Sleep, at the least, had been merciful.

When his phone's alarm went off the next morning, Shinjiro let out a tired groan, sitting up in bed. He had blacked out at some point after finishing his packing and eating a little food, but he hadn't woken up screaming at all. While blackouts didn't comfort him, he was at least grateful to have more than two hours of sleep at a time.

Putting the last of his sparse things into his suitcase after getting dressed, Shinjiro lifted his head at the sound of his door opening. When Mitsuru revealed herself in the doorway, he arched an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Daichi's not here yet?" He asked, mildly surprised.

"No, but he did call me after you didn't pick up an hour ago." Mitsuru replied, tugging on the curl that always fell over her left shoulder. "He'll be here in about a half hour … but I was wondering if you wanted breakfast before you left, since I won't be seeing you for a long period of time." It was the only thing Mitsuru could offer now, with him leaving so soon.

"Thanks, but … Dunno if I can eat much." Shinjiro sighed, rubbing his cheek where Akihiko had punched him. "Aki found out and, well … we threw punches. He cut the inside of my cheek, I gave him a split lip." It was just something that happened often with them, even if it was only in fun; Akihiko tended to forget that Shinjiro wasn't a boxer like he was.

Mitsuru sighed and placed a cool hand on the cheek he had rubbed, pushing some of Penthesilea's healing spells through to help heal the cut. "Even so, that … that wasn't right for either of you." She eventually sighed out, russet eyes closing halfway as she stared at the spot where Shinjiro used to keep a photograph of the three of them, from their first year in high school. She assumed that Shinjiro had packed it away with his other things, but it was still an ache to see it missing.

"Yeah, yeah, I know ..." Shinjiro mumbled, lifting her hand from his cheek when the cut had healed. "Thanks." Mitsuru smiled, crossing her arms across her chest to keep herself from pulling on her hair.

"It wasn't a problem, Shinjiro." She said, trying to keep her voice level. "My offer for breakfast is still open, or would you rather wait until your grandfather arrives and eat with him?"

"Knowing Daichi, he ate before leaving." The tall brunet gave a shrug, trying to keep himself from sounding upset. "... Breakfast does sound good though, but I don't know of too many places that we can get served and be back here in a half hour." To his surprise, Mitsuru's face lit up, and she tentatively reached out and grabbed his hand to tug him along.

"I know a place."

The 'place' Mitsuru spoke of was a small, modest, French-style cafe a block and a half away from the Naganaki Shrine, the sweet smell of pastries and hot chocolate lingering in the air. "I know it's not your typical morning meal, but I wagered it would be a safer bet to take you here than somewhere more crowded." The redhead explained as they sat down, blowing the steam away from her well-creamed coffee. Shinjiro gave an appreciative nod, running his finger around the edge of his milk glass.

"I feel a bit outta place, but it is nice here." He nodded, grey eyes looking over at the food selection available. It was all breading, often with sugar, chocolate, cream, or some combination thereof, but there were fresh blueberry waffles that looked appetizing. "Not too shocked that you found this place, though. It explains why I don't see you for breakfast that often."

Mitsuru gave a shy smile, staring at the tablecloth as she took a sip of her drink. "The staff here know me well enough, so I try to swing by here for coffee before I head into class for my duties." She explained, fighting back the a flush of embarrassment at how one of the cooks had asked her – in French – if she was on a date.

Putting her coffee down, Mitsuru gave Shinjiro a sad smile. "... What all do you plan to do in Inaba?" She asked, brushing her bangs out of her face. For all she had heard about the small mountain town from both Akihiko and Shinjiro, she had never been there. True, she hadn't been much of anywhere outside of Iwatodai and Yakushima, but that was neither here nor there.

"Honestly?" Shinjiro gave a small shrug, grey eyes looking at the umbrella over their table. "Probably nothing apart from trying to get better; there's next to nothing out there. It might help, it might make it worse, but it will get worse if I stay here." Grunting out a soft 'thanks' when the waiter brought them breakfast – Shinjiro had ordered the waffles that he had noticed – he ate the food quietly, not knowing what else to say.

