Hello, it's me again! Yes, I know most of you would like to read the next chapter of The Bloody Ashikabi, but I've been working on this for a while, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit more, sorry.

This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I didn't think it would be fair, as both Harry Potter and Persona 4 have awesome stories, so I made it a two-shot. I'm not entirely satisfied with how it came out, but considering that I've been deleting and re-writing parts of it for almost a week, I don't think I would be able to better right now, so I hope it will be good enough for you guys!

So, this was a challenge by Elemental Phoenix, I hope you'll like the results!

I don't own Harry Potter or Persona 4, only this plot.

Personas and Wizards: Part 1

Ryotaro Dojima had seen many things during his life, some of them good, but most of them bad, such was the burden of being a detective, he guessed. However, he had long ago learnt to deal with the emotions that came from witnessing humanity at its' worst, otherwise he might have snapped at some poor, unsuspecting fool about something trivial, like shoplifting. That did not mean he didn't care about the victims he had come across, he simply needed to be able to keep his cool and think rationally to treat his cases.

Now, though, he was finding it exceedingly hard to keep his cool, stressed by how white his knuckles were as his hands balled into fists. On the other side of the wall was a child, a foreigner boy with raven hair, deep green eyes, who was currently the reason of his anger, or, more accurately, his anger came from how mistreated the boy had been.

Forcing himself to calm down, he remembered the beginning on his night..

Flashback start

He had been walking home after his shift, enjoying the cool breeze of the summer night. He had spent a relatively easy day, as most of his days since his arrival to Inaba had been. For someone as stressed as he was, it was a breath of fresh air after the usual hectic days of working as a detective in the city.

As he walked, he thought about his wife, Chisato Dojima. Now that they were both set and that he had more time to dedicate to his family, he thought it may be time to have children. Before, he was way too busy to even think about adding a member to the Dojima household, and Chisato had agreed with him that they'd wait until he had a job allowing him more time with his family. Now though, they really had no reason to stop themselves from having a child, and he was sure that his wife would be deliriously happy once she had a baby. He smiled, knowing that she would be a great mother, and chuckled at the thought of her playing with their future son/daughter.

However, his good mood was snuffed when he heard a whimper coming from an alley to his left. Stray dogs were rare, even here in the countryside, but they were a danger for everyone, as a famished dog could easily attack humans, and could very well kill a child. Fortunately, it had never happened until now, but that was mainly because all strays were killed on sight. If this was indeed a stray, it was his duty as a cop to ensure it was put down for the safety of the townsfolk.

Reaching for his gun, he carefully walked into the alley, letting his eyes grow used to the low light. What he found made his stomach clench painfully. The whimper came from a child covered in blood, who was going through the rubbish, despite an obviously broken arm dangling uselessly at his side. Lowering his gun, he reached for the child, but before he could touch him or her, his foot accidentally kicked a stray can, causing it to make a metallic sound as it flew into the wall.

He was startled when the child backpedalled frantically, trying to put as much distance between the sound and himself(or herself), but tripped and fell, before laying down unmoving, apparently out cold . Running to the child's side, he found himself staring to a young foreigner boy, probably five or six at best. Shaking his head to clear his head from the anger he felt stirring at the sight of one so young forced to go through the rubbish, he carefully lifted up the boy, feeling yet another pang of anger at how light he weighed, before starting to run towards the station he had just left.

Flashback end

That had been several hours ago. He had called the hospital, and they had asked him to bring the still unconscious child there. What they had found had shocked them. Despite the lack of time, they had performed a few tests and found the child to be starved and lacking quite a bit of exposure to the sun, something young children usually showed in spades as they spent much time outside. The wounds though, those were surprising to say the least. The boy seemed to not only have an arm clearly broken, but he also had slight internal bruising, as well as a mild concussion. It was actually a miracle he could still move around when the detective found him, since he was probably running on his last reserves of energy to find some food.

Then the boy had awoken, and his reaction had once again broken the heart of the people that were present: he had tried to scurry as far away from the adults as he could, all the wall blabbering in a foreign language that one of the doctors had identified as English. Luckily, said doctor had spent some time studying abroad, and had a good enough grasp on English to ask him the questions the detective asked him to translate.

What they had gathered was that the boy's name was Harry Potter, or Potter Harry since Japanese people tended to introduce themselves with their family names first. He was actually seven, and he lived with his aunt and uncle, since from what he had been told his parents were drunks that died in a car accident. When asked about his wounds, he had said that he was in the car with his Uncle when the man had lost control of the vehicle, and that they had had a car accident. He said that he had then woken up in Inaba, with no memories of how he had gotten there from England.

After that interrogation, they had brought him a meal and Dojima Ryotaro had excused himself and left the room, talking with the doctor and gathering information. It was clear to him that his family hadn't been treating the boy right, however he wanted to know how bad it had actually been.

The doctor, a woman in her fifties, sighed and explained:

"It's difficult to say. Most of the wounds he had, the broken arm, the concussion and the internal bruising don't seem to come from abuse, more from what I'd expect from a car accident like he described, however there hasn't been any patients brought in here after that type of accident in quite a while. However, there are at least seven bruises that seem to come from a fist on his body, and the arm that wasn't broken showed a bruise that could very well be created by someone holding it too strongly.

We can at least assume those people starved him, as his body shows signs of continued malnutrition for an period of time that spans at least the five last years, and by the way he talked it seems as if he has been living with those people until recently. There is also the fact that he seems frightful of an adult's contact, something that is definitively not normal for a child as young."

He sighed, it looked like he would not be spending easy days for the foreseeable future.

-Break-

Harry gulped and tugged at the collar of his shirt. He was supposed to meet the detective's wife today, since apparently she had suggested he was placed in their care as nobody had managed to track down his relatives. However, now that it was indeed the day to meet her, he was getting increasingly nervous. What if she saw he was a freak? What if she didn't want to take him in?

The detective, Dojima if he had understood right, was a nice person, if a little scary, a novelty for him. Usually adults didn't like him much, so he did his best to go unnoticed. However in this case he was pretty much the center of attention, something he disliked greatly as usually it would mean the Dursleys would get mad at him later and send him to his cupboard without dinner. He liked the man, he tried to joke with him even with what little English he managed to get right, and he had brought him a few books when he had learnt that Harry liked reading. Needless to say, he was surprised when the raven-haired boy had thanked him profusely with teary eyes, saying that nobody had ever given him anything before.

He had begun learning Japanese in the week he had stayed at the hospital, and he found the language oddly soothing. Maybe it was because whenever he had heard English it was mostly the angry tirades of his Uncle or the shrieks of his Aunt, but he found himself liking Japanese more than his native language. He had learnt the basics, how to greet someone and thank them, however he was still lost when it came to the suffixes Japanese people used to show their relationships. Apparently calling someone their name with -chan at the end, was a way to talk to children or really close female friends, while using -san was for people you didn't know all that well, like a casual acquaintance. When he had told the kind lady doctor, she had smiled and told him it would take him a while to learn, since it was one of the things that couldn't be translated to English.

He was currently sitting in the hospital's cafeteria, since the medical staff wanted to keep him at the hospital until they were certain his wounds were fine and that he had gotten some meat on his bones. He had actually eaten more in the last week that he remembered doing in an entire month at the Dursleys, though they had been careful to give him too much food, saying that it would be bad for his body.

"Harry-chan?" asked a female voice, causing him to jump in his seat, before a feminine hand caught him and righted him.

Turning around, he came face-to-face with a woman in her early thirties, with mid-long, brown hair and a rather pretty face. Her eyes shone with something he couldn't place, but he could see she was apologetic for surprising him. Behind her stood the detective Dojima, who looked a bit nervous, something he was surprised to see as the man was usually very composed and self-assured.

"Harry, this is Chisato, my wife." said the man, though he had a very thick accent, making it hard to piece his words together. Hell, "wife" came out as "waifu", so it wasn't as if it was easily understandable!

"Hello, Harry-chan. I'm Chisato." said the woman, with far less difficulty than her husband, much to his surprise.

With a smile, she explained:

"I had a few foreign friends when I was younger, so they taught me English. Now, Harry-chan, what do you want to do?"

-Break-

Ryotaro Dojima smiled as he watched his wife walk with Harry's hand in hers. It was obvious she was taken with him, even if he didn't understand half of what was said, he only needed to see the huge smile on Chisato's face to know that if the boy was okay with it, then he would be in their care soon.

The fact that Harry seemed to think the year was 1987 was strange, sure, but he wouldn't put it past his relatives to have lied to him simply to make him look like an idiot. It was pretty obvious they had hated him, which begged the following question: Why had they taken him in? Was there nobody else to take care of him? And if so, then why not simply dump him at an orphanage instead of taking him in if they hated him that much?

The sound of laughter shook him from his grim thoughts, and he forced himself to think about something else. All that mattered now was that the kid was happy.

-Break-

Harry blinked, unsure if he was seeing correctly. He had his own bedroom? Seeing his confusion, Chisato explained:

"It's your room, Harry. For now it's like this, but we'll go shopping to get a few things for you later."

Fidgeting, he explained:

"No, it's just, well, it's very different from my cupboard."

He gulped when seeing Chisato narrow her eyes angrily. Did he say something wrong? Freaks were supposed to live in cupboards, his Uncle had told him so, so why was she angry?

"Harry, what do you mean by, "my cupboard"?"

He could feel the anger in her voice, and he instantly reacted the way he usually did to any threat to his safety: he scurried as far away from the angry person as he could, and hid behind the table, trembling. He didn't like it when people were angry, they always ended up hurting him. Dudley punched him, his Uncle hit him or shook him, and his Aunt hurt him. Was Chisato going to hit him too? She had seemed so nice...

"Harry..." said her voice from in front of him, causing his shaking to cease as he heard the soothing tone.

