#yukiko still finds comfort in hearing him talk

[daily-hanamura]

[imagineabrighterworld]

Bittersweet Tragedies

Pt. 1 // Dead to Me

A/N: The first part of a series of writings based on Melanie Martinez songs, and my own want for Dabi interacting with a child ^^; The reader will have many more interactions with him as time goes on (and maybe even some interactions with heroes)

The vigilante Phantasma was no more. Leaving you and your little sister motherless.

You always felt cold, something you got from your father, but this cold was penetrating in a way you could only describe as being stabbed.

Over and over.

Phantasma was an outlaw, and no one missed those. They were the villains of the hero world. Someone people didn’t tend to miss, someone you werent supposed to root for. So when you returned home to your sister with the news, you knew she would only find comfort in you. No one else would mourn your mother.

For a whole night, you both lay in her bed, curled up and clinging to each other, craving a warmth you knew would never return. But after that, you knew you had to be the one to step up to the plate.

You were 23 and your sister the fragile age of six. Without you, what would she have?

"Kiko."

She lifts her head, eyes still red from hours of crying. Yukiko wipes her eyes.

"Y-Yea?"

"We're going to be okay." You assure her, placing a hand on her back. "I'm gonna call one of mommy's friends so we can get some help. Do you want to go with me?"

"But.." She sniffles. "I have school."

"Ah. Alright. Come, let's get ready for school, I'll take you." You wait for her to sit up before helping her get dressed, using a damp napkin to wipe away the trails of tears on her cheeks. Fifteen minutes later you stand outside of her school, the bell already ringing for her to get to class, your hand cold without hers to warm it.

With nothing left to do you take your mother's phone out and click on a familiar icon. A weasel.

Holding the phone to your ear, your chest lightens as the line is picked up.

"Hey Uncle Kagero, I.. I need some help."

---

Walking beside Kagero Okuta, or Giran as he prefered to be called for business purposes, made you uneasy. It wasn't him personally, in fact, he was one of your favorite people that came into your life because of your vigilante mother. No, this unease was due to the man following the two of you.

Twice was his name. He argued with himself, which unnerved you. Men in general made you nervous, especially the ones that yelled.

"Sorry about my friend here, he's going through a rough patch." Giran removes the cigar from his mouth, waving it around as he guides you through tight alleyways. "It's not his fault, he's just-"

"AN ANIMAL! Heroic! Suave! STOP THAT EH?! Amazing."

"Like that." He snorts.

You shake your head. "It's fine." In any case, you move just an inch closer to the older man.

Giran was an old friend of your mothers, someone she went to for information or for new tech. Often times she took you with her to see him, and often times he would give you whatever he had on him at the time. Ranging from lollipops to broken parts of machinery. It fascinated you as a child, seeing him pull out all sorts of items from his pockets.

Now you saw him in less of an innocent light, but you didnt hate him either. Work was work.

Speaking of.

"What kind of work were you thinking when you said you could find me a job?"

"Nothing terrible." He inhales deeply, exhaling a mouthful of smoke. "You like to dance, right?"

"More or less."

"Something like that. I know a guy who pays good money for people with quirks like yours. It'll keep you and Kiko fed."

A job that relied on your quirk.. Well, it wasn't the worst news you could have heard. And if it would keep your sister comfortable, you would do it.

The three of you stop in front of a rundown bar, the windows boarded up and it's sign hanging haphazardly to the left.

"So, why are we here?"

"To meet the gang! TO DIE! Shigaraki wants to meet you! SHUT UP!"

You turn around to look at Twice. "Shigaraki? The League of Villains guy?" You'd heard of him through the news. The attack on the USJ was still spoken of despite it being weeks ago. "I didnt realize his base would look like.. This."

The man narrows his eyes, looking ready to tear you in half before he stops and taps his foot on the floor. "It's fucked up- but give it a shot! It's cool inside! UGLY AS fuck." He ends in a small voice, hugging himself as he rushes in through the doors. You could hear him say something, presumably to the rest of the people inside.

A hand is placed against your back. You look to your right, seeing Giran look down at you before nodding towards the door.

"In you go kid."

Nodding, you step up to the now open doors and find yourself in a rather well taken care of room. It was a bar with crystal scones and furniture you werent expecting to see in a place that looked like it's outside survived a nuke.

Several people waited inside, either standing or sitting. With one look, you instantly knew who the leader was. But with another look, you couldn't help your eyes being glued to another man.

He had his head resting on crossed arms, his skin held together by staples. He was asleep, but it didnt stop you from looking at him a second more before turning to the leader.

Shigaraki.

Standing in the center of them all was a person who could turn you to ash without breaking a sweat. You would be nervous were it not for Giran's presence. You trusted him enough to know he wouldn't let you die tonight.

"So, you're the one Giran has been talking about." His voice grates against your ears. "The amplifier."

Amplification. Emotional or physical. Your quirk was.. Useful. Amplifying calm, strength, passion, happiness, nearly anything. It had its uses.

"We've already worked out the details. Should you come through on your end." He saunters forward, stopping just short of you.

From where you stood, staring up at him, trying to look past the hand covering his face, you had the from feeling that this bargain would force you to toe the line your mother had danced on for decades.

Vigilante? Or villain.

"Amplify his healing."

Shigaraki points to the now awake man covered in deep purple scars. The man's eyes burned into yours, a bright, blazing blue.

He flashes you a smirk as he moves off of the seat. Unlike Shigaraki, he stays where he is by the bar, but not too close to the alcohol lining the shelves.

You fidget nervously. "Just his healing?"

Shigaraki narrows his eyes, his fingers curling into a slow fist. "Just. Healing."

"Will it be a problem babe?" The man chuckles. "I thought we were getting someone impressive."

While his voice was pleasing to the ears, it wasn't enough to discourage your annoyance.

"It's just fine, pretty boy."

He lifts a brow, the smirk on his face widening, pulling at the staples on his face.

He opens his arms as blue flames engulf him head to toe, skin taking on a deeper hue as it begins to burn. "Give it your best shot babe."

Oh how you wanted to amplify his pain receptors. Oh how you wanted to wipe the smug expression off of his face.

But Yukiko needed you to get this job.

Your pupils dilate as you focus solely on the flaming man before you. Your body takes over as you feel the barest trace of energy radiating from him, tugging on it as you allow your quirk to latch onto him and do its work.

His expression changes ever so slightly as his skin stops it's burning and reverts back to its previous appearance. It wasn't healed fully, but it most definitely was not getting any worse.

"Interesting." Shigaraki speaks from beside you. A little too close for your liking.

You step closer to Giran who puts a hand on your shoulder. "I told you they could do it." He ducks his head slightly. "Good job kid."

Shigaraki nods absentmindedly, already mumbling plans that you already knew you wanted no part of. But you already signed away that piece of you.

Whatever he wanted you to do, you would do. For Kiko.

"Consider yourself hired." He acknowledges you after his compatriot puts out his flames, said companion now making his way to you. "Dabi will be your guard. Treat them well." Shigaraki adds, tapping Dabi on the arm with two fingers.

"Of course." Dabi stands in front of you, looking down at you with that same smug smirk. "Looks like you’re stuck with me babe."

No.

No.

You step forward, ignoring the smell of ash wafting from him. "You've got it all wrong."

He cocks a brow.

"You are stuck with me."

His grin only widens.

[snowpeawritings]

14. Everyday’s Great...

Philemon seems to enjoy seeing his Wild Cards live on with their lives…

insp.

Persona 4 Golden X FeMC!Reader

05/03/TUE-Daytime | Junes Foodcourt

“If the killer was trying to silence her, there might’ve been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi.”

The words of Adachi still rang fresh in your mind. Yesterday, you and Yosuke offered to treat Chie and Yukiko Junes’s steak meal as compensation for your Personas practically eating all of the instant noodles. When your group had given them the steaks, Adachi had came by and began rambling his mouth over precious information. The evidence that’s been compiled from the police has been keeping you awake at night. Even Izanami had caught on with your overthinking, her trying to shake you out of it last night and before you were meeting with the others plus Nanako.

Speaking of Nanako, she was having the time of her life being at the food court despite it being, well, just a food court. You wish you could share her happiness but with how those words ring in your mind, you just couldn’t share her sentiment.

“So you’re the family cook, huh? Pretty impressive ‘Big Sis’!”

You blinked out from your thoughts, looking at Chie for a moment before shrugging. “You have to do what you have to do.”

You tried to ignore the sharp, side-eye glance from your Persona as you fiddled with the hem of your coat.

“As expected from our Leader! You’re pretty good with your hands when you made me that pork cutlet the other day!” Yosuke said, giving you a thumbs up.

Jiraiya, who was being held by the scarf by Tomoe, piped up. “’Good with your hands’...? Really, man?”

Yosuke choked, cheeks flushing red. “D-Don’t take words out of my mouth!”

You were thankful for the distraction as Izanami shook her head at the Wind-attuned Persona. “I blame the both of you for that.”

Beside her, the shivering pink Persona looked at Jiraiya and Tomoe. The muscled Persona still had Jiraiya in a strong, leash-like grip. “They’re quite close, aren’t they?”

From that comment, Tomoe sneered but held no ill will against Konohana. “As if I would be close to scum like this idiot.”

“Hey, that’s like two insults already!” Jiraiya yelled at her. “Besides, it’s not like I bug you all the time and the rest of the ladies don’t realize I exist!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we have a new ally on our cause that I’d rather not corrupt so soon.”

Beside Yukiko, Konohana Sakuya was busy trying to catch a butterfly between her hands. It would’ve been adorable if the butterfly phased through her hands like they were nothing before she sadly sighed. She may not have realized that she was able to physically grasp things at her will but you’ll put your faith in Izanami that she’ll teach her... Even though you don’t know how they do it themselves.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue in disdain before moving his head towards Yukiko. “Hey, Amagi, was it?”

The girl in red jumped up in surprise, not expecting to be under fire. “Um, yes?”

He cocked his head (as much as he could) to your direction. “You sure you don’t have any closeted feelings for ____ here? Because I’m pretty sure Sakuya here says otherwise.”

“Dude!”

“Anyway!” Chie exclaimed before patting her hand behind Nanako’s chair loudly: A sign that there was a child in the group and, most importantly, she can’t see or hear your Personas. “I can consider myself a pretty good cook too!”

Yosuke scoffed. “You? Cook? Hard pass.”

“What, you wanna cook-off?!”

From her battle cry, Tomoe let go of Jiraiya’s scarf and raised her fist at Yosuke. “Bring it on! Chie will not be defeated by the likes of you!”

Jiraiya flexed his shoulders even though you knew that he was joking about this. “Don’t cry when you lose, woman.”

“Children, behave.” Izanami said, but not making a move to stop them at all.

Now that it sunk in, you looked back at her on why she wasn't stopping them. In fact, she was leaning on her left leg and her arms crossed like she's watching actual children fight. All you could think about was since when was Izanami so laid-back? She wasn't like this before and you didn't even know Izanami could take a joke.

As if wanting to further spiral your mind into disarray, she joined in on the festivities. "If we're speaking about culinary talents, it is my own master who will reign supreme."

Good god, since when can she gloat?

Soon, everyone has the same aghast expression on their face. With everyone looking at Izanami like she told them that your hand would be fine if you dunk it in scalding hot water, it was a wonder how Izanami wasn't buckling down from the attention. Even Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko are looking at her like she was the goddess that she's supposed to be.

Nanako, who finished her snack with a smile, looked up to see all of you staring at something with a funny expression on your faces. She looked to where you all were staring at only to find nothing but a cat with its paws outstretched towards a fish decoration. It was clearly fake and sloppily done-the white of the paper peeking through the mismatched crayons-but the cat deemed it was tasty enough for it to try and eat it.

But the girl thinks that it was funny enough, so she copied your expressions with glee.

Eventually, Izanami noticed their staring and shrugged. "Jiraiya must be rubbing off on me."

Like a gust of wind, the frog immediately slid next to her like in those cartoons before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Oh, Izanami! You sly woman, how adorable that you're taking my mannerisms!"

As if to add more to the fire, his voice dipped lower, a tone that you never heard him or even Yosuke since they sound remotely the same, made you shiver. "You trying to turn me on?"

Before Izanami could say anything, a sharp spear was hooked under his scarf and yanked him away. It wasn't long before a smack was heard.

“Um… Anyway…” Yosuke steered back the conversation to them. “So Nanako-chan! With all these contenders in our group, I bet we can make something that could top your mom’s cooking!”

You and Izanami winced.

Nanako answered without flinching. “I don’t have a mom. She died in an accident.”

Everyone besides you and Izanami eyes widened at the statement. Tomoe stood even more rigid than usual, Jiraiya actually paused in his floating for once, and Konohana stopped fiddling with her petals.

It took a while but Chie nudged Yosuke with her hand. “Hey, Yosuke…”

He fumbled with his words, trying to come up with something to try and clear the awkward air, but all he could muster was the usual ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know’ phrase.

Luckily, Nanako took it in stride. “It’s okay. Even if I don’t have a mom, I have Dad with me.”

And to put the final nail in the coffin for being how cute she was, she turned to you, a happy blush on her cheeks. “And now I have a big sister, too!”

And now to bury the coffin, she turned to everyone. “And I’m having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!”

"... I will die for this child." Jiraiya said seriously. "I will."

"For once, I agree with you frog." Tomoe said.

Even Konohana, the most emotional Persona, started bawling. "Sh-She's the sweetest!"

Izanami tried to comfort Konohana but that even croaked another cry from the pink Persona as her petals fluttered from her shaking.

Looking at your friends, you see that they also share the same sentiment, albeit not as extreme as their Personas. You were pretty sure Yosuke was about to straight up cry though.

Chie smiled at her. "We'll play with you all that you want, Nanako! Just say the word!"

Yukiko piped in. "Yeah, we should hang out more often."

"Nanako-chan!" Yosuke said to her with an easy-going smile. "How about I buy you a drink?"

She nodded gleefully at Yosuke before following him to the drinks stand. It wasn't long before Jiraiya followed them, wanting to watch over Nanako like his life depended on it. The rest of you watched them go away.

"She's a strong girl." Yukiko said after they were out of hearing range.

"Yeah," Chie replied to her, "she makes me feel like I'm the little kid."

"She'll grow up to be a strong woman. I just know it." Tomoe said softly and you couldn't help but linger for a second that Tomoe let her guard down.

Konohana looked at Tomoe then to the direction where Yosuke, Nanako and Jiraiya went. "Do you think Jiraiya may be talking Yosuke's ear off?"

A momentary silence ensued before Tomoe sighed sharply and went to the drinks stand. Konohana soon followed, at least wanting to try and calm down Tomoe. It wasn't long before Yukiko and Chie followed them, not to stop them but to buy something for Nanako.

You have a feeling your friends won't stop spoiling Nanako anytime soon.

"Nanako has them wrapped around her fingers." Izanami said.

You were sure it was a joke. It has to, with how laid-back she is right now.

"You're not going with them?" You asked her.

She paused before she turned to you with her golden eyes. "Not after you tell me what's been bothering you."

You flinched under her gaze, looking away from her piercing stare as you fiddled with your hands. "What do you mean?"

"Do not try and dissuade me. You've been silent ever since you came here with Nanako. Even you aren't immune to her charms."

You struggled to formulate a response. You weren't as eloquent like the books you've read so you can't weasel your way out of her interrogation.

With a sigh, you resigned yourself to your fate as you looked at your Persona. "I'm just… thinking about the case."

She tilted her head. "We think about it all the time."

"No, like-" You said, the temporary flare of frustration creeping up but you held it down. "I just… want to solve this case as soon as possible."

"Hasty decisions lead to dire consequences." She quoted. "We have time to figure out the truth."

"I get that, but like…" You trailed off. You suck in a breath before continuing. "I don't want this team to worry even more. We're supposed to be worrying about midterms, for god's sake. Not finding some serial killer on the loose!"

Izanami sharply said your name, reminding you that you were technically by your lonesome in the eyes of others. "I understand how you feel. You are still a child, wrapped up in responsibilities that shouldn't even be on your shoulders."

She then looked down, looking like she was mulling over on what else to say before staring at you straight in the eyes. "But you have friends that care for you, even a family to care for you. And you still have me."

For what felt like hours, you stared back into those golden eyes. They seemed to shine even brighter than before and you don't know if that was the watery sensation you're getting in your eyes.

"You still have us," She continued, "you're not alone in this."

You blinked away, trying to fight back the tears before nodding at her. "... Thanks."

She let out an amused huff before turning her head to hear footsteps coming towards your table. Nanako came back with a carefree smile on her face.

"Do you want something too?"

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Justice Arcana… 

Persona Time

After bidding goodbye to your friends, you, Izanami, and Nanako went back home. The little girl now has a little baggie full of snacks provided by all of your friends. You wondered briefly if her teeth would be alright with all of the sweets they bought for her but she comforted your fears by saying she won’t eat them all the time.

That being said, that didn’t stop her from eating a choco cornet. The chocolatey filling made her squeal in happiness as she savored the pastry. You two went around the shopping district, not quite ready to go home yet when the sun is still high. You thought about attempting the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge again but it wouldn’t be worth it when it wasn’t raining.

Right now, you looked at the shops, eyes lingering on an old textile shop. Recalling the news last time, there was a brawl that happened in front of the store because some punks were causing a ruckus. It was at that moment when…

“Hey,” Nanako said softly, “there’s a funny-looking guy at that shop.”

The lady’s son stood in front of the textile shop like he was protecting it from anything harmful. His bleached hair made him stand-out from the passersby as his daunting stature made him look like he was a part of a syndicate. If the news didn’t slip that he was a year under you, you would’ve kept your guard up.

You tugged on Nanako’s hand. “Let’s steer clear from that guy, okay?”

She muttered an ‘okay’ before following you. Izanami stepped ahead of you two, cleaver in her hands in case of anything that could happen. You and Nanako hurried to the nearest bus stop, trying to avoid any eye contact from him as Izanami stood guard.

For a moment, you were about to be away from the first-year before somebody stopped you. An arm darted out in front of you, belonging to an older man that you’ve no doubt want to punch his teeth in if not for a child in the vicinity.

“What’s the rush?” He slurred and you recoiled back from his breath. You quickly placed Nanako behind you as Izanami raised her cleaver.

“Leave us alone.” You spat, not bothering to give him the time of day. You tried to dodge him but that led to him sidestepping back in front of your vision. You felt Nanako shiver from behind you as you glared at the man. Izanami swung her cleaver back, ready to maim.

"No need to be afraid! I'm gonna take real good care of you two--"

Before he could even finish his sentence, a fist came and clocked him clean in the jaw. Nanako gasped, you pulled her closer as you followed the fist to see the bleach-haired first year staring down at the pervert like he was scum.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya?!" The first-year spat, kicking his foot towards the man's chest as he doubled-over in pain. "If I see ya here one more time, it won't be just your face that's gonna get a beat-down!"

The man couldn't even respond, seeing from the odd angle of his jaw. He hurried to his feet and ran away from you, not even looking back.

Beside you, Izanami lowered her cleaver. "That was… an event."

You nodded at her before looking down at Nanako. She was still shaking but not as much as before. She didn't even realize her choco cornet had been squeezed too much, the chocolate filling already staining her clothes.

But it looked like she didn't mind. Instead, she looked at the first-year with a wide-eyed smile. "Thanks mister for beating him up!"

Like a lightswitch, he immediately turned into a blushing mess. He stumbled with his words, looking away from Nanako as he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"Sh-Shut up! I didn't do it for you!"

Ah, so he's that type.

"Thanks still, for chasing him away." You said to him, smiling softly. "We owe you one."

He choked. "You ain't owin' me nothin'!"

Your lips quirked upwards at his real demeanor, wanting to tease him even more but he was still a punk that socked someone without hesitation. You still had Nanako behind you and a pile of books that you need to study for midterms.

“Thanks anyway. Stay safe.” You said to him earnestly before walking to the bus stop. Nanako lagged behind a bit, looking back at the bleached boy with a smile.

“Goodbye, strong man!”

Izanami was the only fortunate soul to witness a boy combust to the ground.

[dreaming-of-assclass]

AssClass OC

Mai’s Relationships: Part 1

I’m procrastinating on homework and decided to work on this random ass post about my OC 😂

Her profile is linked here UwU

Warning: this is extremely long and detailed

Tomohito Sugino

Address each other as: “Tomohito” or “Domo” and “Mai”

(The Domo nickname is inspired by one of Fumiko’s ideas UwU)

Besties. Nothing can ever change that. He was the first friend she made when she transferred to Kunugigaoka in 2nd year, and they’ve stuck together since then.

Although their very first meeting was a little unconventional...Sugino almost accidentally hit her with a baseball and she almost threw hands hehe. But they got along instantly after that.

They bonded with similar outgoing, positive personalities and a shared fondness for sports. They hang out all the time and have become so comfortable with each other, they can just randomly show up to each other’s house. Sugino’s family basically adopted Mai, and her family loves him. It’s common to see these two hanging out at a corner store, tossing baseballs at each other to catch, sending memes in class, etc.

Mai is very defensive of him, and will absolutely speak up about his baseball skill, kind nature, leadership, etc. She even stays by his side during the baseball arc to support him. Nakamura calls them platonic soulmates, and both of them honestly agree.

They bicker sometimes since they both can be fiery, but it’s out of fun 95% of the time. The rare occasions they seriously fight are because of Sugino’s overprotective nature/patronizing, and Mai’s clinginess and tendency to get jealous. But regardless of any differences, they will always have each other’s backs. Chaotic besties forever.

Yukiko Kanzaki

Address each other as: “Yukiko” and “Mai”

They did not get off to a good start...it was rather rocky. They just didn’t have good impressions of each other, and neither cared to truly get to know the other. Kanzaki thought Mai was hyper, brash, and difficult. Mai thought Kanzaki was stuck-up and vain because of her idol status. The girls avoided each other, and Mai was less than ecstatic to hear about Sugino’s crush. 

