The next morning, Yukiko woke up earlier than usual to make lunch for everyone. As she moved to sit up in her futon, she found that her back and shoulders were sore from all the work she had done the previous day.

No, not now, she pleaded with herself as she got to her feet. She raised her arms to stretch but found that she could barely get her hands past her head without feeling pain. To check her back, she bent over to touch her toes, but that only caused pain to course down her back and up her shoulders.

"Owie, owie, owie!" she grimaced as she straightened back up. How can I fight like this? I can barely lift my arms to even protect myself!

Even with her aches and pains, Yukiko prepared herself for the day's outing. With much difficulty, she dressed in her regular clothes while her school uniform was folded neatly into a bag—she did not want to raise any suspicion of why she would wear her uniform on a Sunday.

Let's see... My fan is under my uniform, the sandwiches still need to be made… what else do I need? She pulled open her desk drawer and found the shrine charm under a few study guides she had bought months before.

I already told myself that I shouldn't bring it, in case I use up too much of its power, she thought as she replaced it back inside her desk. She carefully lifted her bag onto her shoulder to minimize the pain and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where she found the head chef and his assistants already hard at work preparing breakfast for their customers.

"Yuki-chan! Good morning!" the head chef bellowed over the noises in the kitchen. A series of "good mornings" followed soon after from the rest of the chefs.

"Good morning, Murakami-san, everyone," she greeted. "Do we still have ingredients to make sandwiches?"

"Everything is still inside the refrigerator," he called from the stove as he mixed the fried rice he was cooking. "Do you need any help?"

"No, it's all right," she said as she started pulling things out of the refrigerator. When she tried to reach for something on one of the higher shelves, she felt pain shoot through her shoulders. She dropped her arms briefly before reaching up again.

"You must still be achy from yesterday," a young, female chef said as she retrieved the rest of the ingredients for her.

"Satou-san? Thank you," Yukiko smiled as she took some of the food items and placed them on a counter away from the stoves.

"Would you like some help making your lunch?" Satou asked as she brought the rest of the ingredients.

"It's okay; I don't want to interfere in your work," she said as she went to reach for a plate up in a cabinet. She winced as she felt that same pain in her shoulders.

"Here," the young chef said softly as she passed the plate to her. "How many sandwiches do you plan to make?"

Yukiko watched as the woman took the head of lettuce and washed it in the sink. "There's going to be seven of us, I believe."

Together, the two crafted seven sandwiches in the noisy kitchen. Many of the other chefs that passed by took the time to watch as Yukiko attempted to cut lettuce and slice tomatoes, but she didn't mind—she knew that they wanted to see how much she had improved over the last few weeks.

"Oh!" Yukiko dropped the knife when she accidentally sliced her finger open. Satou pulled her to the sink to clean the wound of any bacteria that may have entered.

"At least it took awhile before cutting yourself," she said as she applied a bandage to the girl's finger. "Last time, it was almost like the knife was targeting your fingers."

Yukiko giggled. "Then I guess I improved, haven't I?"

They looked back to the cutting board full of tomatoes sliced in a variety of sizes. Or maybe, I only improved in not hurting myself as much.

With the sandwiches finished, Yukiko was about to clean up when Satou held up the container of sliced sandwich meat they had used. "Looks like there's still two more slices. It'd be a waste to just let it sit in the refrigerator."

Yukiko looked at the sandwiches and had an idea. "How about you take care of the cutting board, and I'll take care of that?" she said as she pointed to the leftover sandwich meat. Satou handed her the container and brought the used utensils over to the sink to wash. Yukiko then slipped the two extra slices of meat into one of the sandwiches and quickly placed it into a small container, which was quickly tied up in a simple cloth.

I know who this is going to, she thought happily as she slipped it into her bag under her uniform. She proceeded to do the same with the rest of the sandwiches, only this time, she set them on top of her uniform.

"What are you and your friends going to drink?" Satou asked as she dried her hands in a towel. "There should be some cans of juice in the refrigerator. Why don't you take some of those, too?"

She lifted her bag onto her shoulder and found it slightly heavier than before. At the refrigerator, she found only six cans of juice.

Then, everyone can have juice and I'll have a Quelorie Magic. With each can that went into her bag, the weight changed drastically, but Yukiko simply gritted her teeth and closed her bag.

"Satou-san, thank you for your help," she grinned painfully as the heavy bag dragged her shoulder down. "I'll… I'll be off now…"

"Have a nice day!" the whole room said as one before resuming their work. On her way out the front door, a man in one of the inn's yukata came up and clapped a hand on her shoulder.

"Hanging out with your friends again, Yukiko?" the man said in a stern voice. Yukiko clenched her teeth to hide her pain. She slowly turned around and saw a tall man with a very refined face. She always wondered how someone with such features could have such a polar-opposite personality.

"Yes, Father," she replied once she gained control of her ache.

"You've been going out a lot lately. Is it because you've met new friends?"

"Yes, and they're good people, too. Chie's part of the group, as well." She smiled to give her father reassurance that she was in good hands—he wasn't the type that likes his daughter roaming around with strangers, particularly boys. He loosed his grip on her shoulder as his hard expression melted away.

"Okay then, have fun. But don't forget your duties to the inn, you hear me?"

"Yes, Father. I won't forget."

He gave her a quick embrace before she put on her shoes and left. He waited until she disappeared down the river plain before returning to his own duties.

"That girl… It's good to see her in high spirits again," he murmured to himself. "I wonder if those new friends of hers had something to do with it…"

--

First as usual. Not cool, guys.

Souji was standing by one of the tables at the Junes food court, being unable to sit due to the katana shoved down his pant leg while the hilt of the sword was covered by his uniform shirt. He could feel the stares of passersby as they wondered why he was in his school uniform on a Sunday.

Because I feel like it, gosh! Damn—first it was Chie's backpack, now it's my uniform… What next?!

He adjusted his stance when he felt his leg become stiff from keeping it straight for so long. How he managed to walk with a straight leg across town is a mystery to even him.

Huh, I'm kinda bitchy today. Then again, I haven't really been sleeping lately because of the heat. Maybe I really should invest in an air conditioner. At least, a small one for my room would be nice. Then I can get some sleep for a change so I'm not like this all the time. Heh, heh, I'm such a bitch.

A quick look around told him that no one was coming anytime soon, so he returned to his thoughts as he stood there broiling in the heat.

Next time, I'll arrange for us to meet at the electronics department, because this is getting ridiculous! I get that some of us live across town like me, but Yukiko-san lives the closest from here!

He ground his hands in his scalp as if trying to rub out the thought of a certain girl. Is this right, though? Sure, she's the one that said she wanted some distance between us, but is it really right? She did seem a bit tense when we saw each other yesterday, but is me keeping away helping at all? No, just do as she requested so we can hurry up and get over this stupid teenage drama!

"Sensei! Good morning!"

Souji looked up to see Teddie bound up to him while Yosuke took a slow stride. He gave a small wave as the two came up and stood with him at the table.

"Still haven't figured a better way to sneak that in?" Yosuke asked.

"Nope. I was thinking of taking up a new instrument for band—something with a nice, long case so I can stick this thing in it, but then people might ask me to play something," Souji answered, half jokingly. "I don't think security would appreciate it if I pulled out my sword rather than a trombone."

