Chapter Text
“I cannot overlook the Taira’s tyranny.”
She watched in awe as a commanding figure spoke to her. Each word he uttered was filled with charisma. It wasn’t just his words but the atmosphere around the two. The sun was slowly beginning its descent and night was steadily approaching. It was calming despite the coming storm. A reprieve from the constant fighting.
“I doubt that they will stop with the cities. All of Japan will suffer if someone doesn’t stop them. Someone must fight.”
He turned to face her, his expression brimming with determination.
“I will not fight for the Genji’s sake. I will fight so that all who will live in this world can do so in peace.”
“That’s so selfless of you, Lord Yoshinaka,” the warrior maiden commented.
“It is, isn’t it.”
His stoic expression was broken almost immediately. The commander rubbed the back of his head, chuckling softly.
“..As well it should be! I was trying to say something selfless. If anyone were to ask why I do this, that shall be my answer.”
“My lord?”
He exhaled deeply before turning towards the orange sky, watching the sun’s continuous descent.
“But I will be completely honest with you, Tomoe. The real reason I fight the Taira clan is for you.”
He held out his hand to the female warrior. He wore a smile that she should never forget for the rest of her days.
“I fight, Tomoe so that one day, the flames of war will no longer burn and we can be together.”
She extended her hand to reach for the commander. Her hand inched closer and closer until-
“Gah!!”
Tomoe was suddenly awakened by the sounds of a blaring but catchy tune coming from her cell phone. She let out a soft groan as she grabbed hold of the device, turning off the alarm.
“I’m up… I’m up,” she uttered with a yawn.
Another restless night for Tomoe. There was something about fall that made the schoolgirl exhausted. It might be the chilly weather along with the constant schoolwork hounding her at every step.
A pity. She had a large backlog of games to go through. A constant reminder as she glanced at the stack of untouched games near her television. No doubt she won’t hear the end of it from Osakabe at school. She could already imagine the disappointment coming from her friend’s mouth.
Tomoe got up from her bed and started her preparations for the day. Once again, she accidentally bent her toothbrush while in the bathroom. She was starting to realize that maybe there wasn’t a strong enough brand to hold in her hands. The young woman sighed as she set down the toothbrush and tied her hair into a ponytail.
Fortunately, the rest of her morning preparations went without trouble. Things were shaping up to be yet another normal day for her. A cycle of waking up, breaking toothbrushes, and rushing to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. To her surprise, she wasn’t the only one there upon arrival.
A tall and imposing figure was sitting at the kitchen table. His black hair color mirrored the young girl but with only a few gray strands visible. He reached for a cup on his table, taking a small sip before settling his eyes on Tomoe.
“Father? I thought that you were already at work.”
“I’m taking a later shift.”
Tomoe smiled as she danced past the table and her father, reaching for the bread on the counter. A scoff could be heard from the older gentleman’s lips.
“You should get more food in you, Tomoe. You need a more balanced breakfast.”
“I know, father,” she sighed. “But I’m running a bit behind schedule.”
Mr. Nakahara grunted before returning to his cup of coffee. The schoolgirl rolled her eyes before excusing herself. The two rarely exchanged more than a few words with each other during the day. It wasn’t that there was a conflict between the two, far from it. They just never knew how to have a long conversation when yelling wasn’t involved.
“Tomoe.”
She stopped just before placing her shoes on, turning back to see her father.
“I’ll be going out of town tonight to see your brothers. Don’t wait up for me for dinner.”
“Oh, you’re going to see Kanemitsu and Kanehira?” She perked up at the mention of her half-siblings.
“I’m sorry that I can’t bring you along. Perhaps when the holidays arrive, you will be able to see your brothers.”
“Oh, it’s fine, Father,” Tomoe slipped on her shoes and approached the front door. She then turned to face the middle-aged man with a smile.
“Give them my regards, okay?”
Tomoe and her father exchanged a nod before the former went on their way to school. The crisp autumn air cleared the rest of her grogginess as she walked through the streets of Kyojin. Will it be enough to keep her from nodding off in school? Unlikely, but it’s enough to put a spark in her step.
“Tomoe!” A soft voice called out from behind her. She turned around to be greeted by a short petite girl standing right behind her.
“Ah, Mochi! You nearly frightened me!” Tomoe offered a smile to her close friend as she continued walking.
“My apologies for starling you,” Mochi averted her gaze out of embarrassment. “I suppose I have an issue of not having a presence at times.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s an issue. If anything, I see it more as a strength,” Tomoe commented “I imagine that you could get the drop on someone with such a skill!”
