"Remember," Yu says, looking back at Yosuke and Teddie. "Follow my lead, we don't know what's going on with Chie right now." Seeing his friends nod, Yu turned around and pushed open the two heavy oak doors.

Like the rest of the castle, the interior was decorated with red silk curtains. and lit up by the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. As he looked around, Yu couldn't help remember the old paintings of amphitheaters he had seen his history textbooks. Chie, with her green jacket, was a stark contrast against the endless shades of red, white and black.

"Chie! Yosuke shouted, changing out of his Persona's form in favor of looking more familiar for the teenage girl. "Are you alright?"

Chie stayed still, not turning around or responding, almost oblivious to the other three people in the room. Her head remained tilted back, gaze locked on the chandelier hanging above her. "Chie?"

"She said that red looks good on me." Yu tensed, a stray arc of electricity flying off his body, nearly hitting Yosuke. The shorter boy barely reacted, instead deciding to look around for Yukiko, or at least, the source of Yukiko's voice.

"I hated my name. Yukiko. Snow. Snow is cold and it melts quickly. It's transient, worthless, but it's perfect for me. Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. Still… Chie told me that red looks good on me." Yu noticed how Chie's hands clenched at her sides, and he wondered how long she had been listening to this voice before he had entered. A pause followed the voice, and Yu heard it. It was very soft, just barely there, but it made Yu's heart stop.

A sob.

Chie was crying. "Yukiko…"

"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning. She's bright and strong, and she can do anything. She has everything that I don't. Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…" Another sob came from Chie, and Yukiko's voice continued.

"Chie protects me, she looks after my worthless life, and I… I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind…"

"Yukiko, I-I…" Chie wiped her face with her sleeve, taking a shaky breath.

"'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke."

Chie's gaze finally broke away from the ceiling, only to take a step back. "Wh-What?"

In front of Chie was, well, herself. A carbon copy, from her looks down to her stance, smiled down at Chie. Yu began to charge forward, intent on taking down the Shadow before it could go berserk, only to be forced back by two Lying Hablerlies. He prepared a Zio, only to be thrown back into a wall when the chandelier above them disconnected and slammed into his stomach. A swarm of Shadows, some familiar while others were new, flew down to Yu and Yosuke, fully intent on ending their lives.

"Are we talking about that Yukiko?" Shadow Chie taunted, ignoring the small war happening not five feet away from them. "She says I'm protecting her? She says she's worthless! That's how it should be, right?"

"What're you saying?" Chie asked, yelping when she saw Yosuke - now dressed as Jiraiya - get thrown to the ground by a Calm Pesce.

"Yukiko's so- good looking, so- fair skinned, so- feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over.When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy, man, did I get a charge out of that. Yukiko knows the score: she can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her, much, much better!" Its yellow eyes gleamed as it took in Chie's distress.

"No, I have never thought that!"

Yu screamed as he sliced through the last Shadow blocking his path, Yosuke throwing a Garu at the swinging chandelier to have it lodge into the wall. "What're we gonna do?" Yosuke gasped out, slouched over from the pain in his back.

"If we don't hurry, Chie's Shadow is going to change and attack us!" Yu said, straightening as he stared at the two bickering girls in front of him.

"We need to protect Chie-chan right now!" Teddie said, ducking out of his hiding spot behind a curtain and moving towards Chie, Yu and Yosuke not far behind. Hearing the soft squeaks of Teddie's feet hitting the floor, she turned around, only to scream at them.

"N-No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" She yelled, getting into a defensive position, only to tense up at her Shadow's laughter behind her. She then moved so that she could see the trio on her left and her Shadow on her right, her gaze switching between the two as quick as possible.

She thinks we're Shadows. Yu thought, eyes widening behind his mask. Dropping the transformation, Yu moved forward and tried to placate his friend. "Chie, calm down, you need to-!"

"No, no this isn't me!" She shouted, turning back to her Shadow and raising her leg and kicking. The Shadow simply raised its hand and caught the offending limb and pushed it away from its face, laughing at the poor attempt of an attack.

"That's right, I'm the one who can't do anything alone. I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person. I'm pathetic. But Yukiko, she depends on me." It let out another small laugh, taking two large steps towards its counterpart and leering at her face. "That's why she's my friend; I'll never loosen my grip on her, she's too important to me."

"No, that is not how I think of her!"

"So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again? But things are different now. When the time comes, I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind right? I'm still you!"

