Chapter 44 / Urgency

May 5th, 2012 / Afternoon
Junes Food Court

YU'S POINT OF VIEW

It had been barely a day since the incident had occurred with Labrys and inside the TV. Now some of us were gathered at the Junes Food Court to take our usual spot, but in hindsight it is Golden Week and Junes was absolutely swamped. I should have thought more about this, but it was hard to change a year of habit of coming here when it was time to talk about the case. And while this one was different, it was still a case we needed to talk about.

"I had a hunch this was gonna happen," Yosuke commented from next to me.

"Well, your hunch isn't getting us anywhere," Chie nudged him. The two of them were dating but it seemed they were still trying to figure things out between the two of them. "What're we supposed to do? I don't see a single open seat."

"That's just how it goes at Junes during Golden Week. And on Children's Day, at that," Yosuke shrugged but still seemed to be looking for any open seats. "Then again if it wasn't this busy, we'd be out of business by now."

That sparked a thought in me, "Today's Children's Day...?" Golden Week isn't really that long to begin with, but it wasn't like I was in Inaba for that long. I feel like I was wasting time. "I should've brought Nanako."

"That's what you're worried about? Besides what we want to talk about isn't something Nanako should hear," Yosuke was quick to remind me.

"Yeah, you're right," I admitted. Although Nanako had looked depressed when I told her I was heading out so that might have been the reason why. Not that we control what was going on but it was still disappointing not being able to focus on spending time with friends. I guess I shouldn't complain too much. After all the real one burdened in all this was Kayane. Unfortunately I couldn't convince him to come out today. He was still adjusting to all the things he had learned about himself. I could hardly imagine what I would do if I were in his shoes.

"Yo, Senpai! I got us some seats," Kanji was yelling and waving at us.

"Ooh! God job, Kanji," Yosuke said as we all started heading towards him.

"That's pretty impressive, Kanji, especially for you," Teddie was fortunately not in his bear suit, which would have made it impossible to navigate this crowd.

"Dammit, Ted...Leave the 'especially for you' part out next time," Kanji looked like he was gonna say something more but Chie immediately stepped in.

"Alright, break it up. No fighting, guys," Chie pushed Teddie forward.

"Let's go, Yu," Yukiko said as she casually took my hand and pulled me through the crowd. We maneuvered finally to where Kanji was. Seemed he managed to get us a table for four but got a couple extra seats for the six of us.

Yosuke cleared his throat as he settled in next to Chie as we all sat around the table, "Uhh...So, its' a great day out, and..."

"Cut it out, Yosuke, lets just jump right into it," Chie looked over at him.

"How else am I supposed to start off? Look at the size of this crowd. I mean it isn't like anyone should really overhear us in this crowd," Yosuke scratched his head.

"I'd say I made the right call showing up like this," Teddie nodded. "If I came in my usual costume, the little kids would be swarming my adorable bod. I'd be mobbed." He wasn't wrong about that.

"Oh, yes, I've seen how the children tear off your fur from time to time," Yukiko must have been fascinated by seeing Teddie work with kids. Although...

"Wow. Are you being nice to me, Yuki-chan? Has our love finally blossomed?" Teddie had that innocent look on his face.

"Huh? Of course it hasn't," Yukiko said blankly.

"Shot down as always..." Teddie stated.

"Shouldn't you think about who you are taking a shot at, Teddie? Or has you mind been too scrambled to realize you are hitting on my girlfriend?" I said it with a even tone but glared at him.

"Do you ever learn anything, Ted?" Kanji shook his head.

"Can you all just drop it? Let's get down to business. We didn't really get to talk much yesterday, after all." Chie tried to rope everyone back to the main topic.

"Let's forget about the crowd for now. Let's start the Investigation Team meeting," I prompted them. I know as soon as we start that the crazy crowd won't really be a concern. After all, everything we are going to talk about would make no sense to anyone that tried to listen in.

"Yeah. Though we are missing three people," Yosuke commented.

"It's just not the same without our full roster of pretty girls," Teddie let out a sigh. "Not only Rise-chan, but Nao-chan couldn't be here either..."

"I'm more concerned about Kayane-senpai than the girls," I said giving a disapproving glance to Teddie. "Out of all the things that happened, the one most affected is him. And he hasn't wanted to talk about it since then."

"Naoto-chan is really busy with work, so at lease we got to talk to her yesterday," Yukiko commented. "Though she knew things about what happened from the start, and she knew about Mitsuru-san and her friends from the start."

"Yeah, and thanks to her we got some good information," I nodded. Although Naoto was taken by surprised along with the rest of us when we learned about Kayane-senpai's connection to Labrys, or the real fate of his parents.

"Well then, let's get everyone up to speed on what has happened," Yosuke prompted for us to start the meeting in earnest.

"What was it that started it all? The Midnight Channel again, I guess?" Kanji asked. "I thought I was dreaming for a good chunk of it, so it's not really hitting me."

"No, it was just a tool used in this case. It started when Labrys was taken from the Kirijo Group and brought to Inaba, to specifically throw her into the TV. That has implications in itself," I shook my head.

"So we need to figure out who exactly was it that put Labrys inside the TV and why," Chie folded her arms in her chair as she thought of a possible answer.

"At first, I thought the culprit was jealous of my popularity and tried to break us friends up," Teddie said, which was more egotistical than I was expecting.

"Their goal was to disrupt our hearts by making us fight each other, and then steal our Personas after they returned to being Shadows," Yukiko stated, ignoring Teddie completely.

"Naoto said as much, too," I confirmed.

"Hey, hey hey, don't ignore me," Teddie chimed in.

"I dunno, turning them back to Shadows and stealing them? That doesn't sound like something just anyone could pull off," Kanji brought up a good point.

"Maybe not. But we know for certain that the culprit was using that method to try and gather powerful Shadows," I added. However from Kayane's story nothing had ever made that attempt on him. As a matter of fact, the words said at the end there when Labrys was taken over kept coming back to me. Indicating that they would be back...and it was aimed at Kayane, not anyone else. We really shouldn't leave him alone right now.

"Gathering Shadows, huh. That's definitely not something any normal person would do," Yosuke muttered.

"That reminds me. How are things inside the TV, Teddie?" I briefly switched the conversation why I was still gathering my thoughts on the main subject.

"It's still the same. I think it will go back to normal eventually, but the P-1 Grand Prix had such an effect that it's still noisy there," Teddie scratched his head. "Oh, but...hmm."

"Huh? But what? Quit mumbling and just spit it out," Kanji gave Teddie a half annoyed glare.

"It's hard to say for sure, but I sense these weird presences. They feel kinda like Shadows, but not really...its hard to describe," Teddie definitely looked like he wasn't sure how to describe it, but this was somewhat worrying.

"Weird presences? You mean...there's something strange in there?" Yosuke pressed.

"Umm...I don't really know," Teddie didn't look happy with that thought either.

"What could it be? The culprit, maybe?" Chie suggested.

Teddie gave a slight shrug, "Maybe, but maybe not?"

"Huh? How would that make sense? The culprit wasn't a Persona-user, right?" Yosuke asked.

"Mmhmm, he did say that he used Labrys because he couldn't enter the TV world himself," Yukiko confirmed. Sure someone needed to have a Persona to enter the TV world, but it didn't start that way, right? I didn't awaken to my own powers until I entered the TV. But I don't know if I had the power before then or not. And Namatame definitely didn't have a Persona...no but he had been gifted the ability to enter the TV from a different source. Izanami. But if there was another power at play...someone that had aligned themselves with the culprit perhaps? It was best to keep things based on what we know before speculating.

"So wouldn't that mean this 'weird' thing Ted's talking about can't be our bad guy?" Kanji started. "Or maybe the culprit can shove people into a TV even though he's not a Persona-user?" Well I guess somebody needed to say it.

Still we shouldn't linger on any one thing for long, "There's another thing that bothers me." Well, there was a lot of things that bothered me about this whole situation.

"What is it?" Yukiko prompted me.

"It's something Naoto said. You all heard about that hijacking of the airplane that happened? Turns out that it was Mitsuru-san's plane. But all of that was just a simple diversion while Labrys was stolen. But the strange thing about it, is after they apprehended the hijackers, not one of them had memory of their actions. It seems like they were brainwashed or somehow coaxed into doing those things, but yet don't remember actually doing it," I gave a brief explanation.

"That just leaves us with a lot of questions," Yosuke said shaking his head. "I mean we know they would have had to know a lot of not only the Kirijo Group but the workings of the TV world and us. I mean, is there anyone that could fit that?"

"There's so much we don't know," Kanji muttered

"Plus there is also Kayane-senpai's connection in all of this. His Father was actually the one who created Labrys. And we can't disregard what the culprit said at the end when they hacked Labrys," I was most worried about that fact. That the culprit specifically told Kayane that they would be back.

"Yeah, so its possible that Senpai could be targeted. I wish he would have shown up today," Yukiko was definitely worried.

"Even still, we just need to be ready to fight. Regardless of who is being targeted, this is our town. But going after Kayane-senpai...after all that he went through..." Chie's momentum stopped and all of them were silent.

It was the truth. Kayane was nothing like we could have expected when we first learned about him. He was initially a Senpai that we saw on a stupid troubled teens news special. They were using him as a cliché teen that is obviously bad because of how he dressed. The truth was something else. While Senpai enjoyed wearing black and heavy goth style, even going as far to paint his fingernails black or black eyeliner among other things, it was because of a more simple fact. People didn't bother him when he dressed that way. It was a form of separation from his peers. Intentionally making himself different so that he wouldn't fit in. After all Senpai never wanted to talk about his past, and I couldn't blame him for not wanting to.

After rescuing him from the TV I wasn't sure what to think of him, but still I wanted to know. So I invited him over and he ended up staying for dinner. I learned that he was a very considerate guy and also him and Nanako were quick to be friends. I noticed that when he let his guard down that there was an amazing person hiding under the surface. He was just afraid of coming out. When I learned about his interest in music and that he could actually play an instrument, I thought that him and Rise would compliment each other. Especially when I realized how similar the tow of them had been in a strange way.

Rise had been afraid of not being seen. She was the one who was in the center of the room asking for attention, but even though people paid attention to her she never felt like they really saw her. On the other hand Kayane had been the one seeking solitude, to not be noticed. He wanted to silently go through the motions and not be a bother...not realizing his true feelings were that he wanted someone to see him for more than just his past. As Risette she stood in center but felt more like a pretty doll on display on a window...whereas Kayane stood with scars on him that no one could ever look past.

Their performance at the Culture Festival was one that I could never forget. Kayane had to be terrified, as his anxiety got the best of him. But as soon as he started playing the piano, it was like he had transformed into a different person altogether. He had silenced the crowd, many of his own classmates were stupefied by his performance. It was elegant and beautiful as he expertly played the piano. When he sang, the crowd had held its breath. As if it all wasn't enough, Rise coming out and joining her own voice with his with a Gothic dress set to match with Kayane. And even as the song winded down no one said anything as all eyes were on them on that stage. And then went absolutely nuts when it ended. Rise and Kayane gave a bow and then Rise very quickly pulled him back stage. I would learn later that Kayane had a particularly bad anxiety attack.

"I had been with Labby-chan for most of the time, but she was in full belief that she was the Student Council President. But what was weird was she kept talking about Kay-chan. Even though we didn't run into him until he showed up at the end," Teddie said after a moment.

"So what do we really know about that? I mean Kayane-senpai's Dad was the one who created her right?" Kanji's question made me think about that.

"His Father seemed to believe that it was a key part of her development. Spending time with his family. I mean it makes sense if you didn't see them as a weapon, right?" Chie said.

"What better way to develop a Persona but give them something to protect?" I shook my head for a moment. "But that didn't go well with what the ones in charge wanted."

"They just wanted a machine that they could control," Kanji stated it simply enough. And it was a hard truth about it.

"In the end they took the research and simply sealed away the unit they couldn't control," I couldn't even fathom how someone could do that. "Labrys didn't want to leave Kayane-senpai last night either. Even if she knows things have changed for the Kirijo Group she wanted to stay with him. And she wants to look for his sister."

