["You haven't seen Ryotaro in years, Rusei. Are you sure you'll be okay staying with him in Inaba?"]

"Of course." I replied into my phone, placing my bag into the overhead compartment carefully since I was only using one hand. "No offense, but... Well..."

["Just got settled back into Japan?"] asked my mother, mirth in her tone. ["I don't blame you. But if Kirijo-san didn't think this project Fortunate Enterprises is working on would end up profitable..."]

I nodded as I sat down in my seat. "She wouldn't be sending you and dad over to help with it, I know. On the plus side I'll be able to not have to deal with changing up my studies and sleeping habits, and potentially avoid another one of dad's excessively verbose rantings at incompetents."

["I HEARD THAT!"]

I chuckled. "I'm just teasing, dad."

["Alright, don't antagonize your father now. He's still grouchy from the jet lag."]

"Isn't he-"

["Rusei..."]

I chuckled again. "Alright, alright. But shouldn't you both be getting some rest? It's late over there."

["Well, I did promise I'd call once our plane landed and we got to the apartment..."]

"True." I admitted, a small smile on my face. "Still, you should get some sleep mother."

I heard a huff, some muffled giggling, and then a faint 'ow!' along with something hitting a wall. ["Oh, alright you. But only because I know you'll worry if I don't. I'll talk to you later, Rusei."]

"Goodnight, mother." I said. "Pleasant dreams."

The sound of her chuckling softly filled my ear before the line went dead. With a resigned sigh, I tucked my phone into my pocket and leaned back in my seat.

-This will be an interesting year...- I thought, letting my eyes slip closed. -But, at least I'll be around family...-

I stayed in my seat like that for nearly a minute before the sound of the train was steadily drowned out by a woman softly wailing, as if at an opera. The train also felt... smaller. Like a car. I sat up straighter and opened my eyes, startled by what was before me when I did.

The train had become a deep blue limousine, with thick mist or fog rolling past outside the windows. On my left was a small set of shelves with various bottles neatly arranged on it, while on my right was a couch that spanned the length of the limo. Once I looked past the small divider in the middle, however, my attention turned to the two people who were seated across from me. One was an elegant looking blonde woman dressed in blue and holding a heavy book on her lap, while the other was a fairly old, balding man. The woman's most noticeable feature was her golden colored eyes, while the man... well, he had several. Most prominently his massive nose.

"Welcome..." he began, opening his eyes. They looked bloodshot, as if he hadn't had much sleep. "To the Velvet Room."

My eyebrow arched almost on reflex. "This is a limousine, not a room."

The man chuckled. "Perhaps for you. Place is... shall I say, malleable. It reacts to the psyche of our guests... and you, my young friend, seem to have an intriguing destiny."

"I sincerely doubt that, sir." I said. "Unless you have some evidence to the contrary."

"Indeed I might." he replied. "But, you needn't stand on formalities. My name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

I hummed. "I'm Rusei Norimoto, and I suppose the feeling is mutual... but, if I may be so bold; Why am I here? And where is here?"

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." stated Igor. "It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

"Contract?" I asked. "I've signed nothing of the sort."

He chuckled once more. "Perhaps you have, and it merely faded from memory, or perhaps you haven't, and such a fate awaits you in the near future..." The perpetual smile on his face seemed to grow wider. "In fact, let us take a look into your future and see for ourselves."

Before I could question how he intended to do such a thing, Igor waved his hand over the table before him and a stack of cards appeared.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?" he asked, waving his hand once more. Seven cards slid out of the deck and arranged themselves on the table face-down. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different... Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

I stared at the cards carefully. Something seemed familiar about them, but... I couldn't place what it was.

"I suppose it does..." I admitted. "Though, I've never honestly been the type to believe the future can be predicted to an accurate degree."

Igor chuckled yet again. He seemed prone to that. "A fair assessment, my young friend. But let us see what the cards say..." He made a motion akin to physically flipping a card over, which caused one of the cards on the table to do just that and reveal itself; A tower being struck by lightning, with the top half of it falling off.

He hummed with interest. "The Tower in the upright position represents your immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent..."

"How terrible?" I asked, feeling myself tense up slightly.

"I could not tell you the extent, however the card for the future beyond that..." Igor said, making another card flip itself over. The image this time was of a crescent moon. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'..."

"Mystery..." I repeated, looking at the cards for a moment before shifting my gaze to Igor. "So there's a mystery in my future?"

He nodded. "Indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you..." He looked at the cards again, then suddenly seemed... perplexed. "...Hrm?"

"What is it?"

Igor waved his hand, causing another card to slip out from under one that hadn't been revealed yet.

"Another card...?" he murmured before causing it to flip over. The image was of a sword with a wheel behind it, an imp above it and snake below. "The Wheel of Fortune in the upright position..."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Once more, Igor's already large smile seemed to grow larger.

"It seems fate has dealt a Wild Card I had not expected..." he replied. "And it appears to be to your benefit..." His gaze returned to me, the cards all vanishing with a wave of his hand. "But, in the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... but if the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen."

"And what of your friend?" I turned my gaze to the woman who'd been quietly watching us both converse. "What is she going to do?"

"Ah, my apologies." said Igor. "I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

"My name is Margaret." she said evenly, a regal air in her tone. "I am here to accompany you through your journey."

"But, we shall attend to the details another time." Igor added, my vision beginning to fade. "Until then, farewell..."

I awoke in my seat with a start, looking around quickly. I was still on the train. I quickly pulled out my phone, discovering I had a response to the message I'd sent my uncle when I'd first gotten on the train.

-'Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at Four PM'... Ah, he must be bringing his daughter with him.- I thought. -It'll be nice to finally meet her...-

I heard a groan from across the isle, causing me to turn my head. A tall, seemingly foreign man with red hair appeared to be waking up from a nap, groggily rubbing his head. He didn't look more than three years older than me if I had to guess. Poor soul was probably working off jet lag.

"What year is it...?" he grumbled aloud, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

I turned away at that point, my curiosity sated as I gazed out the window and tucked my phone back into my pocket. I watched the landscape roll past, contently enjoying the view of the countryside as the train carried on down the track. Eventually, Inaba started to come into view and the intercom turned on, telling passengers to grab their bags if this was their stop. I did so, as did the red haired man across from me.

-Very tall...- I noted as he easily pulled down a backpack from the overhead compartment. -And... he has a cane? Is it for style, or did he actually hurt himself?-

I kept my questions to myself, however, and made my way off the train before he did. I looked around as I stepped onto the platform, but didn't see Ryotaro anywhere. Rather than wait around, I checked the note I had with his address on it and stepped off the platform.

"Hey, over here!"

I looked in the direction of the voice, and Uncle Ryotaro was waving at me. Or at least, I presume the roughly my height older gentleman with short brown hair who looked like the straight man to some comically inept moron is him, going by the description that mother gave me. I approached him, shaking his hand when he offered his.

"Good to see you again, Rusei." He said, letting go of my hand. "Certainly gotten bigger since the last time I saw you... Welcome to Inaba, I'm Ryotaro Dojima."

"I remember, Uncle." I chuckled. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, not since your ninth birthday..." he laughed. "Your mom never forgave me for the dart gun I got you..."

I snickered at the memory. "Father thought it was funny, though."

