Hello everyone! So, chapter 14 here. I decided to go back and fix the chapters, deciding that there was no reason to split chapters in 6. I also fixed all the notes past them so that they correspond to this change. This Chapter, if you couldn't tell, is all about Rise. I'll be working on Chapter 15 after dinner, and will try to have it published tonight. Thank you for your support, and enjoy!
"Seriously, slow down! She's not going anywhere!"
"Yeah, but if we don't get there soon the crowd will be too large, and the Tofu will all be gone."
"Not too concerned about that. I can't eat tofu. However, I do want to see Rise, so if the crowds too big, that might be impossible!"
"Will you two shut up, dammit?! Souji-senpai's right. Even if there is a big crowd, she's not going anywhere. The image was really fuzzy last night anyways. We've got time!"
The group of Yu, Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji were headed in the direction of the Marukyu Tofu Shop. Rise had been seen on the Midnight Channel the night before (or so they thought at least. The image had been very hard to make out.), and they were headed to attempt to inform her of the danger she could be in, though it seemed that Yu and Yosuke had forgotten about that.
They arrived in front of the shop, only to be greeted by a large crowd of onlookers, all attempting to get in. A couple of students walked out of the store, looking disappointed. "She's not here, everyone." they said, and a collective moan came from the crowd. Slowly, they filed away, texting and updating their friends on the news.
"Not here? That can't be right." Yu said, a determined yet confused look on his face.
As they approached the shop, they saw Adachi directing traffic from the street to move forward. The group spoke with him a bit before he turned and left. Dojima came out of the shop a moment later, and questioned the group on why they were there. Yu gave his uncle a hurt look. "C'mon, Uncle Dojima! I was really hoping to meet Rise!" The elder detective sighed and looked at Souji, seeking confirmation of this fact. Souji shook his head, throwing up his hands in defeat as he looked at his uncle, eyes expressing his opinion of the answer.
Dojima chuckled. "Alright, alright. Just remember, this is her home. Don't make her feel uncomfortable, okay?" With that, the detective walked off, yelling at Adachi once again.
Yu looked at the group, pleased that he'd gotten permission and dodged a bullet at the same time. "Let's go in!" he said, leading the group in with a grin.
Inside the shop, the group paused to look around, no one but an old lady sitting at a sink. "Huh, I guess she really isn't here." Yosuke said, looking around at the array of tofu. Kanji looked annoyed at the brunette.
"Man, why don't you just ask if she's in back? 'Scuse me!" he said, looking at lady by the sink. An old lady came from one side of the store.
"Yes, may I help you?" she asked kindly, recognizing the ex-punk from down the street.
Yosuke looked stunned. "Wh-What the…then who's that?"
The girl at the sink turned around, revealing a young face and red-brown hair. "…What?" she asked, looking tired as she looked at the group of boys. Yu's face flushed deep crimson, and Yosuke began stammering. Kanji looked annoyed, and Souji pinched the bridge of his nose as he snorted at the two boys' responses.
Kanji and Souji approached the counter, leaving Yu and Yosuke looking dumbfounded behind them. "Uh…are you Rise?" asked Kanji, looking at the girl.
Her attitude turned sour. "Yeah. So?" she said, a slight tone of annoyance noticeable as she did so. Yosuke and Yu ran over, excitedly questioning the truth behind her response. "What do you want?" Rise asked, looking tiredly at the two.
Yosuke froze, unsure of exactly why he'd come here, and Yu's face darkened once more. "I…uh…er…Kanji?" he asked turning to the tall boy in a moment of confusion.
Kanji sighed. "We'd like some ganmodoki, please." he said, shaking his head. Souji snorted again, earning a look from Rise as he did so.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Souji shook his head, trying to contain his laughter. "Yeah, ask me again when we leave." he said as Yosuke and Yu snapped out of their stupor, only to fall right back in as Rise looked at them.
Rise nodded. "I'll go get your ganmodoki, then." She turned and went to the front of the store, gathering some ganmodoki and putting it into a bag.
