Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'd still like to hear some thoughts on Kanji-side interludes, I can go either way on these right now and am still not too sure if they can add to what Shortest Distance has not yet provided. My interludes for him would need to be something that Shortest Distance had not shown, so possibly along the lines of what I have been doing with Naoto-side conversations here.
As always, much love to zero-damage of reddit for fixing up my scribbles!
September 8th, 2011
Being inconspicuous leaving the train station had been simple.
Remaining such once actually on the train proved onerous.
Jaw clenched, cap pulled down so far she could barely look straight ahead, Naoto had attempted to hole up in a corner of the train and work. A bona fide parade of girls – of both first and second years – had made working so far impossible. Every few minutes she had to deflect invites to strolls, testing someone's home-made snack or pointless small talk. Most of them had given up after a while and left. This last group of three, however, would not be shaken.
She tried clipped, short replies. She tried glares. She tried plainly stating disinterest. Nothing, nothing worked. Megumi Enomoto had her sights set on being an aggravation and it seemed nothing could stop her.
When the girls chirped they would go find some refreshments to bring "the Prince", Naoto had enough. Hastily gathering up her files and bag, she jumped up and started to move through the wagons towards the back of the train. There had to be some place, any place, where she could just sit and work in peace.
Most compartments were filled with students chatting while texting or browsing online chat sites. The noise of chatter hung thick around small groups of students throughout. She kept walking until she reached one of the last carriages. In one of larger open-space wagons the she saw Kanji Tatsumi sitting by himself; staring out of the window. If not for her current mood being too dark to show any actual emotion, she would have sighed in relief. Tatsumi was quiet and he rarely exchanged more than a few brief words with most students – even less with her. Also, his perceived image could potentially keep some of her… admirers… at bay. She had seen first-hand how students would leave the moment they spotted Tatsumi walk towards them.
She shifted her bag and walked straight up to him. In truth, she had not yet figured out how to best establish – or re-establish – cordial interactions with the youth. She had not yet dismissed his value for her own investigations, either, and if she was honest with herself, his quiet moods suited her well. If only for his temper not being quite as fickle.
That was neither here nor there right now. Right now, all she wanted was some quiet.
"Kanji Tatsumi?"
She waited, hoping that none of the girls out prowling for her could see her standing in the aisle. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed no one paying her much attention. She slowly edged closer to him, leaning in a bit to make herself less visible. Searching his face for any reaction, all she saw was a blank frown directed at the world outside.
She tried again. "Tatsumi-san, I apologize for disturbing you, but..."
The youth twisted in his seat with a yelp and stared at her, wide-eyed. Looking quite startled, he gaped at her but he did not respond past that initial reaction.
She swallowed as much of her frustration over the general foolishness of the situation and pointed at the seat beside the blonde. "Forgive the intrusion. This seat is free, correct?"
"Uh," was all that he said. Tatsumi just stared and blinked at her.
Oh. Yes, Tatsumi. She needed to be specific. "May I sit here?" Naoto clarified.
"Uh...y-yeah! 'Course." Kanji straightened his slouch, back pressed against his seat. His head snapped back towards the window, clearly not interested in chatter. Just as well, really, she welcomed the thought of getting some quiet and had hoped for this.
She nodded a stiff thanks, sitting down.
Naoto immediately tugged open the zipper on her bag and pulled out a yellow folder. She pulled out one of the copies regarding a theft Grampa had asked her thoughts on and started to compare her notes on the matter with those of the elder Shirogane. The tool marks at the door to the safe room were indeed strange. Whatever had been used to gain access must have either been made by their thief, or was of a use and function so strange she had not yet considered.
Gazing at the photographs of the scene, she thought she noticed Tatsumi shift in his seat awkwardly a few times. He was likely to be somewhat uncomfortable. Being above average height could be as much a problem on public transit as being… well. She could envision how he felt.
"Naoto-kun!"
Naoto froze, fist clenching tightly around a sheet of paper. Oh no.
Fixing a glare at her papers, she tilted her head further down so she would not need to see the three girls coming towards her. "Naoto-kun, why'd you run away? We just wanted to say hi!" Did all females have to have such annoyingly high-pitched voices? The squeal from one of the girls as someone tapped the brim of her cap was enough to set her teeth on edge.
