I'm sure you've all been waiting for this moment just as I have. To those who are reading and following the story, thanks for your reviews, you're helping me publish the chapters a lot faster.
- Disclaimer: Persona 4 Golden characters do not belong to me.
- Notice: May contain spoilers. Original characters may be added. Storyline may deviate from original video game/anime.
- Warning: May contain alcohol reference, blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, and violence.
The sounds of birds chirping and cicadas buzzing surrounded Shirogane manor as Touko sat quietly in her seat. Outside, the sky was bright blue and the storm clouds had passed by with time. She had a book in hand, one borrowed from the house's expansive library. It was one of Naoto's favored detective books which she had read several times when they were in their youth.
The Detective Prince slept peacefully on her bed, breathing quietly with every rise and drop of her chest. Upon her rescue, she was left with a few wounds and scratches, but none enough to leave her in the hospital.
Naoto's grandfather was out consulting the Police Department about her disappearance and left Touko in charge of the house and his granddaughter. The room was too quiet and all she could hear were Naoto's shallow breaths. It pained her to watch the Detective Prince in this situation and she wished she could've done something to help.
"If only I hadn't been such a coward." She mumbled to herself, closing the book in hand. "Then you wouldn't have been hurt." Touko set the book on the bedside table gently and leaned closer to Naoto. Her hand held the Detective's Prince's with her own, intertwining their fingers while recalling a distant memory.
"Grandfather, where are we going?" Little Naoto walked beside her guardian, donning the blue cap, a white shirt and shorts.
"To meet with a friend." He gave her a light pat on her head, keeping her close as they treked up a grassy hill. "He was a colleague of mine when I was still studying."
"Oh," When Naoto and her grandfather reached the summit of the hill, she found two figures sitting side by side, one significantly smaller than the other. She clung onto her guardian's coat, her curiosity piqued with interest.
The small figure turned around and found Naoto standing beside her grandfather. It took a second for the blue haired detective to realize that she was smiling at her from a distance. Naoto looked down sheepishly, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment.
"I hope we're not too late." Naoto's grandfather called out and his friend dusted off some grass to greet the two.
"You're just on time." The two adults exchanged handshakes. "It good to see you again Shirogane-san." His eyes drifted to Naoto, her grey eyes looking expectantly at the tall, brown haired man. "Ah, this must be the 5th in line." He bent down and grinned at the girl who retreated behind her grandpa's coat.
"She's shy among strangers. This is Naoto." He gave her light pat on the back and she held out her tiny hand for the man to shake.
It was an overwhelmingly warm handshake and Naoto retracted her hand quickly. "It's nice to finally meet you Naoto. I'm Ryu Aoi and this here is my granddaughter-"
"Touko" the girl cut him off instantly, her eyes shimmering softly at Naoto. "Touko Aoi." The older adults found her assertiveness charming as Naoto shook her hand as well. "It's nice to meet you Naoto-kun. I know we're going to be great friends."
Rise took her seat in class, exhausted for having participated in yesterday's event. She looked out towards her homeroom door, assuming that Naoto would not show up to school today. As she stared blankly at the chalkboard, Kanji tapped her shoulder lightly.
"Hey, you-you okay?" He stood up with his bag slung over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rise replied with a small smile.
"Alright. Well, that's good to hear." Kanji didn't know what else to say so he headed to the back of the class sit.
"Wait, Kanji-" Rise turned back at the blonde boy, not sure what she expected from her fellow classmate. To be honest, she was far from fine. Naoto's revelation had her thinking the whole night and as a result, she was unable to find respite in sleep. "Thanks, for asking."
Kanji's eyes widened and narrowed slowly. "Look, if you need someone to talk to-about anything, I'm right here." He was new to interacting nicely among others, especially girls, so even he couldn't hide the faint blush on his cheeks.
Rise watched him take his seat, relieved that she had such understanding friends by her side. However, now that she knew Naoto's secret, it left her uneasy about her feelings towards the girl.
She knew why the Detective Prince kept a boyish facade, to keep her reputation safe among her co-workers, but it questioned her interactions with Rise. Was all of it a lie? Was Naoto only acting to get close to Rise because of the investigation? She didn't know what to think, and mulling over such ideas had her falling into a depression.
The teacher walked in and greeted the class but Rise Kujikawa found herself looking out the window, unsure of what would happen next.
Naoto opened her eyes to find a familiar ceiling, the cream colored walls, and radiant light emitting from the window. She had been asleep for almost half the day to recover from yesterday's activities. It was well past noon when Touko walked in to find her rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"You're finally awake." She rushed to Naoto's side to giver her a warm embrace. "I was kind of worried that you might never wake up."