"Well, Senpai's going to look for her at some point I imagine," Yosuke shrugged. "It's all a mess but even knowing all of that it isn't like we can just do anything about that until he makes a decision. And I don't think he knows what to think about it right now."

"Yeah, you make a good point. We'll have to wait to see what he wants to do," I didn't know what Kayane would do though. Up to this point it seemed to be his Uncle was his only remaining family. And now that had changed. Now he knew he had an older sister...and a cousin. I knew he didn't handle stress well. We all did. Wait, was anybody even with him right now? His Mom was out of town for a business meeting for Kayane and Rise's band...and if Rise went to their practice then that meant he was at home, alone and thinking about everything. No that wasn't something I was really comfortable with. "Maybe we should go see how he's doing."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I'm worried about him," Yukiko got to her feet.

"Let's all get going then," Yosuke agreed as they all got to their feet and made their way through the crowds.

I took Yukiko's hand as we quickly navigated through and out of the food court and made our way out of Junes. Yukiko stumbled a bit as we were free of the crowds and I pulled her into my arms and swiftly lifted her up to avoid someone rushing by us. "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, thanks." She then took the moment to kiss me quickly and give me a smile.

I sighed heavily as we started walking away from Junes with the others following us. "I wish we had more time together this holiday. But it seems like everything has gotten in the way."

She shook her head, "Nothing we can do about it. Besides I know we'll have more time together in the future. And it isn't like we aren't going to act when we can."

The others finally caught up to us. Yukiko was right. Sure it wasn't going exactly how we had hoped to be this holiday but that was hardly what was important. Right now they would do what they could for their friends. And Kayane needed their support.

"You know what really bothers me about that whole thing yesterday? Those stupid titles they gave all of us," Kanji said.

"Ugh, me too. Thinking about that makes me so mad. What was that 'Carnivore Who's Discarded Womanhood' stuff all about? I could swear people cross the street now when they see me," Chie groaned. "Why are people still looking for the damn midnight channel anyway?"

"Really? I was actually pretty impressed," I said before I could stop myself.

"Huh? Is that how you think of me, Yu-kun?" Chie eyed me.

I shook my head, "No, that's not what I meant."

"That reminds me, you seemed to like that 'Sister-Complex Kingpin of Steel' nickname," Yosuke gave me a look...maybe a warning to watch what I say to his girlfriend. Yet I wanted to chuckle as a result. To think those two would go from jumping down each others throats to actually dating. Well, I always knew the chemistry between them was there but it was like a stand off where both were waiting for the other to make a move. In the end it might have been what Kayane had said to all the girls after the Culture Festival when they had all stayed at the Amagi Inn. It had been a shift of thinking for the girls as Kayane had made a point that was hard to ignore.

I only knew about it because Yukiko had talked about with me after. Kayane had pointed out to the girls how rare it was to have someone that knew your darkest secret and then remains at your side. Well I don't know exactly how he had put it but it was similar to that.

"Did he?" Yukiko raised an eye brow.

"Sensei, have you awakened to a new name? Should I call you Kingpin from now on?" Teddie asked.

"No, no. Never mind about the names," I shake my head. Honestly I was more impressed at how the names seemed to hit our hang-ups we have so precisely. Nanako was definitely a major concern to me. I presume the Kingpin was a reference to me being a wild card and my social links. The Steel part was likely just an indicator of my usual demeanor most likely. Either way there was one of them that bothered me. Kayane's epithet had been the Cold Thorned Composer of Desolation. Why? Because of the word Desolation. It had two distinct meanings...something that was in complete destruction...or the epitome of loneliness and sorrow. After everything that had happened over the year, and all that Kayane had fought for seemed to still be carried with him. Even with Rise supporting him it was obvious that things had hardly been resolved for him. No for Kayane, it was a fight that was constantly ongoing.

It would take us a while to get to Kayane's house since it was past where my Uncle's was.

"So where has Marie-san been?" Yosuke asked.

"She's elusive as always. I saw her buying something at Souzai Daigaku the other day though," Yukiko chimed in. Yeah I had hoped to see her too but she seemed like she was still busy.

"Whaaat? Did nobody tell Emmy-chan that Sensei was visiting?" Teddie seemed like it would be odd if that didn't happen, but she had been somewhat scarce after we rescued her either way.

"Well it is Marie-chan we are talking about. I'm sure she's noticed that Yu-kun's back," Chie commented.

"You would think she'd be the first one to show up then. Well besides Yukiko-san," Kanji added.

I noticed that the amount of cloud cover had been slowly increasing as we were walking. And was quickly getting darker. That's weird...I thought it was only supposed to be lightly cloudy but it was definitely looking like it would be raining. Then a flash of light went across the sky.

"Wh-what the...Where'd that lightning come from all of a sudden?" Chie was now holding onto Yosuke's arm.

"Oh geesh, those are some dark clouds coming in. Looks like it might start pouring soon," Yosuke commented after a moment.

"Sheesh, the weather report has been way off the mark lately," Chie added.

Yukiko's phone started ringing, she quickly pulled her phone out and answered, "That's mine. Hello? Ah, Kasai-san?"

"Hey, if Labrys was a robot would she rust if she got caught out in the rain?" Kanji pulled the conversation as Yukiko took a moment to separate from me and get space so she could talk as we end up passing my place and almost at Kayane's place.

"Nah, I doubt it. The Kirijo Group developed her, after all, and they wouldn't be that cheap," Yosuke dismissed it.

"Mitchan's Group sure is amazing. Her stuff is way better than Junes-brand electronics," Teddie seemed impressed. Wait, when had Teddie start calling Mitsuru-san Mitchan? Well he might have run into her in the TV world during the whole incident.

"So Kayane-senpai convinced Labrys to go with Mitsuru-san and her friends, right? She was pretty reluctant so I wonder how she's doing," Chie commented.

"Well, Kayane-senpai was right, she had been damaged and it isn't like we had the capacity to fix her. And Mitsuru-san seemed like she was okay with them taking care of her upkeep and allowing her to return here afterwards," I also couldn't help but believe because she ultimately feels responsible for what happened to Labrys and it would be her way of trying to make up for it in some small way. Even if that meant not getting Labrys' to ever trust them. Still I could hardly blame anyone involved for being mistrusting. Labrys had her creator killed, and ripped away from her family, then sealed away. After all Labrys had a black box in her that made her very unique, and something that Kirijo Group scientists couldn't figure out, so destroying her had never been a option for them. "She'll be back sooner than later."

For the sake of Kayane, mostly. I imagine that Labrys was going to push Kayane to meeting his sister. Though I couldn't imagine what would be the outcome of that. After a moment Yukiko slipped back next to me and took my hand. "That was the Inn. It seems a group of our guests is still out. We didn't have any umbrellas ready for them, so I think a lot of them will come back drenched. I want to check on Kayane-senpai but they want me to head back. So I'll come with you and say hello and then duck out."

I gave her a small nod, "Yeah, I'm sure he'll appreciate seeing you though." I know that Yukiko actually looked up to Kayane for a number of reasons. Part of it being his intellect. He was smart but he rarely ever showed it. And most of it might have more to do with the way he approaches things than anything else. He had also been very supportive to her and myself when it had come to telling the others about our relationship. I greatly respected Kayane-senpai. He was a great friend, even if he continued to have a poor outlook for himself.

We quickly approached Kayane's house and rung the doorbell. After a moment the door slid open and we all stood there as we all were greeted by Kayane. He frowned a bit. "My, what a merry bunch of individuals to show up at my door, unannounced and not even giving me the decency of a text message."

I chuckled and moved forward, "Sorry Senpai. It was kind of a last minute decision to come here. Junes was swarmed and we wanted to see how you are doing."

He sighed heavily and opened the door, "Come on in."

Everyone said hello as they stepped in with Yukkiko and I letting everyone pass and then stepping in ourselves. The others took a few steps in when Yukiko moved over to Kayane and surprised everyone when she gave him a hug. Even Kayane was surprised. "Don't hole yourself up, Senpai. We're here for you," Yukiko gave Kayane a hard squeeze before stepping back. "I wish I could stay and talk but they need me back at the Inn. I just don't want you to push us out of this, okay? You learned a lot about your parents, and family. If you want, you can call me later tonight, okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, okay. Thanks, Yukiko-san."

"Have a good evening you guys," Yukiko took a small bow and then kissed me on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later tonight."

I kissed her quickly on her cheek before she left out the door and closed it behind her.

"You're girlfriend is really pushy," Kayane commented as he motioned for everyone to come into the living room.

"She is no more pushy than yours is," I chuckled.

"You are certainly right about that," Kayane said as he sat down and everyone joining him. "I was just watching a movie. But are you sure you guys want to be here? It looks like it could start raining any moment and I only got a couple umbrella's. And I was planning to head down to the station as soon as I hear from Rise when she is going to be back at the train station."

"Oh yeah, she went to band practice today," Yosuke was sitting close to Chie. "How are you holding up?"

"I dunno," Kayane shrugged. "I was just told that I have a robot who acts like my sister...and then telling me I have a older sister...and then Hamuko-san tops it off by telling me she is my cousin. Oh plus her twin brother, who is also my cousin, died a couple years ago to save the world. That doesn't even go into the fact that my Father was a lead scientist that created Labrys and that the Kirijo Group arranged an accident to have him killed. I mean, it sounds utterly insane."

However, no one said anything. What could you say to that? Even after the explanation it was still hard to process. I finally broke the silence though. "Then we tackle one problem at a time, right? You have an older sister, she is what three years older than you?"

He looked at me for a moment and then nodded, "Kasamatsu Setsuko, she lives in Kyoto and is 21 years old. Well she is technically 3 and a half years older than me as her birthday is in July. Apparently she's still living at home and engaged to be married. Although apparently there is no set date for the wedding. I could also tell you more about her family and whatnot."

"Whoa, that is super cool, how did you know all that, Kay-chan?" Teddie asked.

"I didn't. Labrys told me all of that before she left. She wants to go with me and meet her. I'm not opposed to it but it is pretty nerve racking," Kayane turned back to the TV. "I mean how do you start that conversation? Hello, I'm your younger brother. Sure it sounds easy but in execution its a bit different. Plus Labrys being who she is...that means explaining to Setsuko-san about her and our parents and the mess that comes with that."

"Yeah, more answers you give her would just lead to more questions," Kanji shook his head. "That's rough man. But you know, we could all go with you or something. I'm sure it be a lot easier if we were all there to help."

"Kanji's right," Yosuke jumped in. "I mean it isn't like you need to be able to answer everything at once either."

"Still it would be a lot to take in, but I'm sure she'd want to listen," Chie weighed in support as well.

"More than likely her foster parents would be able to confirm it as well," I added.

"I know all that but she was only a few months away from turning 7 when the accident happened that killed our parents. As a result, it seems Setsuko-san has been in therapy ever since then. From what Labrys says, she likely doesn't remember anything from it, and the event was traumatic enough that she doesn't want to. That means by meeting her I would be taking that choice away from her," Kayane sighed a bit and then got to his feet.

"Senpai, even if its hard I think you have to try," I got to my feet as well. "She might be stuck just like you were. Never moving forward, only staying static. Until she faces and knows the truth, she may go to therapy for the rest of her life. And I honestly don't believe that the two of you reuniting would only be good for you and her."

Kayane walked to the entrance to the living room and then back at us, "Yeah I know. But I want to get a better grasp of the facts before I do anything. Either way you guys should head home. It isn't going to help you at all if you get trapped at my place because of the rain. As much as I don't mind that, some of you have plenty to do already."

The rest of them got up as I crossed over to Kayane and offered my hand to him. He shook my hand without hesitation, "I'm glad to hear that, Senpai. If you need anything at all, please let me know."

He nodded, "Don't worry, Yu. My head is just a mess right now, so I'm just going to play some music and try and clear my head." He turned back to the others, "Thanks everyone for your concern, but get out of here before that rain starts coming down."

"Alright, later Senpai," Kanji came by as I separated from Kayane. The two bumped fist before Kanji opened the front door and stepped out.

