Volume 5
Chie and Yukiko sighed together.
"I'm so glad we're going home now," Chie said, dragging her feet along the pavement late that night.
"Me too. I'm so sore!" Yukiko whined.
"We looked everywhere for that chick, ya know?" Kanji complained. "But still…"
"Nothing," Yosuke finished. "Not even a new area to explore."
"Are you okay, Rise?" Narukami asked the red-head. She looked up at him from the ground she'd been oddly focused on.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she mumbled. "I just don't understand why I can't sense her. It's like she doesn't even exist…."
"Maybe she doesn't," Yosuke suggested.
"Yosuke!" Chie scolded. "This is Aila's friend! Don't say something like that!"
"Maybe he's right," Naoto interrupted. "Think about it: why else would Rise have not found a citizen in there by now? And why else would Aila be the only one who she shows up around?"
"So, you mean it could all just be a ploy to lure Aila into the TV World?" Yukiko thought aloud.
"Perhaps. But we can't know for sure until we find Mina-whether she exists or not."
"What do you think, Yosuke?" Narukami asked, turning to his friend. Yosuke didn't seem to hear him; the boy stared forward with his brow raised. Teddie was stepping off of Aila's home doorstep, humming a gleeful tune as he almost skipped right past the group. He stopped in front of everyone, not noticing their stares towards the bandage under his left eye.
"Oh, hello everyone! Hello, Sensei!" He greeted. "How did the search go?"
"We didn't find anything," Yosuke told him. "It was really lame and pointless. How was the date?"
Teddie gained a sly grin and a light blush. "It was fiiinnnneeee." He drew out the last word suspiciously. Yosuke glared at him.
"What did you do, bear?"
"What? Me? Nothing, of course! I was on my bear-y best behavior!"
"Yeah right! You'd think I'd buy that?!" He pulled on Teddie's ears. "What happened, bear?"
"Ow ow! No way! You'd get jealous!" He tried to bat Yosuke off of him.
"Jealous? Seriously, what did you do?!" Yosuke pulled harder.
"Ooowww! We kissed, alright?! We kissed!"
"You WHAT?!" Yosuke grabbed his other ear and dragged the details out of him. When Teddie was finished, Chie and Kanji fought to get Yosuke's hands off of him. "Dammit, Teddie, you were supposed to distract her! Not get into a fight then make-out with her!"
"See, I told you you'd be jealous." Teddie rubbed his ears painfully. "Besides, the fight wasn't my fault. I'm a prince, and I must always protect the princess when she's in danger!"
"Why you-" Yosuke huffed a sigh and shook the others off. "Can you believe this guy, Narukami?" He turned to look at his silverette best friend, who was suddenly out of sight. The group looked up to see him approaching Aila's door. He knocked lightly and waited very patiently for her to answer.
Aila was already out of her sundress and in a very fuzzy blue robe with golden stars staining it. Her violet pajama pants slumped over her feet lazily. Her hair was still slightly embroidered with flowers, but most of them fell out as she stared up at Narukami.
"Oh, hey Yuu," she greeted. "What's up?" Narukami gave her a kind smile.
"How are you feeling?"
She was taken aback by his direct question, and found herself answering honestly. "I'm a little offended that you guys set me up with Teddie just so you could go to the TV World without me. But I still had fun." Narukami nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry we didn't take you," he told her earnestly. "But we think that you should probably stay out of there-at least for a while." Aila relaxed as his brilliant and calm hazel eyes stared into her oceanic ones apologetically. She sighed, smiling a bit.
"I can't stay made at you, Narukami. Alright, I'll stay out of there for now, as long as you keep me updated on what you find out about Mina."
"It's a deal."
"Promise?"
Narukami held out his pinky to her. "Promise."
Aila giggled as she linked her littlest finger with his. "Ok."
"Ain't that heartwarming'," Kanji teased as he and the others approached her steps. "Nice pjs, Aila." Aila looked down at her attire and laughed aloud.
"At least you guys caught me while I was still wearing make-up," she decided. The girls all laughed, except Naoto, who didn't totally get the joke.
Aila met eyes with Yosuke, putting one hand on her hip and the other on her doorway. "Why do you look so sour?"
Yosuke huffed. "I don't look sour…"
"He's just jealous because Teddie here got it good on his date with you," Chie teased. Yosuke turned around and tried to clamp a hand over her mouth to silence her.
"Yeah, I guess he wanted to get a kiss, too," Yukiko agreed, starting to laugh uncontrollably in that high-pitch she only used when she felt really happy.
"You guys!" Yosuke hissed as they continued chuckling.
Aila flushed instantly and turned to the blonde boy beside them. "Teddie! I can't believe you told them about my first kiss!"
"Your first kiss?!" Everyone said at once. Aila realized what she'd just said and sunk slightly behind her doorway to hide her embarrassment.
"What? I'd never kissed a boy before today…I had to thank him for protecting me somehow."
"Wow-ee, Lady Aila!" Teddie hollered. He gave her a low bow. "I'm honored that I go to have your first kiss!"
