Detective Kanji

Chapter 12: The Tatsuhime Shrine

Begin!

~Normal POV

Kanji was a nervous wreck today. This was it. Fate had decided that today would be the day. He knew because he got a text from Naoto... It said she wanted to see him after school. She wanted to try to finally catch the Phantom Thief. He accepted right away. This was the perfect excuse to spend time with her. It wasn't the best setting for it, but it would have to do. Yu did say that things won't always go according to plan, and that was ok. He could just use what he had. They agreed to meet up by the lockers.

Before heading to the meet up spot, Kanji ducked into the bathroom and quickly tried to fix his hair. He figured if he was gonna do this, he should try to look good. Would she mind that he wasn't dressed nicer? He sighed to himself. No, he couldn't worry about that. Use what he had, that was the plan. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he went to the lockers.

Naoto was waiting for him there. She didn't notice him at first, cause she seemed to be lost in thought. He cautiously approached her.

"H-Hey, Naoto..."

Naoto jumped a little and looked pink in the face. "Huh? Oh, there you are... Sorry, I was busy thinking. Ahem, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, if you are," He answered.

The two exited the school and started walking along the path. The walk was rather quiet at first... Naoto glanced at him. He looked very much the same as usual, but perhaps different somehow too. His hair looked different, and so were his mannerisms. She had the sense that he was acting very nervous about something. But try as she might, she couldn't make her brain try to figure out what. She couldn't stop thinking about her confession. Her heart was pounding. Her stomach felt all fluttery. She could hardly focus on anything else. She had tried fixing up her appearance a little before meeting with him, but she doubted it was even noticeable...

Kanji chanced looking at her while she wasn't paying attention. Something about Naoto seemed different today. Maybe he was seeing things. She looked kinda nervous and fidgety. Other than that, she looked the same as ever. Still just as gorgeous, even if she was wearing her hat. He was too wrapped up in thinking about his confession to really dwell on it though. He could feel his hands sweating in his pockets. Even just standing next to her was a challenge. The feeling of his heart pounding made him want to run for the hills. But no, he promised himself he wouldn't run away from his feelings ever again. Especially not this one...

As they walked, Kanji also realized that he had no idea where they were heading. This was just the same path they walked on together the first time they ever hung out. It was nice to remember, but didn't she have a plan in mind?

He cleared his throat and asked. "Uh, so where are we going?"

Naoto was thankful for the question, as it was a good distraction. "The shopping district... I've found a good lead for us." She smiled a little.

"Oh, cool..." Kanji replied, sharing her smile.

More silence followed. It seemed until they reached their destination, neither of them really knew what to say.

"Um, how are things at your shop?"

Kanji was surprised by the sudden question, but didn't mind it. It was something to talk about so that his nerves didn't drive him crazy. "Pretty good. It's getting close to winter, so we're getting more orders for blankets and scarves. And little kids wanting new dolls."

"Ah, I hate cold weather, myself, so I understand that feeling."

"Oh- if ya need a new scarf, I..." Sadly, Kanji couldn't bring himself to finish. He was going to say he'd be happy to make her one as a gift, but he was too nervous.