A/N: Story so far: After a long battle through the Secret Base, the team rescued Naoto - who wasn't grateful in the slightest.

In this part: Rise says it with flowers, Naoto says it with indignation, and Kanji can't say much at all.

September 27th 2011

"I'm just saying," began Rise, with a phrase Kanji had learned to dread, "you're the only one who hasn't been to see her! That's mean, Kanji-kun."

Kanji grunted and rolled his eyes. Bad enough that Rise was dragging him to Naoto's apartment on pain of death, or at least pain of being whined at for the next week. Cussing him out the whole way there was just salt in the wound. There was a good reason he hadn't visited Naoto yet; in fact, there were dozens, and they were the same ones behind his determination not to think about her at all. "Teddie ain't been either," he muttered.

Rise let out a frustrated sigh. "And you know why. Stop changing the subject!"

She had a point. Teddie was a headache at the best of times - and given how stoked he'd been to find out Naoto was a girl, he'd probably try to hit on her. Meaning Kanji would be sorely tempted to kick his ass, if Naoto didn't do it first. Hell, he ought to kick hers while he was at it. Scowling, he aimed a mid-stride kick at a nearby clump of soggy leaves. "Whatever. Bet she don't want visitors anyway."

"C'mon, I loved seeing you guys when you came to see me! And Naoto-kun's been really happy whenever we've dropped by."

Scanning Persona, human insight, people skills - these were all Rise's biggest strengths. They were also completely useless in the face of her amazing knack for believing whatever she wanted. "Right."

"I'm serious! Trust me, I know this stuff." Rise nodded firmly, pigtails bouncing in tandem. "Besides, there's nothing in her kitchen. What's she gonna eat if we don't take her food?"

All the responses he had to that would end with either him getting bitched out or Rise bawling. Maybe both. Kanji glanced down at the plastic bag in his hand, three carefully-wrapped slabs of Rise's 'Spicy Tofu Surprise' nestling inside. If she had any sense, Naoto'd sooner starve than eat them or anything else that resulted from the girls being within ten feet of a kitchen.

Then again, if she had any sense, she wouldn't have tried to get herself killed.

Could've been taken out by the murderer if she'd tried to fight him. Could've been ripped apart by shadows if she'd tried to escape. Based on what Kanji knew of her, both 'ifs' seemed pretty damn likely. Or she could've just shown up dead soon as the fog rolled in, and somehow that seemed most plausible of all.

Kanji grit his teeth. "Ain't nothin' to do with me. She got herself in this mess."

"Wow, Kanji-kun, you're all heart." Rise hummed lightly. "Good thing Souji-senpai's already been to see her."

"Course he has. He's the boss," Kanji snapped back, wishing his voice didn't feel like it was stuck in his throat. Senpai had probably gone there the first day and told Naoto all about the team, the television, Personas, the works. Best person to do it; he always found the right words, even when Kanji would've sworn they didn't exist, and it seemed like he barely had to look. He'd have helped Naoto get to grips with the Shadow thing, too. Wasn't much left for Kanji to do except bring her tofu nobody with the will to live would ever eat.

Hell, Souji had probably figured out months ago that she wasn't really a guy.

Distracted as he was, it took Kanji a couple more strides to realize Rise had stopped. He felt the glare of disapproval against his back well before he turned to meet it.

"Kanji." Rise's hands were on her hips. Bad sign. "Are you trying to be a jerk? 'Cause you're doing really well!"

"Whass'matter?"

"I just asked you twice now why you don't want to see Naoto-kun. Twice! And you ignored me!"

Kanji grunted. "Ah...'s not that I don't want to," he managed, rolling his neck and shoulders and wishing Rise would drop the whole thing. "Just... y'know."

Rise looked confused for a moment, like she was trying to fill in the gaps between his words, then sighed and shook her head. "But you like Naoto, right?" She hesitated. "I mean, she's not a boy anymore, but--"

"I don't care about that!" Kanji snapped, surprised at how quickly the answer came and even more surprised that he meant it.

