Hey guys! I meant to have this up on Friday, but I got a little sidetracked preparing for the semester to start again. Anyway, new chapter yay! I'm actually really happy with how this one turned out for the most part, so I hope you guys like it. And guess what? This story has officially passed 10k page views! Thank you all for the support! And now, a sound off to my reviewers:
Cookiemania789: In a good way I hope! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!
Allywayjack: Wow, that really means a lot to me! To be fair though there isn't nearly enough Yu/Chie to begin with though! That's one of the reasons I started this really. From what I have read, the support is there, but there isn't a whole lot written with this pair, sadly. Thanks for reading!
Guest: Thanks for all the feedback! I will take all of that into account for future chapters, so feel free to sound off in the future, if you are so inclined! Favorite author too? You're too kind!
MasterBlaster01: That's what I was hoping to hear! I'll do my best to continue to keep things fresh and interesting, both for you and everyone else who's spent a lot of time with the game. And I had the inkling of a suspicion about your name so I had to ask! Thanks for indulging me!
Now enough of all that, go on! Read and enjoy (hopefully)!
Chie breathed in deeply, inhaling in the scents of various noodles and rice coupled with a wide variety of meats. After another bout of training with Yu, they had decided to stop at Aiya's afterward. Chie as usual, had ordered the beef bowl, and she licked her lips in anticipation once the steaming bowl was delivered in front of her. Wasting no time she quickly began to dig in. "Oh man, this is great!"
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Yu commented.
"Heh, yeah, I'd say this is right up there with Kung Fu action movies!" Chie agreed. Her thoughts shifted suddenly. "If I don't pump myself up enough and work hard, I won't be strong enough to pull us out of a jam." She sighed suddenly. "I need to be at my best, especially for Yukiko…" Shifting her gaze to Yu, her tone grew more concerned. "I hope she's not straining herself, with the inn, schoolwork, and all this crazy stuff, y'know? Do you feel like that sometimes?"
"Yukiko-san does have a lot on her plate," Yu agreed. "She's a strong person though, you've seen that for yourself."
"Heh, yeah you're right. I guess I'm just stressing over it for nothing…"
"Frankly, I worry more about you Chie," Yu said suddenly.
Chie's eyes widened. "Me?"
"Don't misunderstand me, I know that you're more than capable of fending for yourself," Yu explained. "It's just… we're in this together right? You don't have to carry the burden by yourself. You're not alone, you know?"
Chie was speechless for a moment, flushing at the sincerity of his words. Regaining her composure she sighed. Looking up at Yu, she smiled once more. "Yeah, I know… thanks Yu-kun…"
"Any time," Yu replied, returning her smile.
Chie stared at him for a moment, before realizing herself and breaking eye contact. "Whew, I don't know about you but I'm ready for round two!" Looking over the counter, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, could I have another fried rice with meat please?" Looking over at Yu she asked, "What about you?"
Yu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Maybe a smaller bowl…"
After several minutes, they both finished their meals. Yu offered to walk Chie part of the way home, their houses only being a couple of blocks apart. Chie accepted, so they continued chatting about school and such as they made their way back, when they were suddenly approached by a police officer.
"Excuse me," The man began. "Have you two seen anything suspicious?"
The teenagers exchanged a confused glance.
"There's been a couple of shakedowns in the area. Group of kids, most likely in high school, ganging up against people walking alone."
"I'm sorry officer, we haven't seen anything," Yu replied. "We'll keep an eye out."
"I appreciate that, son. You two be careful now," The officer responded, tipping his hat as he left.
Chie growled under her breath. "I can't believe it. Bunch of no good punks ganging up on the weak… it's not fair." Yu nodded in agreement. "If we see 'em while we're out, we'll show them whose boss and make them apologize! Right?"
Yu cracked his neck joints as he rolled his head to the side. "Yeah, definitely," He said firmly.
