Hey guys! Vertero here with my first Persona 4 fic. I just recently played Golden and its absolutely awesome. And so to commemorate my discovery of this game i decided to right this little piece.
In case you can't tell this is a Marie X Protagonist.
Oh yeah , and as a warning I want you guys to know that at the time of this stories creation i am still yet to complete the story, however i did max Marie's social link, so i may start twisting things for the sake of convenience. I do this only because at present there no explanations regarding things in the game like the Velvet room and it's connection to the protagonist.
Well, I've rambled on long enough, enjoy!
Cooking wasn't something he was particularly skilled at, but to say he was incapable of making even the most basic of meals was an insult that Kirei wouldn't let go unpunished. Sure he had made his fair share of cooking monstrosities that could hospitalise even the strongest of men, and he had. But he wasn't a bad cook! Nope, he was just an incredibly average cook who occasionally made things that were amazing but usually just made people shrug indifferently towards the taste of pretty much anything he cooked.
He was currently in the kitchen, an apron wrapped tightly around his chest. In front of him was a pot filled with some cooked rice and a few pieces of chicken on the side. Or at least that's what he told himself thirty minutes ago.
"Well, this is probably not going to end well" he muttered to himself as he stared at the boiling pot filled with what started out as a simple meal but then converted into black hard substance that seemed to be partly glued to the pot. Turning off the stove he packed up the black substance placed on a plate. This stuff probably wasn't edible, yup, he strongly doubted anyone would believe that this was rice. Just as he was about to dump it in the trash he heard Yosuke's voice call out to him.
"Hey Kirei, you done cooking already" the brunette said cheerfully as he walked up to him.
"Ah, yeah... sorta" he said uncertainly. Catching to his tone Yosuke glanced over at his plate and stared at it for a good minute. Beads sweat began appearing over his face.
"Well, that looks... Interesting. Um, what exactly did you make?" Yosuke said without tearing his eyes away from the plate.
"It was supposed to be just simple rice, but then i added some spices here, and little bit of vinegar there. And then I poured in some chicken. I looked away for just five minutes to cut some onions but when I returned, well it turned into this" the silver haired teen said as he hung his head dejectedly.
"Yeah, were not serving this stuff to Nanako-chan" Yosuke deadpanned. Like he needed to tell him that, no way would serve this slop to his uncle an cousin. "Maybe we could give it to Teddie. We certainly can't let this meal go to waste" Yosuke said with a suddenly dark aura emanating from him.
"Not unless you want him dead" Kirei said as he dumped his failed dish into the trash can. Knowing that bear, he probably did something to embarace Yosuke in front of his family, again.
"You think maybe we should just get some takeout instead?" Yosuke suggested as he leaned back against the counter.
"Yeah, that's probably a better idea than trying to cook something again" he said as he placed the pot into the kitchen sink and turned back to Yosuke. The sound of footsteps could be heard from the hallway leading upstairs, most likely Nanako's. Stepping into the kitchen Nanako glanced over at the two with a slightly surprised look.
"Big-Bro? Is the cooking done already?" the young girl asked with a curious look that prompted the said male to give reassuring smile.
"Oh, don't worry about dinner Nanako. We'll take care of it" he said with a smile as he walked up to her and patted her head playfully. Instead of greeting him with her usual happy smile Nanako replied with a simple "Okay Big-Bro" before sitting down and switching on the television.
She didn't seem in the mood for their usual sibling routine. Shrugging it off Kirei spoke up
"Hey, Nanako. Do you think you can watch the house while we step out for a little bit?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure thing. But where are you going?" she asked curiously.
"Just to buy some stuff, don't worry we'll be back before you know it" he said. After a quick nod from Nanako the two males stepped out the house and headed over to a nearby restaurant to order some food. It killed their wallets but at least they were able to accomplish their goal.
On the way back the two began conversing.
"Hey, Dude, is it just me or is winter here a little here sooner than usual?" Yosuke said as he tried to keep from shivering slightly. True, it had become increasingly cold as each day went by and it had already started around the outskirts of Inaba.
"Yeah, no kidding. I was shivering through my covers all night yesterday"
"Well at least schools gonna be closed for a while. By the way, you got any plans for Christmas, because I and the others have been thinking of throwing a party at Yukiko's place" Yosuke said.
"Oh, sure thing. Dojima's taking Nanako to Junes anyway so it I'll be home alone"
"Cool, it's settled then" Yosuke said cheerfully as they soldiered through the streets while trying to ignore the cold. Once they returned back home they found Dojima Nanako sitting down by the Tv. After having Quick dinner he waved Yosuke goodbye and returned back to his room to get some reading done on the couch.
As he read a sudden thought crossed his mind. "I wonder if Marie would be interested in tagging along with us" he thought to himself. Considering how depressed she was about her inability to remember anything of her former life she could certainly use a distraction. And also he wasn't sure he'd able to enjoy his time with the others while knowing that his friend was going down to a dark pit of anger and fear. Her old memories would be constantly right on the tip of tongue, he was certain of it. But as soon she'd open her mouth to speak for some reason her mind would choose to forget, as though it was mocking her inability to remember anything.
"I guess I'll tell her about it, whenever next she decides to pop out of the Velvet room" he thought as he continued reading. The next day, as soon as school was out he headed over to the shopping district where he saw Marie standing absentmindedly next to a light post. She had a slightly anxious look on her face that implied she had been standing there for a while.
Walking over to her he gave a friendly wave to get her attention. As soon as she glanced and saw who it was that was calling out to her she let out a relieved sigh which immediately turned into look of irritation.
"You're late Kirei" Marie said with an accusing look. Raising both his arms up in surrender he attempted to explain himself.
