Re:Finding Home 3c/?
anonymous
June 25 2012, 22:38:30 UTC
Finding Home 3c/?
Souji grinned and took his bags upstairs, heading for his old room. Just as Dojima had said, nothing had changed- his futon was still neatly folded, one lone unfinished plastic model was on the shelf, and his trusty fishing gear was hidden in the closet. After packing things away, Souji left his room and ran into Nanako as he was heading to look for her.
“Onii-chan!” She exclaimed as she looked up. She never got tired of calling him that, and Souji never grew tired of hearing it. “Can we go to Junes? And see Teddie, and Yosuke-nii-chan, and Kanji-nii-chan, and Chie-onee-chan, and Yukiko-onee-chan, and-”
Souji cut her off, smiling and flicking one short brown pigtail. “Sure, Nanako, we can go see all of them in a little while.” Nanako grinned and giggled, flouncing back downstairs.
I wonder when all of them turned into Nanako-chan's siblings, Souji reflected bemusedly as he headed to the bathroom to wash up. Nanako had become sort of a little sis to all of them, though, after the events of November and December...
Turning his thoughts away from depressing things like that, Souji then started on a new train of thought; the Investigation Team. The Seekers of Truth. Whatever you called them, they were really only a group of kids with the power to save people that they had harnessed on their own. And in the end, all they really needed was their bonds with each other to get them through.
His thoughts turned to the way each of them would react when he showed up unexpectedly at Junes- he knew they still got together there every holiday or weekend, and often after school. Naoto would hear his story and probably reproach him for doing such a stupid thing, but she'd be happy to see him even if she didn't show it. Teddie and Rise would probably burst into tears, and Yukiko and Chie, and Kanji to a point, would clobber him with questions happily.
Yosuke... would do none of that. Souji could picture the scene in his mind:
… Yosuke grinned and winked at him, brown eyes alight with joy. “Good to have you back, partner...”
… “Partner...”
… “Mmm, partner...”
Souji jumped and wondered when the nickname in the false greeting had turned into a moan.
It was probably around the time his hormones started raging up at the thought of his best friend. That happened a lot.
He knew he wasn't really into girls all that much, and had known that before he moved to Inaba. What Souji didn't know was how he had gotten so attached to the brunette in such a short amount of time. It had happened gradually, and before Souji knew it he was head over heels for Yosuke. The only problem was telling him.
Yosuke's homophobic tendencies seemed to pop up whenever Souji and him were alone, and as much as the silver-haired boy could understand it still got on his nerves. What's wrong with this, he wanted to scream sometimes when they would brush hands or share a look, Yosuke always shying away and spouting his homophobic crap. I don't see it as weird, why do you?
But with all Yosuke's crap and teasing, there were times when Souji distinctively remembered Yosuke saying things that could be taken as... liking Souji. Of course, he always followed up afterward with something stupid, but they left a mark on Souji's memories as a possibility that maybe, one day...
Souji violently shoved those thoughts back out of his mind again, heading downstairs at a rapid pace. At the bottom, Dojima was standing with his familiar coat slung over his shoulder. “I'm heading out,” he notified Souji. “Take Nanako to Junes or something, will you?”
Nanako bounced up next to him from her spot near the TV. “Yeah, let's go big bro!” She giggled.
Souji chuckled and slipped on his shoes, and then the two headed out to see the Investigation Team once again.
Re: Finding Home 3d/?
anonymous
June 26 2012, 00:45:39 UTC
Finding Home 3d/?
Junes was a bright and colorful place at the beginning of Golden Week, all sorts of families going there to shop and spend time together. Usually that was no different for the Seekers of Truth, except one of their number was gone from the town and two others were working their butts off.
“Man, where the hell'd Teddie go?” Yosuke groaned.
The brunette wiped his forehead with his sleeve and continued to stack cans in the grocery department, eagerly wanting the next 3 minutes to pass so he could go on break.
Everyone was gathered at their normal table, sitting and eating Junes-brand meat-like food and drink while discussing their plans and generally just joking around. Teddie had disappeared to who knew where, and that just left Yosuke.
