7/28/12, Mid Afternoon, Tatsumi Textiles…

Yukiko gently turned over the fabric in her hand, in awe at the fine craftsmanship that went into weaving it. She rubbed her rosy cheek into the center, feeling just how soft and wonderful the cloth felt. Across from her, Mrs. Tatsumi was giving her a pleasant and knowing smile.

The cloth was a traditional Japanese Tenugui towel made from cotton that was typically used for decoration. Yukiko's mother, anticipating even more Summer tourists than usual do the rather unusual liveliness of the town lately, had commissioned sets of commemorative towels for the rooms of the inn that would also be available to purchase in their gift shop. Like the kimonos of the staff, the towel was a deep pink color with "Amagi Hot Springs Inn" written in characters across the bottom. The Amagi Family Kamon , or crest, rested just above the lettering: a plain white lily with a small yellow center, the same that was on the kimono Yukiko was currently wearing.

She carefully handed the towel back to Mrs. Tatsumi as if it were a frail bird, unwilling to disturb its exquisite beauty by wrinkling it. The elder Tatsumi folded it and placed it back among the stack of forty or so that had been sitting in a wooden container.

"Well, Yuki-chan," the older woman started, adjusting her glasses a bit, "are they to your satisfaction?"

Yukiko grinned as she addressed her elder. "Oh, absolutely , Tatsumi-san," she gushed, bowing a bit, "My mother is going to love them!"

Tatsumi-san chortled, a wrinkled hand going to her chest as she did. "My, my, child, it's not nice to make an old woman blush!"

Yukiko joined in on the laughter, tucking some of her long ebony hair back behind her ear; when she was working she did not wear her headband, which made her hair a bit more of a nuisance than it typically was. Tatsumi-san sighed and moved her feet out from under her so they could rest on the small wooden step that lead up into the front of her shop. Yukiko admired the older woman's forest green kimono as it swayed with her movements; a part of her hoped that she looked as graceful in one when she was that age.

The Amagi heiress had known the Tatsumi family almost all her life, her family having associated with them in regards to the various textiles of their inn for as long as she could remember. Yukiko had fond memories of visiting the small shop as far back as primary school, where she was as mesmerized by the talent hidden in Mrs. Tatsumi's fingers as she was now. The only difference now were the larger wrinkles and grey hair, likely caused by the years of dealing with her son, Kanji.

Kanji was actually on the forefront of Yukiko's mind. Last weekend's sleepover had been a long night for the restless 3rd year, her mind distracted by her passionate reaction to Chie and Rise meddling in Kanji's affairs. She and him had never been particularly close-despite knowing each other most of their lives-but Yukiko had felt really bad for Kanji, lately. She wondered if the others truly knew what it was like to deal with a heartbreak so critical like that, to spend every waking hour dreaming of having someone special in your life only for it to be torn away by fate's cruel hand.

A part of her also felt as if she was ignoring Naoto over Kanji. Naoto was her friend as well, and the fact that Naoto had chosen Yukiko to confide her own secret crush on Narukami months earlier meant she felt doubly guilty, like she wasn't reciprocating the friendship. Still, her guilt only went so far; her text messages to the detective had gone unanswered, which Yukiko took as a sign that like Kanji, Naoto wanted to be left alone, too. She chose to respect that, while at the same time hoping that the detective bore no ill will toward her for attempting to reach out.

In the meantime, Yukiko had convinced Chie to not go through with Rise's planned "get-well" lunch. Kanji had stayed off the grid since school had let out, and Yukiko figured bugging him to go to lunch with the girls, with whom he was already kind of weird around, wasn't going to help. The more she thought about it, however, Yukiko also realized that perhaps it wouldn't do any harm to do a personal house call, just to see how he was doing. Surely he could handle the presence of just one friend.

The towels weren't needed anytime soon, but they provided a decent excuse for Yukiko to bus all the way over during a busy day at the inn. Taking advantage of the momentary silence after the two ladies exchanged laughs, Yukiko made her move. "Um, Tatsumi-san, while I'm here... is Kanji-kun in? I'd like to speak with him, if possible," she asked, affixing a serious look on her face. Mrs. Tatsumi sighed heavily, unfolding her hands from her lap.

"I'm sorry, dear, but Kanji stepped on a personal errand for me. He should be back soon," she revealed, her demeanor seemingly taking a 180, "It's about the only thing I can do to get him out of his room…"

This intrigued Yukiko "O-oh?"

"Yes," the elder Tatsumi moped, "He's behaving like…"

The woman looked up at Yukiko suddenly, a somber glint reflected in her glasses.

