Title: "Last Days"

Author: Agony-Howl

Summary: When the unthinkable happens, the Investigation team is on high alert. As they prepare for the killer to strike, Yosuke tries to figure out his feelings towards his partner and what he meant by "Today may be your last."

Pairings: Seta/Hana with Chi/Yuki on the sidelines. If you don't like it, use the magic "back" button.

Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if I owned Persona 4.

Rating: T-oddly tame

WARNING!!! There will be shonen-ai and shojo-ai. So if you don't like it, then don't read or flame me!

Before I begin… This chapter is a milestone in my fanfiction career; the first time I've ever written shojo-ai. For some reason, I find it easier to right guyXguy stuff than girlXgirl stuff-maybe because I'm more butch than feminine. The scene might be short and not too romantic, but keep in mind it's my first time. And if I improve enough, I might write a one-shot or even a full-length story. So constructive criticism is highly appreciated.

Now let us continue!

&

…If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say good-bye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last,
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?...

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------"Restriction"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Evening

"Who was Ferdinand Magellan again?" Chie asked. She and Yukiko were in the living room of the Satonaka household, books scattered on the floor. The two of them were making an attempt to study for the upcoming midterms; or, more of Chie was trying. But it almost seemed like her brain would refuse to hold any information it was given.

"He was the first person to circle the globe, remember?" Yukiko explained patiently.

"Oh, alright I think I got it…" Chie paused. "…no, I don't. It pretty much went in one ear and out the other."

Silence.

"Chie."

"Hmm? Do you need something, Yukiko? If you're getting hungry, I could go get some ramen."

The dark haired girl shook her head. "No, I'm fine. But I was thinking, you don't seem to remember the material just by reading over it again and again. So what if we try something else?" she suggested.

"Like what?"

"Well, you know how some students quiz each other on the information?" Yukiko asked. "I was thinking we could do something like that, but add a little twist to it…"

"A…twist?" Now Chie was starting to get interested.

"I'll ask you a question, and you try to answer it correctly. If you get it right, I'll give you something special. But if you get it wrong, you have to answer two questions right to get it. And if you get the question after it wrong, than you have to answer three right. Will that work?"

"That depends on what the 'special something' is." Chie commented.

Yukiko smiled. "It's a surprise. Get a question right and you'll find out. But I promise you'll love it."

Now the short-haired girl was hooked. "Alright then! Fire away the first question!"

"First, read over the notes." Yukiko reminded her. "You can't start without preparing yourself."

"I guess that's true…"Chie murmured before she started reading over the notes. Except this time her curiosity and anticipation of whatever may come seemed to help her retain more information than normal. After fifteen minutes, the quizzing began.

"What is a hyperbole?" Yukiko asked.

"Hmm…hyperbole…hyperbole…" Chie rubbed her head, trying to remember something about the term. "What was it again…Hey, there's no time limit, right?"

"No-you can take as long as you want to answer the question." Yukiko replied.

"Whew, that's good to know. Hold on-I think I got it! It's something that's really exaggerated, like 'I'm so hungry I can eat a horse!' Is that right?"

"It is." Yukiko smiled. "Now, close your eyes…"

Chie's eyelids went down, though she was a bit confused as to why she had to do this. 'What is Yukiko planning?' she wondered. 'If she wants to help me study, it can't be something bad, at least.'

Something soft touched her lips. Chie opened her eyes and found her friend's face close to her own. When Yukiko drew back, she asked. "So, how did you like it?"

Chie grinned. "I think I'm more pumped up now!" she said. "Ready for the next question!"

"Alright, then. What pigment makes salmon red?"

&

Meanwhile

"What a day…" Yosuke muttered as he flopped on to his futon. After parting ways with Souji, he had made his way home with some difficulty. He kept jumping at any sound that was made, thinking that the killer was going to strike. Even when he told himself that no one in their right mind would pull off a kidnapping in front of witnesses, his body still reacted to anything that it perceived as a threat.

Even though he felt tired, the brunette couldn't get himself to fall asleep. Studying didn't help him at all when he did it on his own, and since Teddie didn't know any of the material he was no help. 'Maybe I'll ask Souji to help me…' he thought. But when he started thinking of the silver haired teen, he recalled the look of concern his friend wore when he found out he was going to be targeted next. Although he kept telling himself it was because this was the first time one of the Investigation team members was picked as the next victim, Yosuke couldn't help but think that it might have been something else.

"Damn it, why am I thinking stuff like this?!" he huffed. "We're both guys who are into girls! Kanji's the one who's supposed to have thoughts like this, not me!" He was probably just tired. A good night's rest was what he needed-that would clear his head. Laying on the futon, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted away from the real world…

…his eyes opened on their own accord. Fog surrounded him, making it hard to see anything around him. However, he could make out a figure in the distance. As he tried to see who the person was, it was like the image became clearer. Brown eyes widened as they recognized who the person was.

Souji Seta.

He was standing with his back to Yosuke, as if deciding what to do. Then, he began to walk forward. Dread clenched the brunette's heart-his intuition was telling him that if his friend went farther into the fog, he would never be seen again.

Yosuke tried to run forward, tried to call out for him to stop. But he found that his feet were firmly rooted to the ground and no sound would come out of his mouth. All he could do was watch and pray that Souji would realize what awaited him and would stop.

