A Fortune's Fool
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: After this chapter I will be deleting this fic from the megami tensei section and only posting on the persona section of the site. If you story alerted this fic please be advised to readjust the alert to the Persona section. Thank you
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Light was dancing a slow waltz with darkness as the sun moved slowly across the sky. It cast it's rays through the window and along the ground, slowly moving it's dance partner along. While at the same time hiding a small boy sitting on the floor in the center of one room. The light seemed to like his hair, helping bring out a soft glow of his false natural blond. The white shirt with it's ruffles soaked in the warmth, keeping him warm while the black pants covered legs were tucked up so he could rest his head against it.
Teddie knew what he was.
A Shadow, nothing more then the darkness dancing on the floor around the room with a mind of his own. He'd been there all day, since it was his 'day off', since after all he didn't have anything else better to do. So he'd been here, sitting beside where they found Naoto's blood in her apartment, trying to focus more on the scent of the guy who had grabbed her. But in the end what good was that? What was the purpose of figuring out how the person felt at the time of the kidnapping?
Regardless, Teddie spent hours, sniffing in hopes of finding some hint about who kidnapped her. When finally a question worked it's way into his mind, a question about Shadows and Persona's. A Shadow was a person's Persona that went out of control. Which meant that there was possibly a Shadow somewhere in the world that came from this guy who ran off with Nao-chan. Could they somehow find that Shadow? Make it tell them where Naoto was? But if they could do that, did that mean that Teddie was the same way? That somewhere out 'there' was a person who's emotions gave rise to him?
It was a thought that left him sitting helpless on the floor, scared to move and scared to stay while surrounded by shadows that never had to worry. Did he come from someone else who was still here? If they met, would Teddie have to stop being Teddie and become a Persona? After all, Teddie hadn't aged or changed since his arrival on 'this' side. Even though everyone else finished growing and stuff, he was still the same kid he was when he first arrived.
"Given that a Shadow is a manifestation of a person's true self, including an unrestrained emotional state... It would stand to reason that you may in fact only age as you grow emotionally. That being said, there is nothing wrong with being young at heart all your life."
Naoto had speculated on that aspect when the group realized he wasn't growing up. Back then it had been fine, he didn't feel a need to 'grow up' or change. He was happy being surrounded by his wonderful friends, playing with Nana-chan and eating Topcicles! Only now, he felt small and useless, not even the Other World could help him.
He pulled out his cellphone and flipped it open before seeking out a phone number. Dialing it he waited listening to the ringing before the click.
"Hello? Teddie is that you?" Rise asked her voice concerned.
"Yes, hey... Rise-chan can I ask you something?" He could hear the soft sound of a radio playing in the background that was suddenly cut off.
"Yeah," Her voice was soft, a concerned voice that was curious but willing to answer.
"How do you find people through Kazeon?" He asked, perhaps she could see something he couldn't smell?
"I see paths of butterflies." She answered easily. "Teddie are you guys having trouble?"
"Yeah, I can smell the person who was in here, but that doesn't help me find out what they looked like. We're really trying but... It's already been a day since Nao-chan disappeared and..." He shrugged before asking. "Butterflies?"
"Yeah, I see butterflies. When Kazeon puts her head piece around my head I visually see butterflies. The paths we took were always outlined in various colors, I guess they were supposed to be symbolic of the emotions of the person we were looking for. Or perhaps it's one of those Aura things you occasionally hear about from those mystic types. But I don't see walls or floors, just the outlines of them, and a flurry of butterflies about a person. Like with Naoto-kun I saw vibrant red butterflies about her Shadow. But once she accepted her Shadow it turned into vibrant blue butterflies that merged into Sukuna-Hikona. After that I see only her Persona, but the path that I would follow to find her, is a thin path of butterflies. Where as with Nanako-chan I only see butterflies because she's too young to have a Persona."
"Oh..." Teddie looked down as he swallowed painfully. It wasn't something he could be taught after all. "My nose just isn't any good."
