Nanako Explains It All

by Angevon

Nanako Dojima is a sixteen-year-old transfer student to Inaba. She awakens to the mysterious power of 'Persona' and then rocks everyone's world. Character Swap AU: Nanako is the protagonist, and Souji is her little cousin. Other changes have occurred as well! [Both 'Souji' and 'Yu' versions are available!]

50. Chapter 50 - Kenny Loggins

[10/5: Wednesday]

Nanako woke up to the pleasant sound of a light drizzle tapping away on the ceramic roof. She was in the inn's reception room, where she'd crashed with some of her friends, but since she and Souji were the only ones skipping school, they'd all left already. Souji was sleeping not next to her, but rather next to where Yosuke had been. He'd probably had to wrestle free of the boy to get up, which was a pretty cute visual, even if Nanako was still jealous of the attention Yosuke was getting from him. Possibly that wrestling was the reason Souji was practically out of his yukata. His sash was loose, and his haori nowhere to be seen. Since he wasn't wearing underwear, he wasn't, well, decent, but he was six, so Nanako snapped a picture because hey, that was a pretty cute visual too. Well... maybe several pictures. Aunt Seta would surely approve!

Nanako got up to do her morning routine, and when she got back, she found Souji wide awake and standing dangerously close to the television. She quickly swept him off his feet into a hug.

"Good morning, Sou-chan!" she said, trying to hide her panic. "Did you sleep well? What about Mom's concert yesterday? Did you like it?"

"Big sis's Mama... was pretty..." he said, but Nanako had a feeling that wasn't at all what he'd been thinking about. Did he touch it? Did his hand go inside? She should have talked to him about it yesterday! She should have! But she'd been too taken by the hot springs and then her birthday party...

"Sou-chan," she began, letting her worry show, but he shook his head.

"I'm okay," he said.

That didn't help at all! What happened? What did he mean? Why wouldn't he be okay?

"Did... Did something happen, honey?" she asked.

"N-Nightmare," he said, stuttering not because the word was big or because he was nervous but because she had unconsciously started to rock him back and forth in her arms.

That doesn't explain why you were so close to the TV, she thought, but sat down with him instead of saying it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't remember," he said, "but there was... a big TV..."

Oh.

"About that..." she trailed off, unsure of where even to begin.

"It was dark," he continued, "and small... a-and the TV wasn't on." He frowned and then added, "That's all I can remember."

He touched his head, patting the gauze. He did remember more—hitting his head in the back of the truck—he just wasn't aware of it. Nanako was surprised he remembered this much, anyway. Namatame had probably decreased the chloroform dosage so as not to kill him… I have to save him, he'd said. Nanako shook her head to clear those thoughts.

Later, she promised herself.

"Sou-chan," she said. "There's something I need to show you."

With a heavy heart she released him from her arms and then stood up to face the TV. She reached out to its screen, firmly holding her palm against its surface. There was some resistance, and then… nothing. Rather than putting her hand in, she trailed her fingers over the screen, playing with the ripples that appeared as though in anticipation.

"B-Big sis?" Souji asked, his eyes wide.

"You can do the same thing," she said. "Wanna try?"

After blinking a few times, Souji sat up and moved to stand next to her. Cautiously, he reached out to touch the surface. He poked the screen with a single finger in different areas, watching as the ripples hit each other and overlapped before disappearing.

"Pretty, huh?" Nanako asked.

Souji nodded.

But then he poked harder all of a sudden, and his hand went clean through the screen.

"No!" she said, startling him enough for him to pull his hand away and fall backwards into the floor. Nanako immediately picked him up again, trembling with fear. The first time she'd done that, the TV had tried to eat her hand!

Souji whimpered and then started crying against her chest.

"No… no, no, no, don't cry," she said, cooing him while trying to calm down, herself. "Sou-chan, I... I didn't mean to… you didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't?" he asked, and she almost didn't hear him due to how much of a whisper it had been, and against her yukata to boot.

"I was just scared," she said, "but we can do it again together, see?"

Nanako demonstrated by sticking her hand in, nudging him with her head to look.

"Come on, your turn," she urged, and after fidgeting for a bit, he reached out to the television again. They held hands on the other side, which made him giggle. The sound calmed her down some. "We're not supposed to be able to do this, so... you can't tell your friends about this, or show it to them, okay?"

"Okay," Souji said simply.

"Also, you have to be very careful. The world inside is dangerous, and if you fall in, you wouldn't be able to get out again," she explained, but, sensing she was scaring him too much, quickly added, "t-though I'll always be there to get you back!"

Souji was quiet for a moment, but when he next spoke, he was looking up at her with those impenetrable eyes.

"Big sis… got me back," he said.

Nanako swallowed hard.

"I did," was all she said.

Souji pulled his hand back. Nanako withdrew hers as well, and they both stepped away from the TV. It was good timing because her dad walked into the room right then. He didn't think anything of their position, though he did glance around the room before focusing his gaze on Nanako.

"Good morning, honey," he said, his tone just a little too neutral.

"You're leaving," she guessed.

Dojima's mouth quirked into something not quite a smile, and then he scratched the back of his head. "I hate to do this to you… but, you understand, don't you?"

"I do," she said thickly. "They need you."

He nodded.

"Listen," he said after clearing his throat, "your birthday gift from me wasn't just my presence." Dojima held out an envelope. "Don't spend it all in one place."

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're not going to open it?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You already implied that it's money."

Dojima actually chuckled. "Is this a detective's daughter at work?" he teased, and she smiled. "Don't just leave it lying around, all right? ...I've got to head off."

Nanako thought he was going to sigh, but he bent down to Souji's level and set a hand on his head instead. "Souji. Keep your big sis out of trouble, all right?"

Souji nodded solemnly under his hand. Nanako hoped he wasn't taking that order to heart. "B-Bye, Uncle..." he said.

Rather than standing upright, Dojima sidestepped and took Nanako into a hug. "And you... I don't even know what else to tell you. Just don't forget that your mom and I love you."

"I love you guys too," she said through teary eyes.

He released one final sigh for the road before breaking the hug and then heading out.

Nanako stood there for a good while until Souji tugged on her yukata and led her by the hand to a nearby sofa, where she sat down with him on her lap. They'd done nothing but fight the entire time he was there, but she loved her dad so much…

Souji hugged her tightly, sensing her pain. Not wanting to cry in front of him, Nanako counted to ten and calmed her breath. Idly, she opened the envelope, intending to count the money, except her fingers shook, because there was just so much.

"Dad," she murmured. He shouldn't have, he really shouldn't have...

Nanako surveyed the room, her mouth a thin line. The television that started the case, a couple chairs, a coffee table… and still no one around but them.

She clutched the money tighter.

---

'Yosuke, can you come here after school? I need to talk to you,' she texted him during lunch, feeling a little guilty that he'd have to deal with the buses.

'No problem,' he replied breezily, or at least she thought so, since he was so fast.

Nanako spent most of the day playing with Souji. When she told him his partner was coming by, he asked whether they could go to the hot springs together, and she replied that she wasn't sure whether non paying guests could go, but promised him she'd ask Yukiko. Though, with all that money, she could easily pay for him, except paying for Yosuke to go into the hot springs with her cousin when she would probably be denied entrance herself left a sour taste in her mouth. Nanako knew it was both unhealthy and unfair to nurse that jealousy towards Yosuke and Souji, but…

"Big sis?" Souji asked, knowing as well as Naoto that whenever she got lost in thought, it was never about anything good.

"I was just worried that I wouldn't get to enjoy the hot springs with you, Sou-chan," she replied honestly, "since it was so hard to go in with Shirogane-san already yesterday."

Souji was about to say something when they both heard the bus.

"Partner!" he cried, running to go meet him at the bus stop. Nanako watched after him for a bit before following, biting back any negative thoughts. Remember his smile, she thought to herself.

When she caught up to him, Souji was already hugging Yosuke's legs. The bus hadn't even left yet. In fact, the driver was giving the two of them a fond look. Despite everything, Nanako still had the presence of mind to take out her phone and snap a picture.

"Geez, you're gonna become a photographer at this rate," Yosuke complained. Then: "Can you send me a copy? I kinda mentioned him to Katsuragi, and he's curious. D-Don't give me that look!"

"What look?" asked Nanako, grinning like a shark. "I'd never say no showing off my cute little cousin to everyone," she said, slowing down as she did, because that was the reason he'd been kidnapped, wasn't it?

"Hey," Yosuke began, but then Souji tugged on his pants. It was enough to make him jump.

"Katsu…" her cousin said shyly. Nanako couldn't help but chuckle. Yosuke probably thought he was about to be pantsed again, but Souji was just curious about his friend in the city.

"Katsuragi," Yosuke said, flipping his phone open. He quickly navigated to a picture and showed it to Souji. It was the same picture he'd showed her back at the campout. Nanako was about to chide him for that, but she didn't have any new pictures of her Tokyo friends either, so…

"He looks… smart…" Souji declared after a few seconds.

Yosuke grimaced. "Why does this feel just like when I met with that chubby kid the other day?"

"D-Don't… call him chubby," Souji said, looking up at Yosuke with a very serious expression. "He has a name."

Yosuke blinked. Nanako blinked too.

"S-Sorry, partner," Yosuke said. It was obvious he'd added the 'partner' just to appease the boy, but uh, it didn't work. Souji broke off the hug and headed back to Nanako. He wasn't pouting, and he wasn't frowning, and yet…

Yosuke noticed too. He turned to her for help, but she just shrugged. Their first fight had to come eventually.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he then asked, sourly.

Nanako motioned for him to come inside. She bought him a soda from the nearby vending machine and set it on the coffee table, where the Cielo Mist she'd bought Souji earlier was still sitting.

"Yosuke, have you been wearing your bike helmet?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah?" he said in a 'what's this about' sort of way.

Nanako couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him wearing it… maybe their fight at the bridge. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, but decided he wasn't lying, so she went on.

"Do you remember your up close and personal plan?"

"Oh god," he moaned, "why are you bringing that up now?! I know it was a stupid idea, alright? You don't need to lecture me again."

"I'm not going to," she said. "Say, how many times have you crashed your bike since then?"

"I haven't crashed it!"

Nanako raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, so maybe four or five times," he admitted. "It's getting kinda dented. B-But I haven't crashed it since summer break! Um, when we…"

Nanako nodded.

"Sou-chan," she said, turning to her cousin, "can you go find your mom for me?"

Souji seemed surprised, but quickly complied. It still tugged at her heart to watch him go, but she couldn't talk about what she wanted to with him around, not when he already knew so much.

"This room is probably going to be our base from now on," she told Yosuke when he was gone.

"Huh? Why?" Yosuke asked. "It's over, isn't it? That's why we went all out on your party."

"Until we interrogate Namatame, nothing is over," she replied. "He hasn't been arrested yet, and we need to find out who his accomplice among the police is. Kubo and Naoki-kun were thrown in from the station, after all."

"Right," he said slowly, his face morphing into a frown, "and we need to keep tabs on the other side too. Who knows what those strong Shadows can do if we leave them alone. But why can't we do it from Junes?"

"The exit isn't there anymore."

"We can always move it back," he said, though he didn't seem too thrilled with the idea.

Nanako shook her head, regardless.

"The cameras, the closing times, the notability," she said. "Junes was okay before Kubo, but the cops are probably on high alert. Shirogane-san hasn't said anything, but I bet someone in the station noticed we hang around the electronics department a lot, and now that we caught Namatame, there's a chance they'll believe him when he tells them about televisions."

"Err, shouldn't everyone be here for this?" Yosuke asked, fidgeting a bit with his headphones. He didn't want to call her out on excluding everyone, she could tell.

"Oh… yeah, you're right. I didn't actually call you here to talk about this."

"You didn't?" Yosuke sounded hurt. Ah, hell… but he was going to like what she had to say, so maybe it was ok.

"No." She sighed. "Listen, since this room is going to be our base, we can't afford to wait around for the buses to show up. Yukiko already has a scooter. I was thinking—"

"Seriously?!" Yosuke asked, getting up so fast he knocked down Souji's (thankfully empty) can of Cielo Mist.

Nanako brought out the scooter license manuals she'd been hiding under the table. She'd nabbed them from Yukiko's room earlier—with her permission, of course. "I know I shot you down before," she said, "but we've both changed so much since then. I think we can do this."

