Totally lied and got this done tonight instead of tomorrow :) For tumblr user gettinpunksbent I hope you enjoy it ^^ The request was that Kanji be into sappy movies and Naoto, well… being Naoto -_- Also, I don’t claim to remember ever detail of some of the movies, so if I get a quote wrong, or get something out of order, I’m sorry ^^;;;
***
“Promise not to let go, Jack.”
“I promise.”
Naoto Shirogane watches the television screen with a blank stare, a bowl of popcorn in her lap that’s down to its last few kernels. She glances next to her, staring at the tall figure of Kanji Tatsumi – her very first boyfriend – as he presses a Kleenix against the corner of his eye.
Is he… crying?
Over this?
Perhaps if she watches the movie longer, she will understand the need for tears. She slides another piece of popcorn into her mouth, quietly watching. The scene is quiet, two people floating out in the frozen waters. The man has decided to stay in the water, letting the woman lay across the wooden board from the broken ship.
“… can they not just take turns?”
“Shhh!”
“It is a valid question.”
“Shhh!”
Naoto sighs, standing from the couch, “I am going to get more popcorn.”
“No no, wait, you’re gonna miss it.”
“Miss what?”
And before her eyes the man loses his life, sinking into the water in his sacrifice for the woman he loves. She can hear Kanji crying into his Kleenix, blowing his nose, “That part always gets to me,” he says, “I-it’s so beautiful.”
“Beautiful? How is dying beautiful?”
“He gave his life for her!”
“Because of sheer stupidity. They did not even know each other for very long.”
“Did you miss the part where he held her on the ship? Where he painted her? Where they made love in the car?”
“No I saw all of it. That still does not create a relationship worthy enough of self sacrifice, especially when they could have just taken turns sharing the board.”
***
“So he said he’s not watching movies anymore with you?”
“He is being unreasonable! All of my points are valid!”
Rise sighs, spread across her bed as Naoto sits at the edge of it, fuming over her ruined date night. Rise wonders if this is what she had in mind when she came to Inaba; being a relationship therapist for her friends, “It’s not about being valid, it’s about being romantic.”
“What is so romantic about a guy sinking to the bottom of the ocean?”
“It’s the fact that he did that for her.”
“Again, as I pointed out before-”
“Come on, Naoto-kun, don’t you have a sense of romance? Of love?”
“Clearly, I do, because I am in a relationship right now.”
Rise sighs and pushes herself up, “All right, let’s try watching something, without you being overly analytical. O.K.?”
***
“So Rise-chan kicked you out, huh?”
“I just do not see how a glass slipper can lead a prince to a girl, senpai.”
Souji sighs, sitting at the Junes food court with Naoto. He hadn’t exactly planned for his return trip to be an adventure through Naoto’s lack of romance, but here he sits, waiting for Yosuke’s shift to end, with Naoto Shirogane sitting across from him with a frown on her face.
“It’s about imagination, and-”
“I tried! But then she showed me that ridiculous movie with the mermaid falling for the human. I tried to explain to her the true background story of it, how in the actual tale she does not end up with the prince, how she turns into foam, and how-”
“Naoto…”
“And then the other movie we watched? With the Native American girl? That story was completely off! She was not even the appropriate age!”
Souji rubs his forehead, “Perhaps… animated movies are not the way to go with you.”
“I tried live action. With the ship. And the iceberg. How can anyone be sad when you know what is coming, everyone knows that the ship hits the iceberg.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“I am not! Everyone else is!”
“You are thinking too much,” Souji says, “Just… think of it like this. If you and Kanji were in the middle of the ocean-”
“Impossible, senpai, neither of us are that stupid.”
“That is not-” He stops, taking a deep breath. Understanding. Remember your understanding, “Hypothetically speaking, if you two were out in the middle of the ocean with only one piece of wood that you couldn’t share…”
“But you can share. Just take turns.”
“What if you couldn’t?”
“You can always share.”
“What if it couldn’t hold your weight?”
“I am rather small.”
“Just…” Souji sighs, “All right, fine. What if you met Kanji for one night, and the only clue you had was a-”
“Glass slipper?” Naoto chuckles, “Oh please, senpai. We have cell phones now.”
***
“So Souji told you to leave, huh?”
“I am surrounded by idiots,” Naoto says, “No offense, senpai.”
“None taken,” Chie says, smiling, “I’m not into those types of movies, either, it’s more Yukiko’s thing. I’d rather see some action!”
“Exactly!” Naoto sighs, laying back on Chie’s bed, “But somehow I am the bad guy here.”
“It’s about balance,” Chie says, sitting next to Naoto, “Sometimes, I watch one of Yukiko’s sappy movies. Sometimes, she watches my kung-fu. She doesn’t really get it, but I have found some movies that she actually likes.”
“I… suppose Kanji-kun does watch a lot of the things I like… even if it goes over his head.”
“Yeah, so sometimes… you have to go with the flow. Besides, it’s possible that he could pick something good.”
“Right. Like sinking ships. Or maybe something from Rise’s cartoon princess collection.”
“Well sometimes you have to sit through a lot of garbage before you find something you like. But trust me, you will. Yukiko found something about a panda that I really liked.”
“A panda, senpai?”
“It knew kung-fu!”
***
“Are you really willing to give it a decent try?”
“… I… suppose.”
“Naoto…”
“Yes, yes, I am,” she sits down with the popcorn, sighing, “So… what are we watching?”
“Something I think you’ll like.”
***
“She… s-she is not womanly enough for her family…”
“Yep.”
“She does not wish to break their heart.”
“Yep.”
***
“I-is she… posing as a boy?”
“Yep.”
“She is going to fight even when she is expected not to?”
“Yep.”
***
“Oh god they found out the truth oh no he is going to-”
***
“No no no do not give up on her she can still fight even if she is not a boy!”
***
“They… they are recognizing her efforts. They… they see her as a strong individual!”
***
“The greatest gift of all is having you for a daughter.”
“Naoto… are you crying?”
“He understand what she did! A-and… and he still loves her, even if she defied her family by posing as a man!” She sniffles, wiping at her eyes.
“So the talkin’ dragon didn’t get to ya at all?”
“Irrelevant. He was quite amusing.”
“Pretty sure talkin’ dragons didn’t exist back then… or ever.”
“Maybe it was her persona.”
“Ha ha, Naoto.”
***
Extra note: This is kind of a true story, sort of, only with my dad. My dad totally took me to see Disney movies growing up, sat through all my princesses even if he didn’t want to. Then, one day, we took me to see Mulan. He held my hand in the movie theatre. And he cried. It was the first time I saw him get emotional at a movie, but the line, “The greatest gift of all is having you for a daughter,” completely made him melt ^^
So, yeah, that’s the one movie I could think of that would make Naoto melt, too.