Chapter 15

Sadly, I do not own Persona…

There are no foggy murders here, no Shadows, no social links, and no Personas. This is about the people. At least… as far as I know. Some of the personalities are different because of the fact that there are no social links… i.e. Nanako… other personalities are different because I feel like it.

If you have questions about why my writing is like it is, especially the order of names… read my reasoning in the chapter descriptions of Samurai and Ninjas.

Thoughts

This could potentially be the last chapter. I don't know. I may lose interest again… or get too busy.

Rise and the rest of her film crew had arrived late in the night, and by the time Souji woke up in the morning; she was already gone. Souji went up to room 303 to try and give her pink cell phone she had forgotten to take back with her, but no one answered. He could understand why she left the Amagi Inn so early… it was to bring as little attention as possible to herself. Souji had no idea if Rise had left Inaba yet, but… it would make sense if she did. Besides, he would not want a repeat of her last time in this city. There was so much drama. Souji thought Rise was staying longer, but it may be in her best interests to leave early.

My head hurts… though it might be partially due to that bucket.

Souji wanted to look at a mirror. He bet he actually looked awful, and it made him wonder the director did not use make up on him last night. Souji thought he knew though.

To make Rise look better…

There was probably a huge bump on his forehead and Souji felt his head. Sure enough, a bump had formed. At least, Rise had not mentioned anything… at least if it was there last night.

Even that unfortunate annoyance of having a bump on his head did not dissuade his amusement on seeing both Yosuke awake with shaving cream on his face, and Kanji with 'biker chick' on his face. A full range of emotions came out from between the two of them.

When Yosuke sat up… he felt something weird on his face so he touched his left cheek and asked no one in particular when he removed a little bit of shaving cream, "What the hell?"

Souji was smirking as Kanji started laughing at him. Kanji had sat up as well as he told Yosuke, "Dude… your whole face is covered in shaving cream."

"You're kidding me, right?" Yosuke asked, but still started moving his hand over his face. He found shaving cream over all of his orifices. He yelled, "Damn it! What is going on here!"

"I guess someone snuck into our room and put shaving cream on your face," Souji said, now chuckling.

Yosuke glared at Souji and turned towards Kanji. It was then he noticed the words that were written on the gang-banger's face. All of Yosuke's anger dissipated and he burst out laughing. Kanji looked confused.

"What's so funny?" Kanji asked. When Yosuke didn't answer, instead only continued to laugh… Kanji turned to Souji. Souji was laughing as well. "Dammit! What's so funny!"

Yosuke finally managed to speak his mind, "Kanji… someone came in and wrote something on your face."

Oddly enough, Kanji had a hand-mirror in his own duffel bag. Souji would have to borrow it later. Kanji checked his face for what had been written on his large face. When the blong-haired boy saw that the words 'biker chick' had been written… steam began to pour out of Kanji's ears. All the while, Souji and Yosuke were holding their sides, laughing to death.

"This isn't funny, Senpai!" Kanji yelled, throwing the mirror to the ground. The shards of metal from the hand-mirror scattered among the carpet.

I was going to use that…

"Alright, alright…," Souji tried to stop laughing, but it was hard.

Yosuke was struggling to stop as well, but still managed to say while sitting on his futon, "Well… who did this to us?"

The three of them began pondering who did it. Souji wondered how long it would take the pair to figure out it was Rise and Souji… well only him. He did all the work, Rise just watched and provided the equipment… an accessory to his work then.

"I wonder why Souji wasn't attacked, ya know?" Kanji muttered to them.

"Yeah… Souji did not have anything on his face," Yosuke realized.

This was dangerous. They had figured out the obvious… far too quickly. Souji was sitting down with the two of them, but he needed to save his ass… so he stood up and said, "I do have a bucket-sized bump on my head."

"Oh yeah…," Yosuke confirmed, "You were hit on the head with a bucket by the girls." He thought for a second and asked, "You think… the girls did it to us?"

"You saying Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai did this shit to us!" Kanji asked.

