As you will have noticed in the last chapter already, we have another deviation from how zero-damage wrote. The bar scene was straight out of the anime. Reason for this: It's been several years now, folks have seen the anime, played golden and so on. I'll be pulling from the anime or golden anticipating that us weirdo fans have slurped it all up. However, no Marie. Simply cannot expand enough. I may run another plot line sometime with Marie in it, but it will be outside of Shortest /Distance/ Formula. :)

Also, you have spoken, Kanji will get his interludes.

Thanks to zero-damage on reddit for reading my scribbles first! And thanks to all comments, hope I'm keeping you entertained. :)

Okay, Shirogane, be careful what you wish upon people, because you may have jinxed Tatsumi.

The evening so far was not to her linking, really. She had no idea how to introduce herself into the conversation, as the topics seemed too flimsy to even try and contribute. She had been ushered to sit with Satonaka-senpai and Kujikawa-san. The latter of which kept trying to wrap herself all over Naoto. By now, she did not know what to do except physically pushing her co-student aside. Or maybe handcuffing her to the nearest table.

Several of the group seemed openly uncomfortable by the bizarre behavior of their friends as well. Both Satonaka and Hanamura groaned at the suggestion of playing the 'King's Game'. Naoto was familiar with it, thankfully, as the explanations that Kujikawa and Amagi gave were lacking.

And the first round already seemed to be problematic, when Teddie plucked the red-marked chopsticks from the glass.

Focusing on the game and not having picked a pair herself – she wanted to observe the group before involving herself in their games – she simply leaned back and watched as the demand for a kiss was made. It seemed Kanji Tatsumi was the unlucky participant.

While she had no idea whatsoever why the slender blonde boy had hinted at a romantic interest Tatsumi might habour for him (was 'being after my fuzzy fur' some kind of code?); the tackle seemed unnecessary. Not only that, but she jumped up when she head the crash of Tatsumi colliding hard with a nearby table, going under in a jumble of said table, glasses, chairs and Teddie-san.

Hanamura-senpai, Amagi-senpai and Kujikawa-san doubled over laughing.

Satonaka-senpai and Narukami-senpai simply got up and pulled Teddie-san off Tatsumi. He still tried to cling to the teen, making kissie-sounds at him and complaining loudly that the King had not yet gotten his wish. He struggled free once and pressed his lips hard on Tatsumi's face before they finally managed to pull him away.

"Jeez, Teddie! You're such an idiot sometimes!" Satonaka complained loudly.

"Enough, Ted!" Narukami held him back, pulling him to the couch.

Why was no one concerned for Tatsumi-san? He had gone down hard and he might actually have hurt himself. Yet between laughter and fussing over Teddie, no one paid him any attention.

Naoto frowned. Out of all of the ones present, Tatsumi was the most familiar to her and she would not accept him carrying possibly serious injuries due to the negligence of his peers. She squeezed past Kujikawa, dodging her hands grasping at her hips; hopped over the legs of a still-laughing Hanamura and approached Tatsumi.

"Fuh… fuzzy fur!" That wheeze sounded like Amagi behind her.

Naoto strode up to the prone teen and kneeled beside Tatsumi. "Are you injured?"

Tatsumi tried to sit up, seemingly flustered and confused. Failing that, he tried to roll on his side and push himself up on all fours – which he also failed, simply ending up scrabbling at the floor tiles. "No!" his voice hitched to a strained high pitch, "No! I'm fine!"

'Fine' was not failing to coordinate ones' movements. 'Fine' also was not being unable to simply move into a seated position. And 'fine', she concluded, did not include what looked like a trickle of blood forming over his right temple. She reached forward to check if she saw correctly.

"Uh, s'okay. I-I'm fine."

She simply pressed her lips together and continued moving forward, her hand connecting with his temple, trying to run her hands through his hair. There was no cut visiable on his skin, so it would be behind his hairline.

He jerked back sharply. "Whoa, whoa! N-Naoto, what're -"

She froze where she was, kneeling, her hand outstretched and sighed. "I would think that was obvious."

His eyes looked slightly larger. She saw how he paled, too, the coloured lights all around them flashing brighter across his face. "You can't - seriously, man, not here!"

Naoto glanced around the club and the many light flickering and reflecting from mirrored surfaces. The provided illumination would indeed make it hard to see enough. He had a point. "...You are right." Biting the corner of her lip, she pondered where a better source of light could be found. The mall was not well lit during the late hours and even at the bar the lighting was flashing in different shades of darker colours. There was really only one place where she could expect to find any kind of steady lighting. "The restroom, then."

"R-R-Restroom?" His stammer had returned.

Not a good sign, really, he could still be seriously injured. And his complexion seemed nearing white now, blood draining from his face.

