Well a second story. Really I'm making a silly mistake in giving myself twice the responsibilities. Oh dear . . . Again this will be a lengthy fic. Probably angsty-sorta. Of course its a Souji/Naoto, but for those who seem to be a little . . homophobic, I will stress that male Souji has no romantic interest in male Naoto.

Hope you enjoy, read and review.

In my laziness in not wanting to effectively write the blooming shadow scene AGAIN! I've used the author's most lazy and possibly difficult tool (to make work well), the flashback!!!

As I write this I'm listening to Tynchy Stryder (sp?) and N Dubz "Number one" which is a bizarre idea lol. I can't quite imagine Souji rapping to Naoto. "Yo, I ain't gonna let nuthin get in da way, ne'er let nuthin get in da way!" For some reason though it is inspiring me in THIS writing.

Na Na Naiiii... lol

Chapter 1 - Acceptance

The rhythmic tapping echoed down the corridor as her heeled shoes clacked against the panelled wooden floor of Yasogami High. Conversing groups of students subconsciously backed away to let her through as she rushed down the corridors. Lunchtime at Yasogami high was always a busy affair, but she had no time for them right now.

Naoto Shirogane was late. Tardiness was something that always annoyed her, though usually it was not herself who was the guilty party. If only I hadn't agreed to listen to that silly girl declaring her love for me. . . It was an unfortunately common situation. Naoto would have laughed if it were in her range of normal actions; as such she had coldly declined the invitation, citing that she had someone to meet. Which was true.

"Yo, Naoto!" An exuberant voice called out, making her glance to the side without slowing her pace, a tall figure matched her pace easily. The mop of caramel coloured hair in a bright and friendly face. "You seem in a rush today squirt." She rolled her eyes and frowned at his teasing tone before pushing on. Normally she would have stopped to glare or at least snap back at him.

"I apologise Yosuke-San, I agreed to meet Senpai on the roof today. . ." She squeezed past a particularly belligerent student, leaving Hanamura behind. She hoped he would forgive her for that. She didn't want to seem rude or childish to him.

You don't have the means to deal with societies two-faced nature!

She shook her head as she took the steps to the roof two at a time. It wasn't childish to be in a hurry, or to want to keep an appointment. She would make sure to apologise to him later for brushing him off like that.

As she breached the top of the steps she squinted to block out the bright light shining directly down on her before continuing. The wire caged barriers protecting the students were the first thing she saw, before she quickly looked at the usual spot in search of her friend. It was empty. For a moment her heart dropped as she imagined she had either taken too long, or had been made a fool of.

"Naoto!" A voice behind her called, making her start in surprise. Instead of sitting on the wall towards the centre of the roof she noticed her silver-haired senpai was sat in some shade beside the door. The rest of the roof was empty, it was simply too hot. She quickly knelt down beside him with her head bowed in slight shame.

"Senpai! I'm sorry I'm late . . . I got stuck-" He silenced her with a quick laugh before patting the floor next to him, urging her to sit. She didn't need any further encouragement as she let herself flop unceremoniously down into the shade, surprised at how out of breath she actually was.

"Another admirer, Naoto?" The taller boy asked with a hint of humour in his voice. She let out an undignified snort as she opened a bottle of water and took a long drink, relishing the refreshing coolness in the blistering midday sun.

"They won't ever learn Senpai, I had expected they might avoid me if I was harsh to some." It had seemed logical anyway, who would approach a man who so cruelly turned them away? Apparently quite a few people!!

"You could always just accept one of them Naoto." She snorted at this, "Or do you have your sights set higher? Yukiko-san maybe?" This time she gave no answer, simply opening her bento and taking a savage bite out of a lettuce and tomato sandwich. Senpai always seemed to talk about this, but then so did Hanamura-san.

"You need not worry Senpai. I will not compete with you there." She said it seriously, but knew it would amuse him also. As predicted he laughed whilst shaking his head in denial.

