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The TVs lining the walls suddenly illuminated all at once, displaying screens of static while a rhythmic buzz echoed throughout the empty space. Yu tightened the grip on his sword and looked towards the rest of the Investigation Team, currently standing alert and drawing their own weapons as well.
The group had been chasing after Adachi in the TV world for a decent amount of time now, so there were bound to be slipups eventually - whether they liked it or not. It didn’t help that the unassuming police detective somehow had control over his own manifested dungeon, which was something they’d never faced before, causing the team to just play it by ear as they went along.
Then again, Adachi was already vastly different than the other cases so far considering he’d already obtained some sort of ability before even entering to begin with. He was by far the IT’s most dangerous opponent yet, and they’d just been shut into an ominous-looking room filled with nothing but TVs covering the walls somewhere deep within his grasp.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me, what are we supposed to do now?” Chie groaned. She nervously glanced around at the various staticky images, hopping side to side to release her pent up energy. In the meantime, Kanji was helping Naoto investigate the perimeter while Rise summoned her Persona to do a scan of the area. Teddie was attempting to help by sniffing the air for clues, even if his nose had been dysfunctional lately, earning an encouraging pat from Yukiko.
“It doesn’t look like there’s a door anywhere in here,” Naoto concluded. “I wouldn’t chance taking any of these TVs as an exit either, since we don’t know where they may lead.”
“Well there has to be some way out,” Kanji said, grabbing his folding chair and slinging it over his shoulder. “I vote we just bust outta this place so we can beat Adachi’s sorry ass!”
“Hold on Kanji, let’s just think for a minute,” Yukiko started. “Rise still needs to finish her analysis.”
And with that, Rise sighed while Kanzeon faded away into beautiful specks of light. She looked towards Yukiko apologetically.
“Actually, no matter how hard I try with Kanzeon, I just can’t find anything of use. It’s like we’re being forced to participate in some messed up escape room, I don’t even know if we’re on the same floor we entered from,” Rise said. “What’s beyond these walls is a mystery, and who knows what’ll happen if we take the wrong way out? It could be dangerous to break through without precautions... But hey, at least we can still summon our Personas, right?”
“Yeah, but there’s no use for them,” Chie groaned and kicked a bulkier TV. “This sucks!”
“Wait a minute... Teddie, are you able to summon the exit portal here?” Yosuke questioned. He had taken his headphones off when they first came across the strange area, and they now lay around his neck with the faint beat of music still emanating from the set. “I was just thinking that we could use it to get somewhere safe then re-enter.”
“Oh! I can certainly try, I’ll do my absolute bear-st!” Teddie responded. The bear tapped his foot on the ground once, then twice, then three more times, each stomp progressively growing more and more aggressive with each failure.
“Grraaawwww! It’s not working!” Teddie cried. On his last stomp, the TVs went out and the room plunged into darkness yet again. The only sound to be heard was Teddie’s startled yelp.
“Augh, Teddie!” Chie shouted. “What did you do?”
“M-Me? I didn’t do anything!” Teddie wailed.
“Goho-M!” Naoto exclaimed. “Do we have any Goho-Ms left?”
Yu shook his head, although it wasn’t visible through the darkness.
“No, I figured the Shadows would drop a few so I didn’t bother stacking up before we left. Bad decision on my part.”
“Don’t worry about it, Senpai! I’m sure we’ll find another way out,” Rise said.
Then, timing too perfect to be a coincidence, one of the TVs suddenly fizzled to life. Everyone focused intently on the screen, but it was still too glitch-covered to distinctly identify anything in the image. A sudden inexplicable sense of dread washed over Yu until he recognized what was gradually appearing through the glitches.
“Keep your eyes open, he’s watching us,” Yu commanded. He’d assumed his fighting stance, sword in hand, prepared to give orders and at the ready to attack at any moment. Everyone else readied, Naoto to his left, Yosuke to his right, and Rise huddled behind him for protection. Yu took a step toward the TV in question, approaching it carefully, but never getting too close. A familiar voice penetrated the silence and the screen finally cleared a bit, showing the shadowed silhouette of Adachi.
“Sorry kiddos, but I can’t let you go back to your world just yet,” Adachi said.
