When Yukiko was a child, she came across a bird with a broken wing curled up in the grass. Her heart ached for the poor creature and she scooped it up and hid it in her sleeve, sprinting the whole way home. She kept it in a gold cage some past patron left and watched it every day, feeding it from her dishes. She binded the wing with some leftover fabric and sang softly to it.
One day, she came home to an empty, open cage, and while she hoped her parents found the bird recovered and set it free, she couldn't help assuming the worst.
When she found a stray dog a few months later, she couldn't even bear the thought of taking it home to her parents, so she just sat there in the grass, sobbing and holding it close. It began to rain and still she sat there, getting soaked and being dead to the world.
"Are you okay?" A girl with short hair and a green kimono had asked her, leaning forward. Yukiko didn't respond, but just kept rocking the dog in her arms. It whimpered.
She didn't know what made her recall those memories suddenly, just that she had. That was the moment her and Chie had become friends, and now Chie had Yakiniku whose antics she never tired of hearing.
"Are you feeling better now?" Her mother asked, carefully opening the door. Yukiko shivered and huddled under her futon, trying not to groan in pain. "I wonder what happened." She placed her icy hand on Yukiko's forehead, making her wince and tremble. "Ever since you've come back, you've been severely feverish."
The moment she came home, she had collapsed and was fussed over by everyone, trying to help her get to bed. She was dressed in more layers and for the past few….hours? Days? However long, she'd been tossing and sweating, unable to get rid of the worst fever she's ever had. So bad that even in her sleep, she couldn't escape it, as her dreams were just filled with images of molten lava and intense fires. Her parents kept a dutiful eye on her, but Yukiko just wanted the pain to end. Her mother took her temperature and then left. Yukiko rolled over onto her back, gasping for breath.
The day she had enough energy to sip a bowl of warm miso soup was the day everyone at the inn breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yukiko was helped to bathe and dress in a furisode in white, pink, and red, the patterns of peony flowers everywhere. Her obi was a bright purple and red with wisteria, as was her kanzashi set. She frowned at herself in the mirror, wondering why now of all times she was allowed to wear her beloved red again. Were they spoiling her?
"Children's Day is coming up! Just two or three more days!" Her father said breezily during lunch, making her pause.
"Was I really sick for that long?" She asked in surprise.
"It was the worst fever you've ever had. But you've thankfully made a full recovery!" Her mother smiled at her. "Just take things slowly for the remainder of the week, alright?"
Yukiko nodded, finishing up her food and helping with the dishes. She checked the pot on the stove and widened her eyes. "There's still so much here! May I go see Chie-chan and bring her this?" She remembered the others had been waiting on her recovery and likely were planning to meet up somewhere at the school.
"Will you be chaperoned?" Her father asked instantly, and she nodded.
"Hanamura-kun and Narukami-kun will be there!"
"Alright. Though one day you should think about inviting Tatsumi-san out. The son, I mean. He's your betrothed so he'd make a perfect chaperone for you."
Yukiko blushed red at that as the maids scooped out two bowls of soba for her and Chie. She didn't even want to think about that yet, but..one thing at a time. She thanked the maids and headed to the school rooftop with Yu, keeping her hands on the bowls. School was out so she was allowed on the property, though she kept hoping and wishing that one day her parents would allow her to go too, even if just to see Chie.
"You brought soba?! Your inn makes it so well!" Chie gasped, noticing the bowls. Yukiko nodded and handed her one, keeping the other in her lap as she sat down. The afternoon sun beamed down on them. The others were dressed in their school uniforms.
"I'm really sorry to make you remember, but do you know anything else about the kidnapping?" Yosuke asked, stretched out on the ground.
"I don't know…" To her, the memory was faded and gave her a headache to recount. "Someone knocked on the door and then I woke up in the castle."
"What kind of a killer would just knock on a door?!" Chie asked. "That makes no sense!"
"And means the culprit could be anyone…" Yu mused.
"Yeah, which is why the police shouldn't be left to do this. We have Personas!" Yosuke said. "I'm sure they're doing their best, but it's obvious whoever the killer is is throwing people through cameras, or photographs, into the Other Realm. Only we have the power and knowledge to stop them!"
Yukiko stared down into her bowl, watching the noodles float in the broth. "Let me help you. I have a Persona too, right? If there's someone out there who hates me so much they want me to die, I want to see who it is."