And Souji, who was probably off having fun doing something with his new friends now. As always, Yosuke felt a twinge of jealousy that he pushed down rapidly when he thought of his partner. He had probably made friends really quickly with his looks and personality, and had no trouble fitting in anywhere.
But for all that Yosuke thought that, he could never stay mad or feel that way about Souji. The other boy just had this atmosphere that made a person think about who they were and who they wanted to be... and who they wanted in general.
And Yosuke wanted girls.
He was almost sure of it.
The 'almost' was the part that stuck in his brain as grinning, he pulled the orange apron over his head and started to walk away when he was stopped by two annoyed senpai.
“Hey, Hanamura!” The gaudy one said, stomping up with a hand on her hip. Behind her, the other girl held the same pose. “We need off tomorrow. Fix the schedule.”
Yosuke sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. “I can't do that; we're going to need all the help we can get this week. Besides, aren't you saving up for something?”
She scoffed. “Whatever. Can't you get one of your little friends to come in? You always did before...” she trailed off with a glint in her eyes that mocked him.
Last year Souji had come in to help Junes during Golden Week, but it was because of a lot of begging on Yosuke's part, and the two actually had fun there. No one else would voluntarily come in to help on their vacation.
The other girl, a snooty blond, said, “Yeah, last year there was that one really hot transfer student, wasn't there? I wonder why he would come here, when there were, like, so many better things to do...”
Yosuke's hand clenched into a fist, and he turned away from them. “Sorry, I can't help you.”
One of the girls put a manicured hand on his shoulder and Yosuke resisted the urge to throw it in her face. “No, you're gonna help us, or we're gonna quit. And the little Junes Prince has no people to help him, does he?”
Now both of Yosuke's hands were fists as he ran that through his mind. Self-deprecatingly, he found it to be true, no matter how much he didn't want to believe it. The Investigation Team were still his closest friends, but only one person would voluntarily help him with something like this, and he wasn't here right now.
“Actually, Junes is a nice place to work during Golden Week. Isn't it, Nanako-chan?”
A voice said behind them. A strikingly familiar voice, one that rang in Yosuke's memories day and night. One that he could recognize on the spot, although his mind had to be playing tricks on him, it just had to be...
“Yeah! I love Junes!”
Yosuke's breath hitched in his throat; he didn't dare to turn around for fear that it was just an illusion; his mind was going crazy. No...
“Hey,” the snooty girl whispered, “it's that transfer student and his kid cousin, the detective's kid.”
Part of Yosuke internally chuckled at 'kid cousin', but the rest of his senses were focused on the rapidly approaching footsteps. The two senpai rolled their eyes, albeit nervously, and disappeared, but Yosuke didn't move a muscle until he felt a pair of warm arms envelop him from behind and pull him back to lean on someone's chest.
A chest that was irrevocably, irrefutably Souji's.
Re: Finding Home 3e/?
anonymous
June 26 2012, 00:49:01 UTC
About Souji's clothing- plot holes abound.
Finding Home 3e/?
“You idiot,” Yosuke murmured, looking at an arm that was definitely Souji's. “That's for girls.”
A deep chuckle reverberated in his ear and Yosuke felt the vibrations against his back. “Then we'll be girls together.”
On impulse Yosuke whipped around and wrapped his arms around his partner tightly, repressing the sudden and unwanted tears that were springing to his eyes. Despite having the Investigation Team around, there was still that Souji-shaped hole no one could fill but Souji that had just been filled. He blinked rapidly.
Souji laughed again, hands still on Yosuke's back. “Didn't know you'd miss me so much.” His voice, although light-hearted, was slightly insecure and Yosuke rolled his eyes fondly.
“Shut up,” he muttered, moving away. A cold breeze somehow struck him and Yosuke crossed his arms to gain back the missing warmth. “Dude, not that I'm not glad to see you, 'cause I'm fucking elated, but... what the hell are you doing here?”
Souji hadn't changed at all, to Yosuke's relief- he was irrationally worried that he would come back with a buzz cut, or piercings like Kanji or something. But no, Souji's gray hair was still in the bowl cut,and his silver eyes were still sparkling mischievously, but with a sadness that made Yosuke's muscles tense.
