A/N: Story so far: Naoto finally joined the team, which proved a mixed blessing for Kanji.
In this part: Souji's a show-off, Naoto's one disappointed Persona-user, and Rise breaks Kanji's brain. Spoilers through October.
(Delayed again - don't catch the flu, it wreaks havoc with writing)
October 7th 2011
Man, this was a disappointment.
No fancy tests, no gizmos - just a bunch of questions and frowns from a harried, grey-haired doctor who didn't seem to understand why a teenage punk was sprawled on a chair in his examining room. Couldn't really blame him, since Kanji didn't get it either. If jumping in the television was hurting them, they'd have noticed by now, right? They'd have each grown that extra head or tail or whatever terrible thing Naoto thought calling a Persona could cause.
He hadn't known her all that long, but Kanji had already decided that Naoto thought way too much. Which left him stuck hanging around in a corridor in his least favorite place in Inaba. Fine, so this was just the day-clinic rather than the main hospital building - but the bathhouse still might've more comfortable. If Naoto and Teddie didn't show in the next five minutes, he'd ask Souji if he could clear out.
Might piss Naoto off, though. She'd bothered to organize these dumb examinations. Trying to decide what to do, Kanji glanced down the corridor toward the exit, where Rise was chatting with Souji-senpai (probably the only reason she wasn't bugging him instead) and Chie and Yukiko were whispering and giggling together nearby - or more precisely, giggling while looking at Yosuke, who was leaning against the wall opposite Kanji.
When Kanji glanced over and caught his eye, he shrugged. "Yeah, I know," he muttered. His mouth curled into a smirk. "Guess I'm irresistible, right?"
"Asking the wrong guy." Kanji shot back with a scowl. "Don't start this crap again." All this stuff with Naoto had sent his tolerance for snide comments into a nosedive. Hell, he'd thrown Yosuke against a wall last week over some throwaway remark that, back in September, he probably could've swallowed.
All he needed to do was get over her. Trouble was, he'd been trying to do that for six months. Five of which she'd been a guy.
"Fine, fine." Yosuke raised his hands defensively. "So, is it me, or were those examinations a total waste of time?"
Kanji shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. Seemed like a regular check-up. I was kinda looking forward to getting into some gigantic machine and being spun around." He'd seen that in old sci-fi movies. Stick the spaceman inside some high-tech-whatever to figure out if the aliens had gotten him. Probably why Naoto and Teddie still weren't back. She must've made the doctors pull out the big guns.
Yosuke shook his head. "Had this stuck in my head all day, too. I'm lucky I didn't drop dead of stress by lunch. And if I had, Naoto would've been one-hundred percent responsible."
Kanji blinked. "What, you were worried?"
"Hey, you weren't there! It-it was the way she said it! Like we were--ugh, I should've known better. The only 'side effect' is getting our asses kicked by Shadows."
"Your ass, y'mean," replied Kanji with a quick grin. "You're the bleeder."
"Dude, that's--" The rest broke off into a annoyed sigh. Yosuke folded his arms, one heel tapping against the wall behind him. "Ah, you know what, you're right. Guess somebody has take them for the team. Maybe Naoto-kun'll split the work with me."
Kanji had spent most of the previous night imagining what it'd be like fighting alongside Naoto. Most of it had revolved around how to look good in front of her (or at least not stupid) and avoid falling flat on his face. The second tied into the first and happened way more than he liked, because once you started swinging a desk round your head, the desk soon started swinging you. Same went for big sheets of metal. Momentum, Souji called it, though Kanji preferred 'being a klutz' as the more honest term.
What he hadn't considered was the idea that she might get hurt. Or rather, definitely would. They all did sometimes - and then Yukiko or Teddie or Souji healed them up and it was all fine. No worries.
"Maybe she ain't a fighter," he said, trying to ignore the cold, heavy feeling in his stomach.
"We'll find out soon, I guess. Souji said we'll go in this weekend, show her the ropes." Yosuke glanced back down the corridor toward the examination rooms. "Oh, hey, there's her and Ted."
Naoto and Teddie were heading toward them - and while Teddie wore a smile that grew even brighter when he saw the rest of the team, Naoto was looking away, head held a little lower than usual.
Rise was the first to speak. Or yell. "About time, Naoto-kun!" Kanji didn't point out that she'd been so busy making moon-eyes at Souji she wouldn't have noticed if she'd been standing there till midnight.
