Chapter 7: What Words Can't Say

"This is what passes as gourmet food here? It tastes so bland!"

The inn worker who sat next to her appeared too nervous to talk, prompting Yukiko to counter the guest's complaint with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry you think that, sir. Our cooks like to focus on the natural flavor of the ingredients they use, so they have a delicate hand with seasonings." Personally she liked deviating from recipes and experimenting with different textures, but in this case, she fully supported the chef's decisions. Since their arrival two nights ago, this particular group had already driven away two inn workers with their raucous behavior and near-impossible demands. To make matters worse, one of the guests was the grandson of an influential politician from the big city.

That grandson happened to be the young man criticizing the food. He studied her with a discerning eye that was made less reliable with his third beer. "They can learn a thing or two from our family's chef. As part of his culinary training, he studied in France and Italy." With an arrogant grin, he added, "Your head chef can't be very experienced if this inn is the only place he's ever worked for."

The man's friends encouraged him with laughter muffled by the glasses they nursed. Unaffected by the audience in the room, Yukiko didn't so much as stutter when she answered, "I think our chef does an excellent job here. It just takes a refined palate to appreciate what he makes."

One of the guests gave a long whistle at her sharp response. The young man kept grinning at her, his eyes hazed over by the light and the drink that was undoubtedly going to his head. "What makes you think my palate is anything but 'refined', Miss Manager?"

"Well, you've had so much to drink this evening. I learned in school that alcohol can dull your sense of taste, among other things." Her polite tone and disarming smile disguised the insult as a jest, which earned her the favor of the group. The man's grin disappeared, but a friend clapped him on the shoulder while half-coherent cheers ran down both sides of the table.

"Hah, so drunk you're being scolded by a high school student! Good job, man!"

In an effort to save face, he forcefully smiled back at her. "You've got a sense of humor, Miss Manager. I like that. Think you can get us another round?" Convinced that more alcohol was the last thing this party needed, Yukiko nonetheless rose from where she sat and gestured at the other inn worker to follow her.

When they closed the door behind them and they were out of earshot, the worker asked in an anxious voice, "Yukiko-san, are you all right? That party has been absolutely awful!"

Not wanting to cause concern, Yukiko smiled. "It's fine. Honestly, we've had more difficult guests in the past."

The worker, who was a year older than her, looked flustered. Yukiko remembered that she had been hired during the late summer season after moving to Inaba with her family. "In any case, thank you for helping me. I don't have a lot of experience working with large groups, but I didn't want to trouble your mother or Kasai-san."

Yukiko shook her head as they entered the lounge area. "Really, it's all right. Now, let's get their drinks so they don't complain about becoming sober."

The inn worker laughed, and Yukiko was somewhat relieved that she was more relaxed. After a quick trip to the kitchen, they returned to the room with the requested drinks. Aside from a few passing comments and more deafening laughter, the trip was uneventful. Afterward, the inn worker realized it was a school night and insisted that Yukiko get ready for bed. She said that the group would be winding down soon enough, and after a moment's hesitation, Yukiko conceded.

On her way up the stairs, the young man's remarks followed Yukiko's every step. The politician's grandson shared something with the rest of the difficult customers who had stayed before him: he believed he was more important than he actually was.

Sho-kun was never this rude. The image of the red-haired boy appeared the instant she thought of his name. He was standoffish, but he never disturbed anyone. And for what it was worth, he never complained about the food being under-seasoned.

She then remembered how excited he was when he wanted to haunt the inn as a "ghost". Although she initially shot down his idea, imagining the politician's grandson cowering from a tall, blood-covered Sho amused her. I bet he would run away screaming. The bitterness she felt for the party slowly dispersed, but her temporary relief was immediately replaced with a strange, hollow feeling. Tried as she might now, she couldn't forget about Sho.

When she was in her room, she went to her media cabinet and slid the panel sideways to reveal her movie collection. Her eyes roamed the spines of the seemingly countless DVDs, trying to decide on one that she thought he may like. But then Sho's words repeated in her ears, making her feel worse than anything the politician's grandson said to her this evening.

