Chapter Text
The first time Yosuke tells himself he's not gay is, coincidentally, the day he meets Yu. He'd gotten distracted by the new silver bowlcut walking through Inaba, to the point that he'd lost control of his bike, and crashed it straight into a trash can. Not the best introduction to somebody, he's sure, but an introduction nonetheless. The stoic boy had pulled him from the trash can, his touch lingering on his arms, and checking over him to make sure that he wasn't too badly hurt.
"Hey, I'm alright, I'm alright, promise!" Yosuke grins, and his savior tilts his head.
"If you're sure." He chuckles. "I'm Narukami-- Yu Narukami." When he holds his hand out to shake, Yosuke wonders just why, but doesn't hesitate as he takes it, shaking it firmly. Once again, Yu’s touch lingers. Yosuke almost thinks that it burns into his hands.
"Yosuke Hanamura." He can't help but look Yu in the eyes - those piercing steel-grey eyes that seem to look at him with such interest.
It's when he snaps back into reality that Yosuke realizes what the time is. "Shit! We're gonna be late if we're not quick-- I don't wanna make the new guy late--" He looks around wildly, before his eyes land on his bike. "U-uhm. It's a weird suggestion, but-- d'you wanna try fit on the back of my bike?"
Yu nods at that, obviously stifling another chuckle, and Yosuke climbs back onto his bike, trying his best to sit forwards and give Yu enough space. When Yu’s hands land on his hips to hold himself steady, Yosuke doesn't quite get why his cheeks flare up, and his heart flutters.
"O-oh boy, this is gonna be hard." Is all Yosuke says before he starts pedalling as hard as he can.
They don't crash, but Yosuke thinks about that touch for days. He thinks about Yu’s hands on his hips, his lingering touch, that quiet chuckle he'd gotten out of him. After a few days, he realizes that those chuckles are rare, and he'd gotten one out of him the first time they'd met.
I'm not gay, Yosuke thinks to himself. But Narukami's cute. I can understand the appeal, the aesthetic thing... he just is. Something about how certain he is about things…
He pushes those thoughts far behind the rest of the walls he’s built around himself. Something for deconstructing later, or ignoring entirely. He thinks he’ll opt for the second one - not like it’s gonna go anywhere, anyway.
Unfortunately, the next time he tells himself he’s not gay is only days later - when he first calls Yu “partner.” It slips out as naturally as his name, his arm slung around Yu’s shoulder as he's helped back towards the way back to Junes. His whole body aches after his Shadow, fingers tightly gripping to Yu’s jacket - he wouldn't admit it, but the moment his head rests on Yu’s shoulder, and he can actually feel how warm his body is, his guts twist.
I'm not gay. I'm not - I'm just not. I just... miss having someone I can hold onto! Yeah! That's it!
Yu’s grip tightens on him, and he yawns very slightly, his attention lazily shifting across to Yosuke. "Yosuke..." He mumbles. "How do you feel?"
"Tired, partner." He tries to pull himself even closer to Yu, as if he can occupy the exact same space as him. He wants to be enveloped in the warm comfort that Yu just seems to exude. "You?"
"Same." Finally, he stops walking, and Yosuke thinks he could just slip into his arms for a nap. Not gay. Not in a gay way. Just two guys cuddling and-- gah, is that gay?
"I'm gonna sleep like... well, like a log, I guess. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow more rested than ever."
Yu snorts, and Yosuke feels his heart skip a beat. I'm not gay, I'm not gay, I'm not gay! Not gay to think that a guy snorting is cute! He squeezes Yosuke’s shoulder, and finally, he lets him go, so he can climb back through the stack of TVs.
Yosuke lingers for half a moment, before he follows him. He’s not sure if the amount of times he’s told himself he’s not gay in that short five minute period are supposed to add to the count or not.
That’s when he loses count of how many times he’s told himself he’s not gay. I guess I’ll keep like a tally or something… he thinks to himself, pulling a pen out of his pocket and quickly drawing a few lines on his arms. Did I say it like five times? Four? Seven? Shit…
“What’s that on your arm?” Yu’s beside him again, looking down at the fresh new pen marks on his arm. “A tally?” There’s concern in his eyes, and Yosuke grins sheepishly.
“U-uh, yeah. Keeping count of h… how many days of work I’ve skipped since the month started.”
“...Half the days we’ve been through so far?”
“Hey, it’s not all my fault-- I mean, you enrolling and everything kinda meant I wasn’t focused on work! That’s at least three of these!”
