Chapter 4: And you can't get back up

A/N: Hey there! I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter, especially after I said in the previous chapter this would only take a couple of weeks (pulls collar nervously), but I am happy to say it's here, and it's here in all its almost 8000 words entirety, please let me know what you all think, especially with the fight scene (I was unsure if the way I went about it worked, but I personally liked it).

Ps. I'd like to quickly thank a couple of readers who have written helpful, yet also kind comments about each chapter, so thank-you; Ulrich362 and HumbleWare, it's comments like yours that make this hobby so enjoyable, and that goes for anyone who finds the time to write a comment, no matter how short or long it may be, all of you make this all the more special (that's not to say I don't appreciate those who might just fave or follow, I very much appreciate those people as well ).

Please enjoy!

His eyes opened, tired and unwilling to fully accept the coming daylight, an annoyed groan escaped his mouth as he scratched an itch on his chest, he checked his phone for the time;

9:30 AM

356

His eyes barely glanced at the three digit number and instead sighed at the time, he had obviously slept past school opening and missed it, It seemed Dojima was serious about him not having to go into School tomorrow. He could only hope that he didn't get too many questions about his absence, although to be fair the school was informed of his condition. He glanced at the time again, a few minutes had passed and it was with great resignation that he managed to use his good arm to push himself into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness struck him like a truck as his upper body became vertical, almost collapsing back, he managed to hold himself up allowing the dizziness to pass. Thankfully it only lasted a few short moments, a small blessing in his mind, his pills usually gave him extreme migraines when he had to use more than a couple a day.

Carefully extracting himself from his futon, taking care to not catch his bum leg on the bed-sheet, he finds himself standing tall in his small room. Well… more liked; hunched over rather than standing.

Standing could be saved for after a nice long bath.

Meandering his way out of his room, taking a moment to smack his useless arm against the wall, as always, he felt nothing.

After a relatively stress-free bath, the teen returned to his room, now standing, and dressed in a long white jumper with brown baggy slacks, he was officially in layabout mode today. Grabbing his phone, he made his way down the stairs with no incident to find an empty living room and kitchen, assuming Nanako was at school and his uncle was off doing… something police related, he managed to find a box of Tupperware with a note stuck onto it.

Hey Yu!

I hope you're feeling better today, don't worry about missing school, I've already called in to let them know you won't be attending, just rest and recover today okay? Uncle's orders. This box has got some of the leftover Chinese food in it, feel free to help yourself, obviously, we had to bin a few things but there should be enough for dinner in the box. I'll be working late tonight, can't say much about it. Nanako was worried about you, she barely touched her food all night, let her know you're okay, okay?

See you soon!

Dojima.

A smile made its way onto his face, at home, his parents never took a moment just to leave a note like this, usually it was just; "foods in fridge", but his uncle had almost written an entire paragraph, he did frown however when Nanako was brought up, she was too kind for her own good, worrying about his useless self, he'd have to make it up to her somehow… perhaps he could actually get around to asking Dojima for some money so he and Nanako could go shopping at Junes? She'd like that, he hadn't been here long but there had not been a day where Nanako hadn't spent some time humming that alarmingly catchy tune.

He opened the box, surprised to find quite a bit of food, far too much for him for an entire day, he could only eat little bits here and there since the accident, the accident and resulting surgeries had damaged his stomach as well, so it could only handle small measles of food at a time, any more and he found himself head first in a toilet, 'passing' his food. He wasn't even hungry at the moment, so he closed the lid and placed the box in the fridge, taking note of the out of date milk, joy…

Having absolutely nothing to do, he went to sit at the couch, however, he wasn't paying attention and found himself being pulled back, as his numb leg had managed to catch itself on the kitchen counter, he grimaced as he heard the thud, that would definitely leave a bruise later on, he had to put some cream on that. Thankfully he managed to plop down onto the couch without further incident, grabbing the remote, he switched the TV on.

"Hello, and welcome to Inaba's morning news".

News? Of course, besides the Junes advert, this was the only other thing ever shown on the old TV. He shrugged, he figured he might as well see what's new In Inaba today. Barely paying attention, Yu fiddled with his flip phone, scrolling through his contacts, a very short list he mused, his parents, his uncle, his personal doctor at home, his 'new' personal doctor in Inaba, and that was it, damn, he didn't have a single number of someone his own age, he mentally berated his cowardice at not asking for Yosuke's number or even Chie's for that matter, he'd have to ask them later, even if it was just to prove that he did have friends in Inaba, a scowl suddenly forced its way on his face.

