Fortune's Fool

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By:

A/N: Can you recognize them? Heh... Hope I'm doing this right...

********************************************************

The sound of his fist hitting the wall in the elevator, combined with the clap of the cell phone snapping shut sounded off like a prelude to a storm. Souji stood there his fist still planted against the wall, and it was only a last moment flash of common sense that he didn't put his fist 'through' the wall. The doors to the elevator slid open, allowing Souji a way out. He didn't care if the camera picked up his fit, he had tried to keep his calm as he talked to his friends. Their clear anguish over the situation was the only reason he didn't snap at them as well.

He still had them, he had to hold on to those bonds as he recalled the next bus to the mall. He had hours, the officer might not have even been to work yet. But he didn't honestly care, so long as he was moving about, doing 'something' it was better then what he had left as an alternative. Anything to not think on what could be, may be, might be, better then the mental image of her broken body discarded on some road side somewhere. He left without even looking at the mailboxes or the receptionists, they couldn't be of any help.

The soft interior shade of the building gave way to the sharp glare of sun and as the sliding doors parted it let the outside summer heat pour inside. The lack of true foliage caused him to put his sunglasses on as he turned his steps sharply towards the nearest bus stop. It was an ongoing investigation, he knew that much, but would the cop be willing to tell him anything? After all, he had no rank or position other then being the nephew of a police detective. Would being the Detective Prince's boyfriend be enough reason for such information? He stopped for a moment pondering that very phrase for the first time since he and Naoto started dating.

He always thought of Naoto as a girl, so the very phrase 'Boyfriend of the Detective Prince' made him chuckle. He had to wonder if the cop would think Naoto was a homosexual for their relationship. He stood there waiting as the bus finally arrived and came to a stop before him. Climbing up into the vehicle he pulled out his card and slid it into the slot before grabbing the handrail, the bus was too crowded for a seat. The air carried the scent of numerous people, a hint of everywhere they had been, or were going. It was distracting and he found himself gazing outside the window while waiting for the bus to take him to the train.

A flash of vivid color caught his attention to a moving billboard for Rises' latest movie. Before quickly shifting to a commercial for the drink product, also supported by Rise. He had to smile, she had returned to the spot light and she seemed much happier now then she had been when she had been on hiatus. He was happy for her, glad that she could return with a new outlook on something that clearly made her happy. Her popularity was also giving her a great deal of room to move, like with the VIP room at the Club that night.

When the girls finally had arrived, after dropping off that picture of course, the guys had already begun bringing drinks up and chatting. They had to talk loud, the pounding beat in the next room caused the whole room to vibrate lightly. It was a miracle that the drinks didn't fall to the floor in fact from all that shaking. The black lights lit the room up along with a few colored lights swaying to programed beats that came from a computerized heart. The smell of stale cigarettes lingered only faintly in the air while the soft velvet cushioned seats soaked in their body heat as they sat back. School, life inside and outside of Inaba were the topics of the evening, the guys talked about the girls they had seen, how hot or not they were.

Souji enjoyed all of it, conversations without having to be online or over the phone, just face to face talks. The bonds he forged with these people were the strongest when they were together, in an age when it was so easy to disconnect from the people around you. Staying connected in person was deeply satisfying. The door clicked open suddenly breaking their conversation as their perky idol friend popped into the room.

"Here's Risette!" She announced as she walked into the room, her hands behind her back and mischief in her eyes. She whirled around to help pull someone past the door into the room. Her short skirt flaring out as she did so, while her short low cut blouse took in the black light turning it a soft shade of blue.

Naoto appeared in a dark skirt that reached her knees and absorbed the black light and returned nothing, but a soft sheen. Her top was a button on, done up to her chin and she wore boots that reached up her ankles. She looked like a school girl out for her first time in a night club, a young helpless virgin surrounded by a darkness aching to consume her. Their eyes met across the room and he had to admire how much courage it took from her to do this. She was stripped of every one of her personal elements, her comfort zones taken from her. Yet there she stood her hands clasped in front of her, held tight to her chest in fear. Even though she was surrounded by friends who knew her, fought along side her, cried along side her, still she was nervous.

'It's you that she is seeking approval from, not them. It's your approval on how she looks that will comfort her.' A gruff voice rumbled in the back of his mind as he stood up. It took few steps to reach her, she had already started walking towards him with her own rapid steps. But she was shivering and scared as he wrapped his arms around her. Holding her close and safe to his body as she tried to suppress her deep nervousness. "You look lovely Naoto." He spoke directly into her ear, the noise making it impossible to just talk, one had to near shout to be heard. She smelled of something spicy, like cinnamon, something that brought to mind a warm sensation in his body.