"We're bear-y sorry for the wait," Teddie said earnestly. Naoto just gave a distracted nod.
"So, did they find out anything about Teddie?" Yukiko asked.
Naoto gave another nod. This one was even less enthusiastic. "They did. They found out that they can't tell anything about him. I even had them take multiple X-rays, but each time the image was too blurry to read." She glanced sideways at Teddie, who was playing with the frilled collar of his shirt.
Souji frowned. "Weird. Was it the machine?"
"I doubt it. A standard examination indicated he seems perfectly normal. They suggested we try another hospital if we're still concerned," she added, in a terse but apologetic tone. "I feel bad for making them go through all this."
Teddie threw a hand to his forehead, leaving the other still at his collar. "And after they took a look at everything inside me!"
"She just said they couldn't see anything on the X-Ray, you dork!" Chie rolled her eyes; Kanji wondered whether she'd learned it from Yosuke. "After all that, we still know as much about you as we do our Personas and the Shadows."
"Oh yeah, I looked them up on the net," Yosuke said. "Persona means something like, another personality. And I think "Shadow" was listed under the related terms."
"Naturally," Naoto answered listlessly. "'Persona' and 'Shadow' are common psychological terms."
The way she said it left Kanji feeling a little stupid, and he hadn't been the one who brought the topic up. Yosuke took it worse. "I tried, okay? There's not exactly a lot out there."
"I'm pretty sure we won't find anything on a mainstream site," Souji cut in. "Not about the type of Personas and Shadows we're familiar with. Teddie, any ideas?"
Teddie shrugged. "Shadows are Shadows. They come out of people, I think."
"But that's just the ones that look like us," Rise said, twirling a loose strand of hair round her fingers. "When I scanned those, they felt--human, I guess. The others don't."
"Um, I can't really explain..."
Naoto glanced over her shoulder. They hadn't been speaking loudly, but she still lowered her voice. "I conducted my own research after the incident. An unofficial project document that I happened to come across stated that a Shadow is suppressed power--"
"Happened to come across?" Souji interrupted.
"--and when controlled by one's ego, it becomes a Persona." She glanced at him then quickly looked away. "And yes, I came across it."
Souji didn't look satisfied. Kanji, who understood that sometimes the needs justified the means - that sometimes, you just had to wade in and smack some bikers around - quickly jumped in. "But don't that mean they're basically the same thing?"
Naoto nodded. "Potentially."
"Huh. Sounds weird. Then again, the Shadows we beat the shit out of did turn into Personas."
"Like Rise-chan said, only the ones that looked like us," Yukiko pointed out. "What about the regular Shadows?"
Good point. They'd have more Personas running around inside the TV than they could count. Maybe that was where Souji's came from?
Kanji shook his head. "Ahh, who cares about the details! Doesn't matter what they are. If they get in our way, I'll crush 'em," he added, punching his fist against his other palm as demonstration.
When he dared to glance at Naoto, she was smiling. Kind of. Half-smiling, maybe. Looking closely, it might've been exasperation - but Kanji decided to roll with his first, happier theory. "Nonetheless," she said, "I couldn't find any information on how they're related to the other world."
Rise sighed. "Guys, we've been doing this for months - and there's still so much stuff about us that we don't have a clue about."
The mood sank.
"However!" Teddie said, beaming and jabbing a finger upward for emphasis. "There are some things we do know about each other, thanks to me. I got a bunch of awesome data."
Everyone stared at him, all equally confused. With Teddie, this wasn't unusual.
"Data?" Naoto repeated blankly. "But I didn't--"
"See, it's kinda embarrassing that I'm the only one who had personal details shown to the world, so..." He dipped his hand inside his collar, and pulled out a bundle of papers with a flourish. Papers that looked a lot like the forms the doctor had scribbled on when he hadn't been frowning at Kanji. "Tadaaa! Nowadays, information wants to be free!"
Souji's eyes widened. "Wait, are those--"
Teddie gave a wide, triumphant grin. "Therefore, I'll break the ice by announcing the results of everyone's physical exams!"
"What? No you won't! Give 'em to me, now!" Chie made a desperate grab for his waist, in what would've been an amazing tackle if he hadn't darted sideways behind a bewildered Naoto. Instead, she landed in a diagonal sprawl on the corridor floor.
