Author's Notes: Hi all! Here's another chapter of our favourite Souji/Yukiko fic. Short and sweet, but with a little bit of everything for everyone.
Small announcement – my profile pic has changed. I got it commissioned from a friend of mine, and I think it's totally awesome, so check out my profile if you like. The artist is VertiEarth Creations, and you can check out his work on Facebook and DeviantArt if you want to see more
Onto the dedications for my beautiful readers!
Blitzshine: Their relationship is a bit tricky to work with given how conventional and innocent, let's say, they start off as. That said, that leaves a lot of room for exploration and fumbling and them learning about things each other, and finding ways to portray that without walking the beaten path is proving to be a lot of fun. So since you ship them, I hope that my interpretation of them meets your expectations.
Rankin de Merthyr: Thanks for the review! So if this fic is book quality, when I'm done my first novel, I'll have an interested fan to hawk it to? (chuckles) Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying things. All I will say about Izumi is that I'm not done with her. Anything more would be spoiling things. And as for Souji and where we're taking him, I'll just say that I have considered some of the ideas you brought up. Will I cover them? Will I go even further? You'll have to read the story and see, my friend!
kungfootitan: Welcome to Continuance, and thanks for the praise. I'm very flattered by your comments, and it's great that you pointed out what seems to have become a cornerstone of my writing – that I explore the human condition rather than try for something larger and extravagant. I agree with you, that there's nothing wrong with that and it can be done well. But I have seen such ambitious projects fall apart because they were too lofty, or their presentation was off. Either way, thanks for the commentary. I'm glad that my earlier writing is close to as good as I am now, and I hope to remain this good or get better as I go on. Glad to have you aboard, and I hope you enjoy the show.
CrimsonHeresy: Great to know, because here it is. Hope you like it.
Firion316: Glad you're liking it. Considering how much more material I have to go through, I hope that I can continue to show those quirks and unique traits and keep everyone interested. As to who ends up with who, well, that's a secret. But part of the answer's in this chapter, so your timing was pretty impressive.
Jake-Everfree: Yep, graduation. And a few other things.
gman391: That's a nice way of putting it, and thank you for reviewing. Welcome to the ride, and I hope you like where it takes us. As to Naoto, I'm curious what you mean by more energy. Should she have been more fidgety and anxious? Or more outgoing? We're going to be seeing more of her in the future, so any feedback is appreciated, and the same goes for the others. Thanks again!
Rick Crash Tracy: Thanks for the praise, and I'm glad you like it. Welcome to the ride, as they say, since the next few chapters, well, I'm going to be having some real fun with them. As for Yosuke and Chie, it's funny you should mention them.
Xoraan: Thanks! Awkwardness and progress were what I was going for, and finding ways to make them progress while keeping them in character was a fun challenge. And them taking it easy felt the most natural since there are far too many places to have one or the other rush things or get insecure and completely derail everything. I look forward to portraying them, and the others, in future chapters, because now it really feels like we can get moving forward. So I hope you've liked the ride so far, because there's a lot more to come.
Guest: Glad you think so, and this chapter should match that standard, though probably in a different way. Enjoy.
Halm Vendrella: It's always great to hear from you, and I'm glad you got the anime and character references. I enjoy tossing in little tidbits like that from time to time. And I'm happy that Naoto and Kanji came across well, because getting inside their heads is always a fun challenge, even more so when we can see Souji and Yukiko in their element as helpful friends and advice-giving senpai. And they do indeed grow up fast, as will be apparent in the next few chapters. And I encourage you to check out Change of Engagement (of course I'd say that) and see what you think about the different style, tone, and pace. Both of the fics have been a great experience so far, and I enjoy sharing such things with my readers.
burgerkong: They do feel a bit conventional, I agree, but Enact and I wracked our brains on ways to make them feel less standard and expected in this one, so hopefully their future chapters will be different from the norm.
FrizFr0z: Thank you, first and foremost, for the balanced review. You make some very good points that the characters have become a bit set in their ways, tropified, to use your term, and your timing's interesting because the next few chapters are when we are going to see all of them from different angles as they graduate, grow up, and prepare for what lies beyond Inaba. Them getting that comfortable, and me writing them as such, is probably a function of how long the story's getting, but the changes are coming up, and feel free to let me know if they feel significant enough, or if I think they're important when it's all coming across as just window dressing. Naoto and Kanji will have their own segments as well, and Enact, my editor, and I had a discussion a little while ago on where to take them, and we will see more of them in two more chapters. And thank you for the praise – I've been told a few times that dialogue seems natural when I write it, so I'm aiming to branch out a bit more and focus on other aspects to get the ideas across without being completely average about it. Anyway, thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Kyral: Lies, my friend. I'm a writer, therefore I never flatter. Thank you for the kind review, and I hope you like this chapter.
jtesauro: Ahh, a George R. R. Martin reference. Wonderful way to start the review, and I can promise you that I am a more regular updater than him, with both of my fics. Even if it takes a while, I do update them. Thank you for the review, and I'm glad that my techniques are coming across nicely. Making the main characters work is always a tricky proposition because one has to maintain the tone and character, but add in the perceptions of another person and make it interesting and unique. So if that's coming across right, then I'm glad. Thank you for the review, and I hope you like the show!
UltimateHero13: It's a common question, but yes, there will be other relationships besides Yukiko and Souji, and how much time in the spotlight they get will vary on the circumstances, the details, how I can squeeze them in with everything else going on, etc. As to who and when, that's a secret. Thanks for the review!
fall shadow: Everyone seems to love Izumi's chapter. Seems I'll have to do things like that more often. And thanks for reading – hope you're enjoying the ride.
MegaRizwan20: Thanks for the commentary, and that's an impressive feat, reading everything else in that speed. Hope you like this chapter then.
darrelodin: Writing is a collaborative process at times, so I'm always interested in hearing what my audience thinks and has to say. Thanks for the review, and Enact gets credit for his editing and ideas in this one. As to who we're going with this time, well, I can't call it a surprise, but I think it'll get some reactions out of people. Hope you like it!
Pensive Rumination Observer: As to how long it will be, Enact and I figure it'll take about 3-ish more years to get all the chapters out, and that's a ballpark figure based on my life situations and how quickly I can finish Change of Engagement. That number could change based on how well I can condense the scenes and express what I want to in the most efficient way possible, of course, but there's quite a bit of writing left to this little gem. And warm fuzzies are certainly in the cards. Having Souji and Yukiko as advice-givers and the beta couple, as you called it, was a fun experiment, and this won't be the only time I do so since there's a lot to learn from someone through another's eyes, and it's something I want to come back to in the future. So that's something to look forward to.
Ulcaasi: Everyone's asking about Chie and Yosuke. Jeez, what about Rise? Or Teddie? Or Hanako? No one ever asks about them… Jokes aside, thanks for the praise, and Chie's a major player in this chapter.
Thank you, one and all, for your comments and support thus far. It means the world to me and helps me get better with every chapter.
A small aside for the chapter: "Yuuki" in Japanese translates into "brave."
Thanks again, and enjoy!
Chapter 23
February 9th
He didn't know when it started – it didn't feel like it mattered. But when she walked past, it was like his eyes were pulled to watch her. In the hallway between classes, by the front gate, and even when they met in town. And no one part of her caught his eye, but rather it felt like it was just her whom he was drawn to, and it didn't matter what she was doing, what she was wearing, or even what kind of a mood she was in – he always felt his heart kick up a few beats when she was around.
