Alright, before we begin, I'd like to clarify some things, though I'm sure these are a given.

Considering this is a The World Ends With You and Persona 4 crossover, please bare in mind that a LOT of blood and sadness is to be expected. Also, as a word of warning, there will be a LOT of Persona 4 and The World Ends with you spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, please turn back now.

Thank you.

We will be arriving at Yasoinaba Station shortly. Please remain in your seats until then, thank you!

Those familiar words were enough for Yu to feel his heart rate pick up. His elbow was pressed hard against the glass window, his fingertips tapped impatiently throughout the entirety of the train ride, so when the silver haired teen heard that they were going to be getting there soon, he struggled to contain his excitement. It was only natural, after all- it had been a while since Yu had seen his friends back in Inaba.

Now that he thought about it, it felt like it was only yesterday that he was in the Food Court of Junes, bantering with his friends (and, of course, watching them bicker amongst themselves rather than with him) and discussing how to catch the notorious murderer. As Yu closed his eyes, delightful memories began to circumvent in his mind; memories of the team fighting Shadows and working together to take down not just the true killer, but a God. They'd all sacrificed themselves more than once for his wellbeing, they all supported his leader status by doing their best to fight and raise themselves to Yu's level. They made him feel at home, and made him feel like he had a family- something he hadn't felt in a long time.

It was only a minor favor that Yu would return to Inaba to see them again, even if it was only for a week.

Eventually, Yu pulled his arm away from the glass window so that he could rummage through his jacket pocket, then pulled out his cell phone. A smile formed on his lips as he flipped the phone open, and he noticed all sorts of messages from the Investigation Team and other Social links alike. Most of them described how excited they were, while others asked him when he was getting there, since they were getting impatient. A content sigh left Yu's lips, and he placed the phone back into his pocket, now even more eager to arrive that day.

Though, he didn't expect the terror that came just shortly after.

Ear piercing screams suddenly resounded from the train, and people began to frantically grab onto the seats while others were flung around like ragdolls. A loud cry of pain came from Yu at the sound of metal colliding into metal came, resulting in being flung forward shortly after, head soon hitting the wall in front of him that was just hard enough for a "crack" to resonate. His hand reached up, and when he pulled it away, it was caked with a copious amount of blood.

The other passengers began to run back, away from the caboose, and Yu stood so that he could follow in their example. Unfortunately, the caboose he was in was close to the front, and within moments, the front of the caboose began to be pushed backwards, closer and closer to the crowd that gathered in the back. Panicked whimpers and sobs came out, and the last thing Yu saw as the front of the caboose come until it met with his body, and that's when he blacked out.

The sound of feet swiftly padding along the glossed pavement broke the silence of the morning, along with loud, exasperated pants. They stopped, and a redhead male bent over, his palms rested atop his knees so that he could bend over and attempt to catch his breath.

"Dammit... I gotta... Get to the train station..."

Yosuke mumbled under his breath as he picked himself back up, and once against took off in the direction of the station. His chest felt heavy from exhaustion, which was strange, considering Inaba wasn't exactly a large town. As he ran, it felt like his chest was on fire, but he had to keep going... He had to keep going, just to prove to himself that it was all just some sick joke.

A terrible train wreck has happened just in front of the Yasoinaba Station.

Both Teddie and Yosuke were leisurely watching the Television at the time when the program came on, and the moment the television showed the wreckage, it was then that Yosuke stood in absolute disbelief, his jaw was left agape as he struggled to take in the image before him.

"Yosuke," Teddie began, his voice slightly wavered as he spoke. He looked like he was going to burst into tears at any given moment. "That's... Sensei's train, isn't it?"

That DEFINITELY wasn't what Yosuke wanted to hear, especially since the name of the train echoed his suspicions. No... no...! His fingers clenched tightly as his breath hitched, and he immediately stood up onto his feet so that he could run towards the door.

"YOSUKE!" Teddie cried out as Yosuke suddenly opened the door, forcing Yosuke to stop and glare back at him. His eyes brimmed with tears as Teddie twiddled his thumbs, as if trying to find the right words for the situation. Normally, Teddie would try to crack a joke or two to get Yosuke to laugh (or get an annoyed response as usual), but from the atmosphere that was given off, he knew better, He let out a deep breath, and with the most sincerely concerned voice he could muster, he asked one question.

"Is Sensei going to be okay...?"

Yosuke paused for a long time, unsure of how to answer Teddie's question. Even he didn't know if Yu was okay, hell, he was terrified that he probably wasn't even alive. Maybe... Just maybe, it was the wrong train, and this was all some sort of dream. Right? Yu was too tough and went through too much to die by something so... So... So IRONIC!

"Yeah, Ted. He'll be fine," he answered with a smile and his signature wink, though his trembling lip said otherwise. "He's my partner... I know he's too tough to let something like THAT kill him... He's probably off to the hospital, that's all, so don't worry about it, alright, Ted?"

What a lie. It was a terrible, awful lie, and Yosuke knew it. But what could he tell Teddie, who was now counting on his beloved sensei to arrive in just a few hours? Well, all Yosuke had to do was greet Yu at the train station, and he'd be alive and well, no harm done. It was foolproof. Exept...

Yosuke stopped dead in his tracks as he arrived at the station, and what he saw was exactly what he feared. A loud, horrified gasp came as he saw a large group of Policemen surrounding a pile of rubble, and upon closer inspection, Yosuke confirmed that the rubble was definitely the trains that were caught up in the accident.

"Yu...!" he cried out as he darted forward, only to be stopped by two Police officers who were nearby. They grabbed his arms to prevent any further movement, aside from Yosuke squirming in their grasp and kicking his legs.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! M-MY FRIEND WAS IN THE ACCIDENT! HE NEEDS MY HELP, PLEASE! LET ME GO!" he continuously cried out in a mantra, his sobs that he tried to hold back erupted. His body continuously jerked to free himself from the Policemen, but with each jerk and thrash, their grip on him tightened.

"You need to calm down," the policemen tried to explain as the redhead continued to thrash about, tears continued to pour down his face. "Right now, we're looking for survivors... And we're sorry to say, but we haven't found any yet."

That was enough to make Yosuke slowly calm down, but a horrified expression soon formed on his face.

No... survivors...

Once the Policemen loosened their grip on him, Yosuke fell onto his knees, his eyes widened in disbelief. No survivors... So it's true. Yu was dead. His best friend, no, his partner was dead, the one person who Yosuke admired and held on a fairly high pedestal on his life... Dead. Lifeless. No more. He would never see him again, and that realization hurt more than anything else.

"No..." he whispered weakly as his body trembled, and he suddenly got onto his hands and knees, more tears began to fall as he let out one last, desperate cry.

"YU!"