(Evening)

I grabbed a snack and went to my room. I picked up "The Lovely Man" (why not, right? Might as well read it all the way through) and plopped onto the sofa. After finishing the book, I finished my snack and went to bed.

Monday, 5/2 (Early Morning)

"Good morning," Yukiko greeted. The rain splattered around us.

"Hey," I replied.

"It's raining…. It's not going to last past nightfall, though," she said. "Every time it rained while I was… 'over there,' you must have been….

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gloomy. I know! Golden Week starts tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans?" she asked.

"I'll have a family outing," I answered.

"I-I see. That must be tough. At least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. It'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit 'over there' once in a while so we can become stronger." I nodded in agreement, and we start walking through the school gates.

(Afternoon)

I tried to look like I was paying attention as King Moron yelled at us. I glanced around. Everyone else looked exasperated.

(After School)

I was about to exit the classroom when a girl stopped me.

"Ah… um…. I have something to ask you. Will you listen to me?" she asked me.

"What is it?"

"To be honest… I haven't been able to sleep lately. I'm afraid of so many things out there."

Good thing you haven't been to the T.V. world, I thought.

"But, if I had some sort of charm, I could calm down and actually rest… I think," she continued. "Like an angle statue, or something. I get the feeling that it could protect me. Someone from the city like you should know where to get one of those, right? O-of course, I'll repay you! Umm…. How about I trade you my old good-luck charm for it? It's a key. I don't know what it's a key TO exactly, but it seems like it could be worth a lot."

"Sure, I'll look for one for you," I answer.

"Huh!? Really?" the girl cried. "Thank goodness…. Well then, I'll leave it in your hands!"

An angle statue, huh…? Do the Shadows drop those…? Welp! Let's find out.

Another guy stopped me as I was about to go down the stairs.

"Uh… excuse me. Do you have a moment?" he asked. "I must speak to you on behalf of… the Mystery Association. Or if you would prefer, the Occult Club. Surely a student of your tastes… can appreciate the dark arts?"

"….Uh… yeah! Sure…" I replied uncertainly.

"I knew it! Just as it was foretold!" He chuckled mischeviously. "Perhaps you'd like a reading of your own? No, I'm getting carried away. Anyway, I was just about to get to the point of our little chat, now wasn't I? You see, I would like a really really dark ornament for our club's room. That would be ideal, yes? After all, a lasting first impression is key. 80% of our choices are dictated by that alone. So, you must journey to an old castle where you will seek out the most evil-looking demon statue you can."

Old castle, huh…? I wonder where that would be….

"It should be obvious, but you'll have better luck finding one if you look for a magician of sorts," the shady boy continued. "I think that would satisfy our need splendidly. So, what do you think? You ARE capable of finding this, right? Naturally, you can expect a reward from us. Let's see…."

Man, this guy talks a LOT, I thought.

"I might have numerous things one might use to restore one's 'health.' Catch my drift?" he asked.

"Yeah… uh… I think I can find it," I replied. "But just don't look at me weird if I look kinda beat up."

"Huh? Whatever. This is all as the higher being has foretold!" he yelled triumphantly."Thank you very much! You shall be rewarded handsomely!"

"Y-yeah… some of those 'healing thingies' would be nice…" I muttered.

I wandered around—since I had nothing to do—and found myself stopped by another guy. I sighed.

How many people have requests for me…? I wondered, exasperated.

"Hey you, do you know about crystal radios?" the guy asked me. I shook my head. "They're really not that hard to build, if you have the right materials and an antenna. I made one when I was in grade school. I found it last year when I was cleaning my house. It really brought back memories…. Maybe I'll make another one. Oh, hey…. This is changing the subject, but would you mind listening to me for a moment?"

"I was listening to you this whole time, so it wouldn't hurt to listen to you some more," I replied.

"Well…. I'm making another crystal radio, but I don't have all the materials I need. I don't have any ritz wire for the antenna. Do you know what that is? I need the twisted, enameled kind...

