Author's notes: As I will be primarily pulling from the original PS2 P4 for this AU, I will be using the name Souji Seta as a way of separating the circumstances of this story from the newly added canon name Yu Narukami; content from P4A and P4G will not be making appearances here.

I hope you enjoy!

The Collective Unconscious

Part 1 - Occlusion

Chapter 1

Inaba; Japan
Monday, May 30th 2011

"A search is continuing for a woman who owns a roadhouse east of Inaba. Iwata Shiki, 45, was reported missing by friends and family. Iwata-san is described as 150 centimetres tall, and was last seen wearing a yellow dress. If you have seen her, please call-"

Souji rests his chin on his steepled fingers, staring intently at the slightly blurry image of the missing woman. Is this disappearance related to the case? While a roadhouse would be quite far from the Inaba, he's not certain how far the fog stretches from the town. And people don't just disappear, not with the threat of the Black Sun chasing people indoors during the day. Asking Dojima about it could be risky.

Souji rubs his face, pressing fingers to the bridge of his nose. They'd only just rescued Kanji, and there hadn't been anything on the Midday Channel. He's jumping to conclusions. It's probably unrelated. Still, news like this... With how little they know about the case, it's hard to say for sure.

"And now, for the weather..."

Closing his eyes, he lets the cheerful voice of the weather forecaster wash over him. Cloudy, then it's going to be raining soon. But Kanji's safe, so there's nothing to worry about. Sometimes, he considers going outside when it's raining heavily, but he never manages to get far enough to open the door. As much as he wants to see the world during the day again, it's just not worth the risk, especially when the sky faded from blue to a dusty, delirious yellow five years ago. Fortunately for Nanako, she's too young to know the loss of a blue sky and long for it, though she sometimes asks, when he's reading a story from some of her older books.

Sometimes she says, If she could choose the colour of the sky, it would be pink, and, What colour sky would Big Bro choose?

Grey, maybe, he'd joked. Nanako had not been impressed.

"Don't forget to tape your curtains, Big Bro!"

The reminder is enough to jerk Souji out of his half doze. He raises his head off his hands and smiles at his little cousin. "Yeah. Of course, Nanako-chan, I haven't forgotten." He'd better do that now, actually. It's not something he's had to do while living in the city, but Souji had quickly gotten into the habit of doing so. He doesn't want to be like the fisher who forgot the time; the fisher's stone body remains on the banks of the Samegawa flood plain to this day. Souji stands. That's the risk small towns like this have, he supposes. They can't afford to relocate underground the way the major cities have. "I'll do it now. Do you want me to tape yours?"

She shakes her head. "I did it when I got home."

Nanako's diligence never fails to amaze him, even if it has been born out of necessity. "You're so good. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay!" Nanako's eyes are glued to the TV. There's a cartoon on, though he's not certain what one; he doesn't really follow anything that isn't Featherman R. Souji could have said he was going to eat her pudding and she wouldn't have even noticed. Not that he would eat Nanako's pudding. Of course. Who would even do that?

Smiling and shaking his head, Souji pads over to his room, fingers groping for the light switch. The light flicks on and his gaze is immediately drawn to the thick, heavy curtains flapping haphazardly in the cool breeze. Taking a moment to breathe in the cool, fresh air - it's so clean compared to the city - Souji pulls his open window across, metal frame closing against the windowsill with an audible click. He probably shouldn't keep his window open when he isn't in his room, but the novelty of there being wind coming through the house still hasn't worn off, months after his arrival.

It's with a little wistfulness that he leans on his windowsill, gazing up at the night blanketing the sky with stars. How long has it been since anyone has seen the light of day? Souji only turns his gaze away when he spots the tiniest streak of pink leaking in on the horizon, a prelude to sunrise. Pulling his thick curtains across his window, Souji tears off a strip of masking tape with his teeth and smooths it over the edges of his curtains and onto the adjacent wall.

As the night turns to morning and brings the light of the Black Sun with it, Souji's thoughts drift back to the missing woman. Not all disappearances have to be related to the bizarre murders from the TV World.

Souji keeps an eye on the news anyway, just in case.

Saturday, June 4th 2011

The fog comes.

There's no strung up body.

Souji breathes a sigh of relief.

Tuesday, June 7th 2011

Come Monday and Souji's both happy at the new addition to their team in the form of one Kanji Tatsumi, and mildly frustrated at the lack of progress on their investigation. He does feel a little better about the latter when they take Kanji into the TV World for the first time and hit a few Shadows into submission, though.

"Hell yeah!"

