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1. Hands
Chie originally didn't know when exactly it had begun.
Perhaps it was one particular comment of his that stuck out to her, or even some gift of his — more than likely forced by her.
But the second time his hand laid over hers to comfort her, the brief yet intense jolt gave her a perfect reminder.
2. Sleeve
Trying to unwind under the gazebo in the Samegawa area, it seemed her boyfriend had other ideas in mind. He did a long once-over on her summer outfit.
"You know you look sexy as hell whenever you go sleeveless, right?"
Instinctively wrapping her arms around herself like a blanket, the blushing woman immediately told Yosuke off brashly.
He complied with a chuckle.
3. Rescue
Officer Satonaka dived through the open window, making a clean roll of a landing. She ended up in an abandoned warehouse.
"Look who we have here, boys," one of the thugs beckoned. "The princess cop's come to rescue her prince!"
Her service pistol already pointed at one of them with practiced efficiency, she let out a low growl. "Let. Hanamura. Go."
4. Train
It was one thing to enter someplace new alone, with all the uncertainty of the new environment.
But it was another feeling entirely leaving that place, which he had become so intimately familiar with, alongside someone who used to consider it her entire world.
The train started to gradually slow down as the robotic female voice kicked in over the intercom.
"Shibuya. We are now approaching Shibuya."
5. Water
As she watched their bare feet sway with the steady stream of the Samegawa river, an odd question crossed her mind.
"How come there's no Water affinity in the TV World? Tomoe would've rocked that super well, I think."
Her dear companion (thank God he decided to indulge her by being here) laid back a bit further away, obviously in thought.
"Well, how in the hell would we explain to our parents that our clothes are dripping wet? Every single time?"
She couldn't argue with that.
6. Shopping
Neither of them necessarily held the need for clothes shopping often, unlike those like their fashion-savvy friend Rise. She often complained to the rest of her friends for not keeping up with the latest that could really "complete" their looks, whatever that meant.
But whenever they did, Yosuke always had to make sure they got appropriate hair dye. Two for the both of them, and they were all located in Okina City. It took only about ten minutes, tops, to find her color, light caramel.
It took two hours to find his color, monarch orange.
7. Street
He gave a long sigh as the teen himself strolled through the sidewalk. Just make one last turn to her residence. It shouldn't be that hard to ask her for a study session together, right?
Yosuke couldn't believe that tomboyish jerk was his friend. One of his best friends. His dumbass crush.
And she practically lived right down the street.
8. Window
The true culprit escaped into the TV out of panic. As she stared down at the window to another world, she gave a hesitant gaze to her... friend. Friend, yes.
In a far cry to his various other instances before diving through the portal, joking and lightening up with everyone to keep morale high, he continued to give a squinted glare at the large device, as if it had done something very, very wrong. She supposed as much, given that it was responsible for the murder of his former love interest.
And she wanted nothing more than to hold onto him tight; reassure him that everything would be okay in the end.
Not that Chie would ever admit it.
9. Cooking
The poor dude still gets shivers thinking about Satonaka's complete inability to cook anything even slightly edible. He'd commented more than once to Narukami how impressive it was that she could take ingredients and turn them into a total bastardization.
This all culminated when they eventually moved in together. He made sure to ban her from the entire kitchen.
He eased up when she decked him in the face after work that day when she couldn't get any water.
10. Quiz
She had been groaning loudly at the ridiculousness of the entire situation when Teddie called up for yet another question on this dumbass quiz show.
"Time for Question Six! Buzz right in if you know the answer to this tricky question, hehe!"
On which day did Yosuke and Chie finally hook up?
The both of them were too busy gaping to notice Yu buzzing in and confidently answer "September 21st, 2011."
11. Storm
This was... quite the strange sight, to say the least. The once loud, feisty, confident young woman was all but reduced to a blubbering mess at the roar of thunder.
He had to drag her by the wrist over to a selfless veranda, which was kind enough to perpetually shield them from the downpour of a storm.
Yosuke took another wary glance over to her after letting go. She all but balled up, tears threatening to escape her as she failed to calm down. He let out a deep breath.
Ruffling her hair a bit to snatch her attention, he placed his headphones to cover her ears. The song Heaven coaxed her spirit into finally relaxing.
