Chapter 7: A New Player
A couple of weeks have passed, and I have established a pretty normal routine. Every day I get up and go to training. Training consists mostly of three things: martial arts, sword play, and use of firearms. We rotate to the next area of training after every day. Steadily my skills have improved in all three areas. The area with the most improvement seems to be in the area of sword play. I have gone from being completely outmatched by Shinji to nearly surpassing him. My training in martial arts has also helped to improve my skills in swords. Taking notice of my affinity, Sensei has announced that we will double up on training in that area. We now train in sword play every other day.
My skills in martial arts have grown from knowing completely nothing, to being able to hold my own in battle. My muscles have begun to form and I can now put a considerate amount of power behind my attacks. I have also been taught many tricks and techniques for subduing an enemy. My natural instincts seem to enhance my fighting ability quite a bit as well. Shinji has begun to call me "Light Dragon" because my attacks are quick like a flash of light, but they have a lot of ferocity behind them. I also seem to prefer attacks from the air, as they are harder to counter-attack and allow me to add the power of gravity into my attacks.
In firearms, I have become familiar with many different types of weapons. From shotguns, to assault rifles. I have also had some experience in some weapons that I'll likely never need to use. I have used weapons like armor-piercing, rocket propelled grenades, and even some basic throwing knives. I have improved on my skills with handguns the most. I am glad, because I think that handguns will be the most likely thing I will ever have to use. I am now able to hit the farthest target mostly in the center. I never hit below a seven.
Sensei is pleased with how much I have improved in my training. She declares that I am good enough to carry weapons on me. She has Shinji bring me a katana, and a handgun. I tie the katana to my waist and put the vest, which holds the handgun, over my shoulders. I remove them only when I enter buildings so no one has a problem with them.
After training every morning, I have breakfast with Mion, and we head off to school together. I usually push the bike in with one hand and we hold hands on the way to school, but sometimes she wants to push it, since she doesn't want me to do it all the time. I always decline though. She argues with me about it for a while, but I hold my ground. With a sigh, she gives up. Occasionally, I don't take the bike at all because, on days that Mion has work as well, we walk together to Okinomiya. I have come to fall in love those days, since we are also able to walk home together after work. The manager at my store has come to know Mion since she gets off a little before I do, and comes over to wait for me.
During school, I often finish before anyone else. I have become an unofficial teacher's aide. Even if I have not finished with my work, I am sometimes asked by the younger ones to help out. I am glad that the class has gotten over their initial apprehension about me. If the teacher is busy, I am their "go to" guy. Sometimes Rena or Mion will need my help as well. I am really happy about my position in the school and Chie-Sensei has thanked me many times for my help.
Every morning I am forced to identify and dodge Satoko's traps. I think that she is either getting better and better at laying the traps, or I am becoming more and more predictable. I find myself in a huge chain of trap; as I dodge from one, I find myself in another. My reflexes and instincts seem to have become more attuned through these experiences though. I dodge every one, almost every day, but there are days where she comes up with something extremely inventive and I am able to find no escape from it. She truly deserves her title of "trap master."
I see Hanyuu all the time now. She is usually behind Rika, but she will occasionally explore a little. She likes to come watch me when I work. Though she is a spirit, it is still odd to have someone watch what you are doing over your shoulder. I often turn my head slightly to stare at her. It doesn't take long for her to realize, after I've stopped moving my pencil, that I'm staring at her. When she does, her cheeks immediately turn bright red. Often, she will mutter something like, "Au, sorry. Mike-kun." and go off to watch someone else. I can't help but smile when she does, as she is very cute. I have been caught staring back at nothing a couple of times by Mion. She usually believes me when I give her a lame excuse, but sometimes she gives me a questioning eye. I ignore her stare, and she gives up.
After class ends, we start our club. This usually consists of board games, but we will sometimes do active games, like tag and such. Even though I am going through training, I still find it a little difficult to win in the active games. I, by no means, dominate in this area, but I am the winner of such games, more times than not. Overall, it seems that everyone has to experience the punishment games at least once a week. Mion seems to be able to avoid it more than most though. She truly does ANYTHING to win. I find that I enjoy her competitive nature.
