Begin!

~Normal POV

It was the second day of the festival. Meaning of course that it was also time for the pageants. The first day held little of interest. The second years had to man their classroom's event the whole time, so the first years of the Investigation Team had simply walked around taking in the booths. There wasn't much to see. Everyone was really looking forward to the show. (Because Chie wasn't going to take the pageant offense lying down, so she signed the boys up for their own little show. With an apology to Yu and Kanji, saying they wouldn't do it without enough contestants.)

The boys' show was up first. It wasn't a fun experience for anyone except Teddie. He enjoyed every moment of it. His enthusiasm was almost nice, until he won the contest and was named honorary judge for the girls' pageant. This was just more annoyance for them added onto the pile. Especially for Naoto. She was nervous enough having to do this already, she didn't need Teddie's stupid antics making it worse.

Right now, the four girls were standing in an empty classroom with the only other contestants for the show. This was to be their makeshift "dressing room." The other two were the second year teacher Ms. Kashiwagi, and a second year student named Hanako.

"Dress yourselves up as well as you can, you little brats." Ms. Kashiwagi said, rudely addressing the other girls.

"What is she, the rival woman on a soap opera…?" Chie muttered. "Is she serious about winning this?"

"She's just riling you up," Rise said, calmly, "Ignore her."

At this point, a student entered the room with a bag from Teddie. It was full of swimsuits for the show. Because that dumbass bear decided to add a swimsuit segment out of nowhere. If Naoto wasn't completely sure that Kashiwagi would find a reason to expel her for it, she'd have walked out right there. But really, she had decided to be a good sport about the first half at least. It shouldn't be hard. Rise said all they'd have to do is stand on stage and answer questions. And it would be nice to show solidarity to the others.

After some arguing between the others about who was most suited to win the show, (Naoto didn't bother listening to any of it, she didn't care who won) they finally started getting ready. Naoto grabbed her bag and was about to leave to change in the bathroom instead.

"You know, I am surprised, Shirogane-san." Kashiwagi said, "You being here, I mean. Hmph. Whoever put your name up there must have been doing it as a joke."

Naoto rolled her eyes and left the room. She had her fair share of competitiveness about some things, but being "catty" with other women was not one of those things. She went into the nearest bathroom and shut herself in a stall to change.

It didn't take long for her to choose an outfit. She had feared they might make her wear the girl's uniform for it, but Yukiko assured her that contestants could bring their own clothes. So she picked her favorite detective's jacket and blue plaid pants. Hoping that wearing something she liked would help ease her nerves. Once she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Hm…"

Something felt off to her. She looked the same as ever though. She had denied any invitation to borrow makeup or other accessories from her friends, but she still felt like… something was off. She pondered over it.

"Do I look ok…?"

The thought popped up so fast that she had no time to try to dismiss it. With it, came a feeling of wanting to try something with her appearance. But why did she care? She didn't even want to do this stupid show. What did it matter how she looked?

"I wonder… what would Kanji think of me?"

Her face turned pink. Did she really just think that? Where the hell did that come from? She'd never had any such thoughts before! But despite this, this simple little thought made everything click in her brain like all the clues coming together in one place.

Naoto wanted to impress Kanji Tatsumi. The idea made her face turn darker red as she stared at her reflection. Her heart was pounding. There was no doubt about it. She had a crush… And she wanted to look good for him. That was what all these nice feelings had been about all this time. She thought she had no time for such relationships, but the truth was, feelings like this have a way of sneaking up on you. They must have been building for some time now, since she first met him, and they had finally gotten to her.

Ok, if one were being technical, it wasn't her first crush ever. She'd met boys she found attractive in the past, but this was her first time ever getting close enough to one to develop actual feelings for him. (Having to stay in the disguise of a "boy detective" and all…) But she no longer needed such a thing. She had finally found people who accepted the real her. She was very grateful for it too.

