Eri: After nearly a year, probably, of no updates, we finally have a new update to this time mess! This time, I'm with a new friend.
Hanamaru: Hello! I'm Hanamaru!
Eri: [to the readers] I've just met her a few minutes ago and she's been eating non-stop. Is this normal?
Hanamaru: [didn't hear] So, there haven't been many reviews since last time zura. I think we should just get on with the chapter for today.
Eri: Ah, but I do want to clarify something. I am not falling for Dia. No matter how cute she is, my heart has already decided on someone.
Hanamaru: Do you mean Chocolate-san?
Eri: No!
Hanamaru: Well, we'll see about that zura. On with the chapter!
Nozomi had been considering sneaking off from practice long before Eri called for a ten-minute break. She normally supported the blonde's ideas but asking for more than the required practice hour was something she was starting to get bored of. Even if they were trapped within the villa's immediate area, she would much rather spend her time pranking one of the other members, with or without other helpers.
Yet, she knew immediately that there was something wrong when the ten-minute break was over and she didn't hear Eri's petulant call from outside. She opened the window of the room she'd chosen to hide in and peered down at the open space below. "She really isn't there?" Nozomi closed the window again, running down the stairs inside to the exit closest to that side of the villa.
Once outside, she searched the area for any signs of her friends. There was none to be found; it was as if they had simply disappeared into the fog that surrounded the villa. Were they really gone? Nozomi couldn't believe it. Not after they'd been stuck together in the time loop for five years. She didn't want to believe it. "If this is a prank, it isn't funny!" She shouted. Then she stood still, and listened for the giggles of her friends as they hid from her. Only silence came to her. She couldn't accept that they had all just vanished. They had to be hiding in the woods, right? She ran into treeline, calling out her friends' names. "Rin-chan! Hanayo-chan! Nico-chi!"
"Eri-chi, please answer me!"
Mari took one second to recollect herself after the whatever it was that passed through her. Then, realizing that no one else was around her anymore, she did the only logical thing she could think of. She turned and walked back the way they had come, figuring that if anything happened, she would find her friends afterwards. She didn't mind the fog that much, even though it made her colder than she would have preferred. She'd been walking through the fog for quite a distance when it started to clear up.
"Huh?" To say she was confused was an understatement. Mari had walked straight through the fog, without taking any turns, yet she was back in front of the villa again. She glanced over her shoulder at the fog, finding the white mist more unsettling now. "I guess I just have to look around then…" She gazed up at the villa again. The building was just as unsettling as the fog behind her. She shook her head. "Nope. No way am I going in there. I'll take a walk around first, and see if I find anyone."
Nozomi took a moment to catch her breath. It hadn't been a good idea to run straight through the forest, even though she knew how to avoid the things in her path by this point, because she had plunged straight into the fog. She didn't know how long she'd run in the white mist but she had been terrified by it. She'd heard the footsteps of someone else, but she couldn't see anyone in the fog. And everyone in μ's already knew to avoid the fog – it didn't lead anywhere and only made the person walking it feel cold. She'd just forgotten where the edge of the forest had been in her search, that's all.
It wasn't too far to the edge of the treeline from where she stood next to the fog. She glanced up, thinking she saw something moving in the distance and did a double-take when she realized she was seeing blonde hair. She took another moment to prepare herself for the run back. Eri should be proud for her longer run, though Nozomi reminded herself to give Eri a proper punishment for hiding for so long.
"Eri-chi!"
Mari heard the cry mere seconds before whoever had shouted slammed into her. Instinctively, she shoved the other girl away, scrambling to get into a defensive posture before she was attacked again.
"Wait…you're not her..." The other girl sounded disappointed.
Mari waited, but the other girl didn't look threatening. In fact, it was the opposite. The girl looked like she was about to cry. "Who are you looking for?" Mari asked gently. "I'll help you look."
"Ah, um…I'm looking for my friends. They just disappeared suddenly…"
"Really? Mine too." Mari said, holding her hand out to the other teenager. "Come on. We'll look together!"
"…okay." The other girl took her hand. "My name's Nozomi. What's yours?"
