Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've written, but since I now have a full time job, it's become even more difficult to write, especially when my free time is usually spent playing great games like Pikmin 4, Cult of the Lamb and, a recent discovery of mine: the Persona series. Somehow, despite me not being big on anime tropes and classic JRPGS, I love both Persona 4 and Persona 5 despite not having finished the latter yet. I can only hope this fanfic is a somewhat intriguing 'where are they now' story that captures the balance of light and dark the Persona games' stories have.
"Thought I told ya to not be out so late."
"Kazuma, please! I couldn't-"
There was a quick movement and a loud thumping noise, followed by pained moans. That was all that needed to be seen here. "That's gotta be enough, right, sergeant?" "Yes. You can kick the door in, and I'll back you up. You should be able to handle this, though."
Tani tried to run, but despite the obvious signs of drunkenness, her husband was still fast with his hands, painfully grabbing onto her wrists.
"Tani, you fucking bitch… When're ya gonna learn to listen to me? I get worried, you know…"
"I could never cheat on you, Kazuma… You know that! Please, calm down… Don't hurt me."
"I'm not hurting ya, Tani… I'm just making sure the message is crystal clear. And clearly, I've failed in doing that. Maybe… I need to escalate. Let me grab a smoke."
The sergeant and the officer moved quickly, but without any noise. They needed this to be over quickly so there wouldn't be a hostage situation. The officer pressed her ear to the door: Mr. Sekiguchi was loud enough to hear from outside. "There's no time like the present. He's about to give her a cigarette burn." She looked at her sergeant while she stood back up, and got the approving nod she needed. Ignoring the wild pounding of her heart, she stepped back and braced herself.
"No! Let go of me! Kazuma, please, I'll scream!"
"Please, try to see it my way, sweetie… Imagine how much pain you'd be in if you got jumped by a stranger-"
"Heee-ya!" With one well-placed roundhouse, the door was forcefully opened, allowing the two law enforcers to enter and aim their guns at Mr. Sekiguchi.
"Kazuma Sekiguchi! On charges of disturbing the peace and domestic abuse, you are under arrest! Get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!" The police officer demanded fiercely.
"What? Damn you, coppers, I didn't do nothin' wrong! I-"
"You'd better listen. If our tasers won't get you… A kick from the kid here will, and you can imagine all the places to be kicked in."
"I'M A GOOD HUSBAND, DAMN YOU! I'M NOT A CRIMINAL!" He tried to grab onto Ms. Sekiguchi again, only to find in all the chaos, she had hidden behind the two officers. He tried to charge at the two of them, but he was easily overpowered when the young officer stuck out her leg, tripping the man so the sergeant could restrain him.
"No! Let go of me! This isn't what it looks like! I GOT RIGHTS!"
"You have the right to remain silent, Mr. Sekiguchi. Come on. Sleep off that alcohol at our precinct."
"Sergeant Fukuda? Do you mind if I talk to Ms. Sekiguchi while you take Mr. Sekiguchi to the car?"
"Of course not, Officer Satonaka. I know the physical part of the line of the duty comes easy to you… Now onto the other parts. Take your time. He's not going anywhere." Sergeant Fukuda left the house with a smile on his face. Chie found no time to return it yet, though.
"I'm sorry… This isn't the first time it happened, how did…?"
"Your neighbours, Ms. Sekiguchi. They could see what was going on, and we sent our best Senior Detective to gather evidence. You got anywhere else to stay?"
"I… I don't know…" She burst into tears, and Chie hesitated before putting an arm around her shoulder. "Miss, breathe deeply. Shed a few tears if you have to, but in order to stay safe, you'll need to gather your essential things and move away from here. At least for the time being. Now… do you have a place to stay?"
"Y-yes… Yes, I do. My parents. It's a little pathetic, but I want to be safe. I'll take good care of them at their older age."
"Alright. We're going to press charges and try to incarcerate your husband. You'll need to face him again for the divorce process, but you should be able to find some help and protection by then. At least, I assume you're going to…"
"Yes, I will. Our marriage hasn't lasted that long, anyway. He wasn't always like this, though… Something changed him."
"A sudden change, huh… Well… I am sorry to hear that, ma'am. Do you need any medical attention, by the way?"
"No, it wasn't a bad hit. I… I'll be fine, in a little while."
"Alright, if you say so. Take good care of yourself, ma'am." Chie turned around.
"Officer?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you both so much."
"It's our duty, Ms. Sekiguchi." She tipped her hat with a smile before turning around once more and walking out, closing the door behind her. She hadn't kicked it out of its hinges, that was impressive! She was almost proud of herself, until she realised the way she left was straight out of some police TV series or movie. "Crap." She mumbled, taking in a big breath of fresh night air before getting in next to her sergeant.
"Satonaka, you did well tonight. I think you're working your way towards Senior Officer soon if you keep at it like this."
"You arrested an innocent man! I'm no criminal."
"Quiet!" Chie yelled at the criminal, then smiled humbly at Sergeant Fukuda. "Thank you. I've learned a lot from you, y'know."
"Except the way you kick. Maybe we should make watching Trial of The Dragon mandatory if all officers can learn to move like that."
Chie felt her cheeks turn red. "Ahaha… Y-yeah, maybe." She shouldn't have been so honest about her high school passions when she went drinking with Fukuda-san…
The ride back to the Inaba Police Department was not quiet. Mr. Sekiguchi kept denying his crimes.
"She says she's worthless! That's how it should be, right?
I'm better than her! Much, much better!"
"No! I have never thought that!"
"I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me…"
"Shut up! You're-"
"Chie, no!"
"YOU'RE NOT ME!"
Chie blinked rapidly, trying to snap herself out the unpleasant memory without her sergeant noticing any odd behaviour. All this denial… It sounded much like how she and her friends sounded all those years ago when confronted by the uncomfortable sides of their subconscious they had kept hidden from the world. She heard the pitter-patter of rain hitting the car's roof and windshield. Despite the rain, she recognized they were very close to the precinct. Mr. Sekiguchi had finally gone quiet, thankfully, allowing her to take the abusive husband out of the car and into the police department so he could be detained.
"I'll take his wallet and phone to the lockers." She took the initiative, placing Mr. Sekiguchi's belongings in a plastic bag and writing his name on the tag. She browsed for the correct alphabetic order and placed it in a locker before turning to leave, checking her watch. Midnight. Time for her shift to stop.
As she walked out into the hallway, she suddenly gasped when she heard an all too familiar noise of a glitching, static-y television turning on. Bolting towards the storage room, she saw the department's television on the cart it was supposed to be on. She breathed rapidly, only to find the TV showed no ominous static. She rubbed her eyes and turned back around, quickly checking if the TV remained off.
"What is up with me tonight…" She muttered, nearly forgetting to clock out on her way out. She took a walk home, but couldn't help but feel a strange weight in her stomach. All these reminders of her adventures in the Shadow World tonight didn't sit well with her. She eventually decided to jog the rest of the way home: if fresh air and doing her job wasn't clearing her mind, physical exercise would have to do. She found she was correct: when she returned home, the adrenaline died down quickly enough to allow her to fall asleep.
While Officer Chie Satonaka was off duty for the rest of the night, two things happened. The first was the new late-night train arriving at the Inaba station. A young man stepped out, smiling as he remembered exactly where to find the house he would be staying at again. When Yu Nurakami fell asleep, he and Officer Satonaka could no longer hear the sound of a breaking window and a tripped alarm at the new specialized electronics store.