Yosuke explained, "Well… maybe they felt like Souji had been punished enough with the bucket. Yukiko wouldn't do anything more to Souji, anyways." Souji rolled his eyes, and then Yosuke continued, "This could be punishment for trying to sneak into the springs."

"Did they even see us, though?" Kanji questioned. He said, "I thought they only saw Souji. That's why they threw the bucket at him."

"They must have known he was chasing after you or something," Yosuke said.

"So… it was Yukiko-senpai," Kanji said to himself. He rubbed his fists together and stood up.

"And Chie…," Yosuke added.

"It certainly could be," Souji tried to spread the seeds of accusation with Yosuke and Kanji.

They both stood up and made as if they were headed towards the sliding door. That was when Souji stopped them. He said to the pair of angry roommates, "You might want to get dressed first."

Yosuke and Kanji looked at each other. They were definitely not dressed to go gallivanting on a raid against a pair of potential marauders. They shook their heads in agreement. Yosuke turned his head towards Souji and said to him, "Thanks…"

I guess Yosuke and Kanji did not even wonder why I was already dressed. Morons…

While Yosuke and Kanji were hastily throwing on clothes, Souji was trying to fix his hair. He was having issues without the help of an available mirror. He began searching for another one, hidden behind a closet or something. Souji gave up after a while, his search proving futile. The mirror was probably right in front of him, but he was too stupid to see it. He decided to let his hair be for now. When Yosuke and Kanji ran into the girls' room, he was sure there would be plenty of rooms.

Even Little Sis…

He didn't think about Nanako before making that claim. The other boys did not mention her when they were accusing the girls. They must have thought that a girl like Nanako would never do something as dastardly as a shaving cream attack.

Souji watched Kanji and Yosuke storm out of the room, headed for room 301. Kanji was wiping on his forehead, fruitlessly trying to remove the words placed on them as he went up the stairs with the fluffy-haired young man. Souji hung back and shut the sliding door that they had left open as lazily headed up the stairs that they had climbed up so quickly. He had a small chuckle at his deviousness for he had escaped suspicion for a while. Souji stopped a few steps from the top of the third floor, and for good reason. The room 301 was right next to the stairwell. The sliding door was closed, but Souji could hear the shouting of Yosuke and Chie from his location well enough.

"What do you mean we did this to your face!" Chie was yelling, "I didn't attack you with shaving cream!"

"Don't deny it…," Yosuke accused her, "You came in the dead of the night and sprayed shaving cream all over my face."

"That makes no sense at all," Chie said.

"Snrk…," Yukiko was starting to laugh and that caused Chie to turn her head.

Yukiko pointed at Kanji. Chie looked at Kanji's forehead and Chie started laughing as Yukiko could not contain her laughter any longer.

"Yukiko-senpai!" Kanji yelled, "It's not funny!"

Kanji was yelling at all three of them as even Yosuke began laughing again. Souji let out a chuckle from the top of the stairs, but it looked like Kanji could not hear him from here.

Eventually, the three had stopped laughing and the yells between Chie and Yosuke began anew. Souji shook his head; they would be at this for a while longer.

Eventually, the door slid open. At first, Souji thought it might be one of his classmates, or Kanji. Yet, when the person who stepped out was barely past his waist and was wearing a pink backpack, Souji exhaled his held breath. It was Nanako, his Little sis, not Chie or Yosuke.

The girl with short brown pigtails smiled upon seeing her Big bro, but still looked concerned. Souji could not blame her. Nanako was probably wondering what crazy thing had happened to him and who Souji was going to blame for his misfortunes. Yet, Nanako could see no remnants of shaving cream on Souji's face, or markings on his forehead. The only thing she could see was the large red marking from the bucket that had hit him last night that was forming into a nice bump.

Souji broke the ice as the young girl with a pink tank top and white skirt smiled at Souji, "Little Sis..."

Nanako did look a little worried as she asked a question, "Are you okay, Big bro?"

Souji knew she saw his injury and was concerned about the hit sustained from the accidental foray into the springs. He replied, "I'll be fine."

