Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-
The string of curses racing through Chie's head was temporarily interrupted as she rounded the corner of the path along the Samegawa. Catching the mud with the soles of her shoes, Chie slid momentarily, before catching herself with a hand, pushing off the ground with it to keep her balance.
Her next few steps were shaky, but she regained her footing soon enough and was racing down the muddy road at her previous speed, raindrops racing by her as the sky continued its downpour.
Damn it. The weather report said the rain would stop by morning… does this look like it stopped? Chie mentally complained, holding her hands over her head in a feeble attempt to keep dry.
She mentally kicked herself again for breaking her only umbrella a few days previously, the cheap metal of the umbrella's neck having bent into an L after she swung it in an attempt to hit Yosuke.
I'm going to be drying off for the rest of the day now, Chie noted gloomily, her face contorting into a grimace as she glanced into the dark sky, and it's all Yosuke's fault. Again.
She lowered her gaze back to the ground, only to note a silhouetted figure walking ahead of her, an umbrella suspended above its head.
Her soles pounded into the pavement, splashing water up onto her bare legs as she sped up, hoping to catch the mysterious walker, the thought of a relief from the downpour racing through her head.
However, Chie couldn't help but grin as she drew closer, the silhouette fading into a recognizable, silver-haired student.
"Narukami!" The green-coated girl yelled, putting her hands to her mouth to amplify the sound. Hearing his name, Yu turned, looking over his shoulder just as Chie skidded into place next to him.
"Satonaka?" The student asked, confusion evident on his face as she elbowed him for more room under his umbrella, "I take it you don't have an umbrella?"
"Not anymore, at least," she sighed, glancing up at him, "Mind if I share yours until we get to school?"
And then he did it again.
Just like he had been doing every so often, Chie watched his face as it repeated a familiar pattern, his eyes locked with hers. His brow furrowed, his lips curled into a slight frown, and his mouth opened as though he was about to shoot her down. And then, in an instant, he shut his mouth, closed his eyes, and turned his head back towards the road.
"Sure. I can't just leave you out in the rain." He replied, his tone taking on that cool edge Chie had grown to become fascinated with.
Her fascination with Narukami was frustrating, as she seemed to be the only one who noticed his behavior. She watched him carefully as he stared straight ahead, his face set into the most neutral, bland expression she had ever seen, dark bags collecting under his half-lidded eyes.
Chie knew that she wasn't imagining things with Yu. Not at all. He might not have been the most expressive person out there, but she was able to see the cracks, slight emotions bleeding through.
It was frustrating, to say the least. She wanted to get to know Narukami, she wanted to be his friend, but she wouldn't be able to do that unless he opened up to her, which he deftly avoided with his verbal skills. Hence, the frustration.
"Alright, thanks." Chie responded, tearing her eyes away from him to look back at the road in front of them.
They walked in silence for a bit, the only noise heard being the pattering of the rain on their umbrella and the soft splashes from the water underfoot.
You know, this is actually pretty calming… Chie thought, a slight smile on her face. Narukami's actually pretty nice to be around… when he's not being infuriating, that is.
Her train of thought was broken, however, when Yu yawned. She turned to look at him, his free hand coming up to try and cover up the sound.
"...I didn't get much sleep last night." Yu explained, noticing his green-coated companion's questioning stare.
"Yeah, I can tell," Chie replied, taking note of the bags under his eyes, "You look terrible. When did you go to bed?"
"After midnight," He remarked dryly, giving her a rather unamused look, "Since someone just had to demand that I tried out some crazy rumor."
"Oh, I guess I kinda did do that, huh?" She asked, chuckling, a guilty look on her face.
"Yeah. It was such a great idea, thanks for that." He snarked, rolling his eyes.
They were in sight of the school now, the large, imposing gates standing tall and resolute in the face of the storm. Chie turned back away from him for a moment, staring ahead at the school through the haze of the rain.
"Hey, Satonaka…" Yu began, breaking her train of thought for the second time in a row.
"Did anything… weird, I guess," He began, having noticed her looking at him expectantly, "Happen to you last night? When you watched the Midnight Channel, I mean."
