Coming to you live from a very steamy journal post~
Why, hello there, kittens! I'm Kanji, esteemed reporter of all things fabulous and ever so delightfully naughty, and I'm here with a most special update for a fandom just beginning its long, hard... journey into adulthood~!
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 4 KINK MEME
In this scintillating post of mine, you can comment anonymously with any pairing ( Read more... )
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 4 KINK MEME
In this scintillating post of mine, you can comment anonymously with any pairing ( Read more... )
Yukiko barely suppressed a squeak. "Um. Did anyone just hear ...?"
"Ooooooorgh. Ugh."
The low moan echoed in the hallway. Yousuke immediately flattened himself against the wall, followed shortly by Chie (peeking out from behind his shoulder) and Yukiko (behind Chie's). Only Kanji stood in the middle of the hallway, posed halfway between flight and fight. "Kanji!" hissed Yousuke. "Don't just stand there, dumbass!"
"I thought I heard somethin'."
"We all did!" said Chie, just a little more loudly than Yousuke. "Why do you think we're doing this?"
Kanji shook his head. "It ain't just that." But he joined them anyway, looking out nervously over the tops of their heads. "The hell do you think it is?"
"Ghost," said Chie. "Of a dead criminal, I bet. Someone's murderous ex-girlfriend who got killed in the electric chair--"
"Dude, there's no such thing," Yousuke whispered. "Besides, it's a guy's voice--"
"And platform shoes," added Kanji.
"And -- wait, what?"
"I heard a woman's voice too," said Yukiko, cutting in before Kanji could reply. "I think they're talking in English."
The four of them fell silent for a long moment, listening, until Yousuke finally said, "Guys, I can't see anything like this. I'm moving up." And he did so, stealthily creeping up towards the bend in the path. The others followed, a bit more hesitantly, until all four of them could peek their heads around the corner. (Somehow, Yousuke ended up on the bottom again. How the hell did that keep happening?)
Despite their best efforts, however, they couldn't see much. Several of the lights had burnt out in this section, which made things difficult. And not just for them, if the noises were any indication. The moaning thing kept bumping into the walls, accompanied by a flurry of words in English. ("Nick! That's a wall, silly!" or "Perhaps you should proceed a little more cautiously, Mr. Wright." Nicks and lights? Weird.) Kanji kept poking his head out farther and farther, his face a mask of concentration.
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And then, quite suddenly, a wholly familiar head popped up out of the tangle of people. Blue eyes, dark hat, nice shirt and tie -- "Naoto-kun!?" said Chie, goggling at her. "What are you -- how did you -- ?"
"Platform shoes," mumbled Kanji, his voice muffled by Yukiko's legs.
Meanwhile, Naoto stared blankly at them. "Hana...mura-san?" she said. "Amagi-san? Satonaka-san?" A glance at Kanji as well. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Someone kicked Yousuke firmly in the knee. Wincing, Yousuke saw Chie sit up next to him. "Um ... actually, that's a long story," she said.
Yukiko nodded. "We're on a tour. It's a special summer program."
"Tour," repeated Naoto, blinking slowly. "Surely not of the detention center."
"Ahaha, well..." Chie knuckled one hand into her head. "It's really warm out in the office, you know?"
Two more people sat up. A girl that looked to be about their age, plus a man in his early twenties, with hair-spikes that seemed to have been flattened by the fall. He looked terribly exhausted, as opposed to the girl, who immediately stood up and started gesturing at them. "What?" said Yousuke, rubbing at his head.
"She's asking if I know you," replied Naoto. Her expression had blanked completely, a mask of 'I know you people but I seriously wish I didn't right now.'
"Is this really what we should be talking about right now?" interrupted Chie. "You're here! I mean, we kinda hoped, but we didn't know for sure, and ..."
Kanji pulled himself to his feet slowly, using the wall for balance. After a moment, he offered a hand to Naoto. "Uh. Yeah. Good to see you again," he said.
Naoto's frown only deepened. "This is a serious matter," she said. "I'm currently engaged in a case."
