Preface

I remember the exact moment it happened. In a gust of black smoke, staring into the coils of the shadow's laser gun, I learned that he was a she.

Kanji's face was filled with exasperated relief, eyes fiery with angered surprise. Without Naoto's deceit, we may not have fought through a murky sauna where we found Kanji's other self bearing nothing but a towel between his legs, spouting questions of his own sexuality. But now that Naoto was actually female, I needed to face questions of my own.

As the shadow rose from the storm cloud of Naoto's soul, it declared that the detective prince was a princess, and we were there not because of her bold sacrifice to solve the case, but because she was a damsel too – like all of us – looking desperately for acceptance.


Naoto recovered faster than everybody before her. She insisted we discuss the case immediately – no breaks, no recovery, no chance to piece together what just happened to her in the other world. But she appeared promptly at the bench in the Junes food court – calm and prepared for anything. Me and the rest of the Investigation Team soon joined her with more hope than usual that we would get our questions answered.

"Judging by the culprits build," said Naoto, "he was definitely a man. And because I didn't hear him speak or gesture, we now know for certain that the culprit is working alone."

A man, I thought, staring at Naoto's 'build', wondering how she could so casually belittle her own figure for a stronger physique. Those clear eyes, glazed as she told her story, piecing together loose ends with her Holmes-like vision. She noticed the smaller details. While Yukiko and Kanji were fogged by their normal routine, Naoto waited for the killer with a keen sense for mundane detail. She expected that she might be drugged or her senses might be clouded. Even when the doorbell rang and everything went black, rather than rabidly wishing for freedom, she continued to contemplate what was happening to her. She had to put aside her survival instinct of letting emotion cloud her memory. Instead, she honed her senses and gathered data that would be more useful for future victims.

She was brilliant, yet pained expressions surrounded her. Though her life was in danger, her ability to separate herself from the situation was so awe inspiring that it was terrifying.

Kanji banged on the table and abruptly stood. "Couldn't you have done something to stop him? Weren't you prepared?!"

Naoto's analytical trance broke and her lips pursed in surprise. She looked up at his domineering posture. His emotion was too irrational to pinpoint in an articulate explanation. As she processed his outburst, pink spread across his face. "I mean," he softened, fear heating his cheeks, "I just- You're a detective prince, dammit. You should have done something!"

"To be honest," said Naoto, breaking eye contact and looking toward her fidgeting hands, "I was scared."

Scared... The Investigation Team became still. Her lips were parted slightly, emitting shallow breaths, and the soft ivory skin below her eyes showed signs of sleeplessness. Her tenacity was mistaken for invincibility. Though she harnessed strength in her kidnapping, like those before her, it took a deep psychological toll on her ego. Her shadow had emerged, torn out her ugliest insides and showed them to her. And now, after looking at them, she had to carry on knowing her weaknesses. The Investigation Team wasn't realizing just how strong those weaknesses were.

While weaving her fingers in and out of knots, she slowly brightened to what seemed like a simple conclusion. Her clear, transcendent eyes flickered to me with a polite reverence, a complexity inside her I felt I was only beginning to understand. "If you will," she said, "I would like to join your team." I gave a brief nod. In response a wry smile, subtle and charming, flashed to her face for only an instant as she called me her leader for the first time.


Author's Note (update 4/15/13): Hello readers and fellow Persona fans. Thanks to a few great positive reviews and encouragement, I have gone back and revised parts of this first piece. Though this scene was taken directly from the game, it is here as a base to establish where we are and where we will soon go. The scenes following, I promise, will veer off the path and become its own. Please read on, review, and enjoy!