*~*Stormy Night*~*
The rain poured heavily through the night, having started early in the morning but had yet to stop. The river at the floodplain was probably rising up to the concrete steps as much as it had been storming lately. Chances are, the streets were probably flooding and wouldn't drain until the next morning- thankfully tomorrow was Sunday, so no one would have to worry about getting to school or work.
But that was the least of Teddie's problems.
As lighting flashed and thunder rolled, the little blonde shivered, pulling the blankets up to his chin. He looked at the window by mistake, seeing a lightning bolt streak down in the black sky. Whimpering, he covered his face.
He hated rainstorms, and for good reason. The former-bear could only think about what it was like in the TV world when it got foggy in Inaba the morning after a rainy night.
When it was foggy in the TV World, the Shadows weren't so bad- a bit vicious, but otherwise they kept to themselves (save for the times the Investigation Team would fight them); but once the fog lifted the morning after a rainstorm in this world, the monsters would be beyond voracious…
Teddie winced; even before the unknown killer started throwing people into the television, the Shadows were anything but benevolent. He could still remember the screeches and roars as the creatures tore each other apart, blood splattering all over while parts of them littered the ground. Teddie during those times would always hide somewhere until the fog set in and the monsters calmed down.
But dark memories weren't the only things that caused him to hate storms. No, with every rainy night someone always went missing, ending up on the Midnight Channel; and on foggy mornings… a dead body would appear.
Thankfully the Investigation Team managed to rescue people who showed up on the Midnight Channel… but there was one case where a dead body was found without the victim being thrown inside the TV at all.
Perhaps the killer managed to throw someone in the night before the foggy morning. The way Teddie's nose was working at the time, the bear was having trouble sensing anyone. Thankfully no one showed up on the Midnight Channel tonight, but the recent murder kept everyone on-edge.
Who knows what the Shadows did to normal people? Without any Personas to defend themselves…
Thunder roared. Lightning flashed.
Teddie flinched. He couldn't take it anymore! The storm was giving him too many creepy thoughts to think about and depriving him of sleep!
Picking up his pillow, he walked out of the guest bedroom.
Since his coming to the real world, he had been staying with Yosuke; however the teen had to pull a double-shift at Junes- Teddie was allowed a night off since the blonde barely took time off, but no one would be home at the Hanamura residence tonight.
He thought about asking Yu for accommodations, but dear Sensei had to work at the hospital tonight (as crazy as the weather was, Teddie considered him very brave); He then took this chance to ask if he could stay with one of the girls, hoping that maybe one of them would have a room (he figured Yukiko had several, working at her family's Inn and everything), but sadly such chances were squandered as the girls… oh, how did Yosuke once put it?... Shot him down.
That left one other option... and Teddie really wished he were with his Sensei as he stood in front of his host's bedroom door, slightly ajar.
Lightning flashed again, making him flinch.
Mustering up his courage, the little blonde entered the room, nervously approaching the futon. "K… Kanji?" he whispered, giving the larger teen a tap on the shoulder.
"Mmph…" Kanji grunted, deep in his sleep. His snoring continued, giving the thunder a run for its money.
"Kanji!" Teddie whispered again, only slightly louder; he shook his friend's shoulder this time.
"Zz…! Wha…?" The rebel opened one eye at a time, groggily looking up at the former-bear. "The hell, Ted…? Unless this place is on fire… zzz…" He was dosing off again.
"Kanji, wake up!"
"WHAT?!"
Teddie cringed, shaking with nerves at his host's tone of voice. "I… I… n-never mind." Hugging his pillow, he turned to leave.
Kanji sighed, slightly irritated. "Teddie, it's 1 in the morning. What do you want?" he demanded, in a gruff but calmer tone.
The little blonde bit his lip. "It's raining…" he stated, awkwardly.
Kanji arched an eyebrow; if his friend only woke him up to give him a weather-forecast…! "So?"
Teddie shifted. "I-I was wondering… um… well…"
"Spit it out, Ted, I'm tired."
"It's just, ah…"
*Crack! BOOM!*
Thunder and lightning collided in symphony outside, the sound practically shaking the house!
"KanjicanIsleepwithyoutonight?!" Teddie blurted out, filled with fear.
There was a moment of silence. Only the sound of rain hitting the windows could be heard.
There was a sleepy, perplexed look on Kanji's face as he tried to comprehend the question. "…Say that again?" he asked, confused.
"Can I… sleep in here tonight? I-I can't sleep because of the storm," Teddie admitted.