"Well, he's a bit out there..." commented Dojima before he stepped a little bit to one side, revealing a young girl standing behind him. "Speaking of being a dad, this my daughter, Nanako." He nudged her forward slightly. "Go on, say hi to your cousin."

Nanako squirmed in place slightly. "...'lo."

She quickly scurried back behind her father, though I honestly didn't know why. It's not as though I'm very intimidating in appearance.

"What're you so shy for?" Dojima asked with a soft chuckle.

Nanako's response was to harshly smack him on the back of his left leg. He yelped, but kept laughing at the antics. She simply huffed and crossed her arms.

"Well, let's-"

"Um, excuse me..."

I turned my head and the red haired man from the train was standing nearby, his phone in hand.

"Ryotaro Dojima?" he asked.

"That's me..." My uncle responded.

The red haired man held out the phone, and Ryotaro took it.

"Hello...?" he asked, then suddenly his expression lightened. "Oh, Kihei... uh huh... Ah, I see... Edge of the shopping district fine? I need to get gas... Alright. Goodbye."

He hung up the phone, handing it back to the red haired man.

"Well, that's not what I was expecting..." Ryotaro admitted. "Last I heard of you was two years ago, if only because he kept bringing you up for about a month."

The man shrugged. "Well, this time was kinda more last minute than we expected. And Kihei's, well... Kihei."

"Yeah, always got some new piece of 'art' in mind..." agreed Ryotaro.

"Um, what's going on?" I asked.

"I kinda need a ride to the Shopping District since my Uncle can't come pick me up." sighed the red haired man. "I'm tired beyond belief and my head hurts, and this is only my second time in Inaba in as many years..."

Nanako stared up at the man. "...You're big."

He laughed. "Yeah... I get that a lot."

"Well, my car's over this way." said Ryotaro, pointing over his shoulder. "Good thing your stop is both near one of ours and on the way home."

"I guess so..." he said. "Name's Roy, by the way. Roy Fortune."

-...Fortune?-

"Nice to meet you."

The Dojimas headed towards the car with Roy, but I stopped myself a few steps into following them when I realized I didn't have the note anymore.

"...Hey."

I turned around and a dark haired girl with an unfriendly air about her was holding something out to me.

"You dropped this." She said, glancing at the slip of paper in her hand.

-Ah, that's...!- "Oh, thank you." I said, walking over and taking the paper from her. It was the note I thought I'd lost not but a few moments ago.

"Whatever..." she scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "All I did was pick it up..."

"Still, thank you." I said, bowing slightly. "I'll see you around, miss."

She rolled her eyes again before I walked away, heading over to the Dojima's car.

"Good lord I am too goddamn big..." Roy griped quietly in English a few minutes into the car ride.

"Blame your genetics." I commented, not looking up from the light novel I was reading.

"Hardy har har." he grumbled, trying to get comfortable. "So what's your name, anyways?"

I glanced up at him for a moment. "Rusei Norimoto."

"Norimoto?" He repeated, sounding curious. "Huh... interesting name for a Fool."

I glared at him sharply. "Pardon?"

"Turn of phrase, no offense intended." he said, holding up a hand.

I hummed bitterly, returning my attention to my book. The rest of the trip was fairly quiet until we finally arrived at the gas station. Nanako got out of the car with her father, getting directions from an attendant before scurrying off.

"Oh hey, the hermaphrodite still works here..."

I looked over at Roy. "What?"

He motioned towards the attendant that Ryotaro was talking to.

"Met that person when I was here a couple years ago." He said. "Still can't tell if that's a guy or a girl."

I gave him an odd look. "That sounds like more of a problem on your part, Fortune-san."

He shrugged. "Probably... but god, I need out of this car..."

I tucked a bookmark into my novel as he climbed out of the SUV before I stepped out myself.

"Hey, thanks for the ride Dojima-san!" Roy called out as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

Dojima responded, but he was just far enough away that I couldn't hear what he'd said. Roy, meanwhile, headed into the shopping district. He walked past a couple of students, a girl and a boy, who at least appeared to be siblings if their matching gray-brown hair was any indication.

"Are you in high school?"

I turned my head and the 'hermaphrodite' Roy had mentioned was looking at me from the other side of the car while they pumped gas into it. I nodded in response to their question, slightly ashamed I couldn't accurately discern their gender myself.

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?" they asked. "So little that I'm sure you'll get bored fast."

I shrugged. "I don't actually bore easily, and a quiet, sleepy town is a nice change of pace in my opinion."

"Really? Well, if you do get tired of hanging out with any friends you make, we're looking for part-time help here." said the attendant. "Just give it some thought."

"So it wouldn't be a problem if I'm still a student?" I asked, arching an eyebrow as the attendant finished putting gas in the SUV.

They scoffed, stepping around the car to face me. "Not at all. Help's help as far as the management is concerned." They held out their hand. "So keep it in mind if ya need something to do down the line."

"I'll be sure to do that." I replied, shaking their hand out of politeness more than anything. I felt a rumble in my body, causing me to let go a moment later and place a hand on my head.

"Oh, I should get back to work..."

The attendant walked away, and I felt dizzy. I put a hand on the car to keep myself from falling over and shook my head slowly.

"Are you okay?"

I looked towards the front of the car and Nanako was staring at me.

"Did you get carsick?" she asked. "You don't look too good..."

"I feel strange..." I admitted. "I should probably go to sleep early tonight..."

Nanako simply stared for a moment longer before she got back into the car, Dojima walking over a few moments later. I climbed into the car as well, and we headed off to their home.

The ride from the Shopping District to the Dojima Household was shorter than I expected, which I was grateful for because whatever was wrong with me didn't appreciate being in a moving vehicle. I started feeling better after I took my bags up to the room I'd be using. When I came back down, I found the Dojimas seated at their small table with several microwave dinners set out.

-I should try to cook something while I'm here...- I thought as I sat down.

"All right." Dojima began, holding up a can of soda. "Let's have a toast."

I shrugged internally, picking up the drink that'd been set out for me and toasting with Ryotaro and Nanako before we started tucking into the meal.

"So… your mom and dad are busy as always…" said Dojima, clearly trying to get a conversation going. "They're working overseas again, right?" I nodded in reply. "I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents…" he winced. "It's rough being a kid."

I laughed quietly. "Actually, it was my idea to come here."

That seemed to surprise him. "Really?"

"Mmhm." I hummed with a nod. "We only just got back to Japan recently, and I thought staying in one place for longer than a few months would be a good idea, even if all the traveling IS fairly interesting as far as the locations we end up..."

"Ha, you're certainly optimistic..." Dojima chuckled. "Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around." He smiled. "So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

I smiled back. "Thank you. I'll do that."

He barely had another bite of food in his mouth before his cellphone started ringing. " Ugh…" He scowled. "Who's calling at this hour?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Dojima speaking."

He hummed once, then stood and took a few steps away from the table.

"Yeah? I see…" Dojima continued, his back to the two of us. "So where is it?" There was a short pause, then he gave a tired sigh. "All right, I'm on my way." He flipped his phone shut and tucked it into his pocket.

"Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze…" he muttered, turning around. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me." Dojima started towards the door, and I saw regret flash across his features for a moment. "I don't know how late I'll be." He paused mid step and turned his head back to look at us. "Nanako, you help him out, okay?"

"…Okay." She replied sadly.

