The following day was a Sunday. Teddie was really happy that the others decided to take a day off from fighting, because he had the morning off from his job at Junes. And having Sunday morning off meant it was craft time! He flung open the door to the textile shop and shouted. "This bear is ready to party!"

Kanji rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you stupid bear!" The kids all giggled, and several of them ran up to Teddie for hugs. Teddie had been showing up to Kanji's kid craft group since he started having them. Nanako-chan had only come once or twice, because he spent lots of time hanging out with senpai back then, so they did crafts together all the time. Miusagi came to craft class faithfully until he was about 10. Teddie had never missed a single one. Kanji walked up to Teddie and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Be good, ok?" he asked patiently.

"Ok, Kanji-chan! I promise!" Teddie said happily. Then he went to sit with the kids. He made silly faces and told them funny stories while they made this week's craft. "Oh, let me help you with that! Did you know that Teddie is actually a certified glitter expert?" he said in a coy voice. The children around him giggled as he helped them apply glitter to their crafts, dumping some on himself in the process.

Kanji was watching this and sighing deeply when Miusagi entered the shop. "What's he doing?" Miusagi asked.

"Making a freaking mess," Kanji grunted.

"The kids look pretty into it, though," Miusagi added.

Kanji shrugged. "You used to think it was pretty funny, too."

"Yeah. But mostly because that face you make when he's driving you crazy is pretty funny."

Kanji laughed. "That figures." He looked at Miusagi curiously. "How come you're here?"

"Mom had a thing," Miusagi said with a shrug. Sunday was really the only day he saw her for more than a few minutes. Lately she had started making other plans that didn't include him on Sundays, too. He hated it, but what was he supposed to do about it? He couldn't make her want to spend time with him.

Kanji nodded. "You want to help out with the kids, or work the counter?"

"Counter," Miusagi said with relief, glancing at Teddie out of the corner of his eye. Kanji laughed again.

"Fair enough," he answered, heading into the fray of little kids and glitter while Miusagi took his place behind the shop's counter.


"Why are you here on Sunday mornings, anyway?" Chie asked Naoto in a grumble. Now that Naoto understood what her little "ailment" was, she apparently felt better and had lots of energy for sparring. Chie hadn't expected to have her butt kicked at this ungodly hour of the morning. Normally, Sundays were quiet, especially this early.

"It is… craft day," Naoto said with a guilty look on her face.

"Craft day? What the heck is that?" Chie asked as she dodged another punch.

"Kanji's craft group. For the children," Naoto managed to force out. She was feeling breathless and they had barely begun the match. She hadn't expected physical activity to be so taxing when pregnant.

"Wait… are you telling me you're afraid of little kids?" Chie taunted, knowing she was pushing all the right buttons. Sometimes you have to win the match with a little manipulation, she thought.

"I… No! No, of course not," Naoto lied, barely dodging Chie's high kick.

"I think that's totally adorable, Detective Tatsumi. A pregnant detective that's terrified of preschoolers!" Unfortunately, Chie's taunting worked too well. Naoto clocked her hard in the side of the face.

"Oh! Chie-san, I apologize! Are you alright?" Naoto asked frantically.

Chie stayed on the floor laughing. "Yes. It was totally worth it to see your face, though. For real, do they scare you that much?"

"No… I mean, sometimes. Not all of them. But a room full of children brandishing gluesticks is fairly unsettling," Naoto admitted.

"Ok, well… you know you're going to have to get over that soon, right?" Chie asked, having finally stopped laughing.

"I am only pregnant with one child, Chie-san. It won't be nearly the same as a large group."

"Oh? What about the baby's play dates? And helping out at preschool? All the best moms help with snack time and all that, right?" Chie pointed out.

"I… had not thought of that," Naoto said, becoming pale.

"Hey… it's all good, Naoto. You'll get the hang of things. And you can always just send Kanji to deal with snack time, right? Here, let's get you a bottle of water, I think that was enough of a workout for today."

"Of course. I suppose there is paperwork waiting for us as well," Naoto said.

Chie groaned. "R-Right. Of course." You're such an idiot, Satonaka! Naoto's punches hurt, but they were still more fun than stupid paperwork.


Nanako sighed loudly. She was sure Souji had heard it, and she had meant for him to. But he was doing a great job at ignoring it. He turned to her and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, Nanako. You know we need to do this."

"I know. And I don't have to like it."

"No. You don't," Souji said quietly as he took her arm and pulled her out of the elevator. It wasn't a holiday, but they were going to visit Adachi at the prison. And Dojima was unaware they were doing it. Souji had insisted that they go alone, so they could "have words" with him. Before, despite knowing that he had obviously done something wrong, Nanako thought of Tohru Adachi as a friend. Family, even. Like an uncle or something. That crazy uncle that you brought a cabbage to when you visited him in prison on his birthday. Now all she could think of was how he had almost killed her.

She kept silent the rest of the way to the visitation room. Souji wasn't going to change his mind, and he already knew she was unhappy about it. They pushed open the door to find Adachi sitting at the table with his head down. He stood when they entered the room.

"Souji-kun! Nanako-chan! It's so good to see you both!" Adachi exclaimed. Souji approached him and gave him one of those one armed guy hugs. Nanako tried not to throw up.

"How have you been?" Souji asked gently as they sat across the table from each other.

"Oh, as well as I can be. I was surprised to hear you kids were coming. I'm so happy to see you both," he said. His eyes looked slightly teary and his voice was sincere. Nanako looked at the ground. It was hard to hate someone who you considered family.

"Oh, Nanako has a gift for you," Souji added.

She looked over at him stunned. Then she remembered the stupid cabbage. "Oh, right. This is from the garden. We hope you enjoy it," she said with a slight curtsey and passed him the cabbage.

Adachi beamed at her as he took it. "Thank you, Nanako-chan! Goodness, you're even taller than the last time I saw you, already! Is school going well?"

"Y-Yes." She looked at Souji, who nodded and stood up. She took the chair across from Adachi. Souji stood behind her and placed his hands on the back of her chair. "I know what you did. Why you're in here, I mean. That what happened to me was because of you."

Adachi had a shocked look on his face, but he held her gaze. "I see," he said, eyes watering. He looked down in shame. "I'm sorry," he said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Look at me, please," Nanako insisted. Adachi did as she asked, tears spilling from his eyes. "I am choosing to forgive you. Not for you, but for me. So… that's all."

Adachi's eyes widened. "Nanako-chan! Th-Thank you!"

Nanako shook her head. "Not for you. Remember that." Adachi nodded. Souji took a deep breath and sat in the chair beside Nanako.

"We need to ask you some questions," he said seriously. "People are being thrown in the TV again. We thought you might be able to help us figure some things out."

Adachi nodded. "I'll do anything I can to help."