"I knew you'd say that!" Chie replied. The image of her taking out a gang of petty street thieves was enough for her to start envisioning a dramatic scenario. "Mowing down hordes of villains, a lone female fighter stands…" She intoned dramatically. "To protect the town's peace, she throws herself onto the battlefield, unbeknownst to all!" Laughing she continued, "Oooh, that sounds cool. Leave 'em to me Yu-kun!" But… I'm not alone anymore, Chie mused, reflecting over Yu's words. Feeling heat rush to her face, she shifted her gaze to Yu apprehensively. "But I'd feel better about it if you helped…"
"I'd be happy to join the fray," Yu replied.
"Haha, yeah! A renowned Kung Fu heroine, joining forces with a mysterious newcomer, fighting together to keep the peace!" She went on, expanding on her previous vision. Exchanging a glances they both laughed as started toward home once again.
"Yo, partner I've been thinkin' and I think I've got a new lead on the murder cases!" Yosuke exclaimed excitedly. The Investigation Team had gathered at the Junes food court to discuss the situation. "Well, we know that with Kanji, our idea that all of the targets being female was shot. But there's something else that connects them… Think about it, all of the victims appeared on TV right before they were kidnapped!"
"That's right," Yu agreed. "There was a lot of coverage about Ms. Yamano after the scandal broke out. Saki-senpai was interviewed after finding her body. Then Yukiko-san was interviewed about the inn after the media figured out that Ms. Yamano had stayed there."
"Then there was that report on the biker gangs!" Chie piped up.
"Dammit!" Kanji cursed. "Stupid pricks, thinkin' I would roll with those punks."
"So you're saying that the killer is targeting people that appear on television?" Yukiko deduced.
"You got it!" Yosuke nodded. "Still, that doesn't leave much for motive… I mean, the killer would have to have some sort of grudge against all the victims… and you guys didn't exactly hang out in the same social circles," He mused, motioning to Yukiko and Kanji.
"No shortage of punks that woulda loved to have gotten a crack at me," Kanji said.
"Hey Yukiko, do you think anyone-"Chie began.
"No," Yukiko said firmly.
Yosuke face palmed. "Wow… not even all those guys you've turned down?"
Yukiko glanced at Yosuke quizzically. "What are you talking about?"
"Nevermind… Speaking of TV and news though, have you guys heard the news about Risette?"
"The girl who does those Quelorie Magic commercials?" Yu asked.
"That's the one! They say she's coming to Inaba! Apparently her grandma owns a tofu shop here!"
Yukiko perked up at the end of Yosuke's comment. "I think I know which one you're talking about. Marukyu Tofu, I think… We've been selling their tofu at the inn for years…"
"So I can go there and meet her?" Yosuke exclaimed. Sighing blissfully, he nearly fell out of his chair as he drifted off into a fantasy.
Yu's eyes lit up in realization. "I think we have our next victim…"
Yosuke immediately zoned back in. "Wait, what? I don't know about that man, Rise's been on TV more times than I could count…"
"Yeah, but now she'll be the talk of the town," Chie reasoned. "No doubt she'll be getting a lot of attention when she gets here…"
Yosuke nodded in agreement. "Well, we can't rule her out then… It's gonna rain tonight right? We should check out the Midnight Channel, and then scope out the tofu shop tomorrow after school!"
"What so you can check her out or so we can actually do somethin' to try an' stop the killer?" Kanji snorted.
Yosuke cleared his throat at Kanji's accusation. "My motives are purely professional," He replied as he straightened out his jacket. Suddenly his eyes danced with excitement. "Man, I can't believe I'm gonna meet Risette!"
"So much for professional," Chie groaned.
Chie patiently waited in front of the TV in her darkened room. The ritual had become familiar, waiting patiently as rain pattered against the window. Chie glanced at her wall clock anxiously. Almost time, Chie thought as she examined the moving hands. The clock struck midnight, and as if on cue, her TV flickered to life. Chie squinted as she attempted to make out the blurry figure. It was a girl to be sure, wearing a swimsuit from the looks of it. Chie squinted harder at the figure's face, but the screen instantly went dark. Typical, Chie thought, rolling her eyes. With their luck Yosuke probably had made no effort to actually see who the girl was, most likely far too occupied in ogling the mystery girl's body. Sighing in frustration, she set out her futon, preparing for what would likely be a mishap filled day.
