Chase The Truth

Chapter 44: Fan Letters

Begin

~Normal POV

9/23 - Friday

Today was a holiday off from school. As such, Yu opted to spend it out with Rise. It had been a while since he was able to spend any time alone with her. But she was eager about it too and happily accepted his offer. Hell, he'd spend every moment with her if he could. They took a short trip to Okina for her to special order a few things from her favorite stores. After a while, they went back to Inaba, with the intention for him to take her home again. As they were walking through the shopping district, they talked about various things that came to mind. Mostly it was just playful talk about their friends and school.

"You really think I shouldn't do something?" Rise whined, "They'd be so cute together, though! Why can't I help them out?"

"Rise, you're just going to have to let them sort it out naturally." Yu countered, smiling, "If I let you try to play matchmaker, it'll just complicate things." (Of course Rise would suggest such a mischievous plot, but he just couldn't let her do something like that. It was intrusive.)

Rise pouted at him a little. "Oh fine... But you're no fun."

He laughed. "Oh really? I thought being fun was why you wanted to hang out with me in the first place."

She thought about it. "...Yeah, I guess so." This made her smile again. She was having a great time out with him so far.

"I placed lots of special orders." She said, changing the subject. "Come with me next time when I go pick 'em up, senpai."

"Of course, I can't let you carry all that stuff by yourself," Yu replied.

Rise grinned brightly. He always said yes to helping her with stuff. It was one of the things she liked about him so much. Always willing to help no matter what. "Ya know... I did have lots of fun today. And did you notice? Not many people tried to come up and talk this time! Maybe they already forgot who I am..."

Yu looked at her with a slight bit of concern. That was a kinda depressing thought, wasn't it? How can she say something like that with such a smile on her face? Well, he couldn't find an argument for this, so he chose not to reply. They had reached the tofu shop at this point.

"Oh, do you want some tofu to take home? I helped make some this morning!" Rise asked, smiling still.

"Sure, I'd love some."

Rise told him to simply wait out here while she went inside for it. He smiled to himself. She really was chipper today. He let his thoughts wander back to that fateful night at the hotel in Port Island. Damn, he really did have it bad for her. Even just walking around with her from store to store today was enough to put him in a good mood too. He wondered a little about how he should approach telling her how he felt. Maybe not just yet, but he'd have to do it eventually-

"Excuse me... Yu-san, is it?"

Yu turned around and saw a familiar looking man in a suit and glasses approach him. "Oh... you're, uh... Rise's old manager."

Inoue nodded. "Yes, I don't believe we got acquainted last time. I'm Minoru Inoue. Er, and you are?"

"Yu Narukami. I go to school with Rise." Yu answered, opting not to shake his hand. There was a part of him that didn't particularly trust this guy. Rise said he was alright, but he wasn't supposed to be here. "Well, what do you want? She's not gonna be happy to see you."

Inoue frowned and nodded. "I know... I'm sorry about what happened before... Ahem, can I ask you a quick favor?"

Yu shook his head. "I'm not talking to her for you, sir."