"Yeah, after what happened when we went to rescue Yukiko-san, I don't think your uncle wants to bail us out again," Yosuke sighed.

"Are we the first ones here?" Teddie asked as he looked around eagerly for the girls.

"That's right. Come to think of it, you've never been this early before," Souji commented.

"This guy was so excited to finally go inside the TV that he was bouncing off my walls," Yosuke grumbled as he tugged on one of Teddie's ears. The bear whimpered in pain just as Chie and Yukiko came up from the elevator.

"Hey! What're you doing to Teddie?!" Chie demanded as she ran up to them. Yosuke automatically released his grip on the bear's ear and guarded his delicates. Rather than kick him, Chie stood between Yosuke and Teddie with her hands on her hips and a threatening look on her face while Yukiko petted Teddie and massaged his ear.

"There, there… Are you okay, Teddie?" she asked tenderly.

Where was that affection when I got crushed by Hanako-san?! Souji thought despondently as he watched Teddie purr cheerfully. And did that really hurt as much as he made it sound? He's in a damn bear suit! There's no way it's physically wired to his brain for him to feel any pain inflicted to that suit!

"You're not a cat, Ted! It's creepy when you purr like that!" Yosuke yelled as he took a seat.

"But, I'm an injured bear!" Teddie protested with a sudden, miserable tone.

"Damn bear…" Souji heard his friend mutter darkly as he folded his arms across his chest. Chie also proceeded to pet Teddie before taking a seat.

"So, it's just Rise-chan and Kanji-kun that we're waiting for?" Chie asked as Yukiko took her seat.

"Looks like it. But it's weird, though—you live further away from here than they do," Yukiko noted while removing her bag from her shoulder. She flinched when she felt the soreness of having to support such a heavy bag. Unfortunately, it did not go unnoticed.

"Huh? Yuki-chan, are you okay?" Teddie questioned with a worried look. "You looked like you were hurting somewhere."

"I'm all right, Teddie, just a little sore from helping out yesterday." She made to place her bag on the table, but her arms seemed to refuse to do such a simple action. Chie eventually got up and put her bag on the table for her.

"Whew! Whatcha got in here, Yukiko?"

"Just some lunches, in case we get hungry in there," she smiled as she rubbed her sore shoulders. "My normal clothes are in there too."

"Why'd you bring so much?" Yosuke asked.

"With so many people at the inn, I didn't want to raise any questions as to why I'm wearing my uniform," she explained.

"If you can't really move right now, then maybe you should stay out of battle for today," Chie suggested as Kanji and Rise stepped out of the elevator.

"Hi, guys!" Rise called to them, and they watched in horror as Kanji came out with his weapon completely exposed to the public as he dragged it on the ground.

"'Sup," Kanji greeted as he neared the table. He couldn't help but notice the shocked looks that surrounded him. "Um… somethin' wrong?"

"What the hell is that?" Yosuke asked as he pointed at Kanji's weapon.

"Senpai said it's a bath lid, an' it's my new weapon."

"What kind of weapon is that?! And how come you're not trying to hide it?!" Chie's voice raised its pitch with each word.

"It didn' matter—No one asks about it," Kanji shrugged.

Huh, I guess after everyone saw him dragging a school desk around, they just stopped caring about what he carried around, Souji thought to himself. He then noticed that Rise had scooted up to him and tried to get his attention.

"I was going to ask you to bring Chie-senpai's backpack again," she whispered to him.

"How come?" he whispered back to her.

"I thought that maybe everyone's attention would go to the backpack more than Kanji's bath lid."

Souji couldn't help but grin at her idea, not noticing the slightly sorrowful look he had gotten from Yukiko. "So, shall we go now?" she asked louder than necessary as she stood.

"Wait! We still need to organize who's in the main team and who's not," Yosuke said to her. "Alright, Leader—who's in and who's back-up?"

Souji looked around the group, feeling their stares piercing him. Don't forget to distance yourself. "For today, I'd like to rotate Kanji-kun and Teddie into the group."

"Then who gets taken out?" Chie asked, having a sinking suspicion on the people he was going to choose.

"Amagi can't really fight right now due to her aches and will be replaced by Teddie as healer. Kanji-kun, being strong physically, will take your place, Chie-chan," Souji reasoned, but Chie wasn't happy at all.

"No way! Why not take out Yosuke? I'm sure he'd like a break from fighting, too!"

"I could do that, but—"

"But what? Is he stronger than me? Or is it because he can heal, too? What is it?"

"Okay then, you win," Souji said with a fake exasperated sigh. "Chie-chan, Kanji-kun, and Teddie are in the main team. Yosuke, I put Amagi's care in your hands. Please take good care of her."

"Aye aye, captain!" Yosuke grinned as he held his arm out for Yukiko to take. "Shall we, my lady?"

Chie looked like she was about to explode. She knocked away Yosuke's arm and led her friend away. "Let's go, Yukiko. We'll let team 'Alpha Male' do the fighting this time," they heard her grumble as she took Yukiko's bag from her.

--

The group was back inside Mitsuo's video game-like dungeon, and Souji was relieved to finally have full access to bending his leg again. They warped up to the fourth floor where they last stopped and cautiously roamed the halls.

"Is it just me, or does anyone else find this place claustrophobic?" Rise asked.

Anything's better than Kanji-kun's dungeon, Souji answered internally. I can't believe we ran through a sauna that was eleven stories high with all our clothes on...

"She's right about that—I feel like the walls might close in on us any second now," Yukiko said from the back of the group. They had gotten used to not having windows after surviving Kanji's and Rise's dungeons, but this one had nothing but solid bricks as walls, giving off the vibe that they were truly sealed in.

"There! Up ahead of us!" Rise informed them. Souji and company raced ahead to surprise attack the shadows, leaving Chie and Yukiko behind.

"Can't they be a little more considerate? Leaving us behind like this…" Chie murmured.

"Sorry, it's because of me," Yukiko said apologetically.

"No, not at all! You had to help out at the inn, so it's no big!" Chie smiled, but it quickly disappeared when they heard shouting ahead of them.

"Argh! Come back here'n—"

"Kanji! Fall back! Don't act out recklessly!" they heard Souji yell. "Teddie, attack the far one!"

Teddie raised his clawed paw and ran blindly at one of the large, white birds that carried lanterns. He took a swipe at it, but it dodged his attack easily and started pecking at him.

"No! Get away!" Teddie cried as he tried to protect his head, but Yosuke ran by and slashed the shadow with his knives.

"You okay, Ted?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah! Thanks, Yosuke!" the bear replied. Further down the hallway, Kanji and Souji were working on the remaining two birds.

"Kanji! Use Zionga!"

"Persona!" the big teen yelled as he smashed a falling blue card with his bath lid. A massive, black robot with a skeleton painted on it wielding a giant lightning bolt appeared, striking one of the birds with lighting and dealing a considerable amount of damage. Yosuke and Teddie joined them soon after.

"Teddie! Attack it!"

Without hesitating, Teddie leapt at the wounded bird and dug his claws into its body, making it disappear into a cloud of black smoke. Only one bird remained, and it used a spell to raise its attack.

"Be careful, guys!" Rise called from the side. "It used Power Charge to make its physical attack stronger!"

The bird dove at Kanji, who barely raised his weapon in time to shield himself from it. It then proceeded to try to attack Yosuke by smashing its lantern into his head.

