Chie's whole world spun around. Her parents liked the photograph Yosuke sent. Thinking it didn't sound real, but she was too afraid to say the words out loud because then it would be the truth, and Chie didn't want to admit it to herself. So, she kept thinking it to herself, hoping that maybe she'd wake up and that would no longer be her reality.

It wasn't that she hated Yosuke, honestly. Didn't even dislike him. They just butted heads a lot because he was immature and impatient and made stupid decisions a lot. Even something like this, was a phenomenally stupid decision. They were going to be bound together after this, didn't he realize that?! No more flirting with random girls or looking at his weird sex stuff anymore. From that moment on, provided her parents liked his demeanor, they'd be officially betrothed. Did he fully realize the scope of what he signed up for?

Not having anything interesting going on at school, Yu roped the others into preparing a birthday party for Nanako, wanting to go all out.

"She's usually so lonely, having a huge thing would be good for her," Yukiko nodded as they got everything they needed at Junes.

"Will your uncle be there?" Yosuke asked, and Yu frowned.

"I think he's working late tonight…."

Chie and Yukiko looked at each other, knowing suddenly why he was so adamant on a huge party. Elementary school ran longer than their high school, so they had time to bring everything over. Kanji and Naoto and Raccoon hung up streamers and butterfly-shaped pieces of paper and crepe in the living room while Rise and Marie looked for presents and the rest tried to whip up a cake and birthday dinner.

"She likes udon." Yu offered unhelpfully. Chie looked down at the recipe, seeing the picture of a fancy layered pink cake with ribbons on it, and then looked over at the grey-white sticky mess in the bowl.

"Are we doing this right? I've never made a birthday cake before." She asked Yukiko, who shrugged.

"We need eggs! And milk! And frosting!" She tossed a giant cloud of sugar into the mix, getting it everywhere.

"Stop it!" Yosuke coughed and shielded himself. He then cracked several eggs into the bowl and whipped them while Yukiko poured milk into the bowl and Chie tossed in some chocolate. Yu poured the mess into a rectangular pan and left it on the stove to rise, not having a proper oven. Yukiko and Yu then worked on a simple pot full of udon for everyone, finishing it right when Nanako returned.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered, posing in the center of the room.

"Somebody told us it's your special day!" Raccoon smiled at her, grabbing her hands and spinning her around. "Congratulations on getting older!"

"You guys remembered!" Nanako gasped happily, clasping her hands together.

"You're seven today!" Yukiko smiled.

"Yes!" She jumped up and down. "What's going on?"

"We figured we'd just eat a birthday dinner and give you some presents." Yu smiled at her. "Does that sound nice?"

"Yeah!" She nodded.

Yu sat everyone down around the table, pulling up additional cushions and pillows and mats as needed for all the extra people there, serving everyone afterwards. Marie made a face the moment she slurped her noodles, frowning.

"These are too cold. And the meat is too pink!"

"Wow, you can taste it!" Yukiko said in surprise. "That means I'm getting better!"

"I don't think she meant it as a compliment." Chie sighed and ate her own.

"I think it tastes good!" Nanako reassured her, eating hers up.

When Chie and Yukiko finished eating, they took the cake off the stove and frowned at it, noticing it was still runny in areas and squishy. She winced.

"This cake doesn't look very edible."

"Nonsense! Kids like squishy things, right?" Yukiko's eyes showed she wasn't convinced, but the two rubbed melted chocolate on the top anyway, presenting it to her. "Here's your cake, Nanako-chan!"

"Wow, it's perfect! Thank you!" She smiled. "I haven't had chocolate since Mommy died!"

Chie ignored that and cut the biggest piece for the birthday girl, while everyone else got slightly smaller pieces. They also drank tea with the cake, sipping slowly.

"Do you guys know how to cook?" Naoto played with her cake, wincing in disgust when an entire egg yolk fell out of hers. "Or bake? This cake isn't thoroughly cooked."

"No, they can't." Yosuke sighed bluntly.

"But, it's the thought that counts, right?" Yu tried to cheer them up. He had already eaten a slice and was working on the second. Nanako was the most polite of the group, eating slowly and wiping her mouth when needed.

"Time for your present!" Rise grinned, standing up. "Something very special every little girl should own."

