Chapter 1: Interactive Story Explanation
Chapter Text
Here’s some explanations for a few things about the story:
I've been deeply immersed in Persona 3, so I decided that I wanted to write something. I've been playing P3 FES, P3P, P3R, reading the manga and manga anthologies (Dear Girls my beloved), watching the anime movies, and listening to the audio drama CD's. I want a story where I can just make my own twist on a novelization of Persona 3 with the best parts that I like of all of those. There might be elements of non-canon stories, short scenarios from various pieces of Persona 3 media if I just want it, and also a good chunk of just original content I think of and write myself, but at the core it'll still be Persona 3. But it’s just not going to be a 1:1 retelling, if you know what I mean.
First, each chapter will probably be 1 in-game day, but it won't be from just one person's perspective, so you’re not going to have chapters that take like 30 seconds to read because it’s just Makoto drinking tea and then singing karaoke or something. It naturally means that chapters where they go to Tartarus or have introductions to something will be much longer.
I admittedly want to try my hand at making the fic interactable because I think it’d be cool. At the end of my chapters in the end notes, I’ll give some options for what the protagonists can do the next day, so the readers can choose if they want! This will include options like choosing what social links or activities to do, or some branching choices like what clubs to join. I’ll still do what I want from time to time though, if I want to introduce or progress a particular social link, or if I yank away control to do a specific fun story I had in mind. Because I be like that. Or because I have no one reading the fic lol.
I’ll also update this page as the story progresses to show all the progress that’s happened. I’ll even link the chapters for each level. It’ll display each character’s Social Links, their link current level, and if they’re locked, how to unlock them. I tried to keep most of the Social Link requirements the same, but there are notable differences. Because you don’t really keep stats like Charm, Courage, and Academics in a story though, I truncated them all to be reliant solely on dates and other Social Link Ranks. You’ll notice some of the male-exclusive or shared social links are female exclusive, which is intentional. I think it’d be redundant to have them both be able to social link everyone and have to think of two character arcs for everyone. I’d rather just divy them up. You’ll also notice down in the “Shared” tab, there’s links for Makoto/Kotone and Mutatsu. That’s because I’m going to be doing a bit of rewriting to Mutatsu’s link and have it so Makoto and Kotone visit him at the same time, and not just separately. Then I wanted a link between the two protagonists, so I thought it would be clever to still use The Fool, but use the XXII numbering instead. I know, hold the applause for my subtlety and originality. I also added a formal link for Elizabeth/Theodore, since I always thought it was really weird that they didn’t ever get one, right? There weren’t any more major arcana to give them, and The World would be wildly inappropriate to assign to them IMO, so I got slightly creative. I did what they did for Aigis and looked at the Thoth Tarot Deck for an alternate. I chose Strength’s (XI) alternate card, Lust. No, it isn’t going to be changed to be super romantic or anything; I thought the interpretation of that particular card fit Theo/Elizabeth more than the rest.
Here are all the Social Links:
Mokoto Yuki
- Kenji Tomochika - Magician (1) [AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/22
- Fuuka Yamagishi - Priestess (2)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 6/5
- Mitsuru Kirijo - Empress (3)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 11/21
- Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura - Hierophant (5)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/27
- Yukari Takeba - Lovers (6)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - The Fool (22) Rank 3
- Kazushi Miyamoto - Chariot (7)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/23
- Chihiro Fushimi - Justice (8)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - Emperor Rank 1
- Maya - Hermit (9)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/29
- Keisuke Hiraga - Fortune (10)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 5/17
- Yuko Nishiwaki - Strength (11)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - Chariot Rank 3
- Elizabeth - Lust (11)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/30
- Maiko Oohashi - Hanged Man (12)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 5/6
- Mamoru Hayase - Star (17)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 8/3
- Nozomi Suemitsu - Moon (18)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - Magician Rank 3
- Akinari Kamiki - Sun (19)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 8/9, Hanged Man Rank 4
- Aigis - Aeon (20)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 1/8
Kotone Shiomi
- Junpei Iori - Magician (1) [AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/22
- Fuuka Yamagishi - Priestess (2)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 6/5
- Mitsuru Kirijo - Empress (3)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 11/21
- Hidetoshi Odagiri - Emperor (4)[AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/27
- Yukari Takeba - Lovers (6)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 7/25
- Rio Iwasaki - Chariot (7)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/23
- Ken Amada - Justice (8)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 9/1
- Saori Hasegawa - Hermit (9)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 5/8
- Ryoji Mochizuki - Fortune (10) [AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 11/9
- Koromaru - Strength (11)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 8/15
- Theodore - Lust (11)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/30
- Andre Laurent Jean "Bebe" Geraux - Temperance (14)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - Hierophant Rank 3, Empress Rank 2
- President Tanaka - Devil (15)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - Hermit Rank 2, Lovers Rank 3
- Akihiko Sanada - Star (17)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 5/10
- Shinjiro Aragaki - Moon (18)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 9/7
- Aigis - Aeon (20)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 12/30
Shared
- SEES/Nyx Annihilation Team - The Fool (0)/Judgement (20) [AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 4/18
- Pharos - Death (13) [AUTOMATIC]
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 6/12
- Mutatsu - Tower (16)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 5/24, Strength Rank 4 (M) or Chariot Rank 3 (K)
- Makoto Yuki/Kotone Shiomi - The Fool (22)
- Current Level - [LOCKED]
- Unlock Condition - 6/9
And here is the social link schedule for each character:
That should be all! Sorry about all that lmao. Happy reading, and if there's anything else I should put here, lmk.
Chapter 2: April 6th - The Transfers
Summary:
Transfer students Makoto Yuki and Kotone Shiomi arrive late one night to the Iwatodai Dormitory. After complications with living arrangements force them to take residence with a school club's dorm, things are not all what they seem. A boy with a contract. Young women with guns. And an air of mystery that neither greenhorn can quite shake no matter how hard they try to deny it...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A set of glazed eyes glanced out of the moving train’s window, watching the distant lights blur together. Makoto blocked out the world, but it hardly seemed to notice. Late-night salarymen silently sighed on their way home to their wives. Couples talked in hushed whispers while giggling. And a girl around his own age.
He was unsure of why, but Makoto’s eyes kept wandering back to that particular girl, who was sitting almost exactly on the opposite side of the train car to him. Her auburn ponytail swayed around as she rocked her head back and forth; presumably from the music she had in her ears. He spied the same portable music player in her hands that Makoto always kept on him, but despite being the same brand, the girl seemed to prefer some slender earbuds as opposed to his own ear-covering headphones.
“Why am I paying so much attention to her…?”
The girl suddenly looked up, and Makoto looked away in record time, as if his eyes were just passing by her on their way to stare out the window again. Despite the despondent gaze, his heart had leapt somersaults in the moment. Not in the way someone with a secret crush might. More like the way a child would fear making a new friend.
“Whatever…”
Makoto just thought to himself and turned his music up. Tomorrow would be his first day as a new transfer student, and tonight he’d be sleeping in some kind of special temporary dorm. At least, that’s what he surmised. They honestly hadn’t explained what the issue was very well, but he didn’t really care. A bed is a bed, so who cares what dorm he sleeps in?
A high-pitched ding rang out as a woman spoke something over the intercom. Makoto grabbed onto the seat while the train slowed to a halt and the doors opened. He glanced over at the girl again just to get one last look at her. Gone.
“That’s a shame… Maybe I’ll see her at school? Would I even talk to her though…?”
While pondering that thought, Makoto got off the train and took out a piece of paper and a map. He walked out of the station and down the road, tracing his finger as he navigated and not even looking up.
“What the…?” Makoto pressed the power button on his now-unresponsive music player, but it was as dead as a fossil. “Didn’t even give me a battery warning…”
Regardless, Makoto continued on, still keeping his headphones on and his head down so he wouldn’t have to look at anyone. Though, he couldn’t shake an eerie sensation creeping under his skin, like a snake that had wormed its way into his spine.
* * * * *
“I guess this is the place… Iwatodai Dormitory…”
Makoto stepped up to the front door of the dorm building. Soda cans and glass bottles were lined up on the steps, some of which were crushed, dented, cracked, or broken. As a result, a thin blanket of broken glass littered the pavement. It was in desperate need of a sweep for the safety of anything that walked barefoot. He reached for the front’s handle and hesitated for a moment before opening the door. A gust of cold air wafted out, hitting him in the face and making his hair flip.
Then for the first time, Makoto saw him. The boy. Those bright blue eyes. The black and white uniform was like a prisoner. The eerie way in which he talked. It made his hairs stand on end.
“You’re late. I’ve been waiting a long time for you…”
“Sorry, I got lost…” he mumbled, looking around. “Do you… live here too?”
The boy seemed to completely disregard his question and simply placed his hand on a piece of paper that laid on the reception desk counter. Next to it was a very nice and neat quill sticking up inside of a filled-up inkwell.
“If you wish to proceed, you must sign your name there.”
Makoto glanced at the paper for only a moment before deciding he didn’t feel like reading pages of paper the moment he walked through the door. What kind of greeting was this anyway? And is the boarding agreement of this dorm really so important as to require multiple pages? He wasn’t even supposed to be a permanent resident!
“It simply states that you will be held responsible for your decisions and actions beyond this point,” the boy answered, as if reading his mind. He gestured to it and backed away, beckoning him forward. “Pretty standard stuff.”
Without any thought or so much as a care, Makoto Yuki signed his name away. The little boy seemed to take some kind of glee in seeing the inky signature.
“Now… it begins…”
In a blink of his eyes, the boy seemed to disappear into the shadows of the dimly lit room. Surely there had to be a light switch around there somewhere…
“Who’s there?!”
Makoto swiveled his head just in time to see a girl his age with brown shoulder-length hair marching towards him. Not the one from the train, as this one looked noticeably less bubbly and more on-edge. Her entire frame trembled at the sight of him, and her chest was panting—practically heaving—air in and out of her lungs. Makoto’s eyes trailed down to her hand slowly reaching for something in a leather pouch wrapped around her right leg.
“A gun?”
It was unmistakably a firearm, and this girl looked absolutely crazy enough to use it on him. Sweat was dribbling down her chin now, and the leather strap groaned as her hand shakily gripped the gun until her knuckles turned white. Makoto felt a flicker of panic before it gave way to a deep nothingness within him, as if his emotions filtered out in a giant sigh. He could’ve run at her, ran away, or done anything other than just stare at the girl and wait for the outcome to reach him.
That’s when the flushing of a toilet diverted their attention to the bathroom door down the hall. She walked out. The auburn-haired girl from the train, stretching her face in an impatient frown as she shook her small music player, trying to get it to work. She and the hostile girl locked eyes before the armed one started to slide the gun out of the holster.
Makoto’s breathing stopped completely. His fists clenched, he was ready to tackle the girl to the ground. It was a good thing he didn’t have to though.
