[Summary: Nanako breaks one of her own rules, and Kanji joins the team and shows off his stuff. If you know what I mean.]
[5/20: Friday]
Nanako headed directly to the textiles shop after school. Apparently Kanji had skipped class, but that was normal for him. He was probably resting and trying to make sense of what had happened to him. She'd promised the others she'd explain everything to him in more detail, and they agreed she'd be the best one for the task. She was the boss, after all.
...If only Teddie could make a set of sunglasses that matched her TV World glasses. Then everyone in the real world would know she was the boss, too!
When she opened the door to Tatsumi Textiles, a bell chimed, and the elderly lady taking down a display of scarves turned towards her and welcomed her in. "Is there something in particular that you're looking for, young lady?"
"Yeah, actually. Err, but not merchandise," Nanako added when the woman's eyes lit up because she sensed a customer. "Is Kanji-kun home?"
The woman looked at her more closely now. "Oh! Are you the young lady he went to lunch with a few days ago? I saw you that day from the window. I'm so glad to see my son making friends at school. Who was the nice young man who brought him home yesterday, I wonder...?"
"You mean Yosuke?" Nanako supposed under some definition he could be called that.
"Saki-chan told me they'd been fighting a few days ago, and now they seem to be friends. Boys," she said with a mischievous smile. "Oh, did you want to see Kanji? He wasn't feeling well this morning, but I believe he's better now."
"Yeah, I need to talk to him about what he missed in class today," Nanako lied. In private, please. And for probably an hour or two.
The woman nodded at the door behind her. "You're welcome to go in the back to see him. He's in the living room—it'll be to your right."
Nanako nodded and headed through the shoji in the back. Down the hallway and through another shoji was the living room, where Kanji was seated before a short table with a frown of concentration on his face. He was busy knitting and hadn't looked up when she'd entered.
She watched him work from the door. His movements were quick and sure; he was obviously skilled. It was hard to tell what he was making since it was in the formative stages. Most of the yarn being used was pink and green.
"What, Ma?" he grumbled without taking his eyes from his work. "I told you I'm fine."
"Uh, Kanji-kun," she said softly. "I'm not your mom."
The knitting needles froze, and Kanji looked up with wide eyes. "Sh-shit, Senpai!" He looked down at his work and then up at her again. He opened his mouth to speak and Nanako interrupted to ask what it was going to be. "Just a pot holder," he muttered. "Gonna be... a fruit design, see?" He held it up and already one could tell it was based on a watermelon.
She said it was looking cute so far and asked if there was going to be a set of other fruits. He said he was thinking about making one based on a lemon slice. Pleasantries aside, she got down to business. "Kanji-kun, before I talk to you about yesterday, I wanna know what happened here. What can you remember about that day, right after we went to lunch with Shirogane-san?"
"I've been tryin' to remember," he said. "It's hard... When I got home, Ma went out down the street to visit Kujikawa-san—the old lady who runs the tofu shop—and I watched the store for her. There was a knock on the delivery door, and, well, didn't think too much of it until a guy came at me with a friggin' cloth. I punched him good, but then he got me."
Nanako asked for specifics—height, build, age, etc.—but Kanji said he'd worn a mask. It was almost definitely a man, though, and smaller than Kanji, but that didn't help all that much since most people were smaller than Kanji. "And then you woke up in the bathhouse, huh?"
"Y-yeah. Senpai... was that all real? Feels like a weird dream. My body still feels heavy."
"You were definitely trapped in there for two whole days, yes. You were kidnapped on Tuesday and today's Friday. That place... We call it the TV World." She further explained the TV World and its dangers. "You remember what my friends and I were fighting, right?"
"That bastard with my face..." he growled.
"That bastard is now your Persona. It'll serve you well. And you're joining the team." Her tone brooked no dispute, not that she expected Kanji to refuse. "We're gonna catch the real bastard who killed Naoki-kun and tried to kill you, too!"
She demonstrated how one entered the TV World by sticking her hand into the television right there in the living room. It was an older model, not large enough for an entire body to fit through. She had him put his own hand in to prove that he could do it, too, and then explained Rule #1—not to tell anyone about their power or the other world.
He put his hand in and out of the screen several times, swearing in his surprise.
"I know, right?" Nanako laughed. "It's weird as all hell, man. When you're feeling better, we'll all go in together and show you the ropes. I wanna know what your Persona can do!"
