Live like we're dying

by Gavin Tyson

There are only 86400 seconds in a day, 604800 seconds in a week, 2629743.83 in a month and 31556926 in a year. Yu knew this all too well because a year was all he had left, an accident happened and he was sent to live with his uncle in Inaba. He was so young and yet he was fated to die in just a year, could it be possible to be happy for his last year? Perhaps... YuXNaoto

5. 5: It's too late, it's not too late

Chapter 5: Till it's too late, it's not too late

A/n: So look, been a while eh? Been a long while… I got no excuse for why it took near a year to update, the only thing I can say is that, doing the plot setup for this story was 8Sony bush work for me, until I got to what I really wanted to write. Thankfully, this story will really start going after this chapter. So to summarise, I'm sorry for the long lack of updates, but I do hope anyone who reads this, enjoys it.

A/N Edit: Realised in previous chapter, I wrote that Izanagi has both arms, a contradiction to Izanagi's initial summoning in this story, unfortunately, I cannot go back and edit previous chapters as I no longer have the files for them, but in this story Izanagi has one arm, just fyi yaknow.

350

He didn't attend school for the rest of the week, He played it off to Dojima as his condition acting up, but it was honestly due to how exhausted he was. Everyday he woke up after fighting that shadow shadow, he just felt drained. He'd wake up, feel sick, be sick and then have a long bath, followed by watching the house alone, Nanako and Dojima already having left for school and work. He'd slap on some tv and then get about preparing things for dinner, the least he could do was make it that Nanako and Dojima had good food to return to. Unfortunately, making said food was incredibly difficult, mainly due to the house having almost nothing fresh left. He had also finally gotten Yosuke's and Chie's contact details and had assured the pair that he was okay after the whole shadow ordeal, they had reluctantly accepted his plea of being fine, just slightly under the weather, and was taking time off to recover properly. Thankfully for Yu, the pair had messaged him anything important in school he might've missed. Besides chatting with that pair on and off, Kanji had sent him a few texts, checking in on him, they were spelt horribly and included shortened words and poor punctuation, all Yu could do was think how Kanji the messages were; tough and uncaring looking, but ultimately sweet and caring. It was touching to Yu, truly.

However, today would be different, when he woke this morning and checked his phone, he realised it was Sunday, school was off for the day, and he honestly felt much better this morning, his body still felt like moving sandbags through deep mud, but he concluded that he would always feel like that from now on. It being Sunday also meant it was the perfect day to grab some groceries from June's. A smirk crossed his face; he could finally take Nanako shopping! And if his phone's clock was right; 07:25. Said child should still be asleep, which meant he had an hour or so to get himself ready for going outside. Which meant a careful bath, making the last remaining toast for himself, Nanako and Dojima, or at least if his uncle had not already been called into work. He let out a groan and stretched his broken body out of bed, avoiding tangling his numb leg in the sheets, he grabbed his wash essentials and left his room, banging his right arm against the door frame.

No feeling, as usual.

Later

After a relaxing bath, he dressed himself (with difficulty) and began to prepare breakfast, during so, he was surprised to see Dojima's shoes at the front door. Not called in today? He shrugged, it made asking for shopping money a lot easier. His good arm turned on the morning news, no rain or clouds today, just sun. Good, it'll be easier getting the shopping home then. PING, Yu turned at the toaster popping out the toast, and went about buttering them up, he checked the time; 08:15. He figured it was a good a time as any to wake up his uncle and Nanako.

Later

It was surprisingly easy to get some spending money from Dojima for shopping, although Yu figured the mention of taking Nanako to Junes and her subsequent beaming smile had something to do with it. He assured his uncle that he was feeling much better and was totally capable of shopping, he had received a worried glance for a moment before the older man nodded.

"Just make sure to be safe, and have Nanako back before sundown. Okay?" The silver haired teen nodded. "That reminds me, you have your appointment at the hospital this week, right?" Yu internally scowled, glad that Nanako had left to go toilet before Domjia brought up his condition. "Yes uncle, should just be a simple check up, maybe letting me know of any other surgeries I could have." He deliberately failed to mention that he wouldn't be getting anymore surgeries; 74 was more than enough for his liking, he just hoped he could get some more of his prescribed pills, especially if he was going to be trawling through the TV world in the future, he would definitely need them in that occurrence. "Tell you what, since I should be home early tonight, if you make dinner again tonight, I'll brew the coffee." Narukami smirked, "What? Can't stand not eating my meals now?" His uncle laughed, "You kidding!? I and Nanako haven't had such good food in ages! Damn right I'm going to make use of your skills." Nanako came back into the room, practically bouncing on her feet, already dressed to go out. "You can't forget my sous-chef uncle. Nanako's a pro in the kitchen!" Said girl somehow managed to beam ever brighter at the compliment, "Don't I know it!" And just like that; the beaming smile turned into a thousand watt smile, Yu sardonically mused if they could somehow use Nanako's infinite adorableness as an energy source.

To be fair, she could light up his day, and he had only known her for around near 2 weeks at this point. Goes to show how easy it was for her to break down the self deprecating walls he put up. "Just you wait Daddy! Me and Yu are going to make the best dinner ever!"

Damn right we are pipsqueak.

"Okay my sous-chef, we'd best get going, you all ready?"

"Yep!" Yu smiled, waved at his uncle and opened the front door, ushering the exuberant bundle of joy outside. And with one last glance at the older man, he closed it. "Right then, let's get going Nanako-chan".

"Okay… umm…" The little girl wrung her fingers shyly, eyes peeking up at his for a split second, "can I… umm…" Yu crouched down to her eye-level, pushing away his body's internal creaking at the simple movement, he wondered how much longer he'd be able to do things as simple as just crouching.

"What's up Nanako-chan?"

"Can I hold your hand?"

Oh. This girl was good.

He carefully clasped one of Nanako's much smaller hands in is own good one and smiled kindly, "Of course Nanako-chan! I need you to be my guide, otherwise I'd end up lost". Her eyes bulged in surprise, until she burst into happy giggles, "Okay then! I'll be your guide to Junes, just follow me!" She proudly placed her free hand on her chest, cheeks puffing out in determination, Yu managed a happy chuckle.

