Persona 4- The Priestess' Impasse
Chapter 1- Encounter
A/N: So yeah, I came up with this while writing LiF's Arguing Chapter. This is that "Paralouge" I so teased you with in chapter 24 of LiF :) Told you all I'd do it XD It isn't canon to Lovers in Fragments (That would screw the whole thing up) but I thought it'd be cool to do a "What If?" like this for it, so yeah, here you go :D YuxYukiko, so yeah, a slight deviation from my normal stuff but I do actually like this pairing so… :) A little heavier than what you're used to from me, I'm afraid (In my whole one fic XD) Regardless, Enjoy :)
xxx
Yukiko Amagi, the young heiress to the famous Amagi Inn, was on the horns of a dilemma.
She had been developing an… affection for one of her classmates. More than friendship. She liked him, like really liked him. A boy had never made her feel this way before. Whenever she saw him, her heart started beating much faster and her stomach tied itself in knots whenever he smiled at her. She was thinking about that boy now as she lay on her bed doing some English assignment (She had to daydream or she'd never get it done…). She was thinking of course, of Yu Narukami.
The mysterious transfer student who came to Inaba and made her life infinitely more exciting. He showed her the world beyond her TV screen and helped her face herself. He even saved her life… How could she not develop these feelings for him? She wanted to confess to him, to tell him that he was an amazing person and that she loved him. There were a few reasons she couldn't do that.
For one thing, she was awkward. Despite being perceived by her classmates as a cool beauty, her real self was a lot more anxious. She tripped over words and had a hard time expressing herself. Yu wouldn't want a girl that could barely talk without blushing. In this regard, she was nothing like Chie or Rise…
Speaking of Rise Kujikawa, she was the other reason that she didn't want to tell Yu how she felt. Yukiko had a strong suspicion that her silverette classmate was in a relationship with the young idol. Yukiko may be awkward, but she was also very perceptive. They were constantly around one another for one, eating lunch on the roof together in private. They were always flirting over social networks and stuff as well. On top of that, whenever Rise came up in conversation, Yu always came up with something to say. Unless it was about her love life, at which point he became standoffish or unresponsive. Finally, whenever they were around together, Yukiko always caught them stealing glances at each other or something. That worried her…
Yukiko sighed at her homework. She couldn't focus. She had Yu on the brain. Her head was swimming with thoughts of her leader. She simply put her work in her bag, flipped on the TV and changed into her pyjamas. It was late after all. She was just going to try and get some sleep. Perhaps she'd have that dream again, the one where Yu came over and swept her off to the city to live in some apartment where they'd live on the edge.
Just before Yukiko was about to flip off the light and settle into bed to watch TV before dropping off to sleep, her phone started buzzing. Someone was calling her? She'd only given her number to around 7 people. Her mother, Chie, Rise, Naoto, Kanji, Kanji's mother and…
To her surprise, the caller was the most recent and the one that was on her mind right now. Without even thinking, she answered the phone.
"Hello?" She asked, lying to the man on the other end. She knew damn well who it was.
"Hey, Yukiko, it's Yu" He said, he sounded flustered… Almost upset, actually…
"Oh, hey, Yu-kun…" Yukiko said. She was trying to sound cool and collected but inside she was burning. He was calling Her. That was surprising.
"Do you have any rooms going right now?" Yu asked, breathing somewhat heavily.
"Umm… I don't know for sure. Why?" She said, confused. Why would he ask that, he has a house?
"Ah… shit, alright. It's just that I locked myself out of my house like an idiot…" He sighed, disappointed.
"I have a couch!" Yukiko almost shouted down the phone.
"What?" Yu laughed gently, that seemed to cheer him up a little.
"I mean… um. I ha-have a couch you can sleep on, if you want…" Yukiko stuttered on hearing his laugh. God his laugh… It was deep, masculine and resonated with her whenever she heard it.
"I think I'll take you up on that… Thanks Yukiko" Yu said, his voice picking up a little bit.
"It's OK…" she said, already feeling the blush on her face.
"I'll be there in a few" Yu said.
"Alright, see you" Yukiko mumbled, already hanging up the phone. She was excited. A lot.
xxx
Within about five minutes, Yu had arrived at the Amagi Inn. He was standing at the back door, waiting for Yukiko to come and welcome him in.
He was an idiot. Why?
Why?
Why did he let this happen?
He'd ruined it. He'd ruined the best thing in his life at the moment because he was stupid.
Yu and Rise had a fight. It was a big one too. Not a stupid little fight over who would make breakfast. A huge, almost relationship ending, fight. It was all over in a blur. He'd said some stupid, stupid, stupid things… And now he hated himself. Why?
That was the only word that Yu could focus on.
It was at that moment that Yukiko opened the door and he was… surprised…
She was standing there in her pyjamas and fluffy slippers, her hair was tousled like she'd been standing in a windstorm and her eyes were tired from the day's events. However, they brightened when she saw Yu. He almost thought he looked cute. Almost. Romance was the last thing on his mind right now…
"Hey, Yu-kun" Yukiko said, beaming. He felt like anything but smiling but he faked one out of courtesy.
