Chapter 6

What had he been thinking?

"Geez." Yosuke bumped his forehead repeatedly against the wall of the bathroom.

Could he have responded with a more bizarre set of messages? Why had he phrased it so seriously?

"Senpai? S'everything okay?" Kanji walked out of a stall and paused to stare at him.

Yosuke leapt back and waved his hands frantically. "Uh, you know! Just having a weird day!"

Yosuke had escaped to the bathroom to avoid his friends while he punished himself, not to be judged by Kanji.

Kanji blinked a few times and slowly turned to wash his hands. "Sure, uh, right."

Yosuke sighed quietly, relieved that Kanji had either accepted his response, or that he simply didn't want to get involved.

"So, you accepted that girl's confession?" Kanji shook his hands and faced Yosuke again.

"Ah, yeah, sort of? We aren't a couple or anything, just gonna talk and see what happens... I guess." Yosuke was already starting to feel like he was being put on trial.

Kanji looked almost disappointed. "She's in my class. She seems okay, doesn't really talk to anyone besides her friends. They're pretty loud, but she's normal. I've never really talked to her though."

Was he trying to be helpful? It seemed more like a formality for a friend.

"That's... good. Wouldn't wanna get a weird one my first try, right?" Yosuke laughed awkwardly, but Kanji's expression remained blank.

"I guess, Senpai. Anyway, have a good one. See ya later." Kanji nodded towards Yosuke and headed for the door.

Yosuke felt a strange guilt watching him walk away. "Hey, uh... Wait a second."

Kanji merely looked back at him.

"I just wanted to apologize. I know it's weird to do this in the bathroom at school, but... I'm sorry—for all the crap. It was dumb and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did to... a lot of stuff last year." Yosuke wasn't certain what spurred him to say any of it, but it seemed important right now for some reason.

Kanji gave a half-smile before replying, "Thanks, but it's really fine. Last year was a lot to deal with. I still appreciate it, and Senpai... good luck, but you won't need it."

"Huh? I could use all the luck I can get." Yosuke laughed again, but Kanji's expression was unreadable.

"Nah, not with this." Kanji turned and opened the door, leaving Yosuke confused again.

This had been a strange day already. Too strange. What did his friends know that he didn't? Or at least Naoto and Kanji knew something. Naoto had been guessing Yosuke's every thought recently, and he was starting to wonder if the girl's detective skills were actually some kind of mind reading ability. Kanji had changed a lot already in just a few months, and he was starting to make Yosuke feel like a child sometimes. Maybe Naoto was rubbing off on him.

Buzz.

did u die n there? :p

Chie.

stfu!

Yosuke put his phone away and ruffled his hair trying to clear his head. He'd wanted to take these precious few minutes to think about why he'd sent what he'd sent to Yu, but that plan had failed the second Kanji walked out. Yu didn't seem to be weirded out by any of them, but he could have just been loopy from the night before, or maybe even trying to make Yosuke feel better about completely fucking up. Yosuke wanted to make it apparent that this girl was not going to be put before his best friend. It was the least he could do after not talking to Yu before making his decision, then completely missing every call and text while his friend was in shambles.

Some partner he was.

But why did he feel the need to consult Yu before every choice he made? He wanted to tell himself it was because Yu could look at things from a rational viewpoint, a vital skill Yosuke lacked, but it seemed like something else now. He wanted Yu's approval, not in the sense that it was something Yu would do, but that Yu would be proud of him. Their friendship was like a peculiar marriage, and if for some impossible reason it ended, the result would be like a divorce.

It was dramatic, but that was them.

After he'd dragged the walk back to class out, he resigned himself to the lecture until finally the bell for lunch rang. He pulled out his phone to see no new messages from Yu, but there was one from Ume.

Hey, if you're free today I'd love to go do something.

It was innocent, but the text made Yosuke feel sick. Was he just using this girl?

i'll let you know later, kind of tired today.

Yosuke frowned as he hit send, and hoped to just avoid her for the remainder of the day.

