You know... part of me is starting to believe that no one really thinks I'm going to continue this story. -pout- that hurts, readers. It really does. I have been lacking in updates compared to when I started, though. So I guess I kinda deserve it. Fffft.
Ah, but really, I am gonna continue this. Don't worry. I want to finish this. I have a document about 15 pages long of notes for all the chapters and another document with one chapter already written, and a third with even MORE scenarios and notes. Gosh, so much to work with. Ahaha. I'm really hoping that I'll have more time for this now that I've finished all my Hetalia stories for now. I did come up with an idea for a Durarara! story (Shizaya, yes, I did jump that band wagon, but dammit, it's such an awesome bandwagon) and I really want to write that, but I'm going to try and focus my attention here for a few chapters before I even consider taking on two projects at once.
Problem is college. I leave for college around the twenty-seventh of this month. My plan after that is to try and write ONE chapter of each story every week. So that would mean each story would get updated every other week. Or possibly every week. Depending on how muchw writing I got done. No promises.
Anyway, here is the next chapter. I would like to say now that this one is dedicated to Flaros who sent me a wonderful letter that put a warm feeling in my heart and brought a few tears to my eyes. It really made me feel special, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank him/her for such a kind and wonderful note. I really hope this chapter and all the rest bring you as much pleasure as your letter did me.
Chapter ten: Return to Where We First Met
"Good morning, big bro!" Nanako chirped happily as she skipped into the kitchen, beaming up at Souji as he carefully scooped what appeared to be miniature fried omelets into a small pink bento box. The young brunette eyed the bento curiously, looking up at the silver-haired teen in question. "What are you doing, big bro?"
"Making lunch," Souji said nonchalantly, setting the pan he was holding down and placing the lit on the bento. "Do you have a handkerchief you wrap this in, Nanako? Or do you just put it in your bag?"
"Um…" Nanako blushed slightly, looking embarrassed. "I… don't know. I haven't had bento lunch since I was really small. My mom used to make them for me all the time, but…"
The silverette winced, wondering if what he'd hoped would be a kind gesture had been a bad idea after all. He turned away from the counter and looked over the piles of various possessions on the kitchen table, spotting a small pink cloth sticking out from a large stack of books. I didn't expect it to be far from the kitchen… Dojima doesn't seem the type to toss something like that without a good reason.
Nanako watched in silence as Souji carefully pulled the small handkerchief from the mess and tie it around the lunchbox before holding it out to her, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, Nanako. I'm not trying to take your mom's place, believe me. I just… noticed that you never seemed to take your lunch with you, and I thought you might like something other than cafeteria food."
To his relief, the brunette smiled and took the lunch box with a nod, running to her backpack to put it inside. "Thank you, big bro! I've never had a lunch made by you before."
Well, as long as she's happy… Souji thought, turning back to the counter to pack the leftovers for his own lunch. "Let me know if you like everything, okay? I can make you lunch anytime you want—breakfast is ready, by the way. I've already eaten since I'm leaving early. I left yours on the living room table. Will you be alright walking to school alone today?"
"Uh-huh…" Nanako replied, eagerly approaching the table to see what meal awaited her. "I'll be okay. Have a good day, big bro."
"Yo! Souji!" Yosuke called, waving as he ran up the main road of the residential district. "Sorry I'm late, man. My bike was giving me grief this morning…" The brunette sighed in frustration, looking bitter. "I just fixed the damn thing, and it barely made it down the road before the chain snapped on me."
"You really should get a new one," Souji said, smiling sympathetically. "You're going to end up seriously hurting yourself."
"Ahaha, I doubt that. I'm the indestructible type."
It wouldn't surprise me… "Have you ever thought about asking for a new one?" the silver-haired teen asked as the two started down the road toward Yasogami. "I mean, as a Christmas or birthday present—you could ask your whole family to pitch in."
"Nah…" Yosuke shook his head with a sigh, looking vaguely disappointed. "I try to avoid asking for stuff like that. It always ends up with me owing someone a favor I can't repay or spending more money than I can afford. Besides, I'll have enough money for a motorcycle someday. I'll just have to worry about getting a license after that."
A motorcycle… Souji shuddered. No matter how long or hard he thought about it, the idea of Yosuke on a bike of any form gave him an uneasy feeling. The last thing he wanted was a call from a hospital telling him that the brunette had broken half his bones in a way that shouldn't even be humanly possible from crashing into something like a pole or trashcan. …Maybe I should offer to look at it sometime. I'm sure there's a book somewhere about fixing bikes.
"Hey… Earth so Souji! You listening, dude?"
"Huh?" Souji blinked, turning his gaze to meet Yosuke. "Sorry, did you say something?"
"I said I was sorry for saying those things to Nanako-chan yesterday…" the brunette said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "And then I asked if something happened between Chie and Yukiko."
"Don't worry about it, Yosuke." Souji said, placing a reassuring hand on Yosuke's shoulder. "She's a strong girl, and she wasn't upset in the slightest. Besides, how could you have known?"
"But still, I…"
"Forget it, Yosuke. What do you think happened between Chie and Yukiko?"
