Disclaimer: Again, I don't own either Persona 4 or Infamous. They're own by Atlus and Sucker Punch respectfully.

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Chapter 6: Beginning

January 24th, 2012

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Two weeks of searching for Adachi and nearly half of Inaba was covered in their throughout exploration. Unfortunately, it yielded no results and while the team grew stronger, the Shadows gained strength as well. Strange Shadows had begun to emerge recently that weren't from the television world, giving an advantage to the enemy. Souji's eyes narrowed as he gazed into the hazy world of red and black beyond the hospital window, recalling the discussion.

"The collection of negative emotions has begun to grow. The fog must have engulfed Okina by now."

Eyes widened, but Naoto spoke calmly as usual. "It shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before the fog covers Japan entirely. Once that happens, it will most likely be impossible to stop the Shadows."

"What! But-"

"Senpai…" Naoto gazed coolly at Chie, the detective's lips in a thin line. "We're only eight Persona-Users, seven of which are capable of combat. Our mere presence is a threat to them and with their numbers increasing, they'll be able to overwhelm us soon enough. Their stronger forces have proved that already."

Chie bit her lip and placed a hand on her leg, which was still bound tightly in gauze. After the first encounter with the newest breed of Shadows and no powers left to heal, she had to receive regular medical treatment. Yosuke and Teddie were sporting their own bandages. Kanji looked irritable, his brows furrowed as he sat quietly.

"Shadows are born from negative emotions… Is it possible to make people hopeful?" Yukiko asked quietly.

"It cannot be false hope. We don't want anyone awakening a Shadow version of themselves right now for attempting to suppress anymore emotions," Naoto replied, shaking her head. Yukiko let her eyes fall to her hands trembling in her lap.

"… No."

Naoto blinked, raising a quizzical eyebrow in Souji's direction. Everyone's attention fell upon their leader as he shifted, bringing his elbows to rest on the small table's surface. "We're going to give Inaba hope, but we can only do that if we remain hopeful ourselves. We'll continue on. If they grow stronger, we'll become stronger in turn. We can't give up now."

"Ah, Souji-san…"

Souji blinked, raising his head as a door clicked. Naoki had just stepped out the on-call room, giving the silver-haired boy a faint smile. Instantly, it disappeared from his face when he noticed Souji's rather morose expression. "Bad news, I take it?"

The young leader didn't even need to say anything. He nodded without a sound, not even attempting to lie to Naoki. While his own facial features reflected anguish momentarily, Naoki became rather neutral and spoke with a level tone. "It's a war, isn't it? Humanity is fighting to survive and only eight soldiers are able to go on the battlefield. There's no way to win in a single month."

Naoki turned, staring down the hallway as he continued to speak. "Moral has fallen already among many of the survivors, but you're managing to keep some of it alive." He paused, turning his head in Souji's direction, but his eyes had fallen to the floor. "If… if there's anything I can do to help, let me know."

Souji didn't say anything immediately, but he felt the corners of his mouth upturn in a weak smile of his own. After being reminded of the fog and Shadows steadily consuming the world, the burden had begun to feel heavier. Hearing Naoki say he was willing to assist them helped eased the weight. Not all of it, but some was better than nothing. He opened his mouth, about to tell Naoki it was enough to hear that, but then, he paused. It was strange; now that Souji thought about it, he hadn't seen Naoki until today. Had the younger boy been in hiding?

"Naoki, what have you been doing since you arrived here?" Souji asked calmly. He watched as Naoki's eyebrow rose, confused, but then, he glanced back at the room.

"Yes, about that... Do you know if we have a veterinarian that will see to wild animals here?"

"Eh?"

"Last week, while you were out, Kanji brought in a fox. I think it was the one from the Tatsuhime Shrine; you know the one that wears the heart bib?" Souji's eyes widened, but Naoki just continued with his explanation. "I told him to bring it to this room and Kanji ran off to bring a vet back, but they were too hesitant to examine it. I've been trying, but I don't know if my treatment is correct."

"Is it okay?"

"Right now she is." Naoki was frowning again, "I've never put a paw in a cast though. Her kits are cute, but there's only so much you can take with four of them around."

"Ah… her?" Souji blinked. He didn't know the Fox had been female, let alone had kits. Maybe he should see them. He was about to speak when a new voice cut him off.

"Hey! Souji!"

Pounding footsteps echoed rapidly following Kou's yell interrupting their discussion. Both spun around at yell, watching as the basketball fanatic and his soccer friend dashed towards them. Both second years seemed panicked, out of breath in their rush to find them. Kou straightened himself, but his composure remained panicked as his arms waved in emphasis. "A fight broke out in the cafeteria! We don't know exactly what happened, but one of the guys grabbed a knife!"

Naoki's eyes widened while Souji's expression darkened. "Has anyone been hurt?"

"It's only been a few cuts so far, but the fight's getting worse," Daisuke explained, calmer than Kou, but the urgency was still evident. "We tried to break it up, but the people watching formed a circle. We can't get in and no one else is trying to do anything!"

Souji clicked his tongue and immediately took off down the hallway, aware of Daisuke, Kou, and Naoki following closely after him. He didn't mind if they followed, but he was concerned with what they might see as he shift through his personas. He was hoping it didn't become necessary, but dealing with a person wielding a knife was dangerous. Why weren't the police officers trying to stop this?

