The house was empty. His home was empty. Seta almost wanted to laugh as he leaned his head back against the stiff cushions of the couch that he had sank into the moment he'd entered the Dojima household. He could barely remember the last time he had called anywhere in Japan his home, but there was no doubt in him now that the intimate little house had become the home of his heart. The pleasure he took from this sudden thought however was horribly short-lived, and he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. It was impossible to block out the silence.

"Nanako..."

The name left him in a defeated whisper, and in the same action his entire body slumped forward and his head fell to his hands. He was only really absently aware of the aches and pains in his body; it was the purely mental and emotional agony that struck him so fiercely in that moment. He clenched his eyes tightly shut and shook his head as the images flickered through his mind like a poorly edited video.

He saw Namatame gripping the little girl to his chest with an insanely determined expression until she could barely breathe. He heard her gasping for him, begging for him to save her from the strange world she had appeared in. Her eyes were wide and terrified, she whimpered in agony and fear, struggling futilely against the strength of a grown man as he choked the life from her.

The image changed abruptly, to the more recent activities that had occurred just that day. The incidents that were to change his future for the better or worse. He was at her bedside, holding her frail and thin hand as she gasped and wheezed, begging him to find her father. Despite his need to do what she asked, especially when she stared at him with those tear-filled eyes, he couldn't leave her. He could only sit there and brush his mouth along her trembling fingers, whispering hoarse words of false comfort. He had watched with horror as she sighed with some strange sort of relief and then her fragile grip on his hand had slackened. Then she had closed her eyes and relaxed into the tiny cot, with the loud and shrill beep of the heart monitor registering what he didn't want to see.

The sob started in his throat and he choked it back down, forcing himself to remember that she had clung to life even after her tiny heart had failed. Despite all odds, she had regained her heartbeat and continued on while he raced to stop a vengeful Dojima from acting on his darker wills. Through the grief and the bitterness, Seta had kept his head unlike most of his teammates and spared the man that his uncle had failed to even see. He couldn't, wouldn't, stain his or their hands in retribution for her life. He doubted it would have been what she wanted anyway, as peaceful and loving as she had been.

'Is.' The word reverberated loudly in his mind, and his fingers turned into fists as he gripped at his head. The little girl was alive. His uncle, too, was alive. No murder had been committed in the name of vigilante justice or insanity, and he had done what he instinctively knew was right. Sighing shakily, he could feel the emotions he had repressed for almost a full forty-eight hours slowly and surely crashing down on him.

The first had been terror. Seta wanted to laugh again as he went down the mental list, for fear had been the one emotion that stayed with him throughout the entire ordeal. Even with it having come to some sort of strange close, the panic only now was really making itself felt.

The second was fury, a cold and calculating anger that had kept him running through the clouded walls of Heaven without pause or hesitation. It had taken only one day, a single and horrendously long day of battle and searching to reach the end of the dungeon. It was a first for the team to ever clear so many floors so quickly, but they all had agreed that no time could be wasted. Whether it was her age or their emotional attachment to her that had made the decision, no one was certain. Still, it was of little consequence to them now. She had been rescued, and their efforts had been, strangely, rewarded in the end.

Then terror had returned to make its second appearance as he and his beloved team had watched as she slowly grew worse. The effects of being in the television, even if only for such a short period of time, had taken a horrible toll of her body. It hadn't mattered that she was too young, too immature despite all appearances to form a Shadow, she had suffered in the other world. Grief quickly followed on its fleeing footsteps, taking a firm hold on his heart as she struggled and died in front of him, as he retreated to the killer's room in a frenzy that only had been cleared through logic and instinct.

Now the emotion simply fell onto him in one fell sweep, robbing him of rational thought and action. His entire body shuddered under the weight of so much, and he heard himself sobbing out loud. The tears burned in his eyes and clogged his throat, but still he groaned and choked. He had cracked and the flood could no longer be held back.

His hands fisted tightly in his hair as his entire body gave way to the force of his pain. Even with his eyes tightly squeezed shut and his mouth set in a thin line, he couldn't stop the noises tearing from his throat or the tears trickling down his face. It was too much, too much pain and emotional turbulence to stop once it begun.

A startled gasp brought him crashing back to the present, and he looked up to see a rather welcome face staring at him from the doorway. Even through his tears he could see the shock in her chocolate brown eyes, and for a moment he was unsure of how to react.

