A/N: Special Thanks to DualSelf for reviewing this Chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Persona. I own Charles Waldo and Reiko Setsuka.
Chapter 24
"Blue"
April 25, 2011
Junes Arcade
Why am I so angry? *Sigh* Because Yosuke and Yu needed me to bail them out and I agreed and then NOBODY thanked me. I thought I left this crap behind. I haven't. Same shit, Different country.
Charles was in Junes's arcade, playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Whenever Charles would become upset or frustrated in Utah, he'd either play one of his video games or went to one of the few arcades. But it wasn't consoling him this time. So when he ran out of the 15 credits he'd plunked in, (Because you always need 30 lives in Konami games) he just gave up on that game. Maybe a different game.
The problem was Charles had said that for the last 4 games he tried. Street fighter III: Third Impact, Revolution X, Castlevania, Turtles. He seemed to not be in the mood.
(Maybe it's because you've been expecting them to find you and say they're sorry and thank you for what you did,) a female voice said in his head.
That obvious, huh, Rei? he replied. She had occasionally communicated to him…but they were only brief snippets. This was the most he had said since they had both bonded to each other.
There seemed to be a pause before she responded with, (Rei? Oh, well. Anyway, do you think that maybe they think that's not enough of a gesture?)
What, they're planning on how to make things up to me? Don't make me laugh. NO ONE, not even the few friends in Utah I DO have, has ever made it up to me. I'll take the apology and the thank you and move on.
…
(Those herbs you eat are very bitter,) Reiko said, almost cattily.
"What's with the long face?" Charles heard a voice ask him as he was about to reply to Reiko.
He turned around. It was Minako. "Oh, Arisato-san, I didn't see you," he said.
"That's because I was behind you," she deadpanned. "Soo? What's with the long face?"
"I wanted to go to the arcade." He said, trying to sound nonchalant.
She looked at him dubiously
"Uh huh. You wanted to go to the arcade, while your new friends are upstairs in the food court."
"That's right!" Charles said with impatient politeness.
"Did you have a fight with them?" she asked.
"No, I didn't have a fight," Charles said evasively. Then he started to walk off, "If you'll excuse me?"
"Funny, because I thought you wanted us to be friends?" she said pointedly. "Or was that just polite bullshit earlier?"
Charles stopped where he was, stunned by her candor.
"Very well," he said more politely, turning around. "As you could see up there. The others were at the food court. Yosuke and Yu ate Chie and Yukiko's instant noodles completely, during Club at school. Yosuke tries to get out of a severe beating by saying he'll pay for steak…'the very best!' Chie 'sentences' him and Yu to buy some steak. We get here and I come to find out, ooohhhh, they can't pay for the very best. They have most of their money tied up elsewhere and all they could afford was Yakisoba Griddle. So I figure the girls are going to be upset again, especially Yukiko, and so I decide to chip in for a better steak, and I end up with about 2/3 the load. And no one even THANKED me."
"Did you do that expecting to be thanked?" she asked.
"No, but I would have liked one," he said, evasively.
She knew that he had wanted one in part but there was more so she pressed further and let him have his little white lie on the "thank you." "So, why did you do it?"
"I was helping friends in need, I thought," he replied. "Okay…MAYBE I was expecting an 'Arigato' out of that. But I shouldn't have."
Minako looked at him, pondering that.
…
"No, you wanted to impress Yukiko."
Charles and Reiko's jaws hit their respective floors. (DAMMMMMMMNNNNNN, she's good,) Reiko thought."W-what?" Charles said, surprised.
"I can tell how you've looked at her. You've got a thing for her and it's not being returned, and so you felt you needed to step up your game a bit and show up as her… her prince."
She's right! Dammit, she's RIGHT! I saw Yukiko's sad face, near tears because her fried tofu had been eaten up, and I didn't want to see that face again. But when she didn't thank me and Chie was adding insult to injury by bitching about it, I just blamed all four of them.
"Suppose, Arisato-san…"
"Look, call me Minako or even Mina, please."
"…Mina, that you're correct. It doesn't excuse not being thanked."
SHIT! He's right, she thought. He's about as smart as I am…except for the fact I can speak more languages than him. "But I noticed, Charles, you didn't outright deny it."
"I won't deny anything you said in your earlier statement."
Damn, he's still a little tentative about her right now…not knowing his next step, especially given the thing with the steak.
"How long does it take to eat a steak?" he asked impatiently after checking his phone.
"As long as the diner wants to. Look, you look like you play games to cheer you up," she said.
