"Yo, you wanted to talk, Senpai?" Kanji passed through the door to the rooftop of Yasogami High, where Yosuke was waiting for him, staring out at the setting sun. If Kanji had been a girl, he'd have suspected his senpai was about to confess to him/her.

"Y-Yeah," Yosuke replied, not turning to face him. Whatever this was, it was serious. "Thanks for coming. There's something I wanna get off my chest."

"Oh, yeah? Lay it on me then. Hiding stuff like that can be a real drain on your mental health." There was something mildly amusing about Kanji using these new terms he'd been picking up from his studies, while still maintaining his usually rough manner of speaking. But Yosuke was too focused on himself to really make note of it.

"Right. W-Well, I've been doing some... y'know, soul-searching kinda stuff. You know how it goes, right?"

"Yeah, sure? I figure all of us do."

"Yeah. Well, I've been having these weird... feelings lately and I didn't really know who to talk to about it. I don't think the girls would really get it. And Teddie definitely wouldn't get it. Maybe Naoto. But I figured you'd be the most likely to really understand what I'm feeling."

"Me? What, you like craft stuff too or somethin'?"

"No, not that," Yosuke responded in an annoyed tone before stopping to calm himself down. "It's... It's really difficult to say. I just need a minute to figure out how to say this..."

"Sure, take all the time you need, Senpai."

"R-Right. Well... the truth is... I think I... kinda might be... y'know... into g-guys..."

"Huh? You?"

"N-No, not Yu! What are you, stupid? W-Why would I be into... O-Oh, you mean me, not... ah, crap..."

"Senpai... You like guys?"

"I... N-No, I... *sigh* Yeah. I-I think I do.

"Oh! Hey, good on you for realisin' it. I'm proud of you, Senpai!"

Yosuke whirled around. "Huh? Wait, you're not mad?"

"Huh? Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"Because... this makes me a hypocrite."

"What, you mean because of how you always got weird around me over the stuff in that TV World bathhouse? Nah, it's cool."

"Dude, I get that you think it's cool and manly to just brush off stuff like that, but I wanna know if my B.S. really did upset you. Knowing what I do now, I'd feel like total shit if I really have been making you feel bad all this time."

"It really is fine. I always knew you were just... Well, ain't that just how teenage boys are? They grow out of it eventually, right? Like you have now."

"Why are you talking like Yu now?"

"That's what you need, ain't it? You'd be talkin' with him if he was still here, but without him, it's either me or Naoto."

"Well... no. Even if he was still here, I'd probably still have come to you instead. 'You' as in you, not-"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Honestly, it was you and Naoto that made me realise all this. Uh, before you get the wrong idea, let me explain! You guys have had your own... stuff to figure out, yeah? You both stepped up and faced that part of yourselves and figured yourselves out, even though you were both younger than I was when I started to figure myself out."

"So? Figuring yourself out ain't a race. Some people get there faster, some get there slower. Don't matter who gets there first; only thing that matters is that everybody gets there in the end."

"Are you studying philosophy or psychology or something? What's with all these insightful lines?"

"No, I guess... Yu-senpai's 'got-it-together' attitude just really rubbed off on me."

"Yeah... he does have that effect on people. And he was always really mature too. I mean, he knew about as much about you as I did before you joined us, but he was never... like that with you. And when I think back on how I've always treated you, I start to wonder if I've always felt this way and just used you as a convenient scapegoat, like pushing all of that onto you would make it so I wouldn't have to feel this way."

"Hey, uh... not to pry or nothin' - and feel free to tell me if I'm off-base here - but do you actually have, like, a thing for Yu-senpai?"

Yosuke blushed a very deep crimson, like Yukiko's winter cardigan.

"So... yeah?"

"I... Dammit..." Yosuke looked like he was about to cry.

"It's alright, Senpai. I get it. Yu-senpai's easily the coolest guy I know. And given how close you two are, it'd probably be weirder if there wasn't somethin' there, right? He really helped me figure out what my dad meant about manliness and all that back when he died. And Rise's always been all over him too, and Marie, and Ted's got the biggest mancrush on him. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Chie-senpai, Yukiko-senpai and Naoto had a thing for him too, at least at some point. So, yeah... ain't nothin' wrong with havin' a thing for Yu-senpai. You probably couldn't pick a better guy to fall for."

"...I guess that's true. When I think about him and how reliable and cool he always is... it feels like when I used to be around Saki-senpai. I think I... I think I really do have a th-thing for him..."