Seta broke the silence between them first, rubbing his forearm over his eyes to remove the moisture even though he was sure that the streaks would remain. Despite all of his effort, he couldn't manage to smile, instead he merely stared at her and whispered a pained, "Hey, Chie..."

"Oh, Seta-kun..." Chie murmured softly, and she moved without thought to be near him. Not bothering to kick off her shoes, she sidestepped around the broken kotatsu and fell to her knees beside him. Her fingers lightly brushed along his cheek, tracing the quickly drying lines of his tears with incredible fondness. She felt his cheek twitch underneath her skin, and she saw his lips stretching into the ghost of a smile that brought a lump to her throat. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner."

Seta inhaled shakily and closed his eyes as she laid her hand completely against his face in a comforting gesture. A soft rustling of fabric and a quiet groan from the furniture beside him told him that she was now sitting with him before she took him completely into her arms. He sighed brokenly and buried his face in her hair, pleased for the gentle spring scent that filled his mouth and nose when he took in a second breath.

Her hands rubbed at his shoulders in slow and soothing circles, and she kissed his cheek as if it were the most natural thing for her to do. Part of her marvelled at how easy it was to touch him, to hold him when she still went into an embarrassed panic if he dared to hold her hand at school. The other half didn't really care, and she let him cling to her as she clung to him, needing him with a fervour that bypassed any sort of want she had ever had. She needed him, desperately, just as he needed her now. It was almost amusing how only a few months of dating had given rise to such a powerful feeling, but she knew she loved him anyway.

They sat in that embrace for almost forever before he finally gained the strength to pull away. She withdrew immediately but he refused to let her go, settling for wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders and rubbing his cheek against hers. Her breathing was quick against his ear, and he relished the feeling, the knowledge that one of his loved ones was with him and wasn't about to be torn from him. His voice hoarse, he asked her quietly, "How did you know...?"

"When you left the shopping district." Chie answered him just as quietly, and she gently nuzzled his face with her own before pulling back just enough so that he could see her expression. Her arms crept up behind his neck and she lightly fingered his hair as she explained, "Your house was going to be empty, and I..." Her cheeks flamed red but her eyes never left his, bright and fierce with that earnest passion he had fallen in love with as she continued, "I c-couldn't leave you here alone."

His arm around her waist loosened, but he still held her tight with the other as his hand raised to lightly caress her face. With a rueful smile he pulled her close to deliver a chaste kiss to her forehead before murmuring a simple, "Thank you."

Chie laughed once, a short and somewhat hysterical sound as she reached up to touch the spot where he had kissed her. She was supremely gladdened though to see that her awkwardness had brought a smile to his face and she rested her chin on his shoulder as he hugged her close. Turning her nose to brush against his ear, she murmured a shy, "Don't thank me... It's what a girlfriend does for her boyfriend, r-right...?"

He couldn't help but chuckle, both at her shyness and the sincerity of such a simple statement. Again he pulled back from her, but this time he let her go and cupped her face in his hands. His thumbs stroked tiny circles into her cheeks, but his voice was light as he teased, "That's what a friend does for a friend. What you did... that's what a lover does. You know me too well, Chie."

Chie was torn with two explicitly different reactions to such a warm thing to say, and both were of a feminine nature that she wasn't entirely familiar with. The first was one of self-preservation and pride, to hide and refuse to let him know just how much she liked to hear him acknowledge, again, just how close they truly were. The second, and the one she was debating most on doing, was to kiss him and show her approval.

The second option quickly won out, and she leaned forward with a sly smile curving on her lips to meet his waiting mouth. She never got the chance however, interrupted by the door behind them slamming open. She jumped with great surprise, nearly head-butting him in the process, and scrambled to escape his grasp as her friends came through the door one by one. Seta however wasn't content to allow her to escape, and his arms formed iron chains around her waist as he tugged her right into his lap and held her there.

"Hey man, sorry to barge in like this–" Yosuke's voice boomed out first over the clamour of their teammates entering the house and taking off their shoes and coats. He started when he saw Chie sitting rather uncomfortably in the lap of their leader, then he chuckled as the understanding crashed over him. Though he knew that the brunette would kill him for making fun of her later, he couldn't keep his comment to himself and he stated it loudly, "Looks like the sympathy hug can be crossed off the list. Chie beat us to it!"