Mitsuru took the silence well, eating her own breakfast as she rolled what he said over in her brain. She had done some poking around the family records on Personae and Persona-users, to see if this sort of thing had occurred before; nothing had turned up, so she was really groping around in the dark …

Shinjiro gave her a soft smile, knowing she was more than likely kicking herself for the lack of aid she was able to give. "It's alright. Really. Don't strain yourself."

-Yes, that's right. Don't make her stress her pretty little head over you.-

-You're just a worthless sack of shit. No need for them to worry about you.-

He froze briefly, frightened; that voice … it was one that only appeared in the worst of the nightmares, laughing at the torment that Shinjiro went through whenever such nightmares happened. What was it doing speaking now, when he was wide awake and trying to have a semi-normal morning?

-Normal? Haha, nothing is normal for you, shithead. Nothing ever has been.-

-Normal people don't make their own memories disappear like that, after all...-

Frowning, Shinjiro ignored the voice as he took another bite of food, watching the rest of the city slowly wake up. There would be kids running around soon, now that school was out for the month-long summer break. "So what are you guys going to do over break?" He asked, curious as to what Mitsuru had planned for everyone else at the dorm in his absence.

"Nothing too different from normal." The redhead said with a small shrug. "Although … going from some of the test scores that a few of the juniors received on their finals, I might look into signing them up for that week of summer classes."

Shinjiro could have sworn he could hear Iori's anguished screaming in his head.

"Well, I bet they'll be thrilled." He commented drily instead, finishing off his food. "Then again, it's kinda hard to balance school work and shit with Tartarus; the juniors haven't been doin this shit as long as you and Aki have." Shinjiro excluded himself on purpose; true, he had joined shortly after Akihiko had, but he hadn't been an active fighter for the past two years …

"This is true, yes." Mitsuru nodded her head in admittance to that. "I'm honestly impressed Takeba's been doing as well as she has, seeing as how she has archery club on top of school and Tartarus." Shinjiro gave an absent nod at that, pulling out his watch to check the time. Mitsuru gave him a wry smile. "I take that as the sign the two of us need to return, then?" She asked, standing up and leaving the money to cover both of their meals.

Shinjiro grunted in response, standing up with a nod. "Yeah … knowing Daichi, he'll be there when we get back." It was just the way Shinjiro's grandfather was; impossibly punctual and deathly serious, to the point where Shinjiro himself seemed almost as big a class clown as Iori was normally. "He won't be mad if we mention that we were having breakfast ..."

"And I suppose that if I had gotten lost sooner, I might have been able to join you."

It took all of Shinjiro's self control not to laugh at the way Mitsuru jumped a foot in the air at the new voice. True, he had been started as well, but at the same time he was used to Daichi appearing out of nowhere like that. 'Figures he'd get lost; he's not used to the layout of a city like this ..' Shinjiro told himself, turning to look behind him. Aragaki Daichi stood there, further explaining Mitsuru's reaction; if it weren't for the difference in eye color and the sheer age difference, the two could have passed for siblings. "Hey." He said in greeting, standing up to talk with his grandfather. "Sorry we weren't at the dorm; Mitsuru asked me out to breakfast."

Daichi gave a nod in understanding, his odd pink eyes glancing at Mitsuru. "It's fine." He said, nodding in a polite greeting to the redhead. "I expected you to have something to eat before we leave. It's a bit of a train ride back to Inaba." When Shinjiro gave an agreeing noise in response, his eyes softened. "... Are your things packed? There's some time before we would need to leave for the station if you wanted to say goodbye to friends."

-Like a shitstain like you has friends.-

Shinjiro bit back the urge to wince as the voice spoke up again. "Nah … it's okay." He said with a tired sigh, shaking his head. "Didn't really talk to much anyone besides Mitsuru and Aki … and I don't think I wanna see Aki right now." The frown Daichi gave the teen at that made him blink, only to stop when his grandfather gripped his chin to look at his face.

