Yu brought everyone back to You in Wonderland and we warped down to the final floor to do some investigating for Elizabeth.
"H-Hold on! There's something there!" Rise told us and we turned to see a giant golden beetle Shadow. "It's a new type of Shadow! And it looks strong!"
"Hm...Sounds like fun." Akihiko was getting fired up again.
"Oh, and...It looks like there's some kind of weird place in the back! I'm pretty sure that's the void thing Elizabeth was talking about." Rise added.
"Let's check it out after we've beat this thing into the ground!"
As Akihiko said, we got ready and fought the Golden Beetle at full strength. It took a while, but once we found out it was weak to electricity, we just began throwing those attacks at it along with poison and binding skills until it went down.
"Awesome! You're so cool!" Rise cheered as we caught our breath. "Well, now that the Shadow's gone...Let's check what's inside!"
We headed into the boss room and found a glowing yellow orb thing floating in front of the empty treasure chest.
"Huh...This has to be some kind of joke, right?" Rise asked. "Elizabeth stuck her hand in this thing...?"
Yu, as deadpan as ever, reached out toward the orb.
"S-So...?" Rise asked.
The spatial void orb thing disappeared suddenly, leaving behind a yellow spherical object in Yu's hand.
"Whew...Thank goodness!" Rise seemed relieved that was all that happened. "I wonder what this sphere is, though...I'm feeling a really strong force coming from it..."
Considering that was all that was different, we headed back to the Nurse's Office. Yu gave the sphere to Elizabeth while we recovered from the battle and she decided to call it the "Sphere of Fecundity" for whatever reason. The reward was a Merit Badge, but I have no idea where she got it from. I didn't ask though, unwilling to spend more time around the Nurse's Office than I absolutely had to.
I was walking around aimlessly, but then I came across Naoto and some others and decided to have a meal with them.
"Sensei! Over here!" Teddie called when he spotted Yu. "The yakisoba here is better than what they have at Junes! Junes yakisoba is all dry!"
"Dry yakisoba? You guys sure you're using oil?" Shinjiro asked.
"Just a teensy bit. Junes' thing recently has been cutting costs." Teddie replied and I rolled my eyes.
"Makin' the food taste like crap that no one buys it seems to be defeating the point..." Shinjiro sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, look. I'll give you some tips on how to keep it moist even without oil."
"Hmmm. It seems the nickname "SEES den mother" isn't just for show." Aigis stated.
"...You know what, I take it back."
"Are you...good at cooking?" Naoto asked.
"Not that good. I'm just average."
"Average?" Teddie repeated.
"What?"
"When you've tasted what Yuki-chan and the others make, you lose your sense of what's average."
"...Huh?"
"Oh, actually, if it's average, then wouldn't it be like Kyo-chan's...?" Teddie looked at me thoughtfully and I shrugged.
"I confess, I wouldn't have expected that of you. I suppose this proves how narrow-minded I can be." Naoto said to Shinjiro, ignoring Teddie.
"...I'm pretty sure it ain't that big a deal." Shinjiro responded, looking slightly embarrassed.
"But it is...Just as Mitsuru-san said earlier, it's made a deep impression on me." Naoto replied. "I try to live by the principle that gender discrimination is antiquated, but part of me may have given up..."
"...That so?"
"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go on like that." Naoto got bashful.
"You are fighting things other than Shadows, aren't you, Naoto-san?" Aigis asked.
"Aigis-san...Hmm. Perhaps what I'm struggling against is what should properly be called the world's Shadows."
"...And everyone fights 'em." Shinjiro responded.
"Yes...So I believe."
"I...have a hard time understanding." Aigis looked down. "Your souls have many layers to them. It is hard to see the deepest parts, but I sometimes catch a glimpse...It is very difficult to comprehend."
"It's okay, Ai-chan. I don't understand either." Teddie told her, carefree. "I don't have a clue what Nao-chan is talking about!"
"That, I can comprehend."
"Whaaaaaat!?"
"Pfft...!" I began snickering at that exchange, but calmed down quickly and turned my attention elsewhere. "Shinjiro-senpai, if it's not too much trouble, you can teach me that yakisoba thing. I work at Junes too, so I'll pass it along when I get the chance."
"...Sure, I guess." He shrugged and I smiled.
After a cooking lesson with Shinjiro, I wandered around for a bit, saw a movie, then ended up back at concession alley and overheard the middle of a conversation.
"No...It's not a matter of whether the TV is CRT or flat-panel." Naoto was saying with agitation.
"Whaaat? But if you went into those slim TVs, you'd stick out from the back, right?" Junpei asked.
"As I've said, the power is to enter a world connected from the TV, not to punch through TVs." Naoto tried to explain again.
"It's the "world" part I keep getting hung up on." Junpei responded, still looking confused as I walked over to them. "Does it have to do with the connection or something? Or is it microchips? You don't get electrocuted?"
"Err...It has nothing to do with the model of TV, or its amperage. I suppose I had a hard time coming to grips with it until I experienced it for myself..."
"Hmmmm..." Junpei still looked confused.
"Are you talking about how we enter the TV world?" I asked and Naoto nodded, then I turned to Junpei. "Well, you guys said you had a "Dark Hour" thing too, right?"
"Oh. Maybe it's like the Dark Hour? You know, the way our school transforms into Tartarus?" Minato spoke up from where he was sitting next to Junpei. "We're used to it now, but it'd be hard to believe for someone who's never seen it."
"Hmmm, yeah, that makes sense..." Junpei replied.
"A world inside the TV...?" Akihiko said thoughtfully.
"Oh, so you were listening. In between eating all that yakitori." Junpei looked at him.
"I get it! The world inside the TV...You're talking about the world of celebrities!"