He smiled in return.
12. Time
As much as she'd wanted to do so much more with her high school years, it didn't take long until a murder mystery sapped away her second of three years.
Her third year was nothing to speak of, thanks to nearly everyone being unavailable to talk to for most of it.
And now she was about to graduate. Time truly was unforgiving.
"U-uh. Yo... Chie? Can I, uh, talk to you for a sec?"
13. Picture
As the sun cast a slight gleam over his slightly messy room, Yosuke couldn't help but glimpse over to the now shining photograph, framed and standing on his humble desk.
It was one of a younger him and an alive Saki Konishi. He was trying to hold up a trash can full of garbage, presumably failing while she laughed merrily. Probably.
These days, he had no idea why he kept it around. It only seemed to be a reminder of what's screwing up his current relationship. Chie always deflected it, but he caught the slight sadness on her face whenever he brought up Saki.
All as if he was seeing someone other than her entirely while they were dating.
He carefully put the nostalgic photograph deep into the recesses of his closet and slid a new photo into the humble frame.
The picture shows Yosuke and Chie, both positively beaming, holding up peace signs while her arm was wrapped around his shoulder as he held up the camera.
14. Blanket
Sighing at the sight of him shivering his ass off in her slightly cold room, she went to grab one of her soft blankets.
Yosuke was struck by a pleasant surprise as a clustered-up ball of a blanket was thrown at his chest.
He mumbled out a grateful "thank you" as he finally began to relax.
Later, due to circumstances she totally couldn't control, he ended up dozing off on her lap.
15. Light
His consciousness was slipping — fast. All it took was one unlucky shot while on an excursion in the foggy world for him to be on the brink of death. It was always unfortunate, but it was a part of the proverbial contract they had to agree to for saving the victims.
As his body was beginning to truly see the light, he could faintly hear a scream and some subtle noise of quick footsteps. Willing himself to focus his eyes for one brief moment, he was allowed a moment of confusion before something collided straight into him.
Yosuke couldn't feel the bright energy of that damned Hamaon anymore as his senses could finally return to him. Blinking several times gave him a clear enough vision.
Chie was hovering just on top of him, gasping for air. A tear dropped from her chin as she hastily offered him a pull up.
He accepted, and when they both stood, he hugged her tightly.
16. Shade
Whenever the topic of their beach trip back in August came up, it always slid into the light-hearted question of whether anyone has gone out there since.
Yu's gone a multitude of times, alone or not. Rise shamelessly admits to going several times with Narukami, Yukiko takes the occasional trip for a reprieve from the inn, and Kanji plainly says no. Naoto would always have to pry information about the trip itself since she wasn't with them, though Teddie wasn't very helpful.
Meanwhile, Chie and Yosuke both deny having gone out there, citing different reasons every single time. It looked like they bought into it, but they were never sure.
The truth was, they already had their special spot where an umbrella was always left behind. It simply offered the best shade from the heat. Neither of them contested as they both laid on opposite ends of the pole, sunglasses resting above their eyes.
17. Pool
If there was one thing they could never knock Okina City about, it was its grand selection of activities that rural Inaba wished it had.
That was how Chie ended up standing in front of a billiards table inside a club after she mentioned offhand that she had never played the game before. Needless to say, her orange-haired boyfriend's appalled expression left her giggling, almost rivalling Yukiko, for a while.
"Okay, so! Everything on this pool table starts with how you wield the cue stick here," he explained to her, holding up the thin yet sturdy rod. "If you don't have an accurate grip on how you're gonna hit that white cue ball, you can forget about playing this game at all."
To his (un)pleasant surprise, she turned out to be quite the natural at it, beating him in her second game.
18. Leaves
One of the things she admired the most about the large hill that loomed over the town was all the leaves that suddenly decide to pile up during the height of the autumn season.
This only made them prime targets for stress-relieving destruction, typically with her furious kicks.
From several meters away, Yosuke watched with a hopelessly affectionate grin as he saw her pile up a bunch of leaves onto her arms.
And then Chie dumped all of it onto him.
19. Sweet
As he popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth, he savored the lovely taste his tongue was blessed with. Then he heard her audibly sigh from the other side of the desk, reminding him that he was still in Yasogami High.
