A/N: Kudos again to Kharta for his awesome artwork of Naoto's escape from Adachi last chapter. See my profile for the link. If any other readers create P4 fanart based on my writing, let me know! I would love to see it, and add links if permitted (there are a couple of sketches I haven't linked to, since I'm uncertain whether the arists would be okay with it)
Story so far: After failing to do away with both Souji and Naoto, Adachi jumped into the television...immediately followed by Kanji...closely followed by Naoto.
In this part: Naoto holds her own, Kanji holds a grudge, and the kouhai hold a sleepover.
He hadn't meant to jump.
As he plunged through the vortex, a small part of Kanji's mind was horrified that he'd done it, that he'd been so frigging dumb - but the rest was blind with twisting, sickening rage. Adachi had murdered two people, Adachi was the reason Nanako-chan had nearly died, Adachi had tried to kill Naoto and Senpai. Adachi had to be stopped, no matter what it took to do it.
He had time for one dizzy glimpse of fog on the other side before he hit the ground hard, landing sideways, a sharp pain spearing through his chest. Head tilted, he could see he was lying on a chequerboard grid of red and black tiles. Everything else was murky grey – save for Adachi, sprinting ahead of him.
Kanji hauled himself to his feet, the stab of pain in his ribs now barely registering. "C'mere, asshole!"
Adachi glanced over his shoulder, looking genuinely nervous, but kept running. Angry as Kanji was, catching up was impossible. As the red and black tiles turned into barren brown dirt, Adachi was somehow putting more and more distance between them – until he finally stopped, a dim figure in the fog ahead, then turned around and dropped to his knees.
Bastard must've run out of steam. Would make it even easier to take him down. He was both shorter and slighter than Kanji and hadn't spent half a year kicking Shadow ass. Better go easy on him, or he might wind up—
Adachi lifted his head – pale skin, dark eyes, dried blood streaking from his nose – and for the briefest moment, Kanji saw his mouth twist into a smirk. It vanished the next instant as he slammed his palms against his head. His back arched and he was shouting something, but the words were swallowed in a sudden rush of air as a Persona burst into being above him. Kanji caught only a glimpse of it before a blast of wind slammed into him and tossed him through the air like a ball of scrunched-up paper. He slammed into the ground again, a tangle of limbs, and fell into a rough tumble over the dirt. And somehow, above it all, he kept thinking how familiar Adachi's Persona had looked – until his head smacked into something he couldn't see, too hard and too fast, and his thoughts were lost.
Kanji came round to three things: a catalogue of aches and pains, the sound of a Turret blasting shells too close by, and Sukuna-Hikona zooming over his head.
He tried to bolt upright, figure out what the hell was going on, but the pain in his ribs made it too difficult to even sit up. There was a sudden crunch of metal and a hiss of air to his right, presumably Sukuna-Hikona taking something out. Maybe the Turret. Nice of the little guy to help, even if he was kind of usele—
Wait. Sukuna-Hikona couldn't be here alone. Which meant...oh, shit.
Kanji sat up, teeth clenched against the pain. In front of him, Naoto fired even more holes in a drooping Gene Freak, followed by a Mudoon that swallowed the Shadow whole.
Why was she here? No way was Naoto as dumb and impulsive as him. Had Souji followed too? Kanji glanced around but saw nothing else, not even a single rogue Shadow. Naoto must've gotten them all – and now she was heading toward him, Sukuna-Hikona obediently hovering behind. The Persona looked – odd. He kept flickering, like a bad picture on a television set. If Naoto had noticed it, she didn't seem concerned. She was too busy elevating blankness to an art form, a fact Kanji might have dwelled on a little longer if he hadn't been trying to figure out whether he wanted her to be here. Part of him wanted to yell at her just for following. Another was dreading her yelling at him. Another still was just grateful she'd saved his damn life, and for once, it was this part that took the reins. "Yo, N-Naoto."
She knelt down beside him. "Are you injured?"
"M'fine. Bit of a headache." Understatement - he swore he could feel every scratch and bruise on his face, and pain was searing through his chest – but he'd live. Besides, if he told Naoto everything, she'd just worry. Or he liked to think she would.
Naoto hummed in thought. Behind her, Sukuna-Hikona faded into the air. "Tilt back your head," she told Kanji, edging toward him on her knees.
"Why?"
"You were unconscious when I arrived, so you may have a concussion. I need to see your eyes."
Why was she fussing? He didn't feel that bad. "But my eyes don't hurt. Just my head."
"A severe concussion may cause unusual eye movements or unequal pupils," Naoto said, in a monotone that made him wonder whether she'd actually done this in practice, or just read about it in some book. And then her face was above him, her eyes carefully studying his, and it might've been massively awkward if he wasn't now terrified of being permanently brain-damaged. Holy crap, he couldn't have been out more than a few minutes, could he?
Naoto pulled back and stood up. "Any nausea or confusion?" she asked, still watching him.
"Nah. Like I said, just a headache."
She looked down at him a moment longer – expression still far too blank – then held out her hand, in a gesture guaranteed to end up with Kanji pulling her on top of him and having to deal with blood loss on top of everything else. But he didn't want to hurt her feelings, unlikely as that was with Naoto, and so he grabbed her hand and pushed himself up, ribs throbbing with the motion. A couple of them had to be cracked, if not broken.
Once on his feet, he looked down at her. She was still wearing his coat, draped over her shoulders with the top button fastened. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Uh – you doin' okay? You were hurt."
"I am fine," she said, flatly – then started to turn away – then turned back to him and snapped, "Kanji-kun, what the hell were you thinking?"
Shit. He'd known this was coming sooner or later. Kanji debated telling her he'd already mentally kicked his own ass and saved her and Souji the bother, but instead he ducked his head and stared at the ground. "I know, alright? Just – lost my temper." Take-Mikazuchi should've cut in at that point, rumbled at him and generally conveyed what a complete idiot he was, yet the Persona stayed silent.
Naoto didn't. "And that somehow justifies this?" She started forward, hands clenched in vicious fists at her sides. "Throwing yourself into a television out of frustration? Are you completely stupid?"
She was furious, maybe even worried and scared, Kanji knew that, but if she wanted her words to sting – and he wasn't convinced she did – she couldn't have picked better. Hurt transformed itself into anger of his own, poured on top of the simmering rage that'd landed him in here to begin with. "Yeah, well, maybe I am! But if you're so damn smart, why'd you fricking jump in after me?"