"You stupid bear!" Yosuke yelled, staring to chase Teddie around the block. "I leave you alone with her for one day and you steal her innocence?!"
"No, not her innocence, Yosuke!" Teddie insisted. "That was going to happen later tonight." Yosuke growled some more and gained speed as he reached out to catch the obnoxious bear. The others couldn't help but laugh as the two stumbled and slid over the slightly damp pavement.
"Hey," Narukami said suddenly, turning back to Aila. "How about we make it up to you, and we all go to the carnival tomorrow?"
"Yeah!" Chie yelled excitedly. "That'd be so cool! I could use a break!"
"It'll be so fun!" Yukiko squealed. "You'll come to, right Naoto?"
"Sure," the lady detective said casually, adjusting her hat on her head. "I have no other engagements tomorrow."
Aila giggled as they all started talking excitedly about what they'd do first. Even the fussy Teddie and Yosuke got into the chatter.
"I could show you guys all of the fun stuff!" Teddie exclaimed.
"Yeah, but keep your hands off of Aila this time!" Yosuke scolded. "No more kissing!"
"Guess that means she's off-limits to you too, eh?"
Yosuke glowered at the boy, but didn't respond.
Aila beamed at all of them, then turned to look back at Narukami.
"I'd love to go," she told him.
"Great." He gave her a smile. "We'll pick you up at noon." They all started to leave her doorstep, but Teddie crept back up to her side.
"Kiss for goodnight?" He asked, puckering his lips. Aila backed away with a small smirk and a raise of her brow.
"C'mon, bear!" Yosuke mumbled, pulling the blonde off of Aila's steps by his collar . She giggled at the sight.
"Goodnight, Teddie! Goodnight, Yosuke!" She called to the boys, waving. The boy-bear returned the gesture enthusiastically while Yosuke gave her a simple, shy salute.
…
At the carnival, the group of friends swarmed all that they could, playing and eating everything in sight. They laughed and chatted away as the day went on. Aila mainly stuck to either Narukami or Yosuke, with Teddie typically following close behind. Rise grabbed Aila's arm when they saw a large cotton candy stand.
"Ooh!" Rise cooed, "let's go get some!" She dragged the brunette with her and they both got a large cloud monstrosity. Rise took a tiny test bite. "Mmm! Delicious!"
Aila scanned the area for Naoto and, when she found her, she offered her purple fluff.
"Want to try some?" Aila asked. Naoto knew she'd be persistent no matter what she did, so she took a chomp.
"Not bad," Naoto said honestly. Aila smiled happily.
"Look guys! A Ferris Wheel!" Yukiko pointed to the large circle off to the farthest part of the area. Rise wasted no time grabbing Narukami's arm.
"Let's go ride together!" She urged, dragging him towards it before he could respond. Chie and Yukiko both gained dark glares and headed after them, Teddie at their heels. Kanji glanced down at the lady detective, gaining a light blush.
"You, uh…," he began uncertainly. "You wanna follow them and see what it's all about?" Naoto glanced up at him.
"Sure." She shrugged. Yosuke and Aila watched Kanji fight to keep cool as they walked off, even though his face was spreading into a large and excited grin. Aila giggled to herself.
"There are so cute," she said. "I think that Kanji would treat her well, if she'd give him the chance."
"Kanji and Naoto? You sure have an interesting view about these things," Yosuke replied. Aila grinned at him.
"Just call me Lady Cupid, ultimate matchmaker!" She laughed and grabbed his arm with the hand that wasn't holding her cotton candy. "C'mon! Let's go take a ride!"
She pulled them into the line for the Ferris Wheel and they waited until they could ride together. The carriages were enclosed like a bubble with glass on all sides so that couples could overlook the sights (or could attempt a challenge to hide well enough to make-out at the top). Aila squeezed next to Yosuke and stared out her own window for a few minutes, looking over the carnival on goings and humming a tune that Yosuke couldn't quite place. After they stopped on the top, she leaned over her friend to look out his window, which showed the other side of town. She beamed at the sights while Yosuke tried to ignore the fact that her hair was within lip-leaning distance. He caught a whiff of coconut perfume coming off of her and tried to turn his head away. Aila leaned back into her seat and gave Yosuke a big smile.
"This is fun!" She exclaimed. Then, she noticed Yosuke's slight blush. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Yosuke smiled back at her. He was glad to see her so gleeful, but felt an odd aura coming off of her. It basically screamed for him to apologize…or maybe it was his own aura that brought those feelings on.
"Hey." He drew her attention to him. "I'm…sorry I set you up with Teddie as a distraction. I didn't mean to lie to you, I just-"
"Yosuke." Aila gently touched his arm, halting his words. "It's ok. I know why you did it. I may still want to go looking for my friend, but I also don't want to endanger my new ones. So, please, don't worry about it, ok?"
Yosuke breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright." After only a few minutes, he reverted back to his old self and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "So, hot stuff, now that we're up at the top….what should we do?"
Aila pushed him away. "Now I know where Teddie learned his 'smooth talk'. This is just like when we first started hanging out."