Yosuke's eyes were stars. "Oh man…" he said. "I've saved up so much over summer. I can probably buy one of the big ones!"

"Yosuke," she chided. "Souji cares a lot about you, and he's going to want to ride with you, I just know it. Please think about what you're doing, if not for your sake, then for his."

"I'll… I'll be careful," he said, and when she didn't seem convinced, he sat down again and looked into her eyes. "I promise."

"Nanako-chan?" Aunt Seta called from the corridor. She came into the room hand in hand with Souji. "There you are. Souji said you needed to talk to me? Oh, your friend is here too."

"Hello, ma'am," said Yosuke. Nanako had to hold in a snort.

"Auntie, did Dad talk to you about my birthday gift?" she asked.

"He did," Aunt Seta confirmed. "Would you like me to open an account for you? It's quite a bit of money."

"No, but thanks for the offer. I actually asked you because, well, I know exactly how I'm going to spend it, but I want your permission first."

"Don't you mean you need it?" her aunt teased, and Nanako grinned up at her. "What is it you want, dear?"

"I want to get a scooter license," Nanako said. "I already have the manuals. Yosuke is taking the test with me, and Yukiko already passed hers and got one."

"Ah…" said Aunt Seta. "You should have talked to your father about that."

"I would have, but he sort of sprung the gift on me and left."

"I don't believe he would approve of you getting a motorcycle." Aunt Seta put a hand to her chin. "On the other hand, he went behind our father's back to get one, back in the day. I wouldn't want you to do the same to me."

"Dad did that?" Nanako asked, blinking in surprise. "How did he pay for the bike? Did he have a part time job?"

"I believe he and his friend split the cost. They were always riding together."

The more she found out about her dad, the more she loved him.

"All right, Nanako-chan, you have my permission. I know you're very conscientious about vehicle safety. That didn't change with your appearance, did it?"

"It didn't," Nanako said, sharing a look with Souji, who smiled back at her.

"Then all should be well. But what made you want to get one so suddenly? Would you tell me?"

Nanako's eyes trailed off to Yosuke. The team didn't know she'd spilled the beans yet… she couldn't hide it from them, but she should at least wait until they were all together to tell.

"I will," she said, "but later. Is that all right?"

"Of course," said Aunt Seta with a warm smile. "Now, would you two like some leftover cake?"

"Please," Yosuke replied, a little too eagerly. Nanako saw right through it, and so did Souji, who was sizing him up now. However, after a few seconds, he nodded, and Yosuke let out a breath he probably didn't even know he'd been holding.

"Mama," the boy said while Aunt Seta was setting the box with the cake on the table, "s-save some… for Ta-chan and Yuu-chan."

"I already have," she replied.

And just like that, Souji was sharing his slice of cake with Yosuke again.

---

Nanako spent the rest of the afternoon poring over the manuals with Yosuke while Souji politely watched them. She texted the rest of the team to swing by if they could, but she wasn't expecting them to until Chie suddenly appeared before her, panting like she'd ran the whole way there from school, which… seemed to be exactly what happened.

"What the heck, Chie," said Nanako, handing her a towel.

"There's a track team meet coming up!" the girl declared. "I can't slack off."

Perhaps more surprising was the fact that Yukiko was nowhere to be seen. Didn't she live there? Not to mention she used her scooter to go everywhere now. She should by all rights have arrived before Chie. Nanako very much doubted her friend could outrun a motorcycle, no matter how toned her legs were.

"Yukiko had an errand to run at the shopping district," Chie explained. "I thought I might talk to you for a bit, but…"

"But what?"

"Yosuke's here," she said, awkwardly shrugging her shoulders.

Yosuke, who had been so focused on the manuals he'd hardly noticed Chie, finally raised his head.

"What's up?" he said, more a greeting than a question.

"We can go outside," Nanako said. "Sou-chan, take care of Yosuke for a bit, would you?"

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?!" Yosuke protested, but Souji's somber nod to her request made him give up and go back to studying.

When Nanako turned her head back to her, Chie was frowning.

"Those are scooter license manuals," she said.

"Do you want one too? I borrowed these from Yukiko, but Yosuke probably still carries his in his bag."

"I do not!" Yosuke said, but then he smiled sheepishly. "I do. I totally do. Do you want me to get them for you, Chie?"

Chie shook her head. "No thanks," she said without feeling. "I was just thinking about when Yukiko got her scooter."

From the look on her face, she wasn't thinking anything good.

"Nanako, can we go now?" she asked, and Nanako directed her to the side door leading to the gardens, the same place she'd spoken to Yosuke on the previous day. The bamboo railing was still cracked from her punch, but in her opinion, it sort of gave the place character, like things had happened there that no one would ever know about. Not that Chie had noticed. She stared at the ground the entire time, and even when they stopped, she started kicking away stray pebbles rather than looking up.

"What's up?" Nanako repeated, as a question this time.

Chie played with her hair a bit before answering. Nanako noticed because it was almost shoulder length. Naoto wasn't the only one neglecting to cut it.

"It's Yukiko," she finally said.

"Oh man… Did you guys fight again?" Nanako asked, but Chie shook her head emphatically.

"N-No, it's just..." she said. "She told me she's going to a college in the city!"

"That's great news!" Nanako said. "I was wondering when she'd make her decision."

"You knew about it?!"

"I didn't know she'd decided, but we talked about it, sure," she replied. "Mr. Morooka was helping her, don't you remember?"

"I… I thought… I mean, she told me she didn't want to inherit the inn, but she never said she wanted to leave."

Chie looked tormented, like she was wincing in pain. Nanako guessed that Yukiko had given her plenty of hints, it's just she'd never wanted to listen.

"I don't know what to do!" she said. "I blurted out that I was proud of her, and she seemed so happy… I didn't want to ruin it."

"Well, how do you really feel about it?" Nanako asked.

"I don't want her to leave!"

"You don't want her to leave, or you don't want her to leave without you? There's a difference."

"I don't want her… to leave me here…" Chie mumbled, kicking another pebble.

"That sounds like something you really should talk to her about," Nanako said, firmly but not unkindly.

"I can't! I can't just say that, Nanako. I don't want her to think…" she trailed off.

"That you're trying to control her," Nanako finished for her. "I get it, trust me, but Chie, you've been girlfriends for such a long time. Don't you think discussing your future with her is part of that?"

Chie stared at her blankly.

"I don't know how you city folks do it, but we can't really stop our friends from doing things just because we'd be lonely without them," she said.

"I don't want you to stop her, I want you to talk to her," Nanako said, "and you're not just friends either, you're girlfriends."

Chie was rolling her eyes now.

"Yeah, we're friends who are girls, Nanako, that doesn't change anything."

It was Nanako's turn to stare blankly.

"What?" Chie asked defensively.

"You're kidding me," Nanako said.

If you could make a question mark with your face, that'd describe Chie's expression perfectly.

"Chie," Nanako said very slowly, "are you saying that you aren't to her what Saki-senpai is to me?"

"No?" she said, but then her eyes widened as understanding dawned over her. "No! Nanako, we're not d-dating!"

Nanako had to hold on to the bamboo rail for support, because she couldn't believe her ears.

"I thought… I mean, even Souji thought…" she mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"This is your influence! I mean, what could have possibly given him—you—that idea?"

Chie said that, but she had her arms crossed very tightly. Maybe she was embarrassed about the assumption? Nanako noticed she seemed to worry about not being very feminine every now and then, but she never even considered...

"But you're always together!" she argued. "Everywhere. I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her alone for a long time because you were always around," she went on, though she remembered ordering Chie to guard Yukiko way back, so that could be it, "a-and you're always holding hands, too! Not just while walking either, I've seen you under the Junes table, and sometimes while we have lunch."

Chie huffed in frustration. "Nanako! I mean, sure, we get cuddly sometimes, b-but that doesn't mean we're dating! I've known her since we were kids, of course we're close."

"I guess," Nanako said, but she wasn't convinced. Yukiko had talked to her about the two of them as though they were a couple. Right? Now she wasn't sure anymore. Come to think of it, even Chie's Shadow had referred to Yukiko as 'her friend' and nothing more.

Nanako thought very carefully about what she wanted to say next.

"So you've never… had a bit of summer cabbage?"

"Excuse me?" Chie said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Engaged in extracurricular activities?" she tried, but Chie still looked totally confused. "Um, acquired an immodest lamp? Maybe crooked her cross? Remodeled her Velvet Room?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm asking if you've never had sex with her!" Nanako finally blurted out.

"Nanako!" The red on Chie's cheeks grew more intense with every millisecond. It was funny, and Nanako wanted to laugh, but she couldn't help but feel a little broken inside, like her senses had betrayed her somehow.

"I just always thought you were such a cute couple," she murmured weakly.

"W-Well, we're not! Geez... I can't believe you asked that."

Nanako ran her fingers over the grain of the bamboo rail until she met the crack she'd made with her punch yesterday, feeling like she'd been punched, herself; she just couldn't believe she'd been so wrong.

"You should still talk to Yukiko," she said all of a sudden.

Chie sighed. "What would we even talk about?"

"What else? Your future. If you can't ask Yukiko to stay, but you don't want her to leave, then the only choice left is to find a way to go with her," Nanako explained. Chie seemed to be mulling that over, so she added, "There's no reason you can't go to college too."

"I have been thinking about it," Chie admitted. "I talked to your dad about his job."

"Yeah?"

"When I was little, I wanted to be a superhero. You know, fight for justice, defend the weak, all that jazz." Chie said so with a dispassionate voice, but wore a reminiscent smile. "Back in middle school, there was this kid who was a total ass. He stole lunch money from kids, pantsed someone during PE…"

Sounds like my kinda guy, Nanako thought, smiling at the memory of Yosuke's tiger print underwear.

"No one wanted to stand up to him," she continued, "so he just kept getting away with it, over and over again. One day, I decided 'enough is enough!' and tripped him down some stairs after he'd tried to skip out on cleaning duty."

"Nice," said Nanako.

"Not really," Chie said. "I got in so much trouble. My dad grounded me for a week! But you know what, I was proud of it. I still am. It totally needed doing. People started calling me 'The Hero of Justice' after that… it was embarrassing. I think some of them were just making fun of me, too."

"But you liked it," Nanako guessed.

"I totally did," Chie admitted with a nostalgic sigh. "I liked the feeling of being someone's hero. I wouldn't want to be a homicide detective or anything, but a beat cop still has challenges to face. I could do that. That's what your dad said, anyway."

"What gave him that idea?" Nanako asked with a lopsided smile. "I mean, what did you talk to him about?"

"I just told you," Chie replied. "I didn't say anything about the investigation, in case you're worried."

"I wasn't."

"I told him that I try to help around town every now and then. Did you know the kids like to catch bugs at the shrine? I've heard some of them talk about you, too. I mean, there isn't anyone else in this town who would want to be called 'Boss' by a bunch of kids."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Chie-sensei," Nanako replied.

"Don't," the girl warned, but she was holding back a laugh. "Anyway, one of the boys there is always thirsty. He says out loud that he'd like some soda but then goes, 'I'll just drink tap water instead.' I think he means it, too! I felt sorry for him though, and bought him a Mad Bull. He tried to give me a b-bug as thanks!" Chie trembled just from the memory. "But he seemed so happy afterwards, like I'd made his day."

"I bet you did," Nanako said, her lopsided smile turning into a real one. Though, it made her wonder why something always seemed to stir within her whenever kids were mentioned. Maybe she really should be a teacher. "I guess my dad was right," she went on, "but I wonder what sort of schooling you'd need to be a beat cop."

"I'm going to look into it," Chie said. "He said there are a lot of options."

"You could ask Shirogane-san," Nanako pointed out. "He's not a cop, but he's packing heat at sixteen years old, so I'm sure he knows about what it'd take to become one. And I'll help, too, of course! I helped Yukiko, after all."

"Yeah, I guess you did." Chie played with her hair a little more before adding, "Thanks, Nanako."

"What did she even decide to major in anyway?"

"Oh... you know, I didn't even think to ask."

---

Nanako sat on the engawa, her legs hanging free over the edge. Souji was nearby, lying down on his belly as he colored in some pages from the driver's manual. There had been some silly black and white cartoons in it, and she'd had enough studying for now, anyway. She'd left both Yosuke and Chie at it inside.

