Warning: suggestive scene.

Disclaimer: P4 is owned by Atlus.

The storm outside showed no signs of subsiding. Souji was still wide awake, unable to fall asleep from the racket, though it wasn't as if he could sleep peacefully anyway. Like all ordinary people did, Souji feared the unknown. When he dreamt, he could see nothing but was still able to feel an eerie presence besides him, watching him. He wanted to believe it was a nightmare but it felt too real to be just a mere illusion.

An hour passed and still he could not find it in himself to close his eyes. He was dreadfully tired but refused to relive another nightmare. The boy focused on the monotonous sound of rain falling, counting the drops he could distinguish inside his head but it was like counting sheep, causing him to feel even more tired than awake. The clock ticked away as his eyelids slowly closed…

-Thud-

Souji's eyes snapped wide open. His heart pounded upon hearing an unfamiliar sound awakening in his room.

-Thud-

He pulled the sheets over his head and pretended to be oblivious to the foreign noises occurring at that moment, in his bedroom. He reassured himself that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. A little sleep would probably make everything better.

Souji turned to lie on his side and to face the wall. If there was something in his room, he didn't want to witness it. He was all alone and none of his friends were there to help him if he got himself into danger.
It wasn't long until the noises became louder. And closer. He thought the eerie presence couldn't make itself more obvious until it pushed over a stack of books. Or maybe it tripped over them. In any case, the presence was clearly making its existence known. It wasn't hiding anything from Souji anymore.

He heard light footsteps come closer towards his futon, its feet scraping his tatami mat. Its movements stopped momentarily and Souji thought his harasser finally disappeared, for the night at least.

And then he felt it. Something climbing onto the base of his futon. First he felt something weighing down on his legs, and then something began to inch its way towards his head.

Souji couldn't stay calm anymore. His instincts told him he had to leave the room. Now. But if only it were that simple.

As if the inhuman presence predicted his actions, it pinned him down onto the futon, preventing his escape. A shocked gasp escaped Souji as he struggled to free himself from the intruder's grasp. He wanted to stay under the blankets because it offered sanctuary, however the intruder had grabbed the head of his blanket and slowly pulled it off his face, exposing him to the darkness.

Souji mentally prepared himself for what was to come. Was he going to be killed? Was he going to be spirited away? He wanted to wake up from the nightmare – oh gods, he hoped it was a nightmare.

Souji's heart pounded against his chest when he felt a hand caress his cheek. A human hand? No…it was too cold to be a human's hand. There was a particular gentleness when Souji's 'night-visitor' touched him on the cheeks, almost as if it wanted to prove that it wasn't hostile. Wasn't it there to hurt him?

"Who's…there?" His voice trembled, but he tried not to sound scared lest his visitor would take advantage of his fear. He tilted his head so he could get a glimpse of who he was conversing with. Souji's eyes widened with shock when he saw them – those eerie golden eyes that glowed in the dark. Golden eyes that belonged to a Shadow.

"Sh-Shadow!" Souji scrambled up in panic. His mind was in disarray upon finding a Shadow in his very room. What was it doing here? How was it here? Whose Shadow was it?

"Shh…" The Shadow hushed him, its hand firmly on Souji's chest. It lowered its head closer towards the frightened teenager until their hairs touched. Its breath was soft and steady, and when it whispered into his ear its breath was like a midnight breeze against his skin. "I'm here…forever…in here…" the Shadow tapped with his index finger onto Souji's chest – the place where his heart was.

"Wh-who are you?" Souji's vision was somewhat hazy so he could not make out who the Shadow was. It was as if the Shadow was enveloped in a black mist darker than the darkness in his room, but the shape was unmistakably human.

"You know who I am." Its voice was distorted but something about it sounded familiar.

"I do? One of my friends?" Souji hoped this wasn't the case, and it was highly unlikely anyway. All of his friends have faced their inner demons…all except him.

No…it couldn't be.

"M-me?" Souji more or less choked on that one word. Unbelievable. It's not like I have something to hide. Do I? "You must be someone else's Shadow!"

"Why are you in denial?" Souji thought he saw the Shadow smile – His Shadow. "Don't worry. You'll accept me. I want you to accept me. You and I…we have to be together. We have to be one."

Is it just me or was there a double meaning in those words?

