Chikara toddles back home and collapses onto her bed. She takes off her glasses and places them on the nightstand next to her her alarm clock and cell phone. The moment she does, her cell starts ringing. Her face falls onto her pillow as she contemplates whether or not to ignore the person.
"Ugh…why, phone, whahahy…?" she groans before grabbing the device and sliding it across the night table. Her arm droops on the side of the bed as she feebly presses the talk button. After turning her head, she lifts her hand, drops her phone onto her visible ear and scratchily says "Hello…?".
"Hey, Chika. It's me."
A bolt of nostalgia hits Chikara's body after she hears her husband's voice for the first time in days. She quickly sits up and straightens her night clothes as if Akihiko is right in front of her.
"Hi, Aki!" she grins. "What're you doing, calling me at…" she squints at her clock, "4:30 in the morning?"
"Haha, sorry. I wasn't going to call at first since I didn't want to seem worried, but…uh…"
"So you decide to call me now? God, you're so awkward…" Chikara says while covering her face with her hand. Akihiko laughs again.
"So, how are things in Inaba?"
"Okay, but…well, there's this one kid…Kinda tall with a cut above his eyebrow like yours, has some obsession with machismo…He's a lot like you. He even picked a fight with me, haha."
"What?! Do I need to come over there?"
"…Akihiko Sanada, I am insulted!" Chika scoffs. "I can take care of myself, you know…"
"Well, what did you do? I thought you said you'd be nice…"
"I am! I just made a joke and he snapped."
"Well, your jokes aren't exactly..."
"Any. Way. It's nothing I can't handle. I plan on paying him a visit tomorrow to see what makes him tick."
"Well…alright…but don't let your curiosity get the best of you, okay?"
"When has that ever happened?"
"When you moved into our dorm with Junpei."
"…My point is, I have a new project and I need some sleep. I'll talk to you later…during the day."
…
"…and that concludes today's lecture," Chikara states after the school bell rings. Chie raises her hand. "Yes?"
"Um…Where'd you get that scarf…?" she asks, referring to the woman's recent purchase tied around her neck.
"The textile shop not far from here. Why?"
"N-No reason! I was just wondering…"
Chika cocks an eyebrow before dismissing the class. As most of the students scramble out of the classroom, Yu pauses in front of the teacher's desk as Chika leans against it.
"Hey, Yu!" she gleams. "Do you need something?"
"Can I walk you home, Mrs. Sanada?" he asks straight out. Chikara raises an eyebrow at the random question.
"Oh...Um…It's nice of you to offer, but…" she shakes her head, "I already have plans. Maybe next time."
Yu nods and smiles before exiting the room. Chikara watches him leave. She eventually shrugs off the incident and makes her way to Tatsumi Textiles. She enters the shop and is greeted by its owner. Chikara returns the gesture and leans in to observe the different pieces of cloth on display. The warm colors and soft material of the merchandise make her almost glad that she moved to a rural area. She's so distracted that she doesn't hear Kanji enter the room.
"W-What the hell are you doin' here again?!" he says, snapping Chikara out of her trance. Instead of replying weakly to his rough treatment like last time, she grins and almost knocks him down with a hug.
"Just the guy I wanted to see!" she exclaims as she pulls away. Kanji, totally flustered, only blinks. "…What's wrong, buddy?"
"I-I'm not your 'buddy', alright?" the platinum-blond murmurs.
"You're not? But…yesterday we worked so well together and…you saved my life…and…and…" Chikara's eyes are brimming with tears.
"That's not gonna work."
"...You're no fun at all," Chikara says as her tears magically vanish. "Well, I'm not going anywhere so get over it, buddy."
"Whatever. ...So you, uh, said somethin' about sewing?" Kanji smiles bitterly.
"Now you're listening to me?"
In the TV world, Yu, Yosuke, Yukiko, and Chie put on their glasses and attempt to reach the powerful shadow atop Yukiko's castle again. Before leaving, Yosuke informs Teddie of the blurry image they saw on the Midnight Channel last night.
"Hmm…You guys need to keep your eyes peeled and try to keep this person from being thrown in here." Teddie warns and Bunny, once again on his back, nods in agreement.
