The Broken Chariot

Yu's Back!

July 15th, 2013, Chie's House

It's been two years since the defeat and imprisonment of Adachi. The fog that came and went since then was normal; Ameno-sagiri is still at bay. Despite this, I can't help but feel some anxiety during the rain, and this morning's no exception. Even if I am at the love of my life's house.

Chie yawned and pulled me closer to her, snuggling her face into my chest as the rain pattered against the window. This wasn't the first time I had been able to visit her since Adachi's imprisonment, but my heart still skips a beat when I see her face. Even with the morning eye crust.

"Morning. I need to go see my uncle, he and Nanako are expecting me. She was already trying to grab the phone from Dojima's hand when she heard my voice." I cup her cheek to kiss her forehead and notice how damp her hair feels. She had grown it out a bit since I left, her orange hair resting on her shoulders. "Did you go outside?"

Chie mumbles some incoherent protests to my leaving, but seems to perk up when I comment on her hair. "Hmm? No, I woke up early to pee and felt all sweaty so I decided to shower. Guess I didn't towel off right." She pecks me on the lips and sighs, clinging on to me like a monkey on a tree. "Do you really have to go?"

"Well, you can come with me. And I'm not gonna be gone all day or anything, just until Nanako lets me go." I hop out of bed and get dressed to go out, trading my pajamas for jeans and a simple T-shirt. I miss my school uniform sometimes.

"No, you go! I've gotta get ready anyway, my hair's still wet." She pushes me out of her room. That is, until she opens the door, gives me one last smooch and says, "I love you." Her door slides closed and I find myself with warm cheeks as I make my way to Dojima's house.

Dojima Residence

I rap my knuckles on Dojima's door, and it only takes half a second before the door whips open and Nanako jumps on me, wrapping her little arms around my waist. "You're getting so tall!" I say as I pat my hand on her head.

"You sound like more of an uncle than I do now." I look up to the owner of that gruff voice, my uncle Ryotaro. Though I could never bring himself to call him that, or even Uncle. He'll always be Dojima. "How's life in the big city?"

"Same as usual. Loud, bustling, and nothing like Inaba. And I mean that in a good way. I miss this place," I say with a smile. "Sometimes I really consider moving out here."

"Because of Chie, huh?" Dojima says with a hearty laugh and a pat on the back. It's good to see him in such high spirits; these two years must have been kind. "You two're a good match, kid. I swear, her eyes get as big as dinner plates and then some whenever she sees you."

"Big bro, I made lunch! Naoto and Yukiko helped me. Even Teddy threw something in, said he learned from watching you make boxed lunches," Nanako says as she dashes inside. That can't be good...

"Yukiko, Naoto and Chie have been practicing cooking ever since you stopped living here. They've been using Nanako as a bit of a test subject. She's too good of a girl to really say anything bad but maybe that's why she's their judge," Dojima says as he leads me inside.

The lunch was actually decent! It was curry, which at first made my stomach frown. Mystery Food X in the forest still enter my mind and tastebuds anytime I hear the word 'curry', but this helped heal those old wounds...slightly. The mental scar that is the taste of burnt chocolate mixed with rice might never heal, but this was a start.

I wondered why the chefs didn't join us for lunch, but had my question answered when my phone dings. I pull out my phone, flipping it open to peer at the text. Some people in the city had moved on to those rectangular smartphones, but I can't leave his flip-phone, not yet. There was nothing more satisfying than flipping it closed with a flourish.