Yakushima Beach // Open

[itsnotaleash]

[Once you enter through the door with an obvious yellow scarf tied around the doorknob, you'll find yourself on the soft, warm sands of the beach. This isn't just any beach, of course, but the beach at Yakushima! For now, the skies are clear of all clouds as the sun shines down and causes the clear, blue ocean to sparkle. It's really a gorgeous sight. ... Unfortunately, it's a private beach so there are no babes in bikinis, but Thanatos can hope that a few babes from the Mall will drop by so he can gaze upon their curves.

He's also currently setting up a small spot on the beach. At the moment it's just two beach chairs, one for Orpheus, along with a huge beach umbrella and a few towels. Thanatos seems really exited as he strips off his shirt so now he's only in black swim trunks with a pattern of little, white skulls. How adorable. ... He then pauses to look at a bottle of sun tan lotion. He remembers his Junpei once mentioning how girls liked it when they had it rubbed on their backs. Thanatos has a mission. For now, though, he's going to set the bottle aside and zoom off towards the ocean. THIS IS SO EXCITING, HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.

... Can Death even swim? Looks like we'll all get to find out as he splashes into the waves.]

Comments

[princeofjunes]

Her forced smile was transparent, and like the young Nanako he remembered, Yosuke could easily tell something was bothering her. "C'mon, Nanako-chan. Just because you're older doesn't mean you have to keep your worries to yourself. We're all-" he hesitated, then corrected himself, " - I'm still here for you, at least."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako rubbed her arm, looking away from him a bit. "I just... I didn't want to bring up something so serious."

[princeofjunes]

Before he knew what he was doing, Yosuke reached out and touched her on the shoulder gently. Even if she was older, the guilt he felt at upsetting Nanako was just as strong. "Sorry... lets save it for later then. We'll just enjoy ourselves for now! Sound good, Nanako-chan?"

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Looking up, Nanako smiled again, a true smile this time. "Sounds great, Yosuke-san," she replied, nodding as she reached up, a hand resting on his. "Thanks."

[princeofjunes]

Yosuke felt the blush return to his cheeks as he felt her hand on his, but he made no effort to pull away. Why should he, when he was the one to put himself out there? "Anytime, Nanako-chan. So what do you want to do? Walk around more? Go for a swim? Maybe find something to eat?"

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako tilted her head. "It's eat before you swim, right?" she asks, "No, wait... or swim before eating?" She whined softly, nibbling her lip. She totally failed at realizing her hand was still on his.

[princeofjunes]

Yosuke did not fail at this realization, but he wasn't sure what to do with it either. Just what was he thinking? He didn't know what, or even if he still was. His hand turned over and took hold of hers, and he allowed himself to stop worrying so much. "Well you can do either really, but you're supposed to wait for twenty minutes if you eat first, I think."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako perked up, nodding. "That's right," she said, "Well, we can eat, spend 20 minutes talking, then play in the water a bit. How's that sound?" She smiled, not seeming to mind at all that she was holding hands with him.

[princeofjunes]

A little food, a little chatter, and a little fun in the water with a cute girl. Yosuke couldn't think of a better way to spend the day, and said as much. "Sounds great! You pick the place, and I'll buy. ... though, I didn't even look to see if there is a place here."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako blinked. "Oh, that's right," she said, "I forgot..." She looks around, a finger at her chin. "What should we do then, Yosuke-san?"

[princeofjunes]

Yosuke wasn't sure what to do either as he considered their options. He couldn't exactly fish them up some food, but asking other people for food hardly seemed like a good date - wait, this was a date now? Shaking the thought from his head, he knew he was short on ideas. "Crap... I should've grabbed some snacks from Junes before coming here. Sorry, Nanako-chan."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

The girl shook her head. "It's okay, Yosuke-san," Nanako replied with a smile, "I'm just happy you're still willing to hang out with me. I always felt like I was bothering you when I was younger..."

