AN: AU story. Kanji is an adult in a world where the events from Persona 4 didn't happen. Will include mild sexual themes. Enjoy!

"Get the Hell outta here, faggot!"

He ran down the small, narrow streets, forcing his young legs to run faster; to push harder than they ever had before! He wouldn't let them fail him now.

"You fucking queer!"

"We told you to get the fuck out of this town!"

What had he done to deserve this, he wondered. All it was... was a stupid confession... that's all it was. It didn't mean anything... it... it wasn't real... it was just a joke. Couldn't they understand it was just a joke? They had caught him alone, and swarmed in like a hungry pack of mutts snapping violently at his heels, chasing him to the town's border - all ready to tear him a new one! They didn't need his kind around here. The faggot would pay!

His shoulder stabbed with a sharp pain, then his lower back, then his head... it left a dull, aching throb where the cutting pain had been. They were throwing rocks at him. Why the hell were they throwing rocks at him? He was shouting as he ran, but didn't dare look back even once. He couldn't hear his own words. He couldn't remember them... just mangled, panicked sounds; some angry, some pleading... and... something else... something he didn't want to face.

Another rock hit him again on the back of his head. The ring leader had thrown this, he just knew it. The rock had felt harder, heavier, making a cracking sound as it hit his skull. He cried out in pain, and felt something warm and wet trickle down his neck. And before he knew it, he found himself looking behind to see who had thrown it. His eyes widened, betrayal filling every morsel of his body.

"TATSUMI YOU FAG!"

Kanji awoke with a jolt. He lay on his back, pressed against the firm mattress. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his chest felt heavy, his breathing constricted and tight. It was that damn dream again! At least he wished he could call it that, for it was much more than just a dream... He exhaled deeply, loudly through his nose and rolled onto his right side to check the time.

6:58am

Just as he expected. Just as it had been for the past three months since he started having that reoccurring dream. He sighed dramatically and flicked a switch on the bedside clock so the alarm wouldn't sound. He always found it slightly ironic that he should wake in a cold sweat each morning only two minutes before his alarm was supposed to chime, but that was life for you, he guessed.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and groaningly pulled himself to a seated position. He slouched, feeling exasperated already, and he hadn't even begun his day of teaching. As he ran his hand through his thick, blonde hair he suddenly caught the sound of the T.V. downstairs; the loud, obnoxious T.V. which never seemed to sleep, and only ever showed those over-dramatised cop shows with the private investigators - his fiancée's favourite!

This didn't help his resolve to sleep all day and just skip work, skip going downstairs, skip seeing his fiancée... skip life. But then again, work would be better than facing her... things weren't going too well with her lately, that was for sure.

He dressed quickly into his clean-cut teacher suit, which he half resented, but it wasn't like they were going to let him wear any of his handmade leather jackets to class anytime soon. As he adjusted his tie he felt resigned to his fate. At least he enjoyed his work, most of the time, he told himself comfortingly as he dashed down the stairs, briefcase in hand.

He entered the kitchen, hoping to grab a quick slice of toast or piece of fruit without being noticed, but it seemed like fate had other plans for him today.

"Off so soon?" A tall, slender woman with short black hair and androgynous features stood between the threshold of the kitchen and living area. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest and her face looked flat, expressionless, yet hard as stone.

Kanji froze, feeling like his heart had stopped beating. It was a feeling not to different from being caught doing something bad as a child by your parent; complete with the same disapproving stare and authoritative tone his parents once used on him.

He couldn't understand how she almost always seemed to catch him sneaking off like this, seeing how she was always in front of that damn idiot box with the volume to the hilt! It was like she had a sixth sense or something?!

He felt like there were two sides of him then. The side that wanted to tell his fiancée to fuck off, because he was a grown man and could leave the house whenever he wanted to! It was the side that always wanted to be the winner of the arguments, because the arguments always started off this way...

And then there was the other side of him... the one that was always flustered in these situations, and tried desperately to think of any excuse as to why he had to leave early, but always found that he was grasping at straws inside a mind that had gone blank.

This was the Kanji that usually took over in these situations, and he hated it. That side of him always made his excuses seem so pathetic and cowardice. His eyes fell instantly to the floor. There was no way in Hell he would be able to meet her stone-cold gaze for this one, the excuse had become too old.

