Chapter One
Reminescence
It was nearing midnight in the home of the Adachi family and the eldest son, Kasuo, lay wide awake in his bed. He reviewed everything that had happened that past summer longing for the memories to continue being made. But, to his dismay, tomorrow would be his first day of High School.
He lay with his eyes open staring at the ceiling as the pitter-patter of the raindrops fell on his bedroom window. But the noise of the raindrops, however were not what was keeping him up. He had just moved to the town of Kyoto from Osaka. It was a huge change of scenery for him, and it was much more rural than he was used to.
Since he moved, he knew no one in this town and didn't know what to expect from this drastic change of lifestyle. His parents had assured him that he would be fine, that there was nothing to worry about. But he didn't believe it. He had a gut feeling this would be an eventful year, but not a good year.
He pulled off the blankets of the bed, and stood up, yawning as he crossed his room to turn on a lamp on his desk. He went over to his bookshelf and pulled out a notebook.
This notebook was full of case notes from mysteries he had solved the past three years at his old school. He scanned the Table of Contents recollecting each of the names he had given to the cases.
He sat down at his desk, and turned to a page where a case entitled: The Clue in the Lounge. He remembered when the school bully, Osaka had sabotaged the school grading system giving himself a perfect score on all tests. Kasuo smiled as he closed the book, and put it gingerly on the bookshelf.
He dreamed of becoming a detective when he grew up, so he expressed interest whenever a mystery in the school came up. He was sort of a teacher's pet, which didn't make him very popular with the rest of his classmates.
Kasuo, however, did feel quite lonely often times. He wondered if there was another person like him to took a liking to solving mysteries like he did. He doubted it though.
He turned off the light and walked over to his window. The front yard of his house was illuminated by a street light. He could see the heavy rain coming down outside. He expected he would need to wear rain boots on his way to school tomorrow.
Making a mental note in his head to do so, he climbed back into bed and thought of nothing but the rain until the sound of the raindrops carried him to sleep…
It was supposed to be the alarm clock that woke him. Instead it was an enormous clap of thunder that echoed across the city. He jumped out of bed wide awake now. He looked out the window to realize that it was dawn. He looked at his digital alarm clock and saw that it was not working. He realized the storm must have caused a power outage. He went over to his night stand and picked up his watch and used the next bolt of lightning outside to see that it was 6:22am. School would start at eight o'clock.
He dreaded walking to school in this storm, both because he didn't want to get soaked in the rain, also because of fear of getting struck by lightning. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out his school uniform, which consisted of a black grey button up jacket, and khaki pants. He went into the bathroom and got ready for school. He brushed his brown hair, (even though it didn't really do anything), and went back to his bedroom. He pulled out the uniform which his mother had ironed the day before. It was only when he pulled on the jacket of his uniform that reality seemed to set in and the anxiety from the previous night started to set in once more.
He was already very scared about the school day without all of the rain pouring down. He shuddered to think what he would look like walking into the classroom soaking wet on the first day. He would be the laughing-stock of the school. He would have no friends. But then again, would that be different from any other year? He was never popular at all at his old schools. What would make this year any different? It is what it is, he thought, and walked into the hallway closing the bedroom door behind him.
He walked down the hallway into the kitchen and found his sister pouring herself a bowl of cereal.
"Morning," she said. "You excited about today? It's your First day of High School, you know."
"Not particularly," Kasuo replied, stifling a yawn. "But you must be excited because you are starting sixth grade this year."
"Yeah, I'm stoked!" she told him, beaming up at him. "But I have to admit it is kind of scary, starting a new school in a new town, especially for you."
"Don't remind me. Anyways, I'm gonna head out now. I want to get an early start so I'm not late on my first day."
"You could always just take the bus," his sister reminded him.
"I think I'd rather walk." He said, thinking of all the people who would also be taking the bus. Kids much older than him who would be looking for the earliest chance to pester him and make fun of him.
He grabbed his bag that was waiting for him on the arm of the couch. He grabbed his umbrella and rainboots. He put on the boots and opened the door.
"Bye," he called back to his sister, waving back at her.
