Piecing the Fragments
Chapter 43: The Search Continues
Original Concept: Persona 3 Portable
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Created by: Atlus
written by: wrathie
Author's Notes: Game Spoilers Galore, Readers be warned.
Author's Notes: Due to my re-mastering, I've taken the liberty to add more information inside the story for a more consistent time line.
It'll be implemented in phases, so, it'll take a while to see it's effects.
Thank you, Kaiser dude for the beta and the ideas we've generated together!
5/23 Saturday
Iwatodai Strip Mall
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After finally meeting up with Takeba Yukari and Iwasaki Rio, Iori Junpei scratched his head as they explained the situation to him as well. They had gone around school asking everyone who might have seen Minako and they had came up with nothing.
'A sempai in the library committee said that she hadn't seen her that day, and she hadn't replied her messages too.'
'Minako sure has a lot of friends huh...'
Junpei wondered out loud while Rio explained that she even went to the extent of asking her tennis club team-mates for clues on Minako's disappearance and she had been disappointed to report that they hadn't seen her at Chagall yesterday either.
It was gratifying and a little complicated for Rio to find out that due to her concern for Minako, the girls who had always dismissed her hadn't done that this time, and she could even hoped that the rift had been repaired, even if it's just a little. Even when she went missing, Minako was still helping her... Rio found herself unable to come to terms with how influential Minako truly was.
'So she wasn't working yesterday, did she? Well... if she did, she might have started on another shift instead...'
Junpei rubbed his chin in contemplation and Yukari nodded as well.
'I've thought of that so we wanted to go over to the shopping mall too. You guys covered the strip-mall right?'
'Yeah, I came over here to see if she's been hanging out in the strip-mall and I found Ken and Maiko-chan here. They didn't see her today though.'
Junpei passed the spotlight over to the two kids, and Yukari and Rio listened as Maiko nodded her head and spoke up too.
'That's right, Maiko didn't see Minako-Onee-chan at all today or yesterday... Maiko wanted to play with her together with Ken-kun too.'
Maiko pouted while Ken continued on, coughing a little to get their attention before flushing red as Junpei wolf-whistled to tease him.
'Ahem...As what Maiko-chan said, we didn't see Minako-san yesterday or today... of course we were concerned when we heard about the situation from Junpei and we offered our help. We spoke with Bunkichi-san and Mitsuko-san in Bookworms, but they did not see her as well. Following that we walked around the place, asking the shop keepers if they had seen her but again, there has been no news of her so far.'
'You did try asking around Wakatsu right? For all we know she could have passed out eating as many prodigy platters as she could before the exam.'
Rio's attempt at a joke brought about cold stares from all around, and she apologized after seeing the cold treatment she was getting from the rest. However Rio was mollified when Yukari, the only person who didn't feel that it was impossible agreed with Rio.
'… She might have done that you know... but I wouldn't be surprised if she worked there too...'
Everyone blinked before agreeing, and even Yukari felt a little faint knowing that Minako's addiction to Chagall wasn't enough, her addiction to Prodigy Platter was an open secret as well!
'Ugh... we should still ask around Wakatsu just in case, huh?'
Yukari rubbed her temples while trying to relieve her headache, but before they could go, she turned as she heard someone cough behind them. Who did she see but the head of the discipline committee in the school, Odagiri Hidetoshi, smiling grimly at them while introducing himself as well.
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'Thank you for allowing me to join all of you.'
Hidetoshi bowed formally to all of them, and despite Maiko's little giggle and her whispered comment to Ken, he remained stoic as ever as they compared notes yet again.
It wasn't only Yukari or Rio, nor was it just Junpei, Maiko or Ken, it was Hidetoshi as well as Saori that had been trying to locate Minako and it was a testament to the bonds that she had formed with her friends for them to notice her absence within less than half a day.
'Well, the more the merrier like they used to say, and we could really use your help, Odagiri-san.'
Only Rio was comfortable in speaking with him and as she was in-charge of the juniors in the Tennis Club and would have been in contact with Hidetoshi before as part of her responsibilities as the representative of the Tennis Club.
'You flatter me, Iwasaki, I was afraid that I was trying to search for a needle in a haystack but with all of your help we can pool our resources to try and locate Minako-san as fast as possible. She had not been replying my messages, and I must admit that it is worrying as this is unlike her at all. I was flabbergasted when I found out that she had missed an exam. The teachers themselves are very concerned about that themselves.'
