04/13 W
Cloudy/Rain
Having exited his new home, after another awkward breakfast alone with Nanako, Yu made his way along the road by the river.
That guy who had his heart and groin shattered yesterday was once again on his squeaky yellow bike.
As expected, he crashed, this time trapping himself in a garbage can.
"S-Someone..."
... I should probably help him.
The klutzy biker recognized Yu from yesterday, and finally put a name to his face- Yosuke Hanamura.
He smiled in genuine thanks. He seemed to be just fine.
"Say, did you hear about that incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna! You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could be an accident."
Yu sighed to himself.
"... You might be right."
"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that... That's just messed up."
Yosuke squeezed the handbrake of his bike, just a little.
"Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place."
The apparent music aficionado- Those were some decently high-quality headphones on his neck- Stole a glance at his phone's watch.
"Oh crap, we're late! You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."
Yu felt the sweat bead up on his neck.
After one excruciating ride across town on a broken-down bike that wasn't quite big enough for two people and an equally excruciating, albeit mildly informative, lecture from Morooka-
King Moron is a perfect fit for him, thought Yu-
Yosuke decided to chat it up with him.
"So, you getting used to this place?"
Yu slightly shook his head.
"Not yet."
A friendly smirk and a wink from Yosuke.
"Yeah, well, you just here. There isn't much to do here, compared to the big city, but there is that certain... SOMETHING you can't get anywhere else."
Why did he look away from my face?
Yosuke seemed to catch himself.
"The air's clean, the food's great... Oh, you know about the local delicacy? It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special!"
Well, it sorta is. Aside from that one dairy, I don't think I saw any cows on the train here.
"I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."
Yosuke seemed strangely excited over the prospect of buy this near stranger steak.
Just then, Chie walked up.
"What about me, huh? No apologies? My 'Trial of the Dragon?'"
Well, I could point out that he did apologize. I don't think my Courage is high enough to risk a kick, though...
"Urgh... You always come around when we're talking about food..."
As Yosuke hung his head in exasperation, Chie turned towards her raven-haired friend.
"How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?"
Yukiko immediately stood up just before her response-
"I'll pass... I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."
Yu was baffled.
You're extremely thin. I doubt one steak would have any impact on that...
Yosuke spoke up.
"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?"
Yukiko suddenly turned her eyes to the floor, almost as though she were shamed or in pain...
"It's not like that! I'm just helping out when it gets busy. Well, I should be on my way."
And with that, Yukiko left the classroom. Her friend perked up.
"Oh well. We should get going too."
Yosuke recoiled in shock.
"Huh? Do I seriously have to treat two people...?"
After forcing Yosuke to wheel his bike along instead of riding it, Yu spotted a building up ahead, several floors tall, a red electric light sign near the top.
Then, that jingle blared, and there could be no doubt about it.
Junes was today's destination.
After riding the elevators to the roof, Chie voiced her disappointment.
Yosuke and Chie belligerently bantered with each other, as Yu tried his to stay out of it.
"That's no reason to take us to your place instead!"
"Dude, this isn't my place or anything-"
Yu turned towards him and simply said
"Huh?"
"Oh, right, I haven't told you yet, huh?"
Yosuke was just a little embarrassed.
"I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So our entire family came out here."
Yosuke grabbed a cup filled with some kind of soda.
"Here, this is to welcome you to town. Satonaka, yours is on me, too."
"Yeah, I know."
And with that, both guests grabbed their own beverages.
A quick toast and drink- Yu's was Ramune-flavored- And suddenly, he found himself in a position he hadn't had since middle school- The midst of animated small talk.
"It's only been half a year since this place opened up, but I haven't been to the local shopping district much since. A lot of stores there started closing and- Oh, uh..."
Chie was a bit embarrassed by what she just said.
"You can't blame it all on Junes, can you? ......"
An older girl in a Junes employee's uniform sat down nearby.
"Hey, it's Saki-senapi! Sorry, be right back."
Yu could have sworn to have seen little hearts in Yosuke's eyes for just half a second.
"... Is she Yosuke's girlfriend?"
Chie giggled.
"Haha, he wishes. That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working part-time here, though."
Yosuke chatted with her crush. The upperclassmen looked incredibly tired.
Suddenly, she walked over to Yu and Chie's table.
"Are you the transfer student? Oh, did you hear about me already?"
Yu nodded.
"It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."
Huh. He seems to be on decent terms with Chie and the Amagi girl, though...
Yosuke butted in.
"N-not necessarily..."
Saki ignored him.
"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good."
Yep, this is the country.
"Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."
Yu nodded.
"Yeah, he's annoying."
"Ahaha..."
That's the most exhausted laugh I've ever heard.
"All right, break it up... You're kinda getting on my nerves..."
Yosuke was tensed up just a little.
"Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go. Laters!"
Saki marched off towards the elevator.
"Oh, uh, Senpai...!"
Yosuke stammered.
"Hahah, Saki-senpai says that I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way..."
Chie grew a devious smirk.
"Ohhh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh? Oh, I get it... So, THAT'S how it is. 'The daughter of a local family-run liquor store, and the scion of the invading chain... The flame of forbidden love~!"
You watch a lot of movies, huh?
"Wha- !? Dude, it's not like that."
"Oh, reaaaaally... Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart. You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?"
Both Yu and Yosuke stared at Chie.
"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched of, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen. And they say that person's your soulmate."
... Really?
Yosuke sighed.
"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful. How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"
"Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you?!"
"Of course I don't!"
It's more than a little out there, Chie...
"Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out- Then you'll see!"
"Try it out... Wait, you mean you haven't even tried it yourself!? Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid."
Yosuke took a long gulp from his dark drown soda.
All that aside... You know that 'incident'' yesterday? You guys think it was murder? Oo, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around...? Heehee..."
Chie sighed.
"Sheesh. You shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Now who's the childish one...?"
A quick sip of her orange pop and Chie was back on her game.
"All I'm saying is, you guys had better try it out tonight."
Well, why not...
During another somber dinner of Chinese take-out with Nanako, Dojima actually returned home, to his daughter's delight.
The man was clearly out of it.
Nanako shouted at him for being late. She calmed down and agreed to put the news on.
It was another story about Ms. Yamano's death and the apparent staging of her body on a TV antenna. She was confirmed to be in an affair with Taro Namatame, that enka singer's husband...
Could the death be involved with this affair?
"In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."
The interview was...
Unprofessional. Almost insultingly... Hmm? Is that Saki-senpai, from earlier today?
The voice modifier and facial blur wouldn't have hid her identity from anyone who knew her...
After the Junes commercial aired again, and Nanako sang its little jingle, Dojima feel asleep on the couch and Yu marched upstairs to his room...
The rain kept on falling...
Nothing. What do you know.
Suddenly, a faint yellow glow poured out, accompanied by sounds of static.
The hell? A drink cabinet- That girl- She's- who's that with her, and why is she running from th-
The feed cut. A bolt of lightning suddenly struck a nearby power transformer...
I am thou. Thou art I. Thou art the one who will open the door.
Yu reached out to the TV's screen- He didn't know why, beyond that it felt like the right thing to do.
When his fingers touched it, rings of light rippled away from them.
Now he was curious. Yu reached further- And his arm passed into the screen. Or rather, was sucked in, followed by his head and upper body...
Comments