Naoto swiveled round. "Wh-when did you take those? Those are confiden--"
"Ooh, first place in the 'shortest legs division' is..." Now hiding behind Rise, Teddie blinked at the paper and raised his eyebrows. "Huh, who woulda guessed?
Kanji could imagine only a few things in life ever being worth genuine panic, and leg length wasn't one of them. Yosuke, whose eyes were as wide as plates, apparently disagreed. "Wait, it…it's not me, is it?!"
And people said he had a complex.
...Okay, maybe he did - but at least it was about something important.
"Why would they examine that?" Souji asked, frowning. "Teddie, are you making this--"
"Stop talking and grab him!" Chie demanded, now back on her feet.
Yosuke ignored her, instead pointing at the papers in Teddie's hand. "Look, if you're gonna blab it all, you might as well tell us the girls' measurements!"
Dude.
Ma handled all the fitting sessions at the shop. She'd had Kanji help her with a few of the guys, to show him the ropes for when he took over - but never, ever the women. The closest he'd come was tailoring the occasional dress. Taking stuff in, letting it out, whatever. Hadn't even known the customers' names. And that was just fine, because bumping into at a girl in the street and knowing her exact measurements would be the most awkward thing ever.
Except if that girl was one of the three he saw every day. That would definitely be more awkward. It verged on horrifying.
He glanced sideways at Souji, who gave a helpless shrug.
"What?" Midway through another lunge for Teddie, Chie stopped short and pivoted toward Yosuke instead. "Are you a complete and utter moron!?"
Naoto coughed loudly. "N-none of this is approp--"
"It's human curiosity!" Palms raised, Yosuke stepped back and turned to Souji. "C'mon, partner, back me up here. Don't pretend you don't want to know!"
"I want nothing to do with this," Souji said quickly.
"I do," Teddie chimed in.
"Fine, be a coward! Kanji, you're a real man, right?"
Kanji's mouth bypassed his brain completely. "'Course I am!" he snapped - then, faced with Chie's murderous glare, hastily backtracked. "But I, I don't--I ain't interested in--"
Not for the first time, Rise came to his rescue. Completely accidentally, as usual, but Kanji wasn't about to argue. "I don't mind," she said, smile focused on Souji. "My profile's been public knowledge for ages." She paused, then made an offhand gesture towards her chest. "Oh, but my bust size is 2cm smaller than they print. My agency insisted."
For a moment, Yosuke just stared at her - then burst into a grin that somehow mixed pride with sheer panic. "See? Somebody's being reasonable!"
As Souji held a fuming Chie back by her wrists, Yukiko - who'd been staring blankly at Teddie for the past minute - jolted back into motion. "No! D-don't say mine!"
"Aw, I bet guys won't care what size you are, Yukiko-senpai!" Rise nodded knowingly. "And having modestly-sized breasts like yours would definitely make it easier to wear a kimono."
Yukiko looked like she wanted to answer, but only managed to turn pink and make choking sounds. Kanji was wondering whether he should grab her wrists too, when Rise snatched the papers from Teddie's hand and began flicking through them. "Oh yeah, Naoto-kun's is in here too!"
Wait.
Kanji's brain - which had been busy trying not to think about anyone's bust size, female or otherwise - instantly slammed to a halt.
Naoto froze. "Wh--"
"Umm, let's see... Naoto-kun's is..." Rise frowned at the paper for an eternity - blinked twice - then snapped her head up with a wide-eyed stare. "Wait, is this... is this for real? Isn't this measured wrong?"
Somewhere in the distance, Naoto made a strangled noise.
Measured wrong.
Measured too-big wrong? Maybe Rise thought Naoto was --no, no, she wouldn't, there was nothing there usually. Nobody would've ever thought Naoto was a guy if she'd been walking around with--
Stop thinking right now, Kanji ordered himself. He resolved to keep an eye on Naoto instead, who looked like she couldn't decide whether to kick Rise in the head or pass out.
…Naoto, whose measurements weren't too-big wrong. Which left too-small. Which meant the numbers were bigger than Rise'd expected. Which meant--
He quickly jerked back his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Staring at the ceiling and half-hoping it'd fall in, he didn't see exactly what Naoto did to Rise. He just heard the shriek.
