[Microfic] [MC!Nanako] ( fortune )
“I apologize for involving you in this.”
The two of them sat underneath the park pavilion. With the onset of fall, Nanako had taken to wearing a pink hoodie over her uniform, something for which she now felt acutely grateful. In other words, it was chilly out. But it wasn’t just the chill that brought a flush of pink to her cheeks. “Are you kidding?” she said. “This is an adventure!”
Naoto chuckled. “I suppose I should not underestimate your enthusiasm,” she said. “In any case,” she continued, her face deepening into a frown, “there is still the matter of the first…”
They both started, Nanako moreso than Naoto. The card had disappeared. “Huh?” said Nanako, looking around frantically. “Wait, did the wind get it?”
“… no,” said Naoto, her expression more amused than worried. “I would not say that.”
Nanako turned back to the table just in time to see Souji stick the first card in his mouth. “H-hey, little bro! When did you get here?" And then a second pause, followed by Nanako reaching awkwardly for his would-be snack. "Don't eat that!”
Souji nibbled delicately, with the air of a connoisseur sipping fine wine. After a moment, however, his expression clouded; the card popped out and received a disappointed stare. Naoto chuckled again. “I believe he smells the citrus on it. He has a sharp nose for details.”
And a tendency to sneak up on me, thought Nanako with a sigh. “I didn’t notice that…”
Naoto waved off her embarrassment. “It was quite faint.”
Meanwhile, her little cousin wasn’t finished with the card just yet. He turned it over in his hands, sniffed it again, even shook it a few times. Finally, he held it up to the light - and then became terribly excited. He bounced between the two girls, as if unsure which of them to give it to. “What is it?” said Nanako, trying not to laugh. “Did you figure something out?”
“That does seem to be the case…” Naoto took the card from Souji. Like him, she held it up against the sun … and then abruptly got to her feet. “Senpai,” she said, whirling on Nanako. “I require the use of your stove. Immediately.”
“Sure, but - “
“I will explain on the way.” And with that, she took Nanako by the wrist. Souji latched onto the other one, and together they ran home as quickly as they were able.
After all, a mystery was afoot.
*
It was all the love letter’s fault.
Well, perhaps not entirely. After all, this wasn’t the first time Nanako had had such feelings. The King’s Game had been … special, and Naoto’s dungeon quite surprising as well - not to mention the warm stomachache that had persisted all through the hot springs episode. But the love letter dredged up something else entirely.
“There is no need for worry,” said Naoto, tucking the tiny envelope into her jacket. “I have no time for such frivolities.”
Nanako laughed nervously. “I-I wasn’t worried!” she said. That part was true; it hadn’t been worry. Jealousy, more like. And annoyance, because why couldn’t she have thought of that first-? “C’mon, let’s talk about the case more. Okay?”
“Very well.”
*
- and as the evenings they spent together grew longer, there were weeks when Nanako didn’t even want to fight Shadows, if it meant squeezing in a few more hours playing detective with Naoto-kun -
*
One of the group’s first (and few) fights had been a simple one: Nanako refused to allow her teammates to shield her in battle. In fact, she’d happily shove them out of the way, even if meant getting knocked unconscious and losing all the progress they’d made. They lost nearly a week’s experience that way before they all decided (without their leader’s approval, the bastards) that Nanako was NOT allowed to protect people during a TV World fight. Ever.
Fortunately, this was not the TV World, and therefore Nanako was entirely justified in knocking Naoto out of the way. “You can’t hurt Naoto!” she said, brandishing her fists. “I won’t let you!”
“Senpai, it’s not -”
The attacker suddenly dropped the knife and fled, apparently terrified by Nanako' s menacing demeanor. Well! That was one way to solve a fight, and one that Nanako approved of. “Don’t yell at me!” she said, hands on her hips. “He had a knife!”
Two spots of color appeared in Naoto’s cheeks. “It is only shaped like a knife,” she said, her voice trembling with barely-suppressed anger. “But if it had been a real one -”
“I don’t care!”
“You should, senpai. You’re our leader.”
Nanako scowled. “What kind of leader lets her team get hurt?” she said. “He really could’ve stabbed you!”
Suddenly, Naoto grabbed her hat. It only remained off for a few seconds, as Naoto made a supremely frustrated noise. Then she stuck it back on roughly, where it remained slightly askew. “He could have done the same to you if that were the case!” she said, her voice rising in both pitch and intensity. “Why can’t you understand that?”
