"What a weird dream I just had about meeting two peculiar people named Igor and Casnar in a freaking limousine and about them telling me about some mystery and misfortune thing that I'm about to encounter at my destination." thought Akemi in slight confusion in her mind after she woke up, look around and saw that she's still sitting with the other passengers in the train that's heading to Yasogami before she let out a small sigh as she think back about her usual situation of going from one place to another before she had the dream.
"Once again I'm going to another school in another different place and living with another different relative, an uncle from my mother side of the family due to my parents busy with their work overseas. Still, what I dream about is both confusing and worrying." added Akemi even more in her mind before she take out her phone to see the message that her uncle had sent to her an hour ago.
"Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4PM."
"We will arrival at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba City and Yasoinaba Station, please move to the other side of the platform." announced a male voice from the train's intercom above Akemi, who closed and put her phone back into her pocket before she stood up and picked up her duffel bag lying on the seat next to her then she leave the train with the other passengers, stepped into another train that'll take her to Yasoinaba as she find a seat, sat down and put her bag down on the seat next to her again.
After a while of Akemi sitting in the train that takes her and a few passengers to Yasoinaba station in Inaba city, the train entered a dark tunnel and as Akemi slowly close her eyes, a sudden vision of Igor and Casnar flash through her mind, which make her opened her eyes in surprise just as the train exited the tunnel, arrived and stopped in Yasoinaba station a few minutes later before Akemi stood up, picked up her duffel bag again and stepped out of the train into the station.
"How quiet this place is, as expected of a town far from big cities." thought Akemi as she looked at the quiet town around her.
"Hey! Over here!" a man's voice suddenly called out to Akemi, which make her turned her head to look and saw a tan-skinned, short black-haired, dark brown-eyed, middle-aged man wearing a dark grey button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows while holding his jacket behind his back, a red necktie around his neck, long black trousers and brown shoes on his feet and a fair-skinned, short brown-haired (twin-tailed style), same dark brown-eyed little girl wearing a long sleeve white, pink and maroon knee-length dress, white socks and brown shoes on her feet standing near a car before she walked down the steps to approach and stop in front of them both.
"Looks like these two must be my uncle and cousin." thought Akemi in her mind.
"Well, you're more prettier in person than in your photo." said the middle-aged man as he hold out his hand toward Akemi for a handshake (which she shook hands with him) before he introduced himself to her. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see… I'm your mother's younger brother… and that about sums it up."
"It's nice to meet you." said Akemi politely to the man and her uncle named Ryotaro Dojima (which make him smiled and scratch the back of his head a little).
"Heh. You probably don't remember, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before when you're still a baby, you know." said Dojima before he looked down at the little girl hiding behind him and he gently pushed her in front of Akemi. "This here's my daughter. Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." added Dojima to both Akemi and the little girl named Nanako (who's nervously looking down, unable to bring herself to glance at Akemi).
"Aw, she's cute when she's being shy. Looks like I've to reassured her a little so that she won't be so shy around me." thought Akemi as she squat down to Nanako's height and glance at her. "Hello, Nanako. It's nice to meet you." greeted Akemi softly to Nanako.
"Ah… Um… Hello!" stammer Nanako even more nervously to Akemi before she quickly turned and went behind her father again.
"What're you so shy around your cousin for?" chuckle Dojima as he looked at her again behind him (while Akemi stood up from her squatting), which make Nanako hit his back with an embarrassed/anger look on her face. "Ow, hahaha." chuckle Dojima again before he glance back at Akemi. "Well then… let's get going. My car's over there."
Akemi nodded to Dojima before he and Nanako turned and walked toward the car parked nearby them and when Akemi was about to follow them, she bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry for bumping into you." said Akemi, apologizing to the person that she bumped into and she saw that the person turns out to be a pale-skinned, short black-haired, green-eyed unfriendly-looking girl wearing a sleeveless white shirt with various safety pins, a black and red checkered skirt with a black belt and a fancy-looking golden buckle which resemble a heart with wings around her waist, elbow-length black and red stripe fingerless gloves on her arms, knee-length black and white stripe socks and long black heeled boots on her feet, a black necktie and a special-looking red choker with a lock on it around her collar and neck.
"It's fine and you dropped this." said the girl as she picked up and hold out a piece of paper to Akemi.
"Thank you." said Akemi as she walked toward the girl and take the paper from her.
"Whatever. All I did was pick it up." said the girl flatly to Akemi before she turned and walked away.
"She must be one of those tsundere type of girl." thought Akemi as she watch the girl walked away until she's out of her sight.
"Hey, what's wrong? Come on and get in the car!" Dojima called out to Akemi, which jolted her a little before she turned around, get into Dojima's car before he started the car and drove away from the station toward and into Inaba.
