A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 4- The Golden Apostle! Here we are at the start of Arc 2 of the story! Well, I don't have a lot else to say for the time being, so let's hit up the disclaimer for now, shall we?
Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OCs Ryuroni, Hikari Kusanagi II, Hikari Kusanagi III, Koushiro, Yamato, Takeru, Rosie, Gaignun, Slim, Sage, Lily, Kusano, Ace, Marisa, and any other OCs/OC Personas that appear in the story, all of which were created by, and thus belong to, me), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega, as well as the various other companies that were involved with the spinoffs (whether those spinoffs be Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the 'Dancing' games, or the 'Q' games, or even Persona 5: The Phantom X), all of whom know who they are and receive the appropriate creative/ownership credit that is due to them. I just am using these characters to write this story, and do not intend to make any profit off of it whatsoever.
And there we are, one disclaimer done and dusted! I don't have a lot else to do at this point, so let's go ahead and get to the chapter. I'll have an end-of-chapter A/N after the chapter where I talk about stuff in more depth, so keep reading after the chapter if you want to see that. Otherwise, let's get on with our story, shall we? Here's chapter 9!
Chapter 9: Golden Week! Bonds, Hangouts, Filler, and More! Tatsumi's Bathhouse part 1
(Current in-game date: 4/30/2011. In the evening, at the Dojima residence with Yu, Nanako, and Dojima)
After heading upstairs for the night, Yu decided to continue reading 'Beginner Fishing'. As he continued reading, Yu noted that the author's advice for those just learning how to fish is not to lose heart after hours of waiting for a bite, thus building up patience more efficiently. It seems willpower is very important for a fisherman to have, presumably so as not to give up too readily. Yu then noted he had a few more pages left of Beginner Fishing, deciding to read the rest some other time. He then got to bed for the evening...
(The next morning, in the upper level of the Dojima residence, with Yu)
As Yu got up the next day, he idly noted he had the day off from school since it was a Sunday. Yu then also idly wondered if someone will show up on the Midnight Channel tonight. He then concluded that for the time being, he could only wait and see. Yu then idly questioned what he should do with his day that day. After looking around for a bit, Yu eventually saw Marie hanging out in front of the Velvet Room door and decided to hang out with her, walking over to speak with her.
"I didn't think you'd be out here on your own today, Marie-san." Yu said politely as Marie blinked and spoke up.
"Oh, it's you, Narukami-san. You're here. I've been waiting for you. Hey, why don't you take me somewhere? I don't know the area. You know your way around here, right?" Marie asked, making Yu blink when he realized that Marie seemed to want to go out and hang with him. After concluding it would be worth his time to do so since it would deepen his relationship with Marie, he decided to hang with her as he spoke up.
"If you're asking to hang out with me, I can handle that. I didn't have a lot else going on today anyways, so it works out rather nicely that you wanted to hang out." Yu said as Marie nodded approvingly and spoke up.
"Yeah, that's a good point! Let's go!" Marie said, making yellow music notes go up over her head to show how happy she was with Yu agreeing to hang out with her. Marie then kept speaking.
"Now then, let's discuss where we're going. Today, I want to go to a lively place. I want to go to 'Joo-nes.' I heard about that place." Marie said as Yu winced and spoke up.
"First of all, it's 'Junes', not 'Joo-nes'. That said, I don't mind taking you there if that's where you want to go, Marie-san." Yu said as Marie nodded and let Yu lead her to Junes...
(A short time later, in the electronics department of Junes, with Yu and Marie)
After Yu found himself dragged to the electronics section by an excited Marie, he smiled indulgently, even though he was internally questioning why he agreed to this. Before he could explore his internal tangent for too long, Marie spoke up.
"Hey, what happened just now? 'Time Sale', was it? Everyone was rushing to grab something called 'sallah drezzing'? Whatever it is, it must be worth fighting for." Marie said as Yu sighed and spoke up.
"You're thinking of 'limited-time sales', Marie. Those are basically timed sales where stuff costs less than it would normally, hence the mad rush to take advantage of the lower prices. As for the other thing you mentioned, I believe it's 'Salad Dressing', not 'Sallah Drezzing'." Yu said gently but firmly, hating that he had to explain such basic things to a girl his own age, but accepting that she'd asked him to hang out with her, so it was his job to educate her to a point. Before he could think too much on his current line of thought, he heard his name called and turned to see Chie walking over.
"Hey, Yu-kun! What a coincidence! What're you doin' here?" Chie said as Yu spoke up with a thin smile.
"I'm escorting my friend here around, since she wanted to see Junes." Yu said, jerking a thumb towards Marie to indicate who he meant, making Chie blink as she noticed Marie and spoke up.
"Oh. Who's this girl? She's so cute." Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"This is Marie. I guess the best term for us would be 'acquaintances'. She helped me out once when I first moved here, by handing me back a slip of paper I'd dropped that had the address of the Dojima residence on it." Yu said honestly, wisely omitting the bit about Marie being a Velvet Room attendant, since he doubted he had the time to properly explain all of that to Chie in a way that she could understand. Marie, for her part, blinked on hearing her name and spoke up.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's right. I helped Narukami-san here out once when he first moved into town. And now he's showing me around town to return the favor." Marie said, though Yu could clearly see that Marie looked perplexed by Yu's explanation. Chie just nodded and spoke up.
"Ah, I see. Marie-chan, huh? Ooh, that's a nice name you've got there. Oh, right. I'm Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you!" Chie said happily as Marie blinked and spoke up with her usual unfriendly expression in place.
"Okay then, if you say so. Nice to meet you too, Satonaka-san." Marie said before turning to look at the nearby TVs as she kept speaking.
"Oh, I know what this is. It shows a lot of stuff. I think it's called a telliefission?" Marie said as Yu spoke up.
"That's 'television', Marie-san. But you were close enough in what you said." Yu said as Chie spoke up with a nod.
"Oh, you came to look at the TVs, too?" Chie asked as Marie spoke up with a confused look.
"You're looking at them, too?" Marie asked as Chie nodded with a smile and spoke up.
"Yeah, I want one, too. We still haven't replaced our old one." Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"Did you want a TV too, Marie-san? Or were you just curious about them?" Yu asked kindly as Marie blinked and spoke up with a rare look of bewilderment on her face.
"Wh-Wha!? I-I don't want one! I don't, but I am curious about them. I mean, we don't exactly have one of these back in the Room." Marie said as Yu spoke up.
"Ah, so you're just curious to experience TV, then? Pretty sure there's at least one of them turned on in this room you can watch. Or failing that, there's probably a remote control to turn one of the TV's on around here somewhere." Yu said, finding a remote and turning the TV on, at which point Marie spoke up.
"Maybe you're right, Narukami. Umm, if possible, can you turn it to 'StarScandalz'?" Marie asked as both Yu and Chie blinked at the name of the show and Yu spoke up.
"What kind of show is that, if you don't mind me asking?" Yu asked, clearly intrigued. Marie blinked at the question and spoke up.
"Huh? Why do you ask? It's, like, I dunno. One of those shows, right? The ones where they're all like 'blah de blah de blah.' Everybody watches it. Margaret told me that." Marie said, having a seemingly proud look on her face as Yu spoke up with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Perhaps, but you don't have to do everything someone tells you to do, Marie. Also, I'm not even sure what channel that show you mentioned is even on." Yu said as Marie spoke up in surprise.
"You don't? So, how do you watch it?" Marie asked as Yu sighed and spoke up.
"Right, I forgot you still have a lot to learn. How to use a TV is simple. First, you turn it on. Second, you use the remote that comes with the TV to select the channel you want to watch, and by doing that, you choose what show you watch. It's not that hard. Sure, some TVs might not come with remotes included, but those are very rare, and you can likely pick up a 'universal remote' for cheap that lets you control your TV once you program it to control that TV. But that's a longer explanation that we can save for another day, I think." Yu explained to Marie. Before Marie could verbally acknowledge Yu's explanation, Chie spoke up in shock.
"Huh!? Are you one of those people who doesn't watch TV!?" Chie asked as Marie spoke up after nodding in response to Chie's question.
"That's right. As I just told Narukami-san, there isn't one in the Room." Marie said as Chie spoke up in shock.
"Really!? Wow, that really sucks, Marie. You must have some super-strict parents." Chie said as Marie seemed to blink at Chie mentioning the word 'parents', both Chie and Marie seemingly oblivious to Yu looking like he wanted to laugh at the idea of Igor and Margaret being Marie's parents behind them as the former kept speaking.
"Girl, I don't think I could stand it. Life without kung-fu movies seems like it'd be the worst. Like, it'd be all kinds of cold and miserable. Brr!" Chie said as Yu sweatdropped at Chie's remark before blinking at what Marie said next when she spoke up.