After club activities, I head off to work. I ride Mion's bike when she doesn't have work herself, but when she does have work, we walk together. I work about three hours and thirty minutes a day. The manager lets me have weekends off, since I come in every day during the week. Every day at work, I move the larger items into the shop. I then do the inventory. After I finish with those tasks, I tend the store for the remaining time. The manager has trained me a little about the items in his store. I have become more familiar with the items, and often help a customer out when they are looking for something.
As promised, after my second week of work, the manager gave me the large sword as payment. Unfortunately, it disappeared after the first day. I asked around the house, but no one took it. I was extremely disappointed. I was unable to understand how I misplaced something so big. Mion reassured me that it would turn up again.
I was able to use the check, from the previous week, to by Mion some chocolates. She enjoyed them very much and thought it was very sweet of me. I was also able to use some of the money to take Mion out on a date. Naturally, we had to explain to her parents that we had begun dating. I was surprised when they approved of it. Oryou-Sensei also seemed to approve of our being together. She said that it would make me fight harder to protect her if I needed to. I was extremely relieved that they all accepted our relationship.
The date with Mion went very well. She wore a kimono and I wore a suit that I bought using the remainder of my money. She looked amazing. The colors of the kimono accented the color of her emerald hair and eyes, nicely. When I first saw her, I'm sure my mouth was dropping open in amazement at how beautiful she was. All she could do was stand there, with her cheeks burning bright red, as I examined her beauty. Not knowing many restaurants, Mion suggested one. We walked to the restaurant, hand-in-hand. We ate a wonderful meal, as we talked about anything that comes to mind. After dinner, we had dessert. It was also very good, and I feel that it was completely worth its cost. We then walked home together.
We walk slowly, as we were both full and we wanted to enjoy each other's company more. I seems that we have become more like friends over the past weeks as we are able to talk normally with each other, with ease. Mion has begun to act more like herself when she is only with me. She isn't as shy about things as she once was and her tomboy nature has begun to come out more. I am pleased that she is more familiar and comfortable with me now. I feel that our relationship has grown a little. We have also been able to keep from experimenting with anything. We have set boundaries for ourselves, and we are determined to keep to those boundaries.
After I return from work every day, I head to the kitchen for a little dinner. If it is a day that Mion has work as well, she makes dinner for us both. I enjoy being able to have a warm meal with her every once in a while. After dinner, I head to my bath. Mion goes first if it's her work day, but normally I am able to head straight in. Mion is always waiting for me after my bath. Even though she told me that I can just enter, I still take the time to knock and wait for her reply. Once, she didn't reply so I waited. We ended up waiting for about a minute before I told her that I could come back later if she wasn't decent. She quickly said to come in. She glared at me as I entered, but I ignored her and gave her our nightly hug. We like to review our day at this time. When we finish, we hug and kiss good night, and I head off to bed.
On Monday, this last week, Mion informed me that her sister Shion will be coming to our school from now on. Apparently she was able to transfer out of the boarding school she was sent to and get into the Hinamizawa School. I was excited since this would be the first time meeting Mion's twin sister. Mion says that they are exactly alike so they sometimes switch places. I gave her a worried expression. She told me that it would be fine, since they weren't going to play a trick on me, like that.
I met Shion at the school. She was already there when we arrived. I bowed and told her that I was pleased to meet her. She laughs and says that she pretty much already knows me from all that Mion has told her. She looks exactly like Mion. The only difference is the way she dresses. I'm glad that they don't wear the same clothes, on the same days, like other twins seem to do. Shion seems to like her hair down. She has her hair tied in the back with a ribbon. She also wears a white t-shirt, with a blue and white, stripped, ribbon around the collar. She wears a navy blue skirt, as well. I remembered what Mion said about them switching places, and I wondered if she is really who she said she was. Even though Mion said that they wouldn't do that to me, I know from past experiences that it IS something that she might do to mess with me.