Yukari wanted to question him on why he claimed to know her but she kept her mouth shut, Minako had brought this boy home the day before after all. Odd, did she just think of the dormitory as home? She must have been attached to the place more than she imagined.
Either way, she couldn't deny that Minako felt something special or different about this boy as she had been strangely attached to him or was just playing him. The latter was simply something not befitting of someone like Minako and she dismissed that idea as quickly as it had formed.
They spent some time going through the information that Hidetoshi gathered together. As a member of the student council, he had been able to use his influence to question the student council committees on duty that day and many other contacts like the woman manning the snack shop in the school for hints on her whereabouts, but it seemed that she was not in school at all.
'There is simply no way that she had arrived to school today. We can cross that location out completely. The question for us now is where she could have been if she was not in school.'
Hidetoshi crossed his arms and listened as Yukari and Junpei explained how they hadn't seen her in the dormitory as well.
'I didn't see her leave her room and I've checked her room, she wasn't there at all... I sent a mail to Akihiko-sempai and he said he didn't see her leave the dormitory either. So she MUST have slipped out very early in the morning.'
'Or very late at night.'
Ken suggested out of the blue and the two S.E.E.S members shared a dirty look between each other before falling silent. They knew that it was almost impossible for her to do that as she would have to slip out after 12am, something which was prohibited due to the curfew set in the dormitory.
Not to mention the Dark Hour would make travel during that time to be almost impossible.
'We have a curfew in the dormitory, Ken-kun, and Minako-chan wouldn't do that.'
'Yeah... Kirijo-sempai would 'execute' her if she tried that...'
Junpei shivered and even Hidetoshi looked a little uncomfortable at being reminded of that.
'I agree with their assessment... and we should be moving to our next destination. May I inquire where would we be heading to next?'
For some reason that was the last straw for Maiko and the young girl started laughing so hard that she had to sit down to recover from her laughing fit.
'… I do not see what is so funny?'
Hidetoshi didn't seem to understand it was his pompousness behaviour that made him so funny in Maiko's eyes and even Yukari had to roll her eyes in exasperation at the look of confusion in his eyes.
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'Ah... I see... that is troubling.'
Officer Kurosawa seemed to like Minako too, but perhaps he felt indebted to the wild card and to all the S.E.E.S members for their efforts, and he expressed his desire to help out as well.
'I could help submit a missing person's report but she has not been missing for 24 hours, has she?'
Officer Kurosawa asked the two S.E.E.S members while the rest of the party simply hung back, not too comfortable with being near a Police Officer and a little unnerved at how the two of them were speaking so casually with him.
Hidetoshi had looked a little odd when Yukari and Junpei suggested the local police station immediately upon arriving at the Paulownia Mall, and before he could protest, the two of them had headed there immediately without any hesitation at all, forcing the rest of them to follow in their footsteps while looking at each other curiously.
It wasn't normal for a bunch of teenagers from the neighbouring school to pay a visit to the Police Station, but it seemed perfectly normal for Yukari and Junpei as they spoke with the officer on duty almost immediately as though they were close friends.
Maiko and Ken were starry-eyed at being able to visit a Police Station like this, and they didn't dwell too much into it but Rio and Hidetoshi found the two's behavior to be... a little odd.
It was a well-known fact that the Kirijo Dormitory that Kirijo Mitsuru and Sanada Akihiko lived in was like an exclusive club for a selected few members, and it had created a big ruckus when Iori Junpei was allowed to move in.
The response had been muted when Takeba Yukari moved in as she was a school idol, even in the first year and it seemed natural for a someone like her to join that elite club and Arisato Minako had proven herself more than worthy of a presence there... but Iori Junpei?! How could that guy be allowed to move in?!
In short, the two of them felt that they were hiding something from them; something that could help them in their current situation.
Even so, they had to respect their privacy, and the two of them backed off from asking any more questions and saving them questions for later.
'Not exactly, we only think she... disappeared around 7am today, we didn't see her leave the dormitory last night, not that she's allowed to... and we didn't head out yesterday either... The last time I saw her was when she was getting a pot of tea up. I thought she wanted to have a girls-talk with Yukari then.'
'I last heard her was around 10.30? She was speaking to someone on the phone, she didn't sound so good though...'
Yukari retold the events of last night again, and Officer Kurosawa simply nodded while shaking his head.
