To be perfectly honest, I thought it would've been genuinely cool to see Naoto in the storyline. Would you guys think that would be a bit too much fanservice though, even if she is referenced in-game? Anyways, I'll go ahead and stop boring you with this. On to what you came here for!
"Hello? Who is this?" That was the voice of Naoto Shirogane, having just finished sending in evidence to finish her current case to the Prosecutor's Office.
"Yo, Naoto." Her's eyes widened slightly, having not expected to hear that voice in a long, long time.
"Yu-kun? What a surprise. I haven't heard from you in a while; not since you became a politician." A hearty chuckle came from the other side of the phone. Yes, the old leader of the Investigation Team had, unsurprisingly, gone into politics. Well, it wasn't surprising to her at least. After all, he had a sense of justice that just wouldn't quit, and where else would he put that justice to use than the government?
"Yeah, well, I'm aiming for Prime Minister of Japan right now actually. I was wondering-"
"You want the world-famous Detective, Naoto Shirogane, to support you, right?" I smiled as I checked my schedule. No new cases I'd have to tackle, so I was free.
"Always so sharp, Naoto. Can I expect to see you in Tokyo?"
"Of course. And by the way..."
"Hm?"
"When did I give you permission to use my first name exclusively?"
"Have you ever stopped me from using it before?"
"Touche'."
"Oh, and Nao-"
"I'm not staying at your home."
"...Please?"
"No."
"Pretty ple-"
"No."
"If you don't I will literally put a short person joke into every conversation we have."
"N-" Naoto actually had to think about that one. He would too, she knew he would. "...Do you have a guest room?"
"Yep. So you're bunking?"
"Sure, Yu-kun. I'll start the preparations now-" Naoto suddenly stopped talking as she felt somewhat dizzy. Her vision blurred, and she swore she heard a voice.
"Naoto? Naoto, you okay?" Yu's worried voice began getting louder over the phone.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. Just...felt strange for a moment was all. I must just be feeling tired is all."
"Alright, if you say so. Sor-"
"And don't say sorry for calling me so late. Really, it's nothing."
"You're gonna cut me off anytime you think you know what I'm gonna say, aren't you?"
"I don't know, did Yosuke-kun ever get full marks on a test before?"
"Wow. That's... That's messed up."
"Indeed. I wouldn't have said that if Teddie hadn't sent me Yosuke's...'collection' of nurses accidentally."
"Oh... That, uh... That didn't go well for him, did it?"
"Not at all. Well, if that's all, I'll meet you in Tokyo Yu-kun. You'll meet me at the airport?"
"Of course. Night."
"Goodnight." The phone clicked and Naoto eased back into her chair. Sighing, she glanced over to the picture she took with everyone long ago, somewhat dirty from years of wear. "Hmph... To think he'd be going for Prime Minister... I wonder if... No, best not to think about that. Anyways..." Naoto stood up and began checking flights to Tokyo on her phone.
Moving on from that, there was another event occuring at the same time, deep inside of a castle.
"Sakamo- ugh!" A black-haired boy named Akira Kurusu attempted to help his friend, but was pushed back by two large guards. The blonde, Ryuji Sakamoto, was on the ground in front of a strangely dressed older man - Kamoshida. Kamoshida casually walked up to Ryuji and spit on him, making the younger boy cringe in disgust.
"Where'd your energy from earlier go?" One of the guards grabbed Ryuji and threw him into the corner. "A peasant like you isn't worth beating. I'll have you killed right no-"
"Stop this! Have you lost your mind?!" Akira shouted from across the room. Kamoshida slowly turned and walked up to Akira with a disgusted look on his face.
"What...? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am. That look in your eyes irritates me!" He kicked Akira in the stomach, making the younger boy fly towards a wall. He tried to get up and fight back, but the two guards held him back with the spears they had.
"Hold him there. After the peasant, it's his turn to die."
"N-No..." Ryuji cowered. "I don't want to die!"
Suddenly, for Akira, time seemed to slow down to a crawl. A soft, gentle voiced rang loud in his head.
"This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."
Then, there was a new voice. Deep, and suave.
"What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. What was your previous decision... A mistake then?"
"It wasn't." Akira breathed out.
"Very well then. I have heeded your resolve."
Then, it happened.
April 16th, 20XX, Five Days after "Joker", "Mona," and "Skull" were born.
"Been a while since I've been in Tokyo..." Naoto muttered to herself as she stood against a pillar waiting on her gray-haired friend. Well, she didn't have to wait for long. "Consider the fact that if you try to scare me I have no problem of getting on the next plane ride home." A sigh came from behind the pillar as Yu Narukami himself stepped out.
"Figured me out, hm?" Naoto turned to face him, and she took in just how...little he's changed. Slightly taller than he was in high school, a bit more muscle, and he was wearing rather casual clothing for someone trying to become prime minister. Hell, Naoto was more neatly dressed and she wasn't even on duty.
