Chapter 1: A strange new place

My name is Micheal. Of all the memories floating through my head, My name is the only thing I am sure of. My full name though; my family; my home have all seemed to have disappeared in my mind. I am in a strange place that I do not know. How I got here is unknown to me as well. All I know is my name, and the fact that there is a beautiful girl sitting beside my bed.

"Ah, you're awake!!!" she says upon realizing my eyes have opened.

"Where am I?" I ask.

"You are in the Sonozaki household" she replies.

At this point I am still dazed from just waking up. "Huh?" I try to get up… Suddenly a sharp pain rips through my side!

"AAAAH!!!"

The girl next to me grabs my arm. "Don't move! You're body is still healing!"

As I lie back down, my mind focuses on the memory that was the last memory to be stored before I awoke.

Man I'm hungry. I think to myself. Can't wait to get back home so we can eat. In my hands I am carrying two bags of fast food. My brother and his girlfriend were hungry so they suggested that I go and pick up some fast food. Normally I would have declined except for the fact that they offered to pay for my meal since I would be running the errand.

I was about halfway home when I was stopped by a man.

"Hey man, can you spare some change? I'm as drunk as a skunk and I need some money to get home."

"Uhhhh…..sure." Hesitantly, I give the man two dollars, even though I am sure he is sober.

"Ah thanks man. I'm as drunk as a skunk."

I don't know why he keeps saying this, but for some reason it irritates me. As I am turning to leave he calls out one more time, "God bless you man, God bless you."

"Uhh…thanks" I say embarrassed.

I leave the man and cross the street. I am lost in thought, wondering if what I did was the right thing. Suddenly I hear, "JESUS MAN, LOOK OUT!!!" As I look up in my confusion, I see an oncoming truck with its horn blaring at me. There is no time to escape.

"I'm dead."

I wake up again, lying in a futon. Apparently, I have been recovering here in the Sonozaki residence for the past few days. The girl from earlier has been watching over me while was here. Her name is Mion Sonozaki. I thanked her for watching over me, but she only says, "It's ok! It's not like I could just leave you when you were hurt like that. I'm glad to be able to watch over you." Remembering that makes me smile. I think she got embarrassed at the way she phrased it, because her cheeks suddenly turned red, and she said she had something that she forgot to do. As she is about to leave she remembers something.

"Oh yeah, I forgot! I still don't know your name!"

"Oh right. My name is Micheal. You can call me Mike though. It's a pleasure to meet you." I reply.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too!" She says as she leaves the room.

I haven't gotten much time to talk to Mion since I've been sleeping a lot in order to recover, but from what I can tell, I appeared out of nowhere. "There was a bright light and a loud bang, like an explosion. We all looked over and saw you lying on the ground, bleeding. There was a trail of blood on the ground so we assumed that you had been hit by something big and flung as a result. I called Irie-sensei, and he came as soon as possible." That must be the man in the white lab coat I've been seeing while awake. It seems that I was in no condition to be taken to his clinic, so Mion suggested that I be taken to her place since it was closer.

Since that time, I've been here. I once heard the doctor say that I am lucky to be alive. Oh great. A near- death experience. At least I get to be cared for by a beautiful girl because of it. I find it hard to keep from blushing when she is around. It seems all I can do is stare at her when she's here. It's not that easy to talk to her since I've just met her, but it is getting easier every time I get to.

The sliding door to my room opens. Mion walks in. She is dressed in a regular bathrobe. Her long green hair is put up in a ponytail and draped over her shoulder. Even though the way she is dressed is very simple, I find it very hard to look away.

"Oh, You're awake. How do you feel?" she asks.

"I've felt better." I reply.

"Yeah, I bet. You seemed to have been hit pretty hard. Do you know what hit you?"

I forgot that I hadn't told anyone about what happened. I'm sure that they are all confused as to why a boy has come out of nowhere, covered in blood. I tell Mion my memory of the accident.

"….and that's the last thing I remember before waking up here." I explain.

"I see…." She is obviously confused as to how I got here.

"You say I came here in a flash of light?" I ask.

"Yes. There was a bright flash and a sound of like an explosion. When we looked in the direction of the flash, you were lying there." She replies.

"Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie to me." I comment.

"We were hoping that you would know about how this happened." She told me.

"I wish I knew. This hasn't ever happened to me." I reply.

She looks a little disappointed. "Hmm…well, I'm glad that you weren't killed from it at least." She gives a weak smile.

"Me too. It would have been a pity to miss out on meeting you." I say without thinking.

We both blush and avert our gazes. After a couple of seconds, I attempt to break the awkward silence between us.

"Uhh, Thanks for letting me stay here while I recover. I would like to find some way to repay you when I get better."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary. It is our duty as Sonozaki's to take care of the weak and injured." She says as she puffs with pride.

"Ah thanks. I knew I was injured, but I didn't know I was weak till just now." I say teasingly.

"No, that's not what I meant!"

She pouts. I am unable to constrain myself from laughing at the face she is making. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I start laughing, I have to stop because of the pain in my side.

"Ha. Serves you right for laughing at me." She rebuts.

"Oww, ah…..sorry. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings." I apologize.

"Oh no, you didn't hurt my feelings." She replies.

"That's good. Don't think I'd be able to forgive myself for hurting a girl."

"You're quite the man, now aren't you?"

I smile at her, "I try."

She smiles back at me. "Well, I have some things to take care of. Irie-sensei should be in here in a little bit so rest until then, ok?"

"Ok, I'll try not to fall into a deep sleep before he gets here. See you later."

"Yeah, see ya!"

About half an hour later, a man in a white lab coat enters my room.

"Good afternoon, I am Dr. Irie."

