Chapter Text

Yu Narukami sat alone at a small table in a spacious restaurant. Soft string music played off the walls and drifted through the crowd all around him as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.



Yu was always a calm man. Ever since his school days he had exuded an aura of confidence, but at this very moment he was nothing more than a high-strung ball of nervousness. He checked his watch for the tenth time in the last minute, before slipping his hand into his jacket pocket. His hand wrapped around the small box that he had hidden away to make sure it was still there.



“Hey! Sorry work kept me a bit late.” Yu jumped at the sudden voice and his hand shot out of his jacket pocket. He could feel his face flush as he looked up at a young woman. Her short brown hair perfectly shaping her face and her ever present smile made it look like she was glowing.



“Ch-Ch-Chie!” Yu’s voice came out shaken and he immediately regretted speaking before he had regained control of his own thoughts. The young woman stopped halfway through sitting in the seat across from him and stared. A brief silence passed between them before she burst out laughing, her whole body shaking with each gasp of air that escaped her lungs. Yu smiled at his companion and he could instantly feel the nerves he had pent up in his shoulders slowly loosen. He began to wonder why he had ever been nervous in the first place.



“Wow I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush like that! Hell even when you told me you loved me for the first time, you have always had that same calm look on your face”, She smiled as she tried to stop giggling.



Chie’s new uniform fit her perfectly. She wore a blue button up shirt and a matching pair of slacks. She was supposed to be wearing a jacket as well, but her habit of tying it around her waist had never really gone away. She must have been in a hurry to get here however, because her badge was still pinned to her shirt. Yu leaned his head into his hand as he smiled at his girlfriend.



“Sorry I was just lost in thought. You were late so I had to do something while I waited here alone,” Chie’s face quickly sunk into a pout.



“I said I was sorry!” She whined, “I kept trying to get away, but my boss kept me. Said he had something important he wanted to talk about. Turns out he just wanted to talk about my unfinished paperwork…” Chie gave a heavy sigh as she looked down at the table, “I took this job to help people, not shuffle papers around.” She jumped when Yu reached out placed his hand on hers.



Chie’s eyes locked with his and he watched as her face suddenly turned a bright red. “Yu… You can’t just… look at me like that you know.” Her protests fell on deaf ears however, as he reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.



“You know doing paperwork is part of helping people.” Yu’s voice was pensive, but his expression remained soft. “You are keeping everything organized so that when you need to find something quickly you know exactly where the file is. It would be a real shame if you had a sudden epiphany, but you couldn’t find that one piece of paper that proved your theory.” She gave him a weak frown.



“You know that isn’t how it actually works…” she moaned.



“I know, but if you think of doing paperwork as a way to help others, then maybe it will be easier to do it.” Yu traced his fingers down the side of her face before reluctantly parting.



“Geez you have been planning this night out for months and the first thing you have to do is cheer me up. I’m so sorry about this.” A soft smile appeared on her face, but Yu could tell she was tired. Her eyes were red and there were defined bags under her eyes. Not that he had any place to talk considering how little he had been sleeping as well.



Yu shook his head and smiled at her. “Chie, I will always be here to make things better. Besides, as long as I’m with you then any night is special.” Chie’s cheeks flushed and Yu couldn’t help but enjoy the sight.



“Good evening! Are you two having a good night?” A cheery young man had approached their table and was looking between the two of them. Yu mourned the end of his moment with Chie, but was glad they could finally order. He had been so busy all day that he hadn’t really had a chance to eat.



“We are doing great thanks!” Chie replied with an equal amount of enthusiasm.



“What can I get you two to drink?” The waiter pulled out a small list and slid it on the table.



A few moments later they had both placed their orders and their waiter had left them alone once more. Yu knew that Chie would be excited to find steak on the menu, but she was practically still salivating. Yu let himself laugh quietly before taking her hand once more.



His free hand slid into his pocket and wrapped around the small box once more. He wanted to wait until the meal was over, but he wasn’t sure he could.



“Chie I have something I want-“ his voice was suddenly cut off as a loud ringing cut through the air. Chie quickly fumbled with her pocket as she apologized profusely. she pulled her phone out and went to tap the screen when she suddenly stopped.



“It’s Naoto.” Chie looked up at him and Yu sighed as he took his hand out of his pocket.



“It’s most likely important. Go ahead and answer it.” Yu rested his head in his hand as he politely waited to find out what Naoto wanted. Naoto knew why he had brought Chie to such an expensive restaurant, so why would she call now?



“Naoto? You are on speakerphone. Yu is here with me.” Chie placed her phone on the center of the table so that they could both hear her.