"Shut up! You're…" Chie's body shook, her nails drawing blood from her palms with how tightly her fists were clenched, and Yu froze as the words left her lips, Yosuke shouting a warning that was too late. "You're not me!"

Chie's Shadow simply froze for a second before wrapping its arms around its stomach, laughing maniacally as the dark aura around it pulsed and darkened. Chie let out a scream as she was pushed back by the resulting shockwave of the Shadow's transformation, the entire room enveloped in darkness for a split second before being lit up again.

"Ha! If only you knew what you've just done!" The Shadow cackled, and Yosuke quickly put distance between him and the monstrous… thing in front of him. Stacked on top of three other students dressed in Yasogami High uniforms was a gray-skinned woman, her face hidden behind a large yellow mask that folded onto itself, a red smiley face drawn on the top. It wore a minimal amount of clothing, having arm length gloves, knee high boots

"Chie!" Yosuke shouted, looking around the room for the fallen girl as Teddie quickly moved as far away as he could from the large Shadow.

"It's okay! I've got her!" Yu said, pulling the shocked Chie to one of the stone outcroppings surrounding them for her to lying on.

"I-It's coming!" Teddie shouted, deciding to stand near Chie in an attempt to 'guard' her. "You have to use your powers to save Chie-chan!" Yosuke nodded, throwing out one of his shurikens, only to have it be bounced back when the Shadow lashed out with one of its whips.

"I am a shadow, the true self. What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me? Then you're gonna pay the price!" It jeered, letting its hair fly out, twisting together to form sharp knives.

"Shut up! Quit being such a pain!" Yosuke shouted, flying around the room as fast as he could to avoid the Shadow's hair from hitting him.

"Think you can stop me that easy?" It said, turning its attention to Yu, who had just changed and was standing defensively in front of Chie. "And what about you? You think you're suddenly the hero now? Please, as if! I'll just stomp her little body until she's broken and crying and take her place, how does that sound?"

"Zio!" Yu yelled, aiming at the bunches of hair that were still trying to hit Yosuke. The Shadow let out a grunt, but otherwise appeared unharmed, except for the now charred hair pulling away from the teenager.

"Thanks, Partner!" Yosuke shouted, aiming a Garu spell at the stacked teenagers below the Shadow's main body. Unable to handle the force of the wind, plus the effort needed to hold the others up, they fell to their knees, Shadow Chie having to teeter precariously in order to keep its balance.

"Should we show 'em who's boss?" Nodding to show his consent to the plan, Yu and Yosuke charged forward, weapons shining in the dim lighting the room offered as they sliced at the Shadow. Clumps of black, greasy hair flew off of it, and one of the girls holding it up let out a scream as it dissolved into black dust, forcing the remaining two to support the Shadow's entire weight.

"Looks like you won't understand without a little pain!" Giggling madly, Shadow Chie cracked its whip against the ground, and two large thunderbolts struck the two teenagers. Yu barely felt any pain, twitching as a slight buzz ran through him. Yosuke, on the other hand, let out a screech and fell to the ground twitching, and Yu immediately moved in front of him, blocking the Shadow's incoming whips with his naginata. "Ha, how lame! You're all so deadly serious, and we've only gotten started! Filthy maggots!"

Hearing another scream, Yu turned around to see Yosuke getting repeatedly hit by the Shadow's bladed hair that had bended and dodged around him. Unable to defend himself, he could only feebly curl up into a ball in an attempt to guard his more vital areas. The silver-haired teen's vision tinted red and he raised his hand, smashing the card that held Ukobach.

Almost immediately his naginata vanished, and instead Ukobach stood on the floor in front of him, his ladle lit up with a roaring fire. "Ah, hello sire! My, this one looks like it's incredibly feisty! A good choice for battle, if I do say so myself." With little fanfare, the devil swung the ladle in a wide arch, and the carpet around the Shadow lit up with flames. It screeched in pain, it's hair trying to smother or slash out the fire, and it gave Yu enough time to help Yosuke back to his feet and give a quick look over his injuries.

"Garu skills work best on it." Yu stated as he analysed the Shadow's charred hair and body. "Zio and Agi don't work as well, so you're our best shot at killing it right now."

"If you can give me cover while I cast the spell, and then we both charge in, we should be able to get this done quickly." Yosuke said giving a thumbs up. The sound of someone clearing their throat made both teens jump, and they turned around to see the Shadow with multiple parts of its body burnt, tapping it's palm with the end of a riding crop.

