Call it Fate (Naoto Shirogane x Kanji Tatsumi)

Call it Fate

                         ༺⊱☬⊰༻
The cases had ceased for a short while after the team got their newest team member - Naoto Shirogane. It had barely been two weeks since they saved her from the tv world, and she has been helping them catch the real killer ever since.
They all already established that the original killer wasn't really Mitsuo Kubo, though he was responsible for the death of Kinshiro Morooka. The kid claimed he also killed the two previous victims, a reporter named Mayumi Yamano and a third year student named Saki Konishi.
But that claim was proven false after the police discovered that Mr Morooka died from blunt force trauma to the head, unlike the two previous victims.
Their causes of death were never determined, but it was speculated to be due to a unknown poison in both cases. Though that was only a temporary theory, since the results of the dissection debunked it soon after.
And it was also further proven when the group of friends hunting the killer found Mitsuo in the other world looking lost, bickering with his shadow self.
After they defeat shadow Mitsuo, it seemed like everything quieted down for a while.
Then, just as everyone thought the case was solved, Naoto Shirogane also got kidnapped, and the team had to start all over again.
Now here they were, brain storming away whilst trying to maintain a normal life.
It was difficult to keep up with day to day tasks and fight shadow like monsters at the same time. The whole group was getting pretty anxious now, waiting for another victim or for any kind of sign from the killer really.
But nothing seemed to happen as of late, and they started to loose their patience.
The person who was most preoccupied with this case was undoubtedly the detective prince, or better say princess.
She worked day and night trying to find some sort of lead in the case - if she managed to solve it, it would very likely be the breakthrough in her detective careers. And God knows she really needed it with all the critics trying to shoot her down with various excuses, pointing to her age or gender as usual.
Everyone else involved in the case knew that she was really working hard. They noticed that she always seemed more tired and dazed than usual. There were two dark bags under her eyes, and she often lost her train of thought when talking. She'd hardly ever concentrate on lectures, often falling asleep in classes or when they'd meet up.
If they didn't already decide to solve the case, the group definitely felt the need to solve it even more just for the sake of their friends mental and physical health, as well as everything else.
Today was a normal day, just like the previous one. They had classes, talked about the cases during lunch, and we're supposed to meet up at Junes in the afternoon.
Naoto, like any other day of the past two to three weeks, slept trough most of the classes.
Not even the ear piercing sound of the school bell was enough to wake her up at this point. None of the other students paid much attention to their sleeping classmate, leaving her be as is.
At that very same moment, Rise and Kanji were making their way down the hall by the aforementioned detectives classroom.
The three of them would usually walk to a certain point back home before dispersing, each going their separate way.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Kanji, Narukami said that we won't be meeting up today. Apparently he doesn't feel to well." Rise said with a pout.
"You couldda told me earlier! Man, the hell was Senpai thinkin' when he made you his messenger?"
The bustling hallway made it difficult to hear each other, and given the delinquents height, he barely heard what Rise had to say as a comeback.
"What? How rude! Of course Senpai would pick me, he knows just how smart, pretty and dependable I am with handling such important tasks!"
Kanji grumbled something along the lines of "...yeah, right..." under his breath, though the idol seemed to catch onto his comment.
"Besides, he could only call either me or you, since Naoto was working. And I'm sure no one is dim enough to rely on YOUR memory." She said sweetly.
"Beat it you twerp." Kanji growled back at her insult. Although he was pretty aware that he wasn't the brightest of the bunch, he sure didn't like hearing that from Rise of all people.
"Speaking of Naoto-kun," Rise said, stopping by her shoe locker, "where is she? I mean, she's usually her before anyone..."
"So?" Kanji replied dumbly, reaching for his shoes.
"So, go check on her Moronji! Ugh, do you even care of she's okay or not? She's been so busy and you just-"
"ALRIGHT, alright, Jesus, stop grillin' me ya damn woman!" He yelled back. "And cut it with the name calling!"
'She could've checked up on Naoto herself,' he thought, 'she was even closer to the classroom, AND she wasn't taking her shoes off. Lousy pop star.'
He kept silently fuming over Rises demeanor while pushing by the other students; it was almost like she was set on this earth with the very purpose of annoying the crap out of him.
He couldn't complain, though. At least he knew that the things she said were never with evil intent, much like how Yosuke teased him back when he first joined the group.
But sometimes he really wasn't up to listening either of those clowns making fun of him, and today was that kind of day.
In other words, he was in a sort of bad mood. Well, in a worse mood than he usually was. He wasn't really known as the sunshiny happiness of the group - that was Teddies job.
After finally pushing his way through the crowd (only it was more like walking, seeing as everyone was quick to duck out of his way) he opened the sliding door only to come face to face with and empty classroom.
Or, at least he thought it was empty for a moment.
Soon after, his eyes drifted towards the desks - the middle desk near the window to be exact. That's where he saw Naoto, hunched over her table, fast asleep.