Yu chuckles again, that perfect two-note tone, and places a hand firmly on Yosuke’s upper arm. “Come on, we should find where Chie went-- I’d hate her to think we were stuck in there--”
“You two!”
“Alright, question answered, partner-- we should go before she--” Yosuke tries, but Chie’s faster than his single step away, and she hits him with the rope he’d tied around himself earlier. “Ow!”
“That’s what you get for making me think you two were dead!” She shouts, before she turns on Yu. The complete surprise in his expression seems to make her twitch, before she huffs. “You’re not getting away with it, either! Next time, I’m going in with you!”
“Hey, come on, that’s not safe--” When Yosuke tries to speak again, Yu squeezes his arm slightly, to warn him not to. “I-I mean-- fine, whatever! Just don’t go running off on your own!”
Of course, the moment they get into the TV a few days later, she runs off on her own. Yosuke makes a mental note to himself the moment Yu grabs his hand to run after her, that he needs to draw another few tallies on his arm-- and maybe transfer it onto paper, or something. Redrawing it every morning after his shower sucks.
Then, when the three of them are deep in Yukiko’s Castle, Yosuke starts wondering. Jiraiya's eyes seem to focus on Izanagi whenever he gets the chance, and Yosuke's eyes focus on Yu. He watches how comfortably he swings his sword, how that glint in his eyes just seems to glitter brighter as he calls for Izanagi to attack, and he looks away whenever Yu catches him staring.
I'm not gay! I'm not! You just-- draw attention, partner! He thinks, as if Yu can hear his thoughts as he looks at him. You're just pretty and cool and I'm jealous 'cause I want to be pretty and cool and likable--
He doesn't notice the approaching Shadow, and suddenly, he finds Yu pushing him out of harm's way, firmly standing in front of him to protect him from the knight they're fighting. He deflects attacks with his sword with ease, fingers tight on the grip, and occasionally, he glances back at Yosuke to check he's fine - Yosuke scrambles to his feet and summons Jiraiya to hit the knight with a Garu, and Jiraiya pauses after the attack, staring at Izanagi once again. Yu falls into position next to Yosuke, sword held away from him, expression brimming with worry.
When the fight's over, Yu shakes his head. "We're going back."
"Huh-- why?! Yukiko’s still in here--!" Chie starts to argue, but Yu’s tone leaves no space for arguing.
"If we aren't fully prepared, we'll get hurt. Jiraiya can only do so much with his Dia skill."
Yosuke grins sheepishly. After a minor staring contest between Yu and Chie, she relents, allowing Yu to transport the group back to the entrance. While Chie walks ahead with Teddie, Yu slows himself, falling into step with Yosuke.
"You looked like you were struggling to focus." Yu comments, and Yosuke swallows.
How the hell am I meant to respond to that? 'Yeah sorry partner, I just think you look really good holding a sword and killing Shadows'? That just makes me sound stupid!
Yu’s still waiting for an answer, he realizes, and Yosuke forces out an awkward laugh.
"Just… thinking about a couple things. Don't worry about me, partner!"
"And when you almost get impaled by a lance?" Yu stops him, checks over his old wounds again. Teddie and Chie don't notice. Yosuke hopes that the heat in his cheeks isn't visible to Yu.
Not gay. I'm not gay. Stop looking at me like that!
"I just… need some time to think, I… think." Yosuke sounds unconvinced, and Yu looks it, too. Instead of arguing with him, however, Yu just nods, and starts walking again. His hand is firm on Yosuke's wrist, and he doesn't even realize it until he feels the gentle tug of his pace.
"Holding us…" Jiraiya mumbles in his head. "I like this…"
Yosuke knows better than to argue with Jiraiya. He leaves him to continue mumbling, mentioning all the little things he likes - the things Yosuke likes - and tries to put all his focus into the back of Yu’s head. Some thoughts persist, and for the rest of Yukiko’s Castle, Yosuke is slightly unfocused on the tasks at hand, and more focused on why he thinks his partner looks so good when his hair is slicked with sweat, a thin trail of blood escaping a cut lip.
He tries to ignore the thought of kissing him while he looks like this. I'm not… into guys. I'm not. I'm not!
