Chapter 4: Operation: Not Babe Hunt
April 3, 2014-Thursday
Junpei, Yukari, and Fuuka were huddled together in the living room. Mitsuru was beside them who looked rather worried at their little conversation. She listened to them, but did not dare partake in it... It was not like it was harmful, though she was somewhat reluctant on their little plan...
"So, that's the plan?" Junpei whispered.
"Yeah." Yukari nodded while Fuuka remained silent.
'They didn't change at all...' Mitsuru sighed as she watched them.
The four turned toward the sounds of footsteps from behind them. It was Akihiko and Shinjiro, who had just arrived. As for the other girl... She was in the kitchen doing serious business... Because of the recent incident, she wasn't able to eat well, so all the left-overs ended up in the kitchen, which she was now terrorizing.
"What're you idiots doing?" the beanied man groaned, but they just replied with a suspicious smirk, which somehow sent chills down his spine.
"What's going on?" the other male added.
Before Junpei was able to reply to his seniors, the familiar red-eyed girl approached them. She stared with a puzzled look on her face. They all seemed to avoid her gaze, minus the confused boxer beside the capped one. She studied them one by one like she always did, though they all gave her a wry smile. Shinjiro kept hiding under his beanie though. Finally, she shrugged and continued.
"I'll be going to the beach now. Who wants to come with me?"
"Oooh! I will!" Junpei raised his hand.
"I'll come with you." Yukari smiled.
"M-me too..." Fuuka added with a weak voice.
"Guess I need to do some work outs. Count me in," Akihiko added, raising his fist.
"Not my thing..." Shinjiro shrugged.
"I'll follow later. I have things to attend to as of now." Mitsuru frowned before calling in one of her maids.
"Arf!" Koromaru barked... Though no one understood what he said, it was most likely a yes, since he looked eager.
'Hamuko' smiled back and waved at everyone before going her way to the changing room. They waved back, saying that they'd be following soon after watching the girl disappear.
"Let's talk about it at beach..." Junpei whispered to the girls with a wink, patting Yukari's shoulder before leaving, "But first..." he muttered to himself and turned to Shinjiro, who was now sitting on a sofa, reading a magazine.
"What?" He scowled, looking irritated.
Junpei didn't flinch though... His time with Chidori really strengthened his courage. Perhaps, if he was to run around in the back alley of Tatsumi, he'd pay no attention to the delinquents anymore... "Oh... Nothing..." He smiled and turned his back to the older man, who was staring at him suspiciously. "I just wanted to tell you she's in safe hands..."
'Yeah... Aki'll make sure she's safe...'
"At the beach... All THREE girls..."
'... Big deal... Aki can take care of 'em...'
"And us TWO guys..."
'...!'
At those words, the man froze. He tightened his hold on the magazine so much that it crumpled... He then bit his lip. Soon, his hands trembled after hearing each one of Junpei's slow steps... "Tch... I... changed my mind..." He gritted his teeth and finally shot up from his seat and threw down the magazine on the sofa. The man stomped his way to the men's changing room...
"Success~!" Junpei snickered and rested his hands behind his head as he whistled on his way as he followed Shinjiro from behind.
"So? What was that about?" the silver-haired man asked curiously.
They were now on the sandy beach. There weren't many people around, considering the fact that it wasn't summer yet. Why go there in spring? Well... It's because they couldn't find time in their busy schedules... That was the only time most of them were available, so they went with it.
"Don't tell me it's another Operation: Babe Hunt... 'cause you can count me out!" he added bitterly, remembering the moment... Ugh... Then again, the girls seemed to be in it too... Can't be bad like that, right...?
Junpei and Akihiko were the first to get there, since changing to their swim wear wasn't so hard. As for Shinjiro... He was rather uncomfortable with his outfit that he wouldn't come out. The silver-haired detective stared at the capped man's back who suddenly turned to him with an unusual sparkle in his eyes.
"...Shinjiro-senpai obviously likes Hamu-chan!" He winked, pointing at the other man's face.