The Detective Prince felt the brunette shaking as she wrapped her hand around Touko for comfort. "You know I'm a lot stronger than you think, right?" Her voice came out hoarser than she'd imagined it to be.
"Yeah, I know." Touko rested her head on Naoto's shoulder, happy that her friend would be alright.
The room grew quiet again and after a minute, Touko pulled away, wiping the trace of tears from her eyes. "I'm-I'm sorry, for running away."
Naoto blinked at the brunette, registering her apology at a slow rate. Her head was still aching and her body felt as though she'd been hit by a truck. Unable to find herself questioning Touko, she pulled her back into an embrace.
"Are you mad at me?" The brunette sniffed to control her tears, her voice shaky with regret and guilt.
"No, why would I be?" Naoto sucked in a deep breath, grateful for having her closest friend by her side.
"Because if you hadn't run after me that night, you wouldn't have been kidnapped." Touko closed her eye, a stream of tears slipping down her cheeks.
She was going to be kidnapped either way. Naoto knew that much. "It's not your fault. You don't have to apologize." She began stroking Touko's back between her shoulder blades. It was what worked to calm her down when they were younger.
"If you didn't come back...I wouldn't know what to do." Touko snaked her hands around Naoto's neck.
"You'd go out looking for me, wouldn't you?" The Detective Prince began stroking Touko's hair, which was out of it's usual ponytail. She released a weak laugh to settle the tension, but she had to ask the reason why she left. "Touko, why did you run away?"
Silenced enveloped the room and the brunette pressed her lips close to Naoto's ear. "Because...for once in my life, I was scared." She took a deep breath, determined to finish what she had begun to say. "I was scared to tell you the truth...to tell you that I..." Touko exhaled shakily. This was more difficult than she'd imagined.
"To tell me...?"
"To tell you that, I'm...I'm in love with you." When she released her words, it was as though an anvil was lifted from her heart, but she knew it wasn't over. She still had to hear Naoto's response.
"But I'm...you know..." Naoto swallowed hard, Rise had been right all along. "I mean, I'm not a boy and-"
"I don't know how or why. I just...I just feel this way about you." Touko felt Naoto's hands stop moving and she thought she already lost her friend through this awkward conversation. "I didn't realize it until you told me about her...Rise Kujikawa."
Naoto was at a loss for words. She always treasured Touko as a friend, she never imagined her to be a potential lover.
"I felt jealous when you told me about her and the things you did. You were happy around someone else, someone who wasn't me." Touko closed her eyes. "And then it became clear, why I felt that way. It was because I loved you. Naoto, I love you."
The Detective Prince pulled her closer, all the while staying silent.
"You're not...mad at me for this are you?" Naoto shook her head.
"To be honest, I'm flattered." The Detective Prince was blushing. "But I can't return your feelings." She pulled away as gently as she could to look Touko in the eye. "When I...disappeared, it gave me some time to think. I realized that I don't know who I really am, or what I need." The experience in the TV world left Naoto shaken, leaving her to question many things, one being her identity. "I'm truly sorry, but I cannot return your feelings Touko."
"I think some part of me already knew you'd say that." The brunette held Naoto's hands with her own. "...Are we still friends?"
"Of course."
After school, Rise decided to visit Naoto. She wanted to know how she was recovering after their adventure into the TV world.
As she stood before Shirogane manor, Rise knocked on the double framed doors. It was no surprise when Touko stood at the entrance to greet her.
"Hey, I just wanted to know how Naoto was doing." Touko ushered her in and Rise opened her school bag to manifest the Detective Prince's cap.
"She's already awake." Touko locked the door. "But she's still weak. It'll take some time for her to recover fully."
"I see." Rise looked up the stairs. "I need to give this back too." She held out the blue cap, now clean.
I told her to stay in bed, but I think she's outside in the garden." Touko gestured for Rise to follow. When they made it to the back door, the detective paused to speak to the idol. "I'm glad she made friends with someone like you."
Rise adjusted the bag slung on her shoulder.
"Naoto doesn't make many friends because of her cold and mature demeanor. It's nice to know that you were able to push past her barrier, not many people can do that." Touko spoke with caution. Rise and her were more alike than she originally thought.
"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that." The idol found herself grinning, recalling how stubborn it was for Naoto to open up.
"I can imagine." They both shared a laugh, enjoying each others company with the small time they had. When things quieted down, Touko held the door's handle. "She cares about you more than you think."
