Yukiko looks at her reflection in the mirror as she combs her long hair. She rarely has free time, so she's making the best of it by tending to the one aspect that she likes about herself…or rather, that Chie likes. In truth, Yukiko likes Chie's hair better than her own. At least Chie's hair has a nice color. Hers is just pitch black…
"But Chie said she likes my hair…" Yukiko smiles faintly.
PI PI PI PI PI PI PI!
Yukiko stops combing her hair and reaches into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. She's just received a text message. From whom, she doesn't know…and some part of herself tells her to leave it be.
"Should I…?" She bites her lip and flips open her cell phone. Her first thought upon reading the text message is that she should have listened to that part of herself that told her to ignore it. Frustrated, she closes her cell phone and tries her best to ignore what had just happened.
Though, no matter how hard she tries, she just can't forget about the text. By now, the message has been burned into her memory…and she hates it.
PI PI PI PI PI PI PI!
Yukiko receives another text message, but she ignores it this time. She isn't falling for it again…
PI PI PI PI PI PI PI!
She tightens her grasp on her comb. She couldn't care less about the teeth that dig into the palm of her hand. The pain from it is nothing compared to what she feels every time she reads or hears those words aimed at her. Those words that never want to leave her alone, no matter how hard she tries to get away from it.
Seven days…
…
…
Some time passes since Yu and Yosuke brought Chie out of the TV World. It's just their luck that, moments after leaving the TV World, Hansuke would be looking around for his son and his friend to cover the shifts of two part-time employees who failed to show up. It is for that reason that Yu and Yosuke are wearing their work clothes at the Junes food court.
The incident that Yosuke had caused in the food court had actually attracted more customers that were curious to see if any damage had been done. For that exact reason, the food court is packed with many customers. During this time, Yosuke has been giving out suggestions pertaining to what is sold at the food court. Yu is left in charge of distributing balloons to the children and keeping them busy while their parents are occupied with other things.
The amount of parents willing to leave their children with a complete stranger who hasn't even been in Inaba for a full seven days stuns Yu.
"Are parents that neglectful of their children?" is a thought that pops up in Yu's mind as she is pulled from left to right by the children.
For Yosuke, it's an amusing sight to see his Partner surrounded by children. It almost makes up for the fact that customers keep probing him for information about the incident that had occurred earlier because of him.
"It was just a misunderstanding!" or "They were fakes!" are phrases that Yosuke can't help but repeat. There is even a time he has to debunk a rumor that had nothing to do with the incident, but rather something completely different involving biker gangs. Of course, Yu did most of the work debunking that rumor. Though, Yosuke can't help but worry about the tone and word choice Yu had when it came to doing that. Yosuke can only hope that nothing bad comes out of that scenario…
As for what happened to Chie, Hansuke had taken care of her by taking her to the Junes employee nap room. The main reason why Yu and Yosuke had brought Chie out of the TV World was because of how exhausted she had become after confronting her Shadow. She literally couldn't take another step without collapsing.
The explanation Hansuke had received as to why Chie had been so exhausted was because she had been searching everywhere for her friend, Yukiko, whom had gone missing as of recently. Hansuke accepted the explanation without question. From there, Yu and Yosuke had one less thing to worry about.
Hours later, the amount of customers starts to decrease, much to the relief of Yosuke and especially Yu. Yu has been tugged just about every direction by the children. She is amazed how polite she has been to the parents that came to pick up their children.
Yu is ignoring the urge to pull off the little boy that has decided to latch onto her back. The boy looks around Nanako's age and seems to be around her height as well, give or take an inch. He's the last child she's watching over and he's currently pulling at her face. Needless to say, Yu isn't quite amused.
"You look busy…" Yosuke says with a smile as he walks by Yu.
"Hmm…" Yu would make a face, but it's currently occupied.
"Yuu-kun!" a voice calls out.
Almost at once, the little boy stops pulling at Yu's face as a young woman approaches Yu. The young woman had wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She's wearing a brownish purple peacock coat over a pink dress with dark pink slippers.
"Yuu-kun, I've been looking everywhere for you!" The young woman clasps her hands together in an almost timid manner. "You could have at least told me where you were going…"
It takes Yu a few seconds to realize the young woman has been talking to the little boy latched onto her back. By now, the little boy is no longer latching onto Yu's back and, instead, has taken to hiding behind her.
The young woman looks nervously at Yu. "I hope my son hasn't caused you any trouble…"
"Oh, he hasn't…" Yu decides to ease the young woman's nerves by leaving out the fact that her son has been pulling at her face. The young woman looks worried enough as is.
The young woman sighs and smiles. "Come on, Yuu-kun, let's go home."
"It's Yuuta!" the little boy snaps. "Don't call me Yuu-kun…"
…
…
"So your name's Yuuta?" Yu looks down at Yuuta.
Yuuta nods his head. "Uh-huh…is there something wrong with that?"
Yu smiles. "Not really…it's just that I didn't really get your name earlier. I know it's a little late, but it's nice to meet you. My name is Yu!"
"Oh, so your names are almost the same," the young woman remarks. "How interesting…thank you for watching over Yuuta… Say goodbye to Mister Yu."
Yuuta hesitates at first, but does as he's told before running off. The young woman sighs and follows after her son, but not before saying goodbye to Yu. Once they're out of sight, Yu walks over to the nearest chair and sits down.
