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!

8. Links and Filler! Mystery Begins part 5

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 4- The Golden Apostle! Last chapter was a rough one to be sure, but this chapter should hopefully be at least SLIGHTLY less emotionally charged (HOPEFULLY being the keyword in that sentence!) But we'll see what happens there. That having been said, I think we should get the disclaimer done now, while I'm thinking of it! So let's do that!

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OCs Ryuroni, Hikari Kusanagi II, Hikari Kusanagi III, Koushiro, Yamato, Takeru, Rosie, Gaignun, Slim, Sage, Lily, Kusano, Ace, Marisa, and any other OCs/OC Personas that appear in the story, all of which were created by, and thus belong to, me), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega, as well as the various other companies that were involved with the spinoffs (whether those spinoffs be Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the 'Dancing' games, or the 'Q' games, or even Persona 5: The Phantom X), all of whom know who they are and receive the appropriate creative/ownership credit that is due to them. I just am using these characters to write this story, and do not intend to make any profit off of it whatsoever.

And there we go, one disclaimer done and dusted! Having said that, I think there's not much else I want to say at this time, so I guess let's get on with the chapter. Keep reading after the chapter, if you're interested, and I'll have an end-of-chapter A/N where I might discuss some stuff, but let's leave it at that for now, yeah? Without any further delay, let's start the chapter! Here's chapter 5!

Chapter 5- Preparations, Filler, More Social Links, and more! The Mystery Begins part 5

(Current in-game date: 4/17/2011. In the evening, on the lower level of the Dojima household, with Yu, Nanako, and Ryotaro)

After thinking about it, Yu walked over to Ryotaro and spoke up.

"Not sure what you're reading, but it seems like it has you interested, whatever it is. So that's good." Yu said conversationally as Ryotaro looked up with a weary look and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah. It's just a newspaper article. And, um, about before? Sorry about that. I shouldn't have been so harsh with you. I killed the mood when I did that, didn't I?" Ryotaro said as Yu spoke up with a smile.

"Not that much. I think you did upset Nanako a bit, though. But only Nanako can say for sure if that's the case or not. That said, I understand where you were coming from, so you don't have to apologize to me, Dojima-san." Yu said kindly before he decided to check on Nanako, walking over to her and speaking up.

"Enjoying your show there, Nanako?" Yu asked as Nanako looked up at him and frowned slightly while speaking up.

"I don't know what you and Dad were arguing about earlier, but I didn't like how harshly he was looking at you. So whatever it was, I don't like it. Don't fight." Nanako said with a frown as Yu winced and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Sorry for upsetting you. For what it's worth, though? I think your father was only being so hard on me because he cares, even if he's not so good at showing it. And even if he doesn't say so or act like it, I believe he cares about you as well, Nanako." Yu said kindly, getting a curt nod of understanding from Nanako, who then turned back to her TV show without a further word, leaving Yu to shrug as he went up to his room. Once he got upstairs, Yu blinked in confusion as he heard something from downstairs. After listening closely, Yu realized Nanako was calling for him.

"Yu, someone's on the phone for you!" Nanako said as a confused Yu went downstairs to get the phone and spoke up to answer it.

"Hello?" Yu said, wincing as he recognized the voice on the other end.

"Narukami? Ahem, good. It's me, Morooka. I have something that I've prepared just for you. I was going to deliver it to your house, but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up." Morooka said as Yu spoke up after a moment.

"Oh? I mean, that's fair and all, but exactly where are you now, sir? I ask since I'm not entirely familiar with all of Inaba just yet, so I'd rather not get myself lost while coming to pick up whatever you've prepared for me." Yu said as Morooka spoke up, the tone in his voice making it clear that he wasn't expecting such a professional response from Yu.

"Er, where am I? I was getting to that! I am currently in front of the gas station at the shopping district. You got that? Now hurry up and come pick it up!" Morooka said, hanging up before Yu could reply. Yu frowned, realizing that his teacher had summoned him. Despite his confusion over why he was being summoned so late, Yu knew that Morooka could, and probably more than likely would, make his life at Yasogami High hell if he didn't do as asked. Pushing his confusion aside, he walked over to speak to Ryotaro.

"I know this is out of nowhere, but can I go out for a bit, Dojima-san? My teacher called, and apparently he's got something he needs me to pick up from him in the shopping district." Yu said as Ryotaro spoke up in confusion.

"Was that your teacher who called you just now? Don't tell me you're planning on going out at this hour." Ryotaro said as Yu spoke up.

"Honestly? I wasn't planning on it. But Morooka-san sounded quite insistent, so I figure I should do as he requests, if only so as not to make trouble for myself at school. And I seem to recall you asked me to do my best to not get in trouble, so I feel like this is a necessary evil in the interests of fulfilling that request." Yu said calmly. Ryotaro blinked in shock at this and spoke up.

"Seriously? Your homeroom teacher needs to see you? You just transferred here, and you've already done something?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up.

"No, apparently he prepared something for me and he wants me to come pick it up. The only thing I've done was stand up for myself politely when Morooka-san basically called me a loser and tried to trash-talk me in front of my classmates during my first day of school a few days ago. Otherwise, I've done the best I can to stay out of trouble, the incident at the police station notwithstanding, and even then that was Yosuke's fault, as he himself admitted." Yu said honestly. Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"Is that so? You'll forgive me if I take you saying that with a grain of salt, Yu. No, that's not fair of me to assume the worst of you like that. This is you we're talking about. Well, I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. Go take care of business and hurry back home." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded and left the house, making his way to the Shopping District, where he saw Morooka talking to a girl in a student uniform with no one else around. Raising an eyebrow at this, Yu walked over and spoke up.

"You asked for me to come see you, Morooka-san?" Yu said as respectfully as he could, even if part of him wanted to question why Morooka was in the company of what appeared to be a female student late at night. Morooka turned to Yu and spoke up.

"Oh, you're here. Sooner than I expected! This is the school jersey I got for you! Go on, take it!" Morooka said as he passed Yu a 'Yaso High Jersey' item, which he accepted. Yu then spoke up.

"I wasn't expecting this. Thank you, Mister Morooka." Yu said politely as Morooka nodded and spoke up with a frown on his face, not seeing Yu cringe at the up-close view of his overlarge front teeth that made him appear to have an overbite as he spoke.

"Sure, sure. Now that you've got it, get the hell out of here! I need to see this girl home! You know the way to your own house, don't you?" Morooka said as Yu frowned at this, but nodded, walking off without a word. However, as he started to go home, he heard the female student who was with Morooka speak up, making him crouch behind the bus stop sign and listen in.

"But it's not a lie! I really am on the way home from cram school! I can go home by myself! I wasn't trying to stay out and party!" The female student said as Yu shook his head, figuring this wasn't his concern, and went back home. Once he was back in the Dojima residence, Ryotaro looked up as he saw Yu walk back in and spoke up.

"Ah, you're home. Welcome back! So, what was it?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up.

"Apparently I did all that just to get a school jersey. And Morooka seemed in an awful hurry to get me out of there after he gave it to me. Probably because he was alone with a female student when I got to the shopping district. He said he was seeing her home when I asked, but it sounded like she wasn't so receptive to it from what I heard her say as I left the area. But I suppose without proof, there's little we can do about it." Yu said off-handedly as Ryotaro blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? I see. Well, we do have to give the benefit of the doubt here, even if I do agree that what you saw seems incredibly suspect. But without solid proof that he's making advances on that girl, all we can do is hope for the best. But back to what you went out for. Your teacher asked you to come see him late at night, and you were given a school jersey? That's it? He could've just given you that at school, couldn't he?" Ryotaro asked as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"True, he could have. But I got the impression he doesn't care for his students that much. So I figured it was better not to give him any further reason to be angry at me." Yu said decisively as Ryotaro nodded and spoke up.

"That's fair. Well, I'm sure telling you that isn't helping. School's tough enough as it is. With those incidents going on, everyone's on edge nowadays." Ryotaro said as Yu nodded his understanding before going upstairs to figure out his plans for the rest of the night. After getting upstairs, he realized he was tired and decided to go to bed early to rest up from the day he'd had that day...

(The next morning, in Morooka's homeroom class, with Yu, Yosuke, and Chie)

After Yosuke approached Yu's desk, he spoke up with a worried look on his face.

"I wonder how Chie's doing." Yosuke asked as Yu spoke up with a wry smile.

"If I had to guess? Probably worried for Amagi-san, and mad at herself for not being able to help her. As such, I feel like we should take a couple of days to de-stress and prepare ourselves before we go back in to the place we went yesterday to save Amagi-san." Yu said wisely as Yosuke nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"That makes sense, partner. After all, too much stuff happened yesterday. I hope she's back to her usual self, unlikely as that might be to happen." Yosuke said as the door opened up and Chie walked into the classroom, as if summoned by Yu and Yosuke talking about her. Once inside, she walked over to Yu and Yosuke and spoke up with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Oh, mornin'." Chie asked as Yu spoke up with a wry smile.

"Morning, Chie. Are you okay? You seemed a bit bothered when we partied ways yesterday, and understandably so." Yu said gently but kindly. Chie smiled at Yu's concern for her and spoke up with a nod.

"Yep. I'm doing better now. Umm, but to be honest? Thanks for everything yesterday." Chie said, getting confused looks from Yu and Yosuke as she kept speaking.

"it's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were right there to see my hidden feelings and all that." Chie said as Yosuke spoke up with an understanding smile.

"Don't sweat it." Yosuke said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"What Yosuke said. It might not seem like it, but we know it wasn't easy for you to face all that yesterday. I respect you for not running away from it and facing it head-on." Yu said as Chie nodded and spoke up.

"Thanks. Umm, the same thing happened to Yosuke, right?" Chie asked before she kept speaking, ignoring the wary glance Yu and Yosuke exchanged as she spoke.

"Sooo, tell me. What was it like?" Chie asked as Yu and Yosuke blanched at the question before the latter spoke up nervously.

