10/24
After class, Yui invited Naoto to her house, to which Naoto agreed. Her explanation for this was that she wanted access to household tools, if needed, to solve the mystery behind the white card.
"Have you learned anything new about the card, Naoto-chan?" Yui asked.
"Upon closer inspection, I noticed a faint citrus smell." Naoto stated.
Yui picked up the card and held it closer to her nose.
"Oh yeah, it does! Why could that be?"
Yui noticed Nanako watching a kids' show on TV, and felt compelled to ask her for help.
"What are you watching Nanako-chan?" Yui asked.
"Magical Detective Loveline! She's a smart and powerful crime-solver!" Nanako replied.
"Magical Detective Loveline...maybe you could be a detective of your own?" Yui said.
"Do you need my help?" Nanako asked.
"I have a white card that smells like citrus. Do you have an idea what it could mean?" Naoto asked Nanako.
Nanako thought for a while before coming up with an idea.
"Oh! Maybe it's invisible ink!" Nanako said.
"Invisible ink?!" Naoto asked.
"Yeah! We did that one time in science class! It even showed up in one episode of Loveline!" Nanako said proudly.
Naoto quickly stood up from her seat and turned on the stove, heating up the card until dark letters appeared.
"It WAS invisible ink! The thief used a simple trick like this?!" Naoto exclaimed.
"Wow, great job Nanako-chan!" Yui praised Nanako.
"What does it say here? Dear detective, your prized possessions are in my hand. Can you recover them? The game is afoot. Eating letters...with a red face…The Phantom Thief." Naoto read aloud.
"The Phantom Thief? A challenge, and a riddle! What eats letters and has a red face?" Yui asked aloud.
Yui and Nanako came up with the answer at the same time.
"A mailbox!" Yui and Nanako said.
"A mailbox? Ah! Like the one in the shopping district! Yui-senpai, come with me!" Naoto said.
"Thank you for your help, Nanako-chan!" Yui said as they left.
"You're welcome, onee-chan!" Nanako chimed.
Yui and Naoto checked every mailbox in the shopping district until the found an object behind the one next to Daidara Metalworks.
"This is…" Naoto muttered.
"What is it?" Yui asked.
"It's a...detective's badge. I made it as a child." Naoto said, visibly embarrassed.
"Wait, the thief stole this and then just...gave it back?" Yui asked.
"I suppose so. I didn't realize Grandpa kept this…"
"He must have been proud of you following the Shirogane tradition. That badge, as childish as you might think it is, is a reminder of that." Yui stated.
"Hmm...perhaps. I might have solved this puzzle myself eventually, but I appreciate your and Nanako's help." Naoto said gratefully.
"This Phantom Thief...I guess he must be testing you."
"I can't see what motive he might have for doing this. But when more challenges are sent my way, I'd appreciate your help."
"Of course, Naoto-chan!"
10/25
"Senpai!"
Rise came up to Yui after class, pleasantly surprising her.
"Hi, Rise-chan! What do you have there?" Yui asked, pointing to the bento box in Rise's hands.
"Could you give this to Marie-chan? I don't know where she lives, and I figured you'd be able to deliver this for me." Rise told Yui.
Yui took the box from Rise and peeked inside. It was filled with rice, tofu, and a variety of sliced vegetables.
"I'm sure she'll love it. I'll make sure it gets to her." Yui said.
"Thank you, senpai!" Rise cheered.
Yui brought the tofu bento to Marie, who decided to eat it just outside the Velvet Room.
"It's delicious. Please tell Rise-chan that it was good." Marie said.
"I will." Yui said with a nod.
"Is her cooking always this good?"
"I don't know about that. The last time she cooked by herself, she made the dish way too spicy. I imagine her grandma must have helped her make that bento."
"Oh, I see."
"I meant to ask you, how did your last date go? You must have made a lot of good memories."
"We did. We bought some clothes, drank coffee, sang karaoke. It was all very exciting. On the train ride home, we…"
Marie suddenly stopped talking, too embarrassed to continue.
"You did what?" Yui asked.
Marie wouldn't budge, but judging from the blush on her face, Yui was able to guess.
"No way! Second date, and you two already kissed?!" Yui exclaimed.
"What? It's no big deal…" Marie mumbled.
"No big deal?! Marie-chan, you just kissed one of the most famous idols in Japan! That's a once in a lifetime memory!"
"You're right...I'm still thinking about it…" Marie admitted.
"Hey, there's a culture festival coming up soon. Would you like to come check it out? You'll have a lot of time to be with Rise!" Yui asked Marie.
"Culture festival? What's that?" Marie asked Yui.
"It's a school event that's supposed to be a celebration of, well, Japanese culture. It's a student driven event, but pretty much everyone's invited."
"OK, I'll come. Seems like a good time to make memories."
"Good! I'll be sure to come get you when it happens."
"Arigato."
10/26
"Alright everyone! The class has voted that for the culture festival, we'll be running a group date cafe." The class representative told the class.
"Group date cafe?! Whose idea was this?" Chie complained.
