Chapter 30 / Graduation

February 26th, 2012 / Evening
Ski Lodge

"So you guys don't have a band name yet?" Nanako asked after we had done a long round robin of introductions between the band and the Investigation Team. Well obviously they didn't introduce themselves as the Investigation Team. Now that I think about it, were we even that anymore? I mean the murder had been solved for a while now. I guess it didn't matter, but the introductions had been the usual fare.

"No not yet," I said as I tried to relax on the end of the couch. Rise was snuggled up against me, but ever since my Shadow had decided to pop up every now and again I had been a bit uncomfortable. I should tell her about it, and probably all of the Investigation Team, but there just never seemed a good time to do that. Plus Rise and I had been around people that we really shouldn't be telling anything related to Persona and Shadows, because we would just sound crazy to them.

"Kayane and I have written down a bunch but we weren't sure. None of them seemed to really stick," Rise added.

"Plus it will be a name that represents all of us in the band. It be better if we got an opinion from everyone instead of just Rise and I," I added additionally.

"Oh, man! Hook, line and sinker! Can you just look at these girls and see them eating it up? Especially Saya, she seems completely enamored by everything you say," My Shadow decided to show himself. But no one reacted to it. Was I the only one that could see him? "Don't think too much about it," My Shadow easily reading my thoughts, which I shouldn't be surprised about. "I'm you, right? So it makes sense that I'm always with you, and naturally they can't see me, because I'm actually inside you. Make sense?" He laughed and was taunting this fact by getting too close to Rise. I reflexively pulled her close to me in reaction to it.

"Kayane?" Rise asked somewhat concerned and probably confused about my sudden need to pull her closer. I looked at her for a moment and then realized my Shadow was gone just as fast as he had appeared. "You okay?"

I shook it off, "Yeah, its fine." I definitely wasn't okay but now was not the time to address the fact that my Shadow has been constantly hounding me for a while now. Showing up to cast doubt on my words and actions and then gone in an instant. But I still had my Persona so...what did it mean? Was there something I just didn't understand about how Persona and Shadows worked?

"Well you guys have been pretty busy, its probably just catching up to him," Yukiko smoothed it over.

"You're probably right. Maybe coming out here wasn't the best of ideas after we had such a busy day yesterday. All those auditions and everything else we had to deal with made it pretty late when we finally got back home," Rise was now moving on to full worry mode thanks to that line of thought.

"It's fine, honestly. Besides Graduation is coming up so I'll have time to rest up, unlike you," I commented with a sigh.

"He's right. Now that I think about it, all of us are graduating except for Kujikawa," Tsubasa pointed out.

"Yeah, but she's used to having a crazy schedule," Yu added.

"Considering the stupid number of appearances she made outside of her concerts, I can imagine she'll be fine," Tora shook his head like it wasn't a big deal to her, or that he thought that she was stupid for how often she was on other media. I had no frame of reference for it though as I never really paid attention to that aspect of her career.

"Speaking of, there is a possibility that we'll all be in some TV special coming up. My Mom mentioned it this morning. Said she'll have more details on it at our first practice next week," I mention as I tried to sit back and relax a bit. Rise got comfy next to me against my arm.

"So, Ikakure, what is some of the band names you were thinking of?" Reiko pushed the subject back.

"Yeah, that seems like something you guys should determine sooner than later," Yosuke added, although he probably just wanted to have an odd satisfaction of knowing the band name that Rise and I would be in before the rest of the world.

"I want to know too!" Nanako chimed in. Well, I somewhat expected her to want to know.

The problem was I wanted the band to have a name that was more than just a name. Something that had a deeper meaning, on some level. I pulled out a small notebook from my inner pocket and then opened it on the table. Reiko and Tsubasa were the ones that quickly scooped it up and started looking through it. "I don't feel like I have hit it quite yet." I commented. The notebook was kind of a mess as my thoughts were scrambled, and I tended to write my notes in a similar fashion.

"Whoa, Ikakure is quite the note taker," Reiko commented as she and Tsubasa were flipping through the pages. I could even see Saya, who was stuck between the two girls looking through it as they went through it. "Ooo, Blaze of Glory."

"Eh, I was just writing things down," I waved it off. "Besides I put a line through that one."

The girls continued to flip through it and commenting on the names or the notes I had written, which must have been fun for them but certainly wasn't for me. I stopped paying attention as the rest of them seemed to be enthralled with my book of rejected names. I half expected my Shadow to show up and start making comments about this but fortunately that wasn't the case.

"Wait, stop," Saya spoke up and took the notebook from the others. She flipped back a couple pages. "This one."

"Huh? Oh. That's not bad," Tsubasa was smiling.

"Oh, I like it! Toro, look! What do you think?" Reiko snatched up the book to let him look at it.

It looked like he would immediately reject it but then he stopped when he saw what she was showing. "That's pretty good, but Reiko-san, can you not use my first name so casually?"

