Persona 4: The Golden Apostle

by sithlorde1988

Adaptation of Persona 4 Golden. Everyone knows the plot of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden well, or at least the plot of CANON Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden. But what if there was an extra character added into the mix? How will the addition of an extra character to the mix change the plot of Persona 4 Golden? Better summary and more info in the first chapter! Read and enjoy!

4. Welcome to Inaba! Mystery Begins part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 4: The Golden Apostle! This first chapter will probably be the last bit of the prologue that was spread out over the past three chapters, before getting into the proper start of the plot of Persona 4 Golden. So as such, we're about to get started with that side of the plot! But, before that, it's time to deal with the disclaimer as per site dictated requirements. So let's get this done and over with.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding any and all OCs and or OC Personas that appear in this story, all of which belong to me unless otherwise stated), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Sega and Atlus (and to a point a few other companies, like Koei Tecmo, when it comes to the spinoffs like Strikers, the 'Arena' games, the 'Q' games, and the 'Dancing games), so all ownership credit belongs to them! I'm just making use of the characters from said games to create these stories (or more accurately, 'adapt' them with some creative changes involving OCS).

That being said, that's one disclaimer carefully finished and done! So without further ado, let's get on with this! I'll wait until AFTER the chapter to have a longer A/N. For now, here's chapter 1!

Chapter 1: Arrivals and Visits! The Mystery Begins part 1

(About two months after the end of chapter 3, in a hospital in San Fransisco, with Gaignun and Hikari. Current in-story date: 2/17/2011)

As he sat at his mother's bedside to wait for her to wake up, Gaignun frowned as he thought about how rough the past couple of months had been for himself and Marisa. However, even if the past couple of months had been rough, he was also proud of how much he and Marisa had managed to be strong without their mother at home. Because he was so lost in thought, Gaignun didn't hear the low groan as Hikari slowly sat up. As a result, Gaignun almost jumped in surprise as he felt his mother's hand gently pat him on the arm, making him turn to look at her as he spoke up.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling, Mom?" Gaignun asked Hikari, who smiled wryly and spoke up.

"I'm feeling as good as one can expect for why I'm here, Gaignun. I'm sorry I collapsed so suddenly and left you to have to take care of Marisa the past couple of months." Hikari said as Gaignun smiled and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Mom. It's not your fault your health has a mind of its own at times. Besides, it's not like I had to do it alone. I had Slim and the others there to help out as well. I'm just glad to see you up and at 'em." Gaignun said as Hikari smiled and spoke up.

"Glad to hear it, son. But I think you must know as surely as I do that even though I'm feeling better now, it's only a matter of time until my condition gets the better of me. So I hope you'll understand when I tell you it'll be your job to watch over your sister when the worst happens." Hikari said as Gaignun nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of turning my back on Marisa at all. Not only is she family, she was the closest thing I had to a friend for a couple of years before I met Slim and the others. So I plan to be there for her in any way I'm capable of." Gaignun said reassuringly as Hikari smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better, son. But let's be honest with each other for now. I think you know as well as I do that my remaining time is limited. As such, I'd like to impart as much of the Kusanagi family history to you as I can before I leave this planet. Will you listen and learn well from what I have to say?" Hikari asked as Gaignun nodded and spoke up with a smile on his face.

"Of course I will, Mom. After all, once you leave us, I'll basically be the de facto head of the family. So I'm going to have to learn as much as I can before you leave us, so I can do a good job of stepping up as the head of the family." Gaignun said as Hikari nodded and spoke up.

"Good. We'll try to meet up like this as often as possible so I can impart the history of the Kusanagi clan to you bit by bit. Though probably not today, since I've already talked a lot, and I don't want to wear myself out too much. You understand, I'm sure." Hikari said as Gaignun nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. You need your rest so you can have the best shot possible of fighting your condition, Mom." Gaignun said as Hikari smiled at Gaignun and hugged him before Gaignun told his mother to rest well and walked out of her room to go back home and check on Lily and Slim, who he'd left in charge of Marisa while he went to visit Hikari in the hospital. Gaignun then sighed, hoping that he had a while before the day came that Hikari Kusanagi the third eventually passed away from her illness. With that rather sobering thought running through his mind, Gaignun made his way home to check on his sister and friends...

(Around a half-dozen weeks later, in an unknown location with Yu. Current in-game date: 4/11/2011, early morning)

As a pall of fog spread over an unknown location, all that could be seen was the outline of a decent-sized silver and blue limousine driving through the fog. The headlights on either side of the front of the limo were the only thing illuminating it in the foggy area it was driving through. As the camera panned to the inside of the limousine, the first thing shown was a woman with silver hair, though it looked platinum-blonde in some lightings, piercing icy-grey eyes, and wore a velvet-blue dress, with what appeared to be black leggings under the dress, ending with velvet blue stiletto heel shoes. If you looked at the woman's hair closely enough, you could just make out the outline of a velvet-blue headband in her hair.

The camera then panned away from the silver-haired woman to focus on an old man sitting to the woman's left, his head bowed to give the camera a good view of his mostly-bald head, minus the shocks of white hair along the sides of his head. Similarly to the woman, the man wore a well-kept dress suit, though his was mostly black. As the camera zoomed in on the old man's face, he surveyed the guest across from him with what appeared to be a calculating look, as if sizing the guest up. The guest in question was wearing a grey school uniform, which was a matching jean jacket and jeans, and a white undershirt, and a pair of black dress shoes. The old man then spoke up.

"Well, well. Looks like another guest. Welcome to the Velvet Room." The old man said as he chuckled and kept speaking, his next words seeming to be addressed to himself more than to either the woman to his left or the guest in front of him.

"Ah, hello there. It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny this time. How interesting." The old man said while chuckling as he waved a hand towards the guest in front of him and spoke up.

"Oh, but do forgive my lack of manners. My name is Igor, and I am the master of this Velvet Room. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter, and so on. It is a room that only those that are bound by a 'contract' may enter into. The fact that you're here could mean a great many things, but I'll cut to the most likely of those things. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, since I was nice enough to show some manners, how about you do the same? Why don't you introduce yourself?" The now-named Igor asked the silver-haired young man sitting across from him, who smiled and spoke up as his grey eyes looked up into Igor's own black eyes.

"Of course. It's nice to meet you, Igor-san. My name is Yu Narukami." The silver-haired young man, or one Yu Narukami, said to Igor, who nodded and spoke up.

"Hm. Yu Narukami, you say? I see. Now that you've introduced yourself to me, let's take a look into your future, shall we?" Igor said as Yu nodded approvingly before Igor waved his hand and a deck of cards appeared before Igor kept speaking.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?" Igor asked as Yu spoke up.

"I've never had my fortune read before, but I do believe in it, yes." Yu said as Igor spoke up.

"I see. Very well, then." Igor said as he waved his hands over the deck as the cards spread themselves out in a circle formation with an extra card in the middle while Igor kept speaking.

"Here's a bit of a fun fact about fortune telling. Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different for each reading." Igor said before chuckling as Yu spoke up.

"Fair. But isn't there a saying that goes 'Insanity is defined as repeating the same actions over and over while hoping for a different result' or something like that?" Yu said as Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"Indeed. Heh, life itself follows the same principles as fortune readings to a point, doesn't it?" Igor said as he flipped the first card to show a tower with the top sliced off, with the card in the upright position before he kept speaking.

"Hm, I see. 'The Tower' in the upright position represents the immediate future. it seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is, well, let's see." Igor said, revealing another card that had a moon with a smiling face on it and a green background, after which Yu spoke up.

"A moon?" Yu asked in surprise as Igor nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. But not just 'a' moon. That's 'The Moon', in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'. For that to come up as part of your reading, that's very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter some sort of a misfortune at your destination, and at the same time, a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here." Igor said as Yu spoke up.

"A contract, you say? Interesting. I have no reason to doubt what you say, Igor. So I suppose I'll have to see how your reading plays out." Yu said as Igor nodded and spoke up.

"Good. But let me give you a few words of caution at this point. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny, Yu Narukami. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. However, not all is lost. You see, my duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen." Igor said as he waved a hand and the cards disappeared, at which point Igor chuckled and spoke up.

"Ah, my apologies! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." Igor said as the camera panned over to the silver-haired woman to his left and Igor kept speaking.

"This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself." Igor said as the now-named Margaret gave Yu her attention and spoke up.

"Greetings, Narukami-san. My name is Maragret. I am here to accompany you through your journey." Margaret said as Yu nodded his understanding before Igor spoke up.

"I see you understand everything so far. That being said, time is short, so we shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell, Yu Narukami. May we meet again in the future." Igor said as Yu's vision went black at that point as he felt himself leave the Velvet Room...

(A short time later, outside of a station in Kichijoji, with Yu)

As Yu stood with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder waiting for the train, Yu's attention was drawn to a commercial on the TV which showed what appeared to be a brunette girl around Yu's age with a seemingly exaggerated bustline wearing a blue, orange and white bikini with orange lining and an orange tie-off in the front to keep the top tied up and in place. But rather than stare at the girl's figure, which Yu had to reluctantly admit was rather eye-catching despite doing little to make the girl seem more attractive than she admittedly already was, Yu's attention was on what the girl on the TV said, even though it was a commercial.

"I'm tired of diets! Enough with going to the gym! Good thing there's something that even I can handle!" The girl on the TV said as a male's voice replaced hers and spoke up as a giant can was materialized into being next to her with the words 'Quelorie Magic' on the can in yellow lettering.

"Slim down this summer with the refreshing taste of Quelorie Magic!" The voice of an announcer said as the commercial cut to the local news as it cut back from commercial and a male newscaster spoke up on the TV.

"And, we're back. Now on to some juicy news-the Mayumi Yamano scandal! I'm sure everyone is eager-" The newscaster said as his voice was drowned out by some people taking nearby, which a curious Yu listened in on, having already stood close enough to hear what was being said as he waited for his train.

"Huh? At first he bags a singer, then he has an affair with the TV announcer on the side? Do chicks really dig politicians?" A man near Yu said as a woman near the man spoke up.

"Isn't it just stuff like money and connections? When you get down to it, financial and political clout is what matters." The woman near the man Yu had been eavesdropping on said as the man in question sputtered and spoke up.