"We heard about it," said Yukiko. She shifted her hairband back into place and tucked a few strands of hair behind it. "The bridge murder. We're glad to see you, of course," she added hastily, "but with that happening, things are ..."
The detective nodded slowly. "Of course. I have my own priorities as well." She glanced at the two Americans. "Although, my translating abilities are the skills most needed at the moment."
"Ow," muttered the spikey-haired man. "Maya, what did we hit?"
"People! Didn't you notice?"
"Magatama," he said, before rubbing at his head again and leaning against the wall.
"Should I hit you again? Mia says that always snaps her right out of it!"
The man cringed. "Later, maybe."
Meanwhile, the Japanese speakers' conversation continued uninterrupted. "Who're they?" said Yousuke, looking pointedly at the Americans. "Is this case stuff?"
Naoto hesitated. "He is one of the lawyers involved, yes," she said. "Adachi Tohru's trial will be held in three days."
"-- I knew it!" said Chie. Both hands flew to her waist, and she stood the with her feet planted wide and firm against the floor. "That bridge murder looked exactly the same!"
Yousuke groaned and attempted to stand up. Again. "That bastard. How the hell did the police just let him waltz over to America like this?"
Naoto's discomfort increased visibly. "Perhaps we should return to the office before you are missed," she said. "Mr. Wright is in need of an aspirin as well."
"We can talk on the way," said Yukiko. "That is," she added, after glancing between the detective and Kanji, who looked worried, "if Naoto-kun doesn't mind."
"I ... could use your insight," said Naoto, her eyes half-closing. "Very well."
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By the way, was heavily amused by how Kanji managed to hear Naoto's platform shoes.
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Nick made a vaguely pained noise in response. No matter what he’d presented, be it evidence or reasoning or even pontification, Adachi hadn’t budged. Perhaps that was his fault for attempting psyche locks this early in the case … or maybe his client was really that tough of a nut to crack. Running out of energy with the magatama usually didn’t result in this kind of headache; he had the sneaking suspicion that Adachi had been aware of Nick’s “helper” somehow, and had deliberately allowed him to use up more energy than he usually did chasing after false leads.
And then there’d been that face, too. The brief flashes where Nick had thought he’d seen something else staring out of Adachi, a masked figure cracked with red and black lines…
“Found one!”
Maya passed over a small red-and-white-dotted object, which Phoenix squinted at. It read “Jelly Belly” on one side. “… Maya, this isn’t aspirin.”
“Of course not!” she replied, beaming. “It’s a jelly bean.”
“Jelly …”
Maya nodded vehemently. “Mia always gave me jelly beans when I started getting a headache! She said headaches are caused by de-sugarization.”
( I … could almost see that, ) thought Nick. ( But right now I’ll take the water and the aspirin, thanks. )
“Mr. Wright?”
Nick looked up. A stack of paperwork stood in front of him. … wait, no. Phoenix shifted from side to side, trying to get a better look at person carrying the stack of paper, but no such luck; all he could see were a couple of skinny arms and tufts of brown hair. “More information for the case, sir. Could you - oof, my arms - take the manilla envelope on top, please?”
He had to stand in order to reach it, but at least it was on the top; Nick didn’t really want to try extracting the envelope from somewhere in the middle. “Thanks,” he said, trying very hard to mean it. His headache kind of made that difficult.
Meanwhile, Naoto found herself at the center of her friends’ attention. They’d all clustered around her quite closely at first, which had been more distressing, but as they had moved out into the main office, only Kanji flanked her, with the rest of them standing back to ask questions. “You seriously had to translate for that bastard?” said Yousuke. “I hope you made him sound psychotic.”
“I carried out my duties to the best of my ability.” She paused. “Although he did seem to become more unsettled as the interview went on.”
“I still wanna know how he got all the way here,” sighed Chie. “Are you sure you can’t tell us?”
Naoto nodded. “Unfortunately. The situation is delicate, politically. Besides that,” she added, a bit more quietly, “I am uncertain of their reasoning to begin with.”
“We know Doujima-san is here too,” said Yukiko. “He came with Detective Gumshoe.”
Another slight nod from Naoto. “I’m not surprised,” she said. “They’re currently partners, after all.”