"Very well my brave guide, onwards to Junes!"

"Yay!"

Later

Yu was grateful he had grabbed Nanako's hand beforehand, because he was certain if he hadn't, he need a ladder to get her down from the damned ceiling, what with her basically jumping up and down around him singing the Junes song. She literally has enough energy for the both of us. He was thankful that whilst the girl was exuberant in energy, she was still considerate of Yu's much slower walk speed, and never pulled him along too hard, something he was grateful to the kind girl for. She led the way to the grocery section of the shopping centre, crossing the sliding door threshold, allowing the wave of air conditioning to slap him in the face. Letting the young girl lead the way, his eyes scanned around him, catching many people going about their weekly shopping. But when he spotted a speck of dark blue in the busy crowd, he almost stalled, eyes shooting to find said speck once again, his eyes managed to spot it.

The blue belonged to a distinct police styled hat on top of purple hair, which belonged to a rather short figure whose back was turned to him, dark blue jacket and plaid pants as well as pointed shoes, the figure stood out to Yu for some reason, perhaps it was the stark contrast of colours between the figure and the rest of the everyday shoppers that garnered his attention, they just sort of stood out in his eyes, they were different from the rest of the rabble.

Hmmm, who is that?

Unfortunately, the teen would not find out today, as Nanako gave a hearty tug on his hand, and him, being unprepared and not fully comfortable on his numb leg, stumbled forward, hand slipping out of Nanako's grasp, flailing wildly for something to balance on. He heard her scared gasp and braced for the incoming fall, but it never came, as he found his form being pulled back to balance by someone.

"Whoa! You okay Senpai!?" He recognised that voice, and once he was certain of his balance, he turned to see the slightly taller dyed blond pinkish teen; Kanji. He managed a forced smile, hating ever being seen in a compromising position by anyone due to his illness. "Yeah, I'm good, thanks Kanji-kun". His 'friend' let out a relieved sigh, "That's good, glad I managed to catch ya!" Yu couldn't even be mad about Kanji's statement, knowing he didn't intend for it to come of as Yu being incapable, more of Kanji just being glad he helped him. He felt something bump into his good leg, and he craned his neck to catch Nanako hugging his leg, a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" Her eyes began to water and Yu immediately went into damage control. "Hey hey! It's okay, I'm fine see? Kanji-kun here saved me", he inwardly cringed at the term 'saved', he wasn't some damsel in need of saving, "So don't feel bad Nanako, okay? In fact, would you like to meet Kanji-kun? He's super nice!" The small girl nodded unsurely, eyes drying up, grateful to see Yu undamaged, her innocent eyes turned to the intimidating blond teen next to him, and immediately shied away; behind his legs.

Kanji for his part, scratched his neck, embarrassed with Yu's praise, and perhaps Yu simply imagined the reddening of his cheeks. "Ah Senpai, you don't gotta lie like that, I know I look like a punk and all that". Yu nodded, "that may be true Kanji-kun, but you've been nothing but kind to me since we met", the silverette shrugged, "I call them like I see them Kanji-kun, and I see you as kind". Said kind individual's jaw had dropped in Yu's blatant praise, unsure how to react. "Anyway, c'mon Nanako, say hello for me! As you can see Kanji-kun's a teddy bear". The shy child peeked around his legs and muttered a shy "hello", and Yu's cold heart melted, it was the same way she had greeted him when they first met, Kanji came back to reality, and crouched to Nanako's level and reached put a calloused hand. "Hey there Nanako-chan, I'm Kanji, a fri… friend of your big bros, nice ta meet ya!" The girls head tilted to the side slightly, "big bro?"

"She isn't my little sister Kanji-kun, i'm staying with her father; my uncle, we were going to get groceries before… my unfortunate trip". He even hated bringing up his near fall, he wasn't weak damnit! Kanji glanced up at him from his crouched position, "I getcha Senpai, hoping to impress the little miss with cooking?" He nodded, "You know it!" The pair chuckled, and Yu noticed Nanako's subdued nature, catching her mumbled 'big bro' comment. He pursed his lips in consideration. "Anyway Kanji-kun, what did I say about calling me Senpai?" The questioned teen scratched his neck nervously, "Sorry bout that Senpa… uh… Yu-kun", he blanched, "nope, sorry, but it's gotta be Senpai, it's too weird otherwise". The crippled teen shrugged, it wasn't his prerogative in the end, he didn't want to force the teen to use his given name. "Any-Anyway Senpai; dya reckon… I could uh…" he paused, as if looking for the right word, "... could help ya with the shopping?" Yu stared at him for a moment, that was certainly sudden. But, he wouldn't be against Kanji's help, it'd certainly make grabbing heavier items he'd need for cooking easier, he couldn't risk Nanako lifting heavy stuff, and he was down an arm.

"I dunno Kanji-kun… let me just confer with my sous-chef." He grinned at Nanako, it turning into a worried frown at her unresponsiveness, gently he nudges her with his leg, "Nanako?" said girl jumps slightly, "Uh…" she smiles brightly at the pair, "sounds good to me head-chef!" He nodded, making a note to ask about her quiet mood later, "Well, you heard the girl Kanji-kun, I now appoint you as chef De partie, or simply third in command, do you accept?" Yu enjoyed playing along like this for Nanako's childlike exuberance, Kanji's eyes bulged, "Whoa Senpai, was that French? That was awesome, yeah I totally accept being the chef the party". Yu chuckled at Kanji's butchered French, Nanako giggling right along with him. "Very well then, as third in command, your job will be to put the stuff myself and Nanako point out into the shopping trolley". Kanji puffed his chest out comically and gave a confident thumbs up, causing Nanako to burst out into giggles, to which Yu beamed internally; what a dork. And then Nanako proudly led the way into the food department, Yu grabbing a nearby trolley. "Stay in sight Nanako!" He pleaded with the bouncy child, letting out a strained huff as he pushed the trolley along, keeping up with the girl, Kanji strolling somewhere in-between the pair, for which he was thankful for, no one would mess with Nanako with someone like Kanji nearby.