“I understand, dammit!” Nanako very much wanted to hit something right now. It was either that or burst into angry, messy tears. “I just - I just -
“Yes?”
“I just like you, okay?”
Nanako slapped a hand over her own mouth, blushing furiously. Too little, too late; the words were already out. Naoto gaped at her silently, all the color draining from her cheeks. “You mean…?”
Nanako considered denying it. If she did that now, she could still get away with remaining friends, most likely. But instead she nodded. “I-I like you,” she repeated, turning her face away. “A lot.”
Now it was Naoto’s turn to go red. They stayed like that for a long moment, with only the swishing autumn breeze for background noise. In the end, however, Naoto backed down first. “I- w-well, that’s - “ She stumbled back through the leaves and out of the shrine.
Nanako sank to the ground with a soft sigh. Stupid, she thought miserably. Now she wanted to cry again, but for entirely different reasons. She bunched her fingers against the ground. How was she supposed to face Naoto after this? Even if the detective did return to the investigation team, there’d be no way Nanako could look her in the eye anymore-
*
Their mutual silence persisted for an entire week, much to the consternation of the rest of the team. Kanji offered sewing lessons; Teddie, cuddles. Chie insisted on getting in more live kung fu lessons (to Yousuke’s dismayed and possibly forced agreement) while Yukiko and Rise both tried asking her out to the movies. Even Souji realized something was up, and tried to help in his own way. (Multiple choice pictures, while cute and disturbingly accurate, did not help Nanako decide what to do.)
Finally, Nanako agreed to an outing with the “girls” of the party - minus Naoto, of course. They all gathered at Junes, just a few tables down from their "secret hideout." Not that Nanako seemed to notice. She nursed her soda quietly while her teammates exchanged worried looks. “H-hey, so…” started Chie, “we’ve been thinking.”
Nanako didn’t look up. Much better to continue rattling the ice in her cup, just in case there was a tiny pocket of soda still left down there.
“Right, um…” Yukiko’s turn to look awkward. “We think you’ve been really down lately,” she said. “You’re not sick, are you?”
“Huh? N-no,” said Nanako, forcing herself to smile. “It’s just been a hard week, you know? Tests and … and things …”
“Weeeee really don’t think it’s tests,” said Rise. “No offense, but I wouldn’t be worried if it were that.”
Chie nodded. “Right! Who needs good grades, anyway?”
“Exactly!”
Yukiko sighed. “Grades are important too, you know…” She paused before continuing. “Are you having boy trouble?”
Nanako choked. Suddenly, she wished she’d brought a bigger cup. Anything to hide her face. “W-why do you say that?”
The three girls exchanged a knowing look. “Kinda hard not to notice, leader," said Chie. "You've been mooning over him all week."
"Is it someone we know?" said Rise, leaning on the table. "We're here for you, y'know."
"That's right!" said Chie, beaming. "And I'll kick his ass if he's giving you trouble! Especially if it's Yousuke."
"I-It's not..." Nanako chewed on her lower lip. "It's not a boy."
Yukiko's brow scrunched with worry. "Is it something more serious?" she asked. "Your family...?"
Nanako laughed nervously. "No, no," she said, putting her cup back on the table. "They're all right too."
"Then what is it?"
No turning back now. At least this time she had a moment to consider things, to let it roll around in her head a little before it came out. "Actually," she said, "it's..."
"Senpai."
Nanako froze. She knew that voice. Slowly, she turned in her seat and found herself in the unusual position of looking up at Naoto. "H-hey, um." That stupid heart of hers really needed to stop fluttering. "About last week..."
Naoto looked away; Nanako thought she saw the faintest hint of pink in the detective's face. "Ah. We willl discuss that. But for the moment, I have something more pressing I wish to discuss with you. If you could meet me by the river?"
"Oh! Sure." Standing, Nanako gave the rest of her friends an apologetic look. "I'll be right back, promise," she said, before hurrying after Naoto.
The three remaining girls exchanged one last set of looks. "Why do I feel like we just got ditched...?" said Chie.
"We did," said Yukiko, eyes widening. "I really think we did."
"So you think...?"
"Totally," said Rise.
Chie made a frustrated noise. "Dammit! I can't beat up Naoto -kun for that," she said. "But I don't wanna just sit here either."
"Operation Date Watch?" said Rise, perfectly innocent.
"Operation Date Watch," agreed Yukiko.
"As long as I don't end up on the bottom this time."