“S’gotta be hard,” said Kanji, frowning.
On the other hand, Yousuke just eyed Gumshoe, who was wrapping up the tour with wide, almost flailing gestures and a little too much exuberance. “No kidding. Do you think they’ve got Doujima-san holed up with him too?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Naoto said, blinking. “Considering the situation, it made far more sense for him to stay with-”
“Naoto-kun!”
Naoto staggered forward sharply, unbalanced by the sudden addition of one Kujikawa Rise. The idol wrapped both arms around Naoto, squeezing all the air out of the smaller girl. “Kujikawa…san?” she gasped, trying very hard not to fall over.
“Rise-chan’s here too?” Chie said. “No way!”
The group converged on Rise, everyone yelling and chattering in one big cacophony of excitement. First came the background details: Rise’s involvement with the new Steel Samurai movie, Naoto’s translation duties, and the summer program.
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“Murder,” said Yousuke, in lowered tones. “You saw it, right -?”
“Adachi’s in prison here,” hissed Chie. “I mean, I think the American police are kind of out of their league here-”
Naoto cleared her throat.
“- with all due respect,” she added hastily. “I mean, it’s not like you can really explain that kind of thing, right?”
“A fair point.”
“You know what this means, right?” said Yousuke, excitedly. “We’ve got to get the investigation team rolling again. Perfect sendoff!”
Kanji rubbed at his head. “I still got a couple years left.”
“Yes, but this really could be the last time we’re all together,” added Yukiko. “It certainly couldn’t hurt.”
Yousuke’s expression darkened. “Not all together,” he said. “Man, I really miss Souji.”
Rise clapped her hands together. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot to tell you.” She beamed with pleasure. “Souji’s -”
“Ooh, ooh, is this a secret meeting?”
“Teddie!”
Teddie wormed his way in next to Rise, beaming up at her in response. She rewarded him with a hug of his own. “Ahh, the joys of youth~” he said, snuggling in closer to her.
“Are you done translating?” asked Yukiko, glancing back at where the tour group had been. The students had dispersed by now, leaving the safety of the group to poke at things in the office or just find a cool spot to sit. The blond student sparkled to himself and took the Blue Badger’s measurements, much to Kanji’s distraction.
“Yep!” said Teddie. “Mr. Gumshoe says the rest of tonight is free time! And he invited us to come back with him and Doujima-san.” He puffed out his chest a little. “He says that I~ am a godsend!”
Yousuke groaned. “Yeah, yeah. We get it already. You’re magical.”
“It’s useful!” said Rise. “English is really hard to get right, you know.”
“Ohhh, yeah. Betcha it’ll come in handy when we start investigating.” Chie rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“So we are investigating.” Teddie beamed. “I knew it! Leave it to me to sniff out all the clues. Since Sensei isn’t here…”
Naoto cleared her throat again. “I wish to make a statement on that subject-”
“What are you kids planning?”
Doujima suddenly loomed above them, blocking out the glare from the office lights. Several members of the group flinched guiltily. “Nothing,” said Yukiko, avoiding his gaze. “We just happened to run into Naoto-kun and Rise-chan, so…”
“We’re coming back with you and Mr. Gumshoe!” said Teddie. “He said we could, you know?”
“He did?” Suddenly, the detective looked even more tired than he had a few moments ago. He shot a vaguely venomous look at Gumshoe, who waved back. “We’re not going to have enough room in the car,” he said. “I’m already bringing back guests.”
“Guests?” said Yousuke.
Doujima angled his head back, looking at the desk where Phoenix was currently fighting off a migraine. “We’re consolidating the investigation somewhat, given the lack of translators available. So he’s coming along to dinner tonight.”
“Huh?” Kanji’s focus snapped back to the conversation at hand. “We’re going somewhere?”
Once again, Doujima looked incredibly exhausted. “After I take care of a few things,” he said. “First of which being a smoke break.” Walking towards the door, he pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket.
Yousuke followed after him, with the rest of the group falling into place behind him. “Where are we going?” he asked.