That aside, what was she going to do about this discovery? Tell him? No- the mere idea of that made her stomach feel heavy. But she wondered… would he like her too? She didn't know what kind of person he would like.

"Whoever put your name up there must have been doing it as a joke."

That snide comment rang in her mind again, making her start to doubt herself. She wasn't like the other girls. Did that ruin her chances with a boy? She didn't know.

All of a sudden, she could hear Sukuna-Hikona in the back of her mind. Telling her to at least try something new. Maybe Kanji would like it. She wouldn't know unless she tried. But what could she do? She was too embarrassed to ask for makeup, and had no other fancy accessories with her. She had some old jewelry at home that used to belong to her mother, but that was at home. She never wore them herself. And she wasn't comfortable showing off her… figure yet. Especially in front of the entire damn school. There had to be something.

As she stared at herself, she suddenly got an idea. She gingerly reached up and took her hat off.

The difference surprised her. It was a big change, but it was something new. She made a point to never remove it in public before, as without it… well, her disguise suffered. The hat only came off when she was at home. That was her rule. But since nobody had ever seen her without it, it might be a good idea. She nodded to herself. Yes, this was the best plan.

The door opened and Rise walked in, looking dressed up with her hair and makeup done to perfection. "Naoto-kun, you ready?"

"Y-Yes…"

Rise then actually looked at her friend and gasped. "Oh! You're not gonna wear your hat?"

Naoto put the hat inside her bag with her uniform. "Yes, I- I thought…" She couldn't find any excuse that didn't involve telling Rise the truth.

Rise looked her over. It was a little disappointing that she wasn't as dolled up as the others, but she wasn't going to force her into it. She looked different enough this way. It suited her style, and that was what mattered.

"You look great," Rise said, smiling supportively.

"Thanks…" Naoto nervously finger-combed her hair trying to fix it. "Um, are the others ready?"

"Yeah… I think Chie is still pissy with Hanako-senpai about something that happened before. I wasn't listening to the fight." Rise had the impression that Naoto was acting unusually nervous. Maybe she suffered from stage fright? "Well, listen, don't worry about getting on stage. We'll all be there with you. No need to be scared."

Naoto smiled a little hearing that. "Thank you, yes, that does help…"

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"Cause you seem to be messing with your hair a lot… and you're blushing."

Naoto suddenly wished she was wearing her hat so she could hide it…

Rise smirked. "Are you worried about impressing someone?"

"No, I'm not!"

"Uh huh… sure. So who is it?!"

Naoto was shocked at how strangely perceptive Rise was all of a sudden. How did she tell? Was she psychic or something?

"Nobody! I'm not trying to impress anyone!"

"I bet I can guess!" Rise said, mischievously. "Oh, but I won't tell anyone though. I promise."

Naoto rolled her eyes. "If you really don't believe me, then fine go ahead and guess and see if I care-"

"It's Kanji."

Naoto froze. How did she- When did she give any clues?! She barely just figured out her own feelings! Was it really that obvious before now? What gave her away?

"H-How did…?"

Rise smiled. "I've seen how you act around him. Your body language, your voice, the way you look at him. That gave it away. Stuff that you do without thinking about it. Plus, you're a really bad liar." She giggled. "But don't worry, I think it's cute that you like him."

Naoto couldn't find the words to reply.

"I mean it, I won't tell anyone. And I bet he's gonna love seeing you up on stage."

With that, Rise grabbed her friend's arm and started dragging her along so they could join the others for the show. Naoto reluctantly followed her. Well… Rise was mischievous, but she wasn't cruel. The detective decided that if anyone should learn her secret, it was best that it was her idol friend. She was supportive. Naoto could trust her, even though she was still upset with herself for being found out so easily. She could get over it with a friend by her side.

Now all she had to do was get through the actual beauty pageant…

~...

