Chapter Text
Souji was missing.
They’d all come out of the TV as normal the night before; Yosuke had been preoccupied, also as usual, with making sure that nobody was around (and dealing with Teddie), so he didn’t have a chance to really look around and take stock of his team until a few minutes after they’d all climbed out. It was no big deal, anyway; Souji always waited, usually taking the time to talk with Rise and Naoto, discuss anything they might have learned, or strategies for next time. Once they were done, he and Yosuke (and sometimes Teddie) would walk home together. It was tradition.
Only, this time, Souji wasn’t there. Fighting down an immediate wave of disappointment - come on, Hanamura, it’s not like you guys always go home together, sometimes things come up, he’s not required to wait for you every place he goes - he frowned, flipping open his phone to see if he had any messages. After all… Souji always waited for him. There was no reason he wouldn’t, right? So if he left without saying anything… maybe he was hurt? Or maybe he wasn’t feeling well.
A second wave of disappointment - this one a hot, sick feeling in his stomach - came when the brunette saw no new messages. It didn’t look like he’d been active in group chat, either, so… whatever it was, he wasn’t just ignoring Yosuke, unless he was ignoring his phone in general. Trying to keep his emotions somewhat level, the brunette slipped his phone back into his pocket, looking around; it seemed that Ted had already decided to go home - probably with Kanji or Rise - and Yosuke was left to himself. Which would have been okay, if he’d been with Souji.
At least he didn’t have to explain to anyone why he was feeling so antsy, now.
Waiting until he got home, Yosuke flipped his phone back open - still no messages - and typed out a quick text to his partner.
u left quick, u ok?
Playing the “let’s not look at our phone until we actually do something productive and maybe we’ll be rewarded” game, Yosuke busied himself with his shower, then putting his laundry away… and then, eventually - having had no luck with new messages - his homework, which showed exactly how desperate he was to distract himself. He didn’t really get anywhere with his homework, but hey, it was the thought that counted, right?
Finally, looking up at the clock, he realised that it was getting a lot later than he really needed to be up, and there was probably no way that Souji would be awake by this time, and come to think of it - well, maybe that’s why he hadn’t heard anything. If Souji was feeling bad enough to leave without talking to Yosuke, and he hadn’t gotten any of Yosuke’s messages (there was no check mark, at least), then maybe he’d gone home and gone straight to bed.
Yeah, that must be it. Feeling better, Yosuke brushed his teeth, flipped his phone open one last time, and debated with himself before finally sending another text.
headin 2 bed prtnr, feel better ok
He woke the next morning feeling better, and it lasted until he reached for his phone, rubbing his eyes. The light was blinking, so he flipped it open with a brighter heart, ready to tease his partner about sleeping in, only to be greeted by two spam emails, one games advertisement from a store back in the city, and a text from Chie about some kung-fu movie playing in Okina, which he wasn’t interested in.
There was nothing from Souji.
What was even worse was that when he went to go call his friend, he couldn’t find the phone number! With a sick, panicky feeling, he swore - of course his crappy old phone would pick now, of all times, to bug out. Shutting it down, hoping that restarting it would cause whatever was bugging out to be fixed, he hurried into his weekend clothes - it was Sunday - and jacket, since it was getting chilly and looked like rain.
I’ll go to his place. We meet up every weekend anyway, and if he’s feeling as sick as he must be, maybe I can help Nanako make soup or something. Maybe he won’t really care if I’m there or not, but i’ll make me feel better.
At least he knew, in his heart of hearts, that Souji wasn’t ignoring him. His anxiety might want to suggest it, but Yosuke trusted Souji. Souji was calm and quiet, and he never let his emotions get the better of him - not that the brunette thought he was mad, nothing had happened in the TV the night before to make anybody upset. In fact, it had been a good run, really good, with lots of badass moment where he got to fight things with his partner, side-by-side, and-
-ahem-
The point was, even if Souji had been somehow angry, he wouldn’t have let it affect his relationship, which meant that if he wasn’t talking to Yosuke, there was another reason beyond “he’s ignoring me.” This wasn’t necessarily good - it most likely meant he was sick, or something had happened - but if something was wrong, they could face it together. That was what mattered most to the brunette.