“Y-You think so? It doesn’t sound like a useful skill to have,” Mochi played with her bangs before looking up at Tomoe. “Speaking of skills, I’ve heard that the Archery club was asking for you.”
“Is that so?” Tomoe mulled with her hands behind her head.
“Are you going to tell them no?”
“I’m going to tell them what I’ve said before.”
Mochi fidgeted a bit at Tomoe’s response. Sensing her friend’s unease, Tomoe slapped her hand on the girl’s back.
“It’s fine, Mochi. I’ve made my choice and I’m going to live with it.”
“Well, if you’re sure.”
The shorter girl nodded sheepishly, refraining from saying anything else on the topic. The two girls spent the remainder of their walk to school talking about minor things. Mochi spoke of her increasing collection of pet snakes while Tomoe offered some slight concern over the hobby. All in all, a normal morning. At least it was normal to Tomoe.
The two continued their small talk as they entered the school premises. Many associates gave their good mornings to Tomoe as they passed through the crowds and into the buildings. She wouldn’t consider herself a popular school idol. Her friend group wasn’t large and many only knew her from her past achievements. She was known as one of Kyojin’s best athletes throughout most of the middle school. At least she used to be one of their best athletes.
Room 2-C. As soon as Tomoe entered the room, she diverged paths from Mochi, going to their respective seats. A seat that was near the back of the room, allowing the young girl to daydream without Mr. Munenori scolding her again.
Knowing him he’d probably catch me anyway. Tomoe sighed as she rested her face on her palms, glancing towards the windows.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. As if on cue, an elderly man entered the room, quieting the room with just his presence. Merely seconds before the bell rung to signal homeroom to begin.
“Settle down, students. I have an announcement to make. We’ll have been having a new transfer student.”
Tomoe raised an eyebrow. Now, this was unexpected, especially during this part of the year. Munenori mentioned something else about them being a foreigner but Tomoe’s mind couldn’t help but drift from what was said.
If only I could transfer and see my brothers again, She drew a circle on the desk with her finger as the foreigner was introduced. She couldn’t remember much about introductions but that all changed when she glanced upon the new face entering the classroom.
From a first glance, she appeared to be a relatively normal girl. Long and flowing brown hair braided together into a single ponytail. Even with the braided ponytail, her hair was almost inhumanly long. It was the first thing that Tomoe noticed, the voices still tuned out from her head. The second thing she noticed was an unimpressed expression behind the woman’s glasses. Her gaze seemed to be unfocused even as Mr. Munenori spoke of her and her situation.
It was when he asked her to introduce herself that the girl responded to her surroundings. The young girl shrugged before walking to the board and writing her name.
Akuta. Akuta Hinako.
Tomoe mouthed her name, getting a feel for how it might sound.
“Thank you, Akuta. You make take your seat,” Mr. Munenori told the new girl before preparing for the homeroom to the start.
Akuta nodded to the old man before walking towards the back row, claiming the lone seat right next to the window. It was a few chairs away from Tomoe’s but not enough for her to strike a conversation. Not that she had a pining for it.
Time passed and Tomoe almost immediately forgot about her fascination with Akuta. That was until her gaze occasionally shifted toward her direction throughout her time in class.
Was it boredom or was it genuine interest? Tomoe couldn’t exactly tell at the time. She appeared to be normal but there was something about her that wasn’t right. Maybe it’s nothing, she shrugged as she turned her attention to her work.
The sun peered through the cloudy skies, brightening the classroom as lunch started. Tomoe finally took the chance to eat the bread she brought from home, spending the majority of her time with her good friend.
“A loco moco? Isn’t that just a Hawaiian dish?”
“Maybe... but surely the dish was based on something? Maybe a mystical creature?!” Tomoe’s eyes lit up at the mention of it.
“Ah, but… I’m not sure,” Mochi tilted her head.
“The possibilities are endless! Ah… I would love to travel to Hawaii someday. It must be very nice there,” Tomoe took a small bite out of her beard.
“I doubt that we’ll go there for a school trip, but it does sound nice.”
A trip did sound nice. Tomoe thought about the idea of traveling outside of the country. It would make a nice change of pace from the bland life she had. Ever since leaving the archery club, the young girl wanted to fill the hole that the club left in her heart. Thanks to Osakabe, she managed to help her by introducing her to video games. She would spend hours throughout the day playing randoms online. It was a fulfilling experience but something was still missing.
Tomoe glanced to the new girl as she sat along, engrossed in the book in her hands. Strange. She has not once seen Hinako attempt to talk with anyone during this time. It was almost as if no one else noticed the foreigner. Unfortunately, that was far from the truth as Mochi noticed Tomoe’s unfocused gaze.
