Sorry for the lateness of this chapter guys! Last week was my lazy week! But I am back and ready to go, I'm happy that all of you are enjoying the fic so much. The reviews bring me joy! Thanks to all the favorites and alerts too. Shout out to thelovelydissidiacharacters for that good dialogue. As always, read and review. Every one counts.

The Amagi Obsession

Chapter 5: Descent

"Place her there." Yukiko commanded her persona, pointing towards a large golden throne.

Konahana Sakuya complied, gently placing Chie against the cold metal throne, and awaited further orders from her master.

Yukiko turned her attention towards the large red doors that lead into the throne room. After rendering Chie unconscious, she needed to act quickly. Yukiko knew the perfect place to hide her friend. 'Twould be inside her castle, the one her shadow once ruled. The young heiress had spent quite some time wandering the castle when Namatame had kidnapped her, so she knew some of the ins and outs of the place.

Yukiko closed the doors to the throne room then diverted her attention to Chie.

Above the throne dangled two large cages. The sight of them made Yukiko recall the time she spent trapped in this room. With the help of her friends, she had been able to face down her shadow, her true self for once. Yukiko wondered if her shadow would reappear before her again. Would it fuel her urge to pursue her desires?

That wouldn't happen.

Yukiko knew herself that she had already given in, and there was no turning back.

She returned her attention to Chie, still lying unconscious against the throne. The teen could wake up at any time; she didn't have time to dawdle. Yukiko reached under her red coat and pulled out a bundle of rope she had managed to take from Junes. "Hold her down." She commanded the patient persona and approached Chie.

Right now, Chie waking up would be the worst-case scenario. Yukiko was in no mood to face her in battle despite how weakened she was. The last thing she wanted to do was fight Tomoe. That persona's strength alone could still possibly overpower Konohana Sakuya. The girl placed Chie's forearms against the arms of the throne and began to bind each. The binding had to be tight enough that it wouldn't be uncomfortable and so she wouldn't be able to escape.

Yukiko worked her way down to Chie's legs and tied each tightly against the base of the chair. She admired her handiwork before making her way towards the entrance. She would have to find a way to seal the door to keep anyone, but her from entering. Also, to keep Chie from leaving. She knew her friend could be resourceful.

Yukiko pondered what could keep the others and shadows from reaching Chie.

A lightbulb went off in her head.

"That's it." She mouthed. Yukiko turned her attention to Konohana Sakuya. Yukiko had recently learned a new fire spell. One, that's flames burned so intensely it bent to her will. Besides Yu, she was the strongest magic user among the Investigation Team. She would conjure the flame long enough to keep the shadows at bay and Chie locked up. The spell took a lot out of the young Amagi, so she often tried her best to avoid using such a demanding technique.

"Ugh…" a groan came from behind her.

Yukiko spun around and averted her attention back to Chie. Her friend was beginning to wake. She made her way back towards her friend and watched her stir silently.

Chie shook her head; it was still throbbing from the force of the blow. She tried to remember what happened, but everything seemed so blurry. She attempted to move her arms, but felt a tightness. She looked down sharply the moment she noticed something was bound to around her wrists. Chie began to panic and soon realized there were bindings around her legs as well.

"So, you're awake." Yukiko remarked.

Chie's eyes shot up to meet Yukiko who had a smug smirk across her lips.

"Yukiko?" Chie was confused. "What the heck?"

Like lightning, it all came rushing back.

Chie began to recall what had happened. From the two of them arguing, to her being shoved into the TV, forced to fight off shadows, and Yukiko eventually saving her from them. At least she thought Yukiko had come to rescue her. The girl then realized what was really happening. Her best friend had kidnapped her. Chie began to struggle against the ropes. "Yukiko, what the hell!? You can't be serious? Are you losing it? You can't be doing all of this for Yu?"

Chie winced at the pain in her leg as she tried to struggle free of the bindings, but to no avail. The bruise was too much, but Chie refused to lose the will to fight. Especially in front of Yukiko, she'd think herself victorious.

Yukiko watched slightly amused. She didn't know why, but for whatever reason she likes watching Chie squirm. This new sensation frightened her. Was she a sadist? Whatever the case, it brought a smile to her face, nonetheless. A smile that she couldn't ignore.

Yukiko soon caught sight of the unseemly bruise that still pained Chie. Letting out a sigh she bent down. "Try not to move too much, you're only going to hurt yourself more." Yukiko advised approaching Chie cautiously. She could tell the girl was still quite fatigued, but even so, she didn't want to get caught off guard around her.

She placed her hands against Chie's leg and cast a light Dia spell to heal the bruise.

Chie looked down not sure if she should be grateful or not. The spell soothed her pain, but she was sure this would be the end of Yukiko's kindness. She was still furious but would try and reason with her. "Yukiko just let me go. I know this is about Yu, but I swear I won't tell the others! I promise. We can forget this ever happened, okay?"