When he felt safe lowering his head again, Naoto was standing two feet back from everyone else, breathing hard, with her hands clenched tight around the papers. The knuckles on both were white.
She took one step back, then another. "Th-the important thing is that according to the examination results, nothing's wrong with our health! So we won't be needing these anymore!" Three meters away, Kanji swore he could see her swallow hard. "I-I'm going to go shred them."
With that, the entire team watched her sprint down the corridor, papers still clasped tight in her hand.
Nobody spoke.
"Well, thank goodness everyone's healthy!" Yosuke finally said, smiling with all the conviction of a store mannequin and already edging towards the exit.
"You're right!" Chie had escaped Souji at some point and latched onto Yukiko instead. "Let's go home! C'mon, Yukiko."
As Chie dragged her toward the exit, Yukiko shot an icy glare at Rise. "Modestly-sized," she hissed.
Souji, meanwhile, grabbed hold of Teddie's collar, muttered something about a Very Important Talk, and pulled him down a side corridor.
Rise sighed quietly, then looked up at Kanji. "Girls are so weird sometimes," she said with a shrug. "Let's head out, Kanji-kun. I wanna catch up with Senpai once he's finished yelling at Teddie."
"I gotta… we, uh, oughta wait for Naoto, right?" Yeah. That was right. Shouldn't leave her behind. "I-I'm gonna go get her."
Rise rolled her eyes. "She'll have shredded them already, y'know."
"That ain't why I'm going!"
"Suuuure it isn't. Well, I'll see you later, Senpai's waiting!"
Kanji watched her skip off in the same direction as Souji had dragged Teddie, then turned back toward the examination rooms. He definitely couldn't leave Naoto behind.
Her Shadow had been nuts, same as everyone else's. Rationally, Kanji knew feeling bad for any of them was a waste of time. But when Naoto's had started crying about being alone, just stood there sobbing into its lab-coat, something had gotten scrunched up inside him - and weeks later, he still hadn't untangled it.
So Naoto wasn't exactly who he'd thought. She was a lot of things, some of which he just admired, others that he wanted to be - but not everything he'd made her into. Not unflappable, not perfect, not untouchable.
Maybe that was just fine.
As he jogged down the corridor after her, it occurred to Kanji that 'not a guy' hadn't made the list. Busy wondering what that meant, if anything, he didn't notice a door opening on his left - until he almost slammed into Naoto as she stormed through it. She yelped and whipped around, wide-eyed.
The papers weren't in her hand.
Caught between relief and disappointment - not that he actually wanted to know, no way - Kanji settled for blankness. "Uh," he managed.
"What?" Naoto shot back, cheeks still flushed.
"You, uh, shredded 'em, right?"
"Yes." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why?"
"Just askin'! Didn't want to see them!"
"Good. Because nobody ever will."
"Rise did," Kanji blurted.
Naoto opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again for good measure. Kanji couldn't make out exactly what she mumbled next, but the words 'arrest' and 'mandatory holding period' were definitely in there.
"But she'll never tell anyone," he lied. "Ever."
"The word 'discretion' is not in Rise-san's vocabulary," Naoto muttered darkly.
It was, however, in Kanji's. Impressed with himself - this was Naoto, she probably never met a big word she didn't like - he couldn't help grinning. Who needed dictionaries?
Then he noticed her glaring at him again.
"This isn't amusing in the slightest," she snapped. "A perfectly sensible idea, ruined by--" She stopped, tensed her jaw, then ran her hand over her mouth.
Panicked, Kanji scrambled for a change of subject. "So, uh, guess they know you're… you know. The doctors."
Naoto dropped her hand and gave him a suspicious look.
Shit, why'd he pick that topic? He swallowed, watching her face carefully. "...You dressing as a guy. Do, do the cops know?"
"I.... I haven't been back to the station. But without evidence, any rumors would be mere conjecture." Naoto was wearing the same guarded expression he'd seen on his first visit to her apartment. She chewed on her lip for a moment before continuing. "I would prefer they remain so."
"You don't need to worry." Kanji gave a confident nod. "The doctors can't tell anyone. They got the Hypocritic Oath."
"Hippocratic. But you're right." She lifted her head and met his gaze. "We should leave. I believe we've caused the staff here enough trouble."
He nodded. They walked side-by-side down the corridor, Kanji carefully shortening his strides to keep pace.
