A/N: Story so far: The team ended up in a very strange hotel and an even stranger club where Rise and Yukiko got not-quite-inebriated, Naoto failed socially again, and Kanji had a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind.
In this part: dealing with drunken teammates, a difficult conversation, and a impromptu shopping trip. Spoilers through September 9th.
September 8th, 2011
"Where's Shenpai? He's...so aweshome!" Rise was slung over Kanji's left shoulder, voice ringing through the dark back alleys of the Port Island shopping district.
"I told you already, he's takin' back Teddie and Yukiko-senpai," Kanji muttered. "'Cause you're all idiots."
Actually, Chie was handling Yukiko. The idea was that they'd all head back to the hotel separately and avoid disturbing the teachers. Souji and Yosuke were wrestling with Teddie, who'd wanted to stay in the club all night and had to be dragged out by his ankles, leaving Kanji to carry Rise accompanied by Naoto, who was walking beside him, eyes hidden by the brim of his hat.
Kanji glanced sideways. "Hey...you okay, man?"
Naoto nodded, without looking up.
Poor guy. It was Yukiko's fault. She'd blabbed about everything: television world, Personas, Shadows, the works. Lucky she'd been too messed up for much of it to make sense. Naoto had just thought they were making fun of him, though, and he'd been even quieter than usual since.
Rise twisted against Kanji's back, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. "Aw...ish Naoto-kun down?"
"I am fine."
"I got something to make you feel better!" Rise tried to drop her voice to a whisper. It came out close to a yell. "I know a secret. Yoshuke-senpai told me."
Naoto sighed. "If it is similar to Yukiko-senpai's, I am not interested."
"No, no! It's a gooood one, I promish," Rise slurred, ending with a giggle that turned into a hiccup. "Kanji-kun likes- -"
Oh crap.
Kanji momentarily considered throwing Rise into the nearest trashcan. Instead, he scowled and snapped, "I d-don't like anything! Shut your mouth!"
Fortunately, she dissolved into another fit of giggles, while Naoto just looked blank or blanker than usual. "As discussed earlier," he said, with a small shake of his head, "we should take care to avoid the faculty on our arrival at the hotel. It will be very difficult to convince them that Rise-san is not truly inebriated."
Kanji's eyebrows jumped. "You...you were serious? About the bar not serving alcohol?"
"Yes. I have no idea what idiocy is affecting your friends," Naoto muttered darkly.
Kanji sighed. "Me neither."
Fortunately for them all, Rise had dozed off a few minutes before they reached the hotel, meaning it wouldn't be completely impossible for them to make it inside without anyone noticing.
"The building has a side entrance. I noticed it last night," Naoto told him. "It was open at the time, so it would be worth trying now. Follow me."
He still sounded kind of pissed, but he usually did, and at least he'd stopped glaring holes in the ground now. He led Kanji down an alleyway at the side of the hotel, towards a door propped open by a wooden crate. Inside, a set of metal stairs led up to the higher floors.
Kanji blinked. "Whoa, lucky."
"Not particularly. I would prefer that the management put some value on security." Naoto folded his arms. "But with such clientele..."
Definitely not getting into that conversation. "D-Dunno what you mean. Just a hotel, right?"
Naoto instantly looked away. "...Never mind."
Thankfully, the conversation ended there. Carrying Rise up the stairs needed Kanji's full attention, especially when she woke up between the second and third floors. She squirmed against his shoulder, tangling one hand in his hair. "Kannnnji-kun...why're you..."
"He is carrying you back to your room, Rise-san. We will arrive there shortly. Please remain quiet."
Asking Rise to stay quiet for more than five seconds was like asking Kanji's ma to backflip up a mountain, or Teddie not to hit on every girl he met - and Kanji was grateful that her room (307, according to Naoto) was close to the stairwell. When they reached the door, he turned to Naoto. "You got her keys?"
"Yes, I took them from her back at the club." He pulled them from his shirt pocket, then quietly unlocked the door and pushed it open.
"Wait, wait! We can't go in there. Girls' room." Man, Naoto should've known that.
"I could-" Naoto started, then stopped. "...Well, obviously we cannot enter."
"So what do we do? Leave her out here?"
Naoto hesitated. "No, we should-"
"Guys! Hold up!"
Chie was jogging down the corridor toward them, a bottle of water in her hand. She stopped outside the door and pointed at Rise. "I just remembered you can't take her in her room, so I figured I'd come help." She waved the bottle. "And give her something to drink. I heard people get dehydrated when they're drunk."
Naoto's voice was flatter than ever. "She isn't drunk."
"Well, she's acting it. So was Yukiko!" Chie glared at him, one foot tapping against the floor. "C'mon, guys, I'm beat. Put her down and I'll take her in."
Kanji glanced over his shoulder. "Uh...I think she fell asleep again."
Chie let out an exasperated sigh, then leaned around him. "Rise! Wake up so I can put you to bed!"
With a quiet groan, Rise stirred against his back. "...Ch-Chiiie-shenpai? Hey...you're aweshome too!"