"Um, hello? Do you think I'm deaf or something? Well, I'm not! Green Wall!" Shadow Chie said, adjusting frequently to keep her balance on top of the remaining girls. Her whip cracked against the ground again, and her entire body glowed green for a second before fading, her hair charging at the duo in burnt clumps.

"Be careful!" Teddie yelled, staying near Chie in case a stray attack came towards her. "It just made itself resistant against Garu skills!"

"What?!" Yu yelled, smashing a card in his hand again, switching back to Izanagi and slashing at the offending hair with his naginata. "Well, how do we knock her down now?"

"It'll end soon, you just have to wait it out!" Grunting with frustration, Yu raised his blade and charged at Shadow Chie, swiping at her back. To his surprise, it barely reacted to the attack, both physically and vocally, and he was thrown back into a pillar. Not noticing this, Yosuke threw both of his shurikens at it, only to have them ping off harmlessly against its hair.

"Are you guys idiots? Why are you protecting her like that? She's nothing but a grubby bitch!" Shadow Chie's body glowed green again, only for it to fizzle out as it cracked its whip on the ground again, bolts of electricity flying from the sky. Yu moved quickly, managing to take the Zio aimed at Yosuke as it turned to the somewhat-conscious Chie. "And don't act like you don't know it! You're well too aware that you're greedy, always wanting these 'friends' just so you can get a charge out of being better than them later on! It's pitiful. It's weak. You are a pathetic, little-!"

"That's enough out of you!" Yosuke shouted, throwing a Garu at it just in time for him to negate the Shadow's attempt at hitting its human counterpart. However, it lurched back just in time to avoid being hit, and then aimed its whip at Yosuke, hitting his leg and cutting through the pants material. He let out a yelp of pain and kept his weight off of his leg, avoiding further injury as Yu charged forward and swung his blade at the Shadow multiple times, backing off when its hair tried to choke him.

"Ngh… Don't make fun of me, you're - you're nothing against me!" Throwing out her hand and letting the whip crack in the air, it cast another spell. The water in the air froze and clumped together, forming two decent sized chunks of ice that were then thrown at the two boys. While Yu managed to dodge, Yosuke's injured leg was hit a second time, and he fell to the floor in pain.

Using this to its advantage, Shadow Chie let out another Mazio spell, hitting Yosuke in the chest before Yu could move fast enough. He was then hit by its hair, sharpened into messy blades, and thrown to the ground, letting out a groan as the transformation burst and faded. Yosuke was on his back, face twisted in pain, helpless as he watched the Shadow waltz over to him and raise its weapon high in the air.

Seeing this, Yu's body was immediately covered in electricity, forming a shield-like cocoon around him as he dove at the Shadow. Once he was right in front of it, hovering in front of the two high-school girls, he let go of the spell that had charged around him, and the Shadow screeched in pain as it was burnt horribly, only to burst into red and black dust a few seconds later. Yosuke was lucky, the electricity curving around him and avoiding his bare skin or any injured parts of his body.

Yu panted, wiped out from using up most of his energy for the attack, and he floated down to the floor. Taking deep breaths, he let go of the transformation, only to grunt in pain as the extent of his injuries hit him twice as hard. At least when he was working with Izanagi, the pain was shared, but when separated in the TV world, he would be the only one experiencing the pain while his injuries slowly healed over the course of the day.

Turning around, the taller boy stumbled over to Yosuke, crouching down and shaking his shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. You have to get up, I don't think I can carry you." Yosuke groaned, opening his eyes and staring blankly at the other.

"Mm… Five more minutes." He groaned and closed his eyes again, eliciting a chuckle from Yu. Somehow he managed to get his hands underneath Yosuke and push him up to his feet, slinging one of his arms over his shoulder to support the other. He hissed when his leg, the one hit by the ice, tapped against the carpet, and he had to put a large amount of his weight on Yu.

The squeaks of Teddie's feet against the ground brought the teen's attention to the bear and Chie, who looked like she was about to piss her pants with fear. "You okay, Chie?" Yosuke asked, and the girl raised her hand to punch him before she looked over his body and slowly lowered her fist.

"Am I okay? Have you looked at yourself? That thing nearly…" Chie took a double take when she looked at the area where the rampaging Shadow had stood before, her 'clone' taking her place. Unlike before, it stood there completely silent with a blank expression, but Chie still took a step back and clenched her fists. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say anymore?"

