Chapter 6

CHAPTER ONE The school was located in a town called Mizonofuchi, and its name was the rather prosaic Mizonofuchi Elementary. Of course, Mizonofuchi was a tiny place, extremely rural and deep in the mountains. It didn’t need three or even two elementary schools, so that name may have been all that was required. The timeworn wooden school building was said to have been built in the early thirties, and it had a sort of dignity about it. It was also the kind of building that looked like it might be haunted, even in the daytime, so it was no wonder Asuna Watase hated it. I mean, it’s scary. At this rate, she’d be mistaking her own reflection in the window for a ghost. A ghost with big, adorable eyes, a trim nose, petite lips, and a cute pixie cut, she thought, if only to distract herself from the public execution taking place in her sixth-grade class. Also known as “getting their tests back.” It wasn’t a particularly unusual event. The answer sheets from the students’ term finals were being returned to them and their scores announced aloud—that was all. That was all, but Asuna wasn’t very fond of this particular way of doing things. That may seem surprising, given her stellar track record, but high achievers have their reasons just as much as underachievers. Even if Asuna could ace the exam with ease, provided she’d listened carefully in class, there were students who scored twenty or thirty points. Asuna ended up in first place on every test, and she was a prime target for jealousy from her classmates. “Asuna Watase.” Ms. Ikeda, her homeroom teacher, read off her name. Asuna crossed the creaking floor to the platform. “You’re at the head of the class again, Asuna,” the teacher said. “You did very well.” “…Thank you.” Why did she say that? Nobody needed to know. But she only murmured a soft, diplomatic thank you. Sure enough, as she took her answer sheet and returned to her seat, she heard whispering. “C’mon, Asuna got top place again?” “I mean, she’s committee chair. I bet she glues herself to her desk.” “You said it.” I do not…, she thought. However, Asuna was the type who struggled to say what was on her mind. Maybe she’d intentionally get a bad score on the next test— Ha. I could never do something like that. Sighing inwardly, Asuna returned to her seat. The teacher kept returning tests for a while longer, and then, after she’d given back all the answer sheets, she set her hands on the podium. “All right, in closing, I have a warning to pass on,” she said. “Recently, several students have reported seeing a bear around Obuchi. Just in case, I want you to go straight home, without taking any side trips.” Asuna had been gazing absently at her answer sheet, but she finally looked up. …A bear? Asuna’s favorite lookout point was partway up the side of Mount Obuchi. It was an outcrop that had a view over the entire town, and she always listened to her crystal radio up there after school. It may sound like a rather lonely way for an elementary schooler to spend the time after class, but Asuna wanted friends as much as other people did. She longed to spend the hours after school with them. But she didn’t know how she was supposed to interact with friends. That being the case, the outcrop on Obuchi was an extremely comfortable place for Asuna: She didn’t have to be concerned about other people. After a few more announcements, they paid their respects, and the closing homeroom class was over. I’ll just hurry home. On that thought, she’d reached her shoe locker when someone called to her from behind. “Aaaasuna.” When she turned around, her classmate, Yuu Yazaki, was standing there. She smiled at Asuna. “Want to go home together?” Asuna was so happy—but she couldn’t give the response she was supposed to. “Oh…um.” She didn’t know what to say. Even if they did go home together, what should she talk about on the way? If Yuu was only going to feel uncomfortable and avoid her afterward, it would be better to keep the distance between them where it was now. After that moment of deliberation, Asuna told her, “Um, I’m sorry; I’m in a bit of a hurry. Next time, okay?” “Oh. Okay then, next time.” Yuu waved, looking a little disappointed. Waving back, Asuna thought, Shoot. I did it again. She was well aware that this was why she couldn’t make friends. Still, if that knowledge had helped her do anything about it, this wouldn’t have been so hard. With some remorse, she changed her shoes and left through the main entrance. A rural town spread out before her. Not one of the buildings was over three stories tall; unpaved roads crisscrossed the landscape among all different kinds of farm fields. All that was visible in the distance were tree-covered mountains, and the striking steel towers that stood on them here and there. She walked down a gravel road, through the residential district, over a railroad crossing, past the familiar old rice shop, and up a hilly road flanked by stone walls. Asuna lived in a traditional two-story Japanese house, the type that was standard in Mizonofuchi. It had a tile roof that reflected the sunlight and whitewashed walls that were beginning to darken with age. There was no gate out here in the country, and the spacious front garden ran right up to the wooden door. Seeing that there was a white car parked in the garage by the front door, Asuna gave a little cheer. Mom’s home! To Asuna, that was a very happy thing indeed. “I’m home!” Unlocking the front door, she called into the house. “Welcome back, Asuna,” her mother’s voice responded. Hastily kicking off her shoes, Asuna headed for the living room. Her mother was just leaving her bedroom; she was in her pajamas. Asuna quickly took her test out of her bag. “Mom, look, today I—” “Oh…Asuna. I’m sorry, but can it wait? I want to get as much sleep as I can before I go in to work tonight.” Her mother sounded very tired. Asuna’s mother almost never let herself be seen looking anything less than sharp, but she was a nurse at the clinic, and she’d worked last night as well. If she was so short on sleep she couldn’t hide it, this was no time for Asuna to be reporting something as trivial as her complicated feelings about a test