"Hello." Naoto frowned at the paper in her fist; uncrumpled the copy; shoved it back in the folder and held the case files shut with both hands. "I believe that concludes matters."
"You wanna hang out with us at Port Island? I bet you've been there before, right?" That sounded like Megumi Enomoto. She had ignored her. She had withdrawn from her. She had made a point of not opening the letters she passed along to her in class. What would it take to make her distance herself?
"As I have stated previously, I have no interest in such activities. Please leave me in peace." Naoto glared at the folder in her lap. "This casework is most pressing."
She felt Tatsumi shift beside her. Why did he not seem to have these issues? He was a handsome enough young man, proportioned well and certainly would have responded to the ministrations of his class mates. Well. Perhaps. Once he could get over his nervousness when speaking to others. Maybe he was about to say something?
"Aw, c'mon, Naoto-kun! You could-"
Another voice interrupted Enomoto here. "Megumi, we don't want to interrupt the Detective Prince, right? Now the killer's been caught, he's probably working on a new big case!"
Caught? Simpletons! They play their foolish games of social stature; they keep her from her work and they happily accept the pre-processed explanations given without any doubt! Caught? If it were that simple, the Shirogane family would not need to bother with their inconsequent little town! She could have moved on to her next case already and would not be sitting in this train, surrounded by the limited mental capacities of hormonal teenagers.
By the time she had riled herself up to the point of reply and brought her pulse down enough to try and give a level answer, Enomoto spoke up again. "I guess." She sounded very hesitant. "But we'll be back later, Naoto-kun, okay?"
Here is hoping you won't be. Naoto sighed softly and pulled her cap down to cover her face fully. She did not trust herself to accidentally ignite the seat in front of her by glaring at it.
Tatsumi cleared his throat. "They still chasing you?"
"Yes. I have dissuaded most of them but those three are very persistent. I left my previous seat to escape their attentions."
There was a moment of quiet. She pushed her cap back up and re-opened her folder. The youth beside her made a small sound as if to reply, but kept silent for a moment longer. "They...uh. They don't mean no harm." He hesitated again before he continued. "They prob'ly just like you."
Still looking down at her papers, she shook her head at that. "You cannot like someone without knowing them."
Getting to know someone takes time and effort. She herself could tell tales of that. Always moving left her with no chance whatsoever to 'like' anyone. She could appreciate certain limited aspects of a person's traits. Say, Dojima-san's approach to work. She also recently learned how easy it is to dislike based on traits. Adachi's carelessness came to mind at once.
However, her work being what it was and her need to be able to move frequently from location to location; from contract to contact… It simply left her with little drive to even build any such social constructs. She had Grampa and the estate. Having that one anchor in her life suited her well enough.
"Tatsumi, would you mind if I-" She turned her head to check if she took too much space, but Tatsumi had zoned out again. He quite possibly had no interest in further conversation and the slight frown pointed to him having his own thoughts he did not intent to share at this time. Instead of repeating her question, she simply re-arranged the files and copies so that she could read them while writing into her note book without bothering the young man.
The rest of the day progressed mostly as expected with one exception.
Naoto was deeply impressed by the scope of Gekkoukan High. She had read up on the school before coming here of course. The Kirijo Group spent a large sum of money to refurbish a disused laboratory into a model High School. New architecture design combined with state-of-the-art specialty rooms for crafts, science and Home Ec. The name selected, "Moonlight Hall", reflected the beauty of the grounds in general.
Shortly after the opening, however, reports started to appear in the local papers that the school suffered from an explosion. After this, there had been a second remodel of the building.
Her lessons at the school had been enjoyable. The cool interior colours focused the mind nicely, allowing students to take in all that was being taught… or would have, if not for those who were seemingly fused to the technology of their mobile phones. She also found herself yet again stoically ignoring written notes others tried to pass on to her. Especially that one with a small heart surrounding the words 'My Prince'.
She would have enjoyed to stay longer, truth be told. The laboratories looked impressive for any high school – even a private one backed by the Kirijo Group. Sadly, their schedule was tight and had left her no time to return for a closer inspection.
