Hey guys! Sorry about the delay, I've had people over for the holidays, and I've been away, busy, and tired as well. I have a few snow days though, so hopefully I can get a few chapters up!

Thanks for all your support and reviews. Reviews really help me to improve the story and I always get so excited to read them!

-Purple

"No, Ted, you can't have everything," said Kanji-kun.

"B-but I'm so hungry!" Teddie dramatically whined, "This day's grueling events have left me feeling so weak and famished!"

"What, do you think we're stupid, Ted?" Yosuke-san snapped at him, "We saw how much you loved BOTH of the pageants!"

"Fine," Teddie pouted, "Then I guess I'll just get some yakisoba. No, wait… I want takoyaki… Those little fried octopus balls… Waah, why are you making me choose just one!?"

"Just pick something already!" Kanji-kun snapped.

"Hmmm," Rise-san was staring at the menu of the stand we were in front of. "Maybe I should go for something lighter… I should probably work on maintaining my figure…"

"But I thought you were on hiatus," said Yu-san.

"O-oh! That's right… I am…"

"Oh! Big bro!" A small voice came from our left, and as we turned, we saw Nanako-chan running toward us with a broad smile on her face. Her cheery expression made me smile as well. It was always nice to see her. Yu-san looked the happiest to see her, however, and he grinned as she ran up to him.

Dojima-san was following more slowly behind her. "Ah," he said to Yu, "Good thing we found you. I've got to make a business trip to the prefectural office, and I won't be back until tomorrow.

Shame it had to fall during your school's Culture Festival. Nanako and I were both looking forward to it…

Sorry to dump this on you, but could you show Nanako around?" I understood him completely. It was always a hassle whenever I was called in by the prefectural office, not that I didn't appreciate it.

"Would you like to walk around with us, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko said, looking down encouragingly at her.

"Can I?"

We all nodded in reply. Of course she could come with us; she was always so sweet.

"Thanks," Dojima-san said, "Then I'm gonna get going."

"Have a safe trip," Nanako-chan said to her father as he turned to leave

"Yeah, you have fun too, Nanako."

"Okay, dad!" Nanako-chan said before her father walked away.

"Hey Nanako-chan," Yukiko said generously to her once Dojima-san was gone, "Why don't you come over and stay at my place tonight?"

It was as if she'd pressed a button on Teddie. He immediately began to chatter. "Huh? Huh? Huh? What did you just say, Yuki-chan!?"

"Ooh," said Rise-san, "A celebration at your inn!?"

"Is that okay with you!?" Kanji-kun said excitedly.

"Uh-huh," Yukiko-san said calmly, as if she'd been planning this. "I promised you guys a while ago, so yeah."

"Hell yeah," said Yosuke, "I'm down!"

"Can I boil eggs in the hot springs!?" Teddie asked.

I had heard many good things about Inaba's Amagi Inn, even before this case had taken place. It housed one of the only remaining natural hot springs in this rural area that hadn't been depleted of heat due to geothermal energy processes. It was rumored to be quite lovely, and was perhaps the most famous artifact this town had to offer. I would have loved to get a glimpse of it. "Oh," I said, beginning to feel excited, "I should call my Grampa and let him know! It's just one night, right?" My grandfather would have definitely been excited to see me spend time with friends.

Yukiko-san looked at Nanako. "C'mon, it'll be fun. Everyone will be there."

Nanako-chan looked up at Yu with a pleading expression. "Can I…?"

"It's up to you, Nanako," Yu-san replied.

Nanako-chan smiled excitedly. "Let's go! I wanna spend the night!"

"Wheeee!" Teddie cheered, "Hot springs! Yukata! Flushed skins!" He seemed far too excited.

"Are you sure it's okay…?" Chie-san said to Yukiko, sounding concerned. "I mean, isn't it still the busy season?"

"We've had fewer visitors this year… There are some open rooms, too."

"Oh, okay…" Chie-san smiled, "Might as well, then! Man, when was the last time I stayed at Yukiko's place?" She seemed to be thinking nostalgically to herself.

"Let's all go, then," Yukiko-san nodded, "I'll head back to the inn and reserve us some rooms while everyone gets their stuff packed for tonight."

"Sure thing!" Yosuke-san said, "Man, I'm so excited! This is gonna be so sweet! Finally, something seems to be going right for us… Let's head home and pack, Ted."

"Okay!" Teddie cheered.

Rise-san smiled at me. "Looks like a good opportunity for that girls' night out, huh, Naoto-kun?"