"I know, it's kinda lame. I just went store-bought instead of trying to make it myself," she lamented, garnering a confused look from Yosuke.
"Uh, what? I don't think it should matter whether you made it or not; The fact is..." He turned away, a heartfelt smile on his face. "This is still a really sweet gesture. So, uh, t-thanks."
She eventually smiled back, her cheeks donning some pink. "Happy Valentine's Day, you dork."
20. Color
It was while she was shopping for clothes up in Junes — Yosuke just had to tag along while on the clock — that he asked her for an opinion on something.
"Hey, Chie? Is... is orange a good color for me?"
Instead of the legion of other questions, including but certainly not limited to: Why would you want my input on that? Wear whatever you want, as long as I'm not getting involved.
She simply stared him up and down for a few times before honestly answering. "Yeah, orange totally fits you. Why do you ask?"
21. Phone
This is utterly stupid, she told herself as the contact list still highlighted his damn name. And how do I stop myself from clamming up every single time I wanna call him?
It had been this endless cycle for the past month ever since she sat down and thought about her odd relationship with a certain Junes boy-- No, he has a name, damn it. Once she finally put two and two together that thinking about someone a lot probably means something, all she had to do was call him. Just to ask him to meet up!
The problem is, she'd combust immediately before she even rang up his phone. Every single time. So what to do...?
Inspiration would eventually come to her in the form of her best friend Yukiko calling her to inform her she'll be off work for the week.
Chie just needed some girl talk.
22. Race
Whenever Yosuke joined in on her near-daily training regimen, she usually made sure to make the exercises extra hard. She figured he thought she wasn't aware of how hard he was being pushed and didn't comment, but a side glance or two showed everything to her.
Chie was still very glad that he continued to bear with keeping up with her in all of them, even if he was literally shaking at every pose he had to hold.
She admired his brand of dedication, so she had to reward him with his recent favorite physical activity; mainly because it was the big one he was especially good at.
"Okay, Yosuke, let's stop for now. Take five then prepare to race me! Like always, we're racing to the top of the hill that watches over the town!"
23. Stroll
After an extremely tight battle, he narrowly defeated her by just a few meters — and the first time he won a race against her.
"Woohoo!" She celebrated for him, which was odd to him, but still really nice. "You did it, Yosuke! You're getting better!"
Just a couple minutes later, they began the stroll down the large hill, which was far easier than running up it. He'd contemplated on how to approach... this, as he made light coughs to end their companionable silence.
"So, uh... this is kinda new for me, even though we've known each other for years now." He found it hard to continue to look at her confusion, but he pressed on. "But I just wanna say it. Thanks for everything, Chie. I mean it. And, er. Sorry for being an ass to you all this time."
The quiet suddenly became deafening as she stopped on her steps and peered directly into his eyes. Finding himself wavering, he offered an apologetic smile.
She grabbed the collar of his shirt, tugged him down to her level, and planted a firm, sweaty kiss right on his left cheek.
24. Film
They were in the middle of a film — a classic kung-fu movie they had playing in 30 Frames — when a thought pierced him, one he never actually questioned before.
Where did Chie's obsession with all things kung-fu come from?
So, as the two walked out the theater, smiling as she gushed about how it 'set the standards for all martial arts films', he cut her off in the middle of it. "Hey, so where did your kung-fu frenzy come from, anyway? I never thought to ask."
She glared at him for a moment before swiftly relenting. "My dad first showed it to me when I was really young, okay? It just... kinda stuck with me since, I guess."
"Oh," he plainly replied. He didn't think it would be so simple, but... "That's cool."
25. Bottle
Snapping the phone shut, she sat down on the couch near the front door and groaned. Heavily.
Three practiced knocks on the door, followed by two unrestrained slams, told her with a jump that they were here. Chie shook her head as she opened the door.
A drunken Yosuke immediately tackled the police officer, nearly knocking her down. Once she recovered, he opted for just clinging to her instead.
"I... sincerely apologize," Naoto, the kind soul who brought him here, quietly stated after Hanamura finished his assault. "I tried to keep him away from consuming an excess amount of alcohol, but... it appears as though he's had a rough day. Tearing him away from the bottle was a herculean task in itself."
While he continued to mutter sweet nothings, she just sighed softly and reassured her dear old friend that she could handle it. "It's gonna be a long night, though. Great."