The autumn breeze was nice through her long skirt. It reminded her that next week, nobody would be wearing their summer uniforms anymore. Not that she was wearing hers, anyway. This particular skirt was a solid dark brown, because Aunt Seta had apparently noticed that she'd taken to wearing the uniform skirt even when there was no school, and bought for her a few different ones of the same length as a birthday gift. Nanako thought their inn stay was the gift, but maybe her aunt needed more downtime than she'd thought.

The unpleasant smell of motor oil suddenly assaulted her nose as a van parked in front of the inn. Nanako recognized the logo as one of the local news stations, and soon two cameramen rushed out of the vehicle, accompanied by a man dressed in a cheap business suit. Nanako recognized him, too. The man had interviewed both Naoki and Yukiko. Did he come for me? she thought with a bemused smile. Aunt Seta did say the house was swarming with paparazzi, but she wasn't expecting to be bothered while staying at the inn.

As soon as he saw her sitting on the engawa, the man made a beeline for Nanako, motioning for one cameraman to follow. The other one would apparently film the setting.

"Excuse me," the man said, pointing a microphone to her face before remembering he had more to say and hurriedly pointing it back to himself, "are you Nanako Dojima, the brave hero whose efforts led to the capture of the serial killer who's been tormenting Inaba the past year?"

Nanako didn't bother getting up. "I sure am," she said.

The man seemed giddy at her response. "What can you tell us about the horrific events that transpired two days ago?" he asked, pushing the microphone way too close to her face. Nanako pushed it away with one finger.

"Nothing that the police couldn't tell you," she answered breezily. "I chased him through the fog and beat him up."

"How courageous!" the man declared, again forgetting that the microphone wasn't pointed to himself, and having to repeat the phrase once he realized his mistake. "Did you overpower him with your bare hands?"

"I had a survival knife with me, but it wasn't very useful," she said, and the man apparently thought it was a joke, because laughed so loudly that Souji actually scooted away from them.

Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed.

The man exchanged a look with his cameraman, who immediately turned his camera to her cousin.

"Is he the one?" the man asked, getting closer to Souji, who scooted further back in apprehension. "Is he the boy that was reportedly kidnapped from his house in—"

The man was interrupted by a yelp from his cameraman. Nanako had grabbed the front of the camera and turned it away forcefully.

"Do not film him," she warned, but after taking a moment to recover, he shook the camera away from her hands.

"Souji Seta, the cruel victim who survived what no one else could! Everyone, just imagine going on your morning walk and finding this poor boy hung over an antenna, his tiny body limp and lifeless," the man said, enthusiastically motioning for his cameraman to get closer, but before he could, Nanako tripped him just like she'd tripped Yosuke the day before, grabbed the camera before it could hit the ground, then hit the man on the back of his head, with the camera.

"Sou-chan, get inside!" she ordered, and he immediately complied.

Nanako thought that hit would have put the man under, but he must have been more resilient than he looked, because he just looked annoyed.

"Get out," she said.

"Do you even know who you're talking to? I can file for assault. I can end you!" the man said, loosening his tie for whatever reason.

"Give me back my camera!" said the other one. Nanako would give it back, alright…

"Get out," she repeated. "I won't warn you again."

"This is a lawsuit waiting to happen!" the man shouted, but Nanako was done listening to him.

Yosuke stuck out his head then. "Nanako? Is everything alright?" he asked, but she barely heard him.

Working on instinct, she hit the man across the face with the camera, then pulled him closer by his loose tie to knee him in the gut. Nanako then shoved him away, turning to the cameraman afterwards.

"Do you want some too?! Get the fuck out!"

The reporter crawled across the dirt and ran back to the van as soon as he managed to get up. The cameraman motioned to get his camera, then thought better of it and bailed too. It was only then that Nanako noticed that the third guy had filmed the entire thing. Even angrier now, she threw the camera at him, but missed and hit the van instead, leaving the vehicle with a large dent and the camera completely destroyed. Once they were all inside, the van drove away so fast its tires screeched against the ground.

Nanako stood there breathing hard for a good five minutes before someone dared speak up.

"Holy crap," said Yosuke. The fact he was outside told her Souji was nearby too, so she put on her best calm face and turned back to deal with that.

"Big sis," he said. Nanako could barely see him, hiding behind Yosuke like he was, but just when she thought that might be a problem, Souji came running to her, straight into a hug.

Nanako scratched his back. "Sorry, honey. Did that scare you?" she asked.

Souji shook his head. "The men… were loud… b-but you beat them up!" he said, sounding… awed? Nanako was definitely not expecting that, and she didn't know how to feel about it either; she didn't want him thinking that violence was the answer!

"I kinda lost my head there," she admitted.

"No kidding," said Yosuke. "I don't want to know what they said to piss you off so much."

"Nothing about me," she said with a smile so forced it was just one step away from a grimace.

Souji had to leave then. Aunt Seta had made some plans for the two of them, and he needed to change out of his yukata. Nanako gave him a big sloppy kiss on the forehead and watched him go. As always, she didn't really want him to. It might have been for the best though, since Naoto arrived on his motorized bike a second later, followed closely by both Kanji and Yukiko, him on his regular ass bike and her on the scooter. Nanako thought it was sort of impressive how Kanji could keep up with them without breaking a sweat.

Naoto took one good look at the destroyed camera and shook his head ruefully. "I see you handled the media with your usual grace and decorum, Nanako-san," he said.

"You know it, Shirogane-san," Nanako replied, smiling just a little.

"I can give the police station a call," Naoto proposed. "There should have been a policeman assigned to your family, but once you left the hospital, they decided it would only draw more attention. Furthermore, the station is in chaos at the moment."

"Just make sure they don't show Souji on the news," Nanako said. "I don't care about anything else."

Naoto tipped his cap before saying, "Very well."

"Sounds like you sent 'em running, Senpai," Kanji said.

"I should have told them to get bent," she joked, and Kanji gave her a hearty slap on the back.

"I'm sorry," said Yukiko. "I should have been here. I could have driven them away before they got to you."

"I doubt you'd have heard them," Nanako said, waving away her concern. "I mean, no offense, but there still isn't any inn staff around."

Yukiko nibbled her lower lip. "This room doesn't get as much attention as it should," she said.

"That's what makes it the perfect place for our new headquarters."

Before anyone could react, Chie walked out of the reception room with what looked like beef jerky hanging halfway out of her mouth.

"Sshoey, wash eeshn," she said, then swallowed the jerky in one go. "What'd I miss?"

"You missed Nanako thrashing some reporters. Also, that this is going to be the new headquarters," Yosuke said. "How do you feel about that, anyway, Yukiko? The prestigious Amagi Inn, now home to Nanako's DEATH Squad."

"Just..." Nanako said. She sighed heavily. "Just the squad."

Yosuke opened his mouth to say something about that, but closed it a second later. Instead, he nodded.

"It'll make things a little more difficult," Nanako said, "mostly because the inn is so far from town. That's why Yosuke and I are going to try and get scooter licenses soon."

"Makes sense," Kanji said. "But won't the cops be watching this place?"

Naoto was shaking his head. "Their focus is elsewhere, and Yukiko-san is a classmate of ours. Though she may be under some scrutiny after the ambulance was called for her, I believe the police left that responsibility with her guardians."

"How did that plan go?" Nanako asked. "Your parents aren't suspicious or anything, are they?"

"They do have a habit of getting nosy about my affairs," Yukiko said, "but they're mostly focused on the inn and its reputation. They are the type of parents who would rather talk than listen. I didn't have to come up with much of an explanation at all."

"Yeah, the most suspicious thing was that Yosuke had Yukiko's number in the first place!" Chie said with a laugh.

"I'm closer than any boy in town to conquering the Amagi Challenge," Yosuke said.

"...Not," they all said in unison, even Yosuke himself. Yukiko was nodding her agreement, but stifling a laugh.

"Anyway, all I had to say was that it was a misunderstanding, and the cops let me go," Yosuke continued. "Though they lectured me on jumping to conclusions."

"So you didn't have to tell your family," Nanako mused. "The thing is, I kinda had to tell mine. My aunt knows everything now. I'm sorry I didn't talk it over with you all first. There wasn't really time, and she deserved an explanation."

"You probably didn't have much choice," Chie said. "You couldn't exactly lie to her, what with Souji-kun being involved."

"Yeah, but... I'd promised." Nanako bit the inside of her lip. "What's the point of making promises if—"

"Senpai," Kanji said quietly. In fact, the quietness was what made her stop speaking.

"Umm, yeah?"

"Ma knows too," he said. "I mean, after Teddie… and then she just kind of figured things out, and… you know."

"You did say you could never lie to her," she said. "I don't mind at all, Kanji-kun. Your mom is the best one in town."

"What about your dad?" Chie asked suddenly. "Does he know?"

"He's figured some things out," Nanako answered. "He is a detective, after all. But he doesn't know about everything. I tried my best not to tell him anything that could get you guys in trouble or me sent back to Tokyo, so he mostly just knows that I'm involved. I plan to tell him, though. Both him and my mom, but not until I'm back in Tokyo."

"I guess it won't matter anymore by then," Chie mused.

"What about that Namatame guy?" Yosuke asked. "Nanako said he hasn't been arrested yet."

"Namatame remains unconscious," Naoto reported. "The doctors say he suffers from exhaustion and malnutrition, as well as repeated blunt trauma to the epicranium."

"Wh-What's that mean?" Chie asked.

"Too many hits against the back of his head," Nanako said. Yosuke and Kanji looked chastised.

"The police haven't been able to interrogate him," Naoto continued, "and due to the uncertainty surrounding the case, a warrant to search his house has yet to be obtained."

Nanako huffed. "They barely needed a week to build a case against Kubo, but we hand them the culprit on a silver platter and suddenly there are a bunch of hurdles and no leads."

"There is one thing," Naoto said. "An item of interest was found within his truck."

"The journal?" Nanako guessed.

"Precisely," Naoto replied. "Currently it is being analyzed by a guest from the prefectural cryptography department. I am not authorized to interfere in their affairs due to the internal investigation being conducted at the station. However, I managed to take a brief look at the journal before it was properly submitted as evidence. It contained an extensive handwritten calendar spanning the entire year. Each date had a detailed weather report, and each week a list of televised programs and noteworthy guests. Every rainy day was marked with either a cross or a circle. October had..." Naoto hesitated, which was unusual for him.

"Well, don't leave us hanging!" Chie pressed.

Naoto cleared his throat before proceeding. "October had only one day marked with a circle, 10/1, a Saturday."

"I couldn't recognize him," Nanako said, her voice cracking.

"I couldn't either," Yosuke murmured weakly.

"September," Naoto forcefully interjected, "had several, but one in particular caught my attention: 9/26, a Monday."

Both Nanako and Yosuke raised their heads at the same time.

"Shirogane-san… don't tell me…" Nanako said.

"If the circles mean silhouettes shown," Naoto said, his own voice uneven, "then yes, Souji was on the Midnight Channel then."

Nanako slumped down in anger and shame. September 26, the day after she'd taken Yosuke to the gay club. They'd both missed the Midnight Channel that night because they'd had hangovers.

"Nanako-san—"

"It was my fault!" Nanako cried, tears of frustration leaving her eyes. "I knew it! I knew my fuck ups would catch up to me somehow! I knew it was my fault Souji had to go through that!"

"It wasn't your fault," Yosuke muttered darkly, "it was mine."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I had one job," he said. "One job! I only had to keep an eye on the Midnight Channel. That's all. But I couldn't even do that…"

Nanako immediately got up, circled the coffee table and put her hands on Yosuke's shoulders.

"No!" she said, looking straight into his eyes. "No, it wasn't your fault! I took you to the club. I made you drink. But worst of all, I made you, and no one else, watch the Midnight Channel. Why didn't we all watch it?! That's the way it should have been! But it wasn't, and I know damn well why: because of me. I didn't want to stay up past midnight. I liked bossing people around! Why not give the job to Yosuke? He wants to be useful!"

"I did want to be useful," Yosuke said.

"You already were!" Nanako shouted. "It was my fault, Yosuke. Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

"Nanako…"

"You didn't make us do anything," Chie said in a small voice. "We went along with it because, I don't know, because it seemed harmless, because you seemed to have your head together, because no one else wanted to take responsibility."