"Oh Chie, you don't understand what a letdown you were for Narukami-kun." Yukiko replied ignoring her pleads.

"Wh- what?"

"Oh yes, I'm quite positive. You see, he barely ever showed you the amount of affection he shows me. Or will." Yukiko looked up at Chie with a different look in her eyes. It was a cold, almost unreadable expression.

Chie wanted to believe she could still reason with her friend, but it was starting to become more apparent to her that Yukiko had completely lost it. This was beyond mere jealousy. The thought of Yukiko doing anything with Yu while she was trapped sickened Chie. "Stay away from him!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Yukiko mused, caressing Chie's cheek. "But now that you're out of the way. Things should go much smoother between us."

"You're a lying bitch Yukiko!"

The cocky smirked Yukiko held, dissolved instantly. Every second she looked at Chie, she wanted to do more to spite the girl. Yukiko already realized this had gone far beyond what she had planned, but even so she didn't intend to stop. She was enjoying it very much. She thought back to the embrace that she had with Yu. The warmth of his chest reinvigorated her passion. She never wanted to lose that, even at Chie's expense.

"Oh, am I Chie? We can't forget who lied first."

Yukiko finished her Dia spell and made her way towards the large red doors. "MARAGIDYNE!" She shouted out, casting her most powerful fire spell. Konohana Sakuya covered the entrance with bright red flames. They danced brightly and kissed the air around them. Now Chie wouldn't be able to escape.

Chie gritted her teeth at the sight.

"There, now you won't be able to leave. Though I doubt you won't be able to get very far with your injuries and fatigue." Yukiko chuckled. "You can't even summon Tomoe."

"I swear Yukiko when I get out of here, I'm going to-"

"You'll what Chie?! Go and try to tell Narukami-kun that I kidnapped you? HA! As if he'll ever believe that." Yukiko turned her back on the girl. "You see Yu Narukami will be forgetting about you shortly."

"Wh- what are you talking about?! Yu would never-"

"He can and he will!" Yukiko cut her off. "You see I'm the one who has been with Narukami-kun since you vanished. I'm the one who was there to comfort him; I was the one who was there when he lost his composure. You see Chie, I love Yu Narukami and-"

"YOU DON'T LOVE NARUKAMI, YOU'RE OBSESSED WITH HIM!"

Yukiko turned back smiling sincerely. "But obsession is a form of love in its own right Chie."

Chie was speechless; her friend was unrecognizable more and more with every word. She wasn't sure what she could say to convince Yukiko to stop this ploy so they could go home together. She wanted to believe that all of this was just a terrible nightmare. "Yukiko, I-"

"Now this is what is going to happen." Yukiko walked back over to the throne and lifted up Chie's chin, so their eyes met. "I'm going to leave for a few days; I'll come back soon and bring you some food so don't worry. In fact, I'll get your favorite steak from Junes."

This would have peaked at Chie's interest, but under the circumstances the idea of being finger fed by Yukiko didn't appeal to her.

"But before I do that, I'm going to kiss Narukami-kun."

Chie looked up in disbelief. "You wouldn't."

"I am. Don't worry Chie, I'll be gentle. I'll close the gap between our lips slowly and let the fires of my passion reveal itself. Then after that, we'll go even further and further until… well you know." Yukiko bent in closer to whisper into Chie's ear. "I'll let you think about what we'll do next."

Chie's grip tightened around the armrest. She yearned to reach out and knock some sense into Yukiko.

"Now wait here like a good girl until I return." With those words Yukiko turned her back on Chie once more and disappeared into the flames guarding the exit.

Chie stared in disbelief.

Her body began to shake with rage. Everything Yukiko had said was beginning to sink in. This wasn't just some terrible dream; it was a living nightmare. She was going this far just to be with Yu Narukami, her boyfriend. Her heart wanted to hate Yukiko now more than anything, but something stopped her from doing so.

Chie was afraid. It frightened her more than anything. She wasn't scared just for Yu, but for Yukiko as well. Her mental headspace was all jacked up.

The girl didn't have enough strength to summon her persona or move much either. She would just have to bid her time and rest. There would come a right moment to try escaping. There was still hope that her friends would find her. Still, her biggest worry was Yu. The girl knew he had always been faithful, but for whatever reason her heart just ached at the thought of Yukiko taking advantage of his grief.

…

It wasn't long until school ended. Shortly after, the Investigation Team gathered. The news of Chie disappearance set like wildfire across Yasogami High. Chie was pretty popular amongst her peers and her disappearance led to countless rumors.

Yu hated all of it.

The school day had been painful to him and sitting in class was the worst of it. He had been ready to assemble the rest of the team and make their way into the TV world to find Chie.

Or so, that's what he wanted.

"I- I can't sense anything." Rise murmured in slight disbelief.

