Hero: I'm on a roll right now! And to be honest, I hope it stays that way for a while. Good news is that the Job I talked about is gonna be acquired soon, real soon. So, let's get a move on, chapter 35 of "Our Year Together" is up now!! Thank you Brooke for your opinions and you all for your support! We're 1 away from 200 followers!

Chapter 35

12/27

Winter break. Two days after Christmas and one debunking of the midnight channel, things seemed to be finally getting peaceful after all. Only a handful of days remained in 2011. But still, plenty of time left to enjoy the days with everyone… although Souji was thinking of taking a day off. Stay home with his family and recharge his batteries. Yukiko was going to be busy all week, so that further enforced his decision. At least until his phone started ringing. …It was Yosuke.

"Souji here."

"Yo, dude! Kou and Daisuke just told me something really interesting!" He sounded excited, and it likely wasn't about anything related to women. At least, it shouldn't be this time. Otherwise, he might find himself on the wrong side of a Galactic Punt. "So you know how we never go too far from the station? Well, if you go around and down the next block… there's an arcade! It's a bit tucked away and hard to see compared to those in Tokyo, but we should totally scout it out!"

"...Today?" He really wanted to stay. A bit uncharacteristic of him, but even the ever popular Leader of the investigation team liked some personal time.

"Oh, no. Tomorrow. I'm actually on the clock right now until the evening. I wanna dedicate all morning and afternoon to it."

Well, there was something at least. "Fine. Let's go then."

"Alright! Then I hope you're ready to see my rad gamer skills!" …Did he really just say that?

"Sounds good. Then I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, later partner!" The two would snap their phones shut. It looks like Souji will be going out for some different fun than he was used to. Well, best be ready for it. He hasn't played any video games in a while… And unfortunately for him, Void Quest doesn't count.

Evening hours.

Yukiko was finally finished with her long shift. Despite Kasai's insistence she didn't have to work hard to return the favor, the heiress was quite stubborn on her want to repay what she felt was a debt.

She was enjoying her alone time in the bath. Her voluptuous figure obscured by the steam and enriched water.

That borderline slanderous remark Rise said about her in the Hospital came back to her. …That couldn't have been further from the truth. At least, so she thought.

Then what came to mind after was all of them in the Hot Spring together. They all should do that again sometime. And hopefully, she'll get the time right. The Priestess couldn't stop herself from laughing at that bad mixup. Really, that would land her in a bad spot with normal customers.

As she stopped, she heard the door slide open. It was her mother!

"Ah, already settled in, Yukiko?" She would step forward, stepping inside the large body of water, sitting beside her beautiful daughter.

"Mother! I won't be in for much longer."

"I see. You looked like you were lost in thought. Usually you hear me coming sooner."

"Oh, I was…" to which she reminded her of late October and how zany that got when the boys got hit and shamed for something that actually wasn't their fault. Her mother would laugh, recalling it like it was yesterday.

"Oh, that was very fun." She would laugh for a moment longer before composing herself. "So… are you going to tell me how your time with Souji was?" Yukiko's body flinched back, the water rippling from her friction against it.

"M-Mother… It was fine. Totally. Just me being there for him." She's a bad liar. Or at least, she's not good at telling half truths.

"Now, now… I'm not going to tease you that hard yet. But I do want to know, did little Nana-chan and her father seem well? I heard they're out of the hospital."

"Mhm. They're only home for the holidays. But I think they're going to be fine." The secondary Innkeeper regained some composure herself.

"That's wonderful… I can only imagine how much of a mess you and Souji must have been. That girl… bless her kind soul." She didn't know Nanako for as long as Yukiko did… but the way she behaves herself and speaks so openly and holds so much compassion for all… it would be hard to find a person who couldn't see Nanako as such a Wonderful child. "Let's invite them here sometime. That way they can both have a chance to relax after being in that hospital, hurt and afraid."

"I would love that, Mother."

"Of course you would… you just want to be with your boyfriend agai-"

"MOTHER!!"

The evening continues…

12/28

Souji would depart his home in the late morning hours, Yosuke parked his scooter right across from his white one, ready to roll on to Okina station. This time, they'll go out of their comfort zone.

Once they park, they walk on a bit further past the initial platform, crossing the street and going to see the arcade in question tucked away. The time was currently past noon.

Yosuke would whistle, impressed, "This looks pretty sizable. Maybe it'll rival those in other cities."

