A/N: Sorry it took so long. But, I have some bad news. With classes starting soon for me, I'm going to be writing a lot less frequently. I'm hoping to do two chapters in September, but from then on I'll probably only be able to do a monthly upload at most. I may do more, but if so, then they'll be one-shots for different series and such whenever I have an idea that I just need to document. I'm going to be really busy between school, work, and club activities (trying to make the most out of my college experience). So please be patient if you are following the story, I promise I have someone (irl, of course) that is going to hold me accountable for this story. You can thank her for kicking me in the butt about getting this chapter done actually. without further ado, here is chapter 6, let me know what you think!
Summer vacation has finally arrived. The members of the investigation team are absolutely thrilled that they get a whole month to relax from school. On the first day of summer vacation, Yosuke and Teddie were working at the Junes food court. Yukiko was helping out around the inn. Kanji was apparently doing something for his mother's shop as well. Rise was helping out at her grandma's tofu shop.
That left Yu and Chie sitting in their rooms, twiddling their thumbs, wondering what the other was up to. With Mitsuo Kubo in police custody, they no longer had much reason to train for reasons other than keeping themselves busy. However, after the last fight, Yu and Chie both agreed to take some time off from their training sessions. An agreement they both reluctantly made, as it meant they wouldn't be spending as much time together any more, but it was best that they took time off to recover.
Even with Kubo behind bars, Yu still feels a bit uneasy. Something didn't feel right to him. He is even more paranoid considering that Margaret and Igor have not commented on their capture of Kubo, and are providing their services as usual. If Kubo really was the killer, there wouldn't be any need for them to continue offering their services. But, with no leads at all to go on, he has no choice but to be ready for anything.
In the mean time, some R&R was definitely in order. Unfortunately, as far as he knows, all of his friends are busy, and Nanako is at a friend's house.
He lays back on his futon with an exasperated sigh, "Reading during the day would make me feel like a loser." The only person he isn't sure if they're busy is Chie, but he doesn't want to bug her just in case she is. He ponders for a moment and stands up, "Maybe I should go check up on the fox at the shrine."
The fox has helped them time and time again in the TV world by helping them recover their strength using those magical leaves. At first, the price was way too steep for it to be an option, but the fox had asked Yu sometimes to help it fulfill wishes written on ema's, and upon fulfilling these requests, it would drop the price of helping them considerably. It was to the point where they could finish rescuing each kidnapping victim in a day, rather than needing to spread out the mission over multiple days. Perhaps the fox would have another request for him to handle.
As Yu puts on his shoes he yells in to the empty living room, "I'm off!" He is halfway out of the door when he realizes he just yelled in to an empty house, "Force of habit..." He mutters to himself.
Meanwhile, Chie is resting her head on her desk with her arms stretched out in front of her and holding her phone. She looks at it and hovers over Yu's name in her contact list. "I wonder what he's doing..." She mutters, "He might be spending time with Nanako. I don't think he would mind if I tag along, but... Gah!" She throws up her arms in defeat, "Why am I hesitating? It just takes one button."
She stares at her phone some more before growling in frustration, "I'm just gonna go to the shopping district. I just need to get out of this house!" She puts on her shoes and let's her mother know she is stepping out.
She wanders through the shopping district without having a destination in mind. Chie finds herself in front of Daidara's metalworks and her feet stop moving. She spaces out while staring at the shop for a bit.
She's really not sure why she is even there, but before she can begin to question herself she hears a familiar voice.
"Hey, Chie! What are you doing here?" It was the same silver haired boy she had trouble calling earlier. Part of her felt relieved that it seemed like he had some free time, but another part of her is flustered that he found her spacing out looking at Daidara's shop.
"Oh, uh... Not much, just bored. Hey, are you free?" Chie quickly changes the subject, as she didn't have a real answer for him.
"Well, yeah. I was gonna go to the shrine, but other than that I don't really have much to do today." Yu dejectedly answers.
Chie tilts her head in response, "I didn't take you for the spiritual type," before Yu can give a proper response Chie cuts him off, "I'll go with you!"