"Good night to you, Kay-chan," Teddie quickly glomped Kayane before rushing out after Kanji.

Chie came forward next and she hugged Kayane. She was blushing a bit as she pulled back, "I just want to say I feel happy for you, for learning you have a sister and family out there. And I want to support you in reuniting with them."

"Thanks, Chie-san," Kayane smiled as Chie stepped back from him.

Yosuke shook his hand, "Don't hesitate to get a hold of Yu or I. And don't worry, I don't think Yu will be hurt if you call me first."

Kayane laughed, "Alright, alright you've made your point, now get out of here. I don't want any of you getting a cold because you decided to visit me."

We all stepped out of his house that we visited only briefly and waved a last goodbye as Kayane closed his door behind us. Then we were once again walking off again. The group all stopped as we were outside of my Uncle's place. "Alright, so I guess we'll just meet up tomorrow as we planned. See if maybe we can come up with anything else. We should probably check out the TV world as well, just in case," I said after a moment.

"A good idea. I'll give Naoto-kun a call tonight. Although I'm not sure if she'll be able to make it, I can at least get her caught up with everything that happened," Chie said.

"Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow," I gave a few last goodbyes before going into the house.

I settled in with Nanako after saying hello to her and briefly telling her about my own day. We watched some TV as the time went by. I was definitely glad to be able to spend some time with her after having so much of it being dedicated to the incident from the other day. Things had been kinda crazy so being able to slow down and just enjoy some time with Nanako was great. The night continued on. And a new discussion erupted after Dojima came home and settled in with us.

"And then, Dad came on Parent Visiting Day, so I made sure to raise my hand to answer all the teacher's questions," Nanko cheerfully told. I remember it was a bit thing to get her to have him sign the paper for him to go to Parent Visiting Day last year. So this was definitely something she seemed proud of.

"Nanako, you told that story three times already," Dojima lightly chuckled.

"No I didn't!" Nanako was quick to refute. Well dinner had certainly been lively with Nanako talking nonstop. Though she had definitely told the story a few times but that was fine. Nanako was simply looking for something to keep us talking. "Oh, and guess what. I saw a really long car yesterday."

So she had seen the black limousine that the Shadow Operatives had been in. I suppose it would be really hard to notice considering how rare a sight it was for it to be in town.

"Oh, you mean the limo that was driving around town? Yeah, I heard about that," Dojima nodded. "A big stretch limo in a sleepy little town like ours. I'll tell you one thing, they won't be from around here." Dojima looks at me for a moment and he must realize something is up. That was my Uncle, always the Detective. Still, I wonder if I couldn't say something about it...surely Nanako would be excited for Kayane learning about his family.

"About that," I started which caught the attention of both of them. It looked like Dojima was going to question me for answers anyway so it was best I cut him off at the pass. "They came into town to see, Kayane-senpai."

"Kay-chan? Why did they want to see Kay-chan?" Nanako was now very curious.

"Well he is about to break into the music industry with Kujikawa. That actually makes sense," Dojima nodded.

"Actually it wasn't related to that. Apparently the head of the Kirijo Group found out something recently about Kayane-senpai's parents, and decided to tell him in person. Apparently his Father was a key researcher as part of the group. And although his parents died in a accident, he also found out that he has an older sister," I was vague for the most part but it was all details my Uncle would be able to find if he did the digging. Well partially.

"Huh? Kay-chan has a sister?" Nanako's eyes lit up. "Did he get to meet her?"

I shook my head, "No, not yet, but he's planning to."

"Well thats great news. It's gotta be a surprise though. It isn't every day you learn that you have a sibling out of no where," Dojima gave a chuckle.

"Yeah I went by his house today to check on him. He's still sorting through how he feels about it and how he wants to contact her," I smiled slightly.

"I was going to ask you about a few coincidences that have happened since you came back. Since out of no where the day you show up I get a call from a Detective at the Metropolitan Police Department asking about the details of that case. Not to mention Shirogane has been at the station a few times in the past couple days," He sighs for a moment and looks at me. "Look. I trust you, but this is different. If there is something going on and you don't want to tell me, thats fine. Just don't stick your head into the lion's den. You do understand that I'm a detective, and pretty much your guardian while you're here, right?"

"Of course," I nod but it isn't like I can admit to him that there is definitely still something dangerous going on that hasn't been resolved.

"So long as you understand that. Then do whatever you want," Dojima shrugs a bit with a sigh.

I can't help but smile. He knows me too well and likely wants to ask a million more questions but he's letting it go. I know because he trusts me. And there is also the fact that Dojima knows there was more to it than anything that could be explained in how we chased and caught Adachi. There was hardly anything he could do at the time due to his injury.

"Hey! You're picking on Big Bro again, Dad," Nanako quickly jumped in to my defense.

He chuckled, "No, no, not at all. We were just talking."

"Really, Big Bro?" She looked to me as if to make sure her Dad was telling the truth.

"Yeah, there's nothing to worry about," I smiled at her.

"Um...I'll always be on your side, okay?" Nanako was smiling at me. What was I supposed to say about that? Taking my side over her Fathers? Still I couldn't help but laugh as I notice Dojima's expression.

It was like I had never left in a lot of ways. It felt more like home here than it did in Tokyo. Well it was nice to have Mom and Dad back in town but still, Inaba was special to me. Considering all that happened here, it would be weird if it wasn't.

After some time I head up to my room. As I close my door I can hear the faint rumble of thunder in the distance. The rain that had pouring down has seemingly stopped, but could start up again at any moment. Still if it doesn't rain then the Midnight Channel should stay quiet. Unless for some reason the pattern changes. That would be the worst thing to happen. I check my phone and see a message from Yukiko.

Still doing some late night stuff. I should be done soon. Call you soon. Yukiko's message was short but it seemed like they had really kept her busy after all.

Even with all of this I'm supposed to head home tomorrow. But with everything happening like this it would be hard to go. Well, as long as I make the last train it should be okay. Or even the first train the next day. Tokyo was only a few hours by train. Well, I could think about those details later. It was just a few moments until midnight. I looked to the TV in my room that was switched off...and then it switched on.

An image of a ring, like a professional wrestling ring appears on the screen. And a announcer begins to speak, "The strong win while the weak disappear! Tonight, we will witness the hottest battles in all history! The goddess of victory is waiting to descend upon the ring! P-1 fans, are you ready? ARE YOU READY!?" The announcer raises his voice to rouse the crowd. What is worse is that as this continues it begins to show the contestants. With two individuals standing at the top of the ramp. General Teddie and Fake Rise.

"Time to let loose an all-out war!" General Teddie exclaims and uses the cane and lifts into the air getting a roar from the crowd as a response. Then the video shifted, showing all of us once more.

"The contestants of the previous P-1 Grand Prix have returned for another tournament, right on the heels of the last one! These warriors will create another legend, here at the world-shattering P-1 ring! These are battles of honor! Battles of will! Sparks will fly! Some fight for pride, some fight for glory! Will this be decided by pure muscle, or will a battle of wits determine the outcome? Things are heating up! Tonight, who will win the title of champion!? Who will be crowned with the winner's wreath!? Whose tale of glory will resound for generations!? All that remains are the dreams of the warriors As the Grand Prix plunges into its final chapter,the P-1 Climax is..."

"...bearly getting started!" General Teddie cut in. The TV cut to static but not completely. My phone rang.

"Yu! I'm down by the flood plain. Something is happening and..." it was Kayane but before he could finish my phone cuts out. So does the lights in my room and everything else electrical.

"What the? Kayane? Senpai!" I curse as I put my phone down. As if things couldn't get worse the TV comes to life once more.

General Teddie is staring at me, "Yoo-hoo! All you P-1 crazies out there, sorry about the long wait!" The background is that of the Announcement Room from the school created by Labrys mind inside the TV during the P-1 Grand Prix. How could this be happening? He is laughing, "The P-1 Climax! It's the end of the world, one-on-one death match that's worthy of the name 'climax'. And best of all! If you don't win the one-on-one tournament to the finish within the hour, the world will end! No punches pulled this time! I'll make myself clear so that no one misunderstands. This will not be taking place within the TV world. It will, in fact, take place in the reality which you occupy. Enjoy it while you can. Alllllll righty then! Time to show off how that special stage is going!" The view distorted to show a new image.

A new location, someplace I couldn't tell. Large structures shaped like a T were many and not only that, there were people on them. Kirijo Mitsuru, Aigis, Sanada Akihiko, Yamagishi Fuuka...all tied to them as if they were crosses with them seemingly crucified. Each one looked unconscious. What had happened? Why were they there? How could they have been taken?

The TV crackled again as General Teddie appeared back, "Hyaaaahahaha! What will be the fate of our captured queen and her loyal minions? Oh I also should forget that we have another honored guest that will be joining them very soon. I'm sure you all know who that will be. Then again, if we don't have a champion, everyone's a goner anyway. So she'll be in good company! Best of luck to all of you!"

Then the display cuts off on the TV. I finally notice a strange, red light is filling the once dark room. I turn and rush over to the window. The town looks like it is covered completely in a eerie red fog. Just what is all of this? And what did he mean by honored guest? If last time was any indication...then it was probably Kayane. No, first I need to check inside the house. I rush down the stairs, "Nanako! Dojima-san!" I call out but they don't reply. I quickly look in both of their rooms, but they are no where to be found. Where could they have gone? But if this wasn't the TV world then what happened to them? Why weren't they here? Dojima-san leaving in the middle of the night wouldn't be cause for concern, but Nanako not being here doesn't.

There is only one thing I can do. I have to somehow make sense of this situation. No in this situation there is only one place to go. The Junes food court. I'm sure that it will be the first place that the others will head to. First I head back upstairs and change into my Yasogami High uniform and grab my weapon. If I was going to fight, there isn't anything else I would want to fight in. I head downstairs and get to the door. I step outside. If Kayane was a target then I could only hope he would head to the Junes Food Court. But first priority was meeting with the others.

Regardless of what was in store I put my katana at my side as I started jogging down the street. To think there would be so little time before the culprit acted. And to threaten to end the world? Either way...I would do all I can. "Please be safe everyone..."


May 5th, 2012 / Afternoon
Outside of Hokkaido

HAMUKO'S POINT OF VIEW

The other night had not exactly been the most ideal of situations. And not exactly the way I had envisioned telling Kayane that I was his cousin. Then again was there ever a good way to just dump a large amount of information on someone? I couldn't just show up and tell him, "Hey I'm your cousin." Something like that comes with questions. Sure it was easy enough to understand the facts. My Mother was his Father's Sister. So yes, of course we're cousins. But then you ask how you learned that information. Then again it wasn't like I had known that my own name was not the one I should have had. My name should have been Arisato Minako and not Takehashi Hamuko.

I probably should have went back with Mitsuru and the others but I didn't. I wasn't sure how to take Kayane's response to learning of our relationship. Though I think he was far more occupied with the thought of having a sister. I certainly couldn't blame him for that. When I learned about Minato I had only thought about him, wanted to learn everything about him. Except my twin brother had already been dead. Only because of the events that pulled me into the world of Shadows and Persona did I get to know him, and in some odd twist of fate, met him.

I didn't come here to think about all of that though. I came to meet up with Yukari and give Kokoro some time with her Mother. I held the young toddler against me, who was fast asleep. Honestly, I think the girl slept more than any human in existence. Yukari likes to tell me that Minato was the same. Yukari was out filming for the moment and I was sitting in her make-shift dressing room tent they had set up for her. I was looking to surprise her. I could hear them call for a break, which hopefully meant that Yukari would be coming back.

I poke Kokoro's cheek, "Hey there sweetheart, you want to wake up a bit so you can say hello to your Mom?" She barely stirred against me as I sat in the chair that was next to Yukari's stuff. After a few moments the entrance to the tent opened and Yukari came in. Dressed in her outfit from the filming...as Featherman Pink. A kids TV show where she played the leader of a group that destroyed monsters out to destroy the world. Funny considering Yukari probably related more to her character than the other actors and actresses could ever hope to compare to.

"Huh? Hamuko-chan? And you brought Koko-chan?" Yukari came over.