Hurrying down the street, he found his stomach twisting a bit as he turned down the side street with the Dojima house. The detective’s car was in the driveway, and the laundry was out, probably to get it dry before the rain set in; there was something off about it, but Yosuke couldn’t put his finger onto what, and he was too worried about Souji, anyway. Going to the door, he knocked; jamming his fists into his pockets, he had just enough time to hunch his shoulders and move back before he heard footsteps, and the door opening to reveal Dojima, whose gruff face shifted into a confused expression when he saw the brunette.
“Hanamura? What are you doing here? Is this something to do with the mess you and your friends have been up to, messing around in Junes? Have you guys finally gotten into something over your head?”
Yosuke blinked; sure, Dojima was always a little irritable towards him - probably because he thought of Yosuke as a troublemaker after the time that he and Souji had almost got arrested because the brunette had brought some fake weapons into Junes - but he’d never been this hostile. A sinking thought hit him. Is he upset because something’s wrong with Souji?
“N-no, sir, sorry, it’s just that Souji left early when we were hanging out yesterday, and I was worried he was sick, I haven’t heard from him today, so-”
“Who?” The detective cut Yosuke off - it was clear that he was waiting for something - but his response made no sense. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, Hanamura. Just because I’m a detective doesn’t mean I know every damn kid in Inaba.”
Yosuke was so confused by this response that his brain was having trouble processing the detective’s words; as he cast about for some response - surely this is a joke, right? - Nanako came hurrying around the corner…
...and stopped, looking nervous, as she did whenever she saw a stranger, as she saw him.
“I’m ready to go to Junes, dad,” she said, quietly, her eyes darting between Yosuke and her father.
“Junes?” Although Nanako wanting to go to Junes didn’t startle Yosuke, it was still unusual to see Dojima home in the middle of the day, and the two of them going together. Especially since that was usually… “Can’t Souji take her?”
As Dojima held his coat out for his daughter, he frowned again at Yosuke. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Hanamura, but if you’re going to keep insisting that I know someone that I’m telling you I don’t, then I’m going to have to take you to the hospital to see a doctor. You’re not on some kind of drugs, are you? Go home. I need to take my daughter shopping - it’s not like I can let her wander around alone with the crap that’s been going on in town.”
Feeling panic set in, Yosuke stepped away from the door as Dojima and Nanako - who gave him another shy, curious look - locked up and got into the detective’s car; the whole situation was so bewildering that he wasn’t even sure how to respond. The protest that Souji’s your nephew! died in his throat; he knew Dojima’s ‘serious face’, and it was showing right now. He’d haul Yosuke off in a heartbeat if the brunette kept pushing him.
What’s going on?
As the car drove away, Dojima stuck his head out of the window, yelling for Yosuke to go home and go to sleep; the brunette sank down onto the front step, feeling dazed. Dropping his head into his hands, he tried to make sense of what was happening.
Souji left. I haven’t gotten any texts from him.
His number isn’t in my phone.
His uncle says he doesn’t know who Souji is.
Nanako doesn’t recognise me.
People often joke that they’re going crazy, but Yosuke honestly felt like he really was. What’s going on? Is this some big joke? Dojima would never join in on something like that! Souji would never go along with it, either.
The most ‘obvious’ answer was that he’d somehow imagined Souji, but he dismissed that without even dwelling on it, although a small fragment in his mind wondered if such a rapid dismissal was because he was so scared of the idea.
Hell no. Souji’s my best friend. My partner. I still remember what his hand felt like when he helped me up off the floor after dealing with my shadow. If there’s anybody in my life that’s real, it’s Souji. Hell, I believe in him more than I believe in myself. But where is he? What happened?
