(A/N: So sorry this has taken so long to update; I think this is my longest chapter to date. I was tempted to make it into two chapters but there wasn't a good place to split it. A big thanks to my beta reader Grae, and as usual, I hope you all enjoy the story!)
Chapter 9
1st September 2011
Kanji slid the door back from the classroom and headed out with the rest of the class. He thought the teachers would have been lenient considering it was the first day back, but they all seemed way too keen to jump straight into the second semester stuff. The PE teacher was particularly sadistic, making them run laps in the brutal end-of-summer heat. Kanji wasn't bad at sports per se; he was naturally tall, fit and strong. It was just that he had no desire to play soccer, basketball, or pretty much any team sports, and it showed, much to the despair of Mr Kondo.
Kanji's saw his friends further ahead, busy talking to a small group of people outside of class 1-1. They all hadn't gotten together in a while because of the long break; perhaps they could hang out after school? A sudden thought crossed his mind; they would probably stop hanging out as much now that the murders had stopped, wouldn't they? Junes wasn't even their special headquarters any more. He felt a wave of disappointment. He didn't particularly want to go back to doing what he was doing before, just killing time until he could finally declare that he was done with school, but now that the murders had stopped, he couldn't see much reason for the second years to want to spend time with him.
He blinked in surprise when he recognised who they were talking to; Naoto was standing there, backed up against the classroom door, looking mildly pissed off. What the hell was he doing here? He was wearing their summer uniform as well. Had he been at their school all day, and Kanji hadn't noticed? They must have been in different classes, but still, he thought Rise would have said something. She knew everything that was going on. The group weren't talking to Naoto alone; two unimpressed looking girls, first years like him, were also there. They were glaring at Naoto. What the hell could he have said to them to make them so pissed off?
Kanji briefly thought of turning tail and heading towards the practice building, but stopped himself. He wasn't afraid of nothin'.
"H-Hey guys. 'Sup?" He was trying to keep the stammer out of his voice; Chie waved at him in greeting. The two girls looked up at him as he approached, their scowls at Naoto replaced with momentary looks of panic.
"Uh, well, we'll be going now," one of the girls said, picking up her sports bag. Her friend nodded quickly, clutching her books close to her chest as the two of them hurried away. Naoto looked after them, and shrugged. He turned to Kanji, his face impassive, his expression neutral.
"So we meet again. May I help you?" Kanji felt his mouth go dry. Get it together man. He is jus' talkin' to you! Say something- anything!
"Hey, Naoto-kun, if you're not doing anything after school wanna come with us?" Chie asked, smiling gently. Kanji had never been so grateful to another person in his life. Naoto looked confused, his features shifting into a look of surprise.
"Come with- you mean me?" He took a moment to think about it, then shook his head, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Perhaps another time, I have some things to mull over." Kanji looked over to Rise; she was stood next to Yu, her hands behind her back. She had a strange, stoic expression on her face.
"Things to mull over?" Rise asked, raising an eyebrow. Kanji could hear the bite in her voice. She was still pissed at him after that entire Junes thing, huh. Naoto didn't seem to notice.
"I must go straight home today; I promised my grandpa so." He hadn't looked up from the floor.
"Grandpa?" Kanji asked, and immediately regretted doing so. He didn't mean to blurt that out. Why did he always have to say the first dumb thing that came into his head? He'd never really thought about where Naoto was staying whilst he was in Inaba. It made sense that he had family in the area, but, his grandpa and not his parents…?
"Oh well, that's that, then. Let's hang out some other time," Chie said, shrugging. Kanji thought about hanging back, seeing a chance to finally speak to Naoto alone, but decided against it. He had no idea what to say, plus it would all but confirm any suspicions Rise had, if she had any. It would be good to just hang out with Yu and everyone again, right?
