Caution: Please bear in mind that this Fanfiction contains a LOT of personal headcanon, especially about the MC, and also about the events afterward. Also bear in mind this fanfic is set in a universe where exclusively the events of Persona 4 occurred, and does not consider the additional events in Golden, nor Arena or A-Ultimax. Once again, I claim no copyright or ownership of any of the characters, locations or entities set forth, all of which belong to their respective owners.

Minor & Major

Sometimes, the reason you can never get a good relationship going has got nothing to do with attractiveness, but a simple lack of social aptitude. Alternatively: Souji is a bit of a dork, and has a bit of a jerk-ass conscience. Good thing he finds people who share that former trait a little.

One: Between The Points
Song: Moby – Extreme Ways

Extreme Ways are back again, extreme places I didn't know,
I broke everything new again, Everything that I'd owned,
I threw it out the windows, came along, Extreme ways I know
Will part the colours of my sea, Perfect colour me…

Another day had passed, and yet another day it was of… well, awkwardness.
It had started before he'd even woken up. Or, rather, as he was waking up. First thing he does, as he's reaching up to disarm the alarm he had set up, was to accidentally overbalance, and flat-out drag the clock off of its perch.
Oh, and then knock the table on his way down, causing the stack of envelopes to crash to the floor. That was bad enough, having to waste a good while of his limited morning straightening his room out again.

And then it kept going. He was irritated enough that he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going on the way to school. With a careening madman on a bicycle, not exactly the wisest decision. So naturally Yosuke crashed right into him, almost throwing the two of them into the river. He wasn't so antisocial as not to apologise for his lack of attention, and to help the other straighten up a bit, but then just spoke in half sentences for the rest of the morning.

Then, at lunchtime, he got accosted by yet another girl, a second year, to which he just stumbled over his sentences, which the girl thought was cute, even though Souji did not return the sentiment, and she thought that it was a sign that he was interested. After a few moments, in which he realised there was no way for him to be polite, he just went for the only method of speech he spoke in in the city – bluntness.
"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't go on a date with you if you promised a dowry of the entire district of Shibuya."
Well, awkward sounding bluntness, anyway. And of course she started spreading a rumor around which he could really do without – and by the end of the day he was too tired to do anything.

Well, almost. When Kou approached him and invited him to Basketball practice again, he actually thought that has day might perk up a bit. Until he got changed into sports kit, that is, reminding himself of his little accident earlier. Dark splotches covered his right side – and damnit, that was his throwing arm, too.

Thankfully those who actually bothered to turn up unanimously decided to cut him some slack – he still felt like he wasn't pulling his weight though. And then he had to get embarrassed even more so than before, as the girl from earlier ended up being at Aiya anyway, at his wits end, he politely excused himself from the conversation, a storm brewing in his eyes.
Oh baby, Oh baby, then it fell apart, fell apart,
Oh baby, Oh baby, like it always does, always does…

"Damnit…"
'And this is why I said that trying to be friendly never works!'
Oh great, and now this thing had come back too… the small, internal voice that tormented him in the city – it had shut up for a while, but it was back with a bit of a vengeance now.
'I mean, you were a loner in the city, with hundreds upon thousands of people, and you expect to be able to make friends in Back-Of-Nowhere, population 1028, conservative estimate?'
"That's not how it works…" Souji started walking more panicked, as he realised he spoke out loud.
'Yes it is, you fool. You have about as much personality as a stone, with the eyes and hair to match.'
"Ugh…" Trust his conscience to make him feel even more depressed than usual…
'And then you act as if you're a great leader, when you know that the only reason that they call you leader, is because you just happened to be lucky with getting that little 0 on your card.'
Nothing to do with that. As long as he kept thinking that, he'd be fine. He'd be fine, damnit…
'And the very moment this is all over, you'll be back on your lone-'

The voice trailed off as his phone rang in his pocket. He quickly checked the caller ID.
"…Kanji?" He accepted the call. "Erm… hello?"
"Er… Senpai?"
Unsure of what to say, Souji simply gave an affirmative noise down the line.
"Well… you see… my mom asked me to work on that origami project, and-"
"On my way."
"Huh? Oh… I mean… ah… see ya."
Souji flipped the phone shut, as he quickly changed course to head towards Tatsumi Textiles. The voice he was being forced to listen to earlier spoke again, slightly quieter this time.
'Huh… yanno, that's the first time that I've heard someone speak to you like that… odd.'
Souji thought again upon the day he'd had. It was odd how the frustration he had felt not five minutes prior had suddenly tapered off. Yeah, sure he was awkward. Not a recluse, per se, just… unlearned in the ways of actually talking to people, to listening and being listened to…

It was something he could get used to. And, in the end, he had only one thing to respond to his conscience with.

'It doesn't matter if these people will be my friends in the future, for that is not the question. The question is to prove that I can do this, that I can forge these bonds, that I will… and if I don't, then so be it, for at least I'll have the memories of trying. And besides, you forget… this is not for me, this is for them. I'm not here to be a hero, I'm here to save lives. And if that is my only calling, then... so be it...'
His conscience lingered for a few seconds, before uttering a single word.
'Understood.'