A River of Snow On Hiatus Chapter 10: Strong Youth, a persona series fanfic

A/N: We're still a little into the normal life, but now we see the birth of two new social links... you'll have to read to find out.

adtauthor22 - Yep, she got real close (cause I spoiled myself a lot of stuff har har). She's pretty smart from the start unlike MC in the original game due to her circumstances as the heir of a company and what not, so she can think of that idea too.

Mr Giraffe (Guest) - Well, you may get what you wish for in a chapter or two down the line, eh? Yukiko's laughing didn't really bother me much and more like I'm bored of it because I had to replay the intro sequences of P4 about 3 times. As for your question, I'm actually playing both P4 and P5 on emulators but P5 is kind of laggy on the emulator so I put it on hold until I'm sure I can get through it some more without major lag. P3 might be too stressful for me since I heard that you can't even control your other teammates unlike P4 and P5. Adachi... well I'm not stopping you, hah.

On with the chapter then!

Yui was getting ready to go out when she got a call from someone. Taking out her phone, she answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello. This is Chie. Do you have time to go inside the TV today? Now that Yukiko's with us, I think it might be good for her to get some experience being in that place. Just give us a call if you want to go. See ya!"

The call ended quick before Yui could even say a word.

Hm… going inside the TV, huh? Maybe tomorrow – she had already decided that she'll have a proper break for today. Putting her phone back into her pocket, she got dressed fully and went out of her room and the house, heading towards the flood plains.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The Samegawa flood plains always had a calm air to them unlike any other place despite the fact that Inaba was a quiet town of its own already. Sitting by the riverside, Yu watched the slow flow of the river while thinking of other things.

He hasn't heard from his parents since his first day here… but his time spent with his new friends here were making the pain all better. The TV world also gave some thrill to his life, although it was now bringing up an addiction he had fought to keep down so hard. The thrill of the fights, the adrenaline in his blood… he can't ever forget that, now that he was fighting for the right reasons.

One thing he hoped was that he wouldn't lose himself in that addiction. He's only fighting again to save people who were thrown into the TV… that's the purpose of the Investigation Team. To find the killer, and to rescue victims who would be facing their imminent death in that place if they stayed there too long.

Yet the feeling of his katana in his hands were bringing up some painful memories in his dreams. Ones he didn't want to think about at the moment, so he quickly shook his head to dispel them and sighed. Glancing over to his side, he noticed an old man there.

The old man just stood there with a wistful expression for a moment while staring out at the river before noticing that a teenage boy was looking at him. "…Oh, hello there. Y'know, the Samegawa actually has a whole buncha different fish livin' in it."

"…Is that so?" Yu slowly got up and went over to the old man.

"Yep. When I was younger, I used to spend more time haulin' fish in than I did sittin' with my hook in the water, but now…" The old man paused for a moment. "…You interested in fishin', boy?"

"Huh?" The silver-haired boy was surprised at that for a moment. He hasn't really ever tried fishing, but… it could be something better to do with his time one day. Plus, who knows if he needed to fish for something? So he agreed. "…Yes, I am, sir."

The old man's worn face turned joyful, as if happy that a young man such as the boy in front of him was interested in something like fishing. "Ho ho! I'll lend you some of my fishin' gear, then. Let me tell you, fishin' is hard work. What you need is diligence. You can still fish without diligence, o'course, but you'll get pretty darn tired of it quick." The old man then gave him a bag that had the things Yu needed to fish here. "Oh, well. Here's a fishing set. I'll give you ten of these here baits, too. Fishin' in the day is fun, but night fishin'… that's just stylish. Do you want to hear some of my advice about fishin'? Hm?"

"…I suppose. Yes, please." Yu nodded. Better to go in with some knowledge than being a fool without any.

"First, you toss in the float. If there's a fish around, he'll take a poke at it. If you rush it and pull your line up too fast, the fish'll get away. Well, you'll still have bait, so try again. Listen, you want to start pulling right after the float sinks. When it bites, reel it in by pulling continuously! If you don't keep pulling, it'll get away, and you'll lose your bait. Suck it up and pull as hard as you can! If you lack diligence, you'll probably want to go home after just one try. A tough guy like me can fish five times! Oh, and your chances of landin' a real whopper are better on rainy days! Do whatever you want with the fish you catch. If you don't particularly want 'em, I'll trade good stuff for 'em. Good luck, boy."

