A/N: Okay everyone, chapter 2 is here! I'm so very glad the story got so many new followers and favorites. Also, we really appreciate the reviews. I will keep the author's note brief this time, but myself and thelovelydissidiacharacters have a lot planned out for this fic. It will be exciting. The real story begins here so please enjoy!

The Amagi Obsession

Chapter 2: Malice

Yukiko's room door closed with a thud. The black haired girl sighed; maybe her eyes had mistaken what they saw. Surely, Chie wouldn't lie to her like that. They had been best friends for years and always tried being honest with one another. Was she just being delusional, or were her suspicions correct? As much as she hated to admit it, Yukiko just couldn't imagine Chie with a boyfriend, or with Yu Narukami for that matter.

Chie was always so headstrong and tomboyish; she really did remind her of a prince.

Yukiko didn't like thinking negatively of her friend, but the jealousy was just too great.

A thought of another girl being involved suddenly crossed Yukiko's mind. Narukami didn't often share what he did in his spare time outside of school, at least not with her. She couldn't say the same for the others. The possibility of him seeing someone else was very plausible and it made Yukiko's stomach twist.

Still, the thought of both him and Chie dating one another stirred something uneasy inside of the girl. A feeling that brought a frown to her face.

"Would he really pick Chie over me?" she thought.

The possibility made Yukiko's heart thrum harder. Even more awful thoughts about Chie began to surface in her mind and Yukiko instantly regretted it. "But she is such a tomboy!"

Yukiko was only thinking these things because she was the one in love with Narukami. Just thinking about him did things to her heart and soul. The thoughts made her feel things she wouldn't normally feel when it came to guys. An uneasy feeling.

"I have to find out why he rejected me." She murmured as she lay on her bed. The earlier conversation with Chie had been cut short because Ms. Satonaka had called her daughter home.

The thought of Chie's Caller ID still lingered in the back of her mind despite Yukiko wishing otherwise.

Yukiko flipped open her cellphone, the front wallpaper was a selfie of her and Yu. She had been able to snap it the day they had gone to the movies to see one of her favorite horror flicks. Looking at the picture hurt her now. This entire situation just felt entirely hopeless.

"I shouldn't worry about stuff like this." She said with a sigh. With that Yukiko snapped her phone closed and began to undress out of the bulky winter clothing. Taking a hot bath would surely take her mind off of Narukami for the time being.

…

Chie burst into her room. Wasting no time, she slumped onto her bed and let out a muffled moan. She grabbed the closest pillow and screamed as loud as her lungs would allow into its depths. Beating her legs on the bed, she flopped over to her side, and let out an exasperated sigh.

This was not how she imagined the day would turn out. In fact, it was the exact opposite. "Why is it up to me to tell Yukiko the truth?" She whined. "Couldn't he have made it easier on me and told her then and there? I wouldn't be in this mess then."

"Ugh, what am I thinking?" Chie rolled over to her side. On her dresser sat a picture of herself and Yukiko from their childhood. Both of them smiling as they played with Muku, the dog Chie had taken in. The big ball of fur was laying right next to her on the bed. Chie wrapped her arms around the dog and sighed.

"Come here you!" She squeezed him into a hug. It felt like just yesterday she had met Yukiko and taken in the mutt. So much had happened since then. Meeting Yu, discovering they could enter the TV world, awakening her persona, and forming the Investigation Team.

The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her.

Telling Yukiko felt like her responsibility; she was the one who had been stringing Yukiko along. Chie and Yu had been in a relationship for over half a year. She loved Yu more than anyone else and Yukiko was her best friend. "I have to tell her. I have to make things right."

Chie jumped up, her fists balled with new resolve. "Tomorrow, I will tell her! I have to!"

…

The next day arrived faster than Chie expected. In what felt like minutes she was already on her way to school.

Walking through the snow was never easy, winters in the country sucked. The winter air was merciless as she trekked along the usual sidewalk up to Yasogami High. Chie still managed to endure. She made her way around a few blocks to the bus stop where she would usually meet Yukiko in the mornings.

However, when she arrived, Yukiko was nowhere to be seen.

Pulling out her phone, she sent out a text to her friend.

"Hey, are we still meeting at the bus stop?"

Chie waited around fifteen minutes for a reply or any sign of Yukiko. With her friend nowhere in sight she was starting to get annoyed. Despite her wearing mittens, the cold was beginning to numb her fingers. Time was ticking and she couldn't wait any longer. Chie picked up her bag and headed towards school. She couldn't be late to class again. Her mom would chew her out if she were.

As Chie hustled down the road, she received a notification. It was from Yukiko.

"Sorry, it slipped my mind. I'm already at school, you should hurry. Class is starting soon."

