NOTE: Yukiko is my favorite female character in Persona 4, so I really wanted to write a crossover fic that mainly involved her than the others. Not saying that the Investigation Team won't make appearances, but this fic will mainly be about her joining the Tennyson's on their summer road trip and how she'll affect them.
Leave a review and enjoy!
Chapter 1: 10 Reasons for a Crazy Summer
"FLIGHT 10 FROM TOKYO TO BELLWOOD HAS NOW LANDED! NOW ALLOWING PASSENGERS TO EXIT THE AIRCRAFT!"
Within the large crowd of new arrivals, one stood out amongst the crowd. A young teenage girl with straight black hair and dark brown hair that is kept neat with a red hairband. She's wearing a black shirt with puffy sleeves, a short white skirt and white sandals. She was carrying a black purse with her as she exited the plane. This young girl was Yukiko Amagi, daughter/Heiress of the Famous Amagi Inn from the small town of Inaba.
Yukiko pulled out her phone and looked through her gallery on her phone to find what she was looking for. "An elderly man with a Hawaiian shirt? I wish mother and father were more specific with this. How am I supposed to find someone who fits that description?" Yukiko sighed.
"You're Yukiko Amagi, right?"
Huh?" Yukiko looked over to her right and saw a fairly overweight man who seemed to be in his late 50's, wearing a red Hawaiian shirt. Yukiko blinked at the coincidence of not even having to look far for who she was looking for. "Uh, yes! I am Yukiko Amagi! Are you Maxwell Tennyson?" Yukiko approached the elderly man.
"I am, but you can just call me, Max or Grandpa if you want of course," Max introduced himself. The two began walking towards the baggage claim, getting into small talk on the way.
"My father never really mentioned you until now. So, I was surprised that he'd be so willing to agree to something like this," Yukiko said.
Max rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling a bit nervously. "Ah, well, your father and I hadn't really left off on the best terms before he moved over to Japan. It was only recently that we managed to patch things up, though I won't bore you with the details," Max said.
Yukiko found it odd that he didn't want to explain everything to her, because her father and mother were the same way when she asked. She didn't press the issue, wouldn't feel right to start the summer off on any bad footing.
"How about you though, I heard about those bad strings of murder cases last year. I would hope that you and your friends are alright," Max brought up a different topic.
Yukiko was surprised that he would know of the murder mystery from last year, though considering that one of his sons(Her Father) lived in the town it would make sense that he would be concerned. "We're fine, though it was a bit troublesome. However, my friends and I were able to get through it all," Yukiko answered. Though he'd never know it, Yukiko and The Investigation Team were able to handle it all and stopped Adachi before Inaba could suffer worse.
Max raised an eyebrow at the way Yukiko answered his question, almost sounding like she had a personal involvement in it. Though, considering she lived there it shouldn't have been too surprising. "How are your friends? I'm sure this trip was an inconvenience to any of the Summer Plans you guys were cooking up," Max changed the subject once more.
Yukiko chuckled a bit, thinking back to her friends' reaction to her leaving for the Summer.
"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Chie Satonaka screeched.
"Jeez, can you not be so loud!?" Yosuke Hanamura complained.
"Shut it!" Chie had the nerve to kick him again.
"You're making a scene again! Just calm down!" Yosuke shouted back.
"Let's just calm down and let Yukiko-Senpai explain what's going on," Naoto Shirgane tried to stop the situation from escalating further. Her words had the desired effect as both teens sat back down in their seats. "Now, Yukiko-Senpai, can you explain everything again?"
Yukiko had to stop herself from giggling at Chie's reaction, knowing this was a bit more of a serious topic. "A couple days ago my parents announced to me that they had arranged to spend this Summer Vacation in America with some relatives on a Summer Road Trip," Yukiko explained.
"Then cancel it! We had so many things planned for this summer, now that we don't have to worry about dying the next day!" Chie exclaimed in panic.
"I'm sorry, Chie-Chan. This is something that both my parents had agreed upon, I did try to fight it, but they say this will be a great experience," Yukiko frowned.
"I'd say it's fine," Kanji Tatsumi shrugged.
"Kanji-Kun!?" Chie looked betrayed.
"I-I mean, it's not like she'll be gone for that long! It's just this summer!" Kanji tried to defend himself.
"You're only saying that, because Naoto-Kun is still here," Chie muttered.
"W-WHAT!?" Both teens blushed from the accusation.
"I think it'll be great as well! I've been to America before for a few special concerts, I'm sure you'll have fun there, Yukiko-Senpai!" Rise Kujikawa smiled, cutely.
