Happy post-thanksgiving, dear 'Murrican readers!

I am not quite sure my proof reader finished the story fully (either that, or I miraculously stopped making typos and stuff in the later third of the chapter).

Still, this is my first interlude and I am horrendously nervous about it, because now you guys can really compare my writing and ZD's. Let's hope I'm not disappointing you guys too much. Enjoy!

Once outside, Kanji stopped, looking back over his shoulder. He didn't usually come to this part of town. Inaba was no huge city or nothing, and he didn't like these cubes of living space.

Still. Up there, on the fourth floor, was Naoto. And he had been in the TV world for two weeks. Was he really gonna be okay?

"Kanji-kun! Come on, it's late already, I don't want to be in more trouble with Grandma than I really need to be!"

His eyes remained glued to the building as Kanji turned. He moved into Rise's direction, gaze lingering on the building - and promptly walked into her.

"Hey! Watch it, you lug!" She slapped his arm lightly, but smiled. "You're worried, hm?"

"Yeah... I-I mean, no!" He shot the idol a glare and started to quickly walk back towards town. "Why sould I be worried? Yukiko-senpai is up there. An'-an' the killer never tried any a' us a second time. Yeah. And... Naoto's a tough guy, he'll be-"

"Naoto is tough, Kanji. Quit being stupid." For all he cared, her voice was way too soft while she said that.

Kanji grunted and kept the rest of his toughts to himself. Naoto was tough, but he always really wanted to be in charge of things. Yukiko was not going to let him get away with a lot of that stuff. Man, had she really thrown him into... her. Had thrown her into bed. Yukiko would never have stayed by herself in a boy's apartment, never mind his bedroom. He shook his head. Her. Need to remember that. Not him.

Rise slipped her arms around one of his and skipped along to his reaching stride. She never seriously flirted with him, a'course, but when they started bein'- ...well, friends, I suppose? Anyhow, she seemed to like hangin' off his arm, at least while Yu-senpai wasn't around. He'd grown used to it by now. A little. Her stream of chatter fulled his ears with a steady hum and he couldn't even pretend that he cared for a word she said.

'Stop being stupid.' Was he being stupid? The kid had been barely able to walk out of the TV oh his own. He actually had not managed to walk home without help. Kanji himself and Rise, the only two he could compare against, hadn't been in as bad-

A finger was pointedly pushed into his arm, making him flinch. "I asked you a question, Kanji-kun!" She frowned up at him, but then her expression changed, now slightly worried. She let go of his arm and skipped in front of him for a moment, walking backwards. "Hey. Are you okay? You've been grumpy. Well, more so then you usually are, anyhow."

He blinked. Rise. Yes. "I'm okay." He hesitated. "I think I'm okay."

She looked up at him with those large eyes and just waited as they walked. With a twirl she was at his side again. Her arms returned, both of them snaking around his, holding on to him.

She would not press this, Kanji knew. She would either wait him out or simply start poking at this at a later time. Like in front of Naoto. Shit.

"Damnit, Rise! No, I'm not okay, okay?" He ran his free hand through his hair and shook his head. "We took too long. Way, way too long. You looked pretty bad when we pulled yer out, but even you didn't need ta be carried. Naoto was close ta slipping off my back in between kicking an' punching me." He kicked a piece of trash on the ground. Frowned. Picked it up and tossed it in a nearby trash can. Some people could be such slobs.

She still hadn't said anything, simply watching him as he ranted and played local trashman.

"Matter o'fact," he ranted on his free arm making a wide gesture, "I think if not for him-" the idol took a breath to interrupt him, "her, ugh, yes Rise, if not for her distrecting herself with kicking me, she might have just fallen asleep, or maybe passed out or some shit." He sighed deeply and shortened his steps before continuing. "This isn't like before. This isn't like when we came ta get ya. This whole damned thing is way more shitty."

He still felt her light hands on his arm. They walked in silence for a while, before he lifted his free hand, rubbing the warming back of his neck.

"S-Sorry. Didn't mean ta swear. It-it just pisses me off, ya know? I already felt like we may have been too late when we came for you. Naoto had to wait even longer. We should'a hurried, gotten better, taken care of this thing right away."

He felt his arm being hugged tightly and Kanji turned his head to look down. Rise looked up at him with gentle eyes and weird look on her face he had not seen on her before. "You really care." They stopped and a smile lit up her face.

Kanji frowned, then blushed furiously. This again? "Damnit, Rise, stop trying ta make it sound like all I think about is N-Naoto!" He started to walk again. I'll drag her along if she won't keep up, damnit!

The idol pulled him short and made him stop again after only a few steps. He hesitated, but looked down at her still. The look she gave him was neither teasing, nor very amused. "No, Kanji-chan, you got it wrong again." He took a breath to yell at her for real, he hated when she or Ted called him that, but the idol just kept going. "I don't just mean Naoto-kun right now. You think about things. You worry about things. I'm not sure any of the others ever even mentioned to me they felt like they could have come for me any quicker, or felt like they even needed to. If they had, no one said anything. So. Thank you."