For a few seconds, Rise just stared at him, both eyebrows raised. Then she shrugged, and started walking again. "So at least go see her while she's getting better. Don't tell me you've forgotten how terrible you felt after you got out."

"But I was fine! Senpai and the others got me real quick." Three days after he vanished, if he remembered right. After a full night's sleep he'd felt pretty much normal; he'd just been too afraid to go back to school.

"Oh man, you're lucky! I was throwing up for four days straight, no joke. Himiko wouldn't shut up, either." Rise shook her head. "Kept up this running commentary on everything I was doing and thinking. She's so nosy."

"Figures," Kanji said with a quick grin - followed by a wince as Rise elbowed him in the side.

It was true, though. Personas had to match their owners. Otherwise, there was no explanation for Take-Mikazuchi being such a damn punk. Never shut up in a fight, especially if things were going badly. At first, he hadn't said much at all - maybe because Kanji hadn't been in the TV long - but the big guy had gradually crept inside his head, to the point where Kanji couldn't tell what was him and what wasn't, or if there was even a difference. Well, except when he was getting chewed out for screwing up an attack or taking a hit. But on the big things, like the stuff that had been spinning round in his mind for the last few days, Take-Mikazuchi never said a word.

"She couldn't tell me much about Naoto's Persona. Himiko, I mean," Rise continued. "The power's there, but I'm not sure what it does. I guess I'll find out soon, since Naoto-kun's gonna be on the team."

Crap. He'd forgotten that part.

Souji had already been to see Naoto. Meaning he might've asked her to join them. Meaning Kanji would be fighting alongside her every time they went in the television. Meaning this whole pretending she didn't exist deal would soon become impossible.

Rise winked at him. "Betcha can't wait, Kanji-kun," she chirped.

Kanji scowled and said nothing.

When they knocked on the door of Naoto's apartment, Yukiko opened it. "Rise-chan, Kanji-kun! Thank you for dropping by."

Polite smile, folded hands. Manager mode, Kanji thought, then frowned. "Uh... why're you..."

"Oh, I've been here an hour already," she explained. "I came straight after school. Chie had to run an errand and I didn't want to leave Naoto-kun by herself."

A small, indignant noise sounded from somewhere inside the apartment.

Yukiko rolled her eyes. "So," she added, jaw tensed unusually tight, "I'm happy you're here. Very happy."

"No problem! We even brought food." Rise pointed to the bag at Kanji's side, then skipped through the door. "Hey, Naoto-kun!"

Kanji sighed and bent down, fumbling with the laces on his boots. He felt Yukiko lean down towards him - and when she spoke, her voice was almost a whisper. "Kanji-kun, did you cook--"

He shook his head grimly.

She winced. "Oh. Well. You... maybe you should put it in the kitchen, then."

Had to give Yukiko credit; for all her efforts to fix the problem, she'd finally accepted she sucked at cooking. Rise, on the other hand, still lived in happy ignorance.

"Good idea," Kanji muttered, then strode inside the kitchen - glimpsing a sullen-looking Naoto slumped on the sofa along the way - and began unpacking the tofu.

The smart choice would've been to throw it in the trash. Maybe he could pretend he'd dropped it on the floor. Could even open the window if he was quiet enough, though coming up with an explanation for why he'd accidentally thrown the tofu through it would be difficult. Kanji was still debating his options when Rise popped her head round the door. "Kanji, stop messing with that and get in here! You're supposed to be visiting Naoto!"

Other than wanting to devote some quality time to not thinking about Naoto - which would be ten times harder if they were in the same room - Kanji had no reasonable explanation for why he really needed to hide in the kitchen for the next few hours. Lost for any other escape, he grunted and walked out into the living room.

"Kanji-kun wanted to see you too, Naoto-kun," Rise trilled, locking her arm firmly around his. "He's sorry for not coming earlier." She flashed Kanji a grin. "And he's really happy you're back."