"Wha? Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" The man asked as the woman next to him spoke up while Yu got onto his train as it pulled up to the station.

"Well, what do you think?" The woman said dryly, and that was the last thing Yu heard before getting onto the train as it pulled away from the station with Yu on it, using one hand to hold a railing as he stood on the train, his other hand carrying his duffel bag that he'd packed with some changes of clothes, some essentials, and other necessities, other than his Yasogami High uniform that he was wearing, which had been mailed to him about a week ago. As the train pulled away, Yu had a brief flashback to the day his transfer from his previous school to move to Inaba was announced.

"Well, I'm sure that you all know already, but at the end of this month, he will be transferring to another school." Yu's teacher had said, causing a outpouring of various reactions to ensue from Yu's classmates, mostly varying from 'awwww!' to 'are you serious?', and so on. At that point, Yu's teacher had cleared his throat to silence the murmurs as he kept speaking.

"Quiet down, guys! I'm not done yet!" The teacher had said, making Yu wryly smile at the surprising amount of people who'd then told him they'd miss him. Back in the present, Yu's eyes snapped open as he saw his train pulling into a town in the countryside, making Yu smile as he looked out at what was going to be his new hometown for the next year, or the small country town of Inaba. As he looked down, Yu pulled up his phone, which had a text on it that read 'Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4PM.', which Yu had gotten before leaving the station from his uncle. At the same time that Yu looked at his phone, he heard a voice over the train intercom.

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba City and Yasoinaba Station, please go to the other side of the platform." Yu heard as he reached up to grab his bags, knowing his stop was coming up. Eventually, the train pulled into the station as Yu slung his bag over his shoulder in time to hear the news report from before continue in the background as he existed the train.

"The scandal involves the enka star Misuzu Hiiragi, preparing to tour overseas. Tarou Namatame, a council secretary in the Inaba region whom she married just last year, is now under suspicion of having an affair." The news said as the camera cut to the Dojima household, where a frowning Ryotaro looked up from his newspaper, his usual cigarette in his mouth as he frowned at the TV, which a vaguely-interested looking Nanako's eyes were apparently locked to as she watched the news, hearing the newscaster continue to speak.

"What's more, his rumored mistress is the well-known TV announcer, Miss Mayumi Yamano!" The newscaster said as Ryotaro blinked and looked over at the clock, catching Nanako's attention as she also glanced in the same direction, blinking as both the Dojimas saw the time, prompting Nanako to speak up.

"Oh, it's almost that time already. Should we go soon?" Nanako asked Ryotaro, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Nanako. It's just about time to go get your cousin from the station." Ryotaro said with an agreeable nod as the newscaster spoke in the background.

"The question on everyone's minds is how this love triangle will affect-" The newscaster said before the TV was shut off and the camera cut to Yu on another train, waiting to reach Yasoinaba Station, where he would be received by his uncle and cousin, whom he was headed to stay with for a year after his parents had to go off the grid yet again. Yu sighed to himself, wondering why they kept having to go off the grid for large periods of time at a time, but put it out of his mind, figuring he'd find out the answer to that question when the time was right.

As the train passed through a tunnel, Yu winced and held his head in his hands as a flash of his visit to the room from before went through his mind, making him gasp before he saw the reassuring sight of daylight as the train exited the tunnel, making Yu sigh and relax as the train kept moving. A short time later, Yu heard a voice over the intercom.

"Yasoinaba, Yasoinaba." Yu heard as he got to his feet and exited the train, looking around before he saw a car parked near the entrance of the station, from which two people emerged, one male and one female. As Yu looked around at his surroundings, he heard the male call to him.

"Hey! Over here!" Yu heard a male voice calling out to him, looking around before he spotted the tall man waiting near the car he'd seen before, a small little girl shyly standing behind the man. Yu smiled as he realized who these people were, walking over to them as he shook the hand of the man, who he noted was wearing his usual uniform, which was a grey dress shirt, a red tie, dark grey jeans, a brown and black leather belt with a silver buckle, and brown leather boots.

Behind him stood a little girl, probably about five or six if Yu had to guess, who had short brown hair that she kept in pigtails, wearing a pink and white long-sleeve sweater with darker pink towards the bottom of a shirt and a black stripe separating the darker pink from the lighter pink. with a dark brown skirt that went to her knees, which she'd topped off with dark pink shoes with white lining and a white Velcro strap that she used to keep the shoes on. The man then spoke up once Yu walked over to the two of them.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo. Welcome to Inaba, Yu. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see, I know you've not seen me in a while, but I'm your mother's younger brother who she rarely speaks to, mostly because she's always going incommunicado for long periods of time for what I assume to be 'reasons', but we'll leave it at that. And, well, that about sums it up." Ryotaro said as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, yes, you're Uncle Ryotaro, aren't you? It's been a long time." Yu said as he shook Ryotaro's hand, making Ryotaro chuckle as he spoke up.

"Heh, I'll say. You've really grown, Yu. I still remember when you were in diapers all those years ago, the last time I saw you in person. And at that point, this one behind me wouldn't have been born yet." Ryotaro said as he gently pushed the girl standing behind him up next to him so Yu could get a good look at her, making him smirk as he could clearly see the signs of shyness in this girl's face, making Yu figure she was probably anxious about meeting him. Before he could think of a good way to reassure her, Ryotaro spoke up with a smirk.

"Surprised? This shy little one is my daughter." Ryotaro said as he gently nudged the shy girl and kept speaking.

"Come on, Nanako. Introduce yourself to your cousin." Ryotaro said to the apparently now-named Nanako, who gave what sounded like it could be either a grunt or a potential pout, possibly suggesting she wasn't in a social mood. Yu smiled as he looked down at his cousin and spoke up, his icy grey eyes gazing into his cousin's chocolate brown eyes while he spoke.

"Feeling shy? That's all right, I understand. After all, this is the first time we've met. But you don't have to be afraid of me, you know. Your dad said your name's Nanako? If so, nice to meet you. I'm your cousin, Yu." Yu said as kindly as he could. Nanako blinked at the surprisingly kind and gentle words from Yu as she eventually spoke up.

"Oh? Well, 'lo." Nanako said, surprising Yu as her cheeks went pink, presumably in a mix of embarrassment and shyness as she went to stand behind an amused Ryotaro, who looked down at Nanako and laughed as he spoke up.

"Heh, what're you so shy for?" Dojima joked as Nanako frowned at her father's attempt at humor before shocking Yu slightly as she lightly smacked her father on the arm, even though the ensuing 'SMACK!' that followed could probably be heard throughout the deceptively quiet station. Ryotaro, for his part, just chuckled as he spoke up.

"Ow, hahaha." Ryotaro said as he shrugged and gave Yu a 'what can you do?' sort of look, making Yu smile as he spoke up.

"I understand. Nanako's probably reluctant to meet me, since for all she knows of me, I might as well be a stranger to her at this point. So I'm not offended if it takes Nanako a bit to warm up to me. I might not look like it, but I did periodically take jobs from time to time, usually involving babysitting kids, where I used to live, so I'm no stranger to the cold shoulder and shy children. So I can be patient and wait however long I have to for her to eventually warm enough to me that she feels comfortable speaking to me." Yu said understandingly. Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. I forgot that Hinoka had mentioned that to me before. Well then, since you've met myself and Nanako, let's get going. As you can see, my car is over there." Ryotaro said, pointing it out to Yu, who nodded and made to follow his family to their car, only for a passing girl to accidentally brush past him and knock a slip of paper from his hand, making Yu blink at the brief glimpse he'd gotten of her dark-colored hair, short red miniskirt, white sleeveless turtleneck shirt, red armbands that went from her wrists to her elbows, her white and grey striped thigh-high stockings, and her black shoes. The girl's piercing dark blue eyes sized Yu up before she spoke up.

"Oops, sorry. Hey. You dropped this." The unfriendly-looking girl said as Yu nodded and accepted the paper from her while speaking up with his best smile.

"Ah, so I did. Thank you." Yu said as he accepted the paper from the girl who blinked at the polite response and spoke up.

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up." Marie said as Yu looked over the slip of paper he'd gotten from the girl, noting that it was the slip of paper he'd made for himself with the address of the Dojima residence written on it. As Yu put the slip of paper away, the unfriendly-looking girl made an unintelligible noise before turning and walking away as Ryotaro's voice reached Yu's ears.

"What's wrong?" Ryotaro called out to Yu, who blinked and spoke up as he headed towards the car.

"N-Nothing. Just some passerby giving me back something I dropped by accident, that's all." Yu said as he went to join the Dojimas in their car as it pulled away from the station, headed for the Dojima residence. A short time later, the car pulled into a nearby gas station as an attendant ran out and spoke to the group in the car.

"Hi! Welcome to Moel!" The attendant said as Yu blinked while sizing up the gas station attendant. Because he was focused on that, he didn't hear Ryotaro turn to Nanako and speak up.

"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Ryotaro asked Nanako, who nodded and spoke up, not seeing Yu quietly chuckle at what she said next.

"Uh-huh." Nanako said as two of the car doors opened up, one on the left, and the other on the right. From the door on the right, Ryotaro emerged to speak to the attendant as Nanako came out of the door on the left, while Yu intiially remained in the car as the attendant looked at Nanako and spoke up.

"Need the bathroom, kid? It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." The gas station attendant, who was a woman with grey hair that was mostly hidden behind a red cap with a black bill and white lettering on the front that Yu couldn't read very clearly, as well as a zip-up long-sleeve red and white jacket with yellow stripes and black lining, plus a black zipper, a black belt with a silver buckle, dark blue jeans, and black shoes, said as Ryotaro chuckled at the words from the gas station attendant as Nanako huffed and spoke up.

"I know that, already! Geez, I know I'm young, but I'm not helpless." Nanako said as she bolted towards the station to use the bathroom, right before an amused Yu, who'd heard what Nanako said to the attendant but had said nothing in response to Nanako's words out of not wanting to alienate her, exited the car behind Ryotaro, prompting the attendant to speak up again.

"Are you taking a trip?" The attendant asked as Ryotaro shook his head and spoke up.

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city." Ryotaro said as the attendant spoke up.

"Oh? The city, huh? Is that so?" The attendant asked as Yu spoke up.

"Correct. I'm here staying with my uncle and cousin for a year." Yu said as the attendant nodded, but Ryotaro spoke up before the attendant could say much else.

