Perfectly Imperfect
"Where is he?" sighed Yosuke, his eyes darting around the audience as the crowd packed in front of the stage.
"Where's who?" Kanji asked, crossing his arms and standing beside the older boy.
"Yu. He left earlier and I haven't seen him since." Kanji quickly avoided his senpai's stare. He opened his mouth to try and brush off Yosuke's confusion, only for the other brunette to speak again. "Man, what's up with him? He's been acting so weird lately..."
"Maybe he's just happy?"
"Huh?"
Yosuke looked at Kanji with a confused, raise brow, but the younger boy just shrugged his shoulders as he continued. "Y'know, like... I wasn't always comfortable with you guys. Now I am."
"Psh. Nice try Kanji, but I know my partner. This isn't like him," explained Yosuke. The boy raised a hand to his lip, pondering the situation his partner must be in. "There's gotta be something wrong with him."
Oh boy, Kanji scratched at his mind for the right words to say, only to fall short as the lights turned on and a booming, shrill voice screamed out at them.
"Who here is ready for the real beauty pageant?!" A wave of applause and cheers answered the pink, afro-haired announcer. "Alrighty! Let's begin with our first contestant! Chie Satonaka!"
The brunette martial artists walked onto stage, her body trembling under the warmth of the spotlight and the bone-chilling gaze of the crowd. "H-hi, I'm Chie Satonaka!" The audience let out a wild applause of approval, which only caused the girl further embarrassment. Her cheeks were practically glowing scarlet as the announcer goaded her to continue. "Oh, well, my favorite food is... uh... Pudding!"
"Ya big liar, it's meat!" Yosuke shouted, electing a heated growl through the girl's teeth.
The announcer seemed to notice the sparks between the two and stepped in, smirking as he shouted into his microphone. "Whoa! Quite the spitfire, isn't she? Let's see how she ranks up against her best friend and beauty pageant rival, Yukiko Amagi!" Chie handed the mic to her friend and stepped aside as the raven-haired girl walked forward.
She glanced at the crowd, her eyes darting over the sea of people, before she took a deep breath and exhaled. Almost instantly, Yosuke and Kanji noticed something off about their friend. She stood differently, with one hip jutting out as if she was mimicking the cover to an adult magazine. She had a look of flirtatious glee on her face, with a fire burning in her eyes. "I-I'm Yukiko Amagi! And I-I'm looking for my Prince Charming!"
"Huh?!"
"What the hell? That again?!"
"Are you the one for me? Only way to find out it to vote for me! I promise a reward fit for king if you do!" she declared, as she continued to channel her Shadow's insanity. She blew a loud kiss to the audience to the wild applause and approval of the boys.
"W-what the hell?"
"Uh... Is Yukiko-senpai feeling alright?"
As if she was switched back to normal, Yukiko handed the mic to Rise and scurried away, hiding by Chie's side as her rosy cheeks threatened to set her aflame. Rise took to the stage like a fish to water as she winked at the audience, not even bothering to be introduced.
"Hey hey, everyone! It's Risette! I haven't been in town long, but I already love it here! I'm one hundred percent excited to be here!" she declared, practically hopping with glee. "So sorry that I'm not working as an idol right now, but Risette's gonna do her best, so I hope you'll all cheer for me!"
"Oh, man! Risette's so cute," Yosuke cheered, quickly distracted from his previous confusion.
The boy next to him was less enthralled. "Hmph," he grumbled, crossing his arms again. "That ain't Rise."
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that ain't Rise. She's faking."
"And since when did you become a Risette expert, dude?"
"I ain't. All I'm saying is that a man knows his bro, even if that bro just happens to be a lady."
"What...?" Yosuke stared at Kanji with a furrowed brow, utterly baffled by the statement his friend gave. "Dude, what the hell's been up with you lately?" The older teen glanced at the stage, before smiling. "Here, this'll cheer you up! Naoto's next!"
"Whatever," the blonde sighed, turning his head away. He kept his eyes off the stage as Naoto walked forward, her iconic hat missing from atop her head. Yosuke saw the boy's disinterest and briefly wondered if everyone had gone crazy...
Yu Narukami stood in the backstage, with a devilish grin. He saw the way Naoto stood on stage and he couldn't deny how adorable she was. He loved seeing her so confident and cool, but that didn't mean he wouldn't love seeing her shy and adorable any less. He loved all sides of Naoto Shirogane, it was as simple as that.
