Welcome to Chapter 2! I'm glad you're all liking the reboot so far. Just to alleviate your fears, about 70 percent of Dual Journey is the same is Green Midnight. Most events and dialogue are still the same. All that's really changed are the battles, some story elements, and smoother storytelling. Now then, to the next chapter!

In Game Date: April 8, 2009

Chapter 2: Gekkoukan High School

Minato peacefully slept all night long. When he woke up the next morning, he rummaged through the boxes and pulled out a set of clothes similar to the one he wore yesterday, except they seemed kind of worn.

'Father's old school uniform…' Minato fondly looked over the clothes, brushing the dust off the school symbol found on the jacket. He then snagged a towel and some toiletries and went to the floor's bathroom to get ready for the day. When he returned, he took a long look in the mirror. 'Well, today's the day. Mother… Father… I hope you're proud of us…' Minato smiled into the mirror. A knock on the door snapped Minato out of his nirvana.

"It's Yukari," Yukari called from outside the room. "You awake?"

"Yeah, one second!" Minato replied, and then went over to his desk and slipped his MP3 player around his neck. He put his headphones on and answered the door. Not only was Yukari waiting for him, but also his sister Hamuko.

"Morning, aniki!" Hamuko greeted as she and Yukari entered the room.

"Good morning, Minato-san," said Yukari.

"Good morning, Hamuko, Yukari-san," Minato greeted back.

"You sleep okay?" Hamuko asked.

"Yeah, I did," said Minato. "You?"

"I slept fine. The bed was really comfortable," Hamuko replied.

"Mitsuru-sempai has asked that I escort the both of you to school. It's getting late, so are you ready to go?" Yukari asked.

"Just let me grab my bag," Minato snagged a smaller bag from the bag he brought with him last night. "Okay, ready."

"Good, let's go," Yukari ordered.

The three arrived at Iwatodai Station and boarded a train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. As the three rode the train, Yukari decided to strike up a conversation. "Hey, um… Minato-san, I've noticed that your uniform isn't brand new; in fact it seems well worn. Why is that?" Yukari asked.

"It was my father's," Minato replied.

"Your father's? He went to Gekkoukan?" Yukari was puzzled.

"Yup. Both mom and dad went to Gekkoukan. In fact, they were part of Gekkoukan's first graduating class," Hamuko explained. "They were high school sweethearts."

"Aw… how sweet!" Yukari cooed.

"Yeah. We spent most of our life in the countryside with our maternal grandfather, but we decided to move to Iwatodai and go to Gekkoukan to see the kind of life our parents lived when they were young," Minato looked out the window.

"So, how come your parents aren't here? Too expensive for them to move with you?" Yukari wondered. The Arisatos were silent and looked away. Yukari seemed confused as to why the Arisatos suddenly got quiet.

"Oh!" Yukari realized what had happened. "Sorry; I didn't realize it was something so serious. What happened?"

"…Ten years ago…" both Arisatos whispered at the same time. "There was an accident. They died and we were very lucky to survive," Hamuko explained.

"I'm so sorry, Minato-san. I honestly didn't know," Yukari apologized.

"It's okay, Yukari-chan," Hamuko put a hand on her shoulder. "We still miss them, but we spend every day living for them."

"That's noble of you," Yukari smiled. "And Minato-san, I think it's sweet that you're wearing your father's old uniform in his honor."

"Arigato, Yukari-san," Minato replied.

"Anyways, let's not start school on a somber note! Why don't we tell each other a little about ourselves?" Yukari changed the subject.

Yukari, Minato, and Hamuko spent the next little while chatting, getting to know each other a little better. They learned each other's favorite colors, favorite foods, favorite bands, and a couple of other things.

'Attention passengers. We are now arriving at Port Island Station. If this is your stop, please be ready to depart the train,' the announcement echoed over the PA system.

"Oh! Come to the window, you two! You have to see the school as we make this last turn!" Yukari pulled them to the window. The three of them looked out the window to see the ocean. As the train made the turn, a rather large and elegant building appeared in their line of sight. "So, that's it. See? There it is," Yukari proudly announced.

"Wow…" Hamuko gasped.

