A/N: Story so far: Naoto's Shadow made its debut appearance, but the team soon realize they have a lot to learn about the Detective Prince.

In this (again, quite long) part: Kanji makes a resolution, Rise meets Naoto's biggest fan, and Yukiko is less than appropriate. Spoilers through September 18th and for Rise's S-Link. There may be a little delay between this part and the next due to time constraints, but nothing too long. A few liberties are taken with the sequence of events here, just to add some variety. Hope the pacing is okay on this; I realize game time is passing quite slowly.

September 17th, 2011

For the first time in years, Kanji woke up for school early - by a whole half-hour. This was followed by five minutes of sitting on his futon mattress wishing they didn't have to go at all; that for just once Senpai would see the merits in skipping out. Zero chance of that. With Kubo, with Rise, probably even with Kanji himself, Souji had always stuck to the same schedule. Sometimes Kanji wondered if that was how he kept things going.

At least they'd be able to ask around at school. Given that Naoto had either brushed off or ignored almost everyone there, Kanji was willing to bet it wouldn't help, but he was out of other ideas. And it was Saturday too, so they could hit up the town in the afternoon. Somebody had to have heard something.

He stood up, stretched, then reached for his cellphone on the side table. Maybe he could call Senpai and ask him to come in early too; he'd probably have way more luck asking other kids. Everyone liked him, even the jocks and the third years.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE

Puzzled, Kanji pushed the button to pull up the message. Rise's number appeared at the top of the screen.

hey kanji-kun can i walk in w/u 2day?

Rise had texted him many times before, typically to remind him to get his ass to school on time or to show up for a team meeting at Junes. The messages always had a bunch of weird characters in them, stuff Kanji couldn't even find on the damn keypad, and he'd end up holding the phone at arm's length trying figure out whatever emotion, action or object Rise was trying to convey. This time, she'd skipped all that stuff completely.

She'd also never asked to walk in with him before. Kanji frowned, then started tapping at the keys.

No probs be there in 15

He'd have to hurry it up to be ready on time. Needed to make sure he looked smart today; it might convince people to talk to him.

By the time he made it to the tofu store, Rise was already outside, one hand holding her bookbag and the other clutching the opposite shoulder. "Hey, Kanji-kun," she called, then smiled, but there wasn't much feeling in it. "Did you find anything out last night?"

Kanji shrugged. "Nope."

Her grip on her shoulder tightened, fingers pressing against the fabric of her shirt. "Oh. Right. I... sorry I didn't come with. Grandma would've been mad."

"S'alright." He tilted his head. "Why'd you wanna walk in together?"

"Dunno. Just... I guess I wanted someone... " Letting the sentence trail off, she turned and began to walk away. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

She was as quiet as she'd been yesterday. Still beating herself up, maybe. Kanji grunted in frustration - then moved after her, catching up in a few easy strides. "Ain't your fault," he told her.

Rise let out a small, half-hearted laugh. "I'm supposed to be the perceptive one, Kanji-kun. Don't go stealing my thunder, okay?"

"I notice some stuff. Like the fact that Naoto's bein' an idiot over this." He glanced down at Rise, wondering if he should pat her on the back or something. Girls were hard to figure out. "He'd have pulled this crap no matter what y'said."

She shook her head. "He was such a jerk before... but we should have told him what we were doing. He figured us out, but the television... he wouldn't have known, Kanji-kun."

"Which is why it was dumb of him to follow through on this shit. Counting on us to rescue him." Which was plain stupid. What detective went and got themselves caught by the guy they were chasing? "Moron's provin' a point."

"Maybe," Rise murmured, sounding distracted. "There are a lot of things I need to tell him, Kanji-kun, I... we might have stuff in common, you know?" She tugged at the hem of her school shirt. "Being an idol wasn't easy. Being a detective at our age has to be hard too."

Swallowing down the sudden burst of jealousy was tougher than Kanji would've liked. Naoto had never been interested in Rise - he'd ignored her even when she'd been turning on the charm to get hold of his homework - and Rise was too busy flirting with Souji. "Just wanna be friends, right?" he asked.

Rise looked up at him, expression slightly confused. "Well, yeah. I mean, he doesn't fit in, just like you and me."

Kanji wasn't in the mood for pity. "Yeah, right. Everyone likes you."

"They like Risette," she told him firmly. "Not Rise. Kanji-kun, you ever wonder why you never saw me round here as a kid?"

He blinked. She was right. Naoki and Yukiko he remembered well - and Chie had been around sometimes, even if she never visited the store. He couldn't recall seeing Rise even when he'd still been going to class. "Uh..."

