Hello hello! Sorry it took so long to update . . . Junior year has been a pain in my b-u-t-t what with research paper, science fair, exams . . . Thank goodness summer is almost here. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? Yes, updating frenzy! =D So once again, sorry sorry for taking so long . . . I'm such a slacker. X_X Anyway, last chapter, hope you enjoy. =)

Disclaimer: I don't own any'a this. Persona 4. Atlus. All that snazzy stuff. 'S not mine. ;)

Chapter 3: Hunting for Penguins

February 18, 2012

The succulent scent of freshly cooked food floated through the restaurant. Bored, the teen idol leaned forward and rested her chin in the palm of her right hand. She eyed the awkward young man across the table from her. Aside from the cloth napkin that was tucked into his shirt, he was dressed nicely, which was different from his usual punk-looking clothes. However, his bleached white hair drew the eyes of many fellow diners.

She could tell he was enjoying the expensive and lavishly decorated food, since his utensils hadn't stopped; however, she was not enjoying it. This has got to be the worst date ever, she thought. There hasn't been a single good part of it! Not even when he asked me out, which is all thanks to Yosuke-senpai's prodding . . . Damn, Chie-senpai for getting me to agree to this!

Three hours before

The two teens stepped off the train and entered the bustling nightlife of Okina. They strolled the streets with little conversation, and sometimes the distance between the two was so large that they didn't even look like they were walking together. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the grandiose movie theater. Please, please, say he picked a good movie. Good as in something I would like to watch, she thought as they approached the ticket counter.

"Two tickets for 'Kitty Kat's Playground', please," Kanji said, his voice shaking from nervousness. He pulled out enough money for the two tickets and slid it to the man.

"You kiddies on a date?" the man said, laughing loudly. The tickets swapped hands, and the two entered the movie theater.

"So, uhh, I hope the movie's okay with you. I kinda forgot to ask what you'd wanna see," he said quietly. He fiddled with buttons at the top of his shirt as he waited for her answer.

"Oh, yeah, it's fine with me!" she feigned excitement. Yeah, if I was ten years younger and NOT ON A DATE! His face lit up with a smile, and his pace became faster with the courage that he gained from her answer. She ran her hand across her face, faintly moaning as her fingers gently clenched her throat.

"This is gonna be a loooong night," she mumbled to herself.

They were a few minutes late, so they had missed a few of the previews. As they rounded the corner to the seats, Rise's eyes filled with pure terror, like a cat in the middle of a dog pen. Little kids filled eighty percent of the seats, while the other seats were filled by their "babysitters." The two sat down between two different groups of kids. After she sat down, she looked over at the kid sitting next to her.

His left eyebrow was raised. "If it doesn't work out with him, call me," he said, making a phone out of his hand, followed by a wink.

A shiver ran through her body as if she had just taken a cold shower. She looked over at Kanji, who was holding his knees, either from excitement or nervousness. She leaned closer to him and put her lips near his left ear. His fingers clinched his knees even tighter from her minty breath on his neck. "Swap seats with me. The kid next to me is freakin' me out," she whispered. He nodded sharply in a spastic sort-of-way, before standing up. The movie began as soon as they had adjusted to their new seats. His warmth is still in the seat, she thought, her skin prickling at the thought of another's warmth.

One hour before

Since the movie was designed with kids in mind, it lasted for only two hours or so. The little children remained in their seats as the credits rolled by on the screen. Oh crap, what if the lights come on and all these little kids realize I'm Risette? I've got to make sure we leave A.S.A.P.! "Let's go, Kanji," she said, wheeling around and grabbing his hand before sprinting down the aisle. Their hands were clasped together the whole time that they took to run out of the movie theater. The fresh cold nighttime air filled their lungs and awakened their minds.

With closed eyes, Rise was hunched over, panting, her hands on her legs . . . or at least, one of her hands. As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was still holding his left hand and that his hand was pressed against her leg. She blushed, straightened up, and calmly released his hand. Her eyes shifted to the right, the side that Kanji was on. His head was facing the opposite way of her, slightly cocked upwards, but she could see a slight hint of pink on his ears. That was really awkward . . . Even Kanji's blushing . . .

"S-so, umm, you ready to g-go eat?" he stuttered, brushing his left fingers against the palm of his hand in order to rub the strange tingling feeling away. Rise lightly giggled before nodding her head. They proceeded to walk down the sidewalk, standing a good deal closer than they did before.

Present

This restaurant is pretty expensive. I'm surprised Kanji brought me here . . . I didn't think that he'd have enough money for something this expensive . . . She snapped her head up at the sound of someone speaking to her. The waiter stood beside her. "Yes?" she asked, still dazed from the surprise.