"I thought nothing of it at the time," Yukiko said. "I thought nothing of a great many things, to be perfectly frank. Despite how much you feel you screwed up, I don't think any one of us could have been a better leader, Nanako."

"Shirogane-san could," Nanako said miserably.

"With all due respect," Naoto said, "it took catastrophic events for me to even meet with your friends. I worked closely with you for quite a bit of time, but never suspected for even one moment that your plan was to avenge your teacher. I am most definitely not a people person."

"There's no point in thinking about the past now," said Kanji. "I always thought you were a good leader, Senpai. Maybe you fucked up, but so what? Everyone does. It don't matter that you missed the show that time. We rescued the little guy and caught that bastard, that's all you should be thinking about."

"Kanji's right," said Yosuke, gently moving Nanako's hands away. "Nanako, you said we should have all watched the Midnight Channel, right? Instead of thinking about what should have been, why don't we just do that from now on?"

Nanako nodded despite the fact she'd keep thinking about it anyway.

"From now on," she said, "let's do everything as a team."

There was a companionable silence for a moment as they all nodded, but then Yukiko brought a hand to her chin.

"That reminds me, do you remember that agreement we made about splitting into teams to check up on the TV World?" she asked.

"That's right, we didn't tell them!" Chie said, her mouth agape.

"Tell us what?" Nanako asked.

"Chie and I actually went into the TV World the day before Souji-kun was kidnapped," Yukiko explained. "We were feeling confident, so we went and defeated the strong Shadow that had been hiding in Naoto-kun's dungeon."

"It was pretty strong, but we got him good!" Chie said. "And it dropped… um, Yukiko, do you still have it?"

"No. I left it at the backlot. It was an impressive looking gun… I'm sorry, Naoto-kun. We were in such a hurry that I didn't even remember to give it to you. It could have helped in Souji-kun's dungeon."

"No need to apologize," Naoto said.

"Did you go in without telling anyone?" Nanako asked, thinking it was especially strange for Chie to have done that, since she had always been the most correct about their rules.

"They told me," Yosuke admitted. "Sorry, I totally forgot to mention it."

"That's understandable, considering," Nanako murmured. "But wow, you two defeated that Shadow all by yourselves? I'm impressed. Though maybe I shouldn't be, considering the tournament."

"What tournament?" Yosuke asked.

"Before you came back to the team, we decided to practice fighting other Persona-users, since we thought the culprit would be one," Nanako explained. "It's kind of weird that he wasn't."

"Didn't use a gun either," Chie grumbled, remembering their tests and, probably, how she'd argued against them.

"I wonder what the deal with his Shadow was," Yosuke said. "Even Teddie followed the steps. You know, yellow eyed clone guy talking shit, then big monster?"

"Namatame didn't reject anything," Yukiko said quietly.

"Bastard just kept going on and on about 'saving' Souji," said Kanji.

"Perhaps that creature was his Persona," Naoto suggested. "Personas and Shadows are one and the same, or so we understand, and the power seems to strengthen depending on our convictions. Namatame is an emotionally compromised individual. Perhaps the Shadows preyed on his weakness, driven by the lifting of the fog."

"That's a good hypothesis," Nanako said, "but we can't know for sure until we ask him, so. Shirogane-san, you said you can't interfere with the whatever department because of the internal investigation, but how's that going? If that guy doesn't wake up, then it's gonna be our only way of finding out who his accomplice is."

"That is correct," Naoto said. "As for the internal investigation, I have, in fact, received a request from the prefectural police to spearhead it. I've yet to give my reply, but as you say, my involvement may become unavoidable."

"They asked you to lead it? That's amazing news!"

"Congrats, man," said Kanji, giving him a slap on the back. Naoto didn't handle it nearly as well as Nanako.

"I, err… thank you," Naoto said, tipping his cap just enough to hide his eyes. Nanako loved that dorky detective. "To be honest, I was afraid that being offered this position would lead to further discrimination against my person, but reaction at the station has been mostly positive. One officer told me, 'if it's you, it might be fine.' I was surprised, to say the least."

"That means they trust you!" Nanako said, beaming with pride. "You're really moving up in the world, Detective Prince!"

Naoto smiled fondly at the nickname he'd once hated so much. Not too long after, Souji walked into the room, hand in hand with Aunt Seta. The woman was carrying a rather large suitcase.

"Mama… f-from home…" Souji offered as explanation when Nanako shot him a questioning glance.

"The house is still teeming with paparazzi and gossipy hens," Aunt Seta said. "Nanako-chan, I retrieved some of your things."

"Big sis, we saw… Adachi-san!" he said, beaming almost as much as Nanako had been a moment ago.

"Yes, he helped us avoid the cameras and get into the house," Aunt Seta confirmed, wearing a sad smile. "I feel terrible for putting him through that again, but he was very brave."

'Again,' huh? They'd both mentioned it before, but the situation with Uncle Seta really must have been awful.

"Souji told me about what happened," her aunt continued. "Tohru-san said he said he would talk to his superiors."

"Shirogane-san said the same thing!" Nanako said, and Aunt Seta sent him a grateful smile.

"My influence alone might not be enough," Naoto admitted.

"Or it might be!" Nanako teased, making the detective blush.

"I suppose the meeting is over, then," Yukiko said. "I should get back to my duties."

"Do you think the boys could get a round on the hot springs?" Nanako blurted out before the team could disband.

"Senpai, you don't need to…" Kanji began, but she shushed him.

"Shirogane-san is staying here with us, and you and Chie probably had plenty of opportunity to go together." Though she wasn't so sure about that anymore, given recent revelations. "I want to do something nice for them," she finished.

Yukiko stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Of course," she said. "Yosuke-kun, Kanji-kun, please follow me."

Nanako sighed in relief. Yosuke mouthed her a thanks as he passed her by.

Souji tugged on her skirt then.

"Sou-chan, you want to go with them?" she asked, and he nodded. "Go right ahead, honey."

Souji hugged her then hurried after them. Nanako watched him go with a smile.

"Not so jealous anymore, big sis?" Naoto teased. He didn't miss a thing, did he? Nanako shook her head, regardless.

"Of course not," she said, "since I'll be joining them in a moment."

"Nanako!" Chie protested, scandalized. "Your aunt is right here!"

Nanako turned to Aunt Seta, but she had another one of her unreadable smiles, which Nanako was starting to read as, 'I approve.'

"They might not let you in," Naoto warned.

"That's assuming I'll ask," she replied, and they both smiled.

---

Nanako vaulted over the wooden fence easily, her arms strong enough to pull her entire body up into a handspring, nimbly switching the position of her hands at the peak to ease into a softer landing on the other side. She turned to the hot springs with a triumphant smile, ecstatic that she had managed that jump she'd seen her dad do a long time ago while chasing a purse snatcher, but sadly, her gymnastics went unnoticed. Kanji was soaking in the water, totally oblivious, and Souji and Yosuke were still at the washing stations. No one had seen her debonair style! Nanako was about to lodge a protest and do the vault again when she noticed Souji was scrubbing Yosuke's back. Damn, she couldn't interrupt that… plus, now that the adrenaline rush was dying down, she could hear them talking.

"Did you go into the hot springs already, partner?" Yosuke asked.

"Y-Yeah," Souji said. "I came with big sis… and big bro, and Mama… a-and Uncle too, but that was later."

"Nice," Kanji said.

"Big bro…" Yosuke repeated, but then he stiffened. "W-Wait, Naoto came with you? With your mom too?!"

Souji nodded.

"It ain't a big deal," said Kanji, his eyes still closed.

"Maybe not for you!" Yosuke said nervously. "I wouldn't want my aunt to see me naked, much less someone else's aunt."

"Senpai was talking to me the other day about how she'd seen my first date with…" Kanji suddenly spied Souji with one eye, unsure whether he should continue.

"With your b-boyfriend," Souji finished for him.

He'd caught that guy in glasses a fish, after all. Of course he wouldn't forget.

"Yeah," Kanji said, smiling sheepishly. "Back at the summer festival. Senpai said she'd seen young love. It kinda irked me. I mean, she's just two years older than me… but thinkin' about it, it makes sense, yeah? We're all just kids."

"I'm not a kid!" Yosuke protested, thereby proving Kanji's point.

"Yosuke-senpai, maybe you feel different 'cuz you can get a motorcycle and stuff, but I'm just 15. Feels like middle school was yesterday…" A pained expression crossed Kanji's face, but it only lasted a moment. "Point is, everything feels like a big deal for us, but for Seta-san who's like forty, what's seeing a naked kid gonna do?"

"Mama is… f-forty three," Souji added helpfully. That put her two years older than Dojima.

"I guess I see what you mean," Yosuke said slowly, "but I wouldn't want to see my aunt naked, either. I'm surprised Naoto was up for it."

"He's prolly seen worse," Kanji said, and he was definitely right, at that. Nanako had seen autopsy pictures on his laptop. "It ain't a big deal," he repeated.

"Big sis… takes baths with me, but Mama doesn't," Souji said pensively. "I don't know why. Papa used to take baths with me, when he was alive."

That's probably why, Sou-chan, Nanako wanted to say, but she still couldn't bring herself to interrupt, and she wasn't sure she could bring herself to say it, either.

"But yesterday," he went on, "she asked me if coming to the h-hot springs with her was fun."

"I bet it was, kid," Kanji said.

"I want to ask Mama to… t-take a bath with me," Souji confided, "b-but I don't want to bother her. I'm a big boy."

Hearing that broke Nanako's heart, and from the little she could see from her hiding spot, Yosuke and Kanji felt the same way. Yosuke went against everything Nanako thought she knew about him and pulled Souji into a hug. His towel fell and he didn't even care. Souji actually yelped in surprise, but he hugged back in no time, moving his legs around Yosuke's waist for support. Not to be outdone, Kanji leaped out of the water and grabbed them both like he'd done to everyone back at the textiles shop that one time.

Nanako couldn't stop herself. She just had to take a picture. Her phone made the loud camera shutter sound. Kanji didn't react at all. Yosuke, though, almost dropped Souji to the ground.

"N-Nanako!" he said, his voice strained, like he wanted to scream but didn't want anyone else hearing them. Unfortunately for him, the phone clicked two, three, four more times as Nanako button smashed the camera function, capturing a veritable slideshow of his embarrassment, although that really wasn't the point. They were just too cute!

"Big sis!" Souji was just happy to see her. Nanako took one last picture of his big smile, then put the phone back in her skirt pocket and shrugged.

"I couldn't resist," she said, as though that explained everything, then casually walked to the spring, where she took her shoes and socks off and sat with her feet in the water.

"What are you doing here?!" Yosuke whispered, so loudly that he was basically screaming. Honestly, he sounded like he was being strangled. "The hot springs are only open to men now!"

"Chie did say that I'm twice the man you are," she teased. "Look, I didn't come to fool around. I know Kanji-kun doesn't want to anymore, since he's got a boyfriend now, and besides, Sou-chan is here. I just want to talk."

Yosuke was still totally agitated and covering his privates with his hands, but Kanji just walked right back to the hot springs.

"I don't mind," he said when she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Partner… doesn't want to take a bath anymore?" Souji asked with a cute little frown, and that, of all things, gave Yosuke pause. He lowered his hands and sighed exasperatedly.

"I guess I should get used to this," he said.

"I could leave if you want me to," Nanako offered. "I didn't realize it would make you so uncomfortable. I'm sorry."

"No, stay," Yosuke said firmly. "You're right, it's nothing you haven't seen before." He sighed. "Just don't go showing those pictures around, alright?"

Souji waited for Yosuke to calm down some more before leading him into the hot springs by the hand. It was another really cute visual, but Nanako resisted taking another picture because she'd already agitated Yosuke so much. She felt kind of guilty, and it surprised her because she'd never given that sort of stuff a second thought before. Once he got in the water though, Yosuke relaxed considerably.

"You aren't going to enter?" he ventured after soaking in silently for a few minutes.

"Nah," Nanako said. "I don't want to cause trouble for Yukiko."

Yosuke just hummed in response.

"By the way," she said, "I should have said so during Queen's Game, but you really did tone up some."

"Thanks," he said. Nanako couldn't tell whether his blush was from the heat or from the compliment. "You did too, you know? I noticed when you tried on the jacket yesterday."