"I-I'm Naoto Shirogane," she greeted. "It's hard to believe I'm up on stage at a pageant like this... This is... beyond my wildest imaginings. I-I really don't know what to say…" There was an audible pause as she stood there, her cobalt eyes pointed down to her shoes. She could feel the weight of the crowd's stares on her, and she instinctively reached for her hat to hide behind, only to find her own blue locks.
"C-Can I step back now...?"
Perfectly imperfect, Yu smiled. Naoto watched her flee out of the spotlight and retrieve her hat from Rise. She pulled it onto her head and fidgeted in place, her fingers pulling and squeezing the hem of her coat. Her discomfort was easily seen by Yu, whose smile slowly fell as he watched her. "Hm." The announcer and Teddie stepped forward and started talking, but the silverette was already gone.
Naoto cursed Teddie's name to the high heavens as she stood within the changing tent. She cursed him and his stupid desire to have them prance around in bikinis. She cursed him as she glared at the thin, aqua-colored fabric in her hands. There were two halves of the outfit, the bra that was meant to cover her breasts (and was a size too small, Naoto noted) and a glorified thong.
Damn that bear!
"Naoto?"
"N-Narukami?!" For some reason, Naoto moved her arms to cover herself, hiding her exposed body with her arms and legs as her pink cheeks turned a vibrant crimson. It took her a moment to remember she was in a tent and he was outside... She glared at the thin walls of the changing tent, her skin tingling with embarrassed heat. "W-what are you doing here?! You're not allowed back here!"
"Well, what I'm doing here is entirely dependent on how you answer this question," he explained, his voice flowing through the cloth. She could see his shadows behind it, standing there with a no doubt smug grin on his face...
"I'm not in the mood for your teasing, Narukami. Please, return to the audience. You can see my humiliation then, like everyone-"
"Do you not want to do this?"
"W-what?"
"Going out there." She saw his hand motion to the side, lazily. "On stage in a swimsuit. If you don't want to go out there, I just want to know."
Naoto considered asking why he cared, only to mentally kick herself. Being in such a... tense predicament with the older boy made her forget that he had changed. She had thought of him like the old Narukami, a simple pervert, not the present Narukami, her best friend. She took in a steady breath through her nose, before sighing out through her mouth.
"I would much rather not. Standing out there is one thing, but exposing myself to everyone out there like this is... it's just-"
"Then don't." She saw movement from his hand, and she watched as something pressed against the blank-white cloth. For a moment, she feared Narukami's head was going to pop into the tent, but he proved her wrong and surprised her again. A hand slipped out from between the closed, fabric door. His hand. He opened it out to her, and she heard his voice call out to her. "Get dressed, and let's get out of here."
"Ms. Naoto? What do you mean she's not...?" The announcer glanced at the confused audience and coughed, clearing his throat as he tried to save face. "Well, sad news, everyone, but Ms. Naoto won't be coming out for this portion!" There was a collection of groans and boos from the crowd in response.
"Oh, well, I had a feeling that would happen," Yosuke muttered. "Wonder where she ran off to..." He briefly glanced to his left, noticng the stranger beside him, before glancing back at Kanji. "Man, where the heck is Yu? He's still not out here...?"
Kanji's eyes were on the stage, though, staring at the bikini-clad Rise. They both had a short moment of shared confusion, but her eyes widened in understanding and her lips bent into a sympathetic smile. Kanji realized it only a moment after her, nodding his head in acceptance. He felt his legs buckle a bit, but the link he had with Rise helped keep him standing. He let out a small sigh, before he returned a smile back at her, silently telling Rise that he was okay.
"I've got a feeling where he could be..."
"So what exactly is your plan?" Naoto asked as Narukami and her walked down a random hall of the school. The young sleuth was also happy to note that they were both in their in their typical 'casual' garb, without any bikinis or leather anywhere on them.
"Just hang out. We're friends, after all, aren't we?" he replied with a smile.
"I'm afraid I am not very experienced in casual recreation," she admitted, glancing at the taller boy.
"That's okay, neither am I. Didn't have a lot of real friends growing up. Plenty of lackies and suckers, though," he admitted with a shrug. He stopped and she stopped with him, brow raised in curiosity. "Let's just walk around and find something to do... Like how about this?" he inquired, pointing above the two of them. Naoto followed his finger and saw a banner hanging from the wall behind her.