It wasn't like his 'friends' back home cared to talk to him after the accident.

"Tragic news today as Yasoigami high student; Konishi Saki was found dead earlier today…"

What?

His head shot up, his phone forgotten on the couch as his eyes found themselves glued to the screen, on it a reporter spoke about how the teen had been found dead in a similar situation to the last killings in Inaba, he didn't need to hear the explicit details to see it, Saki, hung up-side-down from a TV antenna, the reporter motioned for a clip to be played, showing a student reporting about finding the previous victim hung from an antenna, a clip show of Saki smiling at the camera for an unknown reason, the reporter talking about how her parents had sent this clip in to show her at her happiest, she was in her school uniform, her curly hair swaying in the wind slightly, she looks so happy on the TV at the moment.

TV!

His mind went back to the midnight channel two nights before, on the screen was a blacked out form of a woman seemingly squirming in pain, his mind played it off as nothing important, but, he had been inside of the tv, he had seen how dangerous it could be in there, and he had a Persona to fight for him, what if someone ended up in that world without one? How would they defend themselves? How would they escape?

That's when it struck him.

They wouldn't be able to fight.

They wouldn't be able to escape.

Saki Konishi had somehow ended up in that horrifying world with no way to defend herself, she had shown up on the midnight channel, in pain, pleading for help, he had seen it.

It wasn't like it was his problem.

He fell silent, crumbling even further into the living-room couch, he could have saved her, but he didn't.

She'll be fine right?

He had simply assumed something so stupid.

He found his persona, so obviously she would, right?

He knew nothing about how that world worked.

Wasn't his problem.

The reality froze him to the core, through his inaction he had allowed for an innocent girl to die in that horrible world, he had the power to save her and him didn't not only that, but he didn't even consider it!

He might of well have killed Saki himself because through his inaction she had died.

He felt sick, so very sick, whilst he knew his inevitable death was close at hand, the thought of anyone dying still sent him sick to the core, he felt bile rise up in his throat. He gagged as he rushed towards the bathroom, not caring about his clumsiness, he heard his numb leg and lame arm smack and hit against everything on the way up the stairs, but he somehow managed to find himself face down in the toilet, retching anything and everything in his damaged body. His body racked with his retching, nothing spewing from his mouth, but the urge to throw up persisted, he felt sick, not just sick with the news, but sick with himself, he was scum.

Disgusting scum.

He could have saved her, why? Why hadn't he saved her? She who had her entire life left whilst he had barely a year, why had he survived but she hadn't? Where was the justice in that?

One final retch signalled the end of his body trying to empty itself, and he simply sat back, allowing his body to catch some much-needed respite, poor Saki, poor, poor Saki, he pondered what her family was feeling like at the moment, wondered what her friends were feeling at the news, that's when his eyes shot open.

Yosuke!

Yosuke had fancied her a lot, that much was obvious, he must be so hurt at the news, he recalled Yosuke mentioned something about tickets to a movie or something, he planned on asking saki out.

Saki…

The only words he had spoken to her were cold and harsh, and that only added the guilt to his weak form, he wished there something he could do!

TV…

A light-bulb went off in his head, of course, he might not be able to undo what had happened, but perhaps he could find out why Saki was in that world in the first place!

He could stop this from happening again!

He needed to get to Junes right now. He shakily pushed himself to his feet, crying out when he almost fell over, his body was shaking like a leaf after his retching episode, but he persevered past his incredible discomfort, he had to get to Junes now, he managed to stumble down the stairs, catching himself on the bannister before he tripped over. That's when his mind made the connection.

Yosuke and Chie knew about the TV world, they knew he had entered it before, they knew it was dangerous, maybe they had made the connection between Saki's death and the Tv world like he had? Fear gripped his heart.

Maybe Yosuke blamed him for trying to save her?

His mind told him it was foolish to worry about that, Yosuke didn't know he had a persona, only that he managed to get in and out of the TV world unharmed, he couldn't possibly blame him for Saki's death, for not doing anything, right?

His sudden determination to get to Junes began to ebb away at the thought of encountering the fellow student, but if Yosuke had made the connection about the TV world and Saki's death, wouldn't he come to find me anyway? To get back into that world? For all he knew, Yosuke or Chie couldn't get into that world without his help. He looked at the time, it was now 11:00 AM, he had a while before school ended, perhaps it would be best to wait for school to end and try to find Yosuke and Chie, face the music so to speak? There was always a chance they hadn't made the connection or if they did and didn't blame him for anything, he had already allowed an innocent person to die through his inaction, the least he could do was face the potential accusations from his two classmates, right?