Kanji, Yu, and Yosuke stood near the stage with the rest of the crowd to watch the pageant. Things were going well so far. Somehow Kashiwagi bent the rules so she could compete, even though she's a teacher. The rest of the girls were introduced on stage one by one. Kanji kept his focus on the show, feeling excited and curious about what Naoto would look like.

Once Rise finished introducing herself, the m.c. moved onto the final contestant. "Next is the mysterious transfer student from the first year's class 1, Ms. Naoto Shirogane!"

"Hey, Kanji… here she comes…" Yosuke said, smirking playfully.

Kanji glared at him and told him to pipe down before quickly looking back at the stage. Yosuke and Yu both shared amused looks.

Naoto stepped out on stage dressed in normal, casual attire. What surprised them was the fact that she wasn't wearing her hat.

Poor Naoto looked extremely embarrassed as she spoke into the mic. "I- I'm Naoto Shirogane. It's hard to believe I'm up on a stage at a pageant like this... This is beyond my wildest imaginings... I really don't know what to say..." She mumbled something away from the mic and quickly went to stand next to Rise before she could babble more.

"Wh-Whoa..." Kanji said quietly.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. He didn't think such a thing would have such a huge impact, but it did. She was utterly gorgeous without her hat. Maybe it was the fact that she looked more feminine this way. That must be it. He'd never seen that side of Naoto before. Sure, he loved her just as she was, and he'd never change that. But he wouldn't mind seeing more of her feminine side. Assuming it didn't kill him first, since he could feel his heart pounding again. He vaguely heard his friends making comments, but didn't pay any attention.

Naoto, meanwhile, was doing her best not to fidget so much while on stage. She looked down at the crowd and spotted Kanji. She couldn't tell where he was looking, but hopefully it was at her. The thought didn't help her nerves though. At this point, Teddie came in to be his usual annoying self. Asking embarrassing questions and not caring if he got a proper answer. The only saving grace was that this part was over fast.

The downside is, that meant it was time for the swimsuit part…

~...

"You don't want to at least try it on," Rise asked.

" No." Naoto said, bluntly. Her face was bright red. She was almost ready to kill Teddie for even buying the damn thing for her. And him somehow knowing her exact size was so disturbing she didn't even want to think about it.

Rise nodded and set the bag aside. Chie and Yukiko had already finished changing and had returned to the backstage waiting area. "Ok... If you're really sure. But what about K-?"

"It's not worth the entire school seeing me like that!"

Naoto was embarrassed enough by all this. Sure, she wanted to impress Kanji, but she had her limits! Wearing a revealing bikini was out of the question. Rise understood, thankfully. She let Naoto walk out, promising not to tell anyone where she went.

~...

Naoto couldn't believe it. It was so unexpected she couldn't begin to describe it. Yet the trophy in her hands proved it.

After walking out on the second half of the show, she had gotten changed and went to read alone in the classroom until the show was over. Once it was, the other girls came back and handed her a trophy saying she had won. There was no mistaking it, her name was on it. But she didn't see this coming at all. The school must be crazy or remarkably generous. She had been expecting one of her friends to win instead. But she did appreciate the various congratulatory comments from the others. They seemed proud of her. Once the girls were all back in their uniforms, they met up with the boys again.

"Yo, nice trophy, Naoto!" Yosuke greeted, playfully.

She glared at him and put it away in her bag. She didn't want to deal with his teasing. He seemed to get the message and didn't harp on it anymore though. Yu and Teddie both congratulated her too. But there was only one person she wanted an opinion from right now…

Kanji gulped when he saw her. She was wearing her hat again, but the thought of how she looked without it was burned into his head. He tried to fight his nerves, and do what Yu had advised: be honest and say the right thing.

"C-Congratulations, Naoto…" He said, shyly. "Y-You did great!"

Naoto's chest felt lighter hearing that, even if her face was red now. She smiled a little. "Oh… Th-Thank you…"

Maybe having to do that stupid pageant wasn't such a bad thing after all.

~End of Chapter