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. No flames, capiche!?

Disclaimer: Once I can think of another clever way to say I don't own Persona 4 or the song used in this fanfiction, I'll use it.

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… Things are really heating up now!

BTW, the explanation about the stalker won't lead to anything later. I just felt that I should put it there to emphasize Souji's relief.

This chapter is going to have the entire rescue in it, so it may be very lengthy. I apologize for this, but please "bear" with me. (Hehehehe…I said "bear!")

Forward!

&

…If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you have…?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+0+---------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Desperation"----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since he joined the Investigation team, Kanji didn't really like rain. When it came for several days, it meant fog. And fog meant "you'd better have saved the person in the TV by now, dammit."

But now, he was a bit relieved by it. So far, the killer hadn't succeeded kidnapping Yosuke and his time was almost up. It was ironic-normally a period of rainy days was the deadline for the group, but now it meant the killer's time was up.

"KANJI!" Teddie's frantic voice called. The first-year looked over at the soaked blonde, frowning.

"Teddie? The hell are you doing out here?" he asked.

"It's Yosuke-he's gone!" Teddie shouted, his blue eyes wide with panic. "I came downstairs and he wasn't there!"

"Umm…you sure he didn't just leave? School's today, y'know." Kanji reminded him.

"But the front door was left wide open!" Teddie exclaimed. "And his bag was left right by it!"

"He what!? Dammit! I'll let Senpai know!" Kanji changed his pace from a slow walk to a breaking run. It didn't take a genius or a detective to figure out that no one planning to leave the house would leave the door open. Or leave something important behind.

Spotting Souji up ahead, he called out to him. "Senpai! We got a problem!"

Souji stopped and waited for the younger male to catch up. "What's going on?" he asked, keeping his composure as always.

"Teddie said that Yosuke-senpai's missing!" Kanji had yet to calm down. "The front door was open and he didn't take his bag with him!"

Souji stopped walking and seemed to have taken a keen interest in the ground. "…You sure?" he asked quietly, the calmness of his voice slightly cracking.

"'Course I'm sure!" Kanji exclaimed. "Why the hell would I make something up!?"

His older classmate took a deep breath and let it out. He raised his head and continued forward. "We'll have to get him out, then." He said, gray eyes set. "Head over to Junes as soon as they let you out. And tell Rise and Naoto what happened so they can meet up with everyone else."

"I'm on it." Watching Souji walk ahead, Kanji realized something in the conversation had sounded off. As far as he could remember, the silver haired teen was always the one who kept a cool-level head even in the worst of situations until Naoto came-though he still remained the same.

But this time, he sounded panicked.

&

Yosuke groaned as he struggled to wake up. His eyes slowly opened, taking in the foggy surroundings. 'I must be inside the TV…' he thought, reaching into his pocket for his glasses. He pulled them out and put them on before taking a look around.

The brunette was sitting on a long, narrow steel bridge held up by numerous cables. It swayed as he stood up, prompting him to grab on to the rails. In front of him, the fog was unusually thick so even with his glasses on he couldn't see beyond it. Behind him, he could see where the bridge ended. 'Might as well try to get out of this place.' He decided, heading down the bridge towards the visible end.

As he approached it, Yosuke spotted a dark blob approaching. Frowning, he took a few cautious steps forward for a better look before reeling backwards.

It was a Shadow-and it had spotted him. Already it was coming towards him, arms frantically pulling its goopy body along the ground in what would be a comical fashion if this wasn't such a bad situation.

There was too much of a risk fighting on the bridge, so he started running down the opposite end, hoping nothing else waited for him on the other side.

&

Lunchtime

The morning classes had been torture for Souji. As much as he knew he had to keep going to school so that he wouldn't draw unwanted attention, he wanted nothing more than to rush over to Junes and go into the other world.

Relief went through him as lunch finally came. At least now he could find a way to burn off the adrenaline building up after he ate. He didn't really care about it raining outside-if he had to sit through his afternoon classes with this pent-up energy he'd go insane.

When he pulled out his lunch, however, he came dangerously close to breaking down. Before coming home last night, Nanako had gotten groceries. As he had always done, Souji used some of them to make lunch for himself and someone else.

