Beyond the Beef
By Comicsfan7314
Chie Satonaka awoke to the pleasant scent of meat wafting into her bedroom. Her mother was in the kitchen, preparing a delicious breakfast for her. The sandy-haired tomboy hurriedly got up, showered, brushed her teeth and got dressed before rushing downstairs and eagerly taking a spot at the table. Her breakfast that morning was one of Chie's favorites but a rather unconventional choice in Japan: steak and eggs! Chie wolfed down her food, salivating with every delicious bite! After polishing off her meal, Chie headed out the door to make her way to school but not before grabbing a pack of beef jerky and some meat gum for the road!
School was nothing special, the same boring lectures as ever. Mr. Hosoi was busy rambling about The Tale of the Heike through his hand puppet. During times like these, Chie's mind would wander between one of two loves: kung fu or meat. Succulent, moist, juicy meat… "Mmm perfectly cooked medium-rare steak, juicy grilled burgers, crispy crunchy pork katsu!" The only thing keeping Chie from being completely absorbed in her daydream was the conscious effort she had to make from drooling on her desk.
After literature class was lunch, Chie headed up to the roof of Yasogami High. She took a place next to her lifelong friend, the prim and proper hotel heiress, Yukiko Amagi. Soon after the rest of their friend group they met that crazy year they found out that they could enter TVs arrived, first was the stoic, gray-haired leader of the Investigation Team, Yu Narukami, next was the laidback Junes manager's son (and Chie's boyfriend of three weeks) Yosuke Hanamura. Soon after, came the delinquent with a heart of gold, Kanji Tatsumi, followed by the intelligent but overly serious teenage detective Naoto Shirogane. Last to arrive was the cheery and flirtatious pop idol Rise Kujikawa, who while normally very bright and smiley, wore a pensive frown that day. With all the members of the Investigation Team present, the group felt ready to eat lunch. Chie's lunch for that day was similar to her breakfast, it was a bento consisting of thin strips of flank steak on a warm bed of white rice. After her meat filled daydream, Chie was eager to dig in her delicious lunch! Chie lifted her bento box and keenly shoveled its contents into her mouth, barely even chewing the steak.
Rise watched as Chie greedily devoured her steak bento, slightly furrowing her brow as she did so. The tomboy was taken out of her gluttony-fueled frenzy upon seeing this and figured that the idol was looking at her savory meal.
"Want some?" asked Chie, her mouth full of steak.
"N-no thanks." replied Rise, her frown widening before returning to look down at her own lunch.
Chie was slightly taken aback by this reaction, sharing food was a regular practice in their circle of friends (sometimes unwillingly so, given what happened to Yukiko's fried tofu), she was being polite by offering, why did Rise give her such a frosty reaction?
"What's up Rise's ass today?" Chie thought to herself, growing offended by Rise's behavior.
It was then that Chie noticed something about Rise's lunch, it was missing an important component: meat. All of their friends' meals had some item of meat in them, from grilled fish to kakuni or even fried chicken, but Rise seemed resigned to a simple lunch of seaweed and tofu salad and green tea. Chie figured her friend was on one of those crazy Tokyo fad diets like that "all natto" diet that was popular a few years ago and thought little of it again.
After school Chie and the others were sitting at their usual table at the Junes food court, chatting amongst themselves with some of them working on homework. After the arrest of Adachi and the defeat of Ameno-Sagiri, the teens had a lot more free-time! They met up with their friend, the affable but somewhat dim bear, Teddie, who was on break after a long day working as the mascot for Junes. Rise agreed to join them but was nowhere to be found.
"Where did Rise go? She said she would be here." inquired Yu.
"I don't know." Chie spoke up "She was acting odd during lunch, I offered her some of my bento, and she refused it!"
Before Yu had a chance to respond, Rise had arrived, she had returned to her usual sunny demeanor and was carrying a rolled-up poster under her arm.
"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, I had to change and grab some stuff from home." greeted Rise.
"Ah! Rise-san, you're here! What's that you are carrying? Promotional material for your next album?" asked Yukiko.
The idol shook her head. "Nope! This is something I want to share with you all. Do you all remember my manager Minoru Inoue?"
"I thought you weren't working with him anymore?" interrupted Yu.
"We made up." replied Rise "Anyway, he said that nowadays it's important that idols and other celebrities support a cause in order to raise awareness of them, so the cause he assigned to me was animal rights and veganism!"
Chie practically felt her heart drop. "That's why she didn't take my steak bento!"
