Chapter Text
“This is Tatsumi Port Island Station,” an automated voice says. The sound causes my sister, Kotone, who’s been sleeping with her head on my shoulder, to stir. She lifts her head, blinks sleepily, then lets out a quiet yawn, stretching as she does so.
“What time is it?” she murmurs, her voice thick and tired. I flip open my phone, turning up the brightness so she can see. It reads 11:57 . Kotone rubs at her reddish-brown eyes, perking up more as she fully wakes up. Her brown hair is tied up in a messy ponytail that she attempts to smooth out before giving up.
“This is Tatsumi Port Island Station,” the speakers repeat.
“We’re at our stop, c’mon,” Kotone tells me, standing up and grabbing her bag. We collect our belongings and exit the train to find a mostly deserted station. A small handful of people are sprinkled around here and there, but for the most part, the place is empty. According to the directions sent to us from the school, we’re supposed to start attending tomorrow, Gekkoukan High, and our dorm shouldn’t be far from here.
“I’m going to go get a drink from the machine. Do you want anything?” Kotone asks as soon as we exit the station, her eyes already wandering around curiously. She waits exactly three seconds before rushing off to find the nearest vending machine, ignoring the fact that I didn’t even get to respond.
She’s only gone for a few moments when there’s a sudden shift in the air. My body tenses on instinct. One moment, I’m looking around at a sleepy station, the next, the sky turns a sickly shade of green, and the few people milling about are replaced by black, coffin-shaped boxes, leaving the station dead. The puddles dotting the ground no longer look like water, but like blood. That’s not normal, I find myself thinking. I start wandering between the coffins, poking at a few out of curiosity.
It suddenly occurs to me that Kotone could’ve ended up like everyone else, and I start weaving through the dark boxes, searching for any sign of her. An unfamiliar feeling curls in my chest when I don’t see my sister. Maybe she did turn into one? The thought is thrown out when I hear a quiet, shaky voice call my name.
“M- Makoto?” The feeling in my chest evaporates. I turn to find the source of the voice. Oh good. She’s safe. Kotone stands behind me, putting obvious distance between herself and the dark coffin objects that dot the area. Her face is a few shades paler than usual, and her eyes are wide and worried.
“I’m here,” I tell her, moving to stand in front of her. She looks up at me, searching my expression.
“What’s happening, Mako?” Her voice still wavers, but it’s calmer than before. I shrug.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should stick around.” She nods and takes my hand, her entire body relaxing slightly. We move through a maze of coffins, following the instructions to our dorm.
Kotone is quiet as we walk, her hand gripping mine tightly, as though she doesn’t want to let go. I find myself squeezing back. We walk for several minutes in silence until we reach a large, multistory, brick building with a sign next to the door that says Iwotodai Dorm. Kotone pauses in front of the door and takes a deep breath. Almost immediately, her posture relaxes, and her face shifts from a wary frown to a polite smile. When she gives me a nod, I turn the handle and follow her inside.
The dorm itself looks fairly typical. Furniture is arranged around a coffee table by the windows next to the door, while a half-wall on the opposite side creates a small area for a PC and a small bookshelf against the wall. Standing right behind the counter is a boy in striped pajamas, no older than maybe ten.
“Welcome,” he says happily, a small smile adorning his face. His blue eyes almost look like they’re glowing in the moonlight that seeps in through the windows of the dorm. A mole is dotted right under his left eye. He has short, dark hair that looks black until I notice a blue tint to it, covering the top of his head. He snaps his fingers, and then he’s gone, reappearing in front of us. “You two are late. I’ve been waiting a long time,” he says, voice thick like honey. The boy disappears again, causing Kotone and I to look around for him. He appears next to the counter, by two red books that flip open when he gestures to us.
“If you wish to proceed, sign your name here- it’s a contract,” he adds when he sees the skeptical look on my sister’s face. His expression softens a tad. “There’s no need to be scared. All it says is that you accept full responsibility for your actions.”
My sister shoots me a worried glance as I approach the contract from the boy. The contract reads: “Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. I hereby agree to the statement above, and I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.” I sign my name on the signature line and look at Kotone, giving her a slight shake of my head. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. She just gives me a slight smile, grabs the pen, and signs her name on the other contract. We hand the papers to the boy, who takes them and holds them tight. He holds up the contracts before us, a genuine smile painted on his lips before they disappear in smoke.
“Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us to the same end. You can’t plug your ears or cover your eyes.” He reaches out his hand, and black smoke envelops him as he vanishes, leaving the room dead silent.
One glance at my sister tells me she’s lost in thought. Distantly, I wonder what exactly she’s thinking. I haven’t been able to tell for years, ever since she started smiling again.