Her eyes widened into the size of saucers as she recognized the words on it, stylized to resemble bloody stains. The words 'Horror of the Haunted Halls' printed in scarlet smears stared at her. Naoto mentally cursed her luck, before glancing at Narukami. She tried to speak, only to curse her misfortune again as her words stumbled. "P-perhaps not?" She cleared her throat, hiding the weakness and girlish tremble that had afflicted her. "It seems rather dull, d-doesn't it?"
But Narukami merely stared at her with his accursed silver eyes, a knowing glimmer forming in them. "Wait, you're scared, aren't you? Like, actually scared?"
"I am not scared!" she growled, glaring daggers at the smirking man. "I merely do not want to waste my time on such a juvenile venture!"
"Yeah, cause you're scared," he countered. Most friends would stop poking at another friend's nerve when they discovered it. Narukami was not one of those friends. Instead, he seemed even more inclined to poke at the subject. "Never thought I'd see the day. The great Detective Prince terrified of some silly haunted house. Disappointing," he sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head like a dejected parent.
"I am not scared!" she growled, her temper flaring for a moment. Pride overshadowed common sense and self-control as his leering smile taunted her.
"Prove it," he requested. He knew from the fire in her eyes that he had caught the little detective in his web.
I can't believe I let him goad me into this...
"You know, you can hold onto me if you get scared," he teased, grinning slyly as she glared at him."Come on. Adventure awaits." Narukami knowingly stepped faster than Naoto did, leaving the girl in the dimly lit entrance way as he walked down the decorated path.
Naoto's eyes darted left and right as she picked up her pace, trying to stand side by side with the taller silverette. She looked over the walls, and shivered slightly at their worn down appearance. The walls were dark, not helped by the flickering of the light above them, but disturbingly enough they seemed smeared with blood that had long dried on the surface. She took in a shuddering breath and exhaled, trying to keep her eyes on the ground. This only resulted in her running into the firm backside of her compatriot.
"W-why did you stop?"
Narukami glanced behind him, staring into the dark-blue eyes of the girl. She tried to read his eyes, but found the task difficult with the sound of footsteps trailing behind them. She spun around, trying not to tremble as the older boy watched her, analyzing her.
"Naoto?"
"Huh? W-what is it, Narukami?"
"Watch." She observed the young man gaze at the left wall, before rubbing his fingertips against a still wet smear. His fingers picked up droplets of blood from the wall, and to her disgust, her licked each digit clean.
"N-Narukami!"
"It's ketchup."
"Huh?"
"And these walls are cardboard with paint and Halloween decorations on them," he continued, gently tapping on the wall with his knuckle. He was silent, letting the audible, 'thunck' echo towards her.
"I..."
"You're scared. That's why you don't pick up on all the little clues around you, but look at it like a mystery. Find all the little details that prove you don't need to be scared." Narukami's voice was analytical, logical, and kind. He never once sounded like he was trying to insult or undermine the sleuth. Instead, he merely wanted to guide her to see what he saw. "Like the fact that this is still school. It may not look like it, but there's no way they're going to do anything actually damaging. No threat to our lives."
"I know that, it's just..." Naoto's eyes widened, her navy eyes darting behind them again at the sound of approaching footsteps. She felt her body fill with a pang of terror and a moment of shame. She was acting like a child! A stupid, ignorant child! She should have more control of herself, she shouldn't be jumping at every sound this accursed hall had to terrify her with... Her fingernails dug into the palm of her hands, only for a new hand to dig itself in between.
"Naoto. Focus... Analyze the area like a crime scene," he advised. Naoto blinked for a moment, before she felt his hand gently squeeze her own. "I've got your back, partner." No arrogance. No reprimand. Only one friend supporting the other.
"You're right." She sighed. "I've just never... I've never enjoyed the idea of threats that go beyond what I can see. The idea of ghosts and other paranormal superstitions have always been ridiculous, but as a child it terrified me..." Her eyes didn't dart this time. This time, she had them gently glide over the hall. She felt his hand tighten around hers for a moment, but she didn't speak up regarding it. She feared he'd remove it if she did...
"My parents would always tell me how ridiculous my fears were. They were baseless, they'd tell me. Impossible. I was safe from them... I suppose, with my recent discovery of a world beyond the one I knew, those fears aren't so baseless." Her eyes stopped when she saw what Narukami did. She gave his hand a reaffirming squeeze, before pulling away. "There's a speaker hidden under the cowbwebs by the exit."