Chie had to do a double take at the text.

"Slipped my mind?" she read aloud.

That wasn't like Yukiko at all. They had been meeting each other nearly every day since starting high school together. Yukiko had never blown Chie off unless it was for something important. An unpleasant feeling was starting to fester in her chest.

Chie shook her head. Worrying about this right now wasn't going to solve anything. She grabbed her bag and set off. Being late to school wasn't an option.

Despite being used to it, running to school was never Chie's favorite thing to do. Even still, she arrived in class just as homeroom was about to start. The girl was sweating from all the running she had done to arrive on time.

Ms. Kashiwagi was standing at the front of the class, a clipboard in hand. She gave Chie a sneer. "Hurry up and sit down!"

Chie tried to avert her gaze from the rest of the class who whispered to one another questionably. Ignoring them, she made her way to the back of the class and took her seat. Pulling off the sweat soaked beanie, underneath revealed her hair was all frazzled. She looked as if she had just run a triathlon. The girl's cheeks were red with embarrassment.

Next to her she felt a weight taken off her shoulder. Yu was standing over her holding her bag.

"Are you alright Chie?" he asked.

Her face turned redder. Chie didn't want her boyfriend to see her this way. Maybe she had pushed herself too hard to make it on time.

"I- I'm fine really." she murmured. In reality, running in the cold with all of the winter gear on had taken a toll on her. She was beginning to get a bit nauseous. She wobbled a bit in her chair, but Yu balanced her in his arms.

The whole class was watching them with prying eyes.

Yu looked at her worriedly, then turned to face their homeroom teacher. "Ms. Kashiwagi, I'm going to take Chie to the nurse's office. She's not feeling well."

Ms. Kashiwagi had witnessed the whole spectacle and while it annoyed her, she couldn't resist Yu's assertiveness. Though, still with a frown on her face she gave her approval. "Fine, make it quick than back to class."

"Yu, you don't have to-" Chie began, but was cut off.

Yu gave her a reassuring smile, putting her objections to rest.

He helped her out of the class, but as Chie shuffled out the door, she made eye contact with Yukiko. The girl had an unreadable expression. Her eyes were cloudy and cryptic. As she headed with Yu to the nurse's office, Chie had no idea what Yukiko could possibly be thinking.

The entire walk to the nurse's office had Chie uneasy. She wondered if Yukiko had already pieced it together. Had someone spilled the beans to her, or worst case scenario, she saw the caller ID yesterday? It wasn't long until they reached the nurse's office.

When they arrived, the school nurse scolded Chie about her reckless actions. Running in a big winter coat had heated up her body incredibly fast and Chie had sweated out to much water to cool down. She was suffering from minor heat exhaustion.

Chie took some medicine and decided to lay in the nurse's office for a few periods until the nausea wore off. Against the nurse's wishes, Yu stayed by her side the entire time. He was ordered to go back to class, but he refused, citing how Ms. Kashiwagi ordered them to come back together.

This was a lie, but the nurse bought it and left to fetch some fresh ice.

Chie couldn't help, but smile as he finally won over the nurse. "You don't have to stay here with me silly."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't leave you alone." He replied lovingly. Yu's hands shifted over Chie's bangs that covered her eyes and pressed his lips against hers.

His lips were soft against her own; she wrapped her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer. Chie relished every possible moment. It was moments like this that always washed her unease away. She had forgotten all about the Yukiko situation.

He parted ways with her.

"I love you." Chie whispered.

Yu returned the gesture by whispering it back into her ear. "I love you to."

Outside the nurse's office Yukiko leaned against the cold wall.

She tried her best to suppress the tears as much as she could. The truth had pierced her chest like a stab wound. Earlier she had come to her senses and realized how much of a jerk she had been by blowing off Chie. She asked to use the restroom, but was coming to apologize to her friend. However, she didn't expect to find Narukami still there.

Yukiko slumped to her knees and held herself.

Chie had lied to her. Her best friend! If Yukiko had trusted anyone in the world, it was Chie first. They had been through thick and thin together. Never once, did they try to hide anything intentionally. Yukiko gritted her teeth. For the first time she felt like she had been betrayed by Chie.

This was the ultimate betrayal.

The young Amagi felt like screaming at the top of her lungs, but her voice would have been inaudible. The image of the two kissing and whispering sweet nothings to one another was permanently ingrained into her memory. She couldn't get the image out of her head. Something snapped inside Yukiko.

A smile crept onto her face, a plastic smile.

She stood up and faced the nurse's office once more.