It was bad enough that he found her personality absolutely magnetic. He'd thought that was all he had to worry about, trying to talk to her while she was hanging out with Yukiko-san and laughing at a shared joke or when she was practicing her kicks down by the Samegawa. That would have been plenty to keep his attention on her, and he was content to watch as she passed him in the hallways or when they shared the sports field at school.
But then he started to notice something that his eyes found very enjoyable to watch – Satonaka Chie bounced as she walked. All her movements were tight and precise, always balanced and a cascade of muscle and motion from step to step, but in spite of the clear definition of fiber and tendon in her arms and back and stomach and legs (her legs were his favourite), there was an undeniable allure to them that he couldn't pull away from. While other guys might have held Yukiko-san or Risette as the golden standard and argued that Satonaka Chie just couldn't measure up in all the ways they did, he completely disagreed. Because she swayed as she strode by, bounced and jiggled under her tank tops and short shorts, and where she wasn't hardened muscle, she was all flowing curves. Not in the traditional way, and he wasn't sure she even knew how sexy she could be, but there was no denying that she was.
His homework and textbooks came to mind, and he didn't know if it was stupid or hot that he knew all the parts of her that were so damn appealing. How her gastrocnemius twitched and flexed as she moved, up to her biceps which looked tougher than hardened tendon, but still soft and pliable and completely distracting when he thought of just how soft his hands would find them. And if her hamstrings were distracting, then he was lost every time he caught a glimpse of her glutes. Rounded and tense and perfectly shaped, so much so that always felt his face heat up just thinking about it. When he looked higher, her rhomboideus major was hard to miss as he watched her back, motions smooth as the muscles pulled easily and efficiently, so different from the other girls and even most of the guys. Even her triceps caught his eye. So much muscle, all toned and tuned to her will, and covered over with a fine layer of soft skin that probably smelled heavenly.
He sighed. You've really got it bad.
And now, watching her on the far end of the gym was a sweet kind of torture by itself. Her loose gym shirt, the spats under her shorts, and the way her throat bobbed as she drank from her water bottle all teased him so much it hurt, but even the most mundane thing like the order of her wristbands (green and yellow on her left hand, green and red and grey on her right) were details that stood out to him. He'd always known that she had fans who never talked to her, but keeping his feet still was getting harder and harder. And that was crazy of him. He wanted to talk to her, to know her better, but he had no idea what to say.
"Hey Ichijo! What'd the coach say?"
Kou was brought back to the real world, to the Yasogami High School gym, by a teammate and the sound of the basketball not hitting the ground. His muscles snapped in place, but looked over at the team smoothly, not letting his clandestine glances and the abrupt return to reality faze him. "We'll discuss it after we're done today," he told them, easy smile on his face. "If I tell you now, you'll all ditch clean-up again." There were some groans and half-hearted denials at that, but he shook his head and nodded toward the hoop. "No complaining. Keep drilling and maybe we'll get out of here early." They acceded to his words, for probably the third time all year, and got to it, and he turned to see if the object of his interest was still around. She was talking to Yukiko-san, heading for the door and laughing about something. She really did have a nice laugh.
He sighed and watched as she, and her marvelous glutes, left the gym. She was gone for half a minute before he turned away from the door and shook his head with an un-Kou-like growl. This was getting ridiculous, trailing after a girl and obsessing over her like a sex-starved otaku in those manga Kirigaya was always reading. She wasn't a fantasy for him to ogle over, and she deserved more respect than him staring at her from around the corner just because he couldn't string his words together when they talked. He needed to take some steps forward, and if he needed help to do it, then so be it.
Which brought him to Souji. He didn't want to keep going back to the rising star of Inaba whom everyone hitched their wagon to, the guy whose name was on everyone's lips and first in their thoughts when they thought of the word 'capable.' It wasn't fair that the whole school went to him with their problems, and he knew that they did. Kanji-kun, the Detective Prince, Yosuke-kun, Satonaka-san and Yukiko-san and even Daisuke, though he'd be caught putting on makeup in the girls' shower room before ever admitting it. Souji could have been rich if he charged for all the problems he solved and the advice he gave, and people kept going to him when they knew the guy was in town like he was Buddha.
But, much as Kou hated it, he needed some answers. This fixation was becoming a distraction and finals were coming up soon. Not just for his peace of mind, but when Yukiko-san absolutely glowed in class and through the hallways, talking about Souji and graduation and so clearly focused on the future, he couldn't help but feel lonely in return. He loved his family, and his friends were some of the best things to happen to him. But he wanted more than that. He wanted to be that happy with someone else. To take those chances and win big in the end. Hell, he'd even heard rumours that Tatsumi Kanji and Shirogane Naoto were seeing each other. And this panic, this crippling fear, was really getting old.
He'd do it. For himself if for no other reason. He looked at the door where she'd left, let out a heavy breath, and swore to call Souji so he could put rubber to road and get some ideas. Then buy the guy the most expensive dishes on the Aiya menu.
March 8th
There was an odd sense of disconnect running through Souji as he sat in his stiff chair and straightened his black and silver pinstripe blazer. In the Yasogami gym, floors polished and walls covered with sports banners and championships and well-wishes to the students on this auspicious day, smelling of incense and cleaner and the fabric of expensive suits and pressed shirts and formal kimonos as a breathing mass of humanity filled the building, he wasn't where he expected to be. He thought he'd be up there with Yosuke and Kou and the others. Or seeing a sea of strangers in Kofu, sharing the stage with Megumi and Yoshiro. Instead he was watching all his friends graduate while he sat where he expected the two members of his family to be, taking the view of a spectator instead of a participant while Nanako, dressed up in a semi-formal pink and white dress with her hair arranged and tied back into two tails with pink ribbon, sat next to him. He'd promised to lift her up to see once the ceremonies got going, but for how many students and teachers were taking their time in the spotlight, despite how long the ceremony had gone on already, she was remarkably calm. He'd expected it, but he was still proud of her and rested one of his gloved hands on her shoulder. Even when he told her how long it was going to be, she insisted on seeing everyone, especially her Big Sis, on their big day. Souji could clearly remember Dojima's smile when he heard her say that.
As odd and out of place as he felt, however, he wouldn't have missed it for anything. And he figured that there wasn't too much of a difference besides the vantage point – he was as stiff in his chair as Chie seemed to be under her kimono, so he wasn't missing much as far as personal discomfort went. Of course, there was more to this feeling than just wearing sharp clothes and listening to speeches.
He thought about his correspondence courses and his friends back in Kofu with a bittersweet smile. He was missing out on his own graduation, after all, forgoing the ceremony to be in Inaba and opting to receive his diploma and academic awards, and there were a few of them, by mail rather than in person. So much effort and invested time, the end of twelve years of academic pursuits, and the greatest concern had become the price of postage. Souji let out a breath and pushed the thoughts aside. He'd called Rise the day before and caught up with the bubbly starlet. Telling her that he was graduating, even long distance, had set her squealing on a pitch he was sure only dolphins could hear. And Yoshiro and Megumi would be receiving their gifts soon, if they hadn't already. Much as they would have made the day a blast, probably with a mandatory party that they would drag him to, this was where he belonged.
The speeches continued, so he looked up and down the rows to distract himself. He saw Kanji and Naoto one row ahead and several chairs to the right of his own seat, and couldn't suppress a smile. If there was a more mismatched pair in the gym on account of height, he had yet to meet them. It was surprising how respectable Kanji looked when he tamed his hair and wore a sweater. The earrings made him look like yakuza instead of a street punk though. But there was a calm softness to him now that had been missing before, and Souji knew it had to do with the well-dressed and debonair detective at the delinquent's side, hair longer and layered and remarkably feminine despite how much she'd groused about it before. Despite her longer hair and acceptance of Kanji and their fledgling relationship, she was dressed in her usual slacks and double-breasted coat, sitting tall and straight and quietly talking to him as the speakers on the stage switched. And Souji noted, with an amused smirk, that the two were holding hands. Sometimes they would separate when one or the other readjusted in their seat, but then Kanji's hand would approach, slowly, and rest on Naoto's dainty fingers. Then her hand would turn over and spread, meeting him palm to palm.