After we greet each other we begin to talk. Mostly we talk about how I'm feeling and such. After a while I ask him about my general situation.

"You are in a village called Hinamizawa. There are about two thousand residents living here." He explains.

"I see."

Hinamizawa... The name seems to ring a bell, but I'm not too sure about it. The doctor looks like he wants to ask me something.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"No, I umm…I was just wondering if you knew how you got here." He asks hesitantly.

"Not really."

I tell him what I remember.

"Interesting…"

"Yeah, it's like something out of a science fiction novel, I know." I comment.

"Yes well, I've never heard of anything like this happening in real life." He replies.

"I don't think anyone has." I rebut.

"That is most certainly true. Anyways, if you need anything from me just have Mion call me up, ok?"

"Sounds good." I reply.

Dr. Irie waves goodbye and leaves my room, leaving me by myself.

The room I am staying in appears to be pretty simple. It is a classic Japanese style room. Near the head of my futon, there is a desk with some flowers on top of it. I am unable to identify the flowers since I never really spent time trying to learn such things. There also seems to be some incense burning in a holder on the desk. The smell is wonderful. I wonder if it is something they use to ward off evil spirits or something. I don't know much about Japanese culture so naturally I wouldn't know. Nor do I feel like it would be polite to ask. Not like an unsolved mystery is going to kill me. I sigh. Oh well. Guess I had better get some rest. I hope Mion comes to see me again when I wake up.

When I wake up the next morning, I am alone in the room. Dang, she isn't here. Though displeased, I don't let it get to me. Not like I should expect her to spend every last second she has free, taking care of me. She has a life too. Before I can complain anymore to myself, my stomach starts to growl. Man I'm hungry. Suddenly I remember what happened to bring me here. I wonder if my family is worried about me. I ponder this for a while, but then I hear the sound of the sliding door being opened. I sit up to see Mion with a small box.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Lunch. I'm sure you're hungry. You haven't eaten much since you've been here."

She proceeds to sit down next to me with the box.

"It's ohagi. Baa-chan made them for us."

I look at the bean paste covered, rice balls.

"Do you like ohagi?" she asks me.

"I haven't ever had any." I reply.

"Ah well, I'm sure you'll like it. Baa-chan makes the best ohagi."

As I pick up an ohagi I feel like something is strange. I feel like I've seen ohagi before even though I know that I haven't ever had any. Something inside me is trying to make the connection, but is unable to. I take a bite.

"Wow, this is really good." I announce.

Mion smiles and says, "I knew you would like it."

I smile back.

"Are you going to have some?" I ask.

"Of course. Baa-chan made them for both of us." She replies.

"That's good. I feel that it's better to eat with someone else then to eat alone."

"I feel the same way. It's more fun to do things with others rather than just with yourself."

After we finish eating I thank her for bringing lunch and for eating with me.

"I really appreciate it."

Her face turns red.

"Well, it's not like we could let you starve or anything."

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't be very good hosts if you let your guests starve, now would you."

"Exactly!"

She laughs.

I laugh with her. Again my side is enveloped in pain.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make your side hurt." She says with a worried expression.

"It's ok…"

*huff* *puff*

"I can't stay in pain forever. Pain is only temporary anyways." I reply as the pain lessens.

"Doesn't mean that it hurts any less now though." She replies.

"That's true, but I can't really call myself a man if I can't bear a little bit of pain."

She giggles and I smile in return.

"I guess you're right. Anyways I hope you will recover soon so we don't have to worry about it. "

"Yes, the sooner the better. It makes me happy that you are worried about me though."

We both blush heavily.

"Anyways….thanks again for lunch. I really enjoyed it."

"Yes, I enjoyed it as well." She replies.

"I'm sure you have things to do some I'm going to let you go for now."

She seems to hesitate a little.

"Ah yes, well…."

I interrupt her.

"Unless you wouldn't mind hanging out with me for a while. I would enjoy the company."

She smiles.

"Alright. I don't mind hanging out here."

I can tell she enjoys my company as much as I enjoy hers. This makes me very happy.

We talk for a couple of hours. Mostly about her since I don't remember much about my life. She tells me about how she is the next head to the Sonozaki family, and how the Sonozaki family is one of the three major houses in Hinamizawa. I ask her if she wants to have that position. She replies that it doesn't matter if she wants it or not. I tell her that it should be her choice to be the head.

"It's fine. I'm not saying that I don't want to be the head. Actually, it's an honor to be chosen as the head."

I reply to her, "As long as you are happy with the position you are put in, then I have no problem."

She chuckles.

"And what would you do if I were being forced to be the head against my will?" She questions.

"I'd come to your rescue of course." I say with a smile.

"Ha, unfortunately the Sonozaki's are pretty well known for their fighting ability." She replies.

"Like that would mean anything to me. It wouldn't matter what enemies I had to face. If someone is trying to force my friend Mion to do something against her will, then I will fight them with all my power, even if it kills me." I proclaim with as much passion as I can muster.

"That's very sweet, Mike-kun"

I blush like crazy.

"Ah…yeah…well…umm….It's the least I can do for you helping me out." I reply.

"I wouldn't want you to do something that would get you killed though…." She says in a voice that trails off.

"No, being killed probably would be the best solution, but I would definitely fight if you needed me to." I reply to her.

"Thank you. That really means a lot to me." She says while blushing.

Our eyes lock for a few seconds before we both have to avert our gazes out of embarrassment.

After a while Mion says that she has to go prepare dinner. I let her go as I am also hungry. She says that she will return with dinner in a bit. Until that time I decide to take a nap. My mind begins to slow. Thoughts about the time I spent with Mion slowly start to fade. They fade away until I have become fully asleep.