The thoughts are firmly pushed behind another wall, and Yosuke forces up his best excuses as to why he's not pulling his weight. Not gonna think about it, not gonna think about it… he repeats to himself, and every time he does, another tally gets mentally added to his arm. Still need to put that on paper… I'd probably get accused of cheating or something on exams… Chie'd never let me live that down…
He's thankful, at least, that Yukiko seems fine, especially after her Shadow had spouted all her secrets. Internally, he thanks Jiraiya for only sharing his secrets with Yu - and the walk back into Junes is quiet.
Yosuke watches Yu stretch as he walks, longsword slung comfortably on his back. He thinks about touching the muscles under his shirt-- not gay! I'm not!-- and running his fingers through his hair. He wonders if it's as soft as it looks - Yosuke just wants to reach out and find out.
He's so focused that Teddie has to push him out of the TV himself-- and of course, Yu catches him the moment he tumbles through.
"Careful, partner." Yu's voice is low yet caring, hands around Yosuke's torso as he helps him back to standing. "You feeling alright?"
"U-uhm, yeah! Fine, yeah." He's trying to avoid eye contact, his brain going a mile a minute. "Just… whew, tired out after all that."
Yu nods slightly. Chie's already gone - likely taken Yukiko back to the inn so she can rest and recover - and Yu seems to think for a moment, before his hands finally leave Yosuke's sides.
"D'you wanna come over? Uncle won't be home - I just have to cook for Nanako tonight."
"Oh-- uh, sure!" This is new. He doesn't get invited to people's places. "Man, I'm-- I'm glad your uncle isn't home-- he's still pissed about me getting you arrested, right?"
"For now. He'll forget about it, I'm sure." Yu winks slightly at him, and Yosuke feels his heartbeat speed up.
No, nonononono, no you don't! I'm not--!
"You coming, Yosuke?" Yu’s voice snaps him out of his stupor, and he nods quickly.
"Yeah, I'm comin', partner!"
Nothing’s really the same after that. His quiet hopefulness that the investigation would be solved quickly, that he could return to normal life, that maybe his possible feelings for his new best friend would fade-- none of it goes the way Yosuke wants. From the moment he leaves the Dojima residence in the morning, Yosuke doesn’t know what to do about it all, and he’s terrified of it. After he’d seen Yu acting so kindly to Nanako, the way he’d smiled at her, something about it all just solidified in his mind that he may possibly actually have feelings for Yu. He’s not happy about it.
Days later, he’s still confused. Yosuke can't figure out what he's meant to do. Sat alone in his room, twiddling his thumbs, just thinking about Yu. He's not stupid - he knows what this might mean, what it could do to the whole Investigation Team - but he desperately doesn't want it to be true. There's no way it can be true.
I'm not gay. I'm not. Men shouldn't like other men-- it's wrong, and it's bad, and it's... Yosuke frowns, eyeing up the Magician card in his hands. Jiraiya's presence feels as if it's stuttering. Men shouldn't like other men. It's wrong. They shouldn't. I shouldn't like other men. He flicks the card between his fingers. I'm not gay. I'm not. I don't like men. I'm... I like women. I like tits, and-- and--
Dropping the card onto his bed, Yosuke’s head sinks into his hands. He can feel Jiraiya shifting weirdly inside him, jolting and twitching. Okay, so-- I don’t like men! Easy! And that’s great! I don’t like men in that kinda way! I just-- Jiraiya spasms slightly, and Yosuke’s arm twitches in response. Whoa. You don’t like that? The response is another spasm from Jiraiya, and this time, Yosuke feels a spike of cold up his spine, and he shudders. Fine, whatever-- I won’t think about it, then!
Jiraiya doesn’t settle.
The moment they step back into the TV to rescue Kanji, Yu notices that Jiraiya isn’t settled. The looks that Jiraiya had been giving to Izanagi are a lot more charged - something about the way he follows him like a hawk, and the way he sometimes acts without Yosuke’s commands, blowing wild Magarus around the team, makes him wonder.
As Chie and Yukiko ascend to the next floor of the bath house, Yu catches Yosuke’s arm, and refuses to let go of it.
“Yosuke, is something wrong?” Yu’s tone leaves no real place for Yosuke to lie, as much as he wants to. “Jiraiya seems odd.”
“He’s just-- y-y’know how it is, right?” He pauses, his free hand scratching the back of his neck, before rapidly trying to find something to busy itself with - his leg’s already bouncing, and he’s definitely panicking. “U-uhm, so our Personas are a manifestation of ourselves, right?”
Yu frowns. “Yeah, what about it?”
