[Summary: Pink is a color of the rainbow.]

[9/23: Friday]

The entire DEATH Squad was gathered at the TV World's backlot, despite the discussion they'd previously had about not always having to go in together. Nanako suspected that no one wanted to go in, and she didn't blame them. For one, the fog seemed thicker than normal. She wanted to believe that it was just because it was a bright and sunny day outside in the real world—Teddie had once said the fog here was related to the real world's weather—but she suspected that had nothing to do with it.

"It's almost as thick as the fog in the morning," Chie remarked while looking around.

"What do you mean?" Nanako asked.

"It's thick," Chie repeated. "Like... you can't see in front of you. I've almost had to cancel my jogging before school. By the time it goes away, I gotta be on my way to school."

"Is that normal?"

"Not at all. It's never been like this in all the years I've lived here. Right Yukiko?"

Yukiko was playing with her glasses, putting them on and then taking them off again. "I don't think it was this foggy when we first started coming in here," she said, apparently not having heard Chie's question. "I wonder what's causing it. I remember being able to see at least to the other side of the stage without my glasses, but now I can't see anything."

Nanako shivered unconsciously. She tested her vision the same way as Yukiko, and it turned out that without the special glasses, she couldn't see more than maybe four feet out in front of her.

It was quite distracting to have such clear vision with the glasses on and see the thick fog swirling beyond them. Since the glasses were now irreplaceable, they'd have to be very careful not to break them. Nanako made a note to buy some of those straps designed to be worn around the neck and protect glasses from accidentally falling to the floor.

"It's giving me chills, though it's not cold or anything," Chie said, rubbing her arms anyway.

"Yeah..." said Nanako distractedly. "Shirogane-san, what did you do with those samples of fog I gave you?"

"Despite the double-sealed container, the fog ended up evaporating," Naoto reported. "Vexing, to say the least."

"Freaky," said Yosuke. He tossed one of his knives into the air and caught it by the handle, stumbling only a little. "What's the plan, Nanako?"

"An upgrade," she answered. She began to hand out gear she'd purchased from Daidara's. Previously she'd considered giving Yosuke the thief knife, but in the end, she'd decided to keep it strapped to her thigh for emergencies.

As it turned out, her friends had visited the blacksmith on their own. Apparently old man Daidara wasn't against modifying Naoto's gun, despite the questionable legality of it, but when Naoto had visited, he hadn't the materials to do anything with it.

"Well, maybe we'll find something he can use for his 'art' today," Nanako said. "I thought we'd go through Shirogane-san's dungeon. The Shadows there are probably going to be pretty tough. We don't have to go very far. I mean, it's the first time we've all fought together."

"We won't know anything about these enemies," Yukiko observed. "Unless you remember anything from when you were here."

Nanako shook her head. "Not really. Well, if it's too much for us, we'll visit Kubo's instead. We're all rusty and I'm not going to push it. Besides, I doubt we're gonna find anything of interest. I mean, Shirogane-san's been rescued already."

"The only thing at stake is my professional pride," Naoto said. "It is quite embarrassing to have created such a place."

Although he said that, when they arrived at the base, his excitement over how it resembled the set of his favorite TV show betrayed him.

"The satellite appears to be one hundred percent accurate to scale!" he gushed. "It's incredible!"

"Buy the costumes at Croco Fur and we can film our own episodes," Yosuke commented.

"I have written an episode of my own," Naoto admitted. "One in which Blue Swan invents a device that—err..." He stopped because he became self-conscious. "That is... we should be preparing ourselves for the fight ahead of us."

"It's too bad cameras won't work in here," Nanako said. "We could totally use our Personas for special effects."

"You're both nerds," Yosuke said, shaking his head.

"You're the one who suggested costumes!" Chie pointed out.

"I know." Now Yosuke was grinning. "And I'd wear one of them if Nanako got them for us."

"You sure?" Nanako said. "The spandex leaves little to the imagination."

"I've nothing to hide," Yosuke said. "Besides, it's nothing you ladies haven't seen before. Remember the bathhouse?"

"I'll pay not to see that again," Chie said, splaying her fingers over her eyes in emphasis.

"Don't be such a prude, Chie," Yukiko said. "It wasn't all bad."

"I'm afraid to ask," said Naoto. "Though I do wish to visit this bathhouse and the other dungeons. It can wait, however. Shall we go inside?"

Naoto went up to the base's huge metal door, marveling at how well-made it was while it opened before him.

"I must bring a screwdriver the next time we visit," he mused, eyeing the control box on the inside. "I wonder if I can discover how it works."

"Total nerd," Yosuke repeated, though there wasn't any malice in his tone. "Next thing we'll know, you'll be trying to dismantle one of those giant robot Shadows."

"Don't tempt me," Naoto murmured in reply. He sighed and turned away from the control box. "Let's get a move on."

Around the first corner, they ran into their first group of Shadows. They'd talked about strategy earlier. The plan was to be systematic: one after another, Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Kanji would use their elemental abilities in order to determine the Shadow's weakness. If nothing worked, Nanako would attack with her naginata. Regardless of what happened, Naoto would record the results in a notebook.

Of course, battles never went as planned. The Shadows morphed into a mixed set: two hableries and two giant lumps of rock. And a damned angel statue! Nanako remembered that pain-in-the-ass from her sneaking mission. She called her friends to attack it first.

With the hableries flying at their faces, though, they were too slow. The statue split open like a closet door and emitted its blue fog. Chie fell to her knees, her strength sapped. She was unable to bring out her Persona to use an ice attack like they'd planned.

Fortunately, Yukiko had successfully fanned the fog away so it hadn't affected her. She summoned her Persona and brought down flames on all of the enemies, but to everyone's surprise, the damned hableries just stuck their massive tongues out further than they already were, and suddenly the fire was reflected right back at Yukiko! She wasn't down, though, since fire never did much to her. It was just the principle of the thing! Were those damned tongue-balls grinning?

Yosuke's wind was next, cutting through the enemies and knocking over the rocks as if they were only feathers. With a war cry, Kanji slammed into one with his tower shield while it was down, destroying it instantly.

The other one, however, righted itself, and then exploded.

Kanji was slammed into the wall by its impact, and Yosuke knocked off his feet. Nanako flew right into the statue that she'd been preparing to attack. Her unprotected head knocked against its hard surface, making her see stars. She didn't know what happened to the rest of her friends, but her body was screaming in pain. That had hurt!

With a growl, she swung her naginata at the statue, but the impact hurt her wrists more than it hurt the enemy. It was as if the Shadow was actually made of stone. Its face sneered at her, and then the statue opened up again. She tried to hold her breath so that the blue fog wouldn't do anything to her—it was worth a try, at least—but found herself feeling sluggish, regardless.

The statue moved towards her, apparently planning to impale her with its sharp edges. She tried to call on a Persona, but with her mind so foggy, they all seemed so far away. Though she was able to form a card, she had no strength to break it.

Before the statue managed to strike her, a circular purple sigil made of light suddenly surrounded it. Now the statue was no longer sneering. In fact, its expression looked quite horrified in the seconds before the sigil glowed. Moments later the Shadow dissipated into nothing but dust.

Nanako lurched forward as her strength returned to her. These status ailments were always so disorienting! She felt like she wanted to throw up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yukiko comforting Chie, who was also nauseous. To her relief, the others seemed to be all right. Kanji was leaning on his shield, but no worse for the wear, and Yosuke was fussing over him, wondering if he needed a Diarama.

"That one seemed to be weak against Sukuna-Hikona's dark skills," Naoto remarked. "I suppose we'll need to take that into consideration."

Nanako sighed so heavily that her whole body shook. "Yeah. I wonder if we should move you to the front, because when that works, it's really effective. Then when it doesn't, the rest of us will jump right in. But..." She paused, looking at Yukiko. "Those tongue-balls reflected your fire. I'd hate to see a Shadow reflect Shirogane-san's skills."

"My Persona is resistant to both light and dark," Naoto said. "It's not impossible for such skills to affect me, but the probability is low. Compound that with the likelihood of a Shadow reflecting it, I think we should take our chances."

Not scared at all, are you? Nanako thought with a faint smile. They didn't have much choice, though. A Shadow's weaknesses could only be determined by trial and error.

