I'm surprised with myself by how active I've been with the story. I guess I just can't seem to stop myself. I'm usually lazy with this sort of stuff. XP
Hmm, and this chapter is longer than the usual...

Hope you enjoy the 3rd chapter!
Also, if you see any grammatical or spelling errors, notify me. Sometimes I don't check the stuff I write well enough even when I reread it.

NOTE: Keep the following in mind when reading the story.

- "talking"
- 'thinking'

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or any characters in it.

CHANNEL 3

#Birthday#
{The surprise}

Friday, April 27th of 2012
-Clear Sky

Naoto rolled a pencil between her fingers, biting the inside of her mouth from time to time as Ms. Kashiwagi gave them their morning lesson. The teacher was saying something about Elastin and how it made you look pretty, in that sultry voice of hers. It seriously annoyed Naoto to no end when she first came to school, having to deal with useless information that wouldn't help her deal with cases. She had good grades and it wasn't like school was going to make her much smarter. But then, she couldn't deny that some of the stuff they learned was interesting, and it was true that even the littlest of information could become crucial when investigating and finding a culprit.

"Did you know that Elastin is a protein and is located almost in every part of our body?" Kashiwagi told the class, sitting on the teacher's desk and smiling mischievously. "Like its name suggest it gives elasticity to our body structure, mainly the skin and blood vessels. It degenerates with age causing us to look more wrinkled as time passes. Which is why you find its name on many beauty products that claim to make women look younger."

Thinking of finding the culprit, Naoto hadn't found the thief of her hat yet. She had analyzed every little bit of data and she was now 100% sure it was indeed taken. She was also certain she hadn't left it in the bathroom which made her suspect the thief would be someone in their class. It was from there that Naoto hesitated a bit. There weren't many people she could point a finger to, and she had eliminated quite a handful of classmates.

She turned her head to her side, looking at Rise Kujikawa who was busy writing on her notebook. A short glance to what she was writing and she corrected herself, seeing as the former idol was actually doodling on the lines of the book. It wasn't much of a surprise since Rise barely paid attention during classes, but things were more complicated during Kashiwagi's classes. The voluptuous and seductive teacher hated Kujikawa for her popularity with the boys and often asked the pigtails girl a number of questions in order to humiliate her during class. Naoto had come to realize this after seeing first-hand Kashiwagi's lesson with Rise in class.

Perharps she had stared at Rise too much, but the other girl seemed to noticed Naoto looking at her from the corner of her eyes and turned her head slightly, giving her a sweet smile, her legs crossed and swinging a little. Naoto decided that it was her cue to look away. However, she couldn't deny to herself that she suspected Rise for stealing her hat. She was one of the classmates closer to her desk so it would be easier to get it.

A groan escaped her lips. She hated walking around outside without her hat. It was a part of her, something she just had to wear every single day. Without it, she felt naked in front of people. Ever since two days ago, when the thievery happened, she had been blushing more than usual, there were more stares on her as well as whisper as she passed by people. Yosuke had told her she looked quite cute without her hat yesterday, and Naoto hadn't reacted very well to that either. Kanji too. He came up to her that morning before class and said she didn't look bad without it, while looking red in the face. She wondered if the boy had some problems with his circulatory system as he seemed to blush a lot.

"Well, since Kujikawa's so interested in this class, why don't you answer this question: What is Elastin composed of?"

At her desk, beside Naoto, Rise groaned and locked gazes with the detective, pleading for help.

As the final bell rang across the school, students scattered and moved around, picking up their belongings and heading out. Kanji leaned back on his chair, yawning and stretching his arms. Another day of school was finally over.

Someone tugged at his sleeve and he came face to face with Rise who leaned closer. "Kanji, don't forget our plan for tonight~" She whispered, smiling widely. "We're meeting at my Grandma's shop later so don't be late."

He raised an eyebrow wondering why the hell Rise was telling him that when Naoto was seating right behind him. "Rise, can't you-…"

"Ssshh…" Rise brought a finger to her lips. "We don't want to wake up Naoto-kun now, right?" She continued whispering, her eyes looking away from him and to the seat behind him.

