Begin!

~Normal POV

Naoto woke up today to find exactly the right thing she needed to take her mind off worrying about Nanako. In her mailbox was a new card from the phantom thief. Lucky her that she happened to be the one who got the mail today! This was good. She could focus on this little case instead- keep her mind occupied. Hopefully, find more clues about what was going on…

She should tell Kanji.

The fact was, Naoto hadn't had a chance to be alone with him since realizing her feelings for him. The thought made her nervous. Would things be weird now? Maybe she could just try to relax with him a little? Yes, that sounded good. Just spend time together solving their case- er, her case. Wait, was she weird for considering it could be his too? She groaned to herself.

She was rather hopeless at romance- and couldn't deny it either. No previous experience of her own. The closest she got was seeing it in her books and movies and shows. It wasn't uncommon to have a romantic side plot in detective fiction. Often it was used to add or disprove potential motives for the suspects. But all that didn't help her here. What she needed was advice from a real person.

Well, it wouldn't be a good idea to go to her grandpa. She didn't know how to break it to him yet that she had an interest in a boy. Plus, he'd probably get curious and want to meet Kanji first to "evaluate" him. And she wasn't ready for that kind of awkward meeting when they weren't even dating yet! Her best bet would be to ask Rise. She was the only one who knew about this secret right now. She knew Yukiko and Chie had their share of admirers, especially after the beauty pageant fiasco, but Rise was the only one with a boyfriend. Thus, she trusted that her advice might be more helpful. And Naoto was completely against the idea of confiding in any of the boys about this.

Teddie couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it. Yosuke would probably just tease her for it. Yu likely wouldn't mind, and would try to help, but she felt more comfortable asking Rise.

She pulled out her phone and texted Rise to spend lunch with her alone today for a favor.

~...

Naoto was relieved when Rise accepted her request. The two ate their lunch outside the school, away from the others.

"So what's this favor you need?"

"I… need some advice…"

Rise grinned. "Is it dating advice?"

Naoto blushed and nodded.

"You've come to the right place! Alright, what have you tried so far to get closer to Kanji?"

"I- I only recently realized that I have these feelings. I don't think I've done anything in particular. Aside from asking to spend time with him. And… the festival…"

"Well, that's normal! You're hanging out together and getting along. That's a good start." Rise said, cheerfully. "I tried asking him who he voted for, but he got all grumpy and said it was none of my business."

"I see…"

The idea concerned her a little. It could potentially mean that he didn't vote for her… But he did seem happy for her winning, so maybe she shouldn't dwell on that too much.

"Anyway, what's your plan?"

"My plan for what?"

"Your plan for how to charm him, of course!" Rise said. When she received a blank stare in response, she added. "You mean you don't have a plan?"

"N-No, I was hoping for advice first. To figure out how to proceed."

Rise nodded. "Ok- let's see…" She already knew that Kanji liked her too, so she'd have to be careful how to word it. It wouldn't be fair to just spill like that. "You can't go wrong with a little flirting."

Naoto went pale. "Meaning?"

"Hmm… You think he's cute, right?"

"...Y-Yes…?"

Rise thought for a moment trying to think of a clever line. "Oh, I know the perfect one that would work for you! Say: 'You're under arrest for being too cute. Now put your hands where I can hold them!'"

"I'm not saying that!" That line was far too embarrassing!

Rise was giggling. "Sorry! Sorry! I know you wouldn't. But seriously, you should try to slip in a few light flirts when you hang out next time. Like, letting him know that you want to spend more time with him. Or complimenting him. Oh- and this is a really good one! Whenever you get the chance, sit next to him."

Naoto looked at her curiously. "How does that last one help?"

"One, it lets you sit close to him. And two, it helps you get comfortable with being near him. The more you do it, the less nervous you get about it. Plus, if it's a cold day, you can use that as an excuse to get even closer."

That was surprisingly logical. It seemed like a good tactic to try at least. If she can bring herself to do so.

"That… is a good idea." Naoto said, smiling a little. "Thank you."

"No problem, let me know if you want more help. Are you gonna see him today?"

"Y-Yes, I was going to ask him to come with me after school. There's something important we've been looking into." At this point, the bell rang. The two finished their meals and headed back to class.

~...

After school, Naoto approached Kanji and asked if he was able to join her today. Luckily, he was. He was happy she asked too. It'd be nice to spend a little time with her to take his mind off recent events. So they went to their spot at the gazebo to talk.

