Chapter 9
The problem with telling a boy how you feel, was actually having to tell him. Naoto believed that Amagi-senpai was correct. She just needed to tell Kanji how she felt about him, and be done with it. If he didn't like her, she would deal with it. She didn't expect him to feel that way to begin with, so it shouldn't even hurt too much. Right? Every time she even thought about telling him, her heart started to pound. Each time she spent any amount of time alone with him, she started sentences that she couldn't finish. Before she knew it, weeks had gone by. She was frustrated with herself and her inability to control the situation. On top of that, she was also frustrated with the case, which had not progressed at all since her own kidnapping. Even when the notes began to arrive, there were no leads as to who the suspect could be.
Unfortunately, it wasn't long before someone appeared on the Midnight Channel, and it turned out to be Seta-senpai's six year old cousin, Nanako. Naoto immediately tried Seta's number, and got no answer. She tried Rise, Chie and Yukiko, none of which knew where Souji was. Hanamura likely did know, but she didn't have his number, so she sucked it up and dialed Kanji. Thankfully he answered immediately. It turned out that Dojima-san had dragged Souji to the police station, and had taken his phone away. Kanji and Yosuke were already on their way down there. Naoto ran as fast as she could to the Dojima residence, at the same time calling Chie back, asking her to spread the word to the other girls. After inspecting the house, she headed to the station to let the others know that the front door had been open and no one was home. Dojima-san had already taken off to search for Nanako when the teens discovered something in the case files. The deliveryman, Taro Namatame, fit the requirements for abducting Nanako-chan. She never opened the door to strangers. With how frequently Souji had been ordering from Tanaka's Amazing Commodities, the deliveryman would not have been a stranger to Nanako. Unfortunately, Dojima's idiot partner Adachi phoned him the information, which caused Dojima to crash his car while pursuing Namatame.
After confirming that Namatame had gone into the TV with Nanako, the investigation team spent the next two weeks searching for them. The battles were long and hard, and it took huge amounts of energy just to climb one floor of the tower. Despite the shadows, it looked like heaven. Nanako's storybook version of where her mother had gone after death. Spending every night fighting was taking a toll on the entire team, both mentally and physically. When they finally got to the top and fought Namatame, something very strange happened. Naoto and Kanji were on the same team, which was not a regular occurrence. Despite how hard they were fighting alongside Souji and Teddie, they were losing badly. Until Kanji and Naoto's personas did a combined attack. Naoto had heard some of the others talk about this happening before. From what she understood, Chie and Yukiko had a combination attack, and so did Yosuke and Teddie. When she asked Chie about it, she said she thought it was because they were such close friends. And no matter how much Yosuke tried to deny it, he took care of Teddie like an older brother, letting him stay at his house and making sure nothing bad happened to him. Naoto didn't understand why her persona would feel that close to Kanji's. They had barely even fought together. Whatever it meant, it allowed them to gain an advantage and, with the others fighting and healing, they eventually overpowered Namatame.
When they pulled Nanako and Namatame out of the television, both were taken to the hospital. Nanako did not seem to be handling the time spent in the TV world well. Her condition was critical even though the doctors were unable to find anything physically wrong with her. The entire team was on edge, waiting in the hall outside her room while Souji and Dojima sat with her. Most of the girls were crying. Naoto couldn't help but blame herself. She should have been able to figure out who the culprit was in time to prevent this from happening! She was a failure as a detective. When she expressed these opinions out loud, Kanji yelled at her. Loudly, and in front of everyone. He was right of course, and she acknowledged that. It still made her feel even worse.
Nanako's hospital stay was an emotional time for the entire group. No one quite knew what to say to each other, especially when she took a turn for the worse and everyone thought she had died. They almost made a very unwise decision regarding Namatame. That had also been Naoto's idea. She had no idea before that moment that she was capable of being heartless. It was also a little bit shocking that Yosuke and Kanji had agreed with her. If Souji hadn't stopped them, they would have made one of the worst mistakes of their lives that night. In the end, Nanako pulled through, and they chose to believe that Namatame was not the mastermind behind the killings.
