Kind Of Long Introductory Author's Note

So here it is. My very first published work of fan fiction. I'd like to start by giving a shout out to RionAgrius for betaing this for me and giving me the confidence to publish, despite his busy schedule.

I can't say I'm not nervous. Writing observational comedy, satire, and objective analyses is much more within my comfort zone than dramatic fiction, much less dramatic fan fiction, much much less than dramatic romance fiction. To say I currently feel like a fish out of water having written this would be like saying a moose probably feels somewhat uncomfortable on the inhospitable surface of Mars, and that's being generous. I must have spent something along the lines of three or four straight hours just constantly rereading this first chapter and adding or hacking bits off. The only reason it's even published right now is because I forced myself to stop revising and to just throw it out there.

That being said: the most valuable thing I could have are reviews.

It doesn't matter if it's positive or negative, but to be completely blunt I'm flying totally blind here; outside of the opinion of RionAgrius (appreciated and important as it is) I have practically zero idea as to whether or not I'm doing anything right with only a vague gauge of how well I'm doing the characterization (basically, if I can hear the voice actors in my head I'm on the right track). So please, if you take the time to stop by and read through this, your opinion regardless of who you are would be very much appreciated. It'd give me a sense on how to improve and what to fix and it'd also greatly motivate me to continue the story. Because I'm planning on going places with this.

It doesn't even have to be a full blown review. Just tell me what you think of it. Is it interesting? Boring? Want to read more? Never reading any of my work ever again?

Also, a brief explanation of the title for any who may be confused: Fortuna Redux is an aspect of the Roman goddess of luck (Fortuna) that was responsible for bringing one safely home. Often families prayed to Fortuna Redux when loved ones went to war, and soldiers did the same so that they could return home. The significance of this title will be obvious pretty quickly.

Anyway, legal stuff. Persona 4 and all associated characters are property of Atlus, not me. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Do not touch, taste, see or hear any part of this story for your own safety. Batteries not included.

Well, I think I've said all that can be said. Without further ado, here is Fortuna Redux, Chapter 1.

Friday, January 17th, 2014

Shirogane Estate

5:56 P.M.

"Naoto-sama, you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you continue pacing like that..."

"Yes, Yakushiji-san." the young detective responded absentmindedly, the secretary's protests not even registering to her. Naoto stopped for a brief moment before continuing to pace back and forth across the living room of the Shirogane house, checking her watch as the face of it blinked "out of range" in an almost forlorn fashion.

Again Naoto stopped for a second before heaving a sigh and beginning to pace again. Yakushiji merely shook his head, sensing that there was nothing he could do to ease the detective's restlessness. "Seta-san still has some time before he is due to arrive, Naoto-sama," the secretary said, although this seemed to do little to calm her edginess. When Souji had called and said he'd be in Inaba for a few days the news had left Naoto in an insuppressible buzz, one which left both Yakushiji and the elder Shirogane feeling the all too familiar effects of her excitement.

The last time the two had seen each other was almost a year ago in April, for Naoto's eighteenth birthday, and as she could recall she had acted much the same way before he had arrived then as well. It was an event she still remembered with a smile; it was the late afternoon of the 27th...

~Flashback~

Naoto glanced uncomfortably at her phone again. No New Messages, it beeped on the screen. He wouldn't forget. Even when he couldn't come the previous year, he still remembered, she thought. In the correspondence they had exchanged since he left, the subject of her eighteenth birthday had never come up. Ordinarily she didn't consider her birthday all that important. Nobody did, except for her grampa and eventually Souji, who had insisted that she place more importance on events such as these.

She hated this, hated to doubt him after all they'd been through, but the fact that she hadn't heard from him in almost a week raised anxious questions.

She couldn't help such doubts from intruding into her thoughts, unwelcome as they were. The sleuth shook her head. If he were too occupied then he would have said something, anything.

The disquiet swarming uncomfortably in her mind retreated as she heard a resounding knock on her door. Naoto stepped downstairs with some unexplainable trepidation, and she felt her heart beat faster. Slowly she slid open the door, and suddenly gave a short gasp of surprise as she felt two firm arms wrap themselves around her shoulders; a familiar, slightly pointed chin resting on her head. Her own arms moved on their own accord to embrace him; Naoto could feel her face flush with heat.