“Takeba, wait!”
Everyone halted and turned to see a girl in crimson hair descend down the distant stairwell. She had an intense, furrowed brow, like she was a mother getting ready to scold her child. Her being noticeably older than the rest of them in the room didn’t help. Of course, Makoto couldn’t help but be drawn to the fact that she also had a gun holster prominently displayed on her hips.
“Surely they couldn’t be real… Right?”
The girl apparently named Takeba slowly lowered her gun back into the holster. Makoto had to admit that the older girl was beautiful. If he had been told she was the inspiration for some of those Greek statues, he would’ve believed it. Something in her gaze set off his fight-or-flight ever so slightly though. Was it an intense worry behind her eyes? Coldness? Contempt? Unease? He felt like a toddler trying to read Shakespeare.
Almost as if her mere presence breathed life into the room, the lights flickered on, and the kids’ music players flickered to life and startled them with max-volume tunes. The older woman let out a comforting giggle and Takeba nervously smiled and wiped sweat from her forehead. In one fell swoop, most of the tension had been cut through.
“You arrived later than we expected,” the older woman noted. “Both of you did.”
“That’s just what the kid said,” Makoto nodded.
“Kid?” Takeba asked, furrowing her brow. “What kid?”
“You know, the…” Takeba glared at him like he had a third eye, and the older redhead looked rather troubled by the mention of phantom children. “My name’s Makoto Yuki.”
“And I’m Kotone Shiomi,” the auburn girl added, trotting over to Makoto and smoothly maneuvering around behind him. She put her head over his shoulder and looked him in the face. “We rode the same train to get here, right? I’m pretty sure we were in the same car.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, stepping away from her. “What’re the odds?”
“Maybe it was fate?” Kotone smirked, holding her hand out. Makoto declined to take it, keeping his hands in his pockets and walking closer to the redhead.
“Maybe…”
“I’m glad you’re both already introduced,” the redhead nodded. “I’m Mitsuru Kirijo.”
She gave a glance to Takeba.
“And I’m Yukari,” she muttered, staring at Makoto. The way she bore her eyes into him made him feel like he did something wrong.
“Is she waiting to murder me in my sleep or something…?”
“So who are they?” Yukari asked, glaring at Mitsuru. “I didn’t know we were having guests.”
“They’re both transfer students,” she explained. “I would’ve let you and Akihiko know beforehand, but moving them here was a last-minute decision.”
“Oh yeah, something to do with a miscount in the student-to-room ratio, right?” Kotone asked, her face brightening up even more.
“I wasn’t informed of the problem. Just that you both would be staying here with us.”
“So is this… a girl’s dorm?” Makoto asked, slightly uncomfortable.
“No, it’s not,” Yukari shook her head.
“There’s another boy who lives here with us too,” Mitsuru informed. “And there’s been other men in the past who’ve boarded here with us.”
“But… is it really okay for them to be here?” Yukari asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.
“We’ll have to see.”
“Why is she acting like we’re the biggest threat here?” Makoto asked himself.
“Hey, what’s with your guns?” Kotone suddenly blurted out, pointing to both Mitsuru’s and Yukari’s weapons. The two girls looked at each other, disturbed and anxious. Kotone looked over at Makoto. “I’m not the only one who finds that weird, right? What’s up with those?”
“Hobby-”
“Self defense-”
Yukari and Mitsuru glared at each other, apparently disappointed in their respectively completely different answers.
“They’re part of our club activity,” Mitsuru explained, drawing hers and waving it around like a toy. “Look, they’re not even real.”
She pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. All that came out was a few small blue sparks accompanied by a pathetic puff of air.
“They’re just to pretend like we have one. To simulate scenarios.”
“I-I mean, of course! Kotone nodded, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. “Why would high schoolers have guns?”
“Hah, yeah…” Yukari nodded, her gaze falling down.
“It’s getting late. You should both get to your rooms,” Mitsuru advised. “Makoto, your room is at the end of the hall on floor two. Yours is the same on floor three, Shiomi-chan.”
“How thick are the floors here?” Kotone wondered out loud. “Like, if I did a tap dance routine, will Makoto be able to hear?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, good to know.”
“Takeba, how about you take Makoto to his room and I’ll take Kotone to hers?”
“Um… Alright,” she reluctantly nodded. “Come on then.”
As a despondent Makoto followed the nervous Yukari up the stairs, Kotone gave Mitsuru a cheery smile.
“So does my room have a mattress, or do I have to sleep on a pile of clothes?”
* * * * *
“I love it!”
“Usually people aren’t so enthusiastic about seeing an empty room,” Mitsuru admitted. Her once-icy demeanor had melted away with only a couple minutes of chatting with Kotone.
“How does she do that?” the redhead wondered. “It certainly would be nice to have someone with her kind of personality around the dorm, but…”
“Hey, can I see your room?”
“I-Wha-” The sudden and odd question caught Mitsuru off guard. “You want to see my room?”
“Of course,” Kotone nodded. “We’re dorm buddies, right? So seeing each other’s rooms should be fine. Oh, we can even have slumber parties! I’ve always wanted to host one, but…”
Though her spirits had been going at a breakneck pace, something sent Kotone’s attitude to a screeching halt. Her sullen eyes looked down and away from Mitsuru.
“I’ve never… Well, I’ve never even been to one, actually,” she admitted.
“Really?“ Mitsuru furrowed her brow. “That doesn’t seem to make any sense.”
“Why would you say that?”
“You made friends with Takeba and I only moments after you met us. And your attitude is indicative of someone who would hang out in the popular crowd at school. It seems impossible to me that you wouldn’t be invited to a staple of girl’s social gatherings.”
“It’s not that I haven’t been invited to one. It’s just…” She looked away again. “I shouldn’t dump my life story onto you the day we meet, right?”
“She’s hiding something below the surface, I just know it. But… I shouldn’t pry.”
Mitsuru put a hand on Kotone’s shoulder, drawing her eyes up. Mitsuru was so close now that could focus on the sparkle of her eyes… The shine of the crimson lipstick… The subtle curl of her lashes…
“The truth is that I’ve also never been to a slumber party before.”
“What?!” Kotone gasped. “But you’re like… You look like royalty! How could they not invite you?!”
“I-I’m not royalty,” she mumbled, her face turning slightly red. “Not all of my female classmates have a high or close relationship with me. I’m afraid that I’m far too busy to worry about those kinds of things.”
“I know my place in this dorm is temporary, but how about we have a slumber party sometime?” Kotone asked, holding Mitsuru’s hands. She subtly ran her fingers over the redhead’s painted nails. “It can be you, me, Yukari, and whoever else! Oh, and girls only! We can even have it in your room!”
“Kotone… I’d like that very much. When I have time, that is.”
“When you find it, let me know,” she winked. “I’m going to buy us so much popcorn that we’ll need five stomachs to eat it all!”
As Kotone paced around the room, dramatically leaping into extensive detail about her sleepover plans, Mitsuru politely sat on the bed. She’d occasionally chime in when prompted or if she had something to add, but she mostly just witnessed Kotone’s madly enthusiastic—but manic—ranting.
“Maybe even if she doesn’t have the potential, I can work something out with the director… She has a way with morale, if nothing else.”
* * * * *
Just as Makoto was about to turn his lights out, he heard a knock at the door. He opened it just a crack to see Kotone. Surprised, he opened the door all the way and let her in.
“Hey, I just wanted to check up one more time before bed,” she winked. “New transfers have to stick together, you know?”
“Yeah…” he nodded, striding back to his bed and sitting down.
“Pretty extreme welcomes they have here, right?” Kotone joked. “That Yukari girl seemed super nervous. And what’s with those gun props, right?! I was too nervous to ask Mitsuru, but what’re their real purpose with their club? Since I could tell from a mile away that they were lying through their teeth about why those people had guns.
“If they’re fake, then who cares?” Makoto shrugged.
“Because I’m curious,” she shrugged. “Speaking of curious… You said some boy made you sign a contract when you came in?”
“No,” he denied.
“Wha- But you said you did!”
“I’m just tired,” he sighed. “All I need is some sleep and-”
“I signed too!” she interrupted with an outburst. “I… I signed the contract too…”
“You… When?”
“About a minute or two before you came along. I don’t even know why I signed it! I just felt like it was… It was…”
“Pulling you in?”
“Yeah! Crazy, huh?”
“…”
“What do you think it means?”
“…”
“Hello?”
“…”
Kotone’s face softened as she gave Makoto an understanding smile.
“Do you want me to get out so you can sleep?”
“Yes please.”
“Alrighty, fine,” she chuckled, waving to Makoto on her way out. “Happy first day, new friend! Sweet dreams!”
“Sleep well,” he sighed, closing the door and turning the lights out.
Notes:
Sorry if you got excited about making decisions to influence the story, but those won't be able to be made for yourself until like, Chapter 10 (4/21) sadly. Just like the actual game!
Chapter 3: April 7th - First Day
Summary:
Makoto and Kotone attend the first day at their new school: Gekkoukan High. Though it's not quite what either of them expected it to be, both protagonists make some unexpected friends...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As her alarm went off, Kotone’s eyes flew open as she tossed herself out of bed. The girl snatched up her clothes before gliding into the bathroom. One hot shower later, she was fixing her hair and sliding down the handrail to the base of the stairs. With a whimsical pirouette, she flew into the living room area and looked around with a smile.
Absolutely nobody was awake.
“Kotone…?”
A drowsy Yukari rubbed her eyes as she slowly trudged down the stairs. She wore a pink tank top and dark gray sweatpants that hung slightly off her hips, clearly a bit too big for her. The girl let out a deep, guttural yawn.
“Why’re you up so early…?”
“Is it really so early?” Kotone questioned, looking at the time on her flip phone. “School only starts in three hours.”
“And you don’t need to get there so early…” Yukari drowsily scolded. “Nobody gets up that-”
“Good morning, everyone,” Mitsuru greeted, strutting down the stairs and looking at Kotone with a warm smirk. “I’m glad our new friend has a penchant for waking up early for success.”
She turned to face Yukari with a proud smile too.
“And I’m glad you’ve decided to finally rise early to start the day, Takeba. I knew you’d warm up to my lifestyle at some point.”
“Yeah…” she groaned through her clenched jaw.
“Kotone, if you want to eat breakfast here, I’m sure Takeba will be more than willing to show you around the kitchen and help you with something. We restock every week, so leave a list of things you might want at the reception desk on Sunday morning.”
“Actually, I was wondering about that,” Kotone said, scratching her chin. “Why does a dorm have such an odd-looking reception desk? Not that dorms can’t be fancy and stuff, but this place doesn’t seem like it was built to be a student dorm.”
“Très bien! Very astute of you to notice,” Mitsuru admired, another glint of pride shining in her eyes. “This building used to be a very active hotel in my grandfather’s youth, but by the time I came to school, it had been closed down for decades. With some convincing, we got the rights to it and converted it into a student dorm.”