"Thank you, sir." Yu bowed in respect. He won't be fishing today, but he'll think about it when he has free time with nothing to do. Thinking about free time… he probably has too much of it. Remembering back to something he heard about part-time jobs, he decided that he could probably take one or two up now.

With that, Yu left the flood plains and headed to the central shopping district.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"There's not much…" Yu checked the notice board for available part-time jobs. There was one for folding origami cranes for charity, another as a caretaker and one as an envelope constructor.

Considering that getting new armour and weapons for them all tomorrow might be pricey, he picked the job as an envelope constructor for some extra cash. Seems tedious for someone like him, but better he get some experience in doing dull things anyway… especially when running his grandfather's company becomes his life in the future.

After phoning the person in charge of that job that he was accepting it, he went to have his lunch at the Aiya Diner. There was a steak bowl special for the day, so he ordered that.

The day went on quietly.

Yui was getting ready to go out when she got a call from someone. Taking out her phone, she answered it. "Hello?"

The call ended quick before Yui could even say a word.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"…Is that so?" Yu slowly got up and went over to the old man.

"Yep. When I was younger, I used to spend more time haulin' fish in than I did sittin' with my hook in the water, but now…" The old man paused for a moment. "…You interested in fishin', boy?"

"…I suppose. Yes, please." Yu nodded. Better to go in with some knowledge than being a fool without any.

With that, Yu left the flood plains and headed to the central shopping district.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"There's not much…" Yu checked the notice board for available part-time jobs. There was one for folding origami cranes for charity, another as a caretaker and one as an envelope constructor.

After phoning the person in charge of that job that he was accepting it, he went to have his lunch at the Aiya Diner. There was a steak bowl special for the day, so he ordered that.

The day went on quietly.

Monday started off with a rainy morning, so Yu had to go out to school early before the rain got any heavier. As he arrived at the school gates, he was greeted by Yukiko who had a red umbrella like her outfit. "Good morning."

The silver-haired boy nodded in response. "Good morning to you too, Yukiko."

"It's raining… it's not going to last past nightfall, though. Every time it rained while I was 'over there', you must have been…" The girl's expression darkened. "Yukiko…?" Yu got a bit worried at that.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be gloomy. Um, Golden Week starts tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans?"

"I'll have a family outing with my uncle and cousin…"

"I-I see. That must be tough. But, at least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. It'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit 'over there' once in a while so we can become stronger."

"True. I'm planning for a trip there today – can you tell Yosuke and Chie that?"

"Oh, really? Alright, I will."

"Thanks… let's go in before class starts."

Yukiko nodded, and so they both walked into the school.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yu was not really surprised that Mr. Morooka was going off with his ranting about Golden Week when his time period came up.

"I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Golden Week, but don't forget that first and foremost, you're students! Your duty is to study! You don't have time to fool around, alright!? Especially the girls! Those skirts are too damn short! Are you that desperate for attention, or what? You girls are giving the school a bad reputation! Try being modest for a change!"

The silver-haired boy would've rolled his eyes for that. Blame the school dress code, not the girls… then again, the girls could've always worn the long version for their skirts.

"And for the guys, remember, the 'greatest virtue' is attainable by those who suppress their worthless desires! I don't think Descartes was entirely right, but I'm sure the idea of 'virtue' is completely lost on you dumbasses!"

Damn, this man is despicable.

"Next order of business! Midterms are coming up next week! The results will be posted to humiliate the low-scoring losers! If you don't want to be shamed, study hard! It's that simple! If you do well, who knows!? You may become a more popular cretin! And you know, popularity leads to intimacy! On top of that, my reputation goes up. It's a win-win situation, people! Like I said, study hard!"

Yu blinked at that. Midterms, next week… well, he better study for that. But what Mr. Morooka said about being a 'more popular cretin' when doing great in exams got him a bit interested – that might help in his relationship with his friends.

He's got a lot on his plate right now – he'll start off by getting that trip to the TV world done this afternoon.