He had been planning on eating with Yosuke.

"Souji-kun?"

Yukiko's voice brought him back to reality. She and Chie were standing next to each other, both with worried looks on their faces. "Are you alright…?" Chie asked cautiously. She probably knew what he would answer, but Souji knew she was doing her best to help him.

"Just restless…" he admitted. "We only have a day to get him out of there."

"I know what you mean." Chie sighed. "Too bad it's Monday-if it was Sunday we'd have a lot more time to get him out of there. But there's no use complaining."

"No-we just have to go after him as soon as we can." Souji said. Silence stretched between the three, until-

"You love him, don't you?"

Souji looked over at Yukiko before nodding. "Same for you and Chie, right?"

Both girls looked surprised, but managed to nod. "Anyways, we'll definitely get him out." Chie said. "Don't worry."

&

Pounding footsteps echoed on the bridge as Yosuke rushed to the other side. He didn't bother looking behind him to see if the Shadow was following him-he knew it was.

A loud grinding noise turned his attention to the side. Several of the cables were snapping, sending segments of the bridge falling into the fog. The grinding noise had come from the metal scraping against itself as it broke off. He picked up his pace even more.

The end of the bridge was now clear enough for him to see. Yosuke sprinted as fast as he could to the end just as the rest of the bridge collapsed. Looking back, he smiled with relief-the Shadow had still been on the bridge. 'Right now, I don't think I'll be able to fight anything.'

He collapsed onto the ground, taking in big gulps of air. What felt like hours went by before he finally stood up and looked around. 'It would really suck if I got stranded on something like an island.' Thankfully, that was not the case; as he saw an all-too familiar place.

"This place again…" Yosuke muttered, looking at what awaited him. It was the replicated Shopping District. A lot had happened here-it was the first place he and Souji really investigated and where they gained their Personas. It was also where Saki had died and where he met his Shadow. Like the rest of the group, he disliked coming to the place where his feelings were laid bare.

An idea came to him. "I still remembered how to get here from our meeting place." He said aloud. "So I should be able to head over there." Despite the current circumstances, he grinned. "At this rate, I'll be out in no time!"

He spoke too soon.

Passing by the replicated Liquor store, he noticed two shapes coming out of the black and red portal. 'Shadows…' Yosuke pulled out his kunai. 'But this time, I'm prepared!' He was not able to use lightning attacks like Kanji or Souji, but he was sure he was more than a match for the Slipping Habeleries coming out.

However, instead of forming into spherical shapes like they did last time, they took on more menacing forms. One of them became a black figure with what looked like hands forming a collar while the other turned into a red knight riding a floating horse.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

&

After School

The moment class was dismissed, Souji sat up from his seat and headed out of the school towards Junes. Chie and Yukiko did the same, as did the three first years. All of them knew they only had a day to rescue their team mate and every second counted.

Teddie was waiting for them in the food court. The group briefly met up before heading down into the electronics department and entering through the large television set.

"Just give me a few minutes. I'll find Yosuke-senpai." Rise told the rest of the group as she summoned Himiko, a female figure with a satellite dish for a face. As she scanned the world for the brunette's whereabouts, Souji leaned against the railing surrounding the platform they stood on. His gray eyes looked blankly into the foggy air.

He couldn't let it happen again.

"Senpai?"

Naoto's voice was soft, trying not to startle her older classmate. Souji turned to look at her concerned face. "Something wrong, Naoto?" he asked.

The detective shook her head. "I was actually going to ask you the same question." She admitted. "There's something bothering you, and it's not just the disappearance of a team mate."

It was times like this that Souji wished Naoto wasn't so observant. The outcome that had almost come nearly half a year ago haunted him-refusing to let him forget. It was something he didn't want to talk about.

But the look in Naoto's eyes told him that she would not take "no" for an answer. She would continue to push him for details until she knew for sure that her leader was fine. And right now, Souji didn't need that sort of conflict-not when they were getting ready for a rescue.

"There was something that happened when Yosuke and I were here." Souji told her. "You know that nearly everyone here had a Shadow the rest of us fought, right?"