Kanji responded with a choking noise. Naoto glanced at him, nodded once - then went back to ignoring Yukiko, who was sitting next to her on the sofa.

Apparently feeling she'd mortified him enough for one day, Rise let go of his arm - then plunked herself down in a free seat and began helping Yukiko fix what might've been the most one-sided conversation ever.

The thought of joining in turned Kanji's stomach. He pressed his back against the wall, deciding that the girls could handle the talking. Which they definitely did. For a whole forty minutes - during which Naoto said a grand total of three sentences, all of them short. By the quarter-hour mark, she'd given up even pretending to pay attention, instead folding her arms and fixing her gaze on what seemed to be an amazingly interesting spot on the floor. Kanji, meanwhile, only noticed all this because he caught himself staring at her on five separate occasions.

So much for not thinking about her. If he was being honest, Naoto was all he'd been thinking about for the past couple days. Whether he still liked her, why she pretended to be a guy, whether that actually mattered; a bunch of questions he wished he didn't need to ask.

It bothered him that she wasn't... well, that she was different from what he thought. Couldn't help that. Couldn't put a finger on why, either. She looked the same, sounded the same, behaved the same. He'd learned to stick with one pronoun, but that was mostly because Rise jumped on it every time he didn't. Other than that, nothing major had changed - so why was he so pissed off?

Because I thought I was gay because of you, was the most obvious reason. Good one, too. Shame it wasn't right. Naoto might've been the spark, but that stuff had been twisting about in his head long before she showed up and it still hadn't gone away - and neither had the jumble of feelings that shot up in his chest every time he looked at her.

Because I feel stupid for not realizing. Fine, there was some truth in that. If nothing else, he'd always had a good eye for appearances and there'd been a few quirks that had bothered him about Naoto's. Her clothes had never hung right, she'd looked different with the hat off and she'd had the wrong build even for a guy who hadn't fully grown. Kanji had just been too plain dumb to put it all together. Still, he wasn't the only one she'd fooled and it was far from the first time in his life he'd felt like an idiot.

Because you're supposed to have it all together. Beyond them being a bunch of assholes, Kanji didn't know or care much about cops, but he still suspected being a girl wouldn't be as much of a problem as Naoto claimed. She just wasn't thinking things through straight - and the way she did that with everything else, the way she'd always had it all locked down so tight, those were the things that'd always impressed him. Much as he wanted to kick himself for the thought, seeing what a mess she was underneath had been a disappointment. Shitty reason to be angry, though. Everyone's Shadow was screwed up. That was the whole point.

So, none of the three explanations really fit. Kanji tilted back his head and stared at the ceiling, trying to think of a fourth, one that covered everything.

Because you didn't tell me the truth, was what he eventually came up with.

Another full hour passed before Rise finally stood up. Kanji's left foot had fallen asleep at some point, but he couldn't see Naoto talking it well if he started stamping on her apartment floor, particularly not right now. She looked pissed.

"C'mon, Kanji-kun." Rise grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the door. "Let's go. Chie-senpai's heading back here soon, she'll keep Yukiko-senpai and Naoto company."

Kanji grunted, stealing one last glance at Naoto as Rise urged him out the apartment. She didn't look up.

As they walked down the corridor, back to the elevator, Rise grabbed his jacket sleeve. "You didn't say anything! Not the whole time we were there! What was up?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't get a word in with you an' Yukiko-senpai goin' on."

"You're terrible, Kanji-kun." Pouting slightly, she poked him in the arm. "I bet Naoto-kun thinks you don't like her."

In a rare display of tact - hanging out with Rise had taught him the benefits of biting his tongue - Kanji didn't mention that Naoto probably preferred people who either didn't or couldn't keep their mouths flapping for two hours straight. "Guess so," he mumbled.

September 28th 2011

Souji frowned down at the plate of steak croquettes. "Kind of tough today."

Kanji, who'd been chewing the same mouthful of steak skewer for the past three minutes, grunted in agreement.

"Souzai Daigaku, consistent as ever," Souji mumbled, discreetly pushing the plate away then resting his elbows on the wooden table. "Why do we keep coming here?"

