Chapter 52: Naoto explodes

When Souji returned to Tanaba University that night - just in time, as he´d noticed by looking at the sorely disappointed look Mr. Bagman who was patrolling at the entrance gate to punish any students that came back too late gave him - Yosuke was sitting on his bed hovering over some notes he quickly shoved aside when the silver-haired entered. Teddie was currently sitting in front of Yosuke´s laptop playing RuneScape, like always, while Rise was sitting in front of Souji´s laptop checking her fan mail on her e-mail account.

"... Rise?", Souji asked, confused over the teenie idol´s presence.

"Heya, Senpai!", Rise squealed happily and smile at Souji before returning to her fan mail.

Souji threw a puzzled look at Yosuke who merely cleared his throat and looked to the side in embarrassment.

"What´re you doing here?", Souji asked her while sitting down on his bed and throwing his bag to the side.

"Oh, I´m staying here overnight! Yosuke-senpai said it´s okay.", the teenie idol replied, her eyes not leaving the computer screen.

Souji threw another look at Yosuke who was still staring to the side, his head red like a tomato. Souji raised an eyebrow, stood up and sat down beside the other man. "What exactly did she do to make you allow her staying here?", he whispered to the music-loving man who was still averting his eyes. He tried getting a peek at Yosuke´s notes, but Yosuke´s body blocked his view from them far too well.

"Sh-she...", Yosuke slowly started. "She winked at me, okay! That... That´s the first time a female´s winked at me!"

Souji stared at him for a while, then burst out laughing, rolling from the bed and falling to the floor where he continued laughing his ass off, Yukiko style.

"Damn you, you asshole!", Yosuke snapped, grabbed his notes and stomped to the kitchen.

"You´re so cuuute when you´re laughing, Senpai!", Rise giggled.

Still chuckling over Yosuke´s virginal behaviour, Souji sat up and looked at Rise who was watching Teddie play the online game. "And to what exactly do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Rise - not to mention that it´s not allowed to just stay overnight at the lounge of the different sex?", he asked her.

"Hmm...", Rise kept his back towards him.

"... Rise?", Souji slowly asked, not liking the sound of it. "... What exactly is happening in your lounge at this moment that you have to sleep here tonight?"

"N-nothing!", Rise hurriedly said, whirled around and threw an awkward smile at him.

`Bingo!´, Souji only thought and threw his leader glare at her. "Rise! Spit it out!"

A few seconds of silence, then: "Kanji´scurrentlysittingnakedinourloungeinnaoto´sbedwaitingforhertoentersothathecanseduceher!", Rise gushed in about a second before quickly turning around and watching Teddie play again.

"... What?"

"Kanji´scurrentlysittingnakedinou--"

"Slowly! So that I can understand it!", Souji said in an angry tone, already fearing the worst.

"Kanji is... currently sitting naked in our lounge in Naoto´s bed... waiting her to... to enter so that he... he can seduce her...", Rise said sheepishly, slowly turning around again with a fake smile. "I wonder what´s for dinner..."

"WHAT?"

"Uh..."

"Rise... You wouldn´t possible be the one who suggested this, are you?", Souji asked her.

"Weeeell~..."

"Rise!"

"Okay, okay!"

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"WHAT?", Kanji screeched, making Kou who had been lost in the manga he´d been reading, jump up from his bed, landing head-first in the muscular man´s sewing basket.

"OW! FUCK!", the basketball freak yelled in pain and pulled some needles out of his hair.

"Oh, come on, Kanji! I bet you have a really hot body! No woman would say no to that!", Rise said, sitting down next to Kanji and laying an arm around his shoulder.

"She´s gonna castrate me!"

"Aww, she´d never do that!", Rise assured him.

"No, she´s just gonna rip him apart.", Kou agreed, snatched his manga and lay down on his bed again.

Rise looked at Kanji with puppy dog eyes.

"Nuh-uh! No way in hell!", Kanji yelled at her.

Rise sighed theatrically. "Fine... Then I´d better go and write some wedding invitations for Naoto and Sanada-san´s wedding..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, come on, Kanji!", Rise snapped at him. "Haven´t you noticed how Naoto´s got the hots for him? Especially because he´s a police officer! And she´s constantly referring to him as `Akihiko-san´! And have you ever taken a closer look at that guy? He´s reeeeeaaaally hot - not as hot as Senpai, but still hot!"