After Nanako made sure everyone was up-to-date with their battle plan, they continued on through several floors of the dungeon, defeating at least a dozen groups of Shadows on the way. Some of them they cut through like butter, but it wasn't always that easy. By the time Nanako called a rest, they'd all worked up a healthy sweat, and Naoto had made a nice spread sheet of the different Shadows' strengths and weaknesses, though they were beginning to memorize these through repetition.

They took a break in one of the dungeon's pretend control rooms, since there were comfortable chairs in front of the consoles. Nanako divvied out sports drinks to everyone and slumped into one of the chairs. The momentum caused it to twirl on its axis.

While she was sipping her drink, she overheard the others chatting. Naoto was sitting at a console, apparently trying to make sense of the its colorful display of knobs, levers, and buttons. Yosuke leaned against the wall near him, his arms crossed and one leg bent against the wall. "Say, did Nanako ever tell you about our Shadows?" Yosuke asked.

"She didn't give me the details, no," Naoto answered. "May I assume that you're asking because you're curious about mine? My subconscious created this place, after all." He waved a hand to indicate their surroundings.

"Well, yeah," Yosuke said, "but I didn't want to ask if it wasn't, y'know, fair. It's not that our Shadows are taboo to talk about or anything, we just don't really talk about them. No one wants to have their dirty laundry aired out, so if you don't want to talk about yours, it's all right."

Naoto had a funny smile on his face now. "I wonder if you can figure out what mine was like. I'm aware that you don't know me very well just yet, but... Don't guess, I'd like you to think it over some."

"Huh," said Yosuke. He stood a little straighter against the wall and scratched his cheek. "Let's see... it probably talked about an insecurity you have. Maybe something to do with your age?"

"Go on," Naoto said.

"Well, I mean, you're way too young to be a full detective," Yosuke explained. "That's one problem, but there's also what your Shadow said on the Midnight Channel."

"Ah..." Naoto hesitated before continuing it with a soft, "yes."

Yosuke nodded. "Body modification, right? But I don't blame you at all." He paused. "I mean... anyone your height would want to be taller."

Nanako hid a snort by transforming it into a fake sneeze, and then focused her attention on the other side of the room. Kanji was buffing out a scratch on his tower shield, and Yukiko and Chie were watching him, but not really seeing him.

"I thought you'd be wearing shorts," Chie said.

"'Scuse me?" Kanji looked up from his work. "Don't think I've worn any since elementary school."

"I wasn't talking to you!"

"I don't have many pairs yet," Yukiko said. "I didn't want to dirty any of them."

"You could borrow some of mine," Chie said. "Oh, but we're not really the same build. They probably wouldn't fit."

"How sad," Yukiko said. "We could have been shorts twins."

"Wouldn't be as cute as the cutie pie twins," Kanji said.

"To be fair," said Chie, "I don't think anything can be."

You got that right, Nanako thought to herself. Aloud, she asked if everyone was ready to continue. "We can go back if you're tired. I'm still good, but this is Yosuke's first time here in over a month, so..." She stopped because Yosuke was shaking his head in an 'I can keep going' gesture.

"I'm good," Chie said, and Kanji just cracked his knuckles.

Nanako nodded, picked up her weapon, and strode towards the door. She frowned down the hallway on the other side. "Teddie, did we go this way before—oh."

As she was saying it, Nanako's brain had caught up to her mouth.

No longer could Teddie keep a mental map for them.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath.

"Don't worry," said Yosuke. "I've been paying attention to where we've been. We came from there." He nodded at the door behind them at the far side of the room.

"I have been keeping a map," Naoto said. "Though I understand it might be difficult for you to decipher. My writing... isn't always the clearest."

"We can use the string again next time," Chie suggested. "I mean, it worked pretty well in the castle. Yosuke was able to follow it, remember?"

"Yeah," Nanako agreed, trying to ignore the bitterness within her.

Yukiko set a hand on her shoulder. "We all miss him, but we have to move on."

And move on they did, defeating floor after floor of Shadows.

On one of the lower floors, they ran into a Shadow that looked like a man chained upside-down to a massive circular disk. The Shadow's arcana mask covered the writhing man's face. Naoto started out with a light skill, but the Shadow simply rolled out of the sigil's area of effect.

Chie followed up with ice, as per their plan, but the masked man just laughed creepily and the ice seemed to become absorbed into the disc. Yukiko's fire did the same.

The enemy rolled on its disc, which had spikes all around its circumference. One of them caught Yosuke a glancing blow while he was trying to summon his Persona. Jiraiya still appeared, but its wind did nothing to the enemy.

"What the hell's its weakness?" Yosuke shouted.

Kanji glared hard at it while he summoned Take-Mikazuchi. The lightning ground itself into the Shadow, which just laughed once again.

Nanako charged towards it with her naginata. Halfway there, the enemy stopped laughing. All of a sudden, Nanako felt a change in pressure in the air around her, and when she looked up, intensely bright starlight rushed towards her. It struck her right in the face, knocking the wind out of her. She dropped her naginata and fell to the ground in a daze.

Her eyes saw only stars, an aftereffect of that powerful attack. The clink of spikes rang out as they hit the metal floor—the Shadow was rolling towards her, intending to run her over!

She struggled to pull herself up, but then there was a bang like a gong had been struck. She blinked her eyes, and soon enough they cleared to reveal Kanji on top of the Shadow beating the nonliving shit out of it. Moments later the Shadow dissolved into whatever Shadows dissolved into when they were defeated.

Kanji was panting triumphantly. He grinned at his friends around him and announced, "Its weakness was having its ass kicked!"

"Good one, Kanji," Nanako said weakly.

She pulled herself to her feet, and after a quick healing song from Izanami, they were on their way again.

Eventually they found the big door that led to the boss room where Naoto's Shadow had once resided. Looking over her team, Nanako considered opening it, but knew there was probably a very strong Shadow living in there now.

"Let's go back," she decided. "We've done enough today."

"Are you sure?" Yosuke asked. "I am tired, but..."

"We'll come back some other time and take out whatever's in there," Nanako said. "We have school tomorrow, you know."

No one argued with her. They were all tired, and Nanako for one was tired of breathing in this fog. It was bothering the others, too, she could tell. The way they sucked in deep breaths of the fresh air when they were back at Junes...

Something was up in the TV World, but without Teddie, it was anyone's guess as to what.

[9/24: Saturday]

If only there was another holiday today, Nanako thought with a mental sigh. She was sore all over, and walking to school seemed like a chore. At least she had Naoto to share that misery with.

Though honestly Naoto didn't look any worse for the wear than he normally did. The late nights he kept while poring over police files meant his tired appearance was his usual appearance.

"I don't think we'll be training tomorrow," Nanako said conversationally while they were walking to school. "I think we deserve a break."

"I would welcome one," Naoto agreed.

Souji, holding Nanako's hand as they walked, looked up at her with sudden excitement. "Oh! Big sis, can...?"

Nanako looked down at him with amusement. "Yes, honey?"

"Can Ta-kun come over? Tomorrow?"

"If his mom will let him, sure!" Nanako had only planned to study, but if Souji wanted a friend over, well, that became Priority One. "Maybe we can bake something with him, or you can teach him how to crochet. If he comes over in the morning, we can watch our cartoons with him!"

"Yeah!"

They saw Souji off at his elementary school, and then Nanako and Naoto continued on their way to Yasogami High. Naoto informed her that the results of the forensic analysis of the tofu shop and related evidence had been released.

"There isn't much to say," Naoto said. "The culprit wore gloves, and the tofu counter is wiped down upon closing every evening, so there were no unusual fingerprints. As for that diary entry we discovered among Kujikawa-san's accounts..."

"Yes?"

"It also contained no prints, but now we know where it came from. Adachi-san reports that the intruder had dropped it in their scuffle. Adachi-san had made a grab for it, and after a tug-of-war, the intruder pulled it away. A page must have been ripped out during that time and fallen to the floor. In the commotion, Adachi-san hadn't noticed it."

"He had been punched in the face, after all," Nanako said with a sympathetic nod. "And there were a bunch of dirty footprints over Kujikawa-san's accounts. It must have been a mess. I'm surprised Adachi-san didn't slip on one of those papers and fall on his ass!"

"He might have," Naoto said. "Do you remember how that stool had fallen over...?"

