Chapter 3: Identity

Souji stared at the train terminal, glancing at his wrist watch. Five minutes before his train got there. He turned to look over his shoulder. Hoping against hope that he'd see someone. Anyone. Surely someone would come to see him off, right? Their friendships had to have meant something, right?

But there was no one.

Had his time there been meaningless? Had the friendships and their work been for nothing? It tore at Souji's heart. He felt like it was being cut out of his chest. He felt like he was going to be sick from it. Did no one care? Had it all been a lie? Even Nanako and Dojima had left him. Dropped off and then headed away.

Nanako hadn't talked to him in weeks. Months since she called him 'Big Bro.' Naoto had finished the case and just left without so much as a goodbye. Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke only interacted with him as much as school allowed, or work. Kanji and Rise even less so. The other friends he made had each gone their separate ways as well.

Had it all been a lie? He couldn't help but wonder on that question again. It had been so real for Souji, he had finally had friends. He had learned what it meant to smile again and actually be genuinely happy. He... He couldn't. He couldn't leave Inaba like this. He couldn't return to the cold hellish existence that had been his life before Inaba. His footsteps went forward. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down as he thought of the better times. He could hear the train coming and he took a step off the platform.

"Senpai!" A loud crash sounded as a hand grabbed at his shirt, jerking him towards the light. "We need you!"

Souji's eyes snapped open and he breathed heavily, as hard as he could, desperate for air to fill his lungs. The eight bit sphere of blocks broke apart. Souji could feel the hot tears spilling down his cheeks. Naoto stood over him, her hand fisted in his shirt. In the reflection of her glasses, he could see that he was pale. "Pull it together!" She smacked him across the face.

Souji's terrified expression turned murderous as he faced the Shadow of Mitsuo Kubo. Fury spilled forth and he gave an unarticulated roar of primal anger and hatred. Adrenaline surged through his face as tarot cards suddenly swirled around him. "I am nothing like you!" Souji bellowed as he took two steps forward, away from the sleuth. He had to believe that his friends weren't going to abandon him.

His Persona streamed forth. They made for an impressive sight, each one coming out. Fire, Wind, Lightning, Ice, curses, physical attacks, all of his Persona charged at Shadow Mitsuo with everything they had. The explosive blocks that made up the defensible armor around Shadow Mitsuo were stripped away by the actions of his Persona. They sacrificed themselves if necessary to rip at the shell.

'Izanagi!" Souji roared. The black coat wearing Persona came down from the heavens with spear in hand, bringing it down on Shadow Mitsuo to impale the infantile facade. A harsh twist came from his first Persona as it gave a guttural and metal screeching sound of rage to match Souji's fury.

Mitsuo's Shadow appeared once more. The dark haired teen got from the floor, giving a slight almost hysterical laugh. "I'm not nothing you hear me? I did it!" He shouted. The Shadow disappeared into a puff of smoke, much to the surprise of the Investigation Team.

But Souji, still seething with fury, still full of anger and hatred, he stalked over to Mitsuo and grabbed his shoulder. He spun the teen around and stepped into the punch. It was the sort of punch that anyone half trained could see coming, the sort of punch that was telegraphed and should never have hit.

But Mitsuo was hardly in the right state of mind.

Souji's fist plowed into the other boy's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Souji could hear his compatriots, but he turned and began to storm off. Mitsuo wasn't the killer of anyone but Morooka. But Souji was too furious to care if the other boy lived or died at the moment. He stormed off out the gates and down the stairs. The others would catch up.

The eventually did so, Souji having taking to sitting on the stairs at the TV set. Teddie opened the path to let them out. Rise went first to give the all clear signal before they moved Mitsuo out, Yosuke and Kanji lugging Mitsuo between them. Souji could see the concerned looks he was getting as he brought up the rear and stepped out.

Souji adjusted his bag with his gear. "See you guys tomorrow." He said before he started to walk off. He wanted, needed to be alone.

Naoto adjusted the small bag she had. That had been quite unexpected and certainly out of character for Souji Seta. She had found him to be quite calm and collected, yet the seething fury that gripped him was impossible to ignore. She turned to the others. "Report this to the police. I will deal with Seta-Senpai." She said.

"Are you sure? Maybe one of us-" Rise began.