"Yep."
His hand finally slipped from hers, but she accepted it without remark. Naoto turned to face the silverette and he offered a sympathetic smile. It was only now that a rosy blush began to form on the sleuth's cheeks. She stepped away from the taller boy, realizing how little space there had been between them. "I'm so stupid," she mourned, hiding from his gaze with the rim of her hat. "How could I have fallen for such childish ploys?"
"Hey, I spent the last fifteen years of my life being stupid and childish. You were only stupid for a couple of minutes. Trust me, you'll bounce back. Now, come on. Let's reach the end of this hall."
"Hm..." Naoto felt the corner of her lip rise for a moment as he touched her back with a comforting hand. "Very well. Lead the way, leader."
Narukami did just that, thankful that his back was facing Naoto. That way she couldn't see his own blush. The two continued to walk, and every few steps he would point out another flaw or fallacy that would make this 'Hall of Horrors' seem all the more mundane. It was odd... The more he spoke, the more he tried to help her, the more at ease she began to feel. She would never want to admit this aloud, but it was nice...
Nice enough that neither noticed how close the two were, fingers and knuckles occasionally brushing against the other as they walked. They continued to walk down the haunted hall, only slowing when Naoto noticed a new 'horror' rising to scare them, but each time Narukami would find the strings of the puppet or explain how to pick apart the illusion.
"I'm surprised at how knowledgeable you are about these things, Narukami."
"I've pulled a couple of pranks in my time. I wasn't always the paragon of virtue you see before you."
"Hm. Is that so? Surprising," she chuckled, her voice laced with a pinch of mirth and laughter. This side of her, this side of her that so freely smiled... only Narukami could lure it out of her. Only he would see it from her, for now, at least. Despite the momentary joy, Naoto let out a solemn sigh. "I still feel rather humiliated... Being scared of such a juvenile attraction... How mortifying."
"Hey, don't be yourself up. Everyone's afraid of something. The most important thing is that you're facing your fears. Or, that's what I hear, at least." Narukami gently elbowed the girl, giving her a toothy grin.
The Detective Prince frowned, despite his efforts. "Perhaps you are right."
"It's me. I'm always right," he joked.
Naoto rolled her eyes in response, before a question piqued her curiosity. She glanced at the smiling man. "I have a question."
"I have an answer."
"You stated that everyone has fears. What are yours?"
Narukami seemed taken back by the question, and for a moment, Naoto wondered if she had over-stepped her boundaries. Her fears were put at ease as he offered a small, if cautious smile. "Let's see if we can find it here. Come on."
"Wait- wha!" Narukami's hand latched onto her own and she was suddenly tugged forward, pulled faster down the hall as the silver-haired teen scanned the walls and halls. "N-Narukami, what are we looking for?" She held her hat against her head, a rosy glow forming on her cheeks once moreas she realized their hands were hooked onto one another.
"Something that terrifies me."
"Perhaps a more specific answer?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I just told you, so- aha!" He came to a sudden stop and Naoto nearly stumbled into him as he did. She barely avoided falling against his back as she straightened herself out and pulled her hand from his. "There's one. Figures one would be here. It's a classic horror trope."
"What are you talking about, Narukami?" growled Naoto, trying to position her head around the taller boy, only to have him stand in the way each time.
"Now, Naoto, I want you to know that I haven't told anyone this. This is one of my greatest fears, and has terrified me ever since I was a child." That certainly played to Naoto's curiosity. She opened her mouth to say something, before her dark-blue eyes met his light eyes. He looked at her with something in his eyes... Kindness? Kinship? Trust? It was hard to put a word to it. "This doesn't go beyond us, okay? Last thing I need is Teddie or Rise hearing about this..."
"I won't tell anyone, Narukami."
"Alright. Here it is." The silverette turned his body to reveal the wall he hid from her. There was a shelf sitting against the wall, painted and decorated to look old and decayed. Beyond that, the shelf was naked, devoid of anything Naoto could call 'scary.'
"Narukami, I-" Her eyes finally spotted something. Laying on the ground, probably discarded or planted there, was a small, plastic, baby doll. It laid there on its' back, one eye missing, and light, plastic skin faintly dented. "The doll?"
"The doll."
"You're afraid of dolls?"