"That obvious, huh?" he wryly chuckled.
"When I was depressed about something, I went to this arcade in the Takehama district in Port Island. There was one game that cheered me up. Maybe it'll cheer you up."
"What is it?" Charles said with curiosity.
She led him by the hand to what some could honestly say was, "THE ONE GAME THAT COULD RULE THEM ALL!"
"Dance Dance Revolution?" he asked.
"It'll be fun," she said.
"Not too hard, I haven't played since…Siobhan d… turned me down for a date," he said.
"Who's Siobhan?" Minako asked. Aigis's files didn't mention any friends or lovers.
"A girl who's a friend in Utah." Charles said.
"But you wanted more?" Head down, he nodded.
Her rejection of them being more probably has hurt him deeply and so it's still a fresh wound…Better not press further on this person. "There was a girl like that with Onii-chan. Only they didn't stay friends."
"Lucky me," he said dourly.
Minako took off her uniform jacket and her ribbon, revealing her summer uniform blouse underneath. She wasn't used to the cooler air in Inaba and so needed to wear both versions.
"Are you going to play with that Jacket and tie?" she asked.
"No," Charles replied. He removed both items and then removed his shoes.
He noticed Mina had done the same, but… "Mina, you're not wearing any socks or stockings. That's against school regulations."
She sighed. "Look, Chuck. I overslept and I had little time. Since I haven't had time to tan since I came out of my coma, it looks like I'm wearing light pink tights, which I normally wear when I don't wear white socks that go below my knees. Besides, for me and this game, barefoot is the way to go."
Minako chose the song. "Hey, I said an easy song. That's not easy!" Charles protested.
"I need to test myself too. Have you ever been in a coma Do you know how hard it is just to learn to walk again?"
He smiled wolfishly. "Ahhh, so you need to test yourself, huh? Bring it on, Arisato."
"Likewise, Waldo," she snickered.
The song started and the two of them moved on the slow moving arrows.
Yo, listen up here's a story
About a little guy
That lives in a blue world
And all day and all night
And everything he sees is just blue
Like him inside and outside
Blue his house
With a blue little window
And a blue corvette
And everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
Cause he ain't got nobody to listen to
Then the Chorus hit and the two of them started moving faster.
I'm blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
I'm blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Charles was pressing his feet down on the pad as best he could, which wasn't too shabby, actually. But Charles noticed Minako in his peripheral vision. Even rusty, she was better than he.
Though not by much.
I have a blue house
With a blue window
Blue is the colour of all that I wear
Blue are the streets
And all the trees are too
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue
Blue are the people here
That walk around
Blue like my corvette its in and outside
Blue are the words I say
And what I think
Blue are the feelings
That live inside me
They kept dancing on the pad, making sure not to step on each other's toes figuratively or literally. It was at this point, any observer looking at the score would wonder at the outcome, as both had found their rhythm.
I'm blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
I'm blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
"You're good," Charles said.
"So are you," Minako replied.
I have a blue house
With a blue window
Blue is the colour of all that I wear
Blue are the streets
And all the trees are too
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue
Blue are the people here
That walk around
Blue like my corvette, its in and outside
Blue are the words I say
And what I think
Blue are the feelings
That live inside me
The song ended. People were clapping.
The final score showed Minako won, but only by 1100 points. "That was fun," Charles said.
"I told you," Minako replied with a grin. "Rematch?"
The Metal Gear Solid Codec sound was playing. "I gotta see what's going on." Charles looked at his phone. Four New Message(s):
Chie: Chuck, where r u?
Yosuke: Hey, bro? Feeling any better, yet? We need to look at TVs
Yukiko: Chuck, please, whatever's bothering you, don't feel sad.
Souji: Charles, we're sorry and we need your help.
"'Souji'?! Again?! Dammit!"
"Who's 'Souji'?" Minako was confused.
Charles gave a slight rueful laugh. "It's really Yu, but there's this Japanese Celebrity named Seta Souji who has an uncanny resemblance to Yu. So every time one of his friends from Kyoto texts him, an otherwise harmless worm gets into the phones of anybody Yu texts or calls, and it changes his name in the registry. Dammit! Now I have to erase Yu AGAIN! And then use my Anti-virus software AGAIN!"
"Why doesn't he change his number?"
