Chase The Truth

Chapter 48: After Exams

Begin!

~Normal POV

10/16 - Sunday

They were in the middle of their second round of midterm exams. Only this time, they had a Sunday off in between them. Yu figured this was a good time to try talking to Rise again. He found her in the shopping district and asked if she wanted to hang out today. He was happy when she said yes. She seemed excited for it too. She took him to the most secluded spot they could find, that being the hill overlooking the town. They'd be safe from prying eyes here. The two sat together at the picnic table.

"Senpai... I thought about it- Why my mind just went blank when I heard about Kanami..."

"Oh, and what did you find out?" Yu asked, curiously.

"I mean, I ran away from showbiz because I was tired of being an idol... So I shouldn't have had any problems... And yet... I felt so angry about it... Why do you think that is?"

Yu smiled gently at her. "Well, there's a few explanations. But I think the one that is most accurate is... Risette is Rise, too."

Rise looked up at him and smiled a little. "Yeah... you knew all along, huh? Haha, but really... that's how it was. Risette's name in lights... Idolized by the masses... That was me too... I didn't want to lose that me..."

"You finally see it."

Rise nodded and looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "There's no way to become someone else... I ran away from my plain, gloomy self... Then I ran away from my idol self... Right now, I'm the homicide detective self, I guess?"

Yu couldn't help chuckling a bit. "Perhaps."

"I would have run away from that as well, if I didn't realize..." Rise continued, "I've been trying to become how I wanted to be. I pick a role... when I'm through with it, I continue chasing the real me by picking another role... When in fact those roles are all me. I don't want to run away anymore. I don't want to search somewhere else for myself. I'm gonna hang in there... as the complete me."

"Happy to hear it..." Yu said, warmly.

They stared at each other for a while before Rise quickly looked away, her face turning red.

"I'm glad I came to this town." She said, smiling. "After all... it's where I met you."

"I feel the same way," Yu replied.

Rise checked the time on her phone and sighed. "I- I have to go home now..." She looked up at him with an embarrassed smile. "I wish time would just stop..." She admitted quietly.

She was right. It was too nice here. Too nice to be just sitting here alone together. They both wished they could do it longer. But it did give Yu an idea...

"I know the feeling..." He took her hand in his. "Tell you what- next time, why don't you just... come over?"

For a second, he thought he broke her. She turned an even brighter shade of red and looked a little shocked at his boldness. Usually it was her who could say something so forward. It was going to be tough to get used to him turning those kinds of comments back on her. She could feel her heart pounding.

"Oh...!" She couldn't help giggling. "You mean, like...? O-Ok... sure, I'd like that... Would it really be ok, though?"

"Totally, nobody would mind."

Now they were really looking forward to their next hang out. Yu happily walked her home this time. The two walked much closer to each other than ever. They didn't honestly care if anyone saw them holding hands. They wanted people to know. All they could pay attention to was each other.

~...

10/20 - Thursday

The gang survived their midterms, mostly unscathed. With Naoto around, studying had become a bigger priority for some of the less adept of them. Yu, though, figured that Kanji was only suddenly trying harder for a different reason. But it'd be good for him regardless. Yu just thought it was a little funny that the thing that got his friend to pay more attention to his schoolwork was the prospect of impressing a girl. As he already knew, "A wise man once said: anything for a lady." He wondered if Naoto knew she had that boy wrapped around her finger like a bow.

That evening, Yu went home in high spirits. So many things were just going well right now. Tests were finally over. There was no sign of the culprit attacking anyone else. And he and Rise were finally an item. Though they hadn't explicitly mentioned it to their friends just yet. They decided to let it be told more through actions rather than make a big announcement. He was sure the more observant of them, such as Naoto or Yukiko, had probably already figured it out, based on how they acted together now, but neither had any comments to make on it. Especially when Rise had a habit of happily throwing herself at him when they met up for lunch. She wasn't subtle. He was right to assume nobody would mind their relationship. And Teddie only made one intrusive comment! Maybe he was improving, or maybe not. Even Nanako made an astute observation that Yu seemed to be very happy lately, citing that she had seen him and Rise together a few times as part of it. (Amazing how someone so young can figure such things out so easily.) She was very supportive though, she thought they were a good match.

Yu walked into the house to find Nanako waiting for him as usual. "Hey, Nanako."

"Oh, welcome back!" Nanako greeted, brightly. She went up to him and handed him an envelope. "Here, there was a letter in the mailbox for you."

"Oh? Thanks..."

Yu took the letter with a little confusion as she went into the kitchen. This was strange. He never got letters. His parents usually emailed his uncle if they wanted to talk, since he didn't own a computer himself. And they rarely had time other than the occasional check-in to ask how things are going. He got plenty of mail otherwise, due to ordering many things from the Tanaka's Amazing Commodities shopping channel. He regularly got these things delivered. They were often handy items for going into the tv world, so it was a worthy expense. He had Nanako pick them up for him all the time. But getting a letter: that was new.

He furrowed his brow harder when he read the envelope. All it said was that it was formally addressed to "Mr. Yu Narukami." He didn't recognize the handwriting. And weirdly, there was nothing else on it. No return address or the sender's name. She said it was in the mailbox, so it couldn't have come through the mailman if it didn't have these things. He carefully opened the envelope. Inside was a folded up letter. He pulled it out, and opened it.

What he saw on that letter were three words written in the same handwriting. And those words made his heart stop.

don't rescue anymore

His hands shook a little as he read the note over and over. There was nothing else on the paper but those three words. They were written without capitalization or punctuation. The handwriting was jagged and rough, and he didn't recognize it at all.

"Is it from a friend?" Nanako asked innocently.

Yu then quickly remembered he wasn't alone in here and tried to regain his composure. "Uh, nah, it's nothing... H-Hey, this was in the mailbox, you said?"

"Uh huh. It wasn't signed."

"Ok, thanks..." Yu said, quietly.

She gave him a confused look but shrugged it off, and went back to watching her shows. He stood there for a moment longer, just holding the letter and staring at it. Like he was trying to get more information out of it through sheer force of will. Could it be a prank? He quickly shook his head. No... there was no way. It had to be real.

He went up to his room to hide the letter in his school bag before his uncle caught him with it. He then hurriedly pulled out his phone and called Naoto.

"Hello, senpai."

"Naoto, we've got a serious problem..."

~End of Chapter