She ignored him as she apparently often did and turned to Rise and I. "Alright, we've decided. Our band name will be..." she paused and looked to Tsubasa who grinned. And simultaneously the two spoke, "Synchronicity!"

It was one of the few ideas that seemed to make sense to me. Never mind how ironic it felt to use it, which is why I had rejected it to begin with. The word Synchronicity was a concept brought up by Carl Jung. Strangely enough the one who originally came up with the term of Persona in relation to psychology. The concept of Synchronicity had to do with 'meaningful coincidences'. Essentially it was a concept that he used to justify the existence of paranormal. So oddly it would be a concept that would accept that Persona and Shadows existed. And even the concept of Synchronicity fit well with the events that happened in relation to Persona. Maybe it would be a bit ironic that Rise and I would be the singers of a band with that name.

"It's perfect!" Rise grinned from next to me. "It definitely sounds like a group name."

I chuckled, that was just a coincidence. Oddly fitting, I suppose. "Alright I guess that's it then. Now we just have to practice until our debut. Among everything else we have to do."

"Synchonicity! I love it!" Nanako smiled big.

"Thanks, Nanako-chan! You want to be our first official fan?" Rise was reaching over me to Nanako.

"Mm hmm! I can't wait to see Rise-chan and Kay-chan on stage," Nanako happily exclaimed and then jumped over to hug me, and somehow tried to reach Rise to hug us both at the same time. Rise helped by leaning in closer to me and hugging both of us. I felt a bit sandwiched but I just chuckled.

"Ah, Nanako-chan, you're a fan of me too right?" Reiko pretended to be pouting but was not doing the best of jobs of hiding her smile.

"Uh huh! Reiko-chan, Tsubasa-chan, Saya-chan, and Taro-san," Nanako expertly recited their names. pretty impressive considering she had only just met them. "All the members of Sychronicity." It wasn't exactly the easiest word to say but Nanako didn't seem to have a problem. She was a pretty smart kid though.

"Ha, what a joke. Synchronicity, is just a ridiculous notion. Events that are connected by meaning, going so far as to believe that if they did connect by meaning then they didn't need to be explained in terms of causality. As you know...meaningful coincidence," My Shadow appeared on the far side of the room as the conversation happened all around me, and yet I heard my Shadow without problems. And once more, no one seemed to hear or notice his presence. It was incredibly unnerving to me. "Oh but how wrong he is. Right? The truth is, normal people just can't see the truth. They can't see through the fog to see the real source. Well I suppose he was half right, with only being able to see half of the picture. Synchronicity is fitting for your band. The only one that knows the real truth is Kujikawa Rise. And I wonder what will happen if you come into a situation with Shadows. Problems occur and you're there. A meaningful coincidence you think?" He laughed as he often did.

I suppose he was right, but I thought of the band name was fitting for another reason. Because Synchronicity meant to be be connected by meaning. It was often described by Jung himself as an acasual connecting principle, essentially meaning that things that related would tend to appear together. Although the principle of Synchronicity contradicted the axiom of causality which states that everything in universe has a cause and effect. More specifically everything exist as a direct result of something else, but the presence of Synchronicity meant that wasn't always the case. My Shadow was suggesting that Carl Jung had been both right and wrong. Everything still had a cause and effect, but the problem was, not everyone could see the cause. That meant there was a connected meaning between the two with no way to know that they were actually connected, for normal people. There would never be a way for the police to determine how someone could disappear and reappear on a antenna with no apparent cause of death for sure. And there was no way for them to know how or why they appeared where they did. Even we didn't know, and we had more answers than they ever could. Our band could be seen as a meaningful coincidence. How Rise and I truly connected would be a coincidence at best to the rest of the world. Under normal circumstances, we would have never interacted with each other.

"That's it. Now you are understanding the truth," my Shadow grinned, seemingly impressed with my thoughts in my head. "You owe this development because you both happened to get kidnapped. We accepted our other selves and gained the power of Persona. If it wasn't for all of that, you would still be strangers. You'd still be listening to her music, and blissfully unaware how close you were to her in this town. Yet you would have never noticed. I wonder if you would have ever changed. So really, all your happy little coincidences made this happen. How incredibly entertaining that your band would use a name like this." He laughed, but he was definitely right in this regard.

I got to my feet and moved over to the window that looked out into the night. My Shadow was still there, close by.

"I bet you can't wait to see how the next part goes right? You're first media appearance. Oh my, what will happen if we have an anxiety attack? What about our first concert, how big will it be? Will we be able to stand in front of the crowd and play a whole set of songs?" My Shadow taunted with his usual laugh. "Don't start shaking yet. We're only just getting started right?" My Shadow whispered close to my ear. I turned but he was gone. The others were still chatting, unaware of how uncomfortable I was and what was happening to me.