"I'm Mari!" Mari said brightly as she shook Nozomi's hand. "Nice to meet you!"
Kotori had just about made up her mind to take a walk when she heard a thud from downstairs. Leaving her sewing room, she hurried to the rail to look down at the lounge. No one had gotten hurt in a long time, so she was extremely intrigued by the sound of someone hurting themselves. Not that she wanted to see someone hurt though. Maybe it was Honoka, or Rin. Those two always seemed to get into the most trouble, no matter how long they had spent getting to know every inch of their limited space.
"What happened this time?" She called out, peering down. A shiver passed through her as she realized none of her friends were down there. Instead, a teenager in an unfamiliar sailor uniform looked up at her with the same confusion Kotori felt. She could either confront the stranger or run back into her sewing room. She decided to run, quickly turning away from the rail and fleeing to the safety of her room.
"Wait!" She heard the shout but didn't heed it.
Kotori entered the sewing room and slammed the door shut. She reached for the doorknob, before remembering there were no locks on the upstairs rooms. "Ah, but I have my escape rope – " She glanced around the room, before remembering she had decided to make a plush of one of her friends for her one hour of required sewing. "Why did I do that instead of making a rope like I normally do?!" She cried aloud. The plush would disappear at the conclusion of the day anyway, when the time loop reset. She wished she could climb down, but she was neither athletic enough nor courageous enough to climb out of the second-floor window.
There was a knock at the door.
You didn't want to terrify the girl she knew was on the other side of the door. She did need answers though, and preferably some clarification as to what exactly was going on in the villa. And her foot still hurt from when she bumped into the couch. She knocked again. "My name is Watanabe You! I didn't mean to scare you or anything! I just want to talk! We can talk through the door if it makes you feel better!"
"What do you want to know?" Came the scared response.
"I was visiting this place and now I can't leave – the fog keeps turning me back here every time I try! Do you know why?"
The door clicked open and You looked at the other teenager again. She felt they were about the same age and hoped that sense of familiarity would help overcome the other's fear.
"I don't know." The other girl said. "My friends and I have been trapped here for five years."
Five years… You couldn't even imagine being trapped for a day in this place, let alone five years. Wait, μ's disappeared five years ago, right? Could it be – No. No way. They were students when they disappeared. They wouldn't be students anymore by now. "Your friends?" She finally said. "Are they around?"
"I haven't seen them today. Maybe they're all outside practicing?"
You shook her head. "I looked around a bit before I came inside. I haven't seen anyone except you."
The other girl paled. She pushed past You, rushing down the stairs.
"Hey!" You called after her. She glanced into the sewing room, a bit envious of the expensive sewing machine she saw inside, and followed the other teenager. "Don't leave me behind!"
Kotori felt her heart thumping loudly as she exited the villa and ran around the corner to where Eri was definitely holding practice. "Eri-cha-" The name died on her tongue as she realized no one was there. The grassy expanse was empty, even though they all should have been out here.
"I told you no one was here." You must have followed her. "Maybe if we stick together, we can find- agh!"
Kotori pinned You down, finding strength in her despair. She wrapped her hands around You's throat. "It's all your fault! Where are they?!"
"I…I don't know!" You choked.
Kotori ignored You's attempts to break her hold. "Lies! Everyone was here until you came!"
"My friends are gone too!" You managed to gasp out. "It's not my fault!" She stared into the other girl's amber eyes, desperately hoping that she would listen and believe her.
Hanayo: [in shock]
Hanamaru: That...was surprising. I really hope You-chan is okay...
Hanayo: I've never seen Kotori-chan act like that! Somebody do something!
Hanamaru: Yeah...also, when did you get here?
Hanayo: Huh? I've been here since around halfway through the chapter. Eri-chan was crying when she passed the shuffle baton to me. I wonder what happened.
Hanamaru: Oh...well, it's nice to meet you zura!
Hanayo: I-It's nice to meet you too! Um...zura?
Hanamaru: Aah! I did it again!
Hanayo: ...are you okay?
Hanamaru: [nods] Just end this chapter already, please!
Hanayo: R-Right! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review if you can, and I-I'll see you in the next chapter!
