Hey guys, here it is! I'm sorry for the wait, with the holidays comes familial obligation, and I've been pretty busy as of late. You guys were pretty quiet on the last chapter, but after checking the page views I know you guys are reading, so that's all I can ask really. I like to assume it's because you guys had nothing to complain about, but still, feedback is much appreciated. Writing these intermediary chapters is kind of difficult, I try hard not to make them feel to 'filler-y,' the last thing I want is for these chapters to feel phoned in, so advice on what I can do to improve my writing would be wonderful. I want to make this the very best I can make it, so please do feel to leave a review if you are so inclined, and thanks for reading!

The following days after Kanji's rescue, Chie slept much easier knowing that, for now, they had once again thwarted the killer. Although there was no guarantee that the killer wouldn't strike again, Chie took a special satisfaction in knowing that they were at least giving them a hard time. There was a special thrill in the fact that only her and a group of select individuals knew the secrets of a hidden world, and with that knowledge the means to do something that no one else could. It gave her a sense of power beyond that of the literal power that she had gained with her persona. She was special. The very thought put a smile on Chie's face and injected her steps with newfound vigor.

As she waited in class for the lunch bell to sound whilst paying little attention to the latest math lecture however, it was clear that this vigor hadn't quite made its way to her academic habits. Her stomach ached with hunger, and Chie's thoughts quickly drifted to a meat laden paradise. A sudden buzz in her pocket brought her out of her reverie, and she discreetly pulled out the offending object, her phone. A message notification lit the notification screen, and Chie quickly opened it.

The message stated simply: Lunch?

Chie sent a sidelong glance to the sender, her silvered haired neighbor, who was diligently taking notes as always. Man, how he does that I'll never know, Chie mused, noting her classmate's ability to seamlessly send clandestine texts and stay on top of his notes without so much as skipping a beat. She quickly typed out a response. U kno it! If Yu's last entrée had been any indicator of his cooking skills than there was no way she could pass up whatever he had whipped up this time. Within moments her phone buzzed with what would likely have been Yu's response. Meet me at the roof. Chie once again shot a sideward glance at her neighbor, and was once again impressed as to how he had somehow managed to send the message with stealth more befitting a ninja than a high school student. Deciding not to dwell on it too much, Chie attempted to reign in her attentions for the last few minutes of the lecture.

As the teacher droned on and on about the finer points of trigonometry, Chie quickly found herself once being lulled into another class time nap. The ringing of the lunch bell quickly roused her, and Chie silently thanked whatever benevolent entity was out there that the ordeal was over, at least for now. Getting up from her seat, she stretched her muscles, popping her joints and letting out a sigh of contentment. She approached Yu's desk eagerly, finding its occupant still gathering his things in preparation for lunch. Pulling out two bento boxes, he rose out of his seat, walking alongside her to the classrooms exit.

"What've you got this time?" Chie asked, barely suppressing her anticipation for their impending meal.

"Wait and see," Yu replied, smiling softly.

Chie mock pouted, but didn't inquire further. If the last meal was any indication, there was nary a doubt in her mind that whatever it was would be excellent. That didn't stop her from mentally cycling through any number of savory meat dishes that he might have made her, her mouth salivating at the thought of the various possibilities. Arriving at the roof of the school, Chie took the time to admire the weather. Inaba's sky was once again bright, blue, and sunny, a far cry from last week's rainclouds and fog.

"Coming?" Yu asked, his voice interrupting her observations. Quickly making her way over to where he was seated, Chie placed herself next to him, hands held out in anticipation. He placed the bento box in her hands, and Chie wasted little time in opening the box to discover its contents. As she lifted the lid up, her nose was instantly hit with a heavenly aroma. Beef! Chie thought, her nose never off the mark when it came to identifying meat dishes. Examining the dish, she found a juicy meat patty stuffed between two homemade bread buns.

"Don't tell me… is this a-"

"Hamburger, yes."

"Really? I've always wanted to try one of these!"

Yu chuckled. "I'll admit, I do miss them from the city."

"I've heard they even put bacon on them sometimes," Chie said excitedly.

"Next time I make one, we'll have to try it," Yu proposed.

"Definitely! But for now, time to dig in!" Chie replied, quickly beginning to tear into the burger. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she took in a mouthful of the juicy, tender meat. Having confirmed the tastiness of today's lunch, she quickly devoured the remainder with gusto. "Dee-licious!" Chie exclaimed, prompting Yu to chuckle in response.

"So, have you been studying for exams?"

"Argh, don't remind me! Nope, haven't even thought about that yet. Man, I'd take the school camping trip over exams any day." Chie groaned.

"Class camping trip?"

"Yeah, hah, I forgot that you're new here. Every year we go out to the forest and camp. People from each class group up, we cook our own meals and stuff."