Now wasn't the time to tell them. And likely I just needed to be more confident and press forward. I was sure that was what I needed to do. My Shadow was showing because I was doubting myself. And I couldn't do that. Not now, not ever. I could do this. No, I would do this, for Rise.


March 6th, 2012 / Daytime
Yasogami's Gym

RISE'S POINT OF VIEW

Things had been so incredibly busy with the band and rehearsal that things were starting to feel like they had been for me when I was an Idol, but inevitably also felt incredibly different. The main reason was that instead of having someone telling me what to do, there was a decision process in place for the band instead. We discussed what we liked as a band and then decided, but we also had decided if there was ever a split in the group that Kayane would be the defacto decision maker. Mostly because he wrote the music so they felt he would have a better position to make a decision for the band, if the band as a whole was split on an issue. Our first real decision was on the band name, and Synchronicity had won without much contest, and it was something that Kayane apparently had initially thrown out.

Now today, was Graduation day for Kayane. It had been rather rough for him because of his kidnapping and his time in the hospital. He had to do a lot of makeup work and take additional tests. But he still finished near the top of his class. Which was where he usually sat in test scores with his class. The class speaker was actually someone familiar. Ichide Tsubasa. Apparently her and Saya sat on the top of that list, and while Saya always scored first, she wasn't comfortable with getting in front of people so Tsubasa had taken the responsibility. Obviously this was also a day where the rest of the school got to attend to send off their Senpai's to whatever awaits them next. So I was sitting with the rest of my class and waiting for the ceremony to start.

"Hello everyone!" Tsubasa was grinning as she took the podium for her speech. "Man, what a ride this year has been for all of us. But hey, who would want a forgettable last year in school, right?" Minor cheers and agreements came from the seniors which had me chuckling a little bit. "But there was a lot that happened this year in our beloved town of Inaba. A lot of them were not something we ever cared for. We had the whole nation looking at us because of those murder cases. We saw a lot of people coming through our town as a result. And for a lot of us, it felt a lot less safe than it did before. That danger even came to one of our own. That isn't something any of us could have predicted. I think all of you know who I'm referring to. Ikakure Kayane, my classmate, and friend. You'll have to excuse me because I'm going to tell all of you a bit more about our mysterious musician who seemingly was not on any of our radars."

I blinked finding myself a bit nervous. I'm sure Tsubasa would have asked Kayane about talking about him before hand, but why call him out?

"Many of you may not realize it, but he is often sitting at the top 5 of our class in test scores. Has near perfect attendance and always has the right answer when asked a question in class. Both myself and everyone in my class, who have been with him for so long, never really noticed him. He was there but never talked to anyone, but at the same time, we had never tried to talk to him. Then in October, he stopped showing up. It was only a few days but his disappearance from the classroom could be felt by all of us. We were glad when he came back, but none of us had the courage to approach him still. You all know what came after that right? You know, the culture festival." This got an immediate response with people cheering. "I know right? Who knew that our very own Ikakure Kayane, who had been with us for so long was secretly a piano playing and beautifully singing stud. I think he just about melted every girls heart out there. But you want to know who had been looking for him when he had stopped showing up? You know the girl, she was on stage with him after all. Risette, of course. I don't know how the two of them met, but I started to realize that maybe I had made a mistake. I had always just ignored Ikakure because of stupid rumors but it was clear they were wrong, and none of us had known what the real Ikakure Kayane was capable of. Now you are probably asking why I'm talking about my friend Ikakure. It's because I think we're all in that place now as we're leaving high school. Our future is just as unknown but we can't be afraid to step forward and get to know it. I feel like I wasted time here because I didn't get to know Ikakure in all the years we went to school together. But I know I can't sit here and just regret the past for things I haven't done. So I decided to change. I'm glad to say that now I am friends with Ikakure. And I hope to continue that friendship as we move forward. As we all move forward. Maybe this isn't crazy inspiring, but I believe we are at a point that we need to embrace everything in our lives and not let things pass us by. Take some risks, allow yourself to be vulnerable and you never know, you may find something important along the way. Don't let those opportunities or people just go by. I'm sure all of us will be happier and know that we did all that we can."

An applause erupted from the seniors as Tsubasa seemed to stop. I clapped as well. I think I understood why, because I think both Tsubasa and Saya deeply regretted not getting to know Kayane before. Though I'm not sure they would have had much success with him. Things quieted down but Tsubasa didn't look like she was done quite yet.

