Phil, because I'm a little short on time, I'm having Narashino join the party, with his Persona already D8 So he doesn't get a dungeon, or a shadow fight... Please don't be mad ;w; There was no way I could've squeezed him in *stabbed*
And longer chapter this time around :3 I seriously want to bring in my character xD *shot* Buttttt, I guess next time~
Despite your protests, and obvious discomfort, you gave into Chie's request...
So, the group of you headed over to the tofu shop, where a tired Rise greeted you at the counter. Good, so the killer hadn't gotten to her yet... Maybe this would work? Maybe you would be able to thwart the killer's efforts this time?
For what felt like the upteeth time, you, Kanji, and Yosuke patrolled the street, walking up and down the road in front of the store. Over in the corner, Yukiko and Chie were engaged in lively conversation, or seemed to be, on the outside looking in. They were on their guard, just like you were, while Adachi, Kazuto, and Seichi were inside the shop. Their job was to keep an eye on Rise, just in case the culprit tried a more... direct approach.
Yosuke turned around, and glared at you when he noticed you, and Kanji had stopped walking, and had stumbled into him awkwardly. "Don't stop! The killer might get suspicious!" Was his barked command, and Kanji stared back at him, his face twisted up in sincere befuddlement.
"Ah, Senpai, we've been walking up, and down this same road for half an hour now... I'm sure that's more suspicious." The brunette grumbled something low underneath his breath, probably something along the lines of, 'Shut up, Kanji,' but put up no further arguement.
Emerging from within the shop, Adachi appeared beside you, an exasperated expression carefully drawn on his usually goofy face, "Come on out, you bastard...! We're ready for you..."
"Great, that's tellin' 'em," Seichi muttered, and you mentally sweatdropped. Yup, way to draw unwanted attention, Adachi...
Yukiko suddenly gasped, and looked up, noticing something on the telephone wire. She pointed, and all of you turned around, almost simultaneously.
A rather nerdy looking, middle-aged man with an orange shirt, faded jeans, and a dark purple backpack was holding onto the pole for dear life. From the looks of it, he was trying to peek on Rise.
"Gah! Wh-who's there?" Adachi demanded, and the man squeaked in surprise. "Answer me!" Once he noticed your stares, he quickly slid off, and took off in a full sprint down the road.
"H-hey, he's running away!" Chie pointed out the clearly obvious, and before anyone could move, or even think, Seichi was on the move.
"C'mon, we gotta follow 'em!" Kanji shouted, and immediately after the group rushed after a determined Seichi, and the suspicious man.
It was the end of the sidewalk. The man had gotten well past the gas station and stood in front of the busy intersection. It looked like he was trapped; an out of breath Seichi stood in front of him, and you were slowly closing in behind him. There was no where for him to go.
"D-Don't come near me!" The man cried, and Kanji silenced him with a cold stare.
"Shaddup! What kinda idiot would listen to—"
"I-I'll do it, yanno! What're you going to do if I get run over?" The mystery man challenged, and that had definitely elicited surprise in everyone, including yourself. He couldn't be that stupid... Right? He would rather get run over, be killed instantly on impact—if not have to endure life long injuries—than face a jury of his peers?
"Wh-what...?" Yosuke questioned, obviously too shocked to attach more to his sentence. This was starting to get out of hand. I mean, the man was talking suicide here!
Adachi waved his arms frantically, "N-no! If the suspect gets injured, the police'll be held responsible... They'll get really angry, and... ahhh..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing what he had just said. Thankfully, no one noticed his selfish notion, and paid more attention to the man, who had just taken a shaky step backwards.
"I-I'll do it, I swear! S-So get outta here, and stop chasing me!" He sounded serious, and you swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in your throat.
Yosuke whispered to you, "H-hey, what should we do?"
The man was clearly crazy, out of his right mind... But you needed him alive in order to question his intentions... To do that, he needed to calm down... Or you could tackle him, and force him to talk. As you thought on it, the latter idea sounded like the better choice; you told Yosuke that, and Kanji seemed to agree to the idea waaaaaay too quickly.
"Alright, on my mark...!" Yosuke pointed in a random direction, to distract the potential killer. "Look! Over there, Yuri!" (I'm sorry, I had to xD) The man turned around, and looked around.
