*FLASH BACK*
Naoto wandered down the streets of Sapparo towards the Shirogane Estate with her school backpack resting over her shoulders. An uneasiness in her stride as she past the corner shop causing her pace to significantly increase. Once past she glanced back nervously before almost walking into a much taller more muscular kid who at first glance would seem as though he was older then the small girl. She'd never hid her gender at this point so her blue hair almost reached her hips and she wore a typical girls uniform with a denim jacket.
"Where do you think your going squirt?" She timidly took a step back so she could get a better look at the group in front of her. The one she bumped into was named Kuro. The other three that followed were his friends, Kirai, Hidoi and Akuma.
"Uh- um- Nowhere!" She stammered as she slowly stepped back some more. How she hoped they would just leave!
"Really? Cause it looks to me as if you were." Kuro snarled harshly in response.
"I-I... Um... I-I was going h-home so me and G-grampa could –" He cut her of with an imposing step forwards.
"Could what? Go have a picnic with your teddy bears?" Kirai spoke up from behind him.
"Um... No... W-we were going to m-meet my p-parents at the train station." She took another step back.
"Really? Why? Does little Naoto-chan miss her mommy?" Her attention never left the threatening boy in front of her as she continued to retreat from his advancing movements. Even when Hidoi spoke her terrified gaze never left his icy cold amused glare.
"N-no! I d-didn't miss them a-at all!" Her voice cracked slightly as stumbled on somthing.
"Well, in that case why don't you come with us? Might as well, right?" Naoto shook her head in fear as he slammed his fist into his palm. She swiftly turned and ran in the opposite direction only to get tripped by Kuro as he was marginally quicker then she was. "Might want to re-think that." She nodded as she scrambled to her feet. "Thought so. Come on." With that the others surrounded her to discreetly guide her towards the park which luckily for her was around the same area as the train station. Unluckily for her Grampa promised he wouldn't leave the house without her.
"Now, why didn't you do what I told you to?"
"W-what do you mean?" At her question the boy at the front of the group slapped her face sending her to ground.
"Why didn't you tell Mrs Konishi that you stole that girls lunch instead of me? I told you to take the blame!" He growled as he stepped closer to her. She scrambled to her feet to retreat only to be stopped by Hidoi who had moved behind her to block her path. She darted to the side only to realise that it would lead her into a bush if she kept on going.
"I-I um... B-because I didn't s-steal anything and I-I don't want to get in trouble s-so I d-didn't say a-anything..." Bad choice of words. Naoto mentally slapped herself for her stupid-ness as they hit her into the ground again. Tears formed in her eyes as pain seared her belly from one of them giving her a blow from their foot.
"I told you before! If you do it again then you'll regret it! So its time to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Kirai suddenly plucked a branch from a nearby tree before stepping closer to the terrified little blue haired girl. Lifting the branch above his head he swung it down with as much force as he could muster! She braced herself for the impact by curling into a slight ball before suddenly the branch sliced through her eye instead of her entire head! Blood trickled down her face as she covered the wound with one hand and opened her over to see why the attack hadn't hit the rest of her face.
"Get away from her!" Her eye widened as a knew figure came into view standing defensively in front of her.
"What?! Who the hell are you?!" Kuro cried out in annoyed shock as she realised that the stranger must have saved her from the worst of the damage.
"I'm Minato Arisato! Now get lost!" The newcomer snarled menacingly at them. It was only then that she realised how much taller he was compare to them. In mere seconds the group turned and raced away from them in an attempt to escape the threats he threw at them. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah..." Naoto choked out through her tears as the pain seared through her face and she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Let me have a look at that." His gently voice soothed her still terrified mind as he knelt down to see the damage they dealt. She shrunk away from his touch as his hand drew closer to hers. "Come on now. I won't hurt you. I promise." At this she slowly let him draw her hand away from her wound. "Ooh. That doesn't look good. Hey um, what's your name?" The concern on this voice earning a slight glimmer of trust in the young girl.
"N-Naoto... Shiro-...gane..." She gasped through her constant sobbing.
"Naoto Shirogane? Is your Grampa's name Kashikoi Shirogane?" She nodded as his eyes filled with recognition. "Well, its nice to meet you. Come on Naoto-chan. Let me take you back to him."
"W-who are you?" She croaked as struggled to maintain her tears.
