Spring Awakenings

Epilogue

5/11/12, Takura Productions Facility, Okina City, Late Evening

As she grabbed the large golden "T" that composed half of the ornate gold handle to Takura Productions Studios, Naoto felt a yawn rifle through her system, stopping her from moving further into the building. It had been almost a full week since she had been home, and the hustle and bustle of large cities was beginning to weigh on her. Technologically sparse as it was, Naoto nevertheless greatly missed her quaint little town and, more importantly, the dear friends who resided there. One friend, in particular.

The week after Yu arrived had been a whirlwind of trouble; before his return could truly be celebrated, everything that could have gone wrong seemed to happen all at the same time. Naoto received a mysterious job offer the very next day from the highest ranked law enforcement organization in the nation, the Japanese Self-Defence Force, a job Rise urged her to take, despite Naoto's nervousness about getting back into the field. The work involved spying on the CEO of one of Japan's leading corporations: Mitsuro Kirijo of the Kirijo Group. While Naoto was neck-deep in the work, she had noticed Rise's normally frequent texts had stopped completely, and a call home revealed that the idol was missing. By sheer coincidence, Kirijo was tailing a stolen product of hers, and that trail ended in Inaba; Naoto pursued like she was possessed.

Upon arrival, Kirijo and her Shadow Operatives ventured into the TV World, Naoto not far behind. Apparently Rise and Teddie had been kidnapped and place inside by some unknown entity, leading to a bit of a clash between the old Investigation Team, hot on the kidnapper's trail, and the Shadow Operatives. Using the distraction, Naoto was able to find and rescue her two friends before reuniting with everyone else to help take down Labrys, the product that Kirijo was desperate to retrieve. Labrys was, shockingly, an android with the ability to wield a Persona, a dark secret of the Kirijo Group that Mitsuru had been hoping to use for better purposes. Impressed with the detective's skill, the JSDF asked her to stay in Tatsumi Port Island, the home of the Kirijo Group, to do a bit of extra housekeeping regarding the case. It was something Naoto couldn't turn down, but it did sting a bit to not be with her best friend after such a traumatic incident.

It was that sting that had led Naoto to the Takura Productions Facility this late in the evening. While on the train ride home, Rise had texted her to let her know that she would miss welcoming her home since she would be staying very late to finish up a new single she was working on at the studio. In a rare moment of spontaneity, Naoto swapped trains at her next stop, changing her destination to Okina City; Rise had told her and everyone else that they were always invited down to the studio if they wanted, so she thought it would be nice to surprise the idol after a hard day's work.

Stepping into the lobby, Naoto felt a bit out of her league. Grandiose columns, ruby red carpet, and carefully placed plants and tables all made the place seem very chic . Gold records hung in decorative plaques on the walls, although it was a little too dark to make out all the wording on them; Naoto wondered if Rise was responsible for any of them, and made a note to ask her that some day. A receptionist sat at a desk near the front of the room, slumped in her chair and looking dead tired, not even paying attention to Naoto as she walked in.

Even underneath the thick carpet that covered the ground, Naoto could hear the stifled thump of her new boots. This was another part of Naoto's surprise; Rise had excitedly blabbed to Naoto via text about all the wonderful shops that were on Tatsumi Port Island, and how jealous she was that she couldn't be there to take Naoto shopping. Having been gifted with a rather sizeable paycheck for her duties and time to kill before her train, Naoto had decided that perhaps there was no better way to celebrate the recent big change in her life than to spend frivolously on herself.

To start, Naoto decided she could use a trim on her shaggy blue locks. Normally she would have just had the whole thing cleaned up a bit, but Naoto was in the mood for something bolder. Now, she sported a trendy pixie-cut, the sides of her head shaved very short and the formerly long top trimmed and combed over at the natural part on her left side, leaving a nice swept-back look to the front. It was low maintenance, she had been assured, and it made the prospect of going hatless in the Summer heat a little more palatable.