Today just wasn't his day.

Then again… when was it ever?

Kanji Tatsumi gruffly sighed; his school bag slung over his shoulder as he trudged along the road towards home.

The sky had been clear that morning; now, grey clouds were sweeping over and threatening rain, dark enough to be a storm. Even the weather wasn't on his side today.

So, he hadn't brought an umbrella... wasn't his fault he'd woken up late and missed the forecast.

He'd made a promise to Yu-senpai that he'd try and up his attendance. It was a bit of a pain, but his senpai did know best.

But what the hell was with that cop earlier? Coming over and making a fuss out of nowhere…

Kanji knew deep down he wasn't doing himself any favours with the way he dressed: after the incident with the biker gangs, the cops always suspected him of trouble. But was walking seriously a crime now?

And school had been no better… in fact, worse.

The stupid teacher had started pairing them up for class projects, and he just happened to be paired with…

He found himself blushing at the thought.

"What the hell…!?" he half-grumbled to himself, shaking his head more vigorously than necessary. This always happened when he thought of Naoto Shirogane.

The young detective's secret had pretty much spread around the entire school by now – everyone knew she was really a girl. But that fact only seemed to have intensified his crush on her.

Although it made things ten times more difficult for him to even be near her, at least it had helped clear his mind of the… doubts he'd had about himself.

That was one good thing… no, it was a great thing! At least it should have been. Yosuke-senpai still teased him about it though… when would the guy let it go?

Shaking his head again, he tried with all his might to think of something other than Naoto… He lifted his faraway gaze, and slowed his pace as he took a detour down towards the Samegawa flood plain. He didn't feel like going home quite yet.

The rain had started though, and it wasn't long before it began pelting down.

…

Cursing under his breath, and resisting the urge to shake his fist toward the sky, Kanji hurriedly took refuge near the river, under the biggest tree he could find. Fortunately there was nobody else around, and as he slumped himself against the tree trunk, he found a strange comfort in watching the raindrops create ripples on the surface of the water. The drizzly air was somehow refreshing.

…

He stayed there for a while, sighing every now and again.

His mind had started to wander again over the events of the day, despite his efforts to clear his head. From where he stood, he could see a single colour slowly becoming visible on the pathway overhead: a bright orange umbrella, under which were two figures in school uniform, one slightly taller than the other.

Kanji found himself blankly watching them as they approached: two lovebirds no doubt. He'd never really thought about things like sharing an umbrella before…

He frowned, as once again his thoughts betrayed him and he found Naoto popping into his head.

"Shirogane-kun… you'll be paired with Tatsumi-kun for this project."

"…"

She had barely even reacted to their sensei's words; whereas his legs had immediately gone to jelly. If he'd been standing, he was sure he'd have fallen over. In fact, Naoto had said nothing at all.

But… he knew she was like that. She didn't speak very much in class; it had been an endeavour for her just to open up to the Investigation team. What had he really been expecting?

Kanji hadn't been able to look at her… as much as he wanted to know what she'd been thinking.

…

…But why'd she have to be so damn mysterious all the time?

He could never tell what she was thinking. How was he supposed to…?

"You need to work on those vibes of yours, Kanji! If you had the same BEAR-y adorable charm that I possess, then you'd be able to score with the ladies for sure~!"

That dumb bear's words from the other day replayed in his mind.

What the hell did he mean by "vibes" anyway?!

He shook his head again.

Teddie made it sound as if "scoring" with a girl was easy – in fact he made it look easy; the way he was always laughing and playing around with Yukiko-senpai. But he had that cute advantage.

And he had… "vibes".

Naoto would never take interest in someone like him, let alone want to share an umbrella with him; she was way too good for that.

So why even bother thinking about it…?

…

As the couple under the umbrella drew in closer, Kanji grumbled and shrunk back, not wanting to be seen. He couldn't be bothered to deal with any of those morons from school. They probably wouldn't have been able to see him from there anyway; they seemed too distracted.

But when it suddenly dawned on him that the one wearing the green jacket looked awfully familiar, he realised—

'That's… Chie-senpai?!'

And she was with…

"Uh, hey Chie…"

"Yeah, what?"

He began watching intently, not realising that he was quite blatantly staring. What the hell were Yosuke and Chie-senpai doing walking here together?!

They were standing so close to each other and their faces were—

Kanji's jaw suddenly dropped, and he shrunk back further behind the tree, willing himself invisible. Why… Why was Yosuke moving so close to her?!

He suddenly felt as if he was watching something he really shouldn't have been.

They'd accuse him of spying! Or maybe worse… but, luckily, the awkwardness settled down almost as quickly as it had come, after a sudden outburst.

She'd slapped him.