"Wow, she's nothing like she is on T.V" Yosuke mused.
Yu nodded. "Yeah, she's tired. Somethings wrong." he said, earning a surprised look from his brother.
"Wow, Yu, I'm kinda shocked. You don't normally read into people like that."
Yu just nodded. "Uh-huh…" was all he said. The boy was very concerned for his idol, who was walking back with the tofu in hand.
"Here you go…" she said, handing Yu the bag. Yu gave the bag to Yosuke, who suddenly found he couldn't speak again.
"Have you noticed anything weird lately?" Yu asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Weird? Like stalkers?" Rise asked, edging back a bit. "Are you guys fans of mine?"
Souji shook his head, and Kanji responded to the question. "I wouldn't say we, but Yu-senpai and Yosuke-senpai here are pretty big fans of yours." he said, indicating each boy respectively.
Yu nodded his head. "Not to get off subject, but I've been a fan of yours since the beginning. I hope you're doing okay." he added with a smile, looking a little worried. "You seemed really tired recently, and it's very apparent now that I get to see you in person."
Rise nodded, allowing a slight smile to flash on her face. "Thank you. I've just needed a break for a while, that's all. What did you mean earlier when you said weird?" she asked, returning to the looked a bit relieved at her answer, but wasn't convinced.
"Maybe you know already, but Inaba's been pretty dangerous as of late." Souji said, answering Rise's question. "We've had two murders and two disappearances in the last two months. We and a few others have been investigating some stuff to do with it."
Rise gave Souji a questioning look. "Oh yeah?" she said.
Yu spoke up. "Have you seen the T.V show that comes on at midnight?" he asked. "It's not like a regularly scheduled program."
Rise nodded. "Oh, that thing that was on last night. The Midnight Channel, yeah?"
Yu nodded. "So you watched it last night then?" he asked, earning a nod from Rise.
"I heard the rumors from some friends of mine. But that girl last night wasn't me. I've never been filmed wearing that swimsuit before. And the bustline…." She paused. "Mine aren't that big."
Yosuke managed to squeak out an agreement, and then blushed harder as he realized what he'd just said. "I'm sorry…" he said, Yu doing the same.
"Don't apologize so much." Rise giggled lightly, making Yu's heart flutter a bit. "You're funny." she said, making the two boys turn even redder. Souji thought he should take down a description; he was sure Yosuke's face had managed to find a completely new shade of red.
"I know this is sudden, but we're not lying." Kanji said.
Souji nodded. "We're just concerned. The Midnight Channel doesn't seem to rely on ordinary film. You may have never been filmed like that, but that doesn't mean it wasn't you."
Rise nodded. "Alright, thanks. I'll be careful."
Yu nodded back. "Please do. I'd hate for you to finally get a vacation, just to have it ruined by whatever's going on."Rise looked up, stunned. Yu continued "Please, be careful. But also, try to relax a bit. I imagine you get worked to the bone and then some. You deserve a break, at the very least."
Rise nodded, blushing a bit. "Thank you." she said, and walked over to the stands again, grabbing another bag. She filled it to the brim with multiple kinds of tofu, and then handed it to the silverette. "Thanks for the warning, and your concern. I'm not used to having people care about me like that." She smiled genuinely, brushing Yu's hand lightly as she withdrew to the back of the shop. Yu felt his heart skip a beat, and his face blushed again.
"Well, there goes Yu" Souji said.
Kanji sighed again, exasperated. "I got Yosuke-senpai. Let's go" he said, grabbing the brunette by the collar and pushing him out of the shop. Souji tugged on Yu's arm, leading the boy into the street as he walked dazedly.
"Dammit!" Yu said, bringing his fist down onto the table. Souji jumped, and listened for a sign that Dojima or Nanako had woken up. Luckily, there was none. "Yu, calm down. You're going to wake up Nanako and Dojima!" the boy cautioned.
