(So uh... the P4 anime totally started before I was done with this. Still can't get used to Souji's new name. Drat. xD; Ehm. Moving on...)

While at the hospital, you noticed that Emi left a voicemail on your phone.

"Souji! Yuni's missing! She and Akira got in a fight, and she ran away. She left her phone at her house, and nobody can find her. Please be on the lookout for her, okay? Let us know if you find her!"

You would keep your eye out for Yuni...

-.

… which wasn't particularly difficult when you saw a girl outside the hospital.

You had to take a second glance; you initially saw a normal girl wearing a blouse with a tie, as well as a black skirt with black boots. She had a hat that hid most of her hair and sat on the sidewalk just before the parking lot. But upon a closer look, she had the unique golden blonde hair that you didn't see on any other girl. You carefully walked to her and greeted her. She twitched in surprise and looked at you; then she looked back at the ground, putting her chin in her hands and elbows on her knees.

"Hey, how's it going, Souji?" she asked, uninterested. Had she known you were looking for her? You told her about Emi's phone call.

"I should've figured she was gonna do that. I knew if I went to Emi or Rage, they would just turn me in to Akira. I was hoping I could hide here and then Zero could quietly give me a ride home after we've both had time think. Besides, no one would look here. So what, are you gonna tell everyone I'm here?"

You promised not to tell anyone she was there. If you did, she would probably run away to somewhere else. Perhaps your best hope would be for Yuni to get a ride and safely get home. You offered to stick around for a little bit while she waited.

"Aw, you don't have to do that," she said, even though you were already sitting down. "Unless you want to."

Well, you were curious as to what she and Akira got in a fight about.

"Ugh," she grumbled. "Okay, I was invited to a party with a bunch of movie stars. My agent told me about it and said if I played my cards right with some old guys there, I could land a role in their new movie. But it's for a girl a couple years older than I am; if I was guarded by Akira the whole time, the producers would see me as a little kid and I wouldn't look like I fit the part at all.

"So I told Akira to let me go by myself, and he said he wasn't 'comfortable with it.' I was like, 'why not?' And he says I'm too young to go to a party by myself. But he's the only guy who thinks that. I mean, my agent thinks I'm mature enough to do this on my own, and lots of girl celebs are allowed to do things on their own out in public. But Akira never leaves me alone. I yelled at him, saying he was treating me like a baby, and he got really angry at me." She fidgeted with her hands. "I was... actually afraid of him. So I ran out of the room, grabbed some of his clothes to wear over mine, and snuck out without him noticing. I know it won't solve anything... I'm just mad."

There were a number of conflicts going through her head; you weren't sure where to start, but you tried to sympathize with her. She was suffering from Akira lacking trust in her, but she had to realize that running away like this was making it worse.

"I know, I know," she said. "But it doesn't make a difference, anyway. He wouldn't trust me to go even if I did stay in the mansion like a good girl."

It couldn't just be Akira... what did her parents think?

"They don't know about it. They're busy with business and stuff."

So Akira was the only father figure she had...

"Ew, he's not that old," she laughed. "He acts like a big brother a lot. But it's annoying."

He probably just cared for her. Her agent, on the other hand... how much did Yuni know about this person, or about the party for that matter?

"My agent? She's, uh... she's nice. She's the only reason I get in movies and stuff, so I owe her a lot. And her success depends on mine, so... she's gotta be looking out for me a little bit, right?"

You hoped so.

"And about the party, I mean, I only know what she knows. She got a call from the guy who was trying to recruit me and they told her all that stuff about the role. I'm not sure what kind of stunt they'd pull on someone with my status; maybe I'd be Punk'd at worst." She laughed.

"But Akira and I just need to cool off for a bit. Later tonight, I'll try talking to him again..."

-.

Before going to the arcade on Friday, received a call from Akira.

"This may seem out of the blue, but I wanted to know if you were willing to have a talk."

Were you in trouble for not telling anyone about Yuni? He didn't sound angry... Regardless of what the talk was about, you accepted the request.

-.

You waited by the street near your dorm for Akira to show up. His car was sleek looking and silver; he must've been paid rather well by Yuni's family. He remained in the driver's seat and motioned you to get in the car. Not wanting to damage the near-luxury car, you softly opened the passenger's seat door and climbed in. You instinctively buckled your seat belt and asked where he was taking you.

"I don't know that myself," he replied. "There are days I simply like to drive for my own amusement."

While you were listening, you were distracted by the interior of the vehicle. Everything was black with contrasting light silver edges. The radio appeared simplistic on the outside and had a slot for a small data card, but the sound quality was excellent. He was listening to some sort of dance music, but the volume was too low for you to hear much besides the clear percussion. Perhaps it was turned down so he could hear you better.

As the car began to move, Akira chuckled. "It isn't as expensive as you might think," he said, probably noting how intrigued you were by the car's interior. "I just like to take care of this car; I use it a lot, after all."

Does he drive a lot in New York, of all places?

"Sometimes I stay in the city; other times, I look for some small town. I haven't gone a lot of places since I was hired as a bodyguard, but," he he sighed, "Yuni's... growing up, or so she wants me to believe. I think I need to leave her alone for a bit. She told me about her talk with you yesterday..."

You apologized for not telling him you found her...

"No, don't worry about that; you did what you had to. I'm glad she was able to talk about that with you. Part of the reason I asked you to join me today is so that I could ask for your advice."

On what?

"I've been thinking... about that day we went to rescue Yuni in the TV world. That Shadow of me who was a prisoner... do I really suit that description? What do you think?"

You rarely heard anything about him besides his job of guarding Yuni. Maybe he needed more breaks like this away from her to ease his mind, and to be his own person.

"But I can't leave her."

Why not?

"I can't explain it. Ever since I was given this job, I've felt it was my responsibility if anything happened to her. She's a bit of a rebel, and she could probably stay safe if she didn't find her own trouble. For that reason, I think she needs me around. At the same time, I need her to have a job."

By this time, the scenery changed from walls of buildings to a series of long streets as he took a fast road to another city. All you could see were signs and more roads. You had never been out this far before; you wondered if he knew the way back...

"And she gives me a purpose."

Huh?

"Being a bodyguard seems like the most rewarding job to me. I can protect someone, and I hope that someone wants me by their side. That's why it scares me to think she doesn't need me anymore sometimes."

Yuni was just growing up. You didn't know much about their relationship, but she could never resent Akira; the two of them would always remember each other and the good times they had. You thought that maybe he just needed to hear what Yuni thought of him, in her words.

Did he have any good memories of Yuni?

"Of course," he said with a smile, turning onto a lonely road. "The first time I took her on a drive. We were both young; at the time, Yuni was nearly a child. Her father refused to let the two of us travel this far alone, having not known me very long, so he accompanied us on a short trip to Yuni's favorite ice cream parlor. On the way home, she was complaining about her father following her everywhere."

You came to a stop. You looked at Akira, who seemed to be in bittersweet nostalgia.

"She told me she wanted to be with just me. I was the one friend she could trust."

You smiled. You could nearly see Akira's memory in your mind; a small girl who probably appreciated having a friend to talk to, someone closer to her age and around more often than her parents.

"Anyway, let's eat."

Where had he taken you?

It looked like an ice cream parlor.