Chapter Text
“Your attention please. Today's train schedule will be modified due to a rail switching malfunction. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
The train's announcement ripped through the silence of the train, but fell on deaf ears.
Hamuko had her headphones on, playing a song loud enough to tune out the noise of the rumbling train. Her brother was sleeping on her shoulder, not very comfortably due to the slight shaking of the train, but asleep nonetheless. Hamuko was convinced he could sleep through anything, with how much of a hard time she has waking him up every morning. Which was weighing on her mind more than it should.
This was the first time the two wouldn't be sharing a room. Since day one, the twins had never been separated. And at some point, it became impossible to do so. After losing their parents, the two went from family member to family member, never staying in one place for long. Never making friends, never joining any clubs, not like she wanted to. She had actually liked living with this particular aunt, she never seemed to show her pity for the twins, like most did. Minato especially hated it, so she was happy to see him relax a bit in her presence.
But it never lasts forever. Their aunt thought it'd be a great idea to attend the high school they were meant to, to live in the place they were supposed to. While neither of them particularly minded this, Hamuko was upset to see that the girls and boys were separated by floors. She tried looking into other dorms that had double rooms, but was stuck with this particular dorm. Minato didn't seem to mind, of course he didn't. It makes it harder for Hamuko to wake him up every morning.
“The next stop is Iwatodai.”
Hamuko happened to hear that announcement.
She shook her brother slightly, trying to wake him up to gather their things (what little they had, anyway).
Stirring, the boy looked up at his sister while rubbing his eyes, “We're here?”
“About to be,” She said while she turned down the volume on her headphones to hear him better.
The twins gathered their things before standing to exit the train.
As the two walked off, more announcements rang throughout the empty train station. The ticking of the clock mounted on the wall echoed throughout the station.
Suddenly, the night sky had morphed into an eerie green, with the moon seeming much larger than usual. The clock stopped ticking, and the lights of the station went out.
Stepping outside the station, the twins were met with blood covering the ground and coffins scattered around.
Hamuko pulled out a notepad from her bag, where she had hastily written the directions to the dorm the day before. Minato followed suit as Hamuko started walking, neither seeming fazed by their surroundings.
Eventually the two found the dorm, Minato complaining all the way about how tired he was. Hamuko was relieved when she saw the name of the building, knowing she could finally pass out herself (and not deal with her brother's whining).
Walking into the dorm, they're greeted with darkness, with only the moonlight illuminating their way as it shines through the windows.
“Welcome.”
A voice breaks the silence, the two turning to see a little boy waiting in front of them. He had dark blue hair like Minato's, and wore what looked like striped pajamas. His bright blue eyes stared them down creepily, yet with curiosity.
The boy holds out a piece of paper to them.
“If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract.” the boy says.
Minato reaches to grab the paper from him, while Hamuko leans forward to read what it says.
“Don't be scared. All it says is that you accept full responsibility for your actions.”
Without thinking, the twins signed the paper one after the other. After returning it, the paper disappears in the boy's hands.
The boy smirks at them. “Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away”
He turns to look up at the moon shining through the dorm's windows, smiling fondly at it.
“And so it begins…”
“Who's there?!”
The voice cracks through the silence of the dorm, and with it, the boy is gone.
Suddenly, a girl is standing at the end of the stairs. She looks taken aback by the presence of the twins.
Her long brown hair is highlighted by the green tint of the night, with her pink cardigan standing out against the darkness of the dormitory. The bright red arm band stands out the most, but the words on it are intelligible in the darkness.
“How can you…. But it's…”
Trembling slightly and taking a step back, the startled girl reaches for something shining on her thigh. It looks like a revolver.
“Wait!”
Another voice breaks through the tension.
Suddenly, the lights flicker back on, and the twins are faced with two girls, most likely residents of the dorm.
The second girl steps forward, flicking back the long curly red hair that had fallen on her shoulder. She was wearing the same arm band.
