A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 4-The Golden Apostle! As you can probably guess, this is going to be the second half of the first Interlude of Persona 4- The Golden Apostle. So other than mentioning that detail, I think now is the time to hit up the disclaimer, so let's get on that! Here's the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OCs Ryuroni, Hikari Kusanagi II, Hikari Kusanagi III, Koushiro, Yamato, Takeru, Rosie, Gaignun, Slim, Sage, Lily, Kusano, Ace, Marisa, and any other OCs/OC Personas that appear in the story, all of which were created by, and thus belong to, me), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega, as well as the various other companies that were involved with the spinoffs (whether those spinoffs be Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the 'Dancing' games, or the 'Q' games, or even Persona 5: The Phantom X), all of whom know who they are and receive the appropriate creative/ownership credit that is due to them. I just am using these characters to write this story, and do not intend to make any profit off of it whatsoever.
And there we go, one disclaimer done and dusted! At this point, I think the only other thing left to say is that this chapter should go a long way towards setting Gaignun's time in Inaba up. Oh, and as a warning, there'll probably be at least one M-rated scene in this chapter like in the previous chapter, and any such scenes will be clearly marked so those who don't like such scenes can skip them. Other than that, I'll probably have a longer A/N after the chapter where I mention stuff. So keep reading after the chapter if you want to see that. Otherwise, let's get this show on the road! Here's the second half of the first Interlude of Golden Apostle!
Interlude 1, part 2- Homecoming! Of Intros, Encounters, and Arrangements
(In the air over Inaba, early the morning after the end of Interlude 1, part 1 with Gaignun)
As Gaignun slept peacefully in his seat after having dozed off at some point when the flight to Inaba had started and the plane had left Burbank, he was jolted awake by the intercom blaring to life, making him sit up as he listened to what the voice on the intercom had to say.
"Attention, all passengers. We are now beginning our final descent into Inaba. Once we get lower, we will land at our destination. So start gathering your things and preparing to disembark once we land. Sorry for the abrupt wake-up call." Gaignun heard, stretching as he looked out the window, taking in the scenic and rustic view he saw below. In the distance, Gaignun could just spot a small little town, which he figured was Inaba.
After making sure his duffel bag was secured in the seat next to him, Gaignun watched as the plane slowly started going down, eventually coming to a landing outside of a wide open location that Gaignun realized was a studio based on the trailers that he could see on one side of the lot. On landing, Gaignun saw the plane door open up, after which he slung his duffel bag over one shoulder and walked out of the plane, seeing the pilot follow him out. Once outside, the pilot spoke up.
"Here we are, at the Inaba talent agency. Remember what Directors Narukami and Amamiya told you. You must seek out Inoue-san, and once you find him, tell him that Jun and Emilio sent you. Emilio also asked me to let you know he'd start having your stuff airlifted to you at select intervals, so you should try to see about securing a place to stay as soon as possible.
If you can get a storage place to keep your stuff in, that would also be helpful. Otherwise, all I can do now is wish you good luck and start making the flight back to the States. So farewell and good luck, Gaignun." The pilot said as Gaignun nodded, slinging the duffel bag over his shoulder before turning towards the main building, which he went into, seeing a smallish waiting room with a few rows of chairs inside. Once he walked in and closed the door, the receptionist, a shorter woman of about 5'3 with distinctive red hair and hazel eyes who was working the front desk, looked up and spoke up on noticing Gaignun.
"I'm sorry, but you're not someone I remember seeing around Inaba at any point. I take it that means you're new to the area. Did you need something?" The receptionist asked as Gaignun approached the desk and spoke up.
"Yes. Assuming that this is the Inaba talent agency, I was asked to seek out an Inoue-san, since apparently my friends Emilio Narukami and Jun Amamiya believe he can help me get settled into a life here in Inaba. I just moved here from overseas this morning, you see. If I have to wait a while to see Inoue-san, I don't mind waiting." Gaignun said as the receptionist smiled and spoke up.
"I see. Well, Inoue-san IS here, but he has quite a few appointments lined up for today, but I think I can try to get you squeezed in if he gets an opening today. Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Minako Yoshizawa, and I work the desk here as Inoue-san's secretary. And you are?" The now-named Minako asked Gaignun who smiled and spoke up.
"Nice to meet you, Yoshizawa-san. My name is Gaignun Kusanagi." Gaignun said as several of the staff blinked at hearing Gaignun's last name before Minako spoke up.
"I-I see. Well, if you have a seat, I'll do what I can to get you in to see Inoue-san. But it might take a few hours." Minako said as Gaignun spoke up.
"That's fine. I've got plenty of time, for the most part. So I can wait however long I have to wait." Gaignun said agreeably as he went to have a seat in one of the open chairs, reaching over for a nearby magazine to flip through, being surprised when someone else's hand reached for the same magazine. Once he realized what had happened, Gaignun looked up, noticing that he wasn't the only one who had wanted to read the magazine in question.
The other hand that had reached for it turned out to belong to a brown-haired girl with distinctive brown eyes, and an equally distinctive hairstyle, with her hair mostly flowing down her back except for a couple of sizable tufts that were pulled into small braids to either side of her head, who was wearing an orange blouse with several holes at the top that did a good job of showing off the fact that she was clearly wearing an almost neon yellow bra under it with a yellow belt, dark grey jeans, and brown shoes. The girl looked at Gaignun and spoke up with a polite smile on her face, though Gaignun could tell by looking into her eyes as she spoke that she was moreso embarrassed about almost putting her hand on his while trying to reach for the magazine.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you going to read that?" The girl asked as Gaignun spoke up with a nod, smiling at her kindly while he spoke, figuring he should at least try to be polite and gentlemanly since he was raised to be respectful to all women that he meets, purposely ignoring the part of his mind that said this girl was quite pretty to focus on the girl while he spoke.
"I was thinking about it, but if you were going to read it, I won't stop you. After all, you're a lady, and I was raised to respect ladies." Gaignun said as the girl smiled softly, both surprised and seemingly pleased by Gaignun's polite response, or possibly even how much of a gentleman he seemed to be, as she spoke up in a tone of voice that made it clear that Gaignun's kindness had her quite taken aback.
"I see. Well, thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm Rise Kujikawa." The now-named Rise said as Gaignun smiled and spoke up after taking the hand that Rise had extended to him and gently shaking it, to Rise's surprise.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kujikawa-san. I'm Gaignun Kusanagi." Gaignun said as he introduced himself. To his surprise, Rise seemed to wince on hearing Gaignun's last name before speaking up warily after Gaignun let go of her hand so she could pull it back to rest against her chest, the look on her face as she spoke suggesting to Gaignun that she might have an issue with the last name 'Kusanagi', making him question if he should be warier about uttering his last name for the time being.
"You said your last name is Kusanagi, then? That's surprising, if it's true. The last I'd heard, the Kusanagi clan was widely believed to have gone extinct after the previous head seemingly passed away a few years back. But then, you're not gonna see a lot of people shedding tears over a scumbag like Ryuroni Kusanagi.