"Amazing…" Minato was in awe. 'So, this is Mother and Father's school? It's wonderful. I hope we can find the happiness they found at Gekkoukan…'

After the train made its way to Port Island Station, the Arisatos and Yukari made the trek over to Gekkoukan. When they arrived, Yukari ran ahead of them and spread her arms out wide, a grin on her face. "Well, this is it. We're now here. Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. Hope you like it!" Yukari welcomed them.

Hamuko stood in awe, admiring her parents' school up close for the first time. Minato was also in awe, but for a different reason.

'Wow, when she's happy and smiling, she looks so beautiful…' Minato was admiring Yukari. '…Wait, what am I thinking?' Minato shook the thought from his head and followed Yukari and his sister into the school.

When they entered, all three swapped their shoes at the shoe lockers. Yukari took a few steps ahead of them and addressed them. "Will you two be okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The list of classes is on the bulletin board by the stairs and the Faculty Office is off to the left, in front of the restrooms. Second-year classes are on the second floor. I guess that's about all you need to know for now. Any questions?" Yukari gave a brief tour.

"What class are you in?" Hamuko asked.

"Me? I dunno. Haven't looked at the listings yet," Yukari shrugged. "I'd do it now, but I have to take care of some business regarding the Archery Club."

"Ah, okay. Well, if we don't see you in class, we'll see you back at the dorm, okay?" Hamuko nodded.

"Sure," Yukari turned to head out, but remembered something. "Hey… About last night… Don't tell anyone what happened, okay?" she asked them.

'Well, if you had pulled a gun on someone, I'd want to keep it quiet as well.' "Sure, Yukari-san. We promise," Minato assured her.

"Good. Well, see ya," Yukari ran off.

"Well, Hamuko, ready for your first day?" Minato asked.

"I'm always ready by your side, aniki," Hamuko took her brother's hand and squeezed it in affection.

"Excellent. Let's get going," Minato suggested. The two went over to the bulletin board to check their class assignments, but the billboard was crowded with dozens of students trying to find their classrooms. "Damn, there's a lot of people here," Minato spat, ticked off.

"How about we go ahead to the Faculty Office? We have to get settled anyways. If we're lucky, we'll meet our teacher. Besides, it should kill enough time until the crowd clears," Hamuko suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Minato agreed.

The two of walked over to the Faculty Office, wanting to get everything set up for the first day. When the walked inside, they took a look around, seeing teachers getting work done. "Minato-kun! Hamuko-chan!"

"No way…" Minato gasped. 'I know that voice! But how is SHE here?'

"Can't be…" Hamuko was just as surprised. One of the teachers had approached them. She was a relatively young teacher, with short brown hair. She held a couple of files under her arm, and she was madly grinning, happy she had caught the twins off guard.

"Izako-daibo?" the Arisatos cried out at the same time.

"I'm glad to see you two are here. How are you?" the woman known as Izako asked.

"We're fine, but what are you doing here?" Minato asked.

"I'm now a teacher here at Gekkoukan, teaching young minds about Composition. What do you think?" Isako asked.

"Wow. That's awesome!" Hamuko jumped for joy. "How come you didn't tell us?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise. You don't mind if I'm here, do you?" Izako replied.

"Of course not, Isako-daibo. But why are you here?" Minato wanted to know.

"I've always had an attachment to this school," Izako reminisced. "It's where the happiest years of my life happened, and it's also where I met the two greatest friends I ever had. Also, I owed it to your parents to keep an eye on you two while attending their alma mater."

"Mother and Father…" Minato whispered.

"Jouhei-sempai and Nagi-sempai were real good to me in high school and beyond. They were the best sempai and friends I ever had. It was the saddest day in my life when they died. At least you two and your sister are still alive, carrying on their legacy. By the way, how is young Naoko-chan?"

"Naoko is doing fine; she's with Grandfather. She was upset that we were leaving her to come to Gekkoukan; in fact, if it weren't for the fact that she was in eighth grade and her dream of idolizing our parents, she would've come with us in a heartbeat," Minato informed her.

"Still wanting to become a detective to live up to the Kuzunoha legacy?" Isako asked.