Or was he that much of a damned coward?

He glanced one more time at the clock on the wall, it's small hand ticking on by with no worry in the world, by the time it finished one full circulation he had made his mind up.

He stood there, ragged breaths escaping his exhausted form, he had made a longer walk than this for more than a week and had only suffered from mild tiredness, but the short walk from his uncle's house to the local shopping mall had rendered him practically dead on his feet, it seemed his 'episode' yesterday and the previous retching had done him absolutely no favours. It all added up to make his choice, even more, harder to keep, he managed to somewhat calm his breath as he began his short trek to the electronic department of Junes, taking mind not to bump into anyone, his eyes motioned to the useful wall-mounted large clocks that were littered around Junes, he had arrived just when he wanted to.

Around half-an-hour, after school had finished, so if his theory about Yosuke or Chie making the connections he did, would give them ample time to arrive.

He wasn't sure why he was so sure that even if they did make the connection that they would go here first of all places, they could try his house? They didn't know the exact place, but it'd make more sense then just hoping he'd be at Junes, but something told him that they would come here, perhaps it was his persona? Subtly trying to lead him in the right direction perhaps? He honestly couldn't know.

He passed through the air-conditioned doorway into the electronics part, a scowl on his face, his ears picking up nothing but gossip about the death of Saki Konishi, it was like people were talking about it as casually as the weather, it sickened him, especially when his mind wondered to the darker aspects of his mind;

Would they talk about his incoming death the same way?

He didn't know and frankly, didn't want to know.

He turned the corner to the section of TV's they had 'used' yesterday and was honestly surprised to see both Yosuke and Chie huddled around the same flat-screen TV from yesterday, Yosuke tying a rope around his waist whilst Chie looked around anxiously. He briefly debated simply turning back the way he came, forgetting about what his insane mind had planned, however, he found himself drawing closer to the pair.

"Hey, guys…" His voice… weak was the aptest term for it, weak from the retching he had just done, weak from the mental gymnastics his mind had been doing all day, depressingly, he considered the term far too appropriate for his entire being.

Weak.

Although weak his voice may have been, the pair did indeed hear him, as they both turned almost immediately, both of their faces lighting up with utter shock, but why? They knew he had to be there to get inside the TV right?

…

…

They forget that, didn't they?

Chie rushed towards him, worry etched on her face, instantly he found himself being held up by her surprisingly thin, yet strong form. That's when he noticed his shaking again, god, his face must've looked like utter death for the way the pair were gaping at him.

"Wh-What are you doing here!?" Chie whispered harshly, trying to keep attention to them to a minimal, "I'm… here for the same reason as you two", that halted any response from Chie immediately as both she and Yosuke instantly grew somber. Carefully retracting from Chie's support, he forced himself to walk with only his usual limp up to Yosuke.

"I'm coming with you." A statement, a cold and hard statement.

It only took a second for Chie to interrupt whatever Yosuke was going to say; "like hell you are! You look like hell, that place must have affected you worse than we thought!" Briefly, he was relieved that they assumed that his current condition was purely due to the TV world. "I have to… besides, I don't know about you two, but I seem to recall being the only one to go through the TV, right?" He knew he had them beat when their faces dropped in embarrassment.

It seemed they had forgotten about that crucial titbit.

"You sure you can keep up dude?" Yosuke's voice was filled with worry, but also a deep sadness at what he presumed as still him coping with Saki's death. In regard to the question; no, no he wouldn't be able to keep up, he liked to believe he coped with his condition better than others would, but he wasn't delusional, if he didn't have his persona, he would be totally useless in the TV world. But he did have a persona, he could make a difference, and the chance to do so made him almost giddy with excitement, the excitement he was ashamed of due to the reason behind him wanting to make a difference. So, he didn't say yes, he just nodded.

And that was all Yosuke needed when he handed the rope over to him, to which he smiled slightly in response, it felt good to be trusted with something like this. Chie also apparently grew to accept his answer, half-heartedly smiling in reassurance.

"Okay, so, we've got this rope to pull us back out if we can't find that bear again. I've also brought some weapons, hopefully, we won't need them, what d'ya think'll be better for you? One handed or two?"

Was he serious, he was aware he only used one arm right?

Apparently, Yosuke had forgotten if the terrifying glare Chie sent him told the disabled teen anything, "oh right… sorry" muttering the quick apology, the head-phone wearing student passed him a lug-wrench, shrugging his shoulder, he pocketed it, if it all went well he wouldn't have to fight himself, planning purely to rely on Izanagi for any monsters they came across. That did bring up his plan of letting Yosuke and Chie know about his persona, but he guessed he could come across that problem when it came up naturally.

