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paperPersona 4 - v. Naoto, Naoto/Souji
Spoilers: Naoto arc & beyond.
Notes: I love Persona 4 so ridiculously much. In any case, I've never written fic for it, but I was wanting to try to flex my writing brain, as it were. I haven't tried to be creative in so long that it's worrisome. I really wish I would stop being prolific in spurts. Anyway, I'm not sure what I wanted to do with this? I did want to fiddle a bit with dialogue, as it's always been my weak point, but in the end it was mostly an exercise in WTF. Enjoy, I suppose.
Rumors, and the Infamous Valentine Event
It was all perfectly innocent, of course, but innocence never seems to make for rumor diffusion. Which then, following the prior example of high school students worldwide, brought about the logical conclusion -- the birth of some truly mind-boggling twists of fact, doses of fiction, and a few dabs of insanity to fill in the corners. Rather like spackling compound, really.
But a lot less useful in the end, which was why Naoto was smoothly diverting another poorly-hidden interrogation with a well-timed alarm on her cell phone, set precisely for ten minutes into the lunch hour. And if Naoto's acting skills weren't up to par in the crunch, well -- that was why she didn't say anything and simply walked away from them all, acting perfectly in character. Everyone, after all, knew that the Detective Prince was cold, rude, disinclined toward socializing beyond her chosen group.
Which was precisely why all the rumors were flying with abandon.
Making a few cautionary "mmhmms" and "of course" for the sake of those passing by, Naoto made her inglorious escape by way of a brisk walk and no eye contact, but could hardly escape the whispers.
"Amagi-san was the one to propose," one girl said, obviously The Authority on Rumors and Gossip. "But Naoto-kun was the one to make the chocolate," she admitted.
"Wasn't it just a confession?" a boy asked curiously.
"No way! Everyone's been saying it was like, a promise for life. Amagi-san was practically crying with the force of her love!"
"Everyone heard it," someone else said, nearly seamlessly integrating with a conversation half the hallway back -- as was the case with rumors, "Amagi-senpai said, 'I can't do it alone'. It sounds like a proposal to me, really."
"Are you sure? I mean, Naoto might be a 'Prince', but... I really don't think Amagi-san swings that way."
"Wouldn't she have gone for Chie, instead?"
"Does it matter? It's hot, anyway. If you'd bothered attending the Miss Contest, you'd have seen that right away."
"I heard that Naoto-kun said she would stay with Amagi-senpai forever," another girl said dreamily. "I know she's a girl, but obviously Amagi-san sees that manly side to her, you know? I'm so jealous."
Then finally, blessed silence for a few seconds, before--
"Chie-senpai looked out of sorts since Valentine's. I'm absolutely -- wait, does this mean Amagi-san needs to reply on White Day?"
"No way! The Prince should, right?"
"But she was the one who gave the chocolate on Valentine's--"
And Naoto gritted her teeth as she silently cursed the fact that Yukiko-senpai had ever come to her for a cooking partnership, all for the sake of one silly holiday. Granted, it was his first -- and last -- with them all, but even so...
"It's just absolutely romantic, I think. Who cares if they're both girls? Naoto-kun's more like a guy, anyway, right? And she's a detective. How amazing is that?"
Even so...
"I heard," another Voice of Authority, this one remarkably different despite the similar tone, "that Hanamura cried for two days. He always liked Amagi-san, you know."
Even so, if Naoto had ever realized what it would bring about, she would have said no. She would have bought one of the few bulletin boards near Inaba to make her entire point. She would have turned into a man, just so that the rumors wouldn't be so appetizing to the slavering horde of teenagers surrounding her. She would have...
"Naoto-kun?"
A familiar voice caught her just before she made the stupid mistake of falling down a thankfully semi-empty flight of stairs, and her heart jumped in her throat. Just a little.
"Senpai," she said, wondering if she sounded as unflustered as she wanted to sound.
"Thanks for the chocolate," he said, with a lopsided smile, stepping close as he spoke. It was to keep anyone from listening in, she knew, but her heart jumped again anyway, straight into her esophagus and expanding to keep her from being able to breathe.
Which was impossible, obviously, but someone had never bothered educating her body on what functions were and were not possible, even in today's advanced age.
"It was really mostly Yukiko-senpai," she muttered, ignoring his blank look, then amused smile. "Her idea. Technically, at the very least. I mean --well. It was her idea, that is." And she was blabbering. How wondrous. She never blabbered, blubbered, flubbered, or any other horribly demeaning verb for making a fool of herself that she could think of.
"Still," he said, before backing away. "We're going to Junes after school. Coming?"
She blew out a breath as all activity suddenly quieted approximately thirty-two percent and counting. She wondered what he thought of all the rumors he couldn't help but be in the middle of. She wondered if he was going to eat only half his fries again before giving up and shoving them over to Teddie. She wondered...
"Yes, of course," she said, and wondered more realistically if he would be sitting next to Yukiko again.
Because they were, after all, dating.