"Oh, that's fair. But there's no 'eclectic loutwits' in that room." Marie said, seemingly nodding to herself as she kept speaking before Yu and Chie could do more than sweatdrop at what she said.
"I'll tell The Nose to install one of those 'eclectic loutwits'. There's nothing to do in there anyways!" Marie said as Yu spoke up.
"I think you meant to say 'electric outlets', Marie-san." Yu said, though his words fell on deaf ears as Marie walked off alone without a word as Chie blinked and spoke up.
"Hey, wait, Marie-chan!? What did you just say? You don't even have electricity in your room!?" Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"It's a long story, Chie. Suffice it to say, it's one I'll have to wait to share at a group gathering of our team. And let me just say it's one of those 'you'd have to be there to really believe it' sort of things, so trust me when I say it's easier for me to only have to explain it once." Yu said, deciding to hopefully put Chie off until he could get a better idea of how many people would be in the Investigation Team, so he could keep the amount of times he had to explain the Velvet Room to a minimum. Yu then noticed Marie disappear in the direction of the food court and sighed as he kept speaking.
"Anyways, it looks as if Marie is heading for the food court. Should we go after her?" Yu asked as Chie nodded and followed Yu up to the food court...
(A short time later, at the Junes food court, with Yu, Chie, and Marie)
Once Yu and Chie had caught up to Marie in the food court, the three wound up getting a table together and sharing a meal. Afterwards, a satisfied-looking Chie spoke up.
"Whew, that was the good stuff. Satisfaction! I haven't had the steak here in a while, but it really isn't all that bad." Chie said as Yu frowned at that and spoke up.
"In a while!? I call bullcrap on that! I'm pretty sure Yosuke and I just got done buying both you AND Yukiko steak from her literally yesterday as a result of that fiasco where Yosuke and I ate your food when you offered us a bite or two each. So you've had it recently." Yu pointed out as Chie sheepishly chuckled and spoke up. *1*
"Eheh, I did just have it yesterday, didn't I? Good point. But anyways, are you two not hungry? Marie-chan, you haven't eaten at all. You, too, Yu-kun. You've gotta eat if you want to grow up big and strong. Just kidding, ahaha!" Chie said as Yu frowned at that and spoke up.
"I hate being told that. I lost count of how many times I was told that growing up, even though I thought I ate plenty. After all, as a wise person once told me, 'One's body is like a temple. As such, one should treat it with the proper respect.' What that means is that you are what you eat. Or more simply put, eating is very much a balancing act, like most things. Therefore, it's best done in moderation." Yu said wisely as Marie nodded her agreement and spoke up.
"Narukami-san has a point. As for you, Satonaka? You eat too fast. You keep that up and you're gonna be fat one day." Marie said as Yu had to hide a chuckle at Marie's rather blunt remark, which Chie thankfully didn't notice because she was too busy glaring at Marie while she spoke up.
"HEY! I didn't need to hear that! Uh, but maybe the food is just too dry? I'll go get us some drinks! Uhh, but what? Ooh, I know. O-Oolong tea sounds good." Chie said as she got up and walked off to get drinks, leaving Yu alone with Marie, who gave Yu a confused look as she spoke up.
"How interesting. There's a lot of people at this 'Joo-nes' place. Why? Don't they have anything else to do? After all, if they have TVs, they should be watching them instead of wasting time here." Marie said as Yu sweatdropped and spoke up.
"You did just hear what I told Chie about things being best when done in moderation, right, Marie-san? Because that also applies to watching television. Not only that, but people have to get out and move around to stay in shape so they don't just end up as overweight couch potatoes from not exercising." Yu pointed out as Marie winced at this, conceding that Yu had a point. Before she could verbally acknowledge Yu had a point, both Yu and Marie heard a child's voice from nearby as they saw a little boy leading his mother through the Junes food court, speaking up excitedly as he went.
"Mommy, I'm thirsty! I wanna soda!" The little boy said as his mother frowned and spoke up.
"No. You just had one. You'll have to wait." The little boy's mother said as the little boy frowned and spoke up in a whiny voice.
"I wannit, I wannit!" The little boy said insistently, but the little boy's mother fixed him with a stern glare as she spoke up.
"I said no. You'll rot your teeth." The little boy's mother said before marching off, leaving the shocked little boy to pout and consider throwing a tantrum, before thinking better of it and chasing after his mother. Unbeknownst to either of them, Marie had been watching the exchange with a mix of intrigue, confusion, and what Yu could almost swear was even a hint of regret. After the little boy and his mother were out of sight, Marie turned to Yu and spoke up.
"Hey, Narukami. Be honest with me. Do you think I was ever like that?" Marie asked as Yu spoke up after a brief pause to consider his response carefully.
"Do you mean 'were you ever a child'? Or do you mean 'were you ever a whiny brat like that kid was just now'? Either way, I'm surprised you have to ask that. You don't remember what you were like when you were a kid?" Yu asked in surprise. Marie nodded approvingly and spoke up.
"Yeah, that's correct. There's a lot I don't remember about myself, truth be told. Everything I try to remember is just a hazy blur that I can't remember clearly." Marie said, with one of the most serious expressions Yu had ever seen on her face. Marie then kept speaking.
"Oh, and in case you were curious? I'm being serious when I say that I don't remember anything. I was just walking around alone as far as I can remember. I recall that I had nowhere to go, and I just ended up in that car. Then Margaret told me to stay there. She also gave me the name 'Marie' after allowing me to stay in that car. Her logic behind it was that it'd be hard to get around without a name." Marie said as Yu nodded before speaking up.
"I mean, Margaret's not wrong about it being hard to get around without a name. You need a name for a lot of things in life, I've found. Also, you seriously can't remember anything?" Yu said in surprise. Marie frowned and shook her head before speaking up.
"Nope, but I don't feel like I need to." Marie said, making Yu frown when he noted that despite Marie's casual words, she has a concerned expression on her face. Marie then kept speaking before Yu could say anything.
"But, to be honest? I don't know why, but this town is familiar to me." Marie asked as Yu spoke up.
"Do you remember anything else? Anything you recall could be a clue in getting back your memories." Yu said as Marie frowned and shook her head before speaking up.
"Why do you keep asking that? I don't know. The only thing I remember, or more like 'know', is that this is mine." Marie said as she reached into the bag she carried, fishing out an old bamboo comb, which she held out in her hand so Yu could look at it. Yu then spoke up.
"Oh, that's quite nice. You said that it's yours?" Yu asked as Marie nodded and spoke up.
"Correct. I had this from the start. I'm not entirely sure what it is, or why I had it from the start, but this is definitely mine. But even if I know that, so what? This doesn't help anything in terms of helping me recover my memory, does it?" Marie said with a frown as Yu noted that Marie had opened up to him enough to confide in him about her missing memories. As a result, Yu felt as if his relationship with Marie had grown deeper than it previously had. At that point, the 'Aeon' card appeared in his mind's eye, and the Roman numeral 'I' on the top of the card changed to an 'II' to signify that his 'Aeon' Social Link with Marie had reached Rank 2. Afterwards, Marie spoke up with a frown on her face.
"Tell me something. You're searching for the 'truth', right, Narukami? If so, I think you should stop. There's no such thing." Marie said as Yu spoke up with a frown.
"That's what you think. That doesn't mean you're right, though." Yu said as Marie huffed and spoke up.
"If you say so. Hmph, how stupid. This conversation's boring. Let's talk about something else." Marie said as Yu blanched, casting about for another topic to discuss, when Chie saved him from an awkward silence when she returned and spoke up.
"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting! The shop was busy, so I just ordered and came back here. They'll bring it to us when it's ready." Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"Thank you, Chie. That was very considerate of you." Yu said as Marie just huffed and looked away, making Chie blink and speak up.
"You're welcome, Yu-kun. Uhh, why do I feel a certain sense of tension? Is it me, or is the mood a bit heavy around here? D-Don't worry, you two! I ordered for all of us! I got Oolong tea for everybody!" Chie said as Marie and Yu sweatdropped but thanked Chie, as the three enjoyed their tea. After a bit more conversation with Chie and Marie, Yu and Marie left so Yu could escort Marie back to the Velvet Room and return to the Dojima residence for the evening...
(That evening, at the Dojima residence, with Yu and Nanako)
As Yu came back home, he was greeted by Nanako, who was still as excited about the upcoming vacation as she'd been the day Ryotaro had agreed to it. Seeing that Nanako was in no sort of sociable mood, Yu went up to the room he was borrowing to mull over his plans. Eventually, Yu recalled he'd taken on a pair of night jobs, one folding envelopes for Diligence, and the other one a translator job that boosts expression. After thinking it over, Yu chose to do his envelope-making job. The task eventually seemed to get dull and boring, but Yu kept at it, knowing that the sooner he got it done, the sooner it was over with and not hanging over his head.