However, before he followed into the food department, he glanced back to where the figure in blue was before, only to find them gone, feeling mildly put out at that, he crossed into the food department. Ready to finally begin shopping.

"No Nanako! We don't need a full chicken!".

Later

They made it home after a couple of hours, Nanako tired out from all her bouncing and singing, Yu tired in general. Thank god for Kanji being there, we wouldn't have gotten the shopping home without him. Twas true, Kanji had offered to carry the heaviest bags with no complaint, and Yu had reluctantly agreed, well aware of his own physical limits. Simply looking in a mirror was a stark reminder of said limits. His wounded pride had been worth it in the end however, as the sight of Kanji's face after being hugged by Nanako in thanks was priceless, as Yu was grateful he managed to get a picture of it, and would inevitably tease the poor lad mercilessly with it. He had even bumped into Yosuke whilst shopping, the teen working at Junes that Sunday, he had looked over Yu in obvious concern for which he brushed it off, and instead caught up with the lad face to face. It was all so mundanely refreshing, they didn't talk about the TV world and instead, Yosuke mentioned how he and Chie missed him in school, a touching sentiment for the silverette. He had assured the Junes clad teen that he would see him in school on Monday, Yosuke had even made him pinkie promise! Yu had laughed and aquesesied.

Now back at Dojima's residence, Yu realised that the pair had a while before they started dinner, some hours in fact, and if Nanako's tired wobbling told him anything, it was she needed those hours as a nap. "Come on Nanako-chan, go have a nap, I'll wake you up when it's time to cook". She had stomped her foot, pleading childishly, "but I'm not tired, and shouldn't you have a nap if I am!?"

Ah, child-like logic, infallible.

"I'm older Nan-chan, I'll nap later, but you're literally falling asleep where you stand! I can't have my sous-chef being tired during food prep". The child crossed her arms and huffed, cheeks puffing adorably, "FINE! But you have to promise to wake me up in time!"

"I promise". She nodded, satisfied, and as she turned to head upstairs, Yu recalled something, "Nanako-chan! Back when we bumped into Kanji-kun, he mentioned something about a big-bro and you went quiet… is something wrong?" The adolescent didn't answer, instead she shook her head; no, nothing was wrong. "Uh… okay, just know that if something was wrong, you could talk to me, alright?" She nodded, back still facing him.

"Okay, have a nice nap Nan-chan!" She went upstairs. Nothing's wrong my scarred ass. A tired sigh left his mouth, he could do with a nap honestly. However, his phone buzzing in his pocket put a pin in that. Flipping it open. A message from Yosuke?

Yosuke: Hey dude, I know we just saw each other, just finshd wrk wondering if you still want steak?

Yu checked the time, he certainly had enough time to hang out and get back to make dinner. And he really wanted one of those 'amazing' steaks. Why not? So he went about slowly typing a reply.

Yu: Sounds good, where do you want to meet up?

Yosuke: Awesme! :) meet me near Inaba shrine, yaknow the place?

He pictured the only shrine he knew about in Inaba, it was a short walk away, maybe 10 minutes for his speed.

Yu: I know the place. I will see you there soon.

Yosuke: Dude, so formal… even in messages :(

He let out a chuckle, now all he needed was for Chie to ask to hang out and he'd have been with all his friends today. Yu decided on a final message before he headed out.

Yu: By the way Yosuke-san, it's spelt 'awesome'.

Yosuke: t(~_~t)

He laughed.

Later

"So whatcha think? Good right?" The brown haired boy sat across from Yu at a quaint table and bench, in-front of a steak skewer vendor, The partly paralysed boy didn't verbally reply, he just continued chewing away at his steak. Yosuke laughed, "I'll take that as a yes", his expression turned serious, "by the way dude, I… went into the TV world". You could of heard a pin drop, Yu stared a hole through his fellow student, "you what?" The nervous teen bowed his head and clapped his hands together, "I know it was dumb and stupid and dangerous, but I was just bored one night and tried putting my hand on my tv… And it went through".

"But, how? Why? You couldn't do that before right?" Yosuke nodded, "Right! But I can now, when I went to ask… Teddie… he said it was to do with my persona or something…" Yu choked on his steak, coughing up a piece of it, "p-persona!? You have one?" The questioned teen scratched his chin, a shade of red growing in his cheeks, "Yeah, after my shadow thing was beaten, I kinda accepted it and voila! Don't you remember? Pretty sure I mentioned this." Yu dipped his head, to be honest, he probably did but he had been so wrapped up in his illness, he most likely forgot. "Sorry, been kind of out of it this week, so what? You entered the TV world and what?"

"Well I used the same one you used at first, came out at the same place, Teddie was already there, he mentioned some weird stuff, not knowing who or what he was or something. Anyway, I figured out how to summon my persona and left". Yu nodded along, glad that Yosuke didn't put himself into even more danger, the other teen suddenly patted over his breast pocket and pulled out a pair of simple looking glasses. "Oh yeah, take one of these, Teddie said they help with seeing through that thick fog". He took one, trying it on, they fit comfortably enough. "Why give me one? Unless you're planning on going back into the TV world?" Yosuke's silence was all the answer he needed, "Are you serious? In case you forgot, we almost died!" He hated how the word tainted his lips, died, death, dying! He despised all of them, mainly because they all summarised him, unfortunately. "I know it was bad, but just listen okay?" He stifled his outburst for Yosuke's explanation. "Okay, so you know how that midnight channel showed Sa… Saki-senpai before her… whatever, the point is, I think that her showing up on that channel, meant she had been thrown inside the TV world!"

"Thrown inside? But that'd mean someone besides me could go through the TV world, you really think that!?"

"I dunno what I think! All I know is that Saki-senpai died in there… alone and scared, I… I just want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else… yaknow?" His shoulders slumped at the end, as if the fight to explain had left him, but Yu struggled with himself about what his friend said. No one deserves a fate like that… but, I barely survived every time I've been in there… he shut his eyes and clenched his fist, he didn't want to die in there, but the mere idea of someone else suffering in that horrid world sent shivers down his spine. However, what ultimately tipped his decision was the thought of someone like Nanako being trapped in that world, an innocent sweet soul surrounded by deadly monsters, with no discernable way out, even the thought of it made him want to be sick. In the end, Yu sighed weakly. Guess I'll just have to tough it out.