She looked to the window, and when several seconds passed, there was no knock on the frame. There were no footsteps pattering against the roof above her head, either, as much as her ears strained to hear them. The silence amplified her doubts and lingering anger from their argument, and she forced her hand to close the panel over her media cabinet.

She doubted he would want to see her anyway.

It was so dark that he couldn't tell what he was standing in. Whatever it was, it was cold and wet and odorless. When he looked down, he caught fleeting images that flashed across the glassy surface for one instant before darting away like colorful koi.

Sometimes he saw an injured man with a bloodied grin as crooked as the red tie around his neck. Now and again the image would take the form of a young man with grey hair and a serious countenance, or a fierce-looking girl with a metallic headpiece and piercing red eyes. He hated seeing any of them, so he kicked at their faces until they disappeared among the splashing waves.

Once he recognized a long-haired man with round glasses and a brown suit, and he would kick at his face, too, sending discordant ripples that warped his features. He couldn't tell if he felt relief or sadness afterward.

And sometimes, he saw a girl dressed in a kimono. Her eyes would quietly gaze at him with a hurt look that made his chest feel heavy, and as compelled as he was to kick the water until he couldn't see her anymore, he couldn't. When she eventually disappeared from his sight, the pained expression on her face would remain with him for a while.

The only face he ever looked forward to seeing was the one that had the same messy red hair and the same scars crossed over his forehead and the bridge of his nose. The color of his eyes matched the blue of his own, but his had a pensive collectiveness that always made him look like he was plotting something.

Whenever he would see his face, he would try talking to him. He wanted to know where he was, how he could get him out of this place...how he could see him again. But no matter what, his not-reflection would shake his head with a sad kind of smile that said it was useless trying to get answers. Then, a ripple would cast across his face, and he would disappear.

Then, and only then, did Sho feel truly alone in that abyss.

"Yukiko, look!" Chie dashed toward her friend, cutting a short path through her classmates. She pinned her test against Yukiko's desk, proudly displaying her grade. "I got an 84%!"

The manager-in-training smiled in response. "That's wonderful, Chie! Congratulations!"

She beamed at her friend's encouragement. "I couldn't have done it without your help! Really, you're a lifesaver!"

In contrast to the majority of this week, Yukiko's smile wasn't strained or practiced. Chie's spirits lifted at the sight of it, but the knowledge that her smile would soon go away hung over her victory over the math test. "I take it that cat still hasn't come around?"

As she anticipated, Yukiko shook her head and her smile gave way to a more resigned expression. After confirming that a certain Junes worker wasn't present, Chie lowered her head and asked, "Would you come up to the roof with me? I need some air."

She didn't hesitate to get up from her seat and followed her. None of the students loitering in the hallway paid them any attention as they walked towards the staircase that led to the roof. Chie led the way, Yukiko's footsteps echoing her own. When she opened the door, she suppressed a shiver as the wind picked up and was relieved to see that the roof was empty. It was the first week of October, and this would be the weather for the days to come before the snow arrived.

They went to their favorite spot and sat down. Chie hugged her track jacket around her, noticing that the chilly air didn't seem to bother Yukiko. The manager-in-training was physically here, but she was miles away. "Hey, Yukiko." She called to her gently.

At the sound of her voice, Yukiko's eyes focused back on her. "Oh. Sorry."

The sincerity of her apology, which she didn't doubt, wasn't what bothered Chie. "You've been doing that more and more lately. I'm worried."

It wasn't Chie's intention to make her feel bad, but the guilt was apparent on Yukiko's face. "I'm sorry…really, I am."

"You don't have to be." Chie quickly answered, knowing all too well that a certain scar-faced guest was behind this behavior. "You guys haven't talked, have you?"

Yukiko leaned back on her hands, her head tilted up towards the cloud-spotted sky. "We haven't. It's the same every day: I drop off his meals, and he leaves the trays at the door for me to take back."