"Oh..." Akihiko nodded in response, then froze. "Wait... What?" He turned to Junpei, who smirked. The older man was obviously confused.
"Dude... Everyone knew about it five years ago and with how sparkly Senpai is recently... there's no doubting it!" he added, leaving Akihiko in a trance of deep thought.
'Wow... No wonder he's still not with Mitsuru-senpai...' Junpei shook his head and sighed as he watched the man.
"Oh, they're here..." Junpei snickered as he waved at the girls, who had just arrived.
Akihiko was still processing everything in his brain that he reacted quite late at the girl's arrival. In the end, he decided to forget about it and turned to the females.
The girl with red-brown hair was in front and running toward the boys while waving her hand. Beside her was the little white dog, who seemed to be enjoying the sand, while behind them were the two women who were trying to catch up with the girl. 'Shadow Hamuko' was wearing her master's former swimsuit. Not like she could have bought one earlier anyway, since it was quite unplanned for her... The other two, on the other hand, wore new ones. For Yukari, it was a pretty blue two-piece suit and Fuuka had worn a dark green one-piece this time, much to the disappointment of a certain capped male. Speaking of them, Junpei simply wore dark blue swimming trunks (plus his cap) and Akihiko... It was same as the first... but red...
"You're still our cute little mermaid, huh?" Junpei joked, ruffling the girl's auburn hair. She blushed, much to the surprise of the friends. The girl then took a quick glance of the older male, who raised a brow at her.
"Like it? This one is more water-resistant than the last. It-"
"There you go again..." a gruff voice suddenly cut in, stopping the silver-haired male from his explanation.
"Hey, look, isn't that...?" Yukari pointed back to the forest. It was the tall brunette, who looked like he was hesitating to come out.
"Ara... Shinjiro-san! You're here!" The red-eyed girl beamed and waved at him cheerfully.
The man blushed at the sight of her outfit, though his red face was hidden under the shade of the trees. He sighed and took a deep breath before stepping in the light. All of them stared at him with wide-eyes except Akihiko. Nothing special though... His shaggy chestnut brown hair was finally showing itself along with his now more visible gray eyes. The man was wearing a pair of maroon-colored swimming trunks which reach down right above the knee. Their attention wasn't below or his face though... or his abs... but his chest. There were two large scars, most likely from the incident from five years ago... It was a miracle he actually survived.
"Uh... Oh... Um... So... How is it...?" the auburn-haired girl asked weakly, pointing at the wound.
Shinjiro scratched his head awkwardly and avoided looking at the girl before answering. "Heh. No worries... It's a pain in the ass sometimes, but I can live with it." He grinned.
The girl nodded shyly and avoided eye contact with him like he now did to her. "That's good..." she mumbled.
Junpei chuckled at the two, nudging Fuuka with his elbow, snapping her back to reality.
"Huh? Oh." She turned to him, then to 'Hamuko'. "Hamu-chan, let's g-go see the shells over there!" she called out and pulled the girl's arm, much to her surprise. The two ran off quite far from the rest.
Shinjiro was about to follow when...
"You like her don't you?" Yukari sneaked up behind the brunette and flashed him a grin, making the man flinch.
"Wh-where'd you pi-... W-what're you talkin' about all of a sudden?" he answered with a red face and trembling voice.
"You used to go out with her on certain days, right...?" the scheming girl continued.
"Haha! I never knew Senpai was a pedo~" Junpei smiled, shooting the man a glance.
His face burned red again. He turned his head away from them to hide his face. "Our gaps ain't that big! Besides, sh-" He paused, wide-eyed and red in the face as he turned back to the group.
Junpei was grinning, Yukari was snickering. As for the silver-haired male, he stood in confusion, unable to pick up what the hell was happening...
"See? Told you there's something between them!" The brown-haired female chuckled, patting Junpei's shoulder.
He finally managed to set back his straight face, though there was still a tint of red.