Looking up, he saw her looking sad and ashamed, just before he felt her hug him. He tensed slightly, before relaxing when he felt that she meant him no harm, though he did not return the hug, since the one time he had tried to hug his Aunty, she had pushed him away as if he was diseased and told him that if he were to try again, she would tell Vernon to put a lock on his cupboard.

After a while hugging him, she put her hands on his shoulder, and looked at him with a pleading expression:

"Harry, please, tell me. What did you mean when you said "my cupboard"?"

She looked like she desperately wanted to know, so he told her. Told her about the cupboard under the stairs, about how he was not given his own clothing but Dudley's hand-me-downs, how he did every and all chores in the house while his Aunt bragged about how good a cook she was, how nobody had ever wanted to believe him when he told them about his treatment at the Dursleys'. He spent the better part of an hour simply explaining how his life had been, despite the fact that nobody had ever believed him.

When he finished, he was crying, and he was being hugged by a crying Chisato, who was trying to soothe him, and easily succeeding. It wasn't that hard, since nobody had ever been kind to him before, since he had been mostly been treated like dirt. So he cried, and yet he rejoiced in knowing he had found what he had always craved for: a family, one that would love him.

-Break-

Ryotaro sat on the couch, nursing a glass of beer in his hand, while his other arm was around his wife's waist as she leant on him while they watched the news.

"Darling?"

"Hhhhmm?"

"If you ever find those people...Make sure they pay for what they did to Harry."

He nodded. He had heard the boy's story. Whoever treated a child that badly deserved everything they got.

-Break-

-Persona 4 Universe: 2003-

"Adoption?" asked a confused Harry.

He was sitting in the living room of the Dojimas' house, with Ryotaro and Chisato sitting in front of him. He had been living with them for two years already, and he had changed much from the tiny, skeletal boy that Ryotaro had found looking for food. Healthy food and proper exercise had allowed him to fill out, and he was no longer as shy as before. He was still quite the loner, but he was no longer afraid of his shadow anymore. Surprisingly, Chisato had told him he should let his hair grow longer, despite the fact that it was supposedly not allowed by most schools' rules, though after an angry Chisato had told them in no uncertain terms that he was free to wear his hair how he wanted, he had been made an exception.

He had also begun learning a bit of self-defense, as bullying, while far less common than at his old school, still happened, especially since he was a foreigner and wore his hair long, making many a boy call him a girl and want to show he was weak. He was by no means an expert, but he didn't need to, as no other kids knew how to defend themselves, save for a girl called Satonaka Chie, who loved action movies and kicked the butt of those that annoyed her, but was by no means a bully herself.

He was also now proficient in Japanese, as he was always quick on the uptake, and living surrounded by people speaking a language was more than enough for him to learn it quickly. He had had more trouble with the written aspect of it, and even now he still made mistakes, but he was almost as good as the other children, and was making steady progress.

His guardians had been very good to him, Chisato doing a great job as a mother, while Ryotaro did his best to raise him as a father figure. Sure, the man was still very awkward, but he tried his best, and Harry appreciated that, since it was a far cry from the only other person who should have been a father figure to him, Vernon Dursley.

"Yes, we've discussed this together, and since the police can't seem to find any living relatives, we thought about adopting you. Of course, that is if you agree."

Agree? Hell, if it was him, he'd be doing the necessary papers himself! Of course he agreed!

When he told the Dojimas as much, they smiled and gave him a hug. It felt good to have family.

"So, Harry, want to keep your name, or change?" asked a smiling Chisato.

-Break-

-Persona 4 Universe: 2004-

Harry, now Kazuya Dojima, smiled as he watched Chisato laying on her hospital bed with her baby, his little sister in her arms. She looked pretty tired, then again he supposed she had every right to be, childbirth was probably quite tiring.

"Kazuya, do you want to hold her?" asked his mother, seeing him looking at the baby intently.

Tentatively, he lifted his little sister from his mother's arms, and awkwardly held her to his chest. Looking up to him with huge, brown eyes, little Nanako giggled and tried to catch some of his hair, which now reached to his shoulders. Smiling, he used the arm not cradling the baby to his chest to play with her, causing his little sister to giggle even louder and try to catch his fingers.

Ryotaro and Chisato just smiled at the sight, both happy to see that their family was getting larger and that their children seemed to get along so well.

-Break-

-Persona 4 Universe: 2005-

The glass shattered as it hit the ground, causing Kazuya to look at his father questioningly, before paling, as he saw the man's face become positively livid, something he had never seen, and which he took as a sign that something bad had happened. And seeing as Nanako was napping, that left only one possibility: something had happened to his mother.

"Dad?" he tentatively asked, seeing as the older man was still frozen on the spot.

Jumping and turning to look at his adoptive son, Ryotaro made the universal sign signifying he wanted him to be quiet, before turning back as he listened to his interlocutor, before finally barking:

"I'll be here in ten minutes!"

He then rushed past Kazuya, grabbing his coat, before pausing at the door of the Dojima residence and turning to look at the black-haired teen.

"Kazuya, Chisato was hit by a car, she's at the hospital right now."

Hearing those words, Kazuya felt as if the world had frozen. He heard his heart beating frantically in his chest, and the sounds surrounding him became muffled. His mother had been hit by a car? How could that be?

"Kazuya? Right now I'm going to the hospital, but I need you to stay here to take care of Nanako."

He wanted to shout that they could take her with them, that he wanted to come too, that he had the right to see his mother, but he knew better. He knew his father was frantic with worry right now, that he didn't need to worry about his daughter and adoptive son, so he squashed those feelings, he stopped himself from crying or acting like a child. Now was not the time for that. So he ignored the pain in his chest as he nodded, not trusting his words.

He could see that his father was relieved, and so he watched Ryotaro Dojima leave, hoping that he would come back with good news.

The next day, Chisato Dojima passed away from her injuries.

-Break-

Kazuya sat, refusing to talk to anyone as he played with Nanako, the little girl still too young to understand that she would never see her mother again. They had just come back from the funeral service, and he was still dressed in a black suit, something that rather suited his mood. Neither his father nor himself had taken the death of Chisato well, but Ryotaro, while looking completely lost, still had his job to think about and could not brood constantly, which was all what he himself did.

Since his mother's death, he had barely spoken, and most of the time it had been monosyllabic, as his already antisocial nature had made him shy away from the attention, the comforting words that he knew to be false. Oh, a few people had genuinely been nice, but most of those he had seen had cared little about the fact that his mother had died. Right now his mood was somber, Chisato's death seemed to have made some extremely unpleasant memories resurface, and seeing as he didn't intend to burden his father, nor did he have friends to talk about it, he was left to his own devices.

During these silent hours spent playing with his little sister, he made a vow to himself. No longer would he be weak. No longer would he allow those dear to him suffer. He would become strong. He would become someone who could be relied on. He would protect Nanako, and even if his father didn't know about it, he would protect him too.

-Break-

-Persona 4 Universe: 2008-

Kazuya scowled as he saw that his father had once again left a message saying that he wouldn't be able to eat with them. He knew he had taken Chisato's death very hard, but since then he had been trying to forget by working himself to the bone, trying to find who had hit his wife and then fled the scene. He could understand that it was his way to grieve, however if there was one thing he couldn't forgive his father for, it was the way he was treating Nanako. He himself felt he was old enough to care for himself, however if he hadn't been there his little sister would have been the one doing most of the chores, or at least trying to, despite the fact she was only four.

He had tried to tell his father that continuing as he was going was bad, that it would not do his health any good, and that Nanako needed him, but the man was stubborn like a mule and didn't listen. He was there, he said, and it was the role of an older brother to take care of his younger sister. Of course, he did so, and he liked to take care of her, who wouldn't? That didn't mean that the little girl didn't need her father, nor that said father could ignore his family and focus on his job.

He also cursed the fact that he was too young for a part-time job, he wanted to get himself some money, since he planned to take care of Nanako in ways their father apparently couldn't. He knew that the man had completely forgotten about the fact that his daughter would someday need some money for university, and that as a cop, his income, while enough to let them live comfortably, would not be enough if she intended to go to the best universities of the area, let alone Tokyo. There was also the fact that he wanted to be ready in case of anything happening to his father. He knew Inaba was hardly dangerous, but his mother had been hit by a car, who knew what would happen next?

His social life was almost inexistent, as he was already quite the loner, and the time he spent taking care of Nanako further diminished any chances he had of making friends, then again he didn't really care. He had enough experience with people to be wary of any kind of bonds, he didn't trust people, hardly a surprise considering what he remembered from his days before his parents took him in. Even after that he had been bullied quite a lot, being a foreigner in the Japanese countryside made him stand out, and his solitary nature didn't help his cause among the other students.

The only people he could stand, and barely, were the daughter of the owner of the Amagi Inn, Amagi Yukiko, a rather shy girl, and her best friend, Satonaka Chie, who were a year older than him but were at least cordial whenever they met each other, more than what could be said from most people their age. There was also Tatsumi Kanji, a boy that looked a couple years older than he really was, and already dwarfed his classmates by his tall stature. Yet despite his rather brash exterior, Kazuya knew he was actually a very nice boy, who had actually told him about the fact he liked sewing, something he had asked the taller boy to teach him, much to said boy's pleasure.

Looking at the sleeping Nanako, he smiled, before going to the kitchen. His father would need some food to take with him for the next day.

-Break-

-Persona 4 Universe: 2011-

Kazuya watched as his cousin approached. From what he could tell, Narukami Yu was quite tall, even if he was still probably taller, the Caucasian male body being usually taller than the Asian one. His cousin had grey hair, and despite what most people would think, it was no dye, but his natural hair color.

He smiled as he felt Nanako clutch his pants tightly, she was not usually this shy around him, but he guessed that meeting her older cousin could be quite scary for her. It would do everyone some good to have someone else live with them for a while. Who knew? Maybe his cousin would be able to change what he couldn't?