Time was wasting, and she worried he would faint any moment. She nodded brusquely and encouraged Tatsumi to get on his feet. His friends still had made no move to assist him. Or her. No one came to offer helping Tatsumi to his feet or worry about him. Her previous thought of him not being fully integrated into the group resurfaced. Maybe he simply was not yet trusted enough to be someone they would feel concern over.

She urged him down the stairs, across the dance floor and towards the restrooms. Pulling him inside, her eyes adjusted to the steady, white lighting of neon bulbs above them. "Much better," Naoto said, staring up at the ceiling lights with a hand on her hip. "I'll be able to investigate more closely."

She heard him swallow hard and turned to face him. Was he feeling sick? "So - uh -wh-what do we -"

Looking up for a moment she considered trying to reach up, but her dignity balked at the thought. Naoto pointed at the floor. "Kneel down, please."

Tatsumi blinked.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "On the floor, Tatsumi?"

"Y-you want me to go first?" he choked out. "But I've never..."

Never…? He had a scar from an old head wound. Clearly that 'never' was either not connected to "I've never had a head injury before", or he was grasping for a way out of the examination still. Tatsumi clearly underestimated his potential injury as well. Were all her peer so careless and foolish? The lack of concern was either gross under-estimation… or an indicator of how serious he was injured.

"Tatsumi." She gazed up and him, forcing her tone to stay as neutral as she possibly could. This wasn't the time to try and bully him. "There is blood on your forehead. So, yes, I would need you to kneel down first. I cannot check the severity of your injury if you do not kneel on the floor." She turned away and glared at the sink. "I am…" Saying it set her teeth on edge. "I am considerably shorter than you."

Tatsumi's hand flew to his forehead. He stared at the red smear his hand came away with and his knees seemed to give way under him. "Uh. Okay. H-here."

She turned and nodded at him. "Thank you. I believe the damage is minor, but all head wounds should be taken seriously."

She walked up to him, tilting his head back. Holding his head steady, a hand gently cupping each cheek, she moved to stand over him, blocking the light from above. Watching his eyes closely, she shifted her weight slowly from side to side; letting the light from above shine directly into one eye, then the other. The pupils constricted normally against the bright lights and relaxed normally when her head cast a shadow on him. His earlier paleness had vanished but now was being replaced at alarming rate with redness. "You are flushed. Do you feel sick or dizzy?"

"N-no. M'good."

Naoto hummed. Very gently she tilted his head forward and ran her fingers along the small gash just behind his hairline. The cut appeared minor after all and she found no swelling of any of the surrounding tissue aside from what the cut had caused. Pulling a handkerchief from her pocket with one hand, she began dabbing at the cut. "You should apply antiseptic when we return to the hotel."

Tatsumi nodded mutely.

She continued to gaze at the cut, very gently moving her kerchief along the cut, applying regular, even pressure. If she frowned, it was simply because of the thoughts going through her head. Why had his peers not taken any interest in his injury? Had they all missed the blood droplet forming? Why the fixation on the other boy? Was he younger than them? Or was it perhaps his image as a tough guy that led them to ignore a possible injury? He did have a matching scar on the side of his head already. Maybe they felt he would not appreciate them noticing his injury? But even with all of this in mind, letting any friend carry any injury was not-

"So, uh - d'you like Yukiko-senpai?"

Naoto stopped. "...What?"

Tatsumi found his voice once more after a moment. "Yukiko Amagi. Y-y'think she's cute?"

That was a sudden change in topic. She tried to peer into his eyes again, but he avoided looking up at her. She shook her head and gently turned his head sideways again, re-applying pressure to the cut. "I really wouldn't know. I have no interest in such things."

"Not - even a little bit?"

"My work leaves little time for entanglements." Her voice took a cold edge. That was part of tonight's' problem as well. Maybe her peers would have simply ignored the injury. Maybe she had missed all social queues already by looking after Tatsumi and ensuring he was all right. How could someone, who could not even make time for friends possibly consider anything else? "But why did you ask? Are you pursuing Amagi-senpai?" Had she missed this in her observations so far?

"N-no! No way! Just, guys go for her, that's all!"

She hesitated and looked down at him, then looked up and stared into nothinness for a few moments. She conjured up a mental image of the young Amagi she had observed in town and at school so far. Demure, polite, finely limbed Amagi-senpai. She could see it. The long, black hair, the way she moved. "Oh." Yes, she could see it in her minds' eye now. The very image of a future girlfriend and wife. "I - suppose they must."

Kanji swallowed loud enough for her to hear. "But not me. I don't."

Not that it mattered much if Tatsumi did or did not. It had no impact onto her investigation. Well, maybe a small possible impact. If he had a romantic interest, finding time with him for further interviews might need more planning.