"Ugh…I better get a bonus for this…" Yu is exhausted.
"Consider it done."
Yu blinks and turns her head to the side to see Hansuke. "How long have you been there?"
Hansuke chuckles. "Long enough…I just came to bring your friend back…Satonaka, was it?"
Yu nods. "Yeah…"
"Huh, so that's the girl Yosuke keeps talking about…" Hansuke muses as he looks back at Chie, sitting by herself at a table. "So…how close are they?"
"What?" Yu says flatly.
Hansuke crosses his arms. "Are she and Yosuke…you know?"
"What?! NO!" Yosuke had been nearby when he heard his father ask Yu that.
"C'mon, I was just asking…" Hansuke says with an innocent smile. "You always keep going on about how she—"
"Don't say another word!" Yosuke exclaims as he literally gets in between Yu and Hansuke.
"I'm just curious about your love life, whether it exists or not." Hansuke rubs the back of his head.
Yosuke scowls. "Dammit, Dad—shut up! You're embarrassing me!"
Amusing as it is to hear this father and son duo interact with each other, Yu decides to sit somewhere else, preferably, by Chie. Chie looks rather depressed and it hurts Yu to see her looking like that. Just sitting there, looking as if she's been defeated. She almost looks ashamed, even. Though, considering the turn of events, Yu wouldn't blame Chie for being like that. She just wishes that Chie would stop beating herself up.
"You did what you could, Satonaka," Yu says reassuringly as she sits down by Chie. "Worry about yourself for once. You need to rest if you want to save Amagi-san."
"I'm scared…" Chie finally speaks. Her eyes are beginning to glisten with unshed tears. "Yukiko could die the next time it gets foggy and knowing that, my body still gave out on me. I'm so pathetic…I can't stand it!"
"You're not pathetic." Yu says simply.
Chie looks questioningly at Yu. "Huh?"
"Just think about what you've done so far," Yu explains. "You went in by yourself, despite us telling you to stay close. You could have died, you know…but you didn't."
"Sorry about that…" Chie averts her gaze. "It's just…I can't let Yukiko go through all that again by herself. I thought I learned last time, but I guess I haven't…"
Yu sighs. "It's not that you failed to learn from last time—it's more that you and Amagi-san went in the wrong direction. There is a reason your Shadow was…like that."
"Please don't bring that up…" Chie blushes as she recalls her Shadow's peculiar form. "I can't believe I have that inside me…"
An interest in yellow leather and whips.
"Don't worry, this is the last time I'll bring this up." At least, Yu hopes it will be the last time. "But before that, let me clear up that misconception… You are not a closeted dominatrix."
"But that thing was me…" Chie bites her lip.
Yu resists the urge to face palm. "Look, that Shadow was likely a representation of what you were denying—symbolically. Now stop thinking you're a closeted dominatrix bananahead."
…
…
"Come again?" Chie is confused.
"Sorry, but it's just that the mask and the color…" Yu rubs the back of her head. This is getting awkward...
"Not that!" Chie snaps. "What you said before it…"
Yu blinks. "Well, it's only a theory I have, but if I'm correct, there is a reason behind your Shadow's peculiar appearance…"
"And that is…?" Chie looks questioningly at Yu.
"Since that incident you told us about, Amagi-san has become rather dependent on you." Yu crosses her arms. "Your fear of letting her out of your sight has made this dependence grow—to the point where you've…basically become addicted to this dynamic."
Chie makes a face. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, look at your Shadow—look at how controlling she was," Yu continues. "And that reflects just how your friendship with Amagi-san has developed since that incident. Neither of you have actually recovered—it just developed into something that caused more harm than good to both of you. Unless you…change your friendship with Amagi-san, you two will never recover…"
…
…
"I never knew…" Chie holds her head in her hands. "I was just scared—I couldn't let that happen to her again…and yet, look what happened. Yukiko thinks she's worthless… I'm not as strong as she thinks. The truth is that I can't do anything if she's not around… That's what I want to tell her…she needs to know."
"Then you'll tell her that when we save her," Yu says with a smile.
Chie looks at Yu. "Huh?"
"Now that you have a Persona, you can fight with us," Yu explains. "So you can tell her what she needs to know yourself, when we save her. You do want to help, right?"
"Of course I do!" Chie's response is immediate. "So when do we go?"
"It all depends on how you feel after today," Yu replies. "And remember—don't push yourself. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. I promise you, we'll save Amagi-san before it gets foggy—and Satonaka…?"
"Y-Yeah?" Chie looks questioningly at Yu.
Yu smiles. "This is why you're not pathetic."
"Uh…t-thank you, Narukami…" Chie blushes. "Uh…you can call me, 'Chie', if you want…"
Words can not describe how adorable Yu finds Chie as she watches the short-haired girl twiddle her fingers and avert her gaze. "Well, then…you can call me, 'Yu'…Chie."
"You know, there's something different about you…" Chie remarks as she smiles at Yu. "I feel like you won't let me down…"
Yu senses Chie's gratitude to her. She can feel a faint bond forming between her and Chie. Time seems to stop at the very moment Yu realizes that she can hear Chie's heart beating. It's just like that time she and Yosuke shook hands…
Smash!
Yu blinks as a blue card appears before her eyes. The back of the card looks a lot like the one she and Yosuke had, but as soon as it flips over, Yu notices the difference. The image on the card is of a king leading a chariot made up of two differently colored horses. There's a roman numeral on it of the number seven, and Yu's eyes widen as a voice echoes in her mind.
