A/N: This is the last chapter before the endgame. It's taken a long time to get here, but I promise that it will be worth the wait. At least, I hope that it will be. PS, it will be quite a bit shorter than some of the previous chapters, but that's because the endgame is going to be significantly longer and I need time to plan things out for it. (Among other things.)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from my OCs. Anything that belongs to a third party is a property of that third party. Also, any OC created by another author that I'm using in LNWU (with the aforesaid author's/authors' expressed permission) is the property of that author. Obviously.
Chapter 194
February 20 – March 18, 2012
February 20, 2012
Dojima Residence
It had snowed overnight, specifically after the Seekers of Truth had returned from stopping Oumagatsu. Brianna had gone wherever she was going to go next, Sho had returned to the Crimson Room and Kei had left Inaba by that point. There was some sun but it wasn't going to melt anything on account of it being too cold.
Yu thought that it probably looked nice from a distance, specifically from the window of his and Marie's room. And that it was pretty much the last snow of the winter.
He didn't think that the time would go by so quickly. Even if he did have to reset everything with the help of the Velvet Room.
"You okay?" Marie looked a little worried.
Yu nodded. "I think so? Everything went by so fast."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure that everybody will want you to enjoy the time you've got left here. Besides, it's not as if you're going to go away forever." Marie replied.
Yu smiled slightly before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. I needed that."
"After everything you did for me and all the times you were there for me, well…" Marie trailed off, her face reddening.
Yu embraced her. "I know. And, as much as I'd like to stay here, I really don't want to be late."
They got up and got dressed at around the same time.
There was still time before he had to leave Inaba.
Yu resolved to make the most of it.
And he did.
February 29, 2012
Marie was inspired to propose to Yu because Dylan mentioned something called "Bachelor's Day" in passing.
Yu accepted. Of course.
March 4, 2012
Everybody in the Seekers of Truth had dinner at the Dojima Residence. Yu and Dylan were in charge of cooking because they were, arguably, the best cooks in the group.
Nanako suggested that they have a cooking competition to see who the best cook was.
The result was a tie, but Dylan said that Yu had won.
March 13, 2012
Yu, Marie and Nanako were making chocolates for White Day.
March 14, 2012
Yu handed out White Day chocolates to everybody.
March 16, 2012
The Seekers of Truth, and Marie, all gathered at the Hill overlooking Inaba in order to take group photos. It was the best place that they could think of.
They decided to split into two groups for the purpose of taking two photos before eventually taking a group photo.
Yosuke was in the first group, and he was looking into the camera and smiling widely, Yu gave a slight smile, Stephen gave a thumb's up, Travis was grinning, Eddie made a peace sign, Zach had stuck his tongue out, Kanji was smiling, Takeru had his arms crossed, Teddie was happy and Dylan was laughing
The second group was Chie who was laughing with her eyes closed, Rise who was winking at the camera, Roz was happy, Marie was grinning widely, Naoto looked serious and Yukiko gave a polite smile.
They then got into rows in order to take the group photo.
It took a couple of tries, but they did manage to take a few photos.
March 18, 2012
Dojima Residence
The Seekers of Truth, and Marie, helped Yu pack most of his things into boxes. Yu had also more or less packed a carry-on bag that he would be taking with him.
Yu and Dylan were currently in the living room of the Dojima Residence.
Dylan had a glass filled with ice and soda in front of him while Yu had a glass filled with ice and water in front of him. Both of their glasses were nearing empty, so it would be a matter of time before they would have to get refills.
"All done, and with only two days to spare. Although, it probably should be one day." Yu said.
Dylan shrugged before draining his glass. "Yeah. I probably wouldn't be too worried about the semantics, though."
"You're probably right. I know that you're staying in Inaba, but what about Stephen, Travis, Eddie and Zach? Well, and Roz?" Yu asked.
Dylan went to get another soda before coming back and answering that question.
He sat down and poured the soda into his glass. "Steve's decided to stay in Inaba. Travis, Eddie and Zach are going back to New York. And Roz is only going back to New York temporarily so she can see her family for real. Which means that Teddie's probably going to go with her."
"That does make a lot of sense." Yu replied.
Dylan took a sip of soda. "So, have you told your parents about Marie yet?"
"I have." Yu answered.
Dylan drank his soda before he said something else. "Well, it's one thing to talk to your parents about her, but it's another thing entirely to introduce her to them."
"On the subject of family, are you planning on dropping the "Blake" part of your surname?" Yu wondered.
Dylan nodded. "I am. Besides, you guys have been more like family to me than most of my immediate family."
"You're all like family to me, too. Especially after everything that's happened over pretty much the last year. And everything that happened in the original timeline before I got sent back. But…" Yu trailed off.
Dylan finished his soda and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "Some things were made radically different as a result of the Velvet Room sending you back? Like my parents being here? Or Roz being alive? Or Travis, Eddie and Zach getting involved? Or Takeru joining the team? Or everything that happened between when Marie disappeared and our confrontation with Oumagatsu?"
"Yes. There is one thing that you didn't mention. Something important." Yu replied.
Dylan raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Huh? I thought I mentioned all the important changes? Or most of them, at least?"
"There was one change that you forgot to mention. After I arrived in Inaba and met Uncle and Nanako for the first time in the original timeline, we went to a gas station because he needed to get gas for his car. The car was filled up by this one attendant who was standing outside even though it was raining. He mentioned this urban legend about checking an unplugged or turned off TV after midnight and I had no idea what he meant by that at the time. And then he shook my hand. He had disappeared by the time he'd finished filling up the car." Yu replied.
Dylan frowned. "And that's how you got the ability to summon Personas, right?"
"In the original timeline, yes. I think that I always had the ability to summon Personas in this timeline, though." Yu replied.
Dylan had an idea. "Wait a minute. Izanami must have disguised herself as that gas station attendant in the original timeline because she subconsciously wanted you to undo her corruption and make her whole again. The death of my counterpart in the original timeline resulted in the Earth being covered with fog and Chaos along with the rest of the Crimson Room winning their war with the Velvet Room by default. Then again, Izanami would have been uncontrollable by that point so it wouldn't have been much of a victory for them."
"I think you might be on to something. Good work." Yu grinned.
Dylan let out an annoyed grunt. "Hey!"
"I didn't mean anything by it. Then again, your detective skills have really improved and while I'd hate to take the credit for it…" Yu waited for Dylan to interrupt him.
Dylan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"I think that you, me and the rest of the team should get some rest. Because we'll need it for tomorrow." Yu was serious all of a sudden.
Dylan stood up. "You're probably right."
"See you then. I'll be sure to let the others know what exactly is going on." Yu watched as Dylan went to get his shoes and jacket before leaving.
It was time to embark on the last part of their journey.
Yu went to get sheets of paper, pens and some envelopes.
If he, and the rest of the Seekers of Truth didn't survive what was coming, he wanted to leave a record of what exactly it was that they had fought and died for.
He hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that.
