(A/N Hello all! This is probably going to be my last chapter before the holidays, so I hope it is enjoyed. I don't really have much to say about this chapter so, onwards! As always, thanks to my Beta for being wonderful and patient)
Chapter 13
5th October 2011
The rain had already begun to subside as Kanji carried Naoto through Inaba, the heavy downpour from earlier had relented to a persistent drizzle. The air had a cloying humidity to it, hinting at the fog which was sure to come by dawn. Naoto had reluctantly accepted that that she wouldn't be allowed to walk, and was seemingly dozing in his arms though with her cap was pulled down covering most of her face he couldn't tell for sure. He'd laid his school jacket over her to shield her from the worst of the rain, and as a result he was soaked through. His t-shirt was clinging uncomfortably to his skin, water running down his hair into his eyes.
Rise led the way to an apartment building in the residential district. She was unnecessarily chirpy despite the late hour, chatting to both him and Naoto, though neither of them responded much. It didn't seem to deter her. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and Kanji nearly walked into the back of her.
"Ah, this should be the right place! Right, Naoto-kun?" she asked. Kanji frowned, unsure; the building was deserted and none of the neighbouring apartments were lit. He rearranged his grip on Naoto. His arms were getting tired. It had been a long walk and he was freakin' exhausted.
"...yeah. Second floor," Naoto murmured. She was rousing herself, rubbing her eyes, flinching as raindrops splashed on her face.
They carefully made their way up some stairs and finally reached Naoto's address. Kanji was relieved to finally be able to put her down as she fumbled with her keys, taking a moment before finally opening the door and letting the three of them pour into the hallway. Kanji was thankful to be out of the rain. Inside the apartment was desolate, unlived in, cold. His skin was covered in goosebumps from the icy rain, and as he rubbed his bare arms to banish away the shivers, feeling them tingle as the sensation flooded back, he realised how glad he was to finally be indoors.
"Thank you for escorting me home," Naoto said, leaning heavily on the wall as she took off her shoes. Her small frame was swamped in Kanji's jacket, the size of it making her appear more slight than usual, almost delicate. She looks like her Shadow, her sleeves hanging over her hands like that. "Though I have to say that I feel it was, um, unnecessary for you to-"
"Don't be silly, Naoto-kun! There was no way we would leave you," Rise said, folding her umbrella and smiling brightly. She didn't look even a little tired. Kanji was jealous. "And besides, Kanji-kun ended up carrying me back from the Club that one time when I couldn't walk. Remember, on Port Island?" Kani felt his face go red, and he looked away. The hell was Rise bringing that up…?
"Kanji… I…um.." Naoto blushed, looking flustered, "uh… you're drenched, let me get…" She took a step into the hallway but her knees buckled and she swayed to one side. Rise let out a surprised squeak and, moving quickly, Kanji caught her by her shoulders before she tripped.
"'s'alright. Just… uh... just go to bed. Y' probably feel like hell." He said, as she used his arm to balance herself. She didn't meet his eye.
"But... you and Rise… you came all the way over here-"
"We'll be fine. Do you need any help?" Rise toed off her shoes and joined Naoto in the hallway. She gently put her arm around Naoto's shoulders, who stiffened at the touch, looking uncomfortable at the close contact.
"No, I'm just... tired… you don't need to-"
"Ok, missy, enough of that. Lead the way!" Naoto tried to protest but Rise fussed over her, helping her to her room. Kanji stood awkwardly in the hallway, rainwater dripping off of his sodden clothes and making a puddle on the floor. With Rise busy helping Naoto, he felt useless, at a loose end. To busy himself he glanced around what he could see of the tiny apartment. In his house, nearly every wall had some sort of cabinet displaying crockery or little craft items that his mother collected and traded as part of her hobby; every flat surface had photos, souvenirs, memories. Everything was carefully organised to have a place, and his mother had often yelled at him for leaving things out, or not tidying craft things away. But here, there was just... nothing. No personal items, no pictures, very little furniture from what he could see. It felt lonely.
Rise reappeared from a room further into the apartment, holding a folded towel and his jacket.
"She's gone to bed. She looked exhausted," she said, handing him the towel. He nodded in thanks and vigorously rubbed his short hair.
"Yeah. We weren't in the TV as long as she was. And, I don't know about you but I felt like shit for days afterwards." He rested the towel over his shoulders and shook his head, making his hair settle over his forehead from where it was mussed. There was little he could do about his soaking clothes.