"You'll be a great asset to us." Yu nodded at her. "But what do we know about the culprits? They're all female…"
"So the killer's some kind of creep?!" Chie pounded her fists together. "When we find him, I'll make him pay!"
"Don't forget they're all connected to that editor too. So right now our leads are female with ties to Yamano." Yosuke said.
Yu nodded. "And if there's any future victims, check your pictures at home, any you have. The town magazine too. Hanamura-kun and I both saw Shadow Yukiko in one of the spreads."
"The next time it rains." Yukiko nodded at them, then took out the chopsticks she brought. "The soba almost slipped my mind!"
Chie just laughed and dug in, slurping loudly.
"Hey, can I get in on that?" Yosuke stood up, stretching.
"Fine, but just a bite." Chie sighed and offered up her bowl to Yosuke. Yukiko looked down at hers, then up at Yu.
"Would you like some too? Just to be polite."
"I'd be delighted to!" Yu smiled at her and blew on some of the noodles, slurping them up.
"These are just so good! What kind of magic-makers do you have working at your inn, Amagi?!" Yosuke gasped, shoving more food into his mouth and getting it everywhere. Yu slurped faster too.
"Huh?!" She asked in surprise. "Is it really that good?"
Chie swiped her bowl away from Yosuke, shouting in shock as he just gave her a sheepish grin. "You ate everything!"
"Can you blame me? It was good!" Yosuke covered his mouth. "What about I buy you something to make up for it? How about meat? Steak?"
Chie sighed.
Yu handed Yukiko her bowl back with an awkward smile, revealing he ate everything too. "You too?! I never took you for a big eater!"
"I really like soba." Yu tried to offer her a smile.
"Well, Hanamura-kun offered to buy me some steak, so cheer up!" Chie gave her a smile too, stacking the bowls on top of each other.
Yukiko shook her head. "I mean, I wasn't very hungry, and you know I don't eat meat anyway."
"Right! Then just meat for me! To Junes we go!"
Yukiko walked close to Yu, being mindful of her kimono on the school stairs, not wanting to trip. Chie and Yosuke had already run ahead, but it made sense to her. They spent much more time at Junes than she did. The few times she was allowed outside due to errands or having a reliable chaperone, she was more interested in the town itself than whatever was going on at Junes. She awkwardly sat on a bench in the food area, unused to the Western style of seating.
"I'll get you some grilled barbeque! Junes started offering it and I think you'd like it!" Yosuke smiled, then looked over at Yukiko. "Are you sure you don't want anything? Like tsukemono?"
She shook her head. "I'm not very hungry."
"Suit yourself." He shrugged and left to get the food.
Chie rested her elbows on the table, her hands on her cheeks. "I wonder what kind of person the killer is. We don't know anything about him, so we can speculate all we want."
"Oh!" Yu waved over at someone. "Adachi-san! He came over for dinner with us."
The man in question walked over to the table, wearing a nondescript black suit and bowler hat.
"You threw up!" Yukiko blurted out before she could stop herself, covering her mouth. She had no clue why that was the one thing she chose to remember about the man, considering she found vomit to be foul.
Adachi laughed awkwardly at that.
"Hey, what do the police think of this? Are the murders related? Was Saki-senpai killed to silence her?" Chie asked as Yosuke came back with the meat. Adachi coughed suddenly and Yukiko had to cover up her nose and mouth with her kimono sleeve too, wincing. Even the smoke smelled too strong.
"Uh, you're smart, huh? The police think that too, but there's really no evidence for it. That singer has a really good alibi too, so…" He sighed. "I better be going. Have fun, okay?" He walked off and Chie began eating.
"Hanamura-kun's right, the police are useless."
"After you eat, we'll go back to the Other Realm." Yosuke lowered his voice and leaned in. "We need to check a few things."
Yukiko's heart jumped into her throat at the thought, even as she nodded with the others. Go back to that horrible place….she knew it was inevitable, but still hoped she had some time to prepare. She kneaded her flowing sleeves under the table, her earlier meal going cold in her stomach. She was suddenly very glad she denied extra food.
