Note: This story is an entirely separate story from my other Persona books. It is not canon to those. I'm writing this because I had this idea and wanted to see what I could do with it. But it doesn't fit the canon of my other stories' universe, so it will be its own thing. Just letting you know.

Begin!

~Normal POV

"Are you sure about this, sir? What if she doesn't want to?"

"She'll want to. You know how my granddaughter is. She can't help herself when it comes to a mystery."

"Understood, but I merely meant that she might be too busy for it."

"That's a risk we'll have to take. Now, about the card. You'll need to give it to someone close to her. One of her new friends, that way she'll accept it. Let's see… I don't know what they look like yet. Is there some other way to find- Ah! She's mentioned a boy named Kanji Tatsumi rather frequently. I'm sure if you hang around Tatsumi Textiles you'll be able to run into him. Be careful to avoid revealing that you know her, or your own identity."

"Yes, Shirogane-sama."

~...

Kanji walked out of his house and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He might be used to going to school regularly again, but it never felt easier to get up in the morning. Though his mom's delicious breakfast helped wake him up a little. He started walking to school as normal.

"Excuse me, young man?"

Kanji paused and looked to his side. A middle-aged man in a suit and sunglasses had approached him out of nowhere. He'd never seen the man before.

"Eh, what?"

"I have a question for you, I promise it won't take long."

Kanji was confused. Well, this man didn't look like a cop. He'd done a lot of growing up since getting help from Yu, but perhaps he was a little wary still. It didn't look like the man was going to leave without an answer either.

"Uh, sure… what's up?" Kanji asked.

"You are Kanji Tatsumi, yes?"

"Yeah…"

"Ah, good. Tell me, do you know Naoto-sama- Ah, ahem. You know a detective by the name of Naoto Shirogane, correct?"

Kanji perked up a little. This man wanted to know about Naoto? What for? Is it an emergency? Was she hurt?

"Yeah, I know Naoto!" He answered, quickly.

The man nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, I know you know him. Please deliver this to him the next time you see him. He will understand." He handed Kanji a little white card. "Good day, then."

Without another word, the man walked away and didn't look back.

Kanji stared down at the card with a puzzled look. That was weird. That man seemed to know Naoto, but hadn't heard that she was a girl. And this card- well, it didn't look too important to Kanji, but if it was for Naoto, then maybe it was important to her. He figured he shouldn't ignore it. If she needed this card, he should give it to her. He pocketed it and hurried off to school.

His mom would kill him if he starts being late again.

~...

Kanji decided to wait until after school let out before doing this. He told himself it was just because it'd be more convenient for both of them, but he knew that was only half the reason. The other half was… he was nervous.

Talking to Naoto was difficult for him. In her presence, he was reduced to a blushing, tongue-tied mess. He couldn't help it, he'd never felt this way about anyone before. These feelings may have started when he thought she was a boy, but they only deepened after meeting her Shadow. He was happy to have saved her from the tv world. (He had the others' help, of course, but he did the most fighting.) It had only been a short while since she joined the team, and she proved to be a very powerful teammate during her first training session. He loved watching her fight. She was so cool…

He snapped out of his thoughts. He had a job to do, and he was gonna do it! He took a calming breath and went to the shoe lockers. There he found Naoto standing at hers and gathering her things to head home for the day. She didn't seem to notice him coming over.

"Uh- hey, Naoto?"

Naoto looked up at him. "Oh, hello, Kanji-kun." She seemed to think for a moment before saying. "Um… I haven't gotten a chance to say it, but… th-thank you for saving me." She finished that last part quietly, so other students wouldn't hear.

Kanji smiled. "Oh, yeah, of course!"

She nodded and finished getting her things. She shut her locker and pulled her bag over her shoulder. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Y-Yeah, actually," He answered, sheepishly. "Here." He held out the card to her.

Naoto raised a brow and took it. "What's this?"

"Some guy walked up to me outside my house before school. He said to give it to you. Said 'you'd understand,' or something. I thought it might be important so…"

"He said I'd understand? What's that supposed to mean…?" She studied the card silently for a moment before looking up at him with a serious expression. "Kanji-kun, could you please accompany me for a brief period? I'd like to hear more about what transpired when you were given this card."

Kanji blinked in surprise. "Sure, let's go!"

~...

The two went to the Samegawa flood plain. There was a small gazebo there with a picnic table for them to sit at. Kanji wisely chose to sit across from her though. He doubted he'd be able to focus on anything she had to say if he sat beside her. And his nerves would probably give out from it. He didn't even care that people would have seen them leave school together, he was just happy she was spending a little time with him.