"Oh, she definitely does," Hamuko chuckled.

"That's nice. I'm glad to see that she's taking it seriously," Izako smiled.

"I think she takes it way too seriously. I mean, recently, she's been rejecting her femininity because she believes the ideal detective is male. She's gotten her hair cut like a boy's, dressed likes a boy, speaks in a lower pitch, and even goes by a new name now," Minato shook his head.

"She doesn't go by Arisato Naoko anymore?" Izako cocked her head in confusion.

"Nope. She insists on going by the same 'Shirogane Naoto'," Hamuko chuckled.

"I see she took Nagi-sempai's maiden name. That's sweet of her," Izako chuckled as well. "I hope this wasn't your grandfather's doing."

"Nope. All Naoko's, or should I say Naoto's doing. Nothing we could do would dissuade her… I mean him," Hamuko said.

"Just as stubborn as Nagi-sempai, I see. I remember when your mother went through a similar phase. She had fallen for your father hard, yet could never get his attention. So, she decided if she couldn't get his attention as a girl, she'd do it as a guy. With a hat, sports bra, and frumpy clothes, she infiltrated Jouhai-sempai's circle of friends. For three months she kept up the charade, getting to know Jouhei-sempai the whole time. Finally, Nagi-sempai couldn't keep her feelings bottled up anymore and confessed to him. It was especially funny since she was still in disguise," Izako reminisced.

"Oh! I remember what happened next! Dad began freaking out, shouting 'NO! YAOI! AUGH! I AM NOT GAY!'," Hamuko recalled.

"And then Mother got really pissed, shouting 'GODDAMMIT, I'M A GIRL YOU NUMSKULL!'" Minato cracked a smile.

"Then Jouhai-sempai shouts back 'PROVE IT!'"

"Then Mom, in a fit of rage, lifts her shirt to prove she's a girl…"

"Causing Father to have a massive nosebleed…"

"Pissing off Nagi-sempai beyond all belief…"

"And Dad shouts 'HOLY CRAP! BIG BOOBIES!'"

"Which causes Mother to completely lose it…"

"By knocking him out into next week!" All three of them exploded in laughter, causing some of the other teachers in the room to shoot them a dirty look.

"Oh, those were the days…" Izako wiped the tears from her eyes.

"They were great people…" said Hamuko.

"I wish they were still here…" Minato whispered.

"I do too, Minato-kun. I do too…" Izako frowned. After a moment of silence to compose herself, Izako spoke up again. "Enough reminiscing for now, it's time to get serious. You two are assigned to 2-F, my class," Izako informed them.

"Really?" Hamuko asked with wonder.

"Really. I had your grandfather pull some strings so I could get you two assigned to my class. I figured you wouldn't mind that either," Izako informed them.

"We don't mind at all. Personally, I think it'd be cool," said Minato.

"Perfect, so here's some quick words of advice: during school hours, address me as Toriumi-sensei. After school, Izako-daibo will be just fine. Be on your best behavior. Don't let the Kuzunoha clans down. Make sure you have fun. Join clubs if you can. Be sure to make friends that'll last a lifetime and beyond. Don't slack off; I won't be going easy on you, even though you're my godchildren. And most definitely, don't cross any of the teachers. I've only been here a week, and I've already made an enemy of Ekoda-san. If we weren't in school, I'd have a few choice words to describe him. Make sure you watch out for him; he's not exactly a shining example of the staff here, if you know what I mean," Izako advised them.

"Understood, Toriumi-sensei!" both siblings bowed.

"Wow! Such enthusiasm, just like your parents," Izako smiled. "Now then, we should get going; the Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. I'll take you both there."

After being escorted to the auditorium, the Arisato siblings took their seats. The place was already packed with a couple thousand students. Not long after they sat down, the principal stepped up to the podium.

"As you begin the school year," the principal began his speech. "I'd like each of you to remember the proverb, 'If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.' When applied to student life, this means…"

'Boring…' Minato though. Still somewhat sleepy, Minato put his headphones on, started playing a soft song, and leaned back. He looked over to his right to see that his sister had done the same thing. He smirked and allowed his thoughts and the speech to be drowned out by the beautiful music.