"I didn't forget," said a voice softly, soothingly, a voice the detective had yearned for ever since...

"I missed you, Naoto." She felt a hand stroke her hair; she could feel the tears squeezing themselves out of the corners of her eyes as she buried herself in his chest, an indescribable happiness seizing control as she sighed with elation.

"Welcome back...Souji..."

~Flashback End~

The warm memory stifled her pacing somewhat, although her anticipation failed to settle in the mean time. She knew she was acting foolish; he would arrive when he did, and her restlessness didn't have the capacity to accelerate time. Naoto forced herself to sit on the couch situated in the center of the room. Her agitation only seemed to grow as she sat still though, and the sleuth's legs threatened to rebel against her will and begin pacing again when her cell phone went off.

Naoto jumped as the ring tone and the vibrations of the device jingled, and almost frantically she scrambled to take the phone out of her pocket.

Call from: Souji Seta, the screen blinked as the tone and vibrations continued. With a sharp intake of breath Naoto firmly pressed the green telephone on the screen.

"Senpai...!" she breathed exuberantly. The use of the old title garnered a chuckle on the other end.

"Didn't we go over this? It's not as if we're still in high school, Nao-tan. You know you don't have to call me that anymore," Souji said. Naoto could imagine his playful grin on the other end of the line as she rolled her eyes at the cutesy nickname he had assigned her on a whim a year ago. Even so, the sleuth had long given up protesting his use of it.

"I believe Rise-chan continues to call you that as well, and I have never heard any complaints from you about her use of it," Naoto retorted, smiling as she did. Souji gave another laugh in response.

"You know I can't stop Rise from calling me or anyone else whatever she wants. I might as well try to stop the sun from rising in the morning." The detective chuckled; there was a pause as his voice softened with affection. "Naoto, I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop by Inaba lately."

Naoto's cheeks lit up; she could hear the guilt in Souji's voice and couldn't help but feel somehow responsible. "It's alright, Senpai..." she said gently. "I know that you have been unavailable with college and work and-" she fidgeted slightly, debating briefly in her mind whether or not to share the news before he arrived. "-we'll be living together next year anyway."

"Next year...?" Souji's voice seemed curious. "Wait, does that mean you-"

"Yes, I received a letter of acceptance from the University of Tokyo several days ago."

"Naoto, that's wonderful! Have you told the others yet?" Souji sounded almost blissful at the news. The sleuth afforded herself a small, prideful smile.

"No, I...wanted you to be the first to hear the news, Senpai. Even Grampa and Yakushiji-san aren't aware of my acceptance yet."

"I'm happy to hear it, Naoto, really. Wow, so it'll only be a few more months then. I guess that means I can stop kicking in Dojima's door every time I make a surprise visit to Inaba, doesn't it?" Naoto smiled. When Souji had arrived last year without word or warning, Dojima was working at the precinct and Nanako was on a day-long field trip, and in his rush to get to Inaba before the 27th ended he had forgotten his keys, requiring him to walk the length to Naoto's house and stay there until either Nanako or Dojima returned home.

"Yes, I suppose so, although I doubt he or Nanako mind all of that much."

"Yeah."

There was a pause.

"...Souji?"

"Hm?"

"When are you arriving? I...want to see you again."

There was silence at the other end of the line followed by a downcast sigh.

"You're really not making this easy on me, Naoto."

"Souji?" Naoto could hear the anxiety in his voice, and her agitation was growing as a result.

"I had been trying to think of a good way to say this, although I suppose the reality is there is no easy way. I won't be able to come to Inaba yet."

The news was hardly unexpected. The sleuth had always considered that this might happen; after all, he had a job, and university, and probably a million other things he had to deal with, and it wasn't like this was the only time something like this would happen. Even so, Naoto felt her heart sink, and she tried to keep the intense disappointment out of her voice.

"Oh..I-I see.." she said softly.

"Naoto...if you keep sounding like that I'm going to just get on a train right now and break into your room." She could tell that he was trying to cheer her up, make her laugh, and she also knew that he probably felt as bad, if not worse, for having to turn back like this; while his joke sounded like a frivolous accusation the sleuth could tell that it pained him to share the news, and so suddenly at that.