"Of course I did. I'm always one step ahead of you in regards to figuring things out." She said in a playful manner. The two started walking to Yu's car.
"Well, I'm always one inch above you, Naoto."
"Remember when I got my gun license?"
"I'll shut up now." They reached Yu's sleek, silver car and got in. The interior was decorated rather nicely, though it didn't have any real personal additions - exactly like she thought it would look like.
"So, what's your plan on becoming Prime Minister besides 'Get Naoto Shrogane to give me a public thumbs up?'"
"Be honest with people, make due on my promises, the like."
"Heh..."
"Hm? What's so funny?"
"So basically the plan is 'Be Myself?'" Good to see neither of them had changed too much over the years.
"Yep. It's how I got along with literally everyone in town, after all."
"Even the serial killer." She chimed in.
"Even the serial killer."
"Speaking of Adachi-san, I'm sure you've been keeping tabs on him."
"Naturally. He's had good behavior, but apparently he's like the king of the prison. A place where he can actually be himself? You know he was destined to be the king there."
"That...sounds like him, to be perfectly honest."
The two sat in comfortable silence the rest of the way, simply enjoying each other's company. When Yu pulled up in front of his house, though, he chuckled a bit.
"Welcome home honey."
"Wow, looks...normal. I would've thought you go for something a bit more 'out there'."
"Well, I never really cared for the expensive things. Besides, reminds me of Inaba, you know?" Naoto nodded, and the two got out of the car.
"So, in a few days, I'm gonna be starting my campaigning. I'm gonna need your help, okay? There's this one guy, Shido - nice guy, but he's rising in popularity lately. Oh, and Naoto?" Yu adopted a somewhat serious face. "Wait a while before you take the trains, okay?" Naoto tilted her head slightly.
"There was an accident a few days ago; apparently the conductor suffered a mental shutdown and...well..." Yu got silent, but shook his head. Naoto raised an eyebrow as Yu opened the door to his home.
"Say, Yu-kun," Naoto took off her shoes and walked in, giving the house a once-over. Gray walls, brown floorboard, neat furniture - definitely the home of Yu Narukami. She sat down on his brown couch and gave him a serious look. "Don't tell me you only wanted me here for the campaign. That's not all, is there?" Yu shook his head, and sat next to her.
"I looked into the conductor off of a whim using my sources, and he's had a squeaky clean record since, well, forever. No mental illnesses, and he's been living a stable life so far." Naoto seemed to think about this in more detail.
"Yu-kun...you think it was something more than just an 'accident,' don't you?" Yu nodded.
"Almost positive. Honestly, I don't have much to go off of, but it's something nagging at me. There's been a few incidents here and there of metal shutdowns, but nothing really pointing to it being nothing more than accidents. If these aren't accidents, though, I started thinking about how these aren't anything more than that. I mean, normally, you'd think there could be no way for someone else to cause a shutdown in someone else, right?" Naoto began thinking about this, until she finally pieced it together.
"You think someone's using that world to induce mental shutdowns in others?"
"Well...that's the thing..." Yu rubbed the back of his sheepishly. "I texted Teddie and Yosuke to help me check it out, but we didn't find anything in that world. Still, it's just...this feeling I have that won't go away. Even if these are just accidents, I want to at least see if I can figure out what's causing these mental shutdowns. Mind giving me some help?" Naoto smirked.
"What kind of Ace Detective would I be if I didn't take up a case like this? Consider it shut already."
"Ooh, words of confidence from the Detective Prince! And thanks... Feels good having a friend to help me out." Naoto nodded.
"Now then," Naoto grabbed her bag and pulled her laptop out of it. "I'll look up what you've done as a politician so far - that should help me prepare a speech in favor of you."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. You need anything, just call for me."
On that same day...
"But damn..." Skull gave their new team member a once-over; Ann Takamaki, in a catsuit.
"Hm? What?"
"Uh, nuthin'. So, uh, what are we gonna call you?"
"Huh? Call me?"
"Yep," a not-a-cat cat named Morgana - Mona for now - chimed in. "We need codenames if we're going into someone else's Palace. It just wouldn't be right otherwise."
"Oh, well... I guess..."
"Sexy Cat," Akira - Or Joker - input his opinion.
"Oh hell no! I do not want to be called that!" Akira put his hands up in the air jokingly.
"Ugh, fine, how about..." She put her hand to her chin in thought... "Panther! Yeah, Panther. Sounds ferocious, don't 'ya think!"
"She's a cougar!" Mora exclaimed as he and Joker instinctively high-fived.
"Do not call me that!"
And so, Panther, the fourth member of the soon-to-be legendary Phantom Thieves, was born.