A/N: I'm sorry for the insanely long wait. I didn't have that much on my plate, so you can attribute this to plain laziness. Sorry, but we'll still be going. I don't intend to leave this to decay until it's run its full course. Plus, up till this point of this fic I've been typing everything straight on FFnet's Doc Manager, due to a new PC. However, after acquiring OpenOffice, this may change for the better from this chapter onwards.

The umbrella scene was something I picked up from Golden. It was a small moment and very nice, so it's all good, but I'm not sure if the longer scenes will be added. We'll see.


Boy, midnight's sure coming up really slowly at the one time you're actually waiting for it...

My folks are fast asleep, and they don't like it when I stay up into the next morning, but I gotta try this out! I'll just have to keep quiet and make sure the lights are off. Seated on my bed, I looked straight at my little box of a TV, sitting on my cabinet stacked full with DVDs.

Waiting for the moments to midnight to tick by, I began wondering about why I wanted so badly to check this thing out. Sure, Yosuke being the idiot he was can make you get defensive about anything, but all I did was find out about this Midnight Channel thing online... Am I that curious about who's my soulmate?

I shook my head to... myself I guess. That can't be it. If it was just about me, why did I tell Seta and Yosuke about it? Yukiko I get, because I was curious about her soulmate too, but all it took was Yosuke to mention his crush on Konishi-senpai to get me talking.

I guess I really do get gung-ho about this stuff without me realising...

My train of thought was interrupted by the sound of static, its crackling making a faint echo throughout my room. I immediately checked my phone, and it was midnight. Oh wow, so it actually worked?! I gotta call Yukiko and tell her about this before it - Aah, there's no time!

I got off my bed and onto my knees, scurrying close to the TV. I took a quick look behind the cabinet to confirm that my TV was definitely turned off. Usually I don't bother, but I totally unplugged the thing for tonight just to make sure it was for real. Trying not to waste any more time, I scrambled on my knees and almost fell over myself before going back to the TV, which was still spewing static. The screen itself was bathed with a white, ghostly glow which made my room look like a noir detective movie - the dim white light clashing against the harsh shadows of the objects in my room. I squinted, trying to discern any kind of detail... when I saw someone.

I kinda recognised our school's uniform on the person, so hey, I'm gonna meet my soulmate in my high school years! That was quicker than I thought!

Wait, no... the figure, whose face was blurred out, kept moving around, and the shot kept changing, but... is that the girls' uniform? And is that... long hair...?

My soulmate's a... girl?!

"B-But I'm straight!" I yelped before quickly stuffing my hand into my mouth. Idiot, don't wake mom and dad up!

I lowered my voice, continuing to observe the girl for what seemed like minutes. I grabbed my TV set, palming my hands on its sides and shook it. All it did was make me continually more confused.

"Hey!" I hissed. "This has gotta be a mistake! My soulmate can't be a girl! I'm straight, darn you!"

Still staring right at the image, I could tell that the girl's long hair as wavy, around shoulder-length... but that was all I could make out. Eventually, the image disappeared, and my TV went blank again, as if it never turned on in the first place. My room became totally dark again.

I let go of my TV and sat there in front of it for a long while. "At least... I thought I was..."

I pounced onto my bed and wrestled with the sheets like a lion tearing into a hapless gazelle. "Argh! This can't be right! Don't mess with me, you stupid Midnight Channel! Why did I ever want to check you out? I should have never went online that day! You suck, you hear me? You suck!"

"Chie!" I heard mom's muffled voice yelling from the other side of the door, making me jump so high off the bed I actually got hang time. "Stop making a ruckus and go to bed! You can practise your kung-fu speeches tomorrow!"

"But Mom, I'm not-" I sputtered, before giving up in utter frustration and burying myself under every square inch of sheets I could get my hands on. "Sorry! G'night!"

Hearing mom's footsteps disappearing down the stairs, I peeked my head out from under my blanket and stared at the featureless ceiling. I was gay and I didn't even know it...

