| Chapter One: On the Streets I Ran |
Yosuke drags himself to Junes – with the same enthusiasm he drags himself everywhere these days.
Since the Investigation Team split two months ago, everything goes slow; gravity weighs heavy; music whines on.
For Yosuke, that's the rock bottom.
He tries shaking things off with his humour, but it doesn't really work when there usually isn't anyone to hate him for it. They're around, most of them, but the driving thrill of murder and secrets isn't there to tie them close.
Things change.
Most things, Yosuke thinks as Junes' tune grates inside his ears. Lately, it sounds like the alarm that wakes him up way too early for another dreadful day.
His eye catches a little kid covering his ears near the entrance.
"I feel ya, little man," Yosuke says, passing by. He walks in, and slouches as the cold, stale air takes him in.
Another day, another dollar.
Teddie's a pain, most of the time. Yosuke wishes Souji was around to keep the bear in check.
Otherwise, when left to his own devices, Teddie puts the cotton candy beside the Brussel sprouts – for the kids, he says – and gives Yosuke an extra 45-minutes of work.
Unpaid, because he's the manager's son, and according to everyone else, fixing these things just comes with the territory.
Yosuke stuffs his hands into his pockets. He thinks he should be over these sorts of bothers, but some things just come back in their own way, don't they?
Yosuke walks out of Junes and into the warm evening air. He's about to pop in his earphones – he doesn't risk bringing his headphones to work, what with his luck – and crank up the volume until he forgets the Junes Jingle when he sees a little kid sitting by the door, covering his ears.
"I feel ya, little man," Yosuke says, passing by.
He's mentally debating between two piano ballads – might as well; it's not like something rock will change his mood – when part of his mind drifts off, tells him that something's different today, and when it becomes an itch he can't scratch, he stops walking.
He just went to work, handled Teddie's shenanigans, and now he's heading home to tell off the guy and chill for the night.
As per usual.
Then there's nothing out of the ordinary, he thinks as he looks back at Junes.
He sees a kid huddled down, covering his ears – oh.
Yosuke remembers now: it's that kid from five hours – five hours and forty-five minutes – ago. He usually figures if a kid's not crying, his parents are somewhere nearby.
He backtracks and crouches down in front of the boy. "Hey, dude. Where's your mom?"
The kid looks up, and he's got this pained look that doesn't belong on someone so young.
"What about your dad?" Yosuke persists, but doesn't get more than a stare.
Well, this isn't going anywhere, and honestly, Yosuke's already had enough of kids today. But he can't just leave, either – that's just kinda low.
Yosuke sighs. He really is blood-bound to this place, huh?
"Let's get you away from this stupid song," he says, standing up and waving the kid to walk with him.
Apparently Tin-Ears needs everything spelled out to him – how old is this kid? – so Yosuke carefully takes the kids arm and starts walking.
He stares Yosuke down, but then lowers his one arm so Yosuke can properly hold his hand. It's tiny and soft, Yosuke notices immediately. He grins – this guy's one of the cute kids, he can tell.
"Here," Yosuke says, offering the left earbud. He's not sure if sharing it is the best idea, but he doesn't care too much himself. "Junes' thing can get annoying real quick, believe me."
After he fiddles and gets the thing in the kid's ear, he chooses the softer of the two songs he was deciding between before, and turns the volume down until it seems safely hush. The kid watches Yosuke until the song starts, and when it does, his eyes widen in (cute) confusion.
"Cool, huh?" Yosuke asks, but the boy doesn't answer – doesn't seem like much of a talker, really.
Instead, he touches the earbud, pulls it a bit, then pushes it back in. He looks thoroughly perplexed, his face scrunching up in thought – not that there's much a tiny tot like this guy could think.
Yosuke chuckles. At least someone can get a kick out of his tunes.
He's not exactly sure where he's leading them both; he can't take the little guy home, because Ted's already too much, and Yosuke doesn't much fancy kidnapping either.
He doesn't want to go all the way to the police station, but he's not too keen on calling the cops this late when they could be out handling a real emergency – not that there have been any since the murders – so, as much as he hates to have to make the trip, he decides it's best to go straight there and let them take care of things.
"But it is pretty late," Yosuke thinks aloud. "You gonna be able to stay up?"
The kid doesn't answer. He's still enraptured by the music. It's a good, innocent thing, Yosuke thinks. He wishes he still had that in himself.
"Never lose the love, little man." Then, because he's probably going to need it for the cops, Yosuke says, "But I can't keep calling you that. What's your name?"
When he doesn't answer, Yosuke gently shakes the kid's hand in his. "C'mon dude. Your name – what's your name?"
The kid looks up at Yosuke. "Naoto."
Yosuke can't help but grin; yeah, this little guy totally reminds him of Naoto, and it comes to him instantly. Blue hair, and blue eyes that just stare you down. He's also dressed just as outdated: white dress shirt and black shorts, with those old-school suspenders.
Translation: super dorky.