"What is it?" Her eyes lit up when Rise pulled out some fabric wrapped in paper. "A new dress? But I already have two!"

"Not quite." She handed the paper to Nanako, who unwrapped it eagerly. Chie sat on the couch, watching her, before she suddenly had a sharp pain in her stomach that she clutched.

"Are you okay?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I ate too much." She kept holding her stomach, wincing at every time it growled and sloshed. This was similar to the camping trip, but…no way. She didn't even eat any meat!

"Did ya cook the meat in the udon?" Kanji asked, his face pale.

"For about five minutes. It was rushed!" Yukiko gulped, also looking pale. "Do you think that maybe…?"

"Combined with the raw eggs…" Naoto got a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I-I don't feel good!" Chie shouted, jumping up from her seat, unable to wait any longer. She didn't know what exactly was wrong, she just knew her stomach was burning and she had to leave immediately. "I'm sick!" She dashed from the house and locked herself in the outhouse, untying her kimono in time before the flood came, squatting over the hole. She tightly held her stomach and gagged, throwing up once or twice and almost losing her balance.

She couldn't believe it! Bad food yet again! Worst of all though, Nanako ate some. Did Nanako get sick too? If she did….the others wouldn't forgive themselves. Chie herself wouldn't forgive herself either. What had they done?

She exited the outhouse, still groaning and holding her stomach, deciding to rest there for a bit. She sighed. "I can't believe we made everyone sick…again!"

Back inside, Nanako awkwardly clutched her present, not wanting to unwrap it when the others weren't around. Yu and Naoto remained inside too, stoic, but sweating buckets.

"I'm sorry! It was the food!" Chie cried and blurted out the second she arrived. "I made everyone sick again!"

"We're not sick." Yu gave her a pained smile.

"I ruined the birthday party." Chie groaned and faceplanted on the couch, passing gas. She rolled over onto her back. "All because I can't cook!"

"Pink was the one who can't cook." Marie played with her hair in boredom.

"I'm back! Let's finish opening the present, shall we?" Rise was all smiles and prettiness, acting as if nothing bad had happened. She helped Nanako unwrap and held out a bright pink dress with white asymmetrical layers and ribbons on the skirt, complete with a bustle. "A girl your age needs to be wearing dresses like this, but you don't. I'm here to remedy that! Why don't we try it on?"

"So I'll get to look just like Big Sister Rise?!" Nanako asked, and Rise nodded.

Chie couldn't help but to stare at the dress. Why would a little girl need to wear something like that? It already looked cumbersome for Rise, and Rise was nearly a grown adult. How would a child fare? She looked at Naoto and her usual outfits and wondered if that would be better, but Naoto dressed like a boy and she didn't want to dress like a boy.

The others slowly returned back inside while the girls were getting dressed, looking miserable still but likely feeling better.

"I shouldn't have rushed the dish." Yukiko confessed. "It's just like the camping trip when I used the bad meat."

"So you do admit to doing that!" Yosuke pointed at her.

"I never said I didn't."

"Here we are! Don't you just look and feel like more of a grown-up now?" Rise wandered back into the living room and held out her hands. "Ta-da!"

Everyone applauded politely as Nanako walked in the room, her hair braided behind her and wearing a small version of the dresses Rise usually did, trying to hold it up so she could walk.

"You look beautiful," Yu praised her. "A perfect little lady."

"You really think so?" She stared down at herself, unsure, toying with the ribbons.

"Yeah!"

"And a little lady needs a dance! Shall we?" Yosuke tipped his hat and bowed to Nanako, who took his hand politely. The two of them spun around the floor while Rise hummed and clapped her hands, smiling. The others cheered her on, especially as her steps became lighter and she could confidently dance out of his hold and spin herself around. Once the dance was over, everyone clapped.

"You were amazing!" Yukiko smiled.

"Thank you!" Nanako beamed.

Nobody wanted the leftover cake, which Chie couldn't even blame them for. Kanji tossed it outside for the neighborhood dogs, which made Marie laugh and Yukiko scold him for.

"The dogs will just get sick too!"

"They're hardier than us humans." Kanji said.

"But! Are we even human anymore?" Rise asked teasingly, her voice lowered so Nanako wouldn't hear.

