Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!
Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.
Chapter 10: Golden Week
~Monday May 2nd, 2011~
-Morning-
Kiyoshi won't lie.
He was freaking sore and he was pretty sure the others felt the same after that mess with the Contrarian King because that was ridiculous on how many times they were nearly killed in that fight alone.
Thankfully it was gone, they were definitely stronger from it considering their Persona's seemed to be learning some new skills after the fight.
Yosuke said that Jiraiya learned Magaru which was apparently the same as Garu except it had more of a range to hit more than one enemy much like Maragi and Mabufu that both Chie and Yukiko knew.
Diaborosu learned something similar after that annoying fight, something called Maeiha.
Still they were not going in at all during Golden Week unless they had to and Kiyoshi was grateful for that.
Kiyoshi couldn't help the slight groan as he sat down at his desk.
"You alright Kiyoshi?" Yosuke asked seeing that, turning towards the teen.
"Ask me tomorrow when I'm not sore," Kiyoshi muttered dryly before seeing how Yosuke didn't look bothered. "Okay how are you not sore?"
"You'd be surprised at the endurance you get working." Yosuke answered simply.
Kiyoshi just stared.
He's pretty sure there was a huge difference between working at Junes and getting thrashed by a Shadow.
But he kept that to himself.
"Mind you, I'm happy that tomorrow is the Holidays even if I have to work, you got any plans?" Yosuke asked curiously.
Kiyoshi shook his head, not voicing anything.
"Man are you really going back to being quiet?" Yosuke asked poking some fun with a grin before the door opened to show Narukami and Yukiko entering at the same time. "Ooh what do we have here?"
"Hm?" Yukiko looked puzzled by the question while Narukami just sat in his seat. "Is something wrong Hanamura-Kun?"
Yosuke went to question it but Chie walked in and he clammed up. "Now who's being quiet?" Kiyoshi remarked with a smirk.
Their conversation stopped when Morooka walked in showing that class was to begin. But as they were listening, Kiyoshi noted how Yosuke idly tilted his head to whisper something to Narukami making him give a silent chuckle while Chie and Yukiko were trading notes.
Seeing that made Kiyoshi frown as he realized that he was the odd one out in this group seeing how the four of them were more comfortable around each other.
So he looked down a bit disheartened by that, but resigned to it.
~Monday May 2nd, 2011~
-Lunchtime-
"Okay let's see there has to be a book that I haven't read here." Kiyoshi muttered to himself in the Library as he was having a hard time finding a book, ignoring the sound of the rain pattering on the window.
He was so caught up in his muttering that he didn't see someone enter the Library to grab a book, but that person stopped when they saw him and approached.
"Hey Kiyoshi-Kun." Chie greeted surprising Kiyoshi who snapped his head towards her in surprise. "What are you looking for?"
"Oh nothing really, just trying to find a book I haven't read before." Kiyoshi said pulling one off the shelf to inspect the summary. "I think I might've run out of books to read here so I'm starting to wonder if I should try to reread the whole-... What?"
He cut himself off when he saw that Chie was giving him an amused look.
"Nothing, it's just nice to hear you talk without stuttering." Chie pointed out with Kiyoshi blinking as he realized she was right.
He didn't stutter once while talking to her just now.
Wanting to keep this going, Kiyoshi quickly asked. "So what brings you to the Library?"
No offense to her but this was the last place he would expect for her to be. Especially since he figured she would keep hanging out with Yukiko given what's happened.
At hearing that question, Chie gave a sheepish laugh. "Uh well given how the exams are coming up I'm hoping to try and study." She said trying to play off that she would pass.
Then she snapped her fingers.
"Want to study together?" Chie offered once more surprising Kiyoshi. "It'll be easy to study with a friend after all."
Kiyoshi tilted his head as he was pretty confident in his studies as that was way ahead of his social skills, but he smiled. "Sure thing Satonaka-San." He said putting the book back on the shelf.
Studying or not, it would prove to be interesting.
"Alright, let's get to it." Chie did a fist pump before wincing as the librarian shushed her for being too loud.
Kiyoshi snickered a bit as they sat down.