"Huh? Oh, that. Well…" Yosuke trailed off, frowning as he stared off into the distance. "I dunno… They just seem… different around each other. I mean, they were close before and everything. It just seems like they've really gotten a lot closer lately. I'm not saying that's bad, I just didn't think it was possible for two friends as close as them to get any closer than they already were."
"A lot has happen lately, Yosuke." Souji said, pausing as they reached Yasogami's front doors. "All the barriers those two put between each other—intentionally or not—have suddenly been knocked down. I think it's natural they'd get closer. Why? Don't tell me you're jealous."
"Wh-what!" Yosuke growled, pushing past Souji as he entered the building. "Like hell I'm jealous! I knew what the reason was! I just… wanted to see if you noticed it to! Come on, we're gonna be late!"
Oh yeah, Souji thought, mildly amused as he followed Yosuke up the stairs, he's jealous.
"Uuungh…" Chie groaned loudly, slumming over her desk as the final bell rang. Students ran for the door, all looking worse for wear as the hurried to leave the building. Needless to say, no one was ready to be back in school or to listen to the lectures the day after holidays. "I really hate school…"
"Hear hear." Yosuke muttered, stretching as he stood up. "I thought I was gonna fall asleep."
"Yosuke, you did fall asleep," the martial artist frowned. "And I'm not giving you my notes this time."
"I'd rather borrow Yukiko-san's or Souji's. They actually listen to the lectures."
"You know, Yosuke, you don't really have any ground to stand on when you say that." Souji chuckled, earning a betrayed look from the brunette. "I mean no offense… but you could both use better listening skills—at least when it comes to teachers."
"They could use lessons in being more interesting." Yosuke said simply, crossing his arms as he stood near Souji's desk. "If they weren't so dull, I wouldn't fall asleep."
"You wouldn't fall asleep if you didn't put your head down."
"Whose side are you on, partner!"
"Switzerland."
"You—Huh?" Yosuke frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together in a questioning gaze. "You're what now…?"
"I'm Switzerland," Souji repeated with a small grin.
"I heard what you said. But you're not blond and you don't have a little sister—well, you have Nanako-chan, I guess—but, I wanted to know what you—"
"It means he's neutral," Yukiko explained, "and that he doesn't take sides with anyone. What does being blond or having a sister have to do with it?"
"Everything," Yosuke muttered as he turned back to Souji and feigned an injured look. "…Traitor. You're… so cruel."
"How can I be a traitor if I don't take sides to begin with? I'm a mediator. The Geneva Convention and all that."
Yosuke mouthed wordlessly as he stared at Souji, blinking owlishly as he tried to think of a comeback.
"Wow..." Yukiko turned to Souji, looking impressed. "That's a great analogy, Souji-kun.
"…I don't get it." Chie mumbled, peering up at the others with one eye. "Anyway, we all wish the holidays had gone on longer, but there's no use in complaining now, right?"
"Well, yeah… it doesn't exactly help me out if he isn't willing to share his notes."
"Well, hopefully, you've learned something from this, Yosuke. Don't sleep in class."
Yosuke gave Chie a half-hearted glare and dropped back into his seat, looking offended. "Yeah? Well then, don't expect my help if you ever fall asleep in class. Maybe you'll learn a lesson."
"Aww, you wouldn't do that to me, would you, Yosuke?" the martial artist pouted, leaning over the back of Souji's chair as she moved closer to Yosuke. "You wouldn't leave me hanging, right?"
"W-well, uh…" Yosuke sputtered, blushing faintly as he quickly looked away, leaning his chair back several inches. "O-okay, maybe I'd help… Maybe."
"Heheh," Chie grinned, leaning back. "Good boy."
Raising a slender eyebrow, Souji shook his head, giving Yosuke an amused looked. "…Whipped."
"Wha-! Shut up!" the brunette growled, blushing furiously. "I am not."
"Sure you're not," the silverette muttered. "Not at all."
Jealousy bubbled in the pit of the silver-haired teen's stomach as he watched Chie slip into the desk beside Yosuke, her eyes dancing in amusement. The female brunette wrapped an arm around the male's shoulders, pulling him into a one-armed hug as she proceeded to tease him about just how 'whipped' he was.
Noticing the faraway look in Souji's eyes, Yukiko moved from her own desk to sit at Chie's fixing the silverette with a concerned look. "Are you okay, Souji-kun?"
"Huh?" Snapping out of his daze, Souji turned to the raven, looking somewhat confused. "Oh, y-yeah. I was… just thinking about someone."
"Do you mean that girl you were telling me about? The one who can't…"
"Remember me, yeah." He nodded quietly, forcing his gaze away from the two brunettes. "It isn't a big deal."
"I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is," Yukiko said reassuringly, "You just have to have faith, that's all. I'm sure things will work out."
"…One can hope so, at the very least." Souji sighed, staring dully at the random pencil marks on his desk. I can hope all I want, but it won't change anything. She won't remember me, and I can't be sure that she'll want anything to do with me this time around.
"She loves you, doesn't she?"