'Time… Old dry winds go by… Long air comes quietly…' the song echoed in his ears.

Just as sleep was overcoming him, he felt several taps on his shoulder. He turned around to see that a random student was trying to get his attention. 'Aw… just when I was all relaxed,' he mentally sighed.

"Can I help you?" Minato whispered as he muted his MP3 player.

"Yeah. You came to school with Yukari-san and that other girl this morning, right?" the student asked.

"Yeah, I was with Yukari-san and my imoto-chan this morning. What of it?" Minato asked back.

"Oh, so she's your sister," the student nodded in understanding. "Anyways, I have a question; do you know if either of them have a boyfriend?"

"Well, I only met Yukari-san just last night, so I really wouldn't know. As for my sister, you'll have to get through me to have a shot with her," Minato glared at the boy.

"I get it. Sorry," the student apologized. "Anyways, just exactly how well do you know Yukari-san?"

Minato was about to reply when a teacher said, "I hear talking! I believe it's someone in Toriumi's class…"

"Shh! Be quiet!" Toriumi ordered as she glared at Minato and the other kid. "You'll get me in trouble."

The student sunk back into his seat while Minato turned back on his MP3 player and went back into blissful harmony.

'Time… Old dry winds go by… Uncertain space you need to fill in…'

After the ceremony, the day went off without a hitch. Minato and Hamuko met several teachers, such as the Sengoku-obsessed Ono-sensei, Toriumi's enemy Ekoda-sensei, and the self-proclaimed magician Edogawa-sensei. Minato thought each teacher was quirky in his or her own way.

When classes ended for the day, Toriumi stopped by to see Minato and Hamuko, who just happened to be assigned seats next to each other. She came by to see how the first day went. After hearing what had happened, she nodded in approval and left, but not before telling them that if they needed anything, she was a phone call away.

After she left, another student approached the twins. He wore the same uniform as Minato, sans the tie, and had on a blue shirt instead of the white one. He had on a baseball cap and had what appeared to be the start of a goatee on his chin. "S'up? How's it going?" the cap-wearing student greeted them.

"It's going well," Minato greeted back.

"Awesome. Anyways, the name's Iori Junpei. Nice to meet you," the cap-clad student extended a hand.

"Same here. Arisato Minato, and this is my sister, Hamuko," Minato shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Junpei-kun," Hamuko waved.

"I know how tough it is being the new kid; after all, I transferred here in the eighth grade. So, I wanted to say 'hey.' See what a nice guy I am?" Junpei welcomed them.

"Hehehe. You definitely are, Junpei-kun," Hamuko giggled.

"Sweet! I already have you falling for me!" Junpei jumped for joy.

"Sorry, but you're not my type, Junpei-kun," Hamuko apologized, a sad smile on her face.

"Aw… I jumped the gun again," Junpei slumped his shoulders.

"I'm sure you'll make someone happy someday, Junpei-kun. And I wouldn't mind being your friend," Hamuko extended her hand in friendship.

"Well, I'll take any victory I can get," Junpei shrugged as he shook her hand.

"That's the spirit," Minato encouraged him. Just then, Yukari approached the group, glaring at Junpei.

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan!" said Junpei.

"Yuka-tan? That's an awesome nickname!" Hamuko giggled.

Yukari forced back a blush as she crossed her arms. "You're so annoying, Junpei. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?" she fussed.

"What? I was just being friendly. Isn't that right, Hamu-tan?' Junpei looked at Hamuko expectantly.

"Oh, come on, Yukari-chan. Cut the guy some slack. He was only saying hi," Hamuko came to his defense.

"Oh? And what about you, Minato-san?" Yukari turned to Minato for help.

"Eh. I think he's okay," he shrugged.

"See? They think I'm an okay guy!" Junpei beamed with pride.

"Whatever," Yukari held up her hands in surrender. "Anyways, looks like we're all in the same homeroom…"

"Yeah. I know. Funny, isn't it?" Minato remarked.

"Yeah. It must be fate," Hamuko added.

"Fate? Yeah, right," Yukari laughed. "Still, I'm surprised."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Junpei remembered something. "I heard that the three of you came to school together this morning. What's up with that? You three already fast buddies or something more… intimate? C'mon, gimme the dirt!"