"You know I don't like any of them like that Naoto." He got out between his soft laughter. Indeed she did know this, it had been only a week since she had returned to school after her kidnapping, but they had become firm friends since then. She couldn't understand why he had become as such with her, clearly Yosuke would have been the more logical choice, with his easy-going and pleasant manner. Perhaps it was their intelligence that had brought them closer together? Not that she was suggesting the others were lacking in that area, but she and Souji both seemed to think on similar terms.

They continued to eat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, Naoto simply enjoying being in the presence of someone who actually liked her. It was a heady feeling to know that this person, whose skin was barely three inches from hers, actually enjoyed her company. That knowledge, however, brought its own guilt with it. Before she could get lost in her thoughts her Senpai interrupted.

"Have you recalled anything about your kidnapping Naoto?" She glanced out of the corner of her eyes at him only to see he wasn't watching her intently. She let out a small sigh as she stared out into the distance through the criss-crossed wire fence.

"Unfortunately not. I can still recall that someone rang the doorbell of my apartment. Whomever kidnapped me was clearly not worried of drawing attention to him, or her, self. That speaks of a high level of confidence, especially knowing who I am. When I answered the door I was struck strongly across the temple and fell unconscious." That had been a little galling. Though she had set herself up as bait, expecting to be kidnapped, she would have been quite happy to apprehend the criminal right there.

When she had awoken it was hard steel floor that had greeted her, alien sounds assaulted her ears, some combination of beeping computers, old machinery, and laughter. She had pushed herself to a kneeling position, surprised to find she was not tied or bound in some way. She had not been locked alone in a cell either. It looked more like . . . an operating theatre. A large metallic bed with over-sized saws and strange rods pointed at it. She realised as she looked at the bed that she was not alone.

As the small figure in a too-long white lab coat turned to regard her, she felt her heart stop. She was looking at herself.

"I remember waking up, then soon after you came. Despite my words, I had only been awake for a few moments." A soft smile came over her lips at the memory.

"It's about time you arrived, do you have any idea how long I have been forced to spend with this child?"

She went silent for a few moments, her mind wandering over that. If he had been a child, then that meant she was also. After all, he was her, in all senses. Souji appeared to notice her silence because he shifted on his rear so he was facing her. A soft hand nudged her shoulder to catch her attention.

"You're thinking of your shadow again? I've told you there was nothing to be ashamed of. We all have a part of ourselves like that." Despite herself she smiled at his kind words, that was just like him. To want to protect everyone, not just physically, but emotionally. He was special like that.

"Not so much ashamed as embarrassed. Could you imagine me acting like that?"

"No. No, no, no, don't go! Why are you leaving me alone? It's so lonely . . . I don't wanna be alone!" The words, delivered with so much trapped emotion and grief had stung her in her chest.

"There's no need to be embarrassed either. You're not the only one who feels lonely." She looked at him then in shock, how could he feel lonely with how his friends regarded him? "I think it spoke in such a childish manner to put you on edge." She nodded whilst looking away from him, that much she had realised on her own. The shadow needed her to reject it, in order for it to manifest. In that sense, it had needed her to be off-guard and not thinking properly. She was pleased that her shadow showed a deviously intelligent side at least. Though it had soon thrown that approach out the window. . .

The harsh, mocking laughter echoed loudly around the confined steel room they stood in.

"These childish gestures are no mere affectation, they're the truth! The fools all say it... you're only a child! Keep out of our business kid! and so forth. No matter how many cases you spend hours cogitating over, you're a child in their eyes! It's your brain they're interested in. . . that grey matter locked in your skull. As long as they need it you're an ace detective! But once you're done, its back to the playpen with you. You haven't the means to deal with society's two faced nature... you're just a lonely child!"

With the benefits of hind sight she could see that it had been an intelligent assault on her psyche. Slowly building up the evidence before rolling through her defences with its momentum. Even now she could feel her hands wanting to curl into fists, she dispersed the tension with a deep sigh however.

