"Kanji? I'm home!"
"In the back, Ma." The young man's words ended up muffled from the pins tucked between his lips, as he glared at the project in front of him. He'd been spending too much time focusing on his knitting, and his drafting skills were getting rusty. He'd figured that starting with a nice, simple button-down shirt would be simple.
It'll be easy, I thought. Don't gotta remember so many fancy tricks, I thought. Damn was I an idiot.
He heard his mother set down some papers on the table just beyond the wall that separated the shop from their living space and sigh. "Looks like a nasty storm is just about to come in. Is the laundry in?"
Kanji pulled the pins from his mouth and stuck them in the neck of the mannequin. He'd come back to this later; it was just pissing him off now. "Yeah, brought it in like an hour ago. Din't know it was s'pposed to rain today, though."
"Mm, the wind is really picking up out there, and it's gotten quite chilly. I'm planning on making curry for dinner. Sound good?"
"Sure, sounds great." He gave the shirt one final look. Man, I didn't think I was this out of practice. He'd decided that if he was ever going to completely embrace who he was and who he wanted to be accepted for, he was going to need to wear something other than skull shirts and hoodies. And why buy clothes when you can make them better? At least, I should be able to make them better. Stupid frickin' shirt. Shaking his head, he walked out and headed for the stairs up to their living space when his mother's voice stopped him.
"Kanji? I left the evening paper down on the table. Can you bring it up?"
He glanced to his left and saw the paper tucked under a bag of supplies for the shop. "Yeah, sure." He grabbed the bag and put it next to the mannequin, picked up the paper on his way back and came up the stairs into the kitchen. "Here."
His mother turned to look at him and smiled. "Thank you, Kanji. I appreciate your watching the store for me after school, too. Did you have any trouble?"
"Nah, it was slow." He slid into a chair, slouching so that his head could rest at the top of the back. "Sold a couple things, closed up, worked on that shirt I been messin' with."
She nodded, moving around the kitchen to get the ingredients for the meal. "I did see you had a project. What inspired that?"
"I'unno. Figured if I wanted t'start dressin' nicer, may as well make my own stuff. Fit better, anyway." He sighed, pulling himself up in the chair. "How was Okina?"
"Oh, the same as usual. I found a few interesting pieces for a few orders we have, but nothing terribly exciting. Tell me about your day. How did school go?"
Kanji wasn't particularly good at this small-talk business, but he'd been trying to get better about communicating with his mother. After everything that had happened last year, it was too easy to imagine everyone he knew gone without a second chance, and after all the trouble he'd had understanding his father, Kanji didn't want to risk the same with his mother. She'd worked hard to raise Kanji on her own for close to half of his life; it was time he started acting like he appreciated it. Which he did.
So he stuck around in the kitchen while his mother cooked, telling her about school, or his knitting projects, or why he'd suddenly decided to change his wardrobe and did it have anything to do with that Narukami boy because he was such a gentleman all the time and it was probably good that he'd rubbed off on Kanji a little. (Not that he'd admit it, but it was probably half Yu's fault for putting the idea in Kanji's head, and yes, maybe being around him had rubbed off on Kanji because who wouldn't want to be more like Yu Narukami?)
After they ate, Kanji agreed to wash the dishes while his mother read the paper. It was the easiest way for Kanji to keep up with the news without actually watching it, since if anything interesting or remarkable in any way happened, his mother would comment on it. Most days it was just "oh, the district is finally thinking about approaching Junes about co-operative sales" or "did you hear they finally caught the kids who were harassing children around here?" Nothing that ever interested Kanji, except for the one time they'd had a mini-article on Adachi and the cases from the past year.
"Oh," his mother's voice cut through the haze of his washing, and his eyes flickered over to her. "That's odd, I know I've heard this name before."
"What's up?" Kanji set the dish he'd been rinsing to the side to be dried, and picked up the next.
"Hm... Kanji, is one of your friends named Shirogane?"
The cup slipped out of his hands and though he scrambled to catch it, it clattered back into the sink—luckily not broken. "I—what—um, I mean, yeah I know someone with that name. You met 'em. The detective in my class at school." He looked back at the cup, but couldn't bring himself to try and lift it again. "Why?"
"Mm, someone with that name collapsed earlier today and had to be rushed to the hospital."
