So, yeah...I decided to post the entire link in one chapter...I couldn't help myself. Anyways, enjoy.

Wednesday, October 5th

Souji was thinking, looking at the card sitting on the table. Naoto'd finally felt well enough to come out, and the first thing she had done was to text Souji to meet her at the flood plains. They were sitting at the pavilion near the hill; Naoto had just explained some things about the card. "I'd chalk it up as a prank." She said as she finished, looking entirely unamused.

"Well, that's no fun" Souji said, looking at the young detective, a bit put out.

Naoto laughed. "One would expect there to be more" she said, smiling widely. A ringing broke through the air suddenly, and Naoto reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. "Ah, excuse me, Senpai." She said, apologizing. "Yes, it's me" she said; she apparently knew the caller.

"Ahh, Yakushiji-san, what's the matter?" Naoto looked surprised all of a sudden. "A thief!? In the Shirogane estate? Yes…yes…I see. I don't keep anything in that room I'd miss terribly" Souji looked at his friend with concern, but confusion at what she'd just said gave him pause; what kind of thief would break into the estate of a family of detectives. "…I'll leave the rest to you…I can't take my eyes off this case yet." Naoto hung up.

"What happened? I heard something about a thief."

Naoto looked up surprised, as if she'd forgotten that Souji was there. "Oh…sorry. You heard, didn't you…?" Naoto shifted uncomfortably; the seriousness of this matter appeared to be causing concern for her.

"At the same time, she probably doesn't want to leave, given that the case here is now, unofficially, re-opened." Souji shook his head. "Naoto, do you need to go back? This seems a bit serious."

Naoto shook her head. "It seems the Shirogane estate was broken into. No one was harmed, but a few items from Grampa's inventory were stolen, and my room was targeted. However, I can't leave this case behind; to do so would dishonor the Shirogane name." Naoto looked unconvinced of that last bit. "However…to leave this theft alone…"

Souji sat up a little straighter. "Naoto, the card. I'd bet this theft and the card you got are related."

Naoto nodded. "My thoughts exactly. But don't worry about me. Whatever this is, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

Souji shook his head, sighing exasperatedly. "Naoto, I already told you, it's a little late to tell me to not worry about you. And now someone's broken into your family's home. This counts as a pressing matter, and matters that revolve around your safety are paramount to the current investigation. We don't have any leads as of yet anyways." Souji stressed the word safety a bit, as if to remind her of his words that day in the T.V.

Naoto blushed and looked at the ground, mumbling "I'm not sure how to react to you…err…worrying about me…"

Souji smiled gently. "Just take it as a complement that I care about your well-being, Naoto."

Souji stood up, Naoto rising with him, picking up the card from the table as she did so. "Well, there's nothing to be gained from this at the moment. I should return home. Thank you, Senpai."

Souji shook his head again. "You're not getting out that easily, Shirogane." He said, the use of Naoto's last name stopping her from moving. "I'm escorting you home, and that's that. No ifs, ands, or buts." Naoto tried to argue, but Souji held up a hand. "Not only would Rise kill me, seeing as how you only just recovered, but I'm worried about you. I told you before, think about your friend's feelings. We actually do care about you, Naoto." The silverette walked over to Naoto's side, and the detective looked down, somewhat annoyed. "Now, shall we?" he said, gesturing towards the residential area with his hand. Naoto nodded sharply and began walking, Souji walking swiftly next to her so as not to fall behind.

"I wonder how she's feeling. It seems as if everyone at school watched her version of the Midnight Channel." Souji thought as he walked down the stairs at Yasogami. He'd just finished beating "The riddle-master" (a horrible title; his riddles were extremely easy.) and was about to head home alone; Yu had planned a date with Rise. He bumped into Naoto at the lockers. The sleuth had been looking at a card in her hand and hadn't been looking where she was going.

"Ow-Oh! Senpai! I'm terribly sorry."

Souji shook his head, clearing the stars he was seeing; Naoto could inflict some heavy pain when she wasn't paying attention. "What's that? Another card?" Souji asked, eyeing the card in Naoto's hand.