"No, I understand. It is good that you're taking university so seriously, and it wouldn't be fair of me to simply expect you to be able to come whenever I-"

"It's not university, and anything short of the return of Izanami wouldn't keep me from seeing you, Naoto." The detective blushed at the fierce dedication in his voice and in the statement, hyperbole as it was.

"There's...something's come up, on very short notice, and I have to...respond to it." It was clear that Souji was evading the matter with his constant pausing to search for the right words. But for what reason, the sleuth couldn't say.

"Is it serious?" She asked.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said no. I can't really talk about it. I've been asked to keep it as discreet as I can. By a...ah, friend. He doesn't want anyone to know, at all. It's urgent."

The news alone had her concerned, but the fact that he was unwilling to tell her, and at the request of another amplified her anxiety.

"I know that sounds dishonest, and really, I want to tell you but if news gets out, there are...very far reaching consequences, ones I'm not willing to risk."

"Souji...this friend isn't in any trouble, is he?"

"Would that really matter, Naoto?"

She was initially surprised by the question. The sleuth wanted to say yes. She wanted to ask as to whether it could be dangerous, that what exactly were these consequences he wanted to avoid, but she could feel in her heart that the answer was no. Souji valued his friends highly, and while she didn't know this friend in particular she knew Souji would do everything in his power to help them, and to do what he believed was right. He wouldn't do anything that would land him in jail or cause him to harm others. That was simply the kind of person he was.

"No...it wouldn't. I understand." It worried her, though; what had happened so suddenly that he would drop everything—drop her—to pursue it?

There it was again, that infuriating corner of doubt in her mind...that maybe he was avoiding her, or that he'd found someone else. They'd been a couple for almost three years now, but even now Naoto couldn't banish her own incertitude so easily; she wasn't as feminine or as socially apt. She wasn't like other girls.

"If all goes well, I should be able to come in about a week or so. I know it's unfair of me to ask but...please wait for me, okay?"

"Of course, Souji...I'll be here. Please...call me when you can."

"...I love you, Naoto."

In an instant, that phrase dispelled any and all of her misgivings.

"I love you, Souji," she practically whispered as the call ended. She kept the now silent phone to her ear for several minutes, as if expecting his voice to come through again. She felt almost hollow, and she was suddenly tired as she wearily stood up from the couch and began to tromp upstairs to her room.

"Naoto-sama? I take it you won't be needing the car?" Yakushiji asked. The sleuth sighed, and shook her head.

"No, Yakushiji-san. I'm going to bed early."

"Of course. Shirogane-sama. Good night."

"Good night, Yakushiji-san."

Naoto closed the door to her room and tossed her hat onto the chaotic scene of her desk, the cap landing softly amidst a battlefield of incomplete gadgets and papers. The dark-haired teenager fell face first onto her bed. It seemed like only a day ago that he was there right beside her, and it was with that much more intensity that she missed him. It appeared that what people said about absence making the heart growing fonder was true now more than ever. The sleuth turned her head onto her nightstand, where only two framed pictures stood next to the lamp and the alarm clock: one was the group photo they had all taken before Souji first left two years ago, and the other was only a few weeks after the couple had began dating.

Naoto picked the second framed photo off of the night stand and couldn't help but smile at it. It was an awkward-looking photo; the two of them were on a date in Okina City and Souji had insisted that they cram into a photo booth. The young detective looked thoroughly uncomfortable as she had averted her eyes away from the camera, blushing furiously all the way, and the silver-haired teenager next to her simply had an exulting grin on his face as he had his arm around her and his head resting on hers, with not a care in the world. He had insisted that she take a copy that he framed, and at the time as embarrassed as she had been she couldn't bring herself to throw it away.

With fond memories driving away her sullen mood and being overtaken by an abrupt exhaustion, Naoto rapidly fell into a restful sleep, clutching the framed photo in her hand.

Saturday, January 18th, 2014

Junes Food Court

4:28 P.M.

"Damn...so he couldn't come then, huh?" Yosuke sighed and leaned back in the chair, his Junes apron flung over his shoulder with his mess of light-brown hair tucked under a wool beanie. Luckily it hadn't snowed for the past few days, so the outdoors environment of the food court was still tolerable enough for them to meet, although it was still fairly frigid. The Junes boy shook his head. "I was looking forward to the party."