They bid Naoto goodbye. Chie and Yukiko headed towards the entrance to change their shoes, having already made the decision that they were going to Junes. Yosuke and Yu followed, Rise clinging to his arm. Kanji noticed that her demeanour had shifted back to her usual animated self. Kanji swore she winked at him as he passed. What the hell did that mean? Did she notice him hesitating around Naoto...? No, there was no way she knew. It was just his imagination.
Rise was monopolising Yu's time, giggling and flirting with him as they walked, while Chie and Yukiko seemed deep in conversation so that left him to walk with Yosuke. They didn't talk about much; Kanji had no idea what to say to him. It wasn't as if they had anything in common, especially now that the murders had stopped. They made their way to the top floor of the department store, to their usual seating area. In the distance, Kanji could see Teddie in the food court, dressed once again in his bear suit, entertaining the customers. Kanji had always wondered what Teddie did all day when they were at school.
"Man, did you see Naoto's attitude?" Yosuke said, wincing. "He sure blew his debut at school. Is he gonna be ok at Yasogami?"
"He is different, but he has this mysterious air that draws your attention," Yukiko said, with an excited look in her eyes. That pissed Kanji off, and…. kinda worried him. This was the first time he had ever heard Yukiko actually take an interest in anyone at school. And it wasn't as if she didn't have the pick of the school to choose from; everyone had a thing for her. Of course Naoto was much more likely to be into her than him. Hell, Naoto had probably never even thought of liking guys. It had taken Kanji this long to accept it, and he had known for years, looking back. He frowned.
"Whoa Yukiko, I never knew! You like younger guys?" Yosuke said, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
"No, that's not what I meant!" Yukiko protested, blushing. She was oblivious to the look Kanji was giving her.
"Naoto said that he had "things to mull over," but he's gotta be talking about the murder case." Chie said. She sounded excited at the prospect. So, Chie was kinda bummed out that it was all over too, huh? Kanji leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"He's some ace detective right? I bet he's not satisfied, even those the case is closed." Yosuke said, shaking his head.
"That's true, but…" Chie looked despondent. Kanji kinda knew what she was feeling. As much as the murders were terrible, and the worst thing to have happened to the town in a long time, being part of a team workin' to solve the mystery was freakin' awesome. He was gonna miss it. Hell, even this wasn't the same.
It was over right? They had solved the mystery. All that was left to worry about was getting through the rest of the school year.
7th September 2011
It promised to be a scorching day. They hadn't had any rain or fog in ages; whilst it was great to actually be able to see clearly in the town, the sticky, oppressive heat was an endurance test in its own right. Kanji and Yosuke walked to school together. The trip to Tatsumi Port Island was looming, and whilst Kanji was excited about a chance to leave Inaba, he was surprised to discover that Yosuke hadn't even planned for the trip.
"You are way too excited about this." Yosuke said, annoyance tinging his voice, "I mean, you're even worried about how many boxes of animal crackers to bring. We're only gonna be there for two nights, dude! Besides, I'm pretty sure they have convenience stores on Port Island." He'd been in a foul mood all morning. Kanji had wondered what was up, but Yosuke had snapped at him when he'd asked.
"For serious!? I've never really left this place, so…" Kanji said, shrugging. Yosuke's attitude was grating on his nerves. He stopped, and thought about it, frowning. "I wonder if the murders here got as much play over there, too. Like that Mitsuo Kubo dude. They're still showing him on TV here. Every time I switch on the tube, the news is showing like, what he wrote in his yearbook. Pisses me off, man."
"Uh, why does it bother you so bad?"
Kanji shook his head, trying to find the words to explain. It was something personal and close to him, about who he was and how he was perceived by everyone.
"The frickin' media's slapping together anything they can find to make the dude look like a born criminal. People think they can say anythin' they want about a guy who's been branded a criminal… it's just not right."
"Well, that's just how it is. The guy is a murderer; you can't just expect people not to make a big deal outta something like that." Yosuke said. Kanji frowned.
"Yeah, I know. I still hate the guy's guts." He punched his palm for emphasis. "But, I dunno, after getting involved with all this, I started to realize how off-base most rumors are. It's so messed up…" he trailed off. The entire thing made him feel uncomfortable, uneasy.