She replied cheerfully, "Okay…"

"Are you tired of their arguing?" Souji asked, referring to Chie, Yosuke, and the others.

Nanako nodded and said, "It's too loud." At that moment, a crash was heard. Something must have been broken by the incessant quarrelling.

"There's too much drama around them," Souji nodded.

So, Souji began walking with Nanako back down to 201 where he slid open the sliding door. He maneuvered around Yosuke's and Kanji's duffel and proceeded to grab his own bag. Souji shut the sliding door behind him as he walked away from 201. He would possibly make breakfast with Nanako when they got home because neither of them was staying here.

As Nanako walked down with Souji to the front desk, she asked, "Did you do those things to your friends?"

My Little sis is too smart…

Souji smiled and responded, "How'd you figure that out?"

"Chie-san and Yukiko-san were with me the whole time last night," Nanako explained.

Souji nodded. "Yeah… I am the one who wrote on Kanji's forehead and let Yosuke put shaving cream on his face."

"That wasn't very nice, Big bro," Nanako chided him.

"It is a long story," Souji tried to explain his reasoning; "The main idea behind it was to cheer up Rise-chan."

"Rise-chan!" Nanako's ears perked up upon hearing the idol's name.

"She came late last night to shoot a commercial," Souji said, "We held a wrap party after the shoot." Souji explained, "She left this morning, before I got up."

Nanako looked disappointed that she had no chance to see the red-haired idol while she was at the Amagi Inn. Nanako asked her cousin, "Were you in the commercial, Big bro?"

Souji nodded and Nanako looked a little jealous at his opportunity.

Their discussions included Rise as they left the Amagi Inn. Souji wondered if Yukiko and the others would be annoyed that he left early, but he did not really care at that moment. He only came because Nanako could come along with him. If Nanako did not want to stay any longer; Souji did not want to stay any longer. It was as simple as that.

And back… to my normalcy.

Normalcy in the Dojima household, especially in the summer, meant boredom to Souji Seta. He spent the next couple of days wandering Inaba, earning pocket money by translating, and spending time with his Little sis. In other words, Souji was back to his normal routine. In other words, it was… boring.

Souji had even tried conversing with Dojima a few times during the past couple of days, no matter how futile those attempts were. Those two days of Souji trying to speak to his uncle were excruciating. His uncle was far too busy to speak with him; it was like talking to a rock.

The god damn newspaper is more important to him than his daughter or his nephew. No wonder Nanako is so annoyed with him and will probably ask for emancipation in a few years. She can take better care of herself than he can.

He just could not shake the thought in his mind that life might be more interesting if he was doing something else… with someone. The most interesting part of the year so far was… when he and Rise were pretending to go out, despite of all of the drama involved with the situation.

I don't really miss all of the time around her, do I?

Souji fell asleep while reading the second night back home from the inn. Even with sleep overtaking him while reading his new novella, it was fitful and he woke exhausted. Souji did not bother heading downstairs straight away when he dressed that morning. He just opened his book again and tried to comprehend the words that were placed on the pages before him. Unfortunately, he was far too tired to make sense of what the moronic teacher was trying to do now in his book.

Is he trying to get laid or something?

Souji was nodding off again when a loud noise permeated throughout the home. Souji may have been half-asleep in mid-morning, but… it was not hard to recognize Nanako's voice. It was what Nanako said that brought shivers up his spine.

"Rise-chan!" Souji heard Nanako say from downstairs. To his horror, he heard, "Are you here to see Big bro?"

A tentative voice, yet still affirmative responded, "Maybe…"

Souji could hear Nanako giggling from downstairs. She asked Rise, "Do you want some breakfast?"

"You can make breakfast, Nanako-chan?" Rise responded cheerfully.

Souji, meanwhile, had closed his book and placed it on the table. Rise had come to his house, and he was not really sure why. He finally put on a new white polo shirt and proceeded to pop the collar afterwards. It did feel nice to put on a fresh shirt. Souji did not head down, however. He just sat back down on the couch and shut out the conversations that were going on below.

