#if anyone would understand chie itd be yosuke... though both of them know that chie and yukiko's bond ran far deeper than his and saki's

[personuhh]

Hi! My friend and I came up with a really angsty yukichie au where the IT fails to save Yukiko in time but they do save everyone else. So for the prompt, how about Chies thoughts and feelings? Like her initial reaction, her maybe being mad at Yosuke and Yu for not being fast enough, resenting the first years cause they actually got out of the TV world, etc. I'm sorry if this is too general or something I've never written a prompt before

I really wanted to write a sort of.... prequel to this idea. I decided to set it around a week after Yukiko’s death, so everyone is dealing with that fresh wound. I think before resenting Yu, Yosuke or the first years, she would blame herself for not being strong enough to save Yukiko by herself.

Chie kicked her boots off and tiptoed to her room, careful not to wake her parents. She hadn't properly spoken to them since the night of the broadcast, and she'd have liked to go the rest of her life without having to endure the looks they'd given her again.

She threw herself down on her bed and curled in on herself. She wanted nothing more than to call Yukiko, talk about how unfair the world was, apologize for not giving her enough freedom... Just to hear her voice again would be enough to halt the tears that came whenever she was alone.

All because she knew that she truly was alone; robbed of her best friend, and on top of everything, knowing that she was to blame for it. She hadn't been strong enough, couldn't protect her, and Yukiko had died alone and scared, trapped within a nightmare world which represented her best kept secrets and deepest fears come to life.

Chie buried her face in the bundle of blankets, sobbing pathetically. Her parents couldn't possibly understand the truth, nor did she want them to. How could she begin to explain the circumstances of Yukiko's death when she didn't even fully understand them herself? The only thing that she knew for sure was that they hadn't been fast enough. That she hadn't recovered in time. Her weakness, Yu's caution, Yosuke's recklessness; if they had only pushed on and rescued her–

The cellphone in her school bag began to ring, causing her to jolt back at the sudden noise. For all her caution earlier, the noise would surely alert her parents to her presence. She resigned herself to answering, and dug for the phone, fishing it out of the depths of her bag and shaking off the eraser shavings.

"Hey Chie," said the voice on the other end, as it had each night since their failure.

She made a noncommittal noise in response, feeling familiar rage bubble up inside of her. It was really starting to get on her nerves – she didn't need to shoulder anyone else's guilt on top of her own.

After a long, moment of uncomfortable silence, Yosuke spoke again, in that horrible, pitying tone. "I know you said not to call again, but Narukami and I are worried about you. We... I just want to make sure that you're taking care of yourself. You looked like a damn zombie today at school. Letting yourself waste away isn't what Yukiko would have wanted for you."

"What do you know about what she would've wanted?" Chie growled, drawing a surprised noise out of Yosuke on the other end. "You know nothing about what Yukiko wanted, and now you never will. None of us will, because she's... s-she's dead." It hurt to speak it aloud, even this long after she’d accepted the facts.

No matter how hard she tried to hold back her tears, Chie couldn't stop herself from breaking down. Hunching over and clutching her stomach, she found her whole body dully aching.

Yosuke cut in, raising his voice to be heard over Chie's cry of anguish. "You aren't alone, Chie, there are people who care about you. Narukami and I went to visit Yukiko's parents today. Do you know what the first words out of her mother's mouth were? 'How's Chie'? I swore after Saki, that I..." He trailed off, his voice shaking as he struggled with his own emotions. "I won't let anyone else die. I won't sit around and feel sorry for myself, because I'm still here, and I have a job to do. If you want to blame anyone for Yukiko's death, blame the sick freak who pushed her in there. He's still out there, and he'll kill someone else if we don't stop him."

Chie inhaled shakily, trying to calm herself. Of course there were people worried about her, she knew that, but if Yukiko didn't have that comfort, why should she? Even if she wasn't the only one affected by Yukiko's death, that didn't mean that they could ever fully understand how it felt, watching her die, writhing and screaming in pain as the black void engulfed her. Knowing that it was her fault. It was her fault. She was dead, and Chie watched it happen.

"I'll do what I have to do," Chie croaked, "but when we catch that bastard, I'll kill him myself." The words came out before she could really think about it, but she knew she'd meant them. She didn't care what that said about her; whoever had done this to Yukiko would pay.

She couldn't see Yosuke's face, but she could hear the grim understanding in his voice, and knew he must be frowning. "Y-yeah. If the police can't catch him, we need to take care of it ourselves."

Silence washed over them, the weight of their words setting in. If it meant preventing more innocent people from dying, was it the right thing to do? Could she really kill someone?

"Well... I, uh... Goodnight, Chie." Yosuke sounded conflicted, his voice unusually flat. "And... maybe don't tell Narukami about this. I don't know if he'd understand."

When Chie didn't respond, he hung up without saying another word. The dead line buzzed in Chie's ear, and she sat listening to it for a long while.

Yosuke's words had stoked the fire in her, blazing hot with rage. She hoped that she could learn to make use of it, tempering and honing her skills before she met the man who killed Yukiko face-to-face.

But for now, she would have to be patient. They'd have to play along, wait for the crumbs scattered by the killer, carefully watch the midnight channel, and rush in to save whoever they could.

She stood and wiped her eyes, throwing her phone back into her bag before determinedly walking toward her parents' room.