8/20

Midday was growing close while Nanako and I were on the bus to make our way to the Amagi Inn. She was doing way better from a few days ago and seeing her have a big smile while holding my hand made me happy. I also brought the kumihimos I made so I could give them to the others. When we got there, a waitress walked up to us and led us to Yukiko's room where the rest of the girls were. "Hey, you guys are here!" Chie cheered while Yukiko brought out a rack of yukatas, all different colors that made us all gawk at how pretty they all were. "Here you go, Nanako~Chan! I ordered a pink and white checkered yukata, just for you!" The black haired girl handed the little girl the yukata. "Thank you! Big sis, can you help me put it on?" With a pat on the head, I helped her put on the yukata while the girls chose their yukatas and tried to put them on.

~Timeskip~

Crap... I forgot how to tie an obi... Thankfully, Yukiko was here so she could help me out with Nanako's obi. Now it was my turn to put on my yukata. There was one yukata left on the rack. A pale yellow plaid yukata with flower designs all over that came with a cream colored obi. Putting the yukata on myself wasn't hard, but tying the obi was something only Yukiko could do. When mine was done, I turned to see Chie and Rise struggling with putting the yukatas on. "Sigh... go pick out a hair ornament for you and Nanako over there, Yui~Chan. I'll help these guys out," Yukiko said in her violet yukata and pink obi while making her way to Chie and Rise.

Nanako and I looked over the hair ornaments, "Anything catches your eye, sweetie?" I asked her as she shook her head no. "Can you braid my hair, big sis?" She just wants braids? No problem. I sat down on a chair and signaled her to sit in front of me as I started undoing her hair and brushing through her hair. "Wait!" She stood up and walked up to the hair ornaments to pick one and bring it to me. "I want big sis to wear this!" I looked at the hair ornament Nanako had in her hand and was in awe. It was a yellow clay flower with the tips of the petals blended into purple. It was beautiful and indeed suited the yukata I was in. "I'll make it part of my hairstyle when I'm done with yours, okay?" Seeing her big bright smile made me happy as she sat back down again, allowing me to continue brushing her hair. In the end, I settled on giving Nanako a hairstyle that had two dutch braids being tied together into a small ponytail. I did also try to sweep her bangs a little to the side along with some strands of hair falling on the sides of her bangs.

Once I said I was done, the little girl ran to the mirror and saw what she looked like. I've seen her with a big smile on her face, but none have been as big as this one. She thanked me with a big hug as the others came over to us to gush over Nanako's hair. "Wow, this is a really pretty hairstyle! It looks complicated too..." Heh, it's not that complicated, Chie. "It actually was my go-to hairstyle whenever there were business parties. Back when I had hair a little longer than Nanako's" They continued to gawk before doing their own hair. I wanted my hair to be something that was crafted for the ornament instead of just putting the ornament in my hair. Ah... I got it!

~Timeskip~

Yukiko finally managed to get Rise and Chie into their yukatas and since we still had some time left, we decided to play Spin The Bottle. Nanako wasn't gonna play, she just wanted to watch the chaos play out. "Okay so... who's gonna spin the bottle first?" Rise asked while we looked at the bottle. "Roshambo?" I suggested while the others agreed. "Okay then... ro, sham, bo!" We all collectively said as Yukiko and I threw scissors, while Chie and Rise both threw rock. With a slight puff, the black-haired girl and I watched as they went at it. Chie won with paper and spun the bottle. The end result most definitely made me fear the worst. "It landed on you, Yui. Truth or dare?" I gave it some thought before responding with, "Truth!". With a little more thinking, "Who was your first kiss?" Chie blew up with that question which made my face flushed red. "Th-Thats..." My eyes glared to my right as there was a certain someone there. Their hand rested on mine, whispering to me just to say it. With a deep breath, I say the name. "... Rise...".

The room went silent. Even though I know that they accepted me, a deep pit in my stomach made me feel anxious. "So... are you two like... a thing?" Chie questioned, making me look up. "It's uh..." Rise and I spoke at once with red faces. I gestured to her that I would explain, "It was a Spin The Bottle game... heh, things really have come full circle hasn't it?" My chuckle made the pigtailed girl chuckle with me. "It was with Rise's idol friends, Ryuto was with his friends in another room. I was dared to kiss someone in the room and I chose Rise since she was the only one I knew in that room. That was when I... when I-" Yukiko cut me off, "When you found out that you were bi?" Hesitantly, I nodded. "We aren't a couple, but we are trying to figure out how we feel..." Rise intertwined her fingers with mine as I rubbed the back of her hand that held mine. It took a while but the tomboy took my hand while the black haired girl took Rise's. They both looked at us genuinely before enveloping us in a hug. Nanako walked up to us and joined in on the hug as well. I'm pretty sure she doesn't get what we're talking about, but she's a smart girl. She will one day, especially since she's my little sister. This... they're the greatest friends I could ever ask for.