Kanji only looked at him, before sighing and muttering something under his breath. For a moment, the former-bear figured the rebel would decline and make him go back to his room… so he was pretty surprised when the larger teen only scooted over on his mattress, turning his back to him while slamming his palm onto the other side, mumbling. "Fine. Stay on your side,"
Teddie blushed. "I'm sleeping in your bed…?"
Kanji shot him a glare. "Would you rather sleep on the floor?!"
"Bed's fine!" Teddie shuffled over, inching onto the mattress, still clinging to his pillow.
His host let out another heavy sigh. With his back to him, Teddie could still sense the irritated look on his face as his eyes shut.
The little blonde shut his eyes as well. He didn't exactly want to be so close to the bleach-haired teen, but if it helped distract him from the dark thoughts the storm plagued his mind with, he could deal with it…
*BOOM!*
…almost.
Teddie bit his lip, hugging his pillow so tight he was worried feathers would burst out of it. With his eyes shut tight he could only see the Shadows attacking one another, or imagine bodies hanging from some high point…
He opened his eyes, just in time for lightning to flash again, highlighting the room-
And he saw they were surrounded by Shadows!
Teddie gasped loudly, yanking the covers over his head!
…
And off of Kanji's shoulders. "What the hell?!" The bleach-haired teen snapped, sitting up. He glared at Teddie. "Gimme back my blankets! …Geez, Ted, what is with you tonight?!"
"S-S-Shadows…!" Teddie poked a trembling finger out.
Kanji looked around the room, then groaned. "There aren't any Shadows here, Ted. Look." He pulled the blankets off in order to make Teddie see…
Noticing tear-streaks on his friend's face.
Teddie opened one eye, looking around. Sitting up and getting a good look, he realized that the 'Shadows' were just silhouettes of the furniture around the room. "O-Oh…" he sighed.
"Teddie… are you alright?" Kanji said, a lot more calmly than before. "W-Why are you crying?"
The former-bear wiped his eyes. He was used to being seen crying; he had cried in front of Sensei and the others plenty of times. However this time, he felt embarrassed. "I-I'm not crying. Just… allergies. Yeah." He lied.
*BOOM!* went the thunder again.
Teddie yelped, grabbing the blankets and covering his head again. A whimper escaped his throat, despite his restraint.
Kanji looked at his friend, then out at the storm. Putting two and two together, he stood up. "Hold on," he said, and walked over to the window.
Teddie peeked out, watching as the bleach-haired teen closed the blinds on his window, pulling the curtains shut over them. Lightning flashed, but he could only see glimpses of it from the tiny gaps on the sides of the covering.
Thunder rolled again, making him cringe. A moment later, something was placed over his ears. A pair of headphones. "Here, listen to this." Kanji said, plugging in his mp3 player.
The little blonde listened as the song Memories of the City played through the headphones, the soothing melody not only blocking out the sound of the storm, but also calming his nerves. He sighed with relief, lying down on the futon.
Kanji lied down next, letting out an exhausted sigh himself. Adjusting the blankets so they were both covered, he looked at the little blonde. Teddie was so annoying at times… but once he calmed down, the rebel didn't mind his company.
He shut his eyes, listening to the rain hit the windowpane, the thunder rumbling with the occasional flash of lightning. He understood why his friend hated storms- who wouldn't hate them if every morning after there was a chance a dead body would show up? But for the rebel himself, he found the sound of the rain calming so long as he didn't focus on the murders.
Silence outside of the storm fell, and he relaxed.
…
He was drifting off when Teddie tapped him. "Kanji… it shut off," his friend whispered.
"Huh? Oh. The battery must've died…" Kanji realized; he had been listening to music while sewing, lately. Should've made sure it had a fresh battery before letting Ted use it…
Though, it didn't seem to matter now; the storm was starting to lighten up it seemed, as the thunder sounded far off and the lightning flashes were growing further in timing. That, and the little blonde seemed to be drowsy from listening to music for… how long? …10 minutes? His head tilted back onto the pillow as he snuggled under the blankets, shuffling closer to the rebel.
"Um…" Kanji blinked. "Personal space?"
"Mm-hmm…" Teddie hummed, fatigue taking its toll on him. His arm draped across his friend's stomach. "You're warm…"
Kanji turned red. "No I'm not…" he grumbled.
"Okay… zzz…" With that, Ted was out like a light.
"For the love of…! Get off me!" Kanji hissed, trying to push him away; Teddie only snored softly, holding onto him.
The bleach-haired teen groaned. He looked at the clock- it was 1:20 AM. There was nothing planned for tomorrow- everyone decided to take a 'day off' from training in the TV world, the Textile Shop would be closed, so thankfully he would get to sleep in.