"Sounds like it could be fun… But you didn't sound too crazy about it earlier," Yu noted.

"Well, that's 'cause I left out the part that we basically spend a whole day there picking up trash… not exactly cause for excitement," Chie sighed. "Hey, how about instead of studying we go out and train instead? Now that's something I can get pumped about!"

"Alright, but tomorrow, we're going to study at the library," Yu replied.

"Man, you sound like Yukiko," Chie chuckled. "Alright, alright, tomorrow we'll get down to business. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to pass all of my exams this time!"

Yu smiled and shook his head as the lunch bell rang, prompting them to gather their things and make their way back to class.

"Alright Yu-kun, I think you're ready," Chie said suddenly during the middle of their training. Yu gave her a questioning look, prompting her to settle into a fighting stance.

His eyes widened, "Sparring?" To his credit, he kept his tone level.

"Give me everything you got! No holding back!"

Yu nodded uneasily, also settling into a fighting stance, looking slightly hesitant. Chie, sensing this, wasted no time in demonstrating she meant business. Quickly she rushed up to him, delivering a kick to his ribs, though with not as much force as she normally would. Yu staggered back, and Chie quickly moved to make a follow up attack. This time however, Yu was ready, catching her leg mid kick and pushing her off balance. He then delivered a strike to her midsection, knocking the air out of her. She quickly recovered, "That all you got? Don't tell me you're holding back just because I'm a girl," Chie taunted, their bout stirring up her competitive streak. Yu paused for a moment, and Chie quickly began to leap into a flying kick. Yu's eyes went as wide as saucers, sidestepping in preparation. Oh now you don't! I I'm going down, you're coming down with me! Abandoning her form, she reached out to grab him midair, sending them toppling into a heap.

When the dust cleared, Chie pushed herself up, finding herself right on top of her opponent. Yu was looking her right in the eye, and it suddenly occurred to her just how close he was. She could feel the erratic rising and falling of his chest beneath her as he breathed heavily from exertion. She carefully got up, sheepishly offering him a helping hand. "Sorry 'bout that… couldn't just let you slip by."

Yu shrugged. "All fair in love and war, right?"

"Heh, yeah… I gotta admit, I don't like losing, and well… it seemed like a good idea at the time," Chie answered, still sounding a little sheepish.

"Quick thinking I'd say. I definitely didn't see that coming," Yu assured her.

"Thanks," Chie replied. "Man, you were definitely holding back though, what's the deal?"

Yu shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it just felt a little strange, I guess. It's not just because you're a girl, you deserve more respect than that. Not the mention that you could probably kick my ass in a heartbeat."

"Damn straight," Chie said proudly. "Still…" She continued, gesturing for him to continue.

"Well-"

Yu was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice. "Chie?"

Chie turned around to greet their visitor, "Takeshi?"

"So it is you," The young man chuckled. "What cha doin' out here?"

"I'm… training, working out and stuff," Chie replied, after a moment of hesitation. Mixed emotions were coursing through her, Takeshi had been an old friend, one she hadn't seen in quite some time.

Takeshi laughed. "When're you gonna graduate to the king of the hill?"

Chie frowned, clearly not sharing her old friend's mirth. "King of the hill?"

"Heh, in kindergarten it was the runt gang, right? In elementary you were an 'Ally of Justice.' What was in middle school? Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution?" He went on, continuing his taunt, "What are you up to now? You a 'Protector of Earth's Peace' or somethin'?"

"That's enough," Yu said coolly, prompting Takeshi to flinch.

Chie seemed surprised as well. "Yu-kun…" It was strange, she had never heard Yu talk like that to anyone before.

"I-I didn't mean that it a mean way." Takeshi replied hastily. "I'm Takeshi Kouno, I've known Chie for a while… we were in the same class up until middle school." Stepping back a bit he said, "I'm not gonna get in your guys' way or anything…"

Recovering from the shock of Yu's outburst, Chie managed to sputter out, "H-hey, where are you…"

Turning back for a moment Takeshi seemed to remember something. "By the way, how's Yukiko-san? Still single?"

"She's good, and yeah, I think so," Chie answered levelly, used to be a go between to her raven haired friend.

Takeshi quickly drifted off to his own world. "Hmm… I wonder if she's still pretty. Maybe I should try for her again." He offered a half-hearted wave as he continued musing to himself.

Chie felt herself deflate a bit seeing Takeshi leave. Heh, of course he'd come back to ask about Yukiko, Chie thought bitterly. She quickly shook her head to dismiss the thought. No, I'm stronger than this, it doesn't matter… someone will see me eventually right?

