-December 4 2015-

It was a long November month for Rise, but her world tour finally came to an end and after a day's worth of rest, she packed up and made her return trip to Japan for some well deserves holidays. She didn't want to inform her girlfriend of 3 years now, Naoto Shirogane that she was coming back; wanting to make it a surprise gift for the holidays.

'I can't wait to see Naoto-kun's face when she sees me, completely unexpected by my presence.' Rise smiles to herself, giggling at the thought of Naoto welcoming her back, then kissing her, then placing her hands on her waist and starts to pull her pants down, and then-

Ok Rise, those thoughts can be saved for later you needy girl. The Idol informed her grandmother but no one else, wanting to make her surprise visit and temporary stay a surprise for not just Naoto, but her longtime friends at Inaba, knowing that Yu will be there for Christmas to visit Nanako and Dojima.

It's the perfect time to spring up her presence out of the blue, but first she's going to surprise her girlfriend, who according to her grandmother, is today at her room offering to clean up. That's awfully nice of her girlfriend, but she knows how Naoto can be a bit of a tidy one compared to her who can't even make the bed after waking up.

Arriving at Inaba, Rise makes her way to the Marukyu Store (making sure to avoid Tatsumiya Textiles in the process) and makes her way to the store, greeting her grandmother with a tight hug "It's so good to see you again Grandma!" Rise exclaims with a big smile on her face.

"Nice to see you again as well Rise-chan." Sakoto Kujikawa (Rise's Grandmother) said, a delightful smile on her face, despite the half-closed eyes that make her look like she's about to sleep. "How was the tour?"

Rise squeals in joy at the mention "It was so much fun, tiring, but fun Grandma. So many places and all the different people!" she exclaims "It felt really nice to meet them and see so much. I'll tell you more in a bit; I wanna drop my luggage and say hi to Naoto-kun."

"Of course" Sakoto laughs a bit "Go ahead, your girlfriend hasn't left your room since she came to clean it up. I think she's playing a video game or something, I hear noises from your room."

This didn't surprise Rise. She's not an avid video game fanatic, but she knows Naoto is. She must have brought one of her consoles to play while she waited. "That's alright; if it bothers you I can tell her to tune it down."

"It is fine Rise-chan. Just go and see you girlfriend, we can talk later." Sakoto said, motioning for Rise to scoot off. Said Idol does so and grabs her luggage, then rushes up the stairs. Arriving at the 2nd floor, Rise makes her way to her room, and like her grandmother said, there are noises coming from her room, but it's the noises themselves that make Rise confused.

'That sounds like…singing?' Rise thought, bewildered by this 'And I'm sure that's one of my tracks…' she raised an eyebrow at that. Is Naoto playing a Rhythm game? What was it called…ah yes Dance Dance Revolution; odd that, Naoto didn't practice dancing anymore (Well at least the style of dancing that she taught her) after the events of the Love Meets Bond Festival, so what…

Rise shook her head and decided to just open the door, reaching for the doorknob; she twists and pushes it open. What Rise Kujikawa saw on the other side is something she never going to forget.

There she is, Naoto Shirogane in the flesh; She is in her PJ's and Jack Frost slippers (don't ask), jamming her hands as if strumming a violin and dancing to the rhythm of the song 'True Story' which Rise debuted it 4 years prior before she came to Inaba; no wonder the song sounded familiar. If the scene alone wasn't enough, Naoto is also singing the lyrics almost perfectly, with her deep voice gone and Rise hearing her full woman voice. Clearly Naoto hasn't noticed the extra presence in the room, because she continued to jam to the song and lyrics as if she was participating in a concert…or a karaoke bar; hard to tell at this point. Thankfully the song is coming to an end.

"Get ready for your True Story…!" Naoto finished with a high-pitched tone as she slides over the room floor and pretends to strum the imaginary violin in her hands one last time before making some sort of…pose. Rise couldn't really tell, not really used to posing after ending a concert. She just waves at the crowd, smiles and blows a few kisses. The pose thing is something more akin to rock stars (Yosuke would likely know more of that.) still though, Naoto did not notice Rise's presence at all, and Rise decided to change that with a simple few claps.

Upon hearing the claps, Naoto opened her eyes and felt a cold shiver up her spine and shoulders; only realizing now that the clapping belongs to someone else; someone in the room with her. Horrified and embarrassed beyond belief, the detective slowly turns her head to the sound of the clap; only to see none other than her girlfriend at the door smiling all so gleefully and teasingly at her, while clapping.

Naoto did not utter a word, the passing seconds feeling like infinity as Naoto tries to open her mouth and say something; but nothing came out given her full-on embarrassment, and at the hands of her girlfriend no less. Rise decides to break the ice with some giggles.