"There is a reason I brought up my friend Ikakure Kayane. Many of you heard of him because of the culture festival, and I'm sure many of you heard that not long after he was in the hospital. He was in a coma for a month. Mitsuragi and I visited him a few times because something in our class just didn't feel right when he wasn't there. And yes, you see him around now, but he actually died, for about ten minutes. He fought and came back to us. I wanted to call attention to him because not only did he recover, he caught up to everyone in the class and still finished the year in...go ahead, guess what place he got on our finals," Tsubasa smiled as the seniors were yelling out different guesses. "Oh, most of you know. That's right he finished third. It has been absolutely inspiring to be friends with him, even though it was definitely rough there for a while. I don't want to waste time like that ever again. When he was in the hospital I could only think about all the opportunities that I had allowed to go by without ever saying a word to him. And I don't want to have any regrets like that, ever again. So I hope you all understand when I say don't let yourself have a chance to regret anything. Be bold, and daring. And if you see someone on their own, talk to them. You never know just what kind of amazing person they could be if you don't. Now, lets get going! It's time to move forward. Let's celebrate the times we've had, and celebrate the possibilities of our futures. Either way, let's party!"

Once again the seniors cheered as Tsubasa raised her hands and ran off the stage towards her friends. Hugging Saya, and with the movement of the seniors, I could finally spot Kayane. He looked impassive to most of them, but he was smiling. He probably wasn't sure what to do about Tsubasa mentioning him so much. Speaking of which Tsubasa was now dragging him over to her and Saya. I was glad. Maybe it had taken way too long, no, it had definitely taken way too long. But Kayane had made friends with people in his class. And even if he didn't realize it, little by little he was getting used to people around him. I could see the hesitation as Tsubasa grabbed him, but his reaction was nothing like it had been months ago. Slowly, over time, I was positive he would get over everything.

I was so proud of him, and the progress he had made. Kayane was incredibly mature but at the same time he needed to know how to have fun. He was used to adults and placating them to go unnoticed. Yet, because of that, he wasn't afraid to act when he needed to. He didn't care much about what people thought about him, because he had spent most of his childhood with people analyzing him and telling them what they thought of him. Yet now, all of that was shifting, to a new Kayane. One that had friends, one that had passion and a goal for the future. A Kayane, who wanted to live and move past what once held him down. This was the man I loved.

The Graduation ceremony went on for a couple hours, with a couple teachers speaking after the diplomas were handed out. I screamed as loud as I could when Kayane got his, and definitely got some attention when I did so. I knew Nanase had been there too because she was cheering. Maybe it surprised Kayane just how many people in the crowd actually cheered for him. No doubt the rest of the Investigation Team had cheered for him, as well as a lot of the other seniors and Kayane's growing girl fan base at the school. A fan group that had emerged after the culture festival. And then shortly after the ceremony was completed, we were all dismissed. There were no classes for the rest of the day as the year 1 and 2 students were allowed to take their year books and spend time with the seniors. Naturally I had mine, but I think I could wait til later to get Kayane's signature on it. Still either way I headed to hunt down Nanase and Kayane. I went through the crowd, but I know Kayane would have left the crowd as soon as he was able, so I headed to the front of the school, and sure enough I found him with his Mom.

"Kayane!" I said as I rushed towards him and threw my arms around him, quickly kissing his cheek in the same motion. "Congratulations on graduating. I didn't know Ichide was going to be using you in her speech."

"Rise," He stopped as if he was going to say more but thought better of it and then he shrugged. "Yeah she asked and I didn't think anything of it at the time. But hearing her talk about me was kinda embarrassing. Still I suppose I would have been a popular topic towards the end of the year because of everything that happened. Still, its pretty minor considering we'll be all over the news in the not too distant future."

I smiled, I was glad he was finally getting to this point. This kind of thing was going to be pretty minor compared to that. Plus we were already scheduled to show up in a TV movie and we were actually going to be heading off to do that tomorrow. Our schedule was only going to get busier from this point on. Kayane no longer had to worry about school, but I did. Still it wasn't anything I hadn't managed before. Though I was a little worried about the fact that it would be a couple years that I would have to deal with being in High School and Kayane wasn't. Not to mention he would likely be vastly against anything physical until then. He already drove me nuts as it was. Not to mention the surprise I had when I woke up in his arms the morning after Valentines Day. I didn't realize I wasn't dreaming until I kissed him.

He had told me good morning like there was nothing different. And I was too surprised to be able to articulate my words correctly. Still I had used that time to stay close to him as long as I could. I still don't know why, but I felt there was something I didn't know. And so I was left in a weird place where I didn't know that he had done so because he just wanted to be close to me, or he was seeking comfort from something he didn't want to share. I knew it was hard for Kayane to share his problems. He was used to tackling everything himself while he was growing up. Mostly because he hadn't realized how many people cared for him. His Mother included.