"This may require an impersonal touch." Naoto said. Frivolous attraction between them aside, Naoto was quite capable of compartmentalizing. She began to walk away, following after Souji before he got too far. Besides the need of an impersonal touch, Naoto had the means to make certain he would stay long enough to listen to her.

She caught up to him at the elevators and held the door, stepping in with him before pressing the down button. "You need coffee Seta-Senpai. My apartment is closer." Her tone brokered no argument. "If even summoning a single Persona once is draining, I cannot begin to fathom how tired you are after showing your entire deck." She said.

Souji looked like he was about to argue. But he ran a hand through his silver hair. "Fine." He said. His tone was a resigned one, and drained. Like he just didn't have it in him to argue.

Naoto pulled her cell phone out and flipped it open. She quickly pressed the current speed dial assigned to four. She brought the phone up to her ear.

"Dojima here." Came the older Detective's voice.

"Dojima-san, it's Shirogane." She said. She noticed the mild surprise on Souji's face. "I've asked Seta-san to assist me in a personal project and as such he might not be home until late tonight. I would recommend going home to be with your daughter."

Dojima was quiet on the other end of the line for about a half second. "I can't and you know that Shirogane-san. The case-"

"The case will cause you to burn out and right now, tonight, your daughter needs you there. Please don't be stupid Dojima-san, you've been one of the few to actually listen to my warnings." It was vague enough Dojima would understand that Souji was next to her, and that she technically wasn't allowed to talk about the case in front of a civilian. Not that Souji didn't already know, but that was neither here nor there. "I am certain you can throw yourself back to it with more vigor tomorrow."

Dojima gave a slight sound. "Fine. You're right Shirogane-san. Make sure Souji is alright."

"Of course Dojima-san. Good evening." Naoto said. She waited a moment before hanging up.

"You called my uncle." Souji said, giving a flat look, almost disappointed even.

"I called your uncle so that he might return to watch over your cousin." Naoto said. "This way you won't use it as an excuse to leave. I am also aware none of your part time jobs have you scheduled for a Monday evening, so there is no excuse there." Naoto glanced over to Souji. "And I have a feeling you are already grasping at ideas on how to politely decline a cup of coffee."

Souji shook his head. "Alright Naoto-kun, you win." He said simply.

"Good." Naoto liked hearing that she won. She was a very driven, even somewhat competitive individual. She continued walking until she came to her apartment building. Inaba didn't have the large apartment complexes that some of the major cities had. In fact, the one she stayed in was one of three in the entire city. The rent was reasonable and she was able to get one on the third floor.

She liked heights.

She led Souji up to the top floor and to her apartment, opening the door. It was a very simple apartment. More Spartan than anything, with minimal personal furnishings. About the largest piece was a bookshelf with about two shelves of some of her favorites. She did have a sofa and a recliner, but still, they were well within reasonable to move up the stairs outside for professional movers.

She had been very aware of the fact that she would have an apartment on the third floor and didn't bring many things.

She went to the small kitchen. Admittedly, she was thankful the kitchen had come with a fridge. She started to prepare some coffee, grinding the beans fresh. While she would have preferred the tools and variety at the estate, she made do with the simpler things she had.

She was not expecting Souji to open her fridge and look inside. "What are you doing?" She asked him sharply.

"Seeing what you have." He began to gather a few ingredients. "You have the makings for California Rolls. You dragged me to have coffee, the least I could do is make some dinner."

Naoto didn't know how he could tell she had the makings for California Rolls. She had been saving the ingredients for when they caught Mitsuro when she could enjoy them properly. Her culinary prowess was... Limited. If she followed a recipe book, she would be fine. "I-I can do that." She cursed the embarrassed stutter.

Damn it, she enjoyed the idea of a man that could cook. And if he knew that she had the ingredients in the mess that was her fridge at a mere glance, it meant Souji Seta could invariably cook. But he already had the ingredients out and set to washing what needed washed. He set himself a small portion of the counter that he kept neat and tidy.

"You don't even know if I like California Rolls. I don't." It was a bold faced lie, they were her favorite food. Period. Especially with a bit of extra avocado included in them.

"The crab is fresh, the avocado is fresh. I bet you bought them within the last day or two." Souji said. "You're a very bad liar Naoto-kun. Besides, this soothes me."

She sighed but let him continue making the California Rolls. If it relaxed him, she could hardly fault him. "Fine." But she continued preparing the coffee. She poured him a cup. "How do you like it?"

