Detective Kanji

Chapter 1: A Mysterious Card

Note: This story is an entirely separate story from my other Persona books. It is not canon to those. I'm writing this because I had this idea and wanted to see what I could do with it. But it doesn't fit the canon of my other stories' universe, so it will be its own thing. Just letting you know.

Begin!

~Normal POV

"Are you sure about this, sir? What if she doesn't want to?"

"She'll want to. You know how my granddaughter is. She can't help herself when it comes to a mystery."

"Understood, but I merely meant that she might be too busy for it."

"That's a risk we'll have to take. Now, about the card. You'll need to give it to someone close to her. One of her new friends, that way she'll accept it. Let's see... I don't know what they look like yet. Is there some other way to find- Ah! She's mentioned a boy named Kanji Tatsumi rather frequently. I'm sure if you hang around Tatsumi Textiles you'll be able to run into him. Be careful to avoid revealing that you know her, or your own identity."

"Yes, Shirogane-sama."

~...

Kanji walked out of his house and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He might be used to going to school regularly again, but it never felt easier to get up in the morning. Though his mom's delicious breakfast helped wake him up a little. He started walking to school as normal.

"Excuse me, young man?"

Kanji paused and looked to his side. A middle-aged man in a suit and sunglasses had approached him out of nowhere. He'd never seen the man before.

"Eh, what?"

"I have a question for you, I promise it won't take long."

Kanji was confused. Well, this man didn't look like a cop. He'd done a lot of growing up since getting help from Yu, but perhaps he was a little wary still. It didn't look like the man was going to leave without an answer either.

"Uh, sure... what's up?" Kanji asked.

"You are Kanji Tatsumi, yes?"

"Yeah..."

"Ah, good. Tell me, do you know Naoto-sama- Ah, ahem. You know a detective by the name of Naoto Shirogane, correct?"

Kanji perked up a little. This man wanted to know about Naoto? What for? Is it an emergency? Was she hurt?

"Yeah, I know Naoto!" He answered, quickly.

The man nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, I know you know him. Please deliver this to him the next time you see him. He will understand." He handed Kanji a little white card. "Good day, then."

Without another word, the man walked away and didn't look back.

Kanji stared down at the card with a puzzled look. That was weird. That man seemed to know Naoto, but hadn't heard that she was a girl. And this card- well, it didn't look too important to Kanji, but if it was for Naoto, then maybe it was important to her. He figured he shouldn't ignore it. If she needed this card, he should give it to her. He pocketed it and hurried off to school.

His mom would kill him if he starts being late again.

~...

Kanji decided to wait until after school let out before doing this. He told himself it was just because it'd be more convenient for both of them, but he knew that was only half the reason. The other half was... he was nervous.