"Anyways, go ahead and fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine." Ryotaro said as the attendant blinked but nodded as she spoke up.

"Right away, Sir!" The attendant said as Ryotaro shrugged and spoke up.

"Eh, this is probably as good a time as any for a smoke break, I figure." Ryotaro said as he walked off, not seeing Yu blink at what he'd said, though Yu said nothing, figuring it was Ryotaro's business what he did with his life. Before Yu could even begin to remark on what his uncle had said, the attendant had spoken up to catch his attention.

"You just moved here? Are you in high school?" The attendant asked as Yu blinked at the question before turning to the attendant and speaking up.

"That's right. I'm a second-year in high school." Yu said as the attendant nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do, you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." The attendant said as Yu spoke up.

"Are you offering me a job? If so, I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to have to respectfully decline for now. After all, I'm still getting used to living here, considering I literally just got here less than 30 minutes ago. Plus, I'm staying with my uncle, and I'm not sure what his stance is on me leaving the house for things like work yet. And not only that, but I'd have to figure out my own transportation, most likely walking, to get here if I were to take a job here. So I'm sorry, but until I'm a bit more adjusted to living here, I don't think it's a good idea to take you up on your offer. I hope you're not offended." Yu said as the attendant chuckled and spoke up.

"That's fair. And I understand. Still, give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student." The attendant said as she extended a hand out, which Yu briefly hesitated before deciding it couldn't hurt to be polite and accepted the outstretched hand, shaking the attendant's hand in time for Nanako to come running up to the car, clearly having finished using the bathroom. Not seeing Nanako's return, the attendant kept speaking.

"Oh, I should get back to work." The attendant said as she walked off to do her job, giving Yu a clear view of Nanako, who was looking up at him over the hood of the car, which was a grey station wagon. Yu turned to meet Nanako's gaze, wincing as he felt a bit of lightheadedness and held his head in his hand as Nanako blinked at this and walked over to Yu, speaking up with a concerned look on her face.

"Umm, Yu? Are you okay?" Nanako said, surprising Yu, who hadn't expected her to speak to him so soon. Yu then spoke up after his lightheadedness had passed.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a bit of brief lightheadedness, that's all. I'm sorry if I caused you to worry about me, Nanako." Yu said as Nanako spoke up with a smile.

"That's okay. Did you get carsick? You don't look too good, Yu." Nanako said as Yu spoke up.

"I'm fine, Nanako. It's just a bit of passing lightheadedness, that's all." Yu said, trying to reassure Nanako as best he could, while also internally being concerned about how suddenly the aforementioned lightheadedness had come on. In his worry, he didn't even think to consider that it could be a result of shaking the hand of the gas station attendant. Yu then had a thought come to him. Could his lightheadedness simply be exhaustion from the long trip he'd taken on the train? And now that Nanako mentioned it, Yu realized that he also felt a bit dizzy, figuring it was linked to his lightheadedness. At that point, Ryotaro walked back over and saw Yu, frowning as he spoke up.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up.

"I'm fine, Dojima-san. As I told Nanako just now, I just felt a bit lightheaded for a second, that's all." Yu said honestly. Ryotaro nodded understandingly as he spoke up.

"That's understandable. It must have been a long trip for you. Why not talk a little walk, and get some fresh air? With any luck, that'll help your lightheadedness. Just let me know when you're ready to go." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Dojima-san." Yu said as Dojima nodded and spoke up.

"Good. I'll wait here with Nanako. Why don't you take a walk and get some fresh air? The shopping district is near the house, so you should get to know where all the stores are now while you can." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and decided to walk around the town for a bit. After he walked off, the first thing Yu did was check the nearby store, which he noted was called 'Yomenaido Bookstore', but he saw that it looked fairly empty inside after peering into the window. As he kept walking down the road to get used to the area, he noticed an elderly housewife in the road and stopped to speak to her.

"Hello. Nice day we're having today, isn't it?" Yu asked as the elderly housewife nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Hm, you seem new around here, young man. You have something to do in this shopping district? It's a bit run down, but we have everything in here. Granted, it used to be a bit more prosperous back in the day, but we only see regulars nowadays. If only Junes hadn't come into town when it did. Sure, it's convenient, but the fact that most of the business went to it makes the state of this town a bit sad." The aging housewife said as Yu nodded his understanding and spoke up.

"Junes, huh? Never heard of it. But thank you for the information, ma'am. It was very enlightening." Yu said politely before going on his way as he kept moving. After he walked to the right of the old lady, he noticed an older-looking red mailbox, noting its location for future reference before he noticed the store next to said mailbox and blinking at what was clearly a set of mostly red shogun-esque samurai armor out in front of the store. Once Yu peered into the window out of curiosity, he noticed a fierce-looking man who was single-mindedly pounding on something in the back of the store, making Yu figure this was probably either a blacksmith shop or a weapons shop, possibly even both.

After a brief pause, Yu opted not to go in and kept moving. As he moved on down the road, he noticed another shop nearby that had a sign over the entrance that read 'Marukyu Tofu' in white kanji lettering. Yu noticed an old woman inside tending the shop. After deciding against entering, he kept walking, eventually walking past a male and a female who were talking.

The male had on a similar outfit to Yu's which was a grey jean jacket with a whit undershirt, matching color jeans, and black dress shoes. The female was wearing a black blouse with a yellow kerchief around the neck and tied up, a grey skirt, black leggings, and the same black dress shoes both Yu and the male student were wearing. Yu also noted the similar sorts of blonde hair both the male and female student had.

Normally, Yu wasn't one to eavesdrop on others willy-nilly, but his curiosity won out, so he got close enough to listen in as the male spoke up. Idly, Yu noticed the uniforms on both the male and female that he realized were school uniforms, making them both students.

"Hey, do you know where my snack went? I had it in the fridge, but it's gone all of a sudden." The male student asked as the female student spoke up with a blink.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I ate it just now. I thought it was leftovers." The female student said as the male student visibly bristled at this and spoke up in annoyance.

"WHAT!? No, it wasn't leftovers! I was making sure to save it for later!" The male student snapped as the female student winced and spoke up.

"Oh, really? Oops. Sorry 'bout that. Well, I'm going to work. See ya." The female student said as the male student pouted and spoke up.

"What!? I was really looking forward to eating it too. Dang." The male student said, making Yu decide to leave the students be, while also idly musing that they could be siblings with the way they were arguing. Deciding it was best to leave them be, Yu kept moving. After continuing on down the road, Yu saw an older man outside of another shop and spoke up.

"Hello. Pardon my sudden approach, but are you from out of town too?" Yu asked the man, who nodded and spoke up.

"Mmhmm, that's right. You know, I like this shop. It's very nice. It's inconvenient and convenient at the same time. There's a delicate balance. This is what I expect country life to be like." The out-of-towner said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Well, thank you for your time, sir." Yu said as he turned his attention to the shop the out-of-towner had indicated, noticing that like Marukyu Tofu, this shop had a sign over the entrance proclaiming it's name in white kanji lettering, which was 'Shiroku Store'. Yu noticed on peering through a nearby window that a variety of products lined the shelves of the store. On a further look, he saw what appeared to be a friendly-looking old lady sitting behind the counter.

In the end, Yu ultimately opted not to go in, since he recalled Ryotaro said not to go too far on his walk. Shrugging, Yu decided to make his way back towards the car, and on his way back, he was surprised to see the girl from the station standing by a nearby building. Deciding to be friendly, Yu walked over to the girl and spoke up.

"Well, well. What're the chances that we'd run into each other again this soon?" Yu said politely as the girl from before looked up and spoke up.

"Hm? Do I know you? Have we met before?" The girl asked as Yu nodded agreeably and spoke up.

"That's right. We walked past one another at the station a little bit ago. I understand if you don't want to answer this, since this might be a bit of a rude question, but what were you doing at the station, if you don't mind my asking?" Yu asked conversationally, making the girl blink as she spoke up.

"The station, you say? Oh, that one time earlier. Umm, it was nothing. I just went. You see, I don't have anywhere to go." The unfriendly-looking girl said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Ahh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully things work out for you in the long run." Yu said kindly, surprising the girl who blinked at Yu's kind words and fell silent. Eventually, Yu returned back to the car and looked at Nanako as he spoke up.

"Sorry for worrying you before. I'm doing better now." Yu said kindly to Nanako, who spoke up.

"Uh, are you sure about that? You seem about the same to me. Are you okay?" Nanako asked, and to Yu's surprise, he could see what was a look of genuine worry for him on Nanako's face. Taking that as a good sign, Yu went to speak to Dojima, only to notice a person he hadn't seen before standing by a sign. Deciding to extend his walk, Yu walked over to the man and spoke up.

"Hello. Waiting for the bus?" Yu asked, noticing that what he'd thought to be a man was actually a male student who was closer to his age. The male student nodded and spoke up in a lazy sounding voice.

"Damn, for real? The next bus isn't going to come for a while. And if you miss one bus, you're pretty well screwed." The lazy student said as Yu blinked and spoke up.

"Really? That's good to know." Yu said as the lazy student nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Man, if only I had a motorbike, I could go anywhere I wanted, anytime I wanted. I wonder how much they cost to buy? Maybe I'll be able to buy myself one." The lazy student said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"True. If nothing else, it's a good goal to strive towards." Yu said encouragingly to the lazy student, who nodded as Yu turned his attention to the sign next to the student, noting it seemed to be a bus schedule. Yu thought about memorizing it, but decided against it for the time being. Having done that, Yu decided to head back to the Dojimas, not thinking there was anything else left to do or see. After Yu walked back up towards the Dojimas, Ryotaro smiled at him and spoke up.

"How're you feeling, Yu? Ready to get back in the car?" Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, I'm ready. I have to say though, there's not that much to see here, as it turns out. But I don't really mind that as much as I thought I would." Yu said as Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"Fair. Inaba is a bit of a smaller town, so it stands to reason there's not much to see in it. But you'll be here for a while, so I figure you'll have ample opportunity to get acquainted with most of it before you have to return home." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"That's true. And who knows, maybe I'll make some friends while I'm here?" Yu said optimistically as Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"True. Anything is possible. All right, let's hit the road then." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and the group got back in the car to start the drive back to the Dojima house. After arriving, Yu noted that the Dojima house was a two-story house that looked quite homely on the outside, though Yu did idly take note of the scooter parked out in front of the house while noting he'd arrived at the Dojima residence, or his home for the next year. Yu then carried his stuff inside and got settled in...