"Surprise me." He said.

She nodded and made a second cup. She didn't measure out the sugar, she had been preparing her coffee long enough to know how she liked it. Black with a dash of sugar. She did the same to Souji' slid the cup over and stood in front of the fridge. If he wanted out of the kitchen, he would have to go through her or over the bar, and Souji did not strike her as the type to do either. She sipped from her own cup. "What happened?" She asked without preamble.

Souji was quiet, gathering his thoughts likely. "How much do you know about me?" He asked her.

"Less than I'd like to right now." Naoto said. She couldn't help him, and the Investigation Team needed its leader. And he needed to keep a level head that had not been there moments ago.

Souji finished wrapping the sushi and put it on a plate. "My father's side of the family... Owns... Seta Telecommunications." That was a touch surprising to Naoto. "My uncle actually is the current CEO. My cousin is being groomed to take over when my uncle retires. Before we owned one of the largest Telecom companies in Japan, we were still old money. Trace the line back far enough, we were Samurai." Souji drank from the coffee cup. "Kendo wasn't something I picked. It was picked for me. Dad said it'd teach me discipline."

Naoto frowned at that. Coming from a prestigious name herself, she could understand some of the obligations. But her grandfather made sure she did what she wanted, not what she was obligated to do. She was aware of a few marriage proposals sent her grandfather's way that he had promptly shredded. Shirogane wasn't necessarily as old of a name as Seta, and it didn't boast that kind of wealth, but it still held its own fame. Five Generations of Detectives with over a century of work. If she traced her line back enough, her family had contacts within the Shinsengumi.

Souji inhaled a bit. "My dad is one of my uncle's best executives. Had nothing to do with nepotism either. And because of that, we had to travel around a lot. Mom is pretty much Dad's secretary. They're a pair and they just work great." He shook his head and popped a bit of sushi into his mouth. "Every few months, a year tops, we were moving for as long as I could remember. I remember this one time, I lived over by Port Island. Made a really great friend. Bit older than me. His parents died in a car accident and he had to move away." Souji was quiet a bit. "That was my first friend I really had. I don't even remember his name anymore. At five, I barely understood that his parents died and he had to leave. And after that for the next eleven years, I didn't have any friends. I tried making some, but after about three years of having new names, new faces to remember, being unable to hang out, I started to retreat into books. Before I hit double digits in years, I was pushing myself away from my peers." Souji shook his head. "Year after year. It was all the same."

She was failing to understand how any of this contributed to that seething rage. She helped herself to the sushi. She wanted to moan at the first bite, but squashed the motion. She kept quiet to let Souji talk.

"Then I came to Inaba. Same thing as normal. Keep my guard up, fake half smile to be polite, I even called Uncle Ryotaro 'Dojima-san' my first night" Souji said. Naoto understood. It was a defense mechanism. She understood all too well. "You know, I don't even know what my dad's side of the family is like. I barely ever talk to my cousin. How fucked is it that I refer to my own cousin as Makoto-san? I don't even know what he likes. What music does he listen to? What books does he read? Does he even watch TV?" But Souji wasn't done.

"Everyone kept asking me about how I was transitioning, if I liked Inaba. I'd be polite and say I liked it. In truth, I hated it." Souji shook his head. "Not Inaba, but coming to a new town. More faces, more names, more people that would become irrelevant. And I hate saying it... But then the murders started to happen and... And I met some of the best friends I never could imagine having." A bit morbid, certainly, but having experienced the TV world, Naoto could understand. She had Souji and Kanji both throw themselves in front of her to defend her from an attack. While she wanted to admonish them both, she recognized that Kanji was resilient to lightning and Souji was adaptable.

They were a close knit group and Naoto found herself being folded in. Besides, she had returned the favor with Kanji, taking a Mudo skill without any ill effect.

"How long was I in that Sphere for?" Souji asked

"Thirty seconds maybe." Naoto said. "Kanji-kun smashed his shield against it, Yosuke-Senpai cracked it with his kunai. I got there to pull you out as Mitsuo forced them back." They had been desperate to get him out.

