I rose from bed and yawned, stretching my arms far above my head and stretching out the cramps in my bed bones. I heard a few cracks. "Ah... Another day of school!"

Rubbing my eyes and leaving my room, I ran to the basement to pick up some clothes. I had forgotten to put them out the night before. I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"That's strange... I don't see anyone up."

I grabbed my uniform and turned around, and was faced with a tall figure that held an axe. I dropped my uniform and dashed to the other end of the basement, the figure calmly chasing after me. Soon, I found the stairs again and rushed up them, running through the house and out the door.

That was the last time anyone would see me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Keiichi? Have you seen Mion?"

I turned my head and looked up at the girl who asked the question. It was Rika, a girl with long, blue hair and bangs.

"Nope, haven't seen her since yesterday. I hope she's not sick or something."

I leaned farther into the conversation, their words lingering in my ears, and I smirked.

"Class! It's time to begin!" The teacher walked in, ordering us all to calm down and sit, to work our hardest and do our best.

"Check one... complete." I laughed abruptedly, and a few classmates stared over my way for a few moments before going back to their own business and completing their work. I leaned my head down into my arms and and chuckled quietly to myself.

"Nagisa?"

"Mmn...?" I sat up, staring at a girl before me. She had blond hair, cut short to the end of her neck with nice bangs to top it off. She wasn't too tall, and appeared a little older than me.

She pulled out the chair next to me and took a seat in it, pressing her cold hand to my forehead. "You seem to have a fever. . . What were you doing yesterday?"

"Eh? Nothing, really. Just preparing... dinner."

"Oh, I see. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office." She stood and walked over to the teacher, explaining my 'situation' and then walking back over to me.

"The teacher told me to tell you to go to the nurse's. Want me to go with you?"

I leaped out of the chair, nodding and walking out of the classroom and to the nurse's office. I was the tallest of my class; a whopping five feet, ten inches!

Despite that, most didn't notice me in class. I was the outcast because my cousins believed that the dam was a good thing. I didn't care either way; all I wanted to do was leave Hinamizawa. It was boring, unpopulated, and besides rolling around with spiders, mud, and farming tools, there wasn't much to do. Lots of old people, and not enough people my age. My parents had died recently, as well, so I lived alone. I wouldn't've been able to make a living in my hometown, Osaka, because I was only eleven years old. Not many jobs get handed out to kids my age.

The nurse snapped in my face, and I stared up at her. I was guessing that she wanted me to listen to her, rather than my thoughts. "Yes?"

"You came to me. Is something wrong, hun? You don't look so good."

"They said I had a fever and sent me here? Sorry, I'm not sure myself." I let out a soft yawn and laid down on the nurse's bed. I snuggled up to it.

"Looks like you just need to rest some. Here, I'll take your temperature."

She handed me a thermometer, the older versions that were used mostly in the 1950's, rather than the electronic ones from my home town.

I sighed and she took it from my mouth. "It reads 101.8."

"Oh." I stepped from the bed, waving and turning to leave the room with a few thank-you's but she grabbed my shoulder.

"Whoa, there, little missy. You've got some resting to do. You're running a high fever and you look like you're in a daze. I'll get you some water, but you better be laying right there when I get back."

Blinking and watching the nurse as she left, I took a seat on the bed and curled into the wall to keep warm. I thought to myself that I should probably listen to her, since she seemed like a tough lady.

"I'm going to be late for my job..."

"Late? For a job?" The nurse slipped back inside, closing the door behind her. She handed me the glass of water she promised me, and sat confidently in her working chair. Her arms folded under her chest. "Why do you have a job?"

"Because of the accident."

She looked confused. "Accident?"

"... Did you hear about the man who was murdered recently?"

"Yes, I have."

"Well, he was my father. I came here on a business trip with him. My mother died of cancer a few months ago, and I was living with her up until her death. When she was gone, my dad was pretty much the only person I had left to live with. He was always traveling though, and he came here to settle some issues with the builders of the dam." I breathed in heavily.

I saw her scratch her head and she looked confused. "Really? Was your father a supporter of the dam?"

"Yes. In fact, he was the man who proposed the idea. It caused my parents to split up, though, because my mom had originally lived here in Hinamizawa, and loved it to bits. She didn't want to see the village flooded."

"I see..."

"Regardless, a few days after he came, they found him in the river, his neck shattered and torn."

I laughed slightly and turned my head away from her, tears flowing out of my eyes before I could even stop them.

"So you have to work because no one's there to support you, right?" She patted my back and I cried even more.

"Yes," I said brokenly, my voice cracking under the pressure. I felt her form behind mine, hugging me tightly. It felt as if I had a mom again, and I liked it. "Thank you..."

"It's all right, sweetie."

I wiped my eyes, and stared up at the nurse.

"What is it?"

"I want to leave Hinamizawa. I'm scared of the curse. I'm scared I'll be spirited away. They said that someone who knows him will be spirited away. But I'm the only family he has left! The only person he knew..."

"Don't worry, darling, you'll be just fine." She smiled.

"That's what I've been hoping..."

I turned from the woman once more, curling up on the bed and falling into a deep sleep, my tears slowly dissolving...