The chirping of birds and the gentle, insistent warmth of sunlight filters in through your open window, alerting you that morning has arrived. You sit up straight in bed, the events of your dreams clinging vividly in your head like strands of persistent spider webbing. Almost a little too vividly. It was only a dream, for sure, but then again, how many dreams have you had before that actually told you that you were dreaming? It's much too strange for you to think about on a Monday morning, so you decide to forget about it for now and get ready for school.

Your name is Tetsuo Katsuji, a student at the nearby Toshima High School. Today will mark the first day of your second year, a day you've been dreading all vacation. Your first year of high school, you vaguely remember being extraordinarily boring, and nothing about it really stood out in your mind. In fact, you now recall that you spent most of it on your own at home, practicing your guitar. You don't seem to remember making any real friends, joining any clubs, or doing much hanging out. It wasn't a terrible year, per se, but everything seemed like such a drag. The thought of another year of having to put up with Toshima's cliques, corrupt, lazy teachers, and punishing exams makes you cringe inwardly.

However…

The things those strange people, Elizabeth and Minato, told you in your dream begin to bubble to surface of your thoughts. Drastic changes, good fortune, limitless potential… It was only a dream. And tarot readings are right up there with horoscopes and palm reading on your "useless hippy bullshit" meter. But the idea of something, anything different in your life happening sounds promising. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to broaden your horizons a little this year, and try to reach out to someone other than your guitar. You make a note in the back of your mind for future consideration.

As you pull on your uniform for the day, you happen to glance out the window and notice someone walking down the other side of the street.

She's on the short side, with thick, brown hair pulled into a jaunty ponytail behind her. She looks cute, but it's hard to tell from this far away. However, you can tell that she's wearing a white Junes jacket over your school's uniform, but you can't remember ever seeing her around Toshima High before. A large canvas suitcase that's almost bursting at the zipper rolls along behind her, jumping at every rut in the road. She must have just gotten off the bus from somewhere else.

By some coincidence, she stops at the house just across the street from yours, rolls her suitcase up to the gate, and pushes the buzzer. While she waits, she leans up against the gate and casts an inquisitive glance around your neighborhood. Eventually, her eyes land on yours and there's a brief moment of embarrassment as she catches you watching her. But if she's put off, she doesn't show it. Instead, she waves enthusiastically to you, which you reciprocate with a half-hearted wave of your own.

Then, the buzzer must be sounding outside, because she turns away from you and begins speaking into the microphone. After a few minutes, a tall, grey-haired woman emerges from the house and escorts her up the walk, taking her suitcase from her. She glances back over her shoulder at you one more time before the door closes behind them and they're out of sight.

You can't help but think that it's a little strange that someone would be staying with the family across the street. They're almost never home for very long, and you don't think they've ever hosted guests. There's a first time for everything, you suppose.

Downstairs, your father is already putting things away from breakfast. You spot yours lying on the table and dig in greedily. For reason, your appetite is larger than usual this morning.

"I was gonna say that maybe you ought to heat that up, but it looks like it doesn't matter. Do you have everything ready for today?" he asks.

You nod in between mouthfuls and swallow to speak.

"Did Mom already leave?"

Your mother is the sole breadwinner in your family, having recently secured a well-paying job with a well-known law firm in the city. She leaves early and gets home late, so you rarely see much of her. Your father, on the other hand, hasn't had a job as long as you've known him, and stays home to keep the house in order.

"Oh yeah. At the crack of dawn, just like always. Took the entire pot of coffee with her, too, so I haven't had any myself. Better not make me grumpy this morning," he says with a wink. You shrug and continue eating. You're still curious about the girl from earlier. Maybe your father knows something, but you don't want to sound too interested.

"Hey, how many kids do the people across the street have?" you ask.

Your father puts down the sponge in his hand and becomes thoughtful.

"Uhh…pretty sure there's just one, a boy, but don't quote me on it. Why, did he come home again?"

"Nah," you say in between bites of toast. "But I saw this girl come up to their gate today with a couple pieces of luggage."

"Really?" Dad asks, his brows rising and eyes widening with interest. "That is interesting…"

Suddenly, he bounds towards you and pulls you into a tight headlock while ruffling your already messy mop of black hair. He's a skinny guy, but his arms are lean and muscled, and clamp around you like a vice.

"Good man, Tetsuo! Gotta go after her before every other guy gets a chance! I like your thinking!"

Damn. You must have sounded too interested.

"H-Hey! Knock it off! Not exactly where I was going with that. Just wondering if you knew who she was."

Dad loosens his hold, allowing you to slip out and pat your hair back into its natural place. He looks disappointed.

"Well, how should I know? My only job is to keep the house in one piece, not to figure out what the neighbors are up to every waking hour. Just 'cause I stay at home doesn't mean I'm the same as some gossiping old housewives…why don't you just ask her yourself if you're curious?"

You shake your head. "Probably something personal. I shouldn't bother her on her first day of school."

