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Tohru Adachi | Persona 4 AU | Not Reserved

[wantedittobeagame]

P L A Y E R;
NAME: Skyla
AGE: 30
PLAYER JOURNAL: skyla_doragono
TIMEZONE: EST
CONTACT: SkylaDoragono
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: NA

C H A R A C T E R;
NAME: Tohru Adachi
CANON: Persona 4 (role swap AU)
POINT IN CANON: Post True End, just as the events in Arena are beginning.
AGE: 28
APPEARANCE: Adachi, though he lost his tie during the course of his adventure.
CANON HISTORY: Canon History, though not much of it applies to this version of Adachi, other than what little early history he has.
CANON PERSONALITY: Adachi is a tricky individual, as he has multiple facets to his personality, most of which is a ruse for what really lies underneath. To most, he appears as the clown, a goofy little dork that makes people wonder how the hell he managed to get a gold badge at his age. On the inside, however, he's much darker, and someone that cannot be trusted.

To most people, he comes off as the comic relief. Most times he's seen on screen, he has a bit of a doofy expression on his face, like he's not really sure why he's around or what's going on. He's instinctively submissive, and seems to be able to know what people want to hear from him and deliver (or not) accordingly. He is also adept at making himself unassuming, often using his goofy actions to make others dismiss him. After all, who would think that a guy that was all gung-ho about cabbages being on sale was actually a detective? This often leads him to looking even more incompetent and pitiable, especially when he runs his mouth off and gives out more information than he should, or otherwise just screw up enough to lead Dojima to taking it out on his skull. Even when alone, he seems to be intentionally far too open with the public, spouting out information he really shouldn't and making very clear and obvious rookie mistakes to the point people have to wonder how he managed to become a detective. He's also almost always slacking off, like he doesn't even try to take his job seriously, and can often be found hanging around Junes just to skip out on work.

Even outside of work, Adachi comes off as overly casual and not really serious about anything. He enjoys making really bad (eely worse than Teddie) puns, and seems to be content with being perpetually single, as he comments that, "marriage is where fun goes to die" when asked about it. In short, he comes off as being entirely unmotivated and uncommitted, and not really interested in much outside of himself. He seems like he wants more out of his job at times, especially when he describes himself as "Dojima's slave", but he does not seem to be willing to do anything to change that, preferring to sit on his ass and act like a clown while waiting for someone to notice how awesome he is. Despite his choice of profession, he's surprisingly cowardly and has a strong survival instinct; he never puts himself in a dangerous situation unless he has no other choice.

His immaturity seems to change after Nanako and Dojima are injured, however. He steps up as a detective, presumably taking over his partner's work on the case (though he's never actually shown doing this, it's implied because you can no longer find him at Junes after Nanako is kidnapped). He sticks by his partner and his daughter, and you can see him there supporting them both every time the protagonist and company visit the hospital, doing little things, like wheeling Dojima around to visit his daughter despite what the nurses say. Even when Nanako dies, he's there for Dojima, struggling to take him away from Namatame's room and potentially making an awful mistake, whether it be taking his rage out on Namatame or injuring himself further. He also shows how upset he is himself, stating that he wishes he could kill Namatame himself for what he's done. It really seems like he steps up and takes charge of a terrible situation, for the sake of himself and his partner and friend.

Seems that way.

When he's finally cornered, when his misdeeds at the beginning of the year finally catch up with him, that's when his true nature is revealed. Adachi is really a sadistic, manipulative person, voluntarily choosing to turn his eyes away from how the real world was like and instead living in his own delusion. He truly believes the world is full of shit, and cannot see anything good about it, because no one ever gives him what he feels he's owed in life. He refuses to take responsibility for the fact that he doesn't try to see what is out there in the world that is right for him, and instead tries to seclude himself while expected everyone to shower him with attention. Even when it comes to the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, he doesn't take responsibility for it, because it's not his fault. He shoved Yamano in the television because she did not return his feelings, did not give him the love and affection he felt he deserved from her. And because she didn't? Well she was a bitch and a whore and just had the hots for Namatame because of his money. Clearly she deserved to die because of all that. Saki Konishi was the same damn way, out right smacking him because she wouldn't give him what he deserved.

But it's not his fault they died; it was the TV world, the world of everyone's inner thoughts, that actually killed them, and that is actually very true. That's part of what's so frightening about Adachi's real personality: he never lies. He will deflect the truth when confronted, asking why someone like him would try to hurt someone, but he never outright denies what he does. Even before he is caught, he would use his blurted out facts about what was known in the case to lead the Investigation Team where he wanted them to go, away from him and toward the puppet he had set up to continue his little "game". He deliberately planted evidence to make Namatame look more guilty, but even in the fake evidence he didn't lie, saying people would be "killed" instead of using the "savior" angle, like Namatame believed he was (something that would ultimately be his downfall).