“And why the hell not?” Kanji threatened, standing up straight and readjusting his weapon.
“We just began having fun, you can’t expect to leave so easily when we’re still getting started. There’s been nothing but boredom in this backwater town… until the murder case, that is. I’m not ready to end things just yet,” he chuckled.
“Well we are ready to end things, so stop being a coward and face us,” Rise said as she stepped out from behind Yu. She placed her hands on her hips and took a defensive spot next to Kanji.
“Oh? And that’s a unanimous opinion, is it not? Because according to what I’m able to see in Magatsu Inaba, there’s certainly a very strange reading that’s taken a liking to one of the shops,” Adachi grinned from beyond the TV screen. “It’s awfully similar to one of your own signals, maybe you should check that out before going up against me. I’m sure you’ll need as much power as possible after all, and you couldn’t manage with a Persona as weak as his has gotten.”
“His? Elaborate, who’s ‘him’?” Naoto questioned, eyebrows furrowed.
“Oops! There goes my big mouth again, I should really know better by now,” Adachi winked, disappearing from view. The screen flickered, and where the man once stood was a huge body obscured by darkness. Multiple other TVs displayed the same disturbing setting.
As the forms steadily started moving closer, the bodies were identifiable as Shadows of some sort. The walls of the strange room started crumbling, but the creatures kept coming despite the increasing damage. Chie and Kanji summoned their Personas to start actively kicking the walls down to destroy the gateways, and everyone soon joined in, effectively breaking the room bit by bit.
While Yu’s focus was elsewhere, one particular Shadow managed to sneak its way through a fallen TV about to be crushed. It was quick enough to jump out just in time, and left him with barely any reaction time to dodge. Had he noticed it any later, Yu would’ve been knocked down for sure.
“Oh crap, one actually came through!” Chie shouted and leapt out of the way. Kanji immediately took his weaponized chair and bashed its head in while Yukiko readied an attack with her fan in case she needed to finish it off.
The room finished collapsing into a mess of debris, the Personas were withdrawn, and they were back to one of the large intersections of Magatsu Inaba. Since the group’s attention was honed in on the initial Shadow that jumped out, nobody was able to see another one also stealthily targeting Yu from behind a damaged wall. The first one merely served as a distraction.
“Eek! Watch out, Sensei!” Teddie squealed as he tried to shove Yu out of the way. His faulty nose managed to catch onto the scent before it could attack, so the bear came to save the day. The only problem was that Teddie was too light to make any effect, so they were both now caught in the Shadow’s path.
Yosuke was the first to react, eyes widening and bolting over to them as fast as he could. Which was good, since Yosuke was not only the quickest member of their team, but he was also standing the closest to Yu. His kunai clattered on the floor as he dropped them to firmly grab both of their hands in each of his own, then threw them all onto the ground just beyond the Shadow’s range. A gunshot rang out as Naoto fired her revolver into its head, and the Shadow disintegrated.
Yu took a few moments to glance at the carnage and turned towards Yosuke, who was currently adjusting his glasses and sitting up. “Thanks.”
“No problem, partner,” Yosuke smiled. “Ted, you okay?”
“Waaahhhh! Yosuke, you ruined my moment as Sensei’s knight in shining armor!” Teddie whined.
“I didn’t do it to make you look bad! You wouldn’t have gotten away in time,” Yosuke said as he reached for his kunai. “If it makes you feel any better, that probably would’ve turned out way worse if you hadn’t noticed it first.”
“So I’m still his knight in shining armor? His Prince Charming?” Teddie gasped. “Yosuke… Does this mean I can score?!”
“Wha- No! Stop saying that, you don’t even know what it means! And you’re both guys anyways!” Yosuke yelled, pulling Teddie up.
“Uhm, guys, bad news,” Rise hastily motioned at them. She pointed at something, a giant black mass not-so-far in the distance, quickly advancing to their current location. The shock registering on everyone's face was apparent, and most paled upon the realization of what they were seeing.
“Holy shit that’s a lot of Shadows!” Kanji exclaimed.
“There’s no way we can take on that many,” Yukiko chimed in, clutching her fan to her chest.