He still found it unusual, seeing her asleep in classes, that is. Usually, being irresponsible in school was his trademark thing. And to see the most responsible and nerdy person he knew snoozing away on the school desk like nobody's business? It was just plain weird.
"Hey is Naoto o... kay?" Rise appeared out of nowhere, peeking by Kanji and into the room.
"She must be exhausted..."
"Yea..."
The pop idol smirked mischievously, immediately spotting an opportunity to get Kanji closer to Naoto. She was well aware that he had some hidden types of feelings for her, as were most people with a higher IQ than the temperature outside mid winter. She also knew that he had a habit of harboring and hoarding feelings, romantic feelings included. There was no way on earth or beyond that he would ever admit that he had the "slightest" of crushes on her, thought he didn't have to admit anything since all his actions made it painfully clear.
All of their friends always wondered how Naoto never noticed these hints - either she was politely trying to let him down by trying to get him understand that the feeling wasn't mutual, or she was just that oblivious.
Rise believed that it was more of the second one. It was well known that Naoto wouldn't catch a compliment if you said it straight to her face, even though her skills as a detective were nearly unparalleled.
"Say, Kanji, how about you let her sleep for a bit, then wake her up? Good idea, right? Well, I'll catch you later, bye!"
With that, Rise sprinted away and hid by the entrance.
Kanji could only helplessly stand there and look at his teammate running away. He couldn't tell at her to come back, since that would most likely wake up Naoto and stir some trouble.
With a sigh, he determined that the best thing to do would be to listen to Rise and do as she says. He shut the door and turned the chair of the desk in front of Naoto towards her table, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
She looked peaceful enough, and it seemed like this mid day nap was well needed.
And knowing this was Naoto, it was probably well deserved too. She overworked herself so often that she really needed a break from time to time.
He carefully watched her sleeping face for a moment, placing his elbow on the table and lazily leaning his head onto his hand. Kanji hated to admit that he found her absolutely adorable, despite how serious she was.
For starters, she looked like a chibi character compared to him. And then how she would puff her cheeks when embarrassed, or grab the hem of her hat when thinking.
It was usually those little things most everyone overlooked that Kanji remembered and secretly gushed about.
Naoto and her habits were probably the only thing Kanji would willingly study and remember.
Just when he zoned out, he saw the door open just barely enough for Rise to fit her head through.
"Don't wake her up!" She whispered with a wink, before leaving the school grounds for good.
Kanji was so tempted to give chase after his nosy friend, but it was just not worth it.
He could feel his heart beating wildly as Naoto stirred in her sleep, taking a deep breath and exhaling heavily. Even when she was asleep, she was overwhelmed with this case, Kanji thought.
The sun already began to set, diving below the horizon, when Naoto stretched and sleepily opened her eyes.
"G' mornin'." She heard a voice say.
Slowly lifting her head up, she was greeted by the presence Kanji, who didn't look amused in the least.
"Hey..." she whispered, her head turning towards the school window.
Kanji watched as her eyes widened with shock once she noticed the orange skies.
"How long was I asleep for, did I miss the meeting, I-i..."
"Yo, relax you dumbass. Senpai canceled the meeting."
Naoto sat down once again, now seemingly a bit more relaxed after finding out she didn't fail to show up at Junes.
"Where is everyone... and why are you still here, Kanji-kun? Don't tell me you sat here the whole time!"
Kanji blushed, and quickly stood up "Y-yeah, whatever! Rise told me to wait and Uhm... Tch, let's just go!" In all honesty, he couldn't stand being near Naoto because it just made him so nervous.
"Right, let me just pack. Here." In a moments notice, she was standing right by him, ready to leave.
"My grandfather must be really worried since I took so long..." Naoto said, taking her phone out to call her grandfather.
She started to slow down a bit, and so did Kanji. He did take a few more steps ahead to give her the privacy she wanted while talking on the phone.
"Mhm... no, I'm okay... no, at school... with Kanji-kun... okay... He- of course not! No, no... okay, okay, I will... mhm, bye."
Kanji started listening to what she was saying despite himself, and he couldn't help but notice that he was also mentioned. That was a pretty bold move on Naotos side, considering her grandfather hated Kanji and all that he stood for. He still considered him a delinquent, and most importantly, a bad influence for Naoto.
"You know, Kanji-kun..." She quietly said once she returned to his side. "It's kind of frightening and unbelievable... to think that this case will be over soon. It seems like we've just begun, yet..." her voice trailer off, and Kanji took it upon himself to finish what she wanted to say.
"Yeah... 'n were already more than halfway to the finish line... I try not to think 'bout it..." Kanji said. One part of him actually wanted for the whole tv killer thing to keep going on, because it made him feel like he has a purpose.
"Why not? You can't escape the inevitable." Naoto retorted calmly, though inquiringly.
"'cause... well... once the case is over, the guy gets put behind bars 'n... Senpai, Rise and you leave... an-'..." for a moment it sounded like he was debating whether or not he should say it,
"-We're all gonna stop hangin' out, and... there won't be no more hangouts... no one'll have time, busy with school and their jobs and shit..."
