When I wake up, I see that the car is stopped, which lets me get a better look at the house; it's a traditional, two-story house with a deep, chocolate brown color. It looks simple enough, but something about it seems eerily familiar. Why is this, even though I've never been at this house before in my life? I dunno, but right now, I just want to get inside and relax on a sofa for once.
With that thought in mind, I exit the car, stretch my limbs, and enter the house. As I expected, the inside is as simple as the outside, but again, it feels familiar for no apparent reason. I see Nanako sit down at a table in the living room and turn on the television, while Dojima offers to take my bag and tells me to have a seat. I hesitate at first, but suddenly, my head begins to throb in pain again, so I decide to take him up on his offer and collapse on the sofa. Then, for some reason, the pain gets unbearably worse when I sit down, so I lean back into the cushion, close my eyes, and take deep breaths, hoping and pleading for the pain to pass.
Dojima returns from the second floor. "You okay with take-out tonight?" he asks.
I nod. "Sure. I don't really mind tonight."
Nanako bolts up. "Can we go to Junes, dad?" she asks enthusiastically. I process this thought and realize that that's what the shopping center from earlier must be. In that case, I feel even worse for the shopping district now, since Junes would likely be big competition for the shopkeepers there. I then notice that in the time it takes me to realize that, Nanako is already by Dojima's side, looking at him with what I can describe as "puppy dog eyes."
Dojima chuckles and reaches down to ruffle her hair. "Alright, Nanako," he replies before looking to me. "You have my number, right?"
Without even double checking, I nod. "Yeah."
"Are you sure?" he persists. I reluctantly pull out my phone, finger over to my contacts, and see that it is there, like I assumed.
"Yeah, it's here," I reply.
Dojima nods. "Alright. We'll be back." He turns around, and he and Nanako head for the door. "Make yourself at home." Then in no time at all, the house is left uninhabited except for me. I take a minute to look around the bottom floor, curious as to what exactly is familiar about the house. I close my eyes, trying to envision the room in my head, but to no avail. In fact, it's with this thought exercise that I begin to fall asleep again.
The sound of falling rain echoing around the house wakes me up. As I rub my eyes, I check the time on my phone as I call to Nanako and Dojima. There is no response, which means they're still gone after nearly an hour. Surely it doesn't take that long to get to and from Junes, right? I should try traveling through town the first chance I get so that I won't get lost later on.
A minute or two later, I hear the front door open, and I'm greeted by Dojima and Nanako, who have finally returned from Junes; then, they take a few minutes more to lay out dinner: sushi and TaP soda. It's, of course, nothing special, but after a quick toast, we start eating.
"So," Dojima begins, "your mom and dad are busy as always… They're working overseas, was it?" As I take a sip of my TaP soda, I nod.
Dojima continues. "I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck here because of your parents… It's rough being a kid."
I shrug. "It isn't all bad."
Dojima smiles. "Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. So as long as you're here, consider yourself a part of the family."
I blush lightly. "T-Thanks. You're too kind."
Dojima chuckles. "C'mon, don't be so nervous." I look away from Dojima, opting to look to Nanako, who looked down at her food when she realized I was looking at her.
"Well anyways," Dojima continues, "let's eat." At that moment, someone's phone goes off. I know it's not mine, and when I see Dojima's expression grow darker, I can tell it's his.
"Ugh… Who's calling at this hour?" Dojima growls as he pulls out his phone and answers. "Dojima speaking…" He then stands up and walks out of the living room. "Yeah? I see… So where is it?" Again, I see his expression grow darker, maybe even more so than before; however, I've seen this scenario come and go plenty of times before, so I have a good idea as to what's coming next.
Dojima sighs. "Alright, I'm on my way." He closes his phone, then mutters, "Guess I made the right choice to skip the booze…" I turn and look to Nanako, and the first thing I notice is how visibly depressed she looks. Firstly, she's too cute to look this sad, but I also get the impression that this is a common occurrence.
"Sorry, but I have some business to take care of," Dojima says with an apologetic look on his face. "Go ahead and eat without me; I don't know how late I'll be." He then looks to Nanako. "Nanako, you help her out, okay?" Nanako nods as Dojima walks towards the front door; I gotta be honest, it seems like EVERYTHING in this town is worth pitying over, but none more so than Nanako; it makes me wonder how lonely she must feel on nights like this, especially from before I arrived.
