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Along the Shopping District…
… Naoto Shirogane and Kanji Tatsumi were walking down the street.
No, this was not an uncommon sight. At least recently.
It had been several years since the bizarre incident that had brought the former Detective Prince to Inaba and since she’d become practically a member of the small town. At least, when she was around.
First a yearlong investigation half way through her second year, then she came back and finished her formal high school education.
Then off again to America for a few months, only to return to Inaba for another month.
Then off to Europe for some case, back here for about three months.
And so on and so forth the pattern went. She’d be gone on some case for nearly twice the length she’d spend back in Inaba, and even then she’d be traveling around Japan or consulting other cases.
To an average outsider this would be a sign the young woman was making her mark on the world as a famous and reliable detective. A rare Female Detective! The town should be proud she came back and graced their presence.
For the permanent residence of Inaba it was a frustrating nightmare.
The former Detective Prince had certainly outlived her title, in fact some upstart in Tokyo had already laid claim to that title but the townsfolks paid it little mind. Naoto Shirogane was the only Detective Prince they recognized, even if her reference as a ‘prince’ had long outlived its validity.
She’d grown into a stunning woman, still the shortest among her group of close friends, but it was definitely obvious she was a woman. As the Idol turned singer/actress Rise Kujikawa put it ‘She’s a bombshell wrapped up in a stylish pantsuit’. Said pantsuits were provided by Tatsumi Textiles, one of the reasons the female Detective returned frequently to the quant rural town… much to the groans of its inhabitants.
See, small towns had a very basic way of functioning: planting started as early as you could and lasted as long as you could stretch it, and gossip was the town’s lifeblood.
Everyone knew everyone and that meant they all knew each other’s business.
Many of the older generation didn’t understand the kids fixation with Televisions and their soap opera anime when all they had to do was sit out on the porch of a small town like Inaba and it was clear as day this was a far better entertainment.
The Junes heir got his butt kicked by the girl from the cop Academy.
The Amagi Inn was hosting a local celebrity.
There was an animal attack in the woods nearby.
The Junes Mascot was found wondering around town eating at every shop in the Shopping District.
The Chief of Police’s nephew came back and was seen being picked up, literally, by the new weather woman.
Things like this were common in small towns. And where there was gossip there was the speculation on who was dating who.
It was clear the weather girl and the chief’s nephew had a thing, people weren’t surprised there.
The former idol that came back when she wasn’t on tour or on set was clearly available and everyone and their grandfather’s would try when she was around, no matter how sweetly she turned them down.
The Amagi Inn’s new manager was a sight to see and every man worth his breath had tried the Amagi challenge… there have been no victors so far.
And even that silly foreign boy that showed up occasionally in the Junes mascot costume had gotten a few dates… though rumor was those ended ‘weirdly’ for one reason or another, usually involving food.
Now what did the rumor mill have to do with the infamous former Detective Prince?
Well, everything… absolutely everything!
It had been obvious to anyone that spotted them, Naoto Shirogane and Kanji Tatsumi, that there was some definite chemistry there. Rumors were already spreading of the two talking the first time when everyone thought she was a boy. Oh those rumors spread like wildfire!
Then the big reveal happened and things quieted down for a bit. Then nearly dropped off when she left for over a year…
ONLY TO RETURN IN A FLATTERING PANTSUIT AND WITH LONG HAIR!!
Naoto Shirogane looked like a woman at 18 and the rumor mill was running wild again.
But there was an always present constant whenever she was in town; Kanji Tatsumi.
Whenever the young detective was in town it was assured she could be found in the presence of the local tailor-in-training.
The once lanky punk had grown a bit more, mostly in maturity and confidence, to become a handsome, successful young man. Gone was the bleached hair and nose piercing, though the earrings stayed and he gained some glasses. The young tailor-in-training had devoted himself to his family’s craft and even come out with new things such as stitched stuffed animals that had become a new selling point for the sleepy little town.
Now, he wasn’t raking in millions, but his additions and talent as a tailor, semester and overall doll-maker had garnered attention outside the town, especially when his friend; Singer/Actress Rise Kujikawa, had sported one of his keychains and fans were clamoring for a source, he’d become successful enough to ensure the future of Tatsumi Textiles.
So, what WERE a successful young Tailor and Detective doing always in each other’s company?
It couldn’t be simply a business transaction, though it was very apparent to the townspeople of Inaba that the young man did most if not all of the Detective’s professional attire. There was simply no way to find such flattering and well-fitting woman’s cut suits in a store, simply impossible. Plus the quality of Tatsumi Textiles was top notch, there was no way she’d need repeat fittings or repairs with one of their products.