"Stop it, Chie. It's all right." Yosuke said, wincing as he tried to use Dia while out of transformation to heal his leg. It was harder to pull off, and it required a lot of concentration, but it was certainly not impossible.

"But…"

"We understand." Yu stated, gaze flicking from Chie to the Shadow. "Yosuke had to face something like that too, and everyone has stuff they don't want to admit."

"He's right, I went through the same thing." Yosuke said, managing to give Chie a small smile. "So I can understand; I mean, everyone has a side like this."

Chie's gaze turned to the ground, her eyes getting misty. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head and turned around, moving closer to the Shadow. "Yeah, I kinda get it now. You are me. A side of me I couldn't forgive, that I tried to ignore, but you still exist. You're a part of me."

Shadow Chie gave a tiny nod, smiling at it's human counterpart before bursting into blue flames and rising into the air. A yellow humanoid figure with metal plated armor and boots hovered above them, their face hidden by a large silver mask with one large horn rising from their forehead, long black hair waving elegantly behind it. In their hands was a staff with two slightly curved blades at the ends. Their body faded and turned into a card which floated down to Chie and lit up with blue flames before disappearing completely.

A tense silence filled the air, soon broken by Chie's stuttering. "I-I, um… it's true that part of me feels that way, but I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!"

"Like we didn't know that already." Yosuke said, sagging to the floor and holding his leg, slowly healing under the Dia spell. "You'll probably be exhausted from getting your Persona in a few minutes." Almost on cue, Chie fell to her knees panting, eyes closing as she tried to breathe in. "Or now, now's good.

"I'm okay, just a little tired." Chie tried to stand up, only to lose her balance. Thankfully, Teddie was prepared and caught her before she could completely fall, but he soon had to sit her down due to his weak physical strength.

"We need to head back." Yu said, taking a breath before slowly inching his way down to sit. "Yosuke and I are in no condition to fight, and while he can heal his injuries, I can't. Plus, Chie, you're in no shape to run around kicking at Calm Pesces either. You're probably more liable to collapse than Yosuke and I."

"I-I never said I needed a break! I can still keep going-"

"But we can't, and you are not running off on your own again, especially not now." Yu argued, giving Chie no room for argument.

"It's not that we don't think you can." Yosuke said. "It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she? I-I… if those were Yukiko's true feelings, then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me, because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd…"

"Well, you need to get your strength back! Then you can tell her!" Teddie exclaimed, resting one of his paws on Chie's shoulder. "Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only attack when the fog lifts here, and that's when it gets foggy in your world."

"So Yukiko-san will be safe until then, right?"

"I'm positive."

"So if we leave to recover, she'll be fine." Yu said, trying to relax his muscles slightly so that the cuts on his arms and legs could heal properly. "In other words, Chie, she'll be okay for now. It's not going to rain soon, I checked the weather reports before I left my house."

"Don't you remember how it was foggy in town on the days the announcer and Senpai died?" Yosuke said, noticing how Chie's eyes widened when she put the two ideas together.

"You mean, they were killed by their other selves?" Receiving a nod from the brown-haired boy, Chie's face hardened again. "But I can't turn back now! We've come so far! Yukiko's still here! She's all alone, she must be so scared!"

"And we'll go even farther tomorrow once you've rested up and Yosuke and I have fixed ourselves up." Yu said, pushing himself to his feet once he saw Chie's resolve start to break. "This castle seems to go on forever, it's clearly bigger than we originally thought. If we keep going, we might collapse in the middle of a fight, and then what would we do?"

"Th-That's…!"

"You don't know what's up ahead!" Yosuke shouted, finally fixing his leg to the point where he could walk, and turning his attention to the argument in front of him. "The enemies might be even stronger. If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then? We can't fail, no matter what. Am I wrong?"

Chie clenched her jaw and swallowed her pride, letting out a sigh. "Alright." Taking the helpful hand provided by Teddie, Chie got to her feet, stumbling slightly as her center of gravity shifted. The other boys got up and slowly moved to the door, Yu staying close to Yosuke in case his leg gave out. "I'm sorry about before." Chie continued. "I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself."

Giving a small smile, Yu turned and waited for the other duo to come closer. "Let's go together next time." He then turned to Teddie. "Do you have any ways of getting us near the entrance of the castle, or near the stage?"

"Yep! I managed to make these while you guys were gone." Teddie held out his paw, holding three seed-like objects with a tiny sprout coming out of the sides. "They're called Goho-Ms, when you break one you'll end up right outside the castle, or wherever else you are. It'll bring everyone with you, too, so you just have to break one of them."

