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Departure was nothing new for Yu Narukami.
That wistful feeling of departure became a familiar friend in that time. Classmates came and went just as he had come to know them. The bumps and grooves of the asphalt roads and his routined school life started to etch into his mind, just as the passing of the days sunk in with them. Pages of the calendar slowly filled, an irrational fear of flipping it again towards next year crept up in his subconscious; a certainty in his life approached again.
Autumn came through Inaba with little warning, bringing an unforgiving, frigid wind that chilled Yu’s center faster than the city. Thankfully, it was the first day to transition back into their winter uniforms which Yu took great comfort in, hastily preparing for what awaited him outside. He was never good with cold; his uncle joked it was hereditary as he put a sickly Nanako to bed last night, putting truth to his words.
Yu rustled through his pockets, not sure of what he had hoped to find. He stretched his arms in and caught himself in the mirror before leaving, finally taking note of the fabric hugged tightly against his shoulders. He hadn’t noticed, but his pants had also started to rise up, contrary to when he arrived in Spring. Not to mention, his sleeves also barely stretched across his arms anymore. The evidence awkwardly piled up in front of him; even in the supernatural town of Inaba, the passage of time was a certainty.
Fall had arrived, and Spring would soon follow. Staring at himself in the mirror, it came to him again, despite his hope that experience would make the routine easier. His time in Inaba was coming to an end.
He finally stepped outside and saw the pile of fallen leaves covering his and Nanako’s garden, with shades of orange and brown covering the once abundant green.
===
For a moment, the fog was lifted from his head by the surrounding banter between his friends. Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko caught up with him on his way to school and immediately fell into routine. Yosuke would flash him a grin, Chie would lay out their afternoon training schedule, and Yukiko would catch them up with news about her inn. The entrance gate to Yasogami seemed so distant. His friends were amazing in that way; their presence could take him to a place removed from time, their warmth choking back the cold that fought his body.
“Why didn’t anyone remind me that we were back in our winter uniforms?” Yosuke groaned as he huddled his arms together. “I’m freezing!”
“We literally wore them for the concert yesterday,” Chie snorted, shaking her head in disappointment. “ You were the ones who told us to wear them too!”
“Well, speaking of forgetting things,” Yosuke said, slightly pressing against Yu’s side for warmth, “Where’s your summer homework, Chie?”
The Autumn wind heightened Yu’s senses, making the sudden sensation of Yosuke’s body against his send a brush of heat fanning across his face.
Chie jolted, like lightning struck her. “Ah…”
Yukiko blinked at her and sighed. “Chie, don’t tell me you forgot…”
“Of course she did, Yukiko-san,” Yosuke sighed, shaking his head. “Her head is too clogged up with rewatches of kung-fu flicks to remember something like schoolwork.”
“Well, I was a little preoccupied trying to help someone not have their company fail in front of the whole town,” Chie snarled, glaring up at Yosuke.
“It’s not my company,” Yosuke rebutted, glaring back, “and you had plenty of time to do it before the concert! I guess you were just a little too busy going to Okina to rewatch Trial of the Dragon four times in a row!”
“Five times!” Yukiko added with a giggle. “I went with her for the fifth one!”
“Ah, well, but wasn’t that concert just the best!” Chie quickly trailed off, avoiding everyone’s eyesight. “I still can’t believe we performed next to an actual idol!”
“Yeah, I still can’t believe we managed to pull it off,” Yukiko added, already syncing up with Chie’s flow. “You think we made our band debut?”
“Oh my gosh,” Chie gasped excitedly, a shine forming in her eyes, “do you think we’ll have to drop school to go on tour?! We have to do everything exactly the same!”
“No… Let’s not…” Yosuke groaned, slowly rubbing the back of his neck. Pain shot up Yu’s leg as remnants of their not so elegant crowd surfing finale flashed in his mind.