~Monday May 2nd, 2011~
-After School-
"You would think the rain would relent even for a little bit." Kiyoshi ran as he kept a tight grip on his Umbrella.
Checking the Group Chat as he ran, Kiyoshi chuckled seeing how Narukami said something about attempting the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, resulting in him typing 'Good Luck' along with the others.
Narukami will need it.
He was so caught up in looking at his phone that he didn't see a person walk around the corner until he ran right into him. "Oof." Kiyoshi fell flat on his butt, the wet ground soaking it before he got up his social awkwardness kicking in once more seeing how this was someone he didn't know. "Sorry."
"It's cool you alright kid?" The guy who he bumped into looked to be a young adult with unkempt black hair, gray eyes and wearing a black suit with a crooked red tie, holding an umbrella over his head.
"Y-yeah," Kiyoshi said to the man. "Again sorry for that, I-I should've been watching where I was going."
"Hey I understand, getting out of school only for this to happen, it must stink," The guy said with a sigh as he held a hand out to feel some of the rain. "Not that there's much to do even if it was sunny."
Kiyoshi gave a nod.
"So I'm guessing you were texting your friends?" The guy asked curiously as Kiyoshi did have his phone out with the teen looking a bit sheepish.
"Yeah, just wishing a friend luck with the Mega Beef Bowl." Kiyoshi didn't see a reason to hide that.
The guy laughed. "Wow your friend must have a lot of confidence in himself." He said as he knew that was a lot.
"Narukami-Sama is always like that," Kiyoshi said missing how the man was really paying attention now. "Though I don't know if he would actually pull it off or not."
No one actually beat that challenge before.
"Naru-Are you talking about Narukami Yu?" The man asked surprising Kiyoshi. "I work with his Uncle. Man I know I always said this was a small town but what are the odds?"
"Oh?" Kiyoshi asked now seeing that this was a Detective given how Narukami did mention his Uncle being a Detective at one point.
"Well I won't take up much of your time, you probably have places to be." The guy said walking off. "Nice to meet you-er?"
"Kiyoshi, I'm Kiyoshi Hisoka." Kiyoshi said with the guy giving a nod.
"Adachi Tohru, nice to meet you," Adachi waved as he left. "Enjoy Golden Week."
As Adachi walked out of sight, Kiyoshi looked happy. "He seems pretty cool." He said as the man was nice despite being ran into.
…
By the time Kiyoshi got home an hour later, he hesitated when he heard the TV being on.
His Dad was home… And he could smell Sake in the air which meant he was drunk and from how the TV was just muted, he most likely heard the door open.
That was proven correct as there were footsteps before Katashi came into view, holding a cup, his tie undone a bit sloppily and the fact that he was walking straight showed that he hasn't drunk too much yet but it was enough as his eyes were a bit unfocused meaning that he was still buzzed a bit.
Kiyoshi was still tense however as he always made sure he stayed in his room whenever he could smell Sake to avoid any… Unpleasantness.
Still it was too late.
"Evening." Kiyoshi greeted softly.
"Was wondering where you were." Katashi slurred out a bit, taking another sip. "Make sure you don't drag any water in."
Kiyoshi gave a nod, removing his shoes while he closed his umbrella, keeping an eye on his Dad who was watching him.
That unnerved Kiyoshi because if his Dad was looking at him while drunk it meant a few things.
Something happened at the company and he was angry about it… Or he felt that Kiyoshi did something.
Taking the time to try and swallow the lump in his throat, not caring if his throat felt like sandpaper because of his nerves, Kiyoshi tried to give a smile, hoping that would be enough even if it came out as timid.
"Now what's this I hear about you joining a music club?"
Kiyoshi froze in surprise.
He never made any mention of that to his father, how the hell did he know?!
And more importantly, why would he care? Katashi never made an interest in what Kiyoshi did even when drunk, probably because of him being a shut in to keep to himself.