Kanji didn't know how to reply to that. He looked away from her, his eyes stinging uncomfortably. "'s cool. I mean, you're cool and stuff. 'm sorry ya got stuck so long."

Rise giggled, squeezing him close in a tight hug for a moment. "You're pretty cool, too, Moronji."

"Oh get bent, Rise..."

His Ma was already asleep when Kanji came home. He snuck into his bedroom without turning on any lights and stripped down to shirt and boxers, folding up his clothes before putting them down. Trying really hard to keep his mind blank, all he could see was linked to Naoto. The weird base-like hideout. The shadow - oh shit, that shadow! And then seeing both Naoto lose it like that and looking as if he... she. As if she was about...

His thoughts successfully derailed again and Kanji sighed, sitting down on his futon. He pulled up his legs into sitting cross-legged and just stared at the ground.

Her. Naoto was a girl. Cool, aloof, casual Naoto Shirogane was a chick. A chick who had never treated him like any of the other girls, at that. Never accused him of anything. Only curious. And nice, somehow. Formal. A bit stuffy perhaps, but she never laughed at him or made him feel stupid and stuff.

Tha's cool. Why wouldn't it be cool? Naoto's Naoto after all.

Somehow that changed everything and nothing at all. He still kept thinking way too much about that kid. Knowing that Naoto was a girl had not shifted his attention closer or further away. And try as he might, Kanji was unsure if that was a good thing or not. Might mean he's not gay, tho he had almost started to agree with his shadow in that regard. Might mean he could go both ways, in the right circumstance. Or ... heck, it might not mean a thing.

He closed his eyes and laid his face in both hands, resting his elbows on his knees.

Why did that mix him up all over again? Was it because he had just gotten used to the idea that, just maybe, he might be into dudes after all? Was it because he had not noticed it? Or was it something else entirely?

Whatever it was, Naoto still seemed to have a luxury apartment in his brain and would not move out. If anything, she had just brought in more boxes and ordered the daily paper.

… Naoto's a girl. Did that make things easier or harder on him then? He was scared to chat up the guy, didn't know is if he woulda liked being friends or… or-something. Naoto bein' a girl could make that easier. Nothin' wrong with a guy wanting ta get to know a girl better. Right?

Kanji groaned.

He rubbed his hands slowly back and forth over his face. Maybe he was thinking about things the wrong way. Maybe Naoto being a dude or a chick was not actually what mattered. But what was wrong then? He could hardly think for the dense crowding of thoughts right now. Everything was a blur.

Maybe some meditation shit helps. Kanji took a few slow breaths and simply allowed his mind to wander.

The picture that immediately leaped at him, yet again, was a tiny, yellow-eyed Naoto, curled up, howling in a deeply personal pain. 'Don't leave me.' 'Why am I always left alone?' 'Why are you always leaving me behind?'. And when he saw the shadow in his mind's eye, it reached out to him, red-rimmed eyes begging for him to reach out in return-

He sat up quickly, laying his head back, blinking at stringing eyes and fighting the immediate lump in his throat. Ah, yea, okay, got it. Stop the movie.

Honestly, that actually was his main issue right now. Naoto had it together, man. Dude was cool as ice. Well, except maybe that one time, where Kanji swore the cop actually made hi-her cry. But aside from that, he could hold his own. How could he have such a fucked up Shadow? She. Damnit.

And being alone? That just didn't sound like hi- like Naoto. Didn't want to hang out, like, ever. Even back at the school trip the girls had pretty much forced the kid to come along and most of that time had not exactly looked like h-she, ugh!, was having fun. And Kanji totally did not remember that because he had his eyes glued on the short detective. Or noticed every move she made. He made? Back then he thought Naoto was a guy, did that matter? Should he think of Naoto as a girl back then, too?

And why being left alone? Who was doing any kind of leaving? He mentioned his granddad not being around, but Kanji had simply assumed Naoto had only meant to stay here for one case an' move on anyhow. Come to Inaba, work, and leave Inaba. Never ta come back. Putting that thought into words actually placed that barbed hook right back in Kanji's gut and jerked hard on his insides.

Kanji shifted around, uncomfortable. Uncrossed his legs. Pulled up his knees. Crossed his legs again. He let his gaze wander, looking around his dark room slowly.

Maybe he was overthinking this again. Like, when his own shadow said he was gay, but then later just said "Someone, anyone please accept me!" and it totally wasn't about being gay at all. Well, not only about being gay. Maybe, seeing what happened with Naoto- GAH!

