Author's Note: Actually I really don't plan this to be a multi-chaptered story (I'm sure you all remembered how it was 'Completed' when I first put this up) but… since someone actually encourage me to go on… I must admit that I fell for his words. I cannot say no. Anyway… I have other pairings to cover up. I REALLY want to make Yousuke x Chie but I'm not really good with light hearted fic … I guess it'll take time before something comes up. Haha…
Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters are owned by Atlus.
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A
P4 MC/Yukiko Fic
Izanagi
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Can't get my mind of those memories
Now Time to tell them don't take my dream
Shihoko Hirata – Heaven
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The rain was still falling. Yukiko had long gone now, remembering the errand she was supposed to do before she met him. He too needed to go to the place for him to stay for the night. Actually, he had arrived now… but he didn't know why it was so hard for him to knock. There were just too many thoughts circling in his head that he couldn't lift his hand to knock the wooden door at all.
"Souji?"
The deep voice of his uncle made him turned. The detective was right behind him, holding a pale blue umbrella on hand. He examined his face for a while, looking at his soaked clothes and body, but didn't say a word. After a while he walked past him and opened the door.
"Come."
XxX
I
face out, I hold out…
I reach out to the truth…
"All my life seeking to seize for the whole moment to now. Break. Awaaaaaaaaay!!!"
Hanamura Yousuke sang the song off-tune from the top of his lungs, tapping the pencil to the board on his lap. It was another rainy day in Inaba and he had gotten used to it, apparently. He didn't feel that bored anymore these times around. There was just too much work his father gave him concerning Junes and rainy days just meant another day of locking himself up in his room, singing to his CDs, and doing Junes paperwork. If Yukiko's Shadow was rambling about going to inherit the Inn, somehow Yousuke knew his Shadow now would rant about 'inheriting' Junes.
"Yousuke!!!!"
A sudden knock was heard by his door, forcing him to involuntarily spin his chair around and raise his hand to open the door. His mother was outside, holding a phone on hand. She grimaced from the loud volume of his music then shouted, "From Satonaka!"
"Thanks!!!" He smiled at his mother the last time before she closed the door once more, unable to bear the music. Yousuke lowered the volume then brought the phone to his ear. "Yousuke here~!"
Her answer was, as usual, obnoxious.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE THOSE STATIC NOISES?!"
He didn't ruin his eardrums this time. Improvement.
"Well, I happened to…"
"AND WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER MY CALL?! What's the importance of cell phone to you anyway, Hanamura Yousuke?! I've been trying to call you for more than 4 times already!"
"Whoa… Really?"
Yousuke grabbed his cell phone by the table and… sure enough, she had called him angrily for 4 times.
"Sorry, sorry!" Yousuke laughed it off. "I didn't hear it! I was—"
"Keep listening to the music with such loud noise and you'll ruin your eardrums for sure!"
You've ruined it already… Yousuke sighed. It was not the first time for Chie to call his house instead of his cell phone, and it was not the first time for her to shout to the phone either. He didn't know how long he could survive another shouting assault via phone by her—he swore he could hear that loud ringing sound every time she shouted.
"Anyway…"
She sighed on the other side. Oh, shouting phase is over! Sweet!
"Well… He's back in Inaba, you know."
"Ha?"
The brunette boy blinked. The only one they called without the need of mentioning name was…
"F-FOR REAL?!" He never knew how he could ruin someone's eardrums as much as she could. "I-I mean… he's really here? A-Alive? Not just postcards or phone calls?! I mean…"
"Yeah, complete. Flesh and bones and all."
She didn't sound hyper… and he knew exactly why.
"How do you know he's here?"
"Nanako-chan called me," she stopped for a while then her voice sounded somber. "She said 'Onii-chan is here, Chie-neesan… but he didn't seem happy…'"
Oh, shit… Yousuke groaned.
"You really don't think he knew it already, do you? I mean, he's not supposed to know at all!"
"Well, this is a pretty small town after all, Yousuke. It's easy to come across rumors here. Especially about someone as stand out as our Yukiko…"
He groaned yet again. It was true. The famous Amagi Inn manager… who wouldn't know about her? She was always been the star of the town… Aside from Rise, of course.
"Have you… talked to Amagi-san?"