26. Art
Neither of them were exactly what you'd call artistic. At least, not in the traditional 'graphic design' sense.
Music, however? Well, that was quite a different story. For Yosuke, at least.
In no small part thanks to his mother, he picked up a small wealth of instruments. His most frequently played one being the bass guitar.
And sometimes, while Chie would be stressing over a particularly nasty case or just a bad day in the police department, the soft riffs of his favorite guitar would rumble throughout their shared apartment, playing to a familiar tune for everyone in the former Investigation Team.
And every time, everything would suddenly feel much simpler in their insane world.
27. Cork
The reception began to finally reach its elegant lull as he watched Yu and Rise slow-dancing on the ball floor. He was quite proud of them for finally tightening their relationship for all eternity, despite the challenges along the years.
Giving a side-long glance over to the bar table sat one Chie Satonaka, who seemed to be conversing with someone. She was the very person he wanted to talk to again, not having seen her for a good several years now.
Confidently walking towards the bar, he took a seat on one of the stools. He asked for a bottle of wine as he subtly gauged her expression. She seemed to be surprised, from what he could tell.
"Um. Hi, Yosuke. Long time no see, huh?" Fiddling with the bouquet of flowers she was tossed from Mrs. Narukami, Chie huffed as she waved her best friend off.
Handed the bottle, he popped the cork and filled himself a glass. He didn't drink it yet: This was the time for serious Yosuke. "Listen. I know last time we ended on a pretty crappy note. Things just... didn't work out for that age. But I've hopefully matured since then, and I assume you have, too. So--"
"Yeah, let's start over." She appreciated his look of shock for a moment before continuing. "I'm kinda tired of being bitter, anyway."
28. Grasp
Chie had enough of watching him sulk alone at this time of year. Wasn't it about time he moved on from her?...
So, when the big day came, she made absolutely sure to tail him stealthily — as much as she could be, anyway — until he entered one of the most ominous areas to her; the cemetery. Where memories of people are embodied by a slab of stone.
Yosuke glanced left and right, making sure he was alone before he meticulously sat down in front of her gravestone. It happened to be not too far from the formal entrance, just to the right.
He took one deep breath before he began. "I'm... not sure why I visited you for as long as I did, to be honest. It used to be once a month, then it turned to once every few months, and now it's been a year since I've been here." He chuckled almost bitterly at that knowledge. "But I'm not here to try and pine out for you; Not anymore. This is me telling you goodbye. I don't know when, but at some point, someone else just came in and brashly showed me I could be loved, and I can still love. Ever since then, I... can't stop thinking about her, Senpai. She's amazing in who she is, despite forcing me to pony up for everything." There was a pause as he seemed to look to the left, before turning back. "I just wish she herself realized that."
He stood up, and whipped himself around to catch her. While she gaped wide-eyed at him, he grasped her hand. "So yeah. Thank you, Chie."
29. Space
"Do you think the stars up in space can really make wishes come true?"
"The ones going gung-ho with a gun, yeah."
"...Yosuke, what the hell--"
"It's only shooting stars, Chie. They shoot out your wishes. I thought you would've known this already! ...Wait, what're you standing up for? Hold on, put down my kunai! What are you doing with them?!"
30. Dream
In what was usually the plain shoreline to the Samegawa river, an unprecedentedly massive thunderstorm suddenly flashed, rocking around trees with powerful winds. Even Chie couldn't hold her balance any longer, and she got carried away into the water.
Before she could even begin to swim out, a loud boom of thunder totally crushed any hopes of movement, sending her head back underwater. She was struggling to breathe, hopelessly trying to survive...
And then a hand wringed around her neck and thrust her down, her screams being silenced by the water and lack of air, as she fell into the depths and eventually gave out.
Only one second later did she snap her eyes open, shrieking. The tears lounging around her cheeks and chin flew off as she quickly turned her head about to find she was still in her room. A distinct voice piped up as she was still breathing in and out.
"Bad dream, huh?" He pulled himself up from the futon he had been sleeping on, grabbed something, and tossed it over to her. She inspected it to see it was one of her own plushies. "Take it. You need some comfort right now."
She couldn't repress her grateful smile at his kindness. All she had the energy for was to mutter some thanks before she laid back down to rest.