'Wake-up?' Kanji turned on his seat and was surprised to see the detective girl sleeping on her desk with her head resting on her arms. Blush crept to his cheeks almost immediately. 'C-cute…!' Naoto was probably tired from their classes, especially after that exhausting PE class. She was pretty tough for a girl, but not much with the physical part.

"Ooooh~… What's that look for, Kanji? Are you having thoughts about Naoto-kun? She does look quite adorable this way. It's not everyday we get to see her like this." Rise smiled and took a step back, watching Naoto. She then waved a hand. "Well, I gotta go now, need to get the stuff and ingredients ready for later. I'll see you there, Kanji-kun~!"

He turned completely on his seat and watched the girl sleep. His cheeks were red and he could feel them burn. It was quite rare to see Naoto with such a peaceful and innocent look on her face and he found himself staring endlessly at it. He knew he should have woken her up, telling her classes were already finished, but he just wanted to keep looking at that pretty boyish face of hers. It was ridiculous how everyone believe she was a boy, now that he looked closely at her features.

"… Evidence…" Naoto mumbled in her sleep. "… Need… evidence…"

Kanji sweatdropped. Even in her dreams she didn't seem to stay away from the detective business. The girl was seriously dedicated, he thought. He placed an elbow on her desk, his chin resting on his palm as he watched her. He could stare at her forever…

By the time Naoto stirred the sun was already setting. She groaned and shifted a little, blinking rapidly and lifting her face. She felt a hand over hers and her eyes widened when she saw Kanji asleep on her desk. He had his head resting on the surface of her desk and a hand was covering one of hers. Seeing so, she blushed.

Looking outside the window she noticed the sky was beginning to have a certain tint of orange and red and wondered how long she had been sleeping. The clock on the wall read around seven o'clock. They had been there for a long time; the school would be closing anytime now.

Still blushing a little, Naoto slipped her hand out from under his and placed the other on his shoulder, shaking him carefully. "Kanji-kun." The boy didn't stir and instead snored a little. Surprisingly Naoto found this rather cute. "Kanji-kun." She tried again, this time louder.

A groan. "W-wha…?" His eyes fluttered open and he moved his head, his eyes snapping open when he saw Naoto staring down at him. "Wha-! N-Naoto!" He paused to look at himself, realizing he has fallen asleep while he had been staring at her sleeping form. "I-I.." Man, what could he say?

Naoto tilted her head to look at Kanji who was looking away from her. She wasn't blushing anymore, now it was Kanji's turn. "How long have I been sleeping?" She asked.

Kanji mumbled something then looked down. "I dunno… I only noticed after classes finished, y'know? I-I…"

"Why did you not wake me up?"

His eyes widened and he made the mistake to look at her, blushing harder now. "W-well, I… You, you seemed tired and peaceful, so I decided to wait for you to wake up, y'see…" 'And you were cute. I couldn't just wake you up!' He added in his mind.

Naoto nodded as if understanding, though she really didn't. "I see…" She looked away. "We should get going now. It's getting late." She moved to stand up and Kanji did the same.

They walked down the school corridors on their way to the exit. Once they reached the main gates Kanji turned to her. "Hey, uhm… m-mind if I walk you home?" His eyes drifted of to the side, red staining his cheeks. "W-well, it's just, uhm, you see… It's late so…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "My apartment is way farther than your house, Kanji-kun. Won't that be troublesome for you?" When she saw the way his shoulders slumped and the sad look that had taken over his face, she added. "But I suppose that if you still want to, I have no objections to it. After all, you were quite generous and waited for me to wake up. I think I needed that extra sleep." Thinking further into the matter she really thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to have him accompany her to the apartment. It was her birthday after all, now that she remembered. The others hadn't said anything about it, but she supposed that they didn't know about it. After all, she didn't recall telling them her birthday and she was used not celebrating such occasion.

Kanji smiled widely and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, r-really…? Ah, that's, uh… great!" He bit his lower lip. "Y'sure?"

Naoto smiled honestly. "Yes, I'd love that."