The next day the boys went to the tofu shop. After a while they walked out of the tofu store, Yu carrying a bag from the shop, Yosuke grinning like an idiot, and Kanji as impassive as ever.
Approaching the girls, Yosuke let out a contented sigh. "Man, I can't believe I just met Risette!"
Kanji grunted. "Yeah, you were leerin' like a damn idiot. If it weren't for senpai we woulda just been standin' there like a bunch of fools…"
"I got ganmodoki for everyone," Yu offered.
"Thank you Yu-kun," Yukiko said politely.
"Eh, I'm not usually one for tofu, but hey! I won't turn down a free snack!" Chie said.
As Yu passed out the ganmodoki, Yosuke cleared his throat. "Well I think we should start doing surveillance tomorrow!"
"Because that worked so well last time," Chie groaned.
"Wouldn't that just make us look more suspicious?" Kanji pointed out.
"Nah, and besides, we gotta at least try to prevent her from getting kidnapped!"
"I agree," Yu said. "Though our last results were unsuccessful, if we can prevent Rise-san from being kidnapped and catch the killer at the same time, it'll be worth the risk. With any-" Yu stopped mid-sentence as his eyes focused on something behind them. "Good afternoon uncle."
The rest of the Investigation Team turned around and were greeted with the sight of Detective Dojima. "Yu? What are you doing out here? And where the hell is Adachi! He was supposed to make sure no troublemakers came sniffing around." His glanced pointedly at Kanji at his last statement, prompting the teen to let out a disgruntled 'tch.'
"Just grabbing a snack with some friends," Yu answered easily.
Dojima eyed him dubiously for a moment before letting out a grunt. "Whatever. There's nothing to see here, you should all go home. Last thing I need is you guys running around while all this shit going on." Shaking his head he muttered something under his breath as he walked off, presumably something about finding Adachi so they could do some questioning.
Yu eyed his uncle cautiously, making sure to wait until he was well out of earshot. "Anyway, we should all meet up after school tomorrow and go from there."
"Sounds like a plan partner!" Yosuke replied. "Well, I'll see you guys later!"
The group began to slowly disband as their investigation for the day had ended.
Kanji called out to Yu. "Yo, uh senpai… you got some time to talk for a bit?" Yu nodded, and joined Kanji in stride as they walked towards his house.
Only Chie and Yukiko remained, so they decided to go with their usual routine and walk back to the inn.
"I wonder what Kanji-kun wanted to talk with Yu-kun about…" Yukiko wondered out loud.
Chie shrugged. "Who knows? Besides, Yu-kun seems to check in with everyone on the team every so often. He's a pretty good listener, so he's easy to talk to. He just seems to… get people."
"It would seem that way," Yukiko chuckled. "It's strange really, he's taken so much time to get to know all of us, but comparatively we know hardly anything about him."
Chie thought for a moment before agreeing. "Yeah, you're right… Huh, I guess we've never really asked about his family or his life before coming here, so I guess he just didn't fill us all in. Now that you mention it, I'm a little curious…"
"You should ask," Yukiko suggested.
Chie eyed her friend suspiciously. "Why me?"
"You mentioned that Yu-kun spends time with all of us… but I'd say he spends the most of his time with you." Seeing her friends glare, she continued. "I'm serious Chie. Yu-kun doesn't have a lot of free time to spend with friends, but he does what he can to make time for all of us, especially you. That means something. He cares about you."
Yukiko's words created a strange feeling in Chie's chest and further caused her cheeks to burn hotly. For some reason she found herself countering, "He cares about all of us."
"That's true, but, think about it Chie. Surely you've noticed some things…"
Chie's mind flashed back to the conversation she had with Yu the other day. I worry more about you. You're not alone, you know? "Yeah, so what? It's not like it means anything like what you're thinking!"
"But why not?" Yukiko asked simply. They had arrived at the inn. Sighing, the raven haired girl didn't say anything further on the matter. "I'll see you later Chie, take care…"
Chie offered a half-hearted farewell in response, thinking hard about those last words. Why not?