"Only one way to find out." To which Yosuke would nod as they both entered the door and witnessed the different machines on display. Fighting games, puzzle games, the works.

"Whoa…! This is so cool!" Yosuke stepped forward, just trying to figure out how many games he recognized.

"Not too shabby." Souji's hand rested on his hip, the other around his chin. There weren't too many people, surprisingly. Getting to play specific games should little to no wait!

"C'mon, partner! Let's do this!" The two would begin their tour around some of the games. Their first was playing a fighting game against one another. Because the two weren't frequent players of the genre, it was a chaotically entertaining series of matches. Both of them snatched a few wins from the other. And as they looked at other games, a particular set caught their eye.

"Dude, they even got that racing game based on that street racing anime!" He would rush over to the machine, taking a seat on the one to the left. "Oh and they got the soundtrack! Eurobeat fits this so good!"

"Eurobeat?" That definitely sounded like a genre name for music.

"Yeah, it's a music genre that's got a high BPM rate and it's so exhilarating to hear in the show. You up for a race, partner? We can keep it casual so I can show you the ropes."

"...Alright then." He would nod, moving to take the seat next to Yosuke. Once the two inserted their coins, they were about to begin their race. "I see we're using gears."

"Yeah. You gotta shift between them regularly as you speed up." Yosuke would fidget in his seat, getting comfortable before the race would begin, his foot feeling where the accelerator and brake pedals were.

"Okay. I'm ready." Souji felt raring to go. This was something he never tried before.

The two watched and waited for the signal. And… they're off! The music kicked in as their cars picked up speed. So far Yosuke was ahead by a small margin but he slowed down just a pinch to keep his partner in the neck of it.

The music… was resonating with the Leader! Yosuke was right! This does get you excited for the race. He pulled the glasses out of his jacket and put them on, signifying he took this more seriously!

"Whoa!" The sharp turn almost got Yosuke, but no speed was lost. One glance at the Wild Card and he saw the glasses. "Alright! Guess you wanna take this seriously. A shift in gears was heard as they went farther down, making small turns to match the road's demand of maintaining acceleration and perfect form when moving.

When the chorus hit… Souji was feeling the adrenaline!

"RUNNING IN THE NINETIES! IT IS A NEW WAY I LIKE TO BE!"

The sharp right turn helped fully immerse himself as he got the lead over Yosuke!

"Not bad, partner! But you know Speed is my best feat! Susano-o's forte!"

"Then you have more reason to not lose, partner!" He grit his teeth. This was only getting started… and the race was over. Yosuke edged him out last second. That track was much shorter than he anticipated.

Wait, no… he got so engrossed in this... The race time indicated more time had passed than he expected. He got so absorbed by everything he lost his sense of time. The immersiveness got him.

"Sorry, partner. Had to take you seriously at the end. Good race." He sighed, almost like he was out of breath.

"Yeah… Good race." He too would release a sigh. Of some disappointment, yes… But this was so fun he didn't mind. Next time though… "Let's go. I need a drink after that."

"Yeah… same here. Feel like I need a sports drink after that." As if he needed the electrolytes. This wasn't a foot race.

The two would head to a corner with a couple of benches and a vending machine. They got their drinks and sat down, quickly taking a swig, finishing a quarter of their bottles simultaneously.

"Man, I haven't felt this long winded since facing Mitsuo's shadow." Normally, they would refrain from speaking of subjects like this, but given the case is over and the loud noises from all the games and voices of the people inside, they thought they'd get away with it as long as they used indoor voices.

"Yeah, that was a lot of fun." Souji still could feel the rush from that moment. They definitely found a new place to hang out at in Okina. One for them since the girls tended to drag them to Croco Fur. The two would chat for a few minutes before Souji would spot a familiar person just finishing up an attempt at a Crane game. Their eyes locked and the young man would approach them.

"Ah, it is you, Souji-san. I heard your voice in here but I wasn't sure if it really was you." Someone completely foreign to Yosuke was speaking to the Leader.

"Yoshida-san, it's been a good while since we last saw each other." Souji returned the greeting, to which Yosuke cut in.

"Wait, who is this guy? He looks like he could pass as our senpai." Yosuke wasn't sure he'd seen him before. He looks old enough to be attending Yasogami, but since he's probably not… is he a college student?

"Ah, my apologies. You must be a friend, I take it? I'm Masato Yoshida. I'm a college student with an apprenticeship at the Amagi Inn. I'm an aspiring chef!" He said with pride emanating from his tone. "May I ask who you are?" He would request as both the high schoolers stood up from the bench.

