Chapter Text
Yawn.
Yosuke rubs his eyes, leaning up from the luggage he used as a headrest. That..was a bad idea in hindsight, but it was the only comfortable thing he could think of-
"Hey, do you want anything from the store?"
He blinks, looking over at his parents going out of the car. His eyes widen, and he sits up, opening the car door and stumbling out. "N-nono, i-it's fine! I'll- I'll pick the stuff I want out myself! S-sorry-"
His parents give nothing more than a second glance at him, before they go back to talking to a lonely gas attendant that seems to be talking to them about the town. As soon as they turn their backs against him (again) , he drops the smile with a sigh. He stretches his back, the joints popping noisily and a groan leaving him. His stomach rumbles, but just a glance at the windows of the store shows that he probably won’t find much of what he liked.
“Hey, you look tired!” A strangely peppy voice sounds from behind Yosuke, prompting him to turn around. “May I suggest a canned coffee? That’ll perk you right up!” The silvery haired attendant smiles a little too happily at Yosuke.
Yosuke makes a suspicious face, looking at the gas attendant weirdly. Coffee..isn't his style, but..
"Uh.." Yosuke smiles shakefully, nodding at them. "T..thanks for the suggestion, I'll..I'll think about it."
The attendant laughs, extending their hand towards Yosuke. “Sure, whatever you say. But hey, if you ever need something to do out here, ya know, since it’s so boring , we’re always hiring here.” The attendant tilts their head, still giving that rather sincere smile.
Yosuke takes a quick glance at their face, before smiling softly at them, also extending his own hand and grasping the others hand in a handshake. "I..already have a job at the new Junes that's going to open soon, but I'll..I'll think about it. Thank you."
The attendant chuckles as Yosuke lets go of the handshake, a dull pain suddenly throbbing across his temples. “Ngh… M-maybe I will take you up on that coffee...” Yosuke rubs his forehead, blaming the pain on the long trip. The attendant smiles again and goes back to their job, finishing filling up the Hanamura’s car.
Yosuke shakes his head slightly in an attempt to get rid of the headache, going over to the small store and heading down the small snack items.
Mom likes these type of chips, Dad likes this brand of chocolate, diet soda for Mom, an energy drink for Dad..
Yosuke looks over at the canned coffee, taking a second, before grabbing the sweetest sounding coffee flavor, and heads over to the counter to pay.
Might as well, right?
When Yosuke returns to the car, all he sees is two stern frowns. His heart falls into his gut, the disappointed glares of his parents making him feel small and afraid. Their words echo around in his brain, even as he tries to defend himself.
What took you so long? I was trying to find the stuff that you guys like-
We’ve been waiting forever for you. I-I'm sorry I took so long-
Get your ass back in the car, we’re leaving. ...sorry…
On the way to the new house, he was silent, just listening to his parents talk like nothing’s wrong and snack away on the food he got them. ...at least they like the food-
At least school should be better, right?
This is bad.
Yosuke feels tears welling up in his eyes as he stares at the big fat F staring back at him. He knows math is his worst subject, but still….His parents are going to be so pissed.
They are gonna be so pissed fuck he can't breath he can't breaTHE-
Yosuke looks around to see if anyone's looking, before he dashes out of the classroom, going into the biggest stall in the male's restroom, before sliding down the wall, a harsh sob escaping his lips. He clutches the paper in his hands tightly, bringing his knees up to his chest to try and muffle the sobs.
What type of son fails this easily at a test? You are just a good-for-nothing child that can't even take a simple test!!
Yosuke hands reach under his uniform sleeves, his nails roughly scratching at his skin.
Everything's too much right now, he can't think, fuck why is he like this he doesn't want to be like this!-
Tears stream down his face, choking sobs leaving his chest. Yosuke can’t breathe, he can’t do anything other than rip himself apart at the seams. The heavy smell of blood is what brings Yosuke back to the bathroom stall, feeling warmth slowly spread over his fingers.
Yosuke slowly blinks, looking at his rolled up sleeves (when..did they get rolled up..?), and he can feel his breath stop.
His arms are now covered in self made scratches, some old wounds that were just beginning to heal all undone along with some other new scratches.
Shit shit shit fuck fuck fuck-
Yosuke quickly gets up, leaving the now bloodied test paper on the floor as he turns on the sink, washing his arms under the now warm water.
Yosuke stays like that for a while, his mind racing as he watches the blood wash away from his arms and down the drain.