"Exactly. I was shy." Staring at the ground, Rise folded her arms. "I got bullied at junior school, so I never wanted to show up."

The idea of Rise being shy was ridiculous enough, never mind her getting picked on. "Then how the hell'd you become an idol?"

"Long story. But, yeah, I know it feels. And when we get Naoto-kun back, I'm gonna try my best with him, no matter how much of a jerk he is." She smiled up at Kanji. "Got to stick together, right?"

Back when she joined the team, Rise had seemed exactly like the sort of girl that'd always terrified Kanji; the sort that'd laughed at him when he'd fixed that girl's bag and when his cooking had turned out the best in Home Economics class. She'd already proved him wrong more than once. Sure, she teased him like nothing else, and when it came to team gossip she was frickin' dangerous, but she had a good heart. If she was going to make an effort with Naoto, he'd do the same. He owed the kid that much. If he hadn't been so damn passive, and a total pussy with it, he could've stopped Naoto diving straight into this mess. They could've worked together - and maybe Kanji could've figured out what the hell he wanted and if Naoto wanted it too. But there was still chance to change all that.

He smiled back at Rise, and meant it. "Yeah. So long as we kick his ass first."

"Look, I just wanna know if you've spoken to him, alright?"

The first-year - Toshio, wasn't it? - stared up, wide-eyed, and pressed his back against the locker. "Wh-who?"

"Naoto. Shirogane. The detective." Kanji grimaced. "Told y'that already. Twice now."

"I-I'm sorry!" stammered Toshio, raising his trembling palms and wilting under Kanji's gaze. "Shirogane-kun, he, he never talked to me. I didn't do anything!"

"Never said you did." This was useless. Kanji heaved a sigh, then backed away. "Go on, get outta here."

Toshio took off before Kanji had even finished speaking, dashing down the corridor and almost barreling into Rise on the way. She shot Kanji a quick grin, which shifted to an exaggerated pout. "Aw, Kanji-kun, I think you scared him."

"He ain't the first." Ten separate attempts at talking to other students and they'd all acted like Kanji was about to beat them round the head with a chair. "Should've expected it."

"It's been kinda the same for me," Rise said, stopping next to him and leaning against the row of lockers. "Um, not that they think I'm gonna hit them. But like I said, everyone thinks they're talking to Risette."

In Kanji's case, everyone figured they were talking to a thug. Some of it wasn't his fault - he couldn't control his height or how quickly he built up muscle - but a bunch of it definitely was. The piercings, the scar, that shit with the bikers, it all added up. He let out a breath, one hand rubbing the back of his head, and Rise grabbed his arm.

"C'mon, Kanji-kun. Now you're the one on a downer. We've gotta keep trying."

"Shame it hasn't done any good yet." When Kanji glanced over his shoulder, Yosuke was ambling towards them from the other end of the corridor. The usual tinny racket rattled from the headphones hanging round his neck. "I got nothing so far. I'm guessing you guys haven't either?"

"Ain't nobody wants to talk to us," muttered Kanji, resisting the urge to kick a boot against the wooden floor.

"Yeah, no surprise," Yosuke said. "Luckily I don't have that problem."

Letting go of Kanji's arm, Rise gave Yosuke a wide-eyed look. "That's strange, Yosuke-senpai! I could've sworn I saw a bunch of first-years laughing at you over by the gym."

Yosuke winced. "Uh, yeah. Misunderstanding." Then he sighed, blowing his hair from his face. "Though it'd be nice if they used my real name instead of 'Junes'."

Frankly, Kanji'd heard worse, especially out in the shopping district. Most of the shopkeepers hated Junes just because it was there. Yosuke was an extension of that - an extension with a smart mouth and a knack for over-confidence. "What 'bout Souji-senpai?" he asked. "You seen him?"

Yosuke shook his head. "He'll be doing great, though. He's awesome with people. I swear, everyone knows him."

"Yeah. It's kinda weird," Rise added, then shrugged. "But Chie-senpai's pretty popular too."

"Satonaka? You serious?"

"Oh yeah. Tons of guys like her too. Maybe not as many as Yukiko-senpai, but they all think she's more approachable." The conviction in Rise's voice was almost scary - just like her ability to magically know what was going on all over the school long before Kanji even got an inkling. Shame it wasn't working with Naoto.

"Huh." Yosuke folded his arms. "I didn't... well, maybe she'll find out something. She can't just be good for kicking stuff." He smirked. "Unlike you, Kanji."

"Shut your face," said Kanji. Usually he'd put more effort in, or maybe threaten some sort of creative violence - but Yosuke wasn't worth it and he already had too much crap to think about. He paused. "Can't y'get Teddie to go look for Naoto? Just from the lot?"

