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Description
Sometime in March

Souji was vaguely aware that he hadn't been communicating with his old friends, but it didn't bother him too much as long as he kept his mind on other things. Thankfully, his studies made it very easy to distract himself from unpleasant thoughts. Just one day left until the weekend, and then just a few months left until vacation, he thought. Another day of learning nothing was over and he was on his way back to the dorm. Just before he reached his room, he noticed an evelope sticking out of his mailbox. Now that was unusual. Who would be writing to him? His parents? Not likely.

His stomach lurched when he noticed the return address: Inaba.

It wasn't an address he recognized. Inspecting the rest of the envelope, he noticed that his name was written in immaculately elegant handwriting. So it probably wasn't a casual letter from an old friend, he realized sadly. He carefully tore the paper open to reveal a crisp, decorative card.

Your presence is requested at the wedding of Mr. Kou Ichijo to Miss Chie Satonaka.

I had no idea, was his first thought. True, he had known that Kou had a crush on Chie several years back, but he hadn't even known they were together. Since when? And how long had they been engaged? Surprise gave way to disappointment, which gave way to hurt. Neither of his friends had even thought to call him and tell him the news? Did they think it was appropriate to find out something like this from a copy of the same invitation that had been send to who knows how many other people?

When was the last time you called either of them? And that thought hurt ten times worse than anything else. The realization that all of this was Souji's own damn fault.

02:27:06, 6/14/2015

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba city and Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform."

Souji leapt at the sound of the familiar robotic voice. Grabbing his luggage, he made his way to the exit, feeling the train coast to a stop. Familiar faces smiled up at him from the platform: Ryotaro and Nanako Dojima.

"Hello," he said, staring at his relatives. Moments later, he ran over to where they were standing to envelop them both in a bear hug.

"Big Bro!" Nanako called affectionately.

"It's been far too long," said Dojima. Souji agreed. "The house always feels so quiet after you leave," Dojima continued. He looked the same as Souji remembered him, although time had aged his eyes a little. Nanako, on the other hand, had grown. Her hair was longer and tied back in a single ponytail. She was taller and thinner, having lost her baby fat.

"Nanako, how old are you now?" Souji asked.

"I'm ten and a half!" she replied cheerfully. "And I'm gonna start 5th grade next year! You're still at university, right?"

Souji chuckled. "Yes, I am."

"Wow, you're so grown up," Nanako gushed. "I missed you, Big Bro!"

"Nanako's been talking about your visit for weeks. We've already set up your old room the way it was," Dojima mentioned as the group climbed into the car.

"Sounds great!" Souji said, thanking the Dojimas for their kindness. "So, umm... how's Chie?"

Dojima smiled. "She's understandably stressed out, but other than that, she's doing well. Miss Satonaka is still training to join the force, but she's taking a few months off right now." He paused for a moment to think. "I think she and Ichijo have been engaged since December. That was when she announced it, anyway."

So even his uncle had found out before he had. That was just great. "Umm... what about everyone else?"

"You mean your old group of friends?" Dojima took another moment to think while he drove. "I can't say I know very much. Shirogane went off to university, and the Amagi girl now manages the inn. I'm not really sure about the others." He must have noticed Souji's sorrowful expression. "Hey, but they should all be back in town for this, right? You'll get to see them and catch up."

Nanako talked about her friends and her school for the rest of the ride home. Souji listened with interest, but he couldn't help feeling distracted. It was easy to fall back into a familial pattern with these two, but would it be possible with the others? He had talked with the Dojimas plenty (and they were, after all, family), so it wasn't as if they had grown completely apart.

But it had been so long since he had spoken with his friends, and Souji was afraid. Inaba had brought him out of his shell and into an amazing circle of people. He looked back on his time there with fond nostalgia, wishing he could be that happy again. Maybe he never would be. What if they were angry with him? What if they hated him? After clinging to those memories for so long, how could he deal with having them torn apart?

Distance doesn't matter to us! Even if we're separated, we're still friends!

Souji smiled, remembering Yosuke's words as he left for the first time. True, distance didn't matter. But what about time?