Souji, who had dog paddled his way to Nanako's feet and was just enjoying the water, finally spoke up. "Big sis's arms… are like Chie-san's legs. Partner's arms and c-chest are strong, too, like Papa was. But Papa was bigger…"

"Chie, huh?" Yosuke murmured. "What did you guys talk about earlier? When you left Souji with me."

"I left you with him," Nanako corrected, to nods of agreement from both Souji and Kanji, "and you know it's not my place to say. You wouldn't want me tattling about our conversation yesterday either, right?"

"Maybe not," Yosuke said. "I wouldn't mind you talking to Kanji about it though."

"He's sitting right beside you, you know," Nanako pointed out. "You can talk to him about it yourself."

"You can tell me anything, Yosuke-senpai," Kanji said with feeling.

Yosuke fidgeted in the water for a moment.

"I talked to Nanako about… liking boys…" he said, so quietly that were they anywhere else, they wouldn't have heard him.

"Hmm. I heard some second years from the sports club are dating," Kanji said.

"Damn, am I that transparent?" Yosuke chuckled dryly. "Yeah, that's the gist of it. I've been… well, not friends, I guess more like acquaintances, with Kou and Daisuke for a while, and..."

"Kou… and Daisuke…" Souji repeated, unintentionally interrupting Yosuke.

"You met them when you visited our school, Sou-chan," Nanako said, turning to Yosuke afterwards. "He was there too when they kissed," she explained.

"Souji," Yosuke said suddenly. "Partner," he corrected before Souji could. "What did you think? About them kissing?"

"C-Cute," Souji said without hesitating at all.

"It was his idea," Nanako said, "though he told Kou to hug Daisuke, not kiss him. It was the same principle though. They're together now, Sou-chan, aren't you happy?" she asked, tickling his armpits with her feet.

"I am…!" he replied amidst giggles. "Ta-chan asked me about them before. I should… tell him they're together."

"Your chu—errr, Takeyoshi-kun knows about them too?" Yosuke asked. Souji didn't seem to notice his fumble, thankfully. She didn't want another fight, as cute as the first one had been.

"Takeyoshi-kun said he saw in a documentary that, quote, 'homosexuals are born this way, rather than an acquired condition,' unquote," Nanako recited. "It was out of this world."

"That kid is something else," said Kanji. "When we made the paper cranes, his ma didn't want him there. I mean, she wanted him there until she saw me."

"She didn't approve of my long skirt either," Nanako said. "It took Saki-senpai being there to convince her we could go swimming in the river."

"Yeah. She sat there watchin' us the entire time, man. Like a hawk. That's why I couldn't crochet anything. She'd 'a thought I was gonna stab her kid's eyes out or something."

"I had a feeling. Dad really put her in her place though, don't you think?"

Kanji nodded. "Ma did too. She scolded her when she tried to tell Yuuta he shouldn't make too many pink cranes. Said she babysat her when she was a kid and she'd always liked the men's patterns. That musta been like thirty years ago… But anyway, she wasn't listening to Ma at all until her kid started saying something about how blue used to be the color for girls in the old days and how even boys wore dresses in Europe or something, and that shut her up good."

"I don't know what her problem is," Nanako said, "but I think we can come to an understanding after what happened at the hospital. Anyway, Yosuke, you were saying?"

Yosuke was still sort of in awe that Souji didn't seem to mind that Kou and Daisuke kissed, nor his comment about liking boys.

"I like boys…" Yosuke said, though he couldn't look Kanji in the eye as he did. "But I like girls too. Nanako was trying to help me make sense of it."

"Trying being the operative word," Nanako murmured. "I overreacted to nothing and we ended up talking about something else entirely."

"It wasn't nothing. Stop being so negative," Yosuke said. "Anyway, I still don't know what to think. Kanji, you ever figured out, uhh… you know, what your Shadow said?"

"I did, but what's the problem with liking both?"

"You're supposed to like one or the other."

"You're 'supposed' to like girls. That don't matter, man. Hell, Senpai said she likes both."

"And everything in between," Nanako finished.

"Everyone says…" Souji started, but paused when they all turned to him at the same time. Nanako gently stroked his hair until he was ready to talk. "E-Everyone says that pink is s-supposed to be for girls, but... Yuu-chan likes pink. I like pink too, b-but blue looks so pretty on big bro. I like both."

Nanako dearly wanted to hug Souji, but unfortunately, she couldn't go into the water. Yosuke, meanwhile, didn't seem appeased in the slightest.

"It's just not normal," he said.

"There ain't no normal or abnormal, man," Kanji said. "There's them labels, but who cares about 'em? You started out better than me. You've already seen it happen. Even if it ain't normal, don't that mean you're not alone?"

Yosuke grimaced. Hard. He was looking at an arbitrary point in the distance with unsteady eyes.

"Kanji…" he said through gritted teeth. Then he choked out a sob. He covered his face with his hands, but even through the steam Nanako could see he wasn't succeeding in holding back tears.

Kanji moved over to Yosuke and gave him a big hug from the waist.

"Th-That's for girls," Yosuke managed to say.

"Just like pink, right?" Kanji replied.

Yosuke leaned against Kanji and started crying openly. Just then, Nanako heard the door to the washing stations slide open. Yosuke didn't seem to notice, and she knew Kanji wouldn't care, but she still didn't want to cause Yukiko any trouble, so with a heavy heart she silently bid Souji goodbye and sneaked out the same way she'd come in.

She stopped by the reception room before going back to her own. Yosuke's bag was still lying on the coffee table. Nanako opened it and put the boy's love manga she'd bought at Tatsumi Port Island inside. Aunt Seta had grabbed it by accident while retrieving Nanako's Loveline manga to read for Souji, and, well, there wouldn't ever be a better moment to give it to Yosuke.

After pondering for a bit, she also wrote him a note.

'Thank you for hugging Souji earlier. It meant the world to me, and I'm sure he feels the same way.

Love,
Nanako'

---

[10/11: Tuesday]

Aunt Seta cooked breakfast and took Souji to school herself, although they'd had to leave early so she wouldn't be late to work. Nanako declined her invitation to go with, partly because she thought Souji needed that time alone with his mom but mainly because she had a sweet new ride. That's right, she'd passed the test! Easily, as it turns out. She'd always been conscious about traffic rules. It kinda came with being a cop's daughter. The test had some obscure questions about weight and number of passengers, but overall, it was a breeze.

As she drove to school on her new scooter, Nanako counted the number of heads that turned her way. Most of them weren't looking at the scooter, though it certainly was a beauty. Nanako had bought a vintage '58 Vespa, light pink and white. It was a bit clunkier than the newer models, but she loved it. She'd been browsing for different motorcycles with Naoto when the detective brought up his love for the classics, and it made Nanako think. Though she and her friends called it a 'scooter license,' the license actually allowed her to drive both small and ordinary motorcycles, not just mopeds. Nanako didn't want a motorized bicycle. It was too slow and wouldn't fit her image. On the other hand, she couldn't imagine herself driving anything too large either, and she didn't need to leave a trail of fire behind her or anything. A Vespa seemed just right for her. She'd bought one with a longer seat so she could carry Souji more easily and safely. It came with the cutest helmet in matching baby pink, courtesy of the Detective Prince and his impressive bartering skills.

Anyway, although the bike was nice, people seemed more surprised by her jacket. Of course she'd worn it to school! That wasn't the only change either; she wasn't wearing the school uniform scarf as a headband anymore. Instead her hair flowed completely free, and the scarf was in its proper place for the first time that year. No matter the reason they were looking at her though, she decided she liked the attention. It was different from when she'd started wearing the long skirt. That had been something she needed. This was something she wanted.

Nanako parked her scooter on the bike rack in front of the school, noting it wasn't the only one. Yukiko's fiery red scooter was already there. It made her feel less out of place, though she wouldn't mind hers being the only one honestly. She also noticed Naoto's moped wasn't there despite him leaving the house on it. He'd said he had important business to take care of before school, but he'd be late at this rate.

Everyone cleared the way for her when she walked to the shoe lockers to change from her sneakers to her indoor shoes. There, she overheard her underclassmen whispering the most interesting things...

"Nanako-senpai took over as the biker gang leader, now Kanji is her lieutenant!" one of them said, sounding awed. "I've seen her stop him dead in the halls."

"I heard she once had a foursome on top of a piano..." another one murmured, a chubby boy who was always going on about his grandma, and she had to hold in a snort.

"If you insult her little cousin, she will murder you!" a third one said. He was the smallest of the bunch, so cute that Nanako wanted to walk over there and squish his cheeks, but he sounded terrified.

"I heard Nanako-senpai controls the police," said a first year who she knew had sort of a reputation for being tardy. "I've seen her with the Detective Prince and with that guy who kept watch on Risette!"

Gosh, but her own reputation was soaring, wasn't it? There was a brief pause in conversation as they checked around to make sure she wasn't nearby, completely missing her since she was bent down putting on the indoor shoes. Then the small first year stepped forward with the cutest frown on his face.

"I've heard Nanako-senpai can... read minds."

"That's right," she interjected, stepping into the school proper and making all of them yelp in surprise. Nanako turned to the smaller boy and pushed him towards the tardy student. "My powers tell me you totally have a crush on this guy!" she declared. "You're young. Confess your love and enjoy life while you still can!"

To her immense pleasure and surprise, both boys blushed magnificently and turned their faces to and then away from each other. They weren't denying it! The remaining underclassmen even eyed the two of them critically, as though they'd thought the same thing. Nanako patted all four of them on the head with a kind smile, then made her way to her classroom on the second floor, where the laughter she'd been suppressing came out in full force.

"What's gotten into you?" Yosuke asked, not in his usual wary manner but genuinely curious. Nanako told him what she'd heard and soon he was laughing too.

"I couldn't believe my ears!" she cried.

Yosuke tried to rein in his laughter so he could say something, but the male class rep walked up to them and ahem'd loudly before he could, not that he would have been successful anyway.

"Nanako-san," he said once they'd both stopped wheezing and turned to him. "I have a number of get well cards for your cousin here with me. Most are from the second years, but I understand some of our upperclassmen pitched in as well. They were to deliver them to you themselves, but then they came to me this morning saying they were too afraid to do so." He adjusted his glasses with an annoyed expression and then held out an envelope to her. "I know you aren't what the rumors say. Please, don't let it bother you, and tell Souji-kun to be strong."

Nanako blinked and raised her eyebrows despite herself. She wasn't expecting this! Especially that last part. Sure, he was Kanji's boyfriend, but…

"Th-Thank you," she stammered, taking the envelope from him. The class rep nodded and walked away, to take care of his many other duties she assumed.

"Huh," said Yosuke, for lack of anything else to say.

"Yeah," Nanako said, a smile creeping up on her face. She decided to open the envelope with Souji later.

---

During lunch, Nanako ate the last of the leftover cake from her party. Souji had taken a few slices to school himself, to share with Yuuta and Takeyoshi-kun since they hadn't been able to come visit them at the inn for whatever reason. Naoto had taken a slice too… and speaking of the detective, there he was. He'd politely entered the classroom and was heading for her desk.

"Nanako-san," he said, tipping his cap.

"Shirogane-san," she said in return. "How was your business at the station?"

"I never said it was at the station," he replied with a coy smile.

"Where else would it be?" she asked, but then the distinct smell of tofu filled her nostrils. Into the classroom came none other than Rise Kujikawa herself, wearing a Yasogami uniform. She had her hair down—it was beautiful!—and was carrying a rather large bento package wrapped in cloth, which she set on Nanako's desk without any ceremony.

"Grandma said you came to check up on her," Rise said. "This is her thanks."

"Rise-san!" Nanako said, rising from her seat to give the former idol a hug. "I had no idea you were back."

"I just got here," Rise said, hugging her back. "Naoto-kun insisted on escorting me to school."

"Did he now?" Nanako eyed him shrewdly, but the detective was as composed as always.

"I thought I might spare her from dealing with unsavory sorts," he explained, "but it turns out I needn't have bothered."

"Why is that?" Nanako asked.

"Everyone was too busy talking about you!" Rise complained, exaggeratedly leaning against Nanako as though she needed support. "Nobody batted an eye at little old me… but we can talk more about that while we eat. Please tell me you have more cake somewhere."