…Maybe he'll even ask some students and people around if they needed some help.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Teddie, we're here," Yu announced to the bear as he entered the studio in the TV world with Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko. They all wore their respective glasses to help them see better through the fog while also avoiding themselves from being affected by the oppressive atmosphere in the place.

"Sensei! Everyone! You're here!" Teddie was overjoyed to see them again. He thought for a moment before remembering something he was supposed to tell the silver-haired boy. "…I forgot to tell you! For some reason, I feel a powerful Shadow in the castle. Maybe this world is getting unstable from people going in and out… I don't think this Shadow is related to the culprit, but I don't like it being here. I'd be happy if you could defeat it for me."

"A powerful Shadow in the castle?" Yu looked at the others. "Think we can beat it today?"

"We've dealt with worse." Yosuke shrugged. What's a stronger shadow to a person's shadow? "We can definitely do it, partner."

"…If you say so. Can you bring us there, Teddie?"

"Oh, uh, sorry Sensei… I kinda forgot where the castle is already… ooh, but the others probably know where it is!"

Yu held in his sigh. "Okay, Teddie." He went over to Yosuke. "Hey, do you remember where the shopping district is? The one where we…?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You sure…?" The brunet was uncertain about going back to that place – it held a number of painful memories, such as Saki Konishi's true thoughts and Yosuke's shadow going berserk there.

"I'm sure."

"…Okay, partner."

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

They all arrived in front of the shopping district which still had an ominous air to it. Chie and Yukiko didn't say much other than the fact that the place was quite creepy with how run-down the whole place looked. Yu decided to enter alone since he knew the place was just a small room.

Everything was still the same as how it did when he and Yosuke first entered.

Looking around, he went over to the table with the numerous photos on it. "…Oh?" A certain object on the table caught his eye. Taking a closer look, he realised that it was a bottle of Mori Ranmaru. "That guy at the flood plains wanted this…" He recalled that a man in a suit had asked if he could find that very kind of alcohol, so he decided to take up his request.

Taking it, he continued to look around, especially at the sake barrels in a corner. There were tons of it stacked on top of one another and Yu nearly missed seeing that something was stuck in between the barrels. Setting the bottle of alcohol down at a safe spot first, he approached that object and began to pull with all of his might.

Soon, he managed to pull it out with a huff. "It's… wrenches?" The object was actually a pair of wrenches, but the workmanship on it was surprisingly well-made. He had a feeling it would be way stronger than the weapons Yosuke was using now. With a smile, he went back to the bottle of alcohol to pick it up before leaving the place.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Upon returning to the studio again, Yu had given Yosuke the pair of wrenches he just got as a new weapon. Although it was strange to be using a pair of blunt unorthodox weapons compared to the usual pair of dual kunai, the only way to find out how well it worked was through battle. A shadow from the first floor of the castle should do pretty well in finding that out.

He then approached Chie, asking if she knew where the castle was.

"Well, yes, but do we have to go there…?" she asked, a concerned look on her face. There were bitter memories there too. Yu sighed. "I understand why you would hesitate on going there… but we've got no other place to train. Plus, there's a shadow residing there now – we gotta get rid of it for Teddie."

"…Alright then."

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

As everyone entered the familiar halls of the castle, Teddie spoke up about the shadow. "I sense the presence of a strong Shadow in the room Yuki-chan was in." The bear looked at Yu with a determined look. "Sensei, you should defeat it!"

The silver-haired boy nodded. "We'll do just that."

Thus, the tedious journey up the many floors of the castle began.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

"Everyone ready?" Yu looked at the three teenagers who had been following his lead throughout their journey up the floors. They managed their strength quite well up to this point, possibly enough to fight against whatever lay behind the giant grand doors that stood in front of them.

Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko all gave their confirmation, and so they entered.

When the doors opened, what stood in the middle of the throne room was a Positive King, except triple times the size of one and way stronger than one too. "Yikes, watch out Sensei!" Teddie quickly scattered off to the sidelines as the shadow, a Contrarian King, began its attack on the group.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yu gripped his weapon tightly, which was a sword this time since it was stronger than the katana he had used before. It felt odd, no longer feeling that slim hilt of a katana in his small hands. "Keep your guard up…!" he ordered as the shadow started the battle by casting Red Wall.