"I'm so proud of you, Kay-chan. Even with everything you manage to graduate, and be towards the top of your class. Very impressive," his Mom pulled him into a hug, which he fully embraced her. She had to raise him, who was a broken individual. Kayane had lost his parents before he was old enough to remember, and there was no telling how long the beatings had occurred from his Uncle. His only friend and retreat had been Miyuki, the daughter to Tsukio Nanase. Miyuki had been a victim as well, she was the target of sexual abuse from her own Father. A secret shared between Kayane and Miyuki was that they both knew of what was happening to the other. Kayane was too young though, at the time he was too afraid, and unsure if anything could be done. Miyuki, however, was older and she sought to protect Kayane, by exposing her Father to her Mother. Her plan after that was to tell her Mother about Kayane. But things went wrong, and Miyuki died when her Father shoved her and her head met the edge of a table. Her death was instant. Her Mother had witnessed the whole event but there was nothing she could have done. The police showed and arrested her husband, and she was left alone for a time.

In that time she went to Miyuki's bedroom and cried, but she also found, Miyuki's diary. But what she found was an account not only of what her husband had done to her daughter, but that the neighbor boy, Ikakure Kayane was being abused by his Uncle. Laid out in the diary was how she had planned to tell Nanase about all of it. So she acted first. She called the lead investigator on the case against her husband. And revealed what he had found, they had no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the accusation and easily secured the permissions to pursue it. Nanase arrived at Kayane's school and took him to the hospital, along with the lead investigator. With the cooperation of one of the doctors they did a full examination of Kayane and it became obvious very quickly the truth of the abuse against him.

This lead to a couple of developments. Nanase quickly submitted to the courts paperwork to become his Foster Mother, and the Investigator learned that Kayane was a key witness to the things that had occurred to Miyuki. While the words of a young boy would normally not carry enough weight in the court, all the other facts that came out connected the case of Miyuki's death to the one about Kayane's abuse and his Uncle. Miyuki had died, but all she left behind written down had ultimately saved Kayane. She had protected him at cost to herself.

All of this was what I had learned through Kayane and his Mother Nanase. And from what his Mom had told me, there was more that had happened that Kayane likely doesn't remember. But just because your mind doesn't remember doesn't mean your body has forgotten. Still despite all of that, and everything we've done together, he seemed to finally be moving forward. He has friends, and he wants to help them. Kayane when I first met him, may not have done anything for anyone. At first I believe he only helped us out of some sense of responsibility and because he was going with the flow. But that changed as he spent more time with us. And I became inexplicably attracted to him the more I learned about him. Especially now, I feel like I'm falling in love with him more and more as I start to see more and more sides of him.

"Rise, why are you crying?" Kayane was wiping a tear from my eyes, and I hadn't realized he had moved back to me. "It isn't like I'm going anywhere you know ."

"Kayane, I'm so happy. I'm so lucky to have met you," I found myself saying as I looked up at him. And truly that was how I felt. It wasn't like it had all been easy and I knew that it was going to be hard moving forward. There was still so much I didn't know about Kayane, and I think there was a lot he was discovering about himself as we moved forward. But I wanted to support him, to be there for him. I wanted to see him grow first hand. And maybe it was a little selfish, but I would do all I could to support him along the way.

"You're silly," He chuckled and pulled me to him to hug me. "I'm the one that's lucky to have met you."

"How about we split it and say we're both lucky then?" I smiled and took his arm. Luck wasn't the right term for a few reasons, but it was hard to describe it with any other word. Maybe something like fortunate, or blessed. As much as I helped him, he also helped me re-affirm things in my life. It hadn't been that easy at the start. There was a lot I didn't know about him then, and I still learned more and more about him now. But I also discovered more about myself along the way. And I know I would only learn more as we continued together.

"Hey, Senpai!" Yosuke came up with Chie, Yu and Yukiko with him. "Congratulations. How's it feel to be free of school."

"I'm not," Kayane said blankly. "I'll be going to cram school before the college entry exams although I haven't decided if I want to attempt going to a bigger college or take it online. Either way, I don't plan to be free of school for a while."

"Sound's like you're considering a number of options for your future," Yu smiled.

"I haven't made a final decision if that is what you are implying," Kayane said this with a flat tone which made me giggle from his side. This was actually just the kind of humor that Kayane had, because he thought it was amusing. Yu must have realized it too because his smile remained the same. "Anyway, I hope you guys don't have any plans because Rise planned a party."

My jaw dropped, "Wha-what-what!? How do you know that!? Who told you?" I moved in front of him, and he was grinning. Oh no! My face turned red, "You jerk! You caught me off guard!" No one had told him, he just strongly suspected it. And now I had given it away. He is so going to get it later.

"You're bad, Senpai. It was supposed to be a surprise," Chie sighed. "Then again its hard to try and plan a surprise party at the place you live without being somewhat suspicious."

"Well he knows its a party, but that's about it," Yosuke crossed his arms. "It isn't like he knows anything beyond that."

Yu nodded, "It's true. The element of surprise is still on our side."

