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“It’s your brain they’re interested in. As long as they need it, you’re an ace detective! But once you’re done, it’s back to the playpen with you.”
Naoto quivered with rage at the words of her other self. Her– the her that wore her face and yet wasn’t really herself– smirked sardonically at the sight of her anger. The detective’s anger had reached a boiling point. She wanted to dive at her other self, to strike out and destroy it and wipe the smirk off its face; but she couldn’t. Her feet were glued to the ground as its smirk simply widened.
Suddenly, there was a voice behind her, “Naoto-kun!”
She turned her head over her shoulder. “Ah.” She began, her voice cooler than how she actually felt. “It’s about time you all showed up…”
She took in the sight of all of them, there for her. Each and every one of them, even… and the thought of it almost made a blush creep onto her features… him.
Naoto directed her eyes to the floor, letting the sight of their shoes fill her vision. Trapped within this shadowy prison of her mind’s design, she had had a lot of time to think. And unfortunately for her, one of the thoughts that reoccured the most for her was how nice it would have been for him to race to her rescue, for him to face the demon and take her away from this place in the tight grip of his well-muscled arms…
A new pair of shoes came into her peripheral vision, and before Naoto knew what was going on, the shadow version of herself could be seen approaching the group. Involuntarily, all of them stepped back, all of them except–
“W… Woah!” Kanji stammered like an idiot as the shadow boldly stepped up to him.
“Hey there,” it said in a low, husky purr. “You like Sexton Blake?”
The real Naoto’s jaw sagged so low that it almost hit her shoes. Here she had spent so long trying to work out her messy feelings for the bumbling oaf when this thing came out of nowhere and tried to start seducing him!
If Naoto would still have had feeling in her limp hands, she would have been crossing her fingers hoping that Kanji wouldn’t be so receptive to the Shadow’s advances.
Alas, though, the tall boy wasn’t sure if he should be more confused, afraid, or… something else. After all, Naoto– or at least, something at looked like Naoto– was staring deeply into his eyes, a clear intent in its golden yellow gaze… “Um…” he stammered. “I dunno who that is…”
The shadow closed the gap between them, to the point where if it would just step a little closer the two would be pressed up against each other. It licked its lips playfully. “That’s ok,” it whispered. “It doesn’t really matter. I just wanted your attention.”
Kanji’s face had been dyed blood-red. “Y– you certainly have it…” His eyes went in different directions, as if he had been hit over the head.
The other Naoto’s smile went impossibly wide. “Good.” She reached out a hand and cupped the big boy’s chin in her hand. “Because I have a lot–”
Nobody ever figured what the shadow had had a lot of, because that was when the true Naoto lost it. At the sight of the Shadow touching her crush like he was some kind of toy to be played with, her vision went red.
“You!!” The yell echoed throughout the lab as Naoto dove like a human missile towards Kanji and the shadow. She gripped onto Kanji’s arm with the strength of a tiger. “You don’t get to talk to him like that!”
The shadow snarled and grabbed Kanji’s other arm. “Oh yeah?! Why not?!”
That was when all hell broke loose. With Kanji trapped in the middle of the two Naotos, the two began tugging on his outstretched arms like two little girls fighting over a doll.
“Mine!”
“No! Mine! Mine!”
“You disgusting pervert!”
“Lizard-brained scoundrel!”
“Raaaaaaagh!!!”
Kanji’s first instinct was to yell, “Hey, someone help!” to his teammates who were standing idly by watching the scene unfold. Then he thought about it. Two Naotos were fighting for his attention, touching and grabbing at him all over him for no other purpose than to win his affection. He almost felt like this was a dream come to life– a dream he didn’t want to be woken up from.
A grin involuntarily spread over his burning-hot face. While this whole world may have just been a shadow in reality, for Kanji Tatsumi it was as good as heaven.