"You dope! What do you think you're doing?! "

"U-Uh, hey! I just thought—"

"You're a complete idiot!" her face was bright red, and she briskly snatched the umbrella away from him, "Oh, I get it! That's probably the only reason you offered to walk me home, huh!?"

"Hey! Hold on!" Yosuke was yelling in protest, "You're the one who insisted on using my umbrella! I was only-"

"You know, if you were only trying to hit on me… you could have at least tried asking me out! Stupid Yosuke!"

And with that, she was off.

Kanji hadn't really kept up with it, but he was still watching in stunned silence as Chie stormed off with the umbrella, leaving Yosuke to get drenched.

"Chie!" he yelled after her, "Wait, come back! I was just… Hey! G-Give me back my umbrella! CHIE!"

He had just stood there, looking kind of bewildered, before battling the rain to run after her.

Quite literally dumfounded, Kanji watched after them, still wide-eyed.

…Man, women could be pretty scary.

…

The shower didn't last long after that, so he quickly decided to make tracks; before the rain started again.

Ma would probably scold him if he came home in a soaking wet uniform, he thought… and the last thing he needed to top off his day was to have her nagging at him.

Even then, he could still hear his senpai's shouts in the distance. At least, for a while, he'd been able to stop thinking about Naoto…

Although, that wouldn't last long.

Soon after, the Textiles shop was in sight. The damp wisps in the air were an omen of more heavy rain to fall.

"Ma, 'm home!" he called inside, as he kicked off his wet shoes.

While he was ready to head straight into his room and collapse on the bed, he was greeted by a sight he surely hadn't been expecting:

"Tatsumi-san…"

"N-Naoto?!"

He sort of squealed in shock, sounding very un-manly.

His eyes practically popped open: indeed, Naoto was standing there, clutching a drenched uniform blazer across her chest, and looking completely sodden herself.

What the heck was SHE doing here?!

"Oh, there you are Kanji-chan." Ma poked her head in from the other room, "You remember the detective prince, don't you…? The poor dear got caught in that downpour, so I told him to come inside."

"She insisted. I didn't have much of a choice." Naoto's voice was heavy; it wasn't clear whether she was pissed off, or actually really embarrassed by the sorry state she was in.

"Well, don't just stand there." Kanji's mother had disappeared again, and was calling from the other room, "Help me find a change of clothes for him."

Totally oblivious. His Ma had no idea that the "detective prince" was actually not a prince at all…

"T-That's not necessary. Please…" Naoto mumbled, but she knew her protests were of no use.

Kanji scratched the side of his face, a blush creeping over his cheeks. As embarrassing as this situation was, he felt he should say something.

"S-She's right. Y-You'll catch a cold…"

"…"

She was being stubborn, and once again he couldn't understand. Was she just trying to keep up that detective image of hers? It wouldn't pain her to accept some help…

"U-Uh… you really should…"

"I'm fine, really."

At this he snapped, "Dammit! You can't stay in those wet clothes!"

Kanji's face bloomed bright red, having been unable to stop his mouth. His chest began to knot up when he noticed a slight glimpse of pink grace Naoto's features also; but she quickly turned her head away.

"I-I mean…" Kanji averted his eyes to the ceiling, frantically rubbing the back of his head, "Y-You'd be really dumb to let yourself get sick, y'know… I-I'm just saying…"

What was he saying? Everything that came out seemed to sound wrong. Ma, on the other hand, was none the wiser.

"The storm won't last much longer, I hope." Her voice floated in from the other room, "Kanji, could you take him upstairs and fetch him some clothes? You must have some spare in your room?"

At this, Kanji tensed up.

Wait…what?!

Take Naoto… upstairs?! To his room?!

"B-But Ma—"

"I'm sure you must have some old clothes lying around." She spoke gently, but firmly, now reappearing at the door with a laundry basket, "You'd better take off that wet uniform as well, young man."

"Ma! You don't get it! Naoto's not-" he hissed, his face as red as a tomato.

But the older woman was already ushering the shivering Naoto out of the room, much to the detective's clear dismay.

"M-Mrs Tatsumi, I-"

"I've already turned on the hot water so you can go ahead and have a shower, dear."

S-S-Shower…?!

At this, Kanji's face turned into a strawberry, as he erupted into an uncontrollable nosebleed.

A million thoughts were flying through his head, none making any sense whatsoever.

It was getting on towards the evening, and Kanji was pacing about his living room, still a complete mess.

"Kanji… haven't you gotten out of that uniform yet?"

"Leave me alone, old bag!" he snapped at his mother's voice, continuing to pace.

He just couldn't get comfortable – not when he knew that she was in his bathroom, using his shower…

He had to fight off the thoughts surfacing in his mind, fearful that if he lost any more blood he might pass out or something.