In that instant, teleportation must have been invented. He had no memory of moving from the sink to his mother's side, but there he was, one hand gripping the back of her chair and the other pinning the paper to the table. "What!? Where?"
"Goodness, Kanji. It's just a small article." She pointed and Kanji scanned the words.
After a speaking engagement at a local school, renowned detective and public figure Ryouichi Shirogane collapsed suddenly and was rushed to Inaba Municipal Hospital. Details as to his condition are still unknown. Having been in what seemed to be excellent physical condition during his talk, it came as a great surprise that...
He couldn't read anymore. That had to be Naoto's grandfather. How many Shiroganes were in the Inaba area? Not that damn many.
He rushed out of the room, bee-lining for his room and his phone, distantly hearing his mother saying something but completely missing what it was. Where was Naoto? Had she been with her grandfather? Did she even know about the incident? If she hadn't been there and it happened while she was at school, they could have not reached her yet... That don't make any sense. She has a cell phone, you moron. Still. He grabbed his phone from his bag and brought up Naoto's number. He didn't use it often (because he panicked and chickened out every time he tried to say anything to her) but was infinitely glad now he'd gotten it during the investigation last year.
Hey Naoto, I just saw the paper. Are you ok?
Easy. Simple. Basic. Absolutely no way to screw that message up. He sent it and waited. The few times he had actually messaged Naoto, she'd been quick to respond—in that bizarre way she texted, all capital letters and half shortened words. Even he didn't text like that.
A minute passed. Another. After five minutes of silence, Kanji could feel his stomach drop. Where is she? He swallowed, took a deep breath, and hit the call button. Maybe she hadn't heard her phone.
Ring...ring...ring...ring...ring... "You have reached the voicemail for Naoto Shirogane. I am unavailable at the moment, but if you will please leave your name, telephone number, and a brief message detailing the reason for your call, I will return your call as soon as I can."
He hissed, hanging up without leaving a message. "Dammit." He tried another text.
Just tried calling, but didn't get an answer. Let me know if you're ok. Don't know if you're there or not.
There. That would be good enough. He'd tried to get a hold of her, didn't manage to do it, and now he could stop worrying. He had homework to do anyway. He could focus on that.
…
I wonder if the others read the paper.
He grabbed his phone, trying to think of who he should try and contact. Normally he'd go for Narukami first, but with him out of Inaba it seemed less likely that he'd have heard anything...or that he could do anything. Rise had talked to Naoto a good amount, but the idol was back on tour and he didn't really want to try and talk to her anyway. Prob'ly just call me Moronji again and hang up. Who else does Naoto talk to? They both had started talking to Naoki Konishi more, but Kanji didn't have his cell phone number and the Konishis didn't really care for him so he didn't dare call the liquor shop.
C'mon, Tatsumi! Think!
The next most likely person to have seen the paper, or have a paper around to see, was Yukiko. That was at least someone Kanji felt somewhat comfortable calling. They'd drifted apart since they were kids, but after the events of last year, they'd started rebuilding it. He punched in Yukiko's number and hit the call button.
Ring...ring...ring...ring...click—
"Hello?"
"Hey, Yukiko? Uh, it's Kanji."
Yukiko sounded confused, but eternally polite. As usual. "Oh! Good evening, Kanji-kun. I...suppose I didn't expect to hear from you. Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I know, sorry t'call outta the blue like this. But—do you guys got a copy of the evening paper at the inn?"
There was a pause at the other end of the line, and then Yukiko's hesitant voice came back. "Kanji...if you need a copy of the paper, there are..."
He sighed. "No—no, I don't need a paper; I got one here. I'm askin' if you've read it."
"Oh. I...no, I haven't seen the paper." Her voice shifted, now softer and less baffled. "Is there something wrong?"
"I...yeah, I think so." He swallowed again, staring at the wall across from him. "I think Naoto's gramps went to the hospital, an' I can't get a hold of her."
He could hear the sharp intake of breath from Yukiko, and then movement in the background; a door opened and shut, and then papers rustling. "I...hold on, Kanji." More paper rustling. "I...I think I've found it. Ryouichi Shirogane...yes, I think that's his name. I've only met him once in passing, so I can't be sure but..."
"I mean, how many Shiroganes are there in Inaba?" Kanji finished.
"Yes, that's true." He could hear the slump in Yukiko's voice. "And you can't get in touch with Naoto-kun?"
