I should really be working on my research paper but it's 12:00AM and like clockwork, I have a sudden inspirational mood to write out a new chapter. First off, thank you everyone who has reviewed this story thus far. I hadn't anticipated that people would honestly enjoy the story since it is my first attempt at a Person fanfic. I already have an idea for a second fanfic revolving around these two but set in an alternate universe for the most part.

The reason being that I find that most fanfics revolving around these two are within the story of the game, which, while each is unique in it's own way and I enjoy almost all of them; the genre is begging for it to be expanded into a new plot device. I'm hoping that, after I finish this one, I can help expand the possibilities of writing things for Persona 4 world. We shall see, for now, I have this piece to work on.

Now I must insert a random call out to all the writers who might be interested in something else. I am looking for enthusiastic writers who are interested in rping within the realm of Persona 4. If you are, feel free to PM me about it. It's an insanely difficult fan-base to find. Anyways! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Step Five: Seek Advice

Kanji had been back at school for a week. While I had anticipated his busy work at the shop has been completed upon his show at the hospital; he has taken it upon himself to avoid me as much as possible. Actually this is an inaccurate observation. He had avoided me the first two days, in which case, I had decided to give him space for the remainder of the week. I decided that after coming upon his show in the hospital, it had been a sensitive moment for him; one that he likely didn't wish to share with anyone.

This meant that any plans I might have come up with (which none had never got further then rough sketches) would have been put on hold till the following school week. The fact of the matter is, a relationship, or one that someone wishes to get into, couldn't rather than shouldn't be treated as some form of case. This I have obviously discovered quite late in the whole process. This led me to try and start on a fresh clean slate and try to take steps like a normal teenage girl would.

I had written up several different ideas that came to mind. All of which I couldn't picture working out, or were just theories on how one should take care of such a predicament as mine. Having no experience in this meant a majority of the ideas come from pure imagination on my part. Fact of the matter is, I needed help. Unfortunately, I am not one who often seeks aid in any matter I come across. It's against my nature making the act of asking…difficult.

I hadn't asked for help right out. Instead I asked the one person I unfortunately felt would be best for the situation, to meet me at Junes. Given my failed experiences with Kanji thus far, I made sure to give a precise time and I had done so through a phone call rather than a text message. I have come to terms with the fact that some messages have a tendency to be lost in the space time continuum on route to the recipient so any important matters I have, I rely directly through a phone call.

Unlike my experiences with setting things up with Kanji, she had arrived on time. It was just the two of us and if it seemed strange, neither of us noted it aloud and instead settled for idle chatter (mainly from her while I gave a comment only scarcely where needed). It wasn't until we finished our food that the conversation finally drifted on where I wished.

"You know it's strange. I can't remember a time where it was just the two of us hanging out." This was as good as cue as any for me.

"Something we should remedy in the future, I'm sure; however, presently Chie-senpai, I did call on you for aid."

The surprise is apparent. Out of all of our friends, Chie was generally not the person people tended to go to for aid unless they needed an extra fighter. Needless to say, Chie-senpai is not known for her, well… to put it delicately…she's not the smartest out of our group.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Me? You need my help on a case?"

"Yes and no. It's not official police business. Nor is it unofficial police business. It's on a more personal matter."

"So, uh… what? You need advice?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Huh…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. Obviously this was out of the ordinary for her, "Well, sure. Shoot."

Now the difficult part. Personal information I tended to keep to myself. A force of habit that will likely never be broken because I've programmed it in my mind over the years that the best defense from possible villains is to keep as much information about myself to myself. Now I have to actually speak on a personal level about a serious personal matter if I wished for help with my issue.

"I wish to know about relationships." I kept my voice even and my gaze steady. Professional.

"Uh… relationships?" Confusion.

"Quite recently," although it perhaps a month is no longer recent "I've grown an interest in an individual that I wished to pursue."

"Wait. You're asking me for dating advice?" Her eyes grew quite large at this realization.

"Your discretion would be greatly appreciated in this matter."

"Why are you asking me?"

"As far as I'm aware, Yukiko-senpai has never dated. Rise-chan is too difficult to keep sensitive things regarding such matters to herself. To put it plainly, there isn't anyone else I can ask. I recall that you had been seeing Seta-Senpai for a short while."

