Title: "Persona 4: The Fool"

Author: Icewind Alchemist

Summary: The last thing Rin Narukami expected when she moved to Inaba was to get involved in a murder mystery. Now with the power of Persona and others with the same abilities, she must find the culprit and stop them while saving their victims.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I was not involved in the creation of Persona 4. Therefore, I don't own it. Rin and this story are another matter.

Rating: T for some violence, language, and sexual content.

Before I begin… Okay, I swear the next chapter is where things will really heat up!

This is the last chapter of exposition before the action starts. Just bear with me!

…Oh, crap. I'm turning into Teddie.

==+O+==

Where Shadows Dwell

==+O+==

April 14, 2011

"So did you guys watch it last night?" is the first question out of Satonaka's mouth once classes end. She watches me and Hanamura while waiting for an answer.

"Uh, well… what about you?" He stammers.

"I did! There was a girl on the screen! I couldn't tell who it was, exactly, but it was definitely a girl. She had brown hair that was shoulder length and was wearing our uniform." Satonaka pauses. "But wait, does that mean my soul mate's a girl?"

"Hold on, I think that's who I saw, too!" Hanamura jumps in. "The image on my screen was too blurry to make out that much, though."

"So does that mean we both have the same soul mate?" Satonaka frowns, then turns to me. "What about you, Narukami-chan?"

"That sounds a lot like the person I saw." I tell them. "I'm sure I saw a girl, but before I could make out anything else I started to hear a voice in my head saying things that made my head hurt and fell into the TV. The good news was that it was too small for my whole body to fit through so I managed to pull myself out and…" I trail off as Satonaka and Hanamura stare at me with eyebrows raised.

"So we all saw the same person?" Hanamura muses. "Weird. And as for the weird voices and nearly falling into your TV, I think you may have fallen asleep in front of your TV, Narukami."

I shake my head. "But I didn't! I went to sleep afterwards and ended up—never mind." I don't think I'll be able to prove it really happened if I said I ended up dreaming that I was chased by a giant TV that tried to eat me.

"It's still an interesting dream, though." Satonaka smiles. "I like the part where you couldn't go through because it was too small; that's pretty realistic. Maybe if it were bigger, the—" She stops and turns to Hanamura. "That reminds me! My family's been thinking of buying a bigger TV and I heard Junes recently got a shipment of flat screens."

"We did." Hanamura confirms with a smile. "If you want, we can check 'em over on the way back."

"Definitely!" Satonaka exclaims. "My parents don't know a lot about electronics, and I just gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen!" She jumps to one foot and strikes a pose I think is supposed to be something out of kung-fu while letting out a battle cry.

"Err… right. We got some pretty big ones in stock, so I'm sure we can find one you can fit into." Hanamura winks at me while he laughs.

I let out a sigh. "As long as you won't keep teasing me about last night, sure I'll come along." There isn't much else to do in Inaba right now, and I don't see a point in returning to the Dojima household at the moment.

Hanamura glances over at the empty seat Amagi sits in and frowns. "Yukiko-san left early today, too? Did something happen?"

"No. She said she has to work at the Inn today, too." Satonaka frowns with concern. "I'm starting to worry about her. This is the second day she's had to leave early to help and she looked exhausted this morning."

I remember Amagi's face, pale with dark circles under her half-lidded eyes, and nod. "Hopefully they'll give her a break tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too." Satonaka stretches. "Well, nothing we can do about it today. Let's go, you guys."

The three of us chat about small things while walking to Junes. Thankfully neither Hanamura nor Satonaka mention the events I described from last night.

"By the way, I heard a rumor." Satonaka says as we step into the elevator. "Apparently Saki-Senpai was the person who found Yamano's body."

"If that's true, that would explain why she looked so down yesterday." Hanamura's hand strays to his pocket. "Now that I think about it, she didn't seem to be at school today either."

