I DO NOT OWN PERSONA!
Warning: FeMC for Persona 4!
I apologize in advance for all possible missed grammar mistakes and spelling. Please enjoy~!
Yui sat in front of the television of her room, legs crossed as she sat on her couch with her arms folded over her chest.
Nanako thankfully hadn't made instant ramen when Yui had walked through the door. The girl had been watching a quiz show and was happy to learn that Yui was going to cook dinner. The girl had taken some warming up to her and was eager to help her older cousin.
After dinner and all was cleaned up, Yui let Nanako watch one more game show before making them both go to bed.
Yui had spent a good amount of time doing her homework and reading again to keep herself awake. She was tempted to sleep, hoping to speak to Izanagi, but decided it be best to do so later. She rather not risk the chance of missing the Midnight Channel.
The rain outside hit her window as her eyes gazed over to her clock.
11:59...
She stares towards the dark TV screen, the reflection of her and her room stare back at her.
The minute hand ticks the last few minutes and suddenly...
The TV flashes on, an image of a castle appearing. It looked...Cartoony or rather typical for a castle to look like. The cobblestone path way leading up to the gated entrance, rows of statues lined up, and a huge tower right in the middle are shown. It looked like the type of castles one would see in cartoon or even a video game where some princess was trapped and a main character had to storm in to rescue the princess from some monster.
Yui stares at it in shock before blinking as she hears a faint sound.
It sounded like...Someone making..Kissing sounds?
The screen changes, as if the camera recording...Whatever is being shown darting around to find the source.
"Hello there!"
A raven-haired girl grins while giggling into a microphone as the camera zooms over her, "I didn't see you there? Were you watching me~?"
"Yukiko-san?!" Yui stands up and her mouth drops as she takes in the sight of the usually quiet and reserved raven-haired girl.
It is Yukiko.
However instead of the pink kimono or even her school uniform with the red cardigan, Yukiko is wearing a pink princess ball gown, a large red rose pinned right where her heart would be as other matching roses were all over the skirt. Yui can hear the tulle of the dress move against each other as Yukiko twirls around playfully. On her head sits a golden tiara and her arms are covered in bright pink gloves.
Yui swallows a bit, unsure what to think. The dress looked like shades of pink just threw up all over it to make the girl look 'princess' like as possible, and it hurts her eyes.
"My name is Yukiko Amagi!" Yukiko on-screen announces loudly, "And today I'm gonna hunt me down a stud muffin!" Yui cringes a bit at how loud and obnoxious sounded Yukiko is on the television screen and restrains from dropping her jaw down as she hears the sound effects of a gun sounding off as Yukiko finishes her declaration with a gun sign.
"Are you ready?" Yukiko winks out to her audience and her movements become more ecstatic as she keeps speaking. "C'mon saddle up!" Her hands clasp the microphone in her hands and she starts to tug at an invisible rope, "And reign in your stud!"
Yui can't tell if her head hurts from the pink or from what Yukiko says as she giggles, "This is Princess Yukiko's hunt for Prince Charming!"
The silver-haired girl's jaw drops as a corny pink banner appears on-screen.
PRINCESS YUKIKO'S HUNT FOR HER PRINCE ON A WHITE HORSE!
It looks completely outrageous! The banner reminds Yui of those cartoon of some princess anime or just a little girl show in general. The princess giggles and the camera begins to slowly focus away from her, slowly getting her entire body.
"And I've came prepared~"
The Yukiko on-screen smirks and the camera nearly breaks the lens as it zooms up where her hands fall, right on top of her skirt where her crotch is. Yui nearly falls back on the couch in disbelief, "My lacy unmentionables are stacked from top to bottom!"
The camera zooms in on the tops of Yukiko's breasts and Yui's face begins to turn bright red as watches Yukiko shove the microphone between them before the camera backs off.
"They're ready to go! And so is my heart~!"
Her hands make a heart and she drags it across in the front that form a pink, sparkling heart over herself. A typical princess, girly move that makes Yui want to cry or scream a bit. This wasn't like Yukiko at all. What was going on?!
The silver-haired girl can only stare at the screen with her mouth open as Yukiko lets out a grunt and makes a fist, "See!" The raven-haired girl pumps her fist up as the mike remains between her breasts. The camera isn't focusing away and Yui is stuck staring at Yukiko's cleavage and face as she nods a bit.
