Secondhand Investigation

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Persona 4 Verdict AU (P4/Judgment Fusion)
Chapter Summary: Hanamura offered to help Shirogane out, but he's a little reckless.
Word Count: 775
Rating: Teen

        Naoto, as usual, is not sure how they ended up here.  The only possibility the detective can think of is that Hanamura-san is very persuasive.  “I’m really not sure I should be allowing you to take part in my investigation.”
        Hanamura-san seems entirely untroubled on the other end of his phone as he moves it around slowly, giving Naoto a good eye of the crime scene.  Then again, he’d gotten quite bold after he hadn’t been turned in.  “Pshhh, I volunteered.  Don’t worry about it.”
        It is almost certainly more difficult and dangerous than he thinks.  Or maybe he realizes that there is some danger and simply is not taking it seriously.  “But the Yakuza might be involved.”  It isn’t clear, of course.  This is part of the reason more evidence is needed for the investigation.
        Hanamura scoffs, zooming in on the spot where the unconscious body had been found.  “What, the Kirijo?  They’re just a bunch of local punks.  It’s why you picked a scrappy kid like me who can turn tail if things get rough, right?  ‘Sides, I’m not worried about a slow bruiser like Sanada-san.  I could run circles around him.”
        It’s a worrying development.  Perhaps the detective should have been paying attention to Hanamura.  He really seems to have gotten reckless while Naoto was busy with various investigations, and Shirogane wasn’t kidding.  His continued survival is, as Naoto had said, the detective’s responsibility now, and Hanamura-san doesn’t seem to be putting too much effort into it.  However, that’s easily forgotten.  “Wait…what’s that behind the dumpster?”  From this angle, it’s hard to make out.
        Hanamura-san goes quiet as he walks toward the dumpster, camera work faltering as he crouches down to look at it.  “Looks like a briefcase?  Though I would think the police should’ve seen it…”  He trails off, thinking.  “Then again, this is Kamurocho.  And it sounded like they were gonna write off the host.”
        Wait—that’s new information.  “Did you hear something when you visited the police station earlier?”  They’d refused to believe, at first, that he was working with the Detective Prince, only listening when Naoto finally called to confirm the issue before pursuing another lead.
        “Yeah, they assured me they were looking into it, but then one of the detectives—Adachi, I think he said his name was?  He seemed like he had some sort of seniority, and he was complaining about wasting time on a drunk.  The other officer assigned to it, uhhh…Kusumi.  She snapped at him, but I didn’t get the feeling that people listened to her.  Adachi definitely didn’t.  Then again, I think he was just humoring me, too.  You think maybe he would’ve overlooked something this big?”
        “It sounds like Kusumi wouldn’t have—if she had been allowed to investigate properly.  I am not convinced that is the case,” Naoto guesses.  The detective has not met this Adachi, but suspects he’s not dissimilar to other detectives the Shirogane family has had to deal with before.
        “Yeah, you might be right.”  That could sound dismissive if not for the tone; he fully agrees with Naoto, but he’s distracted.  It’s good information in case the Detective Prince needs to visit in person.  “It’s locked.  If I take this, it probably can’t be used in court, right?”
        “As you are not a prosecutor, that would be correct.  I don’t intend to go to court after this, though.  I have been hired to figure out what happened to the host, not attempt to put together a case.  I’d very much like to know what’s inside.”  Grandfather can probably allow him the use of the family lawyer if he gets in trouble for obstructing an investigation.
        “It’s lucky I had my gloves from work on me,” he states, still smug, and then something clearly happens.  The phone jerks, and then Hanamura-san states lightly, “Shirogane-san, we might need to figure out this lock thing and the contents later.”
        “What’s going on, Hanamura-san?” Naoto asks quickly.  The urgency speaks just as loudly as the light tone.  He’s the type to speak casually during the middle of a catastrophe, possibly to try to keep others calm.
        “I’ll have to get back to you.”  He says this, but he doesn’t actually hang up.  The detective can hear him unzip the messenger bag and stuff the phone and something else, probably the briefcase, inside, before there’s another zip and then the sound of running feet.  It doesn’t take a Shirogane to guess the cause: someone arrived at the scene, and he had to flee.  If it really is the yakuza—if accepting his help gets him killed—the guilt will never go away.