Chapter Text
The day after the death of Kinshiro Morooka, Jun walked into the man's classroom and nearly cursed as he felt four different Persona resonances.
This new job was supposed to be good, despite the tragic circumstances. After over a year working as a substitute teacher for the different schools in Inaba and even some schools in Okina City, he had been hired to replace Morooka and teach philosophy. But now his homeroom was full of Persona users. Again.
It wasn't as much of a shock as it could have been at least. He knew weird stuff had started happening in Inaba.
After a quiet year settling in, the murders at the start of the school year had sent the town into a tizzy. Jun had kept Akira close for a bit, worried about what might happen, but eventually let him keep to his usual explorations, with promises to update him via the mobile phone he bought the kid and to never go somewhere completely alone, even if he just brought Morgana.
But Morgana had informed him that he sensed the Velvet Room had come to town. Which meant something was happening that required Persona users.
Jun had started feeling resonances while at Junes or out in the town, and carefully didn't pay attention to them. Morgana had, after some investigation of his own, claimed that he was pretty sure the dangers this time were well contained. He promised to let Jun know if the danger increased, but for now Jun was decidedly staying out of it.
Or he was trying to. It didn't help that Akira had definitely befriended one of the Persona users. He'd seen Yu Narukami on his class list, so he'd expected one, but not more. A mistake, clearly.
Feeling the resonances of his students, his heart ached. He remembered his class in Iwatodai and the Persona users there. Especially Arisato.
(None of the others ever reached out to him after the funeral. He hoped they were okay.)
This time, he would keep a professional distance. He'd keep an eye out, but he'd try not to get involved. Hopefully these Persona users could handle whatever they were facing. Besides, Jun never saw the Velvet Room, despite its presence. Surely that meant he wasn't needed.
All of this ran through his head as he organized his papers and looked over his new students. He forced himself to look over the ones without Personas, too. He had a duty to them all, to teach them, and to ease the transition after the death of their previous teacher.
(Based on the gossip he could hear, Morooka had not been well liked. But his death would still have an impact on these people.)
Once he had himself under control, he spoke up.
“Good morning, class!” he said, putting on a smile. “My name is Jun Kashihara and I will be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year, after Mr. Morooka's passing. Until summer break, I will be focusing on finishing up any course material you need to know for your coming exams, as well as some review. I look forward to getting to know you all.”
The class broke into whispers, and Jun let them get their energy out for a few moments before he called their attention back to him and started his class.
Hopefully he could just stay their teacher. He really didn't want to get involved beyond that. Not right now.
—
Almost two weeks after the murder of Morooka, Ryotaro Dojima sighed as he looked at the new paperwork. They were getting sent another detective from another precinct. Apparently he was being sent to help them catch the new murder suspect. A few days ago, they almost had him, but he'd disappeared.
But Ryotaro was used to reading between the lines in this kind of paperwork. He got a distinct sense that this was a situation similar to when Adachi had been sent here. Why city cops thought Inaba was the best place to drop their junk detectives, he had no idea.
He knew he wasn't being fair, either to Adachi or to this newcomer. He shouldn't judge before he met the guy, and Adachi did try sometimes. He meant well, at least. But with that kid detective running around, not to mention the way his nephew kept popping up in this case, he could feel a headache brewing already. He just hoped this Tatsuya Suou would be more help than hindrance.
—
Tatsuya Suou looked up at the entrance to Junes and sighed. How had things ended up this way?
He knew the answer to that question, really. He was getting too nosy, getting a reputation for being a snitch against his fellow cops. It burned inside him, the idea that he was supposed to overlook wrongdoing just because the wrongdoer was another cop. They had to be held to a higher standard, given their power, not a lower one.
But he'd reported another rotten apple, and now he was transferred to a small town. He'd been told he was being sent to help with a manhunt for a murder suspect, but everyone knew the truth. It was only a small mercy that he got transferred instead of fired. No one had arranged an “accident” for him either yet, so that was good.
He pulled out the lighter he'd started carrying in high school, flipping the top idly as he tried to bring his mind back from dark thoughts. He was at the store to pick up groceries for his new little apartment. He should go in and grab those. But the injustice of it all dragged at him. What was the point of trying to deal with corruption in the police if doing so got him sent away?
No. Focus. One thing at a time. Later there would be time to see if he could still work on corruption in Sumaru. In the short term, he had to prove himself as reliable to this new force and hope they were less corrupt.
When he'd introduced himself earlier today, he saw the way most of the detectives looked at him with weary eyes.
There had been two main differences. Naoto Shirogane had greeted him very professionally, so he'd done his best to respond the same. The kid was obviously trying hard to be taken seriously, although Shirogane had ignored him after that point.