"I'm afraid of creepy, plastic, baby dolls."
"You're joking." Naoto stared at the taller boy with a sharp gaze, picking apart his expression, digging into his eyes, doing everything she could to pick out the truth from him... only to find herself shocked by what she found. "You're not... You are... This is... Really?" Once again, the detective seemed at a lost of words for her silver-haired compatriot. The boy only glanced at her, his eyes returning to the children's toy laying on the ground.
"Don't sound so shocked. They're creepy." Despite not looking at her, he could feel the girl's eyes on him. There was disbelief in her cerulean pools, as if she was expecting him to smirk and laugh it all off as a joke. Instead, Narukami walked forward and crouched down, staring at the fallen doll. It continued to lay there, staring at him with a single, faded eye. "I'm not kidding. There's just something about dolls like this that creep me the hell out," he sighed. "Just makes me nervous. Like it's gonna start moving or something..."
"That's... May I ask where such a fear came from? Have you always had it, or...?" The thought of not asking for fear of it being a sensitive subject was crushed under her curiosity. She watched the way Narukami's silver eyes drifted, only to dart back to the doll as if he was afraid of taking his eyes off it. His fingers twitched, as if he was reacting to something brushing against them. His every breath was quiet, controlled, and subdued. He's actually afraid of it... He's scared of a toy.
"I was young. Just bored one night at home. Just a little seven year old, maybe six, looking for something to do. My parents were both busy with work and were to busy to do anything with me, so my dad suggested I go watch a movie. He said he still had a movie in the VHS player upstairs and that I could watch it. So I did, without a second thought."
"I fear I may know where this story leads..."
"I started the movie. It was about a creepy doll, one that looked like this, coming to life and killing people. No one expected, no one believed the kid who saw it, no one tried to stop it until it was too late... It killed over a dozen people." To Naoto's confusion, the boy began to laugh. "It was probably incredibly fake-looking. Not to mention stupid. But I was a kid... and I was probably equally stupid, if not more so."
"I ended up crying to my parents that night, telling them how scared I was. I ran in on my dad while he was on the phone and he got pissed at me, throwing me into my room and locking me inside. I hid under my blanket, terrified a doll was hiding under my bed, about to kill me."
Her friend shrugged his shoulders, lazily lifting and dropping them as he looked at her. "It's dumb, not to mention immature, but I had nightmares about that movies for weeks after, and I've been creeped by them since. Pretty dumb, huh?" He awaited Naoto's response, but it never came. He lifted his head to glance at her again, and was surprised to find her staring at him with an unreadable look in her eyes.
Pity? Disbelief?
Her hand fell on his shoulder as she sighed. "I'm sorry." She sighed, squeezing his shoulder with her hand. He gently placed his own hers, and nodded silently. Their eyes met, and Naoto saw a new side to Yu Narukami staring at her.
"It's not your fault."
"No, it isn't. But I still care." Narukami's eyes widened as she felt her soft, warm fingers slip between his. Their hands locked together, perfectly in sync as she avoided his curious, silver stare. "Let's leave this place behind. I would like to choose our next location." Her hand seemed to tremble in his own for a moment, before he gave a comforting squeeze.
Nothing's wrong, he silently told her, and when she met his gaze and allowed him to see her flushed cheeks, he knew that she heard him. "Lead the way."
The two walked out of the haunted halls with smiles on their faces. They talked and mingled, offering little things, their minds focused on better things than fears and the past. They focused on one another, and that was all that was needed. He never asked where they were going, only following along dutifully. Eventually, their hands fell apart from one another, but their distance never did. They were close, almost side by side as they walked down the halls of the school together. Eventually, Naoto led the young man to her destination of choice.
"The library?"
Naoto, for a brief moment, expected some kind of argument or childish protest about her choice of location, but she was wrong. Narukami smiled at her, before leading the way inside. She quickly followed as he spoke, eyes glancing left and right as he took in the room. The library was mostly unchanged, save for a few decorations hanging from the walls and ceiling. It was kept as a rest area, with some students sitting down to read or just speaking to their friends as they planned where to go next.
"My family has an amazing library. Mother, despite all of her problems, is an avid reader, and wanted the same for me. I assume you'll be in the mystery/crime novel section?"
"Um... Y-yes, I will." Naoto cursed her tongue and her own rosy cheeks. Narukami smiled at her again, a gentle and pleasant curve to his lips as he nodded his head.