"What?!" Kanji shouted. "You're just not trying hard enough!"

Rise crossed her arms and pouted. The idol frowned. "What do you mean I'm not trying hard enough? I bet you couldn't do any better Kanji! I just can't sense senpai's presence at all."

Yosuke put his hand on his forehead. He was just as stressed about the disappearance. "But that doesn't make any sense. Chie has to be in the TV world, that's where everyone else who went missing turned up."

"Well, I'm telling you she's NOT there senpai!" Rise retorted growing more impatient with the two boys. Crossing her arms, she turned back and looked at Yu who had an unreadable expression. "Besides, even if she was here, there's no reason I wouldn't be able to find her."

Naoto, who had been thinking silently in a corner, turned her attention to the group. "Rise is correct. With all our connections to Chie-senpai it wouldn't be difficult to locate her in the TV world. That's if we're to refer to our previous exploits of finding past victims. We knew her last known location and what she was doing as well, and with whom."

"Yukiko-senpai could have at least showed up." Kanji murmured under his breath.

Naoto sighed. "Yukiko-senpai didn't seem like herself when I ran into her earlier today. And Narukami-senpai, you did mention that she was feeling ill earlier so it can't be helped."

"Then where could Chie be?" Yu murmured looking up. "If she's not here then she has to be somewhere, right? What if someone kidnapped her out in our world?"

Naoto looked down; a sinking stone formed in her throat. "That would… complicate things."

The mood grew grim. Each member of the Investigation Team had a disturbed look on their face. Had Chie been taken out in the real world, their persona abilities would be powerless to locate her.

"Le- let's not jump to conclusions alright. I'm sure that there is some reason that Chie-senpai just up and vanished." Rise tried reassuring her friends. "She will turn up; we just have to keep our hopes up."

Yu looked doubtful, he wanted to do something to find Chie, but he had never felt so powerless before. If Rise couldn't find Chie, he didn't know what to he could do. Hopelessness started to sink in. Teddie's powers weren't as potent as Rise's when it came to locating people either. Himiko was just that strong of a persona.

"I'm going to keep asking around!" Kanji spoke up seconding Rise. "We just can't give up."

Yosuke nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go ask around Junes and see if they know anything."

Kanji and Rise joined him in his search leaving Naoto and Yu alone.

Their leader looked down, not sure what to think.

Naoto's heart ached just at the sight of it. She knew that Yu wasn't one to falter under pressure, but Chie going missing was having a bad effect on him. She had to find a clue or something. The Investigation Team never gave up easily, even when backed into a corner.

"Senpai…"

"Where could she be Naoto? What are we missing?"

She had never seen him so helpless. "I suppose love will do that to the best of us."

Yosuke revealed before the meeting that the two had been dating. Naoto had been just as shocked as Rise and Kanji in recently finding out. The pair had been keeping it a secret for some time now, but even still Naoto felt a bit flustered that she hadn't noticed sooner.

Not to mention a bit embarrassed about her own little crush she had on Yu.

Her own feelings aside, there had been no reason why Chie would up and vanish on her own. Naoto needed clues to go off; even the slightest bit of speculation would assist her. Naoto decided that she would pay a visit to the police department the next day. "If anything, I could use my connections there to expand my resources. Maybe Dojima-san can assist me."

The young detective looked towards Yu determinedly. She gave him a reassuring declaration. "Don't worry senpai, we will find her."

Yu tried his best smile and returned her gesture. "Yeah, we will."

Not long after, Yosuke and the others returned with little news regarding Chie. Yu adjourned the Investigation Team for the day. His hopelessness began to set in again. He left his friends with a sad expression, leaving the others looking even more worried than before.

…

Yukiko was able to make it out of Junes with thirty minutes to spare before the Investigation Team arrived, but she didn't wait around to be spotted. She had Teddie walk her home and swear not to tell the others what happened that day. Yukiko promised Teddie once more about 'scoring with her' a promise she didn't intend to keep.

Teddie was gullible enough to take the bait before parting ways with her at the Amagi Inn.

The plan to unwind was cut short the moment she walked through the entrance. Her mother was waiting for her. She proceeded to scold her for skipping out on school. Yukiko tried to lie about an upset stomach, but the older Amagi didn't buy her excuses.

Afterwards she sent Yukiko straight to work.

Yukiko didn't mind really; it took her away from the real world for a few hours.

Keeping busy with the maids and guests helped Yukiko forget about the unforgivable act she committed.

The young Amagi didn't finish most of her work until a little after 11. She was exhausted to say the least. The TV world had really taken a lot out of her. She had been in such a rush to find Chie, so the fatigue was now beginning to hit her. Though her stamina throughout the entire ordeal was impressive. The expeditions the Investigation Team had taken into the shadow world really paid off.

