Rainy afternoons at Yasogami High School meant that the practice field was closed (members of the sports teams were encouraged to study their playbooks or watch replay videos in one of the classrooms), but the clubs that practiced indoors were still in session. The drama and music clubs were already in full swing for the afternoon, and there were several exam study groups organizing in the library. But even with the plethora of activities, there were still plenty of students wandering the halls. Some of them were just taking a break before classroom cleaning, of course, but many of them were simply loitering.
Chie passed a trio of boys – their gakuran unbuttoned in that sloppy, unaffected style that somehow Souji had pulled off so well – and fixed them with an authoritative stare. “Don't you gentlemen have something better to do?” She put her fists on her hips. “Or should I give you something to do?” She smiled suddenly, a wicked upturn of her lips. “I'm sure Kashiwagi-sama would love to have some help this afternoon....”
The boys cringed almost as one, giving Chie an inner chuckle. “We're just leaving, sensei,” one of them muttered, shoving his friends along.
They shuffled down the hall as a group, murmuring something about hanging out at Junes or the shopping district, and Chie was glad that the Superintendent had appealed for some funding to support a basic kata class. She wanted to see these kids do something with their lives. They probably wouldn't solve any murder mysteries in a club or a class, but they might learn a thing or two, and maybe even make some good friends.
As if summoned from a card, Kanji suddenly appeared at her side, applauding gently.
“Not bad, senpai. I woulda given 'em a what-for, but....” He shrugged and smiled.
Chie smiled back at him.
He was a semi-regular presence at the high school on Monday and Thursday afternoons; his sewing classes had become quite popular, especially with the girls. She looked him over in his work clothes – his loose-fitting shirt and hakama pants showing off rolling muscle and masculine lines – and chuckled; it was obvious to see why. She was reminded of Yousuke's sister's schoolgirl infatuation with Kanji, and looking at him now, she could see the attraction. He was a near-perfect model of a man: tall, strong, gruff yet sensitive, even kind of handsome in his way. She had even wondered at one time what he would be like as a lover.... Thunderous, she would have guessed, just like his Persona.
Stop it, she thought, giving herself a hard mental slap across the face. She blinked and smiled at Kanji, but inside she was roiling.
She and Yousuke had mutually decided to put their carnal explorations on hiatus until their stay at the Amagi Inn – which was tomorrow night, thank goodness; she wasn't certain how much longer she could go without him, without going crazy. She had thought that their dancing around the issue of shared intimacy had been difficult before...but now knowing that it was so close, and they had to wait, it was almost unbearable. Of course, every time she had thought about how hard it was to stay away from him (at least in that special way), she reminded herself that Yukiko had it worse. In an effort to make her wedding night more spectacular, Yukiko was trying to stay celibate for the next several months; all Chie had had to do was go one lousy week. It had helped that she had gotten her period during this time, since they wouldn't have been able to be together anyway (despite Yousuke's not-so-helpful proposal that they “just do it in the shower” on those occasions), but now that it was over, she was hornier than ever.
Without even thinking about what she was doing or where she was going, she followed Kanji to the sewing club's classroom.
“So,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her. “Are you still okay to watch over Kumada-chan tomorrow night?”
Kanji nodded. “Yeah. Rise-chan says they can have a style party or somethin', whatever that means, I dunno. But I'll make sure she gets to eat and stuff. Don't worry.” He gave her a sidelong grin.
“Thanks,” Chie replied with a smile. “I don't know why she's got this fear of staying alone in my apartment overnight. I mean, she's there by herself all day....”
He shrugged. “Night time's different. I used to be scared of the dark, too.” He stopped walking and looked at her solemnly. “You know, when I was a kid.”
“Mm.” She hummed, nodding. She found it hard to imagine Kanji being afraid of anything, even as a young boy; he was usually one of the first of them to charge headlong into anything, heedless of the danger. Of course, there were still some things that made him uncomfortable....
They stopped in front of the door to the classroom assigned to his sewing class and he glanced inside. It was almost entirely full of girls, and when they noticed him standing outside the door, an impressive majority of them stood up and rushed over to him, and Kanji noticeably winced.
“Good afternoon, sensei!”
“Oh, sensei! Can you look at this scarf I made?”
“Sensei, I think I need some extra help....”
Kanji smiled and waved a hand. “Okay, okay. I'll be in in a minute.” As they headed back to their seats (most of them looking a little starry-eyed at their teacher), he turned back to Chie with a slight grimace, muttering, “We do this for the kids, right?”
Chie grinned and stifled a laugh. “I'm sure you can handle it. Sensei.” And she gave a prim little bow to him. When she stood back up, she waved. “Ja mata ne.”
“Ja,” he replied, and walked into the classroom. “Listen up, guys. I got somethin' new for everybody to try today....”
Chie chuckled as he closed the door behind him, and she marveled at just how comfortable Kanji was in his relatively new position as pillar of the community. Who would have thought that the ne'er-do-well from their high school days would turn into one of the most respected young faces in town? She sometimes thought that her traditional, town elder parents would have been more satisfied if she had been dating Kanji, rather than a big-city interloper whose family's business once threatened to collapse Inaba's economic district....
Obviously, the little throwaway line at the end there became a much larger plot point (through which I am currently navigating), but I really enjoyed this glimpse into Kanji's character. He evolved past this point somewhat - he's kind of one-dimensional here - but I still liked the interaction he has with Chie.
Read the whole of "1 More Chance!" either at Fanfiction.Net or at my website (in the KINK section).
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