Tuesday, 4-12-11. Weather: Rain Throughout the Morning and Cloudy Later In the Day
Going downstairs to greet Nanako with a calm expression was difficult for Yu; just moments ago his eyes were a vibrant burning blue only to turn back into a dull gray after he had finished freaking out. His mind was whirling, trying to figure out how -at the very least on a chemical level- how the color could have changed at all when Nanako had called him down for breakfast.
Not only had his eyes scared him, but the figure from his dream (Izanagi, the name came unbidden to his mind when he saw the hunched figure) was floating casually beside him. The Naginata that they were holding was not present, but it's incredibly hard to hide a 7 foot tall person from a little six year old girl.
Okay, so, what do I do when Nanako sees Izanagi? Yu pondered, pulling on the jacket of his school's uniform as he headed down to the first floor. I mean, they could probably duck out the door before she would notice, but they don't seem to want to leave my side. Maybe if I make breakfast I can tell them to leave? I can probably put the sushi from last night in the microwave and heat it up, and hopefully there are eggs in the refrigerator. If not I can make some toast and hopefully that will stave over Nanako until lunch. Maybe I could-
"Good morning." Nanako said, holding plate with eggs and a few pieces of sausages on them. In surprise, Yu sat down at the kitchen table; Nanako joined him shortly after making sure that the toast that had just popped up out of the toaster wasn't burnt. "Okay, let's eat."
What Yu was really surprised by was the fact that she had not reacted to the gigantic figure next to Yu, hunched over due to the size of the kitchen. "Did you do the cooking?" Yu asked, taking a knife and cutting one egg in half, trying to keep any conversational topic off of the fact that he could be clinically insane.
"I can toast bread and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning. Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner." I should probably cook something for her. Eating takeout food every night isn't exactly healthy. Yu thought, chewing away at the toast. Gotta admit, Nanako makes some pretty good breakfast.
"You're starting school today, right?" Earning a nod from Yu, Nanako continued. "My school's on the way, so let's go together."
Yu smiled and nodded again, swallowing the food in his mouth. Despite the incredibly odd circumstances in happening, Nanako's personality seemed to lighten his mood. "I'd like that, Nanako-chan."
The walk on the Samegawa flood plain was mostly silent aside for the sound of rain hitting the asphalt and the occasional splash from a puddle. What had shocked Yu as he was walking was that no one they had passed seemed to register Izanagi's presence the entire walk, even when it had dashed in front of the pair. So, I'm the only one who can see them, huh? God, what's wrong with me? Almost as if sensing his discomfort, Izanagi moved to Yu's right and stayed close.
Nanako eventually stopped when nearing the floodplain, Yu pausing as well. "You keep going straight of here" Nanako turned around with a faint smile. "My school's this way. Bye!" Yu waved at Nanako's retreating figure, left to ponder his current mental state as the masked figure moved behind him.
"So… no comments about my eyes yet." Yu muttered, purposely keeping his voice low in case another student passed him so that it would only appear like he was mumbling to himself. "Maybe it was a trick of the light? Perhaps the dream made me think I had blue eyes...? This is too crazy for me to think about in the morning, hate the fact that I don't really wake up until much later in the day."
As Yu continued in silence, a student riding a bike and holding an umbrella wobbled past. Letting out a shout, he could only watch as the student's bike collapsed and threw off its rider. Having to walk by to get to Yasogami High, Yu watched as the student was bent over at the waist, groaning in pain. Hissing as a phantom pain crossed him, Yu picked up his pace as he walked by, hoping that leaving him be would be better than confronting him.
Yasogami High wasn't gigantic, but it was certainly bigger than the school Yu had gone to in Tokyo. To his knowledge, the school had three floors, and about three classrooms on each floor, along with a large field for gym and a slightly smaller building to arts and science. Yu had no other knowledge of the building, having most of this information come from a site that looked like it was made in 1997 and had never been updated again.
So… Where's my homeroom?
