AN:/ Hello! Here is a chapter that is more social link heavy, which I can say is supposed to be more or less the actual interactions between Yu and Marie in the game. Since they have already made the social link, I'm fusing Ranks 1 & 2 into Rank 2. What you'll need for this chapter is "Regular Speech" Yu's Thoughts Velvet Room Attendant/ Social Link Voice.

This Chapter was Beta'd by the Incredible Immortal Thunder!

Happy reading!

*May 1st, Monday, After School*

After school, Yu found himself with Marie at Souzai Daigaku. "How are you, Marie?"

"Phew, I can finally breathe now. It's stuffy in that car. Y'know... I feel weird. It's like... nostalgic, with the smell and all."

The Fool nodded in acknowledgement. "Probably because it's the countryside." Marie closed her eyes in thought, crossing her arms to wrap around her torso.

"Is that why? The 'countryside' causes me to feel nostalgic? Hmm…" The Aeon soon opened her eyes and looked at the display counter. "There's a lot of stuff that I've never noticed before. A 'Steak Skewer'? Hey, lady. I want one of those skewer things." The owner jumped up at being called and moved to stand at the other side of the counter.

"Oh, hello! That'll be 320 yen, please."

Marie made a face. "Thwee hunnert twin... Bleh. That's hard to say. ...You can't eat without money?" she asked, looking at Yu. He nodded in response.

" Do you want me to pay for it?" Marie's eyes widened in surprise.

"You have money!? ...That's awesome. You're awesome." As Yu reached to get his wallet out to pay for the Skewers, a voice came up from behind them.

"Yo, Yu! Gettin' your steak on, huh?" Yu and Marie both turned around to see Yosuke, standing there with his arms behind his head. He did seem to drop his arms in shock. "...She's cute. What? What's going on here? Who's this!?"

Oh. It's just Yosuke being Yosuke. I got worried for a second. "She's a friend."

Marie seemed conflicted. "Friend...? I guess... I don't know."

"Ahh, I see. A 'friend,' you say, huh?" Yosuke gave Yu a knowing look, which Yu dutifully ignored.

"Oh yeah, I'm Yosuke Hanamura! I'm his friend. His partner, y'know."

"...Partner? You mean like a close friend?" Marie's confusion didn't seem to ease up. Yosuke's face flushed a light red in embarrassment as he nodded in affirmation.

"Heheh, that about sums it up. Er, what's your name?"

"Huh...? Uh... Marie." Yosuke was silent for a moment, inspecting both Yu and Marie.

"Hmmm, Marie-chan, is it? You want a steak skewer? All right, this one's on me!"

Can you afford that, Yosuke? "...You mean you'll buy it for me?...Is that okay?" the girl asked Yu, curiosity and worry in her voice.

Yu shrugged, glancing at Marie. "There's no reason to decline his offer."

Yosuke seemed to catch on to their skepticalness. "Hey, don't worry! I got a little extra in my last paycheck," He quickly moved past the two and, before they could interrupt him, ordered, "Three steak skewers, please! One for each of us."

The owner's genuine smile grew. "Oh my, business is booming! Just a moment, please." They sat all sat at the only table next to the store, and waited until the owner called out for Yosuke. The teens all sat and ate together in comfortable silence, the only noise being birds chirping and them eating the steak skewers. Man, it's been a long time since I've had these. When was the last time I ate here? Was it with Yosuke in November? Yu was snapped out of his thoughts by Yosuke.

"Whew! Is that a bellyful or what! This place always has huge portions. So, Marie-chan, what d'you think of the local specialty?" The girl in question looked lost in thought before staring Yosuke in the eye.

"It's really weird. It's tough, hard to bite into, and it got cold while I was still eating it. It was delicious."

That's… one way to put it.

Yosuke seemed just as shell-shocked as Yu."Oh, uh... That's good. ...Didn't sound like you liked it at the beginning there. But, all's well that ends well!"

Marie looked over to Yu, which at this point he figured it meant she had a question. "Hey, why's it called 'steak,' anyway? Is it short for something?"

"Well, it's short for 'Beefsteak,'" he explained.

"'Beefsteak'? Huh…" The Aeon furrowed her brow in thought. "But if you drop the word 'beef' from it, you don't get any sense of what it's made of. It should be, like... 'Fsteak.'"

Oh my Izanagi, she's adorable.

Yosuke seemed to have the same feeling as Yu. "That's, uh... not much better… Marie-chan's a strange kid, huh? Well, that makes her cute... I guess?"

"You eat this every day? ...No fair. I should've come earlier…" It seemed Marie had taken a liking to Steak Skewers, judging from the smile on her face.