Adachi has a sadistic side to him, though this is best shown in the animated version of Persona 4 more so than the game. As he's talking to the protagonist, spouting out his view on the world, he's letting Magatsu Izanagi beat the ever living crap out of Yu's, not even bothering to direct it as it continues to throw Izanagi around and pound on him. This ends up causing Yu an immense amount of pain while he's laying there trapped by a spell, and even still, Adachi goes so far as to press his gun against his head, nearly shooting him point blank. It was clear he was enjoying seeing the protagonist at his mercy, and he almost sounded bored when it seemed like there was nothing left for him to do except just kill him outright.

His view of the world is exceptionally twisted; Izanami described him best when she said he allowed himself to be turned away from the truth and allowed evil to taint him. Adachi really believes that humanity is trash, that the world is really shitty and there's nothing good to be found in it. He wants the fog to envelop all of Inaba, and he wants to see everyone become Shadows. That would just be easier after all; everyone would get to be free of what society says they're supposed to be, and instead be able to live like they want to. That's all that people want after all; to see the true side of other people, and to show off what they really are. This is another part of what makes Adachi's character frightening: because he's so right about how humanity is, but he just can't see that there are people that can still be themselves and still live by the world's rules. The last part of what makes him so scary is that he's really very smart, actually worthy of being a detective. He easily manipulated everyone around him, keeping everyone away from the truth. Even when it came to Kubo's copycat murder, he had easily pointed out how much he screwed up the crime scene, something he makes a point to tell the protagonist and the others.

From all this, Adachi seems completely irredeemable, and during the battle against him, it really seems like it would end badly for him. However, after the Investigation Team stops him, and after he's had a few months to stew in jail, he relents. Adachi agrees that his game was over and he needed to live by humanity's rules, because he was only (an incredibly flawed) human himself. He shows his willingness to change by providing the protagonist the clue he needed to find out who the true culprit behind the events in Inaba was. It was a small gesture, but there is hope for him, however small it may be.

[wantedittobeagame]

POINT OF DEPARTURE: Adachi's AU is a role swap between himself and the canon protagonist, known as Seito Souzen in his story. He is still a detective, however he is placed in the role of the hero and all the baggage that goes with it: social linking, Fool Arcana, Wild Card, ect. He can use different Personae depending on the social links he's formed, in addition to his natural Persona: Izanagi. Because of his different role in the story, he also develops differently personality-wise. His goofy exterior is much less an act and more genuine in this story, however he is still an asshole at heart, and because of his crappy attitude, it takes him much longer to progress than it does for the canon protagonist.

Before going to Inaba, Adachi was an elite detective working in the Tokyo police department, and life was good. That all changed for him during an investigation, where he accidentally shot the suspect of the case. He felt no remorse for it -- the man would have ended up on death row anyway -- and because of this and public outcry, he was quietly demoted and shuffled off to Inaba to be forgotten about. Naturally Adachi was more than a little miffed about this -- he was a damn good detective and always did everything wonderfully, so why should he be punished for doing something the prefecture was going to do anyway? It didn't help that once he arrived in Inaba, the other detectives shunned him as an outsider and his forced partner, Ryoutarou Dojima, kept one eye trained on him like a hawk. Adachi was perfectly content with taking absolutely nothing seriously and getting out of the backwoods town at the first opportunity...

...and then a few days after he arrived in Inaba, a young teenager in a green jacket was found dangling from a TV antenna, dead.

At least things in the hick town were starting to get interesting, especially with the body coming back with the ME unable to find a cause of death. It got even more interesting when the boy that found the body ended up dead, this time hanging from a telephone pole; Adachi had never had a serial murder case this exciting, even in the city!

...and then the second victim's girlfriend came in with "proof" that he knew who his killer was, and everything started to suck.

Saki Konishi had received several messages from the second victim the night before, the most disturbing of which revealed that he knew who murdered the first, and that he was going to confront him -- stupid, of course, no wonder he ended up dead. Adachi's complete disregard for the proof that she provided pissed Saki off, and the two of them scuffled, with him trying to keep her from hitting him. Unfortunately, the fight tripped him up, and they fell toward the TV set in the interrogation room... and through it.

Needless to say, finding out that there was another world beyond the television screen was not in Adachi's plans for that day. The TV world was a dangerous place completely covered in fog, and although they met a friendly bear on the other side that helped Adachi see through the fog and told them that the two victims had been present in the TV, it did very little to help them when Shadows attacked. Outnumbered and cornered, it looked for certain that the two of them would be the next big headline on the news.

That's when Adachi heard the voice of his Persona, and by summoning Izanagi from the sea of the unconscious, he was able to save their lives.

Despite being able to do something ridiculously awesome completely unbelievable, Adachi still did not appreciate the fact that he was probably the only person that could solve the mystery behind the two murders they had on their hands. Even after Saki had faced her own Shadow and accepted herself to obtain her own Persona, he still didn't want to accept what was going on, leading to the first of the many times he would be declared a dumbass. He especially did not appreciate the fact that Saki was insistent on being a part of solving the case, leading to a heated argument between the two of them once Yukiko Amagi was kidnapped. Adachi found it exceptionally ridiculous that she was in the TV, especially since he had just seen a broadcast of her at midnight the other night, something Saki did not believe. At first he was going to let Saki go running into the TV by herself and leave it at that, but morality eventually won out, and he followed her inside to help with saving Yukiko so the Amagi Inn heiress could confront and accept her true self and also obtain a Persona.