Could it be weak to fire? Yu looked at Yukiko who glanced back at him, then nodding at her.

"Persona!" So Yukiko summoned her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, to cast Agi on the shadow. Much to their shock though, the shadow merely drained the attack and used it to heal itself. "The shadow not weak to fire at all! It's using the Red Wall as a trick!" Teddie alerted them.

Yu quickly thought of a strategy – considering that the shadow looked like a Positive King, it was probably strong towards physical attacks so they should avoid that. Agi is useless, so Yukiko will have to do support. First things first, buff and debuff spells for the first round.

After the team casted the spells, the shadow then decided to attack Yukiko using a skill that made it inflict damage twice on her. "Aaahh!" She suffered a lot of damage but was still up… Yu looked at her in worry. "Yukiko, cast Media. Yosuke, keep trying to cast Sukukaja on everyone. Chie, attack it with Bufu." He started his first row of orders which everyone then did as ordered.

"Come, Jack Frost!" With an increased attack power for himself and a reduced chance to hit alongside a reduced defence for the shadow, he summoned Jack Frost - a new Persona he had fused a while ago, to cast Bufula on the Contrarian King. While ice wasn't the shadow's weakness, the number of debuff spells on it dealt heavy damage on it since Bufula was also a stronger version of Bufu.

Then came the shadow's own trick – it cast Rampage.

Quickly the whole room became covered with clouds of dust as the shadow hit everyone with heavy damage, but by pure luck and also because of a debuff that caused its chance to inflict more hits to become reduced, everyone was spared from a final hit to their life.

Yukiko then quickly cast Media to heal everyone of their injuries, but they were still at risk of being taken out by the Contrarian King's attacks. The only thing they could do now is hope that the shadow doesn't get more chances to attack and continue dealing damage while they're at it.

After much struggling, they succeeded in beating the shadow despite all odds.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The group felt great at beating the Contrarian King despite their injuries. They defeated the mighty enemy despite their own weaknesses, and they certainly won't be forgetting this moment.

Yu glanced at the base of the stairs leading up to the throne and noticed something – a fan. Approaching it, he picked it up and took a closer look. Instinct told him that it was way stronger than the fan Yukiko was using, so he went over to her. "Here, Yukiko. This one's much stronger than the fan you're using."

"Oh, thank you." Yukiko then swapped her weapon for the new one, observing it closely. "It looks quite sturdy!"

The silver-haired boy nodded, smiling. "You're welcome." He looked at the others. "I think we're finished training here… let's go back."

"Sure, I'm beat!" Yosuke grinned, feeling much stronger after beating all those shadows. "You were awesome, chief!" Chie complimented him, smiling brightly. Yu chuckled, scratching his head. "It's nothing… just a new Persona I fused."

The four of them would return to the TV world while chatting among one another about the battles they just went through, three of them still amazed at the skills their leader had. It was almost as if Yu Narukami had been a warrior in some past life…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

That evening, Yu had himself another hot drink while Nanako drank from a juice box. He was still in his uniform, too tired to bother changing at the moment as he watched the news with his cousin. It was talking about an ATM that got destroyed with all of its cash stolen, so the police were busy trying to catch the culprit.

Nanako glanced at the clock worriedly. "…Dad's late…"

…Then the phone rang loudly. The little girl got up and ran over to it, answering the call. "Hello, dad? Yeah, I'm okay… yeah… yeah." Her expression began to fall. "…Okay… alright." She went over to her cousin, who grew concerned at her sudden drop in mood.

"He said to give you the phone… he can't take those days off." Nanako almost looked like she was going to cry as she gave the phone to her cousin before she promptly ran off to the stairs, going up to her room. "Nanako…" Yu stared at her sadly before answering the phone. "Hello, uncle…?"

"Hello? Sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight. Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep. And about that time off on the 4th and 5th… one of the younger guys got sick… and, well, that case he's handling, we can't just let it sit… looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him."

The silver-haired boy mentally sighed. "That's how it goes…" That's how life goes, really. Things like these happen, but they will always hurt someone in the end.

"Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden… um… how's Nanako holding up?"

"Not very well…"

"…Would you mind comforting her for me?"

"No, uncle. I'll try to comfort her."

"Thanks… all right then, see you."

"See you too." The call ended there, leaving Yu in utter silence. He got up and went to put the phone back in its handle, seeing that there was no other reason for him to stay awake. Turning off the television and locking up the door, he went upstairs.

He realised that Nanako had already cried herself to sleep while he was busy getting the house locked for the night. Sighing, he could only go to his room to rest for the night too.

…This feels awfully familiar.

The next day was Constitution Day, so it was a holiday. By the time Yu went down after dressing up in his casual clothes, he saw that Nanako was already up. "Oh, morning," she greeted him. Yu nodded. "Good morning, Nanako." At least she was okay after yesterday… or so he thought.

The little girl was watching TV today as usual… but the sound of the doors opening alerted them to someone visiting them.

The both of them went to the doorway and saw Chie there. "Chie?" Yu was a bit surprised to see her there. It wasn't common that any of his friends visited him at home – in fact, it was him going to see them. "Oh, cool, you're home. Hey, if you're free today, wanna go somewhere? Yukiko's coming, too," Chie suggested, then looking at her friend's cousin. "How 'bout you, Nanako-chan? Wanna come?"

Nanako was unsure about it. "U-Um…"

Yu smiled and turned to face her. "Come with us, Nanako. It'll be fun," he told her. Nanako looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise. "Huh? I-I can come?"

Chie nodded at the little girl, smiling too. "Yeah. Heh… of course you can!"

Nanako then smiled back. "Okay!" So, she went out with them to town while still keeping close to Yu.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

They went to Junes, much to Nanako's joy.

The three of them met up with Yosuke, who was still on the clock, and Yukiko, who just finished her work back at the inn. They all sat at their usual table in the food court, with Nanako sitting near her cousin. Yosuke looked at Chie with a dirty look. "Why'd you bring poor Nanako-chan to a place like this on Golden Week?"

"Where else is there to go?" Chie replied him with a dirty look of her own. "I love Junes!" Nanako then told them both, surprising them. "N-Nanako-chan…!" Yosuke was even more surprised. Who knew that a little girl like Nanako would actually admit to liking Junes?

Nanako's expression soon fell, though. "But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere. We were going to make boxed lunches…"

"Wow! You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked her in surprise. The little brunette shook her head before glancing at Yu who blushed when he noticed that his cousin had just revealed that he could cook. "W-well…"

Chie giggled. "Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, 'big bro'!"

Nanako heard the nickname Chie just called her cousin and tried it out quietly. "Big… bro."

Yosuke was way more amazed at how great Yu was starting to sound all of a sudden. "Whoa, you can cook? Well, you do seem to be great with your hands—" A glare from the silver-haired boy shut him up. "Um, never mind." Realisation soon dawned on him at the fact that his words probably sounded wrong. Really wrong.

"I-I'm a pretty good cook too, you know… probably. If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some boxed lunches as easy as pie. Yeah…"

"Uhh, lemme think about- no." Yosuke flat out refused the idea.

"What makes you think I can't cook!? Let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!"

"My, my, doth the lady protest too much? And hey, I never said I cooked. But I have this weird feeling… like I'd win anyway…"

Yukiko just laughed. "Ahaha, I can understand that."

"What the- Yukiko!?" Chie couldn't believe that even her best friend wasn't on her side. Yosuke looked at Nanako. "Here, Nanako-chan can be our judge. I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking, Nanako-chan!"

"…I don't have a mom. She died in an accident." Nanako's words dampened the mood instantly. Yu didn't even know the full story, having wondered once in a while on why Nanako was alone and his uncle's wife wasn't around… and now he knew a part of it.

Everyone was silent for a moment as they took that information in. Chie glanced at Yosuke. "Hey, Yosuke…"

The brunet was trying to fix his mistake. "I-I see… um… sorry, I didn't know…"

Nanako shook her head, acting mature for her age. "It's okay. Even if I don't have a mom, I have Dad with me." She looked at her cousin and smiled. "…And now I have a brother, too. And I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!"

