I gave you my hand and you told me that you'd never let it go.
So I said, you're the one I want to make a home with.
And maybe one day, I'll bear your children,
And maybe we'll have a son and daughter and we'll name them after us.
And I'm kissing you.

You gave me your word and said you loved me and that you'd never let me go.
So I said, if we find that the world ends tomorrow,
I would be content knowing that your lips
Were the last I touched with my own.
And I'm kissing you.

Souji Seta couldn't suppress a tired yawn as he made his way down the now familiar path to school. He had been in Inaba for six months now, and the once foreign town now held a special place in his heart. It was a quiet town, one that was far from the hustle and bustle of the big city. One would assume that a town as remote as this would be a peaceful respite. However, that wasn't the case. Soon after he had arrived, a series of murders took place, one right after another. The bodies were found hanging from tall structures. The police reports were unable to find any signs of trauma, so their deaths remained a mystery and their killer at large. It caused quite a big stir. A stir that Souji was stuck in the middle of. Together with his friends, they were investigating the murders, which were inexplicably linked to a mysterious phenomenon known as the Midnight Channel and a world inside the TV. At midnight on rainy nights, the rumor was, the TV would show your soulmate. They soon learned that the rumors were false, but not far off. Souji and his friends came to understand that the Midnight Channel showed a blurry image when someone was planned on being targeted for kidnap and subsequent murder. The killer would throw the victims inside of the TV and wait for the dark residents on the other side to eliminate them. The nature of the Midnight Channel and the TV World was still a mystery to the Investigation Team, but they still went inside and rescued those who had been thrown in. They were unable to help the first two victims, but when their friends and schoolmates were thrown in, they formed an Investigation Team to rescue them, recruiting the kidnapped as they went.

Souji walked on as a man wearing a black suit came into view. At first, Souji paid him no mind, but he soon realized the man was out of place among the young students. Though he was wearing dark sunglasses, Souji could tell that he was scanning the features of every student that walked by. Some of the students whispered about him, others gave him odd looks, but the majority of the them decided to ignore him. Souji caught the man's gaze, and the man stared back from behind his dark lenses. He seemed to recognize Souji, and walked over.

"Excuse me," the man said. He looked Souji up and down, as if he was appraising him. In turn, Souji decided to examine the man. Up close, Souji could make out that he had dark hair, though grey patches seemed to be etched into his otherwise raven hair. He looked to be middle aged, and he had no distinguishable features. He seemed normal, though Souji knew that he had never met this man before.

"Do you know about luminoil reactions?"

Souji blinked. Why in the world would he ask something like that?

The man went on, "What part of the body do you use to test DNA? What's the best way to obtain someone's email address? What ten things can you learn from footprints?"

Souji was able to answer each of the strange questions, but his confusion rose with each one. Who was this man and why was he asking him these strange questions?

Once Souji had finished answering, the man slowly nodded, seemingly pleased with the results, "I see, I see. You are quite the interesting young man." The small smile he wore vanished, and he looked around. He leaned closer to Souji, closer than Souji would have liked, "Do you know Naoto-sama? Oh, er… I mean, you know a detective named Naoto Shirogane, correct?"

Naoto…

The name gave Souji pause. He did indeed know Naoto. Most people knew of her, or rather him. Naoto Shirogane was a famous young detective, referred to as, "The Detective Prince" by different media outlets. Naoto had come to Inaba a few months back at the behest of the prefectural police to aid local authorities in investigating the murders. They had grown impatient at the lack of results soon after the case came to a standstill due primarily to a lack of evidence. At the time, she masqueraded as a boy to avoid the prejudice and sexism of the task force. The Inaba PD was already frustrated by the case, and the idea of a young upstart joining only soured their disposition. After a third incident, the death of Kinshiro Morooka, there were enough clues left at the scene to identify his killer; a high school student named Mitsuo Kubo. They had arrested him and the case was said to be closed, but Naoto had doubts. These doubts exacerbated the Police Force, until they eventually kicked him off the case. What the police didn't know, however, was that Naoto made a connection between the kidnappings and the murders, and used herself as bait. She was kidnapped and thrown into the TV, but the Investigation Team was able to rescue her, learning of her true identity and the fact that the case was far from over. Once Naoto had recovered, they offered her a place among them, which she gladly accepted.

"I know Naoto," answered Souji hesitantly.