-Break-

Kazuya was waiting for his father when he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw the smiling face of the rather effeminate employee of the gas station looking at him. He shuddered, there was definitively something off about the man.

"I bid thee good luck, Chosen One." was all he said.

The next thing Kazuya knew, he was back in the car, staring vacantly out of the window to the countryside. However, as they went home, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong in the peaceful town of Inaba.

-Break-

Kazuya watched as his cousin chatted amiably with Satanaka Chie, Amagi Yukiko and Hanamura Yosuke. It had been barely a month since the grey-haired teen had arrived in Inaba, and he had already started making friends, very good friends, considering that the four of them were almost always together now. Most people found it a bit strange, but didn't seem to care overly much.

However, he knew better. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but he had seen them sneak out with weapons, however he always lost them at Junes. It was like they vanished around the electronics area or something similar. There was also the fact that somehow, there was a blue door, of all things, in the middle of the street, yet nobody seemed to notice it, save, again, for his cousin. He had not yet dared open it, as he didn't know where it lead, and he didn't want to risk leaving Nanako alone.

There was also these weird deaths, with people disappearing but then reappearing days later hung to antennas, their bodies sprawled as if they had been put there by someone trying to make them look as sinister as possible. He had taken to carry a kendo stick with him, something nobody bothered him for, as it was well-known that he trained to keep in shape. He also made sure that Nanako was the least possible alone at home, as he didn't think a crazy serial killer would be overly concerned by a break and entering added to his/her case.

Seeing his cousin and his friends waving at him, he gave them a polite nod before leaving, as he didn't want to be late for his job. He knew his cousin cared about Nanako too, so he wasn't too worried about her for tonight.

-Break-

Okay, now that was getting ridiculous. Now the little group had four people, plus his cousin? Two of which had been reported missing for a while before mysteriously coming back? Hell, Kanji seemed to be integrating fairly well in their little group, and was the only one of them, outside of his cousin, who talked to him for more than a few words.

He had also heard his cousin talking about the Midnight Channel, he knew about the rumor of course and found it stupid to believe you'd find your other half with something like that. However, he had tried to watch it, and he had discovered, or at least greatly suspected that it in fact showed the people who were going to go missing, as he had seen Kanji on it hours before he was reported missing. Unlike most people, he was not stupid, and was easily able to deduce that his cousin was somehow linked to the strange happenings in Inaba. There was something going on, and he was going to find out what, before anything happened to his little sister because of his cousin getting involved in things that were probably better left alone.

As he pondered what he could do, he decided to have faith in his luck and open that blue door he had seen his cousin enter regularly as of late. Maybe then he'd be able to get some answers.

-Break-

"Welcome...to the Velvet Room."

Okay, now this wasn't strange, it was downright impossible. Sure, a blue door floating in the middle of a shopping district and yet unnoticed by anyone but his cousin and himself didn't exactly scream "normal" to him, but he certainly hadn't expected to find himself sitting in a limo, facing a blonde woman entirely clad in blue, and a creepy old man with the longest nose he had ever seen.

"Oh? It appears that you are not our usual guest, how very intriguing." drawled the man, his voice sending shivers down his spine.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Margaret, and this is my master, Igor." said the woman, giving him a polite nod, which he returned, too stunned to think of anything else to do. "It is the first time that we have more than one guest, yet it appears that you are not in need of the services we usually provide."

Now he was getting more and more confused. Who were these people? What "services" did they provide, and to whom? His cousin?

"It seems that you do not understand. Allow me to elaborate: you, dear, are in need of tutelage. You need to master your powers, before they harm those you hold dear. As such, I shall endeavor to teach you the intricacies of your power."

The next thing he knew was the sensation of falling, before he landed on what appeared to be a blue platform. At a respectable distance of him stood Margaret, not one hair out of place, however despite her composed façade, he was almost certain she was quite eager for whatever was coming.

"Let us begin."

-Break-

He groaned as he let the hot water soothe his body. Despite not having a single injury after the "training", Margaret had made him go through, he was sore all over, and could barely stand, his whole body feeling as if it was made of lead. He didn't know how much time he had spent in that "Velvet Room", but he sincerely doubted time went at the same pace there and in the real world. After all, he had spent what felt like days battling against the blonde woman, who told him about the fact that unlike any other "guest" she or Igor had seen, he actually had the ability to use supernatural powers without needing a "Persona".

In the end, he hadn't understood everything, but he had managed to learn how to use what seemed to be magic, though Margaret had pointed out that it was still a far cry from what it could be if he kept training. And surprisingly, he intended to. He had still no clue about what was happening in Inaba, but at least he had understood that it was supernatural in nature, and that normal means would never be enough to solve it.

Anything to protect those I care for.

-Break-

An idol, now?

Really? The group had gotten yet another member, this time none other than Kujikawa Rise, the former idol "Risette". Who was next? The Detective Prince? He had seen the young woman around the town quite a lot recently, and it seemed that she too, had come to the conclusion that his cousin was somehow involved. He would have to approach her discreetly, as it was quite clear that most believed her to be a man, even if he had seen through her disguise. Then again, for some reason her behavior seemed forced, he could easily tell, as he too was quite good when it came to hiding his true self.

He watched as the former idol clung to his cousin, she was quite clearly enamored with him, and he was happy to see that his cousin seemed to respond favorably to her little attentions and clingy behavior. He loved to see how people interacted, it was quite interesting and told quite a lot about them. He could tell that in the little group, there were already a few people attracted to each other, though not all of them seemed to know about it themselves. The way Chie always argued with Yosuke Hanamura, the "Prince of Junes", made it clear that they were quite close, like an old couple. Yukiko seemed attracted to his cousin, but since he was already more or less taken with Rise, she seemed to be growing close to Kanji, as both had known each other since they were kids.

However, there was something that disturbed him in the way they interacted together, they had gotten too close too fast. While people could grow close, it was a gradual process, something that took months, even years to happen, yet here that group acted as if they had been best friends for years, not the mere months they had known each other.

He would have to ask the Detective Prince if she had any idea about that.

-Break-

Shirogane Naoto was known as the Detective Prince for a reason, few cases had ever been a challenge to her. However, she was forced to disguise herself as a male, as she knew that in a male-dominant universe like the police force, nobody would ever listen to a female detective, even if said female was better at solving cases than most males. That is why she wore men's clothes, used male pronouns to refer to herself, and did her best to behave like a man, without of course going overboard.

However, ever since she had come to Inaba, she had been forced to admit that this case was the hardest one she had ever come across, and she had delved in with delectation, since true challenges to her intellect were so rare.

She had naturally investigated the happenings herself, and had come to suspect the group following Narukami Yu fairly quickly. Their behavior was suspicious, and three of the people who had been reported missing, before mysteriously reappearing, belonged to it, which was more than enough to paint a red flag on it. She was also surprised to see a teenage foreigner stalking the group, it seemed that she was not the only one to be suspicious. It hadn't been hard to find who this foreigner was, apparently he was well-known at the police station for being Detective Dojima's adopted son. From what she had gathered, he was a loner, though he did have a reputation of a polite young man who helped those he could, and who took care of his younger sister in place of his father.

She had wanted to ask the young man about the reason why he was following the group, as he may know things she didn't, but she had be surprised when he had been the one to request a meeting with her. Surprisingly, he had chosen a rather secluded area, when she had expected him to chose somewhere in the shopping district.

As she watched him approach, she studied him. He was tall for one of his age, then again with the Caucasian body type, it was to be expected. He was undoubtedly trained in some form of Martial Arts, as his way of walking was graceful and wasted no movements, and his body seemed to be almost devoid of any kind of fat. He had surprisingly long, black hair, as wearing your hair long as a male was frowned upon in most schools, but the most striking of his features were his deep green eyes. She could see intelligence there, and she had no doubt that while she was analyzing him, he was analyzing her. A small part of her wondered if he would see through her disguise, but she personally didn't think so, as even trained policemen had been fooled.

"Dojima-san." she said, giving a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Shirogane-san." he answered, giving a small nod in return.

"May I know why you requested to meet me?" she inquired. She had to admit, she was curious about that, his request had not been like most of her admirers, it had been short and to the point, showing that he had something he wanted to tell her, and that he was not merely asking for an autograph.

"May I know why you accepted to meet me, then? I'm quite sure that you are busy with the murder cases." he shot back, and she had to fight back a smile. It seemed that he was indeed intelligent, but two could play that game.

"Your request intrigued me, you said you might have information about the case. If so, why not take it to the police?"

He gave a small laugh, though she could tell something was wrong with it. It sounded a bit too forced to be genuine.

"And that's the question, right? The truth is, I have reasons to believe the police would not believe me, and I'd rather avoid getting ridiculed. I presume it is the same reasons that drove you to disguise yourself as a man?"

Her surprise must have shown on her face, as he raised a hand, demanding her to be silent.

"I couldn't care less about why you want people to believe you are a man, as you must have you own reasons for that. I merely wanted to show you that unlike most of the people in this town, I am not unobservant. Think of it as a gesture of good will, I will not keep secrets from you, but I would like that you do the same for me, so long as it does not endanger the investigation. Do you accept these conditions?"

That...she could work with that. He was being surprisingly forthcoming, truth to be told. She had expected demands, maybe the right to access the cases' information, but apparently she had been wrong.

"I accept."

The small smile he gave her was genuine, and he started to explain.

-Break-

Had it been anyone else, she would have asked for them to be given the help they obviously needed, and at one point she had thought about calling an ambulance, for this young man clearly needed help. Her skepticism was however replaced by clear shock when he demonstrated his "magic". It wasn't everyday that one was treated to the sight of someone creating fireballs, lightning, ice, and tornados on their own.