They had a few laughs at Adachi-san's expense until they reached the shoe lockers. It was as busy as always, full of students reluctant to be at school on a Saturday morning. While she was switching out her shoes, Nanako overheard some kids talking.

"Weren't those kids on Thursday so precious? I hope they come back again!"

"Well, if they get us out of class again, sure. But I had that planets song stuck in my head all day..."

"They were so cute!" the first student went on. "I wish I had a little brother or sister."

"That kid with the pink umbrella was something else," the second one agreed. "How he got stage fright, and that other kid had to speak up for him!"

That was my cousin! Nanako thought.

"Yes, it was," Naoto said, smiling rather indulgently. Whoops, had she said that out loud?

And so, they entered the school, Nanako almost lightheaded with pride.

"This is the place!" Nanako announced.

Ayane stood at her side in front of Uphairval in Okina City.

Nanako had been totally surprised when Ayane had come to the second year hallway after school let out to find her. It turned out that she wanted to go to the hair salon! Nanako had almost given up that quest as a lost cause—but of course she was delighted to go with her.

The salon's logo in the window consisted of a swish of dark-colored hair wrapped around a pair of shearing scissors. The salon was just one part of the strip mall: to the left was a sweets shop, and to the right was a clothing store with a rack of dresses on display outside. It looked rather busy inside the salon.

"I can dye my hair myself," Yosuke muttered.

Yosuke was there, too, and it was not the first time he'd said that today. He was such a party-pooper!

Nanako rolled her eyes and led them inside the salon. She went up to the front desk and signed them all in. She took a seat on one of the comfy leather chairs and grabbed a magazine from the short table. Ayane and Yosuke sat down with her while they awaited service.

Now that they were there, Yosuke seemed resigned to his fate. He glanced with suppressed interest at their surroundings—there were many glamorous posters of women with beautiful hair, and behind the counter were shelves with a wide array of hair care products—then he asked Ayane what she was going to have done.

"Just a professional shampoo, I think," Ayane answered. "My mom always buys this stuff that... well, it doesn't seem good for my hair, so I want to treat myself."

"What about you?" Yosuke asked Nanako.

Nanako was flipping through the magazine. The hottest fashions were totally not her style at all. She'd thought of getting her hair permed again, but eating her own hair was not her favorite past time. And she didn't want to be Saki's twin.

"That one looks good," Yosuke said, stopping Nanako from flipping to the next page by putting a finger in the way.

The style in question was a layered cut, which was nice enough, but needed more maintenance than Nanako was willing to give. "Nah," she said. "I'd rather not cut it. I want to let it grow out."

"It's already kinda long," he remarked.

"Oh, it can grow longer," Nanako assured him. "Before I cut it last year, it was right down to my butt!"

She scooted forward in the chair and showed him where on her hip, possibly exaggerating it by a few inches, but it wasn't like he'd know. Sadly, the long skirt meant she wasn't showing her assets off very well—not that she hadn't already shown them off to Yosuke before, heh heh.

"I think I'll just do the same as Ayane-chan," she concluded. "But what do you want, Yosuke? You came all this way with us."

He gave her a mildly puzzled look. "You already know. I just want a touch up." He smoothed his fingers through his hair. "The roots really are starting to get bad. I just want it the same color, though, if that's what you're wondering."

"How about this color?" Nanako said. "It'd look so good on you!"

Yosuke stared flatly at the picture in the magazine she was pointing to. "Oh, come on. It's pink!"

"It's Souji-kun's favorite!"

"I like it, too," Ayane added mildly. "It's a good shade."

"Well, I don't know if it's actually Souji-kun's favorite," Nanako admitted, "but he definitely likes it." And it's his little friend's favorite, so that counts, right? she added in her mind.

"W-why would that even matter?" Yosuke demanded.

"You don't have to do the whole thing," Nanako said. "Just one streak?"

"No," he said emphatically.

"One liiiittle streak?" she pleaded. "You can get rid of it if you don't like it."

"It would get everyone's attention," Ayane remarked. "Umm, that is, if you want that, Senpai."

"No," he said, and this time he crossed his arms. End of story.

Oh well. It had been worth a try. Nanako considered dyeing her own hair, but only for a second. She didn't need anything else drawing attention to herself, and it would probably have to be lightened by shades first. Dark hair was always so difficult to dye properly without resulting in breakage from the bleach. It was kind of amazing that Yosuke's light brown had turned out as well as it had, considering he'd dyed it all on his own.

Soon enough an attendant approached them. Yosuke was led to a different part of the salon, since he wanted a different service, and Nanako and Ayane were together brought into the back, past the rows of people with their feet in wash basins getting pedicures, past the old ladies with their heads inside those big metal dryers getting their hair curled, and to a couple of empty salon chairs where they were invited to sit.

"When I came here last," Nanako said, "they took me down that way instead." She waved a hand towards a doorway nearby while she got comfortable on the salon chair.

"W-what's back there?" Ayane asked. She seemed a little nervous, probably because she'd never been to a salon before, which was why Nanako was talking about something so unimportant.

"Just more chairs. I think it's overflow. This place is the only hair salon in the mall, so it's pretty busy."

"I noticed!" Ayane said. "Do you think we'll be here long?"

"An hour, hour and a half, maybe. Two hours, tops. Don't worry, it'll be worth it!"

To fill up time while they waited for service, Nanako began to relate her experience getting her hair permed. Ayane commented that it seemed like a lot of work, and Nanako agreed that it wasn't something she'd repeat any time soon.

"A nice wash will be fine today," Nanako concluded, grinning at the pair of attendants heading towards them.

A short time later, Nanako and Ayane were both reclined in their salon chairs, their hair being washed in the ceramic basins behind the chairs. It felt great to Nanako, having someone combing through her wet hair. The shampoo she'd chosen smelled like vanilla. It was a little too strong right now, but she knew it'd fade after the wash.

In the middle of the shampooing, Nanako's pocket began to buzz. She didn't open her eyes, but her face creased into a frown. She'd put her phone on silent so it wouldn't interrupt this event, but she hadn't expected anyone to try and contact her. She'd informed the team and Saki that she was busy this afternoon, so they shouldn't be trying to reach her.

Had... had something happened?

She stirred restlessly as the phone buzzed again a few moments later.

"Do you need to get that?" the girl attending her asked.

Nanako bit her tongue while she thought about it. "No... it's okay."

If it was an emergency from the team, they'd contact Yosuke, too, or so she hoped. If he came running over here all of a sudden or something, then she'd worry.

Nanako sighed as the buzzing finally stopped.

"This is lovely," Ayane murmured.

"Isn't it?" Nanako said, pushing her phone out of her thoughts. "Rub my scalp a little more, why don't you?" she asked, and her attendant giggled and indulged her.

"I'm glad we came here," Ayane said. "Thanks for coming with me, Senpai..."

"Oh, no problem, Ayane-chan! You need to treat yourself like this sometimes. You work hard with your trombone, you know? Live a little!"

"I will!" Ayane declared, and her enthusiasm made Nanako smile.

The attendant began to comb conditioner into Nanako's hair. If it wasn't for the phone at the back of her mind, she might have enjoyed it enough to be lulled into sleep. Ayane definitely did; she seemed to be purring in the chair next to her, just like a cat.

"Hello, ladies," came a sing-song voice. "Still being worked on? Check this out!"

Nanako opened her eyes. It was, of course, Yosuke, and he had—wait, what? She blinked her eyes rapidly, not believing it for a second. There was no way...!

There was lock of bright magenta hair on his head. It was about an inch wide, to the left of his part.

"Oh my god," Nanako breathed, barely restraining herself from jumping out of the chair to give him a hug.

"Senpai, wow...!" Ayane squeaked her agreement.

"Y-yeah, I thought it over, and..." Yosuke said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I was thinking of red or yellow, but they didn't seem to have the right zing, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Nanako agreed fervently. "It looks great, Yosuke, it really does."

"Yeah...? Good. Well, I'll wait for you two at the counter. Enjoy!"

Some time later, they emerged from the salon, all of them looking fabulous. Nanako's hair felt fuller than it had been in a long time, despite it being its natural straight. Ayane's looked great, too—she'd had the bangs clipped a little so that they framed her face in a very flattering way.