“Good. I tried calling Yu, but his phone seems to be off.” Chie looked up at him with a confused look on her face. Yu sighed and just shrugged. It was almost like he had done it for a reason. He shook his head and tried to let his frustration dissipate. He wasn’t actually upset with Naoto. He was just nervous.



“Sorry Naoto I must have forgotten to turn it back on after I left the court house. Is something up?”



“That’s alright. Actually, something interesting just happened. I got a call on my personal line from a young man in Kyoto. He had a lot of interesting theories about what happened in Inaba a few years ago.” Yu and Chie exchanged glances before looking back at the phone.



“What sort of theories?” Yu was surprised to find he had an edge to his voice.



It had been almost five years since he and his friends had put a stop to a string of murders in Inaba. They had discovered a new world and a rather unique power at that time as well.



“Well among other things, the young man asked me if I knew what a Persona was.” Yu was so stunned that he almost missed the telltale signs of enjoyment in Naoto’s voice. Yu shook his head at the phone. She was having fun.



“Do you think this kid has something to do with those other Persona users we ran into a few years back?” Chie asked, clearly intrigued by the whole situation.



“No. He seemed just as surprised to hear that there were other Persona users. Though I suppose he may have just heard of Persona’s somewhere, but I think it is safe to assume that this boy has a Persona as well.” Yu furrowed his brow as Naoto continued.



“What makes you so sure?” Yu agreed with Naoto, but without speaking to this mysterious kid, he had no way to back that theory up. He wanted solid evidence or at least a reason as to why Naoto felt that way. Naoto let out a short laugh.



“He reminded me of you.” That surprised them. Naoto was a detective so she normally only lived in a world of facts. Hell, when she found out about the TV world all those years ago, she had been quite stubborn about believing it at first. It wasn’t until she had run down every other angle that she finally started to admit that the only possible explanation was that a TV world existed. Yu was snapped out of his reverie when Naoto continued, “He was incredibly calm during the whole conversation. Even when I pressed him for information he was very adept at dodging my questions. Much like a certain leader once did.” Chie beamed at Yu and he had a hard time hiding his embarrassment.



“So he was like my Yu huh?’ Chie’s voice was coated in amusement and Yu felt her hand find his, “We should be careful then. He is most likely very charming and very handsome.” Yu’s face was particularly warm and he did wish that she would stop teasing him while they were talking to Naoto, who was busy sighing at their antics.



“If you are quite done, may I continue?” Naoto sounded slightly annoyed at being interrupted by their flirting.



“Sorry Naoto. Go ahead.” Yu rolled his eyes at his girlfriend while she continued to grin at him.



“To get to the point, I think he contacted me for a reason. He wouldn’t say why, but he seemed oddly excited when I didn’t deny the existence of Personas. I think we should all get together and meet him.” Yu frowned at the phone. This seemed a bit dangerous to him. They had run into other Persona users before and each time something bad had almost happened. What if this kid wasn’t as well intentioned as Naoto thinks he is?



“Hey Naoto? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Chie had apparently come to the same conclusion as he had. He couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful woman. In high school she had had a hard time keeping up with their theories and her grades had been less than stellar. Since she decided to become a police officer however, she had thrown herself into her studies.



“I understand your reservations, but I’m already doing some research on our particularly elusive caller. The only information that he was willing to give up was that he was that he was in high school and a name. Joker, most likely a code name. He seemed used to dodging questions and our conversation was almost like a game to him. What could he get out of me? What could he say to keep me interested? To be completely honest it was rather enjoyable.” Naoto seemed to become more and more excited the more she spoke. Something about the name Joker sounded familiar to Yu. He couldn’t quite remember where he had heard it though.



“I think Naoto has a crush.” Yu teased.



“Oh I didn’t think our resident detective was into younger men! Especially one who is so willing to hide his real name. You think she’s starting to like bad boys Yu?” Chie was clearly more than happy to play along.



“Wh-what! I said no such thing! I simply found his wit to be mentally stimulating. I have no designs on this Joker.” Naoto was clearly embarrassed and it took everything Yu had to not continue teasing her.



“Sorry Naoto we were just teasing.” Yu tried to stop himself from chuckling, but he was clearly failing. Naoto sighed rather loudly.



“My point being…” Naoto was clearly not trying to hide her annoyance. “We were already planning on meeting up in Inaba sometime soon. I think it wouldn’t hurt to perhaps meet up with Joker as well.”



“Um Naoto, I suppose we could, but why would this Joker come to Inaba? Didn’t you say he was in Kyoto?” Yu was pretty sure that he already knew Naoto’s answer, but he was glad that Chie had asked the question anyway.



