Chapter Text
There were two jobs that Tatsuya absolutely hated. The first was playing truancy officer. He could now see why the cops had acted that way towards him when he was in high school. The other was playing mall cop when he needed too. There was one owner of a shop in Yumezaki who would accuse anyone and everyone of shoplifting. And he wouldn’t let local security handle the issue, something about them being ‘untrustworthy’: so he would always call the PD. And this time it was Tatsuya’s job to respond to the call.
So, he went through the process. He showed up, looked at the alleged footage, realized the blue-haired kid in the room wasn’t even in the footage, and told the owner off. But he still had to collect a statement from the kid. If he didn't Katsuya would give one of his infamous looks of disappointment to him, and Tatsuya was looking to avoid those for now. So the owner vacated the back room of the shop to leave Tatsuya and the kid alone.
“Alright, so I just need to talk to you for a second; then you can leave,” Tatsuya said, not even bothering to bring out a notepad, he could probably remember by the time he got back to the station anyway, “What’s your name?”
“...” The kid was silent for a while, and Tatsuya was just about to speak up again when the kid spoke, “Makoto Yuki.”
“Alright, Yuki-san, what were you doing at the mall?”
“...”
Tatsuya waited, but there was no response, “Did you actually steal anything?”
“...”
“Ok… Are you here with anyone?”
“No.”
“So you are alone. Alright,” Tatsuya trailed off. There was something about the way Makoto talked that struck him as off. It wasn’t that he was bored or anything. From the short conversation Tatsuya could guess that the kid just felt like he didn’t have anything important to say, “Where do you currently live?”
“...”
“You from out of town?” It was a stupid question, Makoto had a Sevens uniform, but something compelled Tatsuya to ask. And he did get a small nod, “Alright… Do you have your caretaker's phone number?”
“...No.”
“Do you have their address?” Makoto rattled off an address, somewhere in Rengdai, “Alright, I’ll give them a call once I find out their landline number. You are free to head off.”
Makoto got up and left, and that left Tatsuya with his thoughts. Something about Makoto Yuki had struck Tatsuya as… off. Very, very off. The type of off that blacked you out for a few weeks with only a weird tattoo to explain it. Tatsuya could tell that this would stick with him, for whatever reason.
He brought it up with Katsuya at dinner. Katsuya initially dismissed the start of the story. The department had been dealing with that store owner even when he had started, but once Tatsuya mentioned Makoto Yuki and the address Tatsuya spoke up, “I know the people that own that house. They are a couple that take care of children in the foster system.”
“I guess that makes a little more sense, he seemed awkward around people,” Tatsuya noted, “I thought that it was just because I am a cop but… Well, we both know how dealing with that type of stuff leaves people.”
Katsuya nodded, before thinking for a moment, “It’s clearly on your mind. Maybe you should stop by and talk to him.”
“It would probably just be awkward,” Tatsuya sighed, “I mean… I’m not looking to adopt right now.”
Katsuya shook his head, and chose to ignore the implications of the words ‘right now’, “You should. The couple that run that place are good people. I doubt they would have a problem with it.”
“Bu-”
“It will put your mind at ease,” Katsuya said, “And if you don’t go I am going to get Maya and Jun to convince you.”
Tatsuya groaned and leaned back in his chair. That was an argument-ender. He could say no to Katsuya but not Maya and Jun. And Katsuya weaponized it, “Fine, fine. I’ll visit. I have tomorrow off anyway.”
This was just as awkward as Tatsuya predicted. The couple that ran the home were nice, however they forced Makoto and him outside. Something about the kid not getting out enough. Tatsuya now understood why Makoto was at the mall in the first place. So now they were just in the driveway of Katsuya and his place (Moving out would be too expensive. And in Tatsuya's mind, Katsuya needed someone to watch over him anyway). Tatsuya had an open toolbox next to him and his old motorcycle in front of him. He did routine maintenance on it while Makoto just… watched as he sat. Silently.
“So,” Tatsuya spoke up, if just to fill the air with sounds other than his tools, “You like Sevens?”
“...”
“I used to go there myself,” Tatsuya said, “I know they are doing the school festival sometime soon, you looking forward to it?”
“I don’t care.”
“Ah…” That was much blunter than Tatsuya expected, “I guess it’s not for everyone. You a part of any clubs, then?”