Shion quickly fits into our regular school life. She seems to stick close to Satoko. She explains that it was Satoko's elder brother, Satoshi's, last request to her before he disappeared. I tell her that, I was told that Satoshi transferred away. Her expression immediately changes. She seems to become very agitated. I asked her what was wrong and she replied that what Mion told me was a lie. I ask her if she is willing to tell me the truth and she agrees to tell me.
During that day's lunch break, Shion and I headed out back to talk. She explains the situation Satoko and Satoshi were in, prior to the incident. Apparently, their aunt was very abusive to Satoko, so Satoshi spent most of his time covering for her. During the night of the festival, they hold in Hinamizawa, called the Watanagashi festival, Satoshi and Satoko's aunt was murdered by a drunk. A few days after, Satoshi went to a store to get a large, stuffed bear for Satoko's birthday. Shion tells me that he had been working for it for quite a while. She then goes on to explain that he was not seen again after that. He just disappeared.
As Shion is explaining Satoshi's disappearance, I have the feeling of déjà vu that seems to happen to me sometimes. When I looked over at Shion, it appeared that she was about to start crying. I decided to walk over to her. I placed a hand on her shoulder and told her, "He's alive, Shion. I know he is." She asked me how I could be so sure. I told her what I felt in my heart. Satoshi is alive. How I know, is a mystery to me. All I know is that it is a fact. This is what I told her. She seemed to be able to control herself after a moment. After she sees how serious I was about it, she gives me a quick hug, and thanks me.
When I went back in, Mion gave me an accusing look and asked what I was doing with Shion. I tell her the truth. She asked me if Shion was okay. I told her that she was fine and that Satoshi is alive. She gave me a skeptical look, but I remained serious. "If you say so." was her reply. I suggest to Mion that she apologize to Shion for lying. She is apprehensive, but I was able to convince her to, in the end.
After things were all settled out, life began going on normally again. Shion quickly became a member of our club and began participating in our activities. Together, Shion and Satoko worked together to take me down. I make a mental note to submit Shion to a good punishment game when the time comes. Satoko now has a new shield to hide behind, and I can't seem to get around it, no matter what.
It's the beginning of a new week. After training, Mion informs me that another student has transferred into our school. Apparently, he moved to Hinamizawa recently. She tells me that his name is Keiichi Maebara. When I ask her how she knows so much about him already, she tells me that she and Rena went to meet him on Friday, after club.
"…and you waited till now to tell me?" I ask her.
She scratches her head, "Hehe, I forgot."
Of course you did.
She tells me that I will get to meet him today at school.
We head off after breakfast. Mion's work schedule is usually, one whole week on; one whole week off. This week is a working week for her, so we skip the bike. We walk to the school, hand-in-hand, like always. Though things like this have become less exciting, since the beginning of our relationship, they still make me and Mion happy. Since we have decided to be firm about our actions, we have to enjoy what we do have.
As we walk, Mion tells me her plans on what we will do to get Keiichi into the club. It looks to me like she is actually going to let him get used to regular school life for a day or two before suggesting that he join. I'm surprised that she isn't going to try it, the first day.
When we reach the school, I go ahead of Mion. I stand a little ways from the doorway to examine it for any traps. I see none so I enter cautiously, ready to make an escape at a moment's notice. To my surprise, nothing happens. I walk extremely cautiously through the halls. Mion giggles as she passes me, and enters the classroom. Even though nothing happened when she entered, I am still on guard when I do. It is the same story for me as well though. I am beginning to become paranoid. Satoko hasn't ever skipped out on laying traps for me. Usually I'd have sprung at least one by now. I see Rika and Hanyuu here so I know that she's here. I check my desk and chair, but again I find nothing. I take a seat and look up. Still…nothing.
What the heck is she planning?
I decide to walk over to Rika and ask her.
"Hey Rika, what's up with Satoko? I haven't come across any traps. Is she sick or something?"
"Mii, Satoko isn't sick. She's around here, somewhere."
I turn to Hanyuu and whisper to her.
"Hey Hanyuu, think you could go scout a bit for me and see what Satoko's up to?"