If the rumors about him are true, he's the type of cold-hearted bastard who had his own wife AND daughter shipped off into exile. Then again, there was never an announcement of the daughter or wife passing away after going into exile. So I suppose it's possible you really are of the Kusanagi clan. But if you are, you seem surprisingly polite for being related to a clan of scumbags like the Kusanagi clan." Rise said as Gaignun frowned at that and spoke up.
"I'm sorry to hear you have such a low opinion of my family, Kujikawa-san, but I can most earnestly assure you that I am nothing like Ryuroni Kusanagi. Also, that 'wife' and 'daughter' you spoke of just now? They were my grandmother and mother, respectively. And both of them did in fact die within the past few years. Truth be told, I'm fairly sure I'm the last living member of the Kusanagi clan. I understand if you're wary of me because of who I'm related to, though." Gaignun said kindly as Rise frowned and spoke up.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not going to ignore you or anything, but you'll forgive me if it takes me a bit to get used to you, I hope." Rise said as Gaignun nodded and spoke up understandingly.
"That's understandable. As long as we can get along and be friends, I don't mind if it takes you a while to get used to me." Gaignun said kindly as Rise nodded before she pulled up the magazine Gaignun had let her read, ending the conversation. Gaignun shrugged and reached for another magazine, grabbing it and flipping through it for a while. After a while, Gaignun heard his name called, looking up to see Minako standing near an open doorway, prompting him to set his magazine down and walk over to the secretary, noting as he did so that he was the only one in the waiting room, owing due to the fact that Rise had apparently gotten up at some point and left. Shrugging at that, Gaignun turned to Minako and spoke up.
"What's up?" Gaignun asked Minako, who spoke up with a smile, amused by the interaction she'd overheard between Gaignun and Rise previously.
"Apparently, Inoue-san got an opening sooner than expected, so he asked me to send you in to see him. If you follow me, I'll lead the way to Inoue-san's office." Minako said as Gaignun nodded and followed Minako down a hallway, where she eventually stopped in front of a door on the right-hand side of the hall which had a placard on the front that read 'Office of Minoru Inoue, Talent Agent', which Minako knocked on as a male's voice was heard speaking up from inside.
"Yes? Who is it?" Gaignun and Minako heard as Minako spoke up.
"It's Minako, Mister Inoue. I've brought Gaignun to see you as you requested." Minako said as the voice spoke up once again.
"Very well, send him in. I'll see him now." Gaignun heard as Minako nodded and turned to Gaignun as she spoke up.
"Go on in. Inoue-san might seem imposing, but he's actually very kind once you get to know him. Good luck with whatever you need to see him for." Minako said as Gaignun walked into the office in time for him to notice what appeared to be a middle-aged man with short brown hair, a blue business suit, brown eyes, and black-framed glasses looking at him carefully before speaking up.
"So you're Gaignun, then?" The middle-aged man asked politely as Gaignun nodded and spoke up after bowing politely.
"That's correct, sir. I'm Gaignun Kusanagi." Gaignun said politely as he introduced himself, making the middle-aged man blink in surprise before speaking up.
"Kusanagi!? I see. Nice to meet you, Mister Kusanagi. My name is Minoru Inoue, You know, you do remind me of someone I met once, Mister Kusanagi. By chance, are you related to a woman by the name of Hikari Kusanagi the third?" The now-named Inoue asked as Gaignun gave Inoue a sad smile and spoke up.
"Nice to meet you as well, Inoue-san. And to answer your question, when she was alive, Hikari Kusanagi the third was my mother. But unfortunately, both she and my younger sister Marisa passed away recently." Gaignun said, making Inoue wince as he spoke up, the tone of his voice as he spoke making it clear to Gaignun that the news of his mother's passing hadn't made it to Inaba as of that point, to Gaignun's surprise.
"Hikari the third passed away? That's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that. Despite the circumstances behind her exiling from Inaba, your mother was a good person. I'm sorry for your loss. You have my condolences. Now, I've heard from Emilio and Jun, who sent a letter ahead of your arrival. Apparently, you got a letter from your mother that suggested your biological father is not only alive, but lives here?
If so, I'm pretty sure the only Dojima, which is apparently your father's surname, in Inaba is Detective Ryotaro Dojima, who has a little girl who goes to school with my youngest daughter. I forget what my daughter said her name was, but I know that my daughter is about the same age as Detecive Dojima's little girl. So I'd say that's a good place to start your search.
As for a place to stay, I cannot personally offer anything in that regard, unfortunately. However, I know a woman who runs an inn in town. Maybe if I speak to her, she'll let you have a room there for however long you need to figure out a long-term place to stay. More to the point, I recall hearing that she has a daughter who's probably about your age. Uhh, you are about 16 or so, right?" Inoue said as Gaignun spoke up.
"Correct. I'm 16 and a half. A bit over that, but it's probably much faster to say 16 and a half. And if you think your friend will let me stay at her in for a while, I see no reason to refuse your offer, Inoue-san. Also, that's ironic that you said that this Detective Dojima has a little girl, since according to my mom's letter, my biological father has a daughter that's about six and a half years old. If I recall correctly, her letter also said that his daughter's name is Nanako." Gaignun said as Inoue spoke up.
"I see. Well, fortunately for you, my last couple of appointments for today cancelled out of nowhere, so I have some free time right now to take you down to the Amagi Inn and introduce you to my friend that runs the place. Would this be acceptable to you, Gaignun? Or would you prefer I call you Kusanagi-kun?" Inoue said as Gaignun spoke up with a smile on his face while nodding once in response to Inoue's question.
"I don't mind if you call me Gaignun. Honestly, it might be better if you call me Gaignun, since I've noticed that a lot of people I've spoken to since getting to Inaba seem to flinch or give me weird looks when they hear that my last name is Kusanagi. Apparently the Kusanagis in Inaba aren't well-liked or something from what little I've heard? So it's probably easier on both of us for you not to call me by my last name in public for now, just to be on the safe side." Gaignun said as Inoue nodded and spoke up.
"That makes sense, Gaignun. Very well, if you'll follow me to the limo, I can give you a lift to the Amagi Inn." Inoue said as Gaignun nodded, following Inoue to the limo, where Gaignun got into the back as Inoue drove him to an austere yet distinctly Japanese looking inn a few miles away. Once the limo pulled up and parked in front of the inn, Inoue led Gaignun inside, where a couple of the maids that were busily working inside looked up at the sound of the door opening, saw the two arrivals, smiled at Inoue and one of the maids spoke up.
"Ah, hello there, Inoue-san. Here on business again?" The maid asked as Inoue nodded and spoke up.
"That's right. I have a client here I want to introduce to the manager. Is Amagi-san the elder here?" Inoue asked as one of the maids spoke up.
"Kimiko is here, but she's still resting after collapsing recently. Sure, she's gotten back into managing the inn recently, but even so, she's not trying to overdo it too much." The maid said as another voice reached the group's ears.
"Do we have guests?" The group heard, turning to look in the direction of the voice, finding that it belonged to an older woman with shoulder-length black hair that showed signs of greying in some areas, an indigo-colored kimono with a black obi tying it closed, distinctive hazel eyes, and a kindly smile. Inoue-san smiled at the speaker and spoke up.