"Dude, are you crazy?" Yosuke stared at him in disbelief. "I don't let Teddie leave the house while I'm at school! And he couldn't find Naoto anyway, his nose is blocked or something. It's down to us for now."

"Or Souji-senpai and Chie-senpai, at least." Rise sighed, twirling a stray strand of her hair around her fingers. "I saw Yukiko-senpai up on the second floor earlier. She's too polite to ask anyone, thinks she needs to start a conversation with them about the weather first."

Sounded about right. "She'll do great in the district, though," Kanji said. "Being polite s'a big deal there."

"Hey, guys!"

The voice came from the stairs. Chie was waving down at them on the landing between the first and second floor. "Any luck?" she asked, hopping down the rest of the steps. Souji and Yukiko followed close behind.

"Nope," Yosuke told her. "You?"

"Maybe." Souji shoved his hands in his jacket pocket, looking thoughtful. "A third-year in the Practice Building mentioned she saw Naoto arguing with someone about a month ago. A policeman."

...Wait.

Kanji smacked his forehead. "Shit! Uh, sorry," he added, with an apologetic glance toward Yukiko, then grimaced. "I, I know what happened. I saw it. Dammit, should've remembered!"

"We don't know if it's important," Yukiko gently reminded him. "What happened?"

"Naoto was tearing this cop a new one outside my ma's store." Kanji dug deeper and tried to pull up the memory. Wasn't difficult; the ones involving Naoto always stuck out. "He said the real killer was still on the loose, right after we helped catch Kubo. Asshole cop blanked him completely." That'd been about it - aside from Kanji trying and failing to help. "You think it's a clue?"

"Not sure. Would you recognize this guy?" Souji asked.

"Yeah. Think so. Always hangin' round the district in the evening." Kanji was tempted to storm right over to the station and drag the jerk out by his ears, except the cops would find some excuse to arrest him on the spot. Dojima was pretty straight up, but some of the other bastards there still bore a grudge.

Souji glanced at Yosuke, who shrugged. "Hey, it's something. Besides, almost everyone else already left school."

"We can ask around in town, too." Rise gestured towards Kanji. "Kanji and I know people there. Yukiko-senpai, too. Even if this cop isn't on patrol till later, we can use the time to ask around."

"Good idea." Souji nodded. "Let's go."

"This isn't working as well as I hoped." Yukiko sighed, brushing back another long strand of dark hair behind her ears. "Chie finds it easy to talk to everyone, so I've always let her handle it."

Kanji'd been a little surprised at how much trouble Yukiko had approaching people. In the memories he had of her years ago, she'd always seemed so polite and refined. Left him feeling like a klutz every time she came to the store, wearing kimonos with intricate designs he spent hours trying to replicate from memory. That, he figured, had been 'Amagi Inn' Yukiko. Real Yukiko had all that, sure - but she also fell into fits of laughter than lasted minutes at a time and had gotten maybe-sort-of-drunk at a city nightclub. He sighed. "Hey, I ain't much better."

"Well, at least people aren't running away from you here."

Nope. Instead, they wanted to ask about his ma, how the store was going and when he was going to take those silly lumps of metal out his face. If he heard the name 'Kanji-chan' one more time, he'd probably punch himself in the head. Worse, the cop wasn't around; they'd have to wait till the evening. "We ain't found anything out either," he muttered.

"Maybe we should try the floodplain," Yukiko suggested. "The weather's good, so I'm sure there'll be plenty of people down there."

Kanji shrugged. "I guess." The whole day had been pretty disheartening, but he didn't want to quit, not with Naoto still stuck inside the television, especially with a Shadow who wanted to chop him into bits. Something was definitely up there.

With Yukiko taking the lead, they walked back through the district, following the same route Kanji took to school. The sun was shining and the last of Inaba's usual hot summer still hadn't faded. Yukiko never seemed to feel the heat, but Kanji was glad he'd gone for a sleeveless shirt instead of something smarter.

As they entered the park, she looked up at him. "There's something I don't get, Kanji-kun. Why aren't Naoto-kun's family concerned?"

Kanji frowned. "Uh... I guess they don't know?" But that was dumb. Even with his tendency to disappear for days, Ma had still noticed he'd been gone longer than usual. She'd almost chewed his ear off when he got back; apparently she'd been on the verge of calling the cops.

"But they'd have to notice. My mother called the police straight away." Yukiko winced. "I know she's a little... overprotective, but it's been days since Naoto-kun disappeared. Didn't he mention his grandfather?"