“No.”
“Fair, I wasn’t in any either.”
“...”
“... Any friends?”
“No point.”
“...”
“...”
Tatsuya sighed. This was getting nowhere. And only making him more worried about Makoto. But… It also wasn’t exactly his business. Makoto seemed, at least to Tatsuya, to like to keep things close to his chest. And Tatsuya knew from experience that the quickest way to get someone to hate you would be to forcefully try to pry it. It was weird how much Makoto did and didn’t remind Tatsuya of himself. Which, he guessed, was normal. People had similarities and differences- and look at him. Getting lost in his head like he is back in high school. It wasn’t Tatsuya's business to worry about Makoto. But he would anyway. Maya would probably say something about it just ‘Being the way he is’.
As if to interrupt his thoughts, Katsuya entered the driveway. Tatsuya stood up and quickly wiped his hands on a nearby rag, “What’re you doing home?”
“I left a casefile here,” Katsuya said, though Tatsuya knew his brother was lying. He isn’t reckless with important material. It made a little more sense when he looked at Makoto, “So you’re Yuki-san.”
“...”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Katsuya held out his hand. Makoto just stared at it for a moment, before looking at Katsuya with the same blank expression. It took a few stubborn seconds but Katsuya eventually retracted his hand.
“...”
“Right…” Katsuya trailed off, his face slightly confused, “I should be off. If you ever need anything contact me or the police.”
“Before you go, make sure to grab a bottle of water. You forgot it earlier,” Tatsuya said.
“Right.”
Katsuya walked in the house and that left Makoto and Tatsuya to their silence. Tatsuya leaned up against his motorcycle, and looked at Makoto: who just seemed to be staring through him. Tatsuya sighed and spoke up, “Listen. I’m not gonna take it as an insult if you don’t want to be here. I just wanted to check up on you.”
“...”
“You can leave, I don’t want to keep her if you don’t want to be here.”
“...” Makoto got up, to which Tatsuya sighed again and shifted his weight, accidentally knocking a wrench off the seat. Makoto, instead of continuing on his way out, walked over to Tatsuya and bent over and picked it up. He handed it to Tatsuya, before turning around and leaving. Tatsuya sighed. If anything, sighing was a good stress reliever.
Katsuya held his phone to his ear as it rang. He would do this, get his water bottle and leave. But he needed to call him about what he just felt. A child that young, Makoto Yuki, couldn’t have a Persona. The phone rang again, and one more time: then like clockwork, the man on the other line picked up.
“What do you need?” Came Bao- Kaoru’s voice. Even after knowing him as Kaoru for longer, Katsuya still couldn’t get used to the name.
“What did it feel like,” Katsuya said, before letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in, and then continuing, “What did it feel like to sense a Persona user?”
“You felt it back then too, right?” Kaoru said, Katsuya could practically hear the smirk, “Why do you need me to restate it?”
“Because I need to be sure.”
Kaoru was silent for a moment, and then spoke again, “Tightness in chest, some hairs standing on edge, a chill; other than that it’s just a gut feeling.”
“Right…”
“What do you need to be so sure of?”
“... I sensed one in a child. Around 15 or 16, I couldn’t tell.”
“You think it has something to do with what happens around midnight, right?”
Katsuya stays silent for a moment, knowing where this is going, “I do.”
“Idiot,” Kaoru laughed, “We already pushed Him back. Just live your life.”
“I will, but-”
“If you won’t listen to me, listen to Igor and Demon Painter. You remember what they said, right?”
“It’s a child, how am I supposed to just stand back?”
“Easily,” Kaoru said immediately, “Your brother handled it before us and we handled it when we had to go through it. Put the faith you had in those situations in this one.”
“... You’re smoking right now aren’t you?”
“Like you haven't picked the habit back up yourself.”
Katsuya let out a long breath, “Fine. I’ll leave it alone for now.”
“You and I both know you don’t know how to leave well enough alone.”
Katsuya hung up the phone. He knew he let Kaoru have the last word, but also couldn’t exactly say he was wrong. Katsuya was already sticking his nose in Yuki's business. And he knew he probably wasn’t going to stop: especially now that he knew that Yuki had a persona. Velvet Room, Kaoru or anyone else be damned; he wasn't letting someone that young be forced to go through what they did.