She gives a small "Au" and turns to Rika. Rika gives her the ok and Hanyuu heads out. I return to my seat and wait for my scout to return. After a minute or two she comes floating back in. She makes her report to me.
"She's setting up some traps at the doorway and the hall. I don't think that they are intended for you though since you're already here."
Of course. The new student.
I think about it for a second, and then decide to go talk to Satoko. I find her in the hallway, like Hanyuu said. I call out to her.
"Hey Satoko, what are you up to?"
"Ohohoho. Oh, nothing Micheal-kun." She replies.
"Doesn't look like nothing. You wouldn't be setting up some traps for the new kid, now would you?"
She gives as innocent of a look as she can.
"Of course not. I would never do something so cruel, like that."
"Heh, right." I scoff. "Anyways, I don't mind if you do lay some traps, but maybe you should wait a day or two before you do. Don't want to scare him off on the first day, you know."
She ponders what I said for a moment then sighs.
"You're no fun."
She then begins dismantling her traps, only after I am forced to leave though, since she doesn't want me to know her secrets. I check back a little while later, to see if she actually kept her word. She did. We head back to class, and I take my seat. Mion is talking with Shion, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Satoko heads over to her seat next to Rika. Shion greets me as she notices me. I return the greeting and resume my examination of my surroundings. Chie-Sensei is the next to enter.
After a while, the rest of the students start to come. Rena then enters the room, followed by the new boy, Keiichi. He looks to be about my age, maybe a year younger. He is wearing a plain white shirt and black jeans. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He heads over to the teacher for instruction.
When class starts, he is asked to write his name on the board and introduce himself. We all give him a warm welcome and he is told that he can have a seat next to me. I am glad, because I would like to be able to get to know this young man. I haven't really had any male friends here in Hinamizawa.
Maybe Shinji, but that's different.
When he sits down, I offer him my hand and introduce myself. He takes it and we shake. When class starts, I start my usual routine of finishing my work and helping the younger ones. When I come back Keiichi makes a comment about it.
"Seems like the younger ones really look up to you."
"I wouldn't put it like that, I just help them out when I finish. It's the least I can do."
Mion overhears us and agrees with Keiichi.
"Kei-chan's right, Mike. The kids really look up to you. You just can't see it because you're too modest."
I still don't think that the younger ones look up to me like they say, but I just go with it. Later, during lunch, we all eat together. As we are eating, Keiichi explains where he came from and why he moved here. I explain that I recently transfer here as well. I am about to explain how I arrived here, but Mion cuts me off and has me follow her into the hall.
"I don't think it would be a good idea to just tell him how you got here. He's new here and we don't want to scare him off."
"I'm sure that it will be fine, Mion. I don't think he'll freak out. He doesn't seem like the type to do something like that. If you're right, and he does, I can just say that I'm kidding."
She gives me an unsure expression, but I put on a smile to reassure her.
"Alright, I'm trusting you on this."
We head back into the classroom. I continue what I was about to say. I explain to Keiichi my memory of how I got here and how I appeared in a flash of light. He seems really interested in my story. At the end he comments on it.
"That sounds pretty far-fetched. Are you sure that how it happened?"
"I'm sure. Everyone can vouch for me since they were there, right guys?" I reply.
"Mii, it's true. Mikey just appeared out of nowhere, with a big boom!"
Satoko adds, "Yeah, he was pretty beaten up. We had to call 'The Manager' in to look at him."
I look at Mion, since I don't know who she's referring to.
She whispers to me. "That's what we call Irie-Sensei."
"I see."
Keiichi appears a little confused then asks, "So, are you like a super hero or something?"
"Not that I know of. Unless my power is traveling worlds by getting hit by trucks."
He replies, "Well that's really amazing then. It's pretty cool to meet someone from another world. It's like meeting an alien."
Alien?
"I'm not an alien. I'm human. I promise." I reply, as a small sting hits my heart.
"I know. I'm just saying."
It's clear that he meant no harm so I feel at ease.
