing was wrong with her." a worried Yosuke said. "But..."
"Don't say that, Yosuke!" Chie whisper-shouted at him. "S-She has to be alright..."
The other girls - minus Naoto - didn't speak as they fought against their sobs. The detective prince simply pulled her hat down as she glared at the floor. It was her fault. If only she hadn't forced Namatame into a conversation...
"Naoto, don't blame yourself." Yu spoke from Nanako's other side. "It's not your fault. You just wanted to put an end to this case once and for all."
"Very well..." the bluenette didn't bother with arguing. When her senpai was like this, arguing with him was pointless.
They all knew that.
The silence was broken when Kanji, not too gently, slammed the door open and loudly announced that Namatame was in the same hospital as Nanako and Dojima. With angry rants at the tip of their tongues, the Investigation Team (including Teddie) moved as one and left the room to confront the supposed culprit.
Nobody was there for Nanako when she opened her chocolate eyes.
Nobody but a beautiful lady in white and blue garments, smiling down at her in a way she barely remembered her mother doing.
"M-Mom?"
- x -
"Do you think this is a good idea?"
Yu looked over at his second-in-command, Yosuke, as he spoke to him in hushed whispers. They both glanced over at Nanako, who was happily chatting with the rest of the team, before the brunet continued.
"She did only get released from the hospital, it's cold outside and..."
"I know." the silvernet sighed. "However, she seems to have no issues with controlling her Persona, fighting Shadows or using those bows that Yukiko managed to find for her... she did pretty well in the previous... area."
A moment of silence passed as the duo attempted to forget what the 'previous' area was. They had a culprit to catch.
"Big bro! Yosuke-nii! Rise-san that we need to go soon!"
"Right..." Yu shot her a smile as he patted Yosuke's shoulder.
For now, all they could do is train and keep an eye on Nanako. And make Adachi pay for hurting her and the other victims.
As they walked through Magatsu Inaba, the little girl skipped over to her big brother and tagged at his sleeve. Yu looked down at her, seeing how she held the bow with shaky but determinated hands.
"I h-have a bad feeling..."
"What is it, Nanako-chan?" somewhere behind them, Chie's voice echoed through the eerily quiet dungeon. For today, he had taken her, Yosuke and Nanako (who surprisingly turned out to be a good healer) with him, so it didn't make the little girl flinch even in this place that must have been scary for her.
"I... big bro! watch out!"
The silvernet quickly turned around at the sound of his cousin's alarmed shout, only to see whatever Shadow had attempted to back attack him go down in a burst of cold water. That was another thing with Nanako, the element she used was something he had never seen before but he felt like it suited her. Smiling as he watched Chie and Yosuke praise the girl for her swift reaction, Yu nudged them to continue with a few words.
"We are running out of time... good job, Nanako."
With a smile on her face, the little girl proudly walked with the teens, on the way to stop the person who had caused so much grief. Even if she herself still couldn't believe that it was the same Adachi-san that her dad would bring over for family dinners... and, if the thighing of his hand on his sword was anything to go by, neither could her beloved big bro.
"Yu-senpai, Adachi is right ahead. Be careful!"
"Understood." the leader replied coldly.
Worried but courageous enough to face those new mad eyes directed at her, Nanako walked into the greeting of mocking and deranged laughter with her big brother and his friends.
They would put an end to this nightmare. Tonight.
AN: And that's a wrap! I decided to rewrite this into a longer one-shot because I doubt I could have held your attentions for multiple chapters.
The next fic I might do is a Persona 3 one, describing what senior year felt like for Yukari and the others after the events of the Answer. With a twist, naturally. Basically, if you don't like OCs or certain pairings, it won't be the fic for you.
Stay tuned and thank you for reading! :)