"She loves me in the memories she doesn't have, but more-or-less, yes."
"Well then, I think she'll find you," Yukiko smiled, pressing her hands together. "That's part of love in the first place, isn't it? Believing in the bond that the two of you share."
"…I never really thought about it that way." Souji muttered, surprised at just how wise Yukiko sounded. She's right. For right now, all I can do is trust the bond we once shared and hope it's strong enough to reform, even without past memories.
"Are you two finished?" Chie cut in, looking between Yukiko and Souji suspiciously. "You know, you two get along awfully well for two kids who just met."
Souji shrugged as Yukiko flushed in embarrassment, the raven fixing Chie with a weak glare. "We were just passing the time until you two were done. Anyway, even if it isn't the most pleasant thing to be back in school, at least the holiday was relaxing, right?"
"He does have a point." Yosuke said thoughtfully, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "There was no news about weird stuff happening and no sudden disappearances. It didn't rain, so it wasn't like we could check the Midnight Channel to be sure, but I doubt we'd have seen anything even if we did. Do you guys think Yukiko-san was the last victim?"
"I dunno…" Chie muttered, taking her bag as Yukiko handed it to her and stretched. "It seems like it, though."
"I doubt she'll be the last," Souji sighed, knowing full well just how true his statement was. "Until we can be sure, we can't afford to let out guard down. We have to prepare for the worst and always assume there's one more until we can be sure there isn't."
"Souji-kun is right," Yukiko nodded, looking serious. "I don't think we can afford to let out guard down right now. I'd like to believe that I was the last one to be taken in, but…"
"There's just no telling until we give it more time." Yosuke finished with a sigh. "Murderers just don't make it easy for the ones after them, do they?"
"No use fretting over it now," Chie shrugged, "I mean, if someone shows up on the Midnight Channel again, we'll take care of it. I know it's supposed to start raining again soon, but I hope the weather holds at least until the end of next week. That's when midterms start."
"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" The brunette male groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I don't even want to think about midterms."
"Avoiding them won't make them disappear. I do wish I had Yukiko's gift for studying, though. I might actually have a chance at passing all of them." Pausing, the martial artist looked thoughtful as she glanced between the now depressed Yosuke and Yukiko. "Hey, Yosuke, why not ask Yukiko to go over the study material with you? It might help you out. Souji's probably busy with his own studying and taking care of Nanako-chan, so…"
Not really, Souji thought, raising an eyebrow in question as Yosuke's head jerked up, suddenly looking much happier than he had before. …Yosuke wouldn't really say that again, would he? Not when he has a girlfriend, he'd be careful with his words, right?
"Huh… that's not a bad idea. Yukiko-san has always ranked at the top of every exam. It might not be a bad idea to ask for some private lessons."
"P-private lessons?" Yukiko repeated incredulously, looking shocked.
Without thinking, Souji jumped from his seat, quickly moving out of the way as Yukiko stepped forward and raised her hand.
"Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? What's wro—ouch!" The brunette held his cheek in shock, gaping at the raven teen. "Wh-what was that for! Do you smack everyone who asks you to help them study!"
"O-oh! You… meant studying?" Yukiko repeated, looking surprised. "I-I'm sorry, I thought it was an off-color joke and you were… Sorry, the inn has had some very strange visitors lately."
"If you thought it was a joke, why didn't you laugh!" Yosuke cried, rubbing his slowly reddening cheek. "You didn't have to hit me..."
"My hand just moved without thinking. I'm sorry, Yosuke-kun…"
"Moved without thinking… Geez. Why do I feel like I've heard that one before?"
"You're the one who made it sound creepy." Chie frowned in disapproval, "Private lessons,huh? No wonder she took it the wrong way."
"Wha…! You're saying this is my fault! Why would I even make a joke like that? I don't need private lessons like those! I already have a girl I love, and I'm sure as hell not going to take advantage of…" the brunette trailed off, looking embarrassed as his words caught up with him. "U-um. A-anyway… M-maybe I'll get help from my dad or… something…"
"Yosuke…" Chie's face flushed pink, leaning closer to place a gentle kiss upon Yosuke's wounded cheek, causing both of them to blush even worse.
"I think," Souji muttered quietly, looking thoughtful, "I actually feel my teeth rotting from all this sweet affection."
"Argh! I told you to shut up, dude!"
"Um…" Yukiko raised a hand hesitantly, uneasy about stepped between, what appeared to be, a fight. "W-why don't we all go to the library after school together for the remainder of this week and study together? I'm sure we'd all get much more done if we could all help each other, and if we're in the library, we won't be able to get distracted."
"That's not a bad idea," Souji said thoughtfully, "I agree, the library would be easiest for all of us and we'd get the most work done."
"Ugh… Extra hours in school?" Yosuke groaned, "That's all I need."
"Oh, stop whining!" Chie said, giving the brunette a scolding look. "Those two are offering to help us, and I say we take it. It's not like our study skills would do us any good. Take the gifts you're given, right?"
"…Since when is studying a gift?"
"Just get your butt to the library already! Stop complaining!"