Naoto found herself almost walking all the way to Kanji's house every evening. And each time, she convinced herself that the timing wasn't right, turned around, and went back home. She wanted desperately to tell him how she felt, but she was afraid she would be exploiting both of their emotional states. Everyone on the team was extremely needy right now, and she didn't want him to think that was all this was. She especially didn't want him to admit to feelings for her that weren't real. So she continued to justify waiting.
When Nanako-chan was released from the hospital, everyone was in better spirits. They had a party to celebrate her homecoming. Christmas came soon after that. Naoto spent Christmas Eve at home alone, wondering what she would have been doing if she had been brave enough to confess her feelings before now. She decided to go for a walk, and naturally ended up in the shopping district. What are you doing, Shirogane? This is ridiculous! She walked quietly by the textile shop, peeking in the door to see if Kanji was there. He was.. and she felt completely relieved. She knew it was irrational and none of her business to begin with, but she had been afraid he would be on a Christmas Eve date with another girl. She let out a breath when she saw him inside the shop, showing stuffed bunnies to a dark haired little boy who seemed extremely excited. She smiled at the scene before her, watching Kanji smile at the boy. It was the most genuine smile she had ever seen on his face. Unfortunately, she stayed too long, frozen in place. He looked up in her direction, still with that disarming smile still on his face. "Hey, Naoto. What's up?" he called out to her.
She waved, smile faltering. "Just out for a walk. I thought I would see if Rise-san is home," she lied. Although, that wasn't a bad idea. Better than sitting at home feeling lonely all night.
"Oh. Well tell her I said hi," he said, returning his attention to the boy. Naoto sighed quietly and headed off toward the tofu shop. When she arrived, she found Rise's grandmother in the store, with no sign of Rise.
"Good evening, Kujikawa-san. Is Rise-san in?"
"Oh, Naoto-kun. I'm sorry, but she had a date tonight, with Souji-kun." Kujikawa-san's eyes sparkled.
"I see," Naoto said, trying not to sound disappointed. "I will see her after the holidays, then." She tipped her hat and left the store, not sure where to go from here. She didn't feel like going home just yet. Her feet took her to Junes for some reason. Habit, she supposed. She ran into a familiar face in the food court.
"Nao-chan!" Teddie called out to her, jumping up and down and waving.
"Hello, Teddie. Are you working on Christmas Eve?" she asked with a frown.
"Oh, no! I'm just waiting for Yosuke to finish his shift, and Kanji-chan to get here! Then we're going to get some snacks and go to Yosuke's house!"
"Oh," Naoto said. "Sounds like a fun evening. Have a good time, Teddie."
"Oh, do you want to come, too, Nao-chan?! I bet everyone would be thrilled if a bearutiful lady like yourself joined our party!"
Naoto laughed. "No thank you, Teddie."
"Are you sure? Because like I said, Kanji-chan will be there!" Teddie exclaimed. Naoto glared at him.
"I heard you the first time. What is it that you're implying, Teddie?"
"Oh, just that me and Yosuke saw you batting your eyelashes and flirty flirting with Kanji-chan before, so I figured you might say yes!" Teddie said this while sparkling and batting his own eyelashes. Naoto turned a deep shade of red.
"I-I have to go now, Teddie." She almost walked away before she decided that she needed some reassurance. "And.. please don't mention anything about that. To anyone."
"Not even to Kanji-chan?" he asked, wide-eyed.
"Especially not to Kanji-kun," she answered.
"Oh. Alright, Nao-chan. I won't say anything," Teddie said, drawing an x over his heart.
"Thank you, Teddie," she said with relief. It looked like Naoto would be spending Christmas alone. She knew she shouldn't feel so glad that Kanji would be hanging out with the boys, but she did. Hopefully the bear was able to keep his mouth shut.