"That's up to you, Kimiko-san. I have a potential client here who has nowhere to stay since he just moved to Inaba. I told him I'd bring him here to meet you, but it'll be up to you if you want to offer him a place to stay or not. Gaignun, this is my friend, Kimiko Amagi. Kimiko, this is the client I was referring to." Inoue said as Gaignun smiled at the now-named Kimiko, who blinked as she looked Gaignun over while Gaignun spoke up.
"It's an honor to meet you, Amagi-san. My name is Gaignun Kusanagi." Gaignun said as he introduced himself. Kimiko gasped in shock on hearing Gaignun's last name and spoke up.
"Did you say Kusanagi!? By any chance, are you related to a Hikari Kusanagi the third?" Kimiko asked as Inoue spoke up.
"Apparently she's his mother. Or, I guess I should say 'was'. According to Gaignun here, both his mother and little sister passed away about two weeks ago." Inoue said as Kimiko gasped, a hand going over her mouth as she spoke up.
"Is that true? My best friend is dead?" Kimiko asked as Gaignun blinked in shock and spoke up.
"You were my mother's best friend, Miss Amagi?" Gaignun asked as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"That's right. Not only was Hikari Kusanagi the third my best friend while she lived in Inaba, but had she not moved when she did, she was thinking of naming me your godmother. If it's not too rude, how did your mom and sister die?" Kimiko asked as Gaignun frowned at the question but spoke up.
"That's fine. As her best friend, you would have the right to know how my mom died. As it turns out, she had a rare respiratory condition known as Cystic Fybrosis that she was an asymptomatic carrier of for most of her life, and it was only a few years after giving birth to my sister Marisa that her condition finally caught up to her. As a result, I had to drop out of the actors' fellowship that I'd been part of since the age of 12 in order to move back home full-time and be there for Marisa. Sadly, two months after being diagnosed, Mom's sickness took her away from us. But it gets worse.
Less than a week after Mom died, some crazy person tried to run me down with their car, which would've worked if not for Marisa pushing me out of the way at the last second and getting run over instead. And as a result of that, Marisa died a very painful, slow, and drawn-out death from a combination of external trauma to the head and torso, having her forehead caved in on the pavement, and internal bleeding. And all I could do in both cases was look on in horror as I watched the two people closest to me slip away and die. So yeah, that's how Mom and Marisa died." Gaignun said with a sigh. Kimiko gasped before shocking Gaignun as she pulled him into a hug and spoke up.
"Wow, that's horrible. You really have had it rough lately, haven't you? I'm so sorry for your losses, Gaignun. I can call you Gaignun, right?" Kimiko asked as Gaignun spoke up with a nod while returning Kimiko's hug gently.
"That's fine with me, Miss Amagi. And honestly, it might be better off that you do call me Gaignun. From what I've seen since moving here, most of the people in this town seem either scared or resentful of anyone with the last name Kusanagi. I'm guessing I can thank my grandfather and great-grandfather for that, the cowardly scumbags that they turned out to be." Gaignun said as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"Very well. But if I'm calling you Gaignun, it's only fair that you get to call me Kimiko. After all, if things had played out differently, I'd have been your godmother, so I consider you as good as family, especially since your mother was one of my closest friends before she moved to Inaba. And in honor of that, I have no qualms at all about fixing you up with a room here for as long as you need it. And since I can tell you're a proud man who won't accept charity, you can pay for your room by helping out with odd jobs around the inn when needed. Is that acceptable to you?" Kimiko asked as Gaignun spoke up with a smile.
"That sounds wonderful, Miss Kimiko. I don't mind helping out whenever necessary in exchange for a room here. Thank you for your generosity." Gaignun said with a smile as Kimiko spoke up with a nod.
"You're welcome, Gaignun. If you'll follow me, I'll have the front desk give you a key to your room. And maybe later, if time allows, I can introduce you to my daughter, Yukiko. She's about your age, so maybe the two of you will get along." Kimiko suggested as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"Sounds good to me. If she's related to you, I'm sure this Yukiko is an amazing person, since you seem to be really nice so far." Gaignun said kindly as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"Perfect. To be honest, Yukiko has seemed to have a hard time finding anyone to take an interest in, even if she does seem to have found a steady circle of friends here recently. So maybe you and her will hit it off? I know for a fact that she's single." Kimiko said as Gaignun weakly chuckled and spoke up.
"Is that so? I'll keep that in mind. Mind you, I did just have two successive deaths in my family close together, so I'm not entirely sure that I'm necessarily in the best mind space to look for a relationship just now. However, if your daughter wants to be my friend, I won't turn her away. I'm not the type to turn anyone away, especially a lady. And if down the line a ways, we find that we feel the same about each other, I won't rule out revisiting the idea of dating your daughter. But I hope you can understand why I'm in no hurry to find love at this time." Gaignun said as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"I can totally understand that, Gaignun. So I take it we have a deal? You help out with jobs around the inn from time to time, and in exchange I provide you with a consistent place to stay until such time that you find a more permanent place to live. Is this acceptable?" Kimiko asked, extending a hand out which Gaignun shook with a smile as he spoke up.
"Sounds fine to me, Miss Kimiko. I think we have a deal." Gaignun said agreeably while shaking Kimiko's hand before Kimiko spoke up with a smile.
"Good. Let's go get you a room key, shall we? Thank you for bringing him here, Inoue-san. I think I can handle things with him from here." Kimiko said as Inoue nodded and spoke up.
"Fair enough. Before I leave him, I'd like to tell Gaignun that I'd be honored to be his agent while he's here in Inaba if he needs one." Inoue said as Gaignun spoke up.
"Thank you, Inoue-san. I'm not sure if I'll get back into acting right away, but if I do, I would be honored to have you as my agent." Gaignun said as Inoue spoke up with a nod.
"I understand. Feel free to seek me out at the agency if you decide to go into acting again. After all, I might have Risette and Kanamin as my clients for now, but that won't last forever. So the more clients I have, the better." Inoue said as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"Fair enough. Thank you for helping me today, Inoue-san. I appreciate it." Gaignun said as Inoue nodded and left while Kimiko led Gaignun to the front desk to get his room key, after which Kimiko took Gaignun down the hall until they found his room, at which point Kimiko spoke up.
"Here we are Gaignun. Room 369. Go on in and get your stuff set down and settle in for now. I'll send someone along a bit later on to bring you to the dining hall so you can have dinner with myself and Yukiko, assuming I don't end up sending Yukiko up to get you." Kimiko said as Gaignun nodded before speaking up.
"Got it. Thank you again for helping me out like this, Miss Kimiko." Gaignun said as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"You're welcome. Now I need to get back to running the inn. Have fun settling in." Kimiko said as Gaignun nodded and went into his hotel room after using the key to open the door, at which point Kimiko went back to work. Once Gaignun slung his bag onto his bed, he decided to look around his new room for a bit, noting as he did so that it was what you would expect from a hotel room: two queen-sized mattresses, what Gaignun would guess to be around a 45 inch flat-screen TV, a fancy mini-fridge that was pre-stocked with snacks, and most importantly, a very fancy looking en-suite bathroom, which Gaignun found himself noting had a walk-in shower.
