Interrogation; Interaction (by timydamonkey)

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 and I write this out of enjoyment of the franchise; I make no gain whatsoever, be it financial or otherwise.

Author's Note: My first Persona 4 fic. Still getting a feeling for the characters, so reviews are welcome. Also, while this is third person, it's still in Dojima's point of view and within his realm of knowledge, thus there are some oddities in narration.

There are also spoilers about the identification of the victim after Naoto, as forewarning. Anything up to then is fair game.

"Shirogane, where've you been the past few days?"

The Detective Prince turned around, brim of the cap pulled down over his face as usual, and said, "Detective Dojima."

He raised an eyebrow, waited for the response.

"I was unsatisfied with the official result of the investigation and merely spending a few days testing a hypothesis," Shirogane offered smoothly.

Privately, Dojima agreed that the case had gone far too smoothly, and their suspect in custody, while unstable, didn't seem quite capable of the horrific crimes – and where was their motivation?

It bothered him. Although, honestly, it didn't hurt his pride quite as much as a teenager investigating… and showing more competence than his own force.

Instead, he simply said, "Very well. I'll leave you to your machinations."

Shirogane nodded. "And I shall leave you to yours."

That should have been the end of it. And it would have been, if shortly thereafter Dojima hadn't heard of Shirogane hanging around with his nephew.

"Hey, Dojima-san!"

Adachi seemed ridiculously cheerful, as if they weren't in the middle of a serial murder case or a series of baffling disappearances. He didn't know if he found it more annoying or refreshing amongst the rest of the depression of a serial killer in his town.

Jabbering was one of Adachi's specialties. "Just ran into your nephew again. He really likes Junes!"

Not quite as much as Nanako, Dojima thought wryly. Nanako had told him that her 'big bro' occasionally took her out with his friends – to Junes, of course. He'd always wondered whether he did it to please her – her love of Junes was no secret – or that there was nowhere else to hang around for little children in Inaba. He supposed Adachi had answered that curiosity, though he'd secretly hoped his nephew would keep away after his initial arrest for carrying weapons with the Junes boy…

"You'll never guess who was hanging around with them," Adachi continued. "Our friend the Detective Prince!"

"What?" Dojima asked, eyebrows creasing.

"What I said! He's making quite the little gang."

Little gang of disappearing children, Dojima knew. He found it unnerving. It also left several burning questions in his mind, none of which were pleasant.

Was Shirogane interrogating his nephew? It was disturbingly easy to link his nephew and friends with the crimes… plenty of circumstantial evidence was around, such as them being everpresent at the crime scene (but Inaba is a small town!) and the way the disappearing children seemed to gravitate towards him like a magnet (but they were all about the same age!). Dojima knew that he believed his nephew was more than he seemed, and a niggling voice reminded him that everything had started going crazy not long after his nephew came to Inaba.

But he was his nephew, and nobody else had a right to suspect his nephew. It was a matter of family pride. It was something Dojima himself intended to get to the bottom of.

He hoped that was the only reason Shirogane was getting involved, as he could think of another explanation, and he wasn't sure he liked it at all.

"I hear you've been hanging around my nephew."

Dojima had felt a bit sorry for Shirogane. He had intelligence in abundance, but didn't seem very sociable in any facets of life, so he'd suggested his nephew converse with him. He hadn't thought it had ever had any effect. It was a much more friendly scenario, however. He hoped it would be the case.

"I've befriended him," Shirogane agreed.

"Do your thoughts on the investigation involve him?"

Shirogane appeared to be scrutinising him, but he supposed he must have passed whatever test he'd laid out, as he replied honestly, "It's a factor."

"Do you really think he has something to do with it?"

"It's a possibility." Shirogane, unfortunately, was very good at giving non-specific answers. Dojima wondered why he'd never noticed this before, and, bizarrely, where Shirogane's loyalties ultimately lay.

His unease must have been showing, as Shirogane seemed to pick up on what he was thinking, and offered what he must have felt was a comforting gesture.

"Don't worry yourself, Detective Dojima. My hypothesis has been tested."

"And was it proven?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Unfortunately, it failed at its objective and simply made him feel more uneasy than ever. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

Dojima decided to try a different approach. "I hear you enrolled in a school."

"It wouldn't do to neglect my education," said Shirogane.

It was a fair point, Dojima thought, although it had been arranged suspiciously quickly. Shirogane being who he was, it wasn't impossible, but the speed gave it a level of import that made him wonder if it was related to the case.

Everything about their latest cases seemed to be tied to Yasogami High School. A fool could realise it, and Shirogane certainly couldn't be regarded as a fool.

"You went missing while you were… hypothesising."

"Did you look into my records?" Shirogane asked curiously, but didn't seem the slightest bit surprised. That said, he was very hard to read. He didn't wait for an answer before he continued with a clarifying statement. "Yes, I did. While my education is important, it's secondary to any cases I take on. Especially ongoing cases."

He didn't say 'my cases', Dojima noticed. He was glad, as he felt that was one thing the boy couldn't take from him. It was something he couldn't be jealous over – and jealousy over a teenager was completely ridiculous. He was sure Nanako would give him a lecture about it if she knew.

Shirogane was very good at evading the point of his questions. Dojima suddenly realised that subtlety would get him nowhere; Shirogane had interrogated before, and could spot the signs of interrogation. It was getting a bit depressing that his every conversation with teenagers was turning into an interrogation; clearly he needed a break, if ever time for one came.

"Was it a planned disappearance?"

"It was expected," Shirogane affirmed.

Abandoning all pretence, he said, "My nephew seems to have a habit of becoming friends with people following disappearances. Is this the same thing?"

There was silence for a moment. Shirogane seemed to be weighing up his words. Dojima braced himself for a lie, but unlike his nephew, it seemed Shirogane was unwilling to be caught in a lie, probably due to his own detective training. "We became friends after my disappearance, so I suppose that would be accurate."

It didn't tell him anything of what he wanted to know. Shirogane was infuriating. He could appreciate working besides him instead of against him; although he was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling that whatever else they were, Shirogane wasn't an ally of the police. At the very least, there seemed to be others he'd be more accurate in his retellings with.

He hoped that it wasn't his nephew, but considering the evidence, it seemed to be a little too much to ask.

He tried to think of how to phrase in a way that couldn't be evaded whether Shirogane had been unwillingly taken or perhaps even kidnapped, but it seemed his time had run short.

"Oi! Naoto!"

It was just his luck, Dojima reflected, that the person to show up for Shirogane had to be this guy.

Sure enough, the boy recognised Dojima and froze, before assuming a defensive posture. He looked dangerous. "The hell're you guys talking for?" he sounded suspicious.

Shirogane seemed to recover first. "It's nothing, Kanji," the Detective Prince offered in an almost regal manner, and Dojima was struck by what an odd pair they made. His nephews' group in general could only really be described as a band of misfits, he worried. "The police force and I have... cordial relations."

Kanji Tatsumi nodded his head. "Right." His voice seemed suddenly less gruff. "We're meeting at Junes."

Shirogane smiled and said, "Of course." He turned back around to Dojima, and informed him, "I should depart now. I wouldn't worry about your nephew, though; Senpai is quite intelligent," and with that, the two took off.

Senpai? Dojima wondered. Even though he'd been to the school, he hadn't quite registered that Shirogane was younger than his nephew. It seemed ridiculous; Shirogane acted older than him, let alone his nephew.

Still, he would take the tiny scraps of knowledge he had obtained and add to his list of things to investigate later. He needed time to think on it, and he had all the time in the world.

Until Nanako disappeared.