The walk towards the bus stop had been rather quiet between them and few words were exchanged. Each felt a little awkward and couldn't tell if the other enjoyed the silence whenever they ran out of words, but decided they didn't want to risk looking like idiots by bringing up random stuff. Sometimes Kanji would glance to Naoto during the silence, blush creeping to his face, but would immediately turn away whenever she looked back. At those times Naoto wondered if Kanji thought she looked different without her hat on. She knew she felt uncomfortable without it…

At the bus, the two took a seat at the back. Naoto sat by the window and Kanji right next to her. "You'll be using the bus to go back to the Central Shopping District, am I correct?"

Kanji nodded. "Yeah, it'll pass by the same stop later so it ain't a problem. S'good."

Naoto reached her hand up about to grab the brim of a hat that wasn't there and she stopped midway, realizing her mistake, her eyes widening. It was a matter of habit and she was frustrated with it as it reminded her of the thievery every time it happened. During those two days such action happened more than a couple of times. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Ya don't need to apologize! It ain't your fault!" He said. "Say, have you got any leads to this thief?"

She frowned. "I can't say I know who's done it yet for sure. I'm in need of more evidence to determine the true culprit." He heard her grunt. "This is a disgrace. Something like this… I should have had figured it out already! Whoever this person is, I'll make sure he or she suffers the consequences of such act."

Kanji winced noticing how mad she was about the fact. "Well, good luck with that. I've asked a few people around but there ain't anyone who has a clue…"

"We can't trust anyone at this point." She crossed her arms and slid down on her seat a little.

"But hey! You're an ace detective, no problem! You'll find your hat in no time!" He said, trying his best grin. She didn't look at him nor did she nod or say anything, she just frowned, which didn't make any of them feel better. He sighed. "Don't worry, 'kay?"

"Who do you think did it?"

He blinked at the sudden question. "Who do I think? Well, I dunno… There ain't many people who would dare challenge you…"

'Of course, I already knew he wouldn't be able to help in the situation…' She turned her head to the window and sighed.

A frown formed on his face and he looked to the other side, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. They sat there in silence for some time when he then heard Naoto say something. It was too low for him to understand though. "What?" He asked.

She turned to him with a small smile. "It's my birthday today."

Kanji blinked. "Oh, uh… Happy birthday." He told her smiling himself, but felt awkward. Naoto had no idea of what he and the others had planned for her. "Um, uh… sorry."

Naoto simply smiled. "Don't say that. I understand that you didn't know." She sat in a more comfortable position. "And I don't celebrate it for many years now."

"Don't ya like celebrating it?"

"That's not it." The young detective looked away. "I used to celebrate my birthday when my parents were still around. However when I started living with Grandpa, the situation became different. My Grandpa is a busy man. The first year I was under his care I got sad when I realized he wasn't celebrating it with me. I was a child back then so I couldn't understand… but the same happened every year. All that I would get on every birthday would be a present from him." She was still smiling, despite everything. "My hat was one of his presents." She didn't see his eyes widen then.

The bus came to a stop and Naoto noticed they had arrived at her street. She had been distracted talking with Kanji that she had almost missed the stop. Excusing herself, Naoto stood up and walked past Kanji.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kanji-kun." She said, looking back.

Kanji watched her leave through the doors, his face not showing any sort of expression. When she got out of the bus and before the doors close, Kanji got up himself, walking out right after Naoto, stepping onto the street. The girl tensed when she sensed Kanji's presence behind her and she turned on her heels to face him. Her eyes were wide and she was clutching to the handle of her bag on her shoulder. He could see the confusion on her face since he wasn't supposed to get off on that stop and the bus was already driving away.

"K-Kanji…? What are you-…"

"There they are!"

Both Kanji and Naoto turned their heads to see their group of friends standing at the end of the street by the door of her apartment. Nanako was also with them. Naoto frowned at this, suspecting something amiss and walked over to them, Kanji following her steps.

"So Kanji-kun was with Naoto-kun all this time!" Chie exclaimed, her hands on her hips and clearly not amused. "Sheez… You'd think he would contact us about it." She turned to Kanji. "You kept us waiting for you at Rise's!"