“I didn't think you two would arrive so late,” she started, reaching a hand out to the two of them. “My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm.”
Hamuko steps forward taking her hand (as if being the spokesperson for the two of them).
“Who're they?” the startled girl from before walks towards them, almost hiding behind the taller girl.
“They're transfer students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here. They'll eventually be moved to a normal dorm.”
Hamuko didn't remember that being mentioned. But at this point, she didn't really care.
The shorter girl leaned toward the taller, still kind of hiding behind her, when she quietly asked, “Is it okay for them to be here?”
The taller girl- Kirijo- looks back at her, responding with a short “I guess we'll see,” before fully turning toward the other girl.
“This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you two.”
The wary girl- Takeba- steps forward a bit, coming out from behind Kirijo. “...Hi. You can call me Takeba,” she states with lingering caution.
Hamuko tries to make a polite, good first impression, “Nice to meet you.”
“Why do you have a gun?” Minato deadpans.
Hamuko’s smile widens as she elbows her brother in the side, while he grabs his side and shoots her back with a grumpy glare (she's not looking at him but she can tell).
“Huh?!” Takeba says, obviously taken aback. She quickly tries to pick herself back up, “Umm… well it's sorta like a hobby…” which she says more like a question than an answer.
Backtracking again, she starts, “Well, not a hobby! But…” Kirijo attempts to save Takeba by saying “You know how it is these days. It's for self defense,” her answer lacking the nervousness that Takeba's had. “It's not a real gun, of course.”
She looks completely serious while saying this (which reminded Hamuko of her brother), as the shorter girl squirmed beside her.
“It's getting late. The boys forms are on the second floor, and the girls on the third,” Kirijo tells them. “Your things should already be there. I suggest you retire for the night.” She looks over at Takeba.
“Oh… I'll show you the way. Follow me,” Takeba says while leading them to the stairs, seemingly having composed herself a bit.
The two follow her up the stairs, where Takeba shows Minato his room first. His room was the further door down.
“This is it… pretty easy to remember right? Since it's right at the end of the hall…” she trails off, her mind obviously somewhere else.
As if suddenly remembering what she was doing, Takeba perks up and turns to face Minato. “So, any questions?”
“Does that kid live here too?” Minato asks, his face as stoic as usual, but Hamuko can see how drowsy he really is. She stifles a yawn, before realizing what her brother just blurted out to this random girl they just met.
“Kid? What are you talking about? …C'mon, that's not funny.” Takeba pouts. She doesn't seem to know what he's talking about.
Minato shrugs before reaching for the doorknob, seemingly too sleepy to care at the moment. Takeba turns to Hamuko.
“Alright, I'll show you yours too. Follow me,” she starts walking toward the staircase.
Hamuko obliges, but quickly glances back to watch her brother enter his room. She thinks about how he's probably going to pass out on his bed before even changing out of his clothes.
While tailing behind the shorter girl, Hamuko starts, “... I'm sorry about my brother. He's just tired…. but he is a rather blunt person,” Takeba turns to look at her.
“Don't worry about it! It is pretty late. I wasn't expecting anyone at all…” Takeba trails off, seeming to drift into her own thoughts.
They stop at the end of the hallway, her room being at the end just like her brother's. She started thinking that she could just bang on the floor to wake her brother up in the morning.
“Umm… Can I ask you something?” Takeba's voice interrupts Hamuko's thoughts, maybe she was more tired than she realized. “What is it?” she replies.
“On your way here from the station… was everything okay?” the shorter girl asks.
Hamuko, not entirely sure what she means (and too tired to think much into it), flashes her usual smile and answers yes. She's starting to think she'll probably collapse onto bed and fall asleep without changing either.
“I see… Nevermind then,” Takeba says while playing with her hair. When she turns to leave, she says something else that Hamuko couldn't make out, and ends with a quick “Goodnight!” before descending down the stairs. Finally free from socializing, Hamuko enters her room, throws everything to the ground, and plops onto her bed without even getting under the covers.