Words: 210k+
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25627942/chapters/62209606
( Yu Narukami is a teen who was forced to move in with his uncle in the rural town of Inaba. When he arrives he meets a mysterious aloof girl call Nami who seems to have grown a special interest in him and the murder cases that start up in the town soon after he arrives.
Follow Yu and his friends as they look for the truth behind the cases. how Nami grows closer and grows to understand those that seek the truth and how the new relationships will grow and develop in this re-telling of Persona 4 with Izanami taking the role of a new central character and the new Aeon arcana.
Note: Just a forewarning this will spoiler Persona 4's story so I'd recommend finishing that first unless you don't care. )
Chapter 1: Arrival in Inaba
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
"Okay I think that's everything." A silver haired teen said as he closed the zipper on a large black duffle bag.
"Are you sure, you have everything you need?" an older silver haired woman asked with a tone of concern "You'll be gone for a year so make sure you aren't forgetting anything important."
"Don't worry Mom, I'm sure." the teen explained calmly.
"Okay…" the woman sighed "I'm really sorry about all this, I know it isn't fair you have to leave home because of our work."
The teen shook his head, "it's okay I understand."
"You're too considerate sometimes…" The woman smiled "I know you'll be fine in Inaba, Ryotaro will take good care of you and who knows maybe you'll make some friends while you're down there." the woman tried to sound cheerful as the teen made a noise to indicate he heard her.
The woman walked to the door of the room and just before leaving turned back and said "Well if you're ready, better get to sleep. It's going to be a long trip tomorrow."
The silver-haired teen nodded "Okay, night Mom."
"Good night" and with that the door to the room shut and the teen changed out of his casual clothes into his sleep wear as he settled down into his bed for the last time for the next year.
The boy began to stir feeling as though he was no longer in his bed or even lying down, as his consciousness started to become more aware he heard the light tones of a piano playing as he slowly opened his eyes.
Once they had been fully opened he was greeted with the sight of the dim deep blue interior of what appeared to a limousine. As his vision adjusted to the dim lighting he saw two figures sitting at the other end.
There was an older woman with blond hair and a deep blue suit calmly seated off to the side of the other person. The other figure was hard to make out due to the low lighting but what features that could be made out were surprising such as the extremely long pointed ear and most notably the giant long nose.
The long nosed man lifted his head up and opened his eyes and in a calm almost hypnotic voice spoke "Welcome to the Velvet Room."
"Ah… it seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny..." the long nosed man produced a short but eerie chuckle. "My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
Igor gave no time for a response and continued talking "This place exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter… It is a room that only those bound by a 'contract' may enter… It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future."
Igor briefly paused but the teen didn't respond, still taking in all the information Igor had presented.
Seeing no response Igor decided to prompt his guest. "Now then… Why Don't you introduce yourself...?"
Hearing the question the teen finally snapped back to reality "I'm Yu Narukami." Yu said bluntly.
Immediately after Yu said his name Igor continued speaking as if asking for his name was a mere formality "Hmm… I see."
Igor gestured to the table that was in front of him and a deck of cards magically appeared "W-wait! What's going on, what is this place?" Yu quickly questioned.
Igor produced another eerie chuckle "All will be answered in due time. Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?" Yu didn't respond as he felt like Igor would proceed regardless of what he said.
Taking Yu's silence as acceptance Igor lays out nine cards on the table "Do you believe in fortune telling? Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different…" Igor chuckled once again "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"
Yu remained silent deciding to let the strange man continue as he flipped over the first of the nine cards revealing a collapsing tower "Hm… the tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent."
"What do you mean catastrophe!?" Yu yelled in shock. "What's going to happen?"
Igor laughed once again "That I do not know. But let's look at the card that represents the future beyond." Igor turned over the next card showing a moon "The Moon… in the upright position. This card represents… hesitation and mystery… Very interesting indeed."
"Mystery…" Yu mused out loud.
Igor's grin somehow seemed to grow wider "Precisely, It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."