“We should totally do it again next year though! While we’re together for our third year!” Chie’s face was full of determination as she balled her hands into pumping fists. “Rise-chan back on lead vocals, Kanji-kun on drums, and of course our fearless leader on lead guitar…”
“Chie, we can’t…” Yukiko cut in with a hurried whisper, leaning towards Chie’s ear. He couldn’t pick up their conversation, but their flickering looks between both of them and the sudden realization and dread perked on Chie’s face told him everything.
Silence made a valley between them as the cold again started to embrace him, Yu feeling it pierce into his chest. He stared down at the ground, hoping it would swallow him whole. His thoughts must have reflected on his face, since he could suddenly feel everyone’s eyes on him in his peripheral.
“Wh-What I meant was when Yu-kun comes back to Inaba,” Chie said, waving her hands in front of her as reassurance, “We’ll hold the best reunion concert ever!”
“Th-That’s right!” Yukiko quickly added, clapping her hands together. “When Yu-kun comes back to Inaba!”
Chie looked up at him and regained her smile without missing a beat. “When Yu-kun comes back!”
If Yu could ever feel grateful for his awkward inability to hold a conversation, it was in that moment. The words in his throat tasted like bile, and he could only nod as a response, hoping for the stagnant air of discomfort to evaporate.
Chie and Yukiko resumed their chattering as the wind picked up again, and they finally made their way towards the school gate. Each aching step felt like it deepend the cracks forming in their eroding bond.
He was like the leaves littering the path, crunching beneath his feet. Yu had his time, basking in Inaba’s spring and summer warmth, but he too would wither into obscurity. His existence would fade, carried away on the wind.
For the rest of the way, Yu kept himself mute, the sound of the crunching leaves filling in the void. Even as Chie and Yukiko hurried their steps, Yosuke’s warmth remained leaning at his side, Yu finding it the last thing anchoring him to the world.
===
The day went by in a dreary haze until Yosuke approached Yu in the hall during lunch.
“Hey, can we hang out after school?” Yosuke's voice came flat.
It wasn’t unusual for Yosuke to ask him to hang out at Junes or the Shopping District, but what was strange was the unyielding expression he wore. There was a rare glint in his eyes, a look that he vaguely remembered seeing on Yosuke twice before - once, after Saki was murdered and he made the decision to venture into the TV world, and again when comforting Chie, realizing Yukiko’s life teetered in their hands.
And just like before, Yu would always follow Yosuke if he asked.
He nodded, making an effort to conceal the heaviness lingering in his heart. “Of course.”
Yosuke smiled back at him, returning the nod. “Great.” He started heading back to the classroom before turning his head over his shoulder and added, “Meet me at the hill, the one with the gazebo!”
He followed Yosuke’s auburn hair as it bounced down the hall, finding himself stunned and left wondering with anticipation.
===
The dismissal bell rang hallowly throughout the classroom, with Yu limply gathering his bag together.
He briefly perked up, suddenly remembering Yosuke’s determination during lunch. He turned around, staring puzzlingly at the empty desk behind him. Yosuke usually didn’t leave unless there was a Junes emergency or he sensed Teddie rifling through his belongings. He wondered if Yosuke would even meet him on the hill.
He was drained from the day, but found the resolve to trust in his partner, and made the wayward hike to the hill.
===
Yu pushed on towards the top with a mixture of anticipation and unease. He came into the empty clearing, greeted only by the trees and the ground carpeted by the rustic orange of the fallen leaves. They crunched beneath his feet as he settled for the lonely corner at the edge of the wood railing. A gray sky hid the sun, while the chilled air tousled his bangs to the side. The warmth that he found the last time he was here, with a smiling Yosuke and newfound resolve, evaporated, sapped away with the summer.
The view was bleak. He hated it.
The crunch of leaves behind him jolted him from his trance, accompanied by the echoing, unmistakable sound of Yosuke’s voice as it broke through the air, “Hey, Partner!”
Yu made sure to turn around and greet him with a smile, no matter what he was feeling. “Hey, Yosuke.”