"I was hoping for a guy..." I mumbled, the blanket covering my mouth. "I mean, I only had a guy in mind. This is crazy...!"

I decided not to think about it too much and tried to sleep. Hopefully, Yosuke and Seta didn't get to check, didn't see anything or forget to bring it up tomorrow. Trying to explain this to them... I wouldn't hear the end of it from either of them. Not even thinking about how Yukiko would think. I bet she'll go all "I respect you, Chie, no matter who you like" on me. That's not what I want, for crying out loud! I wasn't expecting a life-turning revelation to come out of a stinking stupid rumour...!

The worst part is I knew what some of the girls in class thought of me. Because I was such a tomboy, there were already rumours during first year that I'm so comfortable with guys because I don't like any of them that way... Add that with me being with Yukiko all the time, and my non-girliness stood out all the more...

If I could have cried myself to sleep that night, I would have. Unfortunately, I was too busy dying inside from distress over how to handle this tomorrow.

But many long minutes passed, and I still couldn't sleep. I was... disappointed that I was gay all along. Not because of anything else but the fact that it seemed... so obvious. I thought that I could be the girl who was the only tomboy in school and straight at the same time. I was disappointed that I kinda proved all the rumours right...

Man, what a stupid way to think.

I buried my face in my pillow. I've had it with this.

"Rrrgh, forget it! You're Chie Satonaka! Buck up!"

I made up my mind. I resolved that whatever happened, I would keep my head high. I can get through this! It's... a new lifestyle, but nothing I can't handle!

And besides, I can always just kick the boys to everywhere and back if they try to say anything tomorrow...


"Perfect timing! Sorry, move over!"

It was drizzling when I left the house, so I brought my umbrella with me. Satonaka, however, did not, and just as soon as she called me, she forced her way under my umbrella. I was startled at the sudden breach of space, but not exactly... well, put off by it.

She was aware of what she was doing though, and she spoke in her own defense. "Oh... I did have my own, but I saw this kung-fu movie...?"

I beckoned for her to continue.

"...Where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves..."

I gave her a blank stare.

"And... yeah... I accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the movie."

What an honest person.

While we were walking, Satonaka tensed up. "By the way... Did you see it?!"

She sounded pretty excited about it, but upon proper inspection, she was looking at me with expectancy, and there was a tinge of nervousness to her expression that she didn't even bother to hide. I wonder who did Satonaka see? Was it someone she didn't like? Still, I couldn't pretend what happened yesterday didn't happen - I had the throbbing in the back of my head to prove it.

"I did."

"Aha, do tell," she said, laughing it off. "But the person it showed..."

I saw some students walking, to our left where Satonaka couldn't see them - giving curious looks to us. Two girls in particular were laughing and chattering at the sight of us.

Oh dear.

"Never mind," Satonaka finally said. "I'll save it for when the others are around. W-We're gonna be late for school!"

"Well, okay then." We continued towards the school in silence. Her right shoulder brushed against my umbrella hand a few times. I held my bag to my side a little tighter than I normally did.

As we got nearer the school, more students were around. More took notice of us sharing an umbrella as we drew closer to the school grounds. Now that she wasn't speaking to me, she noticed this as well.

"Oh, U-Uhh..."

We both stopped.

"I-It's kinda awkward to only bring this up now, but... we're pretty close here..."

"It was already awkward when you came in." was my immediate reply. I added "To be honest" to not sound too harsh.

"Well, sorry..." She kept her head down and her voice soft. "I was running all the way here like a crazed chicken, and when I saw you, I figured you wouldn't mind..."

She seemed genuine at first, but then she sounded a little bit too melodramatic. "But now, you just want to leave me in the rain and get wet..."

Don't you dare play the guilt card on me, Satonaka.

Because it almost always works anytime someone does it to me.

