In which I realize I've inadvertently repeated a few phrases. started some running gags.
Notes:
Phew, this took a while! It's my first time writing the Investigation Team, and I had more characters to introduce.
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Naoto Shirogane had no idea why guidebooks insisted on calling Inaba "sleepy". She'd hardly gotten any sleep since she'd returned here.
Work had screeched to a halt. The novelty of hiring a teenaged detective to solve one's cases seemed to have worn off – though she also suspected her dry spell had much to do with Public Safety's disappointment in her investigation of the Kirijo Group. Well, it couldn't be helped. There was no way to blow the whistle on Mitsuru Kirijo's covert activities without exposing fellow Persona-users.
To say the discovery of another group of Persona users was surprising would be a massive understatement. So much of the group known as SEES' backstory accurately mirrored their own Investigation Team's inception that Naoto had immediately gone into "sleuth mode", as Yosuke so helpfully called it. Both groups had organized themselves into teams revolving around one particular individual; the Wild Card, capable of wielding multiple Personas. Whether some or all of the females in the group had developed feelings for this Wild Card, Naoto didn't know – although she highly suspected this was the case. It certainly was for their team.
Yu Narukami had only entered their lives for a brief moment, but the members of the Investigation team and most of the citizens of Inaba itself embraced him fully. He was a stunningly competent leader – he managed to find the time to devote to all of his companions, never turning down a request for his undivided attention. He seemed a perfect fit for multiple Personas, and indeed, he wielded them well. It was only natural, then, that Naoto would be drawn to such a person...which did not stop things from being painfully awkward. Yu was remarkably unfazed by her confession, in spite of the fact that Rise was openly taken with him, and Yukiko had also recently confessed to him. His only question, oddly enough, was whether this news had reached Kanji.
Kanji Tatsumi. An exercise in frustration made flesh. Yu had insisted (accompanied by Rise's overenthusiastic agreement) that the radical young tailor had developed feelings of his own...for Naoto. Normally, this would have been easy to ignore – many of her peers at school had convinced themselves that they were in love with the "Detective Prince" – but something about Kanji had wormed its way into her very being, and she found to her dismay that she could not rationalize away his fascination with her. In fact, lately she was beginning to find Kanji...fairly pleasant. Talking to him was surprisingly refreshing. He was easy to bounce ideas off of, frequently coming up with solutions that Naoto herself had overlooked. He spoke plainly, had no hidden agendas, and was unfailingly loyal to their senpai. Kanji had quickly become a dependable friend...but was that all there was to him? He had seen Naoto at her very worst, yet still he remained. He had even taken to showing up at her doorstep each morning to accompany her to school, frequently with food. All of her detective skills were functionally useless in this case she feared she may never solve.
A light switched on over her head. "Have you eaten today, Naoto-sama?"
It was then that Naoto realized she had been sitting in the dark until Yakushiji arrived with supper. Hmm. I really must learn to set an appropriate time frame for my musing. She had come out to the Shirogane estate for two purposes; to find some casework her grampa may have had lying around...and to elude Kanji. The first task was a bust, but she'd succeeded in the latter...or so she thought.
Someone was frantically pounding on the front doors. Yakushiji opened them to reveal a panting Kanji who had clearly biked all the way from town. "There ya are!" he managed to gasp. "Ya quit answering yer phone. an' I know you didn't have nothin' to eat today-"
"I didn't have anything to eat today." Naoto corrected.
"See? I knew it!"
"Will Tatsumi-san be joining us this evening?" asked a very amused Yakushiji.
"No," Naoto insisted. "Kanji-kun, if that's the only reason you've tracked me down tonight, I can assure you-"
"W-wait a sec! There was gonna be somethin' on the news about those fancy cops you were workin' with."
"Public Safety?" Naoto didn't bother waiting for a reply. She darted down the hall to the nearest TV and turned it on.
The Dojima household had seen quite a few changes over the past year. The side yard featured a little garden with tomato plants and corn stalks. A scooter sat out in the driveway. The biggest changes, however, were to be found inside.
Nanako Dojima was skipping happily around the living room, humming her favorite jingle while adding place settings to the table that took up the majority of the space. Her father was set to return, on time for supper, and the sun hadn't even set yet! When the doorbell rang, however, she froze. The last time she opened the door when she was home by herself led to some very bad things.
Fortunately, another familiar sound soon followed that set Nanako at ease. "NANA-CHAAAAN! Your friendly neigh-bear-hood Teddie is here!"