The detective stepped outside. It was late afternoon by now, still hot, but considerably more shaded, with the shadows of buildings and trees making long lines in the sidewalk. Several more cars were parked in front of the building now, with various people milling out and about and around; Doujima angled towards a silver van parked at the end of the row. “Back to where I’m staying,” he said, lighting a cigarette.
“Staying…?” said Yukiko.
“With family.” He moved, allowing them a better view of the van itself … and there stood Seta Souji, holding a set of car keys and leaning against the car door as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Souji!”
Their leader had just enough time to blink before they rolled him up in their giant katamari of reunion.
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Possibly the best sentence ever. But YAY! Reunion!
Also oh snap?! Philemon?!
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For the Japanese nerds: the kanji for Kiyoshi’s and Ayari’s names are 清 and 綺麗, respectively. Since they are honorary PW-ers for this story, their names are slightly punny.))
"So when you said your parents were working overseas--"
"... you never asked which direction."
They'd all gathered at the Seta household for dinner, with the "adults" splitting off into the main dining room while the "kids" got the Japanese-style living room. (Maya qualified as an adult, much to Phoenix’s surprise.) Once the Inaba group had settled themselves down onto the floor cushions, they'd gotten one more surprise in the form of Nanako-chan. She’d given all of them a round of hugs before finally settling; now she sat between Teddie and Rise, radiantly happy about the whole affair.
"I'm so glad everyone's here!" she said, leaning her elbows on the table. "I thought I'd get lonely, but then Dad said we'd get to live with big bro's family, and Risette and Naoto-san visted too..."
"And now you've got all of us!" said Chie. "Well, at least for a week or so."
Nanako nodded. "Dad almost didn't want me to come," she said. "But we don't really have much family besides the Setas, and since they live here anyway..."
"-- that's something else I wanna ask about," said Yousuke, turning to Souji. "How'd you avoid telling us about all this? It isn't just 'big city' different, you know."
Souji shrugged. There really wasn't much else to say, other than his standard 'you never asked.' "It's very Japanese here." He'd attended an experimental school up until his first year of high school, one that took more from the Japanese system than the American one; besides, he'd had plenty of Japanese neighbors, strict linguistic education from his equally bilingual parents, and a little village called Kurain just up the road ... "My parents are reporters."
"I thought you said you'd moved around in Japan too," said Yukiko, thoughtfully.
"I did. The previous year." And that had been hectic, even moreso than the original move back to Japan. A few months spent in Tokyo, another two in Iwatodai, three in Sapporo, three more in Kobe.
Kanji shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable against the carpeted floor. There weren’t enough cushions to go around. "Sounds rough," he said.
Another shrug. Souji honestly didn't remember much by way of feelings, save a slow smoldering resentment at every new self-introduction he'd been forced into doing. But Inaba had been different. Inaba had been ...
"Hey, don't ask him too much," said Yousuke, despite the fact that he'd been the one firing off most of the questions earlier. "If we use up all his lines now, he won't be able to say a thing for the rest of the week."
"Big bro's not that quiet," said Nanako. "He talks to me all the time."
"Me too!" said Teddie.
"Aw, c'mon." Yousuke groaned. "Now you're just making me look bad."
They chattered for a while, catching up. Souji mostly listened, warm contentment settling in his chest. This was what he'd really missed. Naoto often had tidbits in regard to police cases, which had been interesting, and Rise always had a great story for Nanako. But it wasn't the same as having all of his friends here, together. They couldn’t discuss the case in front of Nanako-chan, of course, but Souji managed to insinuate that he had a rather large room upstairs, and that it wouldn’t look at all weird if the “kids” went up there to talk after dinner. Especially if they turned on the TV.
“Sorry to keep you kids waiting!”
The group looked up. Souji’s father, Seta Kiyoshi, stood just between the kitchen and the living room, carefully balancing a tray in one hand. He was a tall man, with a wide, friendly face; black hair as well, in the same sweeping style as Souji’s. He wore mismatched socks (black and pink) and had exchanged his suit for an apron and a bright orange t-shirt. “… Dad,” said Souji. “Don’t tell me you…”
“Cooked?” His father grinned sheepishly. “Don’t worry. Your mother insisted on getting the kitchen tonight.” He settled the tray down on the table.