"Thank you, Rise-Chan," Yukiko nodded her head.
"First partner and now you? Feels like we're being split apart, albeit temporarily," Yosuke chuckled. He felt an elbow in his sides, he glared at Chie who was signaling for him to shut up. "What!? What's the...oh...crap my bad, Yukiko-Chan," Yosuke apologized.
Yukiko noticed all of her friends giving her sad looks, she realized she must've looked depressed again at the mention of Yu. "I-It's fine, everyone! Like, Yosuke said! It's just a temporary leave, he'll be back someday," Yukiko still had yet to get over the departure of Yu Narukami, the young man who had left a huge mark on Inaba and the people in it.
"Don't worry, Yuki-Chan, Teddie is beary-sure that Sensei is thinking about us every day!" Teddie bounced to cheer her up.
"Yeah! We're like an inseparable family, no matter where we are!" Rise exclaimed. The others all voiced their agreement in the matter, cheering Yukiko up.
"Thank you, everyone. I'll try to be more positive going forward," Yukiko smiled.
Seeing her childhood friend's cheerful face and everyone else's more positive outlook on the situation, Chie sighed in defeat.
"Chie-Chan?" Yukiko and everyone else turned to her.
"Yukiko-Chan, just promise me you'll be safe over there and will have fun," Chie hugged Yukiko.
The heiress smiled and returned the hug. "I will Chie-Chan. I promise you."
"Good, because I'd have a difficult time perfecting my dragon's kick if you weren't there to watch over me!"
"Pfft! B-But, Chie-Chan...Dragons can't kick! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
As Yukiko retolled the tale to Max the two of them had grabbed the rest of Yukiko's bags from the baggage claim and were making their way to the Airport's exit.
"Your friends sound like a colorful group of people," Max chuckled.
Yukiko giggled as well. "I agree, I wouldn't trade my friends for the world. I hold them all close to my heart," Yukiko smiled blissfully.
Max smiled at Yukiko's bond with her friends, wishing his other grandkids were the same way. Maybe this trip could help them all grow closer together. He looked back in front of him to see a familiar sight come into frame.
"Um? What's that?" Yukiko pointed at the motorhome.
"That? Is the Rustbucket! Our home for this entire Summer Road Trip! Ain't she a beauty?" Max asked, smiling fondly at the RV.
"Uh...it certainly has a home-like feel to it," Yukiko was now a lot more nervous about this road trip than she was originally.
"GIVE IT BACK, DOOFUS!"
"NO WAY, GEEK!"
Yukiko jumped back from the two loud voices that were coming from the RV. She turned back to Max to see him shaking his head in disappointment. "Were those voices…?"
"Your younger cousins? Yes, I would hope that they would behave themselves while I went to find you. Guess, that was too much to ask," Max sighed. When he opened the door to the Rustbucket, Yukiko entered and got a good glimpse at her two younger cousins.
One of them was a short boy with brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a wide black line going down the middle on both sides, green cargo pants, and black and white tennis shoes. In his hands was a laptop that he was trying to keep from the girl.
The girl had orange hair and green eyes. She was wearing an elbow-length blue raglan shirt with a cat logo on her chest, white capris trousers, and a pair of white shoes with dark blue stripes. She was reaching for the laptop that the boy was keeping from her.
"Give it here, Ben! I'm not joking!"
"I just want to look something up! Be a little considerate for once, Gwen!"
"I would be if you weren't such a doofus!"
"BEN! GWEN! BEHAVE NOW!" Max's voice boomed inside the RV. His loud voice made all three jump in surprise. Gwen used the opportunity to snacth her laptop out of Ben's hands.
"Ben. Gwen. Meet your cousin from Japan, Yukiko Amagi," Max introduced her.
Yukiko bowed her head and introduced herself. "Hello, as Grandpa said, my name is Yukiko Amagi. It is a pleasure to spend this summer with you," Yukiko said, politely. Ben and Gwen were both taken by Yukiko's politeness.
"Great, another Gwen," Ben thought, disappointed.
"Seems I do have a cousin with manners. This will be nice," Gwen thought, pleasantly. The young girl walked over to Yukiko and copied the bow.
"Nice to meet you too, Yukiko-San. I've been doing some research about Japanese mannerism so as to not offend you in any way. I hope that we can get along this summer," Gwen introduced herself.
"Nerd," Ben scoffed, making Gwen glare at him.