Suddenly Yosuke shot up. "Ah, crap! I left my key back in my locker at work! I've gotta go back to Junes! See you later, Yu! You too, Marie-chan!" And with that, the Magician sprinted off to Junes.
It was dead silent for five seconds, until Marie looked over to Yu, smile still there."...Your 'partner' is a funny person."

"That he is."

"Hm… But he brought me meat. That makes him a good person. That is fact. Hey, let's go somewhere else. Somewhere with a nice view." Yu chuckled and stood up along with Marie.

"All right, you want one for the trip there?"

"... can I?" Yu nodded. "Yes, please!" The Fool just laughed.

Twenty minutes later, they finally reached the hill overlooking town. After losing Marie the moment he took his eyes off of her several times, Yu managed to bring her here. Marie looked around, taking in the area for the first time.

"Hmmm... It's really green here. Green and... green. And some brown and... Darker green?" Yu chuckled at her description as he leaned against a wooden fence, most likely used to keep kids from getting hurt. Marie looked like she's enjoying the atmosphere.

"Leaves of green fly away, Farewell to you, clouds of the sky… I fly as well, lost as the day, Farewell to you, moon of the night." Marie was murmuring something to herself... Whatever it was, it rhymed…Yu glanced over to Marie, gazing at her with a serene look upon her face. She noticed him looking over and the mood changed instantly.

"N-No! I-I-I wasn't making up a poem! It's just some words that I was thinking! That's all! Yeah! ...ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk! D-Don't snoop on me!" Marie was blushing as she ranted "Wow, it's pretty big… I don't know why... but I feel good about this place. It reminds me of something." Judging from the quick change in topic, it was indeed, a poem.

Marie was silent for a while, her eyes closed as the wind flowed against her. Yu joined her in the silence. It was tranquil, and he felt at peace for the first time in a long time. Just Marie, nature, and myself.

"Are there any other places we can go? I want to see more," came the Aeon's voice.

"Yeah, I'll show you around," was the Fool's response.

"Please do. I notice a lot of things when I'm with you. It's pretty fun!" It seems that Marie expects something of me now… I think I understand her better too. Yu waited for the Social Link voice to say that the rank leveled up like he had come to suspect, but to his surprise, it never came.

"All right, next! Where to now?" Marie's excited demeanor shook him out of his thoughts, and he smiled back at her.

"Well, considering it's the biggest place around here, I'll show you to Junes."

She tilted her head. "That's where your 'partner' works, right?"

"You remembered! Nice job! Now let's get going, Marie."

For some reason, Marie dragged Yu into the Electronics department. "Hey, what happened just now? A 'Time sale'...? Everyone was rushing to grab something called 'sallah drezzing'? Whatever it is, it must be worth fighting for." Yu nodded uncertainly.

"I'm sure some people would probably fight for it." A different familiar voice cut off any continuing conversation.

"Hey, Yu-kun! What a coincidence! What are you doin' here? Who's this girl? She's so cute," Chie asked, checking out Marie.

"This is Marie," Yu answered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" At her name, she shook slightly, as if she was in a trance and deep in thought. Marie looked at Chie perplexedly

"Marie-chan, huh? Ooh, that's a nice name… Oh, I'm Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you!" Marie nodded with a small smile to show her agreement before turning to the wall of display TVs.

"Okay…I know what this is. It shows a lot of stuff."

Chie stood on the opposite side of Marie. "Oh, you came to look at the TVs, too? Yeah, I want one, too. We still haven't replaced our old one."

"I-I don't want one! I don't, but… Maybe... Can you turn it to 'StarScandalz'?"

Yu tilted his head in confusion. "What kind of show is that...?"

"Huh? It's, like... One of those shows, right? The ones where they're all like 'blah de blah de blah.' Everybody watches it. Margaret told me that." For some reason, Marie seemed proud. Probably because she knew something I didn't. Oh well. Good for her. "So, how do you watch it?"

As Yu was about to explain to Marie how exactly a TV works, Chie interrupted, "Huh!? Are you one of those people who doesn't watch TV!?"

"There isn't one in the room," was the simple answer.

"Really!? Wow... You must have super-strict parents. Girl, I don't think I could stand it. Life without kung fu movies… Brr!" The Chariot shivered and seemed genuinely discomforted by the thought.

"Oh... But there's no 'eclectic loutwits' in that room. I'll tell The Nose to install one of those 'eclectic loutwits.' There's nothing to do in there!" With a determined nod, Marie walked out of the Electronics Department.

"Hey, wait, Marie-chan!?...You don't even have electricity in your room!?"

Yu came with Marie and Chie to the Junes Food Court.

"Whew, that was the good stuff. Satisfaction! I haven't had the steak here in a while, but it really isn't all that bad. Marie-chan, you haven't eaten at all," Chie managed through a bite of grilled steak. "You, too, Yu-kun. You've gotta eat if you want to grow up big and strong. Just kidding, haha!"