"I saw the numbers, Kanji-kun," Rise trilled. "Don't you want to know?"
"No," Kanji lied, wondering if it was becoming a habit.
After she'd finished bothering Souji, Rise had wandered back to join him and Naoto. The three of them had walked as far as the nearest bus-stop in near-silence, mostly because Rise - who usually kept the conversation going single-handed - had been busy stealing glances at Naoto's chest. Kanji, meanwhile, had been trying to do exactly the opposite. He almost felt thankful when Naoto split off from the group. Or would've, if Rise hadn't instantly found her voice again and decided to use it to torment him.
"Yeah you do. You're gonna be lying awake thinking about it all night," she insisted, tilting her head and gazing dreamily at the sky. "What does Naoto-kun, the charming not-quite-boy-detective, really look like under--"
Kanji slapped his hands over his ears. "Dammit, stop talking!"
He had his night planned. Go home. Start sewing. Didn't matter what. Smack his head against the wall if he even started to think about Naoto and what her mystery measurements might be. He had a tailor's eye, though, couldn't help that - and though she was slim he'd still noticed that her clothes seemed to curve in at some places and out at others. Like at her hips, which were--
With an act of supreme will, Kanji swallowed the urge to punch himself in the head.
"Aw, c'mon," whined Rise. "Aren't you curious?"
Maybe. Maybe not. It was still weird and awkward, but with Naoto going out of her way to hide herself, who would blame him for wondering? But two things kept Kanji from asking more: not wanting to upset her, and being pretty certain she'd try to choke him with her hat if she ever found out. "Shut up. Don't care. None of my business."
"Ooh, you're such a gentleman!" Rise giggled, and clapped her hands together. "Naoto-kun's gonna love that. I'll tell her all about chivalrous Kanji-kun and how he isn't interested at all in her girlish figure."
Kanji scowled. "Y'know, sometimes you scare the shit outta me."
"Hey, it's not my fault Teddie stole the papers. Though I think it cheered him up."
"Bear's a pervert."
Rise waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, like every guy in the room wasn't thinking the same. At least Teddie's honest!"
"I wasn't thinkin' that!" Total, complete, one-hundred-percent opposite. At least until Naoto started kicking up a fuss.
"Whatever. I'm just glad he's okay, as far as they can tell," Rise said, then winced. "Though he might not be if Chie-senpai or Naoto-kun get hold of him."
"They better not do anything real bad," Kanji said. "Can't get in and out the TV without him."
Rise nodded. "Plus he's the only one who knows anything about how the TV world works, even if it's not much. We need to learn more about that place if we're gonna find the real killer."
Kanji shrugged. "Asshole might be a Shadow too, for all we know." Was that possible? Could a Shadow even escape the TV?
"Maybe. I dunno, Kanji-kun, I'm trying to follow this stuff but some of it is way over my head." Rise tried to brush away the loose strands of hair blowing around her face, before giving up and pulling her coat around herself against the wind. Moments later, Kanji felt her elbow nudge against his. "So, you sure you don't wanna know?"
"Know wha-- dammit, I already said no!"
"Fine, fine." She sighed dramatically and followed it up by pouting at her feet. "I won't talk about it ever again."
Which was fine by him, Kanji thought, as they walked through the park in silence.
Felt kinda cold for October. The rain had eased off but the wind was still nipping at his cheeks, and even with her thick jacket, Rise was shivering slightly next to him. Naoto was probably cold too. Should've given her his coat. Wasn't like she could slap him that hard. Though she could probably have him arres--
"But you can't blame me for being curious," Rise protested, cutting across his thoughts. "Because whatever she uses, boy, she hides them well."
Kanji slapped his hands firmly back over his ears, and wished he had something to smack his head against.
October 8th, 2011
"So… I should just climb in?"
Souji nodded. "Easy, right?"
Naoto pressed a hand against the screen, jerking back when her fingers passed through. She turned and gestured around the store. "Here? With all these customers?"
Souji nodded again. "Exactly."
Originally, the plan had been to jump in, head back to Naoto's lab and have a few practice battles - but since Yukiko was busy at the inn and Chie's parents were forcing her to stay home and study, Souji had switched tracks. This afternoon they'd just go inside and let Naoto call her Persona. Rise would take a look, have Himiko scan it, and then they'd hop right back out again. No fighting.