After all the calls and conversations, Souji was glad that they were moving forward. He didn't know the details, and wasn't about to push for them, but seeing them this comfortable together was very promising.
That drew up some memories, and he looked at the students on the stage as he thought of relationships. First he looked at Yukiko, striking in a red and green kimono and brushed hair and the earrings he'd sent her. She caught his gaze and smiled beautifully, nodding a little and sitting straight in her chair. They looked at each other, feeling the room and crowd fall away, until Souji heard a gruff throat clearing and saw Yukiko jolt a bit in her seat, blushing as she looked elsewhere in the crowd. Souji let his gaze shift over, feeling the hard glare from several rows ahead and keeping the smile off his face. Amagi Katsushiro. Of course. Souji nodded soberly to Yukiko's father, and to Ryoko when she turned to see what the problem was, before looking at the stage again as though nothing was wrong.
Next to Yukiko was Yosuke, and Souji was impressed that his friend had done something with his hair. The usual spikes were combed down and, while not orderly, were certainly less wild than Souji was used to seeing. And he expected Yosuke to look bored or to fall asleep in his chair, especially when he'd heard of the intense last-minute study sessions his friend had put himself through. But Yosuke seemed, while not attentive, certainly alert and clear-headed. And when he saw Souji, he gave a subtle smile and salute when no one was looking, which Souji returned. He'd come a long way. Even from them beating each other unconscious by the Samegawa. That day a few weeks before final exams still burned in Souji's memory, an indelible reminder of how proud he was of his friend.
Then there was Chie. She looked uncomfortable, shifting in place and fidgeting, but Souji realized that his initial assessment was off the mark. Sure, she was stiff from the chairs and her kimono, probably because she'd tied her obi too tight again, but she was also holding in a mile-wide grin. Unlike Yosuke, who was confident that he would pass, Souji knew that Chie had stressed over the final exams, especially while also studying for the police entrance exam with Naoto. So that Chie was sitting there, having passed with a measure of grace, was an achievement for her that would keep her up for most of the night, and that was after her family stopped the celebrations.
Next in line was Kou, and seeing his friend on the stage, clean and well-cut in a formal suit and tie that he wore with a surprising amount of comfort, brought back memories of their conversation back before the finals were written. It made Souji sit back in his chair, still thoughtful and turning over what he'd heard then.
Flashback
"So what's up?" Yosuke asked Souji and Kou, leaning against the railing of Junes's food court and stretching. He was dressed in his usual red pants and white coat, headphones around his neck like always, and Souji was sure he could hear Korean lyrics from where he stood. The sky above them was clear, the air was sharp with the chill of an unusually long winter, and the noise from the passing crowds ensured their privacy. Privacy that Kou clearly wanted, given how his arms were crossed in front of his body and his weight kept shifting from foot to foot.
"Kou wanted to talk to us about something," Souji told his friend, tugging his jacket tighter around him and adjusting his gloves. "And it wasn't something that we could do over the phone."
Yosuke nodded and smiled as he waited. He and Kou had always gotten along, Souji noted, when they ran into each other or wound up in the same place at the same time. Both with a sharp sense of humour and a love for kicking back and having fun when they could, and they could both dish out the punishment and easily take it when the mood struck them. Souji just hoped that Yosuke took well what Kou wanted to say. "So what is it?" Yosuke asked.
"I'm thinking of asking Satonaka-san out," Kou told them finally, speaking slowly like the words had to be dragged out, kicking and screaming every inch of the way. "Not as a friend, either. It's been on my mind for a long time, and I wanted to talk to you about it."
Souji took a deep breath that chilled his lungs and stung his throat and threaded his fingers together while looking at Yosuke. Who, in turn, smiled and looked a bit confused. "Uh, okay. I don't know why you came to tell me that, but I wish you luck. Chie's tough to figure out sometimes, but with Souji here, that shouldn't be a problem. And I can give you a hand if you need it."
Souji stared at his friend, eyes widening a little in surprise. Kou looked dumbfounded and off balance. "So there's no problem?" the blue-haired classmate asked after a few heavy moments.
Yosuke's expression shifted then, from surprise and curiousity to contemplation. A dry smirk slowly crawled across his lips. "We're not going out or anything." He looked up at Souji, an inquiring tilt to his head. "Was that why you called us together? To make sure none of us were stepping on any toes?"
"I didn't know what the situation was," Souji admitted, keeping the surprise out of his voice, but not the inquisitiveness. "I never knew what to make of you and her, and until now it wasn't my business to pry. Sometimes it seemed like there was something there, and other times, well, I couldn't tell."
"You're not interested in her?" Kou asked, the tension gone from his body.
Yosuke sighed and checked his watch before turning around and leaning over the railings. Souji and Kou came closer to hear him when he spoke. "It's not that simple. I mean, it is, but not in the way you think. I've heard the rumours around school; would have to've been deaf not to. They even had a betting pool on when we were going to hook up, if you can believe that." Yosuke's gaze shifted over to Souji, a knowing little smile to his face. "And I've thought about it a few times. Chie's loyal, she's good-looking, and you couldn't ask for a better friend. Especially after everything that happened with the murders and Yukiko-san going missing that time." He sighed and turned back to Kou, a sober look in his eyes. "But that's all we are: friends. There's no spark. No fire. And throwing the dice on our friendship for something that's not even there, well, it's not worth what it would do to our team. I don't know where it would go or even where to start on something like that, even if I wanted to. And if things didn't work out, well, 'awkward' wouldn't begin to cover it. Especially if everyone else got involved, you know?"
"It's easy to say that we could work past it if something like that happened," Souji replied calmly. "But that's a good point. There's no telling how everyone would actually react. I've known couples who were pulled apart because their friends were having a rough break-up. It's strange to think that there's nothing there, though. You two always get on each other's nerves."
Yosuke snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's because she spends my money and gets me to buy her food all the time. And uses me for punching practice when she gets pissed off. That'd get on anyone's nerves."
A light smile spread across Souji's lips, mirth dancing in his voice. "Right, but sometimes it's more than that. Most romantic TV shows and manga involve the couple always bickering over things. Opposites attract, sexual tension and suppressed feelings in the form of fights and arguments. It's not too far-fetched when you look at the science behind it and dig beneath the surface, and you two have known each other for a while."
Yosuke gave another snort, but wore a similar smile. "Yeah, I know. I've seen some of those shows too. But sometimes there isn't anything deeper to it, and those people genuinely get on each other's nerves. I mean, could you imagine the noise if we got together? We'd never stop fighting. Not to mention that being her boyfriend would give her a free ticket to kick my ass."
"I always thought you two had something going on," Kou admitted. "It seems like you know each other pretty well, and that's a pretty good foundation for a relationship when you think about it."
"It's not that. Like I said, we're friends." Yosuke's smile turned crooked when he looked at Kou and raised an eyebrow. "And you ever hurt her, I'll hunt you down and make you regret it. And that's before the others get you." Kou paled a bit as the list of Chie's friends came to mind. And it was indeed a long one. Then Yosuke's smile normalized with a chuckle. "But seriously, we're not going out. I don't think it's ever come up before, so you've got nothing to worry about from me. As far as I know, she's available."
Kou gave a polite bow. "Thanks for the information." He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I guess this must have come from nowhere. Sorry about that."
