Chapter 8
I am butchering dialogue, battles, and s-links to get the novel version respectable. I can make characters more cynical, mean, out of character, and amusing. My character is "special" personality-wise.
I own nothing.
Camping trip... enjoy
Rion was grumbling. He was stuck dragging Kanji out of the Sauna/Bathhouse. "No… when Yukiko was thrown in, everyone was more than ready to help her out (Teddie included), but when he's thrown in… I have to drag his huge ass out," Rion was muttering. Souji ignored this.
Luckily, Kanji was in too much of a daze to hear him. They had gotten to the entrance and plaza of the TV world and Rion dropped the lug onto the ground.
"Oww…," Kanji muttered as he landed on his tailbone. He gave Rion a death glare at the rough treatment.
Rion looked at him condescendingly; "Don't look at me like that," Rion glared back, "I had to carry you all the way out of there."
"Let's get along Rion-san, Kanji-kun," Yukiko tried to calm the situation.
"Whatever," Rion, "Let's just head out,"
"We need to go and see what he knows," Souji told the group as he headed towards the TV. He motioned towards Rion to carry him. He grinned at the half-Japanese teenager.
Rion glared at Souji, "Ohh, this has to be a conspiracy," Rion pointed at Yosuke, "Help me with him!"
"What!? Do I have to?" Yosuke exclaimed as he started to back away.
"Well, I'm not asking Chie… So get over here," Rion told him.
"You suck, you know?" Yosuke told him as they supported Kanji out through the TV.
Rion looked at Yosuke over Kanji's shoulder, "I aim to please," Rion said in a sarcastic voice.
Souji put his fingers between his nose and said, "By the way, no more comments about sucking… ever again."
Dragging Kanji slowly out of the TV was a pain and Souji and the others were waiting for him as he came out.
"Kanji-kun… Are you okay?" Yukiko asked. She was staring at the black, t-shirt wearing young man, with a black jacket over it. His blond hair was still slicked back. His face looked tired and haggard.
He still tried to look adamant and tough as he said, "It's… It's nothin'." He seemed suddenly relieved as his mind started to clear, "Whoa… Nggh. I feel great. It's like my mind's all cleared up."
Souji looked relieved, "I'm glad to hear it. It's because of the fog in that place."
Yosuke motioned to get him up, and gave Kanji a hand, which he took to get to his feet somewhat shakily. He looked side-to-side at the others.
"Hey… About what just happened…," Kanji looked nervous.
"Don't worry about it, really," Souji said, "It's nothing to lose sleep over."
Kanji got his serious look back, "Heh… Bullshit. I ain't that stupid."
Rion rolled his eyes.
Yukiko motioned to Kanji-kun, "We'll explain everything later. You need to get some rest for now."
"You are in no condition to deal with the truth of what took place in there until are at a sufficient capability to understand," Rion had a look like you are going back or else.
Yosuke had a look that screamed, "What the hell!?"
Chie looked at Kanji, "We'll be waiting for you at school."
"School…? Sure, if I ever feel like going," Kanji muttered.
Yukiko chuckled, "Well… school is kind of important for success."
"You might want to start attending," Souji said, "It will help you for understanding what's going on."
Yosuke motioned to Kanji, "I'll take this guy home."
"Finally, I don't have to do everything," Rion said. Souji chuckled. He knew another way to get under Rion's skin now.
"If anyone asks, I'll say I found him like this," Yosuke told the group.
Souji was relieved to save Kanji and get that over with. He didn't want have to worry about someone else dying. Besides, that long-nosed guy, Igor, probably wouldn't like it if he let Kanji die. "As long as I get more time to hang out with Yukiko," he thought. Those were good thoughts.
He went home with those thoughts and greeted Nanako with a friendly, "Hello, little sis!"
"Welcome home, big bro!" Nanako said. She seemed overly exuberant today as she said, "Big bro! Dad is coming home today."
Dojima came home on time today, most likely because Yosuke "found" Kanji. The three of them sat down for dinner and began eating. Dojima stopped eating for a moment to look at Souji.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Dojima started saying, "Remember that Kanji Tatsumi guy I told you about? You know, the one who went nuts on that TV special. His family's shop called in to report him missing, but now's been found. I thought I'd let you know, since you go to the same high school."
Souji responded to Dojima in what he hoped was an innocent voice, "I'm glad to hear that. It's a relieving thought that he was found."
Dojima kept looking at him, "Yeah," Dojima went back to eating for a second with the others, and then stopped before looking at Souji, "One other thing… Some people have seen you around that textile shop lately, I hear. It's not the kind of shop students normally visit. Just what kind of business do you have around there?" He was looking for an answer; an answer… that would give him something to use on Souji.
Souji was nervous, but wasn't going to take the bait.
"My friend took me there. She works at the Inn," Souji told him with what he hoped was confidence.
"A friend…? Oh that Amagi girl? That's right; her family's inn buys their stuff wholesale… Fine."
"Yeah, that's it," Souji said. He hoped that'd be enough to get him out of the hot water.
Dojima sighed, "Just don't get yourself in over your head, okay Souji?"
Nanako looked between the two, "Are you two fighting again, Dad, big bro?"
Souji shook his head, and Dojima said, "No, we're not fighting."
It was a tense meal, and it was nice to go to bed. Besides, he wouldn't be attacked by muscular Shadows or crazy magi anymore. Unfortunately, he'd dream about them that night. "Run!" he screamed in his sleep. Thankfully before he woke up, his nightmare had turned into one where he was Yukiko's father. Now, that was awkward. "Why the hell would I be Yukiko's father?"
Souji got back to a normal routine after saving Kanji-kun as Yukiko called him. He laughed. "What a joke…," he thought as he walked to school.
The day's question required Souji to answer for Yosuke what kind of writing system the Egyptians used… The answer they were looking for were "sacred carvings" and Hosoi lectured Yosuke for needing Souji's help.
"You mean Hieroglyphics, right?" Rion asked.
"Of course," Hosoi nods.
"Smart ass," Souji thought, "He's back to his normal self at school where he thrives. When we're not saving people, he can really show off. Then again, he shows off in the battlefield." He screamed in his mind, "We can't win!!"
He spent time with Daisuke on Sunday. They hung out with Chie, Daisuke, and Kou. Since Chie kept eating and eating, they made fun of her. "How come you don't gain any weight if you eat more than all three of us combined, Chie?" Daisuke asked.
"Jerks!" Chie yelled.
Painful moments ensued.
"I can't feel anything below my waist," Kou said afterwards, "Can you?"
"…," Souji hurt too much to talk.
"I think I need to go to the hospital," Daisuke moaned.
They staggered back to their homes after eating. Souji's chances of having kids had decreased by 1000% after that meal.
The next day after school Souji listened to Yosuke mourn over Saki-senpai. It was rather repetitive after a while. "I thought we had gotten over this already…," Souji thought.
"You know, I have to do this for Saki-senpai. We're the only ones who can do this," Yosuke said.
"I know…," Souji must have said for the thousandth time. It had continued for hours.
In the evening Souji ate some sort of bean paste that turned out to be a different kind of paste that had gone old. He spent the next few hours puking his guts out. "Note to self," Souji said in front of the bathroom, "Make sure Red Bean Paste is actually Red Bean Paste."
The next day after, he cooked. He made some sort of disaster, which he ate the next day by himself and puked afterwards.
Yukiko asked if Souji wanted to do something with him. Souji was silently praising God as Yukiko asked him, and he readily accepted. "Of course I'll come with you," Souji said.
"Thanks so much," Yukiko said.
The pair had walked down to the Samegawa Flood Plains at the request of Yukiko.
"So…," Souji was wondering what was going on.
"You know how I'm not inheriting the inn, right?" Yukiko asked.
"Right…," Souji said.
He started thinking back to a few of his other meetings with the lovely black-haired girl. Well, seeing her was great…, but carrying that damned desk all the way to the Inn so she could work on job licensures wasn't.
"Carrying large stuff is what Rion's for…," Souji thought as his back broke.
Back to the present…
"Well… I tried cooking something last night… and…," she had something in her hands as they sat down on the benches.
"You want me to try it, right?" Souji asked. "Yukiko made me food. Sounds good to me." He was giddy.
"If you would… I don't think it's very good yet," Yukiko sounded nervous as she passed over her boxed lunch.
Souji nervously looked at the omelet that was in the red box. "At least it looks like an omelet," he thought.
He placed his utensil in the omelet. There was something rather hard in the middle as he stabbed it. "What the…!?" he was thinking. Regardless, Yukiko was looking at him rather expectantly, and Souji knew he had to go through with it. He picked up part of the omelet, including the hard… whatever, and placed it in his mouth.
