October 4th, 2011, Afternoon.
Naoto settled down on the couch, only to find herself all but pinned to one side of it by an overly enthusiastic Kujikawa. Amagi-senpai giggled as she found herself a spot on the floor, delicately pulling herself into the traditional seated position on her heels. From across her modest living room, she could see Tatsumi stand in her kitchen, readying up some tea.
Choosing silence for the most part, Naoto kept trying to inch herself away from Kujikawa, while the other two girls happily chatted about some occurrence or other at the school yard when they left to visit her. When Tatsumi returned, he shot Kujikawa and herself an odd stare before settling down and handing out tea cups. He poured himself some, then retreated a bit.
For the longest time Naoto found refuge in simply nursing her cup of tea, glancing at her guests and making non-comitial noises at apparently appropriate times.
The dynamic was interesting to observe, even with only these few of her new team mates surrounding her. Kujikawa lead the conversation, Amagi politely contributed… and Tatsumi was silent, observing for the most part. While both girls appeared to be similar to how they would behave if it was just the two of them, Tatsumi always changed quite a bit. It was both worrying, and reassuring to know he could hold both the passion he showed earlier, as well as the quiet strength he displayed now.
After about an hour, Naoto took a deep breath and politely took over the conversation. "I know I went about it wrong earlier," she gave Tatsumi a small nod, "but I am starting to feel rather 'stir-crazy' due to being in my apartment for days. I would also like to get a small amount of shopping done and-"
"Oooh, we should all go for a walk then and stop by Junes, too!" Kujikawa put in at once.
Amagi-senpai frowned for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yes, but then we should go together. It is a good idea to stretch out your legs, Naoto-kun, but I would rather you were not alone for that."
"Oh, no problem, Yukiko-senpai!" Kujikawa interjected before she hopped off the couch and knelt beside Tatsumi, holding on to his arm. "We have a strong man with us to protect and help us!"
"Wait, what? Wh-What's tha' gotta do with me?" His panicked eyes widened and he looked to Naoto as if to plead to a higher court.
The detective frowned at her guests. "Really, I can very easily take care of this myself. Tatsumi-kun will confirm that I was up and about earlier already."
"Sure, but we're gonna go shop for you, Naoto-kun! I'm sure Kanji will agree that stretching our legs and a bus ride or two would be fun, too! Right, Kanji-kun?"
Naoto's jaw set as she watched Kujikawa heap affectionate displays upon Tatsumi. Even if they dated, there was surely a time and place...
He finally nodded. "Okay, okay, leggo, Rise, yes, I'll come." He shot Naoto a quick glance, then blushed, obviously embarrassed by the way he had just presented himself as a guest in her home. "'f course I'll come with you."
The teens rose, Tatsumi gathering up the dishes and placing them into the sink while the girls put on their shoes.
October 5th, 2011
Feeling a sense of contentedness she had not in several days, Naoto leaned against the wall right beside her living room window. She could not really see much, the rain was rather thick and pelted her window in steady rivulets while the greyish light outside turned early afternoon into the dullness of late evening.
Sipping from her tea cup, she let her mind wander. Yesterday had turned out surprisingly pleasant after all. Amagi-senpai and Rise-san had not moved from her side, sure, and she could not help but be keenly aware of Tatsumi-san hovering near by as if he expecting to have to catch her. But she had been able to convince them to leave as a light evening rain had started up and it only took her pointing out neither of them had had the foresight to bring an umbrella to dissolve the group activity.
She had stopped by Junes long enough to grab a few pre-boxed bento for the coming days, then hurried to the bus stop and home from there.
After days of being cooped up in her small apartment, she actually felt energy returning, possibly in part thanks to her being able to take her own life choices again and proceeding to take back her autonomy. Having had help to get back on her feet was, she had to admit now, appreciated. But now that she could prove that no more closer observation was needed, she could resume her work.
Learning more about this 'TV World' would be prudent, and she started to wonder if there may have been lasting medical effects for those who were taken there – or who entered to bring them back. An unfamiliar worry entered her thoughts at this. Was she actually worried about how these other teens were dealing, mind and body, with everything that had happened?
Naoto frowned into her tea. She did care, odd as it seemed. She had to realise that, with all that had happened, she had formed a bond that she needed to consider in her further interactions with them. It was, still being frank with herself, not an unpleasant feeling.
Her breath misted gently against the window as she sighed after another long draught of her tea. Maybe allowing herself to open up to these teens would not be so bad after all.
October 6th, 2011
Naoto Shirogane was not standing leaned against the pillars of the school gate because the thought of entering the building on her own distressed her. No. She further did not feel the craving of having others who knew her be near as she re-entered the school grounds.
She still kept her cap tucked low into her brow, ignoring the excited whispers of students passing her. Gossip, the very reason she had taken such pains to ingrate herself into the school, had been the one thing she had underestimated in re-joining class this morning.
"…he's back!"
"… looks like he's been really ill…"
"..hope he reads my letter today! I wrote him before I knew he was sick…"
...
As before - till I find out what's going on here with FFN, the main work is over at Archive Of Our Own, same user name, same story name. Sorry, FFN fans. :(