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. Flame me for the pairing, and the Soul Catchers will come for you!

Disclaimer: …No. I don't own Persona 4 or the song used in this fanfiction. This story, however, is MINE!

Rating: T for language-not something I'd expect for an M rated game.

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… Two social link events are going to happen in this chapter. And one of them is number 8! (This is the last chapter the bitchy girls from the Magician social link will make an appearance, so I rejoice!)

Anyways, this chapter and the next are going to be a break from the storyline and will focus more on the pairings. There's another nightmare in this, too.

Read on!

&

…And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above?
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?...

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------"Requiem"-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After School: October 22, 2011

"Looks like the Culture festival this year is going to be really interesting." Yosuke commented. He and Souji were sitting at one of the tables in the Junes food court. Earlier that day, their class had voted to do a Group Date Café for their contribution to the Culture day festival.

"What else happens during the festival?" Souji asked, curious.

"Hmm…there's a Beauty Pageant every year…" the brunette listed. "And…Oh yeah! There's also a Cross-Dressing Pageant, but hardly anyone enters that one for obvious reasons."

"Has anyone entered?" Souji asked.

"A few; and they either looked butt-ugly or pulled it off so well it was scary." Yosuke shuddered at the memory. "Anyways, whatcha gonna eat today?"

"Hey, Hanamura!!" He groaned-it was the two girls again.

"…What is it today?" he asked.

"How come Kazumi can take the day off and we can't?" One of the girls demanded.

"…Huh?" He raised his eyebrows.

"We told you before!" Her friend snapped. "We can't work weekends! So when we refused, they said they were going to fire us! I don't get this!"

"Hey, I talked to the manager…" Yosuke explained. "Senpai…have you been taking absences without leave lately?"

The two of them exchanged nervous glances. "I-I just forgot to come…" The first girl said, hoping the excuse would be enough. "Besides, that's not the point! What're you going to do about this!? I have a date that day!"

"How come you're favoring Kazumi, huh!?" her friend accused. "You were like that with Saki, too!"

"…Huh?" A weight settled across his chest.

"Don't try to hide it! We all know!" She continued. "You liked Saki and treated her special!"

"…I don't think Saki-senpai has anything to do with the subject." Yosuke said coolly.

"Yeah, it does!!" The girl insisted. "You told the other workers to take it easy on Saki, didn't you? You think you can do anything just because you're the manager's son!?"

"So it's Kazumi now that Saki's dead!?" her friend asked vehemently. "Don't even bother, she has a boyfriend." Her next words were like a knife in his chest. "Didn't you get it!? Saki didn't like you! We heard so from her! She may have acted that way but…" The two of them continued to bad mouth Saki, while Yosuke sat silently. He didn't know what to do.

"I feel bad for Saki-senpai."

Brown eyes widened and looked up. Souji had stood up and was now facing the girls. "Being talked about like that when you're dead…I wouldn't wish that on anyone." He said calmly, trying to get them to stop.

The pain in Yosuke's chest lessened slightly. "Souji…"

"Wha-Who are you!?" One of the girls snapped at him. "You shut up!"

Something inside Yosuke snapped. It was bad enough they were saying those things about Saki, but now they were taking it out on his best friend, who was only trying to lessen the tension. He sat up angrily and faced the two girls. "You're the ones who should shut up!!" he shouted. "What do you know about Saki-senpai!? She didn't do things half-assed like you! She looked lazy, but she worked hard! She talked bad, but she was good inside!" He continued despite the girls drawing back. "So she hated me? I knew that! She's not here anymore! I'm left behind! …Just leave me alone."

"Wh-What the heck…?" one of the girls muttered, surprised that the younger male she was used to taking abuse without batting an eye was now yelling at her.

"…Let's go." Her friend said quietly. The two of them left without another word.

"…I just blurted out a bunch of crap, huh?" Yosuke murmured, looking at the ground.

"You were just upset." Souji pointed out. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"N-No, I was just…" he smiled pathetically. "Damn, another pathetic display from Yosuke, huh? …Thanks, though. Hearing you say that stuff to them…It made me happy."

"I just couldn't stand by." Souji shrugged. "Not when they were saying things like that. I meant what I said-no one should be talked about badly…especially if they aren't around."

"Well, thanks anyway." Yosuke smiled sheepishly, then sighed. "I don't want to…I really don't want to…But I'll go talk with Dad…At this rate, those two are gonna quit…I should tell him and apologize…" he took a few steps forward, then stopped. "I don't know…What do I want to do? I don't get it…even though it's my own future. …Sorry, but I'll see you later, Souji." He walked off quietly.