Yosuke shrugged with a grin and waved his concerns off. "Hey, I wish you luck, and if you want to know something about her, I'll give you a hand." His grin turned evil in a half-second. "Especially the embarrassing stuff. I'll tell you that for free."
Souji chuckled and shook his head. "I'll help with the normal stuff when and where I can. It's probably not going to be easy, but you do seem pretty serious about this."
Kou nodded in response, feeling the tension ease out of his shoulders at the show of support. "Thank you."
Yosuke shrugged and looked around to make sure they were alone. There were plenty of parents and purchasers and passersby around them, but none gave them a second look. "It's not a problem. You didn't hear this from me, but she deserves a happy ending. I know she's always been compared to Yukiko-san by the guys in class, so you're going to have to get around those issues, if she still has any. And not just that, but she's anything but normal as far as her personal habits go." Yosuke held up his hand and started counting them off. "She's hardcore into martial arts, big on exercise and working out, gets into fights with people when she's got a point to make, and she eats more meat than any three students in our grade. I'm not kidding: calling her a carnivore doesn't come close."
"I've heard rumours about that," Kou replied with a chuckle. "But they're exaggerated, right?"
"Chie's one of the four people in Inaba who can beat the Aiya Rainy Day Challenge," Souji told him seriously. "And she orders the all-meat bowl every time we eat there. Last time I tried that, I felt like I had a tire sitting in my stomach for two days. It's not an exaggeration, what you've heard about her, and as close of a friend as she is, her fixation on meat dishes borders on a culinary obsession."
"If you're good at cooking great steak dinners, you'd have an in right there," Yosuke offered with a bright, wry grin, leaning against the rail and tilting his head back. "Still interested?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows appraisingly, adjusting his tunes and drumming his fingers to the beat.
Kou nodded immediately, though they had given him more to think about. They weren't lying – he could see and hear that much – but if that were the case, where did Satonaka-san store all that food? She wasn't that big a girl. "Yeah. It won't be simple or easy, it seems, but it's worth a try."
Souji gave a relieved smile, and Yosuke laughed delightedly. "Good man. Not afraid of a challenge. If you do pull it off, we'll have to welcome you into the family. It's been a while since we had a new member."
"I'm not sure if I can handle that yet," Kou admitted with a shrug and a growing smile. "Your group is pretty unique, and I don't know where I would fit in."
Yosuke brushed his concerns off with a wave of his hand. "Ah, no worries. You'll do fine. Especially if you can make this thing happen with Chie – that'll be impressive all by itself."
Souji looked toward the food counter. After such a heavy discussion, some food was definitely in order. And Teddie would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't say 'hello' while he was here. When he looked back at his classmates, he gave a small smile and nodded once to the hopeful Ichijo Kou. "Good luck."
The basketball captain blinked once before returning the gesture and easing into a familiar, comfortable stance. Like he was ready to take on whatever came his way, however he had to. "Thanks."
End Flashback
After the speeches concluded with a well-done rendition of Auld Lang Syne, led by Ayane in the school band and carried in tune by Nanako at his side, the student procession made their way from the gym. Souji lifted Nanako up to see it despite her protests that she wasn't a kid anymore, and the gym dissolved into a growing hive of chatter and noise once the students were gone. Well-wishes were given from one family to the next and greetings were shouted across rows as discussions rose in ebbs and tides around them.
"Let's go see Yukiko and the others, alright?" he told her, leaning down so she could hear him.
"Okay. Let's see Naoto-san and Kanji-san before we go. Can they come with us?"
"Sure."
The pair were only too happy to see Souji and Nanako, and together they swiftly made their way from the crowd when there was an opening. Nanako reached up and took Kanji's hand and tugged him toward the stairs at the lobby, immediately talking about her latest art project in school. Naoto looked around the younger student and smiled when she heard his responses, watching the conversation with a smile. When she saw Souji doing the same and giving her a knowing smile, a light touch of pink dusted her cheeks and she quickly looked forward.
Souji chuckled and soaked in the ambiance of the school, glad to be back, and let Naoto make what assumptions she wished. The four climbed the stairs and worked past students and their families as they kept up their silence or discussion the whole way up.
The class where the senpai of the investigation team had spent their final high school year was decorated with streamers and banners and well-wishes hanging by the windows. Girls in their kimonos gathered in groups for photos while others went around to have their yearbook signed. Some were telling stories and laughing over old memories, perched by the teacher's podium, and the guys on the sports teams regaled anyone who would listen on how the season went, and in the middle of that crowd were Kou and Daisuke. Souji leaned against the wall while the other three explored the room and took everything in, feeling nostalgia wrap around him like the arms of an old friend. His mind would have continued on that train of thought, on all the good and bad memories, if not for the familiar scent of black tea and light perfume that tugged his attention to his right. Square onto Yukiko in all her formal glory.
"Thank you for being here," she whispered as she leaned against the wall next to him.
"Of course," he replied with a lopsided smile. "I couldn't miss being here for the other most important lady in my life, could I?"
Yukiko looked surprised until he nodded to the side, indicating his cousin, and she chuckled. "Of course."
"Happy graduation, Big Sis!" Nanako told her once there was an opening, giving a polite bow and smiling as wide as a Jack O' Lantern when she looked up. "And thanks for the invitation – it was a lot of fun."
"Of course, Nanako-chan," Yukiko told her, brushing her hair back and giving a nod that sent her earrings swinging back and forth. "You had to be here – you're part of the family." That drew a precious giggle out of the girl and smiles from the students and parents and teachers around her. Even those who only knew Nanako by reputation were taken with her calm innocence and mature poise. And that didn't change as the girl made her way through the room; to Yosuke, who gave her a smile and half a salute; to Chie, who knelt down to her with a wink and a "Thanks," before giving the girl a hug; even to Kou and Daisuke, who were thrilled by her attention and immediately started talking to her. Souji glanced up and saw Ai looking on with a small, concealed smile which became a look of surprise when his cousin went up to her and politely introduced herself with "Big Bro says you're his friend too. Congratulations." He had to turn to keep from laughing at Ai's flustered and touched and soft expressions, uncharacteristically stumbling between thanks and her own introduction. Even Katsushiro and Ryoko, speaking to one of the teachers by the other door, took a moment to watch the girl with gentle smiles.
"Belle of the ball," he commented as Yukiko watched with him. "I'll have to make sure no one wants to take her home."
"She has come a long way," Yukiko replied before turning to him, eyes lighting up at his black and silver pinstripe suit, starched shirt and dark tie. He'd even polished his shoes and cleaned his full-finger gloves, and he wore it all with poise. "You look very handsome, by the way." She reached up and adjusted his tie a little, a soft look to her face. "I've never seen you wear this suit before."
"Something I picked up before I came back," he told her. "Rise wanted to go clothes shopping again, so I took the time to update my wardrobe. First impressions are lasting ones, right?"
"Of course," she smiled, turning in place and wrapping her arm around his. "And you wear it very well."
"I've had a while to get used to it," he replied with a shrug before looking over and nodding to her academic awards. "Congratulations," he told her, stepping forward and softly kissing her on the cheek while ignoring her father's low grunt, stealing a moment to take in a long breath of her perfume. "That choice suits you," he murmured as he pulled back, catching her eyes for a moment. Then he reached into his breast pocket and held out a long jewelry box. "This is a little something to commemorate the day. Nanako helped me pick out the design."