"So, I did some research online and was shocked about the horrible ways we treat animals just for stupid things like leather, meat and fur!" said Rise, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Meat's not stupid!" Chie raged internally.
"Like did you know that male chicks are killed in giant shredders all because they can't lay eggs?!" Rise cried, indignation rising in her voice. "Or that veal comes from calves that are chained to the floor or locked in crates to keep them from moving?!"
It was at this moment Rise unfurled the poster she was carrying and passed it around for all her friends to see. It was a poster of a very sad looking calf with the text "PLEASE DON'T TURN ME INTO A BURGER!" above it. The sappiness of the whole thing made Chie want to gag.
"That is why I have decided to make a stand!" Rise said proudly before unbuttoning her winter coat to reveal a black T-shirt with the words "MEAT IS MURDER" in bold white text. "Not only have I committed to not using any animal products, but I'm also going to do an interview with the People for Animal Rights and Freedom Japan chapter! It's going to be published in the next edition of Teen Vague magazine!
"People for Animal Rights and Freedom? Isn't that the group that throws tomatoes at people who wear fur coats? And started a campaign to rename fish to "sea kitties"? quipped Chie though Rise ignored her.
"This is very important to me so I'm asking you all as a friend, will you help stop the needless slaughter of animals by going vegan?" pleaded Rise.
Teddie suddenly stood up and bowed in a grand gesture. "If it means a chance to score with Rise-chan, I'll do anything!~"
Annoyed, Rise pinched the bridge of her nose. "Teddie, you're a shadow, you don't even need to eat to survive in the first place!"
"Oh right!" said Teddie in sudden realization.
Rise turned her attention to Yu. "You'll help save the animals, right senpai? 3" the idol asked while seductively waggling her hips.
After thinking about it for a bit, Yu nodded his head in agreement.
"I knew it! My senpai is a friend to all!~" Rise giggled in delight. "What about you Yukiko-senpai?"
"Say no Yukiko!" Chie screamed in her mind.
"Well, if Yu-kun is doing it…" Yukiko said, blushing slightly.
"Et tu Yukiko? Willing to throw away your beliefs for a chance at the transfer kid?" Chie thought, disappointed in the choice her friend made. "I guess if Narukami-kun jumped off a bridge, you would follow right after him!"
"How about you, Naoto-kun?" asked Rise.
Chie smirked slightly, Naoto was the most intelligent and logical of the group, she wouldn't be swayed by appeals to emotion.
"While I don't appreciate the attempts at pathos, it is true that the consumption of meat and other animal-based products is one of the leading causes of climate change, so for that reason, I accept your challenge." Naoto stated, stoic and clinical as ever.
"W-What? Even Naoto-kun agreed?" thought Chie, baffled by Naoto's decision.
"Great!" chirped Rise. "Okay Kanji, your turn."
Kanji seemed conflicted at first but after a while, he voiced his decision.
"Alright, I'll do it! For the baby cows dammit!" the blond teen shouted.
"Are you sure you aren't just doing it because Naoto-kun is doing it?" suggested Yosuke.
"WHAT?! NO, I-SHUT THE HELL UP DAMMIT!" yelled Kanji, blushing in embarrassment.
"Is that true, Kanji-kun? asked Naoto, sporting a light blush herself while averting Kanji's gaze.
"I-It's not like that Naoto, not that I wouldn't do it if you were involved or anything…" Kanji trailed off while his face reddened even further.
Chie couldn't take it anymore, four of her friends had just agreed to this insanity with no resistance whatsoever, it was time to act!
"Listen to yourselves! Are you all really going to make a life-altering decision like this off the word of some idol turned two-bit activist?!" shouted Chie as she stood up and angrily slammed down on the picnic table.
"Screw you Chie! I should have known you would be the hardest to convert. I just hope you take the time to think about how many cows gave their lives just so you could stuff your face with their flesh!" responded Rise, her words dripping with spite.
Things between the tomboy and the idol were getting heated very quickly and would have gotten worse if it hadn't been for the intervention of their group leader.
"Calm down you two. There must be a way to settle this peacefully." Yu said, stepping in between the two girls.
However, Chie wasn't having any of it. "You're making a dumb decision Yu-kun." she grumbled under her breath. "You too Yukiko!" she said loud enough that the heiress could hear. "Come on Yosuke, we're leaving."
"But…" Yosuke attempted to object.
"NOW!" screamed Chie, before yanking Yosuke's hand and dragging him away from Junes. It was clear who wore the pants in their relationship.