He stepped away, then I heard the front door open.

"Nanako, it's raining out." Ryotaro stated over the sound of rainfall. "What did you do with the laundry?"

"I already brought it in!" she reported.

I blinked and stared at her for a moment. -She does the laundry…?-

"…All right. Well, I'm off." The door shut a moment later.

Nanako sighed and sat back down, then turned on the TV as I continued eating.

["-for this week. Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather. With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas."]

I glanced over at Nanako, who still looked a bit depressed.

"It's tough, isn't it?"

She looked up at me, slightly confused.

"Having your dad away at work a lot." I clarified. "It's tough sometimes."

Nanako sighed again. "Yeah… but I'm used to it. He's a detective, so he has to investigate crime scenes and stuff."

I winced. The fact she sounded like me at that age stung quite a bit.

["And now for the local news."] our attention shifted to the TV as the newscaster began talking about that scandal involving secretary Namatame. It's been on the news for the past three or four days, actually.

"This is boring." Nanako commented, hitting a button on the remote to change the channel.

["At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!"] Announced the woman in the commercial. ["Everyday's great at your Ju-nes~!]

"Everyday's great at your Ju-nes~!" sang Nanako, swaying back and forth with her chopsticks in hand.

I stared at her quietly, partly mesmerized by how cute her reaction to that song was.

Nanako looked over at me curiously. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Hmm? Oh, right. I got distracted, sorry." I apologized, then I continued eating my dinner.

I helped Nanako clean up once we finished eating, then headed up to my room again. I spent roughly an hour sorting around some of the boxes before I attempted to get some sleep. At first, it seemed like I'd have a restful night... until things got, well, odd. I found myself in a strange, fog filled location, standing on what appeared to be a red brick path.

"What in the world...?" I muttered, looking behind me. The path didn't go very far back from where I was standing, coming to a sharp stop.

-Only way is forward, I suppose...- I thought, turning away from the edge and starting down the path laid before me. After a few feet, I realized I was carrying something. A sheathed tsurugi, to be exact. I pulled it out slightly, intent on inspecting it. The blade was exceptionally well crafted in appearance, though I was curious about the marking on the blade near the hilt. It was the kanji for 'moonlight'. -Perhaps the smith's mark?-

"Do you seek the truth...?"

I looked around, returning the blade to its sheath. There was nothing around besides myself, the path, and the fog.

"If it's truth you desire, come and find me…"

An uneasy feeling came over me as I continued along the path. The thick fog made it slow going, which was likely a good thing as if I'd been moving any faster than a walking pace I likely would've run straight into a large wall. It seemed to be made of stone, with an alternating red and black square pattern on it. Out of curiosity, I touched it, and the wall folded in on itself like some manner of strange door. I hesitantly stepped into the now revealed room, something in my mind making me wary.

"So, you are the one pursuing me..."

A silhouette appeared in the distance. Human-like, at least in shape, but too shrouded in fog to make out details beyond the fact it was there. I instinctively placed my hand on the hilt of the sword I was carrying, faintly wondering why I felt so threatened by this figure in the fog.

"Hmhmhm... try all you like... you will not find me..."

Without thinking, I shot forward and swiftly unsheathed the tsurugi, slashing the figure across the chest and returning the blade to its sheath in three swift motions. I felt myself smirk as the figure vanished, proud I managed to do that with a genuine sword and not simply a wooden one.

"Hmmm... it seems you can see a little, despite the fog..."

The figure reappeared some distance away from me, and seemed... intrigued by my reaction. Something else, however, started... I suppose 'clawing' would be an accurate word, at the back of my mind. Like there was something that wanted out. I felt something in my right hand, and I held it up enough to get a look at it. It was a card, but... the image on it was distorted, covered by fog. Instinct took over once more and I clenched a fist around the card, crushing it. A feeling like something being set free from within my mind washed over me as another figure shot past me, towards the first one.

The second figure lashed out with a sword, striking the first hard enough to cause an audible slashing sound like you'd expect from a game or anime. The first figure vanished, while the second one seemed to back up towards me, having returned their blade to the sheath. Their form was less indistinct than the first, helped by what appeared to be glowing gems on its wrists and ankles. The most easily recognizable features of it were its large jacket and the sword it had belted to its waist.

"I see… Indeed, you possess an interesting quality…"

The fog suddenly thickened, and the sword wielding figure took another step back and closer to me.

"But… you will not catch me so easily… If what you seek is 'truth', then your search will be even harder…"

The swordsman held out a hand and I heard the sound of ice being violently smashed against something. I couldn't see the first figure at all.

"Everyone sees what they want to… and the fog only deepens… Will we meet again…? At a place other than here…"

I fell to one knee, clutching my head, seeing the swordsman vanish with a faint blue glow out of the corner of my eye.

"Hmhm… I look forward to it…"

The sword slipped from my hand as I felt my consciousness slip away into darkness.

I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door to my room.

"Breakfast's ready…"

I sat up, yawning slightly as the dream kept playing itself in my mind. I grabbed my phone to silence the alarm, wondering if there was any connection between the dream I'd had the day before on the train and the one from this past night. They happened to close together to be a coincidence. Unfortunately, I didn't come to any solid conclusion before I finished getting dressed and ready for my first day at school. In fact, I was still mulling it over as I went downstairs, finding Nanako at the kitchen table.

"Good morning." she said with a small smile, setting down a plate of eggs before taking a seat.

I smiled back as I sat down at the table. "Good morning."

"Let's eat!"

I nodded silently in agreement, then tried the food that'd been set out. "Did you cook this yourself?"

"Mmhm." She replied, a hint of pride in her voice. "I can toast bread and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning. Dad can't cook so I buy dinner."

I blinked in surprise as I took a bite of the eggs, though a small pit formed in my chest at the same time.

"I see." I said once I swallowed my food. "And you're very good at it. I don't normally eat eggs like this, but it's quite tasty."

Nanako's eyes lit up. "Really?"

I nodded seriously. "Really."

She smiled brightly. "Yay!"

We ate quietly for a few minutes before Nanako spoke up again.

"You're starting school today, right?" I nodded in response. "My school's on the way, so… let's go together."

"Okay." I replied with a small smile.

After breakfast, Nanako and I grabbed our things and headed off, though I had to borrow a spare umbrella due to the rain. She was kind enough to point me in the direction of Yasogami High before she left to go to her own school, leaving me contently listening to music on my MP3 player. About seven or so songs into the playlist it was on, I noticed a familiar mop of red hair poking out from under an umbrella a little ways in front of me. The man I'd met yesterday was in the same kind of uniform as myself, so clearly he wasn't actually as old as I'd thought he was.

I started catching up to him just in time for someone to wobble past on a bright yellow bicycle, trying to steer and carry an umbrella at the same time. He didn't have much luck with it, given that he got roughly five feet past me before he crashed harshly into a telephone pole. I could've sworn I even heard something break. Both the man from yesterday, Roy if I remember his name correctly, and I approached the poor soul.

"Hey, you okay dude?" asked Roy.

The unfortunate guy was clutching his groin, but shook his head and waved one hand dismissively. "I'm fine... no worries..."

"Nothing broken?" I inquired.

"Nothing besides my pride..." he wheezed. "I'll be alright..."

I glanced at Roy, who was looking at me with surprise, before turning back to the cyclist.