Naoto finally pulled her handkerchief away without any fresh blood strains. "The cut has stopped bleeding," she said, stepping back. She placed her hand on her hip again. "I suggest you show more caution in future."

"Wasn't my fault, man! It's Teddie, he was-"

The restroom door swung open and banged into the wall. Strutting into the room, wearing a huge smirk, was Yosuke Hanamura. He stood and crossed his arms, looking from her to Tatsumi and back again.

"Wow, Naoto-kun. You're eager." Naoto grunted. Shirogane-san. Just once? Could they behave like adults just once?

Hanamura-senpai turned to Tatsumi, still smirking. "First Teddie, now Naoto - you're a lucky guy, Kanji!"

She creased her forehead in a small frown. Now suddenly they got worried? "Well, yes, he appears to have suffered no permanent damage, but..." How long had they been gone? Had it taken a long time for the bleeding to stop? Maybe she should check once more if there was noticeable swelling. If they had been here for longer than perhaps 10 minutes-

Hanamura giggled. "I mean, dragging another guy into the restroom at a nightclub... just, wow, you know?"

What on earth was he babbling about? Had it not been clear that they had been unable to see in the flashing, coloured lights upstairs? Of course she had to take him somewhere else and… and… And she was posing as a male. Taking another male into the restroom of a club. To be secluded. Without explaining her motive. "Oh. Oh." Hanamura- He thought… They were under the impression that-

"It - it ain't like that, okay?" Tatsumi stammered, trying to get to his feet again.

Naoto took two long, quick steps backwards, bumping against the sink. "No, it really, really - Hanamura-senpai, I was just - Tatsumi might have been injured, and-" Why did he imply-? What kind of infantile nonsense was this? At least she had cared enough to investigate the injury and- "I-I will be outside," she muttered, and marched out the bathroom door.

"Where's Shenpai? He's...so aweshome!" Naoto winced slightly at the squeal that came from Kujikawa. Her voice in general wasn't overly pleasant, but when she was exhilarated, it seemed she could pierce ear drums without even trying.

"I told you already, he's takin' back Teddie and Yukiko-senpai," Tatsumi muttered. "'Cause you're all idiots."

Naoto would agree with his assessment.

The rest of the evening had turned into a waste of time. When they left the club, Tatsumi had taken on Kujikawa, hoisting her to his back and carrying her through the night-darkened streets. Smuggling her into the hotel without waking up every single soul was going to be more excitement than she had signed up for.

This night had turned out all kinds of more than she signed up for in some regards, while being so much less than she had hoped for. Naoto sighed.

Tatsumi turned his head and looked down at her. "Hey...you okay, man?"

She nodded, without looking up.

After she had returned, taking her seat besides Kujikawa (unthinking, she should have realized she'd spend the next thirty minutes fending her advances off again) and enduring more implications of two young men hiding in a public restroom, she had been roped into their foolish game. The thought that she could perhaps use it to start tapping into more information crossed her mind, so she played along. Only to be mocked and lied to.

The whole playing-at-being-drunk might actually also be part of the foolishness that followed. Entering television sets. Fighting monsters. The classic "teenagers save the world"-scenario. They couldn't come up with anything better than that?

Kujikawa twisted against Tatsumi's back. Her hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, prompting a non-verbal complaint from the tall blonde. "Aw...ish Naoto-kun down?"

But as obviously a false trail as this was, why would they spin such a story? Had they somehow created this entire night as a way to mislead her? Why would they simply mock her like this? It was suspicious. It was almost as if they wanted to muddy the waters while she meant to follow them.

"I am fine." she quipped.

"I got shomething to make you feel better!" Kujikawa apparently tried to drop her voice to a whisper. It came out close to a high-pitched squeak. "I know a secret. Yoshuke-shenpai told me."

Naoto sighed and tucked her cap down. "If it is similar to Yukiko-senpai's, I am not interested."

"No, no! It's a gooood one, I promish," the former idol slurred, ending with a giggle that turned into a hiccup. "Kanji-kun likes- -"

Tatsumi jolted her, skipping a few steps and hopping, bouncing her hard on his back. "I d-don't like anything! Shut your mouth!"

Naoto glanced sideways at the other two first-years and frowned. Again, a possibly-see-through lie? But this time Tatsumi interfered. Why? Did he want to stop the lies? Was he actually on her side somehow after all?

She pinched her eyes shut when Kujikawa squeaked happily once more.

Would they end the night being expelled?

"As discussed earlier," Naoto said, with a small shake of her head, "we should take care to avoid the faculty on our arrival at the hotel. It will be very difficult to convince them that Rise-san is not truly inebriated."

Tatsumi gave her a startled look. "You...you were serious? About the bar not serving alcohol?"

"You drank the same as me, Hanamura… and everyone else. You feel okay, do you not?"