Something flickered over Naoto's expression, too quickly for him to catch, but it seemed to take all her anger with it. Her fists had unfurled, her arms stiff and motionless. "I – knew you would be unable to fight Adachi alone," she said, looking away. "And I was the nearest to the television when you leapt in."
Even Kanji could see the flaws in that reasoning. He would have been happy to point them out, until he started wondering about her real reasons for following him – and what, if anything, the act itself had truly meant.
...No way. Wishful thinking. After a bullet wound, crawling through snow, and a generally shitty evening, Naoto could be forgiven a few bad decisions. His hand moved to the back of his neck. "Well, uh, thanks. For helpin'."
"You...you don't need to thank me. The situation is simply ridiculous." She shook her head. "And yet I was the reckless one for provoking the kidnapper."
"S'different, you planned that. This was –" Kanji stopped and grit his teeth. "I couldn't, alright?"
"Couldn't what?"
"Let that bastard run away." He swallowed in an effort to force down the rush of anger coursing up through his chest and throat. "You know Adachi used to hang out at the Dojimas' house? Senpai told me. Son-of-a-bitch ate at the same damn table as Nanako-chan."
Naoto grimaced. "He babysat her too. At Dojima-san's request."
That didn't surprise Kanji, not after what he'd seen tonight. It was just more fuel for the pyre. Adachi hadn't just stabbed a friend in the back, he'd hurt a kid, a kid he was supposed to protect. He'd been faking it the whole way through. "Y'see? He could've stepped in, stopped it all, hell, even helped us save her, but he didn't, because the only thing he gets off on is other people being hurt!" Then, before Kanji could stop himself, "And then you got in a fight with him!"
Naoto shot him a glare sharper than shattered glass. "That wasn't my fault."
"...Yeah. Sorry. I know." He'd gotten carried away. Didn't matter how utterly shit-scared he'd been when he'd heard that gunshot. He let out a long breath and tried not to wince at the piercing pain in his ribs. "But you really know how t'get yourself neck-deep in trouble, y'know?"
He'd expected a tart response, some Naoto-level equivalent to 'none of your business', but instead she looked away. "You are injured. Now isn't the time for discussion," she said, rapid and businesslike. "Do you have your glasses?"
She was hurt too; that was one of several reasons he'd gotten so furious. Was this just her way of letting him off the hook? Kanji didn't know what to think, and his burgeoning headache wasn't helping. "Think so...lemmee check." Too many rough falls in the past had meant a lot of impromptu repair jobs from Ted. Kanji recently had the sense to make a hard case for them – painting purple cats on it too, and to hell with Hanamura's snide comments – and when he pulled it from his back pocket and flipped it open, the glasses were intact. "Yeah, they're good. You got yours?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, they were in my coat."
Almost on reflex, Kanji held out his pair. "Take mine."
"That would accomplish nothing. In either case, one of us would be blind."
More like one of them would soon be out cold. It was just liked Ted had always said: humans didn't belong here. "Then we'll share," Kanji said. "When you start feeling bad, I'll give 'em to you, and vice versa."
"Put your glasses on, Kanji-kun." From her tone, he was convinced he'd be carrying her out of here unconscious - until she added, "You are correct. The optimal solution is to share them in order to stave off this world's ill effects."
He had a feeling she wouldn't speak up when she needed to swap – but based on what Kanji remembered, it'd be pretty obvious. "Alright. So...what do we do now?" The world seemed to be shifting around them, the fog gradually rolling back. To his right, the dirt ground now led onto cracked concrete, something that looked like a road. Was that where Adachi had gone?
"Souji-senpai will not leave us here," Naoto said, more adamant than Kanji had ever heard. "He may well enter through the same television - in which case, we should not venture far." She gestured toward him. "And, as I said, you are clearly injured."
If Kanji was being honest with himself, he knew she was right – breathing hurt, never mind walking - but waiting out in the open would be even more harmful. "Look, if we stay put, more Shadows might come after us. Maybe we can find somewhere to hole up." Best way to avoid a fight they might not win. Shit, he didn't even have his shield; right now, he would've settled for a folding chair, not that he'd be able to swing it. But at least Naoto had her gun - and Take-Mikazuchi and Sukuna-Hikona were both still there, no matter what else might be up with them.
"We may not find a suitable location," Naoto said. "This place...it's still forming. Look around."
The fog had rolled back even further. Next to the road, Kanji could see piles of debris: concrete, wood, metal girders. There were vague outlines in the distance that looked like ruined buildings – explaining where all the junk came from. But what was this place supposed to be?
"Possibly this is what happened when each victim first entered," Naoto said. "The world reshaping itself to fit the individual."
Which was true, but Kanji had figured it happened instantly. The bathhouse had been fully formed, from the wooden walls to the benches to the steam rising from the water. "I don't remember anythin' like that."
"You were most likely unconscious from the chloroform. I fell unconscious after being thrown in, and didn't wake up until I was inside my Shadow's base."
Kanji's attention was diverted. Something had caught his eye, a splash of red in the nearest heap of rubble. He peered closer, and a sick chill spiraled through his stomach.
"Whatever this place is, it must be derived from Adachi's consciousness," Naoto was saying, somewhere in the background, "and we simply arrived too soon for—"
"Naoto."
She frowned at the interruption. "What?"
Mouth dry, he pointed to the wreckage of the Moel gas station sign, half-buried under broken slabs of concrete. "We're in the shopping district."
As Naoto followed his hand, her eyes widened. "But - this world already has a replica of that place. Darker and emptier than the real thing, but nothing like this."
"Exactly. This one's worse. Look at it."
'It' consisted of buildings that looked ready to collapse, and the piles of debris left by those that had. From the ruined garage, he could see the hollow shell of the bookstore, half-demolished, and most of the other shops in this end of the district were already rubble. The fog had lifted a little more, revealing more buildings in the distance, jagged outlines against the red and black sky. It would've been disturbing enough if he hadn't recognized it, but he sheer familiarity was a punch in the gut.
…What if the textiles shop was-
"We could shelter in one of the buildings." Naoto looked at him. "It doesn't have to be—"
"Right," Kanji cut in. "We – we'll stay down the south end."
They walked slowly along the road, toward the ruined garage, Naoto keeping her gun armed the whole time and carefully glancing around them for signs of movement. The garage itself – or rather, the big pile of debris it'd turned into - wouldn't offer any cover. Nor would what was left of the bookshop.
Daidara's, however, might work. The front door was almost blocked by a fallen telegraph pole, and part of the roof was gone completely – but at least all four walls were still standing and it probably wouldn't collapse on them soon as they walked in. Kanji figured that, right now, 'probably' was the best they could hope for. He moved to enter, but Naoto darted in front of him and crept into the shop.