And Yosuke... well, he kept touching the magenta streak in his hair. He really seemed to like it.

"You know, Yosuke," Nanako remarked casually as they left the store. "If Kanji wasn't taken by that guy in glasses, you might have an honest chance with him now!"

Yosuke didn't even look at her—he just continued to play with the lock of hair.

Now that they were free, Nanako finally checked her phone. She found several texts and a missed call from Aunt Seta. She read through the messages with a frown on her face. Her aunt had been trying to contact her to pick up Souji from his daycare.

Nanako swore under her breath. Her aunt had been so good at picking the boy up lately. Nanako hadn't expected this at all. By the timestamp, her call had been almost an hour ago.

There was a more recent text, though:
Well, don't worry about it Nanako-chan. I was able to find someone else.

Nanako sighed with relief. Probably Aunt Seta had been able to get ahold of Naoto.

Feeling better now, Nanako poked Yosuke in the side. "Hey, we should go clubbing! I'd promised you forever ago, and now that we're friends again and all, it can happen."

Yosuke held a few strands of his magenta hair between his thumb and forefinger. "You think girls are gonna like this?"

"Positive, Senpai!" Ayane piped up. "It's very cute."

"Oh, I don't wanna be cute," Yosuke complained, "I want to be hot!"

"Why do guys have such an aversion to being called cute?" Nanako rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Don't you know some girls say that because they're too shy to say what they really feel? And for some girls, cute equals attractive! Take it as a compliment, Yosuke. That's what it's meant to be."

Yosuke appeared to consider it for a moment. "No one ever said 'smoking cute,'" he muttered, though he didn't seem all that indignant anymore.

"Why don't we go out tomorrow night?" Nanako suggested. "I know it's a Sunday, but that means the club won't be super packed like it will be tonight. We won't stay out too late for school."

"I think I work until four," he said. "That works, right?"

"It sure does!" she declared. "Do you want to meet in Inaba or somewhere over here? The fountain's a nice place. We can't miss each other there."

"I'll need to grab a bite to eat," he said. "I'm going to be starving when I get off. I suppose I could eat at work, but I'd rather not."

"We could go to the Chagall Cafe," Nanako suggested.

As they further hashed out their plans to meet up, Nanako felt like she was missing something, but she couldn't place what it was. Yosuke began to frown, too, and then suddenly he whipped his head up, startled. "Ayane-san!" he said. "Are you free tomorrow? You should join us."

Ayane seemed startled herself. "O-oh, n-no thank you," she stammered out.

Nanako eyed her critically. Ayane seemed to fade into the background when she and Yosuke got to talking. She'd have to work harder in the future to keep her involved in the conversation.

"Are you sure?" Yosuke asked. "I'd feel safer if someone other than Nanako came along."

"What, do you think I'm planning something?" Nanako feigned indignation for a moment before leaning in towards Ayane conspiratorially to whisper, "He's right."

Ayane's cheeks grew redder. "I'm sorry, Senpai! But I promised my family..."

"It's all right," Yosuke said, "but this was fun right? We should do something like this again."

"Yeah," Ayane said, her eyes glowing suddenly. "Maybe next time... we can get our nails done!"

"I'm gonna have to draw the line there," Yosuke said.

"You'd be even cuter with nails to match your hair," Nanako said, and Ayane began to giggle. She'd been joking from the start. She was a cool girl, wasn't she?

They took the bus home from Okina, and on the ride home, Nanako reflected that maybe scooters were something to look into. The bus had to make so. Many. Stops. It was one of the reasons she so rarely made the trip out of town, even though Okina was the nearest 'happening' place. And she'd have to make it again tomorrow night! It would totally be worth it though. Yosuke didn't even begin to suspect what he was in for.

When they finally got off at the central shopping district, Nanako bid farewell to her two friends and headed home. She expected to see Naoto and Souji sitting at the tea table. Souji would be working on his homework, and Naoto would be working at his laptop, and...

But the sight that greeted her in the living room was a completely different one.

It was Adachi, sitting on the floor with his back against the foot of the couch.

Souji was sleeping in his lap.

"What," Nanako said out loud. Then her instincts kicked in and she grabbed Aunt Seta's camera from the counter and snapped a photo of the adorable scene before the detective could raise any form of protest.

"I-I don't know how this happened either!" Adachi said, looking mostly embarrassed, but Nanako suspected she saw a hint of something akin to fatherly pride on his face.

"Shush, don't wake him," Nanako scolded in a whisper.

Souji stirred, and they held their breath, but he didn't open his eyes. He simply snuggled his head against Adachi's chest, burrowing further into the man's jacket.

"He's been asleep for twenty minutes now," Adachi said in a murmur.

"And you've just been sitting here, thinking about things, the whole time?"

"Pretty much," he admitted. "What else would I do?"

They watched the rise and fall of Souji's breathing for a long time. Nanako quietly told him about all the pictures she took on Thursday, promising that she'd show them to him after she got around to getting them all developed. He nodded, but it didn't seem like he was listening. His eyes appeared far away. Either he was not interested, too tired to be interested, or something else was on his mind.

"Uhh, thanks for picking him up, I guess," Nanako tried. "Auntie's been so good about picking him up lately that I didn't even think about it. I'm totally sorry. It's my job to get him when she can't."

"You're welcome," he said without enthusiasm. He sighed, and the rush of air from his nose ruffled Souji's hair.

"It won't happen again!" she promised right then and there. She needed to work at the daycare again anyway. It had been a long time.

"Shit happens." Adachi shrugged as much as he could with a 6-year-old in his lap. "But I'd rather I didn't..." he trailed off, looking down at Souji now with an unreadable expression.

"I wasn't even doing anything important today," she said absently. She frowned as something occurred to her. The daycare was really strict about who they let kids go home with. "Wait, they let you take Souji-kun from the daycare?"

"Yeah... I guess I'm still an emergency contact." Adachi said it a little too flatly.

"Did you get pulled away from work?" she asked. "I'm really sorry about... wait. 'Still'?"

She caught herself before she asked if something had happened. Of course something'd happened, it was what was still hanging over this whole household and had been for almost a year now.

Adachi confirmed it a second later. "It would have been better if I hadn't picked him up today. The only other time I picked him up before was the day his pop died."

Nanako breathed in and held her breath.

"Yeah," he said, noting her expression. "So when he saw me at the daycare today, well, he thought the worst. Had to assure him that everything was okay..."

"I'm sorry," she said.

Adachi shook his head. "I'm the one who made a bunch of mistakes that day." He sighed and looked down at the boy in his lap. "Kid's probably scarred for life. I'm surprised he ever warmed up to me this much."

"He's a sweetie," she said with feeling. "And I think his scars are healing, a little bit at a time."

"Yeah...? I'm glad to hear it."

They regarded the sleeping Souji for a quiet moment. The rise and fall of his breathing was so soothing that Nanako almost wanted to take a nap herself. But she didn't really want to cuddle Adachi-san...

Poor Souji. Aunt Seta probably hadn't realized how the boy might react to Adachi picking him up from the daycare. When she found out, she'd probably feel as awful as Nanako felt about it. Souji might have relived a nightmare today. He looked so peaceful right now, asleep as he was, that no one could tell if he was hurting.

"Hey, uh," Adachi said. "I know it's your duty to tell her and all, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't make a big deal of this to his mom."

She wondered for a moment how he'd read her mind, but remembered that he was a detective. It was probably clear as day on her face.

"He's all right now," Adachi went on. "When we got home, I cheered him up with some magic tricks. He's a smart kid, though. He saw right through them all. It became kind of a game."

"And before you knew it," she murmured, "he'd fallen asleep in your lap."

Adachi looked at the boy for a long moment before whispering a soft "Yeah..."

They watched the boy sleep for a little bit longer. He was just too precious! Nanako considered taking more pictures of her slumbering baby, but the noise might startle him awake.

Eventually Adachi shifted awkwardly under his burden. He looked at Nanako a little desperately. "Uh, I need to move him."

Nanako considered the situation. No matter how carefully he tried to move him, Souji would probably wake up, so she decided to cut to the chase and wake him herself. She gently shook his shoulder until he opened his eyes. "Honey," she murmured. "Adachi-san needs to pee."

Souji yawned widely. He looked up at Adachi, and then began to extricate himself from the man's lap. A moment later he was sitting on the floor. His hair was such a mess that Nanako had to snap another picture.

