A/N: This is what comes of watching the Persona series so much. Bloody madness! I'm going to have to curb my enthusias, soon before I go totally out of control! But for now, for those fans of Naruto and Persona, I present you with this gem, finely crafted after several months worth of work and many many hours of research.

Now, lets go!

Is there a particular REASON why you're in MY home?

~Naruto.

True-Self

Inaba.

A small, homely little town. One of little importance and even less significance. At least, it was once. Now, a murderer stalks these sleepy streets. He has already claimed one victim already. He nearly claimed a second. Nearly. But he did not succeed. The second victim's was to be Saki Konishi. She would have suffered the same horrific fate as the one before her, a certain beleagured actress known as Ms. Yamano. She would have been shoved into the television and left to die.

But she did not suffer that fate. Why, you ask?

Because another dwelled within the strange realm inside the television.

He had dwelled within the television for as long as he could remember, never aging, never changing. Always static. There was a strange bear here, too, but he didn't seem to mind him. Nor did he care for him. He was never thirsty. Nor was he hungry. He simply existed, and, until recently, had been content to do just that. Exist. Without so much as a care or need or want in the world. He understood that he could leave this world, but until recently, he'd held no desire to venture out of the relative safety that it offered.

Until now.

Now, someone was throwing people into this world. Into his world. It had already happened once, and in his ignorance, he'd been powerless to prevent it. Now that it occured a second time, he was determined to prevent a second happening. A second death. That being said, it wasn't as simple as simply intervening.

He'd had some difficulty in tracking the girl down. Her scent was muddled. His senses addled. He'd thought of asking Kuma to guide him, but as usual, that bear was nowhere to be found when he needed him most. It had been this way ever since three children had fallen into this realm. The bear's tendency to trust bothered him. What if they were the culprits? So he'd hidden, watched as they wandered his realm, and eventually departed. Only when Kuma had shown them the exit did he reappear, chastising the bear a bit for his naivete, then thanking him for his silence...

(Flashback)

"So what do you think of them, kuma?" The cartoonish bear asked, finishing his sentence with the usual "bear" at the end.

"They're annoying." He whisked a hand through his blond hair, the unruly mess spiking at his touch. "And you, you're too trustworthy." He pinnioned Kuma with a gaze, blue eyes smoldering like dry ice. "What if they're the culprits? You might have just saved the enemy, ya know?"

"Sorry, kuma!"

"It's too late for sorry." The blond lit a cigarette to his lips and took a long drag, enjoying the nicotine. If there was one thing he indulged in, it was smoking. He had a strange, obscene fascination with cigarettes, particularly cuban cigars. He'd a never ending supply of them. This was his world, after all. "They're gone now. If they never come back, if I never see them again, it'll be too soon."

"It's unbearable!"

"Oi, oi...

(End flashback)

The memory evoked a small smile across his whiskered cheeks. He drew the tattered cloak tighter about himself and kept going. No one was going to die tonight. Not while he was around; and certainly not on his watch.

Indeed, finding her had proved to be difficult. Defending her, was another matter entirely. Opening his hand, the blond revealed a twirling, glowing clard, bearing the likeness of the Emperor Arcana. He held there a moment longer, a devious grin twisting across his face as the azure light splayed across his features. He closed his fingers around it; a surge of power he knew and welcomed into the very core of his being.

"Come...Kurama!"

Crushing the card within his fist, the man summoned his persona and waded into the thick of things.

A man in a great flowing cloak emerged, bearing all the features of man and fox. Blood red irises regarded the shadows before it; the slitted pools of blood narrowing against the offending cries they gave. Nine tails of pure crimson lashed out the earth, flaying them into absolute nothingness. What his soul didn't slay outright, he dispatched quickly enough driving a clawed hand through the creatures as easily as one would a wedge of cheese.

Within seconds, only one remained.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you little bastard?"

Master and servant turned, regarding the one kneeling with a keen eye. She was a person, or at least, she used to be. The other seemed to radiate a kind of darkness, a black aura of frustration and loathing made manifest in the dark radiance that surrounded it. Master and servant looked from one to the other, contemplating as they approached; it looked like some conglomeration of all things sick and twisted.

Neither moved.

"H-Help...me...

He turned, directing his stare toward the girl.

"Are you alright?"

She pointed.

"Behind you!"