"But he´s dating that Kirijo!", Kanji protested and looked at Kou for help who merely shrugged before continuing to read the manga that was about a normal high schooler who was madly in love with his Kung Fu sensei.

"And how exactly is that going to stop Naoto?", Rise countered. "Women can be very inventive when it comes to their dreamboat!" Kou merely snorted in amusement, but quickly shut up when he noticed Rise´s glare. "So?"

"Well...", Kanji started. "I dunno..."

"Believe me, Kanji! Naoto´s someone who´d you just have to clobber one and drag her to your bed like the cave men did back then if you want her to notice you! Trust me!", Rise continued. "You´d rather have that Sanada guy snatch her away?"

"N-no..."

"I can´t heeeeeaaaaar you~!"

"HELL NO!"

"So go to her lounge right now, strip and show that guy who´s boss!", Rise shouted at her like a sergeant at his rooky.

"HELL YEAH!", Kanji yelled and stormed outside.

Kou only stared at Rise, one eyebrow raised.

"What?", Rise asked, innocent air around her.

"`Women can be very inventive when it comes to their dreamboat´, was it?", he said. Rise continued looking at him in fake confusion. "Maybe I should inform Kanji that you´re just using him to get rid of Naoto so that you can fill in an application stating that you´re too scared to live alone, meaning you can get a lounge for you and Souji."

"If Kanji moves out of here, Chie-senpai can move in here.", Rise only said.

"Maaan, am I tired today! I don´t think I´ll be able to make it to Naoto´s lounge to warn Kanji! Good night!", Kou yawned, rolled to the side and threw the blanked over his head.

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Souji only stared at Rise in disbelief who innocently smiled back at him.

Silence, then...

"KUUUUUUUJIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAAWAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"I think I´ll be going now!", Rise hurriedly said and tried to escape to the kitchen. But she got there to late, the entrance door already kicked open and a naked Kanji thrown into the lounge, followed by a furious Naoto who was aiming at them with her revolver.

"KUJIKAWA! HOW DARE YOU POSITION SOMETHING LIKE THAT" (she was pointing at the unconscious Kanji with a shaking finger) "IN MY BED!" A suitcase was thrown towards Rise. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE IN MY LOUNGE AGAIN! THAT GOES FOR THE REST OF YOUR GROUP AS WELL!"

"Naoto...", Souji started, but quickly shut his mouth again when he noticed the murderous look on Naoto´s face.

"I´VE HAD ENOUGH! FROM NOW ON I WILL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN EXCEPT WHEN WE ENTER THE TV WORLD! FOREVER, YOU NEANDERTHALS!" She whirled around, walked out of the lounge and slammed the entrance door in such a manor that even Mr. Bagman who had come to see why the Shirogane brat was yelling so loudly jumped up slightly.

"Good work, Rise...", Yosuke only while he continued to stare at the entrance door together with the others.

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A little bit later Souji, Yosuke and Rise were knocking at the entrance door to Patty´s lounge where they could hear a male laughing.

"Yes?", they could hear Patty who opened the door the next moment. "Oh, Souji-kun! Come on inside!"

"I hope we´re not bothering you.", Souji said, noticing that her hair was now short once again (it seemed she had taken off those extensions).

"Oh, no, it´s just Hiro and me here.", Patty said and entered the kitchen together with them where a rather tall man with tousled looking hair sat and was drinking a cup of cocoa, Hiroshi Sideu.

"Oooh, Patty-chan! Are those friends of yours?", Hiro asked with a rather shrill voice that made the others wince slightly and proceeded to hug each of them while groping their asses at the same time. Yosuke was staring at the brown-haired with horror, his homo radar at Code Red already while Hiro started shaking their hands wildly. "It´s really cool that you finally got some real friends, Patty-chan! And good-looking ones at that! Oh yeah, I´m Hiroshi Sideu, but you can call me Hiro or Hi, but most of the people around here would think you were saying `Hi´ to me all the time, and we don´t want that, do we! But anyway, I´m so super duper mega hyper happy that Patty´s finally got some friends!" That all came out of his mouth in about 4 seconds, still shaking the three friends´ hands like crazy that were now starting to hurt.

"P... Pleased to meet to...", Souji managed to choke out. "... Souji Seta."

"R-Rise Kujikawa."

"Yos--"

"RISE KUJIKAWA! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD! A REAL CELEBRITY! HOW AWESOME!", Hiro screeched the next moment, his eyes seeming to sparkle all of a sudden while he stared at Rise gaping.

The other two men stared at Patty who merely shrugged and laughed a bit.