After getting his duffel bag set down on one of the beds, Gaignun fished out an outfit that was a crimson 3/4 sleeve sweater, black sweatpants, black ankle socks, and dark grey boxers with a black waistband, setting them out next to his duffel bag before fishing out his shower supplies, deciding to get a shower while he had the chance. After grabbing his stuff, Gaignun headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind him as he got undressed while placing the clean outfit on the good-sized counter next to the sink before placing his supplies in the shower and hopping in to take a shower.
A little while later, after he was finished washing himself, Gaignun turned off the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist to cover himself before walking out into the main room to get dressed, unaware of the hotel room door opening up while he was getting dressed. However, the second Gaignun heard a female gasp behind him, he slowly turned around, very glad he'd already pulled on his boxers and sweats when he did so, as he saw a black-haired female who looked to be around his age looking at him. As he looked the female over, Gaignun found himself softly smiling as he saw the expressive dark brown eyes looking at him, while taking in the petite but slender build this female had, along with her red blouse with a yellow kerchief, black miniskirt, dark grey leggings, black shoes, and a red hair band in her hair.
Once he realized what was going on, Gaignun spoke up.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting there to be someone here when I got out of the shower. I apologize for potentially managing to scare or upset you by being shirtless." Gaignun said as the female spoke up after finally getting her blush under control following her ogling of Gaignun's physique, seemingly admiring his six-pack abs and defined athletic build.
"N-no, that's all right. You surprised me more than anything. I take it you're the guy who's staying in this room?" The female said as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"Correct. I should probably introduce myself before I can be any ruder to you, shouldn't I? My name is Gaignun Kusanagi." Gaignun said as the female spoke up.
"I see. It's nice to meet you, Kusanagi-kun. My name is Yukiko Amagi." The now-named Yukiko said as Gaignun smiled and spoke up.
"Yukiko, you say? That's a very pretty name. It's nice to meet you too, Amagi-san." Gaignun said as Yukiko shyly smiled and spoke up.
"Y-You think my name is pretty?" Yukiko asked as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"I do. But if you don't agree, I'll respect that, since I was raised to respect women." Gaignun said as Yukiko giggled in spite of herself and spoke up.
"Yeah? Well, if nothing else, that already makes you a fair bit better than the others who've attempted the Amagi Challenge so far." Yukiko said as Gaignun frowned at this and spoke up.
"Amagi Challenge? What's that?" Gaignun asked as Yukiko sighed and spoke up.
"I'm not entirely sure of the particulars of it myself. From what I've come to understand, it seems to be what a lot of guys have taken to calling their attempts to woo me. But I've not really been interested in any of them so far." Yukiko said as Gaignun spoke up with a scoff.
"Really? Sounds to me like a bunch of idiots are trying to cover up their desperation in the most effed-up way possible. And if I'm being honest? I take serious offense to the idea that people would treat you like a prize to be won. That is so asinine of an idea, I have no idea where to start describing how asinine it is. If you fall for someone, it should be because you want to, not because someone won your heart. You are not a prize to be won." Gaignun said dryly as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"You seem to get it, Kusanagi-kun. Thank you for your understanding and honesty. But I was sent to escort you to the dining hall by my mother, so we should get going once you get dressed. After all, I'm pretty sure you'd turn quite a few heads if you came to dinner shirtless. But with your physique, I could see why you'd want to show it off a bit." Yukiko said before blushing shyly at her own observation, making Gaignun laugh in amusement and speak up.
"Fair enough. I guess I'll take it as a win that you liked what you saw, then. For what it's worth, you're rather beautiful yourself, Amagi-san." Gaignun said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up after Gaignun pulled his sweater on, fitting his studded armbands and family crest to his arms, the latter fitting on his left arm below the armband on that arm.
"Thank you. Shall we get going, then?" Yukiko asked as Gaignun nodded, allowing Yukiko to lead the way to the dining room. On the way there, the two took the chance to get to know one another a bit. After a bit, they arrived in the dining room of the inn, where Kimiko was waiting for them. Once Gaignun and Yukiko had seats on either side of Kimiko, Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"Ah, I see you've met my daughter, Gaignun. But then again, I'm not surprised, given the fact that I sent her to pick you up for dinner." Kimiko said as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"Correct. I think I might have caught her off-guard by coming out of the bathroom with no shirt on. But in my defense, I had no idea she was there until I heard her gasp. Fortunately, I did part of my dressing in the bathroom, so I was at least partially decent when I realized Yukiko was there." Gaignun said as Kimiko laughed and spoke up.
"That's fair. You couldn't have known, so it's not your fault, Gaignun." Kimiko said to Gaignun before turning to Yukiko with a sly grin on her face as she kept speaking.
"So tell me, Yukiko. Did you enjoy the free show you got?" Kimiko said teasingly as both Gaignun and Yukiko nearly choked on their food in their surprise at Kimiko's remark, the latter blushing adorably as she spoke up.
"MOTHER! Don't tease me like that! Also, I was trying not to look! He might be very fit, but I'm not trying to ogle him shamelessly. You know I'm not the type of woman to shamelessly hit on guys. Sure, he is easy on the eyes, but we've only just met. I don't think either myself or Kusanagi-kun are in any sort of a rush to find love." Yukiko said as Gaignun spoke up after swallowing the bite of food he was currently on, hoping that neither Kimiko nor Yukiko had seen the brief hint of red on his face from Kimiko's teasing remark about Yukiko getting a free show as he spoke.
"Maybe not now, no. But I'm not against being your friend, and letting things play out at their own pace. If we decide down the line that we feel the same about one another, I'm not opposed to us exploring our friendship being more. But let's not rush into anything just now, I think. You seem like you could use friends more than anything for now, anyways. But you can correct me if I'm wrong to say that, Amagi-san the younger." Gaignun said sagely as Yukiko smiled while nodding as she spoke up.
"I agree, Kusanagi-kun. Thank you for being so understanding." Yukiko said as Kimiko smiled and spoke up.
"Aww, how cute. You two are already friends. That's so precious." Kimiko said as Yukiko blushed and spoke up.
"I mean, that's fair. But I feel like that's up to Kusanagi-kun if he wants me as his friend or not." Yukiko said as Gaignun spoke up.
"Of course I want you as my friend, Amagi-san the younger. You seem like a cool person who I wouldn't mind getting to know better, provided you're up for that." Gaignun said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"I think I could be persuaded to be your friend, Kusanagi-kun." Yukiko said as Gaignun nodded approvingly before Kimiko spoke up.
"You two are so cute together, though. But I guess it's enough that you're getting along." Kimiko said as Gaignun nodded while digging into his food, realizing as he did so that he'd not eaten in a while between the long flight to Inaba and not having time to stop and eat after arriving because of having to seek out Inoue-san. Yukiko giggled and spoke up.
"I didn't realize you were so hungry, Kusanagi-kun? I suppose there's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite, though." Yukiko said with an amused smile as Kimiko spoke up with a smirk.
"I'm not surprised, though. You know what they say, Yukiko. 'The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' So if nothing else, the fact he enjoys the food so much is a good thing." Kimiko said as Gaignun spoke up after swallowing the bite he was currently on.