Class finishes up and, Mion and I get ready to head to our jobs. Mion explains our club to Keiichi and tells him that he should join up next week.
I knew she wouldn't be able to wait.
He tells her that he will think about it. Mion and I head out. We begin talking about Keiichi. Mion asks me what I think of him, and I tell her that he seems like a pretty cool guy. I also tell her that I am glad that I will be able to make a guy friend. She teases me.
"What, you don't like having so many girl friends?"
"It's not like that. I am blessed to have all you guys as friends. I just feel that it's also good to have friends of the same gender. Someone that I can relate to more."
She agrees with me.
"I can see where you're coming from."
She asks me about if I think that he'll join our club.
"It's hard to say. If he does, we have to make sure to not do an excessively harsh punishment game for him, so he doesn't run away."
"Who says he will be the one doing the punishment game that day?" she replies.
"Oh? I thought that, that's how we do things in club. Aren't we going to play some 'old maid' with him? I think I've memorized the cards enough to do well now."
"Since when did you memorize the cards?"
I start laughing. I had been taking the cards and memorizing them by their scratches for a couple of weeks, without anyone knowing.
"You cheater." She teases.
I play along. "Cheater?!? What happened to rule number two?"
She starts laughing.
"Yeah, you're right."
We continue walking, with our hands intertwined. Soon we have to part ways though and head to our jobs.
I finish my regular assignments and begin tending the store. I am still doing so when Mion walks in.
"Hey, what's up? Finished already?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Yep. Just came by to keep you company." She replies.
I finish up my time and we head back home. As we turn the corner, Mion trips over a motorcycle. My reflexes are fast, and I am able to keep her from falling, but the bike topples into the next one, which then topples into the one after that. Not a second later we hear, "Hey! What do you think you are doing to our bikes?!?"
We turn around to see a group of three punks. All have angry expressions on their faces. As they are standing over us, glaring down on us, I apologize.
"I'm sorry, we just were coming around the corner and we accidentally bumped into it."
They did not appear pleased.
"Yeah, well how are you going to pay for it?"
I am unable to answer their question as there is no damage to the bikes. Another punk adds. "Yeah, you can't just go around pushen' peoples bikes over and then not expect to pay for it." I apologize again, but they don't listen.
"I know. It looks like you got a pretty, young girl here with you. You can use her to pay for what you've done."
My temper flares, but I try not to resort to violence.
"Look, I'm really sorry that we knocked over your bikes, but you DID park them in a spot that was hard to see."
They ignore me. I can see their lustful eyes staring at Mion. She only stares at them angrily. One of the punks reaches out for her. My training immediately kicks into action. I quickly grab the punk's arm, twist it around, and push him to the ground with my foot. The other two react, and charge me. I avoid the punch from the closest one and deliver a blow to his stomach. The second one draws close, and I dodge under his blow. He is nearly on top of me so I rise up and punch him under his chin. The blow is enough to send him flying up and back a bit. He lands hard on top of the second punk. The first punk gets back up. This time, he has a scared look on his face. When his friends get back up he says, "Let's get out of here! This guy's crazy!"
After the guys speed off on their motorcycles, I turn to Mion. She is smiling. I ask her, "Are you okay?"
She replies, "Yep. Thanks to you."
I scratch my head, embarrassed.
We interlace our hands again and resume walking. Mion turns to me as we walk.
"Looks like your training is actually good for something."
We don't often talk about my training since she hasn't ever been too happy about it, in the past, but she seems to be okay with it now.
"Yeah. I was hoping that I wasn't going to need to use it, but they weren't listening to me." I reply.
"I'm glad you were here. Who knows what would have happened if I was alone."
I turn to her. "Nothing would have happened. You would have kicked their asses just like I did."
She laughs.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I do have some martial arts training like you do. I'm still glad that you were here though."
We smile at each other.
We end up remaining silent most of the way back home. I am just about to say something to her, to break the silence, when suddenly I feel a sharp pain, at the base of my neck.
Oh no!