Kanji agreed with poorly-muted excitement. "Hell, I'm ready now!"
They were still standing in front of the TV when the shoji opened, revealing not Kanji's mother but Naoto Shirogane. The boy detective took in the scene with analytical eyes. Fortunately neither of them had any part of their body in the TV at that exact moment, but it was a close one.
"Ah, Detective Prince!" Nanako said brightly. "You're in luck! I was just asking Kanji-kun what had happened to him."
"I have been beaten to the punch, I see," Naoto murmured, eyeing her. He took out a notepad and a pen and turned to Kanji as if Nanako wasn't even there. "Please recount exactly what occurred."
So... straightforward. Nanako almost laughed. Instead, she sat down in front of the table and watched Kanji haltingly retell the story. The detective asked more questions than she had, trying to narrow down the time of the kidnapping and extract further details about the culprit. What type of cloth had it been, how sweet the scent, what kind of mask and what color clothing had he worn...
When he had exhausted that line of questioning, Naoto asked what happened when he'd woken up.
"Err, well..." Kanji looked at Nanako for guidance because she had already drilled Rule #1 into his head. "S-Senpai, uhh, that is..."
Naoto turned his steely eyes back on Nanako. "Yes, 'Senpai.' I wonder... how you knew that Kanji-san was going to be kidnapped long before it happened."
"Huh," said Kanji thoughtfully. "Yeah, you did warn me, Senpai."
Oh, right, she hadn't gotten around to explaining the Midnight Channel to him. Nanako considered it for a moment and decided there really was no harm in Naoto knowing about it. "Shirogane-san, I haven't been completely honest with you."
"I agree," he replied. His expression hadn't changed at all, and he hadn't blinked in a while.
Gah! He was suspicious of her! She should have known that he'd figure out that she was involved somehow. "The thing is, it's not very scientific or anything," she said, "and doesn't make any sense at all, so I didn't want you to think I'm crazy. I mean, I am a little crazy," – she chuckled – "b-but this is even crazier."
"Regardless, I would appreciate it if you explained. Assuming it isn't personal intuition..." Naoto sighed. He'd probably run into witnesses claiming such ridiculous things before in his line of work.
"Have you heard about the Midnight Channel...?" She then described it to them.
"Preposterous," Naoto said when she was through. "It's not possible for televisions across the town to turn on without external input. And to show an image of someone without having been filmed—"
Nanako held out her cell phone. She'd had Yosuke forward her the picture he'd taken of Kanji's silhouette on the Midnight Channel, and this she showed them both. It was too bad there was no time or date stamp for the picture, but the point would still get across.
Naoto looked from the picture to Kanji and back again. "It does appear to be Kanji-san," he admitted begrudgingly. "And this... phenomenon," – he used the word with obvious distaste – "is how you predicted he was the next target? Do you have any proof that the previous victims had been on this... 'Midnight Channel'?"
"I saw Naoki-kun on there myself," she said, "and so did my friends at school. As for Mayumi Yamano, I was barely in town that day, but there were some students who mentioned seeing her. And Yukiko, I didn't see it myself, but my friend Chie had. It's how we knew she was missing."
Naoto contemplated this for some time. Nanako noted that he hadn't written any of it down. He was skeptical. There wasn't much she could do to prove the existence of the Midnight Channel except wait for it to rain again.
"Well then," he said. "I doubt you just happened to find Kanji-san wandering around the shopping district. In fact, witnesses say he was brought limping home yesterday evening by one Yosuke Hanamura, with whom I know you are acquainted, Dojima-san."
Aww, man. She really had lost that friendship vibe from Naoto if he'd reverted to calling her by her surname. She noted that he was still calling Kanji by his first name, though...
"It appears they'd both come from Junes," he concluded. "Kanji-san?"
"Y-yeah, err, I did wake up at Junes, I guess." Kanji looked at Nanako pleadingly.
"Junes is probably the most unlikely place the culprit would bring a victim of Kanji-san's stature to," Naoto said. "Please be frank with me instead of coming up with these outlandish excuses."
Nanako narrowed her eyes at the detective, calculating. What would he do if she didn't cooperate? She didn't want him as an enemy, far from it. They were on the same side, after all.
"'Kay," she announced, standing up. She walked stiffly over to the television. "See my hand?"
"What—"
She stuck it in the screen. In, out, in, out, in...
"Kanji was in the TV World. I went in there like this," – she pushed her arm farther in – "and got him out of there."