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Natto spaghetti, added Souji silently. And the pickle potato salad. And the bassashi-tofu casserole. And…
“Hey, as long as it’s not Mystery Food X, American Edition,” said Yousuke. “I’m starving!”
They ate. The food was simple - one of his mother’s old stand-bys, a kind of fish lasagna she usually made for American guests. “Sensei really does have parents,” said Teddie, stabbing awkwardly at a noodle with his fork.
“Well, yeah,” said Chie. “What’d you think he came from? An egg?”
“We don’t come from eggs?” said Nanako, her expression wide and innocent. “That’s what Dad said…”
Embarrassment prickled at the back of Souji’s neck. Fortunately, someone else fielded the question before he did. … unfortunately, that “someone else” was Kanji. “Nah, it ain’t eggs or nothin’,” he said. He furrowed his brows. “There’s cabbage patches involved.”
“Cabbage patches?” Nanako just looked more confused. “I’ve seen Dad and Adachi-san bring home cabbages together before, but…”
“I think I shall return my dishes to the sink,” said Naoto, standing abruptly.
“Uh, me too,” said Kanji.
Rise threaded her fingers through one bouncy pigtail, trying not to sigh at the two fleeing group members. “It’s not eggs or cabbage patches,” she said. “It’s … well, do you have any pictures of your parents?”
To Souji’s surprise, Nanako nodded. “Aunt Ayari gave me one,” she said. “I can’t take it out of the house or show it to Dad, because he’ll be sad. But she said it’s still mine.” … well, that did explain it. Souji had seen the occasional photograph of the Doujima side of the family before, though he still couldn’t figure out which photo Nanako was referring to. “Should I go get it?”
“Yes,” said both Chie and Yousuke.
“Um, okay…” Still confused, Nanako scampered down the hallway and up the stairs to her room.
They all heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God,” said Chie. “I am really not ready to explain that kind of thing to her.”
Tell me about it, thought Souji, poking at his food.
“I wasn’t going to explain much,” admitted Rise. She leaned against Souji, cuddling his forearm. “Just a little about people loving each other very~ much~”
Teddie chewed on a bite of lasagna, looking thoughtful. “So … it’s like scoring?”
Yukiko winced. “I swear, the next time I hear that word…”
Meanwhile, Rise giggled. “It can be,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind trying it with sempai.”
Chie flushed. “You probably haven’t even seen the inside of his room yet,” she said, leaning against the table.
“I have,” Yukiko said, quietly. Then she went red to the tips of her ears as she realized the implications of she’d just said. “Well, not for that, but -”
… uh oh, thought Souji, looking between the three girls. He didn’t like where this was going. He really, really didn’t like where this was going.
As if sensing his thoughts, Rise scowled up at him. “Sempai! I thought you said I was your first.”
“- have you been holding out on me, partner?” said Yousuke, suddenly jumping into the conversation as well. “Jeez, first the porn, and now this…”
“What porn?” said Yukiko.
“Wait, you had him up your room too?” said Chie, somehow slightly less unhappy about that revelation.
“Me too, me too!” said Teddie, attaching himself to Souji’s other arm. “Sensei, let me bear your children!”
Thankfully, Naoto and Kanji chose that moment to return to the table - with a mission, apparently, from the looks in their eyes. (Or at least, it was something to seize upon, something for which Souji was very, very grateful.) “What’re you blabberin’ about?” said Kanji.
“We’re giving Sensei babies!”
Kanji paused. “Uh … okay?” he said, looking as though he wasn’t sure if he ought to be jealous or just confused. “Can it wait? The adults’re talkin’ about the case.”
“Yes,” said Naoto. “And while I would not directly encourage behavior such as eavesdropping…”
Souji nodded and stood as quickly as he could. “Can we … talk about this later?” he said, trying not to look at the rest of his teammates.
He waited for only the vaguest of positive responses before hurrying into the kitchen.
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Oh man, Souji, you are so screwed. Ahahahaha.
You write the best Teddie ever.
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other than go go go anon!
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I look forward to future posts! ♥
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