"More water, miss?" he asked politely.

"Oh, yes, please," she said. After he poured her a full glass of water, she kindly thanked him before he walked off. She turned her face toward Kanji, who was still scarfing down food as if there wasn't enough time for him to eat it all. "Enjoying the food?" she questioned with a smile.

He took his eyes off his plate and looked up at her. After waiting to swallow the abundance of food in his mouth, he replied. "Oh yeah, this food's amazing! Best stuff I ever had."

She nodded in agreement with him that the food was good. She then focused her attention on the salad before her and counted the amount of tiny holes she had poked into the lettuce from sheer boredom. Thirty on the dot . . . That's the same number of singles I had as Risette . . . She raised her right hand and flagged a waiter down. When he arrived, she requested some croutons. After a few minutes of waiting, he approached them with a bowl of croutons. Might as well eat my salad, and there's nothing like croutons to make it taste better!

As her hand reached out to grab a few, a larger hand than hers grabbed a handful first. Kanji sprinkled the croutons onto his food, before chomping down on them. Her jaw dropped. He-he stole my croutons! Time to get this date over with. "Hey, Kanji, it's getting late, and I'm starting to get tired. Mind if we head home, now?" she asked, throwing in a fake yawn to make it seem believable.

"Oh, sure. Yeah, no prob." He waved the waiter to him and got out his money to pay. However, when he saw the bill, his eyes nearly shot straight out of his head and onto the table. "I . . . I don't have . . . enough money," he mumbled in disbelief. Is he serious? Agh, he looks like he's about to cry . . .

"Here. Put it on my credit card, please?" Rise asked, flashing her credit card. Her eyes concentrated on the waiter's back as he walked off, attempting to avoid looking at Kanji. It must be rather embarrassing for him . . .

"I-I'm sorry . . . that you had to pay, when I'm the guy . . . and I'm supposed to pay," he said, sadness seeping into his voice. He held his head down, in shame that he wasn't living up to be the kind of "male image" that he thought he should be.

The waiter returned, and as they were about to leave their table, Kanji accidentally tripped on the chair's leg and knocked his glass of tea over. The glass didn't break, but the tea had landed on Rise's new, expensive dress. Her eyes closed from frustration, and a low, grumbling sound came from the back of her throat. "Let's just get out of here, Kanji," she said, walking past the waiters who were trying to wipe her dress off.

A while later, the two had arrived back to Inaba. As they walked down the sidewalk, Rise lead, and Kanji walked a few paces behind her. Definitely the worst date ever. I feel bad for Kanji though, having to go through all of this, too, she thought. The silence between the two continued; the only noises being made were from her soft footsteps and his long strides. Until, his footsteps stopped. Confused, Rise turned around to see what the problem was.

Kanji was standing still – head held down, and arms holding something behind his back. "Kanji, what's the mat-" she partially asked before being cut off by him.

"Listen, Rise, I know that this date has really sucked, and I'm really sorry 'bout that," he started. This is different from the normal Kanji I know. He's not stuttering, and he seems so confident right now . . ., she thought, shocked at his different form of composure. "But, I wanted you to know that I didn't mean for any'a that to happen. It was just, a lot of bad luck. So, I hope you don't think that any date I'd go on with you would turn out like that . . ." he paused, pulling an object out from behind his back. "So, I was wondering, if you'd, uh, wanna look for penguins with me." He held out a box of animal crackers. She smiled softly, reaching out to grab it.

"I'd love to, Kanji. Because even though this date was definitely the worst I've ever been on," she said, "it's also been the sweetest one." She giggled as a blush crossed his face.

"You really mean it?" he asked, gulping in fear that she might change her mind.

"Positive," she replied, winking. "But just so you know, you don't have to take me on expensive dates. If it's not a place that you'd feel comfortable at, then you don't have to take me there. I mean, I would have been just as happy to go to Aiya's."

"Figures . . . I'll keep that in mind though for future references," he said, beaming a small but happy smile at her. "So, what say we get to work on finding that penguin?"

"Agreed," she answered. The two sat down on the steps of the tofu shop and began their search for the penguin.

And when their hands would slightly brush, they'd just blush, smile, and keep looking.

Aaaah, there's the ending. Well, didja enjoy the whole story? Hope ya did. =) Feel free to give a review. A nice one, hopefully . . . Flames are allowed though. Since I'm just that nice. XDD J/k Thanks for all the readers out there who commented and read it. I appreciate the love. =)

Now then, go catch some of my other stories. And be looking forward to some new ones with of course, MORE pairings! C_C More!

P.S. I love you guys. =D