youraffection | [IC] Inbox @ recolle

[ Yosuke rides on over, curious as to what Yu has to share. He's seen a few strange things thus far himself, but nothing particularly life-changing. Just...odd things. Yu in a towel, a cute girl with pigtails trying to burn his face off with spicy food...

He expects Yu to be inside like last time, but when he sees a familiar figure outside the entrance, Yosuke slows his bike to a halt in front of the other boy. ]

Hey.

[ He hops off, keeping hold of his bike by the handles. ]

Hope you weren't waiting long.

[ For a moment, Yu just looks at him, huffing a brief, silent sigh through his nose.

Then, with a quick glance around to make sure no one's looking, he leans in to press a brief, sweet kiss to his boyfriend's cheek.

But he doesn't smile. That's probably the first indication Yosuke has that whatever he's remembered isn't great. ]

Not at all. I just got here myself. Come on, let's walk in together.

[ Yosuke flushes immediately, hand to his cheek in a way that's probably more attention-grabbing and dramatic than the kiss itself had been. ]

D-Dude...

[ But Yu's unusually somber demeanor is enough to calm Yosuke down from making a scene over it. If anything, he's just concerned. ]

Uh, yeah. Sure.

[ He'll walk his bike along the sidewalk as they start to move, keeping it on the opposite side of Yu so they can stroll as closely as they want. ]

Everything okay...?

[ He feels like he knows the answer to that. ]

[ ...

Is there a lifetime where he and Yosuke could have met, and started to fall for one another and begin to date, and spend time with all their friends and make plans for the future together... where they could just be normal teenagers, with no strange supernatural powers or bizarre visions? A lifetime where they could just ... be happy, and live a regular life?

He probably shouldn't dwell on it.

His expression when Yosuke asks that question is complicated, but not upset. ]

Does the name Saki Konishi mean anything to you?

[ Yosuke wants to think that's this time. He's still not convinced that the visions they're getting are legitimate. Retrospec hasn't given him any reason to trust their bullshit, so why should this be any different? So, maybe it's not perfect with the visions and everything, but...

He frowns slightly. Saki Konishi? No, but... ]

No...

[ Why does it make him feel kind of...weird? Like his stomach is a little uneasy. ]

Why?

[ He frowns faintly. The way his brow creases is actually the clearer indicator of his own displeasure with the situation. ]

I had a vision with her in it. You knew her. She was...

[ ........ ]

She was important to you, I think. But I ... have reason to think something may have happened to her.

[ Important to him?

Yeah. Something about that feels right. It bothers him that it feels right--stupid gut reactions. Everything he's seen so far has been so...random, so...uninspiring? (Well, Yu in a towel was inspiring in some ways, but it didn't hold the weight of things that the rest of his friends have experienced.)

He can't give into those feelings. That's probably what Retrospec wants. ]

...Why? What happened?

[ He watches Yu's face carefully, noting the light frown, and swallows down on his own nerves. ]

[ The look he gives Yosuke is long, searching, and ... sort of worried.

He doesn't know the name Saki now, maybe. But how will he feel when he does? When he remembers that ... he had feelings for her?

Some piece of his heart feels strange about that idea, but only a small piece. Mostly he's just concerned about how badly Yosuke might end up feeling, and rightly so. Mostly Yu is just ... worried about him. ]

I think she died, [ he says, very softly. After a moment he'll glance away, staring at the path ahead with a deeply furrowed brow. ] That's ... not the memory I had this morning. But I had a memory a few weeks ago that ... suggested she might have been killed. At the time, her name wasn't familiar to me, so I wasn't sure what to make of it, but now that I know who she is...

[ A pause, and Yu's expression softens as he looks at Yosuke again. ]

... will you be alright?

[ He's not sure what to expect, but he knows it isn't good. "Something happened to her." But that doesn't mean finality, does it? At least, until...

I thinks he died.

He thinks back to what Yu said before, about a hospital, and...

Is this...connected?

He stops, just holding onto his bike. Someone important. Someone he should know. Someone who died, someone who might have been killed. He has to think about it. It's difficult when there's a weight to this knowledge, but no real face or familiarity to connect it to. The simple human reaction to the information is sad, knowing there's a loss even if he doesn't know the person. But he should know the person, right?

