stop! headcanon time~

[pitiedthefool]

Prelude to the Journey

• Born on Sept. 25, 1994 to Minoru and Chiyoko Narukami
• Named Yu Narukami.
• Father passed away when he was a small child.
• Chiyoko began traveling with her work, either leaving Yu with relatives or in the limo.
• He was expected to be "the man of the house" since he was five, given many responsibilities in that time. Often told to "be quiet" or to "shut up" when his mother had company.
• At age five, his mother met and later remarried to Kouki Seta a year later when Yu was six.
• He and he step-father do not get along because of his wish for Yu to throw away his toys--mainly because a certain stuffed teddy bear is all he has left of his birth father.
• Yu relents a few months later, soon throwing himself into school activities to try and relieve the crushing loneliness in his soul.
• He picks up drama to use his pain for something productive, sometimes playing the trumpet when he's home.
• Yu uses sports like soccer and basketball to use up his energy so he's quiet at home and stays out of trouble.
• Mainly, he uses all of this to try and make friends- only to lose them again when they go back to being on the road or he's shipped off elsewhere...
• Met a foreign exchange student from an English-speaking country, nicknamed "Souji" by her to make it easier.
• Yu spends little time with his mother and step-father, but when he does, it's always in the same limo with him in the back seat.
• He's more attached to his grandparents and cousins, who taught him Korean and some mixed martial arts (a blend of kendo and basic taekwondo for unarmed defense).
• His birth-father's parents instill a sense of honor and respect for the elderly in him.
• Being forced to face this reality at an early age and to fend for himself greatly suppressed his child-like playfulness...

Before the Greeting

• Due to traveling between relatives and with his mother during his early childhood, Yu is considerably withdrawn from others.
• He has been repeatably told to meet the expectations of society, thus sparking a small rebellious spark in him.
• His grandparents on his birth-father's side pass away, leaving a profound mark of loneliness on him as they were his last living ties to the father he barely remembers.
• News of his mother and step-father going overseas for business reaches his school.
• Whatever friends he had begin to distance themselves from him...

Farewells to Normalcy

• He bids farewell to his step-brother before leaving for the station alone.
• While boarding the train, he sees a blue butterfly (confirm with possible Philemon-mundane).
• Yu is welcomed into the Velvet Room while falling asleep on the train, proceeded by a dream about a woman being choked and shoved somewhere...
• Meeting the Dojima's.
• The almost-forgotten greeting at the gas station.
• Moel Gas Station Attendant more than likely saw the scars on his heart brought about by his loneliness, and the faint spark of hope that still lingered within his soul.
• "He" chooses to give that faint spark and hidden potential a "jump start"...
• This causes Yu to be sick for a few days, which is written off due to him "adjusting to the new environment."
• He was a little annoyed at first by his new surroundings, peeved by Mr. Morooka's statements about him. (You calling me a loser?)
• If it weren't for Chie and Yukiko asking him to join them on the way home thanks to the announcement, he likely would have had a hard time adjusting. He's grateful for that, even if he doesn't voice it.
• He doesn't like dealing with certain levels of stupidity and either ignores it or calls others out on it.
• He was freaked out by suddenly mysterious voice in his head and tv eating him.
• Yet very, very intrigued and enticed by the possibilities.
• He was excited about obtaining the power of Persona.
• Teddie's plight about wanting a peaceful world to call home again made him pity the poor guy...bear...thing(?).
• He began to empathize with others more after seeing Yosuke face himself.
• Divergence from a possible route similar to Tohru Adachi's began here.

Relations with the Investigation Team

• Best friends with Yosuke. They both know what it's like to move to the countryside from city life, and how boring it can be. It's a bond that only other city boys can understand, of being surrounded by so many yet being alone and afraid of it being even more apparent in a smaller group.
• Close friends with Chie. The desire to protect their friends, and a fear of what they hide from themselves.
• Close friends with Yukiko.
• Bros with Kanji, fellow lover of cute things and giving no fucks about it (and he occasionally trolls them all with Kanji being the butt of those jokes; see the swimsuit questions).
• Dating Rise.
• Naoto's junior detective. ...No, it's best not to ask about that one. >>;
• Over all: Because he's seen what they had previously hidden: Their fears, the lies they've told one another, the self-deception and doubt, how much suffering they've gone through alone... all of it, he feels especially close to the entire team. Every single time he watched them face themselves, it had been like facing a part of himself as well.
  
  The fear of being alone, of what one hides from yourself, the wish to break from from being "trapped" in a cycle they've led their entire lives but being too scared to act. To love something and have hobbies that many would look down upon and cover it up, then not knowing who your true self really is- or if there really is one behind the many masks he wore. The want to be accepted for who he is, and only having done so when he first came to town- being seen by others after Igor put the cards on the table before him...
  
  Above all, there is the fear of losing them all over again.