"Y-Yeah? That's good."

"We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-chan!" Chie told the little girl while smiling. "Yeah, we should hang out more often," Yukiko added, nodding in agreement at her best friend's idea. Yosuke then got up. "C'mon, Nanako-chan. Let's go get a soda!"

Nanako smiled happily and nodded. "Okay!" She then got up and followed Yosuke to where they can get a soda. Yukiko, Chie and Yu looked off at the pair. "She's a strong girl…" Yukiko commented, astonished at how well Nanako handled all that.

"Yeah. She makes me feel like I'm the little kid here…" Chie admitted sheepishly. She then came to a conclusion about something. "That's it, I'm gonna go get something for Nanako-chan too!" So the two of them got up and went to get something for Nanako as well, leaving Yu at the table.

The silver-haired boy would've waited for them all to come back when he noticed that Nanako ran back to the table. "Do you want something too?" she asked him. "Huh? Oh, sure." Yu nodded, watching as his cousin gave him a carefree smile.

He smiled back.

Feeling a faint bond forming between himself and Nanako, he heard whispers in his head speaking of the formation of the Justice Social Link of the Justice Arcana. Once those whispers began to fade out, he got up and went to his cousin's side.

"Wanna share some takoyaki?" Nanako asked him with a cute grin, which made him chuckle at the sight. "Sure, Nanako. Let's get some first."

The two of them then went to get just that. It seemed like Nanako was now going to start calling him 'big bro' – although Yu had considered telling her that he wasn't exactly a 'big bro', he would be risking his cover if she had slipped up on that. He let it pass in the end.

Though admittedly, he thought that this little event was much better than a trip out of town.

The next day was also another holiday, with it being Nature Day this time. As Yui dressed up for the day again, she wondered on when it'll be a rainy night again. They needed to check every now and then to see if there would be anyone on the Midnight Channel… so they could save them before their time ran out.

Today was not that day, so she guessed that she could take it easy for now.

As she was about to leave, her phone rang. Taking it out, she answered the call in a lower voice. "Hello, Yu Narukami speaking."

"Yo, it's me! This might be kind of weird to ask after we hung out yesterday, but do you wanna hang out again today? I'll see if I can find someone else to come along with us."

"Hm… sure, why not."

"Sweet! Oh, hey, why don't you bring Nanako-chan with you? Let's all hang out together."

"Alright, I will."

The call ended there.

She just made plans to go out… well, she better go and tell Nanako to get ready to go out then.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

They met up at Junes, in the electronics department.

Yosuke looked at Nanako with a grin. "Nanako-chan sure loves this place. The first thing out of her mouth when I asked where she wanted to go was 'Junes!'."

Kou laughed a bit. "Who could blame her? This place has everything… it's like a storehouse of magic. I can see why she likes it. Anyways, isn't she cute? I have a younger sister too. I wish she was cute like Nanako-chan."

"I-I'm not cute…" Nanako pouted at being called that.

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?"

"Don't worry, you're not cute," Daisuke then told the little girl, shocking her. Kou was just as shocked at hearing those words. "That's going kinda far…!"

Yosuke glared at Daisuke like he just said the stupidest thing ever. "Are you stupid or something!?"

Yu just chuckled. "That's the Daisuke I know."

Daisuke grinned at the silver-haired boy. "Heheh, don't flatter me like that."

"I don't think he is…" Yosuke sighed. Meanwhile, Nanako had been staring at one of the flatscreen televisions and grew nervous, stepping closer to Yu. "B-Big bro… that TV is huge…"

Daisuke looked at the television as well. "I feel like if I watched sports on a TV like this, I'd get sucked into the screen." His words elicited a troubled look from both Yu and Yosuke. "C-C'mon… like that could happen…" Yosuke told him, laughing nervously.

Well, the day promises to be an entertaining one…

For once, Yu had no plans the following day. Thinking about what to do, he remembered that there were a number of places he hadn't gone to yet. Narrowing down his choices to three spots, he decided to go to Junes's grocery department first.

While there was a vast array of things he could get, he didn't really need any of them… but he should at least buy something since he got here after all that walking. Going over to a stand of items, something caught his eye – some tater longs.

