With You (Souyo)

His Face is The Whole World

Yosuke's POV:

And he breaks down. My brother: the strongest person I know. He breaks down. In front of me. And I don't know what to do.

I've hated him for so long. He's hated me for longer.

And now he wants-- no, he needs me. But how do I console him? I've never known I'd ever have to do it. Not to him, at least.

I feel like shit not knowing how to react.

He tells me about his 'girlfriend'. He says they broke up, and she tricked him. She tricked him into selling drugs and shit to 'prove his love for her'.

He got busted, and went to jail in America. His friend paid a shitload of cash just to bail him out. Since it was his first time, it wasn't all that hard. But he said they would not be so generous next time.

Once he got out, he found out that Hana left the country, and came back to Japan. He said he then got a threatening text from an unknown number, saying that he owes them money he didn't have.

He tried to run away from his problems, and continued travelling until his credit card got declined. He had to get a job in England for a while for his flight back to Inaba.

He said he thought his 'friends' had left, and had moved to some other part of the country. But then Hana messaged him, telling him to go to the diner yesterday morning.

He agreed, and brought Yu. Since Yu came, Hana didn't show her face.

The guys wanted revenge on Shin, but noticed he's not as stupid as they thought. He grabbed his knife, and told them to let him go.

Now, one of them sent him a text message saying: Keep your boy out of harm's way. I'm coming for him.

I'd be scared shitless, too, if someone sent me that.

"Why do they want Yu?" I ask, breathing heavily.

"I don't know," he admits. "Probably to get to me."

"Shin, you have to tell him."

"No!" He snaps. "And you can't, either. You promised."

"How the fuck am I supposed to keep this from him?!"

"I don't know, but you have to. For me, Yosuke," he begs.

"...Why, though? Doesn't he have the right to know? Can't we call the police?"

"If we call the police, everyone involved is going down. Including me and Yu."

"But... you're victims...?"

"I'm not," he sighs. "And they have the requirements to frame Yu for god only knows what."

"So, what can we do?!"

"We can't do anything."

"We can't just sit around, waiting for them to strike," I scoff.

"Yosuke, you have to trust me."

"Trust you how? You don't even have a fucking plan to help him."

"Just give me time--"

"No, Shin," I shake my head. "No. This all started when you wanted a ticket out of here. When you thought you were responsible enough. When you decided you wanted to take your relationship with Hana to the next level."

"I wish I never left," he whispers. "She... she did this... She walked all over me."

"And you let her."

He shakes his head. "You don't get it, Yosuke. I loved her. So fucking much."

"That isn't an excuse," I frown. "You knew right from wrong."