Finally they’re forced to spend time together during the Kyoto trip, when Group 4 forms. They begin to get along more and find a couple shared interests, the ice slowly breaking. Then the kidnapping happens, and Mai stays with the boys and Okuda to find them. Mai is given a job to discreetly locate the girls inside the warehouse and basically figure out it’s layout. She sneaks in and sees the girls, and unintentionally hears Kanzaki’s secret about her 2nd year gaming phase, and is shocked. But now she feels more understanding for her. Mai and the guys and Okuda save the girls, and she especially approaches Kanzaki, making sure she’s okay. Kanzaki opens up to the whole group about liking video games and such. 

Later that night at the hotel, Mai admits to Kanzaki that she overheard her family story and rebellious phase without meaning to. Kanzaki says it’s okay, and thanks her for saving them, and for understanding. They both admit they had misconceptions about each other, but see that they’re not true. 

The girls have an extremely close friendship after that, sharing interests in video games, e-girl fashion, etc. Mai’s competitive nature dies every time she plays against Kanzaki and gets completely owned and teased. They hang out a lot, and Kanzaki comes to basically live at Mai’s home, with how often she’s there. They’re the type of friends to sneak out of an important meeting to play games and talk together. They both become very protective of each other, and grow to think of each other as family.

They definitely balance each other out in terms of personalities and attitudes. Kanzaki is more calm and rational compared to Mai’s bold and outspoken self. Mai’s open-book nature contrasting against Kanzaki’s aloof image. Even if these differences can lead to some clashes, they both appreciate it a lot, and value each other’s views.

Also they definitely try to help each other with their best/worst subjects. Kanzaki trying to help Mai with Japanese work is the funniest thing to see because eventually they just mutually give up and move onto video games.

Hinata Okano

Address each other as: “Hinata” and “Mai”

These two are like two halves. Plain and simple. They hit it off super well on the first day of meeting each other, which was in 3-E. Well, it’s more like Mai wouldn’t stop bothering her or starting up conversation lmao. But they had instant chemistry, especially when around mutual close friends like Kayano and Maehara. 

As soon as she realized they had the same birthday, Mai happily declared them to be sisters, and nothing would ever change that. Okano rolled her eyes, but secretly loved it. Okano uses that against her, saying that “Since she’s the older sister, do as she says.” But Mai always retorts with “But I’m taller.” 

They’re extremely close, and bond over so many things. Being sporty, liking skate-boarding, teasing Maehara, etc. They’re definitely each other’s go-to person for venting and confiding in, since they somehow are almost always on the same wavelength.

They can get into bad arguments though, given their similar temperaments. But it’s over in 2.5 seconds, and after screaming at each other, they’re laughing at memes together.

They love challenging each other in PE and assassination-related things since they have pretty similar styles. They love when they get partnered together, although it’s not as common as they’d like. Overall just an adorably vicious combo of short-tempered cuties.

Justice Kimura

Address each other as: “Kimura” and “Mai”

Oh boy. Whenever these two are around each other, they just become a wild gremlin duo. They equally enable each other when it comes to being chaotic. They’re just really good friends who can be playful with each other. 

They became friends and got to know each other mainly thanks to PE and mutual friends like the class athletes. Before they knew it, they started to just hang out without others, they vibed so well.

Kimura lives to make Mai burst out laughing with his random edgy jokes and humor. There’s just always a lot of laughter whenever these two are together. 

That said, Mai is not immune to Kimura’s worst antics, like the parkour incident. For the first time, she gets so upset at him but after yelling her head off like he expects, she just crumples to the floor and cries. She really needed that good grade to show her mom, and because Gakushuu had spent so much time tutoring her...

Kimura feels like shit and apologizes, and they don’t talk for a couple days. Mai definitely forgives him and moves past it though. Sometime during watching the kids at the school, she hugs him and apologizes for going off on him. Kimura says it’s okay since he was being a selfish idiot in the first place. Their friendship goes back to normal UwU.

Mai loves to tease Kimura for A LOT of reasons, but his name is never one of them. She calls him “Shorty,” “Dumpling,” and always pinches his chubby cheeks, to his annoyance. She definitely roasts him whenever he pulls some harmless stupid stunt that results in disaster. But on a serious note, she’s his biggest hype-man and always cheers him on in PE and in schoolwork. If anyone makes fun of his name, she absolutely will deck them.

Karma Akabane

Address each other as: “Karma” and “May-chan”

Almost everyone was nervous on his first day, and how these would inevitably meet. The class was certain that Karma would test Mai’s already-thin patience, and they wouldn’t get along.

But to their surprise...these two did get along. Really well, actually.

Mai, a natural moodmaker and very open-minded girl, appreciated Karma’s quirks and the odd mystery surrounding everything he did. She thought he made an already weird-situation even wackier and more interesting. She also couldn’t help but have respect for how successful he was at his first try, although it was buried under her envy.

Karma in turn also appreciated her, and how she was so easy to read. Mai is literally an open book, which Karma gravitates towards. In the first ten minutes of meeting her, he realized she was totally fun to tease because of how irritated and snappy she’d get. Hence, their friendship formed and Karma teases her every single day. He also calls her “May-chan” in a very exaggerated American accent since her name is commonly mispronounced like that, and it’s the quickest way to annoy her.

Overall, these two are really good friends, but definitely in a very sibling-like manner. They make fun of each other a lot, but would murder anyone else (outside of 3-E) who dares to. Even though they’re around the same age, it sometimes feels as though Mai is his younger sister. She loves to drag him around by the arm sleeve or wrist, for no other reason to drive him crazy. Also, they both are strawberry snack enthusiasts, which they bond over. Occasionally, Mai will assist him in his pranks, just to try and make sure she doesn’t become the target of one. Nope, she still is. She’s either entertained by or tired of his shit. 

Also...these two clash a bit in Civil War, because Karma’s vagueness really frustrates her. In general, Mai tries to keep an open perspective of the issues surrounding Group 4 leading up to Civil War, so she’s not completely pissed at him. But she does call him out and speak to him upfront about what problems he’s causing.

Don’t worry, their relationship definitely improves afterwards, once everyone receives some closure. Their teasing sibling-like dynamic continues to stay throughout high school and in the future. 

[zero-heather]

Persona  Main Cast Arcana Swap (Spoilers!)

I wasn’t really paying attention to ships and stuff like that while making this, more-so what was interesting to switch. It occurred to me in the planning of the P2 cast that some crushes are canon. But, here we go anyway!

Persona 1

The Emporer - Reiji Kido (Protagonist): A silent boy who lost his older half-brother during his younger years. He carved an X on his forehead using a knife to make sure his parents don’t treat him like he was his brother. The Chariot - Naoya Toudou: The partially-spoiled son of a manga company. An occasional troublemaker, but also a nice person. His crush is in the hospital. The Hierophant - Masao Inaba: A rich young boy who will soon inherit control over a large group of companies called the Inaba Group. He’s spoiled, intelligent and has no tolerance for stupidity of any kind. The Strength - Kei Nanjo: A father-like figure that almost everyone St. Hermelin looks up to. He is an ex-yanki who was reformed by one of his teachers, to whom he has great respect for. The Justice - Yukino Mayuzumi: A girl who likes to make jokes and prank people for attention. Her parents were never really around for her and she was laughed a lot during her childhood. The Hermit - Hidehiko Uesugi: A young boy who has been hospitalized for a little over a year. His childhood friend, Reiji Kido, occasionally visits him and he gets more frequent visits from Naoya Toudou. His father is too busy to visit him. The Judgement - Maki Sonomura: A beautiful and intelligent girl who has come back to Japan from studying abroad. She aspires to travel the world, but wants to stay in her hometown for the rest of her studies. The Magician - Eriko Kirishima: An airheaded girl who hates hearing anything that displeases her. She likes to live in the moment and doesn’t think about her future too much. The Devil - Yuka Ayase: A delinquent who doesn’t have much care for anything or anyone other than her parents, who are poor. She usually plays hard to get but is a really nice person inside.

Persona 2 Duology

The Sun - Katsuya Suou: A delinquent type adult. His younger brother gives him lectures on how he should try and be a better person but he doesn’t care. Hates his brother and his father. The Justice - Tatsuya Suou: Katsuya’s younger brother, a high school student who wants to join the police force to clear his father’s name. Also has an obvious crush.

The Death - Kaoru Saga: A narcissistic young man in his early 20s who runs a band, in which he is called Baofu. He rejected his parents constant complaining on how he should be a ‘Traditional Japanese Man’, but he still has a very low self esteem. The Hanged Man - Eikichi Mishina: A high school boy who is able to wiretap and hack into any known database. He hangs around Tatsuya’s friend group, despite remaining a mystery to even them. He goes by the name Michel. The Wheel of Fortune - Maya Amano: A young woman who was the childhood friend of Katsuya. Her parents are both deceased and she works for COOLEST Magazine. All that aside, she’s calm, collected and likes flowers.

The Moon - Jun Kurosu: A high school boy whose motto is ‘think positive’, even in tight situations. He makes friends easily and happens to forget a lot of things, but is a good person. Also doesn’t believe many people like him. The Lovers - Ulala Serizawa: A hyper young woman who knows martial arts and is a fan of Bruce Lee. Her parents wanted her to be a ‘Traditional Japanese Woman’, but just like Kaoru, she rejected their wishes.

The Star - Lisa Silverman: A high school girl who has bad luck with men and can never seem to find someone right for her. She’s a professional boxer and also sneaks out to drink, despite being underage.

The Strength - Kei Nanjo: A photographer for COOLEST Magazine who was involved in the SEBEC incident. He works with Maya Amano, and with the help of her and his old teacher, he’s comfortable with who he is now.

Persona 3

The Fool - Aigis/Metis: A high school student who came back to Tatsumi Port Island 10 years after their parents died on the bridge due to a fire. Canon is Aigis, which is female, and optional is Metis, who is male. The Lovers - Minako Arisato: A young bubbly girl who likes big crowds. She’s a popular girl at school, unknowingly, and also stays in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. She has a gun holster on her belt and has a brother. Somewhat loud and “obnoxious”. The Magician - Minato Arisato: A young blunt boy who hates big crowds. He’s a popular boy at school, unknowingly, and also stays in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. He has a gun holster on his belt and has a sister. Reserved and introverted. The Empress - Yukari Takeba: A wealthy individual and next in line to inherit control of the Takeba Group. She’s a very intelligent person and many people look up to her, as she is also the student council president. The Emporer - Junpei Iori: A second year that runs the boxing club at Gekkoukan High. He takes boxing very seriously and also finds it a good stress reliever. He’s determined and courageous, and also a good mentor. The High Priestess - Mitsuru Kirijo: A quite and kept-in girl, she serves as the navigator for SEES. Her best friend would have been found outside Gekkoukan High with Apathy Syndrome if not for her. She’s a bookworm and likes sci-fi. The Hierophant - Akihiko Sanada: A shady third year who hardly shows up at school. He only joined SEES for personal reasons which he refuses to share. Has a soft spot for Fuuka, and is good friends with Junpei. The Justice - Fuuka Yamagishi: A little girl who seems to know Akihiko from her past. She’s well behaned and a good role-model for others her age. Despite being 11, she lives in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. The Chariot - Shinjiro Aragaki: A robot made to destroy shadows. He can only develop human feelings through contact with those feelings. He is enrolled in Gekkoukan High as a second year, despite being a robot and seeming more like a third year.

Persona 4

The Fool - Teddie: A transfer student from Tokyo who came to live with his uncle for a year. He’s very anxious in social situations, and arguments between his friends makes him nervous. Has a weird obsession with bears. The Magician - Rise Kujikawa: A goofy and fun young girl. Her parents are the managers at Junes, and she works part-time there. She’s also in Teddie’s class.

The Chariot - Kanji Tatsumi: An intimidating young boy with martial arts skills. He may be buff but he’s not really aggressive. Suggests eating more meat a lot and is good friends with Rise. The Emporer - Yosuke Hanamura: A badass who was able to take down an entire biker gang by himself. Feared by his classmates, but he is a good person. He likes knitting and has more feminine hobbies, he also questions his sexuality a lot. Despite being skinny, he’s a lot stronger than the buffest one in the group. The Lovers - Yu Narukami: A model who is famous for his cross-dressing and his way to charm crowds. He’s very blunt about his thoughts but he means no harm. He’s a fun person to have around, but he already has a crush.

The Star - Yukiko Amagi: A strange woman who came from the TV world. She makes a lot of puns, albeit sometimes doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and is fascinated with the human world. The Wheel of Fortune - Chie Satonaka: A detective who acted like she was male for most of her life. Is only now getting used to being able to freely act like a woman, and is still coping with her identity. She’s logical and the smartest in the group.

Persona 5

The Fool - Morgana: A young boy who was arrested on false charges and sent to Tokyo for a whole year as ‘probation’. Despite all the rumors surrounding him, he’s a good person and probably the most lenient friend you’ll ever find. The Chariot - Haru Okumura: An ex-track and field runner, she hates how adults think they can just lie their way through life and not have any consequences. A good hearted person with a somewhat goofy attitude. The Magician - Futaba Sakura: A young girl who was found trapped in Kamoshida’s Palace. She eventually decided to come over to the human world and take the guise of Futaba Sakura. Kind of annoying but overall understanding and polite. The Lovers - Akira Kurusu: A young boy who was being sexually abused by Kamoshida, as for a while he kept telling everyone and himself he was female. He eventually came out as a male publicly, despite being a bit nervous about it. A strong-hearted individual. The Emporer - Ryuji Sakamoto: A young painter who seems to think Akira is still a girl, despite him publicly stating he was male. He’s polite but also poor, so he starves himself a lot which explains his slim yet tall figure. The High Priestess - Ann Takamaki (P5)/Kasumi Yoshizawa (P5R): The student council president of Shuujin Academy. She keeps up her polite and obeying act in public, but when she’s with the group she’s an absolute unit that no one dares cross. The Hermit - Goro Akechi: His father runs the coffee shop which Morgana is in, and he also has an obsession with video games. He serves as the navigator for the group. He is reserved and hates going out in public. The Justice - Yusuke Kitagawa: A young and upcoming detective. He may be polite in public, but he’s really a sociopath who will murder anybody and anything that upsets him. The Faith - Ann Takamaki (P5R): An elegant and intelligent young girl, who gets the top score at Shuujin, which is why she was offered a scholarship there. She’s actually very stressed out and often becomes depressed for no reason.

[shadowtarot]

The City That Doesn’t Sleep

Next Part In Shadow Pains. Previous part here

Teddie is heading out of Junes after a long day of entertaining kids in the Food Court. With a large yawn he looks both ways before crossing the street to start to head back to the Hanamura Residence. But as he walks past the Blacksmith’s shop, he notices Yu in the store.

“Hm? Is Sensei getting a new sword?” He asks, deciding to hide behind a pole the best he can to hear what’s going on.

“How do you manage to wear this sword out so fast, kid?” Yu laughs awkwardly as a response to Daidara’s question. “Well, you could always just buy a new sword you know. I’ve made several more since your last visit that I know you’ll put to good use.”

“No, this one means too much to me to replace.” Yu sounds deathly serious as he speaks.

“Well, I’m glad you care about this blade enough to see it not go to waste. Tell you what, kid, let me teach you some Katana Maintenance so you don’t always have to keep coming here for it.” The old man smiles.

“Really? I appreciate it.” 

Teddie decides to leave, thinking nothing much of what he saw. Yu was just getting his preferred Katana fixed up is all. Nothing too weird. 

Finally making it back to the house, Teddie notices Yosuke waiting for him outside.

Yosuke still had his mind on his talk with Yu that morning. Even when he gave Yu the chance to open up, he wouldn’t. Did he even listen to him? He shakes his head as he sees the round shape of Teddie approaching,

“Took you long enough, Ted. Did you get lost?” 

“Sorry Yosuke, I just saw Sensei over at Master Daidara’s and I got curious. But he was just getting his Iai Katana repaired.”  The bear sighs.

“Wait...Yu normally doesn’t do that unless he’s planning on going into the TV.” Yosuke’s stoumach twists a bit, and without a second thought he sends texts to the others with the same message.

>Check The Midnight Channel Tonight. Please.

After sending the text, he goes to call Yu. But like his last attempt he only gets his voicemail. Not a comforting sign. 

“Yosuke? Is Sensei gonna be okay?” Teddie asks, concerned.

“I don’t know Ted...but lets look at the Midnight Channel.”

Evening rolls in, and each member of the Investigation Team looks at the TV in their bedrooms. 

“Why’d Yosuke-sempai want us to watch the Midnight Channel all of a sudden? Did he realize something about the case?” Kanji sighs, shaking his head as he folds his arms.

“Is anything even going to show up? No one was on TV that could have been a target...” Yukiko states, shaking her head. “But there was no short hand. Yosuke must be serious.”

“Senpai never responded when I texted him to see if he knew what Yosuke was talking about...” Rise shakes her head. 

The TV flickers a bit, and Yosuke bites his lip. He already knows what’s going to appear in the TV...or at least a vague idea. 

A City Scape is shown on screen, lights blinding parts of the screen as a distorted laugh echos through out. 

“Huh?! But...who’s connected to this?” Chie looks close at the screen.

“Ladies and gentlemen...I welcome you...to hell. Where freedom and choice is about as real as the bonds forged.”

A sword is heard being drawn harshly from it’s sheathe and the sheathe itself is seen flung into view of the camera. 

“This place is a labyrinth of lies, where only the powerful and strong willed can live. I invite you to learn more about it’s inner depths, or die trying. And I know you can’t refuse an invitation from me...Partner.” 

The camera finally focuses on the speaker, but there’s too short of time to actually see his face before he stabs the camera with a katana. The broadcast abruptly ends there.

“There are only two people I know of who use that term in Inaba...” Naoto states, shaking her head. “But I should wait to talk about this with the others...”

The team all heads to bed, the broadcast fresh on their mind as the doze off.

As the group all starts to head to Junes the next day, Yosuke is stopped by Dojima. 

“Hey, you haven’t happened to see Yu at all today have you? I know the two of you are friends so I was just wondering if...”

Yosuke shakes his head. “I’m sorry Officer Dojima, but I was just under the assumption he was too sick to leave the house today.”

“With the constant reports of missing person’s cases, I can’t help but worry. If you find anything out, please let me know.” Dojima walks off after that.

“...so he really is in the TV then...” Yosuke sighs, putting his headphones on as he keeps walking. 

The others are already at the Food Court on the roof of Junes, everyone looking worried when they notice Yu isn’t there.

“Is everyone here?” Yosuke asks, taking off his headphones as he sits where Yu normally would. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now...but...Yu isn’t with us at the moment.”

“Yu-kun’s Uncle talked to me as I was crossing the street, saying he never saw him in the house and Nanako-chan apprently mentioned his bed was even still made...” Chie sighs, placing a hand on her cheek. “What’s going on?”

“Given the Shadow in the TV used ‘Partner’ as it’s preferred phrase, it’s quite clear that that was Senpai’s Shadow since Yosuke’s still with us. But he wasn’t featured on TV in any form so, this goes against every previous case so far... ” Rise sighs, shaking her head. 

“There’s more to it then just that. Yu-senpai already has Izanagi...so why would his Shadow appear suddenly?” Naoto states. “From my understanding, you need to face your Shadow to gain a Persona correct?”

“Except...Yu never did...” Yosuke finally speaks, folding his arms over his chest. “Remember when we hunted those Treasure Hands? Yu was suddenly in pain during it.”

“But didn’t he say he didn’t know why he was hurting?” Yukiko asks, tilting her head.

“Yeah...because he was hiding the truth from us.” 

This causes the whole group to go deathly quiet, allowing Yosuke to speak again.

“I spied on him after he asked for some space...and I found out what it was. Izanagi’s...been hurting him. Maybe even killing him..because somehow, he never faced himself...”  

“And you’re only telling us this after he’s already gone? You could have told us from the start, Yosuke-senpai.” Naoto glares a bit.

“I...needed to make sure it wasn’t something else. So yesterday...I talked to him one on one...and the way he was acting told me all I needed to know. I told him that he’d need to face his Shadow at some point...but...” Yosuke sighs, shaking his head. “Didn’t expect it to be so soon...”

“Well we should go save him right?” Teddie flaps his arms, looking at everyone. “The more time we waste the more danger Sensei is in!”

Moving quietly and quickly, the group heads into the TV where Rise begins to scan the area. 

“Any luck finding that area?” Yosuke asks, cleaning his glasses before putting them back on.

“Yeah, it’s in the south western portion. We should hurry.”

The group rushes over and finds a steel gate leading into a crowded looking city...that looks very familiar to Yosuke. 

“Aw geez, of course it’d be a city...” Chie sighs, shaking her head. “Well should Yosuke take the lead then?”

“If that’s alright with everyone...” Yosuke states, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go in. Our leader’s trapped somewhere in here.”

[aithne]

(Illume) The Bound Fox

There is no true privacy on a ship, Reiko thought as she attempted to find a location on the deck that was out of the way of the sailors, who were going about their jobs as usual. What she needed to do now was going to require a fair amount of talking aloud, and she really didn't want to be cooped up in her cabin any more than necessary. Not with some of the memories that were beginning to return.

She finally found a relatively out of the way location, settled herself more or less comfortably, and turned her face towards the sky. Her spirits--the five that were left--swirled and settled beside her. Miss M, her mouth still bound by Lin's mark, hugged herself, the look on her face a mixture of grief and fear. Kei, the only one who could not be still, paced the deck before her. Tsuyoshi was muttering to himself, which Reiko could hear as if someone were talking several rooms away. Setto sat beside her, seeming to be waiting for her to speak.

And Zhane perched on a rope, looking at Reiko with an expression that Reiko could not read. Perhaps she was angry, or perhaps she was afraid. Perhaps both.