Inside, it looked as wrong as the rest of the district. It was far emptier than the real thing and seemed coated not just in dust, but in filth; the same feeling Kanji had every time he walked through the fog still blanketing the town. The weaponry on the walls dripped black slime, and the armour mannequins hung limp from the ceiling. On the counter, bright amid the grime, lay a single white chrysanthemum.
The back of the shop would've offered the most cover, but it was buried under splintered beams of wood from the collapsed roof. Naoto gestured for Kanji to sit down in the center of the shop floor instead. Since anywhere else put him near either black goo or creepy shop dummies, he obliged. He'd expected Naoto to sit down too, but instead she kept pacing, one wall to the other, gun still in hand.
"How's your arm?" he asked.
"Fine," she told him, evenly. "The wound was shallow and Uehara-san was able to dress it sufficiently."
His first thought was that she had to be bluffing, because who the hell was that calm about getting shot at? Then he remembered exactly what they spent their after-school hours doing. Jumping inside televisions and fighting monsters made everything else seem tame. It wasn't healthy. Kanji wondered what it would be like once all this was over, what scars the team would walk away with – assuming they walked away at all.
He shifted against the grubby wooden floor – crap, his trousers were gonna get filthy – then turned to Naoto again, and held out the glasses. "You should take these. S'your turn." And then, because she still looked like she'd refuse, he added, "They'll help you keep watch."
After a second's hesitation, she reached down and plucked them from his hand. "Very well. The Shadows here will be difficult to neutralize."
"You took out two of 'em earlier."
"Before this area of the world had chance to form. I theorize that the Shadows are weaker in that time, with no external force to focus them."
External force. Adachi. Figured any world he'd create would be supremely screwed up. Kanji had seen only pieces of it so far, and it was still worse than all the others put together.
He leaned back on his palms, still trying to find a position that didn't make his ribs feel like they were poking through his skin. The room lapsed into a tense silence; the type he should've wanted to continue, because it meant they weren't being attacked, but which itched along his spine all the same. He was on the verge of breaking it, trying to start a conversation with Naoto about this world, Adachi, whatever he could think of, when a voice came from outside the shop.
"Well, at least you two didn't wander far."
Before he could register who he'd heard, Kanji was up on one knee, his fists raised. Naoto went one step further, aiming her gun and pivoting toward the door in one smooth motion.
Souji started back in the doorway, hands raised. "Uh, not quite the reception I was expecting."
Kanji's and Naoto's responses were identical. "Senpai!"
He walked further inside the shop. Just like Kanji, he was unarmed and unprotected. "Are you both okay?"
In place of an answer, Kanji launched himself into what promised to be a messy and stumbling explanation. "Uh, Senpai, I—"
But before he could even get started, Souji held up a palm. "Kanji, I get it. You were pissed off, and I should've seen it coming." He turned to Naoto, with a frown that somehow mixed relief with exasperation. "But Naoto, what the hell made you jump in?"
For a single moment, Naoto looked very uncomfortable. It disappeared almost instantly, buried under careful detachment. "Your own rule, Senpai. Nobody enters the television alone."
"Accurate, but missing the point." He glanced between them both, eyebrows still angled in frustration. Finally, he slowly shook his head. "Look, we'll pick this up later. Right now I'm more interested in finding Adachi."
"Shouldn't we search for a means of escape?" Naoto asked.
"That too. But he –" Souji stopped, took a breath, tried again. "He didn't hurt Nanako-chan just now, but he tried. If the nurse hadn't walked in when she did, he - I need to stop him. I need to see him."
Kanji suspected that wasn't all Senpai wanted to do, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel the same way. Maybe Naoto did too, because she didn't veto the idea outright. "That plan entails a high level of risk," she said, and left it at that.
Souji quirked an eyebrow at her. "So did jumping in here."
She tipped up her chin. "And you jumped in after us, Senpai, with no clear plan on how to escape."
"…I guess I deserved that." He shrugged. "I was worried about you."
Kanji tried hard to ignore the sudden flush over Naoto's cheeks and focused on two facts: that Souji still hadn't asked for any explanation – something Kanji was endlessly thankful for – and that he deserved some gratitude. "Thanks for bailing us out, Senpai."
Souji waved him off. "Just doing what you did for me. Here, I'll heal you up," he said, holding up his palm and willing his card into his hand. When he crushed it, Kanji expected to see one of Senpai's newer Personas – the winged sword-wielding guy, maybe, or that chick with the red cape – but instead, Izanagi flashed into the air, naginata held ready.
Souji blinked up at him. "What? I didn't call—" He cut himself off and peered closer. Izanagi was flickering, just like Sukuna-Hikona; a signal half-swallowed by static. "What's wrong with him?"
"Sukuna-Hikona was the same," Naoto said, quietly.
"Is it Adachi? Because he's in control of this place?" Souji blurted – then stopped and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he tilted his head back and stared upward, taking in the shop's half-collapsed roof and the red and black sky beyond.
"Possibly. Alternatively, the fog may be the cause. Since it set in, my connection to Sukuna-Hikona has been – disrupted."
"Understatement, I know – but this is definitely bad." Souji kept his gaze on the sky, brow knitted with what looked like concentration. After several long moments of silence, just at the point when Kanji was considering speaking up, he lowered his head. "I can't hear any of the others, and Izanagi has no healing magic. I'm sorry."
Kanji rolled his shoulders. "S'fine. Nothin' I can't walk off."
Naoto glanced at him, catching his eye, and folded her arms. "Likewise."
Souji's expression suggested he didn't believe either of them, but he still nodded. "Fair enough. We should get moving. I asked Uehara-san left to fetch Rise and Teddie from the house as soon as you both jumped in. I'd intended to wait until they arrived, but…"
"But you lost your rag too?" Kanji filled in. Sometimes, it was nice to know Senpai was only human.
"Like I said, I was worried. The last I heard, all three of them were on route to the hospital. I told Rise and Teddie to follow us in here, so we need to head back to where we first landed." He turned to Naoto. "As a heads-up, Naoto, Rise's planning on yelling at you for a week."
"I jumped in first," Kanji pointed out.
"And that surprised Rise about as much as it did me." Souji sighed, and shook his head. "You're hot-headed, Kanji. I shouldn't have let you follow Adachi alone."
And there wasn't any real justification for Kanji doing so. There was, however, the intense need to prove Souji wrong. "I'm not a kid, Senpai. An' I didn't mean t'lose my temper, I just—"
The retort was lost as the shop's northern wall erupted into flame.