"Surprise," I smiled as I handed her Kokoro. Yukari took her and handled her like an expert. Perhaps maybe something only a Mother could do. "How's work?"

"I'm tired but I finished all my filming for today," Yukari said as it seemed Kokoro was stirring in her arms.

"You're on a roll, Feather Pink," another voice came from the entrance.

"Do you think so?" Yukari turned to the entrance.

"Oh sorry I didn't realize you had company," Yukari's manager bowed to me. "I'm Akimoto Jitsuko, Takeba-san's agent. I mean technically it is Arisato-san now."

I got to my feet, "Takehashi Hamuko. I'm her sister-in-law now I guess." It hadn't been that long since Yukari changed her name...only just before she left to do this job actually.

"A pleasure to meet you. Oh and is this your lovely daughter, Arisato-san?" Jitsuko transitioned back to Yukari who looked like Kokoro was up and moving and now eagerly hugging her Mother.

"It is, this is Kokoro," Yukari smiled. "Is there something you needed?"

"Oh right. The director's had nothing but good things to say. Looks like this'll have a positive effect on your main job. Oh right we also have your next shoot lined up as well. It'll be in about a week with Takura Productions. They want to use you for a concept cover for an album of a band that will be debuting later this summer," her agent then starting throwing dates around and Yukari looked like she was only halfway paying attention.

"Can you send me the details later? I kind of just want to spend time with my daughter and sister-in-law if you don't mind," Yukari said with a smile and the manager nodded.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll forward to you a full itinerary as soon as I buff out a last couple details. I'll talk to you later, Arisato-san," Jitsuko gave me a nod before she disappeared out of the tent.

Yukari let out a big sigh before turning her attention back to Kokoro in her arms. "I'm so happy to see you, Koko-chan."

"What's up? Out of energy?" I said as I moved next to her.

"I'm glad I am officially married to Minato now. But I guess it sounds weird still having people refer to me that way. They don't mostly because I'm still using Takeba as my stage name. So I'll be accredited under that instead of Arisato. My career as a model has given me a good flow of work and a name change could cause problems somewhere. So I thought it was probably better this way. Still all of that doesn't matter considering what happened yesterday," Yukari looked over at the desk where her phone sat. "You showed up at the tail end of it, right?"

"Yeah, I had Mitsuru's maid Kaede take care of Kokoro while I went to support Fuuka-san," I paused for a moment. "So did Mitsuru give you summary of what happened?"

"Sorta, though I she was rather vague. She gets like that about work against Shadows though. She only covers the basics of what you need. Other than telling me there being an incident in Inaba I don't know much else. Well that and there being a bunch of high school kids that could use Persona's," Yukari sat down in the chair I had gotten up from and pulled Kokoro against her so she could free her other hand and check her phone. She put it down afterwards. "I was hoping to get some of her time. She's probably been running non-stop since the creation of the Shadow Operatives. It's only been a couple weeks."

"Yeah, she's still scrambling to get things in order. And being a unknown branch in the police force hasn't made us any friends in Public Safety since the incident at the airport when Labrys was stolen," I answered candidly. "I told you before about Ikakure Kayane right? That he is mine and Onii-chan's cousin."

"Yeah," Yukari's eyes widened a bit. "Don't tell me..."

"Yeah, he's a Persona user too. Him, his girlfriend and their friends were responsible for quelling the Shadow activity that was happening in Inaba over the course of the last year," I knew that was vague in itself but we could talk about it more in depth when we had the time to. "Also Labrys confirmed that Kayane-san has a sister and that his parents were arranged to have an accident by Ikutsuki Shuji."

"What?" Yukari was clearly angry. "It seems like that man was responsible for a great deal more than we knew about."

"Considering most of the different Kirijo Group facilities worked in a closed system, we're still finding out more and more about what has been done by the Kirijo Group of old. I guess that is why Mitsuru has been so busy." I shook my head. "Kayane-san is having a hard time digesting everything that got dumped on him...so I thought I'd go get Kokoro and come visit you. And catch you up on everything that was going on. But Feather Pink huh? And you're supposed to be the leader?"

"Yeah don't ask me how it happened, but I guess they heard about my archery from when I was in High School," Yukari smiled a bit and looked at Kokoro. "You know, Koko-chan. Daddy wanted me to keep doing my archery even after I was done. Who would of thought it would have kept going in the form of preforming on a kids show though. I think Minato would have loved this too much if he saw me. I can just imagine him poking fun at me. Then again I did see him watching Featherman from time to time in the dorm."

The bustling noise from around the tent suddenly became a lot louder. "A helicopter? Here cover up, Kokoro's ears." I quickly grabbed a blanket from the bag I had with me and then moved to Yukari to protect Kokoro's ears.

"I know they aren't using a helicopter for the shoot but..."

"Yukari-sama?" A voice quickly entered. It was Kaede, one of Mitsuru's maids. "Oh, Hamuko-sama you are here as well? There has been an emergency, I need you both to get on the helicopter, quickly."

"The helicopter? Look us in one thing but Kokoro is..." I started but Kaede came forward and swiftly took Kokoro from Yukari's arms.

Yukari protested, "What's going on?"

"This morning Mitsuru-sama, Sanada-san, Yamagishi-san and Aigis went missing when they detected a spike of Shadow activity in the Inaba region. We haven't been able to contact them ever since they got close to the city," Kaede gave a quick explanation. "I can take care of Kokoro-san. Kikuno-san is flying the helicopter to head to the Inaba region after you get Labrys."

"Mitsuru is missing?" Yukari asked and Kaede nodded to confirm. "Please take care of Kokoro." She moved up to Kaede to look at Kokoro and give her daughter a kiss on her forehead. "Mommy will be back, Kokoro."

I moved forward and did the same, "Thanks for this Kaede-san."

"It will be my pleasure to watch Kokoro-san. I will meet up with you and Yukari-sama as soon as it safe to and bring Kokoro-san to you," Kaede reassured me. After spending the last few days with Kokoro it was odd to be rushing off like this, but duty calls.

I rush out of the tent behind Yukari and headed out to the helicopter. She was hovering and a ladder was extended down. Yukari grabbed it and immediately started climbing it. I followed after she reached the top and before long we were in the air and sitting on either side of the open doors.

"Yukari-san and Hamuko-san, its good to see you," it was Amada Ken. And a bark from next to him indicated Koromaru next to him.

"Ken-kun? You and Koromaru?" Yukari was surprised.

"I think she means she's happy to see you too," I called out. I sat down and strapped in next to Yukari and we slipped on the headset that allowed us all to talk as the helicopter was headed to our next destination.

Ken slipped back into his seat as well and did the same. "Sounds like they went missing in transit to Inaba. When they didn't get into contact with Kikuno-san she started gathering the rest of us. We're going to swing back to the facility to pick up Labrys."

"Wait what about Kana?" I asked. Then the thought dawned on me. "Nevermind, she was probably already heading into Inaba before they even got the readings."

"Yes according to the exit logs of the facility she left early this morning," Kikuno's voice came over the intercom system, although she was piloting the helicopter.

What was wrong with me lately? I had been so occupied thinking about Kayane and actually finding a cousin that I hadn't really been paying attention to Kana at all. I mean instead of talking to her about everything that happened I left to meet up with Yukari. I mean, that in itself wasn't bad but...I should have taken Kana with me or taken time to talk to her. Please be okay, Kana.

It was going to take us time to get there. I just had to hope nothing happened in the meantime.


May 5th, 2012 / Late Afternoon
Temporary Rehearsal Studio in Okina City

RISE'S POINT OF VIEW

I stop and try and catch my breath as the music comes to a stop. Despite everything weighing on my mind I was able to put in a decent rehearsal. Even if Kayane had opted out for today. Well I couldn't blame him after everything he had learned. Kayane's Father had been responsible for the creation of Labrys, a machine capable of summoning a Persona. That made her more than just a simple machine, it made her no different than the rest of us. And I was left unknowing if I should give Kayane space to think or to stay at his side. I shook those thoughts aside as I sat down on the front of the stage. Then the others from the band were sitting on the side of the stage.

"Not bad considering our drill sergeant is missing," Taro commented dryly as he sat on my left.

"Oh come on, Taro-kun. He isn't that bad, and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have been able to be as prepared as we are," Reiko sat on the other side of Taro. "Nice job today, Saya-chan."

"No kidding, those solo piano pieces are no joke. Makes you appreciate how nuts Ikakure is with his song writing," Taro chuckled a bit.

"Th-thank you," Saya said as she sat on my other side. "Um, how is he doing?"

"Yeah, I think we deserve a little bit of an explanation when our perfectionist leader actually misses a practice," Tsubasa said as she plopped down on the other side of Saya. I smiled inwardly at the obvious concern on the faces of our band mates.

I should have made him come to practice anyway. But maybe he was afraid of having another breakdown like last night if he started playing the piano. Either way I should tell them something. "It isn't simple but Kayane found out he has family. He met his cousin last night and he learned he has a sister. It was a lot for him to take in. So he wanted some time to think about it. He's frustrated because he never really thought to look into his parents or his own past before he was taken in by his Uncle. If he had it would have been easy to find his sister. Then again its the same with his sister."

"So what did happen to his parents?" Taro asked.

"They died in a car accident. Both Setsuko, his sister and Kayane survived. Kayane was only three years old at the time. But his sister was six," I wasn't going to tell them much more than that, but I felt they should know how difficult this was for Kayane. Even if you didn't include the other details, suddenly learning you have family would not be the easiest thing for people to accept.

"That's horrible," Saya spoke softly. "Even after everything Ikakure-san went through after with his Uncle, his sister never got in touch with him?"

That was a good point. Something that had reached the national news level would be hard to ignore. But there was always a reason for why people make decisions like that. And Setsuko might have had her reasons for not getting in touch with her brother.

"Still if that's true, I'm surprised you didn't just cancel practice today. It isn't like one missed practice is going to hurt us. We still got a couple months to go. Shouldn't you be with him?" Tsubasa looked over at the clock. "Actually you should get going or you'll miss the last train heading back to Inaba."

I looked over and saw it was nearly two, "Oh crap! I didn't take my bike today either. I wonder if I can make it in time." I jumped up to my feet. "Right I'll see you all later! I'll text you with an update later. Oh wait, Tsubasa-chan and Saya-chan, aren't you coming back?"

Saya shook her head, "Tsubasa and I are staying with her Grandparents for the weekend."

"Alright then I'll see you guys later," I said as I was quickly gathering up my things. While I exchanged a few more goodbyes on my way out I rushed to the Okina Station to barely get onto the train on time.

With it being Golden Week there wasn't many people on the train, lucky for me I guess. I sighed heavily and slumped into the seat on the empty train car. Kayane could have used some support today. Maybe I should have canceled practice to stay with Kayane. No taking that back now. There was a lot to think about with all we learned last night from the Shadow Operatives. Still what worried me was after all of it had happened. When everyone had finally left and it was time to go to bed. I had sat in Kayane's room. After he came in he sat down wordlessly on my bed and then pulled me into his arms.

I turned towards him and did the only thing that made sense to me at that moment. I kissed him. I could feel the uncertainty of his lips, the fear in his eyes. Kayane was lost again, adrift in a wealth of information he didn't ask for but had no choice but to deal with in one way or another. And what was I doing? How was I helping him? I couldn't. I couldn't protect him the way I needed to. I had been the helpless one. Kidnapped, unable to do anything to prevent it. I was completely and utterly powerless to help him when he needed me, when he needed anyone else to stand up by his side. I can't be that. So that kiss turned into tears for me and Kayane. We both cried in each other's arms last night and fell to sleep next to each other. Just how pathetic was I?

Kayane needed someone stronger than that. He needed someone that could take the lead when he couldn't. To stand by his side when he was confident, and to catch him when he falls when he is in pain. That was what he needed. Could I do that? Could I give that to him?

I rested my head and then, I felt myself slip. I fell and landed on...grass? I sat up, I was in a field. The sky was night and the cool air reinforced this fact. Stars and a half moon shone down onto me in a field of wild flowers of different colors. Then I noticed a playground and a solemn tree. It looked familiar to me.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young lady," An older gentlemen with a long crooked nose was sitting at a bench with a makeshift table close to the playground. "Now this is truly a unique guest. Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Igor and I believe you know my assistant."