"Damn it! I wrote that down as a joke…" Yosuke mumbled.
Chie glared at Yosuke when she heard this.
"I've never been a part of a group date cafe, so I was curious…" Yukiko stated.
"You voted for it, Yukiko-chan?!" Chie said in shock.
"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't vote for it. I wanted to do an art exhibit, but literally nobody else wanted that." Yui stated.
"I am so disappointed in this class…" Chie muttered.
10/29
Today was the day of the culture festival, and as Yui promised, she went to get Marie from the Velvet Room and brought her to the school. Marie found herself in awe at the colors and decorations on display.
"Stick with me for now, Marie-chan. When we see Rise-chan, I'll leave you with her." Yui told Marie.
"I'm so nervous...but I'm also looking forward to all this!" Marie stated.
"That's good! I know you'll have fun today."
Yui and Marie walked towards homeroom, spotting Yukiko standing at the door.
"Come in for a first hand experience with group dating! Oh, this is embarrassing…" Yukiko said anxiously.
"Hi, Yukiko-chan!" Yui greeted.
"Oh, hello Yui-chan…" Yukiko replied.
"How's the group date cafe coming along?"
Yui looked inside the classroom and saw three people: Yosuke, Chie, and the male class representative.
"Not good…" Yui said, answering her own question.
Chie saw Yui at the doorway and immediately ran up to her, giving her a hug.
"Hi, Yui-chan!" Chie said.
"Hi, Chie-chan." Yui responded.
"Get me the hell out of here! This group date cafe idea is a disaster!" Chie said in a hushed voice.
"How is no one checking it out when half the class voted for it?" Yui asked.
"I don't know! We were about to participate in it ourselves, which is incredibly humiliating!"
"Should have gone with the art exhibit…"
"Why don't we go somewhere else?" Marie asked.
"I think that's a good idea, Marie-chan!" Chie agreed.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Yosuke called out.
"I'm jumping ship! This is your problem now!" Chie told Yosuke.
Chie took Yui's hand as they went to explore the rest of the school, leaving Yosuke at a loss.
Yui and Chie met up with Kou and Daisuke, who were preparing for their class event.
"This class is showcasing local artifacts. I wish we were doing something this cool…" Kou complained.
"What's your class doing? It has to be better than ours." Yui asked.
"We're doing a freaking play! Why?"
"It's too late to complain now, Piglet!" Daisuke taunted.
"It's not Piglet! It's Hamlet!" Kou corrected Daisuke.
"What's so bad about that?" Yui asked.
"Get this. The play's called: Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet! What the hell, man?"
"What?! Are they out of their minds? Philistines!" Yui said angrily.
"Well, good luck with that, you guys!" Chie said as she dragged Yui away from them.
"When you're finished with that play, tell the script writers to shove it!" Yui yelled as Chie pulled her.
"Dude...you know it's bad when Yui gets that angry…" Kou said to Daisuke.
"To be in the play, or not to be in the play. It's not like you have a choice anymore…" Daisuke stated.
"I don't care if they're both tragedies! The real tragedy is that people spent time and energy writing that garbage!" Yui complained to Chie.
"*chuckle* Relax already! At least you don't have to act in it." Chie stated.
"That's true. I don't envy Kou's position…" Yui said, calming down a bit.
"Senpai!"
Rise called out to Yui and Chie as she walked up to them.
"Hey, Rise-chan!" Chie greeted.
"Hi." Marie said to Rise.
"Marie-chan! You're here too!" Rise cheered.
Rise gave Marie a tight hug, surprising her initially until she returned the embrace.
"Come with me, Marie-chan! There's a few events I want to go see!" Rise told Marie.
"Oh, alright then." Marie replied.
"You two have fun." Yui told them.
Rise took Marie's hand and led the way, leaving Yui and Chie with each other.
"What's with those two?" Chie asked.
"Yeah, I wonder…" Yui said, feigning ignorance.
"Yui-chan? Is there something you know that I don't?" Chie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well anyway, let's check out this room! It's a beauty parlor!" Yui said, changing the subject.
"Beauty parlor?"
"Look at that! You get to do each other's makeup!"
"Ooh, that does sound fun!"
"Do mine first, Chie-chan!"
Rise brought Marie to a few different classrooms, each with a different activity to partake in. The first one they tried was a fortune telling booth, something Marie was very familiar with, being a resident of the Velvet Room. Rise wasn't very satisfied with the actual fortune though, dismissing the concept. The next classroom displayed a series of calligraphy pieces, and although Rise was initially impressed with the artistry and craftsmanship, Marie was quickly bored by it.
"What if they were poems? Would you care for them more?" Rise asked Marie.
"I don't know. Maybe…" Marie replied with a shrug.
The last classroom had a shadow puppet play, which made use of some very expressive shadow puppets to tell an old Japanese folk tale. It also had a play that involved urban monster stories, with several being portrayed, such as the Kuchisake-onna, Kitsune, and Hachishakusama. The grisly depictions left both Rise and Marie unnerved, but thoroughly entertained.