"No…" she sounded worried. "… Yukiko didn't answer my call at all. When I called the Inn they said she's out for some errand…"
Argh! The worst case scenario. Yousuke messed his hair in agitation. There was a hanging silence from both sides as both of them cursed the situation. Eventually, Chie talked once more.
"Aww… What are we going to do now?"
What are we going to do now? He asked the same thing in his heart. He didn't know… but something must be done. If there were something, anyway.
"You better go to the Inn," said Yousuke after a while. "Check her condition for the mean time. I mean… there really is nothing that we can do than to… well… help them in their fall."
"Yousuke!"
"I know!" He grimaced then sighed. "I know… I hate this as much as you do but… the decision is theirs to make, right? We have no rights to meddle with their relationship!"
For a while, Chie was reluctant to say anything. Yousuke waited and eventually continued.
"Here," He took the conversation again. "Just go see Amagi-san. She needs you."
Chie didn't answer for a while. She then asked, "And you?"
Yousuke furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well… he...'d better be alone for now. I'll go to his place by dusk."
"… mmm.. Okay."
She hung up.
Yousuke looked at the phone in his hands then sighed. Why couldn't Inaba be at peace when he was around?
XxX
The hot cup of black tea by the table seemed tempting enough but he didn't even look at it twice. Doujima Ryoutarou watched him watching the rain outside in silence. It was obvious if Souji looked so shaken. He, too, would've acted the same way if it were him.
"How's… university?"
Opening a conversation was not an easy task for Ryoutarou in regular occasion… It was almost hopeless in this kind of condition. But surprisingly, the young man turned to see him and gave a low answer.
"Very interesting, Uncle."
"I see."
Another silence greeted them. Now Ryoutarou could feel how Nanako's eyes urged him to say something from the TV corner and he felt like he would love to answer by saying, 'YOU do it!' or anything else along in that context. He didn't really like long chat, but he never said he loved intense silence like this either. The sound of rain pattering the window filled the room, accompanied by the low voices from the TV. It was as if the room was… dead.
"You know, Souji…" Ryoutarou cleared his throat. He gave up his attempt of chit-chat. "About… Amagi Yukiko…"
"I know already."
The detective looked up to the young man, who was still looking at the window.
"I met her by the floodplain."
For a while, it seemed like he wouldn't say anything else but then he continued.
"She told me about her reasons. I can understand."
I can understand.
Ryoutarou sighed. Can understand, huh? What a joke. He knew about the relationship between his nephew and the manager of Amagi Inn—I mean, who would say that nothing was happening between them when they spent the night together by the last Christmas Eve? Despite the distance between them, it was clear that that something between them had never changed. Whenever they meet up again in summer or in any occasion, it seemed like he had never left Inaba at all. He still harbors some feelings to her, just like how she did for him. And to suddenly know… it must have been a direct hit for both.
Understanding such things was not an easy task; to say it was much easier. And Ryoutarou knew very well how saying it would somehow convinced one's self to forcefully accept… not without pain, unfortunately.
"The Amagi is having a hard time maintaining their business," said Ryouratou, taking his coffee. The young man in front of him slowly turned to see him. "A few years back after the Incident, just like what you do know exactly, their business went downhill and the late manager, Amagi Yukiko's mother, was forced to take loans from a head chief of a firm. It was not that much at first… but as things got worse, she was forced to take more than what she had previously planned. Fortunately, it seemed like the uproar died down and they managed to maintain the business to normal again. At least… that was how it looked like."
XxX
"I'm so sorry, she hasn't arrived yet, Satonaka-san…"
The waitress seemed kind of worried herself. She nervously stole a glance at the front gate and was moving uneasily as Chie looked at her. The waitress bit her lips then said, "Yukiko-san has been going in and out of the Inn almost frequently now, without us knowing where she could have been. We're so sorry, Satonaka-san…"
"N-No, it's alright," Chie smiled. Now she got even more worried. "Thank you. I guess I'll search for her elsewhere. Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon."
The young woman turned around then walked down the lane from where she had come. The rain was heavy, as always, and it was frustrating how her black shoes got wet pretty fast. She wondered where Yukiko was. The manager wasn't that fond of rain, as much as she recalled. Rain would ruin her clothes and got her questioned again…
"Y-Yukiko?!"