Feeling sick and confused, Yosuke was just reaching into his pocket to take out his phone when he heard a rustling noise, which sounded like it had come from underneath the house. Freezing for a moment - sure, it was getting cold, but it was still warm enough for snakes and rats - he held his breath until he saw a small, grey head with stripes and whiskers pop out next to the step he was seated on. The kitten looked up, and as soon as it saw Yosuke, it mewed frantically, scrambling out from under the house, up onto the steps, and into his lap, where it sat there, shivering.
Yosuke liked cats well enough, although nobody liked cats as much as Souji did, and he could tell that this kitten was not happy, although it seemed like it was well-fed and unhurt. Cupping one arm around it - the shivering was most likely because it was cold - he murmured quietly, trying to calm it down. Finding cats at the Dojima residence wasn’t exactly surprising, but with what was going on right now, he wasn’t sure whether or not this was a coincidence or a clue.
“You missing your buddy? Man, he probably feeds you every day… you’re a kitten, though. Shit. Can’t be more than a couple of months old…” The brunette sighed, and when he did, the kitten started to kick his hand. That at least elicited a small smile, although he still felt so lost that he didn’t even know what to think. Souji should be here, and the fact that Yosuke didn’t even know where to find him… well, his anxiety was so strong that he was choking on it.
Thoughts whirled around in his brain so fast that he couldn’t really focus on any of them; staring down, he continued to pet the kitten, who was kneading his thigh with two paws. Before it could settle in too comfortably, however, the brunette sighed. When Dojima means business, he means business. They might not be home soon, but they might, and I don’t want to be here when they come back. Reluctantly standing, he winced at the kitten’s mewls of dismay as it jumped off his lap.
“Sorry, lil buddy, I can’t stick around. You should go back to mom, or wherever. It’s just gonna get wetter and colder. I sure hope for your sake as well as mine that Souji comes back soon.” Not even letting himself consider the alternative, he dusted off his pants, shoved his hands into his pockets, and started back down the street, heading - without even thinking about it - towards the floodplain.
About halfway there, the rain that had been threatening all weekend finally broke, and the brunette pulled his hood up over his head with an unhappy grumble. The sound of the drops hitting the pavement was rhythmic and steady, but as he turned onto the paved path that ran alongside the Samegawa, he became aware of another rhythmic noise that was neither the rain, nor his footsteps. It was too light to be another person, it didn’t sound like a bike wheel (he’d know), and-
Turning, his heart sank and he was immediately consumed by guilt. The kitten he’d left behind at the Dojimas’ was trotting along behind him, fur bedraggled and wet, its small tail sticking straight up into the air. As soon as it realised it had Yosuke’s attention it chirped, picking up speed as it ran for him; crouching down, he put his hands down and the kitten ran straight into them.
He almost melted.
He wondered if this was how Souji felt whenever he went ‘cat-crazy’; the brunette often teased him about it, but he couldn’t deny that his partner loved cats, and cats loved him back. They didn’t seem to mind Yosuke, but they were usually focused on Souji. This was really the first time any of them had ever tried to get the brunette’s attention, instead.
He kind of loved it.
Picking it up, he couldn’t miss its purring - so hard that it almost seemed frantic - and as he cradled it in one arm (using the other arm as a sort of cover since he didn’t have an umbrella), it pushed its head into the crook of his arm and he melted again. Looking around, he saw that the small, raised shelter was nearby; jogging over to it, he noted with relief that the table and chairs were dry, so he took a seat and carefully maneuvered the kitten into his lap.
“You’re seriously soaked,” he grumbled, digging through his pockets to see if he had anything he could use as a towel. Fishing a wadded up (but clean, since he’d just shoved it into his pocket to make room) napkin out of his hoodie pocket, he stopped for a moment, staring at the creased Junes pattern on the surface.
Souji and I grabbed taiyaki last week, and I didn’t want to carry it and my soda and the napkin, so I shoved the napkin in my pocket. I had chocolate and lemon tea, Souji got red bean and melon soda.
Thinking about Souji made all of his confusion and doubt come rushing back, and his stomach sank. Feeling alone and helpless, his hands dropped to his knees, but before his emotions could overwhelm him, he felt a wet paw pat his cheek. Blinking, he looked down; the kitten was looking up at him with wide eyes - a pale blue-grey - and as he moved, his bangs shifted and the kitten reached up again. It seemed to be batting at his hair, and he had to laugh.
