A.N.
So I was laying in my bed, shirtless in my ripped jeans with my trusty dogtag around my neck, staring up at the ceiling. Being the loner that I am, I started having a conversation with myself. This conversation eventually evolved into something fairly meaningful, and I wanted to attempt to capture the essence into a short story, even at the cost of breaking away from my Yu/Naoto pairing in favour of OC/Naoto.
Unlike the usual story I would write, this is not a smut fic. It does have swearing though, so M rating anyways.
Anyways, have fun and enjoy this little story.
It was October 29, 2011. Saturday. The Investigation Team parted ways outside of Yasogami High's gates, each making their own way home; Yosuke frantically riding his bike to escape Teddie, to no avail, Chie and Yukiko heading down the Samegawa for a calming stroll, Kanji dissapearing before any member of the team could notice, and Rise headed off towards the shopping district (after having to be pried off of Yu). As expected, Yu, ever the calm and currently traumatized leader, headed straight down the street towards his home.
Naoto, the last to leave as per the usual, decided to take a detour to the hill overlooking the town before heading home herself, an attempt to clear her head in preperation for tomorrow. The sun was already beginning to set after such a long day, so she'd have to be quick about it.
Fast and efficient. Naoto Shirogane. A match made in Heaven.
~0~0~
Sunset had come and gone and stars were already marking the sky as she arrived at the top of the hill. Expecting the overlook to be deserted, she was certainly surprised to see a teenager, only a year older than herself, laying in the grass, naked save for his torn denim jeans and signature dogtag. He didn't even have shoes on!
Upon closer inspection, Naoto was able to identify the young man; his distinct dirty blonde hair and lightly tanned skin clear signs this man was not of Japanese descent, but instead a fairly recent member of the Inaba community.
He had arrived only a few weeks after Naoto herself had, with the same purpose; to offer his services and to aid the police in their investigation into the serial murders.
Because one child detective isn't enough, Naoto had thought. It was already challenging enough to be taken seriously among the officers of the law and not be treated like a child, but to have another child detective as comparison? It was frustrating, to say the least, especially when that comparison was older, smarter, and actually a man! Bastards...
Tuning back into reality, Naoto decided to leave before he had noticed her.
"Leaving so soon, Shirogane-san?"
Fuck. Of course he noticed me. There's a reason he's the favourite.
"I was hoping to take a moment to cool down and think," Naoto began, voice calm yet containing a supressed fury, "but it's already gotten dark. Wouldn't want to worry Grampa."
A moment of silence.
"And why are you here, Miller-san?"
"Same reason as you," the fellow detective, American-born Joseph Miller, began. "The difference being I have already messaged my guardian of my whereabouts. You could always do the same." Deadpan. Not dissimilar to a certain bluenette.
"You say that as if you want me to stay." Not dissimilar at all.
"What can I say? It gets lonely out here, and I'm not quite ready to go back myself." Naoto could almost have sworn she heard sadness in his voice... almost. Why?
"If that is the case, then I'd be happy to grant you some company. But first, a question for you."
He inclined his head towards her, aiming his pale blue eyes into her similarly coloured irises. "Fire away."
"Why are you so determined to follow me and my friends around?"
Naoto fought to supress a smirk upon seeing Joseph's surprised face. Of course, she had seen him around. Whilst Inaba is such a small town, the amount of times you can conveniently run into someone has a limit. Naoto had learned as such the hard way.
The surprise was gone immediately. "I repeat, what can I say? You are certainly part of a strange group, Shirogane-san. 'Friend' to a murder victim and three seperate kidnapping victims, with you making four." Having joined the group, Naoto had completely forgot making those same observations prior to her kidnapping. "I don't believe in coincidences, Detective Shirogane."
Silence follows as Joseph looks away, a slight smirk on his face. You win this round, Miller.
Joseph turns his head skyward, and Naoto considers leaving, only for Joseph to indicate to a patch of grass to his right.
Of course, Naoto thought, he answered my question, so I guess I should provide company.
Never had Naoto thought she'd be lying down beside a boy she (pathetically) considers her rival. Never repeat had she thought he'd begin to point out the faint constellations forming above their heads, explaining their backstories in great detail.
"... and that one is 'Katakana', or, if you were to pronounce it in English, 'Orion'. 'Orion the Hunter' actually has two different versions of the myth, depending on the identity of his parents..."
When Joseph had first started pointing out the constellations, Naoto has only planned on humouring him.
"... and he boasted that he could best any animal on earth. In response to his vanity, a single small scorpion stung him and killed him..."
She had not expected to find herself lost in the stars, in the way his hand drifted through the sky in perfect patterns, in the way his voice reverberated through her ears; deep, but soft. Something she could fall asleep listening to.
Oh god, I actually might!
"... Another version of the Orion myth states that he had no mother but was a gift to a pious peasant from..."
His fluentness in both English and Japanese, the way in which he switched between the two effortlessly, had Naoto captivated. Suddenly, this fellow detective she had secretly and pathetically sworn her rival had become a comfortable source of warmth and calmness in the span of... nearing an hour. Perhaps even... a friend?