“It's not enough for me to want to see you all?” Yosuke could tell he purposefully dodged the question, but before he could say anything there was a pink girl around his legs.
“Yosuke-nii-chan!” Nanako Dojima grinned brightly, hugging the brunette cheerfully. Yosuke smiled and bent down.
“Hey, Nanako-chan. Nice seeing you again.”
Nanako pouted indignantly- it was a strange but endearing look on her. “Who were those girls? They were mean,” she pointed out bluntly, causing Yosuke to snort in amusement. “They don't deserve to work at Junes!”
Yosuke chuckled and glanced up to see Souji watching him with an expression that made Yosuke's face flush. Standing, he grinned. “Well, shall we go surprise the team? I bet Teddie'll have a panic attack.”
As Nanako squealed, Souji caught his eye and winked, making Yosuke's heart palpitate traitorously- he liked girls, dammit! “Let's go,” he hummed affirmatively.
-+-+-+-+-+-
“Here, my treat.”
The rest of the Investigation Team gaped at Yosuke disbelievingly, and more importantly, at his tray of Junes steak for them all. Even Chie, who would normally be gorging herself, paused in her admiration to stare at him.
“... Are you sure you're feeling okay, Yosuke-kun?” Yukiko asked.
Yosuke chuckled. “Yeah, I'm fine Yukiko-san. I dunno, I just felt like treating you all. I mean, it's Golden Week, a time for family and all that crap, and you guys are like family and all, so... eat.” He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, wary after saying all that. It was true, though; sometimes the Team felt more like his family than his real family.
Kanji blinked once, then twice. “How'd you afford all this, though, Yosuke-senpai?”
At that, Yosuke perked up and winked. “Well, I've got quite a wealthy benefactor,” he grinned, snapping his fingers.
Out of the elevator came their Souji and Nanako, just as they'd planned.
Except it was now a cross-dressing Souji, and Nanako.
“... ohmygod partner why...” Yosuke groaned, head hitting the table as his brain stopped.
Souji shrugged in his black schoolgirl outfit. “Make an entrance?”
Yosuke facepalmed once again as the Investigation Team slowly came to realize who was standing in front of them, wooden sword and all.
“Souji-senpai?”
“Holy crap, Souji!”
“Senpai!” Rise's exclamation was the sign for the rest of the team to crowd around Souji, Rise clutching his arm in a death grip. Her other hand was laced firmly in Naoto's.
Re: Finding Home 3f/?
anonymous
June 26 2012, 00:51:21 UTC
Finding Home 3f/?
Suddenly a thought struck him and Yosuke turned to Chie and Kanji, who were both settling down in their chairs again, both surreptitiously rubbing their eyes. Yosuke inwardly chuckled at their alike actions.
“Hey, where's Teddie?” He asked, glancing around the crowded food court, pausing when he saw the blond Shadow and knew that he had spotted Souji.
A second later Yosuke lost him as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, appearing a second later as he barreled into Souji, nearly knocking the older boy to the ground. Letting out an indecipherable wail, Teddie buried his head in Souji's shoulder and began to wail loudly, shedding tears and sparkles oddly enough.
Souji tentatively put his hands on Teddie's shoulders while the younger boy cried. “Hey Teddie,” he whispered. “I missed you too.”
That only made Teddie cry harder, hugging Souji around the waist. Eventually his wailing died down to sniffles, but he didn't move. In fact, nobody moved, everyone staring quietly at Teddie and Souji as Souji made no attempt to pry Teddie off of him.
Chuckling weakly, Yosuke broke the sort-of awkward silence by striding forward and pulling Teddie away from Souji. “Come on, Ted,” he murmured. “Shouldn't we be happy?”
That had the opposite effect of what Yosuke wanted, as instead of Teddie ceasing his crying he just latched onto Yosuke's waist and kept bawling.
Locked in place, Yosuke's gaze raced around Junes awkwardly before he tentatively placed his hands on Teddie's shoulders like Souji did and pulled him away. “Come on, Ted,” he whispered again, although this time it was more awkward than amused. “Get off me.”