Yu attempted to stop them but was blocked by Rise.
"Let them go senpai. Some people can't be helped. I just hope that Chie-senpai has a change of heart and sees the error of her ways." the idol said sadly. "Now, does anyone want to help me pass out some flyers about the damage animal products cause for the environment around Junes?" the idol proposed, returning to her sunny demeanor.
"Uh, I have a question about veganism." Kanji interjected.
"What is it, Kanji?" asked Rise.
"Are animal crackers vegan? I know that they are shaped like animals and all…" inquired Kanji.
What followed was the remaining members of the Investigation Team (sans Teddie) all staring at Kanji as if he had just uttered the stupidest thing imaginable.
"Typical Moronji…" said Rise, rolling her eyes.
The location Chie ended up dragging Yosuke was one she figured Rise wouldn't step foot in given her new dietary choice, and that had just recently opened a location in Inaba so it was highly unlikely that Rise even knew of its existence, besides Chie was feeling peckish and could use a light snack.
"Welcome to Big Bang Burger, open twenty-four hours a day because there is no day or night in space. What do you want?" the bored sounding cashier spouted off robotically.
Chie and Yosuke recognized the cashier as a third-year student from Yasogami by the name of Keishi Nishida. He had deep bags under his eyes and the couple had heard complaints from the teachers about him sleeping during class, it seemed evident that Big Bang Burger had a tendency to overwork their employees.
"I'm not really that hungry right now, I think I will just have a medium Orange Smash." Yosuke said meekly.
"I'll have a Triple Big Bang Burger; a large Saturn fries and a Cosmos Shake." ordered Chie.
Once the couple received their food, they sat down at a table near the middle of the restaurant. Yosuke casually sipped his soda as he watched his girlfriend gorge herself on her hamburger.
"I can't believe the nerve of Rise!" Chie grumbled in between bites. "Brainwashing our friends with her veganism nonsense! If God didn't want us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them so tasty."
"I'm not so sure about that." Yosuke replied sheepishly, looking down at his drink.
"Well, I think so!" Chie said indignantly. "Besides how I can perfect my kung fu skills on a vegan diet? I need protein!" the tomboy said proudly, sounding like a certain gray-haired boxer.
"Do you think Rise suddenly going vegan is a plot to drum up business for her grandmother's tofu shop? It was struggling when the fog came to Inaba and hasn't recovered yet." Chie proposed.
"Conspiracy theories now?" Yosuke replied skeptically.
"Hey, it makes sense." said Chie, loudly slurping her milkshake.
"Even if that was the case, Rise knows that I can't have tofu, it gives me cramps." responded Yosuke.
"I'm the same way, my parents never let me have tofu when I was younger, but they never told me why." said Chie, munching on one of her fries.
"By the way, I used your card to buy a few steaks from Junes, is that alright?" Chie asked nonchalantly, returning to her burger.
"You WHAT?!" Yosuke shouted, dumbfounded, but still trying to keep his voice down in the busy restaurant.
"Sheesh, what's the big deal? As long as I use that card at Junes its fine right?" responded Chie.
"Chie, that card is for business purposes ONLY! My dad is going to be pissed if he finds out about this! How many steaks did you buy?"
"Three porterhouses, a sirloin, two tri-tip steaks, a tenderloin and a filet." Chie admitted.
Yosuke immediately knew all the prices for these cuts and was furious. "You spent over 30,000 yen on steak?!"
His girlfriend had nothing to say on her behalf, she had no defense for her actions.
"Okay that's it. I've had enough." Yosuke said before hopping out of the booth and starting for the door.
"Wait! Yosuke don't go!" cried Chie, stopping her boyfriend in his tracks. "I'm sorry about the card, I'll make it up to you somehow! I-I'll get a part time job at Junes to work off the debt!"
"You need to do something about your meat addiction Chie." replied Yosuke "Because my wallet and I can't take it anymore. However, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself: if you don't eat any meat for a whole week, I'll buy you all the meat you want. If you fail, then I will have no other choice but to break up with you.
"What?! Did Rise put you up to this?! Or did her veganism crap get inside your head too?!" raged Chie.
"No, Rise did not put me up to this. Now, do you accept my ultimatum or not?" said Yosuke.
Chie spent some time weighing her options in her head. On the one hand, meat was her life, she felt that she didn't have it in her to go a full week without it. On the other hand, in the three weeks they had dated, Chie started to really like Yosuke, and she didn't want to lose the first real boyfriend she had ever had.