“Then there’s only one option. Everybody run, now!” ordered Yu. Everyone immediately began to scramble away, and Rise hastily summoned Kanzeon to do a scan of the floor while she was running. They wouldn’t be able to make it very far without a sense of direction. Of course, she ended up tripping, so Kanji took her in his arms bridal-style and began running to catch up again.
“Thanks, Kanji!”
“Don’t mention it, just keep doin’ whatever it is you’re doin’,” Kanji grunted. Rise nodded and continued her navigation, giving directions to the group when necessary.
“Ah, Senpai! Up here, turn left here!” Rise shouted at an upcoming intersection. The Shadows were gaining on them, and the Investigation Team couldn’t last much longer. “We’re almost there!”
Yu was the first to round the corner, followed closely by Yosuke. Only, he didn’t see the heaps trash lying around in time to warn the others, so Yosuke ended up crashing and burning when tumbling into yet another garbage can at full speed. The rest of the group slowed upon approaching, but before they could stop, Yu shouted for them to keep going.
“You guys handle the rest, I got him! We’ll catch up!” he yelled.
Naoto nodded solemnly and took his place leading the charge. Chie ended up having to practically haul Teddie away when his short, plushy legs couldn’t maneuver around the area, with Yukiko giggling at the sight despite being out of breath.
“Ugh! Goddammit! Why does the world freaking hate me so much?!” Yosuke shouted. He didn’t fall into the trash can this time, just tripping over it and eating pavement. He was kneeling, curled in on himself, wiping away a stream of fresh blood dripping from his nose onto the concrete.
Yu quickly grabbed his forearm and forced him up, dragging him along as he ran. Yosuke eventually regained his bearings enough to move his feet, and they looked towards a narrow alley containing a stairwell as numerous Shadows started blocking the path that the rest of the team went in. There was no other option. The boys hesitantly glanced one last time at the horde of monsters, and quickly descended into the dark staircase to an unknown destination.
-----
To Yu’s surprise, they came out on a roof overlooking several sections of Magatsu Inaba. The staircase must’ve acted as a portal, and better yet, one that was small enough that the Shadows couldn’t fit through. The building they came out on wasn’t one he recognized, but it provided a good vantage point. He could see the shopping district in the distance, the Samegawa River, and even Junes was close by. The store’s bold sign had been torn apart, as well as the majority of the flashy decor, but there was no mistaking the grand exterior for anything else in such a small town.
“Where... are we?” Yosuke asked. “Or I guess it would be better to say, where is everyone else?”
“I don’t know. Rise never told me the destination we were headed to, and I don’t have her navigation skills either,” Yu responded. He gently placed a hand on Yosuke’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing I can’t handle,” Yosuke tried to grin reassuringly, but it came out as more of a grimace. His injuries looked like more than just ‘scrapes and bruises’, with large gashes torn through the skin on his face and palms from breaking his fall, but Yu knew Yosuke was too stubborn enough to ever admit he needed help. It wasn’t bad enough to warrant using a healing spell or item either, so he decided to just let it be.
“In that case, we should take a break. Take some time to catch our breath and come up with a plan,” Yu suggested. “We can check out Junes to see if any Shadows are in there. Since that’s our usual meeting spot, the rest of the Investigation Team might consider it a rendezvous point.”
Yosuke just nodded in confirmation and adjusted his headphones, which had stopped playing music by now. He’d been unusually reserved recently, retreating to his headphones more often, and it was starting to worry Yu. His best friend was always rambunctious and outspoken, most times to his disadvantage because of constantly putting his foot in his mouth, but that didn’t stop him from being a cheerful ball of sunshine and bad jokes.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been kind of distant lately,” Yu found himself questioning. He’d seized the opportunity to catch Yosuke alone and off guard before even thinking twice. Confronting him about it must’ve worked because Yosuke averted his eyes, focusing on anything else but the boy in front of him. “Yosuke, you’re my best friend. You know you can tell me anything, right?
Yosuke hesitantly nodded again.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, it’s just… I know I’ve been kinda weird lately. I guess- I think it’s just that we’re finally going to catch Saki-senpai’s murderer, and it’s like… I guess I’m just relieved that we’re finally going to avenge her, but that also means truly accepting that she’s… that she’s really gone... Like, gone gone. I honestly don’t even know, dude. I, um... Ugh. Now I’m just confusing myself. Sorry man, you don’t have to worry about it,” he trailed off and gave Yu a soft, apologetic smile. Yu had the suspicion that it was more than just avenging Saki’s death, but decided not to pry further until they were out of this predicament.