"I've asked him to, but his parents have the number and since they are in the states on Business, they are nigh unreachable, because a business deal may be going down at that time. So if it was changed and they didn't know, they'd panic" Charles Texted to Yu. I'll be there in 5 minutes. "Look, I'm sorry, I have to get going. We're looking at new TVs Junes is selling, I'd invite you, but…"
She smiled. She had gotten what she needed out of him anyway. That he indeed had a persona and more importantly a smile on his face again… even if it was only for a few minutes. "Don't worry about it. Be with your friends."
Charles paused. "You cheered me up. I'd like to think we're friends, too."
Minako didn't know how to respond to that, she was touched. All she could say was, "Arigato…"
Satisfied, he said, "Mata ne, Mina."
"Mata ne, Charles," she said, still touched.
Who the hell are you, Charles Waldo? She thought.
Junes Electronics Dept.
"There you are!" Chie said.
"Kept you waiting, huh?" Charles replied, sounding like Solid Snake. "I'm sorry, guys. I was in the arcade and I bumped into Minako, and we ended up dancing a song on DDR."
"Ohhh really?" Yukiko said dangerously. She didn't seem like she was fond of that idea.
"Yuki…" he said, reaching out to her. She just turned away from him. Stung, he just quietly said, "I see, maybe you guys should go on without me."
Charles was about to walk away when Yu and Yosuke grabbed him and pulled him to one side. Chie had pulled Yukiko off to another.
"Yukiko," Chie hissed softly. "Look, he's still feeling bad right now about earlier. Now, we've come up for a way to make it up to him, but if you let him leave now, you can forget him ever giving you a chance at being friends or more than friends. And you can forget him going with us anywhere either, because he'll think it's easier to just go to school and stay home in the evening, than having people say they're his friends and not mean it."
Yukiko didn't say anything. She just looked sullenly at Chie.
Meanwhile, Yu and Yosuke were talking in low voices to Charles. "Charles, look, I know you're still upset," Yu said.
"What was your first clue, 'Souji'?"
"Again?! Well, we'll discuss that later. Right, now, we need to discuss you."
"Yeah, Chuck, you're taking this thing too personally."
"How am I supposed to take it, Yosuke? I don't do anything wrong, I don't get in trouble, My fear and sense of self-preservation don't write checks my body can't cash, and yet somehow I end up mostly paying for the girls' steaks, and because it's not filet mignon, they act like they got shortchanged and tricked and therefore force themselves to settle, because the real culprits had their money tied up, but they pleaded with me to help them out, even though I should have known better. So where in any of that, should I have an alternate viewpoint?"
Both boys bowed their heads in shameful respect and said, "Domo Arigato and we're sorry."
Charles was taken aback. "Huh?"
"You bailed us out when we needed you, but we shouldn't have asked your help that way," Yosuke said.
"We should have treated you better than we did, Charles," Yu added.
"Thanks, guys. But after talking to Minako, I don't have clean hands either. I ultimately gave in because I wanted to impress Yukiko."
"Oh, we figured that," Yosuke said with a snicker. He then sobered and sighed. "But we should have thanked you, regardless."
"Charles-kun," Yukiko said.
"Yes?" Charles said politely, stunned she was talking to him again. But then to his surprise, both Chie and Yukiko had lowered their heads down in shame. "Domo Arigato for the steaks, and we're sorry," both girls said with sincere contrition.
Charles, despite happy he was getting his apology and thanks he told Reiko he'd settle for earlier…something made him still feel like a creep. "Guys… Look, maybe I shouldn't have gone all clichéd surly teenager on you, but I really want us to be friends and not have to have things break down, just because I'm being too sensitive about things."
"But I'm sorry for another reason," Yukiko said. "I shouldn't be jealous because you were spending time with another girl. I…I just don't want you to forget about me."
"Will never happen, Yuki. We're friends." He then gave her a friendly hug. She blushed.
"Are we ready to go?" Yu asked.
"Yes" everyone else all said. Chie, Yosuke, and Yu put on their glasses. Charles's were always going to be worn, but Yukiko didn't have any because Charles had taken his spare glasses back previously.
"Yuki, that is if Chie doesn't mind, please hold onto my hand otherwise the landing's going to be bumpy."
"I don't mind, go right ahead." Because you're the ONLY guy who I'll let touch Yukiko…well, maybe Yu-kun, Chie thought.
However, to Charles's confusion, Yukiko was blushing even redder.
They entered the TV.
Entrance, Mayonaka
The landing had actually been safe, though Yukiko kept blushing for another minute. She whispered to Chie. "His grip was so tender and gentle."
"He really cares about you, doesn't he?"
"He's my friend and I'm his," Yukiko said simply.