Yukiko collapsed the moment they entered the Other Realm, checking herself to be sure she still had all of her limbs after being stretched and rolled around like a noodle. She very slowly stood up, looking around at all of the cameras and thick yellow fog surrounding the area. They really went inside of a camera.
"You guys came back!" Raccoon ran up to them, smiling happily. Yukiko bowed at him.
"It wasn't a dream then..thank you for being a very good boy while I was gone."
Raccoon purred again. "Do you feel better now, Yuki-chan?"
"Yes. I'm part of the team now too, so please take good care of me."
"So you'll need these!" Raccoon whipped out a pair of red spectacles and Yukiko slipped them on, blinking a few times.
"Never thought I'd wear actual glasses.." The fog cleared from her vision, making her eyes widen. "Wow…." She looked around to take in the new scenery.
"How exactly do you make all these glasses?" Chie asked.
"Myself! I'm able to make whatever I want from my testicles. I've been able to do this for as long as I can remember!" Raccoon chirped.
"Ew ew ew ew! I did not need to hear that!" She cried, pushing Raccoon to the ground. He bounced before standing upright again. When he stood back up, a pair of glasses fell, clattering to the floor.
"Huh?" Yukiko picked them up out of curiosity, putting them on.
"I messed up on those! They don't even have the proper lenses." Raccoon explained.
"What a shame! I'd love to use them!" Yukiko giggled and took them off, trying to contain herself. "Try them on, Chie-chan!"
"Uh, okay?" She did so and made her eyes look like they were popping out and her tongue sticking out in a goofy expression. "Is there a point to this?"
Yukiko covered her mouth with her hand, feeling her giggles starting to bubble up in her throat before they finally broke through the surface, forcing her to grasp her stomach as she laughed hard and loud, snorting a few times.
"Is she okay?" Yosuke asked as Chie took the glasses off with a sigh.
"Yeah, she just gets like this sometimes. Normally she keeps her laughing fits to just us though, never around others."
Yukiko kept laughing, her stomach hurting. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, fanning herself.
"This was a productive day." Yu teased, and she snorted.
"N-No, please, I can't laugh anymore…!"
"Why don't you need glasses?" Yosuke asked, looking over at Raccoon.
"You know, I don't know! My eyes are just naturally made to see here."
"The more we uncover, the more mysteries remain.."
Everyone sighed and hung their heads.
When Yukiko returned home, she had to help with more mending and cleaning, though significantly less than normal. She was being spoiled, or it was some sort of pity from how sick her fever made her. After she did her work, she worked with her mother on her calligraphy, wondering if they'd get any guests to celebrate Children's Day. The number of guests they received on traditional festivals was always higher than normal, and she knew it'd be the same for that year. Children's Day, Tanabata, Girl's Day, New Year's, and more local seasonal festivals such as those celebrating the harvest season were the most popular, but lately they also had a few guests from the West who didn't come for those celebrations but just to see what they deemed as 'the Orient way of life'. Those guests just sat upright with their legs outstretched, refused to eat anything unless they had these funny utensils they called 'a fork' and 'a spoon', and disrespected the purity rites by never removing their shoes or washing themselves on their faces and hands. Yukiko knew her parents got frustrated by them, but she was curious by them. Did Yu know any foreigners back home?
"Your handwriting is much improved!" Her mother praised. "What did you write?"
"About the Chinese firebird." Yukiko answered but didn't really elaborate. She capped the black ink she used. She wanted to sleep and said as much, having her bed made up for her and her own body undressed. She just didn't understand all of the sudden fussiness with her.
-Tsukemono are pickled vegetables of any kind, usually served as side dishes for any meal, including breakfast, and also as a main course during tea ceremonies.
-One ability tanuki have are their magical testicles which are the source of their magic powers as well as being able to do whatever the tanuki needs. Mostly, they're used for shapeshifting purposes, but tanuki are also capable of making any object they want from their testicles.
-The 'purity rites' are a huge deal in Shintoism, though it's primarily just shrines and temples nowadays that adhere to the stricter rules. You must wash your hands, face, and mouth before entering as the temple/shrine is holy ground and you must not bring the dirt of the world in with you. It's the same reason Japanese people take off their shoes inside, keep the toilet in its own room, and clean everything they can every day. The belief places huge emphasis on purity and cleanliness, and further aspects of that such as the bodily fluids taboo will be discussed further in much later chapters.