The boys soon started towards Junes, where they surprisingly came to find that no Shadows inhabited the area surrounding it at all. It was a bit strange, but they were grateful nonetheless. There were two options if Shadows were present in the area before, and those were A. The rest of the Investigation Team came through and wiped them out, or B. There was an extremely high level enemy that even other Shadows tended to avoid. A third option was less likely, but there was also C. All Shadows occupying this floor were in the herd chasing the other party members. Yu would rather avoid confrontation and keep his friends safe, so he hoped the answer was A.
The automatic glass doors to the entrance of Junes were shattered, leaving shards of broken glass scattered throughout the lobby as Yu and Yosuke approached. The pieces crunched underfoot as they stepped in further to observe their surroundings.
The Junes that Yu saw now was vastly different from the one he remembered. It was half destroyed, with several areas of the store in complete disrepair. The produce section was full of mold and overgrown plants, the department store section had items strewn all over the floor, and even the areas restricted to employees only looked as if a wild animal had come in and torn them all to shreds. However, no matter how hard they looked around, the boys couldn’t find a Shadow anywhere.
The only thing of note was that the massive flat-screen the Investigation Team used to enter the TV world remained untouched. It didn’t work as a portal like the real one, with this one only being used as a non-functioning display, but the message was clear. Whoever, or whatever, was responsible for damaging the rest of the store didn’t want to destroy it.
They’d walked through a large portion of Junes before approaching the food court. If the Investigation Team was to be anywhere in Junes, it would be there. Dread hung heavy in the air, and they finally entered the open floor of the food court.
The dread lifted a little bit when he saw a figure in the near distance sitting on a table, their back facing towards him and Yosuke, swinging their legs off the edge. Junes had a darker atmosphere so it was hard to identify anything else immediately, but that was definitely the shape of a person.
But... if that was a person, then why were they alone? The IT always used the buddy-system when in the TV world, and that definitely wasn’t Adachi.
Oh shit.
That wasn’t a person, was it?
Yu’s heart dropped when the figure became aware of their presence. It halted its leg movements and sat back, ultimately laying down towards the opposite end of the table. Its head hung off the ledge upside-down, and gave the two a wide grin. Unkempt fawn-colored hair fell around its face as it stared with bright, golden eyes.
“Man, I was wondering when you guys would show up! It’s about time, there’s nothing to do around this shit-hole. Guess it’s not so different from reality then, huh?” Yosuke’s Shadow smirked. Its voice was still a discomforting, twisted version of the real one’s. The actual Yosuke’s face drained of all color, eyes wide and slack-jawed.
“Y-You… You shouldn’t be here... Why- Why the hell are you here?!” Yosuke sputtered incredulously. “We already took care of this back in April!”
His Shadow rolled over onto his stomach and got up, sitting down with its legs once again dangling off the end of the table.
“Oh but those were April’s problems, weren’t they? It seems poor baby Yosuke has been hiding more since then,” it pouted mockingly, fiddling with its headphones wire between its fingers just like Yosuke would. “Stop playing dumb, you can’t fool your own Shadow, dipshit.”
“Hold on,” Yu commanded, gaining both’s attention. “Just what-”
“Aww, look! He’s ordering us around again, what a good leader,” Yosuke’s Shadow interrupted. “To be fair, he is the leader, so that’s literally his job. It wouldn’t be so tough on your fragile little ego if you didn’t go around following him like an obedient little puppy just to please him. Seriously, it’s so annoyingly obvious just how much you-”
“Shut up!” Yosuke shouted. “You- That’s not true!”
This was going downhill fast. Yosuke was already denying his Shadow. He didn’t say it outright, but the underlying “you’re not me” was present in his desperate tone.
“Yosuke, look at me,” Yu snapped, stepping between him and his Shadow.