"I'm sorry." Her tone was soft. "I...is there anything more I can say, really?" The muttering from the bound spirits grew louder, Zhane's voice contributing to the fray as she tried to express something incomprehensible to the shaman. "I've never heard of a sword that can trap spirits." She reached out with her mind to that place that Jin had once been anchored, the place where he had been raw and painful. "My Jin, my honorable Jin." She had loved him, the older man who had so often lectured her when she'd done something less than honorable. But the lectures were always kindly meant, and though his words had often stung she'd always had to admit that he had a point.

Setto looked at her, and said, "You knew that jade is a substance that affects spirits. You knew that Jade Warriors can see spirits, and you knew that it was likely that the warrior had a nasty surprise in store for you. And yet, you still rushed into the fray, and attacked the person that the warrior was created to protect." His words were mild, but the anger behind them was not, and Reiko quailed; Setto had a temper on him, though it sounded as if he was holding it in check for the moment. "And your impulsive behavior lost you Jin. Is there a reason we shouldn't all be angry with you, Reiko?"

She shook her head. "I just...didn't think. The lady had a knife to her throat--if I hadn't done anything, she might have been killed."

"And instead, you sacrificed one of us. Who, I will point out, you have a sacred duty to protect from harm."

"I just didn't think, all right? I forgot about the Jade Warrior, and I've always--"

Setto's voice was quiet. "And you've always had Lin to guide you, to keep you from doing something truly stupid. She kept you very young, but she also kept you out of serious trouble. Even though you're centuries old, you're still a pup. A one-tail. And for someone who is, really, quite clever, you certainly can be an idiot sometimes."

Reiko felt the lash of his anger in those words; had she been in fox form, she would have tucked her tail between her legs. She settled for pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face in her hair. The place where Jin had been was a liquid fire on her spirit, the wounds across her back that were not yet completely healed ached. After she'd been roused back to consciousness by Funitsu, she'd refused any more healing, feeling somehow that there should be some physical punishment for losing one of her beloved spirits. "The others don't understand. Panda thought that I should be glad to be rid of you."

"They only see the strangeness that mortals call madness. Between your vixen nature and you talking to us aloud..." He shrugged. "Rei, you've never particularly worried about your differences."

Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. "I've never had this many people I could call friends all at once, either. And I need to protect them, as well as you, as well as the Lady."

"Don't worry about the rest; they seem more likely to end up defending you than the other way around. Yukiko and the child are your priority, and us. Let those with strength do the fighting. Your battleground is altogether different. Combat can sometimes be won before the swords are drawn. That's where you need to concentrate."

"And cleaning up afterwards." Reiko looked up at Setto, her hair falling over one eye. He still looked angry, his arms crossed. When he was alive, she remembered soothing him out of his anger with soft kisses, but that obviously wasn't going to work now. She tried to speak but was startled by a sudden flare of pain from the place Jin had been. "Ow! What the--" With an effort of will, she dropped into her magical Sight, scanning the place that hurt so badly.

The place that hurt was a sigil, burning into her with white fire. Concentrating, she looked at it, trying to comprehend the mind that had set these into her soul. Lin, Lin, what trap have you set for me? She thought the sigil was familiar--wait. It was the same sigil that had been set over Jin's heart. A quick check revealed that each of the spirits' heart sigils was inscribed in white fire somewhere on her body. She couldn't stop to think about that, though, because she saw--and felt--the mark that had matched Jin's pulse irregularly, burning her. "They must be connected somehow, and now that Jin's gone, the power's somehow unbalanced." She touched her pool of power, and hissed as she felt that it was much smaller than it had been this morning, and dwindling rapidly. This flaring, whatever it was, was drawing on her power; she had to stop it, and quickly. She drew a silver thread from the small pool that still existed, remembering the lesson that she'd learned the other day.

She threaded the sigil with her silver fire. It was difficult, more difficult than the last one has been, but she traced and traced it, silver swallowing white finally--

And darkness came abruptly as the sigil shot white sparks and disappeared, the rest of the sigils flaring bright as the sun as the power redistributed itself into the remaining bindings. Reiko's body sprawled to one side, limp, her spirits all regarding her worriedly, Miss M stooping and brushing her fingers against Reiko's hair.

Hiroshi had come up to the deck for a breath of air and to see what there was to be seen on the coast. He was leaning on the railing, enjoying the wind in his face, when all the of hairs on the back of his neck stood up. There was something wrong, somewhere, the part of him that was constantly evaluating even the safest of surroundings for signs of danger was prodding his attention. What was it...wait. There were air currents that weren't acting like they should, swirling around his face. He backed away from the railing, turning, trying to pinpoint a place that felt more wrong than right. He saw, from a niche made from several crates lashed to the deck, a small bare foot protruding, and the edge of some bright red cloth. He remembered that red, Reiko had been wearing it that morning when they'd all arisen. Crossing the deck with several long steps, he looked into the niche to find Reiko tumbled over on her side, breathing shallowly, obviously unconscious. He put a hand on her shoulder, saying her name, but she didn't awaken.

No obvious signs of injury, no indications of magical attack--what could be wrong with her? Well, he should probably get her somewhere safe and find Funitsu to see if he could figure out what was wrong with her. He eased an arm around her, resting her head against his shoulder, and was picking her up when the tiny woman jerked and thrashed, her eyes flying open. "Reiko! Reiko, it's all right, it's just me." He watched as recognition filtered into her yellow eyes and her body relaxed, breathing out.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I found you here, passed out, no sign of what had caused it around. What do you remember?"

Reiko thought, remembered the sigil, remembered tracing it, and---"Oh. Just a moment." She closed her eyes and used her magical sight to look at the place where the sigil she'd erased had been.

It was gone, completely, as were a number of other sigils that had been connected to it. In fact, there was a whole swath of her body that was now free of sigils, her right hip and leg bare of magical bindings. "That must have been a master mark," she murmured, forgetting that Hiroshi was next to her. "Take out the master, and the others fall. But the master sigils are somehow linked into my spirits...oh, Lin, you are an artist as obsessive as any I've ever met."

Hiroshi, confused, said, "Reiko, you're not making any sense." As usual, the thought came unbidden, but he didn't speak it.

"Oh!" Reminded of his presence, Reiko blinked. "Um. Do you want the long explanation or the short one?"

"Is either of them more likely to make sense?"

She thought. "Probably not."

"The short answer, then."

"How to sum it up...All right. You know Lin, the spirit of mine who left me, had ways of keeping my memories and powers bound, right?" At his nod, she continued. "She bound me using sigils, magical diagrams, all of them linked together over my body. There were seven master sigils, the ones that anchored all the rest. These sigils were somehow linked into each of my spirits, and they power them with their energy. When Jin was taken from me today, that master sigil somehow went haywire. I was able to erase it, but I think it discharged all of its energy into the rest of the bindings. For some reason, I passed out."

Hiroshi regarded her silently as she finished speaking. She rubbed her forehead, muttering, "And it's given me a wicked headache, as well."

He was suddenly aware of the fact that he still had his arm around her shoulders, and that her body was warm against his. He released her, sitting down with his back against a crate. "I have to confess that I don't really understand what you're talking about. But I am no magic-user, so."

She snorted. "At least you seem to believe that I have spirits. I overheard Funitsu referring to my spirits as my imaginary friends the other day. He'd better be careful who he calls imaginary, is all I have to say."

The archivist chose his words carefully. "The Scorpion is a skeptic when it comes to certain things, it seems. It may yet come back to haunt him, so to speak."

She shrugged. "I'm used to people thinking I'm crazy." She glanced at him, a rueful expression in her eyes. "You might still think I'm nuts, but thank you for at least believing I'm real. As for not understanding...what it really means is that there was a part of me that was locked away that is now free. I remember more, now, of what I am. Who I have been."

"What do you remember now?" His curiosity was getting the better of him. Perhaps, unlike the rest of her stories, this one might make sense. Such an optimist, Hiroshi, he chuckled to himself.

"I remember Jin. He was a retired samurai, widowed five years by the time I met him, living on his estate. His oldest son was running most of the family's affairs when I met him, so he had quite a bit of time on his hands. Time enough to notice the pretty apothecary in the village closest to his estate.

"Love between us grew softly and gently. I was going by Mei at that time, and I knew he loved me the day he brought me a branch of plum blossoms and told me that I was sweeter by far than my namesake. His family eventually found out and were properly scandalized, thinking that I was somehow taking advantage of him. They thought I was wanting to marry him and inherit from him. I never managed to convince them that I wanted nothing of the sort.

"He was very sweet, such strength held under perfect control. I loved him and thus I overstayed my welcome. A year after I met him, I drained him to death, not knowing what I did. And then Lin took everything away again. But now..." She closed her eyes. "I remember things about herbs and medicines that I didn't before. I remember the four systems of elements that are in wide use, and the places where each correspond. I remember how to cure illness with my herbs. And how to kill with them." She gave him a canny look. "I am certain you know of what I speak. Archivist."

He nodded, touching one finger to his lips in the universal gesture for silence. Amusement flashed in her eyes and lingered around the corners of her mouth, and she climbed to her feet. "I think I'm all right. A bit dizzy, but I'm sure it'll pass." Reiko stretched as Hiroshi got to his feet. She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips. "Thank you for checking on me."

He shrugged. "You're a friend, kitsune."

She looked away, out over the ocean. "Very few have ever said that to me, who knew what I am. Fewer still have meant it. The problem with being an immortal is that it can get very lonely." Then she blinked, her demeanor changing in a flash, and she was climbing barefooted into the rigging. Hiroshi watched her go, bemused.

He paused, waiting for Reiko to be safely out of earshot, and said, "Did you hear what you came for, Lady?"

Yukiko stepped around the crate, smiling perhaps a bit ruefully. "I did, thank you. How did you know I was there?"

He shrugged. "I have excellent hearing, Lady. But you knew that."

"So, what do you think of our little shaman, now? Do you have a verdict on her, as several of my retinue seem to?"

"No, Lady." He looked up into the rigging, where Reiko was talking animatedly to someone neither of them could see. "In all honesty, I'm not sure what to think."

Yukiko looked up, her expression unreadable. "I hope you meant what you said about being her friend, archivist. I have a feeling she's going to need all she can get soon enough. As will we all." She turned and walked away towards the bow of the ship.

Hiroshi returned to the railing, leaning on it, watching the coast slide by.

[chroniccombustion]

Caught in the Grey (ch 2)

Genre: Trans!AU, hurt/comfort, romance, angst with a happy ending Rated: T Characters: Souji Seta (Yu Narukami), Yosuke Hanamura, Naoto Shirogane, Investigation Team, Izanagi/Shadow!Souji Warnings: depression, dysphoria, disassociation, self-hatred, implied suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, mentions of homophobia, implied past child abuse and transphobia, canon-typical violence, mild sexual content Status: multi-chapter, incomplete

Playlist: Spotify | Youtube <- previous chapter | next chapter ->

The light has changed from dingy blue-grey to anxious pink by the time he realigns himself, creeping along the wall to spill down across the floor. There is a twisting sensation low in his stomach, a burning in the back of this throat. He runs his leaden tongue across his gums and they tingle in response. The ache is still there in every limb, echoed by a shaky feeling that makes his world feel like it’s slipping in and out of solidity.

He flips open his phone with his thumb. 7:19am the screen now reads, as well as a flashing notice from half an hour ago, proclaiming, 1 new message.

Shirogane-kun: SENPAI PLS CALL ME

Chapter 2: Been a Long Damn Day

“From the beach to the city, I been putting on a face. You’re no stranger to a mask, you ain’t lost or amazed. I been lost in a maze, been a long damn day, I been lost in a maze, been a long damn day…”

- (“Sinking”, Jeremy Zucker)

Shirogane-kun: SOUJI-SENPAI WHERE R U?

Shirogane-kun:  R U OK?

Shirogane-kun: PLS RESPOND

Shirogane-kun: SENPAI PLS I AM WORRIED

4 missed calls from Shirogane-kun

 Aibo: bro u ok? wtf happened?

Aibo: no srsly wth? what was that?

Aibo: prtnr we cant find u where did u go?

Aibo: shit the girls pageant is starting we cant leave

Aibo: not funny bro

Aibo: call me back man cmon ur freakin me out

Aibo: souji?

7 missed calls from Aibo

            14 new messages, 9 missed calls from Kanji-kun, ~*Rise!*~, Amagi Yukiko, Satanaka Chie, TEDDIE

 Souji stares down at the phone in his hand, squinting against the brightness of the screen in the pre-dawn gloom. 5:42am, it reads. Fantastic.

He shifts his weight to lean more against the side of the couch rather than the chilly wall and groans involuntarily when his entire body protests. He’s stiff, cold, and his everything is angry with him for sleeping on the floor. His uniform pants are still on from yesterday, though he has no idea just where his shirt and jacket went – or the flesh-colored bit of fabric that he wears underneath. At some point after running home in a blind, dissociative panic he knows he must have pulled them off because he remembers being shirtless before properly passing out, so, theoretically, they must be in the room with him somewhere. He doesn’t have the energy to look.

As long as his pants are still on.

As exhausted as he is, (mentally, physically, emotionally,) he knows he won’t be able to get back to sleep at this rate. He can’t work up the energy to pull out the futon or change into real pajamas, and besides, he’d just have to get right back up for school again soon after. His body aches too much to let him relax anyway.

So Souji sits there, folded over on himself in the corner between the couch and wall, and doesn’t read the slew of missed texts from his worried friends. He can’t; their escalating concern leaves a guilty stone in his stomach on top of the embarrassment he already feels. He knows they’ll be upset with him for not telling them where he is, that he’s okay, and it spikes his anxiety just thinking about it – which just makes it all the more impossible to open the rest of the texts. He’d barely made it through Naoto’s, forced himself to read Yosuke’s, before he’d had to quit.

Something else, though, is the quiet, creeping dread that has nestled into his already-anxious heart. He can’t read the rest, can’t bring himself to respond and ease their worry because he doesn’t know what to say. How can he possibly explain to his friends why he bolted like a frightened cat for seemingly no reason? They’d want to know what set him off, why it had caused such a violent reaction, and every reason Souji can think of just leads his brain deeper and deeper down the winding rabbit hole of Things He Doesn’t Want to Talk About.

How is he supposed to tell them what brought about his soul-shattering panic attack without revealing everything else?

Still. If he stays silent for too much longer then he’ll lose the window of opportunity to try and play this whole thing off as something they shouldn’t worry about. He also potentially runs the risk of one of them reporting him missing, or even just straight up going to his uncle. There is no easy way to go about handling this garbage fire of a situation and trying to think of ways to avoid it is only making everything so much worse inside his head.

Souji lolls his head back and watches the encroaching dawn slither through his windows and play across the wall across from him. It’s the only light in the room aside from his phone. Eventually, that, too, goes dark.

 The light has changed from dingy blue-grey to anxious pink by the time he realigns himself, creeping along the wall to spill down across the floor. There is a twisting sensation low in his stomach, a burning in the back of this throat. He runs his leaden tongue across his gums and they tingle in response. The ache is still there in every limb, echoed by a shaky feeling that makes his world feel like it’s slipping in and out of solidity.

He flips open his phone with his thumb. 7:19am the screen now reads, as well as a flashing notice from half an hour ago, proclaiming, 1 new message.

Shirogane-kun: SENPAI PLS CALL ME

He… wants to. Out of all his friends, Naoto would be the safest one to talk to right now. They know, and he wouldn’t have to think up some excuse as to why he fled from school the way he did. It would be… refreshing, he thinks, to finally be honest about a situation like this. (He also shamefully knows that of everyone he still owes an explanation to, he may have frightened Naoto the most. After all they’ve done for him the past two days, he owes them at least this much.)

His thumb only hesitates over the call button for a moment – just one – before he shakily presses it down. The line picks up on the second ring.

“Senpai! Oh thank god; are you alright? Where are you?’

Souji winces at the desperation in his friend’s voice. “I’m fi—“ He swallows against the dryness in this throat, hesitant to say “fine,” because he really, probably isn’t. He hasn’t been fine for days. “I’m alive,” he finally settles on. “I woke up at home but I don’t remember getting here.” There’s no point in lying, and it feels good – if only a little – to admit even the tiniest bit of weakness to someone he knows won’t use it against him.

There is a pause on the other end of the line. “You… ‘woke up’,” Naoto slowly repeats. “How long have you been there?”

“I don’t know. The whole time, I think.”

Naoto sighs and it sounds like a rush of tension being released. “Alright. Alright, it’s worrying that you do not remember, but at least you’re safe.”

There is another pause, a longer one this time, that Souji doesn’t know how to fill. When Naoto finally speaks again, their voice is tiny, quiet, sounding so very young and sad that it damn near wrenches Souji apart.

“…Senpai, you scared me. I knew something must have happened but...”

There’s no one there to see it in the dark, but Souji instinctively hangs his head, shame and guilt lashing at his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

Something that sounds suspiciously like a sniffle comes over the line before Naoto vehemently says, “Don’t apologize. I know what panic can do to the mind, and I suspect you were not in complete control at the time. I just wish I could have helped.”

“You’ve already done more than enough,” he says, because it’s true.

Naoto doesn’t seem to agree. “What I have done is paltry compared to what needed to be done. I try not to make deductions about the Team anymore, but I imagine you require a great deal more support right now than a pack of makeup wipes.”

He doesn’t respond to that. He doesn’t exactly know how he can.

Naoto sighs again, this time sounding more frustrated than relieved. “I… That was invasive of me, I apologize.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, but your patience with me is appreciated anyway.”

They go quiet for a bit, and Souji can hear faint noises in the background – rustling cloth, the creak of leather. He is reminded that it’s early-o-clock on a school day and that Naoto is probably in the middle of getting ready to leave.

“Souji-senpai?” they finally say, soft and cautious. If Souji were to have any other siblings beyond Nanako, he thinks maybe he wouldn’t mind having Naoto as family.

“I’m still here,” he answers, and it feels like a drop of warmth. He thinks he might smile if he wasn’t so drained still.

“Do you… need to talk about it? Whatever it was that happened, I mean.”

He thinks. Yes, in a way he does, if only to let Naoto in the way they deserve to be. It would be nice to get it off his chest, to have someone understand, but at the same time he doesn’t think he can. Telling Naoto – while safe – would also mean reliving the gut-dropping horror of Teddie’s words. Souji has just barely gotten purchase in the real word again, shaky as it is, and he’d rather not have that tentative stability taken away again. So he takes a breath and lets it out slowly through his nose.

“I… probably,” he says, “but I’d rather not think about it anymore.”

Naoto hums. “I understand. Sometimes it’s better that way.”

There is more shuffling. Then, “I’m terrible at this, aren’t I?”

Souji huffs – a quiet laugh that isn’t exactly a laugh but is closer than he usually gets. “I don’t think so,” he assures them. “You’re trying; that’s more than I’m used to.”

He thinks he probably shouldn’t have said that. He can’t bring himself to dwell on it right now.

A low, displeased sound comes through the earpiece, and Souji can vividly picture the stern furrow of Naoto’s brows, their lips pressed into a thin, stony line. Yeah. He really shouldn’t have said that.

Thankfully they seem to let it go (though he’s pretty sure Naoto never lets anything go and is just filing it away for later,) because the next words he hears from them are, “Did you sleep at all?”

“Uhm. A little. I think so, at least.” It certainly wasn’t long or well, but he isn’t going to mention that.

Another low, wordless sound. “Have you eaten?”

Oh.

He thinks back to the way his stomach had purged itself the day before last, how he’d been too dead inside to eat breakfast or even pack lunch yesterday. No wonder his body feels weak and shaky, his skull tight behind his eyes.

He swallows. “I… no. Not since… no.”

“Senpai.”

“I think… I might need to stay home today,” he whispers sheepishly. He feels like a child facing down the disapproving stare of an older sibling – which throws him a little since Naoto is younger than he is. He can’t tell if it’s comforting or just plain unsettling. Maybe a little bit of both.

“Do you want me to tell the others you have food poisoning?”

He startles. “That…” He clears his throat to try and regain himself. He’s surprised by how easily Naoto is able to handle this, how quickly they volunteer to cover for him. He hates that he’s surprised. He thinks Naoto would hate that he’s surprised as well.

“You’d do that?” he whispers, unable to hide the slight tremble of grateful awe.

Naoto’s voice is kind, gentle like warm water on an aching body when they say, “I’ll tell them whatever you need me to, Senpai, and nothing else.”

Souji makes a sound that he’s pretty sure is wet and mildly hysterical. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Senpai. I mean that truly.”

He lets out a long, slow breath, careful not to do so directly into the phone, and lets the feeling of something safe and grateful and happy wash over him; like a place to rest when exhaustion peaks, or the warmth of a fire chasing away cold misery. Or, he thinks with a tiny smile, the glowing, sparkling, champagne-fizzy feeling that a bond sends zinging through his veins whenever its rank has risen.

Comfortable quiet reigns as the rank up run its course.

All too soon though, reality returns and through the phone speaker there comes a clock chime from somewhere in the background. Naoto makes a muffled sound as they apparently take their phone away from their ear for a moment.

“Do I need to let you go?” Souji asks when it seems like Naoto can hear him again.

They sigh. “Possibly. Will you be alright?”

He pauses. Aside from how shitty he feels due to lack of proper sleep and no food for two days, he feels… lighter. The anxiety from before has calmed somewhat now that he no longer has to drag his protesting body to school and face down his friends. “Yeah,” he says, and it’s nice to find that he means it. ���I’ll be alright. I’ll…” he huffs – the faintest hint of a chuckle, “…spend the day recovering, probably.”

Naoto hums again. “Good, do that.” A beat of silence. Then, “Thank you for calling me, Senpai. If you hadn’t I was planning on coming by your house after school.” They make an odd noise that Souji thinks might be an audible expression of discomfort. “I would have done so yesterday, to be honest, had Kashiwagi-sensei not hauled us all off to change for the beauty pageant.”