Yu is taken aback by Chie's plan to accompany him. If the fox does show up, he's going to seem a bit strange for communicating with it. He remembers the first day the fox came to help them in the TV world, he wasn't able to give them an answer that didn't sound farfetched when they asked where it came from. But this is a good chance to finally explain, at least to Chie, by showing her why the fox was helping them.
With a smile and a nod, they start towards the shrine. When they arrive, Yu comes to a halt in the usual spot and waits for the fox to appear.
"Yu?" Chie tilts her head a bit, "aren't you going to pray or something?" Chie waits a bit for his answer, but her attention shifts when she hears howling.
The fox had appeared ad expected.
"Wait, isn't that the fox that helps us?" Chie questioned, "so it lives here..."
Yu nods as the fox leaps from the roof and lands behind them. Upon closer inspection, it has an ema in its mouth. It walks to Yu and presents the ema.
"Yu? What's it doing?"
"Well, you see... How do I explain this..." Yu contemplates his next words to help him not sound crazy, "This fox started helping us because I helped it fulfill a wish, which brought donations to the shrine." Yu realizes how crazy what he just said sounded, and decides to just come right out with it, "It's a guardian of sorts for the shrine. And as I fulfill more wishes, it charges us less for using those leaves in the TV world."
Surprisingly Chie's expression is one of understanding rather than disbelief, "That makes sense."
"You believe me?" Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we have seen weirder stuff happen. And you don't have any reason to lie. And the evidence is right in front of me anyway!" Chie points at the ema in the fox's mouth.
Yu knelt down to get a closer look what is written where, the ema, "We wish our dog, Koro, would return."
"How are you supposed to fulfill something like that? That's not nearly enough information!" Chie groaned.
Yu only smiled at her before turning his attention back to the fox, "I'll see what I can do."
The fox seemed pleased by this answer and runs off to who knows where, leaving behind a perplexed Chie and an amused Yu.
"Well, shall we get going?" Yu's voice snaps Chie out of her thoughts. She still can't fathom how calm Yu is despite the fact that they have absolutely no leads at all in the whereabouts of the missing dog.
"Don't worry about it too much, all of the requests have been this vague." Yu attempts to reassure Chie, but it only serves to frustrate her more.
"You sure are calm..." Chie grumbled.
Before any more discussion could take place, a ringing goes off in Chie's pocket. Chie sighs and reaches in to her pocket, fishing out the offending device. She stares at it for a moment before sighing again and answering.
"Hello? Yeah... Uh huh. No, I'm just with a friend. Oh, it's no problem. Yeah, I'll be right there. Bye." Chie hangs up the phone with a disappointed look on your face.
"Something wrong?" Yu says with a concerned tone in his voice.
"Oh, no my mom just wants my help with something. So I need to go home now. Sorry I can't help you look for that dog!" Chie says apologetically.
"Oh, no problem. I'll walk home with you." This takes Chie by surprise.
"What? Don't you still have things to do?" Chie looks confused, but not upset about this turn of events.
"No, not really. Just need to find that dog. But, I have a feeling..." Yu smiles warmly, which makes Chie's face warm.
Chie nods, and they set off. The two engage in idle chatter about what they're going to do for the rest of summer vacation, and before they know it, they are at the Samegawa riverbank. They see a lone dog with a collar.
'Could it be? How did he know?' As they approach the dog, it growls at them.
"Let's try speaking gently to it." Yu says as he attempts to befriend the dog.
"For someone who doesn't have a dog, you sure know how to handle them." Chie giggles.
Upon closer inspection, they see that the dog's name is Koro, but whether it's the same dog as the one written about on the ema is unknown at this point. The dog starts to whimper and runs off. It seems like they have to come back another day to find it, although the dog may be in a different place.
"Aw, man! Just when we found the poor guy." Chie grumbles.
"I'm not too worried, I'll probably happen across it tomorrow, and I'll try again."
Yu seems so confident about finding the dog again that it surprises Chie. Yu tended to be right about these kind of things, and this is a pretty small town so it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find the dog again.
"Don't you need to get home? Let's get going!"