"I'm out to tame me the whole pack of the best studs there are!" Yukiko declares as she plucks the mike from out from her breasts before winking to the camera, "Well! Time to go~!" Yui watches as the girl flounces off towards the castle, the gate opening for her as she lets out a little cheer as she enters.
The screen starts to flicker and Yui is back to starting at her own reflection.
Her legs feel numb as she collapses onto her couch as she stares at the black screen. Her phone vibrates on the table and she swipes it up immediately, "Yosuke-kun?"
"D-Did you just see that?!"
"...I did...And my eyes hurt," Yui responds as she stares at her screen as Yosuke groans, "That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her and hell, she even said her name too! But didn't the stuff she say sound weird? 'Stud muffin?' The Yukiko-san we know would NEVER say that. She doesn't even know what it means!"
"I know," Yui agrees, "And those TV effects...They remind me of some weird kid show. Or a low-budget show ya know?" Yui hears Yosuke groan again and she can just hear him in the background. His feet pacing loudly of the floor in his room.
"Yosuke-kun, you're pacing."
The boy on the other end stops and sighs, "C-Couldn't you blame me? It wasn't like this the other times ya know," he points out, "...What's going on?"
"We should try to reach Yukiko," Yui suggests before stopping, "Oh...We don't have her number..." Yosuke groans again before making a sound, "Oh! Wait! I'll call Chie!" Yui breathes a sigh of relief as the other continues, "Tomorrow's Sunday...So let's all meet up at Junes first thing in the morning," Yosuke tells her, "We should go into the other world. We can't..."
The silver-haired girl nods in agreement, "I know Yosuke-kun. We'll help her out." The boy on the other end makes a soft sound of confirmation before hanging up. Yui sets her phone down before staring back at the television screen. The image of Yukiko on-screen and the Yukiko from the day before flash in her mind. The two were alike in appearance, but in personality they were far apart.
Even if the princess on-screen said she was Yukiko, she wasn't Yukiko...Or...
Her eyes narrow a bit as she remembers Yosuke's Shadow. The two were alike...
Was...This the same with Yukiko? It seemed to be the only possible explanation. What was shown on television must be Yukiko's Shadow, her repressed emotions just as how Yosuke's Shadow appeared and began to speak of all the hidden thoughts of the boy's mind. Yes...Maybe...She hangs her head and closes her eyes as her fingers press against her forehead, but why would it show up like that?
Didn't Teddie say...No one was on the other side? Just what is-
"The truth will be uncovered," Izanagi's voice rings out in her head and she opens her eyes in surprise, "You should rest...You have a long day tomorrow." Yui smiles a bit at her Persona's words and nods, "Yeah...You're right." He chuckles quietly, his voice fading into the back of her mind as she stretched. Pushing herself up from the couch she walked around the table, pausing at the television again.
"...Stud...Muffin?"
Yui made her way down the stairs before stopping as she hears Nanako giggling and the sounds of the television echoed through the living room. Walking over she stops in the middle of the room as she catches sight of a ninja squeaking as he's taken down by cartoony ninja stars. Nanako glances at her and smiles, "Oh good morning."
"Morning."
She's dressed in a pair of gray jeans and a light gray turtle neck, her black leather jacket rests over her arms as she looks at Nanako and back to the television, "Where's your Dad?" Nanako reaches out and lowers the volume of the screen as she looks to Yui. "He went out already," she answers, "He'll be home late he said. Oh..." The younger girl looks Yui up and down curiously, "Are you going out?"
"Uh...Well..." Yui hesitates and looks at her jacket draped over her arm and back up to Nanako. If she left the house...Nanako would be by herself for a long time. Was that really okay to do? But, Yukiko might be in trouble and she couldn't just leave Yosuke and Chie alone...
"It's okay." Yui blinks as her cousin smiles a little, "I'll be fine by myself. I can hold down the fort." Yui stares a bit in shock at her words and struggles to find something to say. Nanako reaches for the remote again and changes the channel, perking up at the weather's forecast. "Oh its sunny today. I'll do some laundry..." The brunette looks up at her, "...Weren't you going out?"
"Oh..Um..." Nanako smiles, "Don't worry about me. You go have fun," she assures the younger girl before brushing past her. Yui stares after the girl before sighing.
Too mature for her own good...
