Persona 5 x persona 4

chapter 44

December 12th Thursday.

Naoto rubbed her temples as she fought off the headache that was threatening to take over her brain. The word document in front of her displayed all the clues she had towards Yu's disappearance. Besides the revelation that had been made the day before, there were no other leads or clues. No matter how long Naoto stared at the screen, she couldn't suddenly make a new clue appears. She went over everything for about the fourth time that day alone looking for any little bit of information they might have overlooked, but nothing stood out. They had reached the end of the trail and unless Ren could invite them all into his velvet room this is where the investigation stalled. It had been concluded Ren would not go sniffing for clues about Igor in his velvet room unless someone was there to back him up. Naoto wouldn't risk Ren even if that was currently the only option that was left to explore. Surely there had to be something else, but so far only the piercing ache in Naoto's head was the sole focus of her mind.

Naoto groaned quietly, as she continued to rub her temples. Normally she didn't get headaches this bad, but this was quickly turning towards migraine level pain. This wasn't the time for pain through, Naoto needed answers. She had been fighting through this most of the morning but now it was starting to become unbearable. How was she expected to find Yu when her brain was exploding? The door to the office opened and shut, but Naoto didn't bother acknowledging it. Despite the pain, she tried going over the facts once again trying to extrapolate a new conclusion from the little clues she had. Her pained mind strained under the effort before Naoto felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulders.

Without any guidance from Naoto, the hands moved over her shoulders and neck in a soothing matter. The detective leaned into the warm touch. Maybe a small break from trying to think too hard was something she needed. Closing her eyes she just enjoyed the welcoming touch as it melted away some of the aches. For several long minutes, Naoto indulged in the feeling before she opened her eyes and looked up at the owner of the wonderful hands.

"Thanks, Kanji." Naoto smiled up at her fiancé.

"Ya can thank me by drinkin' that cup of coffee. Jeez, Naoto you got some pretty big knots in yer neck! Hold still." Kanji cracked his knuckles before his hands returned to her shoulders.

Naoto glanced at the cup of coffee that had appeared in front of her. The steam that came off it meant Kanji must have brought it in with him when he had come in. Naoto reached for the cup and slowly took in the aroma. How could she have forgotten to grab a coffee that morning? Surely Kanji must have noticed and that's why he had delivered this current cup to her. Taking a sip of the dark brew it was the perfect temperature, allowing for follow up sips to turn into more gulps than sips. The caffeine would surely help her focus on the task ahead and combined with Kanji's gentle massage, the migraine was slowly easing off. A few painkillers and she'd be fine for sure.

"Alright another cup of coffee and some painkillers, then I should be good." Naoto started to get up but Kanji's kept her pinned to her chair, as he held onto her shoulders.

"How about some breakfast, another cup of coffee, some pills, then you relax a bit. Ya have been at this since you got that call Sunday mornin'." Kanji seemed to insist.

Naoto sighed, she knew what Kanji was trying to do but she couldn't share his sentiment at that moment. "No Kanji, Yu is still out there somewhere!" Suddenly Kanji seemed to reject her answer as he spun her chair around and picked her up. "Kanji what are you doing?!" Naoto demanded but she was quickly thrown over his shoulder. "Let me down this instant Kanji!"

"No freakin' way Naoto! Yer pushing yourself way to fuckin' hard and it ain't gonna help Yu get back any faster! Damn it!" Kanji's voice was raised, while he raised his voice quite often; he rarely did it to Naoto.