Some people would have gotten drunk on that kind of power, especially when he explained that he was still learning about his powers in what he called the "Velvet Room". If he was able of so much and was still learning, he would be a truly fearsome foe once he had truly mastered his powers. When she told him so, he seemed a little sheepish.

"I do not have much I want, Shirogane-san. Truth be told, so long as those I care for are safe and sound, there is little more I would want."

She smiled. Maybe this town would prove to be more interesting that she originally thought.

-Break-

"I heard that you've been spending a lot of time with that boy, Shirogane."

It was dinner time, and for once all four of them were home, his father, his cousin, his sister and himself. His cousin merely quirked an eyebrow, though he could tell that he was filing away the information for later use. Nanako simply looked happy for him, as she had always pushed him to make friends, despite him telling her that he was fine with her being his only friend, and his father was looking at him seriously.

"So?" he asked, after all it wasn't as if he was distracting her. Their meetings were more often than not about the case, though they also had begun sharing a bit of their life stories lately. Apparently they were growing close, nothing more than friends, but good friends nonetheless. He could tell that his presence seemed to help the young woman relax, as she was constantly pressured by everybody, the media because she was famous and thus they wanted to have interviews with "him", and the police because they were waiting for the slightest mistake to push her aside. Being able to be herself around him seemed to help her ease that pressure, and he was glad to help her.

"I'd rather not have you associating with him, it's already bad that we need help from a kid, if the media learn that my son is spending time with the Detective Prince, they'll be on your back in no time." groaned his father, as he finished his sushi.

" Sorry, but Shirogane-san asked for my help, since he feels that having someone around his age to ask around would be better than asking himself. People are less likely to suspect me, since I've been living here for years."

Of course, the fact that he was a foreigner made him the black sheep of the community, but he didn't voice that. Neither his father, nor his sister needed to know that several people had started rumors about him being the culprit, since it was "obvious" foreigners were good-for-nothing people. He didn't really care, he was used to worse, but that didn't mean he appreciated it either.

He could see that his cousin was listening intently, and he was sure that soon his little group of friends would be aware of the fact that they were spied on. He doubted the grey-haired teen was aware that both himself and the Detective Prince(ss) knew that the case had supernatural aspects. He would have to be careful, since he doubted Yu was the culprit. If anything, he suspected his cousin to be the one rescuing those that went missing, the question was: where were these people taken? And by who?

-Break-

He awoke groggily, his head throbbing as a massive headache made itself known. He remembered opening the door after someone knocked, and then nothing. Carefully sitting up, he groaned as he felt his head pounding, but managed to stand up without too much difficulties. He was wearing his casual clothing, black jeans with a black turtleneck, even though his family had repeatedly told him that doing so made him look quite gloomy.

"Oh? So the Freak is waking up?" mocked an all-too-familiar voice.

Turning around, he came face to face with a carbon copy of himself. Said copy was wearing what appeared to be a cross between a military uniform and combat gear, almost entirely black, save for a few silver trimmings here and there. It was also identical, save for its eyes, to him. Instead of the emerald eyes he had, his copy had glowing yellow eyes, giving it an unnatural look.

Getting into a fighting stance, he kept his eyes on whatever was looking like him. He didn't know where he was, but he was quite sure that whatever was in front of him did not have the best intentions towards him.

"Who are you?" he growled. He did not like the idea of having a clone of himself walking around, not only did he feel violated at the thought, it was incredibly dangerous for those who knew him.

The thing in front of him simply grinned, before giving him an exaggerated and mocking bow.

"Allow me to introduce myself: I am You."

-Break-

Yu looked at his friends as they stood outside the castle where his cousin was currently detained. All of them had been eager to help him, as while most of them save Kanji hadn't been very close to Kazuya, they knew he was nice young man, if very solitary. They had also seen the state his family was in after his disappearance, Dojima had barely slept since the beginning of the week, and Nanako, despite the brave face she put on, cried herself to sleep every night.

"Senpai? There's something wrong." called Rise, her face rapidly paling. " The Shadows inside this place...I've never sensed anything like them."

As if those words were some kind of trigger, a silhouette walked out of the castle. It was a Caucasian teen, with a handsome face and dark hair, and his whole body language spoke of confidence bordering on arrogance. However, his most distinguishable feature were the glowing yellow eyes looking their way.

"Greetings. I suppose you are here to rescue Potter?"drawled the figure, in perfect Japanese.

"Potter? Dojima-kun isn't the one in the castle?" asked Yukiko, confused.

She was not the only one, all members of the group were perplexed. They had come, expecting to save Kazuya from his Shadow, but the events currently unfolding were nothing like what they had expected.

The figure merely gave a derisive snort.

"Pathetic. You aren't even able to understand that "Kazuya", as you call him, is merely his adopted name. Pathetic Muggles."

They then had to jump to the side to avoid getting blasted by a torrent of fire.

"What the Hell?! Senpai, what's going on?! This isn't Kazuya's Shadow!" shouted Kanji, narrowly avoiding burnt to death.

"Indeed, I am not. His Shadow should currently be having a nice chat with him, and I cannot allow you to disturb them. Potter will die, either by his own hand or mine."

The group focused at that. They would not allow anyone to die, not when they could help it.

"Persona!"

-Break-

Yu couldn't believe his eyes. Here they were, all of them having trained their powers as much as they could by battling countless Shadows, yet whatever the Shadow teen they were facing was, it was holding its own against them, and easily at that.

"Senpai, it has no weaknesses!" shouted a panicked Rise, who had been thoroughly analyzing their opponent since the beginning of the fight.

"Indeed. Dear, do please stand aside, this one is interfering in matters that it should be leaving alone." said a refined, female voice, causing the group to stop and look at the new arrival.

Yu stared, and he wasn't the only one. None of his friends could comprehend just who the new arrival was, but he knew. He knew who she was as he spent countless hours managing his Personas in the Velvet room with her, he even received requests from her on a regular basis.

Here, in all her glory, was standing Margaret, looking at the Shadow teen with a disapproving frown of her face.

"Oh, I didn't expect the boy's "sensei" to come here too." mocked the teen, only to scream in fright as he narrowly evaded getting beheaded by a man wearing a red scale mail, a shield on his back, and wielding a one-handed sword.

"Careful with that, woman!"

"Dear me, aren't you the talkative one?" said Margaret, as she opened the book she was holding, taking out a card, flipping it and putting it back in.

The group watched as a blonde-haired, black winged man wearing a skintight attire appeared behind her, just as the temperature dropped, a pillar of ice encasing the Shadow currently preventing them from entering the castle.

After a few seconds, the ice shattered, showing a battered, but still very alive Shadow, with absolute fury plastered on its face.

"You bitch! How dare you do this to me, Lord Voldemort?!"

Ignoring the furious Shadow, Margaret turned to look at him, before motioning to the castle.

"Narukami-san, do please hurry. While I cannot interfere any more than this, I am still allowed to erase this...abomination."

With a nod, he motioned to the others to follow him. They would need to hurry.

"COME BACK HERE, VERMIN!" bellowed the Shadow, only to narrowly avoid getting hit by another pillar of ice.

"Senpai, who was that?" panted Rise, as she ran along.

"A friend." was his simple answer, as they entered the castle.

-Break-

The group burst into the throne room, and as they feared, Kazuya was facing his Shadow, who was wearing a military-looking attire.

Upon their entrance, the Shadow mockingly waved at them, though Kazuya himself was unresponsive.

"Oh? It seems the "normal" people are here to save the day, aren't they, Freak?"

The group was shocked to see the normally composed Kazuya look absolutely furious, and some could have sworn that they saw purple energy crackling around his fingers.

"Shut up, whatever you are! You don't know me! And STOP calling me by that name!"

At that, the Shadow laughed, a cruel and harsh sound that sent shivers down the spines of those present.

"I don't know you? Of course I do, I AM you. How would I know about the Dursleys, otherwise?"

The group had no idea who the Dursleys were, however seeing Kazuya pale, they knew it had to be something very few people knew about, if the mere mention of the name was enough to cause such a reaction. A few made the motion to interrupt, however they were blocked by Yu's extended arm, as the grey-haired teen shook his head. This was something Kazuya had to go through by himself.

"How?" choked the green-eyed teen.

"How? Are you deaf, I am You. I know everything about you. I know why you never let anyone get too close to you, and all your darkest secrets.

You crave friends, yet not once in all the years you've been in Inaba have you tried to get close to anyone outside of Dad, Nanako, and Mom. And after what happened to Mom, you decided that you'd rather die than let anyone close again."

At that, the group winced, they knew that Kazuya and Nanako's mother had died, and it was rather obvious that it had deeply affected both children, at least from what Yu had told them about their behavior when they were at home.

"It's not just that, though. You want to have friends, but you have no idea about how to become friends with someone. After being singled out for years, there's simply no way you can trust others, not when they let you be bullied or bullied you themselves. What's more, you envy them, you envy their innocence, their ignorance."

The teenagers looked at each other, then at Yu, expecting him to know what the Shadow was talking about, but the gray-haired teen simply kept on focusing on the Shadow.

"They are sooo stupid, whining because they don't have their latest obsession, because the girl they want doesn't look twice at them...What a bunch of pathetic trash. They wouldn't be half as whiny if they were forced to live in a cupboard, or if they had been treated as slaves, not even allowed to eat more than the scraps left to them. Let's see how they would handle being called Freak every day, all day, for years, how they'd react to be forced to do chores outside, no matter the weather, even if it's raining, and then being sent to a cupboard with no blanket and nothing to dry themselves off."

The Investigation Team was stunned by what the Shadow was saying. Sure, not all of them had been living in Inaba long enough to know of his circumstances, but those that did, did remember that at first Kazuya had been too small and skinny for his age, but they had no thought it was the cause of abuse.

"So?"

"You hate them, right? You hate them for being able to live normally, without having to worry about reliving their past every single night, you hate them for not having to care for a younger sister because their father is too busy drowning in his grief to notice he has a daughter."