With a shrug, he bought them. Time to go somewhere else this time.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The nearest spot to Junes was the shrine in the shopping district. He heard many kinds of rumours all about it, and it was about time he found out about them too. Upon reaching that very shrine… he saw that there was no one else other than him on the premises.

Seeing that the shrine wasn't even well-maintained, what with the dust on the wooden structure being noticeable, he decided to just go home since it was already getting dark. Yet as he turned around, he froze from where he stood at the feeling that someone was watching him.

He dared to look behind himself… and saw a strange animal on the roof of the shrine.

The creature jumped off from it and then landed in front of him, revealing itself to be a fox with a red apron tied around its neck. "What the…?" Yu stared at it incredulously. Does this fox live at this shrine…? It was even staring at him, with an 'ema' plaque in its mouth…

It approached him, nudging the ema into his hand. Looking closely at it, Yu read the written words on it. It was from someone named Keita, asking for help so that his grandfather's legs can get better… it was a wish. Why would the fox give him this?

Yu raised an eyebrow and turned the ema onto its back, noticing an unusually-shaped leaf stuck on the back of it. Even with his constant moving around, he did not recognize this leaf from the local plant life nor any other state he had lived in before.

…Was this also the work of this fox?

The silver-haired boy nearly jumped when the fox suddenly ran off for cover as an old man approached him.

"Oh, not every day you see young'uns like you around here. Nobody lives at this here shrine. I come by to tidy things up once in a while, but lately my legs are so achy, I just can't do it. I've been tryin' to get this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around. Well, I s'pose I'll pay my respects." The old man spoke to him. "If my legs don't heal, I can't maintain the shrine. That, and… I won't be able to visit Keita anymore. He's my grandson, y'know."

Yu's eyes widened. Wait, Keita? The same Keita who wrote the ema that was in his hand right now?

His thoughts were interrupted when the old man saw the ema in his hand. "Hmm!? What's that you got in your hand there? Could it be…!? That leaf…! That's it! Way back when, my grandmother always used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there! Ah, what memories! But how'd you get your hands on this!? I didn't think you could find those in the mountains anymore. P-Please, young man! Can I trouble you to spare me that leaf!?"

"O-of course, here." Yu took the leaf off the ema and gave it to the old man.

"Ooh, this is it, this is it… now let's see here…" The old man then stuck the leaf onto his leg… "Oooh, I can feel it! It's working!" He then jumped, as if he was a young man with no pain in his legs. "Amazing! The pain I've been feeling for who knows how long-it just up and vanished! Hm…? Hrmmm…!? Why, I feel better than I have in years!" He smiled at the teenager. "You really helped me out, young man! I'm so grateful! Now I can go visit my grandson! I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!"

The old man then approached the offertory box gleefully, putting some money in it before running off. Yu just stared at where the old man had run off to in amazement. Not only did the leaf heal the old man's aches, it even restored his vitality…

Yu then noticed that the fox had come out of its hiding place, looking on with a content expression. It seemed to understand that the wish on the ema has been granted… heck, it even went over to the offertory box as if to check the contents. It even understood that the shrine had just received an offering.

A thought crossed the boy's mind. Perhaps he was given the ema with the leaf for that express purpose.

The fox then yipped at him while looking up at him mirthfully, appearing to have taken a liking to him. It had a mouthful of the same leaves as the one he just gave to the old man – did it have a large stock of these leaves?

Another yip from the fox got Yu thinking. Was there something it wanted from him? It was pretty strange to have an encounter like this, with a fox actually showing him a pile of leaves. Somehow, he could feel a faint bond forming between himself and the fox… and soon the same whispers spoke in his head about the formation of the Hermit Social Link of the Hermit Arcana.

How does that even work, he didn't even know. But there were much more better things to wonder about, like how does this fox get these leaves? They would be pretty useful in the TV world.

The fox yipped again, as if understanding Yu's thoughts. It gestured at the offertory box… was it offering its services for a price? Once again, the fox yipped at him, seemingly agreeing to aid him in his adventures in the TV world for a fee.