"Dammit!" Yosuke felt the sharp corner of its lantern graze his cheek as he tried to jump out of the way. Fresh droplets of his blood dripped to the floor before he wiped his cheek off with his arm.

"Teddie, Bufula!"

"Bear-sona!" he cried as he smashed a blue card with his claws. Kintoki-Douji appeared and the remaining bird was encased in a block of ice before shattering. When the bird disintegrated, the four boys celebrated with a high-five.

"Great job, guys!" Rise congratulated them. "So, how was your first battle, Teddie?"

"It was harder than I thought," he told her. "Sensei and the others make it look so easy!"

Souji patted the bear on the head. "You did pretty well on your first battle. There's still plenty for you to work on, but I'm sure you'll get it in no time."

"Thanks, Sensei!"

Chie and Yukiko finally caught up to them, and the first thing Chie saw was the cut on Yosuke's cheek. "Dude… You got red on you."

"Huh?" Yosuke touched a finger to his cheek. When he pulled his finger away, he saw blood on it. "Oh. Well, will ya look at that…"

"Teddie will take care of it!" Teddie stepped forward and was about to use Mediarama when Kanji stopped him.

"That's kinda overkill on a scratch like that," he said. "Yukiko-senpai, can't you use Diarama or somethin'?"

"I can, but aren't the rest of you in need in healing?" she asked, feeling slightly more useful than she did earlier.

"Teddie is bear-rific!" Teddie said happily.

"It'll take more'n that to bring me down," Kanji grinned. Everyone turned to look at Souji.

"I'm fine," he said quietly. Yukiko could feel something different with his attitude, but she brushed it off as him possibly not getting enough sleep again.

"Come, Konohana-Sakuya!" With a little more effort than usual, she used her fan to smash the blue card that descended before her, summoning what looked to Souji like a pink, human-shaped bird dressed like a cheerleader. When her persona disappeared, so did Yosuke's wound.

"Thanks, Yukiko-san!" Yosuke said as he touched his newly-healed cheek. "Alright! Let's find that Mitsuo guy!"

--

It took nearly two hours to reach the sixth floor, and by then Kanji had learned to obey Souji's direct orders better while Teddie gained more speed in his attacks. Battles took less time than before, and with the addition of Rise's ability to detect nearby enemies, they weren't ambushed as often. The most they really worried about was finding the stairs to the next floor.

"Man, what time is it?" Chie asked as she shifted Yukiko's bag on her shoulder.

"It's a little past noon," Yukiko answered as she checked her cell phone. "If you're tired, I can take my bag back now."

"Nah, it's cool. I just can't believe that you were gonna lug something this heavy around inside the TV."

Rise, having been walking in the front with Souji, craned her neck to look over her shoulder at the two. "Yukiko-senpai, if you want, I can carry some stuff, too. What's in there, anyway?"

"Just some lunch for everyone," Yukiko replied. "I thought that since we'd be spending the whole day in here, we might get hungry."

"Yuki-chan sure came prepared," Teddie purred. "What kind of lunch is it?"

"It's nothing, really; just some sandwiches."

"Sandwiches, huh?" Yosuke looked deep in thought as he said this. "Did you make it by yourself?"

Yukiko didn't seem to notice where he was headed with that question. "No, I had some help from one of our chefs. I hope they turned out all right."

Her eyes shifted to Souji to see if he was interested in her meal, but he seemed indifferent about it. He's not interested? Or is he just being cautious because of the shadows around us? Souji-kun, please be a little more enthusiastic—I even put extra meat in your sandwich!

"Don't worry, Yukiko-senpai, I'm sure that…" Rise's voice trailed off, and her face twisted with panic. "Get down!"

Before they could react, a blinding white light blasted them from behind, knocking the two girls off their feet. The main group spun around and found Yukiko and Chie being ambushed by a group of shadows: the first one looked like a group of pink butterflies with one of them holding a red mask, the second was a grey hand with a head sitting where an arm usually attaches, and the last one looked like a blue mage surrounding himself in a cube made of brown paper.

"No! Chie-senpai! Yukiko-senpai!" Rise cried out. The boys rushed forward with weapons raised as the group of butterflies cast something on the blue mage.

"Be careful! It raised its attack power!" Rise warned as she knelt by the fallen girls.

"Got it! Kanji, use Kill Rush on the butterfly things!" Souji shouted. Butterfly… things? How unsexy did that sound just now? No, focus! Your friends' lives are at stake!

"Come, Take-Mikazuchi!" Once again, the massive persona appeared. This time, it sent its lightning bolt blade crashing down on the butterflies. It looked effective, but it survived the assault. To everyone's dismay, the shadow that looked like a grey hand healed it with a Diarama spell.

"Damn you!" Kanji swore as he dashed forward and bashed the gray hand.

"Kanji! Come back! You don't know what that thing can do!" Souji yelled, but Kanji continued to smash his weapon into the shadow while the mage prepared to cast another round of its powerful spell.

"Senpai! It's gonna cast Megido!"

"Megido? What's—"

A blinding, white light slammed into the floor, blasting away the group of teenagers. They skidded down the hallway floor, cuts, scrapes and bruises forming all over their battered bodies.

"Teddie, Mediarama!" Souji managed to force out of himself, and the bear did as he was told—everyone felt their energy return to them as their injuries healed.

"Maragion!" Souji took the blue card into his hand and squeezed it in his fist until it shattered. It left no wounds, but a flaming tiger appeared and engulfed their enemies in flames.

"Teddie! Bufula on the butterflies! Kanji, use Kill Rush on them again! Yosuke, Magaru!"

The three attacked in unison, and the butterflies disappeared, leaving only the hand and the mage. The hand seemed to understand that Souji was the one in power and attacked him.

"Dammit! Get off!" Souji tried to fight off the grey hand by blocking its attacks with his sword, but he soon had other things to worry about.

"Senpai! The Blue Sigil! It's—"

"What's a Blue—"

"The mage! It's preparing to attack again!"

"Yosuke! Deka—"

The hand had done its job in distracting Souji as another explosion of white light propelled them backwards further down the hall. It took the time to heal the mage while Souji looked around at his friends and saw that Teddie was barely able to stand while Kanji was down on one knee, gasping in pain. Yosuke was forcing himself to his feet and Chie and Yukiko were up and ready to join the fight. Rise, having been standing away from the melee, was almost completely unharmed. Souji pulled himself to his feet by digging his sword into the floor.

Screw nullifying its power boost! Gotta finish this, quick! "Y-Yosuke…" he huffed. "Garula…"

Susano-O appeared and delivered some wind damage to the mage, but it wasn't enough to defeat it.

"Souji-kun! Let us join!" Chie pleaded.

"It's okay! We got it under control!" he called back to her as he pulled his blade out of the floor. "Teddie, hit the mage with a Bufula!"

Souji-kun, what are you doing? Yukiko thought as she watched him dodge an attack from the hand. Just what is he thinking? Why won't he let us join?

Sorry, you two, but please bear with me. Souji straightened himself up and charged at the grey hand while yelling, "Yosuke! Magaru!"

Blades of wind tore at the hand and the mage, followed by Souji's sword impaling the hand in the face. It disappeared from being defeated, leaving only the mage.

