The Idol and the Prince
Part XIX
11/07
"I can't stand it anymore, Naoto. It's just not the same. Inaba…Inaba isn't the same. It's chaos, pure chaos everywhere. If they've targeted Nanako, how can anyone be safe anymore?"
There was silence between them, the detective seething quietly in the corner of the room. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, contemplating how everything had soured between them in the span of only a week.
Naoto knew that Rise had been lying to her, but the redhead denied it all, just making the situation worse. The detective didn't need to look at Rise's emails to know that there was a movie deal and signing contact waiting for Risette in the spring. The redhead had carelessly left the package that her manager sent her in plain view, strewn on her desk. Naoto had even picked it up and questioned her about it, but Rise just changed the subject.
The detective didn't usually let trivial things get the best of her, but this bothered her on a different level. It had distracted her from something important, from realizing the pattern earlier. She was angry, angry at herself for being just a few minutes too late. If only they hadn't been so caught up in their own mundane drama, they could have saved Nanako from being taken.
Naoto blamed herself. She knew it was wrong, but she blamed Rise too. She wondered if Rise had just told her the truth in the first place…if everything would have happened the same way..
"You were right in the beginning, you know?" Rise grimaced, feeling foolish. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated with how little they made a difference in this world. "We're just kids playing hero…We didn't know how deep in we were until this happened. This dungeon is impossible to beat. It's not what we're used to."
Naoto was still silent, the rim of her hat drawn over her eyes. She was sick and tired of all this useless banter, of Rise's lies, of Rise's pessimism. The detective was guilt-stricken, seething in her own self-hatred. Every word that Rise said just seemed to push her buttons in the wrong way, making the detective unable to understand why the redhead wasn't being more proactive. This dungeon was tougher than most, but Naoto knew it was just a setback, not something they weren't equipped to handle.
"Sometimes, I just wonder what I'm doing with my life."
The blunette bit her bottom lip, refraining from lashing out. They were all frustrated with the situation, but that didn't mean they were just going to give up. As far as the detective was concerned, Rise was being self-absorbed.
"Naoto, why are you being so quiet?"
The detective stood abruptly, her fists clutched at her side. "Rise, stop it."
"W-what…what's wrong? What do you mean?" The redhead looked up in confusion, her brows knitted in concern.
"You're not the only one who's hurting." Naoto turned away, gritting her teeth together. "You're not that special, Rise. We're all trying our best."
Rise's concern flickered for only a moment more before anger flashed in her eyes. She scoffed, her voice full of contempt. "Really? Our best? Do you think our best is good enough? What if Nanako dies because we're just that useless?" The idol was standing now, her voice rising in volume. Her bottom lip quivered, hot tears threatening to spill out.
"You're being insufferable…" Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Naoto grabbed her bag and her coat, storming out of Rise's room, not even looking back to see the redhead's expression.
Staring, Rise was speechless as she watched the detective walk out. She had never seen Naoto with such a short fuse, but with what was at stake, everyone was high strung. Sighing, the idol sat back down on her bed, letting herself fall backwards onto the mattress. She didn't even bother chasing after the detective, her mind racing with thoughts of Nanako. She wondered what she could do to help them.
Closing her eyes, Rise regretted her words, realizing that she was only projecting. She was probably the only one on their team who was really useless.
11/15
"Naoto, stop it! What do you think you're doing? You can't break off from the group like that!"
Rise's voice was shrill over the intercom, her panic mounting as Naoto's green blip strayed further and further away from her comrades.
Naoto gripped her revolver, the Crimson Dirge giving her the confidence she needed to press on by herself.
"You're being so selfish! What is wrong with you?"
The detective ignored Rise, adjusting her glasses briefly as she bolted down the hallway, the sound of her footsteps echoing off the tiles. She was determined to find the staircase, to find the twisting steps that would lead her that much closer to finding Nanako.
She knew it was brash and reckless, but they were wasting time. The others were being inefficient, slowing her down.
A dark mass wriggled from between the cracks in the floor just a few metres in front of Naoto, manifesting before her eyes as it split into three forms. Three bulbous figures faced the detective, faceless monsters that sat on a rocking horse-like apparatus. Their empty laughter resounding around the blue-haired girl. The one to Naoto's immediate left rocked violently, its laughter rippling through its core. Its head lolled to the side and if it had eyes, it would have locked right onto the detective with murderous intent.
"Tch…" Naoto loaded her weapon, hypervigilant as the shadows closed in on her.
"Naoto, they're weak to darkness!"
"I know!" The detective growled back, tucking her knees in as she threw herself to the side, doing a barrel roll to avoid the monster that had crashed into the floor where she previously was.
"Come, Sukuna-Hikona!" Naoto summoned her persona, gearing up for a spell cast. "Mamudoon!" Darkness swirled around the battlegrounds, enveloping the three shadows, sucking them down into the earth as the spell seal dispersed in a burst of light.
