AN: I know, I am so incredibly original by doing a novelization of Persona 4 (hell, there are already two other really good versions of this with their own originality). But, honestly, I never really saw this idea put into a fanfic before. At least, not on this site. I don't have any specific schedule in mind, as how I write the story relies VERY HEAVILY on the game and what happens in those scenes and what I do. Despite all of this, a majority of the character's dialogue is taken from the game, and some original bits are thrown in the middle depending on whether I wrote Yu saying something or a scene that was not in the game takes place.

Key for everything later on (in case you get confused):

Text. = The date and weather report.

"Text." = Flashback of some sort or newscast.

Text. = Yu's inner thoughts

"Text." = A shadow speaking/voice from the TV world

Anyways, hope you all enjoy the story!

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room."

A bizarre-looking man looks up from his hunched position on the far side of a limousine. His hands are folded onto one another, and the toothy grin he wears never falters. "Ah… It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny… My name is Igor; I am delighted to make your acquaintance.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." Igor gestures to the blue-themed interior of the expensive car. Wine and other various drinks, coupled with fancily carved glasses, are in a cabinet to his right, and the room is decorated with elegant metal designs surrounding a turquoise colored light. "It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future.

"Now then…" Igor states, bloodshot eyes locking onto the teenager in front of him. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

The boy jumped from his slouched position, wide eyed and startled, before slowly saying: "Narukami… Narukami Yu."

Igor hummed. "I see. Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?" Whipping his hand over the table placed in front of him, a deck of cards appeared in front Igor. "Do you believe in fortune telling?" Not waiting for Yu's answer, Igor moved his hand in the opposite direction, the deck's contents spread into a square consisting of nine cards, each one face down. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different. Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

Igor flipped one of the cards in the row farthest from him. The picture shown is a tower being struck by lightning, it's top level disconnecting from the rest of the building. Humans, as poorly as they were drawn, were jumping from the destroyed building in an attempt to save their lives. The Roman numeral XVI was at the very bottom, held in the trimming surrounding the picture.

"Hm… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent." Igor states. Despite the unpleasant news he just delivered, his demeanor did not change in the slightest.

"The card indicating the future beyond that is…" Flipping another card from the top row, this one showed a crescent moon with a sorrowful face shown in the center of the curve. A lobster was depicted above it, between two 'I's' with a red dot near the top. The Roman numeral XVIII was held in the trimming, like with The Tower card. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents "hesitation: and "mystery"... Very interesting indeed."

Locking eyes with the teen again, Igor continued through his grin. "It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny; if the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen. I seem to have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." Igor gestured to the silver haired woman to his left, golden eyes locking with the teen's as her hands rested on the book in her lap. "This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

"My name is Margaret." The older woman said; and Yu couldn't help but feel like the woman was almost like a robot, her voice was confident, almost rehearsed, and her back was as stiff as a board. "I am here to accompany you through your journey."

"We shall attend to the details another time." Igor said, lowering his head and closing his eyes. "Until then, farewell."

Monday, 4-11-11. Weather: Cloudy With Rain Later In the Night

Yu Narukami lifted his head when the monorail exited the tunnel through the hill. Light filtered in from the window to his right, and the teen let out a grunt as a few beams fell into his eyes. The train soon came to a halt at Yasoinaba, and the silver-haired teen made his way toward the entrance of the slightly run-down train station with a duffel bag resting casually over his shoulder. Taking a look around, all the prepubescent could see were a few bikes chained to his left, a soda machine or two, and a bird finding a half-eaten bagel left behind on the asphalt.

"Hey! Over here!" a man shouted, and Yu turned his gaze to his right. Going down the stairs, he walked up to an older man -probably in his thirties, Yu guessed- accompanied by a much younger girl, probably couldn't be older than seven, at the most.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo." The man continued, adjusting the hold of his coat that he hung over his shoulder. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see… I'm your mother's younger brother… and that about sums it up."

"It's nice to meet you." Yu replied, holding out his hand. Dojima chuckled, scratching the back of his head before grabbing Yu's hand firmly and shaking it.

"You probably don't remember, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before, you know." Looking down, Dojima pushed forward the younger girl, who kept her gaze down as she fiddled with the ending of her dress. "This here's my daughter. Come on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

A few precious moments pass before Nanako says in a small voice "'lo." before rushing behind Dojima and grasping his pant leg firmly. Dojima chuckles as his daughter hides her bright red face in his dress shirt. "What're you so shy for?" Dojima's brashness earned him a smack on the back from Nanako, who turned to face away from her father and her cousin. Even though the older man laughed off the hit afterwards, the sharp sound from the hit still caused Yu to wince in sympathy. "Well then… Let's get going, my car's over there."