“Sorry, buddy. Let’s both dry off.”
It was at least well-behaved, so while the kitten settled further into his lap (it had decided that right now its goal in life was to give Yosuke’s hand and wrist a bath while his new friend dried off his fur) the brunette finished cleaning them both up as best he could, using his fingers to wring some of the water out of his own hair. This had the benefit of calming him down a little, giving him a chance to think logically about the situation; he didn’t need to face this alone, he had the others. Surely somebody would be able to figure this out. He pulled his phone out of his pocket; one of his hands was occupied, but it wasn’t like he didn’t text one-handed at work all the time. Typing frantically (as if he cared about spelling anyway) he sent a message to the group.
cant find souji
shit is weird
dojimas acting like he dunno who souji is
The kitten had just done a three-point-turnaround in his lap and settled down into a small loaf when his phone screen lit up; checking the group message, his stomach dropped.
Chie: who
Rise: What r u talking about senpai?
Kanji: why ru at the cops house omg dont get us in trouble
Naoto: Yosuke-senpai, who are you talking about? Has something happened that we should talk about? Is there another victim?
Teddie: SENSEI WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME HOME
Staring at the words, Yosuke almost couldn’t process them. Not just Dojima, but now his friends were saying they didn’t know Souji? What the hell was going on? “Why was he at Dojima’s house?” They’d all been there not the Wednesday before to eat hot pot and help Nanako with homework. Why is Teddie calling me Sensei? That’s Souji’s title!
He tried to force his stomach to stop roiling as he gathered his thoughts, shifting the kitten (who immediately protested) so that he could free both hands. They were shaking so badly that it took him several attempts to respond to the group; it was hard to pick out the right words, especially after his run-in with Dojima, but he finally settled on the truth.
idk whats up u guys but this is weird
souji is our leader n best friend
if this is a joke its not funny
ill admit it now im freaking out ok can we stop
There were a few moments when everybody tried to type at once - he could see the little messages at the bottom of the chat - but Naoto was finally the first one to respond (a fact for which he was grateful, since she was the most logic-based member of the team, and most-likely to not be joking, but also be willing to talk things out).
It’s not a joke, Yosuke-senpai.
We don’t know anyone named Souji.
However, as you are our leader and this isn’t the kind of prank you’d pull,
I can only assume that something strange is going on.
Shall we meet at Junes to talk about this?
Yosuke was having to try really hard to keep from hyperventilating as he read Naoto’s messages. The fact that this was not a prank, and for some reason none of his friends remembered Souji, was becoming clearer the more people he talked to.
Being called “leader” felt wrong.
Normally he’d agree to meet at Junes, but as he shifted again the small bundle of fur that was vibrating in his lap stretched and yawned - now that it was dry he could see that it was a silver tabby, with the aforementioned pale eyes - and he shook his head.
cant do Junes rn long story
im by the river by the tables
rains stoppin see u all here?
Thirty minutes later they were all seated around the table - although the empty spot at Yosuke’s side where Souji would normally have been sent a pang through the brunette’s heart. Seeing everyone surrounding him, watching him with the kind of attention they would normally have given Souji was unnerving; while others might have expected him to want that kind of attention, he never had. He’d always been happy being the ideas guy, not the one who gave orders.
Except, now he had to lead. Or at least, until they figured out what was going on.
Clearing his throat, he shared what he knew, from losing track of Souji the night before, to this morning and his run-in with Dojima; when he got to the end, everyone was looking at one another, and then Naoto looked back.
“It’s a solid story, Yosuke-senpai. And I don’t know about the others, but I believe you - or, at least, I believe that this story is true to you. I don’t know why it’s not true to me, too, but it isn’t. I have no recollections of ever meeting this “Souji Seta”, nor do I have any evidence that I ever knew him.” She holds up her phone, which had everyone’s number in the IT, but no Souji; the sight made Yosuke feel sick, and it was worse when the murmurs and nods around the table were all in agreement with the detective.
