Hey guys! So, this is a short chapter. Mainly because it just seemed right to me. This is a Chie chapter and I want Chie's chapter to be mainly about her. It's not fully about her but, you get what I mean. Anyway, on with the chapter!

9/3

After school, I went up on the roof and saw a girl looking fidgety. It was the girl who wrote the ema the fox gave me. I walked up to her, "What do you want? S-Stop staring at my face!" The girl's words were harsh, but I was able to step up to her and talk to her. "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. "Wh-What...? Normal people would have left by now, yelling something at me... You're weird. Wh-What are you standing there for? Say something to me, you got that!?" Before I could respond, she ran off. Maybe next time I'll get to talk to her.

*RING* *RING*

Huh? Oh! It's the daycare job! They texted me, asking if I could come into work. I texted back, saying that I can as I took the bus back home to change into my uniform.

Once I got there, the kids ran up to me as I started playing with all of them. It was nice to finally let go and have fun with them with everything that's been happening. After a few hours, most of the kids were picked up and the only one left was Yuuta~Kun and another boy, Akio~Kun, so I kept them company. Soon, Minami~San walked up to us. "Yuu~Kun, let's go home... it's getting late..." She spoke while a man walked up behind her, calling for Akio~Kun, for what I can assume is his father, as the other little boy ran up to him. Yuuta~Kun looked down, "...When is he coming back?" He asked, taking his step mother aback. "Hmm? You mean your father...? Hmmmm... I don't know yet." She responded, making the little boy clench his fists, "...I'm going home with Ryu-kun." he says before running down the hill. The older lady sighed, "I guess he wants to see his father." She looks at me with a sad smile. I don't know what to say to that, so I just shrugged. "He hasn't said anything to you about it? I'm just a stranger who barged into his life six months ago, so... I feel a bit sorry for him. My husband kind of set me up... He only told me he had a child right before we got married... But I thought he was the one for me, so I figured the three of us would be able to work it all out. Then, right after we got married, he was sent to China on business. He keeps in contact with me, but... It doesn't change the fact that he's not here. Sigh, he's so inconsiderate..." Minami~San...

I stepped forward to her, "Do you love your husband?" I asked while she thought. "Huh...? I don't know... When I married him, I thought he was the one... But I'm not so sure anymore. Even so... That's no reason to get a divorce, right...? Maybe I rushed into marriage too quickly... When he told me I wouldn't have to work, I thought it'd be a good idea, but... Oh! Don't tell my husband, okay?" Minami~San looked up and smiled at me, but I don't know whether or not it was genuine.

Rank 3

"I wonder if Yuuta's home by now... I'd better be going now, too." She waved goodbye and walked off. With all the children gone, I cleaned everything up and made my way home.

9/4

I was just lounging in my room while my phone started ringing. It was Chie, texting me if I wanted to train today. I texted back and got ready to leave. After we trained for a bit, the tomboy got hungry and we decided to get something to eat. "Today is steak bowl day! Just you wait!" She said with a smile as we heard something in the distance.

"I-I don't have any more..."

Oh god, not again... "D-Don't tell me they're at it again! Let's go, Yui~Chan!" I nod in affirmation as we run towards the cry. It was the same three punks who were picking on Takeshi~Kun, they were now picking on a guy who looked like he went to grade school. Wow, these guys are the worst. "What are you up to!?" Chie called out as the punks started mumbling to each other. The little boy looked at us with a pleading look in his eyes, "H-Help...!". One of the punks had a smirk on his face, "Hear that, 'Chie~Chan'? He wants help." This took both Chie and I aback. How does he know Chie...? "How do you know my name...?" The tomboy asked, putting her arm up to protect me. "We ran into the guy you saved last time... Had a friendly conversation. He told us all kinda stuff. Like where you live, and about that precious 'Yukiko~San' of yours. Oh, and that 'Yui~Chan' there." ... Is he serious? That Takeshi~Kun needs to be told off.

Chie's fist clenched in anger, "... what are you trying to pull!?" One of the punks walked closer to us with an annoying smirk. "Oh, I'm just gonna have a little chat with this kid. Stay put, okay? 'Cause who knows what'll happen to 'Yukiko~San' and 'Yui~Chan' if you get in our way...?"