Naoto was staring at her open-mouthed. Then he set his face in determination and went to the TV himself. Nanako removed her arm and watched him stub his fingers against solid glass.
Nanako grabbed his hand and pushed it through. He leaped back in alarm, his face ashen. "What is going on here?" he whispered.
"Yeah, I'd like to know that too. As far as I can tell, the culprit has the power, too. It's a one-way door. He puts someone in there, and then they can't get out. Well, unless they get help from someone else, like me, who can go in there and get them out. That's exactly what happened to Yukiko, too, by the way. That's right. We didn't find her wandering around by the inn. We found her in the TV World, and we knew she was in there because she'd been on the Midnight Channel."
"H... How do you...?" Naoto shook his head, clearly having difficulty wrapping his mind around it. He tentatively touched the TV again, but his hand wouldn't go through the screen.
"If someone is inside the TV World when that thick fog comes around, they die exactly the same way that Yamano and Naoki-kun died. Don't ask how it works—I really don't know. The TV World doesn't make any sort of sense. It's not a fun place or a friendly place. People don't belong there. Maybe it's the world's way of defending itself from intruders. Anyway, that's the murder weapon we're dealing with here, Shirogane-san."
Naoto had regained his composure and was scribbling away in his notebook.
"Now, about the power," Nanako continued briskly. "As far as I can tell, the power, well, it's complicated, but my understanding is that someone who's been in the TV World for an extended time will gain the power." Talking about Shadow selves would make this even more complicated, so she skipped it for now. "So my friends have it, and Kanji-kun now has it. If we can find out how the culprit got it, I think we'd be able to solve everything."
Naoto paused in his note-taking and rubbed his face. "Were you kidnapped as well, then?"
"Honestly, I haven't a damn clue how I got the power," Nanako admitted. "I didn't have it before I came to Inaba, that's for sure. And I wasn't inside the TV World for any amount of time to obtain it like everyone else did. My understanding of it is probably incomplete." Nanako thought about it further. She did have that weird dream of that foggy place with a red-tiled floor, and she knew that place was in the TV World somewhere because they'd been there that first time. Did she gain the power from a dream? She hadn't faced her Shadow at all, but there had been something in that dream.
The shoji opened and they were interrupted by Kanji's mother, who offered them refreshments and scolded Kanji for not offering any himself. "Ma, come on," Kanji complained. "We're busy here!"
The old lady smiled at them. "Will our guests be staying for dinner?"
"Ah, Tatsumi-san," said Naoto. "In fact, we are about to wrap up. But thank you for the offer."
Nanako checked the time and yeah, she should probably get home or else Souji would be eating dinner all alone.
"Well, please come over again sometime," Kanji's mother said amiably.
"Ma, geez, get outta here!" Kanji growled, and the old lady smiled at him with a small shake of her head before leaving.
When they were alone again, Naoto murmured that it was no wonder the police had made such little progress on the case.
"You believe me, right? I mean, I can take you in and show you around," Nanako offered. To get Naoto on the team, too...! What sort of dungeon would he create?
"No, no, I think... I shall focus my attention on the culprit." Naoto nodded with finality. "I have much to consider, now. Perhaps with this information I can narrow the list of suspects. Thank you for being candid with me."
Nanako thanked him in return for not wanting to commit her into an asylum, and then the detective excused himself and Nanako was alone with Kanji. She let out her breath in relief. She was rather satisfied with how this had turned out. It could have gone so poorly...
Kanji agreed. "You know, Senpai," he said, "I think it's good you told him. He ain't your average cop. 'S good to have someone in the know. He sure as hell can't tell anyone else anyway. Who'd believe him?"
"Yeah. I think he'll be able to help us on that side," she said. "You know, he's got access to police records and stuff. I'm sure he'll uncover something useful."
Yeah. Nanako might have broken Rule #1, but when did rules ever apply to her? Heh heh...
[5/21: Saturday]
Nanako fell asleep in class.
She'd always been resentful towards Saturday school and paid less attention than usual on these days, and her attention was further compromised by the fact that she hadn't slept all that well last night. She was good at not letting things get in the way of sleep, but when trying to drift off, she'd kept thinking about the culprit. Dammit, even after Kanji's information, they still knew so little about him. And Naoto, too. Had she made the right decision in telling him?
So before she knew it, her head was flat on the desk and she was snoring away.
