Begin!

~Normal POV

The days passed rather peacefully in January. Everyone was enjoying their time together, even if they had to go back to school now. Yosuke had said something about a ski trip plan for after their next exams, so that would be nice. Nanako and Dojima were officially released from the hospital a short time ago. Despite this good news, the team got the impression that Yu had something on his mind the last few days. But he never opened up about what it was. He was probably just stressed over exams or something.

Naoto was hanging out with Rise right now. She had asked to talk about something. It didn't sound urgent, but Naoto was curious. Rise usually never asked her for favors of any kind.

"Ok- I have this idea, and I kinda need you to help with it!"

"Is something wrong?" Naoto asked.

"Well… no. Yes? Maybe?" Rise struggled to answer. "Wait, let me start over. So you know how senpai's been kinda distracted lately?"

"I have noticed that. Why?"

"He insists to me that it's nothing, and I'm sure that he's lying, but I can't get him to talk about it. And I thought, 'Ok, he doesn't have to tell me if he doesn't want to, but also I wanna help him feel better too.' And that's when I got this super great idea. I wanna take him out somewhere for a date night to take his mind off whatever's bugging him."

"Uh… then do it? He's your boyfriend, I don't see what you need me for…"

"I'm getting to it! So- my idea was to go out for a movie night in Okina. And then I said, 'you know what would make it even more fun?'"

Naoto had a feeling she didn't want to hear what Rise had in mind to make "a fun night with her boyfriend."

"It could be a double date!"

"...A what?" She hadn't been expecting to hear that at all.

"You know what a double date is, right? It's when two couples go on a date at the same time and all hang out together. So it'd be me, you, senpai, and Kanji. We could see a movie and get dinner somewhere too. I've thought about asking for a while, but there hasn't been a chance before, with the case and all, so I'm asking now! What do you say?" Rise finished, smiling eagerly.

Honestly, Naoto didn't know what to think. It seemed harmless enough, but also a bit nerve-wracking. She rather preferred being alone with Kanji on "date nights." But seeing the hopeful look on her friend's face, she decided it might not be so bad to try it once, just to see what it's like. It might be fun. Maybe if they had a good time, they could do something like it again too.

"I- um… Have you brought this up with Yu-senpai yet?"

"Yep! He said it sounded fun, but obviously I needed to ask you first." Rise answered. "I was thinking we could go this Saturday if we're all free."

"I know Kanji and I aren't doing anything this weekend… Hm." Naoto pulled out her phone. "Let me see what he thinks." She sent a quick text to Kanji explaining the situation. "By the way, if we do it, what movie would we see anyway? I'm not sure what's playing right now."

Rise put on a thinking pose. "I don't know either. But I guess we can pick when we get there. There's never too many options playing in January, but that means it won't be crowded either."

"That does sound nice…" Naoto felt her phone buzz in her hand. Kanji had replied that he was fine with going. "Ah, he's ok with it. So, I guess we'll go."

" Yay!" Rise gave her a tight hug. "Thank you!"

"Ugh-! R-Rise, please…"

"Oh- sorry!" Rise quickly let go.

Naoto nursed her ribs gently. Rise often gave very tight, enthusiastic hugs. She much preferred Kanji's gentle ones instead. He was more respectful of her limits, despite being noticeably stronger.

"Anyway, let me know when you've got it all set up with senpai, and we'll go on Saturday."

Rise agreed, and the two moved on to discussing other topics. Sort of. It was actually just a little of Rise pestering Naoto for details about her Christmas night with Kanji. To which, Naoto effectively dodged the questions.

~...

The plan was for the two couples to meet up outside the movie theater in Okina. Kanji and Naoto arrived first, surprisingly. But Naoto was usually more punctual about these things, so she wouldn't allow them to be late. They had decided since they were going after school, they changed into some casual clothes first. There was no rule saying they had to keep their uniforms on all day, or at least Inaba didn't have one. The two chatted happily while waiting for their friends.

"I'll be honest, none of these movies look that interesting." Kanji remarked.

Naoto shrugged. "They might surprise us. But you're right, I've never heard of any of them."

"Sorry we're late!" They saw Yu and Rise jog up to them.

"Hope you guys weren't waiting too long," Yu said, wiping some sweat on his coat sleeve. "I had to stop somewhere before I picked Rise up. It took a little longer than expected."

"Damn it, Margaret, if you don't have any proper news, don't ask to meet up so suddenly. Thank goodness the Velvet Room is so close to Rise's place." He really didn't want to explain what was going on yet. He didn't want to worry everyone over Marie. He was sure she would be found soon, but that didn't make it any less stressful. A nice night out would hopefully help clear his head; that was why he agreed.

Naoto checked her watch. "Oh, you're not late at all. We still have about 15 minutes before the next showing starts anyway."

They went inside the theater and looked through the list of movies that were playing today. Or at least the ones that were about to show next.

"What the hell is Orso Rosso?" Kanji asked.

Yu sighed. "I have no idea. But Teddie's been bugging me to take him to see it, cause Yosuke won't."

"If it's something Teddie is interested in, then I'm honestly terrified…" Naoto said. Knowing that bear, it could be just about anything.

But Rise had already taken control of the situation by saying, "We definitely gotta see Roman Paid Holiday!"

"I'm ok with it if everyone is." Yu said, smiling.

"What is it?"

"An old romance movie! It's only showing temporarily as a re-release," Rise answered excitedly. "It'd be perfect!"

Naoto should have figured she would choose something like that. It wasn't to her tastes, but it was better than being talked into seeing a horror movie or something. She didn't want to tell anyone that she hated scary movies. She hadn't even told Kanji. And for now, she wanted it to stay that way. She and Kanji decided it was fine, so Yu bought the tickets for them. (They had to use the tv world money somehow.)

The movie was surprisingly enjoyable. It was well made, had good actors, and a nice story. Kanji and Naoto were both very grateful that Yu and Rise had the good sense not to make out during it. That would have kinda ruined the whole double date thing. Once they finished their movie, they went out to eat at a nearby restaurant.

They spent their dinner together talking about various things, from school to the ski trip plans.

"I'm a little nervous about it. I've never gone skiing before," Naoto admitted, looking embarrassed.

Kanji smiled and put his arm around her side. "That won't be a problem. I'll teach ya!"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to keep you from enjoying yourself."

"Nah, it'll be fun." Kanji insisted happily. Naoto blushed and decided it wasn't worth trying to change his mind. She liked the idea of him giving her lessons.

Rise was smirking playfully at them from the other side of their booth. "You two are so cute together!"

Kanji turned just as red as Naoto. "Shut up, Rise…"

"She has a point though." Yu said, sipping his drink. "It's nice to see you two are so comfortable with each other now. It's almost hard to believe he was that nervous about confessing before."

This made Rise remember something important. "Oh, right! Naoto, you never told me what happened when you confessed!"

Naoto and Kanji looked at each other, seeming embarrassed by the memory. But knowing Rise, she wasn't going to drop it easily. Naoto did promise her she'd say it. It just slipped her mind after it happened. So, the two explained what happened, without going into too much detail about the second half. After hearing the full story, Yu and Rise shared a good-natured laugh. This would have upset Kanji and Naoto, if they didn't also think it was a little funny too. It was certainly funny to describe to someone else.

After dinner, the two boys took their girls home for the night. Turns out, a double date can be kind of fun, with the right people.

~End of Chapter