Naoto was understandably nervous. Talking about these things was one thing, but actually putting them into practice was another. When they reached their spot, she hesitantly waited for him to sit down first. There was no time for her to mentally talk herself into it, so she just had to do it right away. She sat down beside him at the table.

Kanji was shocked. Naoto never sat close to him like that before! Well, it wasn't like she was super close, they weren't touching, but still. He felt his heart pounding but tried to stay calm. His mind was reeling. Ok, so she suddenly was ok with sitting next to him, right? That was fine. He liked that. And he wanted to make her happy, so he was fine with it. He wasn't gonna move away if this was what she wanted. That would make her think he didn't want to sit near her, and he couldn't have that.

Naoto was just as surprised. Once she tried it, it actually felt nice. Nerve-wracking, yes, but nice all the same. And even better, Kanji didn't seem to mind. He looked a bit confused, but didn't object to this position. He must have been fine with it. She got comfortable in her spot and tried to focus on their new task to calm her nerves. She pulled out the new card and showed it to him.

"This was in my mailbox this morning."

He stared at it quizzically. "You think it's a new riddle or something?"

"Perhaps- I haven't opened it yet. But there's something I've been wondering about. It's about how you were given the first card. I can't help wondering if our culprit had some other reason for having you deliver it to me. After all, why you, specifically?"

Kanji didn't know, either. He hadn't thought about it much, but it did seem odd. He shrugged. "Because I looked useless? Maybe he was thinking you could help me get smarter instead."

Naoto couldn't help laughing heartily. "Then he must be a poor judge of character." She said, between giggles.

He was happy to see her laughing but he didn't understand what was so funny. "What do ya mean?"

She calmed down from her laughing fit and smiled at him. "I mean that 'useless' is not a word I would ever use to describe you, Kanji-kun." Feeling that this was a good opportunity, she kept going.

"You are strong and talented. Academics may not be your best field, but the things you do know, you know extremely well. Like your crafts… Every time I see one, I am impressed by the amount of detail and care you put into them. Something I wouldn't know the first thing about doing, myself. You are not useless. Not even a little."

Her heart was pounding after getting the words out. She meant every one of them. She smiled even more when she saw Kanji turn bright red.

"Uh-! I-! Th-Thanks!"

She seriously thought that about him? He had no idea…

Naoto turned her attention back to the card. "Now, let's see what it says." She opened it up and read it aloud.

When the banks close, the fruit tree grows.

By the large seven at the third is the spot I chose.

"Hm. More cryptic this time. Well, I anticipated that."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Kanji muttered.

"The first thing that comes to mind with the 'fruit tree' is the original card. But the second sentence…" She furrowed her brow in concentration. "'By the seven,' 'at the third…' What do these numerical values mean?"

She read the clue over again aloud trying to get a hint by sounding it out.

"Are the numbers important?" Kanji asked.

"The numbers themselves…?" Naoto said, quizzically, "The seven and the third…" All of a sudden her eyes lit up excitedly. " That's it!"

"It is?!"

"Yes, look-" She held up the card. "Look at the third and seventh words. 'Banks' and 'tree.' In other words, 'By the large tree at the banks is the spot I chose!'"

"Ohh! But how do we know which tree? There's tons of 'em here."

"That's easy, we just look for the largest one."

The two smiled at each other and began their search. It took a few minutes, but they finally found the largest tree closest to the river. Naoto could tell a small patch of dirt under the tree had been dug up recently, so she dug it up with her hands. She pulled something out and wiped her hands clean with a pocket tissue.

"Is that another one of your things?" Kanji asked.

"Yes, it's a watch." She wiped the dirt off it and showed it to him. It was a digital watch, it looked big for a child's wrist, but it still worked fine. "I had a feeling this would be the one. This watch brings back memories…"

He was curious now. "What kinda memories?"

She smiled. "This watch is pretty advanced. This, along with my old badge, is part of a set. I called them 'The Seven Tools of the Detective.' It has an extremely strong backlight. You can use it to blind the enemy… I modified it when I was a child."

"Damn, that's pretty cool."

She seemed to smile bigger from hearing that. "I've always loved this sort of thing, ever since childhood. I preferred robots and cars to dolls and teddy bears…"

Hearing that made him a little nervous. Did she dislike dolls and stuffed animals?

The look on his face must have given away his thoughts because she added. "Oh, I don't hate them. I had a few back then, but I didn't play with them. I have nothing against cute toys, or anyone who likes them."

