December 7, 2014

"Rise and shine, partner!"

I wake up and my face is being smothered with a pillow. I can't breathe and I don't know what the hell's going on. Choking and scared for my life, I blindly kick forward as hard as I can before realizing that, oh, it's just Yosuke. I guess he finally came home. He drops the pillow and keels over on the edge of my bed, cupping his crotch with his hands. Hey, at least my aim was dead-on.

"Ow! Dude, what the hell?"

"You were suffocating me with a pillow."

"Okay, fair point." He grimaces a bit and stands. I look over at the clock - nine in the morning. I rub my heavy eyes and force myself to sit up and stretch. Yosuke's got this look on his face that's some kind of midpoint between excitement and groin pain. My head's still reeling when he starts talking.

"So! Guess what day it is!" It's the seventh of December, but maybe because I just woke up, I've got no clue what the significance of that is.

"Sunday?"

"It's Yuki-chan's birthday!" Uhh.

"That's tomorrow. And I wouldn't call her that to her face." He ignores that last part.

"Yeah, but tomorrow's Monday, so we're celebrating it today, since we've all got the day off. She's coming over this afternoon. And don't say you aren't coming along, because you totally are."

"I wouldn't miss it." Sounds like a great excuse to get out of here for a while.

After high school, Yukiko went straight to work at the Amagi Inn, which means we don't get to see her very often. I'm looking forward to catching up with her. I've heard second-hand info from Chie, of course, and we've spoken on the phone a few times, but that's no replacement for actually being able to see her. Speaking of which, now that I think about it, something's not right.

"Hey, Yosuke."

"What's up?"

"Don't you think it's strange that Yukiko wants to visit us for her birthday?"

"I dunno. It's been a while since we hung out, right? And, well, we are pretty cool dudes."

"I won't debate that, but still. It's just you and me here, everyone else she knows is back in Inaba. Why wouldn't she be celebrating there?"

"Maybe she's bringing friends along. Chie didn't say anything about it?"

"No."

"Don't know what to say, man. Ask her when she gets here." I grab my phone from the bedside table — if anyone would know what's going on, it would be Chie. Maybe I should email her and ask what's up. So I fire off a message asking if she's talked to Yukiko lately. I get a response about ten minutes later — "Dont want 2 get into it now, Ill tell u later." That's probably the most concerning response she could have given, but I know better than to press the issue. Besides, if Chie won't tell me now, Yukiko probably will this afternoon.

The snow's coming down hard.

Yosuke had to get gas, so we arrive at the train station ten minutes late. Yukiko's already waiting for us out front, her hair down, dressed in a thick brown jacket with a red scarf around her neck. Don't tell Chie I said this, but she's really quite beautiful. Yosuke and I hop out of the car to greet her; she meets us both with a hug and a warm smile. We hurry back to the car to escape the weather. She climbs into the backseat and loosens her scarf.

"Brr! I hate that my birthday's in December, it's always so cold."

"No kidding," Yosuke says back, "maybe you could call Amaterasu out here, Agidyne some of this snow away? It would definitely make driving way easier." Yukiko lets out a giggle before Yosuke continues.

"Oh yeah, since this was kind of a short-notice thing, we don't really have any plans for what to do or anything." I look at him in confusion.

"How short-notice was this, exactly?"

"She called just before I woke you up." I turn to the backseat to glare at Yukiko, but she dodges eye contact like a seasoned pro. Today just keeps getting better. Yosuke breaks the silence.

"You know what? How about we go back to the dorm and figure out what to do from there?"

"Sure!" Yukiko performs a cute little nod. So to the dorm we go.

I prepare some coffee to warm us up. Yosuke's in the restroom and seems to be taking his sweet time. Yukiko's sitting on the couch, so I pour us both a cup and sit next to her.

"How do you take yours?"

"Oh, I like mine black." Definitely not the answer I expected from her. I chuckle and slide one of the mugs towards her. She takes an appreciative sip as I try to figure out the best way to approach the conversation. Luckily, she starts it off for me.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, Narukami-kun! How have you been?" I'm not really sure how to answer that.