"Hey" he replied.
"Um… Where's your jacket?" Yukiko asked. It was a pertinent question to ask him, he was usually never without it. Especially since it was the depths of winter now.
"Oh… um…" Yu mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't think of anything. 'Come on, you idiot.' He thought to himself. 'You were working at a mile a minute when you were yelling at your girlfriend why can't you lie about your jacket?'
"You had it this morning, right?" Yukiko asked him again.
'She's just full of questions today, isn't she?' Yu thought again. He then realized that he still wasn't saying anything.
"Is everything OK, Yu-kun?" Yukiko asked a third time. Apparently, she noticed his calm façade break down.
"Not… really…" Yu said in barely a whisper.
"Come inside, we can talk about it there" Yukiko smiled.
"Alright…" Yu said, staring at the floor as he slipped off his shoes and followed Yukiko up to her room. Both of them sat down at her table, which was very similar to his, across from one another.
xxx
More than anything, she was worried. She was initially excited about Yu coming over. She was hoping she could make him happy… maybe even sneak a quick peek at him while he slept or something (Which she immediately dismissed as "creepy" and "stalkerish"). However, now, she wanted to help him. To genuinely cheer him up. Maybe then he'd notice her… like that…
"So what's happened, Yu-kun?" she said, her voice dripping with concern and her arm snaking across the table to take his hand in hers… strictly platonically, of course. Right?
"I… don't know if we should talk about this…" Yu said, still not able to meet her gaze.
"Yu-kun, please… I don't want to see you like this"
"I…" You stuttered, about to begin one, final pointless protest but thought better of it. He backed down from his pride and simply decided it better to confide in Yukiko.
"First thing you need to know is that me and Rise are dating… We have been for a while" Yu confessed to the young heiress.
"Yeah… I kind of guessed" she chuckled. Outwardly, anyway. Inside, it felt like a knife had just stabbed her in the heart. Her worst fears were realised… He would never love her. Not in the way she loved him…
"But…" Yu sighed.
But? There was a But?
Yukiko's spirits soared. Why? Did this make her a horrible person? She was happy at the prospect of her friend's relationship having trouble. Why? So she could be happy? Yukiko wasn't that kind of girl… was she?
"We had a fight" Yu continued. "A big fight."
He told Yukiko the entire story. The things he said, the things she said, the things they both did, the state he left her in…
"I left my jacket at Rise's. My keys and stuff too… I feel awful" Yu said, his voice cracking as he told Yukiko of his internal struggle…
"Yu-kun…" Yukiko said, squeezing his hand. What should she do here? She should console him, make him feel at least a little better and help him out in his time of need. His wellbeing was more important than her stupid little crush right now.
But Yukiko was a teenage girl, at the end of the day. Her hormones were flowing through her body. There was a boy, in her room. His clothes were wet, she was in her pyjamas. She could let biology take over and give in to her baser desires but she wasn't like that, at least she didn't think so, but the fact that she was even thinking about doing this showed that maybe she was…
She didn't know what to do… Did that make her selfish? Did it make her a bad person? Worse, a bad friend?
"Yu-kun" Yukiko finally decided. "You…" she couldn't believe what she was about to do. She stood up, moved to sit next to Yu and placed her hand on his thigh. "It's OK.." she said, huskily as she wrapped her other arm around Yu's shoulder into a hug.
Apparently, Yu needed that. He accepted the hug fully and wrapped her into it as well. He needed someone to just reassure him.
The hug ended, despite Yukiko trying to keep it going for longer. The two of them just sat there, staring at each other for a few moments.
Then, their lips crashed together.
Neither of them knew how it happened. Well, Yu did, to an extent. He was vulnerable. He needed someone, anyone, to show him that he wasn't a bad person. Yukiko just happened to be around. He would have done the same with Yosuke, albeit with less kissing involved.
Sleep did not come easily to the scandalous lovers…
xxx
Idiot.
Idiot, Idiot, Idiot. What are you doing? Why did you do that? You absolute moron.
He got dressed, Yukiko having done the same a while ago. The two of them felt incredibly awkward afterward. This was not how Yukiko imagined her first time. She wanted it to be wonderful with a man she loved who loved her in return. Yu didn't love her, at least not emotionally and not in a romantic way. What they did last night was an act of lust and emotional desperation, not love or compassion.
"We can't tell anyone about this…" Yu said, avoiding Yukiko's gaze.
"Yeah…" Yukiko agreed, in spite of her feelings for Yu. She definitely didn't want to remember what they did… "It was a mistake" She added…
"Yeah" Yu agreed. "I was vulnerable"
"I was really hormonal" Yukiko hastened to make her voice heard.
"Yeah" Yu said once more. "I'll, um… see you at school…"
"Good luck with Rise-chan, Yu-kun"
"Um… yeah… I forgot about that…" Yu said, his feeling of despair now overwhelmed with guilt and self loathing.
What happened last night was a mistake.
But teenage years are filled with stuff like this.
Right?