"Jeez, Rise. Okay, Kanji-kun, put her down. I'll take it from here."
With a little maneuvering, he managed to pull Rise off his shoulder and set her down in front of him, where Chie could hold her upright. At least, that was the idea. Rise, unfortunately, had other plans. She lurched to one side, away from both Chie and Kanji - and pitched directly towards Naoto.
Chie jerked forward, arms outstretched. "Uh-oh...grab her, Naoto-kun!"
Some hope. Rise was small, but Naoto...well, Naoto was tiny. No contest. The two of them hit the floor in a tangle, Rise with a squeal and Naoto with a sharp, unhappy squeak.
Kanji took half a step forward with his hands raised and absolutely no idea what to do with them. "N-Naoto! You you all right?"
Naoto made a thin, strangled noise from underneath Rise, who was sprawled over his front.
"Sh-shorry, Naoto-kun," she mumbled.
"R-Rise-san, please remove yourself from-"
"Okay, Rise, bedtime!" Chie slipped her hands under the other girl's arms and yanked her to her feet. "You've given these guys enough trouble for one night."
"Aw, Chie-shenpai, I gotta 'pologize to Naoto-kun!"
"No need," muttered Naoto, as he pulled himself into a sitting position. His hat had fallen off. It was the first time Kanji had seen him without it, and something looked a little...off, but he couldn't place what.
He bent down toward the smaller boy. "Uh...you okay?"
"Fine," Naoto said, cheeks flushed pink, pointedly not taking Kanji's proffered hand. "P-pass me my cap, please."
Rise was dangerously close to standing on it, so Kanji quickly grabbed the cap from under her feet and handed it to Naoto, who put it on and tugged the brim down further than usual. "Satonaka-senpai. Please take Rise inside."
"Yeah, on our way." Chie began to drag Rise into the room, ignoring her mumbled protests. "Come on, Rise, or I'm gonna kick you into bed!"
They disappeared through the door, and Kanji quickly closed it behind them. Naoto was glaring at the floor again, mouth a thin line.
"Uh. Th-Thanks for helpin' bring her back."
Naoto nodded stiffly. "You should return to your room now. You are sharing with Hanamura-senpai, Seta-senpai and your friend Teddie, correct?" He paused. "How did you engineer that?"
Kanji swallowed. Crap, the kid was on the ball. "T-the other guy they were sharing with dropped out last minute. So I figured it'd be okay. And Ted, he's he's just visiting, it's not like-"
"Don't worry. I will not inform the faculty members." Naoto let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But you must understand, it seems suspicious that you are all-" Then he stopped short and looked Kanji in the eye. "I apologize, Kanji-kun. I am tired."
"You goin' back to your room too?"
"Later. I must ensure my roommates are asleep."
Sounded backwards to Kanji. Better to get there first and not wake them, right? But Naoto was smart, so he probably knew what he was doing. "You, uh, you want some company?"
Naoto shook his head. "No."
Ouch. Probably for the best, though. Kanji sucked at conversation and Naoto seemed even worse. He shifted from one leg to another, shoulders hunched. "Oh. Right. Well...g'night."
With a quick nod, Naoto turned to move away.
Shit, this wasn't right. First time the kid had hung out with them all and he had a crappy night. Kanji raised a hand. "Yo, Naoto...uh, wait a sec."
Naoto glanced back, one eyebrow arched. "Hmm?"
"That, that stuff you were saying back at the club. 'Bout your family and being a detective." Kanji swallowed, trying to force the heat from his face. "I-I thought it was cool."
And it was. Kinda badass, as well. Kanji wanted to ask more, except Naoto might think he was weird or worse, making fun again.
Naoto looked at him for a long moment, with an expression Kanji couldn't even begin to figure out, partly because it was making him horribly uncomfortable. Finally, he sighed. "I wasn't sure what else to say. I have no talent for jokes or anecdotes."
"S'okay. Y-you were just tryin' to make friends, right?"
Naoto bristled, the muscles in his narrow shoulders visibly tensing. "No. I am in Inaba solely to solve a murder case. And I know you and your colleagues are somehow involved. I simply thought that if I...if I was honest with you all, perhaps you would..." The sentence trailed off and he rubbed his nose again. "As I said, I am tired. I will see you tomorrow."
Then he turned and stalked down the hall - slightly slower than usual, his head tilted down.
With a sigh, Kanji walked back to the stairwell. Damn weird night all round.
September 9th, 2011
Rise seemed just fine the next morning, as well as totally oblivious to everything that had happened the night before. Maybe she really had been drunk, although Kanji was more inclined to believe Naoto. No surprise there, he thought, and grimaced.
"Y'know, Kanji-kun, if the wind changes you'll stay that way." Rise poked him in the shoulder. "What's up?"
"Nothin'. Just don't wanna go shopping."
They had a few hours to kill before meeting the other students at the train station and Rise had insisted that she needed to go into town. For some reason she'd also insisted he needed to go with her and he hadn't been able to think of a decent excuse to get out of it.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kanji-kun. I wanna get a present for my grandma." She poked him again, this time in the ribs. "You should get something for your mother too."