"Yes. Just with enhancements." Naoto said.

Yukiko and Marie left together, as did Rise, Naoto, and Kanji. Soon that just left her and the boys as well as Raccoon, and she clutched her stomach.

"I'm still feeling that meat…" She sighed and groaned.

"Despite that, I think today was a lot of fun! What do you guys think?" Yu looked from her to Yosuke.

"I liked it! But it made me wonder…?" Raccoon glanced out the window. "What exactly is a birthday?"

"It's just a celebration of when you were born." Yosuke said.

"Does that mean…I don't have one?" He looked forlorn at that realization. "Since I wasn't born."

"Well, you have a body now and understand how humans work. So you can choose whatever day you want as your birthday!" Yu reassured him. Raccoon's eyes lit up.

"Then…I pick the day I met you, Sensei! That sounds like a good day to make my birthday!"

"Then that'll be it." Yu smiled at him.

After the excitement of the party, Chie got ready for the next day, when Yosuke was scheduled to visit and prove his worthiness as a suitor. She got dressed by her mother for once, who stared at everything she put on her, frowning. "Too bony, actually. You wouldn't survive childbirth." She tied everything extremely tightly and made Chie feel lightheaded.

Instead of wearing one of her kimono, she was instead given a very pale pink kimono with sleeves that were so long they dragged on the floor and a thick red veil to cover her face up with. Her hair was pulled and tugged until it was tied up on top of her head, a pearl comb tucked inside with a row of jewelry. The centerpiece was a rich golden and silver brocade uchikake, which wrapped around her like a shroud.

"I can't really see." She protested as her mother turned her around.

"Good. You won't need to say or do much, just let us handle everything tonight." She led her into the living room. "My grandmother wore that for her engagement party. I am so proud that I kept it for all these years." Her tone changed. "I was saving it for Hideyoshi-kun's future bride…"

Chie bit back her groan. Even today, her mother's thoughts were solely on the boy who should've lived, the male heir who was sacrificed instead of her. She couldn't even pretend to be happy that her one daughter could be married off and made useful.

"You'll have to wear it, I suppose." She led Chie into the living room, kneeling her down in front of the tea table. Yosuke walked in, flanked by his parents, and Chie subtly pulled back her veil to peek at him, blushing suddenly at the sight of him in a kimono. He wore an all-black kimono and haori with very dark grey hakama, a silver family crest printed on his chest. Haruna and Jiro wore simple light colors, Haruna in pale yellow and Jiro in silver, both in kimono. They kneeled on either side of him, smiling and bowing politely for Chie's parents.

"Honored to be here." Jiro said formally.

"Hopefully you please us." Chie's father said back.

Her mother guided her through preparing and serving the tea to everyone, also offering them various treats and light snacks alongside it.

"So, how would you bring honor to the family name?" Her father asked sternly. "My daughter runs around the town, acting like a man, dressing like one, bringing us shame with how she refuses to behave. How would you remedy that?"

"Sir, I'd take good care of your daughter. If she married me, my wealth would care for her, she'd never have a reason to leave the house again!" Yosuke boasted. He then tried to reach for his cup only to stick his arm out too far and jostle the table, clattering everything. He then popped some mochi into his mouth and burped, making Chie groan. "I know you have reservations marrying her off to a merchant, but trust me, I'm the best choice! We already know each other, so that's a bonus, right?"

"Well, the rest of town dislikes you and your family. If our daughter married into the Hanamura family, our reputation would be damaged as everyone would start laughing at her for marrying you." Her mother sniffled. "Our top choice for her is a very reputable young man with ties to the government-"

"Your choice is a disrespectful douchebag who won't respect her individually, Madam!" Yosuke snapped, still keeping the polite tone in his voice. Chie tried to hiss at him.

"Shut up!"

"Young man, you are in our house, asking for our property!" Chie's father yelled back at him. "You don't get to backtalk us!"

"The fact you see her as property says it all!"

"Yosuke!" His parents whispered, nudging him. He cleared his throat.

"I assure you, Sir and Madam, I'm a good choice. I'm wealthy and plan to travel. We won't have to stay here in Inaba if you don't want. We have the whole world to see. If you'll have me for her." He reached out his hand and Chie took it, amazed she was able to find him with her eyes completely covered.