As Yu turned to follow Dojima and Nanako, a girl with dark black hair bumped into him. Yu initially took no mind of it, used to people doing the same thing in the crowded streets of Tokyo, until she called out to him. The boy turned, wary at first until he saw the girl holding out a slip of paper. "You dropped this."

"Oh, thank you." Yu replied, walking up and grabbing the paper.

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up."

The paper was a note Yu had written to himself, stating Dojima's address. While the information written on the paper wasn't that important and was easily replaceable, Yu couldn't help but feel a bit of gratitude for the girl. When Yu went to thank the girl again, he noticed her fidget and look away uncomfortably before walking away from him. Dojima's shout drew him out of his thoughts, and with a sheepish grin, Yu walked toward Dojima, ready to 'move in' to Dojima's home.

Besides, Yu thought, it's not like I won't see her again.

On the way to Dojima's house, the group had to stop in Inaba's Central shopping district. It was the combined reasoning that Dojima needed to fill the gas tank and that Nanako needed to use the bathroom, but Yu was grateful for the fact that he could see a bit of the town before heading off to school tomorrow.

"Hi! Welcome to Moel!" The attendant said cheerfully as they ran up to Dojima's car.

"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Dojima asked softly, receiving a nod from Nanako. Both left the car, and as Dojima stated which kind of gas he wanted, Nanako tried to locate the bathroom.

"It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." The attendant said with a soft smile on their face.

"I know… Geez." Nanako said, almost seeming to curl up into herself before rushing to the back of the gas station.

Yu then left the car, stretching out his arms and legs as he listened to the conversation happening to his left.

"Are you taking a trip?"

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city."

"The city, huh…?

"Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine."

"Right away, Sir!"

"Good time as any for a smoke." Dojima muttered, walking away from the gas station and taking a small lighter out from his pocket.

"Are you in high school?" The attendant asked Yu, earning a confused look from the teen. "Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs." The attendant walked towards Yu, holding out their hand. "Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now. Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student." Yu smiled sincerely, and while he doubted he would talk the job, he still took the handshake, just to try and appear polite."

Yu looked over the attendant's shoulder, seeing Nanako running back from the bathroom. "Oh, I should get back to work." The attendant mumbled, walking over to the pumps. Yu couldn't help but notice Nanako looking at him, but when he was about to ask what was wrong, a sharp pain shot through his head, making his vision white out momentarily. Nanako tugging on his pant leg brought him back to reality, and he notice that he was leaning heavily on the car door. In the reflective surface of the window, his skin looked three shades paler than five minutes ago.

"Are you okay?" Nanako asked. When Yu went to respond, a sudden wave of nausea hit him, and he soon became focused on keeping his lunch at bay. "Did you get carsick? You don't look too good."

"Urgh…" Yu ground out, managing to push away from the car door and stand on his own. Of course that only lasted a few seconds before he felt himself sway, feeling like he was trying to stand on a constantly moving floor. "Maybe…"

"What's wrong? You okay?" Dojima asked, having walked up while Yu was trying to stay on his feet.

"I'm…" Yu began, but soon stopped himself and swallowed, taking a deep breath. "It's nothing, Dojima-san. I'm fine."

"That's understandable." Dojima placed his free hand on Yu's shoulder. "It must have been a long trip for you. Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go."

Yu shook his head. "I'd rather go to your house. If I'm sick, then I'd rather just take a nap to fight it off."

"You sure?"

"Yes, but thank you for the offer, Dojima-san."

"All right, let's have a toast." The snap of a beer can being opened drew the attention of the two kids to Dojima as he lifted his drink up over the table. He was the only one with alcoholic drink, Yu enjoying a bottle of water and Nanako taking little sips of orange juice. The other house members lifted their drinks up before taking a large gulp and placing them on the table. "So… your mom and dad are busy as always. They're working overseas, was it? I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents… It's rough being a kid."

If only you knew the other binds I've been in because of my parents not being home, Yu thought darkly. Then you'd really think that being a teen is rough.

"Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

"I… Thank you for your kindness, Dojima-san." Yu said, a faint blush crossing his cheeks.