"Shut up! That's not true!"

Kazuya was visibly trembling with rage now, and they knew it wouldn't be long before he snapped and denied the fact the Shadow was in fact a part of himself. And predictably, it was what happened next.

"You're NOT ME!"

The first sign that the Shadow was going berserk was a gathering of black energy around it, surrounding it and fusing with it. Wind blew as the Shadow changed from a Kazuya-lookalike to something else, and maniacal laughter came from the center of the maelstrom.

"YES! YES! THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!"

As the wind died down, the group saw that the Shadow now no longer bore any resemblance to Kazuya. It was now ten feet tall, clad in what appeared to be a tattered black cloak, resembling a military coat, with silver linings. It's face was hidden behind a grimacing white mask with black markings on its borders, small horns (for its size), growing from its forehead. Its' hands finished with metallic claws, while pure energy crackled around its fingers. Finally, a lone, silver strand of fabric hovered around its' neck.

"I am a Shadow, the True Self..."

As the Shadow brought back an arm, the team sprang into action.

-Break-

Kazuya glared at the Shadow, his emotions whirling out of control, something he was not used to. Usually, he was able to keep his temper in check, however this thing had just blurted out his most secret, darkest thoughts, and he felt sickened that he wasn't able to refute them. It was all true, he hated other teenagers, because they had the luck to have a childhood, while he had not. Oh, the Dojimas had tried to make up for what he had lost at the Dursleys, but while one could trade innocence for maturity, it simply didn't work the other way. He hated the fact that he disliked other people for something out of their control, but he couldn't help but feel jealous. There was also the fact that while he did not mind taking care of his sister and the Dojima household, he didn't appreciate to not have any time for himself. Any free time he might have was spent either training, taking care of Nanako or the house, or at school. He simply didn't have any time he could spend relaxing, doing things for himself, and apparently, some part of him felt jealous of others for that too. But could he help it? Of course not. It was human nature to feel jealous of others, the trick was to accept you were jealous and not show it, not act upon it. Saying that good people weren't jealous was a lie, perhaps a very little minority weren't, but most simply accepted they felt resentment towards others, but didn't let it cloud their relationships with others.

As he watched his cousin and his friends risk their lives, trying to defeat his Shadow, he realized that maybe he had been stupid to avoid all forms of relationships beyond basic friendship. If these people were truly selfless enough that they actually accepted the fact they were risking their lives for someone they barely knew, then perhaps they were worth knowing. And if they were, then perhaps others were worth knowing too. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that more than a few people were actually genuinely nice, but it was that small minority that made it worthwhile trying to connect with others.

As he gazed upon the Shadow, he felt his calm come back. This was him, no doubt, it simply knew too much to not be. It also meant that now that it was trying to kill his cousins and his friends, it needed to be put down, and a feral grin stretched on his face at the thought of beating the shit out of that thing. He needed some stress relief, and he knew just how he was going to get it.

-Break-

Yu was sweating, his two-handed sword being used as a temporary crutch. No matter what they did, they Shadow just shrugged it off as if it was nothing, and Rise still hadn't told them what it was vulnerable to, meaning that with their luck, they had hammered it with attacks that didn't affect it.

"Senpai! It has no weaknesses, but it's resistant to all magical damage!" shouted the former idol, as she started to look panicked. She could be, after all, what she had just discovered meant that they had to use physical attacks, and save for Chie, Kanji, and some of his own Personas, they didn't really have heavy-hitters.

"Hey, cousin!" shouted Kazuya, and he turned, seeing that the green-eyed teen was just behind him. It was quite surprising, considering how most of his other friends had been out of it for most of the battles against their Shadows. However, from what Kazuya's Shadow had said, he had lived through far worse, meaning he had the strength of will necessary to focus on what was important at the moment instead of wallowing in self-pity. "Looks like you could do with some help!"

Now that attracted the attention of the others, as the Shadow was currently gathering energy, meaning they could have a little breather, since they knew it needed around thirty seconds to gather what it needed.

"Eeh...Dojima-san? You don't have a weapon, you can't help us..." said Yukiko, looking a bit uncomfortable pointing out the fact he couldn't help them...or so they thought.

Kazuya simply gave them a feral grin, before turning to look at Yu once again.

"I've been trained by Margaret, I'm sure this Shadow can't be worse than her." he said, causing the grey-haired teen's eyes to widen. He had never fought against Margaret himself, but what little he had been able to gather about her abilities was quite scary, he wasn't sure that with all of them going all out on her they would win.

"Senpai! Look out!" shouted Rise, just as the Shadow unleashed a devastating ice attack, freezing everything in its' path, only to hit a wall and disappear completely before reaching the group.

"I don't give a shit if you're me or not, but you'll do fine as stress relief." growled the only Caucasian present, cracking his knuckles. "No one fucks with my mind. And nobody touches my family."

-Break-

A battered Shadow looked up at a panting Kazuya, while the Investigation Team stood at a distance, leaving him to do what needed to be done. The battle had taken a rather unexpected direction when Kazuya had started hurling magic at the Shadow, especially since unlike their own, elemental attacks, he sent what Yu identified as Almighty attacks, which bypassed any kind of protection, even Mararakarn, which usually deflected any kind of magic. They had helped, of course, using as much physical attacks that they could, and the Shadow had eventually been vanquished, however, it had done a number on all of them. Luckily, none of them sported scars from this battle, though some of their older fights had left them with reminders that saving people wasn't easy nor risk-free.

The Investigation team watched as Kazuya accepted his Shadow, causing said Shadow to smile weakly as it was surrounded by blue light..

"Thou art I and I am Thou...I am Tsukuyomi, the Moon God."

Kazuya's Persona bore a strange resemblance to Yu's original Persona, Izanagi. Both wore long coats, though Tsukuyomi's was black with silver linings artfully decorating it. It also had a mask, with two holes letting two amber eyes shine through, with silver horns protruding from its forehead and forming a hollow circle. Its' fingers ended by metallic claws, and energy crackled around their tips.

As he gazed proudly upon his newly awakened Persona, Kazuya felt himself grow weak, not that he was very surprised, the fight had taken out a lot of him, so he sat down before his legs could no longer support him. Two seconds later, he was out like a light.

-Break-

From there on, things became very interesting for Kazuya. For the first time in years, he felt like he could be himself around other people than his family, and, even if he denied it, Naoto. Even Dojima seemed happy that his son socialized a bit, and Nanako was ecstatic that her older brother had made friends, since she too had worried about him. That had prompted him to take her with to Junes more often, and the young girl was often found beaming at her older brother, and her cousin. Yu had started to take the place of another older brother to her, and Kazuya made no effort to stop that, he even encouraged the two of them to spend time together.

There was also what he had learnt from the Investigation Team. Someone was putting people inside the "TV world" as they had dubbed it, causing them to face their Shadow, and if they hadn't been there, die as the manifestation of their repressed thoughts killed them. They had already a theory, and so far it seemed to have proven correct: all those that were aired on the news had been those put in the TV World, he himself had been the subject of a rather popular reportage. The media had wanted to know who was the person always hanging out with Naoto, and they had interviewed him. In the end, the reportage had earned him a bit of a reputation at Yasogami High, since the students there knew his asocial attitude quite well, not that he cared much for them.

He had told Naoto about what he'd found, and despite her reluctance to accept the supernatural, after being shown proof, she had been convinced that he was saying the truth. As a matter of fact, she had asked to help the Investigation Team, knowing full well what that entailed. There was no way someone without a Persona could help them in the TV World, therefore she needed to get her own. Unfortunately, that meant exposing her secret to the others, and he had told her so, she deserved to know what would happen before making a choice. However, she had said it was a price she was willing to pay if it could help her find the culprit behind the murder cases. Besides, she had the Investigation Team to help her.

-Break-

"So, uh...You're a girl?" asked Kanji, a bit lamely.

"Yes, Tatsumi-san, I am indeed female, not male. However, I fail to see how this is important. Right now, what is important is to find whoever puts the people in the TV World for them to be killed."

At that, the others nodded. They were sitting around a table at Junes, which had become their meeting place since it was close enough to Junes for them to easily get inside the TV World if need be.

"Now, let's go over what we know: all those that were rescued said they remembered been called to answer their door, and then woke up in the TV World. As such, it is safe to assume that the culprit is someone any of us would open their door for."

Once again, those present nodded. It made sense, after all.

"But who? I mean, sure, I understand the reasoning, but who would be able to fit the criteria, and who would be able to drag unconscious people to their place before dumping them in the TV?" asked Chie.

"That is an excellent question, Satonaka-san. However, it is the hardest one to answer, as Dojima-san here has shown the ability to use supernatural powers outside of the TV World. As such, there is a possibility that someone else might be able to do the same, and could for all we know teleport back to their home with their victims."

At that, everyone turned to look at Kazuya, who simply shrugged, as if saying So I can use supernatural powers whenever I want. Sue me.

In the end, they agreed to keep an eye open, and left.

-Break-

"This is going to complicate things." sighed Naoto, as she watched the police take custody of Kubo Mitsuo, whom they believed to be the serial killer.

Behind her, the others looked either disgusted by the boy who seemed to be relishing in the attention, despite the fact that he was being accused of killing several people, one of them being their teacher, not that they would miss the idiot. They knew Mitsuo couldn't be the true serial killer, after all there were too many inconsistencies in his story for him to be the true killer. There was distinct evidence of their teacher having been killed by a blow to the head, while there was absolutely no physical evidence on either of the other victims. What was more likely was that Mitsuo was a copycat, and that he merely imitated the other crimes.

"We could point out what's wrong to the police, don't you think that would make them think about it?" asked Chie, clearly unhappy about the situation.

