Naoto walked through the crowded halls of Yasogami High as people darted left and right enjoying the annual culture festival. She wasn't really visiting any of the stalls; she was content just to see what the other classes were doing and people watch. After a few minutes, she did find a stand that was handing out drinks and stopped to get one.

"Hey, lemme get one of those, too." A voice said from behind her. Naoto recognized the voice before she even turned around and she felt the now familiar twinge of excitement in her stomach. She turned and, sure enough, there was Kanji standing behind her. He gave her a small smile as he reached over and grabbed his drink.

"Hey, Naoto!" he said, opening his drink and chugging some down. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much." she replied. "Just looking at all of the stalls and events."

"Yeah, a little lame, isn't it?" Kanji said.

"Not necessarily. Some of the ideas are...somewhat creative."

"Eh, the food stands are always the best." Kanji said happily. "But, I'll go with you if you want to check some things out."

"OK. I was just wandering around, but maybe we'll find something fun to do." The two started walking through the fest, stopping at anything that looked interesting. After a while, they found a classroom set up like a small restaurant, with desserts and tables. The room was a little busy, but they managed to get some food and a table in the back.

"I'm surprised we haven't run into any of our friends, yet." Kanji said, looking around the room.

"Yes, but this is kind of nice, isn't it?" Naoto asked.

"Yeah, it kind of is." Kanji replied, sounding mildly surprised.

"Actually, I just remembered that I wanted to ask you something." Naoto told him.

"OK, what is it?"

"What did you mean when you said that I had to do the beauty competition to 'make a man out of you'?" All of the color drained from Kanji's face.

"Oh crap, I forgot I said that!" he said, clearly upset with himself. He sighed and decided to just tell her. "Remember what I told you about my shadow?"

"Yes?" Naoto replied. Her eyes suddenly went wide with understanding. "Oh! Oh...Well, that is kind of embarrassing..."

"Yeah...Can we just pretend that I didn't say that?" Naoto agreed to his request, but she couldn't help but wonder, with all of the other girls in their group, why Kanji said that to her. She decided not to worry too much about it; she was having a nice time and she didn't want it to devolve into awkwardness.

"I-I am really proud of you for at least trying to get up there." Kanji told her. "I know that was probably really hard for you. And you even managed to win the damn thing!"

"T-thank you," Naoto replied, blushing at the memory of it. As embarrassing as the experience was, it was nice to hear that someone was proud of her for trying. "I wish I could have had some of your confidence on stage, though. It didn't even seem to bother you that you were in drag."

"Yeah, well, as soon as Yukiko-senpai said I was gonna be pretty, I didn't care about much else. I'm kind of a sucker for that sort of thing..." Kanji said, making a face as he realized how strange what he said sounded out loud. "Besides, I trusted Rise to do it right, but maybe I should have asked you from the start. I might've won if I had."

"Yeah, well, that was more Teddie than me." Naoto confessed. "You know how he is when he gets excited about something."

"Yeah, he's one whacked-out bear!" Kanji laughed. They finished their food and walked back out into the festival. Just outside the door was a large blue tent. The sign on it read "The Long-Nosed Fortune Teller's Manor".

"That looks like it could be fun," Naoto said.

"R-really?" Kanji replied. "I don't know..."

"Come on. Even if you don't believe in fortune telling, it could be good for a laugh."

"OK, if you say so –"

"Wait! You have to stay out here."

"What?! But you're the one that just talked me into going!"

"Yeah, well, it would be to embarrassing if you came with me. I'll decide if I want to tell you what she said when I'm done."

"Fine, fine! Geez..." Naoto was about to step into the tent when a familiar voice called them from down the hall.

"Kanji! Naoto! Wait!" They turned to see Yu-senpai rushing down the hall towards them.

"Oh, hey Yu-senpai – huh?" Kanji barely got his greeting out before Yu was next to them and started shoving them out of the tent and halfway down the hall.

"Hey! What was that for?" Naoto asked once he stopped.

"Don't go into that tent!" Yu pleaded. "Trust me, just don't!"

"OK, OK! We won't!" Kanji replied. Yu-senpai was a little odd sometimes, but that was part of his charm.

"So, what are you two up to?" another familiar voice asked. Just then they noticed that their other senpais, Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke, had been following Yu.

"N-nothing. Just walking around." Kanji replied.

"Just the two of you?" Yosuke-senpai asked, a little too interested for Kanji's liking. "Finally grew a pair, eh Kanji?"

"Hey! J-just shut up, will ya?" Kanji yelled at him, blushing. Naoto blushed as well, pulling her hat down in order to hide it, while the rest of the group laughed. Their laughter was infectious, though, because they quickly joined in. The six decided to group up and enjoy the rest of the festival together. While Naoto enjoyed the company of her friends, she was a little sad that her alone time with Kanji was over. But she still managed to discreetly stay next to him as they all walked along.

Kanji and Naoto feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…