"Yuki-chan, I must ask you something and you must tell me the truth," she stated, looking deadly serious. Startled, Yukiko couldn't help but nod, her own heart beginning to race. What could she mean?

"Did something happen to him? He's been acting so strange lately: he stays inside all day and lays in his bedroom just staring at the ceiling. I try to talk to him but he's just so quiet and..." she stopped, a sad smile appearing on her lips, "Look at me, trying to go through his friends like a gossipy old maid. Forgive me, Yuki-chan," she sighed, waving her hand as if to wipe away her request.

Yukiko felt her spirits sink at Mrs. Tatsumi's revelation. His mother was right, that didn't sound like Kanji at all. Typically, it was very easy to figure out Kanji's emotions; as gentle as his fingers were when it came to textiles, he had the emotional subtlety of a brick. If he was mad or sad or anything , he had a habit of loudly letting you know.

"Tatsumi-san," Yukiko uttered, debating quickly whether or not she should reveal Kanji's plight, "I...w-what I mean to say is that I think Kanji-kun is-"

Her confession was cut off by the sudden bleating of a nearby telephone. The older woman rolled her eyes and gave the 3rd year an apologetic glance as she slowly got up to her feet and moved beyond the open door in the back of the room to find the source of the noise.

Yukiko sighed in relief, having been granted a few more minutes to get her thoughts together. Just watching Tatsumi-san made her wary of adding on any more reasons for her to worry about her son, who had already provided more than a lifetime of struggles. At the same time, Yukiko cared about Kanji's well- being, and wondered if telling his mom about what he was going through might help make him feel like more people were on his side. It was a difficult choice.

Before she could make her decision, there was a sudden gust of air that blew up the edges of her kimono a bit. Someone had come in through the shop's entrance, and it wasn't until she heard the clack of the door being shut roughly that she managed a sideways glance at who or what had entered.

" S-senpai!? "

"Hmm? Oh! Kanji-kun..."

Indeed, Kanji had returned from wherever it was he had been. Judging by the package in his hand, he appeared to have gone and picked up some sort of medicine, probably for his mother. He was wearing a blue T-shirt that had a small penguin spouting out some characters in loud font, matched up with a loose fitting pair of dark blue jeans. Yukiko was surprised to see that he didn't have any sort of headwear; instead, his natural, messy black hair swayed gently in the still air.

"What're you...I mean, you here to get yer families' order?" he said rather sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

Yukiko bit her lip, faintly tasting the cherry flavor of her chapstick as she did. "Ye-yes, I am," she said quickly, also doing her best not to stare, "B-but actually...now that you're here I wanted to speak to you…"

"What about?" Kanji said sharply, a look in his eye that let Yukiko know he was on high alert. Yukiko quickly took a breath and made her move.

"You know...about Naoto-kun and y-"

" Nope. Ain't interested, 'lright?" Kanji spat, stepping past her with his long legs, "Figured you of all people would get the picture...ain't like I got a million unanswered text messages fer nothin', ya know!"

"H-hey! Wait," Yukiko begged, gently tugging at the waist of her kimono so the skirt wouldn't trip her up as she moved to the large platform that Kanji had just stepped onto, "I don't mean to bother you, I just…" She knew what she wanted to say, but the words kept getting stuck. Why was she this nervous, anyways? She had been so confident in her decision-making yet was tripping at the finish line.

"Well ya are bothering me!" he growled, turning to face her, his already towering height made even worse by the platform, "I've seen all 'a ya every day for a year, can't I get one week to my damn self!? Sick of you guys, man..."

Okay, that was mean. Yukiko felt her eyebrow twitch in anger, but before she could retort, she heard footsteps coming from the back of the house. Kanji's mother peeked her head out from the doorway, no doubt hearing the racket her son was making.

" Kanji! " she hissed loudly, which tore the 2nd year's attention away from Yukiko and towards her, "I am on the phone with a very important client! Will you keep your voice down?!"

Kanji snorted and rolled his eyes. "Butt out, ya old bat! Gah, what is it with ev'ryone today!?"

"I don't know what's gotten into you, young man," Mrs. Tatsumi fired back, "but I won't tolerate you behaving this way! Now you can apologize to poor Yuki-chan by helping her back home with her order." The older woman beckoned at the box sitting near Kanji's feet.

Yukiko blushed, thoroughly embarrassed at all the trouble she had caused. "Th-that's really not necessary, Tatsumi-san…"

"Damn right it ain't!" Kanji roared, "Senpai ain't some broken down old hag, she can do it herself!"