Black smoke billowed inside the room, embers falling from the wall and sizzling on the floor. Kanji instinctively ducked, arms over his head. Dizzy, with Souji's voice ringing in his ears, he glanced up at the counter. Two chrysanthemums now lay on the surface. Rational thought took over an instant later – shit, what was he doing, he needed to get out - but the smoke had set him into a fit of coughs, each one driving a stab of pain through his ribs. In the seconds it took to rise to his knees, the flames had engulfed the entire wall, rushing up over what was left of the roof. He tried to stand, stumbled, tried again – and Souji was suddenly at his side, hauling him to his feet. Together, they stumbled across the shop and out the door into the street, just in time to catch Sukuna-Hikona rocket into the air and toss a Hamaon rune.
Kanji didn't even see what Shadow was hit, only the column of golden light that swallowed it up then quickly faded into a few glowing specks. Whatever it was, it must've torched the shop. Good thing there only seemed to be one, he thought, until he saw the figure who'd been standing a few meters behind it.
"Wow, the Defective Priss is good for something after all!"
Beside him, Souji cursed under his breath.
Adachi sauntered toward them, slowly clapping his hands. "I gotta congratulate all three of you, really. I never thought you'd actually follow me. That takes a special sort of dumb."
Naoto kept her gun trained on him at every step. "Return with us, Adachi, and face your crimes!"
"Nah. I prefer it here." He spread his arms wide. "This place just…responds to me."
"Don't be stupid," Souji almost spat. "The Shadows will rip you apart."
Adachi tipped his head and grinned. "Really? Check this out."
He snapped his fingers and blinked out of existence – and in his place, a giant white mech flashed into empty space. It towered over them all and made Kanji think of the Junes toy department; meaning it looked far too much like the one the team had battled months ago in Naoto's laboratory. The mech was eerily still, but Souji was already stepping backward, trying to put space between them. "…I don't think we can beat this."
Kanji gulped, acutely aware of the pain in his chest. "Then you two run for it, yeah?"
Naoto was edging away from the mech too, though her gun stayed aimed at its head. "We aren't leaving you," she insisted, just as the mech lurched into life. Its arms rose first, bringing its sword to bear.
Dammit, Souji and Naoto needed to leave now. Kanji had been stupid enough to jump in here; he'd have to pay the price. His jaw felt tight, like the muscles had turned to glass. "But we ain't got Rise! How're we gonna know how to fight it?"
Souji had stopped backing off. He drew a deep breath. "…We try everything we have. We just need to hold out until Rise and Teddie get here." He nodded toward Kanji. "You're in no shape to fight. Hang back."
"But—"
Senpai fixed him with a glare. "Hang back, Kanji. Listen out for Rise and guide her here."
The mech clunked toward them, joints creaking. It'd barely made it one step before Souji evoked. Izanagi materialized above, lifted his free arm, fired a bolt of white lightning toward the Shadow. The bolt's aim was true, and it zapped the mech square in the chest – then reflected straight into Izanagi. Persona and owner both stumbled back with a cry of pain, Souji twitching as energy arced over Izanagi's form.
Holy shit. The mech repelled electricity?
The one thing Kanji could've done was tell Take-Mikazuchi to start tossing out lightning bolts. Now, that'd be useless. And so was Souji's only Persona.
Ahead, Sukuna-Hikona darted high into the air with his hands glowing white. Kanji instinctively shielded his eyes – and an instant later, a Megidola crashed down.
It wouldn't be enough. If Naoto's theory was right, the Shadows here were only growing stronger as the world became fully formed. True enough, when the light faded, the mech was still moving toward them, somehow even faster now. Izanagi flashed into life again, this time lunging forward and slashing his naginata across the Shadow's torso. The ring of metal on metal echoed through the air – but the mech didn't flinch.
"Dammit," Souji snapped. "Nothing Izanagi has can even scratch it!"
Kanji glanced at him. "You got a plan, right?" Senpai always had a plan.
Souji glanced at the nearest pile of debris. "One I just made up," he said, then ran over and tugged a long metal bar out from the wreckage. How the hell would that help any more than Izanagi's naginata? Kanji would've asked what the hell Senpai was thinking, but Sukuna-Hikona dive-bombed into a second Megidola, the roar of energy drowning out all sound.
This time, the mech staggered back, its movements jerkier – but shit, Naoto couldn't keep throwing those out much longer. Both she and Sukuna-Hikona had noticeably slowed down, and the Persona kept rippling with static.
Kanji-kun, hold on! I can hear all of you, Teddie and I are on our way!
They'd actually made it here. Kanji tried as hard as he could to convey their location, build a mental picture, but Rise didn't answer.
In the gap following the last Megidola, Souji darted forward. The mech's sword crashed down, missing him by centimeters, and Kanji finally realized what he was trying to do as he speared the metal bar through the Shadow's knee joint. The mech stumbled, unable to bend one leg. It could still drag the limb behind it, but the damage had slowed it down and bought them some time. It took a second, clumsy swing with its sword, but Souji had already bolted out of reach.
Maybe they could do this. Beat this thing down, prove that bastard Adachi wrong. The feeling only intensified when Kanji heard two voices cry out behind him: "Sensei!", first, immediately followed by "Senpai!"
Souji glanced over his shoulder. "Rise?"
Kanji didn't dare take his eyes off the Shadows, but he still snapped. "Get over here an' help!"
"That's rude, Kanji-chan." Teddie waddled up beside him, fully suited up. "You keep ending up in here, even though you know it's—"
"Not now, Ted!" Souji yelled. "Find us a way out!"
A third Megidola hit in a blast of light, but this one was off-centre, too far to the mech's left to deal much damage. Sukuna-Hikona dipped toward the ground, wings drooping, and Naoto fell to her knees as the Shadow lunged forward.
Later, Kanji would be grateful that the mech hadn't used its sword. Right now, as it swung its free arm toward Naoto, his only response was to rush forward. He made it one step before he doubled over, the pain lancing through his chest too much to stand – and the mech grabbed Naoto in its fist and hauled her into the air.
"Naoto!" someone cried – Souji? Kanji couldn't tell – and Sukuna-Hikona frantically swooped up toward the Shadow's head. Whatever the Persona planned on doing, he didn't make it. The mech hurled Naoto at him like a rag doll. Both slammed into the ground in front of Kanji, in what seemed like slow motion: Sukuna-Hikona barely cushioning his owner's fall before vanishing into nothingness, Naoto almost bouncing before hitting the ground a second time.
