November 8, Tuesday

He held her tiny hand, hoping for any sign of life. The only comfort he had was the beeping of the heart monitor letting him know that she was still with him. The usually energetic girl looked completely lifeless as she lay on her hospital bed, weakly breathing.

He was so scared. They had no clue what the TV world did to her and that also meant they had no clue whether she would ever wake up again. Every second that passed made that fear build inside him, knowing they were one second closer to giving up and turning off her life support. The only thing he wanted was for her to do anything at all to let them know she was still there. He desperately hoped she would suddenly stir in confusion or even just squeeze his hand to let him know she was still fighting.

He sat for what felt like hours by her side. With no change in anything he was considering leaving and coming back another time. That was until it all changed.

The beep turned into a painful droning noise. He watched her heart monitor as it flatlined.

"Nanako? No Nanako stay with me" he panicked as he got up in a frenzy.

"WE NEED A DOCTOR RIGHT NOW!" he yelled into the hallway, but his voice just echoed through the empty hospital. He rushed back to her and took things into his own hands. He began to perform CPR on her, pressing her chest and breathing into her mouth periodically to try and revive her. He was hysterically crying as he continued, the realisation that she was dead slowly sinking in.

"NANAKO!" he screamed.

…

"NANAKO!" he screamed as he woke up in a panicked sweat. He sat up in confusion as he began to cry uncontrollably. He felt someone grab him from behind as he jumped in fright and fought to escape their grasp.

"Yu it's me Yukiko, I'm not going to hurt you" he heard her say softly. He turned his head to find that she was still in his bed. He stopped resisting as he sobbed, turning himself around and hugging her.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"I-I-I saw h-her di-die" he cried over her shoulder as she gently lowered them back to the futon.

"Nanako?" she asked as he nodded.

"That wasn't real. It was just a dream. She's still alive, Yu" she told him as she rubbed his back. It may have been a nightmare, but it was still terrifying to him nonetheless. He feared that the next time this happened he wouldn't wake up; he'd have to accept the reality that Nanako was dead. Luckily for him, Yukiko was there to calm him down for now. He couldn't imagine how he would have coped if he wasn't in her warm embrace. He felt so safe and comfortable in her arms, and her words were finally sinking in as he finally told himself Nanako was still alive.

"You're ok Yu. She's still here" she whispered. He could feel himself slowly calming down as he managed to better control his breathing. He was so relieved that everything he'd seen was just a dream. He withdrew from her shoulder as they met each other's gaze. She looked concerned as she began to use her hand to wipe the tears from his face. She gave him a smile and began to play with his hair. She had such a beautiful smile; it made him feel like everything would be ok.

As the tears slowed, he began to feel tired again. His eyelids began to feel heavier as his brain struggled to think properly from fatigue. He gave in and closed his eyes, the pleasant image of Yukiko so close to him the last thing he saw before he fell back asleep.

…

He was still tired as he woke up. He felt groggy and miserable, the only positive thing was the unusual warmth and comfort of something holding him. He opened his eyes to find Yukiko still in bed with him, clutching him tight like he was a teddy bear.

He was instantly reminded of what happened yesterday and felt completely embarrassed about it. He had tried so hard to keep himself together, but he couldn't even do that. He'd spilled so many deeply private feelings to her and now she would never see him the same way ever again. She had probably just comforted him out of pity. She probably just thought he was so sad and pathetic that she felt bad for him and felt the need to do this all for him.

He groaned as he sat up, looking at the window to find the sun brightly shining into his room. He looked at his clock and was shocked to find that it was already past 11.

"Yukiko, we need to get up" he said as he rushed into his closet to look for a clean uniform to wear.

"Good morning, Yu" she yawned.

"Morning. It's just past 11, we're already way late for school" he explained as he now gathered the books he needed for today.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Yu I thought we went through all this yesterday…"

"Yesterday was… it was a really bad day for me, ok? But that was just one day. Let's both forget it ever happened. Today is a new day and I need to move on and get to school and…"

"You're suppressing your feelings again."

"I'm not suppressing anything."

"Yu, please. Bottling up your emotions is going to make things worse. I'm here, let me help you" she pleaded.

"I need to go get ready" he said before he felt her hand holding his wrist, preventing him from leaving to go downstairs.

"You're staying at home today" she told him.

"I can't do that."