Naoto and Kazuya surprisingly shook their heads in unison, causing the others to shake their heads at how similar the two of them were. It was clear for all of them that the two were attracted to each other, but neither of them seemed to be noticing it.

"At this point in time, I doubt it would do much good. The higher-ups wanted this case closed as soon as possible, with Kubo-san willing to claim all the murders as his own, they will be happy to use him as a scapegoat. And telling them they are wrong will just make them more willing to discredit us, so that their incompetence isn't shown to the public."

"So what? End of story, that's it?" growled Chie, clearly angry.

"I never said that, Satonaka-san. We still have to catch the true culprit, but we cannot bring this to the police until we have ironclad evidence, otherwise what we say will amount to nothing.

However, this is as much as a blessing to us than a curse. Now that the police will claim the culprit is arrested, the true culprit may become complacent and make mistakes that will lead us to them."

The others nodded at that. They were the only ones who knew the truth, and they weren't about to let a serial killer roam free!

-Break-

"And our last competitor...The Detective Princess, Shirogane Naaaoootoooo!"

The auditorium exploded into cheers and catcalls, but when the spotlight lighted the place where the bluenette was supposed to be standing in a swimsuit, there was nobody there.

"Shirogane-san?"

At the call of her name, a very flustered Naoto peeked her head from behind the stage.

"I...I can't do this."

And after saying that, she hastily retreated, leaving the contest for miss Yasogami with one competitor missing. However, seeing as she was too flustered to look where she was going, she ended up bumping into someone, and was about to fall down when a steadying hand caught her.

Looking up, she blushed a storm when she realized that the one to catch her was one Dojima Kazuya, who was apparently also very red, and looking at her bikini-clad body with appreciation in his eyes, before realizing what he was doing and looking away.

"A-a-ano, D-Dojima-san?" she stuttered, feeling distinctly uncomfortable being held by a male when she was barely covered.

"Er...Uuuuh...Sorry." he said, looking away from her as she stood up.

She was about to dart to the changing room when she felt someone handing her a coat.

"Thank you, Dojima-san."

Using the coat to cover herself, she felt a bit more at ease now that nobody could see her body. She watched as the young man had his back turned to her, and she felt herself feel a bit warm under the collar.

She was perfectly aware that he was quite handsome, she had heard many girls from Yasogami High saying it was a waste that someone so handsome was so asocial, but at least now he talked to other people. She had always tried to "be" a boy, acting like one, forcing herself to think like one, lest she slip up and compromise her disguise, but lately she had started to feel a bit more like the teenage girl she was, and it felt strange to her. Being able to be herself, not having to keep on a mask at all times made her feel better than she ever had while pretending being a male. However, what troubled her the most was the fact that she was starting to feel attracted to Dojima Kazuya.

He was unlike any other man she had met, he had known she was female, yet didn't seem to care about the information, using it merely to prove he could help her. That was also something that had startled her, his urge to help, to do the right thing. Many others would have tried to force her to let them help in the investigation, tried to leech information from her, tried to have themselves associated to the investigation, yet he hadn't, he had merely requested it, so long as it didn't hamper the investigation. He could use supernatural powers without using a Persona, yet he had never abused said powers. It was like someone had taken a Prince Charming out of a novel and given him form in the real world, he was simply too perfect to be true. Of course, she was aware of his less than stellar circumstances and the scars it left on his psyche, but she could admire him for that. Many a man would have turned far worse than he did, yet he had never done anything wrong in all the time she had known him.

She had also shared, albeit reluctantly, a bit of her life story with him, and he had not tried to pass judgment on her, he had merely accepted her for who she was. He hadn't tried to tell her she should act more like a girl, which in hindsight might be the reason why she felt the need to be more feminine.

"Dojima-san? Once I have dressed again, would you like to come with me sample the activities the festival has to offer?"

"...Sure, I'd like that."

-Break-

It was the letter that sent things spiraling out of control. Yu had received a few during his stay at the Dojimas, but the last one had been given to him by his Uncle himself, and he was not amused. Kazuya could only watch as his father dragged his cousin to the Police station, despite his own protestations.

"Kazuya, you stay here. I know you're always with Yu, so don't think I won't be having words with you later. Right now, I want you to take care of Nanako while I get to the bottom of this."

So he had reluctantly agreed. If the culprit knew where Yu lived, then there was no way in Hell he was leaving Nanako alone, especially at a time like this, it would be perfect for someone to come and kidnap her, and he would rather die than let it happen.

-Break-

It was later that evening that someone rang the door, and Nanako immediately went to open, saying it was the delivery man. However, when he heard that, Kazuya's mind clicked. He had been trying to find just who the culprit was, and his sister's words stroke him like lightning.

Who would you always open your door to? The delivery man.

How could you drag an unconscious body with you without being suspected? By using a delivery truck, nobody would look twice at one. There's even the place to store a TV there.

Then he remembered that Namatame Taro, the politician whose affair was the hot topic at the beginning of spring, was currently working as a delivery man, and that the first two victims were close to him.

"Nanako, don't open the door!" he shouted, already moving, but the distinct sound of the door opening made his blood turn cold, and he rushed to push his sister away from the pale man standing in front of her, who was already moving his arm to grab her.

He reached her a millisecond before the man, and quickly pushed her behind him, startling her.

"O...Onii-chan?" she asked, confused.

However, her confusion changed to shock and fear when the man took a knife out, pointing it towards Kazuya.

"M-M-Move! I will save her!" he stuttered, his knife clearly trembling. He was visibly not in his right state of mind, and seeing that Kazuya wasn't moving, he tried to scare him by thrusting the knife in a way that he thought threatening.

"Nanako, call Dad!" shouted the elder Dojima, while the little girl scrambled to do just that.

"NO! I WILL SAVE HER!" screamed the older man, struggling to push Kazuya aside.

However, the teenager didn't budge, and they struggled to incapacitate the other. It was almost an even match, for despite being younger, Kazuya was fitter, more used to physical struggles due to his training, while Namatame was a little stronger, and desperate. In his desperation, he tried to wave his weapon wildly, probably hoping that it would cause the younger male to back off, but that was without knowing the teenager in front of him. It simply caused the two of them to fall on the ground.

As luck had it, Kazuya, suddenly falling, released a bit of pressure on the knife that Namatame was holding, while the older man kept pushing with all his might. As such, the blade found itself buried in the teen's stomach, as he cried out in shock, followed quickly by a yelp when the delivery man realized that he had stabbed the teen.

"No. No no no no! I didn't want to do this! I wanted to save her! Why did you stop me?!" he shrieked, spit landing on Kazuya's face. Then his face set into a mask of determination, as he stood up, trying to get past the now downed teen.

"Even if I can't save you, I'll save her!" he said, trying to rush towards where Nanako had gone, only to have his foot caught by Kazuya.

"You..." growled the teen, trying to stop himself from crying in pain as the pressure of the ground drove the blade further into his body. " Stay here, you piece of shit!"

The last thing he saw was a foot coming down, before he was sent into the wall by the impact, his lower lip bursting. He laid there, his head ringing from the shock, no matter how much he tried to clear it.

Shit...

He could vaguely make out the screams of his sister when Namatame caught her and dragged her to his truck, screams that became even shriller when she spotted him on the ground, a blade in his gut and bleeding heavily, his face with a foot mark on it. At this point, he would have tried to unleash one or two of the nastiest elemental spells he knew, however he couldn't concentrate, and he would have risked harming his sister.

So he could only watch as his sister was abducted, warm blood slowly flowing from his body and forming a crimson pool around it.

-Break-

A very worried Naoto burst out of the door of the cab she had rented to check on the Dojima household. She had been contacted by a panicked inspector Dojima, claiming that his daughter had called him about a man trying to enter their house and fighting with her older brother, and asking her to check his house as she was closer to it than him at the moment. What had her worried was the fact that the distraught man had clearly said the call had been interrupted, meaning that whoever was trying to enter the house had managed to get past Kazuya, and that was not something she wanted to think about.

Reaching the door of the house, she realized it was still open, and she rushed inside. What she saw made her blood run cold. Leaning on the wall of the corridor was one Dojima Kazuya, his lower body covered in blood coming from a wound on his stomach, and trying to stand.

"Dojima-san!"

The scream caused the teenager to look up, and fix Naoto.

"Naoto..." he rasped."Namatame...He took my sister! We have to get her back!"

""We" will do nothing!" she snapped, surprised by her own anger." You will stay here until the ambulance comes! I will track Namatame! Now stop pushing yourself!"

With that, she carefully pushed him down, trying to limit the blood flow, even if Kazuya was clearly glaring at her.

After a couple of calls, one to the elder Dojima and the other requesting an ambulance, she looked at the teenager.

"Naoto, why aren't you looking for my sister?!" growled an irate and very agitated Kazuya.

"I already notified Dojima-san of Namatame's actions, and he was already tracking him. We also know that she is in no immediate danger, seeing as he will put her in the TV World, and we can ask Kujikawa-san and Teddie-san for her location.

You, on the other hand, are in a critical state, and as such I am obligated to make sure you do not overexert yourself. It is already a miracle you're still conscious with how much blood you lost."

"I'm fine." growled the teenager, though she could clearly see his eyes dropping every now and then, even if he tried to hide it.

"You are not fine, Dojima-san. Now silence, and wait for the ambulance!"

That sent the pair in an uncomfortable silence, only disturbed by the sound of rain.

"Dojima-san?" she asked, after a moment, trying to keep him awake.

There was no answer.

-Break-

"How is he?" asked Dojima Ryotaro, leaning on his crutches, worry clear on his haggard face.

He seemed to have aged nearly two decades in a few hours, not that anyone could blame him. His daughter had been abducted, and his son was in the Critical Care ward, while he himself was supposed to stay in his room after the car accident he got into while trying to catch Namatame.