Adachi and Saki thought they had outwitted the murderer that time, but it couldn't be any farther from the truth. The next morning after rescuing Yukiko, as Saki left for school, she looked up to see her own brother's lifeless body dangling from a utility pole outside her home.

Even Adachi started taking the TV world and the murderer a little seriously after that, though considering his crappy attitude it did little to help. Saki was forced to be more of a leader, and when your real leader was a twenty-seven-year-old child and your only other member was more concerned about revenge for her dead friends, it made things difficult. On top of it, the three of them were being kept a close eye on by Naoto Shirogane, a private detective that had been called in by the prefectural office. Naoto suspected them of being responsible for the murders, especially Adachi considering all the victims so far had been teenagers, and he was hanging around teenage girls most of the time.

It wasn't long before Naoto's appearance everywhere was a big talk in the town... and suddenly he disappeared, with no explanation as to why. Suspecting his disappearance to be the same as Yukiko, Adachi decided to keep an eye on his unplugged TV at midnight again... and sure enough, there was Naoto. Once again, his Investigation Team jumped in the TV to help Naoto, discovering "he" was actually a "she" in the process, but still managing to succeed in helping her accept herself and return from the TV victorious...

[wantedittobeagame]

...only for another teenager, Ai Ebihara, to be found dead, dangling from another telephone pole.

With Naoto part of the Investigation Team, they were able to figure out that the murderer was exclusively targeting teenagers because he was a teenager himself. At the same time, cryptic messages began to appear on public message boards, hinting as to who would be the next person kidnapped. The police were able to trace the postings to Yasogami High School, but were not able to find the computer or the person making the posts -- all traces had been wiped clean from all computers. With the hints provided however, Naoto was able to conclude the broadcast known as the Midnight Channel would show them whom was to be kidnapped next, and using that information, they were able to pinpoint Kanji Tatsumi. They weren't able to prevent his kidnapping, as trying to reason with him was near impossible, but they were still able to save him like the others.

And the day after, Kinshiro Morooka was found dead.

With the prefectural office screaming for someone's head, the Investigation Team pulling him in different directions, and Dojima being the most hard ass boss ever, Adachi found himself just not giving a damn about any of it, and even after Rise Kujikawa was kidnapped he could barely find the motivation to pull himself along with the, "stupid snooping teenager crap". Relations between the group were strained to begin with, considering how many different personalities were there clashing with one another, and Adachi's attitude was not helping them any. What little team unity they had was crumbling apart, and when it came to confronting Rise's Shadow, and then Teddie's of all people immediately after, the group nearly met their end completely. After barely scraping by with their lives and pulling Rise from the television, Naoto confronted Adachi alone, demanding that he start shaping up his attitude, or to just give up the investigation entirely.

Adachi would have loved to do just that, if Mayumi Yamano didn't show up dead the next morning.

Yamano's case was different from all the others, however, something that Adachi was able to pick up on immediately. For one, she was left on top of a building, dangling from a fence that housed off the building's water tower. For another, there was a clear cause of death, unlike the other victims. He tried to insist to Dojima that it was a copycat killing, but with the prefectural office breathing down their necks, he had no choice but to accept it as part of the same case.

In the meantime, Adachi had started to distance himself from the rest of the Investigation Team, outright refusing to attend some meetings, and leaving Saki the most frustrated of them all, as she was still the substitute leader, trying to scrape them all together with Naoto with very little success. While keeping himself away from the group, he found himself accidentally stumbling into Seiki Souzen, twin sister to Dojima's nephew, whom he had the occasion to talk to every now and then when his partner would invite him to his house for dinner. Surprisingly, even to Adachi, the two of them hit it off rather well, as she could sympathize with what he was going through. For once, he had someone in his life that wasn't dragging him around everywhere and telling him what to do, and would instead ask if he wanted to go out somewhere. The fact that she was just as sarcastic and flippant as he could be helped, and Adachi found himself genuinely caring for her, bonding with someone for the first time in his life.

There was just a little problem with Seiki: she had died in a car accident when she was five.

Of course, Adachi had to find this out in the worst way possible. With Yamano's death giving them the most clues, the police were able to narrow in on Taro Namatame, Yamano's former lover, as their suspect. Trapping him in Junes, the police proceeded to attempt to arrest Namatame, with Adachi leading the charge. At the same time, the Investigation Team he had shoved himself away from had also come to the same conclusion, and were trying to do the same. Both Adachi and the Team had him cornered, and both were about to pounce on him... when Seiki appeared, confused as to what was going on. Namatame grabbed her as a hostage, threatening to kill her, only to trip as he was backing away from them, falling into a TV with her.

