[Summary: Nanako wakes up at home, confused and bruised.]

It was a dream, wasn't it? She was still in the hospital, wasn't she?

It had been a nice dream. Nanako wished it was real. Saki had thrown glitter on her, and it had made her sneeze, and she'd hugged Souji and gotten him all glittery, too. Then she'd found the package of confetti on the table and thrown the rest of its contents onto Saki, who pushed her and made her fall onto the tea table, right on her back.

She'd laughed up at all her friends around her: Saki, and Kanji, and Yukiko, and Naoto...

And although Yukiko was laughing at her for looking like a disco ball, the girl's humor seemed somewhat forced, like there was something outside of the party on her mind.

Nanako hadn't had a chance to worry about it because her aunt had arrived with some water and her pain meds.

Then Aika had arrived with delivery and informed her that Aiya delivers to the hospital.

She'd gotten a little indignant, then. "What, you expect me to go back there?"

Aika's mouth had just twitched. "Leave the bowls. Enjoy your meal."

And then Nanako had eaten five pot stickers, hardly tasting them, and when everyone else was done, they'd colored dinosaurs with Souji.

It was the best party ever.

But... Yosuke hadn't been there, and neither had Chie.

She sighed in the bed and noticed the faint light trickling through the window.

Wait, window? Her room at the hospital didn't have a window. She heard an electric fan, and that hadn't been at the hospital either. Home? She was home? Then... had that party been real?

She sat up and realized, after wincing from the pain that shot through her, that yes, she was in her own futon. She was in her room... and she wasn't alone. Camped out on blankets on the floor was Naoto, wearing plaid sweat pants and a very loose-fitting shirt. And cuddling up next to her was Souji, wearing, uh, nothing but a pair of white briefs on his head.

Heh, it must have been some party!

Well, his clothes weren't far away. He might've taken them off because it was rather hot in the room with three bodies in it.

She definitely needed a picture of this! She reached down to her phone, which was on the floor connected to a charger, but reached too far and fell out of the futon with a heavy thud that woke Naoto.

"Mm, good morning, Nanako-san," Naoto greeted, stifling a yawn. She didn't sit up. So close to her, Souji was sleeping on part of her oversized shirt, so she was stuck on the floor for the moment.

"Stay right there," Nanako whispered, picking up her phone. "And... there!" The phone made a snapshot sound as it took a picture.

"You can't blackmail me..." Naoto murmured.

"Me? Blackmail?" Nanako pretended to act offended. "Never!"

Naoto chuckled lightly so as not to wake the boy. After a moment, she said quietly, "Living here has been very interesting, to say the least. I was surprised when your aunt asked me to stay over. The offer was too kind for me to refuse. Though I must admit I was unsure about him." She turned her gaze down to the boy sleeping against her chest.

"What's there to be unsure about?" Nanako asked. "Souji-kun is very well-behaved. Sometimes I think he's too good to be true."

"I have very little experience with children, as you might expect. But yes, he is..." The detective began to brush her fingers through the boy's hair, at least the hair that wasn't covered by underwear. "I... Your aunt set me up in his room with a sleeping bag. But when we settled down to sleep, I found that I couldn't. My mind whirled with everything that had happened that day. My tossing and turning must have kept him awake as well, because he whispered at me."

"Yes?" Nanako asked with poorly-disguised eagerness.

"He said, 'Don't worry. I'm here, too.' Well, in his own way, but yes. And he held his hand out to me, and then he gave me a stuffed toy."

Nanako could easily guess it was a little orange fox.

"…And then he wouldn't let go of my hand," Naoto finished. "Somehow, even though my hand was in an odd position, I was able to get to sleep."

"I'm so glad at least something worked out." Nanako sighed. The image of that was a great one to remember.

"And the next night," Naoto continued, "I had gone to bed before him and fallen asleep on my own without problems, but I woke up from a nightmare. I cried out in a panic, and then he got out of his futon to comfort me. I... I was embarrassed at first, but then he pulled his blankets down to sleep next to me. I told him that he didn't need to, but he said that he'd done this before with his 'big sis.'"

"During Golden Week, I camped out in his room with him," Nanako confirmed.

"Your aunt should be very proud of him. Although he's a quiet child, he's very smart. He pays close attention to what everyone around him is saying, and is always trying to learn. I was speaking with his mother, for example, before she left for work one morning, and after she was gone, he asked me about a word I had used in the conversation since he had never heard it before."