Yukiko looked at him. "Is it okay?"
Souji couldn't swallow the thing… Whatever the hell it was… It was revolting. He was turning green. The food around it was slightly passable, but the hard part was just terrible. He barely got it down. He couldn't say anything, but he was trying not to lose what he just ate either. It wouldn't look good if he did. Yukiko would be sad.
"It isn't very good, is it?" Yukiko looked forlorn. She noticed Souji's tinge.
"It was a nice first try," Souji replied, barely keeping his food down.
At this time, Nanako had walked up to the benches and she had noticed the food in Souji's food, "Oh, did you make food? I want some!"
Souji screamed in his head for Nanako not to be poisoned.
"I'm afraid it isn't very good this time," Yukiko shook her head, "I'll have to make some for you, and give you some when it's better."
"Okay…," Nanako said cheerfully, "I have to go to Mai-chan's house."
She went off, and Yukiko said, "Thanks for doing this. I'm sorry."
He had said it wasn't a problem and when she left, he ran for a trash can.
"Dammit, I have shittiest luck with food," Souji said after leaving Yukiko.
"Hi, big bro!" Nanako said cheerfully as Souji got home.
"Hey, Nanako… can you make me some food? I haven't had anything edible since lunch yesterday," Souji groaned.
"Okay…," Nanako rushed to the kitchen. She went off to make breakfast food.
"Thank god! My slave is saving me!" Souji thought to himself as Nanako got to work on his toast and eggs.
They went shopping the next day, but not before Souji suffered through more of Yukiko's cooking. Why she got lobsters from Junes and tried to incorporate them into soup, god only knows. They got food from Junes that night, and from that he made Sweet and Sour Chicken. The best part, it was edible. Even better, he ate it with Yukiko, and she was extremely happy to eat it with him. "She's giddy," Souji smiled as she walked away for afternoon classes, "I'd work at your Inn if I can see you every day."
June 4th. It would be foggy that day. He knew he would have to watch the Midnight Channel. School was a bore as always. He went up to his room after eating dinner after watching TV with his little sis.
"The rains that have been coming in for the past two days will result in a heavy fog that will last until morning," the weather lady said.
"I know that," Souji thought, "Yukiko gave us the weather report almost daily."
When Midnight came, and the fog rolled in, the TV came on. As expected the yellow static appeared. No one appeared on the TV because Kanji had been rescued. "Well durr…," Souji said to no one in particular.
---
In the fog, "Damn, not again!"
---
After a day or two at the boring school where he pretty much slept through or skipped class, Yukiko and Rion harped on him about that, but Souji didn't care. He was having a good time at basketball practice, however, eating sweets.
After school, on the day Kanji got better, he met them on the roof of the school while they were waiting on the north end on the plaza. Souji and Yosuke was standing on the right side, while Chie, and Yukiko where sitting on the left edge. Rion was standing behind Yukiko.
"Hi there!" Kanji said nervously.
Chie looked surprised, "Haha, where'd the manners come from?"
Kanji was indeed nervous, "Well, I didn't know you guys were my senpai."
They chuckled at his confusion, except for Mr. Unflappable. "He must have really forgotten who Yukiko was," Souji thought.
"It happens. I guess we don't appear as manly as you," Rion said. He was as tall as Kanji, not as muscular, but just as strong.
"Uhh… Thanks a bunch," Kanji said, "Though, I don't really remember what happened."
"There are some things we'd like you to tell us about," Yukiko said after looking as Souji.
"First off, who was that boy you met with?" Chie asked.
Kanji was taken aback, but answered, "I really don't know much about him. I mean, I've only met him twice."
"Well, you walked home to school with him. What did you guys talk about?" Souji inquired.
"Uh well… He just asked if like, anything different has happened lately. I dunno where my head was at. When I came to my senses, I blurted out that I wanted to see him again," Kanji answered.
"You didn't find that weird?" Souji asked.
"To a guy?" Chie said bluntly.
"Uh… I don't really get it myself," Kanji said, "I mean, girls are so loud and obnoxious, so y'know… I really don't like dealing with them. Guys are a lot more laid-back. So, I guess I started thinking. What if I'm the type who never gets interested in girls? And, I couldn't accept that, so I kept spinning around and around in my head.
"Well, I can understand about the part about feeling more relaxed around dudes," Yosuke said, "Girls are annoying."
"Yosuke!" Chie had hit him.
Souji chuckled, and Yukiko glared at him. Souji shut up, and he could swear Rion smirked, but he couldn't tell.
"How are you feeling, Kanji?" Souji inquired.
Kanji was happy, "I'm fine now. I mean, it was all in my head when you come down to it. I was the one shutting out that stuff. So, uhh… our family runs a textile shop for generations, but you already know that. My parents are kinda weird, they say "Dyes are one with the Universe," and "Cloth is alive." That's the kinda house I grew up in, so I've always been interested in sewing and stuff. But the second I say that stuff, people look at me funny. Girls look at me funny, the people in the neighborhood treat me like I'm some kind of zoo animal, so I was sick of everything. And when I got to my senses, I was running wild. Shit, what's with me today? I'm going on, and on about myself. Forget all that, I must look real lame right now."
"Don't worry, you're actually pretty cool," Souji said.
Kanji shook his head, "I doubt it…," He chuckled, "Man, I've never talked about any of this stuff before. Guess I've never had anyone to tell it to. I guess wasn't really afraid of girls, I was afraid of people in general. But all that's behind me."
Chie looked at him, "Wow, I'm surprised. You're actually a good kid."
He looked embarrassed, "Don't call me a good kid."
Rion said to him, "No need to take offense,"
"Don't get embarrassed, you're a big guy," Yosuke said.
They chuckled at the conversation, but they got serious again after that.
"Hey, is there anything you remember after you confronted us for the second time?" Souji asked.
"After you chased us away, and said you were going to take us down?" Yosuke added.
"Most of us," Rion added… and all of them looked at Rion.
"Uhh… I went home," Kanji said, thinking, "I was going to sleep it off in my room. Wait, I think someone came."
The group looked at each other, and then turned their looks to Kanji.
"To your house? Who was it?" Yosuke asked. His gaze pierced into Kanji's soul.
"Uh, well, it was just a feeling I had. I dunno if anyone actually came," Kanji said ignoring their annoyance, "Other than that, I remember a dark entrance. When I woke up, I was on the floor of that sauna place."
"A dark entrance," Yukiko was thinking to herself, "Could it have been a TV?" she asked.
"Of course it's a TV," Souji thought to himself, "What else could it be?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, maybe so. Why do you ask?" Kanji looked at them.
"Uh, no reason, I was just wondering," Yukiko muttered.
Yosuke looked at him, "Did the police ask you anything?"
"Well, my mom had called the cops to look for me, so they questioned me for a while. I told them just what I told you and they looked at me like I was crazy," Kanji told them, "So, are you guys, like playin' detective or something?"
"If you told them the same thing, they would think you are crazy," Rion replied. Souji nodded in agreement
"Well, something like that," Chie responded.
"Anything I can do to help?" Kanji asked, "If there is some bastard who put me through this, I wanna make him pay."
"Well, you would be quite a useful addition to our investigational team," Rion said in his solemn manner.
"Seriously? Awesome! You'd make a great addition to our team," Yosuke looked happy, "Leader?"
"Of course he can join," Souji looked at him like it was obvious that he could join, "Why wouldn't we want someone who could use the powers."
Kanji looked happy and ready to smash, "Thank you, Sir. I'm ready to put my life on the line for you guys! I'll do my best."
"We'll expect 126% at all times," Souji chuckled.
"Well, if we're going to welcome aboard a new member…," Yosuke said.
"Should we take him to our special headquarters?" Yukiko looked excited.
"Are we still calling it that?" Chie asked.
"It is childish and juvenile," Rion muttered.
"What's that?" Kanji asked.
"Let's go!" Souji said.
They decided to take Kanji to Junes to explain everything that happened and to get him set up for battle. They were sitting around at the ever-expanding table and Kanji was eating a steak meal. He was ripping through it ravenously, and Chie was looking at the steak longingly like… well like a piece of meat.
Yosuke sighed, "Man, you eat a lot. Were you even listening to what we were saying?"
"I highly doubt he took in a word at all," Rion muttered.
"Most likely we'll have to say it over and over," Souji told them.
Kanji opened his mouth and tried to speak with his mouth full, "Hurr? Shurr, I was liftenning."
"Close your mouth when you speak," Souji told him.
Kanji did so, and then looked at them, "So, someone's killing people with a TV? What's he doing, beating them over the head?"