"Yeah... but maybe he... I guess the old man could be out of town, you know?" If anyone was capable of taking care of himself, it'd be Naoto. Except for the the part where he got himself kidnapped on purpose.

Yukiko hummed thoughtfully. "It just seems odd." She looked up. "Oh, Rise-chan's already here!"

Further along the path, Rise was standing next to a young woman, deep in a conversation that had the latter smiling brightly. It was only as he moved closer that Kanji could hear the words.

"...He's just so amazing!" The woman clasped her hands. "He was handsome on the television, but he's so much better in real life. A real detective prince, here in Inaba! I've been trying to talk to him for two months now!"

Yukiko touched his arm. "Kanji-kun, are you alright? You look flushed."

Kanji, not trusting his voice, nodded dumbly.

The woman continued. "I just wish he were a few years older. All those girls at his school, he's probably--"

"Oh, totally!" Rise chirped, with the sort of easy smile that meant she was ignoring someone completely. "Have you seen him in town lately?"

"Not in the past week. I've missed him." The woman hesitated, frowning slightly. "Listen, do you think he likes... you know, more mature women? Not that I'm old! But... well, what do you think?"

Rise glanced down the path at Kanji, smirked, then turned back to the woman. "Sorry, I don't think he's into that kind of thing. Hey, my friends are here, so I gotta go. Thanks for your help!" With that, she darted towards Kanji and Yukiko, leaving the woman looking crestfallen.

Way too old for Naoto. Like he'd ever go for that. No point in worrying, Kanji decided, and focused his attention on forcing the heat away from his cheeks.

"Oh, don't worry, Kanji-kun." Rise rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure Naoto isn't into older women. Seeing as he isn't into--"

"Shut up!" Kanji snapped. "You find anything out or what?"

"Not a thing. I seriously think that lady was the first person who didn't realize I was Risette." She sighed. "You know how many autographs I've been asked to sign today?"

This was stupid. A whole bunch of them wandering around the school and town and still nothing to help them find Naoto. Kanji grunted. "Dammit. You seen Souji? He struck gold earlier."

"Nope. Chie and Yosuke aren't doing that great, though. Last time I saw them they were arguing their heads off outside the general store."

Yukiko shook her head, arms folded. "I told Souji not to put them together!"

"Yeah, and I told Souji to put me with him. He didn't." Rise tapped her foot against the path and let out a heavy sigh. "This is so difficult! How did you guys find me?"

Kanji had been there for that one. "Eh, it was pretty easy," he told her. "There was your grandma, a few fans at school, this photographer guy by the river... everybody knew you."

"Or they knew Risette," Yukiko corrected him. "But that told us about you in turn, Rise-chan."

Maybe it'd been hard for them to find Kanji, too. The team hadn't known much about him other than that crap they pulled when he met with Naoto. "What 'bout me? Who helped there?"

"Actually... it was Naoto-kun. Your mother told us he'd stopped by to ask after you. Eventually, we found him at Junes."

Naoto had helped? "Wh-what did he say?"

Yukiko bit her lip in concentration. "Um. Let's see... he said... he said he'd called you odd. And that you'd behaved strangely. Something about a complex. That was enough to tell us about your... well." She shifted in place. "You know. Your Shadow."

Shit. Had Kanji been that obvious? The odd part, he remembered - even though he didn't want to - but he'd locked it down tight after that, played it all cool. Or so he'd thought. "I'm not odd," he muttered, then cringed. Why the hell was he worrying about that? Naoto had helped save him and Kanji hadn't done shit in return.

He swallowed. "But I gotta make sure I help him, then. S'only fair."

"You will, Kanji-kun." Rise nodded firmly, cellphone in hand. "Listen, it's already five. I promised I'd help Grandma clean up tonight. You guys should walk back with me - and then you can find this cop, okay?"

Kanji had spent the best part of the afternoon making sure he remembered the cop's face. The guy had been nondescript - middle-aged, dark hair, average height - and every time Kanji pulled up the memory he was looking at Naoto instead, but there were only so many cops that worked the district.

"Just yell when you see him, okay?" Chie was sitting beside him on the steps outside the old model shop, feet kicking against the concrete.

"It's not a fight, Chie." Yukiko hadn't wanted to sit on the steps; said she'd get her uniform dirty. "We need to be polite."

"Which is why we brought you, Yuki." Chie grinned. "Seriously, though. This should be easy. We can just ask the same old questions. Pretend we're Naoto-kun's friends and that we're worried about him."

Kanji wasn't sure which was sadder: that the only friends Naoto had were pretend, or that after four months he couldn't claim to be any more than that. He scowled at Chie. "I am worried about him, alright?"