Of course I did. The brown haired girl that came forward could only be one individual. Fujikara Miyuki. "It's good to see you again, Kujikawa-san." Miyuki bowed to me.

"I'm Kujikawa Rise," I said politely back to Igor. "I don't get it, why am I here in the Velvet Room?"

"We approach a critical juncture in your destiny. While you have been through a measure of difficulty in the past, it will not be the same after you reach this point," Igor further explained.

"Those brought to the Velvet Room are bound by a contract. However, this one will be one of your own making. You are coming to a crossroads. What you decide from there will forever define your path. And my Master and I will be here to provide you help," Miyuki said simply. This was vague. But from all I heard from Yu-senpai this was just how it typically went. Even Kayane's experience when he was in the coma seemed to collaborate with that idea.

"The next time we meet, I will explain what role we will play in helping you on the contract you will forget yourself. Until then, farewell," Igor lifted his hand and then I was no longer in the field. I was back in the seat on the train.

I sat up and shook my head. Did that really happen? It felt too real not to have been true. I sighed and decided to check my phone. "Huh? Oh, it's from Yukiko-senpai." Like I expected, seemed like the others decided to meet up and go over what was talked about last night. So Yukiko was giving me the quick rundown and also a time we're meeting up with everyone tomorrow. "Whoa, Junes at 6AM? Getting Kayane up at that time is going to be near impossible. Not to mention there is no way those guys aren't going to be late." Still if I had been more capable then maybe things could have been different. Then everyone wouldn't have had to fight each other. We could have helped Labrys faster, could have been in a better position or something. Either way, I had been so useless yesterday. I had been taken from Kayane's kitchen, making dinner. And that was it, all I could remember.

The next moment I had been in the Announcement Room in the TV world, under the surveillance of 'General Teddie.' Of course it was actually Labrys' Shadow, but because of that I was unable to use my Persona to help the others. I could sense them but without proper use of my Persona I couldn't contact them. Naturally, Kayane had chased my kidnapper to the outskirts of town, after which he dived right into the TV to save me. Kayane never gave a thought to himself when it came to me. He always put me first. I loved that about him but I also hated it. His self-esteem was still so low. Yet unless I was able to protect him I could never show him just how important he was to more than just me. I guess one step at a time was fine, but I couldn't leave things as they were.

The worst part of it was that Shadow Labrys had used my voice and face to confuse everyone. Pushing everyone to fight when that should have never happened to begin with. If I hadn't been taken I could have stopped it from happening. I closed my phone, irritated at myself. How was I supposed to face everyone when I had made things that much more difficult yesterday? And Yu-senpai would only be in town for one more day anyway. Even Yamagishi-san had powers enough that she could support the Shadow Operatives while she was outside of the TV. I could never manage something like that. I really am pathetic. How was I supposed to support Kayane when I was like this?

"The next stop is Yasoinaba. Yaso..." The announcers voice was cut.

That was a weird place to cut the announcement off. Then all of the lights in the train turned off and the train that had been slowing down instead comes grinding to a halt that makes me slide off my seat and to the ground. "A blackout? Now?" I scrambled to my feet and looked out the window. A huge red moon dominates the sky. The moon had never been that big, had it? And down the tracks where the train was heading there looks to be a giant, red cocoon. Hold on, is that fog? Whatever it was, it was completely engulfing Inaba. I looked down to the next car to see if anyone else was...wait what? There was no one in the train. I know I had seen a group of people enter the other car. Now they had all disappeared. Just what the hell was going on?

Kayane! I pulled out my cellphone and flipped it open. It was off. I had just checked my messages, I hadn't turned it off and I know the battery had been over 80% charged. I pressed the power button. Nothing. Again. Nothing. No matter how many times I press the power button the stupid thing won't turn back on.

"Don't do this to me! Turn on you piece of junk!" I said and hit my phone on one of the rails. "Of all the stupid times for it to break. How am I supposed to call Kayane?" Well if I had the same amount of power as Yamagishi Fuuka I would probably be able to contact him without any problems. She could use her Persona even outside of the TV and...hold on a minute. Something about this feels way too familiar. This sensation brought on from this red light and fog.

"It's like I'm inside the TV," I mutter to myself. I move to the door and pull on the emergency lever to force the door open. "I don't have time to panic, I have to get to Kayane." I grabbed my stuff and jumped out of the train and down onto the track. Then I rush towards the train station and to Inaba. What was going on? What was this fog? And why wouldn't my phone work? All of this just made me more worried and forced me to move faster. How could I have left Kayane at a time like this? The culprit was still on the loose and I had been so trapped in my own thoughts that I didn't realize the danger that was still present to all of us. Especially when the culprit had called out Kayane specifically.

"I'm such an idiot," I mutter as I pushed myself along. I finally got to the station an quickly moved through and out to the road leading to Inaba. I couldn't let myself be held up. I wasn't going to be slowed by this. I had been running everyday for a while now, ever since I had decided I was going back into the show business. And that decision came about back in August. Before the time I had even met Kayane. You better believe my stamina was better than it had ever been in my life. This was nothing compared to my daily regimen.

Dance routines in a concert can drain you, and only strong stamina would see it through to the end. However, my goal was a bit different when Kayane entered the picture, when we decided to do it together. While Kayane had his own exercise routine, I had kept to mine. Although I had no problems watching him do those push-ups in the morning. Well he did a lot more than that, but I could lose myself in a trance watching him. Yet here I was, running back to town when I should have been there for him from the beginning. I could cut across the Samegawa Flood Plain to get to Kayane's house faster. As I made my way the red fog didn't really impede my vision, but now the sky was a deep red with the moon ominous in the sky. As I approached Samegawa I couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened.

Things were twisted, out of place. Signs were twisted in ways that shouldn't be possible. More than that, it was like things had been moved, distorted as if it had been manipulated. Buildings weren't exactly where they were before. It was a maze. I came to a stop when a collection of twisted trees and signs blocked my path. Still there was no one here. The Flood Plain was empty. This feeling though, it was the same as the TV world. And it if is then I wasn't completely without a method to navigate it.

"Come Kouzeon !" I summoned my Persona. Even if I had no idea what was going on, I should be able to find everyone. Even if its just one of them I should be able to get read on exactly what is going on. With Kouzeon at my side and the visor over my eyes I begin to search for any of them. I start searching wider and wider trying to get something on anyone. Soon I could feel the entirety of the town, but everything I get was faint or hazy. This red fog definitely had something to do with it, getting in my way. I bet Yamagishi Fuuka wouldn't have a problem like this.

No wait, I can still pick up on them. That one was definitely Yukiko. "Yukiko-senpai! Can you hear me? Hello?" I tried again and again. Nothing. I re-focused to someone else, "Kanji-kun? Kanji-kun can you hear me?" No luck. "Naoto-chan? Yu-senpai? Yosuke-senpai? Teddie? Anyone!" I cried out hoping for just someone to respond. "Why am I so bloody useless at a time like this?" I dismissed Kouzeon, it was pointless.

Yeah, Yamagishi Fuuka wouldn't have had any problem with this. Fuuka-san's power was infinitely more useful than my own. And now Kayane..."KAYANE!" I screamed. "I..."

I was led down to the riverside and that was when something caught my eyes. On the side of the riverbed was a pair of weapons. "Wait, no!" I rushed over. "How? How is this even possible?" It was Kayane's sickles, except they could hardly be called sickles anymore. The blades were shattered in pieces, the chain that once connected the sickles together had also been cut. I stood up looking around, "KAYANE! KAYANE! PLEASE NO! KAYANE! WHERE ARE YOU?" I felt panic overwhelming me. Why was this here? How could it be broken like this? Who could do something like this? I had made such a horrible mistake.

Why did I not stay with him? Why wasn't I here to support him? Then I heard coughing from nearby. I frantically looked around and saw a limp figure on the other side of the river. As soon as I saw the form I ran across the river without thinking. I don't remember the water being so shallow that it only came up to my ankles but that didn't matter right now. As I get to the figure I pushed him around. "Kayane? Thank God. Are you okay?"

"Rise?" He sat up but kept his face down and favored a wound on his side. "What are you doing here?"

"I just got back into town. What is going on?" I tried to help him but he pushed me back.

"Just stay away," he grumbled as he moved physically away from me.

I felt my heart squeeze by the action and I panicked. "What? What did I do?"

"You did nothing," he said as he stumbled to his feet. "You weren't here after all. Just like every other time I needed you. You weren't here."

His words hurt me hard because it was true. I couldn't prevent his kidnapping back then, I couldn't prevent the Shadow taking him when we visited my dungeon in the TV world. I couldn't be there when he chased Nanako's kidnapper. I couldn't do anything when he was in the coma. I was always steps behind him, like I was always trying to catch up to him. How useless of a girlfriend I had been to him. "I'm sorry." It was the only words I could think to say.

"Right," he turned away from me. "I guess that is just how its going to be. It isn't like I had high expectations for our relationship anyway." I could understand him being angry, but I felt like he was attacking me. I felt a tear fall from my face. Yeah, like crying is going to help. I already know I'm useless.

"I'll do better, I promise," I said as my voice struggled against my emotions to break down. "Let me help you..."

"Ha, you help me? Yeah sure. Always here after its over to pick up the pieces. Do you get some sort of sick satisfaction out of it? Hell I bet you watched the whole thing before you decided to come out and 'help' me. Don't make me laugh. You don't do anything to actually help," Kayane's voice sounded...wrong. I realized that something was blocking my senses. Not only that he had never once looked at me.

"Face me, Kayane," I said and it did make him stop.

"Oh, did you finally realize the truth?" he stopped, and then laughed. A horrible laugh that didn't sound anything like Kayane. He turned to me and I saw those pale golden eyes. "You still look like you're going to cry. It isn't like anything I said hasn't crossed your mind, right?" The Shadow of Kayane grinned in such a way that it made my skin crawl. I would never want to see Kayane's face to look like this. I took a few steps back.

"Where is he? Where is my Kayane?" I found a bit of confidence as I felt anger rising up.

"Too little, too late," he scoffed. "You see his weapon over there. He fought here, quite valiantly I might add. But his weapon is too weak and his powers dull. He just can't keep his mind focused with all that he's learned. He called out for you, you know. And guess where you were?"

"Kayane..." I failed him. I failed him again. Why? Why was I so weak? He had needed me, and where was I? Avoiding him because I didn't know what to do, because I was not strong enough to remain at his side and support him. Instead I ran away under the guise that I was giving him space. When the one that had actually wanted it was me.

"I can always take you to him, you know," Shadow Kayane stepped towards me. I took a step back. Then he stepped forward again, and I matched it...again and again until I was going back across the river. But then he leaped forward and knocked me to the ground on the other side of the riverbed. "Where do you think you are going, you bitch? You aren't going anywhere."

He had my legs as I tried to scramble up the hillside and kick him away. Instead he moves up and flips me to my back. "Get away from me!"

"How about we have some fun instead? I mean it isn't like Kayane has made a move on you right? I would know, he is me after all," that grin on his face.

No I didn't want to see him like this, not even if it was his Shadow. I reached up, my hand grabbing an object and then I slammed it against the side of the Shadows head. I quickly grabbed the other one. While they were shattered, the remaining parts of Kayane's sickles were like batons. Or rather it was about the length of a tambo. Each one was just around 18 inches in length, and even though they didn't have the blade it would serve more than good enough for a weapon. "The only one allowed to touch me like that is Kayane, and I don't give a damn if I have to wait two years, five years or the rest of my damn life. I will be here for him," I found myself saying. That's right, after all he was the man I loved. The man I had fallen in love with. The world around me seemed to come to a stop as I was wrapped with memories of Ikakure Kayane, my boyfriend.

It felt like forever ago that I had met him. But I first saw him on the TV on a stupid TV special about troubled teens.