"They say children are like sponges. I get worried when he watches TV sometimes."

Naoto nodded, though the action was hard to notice since she was on the floor. "I think you are right to be worried in that regard. But he's very conscientious—he won't turn on the TV on his own, and I believe it's because he doesn't want to disturb anyone. He never once interrupted me when I was working on my paperwork downstairs. Even though I might have welcomed a distraction at times."

The detective was now smiling fondly at the boy. Nanako wished she could take another picture without ruining the moment.

The smile faded. "I apologize for pawning him onto Kanji-kun. I had to make a trip to the police station, and although Souji-kun insisted that he could watch the house on his own, it didn't sit well with me, so I called up Kanji-kun to watch him. He was happy to take on the task. I think he felt restless while you were in the hospital."

"Don't feel bad about that," Nanako told her. "I've been wanting him and Kanji-kun to become friends!"

"Well, I'm glad you approve." Naoto sighed. "That is also why I didn't manage to visit you again. I had several interviews and interrogations to endure at the station. They, too, now suspect that an officer is the true culprit."

Nanako wondered how an internal investigation would proceed. If anyone working at the station could be the culprit, outside forces would have to be brought in, right?

"And Kubo. He's been sent to a mental institution. Before you ask, I do not know the location."

"I wasn't going to ask," Nanako replied.

Naoto stared at her, but she stared back evenly, feeling at peace with that tidbit of news. At least for the moment.

There was a soft sigh and then Souji was sitting up. He blinked at Naoto and soon spied his cousin. "Big sis!" he cried.

She opened her arms for a hug and he crawled right into them. "Good morning, Lieutenant," she said, pulling the underwear off his head. Now his gray hair was disheveled. She tried not to laugh at it.

Souji huddled close to her. "M-missed you..."

Nanako kissed his head, watching Naoto sit up from the corner of her eye. "Well, Nanako-san," Naoto said after a moment. "It's your first true day home again. Is there anything you need? I can make breakfast for us."

"You know what I really need?" Nanako said. "A bath! They only gave me sponge baths at the hospital, and I feel kind of grotty, to be honest, and heck, I still smell like hospital. What about you, Sou-chan? Do you need a bath too? You're already naked!"

Souji giggled. "I am...!"

"Ah, yes," said Naoto. "I can assist you into the bath. That's not a problem."

Nanako narrowed her eyes while she thought for a moment. "Would you like to join us in the bath?" she asked. "It might be tight, but there should be enough room for all of us."

Naoto bit her lower lip and looked down.

"You don't have to," Nanako began, but her friend was now shaking her head with a wry smile.

"I have already bathed with Souji-kun," the detective admitted.

"Bwah?" Nanako blinked rapidly. "H-huh... so Souji-kun knows...?"

"It's quite all right," Naoto said. "We had an enlightening discussion about it."

"A girl can be a p-prince, too," Souji murmured. "Naoto-san said... that you said that, big sis."

"That's right, Sou-chan!" Nanako declared. "And a boy can be a princess if he wants! Just like Yuuta-kun shouldn't be afraid of his favorite color."

"Yuu-kun would look good in p-pink..."

"Oh? I thought you always said that it wasn't pink, it was Loveline," she teased.

Souji fidgeted. "I thought pink was for girls..." he said, frowning slightly and avoiding eye contact. "Because... everyone said so. But that's d-dumb."

"That's the spirit!" Nanako pulled him into a hug.

"And I c-can't... make fun of Yuu-kun... because of his favorite color..." he said against her chest, "so I should like it too."

"Does that mean your favorite color is now pink?" Nanako asked playfully.

To that, his answer was a distinctly mischievous smile she had never before seen on his face.

It was...

It was...

It was adorable!

Now he was foxy like Foxie!

"B-big sis..." Souji whimpered.

"Mm?" she mumbled, still daydreaming.

"C-can't breathe..."

"Oh!" Nanako let him go. Ugh, her bruises were protesting too, as a matter of fact, but she hadn't even noticed. Was that from the fabled cuteness overload? She'd just m-missed him so, so much, and was so glad that Naoto had been there for him that she went and pulled the detective into a hug, too.

Nanako thought Naoto had been joking about assisting her into the bath, but it turned out she would probably really need the help. Simply taking off her blouse was a chore. It felt like her back was on fire, and she couldn't grip anything with her scarred hands. Even bending down to take off her lacy unmentionables (really just striped black and white panties with a picture of a panda in the middle, because she was allowed to be gaudy) almost strained her muscles too much.