"What kind of mystery? And what will happen if I don't solve it?" Yu questioned trying to get as much information as he could.
"I believe that you will have to discover for yourself." Igor answered vaguely "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here." Igor explained.
"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved your future may be lost forever." Igor said ominously.
"My future will be lost!?" Yu shouted once more.
"Fear not, My duty is to assist you to ensure that does not happen." Igor continued to explain in his creepily calm manner. He gestured over the table once more and all the cards except for one vanished.
"Well now, isn't this intriguing." Igor spoke curiously as he turned over the card revealing a card with a person in the middle surrounded by a gold border. "The Aeon… this is very interesting indeed."
"What does that mean?" Yu asked, almost afraid after the previous two cards.
Igor shook his head "This card does not seem to have any bearing on your future and the catastrophe you will face. Instead it seems as if another's fate is linked to the mystery you will face." Igor chuckled once more "How intriguing indeed."
Igor moved his hand once more and this time the card vanished. Before gesturing to the person off to his side "Now then I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margeret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."
Margeret finally spoke up having been silent throughout the exchange "My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you on your journey."
Before Yu could greet Margaret Igor spoke once again "We shall attend to the details another time. Until then farewell."
And with that said Yu's vision began to darken and fade. After a few seconds he started to hear a noise and as his vision cleared he saw he was back in his room with his alarm going off.
After turning his alarm off he sat up on the bed resting his head on his right hand, "What was that dream… was it even a dream." Yu wondered.
Ultimately Yu decided to dismiss it for now as he had to get ready. So he then got up and started to get changed for his long train ride to his home for the next year.
Monday: 4/11
Yu had gotten changed into the school uniform he would be attending for the next year, Yasogami High School as a majority of his clothing had been set to Inaba already and he honestly liked the uniform which was more casual then his old school's uniform.
It was currently the middle of the afternoon and Yu had finished working his way through the crowded streets of Tokyo and was about to board the train bound for Inaba.
As he boarded the train and settled in for the two hour journey Yu's mind wandered back to his strange dream from last night. What was the catastrophe Igor spoke of, What mystery would he need to solve and probably his biggest question was about the fate linked to both Igor spoke of as even the mysterious long nosed man seemed surprised by it.
Yu continued to ponder on this until an electronic voice snapped him out of his thoughts "We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes, passengers heading for Inaba city and Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform."
Yu got up and retrieved his bag from the compartment above and then made his way to the next train. After boarding the train the remaining journey felt like it went much quicker and soon the train began to pull into Yasoinaba station.
Yu once again retrieved his belongings and left the station as the electronic station voice called out "Yasoinaba, Yasoinaba.". Just as Yu stepped out of the station an image of Igor and Margeret flashed in his mind causing him to stop in place.
"what was that…" Yu wondered.
"Hey! Over here!" Yu's mind returned to reality to see an older man and a little girl waving him over.
"That must be Dojima." Yu thought as he walked over to the pair as he reached them Dojima put his hand out to shake Yu's hand which Yu gladly did.
"Well, you're more handsome in person then in your photo." Dojima jokes.
"Yeah the camera just can't catch my good side." Yu retorted with a smile.
Dojima chuckled at Yu's response "Welcome to Inaba, I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be the one looking after you."
"It's been a long time, uncle. It's nice to see you again." Yu said.
Dojima smiled "You don't need to pretend to remember me. The last time I saw you was when you were in diapers."
Yu nodded "Well it's nice to meet you."
"That's more like it." Dojima exclaimed.
Dojima moved his arm behind onto the girl's back and nudged her forward "This here is my daughter. Come on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."
Nanako hesitated for a moment before she squicked out "Hello…"
Nanako then ran back behind Dojima causing Dojima to laugh "What're you so shy for?".
Nanako in response hit Dojima's legging hard enough Yu was able to hear the impact, while Nanako pouted Dojima chuckled again and this time Yu joined in before walking a bit closer to the pair a kneeling down to be closer to Nanako's level.