"Thanks, Teddie." Yu said, taking the three seeds. Putting two in his jacket, he held the third one in his hand, ready to break it.

"We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san, right?" Yosuke asked, holding out his hand with the palm facing the ground.

"Right!" Chie said, placing her hand on top of the other boys. Teddie let out an excited yell and placed his on top, which was then covered by Yu's larger one. With a smile, Yu crushed the Goho-M in his hand, and with a flash of light, the four were whisked away to the entrance of the foreboding castle.

"My head feels like it's about to split open," Chie said, wincing as another painful throb wracked through her head. "Are you guys okay?"

"It's thanks to these." Yu answered, tapping the frames of his glasses. He and Yosuke had put them on once they entered the TV world, eliminating the physical and mental effects caused by the fog. They had arrived at the stage a few moments prior, deciding to sit down and make sure that they had enough energy to walk through Junes and get home without opening their wounds more. Yosuke was nearly completely healed, the constant casting of Dia spells doing him wonders, but in exchange he was exhausted mentally from having to focus. Yu was doing relatively well, being the least injured of the two, but even then the cuts and bruises were still bothering him.

"That's right, you're not wearing the glasses." Yosuke said, sitting against one of the spotlight fixtures bolted to the floor.

"Oh yeah, what's with those glasses? Did your eyesight go bad?"

"Man, you didn't notice until now? How panicked were you?"

"Tum da dum! I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too. Here you go!" Teddie sang, holding out a pair of yellow glasses with oval shaped frames. Chie hesitantly took the eye wear and put it on, gasping when the migraine she'd been dealing with ever since they left the castle vanished, along with the fog.

"Whoa, what the-! This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!" Chie said, turning around in place as she stared at the stage unhibited.

"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" Yosuke asked, glaring at the anthropomorphic bear.

"I made them right now, you didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden- I mean, sudden!" Teddie argued back, and Yu couldn't help but chuckle at his angry expression.

"So that's the trick. I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going." Chie said, turning back to Teddie. "Hey, is it alright if I keep these?"

"Fo' sho!" Yu grimaced, whatever cuteness Teddie had gained was lost to him when the bear used horribly butchered english to answer, the meaning clearly lost on the other two.

"We'll have to stop here today, but I'll be back with these puppies!" Chie pumped her fists into the air, grinning at the other teens with excitement. "You guys better not come here without me, got it?"

"Yeah, let's all promise each other. Nobody goes in alone, it's way too dangerous. If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve this case or save Yukiko-san, right?"

"Right." Yu nodded. "Let's also agree that we can't go in without a weapon, going in alone is stupid, but you can last for a little while if you can fight. If you can't, it'd be even harder to stay alive. Teddie, are you okay if we keep our weapons here?"

"Mmhm! I'll keep a close eye on them!" Teddie said, holding out his palm so that Yu could place his katana in it. Chie took of her shoes, nodding her thanks at Teddie, and Yosuke put both of his natas on the ground next to him.

"Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school. That includes days off." Yosuke said, and then he turned to Yu, scratching at the back of his head. "Hey, would you mind being our leader? You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than either of us. I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana."

Yu's eyes widened in shock, taking in Yosuke's embarrassed expression, and then at Chie's supporting smile. It was a sudden shift, going from 'slightly normal high school student' to 'Persona wielding teenager solving a murder case,' but it seemed that everyone was comfortable with the decision, even Teddie gave him a smile. "Leave it to me."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Yosuke replied, giving Yu a lopsided grin. "I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know? An ideas man, not an executive."

"I'm with Yosuke." Chie said, standing up and moving to Yu, offering her hand, who took it and got up onto his feet. "If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this."

"I'm with Yosuke too. If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night." Teddie said with a blissfully happy expression. Chie flinched, jumping in the air and spinning around, forgetting that the bear was there.

"Teddie, would you please stop talking? I'm really on edge right now…" Teddie looked shocked before hanging his head, the situation causing Yosuke to stop laughing as he got to his feet. Unanimously appointed as leader, Yu simply shook his head and smiled at his friend, not noticing the sound of something smashing filling the air until the world froze, a card forming in the center of their odd grouping together.

The card flipped over, showing the same decorated side as the one when he had changed to Izanagi the first time in the TV world. A voice echoed through his head, the blue aura surrounding the card flickering with every word 'spoken.'