The double doors of the cafeteria were wide open, grunts being heard from the center of a human-made ring. There were shouts from every side and only a few people moved aside when the two combatants drew too close. Souji forced his way through, soon finding people willing to stand aside when they noticed who was trying to get pass. At the front, he felt his eyes widen at the full scene before him. Two men were locked in combat, one covered in bruises from multiple strikes while the other had several superficial cuts across his form, several of which were staining his clothes. Neither was aware of Souji's presence, continuing this skirmish as he attempted to find a point where he could interfere without too much harm.

His thoughts ceased momentarily when the already bleeding man groaned. The knife's blade had caught him point first beneath his ribcage. He took a knee, but the male wielding the knife had too much momentum to stop. Souji dashed and caught the knife hand by the wrist, squeezing tightly. Surprised, the man's eyes narrowed only to widen when he caught Souji's grey eyes glaring back. His fingers unraveled from the knife's grip and it soon clattered against the ground, "You're…!"

"Souji! Move!"

Both the young man and Souji turned, confusion apparent at Dojima's shout from outside the ring, fighting to make his way through. Screams erupted, accompanied by exclamations of 'No!'. Souji felt something brush against his back, glancing down. A jagged tear ran through his coat and button-up, revealing his skin. Shifting his eyes, he noticed that the second combatant had picked up the abandoned knife and was staring, horrified, at the tear in Souji's coat. Absolute silence had fallen over the gallery as Souji turned calmly to the second man. "If would please drop the knife, sir. I would like to speak with both of you."

The blood-stained blade quivered, no reply being uttered from the man. Souji raised a hand, but the assailant yelled, stumbling back, "D-Demon!"

"Wha-"

"G-Get away!"

The knife clattered as he scrambled back and shoved his way through the crowd of on-lookers, all of which briefly followed him in his retreat before facing Souji again. His hand was still outstretched in his assailant's direction. Frowning, the teen rose and turned to address the other man, "… Will you at least stay and answer a few questions? I'm not going to-"

"Stay back…!"

Souji's frown deepened. He knew that his abilities might startle a number of the survivors, but not like this. The crowd had even stepped away from him, watching him warily like they were expecting him to attack or perform some other bizarre feat without physically doing anything.

"Son, he just asked a simple question…" A cane clicked in the silence. Several people kindly parted in respects to the old woman making her way towards the young man. Hisano's eyes never left the male's as he watched, fretting.

"Mother…"

"Answer Souji-chan's question. He's a good boy who will listen to reason…" She faced Souji and gave him a smile. The crowd now began to disperse, but Dojima, Daisuke, Kou, and Naoki remained albeit for their own reasons. Hisano's son took a brief moment to see those who stayed before sighing softly.

"I was trying to get food for my mother. We had our rations served already, but she hasn't been feeling too well recently." He stopped speaking to briefly scratch the back of his head. "I… I was only grabbing an orange for her, but that man accused me of trying to steal more food. The crowd gathered before I could escape and he was charging towards me… I just panicked. I didn't mean to hurt him, but he wasn't relenting!"

Souji placed a hand on the older man's shoulder. He jumped, startled, looking back with a somewhat awed expression as Souji smiled faintly. "I understand. Your mother is very important and you're looking out for her health. Still, I wish you had spoken to one of us or a doctor. If your mom is ill, a doctor could examine her."

"Nonsense. It's a small cough," Hisano said, smiling, "Besides, there are plenty of people who need the doctors right now. I couldn't bother Souji-chan or his friends when they're doing their best to save everyone." She nodded her head slowly to the young leader. "Trust me. Now, go on, you must have important business to attend to today besides this small squabble."

The grey-haired youth didn't know what to think at Hisano's words, but she seemed her usual self. For now, he would give her the benefit of the doubt, but would speak to her son later about staying informed of her condition. For now, the concern of rations was brought to the fore-front of his mind. He couldn't believe he became negligent about that. Hospitals weren't equipped to store food, either.

"Souji-"

"Hm?"

He blinked, realizing that Dojima had approached. As haggard as he appeared, Souji's uncle appeared to be faring better than a number of people here. The world was spiraling out of control and his partner was the cause of all.

Dojima clenched his teeth slightly, his brows furrowed as his face darkened. "… Don't push your friends too hard. I've noticed; you've been returning with more injuries and our supplies are shrinking. If… anything happens, I'm sorry I… I didn't believe you sooner."

"Uncle…"

There was desperation faint in Dojima's voice. He wanted to help, but without a Persona, there was nothing more that could be done. Souji raised a hand and rested it on Dojima's shoulder. "We'll finish this soon. Maintain order here to the best of your abilities. I'll see about retrieving more supplies in the meantime."

It wasn't much, but it was all that could be given now. His Persona's protection no doubt contributed to the growing hysteria. Shaking his head, Souji quickly reached out to Rise.

"Rise, wake up Yosuke; I need to speak to him. Also, wake up Kanji and Naoto."

00000

The broken pane split beneath his foot with a sharp crack, his tie snapping in the fog-choked air as a light breeze flowed past. Yellow eyes glinted as he let out a frustrated growl. "I didn't expect those brats to try fighting for so long… Hehe, let's make this quick and painful so they remember just who they're contending with."

Behind him, two long-barrel revolvers were raised, magazines spinning momentarily as they were reloaded. Chains rattled with the motions and a single illuminated eye focused on Adachi as the man gave a wide grin, arms spread.

"Make sure they're abandoned in my world!"

His laughter echoed as the hiss in confirmation.

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Me: Sorry about the long delay there. College really bogged me down and then I had a nasty bout of Writer's Block. I wasn't sure how to actually make the civilians flip their shit since they're being saved (weird powers aside), but now I do so I'll try to have the next chapters soon!