Naoto let out a breath of relief, moving on through the cloud of smoke, remnants of the dispatched enemies.
"You can't handle them all by yourself! Turn back!"
"Well, Rise, I just did. I can do this job better than anyone and I'm going to save Nanako with or without the others." Naoto didn't even blink a weary eye as she said this, focusing on her legs as she ran at full speed through the dungeon. Her eyes were heavy, dark circles marring her usually perfect complexion, but the adrenaline coursed through her veins, powering her through.
"Naoto, you-"
The detective scoffed, turning off her receiver as she pressed on towards the next set of double doors. She couldn't handle any more of the distractions. It took them days before they could get through a mere three floors and Naoto knew for certain that three was only the beginning.
She had decided to pave the way ahead. Obviously, she was more than qualified for that job.
Another dark mass filtered out from the crevices in the floor, rearing its ugly horned head. The rattling of chains accompanied its savage roar.
Naoto fired a shot at the monster, hitting it in the shoulder, fazing it momentarily so the detective had a chance to summon her guardian.
"Hamaon!"
11/17
There was tension in the air, the group of teenagers sitting sullenly around the table. No one made eye contact, their faces all equally gaunt.
Naoto was hunched over slightly in her seat, not even focused on the people around her. The dark circles under her eyes were getting more notable, her bloodshot expression unflattering. It wasn't like the detective cared anymore. They were on the verge of reaching the 10th floor, on the verge of rescuing Nanako, but here they were, wasting time again.
The silence around the table was thick with strange aura, Yosuke's usual idiotic disposition dampened, Chie's spunky attitude non-existent.
Minutes ticked by and each one of them was getting more and more irritated.
"Are we going to get this over with or not?"
The voice came from Chie, her words hung heavy with her own fatigue and irritability.
Another few seconds of silence before Yosuke piped up. "We're only here because the Detective Prince doesn't think that teamwork is necessary when we're dealing with monsters in a messed up TV world. She thinks that she's a friggin' superhero like all those dumb Featherman R shows, right?"
Naoto's eye twitched slightly at that comment, but she was too exhausted to waste energy on that moron.
"Well, news flash, idiot. You're not a hero. We need to work together to save Nanako!" The brunette threw up his hands in frustration, his voice getting louder and louder as he finally got his feelings out in the open.
There was another bout of silence, but Naoto was still in the state between extremely exhausted and intensely focused on her strategy for breaching the next few stages.
Rise threw a glare in the detective's direction as she stood up, her chair scraping against the floor. She slammed her hands on top of the metal table, trying to get the detective to pay attention to what was going on around her, what her friends were trying to tell her.
"What are we supposed to do? You turn off your comms, and you only turn it back on when you reach the staircase. I don't even know whether or not to be thankful or offended…or worried that you might die. If you did, we wouldn't even be able to find your body when the shadows eat you alive!" Rise grit her teeth together, clenching her fists in anger until they turned white from the constriction.
Rise was still fuming, her chest heaving with deep breaths, her eyes glued on the detective, almost pleading for some sort of response.
Naoto didn't bat an eyelash, not bothering to look up.
"It definitely is a problem. The dungeon's full of surprises and we can't have you running off, Naoto-kun. It puts us all in danger when we're short a person on our team." Yukiko's calm voice cut the silence as she put a hand on the detective's shoulder, trying to make eye contact with the brooding girl.
Rise flinched, feeling a slight pang of jealousy as the detective reacted to Yukiko's touch.
First, Naoto looked at Yukiko's hand before she raised her head to lock eyes with the dark haired girl. "I think I'll be fine on my own and I'm quite sure that the rest of you can handle yourselves quite well. Haven't we made significant progress with my efforts? I don't really see what the problem is." The blue haired girl's eyes were apathetic, accompanying her matter-of-fact tone.
No one would admit it aloud, but the detective had made her point. It was glaringly obvious that they were only progressing because of Naoto's efficacy. Her dark and light spells made quick work of their enemies, but with her comrades around, it wasn't like she could use them at will. The collateral damage alone would have been horrendous.
"She's…right, you know?"
The voice was quiet, escaping Chie's lips without a second thought from the girl. She looked down, ashamed to have admitted that Naoto's one-man attempts were to thank for their quick progress up the floors.
This time, Yukiko shot Chie a glare, annoyed that their intervention was falling through. They were all thinking the same thing, but they knew that the detective was pushing herself too hard, recklessly putting her life at risk. With each subsequent floor, Naoto's injuries increased, her stores of antibiotic gel and snuff souls depleting quickly. All of them knew how tired Naoto was, how tired all of them were.
"We're just…we're worried about you, Shirogane…" Kanji huffed as he expressed his concern, not familiar with how to deal with this kind of situation. They were all tired, worried, and apprehensive about letting Naoto carry on like a loose cannon.