The sleuth shook her head, sighing. "Alas, no. It appears to be a love letter, based on the scrawling and the fact that the sender has used their name." Souji nodded, noting that the sender was female as he read the script on the card.

"Well, what do you plan on doing with such a…uhh…confession?" Souji asked, shifting a bit on his feet as he took up his habitual stance once again.

Naoto shook her head, facing Souji and placing her right hand on her waist, as she was wont to do as she stood. "I shall go home and feed this to the shredder." The sleuth sighed. "How misleading…a sealed letter at a time like this…" Souji's eyebrows raised, but he held his tongue. Naoto sighed again as she continued.

"Romantic entanglements aren't worth my time. Whether the sender is male or female, I have no intention of responding." Naoto's face began to take on a look of annoyance that increased as she spoke again. "I have no time to be dilly-dallying with callow love affairs. Saying they love me without even knowing me…ludicrous. I assume you feel the same, Senpai?"

Souji shook his head, laughing. "I think, Naoto, that you might need to relax a bit. Come on, it's raining. Let me walk you home." Souji's silver eyes gleamed as he spoke.

Naoto nodded, smiling lightly. "Yes. Would you like to stop somewhere on the way? I'd like to ask some things about the case." Souji nodded, and the two walked out under Souji's umbrella, headed towards the bookstore.

Souji was looking over Naoto's shoulder the next day after school. The two were by the detective's locker, and were looking at the card in her hand. It was the same as the one they'd received last time. "Let's head to the flood plain. This should be kept quiet." Souji said, and Naoto nodded.

"I was thinking much the same thing."

The two walked over to the floodplain in silence as Naoto continued to study the card, Souji every now and then glancing at her to make sure she was still there. They reached the pavilion they normally sat at, and sat down across from one another to make talking easier. The card had writing on it, but Souji hadn't been able to read it as they'd walked. He read it now, hands tensing as he did so.

The card was apparently a challenge, sent from someone calling themselves "The Phantom Thief", claiming they'd stolen Naoto's prized possessions. "I'll send this to Yakushiji-san to turn into the police for evidence. The Phantom Thief? How absurd…I haven't the time to waste on this" Naoto spoke as if she were upset, but the gleam in her eyes and fidgeting of her hands on the table led Souji to believe she felt otherwise.

"It's true we don't have a whole lot of time…" Souji mused, looking at Naoto with a glint in his own silver eyes.

"Exactly. We're dealing with a matter that has claimed lives; the stakes are entirely different." Naoto nodded as she looked at Souji. "In contrast, we have a petty prankster guilty of mere housebreaking, theft, and inscrutable threats."

Souji nodded. "Keep in mind, Naoto, that in a sense, whomever we're chasing is also guilty of the very same crimes."

Naoto looked up, surprised. "Well…I guess that's true, in a sense." The young sleuth looked torn as she thought about it. She shook her head. "Why is it with you, I always lose my composure? I don't want to get involved in this sort of childish game. But…to ignore it only makes me angry!" Naoto was struggling not to lash out, and her hand was twitching near her concealed revolver. Souji quickly tried to distract her from pulling it out at the plains, as people nearby would become immediately scared.

"Let's catch him together!" he said, hoping that anything he said might snap her out of her reverie.

Naoto nodded, cooling down as she agreed. "Of course, you're the one who brought this to my attention." Naoto looked away, blushing. "Let's work together on this…" she said quietly, and Souji felt his heart flutter. He felt confused as it did so though; what about that had made him feel that way? The silverette shook his head as Naoto turned back. "Let's reexamine the first case. There must be some similarities here." Souji nodded, and the two began talking animatedly, discussing the facts they'd come across previously. Souji saw Nanako approaching off in the distance.

Souji found himself somewhat dazed. They were standing at the mailbox in the shopping district, having figured out that the first card had been written in invisible ink (thanks to some help from Nanako.) The two had immediately rushed home to heat the card, exposing the hidden message as the citrus juice burned off. It had been a riddle, with the answer being the mailbox. Souji had figured it out the second he'd looked at it; the same riddle was in his book upstairs.