[princeofjunes]

Shocked that she would even mention such a thing, Yosuke was quick to speak. "Of course you weren't bothering us! We always loved having you around, Nanako-chan. You were always so happy, so full of life, so cute and energeitc! Just like n-" he paused, blushing instantly when he realized what he was saying but finishing it all the same. "... just like now."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako felt her own cheeks heat up at his words. However, she soon smiled, lacing her fingers in his on instinct. "Thank you," she said quietly, the breeze blowing her long hair around her shoulders a bit.

[princeofjunes]

He found himself gripping her hand a little tighter, his heart skipping a beat. Just what was going on with him? It wasn't long ago he'd been re-introduced to an older Nanako, and now... now he was holding her hand and thinking about leaning in and - it was all happening so fast, catching him off guard like their first trip into the TV. "You're welcome," he heard himself say as he moved just a little closer to her.

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Still blushing, Nanako didn't seem to mind the close proximity Yosuke was getting into when it came to her. That partially could be attributed to events that happened in the future. Her future, at least... Maybe not his. The different timelines, universes.... They didn't matter right now. She felt... safe. For the first time in a long while.

[princeofjunes]

It happened in nearly an instant - Yosuke leaned in and gave her a light kiss. The how and why, the do's and dont's and ramifications were gone from his mind, replaced with only one thought: her lips were soft.

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako felt her eyes go wide as Yosuke leaned in and stole her first kiss from her. Well, maybe stole was the wrong word, since Nanako actually pressed into it a little before he pulled away from her. And then, just as suddenly as he'd kissed her, she had her arms around him in a hug, eyes shut tight as she fought back tears. Even if he was younger than her, he was still taller. The last time she'd seen him was right before she'd lost him. And she didn't want to lose him again.

[princeofjunes]

She kissed him back? Before he had time to think about it, her arms were wrapped around him and he returned the favor, holding her close to him as his heart beat faster. Something was wrong, but he didn't ask what just yet. It was enough to hold her and comfort her. "It's okay, Nanako-chan... it's okay."

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

After a few moments, Nanako pulled away, looking up at him as she tried to smile. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I just... had a moment. It's passed, now..."

[princeofjunes]

"It's okay... I had a moment too." His heart kept pounding, and somewhere between her forced smile and the moment they just shared, he wondered if it would stop anytime soon. "I'd like to have another, but... not when something's bothering you, Nanako-chan. What's wrong?"

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Her face growing serious, Nanako let Yosuke over to a pair of empty beach chairs that had recently been abandoned, sitting them both down. "You see," she began as Seta-chan hopped into her lap. "A few years after Big Bro left Inaba... The fog came back. The murders started again."

[princeofjunes]

As he sat with her, he wondered just what could be upsetting her. The answer was almost too much to believe, and his mouth hung open for a second. "But... there's no way! He, I - everyone, we all... if it came back, we'd do something! The rest of us in Inaba wouldn't just let that happen!"

[justiceforjunes.livejournal.com]

Nanako shook her head. "You started disappearing in the reverse order Big Bro rescued you in... Naoto-san, then Rise-san... It was just you, me, and Teddie left a few months ago. We managed to save Teddie, but then you ran off... Even with Alice by my side, I couldn't find you in time. When I did... it was too late." She looked down. "You merged with your Shadow," she said quietly, "Except for Teddie... everyone did."

[princeofjunes]

He looked at her with disbelief, not able to - not wanting to think about the future she was describing. Nanako, forced - and able - to fight was bad enough. Losing his friends one by one, and then merging with his shadow? Was that even possible? What would happen then? He didn't know what to say. He didn't want that future, and his mind kept trying to reject it. That couldn't be how it ended! If his partner wasn't there to protect everyone, they had to! He couldn't lose, not like that. But even with everything, with the disbelief and shock to his system, Yosuke knew she was the one suffering the most. "Nanako-chan, I... I'm sorry..."