Chie shivered throughout the whole morning and the night prior, tossing in her bed. Yakiniku whined and nudged her to get her out of bed, but her shivers just turned more violent and her teeth chattered. "I'm dying." She gasped, her hands trembling so much she couldn't tie her ribbon or buckle her boots.

Instead of going to school, she sat down on the riverbank, staring ahead. Being in the sunshine lessened her shivers a bit.

"Everything was normal…."

"You okay?" A familiar voice asked her, and she looked up to see Yosuke. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I was out like that!" She snapped her fingers. "I'm still embarrassed….you two had to see such an ugly side of me. Stuff I've tried to keep hidden for ages," She ran her hands along the grass, catching the dew.

"Narukami-kun had to see all that for me too!" He protested. "Then he blabbed about it to you!"

She laughed at the memory. "Oh right!"

"But what I wondered is why didn't that happen to him. He was just standing there and suddenly had a Persona,"

"Maybe he doesn't have anything to hide?" She shrugged.

"Maybe. He's super approachable and social, you know? Super open. What could a guy like him have to hide?"

Chie found a smooth stone and chucked it into the river, hearing the sploosh. "Shouldn't you be in school?" Her teeth chattered.

"Nah. I should be, but…." Yosuke looked off at the distance. "Too much on my mind,"

"I feel that," She laughed and hugged herself. "By the way, what did you mean by mental link?"

"You haven't tried that yet?" He grinned. It's this!

Whoa! Get out of my head!

Narukami-kun and I suspect anybody with a Persona can use this if we show them,

It's so freaky! His voice was in her head! She could hear him!

Try asking him,

Yu-kun?

Welcome to the team, She could just sense his smile in how he thought that comment.

Thanks for everything yesterday…I'm still unused to this, but I'll get better!

You're welcome.

Chie sighed and laid back on the grass, listening to the river.

"Oh shoot, I have to pee!" Yosuke suddenly ran off, leaving Chie alone. She laid there for some time, letting the sun warm her.

"Look, it's Satonaka!" Some girls whispered loudly as they walked past. "It's so rare to see her without the princess."

"She didn't even go to school! Just to lounge in the dirt?" One pretended to be scandalized.

"Are you so shocked? She's so manly." The second mocked. "Can't sit still during class either,"

The girls laughed as they kept walking, ignoring Chie's glare. She bit her lip and willed herself to not show emotion, not wanting them to have the satisfaction of seeing her get upset.

Instead, she gathered herself up and stormed over to Junes, not caring about Yosuke seeing her gone. She aimlessly wandered past the various stalls, not having anywhere in mind until she spotted Yu over by the photography studio. She called out and ran over to him.

"Yu-kun! School's out already?"

"Yes. You didn't go?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," She then noticed an unfamiliar girl bent over in front of the camera, staring at it in fascination. What got Chie's attention was her loose black hair with blue flowers woven in and a choker around her neck.

Yukiko?! She briefly thought, until the girl looked up with a frown.

"This is Marie. I'm showing her around." Yu introduced.

"Is she your sister?" Chie teased before introducing herself with a bow.

"No." Marie said bluntly, eyeing the staged photographs hung up of geisha and samurai. "Was there some story about two lovers who married for love then killed themselves?"

Yu laughed awkwardly. "Hey, why don't we take your photo? I'm sure the workers here could help!"

"Photograph?" Marie asked curiously.

"Junes will even color them for you! For an extra fee," Chie said. "We could even make use of these props!" She picked out a closed parasol and offered it to Marie, who stared at her.

"Can we eat? I'm hungry,"

"The food here is great! What do you say to a sandwich?" Yu suggested breezily. "They're slices of meat and cheese on bread."

"Better than those photos. The Nose just keeps me in the dark all day, no candles,"

"No lighting?!" Chie ran after them in disbelief, stopping at a random table. "Not even a lantern?!"

"No." Marie sat down and fluffed out her hair while Yu got their food.

"Geezh…." How did one do anything without any form of light?! Who were Marie's parents, anyway? Even the way she wore her hair was odd, just left hanging. No combs or ribbons in sight.

"I'm back!" Yu smiled and gave the girls their food, and Chie dug into hers happily. Some juice ran down her chin.

"You eat really fast. You'll get fat." Marie deadpanned, making her freeze. She swallowed and tried to take smaller bites, looking down at the paper.

"It just means she has a hearty appetite." Yu laughed. "You know, back home, I rarely ever saw girls,"

Chie stared at him in disbelief. No way! He handled her and Yukiko so well! She looked over at Marie, but she was more preoccupied with pulling her bread apart.

"It's true! My school was all boys', and my friend group was all boys too. I saw girls sometimes but they liked to keep to themselves," Yu finished his sandwich. "I had no idea what to expect when I came here."

"I hope we didn't scare you," She stretched as she stood up. "Why don't I get us some drinks? You want tea?"

Yu and Marie both shrugged, which she took as confirmation and walked off, looking for a drink stall. As she walked, she heard the bustle of the people around her and felt her stomach jump. She covered her mouth, trying her hardest to swallow her burp. She could not, would not. Yukiko never would, after all. Those girls filled her thoughts again as she spotted a drink stand and got in line for it. They were far from the first to say those things to her, but it stung every time.

Everyone said she was too boyish, that she jumped around too much, and had no desirable qualities. The fine arts Yukiko did never interested her, and the same for Yukiko being active outside. Then when she started at Yasogami High and got her uniform, some older girls laughed at how unflattering it made her look. Even her neighbor peered through the doorway to make a snide comment about how now she dressed like a man, so the next step was to pee like one.

"Next up!" The drink worker called. "We're busy today so we'll just bring a tray to you." They shook up a pitcher.

"Three cups of oolong please!" Chie smiled, handing them the money. They nodded and she headed back. "They're super busy, so they're just going to bring the drinks to us-" She paused when she saw Yu and Marie were just staring at each other in silence. The food was gone. "Did I walk in at a bad time?"

"Sorry, I have to take Marie home. See you at school tomorrow?" Yu nodded at her, and she nodded back.

"For sure!" She could keep that promise, at least. She felt bad they couldn't get tea too and just drank hers on the way home, throwing the bottle on the side of the road and waiting until she was home to burp, sighing. Why was she like this?

She didn't see her parents anywhere but didn't care. Yakiniku was curled up by a window, laying on his back and snoring. She shook her head at how silly he looked. Mostly she was worried about Yukiko. How much longer did she have to wait? When would the dreaded fog come? When would everything be okay again? When could she return to normalcy again?

-Leaving your hair undone back then, both Japan and the West, was a deeply intimate thing to do and very improper in company. It was thought only your husband should see your flowing hair and was often used in media back then to show someone had just had sex or was in the process of something else equally intimate. But when has Marie ever cared what others thought of her?

Short chapter this time and I apologize but I'd rather quality over quantity and next week will be a big chapter so just stay tuned for that one!