“Sorry I disappeared,” Yosuke started, settling in next to Yu, leaning against the wooden rails. “I had to rush back home. I was not standing outside in the freezing cold without a jacket.”
Yu noted the familiar white jacket, the faux fur nestled around his neck. “Good thinking. I could see you shivering next to me earlier.”
Yosuke rolled his eyes, a faint red blush dusting across his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah, let’s remind me of this morning’s blunder. I’ll be sure to get the recap from Chie tomorrow.”
Yu laughed. “Sorry, I’ll make sure to ask Kanji to make you a scarf.”
“You know, I might actually take you up on that,” Yosuke responded with a hint of mirth in his voice. He turned to face the view of the town and added, “Fall in Inaba is a lot different than the city. I’m still not used to it.”
Yosuke, still facing away from Yu, dropped his head and voice, murmuring “I’m not going to get used to you not being here either…”
A strand of hair fell out of place from him as the wind picked up and, despite the comfort Yosuke usually brought with his presence, Yu felt a tinge of pain, his chest coiling tighter and tighter.
Silence reigned for a moment’s pause. The wind finally settled, with Yosuke turning back to Yu, studying him over.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Yu turned away from him, lips twisted to an uncomfortable frown. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Nothing to talk about? You’re about to leave Inaba!” Yosuke’s voice crumbled as Yu felt him lean closer to him where he could see his hands gripping on the wood in his peripheral.
“I know what Chie said earlier bothered you,” Yosuke continued, despite Yu’s lack of response. “You looked… defeated the whole day.”
Yosuke crossed the distance between them, sliding his hand next to Yu’s until it was a breath’s distance away, his faint heat scalding. “Please… don’t hide from me.”
Heart pounding, Yu turned to face him. He was met with a familiar expression, the one Yosuke gives him inside the TV when they’re fighting alongside each other, reminding him he’s not alone. The light glow of the Autumn sunlight peeked through the gray clouds behind him, gripping and enveloping Yu so he couldn’t pull away, lost in his orbit.
Yu closed his eyes and sighed a deep, heavy sigh. He really couldn’t deny Yosuke anything. “I’m… going back home in the Spring.”
Yosuke nodded. “I know.”
“Everyone… will move on,” Yu continued, words more whispered than spoken, “and they’ll forget about me.”
Yosuke straightened his posture, brows furrowed. “Forget about you? How would we forget about you? You’re… you !”
“Don’t act like it couldn’t happen, you should know that more than anything!” Yu balled up his hands into a fist, voice scraped raw and harsh to his own ears. “Once I’m back home… and the investigation is over…”
Yu couldn’t bring himself to finish, and feeling the heat welling in his eyelids burn, he quickly pressed and brought his hand to his face, still refusing to let it go. He kept thinking back to what Yosuke had said; his phone excitedly lighting up, Yosuke hastily flipping it open, to be only met by bitter disappointment. To know that everyone in Inaba, his friends, even Yosuke would just become a hopeful number to him… The sinking feeling of his awaited solitude took hold of his shoulders, dragging him down to despair.
He’d lost himself in the moment and opened his eyes slowly, just realizing Yosuke’s quiet response. “Yosuke…?” Yu called out quizzically. He rubbed his eyes into focus, only then noticing him kneeling on the ground beside him, rustling around the dirt.
Yosuke continued to shift around in silence, but before Yu could call out to him again, a flurry of orange and scarlet flew around him as Yosuke hoisted up the leaves that piled beneath their feet, the wind scattering them all around.
“Y-Yosuke?!” Yu managed to squeak out once his thundering pulse calmed and the breeze settled. The leaves hung around Yosuke’s hair like a bizarre serrated frame, with Yu feeling the same as the light tug of their edges pulled at the tufts of his own hair.
Yosuke revved up into a boisterous laugh, dismissing any desolated gloom between them with the flash of his smile. Yosuke’s laugh was nothing outlandish, but standing this close had a staggering effect.
