Chapter 9

Three hours into the competition, and Yusuke's anxiety was back. He sat stiffly in his seat, staring at Hifumi as she moved a piece on her board. Her face was beaded with sweat and her expression betrayed only intense concentration. This was the second game Hifumi participated in, having won the first one with relative ease. That initial victory had almost been enough to relieve Yusuke of some stress, but as Hifumi's opponent claimed more and more of her pieces, he started to worry again.

They were currently tied with 10 pieces each, but Yusuke knew that didn't mean much. In shogi, the real battle takes place in the minds of the players. Pieces on the board didn't mean anything if one of the contestants were able to accurately predict the other's moves.

A crash to his right let Yusuke know that Futaba had returned from her "quest to gather provisions" as she had put it. She bent down to pick up the package of gummy bears that she'd dropped, unloading three bags of chips and two sodas in Yusuke's lap as she did.

They watched together as the game drew to a close. Futaba's constant chattering next to him was proving to be somewhat of a comfort, and Yusuke found himself feeling much more at ease. She was also excellent at explaining some of the more obscure moves players made since she knew all of the strategies, though her commentary was far from unbiased. ("Dude, that move would have been 10 times cooler if you'd put the king there before moving the knight.")

Hifumi ended up winning after another 20 minutes of intense playing. When she stood up and bowed to her opponent, Yusuke could see the happiness on her face, radiating of her in waves. He knew very well how hard Hifumi had worked to make this happen, and he felt immensely proud of his friend. Futaba was bouncing up and down in her seat, and Yusuke had to discreetly restrain her to keep her from disturbing the other players (whilst simultaneously forcing down the adoring smile that threatened to form at the sight. Really, what was wrong with him today?)

Having no reason to keep watching the competition, the pair quietly left the playing hall. Once outside of the stuffy room, they saw Hifumi waiting by the vending machine, deep in conversation with Nijima Makoto.

Futaba's smile grew devilish when she saw the two girls.

"It is time to put our plan into action!"

"Aw man, we're like secret agents or something, we should have a calling card! Yeah that would be so awesome!"

Yusuke cocked an eyebrow, but before he could answer Futaba was pulling him by the hand towards the two girls.

Hifumi broke into a huge grin when she saw the pair. She ran up to them, talking excitedly about the matches and the tournament while Yusuke nodded along, trying desperately to keep up with the girl's pace. Despite that he tried to keep up, offering smiles and nods at the (he hoped) appropriate times. He truly was pleased, seeing Hifumi this happy. Seeing the girl truly carefree was a rare occurrence, but when it happened Yusuke was immediately infected with her energy. Hifumi had done so much for him, but he hadn't gotten the chance to return the favor.

"Congratulations on your victory, Hifumi. I know how much this means to you."

Hifumi's eyes sparkled and her smile grew even wider.

"Well yes, I am happy the competition went well. But I am even more happy that you are here."

Yusuke was confused. He'd thought Shogi was the most important thing to his friend. Surely his presence wouldn't impact that in any way. He didn't even know that much about Shogi, and he was struggling to understand why Hifumi valued his presence so highly.

"Surely you don't mean-"

Hifumi cut him off mid sentence. She poked him in the chest disgruntledly.

"Of course I'm happy. You're my best friend Yusuke, your support really matters."

"But-"

"Oh listen here dummy!"

She fixed him with a stare that made the hairs on Yusuke's neck stand up.

"You. Are. Important. To. Me."

She stepped back, hands on her hips, and Yusuke smiled sheepishly.

"Very well. I concede."

Hifumi snorted.

"You'd better. This is one battle I won't forfeit."

Yusuke thought back to his childhood. He's always felt a special warmth whenever sensei had been with him on exhibits or appraising his work. He figured this might be something similar. He felt honoured that Hifumi valued his opinion so highly, but a little frightened too. Having someone care so much about you brought with it new anxieties after all.

"Alright, so if the two of you are done with your marriage dispute, I have something to announce!"

Yusuke smiled. Leave it to Futaba to interrupt him just when he needed it. She always managed to distract him from his racing mind.

"Me and Inari think we should have a celebration, y'know since both of you won your matches."

So Nijima had won hers as well. Yusuke felt a strange feeling of victory. If both of them had won, it would be easier to convince Nijima to come with them for a celebration. They could disguise it as- wait. When had he become so invested in the "plan" to get Hifumi and Nijima together?

Yusuke let Futaba explain, but he couldn't help the feeling of excitement blossoming in his chest. Would they actually be able to pull this off?

Apparently Futaba wanted to hold the celebration at a place called Cafe Leblanc where she claimed they served the best curry in Japan. She also seemed to know the owner because she was certain she could "at least bully Sojiro into giving them a discount" as she put it.

As predicted, both Hifumi and Nijima seemed to like the idea. They decided to take the subway together since Leblanc was situated in Yongen-Jaya, quite a ways from where they were currently. Thus, Yusuke found himself on a train going somewhere he'd never been before, with three girls his age. He realized this would have never happened had he been by himself, or even just him and Hifumi. Maybe Futaba's sense of adventure was rubbing off on all of them.

Still, he felt himself aching to know more about the girl. He realized that despite having known her for a while now, he still had so many questions. Who was this girl who had, quite literally, crashed into his life? Who could rattle of chemical formulas or book titles off the top of her head, but struggled to talk to shop keepers or street vendors without stuttering? The girl who'd told him she sometimes experienced panic attacks, yet kept smiling brightly like nothing in the world bothered her.

They had never really talked about the incident in Jimbocho, though Yusuke had caught Futaba sneaking a few concerned glances his way a few times since then. He realized she must be wondering too, which made sense since he hadn't explained the reason behind his attack either. Since most people he encountered had heard about it from the media, he hadn't needed to explain it to them. Telling Futaba, seemed somehow wrong, like he would infect her with prejudice against him. He knew this was ridiculous of course, but that didn't quell the anxiety.

Well, he supposed continuing that train of thought would have to wait until later, as a recorded female voice from the speakers let him know that the next stop would be Yongen-Jaya, where they would get off.

A/N

Hello everyone!

I'm back again, after way too long. I'm really sorry I haven't been updating recently, I've been super busy with school and honestly I've been having a hard time finding motivation to write recently. But I really want to finish this, and I've been reading a lot of Persona fanfiction recently so that has inspired me :)

In other news, this chapter ended up becoming wayy to long, so I've split it into two (That's why the end is kind of abrupt). I'm uploading this first part now and the second one whenever I have time, probably later today. Hopefully these chapters make up for the long wait!

I would like to thank everyone who has liked, followed and especially rewiewed this story so far. I've been reading through the rewiews when I feel down, and I have to say that they really make me feel better. Thank you so much!

As usual, feedback is very much appreciated, and I always love to hear your opinions on the chapters.

See you soon!