Date: April 20
You woke up in a very pleasant mood as you got ready for class. You paused hearing your phone ringing. You looked at it seeing a strange number, but you decided to answer anyway.
"Hello…" The voice said, they sounded… strangely familiar. "I realize this is sudden, but… It's Margaret. We met at the Velvet Room the other day. There is one important point I forgot to warn you about, so I thought it best to contact you immediately-" She started.
"Huh? Is that [y/n]-chan? Tell her I said hi!" Takeshi said.
"Takeshi please-"
"Hey [y/n]-chan! Heeeyyyy!" He called. You and Izanagi sweat dropped. Margaret sighed.
"As I was saying… Going to save your friends is a selfless and noble deed… By all means, we encourage and support you in regards to this matter. But to proceed to hastily in that quest will mean facing one battle after the next. Though you may be pressed for time, devoting yourself to battles will not quench your heart's yearnings. The bonds created through Social Links are another important means of strengthening the powers of your Persona… Do not hasten heedlessly through your days, and remember the importance of moving at a sustainable pace. Please remember that. Well then, if you'll excuse me…" She said as she hung up.
You nodded slightly and thoughtfully as you made your way to school. 'She's probably right. This has already been getting harder, and if what I do outside the TV is just as important to becoming stronger I can't neglect it.' You thought. Izanagi seemed to agree. As you neared the 'Yosuke trashcans' you overhead two girls talking among themselves,
"The sports clubs are accepting applications today! Which one should I join?" The shorter haired girl asked her friend.
"Weren't you asking the same thing last year? And the year before that?" The other girl responded.
"Was I? Well, whatever. I shouldn't join a sports team. I need to focus on my entrance exams this year! I need to choose which shrine to wish for luck at with my mother so I can pass the exams. I don't want to go to the shrine near the shopping district, 'cuz it's all shady and creepy, you know…? Not only that, but I heard a rumor that there's something living in that shrine!…I wonder if it's true…" She replied.
"I've been feeling how out of shape I got last year a lot in the TV world. Maybe I should join a sports team…?" You thought.
"Seriously, you need to get rid of all that unneeded body fat." Izanagi teased.
"Wha- are you calling me fat?!" You demanded.
"No, if I called you fat, then I'd be calling me fat, since I'm you, and I'm not fat. I'm flawless." You sweat dropped at Izanagi's response and continued walking. As you neared the trashcans where you typically met up with Yosuke, you saw him already there obviously waiting for someone. As you got closer, you overhead him muttering a bit to himself,
"Come on man, why am I so nervous? We hang out all the time it's not like it's a date…" He muttered. "I mean, we're just gonna go get something to eat and maybe go shopping in the shopping district or- aw shit this DOES sounds like a date- shut up, Jiraya!"
"Yosuke-kun?" You said as you approached him. Said male froze as he looked you like a deer in headlights.
"[Y/n]! Hey!" He said chuckling nervously.
"Is… everything okay?" You asked him and he nodded frantically.
"O-oh course, hehe! Nothing wrong here." He said quickly. You raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
"Okay… if you say so…" You said. The two of you made your way into school as Yosuke kept muttering to himself and stole glances in your direction. You simply pretended not to see it, allowing him to get his thoughts together and tell you himself.
Lunchtime
Chie had taken the day off to look after Yukiko, so it was just you and Yosuke during lunch. You sat down with the dinner you'd made last night as your lunch today. You glanced at Yosuke who seemed to be staring at you… again.
"Yes, Yosuke-kun?" You pressed waiting for him to say something.
"H-huh-uh-nothing!" He said shoving his mouth full of food. You sighed inwardly and Izanagi muttered something about him being a coward. After about ten minutes of silence, Yosuke finally started to speak.
"So, uh, are you… doing anything after school?" He asked.
"After school? I was going to see if there were any sports I'd be interested in." You said. Yosuke looked a bit disappointed.
"Why?" You asked him.
"Oh! Um… I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out." He said shrugging. You blinked.