And then Tohru Adachi had slung an arm around his shoulder in a quiet moment.
“Heyy! Welcome! And my condolences,” the man said with a goofy grin.
“Condolences?” Tatsuya asked.
“You got kicked out to the boonies, just like me, probably for only making one little mistake,” he explained.
Tatsuya managed to withdraw from the overly familiar arm. His eyebrows shot up as he considered how to answer. He wasn't wrong, exactly. But there were a lot of things that would be considered a “mistake.” And he would turn in those dirty cops every time.
He decided to shrug. “I'm here now,” he said. “I'll do my job, whether it's here or home.”
Adachi chuckled. “Aw man, you're a stick in the mud, aren't you? I thought I might finally have someone to liven the place up!”
Tatsuya shrugged again, the corner of his mouth ticking up. “I wouldn't call myself boring. But I've gotta get to know you better first.”
Adachi nodded. “That's fair, I guess. Well, don't be a stranger. And I should probably get back to work before Dojima catches me slacking off again.”
Adachi was a slacker, looking for chances to escape work, it seemed. That was probably why he'd been sent to Inaba. He seemed harmless enough, but Tatsuya planned to get a sense of how this department functioned before he told anyone why he'd been sent away or opened up too much.
Tatsuya let out a groan and pocketed his lighter, shaking his head to pull himself back. Junes. Groceries. Food.
He made himself walk forward, through the automatic doors, only to crash into someone. They both lost their balance with twin grunts as they fell back.
Tatsuya looked at the stranger. He had one grocery bag clutched to his chest, his free hand keeping him on his butt instead of his back. Another bag had fallen and spilled cans and boxed goods to the floor.
The part of him that was a cop assessed him like he'd do for a suspect. Late twenties to early thirties, same as him. Black hair cut to swoop over his face, brown eyes. A flower pinned to his shirt, a watch on one wrist, clothing unremarkable, no distinguishing marks visible.
The rest of him thought this was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen.
“I'm sorry,” the man said as he scrambled to gather his things. Tatsuya couldn't bring himself to speak yet, but he shifted to his knees and helped gather the various foodstuff. “I wasn't looking where I was going,” the man continued. His voice was beautiful too.
Their hands met over the last can and the man finally looked at him. His eyes flew open wide as his voice choked off. He almost looked… scared.
“Are you okay?” Tatsuya finally asked.
The man opened and closed his mouth a few times, before he forced a smile. “Yes, Ta- sir. I'm just fine. No damage done.”
The man stood up and Tatsuya matched him, his chest tight. “I… I'm new in town,” he said, the words awkward in his mouth. “Trying to get to know people. I'm Tatsuya Suou. What's your name?”
—
Jun's internal monologue was currently a litany of curses. What luck was this? He knew Inaba was a small town, but to run into Tacchi- into Suou this soon after he'd moved to town?
Maya had warned him as soon as she heard about Suou's move. He'd planned to avoid the man. Interacting with him would likely bring only pain. And what if he somehow triggered his memories?
But now Tatsuya was looking at him like he was some sort of miracle. It was almost like he used to look, back after they'd gotten together, before the world ended. Awe and wonder and trepidation and maybe even yearning. What was missing was the familiarity and gratitude.
It wasn't fair. Jun wanted him back. Chronos called out for his other half. And if he was reading Suou right, then Suou was at least attracted to him. If he didn't have his memories, maybe they could have built something new.
But, as it was, it would be supremely unfair to get that close to Tatsuya. Not when he had to keep such a big secret from him. Not when he'd keep seeing how he used to be and never even be able to explain.
He couldn't ice him out, not completely. He wasn't strong enough. And maybe he could put in some damage control, establish a history before he started to get suspicious.
“I'm Jun Kashihara.” he said after a far too long pause as he examined the ground. “You said your name was Suou? You wouldn't happen to know a Katsuya Suou, would you?”
Suou pulled a lighter out of his pocket and Jun's mouth grew dry. He knew it couldn't be the lighter he still kept with other keepsakes. But the familiar flip-click of the lid hit him like a physical blow.
“Katsuya is my brother. You know him?” Suou replied.
Jun nodded. “I met him through another friend of mine, a few years ago. That's an odd coincidence.”
Suou gave a small smile. “I'll have to mention you to him. Do you… need any help with the bags?”
Jun immediately shook his head. “No, I'm alright. I should head home before my son misses me.”
His heart twisted as he saw Tatsuya's expression fall a bit. Disappointed at the response, or possibly assuming a kid meant he already had a partner.
Jun gave another smile. “It was nice to meet you, Suou-san,” he said, before heading out the doors.
Suou waved, his smile back. “See you around, Kashihara,” he called.
Jun didn't turn around. He didn't want anyone to see the tears burning in his eyes.