"Judging by the fact that your right cheek is slightly swollen, I'd say that would be a wise choice." The older man said with a frown, letting go of Shinjiro's chin as the teenager winced; Daichi had always had that extra bit of insight to him, so of course he would notice the slug to the jaw. Letting the silence linger for a moment, Daichi gave a nod. "Then we should retrieve your things and go; perhaps it'll be easier for you to settle back into Inaba this way."

"Fair enough." Nodding, Shinjiro stepped forward to lead the way to the dorm, Mitsuru at his side. Turning to her, he gave her a tired smile. "... Sorry to be leaving like this ..." He muttered, glancing downward. "... I hope shit goes well for you guys."

"It shouldn't be too difficult." Mitsuru reassured him with a soft smile, russet eyes meeting his steel grey ones. "Just focus on getting better, alright?" She didn't want to imagine what it would be like if the situation deteriorated, not if the day before was any indication of what could potentially happen if it did.

Shinjiro just responded with a wry smile, resisting the urge to make a depreciating jab at himself at her statement. "Heh … it'll take a while ..." H tapered off, shaking his head. "Who knows how long exactly, but it'll definitely take a while ..."

"Good thing you have patience … when you choose to use it." Daichi commented from behind them, making Shinjiro roll his eyes. He didn't retort, however; it was impossible to argue with his grandfather, let alone retort to a true statement like that. Mitsuru seemed at least partially amused by the exchange, making Shinjiro smile back awkwardly.

-'It'll take a while', you say? Understatement of the fucking millennium. Lying to make other people ignore you isn't smart you-

The voice's taunting was cut off in its tracks, nearly making Shinjiro halt in his steps as the sound of a snorting horse echoed inside of his skull. He did have to search briefly before he realized that it was Castor putting up some small form of protest, even if he doubted the Persona could hold it up for long.

'Still … at least it's been keeping me alive and going.' The brunet thought to himself as they neared the dorms. 'Didn't think a passive regeneration would do so much to help.' He had first noticed it during one of the later attempts at his own life, seeing that any damage inflicted would mend itself faster than it should. It still took a while, but Castor was smart; it went for the vitals first, such as severed veins or internal bleeding, before the skin. 'I'd probably have to shoot my brain out for it to be too fast for it to -' He stomped the thought out as fast as it solidified in his head, biting the inside of his uninjured cheek as they reached the dorm.

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when it became clear that the dorms were deserted. That meant there was a good chance he could get out of the dorm with a very low chance of running into Akihiko; it might just end in another fight and another busted cheek. Letting the tension seep out of his body when he reached his room, Shinjiro sighed before walking to the bed, lifting up the mattress to reveal one of the few things he could recall from that horrid night.

Whatever had happened in his blackout had caused his Evoker to shatter, broken beyond repair. He had salvaged the largest of the fragments in his delirious state, the steel razor sharp at the broken edges as he picked it up carefully. Tracing his thumb over the remaining piece of what was once a bold 'E', the brunet sighed and tucked it into his pocket before letting the mattress drop. It was probably ill-wishing to keep such a terrible memento, but his brain refused to let it completely go.

'I can't forget … not this. I can't forget and let it happen again.' Shinjiro told himself before reaching out to grab Mami from her spot on the bed. The slight weight of the plush in his hand sent a small wave of relief through him, and he gave the toy a quick squeeze as he brought it up to his face. He hadn't packed Mami away the night before, hoping it would help with the night terrors, and he was even more reluctant to put her in with the rest of his baggage.

'Maybe I could just stick her in a pocket …' He thought, looking at the thinner jacket he wore in summertime. 'She should be able to fit in there.' There was no way in any level of hell that the plush was going in a box, not in his mental state. Looking between the toy and his jacket, he walked over to the latter to judge how big the pockets were. After a quick test, Shinjiro smiled to himself; Mami fit inside a pocket almost perfectly, even when he tugged the jacket on.