She laughed at my plight before I could answer. "Anyway, I'll get out of your hair, pronto. Let's see..." It was still drizzling, and Satonaka was apparently looking for an opening. Now that she mentioned it, she was right. Dark specks on the shoulders of her jacket, plus the sheen of water to her hair and face suggest that she was running all the way from her home. I only noticed all that detail because she's so close, but I digress.

She retracted a hand into her sleeve and wiped her cheek. "U-Um, I'm gonna just go ahead and run the rest of the way, okay?"

"Um..."

"It's not that far to the gate. Well, seeya!"

"H-Hey, Satonaka-"

I grabbed the elbow portion of her sleeve, but she took off so suddenly that I got dragged a good three feet forward. She made an abrupt stop when she found out she was tugging me along.

"Sorry!" Satonaka turned around while I tried to recover. "What is it?"

"It's," I huffed. "It's okay."

I extended my umbrella over Satonaka's head and took a step closer. "Don't worry about it."

"Huh...? Are you sure?"

I nodded, and feeling unusually brave, I swallowed and shuffled closer towards her to cover both of us, as if to assert my point. I noticed Satonaka's vision trailing as more students walked by us with interest, but with quick reflexes and unexpected tact she shifted her entire attention to me to give me an appreciative smile.

"If you say so then... I guess it's okay."

She really does have a sweet smile.

I cocked my head to the people. "You don't mind the... you know?"

She shook her head, which was close enough that little droplets of water struck my jacket. "Eh, it's no big deal. But... thanks."

I politely smiled in return. Satonaka doesn't seem terribly affected by what other people think of her. If that's the case, it's possible that she wanted to run all the way earlier not out of our alleged awkwardness, but... concern for my own image? In the end, I decided not to dwell too much on this little mystery. "It's no problem."

Satonaka nodded. "Great! Alright, let's go."


I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little flustered earlier in the morning with Seta... We were pretty close, and I counted at least five people who saw us outside. Worse still, we both walked to class together without realising it, laughing and talking about little stuff while practically everyone in the corridors and our class might have seen us - two of which are questioning me right now.

"Chie, we saw you walking to school with the transfer student today..."

"Already taking the initiative, are we?"

This was one of those times I wanted class to start already. Seta was already at class, while these two, Misaki and Touko, hounded me while I was drying off in the girls' restroom.

"You got it all wrong, guys." I sighed, taking off my jacket. I decided to omit my little accident at home. "I... forgot my umbrella, and it just so happened I saw Seta on the way."

"Oh, I see..." said Misaki, checking her eyes in the mirror.

Touko was always the more persistent of the two, and she's very happy to prove it. "So what, did he offer it to you? The umbrella I mean?"

"Huh? Oh, um, no..." I said. "He happened to be on the way, and since he was the only person I recognised on the way... I pushed under his umbrella. You know me."

"Right, right, that makes sense!" Touko said, laughing. "That just means he was too scared you'd beat him up if he didn't let you!"

"Hey, that hurts," I joked. "Anyways, leave him alone. Seta was just being nice."

"Ooh, defending your knight in shining umbrella?" said Misaki. "Sharing it like a pair of lovers... Watch out, or the other girls will give you the evil eye! He's the talk of the school right now, you know!"

"Ugh, like I said...!" I wanted to say before they burst into laughter.

"We get it, we get it!" they said in unison as they left the bathroom. "See you in class, Mrs. Seta!"

I waited for the sounds of their footsteps to fade out into the corridor before slamming my fists onto the sink.

"UGH! I'd dropkick the two of them into the river if I could!"


I quickly washed my face and dried off before returning to class, just in time for Sofue-sensei's first history lesson of the year. As I went to sit by Seta, I noticed Misaki and Touko giving weird looks and winks to me. Ugh, gimme a break...

"You look distressed," said Seta, while Sofue-sensei was coming in. "Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." I waved it off, hoping he didn't notice those two.

"You didn't catch a cold, did you?"

I froze a little at his concern. "I... no! It's nothing like that. Really!"

Seta didn't seem convinced. "Hm. Don't tell me..."