"No. You don't get it." Minato sighed.
"What!?"
"Well, hang on. That's not entirely wrong..." I spoke up thoughtfully.
"It's not!?" Junpei looked shocked.
"The people that get thrown into the TV world have appeared on the news and stuff, so they were semi-famous at the time..." I explained, shrugging then shaking my head. "But yeah, no. It's not really the world of celebrities you'd actually know about if you weren't a resident of Inaba or something..."
"Yu...I was listening to your conversation, but I still don't understand." Zen said to Yu. "What is the world of celebrities?"
"It's where actors gather." Yu answered vaguely.
"Actors...So you're saying this "world inside the TV" is a place where people act. Does that make you actors as well?"
"Oh, hey Zen. You alright not having Rei-chan with you?" Junpei changed the subject.
"I protect Rei in the labyrinths, but there's no danger here. And you are looking after her as well." Zen responded matter-of-factly. "I'm sure Rei enjoys your company. She's been with me for a very long time, anyway..."
"Yeah, but she probably wants to hang out with you too, you know?" Minato replied.
"...I don't know..." Zen looked away.
No one really knew what to say to that, but I decided to break the silence by asking if anyone wanted a drink since that was what I had planned to do when I came here in the first place. As much as I wasn't a fan of being the errand-runner, I didn't want to say something to Zen that would make the situation worse.
Yu gathered us all up to head back into the labyrinth and continue past the metal door. When he opened it, there was an FOE waiting for us. It was a yellow baby on a red horse-thing, called God of Romance. The space we had to fight in was narrow, so we had to switch between teams of five to attack it. Once we found its weakness to be ice, everyone that had ice spells attacked it and someone managed to land a poison on it. It didn't take too long after that for it to go down, proving that we really had gotten stronger compared to when we first started this labyrinth.
"Okay! We're done here!" Chie cheered.
"That was some great training." Akihiko seemed happy too. "Well, no time to rest. Let's keep moving."
So, we headed forward, through the other metal door, and moved on. We found a treasure box with a Goodnight Glove in it, then gathered materials from a Power Spot, and activated a shortcut near the stairs before heading down to the next floor.
"We've come pretty far in...I wonder how far this goes." Yukiko said thoughtfully.
"...Rei, are you all right?" Zen asked, making me notice Rei looked uneasy.
"M-Mm-hm." Rei nodded to him meekly.
"Huh? Wait a second! The presence of Shadows just got stronger!" Rise spoke up.
"I'm sensing something powerful further down...We might be approaching the deepest part of this labyrinth. Please be careful, everyone." Fuuka added.
We barely took two steps into the new area beyond the nearest door before getting attacked by Shadows. Specifically, Treasure Hands that we had to try and agility bind to prevent from running away. Their Almighty attacks hit pretty hard, so we headed back to the Nurse's Office to recover from that on top of the other big battle we just had. Yu said he wanted to fuse some Personas for the rest of them and work on some things before we went back, so I decided to go take a nap before we had to head back in.
"A cross-dressing pageant!?" Yukari repeated in shock.
"At a Culture Festival!?" Junpei asked.
"S-Stop! Don't reopen old wounds!" Kanji protested.
"...Yasogami High sure is different." Ken mumbled.
"It sounds like fun, though! They should do it at Gekkoukan High too." Yukari smiled.
"Be careful what you wish for..." Yosuke told her.
"Huh?"
"The one who won...was Teddie." Kanji said.
"Teddie?" Yukari repeated.
"You mean...THAT Teddie!?" Junpei asked.
"Yep...He looked cute like that, which just made me angrier." Yosuke sighed. "He said, "Gimme your hearts!" and the crowd lost it. Everyone voted for him in a landslide. Then he used his status as winner to proclaim the girls' beauty pageant would have a swimsuit competition."
"A swimsuit competition!?" Yukari repeated, eyes wide.
"For real!?" Junpei asked.
"That part was pretty great." Yosuke grinned, but then glanced at me with some disappointment. "Even though some girls ditched when that came up..."
"S-Sorry...?" I apologized uncertainly, looking away with some embarrassment.
"Let's do it! We should have a crossdressing pageant! I'm all about this!" Junpei grinned.
"Wha-Hey!" Yukari protested. "Hmph...Try all you want, but there's no way you can win!"
"Hey, it's cool. I don't have to win. I mean, we've got Akihiko-san on our side, after all."
"Ngh...You just know he'd get tons of votes from all his fangirls...! B-But if we're talking about next year's Culture Festival, he'll have graduated already!"
"Eh, there's always Ken."
"...I'm not a high school student!" Ken protested.
"Technically, neither was Teddie." Yosuke told him.
"Wha...? I-I won't do it!"
"Don't forget about Minato. I think we've got a great field of candidates." Junpei turned to his leader.
"Leave it to me." Minato deadpanned, making it difficult to tell if it was a joke or not.
"Ooh, now that's our leader! If you're game for it, you might actually win the whole thing!"
"Arf! Arf!" Koromaru barked, wagging his tail.
"You wanna do it too, boy? Well, Teddie won, so maybe Koromaru could do...? Nah, I don't know...I'm not sure you could get the votes."
"I-I'm against this! I'm totally against having a crossdressing pageant!" Yukari spoke up, a bit panicky.
"If you guys do hold one, give us a call, okay?" Yosuke said with a smile.
"Yeah! We'll call you in as a guest contestant!" Junpei grinned back.
"Wait, that means we'd have to be in it too!" Kanji protested.
"Make sure the prize is a swimsuit competition! ...Or something even more extreme. Heheheheh..."
"A-Are you stupid or something!? I'm so telling Mitsuru-senpai!" Yukari got angry.