Yukiko chuckled and waved off Gwen's worries. "D-Don't mind it, Gwen. We're in America after all and we're family. There's no need to use honorifics among us," Yukiko said.
"Alright, if that's ok with you," Gwen nodded. Gwen moved to the side so Ben could introduce himself. The boy walked up to her and did his best to copy the bow.
"Uh? Nice to meet you. The name's Ben Tennyson, the baddest kid around!" Ben smirked.
"Yeah, the kid who was hanging by his underwear a couple hours ago," Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Shut it!" Ben glared at her.
"Pfft! Srk!"
The three Tennysons looked over at the giggling Yukiko utterly confused. The heiress saw their gazes and couldn't control her laughter anymore. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I-I-I'm sorry, but you two just remind me of my friends! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What a weird sense of humor," The Tennysons sweat drop.
The Rustbucket zoomed down the road, the road trip finally getting started once they had gotten Yukiko's things situated inside of it. Grandpa Max sat in the driver's seat, humming away at the radio as he drove to their first destination. Yukiko sat at the table in the back with Ben and Gwen, wanting to get to know her younger cousins. However, it was easier said than done when the two were more focused on their devices than trying to conversate.
"Seems like there's some tension between them. Is this how Yu-Kun felt when he first came to Inaba?" Yukiko wondered. Yukiko wasn't sure if she should bring that up yet, so she opted for a different topic.
"So, do the two of you have any hobbies?" The heiress asked the younger duo. Gwen turned from her laptop, while Ben lazily brought his attention forth from his game.
"Well, I do take a lot of pride in my studies and do take gymnast and martial arts classes in my spare time," Gwen bragged, bringing forth a snort from Ben. Her eyebrow twitched at Ben for showing his rude side again.
Not wanting another fight between the two to break out, Yukiko responded quickly. "That's lovely to hear, Gwen. My childhood friend Chie-Chan also has a love for martial arts, though her grades aren't the best thing," Yukiko smiled at the thought of Chie always kicking the same tree over and over again.
"If I ever get to meet her, maybe I could learn something from her. Not academically of course," Gwen replied.
"I think having a student of sorts would go to her head too much. Srk! I-It'd be pretty funny!" Yukiko had to prevent another laughing fit from spawning in. Shaking her head, she looked over at Ben who had a bored expression on his face. "So, Ben, what about you?"
"Me? Mainly just play my favorite game Sumo Slammers," Ben answered and showed the game to Yukiko. The heiress nodded her head at the game, having never really played video games growing up, she didn't understand the appeal that much.
"I see, do you play any sports or join clubs? Hang out with friends?" Yukiko pressed forward. She noticed that Ben stiffened a bit before deciding to answer the question.
"Nah, not really a part of any clubs or stuff. I was going to play Little League this summer, but my parents told me about this summer trip." Ben said and immediately turned back to his game, and Gwen did the same with her laptop.
"Well, that could've gone worse. Hopefully, wherever Grandpa is taking spices things up a bit," Yukiko hoped.
"Camping...I'm getting flashbacks to painful memories," Yukiko didn't want to think back to that god awful camping trip from last year.
Grandpa Max had decided to surprise them with a camping trip in the wilderness as their first stop on the Road Trip. Something that Ben and Gwen weren't exactly enthusiastic about either, well Ben to a lesser extent. Seems the boy did want to do it, but he'd rather not have Gwen around.
Currently the three were sitting outside on a bench while Grandpa Max cooked them something to eat. "I wonder what he's making," Yukiko said.
"Hopefully something that makes this trip exciting," Ben complained. He and his female cousins perked up when Max exited the RV with three bowls in his arms. However, what made Yukiko's stomach drop was the squirming noise coming from the bowls.
"Okay, I give up. What is that?" Ben asked with a questionable look.
"Marinated mealworms. Hard to find them fresh in the states. Y'know, they're considered a delicacy in some countries," Max dropped some interesting facts on them.
"And totally gross in others," Gwen watched as one of the worms dropped out of the bowl.
"I have to agree, this doesn't really seem edible," Yukiko felt like the universe was laughing at her, she didn't exactly know why of course.
"If these don't sound good, I've got some smoked sheep's tongue in the fridge," Max suggested.
"Aww, couldn't we just have a burger or something?" Ben asked.
"Nonsense. This summer is gonna be an adventure for your tastebuds. I'll grab the tongue," Max went back into the RV to get the rest of his odd food choices.
