A/N: This is quite the turnaround as this chapter is much shorter in comparison to the last one. A seventh of the length. Either way, it's short, to the point, and it gets us set up for the final filler chapter. Which I think is gonna be fun as I have a bit of a surprise for you all with it.

Chapter 41

03/06

Spring is almost here and the weather is warming up much more compared to February. The snow has melted completely! The temperature now entered the upper single digits for the average, Celsius wise. It was still chilly, but compared to the last two months, it was a welcome sign of the days getting longer and warmer. It has been close to a month since Valentine's Day. The Wild Card knew what that entailed. White Day, the day the men return the favor to all the women who gifted them chocolates, regardless of intent.

He had not put forth major efforts into this before, so he requested help from someone who could offer her insights. It was everyone's favorite idol who accompanied him to Okina station.

They had arrived to see the rather soggy road as they parked, slower than usual to be safe. The first proper rain was yesterday and it felt like a Typhoon with how torrential it was. The Front brought strong showers that put over an inch of rain. It's not surprising that the environment was still dealing with water. The sun was out however, as if it never happened since that cold front took all the clouds with it when it fully passed.

"So, Senpai. Is this your first time making chocolates?" Rise would ask as she removed her helmet.

"For this situation, yes." It was pointless in years past, as the Seta family was always on the move.

"Hm, well, I think I can help you with this." She had her work cut out for her. "Presentation is important, so I think we can work on that." However, for the actual cooking and preparation of the chocolate, that would be all on him. "Let's go look at some stores here. That way we can get an idea of what you might feel works for you."

"Alright, then. I'll be counting on you." Those were words she didn't think she would hear her Senpai say to her. She couldn't help but giggle to herself as she walked beside him.

The two would begin checking around the areas. Shops, a small grocery store, and even a sweets store. Souji pondered, with advice and suggestions from the idol, but the two were now sitting on a bench in a small park, their time was running out as the sun was already making its descent. He needed to decide soon.

"You really wanna make this good for everyone, huh?" She was happy to see him so motivated to do something for everyone, but it wouldn't be worth it if it stressed him out.

"I think I might just go with something more broad." The sight of candies wrapped in a see through plastic bag interested him. But in his mind, homemade chocolates being the main emphasis was the way to go. Since Yukiko gave him one made by her and the entire Inn, it was all the more important he made his as personal as possible for her. He would explain his idea to her, to which Rise seemed eager to help!

"Then perhaps we can get all we need at Junes? We've got a week, so it's plenty of time to get everything you need!"

"Alright, then. How about we head back for now? It's getting late." He said as he stood up, the idol following suit. "I think we can try and get some things on Sund-"

The sounds of tires screeching was heard down the street opposite of which they came, echoed before the sound of a vehicle smashing into something was heard. The two were on high alert as Souji rushed into the direction from where it came.

"S-Senpai!? Wait up!" She followed him, wondering if he was trying to see if the person or people involved were okay.

It was only a few yards away from the park. And it was a silver colored, 4 door car. The front window was shattered, but not broken off from the car. The driver door would open, a figure emerging out, which was a salaryman, swearing about the slick road and a driver to blame for his swerving into a bollard.

A mother and her child were nearby, the daughter scared beyond belief as she clung to her mother.

"Are you alright, Miss?' The man would waddle over to the woman, who also was shaken up, but kept a calmer disposition for her sake and her child's. He likely was hurt too, but not enough to where he needed immediate aid. The two were discussing the incident as he brandished his phone from his pocket.

"Oh, thank god no one was hurt." Rise breathed a sigh of relief, hand over her breast and on her heart that he looked fine albeit a bit shaken up. He seemed to be on the Phone calling the authorities now that the family was safe so perhaps he will be fine. "Right, Senpai?"

The little girl crying sounded like a distant echo in his mind as the sound of the crash would play over and over again. His hands were shaking as he would stay in that spot, not facing Rise as he asked.

"...Where's Nanako?"

"Hm, Nanako-chan? She's fine, but she's not with us right now." Rise seemed puzzled as to why she was brought up now of all times.

"Is she alright?"

She vaguely remembered Christmas when this question was brought up. "Mhm, she's fine, Senpai."

"Where is she?" He cut her off, his tone more strained.

"Senpai… are you okay?"

He would snap back into reality, his mind pulled out of the muck that was his painful memories.