"Yes, I remember it being mentioned more than once." Naoto confirmed. "And the same thing happened to Yosuke-san, correct?"

Souji nodded and, after Naoto promised not to ask about anything else about the encounter ("This is something private-if he never told us about it, it's because he doesn't want to talk about it."), he told her what happened that day until Rise announced that she located the teen they were talking about. The two of them were silent as they headed off in the direction where it had begun.

&

Yosuke jumped out of the way as the knight attempted to skewer him on its lance, thankful he had used Sukukaja earlier. He called his Persona, Jiraiya, and attempted to use Sonic Punch on the knight. The attack had no affect-the knight must have been immune to physical attacks.

An Agidyne spell courtesy of the magus fired at him next, nearly scorching his uniform. Dodging another attack from the knight, he cast Garudyne on it. The attack was more effective-the knight crumpled to the ground as the blast of wind hit it. 'So it's weak to wind. Good to know.' He prepared to cast another wind spell to take down the knight.

A shock ran through his body.

Falling to his knees, Yosuke cursed. The magus apparently didn't only use fire spells-it also used lightning too.

His weakness.

Another Ziodyne shot through his body, numbing his limbs and scrambling his thoughts. He watched in a daze as the knight got back up and headed towards him. It knew that the teen would no longer be able to keep dodging its attacks; it would be able to finish him off in one strike.

Everything seemed to slow down as the knight's horse reared up; the rider drawing its arm back, preparing the impale Yosuke on its lance. Brown eyes closed, accepting his fate.

'Sorry, Saki-senpai…You're going to see me a lot earlier than planned…' He breathed slowly. '…Souji…I'll see you later…'

&

It was a cruel irony. The group was rushing through the replicated Shopping District-the same place where the one they were rescuing had faced himself. But it was crueler on the silver haired boy leading them; it was almost as if he was being taunted by fate, her asking him "Will you be able to prevent it again?" He tightened his grip on his sword and picked up his speed-he had an idea where his best friend was.

If he had heard the shouts from the rest of the group, Souji ignored them. He ran as fast as he could until he spotted the Liquor Store up ahead. Sure enough, he spotted a familiar figure fighting off two Shadows.

The former collapsed to the ground as a bolt of lightning went through his body. Another bolt left him immobile, giving an opportunity to attack to the imposing knight figure. It glided in front of its victim, preparing to finish him off in one attack.

Images of what had happened when he was here last surfaced in his mind. They were a reminder of what would happen; a message telling him to hurry! Souji charged into the fight, shoving the dazed brunette out of the way. "Not this time!" he yelled. He was about to pull Yosuke away from the Shadows when he felt a sharp pain.

It took him five seconds to realize what happened.

His gaze slowly traveled down. The lance's sharp point was embedded in his chest. A sickly purple fluid dripped from the base into the wound.

The weapon was torn out of his body mercilessly, but he was too shocked to cry out in pain. His legs collapsed under his weight as he fell to the hard ground. His surroundings began to blur and darken, though he could make out familiar shapes moving towards him and Yosuke calling out his name.

Souji winced. 'Not until I tell him.'

&

"SOUJI!"

Yosuke ran over to his fallen partner, gently shaking his shoulders. "C'mon, stay awake!" he choked out. "Everyone else will be here soon. Stay awake, please!"

"Get…Away…" Souji murmured, struggling to stay up. "Shadows…are still…here…"

"And leave you? Hell no!" The brunette pulled his friend away from the Shadows as fast as he could, but they were catching up quickly. The magus growled as it prepared to unleash another spell. Yosuke shut his eyes and prepared for the impact.

It never came.

"Yosuke-senpai, what are you standing around for?"

Kanji stood in front of the older males, a bit frazzled from the Ziodyne but still ready to tear through the Shadows. "What are you waiting for!?" he growled. "You and Senpai get the hell outta here!" He called up Take-Mikazuchi and started fighting off the Shadows.

Yosuke pulled Souji away from the fight as the rest of the group approached. Upon seeing the silver haired teen's wounds, Yukiko immediately summoned Konohana Sakuya to heal him. Chie, Naoto, and Teddie joined Kanji in fighting the Shadows with their Personas while Rise provided back-up.

