Yu's POV:
I can barely concentrate on the lecture. The show from last night just keeps running around my mind on a loop.
Yosuke sounded so... happy about it.
I mean, why wouldn't he? He likes the girl. He has a... thing for her.
...He even asked me if I felt something when I saw her show. How was I supposed to explain that it didn't make me feel a special type of way at all?
Surely he knows, right...? He knows that I like him... Doesn't he?
I hate the way his question made me feel. It made me feel all clammy and tense.
Kanji's show made me feel more things than Rise-san's did.
I guess that's the difference between me and him.
"Narukami," Mr. Hosoi snaps. "You were listening, weren't you?"
"Y-yes, sir..."
"Then, tell me. How did Soseki Natsume translate the English phrase 'I love you' into Japanese?"
"I... I don't..." I mumble, shaking my head.
"Yu," Yosuke whispers. "It's something like, uh... 'I could die'."
"I heard that, Hanamura," Hosoi sighs. "And, anyways, you're wrong."
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" I whisper, glancing over to Yosuke.
"Correct, Narukami."
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
"She's not there." Yukiko's face is as pale as ever as she reaches us back at the food court. "I talked to her grandmother, and she said that Rise-chan hadn't been home since yesterday."
"...Does that mean...?" Kanji says quietly.
"She's inside the TV," Yu finishes.
"...A-are you sure?" I ask.
"Only one way to find out," Kanji mutters.
"...We're going in now, right?" I say, turning to Yu.
He nods, slowly. "Is that alright with everyone?"
Chie nods. "Yeah."
"...Yosuke?" He looks to me.
"Hm?"
"...Will you be okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" I snap at him accidentally, quickly backing up afterwards.
"You just... care about her," he shrugs, biting his lip. "A lot."
"He only likes her 'cause she's hot," Chie scoffs.
"Whatever," I groan. "I still wanna save her."
Yu gives me a sad smile before turning back to the others. "Alright. Let's do this."
~~~
Yu's POV:
"Teddie?" Yukiko asks.
"Teddie, what's wrong?" I frown.
He rolls around near the entrance with his head in his hands, weeping. "You were having fun and forgot all about me!"
"What?" Yosuke scoffs.
"A-aw, come on, Teddie..." Chie says softly, helping him to his feet. "We could never forget about you."
"Really?" His eyes light up.
"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap," Yosuke mutters. "Has a girl called Rise Kujikawa entered this world recently?"
"...Now that you mention it, it does smell a bit different," Teddie says, pursing his lips.
"Okay... How different?" Kanji asks.
"Hrm... I dunno," he groans, holding his head. "I... I don't know!"
"It's alright, Teddie." Yukiko places a hand on his arm. "Take your time."
"Y-Yuki-chan," he smiles briefly. "O-okay! I can do this...!"
"Why is this taking so long!?" Yosuke snaps.
"It's not my fault!" Teddie stomps his feet on the ground. "My nose isn't as good as it used to be, you know!"
"Maybe we could help you out?" I offer.
His ears perk up as he turns to face me. "Help me out?"
"Yeah," I shrug. "Maybe it'd help if we gathered more information about the girl."
"Ooh! Great idea, Sensei!"
"Are you sure we'll have time?" Yukiko frowns.
"We should," I nod. "It's not set to rain for a while, so we should be okay."
"...Yu's right," Yosuke says, hesitantly. "We can't just charge ahead like idiots. We gotta... Take our time."
Despite his words, he has a sour look on his face before eventually closing his eyes.
I reach out for him, but Teddie speaks again.
"You go find information about Rise-chan and I'll find her! Easy!"
"Sure, Teddie..." I sigh.
"Senpai? You alright?" Kanji asks quietly.
"Yeah." I nod.
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
"She hasn't said anything specific..." Rise's grandmother murmurs, trying to think.
"I'm sure it's nothing," I smile. "Try not to worry about her."
"Rise has never been one to enjoy time alone..." She says quietly. "So I can't help but worry."
"It's alright, ma'am," I assure her. "I promise I'll bring her back here, safe and sound."
The old lady smiles at me. "Thank you very much."
"I better go..." I say.
"Take care."
~~~
"What about asking Dojima-san?" I shrug.
"My uncle?" Yu raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I mean, they've gotta be keeping an eye on her, yeah? With being an idol, and all..."
"...I guess."
"Yu?" I frown.
"Dojima-san said he didn't want me to be involved in the case," he mutters.
"Oh."
"...So it's gonna be pretty difficult trying to find something to go off of."
"This totally blows," I groan.
"...I could search through some of his files?" He says quietly.
I furrow my eyebrows, turning to him. "What?"
"W-well, we need the information, don't we?" He says.