"Oh, I was really sick. My grandma even brought out a doctor. I thought my head was going to explode!" Kanji nodded in agreement, remembering his days spent in bed, doing nothing but sleeping for days on end.
"Yeah. My Ma took care of me after-" Rise giggled, lifting a hand to her mouth. "What? What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing, it's just... a big burly guy like you being looked after by your mother..." She giggled again. Kanji felt his face go red at her teasing.
"Sh-shut up. I felt like hell, alright?" Rise eventually stopped laughing and tilted her head to one side. Kanji felt her eyes inspecting him.
"Wh-what?"
"Nothing..." She said, in her sing-song voice. More teasing. Kanji rolled his eyes and then glared at her. She grinned at him. "I was just thinking about you and Naoto-"
"Sh!" Kanji hushed her, casting a quick glance down the corridor towards Naoto's room. "She'll hear you! Anyway, I don't wanna go into it." He folded his arms across his chest in a defensive gesture.
"Aww, but-"
"Rise…" He shot her look, tired eyes pleading with her to stop. She shook her head, smiling.
"Fine, fine. You're no fun. Anyway, we should probably get back. I bet my grandma will be wondering where I've got to."
Kanji grunted in agreement and put his jacket on over his wet t-shirt. It was still warm. He shivered, trying to put any… thoughts of Naoto to one side, and hoped to hell Rise didn't notice the telltale blush that was undoubtedly spreading across his cheeks. Rise grabbed her umbrella and the two of them set off back to the shopping district.
For the most part they walked in silence, the only sound being the gentle rain pattering on Rise's umbrella. Kanji was aching all over; he was looking forward to going home to bed, though he knew he was going to be sore as hell tomorrow. His Ma was probably going to be mad at him for staying out late, and besides, he had missed dinner. His stomach growled.
"Hey… how are you holding up?" Rise asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
"Alright. We got Naoto out of there. She's gonna be ok now, right?"
"Yeah. She collapsed into bed, but she'll be fine. We should probably check up on her though. I know she is supposed to be living with her grandfather but it didn't look like he had been home for a long time."
"Yeah, it was weird. The apartment was empty. Is that where Naoto really lives?"
"Well, she's not from round here, right? So it makes sense if her and her grandfather are just renting somewhere. You know, whilst the investigation goes ahead."
"Oh yeah, right." Kanji fell silent again. "Do you think we should get in touch with him?"
"... yeah, we should. I know, we can ask Naoto for his number when we visit tomorrow."
They reached the shopping district a little before midnight. The rain had stopped, and a thick fog was beginning to set in. Kanji bid Rise goodnight and snuck into the shop, closing the sliding door gently, careful not to wake Ma. Once he made his way into the living room he gratefully took off his wet clothes, stripping to his underwear where he stood and leaving his school uniform in a damp pile on the floor. He'd move them tomorrow. He was way too tired to think about laundry.
He made his way into their tiny kitchen and found some leftovers in the fridge. He hungrily took a huge bite and wandered back into the living room, food in hand. The TV was switched off. Something about it felt ominous. Kanji looked at the clock, chewing slowly, and waited patiently for the midnight channel to appear. As it ticked over to midnight, the screen flickered into life, but there was no image of a person this time. Kanji let go of the breath he wasn't aware he was holding and swallowed his mouthful of food.
He slumped heavily on the sofa, stretching his legs out in front of him and lolling his head over the backrest. He really hadn't expected to be left reeling from Naoto's Shadow this much. Sure, the stuff about being a kid and being looked down on, he understood that. He knew what it was like for people to be shit to you just because of how you looked. He was surprised Naoto was so upset about it; she always seemed so controlled and confident, but then again, people were assholes, especially the police.
He sighed, sitting up so that he could take another bite of food. As to being lonely, he knew that feeling, too. More than he would ever admit to anyone. He glanced at an old family photo on top of the TV. It was taken before dad died, at New Year a while back. Everyone was dressed in formal clothing; him and his dad in suits, his mother in one of her more ornate kimono. He must have been, what, ten? Still in elementary school, anyway. It was about then that he realised he didn't really fit in at school, that he was weird. He had spent so much of his life alone after that, just him and Ma.