After spending the day, Rise brought Marie to the school rooftop to show her the view.
"I've seen the view from up here before. It's even better today." Marie stated.
"It's a great place to go when you need some quiet time to yourself. I sometimes come up here just to think about how I'm doing." Rise told Marie.
"I had a good time today, Rise-chan!"
"I'm glad you did. I had fun as well."
Rise held hands with Marie and stared affectionately into her eyes.
"What are you doing?" Marie asked, her face blushing.
"I wanna kiss, if that's OK with you." Rise said with a mischievous grin.
Marie chuckled at this statement, if only to offset some of her nervousness.
"Yeah, I'd like that…" Marie replied.
With this invitation, Rise wrapped her arms over Marie's shoulders and started kissing her repeatedly. Marie struggled to keep up with Rise's tempo, losing her balance and falling backward. Even after they both ended up knelt down on the floor, Rise didn't let up, quickly apologizing to Marie before resuming, holding her kisses longer and longer. This display of passion would end up being interrupted by the sound of the door to the rooftop being opened. Marie and Rise turned around to see Yui and Chie staring at them in surprise, leaving everyone involved red-faced. Marie and Rise quickly stood up, incredibly embarrassed.
"Senpais! Do you mind?!" Rise shouted in embarrassment.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry, Rise-chan!" Chie quickly responded.
Yui couldn't help but start laughing at the situation.
"Oh my...you two were really going at it." Yui teased as she covered her smile.
"You ruined it! Stupid jerks!" Marie said in irritation.
"Why did you come up here?!" Rise asked them.
"We wanted to go somewhere private, but it looks like you beat us to it." Yui explained.
"So uh...how long has this been going on?" Chie asked.
"You mean us being a couple? Uh...not that long, to be honest." Rise admitted.
"Wow, you two move fast." Chie commented.
"We'll just...go home. You two go back to...you know." Yui said sheepishly.
Yui took Chie's hand as the two of them went back down, leaving Rise and Marie awkwardly standing around.
"Well that just happened…" Rise muttered.
"Rise-chan?" Marie said.
Rise turned around to look at Marie.
"Yes, Marie-chan?" Rise asked.
"Is it OK for us to be doing this?"
"What do you mean? Of course it is!"
"But, just the other day you told me girls aren't allowed to marry girls…" Marie stated.
"Well, yeah, girls aren't allowed to MARRY girls, but nothing's really stopping them from being with each other romantically. The only people who are trying to stop that are stupid and mean." Rise elaborated.
"You mean, people don't like it when girls date each other?" Marie asked sadly.
Rise knelt down next to Marie, prompting her to kneel down with her.
"*sigh* Yes, some people don't like it. But those people don't understand that there's nothing wrong with loving who you want to love. Your friends...OUR friends, are fine with it. We're lucky it was just Yui and Chie-senpai who caught us." Rise told Marie, taking on a more serious tone.
"What if it was someone else?"
"Well...I don't know. Probably nothing good. They'd start rumors about me, spin it as a bad thing. If people found out that Risette kissed a girl...I don't know what would happen…" Rise confessed.
"I don't want anything bad happening to you…" Marie said.
"It won't."
"Huh?"
"I'll be alright. No matter what happens, I won't stop being with you, for any reason." Rise insisted.
"You'd go that far?" Marie asked.
Rise held Marie's hands and looked her in the eyes.
"Yes. Nothing will come between us. Promise…" Rise said firmly.
Marie started to cry, completely moved by Rise's loyalty.
"Hey, don't cry. That's for me to do." Rise whispered.
"*sob* You...you jerk. Let me cry." Marie sobbed.
"OK. Cry as much as you need to." Rise said as she started tearing up as well.
At this point, both of them broke down crying in order to free their emotions. They held each other close until they eventually calmed down and dried their eyes.
"Feel better now?" Rise asked Marie.
"Yes…" Marie replied, a bit uncertain.
"Marie-chan?"
"Yes, Rise-chan?"
"I want you to know that I think you're beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not, and definitely don't let anyone convince you that you don't deserve to be loved." Rise said passionately.
"Rise-chan...I think you're beautiful, too. And...you deserve to be loved as well." Marie responded.
"I love you, Marie-chan…" Rise whispered.
"I...I love you too, Rise-chan…" Marie whispered back.
Rise hugged Marie as tightly as she could muster, slowly letting her go to start kissing her again.
"You really like doing this, huh?" Marie asked after pulling herself away from Rise long enough to speak.
"This feeling is intoxicating...I can't believe I went so long without experiencing this." Rise said with flushed cheeks.
Eventually, the two of them finished making out, and Marie went back to the Velvet Room after saying goodbye to her girlfriend.
10/30
It was the second day of the culture festival, and the whole group was spending it together, Marie included. Even if some members were hesitant to participate in some specific activities, they all ultimately had fun.
"Hi, onee-chan!" Nanako greeted Yui.