Your father sighs deeply. "Sometimes I gotta wonder if you're actually a real man, Tetsuo. Before you know it, high school's going to be over, and you'll be wishing you had at least made it to first base. Don't blame me for lack of trying."

"Give it a rest, Dad," you mutter in hopes of getting your father off your case about your social life. Fortunately, you're spared any further inappropriate remarks by the sound of the buzzer out front.

You're finished with your breakfast, so you volunteer to answer the door in order to prevent any further opportunities for conversation. You grab your bag, pull on your jacket, sling your guitar case over your shoulder, and hastily wave goodbye before leaving for the day.

Outside, the one who rang the buzzer turns out to be none other than the girl you saw across the street this morning. She's lost the jacket and her luggage; all she has with her now is her schoolbag and uniform.

"Hey!" she says, raising her hand quickly in greeting. You return the gesture.

"Hey," you return. "You…you're new here, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you must have seen me get in this morning, right? I'd rather have gotten here yesterday, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess."

You have no idea what she means by that, but you don't feel confident enough to ask about it.

"I noticed that you're wearing the same uniform," she says, pointing to your long black jacket and pants. Of course, it's not the exact same, but you know what she means. "I guess that means we're going to the same school, huh?"

She looks at you expectantly. Since she's new – as in, a couple hours to the area new – she likely doesn't have anyone to show her around. This might be an excellent opportunity for you to connect with someone at school, to begin anew like Minato had suggested…

"Well, why don't you stick with me today and I can show you around to your homeroom and stuff. I'm Tetsuo Katsuji." You offer your hand to the girl.

"Mariko Tsukino. It's good to meet you, Tetsuo-kun! It's been a crazy morning…I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll get to hang around long enough to get a feel for the place myself."

"Huh? Why do you say that? Are you not staying for long?"

Mariko's eyes drift to her feet. "It's…complicated. I guess I'll know in a few weeks or so. But until then, I'm not gonna worry about it too much! Are we ready to go?"

You take a glance at your watch. It's later than you thought it was! If you don't step on it, you might be late on your first day!

"Yeah, actually, we need to leave right now! Come on, follow me!" you say hastily as you take Mariko by the arm and take off down the street towards school.

"Whoa! Okay!"

You and Mariko run headlong in between throngs of men and women making for the trains and cross your fingers that you don't end up running into someone. Fortunately, you know the way by heart. After a year of perfecting the best way to get to and from school with the least amount of hassle, you know all the streets that tend to have the fewest people and the route that requires minimal waiting at stoplights.

When you emerge from the crowd and arrive at one of the few intersections along the way, you take a moment to look up and notice that you're not where you expected to be.

The school should be just visible past a cluster of low shops ahead of you, but instead, you seem to have wandered your way towards the large bridge that passes over the river that cuts across town. Now, it's drifted off to your right at the intersection. Fortunately, it's still not too far away, and you can still make it in time if you book it. Your uniforms are going to be sweaty and sticky all morning, but there's nothing you can do about it now.

You turn to tell Mariko which way to go, but she's no longer listening. Her eyes are half-lidded and her body is beginning to sway back and forth like a snake in harmony with some unseen snake charmer. It almost looks as if she's about to fall asleep.

"Hey, Mariko-chan!" you shout over the roar of traffic, but she doesn't seem to hear you. Instead, she begins plodding towards the intersection. "Mariko-chan!" you cry out, but you may as well not even exist.

Another glance at your watch reveals that you're certainly going to be late now. The only thing you can do is damage control. You don't know what Mariko's deal is, but it's made you late and it's seriously creeping you out. Something in the recesses of your mind, something that is causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand at attention, is telling you that something is wrong here.

Lunging forward, you manage to catch her just before she steps into traffic. You place one hand gently on her shoulder, and she shudders for a brief moment before turning around to acknowledge you for the first time since you arrived at the intersection.

"Umm, what is it, Tetsuo-kun? You don't look so good. What's going on?" Mariko asks, looking about in confusion. Was she completely unaware of what she was just doing?

"Are you kidding? You almost ran into traffic! You looked half asleep – are you sure you wanna go to school today?" you ask.

Mariko vehemently nods her head. "Yeah! I'll be fine, trust me. I must still be a little out of it from the bus ride over. The roads from my hometown to here kinda suck, so didn't get much sleep. Heh heh…maybe I was sleepwalking!"

Is she trying to make a joke? Her tone doesn't sound all that humorous. Whatever was going on, she clearly doesn't feel comfortable talking about it with you.

"If you say so…just try to stick with me the rest of the way, okay? If we run, we won't be too late."

A mortified shadow crosses her face.

"What?! H-How late are we?" She grabs your watch. The color begins to drain from her face when she realizes what time it is.

"Geez…c'mon, we gotta go!" she says, and dashes off, but before she even goes a meter, she realizes she has no idea where to go and looks back at you sheepishly.

"After you, of course."

You take the lead back towards the intersection, but Mariko lingers a little while longer and glances back across the bridge for a fraction of a second before hurrying after you.