"Alright. Let's go then…" Yukiko states reluctantly, walking toward the castle that houses unpleasant memories. The others follow.
"…I want to join them." Bunny says randomly. Teddie flinches as his pupils shrink in terror.
"What?!"
"I'm tired of being in the sidelines."
"But it's dangerous!" the strange blue bear yells.
Their bickering causes the quartet of fighters to pause and turn around with worried expressions.
"Well, I want to be in the action," Bunny's ears perk up from excitement and mischievous intent. "Maybe even help them out."
"Why now? You didn't care before. Is it because you're still mad at me?"
"It's not always about you, Teddie." Bunny groans. "What, you think I can't take care of myself just because I'm blind?"
"Well, yeah! Yeah, that's exactly why!"
~And one of us would have to carry you…~ their friends think in unison. Yukiko decides to butt in before the argument elevates to violence.
"Excuse me…" she says as she approaches them. "I'm sorry, but…you two have been fighting a lot lately and it's quite distracting when we fight Shadows…"
"You could hear us, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asks.
"You're...not very subtle," she tells him. "I think it would be best if you spent some time apart…Bunny can come with us."
Yukiko lets out her hand to take Bunny's, but receives a menacing growl when she gets too close to Teddie. Yukiko recoils and looks back at her friends, silently asking for their assistance.
"I'll carry her!" Yosuke immediately volunteers. Bunny is taken aback decides it's better than showing the girls any amiability. Yosuke rushes to the couple and attempts to move the blind girl from Teddie's back to his own. The bear is unwilling to let go of her.
"We promise to take care of her, Teddie." Yukiko assures.
"Yeah, you can trust us!" Chie nods. After a few seconds, Teddie cooperates. Bunny straddles onto Yosuke's back. She immediately starts to tremble, but not from the impending danger. This will be the first time she's separated from her beloved Teddie. Yosuke quickly catches on as he follows his friends to the castle. He stops before releasing one of Bunny's legs. He grabs the large headphones on his neck. Yosuke then brushes them against one of Bunny's hands, which is clenching tightly onto his shoulder.
"Here. Put these on your ears." He tells her. Confused, the white-haired girl takes the object while maintaining her balance. She waits for Yosuke to wrap his arm around her drooping leg to familiarize herself with the shape of the headphones. She then places the speakers onto her long ears. Once she hears Yosuke's music, she finally understands what the boy intended to do.
"…Thank you…" she mumbles before placing her hands on his shoulders. The brunet smirks before following his comrades to their destination.
Starting on the fifth floor of the dungeon, Yu unintentionally leads the others to dead ends and rooms with lone, useless treasures inside. They have yet to reach any enemies so far so they start chatting.
"Shadows." Bunny mumbles.
"Huh?" Yosuke asks. The others quiet down.
"Shadows…around that corner. Three," she takes a whiff. "...no, four of them."
She points at the hallway in front of them. The team heeds Bunny's warning and prepare themselves for what's to come. Yosuke follows suit but is hastily reminded that he has a defenseless girl on his back.
"Uh…I guess I'll wait here for you guys." He states. The others nod before moving on. Sure enough the swinging of a sword, the impact of a powerful kick, and the swooshing of a fan can be heard shortly after.
"Wow…You're pretty good. How'd you know?" Yosuke wonders. Bunny barely hears him over the music.
"…Shadows smell like Teddie." Bunny replies.
"Oh. You two are pretty close, huh?"
"…I love him."
"Really…Wait, really? Him?"
"Yes…He's kind…"
"Kind, huh?" Yosuke sounds doubtful as he reminisces about his second encounter with the strange bear. Teddie threatened to trap him and Yu inside the TV world if they refused to find the person throwing people inside. "Well, does he know?"
"No. Please don't tell him..."
"You sure? I mean, I think he'd be thrilled to hook up with a pretty girl."
"…Pretty…?" the long-eared girl says under her breath.
The next day, Chikara drops by the textile shop again. Kanji is shocked that she came back but doesn't try to force her to leave.
"Don't you have your own house?" he asks as he sits at the dinner table.
"Yeah, but," Chika shrugs while joining him, "this place is…cozier, so I'll stay here for a bit."