"Nanako-chan! You came to the festival too!" Yui said with a smile.
"Ah, good thing we found you." Dojima said, following close behind.
"Hi Dojima-san. What is it?"
"I need to make a business trip to the prefectural office, and I won't be back until tomorrow. I need you to take care of Nanako for me." Dojima explained.
"Of course! Will do."
Yui quickly remembered something.
"Oh, Nanako-chan! Dojima-san! I don't think you've met Marie-chan yet!" Yui said, motioning to Marie.
"Hello." Marie said awkwardly.
"Oh yeah, the girl at the Junes concert. You were all pretty impressive up there." Dojima stated.
"You were so cool, getting to perform with Rise-chan!" Nanako praised.
"Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it." Marie said with a grin.
"I really gotta go. You have fun, Nanako!" Dojima said as he departed.
"Hey, I have an idea! Would you like to stay over at the inn?" Yukiko asked.
"What did you say, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked.
"I said, we should stay a night at the Amagi Inn!" Yukiko restated.
"We're partying at the inn?! Yay!" Rise cheered.
"You sure, Yukiko-senpai?" Kanji asked.
"I did promise a while back. And I've wanted to do this for a while now."
"Awesome!" Yosuke said happily.
"Can we eat boiled eggs from the hot springs?" Teddie asked.
"Would you like to come along, Marie-chan?" Yui asked Marie.
"Of course I do. I get to be with all of you." Marie stated.
"Then it's settled. Let's all gather at the inn later!" Rise said.
"Konbanwa!" Everyone greeted as they entered the Amagi Inn.
"Konbanwa! Welcome to the inn!" Kasai said with a bow.
"Sorry for bringing such a large group." Rise apologized.
"Not at all. We've been expecting you!"
"Konichiwa, Kasai-san." Yui greeted.
"Ah, Yui-chan! It's good to see you again." Kasai said with a smile.
"Hello everyone!"
Yukiko came to the entrance dressed in her work uniform, greeting everyone with a bow.
"Yuki-chan! The steamy hot mistress of the hot springs!" Teddie exclaimed.
"No, Teddie. I'm just a waitress. I have to apologize. A large group just came in and I have to serve them." Yukiko explained.
"Why don't you let me take care of it, Yuki-chan? Spend time with your friends while they're here!" Kasai insisted.
"Are you sure you don't need help with the party?" Yukiko asked.
"I can help with that!" A familiar voice spoke up.
Everyone turned to see Aika dressed in uniform, much to their surprise.
"Aika-chan? What are you doing here?" Chie asked.
"I'm working part-time here." Aika explained.
"I see." Yui said.
"I can show you to your rooms! This way." Aika said, leading the way.
"Yui-chan?" Chie whispered to Yui.
"Hm?"
"Are you going to be OK?" Chie asked.
"Why do you ask?"
"I remember you saying a while back that you didn't like bathhouses. Are hot springs as bad for you?"
"Oh, that's what you mean! Well...I'll be fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"I'll never get comfortable with this sort of thing if I always avoid these situations. I just have to face it."
"OK. But if you can't deal with it, you better talk to me."
"OK, I will. Thank you for being worried, Chie-chan!"
After everyone got changed into comfortable sleeping clothes, Yukiko invited everyone to the dining room to eat dinner. It was a lively feast, and everyone had an enjoyable time. Yui chose to look the other way whenever Chie stole pieces of meat from her plate. Yosuke and Kanji had a small argument over sharing the sauces. Naoto mostly ate quietly by herself, but would sometimes indulge in Nanako's little stories. Marie was a bit overwhelmed being around so many people, including strangers, but Rise was always there to keep her grounded. However, it was extremely difficult for Rise to keep the PDA to a minimum.
"Ahhhh! That was incredible!" Teddie said in a satisfied tone.
"That was the best meal I've ever had, for sure." Yosuke stated.
"What do you think the girls are up to?" Teddie asked.
"They're probably bathing in the hot springs right now. And before you ask, no they are not coed." Yosuke answered.
"You guys wanna take a bath before we go to bed?" Kanji asked.
"Yeah, good idea." Yosuke said.
"Hey, you guys notice something about this room? It looks expensive." Kanji noted.
"You noticed that too, huh? You'd think a room like this would be occupied during the busy season." Yosuke asked.
The boys looked around the room and noticed some talismans hanging on the walls. Understanding their purpose, they suddenly became very silent.
"Is this room cursed?" Teddie asked, breaking the silence.
"Do you think so? I really hope not…" Yosuke said nervously.
Yui was in the bathing area, rinsing herself in preparation for the hot springs. She was a bit slow and awkward in doing so, as she was preoccupied with looking around and making sure her friends didn't see her. After she finished cleaning herself, she quickly wrapped herself in a small towel, something she had since become much better at doing. Chie came up to her, wearing a towel of her own, and greeted her with a smile.
"Are you ready, Yui-chan?" Chie asked.
"Yeah...sure. You'll make sure I don't have a breakdown, right?" Yui said.
"Of course! You'll be fine."