Once he had the jacket settled settled, Shinjiro grabbed the suitcase and began walking downstairs, locking the door behind him. 'No use leaving it open, after all.' He thought to himself, keeping the key in hand as he reached the first floor. Mitsuru and Daichi stood there talking, the elder holding a cup of coffee Shinjiro wagered Mitsuru and made for him. Clearing his throat to let them know he was there, he walked forward, making Mitsuru turn to him with a sad smile on her face, eyes looking down at the suitcase as he sat it down on the floor. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't waste time on long goodbyes, now should I?"

Shinjiro let out a soft sigh at the comment before tugging her into a one-armed hug. "Take care, alright?" He muttered into her hair, feeling the weight of her arms circle around his waist. "Make sure Aki doesn't put too much protein on his food; he's sneaky about it." Mitsuru didn't respond directly, her head hitting Shinjiro's shoulder.

"Have a good train ride." She said instead, voice struggling to remain level. "I'll try and come visit, if I ever get the time." Pulling away, the redhead gave Shinjiro a shaky smile before nodding. Taking that as a farewell, Shinjiro nodded back before looking at Daichi, a hand slipping into the pocket he had stored Mami in. the elder gave a nod, finishing his coffee and returning the mug to the sink. Shinjiro followed his grandfather out the door quietly, focusing on the ground as he the door shut behind him.

It was a quiet walk to the train station, and even quieter when they had boarded and seated themselves. Resting against the cool glass of the window, Shinjiro watched as the train began to pick up speed, heading towards Yasoinaba station. Daichi had opened up a newspaper to read for the ride, which suited Shinjiro fine; he wasn't ready to talk about the seriousness of the situation in public. Looking out the window, he felt his breath evening out as the grays of the city began to turn into green country, mountains in the distance.

The soft weight of Mami against his hip made him sigh mentally, giving the toy in his pocket a gentle squeeze. He wondered how things would be if the girl who had made the toy for him was still alive. How different would things be now? Shinjiro reckoned that he would have still gone to Gekkoukan, to make sure that Akihiko wasn't in over his head with SEES, but perhaps he could have brought Mami herself along with him. At the least, her alive would mean he didn't have such a knee-jerk reaction to the way Evokers were shaped …

-Oh sure, blame the dead girl for your mental fuckups.-

Shinjiro scowled at the voice, giving Mami another squeeze. 'Considering the way she died, I'd be more worried if I didn't have some sort of mental issues from it.' He shot back, repressing the shudder that went through his body at the thought. He still couldn't sleep with a closet door open, half-afraid that he'd look over and see his old friend like she had been that day, huddled in a dark corner, bleeding out … He jerked at that, shaking a bit in his seat.

No.

He didn't need to drag up those memories now, on a train … Sighing, Shinjiro let his head hit the window again, fingers gripping as tight as they dared onto Mami within his pocket. Giving the toy her name was one of the few things he could do, even though he was all but positive there would be people out there who claimed it wasn't healthy. It was some sort of comfort to him, at least … that was what mattered.

The rhythmic sound of the train tracks beneath him slowly began to lull Shinjiro to sleep, breathing easing as his eyelids slid shut.

A soft giggling sound hit Shinjiro's ears as he came to, somewhere in the forest around Inaba. He knew it was there, he recognized the layout … Looking around, he began to walk, keeping a hand on the trees next to him. The landscape seemed to fade out after a kilometer or two, from what he could tell, but the sound of the giggling coming from nearby distracted him.

He … he knew that voice.

"Mami?"

Curiosity took over, and Shinjiro began to look around more. He couldn't see her, but Shinjiro knew it was his old friend's laugh; he'd heard it enough to recognize it in an instant, but now he just had to locate her … Grey eyes began to look about in earnest, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot.

A flash of denim in the corner of his left eye made him turn, somewhere between annoyed and amused. "Mami, don't you think it's an odd time to play hide and seek?" Shinjiro couldn't keep the amusement from his voice as he spoke, a small part of his body relaxing and deciding that, for once, a pleasant dream wasn't bad.