"Chie? Narukami-kun?" Yukiko knocked and poked her head through the door. Her eyes made contact with Yu's. "Narukami-kun, Ms. Kashiwagi sent me to fetch you for third period. I'll look in on Chie in the meantime."

"Y- yes! I feel much better now." Chie still had a flustered look on her face, but tried her best to hide it in front of Yukiko. She turned her attention to Yu while she fixed her hair nervously. "You should head back to class. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Yu caught on and realized that his hair had gotten a bit messy as well. He'd fixed it before heading back to class and drawing suspicion. Smiling weakly at Yukiko, he headed back. "Look out for her, won't you?"

Yukiko gave a curt nod and returned her gaze to Chie. She wasn't sure if Chie was nervous or upset. Yukiko made her way to the chair that Yu had been previously occupying and sat down. An awkward silence filled the room. Yukiko stared hard at Chie to the point in which her friend averted her gaze.

Finally breaking the silence Yukiko mumbled. "I'm sorry I left you at the stop sign this morning. I was running late myself. Mother had me make breakfast at the inn this morning and didn't have the time to text."

This instantly put Chie at ease. The girl had been so nervous that Yukiko might have seen her and Yu kissing. A genuine smile appeared on her face. "You made breakfast? I hope they don't get sick."

Yukiko smiled at Chie, but inside all she felt was contempt for the girl. She had led her on as much as Narukami did, playing with her emotions. She couldn't let that go. There was no one she could rely on as much as Chie, yet she felt as though that trust had been broken. Chie wasn't her prince, and neither was Narukami.

"Hey, do you want to come over today?" Yukiko suddenly asked. "It's been a while since we've hung out at the inn."

Chie looked at her wrinkled clothes. Her skin still felt clammy from all the sweat. "Actually, that sounds like a great idea, I totally need a bath after this morning."

"It's a date then. We'll bathe in the hot springs." Yukiko said, poking her nose. She said her farewell to Chie and made her way back to class.

Yukiko wasn't sure what her intentions were in inviting Chie over. Her heart was in such pain at the moment, it was beating too much for her to handle. Maybe the hot springs would clear her mind.

"Perhaps, me and Chie can..." she thought about trying to reconcile with her friend. Yukiko shook her head, but one thought wouldn't leave her.

Yu kissing Chie was still fresh in her mind.

…

"Oh man!" Chie sunk deep into the Amagi hot springs. The hot water bubbled around them, and the sweet aroma of soap filled the air. If there was one thing Chie loved about being best friends with Yukiko Amagi, it was being able to come to the Amagi Inn free of charge. She loved relaxing in the hot water. "I can't believe you bathe in this every night. You're so lucky. I'd give anything to just relax in here every day."

"Anything?" Yukiko suddenly asked. That was a lie. She knew wouldn't give up Narukami, or the truth for that matter. "Like what?"

Chie sighed and floated towards her friend. "Hmm, I don't know maybe kung-fu!"

"Oh really?"

Typical Chie answer.

Yukiko half smiled; she didn't know what she expected to hear. It was obvious to her by now that Chie wasn't going to tell the truth. Yukiko pondered if it was better that way, but she was a seeker of the truth and right now Chie was no better to her than Adachi.

"Let me wash you back." she offered.

"Oh, sure." Chie wadded her way over to Yukiko and began to have her back cleaned. "To be honest I thought you were upset at me for leaving so early last night. Mom never really pays attention to my curfew, but last night she was fuming."

"Liar." Yukiko thought, as she scrubbed Chie's back a bit harder.

"Ouch, hey! Lay off with the roughness, I have delicate skin."

Yukiko stood up, visibly annoyed. "Sorry I got lost in thought. We should probably get to our homework now, don't you think?"

"Oh, yeah? Well, that was quick." Chie followed behind her sounding a bit confused. "We should get to that."

The sun was beginning to set, and Yukiko had promised her mother she would help around the inn tonight. Chie volunteered to pitch in as well. Together, they managed to complete the work in no time. Afterwards, the two of them sat silently in her room, studying the course materials, and going over questions.

Yukiko had always been good when it came to studying and often had to help Chie. She even credited Yukiko with helping her to pass freshman year. The two used to study a lot together during the weekdays, but Yukiko gradually noticed that Chie stopped relying on her for academic assistance. Her grades kept rising from low D's to high C's, and now solid B's!

Chie had been studying with someone else, Yu Narukami she assumed.

She squeezed her pencil to the point where it began to crack.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Yukiko muttered bitterly.

"Huh?" Chie looked up at Yukiko in confusion. "Did you say something?"

Even now Chie wasn't asking her for help. Yukiko for the first time glared at Chie with malice. This made the sandy blond stare uncomfortably back.

"Hey Yukiko, are you alright you've been acting strange all day?" Chie asked.