"..god I really am just a disappointment, huh..?" Yosuke mutters to himself, a sad smile crawling on his face. He laughs breathily, tears still pooling in his eyes as he carefully bandages the wounds. He’s used to this, so why does it still hurt….why does everything still hurt?
Yosuke's head picks up when he hears the bell ring. For a slight moment, he feels relief for school finally being over, carefully taking the bloodied test paper and stuffing it in his bag, before it hits him.
He still has a shift today.
“Hanamura! How do you feel about Junes taking over all of the shops in town and running families out of business?”
Yosuke tries to ignore the mic thrust into his face and the cameras pointed at him. Why today, of all days? “Uh-uhm. I didn’t really have a choice…. I moved here against my will...s-so I didn’t-”
“So you’re saying you don’t care?”
“Of course I care! I didn’t want to move here and...and ruin everything!” Yosuke clenches his fingers around the box he’s holding. The strain on his arms doesn’t help with his wounds, and he desperately needs to take these cabbages to the produce section. But these cameras… “P-please, I need to leave-”
“I think the town needs you to leave, don’t you? You’ve been nothing but trouble here, so I think I speak for everyone when I say get out.”
Yosuke feels a lump form in his throat, tears burning his eyes again. “I-I need to go put these up, please. I c-can answer more when I get off, but-”
“Are you brushing us off? Don’t you know that you’re killing families? Does that not make you hurt?” Yosuke stiffens, his arms burning, hands itching to chase away the pain. “Or are you just some heartless kid who only cares about himself? Everyone hates you!”
“I know everyone hates me!” Yosuke shouts, slamming the box of cabbages down and causing them to explode all over them. Tears stream down his face, a sob leaving his throat. “I didn’t want to be here, so just, leave me the fuck alone!”
The reporters watch as Yosuke sinks to his knees in the mess of cabbages, deciding to leave the boy...for now at least. What a rotten kid. Yosuke can’t help but cry, especially after catching that last tidbit.
He tries his best to clean up the mess, keeping his head down so that the people who walk by don't see the fresh tears rolling down his face.
Or..they did, but just didn't say anything, who knows anymore.
Once he is done cleaning everything and throwing everything away, he goes to the break room and to his locker. Taking a deep breath, he goes to the biggest stall that's available for the second time today, though in a different place.
As he changes, he can't help but look at his arms again, wincing as he looks at them. They look so.. so much worse..was carrying the box that straining on his arms..?
Yosuke just lets out a small whimper, taking the extra long sleeve and slipping it back on. His parents..his parents are going to be pissed , if the bad grade wasn't enough (though, he's never going to show them that test), then him basically wasting good products will due just that and..
Yosuke pulls at his hair slightly, shaking his head. Nononono..
"It's only 4 more hours Hanamura..j-just don't fuck up the rest of day, a-and maybe your punishment won't be as bad.." Yosuke sighs, opening the stall door again.
"..maybe.."
His punishment was bad.
Yosuke leans against his broom, feeling dead on his feet as he struggles to make all of Junes spotless. His parents had locked him inside the building, refusing to let him leave until the morning. He wanders into the electronic section, getting a glance at himself on the screen. Eyebags, red arms, drool pooling in the corner of his mouth... In other words, perfectly ready to take a nap on this floor.
“Why does everyone hate me?”
Yosuke blinks softly, lifting his head up ever so slightly as he looks forward at the large tv next to where he is standing. D..did he hear something from..the tv..?
“That’s what you’re thinking, right?” The voice is sad, not even faking it, just...sympathy. “How could everyone hate me, I’m not even trying to, in fact…I’m trying so hard to make everyone like me…But it’s too tiring.”
Yosuke leans away from the broom, holding it tightly as an almost weapon of sorts as he goes over to the tv.
...why is he going near a tv?? There's someone else here in the store with him!!
..or is it just his mind fucking with him..? The voice.. does sound like his..oh God is he finally gone fucking crazy like his parents always say he is?!-
Yosuke peers into the screen, watching his reflection do the same. “H-ha, I’m not crazy, I’m just…tired..” He moves his arms up and down a bit, the reflection Yosuke copying him. “Wh-why am I so scared anyway, ha?” Wait if his eyes are closed in the reflection then how-
The reflection’s eyes snap open, shining with a golden light. Yosuke's own eyes widen, stumbling back and tripping, hitting his head against the metal shelf. He lets out a harsh yelp, rubbing the back of his head. Fuck that hurts-
Yosuke turns his head to the tv screen, the yellow eyed creature staring back in concern. His mouth moved, but Yosuke couldn’t make out what he was saying due to the ringing in his ears. He got up, crawling over to the tv. The creature placed one of his hands on the screen, as if asking Yosuke to mimic him.