Who knows, maybe nothing would go wrong anyway?

Line Break

"Famous last words" he mumbled darkly at the sight in front of him, staring both determined yet fearful at the giant ninja like frog monster that towered before him.

Shadow.

Right…

Ninja-like Frog Shadow.

He glanced at his unconscious companion laying on the cold liquor store floor, then his eyes traveled to the bear mascot from yesterday cowering behind the front counter, and then finally back to the monster in front of him.

Shadow.

It didn't matter what it was called, all that mattered was that it was trying to kill him… brutally.

And it had been going so well.

They had entered, him and Yosuke, Chie left in their world to pull the ropes back, that was until the rope snapped shortly through the TV, they had even come across the helpful 'Teddie' from yesterday who accused them of throwing people into this world, which was a huge cause for concern. The bear had informed about how the shadow world worked somewhat, giving them each a pair of glasses for viewing the world better, which helped immensely. They had found where Teddie said Saki was, which ended up being some sick and twisted form of her father's liquor store.

That's when things quickly took a turn for the worst.

They had been set upon by a yellow-eyed Yosuke gloating and bemoaning about how pathetic Yosuke truly was, revealing all his deepest secrets and hidden wants. One line which in particular struck the Silverite hard;

"You only wanted to hang around with Yu because you thought you'd get sympathy points from a girl!"

He knew it was true, the second the second Yosuke spoke, he knew it spoke the truth, it was obviously some form of personal demon, a personal shadow, so it obviously know what the real Yosuke was thinking, he knew it was true and he wanted to be furious at his 'friend'.

"Please… please stop, it hurts, please…"

Yosuke's pleading voice almost forbade him from holding a grudge, and at that point, he wanted nothing more than to save him, rather than hate him. However, that's when bad went swiftly to awful.

"YOU'RE NOT ME, YOU'LL NEVER BE ME!"

The ecstatic laughter that followed would stay with the young teen the rest of his life. Yosuke's doppelganger became enshrouded in an ethereal black smoke, impossible to see inside the smoke, the teen was left alert, nerves exploding through his body.

"Teddie, what's happening?" His voice was strong, hiding away the immense dread deep within him, the bear-like mascot answered, from behind the counter, where he cowered "My best guess is that the second Youke was his shadow and… I guess denying it being him has caused it to access its full power!" He nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the swirling vortex of darkness, pointedly ignoring his aching chest.

And that's how they came up to the situation they were in now, standing across from the large, imposing shadow hell-bent on ending his and Yosuke's lives. His body becoming more lethargic the longer he spent in this TV world, he needed to deal with this shadow and get himself and Yosuke out of here.

"HAHAHAHA, WHAT'RE GONNA' DO NOW CRIPPLE BOY!?" The shadow cackled mockingly, already assuming its imminent victory.

Choosing not to respond to the insult, Yu searched deep inside himself, grasping that quickly becoming a familiar power, he felt it overwhelm his form, forcing back the spike of pain in his chest as he allowed his power to form. He'd have to act quickly. He brought his working arm forward, the arcana of the Fool materialised in his palm.

"PERSONA"

He crushed the card in his hand, reveling in the moment of euphoria this overwhelming power gave him, as before, the form of the helmeted figure garb in black and silver armour appears before him. The young teen opened his mouth to issue commands when the pain In his chest assailed him even more, he fell to his knees.

Not again!

It was the same pain from the last time he summoned his persona, and… he managed to raise his vision to his ethereal companion.

Izanagi was becoming cloaked in a red mist, his yellow eyes becoming duller, and it was not long before the giant humanoid let out a deafening screech of agony. Holding its naginata in its left hand.

"WH-WHAT THE HELL?" Demanded the humongous transformed shadow, when no answer was received, the monster simply brings its large front frog-like hand above the form of Izanagi, smashing it down upon the persona's form. A pained scream tore through the air, however it was not from Izanagi, instead it was from the shadow itself, as the naginata Izanagi held was throughst straight through its palm, black ichor spurting from the wound, the shadow attempted to pull its pierced hand away to no avail, as Izanagi's red misted form simply swung his blade forward, slicing through the rest of the shadows palm and wrist like a hot knife on butter. The blade continued forward until the shadow managed to tear its arm away, howling in agonising pain.

Yu could do nothing but simply watch his persona destroy Yosuke's shadow, his pain beginning to overwhelm his weak form.