"Well I gotta admit, the news can be pretty out there," Yosuke said. Kanji saw Yu up ahead.
"Mornin' Senpai,"
"Yo. So, you ready for the trip yet? This guy won't shut up about it" Yosuke said to Yu, rolling his eyes at Kanji.
"Yosuke-senpai hasn't even started packing," Kanji retorted. "He was all "Was that tomorrow?" What's up with that?"
"Hey, it's Naoto." Yosuke said, cutting Kanji off. Naoto walking briskly towards them despite the heat, shirt buttoned up tightly, satchel in hand. Kanji felt a shiver go down his spine, his annoyance at Yosuke shifting into awkwardness.
"Yo, how's it going?" Yosuke said, smiling for the first time that morning. Naoto came over, his face shadowed from the bright sunshine by the brim of his cap. His gaze met Kanji's, and he smiled. It had been a whilst since Kanji had seen that. Oh god, he was cute.
"Good morn-"
"Oh yeah, I-I'm on duty today!" Kanji cut Naoto off, speaking slightly louder than intended. Everyone was staring at him. He felt his face go red. He let out a nervous laugh. "W-Well, see ya later!" He walked briskly from the group, shoulders tense, towards the shopping district. He could hear Yosuke talking, but quickly became too far away to hear the words.
He had messed that up. Why couldn't had stayed and talked to him like a normal human being? Why did he have to run like that? He shook his head. Well, this changes now. From now on he wasn't going to run away. He ain't scared of nothin'. He was going to man up and hang out with Naoto. It was what he wanted, right? And instead of doing just that he was being a huge pussy. He let out a frustrated growl. He couldn't go back now though. It would look too weird. "I'm on duty today!" On duty for what, genius? Kanji was furious at himself. This came outta nowhere. It was so stupid!
Naoto probably thought he was weird as hell, running off like that. Just like he ran off last time, chasing after Yosuke and Chie. Why did he always look like a freakin' idiot?
Naoto would be on the trip tomorrow, right? Well, that was a chance to actually get to know him. To hang out. The worst he could say was no.
8th September 2011
Kanji freakin' loved the city. It was an exciting change of pace. Yosuke had been right; there were convenience stores, a lot of them. In fact, almost one on every street. And a hell of a lot of vending machines; unlike the ones outside of Mrs Shiroku's store, these ones actually worked. He thought the shopping district could get busy, like at the summer festival, but that was nothing compared to how Port Island was on a normal day. And what's more, no one gave him odd looks or commented on how he dressed or acted. No one knew who he was; no one assumed he was in a biker gang, or a fag, or anything.
They hadn't had much free time to explore though. The entire first day of the trip was spent at Gekkoukan High School. It was so much bigger and newer than Yasogami. There was some kind of holiday going on that day so the school was closed, and Kanji was awed by how big everything was, everything made even bigger for the emptiness. It must have thousands of students attending. Kanji didn't care for school; he thought it to be a waste of time, but he had to admit that Gekkoukan looked like a pretty cool place.
After their tour of Gekkoukan, and after the special classes that had been put on just for them, the first and second years had regrouped and had been led to a part of town Rise called Shirakawa Boulevard. Kanji hadn't known what that meant and when he'd asked, Rise had just blushed and giggled. Senpai's new homeroom teacher, Ms Kashiwagi, had chosen the hotel, and was extremely pleased with herself.
"Alrighty, here we are, the Seaside Clamshell Inn! We'll be staying here tonight." Ms Kashiwagi said, gesturing to the building behind them. Kanji looked at the building. The place had a sleazy, low budget feel to it, and reminded him in more than one way of Rise's strip club.
"So what do you think? It was me who found this place. It opened not too long ago! It's got that modern look and the price was right. Personally, I think it was an excellent choice!" Kanji was not impressed. He folded his arms in front of his chest. Rise had a hand in front of her mouth, stifling a giggle. Yukiko looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Dude, this totally looks like a Love-" Yosuke said in a frantic, hushed whisper to Yu. Ms Kashiwagi heard him.