Ben and Gwen quickly try to devise a plan to get out of eating Max's food for their entire summer trip. Yukiko was surprised, because it was the first showing of kindness the two have shown each other since she arrived. She was dragged out of her thoughts when the two were staring at her, hoping for her to chime in.
"Oh! I'm sure I can cook something for us if you want. My friends and chefs at the inn all enjoy my cooking!" Yukiko wholeheartedly believed that she was good at cooking, ignoring the times where she almost sent her friends to the hospital.
"Great! Maybe we really can make this work if someone from a rich family can cook for us!" Ben grinned.
"We shouldn't take advantage of her like that, Ben," Gwen scolded.
"Would you rather eat Grandpa's cooking?" Ben pointed at the mealworms.
"Yeah ok, Yukiko can cook for us," Gwen agreed. The kids weren't given any more time to plan as their grandfather exited the RV with the Sheep tongue.
It was now a bit later into the evening, Yukiko had decided to email Chie what was going on so far on their Road Trip, giving fair descriptions of her family members.
Chie-Chan: "This Ben sounds weirdly like Yosuke. But a bit brattier. Gwen reminds me of you though, Yukiko-Chan."
Yukiko: "I guess he does kinda give off a Yosuke-vibe, somewhat. Though, he isn't that bad. Gwen reminds me a bit of you, Chie-Chan."
Chie-Chan: "Heh, guess I am pretty smart, huh?"
Yukiko: "No, not that."
Chie-Chan: "Y-You don't have to be so blunt, Yukiko-Chan."
Yukiko: Sorry, Chie-Chan. Oh, it seems something is happening, I'll talk to you later."
Yukiko put her phone away and walked over to see Ben walking away from the camp, a scowl set on his face. "Ben, what's wrong?" Yukiko asked.
"Tch, nothing. Just taking a walk," Ben moved past her and continued his way into the woods.
"I, uh, think they're starting to grow on each other," Max said, though he himself sounded uncertain about it.
"I'm not too certain about that one, Grandpa," Yukiko sighed. When their Grandfather walked back towards the RV to get a fire started, Yukiko took this opportunity to talk with Gwen.
"So, do you know what that was all about?" She asked the younger girl.
"What? About Ben being a doofus? That's nothing new, you'll get used to it eventually," Gwen answered.
"It seemed like his feelings were hurt a bit," Yukiko said. She knows just how much words can affect people. From all of constant pressure she received about taking over the Inn, Yosuke's having to take the blame for Junes eating up the shopping district, Chie having to deal with people commenting on her looks, Kanji being judged for his hobbies, Naoto for being a girl in a male dominated workforce, and Rise being in a very popular industry. She didn't want her younger cousins saying the wrong things to each other.
"Ben? Feelings hurt? I didn't think he had feelings from the way he behaves," Gwen responded.
"Everyone has feelings, Gwen. Sometimes people just have their own way of masking them," Yukiko frowned at how easily Gwen disregarded Ben's feelings.
Not really liking how the conversation was going, Gwen decided to change the subject. "Let's talk about something else! You mentioned your childhood friend Chie-chan, right? What about your other friends?" Gwen asked.
Figuring this could be a conversation for another day, Yukiko agreed to change the subject. Before she could answer, Max called them over for smores. For the next few minutes Yukiko told stories to Grandpa Max and Gwen about her friends from Inaba, of course leaving out certain details.
"Hmm...your face turned red at the mention of this Yu Narukami? Is he your boyfriend!?" Gwen asked, excitedly. Yukiko blushed at Gwen's ability to figure it out so quickly.
"Now, Gwen, don't you think that's a bit personal to ask," Grandpa Max scolded softly.
"I-It's fine, she's not wrong. Yu-Kun is my boyfriend. The last time I messaged him was before I left to come here, he's a bit busy with moving around with his family at the moment. So, I haven't had the perfect chance to talk to him yet," Yukiko felt comfortable enough to explain.
"A long-distance relationship, that's really romantic!" Gwen sighed at the thought of having a boyfriend like Yu. Her own personal prince charming would be wonderful to have. Gwen looked over and saw smoke emerging from the woods. "What's that?"
Max got up from his seat. "Looks like the start of a forest fire. We better let the Ranger Station know, probably some darn fool camper messing around with something he shouldn't," He said, glaring at the growing fire. Yukiko however realized something was wrong with the situation.
"Wait, wasn't Ben taking a walk in that direction…" Yukiko trailed off. At that moment both Gwen and Max came to a horrifying realization that Ben somehow started the fire and that he was in the middle of said fire. Max reached into an emergency kit with two fire extinguishers, he handed one to Yukiko, since she was the eldest of the kids. The three raced off into the wilderness to find and save Ben.