Apparently both Chie and Yosuke had tried to rouse her, but she'd resisted until Morooka was screaming in her ear. "DOJIMA! I don't care how late you've been up talking dirty with your boy toy, but you will stay awake in this class or you will see me after it."
Nanako had flinched awake at his volume, but kept her head against the desk. She blinked muzzily at him, yawned, and then closed her eyes. "After class, then."
The classroom fell into a pregnant hush as all the students expected Morooka to explode. However, he kept his voice low, although it did quiver with outrage. "My office then. And you will be writing a five-page paper on the challenges that problematic students bring to the noble profession of teaching today."
Nanako tagged along behind Morooka while he stomped on to the faculty office. When they entered, he set her down on a stool and then ranted about, well, nothing coherent, really, until the other teachers couldn't take it anymore and left.
"Ahem," he said now that they were alone, and continued in a much more normal measure. "Dojima. You aren't the most diligent student, but even I can tell you've been less motivated than usual in the last few days. Is there something going on at home?"
Was he... worried about her? "No, sir. I'm getting along okay. I'm just really ready for the weekend, you know?" She smiled tiredly at him.
"They don't pay me enough to work Saturdays," he agreed. "But as your teacher, I'm obligated to tell you that you're obligated to tell an adult if something's going on. If you're having problems at home, you understand."
"It's nothing like that, really. We just had exams and I'm just really tired this week. That's all."
He stared at her for a moment and then told her he wasn't kidding about the five-page essay. She nodded at him without argument. "Hey, since I'm here anyway... What was that story you wanted to tell me? You had another one, right?"
"Hrrm. I might," he said, but he didn't continue.
"I want a story in which the hero was just really tired the whole time," Nanako said. "There has to be a few of them out there."
"Like 'Sleeping Beauty'?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I'm not here to cater to your already overinflated ego, Dojima," he growled in his lecturing voice. "If you want a Disney movie, go watch it on your MyPhone on your own time. I'm sure you could find it on MooTube or whatever it is you kids are using to illegally watch stuff."
MooTube sounded like a bad porn site. She told him so just to see how he'd react.
"You really have no sense of propriety, do you?" He snorted anyway, so she could tell he was amused. "Since you're so tired, I'll relate a story regarding sleep, and since I want to go home, it'll be a short one. A Hindu creation myth. Ahem. In the beginning the entire universe was a vast ocean, and Vishnu slept within it, guarded by Ananta, the cosmic serpent. When Vishnu awoke, he thought of creation, and a lotus flower grew from his navel and blossomed into his servant, Brahma. Upon Vishnu's command, Brahma created the heavens, earth, and the sky, and populated the earth with all manner of creatures. Including, I suppose, us."
Nanako waited, but he didn't say any more. "That's it?"
He sucked his oversized teeth. "If you'd listened, you would've heard me say that it was a short one."
Her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket, and Morooka waved her the okay to answer it. She stepped out of the faculty office. It was her aunt, who asked her to pick up Souji from the daycare because she couldn't make it herself. Nanako agreed, but by the end of the call she was scowling. She'd known that Aunt Seta would eventually do this... eventually skip out on doing her job as Souji's mother. Nanako would have to give the woman a piece of her mind soon.
As she put the phone away, Morooka, who'd stepped out of the office after her, noticed her expression, and by his own expression, she could tell he wanted to remind her that he was still there if she needed to talk. Somehow that annoyed her even more, so she said an abrupt goodbye and headed to the daycare.
[5/22: Sunday]
Nanako had overheard before school yesterday about some home shopping program that was supposed to be amusing, so she decided to check it out. Tanaka's Amazing Commodities. The host was a middle-aged guy with a fake tan and an even faker smile trying to pawn a pair of shoes off on the viewer. He was showing off how strong the sole was by smashing eggs with it. Amusing for a short amount of time, yeah, mostly for the increasingly outlandish claims the guy made. The shoes could survive walking on lava!
At least the show was on Sunday so she could watch it before Loveline and Featherman with her little cousin. She'd probably never buy anything from it—wait, Tanaka had changed the product to a medical kit. It was a nice one, too, meant for earthquake survival. The one she'd brought into the TV World from Junes didn't have half of the cool things this one boasted. She hemmed and hawed for a bit and then decided to call up and buy it. She had plenty of money stored up right now since she hadn't been to the Velvet Room in a while. Besides, she'd get more allowance tonight.