Yosuke takes a bit, before he slowly lifts his hand up, placing his hand on the tv slowly. The tv screen seems to ripple, and before Yosuke can let out a confused noise, something seems to grab him, dragging him in. The yellow eyed creature laughs, a deep sound remarkably like Yosuke’s own voice. It’s the last thing he hears before static fills his head and eyes.
Yosuke whimpers softly as he opens his eyes, holding his head as he sits up. Where is..where is he?
He looks around, seeing nothing but fog. Groaning, he slowly gets off the ground, trying to find his way through the fog.
"H..hey, is..is anyone here?"
“No one but yourself.”
The deep voice calls from above Yosuke, prompting him to look around wildly. Through the fog, sitting atop a stack of tvs, is a rather…familiar looking figure.
Yosuke stares up at the almost exact copy of himself, his hands shooting to his arms and gripping on them despite the wounds like his life depends on it. "W..what do you- w..why do you look like me? W-who are you??"
"Like I said, no one else but yourself is here." The copycat keeps staring at Yosuke with a soft smile on his face. "I'm you." He leaps off the stack, landing on the floor rather gracefully, and now Yosuke can clearly see the blazing yellow eyes, the same ones in his reflection. “I’m everything you are, especially the parts of you you push deep deep down. How much you crave people to notice you, how you hate living here, how you just want to be seen, to be noticed, to be liked. Those parts of you.”
Yosuke tries to speak, but anytime he tries to say something back he just falls silent, looking at the ground. "..so..you really.. are me..?" He ends up muttering softly after a bit, looking back at his other self with a tilt of his head. The creature smiles and places his hands on Yosuke’s shoulder, though when the boy winces, the smile fades.
“Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
Yosuke tries to pull away, before giving up, looking at the floor again. If this person is.. him ..
"It's..it's just the scratches from earlier. It..should be fine though-"
The creature touched his own arms and winced. “They’re still open. I can heal them you know, but you need to fully accept me. You need to look at your deepest, darkest secrets, all the parts of you that you hide away from everyone else.”
Yosuke's grip on his own arms tightens on instinct. "..s..so..i just..i just say I accept you..o..or.." Yosuke bites his lips. "I-I know how I feel..I..I know that I hide how I feel away from everyone so that..so that they can like me.." Yosuke stares up at the creature, a small look of confusion on his face. "Y..y..you're me.."
It’s with a smile that the creature’s eyes light up with a bright flash. Yosuke covers his own eyes, trying to hide from the blinding light. Once it all dies down, he glances around... wait glances around? The world around him is still covered in fog but he can see through it, turning his sight back to the creature, who gasps.
The creature is still Yosuke, but taller, with a long red scarf and those same yellow eyes. He grabs his head, shaking it a bit. “Ghh, I...I remember now….my name, my name is Jiraiya, and I’m your Shadow. This world is my home….” Suddenly, Jiraiya’s eyes go wide, his voice trembling. “M-my world...I remember everything now, the fog suddenly set in and I forgot everything until I saw you in the screen...And then I knew that I needed your help!”
"My..help?" Yosuke hums slightly, tilting his head again. "W-what..what would you need my help for..?"
“Well for starters, you’ve already accepted me. Next….When you did, all of the fog cleared from my head. I think….I think if we work together we can really clear the fog from this world...and from my friends.” There’s pain in Jiraiya’s voice, a kind of desperation. Maybe even tears in his eyes, but he blinks them away. “Point is, we need your help.”
Yosuke stays silent for a moment, just simply staring at his "Shadow" as he apparently is, before sighing weakly.
"...would I finally be useful if I help you..?"
Jiraiya frowns, then nods. “...Does helping yourself out and clearing a world of crazy fog sound useful to you?”
Yosuke forces out a tiny laugh, rubbing the back of his neck weakly. "Y..yea, it..kinda does.." Yosuke stays silent for a second, before looking up at Jiraiya. "W..what can I do to..to help you..?"