"Good luck today!" she said and waved as well.
He closed the door, and got out his umbrella. He looked up at the sky, still not fully lit. It was only seven o' clock and maybe it would have been lit if the clouds weren't so thick. But the street was lit by a street lamp, so he could see. The rain wasn't coming down as hard now.
He was, at the moment, protected by the porch's roof. The porch ran along the front of the house. It had wooden floorboards, and it had a wooden bench hanging down from the roof, designed so you could swing on it. That bench, also, happened to be the place where his father had died.
It was a bright and sunny Tuesday. The moving truck was right on schedule, nothing had been broken inside the truck on the long drive to Kyoto. Everything was going according to plan.
After everything was moved in to the house, Kasuo and his father sat on the swinging bench, looking out upon their new neighborhood.
"Your mother really picked out a great home for us," he told Kasuo, who was listening intently beside him.
"Yeah," Kasuo replied, "I think I might even like this house better than our house in Osaka."
"Just think of all the adventure waiting to be had, and all the new opportunities, and places to explore, new people. It's a fresh new slate."
"And more mysteries to solve," Kasuo added.
"That too," his father agreed. "Honestly, do you ever give that mind of yours a rest?" he said, chuckling. "Oh, my boy, would you mind getting me a nice, cold, glass of lemonade from the refrigerator? I need something refreshing after lifting and moving everything."
"Sure thing," Kasuo said, as he stood up and walked inside the house. When he got to the refrigerator, he pulled it open, and saw the full pitcher of lemonade his mother made. He opened the cabinet and grabbed a glass and set it on the counter.
Several things happened at once. He was pouring the lemonade, when he heard a loud bang. He dropped the cup and heard it shatter when it hit the floor. He heard his father scream, and he ran-
Kasuo came back into focus realizing he only had half an hour to get to school he did not want to be late. Besides, that memory was full of sadness anyways. Things he'd rather not remember.
He opened his umbrella and walked down the two steps that led from the ground from the porch.
I'm sure glad that I'm wearing rainboots, he thought as he walked down the sidewalk, for everywhere he stepped he heard splashing and felt his boot go into the muddy water.
It was on the next street that he noticed a group of girls in the school uniform talking and laughing, two with brown hair and the last one with red hair. They were wearing his school uniform. He thought that he might go over and introduce himself, so maybe he wouldn't be completely lonely on his first day.
"What should I do?" he muttered to himself, looking at the group. He played every single possibility in his head, and all of them ended with them looking like a total loser. He had finally made up his mind not to go.
Kasuo tried to hear what the girls were talking about. He couldn't hear anything, because he was on the other side of the sidewalk, but kept trying, nonetheless. A few seconds later, Kasuo could distinctly hear the sound of coins dropping on the concrete. One of the girls stopped, and went to pick up the coins that had fell out of her pocket.
"I'll catch up with you," he could hear her shout to the other girls. And she bent down to retrieve them. He saw here searching for them on the road. No, the ground. There weren't any sidewalks on either side of her. There was a 5 meter gap in between the sidewalk.
It was just then that he heard the rumbling. He felt a vibration running through the ground. He wondered if it was thunder but he realized that it wasn't because thunder wouldn't be continuous. Yet a few seconds later the sound was still going strong. He wondered what it could be…
But then he saw something, barely visible under the layer of water and mud. It was a train track.
The rumbling sound is a train, he thought, and that girl is right on the track looking for her coins.
The rumbling sound grew stronger now, and Kasuo saw the train rounding the corner, only twenty feet from where the girl was. The girl was going to get hit!
I've got to get her out of there, he said, knowing he has about ten seconds to get her off of the tracks.
He took off his backpack, and ran full speed at the girl.
"GET OUT OF THERE!" he shouted. The girl didn't seem to hear him. Right before he got to her, she looked up, and, with a look of horror, saw the train barreling at her. He had only three seconds to get her out of the way. The girl seemed to be frozen with shock, so she wouldn't be able to do anything.
I'm the only one who can save this girl, he thought, picking her up.
One Second.
He ran to the side of the train track and dived hoping and praying that he would be clear of the train.