Though, not too much… He would have to take Teddie back to his own room sometime in the morning. God forbid his mother walks in and wonders why their guest is sleeping beside her son; much less Teddie blabbing to the others about the rebel acting soft. Hopefully the little blonde will think this was all a kafka dream once he woke up in his own bed.
Kanji yawned. He was too tired to do this much thinking. Teddie breathed softly, the tear-streaks on his face drying. Poor kid, storms really freaked him out didn't they?
Stretching his arm, he wrapped it around his friend's shoulders, reaching up and rubbing his head. The little blonde hummed in his sleep, a relaxed smile on his face as he nuzzled against him. The rebel gave a scoff, smiling as he shut his eyes.
~P4~
Sunlight filtered through the window the next morning, shining on Teddie's face. The former-bear sat up, looking around to find himself back in his room. He was confused for a moment… but seeing that he slept through a foggy morning and no one called to tell him that an incident occurred, he was too relieved to care.
Getting dressed, he walked to the kitchen. "Oh, good morning Teddie. I figured you boys would be sleeping in," Mrs. Tatsumi said with a smile, setting two bowls of cereal and a carton of milk on the table. She then grabbed her purse. "I have to run errands this morning. Would you be a dear and tell Kanji to hang up the laundry while I'm out, please?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Tatsumi."
With a smile and a grateful nod, she left. Teddie sat down at the table, pouring milk into his bowl; a moment later Kanji entered the kitchen, all dressed but still looking sleepy despite it was after 10 AM.
"Morning, Kan-chan!" Teddie said cheerfully.
"G'mor'n…" came a mumble from the larger teen as he sat at the table. "And don't call me that… *yawn*" He looked around the kitchen. "Did Ma go out?"
Teddie nodded. "She's on an errand run. She said you have to hang up the laundry while she's out,"
Kanji grunted, eating his cereal. "'Course she did…"
Teddie finished his cereal. "I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go meet up with Sensei and- oof!"
As the little blonde was starting to stand up, the rebel grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back down. "Hold it! Tatsumi House Rules: If you stay over, you have to help out with the chores! This ain't the Amagi Inn where you can just check-in and check-out, y'know."
The former-bear slumped. "But Kaaaanji…!"
"No whining! …You'd help out Senpai at his place, wouldn't you?"
Teddie thought. Granted when he stayed with Yosuke, he did help with the housework… though he was hoping this time he'd get to skip out.
"C'mon, it'll give Ma less to do." Kanji added when Teddie continued to pout.
"Oh, alright… but only for your mother." Teddie sighed.
After washing their dishes they were in the backyard, hanging clothes and sheets on the line.
Once in a while, Kanji would look over and see Teddie trying to hang something up- sometimes he didn't stretch the clothes out enough, one of the clothespins would fall off the wire… at one point he ended up wrapped up in a sheet when the wind blew it around him!
The rebel sighed, walking over. "Here, let me show you how it's done." He stated, unraveling his friend from the constraining fabric. He gave it a shake, draping it over the line before pinning it in-place. "Always shake the clothes a little first and stretch them out more, otherwise they'll wrinkle."
"Oh, okay." Teddie replied, copying his method.
As they worked, the rebel felt a bit of relief. Teddie didn't bring up last night yet, so perhaps his secret was safe. "Alright, done. Let's head into town," he stated after five minutes, and they walked through the house to the front door.
"Let's swing by Sensei's place first and see if he wants to hang out!"
Kanji shrugged. Yu was the best company out of the rest of the group- at least he was easier to talk to.
"By the way, Kanji…" The little blonde had seemed to fall behind, shifting a bit.
"What?" The rebel asked. He gasped as a pair of arms wrapped around him, as he was hugged.
"Thanks for last night," his friend said softly.
Time seemed to freeze. His eyebrow twitched. Just from the way Teddie spoke, the way he was hugging him… it made Kanji blush. He wanted to snap, but was speechless.
Teddie continued. "I was really scared… all I could think about last night were Shadows and dead bodies and… well, you helped get my mind off it. So thank you." He hugged him tighter. "You're a really good friend, Kanji-chan."
"Um…" Kanji turned, so their position was less awkward. He patted the little blonde on the back. "N-no problem." He pulled away. "But if you tell anyone about it, I'll turn your bear-hide into a rug!"
A sweat-drop appeared over Teddie's head as he pulled away, raising his hands in defense. "I won't, I promise! They probably wouldn't believe me anyway!"
"Good. Now lets go," They walked out the door. As he always knew, Teddie was annoying… but once he calmed down it was nice having him around.
Teddie sighed, but smiled. His friend could keep his tough reputation.
So long as he saw his better side again on their next sleepover.