"Wh-what?" Or perhaps not? I remained silent and waited. "No-no-no-no. Well. Yes… I mean… sort of uh… but… well, didn't you too?"

"Wh-what?" Hearing this came as a surprise to me as well. I have no idea what she is referring to. Me and Seta-senpai?

Again her expression grew thoughtful; although she looked a bit upset at the same time if I'm to gauge the look, "Yeah… uh. Well… when he started um… showing an interest in me, heck, he was two facing between Yukiko, Rise, and me. We didn't know it until we all saw you spending a lot of time together after school. We basically all found out that we each had something going on with him."

Souji Seta-senpai had been dating all three of them? I am aware that people, particularly men, attempt to hold more then one relationship on occasion in secret but I never envisioned Seta-senpai to be one of them; especially within our team. It could have severely dampened the dynamics of the team. "We… I had never been in a relationship with Seta-senpai. He had been aiding me in a case that was outside of the murder case."

Mental Note: avoid Seta-senpai's advances if he ever returns to Inaba; clearly is on some sort of goal to court as many girls as possible.

"Oh…OH…"

Then she started giggling for some bizarre reason as some grand epiphany had suddenly struck her. I found it… odd. I'm beginning to have second thoughts on asking her for advice. Unfortunately, she already knows what I wish for aid in.

"I fail to see what is funny in this manner. Seta-senpai has proven to be a disrespectful individual. I am surprised I was unable to discover this sooner."

"No, it's not that. It's just… well. We never would have found out if not for Kanji-kun."

My lips were pressed together for just a mere second before I couldn't resist the temptation, "What do you mean?"

"He was the one that pointed out that you two were dating. We investigated and agreed."

This…could explain a number of things. The sudden lack of interest he had shown for a long time having suddenly disappeared. While he never would have gathered the nerve to actually speak to me on a more personal level then that between two friends, he did make any reason he could find to speak with me. If he was under the impression that Seta-senpai and myself had been seeing one another, perhaps he felt it was no longer necessary to pursue anything… or at least spend time with me.

Mental Note: Find discriminating evidence against Souji Seta or shoot him in the kneecap upon site; preferable the latter if able to get away with it.

"Whoa… you okay there? You look upset.

"I'm fine." I shook my head and tried a different subject. The one about Seta-senpai is uncomfortable at the moment. "What about Yosuke-senpai?"

"Huh? What about him?"

"I am under the impression that the two of you have been together at one point?"

"Me and Yosuke?" Her face turned immediately red and she sunk in her chair a little. Odd. Not quite the reaction I had anticipated. "Don't be silly, what gives you that idea?"

She wasn't serious, was she? Well… "Given the way you two interact, my research claims it's from one of two reasons. You two had a falling out over a failed relationship, or the two of you have been unable to get into a relationship due to fear and act the way you due as a means to hide the fact."

"What? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard." I'm beginning to think that at least some of my research has some merit to it. At least in this case.

"Hey you two. What brings you here?" I don't know why I think Junes is a good place to meet anyone for a discussion such as this. Junes isn't likely to be private when one of our mutual friends is the future owner of the place. Yosuke walked up, still wearing an apron; evidence pointing out that he's clearly on a break. He took a seat at the table and glanced between us, "Sup guys? Whoa. Chie, what's with the face?"

"Face? What face? This is my face."

"I was asking her why the two of you have never been in a relationship."

"WHAT?" Hmm… Admittedly I probably should have used more tact on that statement.

"Oh my god." Chie covered her face.

I looked between the two red faces sitting before me. "I believe it's due to neither of you being unable to accept the fact and simply coming together."

"I'm not hearing this lalalala." Yosuke covered his ears and stood up from the table, "Oh look, break is over." And he raced away.

While it was tactless, my intentions had been to chase Yosuke off to begin with. Mission completed.

"I can't… Naoto, I can't believe you said that."

"It was strictly observation and opinion. Whether my opinion holds true or not fails to be seen at the moment."

"Of course it's not true!" I wasn't convinced but I hadn't called this meeting to help her with relationships.

"Regardless, we have lost track of my initial reason for bringing you here. What should I do?"

"What should you do? OH! You mean about relationships. Huh… well uh… does he know?"

"No."

"Have you told him?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I have not been given the opportunity."

"Have you shown interest in him at all?"