Adachi didn't even hesitate; he was back to the police station and in the TV in record time. By that time, Teddie had recovered from his own Shadow battle, and was so happy to see Adachi again that he immediately picked up on Seiki's scent, leading Adachi and the Investigation Team deeper into the TV world than they had ever been. Teddie told them the more people that appeared in the TV, the bigger the world was getting, but the realm they had arrived in thanks to Namatame and Seiki was... different; dark, twisted, and disturbing, it was more like walking into a haunted forest than anything else they had been through so far. At the end of it, Namatame was still holding Seiki hostage, refusing to let himself be captured for something that wasn't his fault. Before anyone could try to negotiate with him, however, Namatame's Shadow appeared, taunting him for his lack of spine and inability to keep the one person he cared about. Of course, Namatame denied himself, and his shadow transformed like the others. Adachi protected Seiki through the battle, using Izanagi better than he had ever been able to, and Namatame's Shadow was easily defeated.

Unlike the others, however, Namatame was unable to accept himself, and his true self just faded away. Seiki pulled herself away from Adachi then, saying that Namatame was a poor soul that got lost in the shuffle of what was meant to be. He was empty inside, but not completely, not yet. She turned to Adachi then, letting him know that he narrowly avoided a similar fate, before revealing her secret to him. Seiki wanted to be sad that she had to keep herself from him... but she had also genuinely enjoyed their time together, however fleeting it was. She died again then before his eyes, fading away to bones before crumpling into dust...

...and Adachi broke.

It was the first time in his life someone accepted him for who he really was, who didn't push him around, and encouraged him to do whatever it was he wanted to do... and it wasn't even real. It made him sick, to the point where he didn't even want to get up, no matter how much the others kept telling him to stop. He hated everything; this world, the people, everything... and at that moment, his hate came out of him, his Persona regressing into his Shadow, spilling everything about the kind of person he really was. He was a killer, and he didn't give a damn about murdering someone that deserved it; hell, he'd probably be the one murdering people if he could. He was pretty sure that bitch Yamano deserved it; he knew Saki definitely deserved it. He never would though; he was too much of a damn coward.

[wantedittobeagame]

Of course Adachi denied that side of himself, refusing to accept his Shadow, even though he knew everything it was saying was absolutely right. The resulting fight was brutal for the rest of the Investigation Team, until Adachi was the only one left conscious and staring down his inevitable death once again. At that moment, his consciousness was pulled away from reality, into a blue tinted limo...

...and right into a very heavy book.

At that moment, he was (rudely) introduced to the Velvet Room, Igor, and his new attendant, a young blue haired man named Michael, whom obviously did not like him very much. It was there he learned of the fact that his power was that of the Wild Card, and his stubbornness and inability to accept his destiny had prevented them from even being able to reach out to him. However, the fact that he had opened himself up to at least one person in his life had served as the key to unlocking the world around him, and he had at least one Social Link that would stick by him, even transcending Death itself.

Adachi returned to the real world after that, pulling himself up to his feet... and switching Arcana for the first time, using the Death Arcana he received through his social bond with Seiki to bring out the White Rider Persona and beat down his own Shadow. With the battle won, Adachi threw himself onto his Shadow, finally accepting the fact that he really was a horrible, horrible person that didn't care about a damn thing and was only concerned about himself... until that suddenly all changed because of a little dead girl, and he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do with himself now because of it. Most importantly though was how much he hated the person he had become, and with that small confession, Izanagi returned to Adachi... and Adachi promptly passed out.

It took a long time for Adachi to recover from that, both physically and mentally, and it wasn't until another posting from the murderer pointed them to a nurse at the local hospital that he was able to dedicate himself to the case again. Figuring out who the next target was easy for him; any time they had brought someone out of the TV world, they always brought them to the hospital, and had always gotten the same nurse. Adachi had talked with her a few times and knew a little bit about her, so when Sayoko Uehara suddenly disappeared, he knew exactly where to look.

Sayoko's kidnapping, as hard as it was to get her to accept herself, was actually a huge break in the case for the Investigation Team, mostly because it broke the pattern; it proved that whomever was murdering these people was watching them and was starting to get scared. Even as they tried to cover up the failed attempt with Eri Minami's death not that long after, the clues were starting to pull together: their suspect was a teenager that was taking advantage of the Midnight Channel to distract them, letting them go save the people on there while he killed whomever he wanted. Their suspect also must have had close ties to the two adults in the case not related to Yasogami High, but as of yet, they could not find that common tie.

For awhile after Sayoko's kidnapping and Minami's death, things fell quiet in the case, and the murders and kidnappings stopped. During this time, Adachi was busying himself with his relations with his team, mending his social bonds and forming friendships, with even Naoto eventually accepting him. Unfortunately during this time, his old clunker of a car finally died, forcing him to use whatever means necessary to get to work, including borrowing the Loveline-themed scooter Dojima got for his daughter Nanako for when she was old enough. The case picked up once again when the form of a little girl appeared on the Midnight Channel, but the Team could not figure out who the child was. Naoto eventually figured it out... but by the time she did, it was too late.

