Chapter 1

Naoto hated shopping. She liked being with her friends, but was not pleased to have been dragged to Okina on a shopping spree by the other girls on the Investigation Team. She had tried to get out of it, but Rise-san insisted, and she seemed to always get her way in the end. They had left the boys at the usual meeting place, the Junes food court. Yosuke-senpai and Teddie were working today, so Souji-senpai and Kanji-kun decided to hang out and chat with them while they worked. Naoto wished she was there instead of this ridiculous shopping trip that dragged on forever.

What seemed like days but was merely hours later, the other girls were finally done, and they all headed back to town. When they got close, Rise stopped and began frantically communicating with her persona. "What?! Teddie? Why on earth are you in the TV?!"

"What's going on, Rise-chan?" asked Yukiko.

"The boys… they sensed a threat in the TV world and entered without us! It sounds like they're in real trouble!" Rise exclaimed.

"Oh no! Let's go, hurry up you guys!" yelled Chie, and they all took off running for Junes. Rise consulted with Kanzeon while they ran, getting updates from Teddie along the way.

"Rise-chan! Oh no! Kanji-chan is hurt! It looks really bad! I don't think my healing skills are going to be enough to handle it on my own! Please get here beary fast!" exclaimed Teddie.

Naoto sped up, leaving the other girls gasping for air behind her. She arrived just slightly ahead of the other girls, prepared to run for the electronics department, when she realized that Teddie was standing before her in the food court. Naoto came to a halt, and the other girls nearly ran right into her. Naoto scanned her surroundings, then saw that Souji-senpai was helping Kanji-kun out the door into the food court. She ran and threw her arms around him. "Kanji!"

"H-Hey, Naoto. It's ok. I'm alright. Worse than it looks, really," Kanji said softly, looking quite shocked by her arms around his waist. He was also surprised to hear her drop the honorific, something Naoto didn't ever do, despite how close everyone on the team was.

"Let me see your wound," she insisted. He lifted his shirt to reveal a large slice on the side of his abdomen.

"I don't know why I couldn't heal it fully, Nao-chan. I tried beary hard, but it still looks really bad!" Teddie said with tears in his eyes.

"We're going to have to stitch it", Naoto decided. "Kanji-kun, by any chance, do you have a needle and thread in your coat pocket?"

It turned out that he did. This wasn't the first time he had absentmindedly put sewing supplies in his pocket, bringing them with him unintentionally. He noticed that he was already back to being "Kanji-kun" and sighed, handing Naoto the needle and thread.

"Help me get him to that bench over there, Teddie."

Once Kanji was on the bench, Teddie went back to the rest of the group. Naoto threaded the needle and tried, with shaking hands, to knot the thread. "Hey. Let me see it," Kanji said softly. He knotted it perfectly with ease and handed it back to her.

"This is going to hurt, Kanji-kun. I'm sorry," she said.

"S'ok. I can take it."

Naoto slowly began making careful stitches in the gash in his side. It took some time, and she could tell he was in pain (although he didn't say a word), but she got the job done. "Ok. I think that will suffice for now. Rest for a moment, I'll be right back."

She approached the group, heading straight for Seta. "What on earth were you idiots thinking, going in there without the rest of us?!"

"Naoto? W-Why are you so upset?" asked Souji.

"Senpai! You didn't have enough backup, and you had hardly any support! You expected Teddie to handle battle support and healing duties and also to fight? This is the most ridiculous decision I have ever seen you make! You nearly got Kanji-kun killed!"

Souji looked at her, shock and shame meeting on his face. "Y-You're right, Naoto. I should have given it more thought before going in without the rest of the team. How is Kanji? All stitched up?"

"For now. I don't think it will be enough. His wound looks serious. It would likely be best to take him to a hospital," she said, trying to control her voice. She couldn't believe she'd blown up at senpai like that.

"No hospitals," Souji said calmly. "We'll figure something else out if we need to. In the meantime, we need to regroup and head back into the TV. Can I count on you to be on the front line this time, Naoto?"

"No… I-I don't think that's a good idea right now. Someone needs to stay with Kanji-kun and monitor his condition. We can take him to my apartment, and I will stay with him while the rest of you handle it." Naoto felt like she should have turned red telling him this, but she didn't. She was angry and worried and needed to focus on how to make things turn out alright.

Souji-senpai and Yosuke-senpai helped her carry Kanji-kun up the stairs to her apartment. After a small fight with the door that always stuck, they were in, and she flipped on the light. "Take him to the bedroom. Through that door," Naoto directed.

"T-The bedroom?" asked Yosuke.

"Yes, Yosuke-senpai. He needs to rest. That is where the only bed in this apartment is. So please, take him to the bedroom." It astounded her that Yosuke-senpai could be thinking ridiculous things at a time like this. Of course she would give up her bed for a friend in need, and now was not the time to be embarrassed about the fact that three boys were currently in her room, one being placed directly into her own bed.

"Ok, we should get home. We need to rest and plan so that we can go back into the TV as soon as possible," Souji said. "Call us if you need anything, Naoto." Yosuke-senpai nodded and followed Souji out of the room.

And then it was just Naoto, standing in her room over the boy whose life was still in danger. She knew it, no matter what the rest of her friends thought. This wasn't a simple injury, and it was going to be a long night. She let out a shaky sigh, feeling her body finally start to calm a little after having adrenaline coursing through her veins for the last hour. She glanced at Kanji-kun, who had been in and out of consciousness since she stitched him up in the food court. He looked so peaceful when he slept. She didn't understand why that seemed to unravel her, but it did. It's just been a hard afternoon, she thought. It doesn't mean anything. Naoto took a deep breath, and sat down in the chair, prepared for a long and difficult night.