After three Diarahans, Souji's wounds weren't getting better. Yukiko frowned. "I don't get it…" she murmured. "One Diarahan should've been more than enough to heal him. So then why are his wounds still here?"

Her classmate vaguely remembered something purple on the knight's lance going into Souji's wounds. His eyes widened as he realized what it could be. "Yukiko, do you think he might be poisoned?" he asked.

"It could be…" Yukiko agreed. "But if it is, then we have a problem. No one went by the Shiroku store to restock on items, so we're out of Dokudami Tea. And none of my spells can heal poison."

Yosuke swore under his breath. "If Souji was alright, he'd be able to use a spell to get rid of it." The wounds began to open up again-Yukiko used another Diarahan to keep him alive. Slowly, gray eyes began to open up. "Stay with us, alright?" he spoke quietly to his partner. "We'll get out of this soon."

Souji was silent. Slowly, his eyes began to close again. "Souji, stay awake!" Yosuke panicked. "Just hold on! I'll go get something for the poison. Just hold on…" He got up, ready to run back to their world for a Dokudami Tea, when a hand caught his wrist.

"Don't…" Souji muttered. "…Not going to last long…"

"What are you saying…?"

"Yosuke…there's something I want to tell you…before I die…" Souji was doing his best to hold on. "…So I won't have any regrets…"

"Regrets…" Yosuke repeated quietly. 'So that was what he was trying to tell me.' He shook his head. "Don't tell me, Partner. Because that's going to be your reason to hold on." He slowly got up. "If you're so hung up on not having any regrets if you die, than you'll hold on if you haven't done everything you wanted, right? So don't say what's on your mind right now-then you can get out of here alive. I promise I will, too!"

"Yosuke-senpai! We need your help over here!" Rise shouted. "Wind works on the knight and the magus keeps healing it!"

"Alright! Teddie, can you help Yukiko heal Souji!?" He called out to the bear mascot. "He's poisoned, so your Amrita spell would be really useful!"

"Got it! You keep fighting and I'll help Sensei!" Teddie switched with Yosuke, immediately going over to their leader and giving what aid he could. The brunette prepared to call Jiraiya and finish the battle so that everyone could go home. 'I'll wait to tell you, Souji…What I just realized now. Just hold on.'

He jumped up and shattered the card to call his Persona. But instead of casting a Garudyne, Jiraiya hovered in the air; a blue glow surrounding the frog-like entity. As the rest of the group continued to fight the Shadows, a flash of bright light erupted.

A new figure now floated before Yosuke. The previously white body was now blue while the green ends were red. The grinning mouth chest piece was replaced by a frilled collar and sunglasses while the eyes perched on top of the head became a large red hair-do. A hoop surrounding the figure took the place of the blades on their hands. "What the…" He muttered, confused. Souji was the only one in the group who could use more than one Persona. So why did he have a different one…?

And yet…this new entity before him now didn't seem that different from Jiraiya. In fact, Yosuke was sure they were the same being. Just…changed. A name slowly floated in his mind, and as the magus Shadow turned its eyes on him he continued where he left off.

"Go! Susano-o!" He shouted. Susano-o's ring shot up into the air as the Garudyne hit its mark. The knight collapsed and was soon decimated by another Garudyne. Now there was just one Shadow left.

The magus roared in rage and threw a Ziodyne at Yosuke. Electricity surged through his body, but his legs didn't collapse under him like they would before. A Hamaon-courtesy of Sukuna Hikona-destroyed the magus before it could figure out why the spell that once rendered the brunette helpless wasn't doing so now.

As soon as the Shadow disappeared, the group rushed over to where their leader laid. Thankfully he was in much better shape thanks to Teddie and Yukiko; the poison was gone and the bleeding had gone away. Gray eyes were slowly opening, returning to the conscious world.

Brown eyes lit up warmly. "Good to see you're alright, Partner."

&

And that's where I'm ending so that I won't overwhelm you too much!

The last chapter and long awaited confession is coming up! But show enough love and I'll throw in an epilogue too. It will take place either on Christmas Eve or the night before Souji leaves-either way it will involve warm fluff between the couple here.

That's about it-until next time!