"Hah! She'll be gone by next year's Culture Festival too!"
"...!" Yukari looked taken back and at a loss.
It was kinda fun to watch the exchange, but I still felt bad for forcing the guys in our group to participate in the crossdressing pageant. Well, at least Yosuke didn't seem as mad about it anymore. Still, I decided to apologize when everyone split up after that.
"Hey, uh, Yosuke...?" I started awkwardly as we stood near a vending machine.
"What's up?" He responded, not looking away from the machine as he seemed to be deciding what to get.
"Sorry for entering you in that crossdressing pageant...It was kinda going too far..."
"Huh...?" He looked at me, apparently pretty surprised, but then looked away from me and seemed to be blushing a bit. "N-No, it's fine. You at least tried to make me pretty for it, right? Haha..."
"That's not really the point...I was just mad you entered us into the beauty pageant without checking to make sure we could back out first. G-Going up on stage was really embarrassing for me...But a crossdressing pageant is totally different than a beauty pageant, so I'm sorry we did that to you guys."
"Yeah...Well, it wasn't all bad." Yosuke dismissed my apology quickly, hitting a button on the vending machine and crouching to retrieve his drink.
"...I'm sorry I chickened out on the s-swimsuit competition, too." I added, looking away with embarrassment when he seemed to freeze up. "B-But, I mean, I didn't have a suitable t-shirt or anything and I can't show my tattoo off like that, a-and wouldn't that have been more of a letdown if I showed up with a t-shirt o-over top of the swimsuit anyway...?" I winced at the way my voice shook, but I could hear the shifting of his clothing as he slowly stood up while I kept my eyes on the snack machine I was standing next to.
"...Sorry. I kinda knew you wouldn't show up for it anyway, s-so I don't know what you're apologizing about that for." He said it in a light, slightly joking way, but he sounded a little flustered.
"I...I don't know...For disappointing you...?" I guessed, tilting my head and then shaking it with a sigh as I forced myself to look at him and smile despite my nerves. "Never mind. Maybe, uh, I'll get the courage and the okay to wear a swimsuit properly next time we go to the beach or something...?"
"Y-Yeah..." He seemed to not know what to do other than agree.
We fell into an awkward silence, unable to look each other in the eye, until I decided to say a hasty goodbye and run away to the movie room. I couldn't really concentrate on the movie, though. It kind of bothered me, but...It felt like we couldn't really talk normally when it was just the two of us. I'd been getting that feeling a lot recently, but I wondered if it was because I hadn't really hid my feelings well yet hadn't outright confessed to him, or because of something else. Maybe...When I panicked and didn't let him say what he was going to say in the Nurse's Office that time...Did it hurt him? No, I shouldn't worry about it so much. Like I said then, we can sort it all out when everything's over.
We headed back into the labyrinth and walked around, found a Power Spot, fought a strong Shadow, found another Power Spot, and went through a couple doors to a room with two rotating FOEs in it that we managed to get around to go through another door.
"Whew...This group date business is harder than I anticipated." Mitsuru looked a bit tired.
"This definitely ain't a group date, though..." Kanji pointed out.
"Huh? It's not!? You search for your destined partner, right?" Rei asked in confusion.
"Men and women herded together hunt each other's hearts in an ordeal of love...That's a true group date!" Teddie said dramatically.
"Men and women herded together gulp each other's tarts in a roast turkey a la crate!?" Rei twisted it to be about food again. "I want to do a real group date!"
"...I see." Zen said, then pointed his crossbow at Teddie. "Then let's begin. Those participating must line up."
"There's no need for that." Mitsuru told him and he lowered his weapon. "This is a Shadow's lair. Holding something so involved as a...group date...here is out of the question."
"Group dates take that much effort...?" Ken asked.
"Wha...?"
"No? It's just guys and girls chatting with each other." Yosuke answered, shrugging, then grimaced a little. "Though depending on how things go, it can head south fast and turn into an ugly mess."
"You're talkin' about you guys' "Group Date Cafe"..." Kanji said.
"S-So that's what they're like." Mitsuru said, seeming to be pretty clueless on the subject.
"...I didn't think there were things even you didn't know about, Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari commented. "Then again, I'd be shocked if you did know a lot about group dating..."
"...Let's do this." Mitsuru looked determined all of a sudden.
"Senpai...?" Yukari was surprised.
"The group date thing! Let's do this!" She was so serious.
"Eh?" Junpei looked surprised too. "She might actually be more easily riled up than Akihiko-senpai..."
"Yaaaaaaay! I wanna do a real group date too!" Teddie cheered. "I didn't get to be in the one Yosuke and everyone did! I'm making my raging entrance now! Time to line up, Gekkoukan girls!"
"Wha-Hey, for real!?" Yukari asked.
"Bring it on!" Mitsuru responded.
"Group Date, hoooo!" Rei cheered.
"Are we seriously doing this here...?" I muttered.
We ended up being coerced into helping move some tables near the walls into the centre of the room and then standing back to watch as Mitsuru, Yukari, Aigis, and Rei sat on one side of the tables and Yu, Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie sat across from them. The rest of us were technically on guard duty against any Shadows that might show up, but admittedly, we were all probably more interested in watching the scene. Though, I'm not sure if I was the only one that could actually hear them or not.
"Heeheehee...I sense that my amorous adventure is about to begin!" Teddie looked happy.
"This again...?" Kanji didn't look thrilled.
"Don't say it like that! At least call it round two, or something!" Yosuke protested.
"So this is the storied group date." Aigis said.
"Geez...Why do I have to take part in a group date with Junpei and Shadows around...?" Yukari wasn't very happy either.
"So? So? So?" Rei looked excited, though.
"So...what do we do?" Mitsuru asked.