'I have too little to go on to arrange for more concrete measures, but I'll draft the report first to enable a quick submission... tell me if you find her, would you?'
Taking down their statements, Officer Kurosawa allowed the gang to head out to see whether they could find more leads on Minako's disappearance.
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'Neh, Ken-kun... can we go in there too?'
Ken refused Maiko's request to go into Club Escapade, and for good reason as the club wasn't open yet. He still had to explain to Maiko why they can't go in there though, much to his embarrassment as their seniors went in there to speak with the bar tender.
Minako had let it slip once that she would hang out, and even work in the club from time to time, and despite Hidetoshi's reservations about the nature of the establishment they went in to speak with the manager.
It was the first time for the boys entering the place, and they were surprised to see Yukari surprisingly used to navigating the place as she headed straight for the bar without even asking for instructions.
'This isn't your first time here, is it, Yukari-chi?'
Junpei asked nervously as he himself looked around curiously, the boy sighed when Yukari shook her head.
'Mm mm~ I've been here before I moved into the dormitory. My club members brought me here before just for fun. I didn't have any alcoholic drinks though, so don't worry, Student Council Member-san~'
Yukari found Hidetoshi to be too serious, but even with his seriousness Yukari could see hints of someone who was very dedicated to the people or tasks that he set his mind into, and he wouldn't let anything else get in his way.
It made her look at him in a different manner as Yukari didn't expect him or anyone actually to be able to really lose track of everything around them to focus on a single thing.
She had thought that ditching everything else to do something else was only restricted to anime or serial dramas but it seemed that serious people like Hidetoshi exists as well and she smiled at that thought.
'Excuse me, is anyone in? We need to ask a few questions!'
Yukari rang the bell on the counter and the three of them waited patiently while a tired young man walked from the kitchen towards them.
'Hai hai, yes? I thought we said we were still preparing?'
'We told the guard that we wanted to ask you about something about our friend, did you see Arisato Minako-chan yesterday?'
He did not seem too happy, but after explaining their story to him, Yukari was relieved to see him nod his head in understanding.
'Okay okay, I get it... so Arisato's gone missing huh? She's a hard worker and she's well liked by my regulars... pity she doesn't like to work here often though... I could give her a call if you like? I didn't see her yesterday and I would know, she haven't been hanging out the club often this past week.'
Well it was the exams period, but Yukari merely nodded her head in understanding.
'Well then, here is my number... could you call us if you do see her? Or at least tell her that we are looking for her please.'
Hidetoshi passed him his number before bowing to the manager even as the other two asked him for that favor as well.
'Sure sure, if I see her I'll tell you that... I'm sure she's fine though, she's quite a feisty girl after all... she's one of those few girls who can shake off some of those wolves that gather here.'
The manager sighed before blinking when Hidetoshi glared at him and he shrugged in reply.
'Hey, don't look at me like that. I do what I can, that's why I hired those guards and those bouncers right? The girls know where to seek protection and they aren't supposed to encourage the guys to do anything... but at times they get a little... physical.'
Hidetoshi's expression got darker, and even Junpei started glaring at him as he continued.
'We interfere before it gets serious though and we've thrown out or barred our share of perverts, so stop glaring at me like that... this is a club, not a cafe! Geez...'
The manager sighed and crossed his arms in a bored fashion. All of them realized that they had overstayed their welcome and they bowed back in apology before taking their leave.
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'Say...'
Before they left though, the manager called them back while he scratched his head.
'Really, don't worry about Arisato... she always knows what she's going into and she's smart enough to get out of any trouble that she gets into in the first place.'
The manager wished them luck while smiling slightly at them and the gang left the club to meet up with Ken and Maiko, who had ended up at the arcade and was trying their hand at the crane machine.
'Look look, Ken-kun got me a Jack Frost Doll~'
Maiko happily announced while Ken just looked to the side and shrugged, kicking an offending pebble on the road while Yukari and Junpei shot knowing looks at him.
'Well, isn't that nice? I hope you two have lots of fun... because we have to go search for Minako-chan again.'
'Mmmm~ Maiko will help out as long as she can~'
Paulownia Mall
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Besides the Club, they went to Chagall as well and to their disappointment they didn't have any clues on Minako at all, but they did secure the cooperation of the manager as Minako was scheduled to work in Chagall in a few days time.
'She's a hard worker and she always greet the customers with a great smile. We don't want her to quit any time soon so please, try to persuade her back!'