What does Rise want now? What does she want enough to come all the way to my house?

Souji stood up and was headed towards his door, his intent was to try and clear his head by splashing his face with cool water. About two steps from the doorknob, the door opened, and in burst the reason for Souji's stress and cracks in his demeanor. It was the only thing that disrupted his boring life, though, as the red-headed idol appeared in front of him. Rise had her hands behind her, one hand had a half-eaten piece of toast in it… the other; Souji did not know what she was holding in that hand. The headache still there from his lack of sleep, Souji squinted to get a good look at Rise.

Souji saw a girl that was dressed to seduce someone… at least she looked more sensually dressed than she usually did. She was wearing a very short white skirt. It was something that made Souji think.

Yosuke would be drooling about those long legs right about now. He'd be doing that if he ever saw her in a swimsuit. He'd be so jealous if he was awake last night, and if he is here right now.

The very light blue tank top that Rise was wearing showed a lot of her midriff. It was really short, and it was considerably tight.

Damn… did she buy these clothes when she was eight? No, I bet the agency bought them for her.

Souji stared at her dark red hair. Just like the last time he saw her, it was not in ponytails, but it was down in soft curls. In Souji's opinion, it looked much, much better.

It probably takes a hell of a long time to set though.

Souji was startled when Rise pulled the piece of toast from behind her back. Before she took a bite, she said, "Your cousin makes good breakfast."

She must have had some of Nanako's eggs beforehand and the toast is just more mobile.

"She'll be glad to hear that," Souji said as Rise began eating the piece of toast.

Rise smiled at Souji's comment as she finished her breakfast. Souji had to ask, "What are you doing in my room? As a matter of fact… what are you doing in the Residential District?"

"To see you," Rise explained, "I told you that you have to do something for me for my birthday."

Souji shook his head. He should have just kept his mouth shut about that locket.

Rise's smile was telling that it was going to be trouble as Souji asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

Rise's smiled widened, "You… have to take me on a real date."

Souji's eyes widened this time around.

She has to be kidding me. What the hell is she thinking!

Rise must have expected the shock from Souji because Rise chuckled as she said, "I have something for you."

Souji got to see what the other object behind Rise's back was as she handed a magazine-like object to the silver-haired young man standing just inside his room.

"What the hell is this!" Souji asked, placing it at eye level.

On the cover was a picture of Rise modeling in very tight jeans, a white sleeveless shirt that did not leave much to the imagination due to its tightness, a leather vest, and a cowboy hat. She had a playful smile to go with her long red hair and dark brown eyes.

"A never-released edition," Rise said, "Something a lot of people would pay a lot of money for."

Souji suddenly realized what he had. He said, still a little out of it, "This is a pin-up book… your pin-up book." Souji was a little scared to look at anymore to see what she was showing to his agency.

Rise nodded, "You like it?" She warned, "Don't tell anyone I gave it to you. My agency would be so pissed if they knew I just did that."

Souji was not really sure what to say, "Uhh… thanks." He continued, "So… if I'm taking you on a date… where do you want to go?"

Rise looked like she was thinking for a moment. Souji looked worried as to what Rise might have him take her. Rise sat down on Souji's couch for a moment before saying to the silver-haired young man, "How about… we finish that date that we never finished?"

"The one to Okina City?" Souji questioned.

Rise nodded, "Yep…"

"Are we going on another shopping spree?" Souji asked.

Rise kept her eyes fixed on Souji and said with that fixed smile, "I don't know… maybe I should let you take me somewhere in Okina."

Souji sighed, "Well… we need to leave this room to go, don't we?"

This was going to be so tedious… but… I owe her as much.

Rise stood up, and grabbed hold of his arm as they headed down the stairs. He barely had time to grab his wallet, which was still full of the money from when he had expected to buy Rise's gift the last time. Nanako was waiting for them in the living room when the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs. Nanako's smile at Souji was telling him something akin to, "I told you so…"

I wonder if people are going to recognize Rise again and it's going to cause another god damn firestorm.