She smiled brightly and reached for the box, carefully opening it. She gave a little gasp when she saw what rested inside before reaching out and lifting it on her fingers. It was a pendent in the shape of an ema, about two inches across on a silver chain, with tsubasa scribed on one side and yuuki on the other, both in classic kanji. "It's beautiful," she murmured, rotating it in the light to get a closer look before giving him a smile and a raised eyebrow. "Taking liberties with my name, are you?"
Souji chuckled and shook his head, threading his fingers together and looking around before giving a serious look. "It suits you," he told her frankly. "It took me a while to come up with the inscriptions, but you've come a long way from when I moved here." His voice lowered as he leaned toward her, low and intimate. "You're not in that birdcage anymore. Your wings aren't broken and you've got nothing holding you back. You can take to the skies and go wherever you please, and I'll be there with you no matter what." He locked eyes with her and smiled, their contact creating a pocket of the room just for them. "Congratulations, Yukiko."
She blushed at his words and gave him a lopsided smile before leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips, holding still at the contact. Not pushing for more or pulling back, just resting against him, gracing him with the soft warmth of her lips and the slightly waxy feel of her lipstick. He rested his hands on her shoulders and slowly pulled back after a few moments before he pulled her into a close hug. She returned the gesture as the smell of her hair filled his mind. "Thank you," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
"Anything. You know that," he replied, tightening his arms.
His eyebrows furrowed a little when she giggled against him. "That was a nice little speech," she remarked. "How long did it take you to come up with it? Or did you not need books and Takenaka-san's advice this time?"
"How rude," he rebuked her lightly. "I don't always have a hard time finding things to say, you know."
"Of course not," she agreed far too easily. "So how long?"
"I'll never tell."
"Well, I'll get it out of you later," she promised. Looking around the room, it seemed that their displays of affection had gone mostly unnoticed. Ryoko and Katsuhiro had left with the teacher they'd been talking to before, and the others were chatting with Nanako. There was a group of girls, however, who were grinning and waving at Yukiko, giving her suggestive looks. The heiress shook her head and turned back to Souji, still blushing a little. When their eyes met again, however, she stepped back and pulled a jewelry box similar to the one he'd given her from her kimono sleeve and handing it to him. "I got you something as well. I know you couldn't be with your friends and Rise-chan back in Kofu, so this is your graduation too. We all got gifts, and you shouldn't be left out in this case."
He took the offered box with a grateful nod and a touched smile. "I hope, for the sake of variety, that you didn't have the same idea I did," he told her with a small grin.
The only hint he got was a calm little smile. "Take a look."
He did as she bid, and whistled in surprise when he saw the necklace and pendent that lay inside. They were definitely custom-made; Rise had dragged him through enough jewelry stores that he knew the metalwork was exceptional. Thin braided metal chains with a clasp at one end and the hook 4/5s of the way down the length immediately caught his eye. He wasn't sure if they were silver, polished steel, or something else, but the metalwork was both delicate and distinct, and looked like it would take a lot to break. Fragile yet strong, like a sword's edge. On the end of the chain rested a solid silver hexagram with three horizontal bars formed from dark iron. Simple and understated, but Souji recognized it immediately – the provincial crest of the Inaba province from back in the days of the Meiji Restoration and the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Any history buff would have recognized it.
If his amateur knowledge of jewelry was anywhere near the mark, it had to be worth a small fortune for the fine craftsmanship alone. Ripples in the steel of the chains, the sturdy but subtle clasp, it all felt like a labour of love rather than an obligatory commission, and he couldn't take his eyes off it.
"Daidara-san offered to make it once we got a design in mind," Yukiko told him as he kept looking at it. "Kanji-kun helped with that part. Yosuke-kun came up with the clasp outline, and we all pitched in to pay for it. Those two, Chie, Naoto-kun and Teddy, we all wanted something that would suit you, that you couldn't find anywhere else." She looked up and smiled when she noted how fixated he was on it. "Seems like it was the right choice."
"It's perfect," he told her finally. It really did feel like the whole group had pitched in on the project, especially since few people knew about his long-time fascination with all facets of Japanese history, from the many different wars to the myths and local legends of Kanto and Kansai. He'd only told Yukiko about the different stories he'd collected, and Nanako and the others had found out by accident at some point or another, but the provincial crest gleaming brightly in the light from the windows showed that they hadn't forgotten.
Yukiko slipped a bit closer and lowered her voice, resting her hands on his forearms. "I wanted it to be something from here. And there was one other reason, I suppose."
He pulled his eyes up to meet hers, so dark and serious. "And that is?"
"It's so you don't forget about this place," she told him seriously. "I know that's a silly reason, but you've been all over the country, and I want you to know that, no matter where you end up, you'll always have a home here."
Souji stared at her for a moment, placing the jewelry box on the nearby desk and arching an eyebrow. "With you?" he asked, neutral in tone and stance.
"Of course."
There was no helping it. She looked so serious, so earnest and loving, that he wanted to kiss her senseless. That they were in the middle of the school was irrelevant. Her parents being just around the corner didn't matter. Nothing was holding him back and damn the consequences. He stepped forward, touched a hand to her chin so he could see her face, lovely and lightly made up for the day, and leaned forward.
"Big Bro! Big Sis! We're taking pictures now!"
And froze the moment he heard Nanako's voice. Yukiko blinked owlishly, pulled out of the moment at the same time, and they both looked back to see Nanako surrounded by their friends. Souji wanted to be annoyed at the interruption, yet again, but he couldn't hold onto the feeling when he saw her smile. With a sigh and a low murmur to his girlfriend, "Her face is going to stay that way if she keeps smiling so much," he turned toward the group while resting a hand on Yukiko's far hip.
"That wouldn't be so bad," she insisted through her light giggles, but the look she gave told him that she understood: Their private time was over, and they joined the others in congratulations and reminiscing. Yukiko and Nanako spoke to Naoto in quiet tones that Souji had long since learned meant 'no men allowed,' so he nodded at Yosuke before walking over to join him by the windows.
"Hell of a day, huh?" Souji's second-in-command asked, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the window frame.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. I still feel like I should be studying."
Yosuke chuckled, giving his friend an arch look. "You're going for university right away, aren't you? Seems crazy to go from finals into prepping for another god-awful exam."
"You're no different," Souji pointed out. "Last I heard, you had a few schools you were going to apply to. Has that changed?"
His answer came in the shake of Yosuke's head. "No, I still am, but I get the feeling that you're going somewhere high-class where only the best of Japan's top 1% are allowed or something. Same as Yukiko-san – I don't see her going to some backwater community college."
Souji couldn't deny those points, especially since his test itinerary for the different institutions he was applying to had just arrived in the mail, so he changed the subject. "Did Teddie tell you what his new goals are?"
Yosuke's smile disappeared behind an exasperated sigh. "Man, I was trying to forget. Nothing wrong with him wanting to do something here, and it beats him staying at my place and working as the Junes mascot forever, but a teacher? How is that going to work?"
Teddie had interrupted their group study session a few weeks before finals and completely derailed their efforts for an hour by announcing that he wanted to do his part in helping people become more lively and not fall prey to their Shadows, to fight against the fog and apathy that Izanami talked about. And he wanted to do that by 'guiding the future generations from their stale, boring lives, and giving them all a taste of Teddie's love.' The silence that followed his announcement rivaled that of a morgue at midnight.
"Considering how nuts all the other faculty are, he might just fit in," Souji pointed out. "And I'm glad that he's got a goal in mind – I was afraid he was going to ask to team up with Rise and get into showbiz."
"That might've been a better place for him, now that you mention it. I mean, he can do his own special effects, and he'd be perfect in front of a camera."
Souji chuckled. "Probably, but I don't think he's suited for the politics. Even if Rise took him under her wing, he would cause a lot of waves. Being a teacher's less of a minefield by comparison, so long as he keeps his hands to himself."