"Senpai." A quiet voice came from the door.

He'd succeeded for thirty seconds.

"Hey! You're Yosuke's friend, right?" Chie was already standing between the two of them.

Yosuke turned towards the voices and felt his stomach twist into a knot.

"Oh, hello! I'm Ume Hayashi. Pleased to meet you," Ume answered and bowed towards Chie, obviously embarrassed.

"Ah, don't do that! Seriously, it's cool!" Chie waved both hands at Ume to discourage her and laughed uncomfortably. "I'm Chie Satonaka, nice to meet you."

This was one of the most stressful situations Yosuke had experienced to date. He had not been ready to introduce her to his friends yet.

"I'm Yukiko Amagi, pleased to meet you." Yukiko swiftly moved to stand next to Chie, and his two friends now blocked Ume from Yosuke's desk.

"Thanks, you as well." Ume bowed in Yukiko's direction this time.

"Wow, you're too cute for this lame-o. Seriously, run while you can," Chie joked and reached back to jab Yosuke.

Yosuke swatted her hand away. "H-hey, knock it off."

Ume's face grew red. "I-I don't think that at all."

She clearly wasn't ready for one of Chie's jokes.

"Sorry, sorry, I was kidding. He's a nice guy—oblivious to the feelings of others, but nice," Chie said, and shot Yosuke a condescending glance before returning to Ume. "Come on, you should hang with us during lunch, you can steal Yosuke after school. We'll fill you in on all his bad habits to save you some time."

Yukiko giggled as they both took one arm each and started to lead Ume away before she could protest.

Yosuke stared for a moment and tried to piece together the last couple of minutes, but he oddly didn't feel anger towards the pair. It was relief.

Buzz.

Wanted to let you know I'm awake.

If it wasn't for what had happened earlier Yosuke would have been ecstatic to see Yu's message, but now he just flushed whenever he remembered what he'd sent. He decided to pretend like it'd never happened.

you get some decent sleep? today can't be over fast enough.

It was uneventful. Sorry your day has been less than ideal.

that's a weird way to describe sleep, but i guess that's a good thing? today has just been complicated. chie being chie.

Uneventful is a welcome change, trust me. What did Chie do?

Why did he feel ashamed bringing up Ume?

ume showed up a few minutes ago and chie and yukiko dragged her off saying they were gonna tell her all about me. bad stuff of course.

Oh, well if they were being honest with her it'd be a very short conversation.

Yosuke rubbed the side of his face and groaned. Of course, he had to know what Yu thought.

what would you tell her? what are my bad traits?

Yu took several minutes to respond, and Yosuke prepared for a long text that would crush him.

I wouldn't have anything to say, but to humor you... You don't really have 'bad' traits, so to speak. You don't do anything that's terrible, but you have some mannerisms that have negative connotations attached to them. You can be forgetful, clumsy, and passionate without stopping to think. None of these things bother me, and honestly it gives you charm. I think we complement each other well, actually. Besides, your positives far outweigh anything 'bad' someone might see.

Yosuke smiled shyly and reread the message a few times.

what are the positives? i could use a pep talk, leader.

One day his curiosity would get the better of him.

Your unwavering loyalty, kindness, empathic nature, selflessness, courage, honesty, unmatched humor, resourcefulness, and when you're passionate without thinking. There are more, but those are my favorites. Also, I'm not your leader anymore. Those days are over, I'm just your partner now. :)

Yu always had a way of making Yosuke feel like he mattered, but that was just Yu. He was great at this stuff, even if he didn't believe it himself.

aghhh you over exaggerate everything i swear. thanks though... i feel a lot better now. i should be cheering you up, not the other way around.

I'm better, texting you keeps my mind occupied.

you know we'd all still follow you into battle. for all the times you pumped everyone up you should be a motivational speaker. seriously. you could talk someone you've never met out of jumping off a roof with a few words.