"Thou art I… And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating
Personas of the Chariot Arcana…"
The card disappears into a blue light that enters Yu's chest. She can feel the power inside her heart strengthening from the bond she has officially established with Chie just now. Chie is her second Social Link…her second friend.
Yu smiles. "Friend…I like it."
"Why are you smiling?" Chie arches her brow at Yu.
"It's because of what you said!" Yu laughs. "It was adorable!"
Chie blushes. "W-What?!"
Yu is definitely going to enjoy being friends with Chie. For now, it looks like Yosuke and Hansuke have stopped talking to each other, which means that it's back to work for Yu. Yu just hopes that her shift will be over soon. Today's events in the TV World and her child-filled shift are starting to hit her hard…
But before that, Yu has almost forgotten something. "Hey, Chie…can I have your number?"
"What?" Chie blinks.
"It's for the investigation…I mean, how else will we stay in touch?" Yu pulls out her cell phone.
Chie blinks again and nods. "Oh…right. You'll need this from now on, huh?"
And so Yu and Chie exchange cell numbers. That makes Chie the third person in Yu's contact list… Yu is quite content with her progress.
…
…
Yu, however, is not content with how awkward the tension is between her and Dojima on the car ride back to the Dojima residence. It's made even more awkward when Dojima tries to strike up a conversation with her.
"So you and the Junes boy…you two are pretty close," Dojima remarks. It's a simple enough statement.
"Are you implying something?" A statement that Yu takes the wrong way.
"What? No!" Dojima makes a mental note to word his comments around Yu more carefully from now on. "Just…never mind…"
…
…
"Oh, god, this is too awkward!" Yu can feel the pressure crushing her. She needs to ease the tension…now. "You don't mind if I make ginger pork again for dinner tonight?" Yu hopes to make lunch for herself tomorrow. She might even make Nanako a bento if she has the time, which is most likely the case.
"I really don't mind what you make for dinner," Dojima replies. "And Nanako's happy with whatever you cook. You're a great cook, Yu."
"Thank you," Yu says softly.
…
…
Back at the Dojima residence, Yu, Nanako, and Dojima are having ginger pork for dinner. The three are watching the news on the television.
"That's all for world news tonight. Coming up next, the local news."
"Hmm…" A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Yu's face as Dojima stares at her. He's quiet with a stern expression on his face. His stare is making her feel rather uncomfortable… She tries to ignore it as she eats her dinner.
"Hey…" Dojima finally speaks. "Mind if I ask something?"
Yu swallows hard. "Uh…sure…?"
Dojima arches his brow. "You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you…?"
"Shit, he's on to me…" Yu needs to think of an excuse.
"What happened at the station this afternoon…it's still bothering me…" Dojima notices that Yu looks tense. "Is there…anything you're not telling me?"
"Of course not," Yu is surprised with how calmly she responds. "At least I didn't make myself look any more suspicious…hopefully…"
Dojima stares at Yu for a few seconds before saying, "…I see."
Yu sighs. "Should I be concerned?"
"What? No!" Dojima's eyes widen. "It's just that it's been nagging at me, that's all…Sorry…"
"What's wrong?" Nanako frowns and places her bowl on the table. "Are you fighting…?"
Dojima tenses. He had almost forgotten about Nanako… "No…We're not having a fight…"
Nanako furrows her brows. "This isn't the police station… And Yu—Yu isn't a criminal!"
Yu is actually touched to see her younger cousin actively defending her. "That's all she's been doing…defending me."
Yu has never felt so safe before until now…and she likes the feeling. She actually has someone to make her feel safe…
"Like back then…" Yu bites her lip. She hates the pain that comes when she recalls certain memories of her life.
"See? You're making him feel bad!" Nanako's voice snaps Yu out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Yu blinks, finding it weird that her eyes are suddenly burning.
Nanako frowns. "You're crying."
Upon hearing that, Yu notices how moist her eyes are. "Ah…sorry, I just…this has never happened before…"
At least, not in such a long time…
Yu quickly wipes her eyes. "Sorry…"
"No, I'm sorry—I'm just worried about you." Dojima sighs. "I agreed to look after you. So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you into trouble."
Yu diverts her eyes to the side. "Heh…where were you when I needed this? You're a little too late…"
"Did you get that, Yu?" Dojima arches his brow.
Yu nods her head. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try…"
With that out of the way, Yu, Nanako, and Dojima go back to eating dinner.
"And now, our weather forecast. Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer."
Nanako turns to Dojima. "Is this lady the one who decides the weather?" Nanako's question is innocent, yet a bit confusing for Yu and Dojima. All attention is on her as she waits for someone to answer her question. When she has yet to receive an answer, Nanako decides to explain. "'Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is…"
"Uh, she's not really deciding it…" Dojima smiles awkwardly. When he sees Nanako tilt her head in question, Dojima sighs and shakes his head. "…Never mind."
"Hmm…?" Nanako blinks.
The news continues, heedless of the heavy atmosphere…
…
…
After dinner, Yu had planned on taking a bath, but a phone call asking for her puts that plan on hold. She can only wonder who would be asking for her at this hour. Though, the second she puts the phone to her ear, she instantly wishes she hadn't. In fact, she wishes she wasn't home at this moment.
"It's me, Morooka. I have something that I've prepared just for you."