Izanagi darted forward, screeching in pain-induced rage, the shadow swung its undamaged palm, his persona didn't even try to dodge or block but simply hefted its blade, and launched it through the air, sailing through the shadows other hand. Another scream of pain as shadow Yosuke pulled that hand back as well. Now bladeless Izanagi keeps charging for his target, leaping from the ground towards the shadows upper-body, he grabs the shadow's head with one arm and squeezes, more agony filled screams quickly follow as Izanagi attempted to crush the monster's skull. Unfortunately, Yu's personas plan of 'rush in and attack' was foiled as suddenly a miniature tornado of yellow wind smacked into Izanagi, throwing him from the shadow onto the harsh ground below.

When the wind struck his persona, Yu felt his left side also get hurt.

Your persona is an extension of your soul personified into a being that can fight, they feel what you feel, and as such… you can feel what they feel.

These thoughts were not his, but those of a certain long-nosed individual within a velvet 'room', and now it made sense to Yu, why Izanagi acted so unreasonably aggressive, his persona was feeling the growing pain in its chest, just as he was. He looked at his persona, which slowly pushed itself to its feet, red mist even more prevalent than moments ago, another roar of pain filled the room as Izanagi charged blindly once again, no thought or plan to its attack.

He… he can't listen to my orders because of the pain, I can't even give the orders with this pain… I-I need to fix this.

He needed to think, he needed to think of a way to get rid of or even lessen the pain In his chest, so he and Izanagi could properly cooperate, because as he watched Izanagi charge blindly into a huge palm strike from the shadow, taking the attack head-on, and whilst his persona managed to hold its palm back, the strike still hurt Yu. They needed to get Izanagi's weapon back from Yosuke's shadow's other hand. As Yu's mind tried to come up with a plan, another strike from the shadow sent Izanagi flying back, crashing into a nearby wall, Yu's entire left side flared in pain, in the back of his mind, he was almost thankful his right side was numb. He fell onto his front, still conscious.

"SENSEI!" cried Teddie, scared out of his wits, unable to move in fear of the shadow turning its violent attention to him.

Even though he couldn't see it, he could feel Izanagi struggle to its feet, silent cries of pain wracking its entire form. He could feel exactly what his persona felt, and he felt sorry for it, sorry that its summoner wasn't strong enough to handle its power, he was so damn weak.

His eyes dulled as the pain grew ever more, ignoring the rush of wind as Izanagi flew over him, straight into the huge shadow, smashing them both through the back wall. That was when he saw it, his eyes widening as the sight of a very familiar pill bottle rolled into view. He needed to grab the bottle, but he found his arms unwilling to move, it was just like last time, the longer he summoned Izanagi, the weaker and more pain filled his body became, if only someone could give him his pills.

Another smash distracted him, as Izanagi practically threw the huge shadow back into the room, the rumble that the body of the shadow hitting the ground caused the pill bottle to roll away, out of his blurry sight. It was as if fate itself was messing with him right now, he managed to bring his head up to watch as his persona bellowed loudly, bringing its useable arm down onto the ninja-like part of the shadows head viciously, it wasn't like a carpenter plying his trade, but more like a savage beating down onto its prey, desperate to smash the life out its eyes, it'd almost disturb him if Izanagi wasn't saving them at this moment. However, brute force could only get you so far, as soon enough, another wave of wind smacked against Izanagi's right side, smacking him against the adjacent wall, strangely enough, Yu felt no pain when the attack connected this time, most likely to do with the fact that Izanagi had yet to use its right arm, perhaps his persona also ha his disabilities? Questions for another time as the distance the shadow had created had given them some respite, a small moment of respite, quickly broken by another haunting scream from the cloaked persona, which once again, rushed in without a plan of attack.

He needed a plan, he needed to gather his thoughts through his pain, he needed to give a command to his persona, even if it was just one word, he needed to do so. As the pills were no-where he could see, he took a deep breath, followed by another, and by yet another, each time he drew in a breath, his chest clenched in pain, each contraction like his heart pleading him to stop, but he persevered yet again, each breath bringing slightly more clarity to his rattled mind.

That's when he 'saw' it, 'saw' it within his mind, the single word that would throw this battle into his favour, the single command that would save them all, focusing as much as he possibly could, his eyes drilled into Izanagi's flailing form, one word running through his mind.

ZIO.

It was as if a switch turned on within Izanagi, the wild attacks halted and for a brief moment, clarity was shown within his yellow eyes, but only for a moment.

But a moment was all they needed.