"That girl," Kanji's mother began, "is the daughter of one of our oldest and dearest clients. If she finds out you were disrespectful to her child…"

" Alright, geez!" Kanji huffed, lugging the box up over his shoulder like it was a toothpick, "Quit layin' the guilt trip on me, I get it!" He stepped down from the platform with an aggressive stomp and headed toward the door. "C'mon let's get this shit over with, senpai."

Yukiko blushed harder. This was not going like she hoped. "I-I'm so sorry for being so troublesome, Tatsumi-san," she apologized, bowing deeply to the older woman.

"You having nothing to be sorry for, dear," Tatsumi-san assured her, "It's always a pleasure doing business with your folks, and I'd like to keep it that way." She aimed her beady eyed glare at Kanji, who stuck his tongue out at her in response. What an odd relationship, Yukiko thought.

With a final curt nod, Kanji's mother shuffled back into the house to finish her phone call. Yukiko fixed her hair nervously and followed Kanji as he threw the door open and stepped out into the street.

Yukiko felt like she should say something, anything to ease the tension. "K-Kanji-kun, I'm sorry, I didn't want-"

"Yeah, whatever," Kanji interrupted, not even looking at her, "Let's jus' go."

Fair enough, Yukiko thought. She straightened out her kimono and began to lead the way toward the bus stop just a block down the road, hoping that the day couldn't get any worse before she got home.

7/28/12, Mid Afternoon, Bus Stop outside the Amagi Inn

It had been an agonizingly silent 15 minute bus ride for the two friends. Kanji had just looked out the window, not even taking a seat next to Yukiko as he proceeded through his task like he was an android programmed to do it. The 3rd year thought about trying, but she again found herself struggling to find some way to break the silence. Kanji just looked so done with everything. Before too long, they arrived at the stop, the Amagi Inn only about a ten minute walk away.

Yukiko gave a gentle smile to the driver as she exited the bus, a smile that faded the second he was out of sight; she had so much practice putting on a brave face for strangers that it came easily. Kanji followed, the picture of frustrated silence stuck on his face. Above them, the afternoon sun was just beginning its journey to its home on the other side of the Earth, which left it ample time to still remind Inaba of its power. Dressed in her form-fitting and layered kimono, Yukiko felt the full bore of it, the heat doing little to contribute to her overall dower mood.

After a minute of walking, the poor heiress couldn't stand it any longer. She had to say something. "Did you...mean what you said? You're sick of all of us?"

Kanji stopped and let out a pronounced sigh. " -hhrrrkkk- No."

"'No' what?" Yukiko asked.

"No, I ain't sick 'o you guys!" Kanji yelped, the box on his shoulder shaking as he tried to keep himself from being too overly animated. "I jus'...when I say 'leave me alone', I mean it!"

Okay, now she was getting somewhere. "A-alright, I understand," she started, "I just hope you know that the only reason we keep trying is because we're worried about you... I'm worried about you…" The heiress blushed, but it was the truth; Kanji was her friend, and even in just their small interactions that day, Yukiko could see he wasn't acting like his usual self. Kanji could be crude, but he was rarely mean like he had been back at the textile shop.

Kanji scoffed dismissively, which mildly hurt the girl's feelings. There was a beat of silence, the only sound the scuffle of Yukiko's sandals and Kanji's boots against the pavement.

"What're ya worried about?" Kanji suddenly asked, with way less of an edge to his voice.

Yukiko looked up at him, seeing if she could tell where his head was at; he looked as stern and annoyed as ever. Undeterred, she continued. "Well, a lot of things, but...I guess I'm mainly just worried that you're…" The raven-haired girl knew she had to be careful, given her tall companion's current mood.

Unfortunately, his patience was already thin. "That what!? I don't got my shit together? I'm no good, just like always? What!? " He exploded, stopping to turn and snarl at Yukiko. Reflexively, she stopped as well and took a step backwards, seeing from his clenched fists and the vein popping out near the scar on his head that he really wasn't messing around. Biting her lip as she felt a nervous chill run down her spine, Yukiko did her best to finish her thought.

"N-no, nothing like that! I...I'm actually really glad that you have changed so much! That's what I'm afraid of...I don't want you to go back to the way you were," she pleaded, feeling her voice start to shake a little. Kanji's face dropped from rigidly angry to a more neutral, softer state.

"You don't have to be...to be afraid to talk about what you're feeling. I-in fact, I…" she hesitated in admitting what she was thinking for a second, "...I may understand what you're going through more then you know," Yukiko revealed, hoping the burning sensation in her ears would pass. "I know I'm not very good at sharing my thoughts with the others either, but...I'm trying . And I want you to try, too...but I won't force you to if you don't want to."