The monotonous sound of rain grows slightly louder as Dojima opens the door. "Nanako, what did you do with the laundry?" he abruptly asks Nanako.
"I brought it in this morning," she replies.
"Alright. Well, I'm off." After the door is closed and the sound of the car driving dies down, only Nanako and I remain. She sighs and turns on the television.
"-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."
Nanako looks at her plate. "Let's eat," she says.
I decide to ask her a question that's lingering in my head. "So what does your dad do?"
"He… investigates stuff." She sounds a little nervous as she speaks. "Like… crime scenes."
"So… he's a detective?"
Nanako nods. Oh joy, this household just got even better.
"And now for the local news. City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. Namatame are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye."
"This is boring," Nanako says.
"You can change the channel if you want." I yawn. "Actually, please do that." And change the channel she does.
"At Junes, everyday is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"
Nanako perks up immediately. "Every day's great at your Junes!" No words can describe how happy that makes me feel right now. Now that's a sight I could get used to.
"Aren't you going to eat?" she asks. I look to my food and dig in; I didn't realize how hungry I was until just now.
My dinner finished, I decide to go to the room I'm borrowing from Dojima for the rest of the night. When I open the door, I see stacks of boxes littering the room which I carefully maneuver around. I sit on the futon, open my bag, and dig out my soft, yellow pajamas; I then strip off my school uniform and promptly dress in my pajamas. After this, I lay my uniform across one of my numerous boxes and simply stare at it. Tomorrow will be the first day at a new school, and although I should feel excited, I feel a twinge of dread. There's plenty that could go right, but also plenty to go wrong.
Like I worried earlier, what will people think of me? I'm not particularly unfriendly or vein, and I'm not the ugliest person around the block. But what will others here really feel about a transfer student from the city? Will I even be able to fit in around here? Ehh, maybe I'm just worrying over nothing. Surely things can't go that sour in one day. I decide to just call it a night, lay on the futon, and go to sleep.
I open my eyes quickly, my first indication that something isn't right without even taking a look at my surroundings. What I do see is that I'm standing in the middle of a yellow-tinted stage of sorts, with three distinct walkways and a few older TVs littered around. My reaction normally would be to panic uncontrollably, but this time, I decide to take a deep breath and walk down the path in front of me, almost subconsciously; I don't know why, but this place, while foreign, feels familiar, much like with Dojima's house.
Now, I can buy the feeling that the house is familiar, since I might have been there as a little kid, but this place should feel as unfamiliar as unfamiliar can get. So then why does it feel so familiar? Regardless, after a few minutes of walking, I come across a large stone castle, with a pulsating red opening where a door should stand. I try to walk closer, but after a few steps, I smack against an invisible wall. I knock on the empty space in front of me, coming into contact with the wall once again. What the hell is up with this? I turn to my right and continue walking, armed with the feeling that the castle isn't the only building here. Sure enough, I pass by a sauna, a strip club (not sure what to think of that), a laboratory, an apartment complex, and what I can only describe as a pixelated castle; and by pixelated, I literally mean it's styled like one of those games from when my parents were kids.
But the next area puts me so on edge, it makes the others seem normal in comparison: a recreation of the shopping district, which looks and feels even emptier than the real thing. I don't quite know how to say it exactly, but behind the fog that shrouds the area, it feels as though something sinister is peering at me, and that's an unsettling thought. In fact, as I think this, a silhouette of a man becomes visible, scaring the wits out of me; I slowly walk backwards, but the shadow simply follows.
That's the last straw; I turn completely around and make a mad dash for the area from where I appeared. I should be safe there, but what if the figure follows me there too? What will I do then? While these thoughts race through my head, I trip on my own two feet and land face first on the cold, hard ground. I lay down, momentarily paralyzed with fear and unease as to what the figure will do to me when it catches up.
"So you've come back," a gravelly voice booms in my ear. I slowly pull myself up and see the silhouette, hovering in the air. Is it talking to me?