Her next dream involved Yosuke and her. The teenagers screwed around in a playground like children.
31. Scare
In their third year, their class ultimately chose to do a haunted house for the Culture Festival. Chie made damn sure Yosuke didn't suggest anything stupid again. He agreed with the haunted house plan from the get-go, which surprised her.
Strangely enough — or perhaps unsurprisingly — Yukiko was put in charge of the attraction.
It was only thanks to what she saw in the TV World that she could get by without much more than some jumps. The raven-haired maniac was using the designs of Shadows throughout the haunted experience.
32. Mask
Despite her lifestyle wearing her schedule thin, Rise managed to throw plenty of parties for the former Investigation Team. It was thanks to that lifestyle that she correctly predicted all the best times to get together, roping the global detective Naoto and city-bound Yu into them.
This time, it was a masquerade she had created, during the autumn season. Yosuke was equipped with a slick golden orange mask as he took the time to appreciate everyone's ridiculously fancy suits.
Then things started to become a tad problematic when he couldn't stop staring at Chie's dress(?!) of choice. Black leaves wrapped around her dress that — Oh my god, her right shoulder is showing and it is so radiant.
Unbeknownst to him, Chie was having similar thoughts about his suit. Never had she seen the old goof so... so...
She hoped her yellow mask was doing a fine enough job hiding the red on her face.
33. Thrice
It was thrice that they managed to admit they had feelings for one another to each other. Those three times were in the span of five years.
It was twice afterwards that they collectively chose to remain friends, as much as it killed the both of them internally. The first time, it was when the investigation was ongoing — they didn't want to ruin the dynamic that gave the group its morale through lighthearted fun.
But it was once, years after Izanami left humanity alone, that they finally stopped caring about possible constraints and just wanted to enjoy themselves for once.
34. Adventure
"Nope! I absolutely refuse!"
"C'mon, Chie! It'll be like an adventure!"
"It's
never
good when you say it like that, y'know?"
"But think of all of the possibilities this could give you! The new people you could meet, all of the new life experiences this will give you--"
"Yosuke, I don't think putting on a clown wig counts as life-changing."
"...Well, I tried."
35. Risk
This would be their final impromptu camp until they had to face the one behind the events of everything. As they lay on the ground, composed of red blocks, their leader gave a thoughtful glance at his team, made entirely out of the band of friends he made throughout his year.
"...I assume everyone is well aware of the risks of this final mission? That going up against a goddess, we very well might not make it out?"
Everyone nodded, all with a fierce determination. "Good. Anything you guys want to say before we roll out?"
Yosuke raised his hand. "Yeah, I do." Looking at Chie, he took a deep breath. "Just to make sure, if we don't make it... Chie, I--"
She shoved him, knocking his head to the ground. "Can't you say it after we win? Because we will. We'll all make sure of it, right?"
Afterwards, when the battle for humanity finally ended, he walked alongside her as he quietly admitted those three words.
36. Security
The startling reality kept crashing down on the poor girl as she saw her ebony-haired friend walk back to the inn.
For the first time in her entire life, Chie's ability to gain courage and strength when everyone else can't... has failed her.
Everyone was still reeling from the events of Nanako's death, nearly throwing Namatame into the TV, and the little brunette coming around afterwards. It had been far too much to deal with in one night, especially for their leader, Yu. The last she saw, Rise was trailing him as he silently walked back to the now empty Dojima residence.
Almost automatically, the bowl-cut woman found herself in front of the Hanamura residence, knocking on the door. Yosuke answered the door, since of course his dad still worked the night away.
Once inside and the door was closed, she clutched onto him for dear life as her repressed sobs finally escaped her. He just remained silent as he wrapped her arms about her, keeping her safe and secure.
37. Hold
They were all just about to settle back into normal life after the events of the P-1 Grand Prix, which involved Persona-using robots(?!), when...
"Careful, look at Captain Ressentiment the wrong way and he'll spit at you," the student scoffed. "Wouldn't surprise me."
Right. A whole lot of people saw the Midnight Channel, which unhelpfully included those stupid nicknames. He groaned internally, walking back to the first floor to grab his lunch.