"It's just one day. I think you need it."

"Yukiko…"

"I don't understand, why won't you just let me help you?"

"Because… because… I don't need it."

"Yu, you're giving me no choice here."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you're not going to confront your feelings voluntarily, I'm going to have to force you" she said.

"You can't do that."

"I'm sorry Yu, but I have no choices left" she said as she walked towards the TV.

"Yukiko? Yukiko!" he yelled as he watched her crawl inside the small TV in his room. Adrenaline rushed through him as he instantly dived in after her. He couldn't see much as he got through. The only thing he saw was her. He instantly sprinted over to her and held her, trying his best to protect her.

"Persona!" he yelled, before feeling a sharp pain inside him. He instantly collapsed to his knees as it felt like he was getting the life sucked out of him. He felt weak as she now summoned her persona, ready to protect them.

"You're not special, Yu" he heard from an unknown source. He looked up in horror; a shadow version of himself standing right near him.

"You thought you were different from all of them. You thought that because you didn't have a shadow, it meant you were special. But you were wrong. I'm right here" it taunted. His first impulse was to try and fight it, but he knew exactly how that would go. He'd watched this happen enough times to know that fighting would just make things worse. He stood up to walk over to his shadow.

"I am you and you are me. We are the same, now get the hell back in my body" Yu demanded.

"You can't just mutter the words, Yu. You have to actually mean them" it laughed. They stared at each other, a disturbing look on the shadow's face.

"Look at you. You're so scared. You do your best to mask it, but it's starting to slip. You are absolutely terrified of what's going to happen to Nanako. You think she's going to die" it said. All he could do was stand and listen to it. He looked over to see Yukiko watching on, a look of despair on her face.

"Ah! Let's talk about Yukiko over here for a second. Very unfortunate about yesterday, huh? She saw you for the sad, weak, pathetic man you are. You know she would never like you for who you are. That's why you keep trying to push her away. You want to hide the side of yourself you don't want her to see. The side who cries like a little bitch. The side who's insecure about himself. The side of you who's not so brave and strong. You want her to forget, but you know damn well she'll never forget what she saw and she'll never want you."

"Yu…" she said sadly.

"Oh and how about we talk about your friends? You do the same thing for them. You're worried they'll all leave you if they see you for who you truly are. But that's not even the best part! You have an ego about the fact that you've seen them all at their lowest points, while they still haven't seen yours. You want to hide it from them all because you consider yourself above them, and you fear they'll see you as beneath them if they see your deepest secrets. Hahaha, guess you're not so above them now, are you?" it taunted.

"I know…" he said weakly.

"Nanako would be really disappointed in you, yknow? You were meant to protect her, but you failed her. You should have done more. You should have done better. There were so many things you could have changed, but you didn't. Do you know why? Because you're a spineless coward. I hate you. I hate you so much. You should just give up at this point. Yosuke would probably be a better leader than you anyway, and the team would probably forget about you pretty quick anyway. Am I right, or am I right?"

"I… Y-y… you're right. You're me. This is a part of me. I'm… I'm so scared" he began to cry. Yukiko rushed over to him and hugged him, his touch starved body desperately reciprocating.

"I'm so sorry Yukiko. I'm a monster" he sobbed.

"You're not a monster. You're just human, just like the rest of us" she reassured him. He felt a strange sensation as he began to feel a bit stronger.

"Your shadow's gone. It's back inside you" she told him as he couldn't stop bawling his eyes out. He'd been pushing her away, and he felt horrible for it. He felt he didn't deserve any of her comfort, and yet she stayed.

"Let's go back home, ok?" she said. Their hands found each other as they made their way to the TV. They both crawled back in and she instantly hugged him again, gently lowering them back onto his futon.

"You're so brave for facing your shadow. I'm so proud of you, Yu" she told him. He couldn't help but cling on to her as tight as he could.

"I'm so sorry Yuki…"

"You have nothing to apologise for, you're just scared. But you don't need to be scared anymore, ok? I'm still here. I don't think any less of you. You're still the amazing Yu Narukami I became friends with all the way back in May. Your shadow is only one side of you. You're still as smart and strong and courageous and every other positive quality you have. I'm going to stick by your side no matter what happens, as long as you want me here" she reassured him.