His voice came out a little more harshly than he’d intended, causing his friend to flinch back, but it got his attention at the very least. The way Yu’s back straightened up in authority had him standing tall, making Yosuke feel even smaller than he already was. In that moment where Yosuke snapped his focus towards him, he could see the intimidation and panic run through the other boy’s fearful expression. Yu instantly softened upon realizing his mistake, continuing with a more nurturing tone of voice.
“Please just listen to me. I really care about you, so much . I don’t think you even understand just how much. I thought I told you already, but I’ll say it again, you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me anything. I have to reiterate, you’re my best friend. You shouldn’t have to feel like you need to bottle up your feelings like this. If you’re not comfortable talking with me specifically, then that’s okay, and I’m sorry for not being of more help.”
Yosuke stared, dumbfounded.
“Dude, are you kidding? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Life would’ve been so shitty if you hadn’t come around for the school year.”
“HAH!” The Shadow barked out a laugh. “Now that’s the understatement of the century!”
While Yu should’ve kept the Shadow in sight at all times, he wanted to keep an eye on Yosuke and block it from view so he wouldn’t get provoked. Their Shadows usually weren’t violent unless aggravated, anyways. It was a good call, because he could see Yosuke becoming increasingly more distressed.
“Actually, now that I think about it,” the Shadow continued, “you’re pretty similar to how Yukiko was. Just waiting for a Prince Charming to come around and save the day… Luckily for you, it looks like one showed up! I think that’s the first time your luck has ever brought you any good!”
“That’s- That’s true, yes, I do rely on him a lot,” Yosuke admits. “But I’m not wholly dependent on him.”
“Aren’t you, though? That sound of cracking as your heart breaks bit by bit when he says he’s already made plans with Rise, or Naoto, or Chie, or Ai . You cling to the title of ‘partner’ so you can feel special to him, even with all the people he’s just as close with. That’s pretty pathetic if you ask me, and not to mention, selfish. Hell, he’d even hang out with the shrine fox over you.”
Yu turned around at this point and glared at the Shadow.
“That’s not true. That’s not true and you know it,” he spat out.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, that’s just what he believes deep down,” his Shadow shrugged. “You can’t deny how much of a leech he is. Grabbing onto whatever positive attention he can get and holding onto it until it kills them. Just look at what happened to Saki-senpai.”
“Saki’s death had nothing to do with Yosuke.”
“Maybe it would’ve if left to fester. She was miserable . Can you imagine how difficult that must’ve been for her? To pretend to be nice to someone you despise? To deal with his annoying, oblivious antics while working for the corporation that’s ruining your family? Him being the son of the manager of said store that's ruining your family? To have to deal with him clinging to you all the time just because you were being polite? To damage your reputation like that by speaking with the infamous Prince of Junes?” it questioned. Yu remained silent and steadily held his ground, but then it pointedly started speaking to Yosuke instead. “She was the only one who didn’t insult you every damn day, try to trip you in the halls, or blatantly gossip and stare because your family ruined their fucking lives. Turns out, she hated you all the same, just like the rest of this town. What would you have done if Yu hadn’t come to Inaba?”
Yosuke gulped, his mouth suddenly feeling much too dry.
“That doesn’t matter, he’s here now, so I don’t have to worry about it.”
“So you admit it then, you do depend on him. That’s a lot of responsibility for only one person, talk about pressure for a mere teenage boy to be handling, even with all of his other responsibilities!” Yosuke’s Shadow smiled. “But Yu’s always been special, hasn’t he?”
“Stop it,” Yosuke pleaded frantically.
“‘Maybe if I work harder I can be good enough’ or ‘Someday he can be proud of me and we can be equals’ . Equals? Hah! You’ve gotta be kidding, you know he’s way more than you’ll ever be. You know you aren’t worth his time. And what’s the best part?”
“Can’t we do this another time?! Please, just until we catch Adachi, then this’ll all be over!”
“Oh? But you don’t want it to be over, and frankly, I’m tired of waiting. You want the case to remain open as long as possible, that way you have a purpose. We all know that after this whole mess is over, the Investigation Team will’ve solved their primary goal, so there won’t be a need for it to exist anymore. No need for you. Then even your precious partner will go home in a few months, and everything will go back to how it was.”
Yosuke felt his chest tighten up, overwhelmed with the need to flee, but stayed rooted in place by the suffocating dread. Yu grabbed his shoulder reassuringly and gave a gentle squeeze. He so badly wanted to help more, but overcoming one’s Shadow is something you ultimately face alone.