The former went stiff as the would-be-victim lurched upright, her face twisted in a rictus of fury. He felt the shadow as it pounced upon him; felt her talons, felt them tear into his cloak and shear through his flesh.

"S-Stop it!" The girl cried, fumbling foward. "You're hurting him!"

The other smirked, golden eyes shining in sinister mirth.

"Shut up! I asked him what he's doing and he still hasn't answered me!" A demented cackle. "Not that he'll be answering me now, with those wou-urrrk!" The shadow's words stranged off into a cry of pain, as the blond jerked his head backward; her nose exploding in an starburst of scarlet. For a moment, her grip slackened. It was enough.

"What am I doing?" Ther persona wielder asked, a slow smile creeping across his lips. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Why you-!"

The shadow persona didn't even have the chance to scream as the nine tails burst out of his back and reared upward, dragging her off him and into the air. She dangled there for a moment, struggling, suspended by the deadly tide of crimson. She dangled there, flailing and screeching and thrashing, but to no avail.

"I'm saving the young lady over there." He pointed, his eyes dancing with dark delight as they swung back toward her dusty face. "Which means...

"No!"

...I have no use for a shadow."

The nine tails pulled as one, tearing the monstrous shadow-girl to pieces. Instead of blood, blackness spewed out of the eviscerated creature, leaving only a glow resemblance of her previous countenance. He considered destroying this one as well, but something stayed his hand. His tails withdrawn, he watched the pale spectre descend, slumping in an heap of sobs to ground

"You're me, aren't you…" she trailed off, not entirely sure how to finish her sentence. She'd been blaming others for her recent circumstances but with the way the other had been speaking…maybe she had a part in it too? She glanced at the stranger who was her saviour. He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned aside, content to let her have her moment. Warily, edging toward her other half, Saki Konishi folded her arms around her self in an awkward embrace.

"You're me." She repeated, softly this time.

The purified shadow nodded.

"You're me." This time, it was not a question. It was a statement. The former shadow utter a sigh of pure bliss and shattered. She simply ceased to exist. In her place hovered a bright blue card, eerily similar to the one she'd seen the stranger use. It pirouetted through the air, landing in the palm of her hand. A warm glow suffused her body bringing with it an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility.

"This is...?"

"Persona."

Saki nearly jumps out of her skin. She's forgotten all about her mysterious saviour. He's still wearing that damned cloak, and all she can see is his face; those piercing eyes of winter blue bore into her and he looks like he's going to lash out at any moment. At her. She steps backward, suddenly fearful; suddenly realizing that he might not be an ally, that he might not be a friend. But he's confused her. What had he said? Per...

"Per-so-na?"

He nods and his eyes soften, the winter ice becoming more and more like the sunny afternoon skies she likes so much. But she's still confused, still fearful, still hesitant. She's baffled by him, by this place, by everything surrounding her. So she asks him, asks him the first question that comes to mind.

"What's a persona?"

"A shape of the soul." He answers, holding his fingers, forcing them together. She freezes, her eyes flying wide as a great giant of a warrior manifests above him, taking shape and form of a mythical creature that strongly resembles a human and a fox. Then its gone, vanishing back into the well of his soul with everything else. He's answered one, so she wants to ask him more. She wants to know who he is.

"Who...are you?"

"Naruto." The blond answers, suddenly gruff again. "This is my home." His eyes harden into frozen chips of artic ice. "And I don't take kindly to unwanted guests." She skitters back from him, raising her hands in defense. She doesn't understand. She doesn't want to understand. She just wants to go home.

"It's not like I wanted to come here!" Saki shook her head, unable to remember just how it was that she'd found herself in this place. Someone had...pushed her? She couldn't remember. She couldn't bring herself to remember the details of her attack. Only that there had been a television. Beyond that...nothing. It was all a frightening blur of image and sound, and her mind refused to make any sense of it. The mere thought of it threatened to drive her renewed sanity from her.

"I want to go home." she whispered.

"Eh?" The blond sweatdrops, confusion twists his features. "I didn't quite hear you-

"I...I want to go home!" Saki sobbed aloud, her fear overtaking her. "Please, Naruto-san, take me home!" She crumpled to the ground, eyes wide and unable to register all of the blood that caked her legs. She grabbed him and dragged him down with her, unable to contain her fear any longer.