"I-I-I… I need you, Yukiko" he whimpered. Her words were enough to smash through his protective walls. He felt truly safe and comfortable with her in a way he never had with anyone else. He felt like he had a special bond with her. He felt like he could just be himself in front of her. He didn't have to pretend to be anything he wasn't in this moment, and right now Yu Narukami was a completely broken man. He was finally going to let her in and let her see his true self.

He felt overwhelmed by his emotions. He just couldn't stop hysterically crying. The only thing keeping him from completely breaking down was her. Her hug felt like he was enveloped in a cocoon, sheltering him in her warmth as she protected him from any outside harm. He could feel his face heat up as she began to leave soft kisses on his cheek, making him blush. Her soft lips on his skin made his body feel more relaxed, her sweet affection slowly but surely helping to quell his overthinking and fear.

"It's going to be ok, Yu" she softly whispered in his ear. He didn't fully believe her yet, but he wanted so desperately to agree. He wished he could say for certain things would be ok, but given the current situation he just couldn't bring himself to do it; not yet.

They lay there for what felt like hours as she continued to comfort him. She constantly whispered him reassurances with her sweet voice, making him feel calmer. Her presence was slowly making him relax to the point where he could think rationally again. He began to reflect on what his shadow had said. While those things it said were true, that was only a single side to him. His shadow didn't define who he was; he did. He knew every single one of his friends had dark and messed up thoughts just like he did, yet he still liked them all a lot. They embraced that part of themselves and it helped make them better people. He knew it would be so difficult, but he had to do it too. Yukiko had helped him realise that, and the thought that he could improve himself comforted him greatly.

"Feeling a little better now?" she asked as she moved to look at his face.

"Y-yeah. Thank y-you so much Yukiko. I don't… I don't know w-what I would have done without y-you" he said.

"I'm just happy you're not crying anymore. It breaks my heart to see you that way."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"No don't apologise! You didn't do anything wrong, I just… when I see you that way, all I want do is help you in anyway I can" she said.

"I am so lucky to have you here Yukiko" he smiled.

"It's been too long since I've seen that smile of yours. I'm glad it's back" she smiled back.

Out of nowhere his stomach began to grumble. It seemed to instantly remind his body that he was hungry, as he suddenly wanted to eat.

"Someone's hungry" Yukiko teased as she reached under his shirt to rub his belly. He hummed in contentment as her silky-smooth hands rubbed his midsection, the sensation of her touching him in an unusual area very pleasant.

"I think I have some leftovers in the fridge still" he said.

"No, you deserve some fresh homemade food. What do you want me to cook?"

"I don't want to bother yo…"

"I want to cook for you, so what would you like?"

"Um… eggs on toast would be nice, please."

"I can do that! C'mon, let's go downstairs" she smiled as she got up and reached out her hand to him. They went downstairs hand in hand as they went into the kitchen.

"So how do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled, please."

"You have good taste. Scrambled eggs coming right up!"

He decided it would be best for him to get out of her space while she cooked, so he decided to just go and relax on the sofa. He sat in silence as he watched her do her work. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she cooked. She was fretting over every little detail as if she was cooking for a professional critic; adorably indecisive when she couldn't decide when to take the eggs out of the pan. It was nice that she was doing all of this just for him, and most importantly that she wanted to do this for him. It made him feel some happiness; something he had really struggled to find recently.

"It's ready" she said as she put down two plates at the dining table.

"I hope it's ok" she said nervously. He really shouldn't have trusted her cooking, but this time he did. Even if it didn't taste good, he could tell she poured all her love and care into it and right now that was what mattered most to him.

He took a bite, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted good.

"It's good" he said.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, I like it."

"Oh thank goodness. I was really worried you wouldn't like it" she said in relief.

"Thank you so much, Yukiko" he smiled.

"Don't even mention it. You go enjoy that while I go take care of some things, ok?"

He slowly ate his food as he watched her rush in and out of various places in the house. He was slightly confused as to what on earth she could be doing, but he just decided not to question it for now. He found that his meal was the perfect size. He didn't have a big appetite so something simple was absolutely perfect for him. He was sipping some water as she returned.

"I got the bath ready for you, so once you're done with your water you can hop in" she said.

"O-oh, ok. Thank you" he said in surprise. He was meant to be letting her take care of him, but instead it seemed like she was just spoiling him rotten; not that he was complaining of course.

