Important Notice for this chapter "Speech" Thoughts Persona Phone Speech Social Link Other
THE LINE BREAKS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE NOT FOR POV CHANGES. You will be notifyed if there are POV changes in any following Chapters. If you are not informed of POV changes, there are not going to be any POV changes.
*APRIL 21st, Thursday, Afternoon*
Once the two Fools left the T.V. world, One to the Velvet Room, the Other to the Junes Electronics Department. Yu quickly caught sight of the others, and approached them.
"Hey guys! Sorry about that. Hope is a bit better, I'm not sure if he'll show up at school tomorrow, though." Chie turned around with tears in her eyes, nearly hysterical with worry for her friend.
"He… he seemed so broken, Yu! When he swung your sword, he just... He seemed like he had given up. Like it didn't matter if he existed or not. What did he remember to make him like that?!"
"I have an idea, but it's not up to me to tell you." Was Yu's response. He gazed over to Yukiko, who seemed distant, with eyes glazed over and hadn't spoken a word since he told them to leave the T.V. "Yukiko? Are you okay?"
At her name, her eyes suddenly focused and she fell to her knees. "It's my fault. It's because of my Persona! It's MY FAULT!" She almost immediately burst into tears. Yosuke went to her and tried to calm her.
"Yukiko, if anything, it was my fault. I was enraged, like how the Shadows have the ability to do to us. If I wasn't enraged, we would've gone along with the plan and everything would be fine." Yu however wasn't having it.
"It was my fault, because I passed out after healing Yosuke. If I didn't, then Hope wouldn't have needed to try and lead the group. So, to prevent you two from having a pity party, it was all of our faults. That means when we see him next we will apologize. Now let's all go home okay? It's been a long day, and we all need some rest." Soon enough, they all agreed and went their separate ways.
You need to vent.
I don't need to vent.
Yes you do. You can't keep blaming yourself for everything.
What else am I supposed to do Izanagi? Go around and pretend everything's alright? It isn't Izanagi, my friend has regained some of his memories and then immediately broke down. What could he have remembered about this Light person? Is that the same person he mentioned before, when we bonded?
Yu. Breathe. You are just a Teenager. You do not have experience with someone with Amnesia. You need to bring someone else in, or to vent to someone.
But who? Who am I supposed to vent to?
"Kid?" Came a voice behind him.
Hello, Deus Ex Machina.
"Claire-san?" Yu asked, sounding tired. Claire put her hand on his shoulder.
"Kid? You okay?" The woman helped him before, maybe she can help him again.
"This… is hard for me to say. But, c-can you help me?" Claire took him by the arm and dragged him back to the food court, sitting across from him at a nearby table.
"A teenager asking for help? What has the world come to?" She dryly asked to herself. "Sure kid. What's up?" Yu looked away from her.
"I'm asking for a friend." He started.
"Oh really? A 'friend'?" Claire replied.
"Not the hypothetical, 'it's actually for me' friend. Like, an actual different person friend." This caught the woman's attention.
"I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll do everything I can to help. Let me hear it, kid."
"Well, my friend… he has amnesia. And recently, he's been regaining some of his memories…" Yu said, trying to put his words together correctly.
Claire nodded in understanding. "That's good then, right?" Yu shook his head in response.
"I'm not sure anymore. At first when I met him, I promised him I'd try to help him out, but now, I'm not positive him regaining his memories is the best thing for him." Claire raised an eyebrow.
"How is it not a good thing?"
"Well… when he first gained some memories, he grabbed his head and started screaming. Like it whatever he was remembering was terrifying. He never elaborated about what he remembered. My friend just told me he remembered a woman. He never gave me any details, mostly because I don't believe that he knew any. And just a little while ago, My friend and I were hanging out with some of our other friends, and then one of my friends said something which could be considered pointless, you know? Like it held very little significant impact. Just a question I think." Yu took a breath before continuing. "But then he remembered something else. He grabbed his head in pain. He kept saying the same words over and over again. 'Thunder. Thunder. Thunder. Lightning. Lightning. Light.' Then he started apologizing. Not to us, and to be honest, I don't even think he could see us at that point. I think he was remembering the woman again. Our other friends left, at my insistence, to make sure only I could see him break down, as it would be embarrassing if everyone you knew saw you cry, you know? Then he said something after a while as he was staring at something. It was a graphic playing on one of the TV's in the Electronics department. It was of a thunderstorm, with lightning flashing constantly. He said, 'Lightning flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect, only destroy.' But then he said something back, like he was talking to someone else. 'That's why you're Light to me. You're always there for me, especially when I need you, always protecting me. But then I forgot you. I'm sorry.' Then he kept apologizing." Yu stopped. He looked close to hyperventilating. "What am I supposed to do?"