As he looked for his father, he tried to make sense of the feelings in his chest. The pain was gone, but it seemed like a lump had formed. It didn't take too long to figure it out, however-it had been old wounds that were ripped open.

'Maybe…once I talk with Dad I should go somewhere to cool off."

&

As Souji made his way back home, he thought about what had just occurred. He had to admit he didn't like Saki very much. It wasn't because she didn't like Yosuke-he understood that no one was going to be liked by everyone. But what bugged him was that she pretended to be nice to him. And because of that, when Yosuke did learn the truth it hurt him more than if she had said so in the first place.

But at the same time, he didn't want to sit silently while someone talked badly about a person who couldn't do anything to stop them. If he had a worse temper, he would've told the girls to shut up. Yet that wouldn't have done anything but make things worse, and he knew it wasn't fair to yell at them when his best friend was doing his best to deal with them calmly.

Walking by the river, Souji glanced over and noticed a familiar figure. Yosuke was sitting by the river, staring at something in his hands. He made his way down the steps leading down and stood beside the brunette.

"…Hm? Souji?" Yosuke looked up, then got up on his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"The fog hasn't come yet-I can't leave you here while the killer's loose." Souji explained.

Brown eyes looked at the ground. "Oh, right…I forgot…"

"…Also…" his partner looked up, puzzled. "You looked upset."

Yosuke was silent. After a few moments, he held out the object he was holding. It was a Print Club sticker with him and Saki in it. "I took this with Saki-senpai…" he explained. "When I first got here, she insisted on taking it…" he looked away uncomfortably. "Back then…somewhere inside me, I thought I was above this place…A lot of people saw me as the enemy, because Junes was going to ruin the shopping district…" he looked up. "But…when I met her, she told me 'Parents are parents. You're you.' Even if she didn't mean it, it made me happy. Because of her, I started to think this town wasn't all that bad. But then…"

"…she died?"

"Why…?" The brunette's eyes watered up. "Why did she…have to…die…?" he shook his head vehemently. "It pisses me off…It makes me mad! I wanted to talk with her more! I wanted to get to know her better! But…She's not here anymore." Finally, he let the tears fall. "Souji…I get it now…I wanted to forget about Saki-senpai. How she's not here anymore…I wanted to forget that…I was living a boring life in the middle of nowhere.

"When the murders started, I got excited. I thought there was finally a point to me being in Inaba. I thought I could forget Senpai was gone, and the fact I was such a loser. I jumped at the murders and never once thought about what I was doing. I…didn't even take the first step. I'm sorry…Saki-senpai. And you too, Souji…"

"You don't have to apologize…" Souji said quietly, so Yosuke wouldn't hear him. Seeing his partner like this was painful for him. "Not to me…" He let the brunette continue to pour his heart out.

"…I didn't care if she didn't like me. I just wanted her to smile." The tears were slowing down, but were still falling. "But I think I'm awake now. I need to get over the fact that Saki-senpai isn't coming back…that when the case ends, I have nowhere to run. And I won't have changed…You made me realize that."

"Yosuke…"

He wiped his eyes. "I think I'm all cried out…" he said, though there was still moisture in his eyes.

At this point, Souji couldn't just stand by anymore. He didn't think about what his best friend would think or might figure out later. Walking over to the one he loved, he pulled him into an embrace.

&

Yosuke didn't know what happened. One moment he was wiping the tears out of his eyes and the next he was being hugged by his partner. "You dumbass…That's for girls…" he muttered. "It hurts, dammit…" His eyes watered up again.

Deep down, he didn't really protest. Souji had hugged him in a way that the brunette could push him off if he wanted to and it wasn't tight. 'He feels…kinda warm…' he thought. Under normal circumstances he would've denied what he thought and pulled away; but right now he was content with crying on his best friend's shoulder.

&

Evening

Yosuke laid on his futon, but he couldn't get himself to fall asleep. Everything that had happened that day was still swimming in his mind. "It didn't feel wrong…" he whispered aloud. "But I don't feel those kinds of things for him…What's going on with me?"

"You've been talking to yourself lately." Brown eyes looked over to the speaker. Teddie was standing in the doorway, his blue eyes worried. "Did something happen between you and Sensei?"

The teen pulled the covers over his head so Teddie wouldn't see how on the spot he had guessed. "No, nothing happened." He lied. "I was just saying nonsense."

