I do not own Naruto or Persona 4.

"Persona!" normal speech

"Persona!" demon/Shadow/Persona speak

"What?" thought/mind speak

Chapter 25: Sisterly Faces and Dark Revelations

*Dojima Residence*

Yu and Kurama walked through the door from arriving back from their trip to Tatsumi Port Island and were greeted by Nanako. "Nii-san, Big Bro," said Nanako as she joyfully hugged Yu and Kurama, "how was your trip?" Both teens reached into their souvenir bags and pulled out their gift for Nanako: Yu's was a shirt with Magical Detective Loveline on the front while Kurama's was a princess costume. "Wow! Thanks!" cheered Nanako as she gave the two teens another hug. "I'm home," said Ryotaro as he entered to see Yu and Kurama, "Oh, you're back from your trip. We must have just missed each other." Nanako got her gifts and said, "Look what Nii-san and Big Bro got me!" The older Dojima smiled and said, "They look really nice, Nanako. Did you remember to thank them?" After receiving a nod from Nanako, Ryotaro watched his daughter run up the stairs with her gifts before turning his attention to his son and nephew. "I'm sure those came from your wallets," said Ryotaro as he reached for his own before Kurama stopped him. "You don't have to pay us back Dad," said Kurama, "We were both glad to get Nanako something as she's family. In fact Yu and I both got you a couple of nice mugs, 's least we can do for your help with…it."

Ryotaro nodded as he had helped them a bit with the Kubo case and the occasional interfering with the Konoha-nin. Even though the whole kidnapping/murder case was under wraps, there still the few headaches going around.

The family moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. "5,000 yen says that it's one of them trying to get me to come back," said Kurama as Ryotaro answered the door to reveal Asuma and a young woman with chin length black hair wearing a black women's suit with a small pig wearing a red shirt in her arms. Yu was about to hand Naruto a 5,000 yen bill when he saw the shocked look on Kurama's face. "Hope we didn't catch you at a bad time," said the woman as she bowed, "but Asuma told me that Naruto lives here. I'm Shizune Kato." Shizune saw Kurama and she immediately tackled him into a hug. "W-whoa!" said Kurama as he lost his balance, "Shizune-nee-chan!" Shizune tightened her grip as tears fell from her eyes. "Naruto…*sob*…Naruto, I can't believe that it's really you!" Shizune said as tears continued to roll down her eyes, "I've missed you so much…*sob*…and Lady Tsunade and the couple who own Ichiraku's miss you as well!" Kurama gently rubbed Shizune's back and let the woman cry into his chest before the both of them got back to their feet.

"I've missed you as well, Shizune-nee-chan," said Naruto as he hugged Shizune, "Baa-chan as well." Naruto let go of Shizune to see Nanako at the base of the stairs with a look of confusion. "Hey Imouto," said Naruto as he walked towards Nanako, "Remember when I told you about my Nee-chan?" The little girl nodded as Naruto motioned Shizune to come forward. "Nanako," said Naruto with a gentle smile, "this is Shizune, she's my Big Sis whenever I needed someone to talk to." Shizune squatted down to Nanako's level and with a smile, she said, "It's really nice to meet you Nanako-chan. You know, you're really lucky to have a big brother like Naruto. He can be a bit of a handful, but I am really sure that he has always loved you and protected you." Nanako saw the gentleness in Shizune's eyes and knew that she could trust her a little bit, but she could help but ask, "Are you…are you going to take Nii-san away?"

Shizune easily saw the worry in the girl's eyes and from what the others back at the Amagi Inn, Shizune already knew her answer. "Although it is true that I really missed having the little ball of sunshine," said Shizune as she sat on the floor and placing a comforting hand on Nanako, "but that is Naruto's decision and no matter what his answer, I will always support him. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if he decided to stay here as he has almost everything he could ever dream of right here in Inaba." Naruto smiled as he knew that Shizune would always understand him and knew what's best for him. Nanako wrapped Shizune in a loving hug as she was happy that her brother would be staying in Inaba.

Both Nanako and Shizune felt something wriggle in between them and the two of them looked to see Shizune's pet pig looking at them with a smile. "Hey Tonton," said Shizune as she petted the pig on its head, "I know you missed Naruto too, but we should be getting back to Lady Tsunade and Iruka at the Inn."