The man nodded, "Yes, I know that you know him. Which is why I want you to deliver this to him." The man reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope and extended it to Souji. Souji looked at the envelope for a few seconds, before slowly reaching up and taking it. He held the envelope. It felt light. It looked like there was just a small card in it.

"What is it?"

"Deliver this to Naoto. He will understand."

The man bowed to Souji, bid him farewell, leaving Souji standing alone in a slowly diminishing sea of students. Souji stared at the parcel for a time. His curiosity bid him to find out the contents, but he knew it would be incredibly rude. Still what if it was dangerous? It didn't have any sort of indication that it could cause harm, but he still felt unsure. There was little else to do as intended and give this to Naoto. She'd know what to do with it. Souji tucked it into his bag and started to jog towards school, having lost a few precious minutes.

The bell rang, signifying the end of classes. Souji let out a sigh of relief. The classes dragged on even more so then they usually did. The teachers seemed to have it out for him, bombarding him with question after question. A few times, he even had to save Yosuke from the shame of giving a wrong answer, though the promise of a free meal in thanks did give Souji plenty of motivation to help his friend. He was packing up for the day when Yosuke hopped on his desk.

"Hey, partner," Yosuke greeted cheerfully, addressing Souji with his usual moniker, "Thanks again for the answers today. I seriously owe you one, man."

Souji grinned, "I know, that's why I helped you. My wallet's a little thin and I'm between part-time jobs at the moment."

Yosuke looked hurt, "Is that all I am to you? I'm only your friend when I pay for your meals?"

"Pretty much."

Yosuke let out a withering sigh, "You're worse then Chie."

A leg shot out from the right of Souji and struck Yosuke in the shin. Yosuke cursed and flew off the desk, hopping on one leg. Souji looked over to the neighboring desk, to find Chie glaring at Yosuke.

"I'm right here, you know!" She yelled.

"What the hell, Chie?" barked Yosuke, "Watch where you're kicking! You're going to kill me one of these days."

"I wouldn't have to kick you if you stopped being a big jerk all the time!"

"And I wouldn't have so many bruises if you weren't so Kung-Fu happy," Yosuke muttered, but it seemed that Chie heard it.

Souji chuckled at their usual bickering. He finished packing up and was about to stand up when he noticed a white sliver peeking from between his books. He grabbed it and pulled it out. It was the envelope that the strange man had given him this morning. He'd almost forgotten about it.

"Whoa, what's that? A love letter?"

Souji glanced up to see Chie eyeing the envelope from her neighboring desk, momentarily distracted from her argument with Yosuke.

Souji shook his head, "Nothing so serious. I got this weird letter this morning from some random guy. He told me to give it to Naoto."

"Naoto? Why would he make you give it to Naoto when he could just mail it?" inquired Yosuke, "I heard that she gets mail all the time. Do you think it's a fan letter?"

Souji shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm gonna have to pass on hanging out today. I've got to give this to Naoto."

Yosuke nodded and slapped Souji on the back, "Hey, no worries. Some other time. And besides, it saved my wallet for another day. My Junes salary can barely handle how much debt I'm in."

Souji shared a laugh with Yosuke and bid goodbye to the two of them. He made his way down the stairs to the shoe lockers, looking down the adjacent hallways. He had remembered seeing Naoto there a few times after school and sure enough, there she stood, quietly mulling something over. Most likely the murder case, if Souji was any judge. He called to her, and she perked up at the mention of her name. Seeing Souji, a small smile graced her lips and she walked over.

"Oh, Souji-san," she greeted. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Just like her to get down to business straight away.

Souji pulled out the card and handed it to Naoto. She took it, confused, "What's this?"

Souji shrugged, "I don't know. Some man approached me this morning and told me to give this to you. He said that you'd understand what it meant."

Naoto frowned at the envelope. She held it up to the light, trying to scry its contents without opening the actual envelope. Souji could make out the figure of a card, but whatever message the card contained was still a mystery. Naoto stared at the card for a few moments, before she turned to Souji. She looked at him hesitantly, as if saying the wrong thing would offend him.

"Excuse me, Souji-san, but… Could you please accompany me for a brief period? I'd like to hear more about what transpired when you were given this card. Please, it won't take long."

Souji chuckled. She was still so formal. When they had first met, she had only referred to him by his surname, as she did with the other members of the Investigation Team. It had taken a bit of persuasion to convince her that she needn't be so formal with him. She had reached a compromise, it seemed. Nevertheless, he was pleased to see how far she had come.

"Sure, Naoto. I don't mind. Let's go."