She had followed the trek of students to the hotel they were assigned for this weekend. For most of the way she had her head down into one of her new case files, following the others on auto-pilot. The longer they walked down narrow streets, the more she felt puzzled. As the lights overhead turned into garishly coloured neon signs, she stopped trying to read and looked about to get her bearings. They were headed down Shirakawa Boulevard, but this area did not actually have any hostels or –
She swallowed. Hard.
As their teacher took a turn towards one of the neon-lit hourly hotels, Naoto's hand flew to her cap and she tugged the brim down to her eyes. Of all the places their teacher could possibly take a group of already hormonal high schoolers to, it had to be a love hotel?
Pinching her eyes shut a moment, she overheard the pleased jeers of her 'fellow male' students, some of whom did not miss out to boast how they could totally get this or that girl to join them in one of these. And she would need to spend two nights with these Romeos.
When she heard a cluster of giggles nearby and raised her cap a sliver, she at once realized that an overabundance of male hormones would only be about 50% of her misery.
Several of the girls had their eyes fixed on Naoto and whispered loudly with one another, blushing furiously in some cases.
Double time, Shirogane!
She grabbed a sheet showing her room assignment, rushing inside to grab a key and hide in the room. Until morning, if she could. On her way she tried to ignore the setting as best she could. The strongly dimmed lighting in eye-straining colours; the speakers throughout the hallways playing hard-thumping music; the vending machined she only needed to glance at once to decide she would not do so a second time…
She reached her room before the other two and decided she would take the chance to unpack and find a sleeping arrangement that would allow her some limited privacy. Once unpacked, she picked up her folders and decided to simply quietly work, while she had the chance.
Her progress had been swift, once she familiarized herself with the cases. One of them she had already finished her theories on and prepared an email to be sent later. The other cases might need a sliver more work.
By the time her two roommates arrived, she had spent a good half hour taking notes and sorting through the papers Grampa had send her. She closed her folder and watched the two boys fall over themselves to claim the remaining space of the room. When one of them proudly started to show off the … goods he had just pulled from the vending machine, Naoto jumped up, nearly spilling her folders' contents to the floor in the process.
"I, eer, I-I…" She cleared her throat, the slight pressure from speaking at a lower register fighting with the panic of embarrassment. "I need to go get some fresh air before bed."
"Don't get caught!" laughed one of her class mates.
"I do not intend to be out past curfew. Our teachers won't-"
"I wasn't talking about the teachers trying to catch you, man." The twin grins haunted her as she stumbled out of the door and plunged into the hallway.
After staring at the closed door for a moment, she turned to wander the hallways. Surely no girl would be bold or hormonal enough to try and sneak onto the boys' floor? Though if she gave in to rumour, the choice of hotel had been based on fancies, rather than any economic reason. Surely this place could not be cheaper than other lodgings. She latched on to that thought. A nice, safe topic to ponder. She could compare prices and locations of different lodgings to follow up on the rumour concerning the selection of their hotel.
She didn't pay as much attention as she possibly should have. Emerging into one of the main hallways of the floor, she felt someone tackle her.
In a first moment of trepidation, she feared one of the girls had actually snuck up and she was on the receiving end of a failed 'glomp'. But as she stumbled sideways, catching her balance to ready herself to fend off whoever it might be, she quickly realized she had no cause for true alarm.
Tatsumi jumped back while stretching one arm out towards her. "Oh, crap! S-sorry, man."
Naoto's back stiffened. "Kanji Tatsumi." She replied with her low, practiced voice. Getting upset at Tatsumi really was not necessary. She had not been paying attention and he was a bit ungainly. None the less. Trying to stand up straight, she felt her shoulders draw forward. He was just too tall. Beside him, she always felt vanishingly small.
Realizing he had not knocked Naoto over, he fidgeted a moment. "You, uh, looking for a vending machine too?" His eyes jumped nervously between her, the walls and the floor. If he could rid himself of his jumpiness around her, he might actually be passable companionship. She also noticed that his stutter was not present. It did not seem to be a real condition in his case, but more of a sign of anxiousness.
