?
Hamuko awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar area filled with the thickest amount of fog she had ever seen. What's going on? Another dream? She looked around but couldn't see anything past a few inches in front of her due to the fog. Looking at the ground she saw that the surface was comprised entirely of big red blocks spaced a few inches apart. Looking back, she saw that there was a giant wall that seemed to go on forever, meaning forward was the only way to go.
After taking a hesitant step forward she discovered the blocks were solidly in place, despite looking like they might have been floating. Okay girl, it's just a dream, like the last time. Let's see where this goes...
The pathway was quite narrow and turned sharply left or right in a few cases, but it wasn't anything she couldn't navigate. A minute after she had begun walking, Hamuko heard a feminine voice calling out to her from somewhere ahead.
"What is it that you seek?"
"Hey, who are you?" shouted Hamuko as she quickened her pace. "What's going on?"
"Do you seek the truth?" the voice called. "Or something else?"
"I-I don't know!" answered Hamuko as she tried to find the source of the voice.
She then heard laughter. "Come and find me, so that perhaps you can find out..."
"Oh, I'll find you all right," grumbled Hamuko as she began jogging forward. "Haunting me in my own dream. I'll show yo-" Before she could finish her sentence she suddenly crashed into a hard surface and fell to her knees. "Huh?"
As she rubbed her head, she noticed the fog had cleared a bit and that she had ran straight into a black and white square door. Wow, I'm glad no one saw that... she thought as she reached out at the door. To her surprise, the door began to rotate and open from the center until completely vanishing. When it disappeared, she could feel the presence of the voice's owner on the other side. Gathering up her courage she stepped through the door.
As soon as she did, the door door closed behind her and she felt a presence staring at her from nearby, but couldn't see anyone due to the fog.
"So, you decided to chase me after all," said the voice from, all places, right in front of her. At least it seemed that way, since she still couldn't see anyone.
"Y-yeah, that's right!" said Hamuko in an awful attempt to sound intimidating. "You'll be sorry when I catch you!"
She heard laughter. "Is that so? Try all you like then. Here, I'll even give you this."
A long weapon suddenly appeared in Hamuko's hands, one that she recognized from her childhood. This is a...naginata? I remember seeing this being used in a lot of the Featherman episodes I used to watch back then. I think I hold it like this... She held the weapon as one would hold a hockey stick, with the blade near the ground and behind her. For some odd reason it felt very familiar to her.
"Alright here I come!" said Hamuko as she darted in the general direction of the voice and and delivered an upward swing; only to hit...nothing. In fact she was so overzealous in the attempt that she wound up spinning in a complete 360 and fell onto the ground.
"It seems you can't see anything after all," chuckled the voice, this time from behind her.
Hamuko let out a frustrated growl and stood back up and rushed at the voice yet again, delivering a downward swing that hit nothing but the ground.
"What a joke!" scoffed the voice. "It seems it is not 'truth' that you were after to begin with. It seems it was the other one who was..."
"You're not making any sense!" said Hamuko as she looked around for the source of the voice. "What are you talking about?"
"Hmm, but your persistence is intriguing," answered the voice. "Perhaps you will be of interest to me, but you will only become lost in the fog in the end. Begone!"
Suddenly the fog grew even thicker, and Hamuko felt herself losing consciousness...
Evening - Matsuda Residence
"Hey, get up sleepy head! It's not that late yet!"
Hamuko awoke to the sound of Iris' voice, as well as being gently shaken by her.
"Whew, finally!" said Iris as Hamuko slowly sat up from her futon. "You don't wanna miss dinner right?"
"Um, I thought you were going out for work?" asked Hamuko as she noticed that Iris' shoulder-length hair was oddly damp looking. "Or are you finished?"
Iris shook her head. "Nah, I was about to head to the Amagi Inn when it suddenly started raining pretty heavily. Sucks, because I was halfway there and I didn't have my umbrella! It still hasn't let up either." Confirming this was the sound of rain hitting the roof of the house.