Yui took Chie's hand and walked with her to the women's hot springs. They ran into Marie on the way, who was leaning against a wall and, much to their confusion, had not put on a towel like the others.
"Um...Marie-chan? Where's your towel?" Yui asked nervously.
"What? I already showered. I don't need it anymore." Marie replied.
"You're not gonna wear one to the hot spring?" Chie asked.
"I can't get in the water with it, so why bother? It's not like any boys are gonna see me." Marie said extremely nonchalantly.
"Wow, you must be pretty confident about your body if you choose to just go around naked." Chie stated.
Marie shrugs at this comment, making her way to the hot springs.
Rise was one of the first girls to get to the hot springs, with only Naoto beating her there and bathing in a remote corner of the bath. Rise looked up at the beautiful night sky, glittered with stars.
"Wow! This place is huge!" Rise exclaimed, admiring the expansive pool of hot, mineral infused water.
Yui, Chie, Yukiko, Nanako and Marie all followed close behind her. Rise quickly peeled off her towel and pulled Marie into the water with her, causing a considerable splash.
"Careful! Don't splash!" Yukiko warned them.
"Too late!" Rise giggled as she hugged Marie, who appeared a bit annoyed at her antics.
Yukiko stepped into the water next and led Nanako by the hand to make sure she could handle the heat. After acclimating herself to the hot water, Nanako stepped right in, the water coming up to her neck. Chie was about to join the others, but noticed Yui somehow getting cold feet.
"Yui-chan, come on! You can do this!" Chie said encouragingly.
"Oh yeah, sure. Let's just pretend I don't have insecurities about my body and ignore the fact that there are at least four sapphic girls bathing in the same water as me…" Yui muttered under her breath.
"Yui-chan…" Chie said again, gentler.
Yui took a deep breath, attempting to be tranquil.
"Alright...let me go first…" Yui said.
Yui slowly unwrapped her towel and stepped into the water. So far so good. Though the waters of the hot springs were comfy, they didn't ease Yui's awkwardness much.
"Should I look away or…" Yui asked Chie.
"If you have to." Chie replied.
Yui somehow worked up the courage to look at Chie as she removed her towel and knelt down at the edge of the hot spring. She couldn't help but stare in wonder at her girlfriend's nude figure, breathless and mesmerized.
"Hey…" Chie said with a sly grin.
"Ah! Yeah?" Yui replied, snapping out of her hypnosis.
"Mind helping me in?" Chie asked, holding out her hand.
Yui reached out and took Chie's hand, helping her step into the spring.
"Ahhh, arigato." Chie said, enjoying the warmth of the water.
"Yeah…" Yui replied, looking away to hide her blushing.
"First time seeing me naked, huh?" Chie stated.
"Well, yeah. I know it's rude to stare, I'm sorry." Yui apologized.
"It's fine, Yui-chan! We're girlfriends, for crying out loud! More likely than not, we'll be seeing each other naked more frequently."
"Right, yeah. Let's think of it that way."
"You gonna be alright?"
"Honestly, I'm more concerned about Naoto-chan over there. She hasn't stopped staring at the wall since we got here."
"Senpai!"
Yui and Chie turned to look at Rise swimming (or rather, walking through water) over to them.
"Don't just stay near the edge! There's plenty of room in the center!" Rise told them.
"We know, Rise-chan. Just...give us some time." Chie said with a smile.
"Wow senpais! I have to say, your skin looks so clean and healthy! You must take good care of it!" Rise complimented.
"Oh, thank you Rise-chan!" Chie replied.
"Yours is pretty flawless too, Rise-chan. Being an idol has its perks." Yui stated.
"The makeup artists used only the best for my face! But it's nice to go without it." Rise said.
"What are you doing over here?"
Marie came over to join them, putting on an indifferent expression.
"Hey Marie-chan! Isn't this great?" Chie said.
"It's nice, I guess. But why are we bathing in hot water with rocks around it?" Marie asked.
"Well, there are minerals in the water, and when you soak in it, it's supposed to be good for you." Yui answered.
"But I have to say, Marie-chan! Your skin and complexion is perfect! You probably don't even need the hot springs!" Rise said flirtatiously.
"But then I don't get to spend time with all of you." Marie stated.
"I have to ask, Rise-chan. You and Marie-chan like each other, right?" Chie asked.
"Yeah, we do." Marie replied.
"I guess you're surprised by that, huh Chie-senpai?" Rise said.
"Well, I kind of figured you were into boys, is all." Chie stated.
"I like boys too! And yeah, I always had it in my mind that I'd eventually end up with a male idol or something. So imagine my surprise when I started having feelings for a strange girl who showed up one day, taking the town by storm with her music performance." Rise said.
"I'm strange, huh?" Marie said, looking away from Rise.
"I mean that in the best way possible, Marie-chan!" Rise clarified, her smile shining through.
Rise cuddled close to Marie, causing her to soften a bit. Yui and Chie chuckle at this display of affection.