"Ugh, Alright. I accept your challenge." Chie relented.
The couple left the restaurant and returned to their homes. Yosuke made Chie call Rise and apologize for her earlier behavior and to let her know that she would be going vegan (at least temporarily).
After hanging up, Chie decided to go to sleep, as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, she couldn't help but ruminate on the choice she had made. "No meat for a whole week…" the tomboy thought to herself one last time before closing her eyes and drifting off.
It had only been three days into Chie's meat-free week, and it wasn't going very well for her. At school, she had even more trouble paying attention in class than she usually did. She had chewed up all her meat-flavored gum by this point, so she had taken to gnawing on her pencils! Because meat composed so much of her diet, and because she knew so little about veganism, Chie pretty much subsisted on rice and occasionally kinpara, as a result, she lost two pounds but always ended up still feeling hungry at best or dizzy from low blood sugar at worst.
The green-clad girl was sitting on her bed, shaking like an addict jonesing for their next hit. She needed meat and she needed it now! It was just then that her dog, Muku, waddled over to her and began licking her face.
Muku had grown considerably from when Chie and Yukiko found him as a puppy back in elementary school, the now elderly St. Bernard preferred to spend his days snoozing in the corner of Chie's room instead of energetically playing with the girls as he did in the past. Now the only time the dog showed any real activity was when he wanted something.
"What is it boy? Wanna go for a walk? Want something to eat?" asked Chie.
"Borf!" Muku barked affirmatively at the second suggestion.
"Alright Muku! Let's find you something to eat!" the tomboy said, making her way to the pantry.
After a bit of searching, Chie pulled out a can of Buchiko brand dog food, its eye catching but somewhat garish label advertising slogans such as 'For the most loyal companions', 'Made from 100% Grade B horse meat!', and 'Now with less eyeballs!' and unceremoniously poured its contents into Muku's dog bowl.
As the canine filled his belly, his owner stared at the now almost empty can, there was still a little bit left. Half-crazed with hunger, Chie quickly gulped down what remained of the dog food without thinking. The tomboy immediately regretted her decision, retching as she swallowed down the noxious meaty slop.
"It's not worth it!" Chie declared in between gags. "I need meat! Real meat!"
The teen returned to her room and donned her winter jacket and pulled the hood over her head. She also grabbed a pair of sunglasses as well as her scooter keys before hustling outside the door, not even taking the time to say goodbye to her parents or Muku.
Weaving in and out of traffic, Chie set off with one destination in mind: Aiya's. She barged through the door and quickly took her place on one of the stools.
"Welcome to Aiya's. How may I help you?" greeted the blue-haired girl behind the counter. She was around Chie's age and was dressed in a red apron and white headscarf. "Our specials today are-" Aika's spiel was interrupted by Chie slamming some yen on the counter.
"Three extra-large beef bowls, Three karaage bowls and an extra-large Nikuman plate." Chie ordered. She wasn't here for niceties; she was here for meat.
Aika was taken aback by Chie's gruff behavior but had no choice but to politely bow and bring the tomboy her food.
Chie ravenously tore through her order as if she were a wolf half-starved with hunger. Aika and the other patrons watched Chie consume her meal with a mix of horror and fascination like she was some roadside oddity.
Despite the massive size of the order, Chie managed to polish off each of the meals she ordered in under ten minutes and still felt hungry. She leaped off the stool and sprinted down the block to Souzai Daigaku where she ordered five of everything on the menu! And yet again she hungered for more meat! Returning to her scooter, Chie sped off in search of a restaurant that could sate her unsatiable appetite.
The other members of the Investigation Team were hanging out near the Samegawa flood plain, making the trek to Junes to meet up with Teddie. Rise was walking backwards in order to talk while facing her friends. Yosuke trailed behind Kanji and Naoto while Yu and Yukiko walked side by side. At one point, Yukiko drifted closer to Yu and affectionally clung onto his arm to which the gray-haired teen didn't exactly object! Rise noticed this and quickly turned her back to the pair and childishly pouted with an offended "Hmph!"
Rise's sulking was interrupted when Yosuke suddenly spoke up. "Hey guys, I think something is wrong with Chie, I haven't heard from her, and she hasn't answered any of my texts or calls."
"Last time I saw her was at school yesterday. She looked tired, I hope she is doing alright." replied Yukiko, pulling herself off Yu. "We should go look for her in case she is in danger!"
All of the teens were in agreement with the raven-haired heiress and began the search for their friend!