"That, or I went a while without eating recently. After all, I did have a long flight from California to Inaba, and then I had to spend a few hours at a talent agency waiting to see Inoue-san at the request of a couple of my friends from back in the States. And it was thanks to Inoue-san that I got set up with a room here. Well, Inoue-san and my mother as well to a point. But yeah, between those two things, it'd been close to half a day since I last ate, so I was definitely due to eat as it turns out." Gaignun said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"I see. Sounds to me like you've had a long day today then." Yukiko said as Kimiko spoke up with a nod.
"True. But I'm sure Gaignun will welcome the rest he gets tonight after how busy of a day he's had." Kimiko said sagely as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"More than likely. Might be a slow couple of days after that while I get acclimated to life in Inaba, though. But that's probably more of a 'me' problem, I think. And if the chance presents itself, I'll also try to do what I can to live up to my end of our agreement, Miss Kimiko. I am a man of my word, after all." Gaignun said as Yukiko blinked and spoke up in confusion.
"Agreement? Is this related to how you have a room here, Kusanagi-kun?" Yukiko asked as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.
"Correct. In exchange for doing odd jobs around the inn as needed, I get to have a long-term place to stay here." Gaignun explained as Yukiko spoke up.
"I see. That makes a lot of sense, Kusanagi-kun. I look forward to having you staying here, then." Yukiko said as Gaignun nodded while Kimiko spoke up.
"Of course you do, Yukiko. What woman isn't excited to have their crush staying with them?" Kimiko said teasingly as Yukiko pouted, but said nothing as she focused on her meal, being shocked when Gaignun spoke up.
"If she does have a crush on me, I don't mind. She's a nice enough woman that I could see us getting along well. As long as your daughter accepts that I'm currently in absolutely zero hurry to find a girlfriend, I don't mind her crushing on me." Gaignun said honestly as Yukiko smiled but said nothing while she ate her food as Kimiko decided to stop teasing the two in front of her, knowing that they were going to end up together eventually. After the meal was finished and everyone had eaten, Kimiko spoke up.
"So what's your plans now, Gaignun?" Kimiko asked as Gaignun spoke up.
"For now, I plan to get used to my new room, then I'll probably go take a walk and start getting familiar with the Inaba area to at least some extent. Then I'm not sure what I'll do from there, other than probably start discreetly trying to see if I can find my biological father and fulfill my mother's dying request, or at least the part of it I am still able to fulfill. Needless to say, I already failed at part of it." Gaignun said as both Kimiko and Yukiko gave Gaignun a confused look, the latter speaking up.
"Dying request? I didn't know you lost family members?" Yukiko asked with an adorable tilt of her head to the side in confusion. Gaignun spoke up after a brief hesitation.
"That's right. My mom had a very rare terminal respiratory disease that hit her out of nowhere and ravaged her quickly, to the point she died within a few months of her being diagnosed. Her dying request was to watch over my younger sister Marisa, and to fulfill the request she left me in a letter. Needless to say, within a week of Mom's death, I failed at the first part when my sister was run down by a car that was aiming to assassinate me, sparing me from being killed at the expense of my 12 and a half year old sister dying far too young." Gaignun said with a sigh as Yukiko and Kimiko both gasped at Gaignun's explanation. Yukiko spoke up in surprise.
"I had no idea. I am so sorry for your loss, G-err, I mean Kusanagi-kun." Yukiko said as Gaignun smiled and spoke up.
"Y'know, I realize that it's probably not exactly the done thing around here, but I honestly don't mind it if you want to call me Gaignun, Amagi-san." Gaignun said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"Fair enough, but you have to call me Yukiko in exchange if I start being on a first-name basis with you." Yukiko said as Gaignun spoke up with an amused smirk that Yukiko found herself oddly pleased to look at.
"Well, if you're sure, I don't mind calling you by your first name if that's what you want, Yukiko." Gaignun said as Yukiko smiled shyly, somehow liking the sound of Gaignun saying her name. Kimiko smirked and spoke up.
"How cute. You two are already on a first-name basis. I think you two might very well end up being quite happy together down the line." Kimiko said as Gaignun spoke up in surprise.
"You think so, Miss Kimiko? I won't deny that Yukiko is pretty, but I feel like it's a bit soon for either of us to be even thinking about being more than friends with each other. I won't say it's off the table, though. But I feel like that's something we should put a pin in, so to speak, for now and eventually discuss it again at a later date." Gaignun said as Yukiko nodded and spoke up.
"I agree. I don't mind being on a first-name basis with Gaignun, but I think I'm content just being his friend for now. After all, he just got to Inaba today, so no sense rushing him into anything." Yukiko said as Kimiko spoke up with a nod.
"That's fair. But you know, it's not a crime if you already find him attractive, Yukiko. I think you could do a lot worse in terms of guys to have a crush on." Kimiko said as Gaignun spoke up with a wry smile.
"Eh, if she has a crush on me, I don't mind. Wouldn't be the first time I've had girls crushing on me anyways." Gaignun said with an amused smirk as Yukiko spoke up.
"Yeah? I could see you having a lot of girls taking interest in you, truth be told. But then you're probably used to it by now." Yukiko said as Gaignun laughed and spoke up with an amused grin.
"Eh, you're not wrong. Where I used to live, I had nearly all of my female friends interested in me. I even had at least two of them try to jump me on my way to the shower once. It was incredibly awkward for me, though, since I see both of the girls in question as being like sisters to me. But in my defense, that's because my mom basically took Sage and Lily, or the girls I was referring to, under her wing so to speak as daughters after a certain point. However, if I'm being honest, they weren't nearly as pretty as you are, Yukiko." Gaignun said as Yukiko cutely blushed and spoke up.
"Thank you. You're not too bad yourself." Yukiko said as the rest of the meal passed in a mix of banter and playful flirting between Yukiko and Gaignun. Afterwards, Gaignun decided to be a gentleman and walk Yukiko back to her room. Once they got to her room, which turned out to be Room 367, just down the hall from Gaignun's room, Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"Well, this is my room. Thanks for walking me back, Gaignun. I appreciate your consideration. I enjoyed talking with you on the way back. I look forward to getting to know you better, Gaignun. It was nice meeting you. Good night." Yukiko said, surprising Gaignun when she leaned in to kiss him gently on the cheek before going into her hotel room with her face going red at her own daring.
After she was out of sight, an open-mouthed Gaignun gaped in surprise, putting a hand to the spot Yukiko had kissed, not believing that had just happened. After pinching himself to confirm that it had in fact happened, Gaignun softly smiled while heading back to his own room before collapsing onto his bed, turning on the TV as he got comfortable and laid down for the night...
(At around that same time, back in California, at what used to be the Kusanagi residence, in the living room with Sage and Lily)
As Sage and Lily sat together on the sofa to watch TV, Sage spoke up while looking at Lily with a slight frown on her face.
"You know, I still haven't punished you yet for going against our promise to not have either of us making moves on Gaignun, never mind seducing him like you did, Lily. I don't care if it wasn't planned, you still went against our agreement, and I must punish you for it. The fact that I did the same thing after the fact is both inconsequential to my point, and frankly irrelevant." Sage said as Lily spoke up in surprise.
"R-Really? Should I be scared of you punishing me?" Lily asked Sage, who giggled and spoke up.
"Only if you're not in a kinky mood, I think." Sage said slyly before gazing suggestively into Lily's eyes, making her blush as she spoke up.