Yosuke's POV

Teddie and I got to the shopping district early so we just sat at Kanji's place. His mom was extremely welcoming and even offered us some snacks, which Teddie took every last one. We were in Kanji's room with Kanji and Ryuto and just talking about random guy things until I took a look at the time. It was around 3pm and the festival is gonna start in an hour. "Did the girls text you guys? Why are they meeting at Yukiko's in the first place?" Ryuto shrugged, "Rise just left the house, telling me she's going to Senpai's place with Chie~Senpai and Yui." as the rest of us started to brainstorm. Suddenly, Kanji realized something. "Wait, they met up at Yukiko~Senpai's house? They're most likely putting on some yukatas." Wait, how does he know? "Wow, Kanji! You're so smart! Of course the girls are putting yukatas on for the festival!" Teddie cheered while stuffing his face with the snacks Kanji's mom gave him, making me sigh. "Wait, how do you know this, Kanji?" My thoughts exactly, Ryuto. "Yukiko~Senpai ordered five yukatas, I actually worked on one of them which is why I haven't been able to hang out with you guys much." With that statement, we all gave a collective 'oh'.

An hour passed and the girls still haven't texted us. We thought they just forgot to text us so we made our way to the shrine that was beautifully decorated. "Funny, I remember this festival being a lot more crowded... is it because of the murders?" I questioned, "Yeah, there ain't that many people here this year. Well, I guess you can't blame people for being scared... Haven't seen the reporters around, either. They sure are good at stirring shit up and then disappearing. Well, it ain't so bad to have thin crowds. What IS important right now is that we go get some ikayaki!" Ryuto agreed while Teddie spent the whole time standing in the line asking us what ikayaki was. "I thought I would run into you kids." A familiar voice came from behind us, it was Dojima. "Hi sir, I thought you would be here with Yui and Nanako~Chan." Ryuto said, paying him respect. "Yeah, they said that Amagi invited them to her place for yukatas so I've been waiting here for them." He explained while Kanji was placing his order.

Dojima noticed this, "Ah, it's on me." and proceeded to pay for the ikayaki we wanted. "No it's-" The bleach blond boy was cut off, "No worries. Plus, I've got a favor for you kids." Dojima started, getting all of our attention. "Yui's birthday is on the 31st, I've heard from one of her maids that she hasn't had a good birthday yet and I wanna give her one. Problem is, I don't know much about that kid other than what I've heard. That's where you guys come in. I need you guys to give me details about her. Like what type of cake she likes, what food I could get, what drinks she likes, and lastly, what to get her for a present. If you guys could do this for me, I'll be incredibly grateful!" He pleaded. Wait a sec, Yui's birthday is coming up? Holy crap! I need to get my partner a present... "We understand, don't worry Dojima~San!" I affirmed as he patted my shoulder before leaving. "I really forgot Yui's birthday was coming up... goddammit!" Ryuto kicked a rock while Teddie tried to comfort him. "Don't worry, Ryuto! We won't tell her!" Well, he tried.

My phone buzzed, it was Yui. She apologized for not messaging earlier, they're about five minutes away and to meet them at the shrine entrance. I forget that she tries to be casual within texts but it just makes them pretty formal. Just one of her many quirks. I told the guys as we made our way to the shrine entrance and waited on them. Eventually, a large car drove up and parked at the bottom of the steps. The door opened as someone stepped out of the car.

Yui's POV

The car turned down a street as I pressed send on my phone.

Hey Yosuke! Sorry about not messaging earlier, but we were talking for a while and didn't notice the time. We're on our way now, just 5 mins away. Would you guys meet us at the shrine entrance if that's okay?