"Hey, what am I missing here?" Akihiko turned to Junpei, who was still smiling like an idiot. The older male's dark eyes were wide and filled with confusion as he spoke.
Yukari faceplamed and answered in Junpei's stead. "Senpai... How are you a detective? Shinjiro-senpai is obviously in lo-" Before she finished, large hands cupped over her mouth and immobilized her.
"He's in love!" Junpei continued Yukari's words as he stepped in beside Shinjiro, who had now released the girl.
He tried hiding his face with his hand and looked away from everyone else.
"...W-with who?" Akihiko's face was finally a bit red as he stared at his now embarrassed friend. It was his first time seeing Shinjiro like that... And what's more? He never told him about it... Not surprising though... But still...
"It's Ha-"
"Shut your trap... I'm getting outta here!" he hissed, turning around from everyone else.
Akihiko followed him from behind like he always did and kept showering the man with a barrage of "Hey, Shinji, Hey, Shinji!". Shinjiro tried to ignore him and snarled, though he didn't go away. Finally, he lied down on a blue lounge chair with his hands behind his head. His friend sighed and sat down on another chair right beside the blue one. The silver-haired man finally kept quiet as he watched the sky. Somehow, it was starting to get dark. Not that it was late, but the dark clouds began coming in. No surprise though, since the weather had been quite unstable recently too – rains in the middle of a sunny day had been coming more frequently.
The two remained silent for a while as they watched the sky. Sounds of children's laughter, girls' chatting, and men shouting were all over the place. The smell of the sea wafted in the air as the wind blew through the water, creating waves of different sizes. As for below, shells of unique shapes and colors lay everywhere on the white sandy floor. Most of them were close by the shore. Some had hermit crabs occupying them. There were also a few starfish lying around, though quite rare. A bit far back behind the beach was the woods filled with many different trees. It was home for a large cryptomeria tree and was known to be a world heritage site.
"You've really changed..." the silver-haired man finally spoke without turning to his friend.
Shinjiro shrugged and closed his eyes as if sleeping, while Akihiko sighed at his response.
He shot the man a glance. "...Is it Hamuko?"
At those words, the brunette's face immediately turned bright red. He groaned and turned over to the opposite side to avoid Akihiko. Before the young detective was able to continue, a familiar voice called out to them. Shinjiro didn't budge, but his friend immediately sat up and turned toward the running capped man along with the brown-haired female.
"Senpai! Hamu-chan is missing!" he shouted, stopping in front of the two while trying to catch his breath.
At that moment, Shinjiro immediately jumped up and gave them a scowl. Right after Junpei recovered, he continued speaking, saying that Fuuka was separated from 'Hamuko' and now they couldn't find her anywhere. The two older men nodded at each other and decided to follow the capped man to the last place they saw the two girls.
Before they set off, Yukari winked at Junpei while the two weren't looking...
The four finally met up with the teal-haired girl, who was in a less populated area. In other words, that particular part of the beach had a lot less people. She explained to them what happened, that while she was looking at the ocean, her companion suddenly disappeared and now, she'd been looking everywhere, but to no avail.
"That girl...!" Shinjiro growled before turning to everyone else, "I'll search the cove over there, Aki, you search the woods, and as for you three, spread out!" he commanded before sprinting his way toward his designated location.
Akihiko nodded and went on his way; as for Fuuka, Junpei, and Yukari, they headed back to the beach.
Junpei closed in on Fuuka with a grin on his face and slapped her back. "Nicely done, Fuuka-chan! Our plan is going well... Hehehe." He smiled.
The girl stared at him with a pale face. "But she REALLY is missing!" the girl answered.
Yukari shot Junpei a glance. He gulped...
'Dammit...! Where's that girl?' The brunette ran toward the coast while keeping a vigilant eye. He kept shouting the girl's name as he ran, not caring if people looked at him. There were barely any at that part though.