That was Teddie! Nanako resumed her skipping as she quickly opened the door to find her mascot friend arguing with his harried roommate, Yosuke Hanamura. "Hi, Teddie! And Yosuke-kun!"
"Jeez, Ted, you get worse and worse every day! I think the guy up the street knows we're here!" Yosuke was saying, his headphones wobbling as he shook his head. He saw Nanako and winked. "Hey, Nanako-chan. Brought this weirdo over to keep you company."
"And Teddie's here, too!"
"I MEANT YOU, YOU STUPID BEAR!"
"What are you doing here?" Nanako asked between giggles.
"Why, today is a beary important day – the day Sir Teddie the Valiant Knight gets to protect his lovely, fair Nana-chan!" Teddie preened happily. "I'm a knight, you know. I had the beary important job of escorting some pretty city ladies on their maiden voyage through Inaba this week!"
Nanako clearly had no idea what he was talking about, but she may have been the only person in Inaba too polite to tell him so. "Um, okay," she began, "but...isn't Tuesday the day that Chie-chan comes over?" Ever since her Big Bro Yu had returned to his parents' home in Tokyo, his friends realized that Nanako might be lonely, so they all volunteered to visit her as much as they could. Usually, they took turns, though.
Yosuke's eyes bugged out of his head, and he looked worried. "Aw, crap! Teddie, you said it was Monday!"
"No, I didn't," Teddie argued, "I said today was the day that Teddie got to visit Nana-chan." He pulled a calendar out of his suit. "See? 'T' is for 'Teddie'!"
"YOU IDIOT! THAT 'T' IS FOR 'TUESDAY'!" Yosuke began sweating heavily as he looked over his shoulder.
Teddie wasn't fazed. "Or maybe...it's for 'Topsicles'?"
"Or maybe," said a new voice, "it's for Toes heading right Toward your face!"
"Don't kill me!" Yosuke squeaked out, whirling around with his hands in the air. "N-Nanako-chan is watching!"
"You got lucky this time, Yosuke." Chie Satonaka bounced up the front path, her arms already in karate-chop position. "But I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you. HWA-TA!"
Giggles from behind Chie indicated she was not alone. "Tee-hee-hee! Yosuke-kun always has one eye open, Chie!" Yukiko Amagi laughed.
"Tee-hee-hee, Yosuke-kun is right here, Yukiko!" mimicked Yosuke.
"Oh!" Yukiko was either faking surprise, or she was actually that spacey. "I didn't recognize you since you weren't winking!" Yosuke then covered both his eyes with a massive facepalm.
"You like being winked at, Yuki-chan?" Teddie leaned out of the doorway, sparkling. He made quite a show of winking his huge, cartoonish eyes.
"That's great, Teddie! Can you wink both eyes at the same time?"
"For you, Yuki-chan, anything!" Teddie closed both his eyes...and Yukiko walked right past him into the Dojimas' house.
"Ooh," Yosuke cringed. "Good thing you got ice for that burn."
"So, Yosuke, if you're gonna be here," Chie said as she came in, "why don't you make yourself useful and go get us some snacks?"
"Oh, that's okay," Nanako cut in before Yosuke could do more than sputter, "I've already made supper! I'll go get some more plates!"
Once Nanako was gone, the conversation continued at a quieter volume. "She seems better today," said Chie.
"Yeah, maybe she finally slept. Dojima-san bought her some of that herbal stuff at Junes the other day." explained Yosuke. "I don't know if it works, but he looked like he needed to take some, too."
"Poor Nanako-chan. How long has she been sleepwalking?" asked Yukiko.
"Since Sensei left." replied Teddie. "Now the house is all empty at night, and Nana-chan has no one to talk to except voices."
"Wait – what voices?" Chie asked.
"Nana-chan said people are calling to her, but she can't find them." explained Teddie, looking as worried as an animated suit could. "They tell her to come look, but she's not allowed out by herself at night, so she just walks around."
Yosuke looked over at the television set that anchored the living room, which was currently on some bizarre game show. "These voices...they don't show up at midnight by any chance, do they?"
No one really wanted to know the answer to that question. Midnight in Inaba this past year had been the timeslot of a very disturbing phenomenon known as the Midnight Channel, where victims thrown into the TV World were held hostage while their Shadow selves broadcasted their deepest secrets. Fail to save the victim in time...and the program becomes a snuff film.
"But the Midnight Channel hasn't shown up for a while," Yukiko pointed out. "I tried it the last time it rained. Nothing appeared at all. I didn't hear any voices, either."
"No one's been thrown into the TV," Teddie added. "Everything's peaceful over there."