"Get ready, everyone! It's about to attack again!" Rise cautioned. Chie and Yukiko braced themselves for the blast, but Souji had other ideas.

We hit it with ice, fire, and wind, so that leaves… "Kanji! Zionga!" He looked to Kanji and saw that he was in no shape to fight. Dammit, then that means…

As the Blue Sigil began to cast its spell, Souji pulled a shimmering card out from his pocket and switched personas.

"Izanagi!" With the sound of a card being crushed, a figure in a long, black coat holding a spear appeared before Souji and shot a weak bolt of lightning at the mage.

"You dumbass! Why're you hitting it with a weak spell like that?!" Yosuke snarled at him, but to everyone's surprise, the mage was knocked down easily.

"Wh-What the…?" Yosuke wasn't sure how to react, but that didn't matter—Teddie gave the order to launch a full assault on the enemy.

"Bear-pile on the enemy!" he yelled ecstatically.

The boys charged forward, leaving the girls to watch as a cloud of dust obscured their vision of the attack. When the dust cleared, the mage had disappeared, and the four boys were panting with smiles on their faces.

"Good job, everyone," Souji smiled. "Teddie, can you heal us?"

"Sure thing, Sensei!" The bear called upon his persona and used Mediarama on everyone, their injuries disappearing and their health completely restored. Kanji rose to his feet.

"Man, that was dangerous," he grunted. "Senpai, how come you didn't have Chie-senpai or Yukiko-senpai help out?"

Six pairs of eyes flew to Souji, and it felt like their stairs were impaling his heart to see just what exactly he was thinking.

"Well, it's kinda like…" he hesitated, unsure of what to say. What can I say? Because I didn't want to make any form of contact with Yukiko-san?

"'It's kinda like' what?" Chie urged him. "Don't tell me you're one of those chauvinistic types, are you?"

Come on, Souji-kun, Yukiko begged in her mind. Why didn't you let us fight?

Souji felt heat rising within him as he scanned his brain for an answer. I can't say that, but what choice do I have? "It's because… It would be asking too much of Yukiko-san to fight while she's not up to it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yukiko burst out. "Are you saying that I can't even face a little pain for the sake of my friends' lives?"

"N-No, I—"

"Then what about me?" Chie demanded. "I'm perfectly fine, but you didn't even let me fight! What's up with that?"

Shit, what have I done? "I don't mean it like that, but…"

"But what, Seta-kun?" Yukiko glared at him. "What is it that's so important that we couldn't help out?"

Souji lowered his head, his eyes hidden beneath his silvery bangs. Think, think, think! What else can I tell them? Just make something up, Mr. Highest-Score-in-the-Class! "If we didn't make it, we would need the two of you to survive and carry out the rest of the rescue mission."

Guilt pooled in Yukiko's and Chie's stomachs when they heard his words. "I-Is that why? So, you were thinking ahead…" Yukiko said, barely above a whisper.

"Then why didn't you have Teddie heal instead of attack with Bufula?" Chie inquired.

"I thought that if we just kept healing, we wouldn't be able to finish off that shadow," he told them, unsure if he believed his own words. "I figured that, maybe the fastest way to defeat it is to just throw everything we had at it before it had a chance to attack us again."

"But when you used Zio on it, how'd you know that it was weak against lightning?" Yosuke pondered.

"We had already used ice, fire, and wind, so I took a chance with lightning. Sorry I bet everything on that," Souji said apologetically. Rise was beginning to smolder with disappointment at everyone questioning Souji and stepped in to defend him.

"I'm sure Senpai was doing what he thought was best at the time," she said in a somewhat scolding tone. "It's hard fighting against monsters we haven't encountered yet, but it's a lot harder to direct people on what to do while keeping them safe, so don't be so hard on him, okay?"

Rise-chan, if I wasn't taken, and if I didn't feel so bad right now, I'd totally be kissing the hell outta you, Souji thought in appreciation for her defense. Everyone muttered apologies while their faces were riddled with shame and Souji accepted their apologies while feeling just as guilty, only for a completely different reason. I can't believe I lied to them. It does make sense that if we did die, they would need to continue the rescue mission, but it was still an excuse for my own selfish purposes. I'm the worst…

"Hey, why don't we all find an empty room to rest and have lunch?" Yukiko said with a jovial expression. "I'm sure you're all hungry after that battle, so what do you say?"

"Yay! I wanna try some of Yuki-chan's cooking!" Teddie bounced over to her, trying to lift the mood a bit.

"Mmm… home-made food from Yukiko-senpai…" Kanji said dreamily, almost drooling on his shirt.

As they went off in search of a safe spot to rest, Yukiko looked over to Souji to see how he was. One looked let her know that he was really down about something.

Did we hurt him that much when we questioned his actions? Or is it about something else? And, how come Rise-chan's the one defending him? Isn't that my job as his girlfriend? And, why not have me heal them while they were fighting? It's almost as if… he's avoiding me.

--

They found an empty room not too far from where they fought those shadows and settled in a far corner. Yukiko started to distribute the sandwiches when Souji said he was going to act as a lookout.

"Aren' ya gonna ea', Shenpai?" Kanji asked with his mouth full of sandwich, earning him a disgusted look from Rise.

"Ew! Swallow your food before you talk, Kanji!" she told him off as she looked away. "But he's right—why don't you eat first, Senpai?"

"After what happened earlier, it would be bad to be caught off-guard by those kinds of shadows again," he said as he started to walk to the door. "I'll eat once someone's ready to trade places."

Yukiko watched as he walked over to the door with his sword resting on his shoulder, ready to strike if any shadows sprung an attack. She pulled a can out of her bag and brought it over to him. Chie, who happened to read the label on the can, quickly handed out lunch boxes and juice to everyone before chasing her across the room.

"Um, if you're not going to eat yet, then at least have something to drink," she said as she offered him the can. Souji looked at the can in her hand and read 'Quelorie Magic' on its side.

"… Thanks," he said in a low tone as he took the can. As he took a few gulps of the drink, she pondered why he wasn't being as warm to her as he usually was.

Normally we'd chat about something, but it's like he doesn't even know I'm here, she thought without taking her eyes off of him. Could he really be avoiding me? She opened her mouth to try to start a conversation with him, but was yanked away sharply by Chie.

"What are you doing?!" Chie whispered loudly to her. "Did you see what you just gave him?"

Yukiko gave her a befuddled look. "Is something wrong with giving him juice?"

"No! Look again!"

She squint her eyes to read the label from afar and gasped when she saw that she had given him a weight loss drink. "D-Did I just…?"

Chie patted her friend on the back gently, a pitiful look on her face. "Good job, Yukiko. You've successfully called our leader 'fat'."

Yukiko turned back to watch as Souji downed the last of the drink. What have I done?! Is that why he wasn't saying anything? I'll definitely have to apologize later.

Meanwhile, inside Souji's head…

Oh my god, I'm fat! Souji cried within himself as he poked at his stomach. Yukiko and Chie watched on as he proceeded to poke, pinch, and grab areas of possible weight gain. I… I… I have… thunder thighs! And what's this—a belly? And are those… man boobs? I have MOOBS?!

"Wow, he's really beating himself up over it," Chie whispered as Souji gave himself a thorough examination of himself. Yukiko felt like ramming her head into one of the brick walls for making him feel worse. They returned to the far corner where everyone was already halfway finished with their meal to start on their own lunches.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll get over it," Chie said as she peered inside Yukiko's bag for another box. She found the lunchbox that was buried under her friend's clothes and looked inside.