This was your chance for an All-Out-Attack!
With a small battle cry, Seichi charged at him from the side, while Kanji, and Kazuto struck him from the front. You were posed, ready in case he managed to escape. A punch, and a strangled cry later, the man had been captured, and pinned to the floor. You took him away from the road, closer to the shops, where the interrogation began.
The man seemed hysterical, as he pointed at your group accusingly, "H-How dare you assualt an ordinary citizen like—"
"Shut the hell up, murderer!" Kanji yelled, cutting him off, "We're taking your punk ass in!"
"Wha—!" He looked like a fish out of water, as he flailed his arms, and looked between each of you, mouth opened agape, "Time out! W-whaddya mean 'murderer'?"
Chie glared at him, "Oh, don't act dumb~!"
The man went into the defensive, as he tried to argue his case, "W-Wait a second!" The man tried to explain, "I just really like Risette, so I wanted to take a peek into her room..." He dumped out the contents of his backpack in front of you,"Look, see! All, I've got on me is a bunch of cameras!"
Your eyes widened, "Wait, so—"
Adachi cut you short. "Yup, he's the culprit, all right. No two ways about it."
"Should we really be jumping to—" Again, your sentence had been interrupted, and again Adachi ignored you.
"All right, I'll take it from here." The detective assured you, and he whipped out a pair of handcuffs from god knows where. "We'll hear your story story down at the station..." His seriousness died when he gave a little laugh, "Man, I always wanted to say that~!"
Ugh. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes.
"P-Please, let me go! I didn't do anything wrong, honest!" Yeah, all he wanted to do was spy, and photograph an underaged girl... What law said he couldn't do that? The man was cuffed, and was taken away by Adachi, who seemed quite pleased with his accomplishment. The last thing he left you with was a simple warning, 'Stop getting yourself involved in this stuff. Dojima-san's worried sick.'
It was a little too late for that, wasn't it? Yosuke's brown eyes flickered over to you hesitantly.
"I-is it... really over?" He seemed to be in disbelief.
"The rest is up to the police... Meaning, there's nothing more we can do." Kazuto replied calmly. But something told you the wrong guy had been convicted... The feeling nagged at you, ate at your insides, but you chose to ignore it. Everyone else seemed convinced... Maybe it was nothing...
Chie bounced with joy, "Does that mean the case's over? Seriously! Awesome!"
You made your way back to the tofu shop, and Yosuke entered to tell Rise the good news.
But she wasn't there...
Her grandmother said she had stepped out, but...
You should've went with your gut feeling, and mentally slapped yourself. No! How could this have happen? You were so close, too... A new thought cross your mind. 'But we were just here a few minutes ago...'
That meant she had gotten kidnapped just recently... You figured the killer hadn't gotten far, and so you all dispatched, and explored the area.
A short while later, you guys met back up, but no sign of Rise anywhere. Kanji reminded you that it would be raining tonight, so you when midnight came, you sat in front of your TV, fingers crossed.
Much to your dismay, an image appeared, vividly clearer than it was days before. Rise stood in front of the screen, wearing the same yellow bikini she claimed she had never worn before. Behind her was... A club maybe? It was hard to tell; it looked a big blob of purple in your eyes.
Her eyelids were slightly drooped, and she spoke in a slow, sultry voice, "Maru-Q! Push Risette! Good evening, good evening! I'm Rise Kujikawa!" The camera panned upwards, revealing all of her... Assets. "This spring, one young girl levels up to be a high school idol… Yayyy~! So today, I'm gonna celebrate by pushing the limits of Standards & Practices!" The camera shifted once again, and focused on her chest. The constant changes in the camera angles made your head spin. It reminded you of a music video. "Does everybody know what time it is? Showtime~! Show what, huh?" She licked her lips, and you gulped. "Hmhmhm... Everything~"
There was no doubt in your mind... Although she was much more... Seductive, then the real thing, she was Rise.
The image faded, and the screen became blank, devoid of noise once again. Your phone rang in your pocket, but it took you a full minute to process the sound, and answer it.
"E-eh, hello?" You hoped Yosuke didn't notice the crack in your voice.
