Chapter Three

First Words

August 12th

Train Station

"Chinatsu? I'm Hiyori Asahina," I said. She stood with one hand on her hip and her bright green windbreaker tied around her waist.

"What's your story?", she asked me. Her voice was warm, but it had an almost-raspy-but-not-quite edge to it.

"My story?" I asked, confused.

"That's right. Come on, I ordered us dinner. You can tell me in the car."

"To be interested is to be interesting," she said as we drove home. "Everyone has a story. Everyone you glance at on the bus, every person you bump into on the sidewalk, every man, woman and child on the planet has a story. And if you listen… you might find that their stories have more in common with one another than you thought. That's the secret." She grinned and winked at me in the rearview mirror. "That's your big-sisterly advice for the day, Hiyori. Treasure it."

"You're not my sister," I said.

She looked unfazed. "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." She paused. "That means it's my kick-ass advice that makes me your big sister. Big sister figure."

"Is that right?"

"I don't make the rules," she said with another grin.

Hibiya looked out the window at the people milling about through the shopping district. "What's your story, then?," he muttered.

"My story? Hmm… I was born in Kyoto, I moved here when I was eight, and right now I'm working on getting my doctorate in child psychology. I'm a counselor at the high school where Hiyori's brother-in-law teaches."

"What a coincidence," I said.

"Not really. I was the one who convinced him to move to the special-ed program. He was a college professor before that."

"I haven't seen him since Ayano's funeral. Haven't talked to him since Ayaka's. Am I finally going to get to meet him on this trip?"

"No."

I looked up. Her expression had hardened, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. Then, in an instant, the cool big sister Chi was back. "No," she said again, warmer this time, "he's teaching summer classes, so he'll be busy all week." She smiled. "I know you want to meet him, kiddo, but trust me, he's pretty underwhelming in person. A father to his students, but a teacher to his family."

We went for a while without talking. Traffic was awful that day, and at one point we waited almost fifteen minutes to move three feet. Chi would start to say something, then change her mind and keep quiet. Hibiya rested his head against the window, trying to get to sleep. I spoke up.

"You were a counselor when Ayano went to school, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why did she…" I trailed off, scared to ask the question.

"She was hurting. That's all I know." She closed her eyes, thinking. "The sun went dim, and the moon turned black, for she loved him, and he couldn't love back. To misquote a poet."

Traffic let up, and we were moving again.

"I failed her. I failed a lot of people that day. It… it hasn't gotten any easier, knowing you could have done something, said something. Not knowing, actually, but thinking. One dead, two missing, and… the Kisaragi kid. He took it hard. Turns out, he did love her." She sighed, seeming exhausted all of a sudden. "Too little, too late, I guess. I wonder if he dreams about it like I do."

"When was this?" I asked.

"August Fifteenth. In a few days, it'll have been three years."

August 16th

Kido lit a candle and placed it on the table. Kano, the blonde from last night, collected our cell phones. Mary and Seto, a freakishly tall 16-year-old with a firm voice and a cottony laugh, served drinks, and Momo and I went through the apartment, turning off all the lights and closing all the drapes. She would attempt to make small talk, and I launch into stories of my...extensive knowledge of and devotion to her musical career.

"So, you're a fan?" she asked.

"Absolutely! When your first EP came out, I got my entire class to write letters to our local radio station to get you more airplay! They had maybe twenty or thirty songs on their rotation, and they were overlooking a ton of really good artists. I've actually written essays on how your later albums deconstruct the idea of celebrity and normalcy, and your complicated views about the ideas of fate and destiny in the internet age, and how you question if fame was ever anything more than a shallow label bestowed upon the people who were in the right place at the right time!"

"Uh...yeah…" she said, overwhelmed. "That… thank you?"

I felt like now would not be the best time to tell her about the plushies. We sat on opposite sides of the table.

When night fell, Kido proposed a toast. "To Members Number Six, Seven, Eight and Nine. Welcome to the family. To the entire Dan, for staring death in the face, and refusing to yield. And finally," she said, dipping her head a bit, "to those we left behind. Their sacrifice is the reason we're here today. To my big sister."

Seto spoke up. "To Cairo."

Kano's smile fell a bit. "To my mother."

Momo took a deep breath. "To my father".

Mary's hair was vibrating. "To Mama."

A tinny voice came from Shintaro's phone. "To Haruka".

It was my turn. I looked out the window. The storm continued even into the night. Knowing he was sharing this moment with me, I raised my glass.

"To Hibiya."

I open my eyes to the sound of thunder. Morning.

It's cold, so I tear away a chunk of the world to let the warm air in. Outside, the streets are flooded, and the water's just shy of boiling. Stop signs, Yield signs, streetlights of various makes and models emerge from the ground like weeds, rise up the sides of buildings like ivy. The sidewalk is made of bone. Not human bone, it's too brittle. My guess would be some kind of reptile. Chunks fall away at random into an endless bright red void. I didn't sleep well last night.

Up ahead, a girl rests on a net made out of telephone wires. This is the third time I've seen her. I recognize the scarf around her neck, and the black school uniform.

"Hey!" I call.

She turns. The net snaps.

I panic, and run towards her, but she lands flawlessly on her feet.

"You're Hibiya, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

She laughs. It sounds like birdsong. "You don't have to call me ma'am. I'm not that much older than you are."

"Sorry. What's your name?"

"Ayano Tateyama. It's nice to meet you."

"Is there anyone else here?"

"I've only met one other person. He's here with me, actually."

"Who is it?"

She nods at a hospital looming in the distance, shimmering like a mirage. Everything does that here.

"His name's Haruka. He's kind of a special case. He stayed here so that two other people could leave."

"How does that work?"

"Well, one person came back without a body. The other one...I'm not sure."

I steel myself for the big question.

"Is there any way out of here?"

She smiles at me. "I'm not sure anymore. I don't even think Clearing Eyes knows what's happening now." She laughs and rubs her forehead with her hand. "I guess I've got to fill you in on how everything works here."

I watch as a chunk of oxygen spontaneously freezes solid and hovers in midair.

"That might take a while," I mutter.

She grins disarmingly. "Well, we've got nothing but time here."