"I guess you're right… but I still feel pretty bad about it," Yukiko muttered.

"Souji-kun's a big boy! I'm sure he'll forget about it in no time!" Chie said as she took a bite. "And thanks for the meal—you even remembered how I like my sandwiches."

"What d you mean?" Yukiko looked at the partially-eaten sandwich in Chie's hand and saw that it was the one she had put the extra meat it. What have you done?! That was for Souji-kun!

"Dee-licious!" Chie smacked her lips as she started on the second half of Souji's sandwich. Yukiko could only stare helplessly as she washed it down with a can of juice.

After everyone had finished eating, they thanked Yukiko and took over Souji's position as lookout so he could eat as well. Only Chie and Yukiko seemed to understand why Souji would only eat two bites of his sandwich.

--

The seventh floor was different from any of the other floors they had been on. For one, the walls were now made up of blue bricks, and also, it was more like one giant room with hallways that crossed each other, so there was nothing but four-way intersections as far as the group could see.

"What's up with this place?" Yosuke wondered as they walked down the hall. They came across the first intersection, unsure if they should keep going forward, or turn left or right.

"Let's go right," Chie said, and they all stepped forward into the intersection. As they stepped on the giant square in the middle of the intersection, they found themselves floating a few centimeters above the floor before falling on the ground.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Rise asked, her voice squeaking with surprise.

"Who knows? Let's just keep going," Yosuke said as he stepped off the square. At the end of the long hallway they found the stairs they had just come from.

"What the hell?" Kanji turned back to look at the square. "I thought we turned right…"

"Are you serious? That's it—This Mitsuo guy deserves more than just a hundred kicks to the face!" Chie fumed as they returned to the square.

"Let's have one person stand on the square first," Souji advised. "Maybe it'll tell us which direction it'll have us face."

Everyone agreed, and smiled at him. Souji didn't return their warmth. Oh I see how it is… jerks. He stepped on the square, and when he felt himself drop a few centimeters, he found that his friends were now standing to the left of him.

"It looks like it turns us at completely random directions," Yukiko clarified. "Then, we can't just predict which way we'll be turned next."

"But, if we just send one person onto the platform, and they step off at the right direction, can't the rest of us just step on afterward and follow the first person?" Souji wondered aloud.

"Let's try it," Yosuke said. Souji sidled over to the hallway on the team's right. "Okay, everyone, let's do this!"

The rest of the group stepped onto the platform and found themselves facing a different direction, but Souji remained in the hallway he had chosen earlier.

"Sweet!" Yosuke hooted as he joined Souji. "Let's keep this up and get outta here!"

They continued on with their little trick, weaving up and down the massive room while dodging the hallways with shadows. At times, they found themselves going down hallways they had already gone through, due to everything looking exactly the same in every direction. Once in awhile they would run into shadows, but found that they weren't nearly as tough as the Blue Sigil from earlier. After a few hours, Rise picked something up on her radar.

"You guys, there's something here," she gasped.

"What is it?" Teddie asked. "Is it a shadow?"

"No, it's something else, but I think we might need it later on."

"Then point us where we need to go," Souji instructed her, and she obliged. Soon they followed a path in the upper left-hand corner that led them to a large, wooden door.

"There's something beyond this door! Are you ready?" she warned them. Together with Kanji, Souji kicked the doors open and found a black version of that hand-shaped shadow from earlier.

"This is what we're up against? How lame!" Yosuke scoffed.

"It's called a Killing Hand, and it can summon help if it needs to," Rise told them.

"Well, then we'll just have to kill it before it can do that!" he moved to summon his persona but saw that the shadow had summoned another one that looked just like it, only white.

"Bring it on," Kanji smirked. "We'll just have to take both of ya down!"

"I like the way you think, Kanji," Yosuke grinned. "Magarula!"

Columns of wind burst beneath the two hands, knocking the white one down easily.

"Wow! When did you learn that, Yosuke?" Teddie asked in amazement.

"When we fought that cheater mage thing," he said simply. Souji ran up and slashed at the fallen hand with his sword.

"Both of you, quit chatting and start attacking!" Souji growled at them as he switched his persona back to Gdon. "Kanji, attack the white hand!"

Kanji dashed forward and smacked the hand with his bath lid before retreating to a safe distance. The Black Hand, however, followed him and tackled him to the ground.

"Mabuf—"

"No, Teddie! You'll hit Kanji, too!" Souji stopped him in time as Yosuke drove both his knives into the other shadow.

"Yes! Good job, Yosuke-senpai!" Rise cheered as the shadow disappeared. All that was left was the Black Hand.

"Grr… Get off, ya bastard!" Kanji kicked the shadow off of him and picked up his weapon. The Black Hand then summoned another shadow.

"Another Almighty Hand! Hurry and beat it!" Rise called from the side. Chie and Yukiko stood by her side with their weapons ready.

"C'mon, you guys! Kick that shadow's face in! What's that matter with you all? You're taking too long!" Chie grumbled through a clenched jaw. Yukiko barely heard her friend's 'encouraging' words due to her focusing on her friends' health—she wanted to make sure that she could jump in and heal at any moment, even without Souji's consent.

"Okay Teddie, use Mabufula!" Souji yelled, and both hands were struck by masses of ice, defeating the Black Hand.

"Just one more! Keep it up, guys!"

"I got this," Kanji said. With a rumbling howl, he ran up and threw his weapon at the hand. Before it had a chance to comprehend what had just happened, he kicked it and smashed his fist into its head, its body disintegrating into nothing more than black wisps of smoke.

"Tch. Too easy," he said as he strode over to pick up his weapon.

"Phew! Well done!" Rise congratulated them. She then went over to Souji. "Are you okay, Senpai? Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

She's getting a little too close for my taste, Yukiko subconsciously thought as she saw Souji flash Rise a warm smile. And what do you think you're doing? Aren't you getting just a little too cozy with her? Just because she was the only one who didn't question you earlier…

"That was a lot easier than that other battle," Teddie sighed happily.

"Good jobs, guys," Chie said to them all. "It looks like you've all gotten a lot stronger."

"Hey, Souji, there's a chest over there," Yosuke pointed further down the room. Souji went over and opened the chest and found a smoky, black orb inside.

"Are we seriously gonna need this?" Chie stared at the orb in Souji's hands. "I wonder what we're gonna use it for."

"Let's just get out of here for now," Souji directed them. They spent another long while finding the stairs, and by the time they made it to the eighth floor, it was already time to return to Junes.

"Shall we use a Goho-M?" Yukiko asked as she pulled one out of her pocket, but Teddie pushed it gently back into her hands.

"Teddie's got a better way of getting everyone home," he said with his ears twitching merrily.

"He sniffs out things, he heals, he uses ice… What more can this bear do?" Kanji sighed.

"I can use Traesto!"

"The hell izzat?"

"It's a spell that lets us escape dungeons!"

"Wow, Teddie, you really do come with everything," Chie beamed. "Hey, Souji-kun, we're all done here, right?"

Souji slid his katana down his pant leg, covering the hilt with his shirt. "I think we're good to go."

"Okay, go for it, Teddie!"