"Don't... tell you what?" I said, trying to smile as innocently as I could.

"It's about yesterday, isn't it? Perhaps you saw your soulmate, and didn't like what you-"

"Our transferee, Mr. Seta, please stand up," announced Sofue-sensei from the front of the class, causing Seta to quit prying and answer her question.

"Oh, um..." He mumbled while Sofue-sensei quizzed him.

I smirked a little, knowing that he'll get it wrong since he was too busy questioning-

"Anno Domini was when Jesus was born, and the year before 1 AD is... 1 BC."

"Ah, you seem to understand this well..." Sofue-sensei said, pleased, and my jaw loosened a bit in utter disbelief. He sat back down, apparently ignoring the rest of the class also taking note of his stellar achievement.

Misaki and Touko, who were to my right, whispered to me while snickering. "Wow, the transfer student really is something, Chie! Lucky you!"

I just tried to swat them off. "Sshhh!"

Still, how did he...

"How did you..." I ignored them and questioned Seta as he settled back into his seat.

He just smiled. "I have two ears, you know."

"But-"

"Anyway, about earlier..."

"Ugh, you remember."

"You were the one to bring it up just now..."

"Fine, fine! What is it?" I lifted my hands in defeat - just a little so Sofue-sensei wouldn't see.

"Don't worry," he replied. "Like you said, we should save it for after school. We should concentrate."

"Right, okay. No problem with that." We both faced forward to listen to the lesson. However, Seta spoke again, coughing.

"Or rather, you should. I've heard stories of your grades from classmates."

This guy really knows how to make a girl wanna punch him. He's like Yosuke, but more calculating. Like a serial killer with words or something.

"Hey, I'm not booksmart, okay? You should see me during PE class! I can kick your butt at any sport, any time!"

"I don't deny that," he said, admitting quick defeat, oddly enough. "I probably can't throw a punch to save my life."

"Hmph!" I grinned. "Maybe I'll save yours one day? Who knows?"

He just laughed. "Who knows. Still..."

"Hm? Still what?"

"I do want to hear about this soulmate of yours later. Don't forget."

"Ugh..."


Classes are finally done, and I saw Yosuke talking to Seta with a worried look. I wondered if he saw something he wasn't expecting last night too... I decided not to bring that up just yet and start with what's been circulating among the other girls in our year about someone very relevant to Yosuke.

"Hey guys! Yosuke, did you hear the rumour?"

Seta already saw me coming, but Yosuke looked pretty surprised. "Huh?"

"I heard Saki-senpai's the one who discovered that body." I said. "What do you think? You think it may be true?"

"Huh... I don't know," Yosuke trailed off, thoughtful, talking more to himself than to me. "I wonder if that's why she looked so down... She doesn't seem to be at school today either..."

Oh, so that's why he seemed so worried just now? I went over to him and slapped him on the shoulder, prompting a jolt from him. "Oh, cheer up, will ya! Whether it's true or not, if Saki-senpai's feeling down, you could be right there to lift her spirits, eh, big boy?"

"Oh, leave me alone," Yosuke jabbed back, swatting my hand away. I laughed it off, and Seta offered him a supportive smile. Just then, I noticed Yukiko was about to leave, on the other side while we were at Seta's desk. "Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today, too?" I beckoned for her to come over. "Come on! We can grab a bite with the guys!"

Her eyes lit up a little, but then she held her head down in apology. "Things are really out of hand right now... I'm sorry." With that, she retreated from the classroom, looking pretty disappointed she couldn't come.

Man, Yukiko's not like us other girls at all. While we're having fun, she has to be worried about all this stuff. I feel really sorry for her sometimes...

"Is it just me," Yosuke said. "Or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?"

"I guess they're running her ragged..." All I could do was sigh, feeling a little helpless that I can't even help my best friend with all that stress being piled onto her. "But what else can we do...? It's her family..."

As I turned around, I noticed that Seta looked like he was about to seriously pursue that question, so I decided to shift the topic.