"I'm going to grab some books for myself and meet you there. Be right back." The blue-haired sleuth watched him walk off, his hand tracing a line of books on a shelf as he walked. He seemed focus on his own search...
"R-right..."
It did not take Naoto long to find a book for herself, and a place for them to sit. Instead of sitting at a table along with strangers, she had chosen a quiet little corner of the library to sit in, planting herself on the floor and quietly awaiting the company of her best friend. She hoped sitting on the floor wasn't too much of a bother... A scarlet warmth, once again, washed over her cheeks as she sighed.
Why do I care what he thinks? He'll be fine sitting on the ground.
He likes to read. He's smart. Super-nice. He's even funny! He's kind of amazing, Naoto cursed the unprecedented thought. She stomped on it, kicked it down, and silently demand her mind never have a thought like that ever again. She took a deep breath and exhaled, shaking her head from left to right and back again. She was losing her mind. Narukami was making her lose her mind...
This must be what falling in lo- Naoto crushed the thought before it could even finish, opening up her book and immediately diving into the words within. As she turned the page, she heard a pair of footsteps approaching her. She glanced up from her book to find her silver-eyed compatriot greeting her. He said nothing, not wanting to break her concentration on her book, merely waving at her with a genuine smile on his face. Naoto stared at him, before nodding her head in acknowledgement, before glancing at the books he placed on the ground.
Narukami sat across from her, leaning his back against a bookshelf, but what caught her attention was the small pile of books he had brought with him. There had to be at least five of them, each filled with over two hundred pages each. She blinked, perplexed by the sight. "You will not be able to read all of those books in one sitting."
"Probably not, but I couldn't pick just one." Narukami picked from the pile like a child picking what game to play. His hand hovered over one choice, only to move to another. He picked up two, glancing between the summaries on the back, before putting both down and selecting another novel. Finally, he opened one of the books and began to quietly read from it, instantly enthralled by it.
"Naruakmi, do you... are you honestly enjoying yourself?"
"Hm? Yeah. I told you I like reading."
"Apologies, but I know when it comes to you, you don't always mean what you say."
"Hm. Fair. I promise I do enjoy reading. It's nice. I did it a lot as a kid when I wasn't manipulating people and breaking hearts," he admitted, shrugging his shoulder. "Probably one of my genuine good qualities before you came around."
"Hm." Narukami returned to his book, not noticing the Detective Prince's scrutinizing gaze. She chewed the inside of her lip, before glancing down at the printed words of her own novel. She tried to focus on it, tried to dive into it once more, but her eyes kept being pulled at. It was as if they were pieces of metal, and the magnet was Narukami. She opened her mouth, only to close again as she sighed through her nose.
He must have heard, as he lifted his head to glance at her. He flashed a friendly smile, nodding his head at her this time, before returning to his book. Narukami seemed so... content. He seemed so at ease. Just glad he was there, near her, accepted by her. If she said nothing, would he? Would they just sit here, together? Until the real world pulled them back in?
If they solved this case, could they do this again...?
Naoto dug her fingers into the hardback cover of the book. "Narukami," she sighed. "What are we doing?"
"Huh?"
"What are we doing here?"
"Reading. I mean, I am. You've just been kind of glaring at me for the last-"
"I mean, what are we doing with ourselves?" He continued to stare at her, without judgement, but desperate for clarity. "Even if we solve this case, you're going to be gone in a few months. So will I. We'll leave each other behind, surely you've realized that, yet you said it yourself you want to pursue a relationship with me?! That makes no sense."
"When."
"Excuse me?"
"When we finish this." Narukami placed his book on the ground and scooted over to Naoto. The detective shied away for a moment, but relaxed as he sat down beside her. Their legs brushed against one another as the silverette gazed at her. "Not if. When." He lifted a hand, but he couldn't bring himself to place it on her shoulder. Instead, it fell between them, her dark eyes staring at it silently. "We're going to solve this case, and then whatever happens will happen. I don't care."
"But-"
"You're worried about the future. I get that. You can worry about it as much as you want, I'll always be right here to tell you it'll be okay."
"Why are you so stubbornly insistent that everything will be okay?" she growled, glaring at him.
"Because-"
"Do not say it's because you're you."