“Wow, that’s so awesome! I’ve got to see if I can find any secrets around here then.”
“If there were secrets, I’d know about them,” she chuckled. “There wasn’t a lot left over from the hotel days, but there was some salvageable stuff. Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems, a few pipes and electrical circuits, old bellboy and maid uniforms, the surveillance system and cameras-”
“Hold the phone, wait a minute,” Kotone interrupted, her jaw agape at Mitsuru’s words. “You’re telling me there’s bellboy and maid uniforms in this building?”
“Yes. In the storage closet.”
“Hehehe,” she mischievously chuckled. “Noted.”
“I really must be going. Remember to do your very best,” Mitsuru reminded, fondly looking back to face her friends. “I’ll see you both later.”
“See ya!”
The moment Mitsuru left, Yukari dropped all pretense and slumped her shoulders.
“Remember to do your very best,” she mocked, doing her best Mitsuru impression and walking back upstairs. “Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I’ll be back up in another couple of hours.”
* * * * *
Makoto rose out of bed and got ready for his day with a look of complete apathy for everything around him. It was something Yukari couldn’t help but notice, and it unnerved her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about the boy wasn’t right…
“Maybe that’s just how he deals with a changing environment…” she thought, approaching Makoto’s door. “I should try and make up for last night’s introduction.”
The girl took a deep breath before doing a last-minute adjustment to her hair and giving his door a knock.
“It’s Yukari! Are you awake?”
“...”
Yukari held her breath and put her ear to the door, straining herself to listen. Absolutely nothing. Crestfallen, she let out a disappointed sigh. She might’ve not trusted either of the new transfers yet, but she at least tried.
Just as she turned away, the door behind Yukari creaked open, and Makoto walked out with a set of headphones playing music so loud that even she could hear it. Surprised, he took them off and paused the music.
“Oh, hey,” he nodded. “Morning.”
“Oh! Good morning,” Yukari waved. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah, I did. I’ve gotten used to sleeping in beds that aren’t mine.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve bounced around from home to home, school to school.”
“Oh, do your parents travel a lot, or…?”
“I don’t have any.”
Makoto let out a deep sigh and put his headphones back on. Every time he explained it to someone, the reactions were always identical. The same apologies. The same condolences. The same good wishes. Then he’d be known as the kid with dead parents in school. Why care by now? It was bound to happen eventually. It might as well happen on day one.
“Hey.”
Yukari put a hand on his shoulder, and Makoto lifted one side of his headphones.
“I’m still walking you to school. Mitsuru-senpai asked me to, and Kotone is going to cook everything in the kitchen if we don’t get down there soon.”
“Why?”
“She’s been awake since five in the morning.”
“I see…”
* * * * *
“Who wants coffee?!” Kotone chirped, gliding across the ground to pour orange juice and set down plates at the dining table. Yukari and Makoto walked downstairs to see her serving up eggs, bacon, and buttered toast with a glint of pride in her eyes.
“You… cooked all of this?” Makoto asked.
“Yukari said to help myself, so I decided to help everyone!”
“Wow, those look really good,” Yukari admired, picking up a fork and poking the scrambled eggs. “But we don’t have time.”
“Huh?”
Kotone’s stride skidded to a halt as she turned around, disappointed.
“School starts in like half an hour. We’ve got to go hop on the train now if we want to make it.”
“Oh… I guess I can just… put this all in the fridge then…”
“I appreciate the attempt,” Yukari reassured. “Maybe this weekend?”
“You bet!”
Kotone spun around, her eyes immediately flaring back to life. In no time, she had put everything away and come back out with a travel cup filled to the brim with coffee.
“I’m ready to go!”
“I really don’t think you need that,” Yukari decided, gently plucking the cup out of Kotone’s hands and putting it into Makoto’s. “Here, you look like you need a pick-me-up.”
“Thanks…” He stared at it with foggy, glazed-over eyes before taking a sip and looking at Kotone. “Did you use almond milk?”
“I’m lactose intolerant.”
“Figures…”
“Do you not like it?”
“No, not really,” he said, taking another sip.
“You don’t have to actually drink that,” Yukari said. “I was just-”
“It’s fine,” he declined, taking yet another sip.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, giving a heavy sigh as he stared down at the cup. Makoto gave it another sip.
“She makes a damn good cup of coffee…”
“Well… C’mon! Let’s catch that train!” Kotone cheered, leaping out the door.
* * * * *
The train zoomed over the coastline of Tatsumi Port Island, giving them all a beautiful view of the whole thing. From the school to the dorm, everything seemed to have a certain glimmer and shine. Yukari giggled as Kotone looked out in wonder, pointing and asking what certain places were from a distance. Makoto just stared on in silence.
“So much has changed since I was last here… I don’t even recognize it. The school wasn’t there… The mall was a small shopping district… And-”
“Isn’t it wonderful, Makoto?” Kotone asked, pressing her face against the glass. “So much has changed… Doesn’t it make you want to see it all?”
“Hmph.” He put his headphones back on, completely drowning out the noise of the outside. “Not really…”
He watched Kotone and Yukari mouth some words, laughing and smiling at their remarks. If he could hear them, would he smile too? Would he laugh? Probably not. When was the last time he genuinely laughed…? At some point it felt pointless to keep track.
* * * * *
“Welcome to Gekkoukan High,” Yukari warmly chirped as they made their way into the school lobby. Though she was nervous and slightly annoyed when they left the dorm, she seemed to act like they were regular pals now. Was this Kotone’s doing? “I hope you both love it here!”
“I can tell this school year is going to be awesome!” Kotone cheered, pumping her fist into the air.
“You should go see your homeroom teacher first,” she advised, pointing to a hall on the left. “Head down there and you’ll find the faculty office.”
“Oh hey, what class are you in? That way I’ll know if we’re in the same one!”
“I’m in Class 2-F,” she winked. “Hope to see you there!”
“Count on it!”
“Oh, and by the way…” Yukari looked around and spoke in a deep, low voice. “About last night… Don’t mention it to anyone, ok? It would be a huge favor.”
“My lips are sealed,” Kotone promised.
“I wasn't planning on talking to anyone,” Makoto said, putting his headphones on.
“In the meantime, I’ve got a guy to put in his place…”
Yukari dashed off, much to Kotone’s amusement. When she looked back at Makoto though, he was gone. She spotted him already midway to the faculty lounge and bolted to his side.
“What subject do you hope your homeroom teacher is?”
“…”
“You don’t talk a lot, do you?”
“Honestly, your whole extroverted personality just puts me off a bit,” Makoto sighed.
“Oh, sorry,” she shyly laughed. “Not everyone can keep up to my speed.”
“That’s not the problem.”
“Oh, what is it then?”
“It’s because I can tell you’re covering-”
As Makoto reached out to open the faculty lounge door, it slid open all on its own. Before any of them could register what was happening, a grown woman in a suit ran right out. Makoto stumbled backwards as his own bag and the teacher’s papers flew everywhere. Passing students snickered at the sight, and even Kotone couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“Ugh… I’m sorry about that,” the woman groaned, kneeling down to pick up her papers. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I recognize you.”
“I’m… a transfer student,” he mumbled. Makoto gathered some of the scattered pages and presented them to the teacher with a bow. “My name is Makoto Yuki.”
“Such polite manners for a young man! Yuki… Yuki… Ah! That’s right, I remember reading about you,” she nodded. The teacher turned to Kotone. “And are you Shiomi?”
“Thrilled to meet you,” she chirped, giving a little wave.
“My name is Ms. Toriumi. I teach composition,” she said, giving them both a low bow. She made a hand motion to beckon them both into the faculty office. “Come, let’s see which homeroom you’re both in.”
“One second…”
Makoto furiously searched himself and the floor for his small portable music player. The headphones had slid out of the port in the shuffle and it must’ve gone flying somewhere. Mischievously, Ms. Toriumi held the device between her fingers.
“Looking for this, young man?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s mine.”
“I’ll have you know we have a policy that asks students to be aware of their surroundings when they walk around. If you can’t walk and listen to music, then I’d suggest only doing one.”
“Noted…” he mumbled.
“I think I’ll keep this until the end of the day,” she decided, holding out her hand. “The headphones as well.”
“…”
“The headphones, Yuki. First impressions are a golden thing.”
Sullenly, Makoto surrendered his headphones to Toriumi’s grasp. Satisfied, Toriumi took the headphones and music player and shoved them in a box under her work area.
“Great…”
“Hey,” Kotone whispered, slipping next to Makoto. “You can use my music player for the day if you really need it.”
“It wouldn’t be much use if you don’t have the same music.”
“The offer still stands.”
“Here we go,” Toriumi said, handing Makoto and Kotone a paper each. “Yuki, you’re in Class 2-F with me.”
“Hey, that’s Yukari’s class!” Kotone remembered, elbowing him. “Lucky duck!”
“And Shiomi, you’re in Class 2-E with Mr. Ekoda.”
“Oh…” Kotone’s spirits fell a bit upon hearing that. “I… guess that means I can just make more friends?”
“Before you go to class, you’ll have to go to the auditorium. The school’s opening ceremony is going to start soon.”
“Opening ceremony? That sounds awesome!”
“We could use more students with more enthusiasm like yours,” Toriumi chuckled. “How did you become such a go-getter?”
“Hm…” Kotone put a finger on her chin, pondering for a moment before shrugging. “I guess it’s just who I am!”
“Even if I’m not your homeroom teacher, I look forward to seeing you in my class,” she smiled, looking down at her watch. “Oh jeez. Both of you should come with me. I’ll show you to the auditorium and sit you down with your classes.”
“Oh, before we go, does this school have a vending machine?” Kotone asked.
“Vending machine? No, it doesn’t. Why?”
“I’m starting to run low on energy and wanted like three Mad Bulls for the day.”
* * * * *
As the principal gave a droning speech, Makoto nodded his head, trying his best to not go back to sleep. Though, it was hard when being subjected to drivel that was less engaging than white noise.
“This would be a lot more tolerable with my music…”
He looked over across the auditorium at Class 2-E. Of course, he could spy Kotone already exchanging whispers and chuckling with a few other girls around her. The way she acts like a social magnet was actually freaky.
“Pssst, hey!” A guy behind Makoto tapped his back and leaned over his shoulder. “You came to school with Yukari and that other transfer girl, right?”
“What about it?”
“I gotta know… Do either of them have boyfriends?”
“How should I know?” he side-eyed, looking back to the front of the auditorium. “How about you ask them yourself?”
“Rude, dude! I was just asking…”
“Who’s talking?” snarled a bitter teacher from the front of the row. “I heard talking… I think it’s from Ms. Toriumi’s class!”
“I think I heard it from Mr. Ekoda’s,” Toriumi quietly hissed back, turning to her students. “Everyone, shut up! You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Our teachers are such freaking drags,” the kid behind Makoto complained. “Right? What do you think of them?”