"Baa-chan and Iruka-sensei are here too?" asked Naruto with shock on his face and received a nod from Shizune. The woman got back to her feet, Tonton in her arms, and said, "Yeah, they're both at the Inn wanting to see you and see how you were handling Jiraiya's death." Ryotaro was shocked to hear that Jiraiya had died, but knew that when you have a job as a spymaster and have…questionable hobbies, that lifestyle would be dangerous. "I'm alright," said Naruto as he placed an arm around Yu's shoulders, "my cousin, Yu, here has helped me with some of my problems. Especially with some of the headaches the other Konoha-nin have caused."

Shizune was about to head out the door when Asuma asked, "Is it true that your friends are pseudo-jinchurikis?" Crap! Yu thought as his eyes widened at what he had heard, How did they find out!? "I really don't know what you're talking about, Asuma," said Naruto with slight agitation in his voice, "How could anyone have something sealed inside of them when 1) what could be sealed inside them and 2) chakra is nearly impossible to use here as it takes even 20 times just to bring out and mold chakra?" Asuma remember how hard it was for Ino to use her family's justu and how the girl had collapsed from exhaustion right after. "Well…" said Asuma as he tried to save face, "It's just that Shikamaru had heard Amagi-san talking about it at the club during the school trip." Ryotaro quickly said, "Well you know how most people are here. They just love to yap about what another person had said, so I wouldn't be surprise if any of my son's friends were curious about that subject."

Asuma decided to buy the excuse as he and Shizune and Tonton left. Once the Konoha-nin were gone, Ryotaro turned to face Yu and Kurama as the two teens lost color to their faces. "What's this about going to a club during a school trip?" asked the detective gave the two an intimidating look. So close, Kurama thought as he knew that there was no way Yu and Kurama were going to come out alive from Ryotaro's scolding, We are seriously boned.

*Amagi Inn *

Tsunade and a man with auburn hair in a short ponytail and a scar across the bridge of his nose wearing a dark blue suit were reminiscing some of their good memories of Naruto. "Hahahaha! I can't believe that the gaki was able to paint the Hokage Monument in broad daylight and was still able to outrun ANBU!" laughed Tsunade as she secretly wished that she had seen it herself, "I bet so many shinobi wanted to know your secret on catching Naruto, huh Iruka?" Iruka chuckled as he remembered all of his colleagues asking him how he was able to catch Naruto; he would have told them if they asked nicely and not call his favorite student a 'demon brat.' Yet now it was completely ironic that those same ninjas are missing Naruto after seeing how dull the village was without him…that and the very boy they were cruel to was the son of the Fourth Hokage.

At that moment, Shizune walked in with Tonton on a leash and sat next to Tsunade. "How was visiting Naruto?" asked Tsunade as she adjusted the skirt on her forest green suit. "Naruto, or should I say Kurama, is really enjoying his new life as he had so many people who care for him. He also has a cute little sister."

"Sister?" asked both Tsunade and Iruka with confusion on their faces. Shizune nodded and said, "Yeah, and you can tell that Nanako-chan really loves her Nii-san. It would be devastating if Naruto had to leave her and I'm sure that Naruto would be devastated if something awful happened to the girl." Iruka couldn't help but know that Naruto would be the perfect older brother to anyone as it was proven with how Konohamaru acted around the blond.

"Naruto is completely different than how he was before his banishment," said Shizune. She, Tsunade, and Iruka remembered how Naruto not only physically changed, but mentally as well. Gone was the little boy who wanted to prove himself to the world by becoming Hokage; now there was a young man who everyone could turn to and was loved for who he was.

"I also heard he has a nice girlfriend," said Iruka as he pulled out one of the photos that Kakashi had taken when he saw them at the Summer Festival, "and she's an idol." Tsunade studied the picture and saw that Naruto's girlfriend was wearing the very necklace that she had given to the boy. You have to be pretty precious to Naruto if he gave you my necklace, Tsunade thought as she had a feeling that the girl would treat Naruto well.