"You're a strange one…" Yu muttered with a shrug before returning the ema to the shrine. He's gone through enough strange things in one day – he's better off going home at this point.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The news that night was a good one, as the prime suspect for the ATM robbery has been caught. With it, Yu's uncle also came home. "I'm home." The man sighed as he entered the house. "How many days is he gonna call in sick? These rookies lately sure are—"

"Welcome back!" Nanako greeted him warmly. The two of them walked over to the table, sitting down side by side. "Nanako… I'm sorry I broke my promise again…" Dojima apologised to his daughter. "Oh, um, my big bro and his friends played with me instead," Nanako told him.

"I see…" The man looked at his nephew with a smile. "Thanks."

The little girl then noticed a shopping bag next to her father. "Oh, that's a Junes bag! What's in it?"

"Haha, good eye. Well, today is Children's Day… so I brought you a present." Dojima dug into the bag and took out a shirt, giving it to his daughter. "Yaaaay!" Nanako cheered as she got the shirt. "Oooh, a t-shirt…" Opening it up, it was a shirt with a funny logo on it.

Her father chuckled. "Haha, it took me a while to decide what to get you. You like it?"

"Oh wow, there's a picture on the front! That's so funny! Ahaha, yay!"

Dojima then looked at Yu. "I got you one, too. Not that you're still a child or anything, but fair's fair. And, uh, it may be strange, but… your parents aren't around to see you if you do decide to wear it." Instead of taking out his nephew's gift, he gave the whole bag instead.

The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow at that. Peering inside, he saw what was his gift - a kind of swimsuit. But it wasn't just any kind… it was a black and white bikini, fit for a girl. Blushing deeply, he looked up at his uncle in shock. This was his gift? "U-uncle…"

"L-look, I know what your mother tells you to do, Yu. But you'll be here for a year; letting loose of that act once in a while doesn't hurt," Dojima explained to him, a bit embarrassed himself. "You're acting like a nephew and a niece to me at the same time… it must be hard to keep acting like someone else, even if you did act up at one point."

Yu let his gaze fall. It's true that he could just throw his crossdressing act out of the window for the year… but what of his new friends? How would they react to having a girl being their leader, or knowing that the guy they trusted in has been a girl all this while? He had the chance to do that when he first arrived in Inaba, but it's too late.

It's just too late to throw her masks away.

"…Well… thank you for the gift, uncle," Yu said meekly, gripping the bag tightly with a hue of red still on his cheeks. While he wasn't sure if he'll ever wear it… he'll keep it, at the very least. Dojima just nodded. "Don't mention it. Well then… let's eat."

Nanako was looking at the scene with worry. "Are you two fighting…?"

"No, no! We're just… talking," Yu quickly told her, putting on a smile for his cousin. For once, he felt the urge to hide away for a while. "Come on, let's eat."

"…Okay."

The evening went on quietly, though somewhat pleasant for the three of them… at least.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yui sat on the sofa in her room for a good while, staring at the ceiling. The bag with her uncle's gift was set down near her study desk, and possibly will remain there for a long while. It wasn't until now did she realize that maybe, just maybe, she will never be able to throw this crossdressing act away until the day she has to shed it to be with a man her parents or grandfather arranged for her to marry.

…It hurt so much. But she just grew tired of aching, and once tried to dispel of that pain by turning to the path of delinquency, with a katana as her blade to fight against the rules that held her down. Until one day, she almost made an irreversible mistake… and she left that path at the cost of physical pain.

Her mistakes from that time were chaining her to so many other things, she found that she couldn't ever break free them. She disappointed her family, and now she must pay the price. Her uncle and cousin here may never know the true extent of how deeply rooted her role is in this act.

Her uncle may try to understand, but he can't. He just can't.

Yui Narukami can never exist while Yu Narukami still lives in the memories of other people. One must remain dead for the other to live… and that was a twisted perception Yui had grown to understand. Even jobs opportunities were like that, except that she'll be forced to take up her grandfather's mantle to handle the company.

So many other things were like that.

…She wondered if her uncle felt the same as her parents because of her past delinquency. If he did, then… there was nothing she can do about it. Hopelessly stuck in a situation brought on by a man many years older than her, she can never escape it.

Such is the pitiful tale of her life.