This riled up Chie, things are going south. I need to do something...! "Let's do this together, Chie." We nodded at each other but the punk grabbed onto the straps of my singlet to threaten me. However with all our efforts in the TV World, he isn't as scary as all those Shadows. "No, Yui!" Chie blurted, "You know what? Hit me. Not her, not him, me. You're pissed at me, right!? Then why don't you just take a swing at me? I won't fight back. Be my guest! The face, the gut, just pick a target! Just let them both go! C'mon!!" She opened up her arms, expecting to get hit. I didn't expect this, and I don't think the punks were as well. Eventually, the punk let me go. "...Freak." "What's with this bitch... She for real? Whatever, man... Let's go..." They say before leaving, trying to look cool but in reality, they were running with their tails between their legs. "M-Miss... Thank you..." The kid said before running in the opposite way. Chie sighed, while looking in the direction the boy ran in "My heart's still pounding... Was that stupid of me?" She looked at me with deep concern in her eyes. I shook my head, "No, you protected that kid." Chie blushed a little, looked down and thanked me. "It might've been stupid, but I wanted to save them... That kid, Yukiko... I know that feeling wasn't fake. I really wanted to protect them..." Chie...!

Rank 9

Chie then put her hands behind her back, looked down and started fiddling with her feet. "Um, well... I also want to protect you... I might be a little flaky... And maybe you don't even need protecting... But... I... I want to protect you..." I was taken aback by her words but eventually, I brought her into a hug. "I wanna protect you too, Chie. You're my friend, and I don't wanna see you hurt." I tell her as she laughs, "Then promise we'll have each other's backs?". We parted from the hug as she had her fist out. I bumped it with mine as we shared a giggle. "Now, let's go get some steak!" Heh, never change, Chie. After I ate with Chie, we went our own ways to our respective houses.

Nanako tells me when I arrived that she went grocery shopping, meaning it's time to make the three of us lunch! Surprisingly, there were enough ingredients to make carrot and burdock root kinpira, which is what I used to have for lunch back home. So I decided to make it! After a while, I was done stir-frying the roots and carrots, wondering how to give it flavor. It was obvious what I should use, soy sauce and mirin! Once it was done, an aromatic scent was coming from it while I was separating it into three portions.

9/5

On my way to school, I overheard some students talking. They were talking about the murders but then quickly changed the subject to the school trip on Thursday.

~Timeskip~

Mr. Hosoi was teaching and he still had that dang puppet. "Looks like we're having quite an eventful year. It's soooo weird. After the murder incidents, an idol comes to town, and then a detective shows up too...? This town used to be so carefree. Every year was more of the same until this year came along... Anyway, I'm supposed to cover haiku today. Get out your textbooks. Haiku, unlike senryu, contain 'kigo,' which are words or phrases that can be associated with a particular season. Alright, why don't I test the waters with a kigo-related question. Yui~Chan! Which of the following isn't a kigo for spring?" A kigo? I looked on the board and saw three options, 'Ume blossom', 'Sardine' and 'Frog'. Process of elimination, 'Ume blossom' has to be a kigo for spring, it's a literal flower. So it's either 'Sardine' or 'Frog'. Taking a wild guess here, "Sardine?". "Wow, I'm impressed, Yui~Chan! You're correct! 'Sardine' is a kigo for autumn. You're all familiar with what it is, right? You know, like anchovies? But we use sardines for fish oil, animal feed, and fertilizer too. It's a very versatile fish. Oops, I got off-topic. Let's continue the lecture." He praised me as I sighed in relief.

~Timeskip~

It was lunchtime, I should invite someone to eat with. With a little pondering, I turned to Chie and asked if she wanted to share my lunch. With her agreement, we went to the roof and ate the kinpira together. "It's delicious! I've never eaten anything that tastes this good before! I want more, but... I don't wanna finish it all! What a dilemma...! Thank you so much, Yui!" Hearing that Chie loved it made me so happy as we continued to share the food until the bell rang.