When Kiyoshi didn't answer, Katashi took another sip of his Sake. "I called up the school to see how your grades were doing," The man explained as he would always make sure where in the school rankings his son was and he wanted to see if he was telling the truth about Track. "Now I can accept the sport because it'll toughen you up but no son of mine is going to waste his time with music. Are we clear"
The message was certainly clear, he was telling Kiyoshi to quit the music club.
'Why would you care about that?' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think but his lack of an answer turned out to be the wrong thing to do, especially when Katashi walked over and was now looming over Kiyoshi making him tremble a bit before the man placed a hand on his shoulder and it was taking everything for Kiyoshi to not flinch.
"I believe that I asked you a question." Katashi said in a tone that meant trouble and that was before Kiyoshi winced with the man tightening his grip.
"Y-Y-Y-Yes s-s-s-s-sir," Kiyoshi stuttered out, his fear making him trip over his own words as he tried to answer. "C-C-C-Cr-Crystal cl-c-c-clear."
Katashi gave a nod and unmuted the TV signifying this conversation was over and Kiyoshi wasted no time rushing to his room upstairs to keep to himself, locking his door behind him.
'Toughen you up.'
Those were the words he would usually hear from his Dad, usually while he was drunk, but there were a few times when he was sober that he would use that.
'You're too sensitive.'
Kiyoshi gripped his arms ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he slid with his back to the door until he was sitting down, trying not to hyperventilate.
It's been awhile since he reacted like this… The day he accepted his Shadow.
He choked back a sob before he broke down, covering his mouth to avoid making his Dad come up.
~Tuesday May 3rd, 2011~
-Morning-
Kiyoshi grimaced as his phone was vibrating, waking him up.
Rubbing his eyes, he checked it to see a message from Chie saying that she, Narukami and Yukiko were at Junes where Yosuke was, asking if he wanted to come.
He hesitated, unsure of how to respond.
Truth be told, after the other night he didn't really feel like being around anyone today.
His phone buzzed again and he saw that Chie was asking if he was there considering he wasn't responding before Narukami texted him, asking the same thing.
After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Kiyoshi typed. 'Sorry I just woke up, I'll head out there soon.'
Not even waiting for a reply, he put his phone up and exited his room, listening carefully to see if his Dad was home before he deemed it safe and made his way to the bathroom to splash some water on his face before looking at his reflection.
There were some bags under his eyes showing his lack of sleep along with his eyes being bloodshot. No doubt the others would notice if they see him and Kiyoshi was tempted to say that he couldn't make it but that would just make them worry and he didn't want that.
Hesitaintly, Kiyoshi undid his school uniform that he was still wearing and winced when he saw a bruise on his shoulder.
He can't let anyone see this.
Moments later he was dressed up in his hoodie, his hair brushed to try and smooth it out before he headed out the door.
Kiyoshi saw them before they saw him, with the group at the same table where they would meet up at Junes to talk about the case should they need to. He could remember Yukiko asking if that was their special headquarters and he smiled, feeling a little better.
He still hesitated about joining them, especially when he saw a new person with them, it was a little girl much to his surprise who sat between Narukami and Chie.
The girl had brown hair tied in pigtails with pink ribbons, wearing a pink dress over a white turtleneck.
That meant that they couldn't talk about the case, but Kiyoshi didn't really want to intrude.
It wasn't up to him as Yosuke noticed him. "Yo Kiyoshi, you just going to stand there or what?" He asked in a joking tone making the others look his way.
"S-S-Sorry." Kiyoshi said and he saw them blink as he hadn't stuttered around them like that in awhile.
"You okay?" Narukami asked showing that he caught on immediately that something was off, not a surprise given how attentive he seemed to things.
Kiyoshi gave a nod as he sat between Narukami and Yukiko, across from Yosuke who sat between Yukiko and Chie.
He really was fine.
Narukami however frowned before relenting for now, he would ask again when he catches Kiyoshi alone.
"S-So what did I miss?" Kiyoshi asked looking between all of them.
"Well you should meet Nanako-Chan." Chie said gesturing to the little girl who fidgeted with the attention on her. "She's Narukami's cousin."
"Ah," Kiyoshi said surprised as he didn't know that Narukami had a cousin, but it made sense as to why the girl was with them now. "N-N-Nice to meet you."