As a result, Yu felt as if his work ethic had gotten a boost, netting him an unseen increase to his Diligence. To Yu's surprise, this boost was sufficient to increase his Diligence from Rank 1, which was 'Callow', to Rank 2, which was 'Persistent'. Afterwards, Yu noted that the work was going smoothly. Even though he could speed it up, Yu opted to keep at the same pace, figuring he had no reason to rush the work, since he wasn't doing much else that night anyways. Mind made up, Yu kept working at his usual pace. Afterwards, Yu was surprised to hear he'd made 1500 yen from his job making envelopes. After he reached a good stopping point, Yu cleaned up his workspace and changed into his pajamas before going to bed for the evening...
(The next morning, at the gates of Yasogami High, with Yu and Yukiko)
As Yu got to school while walking under an umbrella due to the rain currently coming down outdoors, he heard his name being called, turning to see Yukiko run up to him, currently under her very eye-catching red umbrella. Once she caught up to him, Yukiko spoke up with a smile.
"Oh, didn't think I'd catch up to you, Yu-kun. Good morning. It's raining, isn't it? It's not going to last past nightfall, though." Yukiko said as Yu spoke up with a nod.
"Makes sense to me. Besides, we just saved you a few days ago. I feel like it might be a bit too soon still for another victim to appear on the Midnight Channel. But I could be wrong about that." Yu said as Yukiko nodded and spoke up with a sad expression on her face.
"Good point, Yu-kun. To be honest, every time it rained while I was 'over there', you must have been worried sick about me." Yukiko said as Yu smiled and spoke up.
"I was. But I had faith you'd be okay, so I wasn't too worried, Yukiko." Yu said honestly as Yukiko gave Yu a shocked look and spoke up.
"You did? Wow. Thanks for believing in me, Yu-kun. Hm? Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gloomy. I know! Golden Week starts tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans?" Yukiko asked as Yu spoke up with a smile.
"I do, in fact. My uncle proposed that I join him and Nanako on a family outing, so I'm probably gonna be doing that, especially since I was elected to prepare the boxed lunches for it. Nanako's lucky it's for her, or I'd have probably been irritated at my uncle for volunteering me without asking first. But it's for Nanako, so I can let it slide in this instance, I think." Yu said honestly. Yukiko blinked in surprise and spoke up.
"Oh? I-I see. That must be tough. After all, from what you said once, you didn't have a lot of family outings where you moved from, so you likely don't have a lot of good memories of the term family outings. That must be tough." Yukiko said as Yu smiled and spoke up.
"Nah, I'm fine. Besides, I understand that my parents had their reasons for being gone as often as they do, even if they don't share said reasons. Besides, it was nice of my uncle to let me live with him and Nanako for the year that I have to stay here in Inaba. And it's not been too bad so far, if only because I got to meet Chie, Yosuke, and you." Yu said honestly as Yukiko shyly smiled and spoke up.
"Y-Yeah? You think so? That's nice. Granted, I agree that your uncle could've at least asked you before volunteering you to make boxed lunches. But, at least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. Truth be told, it'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit 'over there' once in a while so we can become stronger." Yukiko said as Yu spoke up with a nod.
"I'll think about it, Yukiko. But it depends on how things line up for us. " Yu said as Yukiko nodded her understanding before the two of them went into the school together...
(Later that afternoon, in Morooka's class with Yukiko, Chie, Yu, and Yosuke)
As the class paid attention, an irate Morooka spoke up.
"Hmph. I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Golden Week, but don't forget that first and foremost, you're students! Your duty is to study! You don't have time to fool around, alright!? Do not misunderstand what freedom means! It does not mean that you can live without taking responsibility! Even Pythagoras said, 'As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom'! Next order of business! Midterms are coming up next week!
The results will be posted to humiliate low-scoring losers! If you don't want to be shamed, study hard! It's that simple! If you do well, who knows!? You may become a more popular cretin! And you know, popularity leads to intimacy! On top of that, my reputation goes up. It's a win-win situation, people! Like I said, study hard!" Morooka said as Yu scoffed, privately thinking that Morooka didn't know what he was talking about.
Yu knew from first-hand experience that popularity did not lead to intimacy, despite what Morooka said. He knew this because he knew a girl who he'd seen at his old school who was one of the most popular girls on campus, but who was so immersed in gymnastics that she was ultimately left with little chance for a romantic life.
If Yu recalled what he'd heard about that girl correctly, she ended up helping guide a couple of twin red-headed girls who were about 8 years old at the time with their gymnastics training. Yu wasn't 100% sure, but he believed the twin red-headed girls were both called Yoshizawa-san, and the girl in question was apparently a college student on her gap year and volunteering to teach youth gymnastics in her spare time as a form of volunteer work.
But he forgot the girl's name, only that she was also a redhead with piercing red eyes and a very elegant yet commanding presence. Shaking his head to not get lost in a tangent, Yu noted that he felt smarter from listening to Morooka's lecture so intently, netting him an unseen increase to his Knowledge. From there, the rest of the class period went by uneventfully...
(After School, in a classroom with Yu)
Once he sized up his options after school had let out for the day, Yu decided to go take another stab at the Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl challenge. However, as it turns out, Yu was still not up to the task of finishing the bowl as he currently was, but he accepted his defeat with good grace, accepting the consolation prize of unseen boosts to his Knowledge, Courage, and Diligence. After he finished eating, the owner spoke up.
"Aiyaaa! Too bad, mister! But you gave it a good try! Also, I heard about you from my daughter! So, you're a transfer student? My daughter said you're cool! Her name is Aika! Unfortunately, she's out right now making a delivery!" The owner said as Yu spoke up.
"I see. Well, at least she seems like a very reliable young woman with a commendable work ethic. So I'm sure if fate has it in store, I'll get to meet her eventually. But thank you for allowing me to constantly try and challenge myself to attempt to conquer the Meat Dimension that your bowls seem to lead to." Yu said with a respectful bow, making the owner smirk as he returned the bow with an appreciative nod, watching Yu leave after paying for his meal once he finished it, smirking at how honest Yu was. After Yu left the Aiya, he headed home for the evening...
(That evening, on the lower level of the Dojima residence with Yu and Nanako)
As Yu and Nanako were enjoying drinks, which were a glass of hot chocolate for Yu and a juice box for Nanako, the newscaster spoke up on TV.
"An Inaba Credit Union ATM to the north of town was destroyed today by an earth mover, and all cash inside was stolen. The vehicle, which was abandoned at the scene, had been reported stolen by a local contractor. Since the culprit was able to act quickly before the security guards arrived on the scene, the police have been hard-pressed to track him down and are currently searching for him." The newscaster said, making Nanako give off a low whine (or possibly an uneasy sigh, Yu wasn't sure which) on realizing this was probably going to have her dad working late that night. Nanako then looked at Yu and spoke up.
"Dad's late again, Yu." Nanako said as Yu spoke up with a nod.
"True. But at least you're not alone right now, right? You've got me, for whatever my company is worth to you." Yu said kindly, getting a shy smile from Nanako. Before she could verbally acknowledge Yu's words, the phone rang, and Nanako sprang up to answer it, smiling as she answered the phone.
"Hello, Dad? Yeah, I'm okay." Nanako said before seeming to deflate before Yu's eyes as she listened to what Yu surmised was Ryotaro speaking on the other end, eventually speaking up.
"Oh! Yeah, I get you have a lot of work to do, and that stuff happens." Nanako said, pausing to listen to Ryotaro speak again before speaking up in a much more subdued sounding tone as she sighed.
"Yeah. Ugh. Really? Aww, okay." Nanako said before listening to Ryotaro speak up, sighing as she spoke up.
"Really? Ugh, alright." Nanako said walking over to give Yu the phone, not seeing the look of concern on Yu's face as he took in the very visibly devastated expression on Nanako's face as she kept speaking.
"Here. He said to give you the phone, Yu. Apparently he can't take those days off." Nanako said as she handed Yu the phone before running off, making Yu wince as he clearly heard her blinking back tears and trying not to cry as she fled to what Yu surmised was her room. After Nanako was out of eyesight and earshot, Yu sighed and answered the phone.
"Hello? Yu speaking." Yu said, having a pretty good idea what had been said and finding that he was neither pleased nor happy with Ryotaro at the moment. Ryotaro spoke up before Yu could think too much on what he'd seen and heard, though.