"Will all the ladies please hang on to something," Teddie said smoothly as he held out his arms. Yukiko and Chie gladly took either arm, but Rise, seeing that there was no other place to hang on to, clung to Souji instead. Souji felt a spiteful stare bore into the back of his head as Yukiko saw what Rise had done.

He's not even trying to resist! Just what is he thinking?! Yukiko gripped Teddie's arm tighter, but the bear only took it as a sign of affection. He did, however, react to something else.

"Ngh! Kanji, you're not a lady!" Teddie whipped his head from side to side when he felt Kanji's giant hands clamp onto his ears. Kanji released his grip and somberly stood next to Yosuke.

"Everybody ready? Traesto!"

--

Back at the Junes food court, the group reviewed their day inside the TV, not wanting any more near-death experiences like they had earlier. Everyone sat around one of the tables, save for Souji, who still had his katana down his pant leg. As promised from yesterday, Souji bought Kanji that soda he owed him while Chie feasted on one of Junes' grilled steaks.

"Ahhh, nothing beats eating grilled steak after a long day of fighting shadows," she sighed after taking in the aromatic scent of the steak. "Especially after the seventh floor—what was up with that place?"

"A screwed up place from a screwed up mind," Kanji mumbled as he adjusted the glasses he received from Teddie on his face. Rise eyed his glasses, which had a slight black tint.

"Um, Kanji? We're not inside the TV anymore, so you can take those off," she said to him.

"The sun's blindin' me," he told her. "And it makes me look cool."

Right on, Mr. Fabulous. Souji cleared his throat loudly, drawing the attention of his friends. "Today was a job well done, everyone. If possible, I'd like to finish this by tomorrow. Can all of you make it?"

He was answered by various forms of the word 'yes' and he was glad to hear it. "Good. For tomorrow's formation, I'd like to go back to using Friday's team."

"All right! Whoo-hoo!" Chie whooped with her fists pumping the air. Yukiko, however, wasn't sure if she should share in her friend's joy.

If Souji-kun and I are not on good terms, then fighting together won't be easy. If that's the case, I'll have to call him tonight and try to fix things.

Chie noticed the look on Yukiko's face and lowered her arms. "Uh, Yukiko? Are you worried that you're still gonna be sore tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Yukiko snapped out of her thoughts to reply. "N-No, I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow. I was just thinking about… um… about what we should have for lunch."

"It wouldn't be fair to keep relying on Yukiko-san to bring us food," Yosuke pointed out. "Why not have someone else bring something?"

"If you want, I can go buy some snacks and stuff at Shiroku," Chie offered. "Actually, I was thinking that we're all due for new weapons and wanted to stop by Daidara's to see if he had anything new. Plus, we can sell some of the junk we got from the TV."

Kanji, Rise and Souji all thought of the same two words when she mentioned selling junk to Daidara: Chie's backpack.

"Ooh! I wanna go shopping with Chie-chan!" Teddie piped up as he began to shed his bear costume. Underneath the heavy suit was a small, blonde boy with startling blue eyes. He adjusted his shirt, which was long-sleeved and frilly with a red flower pinned to his chest and tugged at his black slacks to smooth it out. His bear suit was laid out on the table, but he kept the blue bear head on his lap.

"Oh yeah, you're always stuck with Yosuke, aren't you?" Chie said with a hint of pity in her voice. Yosuke shot her a look, but she ignored it. "I don't mind if you come. Souji-kun, do you wanna look for a new sword, while we're at it?"

If I get a new sword, then I'm draining my funds even more. However, if I find a better sword, then fighting shadows will be easier. The easier the kill, the more stuff we find to sell, and the more money we get. Man, I'm a greedy bastard. "I guess I'm due for a new one."

"Sweet! I'll meet you at Daidara's tomorrow," Chie grinned. Souji nodded, unsure if he was really willing to part with more money.

"If that's everything, then we're free to go. Please make sure to show up on time tomorrow," he announced, and the team dispersed, leaving only Chie and Yukiko behind at the table.

"So Yukiko, are you gonna call him tonight?" Chie asked as she cut a piece of her steak. Her friend just sat there, staring at the much lighter bag in her lap. "Hey… Earth to Yukiko?"

The girl twitched slightly at the sound of her name. "What? Sorry, Chie, I was thinking about something."

"No kidding. So, are you gonna talk to Souji-kun tonight?" she asked again before sticking the piece of steak into her mouth.

"About what?"

"About the Quelorie Magic! And possibly about some other things!"

"Oh…" Yukiko looked out to the bright, orange sunset as she fell back deep into her thoughts. "I guess..."

Chie shoved a few more pieces into her mouth and swallowed before saying anything. "Just don't forget to apologize about what you said the other day, too."

I HATE EVERY FIBER OF HIS BEING! Yukiko heard her own words ringing in her ears, shuddering at the fact that she had even said such a thing. "Yeah, I have to apologize for that, too."

Her hungry friend continued to chomp on her steak, hardly taking a break between each piece. She turned her attention to her own hands, were which tangled in the strap for her bag.

I hope I can fix things with Souji-kun. I can't believe I let him hear that. Wait, wasn't I supposed to call him about that earlier? Then, how did Chie…? "Hey, Chie? How did you know that I didn't get to apologize to Souji-kun about what I said?"

Chie looked up from her steak, her chewing speed slowing down noticeably. "Um, when he came to my house yesterday, I asked him about it. He said that he didn't hate you, but he looked kinda hurt about it."

Then, he's not mad at me at all? But why was he so distant today? Maybe he still felt awkward around me? Then why was he getting so close to Rise-chan?

As she delved into her thoughts once more, Chie got up and threw away her empty plate. "Time to go home, Yukiko!"

Her friend nodded. "Yeah. But first, can we find a restroom somewhere? I need to change out of my uniform."

They entered the nearest restroom they could find to let Yukiko change. She stepped into the nearest stall while Chie washed her hands.

"Y'know, it's a good thing that you and Souji-kun are just friends," she said over the sound of rushing water.

"Why do you say that?" Yukiko called from inside her stall.

"Whenever Rise-chan said something to him, his eyes would light up, like he was happy or something."

Yukiko froze halfway through taking off her school top. "I-Is that so… I wonder…" So she noticed, too.

"Yeah, he looked happier than I've seen him in days. If you ask me, he and Rise don't look so bad together, either," Chie said as she shut off the faucet. "But if you're interested, I can help point him in your direction."

He looked happier with Rise-chan? Is it because she was being nice to him? I tried being nice to him, too, but he just kept ignoring me. Unless… He really is interested in her? Does that mean he's cheating on me? And Chie, I thought you supported us?! How can you say that he and Rise-chan make a cute couple?!

The rustling sound of clothes being changed moved at a rapid pace, followed by Yukiko bursting out of the stall, alarming Chie.

"Let's hurry home," she said as calmly as she could, the intensity in her eyes burning into her friend.

"S-Sure, whatever you say. Why the rush?" Chie asked as they sped out of the restroom.

"I have some things to take care of… For the inn…"

The two left Junes at a brisk pace. Chie, being slightly shorter than Yukiko, had to jog at certain intervals just to keep up. "Hey, before I forget—are you busy Tuesday?"