I really need to learn how to make my texts seem less like I'm writing to a CEO... We eventually made it to the shrine as we stepped out, starting with Yukiko, Chie, Rise, Nanako and lastly, me. The guys were at the top of the stairs, looking at us. "Mistress! Chie~Chan! Yuki~Chan! Rise~Chan! And Nana~Chan!" Teddie rushed down the steps, miraculously not falling and tripping, to give us each a hug. My hug noticeably being longer. "Alright Ted, you can let her go now." Ryuto said, obviously glaring at him and making me giggle. He let go as the boys got a good look of us in our yukatas. "How do we look, guys? Does the sight make your heart skip a beat?" The moment Rise said that, they all collectively turned red. Kanji also seemed to turn his head so as to not face me. Huh, weird. Suddenly, something started poking on my shoulder to get my attention. My head moved to see who it was, only for me to see Yosuke with a pink tinted face. "Y-You look really great in it p-partner!" His stuttering made me giggle and blush with him as I thanked him for the compliment.

We went up the steps as Nanako rushed up to a nearby stand that was selling cotton candy. She was looking at me with puppy dog eyes as I broke and bought her some. "Thank you big sis!" I swear, her smile is like a drug. "Yui!" A familiar voice called out, it was Dojima. "Hey Dojima!" "Daddy!" The little girl rushed up to her father while struggling to walk in her geta. "Thanks for looking after her. And thank you Amagi for giving her a yukata." Both Yukiko and I told him it was fine at the same time and was followed up with a giggle. "Look! My big sis bought me cotton candy!" She held up her cotton candy proudly, "Did she now? Alright then, you wanna go over and do the target prac-I mean game with me?" His stumble of words made his daughter giggle and agree with him. "I'll take care of Nanako from here. It's only a few times a year that this town gets charged up like this. You kids should go and have fun." And with that, the father and daughter left, hand in hand.

"Hmmm, a summer festival... hrrrmmm... A couple walking together at a festival... Unused to wearing it, the girl's yukata comes loose... Summer has begun." Um... Teddie? What are you thinking? "What kinda tagline is that...?" I mean, that too but... what is that bear plotting? "We gotta go two-by-two! Raaaawr!" Okay, now I get it... "See, I've been thinking. It's the summer, you're wearing yukatas, and we're at a festival. It's just wrong for guys and girls to walk around in a huge group like this. We should couple up while we're here! It's the natural way of things!" Not really, especially since we aren't dating each other. "Wh-What the hell are you babblin' about!?" Kanji yelled out, confused. "I'm with Teddie!" Yukiko, Chie and I were shocked at Rise's outburst. "C'mon, Senpai... Why wear yukata in the first place? So we have memories we can remember fondly, right? So we should pair off right away!" What if I want to have memories with everyone as a group? I get what they're saying, but we aren't dating each other. Eventually Yukiko and Chie agreed on the idea, leading me to also reluctantly agree. Chie told the guys it was up to them how to split up as they all formed a huddle.

I couldn't hear much except for Ryuto saying he didn't wanna be with Rise and he was fine with the others. Suddenly, I heard Teddie say, "I want Mistress and Chie-chan and Yuki-chan and Rise-chan for my partner." Okay, if that's how Teddie wants to roll... Eventually, Teddie walked up to us, " It's decided! I'm going with all of you!". This led to the guys getting mad and the girls being curious, "Oh, well, Kanji wanted out so there were too many girls, so someone would have been left out... I just couldn't let that happen." He winked and that got Chie and Yukiko to agree with him. Rise and I on the other hand, weren't affected by his wink. "We let them decide and this is what we get? Awww, what a letdown... Oh well... Let's go, then." The former idol said but I held my ground. "Wait a second. I want Yosuke, Kanji and Ryuto for my partner!" My statement shocked everyone while I just giggled. "If that's what Mistress wants, her bear will agree. I'll still be with three beautiful ladies so I'm still happy!" I patted his head before he went off with the girls.

We could hear them in the distance, "Hey! Teddie!? Why're you buying another idol's photo!? Mine's in there too!" "H-Hey, Ted! Hands off my corn!" "Teddie! You got ketchup on my yukata!". Yeah, I knew this would happen. "Heh, looks like I got away from that fiasco, huh?" I asked the guys as they laughed with me. "So where does the only girl in our group of four wanna go?" Ryuto said, taking my left hand. "He's right! Where do you want us to go?" Yosuke spoke, taking my right hand. "I'm fine with anything. Kanji! Where do you wanna go?" The bleach blond boy thought for a bit before leading us to a stand where you had to throw the ball to knock over the stack of cups. One of the prizes on display was a blue cat plush toy that I started gushing over. All three of the guys tried the game out, only having Kanji be the winner as he picked out a Pichu plush toy. "Wanna try it out, Yui~Senpai?" Kanji asked as I nodded as he paid for my turns. I also won and got the blue cat plush toy as the other two boys collectively sighed.