"Hello? Sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight. Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep. And about that time off on the 4th and the 5th I mentioned before? One of the younger guys got sick and had to miss work for a few days. And, well, the case he's handling? We can't just let it sit because the one in charge called in sick. And as it turns out, whether I like it or not? It looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him." Ryotaro said as Yu sighed, slightly rubbing his forehead in irritation as he had a feeling Ryotaro might end up not being able to get the time off in the end, but not wanting to voice that thought aloud out of not wanting to upset Nanako. Eventually, Yu spoke up.
"I understand that these things happen, Dojima-san. But still, poor Nanako is probably heartbroken right now. I think we both saw how excited she got for that vacation. I'm not saying this to make you feel bad at all, mind you. I'm just mentioning what I've observed. But I get that your job is important, so I respect your decision. Still, I can't guarantee that Nanako will feel the same way." Yu said bluntly, deciding to try and play devil's advocate for Nanako a bit. Ryotaro winced on the other end and spoke up.
"You have a point, Yu. She was pretty happy when I brought it up, wasn't she? Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden, but you seem to be taking it well enough. Um, since we were talking about her just now, how's Nanako holding up?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up, trying to keep his voice calm and composed, despite wanting to savagely light into Ryotaro for how sad Nanako had looked when she handed Yu the phone.
"Honestly? I think she'll be okay in the long run, but she seemed rather close to crying when she handed me the phone as you asked. I wouldn't be surprised in the least to find out she ends up crying herself to sleep tonight because you couldn't get that time off. But I guess these things just happen sometimes. Granted, it's not like I've been the most proactive in trying to make the boxed lunches for the outing anyways, so I do have to own some small part of the blame for this falling through, even if the lion's share falls on you, or more accurately your colleague that called in sick. I think that disappointed her more than she'll admit to, having you have to bow out on the outing at the last second, or close to the last second." Yu said honestly as Ryotaro winced and spoke up.
"You're not wrong. I really hurt her feelings this time, didn't I? I know this is probably not something I should be asking given the circumstances, but would you mind comforting her for me?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up.
"I was planning on comforting her regardless, provided she's in a mood to be comforted. I didn't like how close she was to crying as she ran off. I'm not sure exactly what you said to her other than what you told me, but it seems like she either took it harder than you figured, or you were harsher than you thought when you told her what you told me. Regardless, I will comfort her if she'll let me. She's my cousin, after all. And I make it a point to be there for my family if they need me." Yu said as Ryotaro winced at the audible irritation he could hear in Yu's words before he spoke up.
"True. I suppose I should apologize to her myself if I get a chance. But for now, you'll have to suffice as a stand-in. I'm glad she has you there, Yu. Thanks." Ryotaro said as Yu spoke up.
"Fair. Don't take this the wrong way, Dojima-san, but I get the feeling you have your reasons for not being around much. But I'm just a guest in this house, so far be it from me to judge you on how you do things. Well, I guess I better get going if I'm going to comfort Nanako. And for the record? I was planning to comfort her even before you asked me to, so this is just as much for me as it is for you I'm doing this." Yu said bluntly as Ryotaro winced and spoke up.
"You seem unbothered by the trip falling through, but I can tell you're a bit irritated with me. I understand. Well, see you." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and got up to hang up the phone after Ryotaro hung up on his end, deciding to go follow the path down the hall, where he saw a room with a very colorful paper on the door that read 'Nanako's Room' in multicolored lettering, likely made by Nanako herself. After preparing himself for whatever reaction he might get from Nanako, Yu knocked on the door, waiting for a reply. After a moment, he heard a reply, though he could tell by the tone of voice that Nanako had been crying since Yu last saw her.
"Y-Yes? Who's there?" Nanako called from inside the door. Yu smiled and spoke up.
"It's Yu. I got off the phone with your dad, and I figured I'd make sure you're not too upset over what he told you. But I understand if you'd rather be left alone instead. I'm just letting you know that I'm here for you if you want to talk." Yu said as after a moment, the door opened and Nanako walked out and threw her arms around Yu's waist, as she leaned her head into his chest and quietly sniffled into his shirt, not seeing the shocked look on Yu's face as he noticed by Nanako's eyes that she'd been crying already before Yu came to comfort her, which didn't surprise him in the slightest after what Ryotaro had told Yu and presumably also Nanako.
Apart from causing Yu's heart to break a tiny bit on seeing how visibly devastated Nanako was by Ryotaro not being able to get the time off he'd promised her, Nanako's mini-breakdown while leaning into him for comfort also had the added result of making Yu smile as he gently pulled a surprised Nanako into a hug. While gently hugging Nanako to comfort her, Yu scooped Nanako up into his arms and carried her to the living room, sitting down on the sofa and letting Nanako get comfortable in his lap, gently hugging her close to him as he let her cry into his shirt for a bit. After a bit, he heard Nanako speak up again after she finally stopped crying.
"Sorry about that. I think I just needed to get that out, Yu." Nanako said as Yu smiled and spoke up understandingly, smirking at the shocked look on Nanako's face as he gently patted her on the head in a comforting sort of way while he spoke.
"That's fine. I can't say that I blame you for having that reaction. After all, I know full well how excited you were for that vacation. But at the same time, we can't blame your father for having a co-worker call in sick at the last minute. I'm sure if he could've gotten someone else to take over for that guy instead, he would have.
From what he told me, he was the only one that could handle whatever case the guy who called in sick was working on. Even so, that doesn't excuse the fact that whatever he told you clearly drove you to tears, given the fact you were probably crying the entire time I was on the phone with your dad, and then again just now when I let you cry into my shirt for a few minutes while just holding you close to me, comforting you as best I could with a hug.
And before you apologize for crying on me, you don't need to. I don't mind having to dry a shirt or two if it means comforting a family member, Nanako. After all, family is more important than any article of clothing, or any case that your father might have had to work on, within reason.
But even so, I think it would go a long way if you could make an honest attempt to not be too mad at your father. I know he means well, even if he's not the best at being there for you these days. Still, I'm sorry that this happened to you at all, Nanako." Yu said honestly as Nanako smiled up at Yu and spoke up, clearly pleased by how much he was comforting her as shown by the adorably content expression on her face as she laid her head on Yu's chest while she spoke.
"It's okay, Yu. It's not your fault. It's not Dad's fault, either. I think I was more heartbroken at the idea of Dad cancelling yet another plan he made than I was angry at him. But I know he has to do what he does to keep a roof over our heads. Still, I appreciate that you went out of your way to comfort me, Yu. Thank you." Nanako said as Yu nodded, gently leaning down to pat Nanako on the head reassuringly as he spoke up.
"True. Still, that seems unfair to you to have your Golden Week ruined like this. I'm not really sure what I can do in terms of trying to offer an alternative to the plans you were excited for, but if I can think of something, I'm more than willing to do what I can in terms of helping you make alternate plans." Yu said as Nanako smiled and spoke up while hugging Yu.
"You don't have to do all that for me, Yu. I'm happy that you offered, though. You have no idea how much that means to me." Nanako said as she snuggled her face into Yu's shirt with a brilliant closed-eye smile as Yu spoke up.
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. You're family, Nanako. And I like to do the best I can to make my family happy. Hmm, now that I think about it, I think I do have an idea for an alternate option to our plans. You were excited about the idea of going to Junes, so if I can pull it off, why don't I bring you along the next time I go to hang out with my friends over at Junes? It's not the same as a family outing where we go on a trip and eat boxed lunches, but maybe it's the next best thing?" Yu suggested as Nanako looked up hopefully and spoke up.
"Really? You'd take me to Junes, Yu?" Nanako asked as Yu thought about it and nodded his agreement before speaking up.
"Really. I know you said before your dad wouldn't agree to that, but I think he owes you one after letting you down the way he did, whether it was his fault or not. And if it comes to it, I'll take the blame for it if he gets mad at us when we get home. So should I take your response before as a 'yes' to my offer?" Yu asked as Nanako happily squealed in spite of herself and practically tackle-hugged Yu as she thanked him over and over, making Yu give her an amused smile as he just hugged her back, smiling as he heard her speak into his shirt.
"Thank you so much! I'm so happy right now." Nanako said as Yu smiled and spoke up.
"Good. I was hoping I could make you feel better. Still, we've been sitting like this for a little while just so I could comfort you as you cried. Is it close to your bedtime?" Yu asked as Nanako looked over at the clock and reluctantly nodded before speaking up.
"It is. Granted, this isn't a school night, but I should probably try to stay on schedule, just to be on the safe side." Nanako said as Yu chuckled and spoke up.
"Good plan, Nanako. Can you walk yourself to bed, or would you prefer I carry you there and then tuck you in?" Yu said as Nanako spoke up with a shy smile.
"I can walk myself, but I won't say no if you want to tuck me in, Yu." Nanako said as Yu laughed and spoke up.
