So yeah, I owed this to PresceathePup a long time ago...sorry about taking so long. Please comment!
All characters and settings belong to Atlus.
oOoOo
It was rather cold for winter, but smaller towns had the tendency to feel colder in the winter than bigger cities. The snow that fell tended to be a bit thicker, covered the ground a bit better, and melted much slower. Such was the case for Inaba, which was already covered by a centimetre-thick blanket of white with no signs of the fat snowflakes' descent ending any time soon. A chill breeze passed through the air, and without the shelter of tall city buildings to break up the wind's flow, it made the cold weather seem many degrees colder than it truly was. Without the fog enveloping the town the night was quite clear, the crescent moon shining down on the sleeping town.
Naoto Shirogane walked briskly down the streets of a residential area of the town, snow crunching beneath her boots. She was actually fond of snow and enjoyed the frosty sceneries of winter, but tonight she found the cold to be distasteful. Mostly it was because she wasn't wearing her usual outfit to shield herself and actually felt the cold. Rather than wearing her school uniform or her normal attire, she opted to wear a seifuku, the girl's school uniform. Her grandfather had initially purchased it alongside the boy's uniform in hopes that she would one day feel comfortable enough to wear it, and it had been sitting in her closet until today collecting dust. But tonight was different. Tonight, she was going to surprise Souji.
It was no secret that the two of them were dating, but it had come as a surprise to Naoto how everything had worked out all because of some silly little game invented by her grandpa. She never imagined ending up in a relationship, let alone one with senpai; such things would only get in her way with her work and studies. But with Souji, things were...different than her relations with the other members of the investigation team. She was out of her element, blurting out things that she normally wouldn't discuss to anyone, blushing and stammering when he made advances on her. In a way she owed Souji a lot for this relationship, because without it she would probably never have accepted herself being a woman, never would have gone into a relationship, and most certainly never wear this ridiculously cold outfit to surprise her...boyfriend.
Naoto shook her head a bit, dislodging snow from her indigo hair. Even referring to someone as 'boyfriend' felt foreign to her.
Finally reaching her destination, Naoto looked up at the Doujima residence and stopped. She had actually never been to Souji's house, as far as she could remember; work, school, ventures in the TV World, and the case with the Phantom Thief had prevented her from doing so. Doing a quick appraisal of the house, she walked up the front pathway, raised a gloved hand, and knocked on the door. After a pause the door swung open, and she was greeted by Doujima's inquiring face. He was still in his work outfit, making Naoto assume that he hadn't been home long.
"Good evening, Doujima-san." Naoto said politely.
Doujima blinked, but then nodded. "Good evening, Shirogane." he said to her. "You're here to see Souji, right?"
"Yes, sir." Naoto said, nodding. It felt odd for her to be addressing her superior at such a conversational level, even if they weren't on duty at the police station. Even outside of work, she still had a lot of respect for the older man, and couldn't help but keep some form of politeness between them.
Doujima rubbed his hand along the five o'clock shadow on his chin. "Well, he's in his room now if you want him," he said, stepping aside to let Naoto in.
"Thank you." Naoto said, stepping inside and removing her coat as Doujima shut the door behind her.
"His room is upstairs, first on the right." Doujima said before returning to the living room, sitting down on the couch in front of the TV.
"Alright. Thank you again." Naoto said, before following the stairs up to the second floor. In her mind, she wondered what Souji's room looked like; would it be a traditional boy's room, or would it have a lot of books? Would it be messy? Clean? Since Souji had so many sides to him, she could only wait and see.
Finding the desired room, Naoto was about to knock when she heard something. She hesitated, her hand hovering over the door frame. It was hard to identify, but it sounded like…a grunt? She was unsure, but another sound came to her ears; a giggle, one that was undeniably similar. A flare of shock mixed with anger flared in her at the recognition, and she boldly opened the door to confirm her suspicions.
Souji was inside, but he wasn't alone in the room. Rise was with him, entangled in Souji's arms. Her pigtails were pulled out so her wavy hair cascaded around her head in a messy fashion, her hands knotted in Souji's dusty grey hair. Souji's hands were against Rise's waist, one snaking up under her shirt to her exposed skin. Both stopped their actions the instant the door opened, staring at Naoto with looks of surprise and, in Souji's case, fear.
Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other. A conflict of emotions stirred in Naoto, and the whirlwind kept her still as she experienced them all; shock, anger, disbelief, sadness, betrayal, confusion. Her mind pieced together the scene, but even that seemed to be stumbling and scrambling, trying to decide on a course of action.