"Didn't you hear? I'm Minato Arisato. Your cousin." Naoto smiled as he gently lifted her small frame and rested her on his hip after placing her backpack on his over his shoulder.
"Thank you." Her consciousness slowly faded as her head rested on his shoulder.
"Anytime."
"Then..." Naoto trailed of as her gaze grew hazy as if she was reliving a painful memory. The others all watched her sympathetically before Minato continued the tale.
"Once Naoto got her eye checked out and we went back to the Shirogane Estate there was some debate over what happened, and basically it ended up with the decision that I would accompany Ace to and from school so I could protect her. That didn't work out so well..."
*FLASHBACK!*
"Hey punk!" Naoto screeched in fear as Minato was suddenly shoved to the ground! Spinning round her eyes widened in horror as the group from before stood strongly behind them. In mere seconds Kuro had Minato trapped in a headlock earning another panicked screech from the tiny blue haired girl.
"Got of me!" He cried as he slammed his elbow into his opponents chest sending him sprawling onto the ground! However it wasn't long before Hidoi had his arm trapped behind his back and a fist round the blue haired boys throat!
"L-let him go!" She summoned all her courage just to demand something that was utterly impossible to receive.
"Listen up kid! You have a choice! Either, become Kuro-kun's girlfriend and we let this guy live or refuse and we kill him!" The four of them had cruel smug expressions as they watched her panic and timidly freeze in place.
"Don't do it Naoto!" She glanced at her cousin as he had a look of pure concern and worry on his face. Naoto visibly gulped before nodding as calmly as possible.
"O-okay... I'll be your g-girlfriend..." Her tiny voice earned another smug expression from the group.
"Right then. Good choice! Now get lost!" Hidoi then released Minato from his grasp before he turned to walk away.
"I'll see you later then baby."
"Why you little..." Her cousin couldn't finish his sentence as he was swiftly hauled away by the wrist by his little cousin.
"Please don't..." She mumbled as she dragged him round a corner.
"What? Why not? You can't let them do that!" His disbelieving tone seemed to cause something to snap within the tiny to-be detective.
"I can and I will! If I don't they'll kill you and I can live with it!" She snapped as for some reason she couldn't comprehend tears formed around her eyes before cascading down her face. The liquid causing some discomfort in her damaged eye as she swiftly covered the eye patch with her tiny hand.
"No! You can't!" His response came before he gently took her over hand to show her the bruises that still lingered on her upper arm. "I won't let them do this to you!" It was then that she broke into full on tears as she snatched her hand away from him.
"I-I just don't... Want you t-to... g-get hurt!" She gasped as he gently pulled her into an embrace which she gladly melted into.
"Its okay. I'll make sure they stop." He sighed as her grip suddenly tightened. She was clinging to him as if her life depended on it as he carefully lifted her from the ground to take her home.
It was then that Naoto glanced at him uncertainty as if she couldn't remember what came next. Either that or she just didn't want to go any further as her gaze showed just how painful those memories still were to her.
"So, basically I took it out with the school authorities myself as well as teaching them a lesson. I gave them each a good bruise or two as they were on their way to meet up with each other. That's when they left her alone and Ace here started trusting me more to handle things myself." His arm then wrapped over Naoto's shoulder and pulled her closer to him comfortingly. She smiled at him before she even remembered that the others were there as well.
"Aww... That's so beautiful!" She glanced quizzically at Rise who was apparently rather moved by the story. So touched that she was apparently crying.
"Yeah. Wait... You didn't trust him the first time he helped you out?"
"No Chie-senpai. I didn't. You see I didn't trust anyone I'd just met whether they'd just saved me from a group of imbeciles or not. However I came to my senses soon enough." She responded calmly before the fakes voice interrupted them.
"Aww, Nao-chan, Minnie-kun! That was so sweet! Now just get going already! I'm tired of waiting!" She sighed in annoyance before she noticed the others staring at her in a mixture of surprise and panic.
"What?" Suddenly she noticed the strange silver glow that radiated from her entire being. In an instant everything went black as the last thing she heard was the teams shocked gasps...
Minato's eyes widened in abject horror as he watched his cousin vanish without a trace right in front of him!
"Naoto?!" He turned to Souji as he called out in shock. Where did she go?! How the hell did she do that?! Why did that just happen?!