(That evening, in the living room of the Dojima house, with Yu, Nanako, and Ryotaro)

After Yu had taken his stuff upstairs to set it down and take a brief look at the bedroom he was given, he headed downstairs to join Ryotaro and Nanako on the pillows that were seated around the table, kneeling on one of the pillows as Ryotaro smiled and spoke up after Yu and Nanako looked at him, both having looked away from the meals in front of them to give Ryotaro their attention.

"All right, let's have a toast. You might only be staying with us for a year, but hopefully you'll feel like part of the family by the time you leave. To Yu!" Ryotaro said as he raised his drink, which Yu and Nanako did as well, toasting Ryotaro in mid-air as Ryotaro kept speaking while looking at Yu.

"So, Yu. Your mom and dad are as busy as always, aren't they? They're working overseas, was it?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up.

"That's the story I was given by them, yes. But I swear, they seem to 'go overseas' a lot that I can recall. Not that I mind, but you can imagine how having to relocate a lot makes it difficult to make friends and such." Yu said as Ryotaro nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"Fair. I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents constantly going overseas? It's rough being a kid." Ryotaro said as Yu spoke up with a wary nod.

"I'm 16, but I can see why you'd call me a kid." Yu pointed out as Dojima nodded and spoke up.

"Right, right. Sorry. I should've remembered that, since you and Nanako are literally ten years apart in age, to the day. How you two ended up having the same birthday, I have no clue. But you did." Ryotaro said as Yu smirked and spoke up.

"Oh? Nanako has the same birthday as me? That's pretty neat. October 4th is a pretty good day to have a birthday, if I do say so myself." Yu said in a faux-haughty tone, and if the sound of Nanako giggling quietly in response to Yu's words was any indication, Yu's attempt to make Nanako more comfortable around him seems to be working. Ryotaro smirked and spoke up.

"I see what you did there, Yu. And since it was meant to make Nanako more comfortable around you, I'll overlook what you said this time. Well, that being said, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. And so long as you're here, you're part of the family. So feel free to make yourself at home." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Thank you, Dojima-san. I'll do just that." Yu said politely. Ryotaro smiled at Yu's friendly response and spoke up approvingly.

"Good. Well, anyways, that's enough talk for now. Let's eat." Ryotaro said as he made to dig into his meal with Yu and Nanako, only for his phone to interrupt him at that moment by ringing, making him frown as he spoke up.

"Ugh, what the-? Who's calling at this hour?" Ryotaro said as he picked up his phone and answered it.

"Hello? Ryotaro Dojima's phone. Dojima speaking." Ryotaro said, listening to the voice on the other end speak, occasionally giving a soft 'mmhm' in response. After a moment, he got to his feet and spoke up.

"Yeah? I see, I see. So, where is it?" Ryotaro said, listening to the voice on the other end speak and giving another 'uh-huh' in response, not seeing Yu and Nanako both aim perplexed looks in his direction, confused by the sudden interruption to the meal. After a moment, Ryotaro sighed and spoke up.

"Oh? Ugh, all right. I'm on my way. Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze tonight." Ryotaro said as he hung up the phone and turned to Yu and Nanako, speaking up with a regretful look on his face, not having seen the confused look on Yu's face at his usage of the words 'skip the booze'.

"Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me." Ryotaro said, continuing to speak as he saw Nanako get to her feet, presumably to yell at Ryotaro for leaving during a meal.

"I don't know how late I'll be getting back. Nanako, help your cousin out if he needs it, okay?" Ryotaro said, cutting off whatever Nanako was about to say, making her blink at what Ryotaro had said before sighing and nodding as she spoke up.

"Again? Ugh. Okay." Nanako said, not seeing the confused look on Yu's face at the interaction between Ryotaro and Nanako. At that point, Ryotaro went to leave, only to call out once more on his way out.

"Nanako, it's raining out. What did you do with the laundry!?" Ryotaro asked as Yu just blinked before Nanako spoke up, not seeing Yu's confusion.

"I already brought it in!" Nanako called towards the door, where Ryotaro was leaving. Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah? All right. Well, I'm off." Ryotaro said before being cut off by the sound of the door closing. Once he was gone, Nanako wasted no time in turning on the TV, which happened to still be tuned to the news, as the newscaster spoke up.

"And that's the headlines for this week. Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather. With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas." The newscaster said as Nanako blinked at that before turning back to Yu and speaking up.

"Sorry about that. Well, let's eat." Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. No sense letting this food go to waste." Yu said, resisting the urge to yell 'thank you for the food!', since he wasn't sure how it would go over with Nanako, even if it was good manners. At that point, Yu realized he was alone with Nanako for the first time since his arrival in Inaba. Yu then figured this would be a good time to try and strike up a conversation with Nanako if possible, even if only to break the ice with her a bit more. After mulling it over, Yu spoke up.

"I know this probably isn't my place to comment on this, but I'm going to anyways. It must be tough for you, living with constant interruptions like that." Yu said as kindly and sympathetically as he could. Nanako blinked at the surprisingly sympathetic words from Yu before nodding and spoke up.

"Yeah, it's always like this. You see, my dad's a detective." Nanako said as Yu blinked at this, but before he could answer her, the newscaster spoke up again.

"And now for the local news. City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for his alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages." The newscaster said as a picture of a woman with a red kimono, short blackish-grey hair, a white hairband, and lidded black eyes with very vividly red lips. While Yu blinked at how artfully the woman on the screen was portrayed, the newscaster kept speaking.

"In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances." The newscaster said as the image of Misuzu Hiiragi was replaced with an image of a much plainer looking woman, this one with a white dress shirt, short black hair, piercing dark brown eyes, pursed red lips that were arranged in a wan smile and a somewhat pointed looking short nose. Before Yu could do more than blink at the change of pictures, the newscaster kept speaking.

"Until allegations of an affair with Mister Namatame are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye." The newscaster said as an uninterested looking Nanako spoke up.

"Sorry, but this is boring." Nanako said as she changed the channel to a commercial that played.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!" The commercial said as another female's voice was heard singing a jingle.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" The other female sang as Yu shrugged at the basic jingle, but then he blinked at what happened next.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang, managing to mostly match the pitch and tone of the song quite well, shocking Yu, who hadn't considered that Nanako could sing at all. When Nanako turned to see the surprised look on Yu's face, she blushed a bit in embarrassment at the appraising look Yu was giving her and spoke up.

"Umm, aren't you going to eat?" Nanako asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Y-Yes, I am. Sorry. I was just surprised that you could sing, that's all. You're quite good at it." Yu said as Nanako shyly smiled and spoke up.

"Oh? Thank you." Nanako said as the two fell silent and focused on enjoying their meal. Afterwards, Yu looked around the house a bit, noting that the living room was literally just a sofa which was more of a futon than a sofa, the table he and Nanako had had their meal at, another table behind Yu that was bigger and had a lot of various things on it that Yu opted not to touch, and a sink that appeared to be a makeshift kitchen of sorts, given the refrigerator that was next to it.

A further glance down the hall indicated the presence of two bedrooms on the lower level, and a flight of stairs leading upwards to the room Yu had previously sat his stuff down in. Other than the sound of the TV that Nanako was watching, the only other sound to be heard was the rain coming down outside. Deciding there was no reason not to, Yu walked over to Nanako and spoke up.

"That was a pretty good meal, wasn't it?" Yu said, in an attempt to strike up a conversation. Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Oh, you're trying to make conversation, aren't you? Um, I wasn't expecting that." Nanako said, and one look at her face told Yu that she was clearly at a loss for words. Shrugging at this, Yu figured it wasn't wise to be too hasty in getting Nanako used to him, shrugged, and decided to leave Nanako be. After walking off and leaving Nanako alone, Yu took an idle glance at the calendar on the wall, noting that the current date was April 11th, 2011.

Out of idle curiosity, Yu checked the fridge, blinking as he found some fried rice inside. Deciding to be adventurous, Yu helped himself to a bite, blinking as he found that the fried rice somehow had no taste at all. Shaking his head at how strange that was, Yu set the rest of the fried rice back in the fridge where he'd found it before heading upstairs out of not having much else to do.

Once he got upstairs, Yu noted that the room he'd walked into was the room he was borrowing from Ryotaro and Nanako. Looking around, Yu noted the metallic shelf in one corner of the room, a bunch of boxes that were presumably his things that had been sent on ahead of him to be stored in the room he was in, a fairly nice looking loveseat against the window, probably big enough to use as a bed in a pinch.

In addition to the stuff Yu had already mentioned, his room also had a fairly quaint but simple wooden table, a wooden study desk with a green felt pattern across the surface of the desk, and a brown and white rolling chair to sit on in front of the desk, with a simple grey and blue checkered rug laid out in the middle of the room to cover up the otherwise simple khaki floor panels that were only broken up by the black stripe across part of the flooring.

On a second glance, Yu noticed a very nice looking red mahogany wood drawer in another corner of his room, which was next to a black nightstand-like area where there was a TV plugged in, and another wooden drawer, this one brown, in the back right corner of the room near the TV. Other than those, the only other thing of note was the fairly simple looking Futon in the corner near the red mahogany wood drawer that had a blue comforter and black and white pillow on it. After looking around, Yu stretched a bit and decided to turn in early out of not having much else to do.

As he laid down, Yu reminded himself that he'd be living in the town of Inaba for a year, starting today. Before he dozed off, the last idle thought Yu had was wondering if everything will be all right. He then groaned as he remembered he had his first day at his new school tomorrow. Yu then told himself it would be fine as he eventually fell asleep...

(Not that long after, in a dream, with Yu)

As Yu looked around, he blinked as he found himself in a seemingly open expanse of nothing but fog as far as the eye could see, and bluish-green fog at that. Yu looked down and saw the red tile path under his feet, seemingly showing the way ahead. Yu then blinked as he wondered if this could be a dream. Looking around, Yu reaffirmed his previous observation of the area being full of thick fog. Shrugging, Yu figured there was nothing else he could do for now except keep proceeding forwards, and so he kept moving. For a time, Yu just kept running ahead, following the path as it twisted and turned, trying to find an exit. After a time, he heard a voice speak up in his mind.