Nanako gave a nod herself while Yosuke sighed. "But man why did you bring poor Nanako-Chan to a place like this on Golden Week?" He asked feeling sorry for how bored the girl must be.
"Well where else is there to go?" Chie asked with a quirked brow. "Besides you're just getting off work so it's a good place to meet up."
"She has a point." Kiyoshi threw in, forcing himself to act natural.
"I love Junes!" Nanako declared with a smile, stunning Yosuke.
"N-Nanako-Chan." Everyone could tell from Yosuke's tone at how happy he was to hear something like that since he usually gets grief over Junes being the cause of some of the stores closing down.
Nanako frowned after that declaration though. "But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere," She explained sadly. "We were going to make boxed lunches."
"Wow! You can make boxed lunches Nanako-Chan?" Yukiko asked impressed as she was still working on her cooking skills.
Nanako shook her head and glanced at Narukami, that action letting everyone know what she was implying if Chie's wide grin was anything to go by.
"Oh, so you're the family cook?" Chie asked in a teasing tone. "Pretty impressive, 'big bro'!"
Nanako froze. "B-Big bro?" She whispered to herself, glancing up at Narukami who idly scratched his cheek actually looking a bit embarrassed.
"Was that why you asked to trade recipes with me?" Kiyoshi asked curiously, a small grin forming on his face. "Now I'm curious in how well you cook."
Yosuke chuckled. "Probably really good considering how Nanako-Chan's not bothered by it."
"I'm a pretty good cook too, you know." Chie said with Kiyoshi blinking at that.
"You are?"
"Er, probably." Chie looked sheepish while Yukiko gave a snort, looking about ready to get into another laughing fit. "Hey I'm serious, if you asked I would make up boxed lunches, easy as pie!"
"Uhh, let me think about-No!" Yosuke deadpanned taking Yukiko's reaction as a good reason to decline.
"What makes you think I can't cook?!" Chie took offense to that.
Kiyoshi looked from Chie to the still laughing Yukiko. "Just a guess." He said dryly.
"Well let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie declared, not backing down from a challenge.
"My, my doth the lady protest too much?" Yosuke asked sarcastically, Chie clenching her teeth in annoyance while Kiyoshi actually looked interested in the idea. "And I never said I cooked."
"A cook-off sounds fun!" Kiyoshi actually had an excited tone before going red in the face when everyone looked at him. "R-Right?"
"Not much of a cook-off you would probably win, heck I would probably win anyway." Yosuke said showing his lack of faith in Chie's cooking skills.
"I can understand that." Yukiko revealed much to Chie's horror.
"What the-Yukiko?!" Chie gave her a betrayed look. "Back me up here!"
Yukiko laughed again at Chie's reaction.
"But if you guys do want to do a cook-off perhaps Nanako-Chan can be our judge?" Yosuke suggested finding this fun, especially with how invested in the idea everyone seemed to be. "Maybe we can make something that ranks up with your Mom's cooking!"
From the way Narukami tensed, Kiyoshi had a feeling that this conversation just turned into a landmine and he became nervous before Nanako looked down. "I don't have a Mom, she died in an accident."
The tension that surrounded the table at that moment was so thick that Izanagi probably couldn't cut through it with his Naginata with Yosuke having a look of instant regret on his face for bringing that up.
'You could really feel the awkwardness.' Kiyoshi thought unsure of how this would go.
"Hey, Yosuke-." Chie whispered nudging him to break him out of his shocked regret.
"I see, uh… Sorry." Yosuke apologized for being insensitive about that.
Nanako quickly shook her head, seeing that he didn't mean anything bad about it. "It's okay, even if I don't have a Mom I have Dad with me."
Kiyoshi had to look down feeling a bit jealous.
It was clear that her Dad cared for Nanako despite losing his wife… Why couldn't his Dad be the same way?
"And now I have a brother too," Nanako surprised everyone by that as her cheeks were burning red. "And I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!"
"Y-Yeah?" Yosuke looked very relieved at how she reacted. "T-That's good."
"We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-Chan!" Chie promised with the girl smiling wider at that.