~Timeskip~

On the roof again was that girl who wrote the ema. "... oh, you. I was wai--I mean, what are you doing here again? No one asked you to come. W-Well? I'm busy, so wh-what's on your mind!?" Geez, she could be less aggressive. "Do you need help speaking?" I asked in a concerned way, "Wha...! Wh-Where'd you hear that!? ...Oh. I-It's not like I'm worried about it! L-Leave me alone!". Sigh, this is gonna be tough. I offered to teach her how to speak with manners, "C-Conversation lessons!? I-I don't need them! Leave me alone! But if you really want to teach someone, then maybe I'll listen to you for a while, just to be nice." With her agreement, I gave her a few lessons on how to be kinder with her words. "Y-You should've told me this earlier! Oh... um... That's not right. 'It would have been most desirable if you would have imparted this wisdom at a much earlier occasion.' ...Like that? Um... Th-Thank you... I hope... you can teach me again sometime. B-Bye!" And with that, she ran off. Heh, this is gonna take a while.

My phone started pinging, it was Chie. Che was asking me if I could meet her at Samegawa so I made my way there. She was there, doing warm ups until she saw me. "Yui!" Chie ran up to me, "Hey, uh... there's something I want to tell you. Something I've been thinking about all this time... I still don't have a clue what my good points are. But... I thought I could just keep on searching. I'm going to fight alongside you 'til the very end. I mean... we'll always be friends!". I smiled at her as she returned it. "Of course!" I told her, "Yeah!" Chie pumped her fist into the air, making me giggle. "From me to you." She says while handing me a pair of light purple wristbands with a green stripe in the middle. "Oh, and it's new, so it's clean! It makes a matching pair with mine. Hahaha..." She showed me her ones and it was the same as mine but reversed, "...I think this 'power' of mine is what I wanted all along. The power to protect everyone... I understand now. I'm not supposed to use it to become more self-reliant... I'm supposed to use this power to protect people... Yukiko, my friends, my family, this town... and you." I'm glad you realized it Chie, I really am.

Suddenly everything went dark as Chie's Persona, Tomoe, appeared behind her wielder. A light slowly engulfed it.

Chie's strong will that allowed her to accept and overcome her weakness has awakened her heart's true power...

The light fully engulfed Tomoe and faded away to show a warrior clad in heavy armor and wielding a weapon that looked like a lightsaber. It was badass looking!

Chie's Persona has been reborn...! Tomoe has been transfigured into Suzuka Gongen!

Everything returned to normal as Chie put her hand to her chest. "My... new power... I have you to thank for this. No matter how far apart we may be in the future, we'll be okay. This feeling won't ever change..." The tomboy extended her hand to me as I shook it. However, she pulled me closer to her. "But know this, I will beat you one day in our sparring matches! No more of these draws, I will come out on top!" Heh, I would love for that day to come.

Rank 10

Thou art I, and I am thou...
Thou hast established a genuine bond...

These genuine bonds... shall be
your eyes to see the truth.

We bestow upon thee the ability to
create Futsunushi, the ultimate form
of the Chariot Arcana...

The Chie Satonaka Social Link has reached its maximum level! You have mastered the Chie Satonaka Social Link! Your power to create Personas of the Chariot Arcana has reached its maximum! Yui Narukami has forged a bond that cannot be broken! By mastering the Chariot Social Link, you can now create Futsunushi, the Divine Sword.

Another max social link, I'm getting good at this! "Alright then, my body and mind are all worn out! Let's go get some meat, and I mean the good stuff!" Chie dragged me across Inaba, as we went and ate all of the meat dishes. Well, not me but Chie did. I don't know how she does it. Once I got home, I collapsed on my futon, hoping I won't be in a food coma the next morning.

Social Links

Fool Arcana= Rank 7

Magician Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Priestess Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Empress Arcana= Rank 6

Emperor Arcana= Rank 3

Hierophant Arcana= Rank 6

Lovers Arcana= Rank 5

Chariot Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Justice Arcana= Rank 7

Hermit Arcana= Rank 6

Fortune Arcana= Rank 0

Strength Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Hanged Man Arcana= Rank 0

Death Arcana= Rank 1

Temperance Arcana= Rank 3

Devil Arcana= Rank 6

Tower Arcana= Rank 0

Star Arcana= Rank 4

Moon Arcana= Rank 10 (MAXED)

Sun Arcana= Rank 7

Judgement Arcana= Rank 0