"Well...when we did it at the Culture Festival, we started by asking some questions..." Yosuke answered. "...Everything after that is a hazy blur. It's...too painful to remember."
"We totally bit it..." Kanji added, grimacing with him.
"I see...We must brace ourselves, then." Mitsuru nodded seriously.
"I practiced every single day to prepare for an actual group date! Sooo, ta-daaaah! Pen and paper!" Teddie said, pulling out a pen and paper from somewhere in his costume.
"Pen and paper...? Are we going to write letters with these?" Mitsuru asked.
"Non non non! We're gonna play a question game! The rules are that each person writes down one question and then puts the paper in a box. Once everyone's questions are in, everyone draws a paper from the box and answers the question on it. See? Simple, right?"
"You even have a box ready? Can't you put some of that passion into your job...?" Yosuke asked in disbelief.
All of them wrote down their questions and put them into the box.
"Alright, they're all in. I guess we'll draw randomly from the box." Yosuke said.
"Here you go, Yuka-chan!" Rei held out the box to Yukari.
"Yuka-chan...Th-That's kinda cute." Yukari blushed and put her hand in the box to draw. "Hrgh...Please don't let me draw a weird one...Let's see...It says..."Who would you choose for your boyfriend amongst us?"" Yukari read from the paper.
"Whoa, right to the point already!?" Yosuke looked surprised.
"Yeah, seriously...I don't even know much about everyone yet." Yukari looked down.
"I'd definitely be the top choice! Not only am I adorable and huggable, I'm a pretty boy underneath!" Teddie said.
"Yeah, definitely not you." Yukari replied flatly.
"Wha-!?"
"Hmm...Well..." Yukari looked at each of the guys. "Kanji-kun..."
"Huh!? M-Me!?" Kanji was shocked.
"...isn't even up for debate." Yukari finished.
"Debate...?"
"After that, Yosuke-kun..."
"Whoa, m-me next!?" Yosuke asked while Yukari briefly made eye contact with me.
I was a bit confused as to why she looked my way, so I tilted my head at her and she looked back to Yosuke and finished. "...doesn't seem right either."
"...Thought so. Yeah, I saw that coming...Ahaha..." Yosuke gave a self-mocking smile and rubbed the back of his head.
"I guess if it had to be from this group, it would be Yu-kun. He seems nice and calm." Yukari finished her answer.
"Yes...He seems trusted by his companions. A promising choice." Mitsuru agreed.
"B-But only if I have to pick from this group, okay?" Yukari seemed to get flustered as she said that, then handed the box off. "Here, you're next, Rei-chan!"
"Okay! I'm gonna draw one with all my might!" Rei stuck her hand in the box and pulled it out pretty quickly. "Got one! Um..."What's your type?" That's all it says!"
"That's a pretty normal question. Though I bet I can already guess what Rei-chan's gonna say." Yosuke crossed his arms.
"I like tongue and ribs if it's beef, loin if it's pork, and wings if it's chicken!" Rei grinned.
"What kind of Chie-nese is that!? Those are just types of meat!"
"Liver is yucky." Rei added with a grimace and I held back a laugh of disbelief. So there was some kind of food she didn't like.
"Oh, you're different from Chie-senpai there." Kanji commented.
"I believe "your type" pertains to the type of person you are drawn to in the opposite sex." Aigis told Rei.
"Wh-Whaaat!? M-My type...? Um, umm...Well..." Rei got flustered and began shooting short glances in Zen's direction.
"It's Zen, right?" Kanji guessed, startling her.
"Wah!?"
"Kanji-kun, have you ever heard of a thing called "tact"?" Yukari asked him with a sigh.
"Tacks?" Kanji asked.
"Huh?" Yukari looked annoyed.
"Uh, never mind..."
"I-I don't know how to answer what type of person I like...I mean, I like Zen, but..." Rei was still panicking. "Like...? Um, um...Aaaaaaah!"
"Please calm down. We all completely understand, so there is no need to correct yourself." Aigis consoled her while I tried not to look too amused.
"Hrgh...I-It's your turn next, Yu-kun! Here!" Rei handed the box over to Yu.
"It says, "What kind of cosplay do you like?"" Yu read off the paper he drew.
"Ooh, you drew that one? Man, that's every guy's fantasy, huh?" Yosuke smirked.
"So you wrote that..." Kanji said.
"Clothes aren't necessary." Yu deadpanned, as per usual, but I thought he sounded a little different from his normal tone, so it was probably a joke. Oh, was I finally starting to pick up the subtleties of his voice now...?
"What!? Whoa, hey, that's..." Yukari looked alarmed.
"So, rather than one's appearance, the inner self is more important...You have an interesting point." Mitsuru took it better.
"Ohhhh...That's how you meant it. I had thought..." Yukari blushed.
"Well then, I will cast off my bear skin and bear all to you, Mitchan!" Teddie said dramatically.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep it all in." Yosuke told him before moving on. "Okay, you're next, Kanji."
"Huh? Me?" Kanji went to draw from the box. "Let's see here..."Who would you want to smooch...?" WHAT!?"
"Nooo...I can't believe Kanji got that one..." Teddie whined, then gasped. "You're...not gonna say me, are you!?"
"Wh-Who the hell would say that!?" Kanji got mad, though he looked really embarrassed too. "I mean, this smoochin' stuff...I-I ain't sayin' nothing'!"
"Yeah, talking about kisses might be a little too early for Kanji now." Yosuke said with a teasing smile.
"Wha...!? Like you're one to talk! Look me in the eye and tell me you got some experience there!"