Now that both teens had stopped, only the buzz of the cicadas sounded out around them. Yukiko tried not to look at Kanji in the eyes; she was already embarrassed that she may have said too much. Her personal anecdote had only been there to provide some encouragement, but she was already worried that it would come across as selfish, a problem she had always struggled with. Confronting her feelings about this was proving rather difficult, and she was finding more and more that there was clearly something deeper to this than she had thought previously.

As she got to know the sidewalk outside of her inn a little more clearly, she heard him step back and move the box containing the towels from his shoulder to his hands, holding them in front of his stomach.

"I...I didn't know it bugged ya so much," he started, a deep sigh emerging from his throat, "Izzat what everyone else thinks, too?"

I don't know , Yukiko thought, before quickly shoving that aside. It wasn't important whether or not she had personally quizzed everyone else about it; she knew the right answer in her heart. She gave a tight nod, still avoiding eye contact.

Kanji took a few steps closer, offering the box to her, saying nothing. She quickly grabbed it, noticing it was decently heavy but not terribly so as she balanced it in her arms. Was this...goodbye? Yukiko finally looked up, almost relieved to see the anger and frustration had left Kanji's face. It wasn't a smile or anything, but he did look more content.

He nervously wiped the back of his neck before speaking, in a much quieter voice than he had been using all day. "Maybe yer right," he mumbled, "But...I can't...I don't want make this a big deal or nothin'."

"It doesn't have to be a big deal," she said softly, "i-if you wanted, you could just talk to me about it. I wouldn't mind..." It was a selfish offer, but again, Yukiko felt as if she was in a unique position to understand what he was going through, and would have felt bad if she didn't lend an ear.

Kanji gave her a quizzical look, which Yukiko couldn't really blame him for doing. The two hadn't exactly been close pals, and he always got nervous around girls anyways. Why would he take her up on that when he could just as easily vent to Yosuke or Yu? She was about to retract her offer, when she heard him mumble some more.

"Maybe I should..." It wasn't much, but Yukiko felt her heart soar. She had broken though! She couldn't help the smile that lit up her face.

"Y-you should, yeah! I really don't mind!" She said quickly, trying not to jinx it.

Kanji scratched his head some more, appearing to think hard. "I mean...I dunno, aren'tcha gonna be busy, anyways? I don't wanna bug ya if you got work to do."

This stumped the heiress. Kanji had a point: it was going to be a very busy summer at the inn, moreso than ever before, and Yukiko wasn't sure when she'd have time to get away from work and hang out or talk on the phone, at least for a little while. Unless…

A light-bulb went off in her head. "Wait, I know! Can you wait here a minute? I'll be right back," she yelped, barely letting Kanji give a befuddled nod before she quickly turned around and shuffled as quickly as she could-given her kimono-toward the inn's entrance, which looked more like an ancient castle gate than the entrance to a bustling town institution.. She quickly threw open the door, removed her sandals, and peeked to see if anyone was in the front lobby; she needed to get behind the front desk and grab something she wasn't supposed to, so she hoped there wasn't much traffic. Luckily, there was no one but a plump woman in a similar pink kimono manning the front desk, looking ever so bored. This was Himari-san, one of the inn's longtime employees, and more importantly, someone who would do anything for Yukiko, whom she adored.

Yukiko fixed her face, putting on a pleasant, fake smile as she walked toward the desk and her beaming co-worker. "Ah, Yuki-chan, welcome back!" Before Yukiko could utter a return greeting, the older girl's attention fell to the box she was carrying. "Oh, oh, are those the new towels? Ah, I'm so excited!" Kanami cheered, stepping around the desk and through the folded up section that acted as a barrier to non-employees.

"Of course, Himari-san!" Yukiko grinned, before wincing and beginning to act as if the box was really heavy. "Oh, geez! Sorry, I've been carrying this box for a while, must be losing my grip," she said with a nervous titter.

As expected, Himari started to fuss and fawn. "Well no wonder, you poor thing! Carrying that around in this heat and that kimono, ugh! Your mother needs to hire use an errand boy, a cute one, too! It's about time we had some more decent looking men-folk around here to balance out us gorgeous girls!" Yukiko tried not to laugh and break her act, but Himari could say the silliest things.

The taller woman quickly seized the box from Yukiko and took a look inside. "Oh my, so beautiful. That Tatsumi-san really knows her stuff! You want I should take them up to your mom?" Himari offered, signaling with her head that she should go up the nearby stairs to her parents' office. Yukiko nodded, holding back a sly grin.

"Really? I-if it's not too much trouble...I'll watch the front for you!" Yukiko offered incredulously, her plan almost complete.