"Okay, I'm in…"

"Please dude you gotta under… you are?"

He nodded, "I am".

"Great, holy hell is that load of my mind!" Yu shook his head, "I'm in, under three conditions…"

"Name 'em!"

One finger rose, "No one goes in there by themselves, that's a death sentence." Second finger, "If we have to go in, we discuss it calmly and logically, we can't let our emotions take charge in there, too dangerous", the final finger, "we always go in through the same TV in Junes, who knows where another TV would drop us, okay?" Yosuke nodded vigorously, "Yeah dude, those are super reasonable conditions, it's a good thing you're the leader!" The silverette nodded, "Yeah whatever… wait what!?" He leaned over the table, glaring, "What do you mean I'm the 'leader'?" Yosuke let out a nervous chuckle, "Well, when we all fell in, you took charge, kept us safe, even sent us ahead to face the danger. Plus you had your persona first, which means you're more experienced!" A shaky grin formed on his lips' "Come on! The role was practically made for you!"

You're forgetting I'm a cripple who passes out everytime I use a persona. However, he couldn't deny that the teen made some convincing points, and to be honest, out of a team of two people; one of them Yosuke… An annoyed groan left his mouth. "Okay, guess I'm the leader". Yosuke let out a triumphant whoop! "Awesome, with you in charge, there ain't nothing we can't do!" Whilst he appreciated his enthusiasm, Yu knew that this 'hope' could come crashing down very quickly. Just look at my life. But he didn't deny his friend's cheerful attitude, he did curb it however.

"Shut up and eat your steak".

"Yes boss!"

I made a horrible mistake.

Fwoosh

Crack

Crash

Or, maybe i didn't… Magician huh?

Later

After the bombshell that was Yosuke practically forcing Yu into leadership in the; 'woefully unprepared brigade', the light brown haired teen paid for both meals, and they went their separate ways, as Yu passed the local shrine, his eyes caught sight of something peculiar.

Is that a fox?

Later

Dear diary, I made friends with a fox today.

He opened the front door, expecting maybe Nanako, what he didn't expect was to see Dojima and a stranger sat around the kotetsu, having takeout. "Ah! Yu, was wondering where you got of to, come over here!", Yu obliged, brows raised at the stranger; a rather meek, mild and generally pathetic looking man, and that was coming from him! "Yu, this is Adachi, he's my new assistant, Adachi, this is Yu; my older sisters son".

Just call me your nephew.

Adachi looked up, takeout noodles dangling from his mouth, "hiiiii Yuuuu-khun!" Yu grimaced at the blatant disregard of manners, but he nodded, "nice to meet you too; Adachi-san," he turned to his uncle, "I thought we were eating home cooked food tonight?" Ryotaro sheepishly bonked his head, "heh, sorry Yu, I kind of forgot, and then I invited Adachi over and we were hungry, so…" Narukami merely sighed, he wasn't too annoyed, in all honesty, his uncles forgetfulness saved him slaving over a stove, he was more worried about Nanako's reaction, she had been so excited to cook for her dad, she had barely stopped gushing about it during their shopping. "Hey, don't worry Yu! Tomorrow you and Nanako can cook, I promise!" Yu waved it off, "Fine by me, I'll let Nanako know, it was a pleasure Adachi-san," said man simply gave a thumbs up, mouth still stuffed with noodles. Yeah, Yu didn't want Nanako meeting this guy, especially if he was the reason they weren't cooking tonight, he'd tell Nanako the news himself and let her work through it by herself, instead of blowing up at her dad. Because that's what he had done when he was her age. He left the front room, ears catching the end of something Adachi asked; "So what's wrong with him?" Yu almost stormed back down and beat the man with a chair. But he didn't, mainly for two reasons, one; his uncle was a cop and he'd rather not be arrested for assault. Two; Adachi was wrong, it wasn't "what's wrong with him?", it's; "What isn't wrong with him?" Because, not only did he look like a slasher movie victim under his clothes, but he didn't feel much better about himself.

A scowl crossed his face. And just like that, the rest of his day was ruined, he passed Nanako's door, and knocked, a disgusting pessimistic side of himself was grateful he got to tell Nanako the bad news.

At least it wouldn't only be his day ruined.

Later

So after successfully ruining a young childs day, Yu decided to simply relax, he even took a nap for a few hours, and when he woke, he found Yosuke had messaged him.

Yosuke: Hey dude, be sure to check out the midnight channel tonight!

Yu: Don't worry… I will -_-

It wasn't like he wanted to have a normal sleep pattern for school tomorrow. Yu let out a weary groan as he plopped himself onto his pull out futon. If he was going to stay up till midnight, he was going to get comfortable. Checking the time, he found that his nap was a few more hours than he expected; . Around five more hours to go, eyes scanning his room for any entertainment, they landed on a finely crafted paper origami crane, a memento from before his accident, his dexterous hands used to be able to bend and fold sheets of paper into a variety of things, now? He raised his good hand and flexed his fingers, taking note of their almost hesitant strain, another side effect of his surgeries, his entire left-hand would ever so slightly tremble. His doctor's actually recommend trying one handed origami, to exercise his finger muscles, he never did however. Although, he had nearly five hours to burn and nothing to do. Hmmm, might as well give it a shot. He gathered some spare paper and awkwardly sat crossed legged at his small table. Having to lift up his numb leg and place it in a comfortable position. He flexed his fingers, here goes nothing.

Later

Four and a half painstaking hours later; a shoddily crafted paper crane sat on his table, the wings weren't aligned and the neck was comically short, but it was there, he had made it, granted it took nearly five hours and he felt like he needed a nap to recover, thankfully, sleep would visit him soon, he only needed to wait a few more minutes until midnight at this point. He returned to his futon, placing the shoddy crane on his bedside table and waited.

Later

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

The unplugged TV sparked to life, static filling it, Yu watched it, still transfixed by the utterly abnormal circumstance. He began to ponder the logistics of how and why this midnight channel existed. However, the sight of an outlined figure on the TV caught his attention; average height, long hair, definitely female from what he could see, unfortunately the static was too heavy to properly ascertain the person's identity. But the mere sight of said outlined figure sent a feeling of horror to grasp him. Another person… just like Saki. He didn't even realise he had called Yosuke instinctively until his phone began to ring.