You’re trying to tell me, aren’t you. I-- come on, I can’t-- now really isn’t the time! I mean, we’ve got an investigation, and he’s probably just not even interested, and it’s just--
Jiraiya forms behind Yosuke, twitchy and flickering. The way he stares at Yu is odd, and he starts reaching a hand over Yosuke’s shoulder, before Yosuke speaks again, and Jiraiya disappears like fog.
“It’s-- y’know, since Saki-senpai’s death, I’ve been kinda… egh. Y’know?” Dammit, stop saying “y’know”, he’s gonna get suspicious! “Just kinda getting through some stuff. He’s probably acting off because of that! So, don’t worry about me, partner, I’ll-- figure this out.”
“If you need my help at any point, please, tell me, Yosuke.” The way Yu says his name just makes the feeling worse, and Yosuke digs his nails into his palms, forcing up a smile.
“I will do, partner! I trust you!”
Something about the way that Yu looks at him is telling him that Yu knows this isn’t okay. Nonetheless, he lets go of Yosuke’s arm, finally following Yukiko and Chie up the stairs. Yosuke lingers again, as if half considering just leaving now-- what kind of a hero would I be if I bailed the moment I was scared? Come on, Hanamura-- we’ve gotta keep going!
His discomfort only worsens the deeper they get. The things that Kanji’s Shadow says, the general sweaty feel of the bath house, the fact that Yu keeps looking back at him and Jiraiya, watching him struggle to control his Persona who he’d been perfectly in sync with only weeks prior. When Izanagi slides back over to him with a hiss of steam, Jiraiya grabs onto Izanagi’s arm, and refuses to let go, even when Yosuke tells him to.
“J-Jiraiya! This isn’t the time--!” Yosuke starts, and Jiraiya turns to him.
“Hold us…” He growls. "I like… holding."
The rest of the team turns to him, and Yosuke flinches back as Jiraiya moves, as if unsure as to what he should do. Only steps away is Kanji’s Shadow, watching the team with an odd interest-- Yosuke knows he needs to pull his weight, but fighting with Jiraiya over what he’s willing to accept about himself is just driving a bigger rift between the two.
“We-- we can talk about this later, Jiraiya-- please! Garu!”
Jiraiya doesn’t cast a Garu. His grip tightens on Izanagi, and a hiss of steam comes from Izanagi, a hand placed over Jiraiya’s.
“The hell’s gotten into your Persona?!” Chie yells as Tomoe readies an attack against Kanji’s Shadow. “You two were fine like a week ago!”
“I know that!” Yosuke snaps back. Okay, fine! Maybe I don’t like girls! Or like-- I don’t like the girls I know! Are you happy now?!
Izanagi’s fingers attempt to lace together with Jiraiya’s - Yosuke can feel the ghostly touch on his own hands, and finds himself staring at Yu’s hands when he does. At that, Jiraiya suddenly jumps back into action, casting the Garu Yosuke had requested minutes before. Yu’s focus lingers on Yosuke for a moment longer, before turning back to Kanji’s Shadow.
“Chie, Yukiko, target the backup Shadows he has, Yosuke and I will take on Shadow Kanji. Teddie, full support, if you can!” Yu calls out, and the team agrees.
Some of Jiraiya’s attacks still stutter and miss. Just a simple placating revelation like Yosuke had just experienced isn’t what Jiraiya wants, and he knows it - but he has no place to really admit he’s got real feelings, nor does he want to.
When the fight’s over, Yosuke’s stomach lurches at what Kanji’s Shadow says. The acceptance, the… everything, really. Especially when it comments offhand that the three of them would be cute together.
“Want.” Jiraiya mumbles in his head, and Yosuke tenses his jaw, and tries not to say anything.
When he and Yu are bracing either side of Kanji to help him away from the bathhouse, a half formed question slips out of his mouth before he can think about it.
“Do, uh-- d’you think your Shadow was telling the truth?” He asks, though his spare hand immediately goes to cover his mouth. “U-uh-- forget I asked, actually--!”
“What part?” Kanji’s voice is strained slightly from yelling, and he shifts slightly, putting more weight onto Yosuke’s shoulder.
“The, uh-- the cute thing--? I guess? Or the… dammit, I don’t know-- forget I asked!”
Yosuke can tell somebody’s staring at him, but he doesn’t know if it’s Kanji or Yu. Or both of them. He leans forwards slightly, and gets a good look at Yu as he fixes him with an expression betraying worry.