Screw the mech. Kanji stumbled forward, teeth grit against the pain, and dropped clumsily to her side. "Shit, Naoto!"
After what felt like minutes of motionless silence, Naoto slowly rolled over onto her back and lifted herself up on her elbows. She turned her head away and spat out a mouthful of dust and blood. "I – I'm fine," she managed. "We – S-Sukuna-Hikona has to –" She clutched her side, the rest dissolving into a hiss.
Sukuna-Hikona had punched well above his weight, but the little guy had nothing left. "He's tapped out," Kanji said, eyeing Naoto carefully. "You sure you're okay?"
"Please – refrain from babying me, K-Kanji-kun."
Souji was at their side a second later. He dragged Kanji up first, though his attention was on the mech. "Any time you like on that portal, Ted!"
"I can't do it, Sensei!" Teddie cried. "Adachi has too much power over this place!"
"Then try harder!"
"I-I can make a portal to somewhere else. I'm not bear-y sure where, but—"
"Do it!" With Kanji on his feet, Souji slipped his arm around Naoto and yanked her up too, ignoring her yelp of pain; something Kanji couldn't quite do. He opened his mouth, intending to ask yet again if she was okay and knowing he'd get an even more pissed-off answer - and behind him, the air ripped open.
Ted was standing by a red and black portal, identical to the sky. Where it led, Kanji had no idea. "Got it, Sensei! Come on, everyone, let's go!"
They made it to the portal in a hurried stumble – Rise racing forward and grabbing Naoto, and Souji swapping to drag Kanji instead. It wasn't until they'd already plunged through that Kanji remembered they had no idea where the hell they'd end up. Who was to say they wouldn't go somewhere worse?
When they reached the other side and his vision finally cleared, he was partly proven right.
At first glance, it looked like a crummy apartment: dim light, crappy furniture, dust and grime everywhere. The problem was the walls. Blood was splashed across them, dripping down over dozens of faceless posters. They showed someone in a kimono, with all their features cut out. On the far side of the room was a set of glass doors, open wide and letting grey fog filter into the eerily quiet room.
"Not this place again," Souji hissed. "This is where Mayumi Yamano met her Shadow."
Rise glanced around, eyes wide. "It feels wrong. Everything about it. Having to scan here makes me—" She stopped, biting her lip. "S-Sorry. Himiko's just causing trouble," she said, looking at Souji - and her eyes widened. "Senpai, what happened to your Personas?"
Still leaning against him, Kanji could feel Souji's shoulders tense. "Good question. I can only call Izanagi, and he's not quite there when I do, just like Sukuna-Hikona."
"He charged up first," Naoto said, faintly. "The Megidolas – should have been more powerful."
By this point, Rise was practically holding Naoto up. "C'mon, Naoto-kun," she said, leading her toward the couch. "Let's get you sat down."
"I-I'm fine. Just...tired."
"I would be too," Souji said. "You really carried us there, Naoto."
"Thank you, Senpai." She took off Kanji's glasses and held them out. "Pass these to Kanji-kun...please."
Souji stepped away, took the glasses, and handed them back to Kanji. Though he wasn't really cool with taking them, Naoto's timing was right. The dizziness had been building ever since he'd spilled out of Daidara's shop.
Ted sniffed the air, eyebrows angled in concentration. "I think I can make a portal out now. Adachi doesn't have much power here."
"Then get us back to the lot. We heal up and tool up."
"And then we come back an' wallop that bastard so hard," Kanji added, "he'll be picking his teeth up next Thursday."
Souji gave an ironic, lopsided sort of half-smile. "How'd you guess?"
"Now, now. Violence is never the answer, Seta. You're supposed to be the diplomat!"
Naoto turned toward the window, one arm still slung over Rise's shoulders. "Adachi."
"Hey, Shirogane. Still kicking?" Hands shoved in his pockets, Adachi nodded toward Kanji. "I expected that dumbass to be stupid enough to jump in here, but you? Some genius you turned out to be."
"As – I said," she managed, breathing hard, wincing each time, "you must come back - and face your crimes."
"We know you're the real killer," Souji said, smooth and far too level. "You threw Yamano and Saki Konishi into the TV."
"Plus Kubo, and you." Adachi wagged a finger. "Don't forget that. Man, I really caught you off-guard!" He shuddered with giggling laughter, high-pitched and maniacal. Several seconds passed before he'd recovered enough to speak. "But see, Yamano was an accident. I'd just called her to the inn's lobby to talk a few things over, and she got all hysterical. What else was I supposed to do?"
"How 'bout not murdering her?" Kanji growled.
"It wasn't murder, moron. I didn't know it was dangerous inside the TV. I only wanted to punish the stupid bitch for playing around with Namatame." The sentence had started with a sneer but ended on a disgusted snarl. "Just another gold-digger hitting on a guy who'll rise to office. That high-schooler was exactly the same, whatever her name was."
"Konishi," said Souji, quietly. "She was Saki Konishi."
"Whatever. Y'know, I was the one who encouraged Namatame to get started, first time he called the station. And the game of cat-and-mouse just went on and on...him throwing people in, you guys pulling them back out. It was awesome. Gotta admit, I didn't expect you to figure me out." Adachi grinned, and the edges were too sharp. "But I like it. Games need surprises."
"Why did you do it?"
He paused, head tipped, as if genuinely considering the question – then shrugged. "Because I could. And it was fun."
Rise stared at him, aghast. "Fun?"
"Don't worry, Rise-chan," Naoto said. "He - will pay for his crimes."
"How would you prove it? 'He put people inside TVs'? C'mon, Shirogane. I know you think the cops in this town don't have two brain cells to rub together, but even they won't buy that." He leaned against the glass doors, almost casually, but his gaze was lasered on Naoto. "Nobody gave a damn what you said before. You know the department spent two whole months trying to get rid of you? Dojima included, for all the good it did. And when you finally snapped over Kubo—"
"This isn't relevant," Naoto cut in, through clenched teeth
Adachi's eyebrows arched in mock surprise. "Oh, these guys weren't there for that, were they? Some stuck-up little bitch throwing a tantrum in front of the head of department." His mouth twisted upward: half-sneer and half-grin. "You gotta love the irony, though! All that crap about how nobody wanted to know the truth, and you were lying the whole time." The sneer flashed away, replaced with a lazy shrug. "You're a freak, Shirogane."