There, he saw Chie struggling with her issue; being titled The Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood didn't help with making her not look like some cannibal. Swiftly, an idea popped in his perceptive brain. One he almost gagged at the thought of, but did he have any other ideas? Didn't seem so. Thanks, brain.
"Hold on, Chie, wait!" Nabbing her attention to gaze at the scowl on her face, he steeled himself for the oh-so-wonderful idea. "So, I think I got a solution to our whole being an outcast thing..."
38. Lie
Chie Satonaka was now in a relationship with Yosuke Hanamura.
Well, a fake relationship, anyway. Despite her rapid protests, she eventually had to admit that being together would look like Yosuke wasn't a resentful asshole, and that Chie didn't want to eat everyone in sight. A strategic win-win scenario for the both of them.
So of course it didn't matter that when "going out" with him, he'd always offer to pay for the both of them without being forced to in any capacity. Or that he opened up to her a lot more than he ever did before this. And especially whenever they needed to prove a point, he'd carefully give her time to either accept or decline as he leaned in for a hug, and that she was enjoying every second of it. Every single time.
None of that mattered, because even if she was being a bad liar to herself, she had to keep up their lie until they didn't need to anymore.
39. Chill
It was then, after two months of fake-dating, that they chose their final date. The Midnight Channel alias situation had calmed down to practically nothing a month ago. Chie told herself they just needed to make sure.
Regardless, they both decided to return to the perpetually empty Shichiri Beach. She got out of the changing room with her swimsuit on, Yosuke following suit with his swim trunks. He swore he couldn't help but linger on her clothing of choice for a second longer.
"Isn't that still the same swimsuit I forced on you over a year ago--"
"Piss off, Yosuke." There was more venom into those words than the both of them expected.
"Chill out, Chie. I was just teasing you..." He sighed. The usually relaxed brunette then offered one more question as he edged the water. "So, about our whole 'relationship' thing... Is it, um, really gonna be over after this?"
She wasn't the best conversationalist, but even she could decipher the message he wanted her to find. She walked up to the now pensive boy, ruffled his hair, and said her answer, honest and simple. "Maybe you're the one who needs to chill, Yosuke. I-If you really want to, we don't have to... s-stop... y'know?"
40. Plant
As she popped a piece of gum into her mouth, the rookie officer Chie sat bored at her desk, waiting for her senior, Ryotaro Dojima, to return. She'd been given a new assignment from another department that required her specifically... and a plant from their department, whatever the hell that meant.
"He's here, Satonaka-san," Dojima gruffly told her at last. "Do your job, and do it right." Despite his words, there was a soft undertone that wished her well. She bowed as she trotted along to a typical-looking meeting room, not terribly far from the reception.
Sighing for a brief moment, she calmly opened the door. She was greeted with someone who was only a... little surprising.
"YOSUKE?!"
"CHIE?!" Once he got over the initial shock, he stumbled to explain himself. "L-look, alright? I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do... so I kind of followed your footsteps, and I-I guess we're both rookies in this, huh?"
Too much in a dumb shock, she just nodded as they began to wait for their next instructions.
Buddying up with one of my best friends, huh? Things are gonna get real interesting, that's for sure.
41. Door
"Aigis, if you will," the crimson-haired operative simply commanded. The blonde android obliged, sifting through the photographs her systems took two years ago to find the sole photo that had remained burned in her memory.
Now revealed onto a projector, in what appeared to be space, was a giant golden door with an intricate design. No one has deciphered where it came from, but one thing's for sure: there was a soulless statue of someone acting as a seal to prevent the door from ever opening. That statue used to be Makoto Yuki, the predecessor to Yu Narukami as the Wild Card.
Yosuke gave a hard look at the picture, looked back down a bit, and before his girlfriend could stop him, he blurted, "So that's Door-kun, huh? Have there been any ide--"
Chie stomped his foot, appalled at his lack of tact. "Seriously, Yosuke?!" After a quick second to check up on his damages, she proceeded to ask about the odds of being able to save the former Fool. The normally stoic Kirijo hung her head with a heavy sigh.
The athletic brunette would never admit that she cracked up at the lame nickname Yosuke gave him.
42. Boat
Near the end of their second day in Yosuke's home city, Tokyo, he suggested that they head to Inokashira Park, where there was a casual ride over the pond.