It boiled down to the most unsexy striptease session in the history of sleepy ghost towns. How was she supposed to seduce Naoto with this poor performance? Years of training, completely wasted.

But the detective was giving her a calculating look. Nanako raised an eyebrow at her, but then she heard Souji wail, "Big sis!"

She turned immediately to the boy, who just a moment ago had been watching the water fill up in the tub. His eyes were wide like an owl's. "What's the matter—" she began.

Oh.

"The bandages," she murmured, looking down at her body. She must look like a mummy to him. She promptly went into big sis mode. "Sou-chan, don't worry! N-no, don't cry! Really, I'm fine! I just need a while to recover, and then these will be gone in no time, okay?"

He didn't seem soothed. Oh, hell. It'd be even worse when she was unwrapped and he saw the full extent of her bruises. She'd be giving him even more nightmares at this rate. 'Do you need a bath too?' What was wrong with her?

It was too late to back out now, though. He'd know she was doing it to hide something from him, just like...

She sighed. "Sou-chan... I'm really all right, but my bruises are kinda ugly. Are you sure you want to see them?"

"U-umm..." he said, not quite managing to look her in the eye.

"Souji-kun," Naoto said. The boy's attention snapped to her. "Do you remember the yellow bruise I had here?" The detective pulled one leg of her pants all the way up to the knee.

"It's... n-not there anymore," the boy observed meekly.

"Yes, and Nanako-san's will also disappear with time." Naoto gave him a tight little smile.

'Thank you,' Nanako mouthed at her. "Though mine are probably a bit bigger than that one. Sou-chan, you don't have to look if you don't want to."

Souji's face contorted into a look of determination. "It's... it's okay. Y-you're my big sis, so... I want to, umm... h-help you."

Aww, he didn't want to give up the job of helping her wash up to Naoto. Nanako motioned the detective over and together they began to remove her bandages. She bit her tongue to keep from hissing. Her bruised skin was revealed, a blotchy greenish yellow, and she reeked of dead skin under the wrappings.

Souji whimpered just once at the sight... and then fell to the floor right on his bottom and began to wail.

Nanako pushed Naoto away from her and moved forward, wanting to cuddle him, but she stopped just one foot or so away, because if it was her ugly bruises scaring him, he wouldn't want a hug. "It's-it's okay, Sou-chan, it really is," she pleaded, grabbing the nearest towel and wrapping it around her body to keep the worst of her bruises from view. "They'll go away, they really will!"

The little boy shook his head, tears streaming from his eyes. He swallowed and gasped an, "I k-know... B-but..." then sniffled and continued to cry.

"Honey...!" she cried, wringing her hands. "They're just bruises."

"B-big sis..." he blubbered, "big sis, you g-got hurt...!"

It dawned on her then that it wasn't the bruises on their own that upset him, but the fact that she'd been hurt to receive them.

"I love you, big sis," he whimpered, "d-don't want to see you hurt..."

She drew him into a hug, almost losing the towel in the process, and continued to hold him until he was all cried out. "I love you too, Sou-chan, and I'm sorry... I'll try to be more careful, okay?"

He nodded against her chest. It seemed the worst was over; he was still sniffling but no longer crying.

"All right," she said, drawing back just a little to smile faintly at him. "Come on. Let's wash up, okay? And you, Shirogane-san! If you're gonna take a bath with us, you gotta take your PJs off!"

The detective had stood away while she'd been comforting her little cousin. "Ah, yes..." she said now.

Too busy running her fingers through Souji's hair, Nanako didn't even watch the detective change out of her clothes.

The hot water felt so good that Nanako almost cried herself. It had been a veritable struggle to get her broken body over and into the damned tub even with Naoto's assistance, but it had been worth it, so worth it, even if it had made her gasp so helplessly upon entering the water.

Being in the water seemed to have cheered Souji up as well. He'd taken the floating penguin toy from the low shelf and was pushing it through the water between his hands.

"Where's Rainbow Fish?" she asked him.

He caught the penguin and hugged it to him. "It's... up there." He pointed to the highest shelf in the bathroom.

Nanako stared at the offending shelf. "How the heck did it get up there?" She didn't remember putting it up there; it was far too high for Souji to reach. Maybe it had been Saki's doing.

"We couldn't reach it..." the boy murmured, looking down at the penguin.