Souji made sure Rise was not holding his arm as they left the Dojima Residence and left the Residential District. They would need to take the bus, so the pair of them headed to the South Shopping District next to the Moei Gas Station. In the three minutes that Rise and Souji had to wait for the bus, Rise placed her head on Souji's shoulder.

This is just like when Rise first came here.

Souji would not let Rise grab his hand when the bus arrived. He knew she wanted to, but he did not want a repeat of last time Souji pretended to be with Rise. Unfortunately, that did not stop her from laying her head on Souji's shoulder while they sat on the back of the bus. They could not sit anywhere else; it was far too crowded, and they risked being noticed if they sat anywhere else.

Souji sighed. It was silly to relive all of these same memories of paparazzi and photographers all over again.

Rise had closed her eyes as they passed street after street. She asked, "Souji-kun? Do you like me with my hair down?"

Souji put his hand on his chin. He closed his eyes for a second to picture Rise with her hair in pigtails, and her hair down and in curls. It only took a second for Souji to decide. He responded, "I like your hair down. It's cute."

Souji could tell Rise was smiling, but he wanted to sigh as she snuggled a little deeper into his shoulder. He did not really mind Rise being on his shoulder; he just… hated controversy. If he did not fear hurting Rise's reputation, he would admit that it was kind of nice to have Rise around.

Souji shook Rise when they arrived at the station to Okina City. She was a little groggy when he led her down the escalator to the shopping area of the mini-city. People came to Okina for the shopping first, and not much else. Shopping… Souji's natural enemy.

Looks like I have to figure out what to do while I'm here now… Please no one recognize Rise while I'm here.

Rise brushed back her hair as she blinked her eyes. They were standing in the middle of the plaza, near a few stores that the two of them visited a couple of months ago. Souji was not sure where to take her, so she let Rise lead the way. It was not a very stereotypical masculine thing to do in many cases, but… what else could Souji do?

Souji started to regret his decision to let Rise choose where to travel within Okina. It was mainly watching her meander around a store, pick out a piece of clothes, and then try it on. The only good point… he got to see her try it on and model it for her.

At least she has not bought anything yet.

Rise exited the dressing room wearing a long yellow sundress. She looked really pretty in it. Rise smiled so much more than she did when she first came here. It just complimented her dress perfectly.

The red-haired idol spun around, letting the yellow dress flow around her ankles, and asked Souji, "What do you think?"

"You look really pretty," Souji responded truthfully.

Rise could not help but to wrap her arms around Souji's neck. He had to dislodge her before the salesman came around. It was far too close a call.

As the salesman came up to Rise, obviously happy to have her in his store, and believing that Souji was just some guy to carry her bags… he asked in awe of her presence, "What do you think, Rise-san?"

"I love it," Rise smiled, "I'll take it…"

"I'm glad. I'll be waiting at the front desk," the salesman said.

As Rise turned around to go back to the dressing room to change out of the dress, the salesman stared at the retreating idol. The guy had been staring at her ever since she had entered, with her short skirt and tight shirt. Souji knew that the guy did not want to leave either, and that's why Souji glared at him. When Rise came out of the dressing room with the yellow dress, she pulled out her plastic card, which really surprised Souji. He thought he would be paying for this.

What's going on?

When Rise did not hand the bag to Souji after she bought it, the salesman looked confused. Yet, Rise only smiled at the guy working at the store. She said, "I can't go shopping with a friend?"

Souji was not sure if he should ask about it when they came out of the store, but he said, "That dress was expensive. Are you sure you didn't want me to pay for it?"

Rise shook her head, "No, no… this wasn't the thing you wanted to buy me for my birthday, right?"

Souji's heart dropped. For one moment, he had completely forgotten about that. He sighed as he thought about that gold locket. He still did not have enough money to buy it. Rise saw his disillusionment.

Rise told Souji, "Why don't you take me to the place where the thing you wanted to get is?"

Souji nodded and led Rise towards Croco Fur. Halfway there, Souji stopped to Rise's confusion, at an ice cream stand.

