A.N.- "There" totally counts as a word.

BTW, I'm getting settled into my schedule so expect more things on the way. And I might have been thinking of how to end this story. It probably won't come anytime soon and I might write one or two things after it's all said and "done" because really, I wrote 77 stories based off of words as of now and at some point I'm going to run out of things to say.

But again, it won't happen for a while yet and it has been really fun to see people enjoy my ramblings about two of my favorite characters.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and may Fortune smile upon you all! -Crookedmouse


Barrier

Fans crowded Rise's view out her window, making her sigh as she tried to find another way to distract herself from the ramblings of people who thought they knew what was best for her.

It was just another day for her; the only difference was that she was in a country she'll admit to never being in before.

The car began moving and the security backed people off, letting the idol sigh as she got to see new things.

Rise blinked as she spotted a large, green park through a space between two buildings and grinned before settling back down and waiting for her manager to finish with his work.

Giving him one of her most charming grins, she suggested that she could get to see more of the area. Of course, her manager was far used to her smile but agreed as long as she carried a disguise.

Once they got back to the hotel, she quickly swapped outfits and hid anything that could give her away to a fan.

The park was not like the one in her hometown (though most of Inaba could be considered a part of a park). The bright, neat grass was more polished and she knew there was no river. Wildflowers were kept away in favor of a select amount of flowerbeds filled with neatly arranged colors.

But of course, it wasn't as crowded or cramped as the city around it.

Rise walked along the paved paths, smiling at some of the other patrons who decided as well to have a quieter space for their breaks.

Once she found one reading a book on a bench, she thought it would be interesting to try and talk to someone (who hopefully wouldn't know who she was). As she sat down next to them, she couldn't help but look them over and realize that they were pretty cute.

"Hello," she said after a brief moment to remember her studies about the language (she still had to pay back Yukiko for her help).

The reader glanced over to her with steel eyes, their relaxed pose stiffening slightly. Before Rise could wonder if she had already done something wrong, the reader nodded towards her.

"Hello." The voice was a bit deeper than she was expecting, but paid no mind to it.

"I suppose this is the best place to have some peace, yes?" Rise smiled, trying to think of some form of small talk.

"…I suppose…" The other hummed, keeping their eyes on the page in front of them.

"…I'm not…bothering you, am I?" Rise gulped trying to remember words but also try to befriend the stranger. She moved to stand up, "I'll leave if that is."

"N-no, you're fine." Rise blinked at the slight nervous hint in the reader's voice but smiled as she saw them look away.

"Okay then," she continued to chat with the other patron, who only occasionally offered a response when need be. Eventually, the two were talking more about themselves but not revealing their names. Rise couldn't help but giggle slightly as she noticed that the book had stayed on the same page she had found it.

"It was nice meeting you," she offered a smile as they both stood up from the bench being lit by the sunset.

"It was nice meeting you as well," the reader chuckled as they caught the surprised expression on Rise's face, the girl shocked that they knew her native language. "You tended to switch to this when you grow passionate in your stories." The explanation left a small blush on Rise's face.

"O-oh…" The reader smiled and assured her that it was a common mistake.

"My mother was from there, I grew up learning both languages." They held out a hand to Rise. "My name is Naoto Shirogane."

"Rise Kujikawa," she shook the hand and smiled. "I'll be here for a while longer… Maybe we can meet somewhere for lunch or something?" Now a blush had made its way onto Naoto's face.

"T-that would be lovely…" Rise giggled and gave Naoto her number before waving and leaving the park.

Naoto stood there for a moment before sighing in relief. "I'm not used to such things…" She smiled anyway, tucking the piece of paper with the number into her pocket.

Spotlight

"...I'm not sure…" Naoto felt uneasy on her feet just thinking about what exactly she was going to do. Of course, this made Rise smile reassuringly for the seventh time tonight.

"We'll be fine. Just remember the order and focus on me." The idol adjusted Naoto's tie and gave her a quick kiss. "Besides, you look great."

The detective sighed but couldn't help but smile.

The sign was given and the two stepped out on stage.

There

"You need to go to bed," the voice behind the detective chastised. "If you go to bed now, you can work more tomorrow."

"Hm." The detective hummed for a response that was most likely not even directed to the voice, but to the files she was looking through on her desk.

The voice let out a sigh and rested her head on her hand, pushing aside some of her reddish-brown hair. "I know you want to keep going…but you're running yourself ragged…" The detective simply took another sip of her cold coffee and flipped to another page. "Kanji visited. He brought the new stuffed animal he'd been working on. He said he's gonna make more of it and sell them."

She looked back over to the detective before talking more and more about any random topic she could think of.

Eventually, the detective could not keep her eyes open anymore and collapsed onto her desk.

The voice sighed again and looked out of the window to see the sun rising, cutting through her incorporeal form. She walked over to her sleeping lover and tried to kiss her head.

And with that, the ghost of Rise Kujikawa left.