But, that stuff about Naoto being a girl... it was because of Naoto, and how he felt when they first met, that his Shadow had so much ammunition about him in the sauna. How he'd had to reconcile so much about his sexuality and all of that stuff. He had finally come to accept that he'd never got interested in girls and, instead, there was a boy that he was very much interested in. But, now, Naoto turned out to be a girl after all. A girl who was strong and mysterious and... Kanji shook his head, pushing aside the natural conclusion to that thought. He had no idea if his feelings should have changed about her. He was fairly certain that they hadn't. And, it didn't matter, right? Whether Naoto was a girl or boy or whatever. He just knew that she made his pulse race and his cheeks go red and that he'd not been able to stop thinking about her from the first time they met.
Kanji finished his impromptu dinner and made his way to his room, again being careful not to slam doors or walk into anything as he picked his way through the gloom of his house. Finally reaching his room he gratefully collapsed into bed, lying face down on top of the covers and feeling all of his muscles relax. He felt like he hadn't rested in days, weeks. He let out a small sigh, enjoying the sensation of not needing to do anything for a moment.
A persistent, unpleasant thought came to mind, one which he had tried not to think about, but now new possibilities had become available he couldn't push aside. The thought that there was no way Naoto would be interested in a guy like him. He wasn't her type even though she was apparently very much his. How could he be? There was no way he could keep up with her academically; she was sharp, intelligent... things he knew he wasn't. Even his Ma said that he was stupid. His history with the police was probably a huge black mark against him too, given her 'inherited profession'. What on earth could he offer her?
He didn't know what was more unlikely; her liking him back when he thought she was a guy, or now as a girl. He let out a humourless, sardonic laugh. Once this got out around school, other guys would be interested in her too, right? What chance did he have? Naoto had been popular amongst the girls; the number of letters she'd got in her locker were testimony to that. The only glimmer of hope he could hold onto was that Naoto had not shown any interest in her admirers, from what he had seen anyway.
So, there were two things he could do. He could tell her how he felt, ask her out... and probably get rejected thus making all of the midnight-channel-investigation stuff awkward. Or he could do nothing… and pine and mope like fucking pansy, feeling like shit.
Kanji buried his face into his pillow in frustration. This was stupid to think about.
6th October 2011
Rise had spent lunchtime thus far trying to convince him that the two of them should go over and visit Naoto after school. Kanji was reluctant; Naoto had proven that she wasn't the type to want fussing over, and, though he didn't want to admit it, he was nervous as hell seeing her again.
"But Kanji-kun! It makes sense for us to go!" she said, pouting over her lunch. They were back in their usual spot on the roof, away from the mob of students.
"What about Yukiko-senpai? Can't you take her with you?" He grumbled, stabbing at his gyuudon with his chopsticks.
"She is probably busy with the inn. You know how she works part time there after school."
"Chie-senpai, then." Rise made a face.
"Chie-senpai... isn't exactly the nurturing type."
"And I am?!" Kanji raised his eyebrow at her. She giggled and shook her head.
"Well, no. But, you know how to cook."
"What? No I don't…" He clicked his tongue and frowned in annoyance. "Tch- I never told you that."
"My grandma and your mother talk." Rise said, fluttering her eyelashes. "She says that you know your way around the kitchen and that sometimes you even cook dinner." Kanji felt his face go red, his scowl deepening.
"Sh-shut up. I ain't-" Rise hand waved his excuses, grinning. He sullenly resumed finishing his lunch, angrily chewing at Rise smiled triumphantly at him. The bell chimed, signalling the end of break. Rise took the last bite of her food as she grabbed her school bag, slinging it over her shoulder.
"Anyway, we can't leave Naoto on her own. We should go. I'll meet you at the lockers after class!"
The afternoon passed slowly; Kanji felt himself clock-watching as the lectures dragged on. Not that he was looking forward to going to see Naoto or anything; he kinda dreaded it, but the entire visit was looming and he wanted to get it over with. It wasn't like he paid much attention to stuff like English anyway; the lesson was basically a waste of time.
Eventually four o'clock rolled around, and, true to her word, Rise was waiting for him by the lockers. They first dropped by Junes to pick up some groceries, which Kanji naturally ended up brow-beaten into carrying even though it was Rise's idea, before heading back to Naoto's apartment. He felt himself become more anxious, an unfamiliar feeling of dread creep in the back of his mind. Why the hell was he being so tense? He had a reason to go visit Naoto. It wasn't as though he was stalking her, or being a creep. Quit being such a pussy. Dumbass.