"I believe I have displayed adequate interest; however, he fails to seem interested. I wish to change that."

"How?"

"That is why I called you. That's the advice I wish to ask for."

"Who is it?"

"It's… that is to say, it's not important who it is, just how I would get anyone interested in me."

"Shouldn't be too hard. Everyone was interested in you at one point or another, I mean, how hard could it be? Just be yourself or try doing something different?"

People were interested in 'The Detective Prince', not in 'me'. I couldn't tell her this because I wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to separate the two and understand what I mean. I appreciate the fact that she believes that I can simply be 'myself' and make it work; however, that's exactly what I had attempted to do from the start. It never ended in my favor either.

"Oh man… look, I'd like to help more. But this isn't my forte and I really need to talk to Yosuke now and make sure he doesn't get the wrong idea. Thanks a lot for that, by the way. As if he wasn't annoying enough."

I watched as she raced off for the department store in search of Yosuke. I sat and wondered if I should go eavesdrop on the conversation just to see what would become of it. I decided against it and left Junes to head home.

While I knew Chie-senpai would likely not be helpful in this matter, she had been the best choice out of the group. Chie wasn't one for overly teasing like Rise-chan, and honestly tries to help when someone asks her. While her own inexperience had been her downfall in aiding me, it had opened up a few bits of information regarding my other friends that I hadn't known before. I wondered briefly if Seta-senpai would come back to Inaba or if he would be afraid to do so on account of who would be waiting for him. Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman; multiple that by three, well four, if I include myself but for a whole other reason entirely.

Mental Note: Perhaps both kneecaps.

When I arrived at the floodplains, I had decided to stop by the river for a moment. A different atmosphere may help settle my thoughts and ideas. That was the idea at least. When I got to the stairs leading to the docks, I found a figure sitting cross-legged at the end of the dock with a fishing pole tucked in front of him. I'd recognize the figure anywhere and I almost turned to leave; however, I decided that I had given him enough space for the week and decided (against better judgment) just to stop by and see how he's doing.

"Kanji-kun." I greeted when I got close enough.

He jumped in his position. Obviously he had been concentrating, or sleeping. "Jesus. Didn' y'hear it's friggin' impolite to sneak up on people?"

"My apologies. It wasn't my intention."

I remained behind him but remained standing. It was the first time I had gotten to see him since the hospital, almost a week ago. While I'm disappointed to see his normal wardrobe back into place, I also know that I shouldn't have expected any different from him. "Have you had any luck?"

"With what?" I made gesture to the rod. "Oh… Nah."

Honestly, I don't recall having previous knowledge that he actually fished. "Do you fish often?"

"Not really. Mom usually jus' buys fish to eat. Thought I'd try my luck."

"I see."

"Ever fish before?"

"No."

"Ever wanted to fish before?"

"Not really."

"Want to try?"

I almost said 'no'; however, if I were to say 'yes' I would then have a reason to be there. "I suppose."

My answer seemed to surprise him. He hurried to his feet and reeled in the bait. He began to frantically ramble off what I should and shouldn't do. In all honesty, I probably would have been fine. I had read about fishing on more then one occasion so I knew the gist of things to begin with. Once he handed the rod to me I casted out the bait. There is one important thing about fishing that I know is involved: Patience. This is the main reason it struck me as odd to find Kanji fishing. While I like to believe I have an abundance of patience, Kanji-kun is likely the most impatient friend I have.

"Yeah, so now we jus' wait." Again he took a seat at the end of the dock. I quickly followed suit but opted to have my legs hang over the edge. I'm short enough that my feet don't reach the water. Kanji's would likely be submerged which would explain why he opted to sit cross-legged.

"How long have you been fishing?"

"'Bout two hours I guess. Didn' even get a nibble. Think the fish are asleep or sumthin'" Do fish sleep? I don't know. I know they don't have eyelids.

Mental Note: Research the sleeping patterns of fish.

"Have you tried a different location?"

"Nah… s'all good. This is the best spot I'm told."

"Who gave you this information?"

"The guy who sold me the bait."

"Hmm."

I kept my eyes glued to the bobber for the next five minutes. Aside from small ripples in the water that were caused by an occasional breeze, it didn't do much else. The silence wasn't awkward but I suddenly felt the need to clear an important detail with Kanji that I learned earlier today. "I've never been in a relationship with Seta-senpai."