Kanji was more relieved than he should've been.
"It's amazing you haven't been spotted," Naoto mused. She turned to Yosuke. "I assume you analyzed customer traffic before planning your excursions?"
"Er... not exactly." Yosuke managed a sheepish smile. "It's Inaba. Kinda hard to sell huge TVs here."
Frowning, Naoto opened her mouth to respond - then gasped as Souji put one arm and leg through the screen. He smiled at her as he waved the arm in and out of view. "See? Nothing bad happens."
Showoff, Kanji thought.
"I didn't think it would," Naoto protested, glancing around the shop floor again. "But, Senpai, there are customers present and--"
"Hey, Senpai, wait up!"
Whether it was something idols got taught or just a natural talent, Rise had an amazing knack for making her presence known to everyone in a fifty-meter radius. Over the top of the shelving racks, Kanji saw each customer turn to stare at her as she jogged toward the television section.
Souji blinked, glanced out over the store, looked back at his arm and leg - then jumped through the screen, just as Rise skidded to a halt beside them.
"Oops. Sorry," she whispered, with an apologetic wince. "But why was Senpai hanging halfway inside the TV?"
"To show off in front of Naoto-kun," Yosuke said cheerfully.
Rise frowned in Naoto's direction. Naoto, in turn, turned slightly pink. "Wh-why would he--"
Not bothering to wait for the rest, Rise shoved straight past Kanji - muttering a string of unrepeatable things about Senpai as she did - and leapt inside the television.
When he glanced up at Naoto, she'd gone back to frowning at the screen. She looked more uncomfortable than ever, and when Yosuke clapped his hand over her shoulder she jolted away.
"Don't sweat it, Naoto," he told her, with a quick wink at Kanji. "You've got a buddy here to help you out."
Before Kanji could splutter out a denial, Yosuke vanished through the screen - leaving only the two of them still standing in Junes.
Moments passed.
"So... you gonna jump in?" he finally asked Naoto, deliberately not looking at her. There was no response.
Whatever. Anyone could stick their arm through the screen and wave it around. Didn't take nothing special, and no way would it impress somebody like Naoto. Unfortunately, Kanji was at a loss for anything he could do that would.
Naoto's voice cut through the quiet background noise of the store. It sounded a lot less steady than usual. "What does your Persona look like?"
"Huh?"
"Your Persona. Appearance, abilities." Her gaze stayed fixed on the television screen. "I've questioned the others previously. What about yours?"
"Well... he's like a big skeleton and--" Wait. Naoto was supposed to be inside summoning her Persona, not hanging around in Junes chatting about his. Teddie had already been in there an hour waiting for them to show. "I'll tell you later, okay? We gotta go through, Senpai's gonna be pissed."
Naoto visibly braced. "Yes. I'm just--" She hesitated, toying with the brim of her cap then folding her arms. "Obviously, I need to--"
As Kanji waited patiently for the rest of the sentence, realization finally hit: Naoto was totally stalling.
Man, why hadn't he figured that out earlier? She was probably scared. Kanji hadn't wanted to make his first leap either. It was different for Souji and Yosuke, they'd never been thrown in - and though Rise had been fine with it from the start, Rise would also jump into the Samegawa if she saw Senpai go first.
So. Naoto was scared. Which meant Kanji had to fix it. Think, Tatsumi.
Maybe they could go through together. He could hold her hand. That'd work, right? 'Course it would. Besides, at her height she'd probably have to run from halfway across the shop floor to make the jump, which really would attract attention.
With a burst of courage, Kanji held out his hand. "You. Uh."
Naoto stared at it, then at him, then at the television. "Unnecessary," she said, firm and quick, then climbed hastily through the screen.
He blinked. "Wait, Naoto, you gotta jump--"
The warning came too late. Suddenly discovering there was sheer drop the other side instead of solid ground, Naoto yelped and pitched forward. Kanji made a panicked lunge for her legs, tripped, caught his knee on the edge of the screen - and tumbled through after her.
The fall wasn't that far. Two meters at most. Even so, the impact knocked the breath out his lungs - and it took him a few seconds to notice the small lumps thudding against his ribs. They didn't hurt, really, but they were still kinda annoying.
Kanji raised his head to complain, and several things happened at once.
The blows to his side were coming from Naoto - who was trapped under his left arm and leg and beating on him with her fists. The glare she gave him could peel paint. "Get off me!"