"By the way..." I looked back and forth between both of them. "Did you see... it... last night?"

"Huh...?" said Yosuke, nervous. "Uh, well... What about you?"

"I did!" Well, here we go... "I seriously saw a girl!" Whether my soulmate's a girl or not, I was curious about what the others saw. I wanted to know if they had any answers to this. Maybe there was a mix-up at the Midnight Channel matchmaking office or something?

"But... my soulmate's a girl?" I continued. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Like a scene out of a sitcom, Yosuke and Seta turned to each other and exchanged a very telling look at the same time. Geez, I can already tell exactly what they're thinking of...

I felt my nerves taking over, and I cut them off before they could say anything. "I-I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure... "

I held my hand up to count my fingers. "Let's see... Her hair was brown, about shoulder length... She was wearing our school uniform, too, and..."

I struggled further to recall any more details from that blurry image I saw, but Yosuke cut me off.

"Hey... I think that's the same person I saw." Yosuke snapped his fingers. "I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier, but it was the same person for sure. The details match up perfectly!"

"H-Huh? Wait, so you saw it too?!" I said, raising my voice with wild abandon. I pointed back and forth between me and Yosuke. "And we saw the same girl...? Does that mean... we have the same soulmate?!"

"H-How should I know?" Yosuke barked back, almost as put off by this as I am. Wait, so am I... bi now? No, not just that, but... with Yosuke?! Wh... Why?! What...

"Um..." Yosuke turned his utmost, full attention to anyone other than me, and Seta happened to be closest. "How 'bout you? Did you see it?"

Seta just looked blankly at both of us. "Um..."

"Well?" I asked, prodding further. "Don't tell me you saw the same person too?!"

"Actually, I did..."

"What?! We can't all have the same soulmate!" I said in disbelief, ignoring anybody else in the class. "That's just weird!"

"Will you keep it down?" Yosuke said, exasperated. "That soulmate crap is probably made-up, anyway." He crossed his arms and faced Seta. "Still, we can't deny that that weird stuff really did happen, so Chie, your story's not complete rubbish either..."

"Y-Yeah, but...!"

I... I felt my sleeve being tugged.

Seta was holding it gently at the edge of the sleeve, just inches from my hand. "You need to calm down..." He was about to say something else, but just said "Satonaka." The suddenness of that action put me at ease almost immediately. He then let go just as gently as he held on.

Seta is weird in his own little ways... He can be such a pain, but also... After this and the umbrella just now...

He's also kinda... unexpectedly nice.

"I think Hanamura's right," he said. "There's definitely something to your story, but I don't think all of it's to be believed. This soulmate thing is one of them."

"Right..." I held that same hand to my face, laughing. "Sorry about that. I guess you're right."

"Someone probably just made it up just to find some kind of reason," said Yosuke. "Plus, all this romantic fortune-telling crud? Girls will probably eat it up! I just wasn't expecting you of all the girls to like that sort of thing..."

"Oh, can it, Yosuke," I said. "You were pretty worried too, when you learned we all have the same 'soulmate'."

"Yeah, yeah," Yosuke replied. "You were way more flustered about it, What's wrong? You-"

"Um..." Seta interrupted. "Are you two sure you... didn't see anything else?"

"Huh?" I said. "No..."

"What, like what we already saw wasn't weird enough?" said Yosuke. "Why, did you see something else?"

"Yeah, tell us!" I said, trying to encourage him. "Maybe we can figure this weird urban legend out!"

Seta let out a deep breath, not making eye contact. "Well, besides the girl, there was..."

Yosuke and me listened, our silence persuading him to continue. Seta paused for a while...

And then proceeded to tell the weirdest story I've heard all month.


A/N: I made some pretty intolerable typos and errors, but they should be fixed now. I have a habit of ninja-editing within the day after publishing, so please don't feel paranoid if what you read now doesn't match what you first read. Thanks for reading, as always.