"I don't think that I warrant any of your worry. I think Nanako is more deserving than me. We should get going. Junes isn't going to stay open forever." Naoto stood, her eyes glancing over the group briefly before she headed to the electronics department.
Rise bristled. Her eyes had locked with Naoto's for just a split second, but she knew that this wasn't the Shirogane Naoto that she knew and loved.
The situation was beyond stressful, changing all of them for the worse. Nowadays, the group was more irritable, constantly on edge. No one was their usual self anymore, especially Naoto. The detective was desperate, coping with her anger and loss in her own way. Sooner or later, the idol knew that something was going to go wrong.
11/20
The shock from the blast shook the entire floor, the black smoke billowing up into the endless ceiling.
Naoto groaned, struggling to regain her bearings, her ears ringing, her body sore. She had been thrown from the blast site, landing hard against the floor meters away from the now disintegrated dice. The detective coughed as she rolled over onto her side. The pain seared her innards, every breath burning as she inhaled. She coughed violently through the smoke in the air, the effort wracking her small frame.
A guttural sound escaped the girl's lips and she spewed coppery red onto the tiled floor. The blood clung to her lips, the smell of iron filling her nostrils.
Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her body full of cuts and bruises. Looking down, Naoto felt around her chest, her palm coming into contact with a piece of hard metal that was wedged hard between two of her right ribs. Blood seeped out of the wound, the warm substance coating her hand.
Chuckling weakly, Naoto felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes, the pain almost paralyzing her. She was reckless and stupid, letting that shadow's last resort take her out. She struggled as she reached gingerly into her pocket, the skin on her arms scorched from the blast. Naoto fished out a tube of antibiotic gel, her trembling hands unscrewing the cap.
In one hand, she held the half used item, and with the other, the detective braced herself as she wrapped her fingers around the jagged piece of shrapnel. Taking a deep breath, Naoto pulled, letting out a scream as the pain and the metal ripped through her. Blood spurted out, but the detective was ready, squeezing the tube of medicine directly into the gaping wound.
The gel foamed as it seeped into her lungs, closing up the tear in the essential organ. In seconds, Naoto was able to breathe again, the lung tissue no longer frayed and tattered. However, the wound didn't heal up completely, blood still pouring from the gash, her ribs still cracked and sore. The detective held a hand over the injury, trying to stop the bleeding with the applied pressure. She was out of medical supplies and she had no one to blame but herself for not having any heal spells.
Minutes passed and Naoto lay there, immobile, the rapid blood loss making her weak and cold. Again, Naoto let a weak laugh escape her lips. She couldn't help but feel like this was all a bad joke. Turning her head to her right, the detective squinted. Her vision was blurring, but she could see the large double doors, the only set she hadn't opened on the 9th floor. It had to be the last one, the only boundary that kept her from the staircase that would lead her to the final floor, to the floor where Nanako was waiting for someone to rescue her.
She was so close, a mere 50 meters away, but her legs wouldn't work, the fatigue finally catching up to her, her recent injuries making it difficult for her to carry out any unnecessary movements.
There was an eerie silence as the detective tried to compose her thoughts before she lost consciousness. Evaluating all her options, she only found one route to be feasible. With her right hand firmly planted against her wound, stemming the blood flow, Naoto raised her left hand to her cracked glasses, pressing the button that turned on her communication link.
Once the transmitter switched on, Rise's voice instantly flitted over the line.
"Naoto! Are you alright? What happened? Your HP bar just…dropped for a few minutes."
"Y-yeah…I just ran into a bit of a problem…" Naoto coughed, still tasting blood in her mouth. "Do you know how far away the others are? I may need some help." The detective felt more and more lightheaded as the seconds passed, Rise's voice sounding farther and farther away.
"Hang in there! They're already headed to your location! Just keep talking to me, Naoto."
"Mmm…I will. I just…I can't…" Naoto's voice trailed off as the strength seeped from her body, her hand struggling to keep the pressure on her wound.
"Naoto, please! Stay with me."
Rise's voice sounded far away, but the detective could still hear the concern in her voice. She was probably on the verge of tears.
Naoto sighed, regretting how she had acted this week with her reckless bravado.
"Rise…"
"What's wrong?"
"I just…I want to say…I'm sorry."
Within seconds, Rise's voice faded from her consciousness, accompanied by fast approaching footsteps. The detective's eyes fluttered closed,
"Hey, she's over here! Yukiko, hurry!"
Naoto's lips curled up into a smile as she heard Chie's voice through the muffled air. As a last thought before she faded to black, the detective vowed to make it up to her friends.
A/N: Haha...this is...embarrassing to say the least. I am such an unreliable updater.
Please review if you're still there. I swear I'll put an end to this travesty D;
I need to finish this. I'm so close.