Oh hell. He’d forgotten about the second pageant. He winces as he realizes just how awful it must have been for his friends – Naoto especially. “I am so sorry,” he says, his voice a rush of breath. “I shouldn’t have run out on you like that; after everything you did for me, I should have stayed to support you—“

But Naoto cuts him off. “Senpai, it’s alright. Panic and the mind, remember? Don’t apologize.” They make the noise of discomfort again, and Souji thinks he can almost hear the way Naoto’s face scrunches up when they deeply dislike something. “Obviously I survived, though it was… unpleasant,” they say, tone flat and unamused. “I won.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yes, I would like very much for that to never happen again to either of us.”

There is a muffled voice on Naoto’s end of the line and Souji hears what might be a hand covering the receiver. Naoto says something in return, though Souji doesn’t catch it. A few seconds pass before Naoto returns. “I’m afraid I have to leave now, Senpai. Would it be alright for me to text you during lunch to check on you?”

Souji feels the edges of his mouth stretching upwards, just slightly. He can’t remember if he’s ever smiled as much as he has in recent months. “If you want to,” he replies. “I’ll be okay, though; I just need to eat something.”

“Please do.” A sigh. “Take care, Senpai.”

“You, too.”

Naoto makes one last short noise of affirmation before the line disconnects and Souji is left to stare down at the call’s time stamp on his dimly glowing screen. 7:38. He’ll be late if he wants to try and make it to school.

He isn’t going to.

Looking up at the room around him he is surprised to find the morning light has started to fill it properly – more gold now than blue or pink. It’s brighter than yesterday, when it was a pale, sickly yellow reflecting the way his body felt like lead and his head like poison. He stretches his arms upwards, grunting as several things pop. Maybe today will be better, he thinks; maybe his mind got its fill of blackness over the past 48 hours and will leave him alone today.

Deciding that a good place to start would be finally acknowledging how empty his stomach is, Souji pulls himself to his feet and braces himself against the back of the couch as the waves of dizziness roll over him. He lets them pass, then pushes off the couch, shaky and weak. He’s glad it sounds like no one else is home – he’d hate to try and explain why he was hugging the wall on his way down the stairs. He steels himself, plants his weight on the balls of his feet as best he can, and slowly starts to make his way down towards the kitchen.

He only pauses once for breath at the bottom of the stairs, taking the opportunity to change his newest friend’s name in his phone from “Shirogane-kun” to “Naoto”. 

He feels along the bond of the Wheel of Fortune arcana and smiles at the newfound strength glowing back at him.

---

Souji expects school the next day to be an awkward affair, and to some degree it is. Thankfully no one outside the IT seemed to really notice his terrified escape two days prior; or, at least, no one outside his friend group says anything. He does, however, catch a few whispers floating around as he passes certain groups of people – whispers that sound suspiciously like they’re about the cross dressing pageant and how “good” he looked on stage, usually from tight clusters of giggling girls or between the odd pair of jittery-looking guys. He does his best not to listen.

The real unease, though, sets in when he slips into his seat in the classroom and Yukiko, Chie, and Yosuke – who is here early for once – all turn to look at him. He tries to give them a reassuring smile but it feels just as forced as it actually is. Yosuke especially seems unconvinced.

Luckily the teacher walks in just as Souji feels the back of his head starting to smoke from how intensely Yosuke is staring, so he’s spared having to face his partner just yet.

Unluckily, this just means that by the time lunch rolls around, Yosuke wastes no time in poking Souji’s shoulder to get him to turn around. Slowly, Souji does so, and fixes his best friend with a shaky half-smile. He’s so tired of his nerves running at full capacity.

“Hey,” he says, a little less steady than he’d like.

Yosuke raises a brow at him. “Hey, yourself. What the hell, man? Why didn’t you text me back?”

Besides them, Yukiko nods in agreement and Chie opens her mouth to join the conversation.

Souji doesn’t wait for her to speak. “Did Naoto tell you what happened?” It’s partially a stalling tactic – something he hates being so good at anymore – and partially to see what they think went down so that he can build a believable story off it. Naoto had messaged him during lunch the day before, as they said they would, and given him a rundown of the excuse they had spun for him, but he doesn’t want to just play off that. Yosuke is too observant for his own good sometimes, and his ego is fragile enough that Souji knows he’ll need to be extra careful when trying to lie his way around his best friend’s suspicion.

It’s Yukiko that answers. “Naoto-kun said you went home because you weren’t feeling well, and that was why you weren’t at school yesterday.” She tilts her head, dark eyes narrowing in concern. “But you disappeared so suddenly! You seemed fine before.”

“Yeah,” Chie exclaims, nodding vigorously. “One minute you were in the classroom with us and the next you were just gone!”

“And tearing down the hallway like the building was on fire. Seriously, bro, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move that fast.” A flicker of worry passes over Yosuke’s face before it settles back into the oddly pinched look he’s been wearing. He stares at Souji with creased brows and a downturned mouth. “And apparently you just left? You didn’t even stay to see the girls! I woulda thought you’d at least wanna cleanse your eyes after seeing Kanji in a dress.”

Souji feels his face turn stony. When Chie makes a noise of offence and smacks Yosuke in the back of the head, Souji makes no move to intercept.

Instead, he chooses to look at Yukiko when he speaks, as though he’s answering questions in turn. “I was fine for a while.” He has enough to work with, he thinks. Maybe. Naoto has laid the groundwork for him to (hopefully) weasel his way out of this without too many roadblocks. He chooses a middle path between lying (he doesn’t like lying to friends now that he has them) and the truth (because no, no, not in a million years, no) and works the half-truths through a set of carefully constructed loopholes. He’s become far too good at loopholes.

He tugs at his own expression until it resembles something sheepish. His nerves help it look more real. “I made the mistake of not eating anything yesterday because I was nervous.” (Not a lie.) “Naoto actually found me in the bathroom… throwing up stomach acid.” (Also not a lie, as long as he doesn’t tell them when Naoto found him in the bathroom.) He looks away and rubs at a spot just behind his ear. He’s aware that it makes him look embarrassed – which is fine – but it also gives him an excuse not to keep eye contact.

Chie and Yukiko both make sounds of distress, talking at him and over each other in their concern and he thinks he may have managed to fool them. He glances at Yosuke and, yeah, no, that’s not convincement looking back at him.

“So you bolted cuz you had to go throw up?” Yosuke asks, his voice thinly tinted with disbelief.

Lay it thicker, maybe I can shock him into buying it.

Souji nods. “I’m sorry I worried you,” he says to all of them, but directly at Yosuke to make sure his partner feels special here. He stifles a grimace at how manipulative he has to be – how much of a coward he knows he’s being. He hates this. “I screwed up and made myself sick. By the time I got home I was in such bad shape that all I could do was lay down and pass out. I didn’t even wake up until yesterday morning.”

Again, it’s not technically a lie, even if he more disassociated than “passed out,” and he doesn’t actually remember anything from his panic attack. He’s aware that when the story gets around to the kohai, Rise will likely blame herself for insisting he participate in the pageant. A tiny peek over at Yukiko and Chie’s faces tells him that they’re feeling a little guilty, too. He hates this. He hates it.

And he especially hates the tiny little piece of him that whispers, “good.”

Trying to swallow the guilt in his own gut, Souji places his hands on his knees and bows low in his seat. It’s the last card he can play without despising himself entirely, and the final touch to what he hopes is a believable enough story.

Chie says something to him that Souji only barely listens to, while Yukiko puts a hand to her mouth and gives him a look like a sad puppy as he slowly sits up. Yosuke, however, seems unsure. His mouth is open slightly like he wants to say something, and he looks torn between worry and confusion.

Deflect. Distract.

Souji puts on a self-depreciating smile. “I’m really sorry, Partner,” (because he knows Yosuke is weak to the nickname), “I left right after Naoto found me. I would have said something but I was afraid I’d have to answer to Kashiwagi if she caught me trying to leave.” He twists his face into something that might be a non-verbal “yikes.”

And that’s what does the trick.

Yosuke’s expression switches to a more exaggerated version of Souji’s own. “Oh god. Smart thinking, man, she probably would’ve made you stay even if you’d throw up on her.” He shudders. “Her in a swimsuit is gonna haunt my nightmares forever.”

Souji actually balks at that. “Swimsuit?” has asks, genuinely aghast as he looks to Chie for confirmation. Oh. Well hell, now he feels even worse for leaving Naoto to their fate the other day.

Chie nods. “Yeah, we had to go up there in swimsuits and dresses and everything. It was humiliating.”

The way Souji’s face contorts in unbridled, empathetic discomfort is completely real and completely involuntary. “I am so sorry.”

Yukiko looks at him, puzzled. “Why? You didn’t sign us up.” She and Chie both shoot Yosuke a look that could curdle blood.

“Oh come on!” Yosuke sputters in response. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

Something tightens in Souji’s chest and, not for the first time, he wishes he had the courage to shut Yosuke’s bullshit down. But he doesn’t, so he doesn’t, and the trickle of self hate from earlier drips just a little bit faster.

Souji bites down hard on the inside of his cheek.

 “At least everything you wore was meant for girls,” Yosuke is saying, holding his hands up as though trying to placate a snarling dog. It seems to be going about as well as expected.

He turns his head to shoot Souji a look that says ‘back me up’ but Souji simply raises an eyebrow at him. He might not be brave enough to tell his best friend off for being a prick, but he also has no desire to get pulled into the hole Yosuke is digging right now.  

Yosuke seems to understand that Souji isn’t going to help him, because his face is distinctly paler when he turns back to the girls and says, “You wanna talk humiliating, us guys had it so much worse in drag!”  

Wrong move.

Yosuke lets out a squawk as the girls rightfully begin to tear into him like feral cats; Chie with her fist and Yukiko with words like daggers. Souji lets it happen.

Silently, he digs out his bento and tries very hard not to be bitter. About the way Yosuke’s words leave a weird hot-stinging sensation in Souji’s chest, about how no one seems inclined to apologize for signing him up for the pageant; just… everything.

He squashes the thoughts back down before they can affect his outward expression. It’s fine, it’s okay, everything is okay; he doesn’t feel childishly irritated over the whole damn situation. He just wants the subject dropped.

“I should go apologize to the others,” he says as he stands. No one seems to really hear him, but Yukiko does spare him a nod as he passes. Chie is too busy digging her knuckles into Yosuke’s scalp to notice him leaving.

He heads out the door, bento in hand, and starts in the direction of the stairwell. He really does plan on apologizing to Kanji and Rise at some point today – and Teddie, too, of course, though Souji stills feels shaky at the thought of talking to him just yet – but for now he really just wants to find Naoto. He hopes they like onigiri; out of all his friends, Naoto is the only one he hasn’t yet had a chance to make lunch for, and food will be a good way to start thanking them properly now that the chaos has mostly died down.

It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Souji finding his own appetite gone for the third time in several days.

---

Lunch with Naoto is a welcome break from the tension of his own classroom. He tries to apologize in person – because it’s more polite than over the phone – but Naoto doesn’t let him. Instead, they wave away his attempt with a light flush on their face and pull down their cap to hide it. It doesn’t quite work. Still, the air between the two of them is surprisingly easy to breathe and Souji feels the last of the jitters drain from his limbs.

They talk a bit. It isn’t for very long, since Souji had spent the first third of the lunch period spinning his not-story for Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke, but the conversation is easier than he’s used to and he realizes with a kind of happy warmth that it’s because he isn’t having to hide. He doesn’t need to keep his voice in check, keep it purposefully low and quiet, so he’s actually able to talk a little more than he usually does and not worry what will happen if he lets his vocal chords do as they want. He’s practiced for years at this point, anyway, so the danger is minimal, but sometimes, sometimes his throat starts to hurt when he tries for a tone just the wrong side of comfortable.

He’s even managed to regain some of his appetite by the time the end of lunch rolls around and together, he and Naoto make a decent-sized dent in the humble bento. (It turns out that, yes, Naoto does in fact like onigiri, and that the seasoned rice with tuna is their unexpected favorite.) Naoto thanks him but he turns the tables and waves their thanks away in a similar fashion to what they’d done with his apology. They part with plans to spend lunch together again before the week is over and Souji finds he’s wearing the same small, genuine smile that only seems to come out because of Naoto.

He’s almost late getting back because he actually runs into Rise on the way to his classroom and takes the opportunity to apologize to her, too. She does start to blame herself, just like he thought she might, but a well placed smile that he knows makes her blush and a few words of reassurance have her giving him a watery smile in return. He makes it back just in the nick of time with one more friendship smoothed over.

The second half of the day is… interesting. Things seem to have gone back to relatively normal between him and Yukiko and Chie. Chie asks him how it went right before the teacher walks in and Souji flashes her a quick thumbs up. She grins.

No, everything is fine with the girls; it’s Yosuke that appears to still have issues. On any other day his best friend would be poking him in the back with the top of a pencil, tapping him in the side with a note he was passing, whispering snarky commentary about something one of their teachers says, but today…

Souji wants to ask just how badly Chie knuckled him, but he thinks that may be the least of the reasons why Yosuke isn’t interacting like he normally does. A lump forms in Souji throat that refuses to go away no matter how many times he tries to swallow it down.

It takes forever but the final bell eventually rings and, nervous as he is about, well, everything anymore, Souji slides around in his seat to give his partner a smile. He tries to make it as real as he can, calling on all the good things he feels about Yosuke and tucking his earlier frustrations away for the time being. As much of an ass as Yosuke can be, he’s still Souji’s best friend, and Souji would very much like that dynamic back now, if possible. He misses normal.

Just as he opens his mouth to ask if Yosuke wants to walk home together, the other boy stands and slings his bag over his shoulder. Yosuke hurries out of the room, only pausing briefly to turn around and walk backwards while flashing Souji a grin that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I gotta get ready for work, I’ll see ya later, Partner!” And then he’s dashing out the door with one last, “I’m glad you’re better, dude!”

It hurts a bit, like a bruise he accidentally smacked that now throbs a dull rhythm. But, he supposes he might deserve it after the scare he gave everybody, and it wouldn’t surprise him if Yosuke were still upset about Souji not letting him know he was alright. He also can’t actually say his partner doesn’t have an after-school shift, so in the end Souji resigns himself to that little spark of pain and vows to text Yosuke later before he goes to bed. Maybe he’ll bring another lunch to share tomorrow. Just to be safe.

He stays and talks to Yukiko and Chie for a few minutes before Yukiko remembers that she has to go help set up for a large business dinner being held at the inn that night. Chie offers to walk with her and Souji bids them both farewell.

The biggest surprise of the day, however, is finding Kanji waiting by his shoe locker, looking more than a little trepidatious.

At first Souji thinks it’s about his disappearing act the other day; after all, Kanji is the only schoolmate he still owes an apology to. (Teddie is, again, a different matter altogether.) So Souji puts on the appropriate facial expression and readies himself to repeat the story one more time.

“Kanji, hi,” he says, nodding when his friend looks up at his approach.

Kanji stands up straighter from where he’s been leaning against he side of the lockers, but he keeps his arms across his chest like a shield. “H-hey, Senpai.” He looks away and doesn’t say anything more.

Taking that as his cue to start, Souji politely tilts his head and puts on the familiar sheepish expression. “I should apologize—“

“You busy right now?”

Souji blinks stupidly. He closes his mouth with a quiet ‘click’ and takes a second to recover from being cut off and thrown wildly off-balance.

Kanji flushes. “Sorry, Senpai, I just…” He clears his throat and looks back up, shoulders squaring. “I gotta talk to somebody about somethin’ and you’re kinda the only person I trust with it.”

Souji’s eyes go impossibly wider. He feels his brows somewhere up near his hairline and absently wonders where his perfect control over his own face went. “I…” he starts, still not entirely reoriented. He quickly switches gears and tries to tuck the confusion away to make room for Friend Mode. “O…kay?”

Well. It’s something. He clears his throat and stars again, the smallest of frowns creeping along his mouth. “Is everything alright? You know I’ll help in any way I can.”

Kanji gives him nothing but a stiff nod and poorly concealed nerves.

Souji keeps a tight leash on his expression. “Okay, well, let me get my shoes and we can walk together?” he tries. He not sure if he should be anxious or not but whatever Kanji needs him for, Souji knows that he’ll at least feel more at ease somewhere further away from school.

“Oh!” Kanji startles a little and steps far enough back that Souji can get to his locker. “Right. Sorry.”

Five minutes later sees them passing through the school gates, side by side in silence.

Without a clear destination, Souji simply steers them towards the floodplain. If the little seating area is free then that’s where he plans to take them; it’s a familiar enough place that he feels comfortable talking there, but also has plenty of open air so he can make a hasty – but polite – escape should he need to. He doesn’t like that his first reactions to half his friends these days have been self-debates on whether or not he can outrun them.

Kanji keeps fidgeting as they walk, like his fingers are tracing out knitting patterns to keep his mind busy. Souji doesn’t know if he’s ever seen Kanji so jittery when Naoto wasn’t nearby for his friend to sweat over. Their mutual crush is adorable in how obvious it is to everyone but them and Souji hopes one of them will make a move some day. They would make a good couple.

Matchmaking aside, Souji wonders if maybe he should try his apology once more – if only to break the cacophonous silence. He’s had more than enough silence from his own parents, thanks; he doesn’t like it from his friends.

The thought cuts a deep path through Souji’s chest and he grinds his teeth against it, though the pain is an old one and he’s long since grown accustomed to it. It’s been a while since his mind has turned to that particular dark corner.

(He tramples another thought before it can fully form – one that seems hell-bent on comparing certain old hurts with the newer ache of Yosuke apparently avoiding him.)

“I owe you an apology,” he says suddenly, his voice a bit too loud in his own ears. He turns his head to catch Kanji twitching like he’s been startled before looking over at Souji in confusion.

“Huh? What for?”

Souji keeps his features carefully schooled. “For what happened after the pageant. Running off and not telling anyone where I went.” He tilts his head and does not frown. “Freaking everyone out?”

“Oh, that.” Kanji rubs at the back of his neck. “I appreciate it, but you don’t gotta apologize to me, Senpai. Naoto and Rise both already filled me in.” He pauses to give Souji a long, appraising look. “How’re ya feelin’, by the way?”

That catches Souji off guard. It seems Kanji is just exceptionally good at that today. “I’m alright,” he says honestly. Once more, he avoids the word “fine” because that, to him, would imply more than just physical alright-ness and he just… doesn’t want to think about that anymore.

Kanji seems satisfied with his answer and turns back to watching the world in front of them. “Can’t say I wasn’t worried, ‘specially after seeing you bookin’ it down the hallway like that, but I figured you’d let someone know eventually.” He shrugs. “And if you didn’t me an’ Naoto were gonna go check out your house after school today.”

Souji actually chuckles at that, breath stuttering past his lips to form the sound. “So they told me.” He lets one corner of his mouth tug upward as he catches Kanji’s eye again. “Thank you. And I am sorry.”

Kanji flushes and looks away. “Nah, ‘s nothing.”

The rest of the walk is significantly less tense after that.

Subsequently, it’s also shorter than it had seemed a few minutes ago. They arrive not long after and Souji takes it upon himself to sit down and fold his hands over the tabletop, leaving Kanji to lean his hip against the opposite corner.

Well, here goes.

“Alright,” he says, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “What can I do to help?”

Kanji snorts, but it’s neither derogatory nor mirthful. He doesn’t look at Souji as he crosses his arms back over his chest. “Ain’t really somethin’ I need help with so much as I just need to... get it off my chest, ya know?” He frees one hand and makes a sharp, vague gesture near where his heart is. “I can’t keep it in anymore; I gotta tell somebody or I’m gonna go crazy and… well, I figured you’re the safest bet...”

Souji’s expression melts into something soft, warm, amiable. “Well thank you,” he says, genuinely a little touched, only for Kanji’s entire face to go cinnamon-red.

Kanji makes a noise of frustration, scrubbing furiously at his hair to hide his burning cheeks before just giving up and turning so that Souji is now staring at his back. “Damnit, that wasn’t—! UG.” He takes a moment to gather himself; Souji gives it to him. Eventually Kanji lets out a heavy breath and straightens up once more. He makes no move to turn around.

“Look, Senpai, you… You’ve always accepted me, yeah? You never treated me like I was some kinda delinquent or, or whatever Yosuke-senpai fuckin’ thinks I am—“

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Souji says, low and dark and steely. He feels the bitterness and self-dislike bubbling up from their deep-seated pools. Kanji is a good person – rough around the edges, yes, but still just a kid like the rest of them and a genuinely kind one at that. Souji hates how afraid he’s been of jeopardizing Yosuke’s opinion of him, of how he’s been too much of a coward to stand up for his younger friend and make Yosuke apologize for his homophobia. A team is only as good as its leader and Souji must really be a poor leader if he can’t even stop his own lieutenant from being a jerk.

It’s not just that you’re afraid of losing him as a friend, his mind whispers. You’re afraid of him finding out.

Souji glues his tongue to the roof of his mouth and clamps down on the horrible way his chest constricts.

Luckily Kanji is still facing away from him. “Y-yeah,” he agrees, oblivious to his senpai’s internal self-disgust. “Yeah, you’re cool like that. An’ that’s why you’re kinda my best bud.”

Oh, now that just makes Souji feel even worse. He’d forgotten that Kanji had told him that once, back when Naoto had first officially joined the IT, and hearing it again now is like a fist to the spine. He’s failed Kanji, he really has, he—

“And I mean! I know you an’ Yosuke-senpai are ‘partners’ or whatever, but I just… I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is that I trust you, Senpai.” Kanji sighs, the line of tension in his shoulders giving way. He tucks his hands into his pants pockets and stares at something out over the grey-sapphire shimmer of the river below.

Souji swallows. “Kanji…”

He doesn’t know what to say. What can he say, besides another useless “sorry”?