There was one option left, and Chie voiced it. "Do you think we should call Yu-kun?"
"Well, we don't know anything, and there's not much he can do all the way in Tokyo." Yosuke shook his head. "No sense in worrying him."
The front door opened again. "Man, it's been a while since we had this many shoes by the door."
"Dad!" Nanako bounced out of the kitchen to greet her father with a huge smile on her face. "You made it home in time for supper!"
Ryotaro Dojima had put out his cigarette just in time to catch his little girl. "Well, I promised, didn't I?" he chuckled. "Full house tonight, huh?"
"Uh-huh! Everyone's..." Nanako failed to stifle a yawn, "...here." The adults gave each other the same worried looks over her head.
"After supper, make sure to take your medicine."
"Okay, Dad." Nanako sighed.
"Hey, Nanako-chan, why don't Yukiko and I help you with the food?" Chie offered.
"Yeah, cook something, that'll knock her out real good." Yosuke muttered.
Nanako cheered right up. "Yeah!" The girls headed off to the kitchen – Chie elbowing Yosuke in the stomach as she passed by him.
Yosuke took a few deep breaths before approaching Dojima. "Is that stuff helping any?"
Dojima shook his head. "She conks out faster, but she's still getting up." He slumped down on the couch, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Doctor says it's stress-related, thinks I should take her to a shrink. Like the poor kid hasn't been through enough this past year."
"Why would they want to shrink Nana-chan?" Teddie, predictably, didn't get it. "She's already small." He gave his best impression of being deep in thought. "If Sensei were here, he'd know what to do!"
Dojima just shrugged and picked up the remote. The news was already on.
"Aw, we missed Marie-chan's segment!" said Yukiko as the girls carried out several bowls of food.
"Thank you, Mariko-san. We'll be sure to bring our umbrellas tomorrow! Now for our top story: It seems even the well-to-do can't escape the law! The Public Safety Police conducted a raid today on society's elite, seizing an estimated 20 billion yen in holdings."
Across town, Naoto was stunned. "For Public Safety to act so overtly..."
"Police officials received a tip that several of Japan's high-rollers would be attending the birthday gala of electronics heiress Mitsuru Kirijo." A head shot of Mitsuru's intense stare appeared on the screen.
"IT'S MITCHAN'S BIRTHDAY?!" Teddie nearly jumped through the ceiling.
"Man, imagine someone ruining your birthday party like that! The worst that's ever happened to me is the bakery sending the wrong cake," said Chie.
"What, it wasn't made of steak?" Yosuke teased her.
"Kirijo, now 21 years of age, made headlines just last week when her plane fell victim to a hijacking..."
"Grampa went to that party." Naoto realized suddenly. She had been too distracted to pay much attention when her grandfather announced he had plans for the evening, but he had definitely said something about a birthday party.
"How come you didn't go?" asked Kanji.
Naoto brushed him off. "I would have had to wear a dress." Her freshly-sharpened mind was now working diligently. "Also, I was hired to investigate Mitsuru-san on behalf of Public Safety. In the public eye, we don't know each other." If Public Safety was still moving against Mitsuru-san, then some new information must have been released. She'd have to get her hands on it. "I do hope Grampa is okay."
"However, the birthday girl seems to have eluded the police's grasp. Public Safety officials say that the many international guests were interrogated extensively, and none had remembered seeing Miss Kirijo leave the party."
The news continued, talking about kidnappings, but no one was paying attention anymore.
"Yaay!" cheered Teddie.
Nanako looked confused. "Do you know that lady?"
"Naoto was working with her the last time she came to Inaba," explained Yosuke. "Surprised the hell out of all of us."
"She might look scary, but in person, she's actually very nice," Yukiko assured Nanako.
"Oh, come on!" Dojima didn't seem to be buying it. "What would someone like that be doing in a place like Inaba?"
Mitsuru looked out the window at the quiet stretch of road leading to the Shirogane estate. "It seems we haven't quite finished with this town after all."
"Heh." Akihiko was back to his reckless enthusiasm. "I wonder if those kids are still up to no good."
"I assume we'll find out sooner rather than later," Mitsuru said, pointing to an old bicycle leaning against the house. From the looks of it, it surely didn't belong to the aging detective.
Sure enough, the doors opened to reveal a surprised but relieved Naoto. "Grampa! They've just reported the raid on the news. Are you all right?"
"You sound worried, my dear," Shirogane chuckled. "Surely you've realized that I am very resourceful?"