With the force of a hurricane, Izanagi threw his arm upwards, the palm aiming outwards to his opponent, and as if the dam was broken, a bolt of pure lightning exploded from Izanagi's hand, it broke forth towards the shadow, arching this way and that, the shadow was unprepared for the speed of the attack and was unable to do anything as the lightning struck, and even in his rattled state, Yu could practically feel the absolute agony the shadow went through as the electricity charred and destroyed the shadow in mere moments.

Then silence, a black vortex engulfed the shadow, and that was as much as he could see until his pain came back two-fold, Izanagi de-materialised, and his eyes closed yet again in this dangerous world from pain, the last thought occurring inside his mind;

I hope Yosuke is okay at least.

He found himself opening his eyes, which was a good sign, it meant he yet lived, a plus any day in his mind. At first, he heard muffled voices, but when he fully revealed his dazed eyes to the world, the voices grew closer.

"… okay?"

He only caught the last part of that, but from the blurry image of someone with spiky hair looming over him, he could only assume it was Yosuke checking on him, and when the shape of a rotund figure with two rounded ears also entered his blurry vision, his mind acclimatised to the situation. He was still alive, Yosuke and Teddie were still alive, they had won.

He had won…

He had survived.

But he still felt like shit.

"Are you okay?"

The words were much clearer now, his hearing recovering from his bout of unconsciousness, and he managed a weak nod in answer, which was followed by a relieved sigh from Yosuke. His vision cleared further, and his sight revealed to him the frankly bizarre looking sky of the TV world.

"Wh-where are we? Wha-what happened?" His voice was quiet.

"We're back at where we came into this place Yu, as for what happened, I'll leave that to the bear, I'm still coming to terms with all of this, to be honest…" Yosuke sounded unsure, unsure about what, he couldn't fathom, but unsure nonetheless.

"SENSEI IM SO HAPPY YOU'RE OKAY, WHEN YOU PASSED OUT, I WAS SO WORRIED AND THEN YOSUKE WOKE UP AND THEN…"

It was instinctive, his arm reaching up and sealing the bear's erratic mouth "too loud" he muttered exhaustedly, he waited for a second before retracting his weary arm.

"Sorry Sensei! But after your persona went BEARserk, and beat Yosuke's shadow, you passed out, then Yosuke woke up and managed to give you some pills from a bottle!"

"What happened to the shadow?" He did not want to hear it survived after that attack and got away, thankfully his fears were needed, as Teddie answered; "well, his shadow turned back into him, Yosuke tried to deny it again, but I convinced him that it was a part of him and rejecting could lead to another attack! And with you being unconscious Sensei, I don't think we would've made it!" One piece of Teddie's answer stuck with him; 'a part of him?' What did that mean, what actually happened to the shadow? His mind ran a mile a minute trying to come to terms with the bears bizarre phrasing. Thankfully it was Yosuke that came to his 'rescue'.

"I kinda accepted it, and now I have this thing called a… persona? That's what Teddie told me it was called anyway, he also told me you had one as well, and that's how you saved us, thanks for that by the way, really."

Yosuke had a persona as well? Well, out of all the things he thought would happen, that was certainly not high on his list, not even considered, to be honest.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one nonetheless.

"Why are we still here then?"

"We were waiting for you to wake up, I gave you some pills, and I carried you back to here, where we waited about ten minutes for you to wake up, I didn't want to drag you through the exit unconscious, Chie would throw a fit!"

He chuckled, she would indeed.

"Well," he sighed "I'm still exhausted, but I think we'd best get out of here before anything else happens" He spoke calmly, but in reality, he wanted out NOW, his body was still tired, and he had no idea how long his pills would stabilise him for.

And get out of there they did, himself and Yosuke very much ready for sleep, however, they had to deal with a very angry and worried Chie.

Scratch that, a very angry, worried and crying Chie, a combination that Yu thought he'd never see from the tomboy from the short time he had known her. Honestly, he didn't even have enough energy to deal with her incessant worry and just nodded dumbly and left as swiftly as he could, grudgingly accepting the offer to meet up tomorrow from Yosuke and 'talk' about all of this, something he was more than happy to do so… after sleep.

So it was with tired farewells that they agreed to meet up at the food-court in Junes tomorrow to talk, so it was with that Yu found himself shambling towards his uncle's house, ready for his bed to consume him, it annoyed him, being awake for around 4 to 5 hours and he was already feeling as tired as he was the other day, that world inside the TV really got to him, he just hoped he wouldn't have to go back in there again.