"C'mon, there's no need to be so formal." Dojima chuckled, tilting his head toward Nanako. "Look, you're making Nanako all tense." Nanako's eyes widened, and she soon tried to hide her face as she blushed, looking at the take-out sushi. "Well, anyway… Let's eat."

Just as Dojima was about to pick up his chopsticks, his phone went off in his pocket, the high pitched beeping making Nanako jump in surprise. "Ugh, who's calling at this hour?" Dojima left the table, opening his flip phone and accepting the call. Despite Yu's attention being on the call, he didn't miss Nanako's little 'hic!' as she jumped up slightly.

Hiccups… Yu thought, a small smile showing through his normally stoic face. Didn't think she could get them that easily.

"Dojima speaking." The older man remained silent as the person on the other line hurriedly chattered away. "Yeah? I see… so where is it? ...All right, I'm on my way. Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze." Dojima muttered; despite his young appearance, Yu could see bags under his eyes when he turned back to the table, muttering darkly under his breath.

"Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out, okay?" The small girl nods, standing up and taking her father's dish of sushi and beer can to the refrigerator in the hears the door open, then followed by the sound of rain hitting the ground.

"Nanako, it's raining out. What did you do with the laundry?"

"I already brought it in!"

"All right. Well, I'm off." Dojima shouts, and the door thuds closed. Yu can just barely hear the car pull out of the garage before Nanako comes back and switches on the TV. The channel was set to the local news network, just as the weather was being announced.

"-for this week. Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather. With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas."

Nanako turned her attention away from the TV; starring at the sushi in front of her, Nanako picked up her chopsticks and picked up a piece of tuna sushi. "Let's eat."

Finding himself alone with Nanako, Yu could only stand the awkward silence that had descended over the both of them for so long before he tried to strike up a conversation. "So… What does your dad do?"

"He…" Nanako hesitates, trying to find the words to describe her father. "Investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. My dad's a detective." Yu nearly choked on the sushi that he had in his mouth. A detective?! There's no way I'll be able to hide stuff easily with him around, he'll probably snuff out any lies I give him!

The news soon caught both of their attention, a male reporter picking up steam as he began to report the local news. "City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. Namatame are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye."

"This is boring." Nanako said, and Yu couldn't help but agree with her. This 'scandal' was so overplayed, having appeared on nearly every news channel, especially since it was so out-reaching since it had to do with an idol. Almost wish they'd shut up about it.

Nanako took the TV remote and changed the channel, right into a commercial. "At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sung, dancing along with the was understandably surprised, if a commercial for the large shopping center was showing, that ment there had to be one in town. He wasn't expecting one in such a backwater town like Inaba, but they were all over in Tokyo. At least there was something slightly modern here.

"Arent' you going to eat?" Nanako commented, snapping Yu out of his thoughts. As his stomach rumbled discontentedly, Yu picked up his chopsticks and began to eat the sour tasting sushi.

I really have to cook some food…

"Where… Am I?" Yu muttered, shaking his head and standing up, despite the sluggish feeling in his limbs. Fog surrounded him, blocking out anything a foot in front of him. Looking down to make sure his body was okay, he was more shocked to see that the ground below him were similar to TVs, but the screens only showed a blood red color.

Well, I can only move forward. Yu thought, stretching before he broke off into a jog. While some parts of the 'path' appeared neat and orderly, another part of the road would look like a bull trampled over it; screens were cracked, some blared out a sharp static sound.

"Do you seek the truth?" Rang out a distorted voice, the simple shock of hearing something besides wind nearly caused Yu to trip and fall on one of the various weapons that were stuck in the broken TVs. Yu looked around, but only thick, white fog graced his vision. It felt wrong to break the silence now, simply because since Yu knew he wasn't alone, and calling out would only allow the other person to find him.

Yu began to run.

"If it's truth you desire, come and find me…"

It's from ahead! Yu picked up the pace and had the intent of never stopping. That was, of course, until he came upon a large wall. Yu was certain the voice came from beyond here, but he didn't want to go in empty handed. On his right in one of the many broken TVs he had seen was a katana; the handle had various scratches on it, and the blade looked horrible, but it was a weapon nonetheless. How he would get it out was beyond him, but it was certainly better than confronting the person with just his bare hands.

Yu grabbed the katana's hilt, the wall then disappeared, and he could only see white fog.