*
Nanako should have felt relieved, or maybe exalted. Finding out that Naoto's butler had, in fact, done it, was something of an "I told you so" moment. (Though she couldn't take full credit for that one either. Her little bro was either so smart or so psychic that it scared her sometimes. Now, if only she could get him to work on the murder case...)
Even so, all she could feel was nervous. All through the exposition, even through the discussion of awesome detective gadgets (though that had almost been distracting enough), and up to their return to the pavillion bench. "... I apologize," said Naoto, quietly. Once again, the detective refused to meet Nanako's gaze. "It has taken me far too long to consider the options."
Nanako nodded dumbly. "It's okay," she said.
Naoto remained silent.
"I-I mean -- I really don't feel any different," she added, "but I at least want to talk to Naoto-kun again. And go on detective adventures again." She knotted the folds of her skirt with her fingers. "Please?"
"I ... would like that, yes," said Naoto. Her words came out awkward and strange, not at all like the detective Nanako knew. "I would also like to say something."
"Yeah?"
Naoto's cheeks flushed. "I feel something for you as well," she said, turning her head back towards Nanako. "I'm still very much unsure of how to proceed, but--"
Before Naoto could say another word, Nanako threw her arms around the other girl and squeezed. (Perhaps a bit too tightly; she could hear Naoto wheezing for air.) "That's plenty," she said, burying her face in Naoto's shoulder. "I'm glad."
*
"I have something I want to give you."
They were both in Nanako's room now, with Nanako seated on the couch while Naoto stood in front of her, holding a small package. "Really?" said Nanako, reaching out to take it. "Can I open it now?"
"Naturally."
Nanako unfoled the handkerchief. Inside was a small, finely-crafted detective's badge, embossed with metallic leaf (slightly cracked, but still good) and studded with a line of tiny LEDs. "It's really nothing much," said Naoto, faintly embarrassed. "If I had had time to return to the estate--"
"It flashes!"
"-- I could have added --"
"Does it beep too? Can I wear it?"
Naoto found herself looking straight into the heart of giddy delight. "Ah," she faltered. "That was the intent. If you do not mind continuing to be my assistant...?"
Nanako hugged the tiny thing to her chest. "Of course!" she said, bubbling with excitement. "It'll be an adventure, won't it?"
"... yes," said Naoto quietly, sitting down next to her. "An adventure."
They passed a long time together.
The two of them sat underneath the park pavilion. With the onset of fall, Nanako had taken to wearing a pink hoodie over her uniform, something for which she now felt acutely grateful. In other words, it was chilly out. But it wasn’t just the chill that brought a flush of pink to her cheeks. “Are you kidding?” she said. “This is an adventure!”
Naoto chuckled. “I suppose I should not underestimate your enthusiasm,” she said. “In any case,” she continued, her face deepening into a frown, “there is still the matter of the first…”
They both started, Nanako moreso than Naoto. The card had disappeared. “Huh?” said Nanako, looking around frantically. “Wait, did the wind get it?”
“… no,” said Naoto, her expression more amused than worried. “I would not say that.”
Nanako turned back to the table just in time to see Souji stick the first card in his mouth. “H-hey, little bro! When did you get here?" And then a second pause, followed by Nanako reaching awkwardly for his would-be snack. "Don't eat that!”
Souji nibbled delicately, with the air of a connoisseur sipping fine wine. After a moment, however, his expression clouded; the card popped out and received a disappointed stare. Naoto chuckled again. “I believe he smells the citrus on it. He has a sharp nose for details.”
And a tendency to sneak up on me, thought Nanako with a sigh. “I didn’t notice that…”
Naoto waved off her embarrassment. “It was quite faint.”
Meanwhile, her little cousin wasn’t finished with the card just yet. He turned it over in his hands, sniffed it again, even shook it a few times. Finally, he held it up to the light - and then became terribly excited. He bounced between the two girls, as if unsure which of them to give it to. “What is it?” said Nanako, trying not to laugh. “Did you figure something out?”
“That does seem to be the case…” Naoto took the card from Souji. Like him, she held it up against the sun … and then abruptly got to her feet. “Senpai,” she said, whirling on Nanako. “I require the use of your stove. Immediately.”
“Sure, but - “
“I will explain on the way.” And with that, she took Nanako by the wrist. Souji latched onto the other one, and together they ran home as quickly as they were able.
After all, a mystery was afoot.
*
It was all the love letter’s fault.
