Sometimes, we all need a break. Just to relax and let all our pain not worry us. To let our stress disappear, even for a moment.
Go. Relax. Just breathe.
And enjoy.
*May 3rd, Tuesday, Constitution day, Early Morning*
I hope Nanako was able to sleep okay… Last night, Ryotaro called them to let them know he wouldn't be able to take them on a trip since a criminal stole all of the money in a Inaba Credit Union ATM-including the ATM itself! He was pulling all nighters at the Police Station. Nanako didn't take the news well.
As Yu descended the stairs, he saw Nanako watching TV. "Good Morning," came her empty greeting. Before he could respond though, there was a knock on the door. Seeing as he was closer, he moved to open the door to reveal…
"Chie? Hope? What are you two doing here?"
"Early morning training!"
"Yeah, Hope called and asked if I could give him a few pointers. We just wanted to stop by and see if you wanted to come with us? Since it's Golden Week, we were gonna call the others and probably have a picnic at the Samegawa," Chie replied with a sheepish smile.
Nanako came up behind him, and spoke up. "Are you going to the picnic, big bro?"
"You should come too, Nanako-chan!" She seemed to be taken aback by the offer. Chie added her two cents upon seeing Nanako.
"It wouldn't be the same without you, Nanako-chan!" Yu crouched down to be at the same height as Nanako.
"Well, little sis? We probably are going to have to stop somewhere to get the picnic supplies. Somewhere like… Junes?" Hook, line, and sinker.
"R-really?! Okay! Let me turn off everything!" and in a flash, she was going back to the living room and her own room to make sure everything was off.
"She really likes Junes, huh?" Hope rhetorically asked. Yu turned to them both.
"Our family plans were canceled, so I think she's more excited to do anything at this point." Nanako quickly came back.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" And with that, and laughter from the teens, they all left the Dojima residence and headed towards Junes. Nanako skipped ahead with Chie while Yu and Hope talked together.
"How are you feeling?" Hope asked the other Fool. Yu looked over to him with tired eyes.
"Exhausted," was all he had to say. Hope simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"So I've been thinking."
"Oh no, guess I better go hide then," Yu teased, and quickly dodged away from his friend's fist.
"Shut up," Hope said with no venom in his voice. "I was thinking, has Nanako ever been ice-skating before?" Yu stopped walking.
"Let's make a snowman big bro~!" "Ah, do you think it's going to snow? I love the snow!" "B-big… bro…"
Yu was shaken out of his thoughts by Nanako, who had skipped back to him. She had worry in her eyes and she gently tugged his hand. "Big bro?"
"Hm? Sorry Nanako, I was just… remembering something." He started walking again, hand in hand with Nanako. Chie and Hope stayed a distance behind them.
"Damn it Yu…" came the distraught amnesiac.
The Chariot looked over to him. "Is he okay?" Hope shook his head.
"No. He isn't. What all do you know about him, Chie-san?" Concern covered Chie's face.
"Not a whole lot. What's wrong?"
Hope gave a sigh. "I really wish he'd open up more," he said quietly more to himself than to Chie. "Don't let him know that you know okay? He'll tell you in his own time, but I'll give you the rundown." The Velvet Fool took a breath to prepare himself for the story. "So, this whole business with Shadows? Yu's done it before, and it didn't end well. So, counting him, there were eight members on his team. Now? He's the only one left alive. Half of them were killed by the Shadows. Two of them were put killed by their teammates, to put them out of their misery. The last was killed by a criminal psychopath. And Yu has had to bare that burden all alone. He hasn't grieved properly. You know the stages right? Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. He tried to just straight into Acceptance, the last step of grief, but that didn't do much of anything for him. He's already tried to deny it, but once he realized that people were in danger, he moved onto Anger. When we were last in the TV, you probably noticed that he got angry pretty easily, which is why I took up position as Vice Leader. The reason he got so Angry is because those Shadows that we saw, those specific types of Shadows were the ones that killed one of the members, whose role was exceedingly similar to Yukiko. In fact, they had the same weaknesses and strengths too. He was reliving that moment when he was useless to defend his teammate." Hope finished his explanation, and turned to Chie, who had tears in her eyes.