Nanako pushed the last bit of cake towards Rise while untying the cloth and opening the bento package. Inside was every variety of tofu dish Nanako could think of and then some. So that's why the former idol smelled so much like tofu. Nanako couldn't imagine her being too happy about that, but she brushed the thought aside because she spied some of the killer ganmodoki she'd never gotten a chance to try and immediately took one out.

"If you wanted attention," she said while chewing on the snack, "you could have always come to school in a swimsuit."

"In this weather? No thanks," Rise said, waving a hand as though that was the only reason she didn't come to school in the nude. Nanako grinned at her, and she winked. "I don't think I could beat you anyway, even in a swimsuit. That jacket is slamming!"

Nanako made a show of adjusting the lapels before asking, "How was your vacation? Come to think of it, I don't even know where you went."

"Naoto-kun didn't tell you? I stayed at his place!"

"The Shirogane Estate," Naoto clarified when Nanako gave him a weird look, thinking Rise had meant his apartment. "I thought she would be safest closer to home."

"I think you might have taken that too literally, Shirogane-san!" Nanako said, totally nonplussed. No wonder he'd been completely confident that the killer wouldn't get to her.

"I met his grandpa," Rise said. "Did you know he has a butler too? I felt like a princess in there, it was huge!"

"Yakushiji-san is more a secretary than a butler," Naoto said, "but I suppose the distinction is irrelevant in the context you were introduced to him."

"What did you do for fun there?" Nanako asked, not very interested in discussing semantics.

"There wasn't much to do around town," Rise admitted. "Too many old people, you know? Yakushiji-san took me to a lot of different places though. My manager looked for me everywhere but couldn't find me, it was so funny!"

Naoto had opened his mouth to say something when someone opened the door to the classroom. It was kind of loud, so they couldn't help but look.

"Ugh, it smells in here," Yosuke complained, coming back from his trip to the bathroom. "What are you guys even…" he trailed off, staring at Nanako's desk in shock. No, not at her desk, at the person sitting right in front of her. "R-R-Risette?!" he squeaked.

"Rise," both Rise and Naoto corrected fluidly.

"That's right, Yosuke's a big fan," Nanako muttered, mostly to herself. "With all that's happened, I didn't even remember."

"R-Rise-san, uhh," Yosuke continued less than smoothly, "are you going to school here? You're wearing the uniform."

"The boring winter uniform," Nanako lamented, dreaming of summer heat. "Oh, but it looks good on you, Rise-san!"

"That's right," Rise said. "I'm a first year, just like Naoto-kun!"

She pointedly pulled Naoto into an affectionate side hug. Naoto did not resist at all—but neither did he hug back.

"Wait..." Yosuke said slowly. "Does that mean I'm your senpai?"

"You are, in fact, my senpai," Naoto said.

"I didn't mean you!" Yosuke rolled his eyes. "A-Anyway, Rise-san, I'm Yosuke Hanamura. It's nice to meet you. I really love your music."

"Thanks," Rise said, though she sounded doubtful, "but I'm retired now."

"F-For good?" Yosuke asked, crestfallen.

"Maybe," Rise admitted. "Naoto-kun gave me a cellphone to use while… um, I mean…"

She looked at Yosuke uncertainly. For the nth time he toyed with his pink streak under scrutiny.

"Oh, he knows," Nanako reassured her. "He's part of my gang."

"I see," Rise said, sighing in relief. She was probably the type that put her foot in her mouth often, just like Nanako herself. Or even Yosuke. "Well, he gave me a cellphone to use while the situation here died down. I kept my real phone nearby, thinking I'd miss my manager's calls, but… I didn't. In fact, hearing the phone vibrating without feeling any pressure to answer it was freeing. I'd sometimes let it ring just to feel the satisfaction," she added somewhat guiltily.

"What's stopping you from doing that here?" Nanako asked.

"Inoue-san," Rise explained. "My manager. He knew where I lived, so he could always come by if he felt like I was avoiding him."

"T-That's harassment!" said Yosuke.

She sighed. "Not under my contract."

"Yikes," Nanako said sympathetically. "Aunt Seta wasn't kidding when she said the idol industry was savage."

Rise visibly hesitated. "I don't want to pry," she said, "and it's totally okay if you don't want to answer, but I heard that…" Though she couldn't finish her sentence, Nanako nodded, knowing what she wanted to say. "Gosh, that must have been so hard for you, and your little cousin too. I saw his video. I… I kind of tweeted about it too. I'm so sorry! I didn't think it would make the news."

"It didn't," Nanako said, "and you have nothing to apologize for. I didn't know about the video, but I'd have shared the heck out of it myself if I had."

Rise seemed relieved. She'd probably been carrying that guilt since she'd heard Souji was kidnapped. On a whim, Nanako reached out to her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Does he know about me?" Rise asked. "Your cousin, I mean. I could maybe do something for him."

"I think he'd be happy to meet you, even if he doesn't," Nanako said, "since you're my friend."

The former idol raised her head sharply, her eyes wide, but after a moment, her expression softened, with a smile that reached her eyes.

---

"I didn't think you'd get yours so soon," Yosuke said. He and Nanako were at the bike racks after school and he was totally jealous that she'd ride her Vespa home while we was still stuck with his dented bicycle.

"Why didn't you?" Nanako asked. "I thought you said you had the money."

"I do, but…" He sighed. "I dunno, I just couldn't decide which one to get. I had my eye on a cool orange one in the catalog back in June, but my budget was a lot lower then."

"I'd suggest talking to Shirogane-san, but you don't seem the type to appreciate the classics."

"Harsh! True, though. I like the sleek new models, not the clunky old ones."

Nanako was about to protest that her Vespa wasn't clunky when Rise's kind of shrill voice came from behind. "Nanako-san! Yosuke-senpai!"

Rise was heading towards them, hand in hand with Naoto, who looked a little put out about it.

"How come only Yosuke gets the senpai treatment?" Nanako asked. Honestly, she didn't really care about honorifics at all, but still.

"'Nanako-senpai' just doesn't sound right," Rise said, "maybe because it's all everyone's talked about all day. Nanako-senpai this, Nanako-senpai that. I want you to confirm some of these rumors for me later!"

"They're all true," Nanako said, smirking. Rise laughed at first but then looked towards Yosuke, unsure, and he just nodded gravely. Nanako had to stop herself from having a giggle fit right then and there.

Naoto managed to extricate himself from Rise to unlock his moped, prompting the former idol to take a good long look at the bike rack. Yukiko's scooter was already gone. Nanako remembered her leaving with Chie earlier.

"That's a nice ride, Senpai," Rise said, eyeing the Vespa. "I like the colors."

"I thought you said you wouldn't call me senpai?"

"Shush, you," Rise replied, and they both laughed. "You know, I have a scooter too, but it's back in the city. Maybe I should get it sent here."

"My biker gang grows day by day," Nanako joked.

"It would be awesome if you could join us," Yosuke said. Rise appraised his old bike with a flat expression and he stammered, "I-I'm getting something better soon!"

"It wouldn't be that bad if you kept the bike," Nanako said, "considering Kanji doesn't even have a choice."

"Pass. I don't have the stamina to pedal all the way to Okina City like he can."

"Mmm. I think you do have the stamina," Nanako said, "but yeah, Kanji did have the incentive of a hot date."

"Kanji?" Rise asked. "Kanji Tatsumi?"

"The one and only," Nanako confirmed. "You know him?"

"My grandma and his mom are tight," Rise said, "so yeah, we know each other through them. I haven't seen him in a while, though."

That made sense. Marukyu and Tatsumi Textiles weren't that far apart, after all.

"I thought I heard his voice back when you convinced me to leave," she mused. "Is he part of your gang too? I honestly thought I'd be in his class, but it didn't happen. Even worse, I'm not in Naoto-kun's class either!" At this, she put her arm around Naoto's shoulders and pouted.

"H-How unfortunate," Naoto said.

There was something evasive about the way he said it, but the stutter covered up for it. Or maybe it was something else, since he wasn't relaxing into her hug.

Nanako didn't have time to think about it any further, because Yosuke was suddenly addressing Rise. "How about we all go to Junes? You haven't been there, right? My dad's the manager. I can totally get you a discount."

"Not a very big discount," Nanako said, "but it's the thought that counts."

Yosuke shot her a look.

"I have been there, actually," Rise corrected before he could say anything. "Had to check it out first thing, you know? A little bit of the big city here in little old Inaba."

Nanako did a little bit of mental math and…

"Did you see their special summer swimsuit display?" she asked with a wicked grin. She was, of course, talking about the gigantic Risette cardboard cut out she'd seen months ago.

"Totally did," Rise said. "For the record, mine aren't that big."

"Yeah, the cardboard wasn't the only thing they oversized," Nanako said.

Yosuke fidgeted a bit. Nanako had a feeling he was the one who'd organized that display, but she wasn't sure, and of course she wouldn't bust him right in front of his literal idol anyway.

"W-Well, how about we go there anyway?" he asked. "It was fun, right? And we've expanded our menu since then!"

He obviously wanted to spend more time with Rise, and it was cute, but...

"Sorry, but we gotta pick Sou-chan up from school," Nanako said.

"Naoto-kun too?" Rise asked. Yeah, with that kind of competition, Yosuke didn't really have a chance.

"That's the plan," Nanako said. But that was before you showed up, she thought, wondering whether or not to invite her along.

"Unfortunately, we must part ways," Naoto said before Nanako could decide. "This is going to be his first time riding a scooter. He might not want to in the end, in which case, I need to be there."

That's not untrue…

"We might also need to give Yuu-chan or Takeyoshi-kun a ride," Nanako murmured, wanting to support whatever Naoto had in mind. "Sou-chan's friends," she clarified when Rise looked confused.

"I see," Rise said, not even trying to hide her disappointment. "Not gonna lie, I was really hoping to ride with Naoto-kun again, but your cousin needs you. I understand."

"Shirogane-san is a brother to him," Nanako said, "so yeah, sorry about that. If you really want to, though, you could ride with Yosuke!"

"Only when he gets a real bike," Rise quipped immediately, winking for effect.

"Denied, Hanamura!" Daisuke shouted from… somewhere, Nanako sure couldn't see him.

Yosuke looked startled, but, surprisingly, not offended. He'd probably get a move on in getting his new bike after this though!

Nanako unlocked her Vespa and took a moment to admire it before putting on her helmet and getting on. It really was a beautiful thing. "Anyway, Rise-san, we'll see you tomorrow!"

"It's a date!" Rise said, and it gave Nanako pause because that's exactly what she'd have said, but she quickly recovered and drove away, side by side with Naoto.

Since he only had a moped, Nanako had to keep her speed down, but she didn't mind. The wind was cool and crisp on her face, bringing with it that wonderful autumn scent. The leaves would be changing soon. She couldn't wait to see it with Souji.

But now she was seeing it with Naoto, who, at a glance, wasn't appreciating any of nature's splendor. Since the roads were quiet and they were driving slowly, they could talk while driving.

"You okay?" Nanako asked.

"Yes, and no," Naoto replied. Not the most helpful answer, but he did continue after a moment. "I must apologize for putting you on the spot back there. But, thank you for supporting me."

"That's what friends are for," she declared. "Rise-san is kind of high energy. Not that different from me but, with everything that's going on, the two of us might have been too much for Sou-chan."

"No, Souji-kun would have been able to handle it," Naoto said firmly. That brotherly pride! Nanako was proud too, really, because he was totally right. "However, Rise-san seems to have become rather attached to me."

"Running you ragged, huh? I bet you're the first person she told when she decided to return here."

"You would win that bet. After she called to inform me of her decision, I called Yakushiji-san to make the arrangements, but he had no idea that she was ready to leave the estate."

"She must be pretty grateful to you," Nanako said. "I mean, you went pretty far to keep her safe."

"I only did what I felt was necessary, but I fear she may have taken it the wrong way. Letting her into my home, communicating with her daily..."

"Yeah, I remember you two were texting a lot." And it had made Nanako suspicious, though much like Yosuke, she'd never had a chance either.

"Rise-san does love her emoticons…" Naoto sighed, barely audible above the wind. "The issue now is that we are friends in person, rather than over the phone, and as such, she acts rather differently than when we'd first met."