She didn't speak at first, her head ducked down and he could almost feel the blush on her cheeks from the compliment. Then slowly, shyly, she slid her arms around his waist in a greeting hug before looking up at him.

He guided her back to his seat, the guys moved to allow her a place to sit while they commented on the girl's outfits. He kept her hand in his, letting her hold on as tightly as she needed while she tried to work out the fear and relax. So he shifted his attention, warmly greeting the trio that had gotten Naoto in the outfit.

"You don't seem surprised to see Naoto dressed up like this." Chie noted casually, her light green and yellow party clothes now a unique color from the lights in the room.

"It's not the first time she's worn something outside of men's uniforms." He answered, not wanting to give away the fact that Nanako already told him about the outfit when he was home having dinner.

"Oh, she certainly made it seem like she's never even seen a skirt before." Yukiko commented just as casually from her spot. Black lights on red were an interesting style, while she was still sober. He honestly hoped she and Rise stayed sober for this, he didn't know how to react if they got placebo drunk again. He was still praying that there was not going to be a King's Game.
"I have... I-I just don't wear them often..." Naoto responded and Souji only could marvel at it. She was using both the feminine version of 'I' and the masculine version, even spoke in her natural voice. She sounded shaky, her nervousness still clear in her voice. But she was trying to enforce her female side even as she kept switching from male to female terms.
He leaned over and stole a small peck on the back of her neck, the scent of her perfume warming his lungs. Making him want to drink her in more as he sat there. While she blushed before turning to look at him in surprise. He rested his forehead against hers, lovingly rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand.
"Ok lovebirds..."
"...we're at the train station."
Souji snapped out of his memories and looked over at the bus driver before realizing that the bus had stopped moving. It was parked at the train station and the two of them were the only ones on the bus at the moment. He apologized as he let go of the rail and walked off the bus, heading for the train terminals. The train terminals were newly painted, in soft cream colors rimmed in dark blues. While ads for the latest releases shone in glossy poster papers upon the walls.
He looked at the clock jutting out of the wall for the time, wondering as he did so how long had he been daydreaming. The clock showed that the train that would take him to the next station would be pulling in at any moment. He rushed to the landing as the train pulled in, falling in line behind a slip of a woman in a crisp lavender colored business suit. Around him there were bodies moving into the train, while he found a spot to stand near the door. He needed three more stops before he would reach the station he needed.