"Sorry there was a stupid news segment about troubled teens...and they showed this guy and totally ripped him apart just for what he was wearing. Worse thing is...he was shown in the shopping district in Inaba," I said and that got everyone's attention. I knew the implication I was making...and really that was also another thing I was worried about. Potentially if he becomes talk around the town...he could potentially be the next victim.

"I see..." Naoto looked thoughtful for a moment. "The setup is similar to all of our cases when we were kidnapped...maybe we can preemptively determine the target before he shows up on the Midnight channel following it."

Yosuke was on his phone, "It was the report of identifying potential problem teens. It says that it takes a focus on teens all over Japan...but they focused in particularly on one that resides in Inaba. Wait...there are some comments on this article."

Yu had pulled up his phone as well and had apparently already been navigating the comments, "Several comments say he goes to Yasogami...and he's a senior."

That made sense to me now...how I was able to miss seeing him completely...seniors were up on the third floor and they almost never are near the freshman classes. "So he's all of our Senpai then..."

I had been so mad about it. It was so typical for the media to make so many assumptions based on his appearance. He was a couple years older than me. Not that age had ever been a big factor in my attraction to him, but what stuck out to me was how he dressed despite what people would say. I didn't know why he dressed that way then. But it had grabbed me, it was so different than myself. I had spent so much time dressing and doing everything in a way that would attract people to me that I never really thought about dressing the way I wanted. I wasn't even sure how that would be. Yet someone who wore what he wanted had been ridiculed and called ridiculous things because of what he wore. It infuriated me.

"Hey, how did you get some of these tracks?" I quickly pulled on Kayane's arm and forced him to face me. There was no way he should have any of these tracks. Some of these were demo tracks or even things that were made but never got onto any of my CD's. I could feel my heart pumping faster as I looked into Kayane's blue eyes.

My exclamation seemed to get everyone's attention. I pushed the track list in front of him as if he needed to be reminded. Except he had been listening to my music. And judging by the play history he listened to my music a lot. I had met fans before sure, but something about Kayane having so much of my music, and things he shouldn't be able to have definitely had my heart racing and I needed to know the answer.

"Mom used to work in the music industry I guess. She sometimes gets asked to review things and so she often asks what I think. Well, she does some work still every now and then." Kayane said it somewhat dismissively. But this was not something to just push to the side. So his Mom was in the industry? Oh his adopted Mother.

"What is it, Rise-chan?" Naoto asked.

"These are all my demo tracks and even a few songs that never got onto my new CD...or any CD," I looked back to Kayane, who seemed to be uncomfortable with me looking at him. But I needed to know. "You really do have all of my music. What's your Mom's name?"

"Tsukio Nanase."

After saving him from the TV, he had awoken to his Persona Tsukuyomi. So I was really only learning about him. Not to mention that Yu-senpai hadn't exactly been hiding the fact that he wanted us to spend time together. I had never been against it. Because I had wanted to know more about him. But to find out this his adopted Mother had been none other than Tsukio Nanase, the one I thought was responsible for the review that launched my career. The review that convinced the Producers to pull the trigger on my debut. The truth I would find out later that it actually came from Kayane. In a moment where Kayane had come out of his shell. The thought that I had been able to affect him before I met him had struck a cord with me ever since then. I wanted to know more about him. I would get that chance.

"It's like he just strolled in and scooped up Rise. That was like the killing blow," Yosuke was saying it to Yu but I glared over at them anyway. It's not like I was some sort of prize and whats with saying my first name without any honorifics? I'll have to talk to him about that later. Still the lunch Kayane brought was pretty spicy but it was really good. It wasn't just spicy but had a good flavor to it.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kayane seemed to give his own glare to them which I couldn't help but giggle silently about next to him.

"Just taking bets on if you'll do the concert with Rise-san or not," Yu expertly deflected Kayane's question and back to his initial question that Kayane had been hesitant to answer. I wasn't really expecting him to do it. It be a lot of fun to do something for once that was different. Especially if the song was different than what I usually sang and...

"I'll do it," Kayane said suddenly. It halted my thoughts. He, was going to do it?

Surprised wouldn't begin to cover what I had felt in that moment. Not to mention I accidentally bit into one of the seeds in the peppers that Kayane put in his food I had been given a bite of. And experienced what it was like to bite into a habanero seed. It led to us spending every night together up until the culture festival. That time is something I still look back on. And I'll never forget the first night I stayed at his house.

"How about you stay here for tonight? You can use the guest room next to Kay-chan's room," Kayane's Mom, Nanase suggested. Considering the massive thunder and lightning storm it certainly seemed like trying to walk home was more likely to make me sick.

"Yeah...I'll try giving my Grandma a call...hopefully she still has power," I said and pulled out my cell phone. I quickly brought up Grandma's number and called. She answered after only a couple rings.

"Is that you Rise-chan?" she said on the other side. Grandma had gotten a lot better lately at using the caller ID.

"Oh...hey Grandma," I said unsure how to ask her this. I mean you don't typically ask someone to stay at a guy's house while in high school. Especially when the guy was a couple years older than you.

"You caught up in the storm dear?" Grandma asked.

"Uh huh, I'm still at Senpai's," I quickly explained. I guess the only way to do this was jump right into it. "Yeah, is it alright if I stay here? I don't think the storm is going to end soon."

"Yes you're probably right. Are you going to be okay staying there with that boy? I mean I remember a guy tried to get you to do this before when you lived back in the city, right?" Grandma was never one to forget the details. All though I had certainly tried to forget about it. Though Kayane-senpai was infinitely different than...well whatever his name was.

"...No, no...you don't have to worry about that. Besides I'll be staying in a guest room," I explained and turned and met eyes with Kayane oh so briefly, but then Kayane raised an eyebrow. I couldn't stop it and started to giggle.

"Are you sure it's okay? It isn't a laughing matter," Grandma was a bit serious.

"No, not you Grandma, Senpai just made me laugh is all," I quickly replied. Beside I think out of the two of us the one more likely to try something was me, not Kayane-senpai.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy his company, but will you really be alright?" Grandma asked.

"Yes...I assure you everything will be fine. Besides I already have a change of clothes with me," I had it because I was going to try out outfits for Kayane-senpai and to get his reaction for what we should wear at the culture festival. Naturally I might have gone with something a bit more revealing than I probably should have.

"Well, I do know Nanase. But still, he is a growing boy, he could still try to put the moves on you. Are you sure about this?" Grandma said this as I was looking over at Kayane. I knew there wasn't much of a chance of that. Me on the other hand...

"Yes...don't worry. I love you," I added.

"Okay hun, make sure you get plenty of rest. I love you too, Rise-chan," Grandma finally eased to the end of the conversation.

"Uh huh...Bye Grandma," I hung up and turned to Kayane with a smile. Well no point in keeping the thoughts to myself. "Grandma thinks you're going to try and seduce me, Senpai."

"The night is young," Nanase commented. I'm a total fan of Kayane's Mom right now.

Kayane visibly groan, "Really Mom?"

That night was bad but not in a I regret kind of way, but because it was the night I became painfully aware of my attraction to Kayane. It wasn't like I hadn't noticed before that point. However, it was what pulled me closer and closer to him. Originally I had been unsure of what to do. I didn't want to make Kayane feel like it was just some sort of phase or high school crush, although it certainly might have started that way. I mean he looked good, and when I watched him at the piano it had a way of winding me up that it drove me nuts. And I'm totally guilty of fantasizing him walking in while I was taking a bath that first night. I mean, how could I not? Well, being physically attracted to him was one thing. But his voice always drew me in deeper. In the end though, I was more captivated by him the more I learned about him.

However, that didn't mean everything I learned was something that was happy. More and more I learned about the pain and truth of what Kayane faced in his life.

"Senpai!" I got to my feet with a napkin and rushed towards Kayane. A line of blood going from his arm. I made sure to slow my actions as I got close to him. I didn't want him to jerk away from me going towards him too quickly. I wasn't sure what to say when the rest of the Investigation Team was here. So I asked the only thing I felt I could, "Why?"

"We talked about it before. The two of us dealt with it differently. This was how I made myself feel better," he kept his eyes downcast and away from everyone, away from me. I knew this was hard for him but I felt my own frustration bubbling to the surface.

"How does that make you feel better?" I asked in a harsher tone than I imagined. It was a stupid question.

Kayane didn't hold back with his own result, "Use your imagination." His voice came out as growl and I know I recoiled at it. What bothered me more is that he still wasn't looking at me.

"Take it easy, Rise-chan," Yukiko had gotten up and was pulling me away from Kayane so she could look at it. I didn't want to, but I wasn't helping him. How was I supposed to help him? Yukiko looked at the cut, "You did this recently."

"Yeah…well I don't deal with stress that well so…" he sighed heavily. So, he did it at the culture festival? Before or After? He had plenty of time alone in either case. I shrank back and sat down. How do I help him?

"Look before anyone says anything else I think you all need to hear the whole thing. That doesn't mean I condone what you do, Senpai," Yu said with his gaze locking on to Kayane.

"Whatever, like I expected anyone to condone it," Kayane was getting more irritated. How could I help him? How?

"Stop it, both of you. We didn't come here to let tempers flare," Yukiko said looking as if she was about to slap everyone in the room.

"Yeah, but your all angry at me, right?" Kayane said challenging anyone to say something to the contrary. Come on, say something! This is the chance to help him, idiot!

No one said anything, and I couldn't even utter a word. I'm pathetic.

"Let me ask all of you a question. Have you ever felt like you needed a release? Like everything was coming crashing around you and you had no escape? Of course you have! All of you have!" Kayane looked around the room and then gazed at me. How would I look to him? I was devastated, I was frustrated. He needed me to say something, do anything that would support him, to try and understand him! "You think I would have an outlet like my music or singing. Something I enjoy right?" Kayane turned away from us...form me. He pulled down his sleeve again, covering the marks on his arm. "That never helped me. I just felt like something horrible was building inside of me and I literally just had to get it out. However my intentions used to be a lot worse than this originally. I tried repeatedly to commit suicide."

I didn't know what to do or say to him then. How could I? I had never in my life thought about things like that. Suddenly I had to realize that the guy I had been fantasizing about, had performed in the culture festival with, had more than just anxiety issues. It was deeper than that, more powerful than that. What's worse, was the moment I should have supported him, I was shocked and unable to say anything. I felt that I only made things worse. And that I had only continued to push him away. I had the opportunity to support him, but I ended up doing the opposite. The more I was drawn in, the more I realized that Kayane wasn't like anyone else. He had been hurt so much in his life. He had never known his parents, spent years abused by his Uncle. And the one girl, if not the one person he felt cared for...died by the hands of her own Father that had been sexually abusing her. To him, he had lost everything. It was as if he had been broken and was unable to move forward after that point. He blamed himself for her death. And over time he only looked down on himself more and more. Until he felt that life was no longer worth living. So he attempted suicide, a number of times.

Eventually he realized his adopted Mother would be devastated if he had died and stopped attempting suicide but he never stopped cutting himself. The scars on his arm, as well as how easy it was for him to break skin there was evidence of that. It was why he wore long sleeve shirts during all times of the year. Kayane had always felt alone, and he never knew how to deal with the emotions he had. I realized that to be involved with Kayane meant it couldn't be some passing emotions. I had to be serious about it, about him. I had to consider what I wanted, and if he was someone I wanted to really be with and everything that meant. It was Kayane's Mother that made me come to that decision. It was a discussion that happened on one of the nights at his house, before Nanako was kidnapped.

"Rise-chan, we need to have a talk," Kayane's Mother said suddenly. I mean I wasn't adverse to talking to her, but what would she want to talk about?

Of course there is really only one thing to talk about here. And that was Kayane and I's relationship. Well not that there was anything labeling it at the moment. "About Kayane and I?"

"I want to know what you are hoping for. What is it that you want from your relationship with my son?" She certainly wasn't wasting any time getting to the point.

I was already sitting with her in the living room. It would be a while before Kayane would be out from taking his bath. I looked down at the lemon tea that Nanase had served me and thought about the best way to put it. "He's the only one that sees me. I mean, really sees me. Sure my other friends helped me a lot and I connected with them too but it was different with Kayane from the moment I met him. With everything I've done in my life, it always felt like people weren't really looking at me. But Kayane does. I know he is looking at me. It's why I can't spend enough time with him. It's selfish, I know. You told me before getting close to him means I would get hurt. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, and I finally know what you mean. There is still a lot to learn about Kayane."