"Oooh and the hunt for Nao-chan begins! She cheated more then once so I just sped up the paw-cess for her. Hope you find her soon cause I've got bear-y bad feeling about what could happen to her now!" The fakes voice chimed in excitement as the team swung their heads round to try and figure out where the petite detective ended up.
"Damn you!" Both Minato and Souji called out in unison surprising everyone including themselves at the strange coincidence.
"That's not bear-y nice Sensei and x-Sensei! After all, I'll be watching over her until you find her!" Its voice suddenly dropped from offended to his creepy yet interested tone. "And might I say it's a bear-y interesting show."
"What have you done?!" The two of them called out again before they glanced in amazement at each other.
"What? I only made one teensy weensy change... That's all! Don't worry! You'll find out soon enough though!" This was getting them nowhere...
"Rise-san!" Once again the two of them had called to Rise in perfect unison completely blowing their minds at how well timed they both were.
"I'm already on it! Now can you two please stop doing that! It's just getting creepy now..." The idol had summoned her tracking Persona and within mere moments she had pointed them in a seemingly random direction before the team raced down a secluded alleyway...
"Aww... How cute. Just like Nana-chan." A strange voice she had never heard before emitted from nowhere in particular causing the small girl to stir. She had no idea as to what she was doing here nor could she remember how she got here. All she did know was that wherever it was, this place was stupid. The five year old child pushed herself into a sitting position to take in her surroundings more clearly.
A shiver raced down her spine as she realised that she was alone in a shady looking alleyway. The buildings at either side of her loomed overhead as she got to her feet and the way the dumpsters dotted around the place rattled slightly as an eerie breeze turned her timid gazing into fearful staring.
"Hello?" Her voice was shaky as she took a step back. She jumped at the splash of her foot coming into contact with a puddle behind her. The long alleyway seemed to be endless as she tentatively began to wander forwards after dusting down her pale blue sundress. Remembering what her father had told her she began to scrounge more courage from deep within herself before the alleyway seemed to be less lonesome then before. "Hello?"
"Rrrgh!" Suddenly a creature not too much taller then her leapt out into the open before freezing as it caught sight of her. It was a strange being that closely resembled that of a lion with one of its front paws clad in chains that linked to a iron ball with a mask. Weird...
"Who are you?" The creature suddenly roared again in an apparent attempt to scare her but to no avail. For some reason this lion-like thing gave her a feeling of authority as if she had dealt with it before and somehow she seemed to know exactly what it was. Or at least what she believed it to be anyway.
"Are you... a shadow?"
"Guys wait! Something's not right!" Rise called as the team drew to a sudden stop. "The readings don't make sense! Its like she's there but not."
"Well if she's down here then she's down here..." Both Souji and Minato exchanged a nod at Yosuke's comment.
"ARGGHHHHH!"
Everyone froze the moment they heard that undoubtedly yet unfamiliar feminine screech from within the alleyway. Suddenly a tiny blue haired girl raced out of the shadows that enveloped the entire area with fear in every movement as a group of enemies chased closely behind her. The girl's long navy locks flowed out behind her whilst the pale blue sundress caught what little light they had as it shimmered a pale silver that matched the buckles on her shoes.
She stumbled as Minato swiftly rocketed forwards before lifting the child onto his hip style as the she instantly clung to him. Seconds later the shadows that had been chasing her were reduced to nothing but ash as he used the best fire spells he had on them.
"Are you okay?" The shaky girl never replied as she clung desperately to him whilst the others approached. She quivered fearfully as she covered her arm with one hand and clasping his shirt with the other. Her denim jacket outlined the cut that ranged from her knuckled to the edge of the sleeve. The same kind of wounds graced her over hands, legs and part of her face though her long hair mostly covered those ones.
"Dude, we don't even know if she's a shadow or not! What are you doing?!" He glanced at Yosuke who had spoken up unnecessarily. "Who even is that?!"
"No way!" Rise called as the others turned to her. "She's Naoto-kun?!" The others all stared dumbfounded at the girl who now watched them all timidly whilst her grip had only loosened slightly as she calmed down.
"M-Minnie? W-who are they?" She mumbled to her cousin curiously with a stammer of shyness.
"Er... What?" Now it was his turn to be dumbfounded as the Naoto stared up at him innocently clueless.