Even his own thinking didn't allow him to keep it together. That wasn't what he meant, damnit. More like, when he looked at his shadow, and it didn't actually want to be with guys.. Just thought that being with guys would be easier, because they don't talk as much shit. But then, being gay would mean he just got a different kind of issues dealt.

No. Naoto. What he meant was: Maybe that was a similar deal right now as well. Not that he had fully found out what his own shadow actually meant to say, either. Maybe the guys' shadow didn't mean he wanted to be a guy, not really. Just, that… like, maybe Naoto's Shadow thought being a guy would be easier, just like Kanji's Shadow thought being gay would be the better way. Yeah, that's what he meant. Maybe.

Kanji grunted and put his chin on his fist. He wasn't nearly smart enough to think about what anyone's' shadow actually did or did not mean.

He hadn't talked to the others about their shadows, but his own had been a pushover compared to Naoto's. He decked his faffy ass himself, straight in the kisser. But Naoto... h-her, her, damnit, her shadow was unnerving. One moment it would cry and whimper in a way that make his gut lurch and make him run over and hug it. But then, in the next, the tears were gone and there was that creepy, unfriendly smile. His own shadow had said some pretty weird stuff, but Naoto's was just hurtful.

And she had been in there with it for weeks. Shit.

What would that have done to her? She seemed in really bad shape when they got her out. Like, really bad. She was tryin' ta act all tough, o'course, but he had seen her trying to bullshit her way out of a similar situation a few weeks ago with that cop. Naoto wasn't quite as fickle as that shadow, but not the cool, collected detective, either.

He pulled his legs up again, crossing his arms on top of his knees. Outside his window, Inaba lay quiet. He couldn't even hear anyone drunk out there tonight. Good. Meant he didn't need to bust someone's lip when they woke up ma. He'd get in trouble with his senpai.

His chin sank on his arms slowly. Would get himself in trouble with Naoto, too. She had been oddly rough when they brought her home. Like, not at all like she should ha'been.

That actually also was on his mind, come to think of it. Rise had been able to walk out on her own, and he was sure the others didn't have problems, either. They never mentioned at least. Based on how Chie-senpai and Yukiko had reacted, it wasn't what they had expected. But Naoto tough-cool-on-the-case-junior-detective Shirogane, had collapsed several times before he'd had it, picked her up an'-

And ... carried... on his back. Felt her breathe. Her chest to his back and-

Kanji jumped up, rushed to his desk and grabbed some tissue paper to press to his face. This better be another growth spurt! No, having her snuggled to his back didn't matter at all in this; this had nothing to do with the guy... chick... whatever, had nothing to do with suddenly remembering the warmth on his own back, and, damnit, even her weak punches and kicks made him flush all over again now and-

Fuckin' stop it, Tatsumi!

After cussing himself out a while and Take-Mikazuchi helpfully providing annoyed rumbles, Kanji tossed away the stained tissues and grunted.

He sat down at his desk and turned on the lamp. This is stupid. Fine. If I'm not gonna get any sleep, might as well do something fun.

Kanji picked up his coloured pencils, doodeling onto a rough-drawn mannequin an azure blue trench coat.

Even while drawing, his mind wouldn't stop. How had it affected Naoto to be locked up with that crazed shadow for two weeks? How long would these two weeks have felt? Kid seemed confused, saying they had only talked yesterday or the day before. What had it done to her? Had it perhaps experimented some already?

He stopped his coloured pencil when he realized he was adding a blue cap to the outfit. With a grunt of disgust he pushed himself back from the desk and leaned his arms on his knees, clasping his hands.

What does it mean about the kid? What does a shadow like that mean? Are shadows the opposite of shit? Like, Rise does not want to be a stripper, not really, and he sure as hell does not want to hang out in bath houses. But if Naoto's shadow said "Don't leave me alone", does it mean it wants to be left alone? And at the same time not? And what about that mean, creepy shit it pulled. Does it want to be mean but somehow won't be? Sure, Naoto could be pretty fuckin' rude, but maybe that was simply on accident?

How could that shadow on one hand be so … so damned scared and on the other so scary? So hurtful and so hurting? So weak and so damned strong? There's no way to find out what the hell it wants, because it does both things at the same time!

I'm not smart enough for this, damnit. How can I even consider helpin' Naoto when I cannot damned well understand 'im? …her. And why the hell was it so hard to remember Naoto's a chick?!

There was a quiet tap on his door and he slowly lifted his head. He had previously heard the soft groan of wood as his mom slipped out of her room and through the hallway. "Yeah, Ma, I'm up."

The door opened and his mother peered in through the crack. "It is very late, Kanji-chan... Did you remember some homework? Why are you at your desk then?" she added after he shook his head.

"I'unno. Can't sleep, I guess. Too much stuff goin' on."

She pushed the door open a bit father and leaned with her shoulder against the door frame, clasping her hands in front of her. "What stuff? Maybe I can help. I've been around a while, you know."