But Kanji just shakes his head and leans his weight back on his heels. He looks up at the sky, or maybe just lolls his head back in resignation, like a man coming to terms with the thousand-foot-drop that awaits him.

Souji knows the feeling.

“I think,” he says – and it’s so quiet that Souji has to lean forward to try and hear him better. There is a pause as Kanji takes a deep, long breath and lets it out.

“I think I might be bi.”

Souji is floored. Of all the possible things that Kanji could have just said to him, Souji was very much NOT excepting that to be one of them. It comes so far out of left field that it actually shocks all of Souji’s dark and guilty thoughts into absolute silence.

The quiet rings out between them, stretching into an impossibly long handful of seconds. Souji needs to respond, he knows he needs to, can see the way Kanji’s shoulders have started to tighten and hunch, but for the first time in forever Souji’s mind is empty and he cannot remember how to form words with his tongue.

So he just blinks like an owl and breathes out a soft, “…Oh.” Because really, how else can he react?

Something about how he says it has Kanji tentatively turning halfway around to look at him. Kanji’s face is guarded, like he’s ready at any moment to throw up his bravado, his shields, and the vulnerability it exposes is enough to finally, finally snap Souji back into action.

A warm smile spreads over Souji’s features, hardly even bidden, and he leans back to sit more naturally upright. He lets the smile crinkle at the corners of his eyes. “Thank you for telling me, Kanji.” He keeps his voice light, calm, kind; he is completely honest when he glances away and says, “I know how hard it must have been to say it out loud.”

Kanji’s eyes widen in realization. “Senpai… You, too?”

Souji makes a sound somewhere between a cough and a wispy bark of laughter. It’s stifled, but his shoulders jerk with the veiled force of the noise and he matches Kanji’s gaze with a tired, understanding one of his own. “Not bi, no,” he says pointedly, cocking an eyebrow and hoping it’s visible beneath his hair.

Kanji lets out a shaky breath. “Oh,” he echoes. He slides down onto the bench across from Souji, almost like he’s a block of ice melting in the sudden sunlight. “So you’re…?”

“Yeah.”

They sit in companionable silence for a minute, each processing the conversation so far.

After a few beats, Souji tilts his head curiously and asks, “What made you want to tell me?”

Oh, that…

Souji immediately dislikes how that sounded and his face twists minutely at the sour taste the words leave on his tongue. He hastily adds, “I’m honored that you did, don’t get me wrong, but—“

“Why’d I pick now?”

Souji sucks part of his lip between his teeth and nods.

Kanji sighs and leans back on the bench – which looks horribly uncomfortable, considering there’s nothing for his back to rest against. He re-crosses his arms and looks up at a passing cloud. “I started figuring it out a while ago and it’s been buggin’ me ever since. Like, it’s too big a secret to keep by myself, ya know?”

Souji does know. Oh god does he know.

He nods again, even though Kanji can’t see it properly while looking elsewhere. Kanji seems to catch it, though, because he keeps going.

“And after all that shit with my shadow, I just… I dunno. I’m sick of tryin’a hide from myself, so I thought, hey, this is a thing about me, might as well accept it.” He pauses and shifts awkwardly, clearly trying to consider his next words. His eyes flick over to Souji once or twice but he quickly averts them again right after.

Souji waits. He refuses to make this any more difficult for his friend than it already is.

He has a hard time keeping the surprise from his face, though, when Kanji mutters, “Weirdest part is, I knew but it didn’t really hit me until the stupid pageant.”

“The pageant?” Souji blurts. “How?!” Everything in his head scrambles a little, and there is a moment where he’s just gaping at Kanji like a fish with his mouth trying to form shapes and failing miserably.

He not sure how two people could have such wildly different reactions to that living nightmare of a day.

Kanji actually laughs at his outburst – a bit awkwardly, but still a laugh. “Yeah, the whole thing sucked ass, didn’t it?” He scratches at this cheek. “Kinda liked my dress, though…”

“It looked good on you,” Souji mumbles, still not fully recovered.

Kanji flushes and glances away. “Thanks, Senpai. You uh, you looked good, t—“ He trails off as he looks back over at Souji, eyes widening and brows furrowing.

Souji’s making a face; he knows he is, there’s no way he isn’t when there’s a layer of frost creeping its freezing fingers over his heart. He can feel the stretch of his lips over his teeth in a twisting grimace that’s well beyond his own control. Don’t think about it, please don’t think about it...

Kanji coughs into his fist. “Uh, I mean, you always look good, Senpai.” His expression does something funny, like he’s just realized what he’d said, and he apparently just gives up trying to salvage it. Instead, he props his elbows up on the table and drops his face into his hands. “Fuuuuuuuuck! See? That’s my problem! Naoto always looks good and you always look good, and I can’t catch a break!” He ‘thunks’ his forehead down onto the hard wooden tabletop. Souji hopes he hasn’t hurt himself.

 Kanji’s voice is muffled when he says, “That ain’t a confession, I swear, I just think you’re handsome, same as everybody else does.”

Oh.

OH!

Souji’s expression does a 180 and he can feel himself beaming. He’d been scared; after what Teddie had said, Souji had been expecting Kanji to say something similar, to say his bisexual realization had come about because of Souji in costume. (He suppresses a shudder at that.) But no. Kanji had called him “handsome” instead, which meant – awkward friendly attraction aside – Kanji had found him attractive as a guy. Not because he’d been dressed as something he wasn’t, Kanji had seen him at face value: a guy in a costume.

If he wasn’t so certain that Naoto would pistol whip him, Souji thinks he could dive across the table towards Kanji right now and kiss him.

He reins it in and settles for chuckling instead. “I’m flattered.” And he really kind of is. His eyes are fond as he adds, “I’m proud of you, too.”

Kanji sits back up again and flashes Souji a sheepish – albeit heavily relieved – grin. “You’re somethin’ else, ya know that, Senpai?”

Souji just beams brighter and gives him a noncommittal shrug.

Kanji exhales, the remaining tension bleeding out into the dirt below their feet. “Damn. It feels good to let all that out.” He laughs again, the sound light and relaxed. “I was gonna tell my ma first, but I think she already knows.”

Souji nods. His mouth turns imperceptibly downward and he says, with just a touch of chill, “A good mother usually does.” He tightens his face against the way it wants to crumple, and if there is a new ball of bitter thorns in his stomach then he chooses to leave it be.

Kanji thankfully doesn’t notice the way Souji’s expression has turned plastic. “Yeah,” he agrees, “and she’s said stuff before about ‘bringing a girl or a boy over for dinner’. I thought she was talkin’ about friends at the time but now I’m not so sure.”

He matches Souji’s gaze right as Souji manages to school his face back into something more natural. “I’m real glad I told you first, though.”

Warmth settles in on top of the thorny clot of pain and soothes the worst of the jagged edges. It’s still there – has been for years – but it’s easier to manage than it was a minute ago. Souji huffs through his nose, his quiet little not-laugh, and looks down at the table. Maybe he’s being selfish, but it makes him feel special in a way he thinks might be just what he’s needed.

“Me, too,” he says, and relishes in the feeling of fizzing, giddy brightness as the Emperor arcana jumps up another rank.

---

Souji goes home in a better mood than he ever expected to be. He makes dinner, watches TV with Nanako, manages to get a head start on the schoolwork he’d missed the day before. The only damper on his happiness is the fact that, despite Souji texting him several times throughout the evening, Yosuke has yet to answer back.

The sting from that afternoon returns and Souji is left frowning at his phone screen as he lies on his futon before sleeping. It’s… fine, he tells himself. I deserve this for scaring him like that. I’m overreacting.

He sets the phone aside and turns over, determined not to let it get to him. He’s asleep in minutes – well before midnight – and so doesn’t notice when the sky starts to open and drizzle gentle rain over top the resting world.

He doesn’t even stir when the clock strikes twelve and his television crackles to white-static life, a faceless monochrome figure peering out into his room with lightning-colored eyes.

[backtodc]

Shinichi was guiding Conan through some times tables when Ran walked up from the office and announced that a new social worker was here to see him.

(Or, wow this one got long so I’m readmoring it)

“Yeah, I’m suspicious too,” Shinichi said, following Conan down the stairs while the kid schooled his expression into one of careful shyness. There’d been a few social workers when Conan first cropped up, but it was an open secret that Japan’s social work system was horrifically understaffed and overworked. The fact that nobody could get a goddamn word out of Conan on the issue of potential family and the fact that neither paperwork nor a matching missings person case existed anywhere for the kid was clearly bothering them, but the social worker who’d interviewed Conan before had decided that it was better to leave the kid in a home where he seemed comfortable, where he had a stable source of affection in Ran, and which apparently, somehow, met the financial requirements, rather than cramming him into an already-overstuffed children’s home. Ran’s success in hiding or destroying all of her father’s beer, cigarettes and racing tickets kept any major red flags from bothering the social worker, who Shinichi had overheard telling Ran that she felt it best to adopt a “wait and see” approach to finding out anything about Conan.

That suddenly there was a new social worker to spare for the case was inherently suspicious, as was the fact that she’d arrived alone instead of being introduced or at least announced by the previous case worker. The plump, kindly-faced middle-aged woman who greeted them didn’t immediately set off any warning signals, which Shinichi was paranoid enough to see as a warning signal. Asking to speak to Conan alone wasn’t necessarily an odd move for a social worker, since they usually wanted to interview children in a context where the adults around them couldn’t influence their responses, but Shinichi was already on edge enough to...

...do nothing. Whoever this woman was, whatever she was going to do, all Shinichi could do was watch and hope he could warn Conan in time for the kid to scream loud enough for Ran to hear him upstairs. 

“You can call me Fumiyo,” the woman said, smiling at Conan, who resolutely avoided eye contact or in any way acknowledging that she was speaking to him. One advantage the kid had in being six was that this was a completely legitimate way for him to avoid talking to people he didn’t want to talk to. Kids who were traumatized or afraid or just that shy could just not talk and that was just fine for most people, if exasperating. “I’m just trying to get familiar with your case, Conan. So, you came home with Ran-san after meeting her here in Beika, right?”

Conan didn’t look up or speak. 

“You met her in a house belonging to the Kudo family, I understand,” Fumiyo said, checking some paperwork. “What were you doing there, Conan?”

“Be ready to run and scream,” Shinichi advised. “Those aren’t your case notes, they look like printouts of some kind of murder mystery story. She’s just looking at them for effect.” Conan didn’t look up or speak, but continued staring at where he was dragging his fingers in random circles on his knee, briefly tracing out hai. He tensed when Fumiyo got up and knelt down next to Conan’s chair.

“You see, Conan, the same day Ran met you, the boy living in that house went missing,” she said quietly. “We think you might know a little something about that. Won’t you tell me?”

“We who?” Shinichi snapped. “Yell and run!”

Conan jumped for the coffee table, taking a deep breath to scream for Ran, but Fumiyo moved astonishingly quickly for such a rotund woman, yanking him back and putting a hand over his mouth.

“I’m not going to hurt you!” she said quickly, her voice suddenly sounding different. “Please, I just want to know if you saw--”

Conan responded to the sudden grab with a kick to the stomach that seemed oddly ineffective, then using his still-free hands to claw not at Fumiyo’s hands but at her face, going for the eyes to try and prompt Fumiyo to drop him to protect herself. He froze when a strip of her plump cheek peeled bloodlessly away from her face, revealing a completely different cheek underneath. 

“Oh!” Fumiyo gasped, slapping a hand up to her cheek. Conan was free, but he didn’t run or scream, just staring at the woman with pale terror.

“Please,” the boy whispered, “don’t kill Ran-neechan or Ojisan. I-I didn’t tell them anything...”

“What? No, no, I’m not here to kill anybody!” Fumiyo said frantically. This time, Shinichi recognized her voice--and the writing style of the murder mystery prose she’d been using as fake paperwork. And who would bring random printouts of her husband’s novels to use as fake paperwork for effect.

“She’s not,” Shinichi said, keeping close behind her so Conan would keep looking in the right direction. “She’s my mother.”

“You’re... Shinichi-niichan’s mother...?” Conan said, staring in confusion at “Fumiyo”. 

“Yes, I am,” she said, pulling aside the remains of the mask, though she left the black wig in place. “You’ve met Shinichi? I need to know, Conan. He’s still missing, and even Yuusaku can’t find him. When did you meet Shinichi? Did you meet him the day you met Ran-chan?”

He was missing.

Shinichi hadn’t left a corpse. He’d left clothes, stained with blood and grease from when his goddamn body evaporated while he was still living in it, clothes that had been blown away by the winds preceding that evening’s rainstorm that had probably served to destroy any remaining DNA evidence. His jacket, due to the weight of his wallet, had been found, but not most of the rest. Kudo Shinichi had lost his jacket, and then, when Kudo Shinichi failed to answer any calls for the rest of the day, didn’t show up to school the next day, and somebody noticed some dark spots on the jacket’s collar, Kudo Shinichi was missing. 

He’d known that much. He’d seen Ran giving statements to Megure-keibu. Somehow, he’d never even considered that his parents would know. Obviously, Megure-keibu or somebody would have to call them to see if they’d heard from Shinichi, but it was so rare that they were around anyway that he hadn’t given them a second thought. 

And what was he supposed to tell them now, through Conan? What would they believe? 

Not this. His father could probably be led to uncovering Shinichi’s murder, but there was no way he’d listen to a ghost.

“Don’t tell her I’m here,” he said quickly. Conan was staring at Yukiko, clearly completely unable to figure out what to do. “Tell her... tell her you... god dammit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “No. You didn’t see me. You... you got into the house the way we got in. Remember? You hid in the house. It was empty. They’ll know it shouldn’t have been empty. That’s where Ran found you.”

“I didn’t see him,” Conan whispered shakily. “It was raining. I wanted to get out. I saw Agasa-Hakase blow up his wall, ‘cept I didn’t know his name. When he went inside I decided to go hide in his garden ‘cause he had all the bushes I could hide under, but then I found a tunnel, an’ it went into the garden, and the house was all empty, so, so I...”

“He wasn’t there? You didn’t see him that day?” Yukiko said, slumping. “Then Ran-chan was the last one to see him...” She smoothed Conan’s hair. “I’m sorry I scared you, Conan-kun. I just want to find my son, very much. I’m sure your mother wants to find you, too. Why were you out there all alone?” She tilted her head with a playful little smirk that always, in Shinichi’s experience, meant trouble. “What’s your real name? Come on, Edogawa Conan? Were you in the library when you made that up?”

Conan backed away, shaking his head. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t see Shinichi-niichan. Where I was before doesn’t have anything to do with him. Please don’t ask. Please let me stay safe here.”

“Okay,” Yukiko said softly. “But if you see anything, please...” she took one of the papers out of her bag, tore off a blank strip from the top of one page and scribbled a phone number on it. “If you hear from Shinichi, please call us, okay? And if you want help with... whatever it is you’re so scared of...” She smoothed Conan’s hair again. “...Well, my husband’s got a lot of contacts in Interpol. We could help you, get you further away if you want. You just have to ask, okay?”

“Okay,” Conan said, tucking the slip into his pocket. “Sorry about your face...”

Yukiko tucked the remains of the mask and all of her fake paperwork into her bag. “I’ll just slip out now,” she said with a wink. “I asked Ran-chan and Kogoro-kun to stay upstairs until further notice, for privacy reasons. You go up and tell them to come out after I’m gone, okay?”

“Okay,” Conan said with a nod. 

Yukiko smiled. “You’re a smart boy, Conan-kun,” she said with a wink. “A lot like Shinichi was at your age. Don’t lose that phone number!” She smoothed her skirt, peered carefully out of the door to make sure that neither Ran nor Kogoro was peeping down the stairs, and left swiftly and quietly.

Conan sat down, breathing shakily. “You’re okay,” Shinichi promised him. “You did great. Slow, deep breaths.”

“She doesn’t believe in ghosts?” Conan asked, wrapping his arms around his knees and starting to breathe slowly.

“She... maybe would, but Tou-san wouldn’t buy it, and they’d just fight about it,” Shinichi said, shaking his head. “Hey, Conan? You froze up when you saw she was wearing a mask, then asked her not to kill Ran and Otchan. Who... who did you think she was?”

“I... I thought...” Conan looked up, then down and away. “But she wasn’t. So it’s fine. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

The worst thing about Conan being six was that if he didn’t want to talk, he could just clam up, and there was nothing Shinichi could do about it.

[individuationfic]

Seeking to Seize Chapter 7

AO3

Throughout the last day of exams, Yu can feel Chie’s anxiety washing over him like it’s his own. He can’t really blame her, though; today is the day she’s supposed to receive Yukiko’s response to her confession.

As soon as the test papers are collected the class erupts into motion. Students begin murmuring to each other, and Chie turns to him and says, “What did you get for number thirty?”

Yu finger spells ‘Olympus Mons.’ She swears. Giving her a sympathetic smile, he turns around in his seat so he’s facing Yosuke and Yukiko and points to the ceiling. Everyone nods.

Yu starts the meeting by once again recapping his encounter with Margaret. It’s a slow retelling for Chie’s sake, and when he finishes, both she and Yukiko look appropriately concerned. “Do you think Elizabeth is dangerous?” Chie asks.

He wishes he had an answer. He can see what looks like fear in his team’s eyes, and he should be able to assuage it. Any good leader could. But all he can do is sign, ‘I don’t know.”

Chie’s face falls, looking significantly more worried than she already did. Thankfully, Yu remembers  her text and signs, ‘You said something weird happened at Aiya’s right?’

“Oh, yeah!” Chie explains how Tomoe was able to be in temporary control of her body. “I will still able to see and feel everything, but Tomoe was the one moving around and speaking. It should’ve been scary, except I knew I could take control back whenever I wanted.”

Could you do that? Yu asks Izanagi.

Any of your Personae could. Though I recommend only allowing the humanoids to take over.

Yu pictures Slime using his body to shamble around and shudders. Good idea.

Next to him, he sees Yosuke hang his head. “What’s the point if Jiraya can’t get me a better grade on exams?”

Across from them, the girls sigh. “What’s our next move?” Yukiko asks.

Yu signs, ‘We keep an eye on the Midnight Channel and we keep our guard up around Shiomi-senpai, Yuki-senpai, and Elizabeth. No one goes into the TV alone.’ He pauses to make sure everyone understands before he continues. ‘Yukiko especially. We know she doesn’t know who the killer is, but the killer might not. They might try to finish what they started.’

Unsurprisingly, Chie’s eyes go hard. “That’s not happening,” she says, and the way both Yosuke’s and Yukiko’s eyes go wide make Yu think it’s more of a growl than any human form of communication. “I’ll kill the bastard myself if they try to touch Yukiko again.”

“We won’t let it come to that,” says Yukiko, placing a comforting hand on Chie’s shoulder.

“Yeah!” Yosuke, as always, is a shining beacon of optimism. “We saved Yukiko and we barely knew what we were doing! We’ll keep getting better and better until we can kick the killer’s ass and put them in jail!”

While Yu is grateful for Yukiko and Yosuke’s confidence, he’s worried about it turning into a dangerous brand of cockiness. So he signs, ‘Just to be safe, I’d like someone to walk Yukiko to and from school, at least from the bus stop.’ An offended look crosses Yukiko’s face and he rushes to amend, ‘I don’t want anyone going anywhere alone, but you’re at more of a risk because the killer has already targeted you.’

It takes a moment for all this information to be conveyed, as Yosuke and Yukiko ask for clarification on some signs and translate for Chie. Remind me to give Chie some extra help with JSL, he tells Izanagi (and the rest of his Personae, but he trusts izanagi more than Pixie or Slime). Yosuke and Yukiko can’t translate for me in battle without putting themselves in danger.

When she’s caught up, Chie says, “I can walk Yukiko to the bus stop.” Then she turns red and adds, “If you’re okay with that, I mean.”

Yukiko, whose hand has not moved, squeezes Chie’s shoulder. “I’d like that.”

Yukiko waits until the crowd of schoolmates walking near them thins out before slipping her hand into Chie’s. Chie goes still and flushes the same shade as Yukiko’s sweater. “Huh?!”

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Yukiko says, “I’m not sure how I feel about you. You’re one of the most important people in my life, but I’m so used to thinking of it as platonic that it was hard to think about you romantically.”

Chie visibly wilts and tries to extract her hand from Yukiko’s grip. “Oh, I see—”

Yukiko simply tightens her hand around Chie’s and plants her feet to keep her from moving. They’re in a pretty secluded part of town now, so she takes her other hand, too, and faces her. “Ever since you confessed to me, I can’t think straight. I lie awake thinking of you at night, and my heart skips a beat when I see you. So even though I’m not quite sure about my feelings…” She trails off and squeezes Chie’s hands, and the sheer hope and disbelief shining out of her best friend’s face makes her breath catch. “Even though I’m not quite sure, I know I’m willing to try to give you what you need, because I just might need it, too.”

Chie’s eyes are wet, and judging by the growing pressure behind her own, Yukiko’s are, too. “Thank you,” Chie says, voice soft and sincere and lovestruck. She squeezes Yukiko’s hands and Yukiko has never felt so safe, physically or emotionally. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to sit and talk for a while before you take me to the bus stop?”

“That sounds nice.” Then Chie startles, drops one of Yukiko’s hand, and pulls her phone from her school bag. “Oh, crap, I gotta text Yu!” Her free thumb moves furiously across the buttons on her phone as she types out her message.

“Yu-kun? Why?”

Chie flushes. “He’s the one who encouraged me to confess. He figured me out pretty quick.”

“Oh,” Yukiko says, realization dawning. “Is he…?”

“He hasn’t come out and said it, but I think so.” Chie flips her phone shut and puts it back in her bag. “Let’s go find somewhere to sit down.”

Yukiko’s heart feel full and she lets Chie tug her to a nice patch of grassy ground. Nothing sounds better than a peaceful moment alone with her new girlfriend.