In the lobby, Shikamaru was still thinking on what Yukiko had said about the Investigation Team being pseudo-jinchurikis. I knew that Yukkiko wasn't lying as aside from her Persona powers, she's just a civilian, Shikamaru thought before a sense of dread crept up on him, Does that mean that she and the others now have the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox? Or is it something else? The cloud gazer had never thought this much outside of battle or Shogi, but this topic was bothering as it involved Naruto and images of demonic empowered teens running rampant have disturbed him from time to time.

"Nara-san?" asked a voice from behind Shikamaru. The Konoha-nin turned to see Naoto behind him. "Oh hey Naoto," said Shikamaru as the young detective sat next to him, "What's up?" Naoto quickly looked around and said, "There is something I would like to ask you. It involves jinchurikis." Naoto took another quick look and asked, "Is it possible for a pseudo-jinchuriki to exist?" Straight to the point, Shikamaru thought as he took a drink of cola. "Well Naoto," said Shikamaru as he set the can on the table, "pseudo-jinchurikis do exist as we have me one that contained the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox. The difference between jinchurikis and pseudo-jinchurikis is that jinchurikis possess the beast themselves while the pseudo-jinchurikis only have the chakra of the tailed beast." Nodding, Naoto asked, "So pseudo-jinchurikis are considerable weaker than that of a jinchuriki?" Shikamaru nodded and said, "As I have mentioned before, we only came across one, but what Yukiko said back at Escapade got me thinking more than ever now, but something else is bothering me."

"What would that be?" asked Naoto. "Well," said Shikamaru, "it should be impossible for anyone who already had their chakra coils develop to become jinchurikis as that much added chakra, even if it came from just a small nail or patch of fur from a tailed beast, could cause the chakra coils to overload and kill the person. That's why infants had been used as their chakra coils haven't been fully developed and in a way, the tailed beast's chakra becomes something like a second reservoir of chakra for the jinchuriki. So how would it be possible for teenagers, who never had access their chakra, become pseudo-jinchurikis?"

Naoto was now beginning to think that Yukiko's drunken rabbling was actually true. Could there be a world inside the TV and if so, could the power she had mentioned and what Shikamaru had said be something to worry about. Even though I myself don't believe it yet, Naoto thought as different theories entered the detective's mind, That would explain why the lab could never find the cause of death for the first two victims as the third, Kinshiro Morooka, was shown to have died from blunt force trauma. "Thank you for answering my question, Nara-san," said Naoto as he got up from his seat, "I will see you some other time as I have some new theories to run." Shikamaru watched the detective leave the inn and thought, Naoto is really pushing herself just to prove that women can be just as good as men. She reminds me of both Tenten AND Naruto…hell, she could be their daughter in a different timeline.

It was common knowledge between all the Konoha-nin, save for Lee, that Naoto Shirogane was a girl and respected Kakashi's wishes of keeping it a secret, so they all continued to act that Naoto was a boy. No one told Lee as he could never really keep a secret that wasn't his own as the taijutsu expert would just unknowingly blurt it out to the world. Still, some of the Konoha-nin wanted the young detective to be herself and stop lying to herself. Funny, Shikamaru thought as he let out a sad sigh, Naoto wants to fill in the shoes everyone has given her while Naruto wants to fill in the shoes that goes against what people expect. Naoto would easily be Naruto's equal in the opposite ways.

*Samegawa Floodplains*

The next day, the Investigation Team was heading towards school when they saw Naoto before them. "Hey Naoto-kun," said Yosuke before he noticed something, "Where's your uniform?" Naoto tipped his hat and said, "I have some important files about the case to go over, so I won't be able to attend school for a while. Now if you excuse me." Naoto walked by the Investigation Team before stopping and said, "This isn't a game for me as well." Kurama couldn't help but get the feeling that the detective was going to do something reckless and stupid.