"Busy, mostly. Lots of studying and part-time jobs." She giggles.

"Yeah, the inn's been keeping me busy, too. It's the holiday season, so we've been getting lots of visitors."

"So what brings you to Tokyo? I mean, aside from me and Yosuke, everyone else you know is back in Inaba, right?" She stares down into her coffee mug for a moment before responding.

"I just needed to get out of there for a while. I spend so much time at the inn that I feel like I'm overdue for a vacation. That, and… I kind of miss you guys." The look in her eyes says there's more to it than that, but Yosuke chooses that exact moment to come barging out of the bathroom and plop himself right between me and Yukiko, wrapping one arm around each of us. He turns to Yukiko first.

"So, Yukiko-chan! It's your twentieth birthday, right?"

"Mmhmm!"

"You know what that means? You, my friend, are officially of drinking age!" Yukiko's eyes light up. Damn it, Yosuke. I have to crash that party before it starts.

"Not until tomorrow, she isn't." I lean in to finish that thought in Yosuke's ear. "Besides, you've seen how she is drunk, and she wasn't even actually drunk."

"Oh, come on, partner! Don't be such a downer, there's nothing wrong with some social drinking on your birthday! Right, Yukiko-chan?" She nods with an intensely serious expression.

"Then it's settled! Don't worry, I know a few places around town that won't mind too much if your birthday's not till tomorrow." I do not question why Yosuke has this knowledge. Ignorance is bliss.

Even Yosuke's concerned about how fast Yukiko is downing these drinks. We exchange uncomfortable glances across the bar as she gulps back another cocktail. I take a sip of water - I suspect I'll have to be the designated driver. Between her earlier remarks about wanting to get away, and the ominous implications of Chie's text earlier, I'm starting to get a terrible feeling about Yukiko's mental state right now. Yosuke takes the initiative.

"Whoa there, Yukiko-chan! Keep that up and you won't even remember being here by tomorrow."

"I'm fiiiiine," she replies, convincing no one. "I'm just gonna have one more! Two more! No. No! One more. Narukami-kuuuuun, what number comes between one and two?"

"Um, nothing?"

"Yeah! I'll have that many." She slaps her leg and starts laughing uncontrollably, and I can feel everyone's judging stares turn towards us. Yosuke addresses the crowd.

"Don't worry guys, she's like this sober, too. Actually, that's probably not very reassuring." Yukiko slams her fist on the bar and looks towards Yosuke with fire in her eyes.

"Heeeeey, don't talk about me like that, mister ressenta… resonta…"

"Ressentiment," I finish.

"That one!"

"Dude, why did you help her?" Yosuke yells with a scowl. I look the other way and take another gulp of water before Yukiko keeps going.

"I'm fine! Really! I'm so, so sick of everyone telling me what to do. I've earned a night out to have some fun, okay? If you had to put up with the crap I've been dealing with you'd be drinking, too." I'm getting really concerned now. I put my arm around her and try to comfort her.

"Come on, Yosuke and I are here for you. Don't hold back, tell us what's going on." She takes one more swig of her drink and almost chokes on it.

"Oh, don't try to be all smooth with me, Narukami-kun! I know your tricks. I bet Chie already told you allll about how I'm just soooo awful, right?"

"What? No, she never said—" Yukiko's wild giggling cuts me off.

"She can say whatever she wants, I don't care. It's my birthday! Happy birthdaaaay, me." She downs the rest of her glass. It's way past time we cut her off from her alcohol, and a quick look at Yosuke tells me he agrees. I call for the tab as she glances over at Yosuke in surprise.

"Yosuke-kun! When did you get here?"

"Uh, the same time you did?"

"No waaaay! Yosuke-kun, I am so sorry, I was really mean to you earlier, wasn't I?"

"Don't mention it. No, really, please don't."

"Awwww, but I really am sorry! You're so handsome, Yosuke-kun." She leans towards him and starts running her hand up his leg, nearly triggering my gag reflex. Yosuke gets the dumbest grin on his face before I give him a death stare he'll never forget, so he pushes her hand away and tells her off.