"Damnit, you ain't old, Ma!"

"I never said I am, Kanji-chan." She smiled her warm, fond smile, and Kanji felt six years old again, as he always did when she smiled like that. Old bat would just wait like that till he cracked. Not say anything, but not go the hell away, either. But maybe talking to her could help with this.

"There is- You see, in school..." How do I put this? Kanji frowned at the floor. Ma wasn't offering help, so he had to either put up or shut up. He chickened out. "It's nothing."

"Dear, it must be something." He grunted, shaking his head, but she went on, "Because it is two in the morning and you look tired but say you cannot sleep."

He cracked his knuckles, trying to somehow untangle the knots in his stomach and brain at the same time. Putting thoughts into words always felt so much harder than it rightfully should, in his opinion. An' talking to ma was like talking to anyone he really liked. It was hard.

"There is a kid in school, in my grade, see? Like, not in my class, but I see him now and again." Can't tell her I'm thinking about a girl in the middle of the night, she'd get all kinds of wrong ideas. „I- I found out something... Like, something really shitty happened to him." His fingers retangled, matching his confused thoughts. "Like, only today." He frowned at the floor and stretched out his neck, pulling his head to the left and right, letting the bones creak. "I thought he's so strong and all... you know. Cool?" When he looked up to see if she could follow that, he saw how she nodded, listening closely. He swallowed, and looked back at his hands. "But then- then this thing happened... a-and I saw a totally different side of him."

"And that bothers you?"

"Well... I think so, yeah. I mean, it wasn't really like him, sort of thing."

"We're all different from time to time, Kanji-chan. Those bikers would not believe me if I told them you make a great breakfast." As he flushed, she added fondly, "Well, when you remember, anyway."

"Ma!"

"I'm sorry, Kanji-chan." She chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand, as she always did. Then her expression turned serious again. "Hm. So that boy was different. Was he mean to you?"

"Na. More, like, mean to himself, I think."

At this, his mother gazed towards the table and smiled, demurely clasping her hands again. "That is so like you."

He looked up at his Ma, frowning. "Whaddaya mean?"

"Your deep empathy for others. You see someone who is not even a dear friend, it seems, be in trouble or not feeling well, and it bothers you deeply enough that you lose sleep over it." She turned her eyes back on him, her smile fading. "Have others noticed it as well? Was it something in the direction of a public outburst?"

"N-no... I mean, maybe... someone could have seen, I guess." Could others have seen that shit if they had watched the Midnight Channel? Damn, he had not even thought about that whole mess yet.

"Well, if no one else noticed how bad that boy is feeling, then you can either help keep it a secret, or you could talk to him. Help him through the hard times he must be having."

Kanji gaped. Talk. To Naoto. Him. 'So, uh, I noticed your Shadow wanted to hold hands with you while drilling holes in your head. How fucked up was that, eh?'

"I dun' think I can do that. He doesn't know me. I mean, he kinda does. I think we get along. I mean I hope we- argh! Anyhow, it's not like we're friends or nothin'." He looked to the ground, dry-washing his hands. "I'unno even if he would wanna talk..."

After a while of silence, his mother shifted her weight, one hand reaching for the handle of his door. "Well, I am glad you noticed he might need help. And I know you'll help if it feels right. You will do the right thing either way, dear." He nodded mutely. "Now. Try to sleep soon, Kanji-chan."

"Yeah. Night, Ma. An'... Eer, you know. Thanks."

"Goodnight, dear." The door shut and he heard her walk back to her room.

Empathy. He wasn't really sure what his mom meant by that, because he knew he couldn't read minds. But she said he would help once he knew how.

Maybe that was why he was up, really. He wanted to find out how he could help.

But how could anyone help with what he had seen tonight?

Damnit, he needed someone much smarter to talk to. Maybe someone like Yukiko or Yu-senpai.

He turned the lamp off and slouched back into his futon. Hugging his pillow under his chin, he blinked into the darkness. Hell, Naoto. Why do you keep causing me sleepless nights still? I thought once we get you outa there, things would make more sense. Or at least I'd make more sense.

He let his head sink forward, his chin cradled in the pillow above his crossed arms. Maybe he could start with something simple. Like, offer to hang out at school. Yeah. Just, you know, two guys hanging- No. Not a guy. Naoto was a chick. That would mean even the excuse of 'just two guys hanging out' would not work any longer.

Or maybe it could? Maybe Naoto would prefer if they pretended nothing had happened. That would make hanging out with her easy. Maybe. As long as he didn't stare at her too much.

Enough already! Naoto was home safe. Yukiko-senpai was with her. He should at least sleep a few hours.

Kanji shifted around on the futon for a while longer, cussing himself out whenever a stray thought tried to probe the subject of the Detective Prince, before sleep finally came.