Author's Note:
Once again, if you recall certain conversations from the game, it will help complete the story. Final Chapter and Epilogue! Hope you enjoyed!
It was officially winter. Yu was by himself. He was at a certain spot on a hill. From there, he could overlook the entire town. This was a special place for him.
"A promise."
Yu was thinking about how to move forward. He made visits to Inaba but he couldn't stay here forever. He had to get back to his career. His heart was torn. The love of his life wanted to separate. He starts reminiscing about all the good times they had together.
"Hardships and sadness and everything, it can all be changed into the power to take a step forward…. Is this what you meant all those years ago, Rise? Do I have to lose you forever too for the next part of my journey in life?"
He looks over the view again. Sometimes, he'd just imagine her sweet voice calling out to him.
"Hi there, Senpai."
Yu thinks he must be imagining things. "Huh…I really thought I heard her voice that time."
"I'm actually…right here."
Yu was shocked. He does a quick turn around. His eyes were surprised to see Rise. She was wearing a nice pink coat and a magenta scarf which matched her perfectly. She had a very straight face. She was silent and calm.
"What…why are you here, Rise?"
"I…was just passing by. I happened to see you here."
"Really?…But it's freezing out here."
"How about you, Senpai? I heard that you'd go missing everyday at the same time. Is this… where you go? What's so special about this place?"
He didn't feel that he should tell her the real reason why. He decided to be a bit vague about it.
"I…made a promise to someone special long ago."
"Did you now?…"
Rise started slowly walking towards Yu. She didn't say a word. Her eyes were a bit lowered. Her arms were in her usual pose being at her back. Finally…she was only a few inches distance away from Yu.
"Uhm…Rise. Are you the one who's not alright?"
Rise then leans her head on Yu's chest. He could only see the top of her head as she started speaking.
"You're an idiot, you know that?"
"What…why?"
"You know…if you were here everyday to fulfil that promise of ours, what would happen if you end up freezing to death up here? I'd never forgive myself if you end up dying on me. In fact, I'd never forgive you too."
"Huh…Rise did you…?"
"That's right…I remember that promise… It was a cold day like this. We were talking about how everybody was changing in their own ways. I talked about my career as well in how I was going to push forward. Did I really say something like that? Hardships and sadness? I recall something like that…but this isn't what I had in mind, Senpai. Forgetting you and everybody else. That was too much."
Rise was still talking in a very straight-forward tone. It reminded Yu again of the first time he ever talked to Rise at her grandmother's tofu shop.
"I told you I wasn't afraid of a long distance relationship…and after several years together, of being separated for certain amounts of time, I can say that our relationship was rock-solid. My love for you grew stronger every time I felt lonely…just like I said. I made sure that when I smiled every time on TV…I remembered you. It was a smile for you. Did you smile back, Senpai?"
Rise was holding onto Yu's coat at this point. He still couldn't see her face. But Yu already realised what was happening. He however wanted her to finish. He could tell she had more to say so he replied.
"Yes…yes, of course Rise. Every time I caught you on TV, or at the movies, or any of your performances. I smiled…I smiled for you." Yu himself was doing a nice smile right now.
"Good. Next…I asked you to tell me…to tell me you loved me every once in a while…. This however I can confirm for myself. Every single time we got back together. Every phone call. Every text message. Every stroll, Every lunch, Every night together, Every Kiss!"
Rise was speaking a bit faster as she ran down the list of things.
"There were so many moments…but I knew it. Whether you actually said those words during those times or not…I knew what you were trying to convey. You were saying it. "I love you". This led to that other promise we made that afternoon."
Rise was now looking at Yu with teary eyes. Her beauty however was not detracted from it.
"We promised that whenever we would go back together to Inaba…we'd promise to visit this spot right here at least once. When we go back together…it was a sign…a promise. It would signify that…we still loved one another and that our love will always go stronger. Now that I found out you went here everyday… You were telling me….You were telling me that you still loved me. Every…Single…Day…"
She paused…Yu himself was a bit teary eyed as well.
"Now…I'm here with you, Senpai. I kept our promise. I want you to know…that I still love you. I love you so much! I want you to know that I feel this from the bottom of my heart….and that I will continue to love you until my last breath."
Yu could not contain himself anymore. He held Rise in a big embrace. She herself reciprocated. It was the warmest hug he felt in the longest time.
"I'm back, Yu."
"Welcome back, Rise."