"I am not looking for a way to spend any money, no. I am investigating this hotel. I am...uncertain why Ms. Kashiwagi chose these lodgings."
"I-I just want a soda. Maybe some junk food. But the vending machines, they're - uh, weird." He glanced back from where he had come from, and Naoto saw exactly what machine he was looking at.
An uncomfortable heat climbed up her neck. She tucked down her cap and inspected the floor. "You... do know what sort of hotel this is?"
She saw him shuffle his feet and head how his breath caught. "N-no. No way. Wh-why would I?" Ah. The stutter had returned, a certain sign of Tatsumi's discomfort and embarrassment.
She did not feel much better off. The heat was steadily creeping higher and she was certain she was flushed. This was not a topic suited for casual conversation. Especially not between her and a male student of her own school. And him thinking she was 'one of the guys' could make this even more awkward if she was not being careful. Thankfully he had deflected her thoughtless comment.
"Oh. Of course." She half-turned from him. "Well. Good night, Tatsumi." With that she marched herself quickly down the corridor towards the stairwell. A walk in the fresh air might really be needed by now, if only to get rid of some of the heat under her collar.
September 9th, 2011
By early afternoon it seemed like Miss Kashiwagi must have depleted her ideas on how to keep the teens entertained, so the evening was open to everyone's own enjoyment. Naoto had chosen to spend her evening on her own and parted ways with her roommates.
Remembering her investigations here in Tatsumi Port Island, she went to the local mall to talk to Officer Kurosawa. He had been most helpful and did not seem to mind dealing with someone of her own age group at all. He accepted her professional insights and was a pleasure to work with. She briefly wondered if he could consider assisting her in another prefecture and move along the Inaba case.
She was barely inside Paulownia Mall, when she already felt the low thumping of music playing in Club Escapade. Seeing that the station was already closed up for today, she changed her plans and entered the club.
By a stroke of luck not a single other student from the school trip was present. Allowing herself a smile, Naoto went to the bar and hopped on a stool. Running her gaze over the bottles along the wall, she frowned a little. She beckoned to the man minding the counter. "Excuse me, do you serve anything non-alcoholic?"
The barkeeper turned to her and nodded. "Serve nothin' else these days. We had a lot of issues with drunk drivers not long ago, so most of the clubs and bars here agreed to remove alcohol from the menu, including us and the karaoke place across. If you wanna get wasted, you'll need to go into the town center, though I doubt they'd let you into licensed premises."
She ignored the comment pointed at her age. "A very forward-thinking decision to make. Has your business suffered from this at all?"
"Actually, no. Folks still come here to have fun and dance and hang out in the back rooms, y'see? So now we offer more snacks and food. We also changed to make non-alcoholic cocktails and stuff. People love it. They can have a good time while stayin' safe. Mind, some people just wanna go get drunk. They can go do that somewhere where they don' need to drive."
She smiled. "Sounds perfect to me. Would you mix me one of these new cocktails, please?"
"Gotcha, buddy, I'll be right back."
The smile melted from her lips and she turned to watch the dance floor. For a Friday night, it was pretty tame still. Most patrons would possibly arrive later in the night and stay till morning.
"Here it is! Tell me how ya like it, man."
She turned back and picked up the tumbler. The liquid in it looked vaguely like whiskey, but the first sip let her know it was a non-carbonated ginger ale… and something else. Bitter. "Interesting."
"It's a Stormy Monday. Too strong for ya?"
"I was not expecting the bitterness. But I think I will enjoy this. Thank you."
"You bet. I'll be back there if you need somethin'." He turned and walked back along the bar to some other customers and leaned on the counter to chat with them.
Naoto stared in her glass for a long while.
Grampa had asked her to not think about the Inaba case while out here. It is why he even agreed to provide her with the three case files she had with her. According to him, she should enjoy the 'experience' of being a student on a field trip. Her consciousness did not work that way. She needed to feel busy, needed to feel engaged. She had worked off the cases she brought along and emailed him earlier in the day already. Now that her attention was without immediate focus, she could not help thinking about the work still ahead of her once she returned.
She swirled the tumbler slowly, listening to the clear ice cubes plink against the glass.