"But if you were saying nonsense, no one would understand a word you're saying!" The blonde pointed out. "You would've been talking gibberish!"

"Nonsense and gibberish are two different things, Ted!" Yosuke argued. "I was saying nonsense, not gibberish!"

"Sounds more like you were having problems." Teddie insisted. "I think you have some and you're just not saying anything! So this bear is going to sit right here and keep talking until you say what's on your mind!" He folded his arms and sat stubbornly in front of the doorway.

The music loving teen snorted. Despite what he was trying to do, Teddie looked more comical than serious; especially when he started babbling about different topics in an attempt to annoy the room's occupant. He managed to roll over, pull his pillow over his head, and block out the noise. Slowly, he drifted away from reality…

…and returned to the foggy place that occupied his nightmares. Just like before, Souji was standing with his back to him. But the silver haired teen was not taking a single step toward the fog-he stood as still as the person behind him.

Yosuke tried to move but found he couldn't. No surprise. He couldn't speak either. 'At least this time he isn't walking into the fog.' He looked on the bright side. 'But…what if he starts moving again? If he does, I won't be able to-'

"-able to what?"

If he had been able to move, he would have frozen. He knew that voice all too well. Even if he could turn his head, there would be no need-he knew what he would see. 'What is he doing here?'

"You know I can hear what you're thinking." His own voice answered. It was coming from right behind him. "Remember? We're the same person."

'I know that, dammit.'

"Hm? No denials, huh?"

'You think I'll make the same mistake I did long ago-after watching what happened to everyone? Not a chance. You're me, and I'm you-I already know that.'

It should've made the world quiet again, should've made the third occupant vanish. But it didn't. Instead, he shuddered as he felt someone lean over to whisper in his ear. "Is that so?" His voice asked quietly. "Then…if I killed that guy in front of you, would that mean you're the murderer?"

Brown eyes widened as the speaker smirked. Souji was once again descending into the fog, but now he knew what awaited his partner. 'No…don't. Leave him out of this…Souji has nothing to do with this.'

A quiet laugh answered his pleads. "I really hate you, ya know." The one behind him continued. "If we weren't connected, I would've gotten rid of you. But hearing you scream as he falls works just as well."He moved away from the frozen teen, towards the figure fading in the fog.

'Stop! Leave him alone! Don't hurt him!' His replica paid no heed to his desperate cries. He tried calling out to his partner instead. 'Souji, run! Get away! Run!'

The second figure stopped and looked over at him with yellow eyes. "It's no use-you don't have the guts to take a step towards him." He said as Souji faded into the fog. "That's why you're completely helpless." He turned back and disappeared.

Yosuke waited for the end, waiting to wake up from this nightmare. 'It should end any time now.' He thought. 'Any time now, I'll wake up and-'

The thick, white fog turned blood red.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. He stared wide-eyed and dropped to his knees-as though the binds that had been restraining him were taken off. "N-No…he's not…there's no way…" his voice was shaking. A lump was forming in his chest. "He can't be…Souji wouldn't…" Tears were building up in his eyes.

Yet as much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, deep down he knew what happened. "He's…He's…"he hiccupped. "He's…" Rain fell from above and from brown eyes. "He's gone…"

No one heard his cries…

…as his eyes sprung open and he sat up abruptly. He was breathing hard, taking in short gasps of air. Cold sweat covered his body and he could still feel tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Teddie was still awake-he had to give the bear credit for being tenacious when he really wanted to. "You were tossing and turning and you kept saying 'no' over and over again."

"Umm…" Yosuke bit his lip. "I was dreaming…about this girl I liked." He lied.

"Oh! Then why were you saying 'no?'"

"…She was dating someone else."

"So that's what was wrong!" Teddie shouted triumphantly. "You got upset because you have a hard time scoring with her!"

"Keep your voice down, Ted! If you wake my parents up, then you'll have to find another place to stay!"

"I know!" The blonde continued, ignoring the teen's protests. "I can give you tips on scoring! I've been practicing and I can guarantee that if you follow them the girl you like will find you un-Bear-ably irresistible!"

Yosuke continued to hiss at him to keep his voice down, which took a few minutes. Miraculously, his parents slept like the dead. But in the back of his mind, the visions he saw would not leave him.

&

Another chapter done! Whew, I'm going through these pretty quickly!

There will be more with Chie and Yukiko in the next chapter. And I'm going to try and get Kanji and Rise involved more.

Till then!