Though she was initially skeptical about the idea, Chie's opinion immediately twisted to a positive one when she noticed the sun gleaming down on them, the leaves above them creating a perfect mess of shadows around them as her lover looked at her with a dumb, hopelessly affectionate grin.
They would barely admit it, but they simultaneously shared a single thought.
"You look amazing."
43. Pet
One of the many things he tried to get in her good graces was to panickedly offer to walk her old dog, Muku.
She'd give him a raise of one of her eyebrows, but shrug and silently walk inside to get him. While he mentally steeled himself for a saliva spewing monster, Yosuke failed to hear the alarmed warnings from Chie as the large dog outright tackled him, licking his face while he groaned at his pain.
"Oh crap!" She ran over to the smelly canine and tried pulling him off of the poor teen. "Get off, Muku!"
From then on, she reluctantly joined him whenever he offered, just so they wouldn't get a repeat of that first time.
44. Embrace
Of course they have hugged it out many times throughout their life.
The first time was when they managed to escape that wretched world for the first time. Out of intense relief for eluding death, they held each other. It took five seconds for her to realize just what was going on and knee the orange-haired boy, embarrassed.
The last time they embraced was mere minutes before an elderly Yosuke passed away. Her old eyes were brimming with tears as she tenderly kissed his forehead.
Despite Chie Hanamura's despair, he managed to hold up a toothy grin as he said, "Knock 'em dead while you're still here, and meet me in the afterlife, okay?"
45. Run
"Yeah, that's right! Run, like the coward you've always been!"
My footsteps became louder as my stumble turned into a full sprint. I didn't care anymore how much that- that thing could hear me run, I needed to get out of there.
After what felt like several minutes of running, I found myself back at Yukiko's castle, somewhere else in the TV World. I let out a few hearty breaths as I tried to think about how I'll leave this damned place from here.
"Heey, lookin' good, Chie-chan!"
Right after I could finally calm myself down, my insides contorted all over again when I heard the overtly snarky voice of Yosuke. Shadow Yosuke.
"Why?... What the hell do you want with me?!"
He clicked his tongue, and I contemplated kicking him into oblivion. "Touchy. I just wanted to say you look better with our eyes now. God, you're still a pain." I raised a brow in confusion as he rubbed his hair, frustrated. Our eyes?...
Suddenly, a feeling of utter dread overtook me as the realization set in. I frantically looked around for a reflection, before just running up to one of the front windows of the castle.
I saw a pair of golden eyes in my reflection. My golden eyes.
46. Rest
"I'm home!"
As he placed his multitude of late-night groceries down on the floor to finally give his arms a break, Yosuke wasn't surprised to hear no response. It was 11:46 PM, after all; she'd probably be asleep by now.
The Junes manager decided she probably went out and just went to put all the groceries away.
When he headed up to the kitchen, however, he could see in the dining room none other than his fiancée, dozing off on the table. Her snoring was delightfully quiet as her face was resting upon some papers, no doubt from her police work. Just to the left of her paper pillow was a mug, still almost full. Yosuke figured she was trying to power through that paperwork the whole night, using coffee as her fuel.
As he was painfully aware of, however, Chie Satonaka doesn't do coffee. She's already caffeine incarnate.
Choosing to be a good soon-to-be husband, he dashed to their bedroom, grabbed a blanket from their spare futon, carefully covered her with it, and quickly offered her a good rest before going back to finish sorting out their food.
After all, their apartment was a bit cold.
47. Break
Oh. Crap.
Her mind was still trying to process everything as she looked at the cruel irony of her situation.
She was just taking a ride on her scooter, listening to music on headphones, when a thought crossed her mind to let them rest around her neck, like he always had them. No one's... L-looking, anyway, she thought to herself, as she went for it. Unfortunately, she went for the very dangerous idea of doing it while driving, so one thing led to another and-
And now she's sitting there, eyes wide and mouth gaping a bit at the headphones — Yosuke's headphones — now with its right cup being snapped off of it. She quickly snatched up that piece, shoved it in her jacket pocket, and raced back to the Satonaka residence, all in complete guilt.
Chie managed a full week before he caught up to her. "Yo, how've my headphones been treating you? I haven't seen you wear 'em in a while: You could just return it to me, y'know."