Yukiko didn't waste time changing out of her work robes and relaxing in the hot springs. Now that she was alone, she recalled most of what had happened that day. The girl felt a sick but satisfying feeling inside her chest. "I really did it… I got rid of Chie." She murmured, sinking deeper into the water.

The feeling pained her, she felt pangs of regret. But at the same time, she felt a large weight lift from her shoulders. There wasn't anyone to get in the way of her and Yu anymore. Yukiko relished the thought. "I finally have my chance."

Yukiko smiled slightly. She was going to make Yu Narukami her own. Thinking back on the harsh words she told Chie. Everything said were her true feelings. There was nothing left to regret. Perhaps Chie was right, and she was obsessed with Yu. Even so she knew her love was real and justified. The girl acted rashly with her plan, but the regret was quickly ebbing away. Yukiko couldn't help it. Her own tenacity surprised her.

"Chie had it coming. She lied to me."

Yukiko's thoughts were cut off with the sound of the hot spring doors opening.

"Yukiko-san, you have a guest waiting for you in the lobby." One of the maids notified her through the mist. She sounded a bit concerned and Yukiko understood why. With Chie's disappearance all Inaba was on edge again.

"A guest?" Yukiko honestly wondered who could be looking for her at this time of night. "I will be with them shortly."

Yukiko quickly exited the bath, dried herself off, and slipped on her silky red pajamas. The girl was a bit miffed her bath had been cut short. She made her way towards the inn's lobby and to her surprise found none other than Yu Narukami waiting. Her heart instantly did a 180. "N-Narukami-kun? What are you doing here? It's late and we have school in the morning."

Yu had a different look in his eyes, an expression that Yukiko couldn't read. "Yukiko, can I come in? I really need someone to talk too…"

Yukiko's face lit up even more. "He needs me!"

"Of course, you can." She showed Yu into her home. Yukiko brought the boy to her room, making sure neither her mother nor or any of the maids were walking around. The last thing she needed was to get caught with a boy in her room this late at night.

While Yu made himself comfortable, Yukiko prepared some tea for two before settling under her kotatsu alongside him. "So, tell me what's on your mind?"

"I haven't been able to get in touch with Chie for two days now. I'm… starting to lose it." Yu's voice cracked.

"Oh Narukami-kun, I understand." She touched his hand.

"It's too bad Chie won't be coming back." She thought.

Yu continued. "We weren't able to find her in the TV world either. I can't stop thinking. What if she's hurt and alone somewhere? I have to help her."

"So, it worked." Yukiko thought. Not even Rise's persona could get past the barrier that she conjured. The Amagi heiress truly was the groups strongest sorcerer. She fought the smirk wanting to cross her lips.

"Not just for me, but also for our friends and for you Yukiko."

This caught Yukiko off guard. "What? Fo- for me?"

"Of course, Yukiko! You're Chie's best friend. I know that you're hurting worse than you're letting on. You don't have to be strong." Yu pulled Yukiko into an embrace making her squeak in surprise.

A red blush formed against her cheeks as she openly accepted his hug and pulled his body closer.

"Narukami-kun, I have something to tell you." she whispered in his ear.

"What is it?" Yu asked separating from Yukiko much to her disdain.

"The night Chie disappeared… I saw her leave with a boy."

"What?!" Yu nearly exclaimed.

Yukiko put her fingers to his lips as she divulged the lie. "Yes, I was still worried about her leaving so late, so I went to the window to see her off. Chie made her way to the corner, but there was a boy waiting for her. Someone I've never seen before! They kissed under the streetlamp."

Yu could barely muster words. "Wh- what?"

"Yes. I was shocked! I didn't know that Chie was in another relationship."

Yu shook his head and grabbed his cup of tea. He downed it in near seconds. "Yukiko you must've been seeing things."

This made the young Amagi upset. She tried her best to suppress her scowl. "Narukami-kun! I know what I saw, trust me. I would never lie about something like this." Yukiko's expression changed; she scooted closer, closing the small gap between them. Yukiko decided to be blunt. "She doesn't deserve you."

Yukiko placed her hand gently on Yu's cheek looking longingly into his eyes. "I want you to know that I would never treat you like that."

"Yukiko I…" Yu was speechless.

Yukiko closed her eyes and began to lean in for a kiss, but Yu stopped her. "Yukiko… I can't." Yu stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I need some time to think. I just can't believe that Chie would cheat on me without a reason. She's just not like that."

Yukiko hid her disappointment but followed his lead. "I… I understand." She murmured. Yukiko showed Yu his way out of the Amagi inn. They said their farewells and parted ways soon after. Yukiko waved to him as he walked through the snow back to the Dojima residence. She stared at Yu until he was out of sight.

Her lips curled into a devious smile.

The seeds of doubt had been planted.

...

A/N: 7/3/2023, revisions done to the dialogue and sentence structuring.