After Naoto had left, Yosuke decided to address a serious situation on their hands: the Konoha-nin knowing about them being pseudo-jinchurikis. "Now that those jerks from Konoha know about our little secret," said Yosuke as he accusingly eyed Yukiko, "what are we going to do?" Everyone had heard about that when Yu and Kurama had told them about telling Ryotaro their little venture to a club during a school trip. "I'm pretty sure that those guys from Konoha will bother us more than usual now," said Kanji, "They will probably extend their offer for Kurama-senpai to go back with them to us in hopes of learning how we can use our Personas." Either that or use us as breeding stocks, Kurama thought with disgust on his face as he could imagine so many shinobi trying to awaken their own Personas. "We can't let them win," said Rise as she wrapped her arms around Kuramas left arm, "So what if they know about our powers, we'll just turn down their offers; they can't kidnap us as people will know that we were missing and it would look bad on them." Everyone knew that Rise was right, but that still didn't erase all of their doubts of the Konoha-nin trying to win them over.

*Junes; Food Court*

After classes had ended, the Investigation Team decided to go for a run through the Shadow World. Even if the case was solved, it was still good exercise and the place was still messed up as ever. Right now, the group was waiting for Yu to return from wherever he was. "Hey Foxy," asked Rise with a sad look on her face, "I didn't…do anything really bad while I was out of it…did I?" Kurama really didn't want to tell Rise about how she flashed another boy. "Well you did have play the King's Game and-ow!" said Yosuke before he received a kick to the shin from Kurama.

"Kurama-kun, please be honest with me," said Rise with an even sadder face, "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Letting out a small sigh, Kurama regretfully relented and said, "You flashed Naoto and decided to smother him, thinking that he was me." Rise slumped over and said, "I can't believe I did that to another boy right in front of my Foxy-kun. I'm so so sorry Foxy, can you ever forgive me?" Kurama lifted Rise's face and gave his girlfriend a small kiss and said, "I have already forgiven you as it wasn't your fault, but next time, I'm choosing the place on our next date." Rise smiled as she dried her tears and quickly gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Of course, Foxy-kun." Yu arrived with Yukiko and asked, "Everyone ready?" With quick nods, everyone headed out of the food court and went towards the Shadow World.

What the group didn't know was that they were being watched from a small distance by a mysterious man. "How long will it take for you to get them out of the picture?" said an impatient voice. "Have patience my dear associate," said the man as he turned towards the voice, "All things will come in due time; those brats will be out of your hair and I will get my hands on the jinchuriki child. Do not worry, I will hold my end of the bargain soon enough." With an impatient huff, the sound of footsteps echoed away from the man. "Soon, Naruto, I will get what is rightfully mine," said the man as an evil smirk crawled from his face.

*Shopping District*

Nanako was walking through the shopping district when she saw Shizune and another woman with blond hair wearing a dark green suit. "I'm sure that Naruto will be happy to see you Lady Tsunade," said Shizune as she placed a comforting hand on the woman's back. "Are you really sure Shizune," said the woman as tears started to fall from her eyes, "I did all I could to stop them trying to kill him and even though I did succeed, the council still had the nerve to banish him behind my back. I know that Naruto must be mad at me, especially that I sent the Rookie 11 and their senseis to find him." Nanako carefully walked towards the women and asked, "Are you alright?" Both Shizune and Tsundae turn to see a concern Nanako in front of them. "Oh hey Nanako-chan," said Shizune with a gentle smile on her face, "I'm just helping Lady Tsunade with a problem of hers. It…it involves Kurama."

"You must be Baa-chan!" said Nanako with a smile on her face, "Nii-san told me all about you." Tsunade dried her tears a bit and said, "The gaki…told you about me? You must be Nanako, I'm Tsunade Senju." The trio then sat on a nearby bench as the three of them talked. "What brings you out here by yourself, Nanako?" asked Tsunade with motherly concern, "Shouldn't you be with your parents or you brother? I would like to meet them." Nanako looked at Tsunade and said, "Dad's at work and Nii-san's with his friends and Big Bro." Still curious, Tsunade asked, "What about your mother?"

"She died in an accident," said Nanako with sadness in her eyes. Both Tsunade and Shizune gasped as the girl had lost her mother at such a young age. "I'm really sorry about that Nanako," said Tsunade with a pang of regret in her heart, "You must be so alone at home." Nanako gently smiled and said, "It's alright, Kurama-nii always spends time with me at home, and now I have Big Bro and his friends so I'm never alone." Although glad that Nanako wasn't alone, Shizune couldn't help but ask, "But aren't you afraid of being home by yourself?"