"... and bewailing her fatal error with many tears, Diana placed him among the stars."
Joseph finished reciting the two stories of Orion to the best of his abilities, relaxing into a comfortable silence, one Naoto was more than happy to continue. Somehow, throughout the course of the story, Naoto had moved closer to Joseph, resting her head lightly against his shoulder when before they were a noticeable distance apart.
Or maybe he moved closer to me, Naoto thought. But... he had his arm up, indicating the stars... did I really...?
The 'he' in question, arm now lowered in between the two teen detectives, tilted his head to the right, making eye contact with Naoto. She immediately turned away, her cheeks tinged red. Joseph let out a light chuckle and broke the peaceful silence.
"So, Naoto... may I call you that?" His question was answered with a light nod from the Detective Prince, her face still turned away. He continued. "Why are you out here? You mentioned you wanted to cool down and think. If I may ask, think about what, exactly?"
Naoto's cheeks only turned more pink, as did her ears, the events of the day coming back to her. The boys on stage... her senpai and schoolmate... and Teddie...
"I-I'd rather not talk about it!" she stammered out quickly, voice rising a pitch higher than she would have liked.
"Are you sure?" Yes! "I'm sure I'd understand." I'm sure you wouldn't! "I mean, I heard about how Hanamura-san signed you up for that beauty pageant tomorrow, if that's what you're thinking about."
"How do you know of that!?" Her facade was officially broken. What was it about his boy that brought that upon her so quickly?
"I go to Yasogami too, Naoto. And even if I didn't, news spreads quickly out here."
Right... shit. He does attend my school, also. He's just not in any of my senpais classes, so I didn't even...
"W-well... uh..."
"You don't have to do it, you know." Naoto only looked at him like he had said the dumbest thing in the world. "They say you're not allowed to back out, but that's complete bullshit. If that were the case, that's one step away from kidnapping. And frankly, I don't see Kashiwagi as the kidnapping type. Jealous? Fuck yeah, but not kidnapping psychopath." He lets out a light chuckle at that, lifting Naoto from her stupor just enough for her to speak again.
"I-I guess so, huh? O-of course! I mean, why would we not be allowed to back out? This is a free country!"
"Indeed."
A moment of silence.
"However, I've neglected to mention peer pressure..." Joseph began, reverting Naoto's recovery with just those few words. This was rewarded with a swift punch to the jaw.
"You deserve that, asshole..." Naoto mutters, just loud enough to be heard.
"Damn right."
~0~0~
The two detectives lay down again, settling into a comfortable silence. Naoto finds herself inching closer still to Joseph, who in turn reaches his arm out, providing a makeshirt pillow for the bluenette. Naoto can't help but marvel at the muscle she felt beneath her head. Joseph's muscle was no contest winner, but more than certainly large enough to throw her across a room if he so wished. It made her realise just how small she really was, almost an entire foot shorter than her blonde counterpart. It also made her realise, in general, just how muscled he actually was. Not just his arm, but his chest was very defined, his shoulders broad and strong, and his stomach, flat and toned.
Perfection... wait, what?!
Naoto picked herself up then, trying and failing to not rush as her thoughts got away from her. Joseph only looked at her in confusion.
"I-you see... it is getting quite late! I wouldn't want to keep Grampa any longer than I have to." Believable enough. Congratulations, Shirogane.
"Y-yes, of course! Right, I should be going too! Uh, see you later, Naoto."
"Of course, yes. Goodbye for now, Joseph."
The two turn, walking in opposite directions, both unknowingly to the other trying to get their facades up once again. Then Joseph stopped.
"Naoto!" he called over to her. She stopped, turning around to look back. "Will we still be, you know, Naoto and Joseph?"
Naoto swore she heard hurt, the same from earlier, but much, much worse.
"I... I don't think so, Joseph. We will return to our respective homes and tomorrow we will be Detectives Shirogane and Miller. I'm afraid I can't see any way in which we can be as we just were." Joseph only looked down. "I'm sorry."
Joseph stayed silent. Unlike before, this silence was sharp, cutting into Naoto like no knife ever could. Naoto turned to leave, tears stinging her eyes. Why am I-what?
"N-Naoto!"
She turns back slightly, head down and face hidden behind her cap.
"Pick a date. Same time. Same place. Think maybe we could manage that?"
"I..." She stops herself, about to explain why that was a bad idea, but... nothing came to mind. "November 3." She turns away, looking back at him. "That's when I'm next free. See you then?"
Joseph smiled, and instantly Naoto felt that everything would be fine. Is this...?
"Of course. See you then... Shirogane-san."
"Goodbye, Miller-san."
The two continued their exists, both smiling and blushing and already fussing over their next meeting.
A.N.
So the Orion story was obviously copy and pasted, I couldn't be bothered to word it differently. But yes, here is a short story inspired by me staring at my roof! Inspiration shines through in the strangest of places.
Feel free to leave reviews! Helps me know where to improve, what to keep, yadda yadda.