"Hey dude, did you see the midnight channel?"

"Yeah… it's like with Saki-san, I couldn't make out who it was though. Could you?"

"Ugh, nah, couldn't tell. Pretty sure it was a girl at least".

"I figured the same, unfortunately, I doubt; 'is female with long hair' narrows down the person". He heard a sigh through the phone.

"You're right… well, at least we have something, so we at least have to try! I won't let what happened to Saki-senpai happen to anyone else!"

"That's the plan".

"Anyway… uh, thanks for the call. You still coming into school tomorrow?" His voice was unsure, as if uncomfortable in asking. Yu appreciated the sentiment, but he already said he was coming in, so he was coming in. "I'll be there Yosuke, see you tomorrow".

"Ye...yeah, see ya". And Yosuke hung up, the line going dead. Yu plugged his phone into charge and took a final glance at his TV; it was blank once again. Time for bed, actually want to be in school on time for once. He got ready for bed, haphazardly throwing on a pajama top and pants, he applied some of his ointment to to his many scars, the swelling from the harsh fall around a week ago had healed up nicely, but Yu figured it was better to be safe than sorry. After doing so, he laid his head onto the bed pillow and quickly drifted off to sleep.

…

…

…

Power of the wildcard…

Gain strength from friendships…

This key will allow you to return to this place…

Will you seek the truth? Or fall short in the despairing for?

It is time for you to wake… dear fool…

We SHALL meet again...

He bolted up in shock, eyes wide and awake, body covered in a light sheen of sweat, he took a deep calming breath, collecting his thoughts about that dream, although it was probably not a dream in his opinion, he was in that place again; the Velvet Room. Wildcard? Strength? Key… Key!? Yu scrambled for his bedside table, unaware his numb leg had gotten caught in his bed sheet, which meant as he left the bed, he tumbled to the ground unremorsefully. Good start to a day. Ignoring the fall, he reached the table and grabbed his keys, his blood ran cold; on his key-chain was a new key, a purple key… The key to the Velvet Room. His breathing became ragged, his fingers clenched at his chest. What the hell is happening!? Why me!? He needed his pills, he needed them. It was like everytime he gained a modicum of sense in this clusterfuck, something new just pulls the rug from under him. Shakily he grabbed his pull bottle and popped a couple into his mouth, and tried to take deep breaths as he waited for them to kick in. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually he managed to calm down. His palm covered his face as he let out a tired groan. Is it too late to call in sick again? As much as he wished to, he knew he couldn't let down Yosuke like that, and he really wanted to see Kanji at school as well, genuinely curious about his attitude when not with him. Time to put up and shut up.

He checked his phone;

349.

07:25.

"Time for breakfast. Wonder if Nanako wants eggs or not?"

Later

It turns out, Nanako did indeed want eggs and toast and bacon, so Yu found himself cooking up a breakfast for himself and the adorable girl, he didn't let her help him this time, the poor girl was barely awake in the first place. However, she had quickly woken up when she had taken her first bite. Yu would always remember the sheer joy the bundle of cuteness had exuded at a simple home cooked breakfast.

"We'll have to cook breakfast for daddy one time! He'd love it!" Yu had smiled and nodded, his uncle was damn lucky his daughter loved him so much. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast after that, only a few questions from Nanako if Yu was alright to go to school, anyone else he'd be annoyed, Nanako asking? He found it endearingly sweet. Afterwards, they both walked to their respective schools, and once they reached the river.

"I'll see you at home, okay Nanako?" She nodded and turned to leave, when suddenly she spun back to him and wrapped her arms around his thin waist.

"I'm glad you're feeling better", and she spun back around running off before Yu could react, arm outstretched as if to stop her, but he didn't, instead he allowed a warm smile to overtake his lips. Thanks Nanako, thanks for caring. And then continued his way to school, feeling more ready than ever for what awaited him.

Later

"OH AND LOOKS LIKE THE ABSENTEE SHITSTAIN HAS DEIGNED TO GRACE US WITH HIS PRESENCE!"

Yu took back that earlier thought; he was not ready for what awaited him. He decidedly ignored the buck toothed teachers rant, and quickly situated himself at his desk, nodding politely to Chie and Yosuke, noticing that Yukiko was not next to the green jacketed girl, he wondered where she could be, from the small interaction he had with her, he gathered that the pair were nigh inseparable. It was only when he received a paper note from Chie, who sneakily passed it him when the teacher was turned, that he realised something was wrong.

We need to talk.

~Chie/Yosuke.

He sighed, of course he couldn't just have a normal school day. Who was he kidding, nothing was 'normal' about him anymore.

Later

Lunch time started with a collective sigh of relief from the student body. 'King Moron' leaving the room signalled Chie's opportunity to rush over to Yu's desk, Yosuke trailing behind. "Hi Narukami-san, I'm glad you're feeling better!" He smiled, "as am I, Satonaka-san, but I have to ask, what's up with the note? 'we need to talk' is there something wrong?" The mood turned worried as Chie anxiously wrung her hands together, "well, I'm just worried… after the whole TV world thing, things have just been different yaknow? And then Yukiko not turning up today, and not letting me know! I'm just…" It was obvious to Yu what Chie feared, and whilst he saw the similarities now that she mentioned it, he wanted to assure her.

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Yeah! It just went to voicemail!" Yosuke turned to Yu, "You don't think?"

"Think what?" Chie cried. Yosuke turned to her, "the midnight channel showed the outline of a girl last night… And now Yukiko's not here…" he chose not to finish his train of thought, but the damage had already been done. Chie began panicking, eyes wide, breaths becoming ragged, Yu recognised the signs of a panic attack instantly. "Is there any other way you could contact Amagi-san? Her house? What about that Inn you told me about?" Yosuke piped In; "Yeah! The Amagi inn, try calling their front desk!" Chie didn't even say anything, just grasped her mobile and dialed the number. Yu watched her shift side to side, anxiously waiting for someone to answer. After a few tense moment's, Chie started speaking.