"Do you want some?" Souji asked, still not very excited about the prospect of showing her something he could not afford.

Rise would not say it, but she loved ice cream. She nodded happily, "I'd love to have some ice cream."

"What kind?" Souji asked.

"I love chocolate ice cream," Rise responded.

Souji ended up buying two cones of chocolate ice cream because he was partial to chocolate as well. They had to eat quickly before it melted. He was not much in the mood to eat ice cream with her, but… maybe it would make her feel better considering he could not buy her what she wanted.

If only Nanako didn't pick it out… It is a really pretty locket, but… still… damn.

He nearly cursed in surprise when Rise placed remnants of chocolate ice cream on Souji's nose. Her cheery smile belied any worries on the idol's mind. Souji tried to smile as he wiped off the chocolate, and then proceeded to place chocolate on Rise's nose as well. They finished their ice cream before they entered Croco Fur. Souji was sure the workers would not like the pair of them getting ice cream on the purses, fur coats, and display cases. Souji gave an uneasy smile to Rise's cheery grin as they threw away their napkins… Souji opened the door.

"Ooh…," Rise was surprised by the variety of goods as soon as they entered the store. Souji let her go browse the place at her own free will because he was in no hurry to face her either. The only surprise to him was that it was a male salesperson at the front today who kept his eyes trained on Rise. Souji just stuck to the back wall, relaxed, and closed his eyes to try and prevent the impending headache.

Eventually, Rise stopped perusing the purses and fancy scarves, and went back to drag Souji to the display cases full of pretty and expensive jewelry. As both of them stood over the cases, the idol asked the silver-haired boy, "Which one is it?"

Please have been sold…

To Souji's dismay, the golden locket was still sitting there in all of its shining glory. What was worse was that the price had gone up by a thousand yen. Souji could do nothing but point at the heart-shaped locket in front of him.

At least she looks happy at seeing it.

Indeed, when Rise saw the locket, she was excited. It looked like Nanako had made a good choice… except that Nanako chose something Souji could not buy for Rise.

"That's so pretty, Souji-kun," Rise said, before asking, "How did you find this?"

"Nanako picked it out," Souji explained. He was not going to lie.

Rise chuckled, "Nanako has good taste."

"No clue what I would have chosen if it was me," Souji shook his head.

"I'm sure it would still have been great," Rise reassured him.

"I don't have enough money for this locket, though," Souji hung his head.

Rise looked at Souji, to the salesperson who was giving the pair an odd look, and back to Souji. Rise's smile turned from cheery to mischievous, "Give me your wallet and I'll get it at the right price."

The look on Souji's face turned from depressed to one who was horrified. He had no idea what Rise might do to lower the price of that locket. Even if he did this, it was a blow to his pride, plus he did not want Rise to objectify herself.

Rise whispered into Souji's ear, "Trust me, Souji-kun."

Souji sighed. He had to listen, he had to trust Rise. She knew what she was doing, hopefully and Souji had to trust that. That's why Souji silently handed over his wallet to Rise and walked out of the store in complete silence.

God help her…

Souji was getting a few weird looks from couples as they passed a lone young man standing outside a shop that catered most of their goods to females. Souji felt anxious waiting for her. The unknown was bothering him… just wondering what was going on was unnerving. It was nearly five minutes until Rise came out, holding a small bag with the Croco Fur label on it.

She's back… but it took so long…

Souji gazed up at her face, trying to see if her hair was disheveled at all. Rise gazed right back at him and held the bag in both of her hands in front of her waist.

"Sorry…," Rise said with a small smile, "The guy did not know how to count."

Souji sighed. Rise could see he looked uneasy about the situation. She said, "Don't worry about it. All I did was give him my cell number."

Even with Rise's proclamation, Souji did not feel that much better. He just felt… bad that he could not provide for his friend. There was nothing he could say to her and nothing she could possibly say to her to make him feel better about it.