"Very well then..." I said. "See you around..."

"Yeah... later..." he replied.

"Don't strain yourself, dude!" added Roy as he and I walked away.

It took maybe ten seconds before I heard him chuckle.

"Well, this is unexpected..." he said, looking at me. "Looks like we'll be seein' more of each other, kid."

I gave him an odd look. "So it would seem, Fortune-san..."

He laughed. "Man, you can just call me Roy. I won't get offended or anything. And your name's Rusei, right?"

"I prefer to air on the side of caution." I replied. "And yes, it is. Well met, I suppose."

"I feel bad for bike guy back there, though." he noted, glancing over his shoulder. "That can't have been pleasant..."

I nodded in agreement. "Not pleasant at all..."

The two of us talked a bit aimlessly for the rest of the trip, mostly discussing who we were staying with. He's apparently nephew to the owner of a Metalworks here in Inaba, though he stayed in America the past couple of years due to a family emergency of some sort. We didn't have the time to go into much more detail beyond that before we reached the school. He remarked on the height of another student, seeing as they were the only person besides Roy to stand a good foot over everyone else. We found the faculty office fairly easily, but when we met our teacher and were subsequently lead up to the classroom? I get the feeling both of us wished we hadn't.

"Awright, shut your traps!"

I honestly never thought I could hate another human being as quickly as I came to dislike my homeroom teacher. I couldn't tell if Roy was of similar opinion beyond a flicker of intense annoyance in his eyes. He was quite good at keeping a straight face though, I'll give him that.

"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!" he stated, glaring at the entire class as he kept his hands in his pockets. His outfit was unremarkable; a blue, pinstriped suit and a yellow checkerboard tie, but his most… prominent characteristic had to be his teeth. They're the kind of thing dentists would have nightmares about. "First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as driven snow!"

Were I sure this was a horror film instead of reality, I would bet five-hundred yen that he's the first one to be killed by the monster, serial killer, or what have you.

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce these transfer students..."

"Can't you just FEEL the excitement in his voice?" Roy whispered to me. "It's infectious, isn't it?"

"Quite." I whispered back, suppressing a grin.

"The first of these sad sacks got tossed out here to the middle of nowhere from the big city like he was yesterday's garbage." Morooka continued, motioning for me to step forward. "And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him!"

I noticed Roy lean back slightly out of the corner of my eye.

"Um, Sensei?" he asked. "With all due respect, you DO know that saying those sorts of things can get you fired, right?"

Morooka just glared at Roy with the intensity of an active fire hose.

"Just sayin'." he continued, standing up straight again. "I've seen it happen."

"Hmph... you're on my shit list, kid." snarled the teacher. "Effective immediately."

Roy mumbled something, but my attention remained on Morooka.

"Dark hair, tell 'em your name." he said. "And make it quick."

I nodded, clearing my throat and standing up a bit straighter.

"My name is Rusei Norimoto," I said with a bow, ignoring my own agitation at the teacher's attitude. "It's nice to meet you all."

Morooka gave me an odd look. "How do you spell that?"

Without a moment's hesitation, as this has happened to me before, I turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, and drew the kanji for my name on the blackboard behind me before stepping side.

"Like this, sensei." I said, setting down the chalk.

"SO!" He bellowed, causing me to jump in surprise. "You think you can impress girls with your fancy ass name, don'tcha you little punk?"

"N-No, of course not..." I said uneasily. This is the first time someone's gotten angry about how my name is spelled, even if it's not my fault the kanji in my name can be read as 'Original Law of the Quiet Moon'.

Morooka grunted angrily. "Now listen up, you! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one!"

-...I'm from Tokyo.- I thought dryly, wondering if one of the other differences was that Morooka's seemingly infinite and unbridled hatred of anyone under the age of twenty was powering Inaba. -So yes, it is.-

"You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!" He continued.

Unfortunately for both myself, and Morooka, my patience for this sort of thing is not infinite.

"Such notions are furthest from my mind, I assure you." I said, my tone a bitter and cold as the dead of winter. I learned to do that from watching my mother deal with certain people.

Morooka actually seemed caught off guard by my reply, now trying to salvage whatever sort of wild accusations he was trying to make.

"Excuse me! Is it okay if Norimoto-kun sits here?"

I looked in the direction of the voice, as did Morooka I presume, seeing a girl wearing a green jacket holding up her hand.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. Go take your seat, kid." Morooka grumbled, straightening his tie and giving me a wary look.

-I get the feeling I terrified the poor man...- I thought to myself as I went over to take my seat.

"He's the worst, huh?"

I glanced to my right, and the girl in green was whispering to me.

"Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class..."

"I think I'll be fine..." I replied quietly.

"Alright, now to introduce the other failure we've got joining us..." Morooka began, sounding like he was back into his groove of wild accusations towards students. "This sorry excuse for a human being's been thrown out of an entire CONTINENT to be dumped on us, so there's no way in hell he's worth anyone's time at all!"

Roy seemed to be amused by the teacher, however, simply rolling his eyes.

"Only thing he's got going for him is the fact we could use him as a replacement flagpole." continued Morooka, now looking at Roy. "Give 'em your name already, kid."

"Roy Fortune." he said, smiling pleasantly and bowing slightly. "Nice to meet you all."

"What the hell is with you transfer students and your weird ass names?" exclaimed the teacher. "This is ridiculous! What kind of parents-"

"Leave them out of this." Roy snarled, his expression going from calm and polite to savage and angry in the span of the time it took me to blink. "So where do I get to sit?"

Once again, Morooka was on the backpedal, though a bit more intensely seeing as how Roy was a good four or five inches taller than me. His orange colored eyes and near literally fiery red hair probably made him look more intimidating as well.

"B-Back there." he stammered, sounding like he'd just stared an angry Oni in the face. "Take your damn seat and be quick about it!"

"Sure thing." said Roy, his demeanor already back to the more pleasant one he'd had mere moments ago, before he walked past me and sat down at the desk behind the girl in green. This lead to me discovering I was seated in front of the guy who crashed his bike this morning, and he looked... well, dead.

Once Roy was seated, the class started buzzing a bit.

"Holy shit, did you see those guys?"

"Yeah! That's the first time I've seen anyone talk back to King Moron and live!"

"I got a good feeling about this year now..."

"Shut your traps!" Morooka barked, silencing the class instantly. "I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you all to respond in a prompt and orderly manner!"

I leaned a little closer to the girl in green.

"Are all the teachers like him?" I asked in a whisper.

"No, but they're..." she paused for a moment. "Kinda out there..."

"Gonna be like my old school all over again..." I heard Roy comment from behind us.

"That's all for today." said Morooka several hours later once school was finally over. "Normal lectures will start tomorrow."

I sighed as I started packing up my school bag, thankful I wouldn't have to listen to Morooka drone on anymore than I already had. A pair of students started conversing near my desk, but I didn't pay attention to them beyond the fact they were their, especially not once the school intercom came on with an announcement. The teachers were called to the faculty office and the students told to stay in class, and naturally Morooka more sternly told us to stay put before he marched off.

One of the students nearby complained about the teacher, but the subject changed once sirens were heard outside. The girls and most of the rest of class scurried over to the windows, a few complaining about the thick fog outside.