"You there! Don't just stand there! Keep marching in!" Kanji shot a look to Rise, who was still giggling. She grinned at him, shrugged, and led the way into the hotel. Kanji saw Yu hang back, but didn't comment. He couldn't blame the guy.
Kanji was mildly uncomfortable as he checked in; a lot of his attention was focussed on trying hard not to look too closely at the decor. The clerk behind the counter didn't seem entirely happy with a group of teenagers milling about in the lobby.
"Right all of you, come here." Ms Kashiwagi said, in a sing-song voice. "Second years, boys and girls, your lists of who is sharing with who is here," she stuck two pieces of paper onto the wall, "and first years, yours is here." She did the same again. She had a small grin on her face. Had she had anything to do with the room order? If he was with Ando there'd be hell to pay. Kanji spotted him at the other end of the lobby with his asshole friends. He cast Kanji a hateful look, and looked away. Kanji returned the scowl.
There was an initial surge to see who was with who. Kanji looked around. He saw Naoto at the back of the room, glancing around the place, a stricken expression on his face.
"Your rooms have all been allocated for you," Ms Kashiwagi said. "Every room has a waterbed, but be careful! If you switch the wrong switch when turning off the lights you bed will start spinning!"
Kanji carefully made his way over to Naoto, not walking directly towards him but instead stalking around the mob of students.
"H-hey," Kanji said, self-consciously rubbing the back of his head. Naoto fixed his gaze firmly on Kanji. His arms were firmly crossed over his chest, a familiar defensive action. He didn't look comfortable at all. "You ok, man? D-do you know what room you're in yet?" Kanji asked. He knew how awkward he sounded, he just couldn't think of anything to say. Naoto nodded, lowering his head to hide his eyes.
"Yes. I have a private room on the first floor." His voice was low, almost a whisper.
"Private room?" Kanji blurted out. Naoto looked up at him, his gaze hard. Is he… is he pissed off? What did I say?
"I have work to conduct whilst here, and I didn't think it wise to disturb a roommate." Naoto said coolly.
"Oh. Right. Uh-"
"Did you want anything, Kanji-kun?" Naoto asked, sighing. Kanji wracked his brain for something to talk about. This wasn't going well. Say something… ask him to join you tomorrow when you have free time!
"No, I, uh-"
"Well then, I must go to my room. I have matters to attend to. Goodnight." Naoto nodded in parting, picked up his satchel and overnight bag and headed down the corridor. Kanji looked after him, and sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Why was he so shit at this?
The lobby was slightly less busy now, students beginning to filter to their rooms. The other guests in the hotel had come out to see what all the commotion was, and they seemed extremely embarrassed at the sight of a group of teenagers checking in.
Kanji picked up his overnight bag and glanced over the first year room allocation list. He couldn't see Naoto's name anywhere. Weird. Kanji looked up his own name; he was rooming with another boy from his class. This guy had never given him any particular trouble in the past, nothing beyond a few sniggers and odd looks when Ando was giving him shit, anyway. As much as his ideal would have been to share with Yosuke and Yu again, it could have been worse.
9th November 2011
Kanji was surprised to see Teddie at breakfast, dressed in his normal clothes and looking pleased with himself. He had apparently saved up his money working at Junes and followed them on the train, not wanting to be left behind. Yu had snuck him into the hotel last night, under the guise of being a stuffed toy.
They had some free time that afternoon. The school recommended going on a factory tour, taking advantage of being in the city, but Rise had suggested going shopping instead, and then to a "great place" later. Kanji was keen to see the city; he was quick to agree with her.
The "great place" Rise had been talking about was conveniently at Paulownia Mall, a place called Escapade. She'd led them in, telling them about how she had done a gig here a few years ago, and they were immediately greeted by the sudden blast of noise of a live band, and the sight of people dancing. Of course Rise would think a club was a great place to hang out. They really weren't really Kanji's thing, but he'd liked what he had seen of the city so far, so went in relatively high spirits. The alternative was hanging out in the love-hotel, and he liked that idea much less.