Being escorted in by his homeroom teacher was not exactly the best experience for Yu. Mr. Morooka had greeted him with a "What the hell are you doing here?!" and then pulled him to room 2-2, ranting and raving all the while. Once the two entered the classroom, preceded by Morooka yelling at the class, the other students went silent as the homeroom teacher introduced himself.
"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first, just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!"
Morooka's attention soon switched to Yu, sending a glare at the teen. Yu glared right back. "Now, I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick."
Not like I'm interested in them. The lights above the classroom flickered, and if Yu had a mirror he could have seen that his eyes pulse blue for a fraction of a second. Just play nice, Narukami, try to not get this guy pissed off at you, that's the last thing you need. "My name is Narukami, Yu. Nice to meet you all."
Morooka seethed and practically growled at Yu. "What's that look you're giving to that girl back there by the window!? You thought I wouldn't notice!?" A vein popped on his forehead, complementing the ugly jutted out teeth that the teacher had. "Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them."
Clearly he's never been to Tokyo. Yu thought, trying to tune out the rest of Morooka's rant. "But what do I know... it's not like the old days. Even here kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places." Oh god he just won't shut up, will he?
His 'rant' went on for about three more minutes until a female student in a green jacket raised her hand, interrupting him. "Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?"
"Huh?" Morooka paused, thrown off track before addressing the question. "Yeah, sure. Ya hear that? Your seat's over there, so hurry up and siddown already!" Yu shot a thankful glance to the student before taking his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose as white noise buzzed in the back of his head. The girl leaned over and began to talk to him, whispering all the while.
"He's the worst, huh?"
"You should see half the guys I've met in Tokyo, he isn't that bad in comparison."
"No way, really? Either way, rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class… Well, we just have to hang in there for a year."
After the short haired student stopped talking to him, Yu decided to eavesdrop on one of the many conversations about him.
"Sucks to be the transfer student, ending up in King Moron's class on the first morning here…"
"Yeah, he won't think twice about suspending you if you get on his bad side. Then again, we're all in the same boat."
"Shut your traps!" King Moron -Yu was going to love using that title- shouted, stopping all conversations. Looks like everyone takes him seriously… Considering what that one girl said, I don't blame them. "I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!"
"That's all for today." Morooka ended the lecture, rolling his shoulders. "Normal lectures will start tomorrow." As the other students got up from their seats to talk to their friends without the threat of expulsion, the intercom system began broadcasting.
"Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."
Morooka let out a groan before turning to the class. "You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise." When Morooka left the classroom, two female students to the left of Yu began to talk about Morooka.
"He's seriously getting on my nerves…" Before the conversation could continue, the sound of sirens drew everyone's attention to the windows.
"Did something happen? Don't those sirens sound really close?" Said one student. "Ugh, I can't see a damn thing. Frickin' fog…"
"Yeah, like every time it rains lately, it gets all foggy." Said another.
"Hey, did you hear? I hear that paparazzi's looking all over for that announcer." Said a knowledgeable student.
"Oh yeah, you mean Mayumi Yamano, right?" The previous student had an air of excitement around him as he spoke to his friend. "I heard some guys spotter her at the shopping district."
"Actually, I heard that…" The student's voice became softer, meaning for the information to only be shared between him and his friend.
"Are you serious!?" The rumor-loving student exclaimed, looking around the classroom and walking over to the black haired girl sitting in front of Yu. "H-hey, Yukiko-san. Mind if I ask you something? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family inn?"
"I can't discuss such things." The girl said, looking down at her lap and refusing to make any eye contact with the boy beside her.
"Y-Yeah, I guess not." The boy ran back to his friend when the short haired girl walked to the girl with the black hair.
"Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?" She sighed, slumping into her chair right behind the black haired girl.
"There's no telling."
"I shoulda left before the announcement came on… by the way, didja try what I told you the other day?" when seeing her friend's confused expression, the short haired girl tried to jog her memory. "You know, that thing about rainy nights…"
"Oh… No, not yet. Sorry."
"Ahhh, that's okay. It's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, 'My soulmate is Yamano, the announcer!'"