A strange compliment, but thank you.

another specialty of mine, creating awkward situations. :) also, if you're coming saturday just message me with the train you're taking and i'll think up an excuse to meet you. these next few days are gonna suck.

Thanks. It will be a later train, and hopefully I can just leave my parents a note. Much cleaner that way.

yeah probably, your mom might freak. lunch is over though, text you after school. go back to sleep.

Enjoy lecture. Good night.

Yosuke flipped the phone closed and glared at Chie and Yukiko as they returned to their seats. "Thanks for that," he hissed, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Don't be so accusatory! You wanted to check on him, right? Hard to do that with a giddy school girl chatting your ear off. She seems sweet though, so don't break her heart, okay?" Chie puffed her cheeks towards him.

Yosuke's face turned pink and he gritted his teeth. "Dude, don't even start. We aren't together, geez," He looked down at the desk. "Thank you though, he's feeling better. Sucks that we can't visit him... I hope Nanako-chan isn't too worried about him."

"We need to visit her, it's been a while. I call her every now and then, but it's not the same, you know?" Chie's face turned into a pout.

"Yeah, when I called last night I think I freaked her out. I'll have to apologize later today. I hope she's not mad or anything," Yosuke admitted while spinning an eraser on his desk anxiously.

Chie reached over and smacked his arm. "Yosuke, you can't do that! She's still a kid you dummy, and she's been through enough! Stop and think about stuff for two seconds! It's your job to keep a level head."

Yosuke couldn't argue with her this time, and ignored Yukiko as she nodded her head in agreement. "I'm taking care of it, okay? I know I messed up... I was just scared last night."

Chie frowned and gave Yosuke a look of pity. "I-I know it's hard since he left, especially for you guys being best friends and all. But, hey, he's coming back for Golden Week, right? He did confirm that, didn't he?" She was crap at cheering Yosuke up.

He wanted to lie and say no. "Yeah, Sunday maybe. Possibly Monday," He was luckily allowed to be quiet about Saturday.

"See? That's awesome! It's only a few more days and the gang will be back together! We all make it sound like we haven't seen each other in ages. We'll have to think of some get together to welcome him back." Chie smiled and patted Yosuke's arm this time.

"As long as you two don't cook," Yosuke joked and smirked towards both of them.

Yukiko and Chie started to argue, but the teacher cleared his throat and quieted the class. Yosuke slumped in his chair and stared vacantly at the board as it filled up with notes. He could see Ume after school or use Nanako as a valid excuse to postpone it. He could also just go straight home and hide from all his responsibilities.

Buzz.

Yosuke placed a hand against his pocket, but stopped. It was more than likely her, however he couldn't be certain, and he wasn't going to ignore it if it was Yu. He took the gamble and snuck his phone out.

Just let me know about today! :)

His first assumption was correct. Yosuke debated on whether or not to ignore the text and blame it on class later, but if he didn't at least talk to the girl he wouldn't know if this could become something serious or even worthwhile. He resigned to just stopping by Nanako-chan's house after he hung out with Ume. The nervous habit of spinning the ring on his finger calmed him enough to allow him to think about what advice Yu would offer. It was worth giving it a solid effort... right?

"Thanks for walking me home today," Ume stated happily and stood a safe distance from Yosuke as they walked through the floodplains.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's cool," Yosuke replied and kept both hands on the strap of his bag as they walked, carefully avoiding her if she tried to grab his hand.

"To be honest, I was worried you wouldn't want to see me after lunch today. They really didn't say anything bad, by the way. They mostly just asked me questions and talked about your group of friends. Harmless," she reassured and smiled sweetly up at him.

He couldn't just be rude, but how was he supposed to make conversation with this girl?

"So, where do you want to stop? Are you hungry? We could stop by Aiya's!" Ume suggested.

"No." That was too quick. "I mean, uh, I've had it so much recently. Let's try somewhere else."

"Junes?"

"Definitely not."

"I figured. Why not Souzai Daigaku then?" she countered.

Everywhere had a memory with him, but they were just restaurants. "Sure," he gave a lackluster response.

