A/N: Sorry for the wait! I had a rather bad case of writer's block and I had to (fail) study for a medical terminology exam. But this chapters longer so I hope that makes up for it.

In Me It Shows

Chapter 4: Not Easy

He didn't ask her to repeat herself. Didn't stammer uncontrollably, start screaming or faint – though he certainly looked as though he could pass out at any moment.

Naoto and Rise shared an uneasy glance. The look of complete and utter shock on Kanji's face was to be expected. Rather, what preoccupied the girls was that he had fallen silent and remained that way for several minutes, face pale and eyes all but bulging from his skull, staring straight ahead but not at either one of them. "Oh man. Do you think he's okay?" Rise asked, to which Naoto bit her lip, watching silently as her friend leaned over the table.

"Kanji?" Rise called, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Kanji! You still with us?" He only blinked at her efforts, his eyes still unfocused as she sat back down with a sigh. "He's totally out of it. Should we splash him with cold water?"

"I don't think that would help . . ." Naoto mumbled. She was only vaguely aware of her restless fidgeting, not bothering or caring to suppress it as she looked back at the young man across from them. How much longer was he going to be like this? She expected this type of reaction from him, but it had been nearly ten minutes. Perhaps under different circumstances she would have been impressed at Kanji's ability to remain absolutely still. Had someone entered the room at that point, they might have mistaken him as a mannequin. One that had seen something quite unpleasant that is. One would then be lead to wonder what type of clothes line would want to model on something gaping like a bug-eyed gold fish, but all Naoto cared about was why said gaping fish had not spoken.

Yes, it was shocking news. Yes, it was unexpected, but would it kill him to say something? Something. Anything.

"Oh . . . shit . . ."

Well, that was a little more like it . . .

The color had returned to Kanji's face as he took a deep breath. His eyes were still swollen in shock, but at least they were focused now, glancing at the blue haired girl as they blinked rapidly. "Oh shit." He repeated on a shallow breath. "Shit shit shit!"

"Um, I should leave, shouldn't I?"

"That would probably be for the best." Naoto did not even look at Rise as she replied, but the idol nodded knowingly, placing a hand on the detective's shoulder before standing up.

"Good luck. I'll be outside." She quickly departed with that, the sound of the door closing behind her locking the two that remained in with the oppressing tension. Kanji appeared to be a bit more composed. At the very least his breathing had evened out and he was no longer spewing obscenities. Naoto almost wished he was. His eyes had were still wide and locked with her own, and in the silence, they appeared almost pleading. Pleading for what? She wasn't sure, but her uneasy mind filled the blanks in a less that reassuring fashion.

'Why?'

'Why did you do this?'

'Why'd you betray me?'

Ridiculous. He couldn't seriously be thinking like that. But the look he gave her . . . . she gritted her teeth. She could interpret the thoughts of criminals, begin piecing together their patterns based on scant evidence, but her own boyfriend – the first and only she'd been intimate with – was a mystery to her. Her ineptitude outside of detective work was frustrating, but she could be embarrassed by that later. Right now, she needed to know, straight and upfront. "Kanji-kun . . ." Speaking was uncomfortable, but Naoto did not think she could withstand another long period of silence. Still, the words were difficult to get out and she had to close her eyes to continue. "Kanji, please . . . I . . ."

"Are you serious?"

She opened her eyes, hoping to catch something telling in his expression. Little had changed, save for his parted lips, but at least he was talking.

"Y-you're serious, right? 'Cuz if this is a joke, it ain't funny . . ."

"No, Kanji, I wouldn't joke about something of this nature."

"Oh . . . shit."

"Kanji-kun." Her mouth twisted uneasily. She felt a restless churning rise in her stomach – not a nauseas one – but rather acidic boiling. The clenched fists resting on her knees flinched in response and she took a breath. "I need you to say something."

Kanji blinked. ". . . say something?"

"Yes."