"Oh, please don't let something bad happen on the first day!" Yukiko worried, mentally.
Yukiko would've found irony in the situation of her putting out a fire with water, especially since most of the spells she knows revolve around fire. However, there wasn't much time to ponder the situation as she was frantically searching for Ben, with Gwen close to her side.
"Don't be dead. Don't be a corpse. Don't be dead. Don't be a corpse," Yukiko mumbled frantically.
"Uh, Yukiko, that's not making me feel better," Gwen said, though it seemed Yukiko hadn't even heard her. So, caught up in her mumblings, Yukiko didn't even realize there was some weird fire creature in front of her until Gwen screamed and she was spraying it down with the fire extinguisher.
"What is that!? Is this a Shadow!? But, what is a Shadow doing outside of the TV World!? OH! That doesn't matter, all that matters is keeping Gwen safe!" Yukiko ushered Gwen to stand behind her, and pointed the fire extinguisher at the fire creature.
"I don't know who or what you are, but you better stay back or else!" Yukiko threatened, fiercely.
The fire creature instantly got scared from the dangerous aura that Yukiko was emitting. "L-Look! I know I must look weird, but there's no reason to be scared!" He tried to reach towards them, but Yukiko was quick to smack him away with the fire extinguisher.
"Back off, Shadow! Unless you want to become a smudge on the ground!" Yukiko threatened once more.
"H-Hey! I'm not the enemy!" He shouted, shocked by Yukiko's strength.
"Oh, yeah! Then prove it!" Gwen was also shocked by Yukiko's sudden strength, but that also went and filled her with confidence.
Glaring at Gwen, he launched a small flicker of fire at her feet, giggling when she jumped back. His giggling didn't last long as Yukiko once again smacked him down with the fire extinguisher. Then she quickly turned around to put out the fire on Gwen's foot.
"OW! I was just teaching the Freak Geek a lesson!" The Fire Creature cried out.
A look of realization came upon Gwen's face. "Ben?"
"BEN!?" Yukiko looked baffled by how Gwen could say that. She understood that the two didn't get along, but that was no reason to mistake him for a monster.
"Is that you? What happened?" Gwen walked up to him.
"Wait, Gwen! How are you sure this is Ben!?" Yukiko asked.
"He's the only one who'd ever call me a Freak Geek," She answered simply.
"Ok, that is weird. Maybe not the weirdest thing I've ever seen, but these two have one weird relationship," Yukiko sweat dropped.
Ben decided to quickly explain what happened to him. "Well this meteor fell from the sky and almost smudged me, except it wasn't a meteor or a satellite, but this cool watch thing that jumped onto my wrist! And when I tried to get it off, I suddenly was on fire, only it didn't hurt when I was accidentally starting this mega forest fire!"
"Well...that's also not the weirdest thing I've ever heard. Still insanely weird though," Yukiko thought. Then, she realized that Gwen and Max were right to assume that Ben started a forest fire.
Soon Max appeared and was startled by Ben's new appearance, though Yukiko noticed that a look of familiarity quickly passed through Max's features before disappearing again.
"Hey, Grandpa, guess who?" Gwen said.
"Hey, Grandpa, it's me!" Ben waved as if this was an everyday occurrence.
"Ben? What happened to you?" He asked. Ben was going to explain his story once more, but Yukiko realized there were more pressing matters to attend to.
"While I would love to quickly figure out what exactly happened to Ben. We still have a forest fire to take care of," She reminded everyone.
"What do we do?" Ben asked.
"Backfire, start a new fire and let it burn into the new fire. They'll snuff each other out. Think you can do it?" Grandpa Max instructed Ben.
Ben smirked at the challenge given to him. "Shooting flames? I can definitely do!" Ben replied, cockily. He ran into the flames while the others rushed out. He began creating a new fire to take out the old ones, efficiently saving the forest from burning down.
Yukiko watched the scene unfold, wondering if she was able to use her Persona in the real world would she be able to do the same thing. "Well, guess this really will be one interesting summer." Yukiko had no idea how right she was.
Chapter End
NOTE: Ido plan to fully explain more on Yukiko's relations to the Tennyson's but what you get in this chapter is the bare minimum with too much being given away. I didn't want her to be too much of a stranger being crammed into their summer.
I do have an explanation for how Personas are gonna work in this story, so that Yukiko won't be totally defenseless, that will be next chapter.