"Naoto-chan! Why don't you come over here?" Yukiko called out to Naoto.
"Oh...alright…" Naoto mumbled, slowly making her way over to the others.
It was clear that Naoto was very dysphoric about herself at the moment. Even though nobody stared, they couldn't help but notice that Naoto's breasts were considerably bigger than anyone else's, and this fact left Naoto in a constant state of stress.
"Wow, Naoto-chan! Your skin is so smooth!" Rise said, placing her hand on Naoto's back, uninvited.
"Pl-please don't touch me!" Naoto shrieked.
"Rise-chan, knock it off. We're here to relax, and that's not helping." Yui scolded.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Naoto-chan. I won't do it again." Rise apologized.
"Nanako-chan, aren't you scared about being at someone else's place?" Naoto asked Nanako, trying to draw her attention to something less awkward.
"Not at all! This is fun! And I'm used to being alone at home. I always do what my Dad tells me, like never answering the door for strangers!" Nanako said proudly.
"Ah, that's very good." Naoto stated.
"That's Nanako-chan for you! I'm proud to be her onee-chan!" Yui said happily.
Yui and her friends were lounging around in their room after they finished bathing in the hot springs.
"We should bathe in the springs one more time!" Rise said cheerfully.
"No, you just want to see Marie-chan naked again." Yui stated.
Rise grinned sheepishly and blushed, knowing she was guilty.
"The springs are available 24/7, so feel free." Yukiko said.
"Hey, you girls like Halloween?" Yui asked everyone.
"Sure, it's pretty fun!" Chie said.
"How about we have a costume party at our house?"
"A costume party?! That sounds great!" Rise said excitedly.
"What's Halloween?" Marie asked, sitting against the table.
"Well, Halloween's not originally a Japanese tradition, but how can you resist an excuse to dress up and eat candy?" Chie explained.
"You can dress up as anything, Marie-chan! Usually, people dress up as scary things, but it's not required." Yukiko said.
"So are we all in agreement?" Yui asked everyone.
"A Halloween party sounds fun!" Nanako said cheerfully.
"I suppose I can be available." Naoto called out, coming out of hiding after putting on her binder.
"Wonderful! I'm looking forward to seeing your costumes!" Yui said with a smile.
"Let's go tell the boys about it!" Chie told everyone.
The girls went down to the game room where they found Yosuke and Kanji competing at a game of table tennis, while Teddie watched and drank matcha.
"Hey guys!" Yui said to them.
"Yo!" Kanji replied, focused on the game.
"What are you all doing here? Done with the hot springs yet?" Yosuke asked.
"Yes. It's all yours now." Yukiko stated.
"We just came by to tell you about our plans for a Halloween party. It'll be at my place!" Yui explained.
"Halloween! I wanna dress up as a-" Teddie began to say.
"Ah, ah, ah! You have to keep it a surprise, Teddie!" Yui said, interrupting Teddie.
"Oh, OK!" Teddie replied.
"Sounds great, senpai! We'll be there!" Kanji shouted.
Yosuke gave a decisive shot, hitting the ball with enough speed to throw off Kanji and win the game.
"Yes!" Yosuke cheered.
"Dammit! Nice shot!" Kanji congratulated Yosuke.
"Phew! I think now's a good time for the hot springs." Yosuke said in exhaustion, sweating buckets.
"Fine with me!" Kanji concurred.
"Let's go!" Teddie said cheerfully, taking his tea cup with him.
10/31
Yui was with Chie and Marie at her house, baking pumpkin cookies. Rather, it was Yui teaching Chie how to bake them, while Marie sat on the couch with Nanako. After placing the cookies in the oven, Yui and Chie went over to sit with Marie and Nanako.
"They should be here by the time the cookies are done." Yui stated.
"I hope so! They look pretty good!" Chie said.
Yui's costume was, as she called it, of a vampiric geisha, where she wore the robes of a geisha, but had sharp nails and color contacts to simulate the deformities of a vampire. Chie wore a yellow jumpsuit akin to that of a famous actress in a martial arts film. Nanako wore the outfit of Detective Loveline, unsurprisingly. Marie seemingly wasn't wearing a costume, aside from a black face mask.
"Marie-chan, where's your costume?" Chie asked.
"Just wait until the others get here." Marie replied, her voice muffled by the mask.
"I helped her with that." Yui stated.
"You had her put on a mask?"
"Patience…" Yui said cryptically.
The doorbell rang, prompting Nanako to get the door. Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji, Teddie and Naoto all came in and greeted everyone.
"Good evening!" Yukiko cheered.
"Good evening, Yukiko! Oh, you're a shrine maiden! Cool!" Yui said.
Yukiko was indeed wearing the outfit of a traditional miko, or shrine maiden, complete with a gohei wand.
"Don't worry, I'll ward off any spirits that may haunt us tonight!" Yukiko said with a giggle.
"How do you like my costume? It's not much, I know." Yosuke asked.
"A magician! It looks good on you." Yui replied.
"What about me, senpai?" Kanji asked.