"Me? I'm Yosuke Hanamura." His reply was rather casual and straightforward.

"Hanamura… Oh! Aren't you a worker at June's? I feel as though I've seen you before." The young cook had two fingers pressed between his temple and hair meet, trying to recall this familiarity.

"Wow, you do your research."

"I frequent the grocery section and I feel I've seen you there a few times. I buy ingredients to help me expand my cooking horizons." Yosuke was impressed to see a guy so dedicated to his craft. This what college life is like?

"So wait, how do you know him? I get he works at the Inn, but we didn't see him when we went? Don't tell me you went back just to see your girl, man!" An opportunity to tease his partner was rising. Souji can't speak it was purely because he won that prize at the Summer festival. Yosuke definitely knows what that implies…!

"Oh, I've met Souji a couple of times when out and about in the town. Yukiko-san was with him the first time so that's how we met. It wouldn't hurt to make acquaintances with my Future Boss' friend at the time, wouldn't you agree?" He just bailed Souji out. And made it sound like he had little idea about their relationship until recently.

"C'mon, this isn't an interrogation, Yosuke."

"Right… my bad, dude." Souji would shrug.

"Anyway, it seems like you found my frequent hangout spot, Souji-san. I like to come here on some of my off days." He would offer a smile, as if grateful of the arcade's influence.

"I can see that. I assume you got more time because of winter break?" Souji asked as he put his empty bottle down the recycle bin.

"Oh, yeah! Been here since 10. It's fun to unwind after the kind of year this has been."

"You mean about the murders?" Yosuke would inquire. Was he listening to their conversation?

"That too, but for me it's been adjusting to the college life. Even part time, I feel I have little time. I joined the Inn's company in early May, just after Kaeda-sama fully recovered after her collapse. She hired me on the spot after I displayed my skills to her and her husband."

"Oh, I heard about that. She seemed very well when we met her in October." The Magician would recall, thank god she got them in the hot springs. Who knows what bad decision they might have made if that didn't happen.

"Yes! So you're friends with Yukiko-san as well, I take it?" To which Yosuke would nod. "That's good. So, what will you do now?"

"Well, it's way past lunch, so maybe we'll get some food? The stuff near here is too expensive though… Hey, Souji, you wanna go back home?" He turned his head to his partner's direction.

"Sure. We could get Aiya."

"Ah, I probably should get going too. I also didn't have lunch. I shouldn't skip meals."

"Well, in that case, why not join us?" Souji would inquire. Yosuke was not too surprised given how friendlier his Leader has gotten over the recent year.

"I feel I would be imposing. Besides, I could just go back home and make something." Unlike Adachi, it seems he knew about the value of a healthy diet. His figure was proof as such.

"It's fine. We never did get a chance to get formally acquainted. Plus if we come back, having more friends to join us would be nice." There was no need for social links anymore, but you don't need that as a reason to make more friends.

"Well, if you put it that way, I don't think I can refuse." To which he would give out a quick laugh.

"No, trust me. Souji here can be pretty stubborn. He'll make you join us." It seems like Yosuke was warming up to this new person.

"Well, I can ride back on my scooter. I got one parked further down the street." He assumed they got here by train.

"Oh, we got scooters too! They're by the train station. Why don't we meet up in front of Aiya's then?" Yosuke would motion.

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you all soon!" Yoshida would turn and head out towards the door.

"Let's get going, partner. I got a big craving for that Crab and egg fried rice."

"Alright, let's not be last to Aiya's then." Souji would nod as they too would make a b-line for the door.

They would eventually arrive at Aiya's restaurant and meet up with Masato, getting further acquainted by discussing various trivial things over their favorite meals… though Souji has had enough Beef Bowls to last a lifetime, he settled for classic Ramen this time.

Hero: This is kind of a Filler chapter, but I always wanted an arcade in P4G cuz of that Crane game. P3 and P5 had one, after all. I hope you all liked that Initial D reference! I love that soundtrack and I'm looking forward to watching the anime soon. Masato Yoshida will be more relevant in the sequel fic, but I feel it's important to lay the groundwork now so he doesn't feel forced later. I found this chapter refreshing to write since we had the main couple apart to reflect on events and unwind. Don't worry thought, we will be seeing them next time! It's New Years! We're entering 2012... in Current year.