"No. She ain't answerin' her cell. I jus'...I fig'red you guys should know, cause she's our friend an' all. I'm gonna keep tryin' t'call her, but..."
Yukiko picked up the hint. "I'll call the others and make sure they know. And if any of us can reach her, we can try to let the others know."
Kanji nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him, and sighed. "Dammit. If she's keepin' quiet cause she don't wanna be a bother..."
"She'll be okay, Kanji-kun," Yukiko murmured. "One way or another, I'm sure she'll be okay. Naoto-kun is strong and smart."
"Ain't always so smart," he muttered, but then just coughed. "Yeah, I know. Lissen, I'll let you call the others. I'm gonna try callin' Naoto again."
"Right. Let me know if there's anything else I can do, Kanji-kun. Okay?"
"Sure thing. Thanks, Yukiko-senpai." He disconnected his call from Yukiko, and tried Naoto's number again, ignoring the way it felt like his heart was pounding in his throat.
Ring...ring...ring...ring...ring... "You have reached the voicemail of—"
He hung up again, bringing his texts back up.
dammit Naoto pick up your phone
Screw proper sentences. She didn't care, so he wasn't going to care right now. Why isn't she answering!? Kanji's brain started flickering through every possible situation. She'd been with her grandfather and was at the hospital. Something had happened at the school where he was speaking and maybe she'd collapsed too. Would Naoto warrant a mention in the news? It hadn't mentioned anyone else collapsing. Wouldn't that be a big story on its own? Maybe it was something worse. Maybe there had been an accident on the way to the hospital. Didn't her grandpa have some kind of butler or secretary or something? If they'd been going to the hospital after Shirogane-san went in...there was a storm coming. The car could have hit the storm first; they could be wrecked in a ditch and no one would know.
Kanji could hear the rain start outside his window, and he set the phone down, pushing a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm down. Jumpin' t'conclusions. Knock it off. Think. Naoto was smart—hell, she was the smartest person Kanji had ever met, though she didn't always act like it. She'd figure something out. She wasn't going to just sit around and do nothing.
She wouldn't let anything happen to herself.
She threw herself into the hands of Namatame just to prove a point. That grandpa's the only family she's got. It's not like you got any good idea of how her brain works. You got no damn idea of what she could be doin' right now.
Dammit!
Kanji slammed back out of his room, making his way back to the kitchen, where his mother was finishing the dishes. "Kanji?" Her voice was quiet, not pushing...just concerned.
"Where's that article again." He picked up a piece of the paper, scanning it.
"Here—Kanji-kun, here." She reached out one hand and pointed to a page still on the table.
He dropped the paper he'd been holding, letting it slip from his hands to the table and onto the floor, grabbing at the news story and reading it again—and again—and again, looking for anything he could find. Any information, indication of anyone else, anything.
And there was nothing. Just a short story, indicating that the detective had collapsed and been taken to the hospital. There was no mention of anyone with him, any witnesses at the scene, nothing. It was so uninformative, it didn't seem real.
A crash of thunder made the lights flicker, and Kanji finally glanced up. "Looks like that storm's coming in faster than I'd thought," his mother murmured. "It did look like it was starting further to the south."
South. Isn't... He tried to get a spacial map of the area in his head. Was the Shirogane estate south? Well, there wasn't much to the north beyond the shopping district except the train station... Where Narukami had lived was over to the...what, east? So... Yeah. So the storm's already down there.
Maybe the house had been struck by lightning and was on fire. What if she'd been all alone in there? The house could have collapsed!
"Dammit." Kanji tossed the paper back onto the table, reaching up to tug at his hair.
"Kanji dear, what's wrong?" His mother's voice was strained, and she set a hand on his arm.
"I gotta figure out where Naoto is. Tha's her grandpa in the paper an' she ain't answerin' her phone. I gotta... I jus' gotta find 'er." Maybe she's called back. His hand went to his pocket, but it was empty; he'd left his phone on his bed. Back across the upper apartment at top speed, to snatch up the phone and look at the display—one text message, but it wasn't from Naoto.
From Narukami: Have you gotten in touch with Naoto?
Kanji hit the call back button, slumping to sit on his futon.
Ring...ring...ri—
"Kanji?"
Kanji forced a deep breath in and out. "I can't get 'er to answer 'er phone. We got a hell of a thunderstorm here; I'm afraid we're gonna lose cell service soon. Hell, prob'ly lose power along with it."