"I-Intimate?" Hamuko gasped in shock.

"Bloody high schoolers and their bloody rumors," Minato hung his head in disgust.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Yukari stuttered, blushing beet red. "We just live in the same dorm and Mitsuru-sempai asked me to escort them this morning, nothing more!"

"She's right, Junpei-san," Minato added. "Beside we barely know each other."

"It's only the first day and there are already false rumors about me…" Hamuko sulked.

"Great, now I'm worried," Yukari sighed. As she shook her head, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Minato-san. You didn't say anything to anyone about… you know what, did you?" she whispered.

'Wait, why is she bringing that up now? And in front of Junpei?' he thought. He glanced over to his left to see that Junpei had a peculiar look on his face, the kind one gets when daydreaming. 'Oh, crap. I know what he's thinking. That's just peachy. Just what I need: people having perverse thoughts about me and Yukari-san,' he rubbed his forehead.

"Um… Yukari-san…" Minato jerked his head in Junpei's direction. Yukari looked over at Junpei and saw that same look. She recognized that look and realized what she had said.

"W-Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" Yukari yelled at Junpei.

"L-Last night…?" Junpei asked in a bewildered voice.

"Ew!" Hamuko pointed at Junpei; a small trickle of blood was dripping out of his nose.

'What the hell? This just keeps getting better!' Minato banged his head on his desk.

"Hey! Hey! Listen! I just met Minato-san last night! There's absolutely nothing between us!" Yukari shouted. "Geez…" Yukari took a deep breath and walked over to Junpei and grabbed him by the collar. "Listen up. If you start any rumors about me, Minato-san, or Hamuko-chan, I swear I'll take that hat of yours and ram it down your throat!" she threatened the man.

"G-Got it!" Junpei quickly and wisely replied. Yukari let go of Junpei's collar and turned back to the twins.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, I need to go take of something for the archery team. You two can find your way back to the dorm, right?" Yukari asked.

"We'll be fine, Yukari-san; go take care of your business," Minato replied.

"Good. I see you two later," Yukari turned on her heels and left the classroom.

After Yukari left, Junpei let out a sigh of relief and straightened his collar. "Man… No one takes rumors seriously, anyways," Junpei commented. "She's so paranoid…"

"She just wears her heart on her sleeve, Junpei-san, just like my imoto," Minato replied.

"What?" Junpei's eyes widened as he took a step back.

"Yup. I've been known to go through drastic mood changes in a matter of seconds," Hamuko shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Oh, crap," Junpei sighed. "Last thing we need is TWO Yuka-tans…"

"Don't worry, Junpei-san; so long as you're not being perverse or evil, I think you'll live," Minato said.

"Live? Don't you mean 'I'll be fine?'" Junpei wanted clarification.

"Nope," Minato smirked. Junpei hung his head in defeat, but quickly shrugged it off.

"Enough about that! It's your first day here, and people already are talking about the two of you! Believe it or not, Yuka-tan's pretty popular around here. If you two are already in her circle, then you must be really awesome!" Junpei gave them a thumbs up. "This is gonna be a fun year; I can feel it!"

After the twins left school, they decided to take some time to look around as they walked home. As they were exploring Iwatodai Station, they came across a unique restaurant.

"Wild-Duck Burger?" Hamuko read the eatery's sign. "Why would someone name a place that? Their burgers made of duck or something?"

"I remember Grandfather mentioning this place once. Said Mom and Dad used to go here back in the day," Minato replied.

"Really? They went here?" Hamuko wondered.

"So I've heard. Want to go in and try it out?" the blue-haired Arisato offered.

"I'd love to," his sister nodded.

"Just what on earth is this?" Hamuko examined her burger. "Its GREEN!"

"My fries are soggy…" Minato held up a couple of limp fries.

"I'm not even sure protein was used in this," Hamuko frowned as she looked it over before reluctantly taking a bite.

"Well, how does it taste?" Minato watched his sister swallow her food.

"Heh. Well, they definitely need to work on presentation, but this is good!" Hamuko happily took a second bite of her green burger. "And it's kobe beef at that!"