"Hey, d-did you see Risette on TV?" You had nothing to worry about, he sounded just as freaked out... Or turned on, it was hard to tell. "I-Is she serious about... Baring it all? Is it me, or are these shows getting crazier, and crazier?"
Yup, definitely turned on. "I agree, they're getting out of hand, but you need to calm down." You reminded him. He took in a deep breath, and then released it. "We need to rescue her... And fast."
"Y-yeah, you're right... But man, we couldn't prevent the kidnapping this time either… Even when we knew who the target would be..."
"Yosuke, it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up over it." You frowned, and moved the phone to your other ear.
"T-thanks, but I still feel guilty, yanno...?" You hear him sigh on the other end, "Anyways, I'm gonna head to bed... I'm wiped. See you tomorrow."
"Night." Yosuke hung up, and you crawl into bed, your mind swimming with questions.
6/24
It's afterschool, and you're standing at the Electronics Department at Junes. Yukiko and the guys are with you, and you're just waiting for Chie and Seichi to show.
"What's taking them so long?" Yosuke taps his foot impatiently, and you shrug in defeat. Whatever it was, it was kinda ironic that they were both late. Kanji touches your shoulder.
"Hey Senpai...? You know that guy over there? He keeps looking over here..." You look past Kanji, and over towards a teenage boy standing nearby; his deep green eyes meet your own, and he waves. You're confused, but you wave back.
Now that he mentioned it, he did look familiar... He was wearing your school uniform, but you knew you didn't know him from there.
Crew cut black hair, determined look in his eyes... Memories began to flood back to you. He was there when Rise announced her hiatus from showbiz. Yeah... He was the one that had escourted her out when things had gotten out of hand. You weren't sure why he'd want your attention though. You informed your friends you'd be back, and walked over to him.
"Hey, 'sup?" He began calmly, and for a split second, you find it hard to believe that he was supposed to be a big, macho bodyguard. He still towered over you in height, though...
"Um, nothing...? Do we... have some sort of problem?"
He cackled quite loudly, amused, and you cringe at the almost sinister sound. "'course not~! I just..." His face turned serious, "Ya see, it's about Rise-chan, she—"
"Was kidnapped?" You finish for him, and he nods slowly.
"Look, it isn't any of my business, but I overheard you talking to pretty boy over there..." Pretty boy? You turned around. Oh, he must of been talking about Yosuke. You turn back to him, and he continues, "And I know you're going after her, so I'm coming with." He points at himself with his thumb, and nods. The worse part was, that didn't sound like a request.
"A-ahh..." Your mouth hung open, and you're weren't entirely sure how to react. For once, you were speechless. "L-listen... Ummm..."
"Narashino Oda, pleased to meet ya~" He was surprisingly nonchalant about the whole thing, but I guess he had been trained to handle these kinds of situations? ...Was there even a school for bodyguards? You wondered, but you realized you were getting off-topic, and derailed yourself from such thoughts.
"R-right, I know you must be worried about her, but..."
He steps closer to you, and you do your best to stay composed, "It's not just about being her bodyguard... Rise-chan and I go waaaay back. You don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself if the killer shows."
"But—"
"Even if you say no, I'll just follow you~" At least he was honest?
But that wasn't why you were worried... How would they bring a human to the other world? How we he react? How would his body react? You recall how it felt the first time you went before you had those glasses. You were exhausted, and everything felt like it had been set on fire...
You could lie, say he heard wrong, and walk away, but... That look in his eyes, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.
For some reason, you felt like you could trust this guy, and if he was close with Rise... You mentally fought with yourself for awhile, but eventually, you agree. He whoops loudly, and slaps your back... Hard.
You knew you were making a mistake, but there was no turning back now... You sigh.
Alright... Now how to get your friends to agree?
Oh, and fast update, because I'm sick, and there's not much else to do D; Sorry if it's rushed, I didn't want to spend so much on the Canon stuff... Summer's coming, which means I'll be able to do write some romance 8D But we gotta get Rise outta the way first...
Crap! Almost forgot this! This is my gift to ya guys 8D Go to Youtube, then add this to the end: watch?v=gLdjHUoIkW4