"Not… really?" She responded, a concerned and confused look on her face, "Why, did something happen to you?"
"No, I was just… I was wondering. That's all." He replied, trying to dismiss her concern.
She continued staring at him, watching as his uncertain expression, unconvinced by his statement. There was something else in his eyes, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I'm fine. Really." He continued, shuffling awkwardly under her gaze. He swallowed, turning back to the school.
Chie wasn't convinced, however. This was, after all, the most emotion he had shown in all the time she had known him, and it was, frankly, freaking her out. They walked the rest of the way in silence, the grey-haired student refusing to look at Chie the entire time.
It wasn't until much later that day when she realized what she had seen in his eyes when he asked about the Midnight Channel. It was fear.
Narukami was afraid. She realized, looking up from her doodle-filled notebook, eyes widening.
...But of what?
It hurt to think. It hurt to move. But she had to.
It was life or death. Who would have thought that this was where they'd end up?
It was all a joke, at first at least. Yu had told her and Yosuke about something strange that had happened to him. The silver-haired student had described how he had thought his hand had passed into his television screen last night during the Midnight Channel and, of course, Chie and Yosuke didn't believe him.
To his credit, Yu stayed calm, even when Yosuke dragged him to Junes to "test" the new student's theory.
And then it all went wrong when they turned and saw Narukami elbow deep into the fluxuating image of a flatscreen television.
Now they were all running for their lives from some godforsaken horrors, running down a twisted form of Inaba, the normally vibrant colors of the rural town washed out to blurs of red, brown, and grey.
She ran at the head of the pack, making split second decisions through the narrow, yet familiar twists and turns of Inaba's alleyways. At first, she had tried figuring out a path that might lead them to some form of safety, be it her house or Yosuke's, or even the school, but the pounding migraine that hammered in her mind made it hard to think, hard to remember. On top of that, the pervasive, yellow fog that smothered the town made it hard to make out anything more than 10 feet in front of her, leaving her blind until she nearly ran into something.
So she quickly gave up that idea, simply letting her feet take her somewhere, anywhere away from those… those… she didn't even know what to call them. They had started out as black gelatinous creatures, face blank like a mask, hands with the color and form of ink reaching out towards them… but that didn't last long.
She watched in horror as they rose off the fucking ground like marionettes on strings, watched as the hands and mask imploded, sinking in on itself until there was nothing but a floating ball, striped with purple and black.
And then she ran, once she saw it turn, revealing its gaping maw, a large, almost human mouth that dripped with saliva as it lunged for a bite of whatever it could get a hold of- the nearest being herself, Yosuke, a bear of some sort, and Yu, the mysterious student who had got them into this mess in the first place.
She didn't know where that damn bear had gone after she had took off, he had disappeared just as mysteriously as he came the first time around, handing Yu a pair of glasses before they turned to see those hideous creatures crawling their way.
She scrambled around to the right, making a split-second decision as she came to a T-shape in her path, the alleyway opening up to somewhere she actually knew by name for once- Tsuki Street, one of Inaba's few major roads.
And as luck would have it, the street led to somewhere they actually might be able to survive at.
"Chie… Chie," Yosuke gasped from behind her, short of breath, "Keep heading down this road… we'll get to Junes."
Normally, Chie would've thanked Yosuke for pointing out the obvious, but she was so damn tired from all this running and near delirious from her migraine that she could barely formulate a response.
P… pull it together, Chie… you've run further than this before. Just gotta make it to...
She skidded to a stop in the Junes parking lot, mouth dropping open, eyes going wide as she panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Oh god." She gasped, watching as several of the shadow-y monsters seeped through the cracks in the store's windows, out from under the parked cars, and out from the manholes on the street.
Yosuke and Yu apparently hadn't seen her stop yet, as Yosuke barrelled into her from behind at that moment, knocking them both onto the ground, while Yu tripped over their small dogpile, keeping his balance for a moment before falling to his hands and knees in front of them.