Yosuke was appalled, "No, they weren't beaten with a TV! Were you listening at all?"
"Don't worry, he'll understand once he sees the place with his own eyes," Chie said with a chuckle.
"He has already seen it," Rion said dryly.
"It did happen the exact same way as Yukiko," Souji said, "The killer kidnapped him first, then threw the said person into the TV."
Yukiko was worried, "Yeah, it's scary."
Two students were chatting amongst themselves nearby. They were Yasogami students, and looked like gossipy types.
"That show has been pretty crazy lately, yeah?"
"Yeah, I keep wondering who'll show up next."
"I knew it before he came on that he'd be the next one to appear."
"What's that dude's name? The one that used to be in the biker gang…"
The five of them beside Kanji looked worried at the first-year who was starting to steam.
Souji wondered if he should call a coroner now.
Kanji said in a raising voice, "Who did the hell you think was next?"
"Great!" Rion muttered, "Now they're going to get it."
He stood up and faced the students. The two students looked scared as Kanji advanced.
He said with subtle threatening, "His name is Kanji Tatsumi… And he wasn't in a biker gang. He's the one who beat the shit out of those leathered-up pansies. So who are you dipshits!?"
The two of them ran away with yellow streaks following their pants.
"Feh… Boring," Kanji wanted to beat them up.
"I can't stand it," Chie said in annoyance, as they ran off, "Sure, they have no idea that it's related to the murders, but still… How can they talk about their schoolmate like that?"
"If it's not happening to them…," Rion muttered as he shook his head.
"It's like onlookers at a car crash. As long as it's not to them, they are dying to see…," Yosuke looked forlorn at the situation.
"We don't look like we know who's going to be targeted next either," Souji said calmly.
Yukiko motioned, "Well, this case disproved our assumption that all of the victims are females."
Chie asked, "What was the other thing we thought they had in common?"
Yukiko continued, "People involved in the initial case, about Ms. Yamano, are their targets… How about that?"
"That is a pretty weak assumption as well, though," Rion said.
"I don't know if that's right either," Souji told them.
"Think we're wrong too?" Chie said.
Yosuke was a least a little undeterred, "I dunno. That announcer was involved with their mothers, not them."
"We don't have a reason yet on why the killer would target the children instead of them," Souji said.
Kanji looked at them, "You guys sayin' you don't have any clues? Well listen up, cause I got somethin' big."
"I'm listening to what conjectures you have come up with," Rion said.
"What's that?" Yosuke said as Kanji pulled out something from his pocket.
"When I made my comeback at school today, there was this annoying brat hanging around. Turns out he was snooping out about Senpai's and my disappearance, so I took this from him," Kanji said with confidence, "I dunno what the hell this all is though."
"And you took it anyway?" Chie said with a disapproving glance.
"It could have been something completely off-base from our investigation," Rion looked at him. There was defiance in his eyes.
Kanji gave it to Souji. He looked at it with much interest. It was a paper with several lists on it. He read the list with several TV programs on it.
"It had the dates of when Yamano and Konishi were on TV," Souji announced.
"What's with these dates? April 11th?" Yosuke looked confused.
Chie looked inspired, "Oh, they found the body on the first day school started. That would have been April 12th. The 11th is the day before that."
Yosuke looked sad, but he continued, "I know I can't forget the day Saki-senpai was found. That was April 15th. So then, what is with these dates? What does the list of the TV programs mean?"
"The days that people appeared on TV," Souji responded, "I just told you that." He looked exasperated. No wonder Yosuke was worthless.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it," Yosuke said.
"They were interviewing Saki Konishi because she had found the first body," Rion told them.
"So, the first part, Mayumi Yamano, was the day she appeared on the TV?" Yukiko said.
"Oh, she was on," Chie said, "That was the day the affair hit the news."
Souji looked at them as Yosuke talked to Yukiko, "Hey Yukiko, didn't you get interviewed too?"
"When did that air, Yukiko?" Souji finished.
"It was when I absent from school, I believe… Um," Yukiko was thinking then turned towards Souji, "It was the day after I met you at the embankment. I had my kimono on, remember?"
"I remember, you asked me how I was doing," Souji said, "And you asked me how I was getting along with Chie, right?"
"You asked me if I getting along with Souji?" Chie looked at Yukiko inquisitively, "Did you think I was annoying him?"
"I said you were… just kidding," Souji chuckled, and Chie pretended to hit him.
I went shopping that day, so April 15th," Yukiko told the group. She seemed to have ignored Chie," And right after that, I was kidnapped."
Yosuke looked at Kanji, "Kanji, what about the television special you were on?"
Kanji was annoyed, "Oh yeah, that damn thing. My mom went apeshit on me about that."
Rion looked expectantly, "Do you remember the date you were on the television?"
"I don't remember the exact date, but it wasn't too long before I met you guys," Kanji said.
Rion thought back, "I think Chie was fascinated with the rain the day after."
"It's true, everyone was on TV before they disappeared," Yosuke said.
"They have a day or so after being on until they disappear," Souji said.
Chie looked at Yosuke, "So you think the killer is targeting people who appear on TV?"
Yukiko told them, "I was so caught up with the incidents I didn't notice at all."
"It can't be a coincidence that it keeps happening," Souji decided to say.
"Now that I think about it, after failing with Yukiko, the killer moved onto Kanji instead of trying again," Yosuke said.
"Seems unlikely that he would try to kidnap the same target twice in a row, it's too suspicious," Rion said.
"Maybe this being on TV thing is some stupid rule that the killer is following," Yosuke motioned.
"He could have targeted the same person again," Chie said.
"I believe there is a definite connection between the kidnappings and the TV broadcasts," Souji said.
"They weren't just involved on the first case. They were also shown in the mass media," Yosuke said.
"That must be it…," Chie said.
"We still need to find a logical motive for our killer. We need to decide why a killer would throw people into the TV after kidnapping them," Rion said.
"Yeah, why kill them for just being on TV?" Yosuke said, "Dammit, now that I think about it, we haven't gotten anywhere," Yosuke muttered loudly, "Why can't I be smarter?"
"It's not our fault," Souji said. He thought, "Blame your genes. You should have been born in Rion's body. Then you'd be able to fight like a master, and think like a genius."
Kanji looked at everyone, "Dude, why beat yourself up? I think you guys are awesome! I mean you guys noticed what was happening to me and even risked your own lives to stop it. That's more than enough."
Yukiko looked appreciative, "You rescued me, too, remember? We may not have solved the mystery, but we've already saved two people."
"That is true, not an easy feat by any means," Rion said.
Yosuke wasn't so confident, "That's true, but…"
"What's more, everyone's deduction that Kanji-kun might be next was right on the nose," Yukiko continued her praise.
"I know! We were so close," Chie said.
"Maybe, if we weren't chased away…," Souji muttered.
"Huh? You knew before it happened? Damn, I wish you guys had come a little earlier, then," Kanji said.
"We did," Rion said, "You chased us off remember?"
"Ohh… yeah," he chuckled.
The group began to discuss about lighter things and a good amount of them broke out into laughter.
"Well, if we know this much, I think we can outsmart the killer next time. Then it's a countdown to their arrest," Chie said.
"Let's not take out the possibility that Kanji-kun might be the last target," Yukiko said.
"That would be nice," Souji said.
"We can hope so. We thwarted him twice already. Let's hope he's learned his lesson," Yosuke said.
"You never know what's going on the mind of a hardened killer," Rion said.
"Let's just keep checking the Midnight Channel when it rains, okay?" Souji told the group. Souji highly doubted that Kanji was the last target, and he bet Rion thought the same.
Chie looked somewhat disgusted, "That reminds me, the school campout is next week. I hope it doesn't rain."
"When it's something like that, it can only get worse," Rion muttered.
"It's for both the first and second-year students, so we'll you there Kanji."
"Seriously, school huh? What a drag," Kanji muttered, not excited at all. He looked at the others, "Yo, mind if I order another grilled steak?"
"What!?" Souji yelled.
"I got to finish this one up while the next one's up on the grill. We're going dutch on the meal right?" Kanji asked.
"Oh hell no!" Souji yelled.
"Well, let's get going," Chie said, completely ignoring the others, "I think our new teammate needs to meet Mr. Bear."
Kanji was perplexed, "Huh? What's up? Who the hell is Mr. Bear?" He looked at the others, "Fine! I'll go for something cheap, like ramen. Wait, should I get the takoyaki set? Man, I can't decide."
Yukiko put it best, "None of it!"
"Let's just go!" Souji said.
"What!" Kanji looked lost at his lack of food.
The group got up as Kanji looked longingly at the grill.
"Come on, Kanji-kun!" Yukiko said, pulling at him to get up.