The Investigation Team was there, all of them waiting with baited breath for what the surgeon was about to say. The females had puffy eyes, save for Naoto who was leaning on the wall, her arms crossed and a vacant look in her eyes. Nobody knew what had happened while she had been alone with Kazuya, but it seemed to have greatly shaken her.

"He's in a coma, right now. He lost too much blood, and his body is barely keeping him alive, which is already a miracle in itself. Anyone else would be dead, should be dead. I am sorry, Dojima-san. I doubt he will ever wake up." said the surgeon, looking like he himself could do with some sleep.

The elder man stumbled, his eyes wide, and he was only able to stay upright because his nephew had caught him.

"No..."

"Shit! Why him?!"

"Dojima-kun..."

By now the females in the Investigation Team were crying, while the males looked like they wanted to do the same, but were forcing themselves to stay strong for the sake of their friends. However all of them were surprised when Naoto bolted, leaving the group behind.

Rise was the first one to react.

"I'll go check on her."

-Break-

The former idol eventually found the bluenette standing outside, in the cold, her face looking at the sky.

"Naoto-kun?"

"What?" came the answer, though the voice was hoarse.

"Naoto-kun...You loved him, didn't you?" asked the former idol, standing a few feet behind the famous detective.

A derisive chuckle was heard, and Naoto turned. Rise could clearly make out the tears trailing down her cheeks, and felt her heart break for the poor girl. She didn't know herself what she would do if Yu was ever in the same situation than his cousin, but she doubted she would react nearly as well.

"I don't even know. I spent so much time with him these last few months, it just became normal for me to seek him out. I was trying to understand, you know? Trying to see if I was really in love with him."

"And what did you find?" asked Rise, softly.

"I think I am in love with him. I realized that when I saw him trying to get up, a knife in his stomach, trying to save his sister. But what good will it do? There's a chance he will never wake up."

"And there is a chance that he will. Naoto-kun, you should tell him. Even if he isn't conscious, I'm sure he will hear you.

But for now, we need to get Nanako-chan back, it's what he would have wanted."

Naoto gave a watery smile at that. However there was something in it that sent shivers down Rise's spine. There was something wrong with that smile. However, she said nothing, and the two teenagers went back inside the hospital.

-Break-

"No, not her!"

"Dammit, why?!"

Cries of fury could be heard in the Critical Care Waiting Room, as the news of Nanako's passing were heard. The poor girl hadn't survived the strain of being in the TV World for too long, and her body had simply stopped working.

Three people were taking the loss especially hard, Nanako's father, her cousin, and lastly, Shirogane Naoto. She seemed to be in shock, too many losses in the span of mere days having taken their toll on her. But more than that, the significance of the losses was what had her so deeply affected. She had learnt that the boy she loved may never wake up, and she had sworn to save his sister even if it was the last thing she did, yet she had failed even that.

In her desperation, she sought an outlet, and a very convenient one was quite close. Namatame Taro was in the hospital, and she felt her sadness change to rightful fury when she realized that everything could be laid at his feet, Kazuya's coma, and Nanako's death.

She discreetly left, feeling the familiar weight of the gun she carried in her pocket.

Namatame would pay for his deeds.

-Break-

"Why, senpai? WHY?!" screamed a crying Naoto, as she was held back by Narukami Yu. She had been very close to killing Namatame, and only the fact that she had been tackled by Yu had prevented her from painting the wall red with his blood.

"Kazuya wouldn't have wanted that. Neither would have Nanako." said the grey-haired teen, softly, and Naoto recoiled as if she had been truck.

"So what? We let him get away with it?" growled Yosuke, pointing at she trembling form of Namatame who was babbling in a corner.

"We're missing something." said the grey-haired teen, causing the Prince of Junes to grab his collar.

"So what?! Are you going to let him go free?!"

"Yosuke, calm down." said a very serious Yu.

As if there was some kind of hidden magic in his words, the others seemed to come out of their agitated state.

-Break-

After taking the time to review the facts, they managed to discover that Namatame was not, in fact, responsible for the first two murders, but he had indeed kidnapped each one of them, out of a misguided attempt to protect them from the serial killer, believing the TV World to be a safe haven.

He had thought his power gave him the responsibility to protect people, and as such he had kidnapped those he had seen appear of the Midnight Channel, which would be the next victims. He had then put them into the TV World, expecting to release them once the serial killer was caught. He had never known that by doing so, he was endangering them, and once he learnt of that, he was quite distraught. The fact that the Investigation Team had rescued each of his victims had even given him the "proof" he was indeed saving people.

In the end, the Investigation Team couldn't hold him responsible, after all he had, in his own way, tried to do the right thing. However, that didn't mean they forgave him, only that they could understand his actions. There was also the fact that since he wasn't responsible for the first two deaths, then the true culprit was still at large. But to know they hadn't killed an almost innocent man made them feel a bit better.

-Break-

The very first thing Kazuya noticed upon waking, was the fact that he felt like shit, his stomach was hurting him and his head was throbbing like crazy. The second thing he noticed was the group of people looking at him as if he had just told them, with proof, that the Earth was flat and a pizza, and the continents were the toppings.

"What?" he asked, both irritated and confused by the stares of the Investigation Team.

As if his words were some kind of switch, the room erupted in cheers, screams of joy and hugs. However, what he did notice amongst the surrounding chaos were two things: the first was his father, with Nanako standing next to him, both of them in hospital gowns. They both looked a bit tired, but otherwise fine. The second thing was that there was a very beautiful female detective looking like her dearest wish had come true, standing a little to the side of the others.

"You idiot! You've made us all worry! Sleeping three weeks, what were you thinking, jeez?!" said a smiling Chie, while Yosuke grinned and nodded.

"Onii-chan!" shouted Nanako, as she jumped on his bed to hug him, making him wince, but he bore with it. After all, she was all right, and that was all that mattered.

He watched as the others left, to give him some privacy with his family. The last one to leave was Naoto, and she mouthed I'll be back later, to which he gave a small nod of confirmation. Now was the time to spend some time with his family.

-Break-

It was much later, long after the staff had ran tests to make sure he was fine, that Naoto entered his room, just as he was looking at the scar on his stomach. Surprisingly, it barely stung, then again, he had always been a fast healer, and the fact that he had spent three weeks in a coma had probably helped his body repair the damage done when Namatame had stabbed him.

It was the bluenette's "eep" that alerted him of her presence, as he was too deep in thought to realize she had entered his room. Considering her character, he wasn't really surprised by her reaction, she had never been at ease when it came to things that could be misinterpreted. And seeing him shirtless had certainly not been something she had expected.

Hastily putting a shirt on, he turned to greet her, and felt his heart clench at how cute she looked, her cheeks a deep red and fidgeting under his gaze. Gone was the always composed Detective Prince(ss), there was only a teenage girl in front of him, and a very beautiful one at that.

"So, how did you fare while I was playing Sleeping Beauty?" he asked, trying to defuse a bit of the awkwardness of the situation.

"...Not well. Not well, at all, much to my shame." she finally mumbled, looking both angry and ashamed. "I would have killed Namatame, if senpai hadn't stopped me." she confessed, causing him to look at her in shock.

For someone like her, who had a very strong sense of what was right and wrong, to actually try to murder someone, she had to be seriously out of it. Of course, his father had told him what had happened while he was unconscious, and he could understand her actions. If he had been in her place, Namatame would have been dead, and damn the consequences! Anyone who dared to harm his family, and especially Nanako, an innocent child, deserved to be put down like the rabid dogs they were.

"Don't feel guilty, had I been in your place, I would have killed him, even if from what my cousin told me, he didn't truly deserve it. Then again, I think I might be a bit biased." he joked, pointing to his stomach.

However, his joke didn't seem to affect Naoto, who was looking at him while biting her lip, a sight that many would have called adorable, since she was quite small when compared to him.

"Naoto?"

"I am sorry, Dojima-san, no, Kazuya. I failed to protect your sister. I am ashamed to say that I failed you."

"Failed...me? What are you talking about? Sure, I wanted you to rescue my sister, and that's what you did. Heck, Yu told me that they often had to drag you behind them when you were exploring the dungeon she was in, otherwise you would never have left before you rescued her. I don't think I could have asked more of you."

Naoto was now looking at him if he had sprouted another head.

"But...She died!"

"...And yet now she is alive, safe and sound. She is even worried about you, you know? Naoto...I know there's something you aren't telling me. I won't pry, since it probably isn't my business anyway, but I'll say this: don't hold yourself responsible for what happened to my sister. You did your best to save her, and even if it isn't entirely thanks to you, she is alive, and that's all I care about."

As he said that, he gave her a small smile, which in his opinion she had more than earned. For a moment, she seemed uncertain about something, before she closed the door and sat down on one of the chairs that had been dragged to his room by the others earlier.

"Naoto?"

"Please be quiet, Kazuya. This is...difficult for me."

Taking a deep breath, she looked up to meet his eyes.

"I have come to realize, in the last three weeks, just how much I missed having you with me. You were the first person, outside of my family, to treat me like an actual person, and not as the idolized Detective Prince or as a teenager trying to "play cop". At first, I admit, I was merely curious about the person who had managed to see through my disguise. But the more time I spent around you, and the Investigation Team, the more I realized I enjoyed your presence."

Kazuya was fixing the bluenette with incredulity. Was she really going to say what he thought she was going to say? To him, the most asocial person in Yasogami High? No way!

"I came to a realization, when I saw you that night, when you were stabbed. When I saw you there, trying to stand and go after the man that abducted your sister despite your injury, I felt as if my world was crumbling."

By now, he could see tears begin to pour from her eyes, yet he stood there, too stunned to stop her.

"When you passed out from blood loss, I should have tried to give you first aid, but I was panicking, I was afraid. What if I did it wrong? What if I made things worse?