Chie looked around, paralyzed with fear, as she counted the number of monsters that had arisen to hunt them down. One, two, three, four, five… they just kept coming, and she couldn't keep track of how many.
She turned back to see Yu scrambling to his feet in front of them, his head whipping around, eyes gripped in a terror unlike she had seen in someone's eyes before. It was like his worst nightmares came true.
"Oh gods, we're going to die." Yosuke breathed in her ear, too paralyzed to stand up like Yu had.
And he was right. They all knew it.
She couldn't bear to watch as three of those creatures bared down on Yu, shutting her eyes right as they lunged for him, only hearing Yosuke scream the silver-haired student's name in the darkness behind her eyes.
There was only silence after that. No scream of horror or agony from Yu. No wail of femininity from Yosuke.
She opened her eyes slowly, hoping to avoid seeing Yu's broken, chewed up corpse in full. Her eyes snapped open when she saw him still standing tall as ever, bathed in an eerie blue light, eyes obscured by the glint of the light off of his newly gained glasses.
His lips moved ever so slightly, as his eyes remained glued to what appeared to be a card floating above his hand. His face looked on in what appeared to be almost holy reverence before he jerked, a sick and twisted smirk growing on his face as he closed his hand into a fist around the card.
The world began to rumble as Yu's shadow lifted itself from the ground, like an unconscious body being pulled to its feet by a nearby bystander. The pure darkness of the shadow faded away to a jet black longcoat draped over the shoulders of a metal-masked man, who snapped his head forward when he finally stood on his feet, hunched over the trio, a giant protecting mere ants.
Angry yellow eyes surveyed the darkened parking lot, eying up the floating monsters that had chased them previously. With a flick of its wrist, a shadowy blade formed in its hands as Yu lifted a shaky hand of his own, his finger shaking as he pointed it towards the monsters surrounding them.
The giant lunged at an almost inhuman speed, bisecting the first of these creatures down the middle before turning and sending a jolt of electricity racing down its arm to arc into the next monster, disintegrating it before it could react. The third came up behind the giant, latching onto its shoulder with its sharp teeth, biting down hard as it took advantage of the giant's distraction.
Yu cried out with pain, reaching up to grab his shoulder like he had been the one to get attacked. With a feral yell from its silver-haired master, the giant ripped the creature off its shoulder, tossing it into the air. Leaping into the sky after it, the massive blade gripped in both hands, the giant swung in a wide arc, slashing straight through the creature, leaving its blade facing back towards the ground.
It plummeted straight down, spearing another creature along the way, sending car parts flying as it went straight through one of the parked cars, crushing it underneath the combined weight of the blade, its victim, and its wielder.
It had a resounding effect on the other monsters, which seemed to almost hesitate as the giant landed and wrenched its naginata from the ground, disintegrating the creature it had impaled much like the blade's other victims.
The remaining creatures paused momentarily, now wary of the new threat's power. The remaining few surrounded their foe, settling around it in even intervals. Almost simultaneously, they struck, racing towards the giant in an attempt to overwhelm it.
Holding its weapon in a reverse grip, the giant spun, turning the simple blade into a cyclone of destruction, sending the monsters flying through the parking lot, crashing into cars, light poles, even the nearby buildings before they followed their fallen brethren and faded into nothing but an inky mist.
The giant faded out of existence as Yu hunched forward, catching himself on his knees as he gasped for breath, the impressive display of excessive force leaving him exhausted.
Chie's eyes fell back upon the student, her mouth hanging open in shock as her companion turned back towards her, looking reinvigorated despite his exhausted demeanor.
"I think… I think we're safe now." He panted, gasping for air, "We should probably start heading back… before more come."
Yu stood back up to his full height, stretching out his back as he did so as Yosuke finally rolled off of her and stood up himself.
"Here, Chie," Yu began, reaching out a hand to help her up, "We need to get moving. Take my hand."
She looked from his hand to his face, taking in his new, looser manner. It was quite weird, to be honest, his school uniform unbuttoned, his face light and carefree, almost like the adrenaline had revitalized him or something.
Damn, Chie admitted, her face heating up slightly as she took his hand, letting the silver-haired student pull her to her feet, he looks a lot... different now.
