November wasn't Yosuke's favorite month under normal circumstances. Winter's chill was starting to creep in, shifting from pleasant nippiness to something unpleasant that he never managed to be freaking prepared for. Because it was November. December was when you broke out your heavy coats. Year after year, Yosuke never seemed to learn, and it was with a grimace that he peered out into the fog from the Junes lobby. He shivered in advance, hugging his shoulders.
"Man, I'm sorry, dude, if I knew my Dad was going to have us stock the whole department, I wouldn't have asked you to help," he sighed, finally acknowledging the boy beside him. Kanji shrugged, rolling out a knot in his neck.
"It's nothin'," he grunted, waiting for a satisfying crack before straightening back up to full height. Yosuke couldn't help feeling a little inadequete. "I could use a little spending money, anyway. Sorta surprised you called me, though. Don't you usually force Senpai into this stuff?"
"I don't force, anyone. You're getting paid, aren't you??" Yosuke groused, already pulling in tighter around himself, for all the Junes lobby was perfectly warm. "I just...figured he was busy, y'know? God, with all the crap going on with Nanako-chan, I'm not going to roll up all 'yo, dude, wanna help me count cans of tuna!' That's gotta be the last thing he wants to be doing."
"I guess." Kanji made one more noncommittal noise before pushing open the glass door, waving behind to his senpai. "You gotta lock up, right? I should be heading back before Ma starts gettin' how she gets. See ya at school, Yosuke-senpai."
Yosuke answered Kanji's parting with a quick goodbye of his own, mind already miles away as he turned to set the alarm system. It was a stupidly complex series of button presses, all of them requiring specific timing, but Yosuke was pretty sure he could do it in his sleep by this point. It certainly didn't get in the way of his thoughts. Which, as it happened, seem more focused than usual.
Was Souji at the hospital right now? Yosuke had been under the vague impression he'd been spending his nights there, but now that he really thought about it, how could he? The hospital was on the completely opposite side of the high school, and yet Yosuke always managed to catch up with Souji on the floodplain road in the mornings.
Well, the mornings he didn't sleep through his alarm, anyway.
Yosuke input the final security code, hurrying to get outside and lock the door. If Souji was at home, did that mean...well, jeez, it was just him there, wasn't it? The November chill rubbed at the back of his neck, but something about how he shuddered felt as if something else was to blame.
It couldn't hurt to stop in, right? He still had his (very late) dinner swinging in a plastic bag, looped around his wrist. There was no reason he couldn't share, especially not after Souji had forfeited so many of his lunches over the months their friendship had grown.
"Shit, I gotta stop forgetting my jacket," Yosuke hissed under his breath, half-sprinting his way towards the bike rack.
14. Don't mind me as I NPC Kanji a little bit [cat]...
"Man, I'm sorry, dude, if I knew my Dad was going to have us stock the whole department, I wouldn't have asked you to help," he sighed, finally acknowledging the boy beside him. Kanji shrugged, rolling out a knot in his neck.
"It's nothin'," he grunted, waiting for a satisfying crack before straightening back up to full height. Yosuke couldn't help feeling a little inadequete. "I could use a little spending money, anyway. Sorta surprised you called me, though. Don't you usually force Senpai into this stuff?"
"I don't force, anyone. You're getting paid, aren't you??" Yosuke groused, already pulling in tighter around himself, for all the Junes lobby was perfectly warm. "I just...figured he was busy, y'know? God, with all the crap going on with Nanako-chan, I'm not going to roll up all 'yo, dude, wanna help me count cans of tuna!' That's gotta be the last thing he wants to be doing."
"I guess." Kanji made one more noncommittal noise before pushing open the glass door, waving behind to his senpai. "You gotta lock up, right? I should be heading back before Ma starts gettin' how she gets. See ya at school, Yosuke-senpai."
Yosuke answered Kanji's parting with a quick goodbye of his own, mind already miles away as he turned to set the alarm system. It was a stupidly complex series of button presses, all of them requiring specific timing, but Yosuke was pretty sure he could do it in his sleep by this point. It certainly didn't get in the way of his thoughts. Which, as it happened, seem more focused than usual.
Was Souji at the hospital right now? Yosuke had been under the vague impression he'd been spending his nights there, but now that he really thought about it, how could he? The hospital was on the completely opposite side of the high school, and yet Yosuke always managed to catch up with Souji on the floodplain road in the mornings.
Well, the mornings he didn't sleep through his alarm, anyway.
Yosuke input the final security code, hurrying to get outside and lock the door. If Souji was at home, did that mean...well, jeez, it was just him there, wasn't it? The November chill rubbed at the back of his neck, but something about how he shuddered felt as if something else was to blame.
It couldn't hurt to stop in, right? He still had his (very late) dinner swinging in a plastic bag, looped around his wrist. There was no reason he couldn't share, especially not after Souji had forfeited so many of his lunches over the months their friendship had grown.
"Shit, I gotta stop forgetting my jacket," Yosuke hissed under his breath, half-sprinting his way towards the bike rack.
Hopefully, Souji would still be up.