That's not what I really meant, but it's a relief I didn't blow it for him, Chie thought.
Yukiko then took a look around the "Studio."
"Wow… This really is inside the TV…" she marveled.
There was a soft squeaking heard and then out of nowhere, Teddie appeared. "It's Teddie… Then it wasn't a dream," Yukiko said.
"No matter how much we want him to be," Yosuke muttered.
Yu and Charles gave Yosuke a dirty look.
"Are you feeling better, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked.
Yuki-chan? I'd better be beary careful. Ted's so adorable, Charles thought,
"I did what you said! I've been a good bear!"
"Oh, I see. Good boy!" Yukiko said.
I need 20cc of love potion marked Charles x Yukiko, STAT! Charles thought with fear.
Teddie wiggled his ears and appeared to have hearts replacing his eyes. Yosuke just sweatdropped. "W-Well, this bear's part of the reason we want to find the culprit," he said.
"I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?" Yukiko said.
"Yep! I was thinking the same thing." Teddie had a closed-eye smile on his face. It reminded Charles of the smiling sun in the drawing Chie had shown him the previous day. "That's why I got these ready for you, Yuki-chan!"
He gave her some glasses, the top of the frames and the ear stems were red. "Oh, so these are what everyone's wearing. Thank you, Teddie." Then she realized, "You're right… It's just as if the fog doesn't exist…"
"Hey, tell me something. How come you have so many pairs of glasses?" Chie asked Teddie.
"Excellent question! Guess what? I'm the one who makes them." Everyone was surprised. "I've lived here for a long time. So I came up with some ways to be comfortable here."
"I see," Yukiko said. "But don't you need a pair?"
"Oooh, good point. Another great question! Listen to this! My eyes themselves are lenses. You didn't know?" he asked coyly.
"We should have, though. Sorry, Ted, "Charles said.
"Of course, we wouldn't have known!" Yosuke said with annoyed boredom.
This made Teddie upset. "Wh-Why are you being so mean? You act like you're not interested! I'm a really dexterous bear!" He walked up to Yosuke and said, "See how smoothly my fingers move!" Teddie delicately started moving his fingers.
"What am I even looking at?!" Yosuke said before pushing Teddie away.
"Ow…! What gives…?!"
"Yosuke! That was mean!" Charles snapped. Yosuke just sighed.
Yukiko had noticed something that had fallen out of Teddie's hand. "Hm? You dropped this."
"Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on." Teddie looked sheepish about that pair.
"Oooh…" Yukiko said before trying on the botched pair.
"Y-Yukiko?" Chie asked.
Yukiko had presented herself with the bogus glasses. They had concentric circles for lenses and had a fake nose and moustache combo. "Ahaha, how do I look?" Yukiko asked.
"You look great," Charles said, smiling. "You look natural in them."
"Ahahaha! Awesome!" Yukiko said.
"Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked expectantly.
"I want to wear this one, it's even got a nose guard," Yukiko said, giggling.
"Oh, noo, you don't!" Chie said.
"How beary unfortunate… That pair doesn't have the right lenses in. Guess I should have made an actual pair," Teddie lamented.
"Aww, too bad," Yukiko said. "Here, Chuck, your turn." She offered them to him.
"Thank you," he said.
Charles put on the glasses. "Snrk… Hee Hee" Yukiko said while trying not to laugh.
"So, ahm I rah-ther striking?" Charles said with a British accent.
Yukiko started to laugh now. "Ahaha, ahahahahahaha!"
"How did it come to this?" Chie asked, relieved Yukiko didn't have her try them on.
Yosuke sweatdropped and then asked, "Yukiko-san? Hellooo?"
"There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits… I never thought she'd do it when someone besides me was around," Chie said dourly. "Those stupid glasses are useless for investigating!"
"Yes, but they are quite…SMASHING!" Charles the Brit said.
"WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT? What the hell's that nose for anyway?!" Chie asked.
"It makes me look sodding brilliant and you can sod off if you don't like it," Charles stiffly and proudly replied.
"Nice work, huh? That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone and I get bored!" Teddie said.
"Ted, we've only been gone for a week. You make it sound like three," Yosuke said. Then he looked at Yukiko and said, "W-Well, I'm glad that she's in high spirits again… I guess…"
Yukiko kept laughing. "Chuck, Your accent… Snrk… Hahaha, it was so funny. I-I can't stop… laugh- Heehee! Ohhh, my stomach, ahaha…"
Everybody but Charles and Teddie sweatdropped.
Song - Blue - Eiffel 65