After they'd watched both shows, Nanako had Souji take out the dinosaur coloring book and they colored a few more pages from it together.
She made sandwiches for their lunch, and after eating with him, made sure he was occupied before heading out for the afternoon. She'd promised Kanji they'd take him into the TV World, but she'd neglected to get his phone number, so she headed to the textiles shop. Unfortunately, he wasn't in, according to his mother, so she walked down the road to kill some time before trying again later when Saki hailed her from the front of Konishi Liquors.
"Saki-senpai!" she greeted. "You seem, umm, happy."
"I finished my chores, so now I'm free for the day. Hell yes, I'm happy," Saki said. She raised a fist into the air.
Nanako high-fived her and then asked if she'd seen Kanji.
"My, is Kanji-kun popular!" Saki said. "Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to show you this picture." She pulled out her phone, pressed a few buttons on it, and then showed her the screen.
It depicted a rather disheveled-looking Yosuke holding up an exhausted Kanji against his shoulder. It had to have been a few days ago, right after they'd saved Kanji from the TV World.
"When did Hana-chan and Kanji-kun become friends?" Saki laughed. "That's so funny!"
"Send me that picture," Nanako requested. "I want it as my wallpaper!"
After they'd exchanged contact details, Saki said, "It's so weird. You had something to do with it, didn't you? Hana-chan was asking about Kanji-kun, and now you want to see him, too. And that detective boy had been asking about him. Ugh, that detective boy bothered us yesterday."
"He did?" Nanako said. "I'll give him a piece of my mind next time I see him!"
"He asked my parents if we'd had any sudden deliveries the day Naoki... was taken from us."
Ah, Naoto had probably been attempting to further confirm the culprit using the delivery door as part of his MO. "He's... just trying to do his job."
Saki shrugged. "Anyway, Nanako, I'll let you go. I know you're trying to find Kanji-kun, but I don't want to hang around here a minute longer. I'm gonna go shopping."
"I'll come with!" Nanako volunteered. Kanji could wait until tomorrow.
They went to Okina City, but instead of shopping, Saki took her to a club. Over the loud techno music pumping through the place, Saki informed her that this was where she'd met her college boyfriend. With all that had happened, she hadn't seen him in a while and admitted that she wasn't sure she wanted to. Nanako asked her if he was cute. Saki pointed out a few of the guys in the club—not as cute as that one, but more than that other one—when a guy came up and started talking to Nanako. His black hair was spiked in the front and his grin looked far too confident.
"Baby, do you have a license?" he said. "Because you're driving me crazy!"
Nanako laughed in his face. Not at the lame pick-up line, but at his audacity. "Yeah, no. I'm just here for the music, bro."
"That's the problem with this club," Saki observed. "More boys than girls, usually. You always get attention, even if you're with a date."
At the word 'date,' Nanako moved her arm behind Saki at the counter and leaned closer to her. The boy's face blanched and he stepped away. He returned to his group of friends and whispered to them, and his friends glanced at the girls curiously. "Yeah, I think they won't bother us now," Nanako said. "Heh heh."
Since she was so close already, she had a great view of Saki's reaction. Her gray eyes widened and her mouth opened with shock. Without moving her head, she glanced around the club with worry that lasted long enough to worry Nanako. Her expression finally settled into an amused smile. "Nanako, really, you didn't have to go that far."
"I wanted to," Nanako whispered.
Saki blinked at her for a moment, and then shrugged and wrapped her own arm around Nanako's back to pull her closer. "Screw 'em all, huh?"
"Nah, not all of them," Nanako replied. "Only the hot ones."
"There aren't any hot ones."
Nanako echoed Saki's sigh. "I know. It's going to be a boring night."
"Oh, I wouldn't say boring, exactly..." Saki murmured, and Nanako grinned.
[5/23: Monday]
Surprising probably all of his teachers, Kanji didn't cut class, despite the heavy morning rain. Nanako accosted him during lunch and told him to meet up at the Junes food court after school. There were some really funny looks aimed in her direction for stopping the big guy in the hall like that, and Nanako relished them all. Yes, that's right. I'm dangerous. I'm dangerous enough to be Kanji-kun's friend.
She informed the others, too, and they headed to Junes together after school. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there wasn't any sign of the boy detective, Naoto, so there was no interruption on the way.
Kanji was already there, seated far away from all the other customers at the food court. Or perhaps they'd seated themselves far from him. He wasn't even trying to be intimidating today, and he smiled when he saw Nanako approach. He had a joyful-looking smile that stretched his whole face. "Heya, Senpai!"