Rise seemed to know that Souji was still depressed. "Souji-kun…," she said softly. She reached into the bag and first gave Souji back his wallet, which felt very light to the silver-haired young man. Souji tried to smile to Rise at the fact there was a little money left in his wallet, but he could not. Rise followed by taking out a small velvet-like box from her Croco Fur bag and then slipping the bag on her wrist. As she opened the box… laid the locket that tormented Souji since he first laid eyes on it. The idol unhooked the heart-shaped locket and turned it around as she placed it in Souji's hands. She seemed to be waiting for Souji to place the piece of jewelry around his neck, but Souji took a second to look at it. It was really beautiful, but only one thing would make it more so. Souji sighed as he reached around Rise's neck and attached the clasp of the locket. Rise gave a small smile to him as she straightened out the locket with her hand.

As Rise felt the locket around her neck, Souji took a step back. This gesture was to make him feel better. He looked up when Rise took his hands in her own hands.

Her hands are so smooth.

She removed her right hand and pushed away Souji's left hand as she interlocked her fingers with Souji's in the other. Rise began to walk along with Souji, and he decided to follow. Souji did not really know where they where they were headed in Okina, but he did not really care anymore.

Souji was not really looking forward or focusing on any one single thing, but he could feel people starting to stare at the pair of them. It was obvious why people were looking at the two. For the first time since Rise left to return to modeling, they were holding hands. This was supposed to be a real date, though, but… he was not sure if it really was one.

"Souji-kun!" Souji turned as Rise pointed towards a somewhat-tall and wide blue booth covered by blue curtains. On the side, it said 'Pictures!' and a little dispenser where money was put in and you pictures were taken out afterwards was underneath. Rise started to drag him towards the place.

Souji sighed. At that moment, a high school boy and girl around Souji's age came out from behind the curtains. Both were beet red as they exited and tried to rearrange their hair. They barely remembered to pick up their photos, if they took any.

I guess they were engaging in activities other than taking pictures in that booth.

The girl was giggling, but when she looked up and saw Rise in her view… she stopped. She nudged the boy, who looked at Rise; his jaw dropped. The boy looked like he wanted to take a round with Rise in the blue booth. Luckily, the girl saw the boy's face and dragged him of Rise's sight.

"Well…," Rise turned her head to look at Souji after the pair left their sight, "Should we go?"

"I don't know…," Souji said reluctantly.

Rise grabbed hold of Souji's left arm and said, "The fact that you wanted to buy this for me… touches me more than anything else someone could do for me."

So… Nanako finding the locket combined with me wanting to buy it? I don't know…

Souji stopped resisting and allowed Rise to pull him all the way to the photo booth. About a meter and a half away, Rise stopped and released Souji from her death grip. She opened her small white purse and pulled out a small wallet. From there, she took out a hundred yen note and placed it in the machine. Rise said to Souji, "Let's go, Souji-kun!"

Souji still felt a little uneasy as Rise pushed back the blue curtains and gestured for Souji to stand on the right side of the booth. Souji could still sense the pungent perfume of the girl who had been there before. It was a lot stronger and less fragrant than what Rise was wearing. Rise entered and stood to the left of Souji, and stood right by him as she placed her shopping bags underneath the blue bench. "Are you ready, Souji-kun?"

"Umm...," Souji had no idea what pose he was supposed to take, "Where…?"

Before Souji knew it, Rise was on Souji's shoulder and he only had one second to wrap his arm around her waist and smile before the camera inside the booth went off.

"Geez…," Souji muttered after the picture flashed.

"Three more…," Rise smiled at Souji.

Rise took her head off of Souji's shoulder, but instead focused her shoulder against Souji's own. Souji's and Rise's smile was smaller this time as the camera flashed in front of them.

As they broke contact, Rise said to the silver-haired young man, "Funny pose this time, Souji-kun!"

Souji screwed up his eyes and stuck up his middle and forefinger over Rise's head. Rise did similar motions at the same time.

"Sit down, Souji-kun…," Rise told him.

"Okay…," Souji said and sat on the bench behind him. Suddenly, Rise sat in-between his legs and wrapped his arms around her stomach. As she lay back, she put her head by Souji's right ear… almost touching it.