Adachi was working late with Dojima one night, when a call came in from Seito: a friend had invited himself over, the captain of his basketball team... and next thing he knew he was being attacked. He stayed conscious long enough to see his friend and Nanako falling into the TV in the room before he passed out. Dojima flipped out, heading straight home with Adachi struggling to keep up with him. By the time he caught up, Dojima was practically trying to beat his way through the television set, and Adachi grabbed him, trying to pull him away... only to lose his grip as Dojima fell through the TV.

...oops?

The Investigation Team went into the TV again, ending up in a storybook version of Heaven. They found Dojima first, of course, and helped him face his true self (and Adachi earned himself a punch to the back of the head for keeping a secret like this from his partner for so long). Once Dojima recovered, they headed back in to save Nanako, finding her being held by Kou Ichijou deep inside of Heaven. Kou was flipping out, insisting that he was doing everything he could to help people, but they just kept dying. He was determined to "save" Nanako though... and the Shadows around the area responded to Kou's unstable emotions, fusing with him and turning him into a massive monster. One epic battle later, Nanako was saved and the Shadows were driven back... but Nanako was badly hurt during the battle, forcing the group to haul out of the TV and to the hospital as quickly as possible.

The next day, Shu Nakajima was found dead, the last of the murder victims...

Nanako eventually (temporarily) died from her injuries, and Dojima really lost it, almost strangling Kou in the process. After all, it was obvious he was the killer, and the prefecture was just going to have him killed anyway. Adachi stopped him, punching Dojima as hard as he could; he refused to let his partner make the same mistake he did, not when it came to Nanako -- he knew she wouldn't want her father to murder someone in cold blood. Besides, the case did not add up to him; why would Kou think he was saving people, when the hints they had been receiving on the internet clearly showed killing intent? Why would the Midnight Channel show certain people, people they were ultimately able to save, and not those they had not been able to? For Adachi, Kou was clearly not the murderer, even if he did have a hand in putting people in the television. When Kou was calmer, after Nanako had been revived, he confirmed it, saying that he only started putting people in the TV after the first two victims died, truly believing that he was helping rather than harming people.

With that fact known, the Investigation Team had very little new clues, and what was more, the fog seemed to be increasing in Inaba, as if responding to the fact that the case had become even murkier. Dissatisfied with what was going on, Adachi started back at the beginning, questioning about what the first victim had been doing before she died. Yukiko could answer that; Satonaka Chie had been going to Junes, though she could not remember why. Obviously while there, she had been thrown into a TV; and the second victim's evidence had to be a security tape of the electronics' department -- obviously, as Hanamura Yosuke would have access to that as the manager's son. He said he hid the evidence in the last message he sent to Saki, but where?

[wantedittobeagame]

Adachi and Saki went to speak with Mr. Hanamura, asking him where Yosuke would hide something important. The Junes manager revealed that when Yosuke was younger, he used to hide his favorite toys in his office, especially when he did something wrong and he knew his mother would take them away. With his permission, the two of them searched the manager's office at Junes, and located the missing security tape...

...and on the tape was Seito Souzen, letting Chie fall into a TV.

Once that was seen, everything started to fall into place. The Team headed immediately for the hospital, knowing exactly what any scared murderer would do, but they were too late; Seito had already shoved Kou back into the TV. The group confronted him, ending with Seito fleeing into the TV himself to avoid being arrested for his crimes, and Adachi and party followed in soon after.

The dungeon they found themselves in was Inaba completely obliterated... at least at first. As they progressed through the place, it was like traveling through his twisted unconscious, gradually dissolving into more and more empty, disturbing imagery. What was more, Seito seemed to have some kind of control over the Shadows around them, throwing wave after wave at them and forcing them to break off into groups to hold them back, until it was Adachi alone that was left to confront him. The resulting battle revealed just how twisted the boy was; he admitted that Chie was a complete accident, and he hadn't intended to kill her, but that sudden spark of power he had over another person escalated, making him feel like his life actually had a purpose for the first time since his twin sister died.

The two of them clashed violently, Adachi's Izanagi against Seito's Magatsu Izanagi, while the two of them fought physically with their own swords. Eventually, Seito got his hands on Adachi's gun, shooting him in the leg to disable him, and nearly shooting him in the head. Adachi used Izanagi then to attack Seito directly, knocking him away and allowing him to focus on his Persona, literally ripping Magatsu Izanagi apart and knocking Seito out for the count... sort of.

Seito was injured, but not out; he welcomed the Shadows into himself, absorbing their power and allowing Ameno Sagiri to emerge from within him. Everyone managed to rejoin Adachi at that moment, though they were all excessively worn out and the group did not last long at all. When it seemed like they were all going to die, Adachi found himself pulled into the Velvet Room again, only Igor and Michael were not there. Seito was... or at least, an attendant that looked like him. This person introduced himself as Gabriel, and revealed that he was a "Seito" from another world, one in which Adachi had been the one to murder people using the TV, and he had covered for him, becoming his accomplice. That was, until the Adachi he knew felt he was too much of a liability, and used the TV world to kill him. Obviously, after everything he had been through, the news that he could have been just as horrible as Seito sent Adachi's head spinning, but Gabriel assuaged his fears, telling him that he was very grateful for the chance to meet him however fleeting it may have been, as there really was a spark of hope in an "Adachi", a part of him that was worth truly believing in, no matter how dim it may have been.