"I wish she would pull me around to go places, besides to eat her cooking." Souji thought. The taste of rancid omelet was still fresh in his mouth. He was daydreaming about being pulled into an alleyway, but Chie tapped his shoulder and he awoke from his happy daydream.
Ass in the TV now!" Rion pulled Kanji out of the chair and away from his steak.
"No, my steak!" Kanji whined.
"You sound like Chie," Souji muttered. He was unhappy at being dragged away from his daydream too. Kanji was the cause of his unhappiness.
The forcefully dragged Kanji to the Electronics department and went into the TV. They followed Kanji into the TV world. Teddie was waiting for the now "six" of them at the plaza.
Kanji looked at Teddie, "Now that you mention it, I kinda remember this thing. Didn't think it was a bear, though," He looked at the others, "Hey? Why is it a bear?"
"You're asking me?" Souji said, "I don't think anyone knows why it's a bear."
Teddie looked forlorn, "Me neither, I have been wondering about that too."
"It's kinda cute," Kanji told Teddie then asked him, "Mind if I… pet you?"
Teddie looked affronted, "No touching allowed, mister!"
"Unless you're Chie or Yukiko," Rion said, "Then you're allowed to touch the bear."
Souji could swear he saw Rion smile, but… he would not bet on it.
"Hey!" Chie said.
"Wha… Hey! Don't give me any lip, bear!" Kanji yelled.
Yukiko began laughing, and Kanji said, "Tch." Souji just shook his head. He didn't like starting Yukiko laughs.
He looked at her, "Uhh… by the way, I have been wondering. You were kidnapped too, right, Yukiko-senpai?" Kanji looked at Yukiko questionably
She looked at him through her red glasses with slight confusion, "Huh? Yeah, it wasn't long before you."
"So, that means you came out to everyone too?" Kanji asked.
She was very embarrassed, "That's umm…" Souji looked at the pair… This could turn bad, quickly.
He asked, "What was it like for Senpai in there?"
"He's screwed," Rion thought waiting for the horror to happen.
Yukiko went and turned to Kanji and the resounding smack rang through the TV world.
"So violent, Yukiko," Souji chuckled. She did have a temper at times. He'd have to worry about that.
Kanji looked at her in pain, "Urgh…"
Yukiko told him with some pity in her eyes, and sarcasm, "Ohh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you so hard."
"He deserved that," Chie was thinking.
Kanji was rubbing his jaw, "My jaw…"
Yukiko smiled, "I'll be more gentle next time."
"More… gentle?" Kanji said with a blush.
"Will you be gentler with me, Yukiko-san?" Yosuke asked her.
Another smack rang out, and she wasn't as nice about it, "Yosuke!" Chie yelled.
"Anyways," Chie recovered, looking at Kanji and Yukiko, "What a pair of dimwits, and an idiot," looking at Yosuke.
Teddie seemed oblivious, but told them, "Oh yeah! Here's a present from me, Kanji! It's to celebrate you for joining the team."
Kanji looked amused, "Ah, so these are the glasses you guys told me about."
Yukiko motioned to him, "Hurry and put them on!" Yukiko was awfully cheerful. Souji had a very bad idea about this.
Rion looked at him, "Yes, amuse us…" Rion seemed to know what was going on.
Souji looked between Yukiko, Rion, and Teddie, "What the hell is going on here? Do I even want to know?" He was thinking.
"Huh? Sure, but hang on, aren't these different from everyone else's?" Kanji asked. He put on the glasses. They were a pair with a nose piece, swirl eyes, and a large mustache to compliment it. Just like the faux pair that Yukiko tried on before they saved Kanji.
Kanji was not amused, "…."
"It looks perfect on you, Kanji-kun!" Yukiko said, breaking out in a giggling fit, "Srnk…"
"It's great!" Souji said. He was trying not to laugh. It was very unlike his quiet, yet "evil" demeanor he had around Rion.
"Hah! Damn dude, those look great on you!" Yosuke admired.
Teddie told him, "I had a normal pair for you, but Yuki-chan insisted on this one. She wouldn't budge!"
Kanji didn't pet the bear like he wanted to, he knocked it over.
"Yeah, real funny, you smartass," Kanji told him.
Teddie whined as he popped back up, "Why are you taking it out on me? Take it out on Yuki-chan!"
"Gimme that!" He took the other pair of glasses as Yukiko was still laughing.
"Please, don't," Rion muttered sarcastically. Souji knew this was going to be bad.
They were exactly like the other pair. This didn't help the laughing fit that Yukiko was having.
"….," Kanji was not amused.
"Hahahahaha," Yukiko was all but on the floor now.
Teddie told him, "You took my spare pair. You must really like those kinds of glasses."
Chie who was silently laughing as well, "Oh, my sides."
They were all in some form laughing except Kanji as he threw the wacky glasses off into the void of the TV world.
"And off they go into the abyss of hell," Rion said in his calm voice.
As the laughter subsided, Teddie said to Kanji, "This is the real one. It wasn't easy getting them to you, Kanji."
Kanji was fuming still as he yelled at Teddie, "Why the hell did you bother making a spare if it's more of that useless crap?"
They were still laughing as he put on his sunglasses. Souji was bent over, unable to control his laughter. He was a matching pair with Yukiko.
"Dammit, I'll get you guys back for this someday!" Kanji yelled.
"Ahahahaha!" Yukiko was still laughing.
"I am so scared…," Rion said. He would have to take care of the buffoons afterwards. He seemed to be the only logical person left.
After laughing at Kanji, they learned that he was in fact good at smashing things. He used desks as a weapon.
"We finally found a use for our school desks," Souji thought as one of the police-looking enemies on the first floor of the sauna was squashed by the desk.
"Why did we have to come back here?" Kanji yelled in annoyance. He outright refused to go back here until Souji dragged him here.
"We had to make sure you didn't suck," Souji told him.
"So are we not done using innuendo comments, even if we are at the same place?" Yosuke asked.
Souji shrugged, "I don't know."
Kanji rolled his eyes, "Well as long as I'm useful."
His persona, "Take-Mikazuchi" ended being a useful tool in destroying the enemies weak to lightning. The persona, like his owner, was good at smashing things too.
"Hey! New guy!" Chie yelled.
"What?" Kanji said.
"Help me, kick this guy's ass" she pointed to an enemy that was resistant to physical attacks.
He slipped on his ass after he tried to whack one with a desk he pilfered from King Moron's classroom.
"What the hell? Why did you make me do that!?" Kanji yelled.
"I guess she was trying to make you look stupid," Rion said as Yosuke's Jiraiya destroyed it with Garu.
"Idiots, quit making fun of me!" Kanji muttered.
"At least we know he can fight," Souji said as Parvati froze the enemy with "Bufula!"
Yosuke's knives went through a raven, "Did you expect anything less from a guy who destroys gangs?"
"Not really," Souji said.
They left the TV world after losing around two pounds in water weight at the sauna. They said goodbye to Teddie and were saying goodbye to each other before they left."
Make sure you go to school, Kanji," Rion told him as he left.
"Right, school," Kanji muttered.
Rion looked at him before speaking in his calm voice, "Don't make me remind you about the mandatory attendance policy."
"Oh, I hate you," Kanji yelled.
Souji had gotten back to his home and was chuckling all the way. It was nice to make fun of Kanji. They really didn't find too much out about the possible killer, but they had a few ideas. The next few days were alright. He had to help Yukiko about where the term "ham actor" came from. He also talked to her with picking out some food for cooking omelets. He prayed that it would be edible… no promises.
He ate some cereal after school the next day. He was tired of eggs and toast, so he picked up some cereal from Junes. He felt coo-coo for cocoa puffs. The next day he met up with Chie and Rion by the gates.
"I heard it was going to rain this evening, but it isn't going to last all night," Chie told Souji by the gates.
"Have you been working on the case by yourself, Souji?" Rion asked him.
"I should be thinking about it myself," Chie responded herself, "But that kind of stuff isn't my strong point."
"It isn't either. I'll need more time," He told them.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out," Rion told the pair calmly.
"Everyone is good at some things, and weak in others," Chie said, "Personally, I'll stick to kicking things."
"As long as it isn't me you are kicking…," Rion muttered.
The three walked to the classroom. The morning went slowly, but at lunch they met over noodles. They were eating them ravenously.
"Ohh… These instant noodles hit the spot," Chie said after a gulp.
"You know, the rainy season is just about here," Yukiko mentioned.
"Great, we get to watch the Midnight Channel daily…," Rion muttered.
"Isn't a little early for that?" Yosuke asked.
"Not really," Souji said.