Finally Teddie let go of him and sat down with a thump at their table, still sniffling. “W-what're you doing here, Sensei?”
The rest of them sat in their allotted places and everyone took a moment to bask in their togetherness again, as odd as it sounded. It had been more than a year since the murders had ended, with Adachi being caught and jailed. More than a year since they had been together like this, and now that they were it was a moment before anyone wanted to ruin the reality that they couldn't stay like this forever.
But of course, all moments like that have to end and this one did, with Naoto leaning over the table towards Souji and questioning, “So, Souji-senpai, will you divulge how you came to be in Inaba?”
Yosuke was wondering that himself. “Yeah, man, I thought you weren't gonna be able to come back until summer break?”
Souji didn't answer, instead choosing to stare at the table.
"Partner?"
Yosuke's quiet question broke him out of his reverie, and the pigtailed boy's head snapped up to meet eyes with Yosuke.
What Yosuke met there shocked him. For the first time since he'd known him, Souji almost looked... ashamed?
Souji never looked ashamed. It wasn't an expression in his admittedly small variety of expressions. So what had happened to make him look like that?
"Well, I... I wanted to come home and surprise you guys for Golden Week. But my parents said no." His talking got louder and his expression angrier as he went on, still staring at the table. "My dad said it was too dangerous here, and my mother said that it was boring here and I should want to stay in the city, because my 'friends'," he made quotation marks in the air mockingly, "weren't real friends."
Immediately the Investigation Team broke out in protests, all at once talking at Souji. Rise, Kanji and Chie started protesting and declaring their loyalty to Souji simultaneously, while Teddie and Yukiko started proclaiming the wrongness of that scene. Naoto just scowled and muttered under her breath, while Yosuke stared at Souji intently.
"You know that's not true, right?" He questioned.
Souji smiled fondly, a little thing but characteristic of who they'd come to know. "Yeah, I know Yosuke."
Finally, they all calmed down. "So," Chie asked with a triumphant smile, "what happened? Did you argue some sense into them?"
"Um... no. I ran away."
The resulting "WHAT?" caught the attention of everyone in Junes.
Re: Finding Home 3g/?
anonymous
June 26 2012, 00:54:35 UTC
Finally, wanted to post all of part 3 'cause I had it written. Why is my writing so descriptive... -.-
Finding Home 3g/?
Gaping, none of the Investigation Team actually said anything, until Nanako giggled at them for the first time since Souji and her had appeared. “You all look funny,” she laughed.
Glancing at each other, they all broke out in laughter. Yosuke bent over, chuckling, and patted Nanako on the head. “Thanks for that, Nanako,” he smiled.
Nanako smiled sweetly up at him. “You're welcome, Yosuke-nii-chan,” she said, making Yosuke flush and glance away at the honorific. The only people who had ever attached -chan to his name were relatives, and hearing it from Nanako only proved how close she had grown to him and the group itself since Souji's arrival.
Chie looked at his pink face and started laughing. “Aww, now Yosuke's a brother and a senpai,” she teased.
Teddie looked utterly serious as he proclaimed, “Yeah! Yosuke's my brother!”
Conversations tapered off at that statement, and Teddie only grinned. Yosuke, on the other hand, covered his face in his hands to hide his satisfaction and blush at that.
“Embarrassed, Yosuke?” Souji nudged Yosuke in the shoulder.
“Shut up,” he muttered, still grinning.
Naoto looked complacent. “It goes to show how we've become a family throughout the case,” she observed.
They all looked at each other silently, before Yukiko broke it. “So, Souji-kun, your parents don't know you're here?” She asked worriedly.
Souji didn't look like he wanted to get back to the topic, but they did anyway. “Well, I left them a note... no matter what, though, I'm not leaving. I'm spending my week with you guys,” he declared.
Kanji stood up and pumped a fist into the air. “HELL yeah!” Then he looked down at everyone else sheepishly. “...no?”
Rise giggled and jumped up from her seat, pulling Naoto with her. “Yeah! Let's party!”
Everyone agreed with that, and stood to throw away their trash. Yosuke stood next to Nanako and Souji as they dispersed their separate ways for a moment, standing quietly next to his best friend.