"'We'?" She gave him a puzzled look, and then Naoto coughed. Oh, that's right. The Detective Prince's biggest challenge: verticals. "Well, we'll ask your mom to get it down later." She wasn't sure she was up to the task of standing that straight to reach it herself.

She took the penguin toy from him, then pushed it towards him, and he pushed it towards Naoto, who twisted it like a top so that it spun around in the water. Nanako was about to push it again when Souji interrupted her.

"Big sis, your hands..."

She hid them under the water, but it was too late. So now he had noticed her scars. It would never end, would it?

"Y-yeah, they got a bit cut up." She held her hand out to him and let him inspect her fingers. "The doctor gave me some cream that'll make them heal up, so they'll be all better eventually."

"Papa had a scar," Souji told her. "Right on his arm. It went all the way here." He pointed to his left shoulder and drew his fingers down to the elbow.

"That's a long one! Did he tell you what happened?"

"No... but he said..." Souji's brow knit together as he recalled the words. "It's a symbol of past experience."

"Those are big words, Sou-chan. I think your dad was very wise."

He looked down into the water for a long moment. "Do you think... he loved me?"

"'Course he did, Sou-chan!" Nanako replied immediately. "Maybe he didn't show it all the time, but I'm sure he did, just like your mom does. Remember, he got you the fish toy and the penguin! I'm sure he loved bath time with you, just like I do."

He was smiling at her now. Who wouldn't love him? Only someone without a heart!

"Y-yeah..." he murmured. "But sometimes... I worry that... I c-can't remember what he looked like..."

Now Naoto spoke up, her voice soft and gentle. "I lost both of my parents at a young age, Souji-kun. I worried about the same thing. There are many things we forget as we grow older. But even if you forget something like that, do remember that no matter what, he would be proud of you."

"You lost your dad... and your mom...?"

Naoto nodded, but before she could even finish the motion, Souji had moved over in the water and was giving her a hug.

"Ah, err... th-thank you," she told him, looking down at him with bewilderment.

"I miss Papa," he murmured, "but you miss both of them..."

"I do," she admitted, and when Souji looked up at her, Naoto hugged him back.

After exiting the bath and drying off, Nanako sat on a stool in the bathroom and watched Naoto go through the laborious process of binding her breasts. It looked painful, and the detective admitted that it was uncomfortable, although she was used to it by now.

"Umm," Nanako began, and then she stopped. This was important to Naoto, and she was worried about it being a sensitive subject.

"Yes?" The detective paused and turned her head.

"Well..." she continued hesitantly, "if you think a sports bra would help, you can use one of mine." Naoto had picked out clothes for her. The set included a blouse, thigh-length skirt, and underclothes. She hadn't put any of it on yet because she was still helping Souji dry off.

"Hmm," said Naoto, eyeing the item of clothing that Nanako was holding out to her.

"I've got more," Nanako assured her. "Although it might not be the right size for you."

"Please. It might indeed make it easier," the detective murmured.

After finishing with that, Naoto helped Nanako into her clothes—sans bra, that is. Nanako decided she didn't really need one since she wasn't planning on leaving the house today.

Speaking of missing articles of clothing, they'd totally forgot to bring a new set of clothes for Souji to change into. She draped a towel around his shoulders and told him he could use it as a cape for now.

She exited the bathroom, Naoto at her side and little Souji between them, and almost ran right into Aunt Seta.

Nanako froze as the woman raised an eyebrow at the sight of them. Herself without a bra, Souji completely naked except for a towel, and Naoto, masquerading as a boy. And they'd just come out of the bathroom together...!

She glanced from her aunt to the detective, then back again. "Uh, uh, I can explain!"

"Explain what, exactly?" Aunt Seta asked with a polite but puzzled expression.

"Th-that I was in the bathroom with him...?"

"'Him'?" Aunt Seta looked down at her son, who had run up to hug her legs. "But it's normal for you to take a bath with Souji. Isn't that right, darling?"

"Y-yes, Mama...!" Souji looked up at her, and with the action the towel about his shoulders got untied and fell off, leaving him entirely bare.

"Err," said Nanako. "But Shirogane-san..."

"...is a very responsible young woman," Aunt Seta finished. "And I see nothing wrong with her helping you in the bath, Nanako-chan."

Nanako stared at her. She knew!? Naoto seemed surprised, too, but then smiled wryly. "Your aunt is remarkably perspicacious."

"I'll have you know, young lady," said Aunt Seta with a playful smile, "that I am still a Dojima."

Nanako heaved a sigh of relief. Really, she'd have it no other way.