"Huh, Uhhh, how should I put this so you can understand?" Yosuke asked before blinking as he recalled a detail he'd overlooked previously, glancing in Yu's direction as he kept speaking.

"Oh, I nearly forgot! None of that happened when yours awakened, huh?" Yosuke asked as Yu laughed hollowly and spoke up.

"Not like what you two went through at least, no. For me, it was just an eerily ominous dream about following a path down a foggy hall and eventually fighting a being that I could barely see in the fog. Funnily enough, I was able to use Izanagi's power in that dream, now that I think about it. But I didn't have to face my Shadow in that dream, unless that was who the being I fought was. I couldn't make out what they looked like. They taunted me about being the one to find the truth and open the door of destiny, not unlike what I heard before getting stuck in my TV the night we all tried out the Midnight Channel for the first time." Yu said as Yosuke chuckled nervously and spoke up while Chie gaped at Yu in open-mouthed shock.

"Is that so? Hmmm, could that be because you've got nothing to hide?" Yosuke asked as Chie spoke up with a frown.

"Oh? So nothing happened for you?" Chie said as Yu spoke up.

"Were you not listening to what I just said, Chie? I had a different experience than you two did." Yu pointed out. Chie blinked and spoke up.

"Good point. Still, I gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open guy. There's a funny air about you that I can't quite identify. I dunno, I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that." Chie said as Yu smirked and spoke up.

"Do my ears deceive me? Was that a compliment, Chie?" Yu said teasingly with a wry grin on his face. Chie blinked at the facetious remark from Yu before chuckling weakly as she spoke up with a nod.

"Eheh, you got me. Yep, it's a compliment." Chie said as Yosuke sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Uhhh, sure. If you say so, Chie." Yosuke said as Yosuke, Yu, and Chie all had a good laugh before Chie spoke up with a serious look on her face.

"Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko. I'm dead set on coming. Remember, you guys! You promised." Chie said as Yu spoke up.

"Relax, Chie. You have the same powers we do. Of course you're coming. We need all the help we can get if we're gonna save Amagi-san." Yu said kindly as Chie and Yosuke nodded their agreement, just as a bell rang nearby and a flustered Yosuke spoke up.

"Oh crap, I still haven't gone to the bathroom!" Yosuke said as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"First of all, is that really something you should be saying in front of a lady? Secondly, if you need to do it, then go and do it! Don't just talk about it." Yu said as Yosuke darted off with a nod, leaving Yu and Chie alone, the latter speaking up uneasily.

"Hey, um, Yu? Th-Thanks for saving me yesterday. Yosuke's cool and all, but you're on an entirely different level, it seems like. You know, there really is something different about you. I feel like you won't let me down when I need you." Chie said as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"Of course I won't. We're friends now, aren't we? And I don't leave my friends hanging when they need me." Yu said firmly, smiling as he could sense Chie's gratitude to him, which appeared to have manifested itself as a bond between himself and Chie. At that point, just as it had with his 'Magician' and 'Fool' Social Links, Yu heard the expected shattering sound in his mind as a card appeared in his mind's eye, this one mostly blue and white along the framing with a mostly green middle part and a gold and yellow vehicle in the middle which had hints of red in its design. After a bit of inspecting the card, Yu noticed that a Roman numeral 'VII' was present on the bottom of the card, and a smaller circle on the top that had an 'I' in it in Roman numerals. At that point, Yu heard the expected voice in his head.

"Thou art I, just as I am thou, Yu Narukami. Thou hast established a new bond, or more aptly put, a new Social Link. It brings thee closer to the truth that thou does verily seek. Make the most of this newly-forged Chariot Social Link you have established with the one you call Chie, and thou shalt surely be blessed when creating Personas of the Chariot Arcana during fusions." Yu heard as he felt the 'Chariot' card disappear into his heart to join the 'Magician' and 'Fool' cards before sensing that his newly-forged 'Chariot' Social Link bond with Chie was at Rank 1.

With it, Yu could feel that Chie's determination in battle had been enhanced somehow. He then sensed that much like Yosuke before her, Chie was now able to wake up a knocked-down ally during battle. At that point, Yu realized he hadn't asked Chie for her contact information. Yu then spoke up.

"Say, Chie? It occurs to me that I haven't gotten your contact information. I already have Yosuke's, but not yours. And that could be useful to have, for the purposes of the investigation, of course." Yu said smoothly. Chie blinked at that as she spoke up.

"Oh yeah! We never did exchange contact info, did we? That's right. You'll need this from now on, huh?" Chie said as she and Yu pulled out their cell phones to exchange contact information. After Chie and Yu put their phones away, Chie spoke up with a resolved look on her face.

"We have to be careful of the fog that sets in after the rain, right? Let's save her before that happens!" Chie said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"We will. But I think we should take 2-3 days before that to ensure we're as prepared as possible for the coming return to that place. No sense going in unprepared and getting ourselves wiped out before we find Amagi-san, after all." Yu said wisely as Chie spoke up with a nod.

"That's a fair point, Yu-kun. We'll defer to your judgement as to when we go back in. I'll make sure Yosuke knows this as well, if he doesn't already." Chie said as she sat down at her class so class could begin...

(Later that afternoon, in class with Yu, Yosuke, and Chie)

As the students sat in class, a teacher in a red, black, and white track suit spoke up.

"Helloooo and good afternooooon, all! My name is Mister Kondo, your PE teacher! But since no one at this school teaches English, I'll be doubling up on my roles!" The now-named Kondo said as the class looked aghast at him.

"Why the shocked expressions? Don't be so disappointed. In fact, I've spent some time overseas! One week of vacation time, to be exact! But that's more than enough to teach a class! Hahaha!" Kondo said as Yu quietly huffed, believing that Nanako could probably do a better job teaching English than Kondo could, and she's only six. But Yu kept his thoughts to himself and just quietly listened as Kondo kept speaking.

"We'll start with the basics of the basics, or the English alphabet! It starts with the letter A, then B, then C, then uh, I think there's 23 more! Maybe that was a little too basic? Hahaha! All right! I'll give you an alphabet-related pop quiz, then! Let's see here. Ah, perfect! Let's have our transfer student answer this one! Stand up, Mister Narukami!" Kondo said as Yu got to his feet while Kondo kept speaking.

"The word 'alphabet' comes from the words 'alpha' and what other one?" Kondo asked as Yu huffed but gave the answer, having heard this question at his old school.

"That's an easy one, sir. The answer is 'beta'." Yu said confidently. Kondo nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Good! That's correct! It comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta! By the way, any set of western European characters in a specific order is called an alphabet. In Japan, when we say 'alphabet', we're talking about the English alphabet, but it doesn't always mean the English one!" Kondo said as Yu nodded to himself, pleased he'd given the correct answer. Yu felt a little smarter from doing so, and as a result, he got another unseen increase to his Knowledge. From there, the rest of the class period passed peacefully...

(After school, in the classroom with Yu)

After thinking about his options, Yu recalled Igor having once said that the next time he went to the Velvet Room, he would do so of his own volition. And Yu recalled he'd amassed a good amount of Personas while he and Yosuke had fought their way to where Chie was. Yu thus decided to go hit up the Velvet Room. Once he'd entered the Velvet Room, Igor saw him and spoke up.

"Welcome, Yu Narukami, to the Velvet Room. Well, then, since you're here of your own accord, I shall tell you about how I can offer you my 'assistance'. I can gather a number of the Personas you possess and provide you with the ability to 'fuse' them. I have suggestions for the creation of Personas that may be of use to you in your journey, but it will be up to you to choose which ones you make use of in the end. If you want to summon a new Persona you have not registered, try using the 'Summon Persona' option. However, if you register a Persona in the Compendium, you will be able to summon that Persona by selecting 'Check Compendium'. If you wish to know more about the Compendium, please ask Margaret." Igor said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Very well. I believe I shall do just that, since part of the reason I came was to do some Persona management, and I recall part of that involves registering the Personas I have on hand. So if Margaret-san wishes to give the explanation for the Compendium, I am more than willing to listen." Yu said as Margaret nodded and spoke up.

"I can certainly do that. Allow me to explain the Persona Compendium and other aspects of it. The Persona Compendium registers all of the Personas in your possession and all of their abilities. After registration, the Persona can be summoned with the same abilities as many times as you like. However, the greater the Persona, the greater the cost to summon it will be. Simply registering a Persona is free of charge. You may also overwrite previously registered Personas as often as you like. Do so however you like." Margaret said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Thank you for that explanation. For now, all I want to do is register the Personas I have on hand that need to be registered. I may be making use of the Compendium again before I leave here, however, depending on how much fusion I do with Igor-san in a second." Yu said as Margaret nodded her understanding as Yu turned to Igor, who spoke up with an amused nod.

"Ah, so you wish to explore the possibilities of fusion? Very well, I will now explain how to create new Personas through fusion. There are a variety of methods to fuse Personas together. A 'Normal Spread' is the fusion of two Personas into one, while a 'Triangle Spread', as the name suggests, is the fusion of three different Personas into one. There are other methods, but for now, let's keep it to just the basic methods. Once you have grown stronger, I will consider opening up the higher-level methods.

Anyways, there are many Persona cards that can be used as the basis for fusion, and an even larger number of fusion results. The drawback is that using multiple Personas in a fusion always results in a single Persona, no matter how many Personas are used in that fusion. Do not forget this. Also, a Persona created through fusion may gain additional powers depending on the day it is created. Refer to the 'Fusion Forecast' to help ensure that your fusion results go as you desire. If you would like a more detailed explanation, feel free to ask." Igor said as Yu arched an eyebrow and spoke up calmly.

"There's a 'Fusion Forecast'? Is that at all similar to how weather forecasts work in the real world, I wonder?" Yu asked as Margaret chuckled and spoke up.

"Good question. Ah, thank you for asking about the Fusion Forecast. A Persona born through fusion can be granted various abilities depending on the day the fusion is performed. The results and triggers vary day by day, and can be seen in the 'fusion forecast'. So in a sense, I guess you could say it's similar to weather forecasts from your world, in that we're previewing what's to come in the way of triggers and bonuses when fusing Personas. There may also be, shall we say, unexpected results, so I advise you to please remember to check your fusions before you commit. Here is the Fusion Forecast for April 18th." Margaret said as Yu consulted the Fusion Forecast, smirking as he saw that any Personas he created today would have stat bonuses given after being created, with no trigger needed. Yu spoke up with a nod.

"I see. Sounds like today's a good day for fusing, then, since I can make stronger than usual Personas, at least statwise, assuming I'm reading this forecast correctly. Thank you for your explanation, Margaret-san." Yu said politely, getting an amused nod in response from Margaret before noticing that the 4/19 fusion forecast was viewable, blinking as he saw he could get easy access to the Zio skill if he did any fusions using a Magician Arcana persona. Yu was intrigued by that before he remembered that Pixie was the only Magician arcana Persona he had, and she already had 'Zio'. Yu then looked into the fusions and kept speaking.

"Hmm, you did mention a 'Search' mode, Igor-san. How does that work?" Yu asked as Igor spoke up.

"You wish to know about 'Search', you say? Well then, allow me to explain how to fuse Personas via the 'Search' feature. Should you use this feature, I will tell you which Personas can be created using the Personas you currently hold. If you are unsure of your skills in fusing Personas, or simply wish to fuse strong ones, you will find the 'Search' function useful. You may also heed the voices that trickle in from other worlds to find out which Personas are most effective. You may learn much from such advice." Igor said as Yu nodded, eventually registering many Personas to the Compendium and fusing new ones. Once he was satisfied with his lineup, he left the Velvet Room before re-entering on a hunch. Once Yu came back in, Marie spoke up, looking at him.

"Oh, it's you again. You came. You must come here a lot, huh. Whatcha want this time? A Persona? A Skill Card? It doesn't matter to me." Marie said as Yu blinked at the blunt words from Marie. However, before he could respond, Margaret spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Narukami-san. Please excuse us. Marie, you must learn to restrain yourself." Margaret said as Marie glared at her and spoke up.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Stupiduptightblockheadtwerp." Marie said as Margaret sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, I apologize sincerely. She is far too unruly for me to handle." Margaret said as Yu spoke up.

"That sounds rough. But if you don't mind my asking, why'd you bring her here?" Yu asked politely but curiously. Margaret chuckled at this and spoke up.

"You speak as if her being here has nothing to do with you, Narukami-san. After all, you are our guest, and everything that we do in the Velvet Room? While you're here, this is all to help you on your journey." Margaret said as Yu spoke up.

"Fair. But what does bringing Marie in here have to do with my journey, aside from what Igor said before about her handling Skill Cards?" Yu asked as Margaret spoke up with a smile.

"Simple. This room is inseparable from your fate. Nothing in this room happens without purpose. Furthermore, it seems that you and Marie had already met before you encountered her in this room. Encountering one who is not of man, and communicating with her as you did? Your fate has led you to this meeting." Margaret said as Yu spoke up in surprise.

"Eh? 'One who is not of man', you say?" Yu asked in surprise. Margaret nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. This room is the crossroads of your fates. You, the customer, and she who is not of man, who has wandered into this place. Where will this meeting go? Excuse me for saying so, but we, too ,are a bit interested in the outcome." Margaret said as Marie frowned at that before looking down shyly and not saying a word. Margaret then took Marie's silence as an invitation to continue speaking, along with Yu's silence, so she did just that.

"As you can see. Though she was in this land before you, in the end, Marie is not of man, and thus is an enigma in that respect. In other words, her understanding of the world in which you live is incomplete. Therefore, if it is at all possible, I would ask you to please take her outside this room, if you would. Is that okay, Marie?" Margaret said as Marie gave Margaret an unreadable look before finally speaking up.

"Wh-What? Ugh, whatever. I guess that's fine." Marie said as Yu spoke up.

"Oh? You seem like you're less than thrilled with this idea. We don't have to do it, if you don't want to." Yu said as Marie got an embarrassed look on her face and spoke up.

"I mean, it's just-ugh, never mind." Marie said shyly, making Yu chuckle as he figured out that Marie appears to be interested in leaving this place that she was brought into. He then concluded he should speak with her when he has the time to do so, which was his plan for that day, mostly because his curiosity was piqued by Margaret's explanation. After deciding this, he turned to Marie and spoke up.

"Be honest with me, Marie-san. Do you really want to explore the world outside of this place? If so, I'm willing to help out with that to the best of my ability. But if not, you need only be honest about it and I will drop the issue and not pry into it further. But that will be for you to decide." Yu said to Marie, who spoke up in surprise.

"Huh? What was that? You came. I'm surprised. I didn't think you were interested. Look, I'm sure you already know, but as a reminder? I want you to take me somewhere. It's small, it's dark. The Nose never says anything. It's stuffy in here. I'm really not supposed to leave the room, but Margaret said it'd be okay if I went with you. I'm glad you're willing to show me around. And, uh, to be honest? Well, never mind. So, will you take me somewhere?" Marie asked, prompting Yu to note that Marie seemed intent on going out of the Velvet Room for a time.

And as Yu didn't have any other plans lined up for the day, no time like the present, right? Besides, Yu sense that he had the potential to get closer to Marie if he did this, possibly even get a new Social Link out of it. And he had the feeling he could get Marie to open up to him if he took her out. Mind made up, Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Sure. I'm willing to take you wherever you want to go, within reason." Yu said agreeably. Marie gave Yu a surprised look as she spoke up.

"Really!? Wait, don't you think you're giving in too easily? I'll have you twisted around my finger if you keep this up." Marie said as Yu chuckled and spoke up.

"I didn't think you even knew that expression, never mind what it means, Marie-san." Yu said in amusement as Marie blinked at him before speaking up.

"Of course I know that expression. 'Twisted around my finger', isn't it? That's the saying, right? I've been studying." Marie said as Yu laughed and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's the saying, all right. I'm impressed that you've been studying." Yu said teasingly as Marie pouted and spoke up.

"Sh-Shut up! Well, let's go." Marie said as Yu nodded before reaffirming his decision to take Marie outside the Velvet Room for a while...

(A short time later, in front of the Souzai Daigauku shop in a new part of the Shopping District, with Yu and Marie)

As he agreed, Yu brought Marie out of the Velvet Room. Almost immediately, she led him into the northern part of the Shopping District, which he'd not explored prior to that point. After a moment, Marie sighed and spoke up.

"Phew, that's better. I can finally breathe now. It's stuffy in that car." Marie said as she kept walking forward and looking around while she kept speaking.

"So this is your world, huh? Y'know, it's odd. I feel weird. It's like this is all somehow nostalgic, for the smell and all." Marie said as Yu spoke up.

"Nostalgic, you say? I didn't think you'd been here before?" Yu said uncertainly. Marie nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, that's right. Nostalgic. That's what I said, isn't it? It just, I dunno, it feels that way. Anyways, there's a lot of stuff that I've never noticed before." Marie said as Yu approached her and saw her frowning at a sign as she kept speaking.

"Eh? What's a 'Steak Skewer'?" Marie asked as Yu spoke up.

"It's a food item that this place serves. As I understand it, it's apparently meat on a stick, hence 'Steak Skewer'. But I've never tried one myself yet, so my knowledge is limited to second-hand accounts I've gotten about the 'Steak Skewer' from my friends Yosuke and Chie." Yu said honestly as Marie nodded before turning around and approaching the lady working the counter of the Souzai Daigaku, speaking up once she's gotten the lady's attention.'

"Hey, lady. I want one of those skewer things." Marie said as the lady working the counter turned to face Marie as she spoke up.

"Oh, hello. That'll be 320 yen, please." The lady said as Marie frowned and spoke up.

"Thwee hunnert twintee yehn? Bleh. That's hard to say. Are you saying that you can't eat without money?" Marie said as Yu chuckled and spoke up.

"Alas, that's an unfortunate truth of this world. As a wise person once told me, 'nothing in life is free.' But I don't mind buying you one, if you really want to try a steak skewer?" Yu offered. Marie blinked at this before turning to face Yu in shock, a rare shocked look on her face as she spoke up.

"You have money!? Wow. That's awesome. You're awesome." Marie said as Yu spoke up with a smile.

"It's not that awesome. I just did a lot of odd jobs around the neighborhood where I used to live to save up some spending money. You could earn money too if you get a job. But I'm not sure if you even know what skills you have that would lend themselves to you getting a job, not to mention the fact that you're not really allowed out of the Velvet Room on your own." Yu said as Marie gave him a surprised look. Before Marie could reply to Yu, a familiar voice reached Yu's ears.

"Yo, partner. What's up? Gettin' your steak on, huh Yu?" Yosuke said as Yu spoke up.

"Kind of. Marie here is still getting used to the area and was curious about steak skewers, so I had offered to buy her one if she wanted to try a steak skewer." Yu said as Yosuke spoke up with a shocked look on his face once he noticed Marie.

"Ohh, I get it. You're trying to impress the ladies, eh partner? But I have to admit, you've got good taste. After all, she's cute." Yosuke said slyly as Marie gave Yosuke a confused look while Yu blanched and spoke up.

"Wh-What!? That's not it at all, partner! A friend asked me to show her around town, and I decided to oblige, since I can relate to the feeling of being new in town." Yu said as Yosuke blinked at the look Marie gave him and spoke up.

"What? What's going on here? Who's this!?" Yosuke asked as Yu spoke up.

"Her name is Marie. As for 'what' she is, I think we can call her an 'acquaintance' for now. After all, she and I have only met like twice, three times if we include this outing. So we don't know each other that well just yet. Besides, I get a feeling she's not really looking for a relationship right now anyways." Yu said honestly. Marie nodded her agreement.

"Hmm, that sounds acceptable. Yeah, I guess that's right." Marie said as Yosuke nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"Hmm, is that so? You and Yu here are just acquaintances? Oh yeah, pardon my rudeness! I'm Yosuke Hanamura! I'm his friend. His partner, y'know." Yosuke said as Marie blinked and spoke up.

"Did you say partner? You mean like a close friend? Or when you say partner, do you mean like a 'life partner'?" Marie asked as Yu and Yosuke's eyes widened before the former spoke up.

"No, he meant like close friends. Yosuke's a cool guy and all, but I'm pretty sure neither myself nor Yosuke swing that way. No offense to you, partner. But I think it feels quite safe to assume that we're both straight." Yu said as Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. And heheh, what Yu said basically sums it up. Er, what's your name?" Yosuke said as Marie blinked at the question and spoke up.

"Huh? My name? Uh, my name is Marie." Marie said as Yosuke smirked and spoke up while giving Marie a sly wink.

"Hmmm, Marie-chan, is it? You want a steak skewer? All right, this one's on me!" Yosuke said as Yu and Marie both blinked in shock, the latter speaking up.

"Wait, so does that mean you'll buy it for me?" Marie asked Yosuke before turning to Yu as she kept speaking.

"Err, is that okay?" Marie said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"It's fine. I was going to treat you, but if Yosuke wants to do it, there's no reason to decline his kind offer. You'll get the same experience regardless of whether I'm the one treating you, or if it's Yosuke. After all, as a wise person once said, 'One never turns down free food when it is willingly given'." Yu said wisely. Marie nodded shyly, a flustered look on her face as Yosuke laughed and spoke up while turning to face Yu and Marie.

"Hey, don't worry! I got a little extra in my last paycheck." Yosuke said before grinning as he turned to the lady at the counter and shocked Yu with what he said next.

"In fact, make it three steak skewers! One for each of us." Yosuke said as a stunned Yu spoke up.

"R-Really? I can pay for my own, you know." Yu said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Sure, but this is a special occasion. Let me get the bill here. You can make it up to me later if you're really that leery of accepting charity." Yosuke said as Yu nodded his assent and spoke up.

"Well, if you insist, partner. Thank you for your generosity. Hopefully these are good. This is my first time having a steak skewer too, you see." Yu said shocking Yosuke, who could only gape at Yu's admission before the lady at the counter spoke up.

"Three!? Oh my, business is booming! Just a moment, please." The lady at the counter said as Yosuke sat at the nearby bench with Yu and Marie, and the three chatted amicably while they waited for their food. A short time later, Yosuke's name was called and he went to get the skewers, passing one each to Yu and Marie. After that, the three eagerly sank into their meal after a unified call of 'Thank you for the food!' After a bit, Yu spoke up.

"I have to say, these are pretty good." Yu said with a smile as Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"Right? This place has great food. But whew! Is that a bellyful or what! This place always has huge portions." Yosuke said to Yu, who nodded while Yosuke looked at Marie and spoke up.

"So, Marie-chan, what d'you think of the local specialty?" Yosuke asked as Marie spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"Honestly? It's really weird. It's tough, hard to bite into, and it got cold while I was still eating it. However, despite all of that, it was delicious." Marie said as Yu and Yosuke sweatdropped in unison as the latter spoke up.

"Oh, uh, is that right? That's good to hear. To be honest, it didn't sound like you liked it at the beginning there. But, all's well that ends well!" Yosuke said as Marie turned to Yu and spoke up.

"Hey, why's it called 'steak', anyway? Is it short for something?" Marie asked as Yu spoke up with a rare confused look on his face.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I don't think it's supposed to be short for anything. But I guess if it is, it could be short for 'Steaaaaaaaaak.' But again, that's just a guess." Yu said with a shrug. Marie blinked at that and spoke up in surprise.

"Oh? Short for 'Steaaaaaaaaak', you say? That's stupid. Might as well just call it 'ake'. That's what I'm gonna do." Marie said as Yosuke sweatdropped before speaking up.

"Uh, that isn't much better than what Yu said, you know." Yosuke pointed out calmly before turning to Yu as he spoke up.

"And you! Don't tell her lies! She's believing it!" Yosuke rebuked Yu, who spoke up.

"What was I supposed to say? I honestly don't know if 'steak' is short for anything." Yu pointed out in his own defense. Yosuke went to rebuke this, but Marie cut him off by speaking up.

"Anyways, so you eat this every day? If so, that's no fair. I should've come earlier then." Marie said as Yu smirked, noting that Marie appeared to have taken a liking to Steak Skewers, of all things. From there, he made more small talk with Yosuke and Marie. After a moment, Yosuke blanched and spoke up.

"Whoa! Ah, crap! I left my key back in my locker at work! I've gotta go back to Junes! See you later, Yu! You too, Marie-chan!" Yosuke said as he sprinted away, after which Marie chuckled and spoke up.

"How adorable. Your 'partner' is a funny person." Marie said as Yu spoke up with a smirk.

"That he is. Mind you, we're friends moreso than partners, but I don't mind Yosuke calling me 'partner', since I know he means it in a friendly way." Yu said agreeably. Marie nodded and spoke up, not seeing Yu have to stifle a laugh at the logic of what she said next.

"Hm. That does make sense. But at the same time, he bought me meat. That makes him a good person. That is a fact." Marie said as she got to her feet and spoke up.

"Hey, let's go somewhere else. Somewhere with a nice view." Marie said as Yu nodded before leading Marie to a scenic hill overlooking town, which was where he'd sat with Yukiko the day he saw her on the way home from Junes. After several times in which Yu lost Marie the moment he took his eyes off her, he managed to bring her to the 'scenic spot with a nice view' she wanted to see. Marie then smiled wryly and spoke up.

"Oh, how beautiful. Hmmm, but then again, it's really green here. Green and even more green. And some brown, and is that a darker green? How picturesque. Almost reminds me of a poem. Leaves of green, fly away. Farewell to you, clouds of the sky, and so long. I fly as well, lost as the day. Farewell to you, moon of the night." Marie said, making Yu smirk as he heard Marie murmuring something to herself in an amused sounding voice. Yu also noted that whatever she was muttering, it had a very distinct flow and rhyme to it. Yu smirked and spoke up.

"That was pretty good. Were you reciting poetry, or is that just you trying to make up a song on the spot? Either way, that's some good improvisation on your part." Yu said kindly as Marie blinked and spoke up while giving Yu a wide-eyed look of horror.

"Wh-What!? N-No! I-I-I wasn't making up a poem! It's just some words that I was thinking of! That's all! Yeah! Got it?" Marie said as Yu spoke up with a smile.

"If you say so, Marie. I was raised as a gentleman, so if you don't want me prying into your affairs, you only need to say so and I will respect that." Yu said honestly as Marie turned away in embarrassment and spoke up.

"Wh-What? ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk! D-Don't snoop on me!" Marie said, making Yu nod his agreement even as he chuckled in amusement as he saw the clear signs that Marie was blushing, though Yu was unsure if it was just embarrassment or not that prompted Marie to blush. Before Yu could question what he'd seen, Marie took off at an abrupt run, stopping b a fence nearby that Yu joined her at, prompting Marie to speak up.

"Wow, it's pretty big out there, isn't it? I don't know why I do, but I feel good about this place. It reminds me of something. Odd. Hey, are there any other places we can go? I want to see more." Marie asked as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"Yep. Inaba might be a small town, but there are a whole lot more places out in the world than just Inaba. If you like, I'll show you around." Yu offered. Marie blinked at Yu's straightforward yet honest response and nodded shyly as she spoke up.

"Y-You will? Heh, please do. It seems like I notice a lot of things when I'm with you. It's pretty fun." Marie said with a smile as Yu returned the smile kindly, getting the sense that Marie expects something of him, giving him the feeling that he could understand Marie just a bit better now than he could before. At that point, Yu heard the same shattering sound in his mind he'd heard for the last three links he'd formed, not even flinching as he heard the expected voice in his head.

"Thou art I, just as I am thou, Yu Narukami. Thou hast established a new bond with the one you call 'Marie'. It brings thee closer to the truth that thou seeks so earnestly. As long as you make the most of this newly-forged 'Aeon' Social Link you've created, thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Aeon Arcana during fusions." Yu heard as a card appeared in his mind's eye. However, unlike the other cards that had appeared, this one was different, in that it had gold and white framing unlike the blue and white framing the other cards had.

Additionally, the card had a multi-colored background with a black arch overlapping an ominous orange circle with pink, sea-blue, and purple sections of background, and a pair of arms leading to a person bowing to a regal looking figure in a bird mask that had a spear and wore a white loincloth. At the bottom of the card, Yu could just spot a Roman numeral 'XX' in white lettering, making him blink as he recalled that the twentieth Arcana was supposed to be 'Judgment', or at least that's what he recalled reading when he studied tarot briefly out of curiosity. Furthermore, Yu could just spot a circle at the top-middle of the framing with a small 'I' in Roman numerals and white lettering, signifying that his newly formed 'Aeon' link with Marie was now at Rank 1. At that point, Marie smiled and spoke up.

"All right, next! Where to now?" Marie asked as Yu shrugged, showing her around for a while longer before escorting her back to the Velvet Room, at which point she spoke up shyly.

"Th-Thank you for today. It was pretty nice getting to go around and look at stuff. So, thank you. And until the next time, see ya." Marie said as she shyly hugged Yu before going back into the Velvet Room, hoping Yu didn't see the hints of pink on her cheeks that had appeared after she'd hugged him. After watching Marie return to the Velvet Room, Yu shrugged and made his way back to the Dojima residence...

(That evening, in the lower level of the Dojima residence, with Nanako and Yu)

As soon as Nanako heard the door open up, she turned and smiled as she saw Yu come in, speaking up as soon as he reached the kitchen.

"Ah, you're back, Yu! Welcome back!" Nanako said as Yu spoke up.

"Thanks. I see you're home alone again. I take it your dad's working late?" Yu said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Pretty much. I'm used to it by now, though." Nanako said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Looks like you're enjoying this quiz show, though. Want me to leave you to it?" Yu asked as Nanako nodded, prompting Yu to smile and head upstairs to figure out his next move. After sizing up his options, Yu decided to study, mostly out of there not being much else to do. While doing so, Yu felt himself get smarter, netting two separate unseen boosts to his Knowledge. Afterwards, he went to bed for the night...

(The next morning, in the upper level of the Dojima residence, inside of Yu's room with Yu)

As Yu was dozing, his phone went off near his head, waking him up with a groan as he answered it.

"Hello?" Yu said before blinking as he recognized the voice on the other end.

"Hello, Narukami-san. I reailze this is sudden, but it's also necessary. Oh, right. This is Margaret. We met at the Velvet Room the other day." Margaret said as Yu spoke up with a shocked expression on his face.

"Margaret? I didn't know the Velvet Room had phones, much less that you had my contact info?" Yu said as Margaret smirked and spoke up.

"Of course we have phones here. We just have very little reason to use them. Also, Igor divined your contact info while reading your fortune and gave it to me when I asked for it. That's how I have your number. Anyways, there is one important point I forgot to warn you about, so I thought it best to contact you immediately." Margaret said as Yu blinked at this and spoke up.

"Oh? Well, that does make sense. So what is this important point that you needed to warn me about so urgently?" Yu asked as Margaret smiled and spoke up.

"I was just getting to that. Going to save your friends is a selfless and noble deed, to be sure. By all means, we encourage and support you in regards to this matter. But to proceed too hastily in that quest will mean facing one battle after the next. Though you may be pressed for time, devoting yourself to battle will not quench your heart's yearnings.

The bonds created through Social Links are another important means of strengthening the powers of your Persona, as you might very well be aware. Do not hasten heedlessly through your days, and remember the importance of moving at a sustainable pace. Please remember that. Well then, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do. Goodbye." Margaret said as Yu hung up the phone, perplexed by why Margaret had to tell him that, but also deciding to take her advice to heart.

Yu then decided he had to think carefully about how best to spend his days while he was in Inaba, if only because he also had to remember his job as the leader of the still-fledgling 'Investigation Team' that he had formed with Yosuke, Chie, and even Teddie to a point. Shrugging, Yu decided to start getting ready for school...

(A little later, at the 'School Zone' of the Samegawa Flood Plain, with Yu)

As Yu was walking to school, he saw two guys, one with dirty blonde hair and wearing a blue, black and white striped track suit, and the other with dark blue hair and wearing the same uniform Yu himself wore, albeit buttoned up, walking in front of him. As he walked, Yu heard the guy in a track suit speak up to the other guy, listening in.

"Yo." The guy in a track suit said as his friend, a cheerful male student, spoke up.

"Oh, what's up? You got morning practice?" The cheerful male student asked as the guy in a track suit spoke up.

"That too, but also, you know how guys can join the sports clubs starting today, right? I thought that maybe if I ran around a little, that would be some good promotion." The guy in a track suit said as the cheerful male student sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Dude, I get what you're going for. But really? Did you even think about your plan? There's so many flaws in it, I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start with the most obvious one. If you run around in that, how're people gonna know which club you're in?" The cheerful male student asked as the guy in a track suit spoke up.

"Crap, you're right. I didn't think about that." The guy in a track suit said as the cheerful male student laughed and spoke up.

"Haha, I knew it! That's classic you. I hope our club gets some fresh blood, too. It gets everyone excited!" The cheerful male student said as the guy in a track suit spoke up with a frown on his face.

"That's fair, but are you guys not going to try and get people to sign up?" The guy in a track suit asked as the cheerful male student shrugged and spoke up.

"I don't know about that. Everyone's saying they want a girl to be our manager, though. Oh, hey! Let's stop by the shrine in the shopping district on our way home today. Might as well pray for some newcomers." The cheerful male student said as the guy in a track suit groaned and spoke up.

"We're leaving that up to God now, then? Ugh, if you say so. Well, all right. Oh yeah, did you hear that rumor? About the thing that lives in the shrine?" The guy in a track suit asked as the cheerful male student nodded and spoke up.

"I did! I wonder if it's true." The cheerful male student said as Yu shrugged at this, curious about the mention of a thing living in the shrine. Yu made a note to look into a sports club, if only to see what they were about, while also resolving to look up the shrine at some point to test what was said about there being a thing living in the shrine as he kept walking to school...

(After school, in class with Yu)

Once classes got out, Yu recalled what he'd overheard that morning about sports clubs, deciding to head to the faculty office on the first floor to ask about them. So decided, Yu went into the faculty office, where a surprised Morooka saw Yu and spoke up.

"What brings you here, Narukami?" Morooka asked as Yu spoke up.

"Pardon the interruption, sir. I heard that there were clubs opening up today, sports clubs to be precise. I was curious if you knew anything about how to join one?" Yu asked as politely as he could manage. Morooka blinked at this and spoke up.

"Eh? You want to join a club? Ohhh, no! I know what you're really after! You're just trawling for girls, aren't you!? Admit it!" Morooka said as Yu spoke up.

"Trawling, sir? I have no idea what you mean by that. Also, I was raised as a gentleman, so I have nothing but the utmost respect for women. Besides, I'm more interested in getting used to Inaba and settling in. And considering I'm only staying here for one year, it seems like it'd be a bit impractical of me to get into a relationship if I'm not staying in Inaba long-term." Yu said sagely as Morooka sneered and spoke up.

"Is that so? I don't believe you! Listen up! A club is supposed to be-" Morooka said as he launched into a long lecture about clubs, making Yu groan at the fact he found himself getting lectured, just because he asked about a sports club. After a bit, Morooka kept speaking.

"-And that's that! Got it!? So, do you still want to join a club?" Morooka said as Yu spoke up.

"Yes, sir. For now, let's start out with sports clubs, since I heard some people mentioning them while I was walking to school this morning." Yu said as Morooka looked surprised and spoke up.

"Sports clubs, huh? Trying to break a youthful sweat, are you!? Anyways, you can join either the soccer club or the basketball club. Either way, after leaving the faculty office, make a left, and go through the exit down the hall to get to where the sports clubs meet! Oh, and by the way, club days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday! Also, sports clubs don't meet on rainy days! Got it!? So, are we done here!?" Morooka asked as Yu spoke up.

"Hmm, you said something in your lecture about cultural clubs? Are those accepting members?" Yu asked. Morooka spoke up.

"Trying to join a cultural club too, eh? Hmph, too bad! You can join the cultural clubs after April 25th! This must be a lesson that it's not so easy to meet girls, now is it!?" Morooka said as Yu spoke up.

"Fair enough. Since I have you here, is there a limit on how many clubs I can join? Or is there a rule against being in multiple clubs?" Yu asked as Morooka blinked in shock and spoke up.

"Oh? You want to join two cultural clubs at the same time!? Are you trying to get the most out of your school life!? That is allowed, as it turns out. HOWEVER! We don't allow students to be in two sports clubs or two cultural clubs! One of each is permitted! Got it!? So are we done here!?" Morooka asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, sir. Sorry to bother you with my curiosity." Yu said as Morooka nodded and spoke up.

"Good. Now go home already! Are you staying at school to hang out with a girl later or something!?" Morooka said as Yu huffed and spoke up.

"Nope. You did hear me earlier when I said I have no intentions of pursuing a relationship, right? Because I meant that. Now I believe I'll get going and not waste any more of your time." Yu said dryly before he left the faculty office and followed the directions Morooka gave him to find the sports clubs. Once he got to the entrance of the area where the clubs meet, he was reminded of his Social Links, giving him the sense he could get a new Social Link if he joined a club.

Recalling that he could join either the basketball or soccer club, Yu opted for the soccer club, deciding that it looked more interesting. Also, some of the kids Yu babysat when he lived in Kichijoji were into soccer, so he'd watched a good bit of it with them. However, he'd never actually tried it out himself. Figuring this was as good a chance as any to rectify that, Yu signed up to join the soccer team. After signing up, the PE teacher, Mister Kondo, led Yu out to the soccer field where the team was waiting, at which point Kondo spoke up.

"Good, everyone's gathered. Alright guys, listen up. You have a new teammate! You all know Yu Narukami, right? He's from the city, so I'm sure he's got some moves he's just waiting to show off! I'd say this season is in the bag! I'm even thinking about making him captain!" Kondo said as Yu heard the other players whispering about him.

"The city, huh?" One player said as another spoke up, making Yu wince as he heard what was said.

"I bet he played for some big team back home where he used to live." Another player said as a third player spoke up.

"Tch, look at him. City slicker, that's what he is. Probably thinks he's better than us or something." A third player said as a fourth player spoke up.

"Yeah, we're probably just a bunch of hicks to him if I had to guess." A fourth player said as Kondo turned to Yu and spoke up.

"Here, why don't you say something to the team?" Kondo said as Yu spoke up.

"Hi there. I'm Yu Narukami, as you might already know. I joined this team because I've never played soccer before, though I've heard a good bit about how it works. So I figured this was a good chance to try it out while getting some practical experience playing it. As such, I plan to do my best to keep up and pull my own weight. All I ask is that you all treat me fairly, and I will do the same for all of you." Yu said honestly. The team members shrugged as they spoke up.

"Yeah? Well, nice meetin' ya, Narukami." The team members said in unison for the most part. However, despite their words, Yu got the sense that the members weren't very friendly to him. At that point, Kondo spoke up.

"Alright, let's start with a few laps! Yu, since you said you've not played before, why don't you just watch for today and see if you can't learn a few things? But I can tell you have enthusiasm to learn, which is good. I'm sure you'll have at least some talent for this if you put in the work." Kondo said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough, Coach Kondo. Thank you for the welcome." Yu said, getting a nod from Kondo as he spoke up.

"You're welcome. Anyways, practices are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but we don't practice in the rain. Also, we take the week before exams off too, so make sure you use that time to study hard, okay?" Kondo said as Yu nodded his understanding. At that point, the other players dispersed about the field, clearly uninterested in Yu. After a bit, Yu shrugged, figuring he should expect that sort of treatment for the most part. However, he was drawn from his musings when he heard a voice address him.

"You the new guy on the team? Hey, man." Yu heard, turning around to see a guy talking to him. While looking the guy over, Yu noted that he had short brown spiked hair, hazel eyes, a bandage over his nose, a yellow and black striped T-shirt, an orange muscle shirt atop the striped T-shirt, white and black athletic shorts, black knee-length socks with blue and yellow stripes across the top, and black and white cleats. As Yu gave the guy who'd spoken his attention, the guy smiled at Yu and spoke up.

"Don't let 'em get to you. Just play hard and have fun. I'm sure you'll get good in no time if you put in the practice. Oh, right, where's my manners? I'm Daisuke Nagase. Second year, same as you. Nice to meet you." The now-named Daisuke said as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"I see. Nice to meet you, Nagase-san. I'm Yu Narukami." Yu said as another voice spoke up at that point.

"Yo Daisuke, you waiting for a special invitation!? Let's go!" Yu heard as he saw another guy walk over, this guy having spiky dark blue hair, a white muscle shirt, blue and white striped sweats with the legs rolled up partway, and red and white sneakers. The other guy turned to look at Yu and spoke up.

"Oh, hey, you're the transfer student, right? So you joined the soccer team, huh?" The other guy asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. I used to have a job babysitting kids where I used to live, and some of them were really into soccer, so I learned a good bit about it. Granted, I've never actually played it myself, so I figured this was a good chance to give soccer a try. Whether or not I end up being good at it remains to be seen, though." Yu said honestly as the blue-haired guy nodded and spoke up.

"Good, 'cause they need all the help they can get. Pretty weak team, know what I'm saying?" The blue-haired guy said as Daisuke pumped a fist at the blue-haired guy angrily and spoke up.

"Shut up! Your team is just as lame!" Daisuke rebuked the blue-haired guy before turning to Yu as he kept speaking.

"Oh, right. Sorry about this guy's lack of manners, Narukami. This big mouth here is Kou. He's the same grade as us, but he's on the basketball team." Daisuke said as the blue-haired guy spoke up with a smirk.

"Right, right. My bad. I'm Kou Ichijo. I'm the basketball team's up-and-coming MVP." The now-named Kou said as Daisuke scoffed and spoke up with a skeptical look on his face.

"You? MVP? Man, get your head outta the clouds." Daisuke said as Kou huffed and spoke up.

"If you say so, Daisuke." Kou said to Daisuke before turning to Yu as he kept speaking.

"Anyways, I might be an up-and-coming MVP, but that's not all! I'm pretty smart, too! So if you need any help on your tests, I'm your man. So how 'bout it, transfer student? Are you a smart guy?" Kou asked as Daisuke spoke up with a smirk.

"Stop calling him that. The team's already giving him enough crap as it is without us adding to it." Daisuke said as Kou nodded and spoke up with a smirk before Yu could speak.

"Ahh, I can hear it now. 'Us country folk ain't gonna get shown up by no big shot city boy!' Gotta love those guys." Kou said as Daisuke frowned and spoke up.

"It's not funny, man. Honestly, I'm more surprised that Narukami here doesn't seem that bothered by the crap they were giving him." Daisuke said as Yu spoke up with a shrug.

"Eh, let people think what they want. I'm used to being talked about by now. Then again, when you're me, and your parents relocate often enough that you don't stay in any one place for long enough to really make any friends, you have to learn to be adaptable pretty quickly." Yu said bluntly yet honestly as Kou nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. You've got a good attitude about it, at least." Kou said to Yu before turning to Daisuke as he kept speaking.

"Also, let them talk. Narukami doesn't seem bothered by it. Also, as long as he's got some skills, they'll back off sooner or later." Kou said to Daisuke before turning back to Yu as he spoke up.

"Have you played very much soccer before, Narukami?" Kou asked as Yu spoke up with a wince.

"Honestly? Not even once. I've heard a lot about the game from the kids I babysat when I used to live in Kichijoji, but I've never really had a good chance to try it out myself. Hence why I joined the soccer team." Yu said honestly. Kou laughed and spoke up.

"Haha. Uh oh, you're in trouble." Kou said as Yu spoke up with a shrug.

"Honestly? Yeah, I probably am. But I figure I can get a lot of practice in by coming to practices. With any luck, I'll turn out to have at least some talent at soccer, so I can have something to throw back at the rest of the team, aside from Nagase here, when they give me crap." Yu said with a shrug, smirking as he noted he'd made friends with Kou Ichijo of the basketball team and Daisuke Nagase of the soccer team.

To Yu's reilef, the two of them seemed to accept him regardless of the rest of the team's hostility towards him. At that point, Yu got the feeling that he was forming a link with both Daisuke and Kou. At that point, he heard the entirely expected shattering sound in his head as the equally expected voice in his head spoke up.

"Thou art I, just as I am thou, Yu Narukami. Thou hast established a new bond with the ones you call Daisuke Nagase and Kou Ichijo. It brings thee closer to the truth that thou dost verily seek. Make the most of this newly forged 'Strength' Social Link, and thou shalt surely be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana during fusions." Yu heard in his head as another card appeared in his head, this one with the more typical blue and white framing he'd come to expect from the cards, rather than the golden framing that the 'Aeon' card had had, with a white 'XI' in Roman numerals on the bottom of the framing.

Inside the framing was a blue and white background with darker blue checkerboard patterns in the blue part of the background, along with showing what appeared to be a woman petting a lion under a tree, the very top of the card frame having a small circle in the middle that had a Roman numeral 'I' in the circle, signifying that his newly-forged Strength Social Link with Kou and Daisuke was at Rank 1. At that point, Daisuke blanched and spoke up.

"Dammit, now I'm behind on my laps. Yu, wait up for me so we can walk home together." Daisuke said as Yu shrugged and spoke up, wisely not voicing his realization that Kou and Daisuke were the guys he'd overheard talking about the sports clubs that morning, and thus were part of the reason he chose to join the soccer team.

"Sure thing. I have no reason not to wait up for you after all, Nagase-san, so I can do that." Yu said agreeably as Kou smirked and spoke up.

"Cool, seems like you're agreeable enough at least, Narukami. Alright, I'll go get changed. See you in a few." Kou said as he dashed off to get changed, after which Daisuke finished his laps and Yu walked home with Kou and Daisuke after finishing up his observation of practices...

(That evening, in the lower level of the Dojima residence with Yu and Nanako)

As Yu got home from school, Nanako looked up as she heard the door open, smiling at Yu as he came in, eventually welcoming him home. Yu smiled and walked over to Nanako before speaking up.

"Heh, sorry I got back a bit later than normal, Nanako. I ended up joining the soccer team and had to observe the first practice. Then I met some of the other guys after and they walked back with me, so that took longer since we decided to walk and talk. But enough about me, how was your day?" Yu asked Nanako, who smiled and spoke up.

"It was about the same as usual. But now that you say that, I see how it makes sense that high school students have club activities. Also, the teacher told us about them today." Nanako said as Yu blinked and spoke up.

"That's a heck of a coincidence. But that's also cool that you're learning stuff, Nanako. I guess I'll leave you to your show, then?" Yu said as Nanako nodded before Yu went upstairs to study again out of not having much else to do, netting him yet another unseen boost to his Knowledge, after which he went to bed...

(The next morning, on the way to school, in the 'School Zone' of the Samegawa Flood Plain, with Yu and Yosuke)

While Yu was walking to school, he heard his name called, turning to see Yosuke come running up, his red school bag slung over one arm. Once he caught up to Yu, Yosuke spoke up.

"Yo, Yu. Hey, I wanted to ask you something." Yosuke said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Sure thing. What's up, Yosuke?" Yu asked as Yosuke spoke up.

"You know how we can enter TVs now? Have you ever tried sticking your hand in when the TV's on? What I mean is, have you tried touching the screen while the Midnight Channel's on?" Yosuke asked as Yu spoke up with an affirmative nod.

"Yeah, I tried that the night Yukiko's silhouette appeared on the TV, but it just made the image disappear when I tried sticking my hand into the TV. Apparently you can't reach out to try and identify the person being shown by touch." Yu said with a chuckle. Yosuke blinked and spoke up with a shocked look on his face.

"Ooh, you're already ahead of the game! No wonder you're our leader! That's interesting, though. So you couldn't go to the place that was shown on TV. Which means my idea of jumping directly to wherever Yukiko is won't work so easily, unfortunately for us. It seemed like it made so much sense, too, which makes it that much more unfortunate that it won't work. But now that I think about it some more, of course it wouldn't work.

Teddie said where you end up depends on which TV you go into. Although, every TV sees the same thing on the Midnight Channel, doesn't it? To be honest, that seems sorta contradictory to what Teddie said. Well, looks like we've gotta suck it up and march straight into that castle when we're ready. But we can't really complain. Yukiko-san has it way worse than us!" Yosuke said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Fair. To be honest, I might have us go in after Yukiko tomorrow after school, and then have today be another prep day. Does that make sense?" Yu said as Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Just let me and Chie know when you're ready to go in and we'll go save Yukiko-san." Yosuke said as Yu nodded and the two finished walking to school together...

(That afternoon, in class with Yu, Chie, and Yosuke)

As the class was seated in the classroom, the teacher at the front of the classroom, an older man with silver hair, black framed glasses with blue lenses, a red and white plaid sweater and an orange vest with what appeared to be a grey bowtie tucked under the collar of his sweater, and a puppet on one arm that looked just like him spoke up.

"All right, alllllll riiiight. Settle down, now. Class is in session. My name is Mister Hisoi, and in this class you'll be learning about contemporary writing. Let's all have fun. I know this is off-topic, but what's the point of applying for colleges outside Inaba? Why even bother? Nothing good ever comes out of competing with city-folk. The countryside is all you need. Well, since this is our very first lesson, why don't you show me how much you already know. Now then, here's a question. How many parts are there in Murakami's 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'? Hana-chan! I'm calling on you! I get the feeling you're not much of a reader!" The now-named Hisoi said as Yosuke blanched and spoke up from behind Yu.

"Hey! I read! I mean not books, but I do read! P'sst, Yu! C'mon, man, help me out here!" Yosuke said as Yu smirked and spoke up so only Yosuke could hear.

"Luckily for you, I actually read that story that Hosoi-san mentioned. The answer is three." Yu said confidently, having actually read 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' out of boredom the day he moved to Inaba after getting mostly unpacked at the Dojima house, since Ryotaro had happened to leave it upstairs. Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"The answer is three, Mister Hosoi!" Yosuke said as Hosoi nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Very good, Hana-chan! Either you're more literary than you look, or that was a lucky guess. 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' was released as three separate stories. It's the eighth of hsi twelve published books. His latest book, '1Q84', was published in 2009. Its first printing sold out on the very first day of sale! And, of course, that's not counting all his short stories and essays, which I don't have time to get into right now." Hosoi said as Yosuke leaned forward to speak up so only Yu could hear.

"Phew, that was close. You're a life-saver, Yu. Thanks." Yosuke said as Yu smirked and spoke up.

"Anytime, Yosuke. I got your back, partner." Yu said kindly, smiling as he got the sense that Yosuke appreciates him more than he did before. In so doing, Yu felt as if he'd become a little closer to Yosuke, in addition to feeling as if his charisma had grown slightly, netting him an unseen boost to his Expression. From there, the rest of the class period passed peacefully...

(After school, with Yu)

After class let out for the day, Yu decided to size up his options. After a bit of shopping, he noticed that both Marie and Yosuke were available to rank up. However, he didn't have an 'Aeon' Persona on hand, whereas he had a 'Magician' Persona in the form of 'Pixie', thus Yu decided to hang out with Yosuke. After approaching Yosuke, he smirked at Yu and spoke up.

"Yo, Yu. What's up? You look restless. Are you tired? Rushing things isn't gonna help us in the long run, in any case. Oh, I know! How 'bout we take a little break?" Yosuke suggested as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"Sounds like a plan to me, partner. Besides, I wasn't planning on gathering us to go back into you-know-where until tomorrow anyways, so this is as good of a use of my time as any. Let's hang out." Yu said. Yosuke gave Yu a sly smirk and spoke up.

"Alright! Let's go, then." Yosuke said, and Yu noted how happy Yosuke looked, given the three yellow music notes that went up over his head while he spoke. Yosuke then led Yu to the Souzai Daigaku and ordered the two some Steak Croquettes. Yu noted that they seemed quite tough as he ate his. Yosuke laughed and spoke up.

"Heheh, sticking chunks of steak in croquettes is so traditional! Man, this really is the country, huh? Well, it is good, I suppose. Even though it's tough. Chie called this stuff 'tender and juicy' once if I recall correctly. What kinda teeth does she have that she can chew this stuff so easily?" Yosuke asked as Yu shrugged and spoke up.

"Very sharp and deadly teeth? I dunno." Yu joked as Yosuke laughed before nodding his agreement while a pair of women passed by, prompting Yu to blink as he heard them start speaking a little ways away from where he and Yosuke were sitting.

"He's from Junes, isn't he? Also, he goes to Yasogami High School, right?" A gossiping lady said as the talkative lady next to her spoke up.

"His classmate, you know the one I mean. I think their name was Sato-san, or something like that? Apparently their family's place of employment went out of business because of Junes." The talkative lady said as the gossiping lady nodded and spoke up.

"Right!? This shopping district could disappear, and yet the people at Junes don't seem to care about it." The gossiping lady said as the two women walked away, completely oblivious to Yu and Yosuke hearing every word they'd said. After the women were out of earshot, Yosuke chuckled and spoke up.

"Eh, sorry about that. You know me, I'm infamous around here. Heheh." Yosuke said as Yu nodded sympathetically and spoke up.

"True. It must be tough having so much gossip go around about Junes." Yu said conversationally. Yosuke spoke up with an unreadable look on his face.

"Nahhh, it's not really. It's mainly my parents, I'm not personally involved. Anyways, there's nothing I can do about it." Yosuke said with a shrug as more yellow notes went up over his head. Yu spoke up with a nod.

"That makes sense, I suppose. To be fair, I don't really have much experience with that sort of thing, considering how often I'm having to move to different places while my parents go 'overseas' for their job. You can see how that would make any sort of long-term friend-making difficult, to say the least." Yu said honestly as Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"Fair. You did mention that before. Anyways, I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me, at school or around town, or even around Junes for that matter. Not that I mind, but it can be a pain at times. Also, it sucks that I always gotta mind my manners." Yosuke said with a cheerful smile on his face. After the conversation, Yu had a sense that he'd gotten to know Yosuke a bit more than he already did.

At that point, the 'Magician' card appeared in Yu's mind, the small Roman numeral 'I' at the top of the card becoming a Roman numeral 'II' to signify that his 'Magician' Social Link with Yosuke had advanced to Rank 2, bringing with it an increase in how much additional power Yu could channel into his 'Magician' Arcana personas when fusing them. Unlike the previous rank-up, however, this rank-up seemed to moreso affect Yosuke's Persona as opposed to Yosuke himself. As a result, Jiraiya awakened to the 'Trafuri' skill. Afterwards, Yosuke kept speaking, his arms crossed and an unreadable look on his face.

"Still, this croquette is damn good, huh? I'm gonna have another. You want one too, right?" Yosuke said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Sure. These are pretty good, once you can actually sink your teeth into them." Yu said agreeably after swallowing the bite he'd been in the middle of when Yosuke had asked his question. At that point, Yu and Yosuke spent a while scarfing down the rest of the croquettes they'd ordered. Once their plates were empty and Yosuke had settled the bill, despite Yu's protests that he could pay his own way, Yosuke spoke up.

"Okay, let's head home and get some rest for tomorrow, partner. After all, tomorrow is the day we head back to that place to try and save Yukiko-san, from what you yourself said earlier." Yosuke said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"So I did. We'll meet up after school at the usual spot before heading in to save her." Yu said agreeably, getting a nod from Yosuke as the two parted ways at that point, heading back to their respective houses...

(That evening, in the lower level of the Dojima residence, with Yu and Nanako)

After Yu came home, Nanako looked up once she heard the door open and close, smiling as she saw Yu in the doorway.

"Oh! Welcome home, Yu." Nanako said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Thanks. How was your day, Nanako?" Yu asked politely as Nanako spoke up.

"Pretty good, all things considered. I went to the bookstore, but it was full of all these crazy books. It didn't have the manga I like to read." Nanako said as Yu blinked and spoke up.

"You read manga!? I don't think I was into manga that much when I was your age, but maybe that's just me. Either way, that's neat that you're into manga. I guess I'll leave you to it, then?" Yu said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Fine with me, Yu." Nanako said agreeably as Yu went upstairs to look at the books he'd bought. After going through the books he'd bought, he picked up his copy of 'The Lovely Man' and started reading from it. Yu noted that every chapter started the same way, with the words 'All men have the great spirit of masculinity within themselves.' From there, Yu kept reading to himself.

"This spirit of true manhood transcends space and time, and all people, of all cultures and genders, feel its call very keenly in their souls." Yu read, noting afterwards that he felt more like a real man than he ever had before. He then noted that though it was getting late, he still had some pages of 'The Lovely Man' left to read, electing to save them for a later reading session. After he marked his place, Yu went to bed, deciding to get to sleep early so he was well-rested for the next day's trip into the TV world...

(Meanwhile, at the same time as Yu's reading, back in California, with Gaignun and Marisa)

As Gaignun and Marisa sat by themselves eating the meal Gaignun had cooked, which was a very simple taco meal. However, Gaignun had had to prepare them specially for each of them. For Marisa's, he'd had to put only meat and cheese on hers since she wasn't a fan of fruits and veggies. As for Gaignun himself, he'd put lettuce, sour cream, and just a splash of mild sauce on his.

At first, the two siblings ate their meal silently, both keenly feeling the lack of the third person who should be sitting at the table with them enjoying tacos as well. After a few minutes of tense, awkward silence, Marisa finished her last bite of taco and spoke up while giving Gaignun a look that was a mix of sad, confused, and forlorn.

"Gaignun? Why did Mom have to leave us so soon?" Marisa asked as Gaignun blinked at the surprise question before realizing he should've expected it. After swallowing his current bite, Gaignun spoke up with a sigh.

"Honestly? There's no good reason for why she died, Marisa. It was just her time, I suppose. After all, as Mom herself once said, 'Once the Lord calls your number, that's it. There's no arguing with it when he calls you back to him.' Also, we both knew full well that this was going to have happened eventually once we found out about her condition. And to be honest? I'm happy she's not suffering anymore. Yes, it sucks that she left us, but would you really have let her suffer like that just to remain with us for longer, or have her leave us sooner and not have to suffer as much?" Gaignun asked calmly as Marisa sighed and spoke up.

"I'd not want her to suffer, no. It's still not fair that she had to die, though! She always got all the bad luck, didn't she?" Marisa said as Gaignun winced at the true statement before he spoke up.

"Perhaps, but she was always willing to endure it and tolerate all the bad luck if it meant you and I were spared from it. If nothing else, I know she loved us both a lot. So much so, I believe she would've willingly endured all the suffering in the world if it kept the two of us happy and healthy. Our mother was always a very kind and selfless woman that way, after all. And I respected her a lot for that." Gaignun said honestly as Marisa nodded and spoke up, surprising Gaignun with what she said next.

"That she was. But still, surely there had to be SOMETHING you could've done to buy her more time, at least?" Marisa said pointedly, making Gaignun wince as he spoke up with a shake of his head.

"To be honest with you? I'm not sure there was anything that I could have done to buy her any additional time. After all, the people at the hospital she was in are trained medical professionals. And if they could only buy her around 5 to 6 months of extra time to get her affairs in order, I doubt there's much I could've done that wasn't already done to keep her alive longer. We just have to accept it was her time, Marisa. No matter how sad it might be to think about, there's not much we can do to challenge fate." Gaignun said wisely as Marisa pouted at that before speaking up, a couple stray tears hitting the table.

"Hmph! Fate sucks! I hate it for taking Mom from us!" Marisa said, as Gaignun gave his sister a sympathetic smile and spoke up.

"I can understand why you feel that way, Marisa. I really can. But at least we have each other, right?" Gaignun said as Marisa sighed and spoke up with a nod before getting up and hugging Gaignun, leaning her face into his shirt to hide the tears she felt coming while she spoke, her voice partly muffled due to the fact she was also crying into Gaignun's shirt slightly as she spoke.

"Right. Don't you dare leave me, Gaignun! It's bad enough that Mom left us! I don't want to think about what I'd do if you left me too!" Marisa said as Gaignun smiled and spoke up while gently wrapping his arms around Marisa's waist and looking down at her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Marisa. I promise. You're stuck with me." Gaignun said as he gently patted Marisa on the head and kept speaking.

"And so you know, you're not allowed to leave me either, little sis. You might think you're the only one here hurting from Mom's death, but that's not true. I might not show it, but I feel her death just as much as you do. But I also know I have to stay strong and hold you up as your older brother. So don't think you're alone in missing her, because you're not. I miss her too. And I know my friends will all miss her as well, since she eventually became as good as a mother to them after a while. I still have to figure out how I plan to let them know about this." Gaignun said honestly as Marisa nodded and spoke up, her voice partially muffled due to her face being buried in Gaignun's shirt.

"That's true. Slim, Ace, Kusano, Sage, and Lily all deserve to know about Mom passing away." Marisa said as Gaignun nodded and spoke up.

"I suppose I should call them and tell them. But that can wait for a couple days, I think. For now, our main focus should be grieving our mother together, just you and I. I suppose if you need to, you can tell your friend Aurora too, since I know you and her keep no secrets from one another. And I do recall that Aurora's mother Clarice was pretty close friends after a while with ours, so she would probably want to know about Mom's passing. But I think I'll take my time letting her know if I can, since I wouldn't put it past her to try and use that reveal to try and make another pass at me." Gaignun said with a shudder as Marisa giggled and spoke up.

"True. I always forget that Aurora's mom has a crush on you somehow. No idea why she's crushing on someone literally young enough to be her son, but I figure that's not my place to know such things." Marisa said as Gaignun huffed and spoke up.

"I have a feeling it's related to those rumors that were going around the neighborhood a couple years back about Miss Williamson being a self-proclaimed cougar and cradle robber. But then, you know as well as I do that I'm not one to put stock into gossip and hear-say unless it's proven to be true. So if she is those things, that's her choice, and not for us to judge her on. I feel bad for your friend though if it is true, since I feel like she's going to be losing out on a lot of potential boyfriends because of her mom." Gaignun said sagely as Marisa nodded and spoke up with a shy smile.

"True. Then again, I have a feeling Aurora isn't that interested in dating at this point anyways. Or if she is, she's not really giving much of an indication as to if she prefers men or women, since I get a sense she might swing both ways." Marisa said as Gaignun spoke up with a nod.

"Fair. Again, if your friend is bisexual, that's not a bad thing. After all, all people are the same deep down, no matter their sexual preferences, or any of that other crap that people get judged for. You and I know full freaking well that the only thing that truly matters is how a person treats their fellow people. As Mom once said to us, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' And I'd like to think you and I have been quite diligent thus far about living up to that rather profound proverb." Gaignun said as Marisa nodded and spoke up.

"That we have, Gaignun. That we have." Marisa said as the two did the dishes before Marisa looked into Gaignun's eyes and spoke up shyly.

"I know this might be a bit out of nowhere, especially since we've not done this since you came to stay with Mom and I for a week on your 16th birthday, but can I sleep in your room with you? I'd rather not sleep alone for now, just because I don't think either of us should be alone right now while we're grieving for Mom. Also, I might kinda miss cuddling with you, if I'm being honest." Marisa said shyly as Gaignun laughed and spoke up.

"You could've just asked, Marisa. You might be 12 now, but you're still my sister. I don't mind cuddling with you. I agree we probably could use the comfort from one another, especially given what just happened with Mom. So of course you can sleep in my room. You know I don't mind you being a cuddlebug, little sis. Let's go get comfortable, yeah?" Gaignun said as Marisa smiled at Gaignun and nodded, the two heading to Gaignun's room to lay down for the night, Marisa smiling as she snuggled into Gaignun's arms as Gaignun put an arm around Marisa's waist and spoke up.

"Rest easy, little sis. I love you." Gaignun said as Marisa smiled and spoke up.

"I love you too, big brother." Marisa said as she laid her head on Gaignun's shoulder while he pulled a blanket over the two of them, laying his head back on his pillow as the two slowly dozed off into a restless sleep, both knowing they were going to take a while to not constantly think of their deceased mother, but resolving to find whatever comfort they could in each other's company...

(Back in Inaba, the following morning, in the 'School Zone' of the Samegawa Flood Plain, with Yosuke and Yu)

As Yu walked to school under an umbrella, he heard his name called, turning to see Yosuke run up to him and speak up.

"Yo, Yu. I hear that it's gonna be sunny for a while, starting this afternoon. Looks like we're not gonna have to worry about the fog for now. After all, assuming Teddie's not lying to us, he said the fog always sets in around the morning after it's rained for a few days. So I think that means we've got plenty of time?" Yosuke said as Yu spoke up with a shake of his head.

"Not necessarily. I've been hearing since I got here that Inaba can have rather unpredictable weather. So while you could be right, I think we should keep watching the forecast, just to be on the safe side. After all, who's to say that things couldn't change on a dime? Also, we have no proof Teddie's right about what he said. Regardless, the plan is to go back in after school today and save Yukiko, just to get it done and over with so we don't have to worry about it. Plus, I'm sure Chie would relish being able to know her best friend is safe and sound." Yu said wisely. Yosuke nodded agreeably and spoke up.

"Right, that makes sense. And I'll be ready after school, as will Chie! I'm counting on you, Leader!" Yosuke said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Good, because I'm counting on you as well." Yu said as Yosuke nodded and the two of them made their way to school together...

(A bit later on, around lunchtime, in the first floor hallway of Yasogami High, with Yu and Daisuke)

As Yu made his way up the stairs to head back to class after having gone to sample a local beef bowl place with Chie, Yu heard his name called and turned in time to see Daisuke walk over and speak up.

"Yo, Narukami. We've got practice today, man. I'll be waiting, so c'mon!" Daisuke said as Yu winced and spoke up.

"That's today, isn't it? I'll do my best to show up, but I also had plans with Yosuke and Chie, so I might not be at today's practice. But I'll try to be at all the others." Yu said apologetically as Daisuke spoke up with a nod.

"That's fine. At least you're being honest about it. And I understand that things happen. Just don't make it a habit of missing practice. The others give you crap as it is, yeah? I don't think you want to make it any worse than it already is." Daisuke said before walking off without a further word...

(After school, in a classroom with Yu)

Once classes were over, Yu steeled himself for what he was about to do, knowing he needed to be at his best for the coming return to the TV world, since Yukiko's life could very well be hanging in the balance for all he knew...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! With it, the first prep period of Persona 4 Golden is basically in the books. Next chapter will be the return to the TV world, probably the entirety of Yukiko's dungeon along with the immediate aftermath thereof, and if space permits afterwards, possibly another cutaway to Gaignun's side of the plot.

That being said, unlike the cutaway in this chapter, this next cutaway might moreso focus on Gaignun's friends rather than Gaignun and Marisa, like this chapter's cutaway did. After all, as you might have noticed from reading the cutaway in this chapter, none of Gaignun's friends know as of yet that Gaignun's mom has passed away. So you can imagine their reactions to the news will be interesting to see. However, I might push that cutaway to the end of Yukiko's deadline, for reasons that will be made clear once the cutaway happens (because to say otherwise is to risk spoiling stuff). But I think I'll leave that at that for now.

Having said that, let's get to the part where I do my usual thank-yous and such, yeah?

As always, I do enjoy hearing from my readers, even if it's just in the form of a PM or a review. So don't feel shy about leaving reviews below with your thoughts/feedback/suggestions/constructive criticism on this story (or even PM me with that if preferred, as I accept either form of communication). And until the next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

CURRENT INVESTIGATION TEAM STATS, SOCIAL LINK RANKS, AND ALLY LIST AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 5

INVESTIGATION TEAM STATS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 5

YU - Level: 11 Current Personas: Izanagi (Level 5), Angel (Level 6), Pixie (Level 5), Sandman (Level 5), Omoikane (Level 7), Slime (Level 5) Equipped Persona: Izanagi Persona Moveset: Zio (Elec), Cleave (Physical), Rakunda (Support/Debuff), Rakukaja (Support/Buff), Tarukaja (Support/Buff)

YOSUKE - Level: 11 Current/Partner Persona: Jiraiya Persona Moveset: Garu (Wind), Bash (Physical), Dia (Healing), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Makajam (Ailment), Trafuri (Support/Escape)

CHIE - Level: 4 Current/Partner Persona: Tomoe Persona Moveset: Skewer (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff)

SOCIAL LINK RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 5

FOOL (Investigation Team) - Rank 1

MAGICIAN (Yosuke) - Rank 2

CHARIOT (Chie) - Rank 1

STRENGTH (Daisuke and Kou/Fellow Athletes) - Rank 1

AEON (Marie) - Rank 1

ALLY LIST AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 5: Igor, Margaret, Ryotaro, Nanako, Yukiko, Teddie, Marie