Thou art 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 Fool Arcana.

The card faded slowly, time resuming again, and Teddie tapped his foot on the ground twice, the stack of televisions appearing once again. Yosuke let out a sigh, almost like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Okay, let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on. Oh, and don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out."

Chie and Yu nodded, bidding a quick goodbye to Teddie as they left the TV World, exhausted but proud at their progress.

Takeout for a third time this week. Yu sighed mentally, grimacing as he looked at the poorly cooked sushi, and instead decided to just finish his bowl of rice. I'm going to have to make food for the family at some point, but not tonight. There's no way I can do it without tipping off to Dojima that something's up.

Yu had come home prepared to take care of his injuries much better than the quick trip to the cramped restroom with a medicine kit from Junes. Those plans were quickly derailed once he saw Dojima's car parked in the driveway and, knowing that his guardian was now home, he soon went to making sure that the bandages wrapped around his legs and arms weren't visible. Takeout now wasn't that surprising, as Nanako had took him that she only knew how to make simple breakfast foods, but having it multiple nights in a row was worrying. Takeout wasn't healthy, especially not three nights in a row.

If I can, I'm going to make something tomorrow for them. We need something that's actually healthy. The jingle from the news show started up again, and news reporter began to talk about the local news in Inaba. Thankfully, no more news on the murders had been revealed or reported, yet, which was why Yu was looking at Dojima's stern expression with curiosity.

"Hey. Mind if I ask something?" Dojima asked, turning to Yu, who subconsciously shifted under the intense gaze. "You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you? What happened at the station this afternoon, it's still bothering me." Yu froze, meeting Dojima's gaze with a neutral expression, hoping that his uncle would drop the conversation.

Instead, the lack of an answer only seemed to unnerve him further. "Is there… anything you're not telling me?"

Fuck, of course he won't drop it, he's a cop. "Of course not." Yu lied through his teeth, hoping that his wounds wouldn't bother him anymore throughout the night.

"...I see." Dojima said, accepting his nephew's response. "Well, it's just been nagging at me, that's all."

"What's wrong? Are you fighting?" Nanako asked, putting down her chopsticks. Dojima and Yu immediately stopped looking at each other, trying to smooth over the tension between the two.

"No, we… we're not having a fight." Dojima said, wincing as his daughter pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"This isn't the police station." Nanako said, and Dojima let out a sigh. He quickly regained his composure, and turned back to Yu, who was trying his best at keeping a bored expression. Izanagi, on the other hand, was glaring down at Dojima, angry that their partner's parental figure was causing him a large amount of stress.

"I agreed to look after you, so don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you in trouble. Got that?" He scolded Yu, who nodded briskly to get the the older man to drop the topic. He let out a sigh, turning back to the takeout platter in front of him and digging in, Yu playing with the rest of his rice, no longer feeling hungry.

"And now, our weather forecast." Yu's attention quickly turned to the TV, putting down his bowl. "Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer."

Nanako tilted her head, staring at the TV with a confused expression before turning back to Dojima. "Is this lady the one who decides the weather?" Seeing her family's confused expression, she continued. "'Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is."

"Uh, she's not really deciding it…" Dojima said, giving Nanako an awkward smile as he tried to figure out how to explain the science behind a weather forecast before realizing it would be too complicated for her. "Nevermind."

Nanako turned her gaze back to the TV, watching the weather report continue. Yu let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the weather report said that rain wasn't due for at least a week, ensuring Yukiko's safety, if only for a little while. Standing from the table, Yu suppressed a wince as he turned back to Dojima. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to go to my room a bit earlier tonight. I have to get homework done. Thank you for dinner." Picking up his plates, Yu moved them to the counter to be cleaned later before making his way up the stairs, absentmindedly scratching at the poorly made bandages.

His room was sanctuary compared to everything that had happened today, and Yu pulled out a med kit that he had stored under the futon to begin to really look over his wounds. Izanagi could only do so much, and Yu could just… tell that the Persona was not happy about his current wellbeing.

Most of the small cuts had already been healed, his arms and legs being relatively unscathed. His back, on the other hand, was much harder to deal with. Nearly every movement that stretched his muscles would cause at least a slight twinge of pain through his body, and when he looked in a mirror he could see why. Large cuts covered swelling and bruised skin, and Yu couldn't help but groan as he realized that he couldn't effectively put anti-bacterial cream on the lacerations which, at this point, could possibly scar.

