Repair My Mind.

Souji stared into his coffee and in the darkness he could see his reflection. How many things could have changed while he was gone? It was a thought that had plagued him since his decision to return to Inaba. Yukiko was probably just finishing up high school and getting ready to manage the Amagi Inn. He shook his head with a small smile as his thoughts switched over to Rise. He had her latest album at his apartment. It was great now that she wrote her own lyrics. It was even better to know that she wasn't afraid to show everyone the Rise that he loved. He then began to think of the other women he had spent his time with while Inaba. He wondered about Sayoko and her work in Africa. He hoped that she had done well. Souji had graduated high school early. That was no surprise to any of his teachers. He smiled at the thought of the angry Chihiro Fushimi as the principal had pulled them aside. The reason for her anger being that she would have to allow Souji to have the spot of Valedictorian, because his GPA was 4.00 while hers was 3.7.

"Do you need me to heat that up?" the girl was tan and had been his assistant coach now that he thought about it. He read her name tag Yuko. He tried to place her last name but decided that it was useless. He had heard her crying plenty of times in the locker rooms when she thought everyone had left. He had said something to her only once.

Souji was taking a shower after track practice when he had heard the sobs of the assistant coach. It wasn't the first time he had her either. He knew that it wasn't any of his business and that he shouldn't say anything. He couldn't help but to throw on his uniform and go over to her. He could hear her mumbling through her tears. She was trying to will herself to stop.

"How could you leave me so suddenly?" she sobbed. She dried her tears only for new ones to fall.

"Minato...I know I have to let you go...I know I have to move on." she was taking in deep shaky breaths now to stop her sobs. Souji placed a hand on her shoulder and without expression he opened his mouth.

"He isn't worth your tears." He had assumed the problem she was crying over was generic. The next thing he knew he was staring into the eyes of a severely pissed off woman.

"You don't know anything about him! He was the best thing that ever happened to this school, he was the best thing that ever happened to me!" she yelled and then stormed off.

Souji nodded hoping that she wouldn't recognize him. She brought him his coffee and sat down in the booth. She smiled a little bit as Souji visibly cringed.

"I never said thank you, for saying that to me. Even though that didn't really apply to Minato. It was a thoughtful gesture." Yuko said. Souji nodded awkwardly and hoped she would get up and return to work.

"He was amazing. He was supposed to graduate with me but he died. I was at a point where I still wasn't over his death. Where ever he is I know that he's doing something amazing." Yuko smiled and then stood up.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Souji said as he took a sip from his coffee. He had hired a maid service and also a real estate agent to find him a place in Inaba.

"Thank you." Souji stood up and dropped a more than generous tip on the table. He bought his train ticket, he could feel a sense of dread at the thought of showing up in Inaba. He could imagine Nanako and Dojima would welcome him with open arms. They knew that his parents died, they knew his life had not been easy. The others were a different story. They hadn't known anything about the real him. Souji Seta the quiet, charming, emotionless boy who played with minds for entertainment. They only knew Keiske Suzumiya honor student, social, and just person. That was the golden boy he knew that everyone would want to see. The perfect young man. He only got to be himself through a few brief encounters with Sayoko.

"Who do I show them?" he asked himself as he walked to his seat on the train. He fingered the small picture in his pocket of their group. 'I want to become Keiske Suzumiya.' he thought. It wouldn't be hard if he thought about it. He wanted to always say the right things and do the right things. He wanted to be the person he was while in Inaba. When he returned to the city after learning of his parent's death he knew he could not go back to the way he was in the past. He had changed a lot, but some flaws still remained the same in his character. He thought the train ride would take forever but the thoughts in his head kept him quite entertained. By the time the darkness had set in he was getting off the train. It was late he didn't know where he should start first.

"The Amagi in has a few vacancies." he heard someone say. It was Yumi, the girl he had met in the drama club. She immediately ran up to him with open arms. Her hair was now hanging down to her collarbones he noticed as he unraveled himself from her arms.

"Keiske, it's been too long!" she smiled at him. He remembered that she had been still recovering from her father's death when he left.

"I think maybe I should tell you that my real name isn't Keiske. My real name is Souji Seta and I came here because I was in WWP." he decided to say it bluntly.

"That's wild. So you must be out of it by now?" she asked him.

"I was out by the time I went back to Iwatodai." Souji answered. He could smell the clean air all around him.

"Well do you need a ride to the Amagi Inn? It's pretty late and your Uncle is probably sleeping." she looked up at him with the eyes he had remembered.

"I don't want to trouble you-" he began to say

"You have never troubled me and I am offering to give you a lift." she smiled at him.

"Alright then." Yumi walked over to her car which was not parked far. It was a small car and made him feel like his knees were going to touch his chin.

"You know everyone wondered what happened to you. It was like you just finished with this town. Just like a game." Yumi said.

"Believe it or not, when I arrived in Inaba. I believed that this town was a playground for me. A place to meet people, have fun, and then leave. My goal was to come entertain myself and then put you all on a shelf to be forgotten when I was ready to leave. It obviously didn't go the way I planned because I came running back. This town and it's people grow on you." he said with a sigh.

"You know...I was in love with you. You had to have known." Yumi confessed.

"Of course I knew. You wouldn't have done the things we did if your weren't." he said. He knew he was doing it again one of the things he promised himself he would try to work on. He was being a jerk. He had used her for her body and she had fallen in love with him.

"I'm sorry, that I couldn't have been more respectful of your feelings." he apologized.

"It was just me being caught in the moment. I'm sorry to unload all of this on you. I'll see you around." Yumi helped him get his stuff to the door and then walked over to her car.

"I'm sorry, Yumi." he apologized again before opening the door to the Amagi Inn.