"Hello, is this the Amagi Inn?" The voice on the other end said something. "Okay, I'm just calling to ask if Yukiko Amagi is there today, I'm her friend; Chie Satonaka", once more, Yu simply waited for the girl to speak again, feeling a sense of relief when Chie's face brightened, "Oh, so she's just helping out at the Inn today? Awesome! Wait, it's not awesome… just glad I uh know she's okay, because I was worried…" she continued to ramble, and Yu brought his hand across his neck in a slashing motion, and Chie quickly wrapped up her conversation and hung up.

Immediately she whirled on Yosuke, scowl on her face, "You IDIOT, do you know how much you scared me with the whole; midnight channel crap!?" Yosuke brought his hands up in defence, "Hey! I'm glad that Yukiko is okay! But you gotta see why I was worried, especially with this midnight channel thing… you already said you watched it! Surely you gotta see that whoever that was on the screen looked like Yukiko-san". Yu erred on that point, whilst Yukiko would fit the outline they saw, to jump to such a conclusion was a bit of a stretch in his opinion. "So, we know Amagi-san is fine, is there anything else we have to discuss?" The silverette, whilst grateful for the companionship still had to finish his lunch, so when Chie shook her head, Yu went about grabbing his bag, pulling out a bento box he prepared during breakfast, just a pair of simple sandwiches Nanako had insisted she make for him, another touching moment to him. And right now? He would enjoy these sandwiches in the company of two quiet friends.

"So Chie, are your family still looking for a Tv after you kicked their old one?"

"Shut up Yosuke!"

Scratch that; company of two 'loud' friends.

At least the sandwiches were good.

Later

He shouldn't of eaten those sandwiches, he had been rather greedy for food recently, with the steak skewers, full English breakfast and now these sandwiches in such a short time. His broken internal organs couldn't digest them quick enough and thus Yu found himself face down in a toilet at school, spewing out his lunch, with one last pained heave, he found his stomach empty and let out a ragged breath of relief and disgust. He couldn't even indulge in eating anymore without risk. And the worst part was that it's only going to get worse, the closer his time drew near. He hated it, despised it, but was utterly helpless to do anything about it. No use crying over spilt milk, I better head back, rather not worry everyone. It had been during his fourth class where his lunch had come back to bite him, and he had rushed (stumbled pathetically) out of the room, and to add even more salt to the embarrassed wound, he had stumbled by Kanji on his way to the bathroom, so there was another person concerned about his well being. Wiping his mouth with some of the toilet roll, he spat out anything that remained and flushed the evidence away. The damaged teen scrubbed his hand harshly and quickly left to continue his day, pointedly trying to ignore any strange looks he received, he'd have enough trouble explaining he was fine to Youske, Chie and Kanji, the rest of the school body could get stuffed for all he cared. He already noticed it today; everyone besides his friends gave him a wide berth, unsure how to act around the cripple.

Just another thing wrong with him, nothing to get worked up about.

Later

School ended with no more incidents, Yu pointedly ignored the concerned looks from Yosuke and Chie. He even had a quick chat with Kanji between classes, and if Yu thought he people gave him a wide berth, he literally caught multiple people redirecting down different school corridors to simply avoid Kanji. And suddenly Yu was much more sympathetic to why the punk teenager skipped school so often. And with that; his first day back at school ended, started of poorly, had an worrying conversation about halfway through, and finished it off with throwing up, all in all, Yu considered it a rather mediocre school day.

Can't wait for tomorrow's.

He exited the school ground, moving at his slow pace, fellow students passed him by quickly, for Yu it only emphasised just how damn slow he was.

"Hey! Senpai! Wait up!" He recognised that voice, and from how everyone near him began to shuffle ever so slightly away from him; Kanji. So wait he did, and soon enough; the dyed blond punk reached the silverette. "Senpai, dya mind if we walk home together? My… my house is on the way and all…" Yu smiled, Kanji's obvious shyness amused him, and whilst he was unsure why the teen was shy, it wasn't like he'd confront the teen on it. His smile turned cheeky; "eh… Whyyyyyyyyy?

"Uh… cuz like I said, we go the…" Yu chuckled; "I was being facetious Kanji-kun, of course I don't mind". Kanji nodded, "Awesome, let's get goin' then!" And the punk began moving, Yu following suit, and Yu noticed something rather heartwarming; Kanji was walking a deliberately slower pace… for him. He didn't make a scene of walking slower, asking if Yu was okay, no, he just did it organically. It was nice.

"Uh, by the way Senpai… What does facetious mean?"

"It means replying to serious question in a joking manner essentially".

"Oh… c-cool! Thanks for… yaknow, not calling me dumb or some shit for not knowing… I know I ain't that smart and all..." Yu's eyes caught Kanji's bashful expression at admitting his lacking intellect, however, the crippled teen shrugged, "it's cool Kanji-kun".

"Nah Senpai, I'm serious… thank… oh!" Kanji's eyes met Yu's smirking face, "You're being facei… faciet…"

"Facetious, and yes, yes I was". Kanji just laughed, and Yu suddenly found today's utterly meh school day worth it, if the enjoyable companionship he would be sharing with Kanji told him anything. "Yaknow Senpai, you're pretty smart…"

Yeah… it's like the one thing I have going for me at this point.

Later

"I'm back!" He said as he opened the front door, "welcome back!" replied a childlike voice. Once inside the house, he saw Nanako, sat at the kotetsu watching the local news. Yu wasn't too interested in what was being reported, at least he wasn't until the recognisable figure of Yukiko Amagi was shown.

"This is an interview that was conducted earlier in the week, with one Miss. Amagi Yukiko about her family's inn popularity." Yu watched the recording with mild interest, not due to the inns apparent popularity, but with Yukiko herself, how her answers to any questions were delivered in a bored, monotonous voice, how, when the interviewer questioned her about when she would take over the family inn, how Yukiko's eyes turned almost dull in expression. She looks sad. A way of feeling Yu was more than familiar with. Unfortunately, besides recognising the signs of sadness in the teen, there's was nothing he could do, it was Yukiko's issue, nothing to do with him. "There anything else on, Nanako-chan?" The little girl shrugged and tapped a random button on the remote, and very quickly Yu found himself regretting that question.

