[#009] This could be trouble after all (Persona 4)

[very_elaborate]

Theme Prompt: #009 - the night before
Title: This could be trouble after all
Fandom: Persona 4
Rating/Warnings: Some language, spoilers for September in the game.
Bonus: no
Word Count: 585
Summary: It's fine. Kanji just has to get through the long slog to midnight. (It's not fine.)


It’s fine. Everything’s fine, and there’s not going to be any kind of problem.

It’s not fine. Kanji can’t even focus on his knitting – he was expecting not to be able to focus on his homework, that’s called Tuesday, but if he can’t knit a row without screwing up the yarn tension and dropping every third stitch or so, there’s a problem.

It has to be fine. He has to be wrong about this. There’s no other option here. They stopped the idiot behind this and last night – well, it must’ve been a fluke. It has to be a fluke.

It’s not fine. Even without Naoto showing up on the group’s way to school, out of uniform – like he was expecting something to happen, expecting not to be at school – and saying all that weird shit about King Moron’s death compared to the first two, he was kinda wondering. Kubo’s dungeon was pretty fucked up, just like its creator, but… if he really had done everything, wouldn’t it have said ‘kill’ more than once? If he really had kidnapped everybody, why’d he only react to Yukiko? And really, how the hell would that wimp have gotten him inside a TV?

…It’s fine, he’s just overthinking this. Even if it’s not over, even if the Midnight Channel’s acting up for real, it’s not going to be Naoto after all. It can’t be.

It’s not fucking fine at all, Naoto’s the only person who’s been on TV in the last month with any kind of special focus and the son of a bitch probably did it on purpose. Besides, he was sure last night it was Naoto. He has no damn idea why everyone else was so confused, it was fucking obvious.

It’s fine. It’s going to be okay. He just has to get through the long slog to midnight, which has been the worst part of this shit by far since he got mixed up in the case. The Midnight Channel will come on, if it’s coming on, and everything’s going to be fine.

It’s not fine, not when the sound of the rain is just driving him to distraction and the nature of the Midnight Channel – not to mention the fact that Ma’s probably asleep by now – means he can’t turn on the damn TV for background noise, and literally nothing else is holding his attention. Calling one of the others will probably just get him mocked for being so worried about someone he hardly even knows (not that he doesn’t want to), and if he can’t knit he sure as hell isn’t gonna get any reading done. Not for the first time, he wishes he’d had the balls to ask Naoto for his phone number. Then he could just call him and know for sure, one way or another.

It’s fine. Kanji grabs a sketchbook and some colored pencils, and that actually works so well that he’s halfway through a kimono design (surrounded by cute animal drawings and a cartoon of Tomoe whacking Jiraiya upside his disco-froggy head with her naginata) when the TV flickers to life.

“Good evening. I am the Detective Prince, Naoto Shirogane.”

Absolutely nothing about this is fine, and Kanji has his phone in his hand before he really thinks about it.

But then Senpai talks him down, and he realizes… sure, it’s not fine, but it’ll be okay. Sure, Naoto was a damn idiot, but they just have to rescue him like they did everyone else.

It’ll be fine.

Comments

[badly_knitted]

I may not know anything about the fandom, but I still like the way you've written this with Kanji trying to convince himself that everything is fine, even though it's not. And there's knitting ;)

Cute =)

[very_elaborate]

Thanks! Poor Kanji's stuck wondering if someone he has a crush on got themselves into MAJOR TROUBLE (and pretty sure Naoto did), which doesn't make for a good night in any case. There's a cutscene in the game right before this night that I tend to headcanon as Kanji trying to convince himself nothing's wrong.

(And of course there's knitting! It's his Thing. XD)

[badly_knitted]

I love characters who knit!

I don't play computer games. Sometimes I wish I did because they sound so cool, but I spend all my free time writing. Can't do everything I guess! Besides, when it comes to computer games, anything more elaborate than point and click baffles me!

[very_elaborate]

P4's a console game, actually! And there are a zillion LPs on Youtube (and a written one on LPArchive, but it skips over one of my favorite side characters entirely). I got into the fandom through an LP before actually playing it.

[badly_knitted]

Not being a player, I tend to lump them all in together under one heading, lol! I've never had a games console, I considered it once but there'd be no point because I'm too busy with other things to find time to play.

[wei_jiangling]

Oh, this is awesome. Very Kanji, and very appropriate to that situation. Poor guy.

[craftings]

Oh my lord, this is so Kanji. This was an absolute delight to read.

[very_elaborate]

Thanks! You know things are bad when Kanji can't even focus on knitting. XD

[very_elaborate]

Thanks! 'So Kanji' is exactly what I was aiming for; glad to hear it worked!

[alobear]

I'm with you completely - I have no knowledge of this fandom, but the structure works really well, and knitting is always awesome!

[badly_knitted]

I do love to knit, I just wish I had more time for crafts these days. Writing is the new knitting!

[samuraiter]

Yeah, Kanji, m'boy, it'll be fine, but you're gonna have to work for it.

Very well done!

[very_elaborate]

It's not even that he minds working for it, he was just hoping it hadn't happened in the first place. XD

Thanks!

[sarajayechan]

Awww...this was pretty sweet! Tense, but the ending was sweet anyway.