"I still don't get you how you can tell kobe beef from regular beef. And why the hell would you color a burger GREEN?" Minato eyed the burger.

"Probably because the mascot is green," Hamuko pointed to a nearby statue of an anthropomorphic green duck.

"This is one weird place…" Minato slowly began eating his burger as well.

After experimenting with Iwatodai's cuisine, the Arisato twins returned to the dorm, where they found Mitsuru sitting on one of the couches, intensely reading a book.

"Welcome back," Misturu looked up from the book she was reading.

"Evening, Mitsuru-sempai," Hamuko replied. "How was your first day?"

"It went rather well," she replied. "How about you two?"

"It was a blast," Minato smiled. "Met the teachers, chatted with random folk, and the usual."

"I've heard that your godmother is your homeroom teacher; is that true?" Mitsuru asked.

'I'm not surprised. Since she's the Kirijo heir, and that her father and my grandfather are acquaintances, she's probably privy to all kinds of information,' Minato smirked.

"Yes, that's true," Hamuko answered.

"I see…" Mitsuru closed her eyes in thought. "Well, I guess it should be okay, as long as she treats you the same as any other student. However, I should warn you; if I find out that Toriumi-sensei has been fabricating your grades or giving you a free pass, you'll all answer to ME, got it?" she glared the siblings down.

'Holy crap! That woman's scary as hell!' Minato felt the sweat crawling down his back.

"Yes, ma'am!" both of them stuttered out.

"Excellent. Now then, I'm guessing you're tired after a long first day; why don't you two head upstairs and relax?" Mitsuru suggested.

"Okay," Hamuko replied, and then turned to her brother. "Hey, aniki, want to come hang out in my room for awhile?" she asked.

"Oh, that reminds me; dorm policy explicitly says that boys are not allowed in any of the girls' rooms and vice-versa," Mitsuru informed them. "However… seeing as how you two are twin siblings, I suppose an exception can be made. But I expect you two to only go into each other's rooms, and be back in your assigned rooms by curfew. Violating the policy any more than that would be ill-advised."

"Understood, sempai. Well, I hope you have a good evening," Minato bowed to Mitsuru.

"Same to you," Mitsuru went back to her book.

Minato and Hamuko were sitting on Hamuko's bed, going over the day's events and about how the first day went. "…I can't believe that Ekoda-sensei! He threatened to take my MP3 player away just because I didn't know exactly how many works Shakespeare wrote! Who does he think he is?" Hamuko griped about her teacher.

"I seriously think there's something rammed up his rear end," Minato frowned.

"Most likely a baseball bat…" she grumbled.

"That's probably true," Minato chuckled.

"Anyways, what do you think of Gekkoukan in general?" she asked.

"I think it's a nice school. I can see why our parents loved it," Minato replied.

"Yeah, me too," Hamuko sighed. "Let's make them proud, okay?"

"Okay," Minato promised. "Now to a new topic; have you noticed the bugs crawling around the dorm?"

"I have. What's up with that?" Hamuko complained.

"I honestly don't know. There were quite a bit in the bathroom this morning. Had to flood the tub a couple of times to get rid of them. Why don't they fumigate the place?" Minato wanted to know.

"Ew! That's just nasty, aniki! Bugs in the bathroom!" Hamuko shivered. "I thought this was supposed to have high standards, not sub-standard quality."

"Yeah, I know…" Minato grumbled. "Perhaps we should go complain or something."

"Yeah! Let's find the dorm supervisor tomorrow and file a complaint!" Hamuko decided. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. So, how about we go get a snack or something? All this tension is making me hungry," Minato's stomach rumbled.

"Silly aniki, always thinking with his stomach," Hamuko giggled.

"Hey!" Minato cried out in fake anger.

Downstairs in the kitchen, the twins were preparing a couple of sandwiches when they heard a couple of voices. Hamuko took a look beyond the divide that separated the lounge from the kitchen and saw that Mitsuru-sempai was talking to a man her age. He had short, silver hair, and wore the Gekkoukan uniform with a red sweater-vest overtop his shirt and had leather gloves on his hands. He wore the same armband that Yukari and Mitsuru had been wearing previously and had a silver gun holstered to his belt.