Rise, who had been hidden behind the much taller form of Kanji, quickly peered around his shoulder and gasped when she saw what Yosuke was talking about. At this point, Chie was struggling valiantly to escape Seta's hold but he didn't want to let her go, smiling all the while at her efforts. Giggling with amusement, the idol skipped over to Yosuke's side and delivered a reproachful elbow into his side as she tutted, "Now be nice, Senpai. It's not her fault that she got here first."

Kanji looked rather confused but he decided it was best not to say anything. Instead he merely picked up the forgotten bags of food at the door and set them on the dining table. At his leader's confused stare as he stood up, his arm still iron around Chie's waist, the younger student explained gruffly, "We figured ya ain't eaten yet... so we got some takeout for ya from Aiya. Hope ya don't mind chinese this late."

Seta blinked, startled as he took in the expressions of the teenagers who stood so openly in the entrance of his home and at his side. Chie smiled warmly and squeezed his shoulder with great reassurance, leaning slightly into his chest as his hold loosened with his surprise. Yosuke just grinned at him, his lips twisted with great mischief when he watched the intimate gestures shared between his friends. Naoto looked rather relieved at the sight of smile, a hint of a blush colouring her face when Kanji accidentally brushed his arm along hers in the middle of setting the table. The former punk jumped like he'd been set on fire at the contact, and he busily continued in his menial chores, wanting to be useful in cheering up the man who had changed his life. Yukiko giggled and her warm eyes were full of happiness as she saw the warmth radiating from his eyes towards her best friend. There was no jealousy there, instead there was only a great pleasure that she took as her own at their closeness. Rise too was all smiles, and she clapped her hands together to show her approval.

He knew they were all as exhausted as he was, he had seen how drained the incident had left them as they slowly trudged away from the hospital. A human life had been in their hands and they had nearly quashed it, letting alone the fact that they had nearly lost a member of their own sort of family. Still, they had left their own places of comfort to come to him, wanting to make sure he wasn't alone and had what he had nearly lost. To say that he was touched by their actions was a great understatement. He had no words to describe his gratitude to them.

"I know that you may have wanted time alone..." Naoto spoke very quietly, and all eyes immediately turned to her face, causing her to halt rather abruptly. She shook her head and blinked slowly before she managed to compose herself and continued with surprising strength, "However, we all agreed that, right now, no one should have to be alone. You are our leader, but before that, before you being our leader or our senpai, you are our friend. Friends stand together in times of a struggle, and so we are all here for you."

Rise smiled and threw her arm around Naoto's shoulder as she nodded, and her other hand clasped Yukiko's in a symbol of unity. Yosuke, catching on to what she was doing, placed his hand on her shoulder while Kanji lightly touched Naoto on the top of her hat to join in. Her voice was clear and soft as the idol spoke to him, "We're all here for you, Senpai, just like Naoto said. Friends forever!"

"We hope you don't mind, but... we're going to stay for a little while." Yukiko giggled softly, eying the smile that was slowly but surely growing on their leader's face as he took in their gestures. It seemed like too much time had passed since they had seen him smile like that and she planned to treasure the sight of it from now on. "Everybody's parents think we're at the inn again, and mine think I'm at Chie's. So we're all covered for alibis."

"You can thank the detective for whipping up such a quick scheme." Yosuke teased playfully as he reached over Rise's shoulder to yank Naoto's prized cap down over her eyes. She scowled at him for the joke, but there was a warmth in her expression that just didn't let the gesture reach her eyes. He turned back to his friends on the couch, and nodded his head as a semi-serious glint came into his eyes. He looked at the standing group each in turn, and said quietly to Seta, "We're going to stay for awhile. We've got some good food, Rise brought some old magazines and DVDs, and Kanji kept saying he was going to bring some booze but Naoto threatened to kick his ass if he did. All in all, man... We're going to be here for awhile. Do you mind?"

For a brief moment, Seta found himself silent not because he preferred it, but because he simply couldn't find the right words. The people he had rescued, one by one from both themselves and the culprit, had turned around his heroics. In their eyes and bodies was exhaustion, but they'd come for him anyway to share a smile and a night of solidarity. As if they knew he'd need them, even when he'd refused to let on.