How would she get into the social circles she needed to be in? Approaching Tatsumi seemed the most logical thing to do. They had previous dealings and he would be the least suspicious if she were to approach him. He also had a certain restlessness she found could be easily manipulated, should the need arise.
How did one get introduced into bigger social circles? She frowned into her glass and started to sip.
"Hey, it's him!"
She froze. A young, male voice. And a familiar one, too. She looked up and turned to her left. Speak of the devil… or even think of him. "My, I never expected to run into you at this locale. Is it permitted for high school students such as yourselves to be here?" She turned on her stool, moving the tumbler into her right hand.
She ran her eyes over the group of students. The very people she had just been thinking of were all here. Kujikawa, Satonaka, and Amagi up front. Hanamura and Narukami brought up the rear. All of them were still in their school uniforms. It took her a few moments to notice Kanji Tatsumi lurking behind them in the shadows. He was… not in uniform. A tank top. With a... Flaming skull. Huh.
Hanamura-senpai, easily flustered as always, replied first. "Wh-What!? Dude, look who's talking! You were here before we were!" He frowned for a moment. "But why are … Oh. That's right...I guess if the first-years came on the trip, you'd be here too..."
"Yes, senpai, we do attend the same school and are indeed on the same excursion." She tried to speak in her practiced, level tone, ignoring the slow rise of indignation. Hanamura managed to find all the wrong buttons to push. And from what she had seen when observing him, he had an uncanny talent for upsetting even his friends.
She gestured with an open hand towards the club in general. "The clientele here seems above-board, so I don't expect there'll be any problems." She hesitated a moment and glanced at the counter before her. "It's not as if I was otherwise preoccupied."
On one hand, this would be a great opportunity to get herself involved with this group. She could 'hang out', examine the group dynamic better, and learn how the internal social structure and ranking is laid.
On the other… she had no indication how one actually invited oneself into any social structure. Up until this case, integrating herself had never been part of any ongoing investigation and she was woefully underprepared on the subject matter of 'making friends', even in a pretended fashion.
It was the girls of this group who solved her dilemma in an unexpected fashion. Amagi-senpai gave her a warm smile and stepped forward. "Why don't you join us?"
"Are you...asking me to stay?" While fortuitous, this was way faster than she was actually prepared for. She had not readied herself; had no questions prepared; had not yet found the basic socially accepted processes in this group…
Amagi simply smiled. "Uh-huh. We didn't get to chat last time."
A rebuke. Even if a polite one, she had already made mistakes. How could she find a way into this group if mistakes had already shaded her image negatively? "Ah...I...I-It's just that I had some matters to attend to that day."
"Well, you're free now, right? You just said so yourself and you look so bored! I was really eager to talk to you. I'm curious how someone my age is working as a detective!" Bubbly and enthusiastic, Kujikawa skipped forward. And stopped way too close in front of Naoto, who leaned back slowly.
"How about it?" Amagi gave her an expectant look.
Naoto glanced at her drink. At the bottles on the shelf behind the bar. At the floor. Her mind tried to keep up with everything around her. The curiosity in the eyes of the teens in front of her; her own expectations; her need to mesh with them to further her own needs… All of this combined with the loud thumping of the music seemed to slow her through process to the speed of freezing honey.
"Hmmm...Very well, if you insist." She mumbled.
"Huh? What's up?" Hanamura-senpai cupped a hand behind his ears.
"I think I would like that." Naoto repeated louder, followed by a long swig of her drink.
"Heh. You sure? You look a little red..." He gave the detective a sly wink.
"Th-That's not true!" Roughly her hand grabbed her cap and tugged it down.
She picked up her glass and slid off the bar stool, hopping to the ground lightly. She heard Kujikawa skip off to get a VIP room reserved, while noticing Hanamura-senpai turn to Tatsumi and talking quietly to him. She saw him glance over to the bar a moment, then spinning back and staring hard at the dance floor. Seeing how he was dressed, he might have preferred to actually dance over simply sitting in a VIP area. Well. Nothing would keep him if he wanted some more excitement. She was sure he could get his enjoyment from the evening just as much.