Yu blanches. "Oh, god, why?"
"I was going to deliver it to your house—"
"Oh god, no…!" Yu cringes in disgust. Just who did she piss off this time?!
"—but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up."
"Okay, that's slightly better…" Yu sighs. "Okay, where are you?"
"Er, where am I? I was getting to that!"
Yu holds the phone away from her ear. Morooka is rather loud… "Goddamn, King Moron, no need to yell…ow…"
"Ahem, I am in front of the gas station at the shopping district. You got that? Now hurry up and come pick it up!"
Morooka hangs up immediately. Yu lets out a shaky breath and hangs up the phone. She's honestly relieved that Morooka didn't call her on her cell phone at this point.
"It could be worse…" Yu refrains from thinking what exactly could be worse. Instead, she turns to her uncle, deciding to break the news to him.
Dojima turns away from an article in the newspaper he's reading to look at Yu. "Who called you just now? Don't tell me you're planning on going out at this hour."
Yu sighs tiredly. "My homeroom teacher needs to see me…why, I don't know. Truth be told, I don't want to go, but I don't want to make him mad."
"Your homeroom teacher wants to see you?" Dojima arches his brow at Yu. "You just transferred here, and you've already done something?"
"Shit, King Moron's probably getting on my case for what I did on my first day…" A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Yu's face. "Though, to be fair, I could've done worse…"
Maybe she should have.
This sort of phone call from her homeroom teacher isn't exactly the first phone call Yu has ever received in all of her years as a student in school. The only reason Dojima isn't aware of that fact was because Yu's mother doesn't know about it herself. Neither of Yu's parents know of the phone calls from school because neither of them were home to hear said phone calls. Of course, Yu was hoping they would hear one of those phone calls at least once…just to get some attention.
"But I guess it's too much to ask for…" Yu's grown used to it. "Sorry…"
Dojima shakes his head. "No…this is you we're talking about. Go."
Yu blinks. "Excuse me?"
"I understand," Dojima replies. "Go take care of business and hurry back home."
Yu blinks again, freshly moistening her eyes. "Ah…thank you."
"Just don't get used to it," Dojima states firmly. "I'd rather not have Adachi getting on your case again…sorry about that."
"I've gotten over it…" Somewhat, Yu adds mentally.
…
…
When Yu finally arrives at Morooka's location, she's surprised to see him talking to a female student who is still wearing her uniform at this hour.
"Is this what he meant about the situation changing?" Yu thinks as she slowly approaches Morooka and the female student. She has no idea what she's getting herself into and judging by the female student's expression, Morooka is on her case. What for, Yu doesn't know.
"But it's not a lie! I really am on the way home from cram school! I can go home by myself! I wasn't trying to stay out and party!" Well, there it is.
Yu's quite hesitant to even say anything to Morooka at this point. Of course, it's now or never and Yu is exhausted. After mustering up enough courage, Yu taps Morooka on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Oh, you're here." Morooka's stare makes Yu feel uncomfortable. "Sooner than I expected! This is the school jersey I got for you! Go on, take it!"
Yu stares blankly at Morooka as he hands her the aforementioned school jersey. It's neatly folded and sealed tightly in plastic. "I came all the way over here for a freaking jersey?"
"Now that you've got it, get the hell out of here!" Morooka barks at Yu before turning his attention back to the female student. "I need to see this girl home! You know the way to your own house, don't you?"
Yu has a deeply unsettling feeling that Morooka would be seeing her home as well if she didn't get going soon. Since she's finished her business with Morooka, she decides to make her way back home…as quickly as she could.
…
…
Moments after Yu re-enters the house and closes the door behind her, Dojima's voice greets her as she makes her way into the kitchen.
"You're home," he remarks. "So, what was it?"
"This." Yu makes a face as she holds out her Yasogami High jersey for Dojima to see.
"Huh?" Dojima is obviously perplexed. "You were given a school jersey? That's it? He could've just given you that at school…"
"You think I don't know that?" Yu tosses her jersey onto the table. Whatever discomfort she had earlier has been replaced with anger and annoyance towards Morooka.
Dojima sighs. "Well, I guess telling you that isn't helping… School's tough enough as it is. With these incidents going on, everyone's on edge…"
"No shit…" Yu mutters under her breath as she makes her way upstairs. "I'm taking a bath…"
…
…
Steam fills the room as hot water pours from the faucet and fills the tub. Yu leans over the back of the toilet to open the small window on the far wall to allow the excess steam to escape. The mirror has already started to fog, leaving Yu to stare at her blurred, shirtless reflection as she waits for the tub to get ready.
Yu's expression dims as she looks at the bandages wrapped around her chest. Yosuke has come so close to discovering Yu's true gender and yet…it hasn't happened. Of course, Yu is androgynous in appearance to begin with, so that doesn't really help. The only thing that Yosuke has noticed about her from the start is how short and slender she is.
"And he just loves pointing it out…" Though, Yu does find Yosuke's concern for her well-being rather touching. It's been a while since anyone had actually paid attention to her in such a manner. Not even the school nurse at her last school showed that much concern. "In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have gotten on her bad side…"
Yu sighs and decides to turn the water off before the tub overflows. The last thing she wants to do is make a mess…
…
…
Yu's eyes flicker shut as she leans back against the tiled wall of the tub, allowing her muscles to relax under the heat of the water. She opens her eyes when she hears quiet bubbling, and glances at Nanako, who sits across from her in the tub. Nanako blows bubbles under the water, something that Yu finds adorable.