Kanji felt relief wash over him. "Oh, that's good… What else did you like doing back then?"

"I liked high places," She answered, happily. "I still do. Our estate has many trees around it, so I grew up climbing them. I even had a secret base in the trees… Hehe, I enjoyed that…"

The thoughts came flooding back to her. When she was young and innocent, and didn't know what cruelty the world would show her just for being who she was. What her Shadow reminded her of when she was thrown in the tv.

"You don't want to be reminded of the reality you live in. The cruel world that would deny you your dream just for something so trivial as your birthright!"

Those words still stung even after she accepted the Shadow… They were true. The world always found a reason to look down on her. Her height, her voice, her gender, her age, there was always something. So she changed her looks to appear how the world wanted her, and it still wasn't enough. Was anything ever going to be enough? Her chest tightened as she considered the possible answer…

She looked down and frowned thinking about it. Kanji noticed her frown and became concerned. What could have upset her? She was so happy a second ago.

" Why…?" Naoto asked, sadly. "Why couldn't I have been born male…? It would have been much easier for me… I could have done what I wanted to with gusto…" She sighed heavily. "It's funny, isn't it…?"

Kanji took in her words quietly. He understood it too. He wanted to say something to help her feel better, but what? No… thinking about it he knew what he had to do. Yu had told him about this before. This felt to him like one of those times when he had to be honest and say the right thing. Say what he felt. He knew what he wanted to say, he just hoped he could get it out properly.

"Well, uh…"

Naoto looked at him as he got her attention.

Taking a breath, Kanji said, "I'm glad you're a girl."

His face was very red saying it, but he said it, and there was no taking it back now.

"HUH?!" Naoto stared at him, eyes wide in shock, her cheeks bright red. Her heart was pounding again. "Wh-What are you saying…? Hrmph! Th-There's nothing good about it!"

Kanji could see she was flustered and panicking. Since he was able to get the words out, maybe he should try to say more? To explain? And maybe… maybe she'd start to understand what he really meant.

"Y-You being a girl detective is cool! I think so… And I remember you said that the police is entirely made up of men, so shouldn't that mean that a woman should step up to the challenge too? To prove 'em wrong? Y-You're already like the best detective ever, aren't ya? You figured out the whole case even before I got kidnapped. And ya tried to stop it! You could have gotten put on the killer's radar way earlier for that, right? But ya did it anyway to help me… A-And I think that's really brave and awesome. You're… You're a really cool girl, Naoto…"

If her heart was pounding before, it was racing now… All Naoto could do was stare at him in disbelief. She seriously never expected anyone to say such words to her. And the fact that they came from Kanji, the boy she had become attached to… It touched her deeply.

The silence lingered for longer than normal. Kanji started to become worried. Naoto wasn't saying anything. Did he offend her? Maybe he should apologize-

"Kanji-kun?"

He snapped his gaze back to her. "Y-Yeah?"

She was still blushing, and smiled softly at him. "N-Nobody's ever said that to me before, so… thank you…"

"O-Oh, you're welcome…!" He was shocked but happy. He made her smile again. That was all he ever wanted. He didn't mess it up after all!

Naoto felt herself calm down a little. She then had an idea to change the subject. "Um, i-it seems I've been doing all the talking… Why don't you tell me about yourself? What were you like as a child?"

"Me? Oh well- if you really wanna know…" Kanji scratched his head sheepishly.

"I want to." Naoto urged, gently.

Kanji smiled. "Alright…"

The two found a nice spot to sit by the river, and Kanji told her about his childhood. It was surprisingly easy for him to share, despite not being the best experience. He told her about how he was always teased for liking to sew, and other things that weren't socially acceptable for a boy to enjoy. She asked a question here and there, but mostly just listened to him talk. She saw nothing wrong with a boy liking "girly" things. He was passionate about it, she liked that about him.

"Huh… I suppose we have a lot more in common than we thought." Naoto commented, once he was done.

"Yeah, we kinda do."

"Thank you for sharing that." Naoto smiled, gently. "I wish I could have seen it… Well- I guess there's little point in wondering what could have been."

Kanji smiled back at her. "That's true…"

They shared a light laugh, and shifted to talking about other things for the rest of their afternoon. Once it got close to dinnertime, Kanji walked her home again. And he was surprised when she didn't object this time. What he didn't know was that she did that on purpose, just to spend a little extra time with him.

~End of Chapter