More of Mami's outfit seemed to solidify, her familiar side ponytail now appearing along with the rest of her familiar denim jumper. "Slow butt~ Shinji's a slow butt~" He heard her tease, voice full of giggles that made Shinjiro smile as he started to jog. More and more of the girl began to appear as he tried to grab her arm playfully, not a glimpse of blood on her.

He finally got close enough to grab Mami's arm, ready to playfully tackle and tickle his old friend. Reaching out, Shinjiro went to grip Mami's shoulder … only for her to vanish, the familiar yellow ribbon drifting to floor as the white and brown Absol appeared instead, darting forward. "?!" Confusion raced over Shinjiro's face, grabbing the ribbon as he followed the creature.

It lead him out of the forest, towards what looked like blank canvas. Static from the television began to blur Shinjiro's vision soon after, and despite how hard he tried to focus on the creature, it was becoming harder and harder to follow it.

-Ha... … na get b... I know it wi...wing me, got it?-

A voice, Mami's voice, but what she was saying was being horribly broken up by whatever was causing the static. "Mami … Slow down … I can't ..." Shinjiro panted, feeling exhaustion beginning to grip his lungs. "I … Mami!"

Something grabbed his leg, tripping him up and making him hit the ground with a shout. The static grew stronger, nearly to the point of obscuring his vision. He almost didn't see the white beast stop, shouting when it saw him fall.

-Hey! Do... … … nd! Hold on, I ca... … hang on! You …... yourself!-

Struggling to pull away from the thing, Shinjiro tried to find something, anything, to try and beat at whatever was tugging on him, but the static and white noise was driving him to blacking out. "Help ..." The cry was weak, even to him, now unable to even see the Pocket Monster as it tried to charge to him.

-SHINJIII!-

Anything else was cut out as the static and white noise finally overtook his senses. With a tired sigh, Shinjiro stopped fighting.

Daichi shaking his shoulder roused Shinjiro a moment later, making him shake his head as he came to. "We're at Inaba already?" He mumbled, shaking his head in confusion as he looked around.

"Almost. You've been asleep more or less the entire trip." Daichi said with a nod, a worried frown over his face. "You didn't even stir when I shook you to see if you wanted food. You're normally not such a deep sleeper, but I let you be since it didn't seem to be a nightmare."

"No, it wasn't ..." Shinjiro admitted, rubbing his forehead with a sigh. "But … I don't really remember what all happened." It was almost all static, Something grabbing him from the floor, Mami's voice … Sighing again, Shinjiro shook his head; if he didn't remember it, there shouldn't be a reason for him to worry about it too much. A quick grip on the toy in his pocket brought his attention to her, running his finger around the yellow ribbon he had tied around her neck.

It had been the one Mami had always worn, turned into a birthday ribbon when she had given him the toy; she had insisted it was because they didn't have any other ribbons at her house at the time, and didn't wear a new one until she obtained a white one the day before everything went wrong. The feel of it beneath a finger made Shinjiro sigh in relief as the train rolled to a stop at Inaba station, standing up after Daichi did so.

The station was deserted when they exited the train, the others who were at the same stop having headed off to wherever they were staying in the sleepy country town. Sighing in relief as he hefted his suitcase – he wasn't in the mood to deal with people stopping and gawking at him for being back after almost six years – Shinjiro followed Daichi quietly, looking around the sleepy town. There weren't as many teenagers milling about as he remembered, the sheer boredom that staying in such a small town caused most likely driving them out to Okina City about a half-hour away.

He was relieved, however, to see that the Shopping District was almost exactly the way he remembered it. There was the Konishi Liquor Store, the old hobby shop nearby, Tatsumi Textiles proudly boasting its wares outside the doors … And the old sweet shop, Etsuko's, next door, still closed down and unoccupied. Shinjiro gave the old store a bitter smile as they passed it, grey eyes saddening. He remembered going there with Mami vividly …

Realizing that he had started to lag behind, Shinjiro jogged to catch up with his grandfather, waving at the owner of the hobby store as they neared the shrine. "Dead day." he commented to Daichi, who gave a nod and a sigh.