The shadow dissipates into a cloud of red and black smoke before it's absorbed by Kanji's massive, hulking Persona. Kanji glances back at him, as if for approval, and Souji obliges that desire with a nod. "Good work, Kanji."

The addition of Kanji and Take-Mikazuchi is a great boon. Now that the team has another front line fighter, it means Souji can drop back and better observe and direct combat. It had been rather difficult to relay instructions to the group while struggling with the claws of a lion-like Nizam Beast. After all, as tough as Chie is, she can't hold of all the Shadows on her own, so Souji had continued what he'd started when it had just been him and Yosuke and stayed on the front line. Yosuke is, after all, better suited for darting in and out of the fray, following up on exposed openings. Now with Kanji, Souji can take on support duties that no one else can do; everyone else's Personas simply lack the ability to sap the strength from Shadows or to temporarily cover the weakness of someone else's Persona. Yes, their team is stronger than ever.

"Man, this is great!" Kanji grins, teeth gleaming white against the red and pink backdrop of the Yukiko's castle. He rolls his shoulder, rubbing at his bicep where Yukiko's healing abated the bruising there. "I don't even gotta hold back!"

"Still, you need to be careful, Kanji-kun." Yukiko says, folding her fan with a quiet click. "I can't completely heal all injuries. If something serious were to happen..."

"Don't worry, Yukiko-senpai! I know this ain't a game." Kanji swings his arm. "So, you guys do this often?"

"Not that much," Souji admits. There's simply not much point if there's no one inside the TV. And with his schedule, trying to fit in additional training... "We still have to make sure we do well at school. Wouldn't want to flunk our tests and have to retake a year."

"Ugh, just the thought of having King Moron for another year's enough to make me hit the books," Yosuke groans.

"You, studying?" Chie's incredulous voice and expression says it all. "Is the sun back to normal?"

Souji privately echoes Chie's sentiment, though he says nothing aloud; he doesn't want Yosuke to actually believe he thinks Yosuke is dumb. Souji knows Yosuke's marks aren't an accurate indicator of his actual smarts.

Yosuke's expression immediately sours, right on cue. "Like you're one to talk!"

A glance at his wristwatch tells him they've been at the TV World for a little longer than he'd intended. They'll have to tackle the Contrarian King another time. Souji interrupts Chie and Yosuke's bickering before it can escalate further. "Alright everyone, let's pack it in for tonight."

Holding up a Goho-M, the team is transported to the familiar red and black entrance to the TV World in a brilliant flash of light. Using a Goho-M is always a little disorienting at first, but he's gotten used to it. Kanji, less so. Souji waits for Kanji to pick himself off the floor of the TV World's Entrance.

"Kanji-kun." Once Souji has Kanji's attention, he continues, "Before we leave, we have a few ground rules about visiting the TV World."

"Sure. I'm listenin'."

Souji holds up a finger. "Firstly, no one comes here alone. Even areas with weaker Shadows has really powerful ones." The Contrarian King had forced him to use one of their vanish balls once he'd realised they'd been in way over their heads. Souji had been sore for a week. "We either go as a team, or we don't go at all."

"Yeah," Yosuke adds. "Ted here can't fight, and we need him to guide us, otherwise we're toast."

Kanji regards Teddie for a brief moment. "I guess you're too cute to have claws that actually do anythin'."

It's only when Teddie speaks, torn between enjoying the compliment of being cute and being affronted at his lack of deadly claws, that Souji realises that Teddie's been oddly quiet outside of relaying information about the Shadows in the immediate vicinity.

"Anyway," Chie cuts in before Yosuke can comment, "We always use the same Junes TV. We don't know where other TVs will take us, so better safe than sorry! No mucking around, okay?"

"Gotcha, Chie-senpai."

Since that topic seems to have reached its logical conclusion, Souji continues, "Secondly, when I say we're pulling out of a battle, we're pulling out, no arguments." He idly waves a hand. "No staying behind to chase after one almost dead Shadow or anything like that. We've had a couple of close shaves because of it."

Yukiko has the grace to look sheepish.

"I can do that. Anything else, senpai?"

Souji shakes his head before clapping Kanji on the shoulder. "Nope, that's it. Let's get going."

From behind him, Souji can hear Teddie's voice. "Will you visit again soon?"

Souji turns to give Teddie a nod and a small smile. "Of course."

Teddie's smile practically lights up the entrance.