"O-Oh! You mean THAT kind of punishment, then. I suppose I do owe you for going back on our promise. Very well, do to me what you will. I submit myself to whatever punishment you choose to inflict upon me." Lily said submissively, making Sage grin sexily as she spoke up.
"Good answer. Now to punish you, I think. Hee hee!" Sage said before straddling Lily's waist, using her hands to firmly but erotically squeeze Lily's ass, making her shudder and moan while whimpering for effect as she spoke up.
"Nooo, not the rough stuff! I'll be good, I swear." Lily said as Sage seemed to purr while nipping Lily's lower lip aggressively, making her yelp as her mouth fell open, allowing Sage to shove her tongue into Lily's mouth while kissing her dominantly, deciding to punish Lily by giving her a slow, drawn-out seduction. Sage giggled and enjoyed the sounds of Lily's semi-muted moans. After Sage kissed Lilly for a while, she started teasing Lily by rubbing her hands over Lily's chest over her shirt, making Lily shudder as she spoke up in a whimper.
"I hate that you're getting me so aroused right now, Sage. But I get what I deserve for breaking my promise." Lily said as Sage giggled and spoke up.
**M-RATED CONTENT STARTS HERE. IF YOU'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SMUT AND/OR GIRL ON GIRL SCENES, SKIP TO THE SECTION MARKED *END OF M-RATED CONTENT* BELOW TO CONTINUE READING PAST THIS STORY. OTHERWISE, YOU READ ON PAST THIS WARNING AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! M-RATED SCENES START NOW!**
"Aww, are you that horny already, Lily? Good. That means I'm doing my job right. Now to really tease you." Sage said sexily as she got up and made Lily watch as she slowly and seductively removed every bit of her clothing, making Lily watch as she lifted her own breast to her mouth and started licking it naughtily, giving Lily her best bedroom eyes as she straddled Lily and started rubbing her bare breasts up and down on Lily's face.
Sage's rather brazen display had the result of making Lily whimper as she felt Sage's nipples brush across her cheeks, dangling tantalizingly close to her mouth, though whenever Lily went to wrap her mouth around a breast, Sage smiled seductively and pulled her breast away just before Lily could latch onto it, making Lily pout as Sage giggled and ground her hips against Lily's crotch over her pants, making her moan involuntarily as she spoke up.
"You're really milking this punishment bit for all you can, aren't you? I hate that you're teasing me with your naked body, but not letting me have fun with it." Lily said as Sage looked into Lily's eyes sexily and spoke up.
"Of course. It is called a 'punishment' for a reason, you know. Besides, this could be worse. I could've tied you to the bed first and made you watch me finger myself while you were fully dressed and unable to get yourself off." Sage said as Lily shuddered and spoke up.
"I hate that you know how to make me want you, Sage. You've got me seriously close to making my panties moist with how aroused I am right now." Lily said as Sage spoke up with a sly smile.
"Really? Let me see." Sage said as she removed Lily's pants, smiling sexily at the sight of the visible signs of Lily's arousal in the form of a discolored spot in her pink silk panties, making Sage giggle as she kept speaking.
"You weren't kidding about you being aroused, were you? How sexy. Fair enough, how's this? You let me sit on your face so you can eat me out, and I'll take good care of you and your needs. Fair enough?" Sage asked as Lily could only nod, her eyes firmly fixed on the hypnotic movements of Sage's ass and breasts as Sage giggled and pushed Lily down so she was laying on the couch, moving so her womanhood was flush against Lily's mouth before she kept speaking.
"Hee hee, you know the drill, Lily. Use that tongue of yours and make me scream your name as I cum from you eating me out." Sage said in a decidedly sultry and sensual voice as Lily nodded, burying her tongue in Sage's entrance, eagerly eating her out as Sage smiled and kept speaking.
"Good, Lily. Good. Keep going. I want you to make me squirt all over that sexy face of yours." Sage said as she felt Lily nuzzle her nose against the nub between her legs while eating her out, making Sage moan euphorically as Lily kept going. After a few minutes, Sage arced backwards while shuddering as she felt herself drawing close to a release. After a bit, Sage spoke up happily.
"YESSSS! GET READY TO SWALLOW, BECAUSE I'M COMIN', LILY!" Sage said as she shuddered again before she felt herself climax into Lily's mouth, making Lily smile happily as she lapped up every bit of Sage's cum as she came multiple times in Lily's mouth. Eventually, the flow of Sage's release finally stopped as she got off of Lily's face and spoke up.
"Good girl, Lily. Now to get some of those clothes off of you so you can get a bit of satisfaction." Sage said as Lily cheered before helping Sage peel off every bit of her clothing, after which Sage found herself enjoying the sight of Lily's naked body after tossing aside her discarded clothing and straddling Lily's waist before she started passionately kissing Lily, who eagerly returned the kiss, speaking up into the kiss in a husky sounding voice.
"Mmm, you're such an amazing kisser, Sage. I had no idea until now how much I wanted this. Please love on me. I want you to make me yours." Lily said as she pulled Sage's face down in between her breasts, moaning happily as she felt Sage kiss along the sides of her breasts while getting free and leaning up to lightly but lovingly suck on Lily's collarbone, making Lily moan sexily as she kept speaking.
"Yesss, I love it. Keep loving on me, Sage. I need your loving." Lily said huskily as Sage nodded and spoke up.
"As you wish, Lily." Sage said as she started sexily brushing her breasts against Lily's stomach and breasts, making Lily moan as she enjoyed the feeling of being dry-humped by Sage, who started sucking hungrily on Lily's breasts. Lily then spoke up.
"Ooh, I love how it feels when you suck on my breasts, Sage. Keep going." Lily said as Sage nodded, alternating between each of Lily's breasts. After a bit, Sage removed her mouth from Lily's breast and led her to the nearby bed, where she gently pushed Lily down, spreading her legs apart a bit as she laid in front of Lily, slowly sliding her legs between Lily's until her clit was resting flush against Lily's, at which point she started humping Lily, making her moan as she kept speaking.
"What the heck was that, Sage? That felt so good." Lily said as Sage spoke up with a sly smile.
"That was a little something I read about online recently called 'scissoring'. Apparently, it only works if used by a girl/girl pair, like us. So this is the perfect opportunity to test it out. Now stop holding back and fuck me, Lily. Show me how much you want me. I love how sexy you look right now." Sage said as she pulled Lily into an intense kiss while humping her, smiling as she felt Lily also hump her, the two girls grinding on each other for quite a while. After some time had passed, Lily and Sage both moaned loudly as they spoke up.
"OH MY GOD, I FEEL SO GOOD RIGHT NOW, SAGE! I THINK I'M ABOUT TO COME!" Lily said as Sage spoke up happily.
"SAME HERE, SAGE! LET'S MAKE EACH OTHER CUM TOGETHER!" Sage said as Lily nodded, the two girls humping for a while longer until they both simultaneously screamed out each other's names while reaching a mutual climax, making a mess as they came in and on each other, eventually collapsing into a pile of limbs on the bed, Sage staring into Lily's eyes as she spoke up after pulling a blanket over the two of them, smiling at the feeling of Lily's head resting on her breasts.
