"Thank you for meeting with me, Senpai," Naoto said quietly, noticeably lowering her head to keep the brim of her hat between her eyes and Yū's. There was a dark cloud hanging over Naoto (and not just the literal kind that the two were currently protected from by the awning of Souzai Daigaku). "I'm sure you have a lot on your mind with Nanako-chan and Dojima-san in the hospital."
"It's alright, Naoto," Yū replied, trying to sound as cheerful as possible, in spite of the heavy family circumstances threatening to break the very ground beneath him with its intense weight. "I'm glad for the company."
"I see..."
"You alright? You sound more down than I am."
"I..." Naoto finally made eye contact, which only forced her head back down and cut off whatever thought she'd been about to verbalise.
"Is this about what happened in the TV World?" Yū asked, taking a shot in the dark. He could think of little else that might make her unable to face him, aside from the family situation she had already broached.
"Y-Yes." Although he couldn't see her eyes, Yū could see Naoto's cheeks reddening in shame.
The previous day, the Investigation Team had entered the TV World to save the abducted Nanako from Taro Namatame, the man behind the serial murder case that had been plaguing the town for seven months now. When confronted, Namatame had transformed - not his Shadow; the man himself - into a being calling itself Kunino-sagiri, and battled the team. During the fight, the supposed fog spirit cast a powerful spell that turned half the team - Chie, Kanji, Teddie and Naoto - against the others.
Yukiko fended off Chie, Yosuke struggled to avoid getting hit by Kanji, and Rise was kept from helping by the pursuing Teddie, leaving Yū to fight their newest member. For the others, staying out of range of their brainwashed friends was the key to survival. For Yū, however, this was not the case, as his foe was armed with a handgun. He could only try to dodge her shots until she needed to reload, then get a solid hit in before she switched to her Persona.
Fortunately for him, Naoto herself had insisted on the team paying a visit to Daidara Metalworks before heading into the TV World to stock up on weapons and armour. Old Man Daidara was a no-questions-asked kind of guy, given the limited clientele of his shop, so obtaining some durable-yet-lightweight armour wasn't a problem. Yū's armour, which fit snugly under his clothes, saved his life multiple times over during this encounter alone. Not knowing what the spell would do when it was cast, Yū had been caught completely off-guard when Naoto whirled around and fired three bullets directly into his chest before kicking him over. Although shocked by the sudden attack, this did the job of alerting the other three to the spell's effect so they could defend themselves from the others' similar ambushes.
With the armour protecting him from the other shots he failed to dodge, Yū was able to knock Naoto down and co-ordinate with Yosuke to hit Kunino-sagiri with enough force to break his hold on the others. Their retaliation was swift and, thanks in no small part to Naoto's powerful magic, decisive.
"I am ashamed of how easily I was manipulated by Kunino-sagiri," Naoto said, still not meeting her senpai's gaze. "To the point that I turned against you and tried to kill you. On my first mission as part of this team."
"You were a big help throughout," Yū assured her. "Your Persona's abilities were really powerful. And since Personas are a reflection of our inner selves, that must mean you're strong mentally."
"I'm not entirely sure that's how that works..."
"Still, it's got some powerful skills. Imagine if you hadn't been there at all. That counterattack might not have been enough to stop him from using that spell again. It might've even been only three of us not being controlled. What would we have done then?"
"I appreciate your attempt to make me feel better about it, but for such a thing to happen during my first time into the TV World as part of the team..."
"It really is okay, Naoto," Yū insisted. "We were up against a powerful enemy with an ability we've never seen before. No one could have predicted what he was capable of, so none of us could prepare mentally. It's just chance, or him sensing what your Persona is capable of, that led to him targeting you. But we could predict that it would be dangerous. And you still came with us to help save Nanako. I'll always be grateful to you and the others for that."
"W-Well... you did save the rest of us from our own kidnappings. It's only right that we help you along the same lines."
"Either way, you still put yourself at risk to help Nanako. Even if it was possible to blame what happened on you, none of us would, because you deserve better."
Naoto smiled, in spite of herself. "You're very kind, Senpai. Nanako-chan is very lucky to have a brother as protective as you. And we are lucky to have so supportive a leader."
Yū scratched his cheek, blushing slightly at the compliment "And we're lucky to have someone as bright and dependable as you."
Naoto's own cheeks quickly matches her senpai's. "A-Anyway, I had another matter I would like to discuss with you, Senpai."
"Is it about the Phantom Thief?"
Naoto stared at him, eyes wide, before her expression softened into a confident smile "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised your intuition would lead you there. Yes, it is in regards to that case. I have learned that, in recent days, a suspicious man has been spotted around the shopping district. I talked to the owner of the Shiroku Store while waiting for your arrival and she said that she saw the man around here only a few hours ago."
"Then, you think he's still around, looking for a spot to hide the next stolen item?"
Naoto removed her hat and feigned fanning herself in order to hide her widening smile. She truly could not have asked for a better compatriot in this case. "Precisely. We may be able to catch him in the act. If my suspicions are correct, there are two items remaining that he has stolen, and I have an idea where he might try to hide one of them. Let's go, Senpai."
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Naoto screamed in the otherwise silent Tatsuhime Shrine. It as unusual for Naoto to present such a raw display of emotion, but given the circumstances, Yū had to admit it was warranted.
The Phantom Thief had been caught red-handed trying to hide the stolen item by the fortune box to the side of the Yashiro. When confronted, he brandished a knife. Yū's first instinct was to throw himself between Naoto and the culprit to protect his friend. Of course, without his Persona, his sword, or the armour that had protected him so well from Naoto's brainwashed bullets, there was little he could really do to protect her but take a hit for her.