Adachi unfolded his legs and hightailed it to the bathroom. Nanako had only guessed that he needed to go, but she was apparently right!

"Are you all right, honey?" Nanako asked, setting the camera aside.

"Big sis," Souji said with another big yawn. "I'm sleepy..."

"You gotta stay up," she said. "We'll have to go get dinner soon."

"Oh!" he said, perking up. "Mama will be hungry. Uhm... Adachi-san..."

He was looking past Nanako now, so she turned her head. Adachi was standing sheepishly near the dining room, having finished his business. It wasn't hard to imagine that he felt like an intruder. "Ah, I should be going," Adachi said, already beginning to back away.

"W-wait...!" Souji called after him. "Adachi-san!"

Adachi paused in mid-step. "Er, yeah?"

"W-will you stay for dinner?" Souji asked.

Nanako wasn't sure who was more surprised by this, herself or Adachi. Emotions crossed over the detective's face, too quickly to be recognized before he affixed a smile in their place.

"Sure," he said.

[9/25: Sunday]

Nanako didn't have a chance to watch Tanaka's Amazing Commodities like she'd planned to because right when it was about to air, there was a knock on the door to the Seta Residence. It was rather early in the morning—whoever it was was lucky she was even dressed!

She took the stairs two steps at a time, but Naoto had already opened the front door and was greeting the visitors: Takeyoshi-kun and his mother. Souji was right behind Naoto, peering around him and then waving at his friend. Nanako joined them at the doorway.

Takeyoshi's mother was staring openly at Naoto. "I've seen you on TV," she said slowly.

"Detective Prince!" Takeyoshi announced, also recognizing Naoto.

"That's right," Takeyoshi's mom continued excitedly, "you put the police in their place! It was all over the news for a while there." She paused, and her excitement faded into thoughtfulness. "That was some time ago. It seems like nothing's happened since then."

"Dad says it's boring," Takeyoshi remarked.

"The police are surely hard at work, now that their eyes have been opened," Naoto said tactfully, "even if it seems that things are quiet. And I promise that I am still working on the case."

"He won't rest until it's solved," Nanako chimed in.

Naoto suppressed a grin. "In any case, would you like to come in? I'm brewing some hot coffee, but I can also serve some tea."

"Are there cookies?" Takeyoshi asked. "More dinosaur cookies. They were so good."

"Unfortunately, we are all out of cookies," Naoto said, "so it would just be tea."

"I have to get going soon," Takeyoshi's mom said, rejecting the offer. "But I'm glad to know that Ta-chan will be in good hands! I didn't know the Setas entertained such company."

Nanako bit off a harsh reply. Why was the woman such a bitch to her? Nanako had been nothing but nice to her and her son.

"But first," Takeyoshi's mom went on, "I want to see the star of the show!"

It took everyone a moment to realize she was looking at Souji, who was still half-hidden by Naoto. His big eyes blinked and he stepped forward shyly.

"Ta-chan tells me you forgot your line in the play!" The woman bent down to his level and patted him on the head. "That's so adorable... aren't you glad you have such a great friend?"

"C-compatriot," Souji murmured.

"So adorable," she repeated with a tight grin. She straightened up and addressed Naoto. "What time should I return to pick him up?"

"About three," Nanako answered promptly, though her tone was clipped. The woman earned some points for recognizing what a treasure Souji was, but not many!

Takeyoshi's mom promised she'd be there, then swept her own son in her arms to kiss him on the cheek in an embarrassing display. "Aww, Mom!" he protested, but his rosy cheeks betrayed his happiness.

Nanako wondered if that was worth another point as they watched her leave down the road.

After Takeyoshi removed his shoes, he told Naoto, "I want some coffee."

Naoto raised an eyebrow. "Have you had it before? It requires a refined palate."

"Ta-kun likes it black," Souji said.

"You are the weirdest kid, Ta-kun," Nanako remarked. "No coffee for me, thanks, Shirogane-san. Oh, Auntie! Would you like any?"

Aunt Seta had come out of her room. She blinked owlishly at everyone present. "Ah, I'm sorry. I should have been the one to answer the door. I was in a call..."

"I'm just glad you're here," Nanako said, smiling brightly. Souji was already looking up at his mom, ready to hang onto her every word. "You've met Takeyoshi-kun before. He's staying over for a bit."

"Did I miss his mother? Perhaps it's for the best."

"You don't like my mom," Takeyoshi stated, having heard the woman's sigh of relief.

Aunt Seta paused, startled at being called out. "Ah, Takeyoshi-kun," she said, recovering quickly. "I'm sure your mother is a wonderful person, but she always tries to get me to join her candle parties, and I simply don't have the time."

Takeyoshi's eyes remained narrowed for a long moment. "Those parties are kinda boring," he conceded.

"I've been to one exactly once," Aunt Seta said. "And then said, 'Never again!' I imagine you're told to remain in your room and be quiet when your mother is hosting one?"

"Actually, she kinda dresses me up nice to show off..." Takeyoshi trailed off. "Umm..."

"To show off how cute you are," Souji finished helpfully.

Nanako snorted in laughter, though underneath it she was thinking that the cutest one was her cousin! Takeyoshi looked a little put out, so Nanako bent down and rubbed her nose against his. "Yep! Cute as a button!"

Now Takeyoshi was blushing even harder, but he obviously wasn't displeased.

"I used to be quite the same as your mother," Aunt Seta remarked, "until a certain someone helped me realized that my little boy was cute in all the clothes."

"When Souji wore that jinbei, it was the cutest cute to end all cutes!" Nanako said. She proceeded to give Souji several Eskimo kisses as well, and the boy just giggled.

"Oh, oh, big sis," Souji said when she let him go. "Umm... I-it's almost time for Loveline!"

Loveline or not, with a group that big there was no way they wouldn't have fun. Takeyoshi-kun tried to escape, mumbling that he never watched the show, but Nanako just tugged him over to the low table and sat him right down on a floor cushion. Souji squeezed in between him and Nanako, and Naoto sat on her other side. Aunt Seta took a seat at the couch just a few feet behind them and turned on the TV for them.

Nanako brought out the bag of gummi snacks she kept under the table and had everyone take one, feeling rather guilty that this silly tradition made her happier than the actual show nowadays. When the opening song started to play, Souji sang along with it, just as she once had. No one had prompted him, either, which made her so happy that she decided to nudge Takeyoshi until he was humming along, too. The real surprise came when Naoto started poking her, urging Nanako to do the same. As always, nothing got past the Detective Prince.

The episode was about stolen love letters between two minor NPC lovebirds who would likely only appear in this one episode and never again after, but even so, she shouted "We're on the case!" with Souji when Detective Loveline said her catchphrase, and fun times were had.

All of a sudden, Nanako heard a giggly snort come from behind her. She glanced back at Aunt Seta, who was looking down at her phone. "What's up?" Nanako asked, curious.

Aunt Seta shook her head. "I was looking for a photo I'd taken at a business meeting, but I found this." She turned the phone around so that everyone could see the picture.

It was a photo of Souji sitting in Nanako's lap, with Nanako covering his ears. By the clothing, Nanako easily recognized it as from the summer festival. There wasn't much lighting since it was evening; they were only illuminated by the fireworks blasting in the sky. And possibly the particular firework that was going off at the time had been a pink or red one, since it made Souji's jinbei look even more rosy pink than it actually was.

"I wish I'd had my actual camera at the time," Aunt Seta remarked, "but I hadn't brought it down by then. It's still a scene to remember. He really is adorable in his jinbei."

"He looks so pink," Takeyoshi observed, noticing the exact same thing Nanako had. "You know, that's Yuuta's favorite color."

Nanako blinked. "Wait, how did you know that? I don't think it's something he advertises."

"Well, it's obvious," he said, and if he wore glasses he'd sure as hell have been adjusting them right then. "Everyone at school makes fun of him for it."

Nanako's hackles rose as defensive anger awoke within her. She was about to say something, but she was beaten to the punch.

"Does his mother know about this?" Aunt Seta demanded, dropping the phone and setting her hands on her hips. "She needs to."

"Probably not," Nanako said, calming down a little simply because seeing Aunt Seta get riled up gave off the impression that something was going to happen to someone soon. "But I can talk to Minami-san this Saturday. I'm planning to go to the daycare."