Souji smiled as he handed his paper back to Morooka, who seemed to scowl much more deeply than usual. The exam had been a piece of cake, he had taken it before, but the review in the library with everyone else had made it even easier. Leaning back in his chair to savor his feeling of accomplishment, the silverette listened in on the others as they talked about their own exams. He laughed inwardly at Yosuke's visible relief, Chie's obvious worry, and Yukiko's air of silent pride that matched his own. Some things never change, thought Souji to himself as Yosuke began to preach loudly about his intense relief.
"It's over! It's finally over!" Yosuke cried in delight, leaping from his desk as the final bell rang signaling the end of the last day of exams. "I feel light and wonderful… This is sort of feeling every student needs when exams are done! I feel like I could—"
"Shut up…" Chie growled, fixing the brunette with a tired glare. "It's great that you're off in happy-land, but I can't hear anything when you're shouting like that. Sheesh. Anyway, what did you get for number seven, Yukiko? You know, the one that was referring to 'that' in the sentence."
"Um… I'm think it was 'her sorrowful expression', wasn't it, Souji-kun?"
"Hm?" Souji blinked, tearing his gaze from Yosuke's amusing offended sputters and turned to the raven. "Oh, um… Yeah… I'm pretty sure I put the same thing. I didn't commit any of the questions to memory, but it sounds about right."
"Oh man…" Chie groaned, "I put 'the rice cakes on the table.'"
"Rice cakes…?" Yukiko repeated, looking confused, "They mentioned rice cakes in the story?"
"Towards the end," Souji muttered, grabbing Yosuke by the collar and forcing him back into his chair, successfully stopping the brunette's distracting hopping movements. "I think she ate a few of them."
"Oh… Still, I don't think that was the answer."
"Ugh!" the martial artist let out a groan and slumped forward on her desk. "Alright… I've given up composition. Obviously, I failed. I'll bet it all on geography! So, like, what's the tallest mountain in the solar system?"
"Olympus Mons," Yosuke answered before Souji or Yukiko could even open their mouths. "It's a volcano on Mars."
"What the…? Yosuke?"
"I put that one too," Yukiko smiled, "Wow, Yosuke-kun! That's amazing! How hard have you been studying?"
"He's been with my every night," Souji said, a faint tone of pride in his voice as he gestured to the brunette. "After we'd leave the library, he'd come home with me and we'd have another study session up in my room."
"S-study session!" Chie repeated, turning to look at Yosuke, "You didn't tell me about any study sessions! You told me you were working at Junes this week!"
"I… that… well…" Yosuke hesitated, bowing his head slightly in shame. "I… it was the only excuse I could use! If I said I was at Souji's then you would have asked to join us and I never would have gotten any studying done."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"He means you're distracting." Souji said, reaching for his schoolbag.
"Wha… Distracting! Yosuke Hanamura-!"
"W-wait!" the brunette cried, stumbling backward as he narrowly avoided a sharp kick from Chie. "It's not what it sounds like! Geez, man… Did you have to word it like that!"
"I think that was a compliment, Chie," Yukiko murmured, "What Souji-kun meant was that Yosuke-kun would have much rather been spending time with you than studying, so he kept it quiet to discipline himself."
"Y-Yes! That's right! Yukiko-san's right! Stop trying to kill me already!" Yosuke shouted, wincing as Chie's knee stopped just short of his stomach. "I-I just didn't want to distract mysel! I figured if I disappeared you'd go to Yukiko-san and she'd pull you into one of her study sessions."
"Yeah, well, she didn't! How was I supposed to… Wait, what?" Chie blinked slowly, a dark blush slowly spreading across her cheeks. "Y-you'd pay more attention to, um…"
"Well… yeah," Yosuke nodded, and Souji could of sworn he heard the brunette mutter, 'I mean, I'd take you over books any day.'
"Let's not ruin their private moment." Souji said, slipping around the front of his desk.
"Good idea." Yukiko nodded, following Souji out of the classroom. "They've been having a lot of those lately."
"Well, better this than another violent spat, hm? Why don't we wait by the gate?"
"That sounds fine," the raven smiled. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you about, anyway."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Well, I'm trying out a new recipe, and Yosuke-kun said you were a good chef, so I thought you might know a good kind of cheese I could use with this dish, um, here." Yukiko reached into her bag, producing an index card as she held it out to Souji. "I didn't want to ask the cooks, or else they'd try to just cook it for me."
Souji took the card and read it over, carefully looking at each ingredient in turn before finally speaking. "Well, gouda would work alright, but aged brie would give it a very unique flavor, as well."
"Really?" Yukiko blinked in surprise, pulling a small cookbook from her bag. "I never thought of that. What about…"
"Nanako, I'm ho—oumgh!" The moment Souji opened the door, he was nearly thrown back again as a pink and brown blur slammed into him, hugging his stomach tightly.
"Welcome home, big bro!"
"Th-thanks…" the silverette muttered, sounding winded as he bent over slightly, returning Nanako's overzealous hug in a much gentler fashion. "That was… some welcome."