"It's nice to meet you Nanako, I hope we get along." Yu said in a calm manner.
Nanako shyly nodded as Yu stood back up "Well then… Let's get going, My car is over there. You can just put your stuff in the back until we're home." Dojima explained as he lead Yu to his car.
After a brief drive Dojima pulls into a gas station that is on the outskirts of the town's shopping district. "I just need to fill up then we'll be on our way Home." Dojima explained.
"Dad, I need to use the bathroom." Nanako asked.
"Okay, can you go by yourself." Dojima question. Nanako nodded in affirmation and left the car to go to the bathroom. "Why don't you walk around, get to know the area while I handle this?" Dojima said, opening Yu's door.
"Sure, sounds good." Yu said as he got out of the car and stretched his limbs.
With that Yu walked down the main street of the shopping district trying familiarise himself with the area, as he passed through the area he noticed a surly looking man hammering away at a sword in a metal workshop, an old woman working in a tofu shop and even a general store.
As he was about to proceed further down the road he saw a couple people roughly his age arguing, instead of getting too close to the fight he decided he would turn around and have a look at the book shop he passed by just as he left the gas station.
"Excuse me?" Yu heard someone call out from behind as he reached the bookstore, "Did you drop this?"
Yu turns around and sees a girl with long silver hair and scarlet colored eyes and wearing a light blue sweater over a white collared shirt holding a folded piece of paper in his direction.
Yu took the piece of paper and unfolded it and saw the directions his Mom gave him to Dojima's house in case Dojima wasn't able to pick him up. "It is. Thanks." Yu said as he put the piece in his pocket.
The girl shook her head "Just be more careful in future." the girl stared at Yu for a moment before tiling her slightly. "Are new? I don't recognize you." the girl asked in a calm but somewhat distant voice.
"Yeah, I've just moved in with my Uncle." Yu explained.
"I see. Unfortunately you won't find much to do out here, most people just spend time with their friends or work." the girl said in an almost dismissive voice before turning to glance down the road. "It can be very boring."
Yu smiled back "I'm sure I'll find something to do."
The girl turned back to Yu and gave him a slight smile and a curious look "Maybe, you will." the girl reached out her hand "I'm Nami Hanazawa, I look forward to seeing what you can do." Nami said with almost a smug tone.
Yu reached out and shook Nami's hand "I'm Yu Narukami, it's nice to meet you." they separated their hands and once Yu had he started to feel light headed but tried to ignore it. "So do you go to the school here?" Yu asked.
Nami nodded, "I do but I usually keep to myself."
"Hopefully I see you around then." Yu said as his head started to hurt.
Before Nami could respond another voice called out "There you are." Nami and Yu turned to see Nanako walking around the corner of the book store "Dad was wondering where you were."
Nanako glanced at Nami and looked at her curiously "Do you know her?" Nanako asked Yu.
Before either Yu or Nami could answer, Dojima then came around the corner and said, "Nanako don't run off." Dojima then saw Yu "Oh good, I was afraid you got lost. Come on, the car is already so let's head home."
"Looks like you best go. Goodbye Yu." Nami said as she turned away and walked up the shopping district.
"Bye." Yu called out before resting his head in his hand.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good?" Nanako asked.
Yu weakly nodded his head "Yeah… just tired…"
"Hmm you don't look so good, let's get you home. We've got some medicine there you can take."
Yu gave another slight nod as the group went back to the car and drove through the rest of the shopping district to the residential area where Dojima's house was located.
Once they arrived at Dojima's house Dojima got some headache medicine for Yu while Nanako finished preparing their dinner for the evening. After a brief welcoming by Dojima, he was called out to work leaving Yu and Nanako to finish dinner.
After learning about what Dojima's job was and getting to know Nanako a bit more Yu decided to check out his room for the next year and get some rest as he starts school tomorrow.
After falling asleep Yu suddenly feels an ice cold feeling on his right hand and it felt like he was no longer in bed, as he opened his eyes he was greeted with an extremely dense fog obscuring his vision.