Even if the rumors hadn't caught on yet.
Spoilers: Naoto arc & beyond.
Notes: I love Persona 4 so ridiculously much. In any case, I've never written fic for it, but I was wanting to try to flex my writing brain, as it were. I haven't tried to be creative in so long that it's worrisome. I really wish I would stop being prolific in spurts. Anyway, I'm not sure what I wanted to do with this? I did want to fiddle a bit with dialogue, as it's always been my weak point, but in the end it was mostly an exercise in WTF. Enjoy, I suppose.
Rumors, and the Infamous Valentine Event
It was all perfectly innocent, of course, but innocence never seems to make for rumor diffusion. Which then, following the prior example of high school students worldwide, brought about the logical conclusion -- the birth of some truly mind-boggling twists of fact, doses of fiction, and a few dabs of insanity to fill in the corners. Rather like spackling compound, really.
But a lot less useful in the end, which was why Naoto was smoothly diverting another poorly-hidden interrogation with a well-timed alarm on her cell phone, set precisely for ten minutes into the lunch hour. And if Naoto's acting skills weren't up to par in the crunch, well -- that was why she didn't say anything and simply walked away from them all, acting perfectly in character. Everyone, after all, knew that the Detective Prince was cold, rude, disinclined toward socializing beyond her chosen group.
Which was precisely why all the rumors were flying with abandon.
Making a few cautionary "mmhmms" and "of course" for the sake of those passing by, Naoto made her inglorious escape by way of a brisk walk and no eye contact, but could hardly escape the whispers.
"Amagi-san was the one to propose," one girl said, obviously The Authority on Rumors and Gossip. "But Naoto-kun was the one to make the chocolate," she admitted.
"Wasn't it just a confession?" a boy asked curiously.
"No way! Everyone's been saying it was like, a promise for life. Amagi-san was practically crying with the force of her love!"
"Everyone heard it," someone else said, nearly seamlessly integrating with a conversation half the hallway back -- as was the case with rumors, "Amagi-senpai said, 'I can't do it alone'. It sounds like a proposal to me, really."
"Are you sure? I mean, Naoto might be a 'Prince', but... I really don't think Amagi-san swings that way."
"Wouldn't she have gone for Chie, instead?"
"Does it matter? It's hot, anyway. If you'd bothered attending the Miss Contest, you'd have seen that right away."
"I heard that Naoto-kun said she would stay with Amagi-senpai forever," another girl said dreamily. "I know she's a girl, but obviously Amagi-san sees that manly side to her, you know? I'm so jealous."
Then finally, blessed silence for a few seconds, before--
"Chie-senpai looked out of sorts since Valentine's. I'm absolutely -- wait, does this mean Amagi-san needs to reply on White Day?"
"No way! The Prince should, right?"
"But she was the one who gave the chocolate on Valentine's--"
And Naoto gritted her teeth as she silently cursed the fact that Yukiko-senpai had ever come to her for a cooking partnership, all for the sake of one silly holiday. Granted, it was his first -- and last -- with them all, but even so...
"It's just absolutely romantic, I think. Who cares if they're both girls? Naoto-kun's more like a guy, anyway, right? And she's a detective. How amazing is that?"
Even so...
"I heard," another Voice of Authority, this one remarkably different despite the similar tone, "that Hanamura cried for two days. He always liked Amagi-san, you know."
Even so, if Naoto had ever realized what it would bring about, she would have said no. She would have bought one of the few bulletin boards near Inaba to make her entire point. She would have turned into a man, just so that the rumors wouldn't be so appetizing to the slavering horde of teenagers surrounding her. She would have...
"Naoto-kun?"
A familiar voice caught her just before she made the stupid mistake of falling down a thankfully semi-empty flight of stairs, and her heart jumped in her throat. Just a little.
"Senpai," she said, wondering if she sounded as unflustered as she wanted to sound.
"Thanks for the chocolate," he said, with a lopsided smile, stepping close as he spoke. It was to keep anyone from listening in, she knew, but her heart jumped again anyway, straight into her esophagus and expanding to keep her from being able to breathe.
Which was impossible, obviously, but someone had never bothered educating her body on what functions were and were not possible, even in today's advanced age.
"It was really mostly Yukiko-senpai," she muttered, ignoring his blank look, then amused smile. "Her idea. Technically, at the very least. I mean --well. It was her idea, that is." And she was blabbering. How wondrous. She never blabbered, blubbered, flubbered, or any other horribly demeaning verb for making a fool of herself that she could think of.
"Still," he said, before backing away. "We're going to Junes after school. Coming?"
She blew out a breath as all activity suddenly quieted approximately thirty-two percent and counting. She wondered what he thought of all the rumors he couldn't help but be in the middle of. She wondered if he was going to eat only half his fries again before giving up and shoving them over to Teddie. She wondered...
"Yes, of course," she said, and wondered more realistically if he would be sitting next to Yukiko again.
Because they were, after all, dating.
Even if the rumors hadn't caught on yet.