XXXX
A few minutes later…
"Dad, I need to use the restroom." said Nanako as she glance at Dojima while tugging on the sleeve of his shirt with her hand.
"You do, huh? Then let's stop by the gas station in the Central shopping district for a while because it had restrooms there." said Dojima as he nodded to Nanako before he drove and stopped inside the gas station, turned off the car and he, Nanako and Akemi got out of the car.
"Hi! Welcome to Moel!" said a gas station attendant as he approach and stopped in front of Dojima and they started talking while Nanako looked around for the restroom, saw that it's in the back and quickly went toward it just as Dojima's done talking to the attendant, turned and walked off to have a smoke.
"Are you in high school?" asked the attendant as he glance at Akemi.
"Huh? Uh, yeah." replied Akemi as she glance and nodded to the attendant.
"Does it surprise a city girl to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be handing out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." the attendant told Akemi as he walked a bit closer to her. "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student." added the attendant as he hold out his hand to Akemi for a handshake, which make her glance slightly warily at his hand before she shook hands with him.
"I'm done." said Nanako as she came back from the restroom.
"Oh, I should get back to work." said the attendant as the return of Nanako reminded him of his job and he quickly left to do his job.
After the attendant left, both Akemi and Nanako glance at each other in silence before a sudden throbbing sensation struck inside Akemi's head and make her winced and clutched her head with her left hand.
"…Are you okay? Did you get carsick? Because you don't look too good…" asked Nanako concernly to Akemi.
"I'm fine, thanks for your concern, Nanako-chan." said Akemi reassuringly to Nanako. "Guess I'm more dizzy and exhausted than I thought after the long trip…" added Akemi in her mind before Dojima came back after he's done smoking.
"What's wrong? You okay?" asked Dojima concernly to Akemi as well.
"I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all, uncle." replied Akemi reassuringly to Dojima as well.
"That's understandable since you just had a long trip from the city to this town. Why not take a little walk around to get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go, Akemi." suggested Dojima to Akemi, who nodded before she do as he suggested and take a walk around the central shopping district, briefly talk to a few people, look and memorized the various shops in the district (which is Daidara workshop, Marukyu Tofu, Shiroku store and a bookshop) until she's done then she went back to the gas station where Dojima and Nanako were waiting for her and they get in the car and drove away from the central shopping district.
XXXX
Another few minutes later…
"So this is the place where I'll be staying for the year with my uncle and cousin, huh? It looks small, simple and feels warm and cozy." thought Akemi as she glance at the two-storey wooden and brick style house (after Dojima drove to his house, turned off the engine before they step out of the car) while Dojima open the door and both he and Nanako stepped into the house.
Akemi then went in after them, saw that the interior of the house only consists of a living room (which had a long black couch, a wooden table surrounded with four purple zabuton with tatami mats under it, and a small television facing the table in the corner of the room) and a dining room (that had a kitchen table and four chairs with a toaster, a small panda plushie, some newspapers and other documents stacked on the corner of the table, a cabinet filled with plates, cups, pots, pans, spices and others and a fridge decorated with some childish drawings, stickers and magnetic alphabets on it) and is quite clean before she turned to her right and went up the stairs to where her room is, went in and saw several sealed boxes filled with her necessary items is inside before she put her duffel bag down on the small couch in her room, proceed to unpack her stuffs until she's done then she left her room, went down and joined her uncle and cousin for dinner.
XXXX
Evening, in the living room in the Dojima's household…
"Alright, let's pop open these cans of drinks and have a toast." said Dojima to both Akemi and Nanako (who nodded to him) before they opened their cans of drinks, drank a little before putting them down next to their plates of sushi on the wooden table before he glance at Akemi.
"So… your mom and dad are busy as always… they're working overseas, was it?" asked Dojima.
"Yes, they are as usual, uncle." replied Akemi.
"I see and I'm not surprise. Listen, I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents overseas jobs… it's rough being a kid. Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. Even more so since you're a girl and Nanako will be more comfortable around you. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home." said Dojima softly to Akemi.
"Ok and thank you for your kindness." said Akemi as she nodded again to Dojima.
"C'mon, there's no need to be so formal. Look, you're making Nanako all tense." said Dojima as he and Nanako gave small smiles to Akemi.
"Well, anyway… let's eat." said Dojima to both Akemi and Nanako and as they picked up their chopsticks and about to eat, the sound of a phone ringing came from inside Dojima's right pants pocket. "Ugh… who's calling at this hour?" grumbled Dojima as he put down his chopsticks, take out his phone and answer it as he stand up and turned away from them and the table. "…Dojima speaking. Yeah? I see… So, where is it? Uh huh… all right, I'm on my way. Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze…" said Dojima as he ended the call and turned around to glance slightly apologetically at both Akemi and Nanako. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be. You two will help each other out, okay?"