The intercom system dinged into life again, and the teens went silent. "Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers, head directly home. I repeat…"
Despite the intercom telling the students to remain calm, everyone in class 2-2 flew into a frenzy, trying to guess what had happened in a quiet town like Inaba to send police officers.
"'Incident'?!"
"What, something actually happened?"
"C'mon, let's go take a look!"
When most of the class emptied out, Yu stood up and picked up his book bag. While he was dead set on heading home and going to take an ibuprofen for his headache (which had only gotten worse throughout the day), the girl who sat next to him walked up to Yu with a girl in a red sweater.
"Hey, are you going home all by yourself?" Asked the short haired girl, pulling down the sleeves of her green jacket. "Why don't you come with us? Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?"
Yu nodded. "Of course, and thanks for saving me earlier. I don't know how long I would have been standing there if you hadn't butted in."
"Well, nice to meet you! And don't worry about King Moron, he'll stop picking on you after a week or two." Chie placed her hand on the shoulder of the girl next to her. "This is Yukiko Amagi."
"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm sorry that this is so sudden."
"C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."
"What, like whether or not I've met people worse than Morooka?" Yu chuckled, relaxing a bit as the conversation became easier to approach. He didn't know much about Chie or her friend, and imposing on their conversation just seemed… rude.
"Yeah, that's one of the questions I have. But what I really wanted to ask was- huh?" The trio slowed to a stop when a student with headphones walked up to Chie. Yu cocked his head, swearing that he had seen the student somewhere before now.
"Uhm… Miss Satonaka? This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see… And… I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" The student bowed, giving a DVD case to Chie before he tried to make a break for the door.
Keyword: tried.
"Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD?!" Chie ran up the male student and brought up her leg, hard. The teen let out a yelp of pain and bent over, holding his crotch and jumping up and down. Yu winced, remembering where he had seen the student earlier. Chie opened the case, nearly dropping it when she saw the disc. "What the-?! I can't believe this! It's completely cracked! My Trial of the Dragon!"
"I think mine's cracked too… C-Critical hit to the nads…"
Taking note the boy's pain, Yukiko spoke up. "A-Are you alright?"
"Oh, Yukiko-san… Are you worried about me?" Oh, wrong choice of words right there. Chie brought up her leg again and kicked him in the gut, sending him to the floor.
"He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home." Chie closed the case and slipped it into her backpack, then left the classroom with Yukiko. Yu walked over to the other boy and patted his shoulder before leaving, catching up to Yukiko and Chie at the foot lockers.
As the trio was leaving the building, an odd looking boy approached Yukiko. His eyes looked distant, and a few drops of water crawled down his face. His uniform was a fancy looking black suit with a green tie, much too different from Yasogami's uniform. Yu soon pushed his headache to the back of his mind and kept a close eye on the stranger.
"You're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?" Yu gagged, even from here he could smell the boy's bad breath.
"What…? Wh-Who are you?" Well that eliminates Yukiko knowing him from… anywhere. Yu took a step forward, standing protectively by the taller girl's side. He had seen a few people like this from the city, and considering how those conversations went...
"What's up with him? What school's he from?" Said one of two boys that had approached them.
"Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move…" The other boy replied.
"I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out."
"No bet! Haven't you heard how difficult the Amagi Challenge is?"
"Um, s-so, are you coming or not?" The strange boy asked, holding his hand out to Yukiko. Chie was practically about to kick the two other boys that were watching, and Yu's hands were clenched into fists.
"I-I'm not going." Yukiko said, backing away from the other student until Chie was in front of her.
"Why not?" The guy replied, moving closer and forcefully grabbed Yukiko's hand. Before he could get another word out, Yu elbowed him in the chest and forced him away from Yukiko. Izanagi moved next to Yu defensively, Naginata pointed at the other boy's throat.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but when a girl says that she doesn't want to go with you, you should respect that." Yu spit out through clenched teeth. As the other boy moved forward, raising his left arm a small inch, one of the lights perched on the ends of the concrete wall exploded. Shards of glass rained down, and both girls let out a scream. The strange looking boy took a few steps back from Yu before running away at full speed, his dress shoes slapping against the wet asphalt.