He felt warm, as though his he had been bathing under the sun all day. He felt flushed and stared down at the top of Naoto's head. She rested against him almost lightly sleeping against him. Something felt off to him, on a subtle level that slowly sent up warning flares in his mind. He had no reason to feel this way, after all the club didn't serve alcohol. Naoto said so back when they first came to Port Island. She had said that due to a rash of drunk driving accidents that they no longer served alcohol. But if that was the case why was he feeling so light headed, unless...?
"OOoooOOOhhhhh Naoto-kun! The queen has an Order!"
Naoto jerked up into a sitting position, swaying as she did so which was not a good sign. 'God, have I not done enough for humanity? Why must I suffer so?' He thought as he realized that while he had been sitting there they had opted to play the Kings Game again. But neither he nor Naoto drew chopsticks...
"Naoto you don't have to do this..." He began when Yukiko's intoxicated voice cheerfully announced in an imperialistic tone.
"Flash Souji!"
Souji actually had to stop and think on that command for a good long while, which probably was why he didn't say anything. Naoto on the other hand, though drunker, seemed to have some of her remaining mind. "What?"
"Just open your top and let Souji see what you got." Yukiko elaborated her voice raising and dropping between giggles and swaying as she moved.
"Jus' Souji-senpai right?" Naoto asked, blearily seeking elaboration.
"Yesh, just Souji." Yukiko nodded, Rise nodding along side with the request.
Naoto wasn't going to do it, he knew Naoto enough that she wasn't the type to... "Ok!"
Souji mentally stopped when he heard that she agreed to that order. "Naoto..." But his girlfriend was climbing to her feet. She turned around as Souji tried to think of a nice way to tell her that she didn't have to do this. But she grabbed his hands and began pulling back, wanting him to get up.
"Come on Souji-senpai..." She crooned, her off center gaze warmer then she normally allowed herself to show.
"Naoto... you don't have to do this." He got up at her insistence, holding on to her while trying to keep them both steady.
"I... don't mind Souji-senpai." She tugged him along towards the darker parts of the room, where only a random flash of the strobe light touched. Each color merged softly with the black lights as she began unbuttoning her top.
"Naoto..." A liquored up mind whispered that this was going to be hot, but he didn't care about something being hot or not. He only cared that Naoto could wake up in the morning comfortable with what she was doing now.
"Only you Souji-Senpai... You'll stay interested in me longer right? I won't have to be alone right?" She seemed to be talking to herself more then anyone else at that moment. "I don't want to be forced to say good bye." The top four buttons had been undone, her fingers now clumsily working on the front clasp of her bra. One that still bound up her breasts though not as extremely as the one she normally wore.
He had stopped paying attention to anything, but what was before him at that moment. His body felt hotter then ever at that moment. The logical part of his brain that had been trying to stop her had shut off, allowing that more primal part to take over. The one that got an eye full of what she hid under her clothes. The one that demanded that she be ravished as a reward for such courage.
Those words haunted him now, her drunken comments that maybe after so long he had lost interest, or that she would have to leave him. While it was true that they had been apart for far longer points of time then he would have liked... She was still his own, he still loved her with all his heart. So where had that sense of threat come from? It couldn't have been from the fake kidnapping ploy. He never discussed the girls in the university, after all he was with her. He had no interest in their love letters or notes, he told them all he was spoken for.
So why did she say that?
The train came to a stop at the station he needed, allowing him to get out and walk out towards the street. Just three blocks before he'd reach the mall and hopefully get some answers as to what happened. He walked past the tall clean looking buildings, his steps with a purpose as his mind kept pondering over Naoto's drunken comments. The kidnap ploy was meant to bring them closer, so the guys apparently felt that Naoto needed reassurance. It bothered him that Naoto would allow herself to be dragged into what was a clearly silly game by her standards.

Knowing her, she had a list of reasons in her head to submit to that plan of action, but was it? They should have talked, he should have kept her at his place so she could sleep off the alcohol. But that would have conflicted with the picture in the mailbox so they took Naoto away. 'Naoto what happened to scare you so?' he wondered as he turned another corner towards the next block. He tried to remember something else from that night, something that could glean him more information about what had been going on. But after she had flashed him, he had held her close, lightly kissing her neck and showering her in affection she would normally be too modest to accept.

He felt like he was failing her and he hated that feeling, not only her, but the guys back home were probably beating their heads trying to figure out what had happened. The mall stretched out before him, a wide stretch of land with a large parking lot. Tatsumi Port Island was made by man after all, there was plenty of space for a mall of this size. But he recalled near by a police station within the mall, near Club Escapade.

The building shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight, allowing him to take off the sunglasses as he made his way through the mall. Past the myriad of stores supplying things from clothes, to shoes, accessories to books. He past the food court and down another lane of stores before he reached Club Escapade and beyond that the police station. Even foot steps, he wasn't going to run and draw attention to himself, brought him to the front door. Only to have it open before his hand even touched the knob, a single tall, though not as tall as himself, man was walking out.

Considering the current situation he normally wouldn't have paid much attention. But this man... there was something about him, he was tall, not as tall as Souji though. His hair was short and of the same odd color people sometimes were born with, in this case a type of gray boarding white. There was a white shirt with a red vest and black pants. Yet something about this guy, and apparently it was also sensed in return. Because the guy paused and looked at him.

They just stood in the door way, eying each other without words or gestures feeling the other out as though wondering if this was a threat or ally. Then suddenly the guy gave a slight smile before turning and walking away. The sensation was fleeting, but powerful, as though Souji had brushed up against someone from the same school. He didn't know the person, but there was a sense of commonality that existed. Something that said they walked a similar path at one time, or perhaps they still walked it.

"Persona."

"What? But how..." Souji was left floored as the stranger walked off. But he had to let it go, Naoto needed him more. Turning he walked into the station his expression calm, though he was worried still. He hadn't been able to think of a way to ask about Naoto. There was one lone officer sitting behind the desk with several files about. Behind him was a series of phones, and desks so apparently there was more to this place then just one cop manning the shop. But who to ask?

"Is there a reason for your visit?" The officer behind the desk was staring at him with an expression like a hawk. Anyone lesser would have been intimidated, but then this was Souji.

"I'm here regarding the kidnapping of Shirogane, Naoto."