'We'll do our best...'
Some of them found it a little amusing that they imagined that Minako had ran away from home or the dormitory, the gang went to consult the pharmacy assistant as well, while at the same time picking up some medicine for themselves. Of course Junpei and Yukari took special care to conceal those purchases from the rest of the group.
As usual, there wasn't any leads and after an hour or so of searching, the gang found themselves resting their legs around the fountain as they contemplated their next plan of action.
'So we covered the Shopping Mall, the Strip-Mall, as well as the school... what haven't we covered?'
Junpei asked while Yukari made a phone-call back to the dormitory in the hopes that she was back home, and Rio tried her number to no avail.
'I see... thank you, Sanada-sempai...'
Ending the call, Yukari shook her head as she explained that she wasn't back at the dormitory and Rio reported that her cell was still out of range.
'Where could she be? She couldn't have left Tatsumi Port Island, would she?'
Rio asked while pacing around them. Maiko had gotten too tired after all that running around, and she was currently resting on Yukari's lap while the older girl caressed her hair.
The boys were just as impatient as Rio, but when Junpei remarked that they really should search the slums as well, Hidetoshi shook his head and disagreed with him.
'There is no way that Arisato-san would visit those places of her own will.'
Yukari and Junpei shot guilty looks at each other again for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. What Hidetoshi said was true, Minako only went to the slums to find Shinjiro-sempai. Besides there was no way that they were going to visit such a dangerous place by themselves, especially with Maiko and Ken around.
'But that doesn't mean we can't just have a peek. What if some punk and his gang pulled her there?'
The idea disgusted them, but Rio had a point too and they contemplated whether they should really launch a rescue operation there when Ken suddenly exclaimed.
'Ah, Aragaki-san.'
Ken's exclamation made all of them look up and yes, they saw Aragaki Shinjiro raising his eyebrows at the motley crew of High School Students there before slowly swaggering over there.
'Yo, Amada... what are you doing here?'
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Aragaki Shinjiro wasn't the poster-boy for tidiness or for an average student, in fact, one can say that he was the poster-boy for what a delinquent and punk looked like.
He was dressed in a long crimson overcoat that covered most of his body, a messy head of black hair that was longer than his ears, and was wearing a matching pair of black trousers before finally topping it off with a black beanie. Aragaki Shinjiro's appearance made Odagiri Hidetoshi tensed up slightly till Ken, Yukari and Junpei all greeted him respectfully.
'Is... this a friend of yours?'
Rio asked nervously and after Yukari introduced all of them to each other, Rio bowed back politely as well.
'K-Konbanwa, Aragaki-san.'
'… Konbanwa... Iwasaki.'
Shinjiro scratched his head and didn't seem to care about how Hidetoshi ignored him, but the student council member couldn't help but be interested when Shinjiro called Minako by her name.'
'So... you're saying that Minako disappeared huh? Did you tell Kirijo... oh wait, if you told her you wouldn't be here would you...'
'Uh huh... and Minako-chan would be in huge trouble too... can you believe she missed one of the final exams? She'd better have a good reason for skipping it or...'
Yukari turned green when she recalled the term execution, but the moment was interrupted when Hidetoshi asked out of the blue.
'Pardon me for the interruption. But Aragaki-san, do you know the student council president?'
Hidetoshi was honestly surprised to hear that a punk like him knew Kirijo Mitsuru, and although he knew that her personal life was private and not his concern, he still had his reservations in knowing that the perfect Kirijo Mitsuru was friends with a hoodlum like him.
'Ah, Kirijo is the student council president huh? Just as expected of her... yeah, I know her... personally in fact... you got a problem with that?'
Shinjiro raised an eyebrow as he looked and studied Hidetoshi. He knew from his pompous demeanour that he didn't appreciate him here or him being acquaintance to Kirijo Mitsuru. Well, it was his personal problem and not something he should worry about.
'That said, I know Minako personally as well.'
It was almost as if Aragaki was taunting him, and Hidetoshi clenched his teeth for a moment before shaking his head slowly to control his anger.
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'None at all, their personal life is their private after all. I have no say in who they choose to befriend... however, since you are updated on the situation, could you assist us in finding her?'
Hidetoshi knew what has the higher priority and he shoved his pride aside to deal with the one thing that truly mattered at the moment and to his relief Aragaki nodded his head in agreement.
