Sunday, 6/26 (Daytime)
I ordered the Myth-like sword combo and went out.
I took Marie (or should I say "Blue Cap") to school.
"You go to 'school' every day, right?" she asked. "You don't get tired of it?"
"Sometimes," I replied. "But it's fun."
"Fun…? Oh, do they have a T.V. there? Can you watch 'StarScandalz?"
"What's that?" I asked.
"Yo, partner! Whatcha do―" Yosuke began as he ran up to us.
"Hey," I greeted.
"Oh, hey, Marie-chan? It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said. "I heard that you'd been with Chie and Yukiko. So you're showing her around, huh?"
"Yeah. Showing her the school," I replied. "Marie wants to see it."
"Oh, I get it. Marie-chan goes to a different school, huh. Er, still…. What could be special about our school?" he said. "I'll join ya. Allow me to welcome you to Yasogami High!"
"Can I go inside?" Marie asked excitedly.
"Of course," I answered. "Let's go."
We were on the second floor of the school.
"And here's our classroom," Yosuke said, pointing to the door. "Pretty retro, huh? I guess you could call it cozy."
"... It's so big," Marie muttered.
"It is?" Yosuke asked. "Well, there's a lot of empty land here…. I guess the school's pretty big if you count the fields and yards and stuff. What about where you are, Marie-chan? Is it cramped, since it's in the city?"
"It's tiny," she answered. "I mean, it's a single room."
"One room!? Seriously!?" Yosuke exclaimed.
"You wouldn't believe how small it is," I laughed.
"Is it, uh… some kind of advanced placement class or something?" he asked.
"I don't know," Marie replied. "It's small, it's dark, The Nose never says anything. Nobody ever says anything. It's boring."
"The Nose…? Is that, uh, what you call your teacher?" he said.
"He has a looooong nose," I chuckled.
"A teacher who doesn't talk…. Isn't that neglecting your job?" he muttered.
"Hey, I want to see more. There's still more to see, right?" Marie asked, her eyes shining. She walked up the stairs.
"... She's as strange as she was last time," Yosuke muttered. "Then again, everybody I've gotten to know recently has been pretty much on the odd side, so I'm used to it."
"... Yeah," I agreed.
We followed her onto the rooftop.
"This is where we hang out," Yosuke explained. "What do you think? Isn't this a great place to spend your youth?"
"Youth?" she repeated. "How does someone spend youth? Give me an example."
"It's kinda hard to explain…" I muttered.
"Well, y'know… building friendships, sharing your concerns, confiding in each other…. Stuff like that?" Yosuke said. "It's kinda awkward to have to put it into words…."
"I don't get it. Do Green and Black do that, too?" Marie asked. Yosuke looked confused.
"Pretty sure you spend it with everyone," I murmured.
"Why do you need to spend youth? Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked.
"Y-You want me to say more!?" Yosuke exclaimed. "I mean, it's fun. Not being in superficial relationships…. Being with people who know the real you."
"... The real you?"
"Being with people like that helps keep me from losing sight of who I am. Y'know, so I can face myself…."
"Yeah," I agreed. "It's fun."
"Face yourself…" she mused.
"Wondering about your 'true self'?" I asked.
"No. I said it before, there's… no truth," she said. I didn't say anything, but I completely disagreed with her.
Yosuke quickly changed the subject and suggested we go to the library. He ran off.
"Face your true self…?" Marie muttered.
"... Well, let's get going. We don't want to keep Yosuke waiting," I said.
(Evening)
"Hm? What a coincidence," Adachi said.
I was taking a walk in the shopping district.
"Hey," I greeted.
"What are you doing out so late?" he asked. "It's dangerous, you know. Go home."
"... I don't really feel like it right now, Adachi-san," I replied. "Maybe we can chat a bit?"
"You must have a lot of time on your hands," he chuckled. "Dojima-san will be on your ass, you know."
"He probably will be," I laughed. "But I'm with a detective. I should be safe, right?"
"Haha, can't argue with that."
We walked to Souzai Daigaku.
"I knew it! Stores out here close too soon," he muttered. "I got off work early, so I thought I'd make something, but then I got lazy. What should I do? I have tons of nimono at home..." I was about to answer when an old woman greeted us.
"Why, Tohru-chan!" she said. "How is work? Are you still working hard?"
"Oh…. H-Hi. Yeah, I just got off…" Adachi answered.
"Would you like to come to my house? I'm making your favorite―nimono!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, uh, today? I've… got a…." He glanced at me, and his eyes lit up. "That's right! I promised the girl I'd eat dinner with her. She's my boss' niece, so I can't say no…. Haha, maybe next time."
"That's too bad. Well, next time, then! Good night." The woman walked away.
"She really sucks away my will to live," Adachi sighed. "Can you imagine how awkward dinner would be, just me and her!? I don't really like her nimono, anyway. The lotus root is too tough. Oh, uh, sorry for using you like that. You were a big help."
"Why don't you come over for real?" I asked with a smile.
"At Dojima-san's? Well, isn't that a generous offer," he laughed, looking surprised. "But Dojima-san's still at work, right? Does that mean it'll be just us? Isn't that weird?"
"I'm a good cook." I winked at him. He stepped back and examined me, putting a hand to his chin.
"I mean, you are cute…."
"Adachi-san!" I exclaimed in mock horror. "You like younger girls!?"
"N-No!" He shook his head vigorously as I laughed. "Seriously, though. You're inviting me over? You don't think it'd be awkward?"
"I mean, you come over quite a bit," I replied.
"Well, I am interested to see what you're like as a cook," he said. "When I was in high school, I never gave cook a single thought."
"What did you do instead? Play games or something?"
"I just studied and studied. It was a pretty good school where your grades really mattered. I didn't mind, though. You get back as much as you put in. Everyone knows that. My parents didn't care what else I did as long as my grades were good, too. But that works out when you're a student."
"You don't enjoy yourself now?"
"I dunno. Grown ups have a lot on their plates." He gave me a tired smile. "But I guess lately, things have been fun. It's nice to know there's something I'm good at. Haha, this is embarrassing.
"Oh, we were talking about dinner…. Sorry, not today. Maybe next time," Adachi said. "I'll just stop by someplace on my way back. You make sure you hurry home."
"All right. See ya."
A/N: April 8, 2015
Short chapter today. XD
Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed! I really can't thank you guys enough for supporting me. :D
Well... thanks for reading and please review! *bows*