"I thought not, Nanako. Let's get you to bed then." Yu said as he carried Nanako down the hall to her room, laid her in her bed, tucked her in, and gently pressed a kiss to the base of her forehead as he spoke up while smiling down at Nanako, smirking at the subtle dustings of pink on her cheeks from Yu's decision to seemingly kiss her goodnight as he spoke.
"Good night, Nanako. Sleep well, and hopefully things will go better for you tomorrow." Yu said kindly as Nanako nodded, speaking up sleepily as she smiled at Yu.
"Agreed. Good night, Yu. Thank you for comforting me." Nanako said as Yu nodded, gently closing the door behind him as he left the room while Nanako snuggled into her bed and fell asleep, deciding to go make sure he locked up like Ryotaro had asked before heading upstairs to study with the rest of his evening for the upcoming exams, a wry smile on his face as he thought about how elated Nanako had seemed when Yu offered to take her to Junes with him and his friends.
At the same time, Yu also found that he was glad that he was able to comfort her when she needed it, along with finding himself slightly surprised at how protective he was already feeling of Nanako. After he thought about it a bit more, Yu nodded to himself in a sort of satisfied yet resolved way, deciding then and there that he would do his best to keep Nanako safe and happy going forward.
It was with this feeling of self-satisfaction that Yu went to bed for the night after studying, finding that the combination of his newfound studying methods and being quick to learn made for easy studying, netting him two separate unseen increases to his Knowledge for his troubles...
(The following morning, in the upper level of the Dojima residence with Yu)
After Yu woke up and got dressed for the day in his casual wear, he noted that it was Constitution Day, meaning he had the day off from school. Recalling the events of the day before, Yu went downstairs to check on Nanako, idly wondering when it would rain at night again while he did so. Once he got downstairs, Nanako looked up from her TV program she was watching as she heard Yu come downstairs, smiling at him as she spoke up.
"Oh, you're awake. Morning, Yu." Nanako said, making Yu smile as he noticed Nanako was back to her usual routine of watching TV alone. Yu then smiled and spoke up.
"Good morning, Nanako. I see you're feeling better this morning. I'm glad to see it." Yu said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I was just oversensitive last night because I was tired. But I still appreciate what you did for me regardless." Nanako said honestly as Yu smiled at Nanako's gratitude. However, before he could verbally reply to her, the sound of the doorbell ringing was heard, making Yu and Nanako exchange an uncertain look as Yu spoke up.
"Were we expecting company, Nanako?" Yu asked as Nanako spoke up.
"No. But that doesn't change the fact that someone's here, does it?" Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up.
"Good point. I guess I should see who it is. You can follow along if you like, but stay behind me just in case. I'd rather be able to protect you if it's someone with bad intentions. You understand, right?" Yu asked as Nanako smiled and nodded while following Yu to check on the door, where he spoke up.
"Who's there?" Yu asked, shaking his head fondly when he heard the response a moment later, half-expecting it to be her.
"It's Chie. I was in the neighborhood, and figured I'd come visit for a bit. But if this isn't a good time, I understand." Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"It's fine, Chie. Nanako and I were just discussing our plans for the day. Come in." Yu said as he opened the door to let Chie in, making her smile at Yu after she entered the house.
"Oh, cool. You're home. I had a feeling you were when you answered the door, but for all I know that could've been you speaking over the phone or something." Chie said as Yu had to keep himself from groaning at how stupid that sounded as he spoke up.
"Of course I'm home. Not only is it the first day of Constitution Day, but I try not to leave the house without at least some idea of my plans for the day." Yu said as Chie chuckled and spoke up with a suitably chastised look on her face.
"Eheh, good point. That does sound like you, Yu-kun. Hey, if you're free today, wanna go somewhere? Yukiko's coming, too." Chie said as Yu seemed to consider Chie's offer, allowing her to turn her attention to Nanako, who'd warily peered her head out from behind Yu to see who he was talking to, making Chie smile at her as she kept speaking.
"How about you, Nanako-chan? Wanna come?" Chie asked as Nanako blinked at being asked her opinion and spoke up.
"Um, are you sure? I wasn't expecting that." Nanako said honestly as Yu smiled and spoke up.
"It's okay, Nanako. You can come with us if you like. After all, I did promise you last night I'd try to find a way to fit you on at least one of the next instances that I hung out with my friends. Well, it looks like Chie is giving me an easy opportunity to make good on my word, and a lot sooner than expected. Do you want to come with us?" Yu asked Nanako, who gaped in surprise as she spoke up.
"Huh? I-I can come?" Nanako said as Yu spoke up with a smile and a nod.
"Yep. I did promise you I'd bring you along, after all. And even if you might not have a lot of reason to believe this, I pride myself on being a man of my word." Yu said kindly as Chie smiled and spoke up.
"Yu-kun's right, Nanako-chan. Of course you can come!" Chie said as Nanako cheered, visibly pleased at being included in Yu's plans for the day, making him turn to Chie and speak up.
"I think that means she wants to come. Sorry for potentially putting you on the spot, but I felt bad for her after her original plans fell through at the last minute. I know you can appreciate how painful something like that would have to be on a little girl." Yu said, giving Chie a look that clearly said 'play along!', which Chie wisely heeded and nodded as she spoke up.
"I completely understand. Was there any place in particular that Nanako-chan wanted to go to?" Chie asked as Yu spoke up.
"I'm sure there is. After all, Nanako only watches commercials for a certain store at least twice a day, if not three times. And I honestly lost count after around the tenth time she did it of how often she sings that store's jingle when it's on commercials." Yu said with a wry smirk as Nanako pouted and spoke up.
"Nuh-uh! I do not sing it that often! But you're not wrong about the rest of what you said, Yu." Nanako said as Chie chuckled and spoke up.
"And by 'a certain store', I'm guessing she means-?" Chie said, being cut off as Nanako answered her question by spontaneously singing her favorite jingle, to Yu's amusement and surprise.
"Mmhm! Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang as Yu spoke up with a playful shudder.
"See what I mean? She almost always fangirls for Junes." Yu joked as Nanako pouted and spoke up.
"Do not! And you have no room to tease me about fangirling, given how often I see you smiling when you look at pictures of-" Nanako said as an embarrassed Yu spoke up after gently pressing a hand over Nanako's mouth to cut off what she was about to say.
"Oookay, I get the hint. No more teasing you, Nanako." Yu said as Chie smirked and spoke up.
"Ooh, does Yu-kun have a crush already?" Chie joked as Yu spoke up.
"That's for me to know and you NOT to find out, Chie. And honestly, I'm not sure if I have a crush on her or I just really admire her. Regardless, I'm not trying to find love at this point." Yu said as Chie nodded understandingly before the trio of Yu, Nanako, and Chie headed to Junes at Nanako's request...
(A short time later, at the food court of Junes, with Yu, Yukiko, Yosuke, Chie, and Nanako)
As the unlikely quintet of Yu, Yukiko, Yosuke, Chie, and Nanako sat around a table at Junes, the latter happily seated between Chie and Yu, Yosuke spoke up in a tone that was a mix of confused and amused.
"Why'd you bring poor Nanako-chan to a place like this on Golden Week?" Yosuke asked as Yu spoke up.
"Well, to make a long story short, we had other plans, but they literally fell through at the last minute yesterday, so I may have promised Nanako I'd bring her with me next time I went out while I was comforting her after the plans fell through, since she took it rather hard. But I'll leave it at that out of not wanting to embarrass Nanako any more than I already might have." Yu said as Chie spoke up.
"Yu-kun has a point. And as for why Yu and I brought Nanako-chan here, where else is there to go?" Chie said as Nanako chose that point to speak up, much to Yu's mixed surprise and slight pride.
"It's fine, though. I love Junes!" Nanako said as Yu sweatdropped and spoke up.
"As much as I want to say she's exaggerating to make you feel better, she's really not. She truly does love Junes. I swear she must watch commercials for this place at least twice a day, and I already have lost count of how often she sings the jingle for this place." Yu said teasingly as Nanako pouted slightly at Yu's remark, but Yosuke spoke up before she could reply to Yu's teasing of her.
"Really? N-Nanako-chan, that's amazing!" Yosuke said as Nanako nodded before sighing sadly as she spoke up.
"Yep. I love Junes. But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere. We were going to make boxed lunches and everything." Nanako said as Yu spoke up.
"For the record? When Nanako says 'we', she really means me, since Dojima-san basically shanghaied me into agreeing to make boxed lunches. But I didn't mind, since it was for Nanako-chan here. Still, given the trip ended up not working out, it's probably just as well that I've been too busy to find time for those boxed lunches. Sorry about that, Nanako. I wasn't forgetting on purpose. I've had a lot of other stuff to do lately. I was planning to make them probably tonight if I had remembered." Yu said. Yukiko spoke up in amazement, clearly not having heard what Yu had just said given what she said next.
