Stayed right where she was.

(chapter originally by faith on writing.com)

Being so close to what was presumably the end of this embarrassing ordeal sent a wave of giddiness and relief through the frazzled idol. But as exciting as the notion was, she resolved to be patient and let Kanji come to her. He had all the information he needed to find her, and frankly exiting her hiding place had already found a way to backfire on her. Plus, as much as she was looking forward to seeing her friend and getting out of this disaster she wasn't nearly so keen for him to SEE her (so to speak). With any luck he could just hand her the clothes he had brought and nothing more needed to be done with it. Soon enough she heard his leather shoes crunching on the gravel outside her secluded base.

"Kanji! Over here." She whispered

"Bout time!" Kanji grumbled as he squatted down and began to enter her hiding place.

"Wait! What are you doing?! Don't come in here, stupid!" Rise squeeked.

"Huh? Why the hell not?" Kanji snapped.

"Because I'm still naked back here! You don't just go barging in on someone like this!" Rise scolded.

"Huh? Why? Haven't like a hundred people already seen you like that? What's the use of being shy now?" Kanji asked in genuine confusion.

"Just shut up and hand me the clothes! I'll get dressed and be out in a second!" Rise snapped, marveling how stupid some of her friends could be.

"Yeah...bout that. Putting this stuff on is gonna be...complicated. You'll need my help for sure." Kanji said.

"What a lame excuse! Pervert! You even think of coming in here and you'll be sorry!" Rise snapped.

"So what? You threatening to pull a hot springs freak out on me and pummel me with crap fer tryin to help? Screw that! You try it and I'm leaving you here and telling everybody about this little situation! Maybe sneak a few pics just to back up my story, too!" Kanji threatened.

"You...you wouldn't dare!" Rise said in shock.

"You think so? Lemme tell you something, Rise. Today I just ruined months of work on my favorite hobby just to help you out, not to mention bruising my freaking knuckles on some poor dweeb cause you suck at hiding! I've gone through a massive amount of SHIT for your sake, Kujikawa! Now's a real bad time to test my limits! Not to mention all the crap you've dumped on me before!" Kanji ranted.

Rise was taken aback by the vitriol. Kanji had a temper, of course, and she'd seen him blow up at his friends when being needled too much. But this felt a little more intense than usual. It seemed there was more resentment built up than she had realized.

"I get it! I get it." Rise called back. "I'm sorry, okay! This hasn't been a good day for me either, okay? I just don't want you to see me naked! Is that really too much to ask??"

"Normally? NO! But this isn't exactly normal, is it?!" Kanji shot back, then sighed and spoke in a calmer tone. "Look. I get it. This ain't an easy thing for ya. Especially with all that crap your shadow pulled. Sensitive subject, right? But I'm TRYING to help here. And this time around I'm NOT getting punished for it! Let's be clear on that!"

Kanji continued before Rise could respond. "If your seriously that terrified of me seeing you bare I guess I can try to find something easier for you to wear or something. I got no idea how long that would take, though. Its gonna be better for everybody if you get over this now and just rip off the bandaid as quick as possible. I get that maybe I'm not easy to trust in this situation, but-"

"Its not that!" Rise said. "You know its not that! You helped save my life! Of course I trust you!" That and her Persona offered a level of perception beyond the norm- she knew perhaps better than anyone that Kanji's gruff tough guy appearance was mostly a bluff- he was willing to beat down people who deserved it, but he'd never turn on anyone he really cared about.

"But that doesn't mean I'm ready to...to show myself off to you either!" Rise added quickly.

"Calm down, dammit. You act like there's anything back there I'm even interested in seeing." Kanji jeered.

"I...WHAT? Excuse me? D-Do you have any idea how many people would kill to be in your position?" Rise snapped, momentarily forgetting her shyness.

"Yeah, well..that's them. And no offense, but I never cared about any of that idol crap. All this midnight channel shit makes it obvious, you know? Most of the crap you see on the TV is just that, crap! All the damn rumors and nonsense about celebrities is about as accurate about who you really are as your Shadow was! Get over it- I'm not one of those dumbasses drooling over your Calorie Magic commercial. I came out here to help out Rise my preppy classmate and investigation partner, not to check out Risette in the buff! So....either tell me to get lost, get your ass out here, or let me come in there!"