Armed with that knowledge, Adachi returned to the real world and forced himself to move despite the overwhelming amount of pain he was in and the fog Ameno Sagiri was pouring into the area, forcing the human world and the TV world to merge together. He used his Personae to heal the others, and by combining their strength into the Judgment Arcana, the Investigation Team was able to defeat the God of Fog and release Seito from within.

With Seito and Kou arrested and the fog lifted from Inaba, the sleepy backwoods town returned to peaceful days once again. Adachi had been taking his job much more seriously, and now with Dojima, the two of them seemed to work together like real partners. Saki had been promoted in Junes, taking on Yosuke's old position, and also serving as a liaison between Junes and the Shopping District, encouraging the two to work together to better the community. Yukiko, finally laying to rest her need for revenge for Chie's death, accepted her role as the next manager of her family's inn, discovering that she couldn't really bear the thought of leaving it behind forever. Naoto decided to stay in Inaba, and began attending Yasogami High as a freshman now that the case was over. Kanji finally gave in to his love for "cute shit", starting to make crochet animals for his mother's shop. Rise had a tough time moving on; she had started dating Seito not long after she had been rescued from the TV, and fighting against him had been hard for her. However, she decided that if she survived that and the heartbreak that came with it, she could take that energy and pour it back into her idol career. Teddie decided to stay in the human world with everyone, and continued to live in Adachi's apartment, while working as the Junes mascot (and occasionally popping in at school, since he found it fascinating). Sayoko rediscovered why she had wanted to be a nurse during their adventures together, and dedicated herself more and more to her job. Despite the fact they were all busy with their lives, the Investigation Team stayed close to one another, spending any free time they had as well as Christmas together; it was during the holiday that Sayoko convinced everyone to chip in and purchase a proper motorcycle for Adachi, so he could, "At least pretend to be cool."

In March of the next year, Adachi's world was shaken up again: a letter was received from the prefectural office, congratulating him for his service in the year since being transferred to Inaba, and offering him back his old position in the Tokyo Police Department. Adachi wanted to be thrilled as he said he'd accept it... but really, he couldn't bring himself to be excited about it. Maybe before everything had happened, but now...? And what was more, something about the case was still bothering him: the TV world. When he arrived in Inaba, he could enter the TVs, something he could not do when he lived in the city. How did he gain that ability? He doubted it was just because he came into Inaba -- if that were the case, then everyone that came into town could do the same. Kou had told them after they rescued him the second time that he never could before, and suddenly could, so that debunked that theory.

It was the day before Adachi was to leave for the city that he brought it up to the rest of the Team, and they put their heads together, trying to help him retrace his steps that first day in Inaba. All he could think of was arriving in town and making it to his crappy little apartment, before reporting into work the next day; nothing else stood out. Since the Midnight Channel and being able to enter the TVs seemed at least somewhat related, the group went their separate ways, deciding to ask around town to see if they could find the source of the Midnight Channel rumor. As Adachi was walking down the Shopping District main street, he thought he caught a glimpse of Seiki, and followed it to the Moel Gas Station... and that's when he remembered that his first day in Inaba hadn't gone quite like he thought he remembered.

That first day, he had gotten gas for that embarrassing old clunker of his. The muffler had nearly fallen off again while he was driving, and he was so frustrated, he went to get a coffee without actually paying much attention to the attendant on duty. When he got back, the muffler had been forced on -- it had never fallen off again after that -- and the attendant had struck up a conversation with him while gassing up his car, after which he had felt pretty ill...

[wantedittobeagame]

As if in response to his realization, it suddenly started to rain, forcing him under the hood of the station, where he found the gas station attendant again. "He" reminded him (rather painfully!) that they had shaken hands, and "he" had forced Adachi's power to awaken, not that "he" needed to, seeing as Adachi had to face his true self in order to make any progress anyway. The gas station attendant shed their disguise then, revealing herself as Izanami, a Goddess of the dead. She told Adachi that not only was Ameno Sagiri was an aspect of herself that she created long ago, but that Seiki Souzen was as well. The Souzen twins were meant to be Izanagi and Izanami reborn, a means to make their story finally end happily, but fate dealt Seiki a cruel hand, and Seito also suffered the consequences. Because of this, Izanami felt it her responsibility to see what mankind really wanted with their lives, and she selected a number of representatives to help her decide. Adachi somehow ended up as her Hope representative, much to her surprise, but it was Seito's Emptiness and Kou's Despair that had the most severe impact; it made her come to the conclusion that humanity longed for nothing but to lose themselves in the fog of lies. Adachi told her no, that wasn't what humanity wanted; yeah, life sucked and the world was full of shit, but he knew now that there were bright patches that made living worthwhile. Izanami did not believe him, and instead challenged him to prove her wrong.