Across the room, Yosuke started laughing his ass off. Kanji resolved to punch him at a later date. For now, he just opened and closed his mouth, hoping his brain might force some words in there - then jerked up and back in a movement similar to one he'd make if he'd crash-landed on a dozen Shadows instead. Looking at Naoto's expression, he wished he had.
Fuming, she violently straightened her shirt. Her cheeks were flushed so red she could probably catch fire, which nicely matched the glare she was now directing at the opposite wall. Kanji half-expected it to melt. Her hat was laying near his elbow - must've fallen off in the landing - so he grabbed it from the floor and leaned nervously toward her, one hand holding it out as a tentative peace offering.
Naoto snatched it without looking.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I just--you were gonna--"
"Ooh, I did that too! When we were in Port Island, remember?" Rise bounced over with a beaming Teddie in tow. "We should make it a team thing! Bonding by falling on Naoto-kun."
Now looking like she wanted to glare at everything in the room at once, Naoto ignored Rise's outstretched hand and pulled herself to her feet. She stormed off toward Souji and Yosuke - both of who were trying not to laugh and failing miserably.
"Smooth, Kanji-kun," Rise said, with a smirk that Yosuke would've envied. It figured she wouldn't stay mad at Souji long.
Teddie gave an eager nod. "Oh, it's just like a movie! Simmering tension between the two leads, broken by the breathtakingly intimate contact of a possibly-accidental tumble!"
"P-possibly?" Kanji spluttered.
"Teddie," Rise said patiently, "that didn't work in the summer and it isn't gonna work now."
He pouted. "It would've if Yuki-chan had seen the movie too."
The exchange kept going - something about Teddie needing to stick to sparkles and how Rise-chan shouldn't pull mean faces at Sensei - but Kanji had lost interest in favor of watching Naoto. She was standing next to Souji, looking up at him and listening closely as he spoke. Probably explaining how to call up her card and summon her Persona. No sense in Kanji butting in. Evoking came more or less naturally, so he wouldn't have any new advice to add - and he couldn't imagine Naoto appreciating anything that wasn't useful.
Still, would've been nice to encourage her.
Souji turned toward them. "Ready, Rise?"
"Yep!" Rise clasped her hands together, as Himiko shimmered hazily into view behind her. She took point, leading the group down one of the tiled paths away from the lot and towards the replica shopping district. Naoto and Souji, Kanji noticed, were walking next to each other.
He shook his head. Better pay attention to his surroundings. He'd only been to the district once before and seeing Naoki's folks' place had really freaked him out. Kanji had quickly figured out that the rest of the buildings were just facades - the doors were jammed and there was nothing behind the windows but empty space - but he was still glad the street ended long before reaching the textiles shop.
They stopped outside the liquor store, with both Naoto and Rise standing a few steps away from the rest of the group.
Naoto held out her hand, flexing her fingers, then flipped it so the palm faced up. A blue card flickered into the air, and she studied it closely, the glow casting shadows across her face. Tentatively, she took it between her thumb and finger - then threw it upward, pulled a pistol from her side and shot it clean through.
...Pistol?
The card shattered. Kanji had only a split-second to wonder why Naoto hadn't already riddled him with bullets before her Persona flashed down in its place.
Blurred at first, the figure looked just like it had in the lab: blue and small. Really small. Smaller than its owner - which was impressive, in a weird sort of way.
"Good job!" Souji called.
"Why is it still--" Naoto stopped, gun still held at her side. Her gaze shifted from her Persona, to the group, then back to her Persona again. Its edges had sharpened, into what looked like--Kanji would have to make sure he never, ever said this to Naoto, but it looked like a bug. A bug who'd joined the military and been given a lightsaber. But hey, his was a skeleton; at least Naoto's had a nice uniform (the yellow tie really accented the blue).
"The, the size," she continued. "You all described yours as--" The sentence stayed unfinished as she stared her Persona up and down.
"Naoto-kun," Souji said carefully, "there's nothing wrong with--"
Yosuke shook his head. "Dude, it's smaller than she is."
"Uniform's neat," Kanji pointed out (even the buttons were sharp, and gold was supposed to look gaudy).
"It's so cute!" trilled Rise.
"Shut up," Naoto snapped, then stormed past the liquor store and down the street, a small blue figure obediently hovering after her.