Ume looked down as they walked. "Do you want to do this? I mean, it's fine if you don't, but you shouldn't feel obligated to hang out with me."

Yosuke fought back a groan. "No, I'm sorry, it's just been a long past couple days. I'm just a little tired and have a lot on my mind. Seriously, it's fine."

She smiled meekly and nodded, but Yosuke was just grateful she'd stopped talking.

The half hour they spent eating together had been terribly awkward with Ume spending most of her time just trying to get more than a couple sentences out of Yosuke. The walk to Ume's house had been no different, but Yosuke couldn't bring himself to invest fully in the girl just yet. Did he really have time to start something when he was possibly leaving at the end of his third year? She seemed nice and genuinely interested in getting to know him. They had a lot of similar interests, but most of his answers involved retelling past stories with Yu and his friends. He still felt like she was prying and he recoiled with even the most harmless of questions. It wasn't exactly like she found out anything useful, and he probably came off like an aloof jackass. Favorite color? Orange. Favorite movie? Dunno. Favorite music? A lot. Favorite animal? Never gave it much thought. Dream job? Not Junes.

He was a social train wreck.

"Um... do you want to come in?"

Yosuke snapped back and realized he was standing, hand still lifted in knocking position, in front of Nanako's door.

"Oh, sorry Nanako-chan! I was lost in thought I guess. That'd be great!" He smiled at her as he walked in and removed his shoes.

"Is Big Bro okay?" Her lip began to quiver and she grabbed the side of Yosuke's pants.

Yosuke could feel his heartbreaking. He did this.

"Yeah, he's much better. I'm so sorry for scaring you last night," Yosuke spoke softly and knelt down to her level.

Nanako nodded, but didn't seem completely convinced. "I'm fine. You didn't scare me."

He had to find a way to make this okay again, to fix what he'd started.

"Hey, I have an idea! Let's call and you can talk to him. Sound good?" He pulled out his phone as he patted her head.

"That would be great!" She beamed as Yosuke started dialing Yu's number, setting the phone to speaker mode.

It rang a few times before a groggy Yu answered.

"Hmm, hello?" He let out a loud yawn.

"Big Bro!" Nanako jumped up and down several times at the sound of his voice.

"Nanako-chan... I'm so happy to hear your voice."

Yosuke could imagine Yu's face, a mixture of relief and happiness with just a bit of loneliness.

"Hey partner! Had someone who wanted to check on you. Hope we didn't catch you at a bad time." Although he wasn't quite as excited as Nanako, he shared her enthusiasm to hear he was still okay.

"No, not at all. I woke up a few minutes ago. Don't worry about me, I'm feeling fine now. Nanako-chan, how are you?"

Yosuke switched the mode back and handed the phone to Nanako to talk with Yu. He figured this was the least he could do to make up for his outburst last night. They talked for several minutes before Nanako walked back to Yosuke and handed him the phone, her familiar cheerful face back.

"Big Bro wants to talk to you now!" She giggled and bounded towards the kitchen.

"Hey, sorry to call out of the blue like that," Yosuke apologized even though he knew it wasn't necessary.

"No, I was really glad to hear from her. It's been too long. She's really excited for Golden Week."

Yosuke tried to imagine the position Yu was in right now, probably with the covers half in the floor with his pillow under his feet. No one would believe Yosuke unless they saw it for themselves, but Yu wasn't the most peaceful sleeper. Yosuke had often wondered why Yu even bothered to neatly roll up his futon every morning when he'd just destroy it later.

"Good, at least I'm getting some things right. You going to make dinner now? I think I interrupted Nanako-chan making her own." Yosuke could smell something wonderful from the kitchen.

"I will in a moment. I'm trying to repair my bed. Not a word. I know what you're thinking," Yu responded, and his voice grew low and threatening.

"Hey, you're not here to physically defend yourself. Whoever marries you is gonna have to strap you down... ShutupIknowwhatyou'rethinkinganddon'teven." Yosuke smacked a hand to his face and hoped Nanako didn't hear him.