"Tuesday? No, I don't think so. Maybe in the morning, but I should be free the rest of the day. Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe… we could… Can we slow down a bit? I've got a huge side ache!" Chie clutched the stitch in her side from jogging after her meal. The other girl slowed to a light walk.

"Sorry. Now, what were you saying?" she asked in a gentler tone. The intensity from before had dimmed enough for her to hide her rage.

"I thought, maybe we could hang out for a bit. We should be able to rescue that Kubo kid by then, right?"

Yukiko thought for a moment before she gasped in surprise. "That's right! We still have to celebrate your birthday! So, do you have anything in mind?"

"Not really. We could just figure it out on Tuesday," Chie shrugged. "We'll just meet up some time in the morning and wander around the rest of the day."

"Okay. What time do we meet?"

"Ten sound okay?"

Yukiko couldn't help but laugh. "It sounds a little like we're meeting up for another adventure inside the TV."

"You're right—we always meet up at ten for that, don't we?" Chie kicked a pebble on the road. "Yeah, we'll just figure it out on Tuesday. No need to stress out over something like hanging out, right?"

Her friend looked up to the orange sky. "Yeah, no need for stress." If only I could truly say something like that about something else…

--

Dude, you are sooo lucky! Having Risette all over you like that!"

Souji, Teddie and Yosuke were on their way to Souji's house, just barely crossing the Samegawa River Plain. "She was just being nice," Souji replied, swinging his straightened leg in a semi-circle with every other step—it was the fastest way for him to walk with a sword down his pant leg.

"Sensei, tell me your ways to attract girls!" Teddie almost begged. "I wanna be able to talk to all sorts of ladies!"

It's fine talking to the ladies, just make sure to say the right thing or else you're screwed. "Enough of that. Rise-chan is just grateful that we saved her from her shadow. She's just trying to return the favor."

"But Sensei! Even you were smiling when she talked to you! I don't mind if it's you that's taking Rise-chan from me, but if it were Yosuke, I'd have to battle him to the death!"

"How come I have to fight you for her?!" Yosuke slapped the bear suit off of the blonde boy's shoulder, forcing him to walk back and retrieve it. "Look, man, it's the chance of a lifetime to hook up with an idol like her! It's not like you're after someone right now, right?"

Souji stopped his outlandish walk and gave Yosuke a good, hard look in the eyes. "Okay, first you wanted me to ask out Amagi, and now Rise-chan. Why do you have this fascination with me going out with anyone?"

"Well…" Yosuke pushed himself to stare back into Souji's cold, grey eyes, but found that he couldn't match his friend's stare. "Is something wrong with wanting to see my best bud happy with a girl?"

Souji grunted as he looked away and started making his way back home. "Then how about you? Don't you want Rise-chan all to yourself? And weren't you the one interested in Amagi before?"

"What about Chie-chan?" Teddie asked innocently. "How come neither of you want Chie-chan? Teddie thinks she's cute, just like Rise-chan and Yuki-chan!"

What a nice bear—always thinking of everyone. Well, everyone that's a girl, that is. "Chie-chan and I are just friends," Souji told him as they entered a neighborhood. "Actually, the same goes for Amagi and Rise-chan. You can have them all, Teddie."

"Yippee!" Teddie skipped happily up and down the street while Yosuke frowned at him.

"Don't just hand them all off to him!" Yosuke groaned.

"And why's that? Don't tell me you're actually going for one of them," Souji said playfully. "Now, who could it be? You seemed to intent on getting me with Amagi and Rise-chan, which could only leave Ch—"

"As if!" Yosuke turned his nose up at him, but Souji could see a small tint of pink on his cheeks. "A violent girl like that is a huge turn-off for any guy!"

"Careful what you say, Yosuke. She might be listening to us right now," Souji whispered, and the messy-haired boy whipped his head around to look for any signs of their friend. At Souji's house, they checked to see if Nanako was around, in case they needed to set up a distraction to allow Souji to slip in and remove his sword in his room. When they saw her sitting at the table watching TV, Souji had Teddie put his costume back on and nudged both him and Yosuke forward.

"Uh, hi, Nanako-chan!" Yosuke started. "Remember me?"

"Hi, Big Bro Yosuke!" she smiled up at him and saw Teddie. "Oh! Who's that?"

Teddie skipped forward and shook her hand. "I'm Teddie! Nice to meetcha!"

Souji took this opportunity to sneak upstairs and change. When he came back down, he saw that Nanako was having fun playing with Teddie. Yosuke was sitting on the couch, watching the two try to imitate a dance they saw on TV.

"Thanks," he said softly as he sat next to Yosuke.

"No prob," he responded as he stood up. "C'mon, Ted. Time to go home."

"Okay! Don't forget, Sensei—we're going shopping with Chie-chan tomorrow!" Teddie reminded him as he left with Yosuke. "Bye, Nana-chan!"

"Bye, Teddie!" she giggled. "He's funny, Big Bro! I hope I get to see him again!"

"He works at Junes, so I'm sure you'll see him plenty more times," Souji told her. "Now, what shall we do about dinner?"

--

After making a home-made pizza for dinner and a hot bath, Souji was ready to just collapse on his futon and sleep.

I wanna sleep, but it's still so damn hot no matter what I do, he thought as he stripped away his shirt. He recalled the events of the day, particularly the part where he was handed a Quelorie Magic to drink. He flung open his closet door to look at himself in the mirror.

Maybe pizza wasn't a good idea. He poked at his stomach, which he noticed was not as flat as it normally was. Yeah, four slices of pizza was definitely not smart, but it looks like those man boobs were just my imagination. He examined his thighs, moving his leg in a way so that any excess fat would jiggle. That felt like a normal jiggle, not at all thunder-like. I guess I'm not fat. He had just pulled his shirt back on when his cell phone rang.

--

At the Amagi Inn, Yukiko was pacing inside her room as she waited for Souji to answer her call. She picked up her fan and waved it in her face to keep herself busy, but found that it was doing nothing to ease her nerves.

Come on, pick up, she silently urged Souji. On the fourth ring, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Seta-kun?" she said almost too eagerly into the phone. She sat at her table, still fanning herself. "Um, sorry for calling late, but—"

"It's alright, don't worry about it. So, what's up?"

He sounds so calm, like there's nothing bothering him. "I wanted to talk to you about some things… If that's okay with you."

"Sure. Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering about… about why you seemed a little distant today. When you were having difficulty with that shadow, you didn't call us for help. And, your reason as for why you didn't ask us to join bothered me…" She got up and started pacing uncomfortably again as pressure began to building her chest. "First you said that you didn't want me to fight because I was aching from yesterday, and then you said that, should you and the others die, Chie and I would have to rescue the victim ourselves. It didn't make sense to me."

Before Souji could get a word in, Yukiko continued. "And when I said that you seemed a little distant, I meant that you were distant towards me. Would you care to explain?"

A short silence followed before he could say what was on his mind. "Well, to tell you the truth, I did kind of mean that part about you and Chie-chan rescuing the culprit if we didn't make it. And about that first part—I thought I would try to do what you asked of me."

"What I asked of you?" Yukiko took a seat at her desk. "When did I ask something of you?"

"Don't you remember? You said that you wanted some distance between us. I thought that maybe I wasn't doing a good job of it, so I tried to keep away from you as much as possible."

"But, that was awhile ago that I asked for that. What made you think you still had to do that?"