The elevator dings and opens its doors to the electronics department. Hanamura, who's either forgotten or put aside the condition of his senpai for the moment, leads Satonaka and I to what's probably the biggest TV on the floor.

"Wow! This is huge!" Satonaka's wide eyes spot the price tag. "And… Holy crap, that's expensive! Who buys stuff like this?"

"I dunno. Rich folk?" Hanamura shrugs. "Not many people shop around for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

"At least looking's free." Satonaka says. She glances over at Hanamura. As though able to communicate with telepathy, they walk towards the TV and put their hands on the screen at the same time. Both try to push through, then step away when met with resistance.

"Nope. Can't get in."

"This proves it. It was all a dream."

"I thought I said we were going to forget about what I said." I glare at the two of them. "I get it, alright? I might have fallen asleep and had some weird dream." What I say isn't how I feel, however. I know for a fact I was awake when it happened. But it's clear they're not going to believe me.

"Couldn't resist." Hanamura grins. "Well, it's a good thing you can't get through all the way. These flat screens are so thin you'd probably end up on the other si—Wait, what am I saying?" To distract from his blunder he turns his attention to Satonaka. "So what kind of TV are you guys in the market for?"

"My parents said one that's cheap." Satonaka says. "You got any suggestions?"

Hanamura leads Satonaka to another TV nearby and starts advertising in what I think of as his salesman voice. They start arguing over the price ("You got connections, right? C'mon, hook me up!" "You know I can't do that!"), not paying any attention to me.

I stare at the screen in front of me and reach towards it with some hesitation. Not because I think it's not going to work and I'll make a fool of myself, but if it works I can fit through the screen. What if I stumble and fall in while no one's looking? What if there's something big and nasty on the other side?

But still, I have to try.

The moment my hand touches the screen, it ripples like water. There's a static feeling around my wrist where it touches the screen, but it's not painful. I don't feel anything on the other side, either.

"By the way, Narukami, what kind of TV do you—" Hanamura stops talking the moment he sees what I'm doing. His eyes widen and his jaw hangs open.

Satonaka stares at his expression. "Huh? Something wrong, Hanamura?" She turns in the direction he's staring in, at me, and soon she's wearing the same expression. "Th-That's just a new function, right!? A new model?"

"Hell no!" Hanamura shakes his head and runs over to me. "Okay, how's it work? What's the magician's secret!?"
"I'm not doing a magic trick." I look him in the eye. "This was what I was trying to tell you guys before. It wasn't a dream." I look back at the screen. Nothing's happened to my hand, so there may not be anything dangerous on the other side. And with Satonaka and Hanamura nearby, I'm not in danger of falling in. "I'm going to take a peek inside." I tell them as I start to stick my head inside.

"H-Hey! Don't do that!"

"Oh my God!"

I can't see much inside, but it looks like vast empty space. I can still hear Hanamura and Satonaka panicking, but their voices are distorted like they're under water.

"Holy crap, this is all too much for my bladder!"

"What the-? Are you going to pee your pants!?"

"I've been holding it all day! I haven't had a chance to go! Can't… hold it… anymore!"

There's a pause.

"Shit! Customers! They're coming!"

"What!? But we've got someone half-stuck in a TV here! What're we going to do!?"

It's at this point I'm thinking I should pull myself out before I cause a panic, or more than I have already. But as I'm starting to someone bumps me from behind and tips my whole body into the TV.

Now I'm really falling into the TV, along with Satonaka and Hanamura judging by the screams. That must be what bumped me before.

I'm not falling for long when my back collides with hard ground. It hurts, but I don't think I suffered any serious damage. Hanamura and Satonaka land not far from me.

The three of us get up on our feet and look around. Or we try as much as we can through the thick yellow fog obstructing our vision. We're standing in what looks like a TV studio with metal scaffolding around us and stage lights above.

"Is this inside Junes?" Satonaka asks.

"Hell no it isn't." Hanamura says. "I mean, we just fell through a TV!"

