"Aigis, tell me again why we couldn't meet this detective in the car, or the hotel?" Kirijo Mitsuru, head of Kirijo Industries, drew her fur coat up to shield out the frozen air. She was always appreciated the work that Aigis did, but at times like this she dearly hoped that Aigis remembered that not all of them were as resilient as the android was.
The blonde anti-shadow unit paused from her scan of their surroundings to face her friend and superior. "I apologize for the lack of proper accommodations, but it was imperative that we meet on neutral ground. After being attacked in such a manner, it was natural for the man to be highly suspicious of any outreach of an unknown party. Suggesting our hotel would not only given away our location, but seemed liked a potential ambush by an unknown party." She paused, trying to best word what information she had gathered from the brief exchange with the local detective.
"In my analysis of the data collected at the scene of the excursion, I thought it would be best for us to work together if we were both were targeted. Additionally, I observed some unusual circumstances that might suggest the man is not only aware of the Sea of Souls - or the 'TV World' as they call it here - but he might also be a persona user himself." Her fingers gently unwrapped a packet from her coat pocket. A large tactical knife lay within. Mitsuru herself had noted that more and more terrorists they'd been up against had used similar weapons, but that was not the reason she suspected Aigis was showing it to her. The knife blade was broken and bent, as if it had struck a hard surface. "I also noted that Dojima-san had a large tear in the back of his shirt, but no underlying damage, and definitely no body armor."
"Use of a persona as body armor?" Mitsuru hummed in thought. "Unusual." True, they had encountered a group of teenage persona users in this town last year, but there had been no indications of anything since then that might have risen to more users appearing in the area. Nevermind that persona use outside the realms of the Sea of Souls was almost unheard of. "What time is it? I would think he'd have arrived already if he was coming." She tried to hold back another shiver from the wretched weather; her element might be ice, but she still disliked being uncomfortable. "And where the hell is Akihiko?"
As if to answer her question, a faint yell echoed from the distance. Both women turned towards the disturbance. Aigis was the first to speak. "Those vocal patterns match Akihiko-san, Mitsuru…." Both women nodded.
Mysterious detectives would have to wait. Friends came first.
The scene was a lot to take in. Two figures struggled just off the pathway in a group of trees and a small gazebo, while a third stood just out of reach, trying to break up the confrontation. Impacted earth, clouds of dust and broken foliage spoke to a brutal fight.
"Ah! Mitsuru, that man on top of Akihiko, that's Detective Dojima." Aigis pointed to where Akihiko struggled against the ground and the detective's knee pressed between his shoulder blades, futilely. The man that Mitsuru could only assume to be Dojima was stone faced, holding the boxer's right arm in almost an unnatural angle and pressed the left into the dirt. Sanada would occasionally attempt to kick the older man off, but Dojima would silently twist the boxer's arm until the younger man grunted with pain and gave in. Meanwhile, a grey haired teen - Narukami, the persona user they'd encountered last year, she realized - was trying to talk both men down.
Finally, Dojima relented, and released the younger man. "What kind of idiot runs around at night, when there's a damn madman on the loose, wearing nothing more than a bedsheet and combat pants?"
"As I tried to explain, I was trying to do surveillance for ...uh. H-hi, Mitsuru…" Akihiko's seemed to make knots as he suddenly realized the women's presence. "I was just scouting the area, I swear!"
Mitsuru groaned, and waved him off. "Sanada, just… put a shirt on and make yourself presentable, please." She paused, and turned to the the older man brushing dirt off his slacks. "Dojima-san, I hope you can understand my colleague's actions are only out of concern. Please don't hold his rash decisions against us."
Aigis's quiet voice was at her ear. "I will have to upgrade my assessment of Dojima-san. To not only overtake Sanada-san, but to keep him subdued… Strength alone, he might be the most powerful persona user we've encountered."
Aigis's words struck Mitsuru. The detective had strong armed Akihiko without even manifesting his Persona, as far as she'd been able to detect. Who was this man? Had he'd been affected somehow by the midnight hour like Minazuki?
The detective sent a side eye glare at the still sheepish boxer, but nodded at Mitsuru's words. "Sometimes, paranoia can be a good thing, with all the unknown going on." The man shook his head as he brushed his hand back through his short brown hair. Somehow, the familiar fidgeting behavior put Mitsuru more at ease as she quickly checked Akihiko for injuries beyond his pride.
"My nephew here-" Narukami gulped visibly as the collective gaze moved towards him, "Filled me in on your work here last year. I... knew something was going on, but I admit I was ...left in the dark until recently." He sighed, and patted the teenager on the shoulder. "Though, to be fair, I wasn't willing to listen until I had to. It was hard enough to believe I'd missed the signs myself." An echo of betrayal in the gruff voice resonated with the young Kirijo. Aigis had mentioned this detective had been senior partner of Adachi Tohru, the man ultimately responsible for the murders within Inaba. Ikutsuki, Adachi… Dojima, too, knew what it was like to trust someone who would turn around and stab you in the back.
"Very few know about the world within the shadows… your disbelief is more than understandable. If I hadn't been exposed to such dark secrets for most of my life, I suspect my reaction would be similar." She matched his gaze. "Am I correct in assuming you, too, can summon what we call a persona?"
The detective's eyes didn't leave hers as he slowly nodded his head. "During the prison break there was...an incident involving my former partner. Hard to deny the supernatural when you wake up smack dab in it."
"Did anything else unusual happen? I mean, besides what happened in-"
"There's someone coming, Mitsuru. 100 meters aways… and they're moving suspiciously."