She walks slowly to the door, retrieving her black ankle boots from the sides and slipping them on before shrugging her jacket onto her shoulders. Aside from the green stripe that runs from the shoulders down, her clothing choice is rather simple...
She wonders if Yosuke will be able to spot her in the food court, most likely since she was the only person in town with gray hair. Her fingers play with her bangs as she walks, one of her hands resting in the pockets of her jacket. The town seemed much more livelier today then usual and Yui sees a bit of activity around the shopping district as she passes by. It's not as busy as Junes, but Yui can see more life in the usually quiet district.
She paused at one of the stores, a bookstore, and peered in curiously. Inside were a good number of shelves holding a large quality of books. The cashier looks at her curiously and she waves a bit before hurrying on ahead. Perhaps later.
By the time she arrives to Junes, Yui finds herself the only one there. She sighs and slips into a chair, crossing her ankles as she rests her elbows on the table surface. Had she left too early?
Her fingers play with the napkins set on the table and before she realizes it her fingers are moving quickly to form paper cranes. It seemed to be her new hobby now...Making paper cranes. She had done so before back home, but arriving to Inaba seemed to spark her odd habit into a new form of entertainment for her.
"...Those are cool..."
She turns her head as a tall boy standing only a foot away stares at her table. He blinks in surprise, not expecting her to turn, before stuttering, "I-I mean uh!" He's tall...Very tall. His hair is obviously dyed as Yui can make out some dark under the bright blond as he struggled to gather his words, "Y-You're...Uh...Paper cranes are hard to do! You're doing a good job!" He looks around frantically before shoving his hands into his pockets and hurrying out of the area.
Yui blinks a few times. While it was comical, she had been stunned in her folding as she heard footsteps coming her way.
"Yui-chan! Sorry I'm late!" Yosuke grins as he runs to her, his hands behind his back, "Oh...Whoa...Dude. We need to get you a new hobby. How many did you make?" Yui looks at the table and blushes a bit when she places the crane in her hands down to the table. The cranes are scattered over a good half of the circular table, "I think I lost count after...Twenty?" Yui weakly shrugs as Yosuke sighs and shakes his head.
"You are one weird girl dude, but anyway!"
Yosuke grins as he leans in close to her, "Check out what I found in my backyard~!"
Two blades shine under the sunlight as Yosuke reveals what he had hidden behind his back.
One blade is longer than the other, a katana. The other is shorter, a dagger. The metal on both gleam and Yui leans away a bit as the boy grins and chuckles happily, "Yosuke-kun...In your backyard," Yui weakly laughs, "Wow...Your family has an interesting way of cutting the grass huh?" Yosuke smirks, "Oh c'mon don't look so shocked!" he tells her lightly as he swings them around a bit, "They're not real, they're fakes!"
"...They sure look real to me," Yui argues back as she watches Yosuke pose with the two imitation weapons as he laughs, "That's the thing!" He crosses them together, "Even with our Personas...It's not enough. With something weapon like, not like a golf club, we can at least defend ourselves while our Personas kick Shadow ass. C'mon Yui-chan pick one!"
Yui can feel her mouth drag down into a frown as she stares at him in disbelief, "Pick one? I don't even want one. Should you really be swinging them aro-"
"Huh? You know when you put it that way," Yosuke cuts her off as he looks at the two blades with interest, "Maybe wielding both? That would be totally bad ass! It'll be...Something like this!" Yui leans back a bit as the other points the dagger towards her with the katana point up to the sky as he stands on one leg. "Or..Something like this!" Yui relaxes, but leans back as the boy spins in front of her.
"Or this!" Yosuke attempts to crouch down and hold both blades in front of him.
"O-Oh! Or this!" This time he begins to wave the two fake blades around as if he's fighting multiple enemies all the while making grunts and yells as he moves. Yui can just hear the police sirens in the distance as she watches him. "Yosuke...This really-"
"I've spotted a suspicious male, minor, armed with multiple weapons. Appears to be harassing female, minor. Requesting immediate backup."
Yosuke freezes and quickly hides the two weapons behind his back as Yui stands up, "Uh...O-Oh crap, no wait I mean wait! No...No no no no no! It's not what you think officer! These are fake! Fake! We're just two um weapon crazed teenagers..Uh heh...Yui-chan..Help."
"Officer look," Yui calmly spoke up, "He's not doing anything bad. And I'm fine-"
"Put the weapons down now!" the police officer ordered to Yosuke, ignoring her words making her twitch, "We'll listen to your story at the station. Hands where I can see them...Now!"