"But... If you get caught-"
"Yosuke, I'll be fine," he smiles.
"No... There's gotta be another way, right?"
"It's no trouble," he shakes his head.
"I said no, okay?" I snap. "Your uncle is already suspicious that you're hanging around Kanji after his disappearance. If you keep this up, he's gonna treat you like a suspect."
Yu pauses for a moment, rapping his fingers against the table. "It'll be okay."
"Geez, don't you listen?" I scoff.
"I just... want to help."
"You can help by getting off your ass and stop bothering me when I'm working," I chuckle.
I mean it as a joke, but he doesn't seem to find it very funny.
"I'll go, uh... ask around," he sighs, stepping out of his seat.
"...See you tomorrow?" I shrug.
"Hm."
~~~
Yu's POV:
"Is your dad home yet?" I ask, hanging my jacket up.
"No," Nanako sighs.
"I... I see," I murmur. "Any idea when he will be?"
She mutes the TV and shakes her head.
"Ah..."
"Do you need him?" She turns to me, her head tilted to the side.
"No, no, it's fine." I give her a reassuring smile.
"Dad always has his cellphone with him, if you need to call him."
"...Got it," I say. "Thanks, Nanako."
~~~
Dammit, where the hell are these files!?
I've already made a huge mess of his office, and all I'm finding is a bunch of stuff completely unrelated to the case.
There's got to be something, right!? I mean, we've all seen him on the case, so why hasn't he brought any files home!?
He's a workaholic, so he has to have at least something lying around here. There's just no way he'd keep it all at the station...
I rummage around some more, moving and rearranging his drawers.
"Fuck..." I sigh.
"Yu?"
I slam the drawer shut, turning around. "D-Dojima-san..."
"Yu," he repeats, more sternly, this time. "What the hell are you doing in here?"
"I- I can explain," I splutter.
"Everything in here is strictly confidential. You know that," he snaps lowly.
"I- I know... But—"
"What the hell're you doing in my private business, huh!?" He yells, grabbing me by my shirt and pushing me against the wall. "This is none of your damn business, you hear me!?"
"Y-yes," I choke, trying to reach the ground.
He finally puts me down, collecting his thoughts. "...What were you looking for?"
"Nothing. Really, I—"
"Do not pull that on me," he spits, jabbing me in the chest with a finger.
"Th- the recent kidnappings..." I murmur.
"What the hell have you got to do with that!?"
"I- I just..."
He sighs. "I get it. You're friends with Tatsumi. I doubt a kid like him would just let what happened to him slide...."
I nod slowly.
"But this is not the way to help him out," he shakes his head. "You know that, don't you?"
I frown, looking away.
"You have to leave this to the professionals," he grunts. "And besides, we put Adachi on this case, since it's just kids disappearing for a couple of days. It's really not high on our list of priorities."
"I'm... I'm sorry," I say, rubbing my neck.
"I thought you had a little more respect for me than this," he mutters. "Look. Just... go to your room, alright?"
"Uncle—"
"Don't make me say it again."
He doesn't bother to look at me. But I can see the scowl on his face. I don't dare say another word.
~~~
Yosuke's POV:
"Hm..."
I press my palm against the TV for the tenth time. But nothing.
It's not raining, and it's not midnight, so I don't know what I thought was gonna happen.
We gotta find information on her.
That way, Yu'll see. He won't look down on me anymore. If I have a girlfriend, he'll know I can hold my own.
I've been up all night researching Risette and her recent news articles. All it says is that she went on hiatus for some reason not stated.
But everybody knows that, dammit.
Or... do we need to know why?
That's right... That's gotta be it!
Her distorted world... Her inner feelings... We gotta find out what exactly those are.
I pull my cell up and find Yu's name. But I don't dial. I can't.
I'll do this myself. Then he'll know that I figured this out with no one's help. He's gotta respect me for that, surely.
They all will.
~~~
Yu's POV:
No dinner, no nothing...
Man... I know what I did was wrong, but... I had a good reason.
I want to help Yosuke out. And, of course, I want to save the girl.
Dojima just doesn't understand. He still thinks I'm some kid in diapers.
I should have just asked him straight up. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten an answer, but there wouldn't be such a thick barrier between us.
He's lost trust in me, hasn't he?
As if hanging out with Kanji — a delinquent, the latest person in the case — wasn't enough for him to think something's amiss.
I guess I should just let it go. I failed Yosuke, didn't I?
Dammit.
...But, Adachi's on the case, right? He'll definitely slip up if I ask him about it...
I mean, we've seen him outside the Tofu shop a lot lately... So he has got to have an idea of where Risette is.
It feels like we're finally getting somewhere...
~~~
thanks for reading:)
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