Fortunately, there was no need for him to take any further action, as the culprit fled the scene as soon as Naoto pointed out that the knife was a fake. Leave it to a detective to be able to tell the difference, even when her vision was obscured by the body of her larger senpai. She confirmed soon after that the dropped knife was actually just a knife-shaped radio - another of the seven tools Naoto herself had created as a child. It was after confirming this that she confronted Yū over his recklessness.
"Without your equipment or Personas, what would you have done if the knife had been real!? You could have ended up in the hospital right alongside Nanako-chan and Dojima-san, worrying them to no end. Or what if it had gone worse and you had died? And you're our leader! What would you expect us to do then!?"
Yū wanted to say that he had faith the others could finish the case without him, especially with Naoto now on the team, but he felt that now was not the time to say such a thing. Now was the time to let Naoto speak.
"Rrrgh! Why is it always like this!? Why am I always the one being protected!? Is it because I'm a woman? Is it because you're a man and the man is supposed to protect the woman, regardless of their professions?"
"N-No, it's nothing like that, Naoto!" Yū saw where this path of thinking was leading her and he didn't like it, not after everything he had seen and heard from her since he had met her. Since she had joined the team. Since they had started spending time together. Since he had-
"Then what!?"
"It's because I love you."
The shrine finally fell back into serene silence as Naoto stared, mouth agape and cheeks slowly making a nice contrast with her deep blue hair.
"Wha...? Huh...?" Her face looked like it could provide enough heat to keep both of them warm through the encroaching winter season. "Er, u-ummmm... W-Wait a moment. I thought you just said something serious."
"I did." Yū couldn't help but chuckle at how cute Naoto's reaction was. He had honestly expected her to tell him very matter-of-factly that she had no time for romance due to her detective work and reassure him with a compliment so as to soften the blow. Instead she seemed, for once, at a total loss as to how to proceed. Eventually, she did manage to form a coherent thought, but only once her eyes were again shielded by the brim of her hat.
"N-Now that you've said such a thing, I can't even look you in the eye... Um... before we proceed, I would like you to clarify something: this is not a joke, correct?"
"It's not."
"I see. And please also clarify: why me? Surely, that are other girls more suited to your tastes? Rise-san, for example."
"I don't really know, to be honest. I don't know what exactly it is, but I just know that I love you."
"So, love is something that is difficult to explain. Difficult to understand. Totally lacking in logic or reason. I suppose, then, that these feelings I have toward you must also be love."
"What is it you feel?" Yū took a small step closer.
"I feel... frustrated that you would risk your life to save me... Terrified that I might lose you... A desire to... stay by your side, even after you return to the city next year... Excited to know what it is that I feel, and that you... feel the same way."
Yū smiled and opened his arms for her. Hesitating slightly, Naoto stepped closer and allowed Yū to wrap his arms around her.
"I also feel underserving of your feelings. And also... baffled that you could have them for me. I've already proven myself an ineffective teammate, and yet you come right out only a day later and say you want to d-date me? You are simply unfathomable..."
"Is that... a problem."
"N...No... I suppose any detective would be drawn to an enigma, compelled to get to the bottom of it... Oh, what am I saying? Is this a side effect of being in love?"
"I... think so? Maybe we can find out together?"
"Hm. Yes. Together."
"Wooow," Chie said in amazement from her hiding spot nearby. She and Yukiko had been walking through the shopping district when they'd spotted Kanji spying on Yū and Naoto after having spotted the two at the shrine on his way past. "That's really sweet, huh?"
"They do look very cute together," Yukiko concurred. "What do you think, Kanji-kun?"
"H-Huh? Oh, uh... yeah. They look... good."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know you like Naoto-kun too-"
Chie wisely slapped her hand over Kanji's mouth to muffle his loud response the instant it started. Kanji pried her hand away and looked at the two with shock, before sighing and nodding, rather than wasting time trying to deny it.
"Yeah. But this is fine too. Senpai deserves to be happy more than any of us, especially with everythin' goin' on with his family right now. And besides, I'm fine leaving Naoto to Senpai. She deserves a guy who'll look after her without talkin' down to her."
"Wow, you're really mature, Kanji-kun," Chie praised.
"N-Nah. It ain't that deep. 'sides, if Naoto thinks she doesn't deserve this happiness, I figure Senpai's the one guy who can prove to her that's she's wrong."
"You're a lot like her, Kanji-kun," Yukiko observed. "What happened was neither of your faults. Or yours, Chie."
"I still feel bad about the bruises, though..."
"My tights can cover them, so it's fine."
"Now who's bein' mature?" Kanji asked with a smirk.
"Everyone, I guess," Chie responded with a shrug.
"Are we going to keep hugging like this, or...?"
"I don't want those three to know we know they're there. It'll make things less awkward."
"Hugging for this long is awkward in and of itself."
"Sure, but it's also nice."
"Hm. Yes. It is."
This story was inspired by my semi-recent playthrough of P4G on Steam, where I had decided up-front to have Yū date Naoto (giving me a great deal of sympathy for Haru fans), leading to me reaching Rank 9 of her S-Link a few days after the Heaven dungeon boss fight, in which Naoto was in the party and thus turned against Yū. The contrast between her repeatedly shooting him in the chest and him asking her out just seemed so funny, and I imagine most people who've chosen to have Yū date Naoto have experienced this, given how likely she is to be in the party during this fight.