"Different how?"

Naoto seemed to have trouble coming up with a response. There was a long stretch of silence as she waited for him. They'd left the school zone and could see Junes towering in the distance by the time he was ready to talk.

"Rise-san is rather..." he said haltingly, working his mouth before finishing the sentence. "More affectionate, than I would like."

Naoto on the receiving end of squeeze play while riding his moped was probably not what Nanako should've imagined then, but she couldn't help it. Not like she hadn't done the same, all those months ago. Though she'd only put her hands to his sides then, nothing more.

"I did notice you were standing pretty stiffly when she hugged you earlier," Nanako said. "I thought something was bothering you, but I didn't think it was the hug."

"Not just the hug—hugs, even—but also, the hand holding, the… touching. I know this shouldn't be such a bothersome thing to me, but..."

"You don't like it," Nanako finished for him.

"I don't," Naoto admitted. "I had hoped my posture would be enough for her to realize this, but she does not appear to have noticed."

"Rise-san really isn't that much different from me," Nanako mused. "Shirogane-san, she's the type that needs to be told outright."

"I haven't the slightest idea how to do so. I don't want her to think that she bothers me, or that our friendship isn't important to me. I don't know what to say."

Nanako tried to draw on her experiences to determine the answer to that, but then something else came to mind. "Wait. I've hugged you, and plenty of times too. Did you feel the same then? Did I never notice either?"

He didn't answer immediately, so Nanako took the time to check her surroundings. They were fairly close to the river. Truth be told, she had no idea where they were going, but she couldn't bring that up now. She'd always thought Yasogami High and whatever elementary school Souji frequented had to be close by, since they walked partway so often, but she'd also noticed that distance seemed to be a foreign concept to Inaba residents. They were expected to walk all the way from the shopping district area to the school everyday even though that route covered literally half the town. Maybe they'd cross one of the bridges? There was a crossroads near the flood plain where they usually parted ways with Souji when walking to school...

"I believe," Naoto eventually said, "that it's more situational. There was that time, for example, when I had difficulty sleeping due to nightmares, and Souji-kun held my hand to help calm me down. That was greatly welcomed and appreciated."

"Sou-chan is the exception, eh?" she teased. Nanako couldn't fault that, no way.

"No. I mean, it is true that I don't mind when he sits in my lap or wants to hold hands, no matter the occasion, but…" Naoto shook his head. "I suppose he is, but as for hugs from you, it depends."

"Depends on what?" Nanako pressed. "Is it something you can explain?"

"I haven't found a common thread," Naoto said. "Sometimes, even when I am happy to receive a hug, I find myself wondering why afterwards. Why it's fine sometimes, why it's not other times, and why we as humans feel this need for affection in the first place."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Nanako said. "I never noticed. I thought I would have, but maybe I'm even more similar to Rise-san than I realized."

"Coming from you, the hugs are welcome more often than not, Nanako-san. In fact, before meeting you, I never would have experienced them, let alone thought about them so extensively."

"The guys down at the station aren't the huggy type, I expect," Nanako said.

"High fives only," he said, smiling somewhat wistfully, "and even then, only when there's been a huge breakthrough in a case."

"Well, I'm glad I don't always make you uncomfortable," Nanako said, "but do you want me to ask first, when I suddenly want to hug you? I mean, it's going to happen."

"I'm not sure," Naoto said. "Giving me a chance to consider it would only make it more awkward, no? Hesitation tends to ruin the moment."

"I'd wait as long as I needed for a hug from you, Shirogane-san! Though that's me. I don't know if Rise-san would feel the same way."

"Ah, yes, back to the original topic... I suppose I will have to talk to her, else I'd be inclined to start avoiding her."

"You already skip school too much," Nanako said. "We should do something before it comes to that. If you'd like, maybe I can talk to her instead, or be there when you do."

"Thank you, Nanako-san. This is a difficult problem, but we shall figure it out together," Naoto said. "...We always have."

"Yeah!" she said, taking one hand away from the handles for a moment to do a fist pump. "Now, uh... where the heck are we going? I mean, I know we're heading to Sou-chan's school in general, but where is it?"

"I have no idea," Naoto said. "I have been following you the entire time."

"Shirogane-san!"

Naoto smiled. "Don't worry, Nanako-san. My phone's GPS function has been leading the way. We are, in fact, almost there."

They followed the highway further north and it turned out the elementary school was right alongside it, closer to the woods than she'd expected. The building itself was nothing special, beige and boring and old like almost everything in Inaba. They had to go up a short path to get to it—the school was built on something of a hill—and Nanako was disappointed that there were barely any decorations made by the kids, though she could at least see, through the large classroom windows, that the school was colorful inside. They drove past a few kids waiting for their parents before reaching the small parking area, where Souji was waiting for them along with Takeyoshi-kun and a little girl Nanako didn't recognize and didn't particularly care about right at the moment, because for the second time that day she couldn't help but notice how amazing her cousin looked.

They'd gone back home on Sunday night because Aunt Seta couldn't afford to miss another day of work, and Souji asked for Saki the moment they got there. Monday was a school holiday, so it was the perfect time for a haircut and he knew it. The next day, her girlfriend brought scissors, hair clippers, cream and a veritable rainbow of dinosaur hair clips, and shaved the entire side of his head that housed the wound. Not enough to leave him bald, of course. He'd worried about that as he saw his hair hit the ground. Nanako explained to him what a buzz cut was and how that was just to make it even with the area the hospital had shaved and he seemed appeased, especially once he noticed there was more hair towards the top. Saki also clipped excess hair with the scissors, since he'd needed a haircut even before the kidnapping. Remembering that stung a bit, because none of them had any idea it would come this way. Anyway, after that she styled his hair with cream and then let him choose which dinosaurs he wanted. Souji picked a yellow stegosaurus, two velociraptors, one pink, one blue, and a white pterodactyl.

The end result was standing before her now. Souji had his bangs carefully styled to the left, showing a tiny bit of his right eyebrow. His hair clips were on the side Saki hadn't shaved. He didn't really need them, they were only holding his hair up enough to show his left ear, but damn if he didn't look amazing.

"Big sis!" he called as soon as he saw her. Nanako almost jumped right off her Vespa to hug him, but she knew better: safety first. As soon as she parked, though, he was game for hugs, kisses and tickles.

"Soooooooou-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan," she drawled, picking him off the ground like a sack of potatoes. A small, cuddly sack of potatoes which she wanted to hug all day. The metaphor was getting kind of away from her, but she didn't care. The day had been too long! Too much time away from him! Now she needed to recharge. With hugs. Just like Princess Chan-Chan. Or was she a queen? Nanako hadn't played with her in a while. Maybe she was both. Foxie was supposed to be royalty too now, wasn't she, after Naoto forged her some documents? Nanako spied her there in Souji's school bag.

"B-Big sis…" Souji said, the sound muffled against her jacket.

"What is it, Sou-chan?" she asked, thinking she'd have to ask Naoto about Foxie's exact title later. Countess had always been her favorite, and…

"C-Can't breathe…"

Nanako immediately let him go. "S-Sorry, Sou-chan! I got carried away..."

He was grinning up at her, regardless. Then his expression suddenly changed as he thought of something. "Oh, big sis... D-Do we have more dinosaur clips? Miwa-chan wants some too."

Nanako knew he'd brought some to school, but they'd been the pink ones intended for Yuuta. She probably should've known his other classmates would want them. All kids loved dinosaurs, after all. Huh, maybe she would have to go to Junes later. She'd probably find Yosuke there, moping over the Risette merchandise, dreaming of what could have been. He would be so mad when he saw her, but then he'd cheer up because Souji was with her, especially once he saw his new visual.

"Big sis?" Souji asked, tugging on her jacket. Nanako blinked back to reality. Yosuke wasn't the only one dreaming!

"Miwa-chan," Nanako repeated. Yeah, she finally noticed the little girl there. She had braids that could totally be improved with some dinosaur hair clips, but more importantly, the girl was staring openly at her. Nanako noted she wasn't one of her daycare kids. "Hi there," she tried.

Miwa-chan continued to stare.

"What's your favorite dinosaur?" Nanako asked. "Oh, and color, too. I'll get you some, it's okay!"

Now Miwa-chan looked at Takeyoshi-kun, as if he should answer instead. He didn't. In fact, he didn't even notice her looking at him, or at least made a passable impression of it. When she ahem'd at him, he just sighed and said, "I don't actually like dinosaurs."

Miwa-chan gasped. "N-No! You said earlier! You like the T-Rex! Don't lie!"

"Not the T-Rex," Souji said. "But the, umm... A-Allo..."

"Allosaurus fragilis," Takeyoshi-kun said. "It might look like the T-Rex, but it's not."

"Well, I don't think they make Allosaurus hair clips," Nanako said. "Sorry, Ta-chan. Or, uh, Miwa-chan."

Miwa-chan's face fell.

It was quiet for a moment, then Souji whispered, "She likes Ta-chan." He wasn't quiet enough though, and everyone heard.

...Including Miwa-chan, who stormed off all of a sudden, crying, "I do not!"

Takeyoshi-kun seemed a little put out. "She doesn't," he corrected, turning to Souji. "She likes you."

"Then why was she asking about your favorite dinosaur, Ta-chan?" Nanako asked.

"I sense a mystery," Naoto felt the need to comment.

"I don't know," Takeyoshi-kun admitted, "but she's always following Souji around. It's annoying. She's always asking to be in his group too, whenever we have to do a project."

"W-Wrong," Souji said. "She wants to be in my group, b-because you're always in my group."

Takeyoshi-kun clearly hadn't thought of that. Nanako almost laughed.

"Well, I don't like her," he said, huffing. "She's clingy and doesn't have her own opinions. Dinosaur clips won't change that."

Naoto did laugh then, a dry chuckle that didn't carry in the wind. Takeyoshi-kun looked at him like he might be offended, but the detective quickly shook his head.

"If interpersonal relationships are already this complex in elementary school," Naoto said, "then it seems I finally know what I missed."

"Big bro… didn't go to school?" Souji asked.

"This year is my first, yes," Naoto confirmed. "I was homeschooled before then."

"Home… schooled…" Souji repeated. "Ta-chan, what's that mean?"

"It means a teacher comes to your house and lectures you there," Takeyoshi-kun explained.

Souji frowned. "What about… friends?"

Naoto swallowed before replying, "Those, too, are a first for me."

Nanako felt like hugging the detective pronto, but she waited. Souji's eyes were darting back and forth like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard, and she was worried that he would cry. Honestly, she felt like crying herself. Of course, as a Detective Prince fangirl, she'd known about his history, but hearing it from his mouth on top of everything else he'd told her was just too much. No one should be that lonely. No one.

"Hey," said Takeyoshi-kun, "you might have been alone before, but now you have Boss, and Souji, and that partner guy, right?"

"That is correct," Naoto said, and Nanako knew he meant it, but Takeyoshi-kun wasn't done.

"I want to be your friend too," he said, "so don't feel down, okay?"

Takeyoshi-kun held out his hand. Naoto blinked, unsure how to react, but then Souji nudged him and he accepted, shaking hands with the husky little boy as firmly as he could manage.

"Who knew Inaba would have brought so much change in me," Naoto mused. "I came here in pursuit of the truth, but found a family instead, and so much more."

"I don't know if I'll call you big bro though," Takeyoshi-kun said. Nanako had noticed he wasn't one for nicknames in general, though he didn't seem to mind Souji calling him 'Ta-chan.' She still wanted to ask what was up with the sudden affection her cousin had shown in the hospital.

"That's fine," Naoto said, smiling.

"Speaking of family," Nanako said, "we came here to pick Sou-chan up and go home. Though you can come along too, Ta-chan."

"My mom probably wouldn't let me," he said, and had a point, at that. "Besides, even though Souji is skipping cram school today, I still have to go."

"I like cram school," Souji said, "b-but I want to be with... big sis!"

"All right, Sou-chan," Nanako said, "but we're gonna go on my Vespa. Is that okay?"

Souji blinked and looked at the vehicle uncertainly. It was still gorgeous, but Nanako supposed that didn't stop it from being so much larger than a child.

"The top speed on that model is 45 miles per hour," Takeyoshi-kun said.

"Is that… f-fast?" Souji asked.

"We won't go that fast," Nanako promised. "Not even half that."