The others were just as enthusiastic. Well, the girls anyway; Yosuke was still in a weird uncooperative mood. Chie and Yukiko were both in awe, their eyes wide and they took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Rise was in her element, eagerly showing the place off, bobbing her head in time to the music; Kanji had never seen her look so much at home.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kanji spotted someone walking down a set of stairs near them. He recognised him immediately: the white, starched shirt; dark blue cap; Naoto. He turned his back, quickly trying to think of a game plan. Maybe it was 'cause he was in a good mood, but the sight of Naoto didn't send him into a panic as it had done yesterday at the hotel. He could feel a familiar blush rise on his cheeks, but it was dark; he didn't think anyone would be able to notice. He heard the others talking to Naoto; Yukiko even asked him to join them. Kanji felt a twinge of jealousy.
He turned back to face the group, feeling slightly more composed. Naoto was blushing. There was no mistaking it.
"Are you… asking me to stay?" Naoto looked surprised, his cheeks a deep red. Kanji smiled a little at the sight; Naoto was freakin' adorable. But, he wanted to be the reason he looked like that, not Yukiko.
"Uh-huh. We didn't get to chat last time." Yukiko said, her arms behind her back.
"Ah… I… I-It's just that I had some matters to attend to that day." Naoto looked flustered, and stuttered in response. He looked cute when he was caught off guard. Kanji quickly looked at Rise. She had been staring at him. She met his eyes, looked at Naoto, and back to him. She stepped forward.
"Well, you're free now, right? I was really eager to talk to you. I'm curious how someone my age is working as a detective. What do you say?" Rise said, switching seamlessly into her Risette persona. Kanji furrowed his brow in confusion. Kanji knew that Rise didn't particularly care for Naoto, and the last he knew she was pissed at him for being a jerk at Junes. She turned back to Kanji and grinned at him, scrunching her eyes as she did so. She'd worked it out. She knew.
"Hmmm… Very well, if you insist..." Naoto said, looking at the floor.
"Huh? What's up? You look a little red…" Yosuke said to Naoto, ducking down to look under Naoto's cap.
"Th-That's not true!" Naoto took a few steps backwards, turning his face away. Kanji wanted to grab Yosuke by his collar and yank him back.
"Wait here. I'll go reserve the area upstairs for us." Rise said, her hand on her hip, her head tilted to one side. She peered around as if searching for something, before heading towards the bar area.
"…Wait, what!? Reserve!?" Yosuke said, teasing Naoto forgotten, taking a step or two after her.
"Yep." She saw his panicked look and laughed. "Don't worry, I think I can pull some strings." Rise skipped off. Kanji stood up tall and straightened his shoulders. Yosuke caught his eye, glanced at a nervous looking Naoto, and smirked.
"What's wrong, man? Stomach pains?" he winked, folding his arms across his chest. Kanji scowled at him. He noticed that Naoto was looking over at them.
"That ain't it." Kanji said, way too quickly.
"Whatever man," Yosuke nudged his elbow. Rise came back after a moment, a well dressed middle aged man in tow. He led them up the stairs to the private VIP area of the club.
That had been an… interesting evening. The private area felt very exclusive - it must have been extremely expensive; they even had a personal waiter bringing them their drinks. Rise had assured them that the club owed her a favour after a mishap at one of her shows two years ago.
Kanji had spent a lot of the evening watching Naoto; they were sat more or less opposite each other, he couldn't help it. Naoto hadn't been very relaxed; the way he was watching Yukiko and Rise was oddly scrutinising. It gave him an air of contempt. Kanji had thought that Naoto had wanted to hang out with them socially, but as time went on it had became obvious to even him that he was waiting for them to slip up, to say something out of the ordinary. He hadn't trusted them at all.