“You’ve been glancing at the transfer student a lot, Tomoe.”
“Ah, sorry. I was just… curious. It’s not often we get foreign students.”
“I believe Munemori said that she was from China.”
“China, huh?”
Before Tomoe knew it herself, she stood up from the desk.
“T-Tomoe?”
“I’ll be back, Mochi. I’m going to ask her to join us for lunch!”
Mochi tried to convince her not to, but it was too late. Tomoe was already approaching the transfer student’s desk. However, she didn’t get too far as the brown-haired girl raised her head from her book, stopping Tomoe in her tracks with a simple gaze. There wasn’t a look of malice in the girl’s eyes but something about her aura felt too strange.
“What do you want?”
Tomoe wouldn’t consider herself a shy person. She could handle many social interactions with ease. However, it didn’t seem to be the same case here. One glance into her brown eyes and Tomoe felt her confidence drain almost instantly.
“H-Hello, there… My name is… uh… N-Nakahara. Nakahara Tomoe,” She bowed. “A pleasure to meet you. I was hoping that you would like to sit with us?”
Silence. Akuta continued to stare blankly at Tomoe, adding to the overall unease. The standing girl swallowed the lump in her throat as she waited for anything resembling a response.
“No thanks,” The spectacled girl turned back to her book. “Maybe later.”
“S-Sure, no problem!”
Tomoe stammered before retreating to Mochi. The petite girl noticed her returning and raised an eyebrow.
“Tomoe, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know. I guess I got nervous talking to her. She seemed so cool and withdrawn.” She exhaled deeply.
It took nearly the remainder of their lunch for Tomoe to relax. She never glanced back at Hinako’s desk for the rest of the day.
As the hours passed, Tomoe couldn’t take her mind off of that interaction. It wasn’t like her to tense up at the glance of another girl. As much as she wanted to forget that feeling, it stayed with her, even after school had ended and she was walking home with Mochi. Her friend was concerned but Tomoe waved it off as nothing too important.
The two parted ways as soon as they reached nearby Mochi’s home. After saying goodbyes to her good friend, Tomoe stretched her arms and glanced up at the orange-tinted sky.
Maybe I should go to the convenience store, she mulled. After all, it would be great to stock up before Father left. Tomoe took a detour from her usual route, heading to the nearby store she would always go to. Father spent half of his time traveling so there wasn’t much of a need to buy so much food. Just enough instant meals to last for the week. One of the few things that Tome was good at making.
To Tomoe’s surprise, the time spent at the store took longer than expected. By the time she was finished, the sun had already descended, the orange hue disappeared from the sky. A pity.
She enjoyed watching the sunset. For some reason, it made the girl feel at ease, watching them disappear into the horizon. It was a somber feeling but something that reminded her that she felt alive.
It was the only time that Nakahara Tomoe felt human.
“Hm?” Tomoe perked up as she noticed a familiar figure in the distance. A young girl came out of one of the alleyways. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize someone wearing a school uniform but there was a certain other feature that stood out. There was only one girl she could remember having a long braided ponytail.
She bit her lip as she continued walking, noticing that her direction was going to intercept with Hinako’s. Hopefully, the two could walk past each other without acknowledgment but Tomoe was too nice for that. Unfortunately, Hinako noticed her almost immediately and was the first to speak up.
“Oh, it’s you. Nakahara, right?”
Tomoe smiled sheepishly and nodded, “Y-Yes, that’s right. A surprise to meet you out there, Akuta.”
It wasn’t a complete surprise to see other students at this time. Many young people explore the city at night. If that past conversation didn’t happen, Tomoe would have been more relaxed during this encounter.
“Mhm. I guess it is.”
“H-How are you enjoying Kyojin so far?”
“Could be better,” Akuta shrugged. “I don’t know how you people handle this city. It’s too loud for my liking.”
“It grows on you,” Tomoe giggled softly.
“I doubt it.”
Akuta then turned her back to Tomoe, “You should get going. It gets dangerous at night, Nakahara.”
“That’s my line,” Tomoe’s voice trailed off. “I was going to head home anyway. Ah, take care, Akuta!”
“Mhm,” Akuta nodded before talking off. Tomoe was about to do the same until she heard the transfer student call out. Her voice was as easygoing and casual despite the gravity of the next words she would say.
“Try not to murder anyone, demon.”
A pit instantly formed in Tomoe’s stomach as she heard those words. Whatever confusion she had was replaced with intense fear as she turned to see nobody behind her. Her concept of reality was questioned as she thought about the prospect of Hinako not being there in the first place. In retrospect, it was probably that moment where she realized one thing.
That Nakahara Tomoe wasn’t a normal girl.