Note: This fic takes place sometime during January-March 2012.

Disclaimer: Persona 4 is owned by Atlus.

The voice drew nearer. The darkness seemed to grow colder as the distorted voice made its way closer to the teenaged boy. His bed sheets were getting ruffled and clawed at, and from a distance he thought he could see a shadow darker than the darkness forming in his room.

"Is someone there?" The distressed high-schooler mumbled under his breath, afraid that he might aggravate the mysterious presence residing in his room if he spoke too loud. There was no reply; just the sound of slow, heavy breathing. And it wasn't his.

Unable to face whatever was watching him, he hid under his bed sheets and forced his eyes closed. He repeated fervently to himself in his mind that it was all just a dream.

Just a dream…It's just a bad dream…

Morning came all too slowly. Souji felt he couldn't sleep at all last night. He was drenched in sweat and his hair was clumped up as if he had just taken a mud bath. He quickly wiped the drool leaking from the side of his mouth and got out of bed. After taking a quick shower and saying goodbye to Nanako, who was sitting happily besides her new kotatsu, Souji went ahead to school.

Like any other day in Inaba, he was looking forward to it. School was where everything happened. It was where he could see his friends, contribute to the music club, beat everyone's scores during exams, and think about what he was going to do next in the men's restroom. He loved school in Inaba. It was a close-nit community so everyone was friendly with each other and there was peace and quiet in the suburbs, unlike in the urban areas where he used to live. He didn't want to leave Inaba. Ever. Everything precious to him resided here in this small rural town- his friends, his family…and his crush. But he knew he had to leave the countryside soon. He was, after all, only staying temporarily with his uncle and cousin because his parents were overseas for some trivial business thing he didn't know much about.

That was all his parents were concerned about; money and a position in life. They never took into consideration their own son's feelings when they moved, which was frequent. Every time they moved he would have to make new friends, adjust to the new living conditions and meet new expectations set by his teachers and parents. Too often he would feel the loneliness of abandonment eating at his insides so he made it a rule not to make anymore friends for he would eventually have to leave them some day too. It was however inevitable to make friends in Inaba because of its small population, but he was fine with that. In fact, he was overjoyed that he could make new friends again. It had been too long since he last made a friend that he had forgotten the joys of friendship. He wished he never needed to leave Inaba.

The bell rang for lunchtime. Souji had packed himself some soggy tempura but he was too embarrassed to ask anyone to eat it with him so he ate it by himself on the rooftop. It wasn't long until his friends found him though. He quickly closed the lid of his bento box before being greeted by his friends.

"So here you were! We were looking for you." Chie's smile always lightened up the atmosphere. "Oh, what's that smell? Are you having tempura? Oh, let me have some!"

Unable to object, Souji handed her his failed creations and moved away from her in case she would kick him in the groin for causing her stomach pains. His friends proceeded to sit with him and as they did Souji's eyes darted over to his best buddy, Yosuke.

"Tempura? Hey, let me have some too."

"No!" Souji objected fiercely but he wasn't meant to make it sound as if he didn't want to share with his best friend. "It- uh- I don't think you'll like it."

Yosuke's head tilted in confusion. "Huh?"

"It's crap."

"Oh, come on. Nothing you make can be crappier than the original Mystery Food X."

There was a sudden outburst of protests coming from two particular females. "Hey! What do you mean by that? You wanna say that to our faces, huh?"

Naoto simply stared at them in confusion. She wasn't around when the incident of Mystery Food X occurred so she asked Kanji what the girls were on about. "Well, y'know, some stuff happened back in camp but it was before you came to our school. Let's just say Chie and Yukiko are lethal chefs."

Souji watched the argument in amusement. He loved how he could belong with the group and exist. It was times like these which caused him to resent making new friends. He knew that after a few more months he would never be able to experience the same happiness again with his current friends because he would have to move back to his parent's home. Never again would he be able to see Chie's heartwarming smile or hear Yukiko's pathetic laugh. Never again would there be a time where he would witness another Mystery Food X incident or travel into the TV world as a team. Those things would be sorely missed but none of them could surpass the pain of leaving his best friend behind. He could feel his soul shatter just thinking about it. He sighed heavily, releasing the stress that was building up inside.