Yui backs away as Yosuke lets out a yell, "No look you got it all wrong Officer! It's not-"
The officer steps back, his hand pressing the walkie-talkie on his side as he stares at Yosuke in shock, "Are you resisting an officer of the law?! You're under arrest! Requesting immediate backup in the food court, repeat requesting backup!"
Yui stares up to the sky, her hands lift up and she smacks both over her face as Yosuke lets out another yell as more police officers surround them, "..Damnit Yosuke!"
"I-It's not...Will you all listen! G-Gah!"
Yui doesn't need to look to know that the officers managed to grab Yosuke and discarded the fake weapons to the ground. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she wills herself to look as one of the officers look at her in concern. "Are you alright miss? He didn't hurt you did he?" Yui's eyebrow twitches as she just stares at the man, "Does it look like he hurt me?"
The man sighs, sympathetic, and pats her on the shoulder, "I'm sorry, but you might want to go with us back to the station. We'd like to hear your take on what happened. It might be hard, but we understand."
The silver-haired girl's eyes only widen and her mouth drops a bit as she hears Yosuke being dragged off yelling in protest. She turns her face away from the man and buries it again into her hands.
Paper cranes...
Just think about paper cranes...
Yui rests against the wall as she waits outside of the interrogation room where Yosuke is, she and him were both questioned...Though it seemed the men didn't take her word for it for the first half that Yosuke meant her no harm. She didn't want to pull the 'Hey...Detective Dojima's my uncle' card, but she did. They all began to change their tune and managed to grab the older detective to talk to Yosuke before running off back to their posts.
The silver-haired girl sighed and hung her head. That was the second time she had been ignored...Was she mute to them? She had been cut off and ignored, did she have to speak louder? She shakes her head as the image of her screaming at the top of her lungs to the previous officer at the food court comes to mind. That...Would be bad...
"Yui!" Yosuke burst out the door, "Oh..Oh man...Thank god. Thank god. Thank god you're a niece of someone who works here!" Yui shakes her head slightly as she looks at Dojima who emerges out of the room, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he glares at the boy making him shut up. "You. Hanamura right?" Dojima glares, "What were you thinking? You know what's been going on. We got men everywhere and Yui..."
The teenager looks up at him and crosses her arms and sighs, "I...Know...Sorry it won't happen again. I should have taken responsibility correct?"
"Damn right," Dojima sighs, "The last thing I need is for your mother to learn about an incident like this. You're lucky I was in today or you'd both have this on your records, I know you two aren't stupid. I also know you're both not troublemakers...So stop getting in trouble. Both of you." Yosuke sighs and nods quickly, "Y-Yes sir..." Yui also nods, "Of course uncle..."
Dojima sighs and gives them one last glance, "You both can go...Though I guarantee we won't give you back those weapons."
"...Too bad for your grass Yosuke-kun," Yui quietly whispers as the boy grunts and nudges her on the side, "Not the time Yui-chan!" he hisses as two officers walk by them. "So...The one who disappeared is the Amagi girl?" The two of them freeze as they listen to the other officer, "Seems like it, but she's just a high schooler you know. Could be that she decided to run away from home. You know..The usual."
"Hey..Did..." Yosuke whispered and Yui nods before Dojima clears his throat making them jump, "I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress," her uncle continues, "We're sensitive about certain things. This better not happen again...I'm telling you this again so you BOTH know without excuse."
They nod before the detective walks away, leaving them both in the hall. "Narukami-chan! Yosuke!" They turn to see Chie running towards them, "Oh there you are! I've looked all over for you! Yukiko's gone!"
"Yeah...We heard, well overheard," Yosuke looks around, "And keep your voice down! I know you're scared, but still..." Chie shakes her head, "T-That's easier said then done," she struggles to whisper as she looks at them both, "I went there, at the inn, and they told me she just disappeared! How can I stay calm when I know my best friend might...Might be...She..." Chie struggles to form the words and Yui opens her mouth to speak until she feels a hand on her shoulder.
"Yo! Yui-chan, this is a surprise!"
She jumps and almost swings her hand around until she spots a familiar face, "A-Adachi-san?" The detective laughs as he raises a cup of coffee in his hands, "I told ya. You can cut the formalities out, stuffy. What are you doing here? Visiting your uncle?"