He left it in a teasing light, but her head couldn't take it and averted him entirely. "Um... That's because..."
"What, you didn't break them, did you?"
Her entire being jumped a bit, very much like a deer caught in headlights.
Shockingly, all she heard was his classic teasing sigh. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Lemme guess, the right cup fell off?"
48. Check
Despite what his demeanor may tell you, Yosuke always did enjoy keeping things in order. He figures he got that from his parents.
His shelf of old CDs was meticulously ordered from alphabetical order of the artists' names, chronological order of when their specific albums came out.
All of the instruments he had were resting on each other, from smallest to largest.
He even left his Junes work uniform as the one to be placed smack-dab in the middle of his clothes rack. Perfect for snagging it before the day started.
But just in case he himself needed a slap in the face, or just a break from reality, he had the perfect foil for it: Chie Satonaka to keep him in check.
49. Song
"Chie, have you ever tried singing?"
"...No."
"Like bullshit I'll believe that. You never tried it once? Not even in the shower?"
"Absolutely not! Why would I sing in the shower?"
"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it! Now sing to me."
"W-what?! What the hell should I even sing, first of all--"
"Now I, face out! I hold out!..."
"I reach out to the truth of my life! Seeking to seize on the whole moment, yeah!"
"See, you got it, Chie!"
"...Wait, damn it."
50. Night
Oftentimes, Yosuke can't sleep. Whether it's due to bad dreams, staying up talking to friends, or because his body simply doesn't feel like it, in the end, the poor kid can't force himself to sleep.
He gives up fighting it and faces himself to sit up on the bed. As his feet hit the ground, he takes a minute to process the room to realize Chie is no longer there, sleeping on the futon laid out. She was effectively forced to spend the night thanks to a thunderstorm, but now that it had cleared up overnight... Did she already leave?
Feeling a bit more than betrayed, he automatically walked downstairs to go to the bathroom. From there, he noticed the front door was left open a bit.
He gave it thought for a moment, before quickly throwing caution to the wind. The curious teen nudged open the door to see what was going on.
Chie was leaning on the railing of the front porch, faced entirely away from the house. She'd been looking up at the black sky for a while now, unaware of how much time has passed.
He opened his mouth to try to say something, but then closed it when he found he couldn't. It repeated for a few more times before giving up and walking to the railing and leaning on it next to her.
The brunette started a bit when she noticed him, but didn't have the words for anything. She resumed her stargazing, and found herself truly amazed by the stars for the first time in a long time.
Yosuke knew very much that she wouldn't be out here without a reason, most likely thinking about something. He didn't blame her — the stars lightyears away are perfect to get lost in while you ponder about what seem to be the most inane things by comparison.
"Uh-" He could hear her lamely start. "Y-Yosuke?"
"Mm?"
She didn't immediately respond again, clearing up her throat before she found the words. "If... I admitted something right now; something I've, um, been trying to keep to myself for a while, you would listen, right?"
"Yeah, sure." Not missing a beat.
"...Okay. I... for some reason," Chie attempted to start, "I actually... kinda... err..."
"Ah ah ah, you're stalling!"
Even in the middle of the night, her temper with him doesn't take much. "God damn it- FINE, I LIKE YOU, HAPPY?!"
His face totally blanked, instead holding a perpetual state of shock. He thinks he can register her stumbling out in a rant afterwards. "I don't know when, I don't know how, but you managed to make me feel all weird in the stomach this past month! It's taken a lot to even do anything about it, but here I am, I freaking guess!"
He started to regain himself as she devolved into almost choked-up mumbles. "So there. You managed to get someone, even though you probably don't even care about me. Not like you do about Yukiko, or hell, how about an idol next door, huh?"
"Chie..." Before she could move away from the railing in tearful sadness, he laid his hand utop her shoulder. He built himself up before just blurting out: "I care about you. A lot more than you're thinking, actually."
She didn't dare move. Still, the spite in her tongue continued. "Yeah, as someone who's j-just an asshole to you all the time."
He made a small, simple smile. "I like to think you're worth all that." Before she could begin overanalyzing that, though, he just nudged her back to the railing, a little closer to one another now.
"Now come on, Chie. We've still got an hour of night time left. Let's just enjoy the stars and sunrise."