"Yuuta-kun," Souji volunteered. "He, umm... he really likes plushies."

"The cutest ones," Nanako murmured.

"B-but he doesn't have any at home, so... when I brought Foxie, it was his first time playing with one. He really liked how soft she is, big sis... But the other kids, they..."

Naoto smiled wryly. "It begins this early, huh...?"

"That's when Foxie got ripped," Nanako mused. "This reminds me, my first time at the daycare, I had the kids play dress-up, and it was all just fun and games, you know? But some of the parents were so awful about it. 'Why is my little boy in a skirt?' 'How dare you put a baseball cap on my daughter!' Man... most of those boys looked so cute in dresses, let me tell you."

"You have no pictures of Souji in a dress?" Aunt Seta asked.

"Oh... Souji wasn't playing with us at the time. He was really shy back then! Weren't you?" Nanako tickled him just enough to make him giggle.

"You know..." Naoto began, but then he paused. With everyone's eyes on him, however, he pressed on. "Well, sometimes I think about how it would be to wear a dress."

Nanako tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"...but I absolutely hate skirts," Naoto finished.

"You'd look lovely in a dress," Aunt Seta commented.

"Oh, but not as lovely as when you wear that cardigan!" Nanako said with a grin.

Naoto blushed, and just a moment later laughed heartily. Nanako wrapped an arm around her friend so that they'd sit just a bit closer during the next show.

Which was, of course, Featherman! Takeyoshi's excitement grew when a short preview was shown during Loveline's credits. "Yeah! They're gonna fight the Kooky Gang today!" he exclaimed.

"The Cookie Gang?" Nanako teased. "Sounds yummy!"

"No, it's..." Takeyoshi frowned, and then his expression became flat as he realized Nanako hadn't misheard him at all.

"It's the gang that Owl used to be in before he joined the Rangers," Naoto explained in his stead. "His past is meeting up with him. It will be interesting, to say the least."

Nanako smiled indulgently at him, thinking about cookies instead. They'd have to bake some later!

The episode of Featherman might have been more interesting to Nanako if she'd been more invested in the series, but everyone else's excitement was catching. She cheered along with Souji and Naoto when Owl rejected his sinister roots to continue to stand with the good guys.

She noticed then, however, that one little boy was having the opposite reaction.

"Why would he give up on his old friends like that?" Takeyoshi muttered. "They took him in when his parents died. It, it almost feels like... the Rangers stole him away."

But they're the bad guys, Nanako almost said, but she didn't, because it was all a matter of perspective. "Sometimes," she said, "you're friends with the bad guy."

She sighed, then noticed that Souji was playing with the phone his mother had given him. In fact, he offered it to her now. "M-Mama, look... I saw a kitty with Ta-kun when we went to cram school."

Aunt Seta took the phone from him and looked at the screen. "Very nice, Souji. Here, I'll show you a trick. You can hold the phone on its side... Do you see? Next time you can get the whole cat in the picture."

"Y-yes, Mama!" Souji said, beaming up at her and tilting the phone different ways to see how the camera app reacted. "I can even hold it upside down. Big sis, look!"

It was a close up of a gray cat's face. It was just sitting there under a bush. Its eyes looked demon red from the camera phone's flash.

"Felis Domesticus," Takeyoshi said. "That means 'domestic cat.'"

"It meowed at me, like this!" Souji said excitedly. "M-meowww..."

"Sou-kitty?" Nanako teased. "Y'know, I think..." She paused, her mind racing. Had she packed those? No, that would be silly. But she was silly, so maybe she had...?

"Big sis?"

"One moment, Sou-chan!" With a small grunt, she heaved herself to her feet. Sitting for over an hour made her legs a little tired, so she stumbled a bit before making her way up the stairs and to her room.

She'd lived here for over almost half a year now, but she still had some of her less essential stuff packed in moving boxes. It was probably in this one... She rummaged through it, pulling out extra hair clips, a friendship bracelet, a manga that she didn't really like, and then there it was.

A kitty-eared hairband!

So sometimes she liked to cosplay! At least this item from the costume was coming in handy… Maybe one day Saki could be allowed to see the rest.

Souji's eyes lit up when she came back downstairs and he saw the hairband in her hands. She put it right on him, though it didn't fit his little head all that well. Regardless, he immediately got into character and began to purr. He rubbed his head against her side.

Nanako began to giggle. "Sou-chan! That tickles!"

Souji just continued to purr. There was a surprising amount of strength behind him as he butted his head right into her side, rubbing her affectionately just like a cat would.

Helpless, she fell onto the floor, giggling, and Souji followed her there, purring harder now. He'd curled his hands into fists to mimic paws, and now he was setting them on her belly. Soon he'd climbed right onto her stomach and was hiding his 'paws' under his own belly, sitting imperially on top of her like... well, like a very comfortable cat!

When Nanako finally caught her breath, she just looked at the boy's grinning face. She reached out a hand and scritched his head, right above his ear. The hairband had fallen off long ago, but he leaned into her fingers and maybe his smile grew even bigger.

Then she wrapped both her arms around him and enveloped him in a huge hug.

Suddenly there was a heavy weight on her legs.

"Meoowwwww," came Takeyoshi's voice.

"What is this, a kitty pile-up?" she asked, laughing, though not very hard with a little boy on her belly!

The two boys began to meow in unison, or perhaps not in unison, it sounded quite noisy, but it was music to her ears.

Perhaps the most melodic part of all was the sound of a camera capturing a photo of the scene. When Nanako turned her head, she found Aunt Seta beaming down at them from behind the lens, looking more at home than Nanako had ever seen her.

Nanako met Yosuke at the fountain in Okina, finding him easily since he stood out so much, and not just because of the magenta streak in his hair; he was dressed casually in a salmon-colored shirt that was cut so low about his shoulders that it showed his entire collarbone. Did he have any inkling what that did to her? Probably not, but the sight surprised her even more than the fact that he'd left his signature headphones at home. Instead, around his neck was a necklace with a metal charm of some sort hanging from it.

"What are you wearing?" he said upon seeing her, sounding both awed and accusatory all at once.

"I could say the same to you!" she said. "I didn't know you even owned a pair of jeans."

"Who doesn't own a pair of jeans?" he countered. "I wish we could wear them at school. But really, Nanako. That dress... kinda reminds me of the TV World."

Now that he mentioned it, the black and white striped design she was wearing did evoke that disorienting feel of falling into the TV. She did a light twirl, letting her dress flare out a bit. That only made it worse. "I didn't intend it to be like that at all! Man, I liked this dress too. Why'd you have to ruin it?"

"S-sorry," he stammered. "It looks great on you, it really does! Maybe black was your color all along. It goes well with your eyes."

"Yeah? People always like to put me in pink, not that I hate that or anything." But pink was Yuu-chan's color now. Nanako couldn't think of it without thinking of him. "Or yellow, but I don't always want to look like a sunflower."

"It worked well for a swimsuit," he agreed, "but not so much for casual clothes. Anyway, what's on the agenda?"

"This!" She handed him a slip of a paper she'd purchased before meeting him here.

"A train ticket?" Yosuke stared down at the item in question in his hand before fixing her with a questioning look. "I thought we were just going to a club here in Okina."

"There is exactly one club in Okina," Nanako explained, "and since, unless you count Old Lady Shiroku, that number is zero for Inaba, the whole town will be there, all four people."

Yosuke held in a little giggle. "True," he conceded, "but I thought this was to help me get a girlfriend. It's not going to work out if she lives all the way in Shibuya!"

Nanako raised an eyebrow at him, inwardly laughing at a joke only she understood. For now, anyway. "Yosuke, when did we ever talk about getting you a girlfriend?"

"We totally talked about it!"

"Besides," she brushed him off, "distance isn't the end all, and anyone dating you is gonna need some loooooooong breaks."

Yosuke rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Nanako. What are we doing there, then?"

"What else? We're going to have some fun!"

The club's greeter, a big burly guy named Kouichi who also acted as the bouncer, stood right outside the entrance. Nanako knew he was truly a sweetheart underneath his 250 pounds of muscle. In fact, he reminded her of Kanji, or rather, Kanji had always reminded her of him! "Nanako-chan!" he said, uncrossing his meaty arms and moving in for a hug. "I thought you died."