"I wanted to surprise you!" the brunette smiled, "Dad said when you're catching criminals you need to have the 'element of surprise,' so I wanted to work on mine!"
"Is… that so?" Souji asked, following Nanako into the living room once his waist had finally been released. "Well, you're doing a really good job, Nanako. I didn't expect that at all." He rubbed his stomach, hoping to emphasis his point, and sighed softly in relief when his cousin smiled in delight.
"Oh! I forgot…" Nanako's smile suddenly doubled as she ran back over to Souji, grabbing his arm and swinging it back and forth with enthusiasm. "Dad is coming home early today! He said he didn't have to work late tonight!"
"That's great!" Souji smiled, watching as Nanako scurried off toward the kitchen, most likely intend on making dinner by herself that night.
Shaking his head, the silverette sat down quietly at the table, reaching for the remote to turn on the news. In the upper right corner of the screen, the date and a small icon indicating the weather were displayed for viewers just turning in, and he found himself smiling once more. If I remember correctly, today's the day Kanji will appear on the news…
"Hey everyone, I'm home."
Souji jumped, his head jerking toward the couch where Dojima was fixing him with a questioning look as he took a seat. He winced, glancing nervously toward Nanako who was also looking at him, her head tilted to the side just slightly.
"Um, sorry. I was… off in my own little world."
"…recklessly riding their motorcycles, disturbing the peace of…"
Souji turned sharply, his gaze focused intently on the TV as the reporter began speaking. The picture on the screen was focused on a male reporter, but the scene quickly changed to an outdoor setting of a group of laughing punk teens with their bikes. They were quickly blocked from the screen as a boy with bleach blond hair ran toward the camera, his face slightly blurred from the poor attempt at identity protection.
"The hell are you punks doing here! This ain't a show! Get bent!"
"That voice…" Dojima muttered from the couch, his eyes knitting together behind his newspaper.
"Kanji…"
"What?"
Souji winced again, that was twice now in less than five minutes that he'd slipped, the relief from seeing his friend momentarily making him forget that he was in the living room with his uncle and cousin.
"How do you know Kanji Tatsumi?"
"School." Souji said quickly, silently trying to assure himself that it wasn't completely a lie.
"What?" Dojima looked surprised, setting his newspaper to the side, "He's been going to class?"
"Uh, well…" The silverette shagged and smiled weakly. "I'm not sure. I just know him through the rumors, but he doesn't seem like that bad of a kid."
Ryotaro nodded, looking faintly grim. "He isn't a bad kid, but we've had a lot of trouble with him. Apparently, he took out the entire gang of bikers today because the noise they'd been causing was keeping his mother up at night. The gesture is nice, but…"
Souji chuckled softly, shaking his head. "There are better ways of going about doing it, right? Although, it's nice to see how much he seems to care about his mother's happiness."
"Yes, well…" the detective sighed heavily, reaching for his paper, "At his rate, his mother is going to have to apologize again. I thought he'd finally stopped when he enrolled in a high school, but…"
"You know him, dad?" Nanako piped up, looking between Souji and Dojima curiously. "I've seen him outside one of the stores before when I was going to Junes. He helped me when I tripped."
"Did he? I'll have to remember to thank him." Dojima leaned back, turning to the next page of the paper. "Anyway, his family runs a historical textile shop in the shopping district. It's a small place, but it's fairly popular for a place like this, so it holds a steady business."
"The weather report is on the bottom of the screen…" Nanako muttered, looking at the TV. "It's going to rain tomorrow."
"Oh? I'll help you with the laundry when I get home then." Souji said as he stood up, "I'm going to go to bed early tonight, I have some things I need to do tomorrow, so I'll need the energy."
"Oh, okay. Goodnight, big bro."
"Sleep well." Dojima added quickly as Souji started toward the stairs.
Souji rubbed his eyes, moaning softly to himself as he crawled sluggishly from his futon. He had been awoken by yet another nightmare, the same scream that had his dreams since the night he arrived still echoing in his mind. Yet he was used to that now, unlike other things.
Having all your memories has its advantages, but there are some things I'd much rather forget, Souji thought dully as he began to get dressed. Since he had regained his memories, the identity of the scream clawed at the back of his mind, not at all helping his levels of stress, but the scream was the least of his current of his problems for the time being.
The silhouette of Kanji Tatsumi's familiar appearance on the Midnight Channel was a big wasn't something he could easily turn away from. He had been forced to feign cluelessness when Yosuke had called on the second night of Kanji's appearance to discuss what they should do. He was confident that he'd be able to save Kanji without trouble; the knowledge that he could call back Persona from his first year was comfort enough for that. He could remember the weakness of almost all the large Shadows, and he could use that to his advantage. He was a lucky man—or so his teammates seemed to believe—and that was enough for him, for now.
Thankfully, the phone call had ended rather quickly after a brief interrogation from the brunette demanding to know if anything happened between himself and Yukiko. When he answered, Souji had an uneasy feeling that Chie listened in on a third line, muted, and awaiting whatever response he gave, but he honestly assured his friend that he harbored no romantic feelings for Yukiko or Chie, and the conversation was left at that.