“...Koto?” My soft voice sounds loud in the silence. Kotone suddenly shakes her head a little, her eyes returning to the present. Muffled footsteps suddenly sound from the other side of the room, by the stairs up.
“Who’s there?” A girl about our age stands there. She has light brown hair that’s swept to the side, large, scared chocolate eyes, a pink shirt with a red bow, and a short skirt. There’s a red armband on her left arm, though I can’t make out what it says.
“How are you up at this hour? You two must be one of them !” she exclaims, her hand darting down to a holster on her thigh. I’m pushing Kotone behind me before I’ve even registered what’s going on. I can get hurt, but she… My sister’s eyes are wide as she peers over my shoulder at the girl across from us. She doesn’t deserve to suffer like that.
“Ma’am, I can assure you we mean no harm! There’s no need to fire!” Kotone pleads from behind me. Her hand is shaking as she clutches mine. I glance at the girl, watching her fingers as she squeezes the trigger.
“Takeba, wait!” The girl gasps in surprise and drops her weapon. Another girl runs down the stairs behind her, rushing to her side and grabbing her arm. This girl has dark red hair and matching eyes. Unlike the trembling brunette, she’s composed, and her presence seems to bring some level of comfort to her companion.
The lights suddenly flicker on, and the brunette- Takeba- looks up at the ceiling, murmuring something about the lights. Kotone moves from behind me, her fingers brushing lightly against my gray jacket. I don’t stop her, but I keep my eyes on the silvery lump on the floor by Takeba’s feet.
“Wait, so you’re not…” Takeba’s voice has me glancing up at her. Her lips are twisted into a confused frown. Next to her, her companion sighs, then offers Kotone and I a tired smile.
“Hello. I apologize for that. I didn’t think you’d arrive so late, so Takeba here assumed you were intruders,” the redhead explains. “I’m Mitsuru Kirijo, one of the third years in this dorm. As of now, there is only one other resident of our dorm, but I believe meeting him can wait until tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, we truly did not mean to frighten you, Takeba,” Kotone starts, keeping her voice polite and professional. There’s a smile on her face, though it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Why do you have a gun?” I ask quietly, not really expecting an answer. Kotone subtly hits me on my wrist with the back of her hand. Takeba seems to take me seriously, and she starts stammering out excuses.
“I- it’s uh, sorta like a hobby?” she tries. Kotone’s smile wavers a bit at the obvious lie.
“Your hobby is… gun ?”
“It’s for self-defense,” Kirijo-san covers for her, her voice calm. “You know how things are these days. It’s not a real gun, of course, but it can deter intruders.”
“That makes sense, though I didn’t realize this area had a lot of violence,” Kotone says from behind me, nodding like everything made perfect sense.
“It generally doesn’t, but we are two high-school females with only one other person living here, so it makes sense for protection purposes,” Kirijo-san explains. “I am aware that you two most probably have more questions for us, but I think it wise to let those wait until the morning. It is getting late.”
“I can take you two to your rooms,” Takeba suddenly offers, perking up slightly. “Please follow me.” She has an apologetic look on her face, like she’s trying to say sorry without actually saying it. I glance at my sister only to find her face frozen in a polite smile, the kind that begs everyone to keep moving, to not try and look past it. Her eyes are distant– she must be back in her thoughts.
When we make it to what will be my room, Takeba turns to us, her chocolate brown eyes still holding guilt.
“I’m really sorry for what happened, for the record. I was just scared.”
“It’s okay, we understand,” Kotone responds politely. “We can just restart, forget this ever happened.”
“Okay! My name is Yukari Takeba, I’m a second year.” Takeba stretches her hand out in front of her, expecting us to take it.
“I’m Kotone Yuki, and this is my twin brother…” My sister glances at me. Her eyes are still distant, but the expectation is still there.
“Makoto Yuki,” I tell Takeba, my voice soft and monotone.
“We are transferring here from Okinawa as second years,” Kotone finishes, the words sounding rehearsed.
“Well, here’s hoping we get the same classes. Anyways, like Kirijo-senpai said, we should head to bed.” She points at me. “Yuki, this is your room.”
“And Yuki,” she points at Kotone, “your room is directly above his, that way you two are close.”
“Please, you can just call us by our first names. It’s kind of confusing to have two Yuki’s,” my sister laughs, already moving to go upstairs. Takeba quickly bids me good night and follows my sister. I watch her leave, wondering if she picked up on how forced Kotone’s laugh sounded. Does it really matter, though?
Quietly, I push my door open and close it behind me as I step into my new room for the next two years.
The room is simple: light blue walls, a bed, a TV, and a desk with a laptop. I set my bag down by the closet next to the door. It lands with a muffled thud. Without even unpacking, I crawl into bed. I’m asleep before my head has hit the pillow.