Well, perhaps not entirely. After all, this wasn’t the first time Nanako had had such feelings. The King’s Game had been … special, and Naoto’s dungeon quite surprising as well - not to mention the warm stomachache that had persisted all through the hot springs episode. But the love letter dredged up something else entirely.
“There is no need for worry,” said Naoto, tucking the tiny envelope into her jacket. “I have no time for such frivolities.”
Nanako laughed nervously. “I-I wasn’t worried!” she said. That part was true; it hadn’t been worry. Jealousy, more like. And annoyance, because why couldn’t she have thought of that first-? “C’mon, let’s talk about the case more. Okay?”
“Very well.”
*
- and as the evenings they spent together grew longer, there were weeks when Nanako didn’t even want to fight Shadows, if it meant squeezing in a few more hours playing detective with Naoto-kun -
*
One of the group’s first (and few) fights had been a simple one: Nanako refused to allow her teammates to shield her in battle. In fact, she’d happily shove them out of the way, even if meant getting knocked unconscious and losing all the progress they’d made. They lost nearly a week’s experience that way before they all decided (without their leader’s approval, the bastards) that Nanako was NOT allowed to protect people during a TV World fight. Ever.
Fortunately, this was not the TV World, and therefore Nanako was entirely justified in knocking Naoto out of the way. “You can’t hurt Naoto!” she said, brandishing her fists. “I won’t let you!”
“Senpai, it’s not -”
The attacker suddenly dropped the knife and fled, apparently terrified by Nanako' s menacing demeanor. Well! That was one way to solve a fight, and one that Nanako approved of. “Don’t yell at me!” she said, hands on her hips. “He had a knife!”
Two spots of color appeared in Naoto’s cheeks. “It is only shaped like a knife,” she said, her voice trembling with barely-suppressed anger. “But if it had been a real one -”
“I don’t care!”
“You should, senpai. You’re our leader.”
Nanako scowled. “What kind of leader lets her team get hurt?” she said. “He really could’ve stabbed you!”
Suddenly, Naoto grabbed her hat. It only remained off for a few seconds, as Naoto made a supremely frustrated noise. Then she stuck it back on roughly, where it remained slightly askew. “He could have done the same to you if that were the case!” she said, her voice rising in both pitch and intensity. “Why can’t you understand that?”
“I understand, dammit!” Nanako very much wanted to hit something right now. It was either that or burst into angry, messy tears. “I just - I just -
“Yes?”
“I just like you, okay?”
Nanako slapped a hand over her own mouth, blushing furiously. Too little, too late; the words were already out. Naoto gaped at her silently, all the color draining from her cheeks. “You mean…?”
Nanako considered denying it. If she did that now, she could still get away with remaining friends, most likely. But instead she nodded. “I-I like you,” she repeated, turning her face away. “A lot.”
Now it was Naoto’s turn to go red. They stayed like that for a long moment, with only the swishing autumn breeze for background noise. In the end, however, Naoto backed down first. “I- w-well, that’s - “ She stumbled back through the leaves and out of the shrine.
Nanako sank to the ground with a soft sigh. Stupid, she thought miserably. Now she wanted to cry again, but for entirely different reasons. She bunched her fingers against the ground. How was she supposed to face Naoto after this? Even if the detective did return to the investigation team, there’d be no way Nanako could look her in the eye anymore-
*
Their mutual silence persisted for an entire week, much to the consternation of the rest of the team. Kanji offered sewing lessons; Teddie, cuddles. Chie insisted on getting in more live kung fu lessons (to Yousuke’s dismayed and possibly forced agreement) while Yukiko and Rise both tried asking her out to the movies. Even Souji realized something was up, and tried to help in his own way. (Multiple choice pictures, while cute and disturbingly accurate, did not help Nanako decide what to do.)
Finally, Nanako agreed to an outing with the “girls” of the party - minus Naoto, of course. They all gathered at Junes, just a few tables down from their "secret hideout." Not that Nanako seemed to notice. She nursed her soda quietly while her teammates exchanged worried looks. “H-hey, so…” started Chie, “we’ve been thinking.”
Nanako didn’t look up. Much better to continue rattling the ice in her cup, just in case there was a tiny pocket of soda still left down there.
“Right, um…” Yukiko’s turn to look awkward. “We think you’ve been really down lately,” she said. “You’re not sick, are you?”
“Huh? N-no,” said Nanako, forcing herself to smile. “It’s just been a hard week, you know? Tests and … and things …”
“Weeeee really don’t think it’s tests,” said Rise. “No offense, but I wouldn’t be worried if it were that.”