"Wow! You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked as an embarrassed Nanako shyly shook her head in the negative, making Yukiko, Yosuke, and Chie all turn identical smirks onto Yu as the latter spoke up.
"Oh, I see. So you're the family cook, then? Pretty impressive, 'Big Bro'!" Chie said as Yu frowned at Chie and spoke up.
"Chie! Don't confuse her like that! I know I told you that Nanako and I are cousins, not siblings!" Yu pointed out, being surprised when Nanako spoke up with a pensive look on her face while carefully looking at Yu in a way that made it seem like she was appraising him or possibly sizing him up.
"Big bro, you said? Truth be told, I'm an only child, so I've never had a sibling of any kind." Nanako said as an impressed Yosuke turned to Yu and spoke up, not seeing the trio of widened eyes that Yu, Chie and Yukiko aimed at him for what he said next.
"Whoa, you can cook? Well, you do seem to be great with your hands, so-Um, never mind." Yosuke said, changing his mind mid-sentence after the pair of rather pointed looks aimed at him by both Yu and Yukiko as they spoke up at the same time.
"YOSUKE!" Yu and Yukiko said as the former kept speaking while fixing a suitably chastised Yosuke with a disapproving frown.
"I get that you saying what you just said was probably supposed to be a joke, but can you watch your phrasing when there's a six-and-a-half year old girl with us, please? As it is, I think she's smart enough to not repeat what she hears, but that doesn't mean she's not still impressionable." Yu pointed out as Chie and Yukiko nodded their agreement, the former speaking up to change the subject.
"I-I'm a pretty good cook too, you know. Well, I would at least be able to make edible food, probably." Chie said as Yu spoke up with a raised eyebrow.
"You can cook? Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that." Yu said jokingly, getting an amused chuckle from Yosuke, surprised looks from Yukiko and Nanako, and a mildly irritated frown from Chie, who spoke up.
"Yes, I can cook, Yu!" Chie rebuked Yu before turning to Nanako with a softer look on her face.
"You know, Nanako-chan, I had no idea that was the case. If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some boxed lunches, easy as pie!" Chie said as Nanako blinked before cutely tilting her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.
"Really? I feel like you're more likely to go out to eat than cook for yourself." Nanako said bluntly, getting amused smirks from Yu and Yosuke, a poorly-disguised giggle from Yukiko, and a sigh from Chie who spoke up.
"Yeah, you're not wrong, Nanako-chan." Chie said as Yosuke frowned at Chie and spoke up.
"You? Cook boxed lunches for Nanako-chan? Uhhh, lemme think about-NO." Yosuke said as Yu spoke up.
"To be fair, we've not seen Chie cook, so she might be telling the truth about being a good cook for all we know. Still, I'm not sure I want to chance her turning out to actually be a terrible cook and somehow actually messing up a recipe bad enough to get Nanako sick or something as a result. No offense to you, Chie." Yu said as Nanako spoke up.
"You say that like it'd be the first time I've been disappointed, Yu. You forget that I live with the embarrassment of having a police detective that's at work more than at home for a father." Nanako pointed out as Yu spoke up gently despite looking like he wanted to laugh at what Nanako had said about her father, since she wasn't wrong.
"That's fair, but maybe don't bash your father around people you barely know, Nanako. Just something for you to think about. That being said, I can't say I entirely disagree with what you said. But we're here to have fun, not bash Dojima-san." Yu said as Chie frowned at Yosuke and spoke up before Nanako could do more than nod her understanding of Yu's gentle rebuke.
"What makes you think I can't cook, Yosuke!? At least Yu-kun seems somewhat willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, even if it's only when cooking for him. I can't blame him for being careful with Nanako-chan, since I get the sense he's already insanely protective of her to a point." Chie said as Yu spoke up.
"To be fair? I did also say that you MIGHT be telling the truth, so that also means I'm not entirely ruling out that you can't cook, Chie." Yu said fairly as Chie frowned and spoke up.
"Really!? In that case, let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie said irately as Yosuke spoke up in an incredulous voice, both Yosuke and Chie completely ignoring the amused giggles coming from both Yukiko and Nanako at how animatedly Chie and Yosuke were bickering as the latter spoke.
"My, my, doth the lady protest too much? And hey, I never said I cooked. But I have this weird feeling in my gut. It's telling me something like 'I'd win anyway', if you can believe that." Yosuke said as both Yukiko and Nanako laughed at the annoyed look on Chie's face as the former of the two spoke up with a smile on her face.
"Ahaha, I can understand that." Yukiko said as Chie sputtered at Yukiko's remark and spoke up.
"What the-YUKIKO!?" Chie sputtered as Yu spoke up with a smile on his face.
"I'm guessing Yukiko has some experience with Chie's cooking, then?" Yu said as Yukiko merely nodded in response as Yosuke spoke up, shocking both Nanako and Yu with what he said next.
"Here, Nanako-chan can be our judge." Yosuke said as Yu and Nanako spoke up at the same time with wide eyes.
"ME!?/HER!?" Nanako and Yu said with identical looks of incredulity on their faces as Yosuke smirked and spoke up.
"How cute. You two have matching expressions. But yeah, I think you could handle judging a cook-off. I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking, Nanako-chan!" Yosuke said with a sly grin that had Nanako briefly smile happily before frowning as Yosuke's words fully sank in, not seeing Yu wince next to her at the unerring prod Yosuke had taken into a sensitive subject. Before Yu could do more than groan, Nanako spoke up in a much more subdued tone of voice.
"Perhaps, but I don't have a mom anymore. She died in an accident." Nanako said as Yu spoke up.
"But you still have myself and your father around, so that counts for something, right?" Yu asked as Nanako smiled and nodded while Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko all had horrified expressions on their faces after Nanako's reveal, the latter two turning appalled looks onto the former as Chie spoke up.
"Hey, Yosuke, can you not put your foot in your mouth so much?" Chie asked as Yu spoke up, deciding to come to Yosuke's defense a bit.
"To be fair here, I don't think Yosuke knew better in this instance. So let's try not to be too rough on him. Besides, I don't see Nanako looking too torn up over what Yosuke said, so I don't think it bothered her too much." Yu said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.
"Perhaps, but how much of that is because you're right there next to her, Yu?" Yukiko pointed out, noticing the gentle smile on Nanako's face as she was looking around Junes, seemingly not having registered Yosuke's faux pas. Yosuke, for his part, spoke up sheepishly.
"I-I see. I didn't realize that was the case. Um, I'm sorry for bringing up a sore subject, Nanako-chan. I didn't know you'd gone through that." Yosuke said as a flustered Nanako shook her head quickly and spoke up with a closed-eye smile on her face that had Chie and Yukiko exchanging amused smiles, Yosuke blinking in surprise, and Yu looking from the confused Yosuke to the smiling Nanako and back to Yosuke while idly questioning if he should be keeping a close eye on Yosuke and Nanako's interactions going forward, just to be on the safe side.
"No, I understand that you didn't know, Hanamura-san. It's okay. Besides, it's like Yu said. Even if I don't have my mom around anymore, I have Dad and Yu with me. I'm aware of that. And if what Satonaka-san said earlier is accurate, now I have a brother, too." Nanako said, not seeing the look of incredulity cross Yu's face as he noted how red her cheeks were while she smiled in Yosuke's direction. Yu spoke up.
"Clearly, someone's pleased to be here right now." Yu pointed out in amusement. Nanako nodded and spoke up.
"Mmhm! I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!" Nanako said as Yosuke blinked before sweatdropping as he spoke up.
"Y-Yeah? That's good." Yosuke said in relief as Yu spoke up.
"At least Nanako didn't seem too phased by it when we told her that you work here, Yosuke." Yu pointed out before wincing as he saw the star-struck expression Nanako gave Yosuke on hearing what Yu had just said and groaning as he kept speaking.
"And I spoke too soon, it seems. Me and my big mouth." Yu deadpanned as Chie smirked and spoke up.
"Sounds to me like Nanako-chan wasn't listening when you mentioned that before, if you ask me. But that's okay. This is just one of the most classic pitfalls of being a big bro, Yu-kun." Chie said kindly to Yu before turning to face Nanako as she kept speaking.
"You seem pretty chill to me. We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-chan!" Chie said as Yukiko nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Yukiko said as Yosuke gave Nanako a sly grin that had her smiling widely as she saw it, unaware of Yu internally cursing his luck in having a best friend that seemed to be a chick magnet as Yosuke spoke up.