"It's okay, Kanji. Have you tried calling her house?"
He blinked. "I don't got her house phone number."
"Hm." There was a pause, and it sounded like Yu was tapping at his phone. "Damn, I don't have it saved. I swore I had it. I'm sure you can look it up somewhere, though."
"Wh—what? Why can't you look it up?"
"Because I'm not the one in Inaba, Kanji. If there is anything wrong, she's going to need a bit more than a voice on the other end of the phone." As much as Kanji didn't like his senpai's logic, it was hard to argue with. "Kanji."
"Yeah."
"If anyone can do this, it's you." He could hear Yu smile. "Make sure she's okay, and let the rest of us know, okay?"
"Y-yeah. Okay." Kanji took a breath, then stopped. "Wait. How the hell you'd find about all this?"
"Yosuke sent me a message, after he said he'd heard about an article in the paper from Chie." And Yukiko-senpai told Chie-senpai. "Call her again, Kanji."
"R-right. Thanks, senpai." Kanji let the call end, then stared at his phone. If Senpai thinks you should call again, then just call. You've already called twice.
Didn't leave a message.
What would I say?
He brought up her contact card and hit the call button.
Ring...ring...ring...ring...ring... "You have reached the—"
He hung up, cursing. One more text.
shit I'm gonna find your house # then
That way, if she suddenly got them before he found her number, she'd know. Who would know...? She'd worked with the Inaba police station. Maybe someone at the station would know. Calling the cops ain't exactly my favorite idea, but... At least he knew the number...for better or worse.
Ring...ring...ring... "Hello, Inaba Police Department."
"Hey, I need to get a number from you." Not the smoothest beginning to a conversation.
Luckily, the cop sounded more bored than thrown by the question. "A number? Like a phone number? Listen sir, we can't just go giving out information on people. Do you have a legal request?"
"I gotta get in touch with a detective you worked with. Naoto Shirogane. I need her home phone number."
The cop had the nerve to laugh. "Whoever you are, you're kidding yourself. There's no way we can just give out personal information for anyone, let alone a detective working with the station. You're out of luck, kid." And with that, the line went dead.
"Dammit!" Kanji slammed a hand into the wall behind him, the thunder oh-so-helpfully crashing in tandem with his outburst. Now what...? Was there anyone else he could think of who might know? Who else knew Naoto? If Narukami didn't have her home number, it didn't seem likely that anyone else would. She talked to him more than anyone else. The police weren't talking, so...
Wait. There was one person on the police force who might...might just talk. And that was a home phone number he did have.
Ring...ring...
"Good evening, Dojima residence."
In spite of the situation, the corners of Kanji's lips quirked up in the beginnings of a smile. "Uh hey, Nanako-chan. Is your dad around?"
"Umm...yeah. Hold on one sec." Kanji heard the phone get set down, and then footsteps running away. He focused on breathing. In...out...in...out...
"Dojima speaking." Aaaand there went breathing. Even after all this, knowing that the man wasn't going to breathe down his neck for existing, it was still hard for Kanji to keep cool.
"Um. ...Hey, uh, it's Kanji Tatsumi."
A pause, and then a confused Dojima spoke again. "Tatsumi? What are you calling for?"
"I, uh... I was hopin' you could help me." The room lit up around him with lightning, thunder cracking down a moment later. It was getting hard to hear the phone through the pounding rain. "I need a phone number an' I don't know anyone who'd have it."
"A phone number? For who?"
"Naoto Shirogane. I need the number for her house. S'a story in the evenin' paper 'bout her grandpa collapsin' an' I'm tryin' to get a hold of her t'see if she's okay an' everything, but she ain't answerin' her cell, so I wanna call her house but I can't get anyone t'give me her number." Once the floodgates opened, Kanji couldn't stop the words.
"Whoa, slow down." He heard the thunder on Dojima's line a moment before it showed up in his room. "What's this about Shirogane's grandfather?"
"Article in the evenin' paper. I guess he collapsed after doin' some talk."
"And now you can't get in touch with Shirogane. Hm." Though Kanji didn't really begrudge Dojima the time to think...well, no, okay that wasn't true he did begrudge him the time, he begrudged the hell out of that time.
"You gotta help me, Dojima-san. Yer th'only person who can." He hated begging, and this was dangerously close to begging. But it was to help Naoto, and there was a whole bunch of pride Kanji was willing to swallow if it meant helping Naoto.