"I apologize. I wanted to talk someplace quiet," Naoto began.

"Nah, it's cool," Kanji replied, "I get it."

She set the card between them on the table and asked. "What sort of person gave this to you? Describe him, please."

"Well, it was a guy- an older guy… He was dressed nice, and he had black sunglasses."

"Hm. Sunglasses? Wearing those in a town like this would only make one stick out," Naoto said, observantly. "What we can take from that is that he wanted to hide his face at any cost."

"Oh yeah, he also knew my name, cause he asked who I was. And he knew that I knew you."

This made Naoto look more puzzled. "Then he must know you well somehow."

Kanji shrugged. "I've never seen him before."

"Well, he wouldn't have entrusted the delivery to anyone he didn't know." Naoto added. "But this is a small town… he could have easily looked up my address. Why go to the trouble of giving this letter to you? Intriguing…"

Kanji didn't have an answer for her, but she didn't seem to expect him to.

She looked thoughtful. "Is he involved with this case?" She wondered aloud. "Or another case altogether…? If it's me he's after, he could be anyone."

Kanji felt his instincts kick in. Was she implying that that guy was dangerous? What if he wanted to hurt her? He wouldn't allow such a thing! Nobody was gonna hurt Naoto as long as Kanji Tatsumi was around to do anything about it!

"Oh, I'll keep the card." Naoto said, getting his attention again. "The man is most likely still here in Inaba. I cannot drag you further into this."

"To hell with that! I ain't backing out now!" Kanji shouted, "Let me walk you home!"

Right as he said it, he regretted it. Damn it, those words came out a little louder than he intended, but he couldn't help it. He was concerned over her now. What if this was dangerous? He had to do something.

"Huh…?" Naoto shifted a little in her seat. "Er, well… It's good to know you're worried about me, but…" She avoided eye contact with him. "I'm sorry, I seem to have a tin ear for other people's feelings… Yosuke-senpai told me so before."

Kanji was relieved. She wasn't upset at him for that. He'd have to be more careful with his words around her in the future. Especially if he wanted to keep his feelings a secret, for the time being.

"Listen, I'll look into this card and report my findings to you." Naoto said, reassuringly. "So… Don't worry about me. I assume you likely have your own problems to deal with, so…" She trailed off and didn't finish.

Maybe he was seeing things, but it sounded like she was worried about him too. Kanji felt warmth in his chest from the idea that Naoto cared about his well-being. Sure, she probably cared for all her new friends just as much, but it felt good. He might have met her before even getting involved with the case, but now it kinda felt like they were friends for real.

"S-Sure, I'll wait and see what ya find," Kanji replied, sheepishly. He then thought of something. "Oh, but how can I contact ya if I run into that guy again?"

"Well, we can call each other." Naoto said, pulling a blue cell phone out of her pocket. "Here, put your number in."

Kanji nervously handed her his phone in exchange. Ok, yes, it wasn't the first time he'd given his number to a girl- Chie, Yukiko, and Rise all had his number. Everyone needed to be able to contact everyone in case of an emergency. But it never occurred to him to ask for Naoto's. Not to mention, he didn't think he could bring himself to, even if it was just for emergencies. But she didn't seem to mind. She didn't even comment on the cute little panda strap charm hanging off his phone. (Which made him happy, he didn't know if she'd think it was weird.) The two put their numbers in and switched phones back.

"Thanks…" Kanji said. He looked at her and noticed she seemed rather distracted now. "What's up?"

Naoto turned pink. "N-Nothing, it's just… I've never given my number to a boy before…"

She didn't think about it until it happened, but it was a new experience. She didn't know how she felt about it. It was just Kanji; she trusted him a lot. He was her friend now, and he helped save her life. She should definitely make sure to get Yu and Yosuke's numbers later, for team purposes, but it felt nice to have the first one not be because of the murder case. It was more personal that way.

"Oh, I- I promise I'll only use it if I really need to…" Kanji replied.

Naoto smiled at him. "Alright… That aside, um, while we're here, why don't we chat a little? If you don't have to head home right away."

Kanji grinned. "Yeah, I don't have to go anywhere."

"That's good. There was something I wanted to ask you…"

The two spent the afternoon at the gazebo talking and getting to know each other a little better. In the back of his mind, Kanji hoped that Naoto was right about the card being harmless. But he'd be happy to keep close to her, just in case.

~End of Chapter!