"He mentioned that it was serious and that he was to keep it as confidential as possible. He wouldn't even tell me what it was about," Naoto set down the Styrofoam coffee cup on the wooden picnic table, drumming her fingers on the side of it.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry so much about him, Naoto," Kanji said, his mouth half full of takoyaki.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you to close your mouth when you're eating? I swear, man, you're a slower learner than Chie—ow ow ahhh!" Yosuke's arms began flailing as Chie had come up behind him and begun tugging on his cheek. "Gah, Chie, lemme go! You're gonna to tear my face off-!"

"Right, I'm the slow learner," she retorted, letting him go as he began to rub his cheek. "But I'm with Kanji, Naoto-kun. There's nothing to worry about. You know he'd go through hell and back to be with you." The policewoman-in-training was still in her uniform, although this was accompanied with a heavy jacket for the cold weather.

"Chie-chan's right, Nao-chan!" The fuzzed head of the bear suit popped up at the table; even in the cold, Teddie was as cheery as ever. "Sensei will be all right, you'll see!"

The sleuth gave a sigh of consternation. She knew they were right, that there wasn't any need to worry, that she should trust him, but it wouldn't stop nagging her. Naoto had tried to call him once or twice since yesterday, but had been immediately redirected to voice mail. Usually she wouldn't have thought about it any more now that the day had passed, but it was with the urgency and the sudden nature of whatever occupied Souji that left her anxious.

"Yeah, if he didn't want to tell you it was probably something big. I don't think he wanted to get you involved," Yosuke said earnestly, still rubbing his cheek as Chie took a seat next to him.

Naoto sighed again. "That is exactly what is worrying me," she vocalized. "Why couldn't he tell me? He said that if the news spread, the consequences would be severe, and that that was a risk he wouldn't be willing to take." Although she didn't speak the rest of her thoughts, they pounded incessantly in her mind. Is he in danger? Does he need help? Why didn't you say anything, Souji?

There was an awkward silence as they considered the implications.

"He's just like you, you know," Chie said softly, sitting down next to Yosuke. The young detective looked confused.

With an honest smile, the policewoman continued. "You both try so hard to be independent, to shoulder your own burdens so you don't have to bother anyone else with them. If it were you in his place, you would have done the exact same thing, and you would have done your best to make sure the ones you care about didn't get mixed up in something that might be dangerous. And it'd be Souji instead of you sitting there agonizing all of the gray out of his hair about you."

"H-his hair isn't gray," Naoto said, looking annoyed. "It's silver. It's a very dignified color." She flushed with embarrassment at her sudden bout of selective hearing, and she tugged at the brim of her cap. "I-I suppose you're right."

"The point is," Chie said as she put a reassuring hand on the detective's shoulder, "that no matter what's happening now, he'll be okay. We've been through worse. He cares about you too much to let himself be hurt or to do anything reckless."

"Wow, Chie, what has Dojima been teaching you? You planning to catch criminals by talking them down with philosophy?"

"Shut up, Yosuke."

"C'mon, Naoto, don't you trust him?" Kanji said as he polished off the takoyaki. "I mean, I don't really get it but all I know is that Senpai's gonna pull through. He said he'd be here in a week, right?" Naoto nodded in affirmation. "Then he'll be here in a week. S'no use worrying your head off about it. You just gotta believe in him now like we did then. Shit, I bet whatever he's doing now is way easier than catching a murderer or fighting gods or whatever. If this is something Senpai's gotta do, then it's something he's gotta do. It's the man's way."

The three of them looked impressed. Kanji coughed in embarassment.

"Dude's got a point," Yosuke piped. "Besides, short of hopping in a train and heading to Tokyo to interrogate everybody at the University I doubt you'd be able to find where he was anyway. Hey, where's Yukiko-san?"

"Her mom came down with a cold, so she's working at the inn for a while," Chie said, spinning a warm can in her hands.

Yosuke shook his head. "Man, the inn again? You'd think she's not going to college at all-" Chie snorted derisively.

"Yeah, as if you're one to talk, Yosuke. Look at you, nineteen years old and still stocking shelves."

