Chapter Text
Yosuke starts his Saturday morning doubled over in the bathroom. He wishes this was a rare event but alas, the nausea has been a persistent threat to his body, becoming his new normal routine. He hated moving to the middle of no-where, the city wasn’t much better, but the boy at least had friends.
He catches his reflection in the mirror above the sink, his dark hair in stark contrast with his warm skin smattered in freckles. He already knew he stood out, freckles like his weren’t common anywhere. His grandma would often pity their existence on his skin, remarking how much more handsome he’d be without them.
Nausea snapped him back to his current situation, standing (barely) over the basin trying not to heave his non-existent stomach contents. His parents chalked it up to anxiety, starting a new school part-way through the year was rough on anybody, let alone the son of the branch manager for the new Junes that threatened the small-town economy. He knew he’d be loathed by his peers before he met them, remembering the posters taped to the side of the new store advising them to get out… put nicely.
He vomited. Bile has a horrible taste and an even worse burn. Tears reflexively drip down the sides of his face, mourning a normal teenage life in the city. He was stuck with THIS, the pain of moving, of having none of his friends message him, of leaving his childhood bedroom behind for… he doesn’t know what for.
He needed something within his control.
He looked back up at the mirror, once again homing in on his hair. "I can at least change that" he muttered to himself. He remembered the bottle of dye his mother bought that was supposedly the wrong shade, knowing his mother she totally forgot about returning it. He searches through the cabinet under the sink and finds the small box of dye. A shade called ‘Light Auburn’ according to the packaging. He didn’t think too much before opening it and reading the instructions. It seemed easy enough, if he needed anything he’d ask his mother.
It was in fact, easy. He checked his phone, seeing that it’s time to wash his hair off. He ignored his empty inbox in favour for the weird smelling substance currently on his head. A quick rinse ensues, letting his hair flow under the tepid water. He didn’t want the water to be too hot on his probably tender scalp. Before long he was done, hair somewhat dry and standing in front of the mirror once more.
“Oh my” he audibly exclaims. It looks like he was born with hair that colour.
“Yosuke, is something wrong? You’ve been in there for a while” his mother states. It was true, he’d been in the bathroom for about an hour at this point.
He opens the door, showing her the new hair colour. She mentions how lovely it looks on him and proceeds to go hang out some washing.
Yosuke felt slightly more confident with the challenges he would be facing for the next two and a half years.
Yu got the news that next year his parents will be travelling to Australia for business.
Again.
He’s sure any normal teen would be ecstatic, no parents for the whole year! Yu wasn’t like that though, knowing he’d have some random family member look after him instead. He at least never went far and always had his school life and activities to fill the void of a family unit he so craved. He had not spent a whole year with his parents yet in any of his memories, however he distinctly remembers their absence from events like his birthday, or Christmas.
He asked them how long it would be for.
A whole year? Wait no, that’s absurd, he’d have to go live with someone or something highly disruptive to his well-manicured routine. He started to panic, hearing the dreaded news.
“You’ll be staying with your uncle and his daughter in Inaba. That is final Yu, you’ll be transferred to their area school at the start of the school year and proceed to study there for the full academic year.” He tried to protest but the line went cold.
His parents had dropped this on him and left him to deal with it on his own. He had six months more of his normal life at the very least, he was damn sure going to make the most of it.
He planned out each month, jotting down events he had always wanted to in the city. He knew how fickle his parents are and doesn’t want to miss something that may not be there when he eventually returns.
Eventually.
He knew he had to break the news to his friends on Monday, but for now he wants to somewhat enjoy his Saturday afternoon.