"Well, that's a good point." Her father said. "And you are rich, and heir to a stable fortune."

"And I know you'll teach our daughter proper manners. With such a graceful mother-in-law." Her mother added, eyeing Haruna.

"Your family would pay for everything, of course."

"Of course." Jiro nodded. "We have the funds."

"Then it's settled. End of the year, you two will be married."

"What?!"

"That actually worked?!" Chie and Yosuke yelled at the same time, Chie almost spitting out her tea.

"You'll quit school for it, and move into our house. Son, do you feel comfortable with no longer going to school?" Jiro asked Yosuke, who nodded.

"I'm already learning how to manage the shop from you,"

"And of course, you should've stopped going a long time ago." Chie's mother reminded her. "But at least you'll be out of the house."

"I can't believe it…" Their parents continued talking around them, but Chie continued to sit there, numb and silent. "I'm officially going to be married to you!"

"Aren't you excited?" Yosuke asked.

"No! Yes! I don't know! I'm going to puke!" She ran from the house to clear her head, running fast despite the uchikake and sleeves weighing her down. Her feet knew the way and led her to the river, which she sat down beside. She stared at her reflection, sighing as she pulled up her veil.

She was beautiful, she couldn't deny, but it wasn't beautiful in a way that she wanted.

"Are you regretting it?" Yosuke asked as he sat beside her. It was the same place they sat after she awakened her Persona, she remembered.

"...No. Because you are the right choice. Everything is just happening so fast. By the end of this year, we'll be husband and wife, and what of it?! Do you realize the decision you made? No more reading erotic novels or chasing after girls, no going to brothels! You have to be loyal, otherwise my parents will take me back!" She cried. "Do you realize what you did?"

"Yeah. It's a lot, but I think we're ready." Yosuke was quiet, just scooting next to her. Despite how stiff her clothes were, she sat with her knees up, resting her head on them. "...Tell me about your brother."

Chie didn't want to speak of him, afraid if she did, he would vanish from her memory, so instead she tried to send Yosuke an image, one of her favorite memories.

"Can't you catch up?! Stupid slowpoke!" Hideyoshi laughed, jumping ahead on the stones. "I'm not waiting for you!" He wore a light green kimono with matching hakama, running as freely as he could.

"Don't be mean!" Chie ran after him, bouncing on each stone, her furisode sleeves brushing dangerously close to the water. She also wore green, but it was a kimono patterned with simple flowers, as she was only seven while he was twelve.

"Catch me if you can!" He jumped on the last stone and held up his arms high, cheering, not noticing an orange ball of fury tackling him and shoving him into the water, the two dissolving into giggles. "Good try,"

"Thank you!" Chie grinned, the bow in her hair lopsided. Hideyoshi helped her out of the water and the two walked home together, laughing and soaking wet. When Mother saw them, she just shook her head at Hideyoshi, trying not to laugh too.

"Change your clothing before dinner, can't get sick after all!"

"Yes Mama!" They both echoed, Hideyoshi still using a childish word for her despite his much older age than Chie.

"Race you to our bedrooms?"

"Yeah!"

Chie sighed at the memory.

"Talk about irony," Yosuke quipped. "She even warned you about getting sick!"

"Shut up!" She punched his elbow. "He was the strong older one….the fact he got sick at all was a fluke. But he died and left me all alone with parents who never wanted me."

"All my life I always wanted a sibling. Now I'm not so sure."

"He was the best older brother one could ever ask for."

They leaned close to each other, staring at the water in silence. Chie had no idea why that had suddenly become their thing, silent reflection, being actually mature, but she couldn't say she hated it. Somehow, she felt nobody could understand her the way Yosuke could. And now they were officially betrothed to be married, and would be married at the end of the year.

"You're going to love my place. Lots of places to put your bike and dance around."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Yukiko's whole world was floating. Ever since she confessed her love to Marie, she was flying, floating, lighter than air, as if her feet never touched the ground. She put in a word to her parents that she wanted a friend to work with her there part-time so she'd feel less lonely, a very special friend.

First, though, she was to hang out with the others in Junes, sitting awkwardly as she usually did, because it was a study group and she had no place there academically. She got dressed in fall kimono, which reminded her of spring and so she was pleased to get dressed as such.