Description
Sometime in March

Souji was vaguely aware that he hadn't been communicating with his old friends, but it didn't bother him too much as long as he kept his mind on other things. Thankfully, his studies made it very easy to distract himself from unpleasant thoughts. Just one day left until the weekend, and then just a few months left until vacation, he thought. Another day of learning nothing was over and he was on his way back to the dorm. Just before he reached his room, he noticed an evelope sticking out of his mailbox. Now that was unusual. Who would be writing to him? His parents? Not likely.

His stomach lurched when he noticed the return address: Inaba.

It wasn't an address he recognized. Inspecting the rest of the envelope, he noticed that his name was written in immaculately elegant handwriting. So it probably wasn't a casual letter from an old friend, he realized sadly. He carefully tore the paper open to reveal a crisp, decorative card.

Your presence is requested at the wedding of Mr. Kou Ichijo to Miss Chie Satonaka.

I had no idea, was his first thought. True, he had known that Kou had a crush on Chie several years back, but he hadn't even known they were together. Since when? And how long had they been engaged? Surprise gave way to disappointment, which gave way to hurt. Neither of his friends had even thought to call him and tell him the news? Did they think it was appropriate to find out something like this from a copy of the same invitation that had been send to who knows how many other people?

When was the last time you called either of them? And that thought hurt ten times worse than anything else. The realization that all of this was Souji's own damn fault.

02:27:06, 6/14/2015

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba city and Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform."

Souji leapt at the sound of the familiar robotic voice. Grabbing his luggage, he made his way to the exit, feeling the train coast to a stop. Familiar faces smiled up at him from the platform: Ryotaro and Nanako Dojima.

"Hello," he said, staring at his relatives. Moments later, he ran over to where they were standing to envelop them both in a bear hug.

"Big Bro!" Nanako called affectionately.

"It's been far too long," said Dojima. Souji agreed. "The house always feels so quiet after you leave," Dojima continued. He looked the same as Souji remembered him, although time had aged his eyes a little. Nanako, on the other hand, had grown. Her hair was longer and tied back in a single ponytail. She was taller and thinner, having lost her baby fat.

"Nanako, how old are you now?" Souji asked.

"I'm ten and a half!" she replied cheerfully. "And I'm gonna start 5th grade next year! You're still at university, right?"

Souji chuckled. "Yes, I am."

"Wow, you're so grown up," Nanako gushed. "I missed you, Big Bro!"

"Nanako's been talking about your visit for weeks. We've already set up your old room the way it was," Dojima mentioned as the group climbed into the car.

"Sounds great!" Souji said, thanking the Dojimas for their kindness. "So, umm... how's Chie?"

Dojima smiled. "She's understandably stressed out, but other than that, she's doing well. Miss Satonaka is still training to join the force, but she's taking a few months off right now." He paused for a moment to think. "I think she and Ichijo have been engaged since December. That was when she announced it, anyway."

So even his uncle had found out before he had. That was just great. "Umm... what about everyone else?"

"You mean your old group of friends?" Dojima took another moment to think while he drove. "I can't say I know very much. Shirogane went off to university, and the Amagi girl now manages the inn. I'm not really sure about the others." He must have noticed Souji's sorrowful expression. "Hey, but they should all be back in town for this, right? You'll get to see them and catch up."

Nanako talked about her friends and her school for the rest of the ride home. Souji listened with interest, but he couldn't help feeling distracted. It was easy to fall back into a familial pattern with these two, but would it be possible with the others? He had talked with the Dojimas plenty (and they were, after all, family), so it wasn't as if they had grown completely apart.

But it had been so long since he had spoken with his friends, and Souji was afraid. Inaba had brought him out of his shell and into an amazing circle of people. He looked back on his time there with fond nostalgia, wishing he could be that happy again. Maybe he never would be. What if they were angry with him? What if they hated him? After clinging to those memories for so long, how could he deal with having them torn apart?

Distance doesn't matter to us! Even if we're separated, we're still friends!

Souji smiled, remembering Yosuke's words as he left for the first time. True, distance didn't matter. But what about time?