“Is that why Jiraiya was responding to you badly, Yosuke?” Yu asks, as if it’s the most casual thing in the world, and Yosuke swallows loudly.
“I-- I dunno.” He lies, and Yu goes silent again.
“I… I mean, you told me that that’s what was inside me, right Senpai? That it’s part’ve me, or whatever? So… I guess maybe it was tellin’ the truth.” Kanji turns his head slightly to look at Yosuke. “Why you so caught up about it?”
“Just-- because of the way Jiraiya reacted. I just need to figure out what’s up with him.”
I mean, I already know, but it’s just not… y’know… right. I shouldn’t be…
“Yeah, your dude looked like he was havin’ a weird time against my Shadow. Thought it was ‘cause uh… like… y’know. Me bein’ gay an’ all that.”
“Huh?!” Yosuke tries to flinch away, but Kanji’s arm around his shoulder stops him from doing so. “W-we-- he’s not like that, I promise-- he’s just-- I’ve just been having a weird time since this all started and like-- y-y'know-- it reflects on him, that’s all!”
Kanji seems to accept that, shrugging slightly. “Whatever. What’s your dude called, again?”
“Jiraiya.”
“An’ Senpai, yours?”
“His name is Izanagi-- but I can summon more, if I wanted.”
“Cool. The bear got a dude, too?”
“Not yet.” Yu says, though something about it feels odd. “I feel like he’ll get one soon - when he really comes to terms with some things he’s been ignoring.”
Yosuke bites the inside of his mouth, and says nothing. It’s better not to. Teddie isn’t the only one ignoring some things…
After Jiraiya’s outburst in the bathhouse, he reasons to himself that maybe he shouldn’t tell himself he’s not gay so often.
He goes a week or so without saying it to himself, just quietly going about his days and ignoring the impulses he gets to grab hold of Yu’s hand and hold it whenever he could. The next time Yosuke tells himself he's not gay when he's sat having lunch with Kanji. The main difference this time is that he says it outloud.
"You ever seen the penguin cracker, Yosuke-senpai?" Kanji asks, and Yosuke has to think.
"I don't think so. Is it rare?"
"Hell yeah it's rare! I've been lookin' for years to find it, and I ain't seen it!"
"Damn. That's dedication, though. I dunno if I'd keep it up for that long."
"Eh, it's like the investigation to me. Y'know? We gotta find the truth, the killer or whatever, just like I gotta find that penguin."
Yosuke hums, and goes for a bite of his lunch.
"You got somethin' you wanna find, senpai? Somethin' that you keep goin' for?" Kanji’s question takes him off guard, and Yosuke almost spits his lunch out.
"That's--! I mean--!" He splutters, before barely managing to compose himself. "I-- I guess, sure."
"You wanna tell me?"
Yosuke snorts. "Pfft, what's the point anyway? It's stupid, and besides, I'm not gay anyway, so like it'd ever matter--"
Kanji tilts his head, scrunching his face up in confusion. "The hell’s that mean?"
"It doesn't matter at all, y’know? I kinda feel like I got what I was looking for already, so I shouldn't be greedy and go for something else, too."
"Dude. You think life's just gonna be over for me when I find the penguin cracker? Hell no! I'm gonna find somethin' else I wanna look for!"
Yosuke winces, and looks back down at his food. His appetite's gone now. "Yeah, but... this is different." I'm not gay, so I couldn't want him. It's just friendship. That's all I wanted, and I've got it.
“So what’s the whole not bein’ gay got to do with it, huh?” Kanji pushes after a moment, and Yosuke squints.
“What?”
“You said you ain’t gay, an’ that’s why there’s no point. The hell’s that mean t’you?”
“Wh… I… man, I don’t know! I say stupid shit all the time, I guess it just slipped out, or something.”
There’s a lull in the conversation, silence punctuated by Kanji sorting through his animal crackers and eating them one by one. Then, he speaks again.
“You ain’t gotta hide it from me if you are, though. You saw my Shadow an’ shit. You know what’s up.”
Yosuke bites his tongue. “I don’t know, man.”
“Aight, take whatever time you need, dude. Whatever's up, you know everybody else in the team’s gonna stick with ya, right?”
“Pfft.” Yosuke doesn’t mean to scoff, but all the prior thoughts of his friends abandoning him creep up and catch him when he doesn’t expect it.
Kanji obviously frowns this time. “You laughin’ at me, Yosuke-senpai?”