result. “Oh… Okay. Yeah, get some rest, Mom.” “I’m sorry, Asuna.” “No, it’s fine.” I should be thanking her, really, she thought. Her mother had been asleep, but she’d gotten up just because Asuna had come home. She turned around and headed for the front door again. “I’m going out for a bit. Have a good night at work, Mom.” “Thanks. Have fun out there.” She set off running. She hurried down the stone-walled slope, greeted an old lady she knew in passing, and after making sure no one was watching, she turned onto the railroad tracks at the crossing. She was going to Mount Obuchi and her favorite lookout. The only way to get to Asuna’s spot was to cross a railway bridge that spanned a valley. The bridge was only for one train line, so it wasn’t very wide, and it was easily over a dozen meters to the surface of the river below. But this had never frightened her. Trains only came through once every few hours, and even then, she never forgot to put her ear to the rail to check, just in case, and the bridge was made of good, solid iron. Just like always, Asuna began to run across the bridge—and that’s when it happened. Something was wrong, and her footsteps slowed to a halt. She’d noticed too late—but she couldn’t hear any birds or insects. It was summer. Ordinarily, all sorts of wild birds and cicadas would have been causing an absolute racket. As that thought crossed her mind, Asuna finally spotted it. It must have been hiding in the shadows somewhere; it was only about ten meters away from her. Asuna’s legs went weak, and she couldn’t move. What is that? Up there, on the railroad bridge, was a brown creature she’d never seen before. It was big. Huge. Gargantuan. I have to run. An instinctive fear was telling her to flee, but her body wouldn’t do what she wanted. Even then, an oddly calm corner of her mind had observed that the creature was rather like a bear. It was much larger than the ones she’d seen on TV, though, and there were a lot of odd protuberances on its back. When it reared up, there was a geometric pattern in aqua blue and green on its stomach. It’s a monster. In the brief time it took that thought to cross her mind, the monster was right in front of her. It was so close their faces nearly touched; its breath ruffled her hair, and it raised its right foreleg, then casually swung it down at Asuna. In that moment, even Asuna didn’t know what she thought. It’s all over? Or I’m going to die? Or perhaps It’s going to kill me? There wasn’t much difference between them, but—all she felt was wind. The next thing Asuna knew, she was in the arms of a boy. They were about ten meters away, out of range of the monster’s attack. She’d been rescued. Slowly, the boy set Asuna on her feet. Then he stood in front of her, shielding her. He looked back over his shoulder, giving her a smile that couldn’t have been gentler. “It’s all right,” he said to her, as if he were talking to a child. With his long hair and well-formed features, it would have been easy to mistake this boy for a girl. He seemed to be about Asuna’s age, maybe a little older. She felt her heart racing. Wow, he’s really cool. The fact that she was able to think that while they were still in danger struck her as oddly funny. As the boy confronted the monster, his handsome face promptly turned serious, and he took something from the neck of his white shirt. The object shone blue in the sunlight. It was a pendant that looked like a crystal. Swinging the pendant slowly, the boy quietly approached the monster. The monster gave a bestial growl, its eyes following the pendant—and with a splutch, a lump of meat fell from its throat to the ground. Asuna couldn’t tear her eyes away from the grotesque mass. “It’s at the end of its life.” The boy spoke as he confronted the monster, but it wasn’t clear who he was speaking to. “So this is the fate of those who remain on the surface…?” What was he talking about? The next moment, the monster swung its right foreleg, and the boy leaped out of the way. His long hair fanned out in the wind, and as he landed, he unleashed a kick that opened the monster’s leg and spattered bright-red blood. As he watched it shriek in pain, there was sadness in the boy’s eyes. Asuna didn’t know why yet. Despite his emotion—or perhaps because of it—she screamed. “Stop! Don’t kill it!” She doubted that she was motivated by anything so noble as protecting an animal. She simply felt that the boy himself might not want to kill the monster. She’d distracted the boy for a moment, and the monster seized on the opportunity. Its right leg swept through again, catching the boy and sending him flying easily. The boy slammed into the bridge railing, coughing painfully as the wind was knocked out of him. He immediately tried to get up, unsuccessfully, and the monster’s claws mercilessly slashed through him— Or that was the scenario that played out in her mind’s eye. However, in the next instant… “—!” Bright light flared from the boy’s pendant, and the monster cringed away from it, freezing in its tracks. As if trying to keep the light in, the boy clutched the pendant with his left hand—his right arm hung limply, injured by that earlier attack—but the light spilled out, and— “No!” the boy screamed… …and the monster’s jaw vanished without a sound, as if the light had sheared it away… …and its enormous headless body collapsed slowly onto the rails. Asuna had no idea what was going on. She just stood there, stunned. “……” Biting his lip, the boy got to his feet. He briefly bowed his head to the monster’s corpse. Then they heard a train whistle. Detecting the foreign object on the rails, the oncoming train hastily applied its brakes. Without even glancing at the decelerating train, the boy walked over to Asuna. “This is the last time,” he said, picking her up again. Everything that had happened in the past few minutes was a muddled mess in Asuna’s mind even without the embarrassment of being held by a boy. “U-um, just a—” was all she finally managed. The boy gave her another kind smile. “Trust me.” And then he jumped off the bridge—down the head-spinning distance to the forest below. Whaaaaaaaaaa—?! Overwhelmed by terror, Asuna fainted.