"He's spent a lot of time on his own. And you still only know a portion of what Kayane has experienced. You need to consider it long and hard Rise-chan. Just how close to him do you want to get? Just know the closer you get, the more it can hurt," his Mom said softly.

It was an ominous warning. No, that isn't quite right. The truth was it was a wake up call. I had thought of a lot of things when it came to Kayane. But I really didn't think about how I wanted to be a part of his life. Maybe it was because of Yu-senpai's rejection from back then that I hadn't thought of it that way. But after Nanase-san had told me that, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't like other relationships in me past.

With Yu-senpai it had been a gradual thing, and a lot of fun. I thought then that he would be ideal individual to be my boyfriend. At least that way as my first boyfriend I knew he wouldn't hurt me like other boys would. Then when I confessed I learned he had already been dating Yukiko-senpai. I wasn't really heartbroken over the rejection. Disappointed maybe, but that was about it. It made a lot of sense for my two senpai to be dating, and after that I could definitely pick up how close they were. But everything with Kayane had been different.

It started with me somewhat pitying Kayane. I only knew what we learned of him before we saved him. About the death of Miyuki and the abuse he suffered from his Uncle. His dungeon revealed even more about him. His self-loathing and the immense guilt he felt over Miyuki's death. The girl was gone but still held a large part of his heart, but if the ice cold temperature of his dungeon was any indication, his heart had already froze over. I had cried then and I was so happy we could save him. Yet I had no idea what else was hidden in his heart. The other pain he carried with him. No, if I had to think about it now...I believe it was simply just what most weighed on his heart at the time. Facing his Shadow and gaining a Persona had only been his first step to recovery. But there was much more he needed to face.

The more I learned, the more I worried. And yet I also had a choice to make. How far did I want to go for Kayane? Could I handle being his support? Did I want to be that person that supported him? I understood what Nanase-san was getting at eventually. There was no middle of the row when it came to Kayane. If I didn't have the strength to handle it then I wasn't the right person for him. I know that Nanase-san wouldn't hold it against me, after all she had all this time trying to help and support her son. But I had already intricately involved myself in his life.

I always searched for him in the halls at school back then. Looked forward to seeing him when I could. I would find comfort just being next to him. And talking to him felt so natural and I just couldn't get enough time with him. No, by that time a single thought had made the difference. I tried to imagine what it would be like if I did stop, if I started to separate myself from Kayane. But I couldn't. It was too late, every part of me only wanted to get closer to Kayane.

Up until that point I hadn't thought about labels or a way to classify our relationship. At that point, I think we were more than friends but nothing official. No but all of that hardly mattered when Nanako was kidnapped. And right before Kayane's eyes. She was taken from the doorway when Kayane was in the other room. He pieced the last bit of the clues we had about the culprit only moments too late. But Kayane chased him down using the scooter that belonged to Dojima-san. Then without hesitation he went in after Nanako.

We saved Nanako and Kayane. Kayane used his new power Symphonic Discord in the fight against the Shadows that engulfed Namatame. It wasn't until we got to the hospital that Kayane collapsed. I will never forget that time. November 6th to December 4th. We had no idea what was happening to him. And all of this happened after I had come to a decision.

I was going to commit to him, to let myself fall as far as I could for him. To support him, to be with him. After all I realized something. I was already in love with Kayane. Although I couldn't pinpoint exactly when that had happened. But along the way it was obviously more than a passing infatuation or mere attraction. While it was a contributing factor, it was not why I decided it. I wanted to bring out the real Kayane. The one that only seemed to show at moment when his guard was down. He looked the most amazing when he laughed, when he was being causal and not thinking about anything at all. He deserved to be that way all the time. To smile, to laugh, to enjoy his life. Plus I loved the way he made me feel because even when I didn't know it, he was paying attention to me. Small actions he did just seemed to pile up in everything he did. Even just being mindful of where I was. Catching me if I stumble, offer me a drink when I look thirsty. Most of all, I knew that he saw me...really saw me.

So when he collapsed it as like my whole world came to a screeching halt. I couldn't believe that he would die. I just kept believing that at any time he would wake up. It was all I could do.

"I need you to leave. Only family can be in here right..." The nurse stood in my way and I was about to throw a fist if she didn't move. The nurse instead moved to physically push me back.

"Get your hands off her. She is Kay-chan's fiancée. She is family," It was Nanase...Kayane's Mom. This instantly made the Nurse change her response.

"I...I apologize...please...come in. He...doesn't have much time," the Nurse in quickly. I didn't need any prompting. Nanase rushed ahead of me to one side of the bed as I went to the other. He looked so weak. Was this really it? Was I going to lose him after everything he had been through? What about what we had been through? What about my confession? I didn't even get to tell him how I felt.

"We're here, Kay-chan. Can you try opening your eyes?" His Mom spoke but I felt my thoughts rapidly moving faster as I took in everything about Kayane.

He barely had his eyes open, as if even this much was too much for him. He could hear us right? Could see us. I leaned in closer. Please see me. Please! My own vision was blurred, I couldn't stand to see him like this. But I couldn't look away, I need to be with him as long as I could. I would get every moment I can and...his eyes ever so slightly started to close and I felt myself panic.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…Kayane…stay with us…stay with me…keep your eyes open." And he did, his eyes opened back up the slightest bit. No, I couldn't let it end like this. What could I do? How can I make him stay here with me? The idea came quickly to my head. "Hey…did you hear what your Mom said? She called me your fiancée. So please…please don't leave. I…I'll do it you know. I'll marry you. I will do anything to keep you here with me. I love you…I love you so much, Kayane. I want to show you…I want to live with you. I want us to go on dates, see movies together. I want to see you graduate…I want us to make music together. To create our own CD…to go on tour together…to be famous together. I want to see you angry at me...I want to see you smile and laugh with me. I want to be loved by you. Or I don't care if you hate me...I just want you to live. I need you...I need you here with me...alive. Don't go...please don't...don't leave me here all alone..."

I was losing myself to the reality of the situation. Tears fell so quickly as I stood over him, my tears falling onto Kayane. All he did was look up at me, but his eyes were still slowly closing. My words were turning into a incomprehensible mess with every passing second. I felt as if my heart were being squeezed tighter and tighter. This couldn't be real, this couldn't be happening.

"Kay-chan…don't go. Not now. Not when I finally saw you smile. I finally got to see you happy. I haven't seen that since Miyuki. And Miyu-chan…you aren't allowed to take him…you hear me? He was finally starting to live…just like you wanted him too," Kayane's Mother began to cry in earnest as well. Please, not like this.

I just need to convince him to stop, to come back to me. That's all. "You have to get better, Kayane. You aren't allowed to leave me behind. I promise you…do you hear me? I will marry you…if you just come back to me. I'll spend every waking moment with you. I would make it my life to make you happy…so please…please, Kayane…don't go. I love you…I love you…I…" But his eyes finally closed. And I felt as if the world was falling apart around me. "No! NO! KAYANE, PLEASE!" The screen next to Kayane's bed indicated the horrible truth I wanted to deny. But that sound was not something you could ever mistake. Kayane was dead.

"Was I too late? I'm sorry. I'm SORRY! Don't leave me," I stumbled away from the bed and shook my head. "No, it isn't real! KAYANE!"

He had died. The mix of emotions I had at that time was overridden by the thought that the man I assumed was responsible would get away without punishment. My grief was instead turned to rage as I moved with the intention to kill Namatame. I really didn't have the strength to kill him. Lifting a grown man high enough to push him through the TV would have been impossible in that state to begin with. But it didn't prevent the intention and hatred I held at that point. Then the miracle happened. Kayane was alive.

After the confrontation with Namatame in his hospital room and us deciding to question Namatame later, a nurse rushed up and asked us to follow her. When we returned, Kayane had woke up. Or rather, had come back to life. No words could describe what I felt then. I wanted to hold him and never let go, thinking if I did that he might disappear from me. I had already decided then that I would marry him, if only because he came back to me. Every day was a gift and if Kayane asked me to I would even marry him the very moment I was able to. Which if you wanted to get technical I could at the age of 16, as long as I could get my parents permission...which would have been a bust. That didn't matter anyway because Kayane wouldn't allow me to do something like that. Instead we started dating in earnest. We weren't dancing around the subject anymore.

But there wasn't time to talk about it. We questioned Namatame the next day which led us to eventually figuring out that Adachi was the real culprit behind everything. Things kept moving forward even though I really wanted to slow everything down and just spend time with Kayane. We caught Adachi, with Kayane using his power again but this time it all worked out. I was becoming more at east every day, and felt he really was still here with me. But I started having nightmares from then on. Ones I couldn't share. Because it terrified me.

I opened my arms and nearly jumped up out of the futon. Sitting up I could feel myself shaking. Breathing heavily I pulled the blanket to myself as I looked around the mostly empty room, only the hint of moonlight peeking in through the window as it was mostly covered by the closed shutters they used in the winter time. I looked over to my right, Kayane was just in the room next to me.

Getting up with my blanket still somewhat wrapped around me I exited out of the guest room that had more or less become my second bedroom. I spent the majority of my time at Kayane's house ever since he had been in the hospital. Recently, it didn't matter where I was. Sleep was hard to come by because of the constant nightmares that would come. I was shaky and I could feel the sweat on me from this recent one. I opened the door and out into the hall way and immediately went to Kayane's bedroom. I silently opened the door and stepped inside. I moved over to the futon on the floor and saw Kayane sleeping on his left side.

I sat down on my knees and looked at him. He was here, it was really him. He wasn't dead. I felt as if I could breath again and the vice on my heart finely relaxed. I wanted to stay here, not return back to the guest room. "Kayane?" I whispered silently. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to wake up or not but Kayane didn't move. I bent down closer to him and kissed Kayane's forehead. I saw a smile flash across his face for a moment. I felt relief. I sat back as I watched him for a moment. It was only a dream. Just a stupid nightmare. He wasn't dead.

I'll just stay right here for a bit. I tried to clear my head but I knew tears were still going down my face. I'm sure I can get over this but right now I just need to be here, and make sure he's here. I know, its silly. He isn't going anywhere, he'll be here in the morning. I know it.

I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I have woken up in the night scared. I didn't always go into Kayane's room. But when he was at the hospital, I would sleep in Kayane's room. I wanted some way, any way that I could be closer to him. I didn't know what else to do. It was the only thing that seemed to calm me. It wasn't so bad any more. I still would occasionally have the same nightmare. Although I have been trying to stay back at my Grandmother's house, in my own room for a while. But more often than not I just stayed at Kayane's place. His guest room was basically my room now. I mean I actually kept clothes in that room now. Well I have been for a while.

While Kayane was in the hospital I had stayed over because I was concerned for Nanase. But I would get restless and I would clean the house sometimes. I didn't really look through Kayane's room, although I did keep it clean. Although I did find the song sheets he had been working on. That was the song we sung together unrehearsed that first night after we had caught Adachi. After all it was one that he wrote...so I was surprised when he started playing it but that is just how he is. So I thought I would surprise him in my own way. Then Nanase helped me. I bonded with his Mom a lot in that time. Well I learned she was pretty close to my Grandmother anyway. I guess that was the main reason why Grandmother had been okay with me staying over. Nanase had eyes like a hawk but also knew her son to know that if anyone was ever going to try anything, it would be me.

Can't blame a girl for trying but there was another problem that started to surface recently. One that had particularly had me worried above everything else. His Shadow wasn't gone, and yet he could still use his Persona. That didn't make much sense. Plus it was something he wouldn't tell me for some time. In that time a lot of things moved forward for us. We saved Marie from the Hollow Forest. We discussed our future in the show business as well as the meeting over our contracts with Takura Productions.

In the end both of my parents finally agreed on the terms of the new contract. Well, what I should say was that my Mother was finally convinced by my Father mostly. But Kayane handled himself pretty well.

