Yuuki sighed as the grocery bags slipped out of her arms and onto the warm June sidewalk. This was the second time in half a mile and she still wasn't any closer to her house. Crouching down, she tenderly began to pile the spilled food back into the brown bag. Luckily for her everything was wrapped in plastic.

Mion, covering for Shion at Angel Mort, walked out onto the front porch of the restaurant, stretching her arms over her head. It had been a long day of service and it was only now that she was able to have a break, as the place was short on staff. Her tired feet walked her over to top of the stairs where she leaned against the banister, looking out at the picturesque city of Okinomiya. Mion sighed, breathing in a lungful of heated air. Even though it began as a pretty rough day, Mion could safely say that it wasn't so bad.

Her eyes wandered to the ground below and her expression lit up as a lengthy-haired blonde girl gathered fallen food beneath the landing. "A new face? Wow, I don't know for sure but she looks American!" She stood straight, adjusting her skimpy outfit and rushed down the stairs, excitement urging her foreward. "Konichiwa!" She slowed to a halt in front of the girl and smiled warmly.

Yuuki glanced at Mion for a brief second before averting her eyes, blushing. Even though this strange girl seemed friendly enough she still found Japan a little intimidating. "K-konichiwa," she stuttered shyly.

"Watashi no namae wa Sonozaki Shion {My name is Mion Sonozaki}," Mion introduced, substituting her name with her sister's. The less people who knew about Shion's absence the better (even if the people was this shy, meek girl). "Onamae wa nan desu ka?"

Yuuki bit her lip lightly and felt the tips of her ears redden. She tightened her grip on the paper bag, clutching its contents tightly to her chest, if only to secure herself. "I-I'm sorry. I can't understand you very well. I-I don't know much Japanese."

"Oh?" Mion blinked, making the word sound more like "Oro?" than anything else. Her emerald eyes softened as she knelt down to help the blonde girl with her remaining groceries. "It's . . . okay," she eased into English with another smile. Once all of the items had been safely returned to the confines of the bag, Mion rose and offered Yuuki a hand up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed that you knew Japanese. It was rude of me."

Yuuki still kept her eyes downcast as she reached up and clasped her hand, blushing softly as silky fingers enveloped her own. She coughed, dismissing her embarrassment and slipped her hand from Moin's once both of them were at eye level. "Thank you, I guess." She shuffled her worn tennis shoes nervously before deciding to introduce herself. "My name's Yuuki Soto. It's nice to meet you . . . Sonozaki."

Mion blinked at the usage of her last name before laughing lightly and shaking her head. "My last name is Sonozaki," she clarified. "My first name is Shion. Though if you want to call me Sonozaki, you can do that too." She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Yuuki."

Yuuki half-smiled and bowed her head, given that the bag of groceries were still held in her arms. Her amber eyes turned to the sky and noticed that it was getting late. She turned back to Mion, her face betraying slight disappointment. "Well, I've got to get home now, but it was really nice to meet you. Perhaps I'll see you around sometime?" She silently hoped so. This girl seemed like someone she could really get along with.

Mion nodded and smiled brightly, still retaining her characterization of Shion. "Absolutely. This is a pretty small town so I'll probably be seeing more of you."

Yuuki nodded, a light smile cracking her face. "Yeah. I'll have to come here anyways for groceries and things like that." An alarm went off on her wrist watch and she hastily bowed again in respect. "I have to leave now. Bye."

"Goodbye," she waved after her. Her stare remained on the girl for the majority of a few minutes, watching her retreating back vanish into the horizon. "She was pretty nice. Not like what you hear about Americans most of the time." She shrugged and turned back to the staircase, slowly making her way to the landing. "Maybe our paths will cross again sometime."

Yuuki greeted her parents at the door and set down the groceries. It was only when she began putting them away did she realize she had forgotten to get eggs. "I'll be right back," she told her parents before running back out of the door. In a way, she was almost thankful for the mistake; maybe she would get a chance to see Shion again. The possibility gave her new energy and she ran all the faster.

After her late shift, she updated her twin on what happened that day at work. She leaned against the glass display case in the front, her skimpy waitress outfit tucked under her arm. She didn't miss her twin's sigh as Mion laid out the busy schedule for the following day.