“Huh--?! No--! I just--!” Yosuke’s sat bolt upright now, glancing around as if looking for any chance to escape the conversation he knows is coming. “I--I’m not, I promise, it’s just--”
Yosuke’s failure to coherently explain is making Kanji’s frown worsen by the moment, and instead of offering an explanation this time, Yosuke blurts out the first thing in his head.
“Please don’t hit me!”
For a moment, Kanji’s taken aback, before his shoulders relax. “I ain’t gonna hit ya, Yosuke-senpai.” He makes a point of slowing his movements, to make himself seem a little less threatening. “You wanna talk about anythin’?”
Yosuke’s uncharacteristically quiet, trying to find anything to occupy his mind with that isn’t the conversation at hand. His fingers fumble with the buttons on his jacket, his collar, his hair, and Kanji just sits and waits patiently for him to speak - if he decides to at all. After clearly deciding the silence is too much - too tense - Yosuke sighs heavily, and mumbles into his own hand.
“Just wanna feel like I belong somewhere.”
The revelation is quiet, almost helpless, and Kanji’s expression softens further, and slowly, he puts an arm around Yosuke’s shoulder, just to let him know that he’s there. Yosuke doesn’t shrug him off at all, but he slumps further.
I wish Yu was here.
“I get that feelin’, senpai.” Kanji starts. “It ain’t pretty… but I getcha. I mean… you got us now. ‘N nobody’s gonna replace you.”
I wish it was Yu telling me these things. It’s selfish… and I know it is.
“...thanks, Kanji.” Yosuke sighs again. “Sorry about Jiraiya acting all odd around your Shadow, by the way…”
“Nah, it’s… fine. I mean, outta anyone’s Personas, I did think yours was gonna be the one to react weirdly.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I’unno. Senpai’s all cool an’ collected, an’ like… Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai are like, together, right? So… it was gonna be you or Ted… and Ted doesn’t have a Persona.”
Yosuke thinks for a moment, before he nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Jiraiya’s just been… y’know. Unhappy.”
“‘Cause how you feel?”
“I-- I guess. I mean, our Personas are a part of us, and I guess if there’s something we can’t come to terms with, it’d…” Reflect… on them. Great. Oh, great.
“Man, I’m sure you don’t gotta come out ‘n say it all at once. Jus’ give it time.”
Yosuke snorts into his own hand. “God, and I’m meant to be your senpai, huh? You’re way more mature than me, dude.”
“Jus’ ‘cause I know feelings don’t mean I know words an’ shit like you, or whatever.”
“Ehhh… I kinda just throw all the words I know out until I hit the right one. More often than not, I get a kick from Chie ‘cause I pick the wrong ones.”
“Chie-senpai’s kinda scary sometimes, huh?”
“ You think so? I-- I mean, dude-- you’re way taller than her, and way stronger than her!”
“Yeah but-- I don’t wanna like… beat somebody up unless they really pissed me off. I gotta have a reason.”
“Chie’s gotta have a reason, too! She kicks me ‘cause she thinks it’s funny, and ‘cause I say shit I really shouldn’t-- she’s like half of what stops me from saying stupid shit.”
“An’ the other half?”
“Well that’s Yu. My partner knows how to stop me from doing all sorts of dumb shit.”
“That’s gotta be nice.” Kanji sounds a little wistful, and it takes Yosuke off guard. “Havin’ a guy you can trust like that.”
“...Yeah, it really is. Y’know, when I first got here, I was just… terrified of being hated, y’know? People didn’t like me because I was the Prince of Junes-- and the only friend I really had was Chie. I mean… I get why people hated me for being involved with Junes, but…”
“Hey, you had no control over that, Yosuke-senpai. Why’s people hatin’ you a normal thing, ‘specially if it’s somethin’ you can’t control?”
For a moment, Yosuke’s not sure if they’re talking about the same thing anymore.
“People always want a reason to pick on me.” That’s why I can’t be gay. That’d just be another thing for people to make fun of.
Kanji pauses, frowns, and then stands up. “Come on, Yosuke-senpai, you ain’t that big’ve a pushover.”
“You’d be surprised.”
Yosuke very suddenly finds himself being lifted up by his collar, and soon, he’s stood next to Kanji. He throws him a confused look, and Kanji just nods.
“I’m gonna show ya how to throw a punch like I do! Jus’ don’t tell Senpai, alright?”
He can’t find it in himself to argue. “Alright, just don’t punch me too hard.”
They don't talk about the camping trip. Yosuke considers himself lucky for that.