And there she saw here coming, walking slowly in the rain without any umbrella at all.
She didn't think twice to rush over to her friend's side.
XxX
"The manager got sick from all the stress, the work was overwhelming, then it was up to her daughter to run the Inn," Ryoutarou lighted a cigarette. The smoke drifted slowly to the air. "All the debts and everything… were all heaved upon her shoulder. Young as she was, she was willing to take the entire burden and pay for her mother's hospital fee. She took her mother's place as the manager of the Inn and kept it running as if nothing had happened. But the hospital fee was just way too high, and her mother is still there even until now. With the debts and the hospital fee, it is impossible for the Inn to survive. Then… this is where the marriage takes the stage."
XxX
Loud sound of rain pattering on the pale green umbrella almost muted every sound. The Inn manager didn't say anything when she arrived by her side. Her dark eyes looked briefly into the brown eyes of her best friend before they wavered.
"… Chie…"
I'm here. She moved closer, wishing to be able to touch her. But she was just so far away. I'm here, Yukiko…
XxX
Ryoutarou tapped a cigarette pack to his palm, heaving a sigh.
"The son of the director of the firm that lent the Amagi Inn money is said to have been infatuated with Amagi Yukiko since their first arrival to the Amagi Inn," He brought the cigarette to his mouth. "Seeing how his son takes a huge liking over hers, the director takes a step forward to… make use of the situation. Amagi Yukiko is always been a good woman from the beginning and she seems like she has no relationship with anyone. So he made a win-win deal, he said. If she married the man, their debts will be considered paid and he'll give full support to the inn, since they will be 'family'. It is something that she cannot refuse… right, Souji?"
XxX
She thought Yukiko would cry, but she didn't. Instead, the manager leaned to her, pushing her head to the brunette's shoulder. The rain was getting heavier and the umbrella was way too small for them both. But it seemed like Yukiko didn't even feel the rain raging on her back. She was somewhere else, even though she was there, together. Perhaps she just couldn't feel anymore…
"It's… impossible, Chie…"
Chie closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. The voice wasn't Yukiko's… it didn't belong to the Yukiko she knew…
"I can't … forget him…" Tears cracked her voice and she pushed herself to Chie's body as the sobs started to leak out of her defenses. The pain… she needed someone… "I just… can't… forget him…"
And she finally cried. All the tears she had hold back all these times, all the pain, all the loneliness, the exertion… everything… and she just couldn't stop. And Chie wouldn't tell her to either. Instead, she closed her eyes then hugged her best friend as she let out everything.
She would stay there for as long as Yukiko wanted her to. That was the only thing she could do for her.
XxX
The young man didn't say anything. His gray eyes wavered with something as Ryoutarou concluded his explanation. The detective blew the smoke from his mouth then took a deep breath.
"As a police, I cannot let forceful marriages… but the fact is, she chose the marriage herself and the director didn't 'force' her to do so, based on what has been said," Ryoutarou nodded slowly. "So… their engagement was legal. Even now, the director has let the fund flow to Amagi Inn to back them up. It may seems dirty, Souji, but it's not according to the law. So…"
"It's for the best."
Ryoutarou glanced sideway at his nephew. The young man's eyes were impenetrable, like the first day he arrived in their home years ago… when he still had no one.
"I understand," he said it again. His voice was firm. "It's for the best."
But his uncle couldn't help but to wonder if the voice would be forever firm or would one day break down.
Just like a glass, those eyes would one day shatter.
XxX
"G-Good afternoon, Kuroda-san!!"
A brown haired male stepped out of a blazing red car with his driver shielded him with an umbrella. He nodded at the waitress that greeted him then looked around. His handsome face quickly turned to somber when he didn't see the one he wanted to see. His woman.
"Strange… where is Yukiko-san?"
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To be continued
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Author's Note: So… want this to be continued? If most of you want this to be continued, this fic will go on, but if the vote says that it'd be best to put it down and let it be a one-shot, this chapter will be erased and the story will be left completed with one chapter. I will speed-type every chapter so it can be finished this week. I cannot let this lay any longer. I must study… T.T sad.
Btw… I don't know if force marriages are illegal or legal so… er… well, yeah. I'm a kid to these kind of things, really…