When I heard that you would be in a coma and might not wake up...That's when I realized. I loved you. The Detective Prince I may be, yet I was not able to figure out my own feelings before it was almost too late. Pathetic, isn't it?"

He was at a loss about what to say, after all due to his asocial nature, it wasn't as if he was very experienced with crying females, well beyond his little sister that is. Of course, considering that usually to calm Nanako down he needed to hug her, he didn't think it would be a very good solution right then and there.

Instead, he put a gentle, if slightly unsure, hand on the bluenette's head, and gave her a small smile.

"I don't think it's pathetic. Hell, if love was easy to understand, there might be a bit more happiness in this world. Besides, you're used to think with logic, when love is about the farthest thing from logic you can find. And I'd be a hypocrite to criticize you for not knowing what you feel, I'm not exactly the most emotionally stable person around.

Anyway, sorry if I look like a bastard by asking this, but are you sure you love me? I mean, sure, I like the idea of a beautiful girl falling for me,"-at those words, Naoto's cheeks darkened noticeably-" but what exactly is so good about me? I mean, I'm an asocial guy who's overprotective of his family, I'm messed up in the head something fierce, and, well, I'm not even that good-looking."

This time, it was Naoto who gave him a smile. He was mesmerized by how much the action changed her, how such a simple thing could change her from a stern beauty to a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

As he stood there, mesmerized by the sight, she reached for his neck and going on the tip of her toes, she gave him a very small peck on the lips, before looking away, embarrassed.

"Those are a few of the reasons I love you for, Kazuya. Don't change, that is all I ask."

-Break-

Kazuya glared at the giant eyeball floating above the shadow image of Inaba in the TV World. In the end, they had discovered the culprit, and they had been quite surprised by his identity. The culprit was none other than Adachi, his father's useless assistant, who had turned out to be a very dangerous sociopath, caring for little else than his own sick amusement. He had manipulated Namatame to kidnap people for the fun of it, not caring it they died or not. He had sent the letters to Yu because he had grown tired of his group saving the people in the TV World, because he wasn't entertained anymore.

They had managed to corner him, but the bastard had escaped in the TV in Namatame's room, and the worse was when they entered the TV World, they discovered that the insane cop wasn't even threatened by the Shadows, in fact they seemed to obey him. However, after a long battle they had managed to subdue him, only for the giant eyeball to appear and claim it was going to cover the world in fog, as it was supposedly mankind's desire. The thing's name was Ameno-sagiri, and it was seriously starting to piss him off.

That thing was the reason two women died, the reason why people were running around like lost children, and it was trying to turn mankind into Shadows? It was the reason his sister had nearly died, the reason why Namatame had gone crazy and thought he had to protect people? Fine. He had some serious reasons to want it dead, or whatever meant it was gone from the world, preferably with extreme prejudice.

Seeing the others of the Investigation Team getting ready for battle, he grinned. Before long, that thing was going to get its' due for messing around with humans.

-Break-

With a surprisingly synchronized battlecry, Ameno-Sagiri was defeated by the combined might of the Investigation Team, each of them unleashing their most powerful skills on the supernatural being.

Yosuke, and his newly evolved Persona, Susano-o, tore their enemy apart with gigantic tornados.

Chie and her Persona counterpart Suzuka Gongen hammered its' shell with powerful physical attacks and ice skills.

Yukiko and Amaterasu burnt everything in their path, unleashing Hell on their foe.

Kanji and Rokuten Maoh hammered Ameno-Sagiri's body with physical attacks and lightning.

Rise and Kanzeon, despite their lack of battle ability, did more than their part by pointing out their enemy's weak points.

Teddie and Kamui rained powerful ice skills down on the one who thought it could mess around with humans.

Yu used his Wild Card's abilities to their fullest, summoning different, very powerful Personas, using a variety of skills, ice, fire, wind, ice, physical, name it and he sent it towards the cause of the fog that had covered Inaba.

However, despite the heat of the battle, he only had eyes for his girlfriend. Naoto, using Yamato-Takeru, unleashed Almighty upon Almighty skills, all the while glaring at the being that had caused the events that had almost cost him his life.

And finally, there was himself. He had unleashed Tsukuyomi's magic and his own on the being, in a maelstrom of pure power, destroying the landscape around him with little care save for the safety of his friends.

The battle had been a hard one, Ameno-Sagiri being a foe far more powerful than any of the Shadows they had faced until then, yet despite that, despite their wounds they had continued to fight, for abandoning would mean dooming the world.

With a final attack, the giant eyeball was defeated, dissolving into nothing, leaving them with a few parting words:

The wishes of mankind are my wishes. I shall go back to sleep, but should mankind wishes call for it, I shall rise again. Well done showing me mankind's potential, children of new possibilities.

-Break-

And life went on. Now that the threat of having mankind turned into mindless Shadows had been averted, the Investigation Team was finally free to enjoy some much deserved peace. Interestingly, Naoto and Kazuya, despite their rather solitary natures, were the first couple among the team, followed closely by Yu and Rise, the idol having finally gotten enough of the rather unresponsive teen. She had kissed him in front of his entire class, leaving him little chance to decline without causing a major fuss. Despite their own sayings that they weren't a couple, Yukiko and Kanji's behavior had betrayed them, as the tall teen tended to make regular visits to the Amagi Inn, while Yukiko seemed to go shopping at Tatsumi's Textiles quite a bit. However, knowing that they would distance themselves from each other if they were teased too much, the others simply let them be. The last ones to get together were Yosuke and Chie, and that had been more an accident than anything else.

It had been Yosuke who had tripped and ended up on top of the kung-fu fan, and after some teasing from Rise, the situation had somehow ended in Chie demanding to know why the brunette didn't find her attractive. Of course, being a bit nervous at the sight of an enraged girl, he had blurted out that he found her quite pretty in her own right, leading to an awkward silence. Two weeks later, they had told their friends that they were together.

Despite enjoying his high school life, Kazuya couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. As if they had defeated Ameno-sagiri, but that something far more dangerous lurked in the background, waiting to once again cover the world in fog. He had told Yu, and his cousin had surprisingly agreed, saying that he himself felt as if he was missing something. After all, there were disturbing inconsistencies here and there.

First, how did Adachi, Namatame and Yu gain their powers when they didn't confront their Shadows? Who started the rumors about the Midnight Channel, the source of everything?

-Break-

As they gazed upon the true responsible of the murder cases, the Investigation Team couldn't help but shudder. In front of them was a gigantic being wrapped in grey bands, displaying a human sized, female human upper body. Said being was Izanami, a Goddess, and the one who had given Yu, Adachi and Namatame their powers, who had started the rumor about the Midnight Channel. She was the one who had created Ameno-Sagiri, who had caused everything.

He watched as the others grew angry at the Goddess, while he merely observed. The others may not have noticed, or have simply disregarded that fact because they had been able to deal with all their foes, if narrowly, so far, but Izanami was way, way too powerful for them to defeat. His gaze flickered towards his cousin. He was the one with the best chances of defeating the Goddess, after all, Izanagi, his first Persona, was the husband of Izanami in Shinto's lore. There was also the fact that he was, as Margaret and Igor had said, a "Wild Card", meaning he could gain strength from the bonds he had created with people if he had understood their explanations well. And Yu had created many, many bonds in his time in Inaba.

-Break-

"Senpai! NOOOOOO!"

"Stop! Narukami-kun! Help!"

Kazuya watched, helplessly, as one by one, his friends were sucked Kami know where by Izanami's Thousand Curses. Black, spectral arms sprouted from the ground and pushed his friends through dark portals, despite their struggles. He himself had only been able to avoid getting sucked by using his magic to destroy the arms that came too close to him or Naoto, but even then, he was tiring quickly.

In the span of a millisecond it had taken him to glance at Izanami, black arms went through his defenses, and grabbed Naoto, dragging her down as he tried desperately to catch her, all idea of protecting himself gone as he reached for her. He could see panic, and utter terror in her eyes, as her face was slowly sucked into the ground, his fingers brushing against her own. The last thing he saw before getting sucked in himself was her beautiful face contorted in a silent plea for help.

-Break-

Kazuya blearily opened his eyes. He remembered being dragged into some kind of dark void by Izanami's Thousand Curses, but nothing after that. He cringed at the sudden light, but his eyes soon adapted to the ambient luminosity, and he realized that he was laying on his back, in the middle of a field, gazing at a clear blue, and devoid of clouds, sky. Was he dead, and in Heaven? Or did Yu manage to defeat Izanami, bringing him back from wherever he had been dragged?

Looking around, he spotted his friends waking up, but they were apparently the only ones there. Then Teddie proceeded to cheer as he explained they were still in the TV World, which was now back to what he remembered it to be. The resident bear had discovered, shortly after Nanako's "death", that he was in fact a Shadow that had somehow gained sentience. Far from ostracizing him for that, the Team welcomed him with open arms, as they understood perfectly that he was nothing like his mindless counterparts.

As the others cheered and went for a group hug, he went for Naoto, fully intending to make sure she was all right. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but grin at the thought that his cousin had defeated a Goddess. He himself had been there, and even if he hadn't been able to do as much as he wanted, he, along with the others had been able to inflict significant damage to a being that was above almost anything humans could send its' way.

Ha! How many people can say they've stood their ground against a Goddess, even if it was for but a moment?

But at least now, they were sure everything was going to be alright. There would be no more weird murder cases, no more world-large threats, no more risking their lives to save the ignorant masses.

How wrong he was, thinking he could stay out of trouble.

So, some of you might find I rushed parts, specifically between the moment where Kazuya wakes up and when they comfront Ameno-Sagiri, as well as the battle with Izanami, and that's your right. I simply didn't think I would make it as awesome as it was in Persona 4-The Animation (if you don't know Persona 4's story, watch it, it's really a good anime, though you'll get spoiled if you intend to play the game).

Next part should be out soon, I need to re-work it a bit.