"It will be raining every night once it starts. When it does, like Rion said, we will have to watch the Midnight Channel every day," Yukiko said.
"Well, I didn't think about it really until you mentioned it, damn," Yosuke gestured, "And I thought you were worried about the rain because of the school campout."
"Why are you excited about that?" Chie asked.
"It's not like it is an enjoyable experience," Rion shook his head.
"That's right, it's the first time for you two," Yukiko said.
"What do you mean, not enjoyable?" Souji inquired.
Chie shook her head too, "You do know that the only reason for the school campout is to develop a love for one's hometown in young people, right?"
"Biggest bunch of BS ever," Rion muttered.
"Yeah, they tell us that up front, so?" Yosuke said.
"Well, you see, the way we supposedly develop that love is by picking up trash off the mountain," Chie looked disgusted.
Souji looked pretty desperate to get out of it, "Well, that's a waste of time."
"Picking up trash? Develop a love? That's slave labor!" Yosuke yelled.
"There are a few advantages…," Rion says to Yosuke and Souji.
"Well, the night is kinda fun. We cook our own meals with mess kits, and sleep in tents.
"Though, sleeping in tents isn't always exciting," Rion muttered, "I like more than 5 feet to myself."
Souji said, "I think this'll be a disaster."
"The five of us are in the same group," Yukiko said.
Yosuke stood up suddenly, "The same group, huh? Does that mean we sleep together at night, too?"
Souji had bad thoughts about that. Yosuke seemed to be thinking about Yukiko and Chie. Though, sharing a tent with Yukiko… now that'd be nice.
Chie seemed disgusted at the thought, "You wish! Guys and girls sleep in different tents. I'm warning you, if you leave your tent at night, you'll be expelled on the spot."
"Yeah, they are kind of hard-asses about that," Rion said.
"Great, there goes our fun," Souji chuckled.
"Souji!" Yukiko exclaimed.
"It's not like I meant it," Souji rolled his eyes. Yukiko nodded.
"Man, this gets worse and worse. I thought this was going to be fun," Yosuke sat back down.
Yukiko tried to sooth him," It's only for one night, and we disband before noon the next day. It doesn't last very long."
"Disband? Are we in the army?" Souji asked.
"Yeah, pretty much, Mooroka's," Chie said, "Oh… We did have some fun at the river before going home last year."
Souji and Yosuke's ears perked up, Rion's stayed down and his arms stayed crossed.
"Do they let you go swimming?" Yosuke asked with slight excitement.
"I think so? There's always someone who takes a dip, although we didn't," Chie told them.
"I don't why they would, though. I t would be as cold as hell frozen over," Rion muttered.
"Well… with Yosuke with us…," Souji was thinking of something in his head. They weren't necessarily thoughts to share with the girl population.
Yosuke said, "I see, so you can swim in the river."
The two girls looked confused, while Souji and Yosuke shared a slight smirk. Rion just shook his head. "I don't know what is in their head, but it's going to be a mess. Usually, it ends up being a disaster," he thought.
The next few days were pretty interesting for Souji. He made bento salad for Yukiko. She asked if he wanted to be a chef in the Inn. "Only if I get hang out in your hot springs," he thought. She was blushing.
He hung out some emo kids in the Health Association because he was forced to. He answered that the gauze can't come for two more months. They were boring and decided he would never hang out with Naoki Konishi again.
Yukiko's food was finally slightly edible. "Thank god!!!"
On the 14th, he was watching TV with Nanako when she said, "If you want you can change the channel you can change it to something else."
She looked quite complacent. Souji decided to do a magic trick where he made a rubber band move from two fingers to another. Nanako thought it was cool.
"Do it again, again! It went, like Zoom!"
She was amused, "Okay, my turn now!"
She was at least happy.
The next day, Yukiko was talking to Souji on the way to school. They were still halfway by the floodplains, so they had some time.
"School camp starts tomorrow. We'll be in the same group, but what should we be cooking for dinner?" Yukiko was wondering, "Hey, why don't we get everyone together after school, and buy the ingredients together?"
"Umm… okay," Souji responded.
"Good, otherwise I wouldn't know what to make for you and the others. I'll tell them, so why don't you come along," Yukiko answered.
They continued chatting on the way to class. Souji was a little worried. He knew about Yukiko's cooking, and he wasn't so sure about Chie's.
After school, they met at the Junes' grocery department.
"So, what are we making again?" Rion asked.
Souji and Rion were watching Chie and Yukiko pick out ingredients.
Chie said, "What do you put in curry again?"
"Oh shit," Souji said to Rion.
Rion said in his typical calm voice, "If they do not know what to put in curry, this does not bode well for us."
"Carrots, potatoes, onions… mushrooms, green peppers, and radishes?" Yukiko thought.
Chie asked, "Are radishes the same as turnips?"
Rion looked at Souji. Souji looked at Rion. They hung their heads.
They turned towards the two, Chie said, "Curry's fine, right? I mean, it's practically our national food."
"We were going back and forth between ramen and curry, but we thought ramen might not be enough for you guys," Yukiko said.
"At least ramen would be so damn easy no one could screw it up," Souji thought.
"Hmm… I wonder what kind of ingredients Yosuke likes. I get the feeling he's really picky," Chie said.
"He's on another floor; do you want me to ask him?" Yukiko asked.
"Nah, no need. Plus, he said he needed to get ready for something," Chie asked.
Yukiko was in thought, "….," She turned towards Chie, "You use potato starch for curry, right?"
Rion shuddered at the thought of the potato starch in the curry.
Chie seemed like she didn't know, "Uhh… Of course you do."
"Otherwise, the sauce won't thicken," Yukiko said.
Rion said to Souji, "Oh god…"
"I'm getting scared," Souji said.
"Then we need potato starch and some flour, too?" Yukiko asked.
Chie asked, "There are different kinds of flour. Which should we get? All-purpose? Whole-wheat?"
"Whole wheat sounds healthy," Yukiko responded, "Let's get that one, and here they are," as she grabbed it. She then turned to another section, "Chili peppers. It isn't curry if it isn't spicy."
Chie looked confused, "Well, let's just get everything that sounds right. Oh, how about some kimchi, and some ground pepper?"
Yukiko turned to another section, "There's two kinds though, black and white."
Chie looked impressed, "Whoa, way to go Yukiko. The Amagi family sure knows their stuff. Let's get both just in case."
Rion and Souji looked at each other. Their eyes looked like they wanted to skip the trip and hide in a bomb shelter.
"Oh yeah, we'll need some special ingredients too, to spice it up," Yukiko told Chie.
"Hmm… I remember seeing something on TV about that… I think it was chocolate, coffee, and yogurt? How about mint chocolate? I love that stuff," Chie responded in a long-winded comment. She then responded, "I don't like coffee that much. I drink mocha, though, so let's get that."
Yukiko asked another question, "What about some seafood? That should make the sauce taste better."
They continued getting more and more ingredients.
"I am not eating a single spoonful of that shit," Rion told Souji, "I'd rather starve."
"You'd rather incur their wrath?" Souji told him. The thought of that curry made him feel sick, "They'll force-feed you," Souji said.
"It's your funeral," Rion said.
Souji had an idea, "Can you cook?" Souji was not a great cook. He didn't trust himself to make a cake or anything.
"I'm a passable chef. I have to make my food everyday, if that's what you want to know," Rion responded.
"Can you help us fix what will be a mess?" Souji asked, "That may get you out of eating it."
"I understand, and I accept," Rion nodded.
"We'll be leaving our lives in your hands," Souji told him, "We need you to make it taste decent."
"Don't be surprised if I run off cause I can't stand the smell and lose whatever I ate before that," Rion said plainly, "I wouldn't be much help then."
"We were expecting you to help us," Souji answered.
"I will be hard pressed to help you…," Rion said, "Mint chocolate? Potato starch for a thickening agent? They want to use seafood? I swear nothing." Rion shook his head.
"You have to make it edible, I need your help here," Souji said.
"Why? Otherwise you can't eat it for Yukiko?" Rion really did smirk this time.
"Hey!" Souji said, "Why do you say that?"
"I've seen you looking at her. You've been trying her food for days. I know how Yukiko's food tastes," Rion said.
"That's why I'm asking for your help!" Souji pleaded, "You have to help me!"
"I'll see what I can do… They'll be the ones who will be actually making it, though," Rion shrugged. Souji cursed at Rion knowing. At least he wasn't too bad about it. He praised him at trying to help him.
"Yosuke doesn't know what's happening," Souji thought, "God help his soul."
They headed out of the shop carrying about 50lbs of ingredients. No one noticed Yosuke's small bag that carried two "special" items.