Yu was still laughing as he responded, "I see what you imagine while we're talking. The girls were right, you are a pervert."

"Agh, enough, I'll text you later!" A normal person would have hung up, but Yosuke wanted to hear Yu's goodbye.

"Fine, fine. Tell Nanako-chan I said to have a good night. Try not to corrupt her, please."

Yosuke flipped the phone shut and smiled as he grumbled. What a jerk.

"Are you staying to eat? Dad won't be home for a few hours," Nanako asked after she poked her head around the corner. Her mood had greatly improved.

Yosuke looked at her and smiled. "That sounds awesome."

And it was almost like last year.

Once Dojima was dangerously close to home, Yosuke took it as his cue to leave. Dojima was still too intimidating for Yosuke to face alone, and Nanako needed to get ready for bed anyway. He rubbed both arms as he walked to his own house, regretting not bringing an extra jacket with him earlier.

"Ugh, the last thing I need is to get sick."

He admittedly had a terrible immune system, and blamed it on all the time he had to spend at Junes and that he needed more sunshine. Yu had been quick to point out that it had been a baseless accusation against the 'honorable' Junes. Yosuke had punched his arm in response.

The teen unlocked the front door and stepped inside the warm house, thankful that the walk from Dojima's wasn't too far. "I'm home," he called out quietly, hoping to avoid his parents.

"Welcome home. Who was the girl you were walking with?" His father looked up from his paper he reading in the other room.

He had really terrible luck with that today.

"Oh, just a girl I'm talking to. Nothing serious," Yosuke couldn't help but feel good saying that to his dad. Takehaya Susano-o seemed to disagree.

"Hmm good, but don't let it get in the way of your studies and work." He returned to reading.

It might have appeared dismissive to any other person, but that was generally how Yosuke's father expressed approval. It was nice to not hear a daily scolding from his father recently.

"How did you—"

"Left early today."

"Oh."

Yosuke stood there for a few minutes before awkwardly turning for the stairs and heading for his room. He groaned remembering he had a test coming up and a mountain of homework that had piled up all too quickly. Ever since Yu had pushed him to do better with his work, Yosuke had thought about college and possibly going with Yu there. It was an exciting thought, the two of them reunited and going on crazy new adventures without worrying about an angry text from a family member complaining about curfew. Twenty questions was not Yosuke's favorite game.

However, Yosuke wasn't even sure what he'd want to focus on, much less what he'd do with the rest of his life. He enjoyed music and battling shadows, but music was too risky and he somehow figured there was no major involving shadow elimination.

He lifted his headphones off carefully and set them down next to his bed. What about this girl? Ume was a nice girl—naïve, but nice. What was he supposed to tell her down the road, though? That all his friends had formed a team to take a murderer down? That they jumped in TVs and battled with Personas? Have conversations about Shadows and mysterious powers? Takehaya Susano-O swirled restlessly in Yosuke's mind. and any other time Yosuke would have been happy to feel his presence.

All he could feel was disapproval.

"Bah, this is why I hate thinking about this stuff." He shrugged off his school jacket and gathered his bed clothes before heading for the bathroom.

He could already feel his bones beginning to ache.

"Achoo!"

Chie pulled a book up to guard her face. "Yosuke, why are you even here!? You should be in quarantine. At least wear a mask!"

Yosuke looked up with dead eyes."Was gonna be late... I didn't have time to find one. Ugh, this sucks."

Yukiko scooted as far away as she was able. "Were you out last night?"

"Not with that girl, I hope!" Chie snapped, but maintained her original position.

"Geez, are you guys going to be like this every time? No. I went to see Nanako-chan and left a little late. It's just a cold. I'll be fine once the medicine kicks in," Yosuke snapped and pulled his hood from his second jacket around to cover his mouth.

"Yeah right, you stay sick longer than anyone I know. You should eat better, cause it'd probably help you." Chie's advice rang loudly in Yosuke's ears and he grimaced.