“I think you should shut up like she said,” he said, staring at the principal’s moving lips with a set of glazed-over eyes.
“Freakin’ dick.”
Before he could think of a comeback, Makoto’s eyes were drawn to a sound near where Kotone was. Actually, everyone seemed to be drawn to whatever was happening. Even the principal stopped his speech to look.
* * * * *
“Hehe, and the friggin’ principal just never stops talking!” complained the girl right beside Kotone.
They had been chatting for a few minutes and had struck up some good conversation. She had a pair of stormy gray eyes and dark orange shoulder-length hair. Kotone’s favorite part was probably the nice shade of pink lipstick against her tanned skin. She was so nice too. The girl had introduced herself and offered to be her friend as soon as Kotone sat down: Natsuki Moriyama.
“You know, he only talks this long because he wants to sound smart,” mocked Maki, Natsuki’s friend who sat next to her.
“Ugh, I blame it on Mitsuru,” Natsuki groaned, throwing her head back. “She gives actually good speeches, so when I hear shit like this it makes me want to throw myself off the roof.”
“Mitsuru gives speeches for the school?”
“She’s only the student council president.”
“And the princess is heir to the Kirijo throne,” Maki added.
“Yeah, two facts that are totally not related to each other.”
“Kirijo… throne?” Kotone asked, tilting her head.
“Wow, you really don’t know anything about the school, do you?” Natsuki criticized, leaning forward.
“I did get here just yesterday.”
“So the Kirijo group is this big shot company, right? They’ve been basically a corporate powerhouse since they made this bazillion dollar deal with the… a…” She turned to Maki. “What company was it?”
“Um… The Nato Group?”
“Sounds right,” she shrugged. “Anyway, they’re the school’s sponsor. Built the whole place, so nobody was surprised when the president of the company had a daughter and sent her here. Even fewer were surprised that she became student council president without much competition.”
“Huh, Mitsuru completely forgot to mention either of those things when we met,” Kotone huffed, slightly annoyed at the omission.
“How do you know her?”
“Oh, they messed up my living situation, so I live in the same dorm with her for now.”
“I don't envy you,” Natsuki smirked. “She’s such a stuck-up. A princess through and through.”
“That’s not horribly nice. Why do you hate her?”
“I got suspended after she caught me smoking in the bathroom,” she sighed, looking up as if recalling the memory. “She tossed open my bathroom stall and was all like ‘You’re going to face consequences for breaking the rules!’ You know what I did?”
“What?”
“Flicked my cigarette butt at her and burned her blouse. I don’t care if she probably has ten dozen more exactly like it in a sprawling walk-in closet. Seeing her make that face was probably the best moment of my life.”
“Well… you were smoking in school.”
“Not the point,” she dismissed.
“Natsuki, Natsuki!” Maki excitedly whispered, shaking her friend’s leg. “She’s taking it out!”
“Oh sweet,” she grinned, leaning forward.
“What’s going on?”
“Ok, watch that girl with light blue hair two rows ahead of us,” Natsuki said, pointing.
Kotone could see who they were talking about. She was a small, timid-looking girl who had been hugging her sides for most of the ceremony. She stuck out in a crowd with her teal hair, but somehow also blended in by making herself look so small.
Quietly, the girl reached into her handbag and pulled out a compact light novel with a bland white bookmark sticking out. As she opened to the bookmarked page, the sound of tearing paper echoed throughout the entire auditorium. The girl was frozen, mortified as everybody bore their eyes into her. Kotone craned her neck over some heads to see that the pages of the bookmarked book had been glued together. Everyone giggled and snickered as the girl’s cheeks turned a deep red and she covered her face, ready to cry on the spot.
“Oh my god!” Natsuki and Maki were biting their sleeves to keep themselves from howling with laughter.
“That’s so sad!” Kotone gasped, beginning to rise to her feet. “I-I should go make sure she’s alright-”
“Hey, suicide-girl, how about you don’t get us all killed,” Natsuki hissed, barring an arm over Kotone’s stomach and pulling her back down. “Just… talk to her later or something, I don’t know.”
“But… Who even is she? Who did that? Why did they do that?”
“Her name’s Fuuka Yamagishi,” the tan girl shrugged. “Everyone kinda picks on her, so I wouldn’t really pay it much mind. I asked Maki to do it, and boy it was worth it.”
“You did that?!”
“Well, technically Maki did it.”
“That’s too far though! She’s going to get in trouble!”
“So? We’ll all have a laugh about it later, Fuuka included. She doesn’t mind. Maki, have you ever heard Fuuka complain about our pranks?”
“Nope.” The friend shook her head.
“See? It’s not like Fuuka hasn’t shit-talked me either, so we’re even.”
“We call her the Fuuk-Up,” Maki cackled, giving Fuuka a sly look.
“That’s really mean,” Kotone frowned, biting her lip and putting a finger to her chin. “Not horribly clever either, is it?”
“We don’t have a problem here, do we?” Natsuki asked, pressing a finger into the middle of Kotone’s chest. “Because I wanted to be your friend. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with you, but I don’t really like how you keep criticizing everything I say.”
Kotone wanted to fight back, but… She looked around at all the students laughing and the teachers exchanging sharp whispers with each other.
“Maybe this is the time to sit down and shut up.”
“Sorry…”
“Apology accepted,” Natsuki sighed, leaning back in her chair. “God, I hope this finishes soon.”
A teacher walked up to Fuuka and started clearly chewing her out. Kotone couldn’t make out what was being said, but it clearly wasn’t nice. The girl actually started crying, which only seemed to make the teacher more upset, as he grabbed Fuuka by the arm and yanked her out of her seat. The last that the auditorium saw of her was the sight of being dragged out by the arm while she still tried wiping tears with her other sleeve.
“Yeesh, that’s Yamagishi for you,” Maki cringed.
“Ahem, resuming my speech for you all,” the principal awkwardly said, adjusting his necktie. “Now, with the development of young minds and the crossing of important bridges, this year will serve…”
* * * * *
After the ceremony, Kotone followed Natsuki and Maki back to her homeroom. Unsurprisingly, the teacher was the same man who took Fuuka away during the ceremony. Mr. Ekoda. He was a rather boring and plain man who taught classic literature. Kotone didn’t particularly like his class, but it wasn’t his fault that he taught a subject she didn’t really have an interest in.
The whole time, she sat next to Natsuki. Kotone observed how the girl seemed to be perpetually surrounded by other girls who would nod and affirm everything she said and did. That was apparently how Natsuki liked it too.
The other girl, Fuuka, sat in the very back corner of the class, like she was trying her hardest to not be noticed by the world at large. Kotone saw such an empty sadness in her eyes, and the worst part is that she understood.
“Hey, Ko-Ko,” Maki chirped. “Since class is over, do you wanna walk home with us?”
“Oh, um…” She shifted her eyes over to Fuuka. She really wanted to talk to her and just make sure she was okay.
“Oh, no, I get it,” Natsuki nodded. “Should’ve just said something earlier.”
“What do you-”
“Yamagishi!” The blue-haired girl jumped and turned around, seeing Natsuki waving and making a motion. “C’mon, get over here! There’s someone who wants to meet you!”
Shakily, Fuuka gripped her bag and shuffled over to them. Up close, Kotone could really see just how pale she was.
“Are you alright?” Kotone asked, grabbing her hand. She flinched out of reflex, but Kotone held her firmly. “I can go buy you some takoyaki! Or you can show me where the Wild Duck Burger is! Or-”
“That’s alright, thank you,” interrupted Fuuka, who took her hand back and placed it on her chest.
“Yamagishi, this is the new transfer student: Kotone Shiomi. Make sure to show her the same respect you give me and the other girls.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Shiomi,” Fuuka said, giving an apologetic bow. “I look forward to our time together.”
“You can just call me Kotone,” she insisted, offering the warmest smile she could.
“Speaking of our time together, do you have the stuff?”
“Um…”
“Hey Yamagishi, I asked you a question,” Natsuki pressed, stabbing a glare into the girl’s soul. “Do you have the stuff?”
“Y-Yes, I do!”
Fuuka reached into her bag and pulled out a few different kinds of snacks for Natsuki and her girls. Chips, crackers, popcorn, and more. All things that the girls had apparently requested her to get during lunchtime.
“This is why you’re the best, Yamagishi,” Maki chirped, sinking her teeth into a bag of cheese crackers.
“T-Thank you…”
“Yamagishi…”
Natsuki gave Fuuka a death glare, snarling while gently rocking the bag of “X-Treme Cheez” chips in one hand. Fuuka gulped and cleared her throat.
“Y-Y-Yes?”
“What the hell is this?” Natsuki held up the bag, which had a little corner opened up on it.
“I-It’s… I-”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?!” Fuuka just looked down and started shaking. “Well?!”
“I-I was so h-hungry…” she meekly stammered. “Y-You took my l-lunch, so-”
“So now it’s my fault, huh?”
“Hey, she said she was hungry,” Kotone frowned. “It’s not a crime for her to eat something she bought.”
“You don’t have to defend me, Kotone… I knew this would cause trouble…”
“Ugh, come on girls, let’s go,” Natsuki demanded, getting up and looking at Fuuka. The girl looked heartbroken and ready to cry, but… “What’s that look for?”
“Huh? I’m-”
In one swift motion, Natsuki shoved Fuuka to the ground. Her bag’s latch broke on impact, spilling the contents of it all over the ground. Immediately, Kotone stood between the two girls, balling her fists.
“Hey! Are you crazy?!”
“I’ll ask one more time,” Natsuki said between her gritted teeth. “Are we going to have a problem?”
“Only if you treat people like that,” Kotone said back, holding her fists up as a threat. “So you tell me.”
“…”
Natsuki looked at Kotone, then Fuuka, then back at the girl threatening her.
“Fine, whatever. Do what you want, but you don’t know the history between Fuuka and I.”
“I don't think any history can justify what I’ve seen.”
“Let’s just go,” she said, making a gesture to her friends. In just a moment, they were gone and Kotone was on her knees helping pick up Fuuka’s books.
“You don’t have to do that…”
“It’s just the right thing to do. It’s what I’d want someone to do for me.”
“If you’re seen with me… People might get the wrong idea…”
“What do you mean?”
“They might think… we’re friends. And if they think we’re friends, then it’ll make things a lot harder for you…”
“Hey, I don’t mind it. You seem like a nice person!” Kotone put all the books in Fuuka’s bag and gave it back to her. “Here you go.”
“T-Thank you…”
“Hey, how about I walk you home? We can even grab some ramen or a burger on the way if you-”
“Please, you have to listen. It’s for your own good,” Fuuka said, giving Kotone a sad smile. “Don’t talk to me unless you have to, ok?”
“But-”
“Please…?”