The next day was the first day of the Camping Trip. Chie, Rion, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Souji would all be in the same group. The amount of shit and trash they had to pull off the mountain was beyond enormous.
As Rion promised Souji, he was working with Chie and Yukiko to salvage the curry. Yosuke and Souji were waiting at the table while they worked with one of them on either side of the table.
"Ugh, picking up all that trash was murder on my back," Yosuke groaned.
Souji responded, "I need some Icy-Hot after cleaning up all of this crap."
Yosuke continued, "I can't believe someone threw away an entire bike. Dammit, people who litter should have to deal with their own garbage," Yosuke changed his mood as he saw the food being made, "Anyways, time for dinner. I'm starvin'. Dude, the girls are cooking for us. Even Rion is helping us, though it sounds like he's yelling at them."
From beyond the table, Souji heard complaints and yelling. Rion's suggestions must not be going over well.
"What the hell are you doing? Why are you adding that?" they heard a male voice saying.
"Well, we wanted to make it flavorful," a tomboyish voice responded.
He responded, "It's going to taste terrible now," he sighed, "Those flavors don't go well together. Chocolate? Are you trying to poison them?"
"Well, we already decided…," A more feminine voice said.
"No, don't turn it so fast!" Rion exclaimed. He smelled the curry and ran off, obviously sickened.
Yosuke turned back to Souji. He must have not heard, and said, "Not that I expect much out of Chie, but Yukiko's got the full tradition of the Amagi Inn behind her food."
"I don't know. Rion seemed pretty dubious," Souji replied. He looked nervous too, seeing Rion in the background.
"Don't worry, you know it's going to be out of this world!" Yosuke promised
"Don't eat it!" Souji pleaded. "If Rion can't fix it…," Souji thought to himself, "Nothing is going save us from dying here."
"No way, Souji. You just want to have it all to yourself. I know the trick you're trying to pull on me," Yosuke gestured to Souji.
"No, I'm not kidding, don't eat it. I was warned ahead of time." Souji warned him.
"Whatever, I can't wait to dig in!" Yosuke wasn't going to be deterred.
Rion had staggered back after seemingly losing his breakfast; Yukiko was looking at the steaming pile of mess supposedly called curry.
"Should we taste this?" Yukiko asked.
"You should!" Rion said, "Chefs taste their food before serving," He had an evil expression on his face. He seemed to have lost a little of his calm after witnessing this disaster and their refusal of his help, "All I'm saying is I'm not touching that. I couldn't even smell it without feeling sick."
"I'll taste it Yukiko if you taste it first," Chie told Yukiko. She was ignoring Rion. They were scared at the results.
"I told you this would happen," Rion said, "Next time I'm making the food," he muttered.
"Oh man, here it comes!" Yosuke said as Chie and Yukiko came with the plates of something that was supposed to be curry.
"I warn you now," Rion told them, "I do not take responsibility for what comes on these plates. I only tried to fix what happened as I did not purchase said ingredients or make the actual food." Souji looked scared at his comments. Rion looked at Souji and just shook his head.
Chie was worried as she set it down, "Uhh… sorry for the wait. Um… We put a lot of love into it."
"You mean a thousand of ingredients into it," Rion shook his head. He warned, "Don't eat it if you want to live!"
Yosuke too, was ignoring him, "Whoa, really? That's kinda clichéd, but still awesome."
"I'm worried about what Rion said," Souji said. He thought to himself, "Does this mean he couldn't salvage it?"
"Okay then, chow time!" Yosuke dug into the food.
He took one bite of the food, "Urggh… blahh… Arggh…" and promptly threw up the curry and fell over.
Rion shook his head, "I told you so. Headshot."
"Uhh… Hey?" Chie was looking at Yosuke's response to the food.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" Yosuke screamed at them as he stood up. He confronted the girls, "I mean what kinda…," He was coughing all over the place as remnants of the disaster were still in his mouth.
"Curry's supposed to be really spicy or kinda mild. This just stinks!" Yosuke yelled.
"That would explain the fish," Souji thought.
"That's why they put seafood in it," Rion muttered.
"It's gritty too!" Yosuke continued yelling, "It's somehow gritty and slimy. It's got squishy parts in it as well."
"Slimy would be the yogurt…," Rion muttered.
"It's so frickin' nasty I can't even swallow it," Yosuke continued.
"Well, more for me, not…," Souji thought in his head.
Chie tried to defend herself, "Well, it just didn't mix too well. But it does offer a wide variety of textures."
Souji muttered to himself, "Textures that make you lose your lunch."
"It smells terrible too," Rion said.
"It's nauseating," Yosuke replied to all of their comments.
"C'mon, it's not that bad!" Chie said. She was flustered by now. She had failed in her meal, "That's just your opinion!"
Yosuke turned to Souij, "I'm telling you as a friend… Don't do it, I wouldn't even joke about trying that slop."
"Come on, try it for us, Souji?" Yukiko asked.
They were looking at Souji. The only reason he would dare let it touch his mouth was Yukiko. Rion put his head down. Rion had to admit. "He has a lot of balls."
He tried to eat it, but as soon as it touched his tongue… The nauseated flavors tasted wrong. He knew it wasn't edible. Rion was right. "Smart-ass," he thought of him. He couldn't even swallow it, and it came back out of his mouth and he fell over just like Yosuke.
"I told you this would happen," Rion told the girls.
The girls looked to each other with sad eyes.
They put their food away as Hanako set down with a pile of curry the size of Mt. Fuji.
Chie tried to apologize, "We're sorry…"
"Sorry," Yukiko said.
Yosuke looked hungry, "What are we going to do? We're the only group without food. I mean if it was slightly edible it would be one thing. But I'm not taking another bite of Mystery Food X!"
Rion shook his head as Chie noticed Hanako's mountain of curry.
"Something smells good," she said.
Yosuke turned toward Hanako and her mountain of food, "Hey… uh Hanako? You wouldn't happen to have any extra curry left, would you?" He was begging, "Come on, give us some! We're begging you. We're starving to death here!"
Hanako looked affronted and said in her Miss Piggy voice, "No way! I'm on a diet right now, so this is all I that I made. This has to last me."
"That's all you made? And you are on a diet?" Souji looked shocked. He thought, "What a fat ass."
"You got to be kidding me?" Rion was even laughing to himself on the inside, oblivious to his hunger pains.
"All that you made?" Chie said, "It's like a bucketful."
"I wonder if there is any way we can get something delivered here," Yosuke sighed.
"Up here?" Rion responded.
Yukiko told Yosuke, "But our cell phones don't get service up here."
"And dinnertime is almost over," Chie exclaimed.
"Alright, back to your tents! Men's tents are this way and the girls' tents are that way!" Mooroka was yelling as she said that, "Come on, people, look alive! Youngsters like yourselves should hurry up and get to bed after they eat. It's now time for us teachers to have some boo… I mean, err… off to bed! Lights out!"
"You guys are going to pay for this!" Yosuke told the girls.
The girls chuckled nervously at Yosuke's threat.
"Night…," Chie said.
The boys and girls headed off to the tents so the teachers could get drunk. Not only were Souji, Rion, and Yosuke in the tent, but Kanji had joined them. It was a very crowded tent.
"Dammit, I'm so hungry," Yosuke groaned.
"I think we all are," Rion said.
"Why are you hungry?" Kanji asked.
"Don't ask...," Souji responded.
Yosuke looked at Kanji, "How the hell did you end up here?"
Souji looked at Kanji, "I want to know too."
"My teach threatened to hold me back a year if I didn't show," Kanji explained, "And the first year's tent is all quiet like someone died."
Rion asked him, "So, you decided to come here because you thought it was livelier?"
"Yeah…," he responded.
"Well, if you were in there with them, I'm not surprised," Yosuke told Kanji.
He looked around, "Is it just you three in this tent?"
"The others called in sick," Souji said.
Yosuke added, "A hell of a smart move, if you ask me."
"So, it's okay if I hang out here?" Kanji asked.
"Stay as long as you like," Souji said, "I don't have a problem with that."
"Hey, you're a stand-up guy, Senpai. Don't worry, I won't make any trouble. They won't catch me unless we make a restless."
"Alright, you can sleep over there," Yosuke said, pointing to the far-side of the tent.
Kanji looked mad, "Dude, there's a huge rock under there. How'm I supposed to sleep? It's gonna hurt like hell."
"Pipe down; you said you were going to make any noise," Yosuke warned him.
"Yo, senpai," asking them, "Can't you go a little farther back?" Kanji asked.
"Well, I'll move a little," Rion replied. He pushed his bag a little over to the right. Souji wondered if he was going to slide off. Now that Souji thought about it, Rion was sometimes overly-nice.