"N-No," Yui laughs nervously, "Just..A misunderstanding. I had to clear things up." Adachi shrugs a bit, "Ah I see, well I better get going."
"Uh W-Wait!" Yosuke quickly steps in front of the man, "We um...Is it okay with we ask a question? Its about Yukiko-san. I-I mean Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn. Did something happen to her?" The man looks at the three of them, "Huh? Oh...Uh...I can't..Say."
Yui can hear Chie start to move before stepping in front of the girl, arm out a bit. Chie looks at her before crossing her arms. Her fingers drum against her jacket sleeve as she stares at Adachi. "Please," Yui quietly asks, "We're her friends and we're worried."
Adachi glances around, fearful a bit if any other people working at the station are coming down the hall before sighing.
"Well...If you're Ms. Amagi's friends," he quietly muses, "Then okay. Just keep it between us okay?"
"Yes! Yes we will just tell us!" Chie exclaimed as Yui shakes her head to the other girl as Adachi sighs, "Well...We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying she was gone. Couldn't find her anywhere," the detective explains, "Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were all pretty busy. And no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time."
Chie gasps at this point and Yosuke stares at him in shock, "Oh!" The man quickly shakes his head, "No no no. It's too early to tell if it's a case though," he tries to assure them quickly, "Yeah...I mean..People's been turning up dead on foggy days and we're really sensitive to stuff like this, but for all we know it could have been a simple runaway case..."
Adachie looks at the three before snapping his fingers, "Ah actually...Could you three tell me something else too?" he suddenly brightened at his realization, "Did she say anything to you guys? Was she acting...Strange?" Chie shakes her head, "No...She was just busy working."
"...There a reason?" Yui questions as the detective frowns a bit before switching the cup of coffee into his right hand and pulling out small notebook and flipping it open. "Well," he informs them as he stares at the page he's reading, "That announcer, Ms. Yamano? She was staying at the Amagi Inn before she was murdered. According to our investigation we found that Ms. Yamano was a pretty high maintenance guest and said a few harsh words to the manager. Apparently the manager, Ms. Amagi's mother, collapsed from the stress of trying to keep her happy."
Yui hears Chie take in a sharp intake of breath as Adachi continues, "Thing is...There's a few theories flying around. That maybe Ms. Amagi did a few things to get back at Ms. Yamano and her being missing is just her staying on the low-"
"YOU THINK YUKIKO'S THE MURDERER?!"
"Whoa whoa!" Adachi held up both his hands, the cup and notebook still clasped in his fingers, "Calm down! It's only theories floating around!"
"It's lame that's what it is! How dare you!" Yui quickly grabs the girl around the torso as Yosuke tries to grab hold of one of her arms as she tries to strike at Adachi. Being as both she and Yosuke were taller, they had a good advantage to keep the girl in place. Adachi stares at the enraged teenager before backing away slowly, "Crap...I..Might've gone too far," he quietly mutters as Yui shoots him a look, "You think?"
"I'll...I'll just go. You didn't hear anything from me, got it?" Adachi nods to them before hurrying off as Chie still continues to struggle in their arms.
"Yeah you better go!" Chie snarls as Adachi disappears around the corner, "I'll...I'll...Those are lies!" Yui continues to keep hold of her as Yosuke struggles to keep her arms from swinging.
The girl's eyes are starting to become glassy and Yui spots a tear falling as she continues to yell and stomp her foot on the floor. "Chie-chan..Chie!" The girl stops as Yui calls her and looks at her, "C'mon. Would Yukiko-chan want you like this?" The short-haired girl sniffles and begins to relax her body, "No...No she wouldn't..." Yui slowly unwraps her arms around her as Yosuke takes a step back.
They watch as she wipes at her eyes with her hands before looking at them. Her lips drawn into a line, her eyes are still glassy, but there's a look of determination in them. "Listen you two...We..We have to save her. We have to save Yukiko."
"That was the plan," Yui reminded her as Yosuke nods, "Yeah," he tells her and pats her on the shoulder, "We won't leave her in there...We'll save her." He looks over to Yui who nods back to him, "It's obvious now the police won't help us. So it's just us. You okay with that Chie?"
"Well duh," the girl smirks, "Of course I'm okay with it. I'm going ot save Yukiko. Even if I have to go against some twisted monster! I won't leave her alone, she's my friend."