The mouthful fought back. Kanji guzzled half his can of soda trying to unstick the chewed steak from his tongue, finishing with a desperate swallow. Choking averted, he looked up at Souji. "...'Cause Chie-senpai keeps saying it's great."

"And because we're all sick of Junes and Aiya," Souji added, then chuckled. "Yosuke says we should open a restaurant. Blow people's minds, having more than three places in town to eat. He swears we'll make a fortune."

"He can cook?"

"About as well as Rise. Speaking of which, she said you visited Naoto - or that she dragged you there, anyway."

"Pretty much," Kanji said, with what he hoped was a casual shrug. "Heard y'went to see her too."

Souji nodded. "The day after we brought her back." His brow creased slightly. "She wasn't happy to see me."

The thought shouldn't have comforted Kanji as much as it did. "So, uh... how'd it go?"

"Once her curiosity won out, pretty well. I explained the television world, the shadows, all of it." Souji's fingers drummed against the table. "Shame we couldn't work with her sooner. She's a quick one."

Kanji snorted. "Quick to be an idiot, y'mean."

"Come on, Kanji. You don't mean that."

"Course I do!" he snapped - then caught himself and lowered his voice to a hiss. "She practically threw herself in there!"

"I know, and I called her on that," Souji pointed out. "But you can't deny her plan worked."

"But it was frickin' stupid! She could've been killed! C'mon, Senpai, you wouldn't pull shit like that, right?"

Souji paused.

Kanji's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you'd--"

"In her position? I might've thought the same way." Shifting against the wooden box, Souji let out a long breath. "I just wouldn't have gone through with it."

Dammit, Senpai was meant to be the smart one. So was Naoto. Kanji's brow furrowed as his fists clenched and unclenched against the table. "Okay, fine, say y'did. You'd have all of us backing you up - hell, half the town. Naoto tried to go it alone."

Souji nodded. "And that's where she went wrong. Among other places," he added, one eyebrow quirked. "If she joins up with us, maybe she'll get why."

"... You ask her yet?"

"No. Thought I'd wait till she calms down a little more." He smiled. "Can't see her saying no, considering how desperate she is to solve the case."

"Yeah," Kanji murmured. "Thass cool." He hesitated, gaze flickering down to the plate. Wouldn't bother with the skewers next time, he decided.

Wouldn't try to play the hero, either.

"Something wrong?" Souji asked, after a moment's silence.

"Just..." Kanji swallowed, trying to pull the right words together. "I was as bad as Naoto, y'know? Jumpin' in the TV without you. An' I never really apologized." Jaw clenched, he lifted his eyes to meet Souji's. "Sorry, Senpai."

There was no response except a careful stare. Kanji's stomach sank.

Then, Souji shrugged. "You were just worried," he said, and Kanji swore he saw a smirk.

Heat rushed to his cheeks. "Don't matter. Always had the same problem. No good at waiting."

"Which was fair enough." Souji frowned, two fingers pressed to his right temple. "You're not going to do it again... and I did wait too long. I never meant to let Naoto--" He tensed, straightened his shoulders - then looked Kanji in the eye. "But we got her. And if we have to do this again for someone else, I'll make sure we time it right."

Something was off. Sure, the wait had driven Kanji half crazy, but they'd pulled Naoto out over a week ahead of time. He rested his elbows on the table, wiping his mouth and trying to figure out what he'd missed.

Then Souji leaned back, and the corners of his mouth flickered up in a casual smile. "So, still trust me?" he asked lightly.

Kanji nodded. "'Course I do, Senpai."

September 29th 2011

sry kanji-kun!!! goin 2B L8 (-_-);

The little faces were cute - but for the sake of his eyes, Kanji wished Rise would put her time into the words instead. Maybe she found regular letters too boring. He felt pretty much the same about loitering outside Naoto's apartment building for the past half-hour. It was starting to get dark; at this rate, one of her neighbors would call the cops. Tell them some thug was hanging around in the street, holding a cooler and a canvas bag full of study notes. He never wrote stuff down in class, but he figured Naoto probably did - so he'd spent lunch figuring out who shared classes with her and photocopying their notebooks.