At least she was listening to him. When he looked down, blinking hard as he tried not to feel overwhelmed by hopelessness, she tucked her phone back into her pocket. “We’ve all seen strange things. So I think it’s fair to say that this could be one of those strange things. Maybe something has happened to remove all of our memories of this person.”
“But why?” Yukiko, sitting across from Yosuke, frowned. “What would that do? Is it because we’re trying to solve the mystery?”
“That’s crazy, though. I know we’ve been dealing with some weird stuff, like shadows and things, but this is straight up somebody messing with our minds. What would that even do? Is this Souji guy so important that they needed to just make it seem like he never existed? How can anything do that? Ugh! The idea that somebody’s been screwing up my memories pisses me off!”
Biting back the protestation that of course Souji was important, Yosuke had to admit that Chie was right. This was a pretty heavy situation, with a lot of implications. But at least - at least they’d decided that it was a situation, and not that Yosuke was just going insane, or already there.
The kitten in his lap took that opportunity to make itself known; they’d all been so focused on getting the story started that none of them had seen it yet, curled up as it was under the corner of the brunette’s jacket. As it stretched, squeaking, and stood up, Rise - who was sitting next to Yosuke - squealed.
“Ohmigosh it’s a kitten it’s so cute!”
Everyone immediately crowded around; for a moment Yosuke was tempted to wave them off - he didn’t want the kitten to get overwhelmed or for them to chase it away - but when he saw how relaxed it still seemed to be, he shrugged. As the group talked back and forth, Kanji slid into the empty spot next to Yosuke.
“It’s- it’s, uh, really cute, senpai.”
“Yeah, it kinda is.” Yosuke looked down, smiling a little; he couldn’t not smile, not with the stretching routine it was currently doing, eyes half-slitted as it purred and kneaded. Reaching down, he ran his palm over its head, eliciting an even louder purr; Kanji almost short-circuited at this.
“Can I-”
“Go ahead.” Yosuke knew what his friend was going to ask even before he did, and he watched with amusement as Kanji reached down to gently pet the kitten, too. When he did, it ‘prrrrp’d’, stretching and rolling over; Kanji almost had a heart attack, and Yosuke had to admit it was pretty damn cute.
“Wanna hold it?” It wasn’t like the kitten belonged to Yosuke. Kanji’s face lit up, and as he reached down, Yosuke slid his hands under the kitten to lift it up. The kitten started, looking a bit startled, and Yosuke found himself thinking that maybe he really didn’t want somebody else picking it up, but as soon as Kanji’s hands closed (gently) around the small ball of fur, it hissed, digging its claws (painfully) into Yosuke’s sleeve. The brunette yelped, dumping it back into his lap unceremoniously; rubbing his wrist, he looked down at the kitten sitting in his lap, looking for all the world like it was sulking as it knuckled back down into his lap.
“The hell was that?” he grumbled. It looked up, and for a moment, the two stared at one another; the kitten seemed to be over whatever issue it had been having, and when Kanji reached down to pet it again, it closed its eyes and purred, as it had before.
Rise leaned over from the other side. “It loves being petted; maybe it just doesn’t want to be picked up.” She tested this out by reaching down to pet the kitten; as expected, it purred, rubbing its head against her hand. When she curled her fingers to pick it up, however, it immediately scrunched away. “I dunno.” She giggles. “It seems to just reeeeally love you, senpai. Not that I blame it.”
She sat back down next to him, putting her arm through his, and Yosuke found himself feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Rise was a flirt, sure, but she only ever acted like this with Souji; it wasn’t that she wasn’t cute, and it wasn’t that he wanted to see her hitting on his best friend, but the fact that nobody else thought this was odd brought home the realisation that they were all living in a different reality from him - one in which Souji didn’t exist.
With a wrenching heart, he looked down at the kitten, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to hug it. When he reached down, it looked up, and then stood up; for a moment he thought it might hiss at him, too, but no - it just climbed into his hands and bumped its head against his shoulder. Next to him, Rise started to ‘awww’, but he shook his head.