"This…why did Grampa keep this?" Naoto looked at the object held in her hands, a look of confusion on her features.

"Good, you got it back." Souji nodded, happy to have helped in some small way.

"Huh? O-oh, yes…" Naoto turned to look at Souji, blushing. She explained that the object was a detective badge, a custom one she had made herself many years ago. Naoto pocketed the item, looking at Souji. "I have an idea as to who the Phantom Thief might be, but none as to his motive." Naoto shifted on her feet. "This case…is important to me. Without you and Nanako-chan, I'd never have cracked it. Or rather…I'd never have bothered."

Souji shook his head. "We just gave you a push, that's all. I think Nanako was even more help than I've been." Souji smiled as he thought about his little cousin.

Naoto shifted again. "I want to continue this case….and…erm…if possible…" Naoto looked at Souji uncomfortably.

"Let's do it!" Souji said, feeling a tad euphoric as he looked at Naoto. The sleuth looked shocked, but thankful as she thanked Souji for agreeing to help her.

The end of October had come and passed, and Souji looked at the calendar. Midterms were coming up. Over the past couple of weeks, Souji had been helping Naoto with their side-case, and had found more items that the Phantom Thief had stolen; a watch with a strong backlight and a pen with a flashlight and miniature telescope. Souji had also found out more about Naoto; the sleuth liked high places, hated throwing things away, and had preferred robots and cars to play with when she was younger. When Naoto had expressed a desire to have been born a boy, Souji had found himself saying that he was glad Naoto was a girl. The sleuth had blushed quite a bit at that, and Souji had stunned himself; why would he have said that?

Thinking on it now, Souji still didn't have an answer for himself. Yu had smiled and shaken his head when Souji had told him about it. "You'll find out soon enough, bro" was all he'd said. Souji's twin was at Junes today, helping out around the store as usual.

At their last meeting, Naoto had asked Souji about himself, and the silverette had complied, telling Naoto about his and Yu's childhood, fending for themselves since they were very young as their parents were rarely home, or weren't very involved whenever they were. He told her about constantly moving around, being dropped off at the homes of friends or other family; Dojima was the first member they'd stayed with that was of direct relation to the twins. Naoto had listened intently, and had thanked him for opening up to her.

As he thought about the sleuth, Souji's phone buzzed, a small ringing telling him he'd received another text. He flipped it open, and hurried to get downstairs and out of the house. Naoto had asked him to meet her at the shopping district near Aiya's.

He arrived there quickly, greeting the young sleuth as he approached. The two went straight into business. "The man that you described has been seen around this area recently. The owner of Shiroku saw him only a few hours ago."

Souji nodded, thinking quickly. "He's probably still around…and if he's around, he'll be looking for a place to hide another item, I'll bet." The youth mused.

Naoto nodded. "Exactly, and I have a good idea where he'll be. Follow me." The sleuth turned and began walking towards the shrine. Souji followed her up the steps to the shrine, waving a hello as he saw Fox hiding nearby. The two stopped a few feet from the main building, looking around. "He should be around here somewhere, assuming my deductions were correct…" Naoto mumbled. The two saw a man standing near the offering box.

"That's him." Souji said, and the two ran over to confront the man.

Naoto gasped in surprise. "You're…" she tried to speak more, but no words came out.

The man turned around quickly, and pulled a knife out from his coat, brandishing it in front of him. Souji reacted without thinking, a blind fear taking hold of him. He put himself between the man and Naoto, earning a surprised yelp from the young sleuth. "Senpai?! There's no need to worry, it's just a toy!" He stayed silent as he glared daggers at the man, who seemed frightened by the silverettes display and ran off, dropping the knife.

Souji stepped aside as the man ran off, looking at Naoto in surprise. "A toy?" he asked, confused. Naoto walked over and picked the knife up.

"It's one of the Tools I made. It's a knife-shaped radio. As I said, it's just a toy." Naoto pulled the knife's edge back, revealing it to be made of rubber as it bent easily. Naoto balled her fists as Souji stared dumbfounded.