"Sh-Shuddup! It's none of your business!" Yosuke blushed and got defensive. "It didn't count! I wanted my first one to be like...at a nice park where you can see the ocean. It'd start, "Aren't you cold?" And then I'd go like, "Here, come closer..." and stuff. Y-You get the idea! I didn't want it to be at some shrine and she comes at me because she's like, freaking out...! And then she doesn't even remember it happened after! So it doesn't count! ...Right? ...Right!?" He turned to Yu.
"I thought it was a just a little while ago...?" Yu looked somewhat confused.
"...Aaaah! I didn't say anything! Forget I said anything!" Yosuke began to panic, as if just realizing he made a huge mistake and suddenly looked toward me. "H-Hey! Kyoka, you weren't listening, right!?"
I tilted my head at him, utterly confused by what he was talking to me for all of a sudden. Yosuke kissed someone before that fall...? At a shrine...? And the girl started it because she was freaking out...? And she forgot it...Wait. The school trip...Does he mean...!?
"Uggghhh...!" Yosuke slumped back in his chair, so I must've had some kind of look on my face giving away my internal panicking. "Great...Of course she was listening! It's so quiet in here she can't help it...!"
"Hey...Don't you think that's enough of this?" Yukari spoke up.
"Oh, right...I guess we'll call it a wrap..." Yosuke sighed.
"This was so much fun!" Rei cheered.
"I'm glad to hear that..." Yosuke muttered, seeming miserable.
"This didn't turn out any better than last time..." Kanji muttered, scratching his head.
"Don't mention it..."
The group date ended pretty awkwardly, and everyone got ready to move on, but I couldn't move from where I was standing, my eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
"Kyoka...? Hey, Kyoka, are you feeling okay?" Chie asked with concern, waving a hand in front of my face.
"N...yx..." I involuntarily said a name that popped up in my head.
"Huh? Nyx...? What's that?" Yukiko asked me in confusion.
"Ah...I forgot..." I mumbled, wincing as a painful throbbing in the back of my head accompanied some memories that I had likely been repressed to protect myself. I pressed a hand to my head and shook it off. The voice wasn't talking to me anymore, I couldn't even remember exactly what they had been saying, but Yosuke was the one who made my mind stop then. And I was desperate to make my mind go blank that night...
"Kyoka...?" Yu was standing next to the girls now, all three looking concerned about me.
I forced a smile and tried not to let my voice shake as I said, "I-I'm fine. We should go."
"...Did something happen?" I heard Chie wondering, but she had probably said it to Yu, since there was no verbal reply, so he probably shrugged it off or shook his head.
I was shaken by those memories resurfacing, but fighting Shadows and mindlessly following Yu as he led us through the labyrinth kept me from getting too caught up in my panic over forgetting something like that. The fact I could transform and avoid actually talking to anyone and giving away how embarrassed and guilty I felt helped me calm down, too. I only really started paying attention to what was going on outside of fighting Shadows when we came to another Selection Room.
"Hello in the depths of the depths. The preparations for the finale are complete. Proceed with sweaty palms!" The mechanical voice spoke again.
"Preparations...Finale...Sugar plums!" Rei said.
"...What?" Zen even looked confused this time.
"He said we'd have sweety plums!"
"...I see."
"I want mine with extra honey!"
"Here comes the very sweaty question number eight." The mechanical voice said. "What kind of older lady do you like?"
"One who's actually an older man." Yu answered.
I didn't notice anyone's responses to that strange answer though, because I got distracted by the faint sound of rattling and noticed I was biting down on my naginata so hard it was shaking. I had to force myself to relax a little, but it was difficult when I still felt horrible and conflicted about what I should do. Not to mention the voices I heard back then...What was up with that...? Who's Nyx and what were those other voices? And that one...Why did it feel like I should know it...?
We headed through the door, gathered at a Power Spot, fought some Shadows, and then came to another dead end.
"Dead end over here...Dead end over there...I don't feel like we're making much progress..." Junpei sighed. "I can't wait to get back and see Chidorita..."
"What kind of defeatist talk is that? I feel like someone's rubbing my nerves with bare hands." Yosuke got annoyed.
"Don't listen to him. Just keep going." Akihiko replied.
"Aww, you two are so mean." Junpei said, then changed the subject. "Hey, how've things been with you, Akihiko-san? Still brushing off those fans chasing you around?"
"Huh!? Akihiko-san, you have fans chasing you!?" Yosuke asked in surprise.
"They just follow me around. To be honest, they're nothing but a thorn in my side." Akihiko crossed his arms.
"...I feel like someone worked over my nerves with brass knuckles on..." Yosuke muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"If I don't give them attention, they start whining, saying they want to see me at least once a week. Don't they know how bad that wasted time is for my build? I'll get weak if I'm bogged down dealing with them." Akihiko continued and, if I were in my human form, I would've had to snicker at least a little at how uninterested he was in girls. He then looked to Yu. "...Don't you think?"
"You haven't met the one." Yu replied simply with a bit of a shrug.
"I-Is that it? Hmm...I wouldn't mind going out with someone if she could keep up with my training..." Akihiko said thoughtfully.
"Uhh, I doubt you're gonna find any girl like that...There are hardly any GUYS like that." Junpei pointed out.
"Well, either way...I don't have time to spend on things like love. Let's hurry on." Akihiko dismissed and walked ahead with Junpei.
"...I think my heart just took the kind of damage you can't cure at the Nurse's Office..." Yosuke muttered as I stood up to walk after them.
"Can't Kyoka cure it?" Yu responded bluntly and I nearly dropped my weapon on the floor in shock that he would say that.
"Wha-!? H-Hey! Don't just say something like that! Sh-She might hear you, you know!" Yosuke sounded flustered as well, but I didn't dare look back to see what kind of face he was making, instead deciding to continue walking on like I hadn't heard that.