They headed up the stairs to the second floor and found the apartment. He maneuvered the groceries to be held by only one arm and knocked on the door with his now-free hand, a sharp rap with his knuckles to hide his nervousness. There was no answer. He looked at Rise for help. She shrugged so he knocked again.
"Hey, Naoto? It's me, Kanji. Uh...Rise's here too"
No reply.
"Try the door?" Rise said, standing on tiptoes to see if she could peer through the window.
He tried the handle; the door was locked. He'd expected as much; Naoto wasn't the sort to leave her door open. He shot Rise a quizzical look and shrugged his shoulders. He was about to suggest that they leave when he heard the click of the lock and the door open. The apartment was gloomy, despite the mid-afternoon autumn sun, and very humid.
Naoto was standing in the hallway still wearing her clothes from yesterday, her dark hair disheveled from sleep, deep bags under her eyes. She looked like death warmed over; her skin was pale and sallow. She swayed as though at any moment she would collapse.
"Hey… uh… we're just here to check up on you. Check if you needed anything..." Kanji said, standing back, almost hiding behind the bags of groceries he was carrying. Naoto grunted in reply, rubbing her eyes against the bright light of the afternoon, looking between him and Rise.
"Oh. No. I don't think so." She was trembling slightly, and looked unsteady on her feet.
"We're gonna cook for you!" Rise said, smiling cheerfully, gesturing to the groceries Kanji was defensively brandishing in front of him. Naoto blinked in confusion.
"No… that isn't necessary…"
Rise leaned forward and peered at Naoto's face. "Why don't you go back to bed while we prepare things? Kanji and I can manage, right Kanji-kun?" He felt tongue tied. He didn't answer.
"I... you don't need to..." she shuffled from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. Rise's expression softened.
"You don't look too good. Have you eaten anything? Are you hungry?"
"No. Not really. Um. I have a headache."
"Then, how about I'll fix you some painkillers, and we can eat later. Trust me, it'll help a bunch," Rise said. Naoto sighed, looked at Kanji and Rise again and nodded slightly, not having the energy to argue. She turned around and unsteadily walked back to the apartment, her expression defaulting to a pained scowl. Kanji and Rise took their shoes off in the hall and followed her inside.
The main room was as sparse as the hallway, furnished with only the most basic of furniture: a sofa, a large dining table, an armchair. There was a small kitchenette along one wall, with an unused stove and a small pristine sink. The table showed the only signs of someone living there; it was covered from edge to edge with books, papers, folders. Many of them had bookmarks sticking out of the top – little scraps of paper, or corners folded down. It all looked very important. Kanji had always figured Natoto to be quite a neat freak, considering how meticulous she was; it just seemed at odds with the piles of books and strewn pieces of paper.
Naoto protested going back to bed with the two of them there, and she and Rise reached a compromise of Naoto settling down on the sofa instead whilst they prepared dinner. Unhappy with the situation but being unable to change it, Naoto went into, presumably, her bedroom and grabbed the duvet from the top of a haphazardly laid out futon. She all but dragged it into the main room, wrapping herself in the voluminous folds of the fabric, sulking slightly. Kanji watched her collapse onto the sofa, pulling the duvet tightly around her as if she were cold despite the cloying heat of the apartment. He figured it was a bit of an act, all of the moping and scowling, that she was trying to hide weakness behind low-level hostility. He tried not to stare, and to distract himself brought the groceries in and set them down on the counter, whilst Rise began to tidy away the papers on the table. Naoto looked like she was about to comment as Rise disassembled her organised chaos, but instead buried her face into the duvet with a distressed moan.
"I'll… uh… I'll make some soup," Kanji said, to the room in general as he took out the ingredients from their packaging, "you can have it when you feel better, if you don't feel up to it right now..." Naoto grunted in response. Not discouraged, he began hunting around the kitchen for the things he needed. It was ridiculously sparse and everything looked unused; it was a freakin' miracle she managed to cook anything. He felt like an intruder, and it was beginning to piss him off.
"She doesn't look too good, does she," Rise said quietly, as she carefully stacked the books on top of each other before moving them to the edge of the table where they would be out of the way. They both looked back at Naoto, still stubbornly curled on the sofa rather than in her own bed, the part of her face still visible scowling at the world. Kanji sighed and shook his head, grunting in agreement.