"Wha-?" he began, but was cut short as Naoto reached up and tore off her cap, holding it firmly in her hand as she yelled at Souji.

"But...Even so, what you did…What if that knife had been real?! You would've been in grave danger." Naoto fumed at the teen, picking up some steam as she continued. "Wasn't it you who told me not to throw myself into harm's way?! You berated me for doing the very thing you yourself just did! And according to Yu-senpai, you had spent hours tirading in your house after seeing me on the Midnight channel! Did you stop to think what could've happened, or how we'd have felt if you'd been hurt? Or how I would have felt?!" Naoto shook her head, blushing a bit as she finished her last sentence. "Rrrgh! You're always like this! I can't imagine becoming a woman only to have a man protect me! And yet…you always…" Naoto looked down, feeling her eyes sting. The young detective shook as she fought to hold back her emotions. "Why...!?" she asked quietly. "Why would you do this for me?"

Souji stood, mouth struggling to work. He had no clue why he'd just thrown himself in front of Naoto. Hell, he had no clue why every time he'd been around the young sleuth recently, he'd felt as if his heart was going to burst. Souji struggled to speak. "I…I…" Suddenly, everything clicked in Souji's head. He thought back to the fireworks festival, when Dojima had offered him guidance as Souji looked at his brother and best friend with their girlfriends. He thought back to the police station when Naoto had asked him to help her interrogate Mitsuo, though he hadn't yet known she was a girl. He thought back to the feeling in his heart when Naoto had asked him to help her with this case, and how he'd agreed on the spot. He thought back to his ranting when he'd seen her on the Midnight Channel. Most importantly, he thought back to the battle with her shadow, when he'd singlehandedly taken on the monster hiding within the young detective alone, seeking to crush whatever it was hurting his friend. He looked up at the young girl, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Because…I love you…" Souji said. Naoto's eye's widened, all threats of tears blinked away suddenly as she registered what she'd just heard.

"Wha….Huh?..." She looked away, blushing furiously. "Er, u-ummmm…W-Wait a moment. I thought you just said something serious."

Souji nodded. "I did…" he said quietly. The way he felt, he knew it wasn't a joke. It wasn't some fleeting passion; if it had, he'd have gone after the other girls he'd met along the way without a thought. Yet he hadn't. None of the women he'd met had ever attracted him; not Sayako, who'd thrown herself at the teen relentlessly; Not Chie or Yukiko, two very beautiful girls in his own class; not Rise, the idol of many people's hearts, none more so than Souji's own brother; and not even Marie, a beautiful young girl who'd lost all memories of herself. These women had been around him constantly, yet he'd never once felt even a twinge of what he felt now about Naoto.

The young detective blushed again and tried to look at Souji, but had to avert her face as she could only stammer. "N-Now that you've said such a thing, I can't even look you in the eye…" she muttered, pulling her cap down as she ducked her head, trying to hide her face. Any other person might have taken Naoto's actions to be a rejection of some kind, but Souji knew better. Of all the people in his life, excluding Yu, Naoto was the closest to his heart.

"I-I'm going home." Naoto said suddenly. Souji nodded, unable to help the ache in his heart as she said so. "Umm…you needn't worry about the Phantom Thief anymore…so…err…G-Goodbye!" Naoto ran out of the shrine, leaving Souji standing by the offering box.

The silverette raised his head to the sky, taking in a deep breath as he did so. The Fox came up to his legs, holding another ema. Souji looked down, reaching out to hold the ema in his hands. He recognized it as the wish he'd written back at the Dojima household after the fireworks show.

"I wish I had a girlfriend."

"How did you get this?" he murmured, but the Fox was gone, heading back to wherever it was he stayed around the Shrine.

