Just as Nanako had thought, it had been a long night of explaining, lecturing, scolding, discussing and planning. The following afternoon, they were at Junes with the entire former Investigation Team. The plan was to talk about weapons and begin training. And they also needed to figure out how to save Sana-chan. Nanako and Miusagi were so new to this that it seemed unlikely they could just go in with only Teddie. But that seemed to be the way most of the team was leaning.

"Margaret said that we should remain in an advisory position, on the outside," Souji told them.

"Oh, but poor Nanako-chan and Miusagi-kun! They don't know anything about fighting shadows yet, really. I would feel awful sending them in alone," Yukiko insisted.

"I agree," said Rise. "I would at least feel better if they had me to guide them. That way Teddie would be able to fight without having to worry about as much stuff."

"Uhh, but guys. We didn't really have any of that in the beginning, either," Yosuke mentioned. "It was just Souji and me, and then Chie, for quite awhile. And then Yukiko and Kanji, before we even had Rise to guide us. And then a bunch more time before Naoto joined up. We were the same age as these guys, knew nothing about fighting, and we didn't have, well, us to go to for advice."

"Huh. Good point, Yosuke," Chie chimed in. "It was just the three of us for months, and we got by just fine."

"Well, I think - " Teddie began to shout.

"Sit down, Teddie," Souji said calmly. Teddie sat down immediately and zipped his lips.

"What's your opinion, partner?" Yosuke asked Souji.

"I hate it. Completely. I think it should be us doing this. But I don't think we have any other choice right now. What do you guys think?" he asked, turning to Kanji and Naoto.

"I think we need to do all we can to help," Kanji began. Miusagi rolled his eyes at him. "No, I'm freaking serious, Miusagi. You three wouldn't have made it out of there yesterday if we hadn't come in to get you. I don't think they should have to do this alone, senpai."

"Naoto?" Souji asked. Everyone's eyes settled on the detective.

"I… I agree with Margaret," she said, making herself look away from Kanji so she would be able to finish. "I think that they are responsible and will learn, and we can do more good on the outside."

"Great," Kanji muttered. "What about you, Naoki?"

"Me?" Naoki replied. "I've… never really had to go in there other than to train. I don't think my opinion should hold much weight."

"Tell us anyway," Souji prompted.

"I think that there's probably a reason Margaret doesn't think we should be in there. And if we mess with that, what if something goes wrong? So I think we should follow the rules and see what happens."

Souji nodded. "I still hate it, but I agree. For now, we play the role of advisors. If things go wrong, we step in. Does that sound alright?" he asked, looking at Nanako. She nodded. Miusagi shrugged. Teddie grinned. "Then it's settled."


The others each briefly explained their weapons to Nanako and Miusagi. As weird as Teddie's bear claws were, Kanji's "whatever's closest and will knock the crap out of them" method was the strangest. "What are you even talking about?" Miusagi asked. "Like, what kind of stuff?"

"You know, just whatever. Folding chair, desk, whatever."

In the end, Miusagi asked Souji to help him train with a sword, and Nanako decided to approach Naoki.

"Hey, Naoki?" she asked.

"Hmm? Something I can help you with, Nanako-chan?"

"I was wondering if you would help me learn to use a dagger. I know Yosuke uses daggers, too, but he uses two of them, and I don't think that will work for me."

"Oh. Are you sure? I mean, I've only ever trained, myself. It's not like I'm an expert or anything."

Nanako smiled. "I'm sure."

"Alright, let's go then."

She and Naoki joined Miusagi and Souji for a lengthy training session inside the TV. She practiced with the dagger, and also when to use which spell. She was hoping to figure out some new ones like Naoto suggested. If she had enough tricks up her sleeve, she would feel more confident about rescuing Sana-chan. Teddie went along as well, to brush up on his skills, and in case anyone got hurt. After a long afternoon, they all gathered in the food court for snacks and drinks.

"Hey," Chie whispered to Rise. "Have Kanji and Naoto talked since earlier? When they voted against each other?"

"Nope. Not a single word," Rise answered. She frowned at her two best friends. It wasn't like them to be at odds, and less like them to ignore each other.

"She looks really stressed out," Chie said. "And he looks mad."

"I didn't think he ever got mad at Naoto," Yukiko joined in.

After a while longer, Naoto finally looked at Kanji. "We should probably get going," she said. "I need to stop in Junes to get something on the way home." Kanji just nodded and followed her into the store.


They walked in silence all the way to the pharmacy area. Naoto was glad that Yosuke and Teddie were both still down in the food court. This was embarrassing and awkward enough with just her husband who happened to be angry with her. They didn't need an audience as well. Kanji didn't say a word until he realized what aisle they were in, and what she had just picked up off the shelf. "Wha- Naoto? What's going on here?"

"What's going on is that I am buying a home pregnancy test, Kanji."

"Y-You're -"

"No. I don't know. It's a possibility." she said, tearing up and looking at the floor. She supposed the fact that she had been feeling more emotional lately could also be a symptom.

"Naoto -"

"Kanji, stop." She held a hand to his lips. "I haven't been feeling well for weeks now, and this is probably not why, but nothing else makes sense, either. So we're going to just rule it out, alright?"