“Clearly Joker is interested in our previous outings. He specifically contacted me instead of any of the papers or the police department involved in the murders. He must have had a reason to believe that I would know what a Persona user was. He had a reason to call me and I will be surprised if he isn’t looking into coming to Inaba right now.” Naoto was clearly enjoying herself again, though to be fair Yu would be lying if he said that he wasn’t a little excited about all of this. Yu had always felt at his best when he and the gang were together. Now it sounded like they had another mystery on the horizon. This? This was going to be fun.



“You are going to call him aren’t you?” Yu hadn’t meant to sound so excited about this, but it been a long time since the group had gotten together.



“Indeed. He called me with a cellphone. He was clearly young and excited so perhaps he had done so without thinking that I would call him back. I think he is looking for something and I think it will be at least interesting to find out what.” Yu shook his head as he continued to smile. It had been a while since Naoto had had a difficult case. Maybe she felt like this would lead to her next big case.



“Well you should keep us involved. I think this could turn out to be really interesting.” Yu said as he leaned back in his chair.



“Of course. Well I’m sorry for interrupting your romantic evening.” Yu’s eyes widened and he quickly looked up at Chie. Chie had cocked her head to one side and was looking rather confused at the phone.



“Wait how did you know we were on a date tonight?” Chie glanced up at Yu, clearly surprised.



“Oh! Uh well…” Naoto was clearly struggling now that she realized she had made a mistake. She was a genius sure, but her interpersonal skills had never been her strong suite.



“Naoto was the one who told me about this place.” Yu on the other had was used to keeping his cool under pressure. Though now that he had been reminded of why they were here in the first place, he suddenly didn’t feel very calm.



“Oh? Is that so…” Yu loved many things about Chie, but her new found ability to read him was not helping at this particular moment.



“Well ahem regardless. I should be going. Lots of research and all. Good luck Yu!” The call came to a sudden end as Chie continued to frown at the suspicious device.



Yu was always an understanding person. He was there for his friends no matter what, and he did everything he could to forgive them for any mistakes they made. At this particular moment however, he was seriously considering killing the young detective.



“So…” Chie slipped her phone back into her pocket while she tightened her grip on Yu’s hand. “Good luck huh? Well you are clearly up to something so you may as well just tell me.” Yu squeezed her hand back as he tried to think of a way out of this. This was not how he expected this night to go.



A large plate of meat was suddenly set in front of Chie and her attention was pulled away from Yu. He breathed a sigh of relief as his own plate was placed in front of him and he knew he had a moment to breath.



_ _ _



“Wow that was amazing!” Chie wrapped her arm around Yu’s as they walked out into the cool night.



Inaba was always quite at night and the lack of light made the night sky shine brilliantly on most nights. Tonight, was just such a night. The sky was a blanket of twinkling lights that lit their walk home.



“You didn’t tell me this place had such amazing steak! Man, American restaurants know how to cook meat. I don’t know if I can go back to the normal steak skewers after that.” Chie was walking on air as she pressed her body against his. It made it much harder to walk, but Yu certainly didn’t mind.



“I’m glad you liked it. When I first heard they were building a new restaurant for American food I knew I had to take you.” His free hand slipped into his jacked and found the box once more. His heart skipped a beat as he grasped the box and glanced at Chie.



“So… you found it huh? Interesting, I seem to recall you saying Naoto found it.” Chie gave him a side glance and it took every ounce of Yu’s strength to not react. He had been careless. The meal had relaxed him a little too well. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten your little show before dinner. The old me would have forgotten everything once you placed a steak in front of her, but I’ve been training you know!” To prove her point she softly pushed her fist into his chest while doing her signature cry.



“Ah! You got me officer.” Yu staggered on his feet causing her to almost fall into him. “Well now that you have me what are you going to do?” He pulled her close and stared into her eyes.



“Yu... you can’t just do that…” Her face had turned a bright pink as their eyes met. She wrapped her arm around him and lightly grasped his shirt. Yu gently pushed his fingers on her chin and slowly guided her upward. Their lips touched softly and he could feel Chie lean into him. Her body completely relaxed as he ran his hand through her hair. Yu didn’t count how long they stayed connected like that, but when they finally parted they were both breathing a little harder. “You should take me home…” She traced her finger along his back and her eyes seemed to sparkle. He really wanted to take her up on that offer, but there will be time for that later.



“You know officer… you should be more careful.” Yu watched as her eyes narrowed, but it was too late. Her grip had already loosened. Yu escaped from her arms and sprinted towards the nearby park. He heard Chie yelp in surprise followed by the slapping of her shoes on the grass behind him.