'Heh...You got your priorities right, I'll give you that. You guys hadn't searched the slums right? I can ask around for ya unless you guys want to follow me. But you'll have to keep by my side and don't get lost...'
Shinjiro paused suddenly and bared his teeth in a toothy grin as he saw how Ken was hovering protectively over Maiko. The boy didn't realize what was happening till Shinjiro called him out on that.
'Oi, Amada, you'll have to bring your girlfriend home before we go there too. It's too exciting for a child her age.'
This brought about giggles from the girls and a lop-sided grin on both Junpei and Shinjiro as Ken spluttered before shaking his head.
'Maiko-chan is not my girlfriend, Aragaki-san.'
'Sure, whatever you say kid. She can't come with us. Amada... you can come along if you want but I do not want you wandering around. I think you're mature enough to not go crying when the big boys shout at you, eh?'
Shinjiro grufflypetted Ken's head while shaking his beforeheading off for the station with the rest of the gang followed anxiously, Rio helping to carry Maiko along as they headed for the slums together.
Ken himself was left feeling a little complicated at the praise, but he smiled respectfully back at Shinjiro before he hurried to catch up with them.
Iwatodai Station
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Naturally they had to say goodbye to Maiko at the train station, and although she was disappointed in not being able to help out more, she left quite happily after getting everyone to tell her if they found Minako.
'Now let's stop wasting time and get going...'
'Aragaki-san... you're actually very worried for Minako-chan aren't you?'
It wasn't that long before Rio was able to speak with him easily and it made Yukari wonder once again how could anyone dislike this girl; she was a born socializer or perhaps she was just curious about the friends that Minako had.
'Eh? I'm sure as hell right to be worried, but I'm not too worried as that girl would be able to crawl out of any trouble she could get into.'
'That's what everyone has been saying too... Why's that? Is that why she's so good at Tennis despite never playing it before?'
They were making small talk as they headed into the slum and Rio's question made Shinjiro, Yukari and Junpei flinch a little. Everyone was following closely to Shinjiro as true to his word and his reputation made many of the men hanging around to scatter the moment they saw him. This left leaving the slums relatively empty except for a few of them who looked to be more than your average punks.
Of course it was harder to find leads this way, but Shinjiro assured them that he had the situation under control.
'The thing is really complicated... ask her yourself if you want to know...'
Shinjiro growled before continuing his earlier conversation as he turned a corner into a side road.
'We're heading to one of the bases... just stick close to me and you'll be fine.'
He muttered gruffly before leading them forward and refused to say more or to be drawn into another conversation. He would only mutter back replies if he must, but Rio was persistent and it had gone on till he had reluctantly told her how he knew Minako.
'Minako's a capable girl and more than able to take care of herself. You should know her more than I do, Iwasaki, you're her friend aren't you?'
Rio wasn't sure whether that was a jibe at her, but as Shinjiro maintained a straight face while doing so, she assumed it wasn't and she shook her head.
'I don't know much about her at all. I thought I did, but I didn't know who her friends are, what she did after school or during the times I never saw her.'
Rio paused before she gathered her courage to confess to this gruff looking man in front of her.
'I view her as one of my best friends and she knew a lot about me... more than I would have imagined or thought and she helped me a lot... but in the end I couldn't help her at all, couldn't I? I really... didn't know anything about her.'
Rio admitted with a blush and Shinjiro snorted before knocking his knuckles against her head lightly.
'Everyone has things they wish to hide. That girl is better in hiding things away from her friends.'
For a while there was silence but Shinjiro continued on with a wistful tone as his eyes softened for a bit.
'And she's good at looking through other's lies. She doesn't mean anything bad, but that's how it is. It is easy for her to help others, but difficult for others to help her as she carries everything she has on her own shoulders.'
It was something that Shinjiro had came to understand about Arisato Minako and he was backed up by Junpei and Yukari who elbowed him.
'Aragaki-sempai is right, Minako-chan doesn't like to rely on others till it's too late.'
'So if things goes wrong with her, it had gone out of hand even for her... that's why we're here for her.'
'Heh...'
Shinjiro snorted while the other two S.E.E.S members simply nodded in understanding as well, leaving Rio, Ken and Hidetoshi a little out of the loop.
'Then I want to help out too!'
'You do that, Amada... you do that.'
Shinjiro smiled down at the younger boy as he too nodded back in reply.
Author's Notes: Thank you, for being with me so far!