Yosuke glanced at him for a few moments before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "I guess it's his decision. And whatever happens happens, right?"
"That's right. If nothing else it'll be pretty fun to watch, don't you think?"
"It really will, now that you mention it." Yosuke frowned a bit, then gave a weary sigh. "But now I'm worried about the next generation of students getting suspended because they won't stop talking about scoring with the senior students, or him running one of those art classes that takes up an entire wall of the school and somehow looks like us in the TV."
Souji laughed; that did make for a good mental image. "We'll have a talk with him before it comes to that. I hear the teacher's exams are pretty stringent, and– what's up?" Yosuke was looking past a group of students with a thoughtful set to his face, and when Souji leaned closer and followed his friend's gaze he saw Kou approaching Chie, threading his fingers together and breathing steadily. Standing tall and smiling like always, he would have looked confident and capable if he didn't look so pale.
"Think that'll work out?" Yosuke asked quietly as they turned to keep from being caught staring. "He's not the sort to give up when there's something he wants, but he's had a tough time talking to her since forever. Everyone's heard about it by now. That's gonna take a while to break."
"It's too early to tell," Souji murmured back. "And if Chie's going to university, there might not be a lot of time for them to get to know each other."
"That didn't stop you and Yukiko-san," Yosuke pointed out.
Souji glanced over steadily. "That's different. I hope they get to that point, but long-distance relationships are hard. Different people and priorities, finding the time to talk, common interests, there's nothing easy about it."
"I get that," Yosuke assured his friend with an upraised hand, "but I get this feeling that Kou won't be that easily brushed aside. Once he gets used to talking to Chie, he'll find his groove and keep at it."
"We'll see," Souji murmured. "I don't doubt him, but life gets in the way of things like that, and tends to be very good at throwing in problems where there weren't any before."
He was about to go deeper on the subject when Nanako came up and told him that it was his turn to have pictures taken. The determined look on her face was enough to convince him, but when he looked past her, he noted that there was quite a queue waiting for them. Yosuke slipped away and cuffed him on the shoulder in passing, so Souji followed Nanako to where Yukiko and the camera awaited. As he made his way over, he glanced over at the pair he and Yosuke were talking about earlier and smiled. Chie looked surprised, but kept up her end of the conversation, and Kou only tripped over himself a few times in talking to her. It was a good start, and in spite of the doubts that circled Souji's mind like water down a drain, they would hardly have been the oddest couple in their group. Naoto and Kanji were talking to Yosuke and Daisuke, still standing close together though they weren't holding hands. In spite of everything that had gotten in the way and all the reasons they shouldn't have worked, this was the third time he'd seen them spending time together since Naoto visited his house. They broke the expectations and violated the rules and looked genuinely happy in spite of all the agonizing they'd gone through to get this far.
Their odd little family never did things by the numbers, after all. Souji was getting a familiar tingling sensation around the scars on his hand when he looked at Chie and Kou, and gave them a passing smile before chuckling into his hand.
He couldn't wait to see if they could beat the odds again.
March 19th
It was funny how small changes in her life could alter how she thought on a larger scale. Before she got to know Souji, Yukiko was sure that everyone could see how hollow her smiles were. Her burdens at home, her indecision, it all felt like it ate her away inside until she became transparent, an open book of shameful secrets and mortifying personal truths that she couldn't stand yet couldn't stop. Since then, since that day at the shrine and that night under the fireworks, her smiles had grown more robust. She laughed and giggled with her friends, was happy to look in the mirror and see the cheerful and charming girl staring back, and now when she touched the pendant that her beloved boyfriend had given her, the smiles were automatic and stemmed from the warmth in her chest that they inspired.
But sincere as the smiles were, they didn't last, even with the memories so close at hand. She groaned and leaned back in her chair until she felt her vertebrae pop. If she thought that looking after the Inn was time-consuming before, it became downright onerous when she was trying to study for the Kyoto University entrance exams. She ate her meals with her books, studied when she had a few free minutes, and was even reciting history and chemical equations in the shower. Nothing she'd studied for before had been this intense, and she knew she had to pace herself or risk burning out.
Souji was in the same boat, focusing on studying and online research for his own tests, so the time they had available was sweet and brief. That said, he had designated a weekend in June as theirs, set it aside for them to have some time to themselves. And Nanako-chan and Dojima were spending some father/daughter time together and would be out of the house. A dreamy little smile spread across her lips and she stroked her pendant again; she and Souji already had plans for their absence.
The finer details of those plans were interrupted when her phone rang, jolting her in her chair. The ringtone was the theme song of Trial of the Dragon, which meant Chie. "Hello?" she answered on the third ring, digging past all the study books on her desk in her room.
"Hey, it's me. Have you got a few minutes?"
Chie's voice was friendly, but distinctly thoughtful with the words coming out slowly. Operating on habits born from years of experience, Yukiko rose from her chair, went across her room, and sat back against her favourite couch, soft as kisses and with enough give that she'd fallen asleep against it more than once. "Of course. Is something wrong?"
There was a long pause after the reply, so much so that Yukiko checked the phone to make sure the call hadn't disconnected. "No," Chie replied finally, "it's… not wrong, really, it's just more… unusual. Or weird, I guess."
Yukiko let out a steadying breath, putting aside her mental calculations and recitation for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"It's about Ichijo. We started talking at graduation, got to know each other, made some plans, and now we've been… I guess you'd call it spending time together. Having lunch, talking about stuff, things like that."
That didn't surprise her. "That's good though, right? It means you're getting along better than before. And Kou-kun is very polite, and a close friend."
There was a long pause on the other side, and it was only the sound of the music in the background that told Yukiko that the line hadn't gone dead. "Well, it's…" Chie began finally. Yukiko could picture her best friend, working the words around like chewing on a mouth-sized piece of toffee. "It's more than that. It's like he's been setting time aside for when we get together. And I know that sounds wrong, but I feel like he's dropping everything for when we can hang out. He takes it pretty seriously."
Souji had told her about the conversation between the three at Junes those months ago, and told her to be careful with her words. That was no problem for Yukiko; she'd been keeping a few notes in mind for just such an occasion. "Is that a bad thing? It means you can spend more time together, doesn't it?"
The reply was slow, though not as much as before. "Right, it does. But why? Why me, and why now? Sure, he's a pretty good friend, but…"
"That's a start, isn't it?"
"That's the problem," Chie almost whined, a sound that would have kept Yosuke teasing her for weeks if he'd ever heard it. "A good start to what? This is getting weird, but not in a bad way, and that just means… when did he get the idea to try taking me out on dates?"
Yukiko let that idea roll around her head for a moment before choosing her words like it was the last round in a game of Scrabble. "It's possible he's taking those first steps toward asking you out, you know. Kou-kun always seemed nervous when we talked to him," she pointed out. "I don't think it was me he had a hard time talking to, so maybe he wants to change that."
There was a long pause as the words hit the mark, and it was clear Chie made the connection that Yukiko was aiming for. The martial artist let out an exasperated breath, followed by a thunk as she bounced on her mattress. "What am I supposed to do? This is totally messed up."
Yukiko smiled happily, welcoming the distraction and glad for her friend. She hadn't expected it to be Kou-kun who pursued her, but this was long overdue. "I think it's cute. If he has been taking you out, and if he's being that serious, then it means he's trying to get to know you better."
There was a rustling on the line as Chie shook her head and moved back and forth against her blankets. "That's the thing. He's the head of the basketball team, on the school honour roll, and the son of one of the richest families in the area. You know how many girls attend games and practices just for him?"