"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Yukiko brought up happy that the tense atmosphere was about gone at this point.
Pushing the small jealousy he felt down, Kiyoshi gave the girl a smile. "Any time, anywhere." He agreed with them.
Yosuke stood up rather quickly. "Come on, Nanako-Chan let's go get a soda." He offered wanting to make up for his tactlessness.
Nanako perked up at that. "Okay!" She said getting up to follow Yosuke, leaving for the others to let out sighs.
"That almost got awkward." Kiyoshi groaned out with Chie nodding.
"She's a strong girl." Yukiko remarked as many children would've been more bitter about admitting their Mom was dead, but to bounce back from it so fast and to even be happy showed strength.
Chie agreed with her. "Yeah, she's making me feel like I'm the little kid here," She said looking thoughtful before she stood up with a grin. "That's it, I'm going to get something for Nanako-Chan too!"
Kiyoshi blinked before grinning. "That's a great idea."
Though what would she like?
As he got up to follow the girls, he noted Nanako rushing back towards Narukami and smiled.
He might've been miserable last night but it was times like this that made him happy.
~Tuesday May 3rd, 2011~
-Evening-
Kiyoshi wasn't sure what he was doing as he walked by himself after separating from his friends.
He just didn't want to go home right now.
Just thinking about that made him remembered what Katashi told him.
He wanted him to quit the Music Club.
Now this really perplexed Kiyoshi because he had no idea why Katashi would care about something like that, was it because he was drunk or something else?
But he knew that if he wanted to avoid anything happening he should probably listen-.
"Oh Senpai!" Kiyoshi jerked his head up a bit at hearing that voice and looked across the street to see Ayane giving him a wave as she walked across while he felt a bit awkward.
Kiyoshi pushed that down. "Hey Matsunaga-San, how's Golden Week going for you so far?" He asked with a rather forced smile as he had a sudden thought.
If he quit Music Club he might lose a friend.
Ayane smiled at the question, while still looking a tad bit nervous it wasn't as bad as the last time they hung out showing that they were definitely getting used to each other. "It's going well Senpai, I've been spending it with my Mom." She said, fidgeting a bit. "H-How about yours?"
"Just went to Junes with the others." Kiyoshi said before doing a facepalm as he realized that Ayane wouldn't know who the others were and that showed with her curious look. "Right, I managed to make a couple of friends this last month and they invited me out."
Giving a slight cough, Kiyoshi smiled at Ayane.
"So you going somewhere?"
"Just the bookstore, I wanted to get a book that came out." Ayane said as she made a request to have a certain book be held for her the last time she went.
"Oh? What book?"
Ayane turned red.
… Okay seriously what is she reading?
"P-Promise you won't laugh?" Ayane asked with Kiyoshi giving a nod, agreeing to that. "Witchdetective."
She said that so quickly, Kiyoshi had to tilt his head. "Um can you repeat that?"
Ayane took a deep breath. "W-Witch Detective."
"Oh that comic series?" Kiyoshi asked with Ayane confirming it with a nod. "That's cool I've read a few of those before."
Ayane looked very surprised by that while Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah I know guys don't generally read them but I thought it was cool." Kiyoshi said with some hints of embarrassment. "I also read the Neo Featherman R comics too."
Hearing that, Ayane let out a giggle. "Y-You never struck me as someone to read those, Senpai."
'A lot of people would say that.' Kiyoshi thought to himself before he began to steel himself. 'How do I break it to Ayane that I'm quitting the Music Club?'
Maybe he could say that it wasn't for him and he was way too busy with some other stuff that came up at home? It wouldn't be unbelievable and they could still hang out outside of Music Club.
He didn't want to lose a friendship-.
"Senpai?" Ayane had her head tilted as he was quiet for quite a bit. "Is something wrong?"
Just say it… Just say it.
"N-No." Kiyoshi lied, losing any nerve to quit.
He couldn't… He'll just try to keep it a secret from his father.
~Wednesday May 4th, 2011~
-Afternoon-
Kiyoshi had his hands in his pocket while walking around Inaba, wondering how to spend this next day.