It was quiet for a moment. No words were said. Tears were flowing down their faces. They were locked in their embrace. Rise finally spoke up.
"You know…Yosuke told me that you were worried that I wouldn't end up loving you again."
"He did? Haha."
"You actually should have listened to him. You really are silly sometimes, Senpai." said Rise with a bit of a giggle.
"Of course we got close together because you guys saved my life, but I didn't fall in love with you just for that. I fell in love with you because of YOU. Your kind heart. Your friendliness to everybody. Your silly and quirky personality. All your other traits combined. I love it all…. In fact…I was starting to fall in love with you all over again during that date we had."
"You did?…Haha. I guess…I was worried… I mean… Sometimes I feel so…bland compared to you."
"Don't say that! Not to me! You were always special to me. My body moved on it's own last time. Being with you…just feels right." said Rise with her first big smile this whole conversation.
"That's also why…I'm sorry that I said I had no feelings for you last time. I thought it was for the best before that we not get back together. I thought that if I had no memories of our relationship, I shouldn't deserve your love."
"Haha. Look who's the one who sounds silly now? It didn't matter whether or not you had your memories. I would have still loved you. You were Rise before you got your memories back. You're still Rise now. I love all of her."
"Haha…Yeah…our friends kind of knocked me out of my crazy."
Both of them realized they were both struggling from the crazy situation they were in these last 2 months in different ways. It was also the first time they were this close to each other in so long. They suddenly became so aware.
"Uhm…Rise…I know this is sudden…but…I would like nothing more than to…"
"Me too…"
Rise and Yu were starting to lean their heads closer. Slowly…they finally landed a kiss. It was their first kiss in so long. It was magic all over again. Rise and Yu were exploring everywhere they touched. Their hands were intertwined for a while. After releasing, they let their hands explore. Rise was already holding the back of Yu's head and hair. Yu himself held around Rise's back and waist area. The intimacy they've been missing was long overdue. They could not stop.
"Okay! Okay!…That's enough!" said Chie.
"Yeah Man!. Get a room! This is technically…a PUBLIC area." said Yosuke.
Feeling like they finally snapped out of their daze, they turn around and see all their friends. They were all smiling.
"You guys! Why are you all here?" asked Yu.
"Well…We're the ones who drove Rise here in the first place! It's cold here, bro." said Yosuke.
"But…I told you guys to just wait nearby!" said Rise pouting a little.
"Well..we couldn't help but listen in just a bit further down! It was such a touching moment! We love you guys too!" said Yukiko.
"You guys were listening in on us again?!" Rise was a bit upset again. However, that feeling quickly went away as she saw all the warm faces of her friends.
"Sorry, you two!" said Naoto.
"I told you guys we should just stay back!" said Kanji.
"But Kanji, didn't you say that we should move in a bit closer so that you can hear better?" said Teddie.
"Shu—Shut up you stupid bear!"
Everybody was laughing in unison. It was a warm reunion. Yu and Rise were finally reunited. Rise felt that since it was such a happy occasion, she should mention something.
"You know, Senpai. You could have just told me when I had no memory, and also to them…that we…were MARRIED already."
"WHAAAAAATT?!" The entire gang suddenly shouted out.
"You didn't even invite me! How could you…" said Chie sadly.
"I wanted to wear a dress too." said Yukiko with a small pout.
"Who…who was your best man?!" Yosuke suddenly shouted.
"Yu and Rise in wedding clothes…that would have been nice to see." said Kanji in a sad tone.
"I guess…we weren't that close…after all." Naoto looked a bit down.
"Why…why did you leave us? Huhu…." said Teddie.
Finally, they all looked at Yu and they saw a surprised expression as well.
"Whu-Wha…We're not married! Rise!…Did we?…No! Wait! We aren't!…Not yet! At least…."
"Huh?" a unified sound was made.
"Sorry everybody. I was just teasing! Haha…Actually…You see…The thing was… The day I got into the accident…Yu and I were going to celebrate. The week before, he proposed to me! We're engaged!"
Everybody suddenly realised what that meant. It was another round of cheers. They were all congratulating them.
"No worries everybody. You're all invited!"
Yosuke suddenly paused for a moment…and asked them both.
"But wait… why did you celebrate so late? Also…why don't you guys have…engagement rings or something?"
"Hey…yeah. That's true. Why is that?" asked Chie.
Yu looked at everybody's inquiring face, and decided to say why.