Kanji was dressed up as the Frankenstein monster, and he even had bolts glued to the sides of his neck.
"You look great as the monster, Kanji-kun! Have you read the novel?" Yui asked Kanji.
"Uh...no…" Kanji confessed.
"Oh...OK." Yui said, a bit disappointed.
"Sensei! I made sure to pick the best costume for this!" Teddie said excitedly.
Teddie had modified his usual bear costume, replacing the head with a jack-o-lantern.
"It's great, Teddie! You did a good job making it." Yui said with a smile.
"Rawr! It's going to be a spooky night for all!" Teddie chimed.
"Naoto-chan! I love the steampunk vibe! That's a detective's outfit, right?" Yui said to Naoto.
"Indeed it is. I thought to try a different style than what I'm used to." Naoto said confidently.
"Where's Rise-chan?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, I figured she'd come here with you guys." Chie said.
"I called her earlier, maybe she needed to take care of something at home." Yukiko guessed.
There was another knock at the door, and a rather loud one.
"Oh! That must be her!" Yui said, standing up and moving towards the door.
Yui opened the door and found Rise wearing a dark blue school uniform that was stained with blood. Rise was giving Yui the wildest stare and grin, breathing incredibly creepily.
"Senpai…" Rise said in a raspy voice.
Yui's jaw practically dropped upon seeing this, and it was only then that she realized that Rise was holding a bloodstained knife.
"You should see the look on your face, senpai!" Rise laughed, breaking character.
"Oh, you were acting! Yeah, you got me, Rise-chan!" Yui said, realizing.
"Is Marie-chan here?" Rise asked with a romantic coo.
"Of course she is."
Yui invited Rise in, and she greeted the rest of the friend group.
"You gave us a scare, Rise-chan! What were you thinking, bringing a knife?!" Chie said.
"Don't worry, it's just a rubber blade." Rise said, bending the knife to demonstrate.
"Rise-chan…" Marie mumbled.
"Marie-chan!" Rise cheered.
Rise quickly gave Marie a hug, noticing the face mask.
"Is that your costume? A face mask?" Rise asked in confusion.
"Rise-chan...watashi, kirei? (Am I pretty?)" Marie asked her.
"Of course you are, silly!" Rise said with a smile.
In one quick motion, Marie tore off her face mask, revealing that her mouth was cut into a deformed smile from ear to ear.
"Kore demo? (Even now?)" Marie said devilishly.
Both Rise and Chie screamed at this, causing Yui and Marie to break out in laughter.
"Wait, what?!" Chie shrieked in confusion.
"It worked, Marie-chan! You made an excellent Kuchisake-onna!" Yui said in between her laughter.
Rise went to touch Marie's face and realized that the cuts were just elaborate makeup.
"Wow! You did this, senpai?! It looks so real!" Rise said in amazement.
"It was hard to get right, but it was worth it!" Yui said proudly.
"That was mean, you two!" Chie scolded.
"Oh come on Chie-chan, you didn't think Marie-chan's face was actually scarred like that, did you?" Yui said playfully.
"No…" Chie replied, crossing her arms.
"I mean, you had me for a second there. Like, oh my god!" Yosuke exclaimed.
"I was scared until senpai started laughing, that's for sure." Kanji stated.
Nanako seemed a bit shaken, which Yui immediately noticed and went to comfort her.
"Are you OK, Nanako-chan? You know it's not real, right?" Yui asked Nanako.
"Mhmm…" Nanako muttered, still frightened.
Marie and Rise were sitting on the couch, giggling at the successful scare.
"You were very scary, Marie-chan! And yet, still pretty." Rise stated.
"Even now?" Marie asked.
"Even now." Rise said with a smile.
"I heard this is the part where the Kuchisake-onna gives her victim a slit mouth to match hers, but I'm not gonna do that." Marie stated.
"Does the Kuchisake-onna want a kiss?" Rise flirted.
"Maybe that's all she ever wanted. To be loved." Marie said.
Marie shook her head and refocused.
"Oh, uh...a kiss would be nice." Marie clarified.
Rise giggles and gives Marie a kiss, comfortably leaning against her afterwards.
"I just saw Risette kiss another girl...I feel like my whole world is shattered." Yosuke muttered.
"Aw, is Yosuke-senpai jealous?" Rise said teasingly.
"Since it's Halloween, do you all want to hear a story? I have a really good one to tell." Yui asked.
"Do we have to?" Chie asked nervously.
"Yes please! I always love a good scary story." Yukiko said enthusiastically.
"Everyone settle down. After I get the cookies out of the oven, I'll tell you."
Yui got the pumpkin cookies out of the oven and after sampling one, she went back to her friends.
"Alright, so I have a story from my time in the city. Keep in mind, this actually happened to me, and it was probably my first exposure to the supernatural." Yui began.
Yui took Chie's hand to comfort her and started telling her story.
