Author's Note:
"Hello! I wanted to do a Persona 4 story from my pairing in the game. This will be my longest story for Persona yet. I'm not super informed in medical information so several of the things here might be incorrect in real life but are done for story effect. When it comes to the details of the accident, I'm intentionally leaving it vague. The important part is the aftermath! Also, if you recall the social links, then some things will be familiar! Plus aside from the tagged relationship, there will be others down the line! Enjoy!
"When I'm lonely, my love for you will go stronger. And when I smile on TV, I'm smiling for you. So you smile too Senpai…and tell me you love me every once in a while, okay?"
Yu replays these words in his heads. That fateful snowy day during January was something he would remember forever. It may have been freezing from the snow, but his body was filled with warmth from the love he felt from the girl which meant to him the most. He stands up from the couch in his room, and sets out. He was in deep pain from the past weeks… He fears that those sweet words may never be said to him again from that special person. His family and friends worry about him. No one knows where he heads off to at that time. No one tries to follow. Even if they did, Yu was resourceful and would make sure to lose sight of any tails. He would however arrive back late at night, exhausted and quiet. This is all started after Rise's accident.
2 months prior.
Yukiko runs through a hospital in Tokyo. She came straight from Inaba as soon as she heard the news. Surprisingly, she found the hospital not as crowded as she thought it would be, at least compared to a regular hospital. She had expected that for a big star such as her friend Rise, would have at least some people surrounding or waiting nearby the hospital for her recovery. Thankfully, from what she heard, the information of where she was brought to recover was kept highly confidential. It would seem it worked and there weren't any leaks. Only close family and confidants were allowed to know. She was one of the few privileged to visit. As she headed to the floor, she was worried and praying that her friend was alright. After hearing what happened in the accident, they say Rise got a head injury. Hopefully, she wasn't in a critical condition.
"Please be okay." Yukiko once again worries.
The elevator doors open. As she makes a turn, she sees very familiar faces. She sees her best friends. Chie was there alongside Naoto, Yosuke, Teddie, and Kanji. On another corner he sees Rise's manager Inoue, and her immediate family which included her grandmother who Rise was very close to. It appears Rise's grandmother arrived from Inaba recently as well. Lastly, she sees the other person she's been worrying about. She sees Yu Narukami, their "leader." He was also Rise's boyfriend. He looked as pale as a sheet. It looked like he hasn't gotten much sleep. He called up everybody the other day about the unfortunate news. From what she was told, Rise was supposed to meet up with him after a show for dinner, but she never made it. Worried, he went looking for her and this was the result. Chie approaches her and gives Yukiko a warm hug. Everybody approaches to say their greetings. It was a bittersweet reunion at best. It was a very somber mood. It was small talk and quick catching up. The bond and love they had one for one another was as strong as ever. Now, they were sadly waiting for news on the condition of one of their group. The one person who loved Rise the most was silent most of the time. He thanked Yukiko for coming and went back to his corner. He was contemplating deeply.
"How is Rise's condition?" asks Yukiko.
"She has been unconscious for 2 days. According to the doctors, she only has minor bodily injuries and that her head injury should be slowly healing. All that is left to do is wait and let Rise do the rest." said Inoue.
A few hours have past and they finally heard some good news. Rise has woken up. A few people in the group shed a few tears. In the corner, Yu has finally relaxed a little. His shoulders lose a bit of their tension. The doctors inform everyone that they should not let anyone visit her yet and when they do, they should do it in groups. After some time has passed, the family of Rise enter the room where she is staying. Some time has passed again and the mother of Rise informs that the next group of people may visit. Feeling a little excited, everyone tries to stay composed and more calm. They don't want to stress out their healing friend. Yu leads the way and enters into the room. Inside, Rise's grandmother stays by her side. Rise's lying on the hospital bed. It's in a raised position. She had a bit of a cloudy gaze. She was definitely conscious and aware of the situation but it seemed she was a bit tired. From what everyone can tell, her injuries to her body were thankfully indeed minor. She only had minor scratches and bruises and thankfully, it doesn't seem like she needed any bandages around her head area. As all their friends begin to smile, and speak when they see their friend, they get a shock which none of them expected. Rise gave all of them a quick look over starting from Teddie all the way to Yu. She had this face of confusion, and slight pain and possibly sadness. She slowly looked towards them and said.
"I'm…sorry. Do I know all of you? Are you possibly, fans?"
Everybody in the room was stunned. Rise's grandmother was shocked as well. But she quickly held Rise's hand and said to her.
"Rise, these are… your friends. What are you talking about?"
"Yeaaah…That's right Rise. Hahaha. Not that funny of a joke. We all came here worried about you." said Kanji in a semi half serious tone. Kanji also started to sound worried about the situation.
Rise however once again, looks down slowly, and then suddenly jolts while holding her head. Everyone quickly approaches to help but she holds up a hand.
"No! No….I'm fine. Sorry everyone. It's just…my head hurts a little."
Everyone keeps quiet again. Rise starts over. This time, she's really staring hard at each one of them and once again, she gives this sad look.
"I'm sorry…I can't…I don't…recognise you at all…"
Tears start flowing down her eyes.
"I can't…I can't…remember…."
Almost 6 weeks later.