“S-Sorry, you were just speaking such nonsense , I had to do something!” Yosuke said in between laughs. “I think I’ve heard stranger things from Teddie!”
It took everything Yu had not to pout. “H-Hey…”
“Partner, after everything we’ve been through… after everything you’ve done for us…” Yosuke’s expression hardened, hands buried deep in his pockets. “Do you think we could just forget about you? Do you really think so… lowly of us?”
“I… N-No, of course not…” was all Yu could manage to eke out, knowing his tone was a tremulous mess.
“Teddie and Nanako-chan think the world of you,” Yosuke said in a shouted declaration. “I don’t think I had ever heard Yukiko-san laugh before you came to town, and Chie actually opens up to others because of you.”
“I’ve faced a part of me I thought I buried because of you,” Yosuke continued, a flush spreading across the bridge of his nose like watercolor. “I can be myself… because of you. And if you think distance is going to prevent us from being partners…”
Yu’s eyes widened as Yosuke pulled his hands from his pocket, an orange guitar pick pressed between his fingers and proclaiming “It’s my job to knock some sense into you!”
Yu blinked as he took in Yosuke’s body language, gently picking the item from Yosuke’s hand. “What is…?”
“That’s the guitar pick I used from the concert,” Yosuke answered and then clarified, “ Our concert.”
Yu raised a brow at him.
Yosuke pulled out another guitar pick from his pocket, a silver one this time. “I have yours.”
Yu continued his blank stare.
“You’ll give it back to me when you come back here,” Yosuke clarified with an embarrassed cough. “Or I’ll give yours back when I come to see you. E-Either way, we’ll give it back! You know, like a promise!”
Yu took in his words with a slow realization, and when Yosuke laughed and tried to snort it back in, Yu fell into a chorus of his own laughter, mixing with Yosuke’s as it echoed throughout the hill.
“D-Don’t laugh! I was trying to be serious!” Yosuke chided, gripping into his sides as he tried to calm down. “I had to go digging through my dad’s stuff to find it! It’s stupid, I know!”
“It’s not,” Yu hiccuped through, shaking his head. When he finally settled, he held the guitar pick up to the peaks of sunlight, the reflection gleaming. It matched the leaves, like the ones on Yosuke’s hair and crumbled beneath their feet.
A smile rippled through his expression. “Maybe I won’t give it back. I like orange.”
“Bastard.” Yosuke shoved his shoulder lightheartedly, but held his silver one next to him. “Eh, I think silver’s cooler anyway.”
“Yosuke,” Yu said, turning his head to face him, keeping his guitar pick held up next to Yosuke’s. “Thank you.”
“Mm,” Yosuke hummed a response, turning to meet him. “That’s what partners are for.”
A wide, freeing smile blossomed across Yosuke’s face as the wind swept up the ruffled ends of his hair. He was bright and glowing, just like the gleams of the sun that highlight his preserved features. Yu only then suddenly realized the lack of distance between them and the drop in temperature, as his face started heating up.
“A-Ah, hey! Let’s try to see if we can map out Inaba so when you come back, we’ll see if anything has changed!” Yosuke shouted, rushing to the edge of the rail in a quick motion. “If Teddie’s blueprints go through, the Junes building will be a bright pink when you come back.”
Yu walked and settled next to Yosuke, leaning across the wooden rail. The gray clouds cleared and he was able to finally admire the sea of orange treetops across the town, rippling like waves as the soft breeze flowed through. He turned to see Yosuke gazing out at the town with the same crinkle at the edge of his eyes as the first time they came here, perfectly preserved throughout the seasons. It seemed time had only touched the scenery.
Yu kept his breath steady with the beat of his heart, gripping Yosuke’s guitar pick in his hand.
Without taking his eyes off the town, Yosuke commented, “Man, you can really tell just how small Inaba is. But I kinda like the view from here.”
Yu turned to him with a nod, looking at him wistfully. He liked the view too.