"Thanks, Senpai," Kanji said.
Yosuke however… "Nope, there's a slope just past here. I'd roll down the hill in my sleep," Yosuke told Kanji.
"Big baby," Souji chuckled, "I'll budge a little too."
"Well, if you don't like it here, you can go back to the first-years tent," Yosuke told him.
Kanji asked a question, "Hey? Wasn't your teacher some guy named King Moron?"
Rion looked at him, "Yeah, so?"
"That guy stopped me outside earlier, and he pissed me off so bad I was about to lose it."
"Wait, you ran into our teacher?" Souji asked.
"He was going on, and on about when I was in Middle School, when he doesn't know anything about that. Not only that, he was bullshitting about how I would be expelled immediately if I cause any trouble. That ain't funny."
"Yeah, he has a tendency for jumping to conclusions," Souji said.
Kanji said, "Check this out, right? I heard this from a guy in my class. He said this asshole was talking shit about the two girls who died."
"Yamano, and Konishi?" Rion asked.
"King Moron was talking about Ms. Yamano and Saki-senpai?" Yosuke asked with a flair of anger in his voice.
"It was like, it's no surprise that no wonder people who are unfaithful or run away from home meet a bad end," Kanji continued, "I dunno, maybe he was exaggerating. Everyone seems to hate that son of a bitch Morooka."
"You hit it right on the head," Souji replied.
"Damn, I can just picture Morooka saying that," Yosuke said, "He never shut up about me either when I moved here. Not that I remember anything he said."
"You're on my shit list effective immediately, huh, Souji?" Rion drawled.
"Yeah," Souji laughed.
"Anyways, even if it's a little true, it still pisses me off. The shithead is a damn teacher for god's sake," Kanji told them.
"Ahh… Don't waste your energy getting worked up over that clown," Yosuke was eating something he had grabbed from Kanji's bag.
"Yeah, you got a point," Kanji said, "Wait a sec, what are you eating?"
"You got food, Yosuke?" Souji said. His stomach was grumbling. He wanted whatever Yosuke had grabbed.
"Animal crackers…," Yosuke said.
"What the! Those were mine!" Kanji yelled, "Dammit! I was so pumped about finding the penguin today!"
"Penguin?" Yosuke looked bewildered.
"What's so special about a penguin?" Souji asked.
Kanji looked affronted, "The secret animal cracker! You were eating them, and you didn't know about that?"
"Are you serious?" Yosuke looked guilty, "You shoulda told me."
"Oh well…," Kanji said.
"Uggh… This isn't gonna fill me up," Yosuke said.
"Well, you should have stopped the girls from buying that junk, Yosuke," Rion told him, "Yet, you wandered off."
"Let's just go to sleep, okay?" Yosuke muttered.
Kanji stared at him, "That's all you gotta say for you self after stealing my snacks."
All four were uncomfortably lying in the tent. It was not exactly a good arrangement for sleeping. No one was getting any sleep. After some time…
"Kanji," Yosuke looked at him, "Don't you have more space on your side?"
"Man, I can't sleep over there. My back would break," he responded.
"Right…," Rion said. Both he and Souji had budged over and Kanji was still complaining.
"Oh… Okay," Yosuke said, "Uh… Hey."
"Yeah?" Kanji asked.
"Why'd you come to this tent?" Yosuke asked
"Oh damn, he wouldn't…," Souji thought.
"Huh? I already told you," Kanji said, "Geez… What's wrong with you?"
"This is as good a time as any, so. I want you to be honest with us," Yosuke told him.
"Uh… Okay?" Kanji seemed slightly confused.
"He isn't going to ask that, is he?" Rion thought.
"Are you really… you know?" Yosuke was asking.
"Am I really what?" Kanji asked
"What I mean is, are we going to be safe alone with you?" Yosuke asked.
Kanji looked shocked, "Wha…!" He stood up, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I already told you guys I'm not like that." Kanji lost his poise and got flustered.
Yosuke and Souji got worried at that.
Souji and Yosuke got up as Kanji confronted them. Rion just lay there, he didn't really care. He didn't want to be involved with the stupid antics of the three teenagers.
"Well then, why are you all hot and bothered by it?" Yosuke asked, "That's just more suspicious."
"Hell no!" Kanji told them, "We settled this already, Dammit. Right now, I'm… well… How do I put it?"
Yosuke looked seriously worried, "Oh god, don't trail off like that! You're freaking me out!"
"I'm trying to tell you that I have no problem being around girls now," Kanji was expressing his emotions through his left arm and a loud voice.
"Can you prove it?" Yosuke asked.
"Prove it?" Kanji looked confused.
"Why do I think this will be a bad idea?" Rion muttered as he lay there, completely undeterred by the commotion.
"Cause if you can't, we're gonna be stuck here all night, half scared to death," Yosuke was lamenting.
"Tch'… To hell with this. If that's what you really think of me, then I'm going to go into the girls' tent right now!" Kanji yelled.
"What? You're going to get expelled?" Souji looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Huh? Wait, well that's a little extreme! You don't have to go that far," Yosuke tried to reason with Kanji, "They'll expel you if they find out. Don't tell me you forgot! King Moron's got his eye on you!"
Rion smirked, "He can do what he wants, besides, and I don't think Morooka is going to be any condition to stop people." He was almost smiling. Souji did not like where this was going. If Rion was not going to stop Kanji.
"Yeah, like that'd stop a man like me!" Kanji was gesturing to Yosuke with an arm that said he would do it no matter what.
"Dude's seriously going for it. Hey man, you gotta stop him," Yosuke told Souji.
"Go get em, Tiger!" Souji told Kanji. This would be funny.
"Hell yeah!" Kanji yelled as he ran out of the tents, "To hell with King Moron! No one is stopping Kanji Tatsumi, dammit!"
"He's really doing it," Rion said. Rion rolled his eyes.
"I declare myself not responsible for anything that happens," Yosuke said.
Souji looked at everyone, "I think that covers all of us."
---
Inside of Chie and Yukiko's tents, Hanako was snoring extremely loudly. Yukiko was curled into a ball at the other end of the tent away from Hanako, and Chie was pacing back and forth.
"Now I get why we're the only three here," Chie muttered.
Yukiko sighed, "I can't sleep."
"I'm hungry, too," Chie complained, "I should've eaten more of that curry."
Yukiko looked at her, "It might have knocked us unconscious. No wonder the others couldn't eat it."
"Sheesh, we can't sleep, we can't walk around… I wonder what Teddie is doing right now? Being alone all day is pretty rough when you think about it. You know a little while ago he…," Chie couldn't finish her sentence because of the snoring, "…. Uggh… Arggh. That does it, Yukiko. We're out of here."
"Where'd we go though? I don't think climbing down the mountain is a good idea," she said solemnly, "Do you think she'd stop snoring if I covered her nose and mouth?" Yukiko asked with a little grin on her mouth. Chie was scared.
"Yukiko, NO!" Chie exclaimed, "Ugh… I can't take it anymore!"
They heard a rustling and someone opening the tent. It was something scary.
"Who's there?!" Chie was scared.
A short time later, both Chie and Yukiko ended up leaving the girls' tents.
They fled the tents, and the boys tents felt a noise on their side.
"Hey, are you guys still up?" Chie asked.
---
"I'm curious as to why you are here?" Rion asked, "This is the boys' side."
"Let us in!" Chie told them.
"Don't be ridiculous! If King Moron finds out, we'll all be expelled. Go back to your tents," Yosuke told the girls.
"We can't!" Chie said.
Morooka's voice rang out, "Are there any rotten apples out and about! Any indecent students out there?" He sounded tipsy. Souji was worried for all of them. They could all be expelled. Was he worried for any love makers? Then again, a chance for Yukiko in his tent.
"Hurry, get in here," Souji said.
"So, why are you two here?" Yosuke asked.
"Well, it's Kanji-kun," Yukiko told them. They looked at each other, "He's out cold."
"I don't know what happened," Chie said, "He just came right in all of a sudden, and then fainted. That's all, right, Yukiko?"
"Huh? Yeah?" Yukiko answered quickly and nervously.
"So there was no way we could sleep with him lying there, and you know, if we woke him up, he might have made a fuss. That's why we left him there," Chie explained.
"What? That makes no sense. He busted into your tent, and then suddenly fainted," Yosuke told the girls.
Rion, who was sitting off to the side took the pair of the girl over there and told them quietly where neither of the other boys could here, "It's bad to lie to us."
"We're not lying…," Chie whispered, "That's what happened, right?"
"Your expressions, the way you speak, and the previous occurrences that had happened beforehand do not make the story fit," Rion explained.