Time passed; there was still no sign of the girl. The sky was getting darker, a sign of an upcoming storm, and from the looks of it, it was not going to be a pleasant one. He left footsteps on the sand as he ran, stepping on shells at some points, not caring if he got injured in the foot or not. His main priority was to find the girl. Speaking of which, Fuuka had sensing abilities, right? So, since she didn't use it... That would mean that he wasn't the only one who lost his ability to summon his Persona. Did that mean everyone else did?
He shook off the thoughts as a drop of rain trickled down his face. It was still weak, but from how it was sounding, it'd grow stronger soon.
'Shit... I have to find her before this becomes a storm...' He groaned. Shinjiro finally stopped by a small cave in the cove to shelter himself from the rain. He sighed and leaned at the rocky walls, turning his sight outside.
"...Is someone there...?" a weak voice echoed from inside. It sounded like a female's... Specifically...
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he shouted.
The red-eyed girl smiled at him apologetically as she stood up from the rock she was sitting on. "Er... I thought I saw a cute little bat... so I followed it... Then before I knew it, I got stuck..." she answered, pointing at her foot, which was stuck inside a hole.
The brunette moaned and helped her out, gently pulling it off. She stared with awe at her now released foot and rolled it around, checking if it was okay.
"Couldn't you have used your powers or something?" He continued.
The girl gave him a blank stare and then widened her eyes, showing the "Oh yeah..." kind of expression. Shinjiro slapped his face, watching the girl realize the trouble she caused for everyone. She immediately began bowing in apology. He sighed and patted her head, stopping her from doing so.
"It's alright. Important thing is that you're safe..." he muttered under his breath.
The sounds of the rain storm crackled outside with thunder and lightning, while the two sat beside each other awkwardly in their swimsuits. 'Hamuko' shivered. Her male companion was about to offer her something when he realized all he had was his swimming trunks, making him curse under his breath. The girl noticed his dilemma and gave him a weak smile.
"It's alright... Oh, right!" She beamed. The girl held out her hands and produced a small fire, which somehow impressed the man. She let out a sigh of relief from the nice feeling the flame gave out. Her red eyes turned to Shinjiro. "Hey, Shinjiro-sama, you can come closer. It's pretty warm."
The man groaned and did what he was told. He was hesitant at first, but did so anyway.
"Didn't I tell you to drop the -sama shit?" he added in a frustrated tone.
The girl blushed and looked down. "Oh... S-sorry... I guess I slipped..." she muttered.
The two fell into silence. Speaking of which, they hadn't really spoken alone since the party.
The roaring of the thunder engulfed the dark skies. Rain clouds covered the night sky while powerful gusts of wind blew. The rain touching the ground made powerful sounds as if breaking something. Trees outside swayed wildly as leaves and sometimes, trash blew up in the air. The others were probably worried... Not that they could do anything about it anyway...
"... You can drop the formalities y'know..." the male suddenly spoke up. 'Hamuko' turned to him with a confused look. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "... You can call me Shinjiro like you used to, no –san, -sama, or any other shit," he added rather roughly, though it was evident that it took lot for him to say it.
'Hamuko', on the other hand, blushed and shook her head wildly. "N-no...! I... I can't do that! It's... It's rude, okay...?" she finally answered, averting her eyes, "Besides..." She paused, causing a long silence within the cave.
Time slowly passed and yet, none of them spoke a word for some time again...
"You know... A Shadow is usually a manifestation of negative emotions and thoughts," she spoke again, changing the subject from earlier. 'Hamuko' paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "That must be why the first things I remembered were master's worst memories..." she added, breaking the silence. The man turned to the girl, who watched the flickering fire intently. "I heard a gunshot." She paused, turning her gaze to the ceiling. "And the words... 'Don't cry...'" the girl continued with sadness in her eyes.
The man bit his lip and looked away from her. Again, they quieted down.
The girl slumped down and moved her glance to the man, who still seemed to be avoiding her eyes. He looked guilty about something, though she had an idea what. She sighed and moved a bit closer to warm him up with the fire.