"Great! Be back in a flaaasshh," Himari said in a sing-song voice as she quickly began bustling up the stairs on her way to Yukiko's mom's 3rd floor office. Knowing she had to act fast so as to avoid suspicion, Yukiko brushed past the still-open barrier and went behind the front desk, looking for something in the myriad of cabinets hidden from view. After a few seconds, she silently mouthed her joy at finding exactly what she needed: a paper gift certificate.

Yukiko's mother typically kept a few rooms open and gave special vouchers out as favors to people such as local businessfolk or visiting members of the National Diet, hoping that a free night at the inn would help spread word of mouth. They weren't something Yukiko was supposed to be giving out to her friends, but she was worried that since the reservation ledger had been filling up so quickly, it wouldn't be easy for her to just borrow a room like she had before, when the Investigation Team had a big sleepover. Thankfully, she knew that her mom also liked to give Mrs. Tatsumi these coupons as an additional gift for her services, so it wouldn't seem all that weird if Kanji got a hold of one. Considering that her time was going to get really tight for a short while and Kanji seemed like he needed this intervention sooner than later, she felt that it was better if she could talk to him without leaving the hotel.

Her sneaky deed completed, she moved out from behind the desk and across the tatami mats at the front door. She didn't bother to put her sandals back on as she exited the inn and saw Kanji still standing over at the street entrance, looking utterly confused.

Excitedly, Yukiko hurried over to him and pushed the paper certificate into his hand. "Sorry to make you wait! Here, take this and you can use it whenever!" she panted, having lost her breath moving awful fast in her tight and restrictive kimono. Kanji held up the paper and squinted hard in the afternoon sun, trying to read it.

"Uh...senpai?" he asked, "Didja write me a note on here or somethin'? It's kinda hard to see…"

Yukiko's cheeks flushed even more red than they already were, realizing she hadn't exactly explained her ingenious plan. "I-it's a certificate for a free stay at the inn! We're only supposed to hand them out to VIPs, but I think this can be an exception," she answered, pointing to the big heading across the top that read "GOOD FOR ONE NIGHT'S REST AT THE AMAGI INN!"

Kanji didn't look like he understood. "Uh...like, ma's mad at me and stuff, but I don't think she's gonna kick me out or nothin'..."

"Th-that's not what it's for!" Yukiko huffed, exasperated at his inability to understand, "Look, I'm going to be busy at the inn soon, and I might not have very much free time. If you use this, though," she said, tapping the certificate, "then I won't have any choice but to wait on you, a customer! Do you...see what I'm saying?"

She watched as Kanji's face went from puzzled, to thoughtful, then finally to enlightened. "Ooohhhh...I gotcha. I'll, uh, I'll think about it," he commented, folding up the little paper and placing it in his back pocket. "Um...there's one other thing, Yukiko-senpai..."

Yukiko grew a little nervous, brushing some hair out of her face. "Y-yes, Kanji-kun?"

Kanji looked like he had forgotten what to say, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and darting his eyes back and forth. "Uh...just...thanks. Fer whatcha said. It, uh, it means a lot." He sighed again, probably not aware of how much he had just made Yukiko's day. He coughed awkwardly and turned to look down the street. "A-anyways, bus is comin', so…d'you have bus fare on ya? I'll pay ya back."

"O-oh," Yukiko exclaimed, realizing he had left home so abruptly he may not have grabbed his wallet. She quickly reached into her sash and pulled out her change purse, taking a 500 yen coin and handing it to him. "Here." She bit her slightly chapped lips again as she addressed his previous statement. "And it's really no trouble; I'm just glad to see that you're trying," she said, slowly turning her expression into a smile, "Just text me before you plan on coming in, okay? I'll make sure there's a room available."

"Cool. Thanks. Seeya," he mumbled, offering a meager wave as he turned to walk down the street toward the bus stop.

Yukiko returned his wave and went to go back inside, but stopped to take one last look at Kanji as he walked away. With his hair back to its natural color and his slumped shoulders causing him to slouch, he looked like a different person, as if the world was weighing him down. Yukiko recognized it all too well because she, too, had walked around like the world had done her wrong a little over a year earlier. She remembered the pain of feeling like the Gods have your life on a string, whimsically pulling you back anytime you tried to be brave and break out of your beaten path, and felt great empathy for her big friend.

Before she could advance her thoughts, however, the stinging sensation of the sinfully hot pavement reached the bottoms of her sock-covered feet. She let out a small howl of pain before running on her tip-toes at top speed back toward the inn, Kanji's struggle moving to the back of her mind as she hoped like hell that there was a bucket of water somewhere close by.