Whilst Kanji couldn't work out what Naoto was thinking despite his best efforts, he could see something was being analysed. It was as though everything they did was being memorised, stored for later. Thankfully, Naoto hadn't seemed to want to analyse him. He had seemed to be most suspicious of Yu than anything.
Things had gone rapidly downhill when it appeared that Rise, Yukiko and Teddie's drinks had been spiked. It had started out as a few slurred words and bit of swaying, but had gotten much worse as the evening progressed. Rise responded with being exuberant, Yukiko finding everything hilarious, and Teddie being overtly sexual in everything he said and did. Kanji had tasted their drinks once he suspected something was wrong, much to Rise's indignance, but hadn't been able to taste the alcohol in them at all. Naoto had been decidedly unimpressed throughout.
The tipsy mood had paved the way for King's Game. Kanji had never played it before, and after getting smooched by a very drunken and disorderly Teddie in the first round, didn't particularly have any desire to play it again. After scruffing Teddie and hurling him to the bar to get some water, they made their way back to the group.
They were still playing that stupid game.
"You didn't even draw a chopstick!" Yosuke said to Yukiko, looking indignant. She was stood leaning her legs against the table, brandishing a red chopstick, grinning, her face flushed a deep red. Teddie slunk back into his seat, and quickly forgot that he was unhappy with Kanji for removing him from the game.
"Alright, then… Let's have someone talk about something really embarrassing that they'd never wanna tell anyone!" Yukiko's eyes were glassy as she looked around the room. "Let's see… Ah! Naoto-kun! I choose you!" Naoto sat up straight when his name was mentioned. Kanji couldn't read his expression.
"She's breaking all the rules. Just ignore her, Naoto." Yosuke said. He didn't look to be enjoying himself at all.
"No… No, that won't be necessary." Naoto said, tipping the brim of the hat upwards, showing more of his face. "One stipulation, though: If I do this, the rest of you must reveal "something" as well." Kanji swore that he smirked when he said this. He was up to something. Kanji sat back in his usual seat opposite Naoto, listening intently.
"Okaaay!" Yukiko said enthusiastically, swaying in her seat.
"No particularly embarrassing experiences come to mind. Would discussing my life be fair game? It's the rare situation like this that gives me call to speak of such things." Naoto still had that small smile on his face. As much as it was suspicious, it was cute.
"Damn… way to kill the mood…" Yosuke said, rolling his eyes. The mood had shifted somewhat. It was pensive, almost melancholic. A far cry from the giddy and silly atmosphere from a few moments ago. Not that Rise seemed to notice; she was still sat swaying in her seat. Kanji wondered how the hell they were going to get them home.
"The Shirogane family has been detectives for generations now. We lend our powers to the police from time to time." Naoto explained.
"For generations? Wow, it's like that guy from a movie I watched before. What was his name… Kuzu…noha?" Chie said, sipping her drink. She genuinely seemed interested.
"In days gone by, when there were no crime scene investigators, consulting detectives were considered more valuable. Thus, my grandfather still has a strong connection with the police and looks after me, despite my youth and inexperience. But investigators nowadays are well versed in science and medicine, so I must further my studies."
"That sounds tough…" Yousuke said. he paused for a moment for Naoto to continue. Naoto shrugged, done with his story. "…That's it? No punch line?" Kanji had to admit, he had been expecting more.
"Um, I fear you may be looking to the wrong person for that." Naoto said, looking down.
"That's so embarrassing! Isn't Naoto-kun embarrassing?" Yukiko obviously hadn't been listening. She let out a weird laugh, before descending into a fit of giggles.
"I wanna go home." Yosuke said, looking thoroughly fed up.
"Phew… I'm sleepy." Rise said. She leant back against the soft plush bench and closed her eyes. She looked fast asleep. Kanji guessed he was going to be carrying her home, then.
"Well then, it's your turn now." Naoto said, smiling again. "A straight answer, please. What is your true involvement with the murder case?" So that was his game. Kanji straightened his jaw. He had no idea how to answer that. He was glad that the question hadn't been directed at him. Naoto was looking fixedly at Yu.