Marie looked up from her steak. "You eat too fast. You're gonna be fat one day."

Chie winced. "I didn't need to hear that! Uh... I'll go get us some drinks! ...O-Oolong tea sounds good." And in a flash, Chie stood up and moved to go get them said beverages.

"...There's a lot of people at this "Joo-nes" place. Why? Don't they have anything else to do? If they have TVs, they should be watching them instead of wasting time here." Before Yu could reprimand Marie for her words, her attention was drawn by a passing by family.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty! I wanna soda!" came the child's voice.

"No. You just had one. You'll have to wait," was the mother's even reply.

The child stamped their foot. "I wannit, I wannit!"

The mother was calm however. "I said no. You'll rot your teeth."

Marie continued to watch the mother and son, before turning to Yu. "Hey... Do you think I was ever like that?"

Closing his eyes in thought, Yu responded, "You mean that young? Logically speaking, you would have to have grown the body you have now. But if you mean acting like that? I'd hope not, he did seem like he has quite a temper on him." Opening his eyes to look at Marie, he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"...I don't remember anything. I was just walking... I had nowhere to go, and I just ended up in that car. Then Margaret told me to stay there. She also gave me the name 'Marie'... She said, 'It'd be hard to get around without a name.'"

"A part of me wants to say, 'that must be rough'."

"I don't know. I can't even remember if it was tough. That's okay... It's not like it's troubling me or anything." Despite her casual words, Marie has a concerned expression. "But... I don't know why, but this town is familiar to me."

"Hmm… Do you remember anything else?"

Marie shook her head. "...I don't know. The only thing I remember-or more like 'know'-is that this is mine." The Aeon stood up and reached into her bag. She pulled out an old bamboo comb. "I've had this from the start. This is definitely mine. But... so what? This doesn't help anything…"
Marie confided in me with her memory. I feel like our relationship has grown deeper.

Rank up! Your bond has grown as you understand the struggles one not of man faces. The Aeon will become closer to you!

Time resumed once again, as Marie spoke up. "...You're searching for the 'truth,' right...?...You should stop. There's no such thing…" While her words seemed harsh, her tone suggested otherwise. Perhaps concern? "This conversation's boring. Let's talk about something else." As Marie requested, their distraction from their conversation came in the form of Chie returning.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! The shop was busy, so I just ordered and came back here. They'll bring it to us when it's ready. Uhh... Is it me, or is the mood a bit heavy around here? D-Don't worry, you two! I ordered for all of us! ...Oolong tea for everybody!" Yu let out a laugh at Chie's antics, and after talking with Marie and Chie, Yu escorted Marie back to the Velvet Room.

*Monday, May 1st, Evening*

Yu walked in the Dojima residence and was greeted with a, "Welcome home, Big Bro!"

"Thanks, Nanako! Did you have a good day of school?" he replied as he slipped off his shoes and walked into the living room. She nodded and gave a huge smile.

"Yeah!" And then she began telling a story of her day as Yu listened and asked questions when necessary to get the full picture. The Justice Arcana ecstatically finished her story as Yu finished making dinner.

It was a well-simmered beef stew, which he would have leftovers for tomorrow. He slid a bowl in front of Nanako, who looked shocked at the size of her portion. "C-can I really have all this?" She asked.

Yu responded with, "I dunno… can you? Only big girls eat all their food…" He let the sentence hang in the air as he saw a glint of determination enter her eyes.

"Of course I can!" And she began to attack the bowl in an effort to prove her maturity. Yu chuckled as he calmly ate his own bowl. Later on, Nanako, who ate too fast, was unable to finish her giant bowl, while Yu pulled her bowl over and finished up for her.

"No fair… You put too much on purpose!" She pouted and pointed accusingly at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't go hungry tonight," Yu responded with a smile.

That seemed to take away her annoyance at him. "Big bro… are some people not able to eat dinner?" All of the wind had left her sails. Shit…

"Yeah, unfortunately some people can't afford to eat dinner every night. Some people just don't make enough money to feed their family. Some people just don't have a job." Nanako thought for a bit.

"Well… why don't they get a job then?" She asked.

Yu sighed. "Well it's not that simple. Some people try and try, and just keep getting denied. Some jobs require job experience, and they can't get job experience because jobs need job experience. And it's not really fair."

Nanako nodded her head. "Yeah, it's not…"

A touch of bitterness filled his voice."Unfortunately Nanako, there's not a whole lot we can do. This world runs on money…"

She seemed sad before she seemed to reach an epiphany. "Is that why Dad works all the time?"

"That's probably some factor of it, yeah." Nanako seemed to understand.

The night ended softly and without event.

AN:/ A bit of a somber note to end on, but the words kept flowing like that so... oh well. Please leave a review and have a good day!

TheFallenAlphaAngel