"Teddie don't be so hard on yourself. I'll be able to make a stop over in Inaba two days from now. We can go into the other world and see if we can find Senpai's new location! That way we can visit him more quickly and have more access to other locations." She offered, a direction that Teddie could take and find comfort in.
"Yeah! We can do that!" Teddie finally got up from his spot before walking towards the door.
"Hey Teddie, I have to go I need to be on the set in a few, so you take care, and I promise I'll be there as soon as I can." She spoke before their farewells. He shut the cellphone before he opened the door to the apartment planning on leaving it.
"Oh! You're ba... oh.. Forgive me I thought you were Shirogane-san." A elderly woman her arms loaded with bags stopped, looking at Teddie in surprise. Her hair was graying, her clothes the simple style of a housewife on errands. Still...
"You know Nao-chan?" He asked looking at her hopefully.
"Not well, I live further down the way. But I saw a man carrying him to his car before, the man said that Shirogane-kun had fallen and hurt himself. So he was going to take the boy to the hospital." She explained patiently, her eyes expressing some of her worry over the young 'boy'.
"Ahh! I see... Um did he seem strange to you?" Teddie asked, suddenly hopeful that he would get some information to help the gang.
"Well, he had... Oh what was that term? He had two colored eyes, one brown, and one green."
"!! Really? Thanks! I've got to go tell my friends! Thank you so much!" He hugged to woman in his happiness and ran down the path towards the front of the apartment grabbing his cellphone.
"Teddie? What's up?" the background sounds of Junes could be heard along with Yosuke's voice.
"I found out something. The guy that Sensei said 'had green eyes' might not have. There was someone here who saw a man carry Nao-chan away! And they said that the guy had a green eye and a brown eye."
"What?! Wait so which would be his real-" Yosuke sounded like he was pondering something to himself before he spoke up. "I get it, contacts! He wore green contacts, which would explain Naoto-kun's comments! I'll call Souji and Chie, she can tell Dojima-san. Good work Ted!" Yosuke replied pleased with Teddie's accomplishment. Sides Teddie sounded beside himself with joy that he had information to give.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
An oak desk was pressed up against a wall under a window. Neat stacks of papers rested on the two furthers corners, a series of books rested between the pair, their topics unimportant at the moment. Along the sides of the desk were the occasional pen or pencil, a pair of binoculars and a skeleton key. At the upper center part of the desk rested a single picture of a girl. Short like a typical girl in truth, anyone else wouldn't have batted an eyelash beyond the fact that she was pretty. Black slacks, and a white button on shirt, simple barely heeled shoes on her feet. But the hair was cropped so short, it was nice and stylish, but perhaps a bit longer?
Below it was the picture of a the same girl, this time dressed to the nines as a boy, a bit too warmly for the season perhaps. But it was necessary to hide the true gender of the person in that image. Dark blue coat, white shirt the collar down so that a collar meant for dogs could be clearly shown around her throat. Ropes wrapped around her mid section pinning her arms to her side, while her legs were curled up to her chest as though she had been in pain. Amazing in it's own way that it was the same person.
Shirogane, Naoto.
When he had first heard of the 'Detective Prince: Shirogane, Naoto' he had been impressed. Hard not to be considering her track record, one that must have started when she was very young. A part of him saw the 'Prince' as a rival, someone to possibly beat to attain his own standings among the field of law enforcement. Even though he was behind in cases, he felt that if he could just find 'the' case. That one perfect case that he could break before Shirogane-san then he would be able to surpass the Prince. But what type of case would be necessary to bring forth such a victory over the Detective Prince?
Then one day he learned of a way to beat 'him' presented in the lovely picture on the desk. Perhaps it was the fact that she hid her gender so well that was a mark of her skills. But as a girl there was more possibilities, attaining the name and position through marriage. Besides a girl could never be a detective, it was a man's job. But she would make a good assistant, and she was nice on the eyes. The revelation that the Detective Prince was a Princess made things so much more easier.
There were whispers on the subtle channels that there was a girl in the detectives field that was available for marriage dates. When he received the first invitation to look at this girl all that was said was that it was a good girl that needed some proper grooming. He replied that he was interested and was still waiting for a reply when his father took on a case.