-...Fog...- I silently mused. -And sirens... a catastrophe? No... it couldn't be...-

My attention shifted to someone approaching the girl who sat in front of me and to the right. She stood out a bit, seeing as she had on a bright red sweater.

"H-Hey, Yukiko-san... Mind if I ask you something?" he asked. "Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"

'Yukiko' didn't even look up at him. "I can't discuss such things."

My attention shifted away from them as I tried to place what the student had been talking about. The only thing that I could think of was the affair that'd been on the news nearly non stop for the past week. I didn't get the chance to think further before the intercom came on again, stating there had been an incident and that all students were to go straight home without bothering any police officers we might have encountered. I found the announcement suspicious as I stood up, but felt it would be best to let the police do there work. I started towards the door, only to find a pair of girls standing in my way; the girl in green who sat next to me, and the one in red who sat in front of her.

"...Is something wrong?" I asked, admittedly nervous.

"Nope!" said the girl in green, a friendly smile on her face. "I just wanted to ask if you were going home by yourself."

I blinked. "Well, yes actually... I haven't exactly made friends in a day..."

"What, am I chopped liver?" asked Roy, still seated at his desk. "Although I guess it might not actually count yet..."

"Um..."

"Well hey, you guys wanna walk home with us?" asked the girl.

Roy smirked. "Sure, sounds fine to me."

I weighed the options in my head for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to be social."

"That's the spirit!" she cheered. "Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka."

"I heard Morooka-sensei call your name earlier..." I chuckled sheepishly. "Who's your friend?"

"Y-Yukiko Amagi." said the girl in red, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry this is so sudden..."

Roy laughed. "No big deal. I've seen worse introductions."

"As have I..." I admitted.

"Uh, umm, Satonaka-san…?"

The four of us turned our attention to the new voice, which belonged to the fellow who'd crashed his bike this morning. He had a DVD case in hand and he looked like he'd gotten caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

"This movie was really awesome..." he began, his tone matching his expression. "Like, the way the moved was amazing as hell to see..." He suddenly bowed and held out the DVD to Chie. "And... I'm really sorry! I lost control of my bike this morning! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!"

Chie had barely taken the DVD case from him before he tried to hustle out of the room.

"See ya, thanks!" He said, but he didn't get far.

"Stop right there!"

Primarily because Chie leapt over two rows of desks to get ahead of him.

"What did you do to my DVD?"

Both myself and Roy flinched when Chie span him around and kicked him square in the groin. And quite hard, if the expression of utter anguish now plastered on his face was any indication.

"What the-! I can't believe this!" she exclaimed once she finally opened her DVD case. "It's completely cracked... My 'Trial of the Dragon'...!"

Roy, Yukiko, and I approached while the guy the universe appeared to hate finally seemed to be able to vaguely form sounds that weren't pained grunts.

"I think mine's cracked, too..." he wheezed. "C-Critical hit to the nads..."

-...Note to self: Stay on Satonaka's good side at all times if you ever want to have the option to have children in the future.-

"A-Are you alright?" asked Yukiko, sounding fairly concerned.

"Oh, Yukiko-san..." he said, looking up at her hopefully. "Are you worried about me...?"

"He's fine." huffed Chie. "Let's ditch him and go home..."

Yukiko simply gave the unlucky man a concerned look before following her friend out of the classroom.

"Will you be okay?" I asked him, halfway out the door.

"Yeah..." he groaned in reply. "Not the first time this has happened..."

Roy sighed, digging something out of his uniform jacket and then handing it to Yosuke.

"Here, take this." He said. "You'll feel better, trust me."

The unlucky student merely nodded, accepting what turned out to be a white pill, presumably aspirin.

"Thanks..." he wheezed as Roy and I left to catch up with Chie and Yukiko. We met up with them at the shoe lockers before following them out of the building. Once we reached the gate, though, an odd student approached us.

"You're Yuki, right?" asked the strange student. "Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?"

I arched an eyebrow as I silently sized up the stranger while Yukiko sputtered in confusion.

Short black hair, rather... unusual eyes, and wearing a uniform quite obviously belonging to a school other than Yasogami High. His stammering suggests he's nervous, and given he asked for conformation of Yukiko's identity he clearly doesn't know her well enough to be using a nickname like 'Yuki'. Regardless of how he actually found out her name, he certainly seems like he's a potential stalker. Hopefully he's the harmless kind.

"Um, s-so..." stammered the strange student, presumably bothered by the amount of other people I could hear starting to form a crowd behind us if not just nervous in general. "Are you coming or what?"

Yukiko shook her head, looking rather uneasy because of his advances. "I-I'm not going."

"Fine!" he shouted childishly, scowling before he sprinted off down the street.

"Wh-What did he want from me…?"

I looked at Yukiko incredulously. -...Is she serious...?-

"You couldn't tell?" asked Roy, sounding as surprised as I was.

"Obviously he was asking you on a date!" stated Chie, likewise sharing in the confusion.

"Huh?" Yukiko blinked once. "Really…?"

Chie sighed. "Sheesh, Yukiko… But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you 'Yuki' all of a sudden."

"I don't think 'creepy' begins to cover that..." I noted.

"Yeah, dude like that could be trouble..." added Roy.

"Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" asked the Unlucky Student as he approached, pushing his bike along beside him. "Man, you're cruel… You got me the same way last year."

"I don't recall doing that."

"Whoa, you serious?" he asked, his expression turning hopeful. "So then, you wanna hang out sometime?"

Yukiko fidgeted. "I'd rather not."

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up…"

Roy chuckled. "Sounds like you're feeling better already."

"Yeah, that aspirin you gave me kicked in crazy fast!" he said. "What brand was it?"

"Home remedy." replied Roy. "One of those 'If I told you, I'd have to kill you' sorts of things."

"Aww man, lame... but I guess beggars can't be choosers." He groaned while climbing onto the bike's seat. "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer students too much!"

"We're just curious is all!" shouted Chie as he sped off down the hill.

I found myself snickering a little. "Well... he's certainly energetic when he's not in blinding pain."

"Same could be said for a lot of people, really..." said Roy with a shrug.

The four of us left the school soon after, and it was barely four steps past the gate before Chie began bombarding Roy and I with questions. It played out mostly like the walk to school this morning had, except with a third party asking all the questions. Eventually, though, it turned to the more 'intense' questions such as the reasons why Roy and I were here.

"So, you're here because your parents are working overseas and you didn't wanna go with them?" asked Chie. "Wow, and here I was thinking it was way more serious..."

"Then my story will REALLY disappoint you!" laughed Roy. "I'm here literally because I figured 'why the fuck not' and called up my Uncle Kihei."

"Kihei...?" repeated Chie, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Wait a minute, I remember you! You were here two years ago for that big sports tournament and my dog tackled you while you were looking for the Shopping District!"

"Sports Tournament?"

Roy nodded. "Yeah, my last school came out to Inaba partly for a tournament and partly for a sports fellowship. My buddy Kaz and I basically dominated the tournament by ourselves."

"But that was years ago..." noted Chie. "Why're you still only a second year? Shouldn't you be like nineteen by now?"

"I'm eighteen, actually." he clarified. "But that's because I had to cut that school year short and fly back over to the states to deal with some family problems. Only recently got the chance to come back, and apparently not finishing a school year is grounds to have to start over from that point."

I hummed. "Why not go back to your old school, then?"