...I kinda like it.
"Narukami! Narukaaaami!" Chie yelled, running after the grey-haired student, weaving between the rows of cars to reach him before he left the Junes parking lot.
Why am I even doing this? She asked herself, panting as she chased after the student, his grey head bobbing in and out of view behind the parked cars ahead of her. It's obvious he doesn't want to be friends.
He had made that clear the way he had tersely cut Yosuke off, his voice becoming hard and cold when it came to the whole television situation, like he was trying to end all conversation about it. Like he just wanted to sweep the whole incident under the rug and go on with his life like normal.
And then when Yosuke had left, she had called him out for it.
She recalled his defeated posture and expression when he left afterwards, just turning and leaving without another word. Well, besides another one of his cryptic, cynical statements, like he did the day she met him.
Damn it, she thought, her shoulders sagging slightly, He needs a friend right now. That's why I'm doing it.
"Narukami!" She yelled again, turning the corner of the row he was walking along, "Wait up!"
The grey-haired student stopped upon hearing his name, but didn't turn or say a word. Chie slowed down, coming to a stop a couple feet behind him.
"Hey," she began, slightly out of breath, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Home," he stated simply, not moving, "I need to get back before my uncle starts to worry."
"Oh. Yeah, that's…" Chie replied, stumbling over her words, "That's actually pretty reasonable."
They stood there for a bit in silence, a slight breeze blowing through the lot. Chie rubbed her hands together subconsciously, either as a nervous habit or from the cold night itself.
"Well, uh," Yu began, turning back slightly to look at Chie, "I need to get back. If you're not going to say anything else…"
"No!" She yelled, making Yu jump slightly, "No. I mean…"
She took a breath, closing her eyes.
"I just wanted to say," Chie began, looking into Yu's eyes, filled with confusion and a slight trace of his previous fear, "I'm sorry for earlier. And that I'm here for you, if you ever need a friend."
She brought her hand up in front of her, fingers splayed out for a handshake, a slight smile on her face. He looked down at it, his eyes flicking back up to meet hers. Neither of them moved for a moment or two.
"Come on, don't leave me hanging." Chie chuckled, the noise sounding slightly forced and awkward, "You're making me feel worse for yelling at you earlier."
He sighed, the same sad, wistful look appearing in his eyes like before.
"I'm sorry, Chie." He began, turning away all of a sudden to continue his walk from before, "But I don't need a friend right now."
Her hand limply dropped to her side as she watched him walk away, a strange feeling of regret and sadness forming in her gut.
She watched his retreating form for a few moments longer, her gaze glued to the back of his head, before turning and walking away just as abruptly as he did, a frown on her face the whole way home.
Author's Note:
He's back again, the young pup on the block, takin' every problem one by one.
Hey everyone, long time no see. Been nearly... 2 months since the last installment?
Yeah, I promised I'd get a chapter out during February in my edited author's note (which I conveniently forgot to upload until now whoops) and I missed that mark. By a bit. But hey, I think doubling the size of the story more than makes up for it, y'know?
This chapter switches back to Chie's point of view, establishing their alternating viewpoints, and focuses on events that occurred in-between scenes in Chapter 2. I tried to make that clear, but what's clear to me might not be so to the readers, so let me know how I did. I will admit that I did cut this chapter down slightly, removing what was going to be an entire fourth scene, but I got something interesting planned for it in Chapter 4, so be on the look out for that, which will definitely come out quicker.
In the meantime, if you guys are starved for Chie/Yu fics, why not write your own? Or, you could visit the community I set up late January, "The Thunder Chariot," focused exclusively on archiving shipping fics for our lovable protagonists.
Profesaaaa - That was kind of the goal with the last chapter. Yu is a cynical, depressive fool at the beginning, and I wanted to show that he's not quite a cold jerk like he seems like in Chapter 1. Definitely going to keep going, though.
Originaljuan92 - Glad to hear you like it, man. I'm eager to please and to add more content to Chie/Yu. Surprising lack of it considering how it's decently popular.