"Sorry, Marie. I had some extra club activities, so I couldn't come straight after school".
"Club activities? I don't know what that means, but whatever. Let's just get out of here, I don't think I can stand this place any longer" the girl said as she walk past him a little hurriedly. Following after her he asked where she wanted to go to which she replied stating "The Park. It's a good place to go when I want to clear my head"
Heading over to the park Marie let out a tired sigh when they finally made it to the large cliff overlooking the city.
"So, how should I start?" Marie asked as she turned back to him curiously, as though she expected him to know exactly what to do. Kirei sweat dropped slightly at suddenness of her words seeing as how she seemed to be the one in control today.
"Well, how about we start with some meditation" he suggested.
"Meditation? You mean that stuff Monks in the black box do before charging a super attack?" she inquired with blank expression.
"What?" he thought. Where did she get that from? "Um, not exactly. Let's Just take a seat and do some breathing exercises" he said with an encouraging look.
"Alright, better than nothing I guess" Marie said as she sat down against a tree and assumed a common meditation position of having both feet folded with her hands resting on each one with her middle finger and thumb locking together.
"Now breathe in slowly" Kirei instructed. Marie obeyed and took a deep breath before exhaling.
"Nothing's happening?" Marie said after repeating the process three times.
"You can't force it Marie, you just have to let it come naturally". Not satisfied with his answer a very visible frown appeared on the girls face but she complied anyway and continued for another five minutes. Eventually the she grew tired of the task and stood back up with a visibly disappointed look in her eye.
"This isn't working, damn it! What'll it take for me to just remember the smallest detail" she yelled angrily, paying no heed to the stares she was attracting. It must have been tough not knowing who you are or where you came from. Marie didn't remember anything at all of her previous self. He could only imagine the amount frustration that caused her.
"Maybe we could-" he began when she cut him off.
"What, go fishing again, no thanks" she snapped at him angrily. "Arghh. Fine, forget it. I don't any of those useless memories. I'll just manage on my own".
"Don't give up just yet, there are still a few things we haven't tried" he said in an attempt to reassure her.
"A month, we've been doing this for a whole a month and I still don't remember even the smallest details! I'm sick of it" Marie yelled at him. The hopelessness in her eyes was a disheartening sight, one he didn't ever want to see. Taking a moment to compose herself she turned her gaze away from him.
"Sorry, I know your just trying to help. I must be a real pain huh?" Marie asked as she pulled her hat down so it could cover her face partially. He didn't like this side of her, it was too melancholy as opposed to her usual curious aura. And so to break her out of it he raised his right index finger and lightly poked her forehead.
Not expecting the gesture Marie yelped and stepped back in surprise. "Hey, don't just touch me like that, youstupidjerkface" she said with a visible frown which only brought a slight smile to the silverett's face.
"Sorry, you were acting unusual so I had to make sure you were Marie" he said with a teasing glint in his eye.
"Jerk" she muttered.
"I have an idea" he said suddenly.
"Like what?" she replied with a look that made him feel slightly uneasy. "She looks like she wants to hit me" he thought.
"Me and others are going to have a party at Yukiko's house" he said. Upon hearing his words Marie subverted her gaze, she seemed to be depressed
"Reds having a party, well that's great for you" she said dryly.
"Uh huh, and I was wondering if you're interested in coming with me" he said with a hopeful smile. Looking back at him with a surprised look on her face Marie spoke.
"You want 'me' to come with you?" she said with a light blush forming on her face.
"Yeah, I'm not just gonna head over there and leave you in that stuffy room". After he said that line Marie averted her gaze from him in embarrassment.
"Yeah, I'll come, for sure. But when is it?" she asked happily. Suspecting that she likely wouldn't know what Christmas was he gave the exact date.
"Next Saturday" he said simply.
"Alright then… Um, thanks for inviting me" she said gratefully as she turned back to look at him with a smile. Next thing he knew Marie poked him in the eye which caused the male reel back in pain
"Ouch, what was that for" he asked as he covered his right eye in pain.
"Payback for poking me" she said as she turned away from him to stare at the view. Turning back to him with casual look she said. "Now that I have time to stop and think about it, this town is quite big". Trying to ignore the pain from his eyes he looked over the hill and peered down at the whole town.
"Really? In comparison to where I come from Inaba's rather small" he said as he glanced from one end of the town to another. Inaba Dwarfed most of cities he'd visited quite a bit, but that was probably why he liked it so much. Life was simple here, he didn't need to have any big worries. People who grew up here weren't loud, snobbish or nearly as superficial as the one's he constantly met in his former home in Kyoto.
"What do you mean? Your home town's even bigger than 'this'" she said visibly surprised look. Kirei couldn't help but think Marie would benefit from long road trip, to pretty much any city in Japan. The Velvet room was seriously narrowing her imagination.
He continued to converse about cities with Marie constantly barraging him with question concerning the way people lived in the larger cities and how it differed from Inaba. Even though they were talking about some very random things he had to admit, he was having fun talking to her, it was also rather cute when he contemplated the ridiculous nature of some of the questions she asked. And judging by the constant widening of her eyes in wonder when he told her about airplanes or really fast cars he could tell she was enjoying herself too.
Eventually it got late so he escorted Marie back to the Velvet room and waved her goodbye.
"Well I guess I'll see you later then" she said as she stepped into the Velvet room and disappeared, leaving Kirei standing in the street alone. Having no other reason to hang around Kirei returned back to the Dojima residence with a smile on his face.
Well here it is, I was originally hoping to make this one shot but then i realized it was getting way too long, so i'll just write the rest of it a second chapter.
But until then, please read and review