He made his way to the bathroom. He was shocked to find that not only was the bath ready, but she had prepared his towel and new clothes as well. It felt so nice to sit in the water. He felt much cleaner as he washed himself. The downside was that he was alone for now, and that began to bring back the bad thoughts and feelings that he'd managed to temporarily keep at bay.

He felt stronger this time, however. Knowing that he had Yukiko close by to come and support him made him feel a little better. He would never be able to shake how scared he was for Nanako, but the other thoughts got easier to deal with. He felt a little less guilty about the whole thing. He felt a little less angry at himself. He hated himself less. He knew these feelings wouldn't be going away anytime soon, but they were having less of an effect on him.

It felt good to dry off and put on some clean clothes. He walked out to find Yukiko washing all the dishes.

"You feel better now you're clean?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, yes."

"Good. Oh by the way, your phone was ringing a lot while you were in there. Might wanna check it out. I'll be done in a few minutes so I'll be right there" she told him. He went up to his room and checked his phone. To his surprise there were six different voice messages in his inbox. He started from the top, the first one from Yosuke.

"Hey partner, it's me Yosuke. I hope everything's ok with you. I just uh… I just wanted to ring you to let you know I'm here. You know you're my best friend, right? I've probably told you a million times but I just wanted to tell you that I really, really, really care about you dude. I know it's probably really difficult for you right now, so I just wanted to remind you that if you ever need to talk to anybody or you need any help, I've always got your back. You're my partner after all, and partners stick with each other forever. As long as I'm still breathing, you'll never be alone because I'll always be there for you, Yu. But um, yeah. I miss ya bud, and hopefully I'll see ya at school tomorrow. Alright, cya."

Next was Kanji.

"Hey senpai, it's uh Kanji. I um… I uh… fuck. Senpai I'm real worried bout you god damnit! You don't come to school and don't say shit to any of us! We're all so worried bout you man! God damnit, I'm sorry senpai I'm just worried bout you. Listen, I just wanna let you know you can come talk to me about whatever you need. You never judged me for all the shit I had going on in my life, and I ain't gonna judge you for anything either. Uh… yeah, that's about it. I hope I'll see ya tomorrow."

Next up was Naoto.

"Good afternoon, senpai. It's Naoto Shirogane calling. I understand you're probably either at home or at the hospital right now, and I don't want to interrupt your day. I just wanted to call to let you know that me and all of your friends are here to support you. As someone who has previously shut themselves away from those who care about me, I am concerned about you doing the same thing. I am well aware it can be quite… scary… to open up to people, but I can guarantee that it will help you feel better. I know I am not the best at these sorts of things, but if you ever need any assistance or just somebody to spend time with, please know that I am available at anytime. I shall talk to you later senpai."

The next person on the list was Chie.

"Hey Yu, it's Chie. I uh, haven't heard from you or Yukiko today so I just wanted to see how you two are doing. Well… actually, I wanted to tell you something. I think you should be really proud of yourself. I… I know it sounds ridiculous, but you should be proud that you were able to protect Nanako as best you could. If any of us were in that situation, I bet we wouldn't have been able to get her back but you… you did. She's still alive because of you, and I just wanted you to know that. Anyway, if you wanna talk to me or you need a favour just let me know. I've got your back, so you'll never be alone. Alright uh, say hi to Yukiko for me and tell her to call me. Alright, bye."

Then came Rise.

"Senpai! Is everything ok? I've been so worried about you all day! I just… I just want to know that you're ok. I know the last few days must have been so hard for you. It's been hard for us too… not that it's anything compared to you of course. If there is anything I can do for you please just call me. I'll come running wherever you need me to be. And if I don't hear anything from you tomorrow, I'm gonna come find you! I really hope I hear from you soon senpai."

Finally, he had a message from Teddie.

"Hey sensei, it's me Teddie! Yosuke just told me that you skipped school without a word to anyone! He's really worried about you, and so am I! Nana-chan would want us to stick together, sensei. I don't want you to be like me before I met you all; all alone with no one to talk to. So you can talk to me anytime. You can talk to Yosuke anytime. You can talk to any of us at any time. Come back to us, sensei!"

A tear began to roll down his face as he put down his phone. He could tell from their messages that all his friends were concerned for him and cared about him more than he realised. He was so happy to know that he had such good friends who truly did care for him, but he also felt guilty that he tried to shut himself off from them.