"What just happened?" Yukiko mumbled, and Chie moved closer to her, trembling slightly.
"Well, that guy asked you out on a date, and then Narukami-kun stopped him, and then… a lightbulb exploded?" Chie summarized, her face scrunching up in confusion.
"Huh? Really?"
"What do you mean, 'Huh? Really?'"
"He… was asking me out on a date?"
"You really had no clue? Sheesh…" Chie wrapped her arms around herself. "But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden."
Around the corner from the bike racks came the student from earlier that Chie had kicked. "Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? Man, you're cruel. You got me the same way last year."
Yukiko tilted her head, blinking almost owlishly. "I don't recall doing that."
"Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out some time?"
"...I'd rather not."
"That'll teach me to get my hopes up. Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student to much." Yosuke smiled, eventually hopping onto his bike and riding off. Chie ran ahead, raising a fist and shaking it at Yosuke's fast retreating form.
"We're just curious, is all!"
"U-Um," Yukiko stuttered, turning to Yu. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this…"
Yu shook his head. "Don't worry about it, you didn't drag me into anything."
Noticing the amount of students starting to whisper around them, Chie spoke up. "Cmon, let's go. Everyone's staring." The three left the school, ignoring the odd stares and whispers behind them.
Walking back to Dojima's house with Chie and Yukiko was interesting, especially since most of the questions the two had were not about the city, but more about him. His hobbies, interests, what he did when his parents weren't around, if he had really met someone worse than King Moron, etcetera. Of course, most of these questions were easy to blow off, either with giving the two what they want or casually dodging the question. While he didn't mind their company or the topics they had, he would much rather keep a majority of his personal life out of their concerns for the time being.
"Ah… so you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious." Chie looked to the right to the right at a rice plain. "There really is nothing here, huh? That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside. Though, there is something from Mount Yasogami… I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous. Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"
"Huh?" Yu couldn't help but notice that Yukiko had a small frown. "It's… Just an old inn."
"No way, it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure. It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday. Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."
"...I don't think that's entirely true." Yukiko said, fidgeting uncomfortably. Yu couldn't help but notice Yukiko's change in demeanor, and went to change the topic. Chie beat him to the punch, but the topic that she changed it to was one that Yu did not want to brush on.
"So, tell me. You think Yukiko's cute, huh?"
Oh god, why? Seeing the expectant looks of both girls, Yu decided to give them the answer that was probably to be expected. "I think so, yeah."
"I knew it!" Chie exclaimed, a smile on her face.
Yukiko, however, diverted her gaze and looked at the ground. "Come on… Don't start this again…"
Chie continued, despite her friend's discomfort. "She's really popular at school, but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?" Yu shook his head, fidgeting as Yukiko butted in, her face a bright red.
"C-Come on, stop it. Y-You shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend." After realizing what she just said, she tried to rectify her mistake. "Wait, n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend. Geez… Chie!"
Chie leaned back, laughing like a hyena. "Sorry, I'm sorry. But this is our big chance to talk to someone from the big city, and you barely said a word!" Looking up, Chie's smile vanished with a look of interest. "Hey, what's that?"
The other students walked forward, coming across a blocked off area. Yu felt the hairs on his arms standing up, and he couldn't help but glance from side to side. Gossipping housewives talked on their side of traffic cones, and a police officer kept everyone away from the blue canvas on the ground. Yu had walked past a multitude of these while in the city. Crime scene.
"So that high schooler left school early, and she came down this street." Said one of the onlookers, an older housewife.
"Wow, who could imagine that hanging from an antenna?" said another housewife, pushing back a child behind her so that he couldn't see what was going on.
"I wanted to see it too."
"Uh, you got here too late… The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago."
"Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…"
"Wait," Chie said, taking a few steps back from the group surrounding the officer. "What did she just say? A dead body?"