Yosuke and Yu wait for the camera crew to clear out before they leave school. Yosuke’s almost certain they’re here to report on that first year biker, judging by the angry yelling he can hear from the roof, and the last thing his already unpopular reputation needs is for him to be associated with a biker gang. To fill the time, Yosuke signs, ‘Were you born deaf?’

As soon as the question is asked, Yosuke realizes it might be considered rude and tries to backpedal.  Yu’s already answering, though. ‘No. When I was five, I got—’ here, he uses a sign Yosuke doesn’t recognize, ‘—and I went deaf because of it.’

‘What did that sign mean?’

‘Oh.’ For the first time since he’s met him, Yu actually looks a little flustered. ‘It’s one I made up. It means meningitis.’ After finger spelling the word, Yu repeats his made-up sign to help Yosuke associate the two. ‘My brain swelled up and by the time my parents caught it, it was too late. The doctors couldn’t save my hearing.’

‘That must have been hard on you,’ Yosuke signs.

Yu shrugs. ‘Not really. I’ve spent more of my life deaf than I did hearing, and since I became deaf early in my education, I didn’t have to adapt too much.’

Sure, he says that, but Yosuke doesn’t really believe it. He can’t imagine someone being wholly unaffected by losing one of their senses, especially at such a young age. Yu must see this and cracks a wry smile. ‘Not every disability comes with a tragic backstory.’ His phone buzzes with a text and, after reading it, Yu smiles.

That smile bothers Yosuke for a reason he doesn’t quite understand. His chest goes tight and he clenches his fists and he wonders who texted Yu. Who made him smile like that?

He’s still so busy pondering this strange feeling the next day that he completely misses Chie and Yukiko entering the classroom hand-in-hand.

Is that the biker kid from Yasogami? Yu asks his uncle at dinner. The TV in the living room doesn’t have subtitles so Yu has to do a lot of guesswork if he’s by himself. Luckily, his uncle is home for once, so he might actually get answers.

His uncle reads his question, glances at the bleach-blond boy on the screen, and nods. “Tatsumi Kanji. His family owns a textile shop here in town.” Then he frowns. “Try not to get involved with him, alright? Your mom would kill me if you joined a biker gang on my watch.”

Something deep in Yu’s gut tells him he’s going to get involved.

[treya-barton]

102 “Promise me you’ll come back.” ^^

The investigation team had stumbled upon a strange dungeonin the shadow world and after much deliberation decided to check it out.  Yosuke hadn’t been too keen on the idea – thedungeon looked like a dark cave and wasn’t tied to anyone that they knew of –and neither had Rise.  She couldn’t senseanything in there and that bothered her. Chie insisted that meant there wasn’t anything in there and was curiousand wanted to check it out, while Naoto was similarly interested from an investigativestandpoint; they still didn’t know who the culprit was, so she deduced theyshould thoroughly investigate any lead. Teddie was also surprisingly wary, for he hadn’t ever sensed the placebefore and to him it didn’t smell like the rest of his home.  But he didn’t sense anything harmful eitherso he wasn’t against the idea.  Yukikoand Kanji were pretty indifferent and didn’t care either way.

That left it up to Yu, who studied the cave carefully whilelistening to everyone’s opinion before deciding Naoto had a point and it wouldbe better to investigate and cross off the place as a possible lead.  Yosuke felt his stomach drop upon hisannouncement, for his gut instinct was telling him there just was somethingwrong about that cave.  Rise also lookedpretty uneasy and stepped closer to Yu as they headed inside.  “Be careful everyone – just because I can’tsense anything doesn’t mean it’s safe in here,” Rise cautioned, her voicewavering instead of confident like usual.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Chie said, confident inher place.  “Hopefully this will give ussome sort of clue!  We haven’t hadanything good in awhile!”  She seemedexcited, which amused Yukiko as she strolled beside her best friend.  “Besides, you know that we wouldn’t letanything happen to you!”

“Yes, Chie would karate chop away any shadows that tried toattack you,” Yukiko giggled, and Chie looked like she was torn on whether totake that as a compliment or if Yukiko was teasing her.

“Yeah, like Yukiko said!” she replied, deciding to take itin stride.

Yosuke was walking silently next to Yu in the lead and hadhis arms crossed.  He looked tense andinstead of joining in on the banter like he usually did, he was vigilantinstead.  That bothered Yu, for heusually took Yosuke’s advice to heart and he didn’t like that his decision hadobviously upset his friend.  Yosuke hadn’tquestioned it once he made it though, and Yu was pretty certain his partner andsecond in command would had voiced his concern if he had been reallyupset.  Still, the silence and the factRise still seemed so uncomfortable as well did not sit easy with him.

Behind him, Kanji was describing everything around him whileNaoto was using his observations to jot down notes.  It was pretty dark in there and she had toused her phone as a light to see by.  Thatin itself was odd, for usually the dungeons had some sort of lighting for themto go by, unless it was a trick floor and the lights went out.  Naoto liked Kanji’s instincts and how hesometimes picked up on things the others didn’t, so she often used him whenmaking observations and gathering evidence as a tool.  They made a good team that way.  

Teddie had fallen toward the back and also seemed abnormallyquiet.  He was walking slower and wouldstop occasionally to sniff or test the air. Yu stopped the group once he realized how much farther behind the bearwas and asked, “Hey Teddie, what’s up?”

Teddie didn’t seem to hear him or was too focused on what hewas doing to respond.  Yosuke spoke up nextupon realizing that Teddie was distracted. “Ted!” he shouted, startling Yu and finally getting Teddie to turn.  “What’s holding you up, you dumb bear?”

“Sensei, I think we should leave,” Teddie replied, his voicesounding nervous.  “I smell somethingbeary bad and I don’t like it…”

Rise stepped closer to Yu again, lightly grabbing hold ofhis uniform jacket, while Chie and Yukiko also huddled closer together.  Kanji stood a little closer to Naoto in aprotective stance as well while she looked around as if trying to see what hadTeddie so concerned.  “What do you mean?”Yu asked.

“I can’t smell the shadow world anymore,” Teddie confessed.  “I’ve been sniffing and sniffing but it’sbeen no good.  I think my nose is broken again…”  He looked very distraught, but next to Yu henoted that Rise had stiffened.  Yosukewas also abnormally still and wasn’t tapping his foot or shifting impatiently likehe usually did when they stopped.

“What’s up?” Yu asked, turning to look at Rise.

“Teddie’s right.  Ican’t sense the shadow world anymore,” Rise said softly.  “It’s like it’s…”

“Gone?” a voice asked, sending shivers up everyone’s spine.  “I was wondering how long it would take youto notice.”

The whole group drew closer together, gripping their weaponsand looking around for any signs of the speaker.  The voice began laughing, the same distortedlaugh that their shadows usually made when they spoke.  Like it was someone’s voice yet not theirvoice.  “Who are you?  What do you want?” Chie asked nervously.  Yukiko held onto her jacket for comfort andpressed closer when she noticed how scared Chie actually was.

“You should have listened to your friends when they warnedyou not to come,” the voice continued, ignoring her.  “Now one of you will have to pay for it.”

“Where is this place?” Naoto asked cautiously, noting thatthe voice had simply ignored Chie.

“This place is nowhere,” the voice answered.  It appeared to only respond to questions itliked.  “There is no exit.  You will wander aimlessly unless you agree tomy terms.”

Everyone tensed, before looking around them.  Sure enough, it did appear pretty empty.  When they had first walked in, they hadthought it was a cave but now they realized there were no walls that they couldsee from the light of their phones.  Risecouldn’t sense anything in there either, like she usually could in adungeon.  And if Teddie couldn’t smellthe shadow world then they really must have been transported to somewheredifferent.

“What are your terms?” Yu finally asked after they hadwalked a few feet in every direction and hadn’t come across anythingtangible.  It was like they simplyexisted in the inky blackness – there was only void all around them.

“One of you must stay behind,” the voice replied, and the teamgasped.  

“What?” Rise asked, covering her mouth.

“If one agrees to stay, the rest will leave.  Keep in mind, the one who decides to staywill remain here for eternity.  You willnot see a way back in,” the voice replied.

Noise erupted from the investigation team as everyone beganto talk about how unfair it was and how they would find their own way out andwould never leave anyone behind.  Yosuke,meanwhile, watched Yu quietly, seeing the wheels turn in his friend’shead.  He could see it in his partner’seyes, the way he was weighing each and every situation and option that hehad.  Yosuke also knew that Yu would notlet anyone sacrifice themselves in that way. Anyone but himself that is. Yosuke also knew who the most necessary member of the team was to keepeveryone together and to ensure they solved the mystery and protected Inabafrom the strange things that kept going on.

“I’ll do it,” Yosuke spoke up, causing everyone to quiet andstare at him.  Especially Yu whose grayeyes stared at him in panic.

“No, Yosuke, you will not. If anyone were to…” Yu started to say, but Yosuke shook his head with asad grin.

“I’m sorry partner, but I’m afraid that’s not your decisionto make.  The shadow voice thing onlysaid that someone had to agree, not that the whole team had to agree.  And I already agreed first,” Yosukecountered, and the voice began to laugh again.

“Your friend is right. He has agreed and now I will make good on my promise.”

A portal opened up behind them, showing the platform in theshadow world that led back to the TV in Junes. Teddie was immediately hit with the familiar smell of his home, whileRise was relieved to finally sense the shadow world and shadows again,something she never thought she would want to feel.  Shadowy tendrils shot forth from the portaland began dragging the rest of the investigation team away, while theystruggled to pull away, calling Yosuke’s name and reaching for theirfriend.  Tendrils also held Yosuke back,but he didn’t struggle and instead watched his friends get pulled to safety, a resignedexpression on his face.  He had a slightsmile, even if it seemed a bit strained as he watched them pull away.

“Partner!” Yu called desperately.  He was struggling the hardest and wasreaching as far as he could for his best friend.  Yosuke turned to look at him, for he had beenavoiding his gaze after he saw how sick Yu had looked once he realized Yosukewas right and had tricked everyone.  “Promiseme…” Yu struggled, almost at the entrance of the portal.  “Promise me you’ll come back!”  Tears immediately sprang to Yosuke’s eyes,and they began to flow harder when he also heard Teddie desperately wail hisname.

“I promise!” Yosuke said, starting not to look so resignedto his fate anymore.  “Yu, I definitely promise!  I’ll find a way!”  Those were the last words his friends heardas they were suddenly pushed through the portal and thrown back into the shadowworld, landing into a heap on the platform. Yu immediately jumped up and ran for the portal, but it rapidly closedand disappeared before he even had a chance. He stumbled and fell to his knees, sitting slumped in defeat as the restof the team sat in shocked silence at what had just happened.

Chie was also crying, and she was trying to wipe the tearsaway on her sleeve.  “Stupid Yosuke – whyis he so self-sacrificing,” she sniffled while Yukiko wrapped her in a comfortinghug.

“He always puts everyone else before himself,” Yukikoagreed, her eyes also wet with tears.  “Iwish he thought of himself more – he looked so resigned afterward…”

“We’re going to save that stupid punk, you hear me sempai!”Kanji said, getting fired up and punching the ground in irritation.  “I can’t believe Yosuke-sempai would do thatinstead of coming up with a plan with everyone.”

Naoto placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.  “I think Yosuke-sempai was doing it to stopour leader from doing it instead,” she said softly to Kanji.  Yu stiffened from where he sat, but he didn’tsay anything or face the rest of the team. There were no encouraging words or plan of action.  Just the form of a hopeless boy who had justlost his best friend.

Teddie, meanwhile, had popped out of his bear suit and wascrying in his human form with his head on his knees.  “Yosuke,” he kept repeating over and over ashe sobbed.  Rise felt bad for him andinstead of trying to comfort Yu like she wanted, she crawled over and placed acomforting hand on Teddie’s head, gently brushing her fingers through his hairuntil he calmed down.

“Kanji’s right,” she said, once Teddie had been reduced tosniffles.  “We’ll find a way to save oursempai.  Between my senses and Teddie’s nose,I’m sure we can find it again.  No matterwhat that dumb voice thinks.  It’s neverhad to deal with us before, now has it?”

The others turned and smiled at her, glad for herencouraging words.  Even Yu finallyunsteadily stood up, although he kept his back to them and was still staring atthe portal that had taken Yosuke away.  “Thiswas all my fault,” he said, his voice sounding a little broken.

“What do you mean, Yu-kun?” Yukiko asked in confusion.

“I made the decision to investigate.  Even though I could tell Yosuke didn’t likeit.  And now…” Yu replied, his voice soundingbroken.

“Rise-chan’s right,” Teddie said, zipping back into his bearsuit and standing up.  He was obviously stillsniffling which caused his voice to sound kind of funny, but he sounded betternow.  “We’ll save Yosuke and then kickhim for being a dummy!  Besides, it wasn’tyour fault sensei.  If anything it’s allour faults because we make decisions as a team.”

“Ted’s right,” Kanji said. “We all could have disagreed, even Yosuke-sempai, and you would havelistened.  But we didn’t.  We all let sempai down, not just you.”

“Yeah, and it’s ok to cry,” Chie said, stepping forward andplacing a hand on Yu’s back.  Hestiffened before relaxing slightly.  “Iknow I would if it had been Yukiko back there too.  And honestly all of us cried a little overthat idiot.”

Yu turned to face them after that, and they saw that theirleader had indeed been crying as well.  Theyhad never seen him cry before, but they knew how close he was to Yosuke and soweren’t surprised.  That’s why he hadn’twanted to face them after Yosuke disappeared. “You’re right.  I won’t let Yosukebe taken away from us,” Yu agreed.  “Wecan’t leave until we get Yosuke back – there’s no way we can return to Inabawithout him.”

Everyone smiled at his words, before nodding to show their resolution.  “Hell yeah, let’s get sempai!” Kanji shouted.

I also posted this on AO3 where I will eventually add more :)  You can read it and any future updates here.

[tohrua-a]

*  CASE  FILE  :    V.  PERSONA  FIVE . 

it’s funny what happens when you leave a small town to  ROT .  evidence slips ,  inaba suffers ,  and adachi transfers out after namatame has been convicted and sentenced for the string of murders and kidnappings that had gone on over the year .   SHIBUYA  becomes his new home ,  and with that comes new opportunity  set post accomplice ending ,   what could possibly go wrong ?      (   warning :  this is long   ) 

adachi starts off as  another detective ,   but he doesn’t make his appearance until halfway between madarame’s palace ,  and the start date for kaneshiro .  with an impromtu break at leblanc ,  he claims he’s tying up loose ends if asked about it ,  following some open questions in the file   ——  about the original calling card ,  and about shujin students starting this mess .     

❝ don’t you go to shujin ?  i hear that school’s pretty rough .  i mean ,  not because of what’s happened recently or anything -- the police have a solid grasp on the case and who did it  ...  i think ...  sorry ,  i’m detective adachi ;  i’m a transfer workin’ on the kamoshida case .  don’t worry , i’m not here to ask questions . ❞

but he is ,  kind of ,  though not much this time around .  he  might  ask a couple about any sort of suspicious people you might have seen ,  just like he might let it drop that they think the   calling card   might have some prints left on it .  that it’s been sent to forensics .  that maybe ,  if you think of anything ,  you might call him .  he leaves you his number ,  and you won’t see him again for a while . 

the next time he  does  show ,  is after kaneshiro’s palace .  it’s when the social link can officially start  outside of running into him main storyline   ——   he turns into someone who likes to   “give you hints”   as to where the police are with their investigation. little things that sit more as a slip of the tongue ,  often followed by a  crap ,  forget you heard that !    he seems like a terrible addition to law enforcement .  but motives are ulterior :  he’ll piece together bits here and there and figure you out . 

he knows of  a   metaverse ,   after all .  the tv world could be in connection with things floating around .  he just needs to press and pry and figure out specifics .  along the way ,  it  turns into being shifted onto the main case ,  and a more constant presence in your life .  at leblanc ,  at shinjuku ,  in shibuya .  more often than not he’s hanging around in the heart of the city .   once he confronts you on what he’s figured out ,  he thinks his own way regardless of what you say . 

(  hey !  he’s on your side ,  after all .  if you’re going to be making a big name for yourself ,  then you’re going to need all the help you can get .  don’t worry ,  he supports your sense of justice .  so he’s going to help you out .  that’s how it works . )

in reality ,  his  MOTIVES  generally follow the same thing :   keep him out of being bored ,  keep him with an upper hand .  as the story goes on ,  and in learning  who  the thieves might be ,  he switches to the idea that if he can sway them ,   if he can do what he did before ,  he can make what happened in inaba happen again   ——  on a bigger scale .  something  fit  for himself .   unfortunate for you ,  that means he’s your new best friend .   (  too bad it’s inevitably going to backfire in his face  ) 

IMPORTANT  !!  : 

*  as the thieves gain popularity ,  he gets switched over to working on their case as well .  it ties him up a bit more , switching social link opportunities to night ,  but he’s still there .  you can often find him in  shinjuku  outside of the crossroads ,  or in the  underground mall  during the day and night .   

*  the further into his link you get ,  the more comfortable he does get around you  ——  to an extent that he might even slip a bit more .  bitter comments , shifts in his tone ,  a hardened edge to his expression .  there and then gone in an instant . 

*  he offers a  passive trait  that  boosts your sneaking in palaces and mementos .  shadows take longer to detect you ,  as if they’re trying to see through the  FOG .    max link gives you an  aggressive  boost :  sneaking up on a shadow deals damage to them at the start of battle . 

*  his  ultimate endgame  might be to help you through to the end but ,  much like relation to p4 it’s a ruse .  you’re offering him  entertainment  and the opportunity to turn you in at any time .  be careful around him ;  he might remind you of that fact a good number of times .   if things start to get boring ,  he will . 

*  most  social link interactions  are similar to that of p4  ——  hanging out with him means he gets a break from work ,  and a chance to pick your brain .  there’s a lot of  personal views  shared between lies and half - truths .  he talks about the thieves as much as he does how awful the city is .   (  how sae - san is scary .  how that detective kid makes him uneasy .  he doesn’t like either of them much .  ) 

TRIVIA  !! : 

*  if you talk to him  beginning october ,   after kobayakawa’s death ,  he’ll make a small   HINT   to inaba and the murders that take place there .  it’s one piece to a bigger puzzle .  if you talk to him on a  rainy evening  inside of leblanc ,  or in the underground mall ,  he’ll talk about a  rumor  that sounds similar to one of his own .  have you heard about the midnight channel ?   an evening that he and akechi are both there paves way to a mention of another detective prince after akechi has left   ——   there’s five specific slips of information in total ,  as well as slips in his personality ,  that open up his  PALACE  by the end .   you might even be able to find out about what happened to narukami ,  and adachi’s ploy in that .

*  he’ll make comments regarding the p4 kids after you’ve watched the tv ,  or seen a poster around town .  often enough it’s a minor bridge to conversation .  he openly admits to knowing rise ,  as well as chie and yukiko .  

*  he  requests  a souvenir from your trip to hawaii.  bring him back a keychain and he’s fine with that.  bring him back some food, and he’s more than grateful.   (  it’s one of the few things that he’ll accept to eat !  ) 

*  gaps in his social link   —   hanging out with him   —   often lead to night excursions to the diner .  his favorite places to go are to  monjayaki  and  sky tower .   least favorite is  akihabara  and  harajuku .   (  though he makes fun comments on both . )    no gifts  ——  he denies them outright . 

*  spending time with him has a chance to boost your  knowledge . 

[zee-isaiah-pugnacious7-blog]

Campout (AU)

[The following is a revised scene of the Camping Trip. Expect mild fluff.]

It fell quiet in the tent an hour after Kanji joined them.

Yu didn’t mind. He had been spending time with the rebel a couple days after he joined the Investigation Team. He started out aggressive at first, but by the second time he decided it was time to make a change for the better and leave behind his ‘trouble maker’ reputation.

Since then, the leader started to like his company, and welcomed him in sharing his and Yosuke’s tent--- it was actually perfect, considering two of their guys didn’t make the trip… as if the night had plans for the boys.

Plans that, with Yu’s interference, took a different turn.

It was a gut feeling he developed. After the trio had shared their own rants about the dreaded King Moron (and devoured Kanji’s animal crackers, no penguin to be found), silence came over them; tired from a day of picking up trash and suffering food poisoning of the Nth-degree, there was no way Yu and Yosuke could stay up any longer.

At least, so he figured.

“Hey, Kanji, do you have any more room over there?” Yosuke asked, his tone a bit… tense.

He’s going to say something. Yu thought.

“Barely. If I move any further, I’ll be lying on a rock!” Kanji responded. “Why don’t you move over?”

“If I move any further, I’ll roll downhill!” Yosuke responded. (Yu then wondered how they ended up pitching the tent in such a horrible spot). “You sure you can’t scoot over?”

He’s going to say something… Yu knew.

“Why do you want so much room, anyhow?” Kanji scoffed.

“Uh, no reason…” Yosuke replied.

Better shut him up. Yu figured, then scooted closer to the rebel. “There. Is that plenty of room, Mr. Claustrophobic?” he quipped.

His friend blinked, while Kanji arched an eyebrow. “I-I’m not claustrophobic!” Yosuke countered. “I just… this tent is small, y’know? And the ground sucks,”

“You picked the spot,”

“Because it was the only spot left!”

“Lets just get to sleep…” Kanji groaned. “My group bailed on me, so I was stuck with the work.”

Yu looked at him, astonished. “You did all the work yourself? W-What were they doing?”

Kanji sneered. “Probably hiding in the tent until dinner… Bastards didn’t even save me any food by the time I arrived.”

“…Ouch. Talk about a dick-move.” Yosuke muttered, then added quietly, “(…at least you weren’t poisoned.)”

“Whatever. I didn’t expect anyone to eat with me anyway--- that’s why I brought my own snacks,”

Yu felt his stomach clench (and not because of Mystery Food X); to know he and Yosuke shared the only minimal food the rebel had brought for himself left him feeling a bit guilty.