"I . . . uh . . ." He looked away, his wide eyes finally relaxing and allowing his eyelids to droop as he rubbed the back of his neck. Naoto took in his movements, but remained unsure of how to interpret them, so instead focused on his next breath. "I. . dunno what to say . . ."

She swallowed. "Then, talk to me." He looked back at her. "Please. Just . . . talk to me."

Regretfully, talking was the last thing to happen. The two were again locked in their staring match, each one fidgeting and opening his or her mouth to speak before closing it with a sigh. The quiet went on for a long time, minutes seamlessly bleeding together so much that when Kanji slowly got to his feet it caused a start in Naoto. No, it wasn't that. It was his eyes. For the first time since breaking the news, they were looking away from her.

Her throat clenched as he started to walk, his steps slow and unsteady, but undoubtedly taking him towards the door. Or at least they had been until his feet changed direction and took him towards her. Naoto didn't move, craning her neck to look up at him as he stepped behind her and slowly lowered himself to the floor. She looked over her shoulder, unsure of what he was doing -

"Eh!" She gasped, startled as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She looked down at his hands, which were pressed against her stomach as he carefully pulled her into his lap. He placed his chin atop her head before she could try craning her neck to look back at him.

"Guess we're gonna need to buy diapers and baby clothes and shit like that . . ."

She blinked, her eyes widening as they fluttered. "Kanji-kun?"

"I mean, if you're gonna keep it, that is. Do you wanna keep it?"

She gaped slightly. "You . . you're serious about seeing this through?"

"Tch, are you a dumbass?"

Naoto's brow twitched as an angry vein on her temple throbbed. "I beg your pardon?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Geez . . ." Kanji grunted. Though she couldn't see his face, Naoto got the feeling that he was pouting ever so slightly. Unsure of whether to feel relieved, exasperated, or both she was so wrapped in her thoughts that she jumped at the touch of his fingers on her cheek.

"K . . .Kanji-kun?" She stammered.

"I gotta admit, I'm kinda freakin' the hell out right now . . . but I ain't goin' nowhere." His voice was softer that time. Calmer, devoid of the irate tone from before as he continued stroking her cheek with a feather light touch. She would have been surprised how gentle his rough and calloused hands were had she not felt them before.

"Kanji-kun . . ." she sighed.

"So . . . you know what you wanna do?"

She looked down at the hand that remained wrapped around her stomach and placed hers upon it. "I . . . only found out yesterday. I haven't had a lot of time to think about it and I wanted to talk to you before I started m-making plans."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'm stickin' with ya, cuz, you know . . . 's my kid too, right?"

"Which means you should have a voice in this as well." She gently brushed his knuckles with her index finger. "You sound as though you want to keep it."

"Wha?!" Kanji exclaimed with a startled twitch. "I . . . no! Well . . . I mean, yeah. I mean . . . dammit!" he sighed. "I just . . . figured you already decided and . . . I . . . wanna help . . ."

"I know, but I've made no decisions yet. What do you want to do, Kanji?"

"Dunno." He sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "But really, I think you should choose. You're the one that's pregnant."

Naoto shook her head. Rather, she shook her head as best she could given it was currently tucked under Kanji's chin. "No, Kanji. It's our child. I want us to make a decision. Together."

"Right. Together." Kanji parroted. He wrapped his free arm around her once more, nearly enveloping both of her small hands under his one. Her stomach was still flat for the time being and he wondered how long it would be before she began to show. He creased his brow and moved to rest his chin on her shoulder as he held her closer to his chest. Sheesh, Naoto was tiny. Not that he hadn't noticed before but it seemed almost surreal to think that a . . . baby was inside of her. His at that. He knew almost nothing about pregnancy – he figured he'd never need to learn about it and what guy would want to anyway? But like it or not, he was about to get a first hand crash course.

He groaned inwardly. "This . . . is not gonna be easy."

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A/N: I hope I didn't go to fluffy on this. I'm rather pleased with how it turned out considering I had to re-write some dialog and about half the chapter. Hehe, but at least I'm getting a bit more comfortable with the characters. Anyway, please review! They are much appreciataed.