"Aniki! Get over here!" Hamuko motioned him over. Minato came over to where his sister was and the two spied on the conversation.

"…the newspaper? There's a lot going on," the young man told Mitsuru.

"…I know," Mitsuru sighed. "People who had no problems before are suddenly developing acute cases of Apathy Syndrome…"

'Apathy Syndrome? That mysterious illness that has been inflicting the city on and off for the last several years that basically turns those inflicted with it into mindless zombies? I remember Grandfather telling me about it and how there's yet to be a cure to be found, or even anything about the illness itself,' Minato recalled.

"I've seen it in the news quite often lately," Mitsuru continued. "They say it's due to stress, but…"

"Yeah, right," the silver-haired student spat. "It has to be THEM. Otherwise, it's not worth my time…"

'Them? Something or someone's purposely causing the Apathy Syndrome and Mitsuru-sempai and this new kid somehow know the core cause?'

"You have a one-track mind," Mitsuru scolded the kid. "Will you be okay on your own? The Chairman will be here for the next few days, but after that, I can…"

"Don't worry; I'm just getting a little practice," the kid waved off Mitsuru's concern as he walked out the door.

"This isn't a game, Akihiko," Mitsuru sighed as she went back to her book.

'Well, that was a lucky break,' a pleased Minato though. 'That helps quite a bit.'

Quietly, Minato led Hamuko back upstairs.

Back in Hamuko's room, the two discussed what they had overheard and tried to piece everything they had learned together. "So, overall, what do you think is going on here?" Hamuko asked her brother.

"Well, piecing together everything we've learned so far, this is what I think is going on here," Minato took a deep breath. "You recall the Apathy Syndrome, correct?" he asked, to which Hamuko nodded. "Good; Grandfather once told me that next to nothing is known about it and it only seems to be concentrated here in Iwatodai. Judging from what that Akihiko person told Mitsuru-sempai, it seems like those two and possibly Yukari know who or what is behind the Apathy Syndrome."

"You think that it's terrorists?" Hamuko interrupted.

"Well, from what Akihiko-san said, the fact that Mitsuru-sempai and Yukari-san are active during Green Midnight, and that Akihiko-san is a part of their 'group', I'm under the impression that the Apathy Syndrome is inflicted by 'The Beasts of the Night'," Minato theorized.

"The Beasts of the Night?" Hamuko gasped. "But… if that's true, why hasn't cases of Apathy Syndrome appeared in other places as well; we both know the Beasts are around everywhere and we've never seen Apathy Syndrome where we live."

"Who knows? My guess would be that there ARE cases of the disease around the world, but have yet to be recognized. As for why the cases are concentrated here, I'd say that either the Beasts come from this area, whatever controls the Beasts is here, or possibly both."

"That does make sense. But then, what's the role Mitsuru-sempai and the others are playing here?" Hamuko wondered.

"I believe that they're in opposition of the Beasts and whatever they answer to. Mitsuru-sempai said something about a 'Chairman'… They are most likely their leader or something to that effect. He or she probably rounded them up to oppose the beasts," Minato nodded.

"What I don't get is why not tell the police or the military. I thought that very few people are active during Green Midnight, but apparently there's more than we thought. So, why not get those who are active and in the right positions to help? Why use teenagers?" Hamuko asked.

"Maybe it's because there's something special about them? I don't really know," Minato frowned. "And what's our role in this? Were we really brought in here by accident or did this 'Chairman' bring us in and is trying to see if we're 'worthy' of joining the group that's been set up?" Minato rubbed his chin.

"I'm not liking this one bit, aniki. I think Grandpa needs to know," Hamuko clenched her skirt in her hands.

"Okay. We'll email him what we've learned so far, but tell him we're handling this for now," Minato clutched her shoulder.

"Arigato, aniki," Hamuko hugged him.

"Anything for you, imoto," Minato hugged her back. 'Just what the hell is going on here? Mother... Father… please, help us if you can…'

I hope you guys really are enjoying this. Next chapter, I'll be presenting brand new material for the reboot! I can't wait!