"…Okay." said Nanako sadly to Dojima as she stood up from the zabuton she's sitting on.
"Understood." said Akemi as she nodded again to Dojima (who nodded back before he turned and walked toward the front door and they heard the sound of raining outside).
"Nanako, it's raining out. What did you do with the laundry!?" Dojima called out to Nanako.
"I already brought it in!" Nanako called back to him.
"…All right. Well, I'm off." Dojima called back to Nanako before she and Akemi heard him closing the door then the sound of car engine starting before it fade away as Dojima drove away from the house.
After Dojima's gone, Nanako sat back down and turned on the television with the remote on the table and both she and Akemi saw a weather forecast announcing that it's going to be raining a lot for the next few days.
"… Let's eat." said Nanako meekly to Akemi before she picked up her chopsticks and began eating her plate of sushi.
"This is awkward. I think I better strike a conversation with her. But what should I talk about with her? … Oh, I know!" thought Akemi concernly in her mind about Nanako before she decided to talk to her. "So, what does your dad do, Nanako-chan?" asked Akemi.
"He… investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. My dad's a detective." replied Nanako.
"Oh. He's a detective, huh?" said Akemi with a slight surprise look on her face.
The next second, the same news report about a city council secretary named Taro Namatame having an alleged relationship with a female reporter named Mayumi Yamano while his wife, Misuzu Hiiragi revealed to the news station that she'll likely pursue damages. As for Mayumi Yamano herself, all of her televised appearances on TV have been cancelled and she have to remain off the air until the alleged relationship fiasco is resolved.
"They're still showing it on TV? Don't they have anything better to show?" thought Akemi as she scowled at the news report.
"…This is boring." said Nanako as she press a button on the remote to change the channel, which showed her and Akemi a commercial for a place called Junes before a little tune near the end of the Junes commercial played out and caused Nanako to sing along with it. "…Aren't you going to eat?" asked Nanako to Akemi after she's done singing, which make Akemi winced a little before she and Nanako ate and finish their dinner, bring the dishes to the sink, washed and dry the dishes together then put them away in the cabinet before they bade good night to each other, went to their rooms and change into their pajamas before they bring out their futons and fell asleep.
XXXX
In an unknown, foggy area…
When Akemi opened her eyes, she gasped and widened her eyes in surprise and shock when she looked around and saw that she's standing on a red and black pathway, wearing the same clothes she wore before she change into her pajamas while surrounded by thick and dense fog.
"What the? Where am I now? I can't see anything else in the fog except the pathway that I'm standing on. Looks like I've no choice but to walked forward down the pathway and find a way out of this foggy place." thought Akemi concernly in her mind before she run forward down the pathway in search of a way out. As Akemi run a certain distance, she suddenly heard an unknown voice spoke out to her and stopped running.
"Do you seek the truth…?"
"Who's there?" Akemi called out to the voice, didn't received any answers and resumed running down the pathway. After another few minutes of running, Akemi stopped when she heard the same unknown voice speaking to her again from up ahead.
"If it's truth you desire, come and find me…"
"Alright then." said Akemi as she resumed running until she reached and stopped in front of a large red and black stripe, square-shaped door, slowly raised and pressed her hand against the door and it opened for her before she went in.
After Akemi stepped through the door, she suddenly found herself in a fighter position, holding a short sword in her left hand and staring at a strange and transparent figure of a person in the fog.
"Why and when did I have a sword and why can't I see whoever the person is in front of me?" thought Akemi in shock and confusion in her mind about the sword in her hand and the person in front of her.
"So… you are the one pursuing me. Hmhmhm… try all you like…" said the unknown person mockingly to Akemi, who charge forward while raising and swinging her sword down on the person and slash the person.
"Hmm… it seems that you can see a little, despite the fog…" said the person to Akemi, who stay where she is this time, raised her right hand to grab and crush an invisible card in her hand and used Zio skill on the person. "I see… indeed, you possess an interesting quality… But… you will not catch me so easily… if what you seek is 'truth', then your search will be even harder…" added the person smugly to Akemi before the person cast a spell (Bewildering Fog) to make the fog around them both much more thicker than before and Akemi couldn't see the person or anything else.
"Everyone sees what they want to… and the fog only deepens…" said the person even more mockingly to Akemi, who charge forward to attack the person several times but her attacks were unable to connect.
"…Will we meet again…? At a place other than here… hmhm… I look forward to it…" said the person smugly to Akemi before she felt her eyelids started to get heavy and she fell into unconsciousness.