He considers taking a picture and sending it to Naoto, just as an excuse to start a conversation – hell, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they haven't even spoken since Souji left – but he glumly figures it would be a one-sided conversation anyway, so it's pointless.
Besides, sharing photos of random children might be breaking a law or something, and he's not about to do that in front of the Detective Prince of all people.
Still – "I have a friend named Naoto. She's almost as small as you." Yosuke chuckles to himself, then remembers, "Oh, right – haven't told you my name. I'm Yosuke."
The kid – Naoto – takes a slow moment, then nods once, briskly.
Yosuke isn't too sure if it sticks, so he asks. "All right, dude, what's my name again? C'mon?"
"Yosuke," Naoto squeaks, then touches the earbud as the music ends with a slow fade out.
"Nice!" Yosuke quips, holding his other hand out for the high-five.
Naoto, predictably, stares at it.
"Left me hanging," Yosuke sighs, then goes to his phone and chooses another piano lullaby. When it plays, Naoto breaks into the same astonished expression.
They continue walking, Yosuke making small talk on the way. Naoto stays quiet until every new song, where he's blown away all over again.
As soon as the police station comes into view, Naoto yelps. Then, he drops himself on the road in a squat.
Yosuke takes a moment to answer, because that was way too abrupt. "...you okay, little man?"
Naoto yelps again.
"Gonna need some words here."
Naoto yelps again. He's staring daggers at the station.
"Afraid of the cop shop?" Yosuke asks. "It doesn't have any lame music."
But when Yosuke tugs Naoto just a bit, he squeaks and pulls back. It leaves Yosuke with very few fabourable options.
Carrying Naoto really doesn't seem like a good idea, and Yosuke doesn't want to grab a cop from inside and leave Naoto to run off.
"C'mon, Naoto. How are we gonna find your parents?"
Naoto points at the police station.
"Yyyeah. So...le's'go!" Yosuke says, taking one more chance to pull Naoto with him, but it goes as successfully as his other attempts.
Then Naoto finally speaks, and he sounds...sad? "Home."
Yosuke pauses, then scratches the back of his head. "Uhm, okay? Take me to your home, then?"
It strikes Yosuke – a bit later than it should have, he thinks - that this kid's parents kinda factor into things. They were surely going out of their minds having lost their child –
– but then, why did no one come to Junes looking for Naoto?
At the very least, security should have come looking for a missing kid. Then again, they didn't find him ducking right in front of the store – but maybe Ted's mischiefs kept them all busy enough.
Still, Naoto shouldn't be left alone like this. Man, those parents are getting an earful from Yosuke.
"C'mon, little man, where's your home?"
Naoto looks around the dark street, but shakes his head.
Yosuke does the same, if a little slower. He almost asks again, but then he's looking at Naoto and it's another familiar face that shouldn't be there: dread.
Which is weird, because Yosuke can't exactly explain how dread looks on a face. Just that it's something that lingers and drags, and Naoto's too young-looking to be looking like that.
He needs a pick-me-up, Yosuke decides, as he heaves Naoto into the air.
Naoto squirms, makes a sort of "nyeh!" sound, but doesn't make it all much difficult to drop him on Yosuke's shoulders. He even hugs Yosuke's head when he's seated, weighing lighter than Yosuke expected.
"All right, Naoto. I'm not gonna make you go anywhere you don't wanna go. But tomorrow morning, I'm gonna take you to your parents, 'kay?"
He can't see it, but he feels Naoto's head move against his.
Yosuke sighs, not unkindly. "Good. Now, I'm gonna take you to my place, hope my sucky-luck doesn't land me in jail, and you can chill and stuff while I leave all the figuring-stuff-out to my pops."
Because there's no reason why Yosuke should have to do it all on his own. His parents'll probably know how to handle a kid, because they took care of him, and Ted counts as a –
– oh no.
Honestly, maybe Teddie's good with kids at Junes, and he's probably a kind guy behind all that juvenile energy, but Naoto seems like he doesn't handle loud sounds well.
"Y'know what? Scratch that, I've got a better idea," Yosuke says, walking gently with Naoto leaning warm against him. "It's closer, anyway."
Naoto doesn't answer – as per usual, Yosuke notes – and Yosuke continues light talk, but quietly, because he can feel Naoto's breathing slow into a sleepy rhythm.
And despite chilly air and aching legs and a raw headache, Yosuke isn't feeling too bad at all. He's feeling better than most days, actually.
Because today, something's changed; even if it's just for a little while. It reminds him, very vaguely, of going from bored to hated to sad-then-heroic. It reminds him of getting out of that rut that he ran so deep he couldn't see outside of it.
Yosuke shrugs so he can adjust Naoto a little more comfortably on his shoulders. And walking down the still evening Inaba streets, he takes one light step at a time.
Life is in motion.
A/N: So this one's a longer one, chapter-wise & storyline-wise. Also, chapter titles - they're all gonna be taken from one place. Wanna see if anyone figures it out.