My eyes landed on the goldfish scooping game as I rushed towards it with the guys following me. I tried it out but my net broke easily, disheartening me a little. Yosuke tried but the same thing happened to him and so did Kanji. Ryuto tried it and he was able to get a few fish into the bowl, making me gasp at his skill. When he was done, he let most of the fish go, while keeping two and putting them into separate bags. Ryuto handed one to me as I thanked him.

My stomach rumbled a little, a blush slowly forming on my cheeks. "Heh, how about we stop the excitement and get some food, huh?" Yosuke spoke as we followed him to the food stalls. It was there where I saw some familiar faces. "Ai! Kou!" I called out as they turned and saw me, "Hey, Yui!" I just ran into them and pulled the two into a big hug. "It's been awhile, how've you two been?" I asked while letting them go. Blushes spread across their faces as they started getting awkward. Has... has my ship sailed!? "We're actually... just starting to date!" AI said with a smile as my eyes widened. "SQUEEEEE! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS! Ai, why didn't you tell your wingman?" I teased as her blush grew. "Wait, you knew she liked me?" Kou asked, making me nod hysterically. "Well... I only confessed yesterday so..." She then looked up to see the guys, "And why didn't you tell me you got three guys?" Her teasing made me blush the same color as her which made her laugh. Ai's eyes then landed on Yosuke as she smirked, "Well it's about time we go. We wanted to go make wishes before the fireworks, have fun! And I highly recommend the yakisoba!" Ai said while taking Kou over to the offertory box. But before they left, she whispered something into Yosuke's ear with another smirk before leaving.

"They're your friends, Yui?" Ryuto asked as I nodded and smiled at them. I'm glad that they got together. Seeing them as a couple warms my heart, they would be a good couple. We followed Ai's advice and bought some yakisoba and she was right, they were indeed really good. The warm soup that accompanied the noodles, the way the noodles would go down my throat, everything was just amazing. "Hey, Yui~Senpai!" Kanji got my attention, "I just realized I don't know much about you. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Kinda weird but, meh. I wanna be a friendly Senpai. "Shoot," I say, gathering noodles onto my chopsticks. "What's your favorite food?" "Umm... tofu is for sure one of them, udon is always good... gyoza kinda depends and... ah! Watermelon!" The idea of watermelon filled my head. The last time I had watermelon was... last year when they were in season. It was so good! "Okay, uh... what's your favorite cake flavor?" Cake flavor? "Easy, red velvet! The way the maids make red velvet cakes is just, mmm!" I squeaked as I remembered all those cakes they would make, making my mouth water. "Any drinks you like?" Drinks? "I'm fine with any drinks, but iced tea is on top!" With a nod, Kanji got ready to ask his last question. "Is there anything in the world that you want?" Anything I want in the world? If I ever wanted something, I just needed to ask so I never actually 'wanted' something. But... there is one thing I want... "Could you guys give me a sec? I just need some space..." I stood up and walked off, obviously disheartened.

Ryuto's POV

I know why she left, Kanji should've chosen his words properly. "Yui wai-" I cut Yosuke off by holding him back. "Don't go after her, at least not now. You heard her, she needs some space. I would tell you guys what's wrong, but it's not my business." Kanji looked down as I patted his back, "It's not your fault, Kanji. You didn't know, and she knows this. Yui isn't mad at you, she just needs space. She'll come back, don't worry." I reassured him as we finished eating and met up with Teddie and the girls. "We made it just in time for the fireworks! Wait, where's Mistress?" Teddie questioned, we can't let them worry about her. Especially Rise. "She got a text from Dojima, wanting to talk to her. Right guys?" I looked over at them with a look that said 'Play along', hoping that they would get the message. Thankfully, they did and agreed with me. My hand tapped on Yosuke's shoulder, "Come with me." I whispered as he nodded and we walked a little bit away from the others.

"What do you wanna talk about?" He asked, "I'll get straight to the point, how do you feel about Yui?" My question made him turn red and start stuttering. I got the answer I needed. "You like her, don't you?" He just stood there, silently, before slowly nodding. "I'll be real with you, I like her too. I've liked her ever since we were kids, and I want what's best for her. If you can prove to me that you're what's best for her, I'll pull back. But until that happens, I won't back down." I stated as he got serious. I guess he only assumed I liked her, but now he knows. I extended my hand for him to shake, letting him know that we would play fair, and he took it. Little does he know... the winner of Yui's heart has already been decided.

