Our year together

Shadow Naoto

"Chie, get out of the way! Grr, Go Susano-o!" Yosuke yelled.

"Alright!" Susano-o roared.

"It's over for her! Brave Blade!" Shadow Naoto stated as she began spinning in the direction towards Chie and her Persona Suzuka Gongen.

"Gahh!"

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"Alright, let's do this!" Kanji shouted fiercely as he walked towards the gargantuan metal door.

"Not just yet. We need to make sure we're all healed up before we move on." Souji said as he pulled Kanji back. "Yukiko, Teddie, think you can tend to everyone?"

September 18th. Inside the TV World.

Naoto had been kidnapped, testing himself as bait to see if the killer had really been captured. Naoto was eventually located inside a Secret Base. The team had already crawled through the dungeon. Going back and forth scrambling for Key Cards and they had eventually come to the lowest floor in base. The group is now taking a healing break as they stand by the door where Naoto waits just across.

"You're reckless yourself, you know." Yukiko giggled to herself as she tended to Souji's bruises. "You're the one who's hurt the most here."

"Please watch out for yourself, Souji-kun." Amaterasu said with a slightly worried tone.

"I guess I am. These shadows are proving to be a handful. And don't worry Amaterasu, I will. The last thing I need is to scare you and Yukiko." Souji assured with a smile on his face. Souji had done a Persona change after he stepped away from Yukiko, thanking her for the healing.

"There's a new one... What's he called?" Yosuke questioned.

"I am Tam Lin. Soon you shall see my power." Tam Lin had spoken for a brief second before disappearing.

Souji smirked at this. "Yukiko, are you ready to test out the new strategy of ours?"

"Of course, I can't wait to see how it turns out." Yukiko giggled again.

"Alright already, what's the plan?" Yosuke curiously asked with a grin on his face.

"It's better for you to see. I just hope we don't need to resort to it though." Souji muttered. "Anyway, we're sticking with the same general plan like last time. I want Yosuke, Yukiko, and Kanji with me. Teddie and Chie, you will proceed with the follow-up attacks and guard Rise should the shadow plan to attack her. We don't know what to expect at all like always."

"Alright!" Kanji, Teddie, and Yosuke yelled.

"Understood!" The girls nodded.

"Alright, let's go!" Souji said as he inserted the Leader Card to open the door.

The team had eventually spotted Naoto, only to find his shadow next to him crying. The shadow had made a change of pace and begun stating how Naoto despises being lonely. Shadow Naoto continuing on how the Police considered Naoto a child despite how many cases were solved.

"That's enough. I can find my own reason for living." Naoto said as he began to lose his usual posture.

"Hah... I've been telling you that's impossible." Shadow Naoto huffed with an arrogant tone. "You are but a child. How can you change that essential truth?"

"S-Stop it...!"

"At your core, you admire the sort of "strong" and "cool" men who populate detective fiction. But in trying to emulate, you must know that in truth, you're nothing of the sort-you're a child." Shadow Naoto kept bombarding Naoto with her buried emotions. "There's no point in avoiding first principles... Admit that you're a child, and admit that there's nothing you can do about it."