Chapter 1

I was sitting inside the almost empty train. A few hours ago it had been quite the opposite and I'd been moaning about how stuffed it had been. Now I wished it would be that stuffed again. Except for me there were only a few guys there, who looked like they were ready to rape me.

I sure could handle one of them, but not all three. And if they'd all approach me at ones, than she would come out.

She already was on edge.

The train stopped and I stepped out, the thugs too. Well that was not surprising, the train wouldn't go any further.

As expected it happened. The three surrounded me.

"Now look what we have here?"

"She looks tasty~"

Tasty? That's a new one. I could already feel her making her way through my mind. I couldn't fight back.

"Now, you're coming with us nice and slow and..."

He didn't came any further, as my other self had completely taken over and punched him in the gut, while kicking the second person.

The third thug grabbed our shoulder from behind, but she reacted quickly, took the arm and through him to the next best wall. Did I mention she somehow unlocked superhuman strength within my body?

She was about to stomp the first one, who was still lying on the ground, when the 25th hour struck and the three in front of us turned into coffins.

"Please stop." I begged.

"You're too soft." she responded, shaking her head. She still had the control over my body. But then she smiled. I had no control over my body, but I could still feel what was going on with it.

"I guess that makes you a so called better person. You show mercy before your enemies. I guess I can take care of them again, if they bother us again."

She gave me the control back over my body. I was used to it by now.

I left the train station. I made my way towards the dorm I'd stay in for the next year. Moving around, over and over, none of my relatives could stand me for too long. Maybe it had something to do with this 25th hour or my split personality. Thinking of it now, both the 25th hour and my split personality started ten years ago, when the accident happened.

"You know as well as I do it was no accident." she spoke through my mouth.

Before I could respond, I saw someone ACTIVE during the hour. He wore the same uniform as I did, had blue hair, emo style and was lying on a bench.

"Maybe I should wake him up..." I mused and already approached him. He was sleeping alright. His expression was a pained one.

I gently shook his shoulder. He jolted awake, making me to take a step back. He panted heavily. Next he looked around, panicked.

"What the hell? How...? Where...?" He was totally lost. He then finally noticed me.

"Uhh..who are you?" he asked. It looked like he tried to regain composure by asking simple questions. I gave him a warm smile.

"I'm Hamuko Arisato, nice to meet you."

He titled his head. "Arisato? That's my name."

"Really? Funny coincidence." I chuckled.

"Yeah, hehe, I'm Minato by the way. So umm..." he searched something inside his pockets until he took out an envelope.

"Hey, looks like we're headed to the same dorm!" I exclaimed. He nodded slowly. "I guess..." he replied and stood up, stretching and yawning.

Afterwards we started walking. "Why were you sleeping on the bench anyway?" I asked.

"Uhh Jet-lag. I just wanted to sit down for a minute and yeah, I woke up during the dark hour."

"Is that what you call this time?"

"Oh uh, yeah."

"Sounds fitting." I nodded. The rest of the way neither of us talked. He didn't seem the type to talk a lot anyway. But I liked his company.

When we finally arrived, it was still the dark hour as Minato called it. Inside someone waited for us already.

"Hello, I've been waiting for you two a long time."

It was a little blue haired boy in prison clothes. Those weren't his pajamas, right? Wait a moment...

"Umm, isn't this a high school dorm? What's a kid like you doing here?" I asked. At this the boy chuckled. "Actually I am...how old is the world?" he asked. Before I could reply something he spoke up again.

"In any case, if you want to proceed, please sign in here." A piece of paper appeared out of NOWHERE.

"It's a contract. Don't worry. It just says that you take responsibility for all your actions. You know, the usual stuff."

"Yeah right..." I heard Minato mutter. He sounded pissed?

The boy's eyes lit up. "You want one too?" he asked. Wait, Minato wasn't going to sign one? Is this a prank?

Minato thought about it for a moment, before he nodded. His face was all serious. The boy's smile grew and a second paper appeared. Minato stepped forward. "This is different from the last time." he commented, after signing. The paper disappeared.

Wait last time? Did he already sign one?

Curiously I stepped forward. 'I chose this fate of my own free will. Signed:'

I wrote my name under the paper.

"Very well, time never waits. It delivers us all to the same end. Or does it?" The boy looked at Minato. "Very funny Pharos."

Pharos, that was his name? Minato knew him?

"And so it begins, again."

Again? Wait, WTF!? Where did he go?

"Who's there!?" I heard a female voice. "Again indeed." Minato muttered with an I-don't-really-care-let-me-alone voice. I just noticed he had the same mp3 as I did and the same headphones, both only in blue. He plugged in his headphones, covered his ears and started his music. Huh, so he likes 'Burn my Dread' too?

Back to the matter at hand, there was a girl with a gun on top of the stairs. I could feel my other self pushing me away. All I could do was tell her not to kill the girl. But before she could do anything, Minato did something. He just went up the stairs and stopped before the girl, who screeched. Me and my other self sweat dropped. He was just standing there!

"Takeba!" came another voice.

"Plenty of people who experience the dark hour." she commented, still having control over my body.

Minato just stood there. I was sure his face was emotionless. "Key." he simply said. We sweat dropped again. What's wrong with that guy? We both thought.

"Key." he simply repeated.

"I think he wants the key to his room." I took back the control, seeing as everyone was too dumbfounded to do something.

The girl in pink slowly took out a key. Minato took it and went towards a room. "Has he been here before?" I asked the other girl.

"N-no."

"Well he sure knows his way around."

By now the lights had turned on.

We quickly introduced ourselves. I told them Minato's name and first things first, made clear we were not related, so no one would ask me about his strange behavior.

Afterwards Yukari showed me my room. "Pretty easy to remember, huh? Hey, might I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead." I nodded.

"On your way here, was everything okay?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm used to the dark hour already."

"H-h-h-h-h-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

"Oh, Minato-kun called it the dark hour and I kinda like the name. You all experience it here, right?" I asked. She just gaped at me.

"It IS kind of obvious. Umm, can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Ah, uhh..o-o-o-okay. Goodnight."

My room was quite spacious and could called luxury with having my own bathroom, TV, mini-fridge...

"*Yawn*, too tired to think." I didn't even bother changing into pajamas and just put the blanket over myself. I fell asleep pretty quickly, too quickly actually.

My personal theory is, when I developed a second personality, it was the effect of the dark hour that this personality became almost like another whole person residing within myself.

The shock of my parents' death must've been what brought me into developing such a thing, because I felt too weak to defend myself.

My other self, she calls herself Nyx, called me. She actually looks more like a dark angel. Guess my imagination must've run wild. We were on some kind of rooftop and the moon was always full. Luckily these talks were like dreams, so I got my fair share of sleep.

"Something bothering you?" I asked.

"I don't think we can trust those people."

"Huh? Why not?" I knew she was a bit overprotective, but paranoid? That was a new one.

"For instance these people are the same as you. Meaning they might have something to do with the so called accident. Then there's the Minato-boy. I can't shake off the feeling we have seen him before."

"You sure? I'm sure this is the first time we met him. And I'm pretty much sure I don't have a brother or cousin that looks like that."

"Hmm...true. Just be careful." she said in a caring tone. I couldn't help but hug her. It is one of my addictions. Hugging people. Nyx ,though was used to it and hugged back.

I know it's kind of short, but it's only the beginning. I'm not allowed to mention the name of the person here. Happy birthday anyway.