"Well, let's go tell him then."

"W-Wha-? Hell no!"

"Dude, you plucked up the courage to tell me, the guy you always acted like a D-bag around over this sh- stuff... but when it comes to your best friend who you know and trust implicitly, you coward out? After all the crap we been through since Senpai first came here - all the Shadows and gods and killer robots and that whole dancing thing - this is what's got you shakin' in your boots?"

"'Implicitly'? L-Look at you with all the big words now. I guess all that studying's-"

"You're deflecting, Senpai.

"..."

"Look, I get that this whole thing is tough to admit, especially to someone you really don't wanna lose, like Yu-senpai, but do you really think he's the kinda guy who'd turn you away just cuz of this? Y'know, the guy who didn't turn me away when all those rumours and the Midnight Channel stuff were going around? The guy who saw the worst a' you when you were dealin' with your Shadow. If he ain't the kinda guy to give up on a stranger over this kinda stuff, there ain't no way in hell he'd do that to his best friend. Worst case, he says he's flattered but don't swing that way. That much is clear, right?"

"God, why are you so much more mature than I am? I'm really not much of a senpai, huh?"

"I dunno, you showed you were willing to die for Yu-senpai when we fought that Izanami chick. I bet you woulda done the same for any of us if she'd gone for us first."

"Well, sure, but-"

"But nothin'. If bein' a senpai is about bein' cool and reliable, you already have that in the bag. If it's about wisdom, then you're getting there. You came to me to apologise, not because you were told to by one of the others, or because I came and told you I felt bad over what you've said to me. You made that choice, and with just how much you acted like that in the past, it took real courage to come up and admit you were wrong. Honestly? I'd say that's pretty damn manly."

"Heh. Y'know, the more cool stuff you say, the worse I feel about-"

Kanji sighed deeply, loudly, with intent. "Look, just stop. I forgive you already, dammit. Let's just leave that in the past and focus on the future. What're you gonna say to Yu-senpai?"

"I-I never said I was gonna-"

"You really gonna stand there and tell me you didn't just have a big revelation? I mean, think about the talk we just had. Wouldn't it normally be Yu-senpai you'd spill your guts to about this kinda stuff instead of me? And then you'd realise somethin' important about yourself and feel like you were gettin' stronger on the inside?"

"Heh... You're really gonna make me do this, aren't you?"

"Hell yeah, I am. This is my payback for all the times you were a D-bag."

"Damn, that's cold, Kanji."

"Not as cold as you're gonna feel if you don't tell him. Or do you want me to tell 'im you cowarded out after all this?"

Yosuke sighed, but smiled. "You're right. This is stupid. I'm stupid. Why am I getting so worked up over this? You're right, Yu's not the kinda guy who'd think any different of me just because of something like this. He'd probably say something like, 'You're still Yosuke, no matter who you're interested in.'"

"Or, 'It's just another part of yourself that you've accepted, like with your Shadow.'"

"'You've accepted the worst parts of yourself, so it's about time you accepted the best parts.'"

"'A wise man once said, all that matters is what's in your heart, not whom your heart desires.'"

Both boys started laughing as they heard Yu's voice repeat back every word in their heads and it sounded so perfectly like what he'd say.

"Y'know what, Kanji? I think I'm ready to tell Yu how I feel."

"Hell yeah. Go get 'im, Senpai!"

"Me go? No way. We go. You're taking responsibility for this, buddy."

"Responsibility, huh? More like, credit."

"Heh. Sure, sure. You get credit for making me less of a coward. But only if you give me moral support here."

"Any time, Senpai."

Bonus Montage:

Naoto: "Hm. I'm happy you've discovered and accepted more of yourself, Senpai. Congratulations."

Teddie: "I don't really get it, but it makes sense that you'd like Sensei. You have excellent taste, Yosuke."

Chie: "Oh, that's cool. Good on you. Hey, if anyone tries to make fun of you over this, let me know and I'll kick their stupid ass into next week! Hwatcha!"

Yukiko: "You know, in retrospect, that actually makes a lot of sense. If you ever need somewhere to go with another boy, I can reserve you a room at the inn. Uh, just don't get up to any funny business, though. Tatami mats aren't... the easiest things to clean..."

Rise: "No way! Yosuke-senpai likes Yu-senpai!? ...That's kinda hot."

Kanji: "Rise, for real?"

Woah, imagine having Yosuke be into guys but for a story reason and not just because it lets him bottom to Yu.