"He is indeed," agreed Mitsuru as she stepped in. Naoto's eyes went wide at the image of Mitsuru with a broken bodice and exposed slip (with Akihiko's jacket tied around her waist in an attempt to restore modesty), and Akihiko in an ill-fitting police uniform, his silver hair and ubiquitous bandage the only things readily identifying him.
"Mitsuru-san! Akihiko-san!"
"Your friends here were gracious enough to let me accompany them while security was being ineffectual," Shirogane explained.
"Didja crawl through an air duct or somethin'?" Kanji suddenly spoke up, looking as if he'd witnessed a murder. He gaped at Mitsuru's altered dress. "You're sheddin' organza all over the place!"
"Kanji-kun, try to focus." Naoto reprimanded him. Mitsuru just raised an eyebrow. "We need to find out what, if anything, Public Safety is spearheading this investigation with."
"We've got a mole," explained Akihiko. "He's gone dark, though. Kurosawa's off trying to get the Inaba police to cooperate."
"Let's hope for your sake he reaches Dojima-san," Naoto grumbled. The Inaba police force had been as unhelpful as possible when Naoto offered to pick up any extra casework. Most of them still held a grudge from when she torpedoed through their murder investigation. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to throw Adachi back in their faces – but at least their reasoning this time was more valid than "Little girls can't be cops."
Kanji cared even less for law enforcement. "Psh. Asshole pigs." At Akihiko's look, he quickly added, "Uh, present company expected...aspected...I AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT YOU!"
"I believe Kurosawa mentioned a person by that name," Mitsuru realized.
As if on cue, Akihiko's phone went off. He read the text message and frowned. "No go. Inaba doesn't seem to want to get involved, and this Dojima's clocked out."
Mitsuru turned to Naoto. "Why do we want this man in particular?"
Naoto grinned. "Aside from being incorruptible and just, he is also Yu-senpai's uncle."
"How much does he know?"
"He was offered a full explanation. Whether he believed it or not, well...the fact that Adachi was his partner has both helped and hurt us."
"If I may interject," Shirogane said as the four Persona-users suddenly realized there was a civilian in their midst, "Is it possible that Public Safety has already reached them?"
"That would be a problem." Mitsuru said before Naoto herself could. Always two steps ahead of me, Naoto couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
Akihiko busied himself with replying to Detective Kurosawa's text...and then nearly dropped his phone when Mitsuru spontaneously stroked his face. Apparently, he hadn't realized his bandage was nearly detached from his forehead. Mitsuru seemed to immediately regret her decision as she removed her arm and swiftly looked away.
The phone chirped again. "Most likely," Akihiko read. He frowned. "Dammit! Now what?"
"Now we gather everyone together and make sure we're all on the same page," Mitsuru decided. Naoto couldn't help but admire the way she immediately commandeered the entire room despite being half-dressed. "It is imperative that no one speaks to any strange individuals about me, the Kirijo group, or the Shadow Operatives."
"Uhh...Senpai's in Tokyo," said Kanji. He looked as if he didn't quite understand all of Mitsuru's statement, but he'd picked up on enough of it.
"Hmm. Who do we have in Tokyo?"
Yu had only been "home" for a few days, but he was already missing Inaba. The first time he returned after his year as a transfer student, his parents had gone overboard planning family activities for the three of them. It was suffocating, to be honest. If they'd missed him that much, why hadn't they taken him with them? Or better yet, stayed? But Yu was secretly grateful for the separation, because he had discovered many things about himself that he was sure his parents wouldn't understand. Inside him lived Izanagi-no-Okami, his Ultimate Persona.
Even the incarnation of a god would be bored stiff today. A distant relative of the Narukamis was getting married, and Yu's old suit was too small, forcing him to spend the evening being measured, fitted, and bragged about by his parents to anyone who would listen.
"You look wonderful, honey!" Mrs. Narukami was assuring him as they left the haberdashery. "Quite stylish! Everyone will be so impressed."
"Why would I care about impressing people if I don't even remember who they are?" Yu couldn't help but pout. He was nearly eighteen, but his mother still treated him like a child – probably because she'd lost track of how many birthdays she wasn't around to celebrate.
"Hey, that tux cost a lot of money." And there was his dad, and his all-too-important bottom line. "You'd better wear it well."
"Hmph," Yu muttered, "Kanji could've made one ten times better in about half the time."
They were passing by a window full of TV sets when another voice stopped Yu cold. "So you're saying formal wear doesn't...SUIT you?"