“… O-Ok…”
Wordlessly, Fuuka gripped her bag and walked out of the classroom. It all left Kotone with a profound feeling in her chest. The girl’s smile fell down, and she turned on her music player. She could at least listen to some familiar music on the way back to the dorm.
When she stepped out the door, she let out a shriek as a pair of firm hands placed themselves on her shoulders. The next few seconds were a product of her pure fight or flight.
* * * * *
Makoto had made it to class after the principal’s speech, but didn’t bother talking to anyone. Ms. Toriumi mostly just talked on and on about how the year would work, and none of his other teachers had much of anything better to say either.
In the middle of dozing off, he felt a finger tap his shoulder. Beside him, another student was sitting, looking at Makoto with a grin. Blinking hard, he looked around to see that most of the students had already left.
“Dude, you’re freakin’ lucky that Toriumi didn’t hit you with a ruler and make you write an essay,” the student chuckled. “Most people who close their eyes in her class don’t live to see tomorrow.”
Makoto rubbed his eyes and looked at the kid again. He had a patch of hair on his chin and wore a baseball cap. Something about the way he grinned just let you know that he was unmistakably a troublemaker.
“Do I know you?”
“Tch, the name’s Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya,” he smirked. “Heard you were the new transfer student and wanted to say hi. I was a transfer a few years back, so I know how hard it can be.”
“I’ve been fine so far,” Makoto shrugged. “Thanks.”
“Figured you might wanna be friends,” Junpei winked, rubbing his hands together. “If I make the first move, you can see what a nice guy I am, right?”
“Don’t listen to him unless you want trouble, Makoto. He’ll talk to anyone who’ll listen.”
Yukari walked back into the classroom with her hands on her hips. The way she and Junpei looked at each other let Makoto know right away that they had history.
“Hey! It’s Yuka-tan!” Junpei grinned. “I didn’t think we’d be in the same class again!”
“I didn't want to be in the same class again,” she groaned. “What’re you doing bothering the new kid anyway?”
“I wasn't botherin’ anyone! Bein’ friendly isn’t a crime!”
“If you say so,” she rolled her eyes, looking back to Makoto. “So it looks like we ended up in the same homeroom, huh?”
“Yeah…” Makoto nodded, staring off into space. “Must be fate or something…”
“Is this guy alright?” Junpei whispered to Yukari. “He’s kinda spaced out…”
“I’m fine,” he denied. “But… Yeah, pretty surprising we’re in the same class.”
“Heeey, I heard you both came to school together this morning too,” Junpei smirked. “What’s up with that, huh? Gimme the dirt; everyone’s talking about it!”
“W-What do you mean?” Yukari asked, growing in agitation. “We walked here together because we live in the same dorm, ok? You’re just being annoying if you think there’s anything else going on!”
“Alright, alright, jeez…”
“A-Are people really talking about me like that though?” she asked. The girl held her head and gave Junpei a small shove. “Look at me! You got me all worried now!”
“Ah don’t sweat it. People say all sorts of stuff about me all the time and I’m fine.”
“Right…” Yukari uncomfortably looked over at Makoto. “You didn’t say anything to anyone about… you know what, right?”
“Nope,” he shook his head.
“Ok, good…” Yukari fiddled with the cute little bow on her uniform. “Seriously, don’t go telling people about last night, ok? I don’t want people to think of me like that..”
“…”
Junpei looked at Yukari and Makoto with an expression of complete disbelief.
“W-What?” Yukari asked.
“L-Last night…? D-Don’t tell people…? Don’t want to be thought of like that…?”
“Oh my god!” Yukari howled, grabbing a book and beating him on the shoulder. “I just met him yesterday, stop getting the wrong idea! I just met him last night! There’s nothing going on between us!”
“Alright, alright, stop hitting me!” Junpei begged, looking at Makoto with pleading eyes. “Help me, man!”
“What do you want me to do?” Makoto asked. “She’s not my attack dog.”
“You’re lucky I have something to do for archery,” she scoffed, starting to walk away. “But if I hear you start any rumors, you’ll be my next target, Iori!”
“The graceful pride of G-High, right?” he chuckled, elbowing Makoto. “Why does she care so much anyway? Nobody actually takes rumors seriously. She’s so paranoid sometimes…”
“Rumors can ruin a reputation,” Makoto pointed out. “Imagine how shit your life could get if everything thought you did something unforgivable…”
“Well… I guess I never thought about that…” he pondered. “But hey, it’s only your first day and everyone knows you! That’s pretty sweet! But that’s what happens when you’re associated with Yuka-tan. Believe it or not, she’s pretty freakin’ popular. You hit a home run being talked about in the same sentence as her!”
“I guess… Let’s hope it’s for the right reasons…”
“Jeez, you’re kind of a downer, you know that?” Junpei sighed. “You gotta find a way to lighten up, man.”
“I’m fine,” he sighed, shaking his head and grabbing his bag. “The teacher took my music player this morning and said to come back after class to get it.”
“You mean that teacher?” Junpei asked, pointing out the window. The two of them walked over to it to see Ms. Toriumi walking out of the school gates.
“Ugh…”
“Don’t stress, man, just ask her for it tomorrow morning.”
“It helps me sleep.”
“Well, you’re kinda out of luck,” he shrugged. “Hey, how about we walk back to your dorm together? Mitsuru is gonna be there too, right?”
“I don't think she’ll let you in, if that’s what you want,” Makoto said, shaking his head.
“Eh, was worth a shot,” Junpei shrugged. “Still, wanna walk back together?”
“…Sure.”
“Hehe, hell yeah! I can just tell this is going to be a fun year!”
The two boys exited the classroom, and Makoto nearly bumped into a tanned girl who was walking out of 2-E. The only reason he didn’t crash into her was because Junpei pulled him back by the shirt. The girls were too oblivious to even realize what had almost happened though.
“You don’t wanna bump into those girls, man. They’re bad news.”
“Noted.” Makoto looked into the classroom to see Kotone helping some girl pick up her books. He leaned against the wall just outside the door. “I’ve got a friend in there I’m waiting for. We can walk home when she comes out.”
“Ooo, who is it?” Junpei grinned. “The blonde?”
“No.”
“The blue-haired one?”
“No.”
“The gray-haired one?”
“No.”
“Um… Oh! The one with auburn hair and the music player on her!”
“You were bound to get it eventually.”
“Heh. That’s why they call me Junpei, Ace Detective!”
“I’m sure they do,” Makoto nodded, secretly letting out a small smile in the corner of his mouth. Junpei positioned himself just out of sight of anyone who would exit the door and got another mischievous smile. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m gonna scare her, man,” he chuckled. “It’ll be hilarious!”
“I don't know about that.”
Soon after, Kotone walked out of the room with her head down and headphones in. She looked down, oblivious to the world around her, so it wasn’t hard to get the jump on her. As soon as Junpei put his hands on Kotone’s shoulders, she let out the loudest shriek and threw an elbow into his nose.
“YOUCH!”
Junpei staggered into the wall as Kotone yanked the headphones out of her ears and covered her mouth.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”
“I wouldn’t be,” Makoto said. “He wanted to scare you.”
“That’s not very nice to do to girls,” she scolded. “Who are you?”
“Junpei Iori at your service,” he said, still trying to smile through the bloody nose. “Makoto and I are best buds and he wanted to wait for you before walking home.”
“You waited for me?” Kotone asked, turning to Makoto with a sparkle in her eyes.
“We walked here together, so I figured we would leave together too,” he shrugged.
“Aww, thanks! Oh, did you get your music player back?”
“Slept for too long and missed her. I’ll ask in the morning.”
“Do you want to use mine?” she offered again, holding it out to him. “I really don’t mind.”
“No, no, I don’t want it,” he declined.
“Hey, if we’re all walking home, then maybe we can grab a bite to eat,” Junpei offered, rubbing his hands together. “Is there anything the lady wants?”
“How much yen do you have? Where’s that ramen place that everyone kept talking about? And is there a vending machine with some Mad Bull on the way home?”
* * * * *
“Welcome back, you two,” Mitsuru greeted from the dorm lobby’s couch. She was deep into reading a book.
“Heeey!” Kotone yawned, practically dancing through the door. “Today was the best first day of school I’ve ever had!”
“I’m glad you’re adjusting well,” Mitsuru chuckled. “What was your favorite part?”
“Um, well…” Kotone’s smile dipped and she rubbed her chin. “I guess it was all too good to pinpoint one thing.”
“Our school prides itself on being the best it can,” she said, practically glowing with all the bragging she was doing. “I’d suggest you two head to bed though. You’re not allowed to go out at night. Dorm policy.”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll see you all in the morning!”
Kotone dashed up the stairs, leaving Makoto in the dust. He gave Mitsuru a nod of acknowledgment before walking over to the dining table. Yukari was sitting there, also reading.
“Oh, hey,” she greeted. “I hope Junpei didn’t make you want to tear your hair out.”
“He was fine,” Makoto nodded, taking a seat next to her. “He bought us ramen for dinner and the three of us ate together. Then he bought Kotone five Mad Bulls.”
“I think her heart is going to stop.”
“Probably.”
“You know, you’re pretty funny,” she giggled. “And I can keep up with you a lot more than her.”
“I’m just not a fast guy,” Makoto shrugged, rubbing his eyes. “I’m going to sleep though. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Of course! And if that Junpei gives you any trouble tomorrow, just let me know. I’ll make him regret being born.”
“Consider me flattered,” he said, making Yukari laugh again and pulling a subtle smile across his own face.
* * * * *
Later that night, a young man approached Mitsuru in the dorm. Short hair as gray as ash with a blood-red sweater vest. He carried his jacket over his shoulder and gave Mitsuru an intense look.
“I’m going out for a bit.”
“…”
Mitsuru didn’t say anything, but just gave him a glare as she decided what to tell him.
“You’ve seen the news,” he scoffed. “You know how much is going on out there.”
“…I know,” she said with an uncharacteristically weary sigh. “More and more healthy people who developed acute cases of Apathy Syndrome overnight… All the major news outlets say it’s due to stress, but…”
“We know the truth. It has to be THEM,” the boy snarled with a clenched fist. “And it’s our responsibility to do something about it.”
“I know, but… Will you be okay on your own? The Chairman will be here for the next few days, but after that I can-”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just getting in some practice,” the boy said with a cocky smile. “I’ll see you after midnight.”
With that, Mitsuru watched the boy walk out of the dorm, closing and locking the front door behind him. The redhead let out a deep sigh and watched him through the windows.
“This isn’t a game, Akihiko…”
Notes:
Stay tuned for the next chapter! What will the meeting with the Chief Director be like? How will Kotone confront Natsuki tomorrow? Will Makoto get his music player back? All to be answered next time!
Chapter 4: April 8th - The Chief Director
Chapter Text
The next day, Makoto rose out of bed to an empty dorm. Or, what seemed like a vacant building. Mitsuru and Kotone were long gone, as shown by the sign-in sheet by the front door, and Yukari’s door was locked. When he made it downstairs, there was already a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage on the kitchen table with a note next to it.