After a moment of calm silence, he placed one hand on Souji's shoulder and said what had been on his mind this whole time.
“You know, I'm really glad you're back. Things weren't the same without you.”
Souji met his gaze, gray eyes filled with happiness and sincerity. “I know.
Souji grinned and took his bags upstairs, heading for his old room. Just as Dojima had said, nothing had changed- his futon was still neatly folded, one lone unfinished plastic model was on the shelf, and his trusty fishing gear was hidden in the closet. After packing things away, Souji left his room and ran into Nanako as he was heading to look for her.
“Onii-chan!” She exclaimed as she looked up. She never got tired of calling him that, and Souji never grew tired of hearing it. “Can we go to Junes? And see Teddie, and Yosuke-nii-chan, and Kanji-nii-chan, and Chie-onee-chan, and Yukiko-onee-chan, and-”
Souji cut her off, smiling and flicking one short brown pigtail. “Sure, Nanako, we can go see all of them in a little while.” Nanako grinned and giggled, flouncing back downstairs.
I wonder when all of them turned into Nanako-chan's siblings, Souji reflected bemusedly as he headed to the bathroom to wash up. Nanako had become sort of a little sis to all of them, though, after the events of November and December...
Turning his thoughts away from depressing things like that, Souji then started on a new train of thought; the Investigation Team. The Seekers of Truth. Whatever you called them, they were really only a group of kids with the power to save people that they had harnessed on their own. And in the end, all they really needed was their bonds with each other to get them through.
His thoughts turned to the way each of them would react when he showed up unexpectedly at Junes- he knew they still got together there every holiday or weekend, and often after school. Naoto would hear his story and probably reproach him for doing such a stupid thing, but she'd be happy to see him even if she didn't show it. Teddie and Rise would probably burst into tears, and Yukiko and Chie, and Kanji to a point, would clobber him with questions happily.
Yosuke... would do none of that. Souji could picture the scene in his mind:
… Yosuke grinned and winked at him, brown eyes alight with joy. “Good to have you back, partner...”
… “Partner...”
… “Mmm, partner...”
Souji jumped and wondered when the nickname in the false greeting had turned into a moan.
It was probably around the time his hormones started raging up at the thought of his best friend. That happened a lot.
He knew he wasn't really into girls all that much, and had known that before he moved to Inaba. What Souji didn't know was how he had gotten so attached to the brunette in such a short amount of time. It had happened gradually, and before Souji knew it he was head over heels for Yosuke. The only problem was telling him.
Yosuke's homophobic tendencies seemed to pop up whenever Souji and him were alone, and as much as the silver-haired boy could understand it still got on his nerves. What's wrong with this, he wanted to scream sometimes when they would brush hands or share a look, Yosuke always shying away and spouting his homophobic crap. I don't see it as weird, why do you?
But with all Yosuke's crap and teasing, there were times when Souji distinctively remembered Yosuke saying things that could be taken as... liking Souji. Of course, he always followed up afterward with something stupid, but they left a mark on Souji's memories as a possibility that maybe, one day...
Souji violently shoved those thoughts back out of his mind again, heading downstairs at a rapid pace. At the bottom, Dojima was standing with his familiar coat slung over his shoulder. “I'm heading out,” he notified Souji. “Take Nanako to Junes or something, will you?”
Nanako bounced up next to him from her spot near the TV. “Yeah, let's go big bro!” She giggled.
Souji chuckled and slipped on his shoes, and then the two headed out to see the Investigation Team once again.
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Junes was a bright and colorful place at the beginning of Golden Week, all sorts of families going there to shop and spend time together. Usually that was no different for the Seekers of Truth, except one of their number was gone from the town and two others were working their butts off.
“Man, where the hell'd Teddie go?” Yosuke groaned.
The brunette wiped his forehead with his sleeve and continued to stack cans in the grocery department, eagerly wanting the next 3 minutes to pass so he could go on break.
Everyone was gathered at their normal table, sitting and eating Junes-brand meat-like food and drink while discussing their plans and generally just joking around. Teddie had disappeared to who knew where, and that just left Yosuke.