"Many students your age have summer jobs elsewhere, or at the Moel gas station." The elder explained, looking around. "As peaceful as Inaba is, even I can see that there's very little for a young adult to do here for fun. The younger children can at least attend the play group at the park." Stopping briefly to greet the owner of Shiroku, Daichi gave a wry smile. "There was a gang of bikers causing a ruckus at night for the past month, but they've since stopped …"

"This place probably wouldn't even be on the map if not for the Amagi Inn." Shinjiro agreed, shaking his head. "Everybody in Iwatodai would give me funny looks if I mentioned this place, because they never heard of it before. 'Nothing happens in Inaba' alright." Daichi let out a bemused snort at that, shaking his head as they stopped at Marukyu Tofu.

"I wanted to pick something up for dinner." Daichi explained, giving Shinjiro a concerned look. "I didn't want to push you if you didn't want to cook something, so I decided to err on the side of caution." Shinjiro gave his grandfather a grateful smile, but nodded all the same.

"A little something wouldn't hurt." Shinjiro admitted, rubbing one of his arms. "But if you just wanted to get some takeout tonight, I'd be good. Give me a bit of time to settle in and such." Daichi gave an understanding noise back, stepping into the tofu shop, Shinjiro lingering outside as a crow landed on the nearby garbage can.

Watching the bird, Shinjiro chuckled as it grabbed a leaf off of the can's lid, only to get smacked by a black paw. Cawing, the bird hopped a bit as a scarred fox made itself know, growling and nipping at the leaf the bird had in its beak. Shinjiro couldn't help but smile as he watched the two animals chase one another around, the fox eventually got the leaf back and darted off, heading towards the shrine as Daichi walked out.

Daichi seemed relieved to see Shinjiro relaxing as he was, waiting a moment before clearing his throat. "Come, we need to catch the bus up towards our street." He said when Shinjiro turned towards him, blinking. Comprehending his grandfather's words, Shinjiro started following him, relaxing as they reached the station in time to catch the bus.

He caught a quick glimpse of two middle-school aged girls sitting in one of the front seat, grocery bags around them. While he didn't recognize the brunet all that well, Shinjiro faintly recognized the black-haired girl as the Amagi Inn manager's daughter. 'Must have been doing an errand run' the brunet thought as he settled in next to Daichi, relaxing as the bus rolled out of the Shopping District and into the more wooded area that covered the mountain that Inaba was built around.

A few minutes of silence passed before they reached their stop, Shinjiro pausing to help the brunet girl readjust a grip she had on one of her bags. "Thanks, mister!" She called out with a laugh, grinning broadly at him despite the bandage over her nose as she scampered off. "Wai- Slow down Yukiko! I have all the heavy stuff!" She yelled after her best friend.

"This is why I said we should have taken our bicycles, Chie!" The raven-haired girl countered as she stopped, waiting for the newly dubbed 'Chie' as Shinjiro watched. A knife went through his heart at the exchange as the girls both walked off, memories of similar conversations he used to have with Akihiko racing through his head.

Daichi didn't seem to notice as they started walking towards the house, Shinjiro following him a few steps behind. There, nestled off to one side of the road in a dense patch of evergreens, was the Aragaki house. Shinjiro couldn't help but smile; his grandparents had kept the house traditional in appearance, the roof painted green to match the trees despite the white outer walls. Various birds perched on a high point of the roof as they headed in, making various noises that echoed through the house.

The inside was as large and warm as always, Shinjiro noted as he took his shoes off in the mudroom. It was, however, quiet; ever since his grandmother had passed away, it was typically just Daichi in the house. True, things tended to be loud and eventful when holidays rolled around – especially if Makoto brought her friends along – but, if only for right now, Shinjiro didn't mind the silence.

"Am I gonna be in the same room, Daichi?" Shinjiro asked as they headed in, Daichi opening up the windows as he entered the sitting room. Helping his grandfather with a rice-paper screen to the back patio – it helped keep out insects despite the breeze – Shinjiro smiled when he received a confirming nod.