**M-RATED CONTENT ENDS HERE. STORY RESUMES AT THIS POINT IF YOU SKIPPED THE PRECEDING LEMON. CONTINUE READING FROM HERE IF YOU SKIPPED TO THIS PART.**
"That was amazing, Lily. I could tell how sorry you are for what you did before from how eagerly you were giving yourself to me just now. I forgive you. To be honest, you look so sexy laying there with your head on my breasts right now. I think I could get used to doing stuff like this with you a lot more often from now on. I know we're supposed to be looking for boyfriends, but why don't we just be with each other instead? We can be into both genders, but be lovers for each other. Interested?" Sage said as Lily smiled and spoke up.
"I can get behind that. Plus I could do so much worse than being your girlfriend, Sage. So if you're asking me to be with you, the answer is yes." Lily said as she leaned up to kiss Sage, who smiled as she returned the kiss before speaking up.
"Good, that means you're all mine now. Now let's get some sleep. I dunno about you, but all that lovemaking really took it out of me." Sage said as Lily nodded, the two equally naked girls falling asleep in each other's arms...
(The next day, in the shopping district of Inaba with Gaignun)
As Gaignun walked around the shopping district to get used to Inaba, he eventually found himself at the shrine in the northern part of the Shopping District, where he decided to have a sit by the front of the shrine after making sure no one was around, after which he pulled out some of his medicine he'd rolled up into a joint, lighting it up and taking a puff, after which Gaignun unsurprisingly ended up in a coughing fit due to not being entirely used to his medicine just yet, due in no small part to it being only his second time taking it.
After he got his cough under control, Gaignun blinked as he felt something gently nuzzle his leg, looking down to see what appeared to be a brown-furred fox with piercing chocolate-brown eyes, wearing a neat little red apron that had pink hearts on it around its neck. Smiling at the fox, Gaignun gently reached over to pet it on the head, smirking at the amused yip the fox gave as it leaned into the petting. After a second, Gaignun spoke up.
"Hello there, my friend. Do you live around here?" Gaignun asked the fox, who gave a firm coo in response that sounded partially like a howl, making Gaignun smirk as he spoke up.
"I'll take that as a yes. You're certainly a smart little one if you can understand what I'm saying. Do you have a name, little one? And a gender?" Gaignun asked the fox, who gave off another small howl while nodding as it rolled over to let Gaignun confirm that the fox was a male, after which he spoke up with a nod after shaking his head in a mix of amusement and disbelief that a fox could be so shameless.
"I see. So you're a guy, then. Duly noted. I didn't hear any response to my question of if you have a name." Gaignun asked the fox, who shook its head in the negative. Gaignun then stroked his chin in thought as he spoke up.
"I see. Do you want a name, little guy?" Gaignun asked the fox, who nodded as Gaignun laughed and kept speaking.
"Excitable little guy, aren't you? Hmm, let me think. Looking at your apron and the almost nimble grace with which you move, you strike me as somewhat ninja-esque. As such, how would you feel about me calling you 'Hokage'?" Gaignun asked the fox, who gave off an affirmative howl, making Gaignun smile as he kept speaking.
"Sounds like a 'yes' to me. All right, then from now on I'll call you 'Hokage'. Nice to meet you, Hokage. My name is Gaignun." Gaignun said to the now-named Hokage, who nodded his understanding of Gaignun's introduction before gently nuzzling his face on Gaignun's arm, making Gaignun chuckle as he spoke up.
"You're an affectionate little guy, aren't you Hokage? I apologize for intruding on your spot. I didn't think anyone was here, so I felt like using this chance to start using the medicine I'd been prescribed before moving to Inaba. The thing is, it's a bit of a frowned-upon medicine in most places. But it was what I was told to use to treat my PTSD and depression, so as much as I'm not thrilled with taking what could be considered by some to be a potentially illegal medication, this is a case where needs must. Therefore, I have to make do with the hand I'm dealt." Gaignun said sagely as Hokage blinked at this before giving Gaignun a questioning look, making him smile as he kept speaking.
"Oh, I'm referring to this." Gaignun said as he held up the blunt that was currently held up between his right-hand pointer and index fingers to show Hokage, who tried nipping at it in what Gaignun figured to be a playful and/or mischievous sort of way. Gaignun chuckled in amusement, clearly finding Hokage's antics humorous, and kept speaking with a wry smile on his face.
"Sorry, Hokage, but this medicine isn't for eating. But if you want, I'll blow a bit in your face so you can taste the air." Gaignun said as Hokage eagerly yipped once, making Gaignun smirk as he spoke up.
"I see. I'll take that as a 'yes'? Fair enough." Gaignun said as he took a long puff off his medicine, blowing some smoke out in Hokage's direction, making it stand up on its hind legs to give the air an experimental lick where the smoke had lingered, smiling at the taste of the smoke, as it had a slightly grape and strawberry taste to it. Gaignun chuckled and spoke up.
"You like that, do you Hokage? According to the label, that was a more mellow medicine called 'Fruit-Berry Delight'. But as long as you enjoyed it, that's the main thing, I think. However, don't expect me to share all the time. I was only given so much to get me through when I moved here, and I have to make that last me as long as possible, so I'll have to be sparing about how often I share with you. But I'll share my medicine with you as often as I can, if you like." Gaignun said as Hokage yipped eagerly as Gaignun smirked and spoke up with an amused nod.
"Fair enough. Well, thanks for letting me chill here, Hokage. That's pretty cool of you, man." Gaignun said as Hokage moved to sit next to Gaignun, making Gaignun smirk as he gently patted Hokage on the head and finished his medicine, eventually putting out the blunt and stuffing it back in the pack he'd pulled it out of and standing up as he spoke up.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Hokage, but I should probably get going since I still have stuff to do before I go back to the inn I'm staying at. Take care of yourself, yeah?" Gaignun said as Hokage nodded before leaping up onto the roof of the shrine and disappearing from sight without a trace, making Gaignun shake his head as he spoke up with a smirk.
"Heh, that fox really is like a ninja. I think I chose correctly when I named him 'Hokage'. Hopefully I see him again, since he seems pretty friendly to me." Gaignun said to himself as he walked off to keep looking around the shopping district for a while longer...
END OF CHAPTER AND OF THE FIRST INTERLUDE OF GOLDEN APOSTLE
A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Before anyone brings it up, NO, that fox I introduced near the end of the chapter isn't an OC. Believe it or not, it's actually in the canon versions of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden. **SPOILER: And Yu has yet to encounter it in this story, so shh.** As for Gaignun getting the fox (or Hokage as Gaignun names him in this chapter) high, I feel like I can get away with including that scene. After all, if Persona 5 can have a stoner meme about a talking cat turning into a friggin' tour bus, then I can have a scene with a guy casually talking to a fox while smoking his medicine.
As for why I named the fox Hokage? Believe it or not, I got that idea from some commentary Chaosinthesky13 did on his Persona 4 Golden playthrough on YouTube, where he mentions the fox being from the Hidden Leaf Village (which is a Naruto reference, if I'm not mistaken), during which he also says that the fox will eventually 'make us Hokage', and by 'us', he means himself and his Twitch chat, since he also streams most of his playthroughs on Twitch in addition to uploading them to YouTube. And if he's somehow reading this, shoutout to Chaosinthesky13 for being an amazing YouTuber and streamer!