I smiled and nodded politely, but in my mind, I was wondering what she was planning to mean by that…

After calling my grandfather to make sure it was alright, and briefly stopping by my house to pack for the night, I made my way to the Amagi Inn to meet up with the others. I was the last of us older girls to arrive, seeing as Yukiko-san already lived there, Chie-san lived not too far from Yukiko, and Rise-san lived in the southern Shopping District, a small distance closer to the inn from my own estate. I could see Yosuke-san and Teddie arriving a little further down the road, and Kanji-kun seemed to have arrived with Rise-san, as they lived just across the street from each other. Yu-san and Nanako-chan were the only ones who had not arrived yet.

"Naoto-kun!" Chie-san piped up when she saw me.

"Hey, Naoto!" Rise-san said, turning around from where she was standing to greet me with a smile. "You ready for an awesome night?"

I nodded once, smiling. "I haven't stayed the night with friends since… I can't even recall when. If I even have, it was when I was very young. I've stayed with family and such, as well as co-workers on short-term cases in more remote locations. We were in separate hotel rooms, though…"

"Oh," Chie-san said, "So this should be fun for you!"

I nodded again. "I'm interested, to say the least. I'm definitely looking forward to it."

"Hey, ladies!" Yosuke-san excitedly said when he reached us, Teddie following closely by his side.

Kanji-kun glared at him from where he was standing. "Hey, what about me? I ain't a lady."

"Are you girls all ready for a cozy night together at the inn?" Yosuke asked, beaming almost deviously and blatantly ignoring Kanji-kun. "It's been getting pretty cold lately, you know. If any of you get a little chilly, you can always sit by me…!"

"I don't think we'll be getting chilly at all," Chie-san said, shrugging him off. "The hot springs are pretty warm, and the heating at the inn is pretty good, too."

"Yeah," Yukiko-san said, "We do our best to make sure that all of our guests are comfortable. Plus, we won't be in the same room as you anyway."

Yosuke-san looked as if he had been given traumatizing news. "W-what!? What do you mean we're not staying in the same room!?"

Teddie looked dumbstruck as well. "But we wanted to stay with you beautiful ladies!"

"S-senpai, Teddie," said Kanji-kun, "I said I ain't a lady..."

"A single room wouldn't be big enough for all eight of us," Yukiko-san explained.

Chie wrinkled her nose. "And there's no way in hell we're staying with you pervs anyway after what happened during the camping trip!"

"Aww, come on!" Yosuke protested, as if he were a child. "That was one time! It's not like I would do anything like that tonight!"

"'If any of you get a little chilly, you can always sit by me!'" Chie-san imitated. "Yeah right, you perv! Go take a cold shower or something."

"Ngh…!" Yosuke-san seemed very frustrated. I felt bad for him in a way, but on the other hand, I would not have been able to tolerate sleeping in a room with four teenage boys, especially him.

Teddie looked defeated as well. "Aww…" he pouted, "But I wanted to snuggle with Yuki-chan…"

"Everything all right?" Yu-san had finally arrived. His sudden presence almost made me jump. Nanako-chan was standing beside him, looking joyful and excited.

"We're all ready for tonight!" she said.

"Oh, you're here, Senpai!" Rise-san said jovially. "Yeah, everything's perfectly fine! Hey, Nanako-chan! Come on, let's all get checked in."

"Senpai…!" Kanji-kun growled at Yosuke. He seemed as if he had been lost in his own thoughts throughout the conversation. "W-were you implying that I'm a lady…!?"

"Alright!" Chie-san said when we were finally settled into our room. "Now, let the Investigation Team Girls' official Girl's Night Out commence!"

"Yay!" Nanako-chan cheered.

"Huh…?" I didn't understand what she meant.

"We wanted to make this night special for you, Naoto-kun," Rise-san said, "For all of us, actually. I mean, when have we actually gotten to just hang out together and relax, just the four of us? And Nanako-chan could use some fun, too."

"Yeah," Chie-san said, "I mean, I've known Yukiko since we were kids, but you two are new here and all, and we thought that maybe it'd be nice if we all got to spend some time together other than working on the case."

"It's part of the reason why I wanted us to have separate rooms," Yukiko-san said. "Well, it's part of the reason I wanted to do this in the first place."

"I feel honored," I said, tipping my hat to them. "Thank you for your kindness."

"Hey, that's another thing," Chie-san said, almost scoldingly. "You don't need to act so formal with us!"

"We're your friends, Naoto-kun!" Rise-san said, "Not your co-workers. Don't be afraid to relax around us!"

"Oh, uh," I awkwardly stammered, "Th-thank you, then. I shall try- I mean, I'll try. To be more relaxed, that is… I mean… Um…"

Rise-san giggled. "You're so funny, Naoto-kun."

"So!" Chie-san spoke up, "What shall our first order of business be on this Girl's Night Out? Hot Springs, gossip, kung fu movies…?"

"Kung fu movies?" I questioned.

"Yeah!" Chie-san said, "I brought some of my favorites in case anyone wanted to watch one! I-I mean, I know it's not exactly girly, but…"

"Now that you mention it," Yukiko-san said, "I wouldn't mind relaxing and watching something like that. But… Would they be too violent for Nanako-chan?"

"I like kung fu," Nanako said, "Sometimes I watch it on TV at home."

"Well," said Yukiko, "As long as it doesn't scare you and your dad would be alright with it."

"It doesn't scare me," Nanako said, "I know that it's fake, but it's still cool to see them beat up the bad guys."

"Whatever you want then, Chie," Rise-san grinned. "Ooh, which ones did you bring? I've been in a few of those."

"Let's see, uh…" Chie began to count on her fingers. "I brought Quest for the Golden Lotus, The Jade Tiger, Trial of the Dragon…"

"Oh," Yukiko-san said, "Did you buy a new copy?"

"Nope!" Chie-san said happily, "Yosuke replaced it! Lucky for him."

"Hm," Rise-san said, "I'm not in any of those. Still, they sound interesting."

"Is it okay if I interrupt?" Yukiko-san said, "The open air bath is open to women right now, so maybe we should do that first."

"Okay!" Chie-san said, "That sounds perfect!"

"Ahh," Rise-san sighed, "It's not often I get to go to hot springs. And when I do, people usually crowd it or try to climb over the fence to get pictures. I don't even know how they find out where I am. It's annoying. It'll be nice to actually relax this time without worrying about perverts trying to get in."

"Let's all head down, then," Yukiko-san said.

"Yay! Hot springs!" Nanako cheered happily.

"H-hot springs…?" I wasn't too sure that I wanted to go. I had never been to one, but I knew how they worked. I wasn't going to be in front of any boys, but I still wasn't eager to strip down in front of other girls, either.

"Do you not want to come, Naoto-chan?" Nanako asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "It's okay if you don't want to."

I looked down at her, and I could tell in her big, curious eyes that she wanted me to be there. However, she also seemed to care about my own feelings, as well. She wanted me there, but unlike the other girls, she was not going to force me into something I was not comfortable with doing. She put my feelings before her own, and when I thought about it, I realized that any other child would have most likely pleaded me to come with them. Unknowingly, a small smile curled the edges of my lips.

"Do you want me to come, Nanako-chan?" I said, lowering myself to her.

Nanako nodded. "It would be fun with you, but if you don't want to, you can stay here. I won't mind."

Something told me that this was similar to how she responded to her father being frequently away on detective business. I understood probably better than anyone here how busy the life of a detective could be, and perhaps because of this, I could sympathize with Nanako-chan even better than the others. I also realized that if I had the opportunity to make her happy, even just a small bit, when her father was unable to, I would take it. Perhaps bathing in a hot springs was not as bad as it seemed.

"No, it's okay," I said to her, "I want to come."

She looked up at me hopefully, a wide smile parting her lips. The others looked at me in some degree of surprise, as well. "Really?" Nanako-chan said excitedly, "Are you sure?"

"It will be fun," I said, smiling reassuringly at her. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah! Hot springs!" Chie-san cried as she slid open the door and rushed down the hallway, followed by Yukiko-san, who was pleading for her not to run, and Nanako-chan, who was beckoning for Rise-san and I to follow.

"Do you really want to come, Naoto-kun?" Rise-san asked me as we slowly followed the others.

A bolt of queasiness struck through my core and I shook my head. "No. I feel very unsure about it… But…" I chuckled nervously to myself. "You may think this is absurd, but I feel that there's something about Nanako-chan that makes me want to do it for her. I feel like I don't want to let her down, and that if I can make that child happy… It would be worth it."

"You feel it too, huh?" she said, grinning at the floor as she walked. "I think all of us feel that compassion for her, like we'd do anything to make sure she keeps smiling. She's not like other kids, either… I don't really know what it is, but she has this… Purity, I guess, to her. She makes other people happy wherever she goes, and I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about her." She sighed to herself, "It's a shame that her dad isn't home very often to support her. She of all people doesn't deserve that. But… It seems like she's really taken a liking to Senpai."

"Really?" I said.

"Yeah. He's her cousin, but with how close they are, and the way they act so affectionately toward each other, you'd think he was her brother. She even calls him her brother, too. I'm really glad that Senpai is there for her. It's almost like he was sent to her from Heaven."

"I see," I said. I hadn't realized the closeness of Yu-san and his cousin. It seemed to make me admire Yu-san even more. Both of them seemed to have this special aura to them.

"Nanako-chan is really something different," Rise-san said, watching as Nanako skipped joyfully down the hallway ahead of us, giggling with Chie-san and Yukiko-san as they affectionately poked and prodded her and ruffled her hair. "It's like she's an expert at being a kid. I think it's people like her who make adults and teens admire children so much. There's a purity about them that we wish we didn't lose."