"Yeah… sorry." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The crash just rattled me, is all."

Rise's head would tilt, "Senpai… were you remembering what happened in November?" And going off his reaction, she hit the problem dead center. "Senpai, do you wanna sit down before we go? C'mon, talk to me about it." She would pull him by his wrist back to the park to have him calm himself and talk about what he was able to speak of. It took a while, but his composure was regained and his knotted nerves were undone. After a little bit of small talk, they would leave properly, heading back to their scooters to return to Inaba.

When Souji returned home, he saw Nanako was alone and hugged her as tightly as when she returned from the Hospital for the Holidays. …It was so hard to let go.

03/14

After spending the last night preparing batch after batch of different candies, and wrapping them up properly with Nanako's help, he was ready to return the favor. Coming to class with a large bag in tow, it would finally come into play once classes have ended. Minutes later, Naoto, Kanji, and Rise would enter the room as Souji had more than enough bags of homemade white chocolated for everyone.

"I decided to make some for everyone. Even those I didn't get anything from." He grabbed a bag and Chie's name was on it, the Wild Card offering her bag first. Then, next one he grabbed had the Detective's name on it, so she got her's. Eventually, everyone got theirs with Yosuke getting his last. And an extra bag for Teddie to recieve when he got home.

"Thanks, Senpai!" Kanji already scarfed one down, the candy tasted perfect!

"I can't take all the credit. Rise helped me come up with the idea and in gathering all the right things." To which Rise would blush, endeared by the fact he so confidently praised her. "I never made these before, so I was honestly unsure on if you all would like them."

"Aw, don't be like that, man. I know you know your way in a kitchen." Yosuke smacked his friends back, confidently trying to reassure him of his concerns. "These are great, dude. Maybe I'll try my hand at it next year. I dig the way you put a new spin on this." His point paralleled the way Chie noted that about Rise last month.

"Um, if I may interject…" Naoto would motion, trying to get everyone's attention. "My grandpa gave me a gift… but he has a request for me as well…" she would pull something from her Jacket. And it was a pretty high quality camera, albeit in a small size. Its silver and black design was sleek. Likely a new model. "He requested I take a picture with you all. He… wants to see the friends I made from my time here." She blushed, embarrassed from the idea a bit. She wasn't against taking pictures for work, but for such a… normal thing, it was unusual to her.

"Oooh, let's do it!" Rise would ogle the camera, but realizing something amiss. "We need Teddie too. And he's working, so… can we try another day?"

"I got an idea!" Yosuke would quickly interject. "How about on the last day of school, we meet up somewhere scenic for our picture? Like… how about the hill overlooking town?" Everyone would nod and agree, seeing it as the perfect place for such a special occasion. "Will that be okay with you, Naoto?"

Naoto would nod in his direction. "Yes. I can ask Yakushiji-san to prepare some copies for you all to keep." This would make for a great memento to keep. For him, and everyone else. The group would banter for a bit longer before everyone went their separate ways.

Souji was walking Yukiko to the bus stop, making idle conversation before posing a question to her.

"I told you the day I'm leaving, right?" To which she nodded.

"The 21st, right?"

"Yes. I want to see you one more time before that day. Just us if it's okay."

"...I'd love that." She would nod, her hand clinging to the bag he gave her.

"Thanks. I'll let you know what days work." And he seemed to be unsure what day would work best.

"Souji-kun… I…" It was starting to hit her that he was going. A week from today, he won't be here. He'll be gone. Maybe not forever but life can be unpredictable. She already cherished her time with him, but it felt like it wasn't enough.

Neither of them were ready to let go.

A/N: I still haven't decided on what to do. This chapter has been finished since the last one went up, so just to say it again, do you want the Timeskip ending from Golden to be the final chapter here for this fic or would you rather put it as a chapter in the sequel fic so it flows better? Anyway, we got one more filler chapter that should be leaning over 3K words at least, and then we have a short chapter going over 3/20. Only with Yukiko, however. We're getting to my favorite part yet. I'm so ready for it. But I don't think you all are.

Today's song title is Under Pressure, by Queen and David Bowie! Two GOATed Classic Rock Legends! Very fitting for Souji at this point in his life.

Next time, everyone takes a group photo with Souji, and a fun surprise for you all awaits! An idea I hinted at long ago is coming to fruition!