He arrived at the bench outside of the nearby park/shrine on the main road, taking a moment to gather his breath, he lowered himself onto it, letting out a relieved sigh. Who was he kidding though, chances are he'd find himself back in that world due to some circumstance, he face grew grim, he'd definitely wouldn't consider "not his problem" if another person appeared on that Midnight channel again, there was no definitive proof, but that channel had something to do with that world, and he'd be damned before e let another person… die in there due to his inaction, and now there was Yosuke, he got his own persona, would he want to do the same as him? Help those who might've fallen into that horrid world? He certainly hoped so.

However, these questions could be held until tomorrow at their 'talk', he briefly wondered if Chie would be there, but quickly squashed that internal question, of course, she'd be there, she was far too considerate and brave to leave this whole mystery alone. She'd be there for certain.

"Hey there!"

His head turned to the origin of the noise, only mildly surprised to see his fellow student; Kanji Tatsumi waving at him, an unsure smile on his face. He reciprocated the gesture, motioning for Kanji to join him on the bench, he hadn't talked to Kanji in a couple of days and the sudden appearance of the blond teen immediately brought a smile to his face. The teen was most definitely brash and scary looking, but from the few talks the pair had done, he could tell Kanji was much nicer than his looks presented.

Kanji let out a nervous chuckle as he plopped down onto the bench, making sure to keep a wide berth between the two boys, and Yu had a distinct feeling it was not due to Kanji not wanting to be near a 'cripple', from his outlandish look he determined that 'looks' didn't mean much of anything to the punkish student. "Hello Kanji" he mumbled, voice notably tired from today's excursions, and Kanji instantly picked up on that; "you okay Senpai? You sound tired, and to be honest, you look like crap", Yu couldn't even try to stop the defeated chuckle escaping from his throat, he sure did didn't he?

"I mean! Shit, I didn't mean to insult ya Senpai, I was just worried yaknow?" Kanji tried to correct himself, stumbling over his words trying to apologise, he found it amusingly adorable, this thuggish punk trying to stutter out an apology, however, before Kanji could dig himself deeper, he placated his worries with a lazy wave of his arm, "it's fine Kanji-san, to be honest I feel like crap myself, have done since yesterday" as much as it was fun to tease Kanji, he wanted him to speak freely, it was a refreshing change for everyone talking circles around his well-being, it being related to his disabilities or not. In the short time, he had known Kanji, the teen had treated him like a completely normal person, something he was sure Kanji could understand how much he appreciated. Kanji's eyes grew mildly concerned at Yu's explanation, "yeah, I noticed ya weren't in school yesterday, figured you were sick or summet…"

"My, my Kanji-san, went to school, did you? And here I thought you were too tough for the thing" he mocked Kanji light-heartedly, something which Kanji himself picked up on, if the slightly annoyed smirk told him anything, "that's not fair Senpai, I went in expecting to talk to my 'new' friend, but ya weren't there!" a mischievous glint appeared in Kanji's eyes and Yu laughed openly at that slight dig, enjoying the light-hearted banter between the pair.

It felt good, really good.

Kanji contributed a small chuckle of his own at the mild ribbing, presumably also enjoying the feeling of talking openly with someone, Yu summarised that his appearance most likely intimidated people, and thus left much to be desired in casual conversation with people his own age.

"Hey Senpai, can I ask you somethin'… somethin' personal?" Kanji's voice was nervous, and it was only now he noticed Kanji rubbing his hands together anxiously, and he himself felt a level of anxiousness strike him, already guessing what the question would be; 'what's wrong with you? What happened to you? Is it contagious?' Common questions, common and incredibly infuriating, he was almost tempted to tell Kanji no, but hesitated, Kanji had treated him fairly, he didn't deserve his scorn.

"Yeah… sure, what do you want to know?" Hi, voice was calm and collected, belaying the feeling of dread rising within him.

"Ca… Can I get your number?"

Huh?

He stalled for a moment, utterly baffled by the question, this was the personal thing he wanted to know? His number? Was it really that important to the teen? But he found himself flipping his phone out, passing it over to Kanji so he could copy his number and presumably input his own into Yu's. As he watched Kanji visibly relax and exchange their numbers, he found himself asking; "is there any particular reason you wanted my number?" He queried, curious to the reasons behind such an action. Kanji froze for a moment, but quickly recovered, "well, 'cause we're friends, right? So, it makes sense to have each other's numbers, right?" The logic was flawless, He couldn't dispute that, but somehow, he felt that there was another reason for it, but decided to not press on it, instead he found himself smiling honestly at the fact that he finally got a friend's number on his phone since coming to Inaba, and surprisingly it wasn't even Yosuke as he initially figured. He was handed back his phone and saved the new number as Kanji in his friend's list, a folder in his directory where all of his friend's numbers would be listed, and Kanji was the first one.