Another beat, and then Kanji heard the older man sigh. "Okay, hold on. Give me a second." Some papers got moved around on Dojima's side. "Under any other circumstance, Tatsumi, there's no way in hell I should be doing this. But it's not like Shirogane to be this hard to reach. With this storm...well, I'd rather know someone was looking out for her, especially if her guardian's in the hospital. Dammit, where is that book..."
"Thank you, Dojima-san. Really means a lot."
"Mm-hmm. Ah, there it is. You got a pen and paper?" Kanji grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off his desk, and took down the number Dojima gave him. "If you can, let me know when you hear something. Don't worry if it's too late, just call when you get a chance. Alright?"
"Sure thing. Thanks again, Dojima-san."
"No problem, Tatsumi."
Kanji hung up the call, and stared at the number. This is it. You gotta do this. Even with the nervousness of calling Naoto's home pulsing through his brain, the adrenaline from the storm and the panic of making sure she was alright managed to keep it at bay. He put in the number and pressed call.
Ring...ring...ring...ring...
"Good evening, Shirogane residence."
Oh no. It was Naoto, but she sounded awful. Her voice was strained, pitched too high to be comfortable, forced. She'd been relaxing more into a female persona (so to speak, really) ever since the school year had started but...no, this didn't sound right at all.
"Naoto? That you?" Better safe than sorry. ...Until there was no answer. Kanji's heart leapt into his throat. Oh c'mon, don't let me get in touch with her jus' to lose her...! "Naoto? You there? C'mon, answer me."
Another beat, but then the timid too-high voice came back. "Kanji-kun? How...how did you get this number?"
Oh thank god she recognizes my voice. "You ain't answering yer cell, so I asked around t'see if anyone knew yer house number. 'Course, no one did so I called the station, but they didn't want t'give that out so I ended up callin' Dojima-san an' I guess he knew, or he looked it up or sumthin." He could hear his voice was coming out a little rougher and faster than he intended, but that just meant he matched her.
He heard Naoto take a shaky breath. "My phone battery m-must have died. You...Dojima-san?"
She was flustered, sounding more confused and out of it than he'd ever heard her. "Are you okay?" Maybe there's somethin' fishy in the water at her place? Is she gonna pass out too? Dammit...
"O-of course, why wouldn't—" Her voice suddenly broke as he heard a loud clap of thunder in his ear, which echoed seconds later around him. That one was louder. Storm's getting' worse. "I be?" she managed to finish.
"Jus' saw the paper. Ma picked it up on her way home from the store, an' it's got sumthin' in it 'bout yer gramps, I think. I mean, can't be too many Shiroganes around, right?" My voice is not shaking. I am totally fine. Dammit...
"Evening...paper?" Damn, she really was out of it. But that answered if she knew about the article or not. She's probably all alone in that huge-ass house. Cause wouldn't that butler-secretary-whatever be with her grandpa? "O-oh. Yes. Of course. I'm f-fine." Her sentence finished strong in the word department, but left a hell of a lot to be desired in the strength department.
"Ya sure? I mean, you got kinda a big house up there, an' if you're all along..." You'll do what? Stay with her? That's gonna go over like a lead balloon. He didn't really know what else to offer, so he just let the question hang.
"Quite sure. I appreciate the consideration, but I am j—" The loudest thundercrack yet made Kanji pull the phone away from his ear, but even when it echoed back in the shopping district, he could still hear the shriek on the other end of the phone.
It was getting harder to breathe with this knot in his throat. "Naoto? Naoto!"
A moment later, a now very shaken detective managed a response. "My a-apologies."
Dammit! Is she always this stubborn!? He knew the answer to that, though. "You sure as hell don't sound alright, Naoto." His voice was getting rougher, his mouth dry as he gripped the cell phone.
"I... I assure you th-that there is n-nothing t-to be done, and I a-am fine. I'm...I'm just n-not..." He heard a thunderclap, but the sound cut off oddly...
...and then the "lost call" beep as the connection ended.
"Naoto? Dammit!" He tried calling back, but the automated voice informed him that the number was unavailable. The power must have gone out up at the estate. Naoto was clearly freaked out, to a point that Kanji hadn't thought it was possible to get the detective to. She was probably alone in the house, with a dead cell phone, and no power.