"Do you seek the truth, Yu Narukami?" Yu heard, making him blink in confusion, but when he heard no further words, he kept moving. After a bit more running, the voice echoed in his mind once more.

"If it's the truth you desire, come and find me, and together we can reach out to the truth." Yu heard, blinking as he realized that the voice he'd thought was in his head was in fact coming from up ahead, continuing to run towards the voice. Eventually Yu reached a giant black and red door. Shrugging, Yu decided to open it, hoping it led to an exit. As he did so, Yu frowned when he could sense someone ahead of the door he was about to open. Steeling himself, Yu decided to proceed and pushed the door open, blinking as the door twisted and turned while opening. Once Yu was through the door, he could just make out an almost indistinguishable figure in the fog ahead of him, which then spoke up.

"So, it's you. You are the one pursuing me, Yu Narukami. Hmhmhm, I see. Try all you like to stop me, then." The voice said as Yu briefly thought about it then ran forwards, slashing the katana that had appeared in his hands at the figure in the fog, who smirked as it spoke up.

"Hmm, how interesting. It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog being meant to obscure everything." The voice said as Yu frowned at that and spoke up.

"Am I not supposed to be able to see you? Well, since it worked decently well before, let's do it again!" Yu said as he swung his katana at the figure again, who chuckled and spoke up.

"I see, so that's your strength? Indeed, how fascinating. That is very interesting information, to be sure." The figure said as Yu slashed at the figure again, who seemed to barely react to any of the slashes hitting it as it spoke up.

"But, even with your strength as it is, you will not catch me so easily, Yu Narukami. After all, if what you seek is 'truth', then your search will be even harder due to how abstract a concept truth can be." The figure said before chuckling as it waved a palm and the fog around Yu thickened, to the point he couldn't see anything in front of him barely. Yu then decided to slash at the figure again, who smirked and spoke up.

"Pitiful. Everyone sees what they want to see. And the fog only deepens over the course of time." The voice said as Yu kept trying to hit it, making it smirk as it spoke up.

"You have potential, for sure. But I wonder, will we meet again, Yu Narukami? At a place other than here, perhaps? Hmhm, if so, that's fine. I look forward to it if that day comes." The voice said as Yu tried in vain to fight the figure he saw, eventually succumbing to the feeling of losing his consciousness as the pointless battle came to an end, along with the dream...

(The next morning, in Yu's bedroom with Yu)

Yu found himself awoken from his dream by a knock on his door and a familiar voice speaking up.

"Breakfast's ready!" Nanako called out from behind the bedroom door, making Yu groan as he sat up and saw that it was about time to get up for the day. After stretching a bit, Yu got up, trying to shake the feeling that he'd had a nightmare as he did so. Idly, Yu stroked a finger idly through his short silver hair, his brown eyes narrowed in uncertainty as he wondered what his confusing dream the night before could have been about. Yu then put it out of his mind as he recalled he was starting school that day. Yu figured he should head to the living room for now, just to be safe.

Once he got downstairs, he was surprised to see two plates on one side of the table, and a single plate on the other, while Nanako walked back to the table carrying a fourth plate. Yu then blinked as he saw that the two plates on one side of the table were the same as the ones on the other, one having a giant slice of toast on it that was easily as big around as two of Yu's hands, and the other having two sausage links and an egg on it. Once Nanako saw Yu walk down, she smiled at him and spoke up.

"Good morning." Nanako said as Yu took a seat at the table, just as two more slices of toast popped up from the toaster. Nanako smiled and spoke up as she and Yu sat at the table.

"Okay, now that you're awake and ready, let's eat. Hopefully you're hungry, Yu." Nanako said as Yu smiled kindly at Nanako and spoke up.

"I could definitely eat. Also, thank you for making breakfast. I hope this doesn't come off as too rude, but do you do the cooking around here often?" Yu asked in what he hoped was a conversational tone. Nanako nodded happily, a smile on her face as she spoke up.

"Mmhm! I can toast bread real good. I've gotten really good at it, and I can cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning. Also, Dad can't cook so good, so I buy dinner." Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah? That's pretty responsible and mature of you. I doubt my parents would've trusted me to handle anything like that when I was your age. But the fact you can cook and go to the store on your own at your age is rather impressive. Your dad told me you were around six, if I recall correctly?" Yu said conversationally as Nanako blushed shyly in embarrassment, not used to having her efforts be praised so openly. After she was able to compose herself, she spoke up.

"Thank you. And yes, I am six. I'm six and a half, to be precise. But anyways, you're starting school today, right?" Nanako asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Today's the day that I start going to school at the local high school. I think it's called Yasoinaba High?" Yu said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"That's right, even though Dad says that most people tend to call it Yasogami High School as well. To be honest, my school's on the way to yours. And that's why, if it's fine with you, I'd like it if we could walk at least partway to school together." Nanako said politely as Yu nodded, noting as he did so that despite seeming cheered up and happy by Yu's words and praise, Nanako seemed to be somewhat restless. Chalking her restlessness up to anxiety at Dojima already having headed to work, or so Yu assumed, Yu decided to head to school with Nanako. After the two finished their meal, they got their things and started walking to school...

(A short time later, in the 'School Zone' of the Samegawa Flood Plain, with Yu and Nanako)

As Yu and Nanako reached the intersection that led in different directions for their schools, Nanako pointed ahead of Yu as she spoke up.

"Okay, you keep going straight from here to get to Yasogami High." Nanako said as she used one hand to hold her orange umbrella up before smiling shyly under it as she spoke up while turning around to start walking the opposite direction.

"As for me, my school's this way. Bye." Nanako said as she walked off on her own to head for school, leaving Yu to shrug as he kept walking on his own. After a while, Yu eventually got out of the flood plain and into the Shopping District, where he reached an intersection that went four ways.

As he walked, he heard what sounded like a creaky wheel approaching along with a shout of 'Whoaaaaa! Crap!', turning around and blinking as he hopped out of the way in time for a brown haired male student who looked to be about Yu's age to drive past on a bike that Yu realized was the source of the noise he'd previously heard. As Yu turned to watch the student, his eyes widened as the student crashed into a trash can offscreen and got thrown off his yellow bike with silver handlebars that had black grips and black tires, getting to his feet and holding the area between his legs, groaning in pain.

"Ngh, dammit. Urrrrghhh, that hurt." The male student said to himself, making Yu wince in sympathy as he could tell that crash looked quite painful. Despite feeling like he should at least make sure the male student was okay, his common sense told him to leave him be, figuring the guy's pride was probably bruised enough as is. And thus, going entirely against his better judgement, Yu kept walking, eventually arriving at a giant three story building that he identified by the sign on the gates in front of it as Yasogami High School. Yu blinked at this, wondering what sort of student life awaited him here. Shrugging, he headed inside...

(A short time later, inside of a classroom on the second floor of Yasogami High)

As the students inside prepared for the coming school day, most of them were gossiping amongst themselves, though one of the sitting down male students groaned and spoke up to the female and male students standing near his desk.

"Ugh, talk about bad luck, am I right? The homeroom teacher here is Morooka, isn't it?" The sitting male student said as the male standing near him nodded and spoke up in a commiserating tone.

"Yeah, it's King Moron, alright. And like it or not, we get to enjoy his long-ass sermons every day for a whole year, starting today." The standing male student said as the female student standing to his left spoke up.

"Hey you guys, I heard there's going to be a transfer student from the city in this class." The standing female student said as the sitting down male student spoke up in surprise.

"Huh? Really? A guy or a girl?" The sitting down student asked, drawing the attention of another trio of sitting-down students nearby, two females and one male, One of the females, a girl with hazel eyes, short brown hair, a green jacket with yellow stripes and patches on one side of the front, a grey miniskirt, white socks and brown shoes, spoke up while looking at the guy sitting behind her, who had brown hair, and wore the same sort of uniform that Yu had put on that morning.

"A transfer student from the city, they said? Just like you, huh, Yosuke?" The short-haired girl asked the boy, who she'd called 'Yosuke, blinking when he didn't answer. The short-haired girl then kept speaking.

"Yosuke? Huh? You look dead today." The short-haired girl as the boy she'd called Yosuke groaned and spoke up.

"Yeah, um, let's just say I've had a rather interesting start to my day. And no, I don't wanna talk about it." The apparently-named Yosuke said as the short-haired girl turned to the girl sitting in front of her, a girl with shoulder-length black hair, a red cardigan that had a yellow scarf tied around the collar which was black, presumably hiding her student uniform, the same skirt the short-haired girl had on, and piercing chocolate brown eyes, as she spoke up.

"What's with him?" The short-haired girl asked as the black-haired girl shrugged and spoke up.

"Who knows?" The long-haired girl said, but before the short-haired girl could reply, the door to the classroom opened, and the teacher of the class, an older-looking man with short greyish-black hair, a blue pinstripe business suit with a red tie over a white dress shirt, and black dress shoes, walked in with an uncertain-looking Yu following him. Once the teacher had Yu stand by the chalkboard, he spoke up to get the class' attention.

"Awright, shut your traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just because it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow!" The now-named Morooka said, smirking at the chorus of sweatdrops he got from the class in response as he kept speaking, not seeing the unimpressed frown Yu gave him when he heard what the teacher said next about him.

"Now, I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick." Morooka said as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"Hello. My name is Yu Narukami, and I just transferred to Inaba yesterday to live with my uncle and cousin for a year." Yu said as he then turned to glare at Morooka as he kept speaking.

"And with that having been said, I do feel the need to speak up about something you just said, Morooka-san. Normally, I'm one to respect my elders. But I couldn't help but hear what you just said about me. And I'm also not one to not stand up for myself after being seemingly insulted to my face. That being said, are you calling me a loser, Morooka-san? I thought that was unacceptable behavior for a teacher?" Yu asked bluntly but dryly, not impressed by Morooka's attempt to smear his reputation with his apparent new classmates. Yu then smirked to himself as he felt more courageous after standing up for himself, leading to an unseen increase in his Courage. As most of the class gave Yu shocked looks at his boldness in back-talking Morooka, Morooka glared at Yu and spoke up.

"Did you just back-talk me!? Hrnh, you little punk! That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately." Morooka said as Yu simply frowned at Morooka, not saying anything further, which Morooka took as a cue to keep speaking, which he did.

"Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You'd better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!" Morooka said as Yu bristled at this and spoke up.

"I wouldn't dream of it. You might not think so, but I was raised to be a gentleman, with a healthy respect for women and girls of all ages." Yu said simply. Morooka huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph, if you say so! Maybe you're right. But what do I know? After all, it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals, and your my-places, things like that." Morooka said as he kept droning on for a while. After a bit, Yu noticed a short-haired girl in the back raise her hand and speak up.

"Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?" The short-haired girl asked, making Yu arch an eyebrow but simply shrug, figuring it was a good sign if this girl wanted him sitting next to her. So it shocked him slightly when Morooka nodded and spoke up.

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Morooka said to the girl before turning to Yu as he kept speaking.

"Ya hear that? Your seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!" Morooka said as Yu nodded politely and headed to the indicated seat and sat down, just in time for the girl who'd previously spoken up to lean in close to him and whisper so only Yu could hear.

"He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class, new guy. Well, we just have to hang in there for a year." The girl said as Yu spoke up quietly, so only the girl could hear.

"I've deal with worse. But I'm sure I can just tune out whatever he says, so it's nothing I can't handle." Yu said casually, noting that he could hear people around him talking about him, presumably in response to his standing up to Morooka. At the same time, Yu heard a nearby male student speak up.

"Sucks to be the transfer student, ending up in King Moron's class on the first day here and all." The male student said, making Yu have to stifle a laugh at hearing the student refer to Morooka as 'King Moron', but not disagreeing with the nickname, though he wisely refrained from voicing this thought aloud. Yu then heard a female speak up from next to the male who'd previously spoken.

"Yeah, he won't think twice about suspending you if you get on his bad side. Then again, we're all in the same boat here, aren't we?" The female said as Morooka scoffed and spoke up.

"Hey! Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!" Morooka said as Yu shrugged, noting to himself that one way or the other, his life as a Yasogami High student has just begun. Idly, he wondered how well, if at all, he'd fit in in this new school...

(A short time later, at the end of the school day, in Morooka's classroom with Yu)

"That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow." Morooka said bluntly as most of the students got up and made to leave, only to be stopped as the intercom came on and a voice spoke up from it.

"Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice." The students, Yu, and Morooka heard over the intercom as Morooka grunted and spoke up.

"Hrnh. You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise." Morooka said as he left the room, prompting the students to speak amongst themselves. Yu heard one of the brown-haired female students in the room speak up, turning his head to realize the girl he heard speaking was standing near his desk.

"He's seriously getting on my nerves." The brown-haired female student said as a siren was heard, prompting several guys to rush to the window as one of them spoke up in an excited-sounding voice.

"Did something happen? Don't those sirens sound really close? Ugh, I can't see a damn thing. Frickin' fog sucks, blockin' my view and all." The excited male student said as one of the other guys spoke up.

"Yeah, like every time it rains lately, it gets all foggy." The rumor-loving male student said as the other male student who'd walked up to the window spoke up.

"Hey, did you hear? I hear that paparazzi's looking all over for that announcer." The knowledgable-sounding male said as the rumor-loving male spoke up.

"Oh, yeah. You mean Mayumi Yamano, right?" The rumor-loving male said, not seeing Yu blink from at his desk as he recognized the name that the rumor-loving male had dropped as one of the names that was mentioned on the news the night before. Before he could think too much on this, the rumor-loving male kept speaking.

"I heard some guys spotted her at the shopping district." The rumor-loving male student said as the knowledgeable male spoke up.

"Actually, I heard that she's being blacklisted from her job and being put on unpaid leave until the truth of her affair, or potential affair, with that Namatame guy are confirmed. Not only that, but rumor has it she's got a room at the Amagi Inn, and is staying there." The knowledgeable male said as the rumor-loving male blinked and spoke up.

"No way! Are you serious!?" The knowledgeable male said before surprising Yu as he walked across the classroom, approaching the desk of a black-haired girl sitting at a desk in the row in front of Yu and the short-haired girl sitting next to him, speaking up to try and get the girl's attention.

"H-Hey, Yukiko-san. Mind if I ask you something real briefly? Is it true that that announcer's staying at your family's inn?" The knowledgeable male asked the black-haired girl, who he'd called Yukiko, who frowned at this and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but I can't discuss such things." The apparently-named Yukiko said as the knowledgeable male student winced and spoke up.

"Y-Yeah, I guess not." The knowledgeable male student said before darting off as the short-haired girl who was sitting in the desk next to Yu's got up and walked over to the apparently-named Yukiko and spoke up with an annoyed sigh.

"Ugh! Sheesh, how much longer is this going to take?" The short-haired girl asked the apparently-named Yukiko, who spoke up with a wry smile, clearly used to the short-haired girl complaining to her.

"There's no telling." The apparently-named Yukiko said as the short-haired girl frowned and spoke up.

"Good point. Ugh, crap! I shoulda left before the announcement came on, but I didn't think about it soon enough. Oh, by the way, didja try what I told you the other day?" The short-haired girl asked, getting a confused look from the apparently-named Yukiko, making the short-haired girl keep speaking.

"You know what I'm talking about. That thing about rainy nights and turned-off TVs?" The short-haired girl asked the apparently named Yukiko, who blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, you mean that. No, not yet. Sorry." The apparently-named Yukiko said as the short-haired girl spoke up with a smile.

"Ahhh, that's okay. It's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, 'My soulmate is Yamano, the announcer!' Can you believe that?" The short-haired girl said, not seeing a confused Yu blink and mouth 'soulmate!?' to himself. But before he could even begin to question what that meant, the intercom came on again.

"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds. Do NOT disturb the police officers! Head directly home. I repeat-" The intercom said before being drowned out by the ensuing throng of voices, notably including an excited male student that Yu heard speak up.

"Did she say 'Incident'!?" The excited male student said as the dark-haired girl standing near the brown-haired girl Yu had eavesdropped on previously spoke up.

"What, something actually happened?" The dark-haired girl asked as her friend, the brown-haired girl Yu had eavesdropped on unintentionally earlier, spoke up.

"C'mon, let's go take a look!" The girl said, making Yu look in their direction as the two girls walked off. Before he could muse on what he'd heard too much, the short-haired girl who sat in the desk next to his walked over, the black-haired girl that the rumor-loving male had spoken to earlier walking next to her. The short-haired girl then spoke up.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself? Why don't you come with us?" The short-haired girl asked as Yu spoke up.

"I don't see why I can't walk home with you two. But isn't it a bit rude of me to walk home with two girls whose names I don't even know?" Yu asked conversationally as the short-haired girl blinked before smiling as she spoke up.

"Oh, right, I nearly forgot about that! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know that I sit next to you, right?" The now-named Chie asked. Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. I recall you were the one who raised your hand and asked Moro-err, I mean King Moron if I could sit next to you. Thanks for that, by the way. I don't want to think about where he'd have put me otherwise. Oh, and before I forget again, my name is Yu Narukami." Yu said with an exaggerated but obviously playful shudder, making Chie chuckle as she spoke up.

"True, no one likes to think about the horror that is being at King Moron's mercy. Well, nice to meet you!" Chie said as she turned to look at the black-haired girl standing next to her as she kept speaking.

"Oh, and this is Yukiko Amagi." Chie said as the now-named Yukiko chuckled and spoke up.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Narukami-kun. I'm sorry that this is so sudden and out of nowhere." Yukiko said as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"That's all right. I don't mind. If nothing else, I can view this as a good start towards making some friends. I don't remember if King Moron mentioned this when introducing me, but I'm only staying here for one year with my uncle and cousin while my parents are 'overseas' for work reasons." Yu said as Chie nodded to what Yu said before turning to Yukiko as she spoke up.

"C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all." Chie said as Yu smirked and spoke up.

"Why would anyone question if you have no upbringing, Satonaka-san? You seem quite all right to me." Yu said playfully as Chie spoke up with a giggle.

"At least you've got a sense of humor, if nothing else, Narukami-san." Chie said as Yu fell into step with Chie and Yukiko, making to leave the classroom when another familiar face blocked their path, this one being the brown-haired male Yu had seen crash his bike into a trash can that morning. But Yu wisely refrained from mentioning this as the male student looked at Chie and spoke up.

"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka? Can I speak to you?" The male student asked, not seeing Yu arch an eyebrow in surprise at how formal the male in front of him was being. Chie nodded once, which the male took to be a 'continue, so he kept speaking while making Yu notice the object he held in both hands, which appeared to be a DVD.

"This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just awesome to see! It was totally great! And, well, I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" The male student said apologetically, bowing as he held the DVD out to Chie, which Yu noted had the words 'Trial Of The Dragon' on the cover, making Yu figure that was the name of the DVD. At that point, the male spoke up.

"See ya! Thanks!" The male student said as he turned to leave, making Chie frown as she spoke up.

"Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?" Chie asked as Yu winced on hearing a crash for the second time that day, turning to see the male student once again holding the area between his legs, which Yu had noted that morning, but not drawn attention to. As the male student let out an audible 'Argh!' of pain, Chie frowned and spoke up in a surprisingly agonized sounding wail.

"What the!? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked! Cracked, I tell you! Ahh! My 'Trial of the Dragon' DVD is broken! Dammit!" Chie said as the male student groaned and spoke up, making Yu wince in sympathy as he heard what the male student said next.

"I think mine's cracked too, almost as if in some sort of sick, twisted irony. C-Critical hit to the nads! Medic!" The male student said as both Yu and Yukiko winced sympathetically, the latter speaking up with a concerned expression.

"A-Are you all right?" Yukiko asked as the male student spoke up while looking up at Yukiko, his brown eyes giving her a hopeful look as he spoke.

"Oh, Yukiko-san. Hi. Are you worried about me, by chance?" The male student asked as Yu spoke up.

"Of course she is. You look like you're in serious pain." Yu said as the male student blinked on recognizing Yu from earlier that morning, but before he could say anything, Chie spoke up with an angry look while looking at Yukiko.

"He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home." Chie said as she closed her DVD and tucked it into her bag as she and Yukiko left the room, leaving Yu to give the male student one last concerned look, noting that he looks like he's in a lot of pain. But once again, his common sense, and his sense of masculine sympathy for the male, encouraged him to leave the man be and not potentially bruise his pride more than he might already have done with his previous statement, prompting Yu to leave the male alone and chase after Yukiko and Chie, but not before giving the male one last sympathetic look.