"All right, Kanji-kun!" she replied cheerfully. She proceeded to introduce the team. "This is Chie. You probably already know Yosuke 'cause he helped you home last week, and I know you know Yukiko, so... Anyway, you're officially welcome into Nanako's DEATH Squad. Yosuke, buy him a soda. And buy me one too, will you?"
"What? Come on," Yosuke complained. "Nanako!"
She glared at him for dropping the honorific, but he misinterpreted it and stood up to presumably buy the drinks.
Heh, whipped, she thought. She turned to the others. "All right, so, you already know our goal. Uh, there's not much else to say, I guess. We're gonna find the killer and send him straight to hell, right, Chie?"
"Uh, yeah!" Chie answered. "Right to hell!"
"Right, Yukiko?"
"Yes, to hell." Yukiko giggled at how scandalous it was for her to say such a thing.
"Damn right, Senpai!" Kanji agreed.
Yosuke apparently felt generous, because he'd bought everyone drinks. After everyone was refreshed and ready, they headed into the TV World.
Kanji's Persona, Take-Mikazuchi, turned out to specialize in electricity and raw physical power. Good, now Nanako could get rid of the tentacle-brain. Well, when she finally bothered to visit the Velvet Room again, that is. She was still content with the Personas she had at the moment. Man, did she hold grudges or what?
"This is friggin' awesome," Kanji said, summoning his Persona just to look at it again.
"Well, Kanji-kun, we can't fight with only the Personas—that would be too tiring. Uh, mentally, that is. So we'll have to decide on a weapon for you." She twirled her naginata like a baton to show off her own weapon.
"Kanji's probably a bruiser," Yosuke commented. "Chie kicks, and he can punch."
Kanji looked at his fists. "I ain't a boxer. I'd rather, I dunno, hit things with something."
"Like a club?" Nanako suggested.
"Nah..."
"Like a hammer?" Yukiko tried.
"Something bigger," he said. "Like... a desk or a chair. Something that'll do some real damage."
Wordlessly, Nanako dumped everything out of the storage box she kept at the backlot and gave it to him. He swung it around a few times and seemed satisfied. She warned him it probably wouldn't last since it was plastic, after all. She told him they'd visit Daidara's later and get him properly outfitted.
With that decided, they headed on to the Bad, Bad, Bathhouse, and Nanako informed him that the place had come from his mind.
He wiped his face. "We don't gotta talk about this now, do we?"
"No," she said. "Yosuke, not a word out of you."
"I wasn't going to say anything!"
Maybe not, but the desire was plain on his face. He was burying some sort of comment... She gave him a dark look before turning back to Kanji and continuing in a friendly tone. "It's actually a rather nice place. I mean, we can come here to relax, maybe. Although I think we've kind of had enough of it for now."
"Boss!" said Teddie. "Actually, there's a beary strong Shadow deep inside there!"
"'Deep inside,' huh? Really, Teddie?" She looked at the bear, but it was obvious his comment had been innocent. "By the way, where the hell have you been? Kanji-kun needs his glasses."
"I-I've been th-thinking ab-bout myself," the bear whimpered. "Where did Teddie come from? I can't remember."
"Oh, yeah. Kanji, this is Teddie. He lives in the TV World. He's literally a walking, talking bear costume. I dunno, I don't get it either. I think it's best not to ask."
"Err, nice to meet you," said Kanji. "Huh, who made that costume? It's got some nice craftsmanship—"
"Eeep!" Teddie ran back when Kanji reached for him. "H-here, take your glasses, but keep away!"
"Tch!" Kanji accepted his glasses. They were frameless with oval lenses that were tinted so that they looked much more like sunglasses than the others Teddie had made. They made Kanji look sophisticated.
"Anyway, Teddie," Nanako said, "if you're serious about a Shadow hanging out in the baths, we'd better take care of it, or else we won't be able to use the baths ourselves! Unless Yukiko is willing to swing us a deal to use the hot springs at the inn."
"I don't think so, Nanako."
"Then in we go!"
They entered the changing room, except Teddie who couldn't stand the heat. Considering how little they'd needed him when exploring the bathhouse previously, Nanako was not sorry for the loss.
When the girls began to take off their shirts, Kanji's eyes bugged out. Then he averted his eyes. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"It's hot in there," Nanako explained while adjusting her bra. "You don't remember that we were like this when we saved you?"