He shrugged. "Eh, reasons and stuff. Mainly my crazy aunt didn't want me going anywhere near Tatsumi Port Island after that whole Apathy Syndrome scare and would not accept evidence that there wasn't any danger in me going back there."

"Ouch... so you had to leave your friends behind?"

"...Yeah." he said, sounding quite depressed now. "I did."

-...I think Chie may have struck a sore spot for him.-

"...Sorry..." she apologized, obviously having recognized her folly.

"It's fine." Roy insisted, clearly forcing himself to smile. "It's not like I can't call or text them, after all."

Chie bobbed her head from side to side. "Yeah, true... but like, you've both been overseas, and you said you're from Tokyo, right Rusei-kun?"

"Ikebukuro specifically, but yes." I said.

"And you've lived at Tatsumi Port Island?"

"Hell, I was born there." stated Roy. "My life's kind of a long, complicated story that'd probably bore most people to tears."

She sighed. "Yeah, see, we can't compete with that here in Inaba! We don't really have anything that makes us stand out..." Chie tapped her chin a few times. "Unless... I think the dyed clothes or pottery made here is famous...?"

"What about that big inn?"

Chie snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah! The Amagi Inn! I can't believe it slipped my mind, seeing as Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

"Huh?" sputtered Yukiko, finally joining the conversation directly. "It's just an old inn..."

"Oh no way, it's been in all sorts of magazines and billed as a hidden treasure!" continued Chie. "It's a great place! Been going for generations, and Yukiko might take over someday! The inn even attracts a lot of visitors to town, so it pretty much keeps Inaba going."

"I don't think that's entirely true..." said Yukiko, sounding uncomfortable with the praise.

"Well it certainly looked like a nice place from what I remember." commented Roy, ruffling his own hair slightly. "The service was pretty good, too... Ugh, I should've brought my hat with me today..."

I gave Roy a surprised look. "You have quite a good memory then, Roy-san."

"And a good attention to detail, but that's due to playing too much poker and info on tarot cards..." he laughed.

My eyes narrowed slightly. -...Tarot cards? His last name is Fortune... would that mean...?-

"Hey Rusei-kun, Roy-kun, can I ask you guys something?"

The two of us turned to look at Chie.

"Yes?" "Sure. What's up?"

"What do you think; Is Yukiko cute?"

Roy and I stopped walking at the same time, the girls stopping a moment later.

"Excuse me?" the two of us asked in unison.

"I asked if you thought Yukiko was cute." she repeated, smiling with impish glee while Yukiko looked mortified.

"I can't comment on the matter." Roy said. "I'm spoken for already, thus potential attractiveness from anyone else is a moot point with me."

Chie frowned a little, then looked at me. "What about you?"

"You want my opinion just based on looks?" I asked. Chie nodded and Yukiko's expression fell further. "Alright then. You're more my type then she is, Chie-san."

"Huh?" Her face reddened in a split second. "M-Me…?"

"Based on looks, Chie-san." I clarified with a small, self-satisfied smirk while Yukiko and Roy snickered. "Based on looks."

"Now you know how I feel, Chie." Yukiko teased, eliciting a 'Hmph' from her friend as we resumed walking.

We didn't get much farther before the three of us encountered a police cordon and a crowd of people around it. There was a buzz of voices talking over one another, so I had a hard time heaving what was being said...

"I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…"

Sadly, except for that.

"Wait… What did she just say? A dead body?"

I didn't get the chance to confirm I'd heard it as well when I heard a familiar voice. "Hey, what're you doing here?"

I turned towards the source and saw Uncle Ryotaro approaching us.

"We're just passing by." I replied simply.

"Huh… I should have figured that'd happen." He sighed. "That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here…"

Chie looked at me. "You know this guy?"

I nodded. "This is my Uncle."

"And he looks like the no nonsense half of the main duo from a buddy cop movie." commented Roy.

"I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian." he explained, then he rubbed his neck uneasily. "Uhh… well, how should I say this… I hope you get along with him." His expression turned serious. "But you four really out to stop wandering around and head straight home."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another person bolted past us and then threw up in someone's yard.

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie?" barked Ryotaro. "You want to be sent back to the central office?"

"I-I'm sorry…" replied the other officer shakily, then quickly scurried back the way he came.

"And there would be the near comically inept rookie who seems to exist only to piss off the one who actually uses his head as something other than a hat rack." said Roy. "I feel real sorry for ya, man."

Dojima sighed. "You don't know the half of it, kid..."

"Hey, Rusei-kun."

I looked back at Chie.

"We're taking off now." she reported. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright then. Goodbye." I replied as they walked off.

"Catch you two later!" Roy called out.

I turned towards Ryotaro. "Will you be working late?"

He sighed as well. "Yeah, looks like it."

"I understand. I'll be sure to let Nanako-chan know." I smiled and waved slightly as I started off. "See you later, Uncle."

"Yeah, see ya..." he called back as Roy and I walked off.

"Bloody hell..." sighed Roy. "Shit's already crazy..."

I gave him a curious look. "What, it took longer at your last school for something out of the ordinary to happen?"

"Actually, yeah..." he admitted. "Three days before the insanity started."

I rolled my eyes as we walked along. "Sounds like a lively school year..."

He laughed. "Man, you don't know the half of it."

Roy and I parted ways after a little more talking, and I got the feeling there was something he wanted to talk about, but didn't want to or simply couldn't. I can't deny I was curious, though that was likely due to the aspiring detective in me than anything else. Nanako was despondent when I informed her that Ryotaro would be working late, though when the news stated that the body found earlier was Mayumi Yamano – the TV Announcer involved in the widely-covered affair that's been buzzing on the news for nearly a week, it was easy to understand why he'd be busy beyond the mere fact there was a homicide case to investigate. What struck me as odd was how she was reported as being found; dead and hanging from a large antenna on a rooftop, cause of death unknown. Seemed like an exorbitant amount of effort to go through for a murder, but I didn't want to try and figure out why the killer did what they did.

Another Junes commercial came on moments later and seemed to lift Nanako's spirits as she sang along. I couldn't help but compliment her singing, and semi reluctantly joined in the next time a commercial came up. When I eventually went to bed, there were no unusual dreams of azure automobiles or foggy paths so I was able to get a restful night's sleep. I woke up earlier than intended, and after breakfast with Nanako again I headed off to school. In another familiar moment akin to the day before, the Unlucky Student sped past me on his bike and once again crashed, this time having somehow managed to get himself lodged in a trash can. I sighed as he rolled around, pleading for help and trying to get himself unstuck.

"Hold still." I said, putting a foot on the trash can so it stopped rolling. "Alright, NOW try and get out."

It took him a moment to wriggle free, but he managed it with an overly dramatic gasp.

"Whew, you saved me." He sighed, picking up his bike while I set the trash can back up where it presumably belonged. "Thanks! Uh…"

"Rusei Norimoto."

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're one of the transfer students." He smiled. "I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya."

"Are you alright?" I asked as the two of us resumed walking to school, Yosuke just wheeling his bike along next to him.

"Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He replied dismissively. He stayed quiet for a minute as we walked before he spoke up again. "Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday?"

"I passed the place they found the announcer's body with Chie-san, Yukiko-san, and Roy-san yesterday." I told him. "I wasn't aware who it was until I saw the news later in the evening."