"Well… If you feel like waiting, we can go after I check out the sports." You told him.
"Heyy, no fair!" Someone called from the doorway.
"You shouldn't barge in like that, Kou…" Another voice said and you immediately knew who it was.
"Kou-kun, Daisuke-kun, did you need something?" You asked the two.
"You can't join a sport! You promised to help me!" Kou insisted plopping down in Chie's typical seat.
"Kou-kun, I have every right to join a sport as you do." You said. He pouted.
"But-"
"No buts or I wont help you and I'll simply play a sport." You said waving your finger dismissively at him. He sulked, but nodded. Daisuke stared wide-eyed at you.
"How-how did you do that? He's suddenly so… submissive." The other male said. Yosuke burst into a fit of laughter.
"Submissive my ass!" Kou defended. You rolled your eyes as you continued eating your lunch.
The three were very entertaining as they spoke about various things and teased and joked with one another. Even Daisuke had a few things to say. And of course, you couldn't be left out, so they took turns picking on you as well. Never-the-less, lunch had flown by much too quickly and before you knew it, school had ended.
"Hey, [y/n], do you know your way around? I can show you the faculty office." Kou offered. You'd already known where it was, but figured you'd humor the male.
"That'd be great, thanks Kou-kun." You said, said man grinned in response draping an arm lazily across your shoulders and lead you off toward the faculty office.
Once inside, you were "greeted" by mr. Mooroka who seemed to be in his constant bad mood.
"Yeah, what do you want?" He asked giving you a very wary look. Kou had removed his arm from around you the minute he saw the man.
"I… wanted to know about the sports teams…" You said.
"Trying to break a youthful sweat are you?" He asked you with a lazy smirk. You and Kou sweat dropped.
"…You can join either the volleyball club or the tennis club. After leaving the faculty office, make a left, and go through the exit to get to where the sports clubs meet! By the way, club days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday! Sports clubs don't meet on rainy days! Got it!?" He said and you nodded. You quickly excused yourself, not wanting to talk to the man for another second.
"So, which one are you thinking about joining?" Kou asked as he walked with you.
"Mm… I was thinking [sport]." You said. It was a sport you enjoyed and plus the uniforms were cute. Win-win, right? Kou seemed to like your choice and he nodded.
"Cool, come on, I'll show you where it is." He said, even thought Mooroka had told you how to get there, you still accepted the male's offer.
Once there, you peeked inside to watch the [y/n] team practice. Kou smirked shoving you inside and following right after you. You were greeted by the gym teacher who briefed you on what the team did and when you were supposed to be there. He lead you to the group of girls huddled together talking.
"Alright ladies, listen up, you've got a new teammate! You all know [f/n] [l/n], right?" He said. "She's from the city, so I'm sure she's got some moves she's just waiting to show off! I'd say this season is in the bag! I'm even thinking about making her captain!" You sweat dropped, seriously? He'd never even seen you play. You can hear the other players whispering…
"The city, huh? I bet she played for some big team back home… Tch, look at her. City slicker… Probably thinks she's better than us…" She muttered. You blinked feeling very taken aback by this. Kou seemed to want to say something, but was allowing you to fight your own battles, which you appreciated.
"Yeah, we're just a bunch of hicks to her…" The girl beside her muttered.
"Here, why don't you say something to the team?" The gym teacher said grinning. You figured this was a good time as any to make a nice impression. You didn't want to join a team where everyone disliked you.
"Hi, I'm [y/n]. I know I've just arrived, but I hope we can all get along and have some fun. I haven't played much before, so I'm sorry if I'm not all that talented." You lied to them about not playing much before and Kou seemed to catch onto the lie. The other girls seemed to feel a bit superior now, but they still didn't seem very friendly. The gym teacher sent the girls off to run laps as one girl stayed behind.
"Um… hello…" She greeted kindly. Kou didn't even seem to notice the girl.
"Come on, let's get going, [y/n]. These girls are a bunch of bitches." He said. You ignored him.
"Hi," you said smiling at the girl as she shifted nervously.