"Well…what happened was the rings had a problem. Mine was too big for my finger, and Rise's was too small. So we had to fix them. That's why we weren't wearing them. As for the celebration, Rise was so busy that week, we could only celebrate the week after. We were going to invite everyone for an engagement party but…Rise's accident happened and now we're here."
"I see. Well I'm glad everything is back to normal. I can't wait to get a beautiful dress!" said Yukiko.
A number of "me toos" were heard among their friends. Everybody else looked cheerful and excited too. Rise and Yu had a lot of catching up to do as well. They would first head to Yu's house to meet with Nanako. After that, they would plan together their plans for the immediate future. Both of them agreed that their reunion after so long had to be special with some alone time just for the two of them. After that…they had a wedding to prepare for.
Epilogue
It was two weeks after the wedding. Some time has passed since Rise's accident. Everyone was happily going on with their lives. Rise and Yu finally decided to get a "permanent" place to stay. It was a nice apartment with 3 bedrooms with their own personal bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a utilities area in Tokyo. It was actually quite spacious. In fact, it was also quite pricey. However, due to a few connections from both Yu and Rise's friends, they were able to get it for a steal. They were currently unloading a few things inside.
"Why again, do we need so much space, Senpai?"
"Well…we do have quite a lot of stuff. Besides, it's nice to stretch our legs a little, don't you think?"
"True. But…You know. Both of our jobs kind of make us go around a lot. We won't be here all the time, you know. It might be a waste."
"Well…till we get enough money to get that big house with a big yard, this will have to do. Sorry about that sweetie. Just like you said, I think an apartment might be easier to maintain if we're both always on the move."
"You always seem so sure, Senpai. Well…that's also why I married you." Rise giggles again. "And no worries, we still have plenty of time to get that house in the future. Maybe when were not always moving around as well."
"Besides…The extra rooms are for you know…" Yu pauses for a bit before he continued.
"They…are just in case, Rise."
"Just in case…for what?" Rise knew what he was talking about. She however wanted to tease out the answer from him. She gave Yu that mischievous smile.
"…In case…for our kids." Yu blushes a little and shows a sweet smile.
"Haha. Well…we better get to work then." Rise laughs happily.
"You guys are planning for kids already? I call dibs on godmother!" said Chie.
"Hahaha! That's so you, Chie." said Yosuke.
Two of their friends volunteered to lend a hand in helping them move to their new apartment. It was really a big help for both Rise and Yu. Things would finish up twice as fast.
"Thanks again, you two, for helping out. You guys were lifesavers."
"It's no problem buddy. We wanted to help! Everybody else had prior commitments but I'm sure if they weren't busy, they'd be here helping too."
"Well..we didn't want to force anyone actually to help."
"That's why we volunteered before you even thought about asking! That's what friends are for, right?!" said Chie.
Rise and Yu could only smile at their pair of friends. Yu suddenly remembered something he wanted to talk about.
"Hey. So how are Kanji and Naoto?"
"Oooh! Yeah. I want to hear more!" said Rise.
"Well…I heard they've gone on a few dates. I think they might become "official" in a while. Things got really interesting during your wedding! To think that sudden announcement of yours back then was what started this relationship of theirs, Rise." said Yosuke.
"Well…I'm glad to hear that they're getting along quite well. I also heard something else…about you two." Rise once again had her teasing smile.
Chie and Yosuke suddenly kept quiet. Both of their faces were turning red.
"It was…It was just one date. Haha. I had…fun." said Yosuke a bit nervously.
"Yeah…haha….I had fun too." said Chie who was acting a bit shy.
"Oh really? I'm glad." Yosuke gave a nice smile.
"Wait. Enough! Let's not talk about this! I…have to get more things from downstairs!" Chie suddenly ran outside. Yosuke was left all alone with the married couple. Both of them had huge smiles. Yu finally spoke up.
"Bro. You take care of her all right. She's a keeper." Yu gave him a thumbs up.
"Haha yeah man. I'll do my best. I'll…go help her." Yosuke then leaves the room with a happy aura around him.
It was just Rise and Yu alone again. Feeling glad about how things turned out, they looked at each other with happy faces.
"Ready for what the future brings, Mrs. Narukami?"
"Yup. I'm ready…. I'm excited to make more memories with you and everybody else."
The day ended with the happy couple enjoying some alone time in their new apartment. They continued talking into the night about what comes next.