Gloomy skies and dark clouds loomed threateningly in the horizon over Inaba as students of Yasogami High School began groggily pulling themselves out of bed. Dreary grays dabbled over the normally lively and colorful town, and Souji was surprised to see how much of an effect the overcast had on his neighborhood as he peered through the window of his room.

Grabbing his umbrella from a bin by the door, he followed Nanako through the front door and into the abysmal weather outside. A blast of cold air greeted his face, and he felt himself shiver a bit as he fumbled around in his pockets to find the house key. After making sure the door was securely locked, he and Nanako embarked on their daily walk to school. Nanako was upbeat as usual despite the dreary weather, skipping alongside him as she hummed the annoyingly catchy jingle of the Junes theme song that Souji had lately come to hate. The tune plagued him day and night, playing in his mind during school and at home, which made it extremely hard to concentrate on even the simplest of things. To make matters worse, ever since he had discovered his power to enter TVs and unwittingly got himself and his friends involved with the serial murder case, it had been decided that the Junes food court would be their special headquarters, where the Junes theme song blared indolently out of speakers for the entire afternoon.

Souji bit his lip as he thought about the TV world and what lay inside it. In that strange world he had met a bizarre creature that called itself Teddie, aptly named after its own likeliness to a stuffed bear. Together, he, Chie, and Yosuke had deduced that the murders of TV announcer Mayumi Yamano and fellow student Saki Konishi were somehow related to both the Midnight Channel and the mysterious TV world. Using their newfound hypothesis, they were able to predict that Yukiko would be the next target, but they were still unable to prevent her from being kidnapped and forced into the TV world.

But unlike before, they were now able to fight the dark creatures that lurked in the other world with a power called Persona. It gave them confidence to explore the world, and they were able to track down Yukiko with Teddie's help. They stumbled upon the giant castle her mind had created, and watched as she battled her shadow, an embodiment of her own suppressed thoughts and feelings. Unable to accept her other self, Yukiko's denial had allowed her shadow to manifest into its own being- a large monstrous bird surrounded by metal bars of a cage. Souji and the others had rushed to her defense, and ultimately defeated the shadow in a grueling battle. A weakened Yukiko finally acknowledged that her shadow was indeed a part of her, a part of her that she didn't want anyone else to know. Facing her true feelings, Yukiko awoke her Persona- Konohana Sakuya.

Yukiko had been absent from school ever since. Like Yosuke and Chie before her, she too was weakened from the time in the TV world and from the battle with her shadow. Chie had announced to Souji and Yosuke yesterday that Yukiko would be back at school today, but Souji found himself still worried. None of them knew what the long term effects of staying too long in the TV world were, and Yukiko had been inside there for days before they had managed to rescue her.

"I'll see you later big bro!" Nanako called out as she turned down a street toward her own school. Souji watched her skip off until her silhouette disappeared through the fog, then continued on his everyday route.

As Souji neared the entrance of the school, he could make out a figure wearing brilliant red standing by the gates, eyes cast downward. He felt his heart skip a beat as his pace quickened; it was definitely Yukiko, and she appeared to have completely recovered. Souji felt relief wash through his body as he made his way through the crowd of groggy students to greet the dark haired girl.

Yukiko looked up and watched Souji squeeze through two students before returning her eyes back to the asphalt. She hadn't had any idea what she was going to talk to Souji about when she had decided in the morning to wait for him by the school gates, and as Souji approached her she felt her face grow redder and redder. This boy had seen all of her inner thoughts, and on top of that had rescued her from certain death. She wasn't sure how she should approach him, but she figured that if she waited at the front gate for him, she could see his reaction and let him take the initiative.

"O-oh… good morning," she squeaked as Souji came to a stop in front of her.

"Mornin' Yukiko," the gray haired boy replied cheerfully. "Are you feeling better?"

Yukiko's heart fluttered slightly as she replied, "Y-yeah… I'll be coming to school again, so… that'll be nice." Souji's eyes met her own, and for an instant she could see worry reflected in light gray. She cast her eyes down to the floor again, unable to return his gaze.

"I caused everyone some real trouble… I'm sorry," she muttered darkly. Before Souji could open his mouth to reply though, she shook her head and looked up, this time with renewed confidence.

"No, 'sorry' isn't quite right… what I mean to say is, thank you."

Souji could feel cheerfulness crawling its way back into Yukiko's voice, and he could only simply nod back with a smile. The worry that had burdened him the past few days finally lifted- Yukiko was safe and sound, and that was all that mattered.

"My mother's back to work already. The maids are being really supportive, and I think things are going even smoother than before." Yukiko bit her lip as she thought aloud, "I wonder if I was trying too hard… I may have been caught up in the idea that I had to do everything myself. But ever since the incident… I feel like I can think about these things more calmly."

She smiled, and again felt her cheeks redden. "But it's still kind of embarrassing... you guys saw everything, even the things I didn't want to admit…"

Souji shook his head. "Don't worry about it. After you faced yourself, after you acknowledged the feelings inside of you… I think that you've already begun to change. Your Persona is proof of that."

Yukiko nodded and beamed at Souji. "I'd like to believe that."

"Yukiko!" a voice called out.

Yukiko looked away from Souji toward the source of the caller. "Oh, it's Chie."

Chie motioned for Yukiko to come over before shifting her attention to Souji. "Souji! Let's all meet up after school okay?"

"Well, I'll talk to you later," Yukiko said, as she hurried toward an anxious Chie.

Yukiko was back, and as energetic as ever. Souji watched as the two girls chatted excitedly before entering the school.

It was a good thing he was able to save her.