Kanji nodded. "Alright," he said softly. He waited while she paid for the test, and then they walked home together in silence, holding hands.


When the old team all went their separate ways for the evening, it was still only around seven. "We're going back to my house for more snacks," Nanako said. "Do you want to come?"

Miusagi shook his head. "Sounds fun, but my mom was kind of freaked out when Kanji brought me home like that last night. I should probably go home early."

"Aww, we'll miss you, Miu-kun! Have a pleasant evening!" Teddie yelled cheerfully. Nanako shrugged.

Miusagi laughed. "You, too, buddy."

The truth was, he had a lot that he needed to think about. His mom hadn't been home when Kanji hauled him in last night. And she likely wasn't there now, either. She wasn't a bad mom, but she wasn't exactly involved in his life most of the time, either. She had been, before his dad died. After that, not so much. Thankfully, he had met Kanji shortly after. Having someone he could count on helped Miusagi get through some really tough times. He had only been five years old when his dad had died, and his mom had stopped making him the focal point of her life.

He figured out quickly that Kanji spent a lot of time by the river with Souji, at Junes with the whole group, in front of the bookstore waiting to see if Naoto would show up there. When he wasn't in those places, Miusagi could find him at the Textile Shop. He spent hours there suggesting new stuffed animals and different kinds of accessories they could wear, while watching Kanji work. Other than Sana-chan, Kanji was his best friend. That's why this whole mom and dad thing his shadow brought up was weighing down so hard on his chest. Miusagi had never really thought about it in those terms, but he had spent more time playing while Kanji and Naoto sat at the picnic table by the river watching than he had spent with his own mom back then. When he thought back, he always chose to remember the times Naoto was stern or just downright scary, blocking out the times she calmly cleaned and bandaged his skinned knees, or helped him up when he fell down. He definitely had put aside the image of her smiling in front of him while Kanji pushed him on the swings at the park. Miusagi closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, he was at his front door. He pushed it open. "Mom?" he called out tentatively. No answer, as he'd expected. He went to his room and flopped onto his bed, not sure if he wanted to keep thinking, or shut it all off for now.


When they got home, Naoto slipped into the bathroom and did what she had to do with the pregnancy test. Instead of waiting for the results, she bolted for the bedroom where Kanji was waiting. He was sitting at the foot of the bed, and his eyes widened when she came back in the room.

"Is it -"

"I-I don't know. It… takes a few minutes."

"Oh. Right. So… we might be. Pregnant." He looked a bit pale, and excited at the same time.

Naoto smiled gently. "Maybe. Probably just me, though. Pregnant, I mean."

Kanji laughed nervously. "This… it's a pretty big deal, yeah? I mean.. I love kids, but I never thought we'd actually be real parents, you know?"

Naoto felt the color drain from her face. "Kanji, I'm scared. I don't know how to do this. I would be a terrible mother."

"Hey, come here," he said, coaxing her to sit next to him on the bed. He slipped his arm around her shoulders. "How could you possibly think that? You're gonna be a great mom!"

"What could possibly make you think that?" she asked, tearing up again.

"Naoto. Hey, look at me. You're an amazing person," he said softly.

"I don't think being amazing is a qualification for motherhood, Kanji."

"It is, though. You're smart, and you have the most creative ideas. You can figure out ways to make anything work. Not to mention, you've already had a fair amount of practice with mom stuff, between Nanako-chan and Miusagi."

"M-Mom stuff?" Naoto asked, looking up at him even though it made her tears well up again.

"Yeah! Mom stuff! Like homework and building stuff and kissing boo boos and all that! You've been doing that stuff for years, Naoto. Both those kids were better off for knowing you when they were young."

"Hmm. Maybe. But we can't just… give this one back, if I'm not good at it."

Kanji laughed. "No, we can't. But we can figure it all out together."

"This doesn't scare you at all, does it," she said. It wasn't a question.

"No, I mean. I think we'll be good at it. And we've been together for 10 years now. It's probably time," he said with a soft smile.

"A-Are you still angry with me? For not taking your side earlier?" Naoto asked timidly.

"No, I - I wasn't mad at you for not taking my side. I was mad that hardly anyone wanted to stand up for the kids. They need protecting, and who else is going to do it if we aren't?"

"I understand. I still think we should let them try, though. And I had another more personal reason for thinking we shouldn't spend much time in the TV world," she said, nodding towards the bathroom door.

"O-Oh," Kanji said. "You're - You're worried. About the baby."

"W-We don't even know if there is a baby! But, if there is, then yes. What happened to Nanako-chan all those years ago. That could be a possibility, couldn't it?"

"I suppose it could," Kanji said quietly. They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Has it been long enough? For the test, I mean."

"O-Oh. Yes, I think so." Naoto stood up, grabbed her husband's hand, and dragged him with her to the bathroom. She inspected the test, and looked up at him. "A baby. We're having a baby."

Kanji broke out in a huge grin, lifting her up in his arms and spinning her around. "Whooo! Yes!"

Naoto laughed until her sides hurt.