"So… You are the one pursuing me…" The distorted voice chuckled, the figure -only a black blurry shape- bent over at the waist and began laughing. "Try all you like!" Yu stared wide eyed at the figure, feeling rather than seeing that the katana he saw earlier was resting in his right hand. Bending his legs, Yu turned to his left and turned the katana until it was resting in both of his hands, the tip of the blade behind him.

And then the figure rushed him.

Despite thinking that the figure coming closer would make it more visible, if anything the details got blurrier. The sheer speed of it made Yu (inexpertly) swing the katana upwards with both of his hands, almost as if he was trying to do a horrible backhand with a tennis racket. The figure simply ducked, and in a few seconds he was being held above the ground, a hand wrapped tight around his throat. Yu coughed, finding it harder and harder to breath as time went on, crazed laughter coming from the person choking him. Yu's sword clattered to the ground, and black spots began to cloud his vision.

I am thou, thou art I…

Someone, please… help me…

Thou art the one who opens the door…

"Per…son...a…" Blue energy swirled around Yu, and the figure let out a sharp yelp as raw electricity burned it's hand and dropped the teenager. Yu felt… different. It wasn't a bad kind of feeling but it was still odd, even in a dream-like landscape. Glancing down at himself, Yu gasped as he noticed that his entire attire had changed. His casual white shirt and brown jeans - the ones he had fallen asleep in - had changed to a long black trenchcoat accented with yellow and white lines with dark gray pants. Thigh high boots replaced his socks and dress shoes, with a sharpened sheet of metal going up the back of his calf. In his right hand, now covered with black fingerless gloves, was a large Naginata . Raising his left hand to his face, Yu could feel a metallic mask that now covered his face.

Yu closed his eyes, trying to calm down. In his mind a large humanoid figure wearing the same outfit he was, only with glowing yellow eyes formed. What… are you? Yu thought, opening his eyes and getting up, raising the Naginata at his assailant. The figure chuckled again, having straightened and faced Yu once again.

"It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog…" The shadowed man chuckled, and pearly white teeth briefly made an appearance as it smiled. Can you help me? Yu thought, and his body went into autopilot.

"Zio!" Yu threw out his arms, the black trench coat fluttering back, as a bolt of lightning crashed down and hit the figure. Despite the fact that electricity that powerful would have incapacitated anyone, the figure seemed unaffected by the strike.

"I see… Indeed… that is very interesting information…"

Yu growled, and sparks flew from his hand down the Naginata, making the blade shine. "Stop treating me like I'm a lab rat! Cleave!" Yu flew forward, defying any laws of physics as he was jolted forward nearly fifteen feet as he slashed at the figure. Again, despite the attack making a connection, the figure was unimpressed. Yu could not see any blood or visible mark on the pitch black body.

"But… You will not catch me so easily. If what you seek is "truth," then your search will be even harder." The figure glowed red for a second, only for a thick wave of fog to hide them moments later. Yu coughed, and when he looked up again, the fog was so thick that he could barely see his hand in front of his face. The tip of the blade was barely visible, despite it only being a foot away from him.

"Zio!" The lightning connected with the ground randomly, and Yu growled in annoyance. He was hoping that the figure would act like a lightning rod, and the electric-based attack would hit them regardless.

"Everyone sees what they want to…" The figure sighed, though with the odd distortion to his voice, it almost sounded like a drawn out groan. "And the fog only deepens…" This time, Yu tried to run in and slash at where he thought the voice was coming from. This only resulted in the fog being pulled around his blade. "Will we meet again…? At a place other than here…"

Yu's head thrummed; a dizzy spell, much stronger than the one he got at the gas station, hit him and nearly caused him to stumble off his feet. His legs buckled, the Naginata clinking as it fell to the floor. The last thing Yu saw was the odd outfit bursting into small blue fragments, the clothing he was wearing before replacing it.

The figure hummed. "...I look forward to it…"

When Yu woke up, both him and his sheets were covered in a layer of cold sweat. Moving to the bathroom, Yu began a hot shower, a lingering sense of frustration hanging over his head. The feeling was similar to the nightmares he had when he was a child, when his mother was still around enough to comfort him, but he couldn't remember the fine details. Shaking his head, Yu discarded the thoughts about the 'nightmare,' as thinking about it would only make him feel more upset and angry that he couldn't remember it. Taking a deep breath, Yu pulled back the shower curtain, wrapped one of the hanging towels around his waist and went to the wall mirror to fix his hair.

He nearly screamed bloody murder when he saw a glowing pair of eyes staring back.