"You know, you're so good at killing the mood that it's almost funny. " Yosuke said, sneering, dodging the question. To Kanji's dismay, Yukiko answered him. She was honest too, in her drunken state, she told Naoto everything, about the TV, about rescuing people. Rise even briefly awoke to add in a few details of her own.
Kanji felt his draw drop. Yosuke looked stricken.
"Y-You idiot…" Yosuke said. Naoto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked angry and disappointed.
"Are you making fun of me?" His voice was low, annoyed. Yukiko and Rise began to protest, drunkenly trying to make him believe them.
"Sheesh! Somebody put these two drunks to bed already!" Chie said. Her good mood had also abated. She looked at Yukiko, partly with concern, and partly with annoyance.
" …I see now that you had no intention of telling me the truth." Naoto said, standing up. "But I'm curious. How did you become so inebriated? This isn't alcohol!"
"Good one, Naoto!" Yukiko said, laughing as if he had said the funniest joke. The laugh made her snort, and this made her laugh all the more. It made Naoto frown all the more.
"No, I confirmed it when I first entered. No alcohol has been served here since a rash of drunk driving last year." He was scowling, looking at each of them in turn. Kanji met his eyes and shrugged. He'd told them that earlier; he'd not been able to taste the booze when he had tasted the drinks. Rise had gone back to sleep on the bench.
"Hey, Senpai, how the hell're we gonna get back with two passed-out drunks!?" Kanji asked Yu, rubbing the back of his head.
"As I said, they haven't been drinking alcohol! Are you a pack of imbeciles?" Naoto interrupted, hitting his hand on the table, raising his voice for the first time that evening. The outburst pissed Kanji off. The worst thing was, no one had lied to Naoto, he just thought they had. Kanji wanted to explain, but at this point, Naoto didn't look like he would listen.
"Alcohol or not, they ain't in a fit state to walk." Kanji snapped, standing to his full height. He towered above Naoto. Naoto looked shocked at being shouted at. He looked lost for a second, staring up at Kanji with large eyes, before pulling his cap down and bidding them a curt farewell. He left in a hurry, stalking down the stairs. Kanji watched him go. Naoto had kinda deserved it, but Kanji felt guilty. I messed that up. Again. He shook his head. He'd deal with Naoto later.
"I guess we're carrying them back, huh?" He said to Yu, before rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles.
With some difficulty they managed to get both Rise and Yukiko outside under their own power. However, Kanji had been right, they weren't going to walk far in that state, and the hotel was a decent walk away.
Yu sighed and knelt down. With the help of Chie, he managed to maneuver a very unsteady Yukiko onto his back. She rested her head on his back, her arms draped over his shoulders. She made a content noise as she drifted in and out of sleep.
Carefully Kanji lifted Rise, resting her head against his chest as he scooped her up. She barely weighed anything. She murmured something under her breath of wanting to stay out drinking until the morning, and flailed a little. Kanji thought he was going to drop her for a moment, but carefully rearranged his grip.
"Right. So, uh, who knows the way back?"
After getting Yukiko and Rise back to the girl's corridor, and leaving Chie to put them into their respective beds, Yu and Yosuke headed to their room. Yosuke said he'd had enough for one night, and Yu had complained of being tired after carrying Yukiko all the way back. They didn't look like they wanted his company, so Kanji had bid them goodnight, and wondered what to do with the rest of his evening.
He briefly went back to his room, but saw that his roommate was in there with a few of his friends. They had all looked up when he entered, and turned slightly pale when he'd come in. Kanji didn't have time for that bullshit. He left quickly, slamming the door behind him, feeling unwelcome. It wasn't that late, but he didn't particularly want to head back out into the city by himself. As cool as Port Island was, it was definitely a place to explore with friends. But a walk did sound good though; the hotel was stiflingly warm in the corridors and some fresh air sounded very appealing.