"N-no. You're a Shadow. You don't belong here. This is only a dream, a nightmare. You're not really here."

His Shadow hushed him again. "Aww, don't say that. I am real. And I'm here for you. I told you, we have to be together." Souji felt something cold slide up his back. "You don't need anyone but me. Especially not that 'Yosuke' fellow. He's useless."

Souji's eyes widened with surprise, and perhaps with anguish. It was unforgivable how the Shadow was speaking ill about Yosuke but it was probably because it knew about Souji's feelings towards him. It was using it against him, and it was working. The familiar sensation of longing pulled at his heart, causing him to panic even more.

"Don't talk about him like that! You don't know anything about him. He's not useless! He's -"

"Stop defending him. You know it's true. Heck, he even ran away from you when you needed him the most. He failed you and made you cry." The Shadow laid its head on Souji's chest. Its inhumanly cold hands were on his hips, and they were gently stroking the sides of his torso. Souji was about to question the Shadow's intentions for getting so incredibly intimate with him but he didn't get a chance to as the Shadow continued. "I've been watching you for a long time now. I know everything about you because we're one and the same. I know what you like and what you desire."

"No! You don't know anything about me. You're not me!"

Souji was half-expecting to see the Shadow transform into something ridiculously grotesque however it remained where it was, on top of him.

"Why are you saying such mean things? I am you, and I know what you want right now." The Shadow raised its head, hooking the hem of Souji's shirt with its fingers. When it started lifting the shirt off him, Souji squirmed away but the weight of the Shadow prevented him from moving at all.

"What do you think you're doing?" Souji winced when something cold rubbed against his nipple. The Shadow's fingers were like icicles so whenever they touched him, he would feel their searing coldness against the warmth of his skin. Despite feeling uncomfortable, he was somewhat aroused by it.

"You want this. You want someone to touch you, to hold you."

"No! I don't!"

"I know you want this."

"Stop putting words into my mouth!"

"I can put much more into your mouth." Souji gulped. He didn't like where this was going. He needed to escape from his Shadow, but it was far stronger than he was. Nobody was there to help him either. He was in this alone.

"Please don't do this to me. I don't want it." He hated how scared he sounded but he was in no condition to fight back. He believed his Shadow was at least a bit gullible so Souji tried to take advantage of it. "If you know everything about me, then you would know that I don't want this."

"No?" The Shadow's eyes glowed eerily. "That's weird. But I want this so that must mean you want this too."

What? What kind of bizarre logic is that? "I told you already! We are not connected in anyway whatsoever. Go back to your world!" Souji's voice was noticeably louder this time but he was wary of keeping his voice low as well so that he wouldn't wake Nanako or her father.

Instead of complying to Souji's demands however, the Shadow leaned forward and nipped the bottom of his lips. Oh god, now it's going to kiss me? Before it could do anything else, Souji shoved the figure away but when his hands connected with the Shadow, strings of dark smoke encircled him. He was startled, but was even more startled when the Shadow put its hand onto his forehead and pushed his hair back. Its hand then systematically trailed down to the nape of his neck and then onto his shoulders. The Shadow leaned over again and kissed him, its tongue sliding along his bottom lip. Its breath was cool, and so were its lips and tongue. Souji didn't want to admit it but it tasted wonderful. The feeling was equivalent to having your thirst quenched by cooled water.

When Souji's eyes instinctively closed, he knew he was succumbing to his desire. But how could he get away from it? Maybe he should just go along with it. It was a dream after all…right? He couldn't distinguish between what was real and what was an illusion anymore. Everything felt real; the Shadow's kiss, its tender caresses – everything – and especially the heat that was pooling between his legs.

The Shadow's hand slid down towards Souji's hips, and he responded by inadvertently swaying them towards the other.

Crap. What the hell am I doing? I'm not some horny teenager who wants to get it on! Well, not with a Shadow anyway!

"I told you, you want this. I can see it. I can feel it. I want this too so it's okay. The more we touch, the more we'll become 'one' with each other."

"Wh-what?" Fear took hold of his body. Everything his Shadow muttered was bizarre and nonsensical, and the more intimate its words became, the more Souji feared it would do something unspeakable to him. He didn't want to have anything to do with his Shadow. He knew from experience that the only way to make the Shadow disappear was to accept him. But hell, Souji wasn't about to do that! He didn't want to be violated by a monster that looked like him – at least he thought it looked like him – but he was desperate for escape.