Chie squeezed his hand after a long moment, and when he met her gaze, her hand came up and gently brushed his cheek to remove a tear he didn't realize he'd shed. Her smile was gentle as she moved herself to her feet, and pulled him along with her. Their fingers were entwined, and she said softly, firmly as their comrades moved forward to place a comforting hand on the young man who'd saved their lives, "It's our turn to help you out, Seta-kun. Even if it's just for tonight."

The grey-haired youth closed his eyes as he felt the grips of his friends around him. Yosuke's warm and broad grip on his shoulder, the squeeze of reassurance from a brother he'd never had. Yukiko's tender, compassionate touch on his wrist, a warm presence that had only ever thought of healing wounds. Kanji's firm grip on the opposite shoulder, a rock-solid teenager who was well on his way to becoming a respectable man. Rise's sweet hold on his other arm, an idol who loved everyone about her not just because it was her job, but because she wanted to. Naoto's hesitant but caring show of affection when she brushed her shoulder against his arm, a young woman still in the grips of realizing she wasn't alone, that she was accepted. Even though the bear wasn't there, still missing since Nanako's scare... Seta could feel the Shadow-turned-friend's paw resting on his back in a determined but cheery sign of camaraderie.

Then Chie's fingers that squeezed his own in the midst of the group that surrounded and warmed him. The one girl who had successfully broken down that last barrier that had kept him hiding away his real truths and fears. Seta Souji closed his eyes and savoured the feeling of his lover giving him her strength, and he let that single tear from before fall down his face. He was home, and everything was going to be alright.

Shinjiterunda. (I do believe it.)

Itsuka hitotsu ni tsunagaru mirai wo (One day we'll find together,)

isshoni mitsuke ni ikou. (the future that connects us as one.)

Kimi no kawari wa inai. (There's no one who can substitute you.)

Wasurenai de, (Don't ever forget,)

we fight together.

AN:

I am alive, just recuperating! My laptop finally decided it'd had enough of me and committed seppuku. The enter key, and backspace key just stopped working, along with my long-dead 'h' key, and left me in hysterics when I finally came to grips with the fact that I soon am going to be without a laptop. My writing stopped altogether since, and I've really only been shooting out some poetry and half-heartedly editing some older works. This particular oneshot is one of the older works.

Nanako's dungeon was incredibly emotional for me, as I latched onto her just like she latched onto Seta, so when I realized she'd been selected as the next victim, I blew my top. Like hell I'm letting little sis wait in that dungeon for more than a few hours! Normally, I took dungeons in stride, (usually a two-day trip. One to get to the halfway marker, and the next to finish the boss.) but in Nanako's... I cleared it in a single day. Blew all my yen buying those leaves from the fox, but it was worth it. When you already have a Mama Bear playing a game, and you go after her little sister... Man, I took my sweet time beating the shit out of Adachi for that. Would've chucked Hippie Acid Angel into the television too if it didn't net me the bad end, and the fact that he was supremely messed up already, and that would be mean...

Anyway, it's no secret that I'm a ChiexSeta shipper, so I wrote this particular fic with my goggles firmly attached to my head. I loved the fact that everyone's Social Links texted Seta after he left the hospital... but he went home to an empty house, and that just made me sad. So, this story, partially inspired by Jonseyboat's "To Wake Up To" (gave me the idea and allowed it to snowball), and Ronadir's "For Nanako" (which got me off my ass to finish this!) filled in the gap I felt when our silent protagonist went home. And you just know that night he finally let the mask break and cried... I would've broken down much sooner, so someone had to give him a damn hug.

The ending song, which I thought was epically appropriate for this fic, was "Fight Together" sung by one of the Goddesses of Music, Namie Amuro. Originally this song is used as an opening for One Piece (also a favourite of mine) but the feeling of hope, camaraderie and unconditional love in friendship was too much to pass up for this little authoress, so I used it to wrap up the story.

Want more Persona from me? I may need a hand, so leave a review with a request or such and I'll try to get to it. I'm lacking inspiration these days, and even though my laptop is dying, and I've got ANW to continue... I need my breaks, so please leave a review to let me know how I did, how I can get better, and what, if anything, you'd like to see from me!

PS: I know, his name is Seta Souji. To be honest, I've never been good knowing which part of his name is the family and the given, and I've seen it written both ways... so I went with my gut and made his given name "Seta" rather than "Souji". Just be glad I didn't call him "Luke" like I originally did in the games! XD

~ Sky