Chie nodded. “Right! Who needs good grades, anyway?”
“Exactly!”
Yukiko sighed. “Grades are important too, you know…” She paused before continuing. “Are you having boy trouble?”
Nanako choked. Suddenly, she wished she’d brought a bigger cup. Anything to hide her face. “W-why do you say that?”
The three girls exchanged a knowing look. “Kinda hard not to notice, leader," said Chie. "You've been mooning over him all week."
"Is it someone we know?" said Rise, leaning on the table. "We're here for you, y'know."
"That's right!" said Chie, beaming. "And I'll kick his ass if he's giving you trouble! Especially if it's Yousuke."
"I-It's not..." Nanako chewed on her lower lip. "It's not a boy."
Yukiko's brow scrunched with worry. "Is it something more serious?" she asked. "Your family...?"
Nanako laughed nervously. "No, no," she said, putting her cup back on the table. "They're all right too."
"Then what is it?"
No turning back now. At least this time she had a moment to consider things, to let it roll around in her head a little before it came out. "Actually," she said, "it's..."
"Senpai."
Nanako froze. She knew that voice. Slowly, she turned in her seat and found herself in the unusual position of looking up at Naoto. "H-hey, um." That stupid heart of hers really needed to stop fluttering. "About last week..."
Naoto looked away; Nanako thought she saw the faintest hint of pink in the detective's face. "Ah. We willl discuss that. But for the moment, I have something more pressing I wish to discuss with you. If you could meet me by the river?"
"Oh! Sure." Standing, Nanako gave the rest of her friends an apologetic look. "I'll be right back, promise," she said, before hurrying after Naoto.
The three remaining girls exchanged one last set of looks. "Why do I feel like we just got ditched...?" said Chie.
"We did," said Yukiko, eyes widening. "I really think we did."
"So you think...?"
"Totally," said Rise.
Chie made a frustrated noise. "Dammit! I can't beat up Naoto -kun for that," she said. "But I don't wanna just sit here either."
"Operation Date Watch?" said Rise, perfectly innocent.
"Operation Date Watch," agreed Yukiko.
"As long as I don't end up on the bottom this time."
*
Nanako should have felt relieved, or maybe exalted. Finding out that Naoto's butler had, in fact, done it, was something of an "I told you so" moment. (Though she couldn't take full credit for that one either. Her little bro was either so smart or so psychic that it scared her sometimes. Now, if only she could get him to work on the murder case...)
Even so, all she could feel was nervous. All through the exposition, even through the discussion of awesome detective gadgets (though that had almost been distracting enough), and up to their return to the pavillion bench. "... I apologize," said Naoto, quietly. Once again, the detective refused to meet Nanako's gaze. "It has taken me far too long to consider the options."
Nanako nodded dumbly. "It's okay," she said.
Naoto remained silent.
"I-I mean -- I really don't feel any different," she added, "but I at least want to talk to Naoto-kun again. And go on detective adventures again." She knotted the folds of her skirt with her fingers. "Please?"
"I ... would like that, yes," said Naoto. Her words came out awkward and strange, not at all like the detective Nanako knew. "I would also like to say something."
"Yeah?"
Naoto's cheeks flushed. "I feel something for you as well," she said, turning her head back towards Nanako. "I'm still very much unsure of how to proceed, but--"
Before Naoto could say another word, Nanako threw her arms around the other girl and squeezed. (Perhaps a bit too tightly; she could hear Naoto wheezing for air.) "That's plenty," she said, burying her face in Naoto's shoulder. "I'm glad."
*
"I have something I want to give you."
They were both in Nanako's room now, with Nanako seated on the couch while Naoto stood in front of her, holding a small package. "Really?" said Nanako, reaching out to take it. "Can I open it now?"
"Naturally."
Nanako unfoled the handkerchief. Inside was a small, finely-crafted detective's badge, embossed with metallic leaf (slightly cracked, but still good) and studded with a line of tiny LEDs. "It's really nothing much," said Naoto, faintly embarrassed. "If I had had time to return to the estate--"
"It flashes!"
"-- I could have added --"
"Does it beep too? Can I wear it?"
Naoto found herself looking straight into the heart of giddy delight. "Ah," she faltered. "That was the intent. If you do not mind continuing to be my assistant...?"
Nanako hugged the tiny thing to her chest. "Of course!" she said, bubbling with excitement. "It'll be an adventure, won't it?"
"... yes," said Naoto quietly, sitting down next to her. "An adventure."
They passed a long time together.