“Eat up, Makoto! You were looking super pale yesterday, so I figured a nice warm meal would make you feel better. One of our dormmates, Sanada-senpai, suggested a protein-packed breakfast! If you wake up early next time, you can eat breakfast burritos with us too! I hope you can get your music player back! ~Kotone.”
On any other day, Makoto might’ve just thrown the meal out and gone to school, but…
“I’m not in a rush anyway…”
He sat down and bit into the eggs. They were actually really good. Nice and fluffy, with some cheese and light seasoning mixed in. The sausage was cooked perfectly, and she was even considerate enough to leave him a glass of orange juice.
“So she really can cook after all…”
Makoto suddenly started feeling a little bad for rejecting Kotone’s breakfast from yesterday. It was obviously something she was good at and loved.
“Oh, hey.”
Makoto turned his head to see Yukari walk down the stairs with her bag.
“I thought you’d have left already,” she said.
“Kotone left me breakfast,” Makoto shrugged. “It probably would’ve been rude to toss it out.”
“That’s awfully considerate of you,” Yukari said in awe. “Maybe I should’ve said yes when she offered to make me something this morning.”
“You were up a few hours ago?”
“Um…” She awkwardly twirled her hair. “More like around midnight. I had to use the bathroom, and… Kotone apparently doesn’t knock.”
“My condolences.”
“Eh, whatever,” she shrugged. “Skipping breakfast means I get to have a bigger dinner, right?”
“I guess so.” Makoto finished the last of his eggs and sipped down the rest of the orange juice. “Ready to walk to school?”
“Oh- You want to walk with me again?”
“Unless you’d rather not,” Makoto said, putting his dishes in the sink. “I’d understand either way.”
“Oh, no, I was just surprised. Yesterday, you didn’t come across as someone who really cared about that kind of thing.”
“I don't know. Maybe Kotone’s rubbing off on me,” he shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter.”
“Well… Sure, let’s go!”
* * * * *
“Hey, did you hear about that girl from our class?”
Makoto heard a couple girls talking behind them as he and Yukari passed through the school gates. He couldn’t help but notice how easy it was to pick up on gossip when he didn’t just always have music in.
“You mean the one that’s been absent for a few days?”
“Yeah, that’s her. I heard that she’s been overcome with Apathy Syndrome… Supposedly all she does now is sit on the floor, stare at the wall, and mutter about something coming!”
“What a looney… The number of cases have been on the rise, haven’t they?”
“Yeah… If that happened to me, I’d want someone to just put me out of my misery. Wouldn’t you?”
“I don't know…”
“There’s been so many reports of Apathy Syndrome lately,” Yukari shivered, clutching the straps of her bag. “It makes me so scared that it might affect someone I know or care about… Or even me!”
“I don't know,” Makoto shrugged. “I don’t even know what that is…”
“Oh, right. It’s a recent phenomenon around this area. People turn kind of… soulless. Just overnight. They lose all sense of self preservation and get this vacant look in their eyes… Then they all either walk around like zombies or just slump over while they mutter about something coming… Super freaky, right?”
“I guess… If it’s just a virus or something, then there’s no point in worrying about it, right? It’s not like you can prevent it.”
“Well, I… Hold on… Is that Ms. Toriumi?”
Makoto and Yukari glanced over their shoulders to indeed see their homeroom teacher. And she was walking in rhythm, swaying her hips in tempo to a song. A song she was listening to on a family device with a familiar set of headphones. A couple male students were following her from behind, gawking and taking in the view. Makoto, however, wasn’t amused.
“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her actually so happy to come to school,” Yukari marveled. “It would almost feel cruel to disturb her, don’t you-”
Makoto was already moving to Toriumi’s side and tapped her on the shoulder before Yukari could finish. The teacher jumped and looked back, appearing quite disturbed upon realizing it was Makoto. She put his things away in her handbag.
“Oh! I didn’t expect to see you on my way in, Yuki-kun.”
“I didn't get to your office yesterday before you left…”
“Yes, well, you did fall asleep in my class, young man,” she said, turning her nose up. “I think that should make you learn the lesson. I might’ve given you some slack yesterday for being the new student, but that ends today.”
“I’m sorry, Sensei. I shouldn't have fallen asleep, new or not. It won’t happen again,” he politely apologized with a bow. The gesture seemed to flatter Ms. Toriumi.
“W-Well, you certainly are well-mannered, aren’t you? Some of the other students here could learn a thing or two from you…” Ms. Toriumi turned a little red and faced away. “I don’t want to just give your device back to you right now, but this time I’ll wait for you after class today in the faculty office. I’ll be doing some after-hours work anyway.”
“Thank you, Sensei,” he said, bowing again. “I’ll see you in class.”
“Yes… I’ll see you then…”
Makoto walked back over to Yukari, his expression quickly drooping again.
“She wouldn’t give it to me yet.”
“You really know how to lay on the charm thick,” Yukari admired. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone smooth-talk Sensei like that before!”
“Was it really that hard?” Makoto questioned, brushing the hair out of his eyes for a moment. “All I did was show her the respect she wanted.”
“I guess so…”
“How is he just so effortlessly… cool?”
* * * * *
In the middle of Ms.Toriumi’s lesson, Junpei—who sat right across from Makoto—leaned over to him and whispered.
“Can you believe this lady?” Junpei groaned. He looked like he was going to drop dead from boredom any minute. “How can someone talk so much, and still I hear nothin’ come out?”
“Iori!” Junpei nearly fell out of his chair when the teacher howled his name. He scrambled to his feet and straightened up, earning a wave of snickers from around the room. “Since your eyelids have decided that class should end early, maybe you could tell me who I was just talking about.”
“W-W-Who you were t-talking about…?” he gulped. “E-Easy…”
“Well then?” Toriumi asked, crossing her arms. “The clock’s ticking, Iori.”
“It’s, um… Uh…”
Junpei looked over at Makoto and made a silent plea with his eyes for just a hint. The new student looked over at Yukari, who was shaking her head no. Makoto had half a mind to give him the wrong answer on purpose just to teach him a lesson. Even so, Makoto silently mouthed the words “Utsubo Kubota” to his new friend.
“Um… Utsubo Kubota, right? Y-Your favorite author?”
“Wonderful,” the teacher praised, her fierce snarl melting into a warm smile. “So you were listening to me after all! Even so, keep those eyes open.”
“Y-Yes, sensei!”
As Junpei sat back down, Ms. Toriumi went back to writing something on the chalkboard. The boy leaned over to Makoto.
“You really saved my bacon, man… Is there anything I can do to pay you back?”
“Pay attention next time,” Makoto said dismissively. “And buy Kotone a Mad Bull on the way home.”
“Deal, man.”
“You shouldn’t have done that, you know,” Yukari frowned, turning around. “You should’ve just let him flounder.”
“Probably,” he agreed. “But…”
Makoto could hear whispers being traded across the classroom. Most of them had seen him boldly give Junpei the right answer. Maybe that could do well for his reputation.
“Whatever. It’s not going to stop him from being in the bottom five when exams roll around,” she jeered, turning around.
“Just you wait!” Junpei fiercely whispered, shaking his fist. “I’m going to get top five this year! Well… Maybe I should aim for the top ten first. But you’re going to eat your-”
“Iori!”
* * * * *
“Listen, I just think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday,” Natsuki said, biting into half a sandwich. Sitting at a desk next to her was Fukka, who was cutting the crusts off of the other half. “I admit I went too far yesterday. Yamagishi and I like to play with each other and have fun, but we know it’s not personal. Right?”
“R-Right,” Fuuka nodded.
“Then why are you making her cut your crusts like a maid?” Kotone frowned. She herself hadn’t touched her store-bought bento box yet.
“She likes it,” Natsuki shrugged. “Yamagishi cares about me a lot, and I care about her too.”
“S-She does,” Fuuka nodded.
“See? Yamagishi knows I just have tough love,” the tan girl smiled, grabbing one of Fuuka’s cheeks and pinching it. The girl winced before finishing cutting the crusts off the sandwich.
“Here you go, Natsuki-san…”
“You’re the best.”
“Thank you…”
“Why do you call her Yamagishi?” Kotone asked, an edge still to her voice. “If you’re such close friends, why does she call you Natsuki, but to you she’s Yamagishi?”
“You think too hard about it,” Natsuki shrugged. “She prefers it when I call her Yamagishi.”
“Um… A-Actually…” Fuuka cleared her throat. “I-I actually would… Um… Never mind…”
“No, no, go ahead,” Kotone encouraged.
“Well… I-I would like it if you called me Fuuka, Natsuki-san… I’d feel more like… a friend."
Natsuki gave Fuuka a strange look for a moment, as if she was deciding how she should react versus how she wanted to. Kotone could at least tell that she was contemplating and weighing a couple choices. Finally, the girl took a deep breath and nodded.
“Alright, Fuuka-chan~ If you wish.”
“T-Thank you,” Fuuka nodded, a small smile creeping across her face. Natsuki’s face softened up as she gave a gentle, non-condescending grin to her. It was a sweet sight, but only served to confuse Kotone even more about their relationship.
“I know we only met yesterday, but do you mind if I call you Fuuka-chan?” Kotone asked. “I would love to be close friends!”
“I-I’m pretty bad with keeping friends, but… You can call me whatever you’d like… Kotone-san.”
“Hey, hey, since we’re all friends, how about we share notes from today’s lesson then?” Natsuki proposed, flashing a perky grin.
“Huh?” Kotone cocked her head to the side. “But… We haven’t even learned that much yet. What did you miss?”
“Natsuki has a bit of a problem with keeping up and taking notes,” Fuuka chuckled. “We meet up after school to study and exchange notes all the time.”
“H-Hey!” Natsuki’s cheeks turned beet-red as she covered her face in embarrassment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Yamagishi?! Giving away my friggin’ weaknesses like that!”
“It’s alright,” Kotone softly nodded, grabbing her hands and bringing them down. “I struggle like that too, actually.”
“Wait, really? But… you’re an honors student though, right? How?”
“I have a bad habit of spacing out in the middle of lessons,” she awkwardly laughed. “When I’m alone with my own thoughts, I can get caught up in my own head… Then, well, sometimes I just get taken to a whole other world against my will and…”
Kotone’s voice trailed off as both Fuuka and Natsuki gave her odd looks.
“The point is that everyone struggles. In all walks of life.”
“Speaking of walking, you walked here with Takeba yesterday, right?” Natsuki pried. “I heard you both live in the same dorm with Mitsuru-senpai.”
“That’s right.”
“Man, you’re lucky,” the girl groaned enviously. “I sleep in the same dorm as Maki and the others, but none of us are nearly as popular as her…”
“Does that really matter though?” Kotone giggled.
“Yes,” Natsuki nodded, her face deathly serious. “It does.”