"Is that really so bad?" Chie asked, remembering the possessive tone Sho had when they argued.

Yukiko glanced at her with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

Chie almost didn't want to say what she was thinking, but there was no way around it. "You think he's supposed to be looking for someone, right? In the meantime, he's not bothering the other guests, and you don't have to go out of your way so much for him anymore." Noticing her friend was visibly confused, Chie rushed to the point. "As long as he's eating his meals, you don't have to check up on him like you did all those times before. You know, with the movies?"

The confusion was still there on Yukiko's face. "But I wanted to watch those with him."

Something caught in Chie's breath. All this time, she assumed the horror movie sessions were an attempt to make sure Sho didn't feel lonely or bored. "Wait, what?"

Yukiko's eyes fell from hers and fixated on the cement underneath their feet. "Originally, I only wanted to prove him wrong because he didn't believe that I liked scary movies. I didn't think he'd want to watch any more with me after that, but he did. We even did a movie marathon once." To Chie's disbelief, she thought she caught a hint of a smile on her lips. "One time he got so impatient waiting for the ghost to show up, he yelled at the screen."

Chie could feel a lump beginning to form in her throat. "So you're worried because he's the only one who will watch scary movies with you?"

"That's not it. I mean, it was fun watching them with him, but …how can I explain this?" Yukiko's brow furrowed in thought, working out the words she wanted to say. "I guess I got so used to talking with him every day, and now that we're not talking at all, it feels…strange."

"What would you guys talk about?" Chie questioned, feeling equal parts bewildered and intrigued.

"Little things mostly, like the movies we watched or the books I lent him. And it wasn't often, but sometimes he would talk about his past." Yukiko didn't look willing to divulge any of those details, and Chie wasn't keen on pressing her to do that.

"So you liked talking with him?"

She wanted to think she was imagining the faint blush that crept into Yukiko's cheeks. "He can be abrasive, but he's honest and speaks his mind. I like that about him. Besides…" The shy smile was there again along with the distant look in her eyes. "Some of his jokes made me laugh."

Oh, no. No, no, no…don't tell me she MISSES him?! Chie tried desperately to dismiss the possibility, opting to focus on what mattered most right now. Her best friend was hurting, and it was because of that stupid, arrogant red-haired idiot, who Yukiko definitely WASN'T getting a crush on. "Do you want to talk to him?"

Chie knew Yukiko's answer before she said it herself. "I do. But I can't forget what he said to you. I can't ignore the fact that he refuses to apologize, either." Her head bent down, her long hair coming untucked from behind her ears. "Either way, I don't think he wants to see me."

"I already told you it was all sticks and stones, Yukiko! And you'll never know what he wants if you don't ask him." Her eyes then went to the door, which she could've sworn had moved slightly. Because the wind had died down, Chie thought it was odd. "What did Yosuke tell you the other day?"

After noticing that Chie was staring at the door, Yukiko's eyes went to the same direction. "He said that if I was really worried about Sh…the cat, I should think about how he communicates best."

Chie slipped off the shoe from her right foot, gripping it in her hand while she estimated the distance between the door and where she sat. "For once, I think he gave you useful advice. You're obviously worried about him." She chucked the shoe at the door at full force, and they heard a sharp cry over the sound it made after striking the metal surface. She turned towards Yukiko with a grin. "You're gonna keep worrying about him unless one of you makes a move. So give it a shot, already!"

Her friend looked too surprised to answer, and she didn't stay to pester her for one. Instead, Chie jumped from her seat into a sprint towards the door. "Seriously, Yosuke, are you spying on us again?!"

"Yosuke's not here! " An all-too-familiar voice answered, and she could hear his frantic footsteps resounding in the staircase. Thinking it was best to leave Yukiko alone for now, Chie ran after her classmate with every intention to exact revenge.

The results of their argument played all-too-clearly in her mind, staying her hand from rapping against the wooden frame of his door. As if they wanted to give her courage, Yosuke and Chie's words echoed in her head and kept her from leaving.