"So, how do we get out?" Satonaka looks around and bites her lip. "I don't remember which way we came in, and I don't see any way in or out!"

Hanamura's head whips around as he looks for an exit. "That can't be right! We came in here, so there should be a way out! How could there be no exit!?"

"I don't know! Don't ask me!" Satonaka snaps. "I just wanna go home!"

"But how!?"

I step in between Hanamura and Satonaka. "Both of you calm down." I tell them. "Panicking isn't going to help us get out of here."

"R-Right." Hanamura takes a deep breath, with Satonaka following suit. "If we take a look around, we may find an exit. There should be one here if we got in."

"Sounds like a plan." I agree before grabbing onto my companions' sleeves. "Everyone keep a hold on each other. With this fog, it'll be easy for one of us to lose the others. And be careful where you step."

Satonaka grabs my sleeve. "Okay. You lead the way."

I take slow, cautious steps out of the studio with Hanamura and Satonaka doing the same. It takes me awhile to find a middle ground between safe and fast. Too safe and Hanamura complains that it'll take years before we're out of here at the rate I go. Too fast and my foot almost ends up falling through empty space instead of landing on solid ground.

Eventually the three of us at a corridor leading to a black and red portal ahead. I let go of Hanamura and Satonaka once I'm positive there's no way any of us can wander too far away.

When we walk through the portal, it's the same feeling I got when I went through the TV. Inside is what looks like a bedroom. The fog seems lighter here, too. But when Hanamura checks his phone, there's no signal.

"It's a dead end." I say aloud. "I don't think we can go any further this way. Let's turn back."

Turning around, all three of us froze at the sight that awaited us.

Pictures with the face slashed off filled the walls and something red splashed over them. Nearby is a chair with a rope and a red scarf dangling over it.

"Is that a noose?" Hanamura asks, looking over at it. "It and the chair are never a good arrangement."

"What about these pictures?" Satonaka looks over the mutilated images. They look familiar, but I can't put my finger on where I've seen them. "I know I've seen these before…" She shakes her head. "Guys… can we leave?"

"Sure. There's no point in lingering around here." I start heading towards the exit with Satonaka when Hanamura lets out a groan and runs over to a wall. Then there's the sound of a zipper being undone.

"What are you doing!?" Satonaka yells.

"I can't hold it anymore!" Hanamura shouts back. "I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!"

"Y-You can't be serious! You're doing it here!?"

"Turn around! I can't do it with people watching!"

Despite that, Satonaka and I still stare at him. I try to look away, but it's like something is keeping my gaze on Hanamura while his face scrunches up.

"Agh… I can't do it." He zips his pants closed. "It's your fault if my bladder bursts."

"Then let's get going." I start to head back the way we came. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can take care of your bladder."

"Very funny, Narukami." Hanamura grumbles but follows.

We make our way down the same path from before, this time looking for other pathways we might have missed. None but the way we came is visible.

That's not the only thing bothering me. My head and limbs get heavier as we walk and it hasn't been that long. Hanamura and Satonaka don't look well, either. Even though it's hard to tell with the fog, they seem a little paler than before and occasionally one of them stumbles.

Is it something to do with this world? If so, then if we stay here for too long…

No; I can't think like that.

"Guys… I think we're back where we started." Satonaka's words provide a distraction from my unwanted thoughts, but the message is not an improvement.

"There must be another path we can take." I say, doing my best to stay calm. Panicking will only make things worse. "Let's find it and try that wa—" I stop when I see a shape in the fog drawing closer to where the three of us are.

Satonaka takes a step back. "Wha-What is that?"

"I don't know." I also back away while praying it wasn't a threat. The last thing we need now is something trying to kill us.

"Satonaka!" Hanamura, who backed several feet away when neither of us was looking, calls out. "Why don't you use those kung fu skills you're so proud of on it!?"