“Yu!” Her voice rang out behind him and he could tell that she was confused, but her voice was laced with her laughter. Yu quickly turned and ran up the nearby hill. He took a quick glance behind him and almost yelped. She was much faster than he remembered. As he reached the top of the hill he spun around just in time to see Chie leaping towards him.



Chie’s body slammed into him and he almost lost his balance as his legs wobbled underneath him. His arms instinctively wrapped around her body and once his body had stopped swaying he grunted with effort before lifting her into the air and spinning her around once. Chie’s voice bubbled out from her as her laugh echoed through the surrounding area. As they came to a stop Chie’s hand ran up the back of Yu’s neck and pulled him down into a deep kiss.



“You got me again.” He smiled down at the energetic young woman and he swore she was glowing. He took a step back from her but took her hands in his. “You know this is my favorite place in Inaba.” Chie gave him a surprised look before taking a moment to identify where he had lead her.



“Oh! I didn’t even realize we had ended up here.” She smiled at him, but she was clearly confused. “Why here? I would have thought the Dojima house or maybe even the Junes Food Court.” Yu couldn’t help but laugh.



“No that last one is your favorite place.” She pushed him gently and rolled her eyes.



“You think you are so funny.” He smiled, but he was suddenly having a hard time speaking. He had no reason to panic, and yet… the way the night light played off her hair, it made her breathtaking. He wanted to put his feelings into words, but nothing seemed to fit. “Um, hey there space cadet, you doing okay?” Yu almost jumped as he was brought out of his own thoughts.



“The first time we were here was five years ago.” Well at least he could talk again, “We watched fireworks together with everyone else, but you know I only saw half of the show.” Chie raised an eyebrow and it looked like she was about to speak, but Yu shook his head. “Part way through the show you took my hand. No one noticed back then, which was surprising because I spent the rest of the show looking only at you.”



“Y-Yu…” her face was a bright shade of pink and she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor. His nerves relaxed as he watched her squirm. She was always head strong and she had grown confidant over the years, but when it came to him she still had a hard time not getting embarrassed.



“We had only been dating for a short while, but that was the night I knew I wanted you by my side for the rest of my life.” Yu slipped his hand into his pocket and finally pulled the small box out into the open air. Falling to one knee in front of her was surprisingly the most natural thing he had ever done. She stared down at him, her eyes wide open in surprise. He stopped himself from laughing at her expression. She had known that something was up yet she couldn’t figure out that this was where it was heading. He supposed she would always be dense about certain things. “Chie, at the place where I first fell in love with you, will you marry me?”



“Yu I-“ The box popped open and the starlight reflected off the gem inside. He smiled up at her and he couldn’t stop his mind from quickly flashing through every variation of ‘no’ that she could say. He tried to banish the thoughts, but as the silence between them continued the visions became brighter and more frequent.



“If you need time to think I can-“ Chie shook her head and he saw tears fall down her cheeks as she looked back at him. Her lips were turned up into to a big smile as she thrust her left hand towards him.



“What are you waiting for? Put that ring on my finger!” Her voice was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. She was shaking, but it was clear she was simply trying to stop herself from leaping on top of him. He had to steady himself as he slipped the ring out of the box. It took more than one try to get the ring around her finger, but once he had calmed his nerves the ring fit perfectly. Yu smiled as he pulled his fingers away and he looked up at her. Before he could get a good look at his new fiancé’s face her lips were on his.



_ _ _



Naoto sat on her hotel bed with her back against the wall. She opened another article on her computer as she took another sip of coffee. She hadn’t had much love for the drink when she was younger, but as she had gotten older she had found that she needed something to help her keep going. She scrolled through the article for several minutes before she finally found what she was looking for.



‘High School Student Admits to Being a Phantom Thief’



“I knew it.” Naoto set her cup aside as she scanned the rest of the story. She knew she had heard the name Joker before. To be more specific she knew that name had been important recently. The Phantom Thieves had been in the news for about a year straight. She had been asked to come look into the case, but when she heard the young detective Goro Aketchi was already working the case, she decided to let him have the spotlight. She stopped reading when she found what she was looking for. A name.



‘The young man was attending Shujin Academy before he was caught. 16 year old Akira Kurusu was supposedly caught and had committed suicide only a few months ago. He admitted to faking his death and escaping from the authorities on his own. Why the Phantom Thief has decided to turn himself in now, no one can say.’



Naoto smiled as she wrote the name down. She couldn’t wait to speak to ‘Joker’ once more.