No way in hell I'm leavin' her there.
Abandoning his phone, his room, everything, he made for the front door. Distantly, he heard his mother call after him. He shouted back a response and jumped down the stairs.
"I gotta go do this. I'll be right back!"
And then it was out into the rain, head down, full speed, toward the house he'd only been to once before.
He'd come close to falling several times, the wind throwing him around and bombarding him with tiny spears of freezing cold spring rain, but if his body was cold, he couldn't feel it. All he could feel was the beat of the pavement under his shoes, and his heart pounding in his chest. Almost there, Naoto... When the estate finally came into view, he pushed for a final burst of speed to get him up to the door. Bangbangbangbang.
No answer.
"C'mon, c'mon..." He blinked, trying to get the water out of his eyes, and tried again. Bangbangbangbang. "Naoto?" Nothing. He was just about to try again when the door suddenly slammed open, and the one behind it let out a yelp of surprise.
Now the cold set in, but this was the same chill he got when he thought about that final battle against Izanami—a cold deep in his chest, the feeling of utter fear. He was absolutely right; Naoto wasn't okay in the least. Dressed in a loose-fitting white button-down shirt and ratty grey pants, her hair was disheveled and her eyes burning red, tears still streaking down her cheeks. The hat she constantly wore was gone, and from a quick glance, it looked like she'd discarded the boy look for the evening.
It may have been the only time Kanji couldn't have cared less about whether or not he could see how big her boobs were. Any hesitation he had about being around her was utterly gone.
"Shit, Naoto." Kanji ducked into the house, grabbing for the door which had blown into the wall from the force of the wind, and forced it shut again, trying to keep as much water out of the house as possible. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and tried to find any other words to say to her.
"K-Kanji-kun." Oh shit... She sounded worse in person than she did on the phone. Her voice was coming in hiccups, cracking on every other syllable. "Y-you're...b-but...w-why..." Breathing was getting difficult again. "Y-you're all wet."
He turned to look at her again, now positive the door was going to stay shut, and all he could do was blink. Something was very, very wrong with the detective. "Yeah. It's rainin'." He went to walk over to her, and then thought better of it. I'm really drenched. Better not get water all over th'floor. House costs more than my life. He swallowed and tried again. "What the hell is wrong? Thought ya said you were fine."
"I-I'm fine." Naoto gestured, trying to wave it on, but she noticeably flinched when the thunder crashed around them. "I-It's j-just a st-st-storm. P-power w-went out."
Just a storm!? This ain't just a anything, Naoto! He just stared at her, lost as to how she could keep denying her panic. "I ain't never seen you this worked up about anything. C'mon, you c'n talk to me. What's up?"
"I-I..." Naoto bit back a sob, and a knife wedged itself in Kanji's chest. "J-Just d-don't like st-storms, a-and..." The thunder roared and she flinched again, wrapping her arms tight across her torso. "A-and n-now the p-power's o-off, and G-G-Grampa..."
Her voice gave out and Kanji saw her waver. Hell with the floors! Before she could fall, he ducked forward and caught her arms, holding her up. "Hey, whoa, it's okay. C'mon." He looked around and found a chair just to the side, and slowly moved her over there so she could sit down. As soon as she was seated, she curled into a ball, knees to her chest and face to her knees. He'd never been so aware of their height difference before, as he stood at her side and she made herself as small as possible. "This ain't just the storm." She didn't respond. "Naoto."
He almost missed her response. "I-I'll be f-fine."
Kanji huffed, fists clenching. "Dammit, Naoto, stop tryin' ta be so damn perfect an' only relyin' on yourself all the time!" She flinched tighter at his raised voice, and Kanji choked, the knife still in his chest twisting. "Dammit, sorry. Didn't mean t' shout. But..." He crouched down so that he was at least closer to her eye level. "You don't gotta hide everything."
"Wh-what w-was I supposed to d-do?" Her already too-high voice was climbing to a hysterical shriek. "It's a-already r-raining out there a-and I can't g-go anywhere in th-this much r-rain s-so what what anyone g-going to do about it!?"
Now he really was having trouble breathing. Dammit, I can't beat the shit out of th'storm for doin' this to her but hell if I wouldn't try... "I'll figure somethin' out." How his voice sounded that calm was anyone's guess. He glanced around the room, trying to see if there was anything in the estate that would help in a power outage. Not surprisingly, he didn't find anything. ...At least, nothing he'd recognize as useful. "I was gonna offer to stay here with you, but if th' power's out, that ain't exactly the best idea I guess." Puttin' it mildly.