By the time the team leaves the TV world and split up to head home, it is already well past the timeframe Souji has set himself to be indoors. The Samegawa flood plain is practically empty when he reaches it. Probably because everyone else in this town is hypersensitive about getting indoors before sunrise, for good reason; anyone who's late doesn't get a second chance. Still, while Souji picks up his pace, he doesn't quite reach the point of jogging.

Souji only realises he's being watched when he lets his gaze wander to the gazebo by the Samegawa and finds himself staring directly at a man with silver hair, silver eyes, and a black mark on his left cheek. The sheer intensity of the stare gives him pause, and unthinkingly, Souji finds himself slowing to a stop and staring back. Now that the stranger has been caught staring, Souji expects him to look away.

He doesn't.

Souji chews on the corner of his bottom lip. Social Links have a way of falling into his lap, but only when he takes opportunities presented to him. They may have rescued Kanji, but they still have no leads on who the kidnapper is, or who the next victim will be. As much as he hates to think he's using the people he's formed Social Links with, the truth of the matter is that without the power from them, his Personas can't keep up with the growth of Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko's.

And with the shadows in the TV World growing more powerful, he can't afford to lag behind.

Souji checks his watch. The digital numbers, 4:00, blink at him. He has a little time before sunrise. He has enough time to acquaint himself with the man so that he's a recognisable face to the stranger when they meet again. Recognition of a familiar face can go a long way, sometimes.

Without hesitation, Souji approaches, taking in the appearance of the stranger as he does so. Most striking is the stranger's clothes; they are unlike anything he's ever seen before. It's clearly not made of fabric - it's too stiff, rigid, lacking in folds - and they're in a design so unfashionable that they're going to stick in his memory for a long time, if not forever. And... well... Souji can already imagine Yosuke's reaction upon seeing this man: "Dude, is that an armoured thong?" Save for a streak of orange across the chest of the stranger's jacket and four circular buckles along his abdomen, the stranger is completely dressed in grey.

There's no way anyone in this town could have seen this man without talking about it; his appearance is just too strange for a rural town like Inaba.

But aside from the stranger's clothing, now that he's closer, the man's facial features strikes him as a little odd, but Souji can't quite figure out why. That feeling continues even after he realises what he'd thought was a black mark on the man's cheek is actually a bold tattoo that is reminiscent of a Venus flytrap.

"Hello." Souji smiles, a little wider than usual. "Like what you see?"

It's a joke, a joke. He manages to hold the smile when the stranger continues to stare, unblinking, in response. Right, wrong approach. He'd been expecting embarrassment, or discomfort, or something along those lines. Getting flustered at the lack of response will be the opposite of suave. Think. What will be the best way to continue off what he'd started?

But before Souji can make a decision, the stranger speaks.

In English.

"Oh," Souji manages to say ineloquently. What had the guy said again? He's more used to reading English than hearing it, these days. "Sorry," he says in English, "Could you repeat that? I didn't realise you're a tourist."

The stranger tilts his head at Souji's words, but obliges. "My name is Serph, leader of the Embryon. I am looking for others of my Tribe." Serph barely moves as he speaks, the very picture of stillness, and his gaze never strays from Souji. "Have you seen them? They are dressed as I am."

Embryon? Tribe? Maybe he's just not understanding the English adequately. Serph's clothing is very distinctive, though. There's no way he'd forget anyone dressed like that. Still... Souji shakes his head. "No, sorry." And because Serph had introduced himself, Souji follows it with, "I'm Souji Seta. Nice to meet you," and a short bow.

Serph doesn't return it. Maybe Serph just doesn't know basic Japanese politeness.

Souji checks his watch again. 4:10. It's getting dangerously close to sunrise. "Sorry, Serph-san," he can't quite remember to drop the suffix in time, "but I have to get home. I still have a long way to walk and it's going to be morning soon." Souji grins, joking, "My uncle'll kill me if I'm caught by the daylight, statue or not."

Serph tilts his head. "Why would he kill you if you are caught by the daylight?"

Hmm, maybe he made a poor translation into English? "Because of the sun?" Serph just stares at him, king of like the goldfish he used to own. Souji runs a hand roughly through his hair, brow pinching. "People turn to stone if they're outside during the day." Souji searches Serph's face for a hint that Serph's just messing with him. He finds none. "You... didn't know that?" Everyone knows that; it's kind of hard not to.

Unbelievably, Serph shakes his head. "The sun does not seem to affect me."

The sun doesn't affect Serph?