The meeting at Junes yesterday before the phone call, however, had proven to be quiet difficult. Feigning innocence in person was much harder than doing the same on the phone.
~Being Flashback~
"Are you alright, partner?" Yosuke asked as he returned with a tray of drinks for the small group sitting at the Junes Food Court. "You really look like complete shit."
"Huh?" Souji blinked, looking up at Yosuke as he was pulled out of his daze. "O-Oh. Uh, yeah… I'm fine. Don't worry… It's just… lag. I'm still adjusting from the city-life to the country."
"Still? But it's been over a month," Chie said, concern easily recognizable in her tone. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I've just… been having a hard time sleeping lately, that's all. There's a lot on my mind these days." Souji smiled weakly.
~End Flashback~
Of course, Souji couldn't help but feel bad. He knew what was coming, but he couldn't help but feeling slightly amused at the idea of how they'd all react to Kanji's dungeon. Yosuke's reaction to the sauna had been near hysterical the first time he'd seen it, though he didn't openly admit it for fear of pissing the brunette off. He wasn't willing to pass up his friend's reaction a second time—cruel or not. There were many things he planned to change, but some of the events, while it would be kinder on his part to give some warning to, were simply too good to pass up.
Adjusting the collar of his deep green blazer, Souji smiled in satisfaction as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was, as Dojima had pointed out with an amused smirk last Sunday, a "stud"—and a "good looking" one at that. At the very least, he looked respectable, and that had been his goal. Today they would be meeting Kanji's mother, for all intensive purposes, for the first time and as her question about Kanji. It was simple enough, and after that they'd run into Kanji himself, and…
Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and the smile quickly fell from his face.
Naoto will be there.
The feeling of confidence the silverette had managed to work up was gone, replaced with a nervous, almost frightened feeling. What would he do when he saw Naoto? Would he be able to speak with her? Even if he could, what could he say? He had failed her, he'd let her die. He'd been careless; he should have tried harder to catch the murderer. His eyes fluttered close and the scream filled his mind once more, causing him open them immediately.
How on earth would he be able to apologize to her? He should apologize. He should get down on his hands and knees, just to beg for her forgiveness and the grace of her returned friendship—but how could he? It was going to be near impossible for be forgiven for something that, as far as anyone beside himself was concerned, never happened.
Regret and self-revulsion swirled in Souji's stomach and quickly rose to his throat. The silverette shut his eyes, inhaling sharply as he held back the tears that threatened to overflow. He couldn't do anything about it now, and it was the only comfort, if it could be called that, that kept Souji from collapsing on the spot. As far as Naoto was concerned, Souji was just some teenager who happened to walk into the same shop as she had. As it was, he would have to be careful enough around her. It was easier to cover up slips around his friends who would easily trust anything he said. The last thing he needed was the person he knew would be watching his every move for anything suspicious and taking note of it—he really didn't want to end up being taken in as a suspect for murder.
Shaking his head, Souji took a deep breath and slipped from his room, silently assuring himself that everything would be alright. He left his room and hurried down the stairs, turning sharply as he reached the bottom and headed toward the door.
"Big bro?"
Souji froze, his foot halfway into his right shoe as he reached for the left. He gulped and inhaled slowly, speaking carefully as he made sure to speak in an even tone. "...Yes, Nanako?"
He turned slowly, slipping his other shoe on and winced. Something tugged sharply at the silverette's chest as he gazed at the obvious look of worry his cousin was giving him.
"Are... you okay?"
"I'm... fine, Nanako." Souji smiled, but he was surprised to see her shaking her head.
"You're not fine, Big Bro," insisted Nanako, her eyes glistening softly.
Since Souji arrived, the young brunette always seemed to have a newfound ability to know when he was feeling upset or distress. He had always taken this small token of open affection from Nanako as a sign that their bond was once more growing as strong as it used to be, but he'd allowed himself to forget just how intuitive the young girl was for her age.
Sighing, Souji slowly made his way out of the entryway of the house and knelt down in front of Nanako, pulling the young brunette into a tight hug that she returned almost immediately.
"I'm really okay, Nanako. I have a lot on my mind right now, but this is something I can't really talk about. I can't even really explain it to you clearly, because I'm not sure I understand it completely myself. But I just know I have to take care of this on my own."
"But…"
"Thank you, Nanako…" Souji smiled as he pulled away, offering his cousin a soft smile. "Your concern is more than enough for me. Just knowing you're worried helps a lot."
"Really…?" Nanako asked, her eyes brightening slightly as the silverette nodded.
"Really. I have to go now, okay? I'm meeting my friends downtown."
"Okay." the brunette nodded slowly, taking a step back as Souji started toward the door again.
"Hey, I'll bring something home from Junes, okay? We'll make dinner together…"
"Really?" Almost immediately the worry on Nanako's face vanished as she nodded enthuasiastically. "It's a promise! Have a good day, big bro."
"You too, Nanako."
"So… this is the textile shop, huh?" Souji asked as he stared up at the building he could only remember being in a few times before. It was a shame really, the shop was lovely and welcoming. It had a homey feeling to it that most shops in the city didn't have.