"I almost did," she told him as they exchanged kisses on the cheeks, and they both knew she wasn't joking, "but you know me. Like a zombie, I just keep coming back up!"

Nanako waved Yosuke forward, since he'd been lingering back, intimidated at the sight of all that muscle. "This is a friend of mine," she said. "Don't worry, Kou-chan, we aren't going to cause any trouble."

Kouichi looked Yosuke up and down. "...You sure he belongs here?"

"What? Just look at his hair!"

Under his scrutiny, Yosuke nervously began to toy with the pink streak in his hair, and though he had no idea, that was exactly what Nanako meant for him to do. Meanwhile, Kouichi's hard look softened. "All right, honey, go on in."

"Told you we wouldn't need fake IDs," Nanako whispered to Yosuke as they crossed through the doorway, just as his mouth started to drop at the sight of the club. Nanako knew why: the lighting. Red was the only color that could be seen in there.

"I see why you're wearing black and white now..." he murmured, and then she took his arm, and in they went.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Nanako said as he took in everything. Red was only for the bar. The dance floor was a vivid yellow, and the tables beyond a somber blue, and that was not even the best part!

"Whoa, hello there handsome!" someone said as they approached the bar, amidst a number of wolf whistles.

"You sure are popular tonight," Yosuke murmured as he took a seat.

Nanako smiled. The music wasn't too loud yet, so the comments wouldn't stop, but she paid them no mind. From the corner of her eye she spied her old flame sitting in the corner, as dazzling and beautiful as she remembered, leagues above the one back in Inaba.

"I don't understand half this list," Yosuke complained, oblivious to her lust.

Nanako looked over at him.

"Oh, you aren't supposed to use the menu, silly," she said, swiping it from his hands, then raising her own to call the distant bartender.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're new here, so let the master decide," she explained. "Besides, there are new drinks everyday. You should experiment!"

Yosuke seemed nervous, but his body language—sitting on the edge of the seat, hands on knees—told her he was giddy. Eventually, the bartender, a slim, handsome man with glasses and a rigid expression, approached them. Yosuke promptly straightened his back on instinct.

"Nanako-san," the man said politely, even bowing his head a little bit, though his expression went unchanged.

"Ryu-san," she said in kind. Yosuke just sort of watched. Probably, she realized, he'd never seen her being polite.

"What can I do for you today?" Ryu asked, giving Yosuke only the most cursory of glances.

"I was hoping you'd introduce my friend here to one of your wonderful cocktails," Nanako answered. This earned Yosuke a longer glance, though she suspected his eyes were hidden from view by the lighting, same as they were the first time she'd met him. Yosuke didn't dare breathe, so she nudged him to introduce himself.

"M-my name is Yosuke Hanamura!" he said in a squeaky voice.

Ryu sent her a subtly disgruntled stare. No doubt he was thinking, 'another jailbait,' but he'd never say it out loud. Wordlessly, he began preparing ingredients from under the table. Nanako had to straighten her back to see them—a watermelon, some lime, a bottle she didn't recognize but was probably syrup, and some Shiranami. Nanako had always loved the waves on the label, and... gosh, was he popping it open? That was rare. The whole watermelon was too, usually he had them cut beforehand. Yosuke watched in awe as the weird ingredients were smashed and mixed and shaken until a very small glass containing a foamy pinkish liquid was presented to him, with four ice cubes added afterwards.

"Um, thanks..." Yosuke said, not knowing whether he should take a shot or comment on the drink or what. Nanako knew, she'd been there once.

"Pink, just like your hair," she offered.

"In this lighting, at least," Ryu said, smiling to make Yosuke feel more at ease, though inwardly he was probably facepalming.

Yosuke picked the glass up carefully, taking a long hard look at the contents before allowing himself the slightest sip. Nanako rolled her eyes, but allowed him to savor the moment.

"This is really good," he said eventually, then taking another, longer sip. "I thought sake was supposed to burn in your throat, though. This feels more like drinking juice."

"This is a common cocktail not usually served here," Ryu explained, "not made with sake but with shochu, specifically Shiranami distilled from sweet potato."

"You need to appreciate the basics before moving on to stronger drinks," Nanako added, reminded that Ryu had told her the same thing, a long time ago.

"There was potato in this?" Yosuke asked, raising the now nearly empty glass. Nanako couldn't help but laugh, and even Ryu could not suppress a more genuine smile.

"Ryu-san, do you still have that Okinawan one?" Nanako asked as a blushing Yosuke finished his drink. Ryu nodded, so she ordered two before he went to serve the other clients.

"That guy was scarier than the bouncer!" Yosuke whispered to her once Ryu was out of earshot.

Nanako played with her new yellow drink a little, remembering the first time she'd tasted it. "Ryu-san takes his job seriously. I heard he used to work at one of those underground bars that open at night and stay open until morning, so he knows how to deal with seedy people."

Yosuke bit his lip. Nanako noticed because he'd spilled some of his drink despite being extra careful, and it was gleaming in the red light... She almost raised a hand to clean it, but maybe that'd hurt his odds with the people there, so she decided against it.

Eventually, he spoke:

"You really had a life before Inaba, huh?"

"I did," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. What was he getting at?

Yosuke downed his entire drink (pausing to hiss a little, because this one was a lot more citric) before proceeding.

"I envy you, Nanako," he said.

That was new...

"You have all these friends," he continued, "you've seen things, and lived things. Inaba is just another chapter in your life, but what about me? What have I been doing all this time?"

Nanako was the one to down her whole drink this time. "We're not drunk enough for this," she finally said, "but don't envy me, Yosuke. Inaba has been messing me up more than you know."

There was a pause as he pondered her words, but that time was cut short by a drastic change in scenery. Without any warning, the red light that had been covering them from head to toe disappeared, as did the yellow from the dance floor and the blue from the tables beyond. The entire club stood in complete darkness and silence, the drinks in their hands and distant whispers the only proof they were still there, until just as suddenly, the lights went up again, but different. The music was replaced by a cacophony of ecstatic screams as the dance floor turned blue and the bar yellow, the club's gimmick finally at play.

Then a real song kicked up, much louder than anything before, and Nanako turned to Yosuke.

"Come," she said, offering her hand. "Let's dance."

Several other patrons were unable to resist the dance floor's siren call. Nanako pulled Yosuke right into the center of the small crowd gathered there and then began to dance, kicking up her heels and swinging her arms to the steadily-increasing beat.

Yosuke matched her movements easily, a soft smile playing over his features. Any reservations he might have entertained were gone now as he became one with the music. It was a wonder his Persona didn't specialize in water; his movements were just so fluid. Without consciously thinking about it, he knew exactly where he was going to place his feet, and his body followed with him.

It was fun to watch, and—oh, he was drawing attention! A cute boy with brown hair not all that dissimilar to Yosuke's own had pushed his way forward, apparently wanting to dance with him. He wore a green flannel jacket and tight yellow pants. Nanako nodded at him and stepped back to give him space.

Despite suddenly being confronted by this new partner, Yosuke was so into the music that he didn't falter at all. He flashed a grin at the boy, who smiled so easily back at him that Nanako's own heart went doki, snapped his fingers to the next part of the song and moved into a smooth slide. This brought him closer to his new partner than he'd intended, mostly because said partner had stepped forward into it for that express purpose.

Nanako held her breath—this was a moment of truth—but Yosuke seemed uncomfortable at the closeness only for a second. He glanced around at the others dancing around him, noting perhaps that pretty much all of them were same-sex and dancing just as close to their partners, and then relaxed, winking at the boy in front of him and leading him into the next dance.

She decided to let them have fun and returned to the bar, where she found Ryu already pouring her a refreshing glass of water and setting it next to her alcoholic drink. He remembered how she'd complained about being thirsty that time so long ago after dancing for almost an hour straight. She thanked him for the water before downing the entire glass. The sweat trickling down her back only proved how much she needed the rehydration.

Nanako turned around on the stool to observe the dance floor, where Yosuke and his new friend were still busting moves. "Is there anything I should know about that boy?" she asked Ryu as casually as she could manage.