You'll never know what he wants if you don't ask him.

Think about how he communicates best and go from there.

"How he communicates best…" She repeated Yosuke's advice. Her last conversation with Sho-kun came to mind, and then his voice was in her ears. I'm a weapon, and fighting's all I know.

He wasn't even the least bit sad when he said it, and Yukiko knew why. To him, it was the reality that he based his entire life on to this point, and for better or worse, it got him through the challenges of this world. She could talk to him as much as she wanted, but for now, there was only one way to truly get through to Sho-kun.

And as much as she hated it, if that's what it took for him to understand, she would do it.

Just as her hand was about to make contact with the frame, the door immediately shifted sideways and he stood in front of her. His blue eyes looked down at her, but she didn't see any anger or disdain in them.

"Um…hello." She mumbled in greeting.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. "What's this? Ready to 'forgive' me now?"

She kept a cool head at his thinly-veiled taunt. "To be honest, I'm not sure."

"Then why are you here?" This time, his question appeared to be just that: a question.

Encouraged that he wasn't telling her to leave, she was able to get a hold of her nerves. "Last time we talked, you said there was only one thing you knew." Without waiting for a response, she stepped into his room and moved past him.

As she walked away from Sho, she heard the confusion in his voice. "What the hell, Amagi?"

She didn't look back at him until she reached the TV. "I don't have a lot of time. The dinner rush starts in an hour."

She knew he wasn't daft, but he still appeared shocked by what she said. Feeling slightly impatient, she touched the screen, white and black ripples forming underneath her fingertips, and fell in headfirst.

He wasn't exactly sure why he opened the door for Amagi. Initially believing that she had finally caved in, he wanted to ignore her for snubbing him from the past week. But the longer Amagi stood outside of his room, the more annoyed he got at her indecision to either knock or go away. The last time she did this, he had expected her to come in, and against his predictions, she proved him wrong. The sting of the disappointment he felt afterwards remained with him since then, and what drove him crazier was the unsettling fact that he couldn't explain why.

Finally deciding that he would make Amagi's choice for her, he got up from his seat at the table to open the door. That was when he saw her hand paused in mid-knock, and that short sequence of events led him to the place they were in now.

Even though she never asked, he knew to bring along his twin swords. After he emerged on the other side, no words were exchanged and he followed her to the area where they last fought. When she turned around to face him, she was armed with a fan, and he knew for certain that she wasn't going to back down.

Discontent with staying too long in that stuffy room without any distractions, Sho had actually spent the past few days training on his own in the TV World. He noticed during their walk that the fog, which was nonexistent when he was here last, was reforming again in thin wisps. He kept that information from her though; since she took this long to speak to him, he didn't have to tell her anything. Had she not been so stubborn about her stupid meat-eater friend, things wouldn't have been so weird between Amagi and him.

His fingers wrapped around the trigger-shaped handles of his swords, and he enjoyed how natural it felt, as if the weapons were extensions of himself. Despite the crummy mood he was in earlier, he couldn't help but feel excited for the upcoming battle. From this moment on, Amagi was his opponent. "You ready for this, Princess?"

Amagi wasted no time to answer him. A glowing card appeared in front of her in a blue column of light. With a practiced flourish of her fan and a distinct shattering sound, her winged Persona flickered into existence. As he started to rush them down, Amagi's Persona dashed towards him, its bladed wings moving upwards in a graceful arc meant to lift him into the air. The second it was within reach, he blocked its attack and countered by slicing across its chest. It vanished in fragments of blue light, and he continued rushing towards the girl, wondering why she sent her Persona after him so early in the battle, when something flat and triangular spun towards his head. He was able to block the first object, but he didn't predict the second one that followed right after. It hit him square in the shoulder, and though the impact wasn't painful, it knocked him out of his dash long enough for Amagi to summon a burst of fire. Fortunately he was able to deflect the attack with his swords, but he backed away to avoid any other follow-up attacks. To his frustration, the girl did no such thing, and she stood composed with another fan in her hand.