He swallowed the anxiety, forcing it down his throat. His heart was thumping violently and he could hear his own breath becoming more ragged. The Shadow inched forward again and all Souji could think about was escape. He wished his friends were there. He wished they were a team again. He needed their power to vanquish the Shadow – the Shadow that belonged to him. Their support was invaluable to him but at that moment, when he needed it the most, they weren't around. Something deep inside his heart hoped that at least Yosuke would come for him.

Yosuke...

The Shadow stopped abruptly as if something hit its nerves. Its glowing eyes were wavering a bit and Souji thought he could see its eyebrows crossing.

"Why…why are you thinking about that guy? I'm the one here! I should be the only one in your mind!"

"H-huh?" Souji managed to utter, baffled by the Shadow's sudden change of mood. Why had its temper suddenly soured? Did it know that he was thinking about Yosuke just then?

"Stop thinking about that guy! He'll only hurt you!" Its voice lowered ominously. "Only I'm allowed to have you. We have to be together. Just you and I. We have to always have each other in our minds." The Shadow grabbed onto his shirt as if he was clinging onto dear life. "I don't want to be apart from you. We have to be together. We have to. We have to. I don't want to go back by myself. I don't want to be alone."

Souji was taken aback by the Shadow's sudden confession. He started wondering if Shadows even had a heart, let alone a soul to feel emotions. But apparently they did because Souji's Shadow was expressing its fear of loneliness. Its body was quavering like a frightened mouse, afraid to go back into the darkness.

Souji hesitated a little but mustered the courage to converse with his Shadow. "Why are you scared? Aren't you a Shadow? You can look after yourself on the other side."

"No. No, I don't want to be alone. You have to be with me. I can't exist without you."

His heart skipped a beat. The Shadow's words sounded as if it came from some corny soap opera. And they were directed at him! "What do you mean by that? Surely you just want to kill me and take over my identity."

"No! No, I told you…" The Shadow's hands clenched tighter. "I can't exist without you!"

Souji's lips almost twisted to a smirk. Why did the Shadow's words sound so ridiculous? He had never met another Shadow who spoke like this. It spoke as if Souji was his other half. Oh god, that sounds crazy. Yet at the same time, he could sympathize with its pain. The miserable feeling of loneliness and despair…perhaps its feelings were a reflection of his own? Souji regained his composure and the uncomfortable feeling of fear disappeared. He could only feel sorry for the pitiful monster that clung onto him like a child and its mother.

As if instincts compelled him to, he lifted an arm and laid it on the Shadow's back. He would've liked if the Shadow went back into the other world but he wasn't that cruel of a bastard to not feel sorry for the poor being. Even if it was his Shadow.

"Mm…" the figure stirred and its body rose. Golden eyes were directed upon Souji once again but this time they possessed a strange lustful look. "I want you. I've waited too long. I want to be with you forever and ever."

"We can't. It's not possible." Souji shook his head. He knew that all the Shadow wanted was to have someone besides him but that was nigh impossible. Shadows couldn't exist in the human world, and humans would die if they stayed in the other world.

Wait…what am I saying? Am I seriously considering to go with this monster?

Cold fingers began to trail down his stomach, lower than he expected them to go. The Shadow's eyes were drooped, and it stuck out its tongue to lick its own lips. "I'll make you forget about that guy. I'll make it so that only I'll be in your mind." But before it could make another move, sunlight broke through the curtains and when they struck the Shadow, it disappeared, leaving a trace of black smoke behind.

Souji's body felt significantly lighter as he sat up, still disoriented by the incredible encounter. He waved his hand in front of him until the smoke completely dissipated, leaving no evidence of a Shadow ever having visited him. He slumped back down onto the futon, his mind unable to comprehend what had just happened. Souji glanced once at the time before closing his eyes. He felt surprisingly at peace, as if he just faced himself; literally. It wasn't long until his mind drifted off into unconsciousness.

A/N: phew, finally got this chapter out of the way. Took me a while to write it cause i was struggling a lot. It was originally gonna be more, erm, intense but then I'd have to change the rating...and i can't be bothered.

but, gosh. Now i gotta write the TnC one. Oh mannn noo T_T