I tried to occupy myself with something else, so I ended up thinking about what kind of girl would meet Akihiko's standards. Then, I sort of found myself wondering if maybe Chie could keep up with him. I had trouble keeping up with her, but I don't know if she was on the same level as Akihiko...I'm also at least somewhat suspicious she still liked Yu even if he hadn't shown too much interest in any of the girls, so that line of thinking was really just out of curiosity. However, I think Chie's a little bit less of a fitness buff and maybe not really compatible with Akihiko. In fact, I wondered if there really was any girl that would catch his attention equally if not more so than his fitness thing...? Well, whatever. I really shouldn't think too much about people's love lives when I'm kinda close to them...It might make things really awkward.
After fighting some more Shadows, going through a couple doors, around some FOEs, and by a Power Spot, we then found another dead end.
"Tch...We've been going back and forth..." Akihiko grumbled.
"Is there really a way out of here? It's always possible that there isn't one..." Ken said.
"D-Don't worry! I'm sure there's an exit somewhere! Let's stay positive and keep going!" Rise chimed in to cheer them up.
"Rise-san's probably right. Let's keep trying a little longer." Minato agreed.
"Y-You're right." Ken nodded.
"S-Sorry about that. I guess our pessimism was showing..." Akihiko said.
"Don't worry about it! Let's get fired up and keep plugging away!" Rise replied and the two began walking again.
"Thanks, Rise-san. You're pretty good at cheering people up." Minato said.
"F-Flattering me won't get you anywhere, g-got it!?" Rise seemed a bit flustered by him, then added, "...Oh, and make sure you don't push yourself either, Senpai! Let's take a break together when you get back!"
Minato chuckled a bit and turned to Yu. "She must really like you."
"But Senpai...You never keep your promises to me..." Rise said and started crying. "I get sad too, you know..."
"R-Rise-chan!?" Fuuka seemed surprised and concerned. "U-Um! Rise-chan's crying...!"
Yu didn't say or do anything.
"C'mon, say SOMETHING. I can't keep up both sides of the conversation myself, you know!" Rise recovered quickly.
"Th-Those were fake tears!?" Fuuka seemed surprised.
"Well, so much for that! I'll cry for real next time, though!"
"I'll try to find time for you. Sorry." Yu answered with a shrug, though he didn't seem very interested or apologetic. Maybe he really didn't like Rise's advances...?
"Th-Those were fake tears...? Rise-chan's amazing..." Fuuka seemed astonished by her.
"You dealt with that fierce front like it was nothing...I'm actually more scared of you than of her." Junpei muttered.
"Hm? Did something happen just now?" Minato seemed clueless.
"You need to work on your normal-people senses..."
"Let's just keep going." Yu said to them, so we backtracked and continued exploring.
We headed through a couple more doors, fought more Shadows, and got around some more FOEs to get through a few shortcuts and then around some more FOEs so we could get to yet another dead end. I decided to turn back to human form and stretch a bit while walking with the girls by that point.
"It's so pink in this labyrinth that it's putting me off my game..." Yukari said.
"Me too." I grimaced at the mention of it.
"That reminds me, you live in a dorm, right? How did you decorate your room? Is it like your cardigan?" Yukiko asked Yukari.
"Ooh, I wanna know too! Tell me!" Chie looked excited by the topic too.
"U-Umm...It's nothing much..." Yukari answered a bit nervously.
"Heeeey, girls?" Yosuke called, but I was the only one that even glanced in his direction, but I looked away quickly. "Ah, it's no use. They're not listening at all."
"Then now's the perfect time for some guy talk, too!" Junpei seemed happy.
"I guess, if you don't mind Kyoka listening in..." Yosuke muttered.
"Huh?"
"Guy talk...?" Yu asked, seeming curious.
"Is this going to be you talking just to hear yourself talk again?" Minato asked.
"Nah, I'm always serious about everything! I feel like we're missing a team name for our whole group." Junpei said.
"A team name, huh...?" Ken repeated.
"Yep. One for the combined forces of Team Gekkou and Team Yaso. The one thing no self-respecting team can be without...a name!"
"...Do we need one?" Yu muttered.
"You sure love that corny stuff, Junpei." Minato sighed.
"I-I don't think it's a bad idea!" Ken spoke up. "I mean, adding words like "Ranger" or "Squadron" would make it feel more like we're fighting for justice...Oh, um, I mean, that's what most people think! I just happened to remember my friend saying that!"
"Hmm, seems a little too hipster. I like the old, kinda lame-sounding words like "Super" and "Neo" more." Junpei replied.
"Oh! What about "Junes"? We could be the "Super Junes Rangers"!" Yosuke suggested and I resisted rolling my eyes and snorting at that.
"Uh, no." Junpei replied flatly.
"Yosuke-san! You've gotta take this more seriously!" Ken sounded annoyed.
"S-Sorry..."
"Ultra Persona Squadron." Yu chimed in with his own ridiculous name.
"Ultra Persona Squadron!?" Ken repeated in surprise.
"Partner...I think we need to have a talk about your taste in these things." Yosuke didn't seem satisfied.
"I-I don't hate it at all! I think it's a wonderful name!" Ken seemed happy, though.
"Huh...Okay, let's go with that." Junpei said.
"Hey, Kyoka, stop spacing out." Chie snapped me out of my eavesdropping as it seemed the girls had finished talking about decor. "Heeey, dudes! Time to get going!" She then called to the guys.
"C'mon, don't call us over in such a boring way." Junpei told her as they came over to where we were. "Do you have a mission for the Ultra Persona Squadron!?"
"...What's that?" Chie asked in confusion as I started snickering.
"Lame. It doesn't even make any sense." Yukari didn't seem to like it.