Claire took the story in all the way. She couldn't believe it. She refused to get her hopes up only to be crushed. What are the odds that his friend could be the same person that Claire had been looking for, for the past lifetime? She shook her head. The odds are extremely low. "Kid." The single word seemed to calm her younger friend. "The most you can do is stay with him. Be there for him, while he looks for his Light. You have to give him hope while he has none. If your friend is going through hard times, you have to stick with them through those times. Otherwise, your friend could go through some worse things. For all you know, this could be the end of the bad. But, it could also just be the beginning. If you are truly friends with them, be with them in these hard times. Years ago, I had a friend who was depressed and nearly shot himself. He didn't however, and shot above his head, as he remembered he had someone, his son, to live for. In this case, think of your friend as my friend, and you as his son. You could be the ONLY reason your friend is still living." She saw the Fool's eyes widen, and knew her point had been made. "And I know from personal experience, that you can't do something like that alone. So if you ever need to talk about this, come tell me. Give me a call, or send me an email. Notify me so you don't end up drowning from stress. I'm not going to let my friends down, and you're one of them."
Yu nodded, and time around him froze. Glass shattered in the distance.
"Rank up! Your bond has grown as you understand life as it is, better. You will be blessed with help from the Universe in the future.
Is she… the Person who is connected to the Universe Arcana?
Well, we will not exactly know for sure, unless you can see what people's arcanas are.
Can we do that? I should talk to Igor.
Time unfroze around them. "Claire… thank you. Oh yeah! What about you? Any luck with getting the Detective Prince? Or any clues about Serah?"
She nodded. "The 'Detective Prince' did respond, and said that because of a different job, he would be coming to Inaba anyways. I believe it's because of the Serial Murder case, but he said he would hear me out."
Yu smiled. "I heard that the 'Detective Prince' may put on a cold facade, but is really kind-hearted. As long as you explain everything, he should take the case. Keep me updated okay?"
Saying their goodbyes, the two left the food court, both feeling distracted for the same reason. However, neither of the two knew for a fact that the main source of the others distraction was one Hope Estheim.
*April 22nd, Friday, Lunchtime*
Yu was sitting at his desk with the other members of the investigation team. Contrary to their belief, Hope did indeed show up to school. However, he didn't put on a mask to pretend that everything was okay. It seemed that with each memory Hope remembers, the more he wears his heart on his sleeve. His eyes were hauntingly vacant, almost as if he retreated inside himself. He seemed to ignore them as they apologized, and in hindsight, apologizing didn't seem to help anything.
"Is there anything we can do?" Yosuke asked aloud to the others, concern written on his face. Chie looked at Yu, desperate for an answer, and Yukiko seemed to be ignoring her food.
"Be there for him." Yu answered after a pause. "We don't know what he is going through. So we have to stick close to him, and make sure that when he opens up, that we don't suffocate him. What he remembers as of now seems to be something that affects him in some way, and we don't know what kind of memory it is. From what I can assume, it seems to be an important memory, and he is extremely upset that he forgot it." This seemed to catch Yukiko's attention.
"But from the way he reacted, it seemed as though it was a bad memory, to the point where he was being attacked and resorted to throwing his spells in defense." Yu seemed to understand what she was saying.
"That does make sense, but I heard more from him yesterday, as he was mostly talking to himself. The lightning that he summoned wasn't really to defend himself, but more likely that he was comforting himself. That's why I threw in a few Zios, to try and make him more comfortable. We don't really know what the lightning could be reminding him of, but as long as he is physically safe, we shouldn't have to worry too much."
"He hasn't eaten." Chie spoke up. She was right, Yu noticed. Hope had yet to move all day, to write any notes, to go use the bathroom, or to remove some food from his bag or desk.
"Well, I anticipated this happening so, I made food for everyone." This caught them all by surprise, as Yu pulled out five separate containers. "Curry is the dish today. Well, not exactly by myself, I had my cousin Nanako help out. She's six and wanted to learn more about cooking." As Yu passed out the food to each of the individuals, he took in each of their expressions. Yosuke seemed surprised that Yu could cook, Chie was ecstatic that food was being offered, Yukiko seemed contemplative, mostly at the aspect that there was more food being put in her direction, and Hope stared at him.