Naoto and Souji stood at the top of the hill in town. Naoto had asked him to come with her after school, looking at the ground embarrassedly the entire time. When they'd gotten to the flood plains, they found the man from the day before standing there. Naoto introduced him as the Phantom Thief, who happened to be her grandfather's secretary, Yakushiji. The secretary apologized to Souji, explaining that the elder Shirogane had become crestfallen after seeing Naoto's almost manic fervor in regards to her cases as of late, and had tasked Yakushiji with hiding the items from Naoto's past, creating an elaborate game so as to remind his granddaughter of the feelings she'd had when she had started out wanting to become a detective.

Naoto admitted that she had forgotten that she had only desired to solve mysteries and help people; that the thought of her gender and age had never posed a problem for her young mind. Yakushiji then handed Souji another card, stating that there was one last item to find, and then left towards the train station, intent on returning to the Shirogane Estate. The cards riddle had stated "I did what you can't stand at a place you'd be fond of. Souji had quickly figured it out, surprising Naoto with his memory of the facts that she loved high places and hated throwing things away.

Souji now looked as Naoto gazed at the last of the Seven Tools. "This is the Detective's Pocketbook…all the things I had forgotten about are packed in here." She opened the book, gazing at the scrawling's she had written in as a child, handwriting as neat as it was today. The two sat on a bench at the nearby pavilion. Naoto explained how she had felt about the case, her hidden desires and all of her feelings in regards to herself spilling out. Souji sat silently, allowing Naoto to empty herself of the pain she still felt.

When she finished, she looked at Souji, blushing. "When I'm with you…I become scared..." She started. "…afraid that the instant I admit the truth, everything will come spilling out. But…I need to say it…my true feelings." Souji felt his heart leap into his throat. Naoto looked at him, eyes shining as tears threatened to fall.

"I love you."

Souji felt as him the world around him had come spinning to a stop, focusing only on the two of them. His heart was heavy, not from pain or sadness, but rather from the intense joy he felt, the ache of finally having found the person that made him feel everything and nothing all at once throbbing softly and warmly in his chest. "I'm so embarrassed…I feel like I could die…" Naoto murmured. Souji smiled and reached out, pulling the detective into a tight embrace.

"I know." He said as she wrapped her arms around him after a moment of surprise.

Souji and Naoto had remained at the hill for a time before Naoto had asked Souji something; she wanted to see his room. So there they stood, Naoto gazing around the twins room, taking in the twins interests. "I see furnishings here and there that don't match your tastes" she said, looking at the model robots on the shelf. Souji nodded, smiling gently. "I prefer the scooters; Yu loves robots." Naoto nodded, smiling as she continued her observation of the room. Souji gazed at her as she looked at the T.V, theorizing where he stood whenever he watched the Midnight Channel.

"Why don't you come sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the empty spot on the couch next to him. Naoto turned around, blushing as she did so. She stammered about it being a bit close, and then apologized for the abrupt request. "I don't mind if it's you, Naoto." Souji said, earning another flushed face as he felt his own cheeks flush.

"Er…I wanted to give you something…" Naoto said, and walked over. She handed Souji a dark blue box.

Inside was a detective's badge, handcrafted and decorated with great care. The nameplate read "Detective S. Seta." and had an image of the Fool and Fortune arcana's on an emblem in the middle. Turning it over, he saw Naoto had left a small inscription on the back, signing her name beside it. "I knew how I felt about you for a long time; since our first meeting at the textile shop. I was afraid at first, but you've shown me how to grow into myself, and you accepted me despite the fact that I did not. I love you." Souji looked up at Naoto, eyes watering as he thanked her for the gift.

"I…made myself one to match. They flash…" she said, blushing as she showed Souji an identical badge, presumably with it's own inscription on the back. An image flashed above them, and both teens felt a shift in the air around them. Sukuna-Hikona, like the personas of the others, had grown into a new being. "Yamato-Takeru" Naoto said, feeling the change in her heart. The sleuth blushed. "Y-You're quite close…" she said, but smiled as Souji wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. Naoto smiled, nuzzling a bit into his side as they sat back, relaxed and happy in each other's company. "I love you…" she whispered.

Souji smiled, and squeezed her gently, and thought he heard a soft purr come from the girl sitting beside him.

"I love you, too." Souji said quietly.