Ten minutes later, Rise finally showed up at the end of the street - half-running, half-dragging herself down the sidewalk towards him. "Bout time!" Kanji called.

Rise waved desperately. By the time she reached him, she was almost doubled over. "Oh man, Kanji-kun... I am so... so outta shape," she gasped. "If I ever went back to work, the dance routines would kill me!" She leaned one hand against his arm for support. The other, Kanji noticed, was clutching a garish bunch of flowers.

"Been waiting for ages," he mumbled, pulling the bag further over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Hey... what's in the cooler? Did you bring Naoto-kun food?"

Typical Rise. Getting the wrong idea completely. "So? There a problem with that?"

She pouted. "Don't be all spiky. I've got it covered anyway, you don't need to worry. Naoto-kun's got plenty of good food."

Kanji forced himself to stay quiet. "Just didn't wanna show up empty-handed. S'rude."

"Yep, exactly!" Rise waved the bouquet. "That's why I brought flowers."

Naoto probably wouldn't appreciate the effort. Besides, the flowers were five different colors, none of them right for somebody sick and all of them clashing. Kanji was about to tell Rise that next time she needed to call him first, when her phone buzzed inside her jacket pocket.

"Hold on, gotta take this." She glanced at the number then quickly flipped the phone open. "Hey, Senpai! What's up? Wait, seriously? Oh man, I'm so sorry! I'll be right there, Senpai, don't you go anywhere!"

The phone flipped shut. Rise stared up at him, eyes wide in dismay. "Kanji-kun, I completely forgot, I'm supposed to be studying with Senpai this afternoon! Give these to Naoto-kun, okay?" She thrust the flowers towards his chest - Kanji grabbed them on instinct - then flashed him a brilliant smile.

Brilliantly devilish, too. Kanji blinked. "Hey, wait a--"

Rise bounced back one step, then another. "I'll totally make it up to you, promise!"

She never, ever forgot study sessions with Souji-senpai; she spent most of her breaks at school trying to engineer them. This was a setup. "Dammit, Rise!"

"Gotta go!" she called, already running down the street. For somebody supposedly out-of-shape, she moved fricking fast. Kanji scowled at her right up until she vanished round the corner - then turned to scowl at the steps instead.

Should just go home. The food would keep. Naoto'd thank him for leaving; she'd glowered her way through the last visit and if he stayed she might shoot him. Especially if he showed up alone. Shit, he hadn't managed a single word last time, how the hell was he supposed to hold a conversation?

Should definitely just go home, he decided, now inside the lobby and waiting for the elevator.

The thought followed him all the way to the fourth floor and down the hallway to Naoto's apartment. Standing outside, Kanji glared at the front door and briefly wondered if he could intimidate it into opening. Usually worked with people, even - no, especially when he didn't intend it to.

Probably not doors, though. Drawing a deep breath, he put the cooler down, tried to ignore his heart pounding against his ribs - now or never, right? - and rapped his knuckles against the surface.

Nothing happened.

He knocked again, harder this time. "Naoto? You there?"

Still no answer. Kanji was figuring out the best way to kick the door down without damaging the flowers, when he heard the handle catch.

The door creaked open. Partly. In the narrow space between it and the wall, a tousled-haired Naoto glared up at him - expression pitched somewhere between exhausted and supremely pissed off.

"Tatsumi," she muttered. "Why are you here?"

"Visit," Kanji choked out. He gestured back down the hallway. "R-Rise, she was gonna come too, but she hadta--"

"Then I'm sure you'll want to follow," Naoto muttered, and tried to slam the door.

On a burst of courage he later couldn't explain, Kanji stuck out his leg and wedged his boot in the narrow gap.

Naoto tugged at the handle - paused - then looked up. "Remove your foot from my door."