"I don't think it's all of them, but Souji's said it's quite a few."
"Right. So he's A-grade material. If it makes sense for him to hook up with anyone, it'd be Ebihara. She's rich and good looking. Or you, if Souji hadn't come here. Some kind of an arranged marriage or something."
That stifled Yukiko's smile for a moment, but not for long. Perhaps that would have been possible before, but now the idea felt ludicrous. "Kou-kun and I are friends, but our parents aren't that close."
"But it could have happened," Chie insisted. "The point is, he's got all these things going for him. Why did he get nervous around me before?"
Yukiko chuckled then, thinking of Kanji-kun and Naoto-kun and all their shared insecurities, circling each other but not getting close like the same poles of two magnets. But those two had changed enough to connect. "People are attracted to whom they are, Chie. It might not make sense, but I don't think it needs to. If you like him, then there's nothing wrong. And he seems to like you, and has for a while."
The line was silent after Yukiko finished talking, and the silence was broken by a long, tired sigh. "This is way too much for me right now. And the timing's terrible." That was probably the closest Satonaka Chie had ever come to whining.
"Then pace yourself," Yukiko suggested. "There's no need to run into this, especially if you're not sure about it."
"It's not that," Chie protested quietly. "It's… I mean, he's great to be around, he's funny once he gets going, and he's not pushy or obnoxious or a self-centred jerk like the other guys at school. And it's flattering that he's spending time with me. But where do I go from here? What should I do? Leading him along isn't fair, and I don't even know if that's what he wants."
"What about you? Let's say he is trying to date you; what do you think about him?"
There was another long pause on the line. "It feels like he cares when we're together," was her answer. "And it's nice to have someone to talk to, to work with when it comes to these things. It seems like he's happy when we hang out, even when we're not doing anything special, and it's pretty fun. But it's not romance or love or anything."
"It doesn't have to be, though," Yukiko assured her, looking up to her ceiling. "Would it be so bad if you were just friends first? That's the best foundation to start from, I think."
"Starting from, sure, but where is it going?
Yukiko didn't have an answer, so she gave a wordless 'I don't know' in reply, accompanied only by her friend's uneven breathing.
"This is messed up," Chie murmured finally in a toneless sigh.
There was only one thing Yukiko could say. "Give it time, Chie. I think that's your best choice right now. But these things have ways of working themselves out. One way or another."
April 12th
She never used the mountains or exercise to run from her problems. Work through them, she told herself. Never run from them. Deal with them or kick them until they go away, then move on. It had kept her going during the investigation, through all the ups and downs of Nanako-chan's abduction and when they decided Namatame's fate in the hospital, and it hadn't changed since.
But now she was running. Pushing, and straining, and gritting her teeth, trying to get away, to drown the words out with the screaming of her body. She'd already gone four miles further than her hardest run ever, and it didn't matter. She was straining harder than she had since they'd beaten Izanami, so soaked in sweat that she would have been dryer if it was raining. It didn't matter; nothing stopped the words, those damned words, from echoing in her ears.
Satonaka Chie. We appreciate your application to the Inaba police force. But such a career, and it is a lifetime career, takes more than an understanding of the physical nature of the job. Your results on the entrance exam simply will not suffice, thus we cannot accept you at this time. Should you wish to apply again, however, you can…
She'd gotten the letter a few days after the hardest written test of her life. Never mind high school tests and finals, what the police threw at her was like trying to trying to give the Great Wall of China a piggyback ride. She was beyond unprepared for it, and all her expectations, all her buffers against failure, were on a smoking heap at her shoes right now.
Pulling to a stop, she let her ragged breathing torture her lungs and tried to stop the shaking in her legs. The mountain path, snapped twigs and hard dirt, flickered in and out of sight from the colour bubbles that grew and popped across her eyes. Crouching didn't help – the pressure in her head and eyes grew from increased blood flow and made her dizzy. She ran the back of her hand across her forehead and face, trying to clean off the sweat, but her wristbands were so saturated already that she just squeezed more sweat onto her skin, sending it running down in rivulets.
Breathing hurt, her whole body was in agony, and she could feel where she'd pushed her muscles too far, past the point of pain and straight into numbness and she knew she'd be feeling it for a week. But when she heard someone's breathing from up ahead, her head snapped up. Without thinking she dropped into a fighting stance , glaring at the source of the sound.
Only to have the fight leave her when she saw a familiar mop of blue hair and concerned eyes set against a handsome, fine-boned face and narrow nose. There was no judgment on those eyes, no disgust at seeing a girl so filthy and sweaty, and that was the first reason she didn't look away when she saw him. He knew her, and knew what she was like. If this bothered him, then there wasn't much else to say.
Because the second reason was that she was past the point of caring.
"Here." Ichijo Kou, dressed in a t-shirt and track shorts, tossed her a dry towel and a full, cold water bottle.
Chie stepped forward and snagged the first item, whipping it up and around the back of her neck. The second she bent at the waist to catch with two fingers, bring it up to her mouth to take a long draw from before squirting it across her face. The chill water felt like the hand of a merciful goddess running across her face, and for a moment she could break away from her problems and just enjoy this simple sensation. Then she wiped her face down and looked at Kou, and the concern he showed brought her back to the world. "Thanks," she told him quietly, stepping off the trail and resting on a root while the adrenaline in her veins thinned out. It didn't stop her heart from beating harder, though. Kou always had that effect on her, and all he was doing now was slowly walking toward her.
"I got a call from Souji earlier," he told her, stopping near a tree seven feet away with his arms loosely folded at the chest. "He said you could use a friend right now, and he couldn't make it himself."
Chie let out a chuckle laced with strained breathing. Right. Souji and Dojima-san had taken Nanako-chan on a family vacation, capitalizing on one of the few times the detective could leave the house for more than work. "Right. Well, I guess that's right. Probably."
There was hesitation in his eyes, and he was choosing his words carefully. "You don't sound very sure."
"I'm not," she admitted with another empty, rattling laugh. She didn't want to throw her problems at him, but there was no denying that they were there. And she wasn't going to lie to him just to save face. "I can't remember the last few days, and haven't been home since… This morning. I think. Too wired. Too tired." She heaved a heavy sigh and straightened up to address him. "Not sure what to call it. No idea where I'd start, either."
His eyes were straight and level, so nothing she'd said fazed him. That was a good start. "Are you alright? Aside from the obvious, I mean."
"Aside from failing the test?" That word echoed over and over in her head, burning into her retinas like it was painted on the ground, the trees, on him, everywhere she looked. "Aside from that and everything I've done for the last six months going down the pipes, yeah, I'm fine." She wanted to say it was a learning experience, something that would prepare her for the next time. But failing so spectacularly was hard to feel good about. Like looking at the bright side of falling out of a burning seven-storey apartment building and suffering from third-degree burns and thirty-four broken bones.
Kou brought her out of her macabre comparisons by walking up to her and catching her eyes with his, sober yet smiling. "Well, maybe I can help. Souji gave me some ideas, and I think I could give you a hand in studying for the exam if you plan on taking it again. You can take the test at another time, right?"
She shook her head. It was nice, him offering like that, but best he know what he was getting into. "It's not that simple. I studied with Yukiko and Naoto for that test, tried everything I could, everything they knew, to get that far, and I wasn't even close." She let out a harsh breath. That helpless feeling, staring at the exam pages and not having the faintest clue, invaded her thoughts, and she growled against it.
He held out a hand while placing the other on his hip, head cocked to the side. "Well, you can start with the things you know you got wrong. There had to have been things you were prepared for, after all."