They recalled the day during the last summer after they'd helped Aila out of the TV World. Aila had started going to Junes with Narukami every day, and every time they came during Yosuke's shift, the boy would hit on her mercilessly. Aila found it obnoxious at first, yet it made them closer than anyone thought they'd become.
Both of them seemed to recall those days and realized that Yosuke hadn't been that way towards her in a long time.
"I can't help it if I'm just too damn handsome," he bragged, leaning back into his seat. Aila laughed.
"It's too bad all of that beauty lacks the brains to go with them," she joked.
"You're just jealous that you're not as beautiful as me." He flinched as Aila harshly nudged his side. "Okay, okay! You're a close second." He chuckled when Aila rolled her eyes and she refocused on the world outside her window. They both let out a relaxed sigh, letting Aila's light hum fill their bubble for a little while. Of course, Yosuke couldn't help but speak out.
"Wonder when they're gonna let us down?" He thought aloud.
"Bored already?" Aila smirked at him.
"Bored up here with a gorgeous babe? No way. What makes me bored is that we aren't doing anything naughty."
Aila smacked his arm as hard as she could. "You're such a jerk!"
"Ow! Hey, don't hurt the guns! How else am I supposed to seduce hot chicks?"
"Oh, I'm sure your face will be sufficient enough." Aila realized what she was implying and she blushed, quickly adding, "That is, if your mouth doesn't scare them off first."
Yosuke didn't really say anything to that. She met his eyes, raising her brows as if to say, "You alright?" A different question flickered across his face.
"Why did you kiss Teddie, anyway?" He asked suddenly. She jumped in her seat.
"Wh-where did that come from?"
"I'm just curious is all," he muttered, casually looking out the window. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Aila knew that he meant it, but felt a pressure build within her. For some reason, she cared about what Yosuke thought of her.
"I did it to thank him. He got that bruise because he was trying to protect me from a bunch of thugs. Had something happened to him, I don't know what I would've done. It seemed like the best thing to do, at the time."
Yosuke looked at her troubled expression and decided to let it go by laughing it off. "Well, I've saved you a bunch of times in the TV World. Don't I get some kind of reward?"
Aila shoved his shoulder. "This isn't a contest! But if it was, I'd owe Naoto quite the lip-lock session." Yosuke gave her a playful glare and Aila just laughed at him.
"Of course you have to make it awkward."
"You started it." Aila got a mischievous expression. "Let's talk about you, though. How many times have I saved your sorry ass from Shadows coming up behind you? You always leave your back wide open…what do I get as a reward?" Yosuke grinned at her.
"You want a prize?"
"Yeah, I want a prize! But I want to choose it! Like maybe…"
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. It stopped their very breathing and both of them flushed.
"Well," Aila muttered, trying to play it cool. "That wasn't exactly what I meant. I was hoping for, you know, jewelry or a new CD or something…"
Yosuke couldn't fight against his urge to lean back in as she babbled. Her skin had been warm and she smelled absolutely delicious, and he wondered if her lips were the same way. He wondered what Teddie had felt when he'd kissed her, and closing the distance now would certainly answer that question for him. Aila froze beneath his gaze, but didn't try to lean away. Yosuke could feel her breath stop and leaned even closer to try and rouse it out. Her head tilted up every so slightly…
The ride jumpstarted again and they were heading back down. They both pulled back, the spell over them broken. Yosuke put a hand through his hair.
"Haha, well, that was a funny joke, huh?" He said, lamely trying to laugh off the meeting their lips almost had. Aila forced a small smile.
"Yeah, you're such a flirt, Yosuke," she replied. "I thought you actually wanted to kiss me for a moment there." They fell into an awkward silence where neither could find the right response. They got to the bottom of the wheel and the ride attendant opened their door. They stepped out silently and approached their waiting friends.
"How was it, you guys?" Chie asked. She saw their faces and got a curious look. Aila started laughing.
"It was frightfully boring," she answered. "After hearing about how great Yosuke is for the 100th time, you start to get a headache." The others laughed with her.
"Sounds like Yosuke!" Chie said, dropping her suspicions entirely. Yosuke shared a grateful glance with Aila, to which she just smiled and nodded. Yosuke knew they'd go on now to ignore the fact that he'd tried to kiss her, but…that wasn't what he'd wanted now. Maybe it was out of affection or just pure curiosity (and with Yosuke, it could be either), he wanted to lean in at least once…just to see what it was like.
...
Volume 5! Mixed romances?! Many questions?! What will they do?!
This chapter ended up WAY longer than the rest. Sorry for all of you with little time on your hands! Anyway, I realized that Yosuke's been rather angst-y lately, so I fixed that a bit this chapter! I also have now ensured each chapter possible begins to emphasize Aila's music love.
You know, when this chapter was originally written, I didn't have the Ferris Wheel part. I actually had to move what I'd originally written to the next chapter. If you have thoughts on what you think, please share! I'm posting these so that I can get feedback on my writing techniques.
Thanks, everyone!