"In reality I agreed with everything it said," she found herself admitting reluctantly, "it was right, the police were dismissive of me. I had thought after a few solved cases they would respect my intelligence as an equal. That never seemed to happen though." Why couldn't they simply accept the truth that was so obvious. Even the media, who dubbed her detective prince, could see she was a worthwhile detective.

"Perhaps they felt threatened or bitter. You shouldn't let them bother you. We appreciate you, and I won't throw you away after this is over. You're my friend." He gave her a grin that was filled with too much cheek, and she smiled in return, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the cool bricks.

"I wonder if I should have simply accepted what my shadow was saying though, if I had done that, would things have been better?" She had not at all had the strength to admit the truth to herself, but it was a hypothesis that was worth exploring. After all, they knew not who else they might need to rescue. Souji leaned back and seemed to be in deep thought.

"I don't think so." He trailed off and she had to give him a quick nudge with her foot to his shin to get him to continue. "I think our Persona is a strength we gain from facing and accepting our darker selves. If we simply accepted it straight out, it might not manifest as a fighting force. Yours was quite . . . " he paused and she turned an angry expression on him, daring him to finish the words. "Diminutive?" He tried with a smile and some laughter in his voice. She gave him another, harder kick in his shin, shaking her head as he pulled his leg back to cradle it.

"Seriously though Naoto. Don't worry about what's going to happen. I'm glad we got to meet like that, I really feel like I can trust you." His smile was genuine as he looked into her eyes. Naoto felt her stomach flip at his words, pleasure warring with intense guilt and shame.

Her breathing was coming out in shallow gasps as she clenched her fists angrily, the sharp pain of her nails drawing blood serving only to make her angrier.

"There's no avoiding first principles! Accept that you're a child, and accept that there's nothing you can do about it! Now come . . let us start with the body alteration procedure.. . you have no objections do you? Naoto Shirogane?" The emphasis he placed on her name was unmistakeable, as was the disgustingly smug expression on his face and in his amber eyes. Naoto felt something snap inside her. Perhaps it was her sanity.

"Stop it!" She screamed in unrestrained fury. "You don't know me, you're nothing like me!"

The raucous laughter became deeper and more painful to her abused mind as shadows seemed to gather around the figure. She remembered the pounding in her skull becoming too powerful to withstand and she fell to the floor, blood dripping from her nose as her eyes closed.

"We've been through some tough times. I for one will be glad to have someone I can trust by my side." He continued, apparently not noticing how Naoto was looking at her hands, limply resting on her half-eaten bento. Her appetite suddenly forgotten.

They were interrupted as the five minute warning bell sounded, startling the both of them to their feet. Her Senpai standing another foot above her.

"Ah Hell." He cursed with a confused frown on his face. "Hey, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Don't think on things too much Naoto. You're a great guy." He patted her shoulder in a comradely fashion as he hastily descended the steps back into the school. Naoto stood a little longer on the roof, her eyes still looking at the floor between her feet. A deep sickness having settled in her stomach.

"No. I'm really not." She mumbled to herself as her right hand clenched into a fist. She hated lying to him of all people. He accepted her, welcomed her, respected her. Befriended her. He told her things, confided in her, and seemed to want to know her better. Or rather, to know him better. . .

It's just a little white lie right? It can't hurt anyone. As she turned and began the descent back to her classroom she knew she would be late and probably punished. She couldn't bring herself to care however. It is hurting me though . . .

Well here's the first chapter. Hope some people liked it, it's really just setting the scene. The amusing stuff should come later. I'll suggest a few things. Ha ha. Doctor's Checkup. Amagi Baths. Beauty Pageant. Guys night out. Staying over at Souji's.

Shortish Chapter.

Please review if you enjoyed.

From my homyyyyy to my onlyyyy.... number One! (hey, it IS a good song)