"I was going to cannibalize a T.V. for parts, but I couldn't figure out how to break it down. I thought I could get one, but I can't find a new one anywhere now. If you ever come across one, remember me, okay? I'll give you something 'not sold in stores' in return."

"Sure. I'll look around in the T.V.," I said without thinking. A nanosecond later, I knew I had said the wrong thing.

"Huh? You sure say some weird things sometimes," the boy said.

"Yeah… that's the kind of person I am!" I said casually, walking off.

I decided to go to the T.V. today to pick up the objects my fellow classmates asked me to get.

I went to Junes and bought three Tiny Soul Tomatoes from the farming lady, and went to the food court. Then I called everyone up.

"Okay, let's go train and get some stuff in the T.V., guys!" I yelled.

"What stuff?" Chie asked.

"Stuff…" I replied. "Anyway, let's go!"

"I fell a powerful Shadow in the castle," Teddie reported. "Maybe this world is getting unstable from people going in and out. I don't think this Shadow is related to the culprit, but I don't like it being here. I'd be happy if you could defeat it for me."

"Don't worry, Teddie!" I said. "We'll beat it to a pulp, right guys?" Everyone nodded.

I wonder what that liquor store has in there….

"Hey Yosuke!" I called, walking up to him.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Can you show me the way back to the liquor store?" I asked.

"You know, I don't really want to go…" he protested.

"C'mon, man," I persisted, giving him the "puppy eyes."

"Argh! All right, I get it! I'll go already!" he gave in.

I went inside the store and looked around. I searched the counter and found an interesting beer bottle or whatever. I took it.

Then I checked the barrels and found something stuck in between them. I pulled the stuff out and found myself holding two knives. These are perfect for Yosuke!

I jogged out.

"Hey, Yosuke," I said, "here." I handed him the knives.

"Huh?" He took them and studied them. "Well… these ARE better than my old ones…" He slipped his old knives into his pockets and strapped on his new ones.

"See? Going here wasn't too bad," I said, walking back.

"Hey Teddie," I said. "Can you lead us back to the castle?"

"I-I sort of forgot where the castle is…" he muttered. "B-but I'm sure Chie-chan and Yuki-chan didn't forget! You should ask one of them to show you where it is.

"Oh, yeah! Hehehe... I made these the right way this time…." He gave me some stuff. "Tada! Braaaaaaand-new gag glasses!" he announced triumphantly.

"Oh god!" I yelled, laughing. "These are great! Hey Yukiko! Teddie made us some more gag glasses!"

"Really?" she cried, running over to me. "This is great!" We both put our pairs on and pretended to study each other.

"You look awesome, Yukiko!" I said, giving her a thumbs-up.

"You look awesome, too!" she replied. Then we doubled over, laughing our heads off.

"Ugh, here they go again…" Chie muttered, looking annoyed. "I thought we're here to train, not laugh our heads off!" In the end, Yosuke and Chie had to drag us to the castle.

"You guys calmed down, yet?" Yosuke asked, exasperated. I tried to get myself under control.

"Y-yeah… I-I'm… cal—" I said, before laughing again. Seriously. When you're trying to stop laughing, it makes you laugh harder. I swear.

"Oh geez," Chie mumbled. "We'll be here for the whole day before we actually do any training."

"S-sorr—" Yukiko laughed.

"Man, these glasses are great!" I yelled.

"Oh shut up," Yosuke said. It took us a few more minutes to stop laughing.

"Okay… I think we're good," I said. "Let's go!" I marched in with the others trailing behind me.

A/N: Hey! This is a bit of a short chapter, because I'm planning to fill the other one with exploring the castle and fighting Shadows and beating the crap out of the boss at the top! Hell yeah!

Anyway, thanks for reviewing, favorite-ing, and following, guys! I really appreciate it!

I want to give a shout-out (is that how you spell it) to oOScarletOo and mewmewlover23 for reviewing so much! You guys encourage me to write more! So please review guys (and don't be afraid to point out any mistakes)!

Hmm... should I do a "shout-out" thingy for every chapter? You guys tell me! ^_^ Thanks for reading! And once again, please review (and point out any mistakes I made)!