"Wha—hey, it's not my fault we're always short employees! Maybe if somebody actually showed up to work every now and then-"

"The hell? Didn't I already tell you Senpai? I got a job at-"

"Wait, what? Why am I just now hearing about this...!"

"If you'll excuse me." Naoto interjected, standing up from the table. "I'll be returning home now. I have some work to be done." The bickering stopped as the three looked up at the sleuth. "Thank you for the coffee, Yosuke-san." Shoving her hands in the pockets of her jacket and pulling the hat lower over her head, the young detective excused herself, heading for the elevators.

"Jeez...she looked really down, huh?" Chie shook her head at Naoto's retreating back.

"It just goes to show how much she loves him," Yosuke observed quietly. "When Souji first called everyone about coming back this year you couldn't keep her still for a moment, short of tying her to something. I remember seeing her secretary-Yakushugi or whatever-prowling around Junes for models and stuff to keep her busy. He looked like she was about to tear the house down."

"But he could have at least told her something, right? 'Consequences he wasn't willing to risk'? Yeesh, anyone would be anxious after hearing something like that," Chie tilted her head down. "We're going to have to yell at him for making her worry so much when he gets back."

"Well, there's nothing we can do for either of them now," Kanji said. "Yo, Senpai, how about another takoyaki?"

"Dude, that's like your fourth one-"

Saturday, January 18th, 2014

Shirogane Estate

5:02 P.M.

Naoto sighed as she shut the door. It had just begun snowing as she started walking home, and the sleuth paused for a moment to shake the snow out of her coat and cap.

"Ah, Naoto-sama, you've returned. There's a package for you; it arrived just a few minutes ago."

"Leave it in my room, Yakushiji-san," the sleuth wearily called out. She couldn't explain why she was so tired—maybe it was just stress or anxiety. A few days of rest, maybe a case to get her mind off of things, and she'd be back in action.

It also bothered her that everyone else seemed so passive about it. Perhaps it was simply a part of growing up; they weren't the ragtag group of high school students solving a murder mystery in their free time anymore. They were still close, but they seemed to trust each other more now to be able to take care of themselves, and they had begun to take on the responsibilities that their parents once had. Yosuke was beginning to manage more of Junes, Chie had begun training as a policewoman, Yukiko had started to attend university as well as help out at the inn, Rise's career began to include more serious acting roles, and even Kanji seemed to have a more solid grip on things. And Teddie was-well, he was Teddie.

So why did it seem like she was the only one who was anxious about him? The sleuth didn't seem to have the same trust in Souji that the others had. It may be that I'm the only one who hasn't grown in that regard.

Discarding the heavy boots she wore to walk in the snow, Naoto shook her head to clear her mind of such damaging thoughts and entered her room before tossing her hat, coat, and school bag nonchalantly on her bed. She closed the door, kneeling down to inspect the package Yakushiji had brought.

It was a cube wrapped in black fabric. The sleuth knocked on it and was surprised when a soft metallic clang was heard. Undoing the wrapping revealed what could only be described as a safe, only much more light weight. It was a metal cube of about twenty by twenty centimeters, and on the front was a door with a combination lock.

Naoto frowned in apprehension, before taking the envelope that had come with the package and tearing it open. Inside was a card, with a series of numbers written vertically on it.

81

48

90

39

6

Presumably this was the combination for the lock, but the numbers were too high; the lock itself only went to thirty-five. Naoto bit her lip to concentrate, intensely studying the numbers, looking for some kind of pattern. It didn't take long for her to realize it.

"Multiples of three," she said aloud. Not that there was anyone to hear her, however; vocalizing her thoughts merely helped her think.

"So it would be...twenty-seven...sixteen...thirty...thirteen...and two." The lock still didn't give, however. It took some attempts of trial and error, but with her inquisitive mind focused solely on the puzzle it didn't take long. Naoto finally attempted a combination in increasing order of the number of letters in each number; it was a stretch, but it was apparently the answer as the lock clicked and the door swung open.

"Ah, solved it, I see."

Naoto jumped; she had been so focused on the lock that she wasn't even aware that someone had entered her room.

