MODERN ERA
TOKYO, JAPAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
8:20 A.M.
"...Save this world?" Kioshi mumbled.
He was practically half-asleep as he fell out of bed.
"Ow!"
Rubbing his head, he sighed.
It was that same dream again, the one with the weirdo guy and the bow. What were his words again?
He who shall save this world from evil that threatens it? What?
He must have watched too many cartoons again yesterday.
Shaking his head, Kioshi jumped up as he realized what day it was.
Oh, yeah!
It was his 15th birthday!
But goddammit, he had school first, and he was already late!
"AAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Kioshi pulled on his black school uniform, cleaned up at top-speed and sprinted into the kitchen.
His grandparents were already sitting at the table, arguing over the daily newspaper, as usual.
His dad was wearing a cooking apron and was carrying his breakfast.
His little sister Saya wasn't there.
Unlike him, she was ALWAYS usually on time. She was probably already on her way to school.
I'm Kioshi Higurashi. I've lived at the Higurashi Shrine since I was 6.
I live with my grandparents, my dad, my little sister Saya and our puppy Tsuru.
Our shrine has a lot of interesting things in it, like temples and charms and whatnot.
It also has a small restaurant open in the summer, the Sakura Kino Restaurant.
His father barely had enough time to set down a plate of eggs on toast and a glass of milk before:
-Kioshi had gulped the whole thing down,
-grabbed his backpack from near the door,
-stuffed his feet into his light gray sneakers
...and ran out the door, yelling a quick good-bye over his shoulder as he ran.
He could already see the looks of mingled concern and shock on his school friends' faces: Ayato, Ei and Youji.
They were SO going to be on his back for this.
Aw, geez! I'm so late!
Kioshi thought to himself as he was racing by the temple of the Golden Spirit Pond.
Huh?
That's weird. His sister was apparently NOT on her way to school, and was standing in the entryway of the temple.
He stopped running and walked over to her.
"Hey, Saya! You're gonna be late for school-what are you doing?"
She turned to look at him. Saya was wearing her new green and white school uniform today.
She had her fuchsia backpack over her shoulders and was holding a bowl with dog food in it.
"Hey, y'know you're not supposed to be playing in there, right?"
"Yeah, I know. It's the dog." Saya explained, turning back around.
"You think he went down to the pond?"
They went in. The temple was small, and had a musty, dank feeling. No one ever really went in there normally.
At the bottom of the wooden stairs was a large pond ringed by stones in a shallow brick encirclement.
The pond was always covered up by a wooden covering, so Kioshi still wasn't sure whether there was actually any water left in the so-called "sacred" pond.
"Tsuru!" Saya called out softly, her voice echoing eerily. There was no reply.
"I just don't know where else he could be." Saya shrugged.
"So go down," Kioshi suggested.
"But why do I gotta be the one?" Saya protested.
"Because YOU'RE the one that's looking for him," Kioshi stared hard at the pond.
Suddenly, they heard splashing noises coming behind the wooden covering.
"Ah!" Saya freaked out and ran behind Kioshi. "Something's down there!"
"Um, yeah. It's the dog." Kioshi sighed. They obviously both weren't gonna get to school early at this rate.
Besides, the dumb dog might have hurt himself.
So before he knew it, he was climbing down the stairs. On the last step, however, he stopped.
That sound...from inside the pond-
CRACK! Something brushed against his leg. "Yaah!"
"Aaah!" Saya scrambled back as Kioshi freaked out.
He looked down to see a small brown dog nuzzling his leg.
"Tsuru!" Saya exclaimed in obvious relief. "You're OK!"
Then she turned indignantly to Kioshi. "Ha! And you tease ME for being scared, when you're all like "Yaah!"", She said, mimicking him in a whiny, mocking voice.
"Huh! You should talk, Miss "Why do I gotta be the one"!"
Kioshi picked up Tsuru in his arms carefully, secretly glad the dog was safe.
Suddenly, there was a blast as the pond covering blew off.
BOOM!
Something grabbed Kioshi and dragged him backwards into the well. Fortunately in the struggle, he let go of Tsuru, who bounded safely towards Saya. His last sight before he disappeared down into the pond entirely was of Saya's terrified face as she watched him get pulled over.