Rise gave a silent nod as Touko opened the door for her.
Naoto sat down on the green, luscious grass, watching the roses sway gently. It was amazing to see how the rose bushes were always in bloom. For something considered so small and fragile, she found it admirable to watch them grow through tough times. They were resilient plants capable of holding their own against nature.
The breeze was faint, but it was enough to keep her cool despite the summer weather. She massaged the bridge of her nose as a migraine rose from the depths of her skull. Her experience in the TV world was so unbelievable and strange that it almost felt like a dream.
Now, having escaped death and facing her true self, she was given the ability of a Persona. The idea was still foreign to her, but she was sure that with time, she'd learn about its mysteries and secrets with the help of Rise's group.
This brought about another subject - her relationship with Rise Kujikawa. After revealing her biggest secret, there were sure to be consequences. Naoto had been so engrossed with the case that she had very little time to think through the possibilities of her secret getting out.
What would Rise think of her? She was a liar and a cheat who took advantage of their friendship to gain information about the case. What was intended to be a temporary alliance proved to be more than it was, and with time, Naoto developed feelings for the girl. She knew it wasn't right and so, she fell back on the grass, frustrated with the whole ordeal.
"There you are." Hovering over Naoto stood Rise Kujikawa donning her school uniform. "Touko said you'd be here."
The Detective Prince flushed beet red as she saw what lay underneath Rise's skirt. She immediately sat upright, thankful that the brunette was oblivious to what had caught her eye. As quick as she could, she straightened her blue button up shirt and dusted off the grass strands from her pants.
"You look red, are you okay?" Rise cupped Naoto's cheeks in her hands which were quite warm.
"It must be the weather." The Detective Prince stepped back and Rise dropped her hands.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. When I was rescued it took me a few days to wake up." Rise picked through her bag, manifesting the cap in hand. "I also wanted to give this back to you." She handed it over to Naoto.
"Thank you." The light breeze blew over them and an awkward silence ensued. They both had the same subject in mind - their relationship.
"Look, Naoto-kun," Rise felt herself growing nervous around the Detective Prince. Now that she knew the truth, she grew confused about her romantic feelings. "Back in the TV world, when your shadow told us the truth, I-I didn't know what to say." Another breeze blew by and Rise tightened the grip on her bag. "Why didn't you tell me that you were a girl?"
When Naoto could not register the words she wanted to say, Rise took a step forward. "When were you going to tell me? Did you ever plan to tell me at all?"
The Detective Prince withdrew her eyes from Rise's as the idol pressed on. "Did you use me and our relationship just to get information? Was I just a tool? Was everything we did just a lie?" Her voice began to shake and soon, she was on the verge of tears. "Please answer me, you owe me that much."
"I came to Inaba to solve the case. I had no intentions on making friends or building relationships." Naoto turned away, unable to face Rise. "But you were so persistent, so bent on befriending me that I had no choice but to agree." She exhaled slowly. "I admit that in the beginning, I used our friendship to squeeze any information from you when my own investigation proved fruitless."
Hearing the truth hurt more than she imagined and Rise looked downcast as her heart began to break.
"There were times when I thought it best to tell you the truth but..." Naoto shook her head.
"But what?" Rise steeled herself for what words would spite her next.
"But I had already accounted the change in my heart." When she spun to find Rise confused, she decided to simplify her words. "I had already developed feelings towards you."
"I did as much as I could to deny it because I knew it was wrong - that it would never work out. Not only was I a liar, but I was also a cheat and a fool." Naoto watched the roses, some withering away with the breeze.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Rise's called out softly and when Naoto looked away, she knew her answer.
"Had I told you the truth, you would've never considered my feelings." The sun began to sink as the two girls continued conversing. Naoto held the cap in her hand, realizing how lost she truly was.
Rise questioned her feelings toward Naoto, and now that she knew the truth, she was just as confused as before. She was in love with the boy she met atop Inaba's golden hills, not some liar who took advantage of her relationship and friends. It was clear that most - if not all of the trust she had with Naoto was gone.
"Which is why I've settled on a compromise, for the two of us." The Detective Prince walked past Rise, her steel grey eyes saddened upon finding a resolution. "I've broken your trust once before and I can only imagine this has shattered any remains of what I've tried to rebuild."
Naoto clenched the cap in her hand with a firm grasp. "I don't intend to hurt you any further and so..." She looked back at the idol for a split second, before finishing the rest of her solution. "Rise Kujikawa, you and I can no longer be friends."
... To be continued So if you enjoyed this chapter, remember to fave, follow and/or review. Thanks for reading