The evening was still very warm with swarms of mosquitoes making a high pitched whine in the dark. Out front of the hotel, just beyond the busy road lined with seedy karaoke bars and other Love Hotels, was a little alleyway leading to a small path along a river. He walked down it, away from the noise and lights.
It was quiet out here, peaceful even. A street like this wouldn't look out of place in Inaba and seemed at odds with what he had seen of Port Island so far. Perhaps this was an older part of town that hadn't recently been refurbished? The drone of car engines, noisy bars and restaurants and the distinct murmur of a lot of people going about their lives seemed very far away. Even somewhere as bustling as Port Island, there were still quiet places to go to.
Kanji sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before leaning on the railing on the side of the road. The river was far below him, a thin stream of murky water trickling along a man-made riverbed, grass and other plantlife growing up the sides of the bank. Across the river he could see more of the city, the opposite bank and beyond a haze of lights and tall, skyscraper buildings. Port Island was huge. So this was the city. He could see why Rise liked the it here so much; it matched her personality.
There was a sound quite close by; Kanji looked up and saw Naoto, the figure clear under the yellow light of a streetlamp. He was in a similar position, looking out over the river, his bare forearms resting against the cool metal of the railings. He looked deep in thought, his expression set into a frown.
"Uh, hey." Kanji said, turning his head to look at him. Naoto looked startled for a second, his head snapping round. He recognised Kanji and relaxed slightly, resuming his position, staring over the river at the city.
"I take it you all managed to get back without alerting the faculty." It wasn't a question, and he didn't look at kanji as he spoke.
"Uh, yeah. Chie-senpai put the girls to bed."
"Hm," Naoto made an unimpressed noise. A few moments went by, the only sound being the muffled noises of the city. In the distance, someone laughed. A dog barked.
"Look, Naoto," Kanji said, sighing, "about what happened-"
"It doesn't matter. Though I cannot fathom the reason why, I understand now that you and your friends intend to mock me instead of cooperating." Naoto spoke quietly, his tone very matter of fact, cold.
"No, it ain't like that-"
"Is it not?" Naoto pushed back from the railing and stood to face Kanji. He looked upset rather than angry, his voice cool. "Then what was the purpose of those blatant lies that Yukiko-senpai and Rise-san were spouting at the club?"
"Naoto-" Kanji took a step towards him.
"You all have previously admitted that you have been involving yourselves in the murder investigation!" Naoto interrupted. He sighed and continued, speaking quickly in a low voice. "Why won't you tell me the extent of this involvement? What are you doing that is so questionable that it warrants keeping it a secret from the police? What are you hiding?" Kanji swore that he heard a small break in Naoto's voice, under the cold exterior. Was this that important to him?
"It ain't what you think," Kanji said helplessly.
"Then what is it?" Naoto's face was hidden under the shadow of his cap. "In all my theories and deductions, everything comes back to you six." He folded his arms across his chest. He looked so small, almost uncomfortable.
"It's... complicated," Kanji said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Complicated." Naoto repeated, his voice deadpan.
"Yeah, uh, like, it's something we just gotta do. But I swear, that we ain't doing nothing bad." Kanji knew he was doing a terrible job of explaining, but he had no idea what else to say. There was an uncomfortable pause.
"What… what is it that you are actually doing Kanji-kun? And why are you so reticent to tell me?" Naoto asked softly, breaking the silence.
"You probably wouldn't believe me. And I ain't sayin' that 'cause I don't wanna tell you. But I promise, Naoto, we ain't making fun of you." Kanji really didn't want to lie to him, but he couldn't think of a way to explain that wouldn't sound completely crazy. Naoto sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"But you will continue to refuse to to tell me the extent of your involvement?"
"I'm really sorry, man."
There was a long pause. Naoto was standing stock still, staring at him. Kanji wondered what the hell he was thinking about.
"I see. Well, it is of no importance if you tell me or not. Goodnight, Kanji-kun." Naoto walked past him, heading back to the hotel. Kanji couldn't read his expression, but he swore something had changed.