Kanji gulped and chuckled nervously. "Oh, uh, sorry…"

On the other hand, Naoto was trying to figure out what had led the others to come to her place. This certainly felt different and she hated feeling ignorant. "What are you doing here?" She asked to the group.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chie asked, looking at her now.

Out of nowhere, Rise jumped from her place and glomped Naoto with a big hug. "Happy birthday, Naoto-kun~!"

For a moment Naoto stood there speechless, all eyes on her waiting for something… anything out of her. A reaction. The girl just seemed too shocked for words. And after what felt like an eternity (but was in reality a minute) Naoto finally managed to say something. "Happy… what?" Her eyes were wide and she was still surprised with the whole situation.

She turned her head, looking up at Kanji. The other boy blushed furiously and looked away, grumbling. She had thought none of them knew about it. She thought this year was going to be like the others. Oh how wrong she was… She had made a fool of herself. They had known about it all along, Kanji too, and there were all here, wishing her a happy birthday.

"Since it's your birthday we decided to spend some time with you." Naoto looked at Yosuke as he talked. "We also wanted to surprise you so we just kinda decided to stop by your place."

"Aawww, look at your face, Naoto-kun~! You're blushing! How cute~" Rise giggled, letting go of the shorter girl. What she said made Naoto blush even more and wish she could hide somewhere.

Instead, she looked down hoping her hair would hide her face even if it was a little. "B-but…! This…" She fidgeted with the collar of her jacket, trying to find the correct words. "Umm… I-I…" She couldn't remember the last time she had a birthday party for her. With this surprise and everyone here, she just didn't know how to react to the whole thing.

"I hope you're okay with this. We didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Yukiko spoke up, sounding caring.

Naoto shook her head furiously. "Oh, no. It's just…" She looked up and bit her lower lip. "I'm happy…" She admitted.

Everyone smiled at that. In truth, they had all been nervous whether she would take this well or not since they all knew Naoto was a serious person, but once those words were out of her everyone was relieved and, even more, very happy. They all approached her, patting of her back and hugging her, giving her wishes, all the good intentions while the birthday girl tried to maintain her composure and failing miserably at it. For once she didn't know the right words to use, she was blushing madly and embarrassed while still joyous that her friends cared about her.

"We get to do a birthday party, right?" Nanako asked, looking from Naoto to Yosuke and smiling. "They're fun!"

Yosuke grinned at that and Naoto nodded. "A-alright… let me just get my keys…" She said, reaching for her pocket and leading the way inside the building.

The others followed her inside and decided to go up the stairs since they were too many to fit into a single elevator cubicle, all the while chatting happily. Besides, Naoto didn't live very high up so it wasn't that very tiring to walk up the stairs. They walked a long hallway and stopped at the end where they saw a door with the name 'Shirogane' on it. Naoto fumbled with the keys and proceeded to open the door while the others waiting patiently behind her.

"I kinda wonder how Naoto's apartment looks. We've never been there before…" Said Yosuke.

Chie looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed. "What difference does it make? I'm sure her apartment looks better than your room, that's for sure."

"Hey! You haven't been to my room so what right do you have to say that stuff?" He stopped there, looking around, realizing what he just said. "N-not that I'm implying anything, you hear me?" Embarrassment was clear on his face.

"There." Naoto said. Everyone turned to look as she opened to door widely for them.

Without even waiting for an invitation, Teddie ran inside beamed with excitement. "We're going in! Teddie first! Oh, oh! I get to see Nao-chan's room!"

Kanji gaped and ran inside, after him. "What the hell, Ted!"

"Hold it, bear! You're not supposed to go to a girl's room!" Yosuke yelled, running after the other two as well.

Chie's eyes widened and she wasted no time following the boys. "Hey, guys! What are you doing?"

Naoto couldn't just believe what was happening beyond her eyes, in her own apartment. "W-wha… That's-!" After taking the shock, the detective girl snarled and ran inside. "How dare you! That's invasion of property!"

Rise and Yukiko giggled as they watched the scene. They turned to Nanako with smiles and each grabbed a hand. "Well, let's go inside." Yukiko said, pulling Nanako with them. The little girl nodded happily.

Inside the apartment, chaos was already issuing.

