Detective Kanji

Chapter 9: The Second Clue

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."