"So, what do you think happened?" Yukiko whispered.
"I think Chie used her foot when she got scared as someone burst into the tent," Rion whispered.
"Shush… don't say anything," Chie told him.
"My lips are sealed, but now you owe me twice," He muttered.
"Fine…," Chie said.
As he said that and the girls returned to their spots, Morooka's voice rang out, "Listen up! Being insolent, and being indecent are two very different things!"
"It's him, he's right outside!" Yosuke whispered. He told Souji, "Hey! Turn the light off!"
Souji hurried and shut off the light, and the tent got dark, yet King Moron was getting closer.
"Hey! Are you three in there! Answer me!" he yelled.
"We're here," Souji said.
Morooka said, "Huh? Ahh… so, you are in there. Is Hanamura already asleep?"
"Yessir! Fast asleep, sir!" Yosuke answered.
"Don't get cute, Hanamura! Shut up, and go back to sleep!" He yawned, "Uggh… I think I've had one too many. I'm so sleepy…"
He left and the lights were turned back on.
"Well, that was an unexciting adventure," Rion shook his head.
Yosuke sighed, "There goes a few years off my lifespan."
"You mean down to twenty?" Souji said.
"Shut Up!" Yosuke yelled.
"No joke, we're nearly expelled," Chie told them.
Yosuke looked at the girls, "Hey, this is you girls' fault!"
"What else were we supposed to do?" Chie yelled, "Anyways, we can't leave now. We'll sneak out before the others wake up tomorrow. Is that good enough for you?"
Souji laughed, "Well, you did want co-ed tents, Yosuke."
"What are you so mad about?" Yosuke complained.
"You better not try any funny stuff while we're asleep, is that clear?" Chie told them in explicit terms.
"Hey, we didn't say you could… Dammit, you are going to owe us for this," Yosuke was annoyed as he muttered his disapproval.
A divide was set up to separated the girls from the boys, and they spent an uneasy night with the five in the tent, Kanji with Hanako in the girls' tent. Souji was a little disappointed that there was a divide between him and Yukiko, but you can't win everything. "At least she's in the same tent," Souji thought.
The next day, the boys and girls were getting ready to clean up. Somehow, Rion got stuck up with clean-up duty and had to help pack up everything. Everyone else in the group were by the river, Yosuke was a little too excited in getting there.
"Looks like we're the only ones there," Yosuke said. He looked at Kanji, "What's wrong? Got a stomach ache?"
"No, it's just I thought I got pissed and ran out of the tent last night," Kanji told them, "It's so weird, when I woke up I was in Yosuke-senpai's tent. Was it a dream?"
Chie was nervous. She remembered what Rion said, "It was a dream, must have been a dream."
"Okay?" Kanji was confused.
Yosuke looked at the girls, "Alright, then, let's get swimming!"
"Are you seriously taking a swim? I'll pass, I'm all stiff," Kanji shook his head and passed.
"What are you looking at us for? If you guys are going for a swim, go right ahead," Chie stared back at Yosuke. Chie had a bad feeling about this. Souji looked at Yosuke. He wondered what was going on.
"You know, you two still owe us," Yosuke said.
"I think I know what he has in mind," Souji thought.
"Huh? Whoa, we are not going in there!" Chie pointed at the river, "I mean we do owe you, but… Oh yeah, we don't have our swimsuits with us. Man, of all the luck." Chie had a really bad idea.
"Yeah, it really is unfortunate," Yukiko said.
"Oh, I see how it is," Yosuke said.
"He wouldn't," Souji thought.
"We put up with your dinner, we save you from King Moron, and you won't even have some fun with us in the river," Yosuke complained.
Chie was flustered, "No, it's really too bad. It'd be no problem if I just had a swimsuit."
Yosuke pulled out two pair of swimsuits. They were two-pieces.
"Eww…," Souji thought.
"Tada, I got you covered," Yosuke said, "They're Junes-brand originals, from our brand-new line of swimwear that just came in for the summer. I had a clerk friend of mine pick them out. Pretty swanky, huh?"
"Well, if you had picked them out yourself, I'd have been scared," Souji told him. He was thinking, "If you knew their sizes." He shuddered.
"Dude, that's just wrong," Chie told him.
"Did you have those with you the whole time?" Yukiko asked.
Yosuke looked excited, "C'mon, let's all go swimming."
Chie looked at Yukiko, "What should we do, Yukiko?"
Yosuke mocked Chie in a girly voice, "It'd no problem if I just had a swimsuit."
Chie moaned, "Urgh…"
Yosuke guilt-tripped them, "You know, we were really looking forward to dinner."
It was Yukiko's turn to moan, "Ngh…"
Again, Yosuke used, "I wonder what would happened if we didn't help you last night?"
"We get it already!" Chie yelled, "You just never let things go, do you!"
"That's more like it!" Yosuke exclaimed.
"I can't believe he's doing this, but if he gets Yukiko into this," Souji thought. He felt giddy, but disgusted at the same time.
Everyone changed, except for Kanji who was stiff, and Rion who was off dealing with packing tents or whatever. Souji wondered why Rion was stuck doing this. He was missing out on some fun. At least Kanji would get to see some eye candy.
"How far off did those two go off to get changed?" Yosuke asked the others.
"Far enough so you wouldn't see," Souji told Yosuke. That would be pretty bad… for Yosuke at least.
"C'mon, let's get in," Chie's voice sounded like she wanted to get this over with.
The two girls walked up in their swimsuits. The colors of the suits somewhat matched their regular clothes and Personas: Green, yellow, and white for Chie, and Red, black, and white for Yukiko.
"Whoa… man," Yosuke was entranced.
"….," Kanji couldn't talk. He was blushing.
"Stop staring like that," Chie could feeling six eyes looking at the two of them.
"Hey!" Yukiko told them.
"You two look cute, Yukiko especially!" Souji thought. He couldn't take his eyes off of Yukiko. It wasn't like Chie didn't look cute, but Yukiko just took his breath away.
Both were blushing, Yukiko more so.
"…I," Yukiko said.
"Yosuke chose them, not us!" Chie yelled.
Yosuke looked rather happy.
"Man, this is going better than I even imagined," Yosuke smiled with happiness. He was enjoying this, "Kinda makes up for having to eat Mystery Food X last night!" When the girls looked affronted, he said, "C'mon, you have to admit I chose good suits. Those girls might be childish on the inside, but I bet they are gonna turn into some fine-looking women before too long."
Souji smiled on the inside. He imagined Yukiko in a few years. He had to stop himself, or it would be a very, very bad thing. It was already a hard process to stop himself just seeing Yukiko in a swimsuit.
"Don't you think so, Souji?" Yosuke asked.
"You have a point, Yosuke," Souij answered.
Chie looked angry, "You guys just crossed the line!"
Yukiko agreed with her, "Definitely!"
The girls huffed and took the guys by surprise. They pushed the boys over the side of the river and they fell into the icy water.
"Aggh… It's freezing. You didn't have to push us in," Yosuke shivered.
Chie said nonchalantly, "Who cares? You were going into the river regardless. They brought this on themselves. Aren't they the worst, Kanji-kun?"
Kanji was still standing off to the side, turned around.
Chie looked at him, and made a Freudian slip, "Hey, you've been awfully quiet. Are you feeling okay? Don't tell me the injuries from yesterday are still… Uhh…"
Kanji turned around, he had a nose bleed, "What?"
"Ewww!" Yukiko screamed as she pushed him into the river.
"That was close," Yukiko said.
Kanji yelled at them, "What was that for? I didn't do anything."
He sneezed.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Souji asked.
"Do you hear something?" Yukiko asked.
It was Rion returning from clean-up. His hands were dirty from folding up all of those tents. He adjusted his glasses.
"Uhh… Hi…," Rion looked at the girls, and then to the three in the river. He asked, "Umm… Why are you in swimsuits? And why are they in the river?" Pointing at Kanji, Yosuke, and Souji.
"Cause they are jerks, and we were forced to shove them in. Do you want to join them?" Yukiko looked at him with malice.
"Not really," Rion said, "I just came to warn you."
"About what?" Chie inquired. She decided not to push him in because he wasn't staring straight at her chest. Rion was looking at her face, unlike Yosuke.
"Morooka had too much to drink last night. He's throwing up in the river as we speak." The boys and the girls could hear the retching from the river.
"So that's why no else was by the river. Good thing you told us before we went in," Chie said.
"Pretty much, and that's why I got stuck cleaning up," Rion told them, "They were short one teacher."
"Senpai…," Kanji said.
Yosuke said, "Don't say it."
"Unclean, unclean!" Souji thought as he was in the shower when he got home.