"Well whatever, I have to get back and study for university! Thanks for the snacks, Patty-chan! So much sugar for my little brain to feast on, you know! Not that that would help, but one can still hope, righ'! Okay, bye, sweeties!", Hiro gushed, grabbed a big bag full of sweets, drank the rest of his cocoa and walked out of the lounge.

"`Goofball´ is pretty accurate.", Souji finally said.

"I told you so!", Patty giggled and sat down together with them.

"Did... Did he really... grab my... my ass?", Yosuke asked, still shocked.

"Yeah, that´s Hiro. He doesn´t care for the sex of a person. He likes both.", Patty explained to him.

"Maybe we should introduce him to Kanji.", Yosuke said, but stopped when he noticed Souji and Rise´s looks. "Sorry..."

"... Did something happen?", Patty asked, noticing their looks and Rise´s suitcase.

"I... well... Naoto has just... thrown me out of our lounge, so to say.", Rise explained.

"Patty, could you perhaps...?", Souji slowly started.

"Of course Rise-chan can move in with me!", Patty said immediately, stood up, grabbed Rise and dragged her to the bedroom.

"Good...", Souji sighed in relief and then looked at Yosuke who was still staring at the table in shock. "How about a quickie?"

"WHAT?", Yosuke screeched, jumped up, stumbled over his own legs in the process and fell to the ground whimpering.

"Sorry, but it´s just too funny to see you freak out.", Souji laughed and hurriedly dodged a punch by Yosuke. "Okay, let´s get back. I still have to finish that new essay for Yamagishi-sensei." Both men stood up and entered the entrance hall in Patty´s lounge where Patty was currently stowing away Rise´s jacket.

"You´re leaving already? But you´ve just gotten here!", the red-head said.

"Sorry, but we´d actually just wanted to ask you if Rise could stay here, Patty.", Souji apologized and took another look at her new hairstyle. "So, short hair again, huh?"

"Yeah. I thought that if I start over I could also start with a new hairstyle."

"It suits you. Really.", Souji said.

"Th... Thank you, Souji-kun.", Patty thanked him and stared at him for a while.

"Hey, now that I remember, weren´t you two in the TV world training yesterday?", Yosuke butted into the conversation.

"Uh, yes...", Patty slowly started.

"We´d never really seen it when we´d defeated your Shadow so... What´s your Persona look like, Patty?", Yosuke continued to ask.

And just like that Patty´s face got even redder while Souji started to blush as well.

"U-uhm... Well...", Patty stammered. "It´s called Iz--"

"So you´ve finally decided to return!", they could suddenly hear Mr. Bagman yelling from the hallways. "Do you really think you´re be able to pass the coming tests like that, Ito!"

"Ikas is back?", Yosuke said and went to the entrance door together with the other where they could see the entrance door of Ikas´ lounge through the clearance between door frame and door leaf that wasn´t far away from Patty´s lounge. Mr. Bagman was currently standing there shouting at Ikas who looked even sicker than before, wearing a few band-aids on her right cheek.

"She´s injured! So was it really her that you´d fought with on the roof, Souji-kun?", Patty whispered to the other men while Rise joined them in their observation.

"But that can´t be...", Yosuke snarled angrily.

"Don´t start that again. We´ve already had enough of that today!", Souji admonished both of them. Yosuke just looked to the side in annoyance while Patty stared at Souji in confusion.

"What...?", the red head started, but Souji only shook his head.

"I´ll tell you tomorrow.", he promised her while watching Ikas enter her lounge after Mr. Bagman had finished his talk about how she was never going to pass any exams. "Okay, let´s go before Bagman catches us here and goes berserk over us being at one of the girls´ lounges.", Souji said to Yosuke, nodded towards the two women and sneaked through the corridors.

"... Do you think that Ikas did it, too?", Yosuke suddenly asked on their way to their lounge.

Souji stared at him for a while. "No, I don´t think so.", he said.

Yosuke looked at him with relief in his eyes. "Thanks, Partner!"

`I think it´s too early for to thank me, Yosuke...´, Souji thought, still remembering the notes that Yosuke had tried to hide from him when he´d entered the lounge. `Far too early for that...´

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Author´s note: I´m currently playing through FF XIII (an okay game so far) and was kinda looking like this: "o.0" when one of the characters in it said nearly the exact same thing the Final Boss of this story´s going to say. So please don´t go telling me that once we reach the end since that´s really just a coincidence. :P