“Y’know, you used to think you were in love with Saki-senpai. That gave you an excuse to mourn her and return to this world to play hero. Those tears at the riverbank that one time? They weren’t only for her, but for yourself. You were suddenly thrust into feelings of what is actually love, and it scared you beyond belief. You could never hope for it to be requited either, since the person you came to realize you loved had their pick of the finest people to choose from. They’re desired by everybody, so who in their right mind would willingly choose Yosuke, the prince of disappointment, to be with? And your friendship is already so strong, you could never risk losing it to something so insignificant.”
“I know! I know, I’m sorry, just please stop!” Yosuke begged.
“Unless you fully admit it yourself, I’ll keep going until everything is taken care of. Speaking of which, have you apologized to Kanji yet? Talk about a dick move by projecting yourself onto him and being an asshole about it.”
Yu was following up until that point. He understood Yosuke’s inferiority complex, although he didn’t know it had gotten so bad. It wasn’t his business to know who exactly Yosuke had feelings for, but he understood that too. But Yosuke projecting onto Kanji? He hadn’t teased him about being into more stereotypically feminine hobbies, he admired his strength, so the only thing left that he got pushy about was…
Oh.
Oh, dear God.
It all made sense.
“The truth, the real truth is,” Yosuke’s Shadow started, “you’re in love with a boy.”
Yosuke couldn’t feel his legs. In fact, his entire body didn’t even feel like his own anymore. Why couldn’t he move? Why couldn’t he talk? His world was breaking, wasn’t it?
“Boys aren’t supposed to like boys. You like girls, don’t you? Or is this another screw up by whatever entity had the misfortune of making you?” it asked sarcastically.
“No,” Yosuke whimpered. “Not- That’s not true.”
“Oh how badly you wished that was the case,” exclaimed the Shadow wistfully. “But alas, no matter how hard you tried to convince yourself otherwise, it is indeed still the horrifying truth. You tried hitting on girls all the time, wishing to feel a spark of whatever you felt for him. You kept getting the girls in bathing suits, tried peeking at them in the Amagi Inn hot springs, and entered them into the festival’s pageant at Teddie’s request. All that accomplished was making you look like a fucking pervert, but hey, at least nobody suspected you of being anything other than totally straight.”
Yosuke finally collapsed to the ground, and Yu instinctively leaned down to steady him. Yosuke didn’t even glance in his direction, not even when Yu grabbed his forearm. In fact, he didn’t respond at all. He just continued staring forward in horror, his face drained of all color.
“Now, I’ll be merciful and give you a chance right now. You can either tell him yourself, or I’ll tell him for you.”
The Shadow posed it like a choice, but they both knew that Yosuke had no such thing in the matter. He wasn’t in a state where he could do much of anything, least of all be forced into a confession.
“You’re sick,” Yu hissed at the creature.
“Ouch! Now that hurts! You do know that I’m still Yosuke, right?” it feigned hurt.
“You’re not Yosuke. You’re the culmination of what everyone else has ever said or done to Yosuke to bring him hurt, and that’s abysmal,” he practically snarled.
“Despite seeing the worst of the worst, you’re still so confident in him. Where’s your basis for that argument? Let him finally take responsibility for once, stop pushing the blame onto everyone else.”
Yosuke started crying at that point. Yu didn’t notice at first until he felt a faint tremble where he was protectively holding onto his arm. Tears were running down his face, mixing with the bits of dirt and blood from his earlier fall. Yu had only seen him cry once, maybe twice. First when they were on the Samegawa riverbank, then when Nanako temporarily died.
Then the Shadow started speaking again.
“Yu, you’re always so kind, it’s almost sickening to see how perfect you are. Everyone in Inaba adores you. I can’t fathom why you would choose him of all people to be close friends with, especially with how much he hides from you. Then again, that’s just the kind of person you are, hmm?” it looked expectantly at Yosuke, as if waiting for him to contribute something. When he didn’t respond, it took on a malicious grin.
“I guess that’s one of the many, many reasons why I’m,” it gestured towards Yosuke, “why he is in love with you.”