Chie flexed her hands, cracking her knuckles and feeling her mind calm down a little. He'd come all this way to help her, and that counted for something. "Right, but the exams change every time, and they won't be holding another one until next year, at the earliest. Now I don't know if I should study for the university entrance exams, or try the police exam again next year."
"You could do both," Kou suggested. "Supplementary university courses could help you when you take the test again. And I've heard that officers with a post-secondary education are considered for promotions sooner than those without it."
"Right," she replied shortly, looking to the side and letting out a long, tired breath.
He sighed and scratched his cheek with a forefinger. "Sorry. I'm throwing all this stuff at you, but you've probably had a rough few days, haven't you?"
"I'm fine," she replied, wiping at her brow with his towel. And it had to be his towel, she realized, because it smelled like he did. Crisp mountain air and fresh, icy water, and his presence was all that kept her from breathing it in more heavily. "Just pissed off at myself." Kou raised his eyebrows at her language, but she was too focused on getting the problems off her chest to give any thought to what he thought of girls who swore. "I mean, I should've known that I was pushing things too hard. High school finals, graduation, all this other stuff. It makes sense that I wouldn't be at my best when I went for the exam. I was the only one anywhere near my age there, and that should have told me something." She let out a heavy sigh. "Feels like a waste now."
"Do you really think that?"
Chie snorted a chuckle, cocking an eyebrow and pointing her hand to him. It was the first bit of genuine mirth she'd felt in a while. "You sound like Souji, asking questions so I'll think of the answers myself. Was it a waste? Hell if I know. I can't think of anything right now."
"If it's what you want, then don't give up on it just because you've hit a wall."
She cocked her head to the side, a dry, brittle smile on her face. "Why? Have you got a rocket launcher handy? Because this is a pretty huge wall we're talking about." She checked her tone and cringed when she heard how close her words came to scorn. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I appreciate that you're here. Everyone else is busy."
If her tone bothered him, it didn't show. If anything, he smiled a bit more. "You said that you studied with Naoto-san and Yukiko-san, right? What if I helped you?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Might be that you just learned things wrong, or weren't focusing on the right things." He paused to let his words sink in before he continued. "I know how hard it is to switch your focus for tests, especially when you're dealing with things you're not used to. But if we try a different approach, then we'll have a better chance of getting it right."
Chie took another long draw of water, giving herself time to think. "How would that make a difference? Studying's studying, and I put in a lot of late nights for the exam. If I couldn't get it a few weeks ago, I don't think there's much I could have done differently."
Kou shook his head, the dogged look in his eyes intensifying. "You studied the same way you always did when you were in school. I hate to say it, but you never were that good at tests." She glared at him for the reminder and he held up a hand to ward her off. "And I'm just pointing that out. I don't mean it negatively. My point is this: you've tried a method that hasn't worked, so why not try for a new one that could?"
Chie stared at him long and hard before sighing and running her hand through her hair. "Maybe. I'm not sure. Where is this idea coming from?"
"Personal experience." She cocked her head to the side, and he chuckled while stroking his jaw, a wry smile, his trademark wry smile, across his face. "I thought I wanted to go for a sports scholarship when I graduated. Seemed like the best road to take, all things considered, to play basketball professionally and travel abroad. But I expanded my horizons one day because my grandmother brought up something that was completely unrelated. She started talking about kinesiology and how it connected to nutrition and muscles and body structure. I gave it a try and it's been an uphill battle ever since."
She waited for him to continue, but he shrugged. "That doesn't make sense," she pointed out when he didn't say anything more. "You know sports and muscles and all that stuff. Why would kinesiology be a problem for you?"
"Nutrition," he told her simply. "Enzymes and calorie intake and metabolism. All the science that goes into being an athlete that I never gave a second thought to before, and none of it has been coming easily for me. Most of the stuff we covered in school was easy enough, but this is different. I don't know why, but it's just not as easy, so I've had to adjust my studies and my approaches to get the most out of it."
Chie started to see what he meant, where he was going, but she asked anyway. "And Souji's not helping you? He's pretty sharp with science and that stuff."
Kou was shaking his head before she even finished. "No, and it's because he knows all this stuff that I'm doing it on my own. Souji's a great teacher for things that click with people, same as Yukiko-san, but this isn't something that I connect with. Whenever we talk about it, his explanations just leave me more lost than how I started, like I can't understand what we've covered after he leaves. In that way, his experience doesn't do me any good. Nothing against him – he's a great friend in every other way. But this is a case where I have to find my own way of doing things, and that's because it doesn't come to me naturally. Different disciplines need different approaches and all that."
This was news to her. She straightened and walked over to him, gesturing for him to keep going. "And you're going forward with it anyway?"
"Yep. It's what I want to do. Well, it's part of what I want to do, but ignoring the hard stuff or just getting a good enough grade to pass feels like I'm giving up. So I've had to learn on my feet this last little while."
Chie nodded. It did make sense, how he was explaining it. And she'd felt the same way around Souji sometimes, which was why she'd asked Naoto-kun for help in the first place. "I see what you mean. I hadn't thought of it before; didn't know it made that much of a difference, but I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice."
There was an intense look to his eyes that she hadn't noticed before. "Let me help you."
She took two steps back before his words sank in, and she looked up owlishly at him when they did. "What?"
For her two steps back, he took three steps forward, eyes and voice insistent. "Let me help you. I know how I've been learning things, I've been keeping notes, and I think that we can find something that works for you, that'll help you study for the police exam. Or a university entrance exam, whichever you want to do. This is something we have in common, so it makes sense to help each other out, right?"
Her reply took a few seconds to come out, surprised as she was. "You want to help me study while you go over your own notes? So I could help you on your nutrition stuff if you need it?"
A single nod. "That's right."
Her head cocked to the side, and whether it was Kou or the distraction he provided, her muscles were less pained now. She'd gotten her second wind. "What do you have in mind? Nutrition and police procedures have nothing in common."
He gave a calm smile, like he'd been waiting for her to ask that question. "I learn best when I'm talking to people. It helps me see how the information connects. And you might bring up ideas that I hadn't thought of before, so working with you would help my studies in the long run. I can add perspective and ideas to the stuff you're covering, too."
Chie looked at him, silent and a little skeptical, while he smiled and held out his hands. "I dunno," she replied slowly. "I mean, thanks for the offer, but I'm not sure how this is going to work when we actually try it." And I don't know how so much time alone is going to work with… this. Us.
"We'll work it out," he told her calmly, exuding confidence so strong that she smelled it instead of the sweat and dirt all over herself. "We'll find something that works, even if we get it wrong a few times before then, and keep going with it until we get to where we want to go."
Again with all the 'we's. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, already conflicted over the exam results, but he wasn't letting her doubts get in the way.
"And I'll get on my knees and beg if I have to," he told her, smile firmly in place and sincerity strong in his eyes.
Chie looked at him for a moment before giving a hard sigh. "I can see you doing it, too. That's the scary part. You'd chase me all the way back to town just so you could beg me if I told you 'no,' wouldn't you?"
"The idea had crossed my mind," he replied with a flash of his teeth. "Among a few other things, but those won't be necessary, right?"
She smiled. Genuinely smiled. Maybe this was just wishful thinking and blind hope, and maybe she was in denial and grabbing for something that told her that the failure wasn't her fault. But that didn't matter. When he looked at her like that, spoke with that much conviction, she couldn't help but want to see where it went. She stepped forward and held her hand out. Rock steady. "Alright. Let's try it your way and see where it gets us. Can't get any worse, right?"
He took it without a stutter or a pause, solid and even, and shook it once. "I promise you won't regret it."
Author's Note, Post Script: Happy Remembrance Day to all of my beautiful readers.