"We… should get out of here." Yu said, just getting this over all feeling that he should get away from here. That was reasonable, after all a crime had happened close to his new school in a town where this clearly was not normal. What was more freakish to him was that the sense to get out of here was so strong it was making him paranoid, enough to make him feel like he was about to get in the middle of a large fight that he had no chance of winning.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
Yu jumped, turning his head and seeing Dojima walking towards him. Considering that he worked as a detective, Yu wasn't surprised to see his guardian at the scene of a crime, but this odd feeling was making him so damn jumpy...
"Did something happen?" Yu asked.
"Well… You could say that. That damn principal, we told him not to let them through here…"
Chie leaned over to Yu, nearly resting her head on his shoulder. "You know this guy?" Yu nodded, turning to his guardian.
"This is Dojima-san, he's my guardian while I stay here in Inaba. Dojima," Yu turned, gesturing to the two other students beside him. "This is Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi, we were walking back to our houses together until we… well."
Dojima shook his head, adjusting the coat that he hung over his shoulder. Yu assumed that was just a nervous gesture of his. Everyone had them. "Uh, well, how should I say this… I hope you get along with him. But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home." As Dojima went back to the crime scene, a younger detective rushed past both groups and went to the opposite corner. Yu grimaced and turned away as the detective then began to vomit rather loudly.
"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? Do you want to be sent back to the central office?" Dojima scolded, showing no sympathy for the younger male.
Adachi turned around. "I-I'm sorry… Nngh." He turned around again and began coughing, trying to get the taste of bile out of his mouth.
Dojima let out a long sigh. "Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information." Dojima strolled back to the police car, Adachi following soon after.
Chie looked down to the ground, trying to not look at where the puddle of puke was. "Was this what that announcement was about…?"
Yu grimaced. "Let's be glad that we got out of school after they found the body. I don't even want to think about what could've happened if some other student had found it walking to their house."
"What do they mean it was hanging from the antenna?" Yukiko looked up at where the antenna was, shuddering. Noticing the wires had some slack caused her to back away from the building, grabbing at Chie's arm.
Chie looked at her friend, feeling the same discomfort and fear as Yukiko, and grabbed the hand holding her arm tightly. "Hey, Yukiko…? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?"
"Good idea."
"Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!" Chie said, managing to put on a fake smile before turning back the way they came with Yukiko. Yu, in his haste, called out to the two girls. "Get home safe!"
Chie thought she would never hear those words in a small town like Inaba.
Despite Yu having ample proof showing that his eyes were no longer blue, he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable as he and Nanako were enjoying some tea. Nanako, who was sitting across from him, had never really had any tea before, but from her expression Yu couldn't tell if she didn't like the taste of the tea or from the lack of Dojima's presence.
"I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight…" Definitely Dojima. The news channel they were watching let out a small chime, changing from the weather to normal news.
"Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb. Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba." Yu started, putting down his tea in favor for paying attention to the news. Is this what the incident was?
"The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old announcer at the local television station. The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed…"
"Ah! The Inaba Police Department, Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako had straightened, her attention now centered on the news.
"Are you worried about him? I saw him earlier, and he seemed fine." Yu spoke up, trying to comfort the younger girl.
Nanako shook her head. "Uh-uh. It's his job, so things like this happen." Despite that,
"The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide."
What? How could an accident get you hung from an antenna? Still though, an uncertain cause of death? If it were an accident it could be hard to figure it out, but if they were murdered it should be easy to find it. Someone in Inaba probably did it, and I doubt that they know how to pull a bullet out of a corpse without getting DNA on it. Maybe they need to find the weapon…?
"A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvass the area are delayed until tomorrow."
"They found her on the roof? That's scary." Nanako said, just as the news program ended. "Oh, it's Junes!"
"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"
"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang, smiling a bit. Trying to cheer himself up and get rid of the new batch of goosebumps, Yu sang the ending words of the commercial after Nanako.
"You memorized it already?" Nanako said with a large smile. "I'm the best one in my class!" Nanako continued to sing the song over and over, almost seeming to forget the terrifying news story. Yu smiled, feeling his own fear lift, and took a sip of his tea.