"Alright, enough blabbing, your food's gunna get cold- mine too," said Iris as she helped Hamuko off of the futon. "Gramps made the usual, which is ramen. Hope you don't mind, because that's all he can cook without burning something!" She gave a small chuckle as the pair headed down the stairs.
Hamuko followed Iris down the stairs and into the living room where two bowls of ramen were sitting on a table. Takao was in the next room over, writing something in a notebook.
"Um, is Takao-san not eating?" asked Hamuko as she sat down on one of the pillows on the floor.
"Nah, he eats by himself," explained Iris as she sat down and turned on the nearby TV. "That's just how he is; well, as far as I can remember at least."
"Oh..." Unable to come up with anything else to say, Hamuko picked up the set of chopsticks next to her bowl and began to eat. A few minutes of silence passed by before Iris decided to make an attempt at conversation.
"So Hamuko, I take it you're going to attending Yasogami High?"
Hamuko nodded. "That's what Mitsuru-san told me. I start tomorrow."
"She told ya right," said Iris as she slurped a few noodles that were dangling out of her mouth. She pointed her chopsticks at Hamuko. "That uniform you're wearing is Yasogami High's; I would know, I graduated from there after all."
"Oh, really?" asked Hamuko. "I didn't know..."
"Yep!" replied Iris. "You'll like it there, trust me."
I hope so, Hamuko thought as she watched a commercial on the TV featuring a teenager in a bikini holding up some type of diet drink. When the commercial ended a news program began.
"And now for the seven o'clock evening news. Our top story today is the ongoing love triangle that city council secretary Taro Nametame is allegedly involved in..."
"Blah, blah, blah," sighed Iris as she continued to eat her food. "Same junk we've heard for the past week. Still nothing new..."
"Oh, aren't you a reporter too, Iris?" asked Hamuko.
"That's right," answered Iris, her mouth full of noodles. "I'm actually working on the same story that's being reported right now."
"Oh, I see," said Hamuko after eating a few more noodles. "You just don't seem like one to me though."
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
Hamuko pointed at the television with her chopsticks. "I kind of imagine reporters being like the ones on the TV right now, you know?"
Iris burst out laughing,. "Ahahaha, that's some funny stuff kid! Those guys aren't real reporters. They're more like just a bunch of actors that the producers pretty up and have read a script. The real ones, like me, go out and find the stories that those guys talk about on the TV."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything bad by that," said Hamuko. She mentally facepalmed. Not the best way to make impressions Hamuko...
"Ah, don't worry about it; lotta people your age think the same thing," replied Iris. "I'm used to it. Anyway, it's your turn turn to tell me some stuff about you. From what I hear from Gramps, you're a survivor of the incident on Tatsumi Port Island back in '99."
Hamuko nodded as she put her chopsticks down. "Yes, that's right. Some kind of explosion I think. I lost my parents because of it..."
"You don't say?" mused Iris. "Sorry to hear that."
An awkward silence filled the room as the news program cut to a commercial, but the silence was short lived as a lively commercial began playing.
"Every day's great at your Junes~!"
The jingle was quite catchy sounding to Hamuko. "Say Iris, what's Junes?"
"Oh,that's a department store chain that's practically taking over Japan," explained Iris. "They just built one here in Inaba recently, maybe a year ago I think. It's literally the biggest attraction this town has other than the Amagi Inn. You can't go very far without hearing some little kid singing that jingle, I kid you not."
Hamuko nodded. Sounds like the place to go when I decide to buy some new clothes.
For the next hour Iris and Hamuko continued to watch TV and talk about various subjects while Takao took their empty bowls and washed them.
"Hmm, 8:30," said Iris as she looked at the grandfather clock that was standing near the TV. "I think I'll turn in early for the day."
"You should probably do the same Hamuko-chan," suggested Takao. "You've got a big day tomorrow after all."
Hamuko nodded and stood up. "I think I'll do that, Takao-san."