A red-brown furisode with a rich golden and orange obi, patterned with falling leaves and crickets, while her kimono carried the motifs of chrysanthemums and maple leaves, carrying the season with her. Her kanzashi was less elaborate than in warmer seasons, instead being a simple yellow pin in her bun.

"Is there anything I can help with?" She asked politely, looking around the table. Yu and Yosuke were dressed in their spring clothes again, layered appropriately to keep out the cooler weather. Chie wore a gold and green kimono patterned with crickets and insect cages on the orange obi, while her kimono carried the patterns of rice and grapes and other harvestable items. Yukiko wouldn't say it, but she felt yellow and gold were more flattering on her best friend than her usual green.

"I doubt it. We don't do school, remember?" Kanji huffed at her, wearing a grey loose kimono and no hakama but a striped blue haori, tightly tied around him. "We just gotta sit here and look awkward."

"What did you guys think about the concert?" She asked, undeterred.

"It was so nerve-wracking!" Chie cried, sheets of paper spread out in front of her on the table and a bottle of orange juice. "I don't understand how Rise-chan can do that every single day!"

Rise giggled. "It just requires practice! It comes second-nature to me." She wore a dark brown dress with a visible white layer underneath with brown and yellow lace running through while brown bows held up the skirt including one in the back. She wore a matching hat trimmed with black lace and several stuffed doves and a wide brim, hiding her face from view. She wore matching orange earrings and a choker around her neck with grey gloves. By her side was an orange parasol trimmed with black lace. Despite her massive bustle, she sat perfectly still and straight, unbothered.

"I thought it was fun," Yukiko chimed in before she took some sips from her green tea. Raccoon was there like always, and Nanako too, wearing the dress from her birthday, but Yukiko paid them no mind. They were moral support, she supposed, just like her and Kanji.

"Is anyone here good with numbers? My brain just won't focus." Yosuke grumbled.

"I'm struggling with Japanese too…" Rise sighed.

"Can you believe even my physical education teacher gave me homework?! Like what is this?! How am I meant to find my heart?" Chie cried.

"That sounds like anatomy. I could help with that. My tutor and I back home were working on something like that. Made our way up to the brain." Naoto pointed to her head. She was dressed in a long blue coat and checkered pants.

"Ooooh, what was your old school like before transferring here? I bet you went to a super fancy school!" Rise sat up. "Do you know English?"

Naoto said something in English, and Rise clapped her hands and said something back.

"Oh! French!"

The two girls said something and then chuckled.

"This is too academic for me." Kanji huffed.

"You're telling me. She's a bit of a snob, isn't she?" Yosuke teased.

"I'm not a snob!" Naoto protested hotly. "I was just raised differently." She looked down at her books. "Before Yasogami High, I attended St. Anne's Academy. It was run by an American woman for Western students and half-Western students. I only know English because it's required because most of the kids come from English-speaking nations."

"So you're not a snob. You're just a perfect princess!"

She blushed and angrily looked away at that.

"And yet you want to go to school, despite seeing all this." Chie sighed at Yukiko, who sipped more tea.

"Yes! It still looks like fun! And I'd get to be around you all!"

She shook her head.

"What that lady said has been in my head for a while…" Raccoon suddenly spoke up, looking down at his lap. "When she said yokai like me come into existence from the desires and wishes of humans. Shadows are like that, but I don't think I was ever a Shadow. But then, who thought of me? Where did I come from?"

"Maybe you're a king!" Nanako's eyes lit up. "The ruler of that world! Because I once read a story about a lonely king who had to be alone because he was cursed and lived in a forest. Maybe that's you!"

"Maybe!" Raccoon thought about it, looking at Yukiko. "You know a lot about these things. Is there a ruler of yokai? A king?"

That was when everyone was packing up to leave, that he asked her that.

"I don't think tanuki have a leader, but other groups of yokai do." She thought about it. "Like oni have a king."

He crossed his arms. "It somehow feels familiar…like a memory I can see but is just out of reach of my hands."

She suddenly thought of Marie.

"I mean, it's kinda like the tabloids, right? The way we treat it and others…" Raccoon remained deep in thought. "Maybe that has something to do with it."