"Thirty seconds and I experienced every day up to the day I'm supposed to leave." Souji said. Naoto frowned at that. The rush of information had to be mind boggling. "We caught the culprit. Mitsuo had even had a valid reason for Saki Konishi and Ayumi Yamano. We caught him. You then left, without even a goodbye. Kanji and Rise were the first to drift from the group. They stayed as friends, but... Never had time to hang out whenever I asked. Yosuke got busy with work and Teddie followed suit. Always seemed to be another sale. Yukiko got busy with the Inn and Chie went to help where she could. And Souji Seta found himself without friends again. Kou and Daisuke ended up doing their thing. Never saw the fox again. Sayako went to Tokyo to become a full fledged doctor. Ai started dating a boy and had no time for me to hang out with. I couldn't summon Izanagi anymore and couldn't..." Souji looked like he wanted to say something but shook his head.

"Kuroda-san passed. Shu never wanted my help tutoring him again. Adachi got a promotion, letting him head back to the city. Eri and her boy ended up no longer coming to the daycare. Yumi's mother moved her after her father died." With each name, each excuse, Naoto felt sickened by what Souji described. The crushing unbearable loneliness he had been forced to see. "Naoki commited suicide, unable to cope with everyone trying to give him special treatment for Saki's death. Nanako eventually stopped talking to me. And Uncle Ryotaro got busy with work and finding the culprit to his wife's hit and run incident." Souji inhaled sharply as he took another swig of coffee, letting it scald his tongue.

Naoto truly felt like she was going to be ill. All those people that Souji had made friends with, was making friends with, and he was regulated to crushing loneliness. And she had just left as well. She promised herself, this time would be different. She wouldn't just leave without a goodbye.

"I was all alone on that train platform. I kept hoping someone, anyone would come see me off." Souji made a second cup. "I... I couldn't do it again. I couldn't go back and treat everyone here like another name. Another face, someone that I'd never see again. I heard the train coming and just..." He mimed taking a step forward.

Naoto winced, her eyes closing as she looked away. She didn't tell him that his fear was unreasonable, irrational. Few fears ever were. She had a fear of ghosts that had resurfaced with the discovery of the TV world. It was certainly not something she ever wanted to think about but she did acknowledge it existed.

Souji Seta was absolutely devastated by the idea of crushing loneliness after being able to make friends for the first time.

Naoto inhaled a moment. "First, thank you for telling me and not trying to wall yourself up." She said. "I think it speaks highly of your character that you are mature enough to recognize that you needed to get it off your chest, so to speak."

Souji grabbed the plate of Sushi and headed into her living room. He set it down on the kotatsu. "No use in trying to cover it up." He said.

Naoto sat directly across from him, setting her mug at its spot. "Second, I would like to berate you for thinking I would leave without a goodbye. At least to you." She said. "You, Senpai, have seen me at one of my lowest. And regardless of that, you do not think less of me. You have done an admirable job in trying to make me feel welcome, and the others have followed your lead. I do not know how long I will be staying in Inaba after this case, but I will be seeing it through to the end, and if and when I do leave, I expect you to see me off at the train station. And when you do leave, I will be there to see you off if I am still here."

Souji gave a slight chuckle. "Always on the move, aren't we?" He asked a bit ruefully.

Naoto hesitated a moment. Her sofa was a bit more intimate than she would have enjoyed for sitting with company. Thankfully she had a recliner as well. She ate another piece of the delicious sushi. "Not tonight." She said after a moment. "So sit on the sofa, make yourself at home, help me finish off these delicious California Rolls and a pot of hot coffee. Tonight, Souji-Senpai, let us merely forget about the case, and simply talk as friends."

There were still things Naoto didn't know about Souji Seta, and things Souji didn't know about Naoto Shirogane. But Naoto felt like she made a step in the right direction. They talked and shared quiet laughs over the food and eventually moved to the sofa and recliner. When Naoto went to shut the coffee pot off, she had barely finished filling her cup when she heard something that brought a smile to her face.

She stood at the counter of the kitchen's bar, sipping the cup of coffee. "Goodnight... Souji-kun." She allowed herself the suffix a moment while she watched the softly snoring older teen sleep.

She got a spare blanket to cover him with before she went to ready herself for bed. She hoped he felt better in the morning.

Chapter End

A/N: So I don't think it ever really says what the protagonist's folks do for a living. But I thought I'd make it interesting, Souji's a rich kid that hates that life. The life of expectations and duty because to him it is crushingly lonely.

Maybe a bit cliche, I dunno.