Warning for implied trauma, deflection, unhealthy coping mechanisms, bullying, parental issues

one - normal

Yui once thought about dying her hair black, to look like everyone else. The only thing that she would stand out with after that would be her tendency to transfer schools. That would be weird, sure, but it wouldn't be exotic. Nothing like the model on TV or the genius detective. Nothing glorious about her silver hair. But it was too well-known at this point. The last thing she needed was more scandal. Well, to be more accurate, more abnormality.

Ironically, that was exactly what she was in now.

She drew her sword and danced to the side of another curving hand. A gust of wind made her pause for a moment. Then, without hesitation, she whirled on both feet, lightning in her fist. It leaped free from her fingers with a satisfying crack like lightning.

"Nice one, partner!" Yosuke's voice rang out clear as day on the other side of the room as he ducked and weaved. "How's the hand?"

She checked the glove and ducked a flying kick. Chie, that was way too close. "Fine! Everyone all right?" This world was nothing like the day-to-day she had been involved in. Monsters of the human heart were real and her friends were so strong, so amazing for beginning to conquer their own.

Yui switched personas, away from the soft, cloying truths of Izanagi to King Frost's Imperial, well, frost, and let the ice well up beneath her. It was just another day. It was her new normal. The word made her pause to catch her breath as the last Shadow fell apart. She panted, focusing on steady, low breaths. Her legs wobbled for a moment and slightly larger hands caught her shoulders.

"You all right, senpai?"

Kanji's voice, casually rough, was a nice balm to her veering self-aggrandizing thoughts. "Yeah." She smiled quickly. "I think that King Frost still drains a bit much for me. I'll be fine after I take a snuff soul."

"Gotcha." He grinned beneath his sunglasses. "Take your time."

"Thanks." She slowly straightened up as the other two hurried over.

"You look a little pale, partner."

Yui waved one hand, the other on her sword. "I'm all right. You know how the spells work."

Chie tried to laugh it off. "Besides, we're right by the stairs. We can afford a break." It was hard not to smile. They all just cared so much.

"We're just training anyway," Yui said with a smirk, wiping sweat from her brow. "We should give the others a chance."

"You mean the ones you left down the stairs?"

Rise really had the best comedic timing.

As far as Dojima thought of it, Yui hung out with her friends after school, had multiple part-time jobs, and went to a lot of school clubs. None of this was wrong. However, the Investigation Team was just… different. Special. It was nice. And even though she was keeping a secret, secrets too were normal. Normal as her silver pixie cut.

The motor scooter thrummed gently under her hands as she pulled it to a stop outside the Dojima household. She could never have done this in the city. She sighed in relief. She was going to get a nice bath tonight. Her shoulders and legs hurt after that last floor. Kanji was never allowed to try to be covert again. Seriously.

"I'm home," she called into the house. Nanako turned and gave an eager wave.

"Welcome home, Nee-chan!" She turned back to the television for a moment. "Dad's in the bathroom."

Yui's heart swelled to the size of a balloon at the sight of her. "Hey." Nanako was the best cousin she could have asked for. Kind, well-meaning, even a little mature. Her serious, childlike expressions struck home in a way nothing could. "He knew I would need a bath." She pretended to pout. "Meanie, isn't he?"

In April, Nanako would have nodded timidly, afraid to agree. Now she laughed like any other child. It was thanks to everyone's help. "Yeah!" Then Nanako pulled something from the living room table. "This came for you today." She passed the envelope over and Yui took it to read the address. She sat down on the couch with a small thump. Nanako, unfortunately, noticed. She turned to see Yui's typical smile beginning to tremble at the corners. "Nee-chan?"

Yui relaxed very slowly, like air draining from a trapped balloon. "Sorry, it was a bit of a surprise." She slit the letter open with her nail. "Mom and dad want to visit."

Nanako's head tilted. "For what?"

Yui shrugged."Maybe they have some time off? My birthday was last month."

Nanako smiled at the reminder. "They missed all the fun we had."

Yui's smile softened and she reached out to pat Nanako on the head. "Mm. You're probably right." Then, she pushed herself back up to her feet. "Come on, let's go get your dad to save some water. Did you have your bath yet?"

"Nope!"

"Well then." Yui spun and picked up a pair of pillows. "To battle!"

Nanako beamed and raised a hand. "To battle!"

Ten o'clock came and passed, leaving Yui torn between staring at the letter and staring at the ceiling. Most of the time, it was the ceiling. Sometimes, to surprise herself, it was the clock.

Eventually, she rolled out of bed and headed downstairs.

Unsurprisingly, her uncle sat there at the kitchen table, putting away another case file. "Supposed to leave work at work, you know," she said in as much of a chiding voice as she could.

"You're supposed to be asleep," he countered, grunting through a likely lukewarm cup of coffee.

Yui resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm seventeen, uncle. I'll be fine."

"Unfortunately, I know."

Yui laughed and sat down, watching Dojima clip pictures out of yet another newspaper.

Dojima didn't look away from it when he spoke next. "I'm guessing you don't have a good relationship with my sister."

Yui pretended her blood didn't chill, choosing to respond to the blunt honesty. "That's invasive."

"You're under my roof for the rest of this year. I should be more invasive." He looked at her now. "I won't be angry. I know my sister."

"They're okay." It wasn't a lie if she wasn't sure, right? "I just don't know what they get out of this."

Dojima grunted again took another slurp. "She's not good at that emotional investment thing… well, really, I'm not much better." He sighed. "Why do you think they're coming?"

Yui swallowed. "Well…"

Why are you taking this so seriously? It was just for fun. Honestly, you can be such a bore.

"Probably to make sure I'm settling in well," she decided to say. It wasn't a lie.

Dojima regarded her with one eye. "I see. Five months later."

Yui made herself smile. "Yeah. That's sooner than I expected."

He reached over as if to examine her face for tears with his fingers. Then her uncle's hand dropped. "Bit more than I expected."

Yui didn't disagree.

A/N: So... no I have not forgotten Finite. In fact, I've been working on the longer parts (Because the facets and pieces are legit way too short for comfort.) so I'll be working on backlogging that through at least May or June (timeline wise) so until then we'll get this. Because I got my hands on Persona 4 Golden a few months back and all I could think of was... cisswap? I guess. Well, we'll see. Please let me know what you think! This story starts, as you can guess, after the team has been brought together, but we'll be getting some nice peeks into how that went down! So... yeah! Please enjoy!

Challenges: Novella Masterclass (AMF) Persona list season rewrite, Small Multichap Comp (AMF), Song Time Challenge - No pain, no game - Nano