Actions

Work Header

Notice Me!!

Chapter 7: Walk with me, Senpai!

Notes:

I’ve been thinking a long time on how to proceed with the format of the story. The previous way of:

-Shadow presents the problem
-Naoto addresses the problem later

...felt a little unnatural. I feel it didn’t flow very well. What I’ll try for now is release more Shadow chapters, have the discussion be contained more within the dream, then have a real-life chapter every so often to anchor the story to a certain point in time.

I’m playing it by ear a little, but I hope you’ll stick with me. This story is probably one of the most fun I’ve ever written, so I really want to keep it going.

That being said...

Here’s the (old) prompt, courtesy of LeafyDream. 

Some girls flirt with Souji, or Naoto catches some girls staring at Souji, and Shadow Naoto acts extra clingy to the boy. 

Leafy, I’m sorry, but this is what it became. Haha, I hope you find it fun, at least.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Contrary to the other times Souji had been awakened in his dreams, he felt uncomfortable. Not like Shadow-Naoto-was-ogling-him-uncomfortable - it was more along the lines of feeling sore. Cold, even, which was even more of an oddity. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that he wasn’t even in bed; he was sprawled out in the street running alongside Naoto’s apartment. “Senpai! Up here, quick!”

“Wh - huh?”

He stumbled to his feet and dazedly looked around, only to snap out of his stupor when the familiar voice yelled at him again. “Get it in gear, Senpai! They’re coming!”

Rather than waste valuable time with the why, he complied, running towards the apartment and bounding up the stairs with remarkable speed. Before long, he was in the apartment, breathing lightly and watching his girlfriend’s next move. He knew by now that it was her Shadow rather than the genuine article purely by the way she was addressing him. “Hi, Naoto.”

Oddly enough, the girl was wearing a pair of welding goggles, a bundle of planks under one of her arms as she frantically barricaded the apartment windows. It was telling of her strength as a Shadow that she was managing to hammer nails into the lumber with only one hand. Without looking at her boyfriend, she asked, “Senpai, did they see you?”

“Who?”

Shadow Naoto-chan dropped the hammer in her hand and picked up a rifle from where it had been standing next to one of the windows. She beckoned him over with her free hand, still frantically checking outside for...whatever it was she was looking for. He scooted closer and squatted next to her, leaning in so she could whisper, “The girls .”

“...What?”

“Girls, Senpai! The ones that see you for the gem that you are! A prize that must be taken! I will not have it! I refuse!”

She decisively cocked the rifle and nodded firmly. “You’re mine . In a non-creepy way.”

“...Okay, I get it. Sort of. What’s with the gun?”

“Relax, Senpai. It’s a paintball gun.”

“That doesn’t make me feel that much better. I hope you’re not planning on shooting anyone with that.”

The Shadow stared at him blankly for a few moments, then spoke with a lowered tone and a diction that may have been best reserved for speaking to children. “Senpai, allow me to remind you that this is a paintball gun.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt if it hits something.”

“I may have some water pistols lying around if you’d prefer I use those…”

“What are we even up against here?”

“Girls. Ooh, so scary.”

The deadpan tone Naoto delivered her words with made it clear that she wasn’t particularly afraid of what she was talking about. “Well, you’re right on time, anyway. I was just about to head out to get some supplies!”

“Supplies? What for? Wait, do you even need to eat-”

“Senpai! You don’t ask a Shadow girl those kinds of questions.”

“...Sorry.”

“Mm, it’s fine. I’ll forgive you because you’re Souji.”

“Thanks. Can I ask where we’re going to shop-”

He froze when she gave him a pointed look. “...where we’ll look for supplies?”

“The shopping district!”

“I...okay.”

The rules of common sense were a bit loose here, as per the usual. “Anyway, would you mind turning around?”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just, um…”

Naoto blushed softly as she covered her mouth with a lab coat sleeve and mumbled, “I want to change before we go, and…”

“...”

“I-I mean, I don’t mind if you want to look, but…”

Souji stared at her for all of five seconds before he raised an eyebrow and shook his head lightly. “You don’t actually have to change, do you?”

Her bashful expression changed to a pout in record time, and she stomped her foot on the floor in irritation as she shouted, “Well, I don’t, but you could at least play along! Sheesh.”

Without any further ceremony, she threw off her lab coat and did a little spin in place; when she was done, the article had been replaced by a rather comfortable looking winter jacket. “Preparations complete!”

“Cute jacket.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s head out. Close your eyes, stand still, and keep your chin to your chest.”

“My chin to my-?”

“Teleporting!”

Naoto snapped her fingers, and their surroundings changed in a flash; suddenly, the two were no longer in their apartment. Souji stumbled about for a few steps and steadied himself with a hand on the wall. When he shook the stars out his eyes, he took a slow look around.

“Is this the shopping district?”

The outer edges of the district were a little hazy, but it was a faithful recreation. Count on Naoto to get the little details nailed down. “Yes.”

“I’m starting to think that this whole ‘supply run’ thing is a little redundant.”

“This is vitally important.”

“Oh?”

When Souji turned to look at her, he got the answer to a few of the questions that were budding in his mind. Naoto’s demeanor had changed completely. She had her paintball rifle in her hands, eyes dark as she scanned the surroundings. “Yes, quite so.”

Naoto-kun was being completely serious. Just not for the reason he was expecting. 

This is just like a date.

That may or may not have been what she was thinking, content to have Souji to herself and away from Naoto-chan for a bit. Souji, on the other hand...