"Yes, and I took care to clean it last night after your call." Daichi added, heading to the kitchen. "Go on and get settled; I'll prepare dinner tonight." Shinjiro nodded in reply, knowing Daichi couldn't see him, and headed off to the corner bedroom on the second floor. Opening the door with a soft smile, he relaxed; Daichi'd kept his word. The room looked almost identical to how it had when he had left for Iwatodai at fourteen, any dust having been cleared in his grandfather's cleaning spree the previous night.

The pictures were even in place still, making Shinjiro smile as he sat down on the large bed he'd been given . There was the large one that had been taken on his thirteenth birthday in Tokyo, his older cousin Makoto and her group of friends having 'kidnapped' him for the week of his birthday. The one next to it was of him and his older brother with their maternal aunt Yuuna, the two of them putting the other in headlocks while their aunt watched in exasperation – judging from the angle, Shinjiro figured either Makoto or Akihiko had taken the picture. Next to that one, almost hidden, was him and Akihiko in junior high, Katsuro leaning on them both in his high school uniform. Shinjiro couldn't help but smile at the sight of Aki's nose bandage, made even funnier by Katsuro's equally banged up knuckles from helping the other boys learn how to fight. Beside it in a frame was his aunt Asami and her husband Roland, their younger daughter Kaede sitting proudly on her father's shoulders with a large plush dog.

Behind all the other pictures, however, was the one Shinjiro took the most care of. Letting out a sad noise, he reached out and gripped it, taking in the sight of his father and mother. It looked like a wedding picture, but if it was or not, Shinjiro didn't remember. The family resemblance was staggering to him; he had his father's darker appearance and hair, but the sheer messiness and paler eyes were from his mother. "... I hope you two are okay, wherever you are ..." He mumbled, lying down on his back as he looked at the picture fully.

His parents had died the night of the fire. While the exact details had long since faded from Shinjiro's memory, he knew that his mother had actually never made it out of the orphanage; she had been inside trying to pull out more children. His father, upon finding out, had gone back inside to fetch her out; it was only due to Katsuro reaching out and grabbing his shirt that Shinjiro hadn't followed him.

-Stupid on his part, really. If you had died then, you wouldn't have fucked everything up like you did-

Shinjiro bit back a pained whimper as the voice returned, gripping the picture tighter. So he hadn't just been imagining it earlier. The voice from his nightmares and terrors was there, in the back of his head. He could faintly hear static in his thoughts along with it, making him whimper as he hugged the framed image close to his chest.

He wasn't about to admit that deep down, in the darkest parts of his mind, he agreed with it. So much had happened since that night, since the world he grew up knowing went up in flames, taking his memories of those days with it. It had only been through various talks with his aunts and grandparents that he knew as much as he did about those days, Katsuro usually close by to keep his spirits from turning too dark.

But then he had lost control, and cut off as many ties as he could to keep from dragging others down with him. Shinjiro still cared about his brother and cousins, more than he could really say; he didn't want them to get caught up in his mess.

-Yes, spare them from your stupidity and your mess. Nobody else deserves to get dragged down by your bloody hands.-

-I'm surprised they even still want to talk with you, really.-

-I suppose it's only a matter of time before they get rid of you for good.-

Shinjiro snarled at that, and the sound of an angry horse reverberated through his mind once again. Confusion filled him at that, blinking as he stared at the ceiling; yes, Castor had a horse, but the Persona itself was the rider, wasn't it? Pausing for a moment, the brunet let out a sigh and pushed the thought aside, looking out the window as rain clouds started to roll in with faint rumbles of thunder.

As he drifted off to sleep to the rain a few moments later, Shinjiro could have sworn he heard static coming from the small television that sat in a corner of his room.

Tori's Notes: It's a little bit of calm before the storm in this chapter, mainly just getting Shinjiro to Inaba and settled in; things are only going to go downhill from here with him. Fair warning, this story's going to go through the events of Persona 4. I'll try and make the time gap bearable, since it's taking place from one character's PoV. and he's not going to be doing a while lot as is.

The dream sequence will be relevant later on too ...