He sighed, and looked away from Naoto. "Guess I'm just... scared to be alone again..."
Naotos eyes were filled with sympathy as she looked up at him - nearly half a year ago, she considered him nothing but some Idiotic troublemaker who liked to throw fists... And at times like these, she would realize just how wrong she was about Kanji.
She expected him to be a good for nothing stupid brute. And while he was a bit on the stupid side and rather brute-like, he was a good person. He had a nice side to him, and he never really liked the idea of people being afraid of him. He only made that scary image of himself because he was scared to get hurt by others, judged for who he is or what he likes to do - kind of like how Naoto dressed as a guy and acted mature so the critics and her superiors wouldn't look down on her and use her gender or age as ammunition against her dream.
She probably understood how he felt better than anyone.
"Yeah... And you know, Kanji-kun... I'm scared too." She admitted. He watched in disbelief as she turned to him with a reassuring smile, "But, I know I won't be alone again. I have the whole group by me, Narukami, Hanamura, Sataonaka, Amagi, Rise-san, Teddie... and you."
Kanji went red in the face as it sounded like Naoto absentmindedly singled him out of the group just a little bit.
Naoto didn't notice how flustered he became and continued "And same goes for you. You have all of us by your side. So I try not to worry because I know that we will not be alone again." Kanji tried to find comfort in that statement, soon after adding his own thesis with a smile; "Yea... 'mean, after all the shit we've been trough... man, there ain't nothing breakin' us apart, even if one of us was at the end of the damn world!"
"Hah, yeah. That's the spirit." Naoto cheered on.
Before they knew it, they were already in front of her house. She just climbed up onto her front porch, when she decided to turn around and take a few steps closer to Kanji.
Looking ahead, she said. "Kanji-kun... let's make a promise."
"H-huh? Wha-?!" Kanji stammered back. His blood ran cold when she looked up at him, and straight into his eyes. He was sure that if he didn't die from shock then, he would never.
"That we will never be alone again, because we will always have each others back. That we'll stay in contact even after the case is done." The detective stated calmly, yet firmly. Kanji began getting flustered again, and he completely forgot that he had to answer until he heard a concerned voice form in front of him. "Kanji-kun, are you okay? You look like you have a fever. Are you sick?"
"N-no, no! I'm... I'm fine just, uh... yeah." He stretched his hand forward for a handshake, one which he recieved.
"Then it's settled. We won't be alone... only, if... we ever make it out alive"
Kanji couldn't really pass up that Naoto sounded very concerned saying it. They all knew just how dangerous this last mission may be, and that it will probably be like nothing they ever faced before.
He looked down into her eyes, and even though he was dense and unable to read emotions, he could see that she was not only uneasy - she was terrified.
And not only did she seem mortified - she also looked like she wasnon the verge of breaking down in tears.
There were no tears in her eyes, actually, but Kanji could just tell that she wanted to let all of those feelings out by crying.
She tried to hide it for a moment, but what she said sent her spiraling down a tunnel of negative emotions and possible outcomes of the fight.
And something about how Kanji looked at her with understanding and equal unease eventually led her to shedding a few tears.
"Ay, cut that shit out! Cryin' like that... Look... It's okay to cry, just..." he tried to correct himself, remembering how her shadow pointed out despising when people tried to stop her emotions from showing "-how my 'ma would put it better than me, 'cry an ocean, but don't drown in it.'... look, the point's... were gonna be fine, okay? We'll survive, and... and keep that damn promise, you got that?!"
Naoto couldn't really tell if Kanji was trying to comfort and encourage her or himself at this point. Either way she appreciated the attempt, and was secretly proud of his genuine growth as a person.
Back when she met him, he could barely even give pep talk to himself, and now he was outright giving her better advice and incentive that any adult ever had.
"Thank you, Kanji-kun..." She said softly, wiping the few tears with her sleeve. "I must admit that I really needed to hear that. It's good to hear people telling me that I can and should cry for once rather than always hearing the same 'Stop crying, Naoto, that won't solve anything.'"
Kanji initially didn't know if what he said was right, considering he never really saw Naoto cry like this. For a stupidly long amount of time, he always thought she was so strong, invincible even. Like nothing could bring her down, and that she didn't even know what a weak side is. And by now, she had proven him wrong more than once.
But he never saw her so vulnerable before... it didn't take a genius to realize that he had to be something else for Naoto to let her guard down in front of him like that.
And even though she probably would have done it in front of anyone else in their friend group... he couldn't help but feel a bit special in the end.
"Yeah, Iw's just sayin'..."
Naoto tipped her hat at him and smiled brightly trough her tears. "Thank you Kanji-kun... for listening and for helping."
"N-nah, I'm... pretty sure ya helped me more..." he chuckled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Well, either way. I'll see you before the battle then. Rest up well, Kanji-kun, you'll very likely need all the energy you can get."
"Yeah, you too, Naoto... you too."