"Don't drink the water, okay?" Yu laughs as Nanako glares at her.
"I won't!" Nanako insists. "Geez…"
Yu chuckles. "I'm just teasing you."
Nanako diverts her gaze. "Hmph…"
Yu's smile falters. "What's wrong?"
"When I was washing your back, I saw something…" Nanako replies. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
Yu sighs. She should have known Nanako would have noticed… "It's nothing, really…"
Nanako frowns. "You didn't answer my question. Are you okay or not…? If you're not okay, tell me so I can help."
"Thank you, Nanako…" Yu smiles warmly at her cousin. "But really, I'm fine."
"If you say so…" Nanako's still unconvinced.
Yu runs her hand through her hair. "Say…can you do me a favor?"
Nanako nods. "Sure…"
"Don't tell your father or anyone about what you saw…" Yu looks down at the water.
Nanako smiles. "…Okay! I promise!"
"Thank you…" Yu reaches over and gently ruffles Nanako's hair. "You're cute, you know that?"
"I'm not cute!" Nanako protests, lightly swatting Yu's hand away.
"Say what you want, I still think you're cute," Yu says before sticking her tongue out at Nanako.
Nanako pouts and splashes Yu with some of the bath water. Yu just giggles.
…
…
Dojima isn't particularly surprised to see his nephew and daughter sleeping together when he returns from the station. He's grown used to the sight by now and actually finds it rather adorable. He's tempted to take a picture of the scene.
"If only I can find that damn camera…" Dojima scratches the back of his head. "Where did I leave it…?"
…
…
Sunday, April 17th, 2011
It's been almost a week since I first arrived in Inaba, and so much has happened since that first day. I've made friends and…I got involved in a situation that probably isn't the best of situations to be involved with when your uncle is a detective.
Thankfully, I have Nanako…she's like the little sister I never had. She's actually someone I can confidently consider as family, next to Dojima.
Dojima really surprised me today during dinner. It's just…I never had anyone talk to me that way…at least, not in a while. It still hurts to remember the person who was there for me. I was always afraid of making friends because I never knew how long I was staying around before my parents' job required us to move again. And yet, Senpai was the one who moved away instead of me. Senpai transferred to a different high school and I…
I was left behind.
…
Satonaka Chie of the Chariot Arcana—the first person I have ever called by their given name without any honorifics who isn't Nanako. It's been a while, so it feels weird. That might just be because of what happened in the TV World… That yellow dominatrix bananahead…yeah, no comment.
I hope Amagi-san's doing well. Chie was so worried about her and after hearing about what those two have gone through…It's still hard to believe it happened. Time heals all wounds, but not always. Those two are still hurting from that incident. Chie will never recover without Amagi-san…
Sometimes, I feel jealous of others who have the luxury of having childhood friends. Hanamura and Chie may not be childhood friends, but they're still friends. I hope Amagi-san and I can be friends as well. I mean, we're still just acquaintances at this point.
I can at least say that Hanamura and I are much closer than before. Of course, we're still not on a first-name basis, but hey, I'm not complaining. However, I could complain about how damn nosy people in this town can be. Seriously, biker gangs? Where the hell did that come from out of something that involved Hanamura just being an idiot in the food court? Biker gangs are not THAT stupid.
I feel sorry Hanamura having to put up with that… Still, that was nothing compared to being tugged at by children. Really, are parents that neglectful of their children? I mean, of all places, why Junes? It's not a daycare!
At least Yuuta was adorable…and I did get a bonus, so it wasn't that bad. Though, after the incident in the TV World and then having to go through that…I'm exhausted. I'm practically falling asleep as I'm writing this entry.
…
Nobody has figured it out yet, and Hanamura is such a fucking blockhead. Still…
It was rather sweet of him to ask if I was all right… He reminds me of Senpai, only…Senpai would have never done something as stupid as Hanamura.
Sharper than a golf club, indeed…
…
…
The next day at school, Yosuke and Yu are spending whatever little time they have talking to each other before classes begin.
"I wonder how Satonaka is doing," Yosuke says as he looks at Chie's empty seat. "Too much stuff happened yesterday."
Yu sighs. "Tell me about it…"
Yosuke crosses his arms. "I hope she's back to her usual self…"
At that moment, Chie enters the classroom. She tries to ignore them even as she walks over, nervous as she can tell that they're staring at her.
"Oh, mornin'," she manages to say calmly.
"Did you sleep well?" Yu asks.
Chie nods. "Yep. Right after I came back home from Junes, I knocked out until this morning…Um…Thanks for everything yesterday."
Yosuke seems surprised to see Chie act this way. "Satonaka…"
Chie blushes. "It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were right there to see my hidden feelings and all…"
Yosuke grins. "Don't sweat it."
"If it makes you feel any better, the same thing happened to Hanamura," Yu remarks.
"Really?" Chie arches her brow. "Soooo…what was it like?"
"Uhhh, how should I put this…" Yosuke places his hand on his forehead. Suddenly, he turns his attention to Yu. "Oh, I nearly forgot! None of that happened when yours awakened, huh?"
Yu looks blankly at Yosuke. "Don't change the subject…"
Yosuke crosses his arms, thinking for a moment. "Hmmm, could that be because you've got nothing to hide?"