The group began their search at Chie's house, but the tomboy's parents said that she was at home but had taken off somewhere. She was not at Yasogami, nor at the train station. Eventually, the group's search brought them to the edge of town, near the border with Okina City. Searching the streets, the group's resident detective quickly found a clue.
"Hey, isn't that Chie-senpai's scooter?" the blue-haired detective spoke up, pointing to the green scooter with yellow stripes parked nearby.
"You're right! Good eye Naoto-kun!" Yu said proudly. Naoto tugged on her cap and gave a slight smile upon hearing the praise of the group's leader.
"But why is Chie-senpai's scooter in front of…Big Bang Burger?" Rise asked, confused as to why Chie would be at a restaurant she had never heard of. "Unless…" the idol trailed off as she slowly realized what was going on, growing angrier as she did so.
Led by Rise, the group of teenagers stormed the fast-food restaurant only to see their friend sitting at a booth all by herself, wolfing down as many Big Bang Burgers as she possibly could!
"Chie! What the hell are you doing!" shouted Rise, causing the tomboy to freeze in place, dropping the hamburger she was eating, spilling its contents onto the floor.
"You said you would be going vegan, yet here you are gorging yourself on burgers! Explain!" cried Rise, feeling hurt and betrayed.
Chie kept her mouth shut for once and said nothing in response, there was no excuse for her cheating on her new diet.
"So, you failed your chance to redeem yourself. You probably had no intention of honoring your commitment in the first place. I guess our relationship was doomed from the start…" Yosuke glumly commented.
"No! Yosuke! Please don't give up on me!" Chie tearfully sobbed. "Please give me another chance!"
"Why should I believe you? How do I know that you won't go behind my back again?" replied the shaggy-haired teen.
Before Chie had a chance to respond, Yosuke was taken aside by Narukami. "Listen Yosuke, I think you should give her another chance." the gray-haired boy said to his friend.
"Why?" asked Yosuke. "She completely pissed away her last chance. Why should I give her another?"
"Because Chie is our friend, and we don't turn our back on our friends, no matter how badly they mess up!" Yu declared.
"Ugh, fine." Yosuke grumbled. The shaggy-haired teen then spoke to Rise to formulate a plan on how Chie could redeem herself yet again. After a few minutes, the two teens reapproached Chie's booth.
"You need to come with us." Yosuke said, dragging Chie along with the rest of the Investigation Team to a familiar location.
Chie felt her friend's eyes burrowing into her soul as they all sat around at their usual spot at Junes. They were all anticipating what she would do next. Chie's so-called "second redemption" was to finish a vegan tofu salad in front of her friends and if she succeeded, she would be allowed to remain in their friend group (and continue being Yosuke's girlfriend).
The power of the intense gazes of her friends forced the tomboy to avert her own eyes and focus her attention to the meal in front of her. The tofu salad was a recent addition to the menu at the June's food court, hurriedly tacked on after Rise threatened Junes with a boycott on social media for not having any vegan items available and the last thing corporate wanted was Rise's fangirls suddenly not shopping there anymore.
Taking her chopsticks, Chie poked at her food. The lettuce was wilted and starting to turn brown at the edges while the tofu was somehow soggy and dry at the same time. The mere sight of such an abhorrent meal sent a chill down Chie's spine and killed any remaining appetite she had.
"What's wrong, Chie-senpai?" asked Rise. "Just eat it."
"But I don't want to!" moaned Chie, pushing the plate away.
"Oh, come ON! We came all this way, gave you a second chance and now you don't want to take it?! Just eat the damn tofu!" cried Yosuke, completely at the end of his rope.
Suddenly, Teddie took Chie's chopsticks and attempted to feed her directly. "Here you go Chie-chan! Open wide! It's beary, beary good!"
"What the hell Teddie! Leave me alone! I'm not hungry you stupid bear!" Chie clamored as Teddie shoved the chopsticks down her throat.
"Here comes the bearplane!" Teddie joked while also adding airplane noises.
With the tofu firmly in her mouth and with no way to spit it out, Chie had no choice but to chew and swallow it. It was a bit mushy but overall, not the worst thing she had eaten.
"You did it Chie! I'm so proud of you!" Yukiko cheered on her friend.
However, soon after she had finished swallowing, Chie felt her throat start to close, she was getting lightheaded, and her skin began to break out in itchy, red hives!
"Help…Can't breathe…" Chie managed to squeak out between chokes.
"Oh, stop being so dramatic Chie-senpai! It wasn't that bad!" Rise callously rebuked, not understanding the gravity of the situation.