“I see.” Yosuke replied, twiddling his thumbs.

He’s going to say something. Yu realized once again. Hanging out with Yosuke for so long, he knew when his best friend was going to speak his mind--- often leading to trouble.

And he knew that, whatever it was, it would piss off Kanji.

“So… Kanji,” Yosuke began.

Shit, here we go. Yu rubbed his face.

“We’re… ‘safe’ in here with you, right?”

Kanji gave him a look. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, given the fact that you’re---“

*WHUMP!*

Before Yosuke could utter another word, Yu hit him in the face with a pillow. “(Shut it!)” the leader hissed.

Kanji sat up, a glare in his eye. “What was that, Yosuke-senpai?” he groused.

“…I’ll tell you after my concussion clears up…” Yosuke groaned.

“It’s nothing, Kanji. Don’t listen to him,” Yu sighed.

“No, I want to hear what he has to say!” Kanji reached over and yanked the pillow off Yosuke’s face. “Go on, senpai, spill it!”

Yosuke flinched. “Well, d-don’t take this the wrong way, but… well, after seeing your Shadow---“

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up…! Yu repeated in his head, his eyebrow twitching.

“…I figured… you might… be… gay? I-I mean if you are, that’s fine, but since we’re in a tent I just wondered---“ Yosuke was rambling now.

“Seriously?!” Kanji fumed. “You don’t trust me in the same tent because of that?! You think I’m going to…?! That I’d even consider…?! What the hell, senpai?!”

“Well, sorry! But the way your Shadow was acting, it makes me nervous---!”

“You obviously missed the symbolism, idiot.” Yu spoke up, sitting up between the two.

“W-What…?”

Yu gave him a hard glance. “Think about what Kanji had told us on the rooftop--- he enjoys sewing. But because people find it feminine, he had to keep it to himself; if people learned the truth, they would call him gay solely because they think it’s not ‘manly’. …That’s what his Shadow symbolized--- in truth, he just wanted to be accepted. Think about Yukiko’s Shadow--- it was a princess. Because everyone kept talking about how she was the heir to the Amagi Inn, that’s how they made her feel. And think about yours and Chie’s Shadows--- yours was a total jerk and Chie’s was a bitch, based on how you both felt about your own situations.”

Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck. “…O-Okay, you’ve got a point there…”

“Then why do I feel like I have to prove my sexuality to you?” Kanji sneered. “Should I go hit the girl’s tent now?!”

Yu shook his head. “That’s overcompensation,”

The rebel gave him a confused look. “What?”

“…Trying too hard. Plus it would only make you look like a perverted creep--- like Yosuke.”

“Hey…” Yosuke whined.

“I dunno… apparently it’s not ‘safe’ to share a tent with me,” Kanji muttered, bitterness all over his face.

Yu scooted closer, patting him on the back. “I feel safe with you.”

“(S-Seriously?)” Yosuke whispered, taken-aback by his leader’s actions.

Yu have him another heated glare. “If you don’t feel comfortable, Yosuke, you’re welcome to sleep elsewhere.”

“W-What?! No fair, I had to set up this tent…!”

“So did I. But you’re the only one having a fit about our sleeping arrangements--- ergo, sleep somewhere else.”

“But---!”

“Out.”

Yosuke grimaced. “…tch, whatever. This spot sucks anyway,” he then smirked. “Maybe I’ll use Kanji’s idea and sleep in the girl’s tent, hee hee.”

Kanji rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Good luck with that, Major Pervert,” he said, Yu giving a mock-salute afterward.

Yosuke sneered, but smirked. “Good luck--- try not to turn this campout into Brokeback Mountain!” with that he dashed out.

However his reference was wasted, as the rebel only arched an eyebrow. “Brokeback what?”

“Never mind.” Yu chuckled, turning out the lantern and lying down. “I give it five minutes before he comes back with a black eye.”

“I give it less,” Kanji lied back, staring at the top of the tent. “…y’know, you didn’t have to stick up for me.”

“I wanted to. …Besides, Yosuke needs to learn to keep his mouth shut about certain subjects,”

The rebel turned on his side, looking at his senpai. “Why did you get so defensive about it? As close as you and Yosuke-senpai are, I figured you’d joke around with him.”

Yu shrugged, keeping his poker-face. “I knew you’d get upset about it.”

“You sayin’ I’m sensitive?!”

“I know I would be…”

Kanji arched an eyebrow. “Huh? W-Why would you be sensitive about it?”

The leader sighed; he had to choose his words carefully. “I just would be. Getting picked on for something like that… it really hurts. Don’t think that I never had problems with other people’s comments, before.”

“Tch. Don’t try to give me sympathy… You’ve got girls like Chie and Yukiko-senpai hanging out with ya! And Teddie keeps calling you ‘Sensei’. I hear you’re good on the basketball team, too, and hear a buncha kids talking about you--- good things, too.” He frowned, looking back at the top of the tent. “No one goes quiet when you enter a room, or takes off running when they see you coming down the hall…”

Yu sighed. “Yeah, well… it’s only because I’m from the city, and everyone thinks I’m a hot-shot. Honestly, I’m just doing my best in school, and help people out with favors.”

“Yeah, but people trust you! And why shouldn’t they? You didn’t give yourself a bad reputation…”

“No… I got the ‘cool’ reputation--- and it’s a pain in the ass.”

“How?! People love you!”

“Because they think I’m cool!” Yu clenched his fist. “At first I figured it was just because I was the new kid. But no--- somehow people take one look at me and think, ‘Hey, if I hang out with this guy, I might be cool too!’ ...It was like that in the city, too. I think you guys are my only real friends, just because you like hanging out with me as a friend, not to ride my coattails,”

“Well, yeah. Of course we like hanging out with ya--- hell, you’re the only friend I’ve ever made! No one else ever had the guts to just walk up and talk to me,”

“No one else hung out with me just for the sake of hanging out,”

“Still… at least they hung out with ya,” Kanji sighed, shutting his eyes. Yu could tell he was trying his best to keep a cool head, to forget about all the comments Yosuke made--- and then some.

The leader could sympathize, but in more ways than one. True, he was the most popular kid at his old school, and had gained quite a bit of popularity since attending Yasogami High… but there was a secret he himself had.

He felt alone.

His parents worked nonstop--- not because they needed the money, they just put their jobs first. The 16-year-old couldn’t remember the last time they spent time together. He thought of those nights where he had dinner alone, all the birthdays were the most he got was a card with a half-assed signature on it, all the sporting events and ceremonies his parents missed…

Now their work took them overseas. Why bother sending him to stay with relatives? He was used to being home by himself.

Sure, he could invite his ‘friends’ over, but once they had to go home, it felt as if no one ever entered his doorway. None of them left behind a memorable moment like his new friends did--- all they wanted was to check out his stuff, ask him about parties, watch a movie then leave. No one told him about their problems, asked him for advice, confided in him…

To everyone, he was just a ‘cool kid’.

To his parents… he was more like some pet that went to school.

When he first came to Inaba, he was worried it would be the same cycle… Kids would just see him as a hot-shot, no one would be home, and he’d feel like an empty shell.

Thank God things were different.

“Senpai…” Kanji whispered, breaking him from his thoughts for a moment. “Do you really feel safe with me? …Not because of what Yosuke-senpai said, but… from what I’ve done in the past?”

Yu didn’t have to think too much. The rebel had a bad reputation--- taking on biker gangs, threatening to beat up the team the first day they met… hell, the guy punched his own Shadow’s lights out!

But deep down… there was more to him than his tough-guy image. Yu wanted to keep hanging out with him to see what all he kept hidden in his heart.

Like how he wished someone would hang out with him just to learn more about him…to see if they found their time together worthwhile.

It often scared him. If something happened to him, would any of them have cared? Probably not. His parents wouldn’t notice until weeks later, and his old classmates would just turn to the next ‘cool kid’.

At least the team cared. And he cared about the team.

Kanji included.

“Of course I feel safe,” Yu replied, moving closer and resting a hand on the rebel’s shoulder. “We’re always watching each other’s backs, remember? I know who to put my trust in,”

Kanji looked at him, taken off-guard. “S-Seriously?” sputtered; he crossed his arms, clearing his throat. “Y-You’re just saying that cuz I’m helping you guys catch the killer,”

“And because we’re friends,”

“Yeah?” Kanji turned on his side, looking his leader in the eye. “So if the cops suddenly come up to me, accusing me of causing trouble, you won’t deny we ever hung out in case they pin you as a troublemaker too?”

Yu sat up on his side; their faces were close. “If anyone accuses you of anything, I’ll be there to stand up for you, even if it gets me in trouble.”

Kanji looked at him, sighing. “You say that now, but you’d probably back down…��

“Don’t be stupid--- I didn’t back down when we had to fight your Shadow and save you. I didn’t turn and leave when that cop came into Aiya’s and started making comments. And I kicked Yosuke out of the tent when he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. …I told you--- as long as you’ve got my back, I’ve got yours, no matter what anyone says.”

“Not even if your uncle got involved? He’s a detective, right?”

Yu scoffed. “He questions me about anything… Nanako often interferes so we don’t fight. Once I convince him you’re turning a new leaf, he’d cool off--- maybe still be suspicious of both of us, but I guess it’s part of being a parent.” He grinned. “Nanako would probably want you to make her something,”

Kanji blushed. “D-Don’t go around telling anyone! It’s bad enough someone saw my Shadow on the Midnight Channel. If you guys talk about my hobby, I’ll pound ya into the concrete!”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” The rebel turned on his back, letting out a heavy breath. “…Sorry. This whole trip’s been a pain in the ass,”

“At least it’s almost over---“

There came footsteps and loud groaning from outside the tent. “Hey…! Are you frickin’ kids asleep in there?! Anyone out past *urp* curfew gets suspended!” came the unmistakable threats of the teacher, Morooka--- aka, King Moron. It was clear he hit the booze a little too hard tonight.

“We’re asleep,” Yu responded, in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

“No you’re not! Get to sleep or you’re on my Shit List! (uugggh I drank too much booze…)”

The two stayed still, waiting until the obnoxious teacher stumbled off. “Senpai… Yosuke’s still out there!” Kanji said, a bit concerned.

Yu shook his head. “King Moron’s drunk off his ass. Yosuke could hide behind a tree and manage to avoid him,” he looked at his watch. “He should be on his way back by now. I wonder what’s taking him?”

Kanji stretched, letting out a yawn. “Maybe Chie knocked his lights out or something,” he looked at his senpai. “…Same thing probably would’ve happened to me--- I was so pissed I didn’t think twice about her deadly heels. Thanks for stopping me,”

Yu once again gave a shrug. “Like I said, it would be overcompen--- er, trying too hard. As long as you’re comfortable, I’m comfortable.”

“Alright, if you say so…” His face was still a bit red, and his position remained tense; he was still forcing himself to relax.

Yu moved back. “Here, scoot near the middle,”

“What? Why?”

“The ground isn’t too bad here. This way you’ll have less chance of rolling onto that rock,”

“Oh, uh, thanks… but what about you? Any further and you might roll downhill,”

“I don’t move much in my sleep, I’ll be fine.”

“Still… I can move back over, it’s no problem,”

Yu sighed. “How about we share the middle?”

Kanji’s eyes widened. “Are you nuts?! W-What if Yosuke comes back…?!”

“Then he can join us.”

“SENPAI!” The rebel’s face was completely red now.

“Kanji. We’re just. Going. To sleep. There’s no reason to feel embarrassed--- and if Yosuke wants to make comments, let him… you can just kick his ass later--- I’ll help.”

Kanji had his face covered in a face-palm. He mumbled something under his breath. “…If it were anyone else… Alright, senpai. If you’re okay with it,”

The leader gave a nod, then closed his eyes. The rebel let out another breath, relaxing and doing the same.

A few minutes passed before the two drifted to sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Since he left the tent, Yosuke had been in stealth-mode. The entire campsite had fallen quiet since the sun had gone down, save for a few students sharing gossip.

“Did you watch the Midnight Channel the other night?” one student was whispering to another. “That show was BEYOND weird!”

“I know right? …I liked the last one with that princess.” His tent-mate responded.

“…I almost had a heart attack,” a boy was saying in a first-year tent. “I was like, ‘There is no way in hell Kanji Tatsumi is my soul-mate!’”

“How about that weird show he was on? I didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up!” another boy replied. “…Hey, Naoki, you used to hang out with him when you were kids, right?”

“Yeah, but that was years ago.” Naoki replied. “Besides, I don’t think you should be talking about him behind his back. He looked pretty pissed at you guys when he left,”

“Where do you think he went?” the first boy asked.

“I dunno, but if he doesn’t get back soon, he’s gonna get expelled--- King Moron likes to lurk around, y’know.”

“Oh well. It’s his funeral,” the second boy responded.

“…talk about a freak,” a girl was stating in a third-year tent. “And I thought he was scary enough in person!”

“But why would he show up on TV like that? You think he’s someone’s soul-mate?” another girl asked.

“Ugh, who would want to date… that?” a third girl sneered. “In any case, the Midnight Channel sure has been showing weird stuff. I wonder who’ll appear on next?”

Hopefully no one, Yosuke thought. So far the investigation was proving difficult--- every time they had a lead, the next victim would end up throwing them off-track.

He paused in his tracks, hearing a horrible sound…

“SNOOOOORRRRRKKKLLLLTH… ZZZZZZZHHHHHOOONNNKK…”

“The hell is that…?!” Yosuke whispered to himself, finding it was coming from a second-year tent…

Right at this moment, Chie and Yukiko were coming out. “…no way I’m sleeping with that!” Chie was muttering; she gave a yelp when she noticed someone outside their tent. “Augh!”

“Shh! Shh! It’s just me!” Yosuke stammered, shielding himself.

“Yosuke?! What are you doing outside our tent?!” Yukiko demanded in a hushed tone.

“I was just, uh, taking a walk. I was having trouble sleeping, so I figured the fresh-air would help. …What about you guys? Why are you doing, sneaking out?”

“Ugh, can you not HEAR that?!” Chie sneered, pointing to the tent just as another symphony of snores rang out. “We couldn’t sleep with all that racket!”

“We were going to see if someone else would let us bunk with them,” Yukiko said.

“Why don’t you come to my tent? Our guys cut out, and we’ve got Kanji staying with us already…” Yosuke began to persuade.

Chie glared. “Nice try, Horny-mura. There is no way I’m sharing a tent with you,”

Yosuke sighed. “It was worth a shot…”

Yukiko looked up at the starry skies; thankfully the weather was clear for their trip. “We should find somewhere to sleep; it’s already getting late. I heard Morooka patrols the campsite at night,” she whispered.

“Oh shit… I forgot King Moron’s obsessed with busting anyone on school trips,”

“W-Well, lets hurry up and get back to your tent; if he catches you around ours, he’ll call you out for being a pervert.” Chie stated.

“Me?! What if he catches you two walking with me back to my tent?!”

Yukiko shushed them both. “Let’s just be careful; your tent isn’t far from ours, right? We can get there, then Chie and I can slip into someone else’s tent.”  She suggested. Another loud snore came from their tent. “…preferably, the farthest one from ours.”

The trio began walking. As they snuck through the campsite, they heard a couple more students gossiping. “You think the killer will strike again?” a first-year girl was asking. “I mean, it’s been a while, but… you think he’s still in Inaba?”

“I hope not… C-C’mon, lets get some sleep. No more talking about murders,” her tent-mate replied, timid.

“…You think the killer did skip town?” Chie asked in a hushed voice as they walked behind some tents. “We’ve thwarted him twice now.”

“So he might be in another town, throwing people into the TV?” Yukiko wondered. “…but… wait, would this even work in other towns?”

“…I don’t know. But, it sure seems weird--- the Midnight Channel rumors didn’t start until that reporter, Miss Yamano, appeared on television.” Yosuke replied.

“Oh, yeah--- someone was making a fuss about it, saying she was his soul-mate!” Chie remembered. “It does seem to fit… The Midnight Channel is an urban-legend that only exists in Inaba--- er, right?”

Yosuke shook his head, sighing. “I hope it’s just Inaba… If it turns out someone got thrown in from another city or country, we’re going to have a hell of a time tracking them down in the TV World,”

“Heeeyyy… are there a buncha low-lives over there?!” came a drunken slur, ten feet away.

“Oh, crap--- King Moron’s coming this way!” Chie gasped.

“Q-Quick, hide!” Yukiko urged.

The threesome hurried around some trees; Yosuke ushered them to climb up one, each of them clinging onto a sturdy branch, just as the drunken teacher came lumbering over, waving around a flashlight. “Where are ya?! I know someone’s over here…!” he hollered.

Yosuke flinched, hiking his leg higher as the flashlight’s beam aimed his way, avoiding getting caught in the light.

“Morooka!” came a teacher’s shout in the distance. “Get back to your tent--- it’s almost midnight!”

“And let these hooligans run ‘round…? *urp* probably heading into each other’s tents to cozy up with someone… Ya want to deal with a buncha pregnant teenagers?!” Morooka slurred back.

“Ugh, you’ve been drinking too much. Go get some sleep--- you’re going to wake up the whole camp!”

“Fine… but whatever happens didn’t happen on MY clock, buster…!”

Everyone kept quiet until they were sure the teachers were gone, then climbed down the tree. “Whew! That was too close…” Chie sighed with relief.

Yukiko looked around at the rest of the tents; they all had fallen silent. “I think everyone’s sleeping now. It’s so quiet,” she said. She paused, still hearing snoring in the distance. “…save for our tent. If we sneak into someone’s tent now, they would probably freak out.”

“My offer’s still on the table,” Yosuke said with a wink.

“Ugh, get over it…” Chie sneered; she heard the snoring in the distance. “…Fine. But will there be enough room? You said Kanji-kun was with you guys,”

“Why IS he in your tent, anyway?” Yukiko asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be sharing one with his group?”

“They all got quiet when he was in there, he said. We let him bunk with us,” Yosuke grinned, trying not to snicker. “That’s… actually the real reason I’m out here. I kinda pissed him off, so I had to am-scray.”

“What did you do?” Chie sighed.

“I-I just made a couple jokes about his Shadow--- I made a crack, asking if he were really gay and if Narukami and I would be safe sleeping with him. …Man, the look on his face! I never saw anyone turn that red!”

“What?!” Yukiko snapped; out of reflex, she slapped Yosuke across the face. “You asshole! How could you say something like that?!”

“I-It was just a joke…! Sort of… I mean, his Shadow was practically eying Narukami and I--- a-and those two muscular shadows it summoned groped our asses!”

“But his Shadow was just an extension of his feelings--- the way he was made fun of as a kid made him keep them locked up inside.”

Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… Narukami told me that…” he looked at himself and Chie. “I wonder why our Shadows never transformed into something like that, Chie. Ours dressed like us--- they just acted like jerks,”

“I wondered that too… Why did mine look like some evil twin of mine, while Yukiko’s was a princess?” Chie agreed.

“Well… maybe it’s based on how others make us feel?” Yukiko guessed. “I felt like a princess, Kanji felt like a gay stereotype… But, despite both of your inner-feelings, no one dubbed you two as anything else.”

“I think I get it…” Yosuke crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. “…and now I feel like a dick… He’s probably dealing with enough, after what everyone saw on the Midnight Channel.”

“I suggest you apologize to him. NOW.” Yukiko said firmly, a heated glare in her eyes. “What you said was downright mean-spirited!”

“Yeah. A-And you have no right to tease him about it, anyway! You keep making lewd comments--- how would you like it if we accused you of being a sex offender?!” Chie snapped. “I’ve got a cell-phone full of the gross text messages you send me at night as proof!”

Yosuke flinched. “Alright, alright, I’ll go apologize! No need to get personal…”

“You’re already there, Hana-moron.”

Yukiko snickered, covering her mouth to stifle a laughing fit. “Hee hee hee! That’s a pretty good nickname for him…! *snort* Ha ha!”

“Shh! Shh! Keep it down, Yukiko! You’ll wake the whole camp!”

“C-C’mon, our tent is over here. …It might be a little cramped, but I think we can make room,” Yosuke assured as they snuck over to his tent. The lantern was out, and it was quiet save for soft snoring. “Huh. They must be asleep. Better be qui--- guh!” He froze after poking his head in.

“W-What’s wrong?” Chie asked, as she and Yukiko looked in.

“Aww…” Yukiko sighed softly.

Lying in the middle of the tent were Yu and Kanji; at some point during their slumber, the leader’s head ended up resting against the rebel’s chest; the first-year’s arm was draped around his senpai’s shoulders, both of them looking content.

“Oh geez… I was right…” Yosuke said, his voice almost cracking.

Chie elbowed him in the ribs. “If you say one word, I’ll kick you in the balls so hard your semen will ache!” she hissed.

“Oh c’mon! They’re curled up together!”

“I think it’s pretty sweet… But, should we wake them and let them know we’re here?”

“Let’s let them sleep,” Yukiko advised, then grinned. “Hee hee, they can actually serve as a barrier between us and Yosuke.” She looked at the right side of the tent. “We can sleep on this side.”

Yosuke’s shoulders slumped. “But that’s my side… and there’s a huge rock on the other side! It’ll kill my back!”

Chie crossed her arms, giving him a look. “Well, maybe that’ll teach you to think twice before you make gay-cracks about someone, hmm?” She and Yukiko crawled over to the left side. “(Careful, Yukiko, it slants here…)”

“It’s only for tonight. We’ll be out early in the morning,” Yukiko assured, lying down with Chie.

Yosuke groaned, lying down on the left side, adjusting himself so that he wasn’t too close to the middle or lying on a rock; he ended up on his side, his back slightly arched. Damn, his muscles were going to ache after this…!

He looked over at Kanji and Yu, trying to get his head around their position; sure, in his mind, he figured the tough rebel secretly liked to cuddle (something he was sure to tease him for later)… but looking at their leader, he was confused. He was only outside the tent for maybe 20 minutes, half an hour at the most--- they couldn’t have ended up that close in such a short amount of time, especially with the amount of time it takes someone to fall asleep (which, given their poor location, would be triple the effort).

Plus, Yu’s head was on Kanji’s chest… the silver-haired student using the freshman as a pillow. The way the rebel was laying--- one arm around his senpai, the other sprawled by his side--- it seemed he made no effort to curl up with the leader.

In actuality… it seemed like Yu was the one who snuggled first…

So, our leader cuddles in his sleep… Yosuke thought, beginning to drift off as fatigue set in despite his suspicions were going haywire. I wonder if that’s his only secret, though…

He wasn’t alone, as Yukiko and Chie were looking at Yu as well; the leader had been training with the tomboy for a while, and had just started hanging out with the inn-heiress. “Hey, Chie… do you think Yu-chan…?” the latter quietly whispered.

Chie shook her head. “L-Let’s not jump to conclusions… otherwise we’d be no better than Yosuke.” She smiled, looking over at the middle. “…besides, it’s kinda cute. Oh, I wish I could take a picture with my cell phone,”

“Um, maybe it would be best if we kept this a secret. For their sake.” Yukiko rubbed her arm. “I don’t want them getting teased...”

“Yeah… Okay. Consider my lips sealed,”

Yukiko nodded, and the two drifted to sleep.

…

Unbeknownst to them, their leader overheard everything. He had only been half-asleep by the time they came in--- Kanji dosed off quicker than he did, his arms stretching out. The silver-haired student had no choice but to lift his head above the left arm… and it automatically curled around him. He would have moved, scooted over… but knew that would make him a liar after stating he was comfortable in the middle with the freshman.

In fact, he was more comfortable than he thought he would be.

After a lonely life in the city, it felt nice to be held by someone--- guy or girl, it left a warm feeling in his heart. He actually felt like the bond between him and Kanji would be growing closer soon.

Not to mention… he did like the rebel. He admired his will to change, the effort he was making to turn a new leaf, how he opened up to the group after his recovery… And Yu wanted to see the best of him.

He stole a glance over at Yukiko and Chie, thankful they would stay quiet about it. Yosuke would probably make jokes about it, but the leader was already thinking up retorts to counter his wise-cracks.

Closing his eyes, Yu began to nod off, listening to the chorus of soft breathing, mild snores, and a strong heartbeat drumming against his ear.

Yes, he certainly felt safe.  

[josephohduh]

TEW2: a semi-rant because it’s been a few days and I forget things

I went into TEW2 completely blind, aside from knowing that Stefano and Obscura were of some importance in the game because of the trailers.

And I know that some people were rather disappointed with the outcome, whereas a lot of major gaming news outlets that I follow stated that TEW2 was extremely good and the way horror games sequels should be.

So, naturally, I wanted to remain open.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT, DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING/WATCHING TEW2 YOURSELF

I'm a bit disappointed that the entire voice cast was different. The very second Sebastian started speaking I knew one of two things: that it had been a long time since I played the first game, or that wasn't the same Sebastian I'm used to hearing. So when I looked into it I realized not only was Seb's VA different, everyone else from the previous game had different VAs as well. I don't know if this had anything to do with the VA strike that happened some time ago that affected a lot of VAs (such as Chloe from Life is Strange)

That aside, I wanted to know if TEW2 was going to fill in the gaps and answer questions I had that rose from the previous game.

But first, some highlights from my playthrough with my partner:

- belting the Kingdom Hearts theme during the opening - “man I can’t wait to have to choose between a sword, wand, and shield. and gun” - “holy shit I’m going to be SO COMFORTABLE cosplaying Sebastian again” - hewwo? HEWWO??? - "MYRA IS THE MILK MONSTER?" - "You know, for every god damn time I was asked ‘but is it art?’, I’d probably become a serial killer too” - at Obscura’s appearance: “I DON’T LIKE IT” - “how the fuck does it walk, it’s a fucking tripod” “yes” - at Stefano’s first appearance: “okay but can I just fucking snipe Stefano from here” *does it anyway* “yeah that would’ve been too easy” - “YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU CAN HAVE THE CHILD” - *low pitched baby crying* - “You’re a solid dude” - Sebastian’s not here right now, please leave a message

The first chapter was fantastic. We know that the start of Seb’s trauma was the fire that took away his house and daughter and eventually caused a rift in his marriage, and that Beacon was sorting the tipping point to his mental health. It was also a good way of getting into the controls of the game again. When Seb was approached by Kidman at the bar, hoo boy was he an absolute mess.

Once again, this is probably because it’s been so long since I played TEW1 and its DLCs, but I originally thought the face of the Administrator was a mystery? You could imagine my surprise when I saw his face and was like whoa he’s got a nice looking face that’s weird.

Also I was convinced one of his bodyguards was Joseph, or at least a Joseph look-alike. But I guess they wouldn’t have put him out in the open that easily.

So, I didn’t really mind the whole open world concept much. Honestly, I kinda liked it? The shift into a more action-y horror though? Been there, done that with the ResEvil series :/

However, with the game being open world there was A LOT of stuff I ended up missing. I apparently missed a couple of photographic slides which, I ended up having to look this up, were the key the unlocking the Joseph slide. I ALSO missed the chance to run into TEW1 Seb’s body?? I know there’s a scene where you encounter TEW1 Seb as a reflection in a mirror, but I didn’t know you can also find him as a straight up physical body that you could destroy. 

ANIMA WAS WHAT MAKES SURVIVIAL HORROR A SURVIVAL HORROR. Who was she? What did she want with me? Why wouldn’t she leave me alone??? I especially loved the scene where you had to go through a certain series of doors to avoid her. WHY DID IT STOP AFTER JUST TWO DOORS, LET ME BE CHASED BY THIS GHOSTLY LADY. 

I get that she was supposed to be some manifestation of Seb’s (and Union civilian NPCs’) guilt and fears, but if he was supposed to have to fight it LET 👏 ME 👏 FIGHT 👏 IT 👏

Speaking of antagonists with potential: what HAPPENED WITH STEFANO?

He had such good potential, an excellent backstory, and was given the most anti-climactic boss fight ever made. 

Same with Father Theodore. There was this whole huge buildup and then when it came to the boss fight, it was...disappointing. And it all seemed too easy? Maybe I didn’t have my difficulty high enough? I did die plenty of times but that’s cause I generally can’t go through a game without dying at least ten times within one chapter. And that’s usually cause at some point I get bored of waiting and try to gun through it.

And then Myra was just...weird. Like, in the end she was an Actual Boss Battle. But just everything after that went too fast in such little time. 

“We can be a family again!” “No I have to finish The Plan!!!”

*cue the TLOU scenes where you have to run with a child in your arms*

And can we talk about the side characters for a moment. 

Liam “I’m never leaving my safe house but does anyway” O’Neal. I honestly thought he would have lived through the whole thing. I mean, he flat out refused to leave his safe house. But boy howdy did Father Theodore whisper some sweet things into his ear and convinced him otherwise. And if you think I’m gonna willingly fight more Harbingers for parts to fix his flamethrower boy do I have news for you. I said screw that noise. 

Yukiko “walking textbook” Hoffman. I hated her at first. I really did. All her dialogue was very textbook and “you can tell I’m really smart cause I’m the team psychologist” and also “we need an asian character but not Joseph so”. I’m pretty sure at some point I stopped listening to her. I’M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN HER DEATH. I saw it coming the moment the scene started but she COULD HAVE potentially be saved. STRETCH OUT YOUR ARMS MORE, SEB.

Esmeralda “please for the love of god don’t be a love interest” Torres. YOU INTRODUCE US A BADASS CHARACTER. AND THEN YOU KILL HER AT THE END OF THE SAME CHAPTER SHE APPEARS IN??

Partner: “she was just put in to be fuel for Man Pain” BLEUGH

But then you find out, she was the operative that took Lily during the fire. And then that was that?? THAT’S IT. THAT WAS HER ONLY CONNECTION TO THIS WHOLE SITUATION. She was ‘someone who had a lot of regrets and wanted to redeem herself in some way’. And also ‘yeah she was the one you was tasked to take your daughter’. 

???? JOHANAS. EXPLAIN. 

Partner: “did they like.. switch writers in the middle of all this. cause that’s what this seems like”

Julian “you’re a solid dude” Sykes. DID HE MAKE IT?? I know it was supposed to be a 25% chance through STEM and that he said he was going to remove his brain chip immediately when he got out but. DID. HE. MAKE. IT. 

Partner: “you can tell it was an american director cause all the poc were killed off” Me, a poc: “OMG”

And let’s not forget everyone’s biggest concern: WHERE IS JOSEPH. 

I knew that Joseph had a photographic slide. But what I didn’t know was that you had to collect all the previous slides in order to unlock that slide. GUESS WHO’S MISSING SLIDES AND DIDN’T GET IT. 

So I ended up having to look it up and just 

“It’s a long story”

Oh okay *finishes the game and has it never brought up again*

UH????

So essentially, regardless of whether or not you get all the photographic slides, Joseph was completely written out of the game. 

And like everyone else, I’m annoyed. You establish that he was never killed and that’s he’s alive and kicking somewhere. But WHERE IS HE, JOHANAS. 

I feel like some time after Stefano the game was just. Rushed. 

But that ending. Is it implying that we’re gonna be getting another sequel?? Or at least a DLC?? Please let it be a DLC I don’t want this game to get dragged like the ResEvil series (don’t get me wrong, I love the ResEvil series, but there were some good games and there were some bad games)

I do intend on replaying TEW2 because there was clearly a lot that I missed in my first run-through. 

And like, while I didn’t hate TEW2 I do believe some parts could have been executed better. 

This is probably gonna be one of those things where I replay it a few times or sit on it for a while or look up more info and just have an “OH that makes more sense” moment.

Was it worth the wait? I suppose? There’s still things where I’m like “??” and now I have even more “??” but I tend to be a bit slow with realizing things. 

Would I tell people to absolutely go and get it? That part’s up to you. If you want to play it yourself, then definitely go ahead. But if you feel like you can’t justify the ~$60 for something you might end up being disappointed in, then definitely check up on some playthroughs/let’s plays. 

I’m still gonna purchase merch (despite all the good stuff only being available in the european store >:( I’ll figure something out)

And I’m still gonna make art and cosplay from the game. 

And if it wasn’t for TEW to begin with, I wouldn’t have met some pretty cool people

[goryghostieguts]

The Best Friend Personality broken down by a Best Friend Personality: A Shallow Portrayal of a Deep Character

Ok so I have honestly had enough of people talking shit about this so I'm going to explain it better than the games and shows can. So this isn't a new thing for me. I am used to getting the characters I love and relate to shat on for how they are portrayed in media. It's been long going on ever since I started getting involved with fandoms and I always wondered why this was. I realized that after some time that it might be that many people can't see these characters in the perspective that I can. Also because these characters are often short lived in a plotline or are just never actually developed like they should. However, I didn't blame anyone until people (fans) started changing this personality into something completely different or overlooking this deep personality completely. This is brought up a final straw with 2 recent characters getting more backlash than I have ever seen this personality ever get. Lance McClain from Voltron and Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5. This post isn't about bashing people who dislike the characters. It's about getting to understand them which I can clearly see people aren't getting from the get go of their introduction. I'm doing this because their life and experiences are extremely similar to how I feel and live in my own life and to see these two be bashed for some of the deepest portrayal I have seen of this type hurts me greatly. I often hear and see people write that they are annoying, boring, selfish, egotistical, or even downright mean to others. This lack of understanding hurts me because I realize that I myself in society might be seen this way or this wide idea will spread into a live issue. I've also noticed that boys are really the only ones that get these traits. I am not sure why but I would love to see girls with these problems and see if this outcome would be different. (I could argue that Chloe Price falls into this but the position of what I speak of is dominated by Warren Graham) This character type is a best friend to the rest of the team or the protagonist and is often the wingman or the go to guy for everything. They don't necessarily all have the same personality but they all have a key features that make them fit into this position. It seems that these key features however are the things that get judged and, for me, I cannot quite see why. First impressions mean everything. These characters are often brought into a story immediately down on their luck AT ALL TIMES. I can give you some examples of this from characters that are this type: Lance is in a simulator that he ends up crashing and is scolded by Iverson and it is brought up that he isn't cut out to be a pilot along with all of the students pointing out his flaws blatantly, Ryuji Sakamoto is late for school with the protagonist in the rain and not only that he is the crap of the school before the protagonist comes along. He is held responsible for destroying the track team and believed to be a delinquent afterwards, Yosuke Hanamura literally rides his bike into a trash can and needs the protagonist to help him out and later he gets his ass kicked by Chie for breaking her DVD and gets his date turned down by Yukiko, Armin Arlert is being beaten up by a group of bullies and takes the beating not making an effort to fight back until Eren and Mikasa come to save him, Alistair Theirin is back and forth being harassed and harassing Mages and all around not really wanting to be in the camp, etc. You know the character I'm talking about. Now I get more into their backstory. Most of them are happy-go-lucky fun loving people on the outside but have some inner turmoil. It is a broken record of they never feel good enough and they never feel loved. It doesn't quite always start out that way when you meet them, they are often full of confidence no matter what is going on. However this changes when they realize that they make friends with people they aspire to be. They are jealous but they are happy they have friends that are great people. It is a mixed confusion that they will have and it is often haphazardly patched up with something like one occurrence or a line. This is not true to real life and honestly it is something that they will continue to feel no matter how early or late it is "fixed". There is also a possibility of it becoming a problem again if they aren't supported. These characters usually have something going on at home or personally that they don't make public to others easily. Some examples are: Lance misses his home where he got his support and many people on his team fail to realize that he really is the only one that gets criticized on a day to day basis, Junpei Iori has an alcoholic father and doesn't want to be around him much like Ryuji Sakamoto where his father would end up beating him and his mother (Ryuji is honestly a character I relate to the closest to out of many since me and my mother were victims of domestic violence and his actions and thoughts reflect a lot of what I have done and think about), Prompto Argentum feels extremely basic compared to his friends who grew up in noble and royal households which is then worsened when he finds out more about his past which I will spare those who still haven't played. These experiences and constant reminders that they will never be good enough by anyone especially by someone extremely influential in their life makes them believe that it is true and will see it everywhere. This is honestly a lasting impression because this started out when they were children and they were held to standards and are yelled and screamed at when they don't make it there. They have no comfort going anywhere because they usually get it at home and they get it with friends. Now this may not be on purpose but as someone who relates it is an extremely impressionable word or dare I say trigger that often will bring back the source of where this fear originated from. One thing I have noticed about all of them and myself is that we are snappers. We don't mean to snap at people but when you hear something over and over or they bring up something you don't want to talk about you get fed up with it. This is honestly what drives people away and it hurts because seeing people want to leave is nothing at all what we want. Expressing our feelings easily is not something we can do so we avoid it as much as possible resulting in what we hate the most. I can see this is where the mean and maybe selfish comes from. We are angered by seeing things happen to others and will take it on because it means something personal. When someone compliments us or says we did a good job we are deeply touched. None of that "for an idiot" crap because that is still holding the standard that we still are nothing and cannot progress past that trope. When we hear something genuine and invested we want to emphasize it because we did good and maybe people will see us better but people see this as: "Wow they are so full of themselves. Ok you did a good thing you don't have to rub it in my face or anything. So annoying." Because people don't make an effort to understand us or the characters they see it this way almost always. After being told so much that we suck and will never do good things when it happens and we say we are happy about it people crush it as "not a big deal". It is to us. It's a big deal when they say you're no good all the time. We will close ourselves off or brush it off with haha joke if this happens. No one will really genuinely be interested or celebrate it with us. I relate with these characters in an extremely personal level and understand them a lot better than most people do for how they are written. People will often warp this into a bad boy or crazy personality that honestly doesn't exist which not only makes me confused on why but it hurts to see this character be ripped up and made into something they're not. It is extremely depressing to see a character that I relate so much to destroyed by a fandom who doesn't understand them properly. But- I can easily see this character type influenced though. It stems from someone giving them what they want to hear and they can be manipulated. THEY MAY EVEN KNOW THEY'RE BEING MANIPULATED but it feels so good to finally hear what has been denied for so long. This isn't done with this type often though. This is why I am such a fan of dark Lance just being manipulated by the Galra because it could give a depth that is missing from characters like him. With an arc like this you get into more of what they desire and what is missing in their lives and how much they want to be seen as more than they are made out to be. Despite their detailed problems they really only want love and to be told that they matter and that they are important. It is an extremely easy solution that is almost never addressed in any game, show or media. The whole "Lance is being shoved down my throat" and this whole that isn't Lance I'm tired of! This "Ryuji is so mean to Morgana" (Morgana I low-key hate because Morgana is just fueling the fire by calling Ryuji dumb and an idiot in every other sentence and not one person has spoken ill of this fact) and "he's just and idiot" IM TIRED OF! People change them so much and make them out to be these righteous and self absorbed people who are rude IM TIRED OF! These characters cannot say anything or do anything to change what people see them as nor had I until now. I want people to understand that this is not the character you make them out to be. There are so many reasons behind the things that they do. They aren't dumb They just think differently. They aren't full of themselves they just want to prove they aren't worthless. Being someone who cannot even get a character that I can relate to who is cared for properly hurts because this is a problem I have seen over and over again. This is never fixed and if I don't explain it these characters will forever be underestimated and made into something they aren't. I want to work to a complete character. Not this consistent trope of the dumb hasty best friend. I want them to be loved and recognized for who they are, for what they struggle with, for how they think, and what they are looking for to complete their life. I'm sorry but it had to be said. I want this because I see myself and to see them hate what my life is. I cannot take it anymore. I hope that you take time to understand and invest more into them. To not see them as shallow or bland. Thanks for reading.

[mintchocolateleaves]

Shinraaaan for the writing prompt num 45 :))

Here you are, anon!

#45 - ‘I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.’

It is difficult to open his eyes for many reasons.

His lashes are stuck to his skin, glued with the premise of sleep and comfort. He is still tired, and to open both eyes means to admit he is awake.

Lastly, if he pries each eyelid open, then he has to make sense of the situation he is in.

Shinichi remembers waking up in a cell, one of many run by the Black Organisation, and he remembers how difficult it had been to open his eyes then. Now that he’s not trapped, he keeps his eyes closed just in case he’s been fooling himself into thinking he’s free.

Don’t be stupid, Shinichi tells himself.

He forces his eyes open. It’s dark, still early in the morning - his alarm clock marks it at two a.m. 

Flashes of his recent dreams spark in his mind, igniting scenario after scenario. Many of them are memories. Others are what-ifs of situations he’d barely lived through. It happens more often than he’d wanted, and Shinichi finds that he has to remind himself to breath as his brain tries to sort through what is and isn’t real.

He was caught by the Black Organisation - Real.

The organisation caught those he cares about - Not real.

He was tortured - Real.

They killed everyone he loves - Not real.

They killed Ran - Not real.

Shinichi shudders, pushing his duvet off of him, rising to his feet. His top clings to his body, sweat sticking material to his skin, despite him having chosen baggy clothes to avoid this.

He grabs for his phone, where it is charging in the corner. The screen lights the room up with a sterile blue light. It reminds him of an operating room’s surgical lamp. He feels ice slither down his spine.

On his phone, there are several unanswered messages. Some are from his parents, checking up on him - they’ve been flying between America and Japan so often though, that Shinichi doesn’t really think the texts are necessary. He’ll answer them later, he promises himself. If he doesn’t forget

Others are from Hattori, although they’re shorter. Some are riddles that he wants Shinichi to solve, others are invitations for Shinichi to visit Osaka, or questions of if he wants Hattori to visit him in tokyo. Shinichi’s taken to refusing the offers, although sometimes he solves the riddles in his spare time.

He’s got twelve unread messages from Ran. They’ve been sent over the past week since he’s returned home from the hospital. He doesn’t open them, because he hasn’t been able to bring himself to.

When he’d been captured, when the FBI and CIA had been working to get him out of the clutches of the B.O, Shinichi’s parents had finally told Ran the truth.

The truth about Conan, and the organisation, and they’d told Ran that he was in danger, but that they were working their hardest to bring him home.

Shinichi doesn’t really know why they told her at the worst time, but it was probably because they had to get across that there was a possibility he might not come home. He doesn’t fully know how Ran responded - Anger? Sadness? Disgust?

He goes onto Ran’s contact, clicks the call button.

And then he waits.

Shinichi doesn’t think much of it when the first phone call goes to answer phone.

The second unanswered call makes him feel a little nervous.

“Pick up.” Shinichi hisses after the third call, staring at his mobile with disdain.

Ran picks up on the fourth call.

“Hello?”

“Ran!” Shinichi says, sitting back against the wall. “It’s about time you answered.”

There is a pause on the other side of the call. Shinichi can hear the yawn that Ran smothers, and he can imagine that she’s rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Shinichi,” Ran says, “it’s two a.m.”

“Yes.” Shinichi answers. He scratches at the bandage around his neck - it itches there sometimes, the aftermath of the needles they organisation plunged into his skin.

“You woke me,” Ran says. Her voice is slow, as if she’s talking to him as Conan, as if he is a child. “Shinichi… are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, my bad.” Shinichi mutters, “I’m okay. I just…”

“Shinichi?”

“I had a nightmare about you,” Shinichi chokes on the words, decides he can’t not tell her, “and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Ran takes a deep breath. Shinichi hears her shuffle, the sound of her door opening muffled in the speaker.

“I’m safe,” she says. “…Yukiko-san said that you haven’t left your room since you got back…”

Shinichi hasn’t, but he doesn’t know how that plays a part in their conversation. He doesn’t comment on it.

“Do you want me to come over?” Ran asks, although he’s pretty sure this isn’t really a question. It’s her telling him she’s on her way.

“Please.” Shinichi breathes.

My other writing can be found here.