The Shadow tackles Yosuke in a hug, letting out a cheer. “That’s the me I know. Ok, since you’ve agreed to help me, I’ll explain. I have power now thanks to you, and in turn, that gives you power. We need more people like us, with their strength of heart, to fight the maker of the fog.” Jiraiya’s eyes glow with ferocity. “You’ve already met her.”
“H-huh?”
“I mean….” Jiraiya leans forward, tapping Yosuke’s forehead. “How else could you have gotten in here through the screen? Before you could touch tv screens, right?”
Yosuke makes a face of fake annoyance, before making a thinking face. "..Yea, before I could touch tv screens..even yesterday I could touch them just fine.." Yosuke pauses. "...who is this "her" you're talking about..?"
Jiraiya’s face darkens. “The mistress of this world, the ruler of Shadows and the fog; Izanami.”
"Iza..nami..?" Yosuke mutters softly. "Isn't she..isn't she a..a god?" He whimpers. "H-how can you expect me to help w-with her?"
“That’s what I meant when I said give others power. We can’t do this on our own, we need help.” Jiraiya pulls a knife from his sleeve, twirling it on his finger. “There are others like me here, but they’re shrouded in fog. We need to free them.”
Yosuke at first reacts to the knife, flinching back at first, before relaxing slowly. "..s..so.." Yosuke starts. "All I need to do is..is help you free your friends..right?" Yosuke goes to grab his own arm, but he winces in pain. Jiraiya blinks, tilting his head.
“Right, your injuries.” The Shadow sits down, prompting Yosuke to do the same. “I’m not as good of a healer as Sakuya, but I know a few tricks. Roll up your sleeves.”
Yosuke sits down slowly, taking a second before rolling up his sleeves, tilting his head. "They aren't.. that bad.." He mutters, completely ignoring how red the bandages he put on the wounds now are. Jiraiya shakes his head, unwrapping the wounds. He visibly winces, then places his hand on them.
“Diarama.” A green light shimmers around Jiraiya’s hand, spreading over Yosuke. Yosuke hands clenches softly, closing his eyes as a pained look covers his face as his wounds close up. Jiraiya waits until the pain in his own body fades before removing his hand. “There, isn’t that much better?”
Yosuke blinks his eyes open, looking down at his arms..before letting out a soft yelp. "W-wha-" Yosuke keeps turning his arms, biting his lips. "H-how the hell- w-where did the wounds go- w..why is there no p-pain??-"
Jiraiya laughs. “It’s magic, that’s why.”
"What- w-what do you mean magic? That..w-what?"
“Magic. What else could it be? You really thought you were weak, huh.” The Shadow’s eyes glow with some sort of affection. “You’ve got power, magic, strength, all of it deep within you.” He smiles, then it falters. “Hey, have you been sleeping enough?”
Yosuke crosses his arms over his chest, tapping his finger against his arms. "I've..been sleeping the usual amount." Yosuke hums. "Two through four hours of sleep, but lately I'll even be lucky to get one.."
Yosuke ends up shaking his head, waving his hand dismissively. "Parents always said the more I sleep, the less money they make so..this is normal."
The noise Jiraiya makes is no different from an animal’s growl. It almost looks like his teeth are sharp! “I’m not letting you back out until you sleep.”
Yosuke winces back at the teeth, before sitting up more straight. "I..I can't do that. I..I wish I can, but I- I have school tomorrow, I can't stay here t-too late-"
“Not a problem.” Jiraiya pulls Yosuke close, eyes flaring brightly as he snaps his fingers. A soft green bubble envelopes them, though nothing feels any different. “There, sleep time.”
Yosuke flinches instinctively at the feeling of being pulled close to his other self, before looking up at Jiraiya. "W..what exactly did you-" he starts to say, before looking down and yelping, clinging onto Jiraiya.
T..they are floating- how the hell are they floating?!-
“Relax, Yosuke. This is just a little bubble of time, where the time outside moves much slower than in here.” Jiraiya smiles, letting go of Yosuke. “Here you can rest as long as you need.”
Yosuke bites his lips weakly, looking at Jiraiya almost cautiously, before he feels a sudden wave of tiredness affect him. Fuck he really is this tired huh-
Taking a moment, Yosuke finds himself floating still, but laying down on his side, a small whimper escaping his lips. A..a small nap won't hurt..right?
His eyes close, Jiraiya’s yellow ones watching him the entire time.