She’s really taking this seriously. I’d better humor her.

Naoto hoisted the rifle onto her shoulder and reached to her hip with her free hand. “Here. You might need something to protect yourself.”

...Never mind. 

Why did he think this? Of course, because she had handed him a water pistol.

[- - -]

“We didn’t find anything.”

“I apologize. Dream rules are rather odd.”

“No, it’s fine. We’ve been walking for a while, huh?”

“Indeed. Would you like to rest for a bit?”

“Maybe. We can stop at Yasogami - whaaat happened to the school...?”

“Hm?...Oh.”

“The-the school! What happened? Why does it look like that?”

“...I should explain.”

“Please.”

A menacing building had taken the place of the humble old high school. Rather than the simple three-story building that had once stood there, now a tall industrial behemoth towered above them. A sinister company emblem adorned the front, but Souji couldn’t help but think it looked a little familiar. Finally, a long staircase extended to them from the large front door, as if beckoning them inside. “...This looks like the reactor from-”

“Don’t finish that sentence. Let’s go in. I’ll be able to better explain.

“If you’re sure.”

Rows of mysterious pods greeted the two when the door slid open. A large circular window decorated the front of each of them, and a faint blue glow shone from within. “Look inside.”

“This is all sounding very familiar.”

“Senpai.”

“Right, okay.”

Without further ado, Souji took a look in one of the pods. As soon as he did, however, he flinched and took a step back. “What the-...is that Rise?”

It wasn’t. It was just a monster that looked like Rise. Still, appearances were appearances, and how this monster appeared wasn’t particularly flattering. Souji made this known with a rather sharp look. Naoto couldn’t help but squirm a bit in response, though it wasn’t partly because his glare was kind of attractive. Really. “I really hope that’s not how you actually see Rise.”

“Of course not! Purely unconscious, I promise.”

“...”

A burst of steam rushing out of one of the pods made them flinch. Further down the line, one of the pods opened, an unidentifiable form spilling out of it. Souji wasn’t exactly eager to take a look at its face. “I’m scared, too.”

Souji resisted the urge to chuckle at just how flat her affect was as she said that. “No, I’m just wondering why this is even here.”

“It’s fine, it’ll be gone in the next chapter.”

“What?”

“In the next dream.”

“Oh.”

Souji looked in the pod again and grimaced - then something hit him. “Wait.”

Naoto winced dramatically and turned to look at something presumably on the wall. The way Souji had said that one word clued her in on how close he was to understanding the situation. “Do you see other girls like this because you’re jealous of something?”

“N-...no…”

“Naoto-”

“I’m not jealous of how other girls get to go on dates whenever they want ! No sir.”

“...And I’m sure you don’t mind that they can engage in some good old TLC in public, either.”

“Nope.”

The pieces were coming together, even if it did take Souji being beaten over the head with the clues in the end. Naoto’s job made it a little difficult to go on dates and the paparazzi was always a concern, particularly after she closed a high-profile case or was interviewed on TV. “I think I get it.” 

He blindly patted one of the pods and walked over. Naoto, upon hearing his footsteps, turned to look at him, golden eyes gleaming with thinly-veiled anticipation. Souji put his hand on the barrel of the paintball gun and pushed it toward the floor, taking advantage of the closed distance to give her a light kiss. “Let’s go out tomorrow.”

Isn’t it strange that one sentence, delivered with the utmost sincerity, could shatter Naoto’s worries, just like that? Surely not. The Shadow blinked a few times as she fumbled for her words, finally settling for squeaking out a little, “...Uh-huh.”

He smiled, and the poor girl was sure her knees were trembling, just a bit.  “S-Senpai, I feel like I could die happy right now.”

“That’s good. Don’t do that, though.”

Of course, one date wouldn’t solve the problem, but it was a work in progress. Souji felt his vision fade a bit, raising a hand to hold his head as he stumbled a bit and steadied himself on the wall. Naoto was at his side in a moment, eyes wide with concern. The difference between them was that Naoto understood why he was feeling woozy. “Looks like our time’s almost up.”

A loud crash suddenly echoed through the room. The door to another pod had been blown open from the inside. An unearthly growl echoed from within...

“They’re here…”

“What? Who’s here?”

“The girls, Senpai! They’ve come for you!”

“I thought we’ve been over this.”

“Yes, I get it now, but have you ever tried explaining logic to a zombie?”

“I...can’t say that I have.”

Naoto-chan’s eyes flashed, and she held her rifle at the ready with a grin. “Nice, it’s my time to shine! Time to show off the Shirogane family secret technique!”

As if on cue, the doors to twenty more pods opened, and the room was suddenly filled with the groans of its original occupants. Naoto’s sight darted between Souji and the now-growing horde numerous times before she cocked her rifle once more, with feeling. “Good night, Senpai! I’ll see you in our apartment later.”

Souji slowly slid down the wall, too drowsy to draw his water pistol and assist the Shadow. Wait…

“...Naoto…”

I have to ask her…

Naoto looked over her shoulder and saw Souji struggling to say something. “What’s wrong?”

“...Why are you wearing your lab coat again?”

“You’re asking me that now?!”

Notes:

I’m gonna try to make the real Naoto chapters more interesting than:

“Your Shadow said this.”

“Oh, she’s right.”

“Let’s fix that!”

Whereas the Shadow chapters are more off the wall, I want the relationship between the real world Naoto and Souji to be more subtle.

What am I talking about...we’ll just go with the flow, huh? I hope you’ll bear with it.