What's she getting at? But… her skin is really soft.

Souji and Rise released themselves from each other after the final picture flashed. Rise looked excited to see the pictures because she wanted them for the locket. Rise almost dashed out of the booth to check the pictures. When they came out, she grabbed them and looked at them, gazing up and down.

Rise squealed in delight, "They're great!" She dragged Souji to look at them.

Souji gazed upon the third one. The 'funny pose' was good. The 'last pose' was…

Why… Why did I let her put us in that position? I know why…

"I need to shrink the pictures," Rise smiled, "My agency can help me out with that."

Rise put the pictures in the Croco Fur bag and put that bag in the larger bag. Rise felt Souji grasp her left hand as they left the photo booth. Souji was done with Okina. He had enough of Okina for as long as possible. The only way he would go back… is if Rise begged him to…

Rise…

Souji and Rise got on the bus stop, but Souji was not sure if Rise realized that they were holding hands. If she did, she was probably happy that they were. If they were not holding hands at the moment, she would probably try and force Souji to hold hands. They headed to the back of the bus again, but people on the bus were staring at them this time. There was one big thing that Rise did not realize… they were not headed back to the Shopping District.

The silence is nice…

"Souji-kun… are we at the…?" Rise started to say before Souji finished.

Souji nodded, "Yes… we're at the edge of town."

They had stepped off the bus; Rise had fallen asleep on Souji's shoulder… again. Only when Souji shook Rise awake and they walked off the bus did she notice where they were.

Souji felt Rise grasp his hand as he headed towards an oak tree. He sat down and put his back against the tree. Souji sighed as he relaxed against the tree; he was exhausted. Like before, he felt Rise sit in-between him and put his arms around her waist.

I don't know why… it feels nice, but it just does.

Souji wanted to close his eyes… and he could not keep them from shutting. At least he stopped himself from falling asleep for the moment. Rise asked, "Do you know what my biggest mistake was when I left to be an idol again?"

"What is it, Rise-chan?" Souji responded. Souji could tell her eyes were closed.

Rise answered, "It was… not telling those paparazzi how I really felt."

Souji had to ask, "Can you… Can you now?"

Rise sighed, "Souji-kun… I don't know. I… I really…. Damn it! How come I can't say it when it really matters!"

Rise is cursing?

"Souji-kun…," Rise continued, "I love you."

That was not so bad… now was it?

Souji could not fight the urge to sleep anymore. He felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

An hour later, Souji woke up with his hands still around Rise's waist.

So soft…

He shook Rise awake before they walked back towards the bus station. The ride back… was the slowest possible, at least to the pair sitting in the back of the bus. To the girl with her head on the young man's shoulder, the ride should never end. When they finally reached the stop, it was where the two were full of lament as they walked back towards Marukyu.

The two reached Marukyu and for the first time all day, Rise frowned. She looked sincerely sad. Souji knew why…

After this… who knows when she can come back?

Souji was wrong, but Nanako was right. He was annoyed that he could not afford the money to buy that locket for Rise, but he enjoyed the time with her… even if it was in Okina. There was nothing he could do, but… suffer by denying the truth.

Souji stood face-to-face with Rise, her long red hair flowing down her body. Souji wrapped her arms around Rise's waist, while Rise's went around his shoulders. They edged closer and closer until their lips touched… softly, ever so softly. What was for a minute felt like an eternity.

When their lips broke, Rise backed her face away for a moment to say to him, "I don't care what anyone will say about me this time."

Their lips touched again, a little harder, but still… a soft kiss.

This time, after they broke… they detached from each other completely. It was the end… the last time they would see each other. Souji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe… it would calm himself down.

Rise said softly, "I don't know when I'll be back, but… I will see you on Christmas Eve."

Souji kept his eyes shut as she walked away and entered Marukyu Tofu.

Christmas, huh?

Okay… I am completely sick of this story. This is an abrupt end to the story that I kind of got burned out of. I know it was rushed and if you felt Souji was bipolar… you never went to high school.