"~Everyday's great at your Junes~".

I was right… that has got annoying.

"Hey Nanako how about we get started on dinner? Hopefully your dad gets back in time".

"Yay! Can we have ramen?"

"Of course we can! Although, I'll need help from a talented sous-chef… but I wonder where I could find one?" Nanako jumped to her feet, arm stretching into the air, "me, me, me! I'm your sous-chef!" Yu tutted, "I don't know… are you sure Nanako-chan?" He held back his smug grin for as long as he could, but when the little girl began to pout, he chuckled warmly. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry… very well sous-chef, let's wash our hands and get to work!" Nanako gave him a enthusiastic thumbs up.

This girl's too much.

And so, the pair went about preparing a nice wholesome dinner, Yu's cooking talent and Nanako's childlike enthusiasm melding together. Thankfully, they managed to put together a rather delectable, multiple servings of ramen, Yu wanted for Nanako to eat it straight away, but she wanted to wait for Dojima, so he acquiesced to her plea and thus they waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Dojima wasn't coming home tonight.

And so, a damaged teenager and a saddened girl ate reheated ramen for dinner that night.

Later

He had sent Nanako to bed a while ago, and retired for the night himself shortly after, Dojima could reheat his own damn ramen in Yu's irritated opinion. He checked the time; 11:58 pm. It was almost time for the midnight channel, he had already unplugged his TV and sat himself down in front of the TV, he was hoping to see nothing tonight, naive he realised, and thus the realist in him knew he wouldn't get his wish. As he awaited the remaining minute, he reread a text Yosuke had sent him a couple of hours ago.

Yosuke: Hey dude! Chie was still panicking and stuff about Yukiko… even though she knows she was at the Inn. So we went to Junes and checked in with that Teddie… thing? He said no-ones over there. Even told us that he could smell when someone ends up in that world. Maybe we could use that?

It was long and neatly written, so Yu assumed his friend had utilised spell-check, after Yu's spelling correction the other day. There was no time to ponder anymore, as his unplugged TV flared to life, and immediately Yu knew something was different, the screen was no longer static, instead it was crystal clear, showing the image of a medieval, grandiose castle, complete with moat and drawbridge. But what really screamed; 'something was terribly wrong' to Yu, was when Yukiko Amagi strolled into view, dressed in a princess outfit, her eyes terrifyingly yellow in colour, disquieting smirk on her face.

"~I've got my lacy unmentionables on~!"

…

…

…

What have I gotten myself into?

Later

They were doing it. They were willingly entering the TV world to save one; Yukiko Amagi. 'They' being Yu, armed with a lug wrench, his pill bottle secured in his pocket. Yosuke, wielding dual spanners, nervously adjusting his headphones, and Chie, decked out with her… shoes? Trying desperately not to demand they move faster.

They had met up in school this morning, Chie exasperated in panic, Yosuke open mouth gaping, and Yu contemplating heavily. They had all seen the midnight channel, and had unanimously agreed to head into the TV as soon as school ended, which explained why they were still in their school uniforms despite school having finished. The trio stood at the same TV they fell into at Junes, Yu taking a deep, calming breath before putting his hand through the screen, shortly before going inside it, followed quickly by Yosuke and Chie. The travel between worlds was just as confusing and nauseating as the first time, but thankfully they all ended up in the same stage like area. Now all they had to do was find Teddie.

"Hi there! Sensei, Sensei's friends!"

Speak of the devil.

Yu didn't even get a chance to great the bear mascot back, before Chie rushed over, grabbing the bear; "is there someone else here!? A girl; Yukiko Amagi!?" The bear waved his arms; terrified from Chie's forcefulness, "ah Senpai! Help me!" Yu rushed over, and intervened before Chie broke the poor thing, "Hey Teddie, sorry about Satonaka-san… you see, we think a friend of hers has been thrown in here, any chance you can tell us if she has?"

"Oh Sensei! That's beary bad! I'll check right away!" The bears face? Grew serious, it's stubby nose sniffing heavily, "hmmm… I'm definitely picking up something beary strange… this way!" And Teddie marched onwards in a seemingly random direction, Chie frantically following right behind, Yu and Yosuke sharing a worried glance. Alas however, they had no other choice but to follow the strange bear-like creature. And Yu had to swallow a pained groan from escaping his mouth, mere minutes in this world and already his body was hurting. He patted his pills reassuringly, bolstered with the knowledge he had them.

I can do this… I can do this.

Later

"Ho-holy shit dude! There's just a castle… here!?" Yu had to agree with Yosuke's shock, they had been walking for what seemed like a while, the path they took having no similar architecture to the castle that stood before them. Even with the glasses he, Chie and Yosuke wore didn't help them see this thing coming. But the castle confirmed it, Yukiko was in this world.

And it was up to three inexperienced teenagers to save her.

God, this all sounds like a dumb anime.

"This is where that smell is coming from, inside that beary scary castle, near the top of it, I'd wager that's where your friend is".

"So all we gotta' do to save Yukiko is get to the top of this castle? Then let's get going!" Chie ran off, determined to save her friend, leaving the two boys in the dust. Yosuke shouted at her and began to chase after her, before stalling and turning to Yu, who only waved his arm; "go after her! I'll catch up!" Yosuke hesitated for a moment before nodding, and rushed after the girl, leaving Yu with Teddie.

Goddamnit, what is wrong with that girl!? He began to limp after them, struggling to keep up any modicum of speed, worse, he could already feel his chest begin to tighten. And to prevent the oncoming attack, he quickly popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed. As he limped, he looked at his bear companion. "Can you follow where Chie went?" The bear nodded, "just follow me Sensei, be aware though, the castle will be filled with dangerous shadows". He nodded. Just great.

"lead the way Teddie, I'll handle any shadows that pop up". He hoped to be able to at least. And thus, the pair entered the castle.

Later

They had been walking for a few minutes before anything of note happened, Teddie had explained the science? Behind the castle, apparently it was a manifestation of Yukiko's inhibited wants and desires multiplied exponentially, and that the yellow eyed Yukiko they had seen was her shadow running amuck, just like Yosuke's. Another thing Yu figured out about this castle; was its layout; it had impossible space, corridors that stretched on forever, stairs that seemed to go on forever, aspects that Yu just loved.