"Please stop talking. I can't handle the abuse today," Yosuke begged.

"Go. Home. Or at least visit the nurse, just get away from us. It's almost Golden Week and I am not gonna spend it sick!"

Yosuke let his head hit the desk. "Dammit, I forgot about that."

"You better not get Yu sick when he gets here! Maybe he should stay with his uncle—"

"No." Yosuke jerked his head up and glared at her. "I'll be fine by Sa-Sunday."

"Geez, you can't even get the day right. You better remember to at least be at the station, it'd be awkward for us to have to walk him to your house."

Luckily, Chie's lack of faith in Yosuke's memory helped him in this case, and soon after the teacher came in the room.

i want to die partner. omg i hate being sick.

Yosuke knew he was being a whiny baby, but he liked the attention he got.

I'm sorry. Did you go to school?

can't afford not to. gotta do well this year if i have any hopes of passing the entrance exams.

Don't push yourself. I'll make you something when I get there Saturday, just take it easy.

eh i've gotta work at junes tonight. school is the least of my problems. thinking about your food makes me feel a little better though.

I hope I don't disappoint, but you should really request to take the evening off.

you never do. i'd love to see the look on my dad's face. i'll take passing out in an aisle before that. you feeling better today?

Much better, thanks. I didn't get any death glares walking into class today. I think people are forgetting about Rise visiting. I guess they've moved on to the next 'big scandal' by now. Fine with me.

that's good. any new episodes?

Not since the other day. I'm not sure how long that'll last.

hopefully they're done. class is finally starting, text you at lunch.

Yosuke looked up at the teacher and tried to focus on what he was rambling on about, but all his mind could think of was what Yu was going to make later on that week. He'd just have to make it a little longer.

A few days later...

"Two minutes," Yosuke whispered as he paced up and down the station platform. He finally caved and flipped his hood up to protect his cheeks from the cold. "You had to pick the latest train."

Yosuke was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Saturday had arrived, but he still hadn't shaken his cold. It didn't matter though, because the adrenaline from the anticipation of seeing his partner was overcoming the shakes and pains. He'd used the illness to keep Ume at bay, but he'd still found the strength to work at Junes and energy to get ahead on all his remaining homework. In the past, he'd milked it for all it was worth to get out of manual labor and school, but now he felt like he had a goal to work towards. College had been a thought that was stored in the edges of his mind; something that was a given to attempt, but he'd never seriously entertained the possibility of attending one.

"Yasoinaba. Now stopping at Yasoinaba."

If it hadn't been for the stinging cold Yosuke would have thought it was a crazy dream, but there he was, getting off the train lugging a single bag.

"Hey. Sorry it's so late. I couldn't fi—"

Yosuke practically tackled Yu against the train. "Partner, it's so awesome to see you! Dude, I can't believe it's you!"

Had it really only been a little over a month?

Yu attempted to return the hug with his free arm. "I'm glad to see you too. Thanks for meeting me."

"It's totally fine, I told you I would." Yosuke stepped back and grabbed Yu's bag. "Come on, let's drop this off really quick. Parents were fine with you getting here early."

"Should you be overexerting yourself like this? You're still sick..."

"I'm always like this when I get sick, I'll live," Yosuke insisted and spun around while trying to maintain his balance and to give off the impression that he wasn't dizzy. "Nothing like the life or death situations we used to face. This is easy."

"Right, well I'll be carrying this regardless," Yu negotiated, stepping behind his partner and reaching his arm around to retrieve his bag. "Thank you, though."

Yosuke felt his face grow even hotter feeling Yu's breath catch the top of his ear. "Ah, let's just get to the house. How'd you put it before? You're too stubborn and I'm too exhausted." He took longer strides.

"Sounds about right," Yu replied with a chuckle and quickened his pace to match Yosuke's.

"Yeah, I know." Yosuke elbowed Yu's side and laughed along with him.

Everything felt right in the world again.

"So, what'd you wanna talk to me about?"