Disclaimer: Noooooo. And this pairing would be indisputably canon if it was mine.

A/N: Probably my favorite pairing from P4. Uh . . . mild spoilers all around, I suppose.

Kick Beat

#01 – Air
He takes down an enemy with hurricane force and a spiraling hit from his kunai – his feet barely touch the ground – and Chie wonders when he got so . . . agile.

#02 – Apples
"It's called fruit; why don't you try some?" he says, tossing one at her because he just knows she's about to suggest he treat her to a beef bowl at Aiya's.

#03 – Beginning
. . . And suddenly, there he is, casting Diarama on her scorched leg, and he's telling her not to worry and boy, is she an idiot, don't scare everybody like that . . .

#04 – Bugs
I'm never going to live this one down, she thinks, because she just majorly freaked out and he can be such a jerk sometimes; but all he does is smirk at her and toss the little monster into some nearby bushes.

#05 – Coffee
"BLEEEGGGHHH – dammit Chie, how much sugar did you put in this?!"

#06 – Dark
He walks her home, because that movie was longer than they thought, and what kind of guy would he be if he let her wander out at night with a killer on the loose?

#07 – Despair
She still sees it sometimes: Saki's ghost, in the form of the fear he swallows whenever the case hits a stand-still.

#08 – Doors
"You open it," he says; they're searching the sauna and apparently he's still terrified of what he might see.

#09 – Drink
She gives him a light shove, and when he turns she pushes a bottle of water into his hands, "When you're training, you've gotta stay hydrated."

#10 – Duty
They all have things they feel responsible for; it just so happens that for him, making sure she doesn't get herself burnt to a crisp is now one of them.

#11 – Earth
For some reason, she's just kind of contented here, with Aiya's and the summer sun, martial arts and this goofy guy in headphones.

#12 – End
In one version of the universe, she never approaches the new kid, never gets riled up because everyone decided the Prince of Junes is personally responsible for their misfortunes, and when he disappears shortly after Konishi-senpai, it's just another tragic development.

#13 – Fall
She knows there must be something wrong with her when she starts noticing the muscles developing in his arms.

#14 – Fire
She doesn't seem to get it – her and agi attacks don't mix– and he wants to smack himself when she goes charging in instead of keeping her guard up.

#15 – Flexible
"Where did all the acrobatics come from, anyway?" she asks, promptly punching him in the gut when he waggles his eyebrows and replies, "Why, have you been keeping an eye on me?"

#16 – Flying
He's lost count of the number of times she's sent him sailing across the classroom because of an ill-timed comment.

#17 – Food
He doesn't understand how she can eat so much, all the time, and still be so little - even with all the exercise she does.

#18 – Foot
Hers can frequently be found connecting with his head.

#19 – Grave
One day she goes with him to visit Saki-senpai, and is a little startled when he looks straight at her and promises he will not let this happen again.

#20 – Green
In his mind the color is intrinsically tied to her jacket.

#21 – Head
She thinks, she needs to stop wondering if his hair is as soft as it looks.

#22 – Hollow
He was beginning to believe that he couldn't feel anymore – that something about this town, this case, had drained him of his empathy – but then when he goes out to the roof for air he finds her there, and his heart beats a little faster.

#23 – Honor
She stops in the middle of applying his lipstick and says, looking sincerely apologetic (which is more than he deserves), "Cheer up, I promise I'll tell everyone I signed you up against your will," and maybe he blushes when he replies, "Th-thanks, Chie."

#24 – Hope
She gave him something to hold on to, those early days in Inaba, when he felt like the begrudging townsfolk were going to come after him with pitchforks.

#25 – Light
They both move a little faster and hit a little harder when an enemy with Hama skills shows up.

#26 – Lost
On an intellectual level she knows Yosuke's family is pretty wealthy – but she doesn't realize it until she goes to his house and can't find the family room.

#27 – Metal
Sometimes they just hang around the shopping district together, stopping at Daidara's to see what the old man has come up with next.

#28 – New
Yu Narukami transfers in from the city, and when she goes over and introduces herself he hopes he isn't some novelty that's about to wear off.

#29 – Old
They end up spending her eighteenth birthday at Junes – he takes her there to pick out a present, and torrential rains decide to hit – running around the aisles and generally proving that one more year means nothing to maturity.

#30 – Peace
It hasn't rained for weeks; he tells himself he only calls her because he's going stir-crazy.

#31 – Poison
"Geez, and you're always telling me to be careful?" she scolds, leaning next to him and rubbing his back as he coughs, and she hopes Yukiko finds some dakudami tea soon.

#32 – Pretty
She thinks it's a word only used to describe other girls, but she begins to have second-thoughts when she sees the look on his face the night of the summer festival.

#33 – Rain
She holds her umbrella up a little higher and welcomes him under, and they walk closer than they have to as she asks, "Midnight Channel tonight, huh?"

#34 – Regret
After school, he thinks back and realizes that pretty much everything he said to her makes him sound like a jerk.

#35 – Roses
"Wh-what are these for?" she asks, and her face is about as red as the flowers – "Come on, do I really have to tell you what they're for?"

#36 – Secret
He cries, sometimes; she finds him by accident on the roof, and she sits with him until he's fine enough to pretend in never happened.

#37 – Snakes
The ones that slither around in the TV world give him the creeps, but he doesn't admit it until she does.

#38 – Snow
She is extremely determined to make a snowman – and even more determined to win the snowball fight he starts without thinking.

#39 – Solid
She isn't expecting this . . . this safeness she feels when he drags her into a fierce hug, and she buries her face in his chest, wondering if this is what a relationship between them could be like.

#40 – Spring
"Come outside, get some fresh air," she tells him, dragging him out of Junes by his wrist.

#41 – Stable
Someday, they won't argue quite as much, they won't have murders to worry about, and she won't feel a needling in her chest whenever he talks about Saki Konishi.

#42 – Strange
Sure . . . holding his hand feels a little weird; but this kind of weird isn't exactly a bad thing.

#43 – Summer
This won't last – the two of them sitting here, alone, on the steps outside Marukyu – but it sure feels like a hopeful start to vacation.

#44 – Taboo
It's this tacit promise she made to him, never to bring up what he was ready to do in that hospital room.

#45 – Ugly
He scratches the side of his head awkwardly, "I don't know . . . it was kinda childish, I guess, picking on the girl I like . . . but come on, it's not like I thought you'd take it seriously!"

#46 – War
She never forgets the whole Trial of the Dragon debacle; it's a source of much strife and endless living room skirmishes.

#47 – Water
After the rain they walk home together, splashing each other relentlessly when they hit one of the deeper puddles.

#48 – Welcome
"Good aftern- oh, it's just you," he says, and she resists the urge to kick him in the face - "That is not how you greet a paying customer!"

#49 – Winter
It's Christmas, and through a series of sheer accidents, she swears, she finds herself in his living room, sipping coffee while he looks for a movie they can watch.

#50 – Wood
"You're not gonna make me do that thing, where you try to break a stack of boards with your bare hands, are you?" he asks, and without answering she drags him into the martial arts studio.

Thanks for reading!