"Indeed," the figure replies.
I jump. "Y-You can hear my thoughts?"
The silhouette nods. "I can do quite a bit more than just that."
"… O-Okay."
"Do not be frightened. I mean you no harm."
"A-And what did you mean by I've come back?"
"…"
"W-What? Is that a stupid question?"
"…So you don't remember?"
I arch my brow. "Well, I don't remember you, that's for damn sure."
The figure chuckles. "I see. Well then, the game just got a whole lot more… interesting."
"W-What do you mean?"
The figure fades slowly. "All in due time. For now, return to whence you came." As soon as I lose sight of the figure, a piercing white light envelops my vision, and I instinctively close my eyes shut in no time flat.
When I open my eyes once more, I find myself on my futon, in my pajamas from when I fell asleep. I bolt up and look around. I'm still in my room, littered with the same maze of boxes from last night. Armed with the knowledge that I'm safe, I put my hand to my forehead. What the hell was up with that dream? It seemed so… real. Who was that figure, and why…?
I hear a knock on my door, breaking me out of my panic. "Breakfast is ready!" Nanako shouts. I look to my clock and realize that it's time for me to get up. I start school today, so I should get dressed. I take off my pajamas, change my underwear, and put on my uniform. I should remember to add my own personal touch to it later, but it'll do for today.
Finally, after an eternity in my room, I walk down the stairs to the first floor, and the first thing I see is Nanako, setting up the table all by herself. I look around and notice that Dojima is nowhere to be seen, either.
"Good morning," she greets as she sets down her plate on the table.
I nod. "Good morning, Nanako," I greet back somewhat cheerfully as I take my seat at the table. Nanako takes her seat not too long after me, but all she does is stare down at her plate. Something's definitely on her mind.
She looks up. "Okay, let's eat."
"Do you do the cooking?" I ask.
Nanako perks up. "Mmm-hmm. I can toast bread… and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning." She looks at her plate again. "Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner." Hearing her say this depresses me. She's only six years old, and she already does so much to help out around the house. Sure, I was sort of the same way at her age, but still…
"You're starting school today, right?" Nanako asks with a wide smile on her face. "My school's on the way, so… Let's go together."
I nod. "Yeah. I'd like that." That face is just too precious to say no to. Satisfied, Nanako immediately starts eating her breakfast, and I do the same.
After finishing breakfast, Nanako and I began walking to school; fortunately for us, we were smart to bring our umbrellas, since it began raining as we walked. Guess the weather report was right after all.
Suddenly, Nanako stops in her tracks, and I do the same. "You just go straight from here," she tells me as she turns around. "My school's this way. Bye!" She then starts walking the opposite direction we came from, and I continue walking in the direction of the school. At first, I'm all alone as I draw closer to the school district, but once I reach a certain intersection, I come across other Yasogami students, wearing the same identical uniforms. I pay particular attention to the other girls and, to their credit, they do make the standard uniform look good, and since I also make it look good…
"Whoaaaaaa!" I hear a voice screech alongside an unbearable metal squeaking. I turn around and see a male student, attempting to ride a bike and hold an umbrella at the same time. Of course, my first instinct is to move out of the way, and out of the guy's path. Speaking of… Well, I don't see what happens to him, but the next sound to penetrate my ears is metal crashing against metal. When I open my eyes, I see the bike rider doubled over in pain. It sure looks like it hurt, but for now, I ignore him and keep walking; I could help him, but given his, uh, condition, I won't be able to without blushing.
After another few minutes of walking, I halt in front of the front gates of the school. I marvel at the size of the school given its location and the cleanliness of the courtyard, but it's nothing special compared to schools in the city. Still though, I'm excited as to what lies in store for me, so once the awe wears off, I continue walking, and head straight for the faculty office.
Well, for now, it seems like you guys are up for this fic, and I'm glad! By the way, sorry for the chapter being shorter than I'd like; I'm still not going to fully commit until a lot more of you decide to follow/review since, like I always say, what's the point if no one comes to have a good time?
Anyways, in order to avoid sounding even more like a broken record player, I'm gonna leave y'all be, and leave reviews so that these author's notes a little more interesting.
Read on!
-rjm324