CRACK

His head shot up so fast he almost heard his neck crack, what was that noise?

CRASH

Something like glass smashed all around him as he found himself enveloped in a velvet coloured mist, he immediately looked towards Kanji for help but found him frozen in place, unmoving and unresponsive, what was happening?

~Thou are I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond….

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating personas of the Emperor Arcana…~

His eyes widened in shock, what was that? What did that all mean? He looked back at Kanji, questions running through his mind, was this somehow linked with his power to summon personas? Did Yosuke now have this power?

It seems the course of fate has been altered somewhat.

His head shot up, still 'trapped' within the paused time, he recognised that voice, a voice that was becoming more and more common as all this weird stuff continued to occur.

Igor.

Do not worry about this, it is simply another facet to your power, we will explain at a later time, for now, simply continue on with your life.

Igor's voice was as infuriatingly collected as ever in his opinion, but his words were a small comfort to this strange situation, another facet of his power? He wondered what else was going to happen in the coming year, at the rate it was going, chances are he'd end up overthrowing a god or something, he laughed inwardly at that ludicrous thought.

Yeah right!

However, he had no more time to ponder as suddenly, the blue mist dissipated and without warning, time seemed to return to the world, Kanji continued his previously paused movement and stood up.

"Well, thanks for the chat Senpai, but I gotta' go, I'll talk to ya later yeah?"

"Yeah, of-course Kanji-san, looking forward to it, goodbye".

Kanji smirked as he waved, striding away, "hope you feel better soon!" he shouted over his shoulder, bringing a small smile to his face.

"So, do I…" he murmured to himself.

He arrived home shortly after the chat with Kanji, feeling mildly energised after the days ordeals, opening the door, he found himself staring down at a pouting Nanako, her big, innocent eyes adorably glaring at his tired form, no words were spoken as she simply pointed at the couch, her eyes practically ordering him to sit down, and for the life of him, he could not find this act anything less that heart-melting, so he amusingly followed her silent demands and seated himself, relaxing the second his rear-end hit the couch. The small girl was on in a second, her small hand presenting two tablets.

"Daddy said you were poorly and needed rest, daddy always gives me two of these when I'm poorly!" Her entire demeanour tried to present the aura of command, but all he could see was an innocent young girl trying to make her cousin better. Without hesitation he grabbed the tablets, they were harmless old tablets, most likely wouldn't do anything to help or hinder him, but it was the overwhelmingly caring thought that made his eyes begin to tear up. Immediately he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his long-sleeved coat, hiding his burgeoning tears for his younger cousin, he swallowed the tablets, no water needed, he has had more than enough experience with taking medication he no longer required water to get them down. He smiled, a true happy smile at Nanako; "Thank-you, I feel much better now" he lied, to anyone older than Nanako, it would be obvious, however, her level of innocence worked against her as her cute pout transformed into a beaming smile, as she skipped away to the kitchen counter.

"Is uncle-san not back yet?" He questioned, honestly wanting to talk with his small cousin.

"No…" a sad sigh left her lips, before it was quickly replaced with her usual exuberance; "but he said since tomorrow is Sunday, he's going to try and sit down with us and get some takeaway" she returned to him, a cup of steaming coffee in her small hands that were wrapped in a pair of pink, flower-dotted oven mitts, her tongue poking out his mouth; a look of concentration on her as she worked on not dropping the mug. He gratefully took it from her, ignoring the sweltering heat assailing his left palm as he placed it on a nearby surface.

"You'll eat with us, won't you?" It was an innocent enough question, but he was smart enough to see the underlying wordings beneath it, she was still sad over him not feeling well enough to eat the Chinese food with them the other day. So he nodded, reassuringly, determined to take part in this little family gathering, it would give him the needed opportunity to ask about an allowance for groceries anyway. Nanako clapped her mitts together happily at his answer, before quickly rushing back to the kitchen to put the mitts away. He glanced at the time, it was time for tea, and sine Dojima was not there to order takeout, he felt a small smirk cross his face.

"Hey, Nanako-chan, how about I have a look and see what I could cook for tea tonight? Of course, I'll need a certain Sous Chef to help me, but I wonder if she's available…" a knowing smirked crept onto his face as a certain cousin practically barrelled into his vision.

"I'm right here head-chef" she almost shouted, even adding a small salute to accentuate her statement.

He couldn't help, he laughed outwardly at the display of cuteness.

After such a stressful day, he needed this, he really did.

Chapter 4 FIN

Well, there you go, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I certainly had enough trouble writing it! But I ultimately enjoyed what I ended up with.