Suddenly Yu's voice cut into her thoughts. She looked up to see Yu had settled into Takeshi's posture, and made a face that exaggerated his default expression. He went on in a comical impression of Takeshi's voice about how he was obsessed with Yukiko.

Chie looked on dumbfounded for a second. "Was that supposed to be him?"

Yu nodded and shrugged, a lopsided grin appearing on his face.

Chie couldn't hold it back anymore, bursting out laughing. Wiping her eyes, she said, "That was pretty good haha! Seriously though, he's pretty rude. Now that I think about it, he always was staring at Yukiko…" She trailed off, her tone slightly wistful. She looked over at Yu, finding him looking at her curiously. "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't like him or anything, we're just friends."

Yu nodded, not prodding any further into the matter, which Chie appreciated. "Hey, how about we head over to Sozai Daigaku? We could grab some skewers," Yu offered.

"That sounds great!" Chie exclaimed, her previous demeanor completely forgotten. "It's on me this time though." Before he could protest, Chie cut in, "You made lunch so it's only fair." Yu conceded grudgingly, and they made their way to the skewer stand.

"Man, I can't believe exams are almost here," Yosuke groaned. Chie could agree with that sentiment, something that couldn't often be said when it came to things that came out of Yosuke's mouth. The school day had just ended, with Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Yu gathered around in their classroom. Taking a glance at Yukiko, Yosuke cracked his trademark troublemaker smile. "Hey Yukiko, think you could spare me some private tutoring sessions?" The brown haired boy clearly didn't expect what came next: Yukiko's hand quickly meeting his face in what looked like a painful slap. "Ack! What was that for?" Yosuke groused, rubbing the side of his face gingerly.

Yukiko quickly looked apologetic. "S-sorry! We've had some… strange guests lately… I thought that was some kind of off color joke or something…"

"Then why didn't you just laugh?" Yosuke groaned. "Guess my grades were just doomed from the get go," he sighed.

"Well maybe if you hadn't worded it all pervy, she wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea," Chie offered, rolling her eyes.

Yosuke immediately turned to glare at her. "Wait, you're saying that this is MY fault? What the hell?"

Sensing the impending screaming match, Yu quickly intervened. "It was a misunderstanding, no need to make a big deal out of it." Yukiko looked at him appreciatively, and Chie and Yosuke made up for the silence by giving each other the harshest glares they could manage.

"Well, I'm going back home to study," Yukiko said awkwardly, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Yeah me too," Yosuke said, rising stiffly from his seat. "Later partner…"

The two left the classroom, leaving Yu and Chie alone. Yu shifted his gaze to Chie. "That could've been handled more diplomatically."

Chie snorted. "That's what you're here for right?"

Yu frowned. "Chie…"

"I know, I know! I just can't help it, y'know? And you gotta admit he makes it pretty easy. 'Private tutoring session?' Come on!"

Yu smiled at that. "That may be truth, but he wasn't the only one at fault. Even I wasn't expecting Yukiko-san to react like that. Yosuke hasn't been really been unclear in his intentions…"

"Yeah, to us maybe," Chie laughed. "Half the time she can't even tell a guy is asking her out, much less hitting on her."

"Not much we can do on that front," Yu chuckled. Switching gears he said, "So, about that study session…"

"Yeah about that…" Chie began. "Yesterday I tried coming up with a list of stuff to work on. It was… pretty long. I don't want hog up all your study time though."

"I'll do what I can," Yu assured.

"Thanks," Chie said appreciatively. "Guess we should head to the library huh?" Yu nodded in response, and they both made their way downstairs. "I figured we could start with math, since I'm completely lost there."

"It's a starting point."

It took a while, but after several hours, Chie was finally confident that, at the very least, she wouldn't completely bomb the math portion of exams. Yu's teaching methods were clear and easy to digest, and he exhibited monk-like patience when she got stuck. Even so, the effort left her drained as she slouched into her home, the mental exhaustion taking its toll. She was, as usual, greeted by her mother as she entered.

"Studying hard Chie-chan?"

"Yeah, I'll say," Chie managed.

"Good," Her mother replied, obviously pleased. "I expect better marks this time young lady."

Chie was far too tired to roll her eyes at her mother, simply managing, "I'll do my best mom."

"That's all I can ask. Where you studying with someone?"

Chie decided to use a safe answer, the last thing she needed was her mom getting the wrong idea. "Just Yukiko."

"Ah, she always was a smart girl. You'd think after so long some of her academic habits might have rubbed off on you," Her mother teased.

"Mom," Chie groaned.

Chuckling her mother continued, "Go on, get some rest."

Chie nodded gratefully, going to her room, setting up her futon and quickly flopping onto it lazily. As her head hit the pillow her eyes quickly became heavy, drifting into a peaceful slumber.