"Well," said Nanako as she swung her feet back and forth, "when Mommy died, Nii-san always had me wait at school so he or Daddy would pick me up. But when Nii-san was thinking of getting a job, he gave me some rules to go by, like not answering the door for strangers and not talking to strangers." Nanako then looked at Shizune and continued, "Kurama-nii told me that I could trust you as you were his nee-chan, and I have seen Nii-san with Neji and Hanabi's father." Tsunade remembered that Naruto was alright with a few of his friends, but that was only because those few saw the boy for who he is. "Nii-san is always worried about me as I heard when he was talking to Big Bro," Nanako continued, "He told Big Bro about how he wanted to be Hokage before he became a part of my family, but Nii-san said that he was already the Hokage he dreamed about as there were lots of people who accept him and turn to him when they need help." Tsunade couldn't help but smile as Naruto had finally obtain the acceptance he always wanted. "Well Nanako," said Tsunade as she got up from her seat, "How about we get you home so your father and brothers won't be worried about you?" Nanako smiled as Shizune and Tsunade guided the little girl home to where she was safe and sound.

*Dojima Residence*

It was nightfall when Yu and Kurama had arrived with a couple of bags from Junes. "Thought Dad would be home," said Kurama as he set the bags on the table, "Oh well, it's my turn to make dinner anyway so why don't the two of you watch some TV and I'll make us something nice." Yu turned the television to the news where it showed Naoto being interviewed.

"So, what are your thoughts on how the kidnapping/murder case wrapped up?" asked the reporter. "Well, if you must know," said Naoto with a small, sly smile, "I believe that the case was closed rather hastily with the arrest of Mitsuo Kubo. True that Kubo was responsible for the murder of Kinshiro Morooka, a local high school teacher, but there was something that bothered me." Confused, the reporter then asked Naoto what Naoto was meaning. "It was proven by autopsy that Morooka was murdered through blunt force trauma, most likely from a bat or small pipe, but the two victims before him, Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, had no cause of death behind them. The autopsy specialist at Inaba even said that if the victims had died from some sort of poisoning, there would be evidence from within the body." What the hell is Naoto thinking!? Kurama thought as he listened in, That brat's going to put Dad out of a job just because of his damn pride as a detective! "But…" asked the reporter with confusion on his face, "if that's true, then does that mean that Mitsuo Kubo isn't responsible for the first two kidnappings and deaths?" Naoto nodded and said, "That is my theory as it is proven that Kubo was nowhere near the Amagi Inn when Yamano-san had arrived, thus discrediting Kubo's connection with her. As for Konishi-san, I have been told that Kubo has been seen at the gates of Yasogami High, but from what I have been told; Kubo was there to take on a…local challenge. Overall, Kubo was just a copycat killer and the real culprit is possibly still out there, but that is just a theory."

"Dinner's ready," said Kurama as he swiftly placed three bowls of rice and curry on the table and swiped the remote from Yu. "Enough of this gloomy nonsense; they caught the bad guy, threw him behind bars, end of story." Kurama changed the channel to a random channel to show his favorite show, Dude vs. Nature, and said, "Now this is a more exciting show; nothing like seeing a guy using all his wits and knowledge to survive near-impossible situations!" Yu and Nanako didn't want to argue as Kurama was right…sort of.

After Nanako had gone to bed, Yu and Kurama were watching some late night television before Yu decided to speak up. "You don't think Naoto was right about Kubo, do you?" asked Yu with slight concern in his voice as he shut off the television. Kurama quickly looked around and let out a sigh. "I want to say that the brat's a liar, but not when Fuzzball has some doubts. Also, if you saw a guy walk by a wall of a bath house and there just happens to be a hole there, can you take back what you've done if you falsely accuse him of voyeurism without proof? With your pride on the line, would you admit that you made a horrible mistake after the damage has already been done?" Yu did see the logic in what Kurama said, but he still had his doubts.

"Good Evening, everyone," said Naoto's voice from the television. Yu and Kurama looked at the screen as the Midnight Channel played its little episode as one thought entered their minds: it's not over…

Now that Naoto has shown that the case has not been solved, what is going to happen? Tsunade will meet Kurama/Naruto face to face soon, but I'm working on that idea at the moment. Don't forget to review as it is welcomed.

Ja Ne