And... Nothing happens. Yet. I suppose it could be some kind of mudslide. The snow was stated to be the first snow of the year, so it's possible the ground isn't frozen solid yet.
Oh wait, snow. I believe that is called an avalanche.
After loading back to my previous starting point, I note a common flaw in this VN's backlog: you can't scroll back to before the point you saved.
As everyone gathers by the fire again, conveniently placed in a relatively wind-shielded room, Tanomura takes charge of the proceedings. He calls Hibari "shorty" and Takuma "Taku-chan". Hibari is offended on both counts. Was that an indirect expression of liking for Takuma? Perhaps we have a tsundere on our hands.
It seems that Tanomura's family is dead due to the disaster. He speaks rather distantly about this - will this become a drama source later? Maybe. Also, Hibari lives with her parents, though she does not seem to want to meet them for some reason. Takuma is further characterized as a loser as he shakily mentions he has a laptop and thus the wonderful internet, if he can only connect it to a phone. Unfortunately, he has not though of the minor inconvenience of there being no service in the area at the moment.
Eventually things calm down, and Aroe, Hibari (Damn, I forgot I was calling her Kawase) and Yuka get some sleep. Then Tanomura realizes that it's light out; Tsukasa's mobile shows the time as six o'clock. They look outside, and it looks like the entire world has sunk into the snow, leaving only the very tops of houses to be seen. After a pan of this scene, a click sends us to the OP movie, which implies there will be arguments, blood, a helicopter, a raft, and somebody dead in the snow. Also, absolutely no sign of anyone alive except our current group. And a lot of snow.
As the OP ends, we see a screen saying "Tsukasa" with his face on it. He's got a fairly forgettable Bishōnen appearance. This is interesting; perhaps we will have multiple POV characters. I click, and find that the Prologue has ended; we are now in chapter one. The chapter titles appear to be in some foreign language, perhaps Italian.
We set out on a journey towards a nearby elementary school, which serves as a bomb shelter. The gym looks intact, but there are no signs of life. Tanomura and Tsukasa investigate, and find that there has been a terrible fire. Two are dead, but quite a few should have escaped as there are eight luggages left in the building, and not everyone drops their valuable goods when they have to move. There is, however, no sign of where they have went.
After some angsting from Hibari and Kuwagata about the situation being similar to the world ending, the rest get them back on track; they decide to head to the church again.
Tano and Tsuka, and for some unfathomable reason Kuwagata, brave the snow and visit the supermarket for some goods. Understandably, they do not pay for them. Tsukasa seems to have a problem with his right hand - he doesn't have the strength to hold onto a bag with it.
Our men (and only men, because only men go shopping in a blizzard) are notified by Tsukasa that he heard a voice. He has really good hearing, apparently. It's time for a rescue!
I expect the girl to die somehow, though.
After some work trying to reach her, and seeing her trapped body, I am proven correct by a minor aftershock. Meeeeh. It's not that touching if it's so obvious she's going to die. Kuwagata, unfortunately, does not realize he is inside a game and thus breaks down crying. Tsukasa, who insinctively tried to reach her with his hand during the aftershock, apologizes for his misplaced heroism. Tanomura, however, is impressed by Tsukasa's heroic instinct.
To drive the point of the distressed girl being very much dead by now, Tsuka and company notice blood leaking into the water surrounding the house. Rather shaken, they make it back to the church in a single timeskip.
Nothing is playing on the radio gathered from the store. It looks like the broadcasting system really is down for the count in a large area; Takuma, for once proving useful, mentions that it should be able to pick up signals from neighbouring prefectures.
Our heroes and not-so-heroes gather around the fire in the chapel. Aroe has three cups of coffee, which Hibari finds a bit too much. This does make me interested in whether we will be notified that they do in fact poop, or if this will not be touched upon. Given that this is a survival story, the reasonable choice would be the former.