Yu diverts her eyes to the side. "If only you knew…"
Chie blinks. "Oh? So nothing happened for you?"
"Unless you count getting licked by a Shadow as something…" Yu remarks. "Then no…"
Yosuke grimaces. "Please don't remind me…"
Chie tilts her head to the side as she looks at Yu. "Well, I gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open guy."
Yu is quickly growing uncomfortable with the irony in Chie's comment. Her initial indifference to the consequences from masquerading as male is really starting to wane. "I just wanted someone to notice…"
"There's a funny air about you…" Chie continues. "I dunno, I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that."
"Want me to bare it all?" Yu says, deadpan.
Chie's eyes widen in shock. "Wha—Hey, what're you talking about?!"
Yosuke grabs Yu's shoulders. "Don't do it! You'll get arrested again!"
Yu's expression is blank. "I'm sorry, but who thought bringing something sharper than a golf club to a food court was a smart idea?"
Chie laughs. "He's got you there, Hanamura!"
Yosuke scowls. "Shut up!"
Upon seeing Yosuke's expression, Yu can't help but laugh. Yosuke looks at Chie and Yu and sighs.
"Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko," Chie says once she and Yu stop laughing. "I'm dead set on coming. Remember… You promised."
At that moment, the bell rings. Normally, Yosuke would just sit down in his seat, but he just remembered something…
"Oh crap, I still haven't gone to the bathroom!" Yosuke promptly dashes out of the classroom.
Yu sighs. "Still eloquent as ever…"
Chie nods. "He never changes."
…
…
"Helloooo and good afternooooon, all!"
Yu stares wide-eyed at the male teacher standing at the front of the class. He wears a well-fitted red track suit and is brimming with energy.
"My name is Kondo, your P.E. teacher!" he exclaims. "But since no one at this school teaches English, I'll be doubling up my roles!"
The class is dead silent.
"…Don't be so disappointed," Kondo quickly offers reassurance. "In fact, I've spent some time overseas!"
Yu brightens slightly. "Well, there's some hope, then."
"One week of vacation time, to be exact!" Kondo adds.
Yu dims. "And there it goes…"
Gone with the wind...
Kondo grins widely. "But that's more than enough to teach a class! Hahaha!"
Yu narrows her eyes. "I don't think so…"
"We'll start with the basics of the basics: the English alphabet!" Kondo glances around the classroom. "It starts with A, then B, then C, and then…twenty-three more! Maybe that was a little too basic? Hahaha! All right! I'll give you an alphabet-related pop quiz, then! Let's see…Narukami!"
Yu's quick to stand up. "Huh?"
"The word 'alphabet' comes from the words 'alpha' and what other one?" Kondo asks.
Yu blinks. "Beta."
Kondo grins. "Good! That's correct! It comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. By the way, any set of western European characters in a specific order is called an alphabet. In Japan, when we say 'alphabet' we're talking about the English alphabet, but it doesn't always mean the English one!"
Yu sighs and sits down in her seat. "Huh, you learn something new every day."
…
…
Yu unpacks her bento and smiles when she recalls the look on Nanako's face when the little girl received her own bento. Yu had woken up early to make a bento for Nanako with leftovers from yesterday's dinner. There even was enough to make a bento for Dojima, who was still at home, and for herself.
Just as Yu is about ready to eat her bento, Yosuke slams his forehead into his desk and groans. A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Yu's face as she turns to Yosuke.
"Ah…Hanamura?" Yu says nervously. "Are you okay…?"
Yosuke lifts his face off his desk. "No…I forgot my wallet at home so I don't have any money to buy lunch…think you have any money to spare?"
"I have a better idea…" Yu replies as she looks at her bento.
A few moments later on the rooftop, Yosuke finds himself staring at Yu as she uses her chopsticks to hold out a piece of ginger pork for him.
"What are you doing?" Yosuke has a faint idea what Yu is doing, but he needs to be sure, first.
"Feeding you…" Yu says plainly.
Yosuke looks like a deer in headlights. "Dude…just no…"
Yu's left eye twitches. "Tch, don't be such a baby, Hanamura. Just eat the damn piece of meat. Is there a problem with that?"
"We're both guys!" Yosuke snaps as he inches away from Yu.
Yu scowls. "It's just you and me up here. You have no money, your stomach just growled, and I'm offering you food—take it, you idiot!"
Before Yosuke can say anything else, Yu grabs his chin and forcefully feeds him the piece of ginger pork she had been offering him. She immediately releases Yosuke afterwards and watches him closely as he begins to chew and then swallow.
"Well…?" Yu says as she looks expectantly at Yosuke. "How do you like it?"
"That…was good," Yosuke replies. "Is this your recipe, Narukami? I mean—what the hell was that for?!"
"You wouldn't eat…" Yu says as if it was obvious. "Now are you going to cooperate and eat this time…? Or do I have to use force again?"
Yosuke blanches. "I'll…cooperate…"
Yu smiles and holds out another piece of ginger pork to Yosuke. "Now open up."
…
"This is so wrong…" Yosuke thinks as he chews. "But this is so good…"
"I'll make sure to bring an extra pair of chopsticks next time," Yu says. "Just in case this happens again… I'd rather not have you eating with your hands and I doubt you'd want to share chopsticks anyway, so this will have to do for now."
"You could have just given me money…" Yosuke mutters as he turns away from Yu.