Last he checked Yosuke and Narukami were hanging out with Kou Ichijo and Daisuke Nagase who were members of the Basketball and Soccer team respectively, they also had Nanako with them and invited him but he declined not wanting to bother them.
And he knew that Chie and Yukiko were going to be hanging out, he didn't want to intrude on them.
Finally it seemed that Nanashi-Senpai was out of town for Golden Week, so he can't text him. So he was stuck on what to do.
Eventually however he found himself at a shrine where much to his surprise he could see a fox looking at him intently.
This fox looked pretty old given the number of scars that could be seen along with the faded handkerchief around its neck but it just bored its gaze into Kiyoshi who stared back.
For some reason he felt a sort of kinship with the fox before he snorted, putting that rather strange thought into the back of his mind.
He has weird thoughts sometimes.
"Hey there." Kiyoshi whispered walking over to the fox who surprised him by not taking off.
It even let him scratch its ears, pressing its head into his hand in the process making Kiyoshi chuckle.
The fox then gave a yowl making Kiyoshi jump as it took off towards the shrine, grabbing something before running back to Kiyoshi making him blink.
After a few seconds he could recognize the object it grabbed as an Ema that people usually leave in the shrines to make wishes or just to pray.
"You want me to read this?" Kiyoshi asked with the fox giving a yip of confirmation.
'This is one seriously strange fox.' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think but he looked at the Ema.
'Please help Grandpa's legs get better. -Keita'
Judging from how messy the writing was, Kiyoshi could tell that it was a little kid who wrote this and he felt a little bad.
No amount of wishing would-why was there a leaf on the back of the Ema?
Looking up he saw the Fox's ears twitch before it took off and that was before a voice spoke up.
"Oh, not every day you see young'uns like you around here." An elderly man voiced surprising Kiyoshi as he didn't see the guy hobble up towards him.
"Uh y-yeah, I'm just making a stop to appreciate the architecture." Kiyoshi lied nervously, not sure if anyone would believe him about the fox or not before looking back at the shrine to see how it looked like it was falling apart.
Seeing what he was looking at, the elder gave a nod. "I come by to tidy things up once in awhile, but lately my legs are so achy that I can't keep it up."
On hearing that, Kiyoshi stilled with his eyes glancing down at the Ema before back to the man.
Was this the Grandpa of this Keita kid?
The man didn't seem to notice Kiyoshi's movements as he continued. "I've been trying to keep this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around." He had a forlorn expression. "If my legs don't heal, I can' maintain the shrine and then it will eventually close down."
'While I don't believe in the whole wishes or prayers I have to say it would be a shame for this to close down.' Kiyoshi thought sadly looking at the shrine. 'Just think of the History here.'
"Hm? What's that leaf you got in your hands there?" The elder asked taking Kiyoshi by surprise as he actually forgot about the leaf on the Ema, but the man gasped. "Could it be?"
"C-Could what be?" Kiyoshi asked not getting the excitement.
"Way back when, my Grandmother used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there!" The elder explained with Kiyoshi having a skeptic look. "P-Please young man, can I trouble you to spare me that leaf?!"
Tensing a bit at how the man seemed to beg, Kiyoshi just handed the leaf out, not seeing the harm in giving it to him.
The man inspected the leaf before placing it on his leg like that should wor-.
"Oooh! I can feel it! It's working!" The man cried out actually jumping into the air despite the fact that he was struggling to walk earlier. "Amazing! The pain that I've been feeling for so long has up and vanished!"
"Wha?!" Kiyoshi took a step back, obviously not sure what to say about this.
"I'm so grateful that I can even visit my Grandson," The man exclaimed, grinning widely. "I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!"
With that said the man actually ran up the steps to deposit Yen before running past Kiyoshi with all the vigour of a young man leaving the teen stupefied.
D-Did that just happen?
The fox showed itself again sporting a smug look at Kiyoshi's face.
How did-... He's able to go into the TV and summon a monster to fight creatures called Shadows yet here he was questioning leaves? He should probably suspend disbelief at this point.