Souji mulled that over. Then he spied the white helmet hanging from the handlebars. "Oh! Is that… for me?"

"Sure is, Sou-chan! Do you want to try it on?"

Souji nodded, now blushing bashfully, so Nanako took the helmet down. She motioned him closer. Sadly, they had to remove the dinosaur hair clips before putting the helmet on. She put them in his school bag, telling Foxie to keep them safe.

The helmet fit perfectly, though it made his head look bigger than it was. That would happen to any kid, really. Still, it was yet another photo op!

Because she bent down to take the picture, her moon necklace slipped out of her blouse. Takeyoshi-kun was quick to notice.

"Rosemary," he said pensively.

"That's right, but you can tell just from looking at this tiny thing? There aren't even any flowers. Ta-chan, you really are something else!"

"I don't know that much about plants," he admitted, "but my mom used that one in her wedding. In the pictures, all the guests are holding a branch. Mom says it represents remembrance, and fidelity."

Nanako wrinkled her nose. "Fidelity?" she said. "Saki-senpai didn't say anything about that."

"Perhaps she simply wasn't aware of that particular meaning," Naoto said.

"Well, she doesn't have to worry. Senpai knows she's invited to all my three—err, she knows we'd never betray each other," Nanako finished lamely. She really needed to watch her tongue around kids more.

Takeyoshi-kun nodded. "Loyalty is important," he said, but the way he said it… and he wasn't looking at her either, but towards the school, with an expression she knew all too well. It spelled a single minded determination.

"Ta-chan," she said mildly, "you know Souji loves you, right?"

"Huh?!" Takeyoshi-kun said at the same time Souji cried, "B-Big sis!"

"Sou-chan would never abandon or ignore you," she continued, turning to her cousin. "Isn't that right?"

"Th-That's right," Souji confirmed, but his cheeks were practically glowing red. She'd have to apologize for embarrassing him later.

"W-Well, I love him too," Takeyoshi-kun declared, his own cheeks rosy. "He's my friend, and I won't ever abandon him, either."

Souji blinked several times before running towards Takeyoshi-kun and giving him a hug, though he kinda clonked him in the head with the helmet by accident. The boy didn't seem to mind, and in fact hugged back with so much force he actually lifted Souji from the ground.

"I see," Naoto said. "Takeyoshi-kun thought Miwa-san liked Souji-kun, and he was jealous, but not because he liked her himself. He simply did not want to share his friend."

"Do you remember when we watched Featherman together?" she asked, and Naoto nodded. "His reaction to the Cookie Gang got me thinking. I bet he's scared of being left behind like that."

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to talk more with Takeyoshi-kun like she wanted, because his mom arrived. She eyed Nanako and her motorcycle with suspicion and disapproval, but rolled her eyes a moment later and said, "Hello, Nanako-chan."

The honorific bothered her as much as it had when Aunt Seta first used it, but it was better than the looks the woman was giving her before, so she replied with a polite curtsey. Takeyoshi-kun's mom stopped to fuss over Souji a little bit, but soon she was on her way, claiming her son couldn't be late for cram school. Souji waved his friend goodbye, and Takeyoshi-kun waved back, his cheeks still a bit red.

"I think he's going to be okay," Nanako said.

With that taken care of, the next challenge reared up. Souji was happy enough to wear a helmet, but he was still leery of approaching the Vespa. Nanako wondered what she could do to reassure him. He had to decide this on his own, she didn't want to force him, or else he'd always be afraid.

Maybe giving him the choice was enough?

"Sou-chan, it's okay if you don't want to," she said. "You can go with big bro. You know he'd love it."

Different emotions crossed the little boy's face. He really was torn. Nanako thought about bringing up the fact Yosuke would get a scooter soon. 'If Yosuke had one, he'd ride it,' she remembered saying, but… how would she feel if that was really all it took to convince him?

"Home isn't that far from here," Naoto said. "The ride would not be long, either way."

"I-I know," Souji said. He suddenly put on a brave face and headed to Nanako's side, but stayed behind her, keeping her between the Vespa and himself.

"Honey..." she murmured.

Slowly, Souji's hand reached out to touch the Vespa from around her. When it didn't bite him or anything, he let his fingers linger, then let his entire palm rest on it. Then, both hands. He looked up at Nanako with a tentative smile.

"All right?" she asked. He nodded.

Nanako got on the scooter, trying not to rock it as she did, since she didn't want anything else scaring him. With his permission, she lifted him up and set him behind her. Immediately he put his little arms around her. It wasn't so bad until she turned the engine on. Then his grip on her jacket tightened and the hug became so tight it hurt. He was worried about falling off. She understood that. It wasn't anything she couldn't endure, anyway, though the bike helmet dug into her back as he tried to bury his face against it. Somehow that hurt more.

"I'll be right behind you," Naoto said. "Please, don't worry."

Souji made a sound that could be construed as affirmative, though it was a bit of a whimper.

"Sou-chan, we'll go reeeeeeeally slow, so slow that even snails could beat us! Do you remember the snail racing at the daycare? That slow. Okay?"

"O... Okay..."

His deathgrip tightened even further as they began to move out of the parking lot. When he realized he wasn't falling off, though, Souji finally let out his breath in a big sigh, and relaxed.

Nanako smiled to herself. Honestly, this was the only squeeze play she'd ever need.

---

The excitement from the ride tuckered Souji out, so instead of any high energy play, Nanako brought out the get well cards she'd received at school and shared them with him at the low table in the living room. She was so proud of him, though! He'd become so relaxed by the end of the ride that he started pointing things out to her, like where some boy he sometimes played with at the daycare lived and how the lady who always walked her dog by their house was tending to a garden now.

Naoto was proud too. He picked up one card and handed it to Nanako so she could show him.

"Look at this one, Sou-chan!" Nanako said, holding it up for him to see. "They drew you."

The picture had him holding up his Loveline umbrella. An assortment of dogs and cats appeared to be falling from the sky around him.

"It appears you are besieged by canines and felines," Naoto said. Nanako raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled, obviously playing up his intellect for fun.

"I saw a kitty outside once," Souji said. "Mama said... not to touch it."

"Wild animals are best left alone," Nanako said, "though sometimes they do like the attention."

"I did pet... Ta-chan's doggy. H-He licked me! All over my face!"

"Ta-chan did?" Nanako teased.

"Ta-chan said... dog tongues are cleaner than people tongues."

"I've heard that too," Naoto said. "Despite popular belief, however, a dog's tongue has no curative properties, so you shouldn't let one lick a cut."

"I didn't have a cut," Souji said, "b-but it tickled a lot."

"I wish I'd been there to take a picture," Nanako said. "Maybe next time. Too bad you can't pet your goldfish, huh?"

"I tried..." Souji confessed. "But it got scared and went to the bottom of the bowl."

"And then it only came up again for food, right?" Nanako shook her head in amusement. She was glad the goldfish had lasted this long anyway.

Nanako flipped the card shut, intending to get another, but paused, because she recognized the name in the back. It was her classmate, a shy girl who always prayed and did the cross symbol whenever she passed by her. Nanako didn't want to terrorize the poor girl or anything, so she tried to stay away. Souji had made that much of an impression on her, huh? Maybe because they were so similar. Nanako promised herself she'd thank the girl next time she saw her, which would be tomorrow.

There were many other cards by her classmates and fellow second years. Unfortunately, not many of them had drawings, though Kou and Daisuke had picked cards with basketball and soccer prints respectively. Oh! Maybe she could find out the name of that guy in glasses? There weren't any plain or smartly worded cards in the bunch, though, and she didn't know how else to recognize him. Nanako was thinking she should instead search for cards that had Kanji's influence when Aunt Seta came through the door.

"M-Mama!" Souji got up from his seat and rushed to her. Aunt Seta had already put her bag on the floor and had her arms open for a hug.

"How's my darling?" she asked, her voice a gentle murmur.

"L-Look at all the cards, Mama!"

Nanako was unable to control the flush on her cheeks as she said, "He had a good day." She was just so happy to see Aunt Seta being so motherly these days. And she was home early. In fact... Nanako smelled it now and her mouth watered. She'd brought home dinner too.

"I'm glad," Aunt Seta said. "I thought about calling the school, but I know how shy he can get, and I didn't want to embarrass him."

"I think he'd have loved it," Nanako said.

During dinner, Souji told his mom about the Vespa ride in great detail. Aunt Seta didn't tune him out, either, instead asking about how well his helmet fit, since his hair was still a bit mussed from it. He said it was cozy, but that he hit Takeyoshi-kun with it by accident, and she assured him that he'd be more careful next time. Then she asked Nanako how she liked the Vespa, and, well, Nanako just couldn't shut up.

"Nanako-san," Naoto interrupted. There was an edge to his voice, she noticed right away. "Perhaps you should see this."

The local news was playing on the TV. Nanako blinked, because it was her on camera, sitting peacefully on the edge of the engawa at the Amagi Inn. Though her own face wasn't blurred, Souji had practically been edited out of the shot, which was honestly much more than she was expecting. She scooted closer to the TV, because, as Kanji would put it, she wouldn't miss this for the world.

"Hero…" said a male announcer with a rugged voice.

The scene abruptly cut to her chasing out the camera crew. There was an excessive amount of bleeping.

"...or delinquent? The question on everyone's mind: who is Nanako Dojima? What follows is our exclusive special report on this figure that has rocked the rural town of Inaba!"

They were now showing the gates to Yasogami High. Obviously, no reporters had been allowed in the school proper, but the same one she'd beaten to a pulp was hassling students as they left. Nanako idly wondered why she hadn't seen him there, but maybe this had been during her stay at the inn.

"On the first day of school, she said she was being chased by the yakuza!" said a male student with a blurred face. "She played it off as a joke, but now... who knows?"

Immediately her phone vibrated. It was Dojima. Nanako rolled her eyes and ignored it.

"Yeah she was kinda normal back then," the girl next to him said, "but like, right before summer, she really, like, changed, like, you know?"

The boy was nodding, which looked pretty damn funny since the blur had to follow his head. "Didn't she become friends with Kanji Tatsumi? Maybe that had something to do with it."

"Kanji Tatsumi," the announcer said as his name scrolled dramatically against a black background, "a well known influence around the central shopping district of Inaba."

The scene cut to that old clip of Kanji attacking the biker gangs. "Get your punk ass over here and get bent!" It was as impressive now as it had been then.

Then it cut to a girl with wavy hair. The blur did nothing to mask the fact that it was totally Saki. "Oh yes, she's definitely forming her own biker gang. Don't screw with her," she warned, doing a silly sign at the camera, "or she might eat you alive!"

Nanako was grinning. She really, really, really loved her girlfriend. The best part was that the sign she made—sort of a V sign on its side, like scissors—had been translated into a symbol with the caption 'rough approximation' below it before the camera cut to the next person. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Souji trying to imitate it.

There were a few more one offs like that.

"She's a disruptive presence in our club meetings," said one guy who she was pretty sure was that dickhead music club captain.

"She's so scary... P-Please don't tell her! I don't want to die!" said the shy girl who'd made Souji the get well card. Poor girl, they'd probably forced the camera in her face.

"She's mean!" Nanako had no idea who this was.

This went on and on and increasingly faster until they were basically just repeating one another, and then they showed the full video of her going after the camera crew at the inn. Nanako was really proud of her moves. There was a pause as the scene returned to the studio, where the announcer ominously declared, "Inaba, beware!" before the screen faded to black and then to a commercial segment.

Naoto turned down the volume after that. "Well," he said. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say that was truly worth watching."

There was a rumbling sound next to Nanako. She found Aunt Seta shaking in her seat and worried for a moment that it was anger, but then she was making the funniest sounds. Turns out, she was trying to hold in her laughter! If it escaped, it would probably rival one of Yukiko's laughing fits. Nanako patted her on the back to help her calm down, and Aunt Seta shook her head, tears coming down her cheeks.

Souji, on the other hand, was frowning. "They didn't show the whole thing…" he complained. "Big sis isn't like that at all." He paused to think. "...W-Well, maybe a little bit…"

Nanako couldn't help but chuckle.

"Shirogane-san," she said a short while later. "Thank you. Sou-chan wasn't mentioned at all in the segment. I know that was your influence."

"I have to protect my family as well," he said simply.