"O-oh… poor Yu…" She was trying very hard to keep it together, but a tear fell out of her eye.
Hope stood closer and pulled her into a hug. "He'll be okay Chie. We just have to keep an eye on him. Can I count on you?" She nodded and broke out of the hug. An arm ran over her face to wipe away any tears over her face.
"I'll do everything I can!" Chie announced to Hope. Time seemed to stop all around them, only Yu and Hope being unaffected.
Rank Up! Your bond with the Chariot: Renewed has gotten stronger through your bond with the Fool: Renewed. The Chariot has gained memories of a life that isn't theirs.
Yu turned to look back at Hope, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up as time resumed its usual speed. The two Fools looked at each other before laughing, causing the two girls to be confused.
"Big Bro, what's so funny?" Nanako asked, wanting to be included in the laughter. Yu just smiled at the girl.
"It's an 'inside joke', Lil Sis. Do you know what those are?" The Justice shook her head. "An 'inside joke' is like a secret joke shared between friends and only those friends. So if me and you have a secret joke, and we don't tell anyone, it'll be our own 'inside joke'. Understand?"
Nanako tilted her head a little bit. "I think so. Oh!" She waved her hand, motioning him to come closer. Once on the same level as her, Nanako went to his ear and whispered in it. Yu nodded a few times, glanced at Hope, and stared at him for a few seconds. As Nanako continued whispering to Yu, his eyes slowly got wider and wider. The Fool then started bursting out laughing, holding his stomach, tears of mirth filling his eyes. The little girl seemed pleased with herself, and laughed along with her big bro.
"What?" Hope asked, confused at being at the center of the two's attention.
"Can't tell you!" Nanako explained. "It's an 'inside joke'!" Yu eventually stopped laughing and reached over to ruffle Nanako's hair.
The rest of the trip to Junes was filled with small talk and laughter, and for the moment, all was well in Yu's world...
...Until he got to Junes, where both Chie and Yukiko were trying to insist on them being the ones that cook.
"No way."
"But Yu-san, I'm sure by now that ou-"
"No. I'm not letting you two cook alone without supervision."
No matter what the reasoning was, Yu refused to budge on the issue. One thing he refused to forget, as his pride as a decent cook, was the travesty of the camping trip. Or as Yosuke deemed it, 'Mystery Food X'.
Even with the recent Cooking Club activity that Chie and Yukiko have been participating in, more than 80% of their attempts end in disaster. He wasn't going to let them off easy. Nanako was here, and he refused for her to experience it.
"So, you're saying if your watching us, we can make the food for our picnic!" Chie exclaimed in joy. Yu sighed in exasperation.
"Fine. But I'll be watching you two like a hawk," he declared after two pointed looks at the sheepish Yukiko and Chie. "Nanako, Hope, you two decide on what we are going to make for our picnic."
Nanako and Hope quickly huddled together, whispering and plotting about what they want to eat. They both nodded.
"We want yakisoba!"
"And spicy chicken and mango curry!"
"But not too spicy!"
"Just the riiiiiiight amount of spicy!"
Yu promptly slammed his face into his hand.They just couldn't make this easy on me, could they?
But they are having fun and that's what matters, Izanagi replied to him.
"So, Just to make sure," Yu sighed. "You want yakisoba and spicy chicken and mango curry." The two nodded at him ecstatically. "Chie, you're gonna handle the Yakisoba. Yukiko, you're gonna handle the spicy chicken and mango curry. Me, Nanako, and Hope are going to look for the drinks. We'll cook this at… whoever's house is closest."
Chie rose her hand. "That's my place!" Yu nodded and pulled out a piece of paper that he tore in two. He began writing down ingredients on the two pieces of paper, before handing the respective items to the two 'chefs' (and he used that term very loosely).
"Here is everything you need for the two dishes. Get what's on the list, and I'll stress this next part, Only. Get. What. Is. On. The. List." Yu took a deep breath. "I can't keep babying you two forever when it comes to cooking. I'm putting my trust in you. Please don't let me down." The Chariot and Priestess nodded went their separate ways to get their different ingredients. "Hope? Do me a favor and go get some antacids." A defeated smile appeared on his face. "I think we might need them…"
The five stepped into Chie's house, groceries in hand. Yu took a look around the house, almost in awe. In all his time in Inaba, he never had the thought of going to his other friends houses, to actually see them and hang out with them. While they did go to the Amagi Inn, Tatsumi Textiles, and Marukyu Tofu, he never once went to their rooms, where his team, his friends, lived.