Clearly, there must have been another reason.
And as any native of Inaba would tell you; gossip was the town’s lifeblood, and Kanji Tatsumi was head-over-heels for Naoto Shirogane.
It was as assured as the sun rose in the east and set in the west, the young tailor was inexorably in love with the young detective.
The big question for nearly two years had been weather she felt the same…
Which had been clearly answered when the young detective had been seen rushing to the Tatsumi residence one morning. News later circulated that Mrs. Tatsumi had had a spill, needing to go to the hospital and young Kanji had been most distraught. Everyone gave their condolences…
… and noticed suspiciously Naoto’s presence at the Tatsumi residence, when she had been listed as being on a case overseas for some time by the media.
Quite the odd coincidence or stretch for someone that clearly only wanted to be friends.
The daily drama only increased from there.
Often when the two were in town walking side by side various eyes followed them, such as now, looking for any development in their arduously long courtship. Or at least everyone hoped it was courtship, because at this point it was so obvious the two were head over heels for each other the only ones that didn’t seem to know or couldn’t admit it were each other.
This is where the true nightmare of a small town came in.
Everyone, EVERYONE… EVERY. ONE. Knew! Knew the two liked each other and cared deeply enough to spend whatever time they could together, between her traveling and Tatsumi’s busy schedule, the two were lucky to get two weeks out of every two months. And they spent it generally side by side.
The obliviousness between the two had gotten to such a point the townsfolk were frustrated, wanting some kind of development to the local soap opera.
It had gotten to the point people started taking things into their own hands.
The not-quite-couple stops by Aiya? The owner offers the two his most cramped table, or a customer will spot them down the street and everyone will scramble to fit into seats that would force the two to sit next to one another at the bar or at a lone booth. The chefs had twice accidentally spiked their drinks hoping for SOMETHING to slip out.
Nothing worked, so far. It was considered that Kanji Tatsumi was exceptionally thick and Naoto Shirogane had on more than one occasion had a ‘quiet chat’ with the owners about conduct and labeling their drinks properly.
Stop by Souzai Daigaku? The owner would insist they stay and sit at one of the small two seater tables. Heck, they’d throw in some extra food, hoping the two would stick around and maybe something would slip out. Anything, just ANYTHING!
So far not a shred of progress, though the young Detective gave them weird looks. Clearly she was too sharp for her own good.
Occasionally the two would stop by the hobby shop that had managed to reopen in the years since the murders, and the owner would offer the two a chance to look around at his latest products, knowing the young lady had a soft spot for the more mechanized ones. He took it as his personal duty to dig in every time they came by ‘My, what a fine couple you two make!’ it was a bit on the nose, but at this point the people of Inaba weren’t playing around with the densest couple known to man.
Naoto would be oblivious to the comment, looking at the models, and Kanji would turn a bit red and deny the claim. Again, and again, and again.
If they ever stopped by the medicine store the old lady behind the counter would make lewd comments and question if the two needed to see anything in the section behind the glass.
Again, Kanji would blush and Naoto would counter with how such things were unrequired of them.
If the two stopped by Daidara’s shop he’d just give them this look… then mention something in flowery prose about men picking flowers. Subtly didn’t normally work from him but he’d give anything a try. The two had been part of the group that were his best customers, and Naoto still had her guns checked out by him and occasionally brought him weird materials for new ones… but damn were these two dense.
Naoto would politely ignore his comments and Kanji wouldn’t get it. Subtlety was simply lost on them.
The one time the owner of Yomenaido Bookstore had ‘accidentally’ slipped the two a relationship book or ‘enhancer’ the two had simply blushed and the young detective had given back the ‘wrong’ book, suggesting they should look into getting help with their filing.
It was truly maddening.
At one point the Police Chief’s nephew had stopped by the Tatsuhime shrine to check on the Fox and she had literally dumped the entire towns worth of Ema full of requests the Detective and Tailor just get together because the suspense was driving the town nuts.
Clearly this task required some help.
A certain kind of help only someone completely blunt, honest, and unforgiving could give.
-----
“Hello~ Welcome to Marukyuu Tofu, how may I help you today?!” a bright and cheery voice the duo were not expecting greeted them.
“R-Rise-san!” Naoto shuffled back, surprised to see her friend as she was absolutely certain she had a movie shoot in Tokyo right now. Next to her, Kanji was also blinking.
The shop greeting smile dropped from the actress’ face as a genuine one lit up her bubbly face, “Naoto-kun!! Kanji-kun!!” in a second the apron clad woman was around the counter and hugging her two friends, “I didn’t expect to see you both!”
