Q: Why Yukiko?

Q: Reviewer Viktor Mayrin recently asked the question, "Why does everyone have Souji/Yukiko?"

A: I have no good answer for that.

While other authors may put Yukiko and Souji together, there are lots of other authors who like pairing Souji with Rise, or Chie, or Naoto...as well as with Yousuke and Kanji (though I don't see that one very often). In all honesty, given the open-ness that the player can take with the Hero Main Character (for ease, we'll call him Seta Souji), the romantic/sexual relationships can go any way you want. I've read a few stories that made Ebihara Ai his one true love, and I've seen a few pieces of artwork that put Souji with Ozawa Yumi and even Matsunaga Ayane. As I said, it's really up to the individual's personal tastes and outlook.

As for me, my Hero MC hooked up with Yukiko the first time I played the game, because I thought they just "fit" together. Listening to the Drama CD, I'm even more convinced that Yukiko and Souji are the best fit. Besides, I immediately put Yousuke and Chie together as the bickering would-be lovers who just couldn't admit their own feelings to themselves or each other, and Kanji and Naoto work great as a couple exploring their own feelings as well as the societal barriers and baggage that come along with their personal choices (I like the way that Kanji takes a more traditionally feminine role - sewing, cooking, emotionality - while Naoto takes the more traditionally masculine role - guns, stoicism, logic). And Rise (especially based on the Drama CD) just seems to fit with her fellow kouhai, even though most of the time she's really just playing matchmaker. So, that left Yukiko and Souji.

But that doesn't mean that even in my story, Souji didn't occasionally have feelings for the other girls. In fact, in the most recent chapter update (Chapter 39, "Let Go, Hold On," posted 18 November 2009), Yousuke makes a telling observation about Souji regarding his old leader's romantic proclivities. And Chie jumps to a bit of a strange conclusion on her own (earlier in the same chapter), simply because she's projecting her own fears and doubts. And because we all think the world revolves around ourselves.

Now, there is a snag. Yukiko, as my readers will know from Chapter 33 ("Juxtaposition" - read it here if you've forgotten), is currently on the mend from a relationship upheaval of her own. How will that translate to her affection for Souji...if any of those feelings still exists at all? Curious readers will just have to wait and see.

So, I don't know why a lot of other people choose Souji to be with Yukiko. But those are my reasons.

Hope you're all enjoying the story, and these little glimpses into how I make the story work!