And it'd been so matter-of-fact, so much an echo of all the times Kanji had heard the same applied to him, staying silent was impossible. "Shut it, asshole!" he snapped. "I only see one freak here and it ain't Naoto. You're a sick bastard!"
"And I couldn't care less what a big dumb ape thinks of me. You don't matter." Adachi raised an arm in a distracted sweep around the dimly lit room. "None of this does. Soon enough, the world out there will become just like this one."
Teddie's voice had turned panicked. "Wh-What do you mean?"
"The fog's leaking out. The two worlds are merging. There'll be no difference, no "sides" anymore."
"We'll stop you.' Souji said, with a calm confidence Kanji wished he shared. "Doesn't matter what lies you spout."
This only set Adachi cackling again, louder than ever yet without a shred of amusement. "Seta, I know your kind. Everyone's best friend!" There was bite in his voice now, a startling viciousness as his gaze snapped over each of the group. "Except these idiots are just puppets. You use them for what you need, then you spit them back out."
"...That's not true."
"Yeah? How much time do you spend with them once you've got what you want?" Souji opened his mouth to answer, but Adachi kept going. "None. You take, take, take until there's nothing left worth having. You're a parasite - and you're so damn friendly, nobody ever figures out what you are underneath." He tried to grin, same as before, but this time it looked brittle and sour. "See, you, me and Shirogane, we all have something in common. I'm not the only one who pretended to be something I'm not."
Rise pitched forward, pulling Naoto with her. "Don't you dare talk about Senpai like that!"
"It's fine, Rise." Souji's voice was low, detached. "I know who I am."
"Whatever. Like I care about some bimbo bitch's opinion. I would've been fine with letting you wander round till the Shadows got you, same as the ape and that bear," Adachi sneered, then glanced at Naoto and Souji in turn. "But you two – well. Third time's the charm, right?"
Naoto shook her head. "W-We escaped the Shadow you called."
"You won't escape all of them." A smirk crept over his face, lazy and indulgent. "And who's to say I won't take you out right now?"
"He can't." Rise's brow furrowed. "This isn't his real body…the real Adachi is somewhere else."
"Wow, you can tell that much? I'm impressed!" Adachi clapped his hands together just as slow as before; a mockery of applause that stopped dead within seconds. "But you haven't figured out the bigger picture, have you?"
"What do you mean?" Souji asked.
"By the end of the year, Inaba will disappear completely into the fog. Soon, this place will be reality." Adachi sounded calm now – resigned, even – and somehow that was more unsettling than any amount of hysterical laughter. "I'm staying in this world, so if you want me, come and get me."
"Keep your bullshit to yourself, asshole!" Kanji had launched himself forward on adrenaline alone, right fist raised, wanting nothing more than to pound Adachi's head into the nearest wall – but the punch sailed clear through, the momentum almost knocking him off his feet. He barely managed to steady himself against the glass, and his chest seared with pain.
Adachi had vanished, but his voice echoed through the room. "What an idiot. Didn't your little bitch friend just tell you I was somewhere else? Find me, and we'll put an end to all this." No sooner had he finished than the back wall of the room cracked open. Wood and plaster splintered and crumbled as a wide gap opened up, filled with jagged stripes of red and black.
"He's taunting us." Rise had turned pale. "I can hear him. He's daring us to follow him."
Kanji somehow managed to push himself upright, away from the doors, and he staggered back across the room. "Then let's give him what he wants and kick his ass!"
He'd known it was stupid as he'd said it – he'd been dead weight in the last fight and would be again – but he couldn't stand it, the thought that this asshole was hiding in there, laughing his head off at them, while nobody in the outside world really understood exactly what he'd done. It wasn't right, none of it was, and why the hell hadn't Kanji managed to take down the bastard when they'd first landed in here?
A hand landed on his arm. "Wait," Naoto told him. She must've split off from Rise, but her breath still came heavy and ragged. "I suggest - we prepare ourselves first. W-We need to face him at full strength."
Looking down at her, Kanji couldn't find it in him to disagree. Souji sealed the deal. "Naoto's right," he said. "Ted, heal them both up."
Kintoki-Douji rolled into the air and a cool wave washed over Kanji. The pain in his ribs eased, but didn't go away. Same as in Heaven, the healing wasn't working how it should, and now it seemed like the rest of their magic was affected too. Beside him, Naoto lifted his coat from her arm to inspect the graze near her shoulder. Through her ripped shirt, he could see that the skin had knitted together a little, as if the wound were a week old, but the gouge left by the bullet remained.
Teddie frowned up at his flickering Persona. "…He's weak right now. Just like Sensei's and Nao-chan's."
Souji rubbed a hand over Ted's head. "Don't worry. Just get us out of here and we'll figure out what to do."
Ted obliged. He frowned at a spot on the floor, biting his lip – and a stack of TVs popped into existence, tall enough to reach the apartment's ceiling.
"I still don't get how you do that," Rise complained.
"Bears have their secrets, Rise-chan. Pile in, all of you!"
They leapt in one by one - or in Kanji's case, fell in. Climbing in had been slow and painful until Teddie helpfully shoved him headfirst through the screen. The vortex whirled around him, static in his ears, and he spilled back out into the hospital, hitting the floor with a thud. Naoto and Rise were sprawled nearby and above him, Dojima and Uehara were staring down at all three of them: mouths agape, eyes wide.
"Dojima-san—" Naoto began, as Souji burst through the screen and landed gracefully beside Kanji. Unfortunately, Teddie didn't. He somehow tumbled out upside down instead, knocking Senpai over, rolling the two of them across the floor, and coming to a halt at Dojima's and Uehara's feet.
Flat on his back and half-buried under Teddie, Souji stared up at them. "Uncle. Uehara-san."
There was a very awkward pause before Dojima answered. "You," he said, carefully, "have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."
"I can't believe we missed everything!" Chie moaned, and glared at Yosuke. "Last time I wait for you."
Yosuke raised his palms. "Hey, you try biking here in the snow!"
"Whatever," she said, now lasering in on Teddie instead. "And Ted, I should be yelling at you for making us worry!" Her glare softened. "But I'm just glad you're back."
Ted was still in his suit, though he'd at least popped the head off to rest his elbows on the edge. "Teddie had to return! Yuki-chan promised to score with me and she still hasn't done it."
"You'll be waiting a while," Yukiko muttered – at which Teddie let out a pained sigh and pulled the head back on his suit. "So is Adachi like Namatame? His own Shadow?"
Kanji would've gladly let Souji explain everything that'd happened inside the TV. Unfortunately, Senpai had been trying to talk his way out of trouble with his uncle for the last fifteen minutes and didn't show any signs of escaping. "Thass right, 'cept the bastard has a Persona."