"That's all you have to say!?" Satonaka yells back, but still faces the emerging figure. "Well… may as well try." She coils up and springs at the figure while letting out a "Hiii-ya!" and kicks it down.

The figure lets out a cry and flails around on the ground. "Stop! No more!"

I draw close enough to get a good look at Satonaka's victim. It's… I'm honestly not sure what it is. It looks like a bear, but its fur is blue and it wears a red and white suit with a zipper around the collar. What's more, its face looks more like something out of a cartoon rather than a realistic bear.

"What the hell…?" Hanamura rejoins Satonaka and me and stares at the creature with a frown. "What's something like this doing here?"

The bear-thing stops trying to stand up and glares at Hanamura. "That's what I was going to ask you!" He exclaims. "You three shouldn't be here! You gotta get out of here before the Shadows find you!"

"That's what we're trying to do!" Hanamura gestures around the stage. "But we can't do that if there's no exit."

The bear-thing makes a frustrated sound and redoubles his efforts to stand up.

It doesn't seem like he's a threat; even if he didn't warn us of the possible danger, he went down with one kick. Granted, the kick was from someone who's a kung fu fanatic, but it was still just a kick. And he may be able to help us.

So I go behind the bear-thing and push him up on his feet. He wobbles a bit before righting himself.

"Thanks!" He waddles in front of us. "Now, you guys have to leave. So I'll make an exit for you!" He stomps his foot two times and a stack of TVs appear in a puff of smoke.

"That's the exit?" Satonaka asks, raising an eyebrow.

"We came in through a TV." I point out. "I guess it's fitting we leave through one."

Suddenly, something shoves me from behind. "C'mon! Get going!" The bear-thing pushes the three of us towards the stack. "I'm a very busy bear!"

"Ow! Wait, you little—Whoa!" Hanamura's curse is cut short as the three of us stumble into the TVs.

Just like before we fall to the ground in a pile, this time in the electronics department at Junes. As we untangle limbs and climb to our feet, I spot a familiar image next to the TV we fell out of; a poster of Misuzu Hiiragi, the singer involved in the scandal. But I'm sure I've seen it somewhere else…

"We're back…" Satonaka murmurs. "I didn't think we'd make it."

"Me neither." Hanamura wobbles a bit and winces. "Ugh… my head's killing me. I don't know about you two, but I'm heading home and forgetting what happened."

Satonaka nods. "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The two of them leave while I stay where I am, staring at the poster of Hiiragi. It appeared somewhere else, but I can't put my finger on where.

Then it clicks; the room inside the TV world, the posters on the walls with the faces ripped off. Those were the same as the one I'm staring at now.

Whoever was in that room hated Hiiragi. And, I shudder as the image of the chair and rope reappear in my mind, may have had other issues as well.

Wait… why am I letting this get to me? I'm never going back to that world, not after nearly getting trapped there. It was pure luck that the three of us ran into that bear. I don't want to test it again.

I'll go back to the Dojima residence, forget what happened, and sleep it off. There's no point dwelling on it anymore.

April 15, 2011

There's a heavy blanket of fog covering the road as I walk to school. It's not like the yellow fog from the world inside the TV, but it's an unwanted reminder of yesterday's events. Even after getting a good night's rest, the thought of what happened makes my head hurt.

A police siren makes me stop. What happened? A robbery? An accident?

A murder?

An image of someone hanging off an antenna flits into my mind and I shudder. Hopefully it isn't.

I approach the gates of Yasogami and find a small crowd gathering. In the middle are Amagi, Satonaka next to her, and a boy wearing an unfamiliar uniform.

"Another contender for the Amagi Challenge." One student nearby shakes his head. "That guy doesn't know what he's in for."

"I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out." Another student sniggered.

"No way! We both know how it's gonna end."

The boy looks over at the students gossiping about him and I freeze. His eyes are dark and empty. There's no shine to them; it's like they're absorbing light instead of reflecting it.