I looked back at Kayane somewhat dissatisfied but it would have to do. He didn't know the surprises I had waiting for him. Or the one I planned to show him later on. I looked into his eyes and I saw...I faltered. Something was off, Kayane was looking away from us but was definitely looking at something. I followed his gaze but there was nothing there. "Kayane, you okay?" I found myself asking. He glanced at me and then back to where he had been looking and after another moment he finally fully pulled his attention on me.

"Yeah, sorry. It just feels odd that I won't have to come here any more. Though I wouldn't mind showing up to walk you home from school," Kayane gave me a smile. As much as I loved the thought of that I also knew he was trying to pull my attention away from whatever had distracted him. I could let it go for now though. No point in pulling the others into it if it was just something bothering him. Plus he probably did feel odd not having to come to Yasogami anymore. I know when I graduated I would likely have a similar feeling.

"At least three times a week," I made my demand with a smile, to which he legitimately returned. This smile put me more at ease, it wasn't as forced as his last one.

"Well, I should head back to the house for now and make sure everything is in order. Why don't you walk around and take a last look, Kay-chan? You won't be able to do that freely after today," Nanase said and went over to Kayane and gave him a quick hug. "See you at home."

"Right," Kayane replied numbly and watched her walk off.

"Ikakure!" Tsubasa and Saya came bouncing up. Well Tsubasa was. Saya looked like she was enjoying herself at the very least.

"We were going to go walk through our classroom a final time. Want to come with us?" Saya asked Kayane. "Oh, um...everyone can come with us."

Kayane looked up towards the school, "Yeah sure. One last walk around the school could be nice."

He had a lot on his mind, that much was obvious. So much was changing, and maybe that was part of the problem. He needed time to think and adjust to everything. Graduating, the band and our first media appearance coming up. It was all a lot for him. I needed to be here for him, to support him. But part of that meant giving him space when he needed it. And that was something that he needed. Kayane was still used to being on his own, being surrounded by people was something he hadn't been accustomed to. But he had been handling it rather well. Or it appeared that way. I noticed that he's been zoning out often. Like he is deep in thought or constantly distracted. I let go of him and stepped away. "You go ahead, Kayane. How about you go spend time with all your classmates. I'll wait for you back at your place, okay?"

He looked at me and looked confused for a moment. "You sure?"

I nodded, "I can help with your party tonight in the meantime."

"Seems to be something we've done a lot lately," he muttered with a sigh. "Alright, I'll see you when I get home then." He looked at me a final time before walking off with Tsubasa and Saya.

"You okay, Rise-chan?" Yukiko asked me.

"Yeah, just something feels off. Kayane has been doing a lot lately, so it's probably just a lot of the unfamiliar catching up to him, but it still feels weird. I don't know why though," I turned to Yu and Yosuke for a moment. "No big deal, its been busy for the both of us, so I'm probably just exhausted myself. See you guys back at Kayane's place?"

Yu nodded, "We'll be there. Maybe you could rest a bit before everyone shows up."

"Yeah, I might do that," I turned towards the entrance. Maybe I just needed some time myself. I was nervous about going on a TV set again. Mostly because I wasn't sure how well Kayane was going to handle it. It was all new territory for me. Having a boyfriend was still new and I was terrified I would screw things up. I should talk to Kayane about all of this tomorrow. We'd have a bit of time before we have to go to the TV studio. I made my way towards the entrance, maybe if I hurry I could catch up to Nanase.

Kayane was now a graduate from high school and my boyfriend. Something about that thought excited me but we would be seeing each other every day because of the band anyway. Not that I wouldn't just go to his house everyday either way. I guess that was just the way moving into the future worked. You worked towards goals but you never know how its going to work out. Still, I would do everything I could to make our relationship last. And that would be hard with us also trying to maintain a somewhat neutral public appearance. I hope we weren't going in over our heads with this. Still, there was only one way to find out.


March 6th, 2012 / Evening
Kayane's House

Obviously it had stopped being a surprise party when I found out about it. Or rather had tricked Rise into admitting. She was pretty fun to play with that way. I didn't really realize I enjoyed doing so until I had. I suppose there was a lot I had never done because I never really had friends that I hung out with before. I guess it was bound to happen with someone like me. Like it hadn't been said so many times before this point, but all this was new to me. I guess I was pretty much going to continue like this for a while.

Naturally all of the Investigation Team was present at my house. I guess Rise wanted to invite the band too but since they had all graduated as well, most of them had previous plans. So it was just the Investigation Team for this party plus Marie.

"Congratulations Senpai!" The Investigation Team all said in unison.

"Yes, congrats on your graduation," Marie added simply.

"Thank you, everyone," It was kind of sad in a way. Yu would be leaving in only a couple weeks and so there wasn't much time for any would be gatherings to occur. Plus they still had school up to that point. Plus Rise and I would have less time as we became more involved with our careers. No doubt this was a fact that was weighing on most of their minds. My Mom was down at the end of the table, so I had to watch how I worded this. "It's been an interesting year, that is without a doubt. It's hard to imagine that its only been five months since I met all of you, and my life began changing. After all, you were the ones that found me."