“Oh- Well, once my living situation gets sorted out, I should be in the girl’s dorm. Maybe we’ll be close to each other!”
“Oh, maybe,” she nodded.
“Fuuka, do you live in the dorm too?”
“Nah, Fuuka-chan still lives with her mama,” Natsuki teased. “I’ve seen how she lives. That room of yours is a friggin’ mess. Blankets and pillows everywhere, your dirty clothes under the bed or just laying around… I bet it only smells good in there because of all the flowers, right?”
“N-Natsuki-san…” Fuuka cringed. “This is getting a little personal…”
“Hey, we’re just being open, right? The only thing organized in your room are all those geeky science-fiction books on your shelves. My room is pretty damn empty. It’s actually kinda boring. What about you, Kotone?”
“Well… I guess mine is also normally pretty empty,” she shrugged. “I never really unpack with the intention of staying anywhere for a long time anymore… But maybe I can actually try this time.”
“Fuuka-chan, can you go downstairs and get me an apple strudel from the lobby before lunch ends?” Natsuki asked, taking out her wallet and handing her some yen. After a moment of consideration, she plucked out another 100 yen. “You should get yourself something too.”
“O-Oh, um… You don’t have to.”
“Don’t argue and just go do it.”
“I-I don’t think they have apple strudel on Wednesdays…”
“Tell them to hand one over or I’ll come down there myself.”
“A-Alright…”
Fuuka got up and scurried out of the classroom like a scared mouse. Now that Kotone thought about it, she probably would look awfully cute with some mouse ears and a small tail.
“Why do you treat Fuuka like a maid?” Kotone questioned. “I can see that she really thinks you’re her friend, and I see that you care about her, but… I just don’t get it.”
“It’s… complicated,” Natsuki sighed. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and Fuuka has never been really strong or brave. She wets herself when she sees her own shadow at night. If anything, I’m just toughening her up.”
“That’s a dangerous way of thinking.”
“You don’t have to agree, but I believe it.”
“Do you really?”
“Yeah,” she sharply glared, her face contorting into anger before turning away. Her features softened enough to let out a melancholic sigh. “I’m sure…”
* * * * *
After the bell rang, Makoto made his way to the faculty lounge. He was finally going to get that music player back. After all, it was irreplaceable. One of a kind.
He gently started to slide the office door open, but was stopped by some hushed whispers inside. Makoto wasn’t normally one to snoop or spy on people, but… Occasionally his curiosity got the best of him. Ms. Toriumi was hunched over a computer, with another good-looking brown-haired teacher leaning over her shoulder.
“It’s funny you say that, because if I filled in the gradebook that belonged to “Emiri Kanou” then I think I would be doing her job,” Toriumi frowned. “Can you seriously not use the computer yourself?”
“Pleaseeeee!” Kanou pleaded. “Please Isako-san~ I’m begging you! I don’t know how to use the gradebook right! The last time I messed it up, the student’s parents wouldn’t get off my ass about it for days! I can’t have that again!”
“Emiri…”
“Please~ You’re a geek-freak with these computers! Nobody else on staff can move around one faster than you can!”
“Because I’m practiced,” she shyly coughed. “Ono probably still inscribes his on stone tablets…”
“And maybe I can…” Ms. Kanou looked around the empty office, and Makoto let the door close all the way before peering back in. Kanou was leaning down, talking right into Ms. Toriumi’s ear. “Maybe I can swing by your empty old apartment again with some booze and have another ladies night~”
“You’re disgusting,” Toriumi sneered, pushing Kanou away. “But… I’ll put your grades in just this once. But you owe me.”
“I knew you were the best, Isako-chan~” Kanou smirked, throwing her arms around the woman.
“Don’t mock me!” Toriumi roared, slamming her fist on the table. It scared both Kanou and Makoto enough to make them both stagger a bit. The teachers looked behind them at the teenage boy with faces completely drained of color.
“Y-Yuki-kun! What are- Oh, the music player, right?”
“Right,” he nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Isako,” Ms. Kanou said, having a smug wave before walking out of the faculty office. Makoto couldn’t help but notice how she gave him a disgusted snarl as she passed by. As soon as the door closed, Toriumi let out a deep sigh.
“Yuki-kun, you didn’t… hear anything, did you?”
“Were you two talking about something important?”
“Oh, no, just some sensitive school information… Oh, but you don’t want to listen to an old lady’s troubles. One second…” Toriumi reached into her handbag and pulled out his music player and headphones. She held them out to him, and Makoto put them around his neck—where they belonged.
“Did you have any favorite tracks?”
“H-Huh?”
“I saw you listening to my music on the way to school,” Makoto said, much to his teacher’s discomfort. “Did you have any songs you liked?”
“Um… Burn My Dread was quite catchy. I’m not too familiar with the music of kids today, but… It was a nice study.”
“Good choice,” he nodded.
“Run on home, Yuki-kun,” she sighed, sitting back down at her computer. “Enjoy youth while you can. Soon enough you’ll be like me with a demanding job and co-workers who-” Toriumi paused, covering her mouth as if she had caught herself before saying something catastrophic. “I expect your best performance tomorrow.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
* * * * *
Makoto made it to the front of the school before he put the headphones on and blasted his favorite track at high volume. He closed his eyes, feeling himself slip into another world altogether… When he let the music wash over him, Makoto didn’t have to feel anything else. Not an emotion, not a sense, not a thought.
He was almost to the gates when he saw a classic sight of bullying. A group of girls had surrounded a smaller, blue-haired one, and were busy emptying the contents of her bag onto the ground while rummaging through it all. In particular, this tanned one held a book just out of reach, seemingly reading it off in a mocking way. Of course, her legs, arms, and fingers were all longer than the victim’s, so all she could do was struggle.
The blue-haired girl looked at Makoto, giving such a fragile, pleading glance. Tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were red and weary. Makoto wasn’t a big deal at the school, but he could say something to those girls. The fact that he knew Yukari and Mitsuru could probably do something to halt them.
Taking a deep breath, Makoto put a hand on his music player.
He turned up the volume.
The boy walked out of the school as if nothing had happened.
* * * * *
“What are you doing?”
“Staring longingly into the Wild Duck Burger…” Kotone sighed, sipping her can of Mad Bull while pressing her face against the restaurant’s glass from the outside.
“Why not buy a burger?”
“Because my wallet is getting even hungrier than I am…” she sighed, looking at Makoto. “I don't suppose you want to have a dinner date with me?”
“Not interested,” he declined. “Mitsuru-senpai asked us to come back to the dorm in a timely manner, remember? It was to meet the school’s Chairman, right?”
“Oh right!” Kotone nodded, her attitude miraculously perking up. “I’m so excited to meet him!”
“You didn’t even remember he was showing up until five seconds ago.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t be excited!”
Makoto looked down at the Mad Bull in her hands again.
“Did Junpei buy you that?”
“Yeah, he said it was a favor from you.”
“Should’ve gone with some tea instead.”
* * * * *
As soon as Makoto and Kotone entered the dorm, a couple pairs of eyes darted their way. Sitting in the lounge area, Yukari was talking with someone. He was a tall, put-together man with long—but very kempt—brown hair, a wispy goatee hanging from the edge of his chin, and a pair of glasses that hung on the tip of his nose. A cleanly-pressed tan jacket covered a black turtleneck; the same outfit he dedicated himself to wearing every day. His appearance gave him an air of sophistication, which was offset by his lax demeanor that made him seem very approachable at the same time.
Kotone felt a sense of warmth radiate from him, like a distant relative you see at a family reunion. The presence of the man just seemed to put her at ease. Makoto, however, couldn’t have felt any more different. The sight of him put the boy on edge. Something deep inside him screamed “Run away!” like a silent plea for self-preservation. Just who was this man?
“Oh, they’re back,” Yukari noted.
“Ah, so these are the new transfers that I’ve heard so much about!”
The mysterious man stood up, extending to his full height and approaching the two children.
“Are you the Chairman?” Kotone asked.
“Right you are, young lady.” He gave the two students a charismatic wink. “My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, the Chairman of the Board of our school. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Ikustk- Ikutks- Isuke-” Kotone tried repeatedly and failed to fully say his name right. Both Ikutsuki and Yukari chuckled at the effort.
“Ikutsuki… It is rather hard to say, isn’t it?” the man admitted. “Many have tried, and many have failed. Why, even I can find myself getting tongue-tied just introducing myself!”
“I see why everyone just calls you “Chairman” then…” Makoto said.
“Hehe, I like these two!” Ikutsuki grinned with glee. “Come, let’s all take a seat.”
Makoto, Kotone, and Yukari sat together on the same couch as Ikutsuki took his place in a chair just next to it. He sat regally, with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap.
“To start with, I’m sorry about the complications with your living accommodations,” he apologized. “I promise this isn’t something that’s ever happened before.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Kotone insisted. “Makoto and I are having fun living with everyone here, right?”
“Doesn’t really matter to me,” he shrugged. “I could live anywhere…”
“Oh don’t be like that! I know you waited this morning just to walk with Yukari, right?”
“Wh-”
In a rare show of emotion, Makoto’s pale cheeks flushed with a light pink. That was in addition to Yukari’s face now matching the warm shade of her crimson bow. Ikutsuki couldn’t hold back a snicker.
“Don’t say stupid stuff like that,” Makoto sulked.
“Hehehe. Ah, youth,” Ikutsuki sighed. “It burns bright, doesn’t it?”
“Um, Chairman…?” Yukari cleared her throat.
“Oh, yes, I’m here to answer any questions you might have.”
“I’m fine,” declined Makoto.
“Are you here just to greet us?” Kotone asked.
“Well… Partially. I do have other business here, but greeting you was on the front of my mind. Speaking of which, where could I find Mitsuru?”
“Um… Upstairs, I think,” Yukari reported.
“Ah, as diligent as always. Just as expected of the heir to the Kirijo Group. Though, it wouldn’t kill her to come and greet me and the new dormmates… Anything else?”
“Oh, I was wondering something about the club that lives here,” Kotone said, putting a curious finger on her chin. It made Ikutsuki raise a curious eyebrow. “Why do they all have g-”
“Great hygiene?” Makoto finished, putting a hand up to silence her. “The dorm is huge, but mostly empty, so who cleans it?”
“I’m glad you asked! Everyone here pitches in a bit to help clean up the entire dorm,” the director answered. “Even I occasionally come to help scrub down some counters on the weekends! Any other questions for me?”
“Well-”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, but no thanks,” Makoto answered for them both. “We’re fine.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Huh?”
Ikutsuki had answered him with a dark tone and sinister glare that only Makoto seemed to notice. The boy swore that the shadows across his face seemed to stretch and darken only for it all to go away in the flash of a smile.
“I was just making sure you weren’t left with any questions.”