As they watched her leave, Souji folded his arms and turned to Kanji. "You want to talk to her?"
"Me?"
"I can do it, if you like." He paused for a moment, then smiled. "But it'll do her good to get along with other people. Figure I spend enough time running around after everyone."
Kanji wasn't so certain. What if he screwed up? He couldn't even understand why Naoto was pissed over something so dumb. She was little, so was her Persona. It made sense.
Still, Senpai had asked him to do it. Time to man up, he decided, letting out a slow sigh.
Naoto was sitting cross-legged on the ground about ten meters down the street, peering intently at her Persona as it hovered in front of her. Kanji kind of wished his looked so smart. A metal skeleton was pretty badass - but man, that blue outfit was sharp.
At that, Take-Mikazuchi started clanging around in his head. Kanji guessed uniforms weren't the big guy's thing.
Swallowing to calm the churn in his stomach, he walked closer to Naoto. "You okay?"
"It's called Sukuna-Hikona. It told me," Naoto said. The Persona buzzed, and she shook her head. "Sorry, not it. Him."
Kanji crouched down beside her - or near her, at least. Near as he dared get. "Hey there," he mumbled. Sukuna-Hikona buzzed back.
Naoto leaned back on her hands, brow creased in thought. "Seta-senpai has informed me that most Personas are based upon mythological beings. I will research this one."
"You don't sound happy."
"He's..." She gestured vaguely towards the Persona, her frown turning glum. "His size. I thought... well, as I understand it, he's--not as large as the others."
Kanji's first thought was to follow that with so he's just like you, until he remembered today's new Naoto-related mini-fact: she carried a pistol and knew how to use it. Then he considered saying the little guy was cute, but that seemed just as risky. More importantly, his first thought already covered it.
Still with no answer and a blush now creeping over his cheeks, he turned his head away. Fortunately, Sukuna-Hikona helped him out by buzzing again - this time at Naoto. He darted back and forth, wings humming.
Kanji frowned. "He don't sound happy either."
"So he's informed me," Naoto said. "After a fashion. It's more as if he's--"
"Putting things in your head, right?"
She nodded.
"Y'know, Senpai's got a couple that sm--that look like that, too," Kanji told her. "It doesn't mean they can't do nothing."
"Anything. Not nothing," Naoto answered absently. "But what exactly does he do?" She turned toward Kanji. "He's mentioned light and dark. Are those useful?"
Kanji's eyes widened. "Uh... "
"It's like this," Yosuke said, kneeling down in the gap between them. Kanji hadn't even heard him approaching. "Light and dark kill almost anything outright..."
Naoto perked up. "Really?"
"... but you'll spend fifty years trying to hit something. Just ask Souji." Yosuke clapped her on the back, sparking another jolt. "Good luck, Naoto-kun!"
Sukuna-Hikona buzzed again. Naoto, who'd been glowering at Yosuke's back as he walked away, turned back to her Persona and glared at him instead.
"Maybe he can do something else too," Kanji offered.
"Disappearing would be a start. I can't seem to make him go away."
"Why don'cha ask him?"
"I just did," she muttered crossly. "He isn't cooperating."
"Well, just imagine it." Kanji tapped the side of his head. "Think of him going back inside."
Naoto leaned forward, brow furrowed slightly - and Sukuna Hikona vanished. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and she turned to face Kanji. "I'm not certain how that worked - but thank you, Kanji-kun."
"No worries." Couldn't help grinning, but Naoto didn't seem to mind. "And don't think about it too much."
She hummed thoughtfully. "Rationalizing this may be futile. At the very least, it would waste valuable time." She climbed to her feet, quick and agile, and brushed the dirt from her pants. "We should return to the group."
Now upright, Kanji glanced down at her as she adjusted her cap. He hadn't screwed up. Naoto might not be doing cartwheels, but she wasn't sitting on the ground sulking either.
Score one to Tatsumi, he thought with a grin.
As they walked away, Naoto turned toward him. "How often does your Persona speak?"
He shrugged. "Not often. And he don't use words much. More feelings and sounds. Yours?"
"He's certainly had a great deal to say so far," she said flatly. "Most of it unhelpful."
Kanji paused, peering at her carefully. "He's... you know he's you, right?"
"I find that difficult to believe," Naoto muttered.