Ryu adjusted his glasses. "He was hurt in the past," he answered, "though there's nothing unusual about that."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Nanako sighed her agreement. "I just wanna make sure Yosuke's in good hands. He'd be eaten alive by some of your customers I could name!"

"In this case, you have nothing to worry about."

"Good," Nanako murmured, and then she blinked as the lights went out. When they came back on, this time the bar was bathed in blue, which was her cue to get away from there before she was run-over by the stampede.

She stepped around to the dance floor's sidelines, peering into the group of dancers tinted red by the lights, but frowning when she was unable to find Yosuke. He'd been there just a minute ago!

Then she spied him over at a table, his dance partner sitting across from him. She sneaked forward until she could overhear their conversation.

"Do you come here often?"

"N-no, actually, this is my first time here," Yosuke answered honestly.

Nanako bit off a chuckle—Yosuke might get eaten alive yet! But she knew Ryu wouldn't lie to her about this, and now that she'd voiced her concerns to to him, Ryu'd be watching out for Yosuke too.

Yosuke was so awkward, though. Nanako wasn't sure he even realized the guy was hitting on him, though that was adorable on a whole other level. Maybe she ought to give him a hint? Not for the first time that evening, she eyed her old flame, now bathed in magnificent blue light. None were allowed too close, and why should they? Few understood that sublime beauty. Nanako was proud to be one of those few.

Now determined, she made her way back to the bar. As expected, Ryu was no longer working the counter, leaving the job to some new hire she didn't recognize. Ryu was more about serving clients individually, and right now there were too many pissants just out for cheap sake. With some work, she sneaked past the hordes until she and her flame were face to face.

The grand piano at Love Is Blue had to be the second best in Japan. Even from afar, she could tell there was not a speck of dust on it, and she'd bet good money that all the keys were sparkling underneath the mahogany case. The one in Inaba must have been this beautiful once, she thought to herself.

"I've never seen your eyes so longing," Ryu said suddenly, making her jump.

Once her breath had calmed, she managed to quip that yes, he had, every single time she saw that beauty, but he shook his head.

"Yes, you always want to play," he said, "but you never take in the details like you are right now."

"I haven't seen anything like this in months," she admitted as he allowed her past the safety line.

"Did you not have one back at home?"

"I had to move in with my aunt for this year," she explained. "There is a piano at the school there, but can you believe they let it rot in a storage room for years? The club captain even threatened to scrap it!"

Ryu was so disgusted that the crowd around him even cleared a little bit. It was great talking to someone who could recognize the crimes committed against that poor piano; sadly, Ryu had never allowed her to play this one, no matter how good a sob story she conjured, and this time wouldn't be any different.

"Do you want to play?" Ryu asked, and for a moment it was as though the bar had gone dark again.

"Wha—?" she said eloquently.

"Only one song," he clarified.

"What what what?" she further explicated.

Ryu shrugged his shoulders, and without any further ado, she hopped on that chair and raised the wooden case, trembling as she tentatively touched one of the keys. The note was perfect, and signaled the club to go silent. Nanako wouldn't let this go to waste.

Yosuke. Yosuke needed a hint, she had been going to ask Ryu to play a romantic piece but now she could play one herself; she recalled the piece she'd played for Saki, and decided nothing would be more romantic than playing what she had played for her own love.

A blue spotlight began to shine on her as her fingers lovingly caressed the keys. She was the club's focus now, or rather, her old flame was, as she began to play.

She blinked away tears that began to form in her eyes. Surely no one could be unaffected by the beautiful sound the chords were producing. She almost imperceptibly glanced up at the audience, able to play this song blindfolded if she ever needed to, and there was quite a crowd around the piano stage, though it was difficult to make out any details since they were just outside the edge of the spotlight. She barely heard someone squeak in surprise at the sight of someone other than Ryu playing, but beyond that were only indecipherable whispers.

She tossed her head, allowing her long hair to flow back and around her shoulders. Her headband had fallen off during the dancing, but she liked to have her hair loose while she played, it made her feel... unrestricted. Free.

And with that act she could take a better look at those watching, even managing to catch eyes with Yosuke. She smiled at him and his partner, who whispered something in his ear now, and Yosuke nodded in response without taking his eyes away from her.

She suspected he still didn't get it. It was almost too bad the song lacked lyrics, not that she could sing well enough to do this piece justice. Instead, she transferred her gaze to Yosuke's new friend. He blinked at her and tilted his head in question, and Nanako winked at him.

It was up to him now. Nanako returned her attention to the keys, thinking about the song as she played it. As the story went, her mom once worked in a bar much like this one, "for a given value of working." Chisato always loved her mysteries... but, the story must have been at least partly true, since Ryu had known her from that bar. Either way, there was no doubt the song held great meaning to her. Nanako would often find her playing it absentmindedly, and even her hardass father smiled more softly during those times.

There was a round of applause as the spotlight left her. Not too much, she was an amateur compared to Ryu, but since the man himself was among the ones applauding, well, she allowed herself satisfaction. There were also lots of people making out. Nanako looked over to try and see whether Yosuke was one of them, but he was too far away and her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark; she hoped that he'd at least be smiling.

She returned to the bar and waited for Ryu to return from wiping down the keys to the piano. She would've done that if he'd asked, but probably he wouldn't trust anyone else to do it. The piano was precious to him, after all.

"What'll it be this time?" Ryu asked when he was behind the bar once again. "Something foreign, perhaps?"

Oh, so he wasn't even going to comment on her playing? That was a very Ryu response, so she couldn't complain, not really. "Something a little harder this time. A tequila sunrise!"

While she watched him pour orange juice and tequila into a tall glass, Nanako suddenly found herself hugged from behind. No, it wasn't actually a hug, it was just Yosuke pressed right up against her back, his arm reaching around as he shoved a paper in front of her face. "Nanako, look at this!" he yelled.

She crossed her eyes peering down at it but couldn't make any sense of the chicken scratch. "Yeah?"

"That guy... he shoved this in my pants!"

Nanako grinned at him but said nothing.

"I-I think it's his phone number," Yosuke finished, sounding awed.

"Nice. Someone's getting out of this night ahead!"

"I wanted a girlfriend, not a boyfriend," he protested.

He sighed after that, but Nanako could tell that despite his words, it wasn't an unhappy sigh. Besides, he suddenly began to smile, and it was completely unprompted. She suspected that he might be thinking of his new friend. Especially considering the way he kept toying with a particular spot on his neck. Had he been kissed there...?

Ryu slid the tequila sunrise forward in front of Nanako, then turned to Yosuke. "Hanamura. Would you like a drink?"

"Oh, you remembered my name..." He sounded uncertain about that, likely intimidated by it. "Uhh..."

"Try this," Nanako suggested, offering him the glass.

He sipped from the straw and then grimaced. "Whoa, that's stronger than the last one."

"You like it?"

"I..." He licked his lips. "Yeah, actually. Could I have one?"

She gave him her drink to have for himself. Taking in the blue lights now covering the tables on the far side of the dance floor and the club's name, she decided to ask Ryu to make something that used blue curacao. She watched him put a splash of grenadine into a shotglass, then add some sort of schnapps, and lastly, the curacao. The way it layered made the blue coloring seem like it was lazily sinking into the clear schnapps.

As it was a shot, she downed it in one gulp, shuddering afterward. This place always served the good stuff.

"Nanakooooo," Yosuke suddenly wailed. She turned and found him toying with the paper in his hands. He'd finished his drink faster than she'd expected him to. "I don't swing that way, y'know?"

"Did you read what was on that guy's t-shirt?" she said. "It said he swung both ways. There are people like that."

Yosuke blinked at her twice, his eyelids seeming very heavy, before slowly replying, "You're like that."

She nodded. "Yep. There are more people like that than you're aware of. And there's nothing wrong with it, you know? Experimenting, discovering who you are... It can take years, but we're young, we have time."

After another moment of staring at it, Yosuke folded up the paper and put it in his back pocket, then smiled. "Hey, bartender, can I have another?"

[Author's note: The last scene was a little crossover with a bl hentai game called No Thank You!. It's, umm, explicit, so don't look into it if you're not into that. It takes place in a classy bar so we couldn't resist, and Hiroyuki, a dateable character in it, is a cutie pie who wears the best shirt. I'd link a picture but sadly ffnet doesn't make it easy.

Next Chapter: Caught in the Night]