My Father shook his head. "Dear, what are you really afraid of? That boy experienced a traumatic childhood and through all of the trouble and trials he faced, he is here now. Rise tells me he is a top student, always scoring in the top ten of his class, if not the top five in exams. She also tells me he has been slowly working through a lot of his personal problems because of his childhood, slowly but surely. If anything, I think the two of them help each other more than even they realize," he turned to look at Kayane. "Please forgive my wife if she's said anything that offends you. She doesn't mean what she says."

Kayane shook his head in much the same manner he always did when he dismissed any comments, "It's fine. I can understand being protective of Rise. Honestly, I don't know why she is around me either." He shrugged and looked over at me, I frowned at him. Regardless if he was joking or not, I couldn't stand him putting himself down like this. "If I may say so though, at the same time, I want to selfishly keep her by my side. She is the one that helped me stop running from myself and my past. Even now she encourages me everyday to push forward." And then he pulls out a line like this. I'm hopelessly in love with this guy who can say something like this while my Mother is trying to rip me away from him.

My Father laughed, "I said the same thing about Natsuko, when I talked to her Father." He looked at Mom and smiled. Wait, was Mom blushing? When was the last time I had ever seen her do something like that? Had I ever? Dad looked to Mom and after a moment, took her hand, "It's time to let go, Natsuko. You're daughter needs your support. But she no longer needs your protection."

Dad had always been silent about most things in my life, so to see him stand up for me, to convince Mom that she should let me do this, I just couldn't think about what I could say.

"Listen to Jiro," Grandma added. "Rise-chan is ready to spread her wings on her own. You have to let her take this chance. Just as we all must do."

"I..." Mom seemed unsure of what to do, she looked to Kayane for a moment before looking to me. "Rise, do you love this boy?" She asked blatantly. The room shifted a bit. Technically us dating was a violation of Takura Productions contract, but it wasn't like we had said or indicated as much. Nor did it really matter considering we were changing the arrangement and the Takura Production side had already agreed. The only holdout was Mom. Well, it was probably best to stay on topic.

"Yes, but that's something different, Mom. My feelings for Kayane have no bearing on this decision. This is about my career as a performer, as a musician and singer. I don't want to be seen as an object. I want to be able to fully express who I am. And that isn't something I can do as Risette. With Kayane at my side on stage, there is so much more I am able to do and express that I couldn't do before. It isn't about the fame or success, its about being true to myself. For not only me, but for you, Dad, Grandma and Uncle Hideo. Not just family, but my friends I made here in Inaba and Kayane himself. He reminded me how to love music again. How I feel right now is because of him," I didn't shy away and pulled Kayane's arm to me. Kayane's importance to this whole situation was not something that could be understated. "And I want to take this risk, with him. No one else."

Mom somehow agreed after that whole display. I'm not sure in the end what exactly it was that won her over. Grandma told me it was a combination of things and that in reality that Mom was actually proud of me standing up for what I wanted to do. After all most of my life I had more or less just done as I was told. Life as an idol was no different. I would even say my crush on Yu-senpai was the same. Because he was ideal, and maybe even a safe relationship to go for. I mean, what was safer than a guy that was just going to move away at the end of the year. So even if it didn't work out he would be gone.

That was why my stance, and also my love and commitment to Kayane was a huge change for me. A big difference in how I had lived my life. There was always something fundamental I had been missing in the way I approached my life, I just never knew what that was. But Kayane was making me see it. I wouldn't say he did any of it consciously. When I made the decision to let Kayane into my heart...when I let myself fall in love, that was just the start of everything. When had I ever had to fight for something? I mean really fight? Sure, Idol work was hard and it was constant but I was still only following what others prepared for me. Being with Kayane was different.

There was no easy answer to any problem. I was never sure if I was doing anything right. I tried as hard as I could and I put all of my heart into it. Not because somebody asked me to, but because I wanted to. Things seemed to only escalate further.

We decided together who the members of the band Synchronicity would be. Well the name for the band came after that when we went on a trip back up to the mountains as a bit of a get to know the band kind of outing.

Shortly after that we faced off the one truly behind the Midnight Channel and who gave the power to enter the TV's to Adachi, Namatame and Yu-senpai all to begin with. It was what led to everything occurring. That was Izanami. Yu eventually defeated her in the day before he had to return back to the big city. That was also the time I met Miyuki in the Velvet Room the first time. It was me alone...although she referred to the trial was for Kayane and I. I guess that didn't meant that both of us would come to the Velvet Room.

Then again Miyuki had said Kayane and I had met as kids when we were young. I certainly didn't remember that at all. But Miyuki had put it as that the two of us were tied together. That no matter what choices we made, at some point the two of us would meet. I thought it was some romantic notion but when I thought about it differently, those words didn't imply it would always be a good meeting. I mean what if Yu-senpai hadn't been dating Yukiko-san and him and I had been dating when we rescued Kayane? How different would things have happened then? What if I had never quite the Idol business and I didn't meet him until later in life? All the different possibilities but no, it didn't matter.

Regardless if I knew him if he was younger or not, or if we were destined to meet. I didn't care. The truth was simple. I did meet him and I fell in love with him. All other possibilities didn't mean a damn thing compared to the truth. This was reality. After I smacked the side of Shadow Kayane's head with the remnants of Kayane's weapon I slowly got to my feet as all the memories of Kayane and I went through my head. I couldn't remain helpless. I needed to be stronger. I needed to be the one that can rush head first after Kayane. After all, if I wanted to truly protect the man I loved then I needed to stand at his side. Take the lead when needed and step back and support him when he was strong. And right now, Kayane was the one that needed me to charge in to save him. Meeting with the others was secondary. Getting to Kayane and protecting him was now my primary objective.

Then as I saw the Shadow grabbing his face as he was still recovering another thought came into my mind as I remembered something I had said before I finally saw Kayane face to face for the first time. It was a promise I made to him and never spoke out loud. That would change.

"I promise, Ikakure Kayane. I won't let you be alone anymore. I know how desolate that feeling can be...that your alone and that you'll never have anyone with you. For me I was surrounded by people but I always felt alone. For you...it was always the outside looking in...afraid to take that chance. But I'll come to you...and give you my hand...and if you take it...I will never let you go. I may not have realized what it meant when I thought those words so long ago. But I do now. I failed, on more than one occasion," I muttered as Shadow Kayane turned towards me. "I won't hesitate any longer. Kayane is mine, and the only thing in my life I have ever wanted to fight to keep in my life. And I will do anything to keep him here. I may have failed him before, but I won't fail him again!"

Shadow Kayane was charging up the hill, "As if you can change anything. You're nothing but a whore."

I went to summon my Persona on reflex. As the tarot card came down I saw a distinct change...the card changed from The Lovers to Temperance. "Come, Persona!" I smashed the card with one of the remnants of Kayane's weapons and everything changed.

"I am thou and thou art I. We shall take control of our own destiny for the sake of the one we love. I am Inahime," My Persona had had changed and instead stood an elegant woman with long flowing black hair but stood adorned in red and gold samurai battle armor and had many different weapons on her. I wasn't going to stand by anymore, I would fight. This was my resolve.

Shadow Kayane hesitated, "It seems someone can't keep his hands away from a situation." He stopped his approach and instead took a couple steps back. "Well, if your determined, I suppose I can serve up some entertainment in the meantime."

He pulled out a pair of sickles, ones identical to Kayane's. The ones I had in my hand were the real ones though...and if it was destroyed like this then I didn't have any time to waste. I needed to get to Kayane. Well, I'll just have to use these as tambo type weapons. I didn't have anything else I could use as a weapon at any rate. Looking at the Shadow I felt myself get angry. "You dare try and use that appearance to control me? To get to me? You think I'm just going to blindly accept that?" I held each of the would be tambo's in my hand and then charged forward.

"Jumping right in huh?" The shadow seemed amused.

I swung down at him as hard as possible and he blocked it with one of the sickles, but he didn't catch the fact I had summoned my new Persona in the same instance. Inahime smashed down hard when she appeared and forced the Shadow to jump back, but then Inahime had suddenly drawn a katana and seemingly attacked the Shadow in multiple directions at once. He managed to block all but the fifth strike which grazed his arm and caused him to further distance himself. Inahime returned to me after a moment.

"Alright, I suppose this isn't some flimsy decision you've made that I can push aside. But it isn't out of the realm of my expectations," Shadow Kayane grabbed his arm that was bleeding now. "This might be more amusing than I thought. Alright, Kujikawa Rise. I'll let you play your game for now. I'm sure you'll provide as a decent distraction." He laughed and jumped back again, but then he was gone, as if he had jumped into Shadows and disappeared completely.

"What? He's gone?" I panicked for a moment but I couldn't sense him at all. Wait, huh? Did I still have my ability to sense and detect Shadows? It still felt the same but, faster? No that didn't sound right to me. I had changed but, what exactly was different?

I guess it was fine for now. I sighed and looked off into the distance and...hold on a minute. Off in the distance it looked like a huge tower. "What is going on? First the red fog surrounding town and the abnormally large moon and now some tower is off in the direction of...yeah that is where Yasogami High should be. Yeah that wasn't ominous at all, but it was something that intentionally stuck out over everything. I shook my head. I couldn't contact my friends and it was the only thing that stuck out in this twisted version of Inaba.

I made my way back over and up back towards the path on the side of the Flood Plain. Then as I did, an ornate blue door appeared in front of me. I blinked a couple times. "Huh?"

"Come on in, my dear. We have much to discuss," a voice said as if a whisper in my mind. I knew it only because I had heard it for the first time just recently. Well, if I was going to get answers than this was the best place to start. I reached for the doorknob and stepped inside.


A/N:

Oh boy, quite a number of firsts for this chapter. For one we see things from Yu's perspective for the first time in this fic. In the end to get across all the information that I thought might be necessary I couldn't really do it through the eyes of Kayane or Rise due to their locations and state of being at the start of Ultimax. I could have made it work but I think it was a nice change of pace to hear it from Yu's side for the first time since the information dump that happens previously, so I wanted to get the viewpoint from someone that is affected by the news but isn't really directly affected.

Yu is one of the important people in Kayane's life, which is more or less true for all members of the Investigation Team. Kayane being so different than the other members of the Investigation Team in terms of the problems they faced, he likely wasn't sure what to make of Kayane at first. Then discovering how Kayane would cut himself or the suicide attempt was another layer that his friends hadn't faced. Honestly I think its odd that Persona 4 didn't broach the subject considering all the things they do cover. Although it comes off as more of a commentary as what society accepts and rejects. Kanji's problems at first appear to stem from his sexuality but actually has nothing to do with it and deals more with gender roles and what society expects of a guy. Yukiko is also a case of how Japanese society expects tradition to be upheld. If a shop is owned by a family and has been for generations it is generally expected that your children will take over the business. While they don't subvert this, they do cover the kind of stress it causes on the one inheriting it. All the Investigation Team is in some way related to how society views each of the characters.

Yosuke's is basically representative of a cliche view of country town. About how there is nothing to do and is in generally boring (the extreme view of this being Adachi). I think Chie is one that might not fit this theme but it is a deeper look into how a relationship between two girls can be even among best friends. Jealousy and envy still exists even among the best of friends.

I felt Yu's perspective gave a different feel and a clearer view that something has changed and as a good beginning of the chapter.

I actually originally wrote this chapter backwards. I wrote Rise's part first, then Hamuko's and then Yu's. But after going over it...I wanted to end with Rise so I ended up switching everything up. Which speaking of Rise...

So yeah, I gave her a new Persona instead of having her Persona switch to a battle mode or whatever like Ultimax. Obviously it represents her change in resolve in what she believes she has to do, but is also the beginning of her own trial for her and Kayane. So all of it starts here. If anything this would be like the start of the second act. There is still plenty of story to go. As to Rise's new Persona, I feel its appropriate to her new goal and focus on Kayane.

Another note, this has claimed the title of longest chapter of the fic...weighing in at about 22k words...but I didn't want to split it up so I kept it this way. Well Hopefully you guys enjoy it. As always let me know what you think and thank you for taking the time to read my fic.

See you all in a couple weeks with the next chapter.