“R-Right…”
“And in case Mitsuru didn’t tell you, leave a grocery list by the front desk every Sunday and an effort will be made to restock the pantry,” the Chairman said, standing up. “You’ll find yourself saying ‘Orange I glad I listened to Ikutsuki?’ Ohohoho!”
“I don’t get it,” Makoto whispered to Yukari.
“The Chairman thinks he’s a comedian. You’ll get used to his lame jokes. He apparently spends hours in his office thinking of new jokes to tell and finds ways to shoehorn them into conversations.”
“Are any of them actually funny?”
“Not usually.”
“Well, it’s as they say,” Kotone nodded, standing to her feet. “The value of a good meal is p-rice-less!”
“Ohohoho! What a strong wit for a young lady! Usually a good joke can’t simply be noodled around!”
“Hehehe, you’ll find that my spirit isn’t easily squashed, Mr. Chairman!”
“Ohoho! I’m glad not every student around here talks so gravy!”
“Oh great, there’s two of them,” Makoto groaned, getting to his feet. Ikutsuki and Kotone seemed to be deeply engaged in some intense pun-duel or odd ritual of friendship. In either case, he had zero interest in sticking around to see the results. “I’m going to bed early.”
“Yeah… I think I’d rather do that too than listen to this for another hour.”
* * * * *
“Fuuka, is that you?” a woman’s voice called from a few rooms over.
“Y-Yes Mother, I’m home,” the girl nodded, taking her shoes off in the doorway. Like usual, she locked the door behind her and crept through the living room.
“It’s so late, what happened? I left dinner on the counter for you.”
“I-I ate dinner with some friends,” she lied. “They offered to pay, so… I ate out.”
“Aw, how nice! I’m glad you’re finally opening yourself up again recently. My little girl needs to get out some more.”
“T-Thanks… I’ll be in my room doing schoolwork…”
Fuuka retreated to her bedroom and clicked the lock as soon as the door closed. Breathing a sigh of relief, she retreated into her comfort space. Though not nearly as messy as what Natsuki had told Kotone, she admitted it still could’ve benefited from a good cleaning.
Gingerly, Fuuka wrapped herself up in a thick winter blanket on the ground and opened her laptop. Plastered on the desktop were a bunch of icons for work utilities like spreadsheets and word programs, along with tons of games like Devil Busters Online, Last Bible II, and Jack Brothers. The girl navigated to her files with a shaky hand, opening a folder labeled “Recordings” and clicking on a video captured by her own mother on Fuuka’s 10th birthday.
The video started with the camera creeping up behind a mass of blankets and pillows sitting in front of an old, beat-up TV. A science fiction movie was running in the VCR; the first ever one that Fuuka remembered watching, and the thing to jumpstart her fascination with the genre. Hushed squeals could be heard, but the sources remained unseen.
“Fuuka, honey, are you having fun?”
“Hehe, yes, yes!”
It almost pained Fuuka to hear a time when she had been so much happier.
“Come on, big smiles for the camera. Don't be shy, you two.”
The blankets dropped and two young girls turned around to give huge, shining smiles to Fuuka’s mother. Of course, there was a tiny Fuuka herself, but also her bright-eyed brunette friend who had been by her side for years/
“Alright Natsuki-chan, I want a picture with your arm around her shoulder too!”
“Like this?”
Natsuki playfully threw both arms around Fuuka, and they both rolled to the floor giggling like madmen, all while the mother chuckled too.
“Break it up, you two. How am I going to snap a non-blurry photo when you’re moving around like that?!”
“Fuuka-chan and me are gonna stay together forever!” Natsuki insisted, keeping an arm around Fuuka like a wrestler pinning her opponent to the ground. “Never going to separate us!”
“What if I said I had… cupcakes?”
“Cupcakes?!”
Natsuki and Fuuka scrambled to their feet, and Natsuki grabbed her friend by the hand, yanking her to the kitchen. The rest of the video mostly consisted of Natsuki attempting to lick the frosting off of all the cupcakes before anyone else could lay their hands on them or stop her.
Fuuka paused and rewound the video. She ran her finger along the screen, tracing the point where her and Natsuki’s hands clasped together.
“Natsuki-san… What happened to us…?”
Teary-eyed, Fuuka closed her laptop and wrapped the blankets tighter around herself. Bunching up another blanket below her head, she decided to just go to sleep on the floor.
* * * * *
Mitsuru and Yukari sat at a large computer console that took up almost an entire wall of the room. Multicolored buttons, flashing lights, unmarked levers… They didn’t even know what some of the functions did. But they were monitoring and closely observing a series of graphs and charts on the screen, studying a test subject. In the bottom right corner of it all, two camera feeds were being funneled in. Makoto and Kotone slept tight in their beds.
“So then, they are unaffected by the Dark Hour?”
Chairman Ikutsuki slowly walked into the command room, hands behind his back as he wearily watched the screen.
“It appears so,” Mitsuru nodded. “To think that both of our new transfers would be able to experience the Dark Hour… Is it a coincidence? Or does it mean something else…”
“And the question that truly matters,” Ikutsuki said gravely. “Do they have the potential or not?”
“If they didn’t… surely Shadows would’ve tried feeding on them by now, right?”
“True…”
“There’s something weird… About Makoto,” Yukari said, pointing to the screen. “I don’t know what it means, but his brainwaves are different from Kotone’s. Not bad or unhealthy. Just… different.”
“Very… interesting…” Ikutsuki whispered.
“What does it mean, Chairman?” Mitsuru asked.
“Who knows?” he shrugged. “I’m not much of a neurologist.”
“Perhaps I can contact some scientists from the Kirijo group and ask them to look at it…”
“Doesn’t this feel… weird? And kind of dirty?” Yukari asked. “Spying on them like this? Gathering data on them and their brains? Treating them like lab rats instead of… well, our new dormmates?”
“Under normal circumstances, you’d be right, Yukari,” the Chairman agreed. “However, you know the unusual extremes under which we operate.”
“Yeah, but…”
“You have a wonderfully kind heart, Takeba,” Ikutsuki smiled. “Don’t lose it, but know that this is also for their own good. I want you to keep observing them for the next few days and report any changes.”
“Yes, sir,” Mitsuru nodded.
“Alright…”
Yukari looked back at the computer screen. Makoto and Kotone looked so peaceful in their sleep. She wondered for just a moment what they could’ve been dreaming about during such a wicked hour…
* * * * *
The first thing that Makoto registered was a harsh mechanical hiss and wheeze assaulting his ears. The next thing he processed was the rushing of air at concerning speeds. He was sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, listening to very uncomfortable sounds, and felt uncomfortably motion sick. In front of Makoto sat a man; or maybe it was some kind of hobgoblin? His nose prominently stretched out in a curved manner, like a banana. His eyes were strained, as if he hadn’t blinked in days, and he had a wide, almost ominous smile. He sat upon a small blue-velvet sofa. Or maybe it was actually a large chair. Makoto wasn’t sure what to make of it. He knew he had to be dreaming.
Separating them was a table with a soft-blue cloth on top. After just a few moments of looking around, he realized that he was actually in one giant elevator, protected by an intricately-designed elevator cage on all sides.
What his eyes were truly drawn to was a woman who stood next to the goblin-like man though. She was dressed like a mix between a flight attendant and a hotel manager, but all clad in enchanting azure. Blue dress, blue knee-high boots, blue gloves, a blue hat… Makoto was pretty sure that if she wore anything else, he’d have a guess on the color. It gave a very start contrast to her snow white hair and eerie yellow eyes. All the while, she was holding a thick book with a platinum bookmark sticking out of it. She kept her eyes glued on Makoto, wearing a catlike smile just to make him a bit more uneasy.
“Welcome to the Velvet Room, young man,” spoke the mysterious man across from him. “My name is Igor… I am beyond delighted to finally make your acquaintance.”
“Igor…?”
“This is Elizabeth,” he said, gesturing to the woman beside him. “My research assistant and attendant to the Velvet Room. She’s a resident here, like myself.”
“The honor is mine, visitor,” Elizabeth politely bowed. She spoke in a voice that sounded uncannily alien to Makoto. Like something distinctly non-human trying its best to pass for one.
“You said this was called… the Velvet…”
Makoto had tried to stand up, but as soon as he did, his entire existence felt like it was swept out from under him. His vision swirled as his mind grew hazy, and before he could hit the ground, he felt someone catch his body in their arms. It was Elizabeth.
“I wouldn’t advise attempting to move around on your first visit,” Elizabeth said, sitting Makoto back in the chair, which appeared to have some kind of harp for a back.
“Must be why it’s so damn uncomfortable…” he thought.
“This place exists between dream and reality… Mind and matter…” Igor continued. “Those who are not used to dreaming do not hold a strong form in this realm…”
“Why am I here?”
“It has been so many years since we’ve had a guest… Why, Elizabeth here hasn’t ever seen a real human before. Isn’t that right?”
“That is right, master.”
“I… asked… why…” Makoto said, struggling to sit forward. “Why me? And why bring me here?”
“Heheh. “Why me?” A question that humans ask themselves all too often, I’m afraid. I brought you here to discuss this,” he smirked, gesturing his hand and making a stack of papers appear. “I trust that you don’t need me to go into detail on this contract, correct? You, and you alone, are responsible for your actions and their subsequent consequences.”
“So that was… your contract?”
“Not quite,” Igor corrected with a dry laugh. “I am not the one who writes the contracts. I am just the agent who holds our visitors accountable.”
“How do I meet the man above you then?”
“How?” Igor asked the question, then found himself chuckling, then cackling. He started wildly laughing, and even Elizbeth was lightly giggling. “If you find out how, young man, I would like you to let me know.”
“Thanks…”
“Henceforth, you are our esteemed guest, and will be welcome in the Velvet Room whenever you please. You hold untold potential, and you are destined to hone this ability to its utmost extreme. In doing so, you will need my services.”
“I don’t… understand…”
“Hehehehe, of course you don’t,” he nodded. “If you did, the journey would be pointless.”
“...”
“Here, this is proof of your membership in our room…”
A blue, intricately-designed key suddenly appeared before Makoto, and he reached out to take it. Confused, Makoto looked Igor in the eyes.
“So… this is a physical key?”
“Correct.”
“But isn’t this just a dream?”
“Also correct,” he grinned, looking at his arm. “And I believe it’s about time it ended.”
Makoto watched a glowing cyan butterfly flutter towards him. His limbs wouldn’t move, and he was powerless to do anything about the situation. Gentle as a feather, the butterfly landed on Makoto’s nose, and the entire world faded into a blinding white.
Fl6reW on Chapter 3 Sun 07 Sep 2025 04:15AM UTC
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Starlit_Sheen on Chapter 3 Sun 07 Sep 2025 07:07AM UTC
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Aesha (Angelpetal83) on Chapter 3 Mon 08 Sep 2025 10:39AM UTC
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Starlit_Sheen on Chapter 3 Mon 08 Sep 2025 11:42AM UTC
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