Someone important to him... ]

I--

[ Yosuke blinks, shaking himself out of it. He hadn't realized how hard he was gripping the handles to his bike, knuckles almost white. Yosuke relaxes his grip as he looks up, catching Yu's gaze. ]

--I mean...yeah. She's not someone I know, or at least I don't now, so...I don't know how to feel.

[ Once Yosuke stops, so does Yu, of course. He'll lift a hand to gently squeeze his best friend's shoulder, continuing to watch him with concern, but he doesn't say anything further until Yosuke's had a chance to voice his thoughts.

It doesn't escape his notice, the way Yosuke was gripping his bike's handles. ]

... yeah. I'm sure that'd feel pretty confusing. If you do you remember something about her, come tell me, okay? I'll be here for you whenever you need it.

[ ... ]

There was ... one other name. [ He glances off to one side, troubled, and lets his hand fall from Yosuke's shoulder. ] From the memory I had a couple weeks ago. I think two people died. Saki, and... someone named Nanako.

[ The name means nothing to him right now. Still, somehow, saying it out loud, saying that "Nanako" was a person who died ... it makes something cold twist up his gut into a hard knot. ]

[ Yu's hand on his shoulder does help ground him before his thoughts and all the whatifs and maybes run away with him. All he can do is nod. ]

Of course I will.

[ They're all in this together. And if they hadn't started sharing info with each other, they wouldn't have the picture that they do now. Yosuke is mostly frustrated that all his friends are seeing things he supposedly knows, but he doesn't.

He listens as Yu continues and notices the change in Yu's demeanor. He was pensive before, but there's something that makes Yu look more...dejected? ]

Nanako?

[ Yeah. There's something about that name, too. Why does he feel like he knows her...

Sitting around a low table, next to Yu (or was it Souji?) along with Yukiko, that girl Chie he's seen before, a tall blond guy, a girl with pigtails, and a little girl... ]

Nanako...

[ Yosuke shakes his head. ]

Why do we know people who died...? What's going on?

I don't know who she is, either, [ he says very quietly in response to Yosuke's repetitions of her name. It disturbs him that he doesn't. It feels like a name he should know. It feels familiar in his mouth, in his mind... in his heart. Like a name that belongs.

It terrifies him to know, with certainty, that she died. Who was she to him? Was she anyone? She must have been someone. Otherwise Yosuke wouldn't have mentioned her when--

God. He still hasn't told Yosuke all the details of that memory. That Yosuke was advocating killing a man. He doesn't know how to say it. It seems too terrifying and awful to pin that horrible decision on his best friend without knowing more about how they arrived at such a dark place.

In the end his reply is simple, and hides many things. ]

I wish I knew. All we can do is ... wait. Wait for more visions, and see if we can figure out the truth.

[ Thus far, Yosuke hasn't felt any...serious connection to these things. Maybe it's partially due to his own stubbornness, his refusal to accept them as anything but fabrications of a deranged and technologically powerful company. But even if he's able to keep them at an arm's length, he can't ignore how they're affecting the people he cares about.

He holds the bike steady with one hand, but the other reaches out to place a comforting hand on Yu's shoulder. ]

Waiting really sucks. [ With no one around to notice, he'll even go as far as leaning in to nudge Yu's cheek with his nose for a quick second. ] But we'll figure it out together. Okay?

[ Yu huffs a sound that isn't quite a laugh through his nose, but a faint smile does quirk up his lips anyway. ]

Yeah. Together.

[ Yosuke smiles gently in return and nods. ]

Good.

[ Now... ]

Hey, there's nothing better as a pick-me-up than to hit up downtown. You wanna great something to eat? It's on me.

Spicy tuna,

[ he declares, firm and certain.

... guess they're getting spicy tuna. Somewhere. ]

[ ...Ugh.

Tuna. Fish. Gross. ]

...Sushi it is.

[ Yosuke hates fish. But he'll do this for you, Yu. ]

There's a place downtown--conveyer belt style.

[ Aaaaand he can get, like, tamago and inari and stuff. ]

We'll find you something without fish.

[ Brushes their hands together, smiling. ]

Yeah, I'll find something.

[ He'll briefly give Yu's pinky a little tug before he decides to hop back on his bike. ]

C'mon, I'll drive.

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