"Do you know what the word "taste" means...?" Yukiko asked and Junpei looked surprised.
"Oh, c'mon, you guys. I like it. It sounds cool." I piped up.
"Yeah, that's real convincing when you're cracking up." Yosuke pointed out my poorly concealed snickering.
"Hey, I laugh because I like it." I defended, though I was grinning.
We then returned to our investigation. Though, without something else to occupy my mind, I ultimately reverted to staying in my Shadow form in my attempts to keep my painful sense of conflict off my face. Should I apologize to Yosuke for that night? How do I apologize for something like that though? It's so...Ugh. I don't even know what's wrong with me. I was half crazy at the time and desperate, but I really shouldn't've done that. Why did I have to do that...!?
We came to the next Selection Room eventually.
"You have passed over hills and mountains, driving away countless rivals and demons to reach this place. A sigh of relief falls from your mouths." The mechanical voice said.
"Well, I'm not sighing with relief, but it was a long journey, that's for sure." Minato commented.
"It looks like this is finally it. This thing has taken far too long." Yu responded.
"Though the questions go on, you are confident in your ability to handle them." The mechanical voice continued.
"Oh...So there's more?" Minato hung his head, then looked to Yu. "We're definitely pretty far in, though, so let's be extra careful. I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into that guardian soon."
Yu nodded.
"Now then, here is question number nine." The mechanical voice said. "What you look for in a woman is..."
"Something else..." Yu responded after looking over the answers he was given.
I didn't hear anyone's reply to that, though, since I had only been half-listening to the exchange to begin with and began tuning out once the answer had been given. It wasn't that my own issues were more important, it was more like they were impossible to keep from more or less taking over my mind at the moment. Not only that, I was bothered by the thought that it was possible that I couldn't remember other things too. I wasn't sure if I should ask or not, though. I didn't think I was forgetting anything else, but if I forgot something like that...
"Kyoka, are you coming?" Yukiko called as the others had already started walking through the now open doors and I jolted a bit before nodding slightly and following them.
We explored the area on the other side of the door a little before Yu decided we should head back to heal and resupply since we found a shortcut to an area near the stairs. After our trip to the Nurse's Office, we all split up and I found myself pacing around the hallways and biting my lip as I tried to figure out what to do. Or rather, what to say. I mean, I had to say something, right? I needed to apologize, at least. Just...Gods I wish I was better with words.
"Dammit..." I hissed under my breath as I tried to gather my nerve and just go find Yosuke to say something, but felt like my throat was dry and made a detour to some vending machines to get some chocolate milk. I ended up leaning my forehead against the machine and holding my fists against it as I felt sick with guilt all over again just thinking about it. I had to do something...He probably felt worse about it, right...?
"Kyoka?" The familiar voice made me jolt and freeze up as I just barely peeked to confirm that it was Yosuke standing next to me, looking a bit worried but hesitant. "Hey, you feeling okay? Should I go get Elizabeth?"
"N-No!" I stood up straight and turned to him to begin frantically waving my hands and shaking my head. "I-I mean, I'm fine. I just...um..." I trailed off, struggling for the words to say and finding myself unable to look at him directly as my eyes settled on a table off to the side of where we were standing. "I...ugh...I, um..."
"...I-Is there something you want to say...?" He seemed concerned, but confused when I glanced at his face.
I nodded a bit, but then sighed as I couldn't think of what to say. I reverted to an old habit from childhood when I got frustrated and began hitting a fist into the front of my thigh. "Arrrgh...! Why can't I do it...!?"
"Wh-What? H-Hey, calm down! Why are you hitting yourself?" He looked alarmed as he grabbed my wrist to stop me from hitting my leg.
"Because I can't think of a good way to apologize! What am I supposed to say?! "Sorry for shoving my tongue down your throat when I was being driven crazy"!? I can't say that! It's way too...!" I stopped short, my eyes widening as I looked at his surprised expression and realized I'd actually said that aloud.
"Well, you just did..." He muttered while looking off to the side, face beginning to turn red as I felt my own cheeks beginning to burn as he let go of my wrist and my hand fell limply to my side in the silence that followed.
"...I am so sorry. S-Seriously, deeply sorry." I took a step back to bow to him, probably more deeply than I've ever really bowed to anyone before. "A-And I'm even more sorry I didn't remember until now. Gods, I feel like an ass..."
"H-Hey, it's okay! I-I was the one who s-started it anyway..." Yosuke seemed to panic a bit and motioned for me to stop bowing. I slowly stood up straight and looked at him for a second before I remembered that he had kissed me before I did that.
"Ah...S-Still, I shouldn't've...Um..." I began, feeling more flustered than I could ever remember feeling. "Geez, this is really hard to talk about...I feel awful about the whole thing. You wanted your first kiss to be more romantic, right? And then I was...Ugh...I'm really sorry. I don't know how to make it up to you..." I put my face in my hands, feeling like I might start crying from guilt.
"Y-You could go on a date with me." His tone sounded nervous and a little joking, but I looked at him and nodded.
"Okay."
"S-Seriously!?" He looked surprised for some reason, so I tilted my head at him. "I-I was just joking! S-Sort of, anyway..." He looked away and rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't think you would..."
"Ah, I think it's gotten to the point that putting off doing this until the case is solved is kinda..." I muttered a bit awkwardly, but then smiled at him despite how nervous I was or the fact my eyes were watering. "I like you, Yosuke."
He stared at me a second before jolting back in shock. "...Wh-Whoa, wait! Y-You're serious!?"
"Yukari-san said it was obvious, but...I think I should say it now, since I remembered that that happened..." I looked away sheepishly. "Um...So, anyway, since I like you, I want to make it up to you for what I did. S-So if you want to go on a d-date, then..."