Yosuke’s world fell apart. He felt faint. No, no, no, no, he wasn’t supposed to find out like this. Actually, he wasn’t ever supposed to find out. Holy shit he’s going to be so pissed.
Yosuke somehow got even more pale. Yu felt him tense up, then he suddenly bolted. He tugged away from Yu’s grip too quickly for him to react, and ran across the food court as fast as humanly possible. Footsteps faded as he rounded the corner, the Shadow watching in amusement all the while.
“Hot damn, I should’ve brought popcorn! This is just like one of those cheesy Korean dramas!” it laughed. “Now, you’ve gotta dramatically run after him - go on!”
If looks could kill, Yosuke’s shadow would be absolutely obliterated into a small puddle of sludge staining the floor. Its laughter died down to giggles, and it motioned towards one of the hallways further down.
“Bathroom, he’s in the men’s bathroom,” it said. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll just be waiting out here. Go help him.”
Yu gave it one last solid look, and approached the corridor. He found the restrooms in the same state of destruction as the rest of the store. They obviously hadn’t been used, but were mangled nonetheless.
Quickly stepping into the men’s room, Yu heard hardly contained sobbing, panting, and gagging. Looking under the stalls, he saw Yosuke’s legs in the furthest one. The door was cracked since Yosuke had obviously been in a hurry, and Yu pushed the rest of it open. There he saw Yosuke, still bent over the toilet and retching after practically heaving his guts out.
“Yosuke, you okay?” He asked cautiously. Obviously the boy wasn’t okay, but it never hurt to ask.
“Y-Ye-” Yosuke hiccuped and started dry heaving again.
Turns out, sometimes it did hurt to ask. He started to cry even more, and Yu was concerned that he was going to pass out with how sickly he looked. He crouched down alongside Yosuke and removed his glasses so they wouldn’t fall off his face and into the toilet. While he was at it, he delicately tucked stray pieces of tousled hair that had fallen into his face behind his ears.
“Shh, it’s okay, just breathe,” Yu soothed as he started to gently rub small circles on Yosuke’s back. This repeated for a few minutes until he was no longer gasping for breath and stopped throwing up. The sheer panic slowly faded as despair settled in.
“I-I’m so s-sorry, this i-is so stup-stupid,” he broke down crying again, hastily rubbing his face. This time, Yu pulled him into a tight hug.
“It’s not stupid. It’s not stupid when it comes to how you’re feeling. You’re so much more than what you think you are, and it’s our fault for taking you as a joke. I should’ve recognized that. I guess that proves that not even I’m perfect.”
Yosuke just sniffled some more and leaned into the embrace.
“And don’t worry about being perfect yourself. You’re allowed to get help when you need it, nobody said you had to live through life alone. Don’t be afraid to rely on the ones who love you until you’re ready to try again. Don’t be afraid to rely on me .”
Yu tenderly cupped Yosuke’s face in his hand and tilted it back, rubbing his thumb over stray tears and soft skin. His amber eyes were still glistening, but widened at the implication.
“I love you, Yosuke.”
Stunned silence.
“And not just as a friend. You’re my partner, and you always will be, but I want to be more than what we already have,” he admitted.
“Y-You’re kidding… please… please tell me you aren’t messing with me,” Yosuke begged.
So Yu told him, just not with words. He slowly inched their faces closer together until they could feel each other's breath, and leaned down the rest of the way, sealing their lips together. Yosuke’s breath hitched.
He tasted of salty tears and smelled like orange citrus. It was absolutely blissful, and over almost too quickly. He was crying again by the time they separated, which mildly concerned Yu.
“S-Sorry,” he wiped his eyes. “‘S not bad, I just- wow, this is...”
”I know,” Yu sympathized, stroking his hair.
“This’ll be a story, confessing our love in the Junes bathroom stall. Romance at its finest,” Yosuke joked with a small, hoarse laugh. Yu smiled and pulled him in for another hug.
“Doesn’t that make it more genuine?” he pondered.
“I guess, it’s just not how I imagined it. Actually, I never imagined this happening at all. Without Susano-O turning into a total dickwad and exposing everything, I might’ve never told you,” Yosuke admitted sheepishly, tightening his arms around Yu.
