A/N: I dunno how this came out, and I know I should finish my other stories, but meh....

Well, I hope you enjoy this. I dunno if I want to finish this or not though.

EDIT: Fixed a few things, tried to make it flow better. Not too much change in the overall plot though.

Rift

Prologue

There was always a rift between them.

It kept him away from Inaba, despite the many invitations from his friends. It kept her in the Inn, even when she had free time. Neither of them went with the rest of the Investigation team when they did something together, whether it be the numerous clubs Rise knew of or to Junes to speak of old times. Yosuke, Chie, Kanji, Naoto, Rise and Teddie tried to enjoy the times they had together, but it just wasn't the same without Yukiko and Souji. The two never came, even when they knew the other wouldn't be there. Afraid, they distanced themselves from everyone, tearing the Team apart and burying themselves in their work. Well, at least Yukiko did. None of them even knew what Souji was doing now. It had been only a year since the murders, so Souji was likely in school somewhere in the city. Yukiko still attended Yasogami High, but the Amagi Inn was quickly becoming her priority in life.

Chie couldn't even remember the last time she saw Yukiko outside of school. It was making her heart break, seeing her best friend like this. And she knew it was all his fault. The bastard Yukiko's parents tried to marry her off to better have left her alone these past few months, because Chie was itching to kick him in the face again.

Aiji Kato had come into their lives when Souji arrived in Inaba. He was a third year, now a graduate, that also transferred over to their high school during the time of the murders. He came from a rich, pompous traditional family that had an interest in the Inn. Smart, good-looking, and kind, there was only word that could have described him: Perfect. Perfect, except for one fact. He had trouble keeping only one woman.

Having been raised knowing that he could have anything he wanted, having multiple wives was something that could be granted to him. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, he was just like that. He truly was a good person, donating to charities and helping out the poor; he just had a tendency to get bored with the people and things around him quickly. He switched from one woman to the next as quickly as Tomoe could kick.

He had caught Yukiko's eye, and that was an achievement in itself. To actually have become her boyfriend and then her fiancé, well, it was like striking a gold mine. They had been secretly dating and would have stayed that way if Souji hadn't fallen in love with Yukiko.

He spent a lot of time with her, listening to her talk about the Inn, trying her cooking, and helping her realize that what she really wanted to do was take over the Inn, not leaving it like her shadow originally seemed to want. He spent a lot of time with everyone else, helping them discover things about themselves that changed their lives forever. However, he spent the most time with Yukiko, and Chie knew that it couldn't have been because she still had problems for Souji to solve.

Sometime before the battle with Namatame, he had confessed his love for the red-wearing girl at the front of the shrine. She had promptly slapped him across the face, about to accuse him of trying to get a girl that was already taken when she realized that nobody but she and Aiji knew they were dating. Apologizing, she told the silver-haired boy that she had been secretly dating someone for the past few months and that she was truly sorry for not being able to like him back. He was her friend after all, who had listened to her without complaints and tried her abominable cooking. He had accepted the apology, and smiled painfully while saying, "I understand."

Nobody else had noticed the pain Souji was going through, and how he distanced himself from everyone, saying even less than he usually had.

During a meeting at Junes, the Investigation Team was discussing the true identity of murderer behind everything, when Yukiko's parents and Aiji's parents showed up with Aiji in tow. Confused, they watched as Aiji got on one knee and took out a black box, proposing to the fan-wielding Persona holder in front of the whole food court. She had gaped, shocked that he had gone to their parents and told them everything about them, even proposing to her! He replied, saying that he hadn't told their parents anything and that they had somehow found out. That was when Souji spoke up.

"I found out," he stated. "It was me who told them about you two. I thought it would be the wisest thing to do, as I saw Aiji walking out of the jewelry store after buying a ring." He paused for breath before continuing. He had not spoken a full sentence in a while, let alone 3 in a row. Mentally preparing himself, he covered his face with an unreadable mask, hiding his emotions under his skin.

"I wondered why you had bought that, if you never had a girlfriend and your mother was rich enough to buy 100 rings herself. This might sound like I'm a stalker, but I followed you to your meeting with Miss Amagi-san by the shrine, and when you kissed her as a greeting, I knew," he explained. Chie had chuckled, seeing as that was something only Souji would have done. Though Naoto was a detective, she respected peoples privacy and kept out of their private lives if she could.

"Therefore, I pieced together that you were going to propose sometime, and I knew you weren't going to tell your parents. Amagi-san hadn't even told me she was dating someone, and I doubted that someone with a high status like you could get away with a hidden girlfriend unless the girlfriend kept quiet herself. So I decided to do you a favor, and explained the situation to your parents, and by doing that, I diffused their anger." Yukiko's parents had laughed, saying that if it Seta hadn't been the one to tell them first, they would have gored the Aiji boy already without a second thought. Aiji had nervously laughed and gave a grateful handshake to Souji.

"Thanks. If it weren't for you, then this would have turned out so much worse. I'm in your debt," he laughed. As Souji laughed with him, Chie had noticed how forced it sounded and how sad it was as well. It seemed that Yosuke, Rise, Kanji, Naoto, and Teddie had noticed too. They stood in a suffocating silence and watched the happy couple leave the food court to go to the Amagi Inn with their parents.

After they had left, Souji also left in a rush, saying how the meeting would be pointless without everyone there. Without giving anyone time to say anything to him, he was gone. All of them had realized the tragedy that had happened, and their hearts wept for Souji's pain. They cursed themselves for not noticing sooner. Well, everyone did, except for Teddie. He had no clue what was going on.

"Why's everyone so sad? Shouldn't we be happy for Yukiko-chan?" he asked. Chie looked at everyone's faces and noticed how they seemed reluctant to explain. She took the lead.

"Teddie, didn't you notice Souji's laugh?" she started. Teddie nodded and said how it was sad like everyone's expressions.

"Teddie, Souji must have fallen for Yukiko. A-and he tried to make her happy by letting her be with the one she loves. That's the simplest way to put it." The bear had gone wide-eyed, to blank faced, to outright bursting into tears.

"P-poor Sensei! WAHHHHHHHHH!!! I… I wanna be happy for Yuki-chan but Sensei must be so SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he sobbed. Rise couldn't hold her tears any longer, and burst into tears with Teddie. Kanji only clenched his fist and stood there silently shaking. Naoto's eyes were hard as she paced back and forth, analyzing the situation to see if there was any way to help Souji. Chie caught Yosuke's eyes and a silent agreement passed between them.

You help Souji and I'll check out this Aiji guy, make sure he's not a womanizer or something.

So she checked him out, and found that he was the biggest womanizer she had ever seen in her life. From strip clubs to taking random girls into his home, she knew this was NOT going to end well for Yukiko. She tried to tell her, but the girl wouldn't listen, stating that Chie was on Souji's side and she understood if Chie was angry at her for hurting their Leader. Chie tried and tried, but to no avail.

After Adachi had been caught, Izanami dealt with, and Souji had gone, the Team tried to help Yukiko understand who she was about to marry. Nothing they said would daunt her, and she finally lost her cool. She obviously thought they were against her only because Souji mattered to them more than she did, which was totally untrue. Distancing herself from everyone, even Chie, Yukiko found out.

She had planned to give Aiji a surprise cake she had baked. None of them knew the exact details after that, but they at least knew she was given a front-row view of Aiji Kato undressing a random whore from a strip club in the city.

And that brought them to where they were now. Yukiko depressed and un-engaged and Souji depressed from the beginning and still depressed.

Oh joy.

A/N: Wow, I just looked through that and realized how much that SUCKED. GAH.