"Nanako-chan helped with this?" The Velvet Fool asked, the smallest smile on his face. "Then I can't wait to eat it." It was the first words he spoke all day, and the only time today where his eyes weren't blank. The bright emerald green seemed to be filled with a joy that echoed across the rest of the Investigation Team as Hope's presence seemed to put a smile on the team's face. "How is she doing, Yu-sama?"
"Nanako is doing great, in fact, she misses her cooking buddy. She wanted to know when the next lesson was. I told her I had to talk to the rest of the class first." He gave Hope a pointed look. "I just have to wait for the class to answer."
"I take it the class is me?" Hope replied, his smile turned to a smirk. "Well maybe if the Sensei had bothered to make a schedule of when the cooking class would meet, half the class would show up." This made the rest of the group laugh as Yu playfully nudged Hope.
"Don't you get sassy with me! No wonder Nanako is my favorite student." The two Fools glared at each other before dissolving into laughing fits. Once the laughing stopped, Yu spoke up. "Well everyone, please, dig in!" Not being needed to be told twice, Chie immediately attacked to food only to stop.
"D-did you really make this?" Yu nodded in confirmation. "This is the best curry I've ever had! Delicious!" Yosuke was the next to respond.
"Damn partner, that's some high praise right there! Let me try some of this." Yosuke took a bite of the curry and immediately dropped his utensils. "Dude. Can you cook for every meal?" Yu just laughed of the praise barely noticing Yukiko take a bite.
"Is it possible to have more students for your cooking class?" The Priestess asked.
"I don't think there is much room in my kitchen. But, Dojima-san does have a grill out back. Maybe I can show you guys some American Barbecue. How about some Hamburgers?" The general consensus was that after school, they would all go to Junes and then head over to the Dojima Residence.
*April 22nd, Friday, After School*
"Alright class!" Yu spoke, taking on the stance of a determined teacher. "The first lesson on cooking, is thus. If you can not master this lesson, you will never be able to cook anything!" He may have started to draw some looks from some passerby shoppers, but he ignored them, instead focusing on his students. "The first lesson, is ingredients! Yosuke, tell me, if I were to make Hamburgers as we planned, what is the main ingredient?" The Magician seem startled at suddenly being called out.
"You're taking this pretty serious, aren't you?" He started but quickly stopped getting off-track as Yu glared at him. "Uh, Beef! … Right?"
"BEEF! Excellent answer Yosuke. Now, that was your only hint. All of you, split up and grab your ingredients for burgers. You will eat what you cook from your ingredients. Go!" At the command the Investigation Team took off in separate directions. Hope just looked at Yu.
"If we are all making the same thing, why are they going different ways?" Yu shrugged as his answer before calling Nanako.
"Hello, Dojima Residence." Came Nanako's voice from the otherside of the line.
"Hey Nanako, it's me."
"Oh! Are you going to be home late today?" She asked, slightly worried.
"Only a little bit. I'm at Junes right now. I'm going to pick up some groceries for another one of our cooking lessons."
"Cooking lessons! Does that mean Hope-san is coming over?" Yu motion for Hope to come closer. He removed the phone from his head and handed it to Hope.
Puzzled, he answered the phone. "Hello?" He was immediately greeted by Nanako's joy.
"Hope-san!" Hope couldn't help but smile into the phone.
"Hello Nanako-chan. Yu-sama wants to make Hamburgers for tonight's lesson."
"Ham...burgers?"
"You haven't had Hamburgers before Nanako-chan? That's okay, we will experience them together! I'll go ahead and get your ingredients for you."
"Thank you Hope-san! You're the best! I'll see you both when you get here!" She then hung up the phone.
"I think she likes you, Hope." The Amnesiac just smiled.
"Shut up and get your ingredients to show us all up." Yu laughed aloud.
*April 22nd, Friday, Evening*
The entire Investigation Team arrived at the Dojima Residence, ingredients in hand. Nanako was more than a little surprised. "Hey Nanako, I'm sorry about this, but it seems that some other students wanted to learn how to cook. Is that okay?" She nodded and started to go up the stairs. "Nanako? Where are you going? The grill is outside, not upstairs."
"Yeah, how are you going to cook with us if you're not there?" Hope added, trying to get her to stay with the rest of them.
"Can… can I really?" Chie spoke up in response to the young girl.
"Of course! You're Nanako-chan, right? I'm Chie Satonaka! This here is Yukiko Amagi and Yosuke Hanamura. We're friends of Yu's. Is it okay if we sit in on this lesson, Nanako-chan." Nanako seemed more at ease, whether it was because she now knew their names, or because there were more girls there, Yu didn't know.