Izanagi looked to the tube of cream on the coffee table and nodded, managing to make themselves tangible enough to pick it up and squeeze some into their hand. Moving over to Yu, the Persona carefully began applying the cream, using gentler motions to apply on the larger cuts that his partner couldn't reach. Slowly but surely, Izanagi finished their work on the wounds, and backed away as Yu let out a relieved sigh, picking up a wrap of bandages and slowly wrapped his chest. It wasn't the greatest idea to do this, but the last thing he wanted was to smear the cream over his shirt and sheets, and band aids would not cut it. Later, he also wanted to put a bag of ice on some parts of his back to reduce the swelling, which would most definitely be down completely by morning. For now though, making sure that the cuts were dealt with was his first priority.

Before he could start scheming on how to sneak some ice from the freezer downstairs, he heard Nanako calling for him from downstairs. Moving carefully as to not aggravate his back too much, Yu went down the stairs, hearing Nanako simply say "The phone." before holding out the landline to the older boy. Raising one of his eyebrows, Yu took it and then held it to his ear, only to pull it away when he heard an annoyingly familiar voice come through the line.

"It's me, Morooka." The teacher said after clearing his throat. "I have something I've prepared just for you. I was going to deliver it to your house, but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up."

"Okay then, where are you?"

"Hold your horses, I was getting to that! Damn teenagers these days. I am in front of the gas station at the shopping district, you got that? No hurry up and come pick it up!" The line clicked, indicating that Morooka had hung up, and Yu let out an irritated sigh.

"Who called you just now?" Dojima asked, idly sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper. "Don't tell me you're planning on going out at this hour."

"No it was my homeroom teacher. He said that he had something to deliver to me, but now I need to pick it up at the gas station in the shopping district."

"Your homeroom teacher wants to see you? ...No, this is you we're talking about. Doubt you'd make up that odd a lie to sneak out. Well, I understand. Go take care of business and hurry back home. You… do know how to get to the shopping district from here, right?"

"Yes, I remember the way. Yu said, putting his hands in his pockets as he opened the front door, swearing at Morooka for forcing him to go on a ten minute walk to get a package when he needed the rest.

Well, I can't do anything about it now. Yu lamented, rolling his head to work out a kink that had formed in his neck. But still, I'd rather not have to do this.

"If you wish, sire, I could simply burn his shirt." Yu practically jumped out of his skin, turning his head so quickly he thought he would get whiplash as his gaze landed on the tiny devil walking beside him. Looking around Yu noticed that Izanagi was nowhere in sight, and Ukobach let out a small chuckle. "Do not fret, my lord, this is a normal side effect of carrying so many of us at once. Occasionally we will switch places to take a… reprieve, so to speak. As you used the Fool much more than I today, most of your injuries transferred over to them, and as such, they are very tired. I have taken their place temporarily, as I prefer to stay hidden in your mind for the most part."

"I…" What exactly do you say with a personification of your personality that is taking the shape of a small, green-skinned devil that barely reaches your knee caps? "I'm… still getting used to this."

"I can tell, my lord. I can also tell that you are not fond of this 'Morooka' character. It seems foolish that you, someone much more powerful, has to abide by his rule."''

"It's kind of like what you were saying about Beelzebub earlier. You said you didn't like being under his control, but you didn't have a choice. It's kind of the same for me with King Moron."

"Speaking of the human, there he is." Ukobach stated, ten minutes passing far too quickly for Yu's liking as he grimaced at the slouched form of Morooka scolding a first year student. Frowning at the brash display, Yu took his time walking to the teacher, only for the Devil Persona to dart ahead, his eyes glowing a bright blue before he was forced to stop as his senses were switched dramatically.

"But it's not a lie, I really am on the way home from cram school! I can go home by myself! I wasn't trying to stay out and party!" Said the girl, clutching at the close-to-bursting bookbag in her hands like it was a lifeline as Morooka ranted.

"Please, I know what all you teenage girls really want. Just out for a night of partying and sex, and letting your grades plummet to the single digits!" Yu could… feel, if that was the proper word, Ukobach quickly become annoyed with his teacher, and he saw the small devil raise his ladle to the back of his suit top.

"Morooka-san!" Yu shouted, severing the connection as soon as possible, shifting his teacher's attention from the teenage girl to him. Ukobach grumbled from his spot, lowering the ladle slowly. When the girl's gaze landed on him, he subtly gestured for her to run, and she turned on her heels, going faster than Yu thought possible.