Naoto smiled graciously and bowed, and Souji could almost feel the curiosity radiating off of her. Being a detective, he figured that Naoto was the type of person who, when her curiosity was peaked, would stop at nothing to abate it. The two left the school and walked to the Samegawa flood plain. They didn't talk much during the trip, though whether it was by choice or lack of anything to say was unclear. Their friendship was still relatively new, despite the fact that they knew each other for a few months. It was only until recently that he had been able to count her among his other friends.

Being trapped inside the TV was a harrowing experience, revealing hidden secrets and personal shortcomings to others in the form of a Shadow. The resolve to face yourself in such a manner gave way to a Persona. All of the members of the Investigation Team had gone through such a trial, and it cemented their friendship. Souji smiled as he thought back to his friends. Though he had hit it off with both Yosuke and Chie before the incidents began, the others took time. Yukiko had gone from being painfully shy to being able to be open with everyone, sharing her interesting sense of humor. Kanji had gone to being overly antagonistic and awkward around others to being someone that he could rely on. Rise had gone from a quiet and reserved formal idol to outright bubbly, with a obvious crush on him. What were once strangers were now close friends. Naoto, he was sure, would be no different.

I really do want to get to know her.

After awhile, they made it to the flood plains. Naoto stopped at the small table off to the side of the river.

"I apologize," she said, breaking the silence. "I wanted someplace quiet. Now, tell me. What sort of person gave this to you?"

Souji pondered this for a moment, calling the man to mind, "Well, as far as appearance goes, he didn't seem too out of the ordinary. He was wearing a suit, dark glasses, slicked back hair, which was mostly black with a few grey patches. I don't think you'd be able to figure out his identity with only meager description. I think that the most important thing is the fact that he approached me specifically. He was insistent that I give the card to you. He knew that I knew you."

Naoto nodded, slowly processing the information, "Which means, it's possible that he's been snooping around, gathering information on you or me. Or even the case. Is he involved with the murder case? Or is it another case altogether? If it's me that he's after, he could be anyone." Naoto seemed to be thinking aloud, rather than addressing him directly. After a time, she picked up the envelope and placed it in her coat pocket, "I'll keep the card. The man is most likely still here in Inaba. I cannot drag you further into this with me."

Souji shook his head, "No, I don't mind. I can't back out now. I'm already involved."

Naoto blinked, obviously not expecting that answer. She adjusted her hat, a habit that Souji noticed she did when she was uncomfortable or embarrassed.

"Err, well… It's good to know that you're worried about me, but…"

She trailed off, and Souji could sense that she was erecting walls around herself, keeping any sort of intruder out. He could almost laugh. The world that she created inside the TV had done the same thing. However, before the barriers could be put in place, they seemed to stop. She let out a breath and she deflated. Her gaze seemed fixed on the table.

"I'm sorry. I seem to have a tin ear for other people's feelings. Hanamura-san told me before."

"Don't worry about it," assured Souji, "I know that this is new to you, but remember what I said? We're friends now, and we look out for each other."

Naoto gave Souji a slow nod and bit her lip, "I'll look into this card and report my findings to you. Even so, don't worry about me. As our leader, I know that you have a lot on your shoulders, so…"

She trailed off again, trying to mask the embarrassment on her face. Souji couldn't help but grin. Even with this strange new development along with everything else, he could tell that Naoto was worried about his wellbeing. Though it was a small step, he had gotten Naoto to open up, even if it was just a little.

"While we are here, why don't we chat a little?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure, what did you want to talk about?" inquired Souji.

"There was some things I wanted to ask you. It's about the murder case."

Souji nodded, any thought of their previous topic pushed aside. "Of course. You haven't been in the group for long, so I'd imagine you'd have questions."

"Yes," Naoto began, "I've been on the one side of the case. I've dealt with the aftermaths; the bodies, the kidnappings, the Mitsuo case. However, those were merely the surface of the problem. I'd like to know more about your ventures into the TV and your 'missions'. Kujikawa-san has told me some of what happened on your side, but I'd like to hear your input."

Souji nodded and answered all of Naoto's questions regarding the Investigation Team, the TV world, Personas, Shadows, and everything else they'd experienced so far. As he informed Naoto, he couldn't help but feel a little bit happy. Naoto was still being overly formal, but the fact that she referred to everyone else by their surname didn't go unnoticed. It made him feel special with this tiny victory that no one else shared.

From stranger to friend. One step at a time. Just one, single step.