"This was freshman year for me. I was walking home from a late study session. This must have been during midterms, and my parents knew that, so this wasn't that strange of a thing to do. But I never did it again after what happened to me. I was walking down the street, and at the time, it must have been cold and foggy, because I distinctly remember it being a dark blue night. And even though there were street lamps, it was kind of hard to see, as you can imagine. At some point, I get this chilling feeling that someone was following me. I look behind me, and I see someone's silhouette in the distance."
The others tense up at this sentence.
"Obviously, that freaked me out. So I started walking faster. I look behind me again, and the silhouette is somehow closer. And that's when I started running. I ran until I got to a bus stop, and I guess now is a good time to mention that I was far enough from home that I needed to ride the bus to get there. So I'm sitting there waiting, hoping I was safe from whatever was following me. I look to my left, and I see that same silhouette walking towards me. At this point, I'm trying to rationalize things, and I think to myself, 'OK, calm down! Maybe it's just someone trying to get home, like I am.' And I told myself that for a bit, until I looked again, and I noticed that the silhouette was a woman who was insanely tall and wearing a wide brimmed hat."
The people who knew what Yui was talking about, like Naoto, Yukiko and Chie, started to become quite scared. The ones who didn't, waited to see where Yui was going.
"If you're familiar with ghost stories, you know that the thing I just described was a Hachishakusama. And at this point, I'm terrified. Because even if this ghost didn't kill me right away, I was cursed to die a few days later. Now obviously, I'm still alive, but I'll get to that. So I'm sitting there, scared out of my mind, thinking I was going to get abducted. I wondered if I should start running again, find a different place to hide. But I knew I couldn't hide from a ghost, and I knew that if I ran any further, I'd get lost, which wouldn't help my situation. Should I call for help? I didn't think that would help, because by the time I got a hold of someone, the ghost would catch up to me already. So...I'm doomed, right?"
Yui took a deep breath for dramatic effect and continued.
"As all these thoughts raced through my head, my heart beating out of my chest, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I immediately thought to myself, 'Wait, ghosts can't touch people, can they?' I look up and I see the Hachishakusama standing above me, lit up by the street lamp I was sitting under. And then, she spoke."
"Sumimasen, do you know where the station is?"
Yui's friends were confused, relieved, unnerved, feeling a whole mix of emotions at this point. Yui grinned and lightened up a little.
"It turned out, it wasn't a Hachishakusama at all. It was just a very tall woman with the palest skin I had ever seen. What happened is that she wasn't from the city, clearly, and she ended up getting lost, so she wanted to know where the train station was. I'm relieved at this point, but I also rudely let this lady know how she scared the daylights out of me. She apologized over and over again, and all the while I'm thinking to myself, 'Why are you wearing a summer dress when it's this cold out? Doesn't she know what she looks like?' So I point her in the direction of the train station and she thanks me for helping her. She just walks off...without another word. I got home safely, and I had never been happier to see my parents."
Chie was clutching onto Yui pretty tightly at this point, unsettled by the story almost the entire way through. Yukiko was giggling, clearly having enjoyed the story. Yosuke and Kanji were also laughing it off.
"That was a really good story, senpai!" Rise said.
"For a second there, I thought you actually encountered a real ghost..." Chie muttered.
"Oh...I'm not quite done with the story. I have one last thing to say." Yui said ominously.
"Huh?" Marie exclaimed.
"Here's the creepy part about that whole encounter. In my remaining time in the city, I never saw that lady again. Not once. We ran into each other that one night, and never saw each other again after that. Now, I'm sure the logical explanation for that is that she simply never visited the city after meeting me. But when I think back on that night, and how surreal the scenario was, I can't help but imagine that I had actually met a ghost, and she spared my life because I helped her get to where she needed to go. Maybe there's a lesson there. I'm not sure what it is. But I remember that moment to this day."
"I kind of wonder how she's doing." Yukiko said.
"I'm sure she's doing fine wherever she is. Whether she's a human or a ghost." Yui stated.
"Can we eat the cookies now?" Chie asked eagerly.
"There's no better time to eat them than now!" Yui said with a smile.
Yui shared the cookies with all her friends, and they spent the rest of the time talking about things unrelated to Halloween until they had to go home.
Author's Note(6-11-23): This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write, but it was also the most fun. The Culture Festival and Hot Springs scenes in the original game are generally disliked by most people, and I felt like they were scenes that could have a lot better things going on. So I sort of used the Culture Festival as a blank slate to write new scenes that would be more fun to write about, and modified the Hot Springs scene to be almost "wholesome". Yeah, the scene that's supposed to be lewd ended up being wholesome somehow, funny how that works. When I started writing Rise and Marie to be a couple, I had made a mental note that at some point, someone walks in on them kissing. Doesn't matter who, it should happen. I also headcanon that Marie is the type to be fairly casual about being nude in settings where it's expected, like bathing in hot springs. Not entirely sure why, her personality seems to suggest it. The Halloween party was more of an excuse for Yui to tell a ghost story, and I liked the idea of her having a ghost encounter that turned out to be just a run-in with an unusual person. This amount of levity will likely be necessary for the chapters that follow...