"Sensei, I sense a beary dangerous shadow incoming!"

"Get behind me Teddie, just let me know what direction". The bear complied, pointing right in front of them, so Yu waited anxiously for the incoming attacker, he didn't have to wait long before a black sludge like monster splurged forward, morphing into an entirely different creature; a small pixie looking creature with wings. "Ah! Sensei, watch out!" The warning was a little too late, as before Yu knew it, a small bolt of lightning had struck him, he recoiled at the impact, the damage being inconsequential compared to what he had already been through. However, Yu couldn't just stand there and let himself be hit. It was time to return the favour.

I only need you for a second.

"Persona!" He cried, the familiar ethereal form of the one armed Izanagi materialising before him, and just as it did so, his chest suddenly suffered a spike of pain. It's just like the other times I summoned him. It hurt, and just like the other times, it enraged his persona; Izanagi screeched viciously as it shot forward and grasped the pixie creature, and squeezed, the shadow letting out a pained scream, before one final twitch of Izanagi's clawed gauntlet silenced the shadow for good. Yu immediately dissipated the persona, relief filling him as the spiking pain subsided slightly, enough for him to calmly pop yet another pill into his mouth.

"Woweeee sensei! Your persona is super strong!"

And super dangerous for me, it isn't a coincidence, everytime I summon Izanagi, I have an episode. I need to catch up to Yosuke and Chie, got to regroup.

Yu glanced at where the shadow used to be and was surprised to find a pile of cash just laying there. He scooped it up and pocketed it, it wasn't much, but it was free money. He asked Teddie why the shadow dropped real world money, but the bear had no idea either. Best not to wonder, this world makes no sense as is. And as he turned to follow Teddie once again, a bright light caught his eyes, what's that? It was… a card? It floated towards Yu who stalled in befuddlement, the card stopped inches away from his face and did nothing, as if waiting.

Could it be?

He reached his arm out and grasped the card in his hand, images shooting through his mind at the contact; Pixie. He closed his fist and the card burst into light, before fading into his body.

You have attained a new persona… a unique ability only bequeathed to the wildcard…

Use it wisely.

The voice of a certain long nosed individual echoed in his mind.

"Multiple persona?"

"Sensei?" Yu looked up from his musings, Teddie staring at him worriedly "Are you okay Sensei? You've been staring at nothing for a few seconds". Seconds!? That whole thing felt like minutes!

"I'm fine Teddie, come on, we have to catch up!" Teddie nodded and continued on, leaving Yu to clench his fist, welcome to the team then; Pixie.

Later

They continued for an unknown amount of time, Yu having to battle shadows here and there, in the first fight after the pixie, he found himself summoning said persona, and it felt… different to summoning Izanagi, he still felt a spike of pain, but it was nothing compared to Izanagi being summoned. unfortunately, Yu had no idea why this was, just that it was. Another thing he noticed was that Pixie was nowhere near as strong as Izanagi, but instead had the ability to cure wounds. Unfortunately, the healing spell didn't affect his increasing chest pains and exhaustion, and to add even more fuel to the fire, he was already through a quarter of his pills, and ignoring the fact that consuming as many pills as he already had was risky, if the way this castle assault was going carried on, consuming a quarter of his pills would be the least of his worries. He could only hope they were close to Yosuke and Chie. Teddie seemed to think so; "This way sensei! Just up these stairs, I can smell them!" Great… more stairs, goddamnit Chie… making me rush. But he complied and followed Teddie up the stairs to come upon… an empty, large circular room. Yu looked around, no Yosuke or Chie, "I thought you said they were here, Teddie?" said bear anxiously glanced around, "their scent is strong here… they must have just been here!" Yu didn't like that, where were they then? That's when his eyes landed on a pair of headphones lying on the ground, and Yu felt something drop in his gut. "Teddie, those are Yosuke's, can you get any other scents off them?" Teddie sniffed Yosuke's accessory, "Oh that's beary bad…"

"Teddie?"

"I can smell a shadow from this… a beary powerful shadow… kind of like Yosuke's shadow but different". The silverette raised a worried brow, "But I already beat Yosuke's shadow…" a thought occurred to him, "Teddie… is it possible for a person's shadow besides Yukiko's to be in this castle?"

"I guess so sensei, but I don't see how that matters. Whose shadow would it besides Yukiko's… oh…"

"Chie… Teddie, if someone denies there shadow… how long do they have before…" Teddie whimpered, and Yu suddenly found a lump in his throat, "not long then… damn!"

"No sensei, I'd say if Chie's shadow isn't beaten by the end of today… Chie, and Yosuke will be killed".

Damn it, shit, what the hell am I supposed to do? Keep climbing this stupid castle? Even the mere thought of challenging this place by himself made his chest hurt. But it wasn't like he could just leave, and leave Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko to their fates. That simply was not the kind of person Yu was. There wasn't really any other option.

It was time to be a god damned hero, and here he was thinking his last year in the quiet town of Inaba would be uneventful. He sighed; "lead the way Teddie".

"But sensei! The shadows will only get stronger from here on, are you sure you can…" Yu stomped his foot, "what damn choice do I have!? You said it yourself, Chie's shadow will kill them today, if I leave, I might as well tie the noose around their necks myself", his voice lowered to whisper, "No one should have to die hopelessly…". Teddie stared at Yu for a moment, then he nodded slowly and motioned for the teen to follow. Yu patted his pills, slapped his numb arm and leg harshly to pump himself up, and followed after. He wasn't too worried about the random shadows they'd bump into on their way up, but the thought of facing not only Chie's shadow, but Yukiko's as well… especially if Yosuke was unable to help out, it worried him greatly. He knew he'd have to utilise Izanagi if that fear came to fruition despite the agony he'd suffer.

He only hoped his body could handle it.

Chapter 5 finished

So… whatcha think? Good? Bad? Meh? Please lemme know any issues or praises y'all might have I'm the comments. Thank you kindly for reading, and I wish y'all a fine day.