"You weren't really saying anything about it, so I thought that maybe you still wanted your space," he said in a slightly irritated tone. "I'm not psychic, you know."

"Couldn't you tell when I was trying to be nice to you?" she asked a hurt voice. "But even if I put my best efforts, you still didn't seem to care. You were more focused on either fighting or Rise-chan…"

"What was that last part?" Souji asked when Yukiko's voice started to trail off. "Did you say something about Rise-chan?"

"Yes, I did! You were getting awfully close to her, always smiling whenever she went over to you and asked if you were okay!" she said heatedly as she slammed her fan onto her desk.

"There's nothing going on between us! Look, you know as well as everyone else that she just has a small crush on me. I don't feel the same way for her—"

"But you didn't have to look so happy whenever you talked to her!" She got up again and paced across her room again, unable to sit still due to the new rage flaring up within her.

"Okay, I'm sorry! Sheesh, all this is starting to look like one of those bad teenage dramas you see on TV."

Her mouth fell open, unable to believe what he had just said. "How can you say that so nonchalantly about us? I'm trying so hard to get us back together, and you're just making jokes about it all!"

She sank to the floor on her knees as hot tears began pouring down her face. Souji could hear her whimpering from his side of the phone. "Yukiko-san… I didn't mean anything by that. I'm sorry—"

"No, just stop. Maybe you're right—we're just another dumb teenage drama on TV," she said weakly into the phone. "I'm just the girl who wanted to see what love was like, and you're the new, mysterious boy that all the girls fall for…"

"Yukiko-san, don't say that! Look, I'm sorry! I—"

"Seta-kun, maybe we weren't meant to be after all. Why don't we just…" the lump in her throat grew larger as she made an attempt to hold back more sobs.

"'Why don't we just' what? Don't tell me—"

"Seta-kun, I had fun while it lasted, but… I think… I think…"

She wiped away her tears with her yukata sleeve and took in several breathes before continuing. "I think… we should just end this."

On the other side of the phone, Souji felt a paralyzing pain in his skull as his sight faded to black. In his mind, he could see the tarot card of the Priestess turn upside-down.

What… What just happened? When his sight returned, he was down on one knee, clutching his head with one hand, the other hand still holding his cell phone. He shook away the sharp stinging sensation in his head before putting his phone back to his ear.

"Yukiko-san, wait! I think we should talk about this first!"

"Seta-kun, it's over. I-I'll see you tomorrow… Good night."

The soft click at the other end told him she had hung up. He closed his own phone and gripped it tightly in his hand.

What have I done? He angrily asked himself, the hand with the cell phone now shaking as he gripped it tighter. He got up, his legs barely able to support him as he went over to his futon. Where did I go wrong? I only did what she asked. Maybe it really is a sign that we're not supposed to be together? But man, me and my big mouth…

Lying on his stomach, he smashed his face into his pillow and closed his eyes, setting his phone down next to his pillow. Rather than seeing nothing but darkness, he saw Yukiko's image clearly, causing him to groan. He lifted his head and blinked a few times before letting his face fall back onto the pillow. When he saw that her image was still burned in his mind, he knew that sleep was not going to come easy tonight.

Yukiko-san, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I will prove to you how much I really care about you. He got up and went to the dresser drawer beneath his little TV set and pulled out the pale pink handkerchief she had left at his house weeks ago. He thought that it was too precious to bring inside the TV, knowing how violent things could get while fighting shadows. He placed it back in the drawer before turning out the light and returning to his futon.

I'll just have Chie-chan return it for me, he thought as he stared at his darkened ceiling. It's probably best to give her some space now.

He closed his eyes, seeing Yukiko's image again. He rolled on his side and stared at the wall, but still saw her image in his mind. Everywhere he looked her image was there to greet him.

There was no place of solace for the spurned boy's eyes, Souji narrated to himself as he tried to lift his spirits to lull himself to sleep. For no matter where he looked, one thing is for sure—all he sees is red.

--

Alone in her room, Yukiko sat against her wall, hugging her knees. Her yukata was damp at the knees with tears as she made an effort to stifle her sobs—there were customers staying in the rooms next to hers, and she did not want to attract any unwanted attention. At the same time, she wished that she could talk to someone about what had just happened between her and Souji.

I can't tell Chie, and Kasai-san already left hours ago. There's no one I can talk to about this, she thought as she wiped away her tears with her already soaked sleeves. Maybe keeping us a secret was a bad thing after all.

With a sniffle, she stood up and opened the top desk drawer. She pulled out the shrine charm and closed the drawer, this time taking the charm with her. She laid down on her futon and turned it over in her hands, tiny sobs escaping her throat every now and then.

"I-I guess, this means that I get to keep you now," she said to the charm. "In that case, I'll take you with me inside the TV…"

She tucked the little red charm under her pillow, unsure of how she was going to keep herself from falling apart tomorrow. Being unable to talk out her problems to anyone, she pulled her blanket up to cover most of her face and let out all her frustration out in tears, hoping she could get it all out before facing Souji.

I probably shouldn't be mad at Rise-chan, she thought while dabbing at her eyes with her blanket. She didn't know about us in the first place. But still… Souji-kun, you idiot! How could you label our relationship as one of those lousy teenage dramas?

As she continued to muffle her sobs into her blanket, she didn't notice that her door was slightly ajar with a woman looking in on her. The woman slid the door closed slowly, so as not to draw attention and walked to the elevator. When the elevator door opened, a handsome man stepped out.

"Sachiko!" the man said in a surprised voice. "Have you seen Yukiko? I need her to—"

The woman placed her fingers on his lips. "Yukiko is exhausted today. Let's let her rest for now, Takashi."

The man gave her a miffed look and gently pulled her hand away. "All she does is play with her friends. If she doesn't start managing the inn properly, she'll never take your place as manager."

"She's still young. She needs to be able to be out and about with her friends." Sachiko looked at her daughter's bedroom door with anguish. "Think about what she'll miss when she takes over! She needs to go through everything any teenage girl experiences!"

"Like what, having a boyfriend? She hasn't even shown any bit of interest in a boy!"

"Except when she started cooking," she muttered to herself. To her husband, she said, "Maybe if you weren't so overprotective of her she would have a boyfriend by now!"

"If I'm not overprotective, she could end up with the wrong kind of boy," he told her. "That's why we agreed on an arranged marriage, so we know just what kind of man she'll be marrying. And I have not barred her from dating—she made that decision on her own."

"But she needs experience in how to handle her relationships!" Sachiko said as he walked back to the elevator. "How will she know what to do if things don't work out between her and her future fiancé?"

"We'll just have to pick someone well-suited to her," he answered as he picked a button. "I'll make sure she gets only the best man out there."

The doors closed, leaving Sachiko to wonder how her own arranged marriage ended up with a man like him. It's not that she didn't love her husband, but that it took time to truly love him, including his faults. She pressed the button to take the elevator down and looked back at Yukiko's room.

"Don't give up, Yukiko," she whispered. "He's different from all the others, so don't let him go just yet."

--

Author's note: I am well aware that there should have been a card reversal several chapters ago when Ai was mad at Souji, but that's hardly relevant to the story here. This one I felt was more impacting to Souji, considering who it was that just got the reversal. Thank you for following my fanfic as far as you have, for it pleases me to see how much appreciation it's getting from you.