"C'mon, Nanako-chan. Let's go get a soda!" Yosuke said as Nanako seemed to positively beam as she spoke up from how much she was giving Yosuke a closed-eye smile while she spoke.
"Okay!" Nanako said as she got up to go get a soda with Yosuke. Once the two were out of earshot, Yukiko looked in the direction the two had walked off in and spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.
"She's a strong girl, isn't she?" Yukiko said as Yu nodded and spoke up.
"Yep. And that's almost an understatement to call her strong, Yukiko. She's only six and a half, and she practically lives on her own most of the time with how often Dojima-san works late as a police detective. How Nanako is so mature and reliable for her age despite all this will probably be one of those things that the world may never know." Yu said as Chie nodded and spoke up.
"Yeah, you've got a point, Yu-kun. Nanako-chan makes me feel like I'm the little kid here." Chie said as Yu smirked and spoke up.
"I mean, you are the one who encouraged Nanako to call me 'Big Bro' earlier, not to mention you threw a tantrum, or nearly threw one, when Yosuke merely expressed uncertainty in your cooking talent." Yu said with an amused smile as Chie spoke up with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I've got a lot to learn. Oh, I know! That's it, I'm gonna go get something for Nanako-chan too!" Chie said as she and Yukiko got up to do just that, walking right past an excited Nanako, who raced over to Yu and spoke up with a closed-eye smile on her face.
"Do you want something too?" Nanako asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.
"Sure, why not? It's not often the two of us get to go do stuff together like this, Nanako. We should live it up a bit, within reason." Yu said agreeably as Nanako nodded, giving Yu one of the few rare carefree smiles he could remember seeing on her face. Much to Yu's surprise, he had the sense that he could feel a faint bond forming between himself and Nanako in that moment. Sure enough, he heard the expected voice in his head moments later.
"Thou art I, Yu Narukami. And I am thou, just as thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond with the one you call Nanako. It brings thee closer to the truth that thou seekest. Make the most of this 'Justice' Social Link you've forged with Nanako, and thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Justice Arcana in fusions." Yu heard in his head as, for the first time since he forged a bond with Ayane about a week prior, a card appeared in his mind's eye, the usual blue framing present as one side of the middle section was white, and the other side was red.
In the middle of the card was a black pair of scales, and a Roman numeral 'VIII' was engraved at the bottom of the card, with a smaller circle appearing atop the card with a Roman numeral 'I' in the circle to signify that Yu's newly-forged 'Justice' Social Link with Nanako was now at Rank 1. After Yu made a mental note of both his new Social Link and to always keep a Justice Persona on hand at all times, he got up and walked over to Nanako, who smiled as she looked up at Yu and spoke up.
"Wanna share some takoyaki?" Nanako asked as Yu spoke up with a nod.
"Sure. No harm in sharing a meal with family, right?" Yu said with a smile as Nanako nodded eagerly, following Yu to get some takoyaki, which the two split as they enjoyed a meal with Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko. After a while, Yu and Nanako made their way home together...
(Later that evening, in the Dojima residence with Yu and Nanako)
After getting back to the house and setting their shoes down by the door, Yu set Nanako down gently on one of the cushions in the living room so Nanako could watch TV, making her look up at Yu with a closed-eye smile and speak up.
"Today was fun, huh?" Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up, amused by how much fun Nanako seemed to have had that day.
"Yep. It was lots of fun, though I might have to remember to have words with both Yosuke and Chie about watching what they say in front of you." Yu said as Nanako nodded, eventually finding herself distracted by TV, allowing Yu to head upstairs and study for the rest of the evening, netting him two unseen boosts to his Knowledge. Afterwards, Yu went to bed for the evening...
(The following morning, in the upper level of the Dojima residence, with Yu)
After Yu got up the next day, he noted that it was Nature Day, so he had the day off from school. Yu then found himself contemplating his plans for the day. As he did so, Yu's phone rang, and Yu found himself answering it.
"Hello? Yu speaking." Yu said as he recognized the voice on the other end as Yosuke's.
"Morning, Yu! Hey, it's me, Yosuke! This might be kind of weird to ask after we hung out yesterday, but do you want to hang out again today? I'll see if I can find someone else to come along with us." Yosuke said as Yu thought about it and spoke up.
"You have a point that we literally hung out together just yesterday, but y'know? I'm not against us hanging out again. So sure, why not?" Yu said agreeably as Yosuke cheered on the other end and spoke up.
"Ah, yeah! Sweet! Oh, hey, why don't you bring Nanako-chan with you? Let's all hang out together." Yosuke said as Yu spoke up.
"That's up to whether she wants to hang out or not. I'm not going to force her to hang with us if she doesn't want to." Yu said as Yosuke nodded before he and Yu agreed to meet up later on as Yu hung up the phone, having made plans to go out for the day...
(A short time later, in the electronics department of Junes, with Daisuke, Yu, Nanako, Yosuke, and Kou)
After waiting for an excited Nanako to get ready, Yu and Nanako met up with Yosuke at the electronic department of Junes, only to be shocked when he had Daisuke and Kou with him. Yosuke spoke up with a sly smirk on his face.
"I know you told me this yesterday, Yu. Still, Nanako-chan sure loves this place. After all, the first thing out of her mouth when I asked where she wanted to go was 'Junes'!" Yosuke said as Yu winced and spoke up.
"True. I blame all the times there's a Junes commercial on TV, myself. That, and the fact that Junes has such a catchy jingle. I swear Nanako nearly has it memorized, she can sing it so well." Yu said with an amused smirk before Kou chuckled and spoke up, drawing Yu's attention to the fact that even though Daisuke was wearing his usual athletic gear, Kou had swapped to a more casual outfit which was comprised of a blue and white short sleeve T-shirt with a blue plaid collar and blue striped waistband, dark brown jeans, and his usual shoes. Similarly, Yosuke had swapped to his casual wear, which entailed a white mock-neck jacket with a pair of white and red headphones around his neck, a red T-shirt, brown jeans with a chain on one loop leading to his wallet, and his usual shoes.
"Who could blame her, though? This place has everything, it seems like. It's like a storehouse of magic. I can see why Nanako-chan likes it. Anyways, isn't she cute?" Kou said, smirking at the identical looks of shock that were currently on Yu and Nanako's faces as the former spoke up with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you just call Nanako cute, Ichijo-san?" Yu said warily as Kou nodded and spoke up.
"Yep, sure did. But if that makes you uncomfortable, I can just call her adorable instead. Anyways, I have a younger sister too. I wish she was cute like Nanako-chan." Kou said as a flustered Nanako spoke up, the adorably embarrassed look on her face as she spoke making it clear she wasn't used to being complimented so openly.
"I-I'm not cute, Ichijo-san. But it's nice of you to say so." Nanako said as Yu spoke up bluntly.
"Also, you're mistaken, Ichijo-san. Nanako is my cousin, not my little sister. Sure, she's called me 'Big Bro' a few times recently, but I blame that on Chie putting the idea in her head by calling me that in front of her. Besides, I highly doubt your little sister is even half as mature, much less reliable, as Nanako is." Yu said proudly, making Nanako shyly smile at Yu after he stood up for her, running to hide behind Yu with an embarrassed blush on her face as a shocked Kou spoke up.
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Kou said as Daisuke looked down at Nanako and smiled before speaking up.
"Don't worry, you're not cute, little one. You're cool." Daisuke said, not seeing Yu wince at Daisuke's unintentional and quite back-handed compliment of Nanako, who blinked at Daisuke, clearly offended at what he said, missing him calling her cool as a result. Kou blinked at Nanako's reaction and spoke up while frowning at Daisuke.
"That's going kinda far, Daisuke!" Kou said as Yu spoke up.
"I agree. Still, I'm sure Nagase-san was trying to cheer Nanako up, so I can't be upset with him for having good intentions." Yu said as Yosuke spoke up in irritation.
"You can't, Yu, but I sure can! HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Are you stupid or something, Daisuke!?" Yosuke said as to his surprise, Yu laughed and spoke up.
"Nah, he just has a 'foot-in-mouth' condition, not unlike the one you have. But being naive like this is just the Nagase-san I know." Yu said fondly as Daisuke blushed and spoke up in amusement.
"Heheh, don't flatter me like that." Daisuke said, predictably managing to miss that Yu was teasing him moreso than flattering him. Yosuke sighed and spoke up.
"I don't think he is flattering you, Daisuke. But I guess if nothing else, his little jab at you seems to have cheered up Nanako-chan to some extent." Yosuke said as a flustered Nanako spoke up warily.
"B-Big bro, is everyone fighting because of me?" Nanako asked as Yu smiled at Nanako and spoke up.