Checking the offering box, the Fox yipped and ran around Kiyoshi before sitting down patiently and that was when Kiyoshi noticed the bag filled with the same exact leaves he just gave the old man and had a thought.
If those leaves could restore vigor to an old man, what could they do inside of the TV world?
The fox yipped again as if responding to his thoughts with Kiyoshi looking a bit unsure.
… Yeah he's going to tell Narukami about this and see what he thinks.
~Thursday May 5th, 2011~
-Afternoon-
"Leaves?" Narukami asked the next day as Kiyoshi managed to run into him while walking around the small town around the shopping district.
"I know it sounds crazy but if you saw what I did yesterday you would be considering it too." Kiyoshi explained given he was still trying to process the other day.
Narukami frowned, cupping his chin in thought. "Having some sort of medicine like that would be helpful," He admitted given how tired they were after the last few trips. "We'll have to test it out soon."
Kiyoshi gave a nod, agreeing with that and was happy he came to their leader with this information. "Yeah but I think that fox wants money for these leaves, he was turning his head towards the offertory box quite a bit," He said dryly, remembering how confusing this fox was before shrugging. "Well I'm going to head on home-."
"Is something bothering you?" Narukami's blunt question caught Kiyoshi off guard with him tensing up.
"W-What makes you think that?" Kiyoshi cursed the stutter as it was starting to give him away.
Narukami gave him a blank look which made Kiyoshi more nervous given how he couldn't tell what the guy was thinking when he does that. "You've been acting strange since Golden Week began." He elaborated to him in a calm tone.
"I-It's nothing," Kiyoshi got out not wanting to talk about it, but he fidgeted underneath Narukami's stoic look seeing that he wasn't buying it. "I'm serious here."
Narukami kept his look up before something flashed through his mind.
Something that Kiyoshi's Shadow said.
'You're mother abandoned you, your father can't stand you and everyone you tried to befriend just forgets you even exist.'
He and Yosuke never pressed Kiyoshi on that after everything that happened but just thinking on that made Narukami wonder if whatever was bothering Kiyoshi related to that.
Seeing Kiyoshi's nervousness becoming even more apparent, Narukami sighed knowing he won't be able to get anything out of Kiyoshi like this. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen." He offered taking the teen by complete surprise.
"Huh?"
Narukami just walked by, placing a hand on Kiyoshi's shoulder making the boy tense as it was the same shoulder his Katashi grabbed, but unlike him Narukami was showing a friendly gesture before he went to walk off.
"N-Narukami-Sama!" Kiyoshi called out making the transfer student pause before Kiyoshi sighed. "Thank you."
As Narukami left, Kiyoshi however blinked as Diaborosu seemed to be active for some reason. 'The hell is Tetrakarn and why did my Persona just learn it?'
To Be Continued…
Man Golden Week was actually surprisingly tough for me to type, what the actual hell? But I'm happy to be through it. Especially since it showed him doing his own thing rather than be around the others 24/7.
And we finally get to see a part of the true nature between Katashi and Kiyoshi's relationship-I was unsure of how far to type it because I did hint at physical abuse at one point and I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable with reading this. I don't know if I will go further or not with it but eventually Katashi will get his in the future I can promise that. Whether or not the Investigation Team gets involved in it or not is up in the air.
Also we had Kiyoshi meet the Fox who was the actual Hermit Social Link in the game given how Kiyoshi replaced his for this story it meant that the shrine would go to waste, so I might have Kiyoshi take care of those. I'll try to make the next chapter longer too.
So let's get to the review.
Foxchick1: Thanks and I am sorry for the wait.
KatoriAeku: Haha yeah the glasses part was fun to type, especially with Kiyoshi getting even more comfortable around the others showing a bit more personality. I can see why you would sail on the Kiyoshi/Ayane ship that seemed to be going on because it is cute to read again. I will have more of the Persona's interacting with the others in the future because that was fun. I am sorry for the late chapter though.
Okay Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this chapter-oh right.
One more thing, I updated the makeshift character sheet for Kiyoshi on my Fanfic page that way people could keep up with the attacks he had along with where his Social Link Rank is at.
Okay see everyone around!