"Any calls from Adachi or the hospital?" Yukiko asked as she entered his room.

"No. Just uh… our friends" he sniffed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked as she rushed over to his side.

"No no, there's nothing wrong. It's just they were such lovely messages and… I didn't realise that they were all so worried about me. It makes me feel guilty for hiding away from them" he explained.

"See, I told you! You have nothing to be afraid of, Yu. They'll all accept you with open arms just like me."

"I wanna tell them about everything. Tomorrow" he said.

"Of course. I'll call up Chie later and tell her you want to talk to everyone before school if that's ok with you?"

He nodded.

"Good" she smiled as she now held his hand. As they sat together, he realised he was already tired again. Today had been very emotionally draining, but he hadn't expected himself to already feel sleepy again.

"I think I might take a nap" he said.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked.

"I'm not holding you hostage, Yukiko. I know you should probably go take care of some things, so go do what you need. I'll be fine here for a while, I promise" he said.

"Thank you, Yu."

He lay on his futon as he put his blanket on. She came over and tucked him in, giving him a kiss on the forehead. He blushed.

"Goodnight Yu" she smiled.

"Goodnight Yukiko" he smiled back.

…

"Yu. Yu, it's time to wake up"

He felt better as he began to wake up. Yukiko was standing over him holding a plastic bag.

"I went to Rise's on the way back here and she made you your favourite Tofu" she told him.

"You've been busy" he joked.

"I'll tell you all about it over dinner. You better get up soon or else it'll get cold" she said as she reached down to give him another kiss on the forehead before disappearing downstairs. The incredible smell of the food was alluring, bringing him out of his room quickly.

As he came downstairs, he noticed a large bag on the couch. Yukiko was currently putting the food onto their plates, his favourite order of Tofu waiting for him.

"Is that your bag?" he asked.

"Oh! Yes it is. It's just some clothes and school stuff for tomorrow" she explained.

"You're very organised. It's a good trait to have."

"Thank you. Growing up at the inn I was taught from a young age to always be organised. My parents say I need it to run the inn, but I've found it's a useful skill for nearly anything" she said.

"I imagine it helps a lot with school" he said.

"It does. I need to teach Chie and Yosuke to be more organised with their studies. They're always doing things last minute."

"Well I mean, it seems to work for me" he chuckled.

"Wait, really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I tend to start studying around a week before exams start."

"That's… that's very impressive actually."

"Thanks. I think I can get away with it because I pay full attention in class unlike them" he joked.

She put two plates of food down at the table in front of the TV. They sat together and began to eat. As expected the food was delicious; Rise's grandmother really knew how to make good Tofu.

"Thank you so much for picking this up for me" he said.

"Rise offered actually, so you should really be thanking her" Yukiko replied.

"I'll make sure to do that tomorrow."

"Oh by the way, I called Chie. She's going to tell everyone to meet outside the school gates before class."

"That's perfect, thank you."

"Of course."

He finished his tofu, feeling nice and full afterwards. The best thing about it was there was plenty to spare so he could eat the leftovers tomorrow as well.

"So, I assume you're heading home now?" Yu asked.

"I was actually hoping I could stay the night again? I don't want to overstay my welcome but…"

"Ah, that's why you brought your school things here. Yes, I'd really like you to stay" he smiled. It felt nice to know that she wanted to sleep over with him, but it also brought about many questions.

Him and Yukiko had gotten very close over the past couple days. He'd let down his walls for her and she'd stayed with him all he needed. It would be one thing if she had just comforted in basic ways such as hugging, but they had gotten deeper than that. She was giving him comforting kisses and being very intimate with him. He was confused as to how she truly felt about him. He didn't know whether she was doing this just because she wanted to comfort him, or if there were more feelings involved.

All he knew was there were definitely feelings involved for him. He would never let any of his other friends touch him in such an intimate way, but she was different. She was special to him. Even before the events of yesterday, he felt closer to her than to any of the others. He felt so relieved when she told him she accepted him for who he was and that she would still support him, because he was so scared that opening up would push her away and make them grow apart.

He loved everything about her. She was so kind and compassionate to everybody, but she could still be firm and stand up for herself if she needed to. She had the strangest sense of humour, but he found himself always laughing at her jokes. She was incredibly intelligent, constantly threatening to dethrone him as the best student in his class. She was also just absolutely beautiful. She made him feel so happy whenever they spent time together. In his eyes, she was as close to perfect as a human could ever get.