Yosuke's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, back up. He's got one too?"
"'Fraid so."
"Holy crap." Yosuke let out a surprised whistle, eyebrows raised, then turned to Naoto. "I take it all back, Naoto-kun."
Naoto was perched next to Rise on one of the empty hospital beds. Her forehead creased in a frown. "Take what back?"
"I thought that asshole only smacked you down because you're…you know." Yosuke held his hand out horizontally, about a meter off the ground. "But now I'm impressed you got in two good hits!"
"I have helped apprehend suspects before, Yosuke-senpai," she shot back, a little huffily, "and they rarely come willingly."
He grinned back at her and winked. "Nah, seriously, I'm totally impressed. Plus a little envious you got to take him on."
"You'll get your chance, Hanamura," Chie said. She glanced at her watch, then at Souji and Dojima – and winced. "But it's getting late…and I think Souji might be tied up for a while. A really long while. Maybe we should meet up and talk over all this tomorrow."
She said it lightly, but something heavy hung in the air: the thing nobody really wanted to talk about tomorrow at all, because, in the end, this was gonna be it. They had to take down Adachi. And it wouldn't be easy.
"Yeah. Good plan. Looks like all the exciting stuff's over anyway." Yosuke rapped his knuckles on the top of Teddie's suit. "C'mon, Ted, get out of there. Come with me to the lobby and we'll wait for Souji."
"We'll head out now," Yukiko said, as she and Chie linked arms. "Kanji-kun, are you walking back with Rise-chan?"
"Yeah," he answered – then, in a monumental feat of courage, added, "And Naoto."
Naoto's response was instant and predictable. "I do not need to be walked home."
"Tough shit," muttered Kanji.
"You've had a tough night, Naoto-kun," Rise said, a little more helpfully.
"And I certainly do not require babysitting."
Though she'd made a good stab at keeping it, Rise's patience had already run out. She threw up her hands with a small noise of exasperation. "Look, Kanji-kun doesn't want you to go alone and I don't wanna go without Kanji-kun, so we all have to hit your place first, okay?"
Kanji winced.
Fine, so it was all true, but Rise made it sound so lame. Naoto didn't need to hear it, he didn't want her to hear it, and yet he heard himself saying, "Y-Yeah. Rise's right."
Naoto stared at him for what felt like long, silent hours.
"That makes no sense whatsoever," she said at last, already turning away and not sounding the slightest bit convincing. "Very well. We'll depart now."
Uehara being too busy helping Dojima bitch Souji out, they had to make their way to Naoto's place on foot. The snow had been light when they'd left the hospital, but by the time they turned into the same road as Naoto's apartment block, it was tumbling through the fog in fat flakes, forming drifts against the sides of buildings. Kanji liked snow usually, especially when it got him out of school, but this felt dirty. It looked white as usual when fresh, but who was to say what the fog did to it on the way down?
At the base of the steps outside the apartment block, Naoto turned to face them. She looked at Rise and Kanji in turn - skimming very quickly over the latter - then sighed. "I can't, in good conscience, send you away in this weather. You…should stay the night."
Rise clasped her gloved hands together. "Ooh, a sleepover!"
It'd been the first time she'd smiled since they'd left the hospital, and maybe that was why Naoto more or less let the comment slide. "This is purely for practical purposes, Rise-chan," she said quietly, as she led them up the steps and into the building. They rode the elevator in silence – Rise seeming to relax as soon as they were indoors, out of the fog – and walked down the corridor to Naoto's apartment.
Inside, it looked much the same as Kanji remembered it: unused, maybe a little sterile. He glanced at the closet on the other side of the living room. The papers were still wedged under the door.
You're not perfect, he thought, watching Naoto shrugging off his snow-dusted coat. It was far more reassuring than he'd expected.
She caught his eye, looked away, then looked back. "Thank you for the loan of your coat. I hope you weren't too cold."
"S'fine," Kanji said, and didn't mention that he'd been near-freezing since two steps out the hospital lobby.
Though she'd just hung her own coat on a hook by the front door, Rise was still wearing at least three layers. "So where do we sleep?"
"Kanji-kun will stay out here on the sofa," Naoto said, "and you and I will be in the bedroom."
Rise's lips curved into a smirk. "A bedroom that only has one bed. I like the sound of this. Snuggling up with the Detective Prince!"
The blush on Naoto's cheeks would've put tomatoes to shame. "Y-You will take the bed," she stammered. "I will take the floor."
The smirk turned into a pout. "Spoilsport. Can I have a hot bath first?"
"This apartment has a shower. Would that suffice?" Rise nodded back - and Naoto frowned at her forearm. "Teddie mentioned that you were injured earlier. Will you be alright with-"
"I'll keep the dressing dry." Lightning quick, Rise wrapped her good arm round Naoto's waist and winked at her. "Unless you're offering to go in there with me and help?"
"N-No. I, um, need to – ah—"
With a quiet giggle, Rise turned the motion into a light hug. "Kidding, Naoto-kun. Be right back." She walked to the bathroom, and closed the door behind her, leaving Kanji and Naoto in a slightly awkward silence. The faint sound of running water soon came from inside.
Eventually, Naoto looked back at where he still stood by the front door. "You can sit down," she said, and nodded toward the sofa.
Kanji settled carefully down in the center, trying not to aggravate his sore ribs. They hadn't hurt too bad on the way here, but the cold had left him too numb to feel much of anything. Rise wasn't the only one who'd appreciate a hot bath.
He glanced at the bathroom door. "Looks like she's doin' better now she's indoors."
"I suspect Rise is a far better actress than her television dramas would suggest," Naoto said – then, seeing Kanji's wide-eyed reaction, quickly added, "Research. I – needed to learn as much as possible about your group."
"Did y'listen to her music?"
Naoto folded her arms and sat down beside him. "…I tried." This time, she looked toward the bathroom. "She had a difficult night."
"So did you."
At that, Naoto gave him a look: one that Kanji couldn't interpret exactly, because it seemed to contain too many things at once. He stared at the floor instead - which, while infinitely less interesting than Naoto, at least didn't make his stomach twist itself into a pretzel.
Silence settled again. Somehow, this one was less awkward, but he was still acutely aware of the presence next to him – that Naoto had chosen to sit there – and he looked up to catch her watching him. "Wh-What?"
She quickly looked away, suddenly captivated by the opposite wall. "This sofa will not be comfortable for you."