"I wasn't going to. I was going to say, you're you." Naoto's brow rose as Narukami grinned, a hint of pride in his eyes, glittering like a diamond. "I know we're going to catch this killer because I believe in you, Naoto. You're smart, clever, cool... I don't know if we'll bring him in dead or alive, but we will catch him. Then you and me will figure us out. Until then, let's live for the now. You're my friend, and I'm yours. Tomorrow can bring whatever it wants to bring. Let's enjoy our lives together. Live life in the moment."
"I'm sorry to say I have little experience with such a thing. I've always worried about the future."
"Then let me help you. Just listen to your heart and speak your mind. Within reason, of course," he teased.
Within reason...? I'm not sure I can make that call anymore, she sighed, staring at Narukami. Her eyes traveled up and down his slender form, taking in the young man's athletic frame. Listen to my heart? I don't know what I'd do, were I to do such a thing... Naoto said nothing as she inched closer, pushing her body against him.
Yu Narukami stared at Naoto with an honest-to-God smile on his face. He meant every word that he said. If it was Rise or Kanji, he might have made a dumb joke. With Naoto, all he wanted to see was her smile. He stared into her navy eyes, losing himself in them...
That's when he realized her hand was squeezing his, and she was inching a little bit closer...
Wait, what...? Yu wasn't even sure if Naoto realized it. She leaned a little closer, and he felt her warm breath kiss the side of his neck. He felt his heart skip a beat as her hand squeezed his.
"Naoto...?" Memories of their kiss returned to him. They struck his body like lightning, and had a similar effect, making his skin tingle and burn as it became harder and harder to focus.
"Narukami..." He placed his free hand on the soft, smooth surface of her back. He pulled her in a little tighter as her hand fell on his chest. Naoto kept them apart as their faces inched closer. "You're very close..."
"You pulled in first."
"No." The remark was remarkably childish for the detective, a fact that was lost on neither of them. Naoto dipped her crimson face, hiding behind her hat, only to feel the cap being lifted off of her, revealing her natural sapphire locks. "N-Narukami, my hat-" The boy kept it out of her reach, dropping it beside them as she leaned in even closer. "S-stop that," she stammered as she felt his minty breath brushing against her lips.
"If you want me to leave, then just say the word. I will." She said nothing. Yu swore he heard the pounding of her heart as they leaned against the other. Maybe it was his heart, actually...
"I... I want..."
"Naoto..." He moved forward, but stopped as his lips hovered over her own. He wouldn't push her into this. If they were to kiss, it would be because she wanted to. This was her choice.
"Yu..."
"Big bro?"
The words shattered the little world Naoto and Yu had made. Their eyes widened as someone began to approach them, a familiar voice calling to them. Naoto pulled away, standing up and quickly fixing herself as Nanako walked out from behind a bookshelf. She beamed at the sight of the two as Yu stared at Naoto's back.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Yukiko invited us to her inn! Can we go?! Please!" she pleaded, running towards her cousin and hugging his side.
"Oh, uh..." Yu glanced at Naoto, who was picking her hat up and placing it onto her head.
"I-I'll go find the others." Without another word, the blue-haired sleuth began to leave, her movement just a micron slow of running away. Yu watched her vanish behind the bookshelf and let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed his face, feeling the warmth and heat that his cheeks tingled with.
"Sure, Nanako. Let's go get the others..."
END
I am not a happy camper. I am, in fact, an unhappy camper. Not because of any of you, lovely, lovely people. I love you guys. Platonic hugs and high fives all around. No, I'm unhappy with myself. I should have updated faster, should have wrote this chapter better, should just be better. I won't bore you guys with my self-loathing and immaturity. Just know that I'm trying my best, and if you feel like I can do better, you're probably right. Call me out on it. I'll try to do better next time, I promise.
I'm not a 100% happy with this chapter. Honestly, it feels it is kinda weak. Just Yu and Naoto bonding and falling in love. Sad, depressing love triangles are easy. Fluff is hard. This was supposed to be a fun respite before things get dramatic next chapter. It's up to debate if I actually accomplished that. Also, I changed the title from Date Night to Perfectly Imperfect to match the theme of the chapter. It's about Naoto learning about her friend, and some of his little imperfections. Yet she still cares for him. He's perfectly imperfect.
Anyways, have a wonderful Halloween, folks. I hope to make a Halloween special for Tales by tomorrow, but we'll see.
Oh, right. Ahem. Catch the next chapter of Just a Delinquent, the Yukiko chapter! I do not have a name for it yet... Oops.