"I dunno what else we can to do to help. I just kinda slept it off." Kanji prepared dinner in silence, slicing vegetables and tofu for kenchin-jiru. There was something relaxing about preparing food, in a similar way that sewing was. It was almost methodical, soothing, and took his concentration so he didn't have to focus on other things.
"Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving." Rise stood up from what she was doing and tip-toed over to Kanji, trying to peek over his shoulder to see what he was doing.
"I'm workin' on it," Kanji said, continuing to prepare the food. He swatted her away as she tried to steal a piece of sliced carrot.
"It's too warm in here. It's making me sleepy," she complained, rubbing her eyes and yawning like a cat. Kanji made a noise of agreement, finishing chopping the daikon and carrots, before starting to slice the mushrooms. Rise sighed, and when Kanji turned his head to look at her he found her pouting, her eyes wide as she fluttered her eyelashes.
"What d'you want?"
"Don't you think it is too stuffy in here, Kanji-kun?" Kanji sighed and threw open the nearby windows in an attempt to let in some fresh air. The air in the apartment was unbearably stale after all. The late-afternoon light hit Naoto's half-covered face and she groaned, wincing and using the covers to block out the sun. Kanji jumped at the sound, closing the shutters quickly, feeling guilty at unwittingly causing her pain.
Wait, the light… Naoto had said that she had a headache, right?
"Oh, shit, sorry. One sec…" He abandoned preparing vegetables and turned his attention to finding painkillers. Rise went back to her task of tidying away. He opened a few cupboards, rummaging through the few items in there and eventually found some, a few pills rattling around in the bottom of a bottle. He got some bottled water from the fridge and filled a tall glass, trying not to fumble in this haste.
Naoto was dozing, the blanket tucked under her chin as she gripped onto it tightly. She was frowning, her eyes firmly closed, her cheeks and forehead a sickly pink. Enveloped in the folds of the duvet as she was, she looked immensely vulnerable as her body fought to repair itself from the after-effects of being trapped in the TV world for so long. Kanji set the water and the painkillers down on a little table and knelt on the floor in front of her. After a moment's deliberation, with a shaky hand he touched her forehead; it was slicked with sweat and she was feverishly hot.
"Naoto?" He said, trying to keep the worry from his voice.
"Mmph."
"Naoto, listen to me. You're burning up. You need to take these."
"...tired..." her voice was no more than a whisper.
"I know. Look, you'll feel better if you do." She scowled, her eyes still closed, and sighed. She reluctantly roused herself. Kanji handed her the painkillers and water, trying hard not to look at her. She took the pills first, taking them dry before taking the smallest sip of water. He gestured her to drink more but she shook her head before settling back down.
She was really sick, huh. He hadn't been this bad, he was sure of it. He stood up awkwardly, taking care to leave the glass within Naoto's reach. He glanced over her; looking at her now, with her hair slightly too long and falling over her eyes and face relaxed in sleep he wondered how on earth he had mistaken her for a boy. He'd always thought that she was too cute ...pretty… but, for some reason never made the leap that she was hiding that part of herself from the world. Was he really that dumb?
"How is she?" Rise asked, taking care to keep her voice low. She had finished her task; in one corner all of the books had been carefully organised, the folders put like with like, and the loose papers neatly stacked. Kanji turned to face her but didn't get a chance to reply. "Oh… are you okay, Kanji-kun? You look a bit red…" Rise raised her eyebrow at him. She sat at the table, her head resting in her hands, looking directly at him and smiling.
"I… uh… shuddup. It's nothin'...," he said, feeling out of his depth. He both simultaneously wished Rise wasn't there, and that more people were here to take control of the situation. He had no idea what he was doing. How were you meant to take care of a sick person anyway? What were you supposed to do? Why did he let Rise convince him that this was a good idea…?
"You sure...?" He grunted and went back to preparing dinner, ignoring the look Rise was giving him, feeling it bore into his back. He put the vegetables in the stock and let it simmer on the stove. There, almost done.
"So, we didn't catch the killer then." Rise said, finally changing the subject after what he felt was a prolonged silence. "Someone is still out there. I wonder if Naoto managed to see who it was..." Kanji made a noncommittal sound in response. "I mean, I don't remember much about what happened, but Naoto is a detective. Maybe she managed to find some clue as to who it was. Did you see anything?"