Where the hell did that one come from? He wondered, taking up his stance again. Like she had done during their first battle, Amagi relied on distance as her best means of offense and defense.

But Sho was faster, and Amagi knew it. His fingers tightened around the sword grips again, and he took off in a run. When he was within a few feet of her, he leapt from the ground into a high jump. Like he predicted, the winged Persona appeared again and soared upwards to meet him midair. After he was close enough to see his reflection in its large yellow eyes, he moved at the last second. He felt a rush of air as the being flew past him, leaving him with a clear view of Amagi. A grinned tugged at the corner of his mouth as he brought his swords up over his head.

Her paper fans weren't as effective with blocking as the metal one had been, so he wasn't surprised when she dodged him. The kimono had restricted her movements last time, whereas now her school uniform allowed her more freedom to evade. Already knowing that she would dodge again, he was about to follow up with a chain of attacks when he sensed something landing behind him. Amagi's Persona had descended upon him, and its bladed wings were spinning towards his back. Before he could turn around, he saw Amagi charge at him with her fan. Realizing he was trapped between his two opponents, he cursed at himself as he blocked each of the Persona's attacks without fully turning to face it, sacrificing his chance to watch for an opening to keep an eye on Amagi. The girl had closed the distance between them and began swinging her fan at him in precise strikes. The hilt of his right sword met her fan hit for hit while instincts honed from years of training guided his left sword as it carefully deflected the Persona's onslaught.

When his left hand was no longer tingling, he knew the Persona had stopped its attack. Amagi's fan sliced through nothing as he dashed backwards away from her. Sho still didn't have to look at the Persona when he raised both of his swords and plunged his blades backwards. He felt the brief surge of energy that escaped from the openings his swords created, and the ground was cast in a blue light after the Persona shattered into pieces. Not letting himself savor the victory, he leapt at Amagi, his blade trailing through the air as it came down on her.

His sword ripped through the delicate material of her fan when she attempted to swing his hand away, leaving her open for a split second. He brought up his other sword in a vicious slash, but Amagi moved away and sidestepped him. He spun on his heel to keep his sights on her, only to see another fan whirling at his head. After he cut through it, he sensed the familiar power of a Persona summoning singing through the air. Her Persona was whole again when it materialized behind Amagi, lending the girl the power to conjure another burst of fire. The spell was unexpected but failed to hit him, its faint afterglow hanging in the air as he charged her again. To keep him away from Amagi, her Persona flew towards him in a flurry of flames. Sho successfully blocked its charge, but the impact forced him to take a few steps back. Suddenly he felt the air around him inexplicably spike in temperature, and when he looked over his shoulder to search for the cause, a flash of crimson blinded him and knocked him down.

Sho understood then that the afterglow he saw wasn't the remnants of an attack: it was an active trap that Amagi had laid out for him, and she had detonated it when he was within range. Angry at himself for falling for her trick, he cursed again and got back up to his feet. Looking over at Amagi, he noticed that she appeared to be short of breath, even though she still maintained her defensive stance. She may have been able to keep him away with her fans and her Persona, but she was having a hell of a time doing it.

Just a little longer.

Bounding into another dash, he moved towards her and as he predicted, she launched another fan at him. He paused in mid-dash and crouched low, the weapon cutting the air as it passed above his head. He reached towards the knife in his belt and threw it at the other fan that appeared in Amagi's grasp. The blade pierced her spare and knocked it out of her hand, taking her by surprise. Not wanting to waste this chance, he ran and leapt at her with both swords swinging down. Amagi barely evaded his attack by jumping backwards, and before he could regain his footing, a scarlet blur with wings sped towards him. The force of her Persona's charge sent him flying back, and as he fell through the air, he glimpsed the trail of crimson fire that the girl immediately sent after him. The rising column of flames hurried toward him with unnatural haste, like it existed for the sole purpose of reducing Sho to ash.