Well, except for Rise's, came a thought that he pushed away. He would not ruin this entire day with his friends and Nanako. "Well it's not much, but welcome to my house! You're all welcome here any time! Even you Nanako, if you ever need help, Big Sis Chie is here for you!"
Yu heard a small gasp come from behind him to see Yukiko put a hand to her mouth. Before he could ask what happened, Nanako put the pieces together for him. "'Big Sis'?" She gasped loudly. "YOU'RE MARRIED TO MY BROTHER!?" Chie paled as she realized the implication of her own words. Hope looked shocked at the proclamation simply raised an eyebrow at Chie.
"Was that a confession?" He asked. Chie blushed and stammered her protests, but Yu silenced them. "It's all right Chie. If you wanted to get married all you had to do was ask." Hope gave a laugh, but stopped as Yu turned to him. "Are you laughing away the pain of rejection Hope? We can get married too, if you want. Yukiko, you wanna get in on this action too?" Yukiko was visibly shaking, and Yu's playful smile vanished in worry. Oh shit, did I actually mess up? The worry dissipated as Yukiko burst out laughing, soon followed by Yu. "Me and Hope will be the Housewives, Yukiko and Chie, you two can be the breadwinners," he continued to joke, soon having everyone involved in the laughter. Eventually the laughter died down. As everyone started pulling out the groceries, Yu pulled Chie to the side. "Hey, Chie, I wanted to apologize. If this was actually your confession, I just made fun of it and for that I'm sorry. Please forgive me." And with that, he bowed his head.
Chie still seemed a little shaken from the proclamation Nanako made, but eventually spoke up. "It wasn't a confession, I was just trying to tell Nanako that she can come here if she ever needs anything. Not that anything's wrong with you! I-I mean, you're smart, you're strong, you're funny, you're attractive, and stuff, but I-I dunno you're pretty much my type and everything. I mean-" Yu stopped her.
"Chie, you're rambling. Don't fall for me too hard okay? I'm still supposed to leave next spring. I don't wanna break any hearts." Chie nodded. "Maybe in a different universe… nevermind. Anyway, if you're gonna be saying things like that to Nanako, you're gonna have to come over more often. 'Kay 'sis'?" He gave a playful wink, to which Chie laughed at. Then the cooking started and Yu's entire focus was put into making sure that everything went right, with Yukiko asking various questions throughout the cooking process.
As the three chefs were putting away the food into containers for the picnic, Hope was busy talking to Nanako. "Hey Nanako, do you like ice-skating?" The Justice Arcana seemed confused by the randomness of the question.
"I, uh, I never have been ice-skating before," she answered truthfully. Hope nodded in understanding.
"I see. Would you like to learn how to?"
"But Inaba doesn't have any ice-skating places. Where would we be going?" Hope looked left and right, as if checking to see if anyone is watching them. The Amnesiac then whispered to Nanako.
"Can you keep a secret, Nanako?" The young girl nodded, with eyes wide in wonder. "I'm Magical." And with those two words, he created a Cure orb in front of her. Nanako jumped at the sight and almost fell out of her chair.
"W-wow!" She whispered, awe filling her entire being. "W-what can you do?" Hope smiled at her.
"Well, this orb can heal you. See watch." And with that, he gently pushed the orb into her chest. Nanako gasped.
"It's gone!" she started to bounce. "And I feel better too!"
Hope chuckled and created a new orb, this one a Protect spell. "And this one can protect you from being hurt by physical things. Watch, I'm gonna give you a hard high-five, okay?" Nanako seemed a little apprehensive, but raised her hand anyway. Hope slapped their hands together, and Nanako winced in pain. He quickly gave her a Cure with one hand, and pushed the Protect to her. The Velvet Fool then gave her the same high-five he did previously.
Nanako was surprised to see that the pain she was expecting never arrived. She started to bounce up and down again, joy in her eyes. "Wow! You're so cool, Big Bro Hope!" The two laughed as Yu called from the kitchen.