"That's okay. Let's get started!" Time seemed to fly by as Yu taught the group how to cook, carefully adding pointers to Nanako and Hope as they took their turns at the grill, and tried to push the point that you had to follow the recipe word for word to Chie and Yukiko.
"You don't want to burn the meat, but you also don't want to under-cook it either. You want to make sure you cook it enough to where the flavor of the meat is still there. Make sure to cut the meat in the center so you can see if it's a good color. You want a hint of pink, as too dark makes it taste bland, and too pink makes it impossible to eat in the form of a hamburger."
Yosuke didn't need too much help, which was surprising, as in the previous timeline/existence, Yu never saw Yosuke cook at all. Once all the meat was cooked, they made sure the flame on the grill was off, and brought the meat inside to keep it away from any potential bugs.
"Alright, well it seems as though you all passed on the meat section. Now this next part for the burgers is all up to you, the eater. Here are the buns, here are the vegetables, and here are the condiments. We will take turns making them to prevent any mishaps. Nanako, do you want me to help you? Or do you want to do it on your own?"
She seemed unsure of herself as she replied. "I never had a Hamburger before. Can you make me one?" Yu nodded.
"Yeah, so let's have you go first. Come with me so you can make sure that next time you can make it yourself." Yu took her through step by step. "So bread first. Now I'm going to make you this burger that I saw back in my time in America. Condiments are next, so Ketchup and mustard on the top bun, enough so you can taste it, but not too much to make a mess. Now let's sprinkle some salt and pepper on that, again, not too much to overpower the other flavors, but enough to add it's own flavor. Next would be vegetables, which is going to be up to you. Are you allergic to anything Nanako?"
"I don't think so. Dad doesn't let me have wasabi, so I might be allergic to that." Nanako answered. Yu smiled.
"Well it's good that Hamburgers almost hardly ever have Wasabi." Yosuke spoke up.
"Almost?"
"Well it was in America. They do have some strange things there." That was enough to convince Yosuke. "So let us put lettuce, tomato, pickles. Do you like onions, Nanako?"
"Only a little bit." Yu nodded.
"What about jalapenos?" She nodded again with a small smile.
"I like things a little spicy!"
"Alright. Well all that's left is the meat, and then the bottom bun." He turned the burger right side up and handed the burger to Nanako. "Tada~!" The rest of the group made their own burgers, and sat around the floor table. "Everyone, I hope you enjoy the fruits of your labor. Dig in!"
The group began to eat and made small talk. The conversation was of little consequence, until Chie spoke up. "Isn't it nice to have a big-bro who can cook Nanako-chan?"
"Big...bro?" There was silence, as she seemed to ponder the term. She blushed and then nodded. "Yeah!"
Chie I love you in the most platonic way right now. I finally get to be called Big-Bro again…
Yosuke spoke up, wanting to join in on this conversation. "Yeah, I bet this goes right on up there with your-"
"Uncle Dojima doesn't cook. He mostly just get's take out." Yu spoke up, giving Yosuke a pointed look. He didn't seem to understand the look though, as he continued his thought.
"But what about her mom?"
"My mom's dead." Came Nanako's sad reply.
Damn it Yosuke! Yu thought, putting his arm around Nanako to comfort his cousin. His 'Little-Sister'. Chie gave her thoughts outloud. "Yosuke!"
Yosuke quietly cursed. "I'm sorry Nanako-chan, that was insensitive of me."
Nanako shook her head. "It's okay. I'm not alone, I still have a dad. And I have a big-bro now too!" She gave a happy smile that warmed Yu's heart. The two 'siblings' made eye-contact and time stopped around Yu. The sound of glass breaking in the distance reached his ears.
"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thy bond will bring the truth ever closer to you… Thou shalt be blessed by gaining the ability Mahama for all of your Personas."
Time resumed, and Nanako then looked over to his friends, staring directly at Hope as she spoke. "And I've made some great friends, and even greater memories thanks to all of you."
In the span of a second, Yu saw concern and a brief flash of pain flash through Hope's eyes. But then, he smiled. "I've made some great memories with you too, Nanako-chan." The symbol of the Justice Arcana simple smiled and gave a small, musical 'Yay~' and the atmosphere lost all it's tenseness.
"Oh yeah, Nanako, guess what?" Yu started, trying to keep Nanako's smile there. She looked curious.
"What?" Her eyes were slightly wide, expecting something like a secret.