So if you need something new to watch, feel free to go watch his content on YouTube, or go make a Twitch account and go check out some of his streams (where his handle is 'Chaosinthesky', like his YouTube handle, but without the '13' at the end that his YouTube handle has). He makes really good content and is insanely funny. I highly recommend watching his playthroughs, as he's usually good for a laugh or two. So yeah, go check him out.
Now that I've gotten that bit of shout-outing to Chaos done and dusted, he gets creative credit for the idea of the Persona 4 fox Social Link being a Hokage, hence why I named the fox 'Hokage' in this story. So all creative credit for that name belongs to him.
Having said that, these interludes will probably be at the end of selected Arcs in the story ((most likely after Arcs 1 (which was this Interlude), 2, possibly 3, 6, and probably 7. I likely won't have an Interlude after Arc 4 because that's going to be where I have Gaignun's Arc, 5 because it's both a filler arc and connects the last Investigation Team member's dungeon and one of the most pivotal dungeons in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden, 8 because its the penultimate Arc of Golden Apostle, and 9 because it's the final Arc of the story)), meaning this will probably only be a 9 Arc story, instead of the 10 I originally planned on.
As such, let me go ahead and throw down a preemptive timeline for this story, as well as a precautionary *SPOILER ALERT* for the potential spoilers present in the timeline for Persona 4 Golden.
TIMELINE FOR PERSONA 4- THE GOLDEN APOSTLE (NOTE: All titles after the first Arc and first Interlude are subject to change still, and any chapter lengths listed after Arc 1 and Interlude 1 are estimates only)
Arc 1- The Mystery Begins (Prologue chapter 1-Chapter 8) : The first Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the setup of the sideplot involving Gaignun to the end of the first dungeon of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden (Yukiko's Castle), and even Yukiko becoming the newest member of the newly-formed Investigation Team.
Interlude 1- From California to Inaba (Interlude 1 parts 1 and 2) : The first Interlude of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the immediate aftermath of the death of Gaignun's younger sister at the end of Arc 1 to Gaignun getting settled into Inaba, and even his first encounters with the Amagis, Inoue, and even Hokage, the fox of the Inaba Shrine.
Arc 2- Tatsumi's Bathhouse (Chapter 9-Chapter 16) : The second Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the aftermath of the Dojimas making plans to go on a family outing with Yu to the end of the second dungeon of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden (Tatsumi Bathhouse), and even the fifth person joining the Investigation Team.
Interlude 2- Run-in at Junes! Of Encounters, Rescues, and More! : The second Interlude of Golden Apostle, this Interlude covers Gaignun's continued efforts to acclimate to life in Inaba, including his eventual intervention to save a certain little girl from a sticky situation where she has a certain bug-eyed creeper pick on her and her friends at the Junes food court, and includes Gaignun unknowingly getting to meet his other half-sister, who may or may not be the girl he saves from being picked on.
Arc 3- Idol Of Marakyu (Chapter 17-25) : The third Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the aftermath of the fifth new member joining the Investigation Team to the eventual inductions of the sixth and seventh members of the Investigation Team.
Interlude 3- Back in California! : The third Interlude of Golden Apostle, this Interlude will focus on what Gaignun's friends and allies back in California are up to in the months between Gaignun's move to Inaba and the end of Arc 3. Might also include Gaignun's first encounter with a certain hat-clad detective, and other surprises as well.
Arc 4- Studio Kusanagi (Chapter 26-Chapter 34) : The fourth Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the aftermath of the sixth and seventh members joining the Investigation Team to a surprise eighth member joining the Investigation Team, including a brief-lived (re)introduction of a potential suspect in the mystery that the Investigation Team are working on.
Arc 5- The Fraudulent Prince (Chapter 35 - Chapter 47) : The fifth Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the surprise eighth member of the Investigation Team joining to the eventual encounter with and later induction of the final member to the Investigation Team, including the long lull between dungeons that happens after the Arc 4 dungeon and some other stuff thrown in for good measure.
Arc 6- Painful Paradise (Chapter 48 - Chapter 57) : The sixth Arc of Golden Apostle, this covers everything from the final member's induction to the Investigation Team to a big breakthrough being reached in the investigation, and a potential suspect being revealed, and even to a close ally of the Investigation Team being captured, leading to a tense showdown to save said ally, while one of the Investigation Team ends up incapacitated prior to the aforementioned showdown.
Interlude 4- Bittersweet Epiphanies : The fourth Interlude of Golden Apostle, this Interlude will focus on a lot of the aftermath of *REDACTED* being rescued from the TV World, as well as *REDACTED* continuing to contend with the echoes of his past failures, eventually having things come to a head for both of them in a very emotionally-charged sort of way. Might or might not also have a lot of the romances of the story start in this Interlude as well, if I don't start one of them during Arc 5. We'll see what happens there.
Arc 7- Killer Truths (Chapter 58- Chapter 64) : The seventh Arc of Golden Apostle, this Arc covers everything from the aftermath of Interlude 4 to the unmasking of the true killer and the eventual defeat and arrest of the true killer, including one of the Investigation Team being taken out of action for a short time as a result of injuries sustained while trying to slow the true killer down, eventually ending with the apparent end of the Investigation Team, and their subsequent rebranding as the 'Seekers of Truth'.
Interlude 5- Seasonal Celebrations : The fifth and final Interlude of Golden Apostle, this Interlude covers the group celebrating Christmas following their defeat of the true killer, and slowly brings in the new year and sets up for the Golden-exclusive part of the Persona 4 Golden plot.
Arc 8- Decisive Resolutions (Chapter 65- Chapter 78) : The final Arc of Golden Apostle, this Arc covers everything from the start of the new year to the final acts of the mystery that Yu and the others were involved in, as the true architects of the mystery are revealed, including one final surprise rescue the group has to undertake, ultimately leading up to a final decisive showdown in the TV World with the true mastermind behind everything, setting up for Yu's bittersweet departure from Inaba.
Epilogue- Reunion In Inaba (Chapter 79) : The final chapter of Golden Apostle, this will cover the 'Golden' epilogue that is locked behind the 'true' ending of Persona 4 Golden that you can only get in Persona 4 Golden, including a show-off of a lot of the characters' changed appearances, setting up the end of Persona 4- The Golden Apostle.
*END OF SPOILER ALERTS AND TIMELINE*
And there we have it, a well-placed timeline for Persona 4- The Golden Apostle. Note that all the chapter estimates I gave are subject to change at a moment's notice, but as we get further into the story, I'll probably throw up revised timelines to allow for the actual length of some Arcs.
Having said that, let me take this chance to thank anyone who's read this far into the chapter and even this far into Golden Apostle as a whole, as your continued support of the story is greatly appreciated. I appreciate any and all support I can get, as it usually lets me continue to grow as a fanfiction writer. So don't be shy about leaving a review below (or PM me if you prefer that to reviews) with any feedback/constructive criticism/suggestions on this story, as it lets me continue to improve my work, making the story get ever better as a result. Regardless, I welcome hearing from my readers, so don't be shy about reaching out, as I enjoy replying to reviews/PMs! And until the next chapter and next Arc, sithlorde1988 out!