"Hey... I didn't mean it like that! Kanji-kun, if we were close to Naoto-kun then we'd already know where to find him. That's why we found Yukiko so easily."

"It just took you a long time to get me out," Yukiko quietly pointed out - and Chie winced.

The conversation continued from there - Chie had started apologizing, saying something about needing to get stronger - but Kanji stopped paying attention. At the other end of the district, up near the shrine, he could see someone in uniform. A cop, medium height.

He elbowed Chie, then pointed to the cop. "Thass him! I-I think so, anyway."

"Then let's go!" Chie was on her feet in a moment - the girl had speed - and already walking down the street. Kanji and Yukiko followed close behind.

They'd already agreed Yukiko would do the talking. Kanji wished Souji could've come, but he'd already agreed to meet with this kid he was tutoring. Both Yosuke and Kanji had told him to cancel, on the grounds that Naoto was way more important, but he'd refused, saying it'd be better for the team if he showed up like he'd promised.

Souji was damn hard to figure out sometimes.

By the time they reached him, the cop had stopped to talk to a short guy in a grey suit. Yukiko took a deep breath, then walked closer. "Excuse me, sir?"

The cop turned towards Yukiko, quickly glancing her up and down. "You reporting a crime?"

"N-no, we just--"

"Then quit bothering me. I'm in the middle of something here."

"Don't look like it," Kanji snapped - then drew himself up to his full height and shot the guy in the suit a scowl. It worked. He shrank back, muttered something to the cop, then turned and quickly walked away.

The cop watched him leave, then turned to scowl at Kanji. "Tatsumi, right? Figures. Screw it, I can't be bothered dealing with a bunch of kids.... just go home already."

Lazy bastard. No wonder he'd brushed Naoto off. Kanji grit his teeth.

"Sir, we're just looking for our friend Naoto." Naturally, Yukiko had a much better handle on her temper. Maybe inn customers were assholes too. "Shirogane, the detective. He hasn't been to school lately."

The cop rolled his eyes. "Jeez, that kid's skipping school to do his investigation now? What's his problem?"

Fists already balled, Kanji began to step forward, until Chie grabbed a handful of his shirt and tugged him back.

"I wouldn't know, sir, but we just--"

"The killer's caught, the case is over," the cop interrupted, lips curling into a sneer. "But just because the Detective Prince isn't satisfied, he's been giving us grief for weeks!"

"Sir, please."

Pausing mid-stream, the cop looked at Yukiko, eyes narrowed. Then he sighed. "Look, all we wanna do is shut the book on this thing so we don't have to deal with it anymore. Inaba's a quiet town, you know? But all your friend Shirogane cares about is his precious case." He shook his head. "No wonder the whole department treats him like a kid. Speaking of which... all of you, scram. It's getting late."

Yukiko nodded. "Very well, sir. Thank you."

Only once the cop was a good twenty meters away did Chie let go of Kanji's shirt. He immediately inspected it, trying to figure out how badly she'd stretched the fabric.

"I swear, Kanji-kun!" she hissed. "I thought you were gonna hit him!"

Scowling, Kanji tucked the shirt back into his pants. "Should've."

"I wish you had," added Yukiko, folding her arms. "Asshole."

Both Kanji and Chie blinked.

Yukiko continued, oblivious. "And he didn't even tell us anything! Oh, I wanted to punch him!"

With a sigh, Chie wrapped her arm round Yukiko's shoulders. "Lucky for him that you didn't, right?"

"He did tell us one thing. He said all the cops treat Naoto like a kid." Kanji shrugged. "If Shadows are based on feelings, maybe we got somethin' to go on."

"Huh. Good point, Kanji-kun." Chie pulled her cellphone from her pocket. "I'll talk to Souji. Dunno how, but he always seems to know when we've got enough." Her finger hovered over the buttons. "On second thoughts, he'll be tutoring. We'll have to talk to him tomorrow."

Kanji's first instinct was to object, and loudly. Instead, he took a deep breath. "We just need to hurry it up," he said carefully. "S'been days. You'd already pulled me out by now."

"I know. But after Naoto helped us you were easy to find and we were strong enough to reach you. We took way longer to get to Rise." Chie glanced sideways. "Same with Yukiko."

"And we were both fine," Yukiko added.

'Fine' was exaggerating. Rise had looked ready to drop when they took down her Shadow. On the other hand, she'd been strong enough to help them fight Teddie's, even if they'd had to carry her out afterwards. It hadn't been that long since Naoto was in there, and for a guy so small he seemed pretty tough. "Yeah," Kanji muttered. "Just hope you're right."