"Yes, but then you'd have to owe me and I'd rather just share my lunch," Yu explains. "Besides, you made me breakfast once…I thought it'd be a nice way to return the favor."
Yosuke blinks. "Oh, yeah, your hangover and Nanako…"
Yu slaps her forehead. "Crap, I forgot to return your uniform…"
Yosuke laughs. "Don't worry about it…just don't force-feed me again… You can be scary, Narukami."
"You have no idea just how scary I can be…" Yu thinks as she places a mouthful of rice into her mouth.
"We're going to Junes today…" Yosuke suddenly says.
Yu looks questioningly at Yosuke as she chews. "Hmm…?"
"You promised, Narukami…" Yosuke explains. "And don't you want to keep to your promise as soon as possible?"
"What are you talking about?" Yu asks after swallowing. "I thought we were already going to Junes after school."
"Huh?" Yosuke is confused.
Yu sighs. "Hanamura, I'm not leaving Amagi-san in there any longer. We're going to get her today and that's final."
"I, uh…don't know what to say…" Yosuke had clearly not expected Yu to say that. "You're good at this, you know…"
Yu arches her brow. "Good at what?"
Yosuke shakes his head. "I'll tell you later…"
…
…
Bam!
Yu is getting tired of the fact that this is becoming a trend. "Seriously, we have to work on our landing…"
"Satonaka, why couldn't you leave your chainmail in this world?" Yosuke groans as Chie sits on his stomach. "How can you even wear something so heavy?"
Chie blinks and looks down at Yosuke. "It's not really that heavy…"
"No, but it made your landing even heavier…" Yosuke winces. "Agh, my stomach… Please get off…"
"Yes, please do…" Yu taps her fingers on the floor as she waits somewhat impatiently for Yosuke and Chie to get off of her.
A few moments later, Yosuke helps Yu off the floor, apologizing again for landing on her. Chie looks around and frowns as thick, yellow fog obscures her vision.
"How could you guys see anything?" Chie asks as she turns to Yu and Yosuke. "I can see you two, but barely…ugh, my head's hurting again—ah, it feels like it's gonna split open…"
"Never fear, Teddie's here!" a certain blue bear exclaims jovially as he pops up by Chie's side.
Chie jumps in response to Teddie's sudden appearance. "Don't do that!"
Teddie just smiles and holds out a pair of yellow glasses to Chie. "Here you go, Chie-chan!"
Chie blinks and accepts the pair of glasses. "What're these for…?"
"Just put them on, Satonaka," Yosuke says as he puts on his glasses. "They're about the only thing that Teddie is useful for."
Teddie scowls. "Hey!"
"And moral support," Yu adds as she adjusts her glasses. "Can't forget that."
Yosuke looks skeptically at Yu. "Seriously?"
"It's about the only thing keeping me from breaking down…" Yu explains. "Because we can literally die at any given moment in this hellhole…keep that in mind."
Yosuke grimaces. "I see your point…"
"Hey, I can see!" Chie exclaims moments after putting on her glasses. "This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist! Is this why you two were wearing glasses the other day?"
Yu nods. "Yeah…how's your head?"
Chie clutches her head. "This is amazing! The pain just went away…I almost forgot my head was hurting…"
"Hey, why didn't you whip those out the other day if you had them?" Yosuke looks suspiciously at Teddie.
Teddie growls. "I made them while you were away! You didn't tell me she was coming and too many things happened! It was all so sadden—I mean, sudden!"
Yosuke sighs. "Point made…"
"Hey, do you mind if I keep these?" Chie asks Teddie.
Teddie smiles so big and warmly at Chie that his eyes are closed. "Fo'sho!"
…
…
"Teddie, never say that again…" Yu says with a stern expression on her face.
"Anything for you, Sensei!" Teddie says with a smile.
Chie mouths a silent 'thank you' to Yu.
Yu sighs and shakes her head. "Let's get this over with…"
"Hold on, Narukami!" Yosuke places his hand on Yu's shoulder. "There's something I need to tell you…"
Yu crosses her arms. "What is it?"
"Well, it's more of a question…" Yosuke rubs the back of his head. "Anyways, would you mind being our leader?"
Yu's taken aback by Yosuke's question. "What?"
"You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than either of us," Yosuke explains. "I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana."
Yu stares at Yosuke in disbelief. "I…are you sure?"
Yosuke smiles. "I'm more of the advisor type than anything—an ideas man, not an executive. You're good at making decisions, and to be fair, you're already doing a good job at being a leader. You did manage to take down a Shadow while you were drunk off your ass…so what do you say?"
Yu says nothing.
"Narukami…?" Yosuke frowns. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot…"
"Just leave it to me," Yu finally speaks. "Don't make me repeat myself…ever. I mean it in the sense that I want to avoid jeopardizing any of your lives, including mine. Got it?"
A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Yosuke's face. "Uh…got it."
Chie just shrugs. "Better you than Hanamura."
"Hey!" Yosuke exclaims.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Hanamura—actually, it is." Chie explains. "But that's not the point. It's just that I'd feel more comfortable about this if Yu was the one to call the shots."
Teddie nods. "If Sensei's the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night."
Chie groans. "Teddie, would you please stop talking? You're giving me a headache…"
Small beads of sweat roll down the sides of Teddie's face. "…"
Yu sighs and shakes her head. She can't believe it…she's just been unanimously appointed as team leader. It isn't exactly a position she feels comfortable with, but after seeing how much trust her friends have in her…she can't say no. It seems as if her days of pursuing the case alongside her friends has officially begun.