"Aww, isn't Nao-chan so cute? Especially since she can't remembe-ar anything about you or anything about the time after these memories!" The fake attempted to fill in the blanks for them.
"I'm not cute..." She grumbled in protest as she glanced around to find the owner of the voice. "Who is that?" Her curiosity was clearly growing as she thought of more and more questions to ask.
"Er... That's Teddie's evil twin." Minato explained as well as he could.
"Evil? Like Feather Falcon?" Her voice was laced with curious excitement as she awaited his answer expectantly.
"Oh er, yeah. What's he from again?" Her face fell again in annoyance with her cousins inability to remember the characters for the hundredth time.
"He's the bad guy in Neo Featherman! Why can't you ever remember?"
"Aww, that's adorable!" Naoto instantly glared at Rise.
"I'm not adorable..." She growled in an offended kind of way. "Minnie, are these your friends?" He nodded in affirmation before setting her back down on the floor. In mere seconds she had positioned herself behind her cousin in the most timid way possible earning even more amused gazes from the team.
"Yeah. This is Souji Seta, Rise Kujikawa, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Kanji Tasumi, Yukiko Amagi and the nice Teddie." Her gaze wandered around the group as Minato made the introductions not managing to sense the slightly awkward way he had spoke them.
"Teddie? As in teddy bear?" The bear grinned as she stared at him curiously.
"Yep! That's me!" His all too enthusiastic reply earned a small smile from the tiny girl. Her gaze suddenly caught Souji's causing her to stare in confusion at him.
"H-have I seen you before?" She'd emerged from behind her cousin just to get a better look at him.
"Er... Do you recognise me?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at his response as she nodded.
"I do. I don't know where from though... Were you ever in Neo Featherman?" The excitement had returned to only her gaze as her suspicious expression remained.
"No. I haven't." After a few moments she shrugged in annoyance before turning back to Minato.
"Minnie? Were those things called Shadows?" Her innocently clueless question earned an amazed yet calm response from the blue haired teen.
"Yes. They are shadows. Now you stay away from them okay? They are nasty creatures!" She gave him a nonchalant look in response as if to say 'no duh'.
"No duh!" Well she meant it. She rolled her eyes in annoyance before glancing back at the team, finally noticing Kanji's slightly red face. "Um... Kanji-kun? Why's your face red?" His face only went redder as she asked with that same innocent curiosity whilst Minato remembered that he should probably heal her.
"Ugh... Umm..." He stuttered earning an even more curious stare from her.
"We've been running around for a while now. It's only natural that some of us would be a little red from it." Souji swiftly stepped in as her eyes shot back to him.
"Really? Then why did he get redder when I – "
"Oh who cares Nao-chan? Just get the team to move on already!" She jumped at the fakes harshly spoken words before her gaze turned curious again.
"Team? Oh I get it! It's a game!" The excitement in her words made it difficult to deny her at this stage. However Minato knew exactly what she would do next if that was what they agreed to.
"Sorry Angel but no. This isn't a game. You can't wander of or you'll be in deep trouble okay?" He spoke meaningfully as she look slightly disheartened by it all whilst apparently being slightly offended at the same time.
"Fine... I'll play second banana..." She didn't notice Yosuke's slightly amused smile as the group all turned their attention towards finding the damn fake with, the 'mystery' of why Kanji went red, completely forgotten about...
Authors Note!
Okay everyone so this is rather long and I expect the next chapter to possibly be much longer as I don't want to put too many chapters up about just this one event. So yeah. Anyway, I thought that since Naoto will be four for most of this I might have mucked a few things up with the timeline but oh well. I thought that before Naoto started hiding her gender or really caring for what she looked like she would have been dressed in a more feminine way then she would ever consider. I was like that as well without the idea of hiding my gender anyway... Back on topic! I don't have much time before I get completely grounded by my dad for prolonging him the computer for so long so I'm gonna leave it there and explain better in the next chapter. Please Read & Review! I still love hearing from you and from what it sounds like I probably will be slowing down in updates but I promise the more reviews the faster it will be! I love hearring feedback! :D :D :D :D :D :D That is why! :D
PS.
I was half asleep while writing this note and by the way I thought Naoto would have loved Featherman when she was a kid! So yeah! :D :D :D :D