"Night, Gramps," said Iris as she began ascending the stairs. "Oh, yeah! I'll show you how to get to Yasogami High tomorrow, Hamuko, so don't leave without me, okay?"
"Right," answered Hamuko as she followed Iris up the stairs. She watched as Iris gave her a wave and entered her room before heading for her own room. She headed over to her futon and laid down on it. Tomorrow I'll be attending Yasogami High, Hamuko thought as she closed her eyes. I wonder if I'll be able to fit in? I sure hope so...
March 12th Morning – Matsuda Residence
Hamuko awoke to the sound of a nearby alarm clock, thankful that she did not have any bizarre dreams that night. Leaving her room, she entered the adjacent bathroom to wash her face. The cold water was enough to shock what little sleepiness was left in her. After drying her face off she looked at herself in the mirror. Hmm, I don't have any makeup... Looks like I'll add that to my list of things to get... She was about to walk away when she took a longer look at her hair and frowned. It was currently straight down to her shoulders, and for some reason it didn't look good to her.
Looking to her left, she spotted a container with a multitude of hairpins. They must be Iris'... I hope she won't mind. She then teased her hair up and used six of the hairpins on the left side of her hair to keep it in place. Taking a second look in the mirror, she noticed that in her initial attempt she messed up the placement of the first four hairpins, causing them to form a pair of 'X',s while the other two went straight up and down. XXII, that's.. 22 in roman numerals if I remember right. For some reason that number sticks out to me. Maybe I'll just keep it as it is then. Taking a final look in the mirror, she headed downstairs, where Iris was standing in the kitchen, drinking some coffee out a mug.
"Hey, nice hair!" commented Iris as she inspected Hamuko's new style. "Looks good!" She then pointed at a plate on the counter that contained a pair of fried eggs and some toast. "That's yours by the way. Oh, and don't worry, I made it, so eat up!"
Hamuko thanked Iris and the entire contents of the plate. It actually wasn't bad, which surprised her because Iris did not look like the type that could cook. When she was done, Hamuko looked around before asking, "Is Takao-san not here?"
"Nah, Gramps is doing some stuff in town,' explained Iris as she finished her coffee and grabbed a nearby notepad. "Alright then, time to go. It's still raining so grab an umbrella. There's some by the door you can choose from."
Hamuko followed Iris to the front door and watched her take an umbrella before selecting a red one for herself.
Once outside, she noticed the rain was still coming down as Iris had said, but not very hard.
"Okay getting to Yasogami High is pretty easy from here," said Iris as the two left the driveway and began walking down a sidewalk that adjacent to the road. "It's literally a straight shot from here."
Hamuko nodded and followed Iris in silence. After five minutes of walking, Iris stopped at a crosswalk section.
"If you go left from here, you'll wind up at the Amagi Inn," Iris explained. "Of course, there's no need to do that, since we just keep going straight."
"Okay," said Hamuko as she looked around. She noted that there were a few students dressed in the same uniform that she was wearing heading in the direction that Iris had told her. She and Iris were about to continue walking when suddenly the two of them heard someone shouting, "Iriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss!"
"Huh?" They turned to see a pair of girls running towards them from the direction of the Amagi Inn walkway that Iris had pointed out. One of them, a girl with dark blonde hair and wearing a green jacket of some sort over her uniform was leading another girl with black hair who was wearing a red jacket over hers by the hand.
"Ch-Chie, stop running so fast," gasped the girl with the red jacket when the two reached Iris and Hamuko. "I almost lost my umbrella, plus my heart's going to explode any second now!"
"Oh come on Yukiko, you need the exercise anyway!"" teased the other girl who didn't appear winded at all. "Besides, look who it is!"
Iris smiled and waved at the two girls. "Well, well, if it isn't Chie and Yukiko!"
"Oh, w-wow it really is Ayame-san," said the black-haired girl as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Come on Yukiko, how many times have I told you not to call me that?" sighed Iris.