"N-Naoto..!" Souji finally said, disentangling himself from Rise. At his words, Naoto's mind stopped spinning uselessly as her emotions clicked into place. Her face twisted into a sharp glare, rage bubbling, boiling over inside her before bursting out of her.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, her words dripping in venom. She saw Rise cringe in the corner of her vision, but her anger was directed at Souji. She could see him, how he recoiled slightly at his words, the guilt and nervousness apparent on his face.
"I…Naoto, I—" Souji began, and Naoto could tell he was trying to find some way to justify his actions.
"Don't attempt to fabricate some kind of excuse, Souji!" she exclaimed, taking a step forward and glaring up at him. Despite her short stature, her rage was making Souji seem small, smaller than even her. "What do you think you're doing?! Answer me!"
"Naoto, please, I didn't think—" Souji began.
"Didn't think what?" Naoto asked, now practically face to face with Souji. She didn't remember crossing the room, didn't remember how she had gotten so close to Souji, but now she was glaring up at him as he took a hesitant step back.
"Naoto, this isn't what it looks like!" Souji said desperately.
"Then what is it??" Naoto demanded, her voice rising without her consent. "Enlighten me, Senpai. What exactly were you two doing? Were you two playing doctor? Was there something lodged in Rise's throat that you had to remove with your tongue?!"
"I… I…" Souji stammered. He couldn't even form words to explain himself…
Naoto shook her head at him, her face contorted in rage and disbelief. Her body reacted on what felt like pure instinct, turning away from Souji, storming out of the room, and descending down the stairs. She heard Souji calling for her, running after her, but her mind was made up. She already had her shoes on and was on her way out the door when Souji caught up to her.
"Naoto, wait!" he begged, grabbing her arm. "Please, just listen to me!"
"Let go of me!" Naoto snapped, whirling around and pulling her arm free as she glared at him. "I don't want to talk to you right now! I don't want to listen to anything that you have to say!" Souji's eyes widened a bit, his hand still in the spot it was when he was grabbing her arm. "I thought you were a better person than this…I was wrong about you, Senpai." Naoto said coldly, casting a quick glance over him. She turned without another word, walking back into the snow-covered streets.
-----
Naoto was still fuming when she reached the shopping district, her anger boiling under her skin like an untameable fire. No matter how hard she tried, all she could see in her mind was the image of Souji and Rise, entangled in each other's grasp, his hands on her—
"Rrrrgh!" she growled, stopping and shaking her head. "Damnit, damnit, damnit!" Never had she felt so betrayed, so completely and utterly made for a fool in her entire life. She'd given so much, taken so many risks to make a relationship with Souji, and this was how he thought of her? Did he truly believe she would never find out about his double-booking? What was most puzzling was why he would even do such a thing in the first place. Was it because he didn't think they were in a serious relationship? Did he just not care enough? The questions spun in her mind, and despite her intellect she couldn't come up with an answer. The entire experience was foreign to her, and she wasn't sure what to do…
"Naoto?"
Naoto was caught off-guard by the sudden address, and turned to see who was speaking. She was surprised to see Kanji in the middle of the street, bundled up in a winter jacket with a bag of groceries. A yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck, and a confused look was on his face. "What're you doin' out here?" he asked. "Why're you swearing so much? An'...what're you wearing??"
"Oh, I…" Naoto began. She cleared her throat before continuing. "I was just…" she trailed, looking away.
Kanji frowned. "H-Hey, you okay?" he asked, and Naoto could hear the nervousness in his voice.
Naoto sighed, looking up at him. At first she wasn't sure if she should say anything, but the idea of telling someone, anyone, about the pain that she was feeling made her speak. "I just returned from Souji's house…and he was cheating on me." She heard herself say.
Kanji's eyes widened, before hardening into a glare. "He what?!" he growled through clenched teeth. "That bastard!! I'm gonna beat his ass down, that son of a –"
"Kanji stop!" Naoto said sharply. She knew how Kanji got, and how little it took for him to explode. "You aren't going to do anything that will result in you being arrested."
Kanji stopped his ranting, sighing a bit and looking away. Was that a blush on his face? "Y-Yeah, I know! I…I wasn't gonna…"
Naoto shook her head, and couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face. "Look….if it's not too much of a bother, may I talk to you about it?"
Kanji blinked, but nodded vigorously. "O-Oh, sure!" he said, motioning with his head. "The shop's just up here."