Tanomura keeps a cheerful attitude, which Takuma finds offensive in the face of such a disaster. He quickly relents, though, and admits he's just being weak.
Loser. Why didn't they just leave him to die somewhere?
Tsukasa's dad is a celebrity: his father Kazuki is a conductor of the musical kind. Presumably this is why Tsuka played the piano. Additionally, he lived in Austria as a kid. In a funny moment, Hibari tells him that there are koalas and kangaroos in Austria, right? Tsuka points out that she probably meant Australia, upon which Hibari becomes rather embarrassed and insists it was a joke. Exhibiting potential Deadpan Snarker tendencies, Tsuka agrees that that it must be a joke, because nobody could mistake the two for each other.
Hibari then claims there are pandas in Australia. Tsukasa acknowledges this as an obvious joke, confirming his Deadpan Snarker skills. Hibari is not amused. Tsuka excuses himself, as the coffee has ran its course and he must thus run his bladder.
Takamura, when asking what would comfort him: "Let's see. Touching a girl's boobs is extremely comfortable in any situation." In a reversal of my expectations, Hibari does not go completely ballistic, and in fact wonders if Yuka would let Takuma touch her breasts to comfort him.
I do not think this would actually be very comforting for a shy guy like him. Oh, and they could hear everything from inside.
Well, this vn seems to be preventing Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy with comedic moments for now. Including Hibari using Takuma as a punching bag.
After a timeskip to the 29th, we meet our weary protagonist, who seems to have seen a quite a few too many dead people for peace of mind. Not that he's affected much now; he's currently mapping out the environs of the church, noting flooded areas, cracks and other useful information.
As he sits down for a break, a man approaches him. Unfortunately, the man's mental state is rather worse than anyone we've seen so far. He starts a monologue about how his family is dead and stuff, pausing only to laugh hysterically at appropriate moments. He feels oddly free, he says. He doesn't want to be rescued, and refuses food. Then he runs off, becoming just another setpiece in a mad world.
We learn that Tsukasa's carrying a handgrip to strengthen his hand. I recall a story he told earlier about a pianist that cut the webbing between his fingers to be able to play better, but had it not turn out so well. Tsukasa seems to be a pianist. The man kills himself in the story, though. Tsukasa, failed suicide attemptee? Maybe.
We are treated to lovely, peaceful music and a pretty dinner scene. Of course, Yuka cooks it. Hibari, who outwardly appears very angry with Aroe, is apparently very caring and concerned in reality according to Yuka. Tsundere tendencies: confirmed.
The group moves on to planning their next move. After scouting the territory, they realize less of the town is flooded and/or covered by a landslide than they thought. However, they are trapped on both sides. The only way to go would be across the lake. Sensibly, Hibari suggests a tunnel. In the end, though, a raft is agreed to be a slightly better idea. Takuma proves himself actually useful for once, having some childhood experience of building rafts. Hibari, proving herself as obstructive as ever, seems to have a great distaste for this idea. As Yuka explains, Hibari cannot swim. She cannot even have a bath by herself. As usual, Hibari is not amused. After some mildly creative pushing of Hibari's buttons, though, she agrees with the plan.
At night, Tsukasa feels like practising his piano skills, and finds the church's now-broken organ, playing without sound. Yuka wakes, and finds him. Apparently, they have met before. Ten years before, at a piano contest - Tsuka remembers it as he sees Yuka fiddle with her earlobe. Yuka proceeds to give some background information on our hero: He was apparently a genius pianist at that age; magazine write-ups, interviews, the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, he was in a traffic accident, which messed up his hand. In the end, though, he seems quite ok with it. After some encouraging words from Yuka, they decide to go to sleep.
The next chapter (ATTO PRIMA SECTION THREE something, except the section three bit is in foreignish, very likely Italian) begins with lighthearted music. The mood is getting positively cheerful now, so presumably we're facing some new disaster soon!
Stay tuned.