"I already told Yu-senpai and the others, but no, I didn't see nothin'.. and even if I did, my memory ain't so good about it. It was late at night... I think I put up a fight…. I remember hurtin' a lot, but that coulda just been the effect of being inside the TV..." he wracked his memory for any detail of that night all those months ago. If anything his memory was even hazier now. He frowned.
"Hmm, well, when she feels better we should all meet up. See if we can finally solve this thing. It's such a pain; I really thought we had got the right guy..."
"Yeah…" A rich aroma was starting to permeate the air of the apartment. Kanji felt his stomach growl.
"Oh! That smells good!" She perked up, springing out of her seat, getting underfoot as she tried to peer under the lid of the pot. Kanji rolled his eyes and gently moved her out of the way.
"Sound surprised, why don'cha," he said, archly, and she giggled. Naoto stirred on the sofa and Kanji gestured for Rise to be quiet.
"Is she asleep?" Rise asked, edging closer to Naoto, leaning forward to try and inspect her face. Naoto didn't make a sound.
"Maybe? This won't take long to cook, just waiting for the vegetables. If she ain't up for eating we should go. Store this for later." He was glad for the excuse to leave.
"Aww, but I'm hungry…" Rise turned to face him, pouting. She put one hand on her hip. Kanji shook his head.
"I dunno. It'd just be weird, eating in someone else's house without them." Kanji turned his attention back to the pot and stirred the contents. It looked good.
"But…" She shook her head, making her pigtails bounce. "Fine, let's go to Aiya, then! You can treat me. Oooh! And then you can tell me about… stuff!" She winked at him and he felt his stomach drop.
"Wh-what? No! There is nothing-"
"Sure there is! There is so much you gotta tell me!" She giggled and playfully pushed his shoulder. He scowled. "So," she said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "She's totally cute, right?" Kanji felt his face go red and he turned away. "Oh, is that a yes? It is, isn't it! I knew it, I knew it!" Kanji shook his head and tried to ignore her. She didn't let up pestering him and it was getting on his nerves. He tried to distract himself with practical tasks at hand.
Eventually the soup was done. Kanji managed to find a few bowls, and he carefully divided the soup into a few portions under the curious and piercing gaze of Rise. This should be enough to keep Naoto going for a little while. He put the food in the fridge.
"Right, I'm outta here," he announced.
"We should write a note or something, for when she wakes up." Rise said, as Kanji headed towards the door. "Oh hey, should we be leaving her on the sofa? Won't that be bad for her?" Rise hung back, looking over to Naoto. She was fast asleep.
"Um. I dunno. Come on Rise, let's go."
"You seem like you wanna leave a little too much," she said pointedly. "I'm going to get her to go to bed." She knelt over Naoto and gently shook her shoulder.
"Hey, hey Naoto-kun?" Naoto didn't stir. Rise frowned and tried again, shaking her a little harder. "Naoto? Wake up?" Naoto made a sleepy noise, but didn't open her eyes. Rise looked over to Kanji and shot him a pleading look.
"Wh-what? Why're you lookin' at me like that?"
"We need to put her to bed-"
"I can't go in there!" He spluttered, trying hard to keep his voice low. "What if she wakes up and thinks-"
"Oh for goodness sake, you can see her futon from here. I'll come with you. Just, pick her up and put her to bed."
"I...I…" he spluttered, going red. He already felt like an intruder, and had done the entire time he was here, and Rise was pushing him too far. He clenched his fists and looked around, helplessly. This was stupid.
"Come on?" Kanji sullenly came over and as carefully as he could scooped Naoto up in his arms for the second time in as many days. His face a deep crimson, he carefully carried her to her bedroom trying hard not to disturb her, and praying to every god and ancestor he knew the name of that she wouldn't awaken. This felt different, somehow, to carrying her back from the bunker, and it was making him uncomfortable as hell. Rise led the way, and had an impish grin on her face. He scowled in return. Naoto didn't move; she was fast asleep.
Naoto's bedroom was in complete disarray; clothes, books, and official looking folders were heaped in a disorganised mess. He tried hard not to look at the various items strewn around the room, though a pistol casually lying on the floor by the bed caught his eye. Was that real? Did Naoto know how to use that? With a bit of maneuvering he managed to lie her down on her futon. Rise fussed over her, rearranging the duvet, ensuring she was comfortable. He strode from the room, his job done. Rise emerged not long after, closing the door behind her, smiling slightly. She flashed a winning smile at Kanji.
"So, shall we go to Aiya?"