Knowing it was too late to dodge, he landed sloppily in a crouched position and moved his swords in front of him, bracing himself for the scorching heat. But the moment he thought it would hit, the pillar of flame went out in an abrupt explosion, burning bright and hot in front of him, and then it was gone. Through the smoke and the embers that lingered in the air, he saw Amagi standing across from him. She had armed herself with another fan, but there was a conflicted look in her eyes in place of the determination that had been there at the start of their battle.

It didn't make any sense. Why didn't the flames hit him? The princess was far too experienced, too careful to miscalculate the range of her attack like that. What was more baffling was that she had successfully set off a delayed, but controlled, fire trap moments ago. The more he thought about it, the less he believed that the reason he was still on his feet was a mistake on the girl's part.

And then, he realized it: Amagi had chosen not to hit him.

Using his anger as a renewed focus, he immediately took up his swords again. "That's such BULLSHIT! Fight like you mean it!"

She was unfazed by his accusations and simply summoned her Persona again. It flew towards him in a high-speed rush, but he merely sidestepped it and began sprinting across the floor to Amagi. Unshaken by his evasive movements, she swiftly backed away, keeping her distance again by throwing her fans. He was ready this time, staying out of their range with well-placed sidesteps, his eyes never deviating from their target. Amagi's Persona reformed in front of her and glided towards him, its petal-shaped feathers sweeping the ground in an attempt to catch his feet. After his blades blocked its low attack, the Persona rose up and lifted its arms with the intent to come crashing down at him with its bladed wings. Spotting an opening the instant before it could strike him, Sho gathered his strength and leapt through the air, slashing through Amagi's Persona with one ruthless motion of his blade. At the peak of his jump, he fell with his other sword pointed straight down, moving so fast that she was a faceless red-clad figure beneath him. His sword cut right through the ground when he descended, and the force of his landing sent an aftershock powerful enough to break Amagi's defense and make her stumble back.

His attack obviously wasn't a direct hit, but that was fine. For now, his purpose wasn't to strike her down.

While she recovered her footing, Sho sheathed his swords and held his breath. The world sped past him again as he became a blur through the air, and when he stopped, he was staring down at Amagi. Before she could get out another fan, his hand shot out towards her wrist and held it firmly in place. She stifled a startled cry, and she threw him an indignant glare when he caught her other hand in a hold.

"Why bother keeping this up when you're not even trying?" He accused, restraining her wrists with enough pressure to keep her from slipping away. The fact that she wasn't struggling only angered him more. "You could've hit me with that stupid fire of yours, but you didn't! Why the hell not?!"

Amagi was silent but she wasn't glaring at him any longer, confirming what he suspected. "You're pissed at me for what I said to Satonaka, right? To you? Don't you want me to pay for all of that? Huh?!" She had challenged him to this fight in the first place, so why didn't she follow through with her attack? At the beginning, this felt like a real battle. Behind each fan strike and well-aimed fire spell, he thought he sensed her resolve to beat him into the ground.

So when Amagi finally spoke, her answer was nothing like what he expected. "Of course I'm still angry, but that doesn't mean I want to hurt you."

Even after not seeing or speaking to her in several days, she had more of an effect on him that he would have liked. His throat tightened and his chest dropped at her words, as if they had some power that kept him rooted in place.

"You told me that the only thing you knew was fighting." She continued in a sad, almost defeated voice. "I don't want to believe that, but I still wanted to try…"

He almost didn't want to ask her what she was talking about, and the question lingered on his tongue until he forced it out. "Try what?"

"I fought because I wanted to try speaking on your terms, Sho-kun. I was hoping that after it was over, you would understand how I felt." Amagi answered, her eyes looking despondent from underneath the parted bangs that her headband failed to keep back. "So do you?"

She wanted to know if he understood her feelings? How could he do that much when he didn't even understand his own damn ones? He stood there in silence, not knowing what she expected from him. He wanted to say that she was stupid, that she was an idiot, but he couldn't…especially when he didn't believe she was either of those things.