That's why he needed answers. If he was going to ask her, the best time would be as soon as possible, especially considering the fact his shadow sort of confessed his feelings to her.

"Thank you, Yu. By the way, I also rented a movie for us tonight. Chie recommended it, so I thought it might be fun to watch it together" she said.

"Let me guess, Trial of the Dragon?"

"Trial of the Dragon 2, actually. I asked her for a movie recommendation and she was absolutely insistent on this one specifically."

"She really loves her kung-fu movies, huh?"

"She's been like this since she was a kid. I still remember the time when Trial of the Dragon 5 came out and she practically begged me to go see it with her at the cinemas."

"What did you think?"

"It was… fine, but kung-fu movies aren't really my thing. But what I really remember is what happened afterwards" she said as she tried to hold back a laugh.

"Uh oh, what happened?"

"Well, in one of the scenes this guy did a crazy no-look kick behind him and when… heeheehee… when Chie got out of the movie she said 'Hey Yukiko, watch this!' and then she… ahahahahahaha… then she tried to do the kick but she… heehee… but she slipped and face planted on the ground in front of everyone outside the cinema ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" she laughed hysterically, as he couldn't help but start laughing too. They couldn't stop as his insides started to hurt from laughing so hard.

"The crazy thing is I can totally see her doing something like that" he chuckled.

"I think now she could actually do that kick" she managed to reply as they calmed down.

"She could. I've trained with her before, that girl knows some crazy moves" he said.

"Well, since we aren't kung-fu experts, I hope you don't try any of those crazy stunts like she did" she laughed.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"So, do you wanna watch down here or up in your room?"

"We better watch it upstairs so I can easily put you to bed if you fall asleep of boredom" he teased.

"Well then, it's settled. Trial of the Dragon 2 then sleep" she said.

They went up to his room and he placed the disc into his DVD player. He'd nearly forgotten how to use the thing as at this point he pretty much only used the TV to check the midnight channel.

He finally got the thing working and the movie started to play. To his surprise it started immediately with a fight scene, as the protagonist attempted to escape from a big group of ninjas while trying to retrieve the 'dragon blade'.

As the movie continued, he noticed that he and Yukiko seemed to be much closer to each other than they were at the start of the movie. He wasn't sure how the gap had closed so much, but he wanted to close it further. Yukiko had been the one showing most of the affection so far, and he wanted to return the favour.

He carefully inched himself closer as the main character fought with his love interest, who just so happened to also be an incredibly skilled kung-fu fighter in disguise. They currently thought that the other worked for the enemy, however they both in fact were on the same side. As the fight went on, he was now sitting right next to her. He decided to make a move and put his arm around her shoulder, regardless of how cheesy he thought it was. She responded by leaning her head on his shoulder. It made him happy that she seemed to like it.

They sat like this as they finished the movie. The protagonist and love interest made up and beat up the villain together, finishing the movie by sharing a kiss.

"So, what did you think?" he asked. He was met with silence.

"Yukiko?" he asked as he looked at her. She'd fallen asleep. He was joking earlier about her falling asleep during the movie, but he hadn't actually expected it to happen. He couldn't blame her; the poor girl had spent the past day and a half caring for him. If there was anyone who deserved a good night's sleep, it was her.

He figured he should probably put her to bed. He scooped her up into his arms as gently as he could and carried her over to his futon. He softly placed her onto it, trying his best to put her in a comfortable position. He got in next to her and put his blanket over them, prioritising tucking her in over anything else.

"Goodnight Yukiko" he whispered as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her cheeks turned red as he got comfortable. She inched herself closer to him. He got the hint and wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her right into his chest. He didn't need any words from her; this told him everything he needed to know.

She was so amazing. She'd somehow managed to help him have a very pleasant evening even with everything happening in his life. He had no clue how she did it, but he couldn't be anything less than eternally grateful for her. He was so lucky to have her here, and he would never take that for granted.

He went to sleep that night feeling content, but nervous. He knew he had the unconditional support of Yukiko, but he was still worried about how his friends would react to him tomorrow. But he couldn't let that get to him. He went to sleep knowing that Nanako was still alive and that Yukiko was there for him, and that was enough for now.