"Oooh… Teddie found something interesting…"

"Teddie!"

Naoto sat on her couch, holding a book in her hands. It was a mystery novel, one she had been looking forward to read and had been released just recently. It was also her birthday present from everyone. She couldn't help but smile while looking at it. Yosuke had said something about how they knew she liked mystery books and of the sort and that everyone came up with the same decision for her, though Teddie had said that Yukiko had been the one to pick the book for her.

The others were gone by now. Yosuke and Teddie left earlier than the others, sometime after dinner, saying that they would take Nanako back home. Later that night, the girls said they needed to go as well and Naoto couldn't help but raise a suspicion when Yukiko and Rise giggled when they walked out the door. Rise had even whistle, causing a reaction from Kanji.

Speaking of Kanji…

She stood up and placed the book on the nearest table before heading for the kitchen. She stopped by the door and leaned on the door sill watching as Kanji cleaned the dishes. A smile formed on her lips as she appreciated the scene. The other boy was just too good for his own, always helping people. He was even too focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice her by the door.

Chuckling lightly, Naoto walked over to his side. She grabbed a towel so to wipe the dishes Kanji washed. "You didn't have to, Kanji-kun." She told him, smiling but not looking at him.

Beside her, Kanji glanced at her, blushed then turned back to his work. For some reason he was scrubbing the dishes more vigorously. "It's no big deal. I told Ma I'd be late and there was no way I was gonna leave you to clean all that mess." He said, passing her a plate.

She took it with her right hand. What Kanji meant with 'mess' Naoto knew very well. With Teddie around, the living room had become quite disorganized and that was right from the beginning when he started 'looking' around and poking his nose everywhere. Not to mention the 'little' fight Yosuke and Chie had right after dinner had caused some furniture to drop out of place. Fortunately, the place was in its normal state now as they had cleaned the living room first and all there was left to do was deal with the kitchen. "Well, this place had never been in that state before. Only I live here so it's not like I have a lot to do." She explained.

"You sure do keep this place organized…" Kanji looked down at the sink, fishing a glass. "Why do you live here anyways? Your gramps owns an estate, right?" He passed on the glass and started washing the last plate.

"I don't let the work pile up. Besides, an organized place leads to better results." She took the plate after wiping the glass as Kanji turned off the water and wiped his hands on a towel. "The estate is outside the town. I visit him frequently but I decided to rent an apartment so I could learn how to take care of myself. Yakushiji-san works for my Grampa and he used to take care of me, doing almost everything. I thought I depended much on him so it was about time I got my own place."

Kanji moved to the counter. "Well, you got guts. It ain't easy to live by yourself." He started to work on cleaning the surface since there were still rests of food from the cooking. "What do you do with the food?" He asked casually.

A pause. "Don't laugh…"

He looked back at her with a scowl. "I did nothing!"

Shifting her weight a little, Naoto sighed and placed the utensils in their right place in the kitchen. "Well, I'm not confident in my cooking skills, so I usually buy my own meals. Same with the school lunches." Almost everyday at school, Naoto would buy lunch there. Then, checking to see if the utensils were placed correctly, she turned on her heels and saw Kanji carrying a rather heavy-looking kettle. "Here, let me help you with that." She said, walking over to his side.

He shook his head. "It's okay, I got it." 'Damn, how does she carry this stuff?' He wondered. If it was heavy for him he was sure the other girl wouldn't be able to move it around. And why the hell did the girls require such a big and heavy kettle?

Naoto leaned on the counter, crossing her arms and looking over the kitchen, still gripping the towel she has used earlier. "However, I have been practicing from time to time. Ever since that time when we cooked the cake I realized I lack a lot of abilities in the matter."

"Heh, but the dinner was kinda good. Y'know, not that good but it was good enough. Believe me, those three improved a lot from the last time. Yosuke-sempai and Souji-sempai were the unlucky ones to taste the worst one yet." He chuckled and rubbed his hands together once the work was all done.

"Well, Rise-san didn't bring many ingredients this time so we couldn't make that many of attempts. Though I am glad it was at least edible."

"No worries, it was good. You did great!" He said, grinning at her and removing the apron he had been using.