"Another weird dream?" Yu wondered out loud as he stood up trying to make out any semblance of his current environment. Unable to think of what else to do Yu follows the red path that was laid out in front of him.
As he hopped from one broken title to the next a voice echoed all around him "Do you seek the truth?"
"Truth? What are you talking about? what truth?" Yu shouted in response as he finished making his way past the broken part of the path.
After a moment the voice returned "If it's Truth you desire, come and find me." the voice echoed once more. When the voice had faded the fog ahead clearled slightly revealed a black and red covered wall.
"Find them… and why does that voice sound… familiar." Yu mused as he lifted his hand up and touched the wall, the second he did it began to twist and turn as it slowly opened up revealing an area that was covered in such a dense thick fog it was impossible to see the path or any of the surrounding environment.
The only thing Yu could make out was a figure standing ahead as he approached the figure he felt an added weight in his right hand, looking down he saw he was now holding a katana.
"So you are the one pursuing me." the voice from earlier spoke. "Well you may try but you will not find me." in response Yu rushed forward trying to reach the person ahead.
Just as he was about to reach them they stepped out of the way and then a strong gust of wind blew Yu back before he got a good look at them.
"Hmm, it seems you can see despite the fog. But this will not matter." The figure raised their arm up and the fog in the area became more dense, obscuring Yu's vision even more.
Yu charged once more this time raising his sword up in an attempt to hit the figure "Who are you!?" Yu shouted as he slammed his katana where he thought the figure was standing.
Side stepping the katana they spoke up once more "Who am is not important for now." they raised their arm once more and pushed Yu back once again as the surrounding fog only grew deeper "you see people will only see what they desire and from that the fog only grows."
The being in the fog continued to speak as they dodged Yu's strikes "If you desire the truth, if you desire to find me. You will find your search almost impossible as your will shall be drowned out by the fog."
"We'll see about that!" Yu telled as he strikes once more, but again the being dodged the attack and push Yu back and now the fog had become so dense it was impossible to see anything.
Yu began to race into the overly thick fog once more "You may try and find your way through but you will not find what you seek." As they finished saying this they struck Yu from the side knocking him to the ground "I had hoped you would be different but it appears you will be like the others. I doubt we will meet again. Goodbye."
With those words Yu felt his consciousness fading, fighting to remain conscious Yu reached out and a pale blue light glowed in front of him as if on instinct he reached out and grabbed the glow "We… We're not done!" Yu exclaimed as a bolt of lightning struck and hit the fading individual.
The voice let out a growl of pain before said grow turned to a slow almost sinister laughter, "I see… it appears you have a stronger will than I anticipated. Maybe you will find me and this place. I believe I will need to keep a closer eye on you."
The wind began to fiercely swirl "But for now you must go, I wish you luck on your path, I look forward to where it will take you." and with that the wind shoved Yu away as his consciousness completely faded and he blacked out.
Notes:
So this is an idea I've had for a whiel ever since I saw this tweet: https://twitter.com/therealmgx0/status/1075028752944361472?s=20
I completely fell in love with this idea as an AU and after seeing the tweet I continued to come up with ideas for how it would work, what would change, what kind of character devlopment would be invovled and so once I finished writing my last P5R fic, I decided I would give it a go.
This si by far the most ambitious writing project I've had so far, I plan to take this all the way to the end of the game however I will not be showing everthing, elements of the game and story that I don't change much if at all won't be covered in depth, I'll mention what happens but unless I'm changing the scene or the infomation is too important to summerise I just make mention of what happens since well... people reading this probably know the story to some degree.
I'm not too sure how frequent updates will be as I'm still planning out the finer details and replaying P4G on PC to remind myself when events happen but I'll try and get them out when I can
Anyway thank you so very much for reading, if you have any feedback feel free to share and hope you look forward to the next one!
P.S Marie will most likely not appear in the story since she kind of doesn't have a purpose now so... sorry Marie fans.