He sat in front of his computer, logging onto the Internet so that he could look up some information on the fraud case that his father was working on. When he noticed the email icon flashing in the lower right hand corner of his computer.
"Thank you for your prompt reply to my personal invitation. There has been a number of you who have taken interest in this girl. As such I am sending the first picture of her with this letter. She graduated at the top of her class, and has some domestic skills, enough to keep you satisfied. I'm sure you'll enjoy the picture and reply when you need her address. She's strong minded and willfully independent, but she isn't a match for the right man."
The picture downloaded had been of a lower quality, undoubtedly from a cellphone camera. The picture was from the front, she was apparently meeting up with someone. Her face was lit up with happiness, her hands clasped in front of her in a very modest lady like posture. Which excused the formal male clothes she was wearing, the picture capturing her while she held the cap in her hands.
He had accepted that as a challenge and in the subsequent correspondences discovered the identity of this lovely tomboy girl. He wished he had the chance to have met her before and in person. But now he would have a chance to not only meet her, but in rescuing her he would be able to prove his skill and worthiness to have her as a bride.
But first he had to find her, and prove to the higher ups that he was serious. Which meant watching the video that the kidnapper was so 'kind' to send as well. Granted breaking into Naoto's mailbox was illegal, but he had a hunch that scored him the picture and a video. He slipped the disc into the drive and listened to the quiet whirl. His video viewing program kicking on as he took another look at the envelop. One that lacked any stamp or markings to say it even came 'through' the post office. Which meant that where ever she was, she wasn't so far that they couldn't just drop the letter off personally.
The video began playing revealing a stationary camera focused on the girl. Naoto was out cold, chained to a wall by the throat with that pronged choke collar around her neck. She hung there unmoving with a small pair of stains under her head, undoubtedly her own blood. Thick ropes were wrapped around her torso insuring that she couldn't use her arms or hands. He watched for a few minutes before hitting fast forward. Since the kidnappers felt the need to video tape her whole imprisonment.
Finally she began to get up, which made him stop the fast forward and rewind it just before there was movement. Watching as she slowly dragged her legs under her as she steadied herself before resting against the wall. The chain wasn't long enough, it left her hanging when she laid down and those prongs had to be painful. She stayed on her knees for a while before getting up on her own only to play tug of war with the wall. She would pull for a certain amount of time then stop her body moving as though she was breathing heavily.
The pattern repeated for a time, Naoto devoting her whole effort to pulling the nail out of the wall that was holding her. He could only admire her tenacity in the act despite the shear pain and pressure it would have been putting against her throat. The carpet looked faded, the way it looked when it was untouched for a long period of time. The dust that clung to Naoto's dark clothes revealed a carpet of more red then pink. The camera looked to be stationary, but more so she must have not been able to see it or else she wouldn't be so obvious in her escape attempts.
He watched the video, hoping for some sign of where she was, a better clue. But the range of the camera wasn't all that wide, leaving only the small area where she was. As she worked she began to slowly take steps back further from the wall. So she was making headway in her attempt to escape her imprisonment, when suddenly something snapped out of place. His eyes widened in shock as something about the size of a brick yanked out of the wall part way. But that wasn't what began to distress him.
Rather it was the sight of Naoto clearly screaming and thrashing about in pain. She pulled back on instinct as electrical charges strong enough to be visible on the camera sparked from the brick thing in the wall. It danced its way towards her and wrapped it's it's vivid blue white hands around her throat. Calm, measured movements were lost in a desperate thrashing to be free of what would be excruciating pain. One last pull, the box coming free from the wall landed with a clatter as Naoto herself fell to the ground.
He needed to find her. She may have been stubborn about her gender, hiding it as she did. But not even a man could take this abuse if it escalated beyond this level. Which meant trying to figure out the type of trap used, since these people clearly took their time and put in some serious effort to hide such a dangerous item into the wall. But how would they have found a device that was small, could be hidden and give off so much electrical charge all at once?
"This Shirogane-san is why women shouldn't be detectives. Sometimes the cases come back after you." He sighed as he started the disc from the beginning in case he missed something.