Yosuke winced. "Dude, you walked by the crime scene? Sheesh, that can't have been fun."

"They'd already gotten the body down by the time we showed up."

"Oh…" he muttered, then he looked at me. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

I shrugged. "I won't stop you."

"You think that the way they found the body was supposed to be some kinda warning?" asked Yosuke. "There's no way something that weird could've been an accident."

I shrugged. "I doubt it was a warning, but it couldn't have been anything but a murder."

"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that, though..." he shuddered. "That's just messed up." He paused for a moment. "Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place…"

"Indeed." I agreed.

"Ten points for the landing back there, dude!"

The two of us looked over our shoulder to see Roy striding towards us, a large grin on his face.

"I've never seen someone fail so hard in my life." He chuckled. "Especially not visibly from about four blocks back."

Yosuke groaned. "Man, shut up... I don't need to be reminded my luck is terrible..."

"Sorry." he apologized. "Brutal honesty's kind of a thing with me."

"Better than honest brutality, at least..." I heard Yosuke grumble.

"Ugh, that suuuucked…" Yosuke groaned as he stood up and stretched after class. I glanced over at him while I finished packing my books and papers back in my school bag. "King Moron's lectures are like tests of your sanity or something…"

I shrugged silently, while Roy simply grunted noncommittally.

"At least they're not so boring you have to fight to stay awake..." he commented.

"So hey, Rusei-san, you getting used to this place?"

"I am." I replied evenly.

"Wow, that was fast."

"I've moved to new locations fairly often. Adapting quickly is rather easy for me."

"Lucky you." commented Roy, adjusting his jacket. "I prefer to stay in one place for a while."

"I'm with him, that sounds harsh dude..." Yosuke commented. "Still, there isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there's this certain…" He paused, as if searching for the right word. "Something you can't get anywhere else. The air's clean, the food's great…" His eyes seemed to light up. "Oh, you know about the local delicacy?"

"Actually, no." It wasn't one of the things mom mentioned to me. "What is it?"

"It's grilled steak, man!" he laughed. "Like that's anything special, huh?" Yosuke smirked. "I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

"What about me, huh?" I jumped slightly when Chie spoke, because it seemed like she just burst into existence right next to my desk. "No apology for breaking my 'Trial of the Dragon'?"

Yosuke groaned. "You always come around when I'm talking about food…"

"How about it, Yukiko?" Chie asked, looking back at the raven haired girl as she stood up. "Don't you think he should treat us, too?"

Yukiko shook her head. "I'll pass… I don't want to gain any more weight, and I need to help out at the inn today anyways."

I had to resist the urge to cock my eyebrow at her statement about her weight. Glancing at Roy revealed he was making a face that just screamed 'Why?' in a very confused, exacerbated tone.

"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?"

"It's not like that!" She snapped quickly. "I'm just helping out when it gets busy." She bowed slightly. "Well, I should be on my way."

Chie frowned, then shrugged before looking back at Yosuke. "Oh well. We should get going too."

"Huh?" his expression fell. "Do I seriously have to treat two people…?"

"Three, actually." said Chie, looking in Roy's direction. "You wanna come too?"

"Hell yeah." he said, standing up. "I'll pay for myself, though. Technically the deal was for you and Rusei-san."

The sigh of pure, genuine bliss and relief that came from Yosuke was far more amusing to me than it probably should've been.

"THIS is the cheap place you were talking about…? They don't have grilled steak here!"

Yosuke glared at her as he returned to our table at the food court in Junes with a tray of drinks and several boxes of takoyaki.

"Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans." he grunted as he set the tray down and plopped into a chair.

"So technically it's your fault he can't get you steak." commented Roy, eating some takoyaki he'd gotten himself. "Foiled by your own stomach."

Chie pouted at Roy's completely correct statement. "Still, that's no reason for him to bring us to his place..."

-Huh?- "His place?"

"Oh, right. I haven't told you guys yet, huh?" Yosuke smirked as he grabbed a soda off the tray. "I moved here from Tokyo about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it so our whole family moved here to Inaba." He handed me one of the takoyaki cartons and a drink. "Here, this is to welcome you to town."

"Thank you." I replied as I took it from him. "But you're from Tokyo? Really?"

"Satonaka, yours is on me too." He said, handing her a drink and some takoyaki. "But yeah, I'm from Tokyo. Why? Are you?"

"Ikebukuro if you'd prefer to be technical about where in Tokyo, but yes."

Our conversation became animated over small talk at that point, a least until Chie changed the subject to Junes. When she began mentioning how the local shopping district has been doing poorly since Junes opened, Yosuke seemed to get put off by it. At least until he noticed a girl who'd sat down a few tables away from us, then got up to go talk to her.

"Who's that?" I asked Chie.

"Oh, that's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district." she informed me. "I think she's working here part-time, though."

-And now my curiosity is getting the better of me.- "Is she his girlfriend?"

"Haha! He wishes." Chie laughed, though a sort of pained look was in her eyes when she looked towards Yosuke. "Though he's not exactly subtle about how much he likes her."

"I'll say." commented Roy. "And my Uncle keeps mentioning her dad complains a lot about this store ruining things despite simple logic that'd suggest otherwise."

I shrugged, then turned my head once I heard footsteps approaching in spite of the music-only rendition of the Junes theme playing over the speakers in a near-endless loop. Yosuke and Konishi-senpai were walking towards us and the latter got closer then I'd have liked.

"Are you the transfer student?" she asked.

I nodded. "One of them, anyways. I'm Rusei Norimoto. Nice to meet you, Konishi-senpai."

"Oh, did you hear about me already? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much." She looked over at Roy. "Are you the other transfer student, then? The one staying with Old Man Daidara?"

He made a motion akin to tipping a hat despite not actually wearing one. "That I am. Roy Fortune's the name, cards are my game."

Saki giggled. "Well, I'm glad you're both talking with Hana-chan. He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you guys get along. He's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

-Well, she certainly doesn't seem to like Yosuke very much.- "I'm not usually quick to judge, but I don't think he's that bad of a person."

"I know…" Konishi-senpai giggled. "I'm just kidding."

Roy didn't seem to believe her. "If you say so..."

"C-C'mon, Senpai." sputtered Yosuke. "There's no need to worry about something like that."

"Well, my break's just about over." She sighed, glancing at a watch on her left wrist. "Back to work I go…" She waved as she walked away. "Laters!"

"Oh, uh, Senpai…!" Yosuke began, but Konishi-senpai had already left. He sighed, then sat down. "Hahah, Saki-senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way…"

"Ohhh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh?" asked Chie with a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I get it… So that's how it is…"

"How what is?"

"The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain… The flame of forbidden love!"

"Wha-? Dude, it's not like that!"

-That was... pointlessly cruel.-

"Way to be a jerk for no reason, Chie." commented Roy. "Seriously."

Chie rolled her eyes with a small huff before her impish grin returned. "Well, I know just the think to cheer up that lovesick heart. You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?"

"…The what?" I deadpanned in unison with Yosuke and Roy.

"The Midnight Channel." repeated Chie. "You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen… and they say that person's your soul mate."

There was silence between the four of us for a few moments.

"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful…" Yosuke began suddenly. "How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"

Chie glared at him. "Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you?"

"I believe it." commented Roy. "And I'll know if it's legit because hey, I actually HAVE a girlfriend."