"Well if you were a real idol Naoto-kun, I'd give you a B+. Minus points for the slippers~"

And that's when Naoto gasped, screeched, tried to stand up then slips and tumbles down to her butt and points to Rise in the span of 2.9 seconds "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE RISE-CHAN?!" Naoto yelled in a high-pitched voice with widened eyes and face redder than a tomato.

"Weeeellllll" Rise begins to explain, placing a hand on her hip "I finished my tour and I came back!" she grins "I have vacations until the week after new years; soooo I came home!" she curve hers lips in a mischievous way as her eyes gaze at Naoto's "Only to find my girlfriend jamming to my tunes~" Rise giggles, placing a finger on her mouth "My my Naoto-kun, I know you love Rise, but I had no idea you loved Risette too~"

"I-it's not what it seems!" Naoto objected "I-I was merely admiring your songs Rise-chan!"

"While dancing in your PJ's and singing with your normal voice." Rise deadpans, clearly not believing Naoto's story.

"I-Uhm…aah…" Naoto was a loss for words and opted to merely continue to blush and pout for a few seconds, before finally deciding to talk "…I missed you…" she confesses in a soft-spoken tone with a stronger blush, averting her eyes from Rise "Because we're both so busy, it's hard to hear your voice and see you as often as I'd like…so…" she twiddles with her fingers, shyly gazing at Rise "I use the excuse to clean your room so I can listen to your songs, and I imagine you with me." She looks down, clearly embarrassed by her actions "I imagine myself to be free, like I feel when I'm with you…I'm pathetic aren't I?"

Naoto's words shook Rise, her grin and teasing gaze turned to widened/surprised eyes and her mouth forming an o in shock. "…Naoto-kun…" Rise walks to her girlfriend and kneels in front of her, then embraces her in a hug, caressing her cheek with hers "I'm sorry…I wish I could be here more often, but our careers do keep us apart…" she says in a soft-spoken tone "That's why we have to make the most of these moments like the holidays now until new years." She smiles, pulling back a little and gently bumping her head with Naoto's "Let's make the best of it, memories, events, just you and me…" she giggles "I'll make sure you never forget how it feels like to be with me. Promise?"

"…." Naoto blushed at Rise's actions, but her words impacted her in a lot of ways. Embarrassment replaced with hope, and joy replacing shame. "…You mean it…?" she asks in a low tone of voice, but Rise heard her nonetheless and nods.

"I promise." Rise smiles, and makes her promise real by leaning forward and giving Naoto a welcome home kiss right on the lips that lasted a few seconds before pulling back. Naoto blushed at the kiss, but at the same time welcomed it. It has been too long since she's felt Rise's lips on her; those few seconds feeling more like a lifetime, Rise's warmth making her feel calm and welcome to the Idol's heart and soul.

"…Rise-chan…" Naoto smiled "Thank you…and welcome home."

Rise giggled "Anytime Naoto-kun, and thank YOU for keeping my room clean. Now why don't you help me unpack and we can begin our time together?"

"I'd love to." Naoto smiled, standing up with Rise "And Rise-chan…?"

"Hm? What is it?" Rise asks, turning around to see Naoto.

"…I love you." Naoto says wholeheartedly with a sincere smile and orotund tone. Rise blushed and smiled at Naoto's words, looking at her with a loving gaze.

"Naoto…I love you too, my 'Jamming Detective'."

Naoto's smile quickly turns to an awkward smile "…You are never going to let me live that down are you?"

"Hm…" Rise pretend to ponder about it, but she shook her head "Nope!" she grins "I hope you're that energetic for this evening though~" she winks "I'm going to give you my whole love, and you better match that energy."

By 'love', Naoto knows exactly what Rise means. Not that she is against it; she's been missing 'loving' Rise for a while now. "If it's anything like last time…"

"Ok ok, last time was kind of an overhaul…and we shouldn't have done it at Yukiko-senpai's inn."

"That would be an understatement…" Naoto mumbled, recalling that particular embarrassing situation with Yukiko a year back. Let's just say Yukiko learned a little too much of Rise and Naoto's love; more than what she needed to know really.

"Heheh, yeah, but don't worry. I won't bite this time." Rise winked. Naoto merely blushed and helps Rise unpack after grabbing her bags.

'Oh thank you…' Naoto thought to herself, feeling a little relieved that Rise will not go full primal on her this time. Nevertheless the detective feels happy that Rise is staying for the holidays, promising a lot of memories and good times with each other, and her friends when they reunite later in the week, and perhaps a few more times in the holidays.

Rise and Naoto spent a lovely holiday together…