And Souji, who was probably off having fun doing something with his new friends now. As always, Yosuke felt a twinge of jealousy that he pushed down rapidly when he thought of his partner. He had probably made friends really quickly with his looks and personality, and had no trouble fitting in anywhere.
But for all that Yosuke thought that, he could never stay mad or feel that way about Souji. The other boy just had this atmosphere that made a person think about who they were and who they wanted to be... and who they wanted in general.
And Yosuke wanted girls.
He was almost sure of it.
The 'almost' was the part that stuck in his brain as grinning, he pulled the orange apron over his head and started to walk away when he was stopped by two annoyed senpai.
“Hey, Hanamura!” The gaudy one said, stomping up with a hand on her hip. Behind her, the other girl held the same pose. “We need off tomorrow. Fix the schedule.”
Yosuke sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. “I can't do that; we're going to need all the help we can get this week. Besides, aren't you saving up for something?”
She scoffed. “Whatever. Can't you get one of your little friends to come in? You always did before...” she trailed off with a glint in her eyes that mocked him.
Last year Souji had come in to help Junes during Golden Week, but it was because of a lot of begging on Yosuke's part, and the two actually had fun there. No one else would voluntarily come in to help on their vacation.
The other girl, a snooty blond, said, “Yeah, last year there was that one really hot transfer student, wasn't there? I wonder why he would come here, when there were, like, so many better things to do...”
Yosuke's hand clenched into a fist, and he turned away from them. “Sorry, I can't help you.”
One of the girls put a manicured hand on his shoulder and Yosuke resisted the urge to throw it in her face. “No, you're gonna help us, or we're gonna quit. And the little Junes Prince has no people to help him, does he?”
Now both of Yosuke's hands were fists as he ran that through his mind. Self-deprecatingly, he found it to be true, no matter how much he didn't want to believe it. The Investigation Team were still his closest friends, but only one person would voluntarily help him with something like this, and he wasn't here right now.
“Actually, Junes is a nice place to work during Golden Week. Isn't it, Nanako-chan?”
A voice said behind them. A strikingly familiar voice, one that rang in Yosuke's memories day and night. One that he could recognize on the spot, although his mind had to be playing tricks on him, it just had to be...
“Yeah! I love Junes!”
Yosuke's breath hitched in his throat; he didn't dare to turn around for fear that it was just an illusion; his mind was going crazy. No...
“Hey,” the snooty girl whispered, “it's that transfer student and his kid cousin, the detective's kid.”
Part of Yosuke internally chuckled at 'kid cousin', but the rest of his senses were focused on the rapidly approaching footsteps. The two senpai rolled their eyes, albeit nervously, and disappeared, but Yosuke didn't move a muscle until he felt a pair of warm arms envelop him from behind and pull him back to lean on someone's chest.
A chest that was irrevocably, irrefutably Souji's.
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Finding Home 3e/?
“You idiot,” Yosuke murmured, looking at an arm that was definitely Souji's. “That's for girls.”
A deep chuckle reverberated in his ear and Yosuke felt the vibrations against his back. “Then we'll be girls together.”
On impulse Yosuke whipped around and wrapped his arms around his partner tightly, repressing the sudden and unwanted tears that were springing to his eyes. Despite having the Investigation Team around, there was still that Souji-shaped hole no one could fill but Souji that had just been filled. He blinked rapidly.
Souji laughed again, hands still on Yosuke's back. “Didn't know you'd miss me so much.” His voice, although light-hearted, was slightly insecure and Yosuke rolled his eyes fondly.
“Shut up,” he muttered, moving away. A cold breeze somehow struck him and Yosuke crossed his arms to gain back the missing warmth. “Dude, not that I'm not glad to see you, 'cause I'm fucking elated, but... what the hell are you doing here?”
Souji hadn't changed at all, to Yosuke's relief- he was irrationally worried that he would come back with a buzz cut, or piercings like Kanji or something. But no, Souji's gray hair was still in the bowl cut,and his silver eyes were still sparkling mischievously, but with a sadness that made Yosuke's muscles tense.