Kanji didn't, but he admitted he didn't remember all that much from that day. Nanako didn't blame him. She'd want to forget, too. Actually, Yosuke should be the one who wanted to forget, heh...
In fact, Yosuke sighed when he tugged his own shirt off. "I was really hoping we wouldn't be coming back here."
"What, are you tired of being eye-candy for us?" Nanako teased. "Trust me, it's not that exciting."
"Pants on or pants off," he mused to himself.
"Off," said the girls, and his face colored splendidly.
Kanji just kind of stared, and Nanako assured him he'd understand when he went inside with them. She told him to strip, too, and he did without complaint. Was this another boy wrapped around her finger?
This boy's muscles were far more defined than Yosuke's, but he was still a bit thin when you got right down to it. She'd been expecting his whole body to be covered in tattoos, but he only had the one black skull and crossbones on his left shoulder. He wore briefs and she totally approved, although the other girls blushed and looked away. Nanako stared a bit because Morooka was right, she really had no sense of propriety.
His first battle went incredibly well: Kanji essentially bashed the crap out of the black lion Shadow until it dissolved into dust. It was pretty funny to see it squeal, or maybe Nanako was just cold-hearted. But hey, Shadows were Shadows. No mercy.
In the next few battles, she had him work on using his lightning skills so that he could get used to them and also get used to summoning his Persona in mid-fight. He had no trouble following any of her commands, and it was nice, not that the others had ever failed her so far.
By the time they reached the second floor, though, he was already tuckered out. He wasn't out of shape, just unused to fighting in this way and in the heat of the bathhouse. She called a timeout and they returned to the backlot to cool off and get some drinks. Unfortunately, she hadn't filled the cooler with ice, so the water was only room-temperature, but they all drank it down without complaint.
"Can't believe it's a bloody bathhouse," Kanji muttered after knocking back an entire water bottle in one gulp. He wiped his mouth. "I've never even been to a bathhouse."
"I've never been to a castle," Yukiko chimed in. "But I suppose it was on my mind."
"Very symbolic," Nanako agreed. "By the way, Kanji-kun, your Shadow... It had summoned two beefy guys to fight with it."
"S-so?" he growled, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Well, if you're into bara," she said, "there's this mangaka I like, I could send you a link to his work and—"
"B-bara!?" Yosuke exclaimed.
"I could send it to you, too, Yosuke," she added easily.
"What's a girl doing reading bara?" he asked, crossing his arms and pointedly ignoring her offer.
She shrugged. "What's a boy doing reading yaoi?"
"I don't read yaoi!"
"I'm not saying you do, but I'm trying to point out that just because you aren't the target audience doesn't mean you can't appreciate a genre. Like I'd bet you ten to one Yukiko likes horror, but would you really think horror movies are made primarily for her?"
"I... I guess," Yosuke said, but he didn't sound convinced.
She was about to say more when Teddie sweep-swashed his way to the group and asked, "What is 'bear-a'?"
"Please, no," Yosuke groaned.
"It's 'bar-a,' Teddie," Nanako corrected, "and it's not for cubs like you. Yeah, it's not."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, either, Senpai," said Kanji, "but you can send me anything."
"Who knew Kanji was so innocent?" Yosuke sighed. "She's going to corrupt you!"
Nanako nodded. "That's my goal. Corrupt everyone on the DEATH Squad. Except Teddie."
"But Boss! I want you to corrupt me too!" Teddie whined.
"Be careful what you wish for, Ted!" Yosuke warned.
"I wouldn't say we're corrupted, exactly," said Chie. "Just maybe—"
"But I really do enjoy horror movies!" Yukiko announced suddenly. "Especially when it involves haunted household objects. Like telephones."
"Or maybe TVs, huh?" Nanako mused. "Ah, you know, I think we've all had enough. Maybe we should call it a day."
[AN: How will Naoto use this information about the TV World? A lot of problems in the game could have been resolved by the main character just sticking his hand into the TV, don't you think?
'Send them right to hell!' is something Chie actually says in regards to the killer at some point. It was a surprise to me in playing the game to hear her so vehement!
Bara is a form of hentai that often involves muscular, hairy men. I'm telling you that here so you don't have to look it up, haha. It's also called Men's Love. You know, like how yaoi is called Boy's Love.
Next Chapter: Fuel for Thought
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