"How could I have been so stupid…?" She repeated, her gaze piercing Chie's confused face.

Chie was beginning to become concerned for her friend. She scooted over to Yukiko's side and went to touch her forehead. "Hey, Yukiko you don't seem alright."

Yukiko smacked Chie's hand away leaving her with a startled and hurt expression. Yukiko stood up breathing in heavily. Her fingers each curled into a fist, her long black hair concealing her angered expression. "How long?"

"Wh- what?" Chie stammered caressing her hurt hand. "Yukiko, what are you talking about?"

"Don't bullshit me!" Yukiko was beginning to raise her voice. "How long? How long were you going to lie to me Chie? How long were you going to keep it a secret that you've been dating Narukami-kun behind my back!?"

Chie's eyes were beginning to water as she heard Yukiko's words. "You knew…"

"Of course, I knew, I'm not stupid! I watched you two make out in the nurse's office! He was all over you!" Yukiko shouted. Her heart was racing and mind dazed. She was finally letting it all out. She glared once more at Chie. "And you! You lied to me the whole time with a smile on your face. So, tell me how long? How long have you two been dating? How long have you been lying to me!?"

"I-" Chie struggled to find her words. She stood up and faced her best friend. The girl had always been able to face any foe fearlessly, but she couldn't find it in herself to face Yukiko. She really felt weak. Silently she mumbled. "Seven months…"

Yukiko mouth fell slightly ajar.

"Seven months." she whispered. "For seven months while Narukami strung me along, you were in the place I was trying to reach. Some prince you are."

Chie felt despicable. Tears began to stream down her face. The girl covered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Yukiko. I meant to tell you, but I…"

"Sorry?" Yukiko took a step forward. She didn't know why, she had finally gotten the truth out of Chie, but this feeling inside her wouldn't subside. Her best friend was breaking down in front of her, but something dark was stirring inside of Yukiko. She wanted Chie to suffer as much as she did. "Sorry doesn't cut it Chie! For months you were behind my back kissing him, hugging him, going out on dates, and who knows, you were probably fucking him to!"

Before the girl could say anymore Chie jumped up and shoved Yukiko back into the dresser.

"Shut up! Don't say that!" Between her tears, anger brimmed in her eyes. Yukiko was taking this too far. "Don't talk about us like that."

"Us?" She had struck a nerve. Yukiko stood up. "A few minutes ago, it was just you!"

She slapped Chie across the cheek hard.

The sandy blond took a second to process what had just happened before grabbing Yukiko's hair and falling onto the study table. The two exchanged scratches and kicks, whilst pulling each other's hair. Both girls were lost in emotion while they fought. No one outside the room noticed their scuffle. The inn was a burst with loud noise from the dining hall, no one could hear the fight coming from the heiress's room.

"You betrayed me Chie! You're no true friend." Yukiko shouted. She was easily overpowered by Chie, who was he better fighter.

Chie was lost in her own rage over Yukiko's comments and held no punches. "Shut up!"

Yukiko was finally able to kick Chie off of her. The two locked eyes with one another.

"I wish Narukami could see you now, then he can see he's really dating a boy." Yukiko spat.

Chie stood up breathing in deeply. She approached Yukiko with a new look in her eyes.

One that put fear into the Amagi heiress.

Yukiko backed up until her back was against her dresser. She had lost her previous strength once she saw how serious Chie had looked.

Chie kneed her in the stomach hard, with no quarter.

Yukiko fell to her knees coughing and holding her abdomen.

"I'm going home." Chie declared, as she began to collect her school papers. She grabbed her bag and stuffed everything inside it uncaringly.

Yukiko laid on her side holding her stomach. She had almost thrown up. The knee took the wind right out of her. When she looked up, she could see Chie stop at the door and look back sympathetically at her.

Was she pitying her?

Yukiko didn't need or want her pity.

"Look, Yukiko, look I-" Chie started and began to head back towards her.

Yukiko jumped up and shoved Chie, startling her friend. She didn't care what Chie had to say anymore. Yukiko closed her eyes and pounded on Chie until she fell against a hard surface. Yukiko saw her wide screen television behind Chie and felt the TV beginning to suck Chie in.

"YUKIKO STOP!" Chie pleaded.

Yukiko continued to pound on her friend despite her protests. She was lost in a spiral of emotions. "You took Narukami away from me! You lied to me! You said you were my friend, but you're not! SO JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"

"Yu- Yukiko stop!" Chie screamed as she was shoved in. Yukiko gave one last push and within seconds Chie was gone and all was silent.

A/N: 7/3/2023. Revisions done to the dialogue, sentence structuring, and pacing of this chapter.