"Th-That's..." He started, seeming a bit awkward, then sighed and nodded a bit, giving me a sheepish smile. "Y-Yeah. Let's go on a date, then we'll call it even."
"That...Isn't too little? I-I mean, first kisses are really important..." I responded uncertainly, feeling bad that I was kind of happy with the arrangement. Making it up to someone shouldn't make you happy yourself, right?
"W-Well, then...C-Can I see you dance?" He seemed hesitant to ask it, but when he did I nearly gawked at him and felt my face begin to burn all over again.
"D-Dance...? Y-You want to see me dance...!?"
"Y-Yeah...Is that too much?"
"N-No. I mean, I should make it up to you properly, so..." I began, although I felt the anxiety of dancing for anyone but my teacher beginning to swell up at even the thought. "I-I guess I'll have to ask Kanji-kun for a favour then..."
"Huh? What does Kanji have to do with you dancing?"
"I-I need a proper costume for it, right?" I responded quickly, feeling like I might never stop blushing at this rate. "A-And I guess...I'll just work something out with the music club's performance stuff...S-So it might take a while...And also...C-Can I wear a mask while I do it? I-I know it doesn't matter if you know who I am but there's still the NPCs and all and I just...W-Well, I'd just feel like I could actually maybe, kind of do it behind a mask..."
"...You're really putting a lot of thought into this, huh?" He was smiling at me with a softness to his expression I didn't see much, mixed with something I couldn't quite place before he grinned more like normal. "I guess it'll be worth the wait, then. Not like there's a whole lot to do here after a while anyway, so I'll be looking forward to it."
"I-I'm an amateur, but I'll do my best..." I responded, still feeling uncertain and anxious, but acknowledging that doing something that makes me uncomfortable to make him happy was more akin to what I believed would be needed to pay him back for my actions, involuntary or not. "I want to make it up to you for kissing you and then forgetting. It was a really horrible thing to do..."
"N-Nah, it's okay." He looked flustered again all of a sudden. "I-I actually...Didn't think it was that bad..."
"...That makes me feel worse."
"Wha-"
"I still forgot."
"Oh...Yeah, that's probably the part that sucked the most..." He muttered, looking away. "Especially since...I couldn't ask you if it actually meant anything or not..."
"I'm not entirely sure of what I was thinking at the time, it's kinda still foggy to me even though I remembered, but...If it wasn't you, I don't think I would've done it..." I answered quietly as I hit the button on the vending machine and went to retrieve my milk.
"S-So you really..." He still seemed surprised, like he couldn't believe that I would actually like him. "Man, what exactly did I do...?"
"I don't know exactly...I just know that I started to really notice that I liked you back when you guys had that study group at Junes and Rise asked if I'd date you..."
"Huh...I guess it was obvious...I just couldn't believe it because you didn't say anything...I thought you were joking or something." He muttered, seeming to grimace a bit.
"I didn't clarify because I didn't want to start anything in the middle of the case, but...I didn't remember what happened at the shrine when I was thinking that...Now, I feel like I should've said something sooner, since you were probably really confused and everything since then..."
"That's true..."
"And also...I didn't want to say anything because you're still grieving for Konishi-senpai, right?" I added and he didn't have to actually give me an answer, since I saw him wince at the mention of her. "I didn't want to push that on you when you still have feelings for someone else, whether that person is still here or not. I intended to wait until at least her cause of death was found, which meant that I would wait until the case was over."
"Kyoka..."
"Besides that, I believe I said something along the lines of, "I'd only go out with you if you actually liked me" before, so..."
"Hey, that's right! You said that, but you agreed to a date pretty easily just now..."
"Because I was the one who acted first now, so I'm already a hypocrite." I shrugged, although my tone was slightly joking.
"Technically, I still acted first..." He shot back, although he was also sort of joking.
"Well, if you don't like me in that way at all, why ask me out on a date?"
"H-Hey, you know I'm perfectly capable of thinking of you that way...!" He protested, but barely finished before I had dissolved into a fit of snickering.
"Yeah, I don't mean sexually, I mean romantically. Different things." I joked, feeling my nerves beginning to melt a bit as the conversation became less serious.
"Wha-That isn't what I meant!" His face began turning red again, which just made me laugh more. "H-Hey, is that all you think I can think about!?"
"N-No...I was joking..." I waved a hand dismissively as I calmed down and smiled at him, feeling relieved, although things still felt a bit awkward and embarrassing around him. "Besides, you didn't say, "Let's go out", you said, "Let's go on a date", like it's a one-time thing. So whether you actually like me or not, it doesn't really matter if it's just one date, right?"
"...You're okay with that?" He asked, seeming a bit taken back as I sipped my milk.
I nodded and smiled at him. "I'm okay with it just being once, if that's what you want. Because this time...I'm making it up to you. But later, I might confess to you properly. Then, I want you to seriously think about going out with me, alright?"
"Y-Yeah..." He nodded and seemed serious.
We fell into a silence after that, neither of us seeming to have anything more to say, or else not being able to think of anything at the moment, and after a few minutes, I decided to leave, telling him I'd be going to make some preparations for that dance he wanted me to do for him. I felt really nervous about the whole thing, just thinking about the kind of stuff I'd have to do to prepare for a performance made me feel sick and overwhelmed, but I swallowed the feeling and resolved to do it anyway. You know, I probably didn't ever really believe in that whole, "You can do a lot more than you think if it's for someone you like" thing, but I had to wonder if this was because I was doing it for Yosuke or because I had a strong desire to make amends for my mistakes. Either way, I don't think I would've been this motivated to do something that made me so anxious before I got stuck in the TV world and met everyone.