"Oi!" The blond grunnted, surprise overtaking him as he struggled to catch the flailing student. "What the hell's gotten into you!"

"I want to go home." she blubbered, becoming increasingly incoherent. "I wanna go home. I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanna go hoooome..." He almost felt sorry for her. Rather, he would have, were she not trying to squeeze the life from him.

He could feel her breasts, not to small, not to large, pressed against him, into his chest. Her hands, soft and delicate, had at some point encircled behind his neck. Her hips, her curves, he had his hands there to steady her, so as to prevent her collapsing. No, he wasn't thinking how gorgeous she looked, nor how her sandy colored hair gleamed in the dim light; and he certainly did not pay any attention to the warm glow of her skin, a pale, sweet alabaster...

Stop!

He slammed a lid on that train of thought before it ran off the tracks and took his mind with it. He heard footsteps on a sudden, and became aware of Kuma's prescence, along the side of two others. The fool! He'd led the culprits back to finish the job! He scooped her up, carrying her as one would his own bride. He couldn't leave her here, not for the other shadows to find. Not for the culprits to finish the job. That meant he would have to leave.

Leave his realm and take her there.

Out there.

He detested trying to go to the supposed "real" world outside. It filled his mind with thoughts long forgotten and feelings he dared not feel. It reminded him of sight and sound and things he did not recognize. The mere prescence of this girl; with her large eyes an dusty blond hair and slender curves...she reminded him of someone. Someone with all the aformentioned charecteristics...but her eyes were green..and she wielded a fan. Aaargh! Thinking made his head hurt! But he can't just leave her here.

"I'll take you back." The words escape his lips before he can hope to hold them back.

"Thank you." She whispers, clutching at him. "Thank you so much."

"Are you unharmed?" He asks, holding her tight.

"I...yes." She sputters, flushing.

"Good."

He begins to walk away then, vanishing with her into the fog as it begins to spread. He leaves the approaching intruders behind, ignoring their shouts and cries, as they fail to find him and continue to search for her. For just a moment she thinks she hears Hanamura's voice. But that can't be possible. Not possible. Saki shakes her head and tucks an earnest sigh into her chest.

"Are you taking me home?" She dares to venture the question. She feels safe with him somehow. Vulnerable, and yet safe all the same. She dares to take comfort, with these strong arms as they enfold her, as they shelter her and carry her to her destination. She awaits his answer with an eagerness she's never felt before. And her heart thrills both with joy and relief as he answers:

"Yes."

Then, more quietly she adds:

"Are you going to stay with me?"

A pause, and she fears that he'll refuse her outright. Then, in barely a sigh:

"Yes."

Relief. That is the only way to describe the fierce surge of joy she feels at his words; because if he's saved her once, then he can keep her safe again. He can keep her alive. If he is able to do that, then He is able to understand her, she thinks. He can understand her, and her pain.

She feels content enough to close her eyes now, but she doesn't. They're approaching a podium. There's a strange sight there; a rack of televisions each lined atop another. It looks haphazard and frail, as though it might fall apart at any moment. He steps toward one of them, and she gasps; because his foot's gone through the screen! She watches in awe and horror as he steps the rest of the way through; as everything begins to shift and fall out of focus. As she. Stops thinking. As her world falls apart. She has no way of knowing...

This was only the beginning.

A/N: YUP! Naruto officially exists in the persona universe! I know I tried this once already, but lets face it, it was hopelessly disorganized and I tried to add too many elements of different animes. That, and I lacked the skills then that I have now. I've been going through some of my older works and, just, wow. Some of those ideas were, just, well, strange. This one, wasn't, however. Its not a re-write of Facade per-se. 'Tis a retelling, and a much needed one at that, as I update some of my older works and brush the dust off the others.

Its hard having a hyperactive muse!

Also, on a side note, yes, Naruto is a shadow. How he became this way is up for debate, though he obviously maintains some of his previous powers. Now, it also needs to be said that he still thinks Yousue, Chie, and Seta Souji/Narukami in the anime are the culprits. Naruto will eventually realize they are not the ones at fault and will come to work alongside them And yes, Saki will have a large role in this story as the story of our enigmatic shadow expands, AND as he slowly develops his own mini-harem XD

Next chapter we get to see Naruto and Saki bond a bit...as he starst going to Inaba High!

R&R! =D