"How?" Souji can't quite keep the surprise off his face. "What- People have been researching for years for a way-" He pinches the bridge of his nose. As much as he wants to pursue this topic, yet another furtive glance at his watch tells Souji he's really going to be cutting it close. Nanako will be worried. It takes him a moment to realise he'd slipped back into Japanese in his surprise. Speaking in English again, he says, "Never mind. Can we continue this conversation over the phone?"

"What is a phone?"

Obviously not. His English hasn't gotten that bad since his time in America on exchange, has it? "Never mind," he repeats. "Are you going to be around here tomorrow?

Serph's brows furrow for a brief moment. "That is one cycle of light and dark from now." The statement sounds more like a question.

That's certainly a different way of putting it. "Yeah, that's right."

A moment's pause, before Serph nods. Good enough for him.

Thou art I... And I am thou...
Thou hast established a new bond...

It brings thee closer to the truth...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Temperance Arcana.

And, apparently, good enough for the voice in his head.

Sometimes he wishes he had confirmation he's on the right track for every decision like this. There are some things he's eaten from the Dojimas' fridge that fill him regret just thinking about it.

But there's something he needs to say before he leaves. "Serph-san?" Serph tilts his head. The gesture seems like Serph's way of showing he's listening. "I'll keep an eye out for your friends."

Serph nods, but says nothing that can be construed as a goodbye. What a strange guy. Souji turns and breaks out into a sprint, glancing furtively at the horizon. He doesn't risk his life in the TV World just so he can get turned into a statue because he stayed out late one time.

The strangeness of that encounter is quickly shoved from his thoughts when he reaches the Dojimas' house and the pressing matters of dinner, homework, and study take over. Unfortunately, student life leaves very little time for pondering. By the time Souji closes his English dictionary, it's long past midday and the call of sleep is too strong for him to give any more thought to his new Social Link.

When he rouses from his sleep, Souji's stumbling his way through the evening getting ready for school again. He barely remembers walking Nanako halfway to school before they part ways, and only jolts into alertness when he finds himself stepping past Yasogami High's gates. Taking a moment to rub tiredly at his eyes when he's at the shoe lockers, snippets of conversation from the girls next to him float over.

"Speaking of things that're a bummer, Tadao-kun's probably not gonna be in class again."

"Huh? How come?"

"I dunno. I guess something at home really shook him up. Ko-chan says he just stares at the TV and doesn't move at all, not even to eat." The shorter of the two girls sighs before they turn and walk away in unison. "I'm really worried..."

"Why don't you check up on him?"

Their conversation is pushed out of Souji's mind when he enters his classroom and immediately gets chewed out by Mr. Mooroka. Souji manages to keep a straight face through his teacher's over the top tirade. Looks like it'll be a promising night of school.

Tuesday, June 7th 2011

The clock in the classroom strikes midnight and Inaba grinds to a sudden halt.

Souji stretches at his desk while Chie leans back to poke a snoozing Yosuke in the head. Startled, Yosuke sits bolt upright, words spilling out from his mouth before his brain catches up. "Yes, I was definitely paying attention!" Blinking sleep rapidly out of his eyes, Yosuke's gaze focuses on Chie, who's trying and failing to hide a snicker. "Wha- Chie! Couldn't you have given me a few more minutes?"

"And miss out on lunch?" Chie is emphatic.

"I don't know how you can eat when everything's weird like this," Yosuke mutters, slumping forward on his desk again. "It's freaky."

She shrugs. "Lunchtime is lunchtime."

Souji tunes out their casual bickering with learned ease. He can't help but agree with Yosuke, though. The rows of vertically aligned coffins that litter their classroom are made all the more eerie with the knowledge that his classmates are in them. Not so long ago, Chie and Yukiko had been amongst those ranks. And once an hour is up, drowsy Inaba goes on ticking as if nothing's happened.

"Hey, Souji-kun." Souji's attention is drawn back to the conversation at the sound of Chie mentioning his name. "Do you have any lunch you wanna share? I was in a hurry this morning so all I grabbed was instant noodles, and... you know..." Chie dramatically clutches her stomach. "I'm sooo hungry right now."

Souji might eat some questionable things, but even he can't quite bring himself to eat his lunch during the hidden hour; drinking green tea that looks like blood makes him feel ill even thinking about it. In fact, there goes his appetite right there. "Sure. I'll trade."

Chie brightens immediately, her entire face lighting up. "Really? The whole lot? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He's already reaching into his bag. "I'm in the mood for something warm later."

She claps her hands together, smiling. "Oh, thank you! You're the best, Souji-kun!"

"Hey, wait a sec." Yosuke's brow pinches. "How come you're always bumming food off us guys? Why can't you get some from Yukiko-san for a change?"