All eyes grew wide at the news. Strangely, Dojima didn't exactly look surprised. There was more to this story, she was sure of it. No doubt Aigis's postulations were correct. "Dojima-san, Narukami, do you mind if we move this to somewhere more… private?"
"You're saying someone has been making inquiries about you since your persona awakened? I can assure you, it hasn't been anyone from our organization. I wonder who'd have the authority…."
The plush seat of the limo felt uncomfortable against Dojima's back. He'd never been in such a high end car, and the whole setup put him on edge. Still, Yu vouched for them, and had pleaded that his uncle give them a chance. Frankly, they were getting to the point where they needed it. He'd been attacked in public. Someone was trying to track his every move, harassing him and the people around him. Even his nephew, who seemed to have the answers to everything, was lost on where else they could turn. "Whoever they are, they're using investigators from Police HQ. They're using the Seitou situation to keep me off balance, and I still don't know what they're after."
There was a brief knock before the side door opened, and the boxer from before slid into the empty seat, now decently dressed in a black shirt, slacks and white jacket. "Mitsuru, here's the file you asked for. Your hunch was correct; our detective here," He jerked his head towards his sparring partner, "isn't on the detective manifest sent to us. Somebody was trying to keep us from meeting him."
Dojima raised an eyebrow. Suddenly the bizarre call from the station sergeant asking him to coordinate with the neighboring district tomorrow made sense. "My precinct also arranged to have me out of town tomorrow. This stinks, but I suspect this isn't about Seitou, is it?"
"No, Dojima-san, I don't think so. He's connected to Sea of Souls somehow, but this sounds like someone wants to keep you off our radar. The question is, why? The Kirijo group is the best resource for information for Persona usage, but we're obviously not the only ones who can, or know about it. Why are they so interested in you in particular?"
The detective sighed, feeling Yu's pleading eyes next to him, wanting him to trust these people enough to let them help. In for a yen…. He nodded to his nephew. "Alright."
Yu pulled out a steel bar, almost a foot long and 2 inches thick, that he'd picked up from Daidara's earlier, and passed it to his uncle. They'd both agreed that if Dojima was going to tell anyone what was going on, a visual would be the most effective way of explaining it.
The three other occupants looked on, not quite sure what was happening as the detective gripped each end in his hands. The confusion then turned into disbelief as the older man bent the bar into a knot, as easily as someone would tie a shoelace. "When I was thrown into TV World, I didn't just get a Persona. Something… ah, changed me, and I've been running around like a supercharged furnace ever since." He looked at the knot in his hand, and let himself relax the tight control on the fire within him. The knot of steel began to glow a dull orange with the heat he'd let flow out into his hand. "I've been trying to keep my head down, but I think someone's figured me out. For what end, I don't know. Here." He tossed the molten ball at the boxer.
Akihiko had to bounce the ball between his gloved hands to keep from burning himself. "Damn. I feel a little better about you wiping the floor with me, at least."
"Yes, well, not everything is a competition, Akihiko." Mitsuru shot a glare at he blunt companion, but was glad for something to cover for her shock. "Still… I can see why you wanted to be cautious about telling us. Though, I wonder…."
"...That perhaps such suspicion is what whomever is stalking you wanted, Dojima-san." Aigis finished for Mitsuru. "If they want to keep you a secret from us, what better way than to make you paranoid that we'd come after you for such abilities? If not for our improbably encounter earlier, I calculate our chances of meeting at .04%."
Dojima grunted in annoyed agreement. "Keeping me off balance and isolated, thus vulnerable for whatever they wanted to do to me. Which I still have no idea what it could be." Calloused fingertips tried to wipe the exhaustion and frustration from his face.
The young head of the Kirijo group crossed her arms. "Dojima-san, I'm not sure you understand how unique you are, here. Persona users are few, yes, and even fewer are those with the ability of your nephew and my companion Aigis to use multiple Personas at will. However, as extraordinary as that is, their abilities are almost completely relegated to the Sea of Souls, the 'TV World' as it's called here, and its inhabitants. To be able to demonstrate such superhuman abilities in real world without extreme effort is not only unheard of, but could be incredibly dangerous in it fell into the wrong hands. To them, you'd be the perfect super soldier in their private army, and if they could study you and duplicate it… who'd be able to stop them?"
The color drained from both the faces of uncle and nephew. For him, these changes had been a curse; a burden he was constantly keeping in check. However, for someone with less than honorable intentions or even experience, who knows what they'd do with such power?
Dojima's thoughts crystallized around the contents of the safe back at the house. There was still some of that strange liquor left. He hadn't even thought what someone might do if they found it. Damn, he was in more danger than he'd ever guessed. So was Yu and Nanako, sharing the house with him.
"Still, I think there might some things we can do to help you, Dojima-san, without raising too many suspicions, if you're willing to work with us." Mitsuru immediately thumbed through her phone for a few trusted contacts in their Research and Development department.
The steely look in the detective's eyes didn't falter as he nodded to the three outsiders. "I'm listening…"
Notes: I promise, I'm not dead. Just had to make sure I spent some time revisiting P3 so I didn't completely butcher Misuru, Akihiko or Aigis. Slowly the cards are being put on the table, one by one. Dojima's got more than himself to worry about, but that's how he's always worked, hasn't he. While Yu might be aware that his uncle's new supercop status isn't just an affect of his time in the TV World, no one else has an inkling, not even Dojima, who never remember his convenient exposition dreams. (Ok, I admit, my torture of Akihiko came from a joke between my bestie and myself about how Dojima would react to Akihiko. 'Put a damn shirt on, you're not impressing anybody.' Also, we felt the need to annoy him after his in-game AI was seriously drunk whenever I had him on my team. Bad Aki.) Hopefully people are still interested on where I'm taking this.