It didn't take long to walk to the textile shop from where they were, and once inside they went straight up the stairs to Kanji's room, Kanji stopping long enough to drop off the groceries on the table and let his mother know he was home. Naoto was sitting on the bed at Kanji's insistence, Kanji sitting across from her in a desk chair. She looked around his room; despite his appearance, he kept his room surprisingly tidy. The only spot of chaos was his desk, which was littered with scraps of fabric and other sewing implements. A half-finished blue rabbit was resting in a cleared-out spot on the desk.
"So…what happened?" Kanji asked hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if he should be speaking.
Naoto turned her attention back to Kanji, looking at him for a moment. She took in a breath, before telling him everything; what she had seen, how Souji had reacted, how she had reacted… she wasn't entirely willing to tell Kanji everything, yet at the same time she couldn't stop herself from talking, from getting everything off her chest. As she spoke, the feelings of anger and betrayal and sadness rushed back to her, and she was unable to hide these emotions as well as she'd like. Her voice rose and grew harsh in some areas, and when she was done speaking she found herself dangerously close to tears.
Naoto could tell that Kanji was having a hard time controlling his own anger. His fists were balled so tight that his knuckles turned white, his jaw clenched tightly, and she was sure she could see an angry vein throbbing near his temple.
"That son of a bitch." He growled slowly. "I swear th' next time I see him, I'll—"
Naoto shook her head. "Kanji, please, just…just don't worry about it." She said slowly. She didn't want him to get so worked up over her problem.
"Why not??" Kanji challenged, and Naoto was surprised at how much his eyes flashed with anger and hatred. "He hurt ya! The bastard hurt ya!"
"Kanji…it's just not worth it." Naoto said slowly, her voice lowering as she spoke. "This entire situation…it's my fault."
"What? Why're you sayin' that??" Kanji demanded.
"I allowed myself to open up, and that led to pain." Naoto said. "I tried to let myself care about another, despite my past aversions. I let my guard down, and I suffered for it."
Kanji's eyes widened, the anger disappearing and replaced with surprise. "N-Naoto…" he stammered. "Y-Ya can't say that…"
"I can because it's accurate." Naoto said, her gaze downcast. "I allowed myself to get hurt by him. I should have known better."
"Ya can't say that!!" Kanji yelled, jumping to his feet. The sudden yell startled Naoto, causing her to jump. "Why're you taking the blame for somethin' he did!? HE'S the one who hurt ya; HE'S the one who should be sorry! Why're you the one who's thinkin' you did somethin' wrong!?" Kanji was panting heavily when he was done, staring down at Naoto.
Naoto held his gaze for a moment, but then looked away. "I…I just…" she shook her head, a hand rushing to her eyes to hastily wipe the tears that were about to fall. "This was…"
She heard more than saw Kanji walk over to sit next to her. She stiffened as he suddenly pulled her to his chest in a warm embrace, a hand rubbing her back.
"Y-You didn't do nothin' wrong…" he said slowly, resting his chin on her head. "'s not the same, but…when I was young, I had a crush on this girl. Tried to make her a doll once, but…she laughed at me. Didn't know why, but I kept thinkin' I was the one who was wrong…but…w-well…ya ain't the wrong one, Naoto. Ya can't blame yerself for this…"
Naoto was taken aback by what Kanji had said. She hadn't expected such a deep speech from him, even if it was in his own rough style. She sniffed, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Kanji…"
The two of them remained like this for a few moments, Kanji rubbing Naoto's back as she calmed down. Finally, Kanji asked, "Ya feeling better?"
Naoto nodded. "Yes…Thank you for taking the time to listen." She said.
"Hey, I told ya to come to me if ya wanted to talk…" Kanji said. After a short pause, he asked, "So…what're ya gonna do now?"
"I'm not sure…" Naoto admitted. "I may have to talk with Senpai…but I don't think or relationship can still thrive after this."
"O-Oh…" Kanji said, nodding. "Then what?"
Naoto shrugged slightly. "I'm not sure. I have to see how things go." She said.
Kanji nodded. "Right…" he said. "W-Well…if ya ever, uh…ya know, want to talk, or…you know…" he stammered, scratching the back of his head.
Naoto blinked, but then smiled softly. "Yes…if you wouldn't mind listening to me." She said.
"O-Oh sure! N-No problem!" Kanji said quickly, his face a light shade of pink.
Naoto chuckled a bit. "Thank you, Kanji." She said.
"Y-Yeah…Yer welcome, Naoto."