"But I sure as hell don't believe her!" exclaimed Yosuke

"Well, it's gonna rain tonight! Let's all try it out- then you'll see!"

"Try it out…? Wait, you haven't even tried it out yourself?" He sputtered, then he sighed. "Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid…"

"What about that 'Cult of Nyx' thing that was all over the internet a few years back?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that…" He laughed. "Man, that whole 'If you believe you will be saved' and 'the coming of Nyx-sama is upon us!' thing was dumb."

Roy laughed. "Dude, it's even dumber than that. Whole thing was complete bunk in more ways than one."

"How would you know?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'm magical, that's how."

Yosuke shook his head. "All that aside... you know that 'incident' yesterday? You guys think it was murder? Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around...? Heehee…"

"Sheesh, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that." Chie said with a shudder. "Now who's the childish one…?"

"Yeah." I agreed, giving Yosuke a slight glare. "It's not a laughing matter when someone dies, Yosuke-san."

He leaned away from me. "Jeez, sorry... I was just kidding..."

"Anyways, all I'm saying is you guys better try it out tonight." she continued, glancing at both of us.

"My time at Gekkoukan turned me partly nocturnal." Roy commented, taking a sip of his drink. "It's a miracle if I can fall asleep before one in the morning."

I simply shrugged. "I need to finish unpacking anyways. No harm in checking."

Our conversation shifted back to the mundane from there, and eventually we all headed our separate ways home. I stayed in the living room to get some assignments done, noting how obviously depressed Nanako became with each passing hour. Upon the third time she sighed heavily durring dinner, I decided to attempt a conversation.

"Did your father call?" I asked her.

She shook her head and poked at her food with her chopsticks. "No. He always says he will…"

Before I could say more, I heard the front door open and a loud, tired sigh.

"Oh! He's home!" Nanako exclaimed, springing to her feet.

"What a day…" Dojima said wearily as he trudged over to the sofa and practically fell onto it. "I'm back. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No." replied Nanako, shaking her head a little before giving her father a disapproving look. "You're late again…"

He winced. "I'm sorry… Been busy at work. Can you put the news on for me?"

She sat back down and turned on the news, which I immediately started tuning out the moment I heard mention of yesterday's 'incident'. I don't really like listening to the news. I know the newscasters are just doing there jobs, but sometimes they just come across as uncaring jerks.

["In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."]

-...What.-

"An interview with the kid…?" Ryotaro sighed grimly. "Where the hell did they find her?"

"That's Saki Konishi." I stated evenly once the video of the interview came on. If I hadn't just seen her a few hours ago at Junes I probably wouldn't know who it was in spite of the fact the filter they applied to her face and voice to mask her identity was rather poor. Honestly, it's was just a simple blur filter over her eyes and some minor pitch changes.

"How do you know?"

I looked over at Dojima. "I went to Junes with a few of my classmates today and we met her there at the food court."

"You did?"

I nodded. "She seemed bothered by something, though." I glanced at the screen, which was still playing the interview. "If I had to guess, she got ambushed by that reporter today on her way to school because of the lighting behind her."

Dojima quickly turned his attention to the interview as well. "Yeah, you're right. That video was taped early on in the day." He looked over at me. "You're pretty good, Rusei."

"Thank you." I replied, admittedly proud of myself. "I figure it doesn't hurt to develop skills related to your choice of carrier early on."

Dojima and I took turns voicing our rather low opinions on the obnoxious newscasters while Nanako and I ate dinner. It lasted for roughly ten minutes before he fell asleep on the couch just before Nanako asked if he'd take her to Junes. I helped clean up the dishes and got him to his room before heading up to my own to start unpacking. I finished at around five minutes to Midnight, though now there's a stack of empty boxes I'll have to take care of later. I plopped down on the small sofa and stared at the blank TV screen, waiting for midnight as I listen to the rain outside.

Between the strange dreams and the sudden death in town, I had few doubts that this 'Midnight Channel' would occur. If not taking them into account, I'd have likely be skeptical at best as the notion of a channel that only appears at midnight on rainy nights then the TV is turned off sounds like the plot device for a manga or anime. One I'd likely enjoy, but a manga or anime none the less.

I glanced at the clock. Noting it was only a few moments to midnight, I stood up and stared at the TV in my room. A small chime told me that the clock struck midnight, and after a second or two the TV before be lit up with static.

-...So it does work...- I noted, pulling out the notepad I'd set out and watching intently.

The screen flashed between static and images of a girl with long brown hair wearing what looked like a school uniform. A vending machine was in the background of wherever she was, but I didn't get a look at her face. I kept jotting down notes until a sudden, sharp pain shot through my head, causing me to drop the pad and pen.

'I am thou… and thou art I…'

A ringing sound filled my ears as a voice spoke inside my mind. I clutched my head, trying to keep myself from falling over due to the intense ache.

'Thou art the one… who reads the moon…'

I fell to one knee, still holding my head. The ringing suddenly stopped and the voice went silent. I breathed heavily for a moment, then looked up at my TV.

-That... was different...- I though, carefully standing up. -Is that normal, or is there something wrong with my TV set?-

I approached the TV, looking it over carefully before I stared at the screen. I tapped the screen, and the surface... rippled, as if I'd disturbed a pool of water. I blinked, then tapped the screen again. Rings of light rippled across the screen once more. With a curious look, I tried to put more of my hand into the screen. It slipped right in with no resistance whatsoever. Unfortunately for me, the TV appeared to have other ideas and it felt like something started pulling on my arm. I violently fell face first in, and if not for the fact I'd had my left hand atop the television set and the small size of the screen, I'd have fallen in completely. I didn't really register anything I was seeing, as I was too busy trying to pull myself out. After a moment of flailing, I pressed my hand against the cabinet next the TV and pushed as hard as I could. I sprang free of the screen and fell backwards, smacking my head on the small table in the middle of the room with a strangled yelp.

I rubbed the back of my head as I stared in confusion at the screen.

-What just...?-

"Are you okay…?"

-Huh? Oh, seems I made enough noise to wake Nanako...-

"I'm fine. I just rolled out of bed." I replied, looking towards the door to my room. It was a weak excuse, but I was hoping she was groggy enough to buy it.

"Okay... Well, good night."

I waited a few moments for Nanako to leave, then looked back at my TV.

-...Well, best write this down in case I'm not dreaming.- I thought, picking up my notepad and pen. -Because if I am, I think I might need to invest in a psychological therapist...-

Author Notes - HEY LOOK, IT'S THE REVAMPED NORIMOTO STYLE WITH A NOT LAME TITLE! Yes I am being evil and just teasing you all with this despite still being a ways off from the end of Reshuffled. I will, however, tell you this much: NOTHING ROY SAID ABOUT WHY HE'S IN INABA IS THE TRUTH. Not a single thing. There IS a reason for him being here, but that requires Reshuffled to be finished first and then for me to have Roy admit to it. And yes, Rusei has a new persona, has met Marie, and blah de blah de blah. And yes, that is the legit translation of Rusei's name. I came up with it partly due to my high school japanese class and it ended up being hilariously fitting despite not intentionally trying to give him an Awesome McCoolname!

But yes, I hope you all look forward to more of Golden Moon! And the next chapter of Reshuffled is coming along and should be up within a few days... I hope.