Kanji squared his shoulders. "Sure, if you open it."

This won him another glare - or rather, what would've been a glare if Naoto's shivering hadn't ruined the effect. "There is no need for you or anyone else to be here. I am fine."

Kanji swallowed the sudden urge to kick the door open, pick Naoto up and hurl her back in the room. "Yeah. Sure." He let out a breath, running his free hand through his hair. Should've fixed it up before he left home. "Look... I, I'm just bringin' stuff over, I'm not gonna sit on your sofa an' talk at you. Promise."

Naoto just stared up at him, fingers tightening then loosening around the edge of the door. Then, with a quiet noise of frustration, she pulled it open - though she didn't step aside.

"I don't require babysitting," she muttered, tugging at her shirt collar. Looking closer, Kanji would've sworn she'd slept in her clothes.

"And I ain't here to baby-sit," he growled, pointing to the bag slung over his shoulder. "Bringing you notes from school, thass all. You wanna fall behind?"

Naoto gave him a flat stare. "And presumably the flowers are pens? Or does the cooler contain textbooks?"

Limited to start with, Kanji's patience finally ran out. "The flowers are from Rise, alright? And the cooler, s'just some food, R-Rise said there's nothin' in your kitchen, that's why she keeps bringing crap over!" He took a deep breath for his instinctive killer shot. "And detectives don't know how to cook anyway!"

... Damn, that was a stupid thing to say.

Glowering, Naoto tipped up her chin. "I am perfectly capable of consulting a recipe book."

"You don't have any." Kanji would've noticed them on the shelves. He was willing to bet she'd never owned one in her life.

"I would check the internet."

"So what if y'did? When was the last time you cooked something?"

"I've had no reason to bother. Kujikawa-san has been providing ample food."

"Which y'tried once and never touched again, right?"

She hesitated - the first trace of blood in the water. "It... wasn't that bad."

"Liar."

"There are processed meals!"

"Yeah, real nutritious. You gonna live off ramen all week?"

Naoto glared at him.

Kanji stared back.

Moments passed in deafening silence.

Taking that as the end of the argument, Kanji picked up the cooler. "So, you go think about the case or whatever and I'll do my thing. Alright?"

"Fine," Naoto snapped, then turned and stalked back inside the apartment.

Kanji followed, flush with victory - but more than a little tentative. For all his bravado, he was way out of his depth. The rush of anger that got him through the door evaporated in the four strides it took him to reach the kitchen, where he quickly dumped the flowers in the sink, put the bag on the floor, and set the cooler on the counter. Focus on fixing everything up. It'd be a good distraction.

Making food to bring Naoto had been a snap decision. Originally he'd planned to just drop off her schoolwork then pull a vanishing act. Late last night, he'd started thinking, well, it'd be pretty lousy of him to just let her starve, no way was she eating Rise's food, so maybe he should grab her something from Souzai Daigaku. Aiya, if he was feeling generous. Ten minutes later, he'd been standing in the kitchen in an apron, desperately trying to figure out what he could make with a fridge full of leftovers.

The final result: a box of sliced up okonomiyaki. Wasn't ideal - reheating always turned the texture weird - but it was the best he could do in the middle of the night. And his old man loved the stuff; used to make it all the time.

Naoto would probably hate it.

"What did you bring?"

Kanji's head snapped up. Naoto stood in the entrance, leaning against the door-frame with one hand clutching her opposite shoulder.

"S'just okonomiyaki," he mumbled, and pulled a spatula out the cooler. "You can heat it up."

No response. When he dared to glance over, she was frowning at the sink. "The flowers serve no purpose."

"Rise," Kanji blurted. "You got a vase somewhere?"

She shook her head.

Stupid question. "Don't matter," he muttered. "Figure somethin' out,"

Again, Naoto stayed quiet.

Minutes passed. Originally intending to grab a slice of the okonomiyaki and heat it up, Kanji instead stared at the spatula until it didn't look like one anymore and wished Naoto would stop fricking watching him. He could feel her eyes on him from the doorway. The feeling left his nerves twitching.