“It's not enough for me to want to see you all?” Yosuke could tell he purposefully dodged the question, but before he could say anything there was a pink girl around his legs.
“Yosuke-nii-chan!” Nanako Dojima grinned brightly, hugging the brunette cheerfully. Yosuke smiled and bent down.
“Hey, Nanako-chan. Nice seeing you again.”
Nanako pouted indignantly- it was a strange but endearing look on her. “Who were those girls? They were mean,” she pointed out bluntly, causing Yosuke to snort in amusement. “They don't deserve to work at Junes!”
Yosuke chuckled and glanced up to see Souji watching him with an expression that made Yosuke's face flush. Standing, he grinned. “Well, shall we go surprise the team? I bet Teddie'll have a panic attack.”
As Nanako squealed, Souji caught his eye and winked, making Yosuke's heart palpitate traitorously- he liked girls, dammit! “Let's go,” he hummed affirmatively.
-+-+-+-+-+-
“Here, my treat.”
The rest of the Investigation Team gaped at Yosuke disbelievingly, and more importantly, at his tray of Junes steak for them all. Even Chie, who would normally be gorging herself, paused in her admiration to stare at him.
“... Are you sure you're feeling okay, Yosuke-kun?” Yukiko asked.
Yosuke chuckled. “Yeah, I'm fine Yukiko-san. I dunno, I just felt like treating you all. I mean, it's Golden Week, a time for family and all that crap, and you guys are like family and all, so... eat.” He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, wary after saying all that. It was true, though; sometimes the Team felt more like his family than his real family.
Kanji blinked once, then twice. “How'd you afford all this, though, Yosuke-senpai?”
At that, Yosuke perked up and winked. “Well, I've got quite a wealthy benefactor,” he grinned, snapping his fingers.
Out of the elevator came their Souji and Nanako, just as they'd planned.
Except it was now a cross-dressing Souji, and Nanako.
“... ohmygod partner why...” Yosuke groaned, head hitting the table as his brain stopped.
Souji shrugged in his black schoolgirl outfit. “Make an entrance?”
Yosuke facepalmed once again as the Investigation Team slowly came to realize who was standing in front of them, wooden sword and all.
“Souji-senpai?”
“Holy crap, Souji!”
“Senpai!” Rise's exclamation was the sign for the rest of the team to crowd around Souji, Rise clutching his arm in a death grip. Her other hand was laced firmly in Naoto's.
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Suddenly a thought struck him and Yosuke turned to Chie and Kanji, who were both settling down in their chairs again, both surreptitiously rubbing their eyes. Yosuke inwardly chuckled at their alike actions.
“Hey, where's Teddie?” He asked, glancing around the crowded food court, pausing when he saw the blond Shadow and knew that he had spotted Souji.
A second later Yosuke lost him as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, appearing a second later as he barreled into Souji, nearly knocking the older boy to the ground. Letting out an indecipherable wail, Teddie buried his head in Souji's shoulder and began to wail loudly, shedding tears and sparkles oddly enough.
Souji tentatively put his hands on Teddie's shoulders while the younger boy cried. “Hey Teddie,” he whispered. “I missed you too.”
That only made Teddie cry harder, hugging Souji around the waist. Eventually his wailing died down to sniffles, but he didn't move. In fact, nobody moved, everyone staring quietly at Teddie and Souji as Souji made no attempt to pry Teddie off of him.
Chuckling weakly, Yosuke broke the sort-of awkward silence by striding forward and pulling Teddie away from Souji. “Come on, Ted,” he murmured. “Shouldn't we be happy?”
That had the opposite effect of what Yosuke wanted, as instead of Teddie ceasing his crying he just latched onto Yosuke's waist and kept bawling.
Locked in place, Yosuke's gaze raced around Junes awkwardly before he tentatively placed his hands on Teddie's shoulders like Souji did and pulled him away. “Come on, Ted,” he whispered again, although this time it was more awkward than amused. “Get off me.”
Finally Teddie let go of him and sat down with a thump at their table, still sniffling. “W-what're you doing here, Sensei?”