Adachi could not bring himself to get the others involved -- they had all gone through enough already, and considering how they had all almost died against just an aspect of Izanami, he wasn't about to ask them all to throw themselves in another dangerous situation like that. Unfortunately, Naoto had already gathered everyone together at Junes: her and Saki had come to the same conclusion as Adachi, and although they did not see the gas station attendant, questioning the elderly couple that owned the station revealed they had never hired anyone to pump the gas. Adachi filled in the blanks, trying to convince them to stay out of it with no success; they were a Team, and whether he wanted to or not, they were going to stick together.

The Investigation Team headed into the TV world one last time, finding themselves in Yomotsu Hirasaka, something very familiar to Adachi, as he had dreamed about being in this place after shaking Izanami's hand. At the end of the path to Yomi was the goddess herself, and as Adachi expected, the resulting battle was brutal. They started out holding their own well enough, but the more they attacked, the stronger she seemed to get... until she called on the hands of death themselves, dragging each of them to death one by one until only Adachi was left... and he too was eventually dragged into darkness.

As Adachi felt death looming, he could hear the voices of everyone that he had come to welcome in his heart; all of his social links banded together, calling out to him, begging him to get back up. Even Seito was there, quietly asking him to end this pointless excuse for his existence, so that they may all get on with their lives, beyond the influence of gods and goddesses. Their voices gave him the strength to get back up... and suddenly Michael was there. He told him that though he had no expectations for Adachi, he had come so far in such a short amount of time; seeing someone grow like that made it worth the sacrifices he had made to save the world when he was still a human being. He gave him the Orb of Sight, a crystal of power that was Adachi's inner strength and determination given form, and would shine on all truths and dispel all lies.

Adachi used it immediately, returning to reality, where Izanami's grotesque true form was waiting for him. She tried to drag him into death again, but her hands were unable to touch him. She used spell after spell on him, but that could not harm him either. He told her there was no way she would be able to touch him again, because he had the power of his entire World behind him. With that, he combined the power of all his Social Links, creating the World Arcana and giving rise to Izanagi-no-Okami, obliterating Izanami with the power of Myriad Truths and returning the world inside of the TV to its true form.

The next day, Adachi was ready to leave Inaba for good, set to take the train to his old apartment in the city, while his motorcycle would be sent up later. He got on the train... and as it pulled away, the others calling their tearful goodbyes after it, he had gotten off on the other side of the train. He couldn't leave, not after realizing how bright his World really was. The Investigation Team stayed together in the end, everyone piling on Adachi in a massive group hug.

Just before Golden Week, the group in Inaba received the news they had known they would hear eventually, but had been dreading it all the same: Seito did not protest against the charges filed against him, and was scheduled to be executed. As one of the investigators on the case, Adachi was obligated to be a witness, and viewing the execution was one of the last things he would do on his world, before being dragged into other universes for Synodiporia.

As far as personality is concerned, while Adachi can still be a jerk, because he's developed differently, there's more focus on his "nice guy" side. On the outside, Adachi is bright and upbeat, and quite a bit absent minded. He has a tendency to be overly mouthy about certain things, and this often leads to pain for him. He can also be a little disrespectful of women; though not to the extent of canon, he does seem to have trouble looking up far enough when speaking to them, or will occasionally make an offhand perverted comment. On the upside, he's learned when to duck. He's instinctively submissive, and seems to be able to know what people want to hear from him and deliver (or not) accordingly. He is also adept at making himself unassuming, often using his goofy actions to make others dismiss him. After all, who would think that a guy that was all gung-ho about cabbages being on sale was actually a detective? Despite this, he also has a tendency to whine and complain; one of his favorites before he got an attitude adjustment being that he was the only guy around all these teenage girls (Kanji included in that statement, which often led to Adachi having to duck for cover). He has an exceptionally high self preservation instinct despite his inability to watch his mouth at times, and when it looks like things are not going in his favor, he'll often act dumb and take the first chance he has to get out of a situation.

On the inside, he's something completely different. Adachi is actually deserving of his status as an elite detective; he is very smart and very attentive to detail, to the point where possibly only Seito or a canon version of the protagonist could rival him. A good example of this is the Mayumi Yamano case; he immediately picks up on the fact that her murder was entirely different from the others (and this corresponds with canon with the case of Morooka; he even comments later that Kubo did a poor job of mimicking the crime scene). He just does not like showing that he's this intelligent; he prefers to be seen as a clown that respects his superiors too much instead of taking on any kind of responsibility. At least, skirting responsibility was his excuse at first; after confronting his Shadow, he keeps up the act because he rather people underestimate him, giving him the element of surprise. Despite confronting his Shadow and accepting the fact that he's a pretty crappy individual, he still has a bad attitude over certain things. He still thinks the world is full of shit and many of the people in it are just there to give him a hard time, but now he does acknowledge that there are some bright patches in between.

At the start of his Fool's journey, Adachi was highly unmotivated. He hated and even resented that he was transferred to Inaba, refusing to take responsibility for the fact that he had essentially done it to himself. He also didn't want to do anything to change it, preferring to sit on his ass and act like the clown while waiting for the time he would be transferred back to the city, never mind that it would never happen with an attitude like that. Even when things got worse with the murders, he just did not care.