"B-but... H-how..." She trailed off, and came back a moment later. "K-Kanji-kun."
That knife felt like it was getting hotter. He looked back at her. "Yeah?"
"W-what c-can we do? W-we c-can't go back out th-there in this..." Naoto's eyes flickered to the window, where the rain was still pounding down.
Kanji scoffed. "Like hell we can't. You sure as hell ain't staying in this dark-ass house by yourself."
Naoto's eyes widened. "I c-can't!" Her voice broke on the last word, devolving into a horrified whine.
That was the last straw. The knife gave one last wrench and he could feel his heart shatter. I don't give a shit about what happens to me. But I ain't leavin' her like this. Not if it's th'last thing I do. I can't. "Naoto, yer grandpa's in the hospital, yer freaked out by the storm, an' the power's out at yer house. I'm not leaving you here." He shifted so that he could catch her blue-grey eyes dead on, trying to convey whatever strength he could to her. "You got a raincoat?"
He hadn't known her eyes could get wider. "K-Kanji-kun..."
Each word was a statement. "Do. You. Have. A. Raincoat."
Kanji could almost see Naoto slump in defeat as she nodded and pointed to a closet on the far end of the room. "Th-the blue o-one."
"Prob'ly coulda guessed. Don' move, okay?" Kanji stood, his eyes not leaving her until he was sure she'd be okay if he walked away for a moment. When it looked like she wasn't likely to fall over, he bolted for the coat closet, opening the door and moving the coats around until he found what he was looking for: a navy blue rain poncho, clearly sized for someone of Naoto's height. Grabbing it, he hurried back to Naoto, kneeling down next to her again. He desperately wanted to reach out and try to comfort her, but he couldn't tell how she'd take it. "Hey," he murmured, letting her know he'd come back.
And she promptly burst into tears again. Kanji's throat closed up. What'd I do!?
"Shit, I'm..." What am I sorry for? "Dammit, I don' even know what I did, but I'm sorry anyway." He shifted, moving to crouch rather than kneel. "C'mon. I found your coat."
Watery eyes looked up at him, and he held out the poncho. "...c-can't...go o-out th-th-there. C-can't...w-walk."
Whatever he'd tried to say in response to that died in his throat, the pieces of his heart exploding into dust. This ain't right... What the hell happened t'make her this bad...? It was physically painful to see the detective in this much distress. She was never this upset. But his mind was made up. He was getting her out of this house one way or another. He swallowed, forcing his voice to work again. "Don't need to. C'mon. Can ya stand?"
She paused, then uncurled to set her feet on the floor and her hands on the arms of the chair. She took a breath—lost it to a clap of thunder—then tried again, pushing off to stand. Her knees buckled a second later, and Kanji moved in a flash, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to catch her. "Hey, whoa, it's okay. C'mon." Did I already say that? I think I said that already. Oh well. He held out the poncho with his other hand.
Naoto looked up the stairs, pointing with a hand that was shaking worse than the trees outside. "M-my phone..."
"We'll figure 'at our later." NOT my priority, an' I don't know why it's yours! When Naoto didn't move on her own, he moved his arm—made sure she was still standing—and then pulled the poncho around her shoulders. As if unaware, Naoto's arms moved into the sleeves of the poncho, and Kanji fastened the front.
"Wh-where...what..."
With the poncho closed, Kanji flipped the hood over her hair, meeting her gaze again and hating every speck of pain and uncertainty he saw in them. "You trust me?"
She blinked. "Wh-what...?"
"Do you trust me?"
A blink. Another. Then slowly, a nod. "Y-yes, o-of course..."
"Then hang on, tight as you need." This is the only way I'm gonna get her outta here. He ducked enough to get one arm behind her knees and picked her up bridal style, keeping her tight to his chest. The detective yelped and went stiff, nearly knocking her out of his grip. "You gotta try an' relax, Naoto. Now hold on." The arm under her knees was just free enough to reach for the doorknob and keep a hold of it in order to close it again, and then he took a breath.
I gotta get her back home.
He took off running back to the shopping district, and as Naoto finally relaxed enough to wrap around his neck, he just held her tighter.
Any tears shed would melt together with the rain.