Finally, he got angry enough to look over, ready to tell her to go lie down - but she was staring at the floor. Either her reflexes were amazing, or he needed to calm the hell down.

Shrugging, Kanji turned his attention back to the spatula.

"I don't recall trying it before," Naoto said suddenly. "Okonomiyaki."

"S'good. Y-You got plates?"

She gestured to the cupboard above the cooker. Kanji leaned over and yanked open the door so hard it almost smacked him in the head. Fortunately, Naoto didn't seem to notice, so he tried to turn it into a smooth grab for a plate. "S'posed to be resting, right?"

"I'm fine," she snapped. Again.

"Yeah, y'said." Kanji choked back a growl. "Go sit down, gonna bring you somethin' to eat."

"There's absolutely no need for--"

"I know, alright?" Kanji rounded on her, fists clenched. "Shit, I'm just trying to--" The sentence stopped dead; partly because he hadn't meant to lose his temper, but mostly because he realized he was still brandishing the spatula.

Naoto stared at him for a beat, expression perfectly blank. Then she folded her arms, her gaze shifting back to the floor. "Very well. Do not make a mess." She stiffened. "And... you will leave afterwards."

With that, she vanished back into the living room. Kanji stared at the empty space, not sure whether he was more upset she hadn't thanked him or that she thought he'd screw up her kitchen. Cursing under his breath, he focused on heating up a slice of okonomiyaki and searching for something to put the flowers in. No doubt Rise set him up with those, too. In the end he settled for emptying out an expired carton of orange juice, chopping off the top and sticking the stupid things in there. Wasn't like anyone would care.

Same went for the food. Soon as it was done, he picked up the plate, grabbed some chopsticks from a drawer and stomped out into the living room - where Naoto was on the sofa, curled on her side and fast asleep. Didn't stir, even when he walked in front and set the plate down on the table.

Kanji straightened, insisting to himself that he definitely, absolutely wasn't going to look at her - then did.

Naoto looked... cute. Small, too. Not that she didn't usually, on either front; it was just way more obvious when she wasn't glaring and kicking up a fuss because he was trying to do her a damn favor. Cats, Kanji thought. Piss them off or scare them, and they fluffed themselves up twice as big. He wondered if he should try putting her in bed, until his self-preservation instinct kicked in and he decided she was just fine where she was.

Should find her a blanket, though, keep her warm. If he draped his school coat over her then she'd kill him soon as she could walk straight. A blanket, she might think she fetched herself and forgot. Couldn't just bust into her bedroom to fetch one, but checking the living room closet was worth a try. Maybe, Kanji dared to think, he could get away with picking up those papers underneath the door while he was at it.

Careful not to wake Naoto, he crept over to the closet, pulled the door open - and gaped.

The closet was a wreck. Boxes overflowing with papers, two blankets tangled on the shelf, a crumpled shirt thrown in the corner, and CD cases scattered around the toppled piles of tattered books on the floors.

Kanji twitched.

Busy with the case, that was all. Probably meant to tidy it up any day now. There was no way - no way at all - that somebody like Naoto would let a closet stay this way. The top two shelves were already clear, he noted hastily, and that had nothing to do with her not being tall enough to shove stuff on them.

Snatching the blanket, he shut the closet and tried to forget it existed. Slammed the door a little harder than he meant, but it didn't wake Naoto. Good thing, too; Kanji had the feeling she hadn't meant to fall asleep.

He draped the blanket over her, holding his breath when she stirred, and stepped back.

Stupid. Wasn't like she'd appreciate the gesture. He'd gotten nothing but grief for bringing her food, then snuck around her apartment just to do her a favor she'd never thank him for. Naoto was a pain in the ass. Specifically, a pain in the ass that had lied for months, barely acknowledged he existed and still had him hanging on every word she didn't say.

Kanji watched her a few moments longer, brow furrowed - then took the plate back to the kitchen, grabbed the cooler, and let himself out.