Yu had already started walking ahead of her when he called out. Chie jogs a bit to catch up with him and they continue to head home. Before parting, they make plans to meet up the next day at the shopping district to search for the dog.
"'I just have a hunch we'll find him there,' huh?" Chie ponders exactly what gives Yu these "hunches" and "feelings" that, as far as she knows, are always spot on.
"Chie! Earth to Chie! Those clothes won't hang themselves to dry, you know." Chie's mother calls from inside the house.
"Sorry, mom! I just spaced out." Chie laughs awkwardly.
"I can see that," Chie's mother laughs as she sees her daughter's face turn red, "I'm sorry I asked you to come back. I know you were with a friend."
"Oh, don't worry about it, mom. Since it's summer break, I don't mind helping out a bit! Besides, I can hang out with him any time." Chie beams happily.
"Narukami-kun was it? You know, you've been much livelier since he came to town." Her mother's wink made clear exactly what she was implying, "You should bring him around some time."
"Mom! It's not like that! Geez..." Despite her words, there was no hiding the blush that is plastered on her face.
"Whatever you say, Chie." Chie's mother laughs even harder, while she could do nothing but pout.
The next day Chie and Yu meet up st the shopping district as planned.
"Before we do anything, I think we should go towards Tatsumi Textiles."
"What? Why?" Chie pauses a moment, "Do you have another 'feeling?'" Yu can only smile awkwardly as Chie sighs.
They walk over to the textile shop, and sure enough, they see the same dog just a bit past it.
"Seriously HOW do you do that?"
Yu only shrugs in response as they approach the dog. Again, the dog growls at their approach. They speak gently to it again, which made the dog whimper and then run off.
"Oh man, now what?" Chie grumbles. She looks over at Yu who is only smiling. "Let me guess, 'don't worry, I have a feeling blah blah blah.'"
Yu chuckles and nods in response. "Wanna go to Aiya?"
"As if you even need to ask! Race ya!" Chie pounds her chest once enthusiastically.
Yu raises one of his eyebrows, "Chie, it's literally twenty meters away."
"Oh stop making excuses!"
The two friends laugh and make the short dash for the restaurant. They spend quite some time there, eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. When it comes time for them to part, they make plans for the next day to attempt to look for the dog again.
When they meet up again the next day in the shopping district, they're unable to find the dog. They search every inch of the shopping district, which fortunately is small and didn't take very long, but to no avail.
"I hope the little guy is alright..." Chie is staring at the ground. After a few moments her stomach growls, Uh... Let's grab a bite to eat," she chuckles embarrassedly.
"Well, since we're already at Souzai Daigaku, we might as well. I've been craving a beef steak skewer myself!" Yu grins happily.
They eat their steak skewers like ravenous wolves. After chatting for a while, Chie decides to suggest something.
"Do you want to get a light work out in? It's too early to just go home. And I already feel like my muscles are starting to get a bit flabby." She looks at Yu pleadingly.
"I was just about to suggest the same thing actually. I think we've healed enough, and I'd like the adrenaline rush." Yu cracks his neck as he finishes his sentence.
Before they leave, Yu grabs a few steak skewers to go. One for Nanako, one for Uncle Dojima, and one for well...
"I just have a feeling." Yu says with a blank face.
"Riiiight..." Chie said disbelievingly, you can just say it's for yourself later, you know." Yu could only shrug in response.
They set off to their usual training spot at the Samegawa Riverbank. On the way there, they find the dog again.
"Hey! It's the dog!" Chie exclaims.
Again, it growls in response to their approach. They speak to it gently once again, and it whimpers. However, it doesn't run away this time.
"I think he's hungry," Yu says. After a moment he realizes something and reaches in to his bag.
Yu pulls out one of the steak skewers and offers it to the dog, who bites all of the meat off of the skewer and devours it. After the dog finishes his meal, he jumps up on Yu and licks his face. The dog then runs off.
"Wait!" Chie calls out to the dog, but it was too late.
"Don't worry, I have a feeling it returned home," Yu smiles for a moment before the smile turns in to a smirk, "and I told you that the skewer wasn't for me, didn't I?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Mr. Psychic." Chie waves her hand dismissively, "Are we gonna throw down, or what?" She turns to Yu with a smirk on her face.