"Sorry, it's just a force of habit," said the black-haired girl. "You know how it is, right?"
Iris rolled her eyes. "Still haven't changed I see. Well that's not a bad thing I guess."
"You know these two Iris?" asked Hamuko.
Iris nodded. "Sure do! Just about everyone in town does, actually. The spunky girl in the green jacket there is Chie Satonaka, the self-styled martial artist extraordinaire. And that-" she pointed at the black-haired girl with the red headband, "Is none other than Yukiko Amagi, heir of the Amagi Inn."
"W-wait that's not quite right," mumbled Yukiko, looking away.
"Hey Iris, who is she?" asked Chie as she pointed at Hamuko. "I don't think I've ever seen her around before."
"This is Hamuko Arisato," replied Iris as she gently shoved Hamuko in front of her.
"Um, h-hi," said Hamuko as she looked at the ground. "It's nice to, um, meet you."
"She's a transfer student from the city," explained Iris. "And she's your senpai. So be nice to her okay?"
"From the city? Really?" asked Chie. "Neat!"
"Yep!" Iris paused for a moment and looked in the direction of the Amagi Inn. "Say, can you girls do me a favor and take Hamuko with you to school? There's some stuff I have to do, and with you guys, she'll at least have a guide once she gets there."
"Sure thing!" said Chie, turning to Hamuko. "Don't worry Hamuko-senpai, we'll help you out!"
"Um, Ayame-san, you're not going to the Inn are you?" asked Yukiko.
"May~be," chirped Iris. "I'm a reporter after all, Yuki-chan."
"..." Yukiko went silent for a moment. "Well, since it's you I guess it'll be okay. Just don't bother the workers too much okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," sighed Iris as she waved at the girls and began walking towards the Amagi Inn. "Good luck Hamuko!"
Hamuko waved goodbye as Iris left her to the two girls. "Iris seems pretty popular around here..."
"Oh, you bet, senpai," said Chie as she turned to Hamuko. "She's probably one of the most well-known people that ever came out of this town!"
Yukiko nodded as the trio continued to head to school. "That's right. She's won a lot of awards for some of the stories she's done, plus a few from some of her photographs she's taken."
"Of course she's usually busy running around Japan, so we don't see her all that often," added Chie. "I think it's been two years since we last saw her."
"Huh, she never told me any of this," trailed Hamuko.
"So how do you know her Hamuko-senpai?" asked Yukiko. "Are you a relative of hers?"
Hamuko shook her head. "N-no, I'm just staying at her house, that's all."
"Oh, with Takao-san!" said Yukiko. "That's means you're living next door to me!"
"Well, senpai, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year then," said Chie as she gave Hamuko a smile. "That's cool with you right?"
"Sure!" said Hamuko. Well, this is a good start at least. Maybe things won't be so bad after all...
Morning – Yasogami High
"Well, here we are senpai," said Chie. "Yasogami High!"
Hamuko looked up past the open gates at the school building. It seemed like a typical high school to her, with many students heading into the building.
"Okay, even though it's the first day of school for all of us," said Chie as they walked inside the school. "Your name probably won't be on the Homeroom assignment list since you just transferred, so you'll need to go to the Faculty Office to find out where to go."
"It's right over there," added Yukiko as she pointed to a door that was not very far down the hallway. "Um, you'll be okay from here right?"
"I think so," trailed Hamuko as she looked in the direction that Yukiko was pointing.
"You'll be fiiiiine senpai," said Chie. "Don't sweat it! Oh, and we'll wait for you once school's out too, so don't leave without us, got it?"
"O-okay," said Hamuko as she nervously began to head toward the faculty office. She waved goodbye to Chie and Yukiko before heading off.
Even though the Faculty Office was just a few yards down the hall, it felt like miles to Hamuko due to her increasing nervousness. It'll be okay, Hamuko, she thought as she stood in front of the Office door. Just knock and enter; what could go wrong?