No fucking way. "Minazuki?!" Aside from Teddie, the only person Yu knew of that made bad puns was the only person he never expected to see again: Sho Minazuki. The psychotic rogue Persona-user had been the driving force behind the hijacking of Labrys and the TV World tournaments pitting everyone from Inaba and Iwatodai against one another. But he'd taken off after they'd defeated the god empowering him. How the hell did he end up in Tokyo?
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Leader-kun." Sho sneered. He still wore his altered Yasogami uniform, giving him the appearance of a vacationing student who just happened to run into his senpai. "Out for a night on the town with the folks, huh? It must've WORN you out! Get it? Suit? Worn? Ha-ha-ha!"
"Is this a...friend of yours, sweetie?" Mrs. Narukami asked.
Yu's face remained unchanged as he told a version of the truth. "We met in Inaba."
"'Leader', huh? Of course you were," Mr Narukami puffed out his chest.
"Have you seen the news?" Sho gestured to the TVs behind him, running a feed of today's top stories. He must have been hanging out here for a while. "Might see some familiar faces in the-oh excuse me, on the TV!" Izanagi raged, but Yu remained visibly passive so as not to alarm his parents.
A talking head casually read out the headlines. "Top stories for Tuesday, May 8, 2012: America shares its stars with us! Actor Tommy Lee Jones is here to promote his latest movie." A dour-looking man walked a red carpet as cameras flashed. "And pop star Lady Gaga arrived at Narita Airport today!" A woman with rainbow-colored hair evaded the grabbing hands of screaming fans.
"Don't think I know them, actually. Thanks anyway," quipped Yu.
Sho's eyes flashed red. "Wait for it..."
"Public Safety raids high-society birthday party in search of the elusive Mitsuru Kirijo."
Sho mock-gasped. "Uh oh. The ice queen is in trouble!" he sang. Odds were, he had no idea who Public Safety was, but the thought of Mitsuru being targeted was right up his alley.
Mr. Narukami snorted. "That girl is everywhere. Must be nice, not having to work for your money." He turned to his son. "You make sure to study hard so you can earn a living, you hear? Don't go looking up to bubble-headed heiresses."
"Actually, Mitsuru-san is very smart," Yu blurted out before realizing he'd tipped his hand. "Uh...she spoke at our school last year. Yasogami. That's where Minazuki and I know her from." God, I wish I was a better liar.
"Are you staying in town, Minazuki-kun?" Mrs. Narukami asked Sho. Yu knew that he hated empty kindness, seeing it as a form of pity, and moved to get in between Sho and the Narukamis as quickly as he could. He really wished he had a katana with him.
"Nope." Sho flashed a grin that was almost not predatory, "I'm heading back to good old, sleepy little Inaba." His grin widened menacingly. "I'm sure all your friends really miss you."
Now Izanagi was demanding to be set free. First Yu's parents, then his friends? Dojima? Nanako?
He stepped closer to Sho so his parents couldn't hear. "What's your game, Minazuki?"
Sho's eyes flashed again. "Tag. You're it."
"You know, dear," Mrs. Narukami was saying, "if we go to this wedding, we'll only be a few hours away from the new branch. We could stay an extra week...oh, but Yu has school." Yu's eyes lit up as a possibility slowly revealed itself.
Mr. Narukami wasn't convinced. "I don't like where this is going."
"We wouldn't have to buy a third ticket."
"...you're right, that does make sense."
"How 'bout it, Kingpin?" Sho whispered to Yu. "You ready to say uncle?"
"I'll call the school and my brother." Both mother and son wore matching triumphant grins.
"Hope you're not too late," snarled Sho. He took off running down the street. "See you there, Leader-kun!" he called back.
Yu couldn't believe what had just actually happened. He was going back! "Inaba..." The team would be overjoyed to see him again, back where it had all first happened. Back where he had a real family. Inaba was home.
As his parents started to head back, making plans for yet another business trip, something immediately smacked Yu in the face.
"Wait...I went through all that fitting for nothing?!"
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A quick Google search reveals that May 8, 2012 was a Tuesday, and the weather was nice (at least in Tokyo), but it was supposed to rain the 9th, and those celebrities did indeed make it to Japan that day.
Also, yes, this universe's Yu is the Stonefaced Smartass Yu. Look for Swag-Activated Yu in later chapters. Collect them all!
Yu's parents in fanon have the reputation of being preoccupied with themselves, obsessed with work, and not really being involved with Yu's life, so I went with that.
*Akihiko's police uniform being "ill-fitting" and Japan thinking of socialites as "bubble-headed" are now things. They weren't gags that I had planned, but sometimes things just work out on their own.