After catching up to Yukiko and Chie at the main gates, all three of them blinked as a strange student with brown hair, almost soulless-looking black eyes, a dark grey tuxedo uniform with a white undershirt, green tie, and matching colored dark grey dress pants and black shoes, spoke up while looking at Yukiko.

"You're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?" The strange male student asked Yukiko, who blinked in confusion as she spoke up.

"What did you say? Wh-Who are you?" Yukiko asked, not seeing the students gathering even as she heard another male speak up behind her.

"What's up with him? What school's he from?" An onlooking male student asked as a spectacled male student spoke up from next to him.

"Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move on her." The spectacled student said as the onlooking student spoke up with a smirk.

"I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out." The onlooking student said, not seeing Yu turn to frown at the two as the spectacled student spoke up.

"No bet. Haven't you heard how difficult the Amagi Challenge is?" The spectacled student said, but before Yu could do more than blink, even though he wanted to yell out 'the WHAT!?', he heard the strange student next to Yukiko speak up.

"Um, s-so, what's it gonna be? Are you coming or not?" The strange student asked as Yukiko blinked in confusion, but the look on her face as she spoke up made it pretty evident to Yu that Yukiko wasn't a fan of being approached.

"I-I'm not going with someone I don't even know that well. Sorry." Yukiko said as the strange male student frowned and spoke up.

"Wh-Wha? Tch, fine!" The strange student said as he ran off, leaving a confused Yukiko to turn to Chie and Yu as she kept speaking.

"Wh-What did he want from me, I wonder?" Yukiko asked as Chie spoke up, surprised Yukiko was unaware of what was going on.

"What did he want? Did you just ask that, Yukiko? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date." Chie said as Yukiko blinked in shock and spoke up.

"Huh? Really? I was being asked out?" Yukiko asked as Yu frowned, but said nothing, figuring this happened a lot, given how nonchalant Chie was about it. Chie spoke up before Yu could voice his thoughts.

"You really had no clue? Sheesh, Yukiko. You're so innocent and naive sometimes that it hurts." Chie said gently but firmly. Yu nodded and spoke up.

"True. But then again, I probably have no room to comment on this since I just transferred here yesterday, so I'll keep quiet for now." Yu said as Chie spoke up.

"You don't have to keep quiet, Narukami-san. But you're not wrong about this being a fairly common occurrence." Chie said before turning to Yukiko as she kept speaking.

"But then again, that was way over the top just now! It was creepy how he called you 'Yuki' all of a sudden." Chie said as Yukiko could only nod. Yu also nodded, but before he could add in his opinion that Yukiko wasn't wrong in how she handled herself, he heard a familiar squeaking sound as the male from earlier who'd crashed into a desk came riding up on his bike and looked at Yukiko and spoke up.

"Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? Man, you're cruel, you know? You got me the same way last year." The male student on a bike said as Yukiko blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? I don't recall doing that." Yukiko said as the male on a bike smirked and spoke up, not seeing Yu give him a mixed surprised, impressed, and shocked look at what he said next.

"Whoa, are you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?" The male on a bike asked as Yukiko spoke up shyly.

"Umm, nothing personal, but if it's all the same to you? I'd rather not." Yukiko said as the male on a bike winced and spoke up.

"Ouch. That'll teach me to get my hopes up." The male on a bike said, not seeing Yu give him an impressed look, clearly shocked by his guts. Before Yu could say anything, the male on a bike smirked and spoke up.

"Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much. He might not say much, but I get the feeling he's a good guy." The male on a bike said as he rode off on his bike, oblivious to the parting shot Chie flung at his retreating back while she spoke up.

"We're just curious, is all!" Chie yelled at the retreating male while Yukiko turned to Yu and spoke up with an apologetic look.

"U-Um, I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Narukami-san." Yukiko said as Yu spoke up.

"That's all right, Amagi-san. I didn't mind." Yu said before Chie winced as she noticed the crowd that had gathered nearby and spoke up.

"C'mon, let's go. Everyone's staring." Chie said as she walked off, leaving Yu and Yukiko to follow behind her as the two chased after Chie...

(A short time later, in another part of Inaba, with Yu, Chie, and Yukiko)

"Ahh, I see. So you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious." Chie said after Yu finished explaining the reasoning behind his transfer. Yu smirked and spoke up.

"Nah, nothing so insidious. Besides, why would I act up? It's not like I had a lot of friends to impress back home or anything like that. I was just your everyday, average, studious guy who tried to keep his head down and keep good grades for the sake of hopefully fitting in. But then I realized I was being foolish. After all, how easy is it to fit in when you're being relocated every other year because of your parents' jobs?" Yu said with an amused chuckle as Chie spoke up.

"Good point. Well, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine here, Narukami-san. If nothing else, the fact you stood up to King Moron today will earn you a lot of street cred with our classmates. That being said, there really is nothing here, huh?" Chie said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Doesn't seem like it, no. But I don't mind that. Sometimes it's better to just keep things simple than to be flashy and try to show off." Yu said as Chie spoke up with a nod, neither Yu or Chie taking notice of a rather quiet Yukiko watching their exchange with an amused smile on her face.

"Right? That's what makes it nice around here, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside. Though, there is something from Mount Yasogami, if I recall right? I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous. Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!" Chie said as Yukiko blinked at being brought up before speaking up with an embarrassed look on her face as she noticed Yu and Chie both turn their gazes on her.

"Huh? It's nothing that special. It's just an old inn." Yukiko said in an attempt to try and be humble, but Chie wouldn't be deterred as she spoke up.

"No way, it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure." Chie said to Yukiko before turning to look at Yu as she kept speaking.

"It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take it over someday." Chie said as Yu spoke up, a skeptical look on her face.

"Oh? That's great, but is that actually what Amagi-san wants? Or is that just what her family expects of her? Because looking at her expression, I get the feeling she might not be that thrilled about taking over the inn. But that's just my opinion, and I could be entirely wrong to say so." Yu said as Yukiko blinked at this and spoke up.

"U-Um, I'd rather not talk about that, if it's all the same to you, Narukami-san." Yukiko said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Amagi-san. I apologize if my last remark overstepped a line. I was just stating what I thought, that's all. I meant no offense." Yu said as Yukiko shyly smiled while affirming no offense had been taken as Chie spoke up.

"Fair. Well, the question of Yukiko's plans aside for now, the fact remains that their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going." Chie said as Yukiko flushed in embarrassment and spoke up.

"R-Really, Chie? I don't think that's entirely true." Yukiko said as Chie shrugged and turned to Yu with a playful smirk as she spoke up, and once Yu heard what she asked, he was glad he hadn't been drinking anything, since he was sure he'd have done an unintentional spit-take at what Chie asked next.

"If you say so, Yukiko. So, tell me, Yu. You think Yukiko's cute, huh?" Chie said as Yu spoke up.

"Wh-What!? First of all, I've only just met the two of you. Also, isn't that kind of unfair to Amagi-san to put her on the spot like that, Satonaka-san? Not only that, but it's hard to say if she's cute or not when we've only just met. Though I won't deny that she is pretty, but I want it on the record that I'm saying that in the most friendly way possible." Yu said as Chie winced and spoke up with a mock-apologetic look on her face, not seeing Yukiko giving Yu an appraising glance as she spoke, almost as if sizing him up.

"Ohhh, sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot right in front of her." Chie said playfully as Yukiko frowned at Chie and spoke up.

"Come on, Chie. Don't start this again." Yukiko said as Chie ignored this and spoke up while looking at Yu.

"She's really popular at school, but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?" Chie said as Yu blinked at that and spoke up.

"Never? That's a surprise. But, that's Amagi-san's business as to what she does with her romantic life. It's certainly not something for someone she just met to comment on, never mind being something for one of her friends to be gossiping about." Yu pointed out firmly but politely, not seeing Yukiko blush in embarrassment at Yu speaking up for her as she spoke up.

"C-Come on, stop it, Chie." Yukiko rebuked Chie as she turned to Yu and kept speaking with both a blush and an embarrassed look on her face.

"As for you, Narukami-san? Y-You shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!" Yukiko said as Yu spoke up.

"Oh? Far be it from me to pry into a lady's private life. But I can believe it if you say you have had at least one boyfriend in your life. But again, I'm not one to judge others. So you don't have to feel the need to justify yourself to me, Amagi-san." Yu said as a flustered-looking Yukiko spoke up.

"Wait, n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend! But, thank you for your understanding, Narukami-san. Geez, I can't believe you said all that, Chie!" Yukiko chided Chie with a slightly hurt look on her face as Chie snorted in amusement and spoke up.

"Hahaha! Sorry, I'm sorry. But this is our chance to talk to someone from the big city, and you barely said a word!" Chie said as Yu spoke up.

"I don't mind if she doesn't have much to say. Sometimes, people just aren't in a talkative mood, and that's perfectly all right." Yu said as Chie nodded before she stared ahead of the group and spoke up.

"Hey, what's that?" Chie said as Yu noticed a crowd gathered in the middle of an intersection, prompting him to look at Chie and Yukiko, both of whom exchanged nods with his unspoken question as the trio headed over to hear what was going on as a shopping housewife spoke to a woman next to her.

"So that high schooler left school early, and as she came down this street, that's apparently when it happened. That's when she found THAT." The housewife said to the other housewife, who spoke up in shock.

"Wow. Who could imagine THAT hanging from an antenna?" The second housewife said as the first spoke up.

"I wanted to see it too." The first housewife said as the second housewife spoke up.

"Uh, you got here too late if that's your goal. The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago." The second housewife said as the first housewife spoke up.

"Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here like that, all of a sudden." The first housewife said as Yu, Chie, and Yukiko all gasped before Chie spoke up.

"Wait, hold on. What did she just say? A dead body!?" Chie asked as at that point, a familiar figure walked over, looked right at Yu, and spoke up.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Ryotaro asked Yu, who looked at him and spoke up.

"We were just on our way back from school. Umm, did something happen?" Yu asked in what he hoped was a politely curious voice. Ryotaro frowned at this but spoke up.

"Well, to be honest? You could say that. Ugh, that damn principal. We told him not to let them through here, repeatedly." Ryotaro said as Chie turned to Yu and spoke up.

