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The river is different at night. The fish seem to be a bit more active when nobody's around. Chie wonders if they know to swim away when someone comes to try to catch them, or if they're just more active when everyone is asleep through sheer dumb luck. Whichever it is, it's funny, she thinks.
The fireflies are starting to come out. They're pretty as long as one doesn't fly on her, she guesses. She wonders where they go in the winter.
The sound of the river is peaceful. At times like this she begins to understand why so many of her favorite martial artists say to "flow like the river". She wishes she knew how to do that, but hopefully that will come in time.
Yukiko wasn't showing up. That was a good thing. They had agreed only to meet here if things went wrong. 'I hope things went better for you tonight, Yuki.'
Some of the words her mother said lingered in her mind. 'Why can't you be normal?'
'You're a disappointment.'
'Don't you know what the town will think? They'll think your father and I raised you poorly.'
Somehow her father's reaction broke her heart far more. A disappointed stare had hurt far more than her mother's words ever could. She'll never forget just how heartbroken he looked.
She wasn't sure what she was going to do. Her parents had forbade her from seeing Yukiko again, but as soon as the words left her mother's mouth she was out the door. She couldn't go home, but she can't run away either. The team still needed her. Inaba still needed her.
'Maybe I can live with Yukiko?' She quickly shook away that thought. 'Her parents would never let that happen. I don't even know how it went for her yet.'
After a few more minutes, Chie removed her phone from her pocket. Before she could dial her girlfriend's number though, she heard grass rustling from behind. Suddenly, and before she could turn around, someone sat down behind her and a pair of arms were around her stomach.
"Yukiko?" A nod into her shoulder. "Didn't go well either?" A head shake. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." The roughness of Yukiko's voice made it obvious she had been shouting. "It isn't your fault."
For a few minutes everything seemed alright. The river was flowing, the frogs were croaking, and the wind was howling. At least some things still held their normalcy. "Are you alright?" Another head shake into her shoulder. "Yeah. Me either."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I've never seen mom that mad." A slight humorless laugh escaped her lips. "I've never seen dad more disappointed either. You'd think after a million failed tests they'd lower their expectations, right?"
"Dad said some pretty awful things." Chie cringed at just how tired Yukiko sounded. "He told me that if I don't break up with you I'll never be allowed to inherit the inn. I suppose my decision has been made for me then."
"Yukiko..." She placed her hands on the pair of arms around her. "I don't want to get in the way of your future."
"I want you to be my future, Chie." Yukiko placed a small kiss on the back of her girlfriend's neck. "If my parents can't see that, to hell with their stupid inn."
"But you said Narukami-kun helped you decide-"
"You're more important than the inn, Chie."
Chie closed her eyes. The guilt in the her stomach made her feel like she was going to vomit. "And what did your mom say?"
"You..." Yukiko took in an apprehensive breath. "You have to promise not to get mad."
"Yukiko?"
"You're going to freak out. Please promise me." After a moment of consideration Chie nodded. What she wasn't expecting was her girlfriend to let go of her stomach. "I need you to turn around."
Chie slowly repositioned herself until she was looking at her girlfriend. In the moonlight her eyes locked onto a red spot on her cheek. "Did she-" Yukiko nodded. Despite her promise, Chie felt her blood pressure rising.
"It isn't worth getting angry over."
"Like hell it isn't! Yukiko she-" her voice broke as her emotions began to rise, "she hit you."
"Yeah, well," she shrugged her shoulders, "what's the point in getting angry about it?"
Chie wanted to argue, but she knew it wouldn't help the situation. Instead she brought her hand to the slightly swollen cheek. The slight recoiling from Yukiko made her cringe. "Does it still hurt?"
Yukiko nodded. "It stings."
"Can I do anything?" Yukiko shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Yukiko."
"Stop apologizing!" Yukiko jerked her head away from her girlfriend's hand. "Please."
"But, I..." Her eyes went to the ground. "I don't know what else to say. This is all my fault."
"Chie!"
"I'm the one who asked you out. If I just kept my stupid mouth shut, everything would be alright." She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but more quickly replaced them. "I'm sorry..."
"Chie! Stop!" The sudden shout made made Chie go silent other than a few sniffles. "This isn't your fault. I promise, Chie."
"But-"
"No buts!" She quickly grabbed her girlfriend's hand. "I love you, Chie. Please don't blame yourself."
"I love you too, but... what are we gonna do, Yukiko?" Yukiko shrugged her shoulders. "I'm scared..."
"I'm afraid too. I don't know what we're going to do." Yukiko looked towards the sky. "Maybe we could run away."
"What about the investigation? The killer is still out there."
"Maybe it's none of our business. Maybe the boys can handle it."
Chie squeezed her girlfriend's hand. "You know that isn't true."
"I know, but..."
"But what?"