"Don't feel bad," she encouraged playfully, "it's a lot better than what it was today. You're going to be fine." On the other side of the receiver, static imitated a breathy sigh.

"If you say so, Sis," Shion answered almost disappointedly. "I mean, I'm grateful that I'm able to work in one of our family' shops without being noticed, but sometimes the work can get so . . . boring. Not to mention all of the shallow men that come through."

Mion nodded. "I know. It's not a walk in the park for me either, but it's easy to handle if you have enough patience." Her face pulled into confusion when laughter rang in her ear.

"You?" Shion mocked, still giggling. "Having patience? I think we've switched places once too often. Mion, everyone knows that you're the last person to have even an iota of patience. You snap at anyone who even looks at you funny."

"I do not!" Mion barked. Her brows shot to her hairline as she fell for the trick. She blushed, ashamed of not sensing the setup sooner. Shion laughed. "Gotcha." Mion remained quiet, using all of her willpower to not say something smart response. "Hey, Mion? You still there?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean anything by it. It was a bad joke. So, all I have to do is come in early tomorrow?"

The older nodded. "Yep. I'll meet you over here so that we can exchange clothes. Sound good?"

"Mhm. Sounds perfect. I'll meet you out back where less people will be able to see us. But enough about me, tell me about you. Anything exciting happen today?"

Mion's face lit up as she recalled her encounter with Yuuki. She was actually glad her sister asked. "Yeah. I met this American girl that seems to have just moved here . . ." Her detailed description of the girl carried on for the whole of five minutes before she completed her tale with when they both departed. Shion waited until her sister had stopped talking before tossing in her criticism. "That's kind of odd. An American girl having a Japanese name. Why wouldn't she just keep her old name?"

That got Mion thinking. "Well, maybe she just wanted to fit in more. It's not that uncommon for people to go to America and change their name. I'm guessing that's what she did."

Shion hummed her agreement. "I guess you're right. But it sounds like the two of you really hit it off. Maybe if you're lucky she might actually live in Hinamizawa and might even got to the same school as you."

Now it was Mion's turn to laugh. "Fat chance. The possibility of that is like one in ten thousand. Maybe even more than that. No one in their right mind would move there if they knew about its bloody history."

"But still, you never know."

"I know. Hey, I gotta go. Grnadma's going to be steaming if I come home late. She might be an old bat, but she's pretty protective."

Shion's voice was surprised at best. "No kidding? That's new. Alright, I'll let you go. Love you, Sis. Thank you."

Beside herself, Mion's heart warmed. "Love you too. And you're welcome."

Yuuki walked down the dirt road once more, although she glanced around rather timidly. She didn't like being alone by herself - especially in the warm dusk light. Quickening her pace, she ran as fast she could into town, sighing only when she was safely in the store.

The clerk laughed. "What's the hurry?"

Yuuki timidly replied, "Late for dinner," although her fast heartbeat said otherwise. She quickly paid for the eggs and began the long trek home, although her pace more or less a fast jog.

Mion ran down the street in the opposing direction, in her normal attire, panting. "Gotta get home. gotta get- EHHHHH? Oof!" A humanoid for crashed into her, knocking Mion off her feet. Both she and the stranger fell onto each other, rolling in the dust of the road in a frenzied tangle of arms and legs.

Yuuki immediately screamed and scrambled to her feet, forgetting the eggs where they had been knocked from her arms. Her heart pounded wildly as her legs propelled her forward down the road and away from her unexpected run-in.

"Aw," Mion said "Gomen!" she shouted to the stranger as she got up, brushing the dry dirt off the denim of her jeans.

Yuuki didn't bother returning the apology. All she worried about was getting home safely.

Mion saw the carton of eggs on the ground and examined them, which was difficult to do in the dim light. "None of them seem to be broken." She stole a glance back down the shaded dirt road. "I'll just put them on the side of the road. Maybe she'll come back."

When she got home, Yuuki apologized to her parents for her mistake, dishing out as many (good) excuses as she could to pick up the slack. "It's all right," her mom said with a wry laugh as she paused her daughter mid-sentence. "I should have driven you. It was getting dark anyway." The blonde girl smiled, relieved, and sat down to a steaming, juicy burger.

AN:

1. I don't know what to say about this chapter.

2. It's shorter than usual.

3. And that's the beginning of the third arc!

Yours Truly,

Inhumunculus