Chapter 3: Not My World
Satoko eyed Subaru suspiciously, her distrust evident in her expression. "Rika, can you please explain this?" Satoko asked, her voice tense with suspicion.
"Absolutely no idea. I'm as clueless as you are, Satoko," Rika replied calmly.
"What? Then why is he here? How did you bring him here without knowing anything?" Satoko's voice was sharp, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
"Yes, yes, I will explain later. For now, can we go back to the table to eat?" Rika said, trying to defuse the tension.
"Rika!" Satoko protested, but Rika gently guided her back toward the table.
At the table, Subaru ate quietly, fully aware of Satoko's distrust as she continued to complain to Rika. "I don't blame her, though. I'd probably suspect me too in this situation," Subaru thought as he continued eating.
Satoko kept shooting suspicious glances at Subaru, her unease palpable. "Rika, I really don't understand why you brought him here. We don't know anything about him," she said again, her voice tinged with frustration.
"I know, Satoko," Rika replied softly. "But he seemed lost and hungry. We couldn't just leave him out there."
Satoko sighed, still clearly uncomfortable. "Fine, but he better not cause any trouble."
Subaru, feeling the tension in the room, decided to keep quiet and focus on his meal. After dinner, Rika and Satoko showed Subaru to a small guest room. As Subaru lay down on the futon, his mind raced with thoughts of how to navigate this strange new world and the people in it. He felt a mixture of gratitude for Rika's kindness and anxiety about the uncertain future.
The next morning, Subaru woke up to an empty room. As he sat up, he noticed a neatly folded note placed beside him. Picking it up, Subaru read the contents:
"Subaru,
Satoko and I have gone to school. Please make yourself at home. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry. We'll be back in the afternoon.
Rika Furude"
Subaru sighed, folding the note and placing it aside. He was alone again, and the reality of his situation hit him with full force. Separated from his friends, stranded in a world that wasn't his own, and now left alone in an unfamiliar house.
His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten much the day before. He got up and headed to the kitchen, where he found some simple breakfast items laid out for him. As he ate, his mind raced with questions about Rika, Satoko, and this strange village.
After finishing his meal, Subaru wandered around the house. It was quaint and cozy, with a charm that made it feel lived-in. Yet, the emptiness only amplified his loneliness. The stairs creaked as he explored, and Subaru couldn't help but feel a slight unease as he imagined how the house must be at night silent, dark, and full of memories that weren't his.
"This place is... a bit old-fashioned," Subaru thought to himself, noting the traditional elements in the house. "But it feels homely. Rika and Satoko must really take care of this place."
As he explored further, Subaru began to notice that while the house had an old-fashioned feel, it wasn't entirely out of time. There were modern conveniences like a refrigerator and a small television, yet everything still felt like it belonged to an earlier era-like the 1980s. It was a strange blend of the old and the new, and it made Subaru feel even more out of place.
Stepping outside, Subaru took in the village around him. The streets were narrow, and while there were a few cars parked here and there, the overall atmosphere felt much more rural and isolated than he was used to. Power lines crisscrossed the sky, and the houses were mostly wooden, with thatched or tiled roofs, giving the village an almost timeless quality.
"This place looks like... Japan in the 1980s," Subaru thought as he walked. "It's familiar, but at the same time, it feels like I'm somewhere else entirely."
As he continued through the village, that sense of being in a place slightly out of sync with the present grew stronger. The quiet, the lack of activity, the way everything seemed to move at a slower pace-it all added to the feeling that Hinamizawa was a world apart from the bustling, modern city he knew.
"Everything here feels so... out of touch with the world I know," Subaru mused, a sense of unease settling in. "But it's not like there's no technology. It's just... different."
The further Subaru walked, the more out of place he felt. The quiet, the semi-rural environment, the blend of modern and traditional-it was all so different from what he was used to. Even the air felt different, carrying with it a weight that Subaru couldn't quite describe.
"I've got to figure this out," he muttered under his breath as he continued down the road. "But first... I need to understand this place and the people in it."
With that, Subaru set off to explore Hinamizawa, hoping that by understanding this strange new world, he might find a way back to his own.
Subaru had been walking around Hinamizawa for quite some time, taking in the quaint, old-fashioned atmosphere. Despite its somewhat outdated appearance, the village felt oddly familiar, like something pulled from a distant memory of Japan in the 1980s. The houses, the narrow streets, and even the scent of the air carried with it a strange sense of nostalgia, but Subaru couldn't shake the underlying sense of unease that came with it.
After taking a few more roads, he stumbled upon something unexpecteda massive pile of trash in the middle of an empty lot. It was hard to miss, a towering heap of discarded junk that looked like it had been there for years. Subaru wrinkled his nose at the sight, thinking it best to ignore it. But as he turned away, a sudden scream pierced the air.
"Are you okay? Are you?"
"You scared me."
Subaru froze, his attention snapping back toward the pile of trash. Voices. Two of them. He couldn't see anyone yet, but the tone of their conversation was enough to make him stop in his tracks.
"You said an axe or something would be helpful. So..."
"Looks like you brought a big one... but since it's getting dark, let's continue tomorrow."
"Okay..."
"Don't be sad. You'll get to dig out Kenta tomorrow."
"You're right!"
"What... what's going on over there?" Subaru muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes. The voices were coming from the other side of the pile. With a frown, he took a few steps closer before raising his voice. "Hey! What's going on over there?" he shouted with all his might.
Suddenly, there was a frantic rustling of movement behind the trash pile.
"H-huh? He must've heard me scream... I'm so embarrassed!"_ thought one of the voices. It was clearly a boy, and Subaru could practically feel the second-hand embarrassment radiating from him.
Then another voice, this time a girl, responded in a much calmer tone. "Hmm? Who's that?" The girl sounded unbothered, but Subaru caught a glimpse of her—and the deadly-looking weapon she was holding. A massive, sharpened axe. It glinted menacingly in the dimming light, a tool that could easily cause serious harm.
Subaru blinked, his brain barely able to register what he was seeing. "What are you both doing on that pile of trash? You guys could get sick there!" he shouted again, feeling a strange mix of concern and confusion.
The girl turned toward him, smiling awkwardly but keeping a tight grip on the axe. "Sorry, mister! We're just trying to get a fellow friend out of the huge pile of trash," she responded nonchalantly, as if this were the most normal explanation in the world.
Subaru stared, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry, what!?" He tried to process what she'd just said but found himself stepping closer to the pile without fully understanding why. It was as if his body moved on its own, curiosity and concern driving him forward.
As he approached the trash heap, the two teenagers became clearer in view. One was a boy, clearly the source of the scream, his face flushed red with embarrassment. The girl, on the other hand, was confidently wielding the axe, her calm demeanor sharply contrasting with the situation.
"You you mean there's someone buried in this pile? A friend?" Subaru asked, baffled. His head was spinning, unsure of whether to help or flee.
"Yes," the girl answered, still smiling. "Kenta. He's somewhere in there. But don't worry, we'll dig him out tomorrow!"
Subaru blinked, struggling to find words. He could only stand there, bewildered, as the bizarre scene unfolded before him.