"Uh, well, y-yeah…"

"I have no idea what idiocy is affecting your friends," Naoto muttered darkly.

He sighed. "Me neither." .

Her patience had run dry about two hours earlier. She was tired, she was annoyed and she did not need Rise Kujikawa on her, groping at her while trying to get up off of her.

"Sh-shorry, Naoto-kun," she mumbled, scrabbling at the floor and Naoto, trying to push herself up.

The detective squirmed, trying to dodge the groping hands. "Kuh-Kujikawa-san, please remove yourself from-"

"Okay, Rise, bedtime!" Satonaka, who had appeared to help them deposit their possibly-drunk encumbrance into her room, slipped her hands under the other girl's arms and yanked her to her feet. "You've given these guys enough trouble for one night."

"Aw, Chie-shenpai, I gotta 'pologize to Naoto-kun!"

"No need," muttered Naoto, as she pulled himself into a sitting position. She lifted her hand to tuck down her cap, found it missing, and cast a panicked look about the blue-and-purple lit hallway.

Tatsumi bend towards her, offering a hand. "Uh...you okay?"

"Fine," Naoto said, cheeks flushed pink, pointedly not taking the proffered hand. She pointed at Kujikawa's feet. "P-pass me my cap, please."

She heard the two girls bustle into their room, the door snapping shut behind them, while she took her cap from the blonde teen and scrambled to her feet quickly.

Not at all the success story she had envisioned this night could become. Kujikawa's hands had been pressed squarely against her chest once. If she had been of clearer mind, she could have easily realized that the taut feeling under her hands were not pectorals. Add to that the lies they had tried to feed her.

All of it fed the detective's sudden worry that there could very well be more than one teenaged murderer in Inaba.

"Uh. Th-Thanks for helpin' bring her back." Tatsumi stared at the floor, casting only the briefest of glances at her.

She looked up at the blonde for a moment and nodded stiffly. He still had been polite. She had no reason to let her mood impact her communication with him. She looked back towards the floor herself. "You should return to your room now. You are sharing with Hanamura-senpai, Narukame-senpai and your friend Teddie, correct?" Teddie. Who was not a student. And so far, all students rooming together were of the same classes. But not these three. Four now. "How did you engineer that?" she asked, glancing at him.

The youth stiffened a moment. "T-the other guy they were sharing with dropped out last minute. So I figured it'd be okay. And Ted, he-he's just visiting, it's not like-"

She held out the palms of her hands. "Do not worry. I will not inform the faculty members." Naoto let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "But you must understand, it seems suspicious that you are all-" She stopped short and raised her head to look Tatsumi in the eye. He had been helpful. And he seemed to actually be different from the other teens. She could not afford to close that door; lose this one possible ally she had. Or clue him in on her new suspicions. "I apologize, Tatsumi-san. I am tired."

"You goin' back to your room too?"

"Later. I must ensure my roommates are asleep." Going to sleep with her bindings was a problem in itself. She had to ensure that she slipped into bed without them seeing her, and that she would get up before them.

"You, uh, you want some company?"

Naoto shook her head. "No." I'm sorry, Tatsumi, but I have more to think of now, than I had when I started this evening.

"Oh. Right." He shuffled his feet, as if turning to leave, hesitating, and then wanting to move again. "Well...g'night."

With a quick nod, Naoto turned to move away. She had only taken a few couple of steps, when she heard him clear his throat.

"Yo, Naoto...uh, wait a sec." Tatsumi called out

Naoto glanced back, one eyebrow arched. "Hmm?"

"That, that stuff you were saying back at the club. 'Bout your family and being a detective." He paused. "I-I thought it was cool."

Cool. Naoto looked at him for a long moment, trying to find out where that had come from. It seemed out of place, for the situation, for the content of her narrative, for the time of night. However, it did seem what she had grown to understand as 'classic Tatsumi'. His social awkwardness combined with her own made a strange mixture at times. She sighed quietly, deciding to take his comment as an offering of solidarity. "I appreciate your sentiment. I wasn't sure what else to say. I have no talent for jokes or anecdotes."

"S'okay. Y-you were just tryin' to make friends, right?"

She tensed up at the word. "No. I am in Inaba solely to solve a murder case." This was not for the social entanglement that came with friendships. This was information gathering. It was almost akin to espionage. She squared up in the hallway and turned to fully face him. "And I know you and your colleagues are somehow involved. I simply thought that if I... if I was honest with you all, perhaps you would..." Her words trailed off.

What am I doing? I am being careless. Foolish. She wasn't sure about her feeling concerning Tatsumi yet. He might still be an ally. But right now, there was simply no knowing and she should not rope him in to her plans just yet. "As I said, I am tired. I will see you tomorrow."

Not sure she could trust herself to stop her exposition a third time, she turned to the stairway and headed towards the lobby.