His Ma finally left him alone, saying something about needing him to watch the Textiles shop, while she went to the store across the street.

The front door closed, and the shower stopped running.

The silence that followed through the house was enough to make Kanji's heart plummet into his stomach.

His eyes shot to the laundry basket, visible from where he stood, opposite the kitchen. Naoto's school uniform had been folded, and her sodden hat placed on top, ready to be washed. But then…

"A-Aaaaaahh!"

A scream? But… that was Naoto's voice?!

Frenzied, he half-sprinted at the door, almost colliding with the steps as he raced up to the bathroom.

"Naoto?!" he cried, his heart hammering violently against his ribs.

What happened?! Was she okay?!

Kanji's head was a whirl of scenarios: he even wondered for a split second whether that kidnapping creep was back, trying to take Naoto back to the TV world...?!

"Naoto!" he cried again, after receiving no response; and with that he burst heedlessly through the slightly opened bathroom door.

…

Steam hit his face first; and then he saw her.

Perfectly fine… with a few snapped bandages in her hands, and a blue towel wrapped around her—

WAIT, SHE'S NAKED!

Then for the second time in the space of about twenty minutes, Kanji's face quite literally exploded, and this time he really did pass out on the bathroom floor, covered in his own nosebleed. As he slipped in and out of consciousness, he'd heard Naoto's voice again… probably screaming at him and wishing him dead right now.

"…Tatsumi-san?"

When Kanji finally came to, he couldn't open his eyes. His head was still spinning, and aching like hell… What on earth even happened? He couldn't really remember.

But the images began flooding back to his mind, after finally blinking awake and finding Naoto staring down at him, back in her usual school uniform and hat.

"T-Tatsumi-san!" she appeared flustered, not having expected him to awaken so suddenly, "Are you alright?"

His face washed crimson, as he stared up at her in shock.

"N-Na…" he couldn't even form a proper word; his mouth hung open, and he realised how much of an idiot he must look right now.

"You seem to be okay… that's a relief." She murmured, and a small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"W-Wha… What happened?!" Kanji suddenly spluttered, finding his voice, "I-I heard you scream, so I came running! I thought you were… hey, wait! Where am I anyway?"

He sat up quickly, but almost immediately put his head back down. The dizziness still hadn't gone away.

"Don't try to move so fast…" Naoto said.

Kanji groaned, rubbing his sore head. He'd realised now that he was back in the living room, lying on the couch.

"How… How did I get here?"

"Well…" Naoto blushed slightly, and that only made Kanji feel more giddy, "I… I couldn't lift you by myself… but, luckily your mother came back in with one of your neighbours. So, it was a joint effort, really."

"But you… why in the heck were you screaming like—"

He stopped, suddenly noticing something he hadn't before. Naoto had clearly been conscious of it, and so suddenly brought her arms up around her chest.

"I-I…" she didn't have an answer. She'd never told anybody that she wrapped bandages over her chest to try and hide it… with hindsight; she probably shouldn't have reacted so impulsively to the bandages snapping when she tried to put them on after the shower. She suspected that Mrs Tatsumi must have figured it out, despite her best efforts to keep the towel wrapped over her. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life.

Kanji didn't understand a bit of it. In fact, he could barely comprehend how close she was to him right now.

"Listen, uh…" a frown spread across Kanji's face, and he averted his eyes off to the side, "You, uh… probably hate me now, right? So, uh…"

"Hate you?" Naoto stared at him, seemingly perplexed, "Why would I hate you?"

"Y'know… for, uh, barging in on you like that, when you were… ughh…" his words were garbled, and he tried to pry his brain away from remembering Naoto in nothing but a towel…

Her face was pink, and she had an unreadable expression on his face. For a split second, Kanji thought she might slap him – like how Chie had thumped Yosuke earlier. Aw crap, did she think he was a perv? It had technically been a misunderstanding…

"N-Naoto…"

"Hm?"

"I-I gotta know…"

Again, he tried to sit up. But his head wouldn't let him.

The dizziness took over once more, and he sort of swayed forwards.

"T-Tatsumi-san!"

She sounded kind of far away, but the next thing he knew he was being steadied by a small pair of arms, and Naoto's face was quite literally inches away from his.

"N-Naoto…"

"You really are reckless."

"Huh?"

She was smiling at him, and for the first time that afternoon she seemed relaxed.

Their faces were still incredibly close…

Eyes suddenly locked; and that single moment seemed like an eternity.

When their lips finally touched, it was brief - a sensational feeling came over the two of them at that moment, and everything else in the world just seemed so insignificant.

Afterwards came silence; and while it was a little awkward, the two of them ended up smiling, both with bright red faces. It all seemed right.

…

The day hadn't ended so badly after all.