"Oh no no no, I can't do that! Yukiko eats so little as it is, I'd feel bad..."

"Huh?" From the slow blinking, Souji guesses Yukiko's been spacing out. Maybe thinking about the inn? "Sorry... Did you say something about me?"

Souji pushes back his chair to stand, the scraping gathering the attention of his friends in the process. "I'm going to see how Kanji's doing. I'll see you at lunchtime."

"See ya."

The last thing Souji hears when he leaves the classroom is their discussion turning into how they should eat more because they experience twenty five hours in a day instead of twenty four. As Souji takes the stairs down to the school's ground level, Souji turns his gaze towards the windows. This hidden hour had been eerie at first, casting the entire town in green shadow as all lights and other electrical powered devices to just... turn off. Anything that had been in motion simply freezes, suspending mid animation until the hidden hour is over. Only Persona users seem to be able to perceive the hidden hour, but it's not like he has a lot of data to choose from.

Souji spots Kanji as he rounds the stairs, staring at the trail of blood leading from the boys' toilets. "Man," Kanji starts when Souji draws near, "You sure all this blood 'n stuff's just water? 'Cause the guys bathroom's covered in it. 'S like a slasher movie in there."

Souji keeps his expression carefully neutral. "You scared of the bathroom?"

Kanji's face turns red and he stomps a foot. "It's not like that, dammit!" Souji grins and makes placating gestures with his hands, calm down, which seems to soothe Kanji's ruffled feathers marginally. "Ma says if it's red when you take a- when you go, you gotta see the doc." Kanji scratches roughly at the back of his head. "...Anyway, it's weird looking like you're pissing blood, alright!?"

"I'm with you on that." Souji shifts to a more comfortable stance. "How are you handling the hidden hour? I was tired and aching for days when I started going through it."

Kanji shrugs. "It's nothing. Barely feel a thing." Kanji looks away. "Means I'm at school for longer, though. Feels like a big waste of time."

Souji shoves one of his hands into a pocket. "School grades is all we've got for the future after we're done with the murders."

"Maybe it's different for you, coming from the city 'n all. But I'm pretty sure I'll working at the shop. School don't teach you 'bout fabrics and dyes."

It feels like he's said the wrong thing.

They talk a little longer before parting with a lingering awkwardness, Inaba sliding back into normalcy as the hidden hour ends. Souji hasn't quite figured out how to best talk to Kanji, but he'll figure it out. He'll make sure of that.

For the record, Chie's instant noodles are delicious.

The rest of the school night passes without much of note. Paying attention is a little more difficult than usual because of the lack of sleep, but Souji manages to look like his listening to his teachers with more grace than Yosuke, who doesn't even try to hide his tiredness. Having seen how hard Yosuke has to work at Junes, Souji's sympathetic enough to explain what Yosuke missed later. Still, after spending the entire day practically glued to his seat, soccer club is sounding pretty appealing, tiredness or not. So the moment school ends, Souji parts ways with his friends and starts heading towards the change rooms.

"Hey, Souji!"

He turns to see Kou jogging to catch up with him. "Hm? Hey Kou," Souji greets him as Kou slows to a halt in front of Souji. "I thought you have basketball practice?"

"I do." Kou loosely folds his arms, looking away. Not a good sign, something's worrying him. "Are you going to soccer practice today?"

Souji nods. "Yeah, I am. Why?"

"If you see Daisuke, could you get him to call me after? He wasn't in class and he's not answering his phone. I mean, it's kind of weird for him not to..."

Souji puts a hand to his chin, considering. "Maybe he's sick?"

Kou shakes his head. A small grin makes its way onto Kou's face, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Ever since that one time he drank an entire bottle of medicine, he's never even caught a cold." Kou shrugs. "Even if he was sick, he wouldn't miss practice. You know what he's like."

The missing woman on the news from the previous week floats to the forefront of his mind, unbidden. Souji frowns.

Kou doesn't seem to notice, already half turning to leave. Souji bets Kou has never been anything less than punctual to basketball practice. "Anyway... Could you? If you don't mind? Laters!"

"Sure," Souji says pointlessly to Kou's retreating back.

But when Souji shows up at soccer practice, Daisuke isn't there.

Author's Notes: As you can probably tell from this introductory chapter, the world is quite different than from what it was like during Persona 4. Additionally, DDS' timeline has been shifted to 2011 so it coincides with P4's timeline rather than taking place in 2025, though I did consider the idea of setting the story during that time...

Thank you for reading!