"Okay, Yukiko-chan, time to go!" We stand up to leave the bar, but Yukiko can barely sit upright, much less walk. I pick her up and carry her on my back while she mumbles incoherently in my ear all the way to the car. I sit her down in the backseat and buckle her up before calling out to Yosuke.

"Need me to drive?"

"You know, partner, I think I'll be fine. How about I drive, and you stay in the backseat and keep an eye on her?"

"Good idea."

It's getting late. The snowflakes look like shooting stars against the night sky. Yukiko rests her head on my shoulder, which I'm thinking is because she can't keep herself straight, not a sign of affection. It's kind of disgusting being this close to her; she usually bears the sweet scent of cherry blossoms, but right now she just reeks of alcohol. It's not even funny at this point, just pathetic. She wraps her arms around mine and closes her eyes, but she's still awake, barely.

"Narukami-kun?" Her voice is soft and quiet, almost sing-songy.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you going out with Chie? She's just like a boyyy."

"Don't talk about her like that."

"It's truuuue. And she's so flat-chested."

"She's got a great ass, though." Yukiko lets out a quiet giggle, but Yosuke's reflection in the rearview mirror looks at mine like I'm a mad man.

"How do you go from being so serious and quiet to saying stuff like that all of a sudden? You scare me sometimes, man."

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Yukiko tightens her grip around my arm.

"Maybe I'm just jealous," she coos. After a few minutes, her grip loosens. I think she's finally passed out.

Yukiko's still unconscious once we get to the dorm, so I carry her in and lay her on the couch. She looks like she'll be out for a while. I head back to my room and fall face-first onto my bed. Such a disaster of a night. The clock shows eleven at night - late, but not too late. I pull my phone out of my pocket and call the first number in my favorites. She picks up after two rings.

"Yu-kun! Hello!"

"Hey, Chie-chan."

"What's up?"

"We need to talk about Yukiko."

"W-why?" She sounds uncomfortable with that.

"Because she's wasted and passed out on my couch right now."

"Oh wow. Thank goodness."

"What?"

"Ahh! I don't mean, you know, 'thank goodness she's drunk and passed out', but she went missing earlier today, and we've been looking all over for her! I'm so glad she's safe."

"She didn't tell anyone she was going somewhere?"

"No! She was at the inn this morning and then she just disappeared! Her family and I were terrified she'd been kidnapped or something. We even called the police and everything." Huh.

"You told me this morning there was something going with her that you didn't want to get into. What's that about?"

"Well, um… to be honest, I don't know exactly what's going on with her lately, either. She's been super distant and weird, and she won't tell me what's bothering her. I'm really worried about her." Sounds like there wasn't a big argument or something, so that's a relief. I probably shouldn't tell Chie what Yukiko said about her. She continues, "So really, how did she end up at your place?"

"Yosuke got a call this morning saying she wanted to visit for her birthday. So we picked her up at the train station, went out to celebrate, and things got out of hand. I kind of thought something was off when Yosuke told me she was coming over, but I had no idea."

"I'm just glad she's with you guys. I've gotta call her family and tell them she's alright. Please take care of her for me, okay?"

"Of course." We exchange our I-love-yous and good-nights before hanging up. I tear the sheets off my bed and head back to the living room to find Yukiko still curled up on the couch. She's all dressed up in her snow boots and jacket - that can't be comfortable. I drop my sheets on the floor and move down to her feet to slip her boots off; she stirs a bit.

"Narukami-kun?"

"Just relax." I loosen the laces and pull each boot off carefully, placing them by the door, before unbuttoning her jacket and sliding it over her shoulders. Her tired eyes watch me with fascination the whole time. I grab my bedsheets off the floor and gently lay them across the couch, tucking her in. As I pull the sheets up to her shoulders, she reaches out her hand and softly touches my cheek. She finally speaks up.

"You're too sweet."

With no response, I simply take her hand and place it on her stomach before walking back to my room and slumping onto my bare mattress. Regret immediately sinks in as I realize how ludicrously cold it is, but it's too late to go back in the living room and take my sheets back. My mind overflows with more thoughts than it can handle in its exhausted state, so they'll have to wait for tomorrow.