Yukiko closed her eyes. "What's the point in fighting for a town that hates us? It's a small town, Chie. Most people won't accept us."
Chie gasped, "Yukiko! Not everyone in town is like that. There are plenty of people who would be ok with us."
"Are there? You don't notice the looks we get at school?"
"Of course I do! Since when do you care what other people think? They don't even know us!"
"Our parents know us!"
"I know!" Chie let out a sigh, "Look, our friends accept us! That has to count for something, right?"
"I suppose so, but..." Yukiko looked down at their joined hands, "but what if our parents try to stop us from seeing each other?"
"They can try." She leaned in closer.
"Promise me you won't let them come between us?"
Chie captured her girlfriend in a hug. "I promise."
"No matter what?" Chie nodded into her shoulder. "Thank you, Chie."
The two sat there for what felt like hours. The air had a slight chill to it, but in each other's arms they barely noticed. Eventually though, they heard someone approaching from behind. "Do you two have any idea what time it is?"
The couple gasped and quickly untangled from each other. After realizing who it was, Chie quickly stood. "Dojima-san!"
Yukiko sat completely still like a deer in headlights. "It's almost midnight. Your mom called, Amagi."
Yukiko swallowed, "M-my mother?"
"Yeah. Didn't think a woman like her could sound so angry." Chie and Yukiko's eyes stayed glued to the ground. "She said you'd probably be with Satonaka somewhere."
"Y-yeah..."
"We just kinda lost track of time."
"I can tell when someone is lying, you know." Chie blushed under Dojima's glare. "I know what's going on here, kid."
"You do?" Chie looked down at her girlfriend who refused to look at the detective.
"Of course I do."
Yukiko spoke at barely above a whisper, "Do... do you think we're freaks too?"
The detective removed a cigarette from his shirt pocket and placed it between his lips. After lighting it he took a quick drag. "I thought it was pretty obvious. It isn't my place to judge though. With how often that Hanamura boy comes over, I'm pretty sure my nephew isn't exactly straight either."
Chie laughed a bit at that, "Someone should try to tell Yosuke that."
Dojima looked towards the river. "I know this isn't exactly the same thing, but I do know what you two are going through." Yukiko finally tilted her head up to look at him. "When Chisato and I got together, her parents hated my guts. Hell, they still do."
"Oh? How come?"
A small smile spread across the detective's lips. "They always said I wasn't good enough for their daughter. I believed them, and for a while I thought our relationship was doomed. After a while they said that she was forbidden from seeing me."
Yukiko finally stood from the ground. "And? What did you do?"
"We didn't give up. No matter how hard they tried, Chisato always found a way to be with me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you two think that it's worth it, you shouldn't give up either."
"So... what do we do?"
"My advice? Go home. Making your parents more angry than they already are will only make things harder." Dojima scratched the back of his head. "After that? I'm not sure, but there is one thing I know."
Yukiko raised an eyebrow at the detective. "What?"
"They can't keep an eye on you all the time. Enjoy those moments whenever you can."
Chie looked between the detective and her girlfriend before a slight smile spread on her face. "Thank you. I think I needed to hear that."
Yukiko nodded. "Yeah. Me too."
Dojima nodded in return. "Alright, well," he dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his feet, "I didn't see you two, alright? Just don't stay out much longer, yeah?"
The two girls watched as Dojima walked off and sat back down in the grass. Chie put her arms around her girlfriend's waist. "He's right, y'know? You wanna keep doing this?"
Yukiko leaned into her a bit. "Of course I do, Chie." Her face fell a bit. "It won't be easy. You know that, right?"
"Nothing worth anything is, right?"
"They'll try their best to keep us apart."
"They can't watch us all the time."
"When we get out of high school they can't control us anymore. Would you want to move in together?"
"Of course I would, Yukiko. I would now if I could."
"What about college? Maybe we could try going to the same one."
Chie smiled. "I doubt I'm smart enough to get into the same place you do."
"I don't have to go to the best place possible, Chie. And don't put yourself down like that! You're smarter than you think you are."
"You really think so?"
"I know so." Yukiko giggled, "I'll start putting away money mom and dad pay me for helping at the inn, alright? We'll need it when we're on our own."
"I'll talk to Yosuke about getting a part time gig at Junes. I know he'll want the extra help."
Yukiko looked into her girlfriend's eyes before putting her forehead against hers. "I'm serious about this. About you, you know? We can do this."
"I'm serious about you too." Chie swallowed back a bit of anxiety, "This is gonna sound cheesy..."
"I like cheesy."
"I um... you're my soul mate, Yukiko. I love you more than anything." There was silence for a moment before Yukiko began one of her laughing fits. "N-nevermind! I just decided that I hate you, actually!" Despite her words, Chie couldn't keep the goofy grin off her face.
"It's just funny!"
"What is?"
Yukiko stopped laughing and placed a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "I was thinking the exact same thing."