Yu's eyes widen as she notices the same stirring at the back of her mind coupled with the sudden resonating heartbeats that belong to her friends. By now, Yu knows exactly what will follow.
Smash!
A blue card appears before Yu's eyes. The card is an exact copy of the others from the back, differing only in the image it has on the other side. The image on the card is of a traveling jester, oblivious to the cliff edge he was about to cross. The jester is accompanied by a small dog at his heels. Unlike the other cards, this particular card lacks a roman numeral, for there is no such thing for the number zero.
"Thou art I…And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating
Personas of the Fool Arcana…"
Yu is genuinely confused when Izanagi appears before her. His golden eyes stare into her silver ones. He says nothing, but Yu can tell from his gaze that he is expecting something from her. When Yu looks at the blue card once more, it occurs to her her wild card ability had been compared to the number zero. This card is the aforementioned number…
"The Fool…" Yu echoes. Almost immediately, the card disappears into a blue light that enters her chest as Izanagi vanishes. She feels the same warmth, and the same strength from the bond she's established with the group. Alongside that, she also feels a sense of identity that wasn't there before. She is the Fool.
"What does that mean?" Chie suddenly asks.
Yu blinks. "Wait, you saw that?"
Chie makes a face. "Yeah—was I not supposed to?"
Yu shakes her head. "No, it's just…"
"Narukami's special," Yosuke explains, crossing his arms. "It probably has something to do with that. He can use more than one Persona, unlike us. He's a wild card—whatever that is."
Yu finds Yosuke's tone rather amusing. "Jealous, Hanamura?"
Yosuke turns away from Yu. "Shut it."
"Still mad about Pixie?"
He scowls. "Why wouldn't I?! She attacked me with lightning! Why do you even keep her?"
"Wind resistance, I thought we went over that." Yu also has Pixie as a backup healer in case Yosuke is incapable of using Dia.
"Why do you have to be weak against something as simple as wind?"
"What about you and lightning?" Yu rolls her eyes at a frustrated Yosuke. "Teddie shares your weakness."
Yosuke blinks, then glances forth between Teddie and Yu. "Did he know?"
Yu shakes her head. "No. Now quit complaining about Pixie and get moving. We need to save Amagi-san."
"Shouldn't we focus on Satonaka as well?" Yosuke gestures at Chie.
"Guard her." Yu nods firmly. "She's weak to Garu skills and you're a good wind shield…now let's go."
…
…
A/N One week at a fucking time, I am so sorry! Sorry for any leftover cringe that was missed, I literally graduated from high school at the time I wrote this chapter. DO let me know if you see any mistakes. The gang and I were slacking off due to the summer heat this time, since this chapter didn't have TOO much wrong with it.
No comments from the editor team this time. Instead, have a glimpse of the past when this chapter was first written:
Original Author's Note: Well, that was a crappy way to end the chapter, but dear god, I couldn't find a decent way to end it! DX Anyways, this chapter's a little late and I was hoping to get it up while we were still in May, but I ran out of time and it's now June 1st.
And if you guys are disturbed by Nanako and Yu bathing together, don't be. They're just bathing together, nothing more. Remember this is Japan and they have different standards. This is more culture-related. The reason I had this put in was for some more bonding time with Yu and Nanako. FYI, Yu wore a towel and Nanako is six years old. Leave it at that.
As for the person who Yu refers to as Senpai…yeah, won't go further into that either since I rather avoid spoilers. Also, Yu force-feeding Yosuke…yeah, that moment was a little spontaneous when it came into existence, but I'm keeping it. As for Chie being weak to Garu…it's trial and error at the moment for the group. They don't know their own weaknesses until they experience it and as far as they know, Chie's Shadow was weak to Garu so it's a rather honest mistake. Well, that's about it for this chapter that I have time to say.
You got some information on the incident and the effects they had on Chie and Yukiko. You'll get your Arcana update next chapter. Also, if you guys haven't noticed, chapter 8 was uploaded on the same date as it was in-game (excluding the year). That was rather unintentional. XD It just happened!
By the way, I GRADUATED! WOO! Out of high school! Yeah! Also, I'm eighteen! Double yeah! And to clear things up, I graduated on May 30th, but with Grad Nite and all, I went to an amusement park with my entire senior class (class of 2013, baby!) and came back at seven in the fucking morning the next day. I am beyond exhausted, but I had fun…
Anyways, another RANK-U-UP for UnstableFable and me! We're now on Rank 4! ^^ Oh, and for reviewer #70, LemonySean…you have no idea how much your review made my day! I am being quite sincere! Your review made my day…so thank you! ^^
So, guys, this story has over 72 reviews, 10,181 hits and counting, 69 favorites (make your jokes now before that changes like it did with the reviews), and 75 alerts. Seeing these numbers just makes me feel accomplished and remember, I graduated just two days ago and I'll be heading off to the university come fall, so appreciate the time I have now…because the easiest part of my life is over. And the funny thing is that I'm almost done with Golden…I am just about done with it. Meaning, soon, I can have access to New Game + and maybe this time around, I can actually max out ALL my social links. Ugh…wasn't able to on this run.
Well, that's it for this chapter! Review if you wish, but NO FLAMES! Constructive criticism is always welcomed! So until next time, guys, KD out! XD
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