"I-I'm sorry about them… t-they're just upset, because our team funds were cut… We wont be able to compete this year because of it…" She said shifting slightly on her feet.
"Hm…" You started.
"Yeah so? Why do they have to take that out on [y/n]?" Kou said with a frown. The girl seemed intimidated by Kou and you elbowed him.
"Kou… stop." You said and he grumbled.
"Well… there has to be something we can do." You said.
"Yeah right, we've already tried talking to the principle. He just blows us off." One of the girls said crossing her arms over her chest as the team seemed to be done their laps and were now crowded around the timid girl.
"What if we raised the money ourselves?" You said.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Another girl asked.
"Fundraiser perhaps?" You suggested.
"What like a bake sale or something?" She questioned.
"Yeah, we could do that, or we could plan a school party and the funds would go to the team. As long as it gets approved by the principle, we should be able to do anything." You said. The girls seemed to like your idea and for a short moment seemed to be a bit hopeful.
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to get THAT much money by January?" Another girl said.
"How much do we need?" You asked. The girls look among themselves before the timid girl handed you a piece of paper, which she had seemed to go get while you were talking and no one noticed. You paused and Kou looked over your shoulder.
"Damn, that's a lot of zeros…" He muttered and you nodded.
"See! It's hopeless…" Once of the girls said.
"Well… it'll be a lot of work, but I'm sure we can do it!" You insisted. "But we'll all have to pitch in."
"I have a job, some of my paycheck can go toward it." One of the girls suggested.
"Yeah mine too!"
"Hey maybe we could have a car wash or a cook out or something?"
"Yeah! I can bake pretty well!"
"Yeah, but where are we gonna sell this stuff? That Shopping District has been pretty bare lately."
"Hey, [y/n]-chan, Yosuke's your boyfriend, right? Can't you get him to sell some of our stuff at Junes?" Another girl asked you. Kou looked at you with a strange expression.
"Yosuke-kun isn't my boyfriend, but I can still ask him. I'm sure his father wouldn't mind." You said. Kou seemed to relax a bit with the fact that you and Yosuke weren't together. "That and I think if we started doing some things in the Shopping District, it might just bring some business back. We can talk to the store owners and see if they'll pitch in."
The girls seemed to be very excited about your plans and eager to try them out. The group exchanged numbers with you, so you could arrange a time to all get together and figure out what you were going to do. Afterward, you left the meeting place and went to grab your briefcase from your classroom. As you neared the door Kou decided to speak.
"So, you busy? Let's meet up with Daisuke and get something to eat." He suggested wearing his typical smirk.
"Sorry, Kou-kun, but I have plans with Yosuke-kun, remember?" You said. Kou pouted as you opened the door to the classroom.
"Aw, come on, you're always hanging out with him." Kou complained shooting Yosuke dirty looks. Yosuke had waited for you in the classroom while you'd been with the sports team. Yosuke smirked in response to the male's looks before waving 'goodbye' to him. Kou huffed, but said goodbye to you and walked off to meet up with Daisuke.
"Sorry about the wait, Yosuke-kun," you said smiling slightly. He shook his head.
"No big deal." He said walking with you out of class.
"So how did it go?" He asked and you explained the situation with him. He looked over the paper and blinked at the amount needed.
"Damn! But I guess if you include bus fairs and stuff it would be a lot."
"Yeah, but we're gonna try to raise the money…" You said. Yosuke chuckled.
"You're sure good at getting suckered into doing stuff." He teased and you rolled your eyes.
"Shut up!" You grumbled.
"Now is that any way to talk to the only person that could possibly convince the manager to allow you to sell your stuff at Junes?" The male teased and you glared.
"Not cool, Yosuke-kun," you said pouting and he laughed.
"Na, I'm just kidding. I'll help you out. I DO still owe you after all." He said chuckling. You nodded crossing your arms over your chest as you walked outside. You overheard Daisuke and Kou talking a bit off to the side.
"She turn you down man?" Daisuke asked.