"Let's do it!"
They go down by the tree and throw their bags down, and pull out their training gear. Apparently both of them had anticipated this would happen, so they came prepared.
They touch gloves in the usual manner to indicate that their spar has started. Chie is the first one to move and lunges in to throw a ferocious rear kick aimed at Yu's midsection. He zones out, allowing Chie's foot to pass right in front of him before he steps in himself to take advantage of the opening. What he didn't know was that Chie used this as a set up for a spinning back kick. Yu realizes this just in time and is able to shift his body so that the point of impact is the meaty part of his back that will absorb the damage.
Chie's kick still causes a considerable amount of damage, but leaves her open to a counter attack. Yu delivers a combination of body blows to Chie. He leads with a right straight and follows up with a left hook and rear uppercut, all aimed at Chie's mid section. Chie is unable to block the straight to her gut and the hook to her ribs, but manages to maintain her composure enough to use a crossblock to guard against the uppercut. She uses the opportunity to zone out and now they have reset.
"Chie? Is that you?"
Their spar is put to a halt by a voice. They take out their mouth guards and look over to the source of the voice, a male student from a different high school.
"What are you doing?" The boy inquired.
"Well... Training, y'know, working out." Chie seemed to be a bit embarrassed and even uncomfortable about being seen training by this boy.
"Oh geez, when are you going to graduate to being 'King of the Hill?'" The boy mockingly said.
"'King of the Hill?'" Chie grits her teeth.
"In kindergarten it was the 'Runt Gang,' in elementary school you were an 'Ally of Justice,' in middle school it was the 'Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution,' wasn't it? So, what is it now? You a 'Protector Earth's Peace?'" The boy chuckles.
"W-well..." Chie trails off.
The exchange get on Yu's nerves and was no longer able to keep quiet, "Hey, quit bagging on her."
"Yu... No, really it's okay." Despite her words, the fact that Yu stood up for her cheered her up.
"Whoa, sorry there, I wasn't trying to be mean. My name is Takeshi Kouno. I went to school with Chie up until middle school." The boy's apology seemed to be genuinely apologetic.
"Speaking of which, how's Yukiko? Does she have a boyfriend?" And again, Yu's dislike of him grows.
"Um... She's fine. And I don't think she has one." Chie's mood seems to have been brought back down.
"She still good looking? Maybe I should try for her again. Anyway, tell Yukiko I said hi! See ya!" Takeshi waves and then leaves. Yu really doesn't like this guy.
Chie stands in silence for a bit, watching Takeshi leave. Yu knows that Chie is irritated because of that guy as well. He seems to not have any kind of ability to read situations. He came off as cocky and condescending. Yu didn't like him one bit.
In an attempt to cheer Chie up, Yu tries something, "When are you gonna graduate to 'King of the Hill?'" He imitates what Takeshi said earlier in the most ridiculous tone of voice he could muster.
Chie starts to crack up, "Was that supposed to be Takeshi-kun?" Yu smiles at her, satisfied that his attempt st cheering her up was successful.
"I'm sorry, he's pretty rude isn't he? I've known him for a long time. But, don't worry I don't like him or anything, he's just an old classmate," as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted what she said, but she quickly thinks of something to derail the conversation. "It was irritating the way he talked about Yukiko, that's all."
It was true that what Takeshi said irritated her, and the fact that he was doing it in front of Yu made it even worse. But the main reason why she was upset was because he interrupted her time with Yu, and to top it off, managed to rub him the wrong way as well.
However, Yu's smile was enough to make her get past the trivial incident.
"I believe we have a training session to finish." Yu says as he puts his mouth guard in and gets in his stance.
"Oh, you think you're so cool, don't you?" Chie follows suit, and extends her left glove.
Yu smirks in response to her verbal jab, and extends his own left glove to make contact with hers. They both break away and continue where they left off.
End Note: Sorry if the scene with Takeshi seems rushed. Don't worry about the social link ranks, I've pretty much abandoned those. I'm just going to keep the scenes that I personally like and adding my own. I have a clear idea of exactly when I want these two to end up together.