“I’m- I’m sorry, guys. I’m grateful that you all came out here, and I’m glad you listened to me and that you aren’t immediately dismissing me as crazy, but… I really need to be alone right now, if you don’t mind.” He gathered the kitten in his arms - all it did was purr harder and louder when he did - but before he could move, Naoto stood up.
“Of course, senpai. Given what you told us, you must be feeling overwhelmed right now. Come on, everybody, let’s head home.”
He looked up at her, nodding gratefully; his friends all either bid him a quiet goodbye or patted his shoulder, and Teddie called out, “I’ll be waiting for you and your meowvellous new friend at home! Feel better, sensei!” as Kanji hauled him off. It was good that they left, because it was getting harder and harder for him to keep a neutral face.
Yosuke wasn’t a cryer - he never really had been. Even when Saki died, and when he talked about her again with Souji, he’d had a few tearful moments, but he’d never actually sat down and just let it out. Facing his shadow was the closest he’d gotten to actually crying, and that was more of a mixture of mortification, frustration, and terror.
Now, though… now, Yosuke couldn’t hold it in any longer. It started small, with tears in his eyes that he had to sniffle through, trying not to get the kitten any more wet than it had been; soon, however, the pain and confusion washed over him and he found himself screwing his face up as he tried to hold it back, but it didn’t work. Crossing his arms on the table, he dropped his face onto them, sobbing.
The kitten, who’d been curled up in the brunette’s lap since he’d put his hands up to his face, squirmed; he sat back immediately, worried that he’d been crushing it, but instead of jumping down, it jumped up onto the table, making another ‘prrrp’ sound. He stared at it, brows furrowed and tears streaming down his cheeks as he hiccupped back his sobs; it chirped again, rubbing along his arm, and when he leaned over it half-jumped so that it could rub along his cheek.
Could anyone keep crying at such a time? Even if he still felt absolutely miserable, a small smile flickered - for just a moment - across his lips as he scrubbed at his cheek. “Hey there,” he mumbled. “You’re getting hair stuck all over my face, you know that?” And the kitten just sat there, looking innocent, and… well, he couldn’t laugh, but he at least smiled, this time fully.
“You’re something,” he said, quietly, reaching out to pet it; closing its eyes, it rubbed against his hand, and he sighed. It was then that Teddie’s words came back to him.
I’ll be waiting for you and your meowvellous new friend at home!
It was clear by now that the kitten didn’t want to leave, and there was no collar, no charm, no name or address. He didn’t particularly want to leave it behind, either; not only was the weather bad, but… well, right now it felt like the only comfort he really had. His friends were good, but they were part of the problem, whether it was fair or not. Honestly, he was glad the conversation was over. It was clear by now that whatever was going on wasn’t going to be solved by logic, and the more they tried, the more it hurt.
Running his hand along the kitten’s side, Yosuke rolled it over onto its back - which it accepted without any issue, even going so far as to start playing with his hand, biting his fingers - and looked for tattoos, but didn’t see any to suggest it might be chipped. Not like anybody really did that outside the city, anyway. Noting that it was a boy - the brunette felt weird, constantly calling the kitten ‘it’ - he rubbed the fluffy belly in front of him once before it rolled back over, looking indignant.
Yosuke couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. “Well, what do you say? Want to come home with me?”
It was a really bad idea. He’d never had a pet - honestly, hadn’t asked for one before - but he was pretty sure that his parents would be against it. Still, he’d probably be able to get Teddie to help him hide the kitten, and…
And what? I’ll need a litter box, at least. And cat food. And toys. And cats smell like… well… cats. How was he going to hide that?
At his question, however, the kitten had started to purr again, rubbing against his arm, and with that face… well, Yosuke just couldn’t say no.
I’ll figure it out later. Right now, I’ve been thinking way too much.
He made room in his jacket, and the kitten curled up happily against his side; he was warm, and kind of tickled, and the brunette found himself almost smiling as he hurried home.
It didn’t change the fact, though, that he missed Souji.