"Okay! Okay!" Rise said. "C-Come in."

There was a scraping sound. Despite her words Rise edged around a corner to hide as much of herself from Kanji's sight as possible. As she watched him emerge she bit her lip and blushed. As he emerged she glared at him. He rose to his feet and looked at her meaningfully.

"At least turn around! Didn't they teach you any manners at all?" Rise demanded.

"What the hell's the point? Hurry up and get out here so we can get this over with!" Kanji snapped.

Turning red, Rise drew in a breath and stepped out from her hiding place, covering herself and contritely moving to stand in front of him. He was, of course, right even if he was being way more forceful and blunt than she liked.

"Tch. Hurry up and drop your hands so I can get started." Kanji said.

"Can't we just-" Rise began.

"Drop em, Kujikawa!" Kanji snapped.

Rise obeyed, closing her eyes in the process. Ugh! Standing fully exposed in front of a boy! How humiliating! Rise almost screamed when he felt a hand on her boob.

"Wha!"

"Relax. I'm just making sure its gonna fit." Kanji snapped.

To her shock, Rise felt her left nipple rubbed and pinched in a fairly forceful manner. The pink orb naturally began to stick out fully. Her embarrassment only increased as Kanji produced a wod of string and cloth from his pocket, which he wrapped around the nipple and proceeded to tie into a knot. Rise had to suppress something between a scream and a moan as her nipple was pinched enough to be both painful and sensual all at once (not that she would admit the latter to anyone...EVER). At the same time she felt something soft and fluffy brush against her breast. Looking down she saw the face of one of the Kanji's dolls, a tiny bunny rabbit, now repurposed as a sort of pastie, which just barely managed to hide her exposed nipple and areola.

"Are...are you SERIOUS?" She asked.

"I said I didn't have much to work with." Kanji said with a sigh. "I know its not much, but-"

"This...this thing is literally the most humiliating thing I've ever worn in my life!" Rise snapped.

"Well, if you don't wanna use it, I-"

"Of course I want to use it, dummy!" Rise said, blushing profusely. "Its...better than nothing at all."

So saying, Rise closed her eyes and stood at attention, her body glowing red as Kanji foddled her other breast until her nipple was erect then proceeded to secure another bunny to her breast in a similarly erotically painful manner. It only dawned on her afterwards what this implied about the rest of her 'outfit'.

"No way!" Rise said.

"That's how its designed, dammit. If I had more fabric to work with it'd be different, but this is all I could come up with. So just...." Kanji said.

"You are NOT going to...get my...get that to stick out the same way!" Rise said.

"Fine. Do it yourself, then. Just hurry up." Kanji said in exasperation.

"Y-you better turn around and stay that way!" Rise said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I care either way." Kanji said.

Rise glared at his back. With a gulp, she looked down at herself. Gingerly she began to manipulate the space between her legs, arousing her clit and slowly coaxing it out of its naturally hiding place. Periodically she kept glancing in Kanji's direction, expecting to see him sneaking a glance at her as she fingered herself. To her surprise he never did.

"Ya done yet?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah. That's...as far as it'll go." Rise said, her voice quivering.

To her surprise, Kanji immediately turned around and stared intently between her legs. Gasping, she used both hands to hide her moist treasure. Rolling his eyes, Kanji instructed her to turn around and spread her legs far apart. A short argument later, Rise complied. She felt string once more wrapped around an intimate place, though less painfully than before. Eventually a small bunny was once more secured against her private places, providing literally the barest amount of cover possible.

Despite her mortification, Rise thanked Kanji for his efforts and even managed to overcome her shame and look him in the eye. Somewhat to her surprise, she didn't see any mockery or lust in his face. She was almost disappointed. Not even a little nosebleed? He had just seen more of her than ANYONE and he didn't seem effected in the slightest! It was a weird feeling, feeling embarrassed about how unimpressed her audience was with her body on top of the exposure itself. But that was indeed the state of her emotions.