It's been a few weeks since the hospital. Everybody decided that Rise should rest again in Inaba. The shock of Rise's partial amnesia has affected everybody in the team. They were all unsure of what to do at first. When they allowed Rise to leave the hospital, her family and friends tried helping her get back to her stride. They all decided on a few things before helping Rise out.
1.) Don't mention anything about the T.V. world or Shadows.
2.) Don't force heavy details of memories if it seems Rise's in pain when she tries remembering.
Chie and Naoto took first initiative to help reintroduce the sights of Inaba and try to remind her of the fun they had together when they were younger. Kanji surprisingly took it hard about her amnesia. Even though it seemed like Kanji and Rise would argue a lot, Kanji thought of Rise like a sister and like siblings they'd argue a lot. It was just a matter of simple arguments but he cared for her deeply. Everybody pitched in to help. They brought Rise back to the Amagi Inn for a visit too. Sadly, no memories were shaken back into place. Teddie did his best to not be creepy for once. He didn't do any creepy touchy movement and made sure to brighten up whenever they were around.
Yu was given a huge blow though. He didn't know what to do. He was unsure of how to move forward.
Yosuke approached Yu one day when they were at Junes and asked him what he was planning.
"Bro. What are you going to about your relationship with Rise? Should you…you know…TELL her about it?"
Yosuke may have been saying it with a bit of a tone but he honestly was worried for Yu. Rise and Yu have been together for ages and suddenly, one of them has no recollection whatsoever of said relationship. What would you do? What can you do? Yosuke was struggling to help out but he was no wise man when it came to relationships and definitely not something this complicated. He however would always have his best friend's back.
"I don't know Yosuke. I've been slowly hanging with her after her release from the hospital. I'm trying alongside the others to so that she can grow accustomed to us again. I'll…eventually tell her what we were before."
"Before? What do you mean by that?"
Yu sighs a little…
"What if…she doesn't feel like getting back together with me? Because, truthfully, I'm just a stranger to her now…The Rise we know isn't…whole anymore. She doesn't know me at all. It's like…how she had a problem with accepting all her different sides of her before right? This time however, it seems like there are sides of her which are just missing."
"Dude. That sounds strange…But…Don't you love her?!"
"Yosuke. Of course. I love her. I love her so much, more than anything in the world. Even now, I still love her. When I talk to her, she is definitely the Rise we all know and love. She just doesn't remember us… I'm just afraid… she won't love me back. Not this time…"
"What makes it different if you try it again now?"
"Remember how we saved her all those years ago? From her shadow self? I…think that's where she first fell for me… To be honest, I was a bit shocked with how "aggressive" she was. I didn't know what to do. Did she truly like me? Was this some happy crush? I was…nervous at first. But…I grew to love Rise as a whole. I saw what was beyond her outside appearance. Now, there is no one else I'd want to spend my life with….Now in hindsight maybe her feelings for me was an example of a "florence nightingale" syndrome. Only in reverse."
"What's that? I've never heard of that before." Yosuke asks with a confused expression.
"It's…like when a caregiver, for example, a nurse in a hospital , constantly cares for a certain patient. After a while, of taking care of their patient, who has been constantly dependent on them, they actually feel responsible for them and this transforms into love for their patient. There have been cases of this before."
"But dude. She didn't take care of you. We SAVED her."
"Yeah…that's why reverse. Or maybe that's simply it. Since we saved her life. She only grew to love me because of that. That could have been what sparked it."
"But…Yu. What about all the other things? Something like that can't sustain that love forever. I mean. I'm no expert. But…even if what you say is true, I'm sure she loves you for more than just that."
"But…what makes me any different from any other suitor this time around? I'm…not that special. Some people would think of me as a generic guy at times. I…gotta go. I have some things to think about. I'll be back home later in the evening if you need me."
"Where do you even go in the afternoons dude? You always disappear somewhere around this time."
"I just go….I'll be fine. Don't worry. Nowhere dangerous. Maybe I'll stop going out soon. Take care Yosuke."
As Yu was leaving, he decides to take a bit of a stroll so he could think. He decides to go through a detour for his destination but he bumps into the person he was most concerned about.
"Hi. Narukami-Senpai."
It was Rise. Yu noticed she seemed alright. Her injuries were all healed by that point. She still had her hair down. She also looked as beautiful as ever.
"Hi, Rise." Yu could only utter those words at the moment.
"Are you free this afternoon?"
"Oh…well. I was supposed to go somewhere else…is there something you need?"
"No…not…really. It's just…I'm getting the hang of things better…and I want to go out more…But I tend to get recognised everywhere I go, so I'm a little nervous about going out on my own. You seem like the type of guy who knows all the cool spots in town…so…uhm…" Rise was a bit shy and nervous as she said this.
Yu recalls one of the first few private conversations he had with Rise. It was quite similar to this. It was just she and him left among their friends at Junes. Rise asked Yu nearly the exact same request. This was also not too long after they saved her from the TV world. That conversation also led to them getting to know each other better. Feeling so much parallels to before, Yu could only answer like he did a long time ago.
"Sure. I'll show you around." Yu warmly gives a nice smile.
"Really? Woohoo! Okay…let's go right now. Can you uhm…give me a quick tour this afternoon."
At this moment, Yu imagines two Rises in mirror image standing beside one another. One was the current one standing in front of him who was older and more mature, and the other was the one from his memories from their younger years who was full of excitement and had many great things coming for her.
Rise and Yu headed out for what some people would call…a date.