"Grampa..." the detective breathed, her expression suddenly hardening as she glanced between the old man and the now open box. "This wasn't another one of your tricks to 'inspire' me, was it?"

The elder Shirogane chuckled. "No, not at all, Nao-chan. Although, to tell the truth, I had made the apparently correct assumption that it would help your mood."

Naoto gave a quiet sigh. The elder Shirogane peered down at the lockbox. "Have you already read the contents?" He inquired, to which Naoto shook her head. "I had just now managed to open it. Evidently whoever sent this wanted the contents to be kept discreet." She frowned as she examined the build of the metal box and the puzzle involved with unlocking the door. "Very discreet."

The old man gave a confident nod. "Indeed, and with good reason. I'll have you know that the sender is the President of the House of Councillors."

Naoto felt her jaw go slack in surprise. "One of the heads of Parliament?" The elder Shirogane gave an affirmative nod.

"Yes, and that box is actually a request for a private investigation." The young detective looked stupefied at the implications. Certainly the Shiroganes had had high profile clients before: corporate executives, government ministers, celebrities...but this was much, much higher profile. "It was originally a request directly to me."

Naoto began to pore through the contents of the box; neatly folded papers, photographs of a curious looking house in the countryside, and several ten-thousand yen bills, presumably an advance payment. "Then why did you have Yakushiji-san say it was for me, Grampa?"

The old man snorted. "Oh dear, I didn't expect for you to have grown so slow in the past few years, Nao-chan. I want you to take this case, obviously."

"You want—for the President of Councillors?" Naoto was uncertain. Ordinarily she would have leapt at the chance, but such a high profile case was very likely to be important and subsequently lengthy, not to mention the likelihood of it having legendary amounts of bureaucratic red tape was quite high, something Naoto was unwilling to deal with. More importantly, suppose it last longer than a week and she were to miss Souji's arrival?

"Don't be daft. Of course I do. Your Grampa's getting old, you know. You can't expect me to simply traipse about the country side at this age."

On the other hand, perhaps a case is just what Naoto needed to get her mind off things. Off Souji's urgent event, off of Tokyo U...it had been fairly slow as far as cases went. This would be a refreshing opportunity.

"Besides," the elderly man snorted, "it'd do you some good to get the detective juices flowing again. I've never seen you hesitate to take a case, Nao-chan. Perhaps if I had Yakushiji hide more of your belongings around town-"

"Th-that won't be necessary," Naoto exclaimed, her face flushing with color.

"And why ever not? I do believe the last time I had him do that, you became very good friends with a delightful young man. Too good of friends, some would say."

"Grampa..." Naoto muttered, her cheeks turning scarlet. The old man simply chuckled at her embarrassment

"I know, I know, you want this old fart out of your room so you can study the case. I'll get out of your way and inform the President of your impending arrival." With that the elder Shirogane left the room but paused before shutting the door. "And congratulations on your acceptance, by the way. I'm quite proud."

The young detective was startled by the acclaim, although given the nature of the family it shouldn't surprise her that he found out so quickly.

Naoto's curiosity had been piqued as she turned her attention to the contents of the box. The photographs of the house in the country depicted a generously sized country home nestled among the forest, with some photos revealing an empty field nearby. Judging by the prominent view of Mt. Fuji in one of them, it couldn't be too far from Tokyo, although it was impossible to accurately judge where it was from images alone.

She scanned the letter addressed to her grandfather; it requested his urgent and immediate assistance with a matter most sensitive, with a very firm instruction to exercise discretion, and an assurance that all would be explained upon arrival. Regardless as to whether or not the case was solved, the Speaker did not want to have to deal with the potential media storm that could arise from this. The letter was signed with the name of the Speaker's secretary, and stamped with the seal of Parliament.

None of the other info in the safe gave any clues as to exactly the case was about and there was nothing else in it, save for two train tickets—one that was leaving today and the other tomorrow-and a set of instructions to rendezvous with one of the Speaker's chauffeurs who would take her to the house.

The train ticket for Sunday's train would likely be a better bet. With such a high-profile case, precautions and preparations had to be made, and Naoto could take the time to do some of her own independent research until then.

As the young detective perused through the files again, focused wholly on the case as only she could be, all of her doubts and worries fled every corner of her mind.