He frowned. "You think?"
"Of course! She'll be amazed that you thought of it."
Except he hadn't. But he guessed Ma didn't need to know that. "Uh...what should I get her?"
"Well, how about-" Rise stopped short and hopped in place, waving a hand to her left. "Hey, Naoto-kun!"
Naoto?
Kanji snapped his head sideways. On the far side of the street, Naoto was leaning against a railing and staring out over the water. Couldn't see his face, but how many people in Port Island would be wearing a cap like that?
Rise tugged at Kanji's arm. "Let's go talk to him."
"Wha-aw, c'mon, we don't need to do that, he's probably busy thinking and-"
"Don't be shy, Kanji-kun. Besides, Naoto-kun's always so quiet." She gave a firm nod. "He needs to be brought out of his shell." Then she dashed through the parked cars and across the empty street. "Hey, Naoto-kun!"
Kanji followed in long strides behind her, sighing to himself and wishing he'd gone to the train station early.
At the sound of Rise's voice, Naoto turned around, one hand on his hip. "Rise-san. Kanji-kun. Good morning." His eyes narrowed. "You seem remarkably well, Rise-san."
Rise tipped her head. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Last night, you were..." He trailed off. "Well, I don't suppose it matters."
"I was what?"
Naoto took a deep breath. "Loud, hysterical and extremely difficult to handle."
Rise blinked.
"She don't remember," Kanji said with a shrug.
Naoto's only response was a flat stare.
"Wait a sec." Rise pressed two fingers to her lips, her brow furrowed. "I think I - oh man, Naoto-kun, was that you I fell on top"
"Irrelevant," muttered Naoto, and tugged down his cap.
"It was! I remember now!" When she grabbed his arm, Naoto immediately went stiff as a board. "I am so sorry, Naoto-kun!"
He said nothing, instead staring at Rise's hand, gripped tight near his elbow.
Kanji tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh. Let him go, Rise."
"Oh. Right!" She pulled away and gave her brightest, most winning smile, freeing Naoto's arm to jerk straight back to his side. "Hey, are you out to buy souvenirs too?"
If possible, he looked even more impassive than usual. "For whom?"
"Well, you were talking about your grandfather before. How about him?
"There would be no purpose. Grampa has visited Port Island previously."
"But it's the thought that counts, right? Or maybe your parents would like something?"
Naoto looked away.
Rise raised her hands. "Okay, okay, no souvenirs. You wanna come with us, though? We're all heading out to get ramen later." She grinned. "I'll treat you."
He shook his head. "Rise-san, there's really no need to-"
"Of course there is. I want to make up for well, whatever I did last night. Falling on you, all that stuff." She wagged a finger. "No refusals!"
"But I-"
"I said, no refusals!"
Naoto turned to Kanji with a vaguely helpless expression.
All Kanji could do was shrug. To be honest, he was a little wary about the idea too. He'd spent more time around Naoto on this trip than in the whole time since they'd met, most if it awkward, and he still couldn't figure out what he wanted or if Naoto even cared. But the past few months had taught him that resisting Rise was like fighting the ocean tide: tiring, pointless, and guaranteed to make you very pissed off very quickly.
"She ain't gonna take no for an answer," he said.
Naoto's fingers tugged at his shirt collar. "Very well."
As expected, Rise had taken way longer to pick out souvenirs than anyone ever should. Kanji swore she'd looked at everything in the store three times, whereas he'd picked out something in a couple minutes and Naoto had spent the whole time standing by the door and staring into the street. By the time they finally made to the ramen shop, not only was Kanji hungry and kind of pissed, the rest of the team had already ordered.
"Fin'lly! Figured y'weren't gonna schow," Chie mumbled through a mouthful of steak, ending on a wince as Yukiko poked her in the side.
Rise waved her plastic bag. "I had to go shopping! You can't rush that sort of thing, Chie-senpai."
The girls were all sitting at the bar, so Kanji headed for Souji's and Yosuke's table, then glanced back at the door. Naoto was standing in the entrance, staring across the shop with his eyebrows raised. Curious, Kanji followed his gaze which led directly to Teddie, sitting at the other end of the counter in his red and blue bear suit, shoveling noodles through the hole where his mouth would be.
Exactly why he was wearing the suit in public with the cook, the other customers and now Naoto all staring at him was beyond Kanji, but so was almost everything Teddie said and did.
Naoto shook his head and walked over to the counter, pausing by Kanji on the way. "Your friend is very peculiar," he muttered.
"Tell me 'bout it."
With a quiet sigh, Naoto shook his head again and hopped up onto the nearest stool. Kanji couldn't help noticing how much effort the jump took. Shortest kid his age he'd ever seen. When he turned back to the table, ready to sit down, Yosuke was smirking and giving him a sly thumbs-up. Kanji responded with a fierce scowl, and a mental note to kick Hanamura off the station platform before they caught the train back to Inaba.