Yet the silver haired teen kept walking forward, never looking back. He became a black shape as he went farther into the fog, then slowly faded away until all that was left was fog.

Brown eyes snapped open. His body was covered with a cold sweat. Taking a few deep breaths, Yosuke tried to calm himself down without success. The nightmare had been one of the most horrifying experiences after facing his Shadow. It wouldn't have been as bad if it was something sudden, like something popping out of nowhere and attacking him-he was use to that after spending time in the TV world. But the feeling of utter helplessness, of not being able to do anything as his best friend disappeared into the fog…

'I never want to be like that…'

&

Lunchtime: October 13, 2011

As soon as he spotted Souji, Yosuke made his way over to him. "Hey, Souji! My buddy, my pal!" he grinned.

Souji turned to the brunette. "Alright, Yosuke. What do you need?"

He sighed. "There's a sale going on at Junes, and my Dad asked me to find people to help out. I know midterms are coming up and you'd rather study, but after work I could-"

"I'll be there." Souji cut him off. "After school, right?"

"Umm…right. See you then." He walked off, his heart thumping against his chest. He couldn't explain what the feeling was. It wasn't pounding, but it was harder than normal-and it was almost like how he felt around Saki Konishi, a third-year he thought he had been close to. 'Could it be because I'm around…NO!' he shook his head angrily, as if that would get the thought out of his head. 'Try thinking about something else!' But as much as he tried, he couldn't get his partner out of his thoughts.

&

After School

Souji and Yosuke had finished up work and were now taking a break in the food court. "Phew, I'm dead tired…" the brunette muttered. "They decided on a sale at the last minute and Dad was bugging me to find helpers. I told him I didn't have time for that, but he wasn't listening." He smiled at Souji. "But hey, I'm glad you were there! Thanks."

"It wasn't a problem." Souji said. "Though next time they should plan things out."

"Hey, I suffered too!" Yosuke protested.

"Oh, Hanamura." A familiar girl's voice called. It was the two girls from before. They walked up to the two friends. "What's with the crowd today? It's way busy. If I'd known, I would've skipped out."

"Please don't." Yosuke smiled, hoping it would lighten the tension. "You got a bonus for today, right?"

"Yeah, a whole 500 yen." The other girl muttered. "I'm trying to save up! Gimme a raise."

The teen sighed. "Well…I don't think I can help you there…"

The girl huffed. "What's the point, then?" The two of them walked off, but stopped not too far from the boys. They started talking loudly enough to be heard, even from far away. One of them was complaining about finding a way to pay for her graduation trip. However, the next thing she said caught Yosuke's attention.

"…like Saki did?"

He bit his lip as they talked about how Saki had tried to elope with a guy from college last year, but ended up coming home and said she would save up her money and leave on her own. "It doesn't matter." He finally spoke up. "It's just hot air. I'm not going to let it get to me. …it's sad to be talked about like that, though."

The brunette sighed. "We're the only ones who can avenge Saki-senpai. We're special. We're the only ones. So…there's no need to bother with outsiders."

Souji made a "hmm" noise before he spoke. "You're acting mature about this."

Yosuke smiled sheepishly. "I saw the kid in me inside the TV. I felt I needed to change…" His somber mood returned. "I think it's good you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it this far."

Silence stretched between them. "By the way, Souji?"

"Hmm?"

"What you said yesterday…about 'today being my last.' What was that supposed to mean?"

Souji had a wry smile. "That's something you'll have to figure out on your own. But I can tell you I didn't mean it literally. And…it's something that's been bugging me for awhile." He admitted.

Yosuke raised an eyebrow. "Bugging you? I never thought you'd let something bother you like this."

His partner shrugged. "Guess that means I'm human after all." He said as he got up. "It's getting late. Don't forget midterms start tomorrow."

The brunette made a sour face. "How could I?" he frowned. "Probably will have to pull an all-nighter…Well, see you tomorrow." He started to make his way home.

&

Souji watched Yosuke leave the food court before he started walking home himself. Quietly, he prayed that his cru-…best friend…would get home safely. He grimaced. 'I'm hiding it from him, not me.' He berated himself. 'I don't have to lie to myself. Besides, there's no point.'

He couldn't recall when he started seeing the music loving teen as more than a friend. Maybe it was after saving Kanji-the sauna's theme DID bring up the subject, after all. Or maybe it had been when Rise was targeted and Yosuke was talking about her with such an excited tone, not knowing that his partner was trying to keep his jealousy in check.

Yet Souji could remember clearly when it was he started worrying about the brunette. And ever since that day, he had wished that Yosuke had just stayed out of the investigation altogether. But he knew that it wouldn't be fair to leave him out, since he was so intent on avenging Saki. Also, in order to find the killer it was important for everyone who could help to do their own share of fighting.

And now Yosuke was the next target…

'I won't let it happen again.' Souji resolved. 'I won't screw up like I almost did that day.' He turned and ran after his best friend. There was still some time before he had to head home, so he might as well see to it that the brunette got home without any problems.

&

Phew…at the last minute I had decided to add something from Souji's point of view.

Not much to say about this chapter-so see ya later!