The rest of them sat in their allotted places and everyone took a moment to bask in their togetherness again, as odd as it sounded. It had been more than a year since the murders had ended, with Adachi being caught and jailed. More than a year since they had been together like this, and now that they were it was a moment before anyone wanted to ruin the reality that they couldn't stay like this forever.
But of course, all moments like that have to end and this one did, with Naoto leaning over the table towards Souji and questioning, “So, Souji-senpai, will you divulge how you came to be in Inaba?”
Yosuke was wondering that himself. “Yeah, man, I thought you weren't gonna be able to come back until summer break?”
Souji didn't answer, instead choosing to stare at the table.
"Partner?"
Yosuke's quiet question broke him out of his reverie, and the pigtailed boy's head snapped up to meet eyes with Yosuke.
What Yosuke met there shocked him. For the first time since he'd known him, Souji almost looked... ashamed?
Souji never looked ashamed. It wasn't an expression in his admittedly small variety of expressions. So what had happened to make him look like that?
"Well, I... I wanted to come home and surprise you guys for Golden Week. But my parents said no." His talking got louder and his expression angrier as he went on, still staring at the table. "My dad said it was too dangerous here, and my mother said that it was boring here and I should want to stay in the city, because my 'friends'," he made quotation marks in the air mockingly, "weren't real friends."
Immediately the Investigation Team broke out in protests, all at once talking at Souji. Rise, Kanji and Chie started protesting and declaring their loyalty to Souji simultaneously, while Teddie and Yukiko started proclaiming the wrongness of that scene. Naoto just scowled and muttered under her breath, while Yosuke stared at Souji intently.
"You know that's not true, right?" He questioned.
Souji smiled fondly, a little thing but characteristic of who they'd come to know. "Yeah, I know Yosuke."
Finally, they all calmed down. "So," Chie asked with a triumphant smile, "what happened? Did you argue some sense into them?"
"Um... no. I ran away."
The resulting "WHAT?" caught the attention of everyone in Junes.
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Finding Home 3g/?
Gaping, none of the Investigation Team actually said anything, until Nanako giggled at them for the first time since Souji and her had appeared. “You all look funny,” she laughed.
Glancing at each other, they all broke out in laughter. Yosuke bent over, chuckling, and patted Nanako on the head. “Thanks for that, Nanako,” he smiled.
Nanako smiled sweetly up at him. “You're welcome, Yosuke-nii-chan,” she said, making Yosuke flush and glance away at the honorific. The only people who had ever attached -chan to his name were relatives, and hearing it from Nanako only proved how close she had grown to him and the group itself since Souji's arrival.
Chie looked at his pink face and started laughing. “Aww, now Yosuke's a brother and a senpai,” she teased.
Teddie looked utterly serious as he proclaimed, “Yeah! Yosuke's my brother!”
Conversations tapered off at that statement, and Teddie only grinned. Yosuke, on the other hand, covered his face in his hands to hide his satisfaction and blush at that.
“Embarrassed, Yosuke?” Souji nudged Yosuke in the shoulder.
“Shut up,” he muttered, still grinning.
Naoto looked complacent. “It goes to show how we've become a family throughout the case,” she observed.
They all looked at each other silently, before Yukiko broke it. “So, Souji-kun, your parents don't know you're here?” She asked worriedly.
Souji didn't look like he wanted to get back to the topic, but they did anyway. “Well, I left them a note... no matter what, though, I'm not leaving. I'm spending my week with you guys,” he declared.
Kanji stood up and pumped a fist into the air. “HELL yeah!” Then he looked down at everyone else sheepishly. “...no?”
Rise giggled and jumped up from her seat, pulling Naoto with her. “Yeah! Let's party!”
Everyone agreed with that, and stood to throw away their trash. Yosuke stood next to Nanako and Souji as they dispersed their separate ways for a moment, standing quietly next to his best friend.
After a moment of calm silence, he placed one hand on Souji's shoulder and said what had been on his mind this whole time.
“You know, I'm really glad you're back. Things weren't the same without you.”
Souji met his gaze, gray eyes filled with happiness and sincerity. “I know.
“I'm glad to be back too.”
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