"Yeah, everything happened really fast then," Yu said. "We learned a lot about you, much of it without your permission."

I was sure that was true for everyone here, "Everything you learned was all stuff that was out in the open anyway. My case was highly publicized as a kid. It isn't like there was many instances of two cases of abuse being connected. I think my attempted attack on my Uncle somehow made its way out to the media."

"Indeed, but most of us were too young. Though it was something I studied when I was learning skills to be a detective," Naoto spoke up. "It's like you said, not a normal case which is why when we learned your name I knew I had heard it before."

I sighed and despite the topic I smiled a bit, "It isn't like anyone who meets me won't learn about that part of my past eventually. The fact I was abused or about Miyuki's death. Everyone always treated me differently because of it and it wasn't like I had ever tried to change that fact either. So most of that is my fault to begin with. I lost myself for a long time, and it wasn't until you guys found me after I was taken that I started to realize how I had been living since then. I wasn't living, I was merely existing, and I had been okay with that for a long time. Even after that and I had decided that I really wanted to change, I didn't know what that meant. No, even now I'm not sure. But I have all of you as my friends. I have Rise as a girlfriend and I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. But I'm looking forward to it. Something I have never done in my entire life. And I have all of you to thank for it." I got out of my seat and bowed to all of them. "I can never express how much I appreciate all of you and the support you've given me as I've done my best to move forward. And I'll continue to need that support as I go into the future."

"Don't worry about it, Senpai," Yosuke spoke first.

"Yeah, you've also been there to support us," Chie added.

"It may only be five months, but we're been through a lot," Kanji said.

"Your insight and knowledge has been helpful to me and the rest of us. And you've cared for all of us and supported us when we needed it. You're irreplaceable," Naoto said as a matter of fact.

I stood back up and looked at my friends. My friends, I wonder when it was that I referred to them that way.

"Friends, huh? I wonder how long that will last," My Shadow appeared in one of the corners of the room. I half expected him to show up. "We know that life changes. You can't deny that you've thought about it. How this group will eventually drift apart as the every day life happens. You know better than most that life continues on even if you aren't apart of it. Classmates who might have been your friends gave up on you and you just faded into the background. Many never even noticed that we had been missing. Though I suppose if you are famous you'll make it pretty hard to be forgotten. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to forget them! Wouldn't that be quite the change?"

It wasn't like I could deny that possibility. What happens when Yu leaves Inaba? What happens as everyone starts to graduate High School? As Rise and I continue in the music industry, there was no telling what would happen.

"You look forward to the future? Please. You're terrified of it. If you could you would never leave this place in time. Good friends, a happy girlfriend, your Mother is smiling more than she ever has because she's happy. Let's not even star with all the pressure your feeling from the obvious expectations they all have for your debut into the music industry. I won't deny how good it feels for us at this moment. But don't think for a second that all of this could disappear before we know it. No matter how much you want to hold onto it." My Shadow was grinning at me. My vision blurred.

"Senpai?"

"Kay-chan!"

I lost my focus and my balance as I was caught and steadied by Kanji and Teddie. Rise was in front of me when I managed to refocus my vision.

"Kayane, are you okay?" Rise looked at me full of concern.

"I wonder if we've ever been okay," My Shadow taunted with a laugh. "Say, if we completely fail at our debut, do you think she'll dump us at the curb?"

My Shadow disappeared as I looked pass Rise for a moment. I looked to Rise, wanting to comfort her. Instead the darkness of unconsciousness claimed me.


March 6th, 2012 / Late Evening
Kayane's House

RISE'S POINT OF VIEW

It was all too much for him. Band practice, school, then graduation and maybe even me wanting his attention all the time. I was sitting in his room, next to his bed as he was now resting. Kanji and Teddie had thankfully had hold of him so he didn't get injured. Then after that Nanase called a doctor and as a favor he showed up to check on him. And like I thought, he had passed out due to exhaustion. The doctor said he was fine, but that he was likely taking on too much. He recommended he start working on his stamina and to make sure he had a higher protein diet.

"Is he doing okay?" Kayane's Mom, Nanase, asked as she quietly entered the room.

I nodded, "Yeah, he's a lot more comfortable now."

"That's good," Nanase moved next to the bed, closer to Kayane than me and ran her hand over Kayane's forehead. "Rise-chan, there is something you should know about Kayane."

Her words drew my attention to her, "Something I should know? What is it?"