“Do you think you’re ready to go settle things with him?”
“I… Yeah. You’re coming with, right?”
“Always.”
Yu stood up and extended a hand. Yosuke took it, and didn’t let go even when he safely stood up. They walked hand in hand out of the bathroom and back towards the food court where Susano-O was waiting, just like he said he would. Yosuke’s trembling started up again, but the hand-in-hand connection gave him the confidence to approach the creature again. It took one glance at the interlocked hands and started to fizzle away into fine sparkles.
“He’s back,” Yosuke confirmed. “That’s... weird, I didn’t have to accept him.”
“I think you already did, and that was the problem. You needed to reject what he was saying and gain confidence in yourself,” Yu theorized, squeezing his hand. “I just hope the Shadows don’t return now that he’s gone.”
“I don’t think they will. It’s hard to explain, but I feel some sorta connection to this place. I think…” Yosuke hesitated. “I think this was the start of what was supposed to be my dungeon... Susano-O destroyed the store himself because of my hatred for what Junes has done to me. It’s embarrassing and petty, but no other Shadows were involved, and I’m not sure that they can travel through dungeons like we can.”
“Alright. I trust you. You ready to find a way out of here?”
“You know it, partner,” Yosuke smiled.
——
“Senpaiiiii! I was so worried, don’t ever do that again!” Rise’s shrill voice rang out as she tackled him into a hug. They had returned to the entrance of the TV world by some miracle, fighting a couple of Shadows until one dropped a Goho-M. Yu had a couple of new scrapes and bruises to match Yosuke’s, but was otherwise unharmed.
“I don’t plan on it,” Yu responded. “How are you guys?”
“We’re all fine, although I must say we were certainly concerned for you and Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto said. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Kanji and Yukiko nodded their approval while Teddie took a running start and tackled Yosuke just like Rise did to Yu. He yelped in surprise but managed to keep his balance.
“Safe?” Chie questioned. “Oh I don’t think they’re safe quite yet, you’re lucky I’m exhausted right now otherwise I’d kick you both into the stratosphere! Teddie, squeeze Yosuke until he pops!”
“Aye aye, captain!” Teddie enthusiastically replied. Yosuke almost toppled over trying to escape while Teddie started hugging him to a suffocating extent.
Yosuke squeaked, he squeaked , and did his best to double tap the bear until he stopped hugging so hard.
“Alright Teddie, that’s enough,” Yu reached for the bear and started to peel him off of Yosuke.
“But sensei! I missed him so much, and I missed you too!” he whined.
“Yeah, I got that,” Yosuke wheezed.
“Let’s go back for the day. We’re all tired and hungry, and that was too close of a call,” Naoto suggested.
“I agree, how about we go to Aiya’s?” Yukiko offered. “I have a coupon, and I’ve yet to use it on anything.”
“Oh that sounds good, yeah! Let’s go!” Chie exclaimed, jumping through the portal. Kanji immediately followed her.
“Hey, Chie-senpai! Wait up!” he shouted.
Everyone else quickly exited in pursuit of food until just Yu and Yosuke were left in front of the TV displays. The brunette hesitated.
“Hey,” Yosuke nervously started. “I, um, I realize I forgot to say it earlier... but, for the record, I... I love you too. I’m sorry it took so long.”
How long it took to realize that he was in love with Yu, how long he was lying to himself, how long his Shadow had power over him, how long it took to come to terms with it, how long it took to say those simple words out loud.
Yu understood. He always did, when it really mattered. He probably knew Yosuke better than Yosuke knew himself. That being said, he wasn’t perfect at everything, nobody was, and that was okay. Perfection didn’t need to be the standard, Yosuke loved him nonetheless.
All he gave him was an understanding smile and ruffled his already-tousled hair before outstretching his hand. Rough and firm from fighting, cooking, and dozens of other activities, yet still capable of delicate intimacy. Yosuke’s poorly thought out comment he blurted in the Junes food court was right; Yu was undeniably good with his hands, and he loved them. Granted, he loved everything about Yu, from his stupid haircut that somehow managed to look good on him to the way he stopped to feed the stray cats, but whatever. He’s allowed to gush.
Yosuke lightly blushed, intertwining their hands, solidifying their connection, before stepping through.