"Lots of grading to do, you know? Mid-term exams are coming up, and there's no way I'm gonna let my students fail, so I gotta keep on their toes!" he said with an awkward laugh.

The woman said nothing, and stood still as a statue, coldness emanating from her. It made him feel worse. At least when she fought with him he didn't have to bear the almost ensnaring guilt he felt. He turned his back to her and faced the front door completely forgetting about breakfast. He sighed, letting his stiff shoulder's drop with a slight sense of relief. At least he won this time.

"And shall you be grading tomorrow? And the day after that? And after that? Perhaps you will never stop grading? So perhaps we should build you a separate study in the house where Kanji-kun goes in, but never comes out!" he voice was firm and sharp. Her words pierced him like glass.

Spoke too soon about winning, he thought dejected, it would have been nice for once... just once.

He grimaced, he didn't exactly know what to say to her, she had a valid point after all. He was avoiding her, and she knew it.

"Naoto, it's not like th-"

"-then what is it?!" Naoto exclaimed, cutting him off.

It wasn't often that Naoto ever raised her voice during arguments, she was just usually cold and sharp. It was serious this time. He walked over to her, and raised his hands ready to place them reassuringly on her shoulders, but stopped at the sight of her recoil.

Something... was very wrong... this time.

"Naoto... I-"

"-you don't love me anymore... do you." It wasn't a question. Her voice was soft, chocked, something he wasn't used to.

He opened his mouth to reassure her. He had to reassure her... this wasn't right. But it was like his voice was lost. He had to force it out of him.

"Y-you're being silly, of course I do..." he was no longer sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

"No... you don't... you don't love me," she repeated softly, now avoiding his gaze too, "you love him instead."

Shock spread through Kanji. Was she serious? Him? Who the Hell was him? The only real male friend he had was his old high school pal Teddie, but she couldn't seriously be implying that... it was Teddie! But more importantly, she couldn't seriously be implying that he... that he... no! That was behind him! It was all in the past! He wasn't like that now dammit! He shook his head slowly, almost lost for words entirely.

"You... what the Hell are you on about?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.

She looked up at him, her body stiff and her scorn like ice. He could feel the temperature in the room drop several degrees.

"You're in love with that boy from your dreams," she said bluntly, icily.

She may as well have stuck him with all her might. It was like the wind had been knocked out of him, and at that moment he felt very empty, and alone, like the world had vanished beneath him.

"You talk in your sleep," she said callously, as if answering an unspoken question.

His mouth hung wide open, still in shock, as his mind struggled to process the new information. He closed his eyes tightly, blocking her out. He couldn't stand to look at her a moment longer. He turned away from her stiffly, his shoulders once again returned to their hard, square shape. This was too much for him at this time of day.

"That was in the past," he said, trying to sound as clam as possible, fighting the rising rage within him, "and it's going to stay in the past... I'm not like that anymore," he finished firmly. Slowly, he bent down and picked up his briefcase. Today it felt heavy like it carried all his burdens inside.

"So it's real then? It's not just a dream... he's real!" she was beginning to sound hysterical. She hadn't yelled at him like that in a long while.

He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

That's right... she doesn't know... he thought to himself, in an attempt to calm his temper. His fiancée had moved to his small town after all that had happened... after he had changed... and everyone was afraid of him. Of course she didn't know... no one would have dared told her.

He didn't feel as angry anymore. After all, how could you be angry at someone for not knowing something? When he spoke again his words were softer and more understanding.

"Naoto... it's in the past, okay? I'm not like that anymore, so it doesn't matter... please don't bring it up again," his words were soft, yet firm, but he did not dare look back at her. This time not out of fear... he couldn't stand to look at someone who thought of him... like that!

"But Chie said-"

"-You've been talking to Chie about this?!" he exploded, all sense of calmness had vanished from him.

So she had been talking to Chie... he might have known. Thoughts passed through his mind... none of them pleasant... especially the idea of Chie saying more than what she should be saying... she should know better.

"Just forget it!" he snarled, now looking at her with venom in his eyes. "I'M OUTTA HERE!" he roared, and stormed out the house before his fiancée could say another word.