“L-likewise, Rise-san,” Naoto swallowed hard, trying to squirm out of her friend’s choking hug.
“Thought you was at some movie shoot for like, three months?” Kanji got out, not as threatened by the former Idol’s death grip around his waist.
Rise finally let go enough to smirk at the tall young man, “Hehe, well technically I am,” she gave them both a conspirator’s wink, letting go and in a twirl leaning on the counter, “There was a hiccup in the script, the writers are arguing over a scene, so I’ve got two days off~” she patted the counter behind her, “figured I haven’t seen grandma in a while, so decided to help her out!” with a dramatic wipe of her brow, the bubbly maroon haired girl was back behind the counter, “Plus, this totally beats standing around all day as guys with big stacks of papers get in catfights over whose better at doing a romantic scene,” she waved her hand, clearly finding the idea humorous.
The detective and tailor did a combination of blushing and cringing.
“So!” Rise clapped her hands, snapping the two out of their funk and giving them a wink, “What can I get ya?”
Naoto gave the former idol a wry smirk, “Honestly, nothing at the moment, I was merely accompanying Kanji-kun on an errand.”
“Oh-ho?” pointer finger on her chin, Rise turned sly eyes to the tall young man, “And what business do you. Have. Here~” she accented each ending word with a shake one way, acting more like a teenager then her clearly adult self.
“Tch,” Kanji just clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes before grabbing a package from under his arm and handing it to the temporary tofu dealer, “S’just some napkins Ma made that your granny ordered, figured I’d drop it off since we was close.”
“Aw, thanks,” Rise took the package with a genuine smile, stashing it under the counter for her grandmother later before popping back up and giving the two a creepy grin, “Soooooo…?”
“So what, Rise-san?” Naoto did not huff, though she did cross her arms under her chest and stared at her cheeky friend.
“Ufufufu,” Rise smirked like a cat, hiding her laugh behind her hand, “Any news I should hear about~” she opened one eye and glanced from the detective to the tailor and back several times, “Like any developments I should know~?”
Naoto just kept her stern cobalt glare.
To which the former idol just chuckled at.
Kanji just gave a tired sigh, “C’mon Rise, you know the answer to that…”
“Of course I do,” her shift to winking at the large man was seamless, ignoring the ruffled look from the detective, “But you know, a lot… and I mean A LOT of people don’t know,” that charming smirk turned to the young detective, “And you just know they’re dying to know the final outcome!”
There was a deep groan from the long haired detective.
“Ey, now, Naoto,” Kanji tried to placate the young woman, “Ain’t nothin’ we gotta do, you know that…”
“I know,” the young woman frowned a moment, eyes closed with her arms crossed and thinking deeply on the best course of action. They had kept the facts of their relation vague at best, not simply for the sake of privacy but because Naoto was something of an international detective now, she was afraid of causing undo attention to a small place like this, or Kanji, and worst of all bringing any kind of threat here.
Rise was leaning over the counter, giving her friend a reassuring smirk, “Everyone pretty much already knows, ya know~”
Naoto grumbled again, cobalt brow twitching, “I know.”
“Ain’t gotta do nothin’ big or fancy ya know,” Kanji assured her. He understood Naoto’s concerns about bringing their relationship public. They were legitimate concerns, but at the same time mostly just Naoto being herself. Even years later and tons of cases under her belt, she was still concerned about how the public saw and accepted who she was and her profession. He understood that completely, having to deal with it himself to a similar degree. It was why he supported whatever she decided.
But maybe even he wouldn’t mind at the very least holding her hand as they walked down the street…
“Very well,” Naoto said sternly, turning to face the exit to Marukyuu Tofu, holding out her hand.
It took Kanji a second to realize the significance of the gesture, but the second he did he had to stop himself from squealing. Dudes didn’t squeal, but it was nice to finally hold his girlfriend’s hand in public.
“Oh my, you two, such scandalous delinquents~” Rise spoke dryly, every word dripping with sarcasm. She got a glare from her detective friend for it, causing her to merely chuckle.
Now hopefully the town could stop obsessing over the two for a while.
------
The second the young detective and tailor walked out of Marukyuu Tofu, HOLDING HANDS!! it seemed as if the entire town of Inaba shouted in unison: “FINALLY!!” before going back to their daily business.
Naoto never felt so embarrassed in her life and wished she’d still had her hat from when she was a teenager to hide under.
Kanji was beaming, strutting as he held his girlfriend’s hand. This was a great development for him.
Who knew, maybe at this rate he’d get lucky and Naoto would wear their engagement ring publically before they got married!