"Hey, Narukami-san. You know this guy?" Chie asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. You remember I said I'm staying with my uncle and cousin for a year?" Yu asked Chie, who nodded. Yu then kept speaking.

"Well, meet one of the people I'm staying with. This here is my uncle." Yu said as Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"Yu's right. I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian. Uhh, hmm. Well, how should I put this, exactly? I hope you get along with him. But that being said, you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home." Ryotaro chastised Yu, Chie, and Yukiko. But before they could do more than nod, a younger-looking detective ran past the trio, looking extremely sick.

Once he was off-screen, all that was heard was very worrying retching sounds, which drew the attention and concern of Yu, Chie, and Yukiko, and the annoyance of Ryotaro, who recognized the younger detective. After stomping his foot in annoyance at the young man's antics, Ryotaro spoke up.

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be sent back to the central office!?" Ryotaro scolded the young man, whom he'd called Adachi. The young man weakly frowned and spoke up.

"I-I'm sorry, Dojima-san. Nngh..." The apparently-named Adachi said as Ryotaro sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, rookie. Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!" Ryotaro said before he turned on his heel and stormed off, the apparently-named Adachi following close behind. Once both of them were out of earshot, a worried-looking Chie spoke up.

"Was this what that announcement was about, you guys?" Chie asked as Yukiko frowned and spoke up.

"Better question: What do they mean by 'it was hanging from the antenna of a building'?" Yukiko asked as Yu spoke up with an approving nod.

"Good question, Amagi-san. I'm sure if we're meant to know the answer to it, we'll find out soon enough." Yu said as Chie and Yukiko nodded their agreement as the former spoke up while looking at Yukiko.

"Hey, Yukiko? You know our plans we made? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?" Chie suggested as Yukiko nodded and spoke up.

"Good idea, Chie. Today's probably not a good day anyways, given what we just saw." Yukiko said as Chie nodded and turned to Yu as she spoke up.

"Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!" Chie said as Yu spoke up.

"Oh? So now I'm your 'neighbor', huh? I can live with that. Granted, I'm pretty sure we're only desk neighbors, but if you want to call me 'neighbor', I'm not against it, Satonaka-san." Yu said as Chie chuckled before she and Yukiko took off walking, leaving Yu alone as he decided to beat a hasty retreat from the crime scene...

(That evening, at the Dojima residence, with Nanako and Yu)

As Yu and Nanako sat together in the living room, a worried-looking Nanako spoke up.

"I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight. Hmm." Nanako said as Yu blinked at this and spoke up.

"Again? Does he do this often?" Yu asked with as concerned a tone as he could manage, getting a nod in response from Nanako. But before she could elaborate on her nod, the newscaster spoke up and cut off her response before it could start.

"Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb. Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba." The newscaster said, making Yu gasp as he recognized the area shown on TV as the School Zone where he and Nanako had parted company to go to their respective schools that morning. Yu idly wondered if this was related to the incident that he, Chie, and Yukiko had heard about that afternoon. Before he could muse on his sudden line of thought any further, the newscaster spoke up.

"The deceased has been identified as Miss Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old announcer at the local television station. The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed-" The newscaster said, but whatever else they said was cut off by a shocked gasp from Nanako, who spoke up.

"Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"That's right. You mentioned last night that he's a detective. That's pretty insane to me that his workplace would be mentioned on the news." Yu said as Nanako nodded, her eyes widened slightly in shock as she gasped. On noticing the anxious expression on Nanako's face, Yu smiled kindly at her and spoke up.

"I know this must be stressful for you, but it'll be all right. If nothing else, your dad can take care of himself, Nanako. At the very least, I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you, Nanako." Yu said as Nanako blinked before smiling wryly as she spoke up.

"Yeah, that's true. And I know you're here, Yu. Anyways, that being said, that's his job, so this stuff happens." Nanako said as Yu spoke up.

"True. At least you have a pretty mature outlook on these things, Nanako." Yu said reassuringly as Nanako nodded before the two turned their attention to the news as the newscaster kept speaking.

"The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide. A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvass the area are delayed until tomorrow." The newscaster said as the news cut to a commercial, leaving Yu to muse on the fact that the local TV station's announcer was found dead near the Yasogami High School campus that day.

The announcer, Mayumi Yamano, who'd just been outed as being part of a potential scandal involving a certain local councilman's secretary. If Yu recalled correctly, said affair had been on the news just the other day. Before Yu could explore his line of thought much further, Nanako's voice drew him back to reality as she spoke up.

"They found her on the roof? That's scary to think about." Nanako said as Yu smiled kindly at Nanako, not wanting to voice his opinion that Nanako seems like she's much too young to be exposed to such things as dead bodies, homicides, and scandals. But before he could voice his thought, a familiar commercial came on that made Nanako gasp as she spoke up.

"Oh, it's Junes!" Nanako said as she turned up the familiar commercial as it played.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!" The commercial said as a familiar voice sang the next part.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" The announcer sang as Nanako smiled at the TV and also started singing, to Yu's amusement.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang as she turned an expectant gaze onto an amused Yu, who smirked and decided to play along, if only to humor Nanako.

"Eh, why not? Your Junes!" Yu said, seemingly singing the last couple of words of the song. Nanako giggled at this and spoke up while giving Yu a closed-eye smile.

"You memorized it already? I'm the best one in my class!" Nanako said as Yu chuckled and spoke up.

"I can see it. I said it already last night, but you really are a good singer, Nanako." Yu said to Nanako, who giggled and kept singing the song to herself over and over. Yu smirked as he realized that due to her preoccupation with the jingle, Nanako had apparently already forgotten all about the scary story she'd just heard. Chuckling at how predictably short Nanako's attention span was, Yu left Nanako to watch TV by herself as he got up to put the dishes away after the two finished their meal and decided to head upstairs to mull over the eventful day he'd had that day...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And there we are, the first actual 'chapter' of Persona 4- The Golden Apostle is in the books! Probably not as long of a chapter as what most would expect, but I'm trying something a bit different for this story where I try for varying-length chapters, insofar as some chapters will be longer than others for the story. Also, some of the 'deadlines' in Persona 4 Golden are shorter on average than the ones in Persona 5 Royal, so I have to make some chapters shorter than others so as to make these arcs last a few chapters. And since I can tell there might be some confusion on a few things, let me take this chance to clarify a few things up front.

1)Gaignun's sideplot: As I hopefully made clear in the first prologue chapter, Gaignun's plot will be mostly a minor sideplot that progresses at the same time as the main plot of Persona 4 Golden. For the first arc or two, Gaignun's involvement and screentime will probably be quite a bit more minimal compared to the rest of the cast, but as we get a bit further in, Gaignun will gradually get to be more and more relevant to the main plot as we approach the point of his plotline linking up with the plot of Persona 4 Golden.

(*SPOILER ALERT*: And this link-up MIGHT involve replacing one of the dungeons that's in canon Golden with a new one that MAY or MAY NOT be focused on Gaignun, but that's not for a while yet, so shh for now. *END SPOILER ALERT*)

2)Pairings: For now, I'm not 100% decided on what I'm going to do in terms of most pairings, other than the pairings for both Yu and Gaignun, which I do have those set in stone. The plan is to have Yu be paired with Rise, for reasons I will explain more once we get to Rise's section of the story. As for who I plan to pair Gaignun with? I'm going to keep that to myself for now, but for those who want a hint? She may or may not have appeared in this chapter, despite not having that many lines compared to some of the other characters. Anyone who read the prologue chapters probably already saw who I plan to pair Gaignun with.

Past that, the rest of the Investigation Team is undecided pairing wise, with the exceptions of Naoto and Kanji, who I will more than likely pair with each other (because KanjixNaoto is one of the most based OTPs in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden!) The rest are still up in the air pairing-wise. However, anyone who read both of the Phantom Files stories that I've already posted thus far has at least an idea of some of the potential pairings for this story.

3)Arcs- YES, I plan to reuse the 'Arc' system like I did for both Persona 5- The Phantom Files, as well as for Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise of the Monarchs. I'm not yet sure how many Arcs there will be, but I'm estimating it'll be anywhere from 8 to 10 arcs in this story, most likely 8 to 9. But we'll see what happens as the story proceeds, i think. But the hope is to keep it at a similar number of Arcs to the other two Persona adaptations I've done thus far.

4)Yu himself- For those who were reading this chapter closely, you'll notice I took a bit of a liberty in how I'm interpreting Yu's character.

In this case, I'm going to try and portray Yu as a kind-hearted, if somewhat inherently lonely, person who often give rather sage (and even occasionally philisophical) advice and who enjoys making friends and cherishes the friendships he does make, while also being a wise and very mellow person (not unlike how I portrayed Ren/Joker in the Phantom Files stories, but also different, in that Yu is even less likely to lose his temper than Ren was, and he rarely if ever lost his temper across both Phantom Files stories, his portrayal in the back halves of both Phantom Files and Rise of the Monarchs notwithstanding). So hopefully I manage to mostly keep Yu in character while being able to have fun with how I portray him here and also not messing up the dynamic of any of his canon Social Links.

5)Social Links- YES, they're called Social Links instead of Confidants in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden, as well as Persona 3/3 FES/3 Portable/3 Reload. More importantly, I plan to actually get all of them maxed out in this story, unlike in Phantom Files, where I ended up falling three maxed links shy of maxing out all the Confidants, largely because I was too lazy about hanging out with Shinya.

And because of how long his Mementos request took to come in as a result of that, I didn't have enough time to max out Ohya and Chihaya's links as a result, meaning I didn't get to showcase the ultimate Personas of the Fortune, Devil, and Tower Arcanas, but given the only good link of those three is Chihaya (and to a point, Shinya), I don't think it's that big of a loss that I missed those three. Nevertheless, I plan to max ALL the Social Links in this guide as best I can. Hopefully I can pull it off. And YES, before anyone asks, there are plans to possibly add a Social Link in for Gaignun later in the story. But for now, I'm keeping the particulars of that to myself.

And I think that's everything I wanted to clarify here. So for now, let me thank everyone who's read this far into the story, even if it's still early on. The support is much appreciated! Feel free to leave a review below or PM me with any feedback/suggestions/constructive criticism for the story, since I enjoy hearing from my readers. And until the next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!