He turns back to Amagi and steps closer to her, wearing a smile that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. When Amagi leans away from him he doesn't seem to care. "So how 'bout it, Yuki? You coming or not?"

Amagi shakes her head. "I'm not going."

"Fine!" The boy runs away, pushing through the crowd and not caring when a first year almost falls over.

I go over to Amagi, who's watching her would-be suitor run away, both eyebrows raised. "What… What did he want from me?" She asks.

Satonaka stares at her with her jaw open before answering. "What did he want?" She repeats. "Obviously a date! But still, I don't blame you for turning him down. He was creepy, like the way he called you 'Yuki.' And those eyes…" Satonaka shudders and makes a face.

A bike creaks as it approaches us; Hanamura. "Another poor soul got crushed by Yukiko-san's rejection, huh?" He comments as he dismounts. "I still remember when you did that to me last year."

Amagi frowns. "I don't remember that."

"Oh? In that case, will you go out with me?"

"No."

Hanamura lets out a sigh. "That'll teach me for getting my hopes up." His face brightens. "Ah! I almost forgot! It's Friday!" He pulls the pair of movie tickets from his pocket. "Hope Saki-senpai is feeling better. Man, I'm glad she wasn't around when I asked Yukiko-san. I don't want her getting the wrong idea. Especially since I was with you three when I asked her."

"Speaking of feeling better…" I look at Hanamura and Satonaka's faces. They don't look unwell, but I still want to make sure. "Are you two feeling alright? You looked like you would fall over any minute the last time I saw you."

"Yup! I'm in tip-top shape!" Satonaka smiles and raises her fist in the air.

"I'm feeling fine, too. Why? You worried, Narukami?" Hanamura laughs.

My face flushes. "I'm just checking, that's all." I scowl at Hanamura. "Don't make such a big deal of it."

"Did something happen?" Amagi looks back and forth at the three of us. "Chie, did you get into trouble?"

Satonaka scratches the back of her head. "Well, it's a long story, and I'm sure you wouldn't believe me. We were…" The warning bell rings, cutting her off. "Oh, crap! We gotta hurry!"

The four of us run into the building to our class before Morooka can chew us out.

Once classes end, all students are called to an assembly held in Yasogami's auditorium. Everyone around me is chattering, wondering for what reason we've been called here.

Hanamura checks his phone, eyebrows knit together. "Weird. Saki-senpai hasn't sent me anything. She texts me whenever we're leaving school together." Craning his neck, he looks around the crowd of students. "I don't see her, either."

"Maybe she left school early, like Yukiko did." Satonaka, who's standing beside us, says. "Her family might've needed help at their store."

"But then why not let me know? If something like that happened, she would say something." Hanamura argues. "Besides, why would someone not say anything when they had plans with another person?"

"Maybe you got dumped?" I say to him.

"Is that the best idea you got?" Hanamura scowls at me. "That's not funny."

We stop when one of the teachers, the one with the Egyptian headdress whose name I still haven't remembered, calls for everyone's attention. Once everyone is silent, she steps away from the podium so the principal, an old man wearing traditional Japanese garb, can take her place.

The principal clears his throat. "I'm afraid I have bad news for all of you. One of our third year students, Saki Konishi, has passed away."

There's a strangled gasp at my side. Hanamura, the source of it, is pale and is staring at the principal with wide eyes.

"The police have informed me that Konishi-san was found in a similar matter as the other victim, Mayumi Yamano. I urge all of you to remain cautious until the culprit is found. And if anyone knows something that could help the investigation, go to the police…"

The rest of the principal's speech turns into background noise. My attention is on Hanamura, still staring ahead without looking, holding a phone that will never receive the message he's been waiting for.

==+O+==

I'm really sorry about the delay! Lots of other things have been happening on my end. I promise I'll work extra hard to get the next chapter out on time!

Next up: the second murder and the plot really steps up!