*Chapter 2: So Finish the Puzzle*
Yu rubbed his eyes and stood up. He was in a familiar blue tinted limousine. A line of beverages to his left, another line of seats to his right. And in front of him, a table with some cards on it. And behind the table was him. The man with a tuxedo and the big nose. And his smile, as wide as ever. He stared at Yu and after quietly giggling, finally said a word. "Welcome to the Velvet Room." Yu was delirious and was looking but couldn't see another familiar figure. The woman in blue. But he snapped out of it and looked back at Igor with anger in his eyes. "What the hell did you do to me." "Now now, no need to be alarmed. I am not here to cause trouble or fuel the flames of your current anger. I am simply here to congratulate you."
"Congratulate…?" "Indeed. You have managed to quell the disaster that was meant to destroy your world and the lives residing inside of it. The balance of our realities is at peace once again. And you and your bonds are to thank for that." Igor went on a whole speech about Yu and his "strengthened bonds" and "the power of his wild card." Yu drowned out his talking as his mind was still troubled by what happened. Igor seemed to notice and his smile slightly descended and he cocked his head to the side. "Does something bother our guest? Is there something in your mind that needs to be quelled?" "Igor, did you know about what Izanami did to me and my friends?" Yu asked, with anger behind his voice. He needed answers. He needed to know if what he felt was real. Igor's smile went back to its original state and he chuckled to himself silently. "Sadly, I do not have all the answers you so desire. But I do know that what you felt in your heart, was indeed a natural feeling. I could sense it during that entire battle. You experienced sadness, happiness, grief, lust, love, anger, and many other emotions, all of the feelings that a single lifetime would crave for. Condensed to a few seconds." Igor said, as he stacked a pair of cards and slapped them onto the table, all in a giant pair.
The cards then lit up and circled around Yu. He could see all of their memories. Their weddings, the time they left Japan and went to America, the time they all played that extreme version of the King's Game at the hot springs, the time at the mansion during winter break, Yukiko giving birth to her twins, Naoto being robbed by some strange thieves, him and Yosuke trying out Chie and Yukiko's cooking, him and Chie arguing while living together for the first time, everything. He couldn't believe it. They WERE fake memories, but to him, they were real. Then he saw it. The one memory he blacked out. Him over Chie, looking at her corpse and him crying over her. His smile quickly dropped and he was filled with regret. He was terrified of this memory and never wanted this sort of thing to happen to him. Ever. He motioned Igor to stop and Igor accepted his request and pulled the cards back. "Perhaps you could view this as a warning. For you and your friends." Igor said, still smiling. Yu was confused. A warning? Warning of what, not to fall in love? Not to make those good memories again? Not to…grow up? "I see the confusion in your mind but you must realize: your own mind is filled with a different type of fog. Not the kind made by the disaster or the one outside, but a fog that clouds out all of your memories and tries to make you remember the positive ones. But you must learn to accept the negative with the positive and let it mold you. The pieces are there for you and the puzzle that is called life, is not completed. Perhaps, this is what you would call, a second chance at your life." Igor said. Yu finally realized what he meant. Maybe that was what it was. Him being saved and out of that reality wasn't a curse. Maybe…maybe it was just that, a second chance. To make things right. To improve his life. And to make sure that no matter what, he would be prepared. "Igor." Yu said, turning over to him. "Was this your plan?" Igor simply looked at Yu, chuckling to himself and looking down at the cards. "Some things of your destiny, I cannot reveal. But I can say that all I will do is give you the pieces. And you, dear customer, must complete the puzzle." Yu looked at Igor and felt like he knew what to do and what to say to his friends. He could feel his sight turning dark and his eyes becoming heavy. "Ah, it seems that you are waking up now. Remember: the pieces are in place, complete the puzzle yourself."
"Big bro, are you ok?!" Yu could hear Nanako cry out. His eyesight slowly set in and he felt a sharp cold feeling in his head. He was on the couch and he looked up to see Dojima placing some sort of ice packet on his head, Nanako standing next to him. "Oh thank god you're ok. I thought I was gonna have to call your parents." Dojima sighed and kept pressure on Yu's head with the packet. "What happened…?" Yu asked as he tried to get his bearings and sit up. Dojima slowly stood up and let Yu hold the ice packet with his hand. "You just got into the house and looked as pale as a ghost. Then you passed out, hit your head on the ground, and we got you on the couch. Got a pretty nasty bruise on the top." Dojima said to Yu, picking Nanako up while grunting. "All right, little lady, he's fine. Now you gotta go to sleep, it's way past your bedtime." "B-but what if big bro hurts himself again? I wanna stay with him!" Nanako whimpered, looking at Yu with worry in her face. "Heh, he's a tough kid, he'll be ok, right?" "Yeah…don't worry Nanako, I just need some sleep." Yu replied, hoping to calm down Nanako. "…ok." Nanako said sadly, yawning while dozing off on Dojima's shoulder. "All right, I'm gonna put Nanako to bed and then sleep myself. You sure you're alright?" Dojima asked. "Yeah…just ate some…bad fish at Junes. Gotta make sure to sock Yosuke tomorrow for that, heh." Yu said, chuckling to himself. Dojima nodded his head and turned off the lights. "Night, Yu." He said, before heading upstairs. Yu waved at Dojima and laid back into bed. He knew what he had to do tomorrow but first, he needed rest due to everything that happened. So Yu laid down in his bed and fell asleep instantly.