When Yukiko returned home, she rested up and then woke up early the next morning, excited because it was Marie's first day of officially helping out at the inn.

"So, I don't know how much experience your friend has, so we'll start her out slow. Scrubbing the floors, hanging up laundry, and serving drinks. Can she handle that?" Sakura, Yukiko's mother, asked. She nodded.

"Yes!"

A few minutes later, Marie arrived, looking as she always did, and Yukiko greeted her warmly.

"It'll be so much fun having you here!"

"If you say so." She seemed surprised Yukiko wanted to hold her hands and the girls started with hanging up laundry.

"The kimono are the tricky part, because you literally take them apart and fold the pieces up individually. It's so they can keep their shape." She explained, laying out some bedding for Marie to try with.

"Why would you need to wear so many different kimono? It just feels like a waste." Marie asked, unrolling the blankets and shaking them out to dry.

"To tell you the truth, I don't even have that many! Just one for each season, and then a few special ones." Yukiko said breezily, folding the sleeves of a pajama set for male guests. "Like a Tanabata kimono."

"One should be all you need,"

"But it's fun to change with the seasons! Oh! We should see if any of mine will fit you! I have this really beautiful one patterned with the moonlight and nighttime,"

Marie smiled at that. "If you want," She shook out another blanket. "Hearing moonlight….it feels familiar, somehow. Like that comb. I think…something about the moon, like sitting under it."

"Like moon-viewing festivals?" She moved closer, but Marie frowned.

"No." She went silent and folded the rest of the bedding that way, following Yukiko to the kitchen.

"Serve alcohol to our guests. If they ask for food, tell me so I can prepare it," The chef explained as the girls nodded and took their trays, heading to the dining area.

"Wow, we got two Oriental beauties serving us tonight?! Lucky!" One of the men whistled when Marie kneeled at their table, trying to pour rice-wine and biting her lip when most of it spilled out of the glass.

"Don't worry, you'll learn, and be just as good as the heiress," The second laughed.

Yukiko dutifully poured the sake and tea when she was required, not saying anything. The men seemed less interested in her and far more interested in Marie, staring and catcalling at her, asking her questions.

"Why's your hair like that?"

"Because it is," Marie slowly tried pouring tea, that time not spilling any.

"You're so sexy," A man slapped her behind when she was trying to stand up after serving, making her drop the kettle in surprise and spill tea all over the floor.

"Hey, don't touch me!" She whirled around and grabbed the man's hand, squeezing it tightly and pushing him away.

"We were just having a bit of fun!"

"I don't care!" She ran to the kitchen and tried to wipe up the mess before it could soak into the tatami and smell.

"Marie…" Yukiko sighed. She served some pieces of sushi to her table, tuning out whatever they were saying about her. She hoped the man would just forget the offense, but he was still going when she served his friend his order.

"You know, I might forgive you. If you two kissed. Wouldn't that be something to see?"

"Shut it, creep!" Marie yelled, slamming her tray down hard. "I don't want to kiss her!"

"Marie!" Yukiko gasped as she darted out of the room. She then apologized to the man and ran after her, finding her standing out near the laundry. "Yes it's hard, but you just have to ignore them! Men say whatever they want."

"Maybe I'm not good at this kind of work," She grumbled. "I messed up everything."

"You just need practice." Yukiko carefully took her hands, unsure. "And that means more time spent with me."

Marie finally smiled.

"Yes,"

-Bustles were worn from the ages of 6-7 in young girls, as by the late 1880's little girls were dressing just like their mothers. Some more avant-garde families dressed their young daughters in kids' outfits from earlier years, namely the short dress and pinafore combination, but that was rare. While I do think Victorian fashion as a whole gets a very bad rep from modern eyes, I do have to agree with this one. There's literally no reason at all for girls that young to wear such fashion that would limit their mobility.

-Due to the exchange programs, there were enough Western and half-Western kids running around Japan to be an issue, so schools designed to replicate their overseas education were established, usually by Americans or Brits, though there's records of at least two Canadian-run ones. They were taught English alongside more 'elite' subjects such as botany, anatomy, geology, religious studies, and more. Students also celebrated their holidays from back home, such as Christmas and Easter.