"…Tch, pain in the ass…"
Chika laughs at Kanji's comment but notices that the boy is distracted. He even looks a bit nervous.
"Something wrong, buddy?"
"N-No! It's nothing…" the blond looks away.
"Come ooooooon…"
"I said no!"
"Tell meeeeee…"
"I'm warning you, I-"
"Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetellmepleasepleasep leasepleaseplea-" Each time she says 'tell me' or 'please' she pokes Kanji on the arm. She backs up when he snaps toward her, fists at the ready. Chika holds her hands up defensively. "Alright...Alright...We're cool."
After a few seconds Kanji calms down. Chikara rubs her chin and squints at him.
"...Did someooone make fun of your hobby?"
No response.
"...Did someoooone...beat you in a fight?"
Still nothing.
"Okay, I'm gonna get it eventually," Chikara gleams, earning a groan from the platinum blond. "...Did someoooone...do something to Mrs. Tatsumi?"
"..."
"Steal from you?"
"..."
"Threaten your masculinity?"
He stiffens suddenly and his eyes widen. The teacher notices before he could recover.
"Oh, oh, I saw that! I'm getting close, aren't I? What happened? Tell me? Tell me? Will you tell me? Tell me. Come on tell me, you know I won't give up till you tell me so tell me come on tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me," she goes back to poking the man, who's reaching his limit. This time she's prepared for a punch, so long as she gets some kind of response.
"A BOY…" the man speaks.
"…?"
"…asked…me…out."
"…What, that's it?" Chikara tries not to giggle as Kanji seems genuinely worried about this.
"Whaddya mean 'that's it'? I…I ain't…y'know…that way…"
"Well, did you say no?"
"…Not…exactly…"
"So you do swing that way…You're at least curious about it…"
"No I'm not!"
"Then…why say yes? I'm confused."
"Because…! I…well…I-I don't know, dammit!" Kanji buries his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. "Great, now you're probably gonna tell someone about it..."
"What, me? Nooo, no, no, no, no. I mean, you already have some dirt on me. To rat you out would be stupid."
"...I do?"
"...Listen carefully," Chikara sighs. "About that biker incident..."
"Yeah, Ma went apeshit on me 'cause of that...How'd the camera miss your face?"
"I was careful, unlike you. Now...I'm a teacher at Yasogami, okay? No joke, I work there with one of the biggest hardasses there. Me being involved with the fight cannot be known. I'd be as good as fired."
"...Oh," Kanji starts to catch on and nods. "Yeah, that's right! So you better not say a word or else!"
"I'll take it to my grave," Chika pretends to look defeated. "So about your date...Think of it this way. Whenever someone is uncertain about a theory and would like some answers, what do they do?"
"…Uh…"
"…Work with me, kid. They experiment. Go on the date and see how things work out! Is he cute?"
"Y…Yeah…" Kanji nods, blushing. "I-I mean, for a dude."
"Then go for it! Come on, buddy, I'll root for you!"
"Okay…Thanks."
…
After school the following day, Chikara waits for Kanji to prepare for his date in the men's bathroom. She then follows him to the school gates (while trying to no avail to calm him down) and ducks behind them before his mysterious admirer appears. Chika watches in shock as a miniature boy with a hat, platform shoes, and a love for the color blue approaches her friend.
"I didn't keep you waiting, I hope?" the boy says.
"No, I-I just got here too…" Kanji responds anxiously. With that, the couple walks off.
"Um, buddy, that's not…" Chikara speaks up while coming out of hiding, but they don't hear her. She attempts to stop them…
"What in the world was that?"
…but freezes when she hears a familiar voice. She soon sees Yu and his friends from her peripheral vision. The group practically jumps out of their skin when they're caught spying by their teacher.
"…What're you guys doing?" Chika asks.
"W-We were just on our way home, Mrs. Sanada! Heh heh…heh…" Yosuke lies poorly.
"…Whatever it is, don't let Kanji catch you. Making that boy your enemy is the last thing you want to do."
"So…we're not in trouble?"
"No worries, my lips are sealed…" the teacher gazes at her silver-haired acquaintance, "as long as Yu walks me home after school tomorrow."
Yu nods with a gentle smile as Yosuke stares at them dumbfounded.