Right after Rise said that Chie turned blue and collapsed to the floor, attracting the attention of the other food court patrons.
"Oh crap! Yosuke, call an ambulance!" cried Yu, breaking his usually calm façade.
Chie's eyes gently fluttered open before quickly being overwhelmed by a bright light shining in her face. Despite the overwhelming glare, she was able to make out the blurry silhouette of a woman standing over her.
"Ah, good. You're awake." the mysterious woman said.
Eventually Chie's vision cleared, and she was able to make out who the unknown woman was. She was wearing a nurse's uniform along with a pink blazer. She was ebony-haired and had a small mole near her chin. The ID card pinned on her jacket revealed her name to be Sayoko Uehara.
"Ugh, where am I?" Chie asked groggily.
"Inaba Municipal Hospital where else?" Sayoko replied while writing something down on her clipboard.
"The hospital? But…" Chie shifted around only to find herself connected to an IV drip.
"Hey watch it! Don't move so much. You are still recovering and need to rest." Sayoko said, stopping the girl.
"But why am I here, nurse?" inquired Chie.
"I'll leave that to the doctor to explain. While you are waiting, I will let your friends visit you. I will be back later to take your vitals." Sayoko replied.
As the nurse left the room, a flood of teens entered, led by Rise.
"Oh my god Chie-senpai! You're okay! What happen?" cried the idol, a mix of relief and confusion in her voice.
"I don't know, the nurse said the doctor will explain everything." Chie replied weakly.
"Don't worry Chie! We are here for you! And we told your parents too, they are on their way here." stated Yu.
It was at this point that the doctor walked into the room. He was a tall, older gentleman with glasses, the name tag on the lapel of his lab coat read "Hiroshi Otomo MD"
"Ah doctor! Do you know what happened to Chie?" asked Yukiko.
"Are you all her family?" inquired the doctor.
"No, we are her friends. Her family is on their way." Yukiko responded.
"Very well. Miss Satonaka, are you aware that you have an allergy to soy products?" said Dr. Otomo, turning his attention to Chie.
"Allergy?!" the members of the Investigation Team all collectively gasped, not sure what to make of what they just heard.
"Deathly so, I am afraid. We had to give you a shot of epinephrine as soon as you got here. If we hadn't…well let's not talk about that." stated Otomo. "Anyway, I have you on some steroids to fight inflammation as well as saline to make sure you stay hydrated, which what the IV is for. If your condition improves, we should be able to discharge you tomorrow morning." Otomo said before leaving the room. As the doctor left, the teens decided to talk amongst themselves.
"Oh, I'm soo sorry Chie-chan! I'm beary sorry for making you eat that tofu! If I only hadn't…BWAAAHH!" Teddie apologized to Chie in his usual over-the-top manner.
"I'm sorry too Chie." Rise said sadly. "I realize now that it was wrong for me to force veganism on you. I knew how much meat meant to you and I shouldn't have taken that from you. I also apologize for dismissing your allergy attack as you being dramatic."
"It's okay Rise, I forgive you, you too Teddie." replied Chie.
"Truth be told Chie-senpai, I have decided to renounce my veganism. Minoru told me it is no longer as vogue as it used to be. Apparently, it's all about "Black Lives Matter". I don't quite understand what that means, but it sounds good right?" stated the pop idol, flashing a somewhat cheesy smile.
"I have something to say to Yosuke." declared Chie. "I'm really sorry for using your card without telling you. It was seriously messed up of me and I was being genuine when I said I would get a job to pay the debt. I'm also sorry for failing your dare. I don't deserve to be your girlfriend…" the tomboy said sadly.
"Don't worry about that, Chie." cooed Yosuke. As long as you don't use my card anymore, I don't mind your meaty diet! You are perfect just the way you are! Tell you what, once you get out of here, I'll buy you a steak!
The mere mention of steak sent a pang of nausea through Chie's gut like a hit of Zio. The huge amount she consumed that day turned her off from meat for a while
"Uh…I think I'll take a rain check on that and stick to salads for now." Chie replied sheepishly. The members of the Investigation Team all shared a hearty laugh at the tomboy's remark.
THE END
Hello everyone! Thank you for reading Beyond the Beef. This my first Persona fic and also my first real fic in a while so while I personally feel that this isn't my best writing, I hope you enjoyed it! Just as a disclaimer, I don't intend for this fic to be pro or anti veganism, this was just a fun idea I had for a story, so please don't start a flame war in the comments. As always, comments, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome.