First off, let me say that the fact that there are so little people who actually admire this pairing it's kind of disappointing. I mean, come on. Atlus set it up for you and everything. Kanji's shadow says he's gay and the MC happens to be a pretty smexy guy. ;D Plus if these two were to get together I think it'd be extremely adorable. Kanji being all tough would protect his precious Souji. :3

Secondly, The name of the story as well as the names of the chapters come from the lyrics to the song "Pursuing My True Self" which is the theme to persona 4. I tried to pick lyrics that related to the chapter the most while keeping them in order. (:

Thirdly, the first four chapters are kind of mushy; I think all of the lemony stuff starts in chapter five. The first chapter is the longest chapter out of them all, it's like double the length of the second longest chapter. -.- But in case your worried, most of the chapters are fairly short .

Fourth, ..actually…there's really nothing else to say besides that there are SPOILERS. If you haven't finished the game with the true ending and plan on doing so there might be some stuff in here that you would not appreciate reading.

And that concludes my author note (which will most likely be skipped -.-). Enjoy. :D

XxXxXxXxXxX

Kanji Tatsumi; people who heard that name would instantly think things such as "rebel" or "menace to society". What they didn't see is that he was really just misunderstood. The media made him out to be something he wasn't, publicizing every bad thing he ever did. Due to the extra attention drawn to him, he could no longer do the things he enjoyed doing without being judged. Things like sewing and other craft works, which he had grown up doing.

Girls were much worse. They acted much harsher towards him, said the meanest things imaginable and found new ways to make him feel like he wasn't worth shit. It was these experiences with girls that made him scared to even be around them. All of the things done to him drove him to become the cold, mean individual he was. He figured he might as well give the people what they were expecting from him.

Once he was saved from himself, though, things changed. Every person involved in his rescue became his friend and for the first time he was invited to become part of a team. Little by little he became stronger, both mentally and physically. As the case progressed, he made more and more friends. All of those people who made him feel worthless just seemed to disappear.

Souji Seta was the closest friend of them all, the only one Kanji could fully trust. He had convinced Kanji it was okay to do things that made himself happy. No matter what the issue was, Kanji could talk to his leader about it. Souji always listened and always knew exactly what to say to make things better. Whenever Kanji felt down, he could count on the gray haired boy to cheer him up.

Despite Kanji's wishes, he had started to feel something more towards his best friend. Something he didn't feel with any of the other members of the investigation team. So it wasn't a surprise that his leader was on his mind at that moment. He was desperately trying to deny his feelings though.

Was what my shadow said right?

Am I really…

"No, damnit!" Kanji accidentally yelled out. The class went silent as they all turned to look at him. His eyes widened a bit as he realized he had let his thoughts escape his mouth.

"Are you okay, Kanji-kun?" Rise asked a bit worried. Kanji's face flushed with embarrassment. He violently rose from his seat.

"Yeah," he walked towards the door quickly, sliding it opened. "I just need some fresh air." He closed the door behind himself, ignoring the teacher who demanded he get back in his seat.

He soon found himself walking out onto the roof, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sun. He looked around, seeing he was alone. He exhaled heavily, pacing a bit as he thought. He tried to convince himself he was feeling the way he was because he had never had someone like Souji in his life. He was confusing gratitude for such a wonderful relationship with love. No matter how much he told himself this though, he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it.

He thrust his fist at the wall. His hand smashed against the outside of the building, the bumps on the wall breaking the skin on his knuckles.

Why am I so aggravated?

What I was thinking isn't true. It CAN'T be.

Kanji sat, rubbing the back of his neck to relieve some tension. He looked straight ahead, staring at the fence in front of him that enclosed the whole roof. He remembered when Souji and he had been in that exact spot, talking about various things. It was right after Dojima had convinced Souji's parents that finishing high school in Inaba was in the silver haired boy's best interests. That was not only the day when Souji had announced he'd be staying, but it was also the day the Kanji had realized he loved the other boy.

xXxXx

"It's okay to do things to make yourself happy, Kanji. Just be who you want to be." Souji said, both of his hands on the fence as he looked out to the horizon. His fingers curled around the thin metal of the barrier as he leaned forward.

Kanji looked over to his friend, "You don't find it weird at all that I'm teaching a crafts class?" Souji shook his head in response, keeping his eyes fixed on the mountains in the distance.

"Even if I did, it shouldn't matter. As long as it's something you enjoy who cares what other people think?" Souji looked over to his friend, giving him an unusually bright smile, something that was rare to see his leader do. He was always so calm and composed it caught Kanji off guard.

"I guess your right." Kanji leaned his back against the fence. "Thanks." The blond felt his lip begin to tremble a bit. He wasn't sure why at the time, but he was feeling a need to release all of the sadness that had built up. He turned his back to his silver headed companion to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"For what?" Souji pulled himself away from the fence to face the other male's back. He could sense that something was wrong. When Kanji spoke it became clear that he was crying.

"It's just, no one's ever cared enough to suggest that I live to make myself happy. Thanks for being my friend." He wiped his eyes, trying to stop the tears from forming.

Suddenly, a pair of thin arms wrapped around the younger male's waist from behind. His eyes widened as he felt his leaders face press against his back. "It's no big deal, I like being your friend." The slightly smaller boy stood in the same place as Kanji turned to face him and hug back. The gray haired boy closed his eyes and Kanji hugged him tightly.

They stood like that for quite some time until Kanji was calm enough to stop crying. The younger of the two wished the embrace would never end. He wanted to hold the other close to him like that forever. The warmth they shared released butterflies in his stomach, allowing them to flutter around and tickle his insides.

Souji pulled away and looked at Kanji's face, his light haired companion keeping his arms around his leader's waist. "Feeling any better?" The silver headed boy questioned.

"Yeah." Kanji moved his eyes to meet Souji's. Even if their eyes locked for just a brief second, the younger male could still feel his heart skip a beat when it happened. The gaze seemed to last much longer than it actually did. Souji broke it off and looked away quickly, moving away from the now blushing Kanji.

I love you.

For some reason, Kanji had a strong urge to blurt out those three words, but held it in. He knew saying such a thing would probably scare his best friend away, and he'd be devastated if that happened. Besides, he was probably just caught up in the moment, there was no way he loved another boy.

"When's your next crafts class?" Souji asked, looking at his shoe as he kicked at the cement.

"Huh?" the blond looked to his friend.

"I'd like to sit in and learn a thing or too." He looked up at Kanji, beaming him another genuine smile. Kanji grinned and let out a small chuckle. He had never been so happy to be with someone.

xXxXx

Kanji sighed as he remembered the scene clearly. He laid back on the warm cement of the roof, looking up at the sky.

But what if it's true? What if I do love him?

Damnit, what should I do?

"I thought I'd find you up here." A voice spoke, startling Kanji a bit. He turned his head to see Naoto standing by the door that led onto the roof. "Behavior like this is quite troublesome, you know."

Kanji shrugged a bit and looked back up to the fluffy clouds, moving both of his hands under his head to act as a cushion.

"Do you mind explaining what's got you so bothered?" Naoto sat next to the white haired boy.

"Just confused, that's all." The male closed his eyes, the sun covering him like a warm blanket.

"That's not much of an excuse. It is certainly no reason to cause an uproar." The blue haired girl leaned back on her small hands. The sleeves of the boys' uniform covered most of her hands as they draped over them. "If you needed some instruction on the lesson I could have assisted you."

Kanji opened his eyes, a bit confused as to what the girl was talking about. He blinked several times before he caught on to what she was saying. He let out a soft laugh. "Not about the class work, other stuff."

She looked away from her team mate, slightly embarrassed that she had misunderstood such an easy concept. "Then what is it that has gotten you so confused?"

Kanji sat up, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his arms dangle. He looked back to the spot where he had fallen for his leader. He didn't want to tell Naoto his true feelings but he also didn't want to confuse her any more than he already had.

"Did you ever think that maybe your persona is a bigger part of you than you realize?"

Naoto looked over to the other, "I'm not sure I fully comprehend. Do you mean your coming to the conclusion that your hidden feelings that were portrayed by your shadow may be true?"

Kanji nodded his head, "Yeah." Naoto, being the smart detective she was put two and two together. She realized what he must have been talking about. Even though she had not been present during the fight against Kanji's shadow, she had heard the whole story about the things his shadow had said. His shadow had suggested that Kanji was a homosexual, and if he was saying his hidden feelings may be true, then she thought it must mean he was saying he wasn't straight.

"Ah, so your saying you like a guy?" she asked calmly. She knew it had to be someone on the team, it would be unlikely that he had fallen in love with a stranger or someone who wasn't close to him. "Tell me, is it Yosuke?"

"W-what…do you mean?" he hopped it wasn't that obvious.

"Actually, now that I think about it he doesn't seem like someone you'd admire." She placed her hand over one of her cheeks, thinking. "What about Teddy? He's pretty adorable. Plus, you seem to always want to touch his fur."

"I-I think you h-have the wrong idea."

"Oh, so it's not him? Well, since you found out I'm not a male that leaves only Souji."

Kanji blushed, realizing his secret had been discovered. He looked down, "N-no.."

Naoto smiled deviously, "Bingo. So you like Souji Seta, huh? I suppose it's hard not to."

"No!" he looked over at her, "I don't, really!"

"It's fine, Kanji. In fact, I think I'd enjoy assisting you in pursuing your affection for this boy." She smiled innocently, even though in her head she was scheming ways to make this work. She moved her eyes to the boy's dangling hand, the crimson color that covered it catching her eye. "How did you injure your hand?"

Kanji looked down to his bloody knuckle, "I punched a wall." He shrugged and moved his eyes to the girl next to him.

"Come with me, you should probably get that bandaged up." Naoto stood, helping Kanji up before heading to the school's infirmary.