"Are we making you angry, leader?" All heads turned to Souji, who was bemused by everyone's reaction to his heavy sigh. His mind was still up in the clouds so he struggled to find the right words to reply.

"No, it's nothing. I was just…reminiscing."

"Reminiscing?" Chie's face suddenly became saddened. "Oh…right. This is your last school term with us, isn't it? Wow, it seems like time just flies by when you're having fun, eh? I can't believe it though. It's already…"

"Nooo~ I don't wanna be separated from sempai!" Rise was on the verge of tears. "You can't leave Inaba so soon! We still have so much to talk about and do together!"

It wasn't only those two who refused to believe that his departure was near. Everyone whose heart he touched were going to miss him greatly. They couldn't even begin to imagine the rift he was going to create by leaving the town.

"Let's stop talking about this." Yosuke halted everyone unexpectedly. His eyes were downcast, away from everyone's curious stare. It seemed that the matter regarding Souji's departure was a delicate subject for him. He would always try to avoid talking about, and this time was no different. "Way to go Chie for ruining the mood. Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Yosuke…?" Souji stared into the other's eyes, trying to read his emotions and feelings. He almost thought his friend would breakdown in tears but Yosuke was manlier than that.

"Seta." He looked up, his gaze directed solely upon Souji. "You're still here now and that's all that matters to me… no, to everyone here. We can worry and be depressed when the time comes but for now, let's just enjoy every moment we still have left together."

Such a heartfelt speech coming from Yosuke shocked everyone, rendering them speechless until Kanji stepped in. "Hey sempai's right! We just gotta make the most of this time we have left together. If we keep moping around like this, it's just gonna be even more depressing when you go back home."

"Yeah, you said it Kanji." Yukiko nodded accordingly. "Hey, why don't we all have a sleep over at the Amagi Hotel. It's been a while since we all had a holiday together and since we just finished with the exams, we have some relief time before the next ones."

Yosuke raised his fists to his chest before exclaiming "Hell yes! Let's do that!" His voice was loud enough to scare off the birds perched on the other side of the roof. The brunette faced Souji with an expectant expression. "How 'bout it, partner? I'm already excited just thinking about it. By the way, Yukiko…" He glared spitefully at the girls in general. "This time, WE get to go to the hot springs first."

"Wha-!"

"You owe us from last time!" And with that the girls remained silent with guilt-ridden faces.

After a while of vigorous discussions about the anticipated trip, the bell signaled for the end of lunch-time. The group dispersed, leaving a very slow Souji behind packing up the remains of his lunch. He was so entranced with the whole vacation thing that he didn't notice the presence behind him.

"Hey, Seta." Souji spun his head around and met eyes with Yosuke. He had assumed his friend already left for the next classes so the surprise left his heart beating hard. "You don't look so well today. Studying too much?"

He smiled and shook his head. "It was just nightmare I had. Couldn't sleep the rest of the night afterwards."

"Whoa serious?" Yosuke scratched the side of his head out of habit. "Umm…well if it makes you feel any better, why don't you tell me about it? I'm all ears."

His kind consideration tore at Souji's heart. He could feel an eruption of anguish rise from the pits of his stomach; like butterflies, but on fire.

If only I could take you with me…

"I'm stronger than you think. I wouldn't let a simple nightmare upset me, I mean… after what we've all been through together…"

"Of course. Else you wouldn't be our leader, eh?" Yosuke chuckled lightly. "Let's get to class, partner."

Replying with a simple smile, Souji left the vicinity with his best friend and returned to class in a good mood.

Reviews are always welcomed. Next chapter will be in Yosuke's P.O.V.

P.S~ Togainu no Chi fics will be on hold until i get more material for it. Did anyone pee their pants when TnC anime was announced? I sure did :3