Yui's POV

I walked over to a more quiet area of the festival. I didn't mean to get over emotional to that question, but I did. Sigh, I need to apologize. Today was supposed to be fun, and I ruined it for them...

"Is there anything in the world that you want?"

Anything in the world that I want... The only thing I want is my parents. They're always out on business and as much as I know that they're important, I just want them to be with me like any other healthy family. I don't even have a happy memory with them... My eyes started to water but I wiped them away. "I didn't expect a young lady like yourself to be by yourself at a festival." That voice... I turned around and saw the man who works at Daidara, the place where we went to get new weapons and armor. Though, it's been a while since I've been there. "Oh, uh..." He stared at my face while I fiddled my hands. "Come, sit here." He sat down and patted on the ground next to him, making me sit next to him. "You know, I've seen you have fun with your friends. What happened?" I looked down at my geta, "It's... complicated...". Thankfully, the man got the heads up that I didn't want to talk about it.

"You know, the fireworks are about to start. I know because I'm the one who sets them off." Wait, really? So he does more than make weapons and armor... "Mhm, it's my passion... I guess." He looks over at the people walking, "It's nights like this that keep me going. There ain't nothing better than watching a crowd watching some fireworks." "Really?" I asked as he nodded solemnly. "You've gotta see the expressions on their faces. When I start lighting the fireworks, whatever age, they smile. And seeing that smile come across their faces makes it all worthwhile. I hope that maybe your frown will go away and be replaced with a smile. Even if only for a little bit. Well, it's getting close to that time. I'll give you a few minutes to give your friends the smile." With a quick nod, I ran back to try and find the others. Thankfully, it was easy.

"Hey guys!" I told the others, giving a few of them a fright. "Ah, Yui! You okay?" Ryuto asked as I smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm fine! I just needed to recollect my thoughts. You didn't tell them, right?" I asked as he shook his head no. Good, I want to tell them... someday... "Guys! I've got something for you guys!" I announced as they circled around me, "It's the kumihimos I made for you guys! I did say that I would give the rest at the summer festival!" They all took their respective ones as I took the ones who already had their kumihimos by the hands and brought them into a big hug. All of them had smiles by just gazing upon the kumihimos. Seeing their smiles made me intoxicated with happiness.

"Is there anything in the world that you want?"

Yes. It's them. I want to be by my friends' side, for as long as I can. Hopefully, that's forever.

*BOOM*

The first firework was set off, causing all of us to look into the sky. The bright colors filled the night sky, showing us a spectacle.

"-And seeing that smile come across their faces makes it all worthwhile."

I understand what he said now. "Senpai?" I turn to see Kanji, looking at me apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I should've had more tact while asking you that last question..." With a big smile, I took hold of his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not mad. I may not be able to answer that now, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to in the future. So... can you please be patient?" He nodded before we went back to looking at the sky. "Also, I was kinda shocked that you're wearing that yukata, Senpai?" I looked at him, confused, "Why?". He patted my head, "I helped my mom with that specific yukata. Actually, I made the design and did most of the stitching." Wait, he made this? "I'm impressed, I love the design! Let's sew, knit, crochet or anything like that together soon!" I got excited as he nodded with a slight blush.

When the fireworks ended, Dojima walked up to us with Nanako. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly, it was past her bedtime. "We're gonna call it a night, Yui. Call me if you need a pick up, okay? Stay safe too." With a nod, I gave both him and Nanako a hug before they left. We all stayed until it got late and then we separated. Kanji went to his place, Rise and Ryuto left towards the tofu shop and Chie was gonna spend the night at Yukiko's place. Yosuke didn't want me going home alone so he and Teddie walked me home. Eventually, my feet started to hurt from walking in the geta and Teddie offered to carry them and Yosuke offered to piggyback me so I wouldn't walk barefooted. Heh, this reminds me of when we were in the TV World. When I first awakened to my Persona, he piggybacked me even back then. Teddie basically talked our ears off as I grew tired and slowly fell asleep on Yosuke's back.

Hey guys! So, this was a jam-packed chapter. I wanted the summer festival to be more than what we got in the game and different from the anime (Though I did use lines that Daidara said in the anime, this time he's saying them to Yui instead of Nanako). I wanted this to be fun and have all the guys have their moment with Yui, with Kanji having the more significant one since his social link is the lowest one out of all of the guys. The girls also having their moment with Yui, them supporting her and Rise if they get together. Then we have Ryuto and Yosuke get closer in their own way, this chapter had all of them! I hope you guys liked this chapter, have a great day!

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