"No, well… sorta. I mean, I didn't exactly ask her out, I just asked if she wanted to hang out and she didn't really turn me down, she just said she'd promised to hang with Yosuke." Kou replied.
"Dude, she rejected you politely. It's cool, it happens to everyone."
"Wha- she didn't reject me!"
"She obviously did, if she wasn't here."
"Shut up! She was just busy!"
"Whatever makes you feel better man." Daisuke said.
"Besides, I found out something interesting, her and Yosuke AREN'T dating." Kou said.
"You were still gonna try even if they were? That's low man."
"Wha- no! I asked AFTER I found out! What kinda guy do you think I am? I know my boundaries. Yosuke's a pretty cool guy, I wouldn't do something like that to him." Kou pouted a bit and Daisuke didn't look very convinced.
"Regardless, don't act like I'm not gonna keep trying." Kou said sporting his usual smirk. Daisuke sighed as the two walked off. Yosuke, who also seemed to be eavesdropping, looked over at you.
"Man, he was really asking you out." Yosuke said. You blinked.
"He asked if I wanted to hang out with him AND Daisuke-kun, what kinda date is that?" You asked and Yosuke laughed.
"Aw come on, those two are a package deal. They're always together. Cut the guy some slack." Yosuke said. You shrugged.
"I didn't think he was asking me out on a date, I just assumed he wanted to hang out; regardless, it wouldn't have changed my answer. I already had plans." You said. Yosuke grinned in response.
"Yeah, I would've been sad if you cancelled." He teased as the two of you continued to walk out of the school district.
"But damn, a lot of people are starting to think we're a couple. After school, some first year came up to me saying Kou was moving in on you in the hall." Yosuke told you. "He kept talking about how he had his arm around you and stuff. I just told him we weren't dating and that was none of my business." You laughed.
"Yeah, all of the girls in the [sport] team thought we were a couple too." You said.
"Man, just because I walk with you to school the first day. Rumors are crazy." He said and you nodded.
You walked with Yosuke to the Shopping District. He invited you to try the steak croquettes at Souzai Daigaku. You remember Chie offering you one when you first arrived.
"Sticking chunks of steak in croquettes… Man, this really is the country, huh? Well, it is good… though it's tough. Chie called this stuff "tender and juicy"… What kinda teeth does she have…?" Yosuke said as he ate. You chuckled, she'd told you the same thing.
"Seriously, these are so tough." You said. "But they're pretty good." Yosuke nodded in agreement. Two ladies walked passed you as you two talked among yourselves.
"He's from Junes, Yasogami High School, right?" One of the ladies said. They had to known they were close enough to be heard. Perhaps they just didn't care?
"His classmate… Sato-san…? Went out of business…" The other woman added.
"This shopping district could disappear, and yet…" The woman said. You frowned and Yosuke sighed.
"Sorry about that. You know me, I'm infamous around here." Yosuke said chuckling slightly, as if he wasn't bothered by it.
"It's must be hard to deal with all of that…" You commented feeling a bit bad for your friend.
"Nahhh, it's not really. It's mainly my parents; I'm not personally involved. Anyways, there's nothing I can do about it." Yosuke said shrugging. "I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me, at school or around town… Not that I mind, but… It sucks that I always gotta mind my manners." You felt you understood Yosuke a bit more. You blinked rapidly as you realized you'd gained another rank in your social link with Yosuke.
"This feels slightly different than establishing a new link," you thought.
"That's because it IS different." Izanagi said. "Not only did you gain new power, but your friendship benefited from this as well."
"Still, this croquette is damn good, huh?" Yosuke asked. "I'm gonna have another. You want one too, right?" You blinked.
"But I've already eaten four!" You said and he laughed.
"Well one more wont kill ya," he said and you sighed. 'My poor tummy…' You thought and Izanagi snickered.
You hung out and joked around with Yosuke for a bit longer before he walked you home. Dojima wasn't home again, but you and Nanako had fun making dinner together, then watched TV as usual. Afterward, you left to go upstairs and did some studying before going to bed.