"What?" I'm not sure if he's surprised or if he just hadn't expected me to speak so he wasn't paying attention. I decided repeating the statement as the best course of action.

"I was never in a relationship with Seta-senpai."

"I heard that. Why the hell you tellin' me this?"

I just glanced at him from the corner of my eye briefly. An explanation was in order. The truth didn't hurt, "I was speaking with Chie-senpai earlier today. Apparently Seta-senpai had been seeing Chie, Yukiko, and Rise-chan at the same time. Apparently this was around the time I had asked Seta-senpai for help with another case. She explained that you had thought the two of us were in a relationship. I'm merely clearing it up that I was not."

"Wait, he was seeing all of them?" I gave a nod. He jumped to his feet, "That lowlife bastard. I'mma beat his ass the next time I see him. What the hell he doin' that for? Treatin' our friends like that!"

"Yes. I had a similar reaction."

Mental Note: Allow Kanji to 'beat his ass' before shooting kneecaps.

"Still don't see why y'tellin' me this. Ain't like its news or nothing. Was awhile ago."

"Well I…" I felt the pole jerk and I gave a tug as a reflex. Apparently it was enough to 'hook' whatever was on the line. I stood up and began reeling it in with almost no difficulty. When I pulled it out, I discovered a goldfish on the end of the line with the hook penetrated through the side of its mouth. I frowned.

"Well ain't that peachy. I fish for two hours and I don't get shit. You fish for less then ten minutes and you catch sumthin. Not much though. Prolly jus' throw him back. Maybe you'll have a bigger one next time."

I held out the rod to him, "No… You can have this back."

"Why? Y'got better luck then me."

I looked at the fish flailing at the end of the line. "I don't want to catch more. It's not right."

"What ain't right?"

"Fishing,"

"Why?"

"How would you like a hook going through your mouth."

"It's jus' a fish."

"Not to him."

"Fish don't even feel."

"I'm sure that's false."

"Don't be stupid." I had a sudden urge to grab the fish and slap Kanji with it. I refrained from following that instinct though. Instead I settled with glaring until he released the fish back into the river. He also didn't re-bait the hook and settled with rolling his eyes at me before taking a seat once more. "Dunno why I even bother try arguin' with girls. You ain't make a bit of sense to me anyway."

"If it's fair, all of you thought I was a boy at one point."

"Like that mattered to me." I raised a brow at this statement. I'm uncertain as to how to translate it and find what meaning is behind it. Apparently my questioning look is obvious enough for him to catch because he offered up a shrug and a quick explanation. "Boy, girl. Either way you're you."

While many may not normally find such a comment flattering, I felt the slightest heat rise into my cheeks. I took a seat next to him once more and pulled my hat down a bit to help hide the fact. I suppose I can find such a comment complimenting due to the fact that I had strived to trick everyone into believing I'm a boy so that they would take me seriously. They would actually take the time to listen to me. It seemed to that Kanji seemed interested in what I say regardless of what my gender may be. Then again, given my interactions between him and I back before he found out I'm a girl, I had to wonder if he didn't have a crush on me then too. It's a question I decided not to ponder on though.

"Yes well, if only the world could all think so simply." My hand was still steady on the brim of my hat. While I was about to drop my hand, I suddenly had it in mind to do more then that. I removed the hat completely and allowed it to settle in my lap instead. It's always odd to take my hat off, even stranger when I'm outside and actually feel a breeze brush through my hair. I ran my fingers through my hair in case I developed a bad case of 'hat-hair'. Normally I'm not so conscious of such things, but then again, I'm not normally without my hat on either.

When I glanced over to my companion, he was faced completely away. In fact, all I can see is his back profile. The next moment he's standing up and collecting his things, "I should prolly go. Ma is prolly done with dinner and stuff." He commented a bit too frantically. "Y'know, you should prolly try, nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing. I gotta go." Before I could question him further, he was moving away, almost running. I frowned and leaned forward to glance down at my hatless reflection. What was he going to say?

'You should try keeping the hat off?'

'You should try putting on makeup?'

'You should try dressing up?'

'You should try giving up?'

There's no way of knowing what he was going to say to me. I put my hat back on and left as well. Maybe next time.