When he couldn't come up with an answer, Amagi's head lowered, her long hair slipping over her shoulders. "I don't want to bother you any longer. Will you please let me go now?"

She had asked him something like that once. It had been the night of their first battle, after Amagi had her Persona drag him to the TV so she could drag him herself back to his room. He was delirious with fever, and she was sitting by his side, dressed in a pink kimono with torn-up sleeves. She had fallen asleep watching over him that night.

His grip slightly loosened around her wrists, but he kept hanging onto her. Last time, he was hesitant to let her go out of paranoia. He had been sure that if he had, she would leave to call for her allies. Now, he wasn't letting go of her for reasons he didn't know himself.

"Sho-kun?"

She looked worried, and yet something still kept him from doing what she asked. Telling her not to go would be as bad as losing to her, but he knew in his bones that it didn't make sense for her to stay if there wasn't anything else to talk about. His hands finally slid away from her, his palms running over her small wrists and smooth fingers. When she was free, Amagi clasped her hands behind her back and nothing more was said between them.

He didn't watch her leave. As she walked back to the TV, he heard each of her footsteps echoing in the empty space around them.

Yukiko feared she had ended up making things worse.

After their match, he wasn't there at the door to receive his dinner. She had called out to him from the other side, but Sho-kun didn't appear. When she returned the next morning with breakfast, the empty tray was there for her to pick up. Despite her efforts, they had returned to the same pattern as before.

He never answered me, she glumly thought as she walked carrying the drink tray she used to deliver tea to an elderly couple. It was going on the third night now, and she still hadn't heard or seen Sho. She had hoped that fighting him would've worked, that she could get him to understand how much Chie and this town meant to her. Although she took solace in the fact that his health had returned, she couldn't help but feel disheartened by the outcome. He had been correct when he accused her of cancelling her fire spell, but whether he believed her or not, she meant it when she said that she didn't want to hurt him. She had tried her best, and now it was up to Sho-kun.

No matter how bleak things seemed now, a small part of her believed that her actions got through to him . After all, he had put his swords away when he caught her off guard towards the end. He resented her for holding back, but he had done the very same.

The aftermath of that day filled her head now, one vivid memory after another. The frustration in his blue eyes. The anger in his voice. The way he held onto her wrists with enough force to disarm her, but not enough to hurt her. His hands were so much bigger than hers, and though his palms were callused, his skin was warm against her own. Something unnaturally hot climbed up her neck at recalling that particular detail, and then she attempted to focus on the remaining chores she had to complete for her rounds.

A loud crash broke over her thoughts, and then Yukiko heard a voice crying out. Believing that she heard the commotion from the hallway further down, she hurried into that direction.

"No! Please, let me go back!" As she approached the distressed voice, Yukiko recognized it as the inn worker who started last summer. After rounding the corner, she found a tall, brown-haired man in a guest yukata standing over someone smaller, and toppled ceramic bowls and food scraps were strewn about their feet. The inn worker was backed up against the wall, her hair loosening from its bun and her terrified face partially hidden behind a round tray. Seeing her like that made Yukiko forget about everything else. "What's going on here?!"

"Yukiko-san!" When she called her name, the inn worker's voice was high-pitched with fear.

The man backed away from the worker, and when he looked at Yukiko, she recognized the face from underneath the light of the suspended ceiling lamps. "Oh, it's Miss Manager," the politician's grandson casually remarked as if there was nothing amiss. "I was saying to this one here how the staff should be more accommodating."

Yukiko quickly moved to the inn worker's side, and she immediately picked up the strong scent of sake. The guest's face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over, but she refused to accept that he wasn't in control of his actions. To try and diffuse the situation, she tucked the tray underneath her arm and reached down to pick up the fallen bowls. When she stood back up, they were neatly stacked in her hands. "Will you take these back to the kitchen?"

The inn worker was close to tears. "I'm so sorry, I didn't want—"

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Yukiko gently insisted with a reassuring smile. "Go on and take the bowls back. Oh, and please bring back a couple of rags."