"Yosuke here? He works at Junes!" She gasped.
"You work at Junes! I LOVE Junes!" Yosuke seemed taken aback, expecting payback for bringing up her mother, but getting adorable affection from the young girl.
"N-Nanako-chan…"
"Everyday's great at your Junes~!" She sang the jingle, doing a little dance along with the tune.
"You're a good singer, Nanako-chan!" Yukiko praised. Nanako proudly responded with telling them that she was the best in her class.
"That reminds me." Hope started, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Speaking of songs, has anyone heard of a song called 'Promise'?" Yosuke answered him.
"Yeah, that's one of Risette's new songs." This seemed to surprise everyone there, mostly Hope and Nanako for different reasons.
"I love Risette!" Nanako managed to get out, her inner fangirl coming to the outside. Hope's reaction on the other hand seemed confused.
"Risette?" He asked. Yu explained a little more to the amnesiac.
"Risette is her stage name. Her real name is Rise Kujikawa. But this is the first time I've heard of that song name." I didn't really look too much into Rise's music in the other life. This could have been a song that came out last time.
"Here, I'll play it for you. It's not like her other songs, this one is more on the slow-side." Yosuke offered, pulling out his phone and the started going through his music options. Once he found it, he pressed a button and music began to play.
Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls
Hang in for the light, till dawn
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere
Yu glanced over to Hope's face and was surprised to tears sliding down his face, his eyes closed, seeming to be in a different world than the rest of them.
Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light
Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over
Battles we can win, our struggle lies within
Will we live to greet the dawn?
Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Promise me one day that peace shall reign
It was surprising short, Yu noted, compared to most songs. It seemed to last only around a minute and a half. But for Hope on the other hand, he seemed to be hearing more than the rest of them. It was quiet when Yosuke put his phone away, but the silence was surprisingly broke by Hope, who still seemed to be in a different place. The Velvet Fool began to sing.
"Step into the rainbow, find another view
Chase the tender light, borders let's cross over
Ready to define the mists inside your heart?
Take a breath and start your life
Waves of a new day
Clear all the gloom away
Hope is what we simply need to proceed
Waves of a new day
Clear all the gloom away
Hope is what we simply need to proceed"
The tears kept flowing as passion filled Hope's voice, and he hummed a joyous tune. Once finished, he began again.
"Step into the rainbow, world you never knew
Chase the arcs of light, soar beyond your sorrows
Dance among the colors, let them be your dreams
Close your eyes and see anew
Dawn of the new day
Clears all our gloom away
This is the hope that we need to go on
Dawn of the new day
Clears all the gloom away
This is the hope that we need to go on"
Silence passed, and then Hope opened his eyes. He seemed to notice that everyone was staring at him. "Did… did I do that outloud?" Nanako responded to the question that voiced everyone else's thoughts.
"Wow! You're a good singer Hope-san!"Applause suddenly erupted from Yukiko, who started chanting for an encore. Hope turned her down.
"I'm sorry Yukiko-chan, but there won't be an encore from me. I don't even know what came over me. It's just… that song used to be sung by a friend of mine. She was the best singer out of all of us. In fact if it wasn't for her…" Hope paused and ran a hand through his hair before continuing. "I wouldn't be here." Yu tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Hope shook his head.
"I don't know. I know that doesn't really make since, but I know for a fact that without her, I wouldn't be here."
"Do you know anything about her?" Chie asked. Hope held his head in thought.
"I know her voice. And… I think we just listened to it." The team looked at him, some with doubt, others with acceptance.
"You're saying that your friend is Risette?" Yosuke asked.
"I'm not saying that. The name Rise Kujikawa doesn't fit in my memory anywhere. I believe today is the first day I heard about it. I think her name starts with an 'S'." Hope shook his head. "I think it's best if we don't try to push any more. I don't think we will be able to get anymore information out of that."
The rest of the group nodded. It wouldn't do good trying to force someone to remember things they couldn't. Soon enough, the group parted ways and Ryotaro was welcomed with his own burger when he got home that night.
AN:/ Longest Chapter yet! Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave your thoughts and criticism in a review and let me know how you feel?
Can you figure out who Hope's friend is?
Also, since I was PM'd, someone wanted more of a cooking lesson between the Nanako and Hope, I threw in the rest of the Investigation Team. I do not expect anyone to take the cooking lesson seriously, as I am not a professional chef, I just tried to make it sound correct. Let me know if you want more cooking lessons between the three or more.
Best Regards,
TheFallenAlphaAngel