He got a smile from her. "Thank you." She said. "I had fun today."

They walked out the kitchen and back into the living room where they sat by the sofa. Kanji grabbed his bag and motioned Naoto to come closer. "Come 'ere. I have something for you." He said as he reached from something inside the bag.

Naoto complied and took a seat next to him, wondering what he wanted to show her. Her thoughts came to halt however, when she saw what Kanji was holding out to her in his hands. A gasp had escaped her lips and she covered her mouth with a hand. Right there, in front of her, was her precious hat. The one she thought had been stolen. And she blinked as it finally came to her. With all the thinking and investigating, she hadn't considered Kanji as a suspect at all, which now seemed to fit right into place. The fabrics she had seen days back, sticking from his bag, were actually pretty close to the color of her hat. It hadn't been Rise, who sat beside her, but Kanji who sat in front of her and was much closer to her desk. Her eyes looked up to his.

Feeling nervous, he avoided her gaze. "Uh… sorry I took this without permission. I couldn't stand seeing it in that state anymore so I… I-I got it fixed for you." His hands trembled a bit and he held the hat to her pushing it her way. "S-sorry."

Her eyes blinked and she took the soft material in her hands, turning it over and inspecting every single detail. She was shocked to see the amazing work Kanji had done with her hat. It was almost professional. It looked exactly as she remembered it to be. "Kanji… How did you do this? It looks as if new!" She exclaimed, still staring at it.

He blushed and scratched his head while glancing at her. "Well, j-just some sewing here and there… n-nothing really."

Naoto smiled widely and placed the hat on her head where it belonged. She turned to look at him making Kanji's heart skip a beat. "Thank you." She whispered.

His eyes widened and for a moment his hands flew to his nose, thinking he was about to have a nosebleed. By far, this had been the best 'thank you' he had ever received from anyone. The look Naoto was giving him at that moment looked so innocent and happy and not something he was used to see on her but at the same time so right. If only she smiled more. "Oh, um… Y-you're welcome." His voice came out a little muffled as his hands were in the way so he removed them and placed them on his knees instead. "I was gonna give it back to ya yesterday but then I thought why not make it as a birthday present or something…" He cleared his throat before continuing. "Uuhh… well, I suppose s'not that special."

That earned him a pout, which almost made him fall off the couch. Naoto just did not pout. "What are you talking about? You know how important this is to me." She said and blushed lightly. "I-I'm very grateful…"

He blinked and smiled sheepishly. "So, no charges or suffering, right?"

At first, Naoto hadn't really understood what he had meant with it until she remembered the talk on the bus ride. She chuckled and closed her eyes. "I'll forgive you this time."

"Oh, s'right!" Kanji exclaimed, reaching for his bag again. This time he took out a thin material. A photo. "Here. This was inside your hat."

Naoto took the photo from him and stare at it; a sad smile slowly forming on her lips. On the picture was a happy couple holding a baby between them. They all had dark hair. The man was tall, had an arm over his wife's shoulders while the woman was shorter, was holding an infant in her arms, her hair long, straight and beautiful. They were smiling to the camera, appearing as a loving and happy family.

"They're yer parents?" Kanji asked, tilting his head to see her face.

Her hands shook a little and she took a few seconds to answer. "… Yes."

They sat there in silent, Kanji letting Naoto have her moment as she continue to stare at the family portrait. He could tell by the way her hands trembled, the way she looked to the photo, that Naoto was trying hard to keep her emotions in check. He suspected the girl wanted to cry but was just too proud to do it in front of him. So he decided it was time for him to go.

He cleared his throat again and stood up. Naoto immediately looked at him. "I guess there ain't anything else for me ta do here. I'll be heading back. Ya stay well, 'kay?" He showed off and goofy grin and walked over to the door.

Before she thought about what she was doing, Naoto was already on her feet. "Kanji." He turned from his place at the door, his hand resting on the handle. Her eyes looked down. "Thank you… for everything."

He smiled back. "S'no big deal." The door was open and he took one last look at her, "See ya, Naoto."

Thank you for reading.
Reviews are very much appreciated. ^^