The inn worker lowered the tray she was previously using as a shield, and Yukiko set the bowls down on it. She gave Yukiko a hesitant look, but did as she requested. As she hurried across the polished floors and disappeared behind the corner, the young man spoke again. "Is that it?"

Remembering how frightened the inn worker looked, Yukiko did her best to keep her temper in check. "What do you mean by that?"

The politician's grandson didn't sound even the least bit ashamed. "She shoots me down after I asked her out on a date, makes a mess, and she doesn't get so much as a slap on the wrist? I'm disappointed, Miss Manager."

"You shouldn't be asking her those kind of things in the first place." She stated, not bothering to hide the disgust she felt.

The man's eyes widened at her response, but then his lips formed a lopsided grin. "I forget how jealous you high school girls can get! In that case, I'd be more than happy to take you to dinner instead."

Yukiko stepped back from him. "Don't come near me! When she gets back, you will apologize for disrespecting her. If you don't, I'll report you to my mother and your party will be out on the streets by tomorrow!"

Her warning wiped the sleazy grin off his face, and then anger contorted his drunken features. "You better watch your mouth, you little bitch."

Politician's relative or not, the urge to hit him with her tray grew stronger. "Why should I? I won't stand for how you treat our staff!"

The young man laughed until he was breathless, the effort making his face a deeper shade of red. "Wow, you really have no idea what I can do to this backwater inn, do you? All it'll take is one phone call to my grandfather, and then…" He paused, fighting with his inebriated state to snap his fingers for emphasis. "Like that! This decrepit building will be bulldozed."

"The inn's reputation can speak for itself!" She shot back, incensed by the man's threat to have her home destroyed. "Nothing your grandfather can do will tear down everything my family has worked so hard to build!"

Unlike the last time she had to interact with him, there were no witnesses to lighten the mood. Her answer prompted the man to lunge at her, but Yukiko easily evaded him. When he realized that she had avoided him, his disheveled hair failed to hide the rage in his eyes. "You damn country bumpkins make me laugh. You speak all high and mighty, but at the end of the day, you're just a bunch of servants."

Yukiko didn't answer him; at this point, nothing, save for maybe a good smack to the head, would change his train of thought. Instead, she decided to put up with what little else the man had to say, her mind counting down the seconds until the worker returned with the rags.

"You're doing a shitty job of it right now, but the whole point of managing an inn is to make the guests happy. For all your stupid pride, you'd be nothing without other people's money and patronage." Seemingly encouraged by her silence, the man went on with his drunken rambling. "Unlike MYfamily, yours will never amount to anything worth bragging about, and YOU'LL be chained to this dump 'til the day you die. So why don't you be a good little servant and—"

The moment that he was about to finish his sentence, the man suddenly fell forward and landed flat on his face. Like he had appeared out of thin air, a red-haired boy crouched over the guest, his knee pinned against the center of his back. "Have a nice trip?" His pun sounded more like a promise of terrible things to come, the dangerous glint in his eyes giving him the look of a predator about to go in for the kill. One of his hands gripped the hair at the back of his victim's head, keeping his face against the floor. The boy was holding something in his other hand, and whatever it was reflected the light from the overhead lamps.

It didn't take her long to recognize the serrated edge of Sho's combat knife that was pressed firmly against the man's neck.

Writer's Note: First off, thank you all again for your support (signed and unsigned!). I've said it before, but it makes me happy to see that you like to read this story, and I love seeing your feedback. Thank you for being patient, and I hope you enjoyed the update. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

Secondly, whooo another fight scene! I actually replayed Ultimax not too long ago, so it helped give me some more ideas. Also, it's just great fun to whack people with Yukiko's fans or Yosuke's kunai. Good times!

Lastly, spring's almost here! I can't wait. Hopefully as we get to E3, there will be more news on Dancing All Night and Persona 5. You know your game is good when people are already crazy about your menus. Seriously though, THOSE MENUS.

Thank you again, and take care!