"We're ready you two, come on! Yosuke's waiting for us at the Samegawa already, so let's get moving!" Hope smiled as he and Nanako got off the couch.
"Remember, not a word, okay? This is our secret!" With a wink and a smile, the two went to join the others.
The group met up with Yosuke at the Samegawa, and was surprised to see a giant quilt laid out. "Yo! 'Bout time! I was thinking you guys weren't gonna show up. Oh, you guys brought Nanako? Cool." Yu went about setting up the food and drinks, as Hope went closer to the water, and the three girls all sat around, making small talk with Yosuke. Once he was finished with the food, he turned to see that Nanako was talking with Hope about something by the water, and the others were talking about the upcoming exams.
"Guys, while I can appreciate talking about the tests coming up and our future and blah, we're here today to relax. No Shadows, no school, just us friends having fun and enjoying our youth." Yukiko seemed a bit disappointed, juxtaposing Yosuke's relief. Nanako came up to them and asked something he would have never thought she would have asked, especially at her age.
"Big Bro, where do babies come from?" Yosuke who was taking a drink, immediately performed a spit take, and Yukiko and Chie started to blush furiously. Oh dear god why.
"U-um… why do you ask, Lil' Sis?"
"Well, Mai-chan says that babies come from the Stork, but I don't think so. I mean, how does the Stork know where to go? I already know birds can't read, so they don't know the address, and won't know where they would be going. And if that was the case, where would the Storks get the babies from? Is there a baby factory? Is there only one or several? Cause it would seem pretty inconvenient to have all the storks fly to one country to get babies, and then travel to the other side of the world," the Justice Arcana explained. Yu sweatdropped. With that logic, I can't possibly convince her it was the stork now! Why must you be smart, Nanako!?
"Um… well… Here, let me call your father really quick." And with that he pulled out his cell-phone and dialed Ryotaro's phone number. It rang once or twice before his uncle picked up the phone.
"This is Dojima," came his rough voice.
"Dojima-san, this is Yu," he announced, worry filling his voice.
"I was wondering why I didn't recognize the number. So, what's wrong?"
"Nanako asked me something. She wants to know where babies come from."
"..."
"... Dojima-san?" He turned to look at the phone, only to see the screen say "Called Ended". Yu closed his eyes and let his head fall to his hands. "He hung up on me," the Fool said to the others, who immediately start laughing at his predicament.
As he was about to continue talking to Nanako, he was saved by Hope, who came up to them. "Hey! Why don't we go ice-skating?" Welcoming the sudden change in topic, Yu immediately shot up.
"That's a good idea Hope! But wait, there isn't an ice-skating rink here in Inaba… is there?"
Hope nodded. "Yeah there is. It's right here!" He threw a thumb backwards at the Samegawa. The entire group all turned to look, only to gasp.
A solid sheet of ice was covering the top of a section of the river, and Hope had a large proud smile on his face. Nanako gasped and immediately went down to the ice, including Chie and Yukiko, both of which had never been ice-skating before. Hope sat down on the blanket with the other two, and made himself a plate of curry.
"You did all of that?" Yosuke asked in awe. Hope simply nodded, unable to speak with his mouth full. Yu turned to look at the other Fool.
"Why did you do this?" His curiosity was peaked. Hope held up a finger as he continued to chew and eventually swallowed.
"Well, Nanako said she never went ice-skating before. So, I figured, 'Hey, why not have her experience it.' So Tada!" He waved his hand. "That, and she knows about my Magic." Yosuke and Yu immediately started to try to talk over each other before Hope spoke up. "She's gonna keep it a secret. That, and I wanted to surprise you guys so I told her to distract you four."
Wait a second...
With that, Yu immediately gasped. "SO THAT WAS YOU! You asshat! She scared me half death with that!" Hope laughed, and soon the boys went to go join the girls on the rink. Yu looked at the smiles on all their faces, and felt the weight on his shoulders disappear.
Maybe… maybe it doesn't have to be all bad.
AN:/Hello all, I hope you enjoyed this less stressful chapter of PERSONA 4: RENEWED!
Please leave a review if you have something to say! You never know what could happen if words were slipped to the author...
TheFallenAlphaAngel