Now things are a little different; after learning from Gabriel -- and from her ranting as he defeated her, Izanami as well -- that there are other versions of him in the multiverse that made the wrong choice, that had no hope, he's determined to stick to his path. He wants to prove that just because every other version of "him" failed and traveled a dark road, doesn't mean that he has to. He's come to highly appreciate his position as a detective, and really, truly wants to protect the innocent from harm, even if Inaba does not see that much action normally. He does not regret his choice to stay in Inaba (though he does miss all the clothes he had in his duffle bag), and as of the "end game", he is quite content with his life. He has a partner that he knows has his back, a number of really good (if young) friends, and maybe a little bit of a romantic interest in a certain devil nurse. All in all, life is good, and he's happy with that.

[wantedittobeagame]

ABILITIES:
Wild Card
Adachi's unique ability is the "Wild Card"; most people who awaken the power of their Persona only have one, but he has several, each one corresponding to an Arcana. These Arcana, and the Personae they call upon, each represent a bond that Adachi as forged with another person. These bonds, or Social Links, not only give Adachi added strength when it comes to Persona summoning, but also help him complete his World and grow as a human being. A Social Link cannot be formed just by talking to someone once. Adachi needs to make a conscious effort to understand the person, or the person needs to make an effort to reach out to him, before a link can be formed. He's not exactly the best at doing this, and some links take longer than others (NAOTO), but if he's determined enough, he can manage well.
Personae
Personae reside in the sea of the unconscious, and are a part of Adachi's very soul. When he summons them, he is literally bringing forth a piece of himself. That's why, when his Persona is injured, he can also feel its pain, though he does not suffer any physical injury. Adachi's natural Arcana is The Fool, with the potential to become The World in desperate situations (AKA, mod approval will be needed, as things may potentially be destroyed). As the Fool/World, his natural Persona is Izanagi/Izanagi-no-Okami; the rest of his Persona list can be found here.
INVENTORY; Other than the clothes on his back, Adachi would be coming in with his TV world glasses, his service pistol, badge, and notepad.
ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW? To keep Adachi from getting too overpowered, I'm okay with him only having access to Personae that have a corresponding Social Link in game, meaning he'd have to work to get more than just Izanagi, and would need to actually bond with any canon characters present, even if he has a Link with their AU counterparts.

S A M P L E S;
FIRST PERSON: Adachi being an awesome protag friend.
THIRD PERSON: There were some things that Adachi never wanted to admit to, even now after everything that had happened in his year in Inaba. The fact that he really hated cabbage, he just bought it all the time because it was usually the cheapest food to grab in Junes and could be made into anything, was one of them. If he had to see another cabbage roll or cabbage soup or cabbage salad in his life, he would likely scream. Another thing was smoking; he couldn't stand it, and every time he saw his partner light up, he just wanted to rip the cigarette out of his mouth and stomp on it until all the tobacco was ground into the pavement.

The last thing? Was how much of a fanboy he was for noire-style books and film.

His Shadow had said once before that he had only gotten into law enforcement so he could carry a gun, and while it was mostly true, that wasn't entirely accurate. When he wasn't studying like his parents made him do almost every waking moment of his young life, he managed to sneak a book about a hard-boiled detective, or a crooked cop trying to make do with the world, and lose himself for a few hours. Who wouldn't admire a cool cop swaggering around in a trench coat and fedora, taking down the bad guys and trying not to be jaded by the system that said they could only do it a certain way? Naoto was the same way; it was pretty much the only thing they could bond over, even if she didn't quite grow up with the same reading material he did.

Even she would probably be completely exasperated by how he was acting after being dropped off on this world. After arriving, he had been too caught up in staring at himself in a shop window, taking in the look he had daydreamed and coveted since he was a kid, to pay much attention to anything else. He let his hands travel along the trench, traveling up until his fingers could reach up and brush against the hat, and... he balled up his fists and let out a loud, "WOOP!" of excitement.

When he felt eyes staring at him, he finally turned around, noting a number of people that had stopped what they were doing to stare at the detective. Adachi managed to let out a nervous laugh, and for a moment he wanted to just melt into the pavement. He pulled himself together enough to tip his hat toward the nearest person staring at him, before shoving his hands in his trench and stalking away as fast he could.

That... wasn't too conspicuous, was it?

[powersthatbe]

ACCEPTED!

Powercap-wise, Adachi will be limited to the number of Personae he's capable of carrying at one time - iirc that's either 12 or 16?

[wantedittobeagame]

I have been basing his powers on the anime (this is a fic, and it's much easier to write the Velvet Room that way, as opposed to the video game's Persona Swapping Power Hour), so he has access to one from each arcana provided in the link listed under his abilities. That's why I mentioned I would be okay with him only accessing Persona that he has social links in Synodiporia for; it would take time, because he's actually pretty sucky at reaching out to people, but also force him to interact with as many people as he can. Plus a canon Persona 4 character apping in would not get him an easy social link (at all).

If you still want me to cut the list down to 12, that's fine though; I just need to know so I can adjust the chart.

[powersthatbe]

Put that way, that should be fine.