"Man, it's really nice, isn't it?" Yosuke said, standing beside Souji. "It almost feels… welcoming. Junes always feels so… I dunno, but this… it's almost as if they're letting you right into your home."
"Most of the shops in the district are like this, it's really nice." Yukiko said, gesturing to the store in front of them. "And, in a sense, you're right, Yosuke-kun. A lot of the shops around here have homes built into them, and the owners live in back or on the upper level."
"No kidding," the brunette looked faintly surprised. "I couldn't imagine living at Junes. That'd suck…"
"Well, you gotta admit, you'd have pretty much everything you'd need for living." Chie grinned, "You'd never run out of food or clothes… It'd be pretty interesting."
"Yeah, maybe for a week." Yosuke muttered, "After that, it'd just be… weird."
"Who knows. Why don't you camp out there for a week and let us know; you guys have an outdoors section, right? Everything is already set up for you."
"Shut up!"
"Ahaha! What? Running away from a challe—huh?" The martial artist stopped, looking toward the front of the shop as they entered. "Hey… who's that boy in the suit? He doesn't look like he's from around here at all."
"Heh, looks like Inaba's gotten another city boy." Yosuke grinned, speaking in a low tone. "Gotta admit though, he's pretty short for a boy, eh Sou—huh? D-dude?"
"It's alright; you've given me more than enough to think about for now." The young teen in blue was saying to the owner of the shop, "Thank you for your—augh!"
His body had reacted before his mind could tell him it was a bad idea. Before Souji could so much as blink, he pushed past Yosuke and the others and pulled the now very confused, and very flustered, blue-clad teen into a tight, almost desperate hug. His mind was completely blank, unable to comprehend any coherent thoughts. She was here. She was in his arms once more, and that's all he was able to care about for that brief moment. "Naoto…"
Naoto froze completely, her eyes widening slightly as her gaze shifted from where it had been rather unceremoniously forced toward the ceiling to glance at the side of the silverette's head. The teen's voice, whoever he was, was filled with an unknown and almost pitiful amount of pain and regret, yet at the same time, it held a tone of affection and a gentleness tied to an emotion that she felt as if she should know, but couldn't remember where she'd felt it before.
As if on autopilot, the arms that had been stiffly hanging at Naoto's sides rose and wrapped themselves tightly around Souji's shoulders, her hands clutching at his jacket, her face slowly descending to bury itself against his chest. A name, more title than anything else, flashed across her mind, eliminating her fear, anxiety, and doubt and replacing it with a foreign, yet familiar, warmth.
…Senpai?
Then, just as suddenly as she'd hugged him, she removed her arms. Shocked at her own careless and unexplainable actions, she tugged weakly against the silverette's hold, wanting to break free, but at the same time, something in the back of her mind shouted at her to stay still.
"U-um…" Naoto finally spoke, sounding uneasy. "E-excuse me? W-while I'm sure it is a pleasure to meet you, as well… It is normal for one to offer a bow or nod of the head. O-or perhaps a handshake if you enjoy contact with another, but… P-Please let go of me. Now."
The word "now" worked like an electric shock and he pulled away, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. "I, uh… "
Shit, Souji cursed silently, panic rising in his throat as his mind went into a frenzy trying to find an excuse for what he'd just done. He had slipped—badly—and in front of the only person, aside from his uncle, who could probably piece together a reasonable explanation to land him in a jail cell for some form of "assault".
"I'm… sorry about that," he began slowly, his eyes moving around the shop nervously, looking at everything but her. "I, um, well… I'm… a fan." It was lame, it was bad, and it was an obvious lie, but it was all he had. For a moment, he had thought Naoto might honestly draw her revolver on him, but her ever-vigilant nature of taking almost everything slowly and rationally shone through, and Souji had never been more grateful for her overly formal attitude.
"That's fine… I, ah, assumed you were. But, if you would, please, refrain from such… overzealous greetings should we bump into each other again…" Naoto was blushing furiously, head bowed as she tried to pull her cap further other her eyes. "N-now, if you'll excuse me, I…"
Souji never heard the dark-haired female finish as she darted out of the store, turning sharply and sprinted as fast as she could into the nearby alleyway. The rest of the group had taken to staring at Souji in shock, their eyes wide and faces curious. The silverette cleared his throat, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Lying to Naoto had been easier than he thought, not that he had enjoyed it by any means, but he couldn't think of a single excuse to give his friends.
"Uh, that was…" Souji began, but the explanation he tried to form died in his throat with a disappointing wheeze.
"Dude…" Yosuke muttered, finally snapping out of his daze. "That—Look man, we're friends, okay? Best buds. But don't come any closer to me."
"What?" Souji blinked, frowning as he looked at the brunette. "What are you—"
"I didn't know you were, you know, like… that."
"Like what?"
"Yosuke!" shouted Chie angrily, her fist contacting Yosuke's skull so hard that it threw him forward a good two feet.