"But... you know... I was glad when I actually remembered something. It felt like I was lost and alone without any memories..." She smiled gently, but he still didn't react. "Shinjiro-san... Since sadness is a strong emotion tied with happiness... then... I guess we held you important to us..." She beamed as her face blushed. To be honest, she had no idea why she was saying those things to him. She was quite sure about one thing though... She just had to get it out.
"So... Umm... Even if I don't exactly remember the happy memories... I'm glad I at least remember something, so you don't have to worry about me, ok?" She stopped and looked up. "B-because... if I don't remember our times together in September... that just means that it was very important to us... Me and master Arisato..."
The man finally turned to her and saw her red face. He chuckled and ruffled her hair, making the girl pout like a child, seeing his gentle smile. "You dummy..." he muttered.
"Hey..." the girl whispered.
The brunette turned to her with a question mark in his face. For some reason, the girl looked uneasy and her face was rather red.
"Umm... Maybe I shouldn't bring this up anymore, but..." The girl shook her head and sighed. "Never mind..."
Shinjiro stared at her with a puzzled look and then shrugged. A long time passed and the storm seemed to have weakened, but it was too late to go back anyway. He was staring outside when he felt something hit his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw the girl resting her head on it. She was asleep. He smiled and pulled the girl closer to him as the flame in her hands died...
April 4, 2014-Friday
"Shinjiro! We were worried!" The red-haired girl was crossing her arms as she watched the man casually walk side by side with the girl.
It was early in the morning. The moment the two woke up, they immediately set out to return back to everyone else, who, in turn, greeted them outside. Apparently, they, too, were on their way to start searching for the two.
Yukari and Fuuka rushed down to 'Hamuko' and glomped her just like their first meeting. This time, the girl hugged back, trying to comfort the other two, who were rather guilty. Just like them, Junpei looked at the girl guiltily, but his sorry face turned into a smirk a moment later. He shot a glance at Shinjiro, who was currently talking with Akihiko and Mitsuru, and then to the auburn-haired girl. The man snickered and gave his accomplices a thumbs up. They scowled at him in response, which turned into a smile like his and they mouthed him the words 'mission accomplished'. They had no idea what those two did and things didn't go exactly as planned, but one thing was sure... They spent the night together. In their swimsuits.
The group finally headed back inside the mansion to eat their breakfast, leaving the brunette and the Persona together. As the girl was about to follow, the man grabbed her wrist. She turned around with a puzzled face.
He stared at her squarely and spoke, "Hey, what were you going to say last night?"
"Oh, that. It was nothing... I just wanted to tell you not to feel bad about me not calling you the way master used to... Not because I don't like you or anything... or because it's rude..." She chuckled as he released his grip. "But because I feel uneasy to address you that way. I get a strange feeling when I try to... Don't know why though," the girl added, sticking her tongue out, feeling rather silly, "Stupid, huh? Well, let's get going. Everyone's waiting!" The girl turned away and ran after everyone else, leaving a flustered man behind.
"You idiot..."
Ummm... That's it for chapter 4!
Sorry for taking long in updating by the way ^^"
Stuff happened... Anyway... As for the next chapter... It's technically done, I'm just waiting for my betas to reply...
And as for the
"In the beach... All THREE girls..."
'... Big deal... Aki can take care of em'...'
"And us TWO guys..."
'...!'
I'll leave that to your imagination... Honestly, two ideas come to my mind while reading that... XD
And when Junpei said Shinji was a pedo... He's just kidding of course... After all, 17(?) and 22 is not really a big gap~
Oh, and again, to avoid confusion, when Shadow/Persona Hamuko said 'we' and 'us' while talking to Shinji in the cave... She meant her and her master... And when she said 'our time', she meant her, Shinji and her master.
OhtaSuzuke - Storm indeed XD
Oh and... Merry Christmas~! =D
(P.S. Check the poll in my profile pls.?)
-Persona 3 and any SMT series does not belong to me-