"Kayane was too young to remember. You remember what he's told you about his trial, and how I picked him up from school. I took him to the hospital where he was examined. It became apparent very quickly that the damage he sustained was definitely due to abuse. However the damage we found was worse than we could have thought. Several of his ribs were broken, his arm was fractured and he had a serious head injury. That was the start of a lot of hospital visits in order to try and repair the damage that was done. Kayane only remembers parts of it, or at the very least he's never talked about it. I told you before, to be with Kayane means putting yourself in a position where you'll get hurt. The more you try to hold onto him, his thorns will dig deeper into you. It isn't something he is conscious of because he's not used to realizing how many people care about him. You have to be careful, because I'm sure he'll try and push you away," Nanase spoke softly as she drew away from Kayane. "I hope you realize the choice you've made. I like you Rise-chan. I hope you'll continue to care and look after him. But you will get hurt...and if you ever hurt him, I'll turn on you in a second."

I found myself smiling, "Yeah, I know. I have a feeling is holding something from me. Trying to protect me in the way he usually does. I know that its still hard for him. He spent so long telling people what he thought they wanted to hear, and so people didn't know how to help him. I'm still new, yet I feel so powerless sometimes and don't know what to do for him."

Nanase took my hand in hers, "Your young, Rise-chan. You and Kayane both will learn a lot along the way. I've warned you a couple times now what you are going to be getting yourself into by pursuing him. And its obvious that you are going to keep going after him. Don't give up on him. Don't stop believing in him because I'm sure he's going to hurt you, to protect himself. I'm sure you've realized by now what kind of woman you'll have to be if you love him."

Yeah, I knew. I think it was something I realized early on, but I haven't had the best track record for it so far. "I need to be strong and support him. I've known that, but there is still a lot I don't know. So a lot of times I don't know how best I can do that. I know there is a lot that Kayane isn't saying, and that I don't know nearly enough about him. I know I can be pushy but I feel I have to keep doing it to make sure he keeps moving forward. I know it is hard to believe when we haven't known each other that long, but I love Kayane. I want to see him happy. He deserves to smile and not be trapped in his past. But all I can do is be here with him until I can figure out how best I can do that."

"I can only hope you continue to feel that way as you go forward. It won't be long until the whole world will have its eyes on both of you. I'm worried about him and how he'll handle it. But if it truly is what he wants then I will do all I can for him. And you too, Rise-chan. You've been a light to him, you've pulled him from the darkness that I was sure he would be content to stay in if it hadn't been for you. You're important to him, that is why I continue to warn you. I want you to realize that you could easily become his crutch that he leans on when he doesn't know what to do. That makes it harder for both of you," Nanase must have felt like she had been constantly repeating herself to me. I didn't mind, it just meant how important it was for her to get me to understand what she meant.

I looked to Kayane, "Even if we do end up hurting each other. I won't give up on him. I won't let him push me away. I'm going to be there for him. No matter what."

Nanase let go of me and went to the door of Kayane's room and looked back for a moment, "I wish you both luck. I'll be here to support both of you." She left the room, leaving me alone with the sleeping Kayane.

I moved to his side and leaned down, kissing his forehead, "I don't care what I have to go through. Maybe by experiencing that I can better understand what you went through. You can fight me, hide things from me but I won't ever let you get away. I'll show them all. My Mother, your Mother and everyone else that doubts my feelings for you. I'll show them that I truly love you, that I can be here for you. I know I have to get stronger for you, and I will do everything I can."

The sight of him passing out had reminded me of him in the hospital, floating on the edge of death for so long, and how it claimed him. The pain I felt then was horrendous and I believed it would only get better. But I was starting to understand that we were only just beginning and that we had a lot of trials and problems ahead. Like Kayane had said just earlier tonight, we had no idea what was ahead, and despite whatever wrong could occur, I looked forward to that future. I know that past the pain and problems we face there will be an end where both of us could be happy. And I would do everything I could to make sure that future involved the two of us, together.


A/N:

I remember when I graduated from High School that I honestly didn't really care to do so. I know most of my class mates were excited, but I wasn't. I think it was because I wasn't excited for the fact that I'd have to start really working for the rest of my life. I think I lucked out with my job but still, it is a pretty crazy schedule, so I'm always busy. Not that it was always this way...life has been a series of ups and crazy downs. Not to mention a number of relationships that may or may not have left me jaded for the rest of my life. Most would probably lean that it definitely left me jaded. Anyway I won't bore you with my own experiences so let me refocus back to the fic.

As you can tell his Shadow isn't going to be leaving Kayane alone any time soon. And even though we are coming towards the final part in Persona 4 proper, many hints are already being dropped for the Arena, Ultimax and Dancing All Night story arcs. And that has a lot of ground to cover. Right now I'm kinda determining what I want to have happen in the Arena arc (not Ultimax that part is pretty much set in stone). However since there really isn't anything canon as to which route is the Canon route (the manga has Yosuke be the one make it to the end) I was hoping to get all of the readers input as to what you want to see for the Arena part. So by all means let me know what you think.

I don't have too much to talk about this time. But I am interested to hear what you guys are thinking of the recent events. Let me know. I'll see you all next week with the next chapter.