"O-Ow! Chie! You didn't have to hit me so hard!" The brunette whimpered softly, running the back of his head gingerly as he gave the martial artist a wounded look.
"It's his choice, isn't it!" Chie snapped, glaring, "You're as low as they get if you suddenly run away over something stupid like that. But still… I didn't expect that from someone like you, Souji. What was that?"
"Uh, w-well…" Souji sighed. It had worked with Naoto, he might as well run with it. "Sh—Uh, he, Naoto, that is, Naoto Shirogane, is a famous teen detective and, I've been follow he—him… for a while now. So, I, uh… didn't expect to see him here." Now that he heard himself explain it, it sounded even lamer than when he had said it to Naoto's face. I'm an idiot.
"Oooh…" Chie nodded, "So you got really excited when you saw your favorite celebrity. I guess I can understand that. I might do the same thing if I ran into someone from one of my kung-fu movies."
"So… Hey, dude, can I ask you something?"
"What?" Souji sighed heavily and turned to Yosuke, looking uneasy. Whatever Yosuke was about to say, it was either going to embarrass him, or get himself smacked again. "You mentioned that you had a girlfriend before. Are you sure it was really a gir—OW! CHIE!"
"Yosuke Hanamura, I swear if you don't leave him alone, I'll give you a kick that'll make the one I gave you for breaking my DVD feel like a pat on the shoulder!"
"It wasn't a pat, and it definitely wasn't on the damn shoulder!"
"Well then, we're at an agreement. Drop. It."
"Fine! Fine! I'll drop it!" Yosuke cried in alarm, narrowing avoiding Chie's knee as it aimed for his chest. "I said I'll drop it, sheesh…"
"Anyway," Chie said loudly, glaring at Yosuke, "we're here for a reason, right? We're supposed to be talking to Mrs. Tatsumi and Yukiko… Huh? Yukiko? Hello? Are you okay?"
"H-huh?" Yukiko blinked and turned towards Chie, looking slightly disoriented as she was pulled out of her own little world.. "O-oh! Um, yes… we… Um… What were we talking about?"
"Of for the love of… You have got to be kidding me."
"Is she okay?" Yosuke asked, stepping forward to get a better look at Yukiko. "She's been zoned out ever since Souji hugged that guy."
"She's fine," Chie sighed, looking torn between annoyance and amusement. "Can we please just do what we came here for now?"
"Huh…"
"What now, Yukiko…?"
"The quiet transfer student and the out-of-town detective, caught in a spiral of forbidden love..." The raven sighed heavily, a far-away look in her eyes as she smiled to herself.
"Ugh… Fine. FINE. I'll just ask her myself!"
As Chie stepped forward to talk to a very bewildered Mrs. Tatsumi, Yosuke approached Souji from the side, a faint look of guilt on his face. "H-hey, dude, about all that earlier, I'm sorry. Chie is right, I shouldn't have…"
"It's fine," Souji muttered, waving his hand through the air. "Doesn't matter. I doubt this is the last I'll hear of it anyway."
"Nope!" Yosuke grinned, and winked, clapping the silverette on the shoulder. "With information like this, I gotta tease you. It's what friends do."
"Uh-huh…" Souji rolled his eyes, giving the brunette an amused look. "Whatever you say, partner."
The brunette winced; coughing nervously as he quickly looked away. "You know... I'm kind of second-guessing that title of yours now."
"…You're an ass."
"Yeah, well, you're friends with this 'ass'," Yosuke laughed, "And we both know you could dig up something to hold over my head in a week's time."
"Perhaps," Souji couldn't help but smile as he turned away from Yosuke, a malicious glint in his eyes. Just wait until the Culture Fest, Yosuke. I'll have my revenge yet.
Outside in the alleyway, Naoto leaned against the wall, panting heavily as she clutched her chest. Her eyes were wide and alert, darting all over as if expecting the silver-haired boy who hugged her to suddenly materialize and try to do it again. She gulped and tried to force herself to calm down, but her mind was going haywire as it tried to properly process the swirling mass of thoughts that had suddenly filled it, forcing her to whisper harshly to herself just to make sense of everything.
"I… I just hugged… but, I've never seen that boy before in my life. We just met! That was irrational, stupid, and childish! What on earth was I thinking? No… I wasn't thinking, I… Wh-what could have possibly lead me to believe that…"
"Naoto…"
Souji's soft voice echoed in her head, and the blush she'd finally managed to fight down returned in full. Inhaling sharply, the young detective shut her eyes and gave herself a firm shake. Wh-whatever that was, I won't allow it to happen again. I can't explain what happened in there at all! It's frustrating, but… No. I'm not here to think about fans. I need to focus on the case; on the murders. I need to…
Naoto's thoughts trailed off as she glanced sideways and spotted the very person she'd come to speak with in the first place across the street. She quickly shoved whatever remained of her wild thoughts to the side and straightened herself, brushing the dust from her clothing and assuring herself that the hug meant nothing. But as she left the alleyway, a single thought bubbled back up at the back of her mind, clawing violently at her concentration and nearly sending her right back into the alleyway. Why did he do it and… Why? Why did it feel so… right?