Yu was staring at the T.V screen in front of them, silver eyes blazing. "I knew it was a long shot…but I thought…I hoped that it was over!"
Rise Kujikawa was on the Midnight Channel, teasing about stripping, but Yu wasn't paying attention, nor would he have cared if he was. Souji looked at his brother, a look of pain on his face. Ever since Rise had thanked him, flirtatiously teasing by brushing his hand, Yu had barely stopped talking long enough to breathe. When they'd watched outside the tofu shop yesterday with Adachi and the Investigation Team, they'd found someone climbing a telephone pole, trying to peek into Rise's room. They had apprehended the man, who claimed to have been only taking pictures, and had hoped against hope that the investigation was over. But Rise had gone missing after they'd walked back to give her the news. Yu had been worried sick, and now he was angry. No, angry was too weak a word. He was desperate, frantic, incensed. No words truly fit how Yu felt and looked, but those were what Souji thought fit best.
Yu pulled out his phone as the show ended, punching the speed dial for Yosuke in. Yosuke picked up moments later, but Yu headed him off before he could speak. "She's in there. We're getting her out tomorrow. That's it. Nothing else matters right now!" Yu said vehemently, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down.
"I-yeah, of course. But we can't just rush in there without a plan!" Yosuke responded, taken aback at the ferocity Yu was displaying.
Yu shook his head. "I know that. Let's meet at Junes tomorrow after school. Then get in there and rescue her." Souji looked pained. He had no idea how to help his brother beyond doing his best to rescue the idol, and felt useless sitting here.
"Yeah, I agree. But I'll bet Teddie won't be able to find her easily. That bears nose has been unreliable lately." Yosuke responded. The past few times the team had gone in to train, Teddie had smelled less and less. His battle support was falling apart because of it, and the bear was perpetually worried and lost in thought, believing himself to be useless, despite the teams many protests.
"Teddie won't have a problem." Yu snapped, anger welling just below his limit of patience. "I can give him whatever he needs. We just need to focus on getting Rise out of there!" Yosuke tried to answer, but Yu hung up, putting the phone on its charger. He walked over and began performing maintenance on his sword, checking to make sure it was razor sharp.
Souji could only stare at him. His normally light-hearted brother was acting as Souji had never before seen him. Rise obviously meant a lot to him. He shook his head. "Love at first sight, huh?" he thought to himself, putting his things away as Yu finished, turning off the lights to they could go to sleep. They'd need all the rest they could get for tomorrow.
They were standing in the entrance of the strip club. Yosuke was getting punched by Chie as he looked around, gawking at the atmosphere. Kanji more or less seemed unperturbed, and was talking to Yukiko, who had been hanging out with the younger boy much more often recently. Souji was talking to Teddie, comforting the bear as he expressed his worries to his "Sensei", and discussing the plan with him; they weren't going to leave without Rise.
Yu stood at the door, holding his katana at his side, tightening and loosening his grip on the handle repeatedly. He turned around, looking at his friends. When they'd heard his conviction at the store, they'd agreed to come without hesitation. Souji had made a quick stop at Daidara's and Shiroku before heading to Junes, grabbing bundles of supplies, a large metal plate for Kanji, a heavy fan for Yukiko, and an armor upgrade for the whole group. His wallet had taken another hit, but Yu had paid him back, thanking his brother for making sure they'd succeed today. Yosuke had even offered Yu a job at Junes, stating there were a couple of openings that needed to be filled; the bratty girls had been fired, but had spread vicious rumors about the store, causing the openings to go unfilled. Yu had accepted, and thanked the brunette for the opportunity, feeling he'd need the distraction soon.
"Are we ready?" Yu asked, the rest of the group turning to look at him. Souji turned to look, and gave an affirmative nod. Yu would be the leader today, Souji would step back to allow his brother to command the Team the way he needed them to. The Investigation team walked up behind the silverette, and they turned to the door leading further in. "Let's go." Yu said, unsheathing his katana and stepping forward, leading the way.