Despite what he had originally planned, Yosuke kept returning to that odd tv world time and time again, and each time Jiraiya was just as hospitable as always. He still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to gather strength, but the Shadow kept telling him “Soon.”
Apparently soon meant the day that new transfer student showed up.
The first day he saw the transfer student, he felt.. weird. He got a sudden headache, causing him to hold his head in pain, and suddenly-
CRASH
Yosuke flies off his bike, crash landing into the ground and rolling a few feet before he stopped. He groans in pain, trying to think through it so he can assess the damage he received. When he opens his eyes, a hand is reaching for him.
Yosuke flinches back on instinct, expecting a punch or a slap from the other student-
But when he looks up, he just sees the new transfer student, a worried expression on his face.
...why does he want to help him..?
To not be rude, Yosuke shakefully grabs his hand, getting pulled up with the help of the other student. Yosuke takes a second to look at the transfer student completely.
Grey hair, bowling haircut(people really still have that haircut? Really?), and sharp grey eyes stare at him, worry filling them.
“Are you ok?”
Yosuke blinks out of his daze like state, looking at him and just giving him a small customer service smile. “I’m fine, thank you.” He dusts himself off, trying to neaten up his hair a bit too. “Pretty funny, right?”
The transfer frowns and shakes his head, but before he can continue he checks the time. “Ah, sorry, I have to stop by the faculty office first, I gotta hurry so I’m not late. See ya.” He dashes off, leaving Yosuke to wonder what the hell just happened.
Yosuke slowly picks up his stuff from off the ground, grabbing his bike and choosing to walk to school instead. Yosuke mutters softly, before he realizes. His headache is suddenly gone.
Yosuke simply shrugs it off, locking his bike up and walking inside and changing his shoes, dumping out the small notes that are in his school shoes (it's the same stuff every time "You should just kill yourself already", "no one will miss the Prince of Junes if he's gone!", it's so repetitive at this point) before he walks to his classroom.
The day is just like always, though Yosuke notices that he feels more tired than normal. I’ll pay Jiraiya a visit, I need rest. With that thought in mind the boy bounces his leg in anticipation. Maybe Jiraiya will show me more of his magic today too.
Yosuke lifts his head up from the table as the school bell rings, and he gets a small smile on his face. He mutters a soft finally , before packing his bag and ignoring the soft whispers around the classroom.
"Why is he smiling like that?"
"Did he not see the notes?"
"Ugh bastard probably didn't see them. We'll put more in his locker tomorrow."
Yosuke rolls his eyes softly, ignoring the small pain that stings through his arms, and as he's about to head out the door, his wrist is grabbed. It’s the transfer student! Yosuke’s head pounds briefly again, just like before.
“Hey, I meant to talk to you sooner. Are you sure you’re ok?”
Yosuke blinks, not only trying to get the headache to go away, but also trying to understand what he just said-
Why is the transfer student..worried about him? This honestly doesn't make sense to him, what's going on, ow his fucking head-
"U-uh.." Yosuke takes a second, before nodding softly. “S-sorry, I have to work today, I-I'll talk to you later-” Yosuke ignores the student’s protests and runs out of the school.
Yosuke quickly grabs his bike, pedaling as fast as he can to Junes (the headache went away fast again), parking his bike and walking into the store. He takes a quick look around the electronic aisle to make sure no customers can see him, before he goes into the tv.
The Shadow is pacing around like a tiger in a cage, his feet not even hitting the floor and just hovering on gusts of air. He growls irritably, though when Yosuke shows up he slows. “Oh, hi Yosuke.”
Yosuke stares at Jiraiya for a bit, before tilting his head softly. "Are..you ok? You seem..really irritated..I..haven't really seen you like this before.."
“Sorry, I’ve been really irritated. There’s someone new in my world, I’ve been watching him snoop around, and what’s more, the fog is thicker.” Jiraiya summons a small tornado and sits on top of it. His eyes are a brighter yellow today, and his teeth sharp. “So I’m a little stressed. But, I know how we can solve one problem.”
Yosuke almost seems to perk up at the sound of helping solve something, and he nods softly. "How..how can we solve the problem?"
The grin Jiraiya gave is almost predatory, showing off his fangs. He’s got some crazy idea, I can feel it. “We’ll need your help mostly, Yosuke.” The Shadow snaps his fingers, the tvs behind him all turning onto channels showing a local reporter. Miss Yamano.
“You’re going to push Mayumi Yamano into the TV.”