He shrugged, and the throbbing in his chest made him instantly regret it. "Floor don't sound much better. Got anything you can sleep on down there?"
"Blankets. I have no other spare bedding. I - assumed I would never need it."
Figured. Naoto didn't seem the sleepover type. If, as Kanji suspected, she was as bad at making friends as he was, she'd probably never needed to be. He watched her at the corner of his vision – her shoulders angled with exhaustion, her hands gripping her knees. She'd left her hat to dry in the kitchen, and her hair was a little damp too, strands of it clinging to her neck and ears.
…She had really cute ears. The thought had come absently, and when Kanji registered it, furious heat rushed to his face and he stared at the wall hard enough to burn holes in it. He did his best to distract himself, thinking about Shadow fights, sewing patterns, anything but Naoto. But the one thought his mind kept pinging back to was the question he'd been asking ever since he jumped in the television – or rather, since he realized she'd jumped in after him.
"What you did t'night," he said, not looking at her. "I-I don't get why you did it."
"What?"
"Followin' me." He shook his head. "It was dumb as hell, and that ain't you."
He looked toward Naoto at the end of the sentence. She was still staring away from him, cheeks flushed with – anger, maybe? She definitely looked pissed off. "I have already explained myself, and I see my actions are rewarded with ingratitude."
"That ain't the point!" She took everything the wrong way, never saw what he was getting at or why. He could kind of understand it, knowing how she'd spent so much time alone, that she'd always tried to handle everything herself; that he'd spent years doing the same damn thing. Didn't mean it didn't piss him off. "You coulda been hurt bad," he muttered.
In profile, her mouth tightened. "I regret that you consider me to be so incompetent that I cannot-"
"Never said that." She'd saved his life, of course she wasn't fricking incompetent.
She rounded on him, eyes blazing. "Then why were you so determined to harm Adachi?"
"'Cause of what he did to Nanako-chan! And 'cause I don't let anybody beat up on my friends. I'd wanna do the same if he'd laid into Souji-senpai, or Ted, or anyone I care 'bout."
It was a half-truth at best. Sure, Kanji would be royally pissed at anyone who went after Souji-senpai or the others, but Naoto was different. It wasn't about coddling her, playing the white knight. It was about someone he liked not getting hurt. Someone he more than liked, who he wanted to keep safe and nearby, even though she bitched him out for doing it and even if she never really understood why he did.
Like now, for example. "I am well aware that my size and physical sex both incite certain primitive-" It'd come out in a rush, but Naoto stopped short, jaw clenched, and shook her head. "I do not need protecting, Kanji-kun."
"I know, alright, but that don't stop-" Kanji barely caught himself before 'me from wanting to do it'. "—P-People from worrying."
Naoto gripped her knees more tightly, but held his gaze. "People should save their energy." She raised an eyebrow. "And not jump into televisions when attempting to apprehend criminals."
Nervous as he was, he couldn't help a grin. "I'm new to this, cut me some slack."
Her lips quirked in a half-smile, almost too quick to catch before she looked away. Once again, the conversation petered out.
In the bathroom, the water was still running. It was dark outside and the blinds had already been drawn when they'd walked in, but Kanji swore he could still feel the dank fog pressing against the windows, so thick he half-expected it to block the falling snow. He imagined deep drifts resting on top, high enough where the fog actually stopped – because it had to somewhere, right? Like if they all just left Inaba, it'd be gone and they wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. They wouldn't have to jump back in tomorrow or the day after and face a guy who killed two people, who'd tricked all of them, who seemed to control the Shadows.
But if they didn't do it, who would? Adachi had said the two worlds would merge by the end of the year. The fog would get thicker and thicker until Shadows finally spilled through the televisions, into houses and shops, tearing the town apart – and they were the only people who could stop it. Kanji just wasn't sure they'd succeed. He hated Adachi, so bitter and visceral that it seemed to swallow his whole body, but he wasn't stupid. This'd be the hardest fight they'd ever faced. Who was to say they'd all make it out?
"Naoto -" he started, forcing himself not to look away when she turned her head. He hesitated, trying to put his thoughts together. "When I heard the gunshot on the phone, when Senpai and me found out you'd left with that bastard, when that mech tossed you flying, all those times - I - " Felt shit-scared for you, wanted to help you, wished I could've kept it from happening at all. "I-I just wanted you to be alright."
Naoto's face didn't betray any emotion. Her eyes – wide, gunmetal blue-grey - did. "…And I was."
"Stay that way," he said, trying to sound gentle but firm; just like Souji would. He wasn't sure if he'd succeeded, but at least Naoto didn't seem offended. She stared down at her hands, still clasped over her knees.
"I am concerned for Rise-chan. And Souji-senpai." Her grip tightened. "And you. So, I can - understand why you would-"
"Good. 'Cause I do."
Naoto shifted beside him. "We will capture Adachi," she said, softly, "and I will endeavor to stay safe."
Adachi really had it in for her. At first, Kanji had thought the fight at the station had been solely because she'd figured the bastard out, but what he'd heard inside the television had left him doubtful. "I get why he wants to hurt Senpai, but what did you do to piss him off so bad?"
She let out a heavy breath, eyes closed. "He knows that I am female and competent - and that I considered him a contemptible idiot. It was not an opinion I bothered to hide." She opened her eyes, and shook her head. "It appears I was wrong."
It shouldn't matter who or what somebody was, Kanji thought - but to assholes like Adachi, it always would. "Well, he was wrong too. You ain't a freak."
Naoto blinked at him. There was a split-second where she actually frowned, like he'd said something wrong, though it quickly faded. "Thank you," she told him. It was quiet, a little unsteady, and he'd expected them to lapse back into silence afterward, but she kept going. "When I jumped in after you - it was a snap decision. Irrational."
The words should've sounded dismissive – I wasn't thinking straight when I saved your life – but if anything, Naoto seemed uncomfortable. Uncertain, and Kanji couldn't fathom why. Maybe she was just embarrassed over doing something so dumb.
But she'd still done it. And if she hadn't...
"Thanks," he told her. "For being there."
Naoto didn't answer, but when Kanji raised his hand, willing it not to shake, and laid it carefully over her shoulder, she also didn't move away.
The snow was whirling in thick flurries outside, the fog loomed against the windows, and the thought of what the team needed to do to fix all this scared him more than he'd ever admit. The image of what would happen to Inaba if they failed was even worse. Sitting next to Naoto, as close as he'd probably ever get to holding her, Kanji tried to tell himself they could do it, and for a moment, it seemed like everything might eventually be okay...but right now, not much was.