"Dammit! Get back here you-!" The girl had already turned the corner, disappearing from Morooka's sight before the teacher could lecture her further. "Damn kids…" he muttered before giving his full attention to Yu.

"You're here. Sooner than I expected!"

"Well, my uncle was able to understand why you would summon me."

"Right, here you go." Morooka held out a, very poorly wrapped, package. A sticker on the top right had the kanji for Yu's name, but other than that Yu had no idea what this could have been. "This is the school jersey I got for you! Go on, take it! And now that you've got it, get the hell out of here!" Deciding to not anger the teacher further, Yu turned around and took off back to the house at a quick pace. Ukobach grumbled beside him, muttering obscenities at the old man beneath his breath.

"What was that earlier?" Yu asked. "Where your eyes glowed, and then I could see through your perspective?"

"Oh, that. It is called sensory swapping my liege, but I figured that someone like you would already know about this. It only shows that you cannot assume one's knowledge prior to getting to know them."

"Well, I know of it, I've done it with Izanagi before. I just didn't know if it was a normal thing or if it even had a name."

"Yes, well, sensory swapping is exactly as it sounds. You swap sense with your Persona, and if you have a very strong connection, your persona and you could trade places and be able to do it without another person knowing that the change had happened, besides the glowing eyes, of course. Most users who do it for the first time lockup, and it is understandable. Most Personas are used to a much different body than your own, so they tend to only transfer sight or hearing at first, and then move on to muscle movement and the like. In both cases, you probably had only traded the senses I mentioned before, but if you do it with Izanagi in… say, a month or two, you could swap places for a day."

"Interesting." Yu said, the rest of the walk held in silence until the returned to the house. Yu was frustrated at having to take the short walk, but the information he received was well worth it. If Ukobach was to be trusted, then it could also mean that Yosuke and Chie could potentially do it. The little devil was talkative, but he wasn't completely malicious. At least, not to Yu. The teen would have to wait and see how the devil would react to the other two, but for now, he was content with the other's company.

"You're home. So, what was it?" Dojima asked, noting Yu's sigh and the package that he placed on the table, wrapped in thin paper.

"The school jersey uniform." Yu said, moving to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator, trying to see if there was anything edible inside. There was a bottle of water he had picked up from Junes the other day, as well as some ingredients, so he went to work chopping some vegetables for a salad. He wasn't hungry now, but tomorrow at lunch, he would be.

"You were given a school jersey? That's it?" Dojima said, pushing aside the wrappings and staring at the dull blue fabric of the somewhat familiar track suit. "He could've just given you that at school."

"I think he might hate me." Yu said, turning on the tap and cleaning off a head of lettuce. "I mean, I haven't done anything, but he might just hate kids from the city."

"If that's the case, why don't you try talking to him? I'm sure that you can clear this whole mess up with a quick chat."

Yu let out a dry chuckle. "Trust me, Dojima-san, if you knew Morooka, then you'd see it's not that easy."

Chie Satonaka was expecting very little when she woke up at 2 am. Her dog lay at the foot of her bed snoring, the moonlight was peeking through the window, giving her room an eerie lighting as she slowly peeled off her covers.

Why did she wake up again?

Oh, right, her bladder was about to explode. Now aware of what was bothering her, Chie left her room with haste, managing to flick on the bathroom lights before pulling down her pants and sitting on the toilet lid. Letting out a sigh of relief, she put the back of her hand on her forehead, checking for the low fever her father had felt earlier. Her little brother had made a (surprisingly good) bowl of ramen for her, which had helped improve her mood greatly. She had felt dizzy throughout the night, waking up confused and disoriented multiple times before fitfully falling asleep again.

If Yosuke went through all of this and didn't tell her, she was going to beat the crap out of him when she inevitably went to school tomorrow.

Flushing the toilet, Chie washed her hands and turned off the lights, slowly walking back to her room. She let out a yawn, annoyed at the stack of homework she had to do for school.

So distracted by the thought of homework and the angry teachers she would have to inevitably face, she nearly missed the six foot tall, yellow skinned, armor clad woman trying to pet her dog.

Nearly. Chie froze, staring in shock at the masked… thing tried to pet her dog, only for her gloved hand to phase through his chest. Keeping her eyes locked on it, Chie took every measure to ensure that her footsteps were silent as she went back to bed, pulling the covers up around her as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Yu and Yosuke had some explaining to do tomorrow morning.