"No. None of us are fighting, Nanako. Yosuke and I were just making sure that Ichijo-san and Nagase-san know what not to say around an impressionable young lady like yourself." Yu said reassuringly. Nanako gave Yu a relieved smile and spoke up.
"That's good. That TV is huge though, isn't it?" Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up.
"Very good. That is a big-screen TV, Nanako. But I doubt your dad would let us get one that big, if we got one at all. But we can always admire it here." Yu said as Daisuke nodded and spoke up, not seeing Yu and Yosuke exchange incredulous looks at what he said next.
"No kidding, Narukami. I feel like if I watched sports on a TV like this, I'd get sucked into the screen." Daisuke said as Yu spoke up.
"I assume you mean that figuratively and not literally, right Nagase-san?" Yu asked as Yosuke spoke up.
"Of course he did, Yu. C-C'mon, now. Getting sucked into the screen! Like that could happen." Yosuke said as Yu laughed and spoke up.
"That seems like something out of a silly fantasy story, I think." Yu said wisely as yellow music notes appeared over the heads of Yosuke, Nanako, Kou, and Daisuke. At that point, Yu got the sense that his relationship with Yosuke was ready to rank up soon, as were his relationships with Nanako, Daisuke, and Kou. All in all, Yu felt like he'd made a good call on a productive use of his day. After spending the rest of the afternoon with Nanako, Yosuke, Daisuke, and Kou, Yu and Nanako returned to the Dojima residence for the evening...
(That evening, on the lower level of the Dojima residence, with Yu and Nanako)
As Yu set Nanako down on her usual cushion to watch TV after the two of them set their shoes down by the door and went into the living room, she giggled and spoke up while smiling up at Yu, clearly pleased by the day's activities.
"We went to Junes today, huh?" Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up. *2*
"Yep, we sure did. Thankfully you didn't seem too bothered by what Nagase-san and Ichijo-san said about you. I think they were just trying to be nice, but managed to mess it up slightly. But at least you were pretty mature about it, so thank you for that. I'm proud of you." Yu said as he gently patted Nanako on the head, getting a smile from her as he went upstairs to study for the evening in the hopes of being prepared for his upcoming exams, still mulling over the eventful few days he'd just had, along with the equally eventful start that he'd had to Golden Week...
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Before anyone questions it, I made the slight change-ups to the scenes shown in this chapter on purpose, since I felt like the entire lead-up to Nanako's Social Link (or the 5/3 event) could've been handled better, hence the scene prior to it of Yu comforting Nanako and trying to reassure her (as Dojima ACTUALLY asks him to do in canon Persona 4/4 Golden, even though Yu never does do it. Sure, one could explain it as Yu not wanting to disturb Nanako, but all Yu would've had to do is knock on Nanako's door and let her know he's there for her if she wants to talk about what had happened and then back off if she asked to be left alone.
It didn't need to be a big change, but it would've been a subtle one that would've made it seem like the lead-in to the 5/3 event at Junes was better set up and less out of left field, unlike my version of it where Chie's invitation is perfectly timed with Yu having promised Nanako to try and include her where he can in his group's hangouts the night before, as shown in the chapter.) I digress, though. I hope I managed to nail the overall wholesome and heartwarming energy that I was aiming for with that change-up.
As for the mentions of Nanako seemingly being shy around Yosuke during the aforementioned 5/3 event in this chapter, that was me taking a bit of a liberty and exploring the idea that with Nanako viewing herself as a little sister to Yu, her having a (likely one-sided) crush on Yosuke could nicely fall under the classic 'younger sister falls for older brother's best friend' trope that is often seen in most animes.
And before anyone protests and says that Yosuke isn't necessarily Yu's best friend, Yosuke IS the first male friend Yu makes after moving to Inaba, so I'd like to think that creates its' own level of tightness and friendship between Yu and Yosuke. Sure, one could probably make a successful case that Yukiko, *REDACTED*, or even*REDACTED* are also some of his best friends, but I would refute that by pointing out the old adage 'a person can have more than one best friend' in response to such claims. But again, this is just my opinion.
Plus, I feel like Yosuke being Nanako's first little puppy-love type shenanigans makes a lot of sense when considering how enamored she is with Junes in canon Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden. As such, I could see her having a high opinion of Yosuke if she knew he worked at Junes. Plus I got the sense from my playthroughs of Persona 4 Golden (both of the ones I finished and the currently in-progress one that is what I'm using to write this story) that Yosuke was probably the most protective of Nanako after Yu out of the rest of the Investigation Team.
Besides, while I think he and Nanako have an adorable dynamic, Nanako isn't the Persona 4 girl I ship Yosuke with most. Anyone who's already read Rise of the Monarchs probably has an idea of who I ACTUALLY ship Yosuke with. Sure, it's as much of a headcanon/liberty for me as the one-sided Nanako/Yosuke dynamic on Nanako's side is. However, I respect the opinions of anyone who disagrees with Nanako having an innocent admiration of Yosuke and/or the pairing of Yosuke/*REDACTED*.
But we won't see much of *REDACTED* until I get around to possibly adapting Persona 4 Arena/Arena Ultimax into fanfiction stories, but that won't be for a while, since I might do a Persona 3 adaptation before doing the Arena/Arena Ultimax adaptations (since the Persona 3 cast also appears in the 'Arena' games along with the Persona 4 cast). However, *REDACTED* is a character who is, at least as of the point I type out this end-of-chapter A/N, exclusive to the Arena games (and might be DLC for the Persona 3, 4, and 5 Dancing games).
Moving on from all tangents about Nanako, the next chapter should be interesting, since Yu will probably get a few more Social Links formed in the next chapter. So there's that preview for the next chapter established.
Having said all that, let me take this chance to thank anyone who's read this far into the chapter and even this far into Golden Apostle as a whole, as your continued support of the story is greatly appreciated. I appreciate any and all support I can get, as it usually lets me continue to grow as a fanfiction writer. So don't be shy about leaving a review below (or PM me if you prefer that to reviews) with any feedback/constructive criticism/suggestions on this story, as it lets me continue to improve my work, making the story get ever better as a result. Regardless, I welcome hearing from my readers, so don't be shy about reaching out, as I enjoy replying to reviews/PMs! And until the next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!
NOTES
*1* - Technically, dependent on when you get this rank-up (I believe this happens during Marie's Rank 2 cutscenes), this could happen the day after the incident where Yu and Yosuke accidentally eat all of Yukiko and Chie's food and have to buy them steak as restitution, despite Yukiko not being thrilled by the decision. So Yu's response here is valid in that scenario, as Chie would be lying through her teeth to say she 'hasn't had the good stuff in a while', considering Yosuke likely sprung for the best stuff he could afford with what little he and Yu were able to scrounge up to use on buying steak for Yukiko and Chie. So that's why this note is here.
*2* - Similar to *1*, this is another piece of situational dialogue that you only get if you do what I did and accept Yosuke's invitation to hang out on 5/4, which leads to the scene I listed in the chapter of Yosuke bringing Kou and Daisuke to hang out with Yu and Nanako. Nanako then says this after the event in the evening if you speak to her. However, if you speak to her and you DO NOT accept that invite, I'm sure her dialogue here is different. If anyone has recently done a playthrough and knows what the changed dialogue would be, feel free to share that in the reviews or a PM and I'll credit you for the information in a future A/N.
INVESTIGATION TEAM LEVEL LISTINGS, SOCIAL LINK RANKS, AND ALLY LIST AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 9
INVESTIGATION TEAM MEMBER LISTINGS
YU - Level: 22 Currently Equipped Persona: Jack Frost
YOSUKE - Level: 21 Current/Partner Persona: Jiraiya Persona Moveset: Garu (Wind), Bash (Physical), Dia (Healing), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Makajam (Aliment), Dekaja (Support/Debuff), Sonic Punch (Physical), Magaru (Wind)
CHIE - Level: 21 Current/Partner Persona: Tomoe Persona Moveset: Skewer (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff), Bufu (Ice), Skull Cracker (Physical), Mabufu (Ice), Rampage (Physical), Rebellion (Support/Buff)
YUKIKO - Level: 15 Current/Partner Persona: Konohana Sakuya Persona Moveset: Agi (Fire), Dia (Healing), Me Patra (Healing), Maragi (Fire)
SOCIAL LINK RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 9
FOOL (Investigation Team) - Rank 2
MAGICIAN (Yosuke) - Rank 4
CHARIOT (Chie) - Rank 2
JUSTICE (Nanako) - Rank 1
STRENGTH (Daisuke and Kou/Fellow Athletes) - Rank 2
SUN (Ayane) - Rank 2
AEON (Marie) - Rank 2
ALLY LIST AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 9: Igor, Margaret, Ryotaro, Nanako, Teddie, Marie, Adachi