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“Dammit, Yosuke,” Chie snapped. “Why do you have to be so annoying all the time?”
Yosuke—who’d been telling another of his stupid jokes while they’d stopped for a breather—folded his arms and glared at Chie. “You’ve been on my case all day. What’s your problem, anyway?”
“You’re my problem,” she retorted. “God, you’re pathetic. Hanging off Yu all the time, like you can’t stand on your own two feet. How are you supposed to help us solve this case when you can’t even figure out when you’re not wanted?”
His eyebrows had shot up, and he just stared at her for a long few seconds. His mouth opened and closed, like he couldn’t figure out what to say, and he finally just turned his back on her and stalked away.
“Um...Chie?”
She jerked her arm away from Yukiko’s touch. “Come on. You think he’s annoying too, right? I’m not the only one?”
Yukiko bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. “Are you all right, Chie? You seem upset.”
“I”m just fine,” she said, pulling away when Yukiko reached for her again. “What, so I’m the problem? Just Chie and her big mouth, like always?”
“That’s not fair.”
“That’s what you’re all thinking, right?” She turned her accusing stare on the rest of the group. Yu had gone off with Yosuke, and the sight of them standing together with their heads nearly touching as they talked about her sent a spike of fury through her heart. “Just...just look at him! Always cracking stupid jokes and barging into the middle of things. It’s just so stupid.”
Her view of Yu and Yosuke was suddenly blocked when Kanji stepped in front of her. “I think you might be overreacting, Senpai,” he said, raising his hands in a pacifying gesture. “It was just a joke.”
“It wasn’t the joke,” she nearly screamed. “It’s just...everything! Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.” Chie stormed off on her own, shoulder-checking Kanji as she did. She didn’t want anything to do with the rest of the team right now, as she settled in a far corner of the room with her back to the others.
The colors and sounds of the stupid striptease dungeon around them was making her head throb. Chie sat with her legs crossed, her head resting on one fist, and focused on calming her emotions. It didn’t matter what stupid Yosuke did or said...she had to calm herself down. Couldn’t compromise the mission to save Rise just because the rest of her team had suddenly decided to be unbearable.
She sniffed, scrubbing a hand angrily over her eyes. Dammit, why did being angry always make her cry like this? It was so stupid. Embarrassing. No matter how angry she got, she’d eventually break down and end up a stupid mess like this. It just wasn’t fair.
“Chie?”
“Go away, Yukiko,” she muttered, turning away from her friend. Yukiko ignored her, sliding down to sit with her back against the wall.
“Did you tell him?”
The tears were coming again, but now they were from a sharp pain deep in her heart. “I didn’t even get a chance to,” she whispered. “He just kept talking about how great it was to have a friend like me. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and I just felt so clumsy and useless. The words were just stuck in my chest, and Yu was staring at me with that stupid little smile of his, saying over and over that he was grateful that we were friends.”
Yukiko wrapped both arms around Chie’s shoulders, pulling her in close. “I’m sorry.”
“I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.” Chie clung to Yukiko’s arms, leaning into her. “I know he’s leaving at the end of the year, so it’s not like it’d be a long-term thing anyway. But it still sucks.”
Yukiko sat with her in silence for a long moment, letting her have her cry. “Still, you shouldn’t have taken it out on Yosuke-kun.”
Chie huffed. “I’m pretty sure he feels the same way I do. And have you seen the way Yu looks at him?” she added bitterly. “Why can’t he look at me like that? It’s like he’s just taking everything I want, and he doesn’t even know it.”
“Oh, Chie,” Yukiko sighed. “I know you know that’s not fair to Yosuke-kun.”
“I know,” she mumbled. She’d been a jerk again. Taking it all out on Yosuke because he was a familiar target. Because she knew he’d forgive her when she eventually apologized. Because he’d just make a rude joke about women and mood swings and she could slug him in the arm and they’d go back to normal. “I’ll apologize in a little while, okay? Just let me have a second to myself.”
“Okay.” Yukiko slowly stood to her feet, leaning down to hug Chie one more time. “We’ll be waiting.”
Chie sniffed and scrubbed the tears off her face. She could hear the boys laughing, and glanced over her shoulder to see that even Teddie had joined them. They easily welcomed Yukiko back to the group, but they didn’t even glance her way.
“Stupid Yosuke,” she muttered, shoving herself up to her feet. “Yeah, right. More like stupid Chie. Why do I even try?”
It was dangerous to move around on her own, but she figured this floor was safe enough. They’d already wiped out every shadow in their path, including those weird golden gloves that were such a pain to take down. She sighed and stretched her back as she walked, heading to the door to take a peek out into the corridor. It wouldn’t hurt to look, and she technically wouldn’t be out of sight of the rest of the group.
She heard the shadow before she saw it. Chie ducked back around the corner with a yelp, trying to run back to the rest of the team for safety, but a blast of fire caught her across the shoulders.
She tumbled, her body locking up with pain, skinning her knees on the rough dungeon floor as she rolled. The fire shot straight through her, knocking the strength out of her muscles. She thought she could smell her hair burning, and she tried to roll back up to her feet but just couldn’t get her balance.
The shadow loomed over her. That horrible face on the spherical body, rotating through the air until it split wide open to show off its massive tongue. Chie tried to crawl back away from it as the pain seemed to settle in her chest so that she was panting for breath.
It was gearing up for another attack. Whirling in the air, sparks gathering above it. Chie whimpered, her breath lodged in her throat. She couldn’t even call on Tomoe, couldn’t depend on her ice to shield her from the fire.
For a brief moment, the fight leeched out of her body. Maybe it was better this way. All she did was bicker and fight and drag the team down. Yukiko might care if she was gone, but the others wouldn’t.
Chie closed her eyes, not wanting to see the blast that cooked her, and steeled herself for the oncoming pain.
“Oh, no you don’t!”
She snapped her eyes open in time to see Kanji rush in, getting between her and the Forgotten Hablerie. One swing of his folding chair deflected the blast of fire and sent it spiraling off harmlessly. Yu was right behind him, summoning Jack Frost to bring the shadow down with a flurry of ice.
“Chie!” And Yosuke. Taking her hand, pulling her to her feet. “Hang in there, okay?”
A burst of warmth—calming and soothing, unlike the fire spell—flooded her body. Yukiko was at her side in an instant, her persona withdrawing after casting the healing spell on Chie.
“Chie!” Yukiko wrapped her arms around her, her voice trembling. “Are you okay? Why did you wander off like that.”
She hung on to Yukiko, embarrassed to realize she was crying again. “I’m sorry,” Chie sobbed. “I was just so frustrated, I...I’m so sorry.”
Someone patted the top of her head, and she looked up to see Yosuke staring down at her. “Look, just...tell us next time, okay? You’re kind of scary when you’re angry.”
“I know.” She looked down, thoroughly embarrassed by both her temper and her show of weakness. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, I think we all know how scary girls can be. Right, Kanji?”
Chie snorted, lifting her hand to punch Yosuke in the arm. “Stupid Yosuke,” she muttered.
“There’s the Chie we know,” he announced, patting her head again. “Glad to have you back.”
She shoved his hand away. “Stupid Yosuke,” she said again, louder this time.
But her heart was lighter now, her anger melted away, and she couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.