I fall to the ground as my entire body crumples from the pain in my back. The pain is so intense that I am unable to even hear sound. I open my eyes to see Mion. She is extremely worried and she appears to be saying something, but I can't hear her. My ears are ringing too loud to hear anything. After a minute or two, the pain starts to subside. The ringing in my ears goes away and I can talk again.
"I'm…okay!" I say between breaths.
"Mike, what's going on? What happened?"
It takes me a little bit of time, but I explain my situation. After a while, the pain goes away completely.
I try to stand back up, but Mion pushes me back down. I explain to her that I'm okay now. "This has happened before."
"WHAT?!?" She practically screams.
"Mion, calm down. I'm fine now."
"How can I be calm? My boyfriend just falls to the ground and crumples up in pain. What the heck am I supposed to do? Just watch you suffer?" She cries out.
"I know Mion, but there isn't anything you could do. There's no use being upset about it now since I'm fine. I just need to go to Irie's to see what's wrong with me."
"What did he say the first time you went?" She asks.
I am hesitant to tell her.
"Hehe, well…I forgot to go in last time."
"MIKE!"
She is clearly not pleased.
She decides that we are going to see the doctor right now, so I don't forget later. We arrive at the clinic, and Mion explains what happened. Irie takes me into a room and examines my back.
"You say that it feels like something is trying to force its way out of your back?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what it feels like. It feels like more though. I feel like whatever it is, is attached to my entire body. I can feel, whatever it is, all the way through me."
"I see. This is very odd."
At that time a nurse with blonde hair comes in with a needle. Irie explains, "This is Takano-san. She will be taking a blood sample so we can figure out what's going on with you."
When I look at the nurse, I can't help but feel a bit a fear and anger towards her. It's not because she's going to be taking my blood though. I am unable to understand why I am feeling this way towards her.
This pain must be getting to my head or something.
After my blood is drawn, Takano leaves the room. Irie continues to examine me. He finds nothing. He tells me that it might be a skeletal problem and that I should come back in sometime to take an x-ray. We agree on a time, and I am released. As we leave the room Mion comes up to us. She still has a very worried expression on her face. Irie explains that he was unable to find anything, but is having me come back in to have an x-ray. He tells her the date that we decided on and she commits it to memory. She will make sure that I don't forget this time.
We leave and head back to the mansion. Along the way she turns to me.
"Why didn't you tell me about this Mike?" She asks.
"Mion, I didn't want to worry you. I just happened one time. I was hoping that it was going to be the last time."
She is extremely upset.
"You can't just assume that Mike. What if you were doing something dangerous, like riding the bike? If you were on the road from Okinomiya, you could have fallen off the cliff. Then what?"
I don't even have to answer her. I would have been killed. She would have never known why.
"I'm sorry Mion. I shouldn't hide things like this from you. I just didn't want you to worry. It hurts me to see you worry."
She understands that I was trying to protect her.
I add something else, "Even if you had known, you couldn't have done anything about it. It still happened. If I was riding the bike, I could have fallen over the cliff. Yes, you can tell me that I can't ride the bike, but that wouldn't be reasonable. I am planning on getting my own bike soon anyways."
"I know. I was just scared Mike. I didn't know what was happening to you. I didn't know how to help. All I could do was watch as you went through the pain."
She looks like she is about to cry. I stop and pull her close to me.
"Don't worry about me. It's just pain. I'll live through it. It's not like it's a permanent thing. Even if it happens again, I will make it through."
She holds me tight. Luckily, she is able to control herself and lets me go.
I add one more thing. "I am glad that you were there though. It made it better for me when the pain went away. The first time, I had to go through it alone."
She smiles.
"I'm glad that I could be there for you."
We continue walking. We arrive about an hour later than normal. We decide to skip on dinner as it probably would keep us up at night. Mion takes her bath, and I take mine when she finishes. I head to her room to say good night. We go over the day. After we finish, we give each other a quick hug and kiss, and I head back to my room. After I have pulled out my futon, I find that sleep takes over quickly as my body is exhausted from my experience, earlier. My dream is not a happy one. It is a dream of murders. Specifically, of the continuous, murder of Rika Furude.