Denkiya Hitomi, the girl with a slightly strange name, was sent to the hospital by ambulance, just in case.
That being said, it was apparent that she only had things like light scrapes and burns... In other words, that she was healthy and whole. She was exhausted, weak, emaciated, and haggard, so the doctors recommended she stay in the hospital. They’d wanted to keep an eye on her, but she firmly insisted on going home, instead. And because Denkiya herself didn’t want to stay, and there was no reason she had had to go to the hospital in the first place... The hospital decided to respect her wishes.
That being said, she was still a material witness in an inexplicable incident. She was a minor, and incredibly confused as well, but the police questioned her anyway, just in case.
However, Denkiya wasn’t well enough for questioning, so the police were having trouble figuring out what to ask and how... They ended up doing it the cumbersome way, and waited for another day, when she was calmer. The day was already ending, and they couldn’t keep her restrained for long. In reality, it was the time for children to go back to their homes.
“Aaahh—” She was in a common cafe near the hospital where the police interview was being held. Even though Sayuri didn’t normally interact with people if she could help it, the police were very persistent in their questioning, so she was left feeling completely exhausted. Sayuri is one of the victim’s bereaved family, so they didn’t treat her as a suspect, though. But somehow, she had found Denkiya Hitomi, a survivor in a baffling situation— although Sayuri wasn’t sure if that was what you would call it. She wasn’t sure if they were suspicious of that or something else, but they’d questioned her about it insistently.
Sayuri herself didn’t know what was going on, though. She’d heard that her daughter had died, and had come to town in a panic. Then, she’d seen the grotesque corpse in the morgue of the police station. She was told to try and find her daughter, somehow, in the mass that looked like several boys and girls condensed into one, and she had been troubled in the extreme. Really, there was no way to compare it.
Denkiya Hitomi came out of that— from inside of the corpses, as if she was crawling out of it. Sayuri didn’t understand the meaning of that phenomenon. The police, too, were nothing but bewildered.
Being asked about the details of that event so thoroughly, unable to say anything but platitudes like, ‘I don’t know,’ and ‘I’m surprised, too’... Sayuri was left not yet feeling the reality of her daughter’s death; only time was moving on. Having already reduced several cigarettes into ash, Sayuri put the last one into her mouth, and slowly, slowly, she breathed out smoke.
“That must have been hard.” For some reason, the one consoling her was Denkiya Hitomi, who was sitting across from her. Even though she kept insisting that she wanted to go home, for some reason she’s been staying in the cafe, watching Sayuri.
Denkiya Hitomi didn’t have any really outstanding features, but she was still a pretty girl. She said that she was a high schooler, the same age as her daughter. She had an average physique for her age. For whatever reason, Denkiya was wearing a branded apron that said, “Monochrome Electronics” on it. And just earlier, she had taken off the bandana on her head— it was probably in the way. She had folded it, and currently had the bandana sitting on her lap.
Overall, she was a plain-looking girl, but her black hair was both glossy and pretty. Although, as one would expect, she must not have had time to fix her hair. It was disheveled, and here and there she had hair sticking out as if she had just been sleeping.
“Sorry for smoking this much.” There were people who hated tobacco, so just in case, Sayuri excused herself. It was the last one, after all. And since she had already lit it, she wanted to finish it. Getting cigarettes up in the mountains is hard; she had to treasure every one.
While letting that and other inconsequential thoughts run through her head, Sayuri scratched at her scalp. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of these things— she just couldn’t calm down. It was like she was seeing a dream.
“My bad,” Sayuri apologized again. “You had something you wanted to talk about? ...Uhmm, Denkiya-san.” Sayuri had been detained by Hitomi’s desperate invitation. So now, they were seated across from each other in a cafe, facing each other like this. Apparently under the apron, Hitomi was wearing the same uniform as her daughter’s, but she had never met Hitomi until now, so Sayuri was bewildered. Even if she said she had something she wanted to talk about, Sayuri couldn’t imagine what it was.
“Please, call me Hitomi. I don’t like being called by my last name. It’s not like I hate my parents— but it’s like a joke, isn’t it? Because my family owns an electronics store.” In reality, Hitomi got along quite well with her parents. They say that her parents, who were on a business trip to the city, are in the middle of rushing back after hearing that their daughter was caught in an accident. Although if they were in the city, it’ll take quite a while by train; this town isn’t just rural, it’s remote.
This child doesn’t seem to have any siblings or family, so until her parents return... She’s alone, she must be feeling lonely. Sayuri thought to at least be a partner in conversation. “I hated my last name, too, when I was young—” When Sayuri said that, unable to think of an appropriate reply, Hitomi tilted her head.
“Umm, I don’t mean to be rude, but...” Hitomi asked, “is ‘Hanemori Joururi’ your real name?”
“Before that,” Sayuri clarified. “Where did you hear that name?”
“Where, you say— I can’t really explain it well,” Hitomi apologized. “It’ll be a long story, do you want to hear it?”
“Yes,” the older woman affirmed. “I’m gonna be the one to look after you until your parents come back. If talking will take your mind off it, talk all you want. ...Would you like some coffee or something?”
“Sorry. It must be hard for you too, Hanemori-san. You lost your daughter, after all.”
“Don’t call me Hanemori,” Sayuri instructed, “although it’s not like I really hate my last name.” Flagging down an employee, Sayuri ordered coffee. It looked like Hitomi was hungry, so she got sandwiches, too. Sayuri came down without eating, so she was also hungry, but right now she didn’t feel like she’d be able to swallow a thing. Her daughter had died.
While showing concern for Sayuri, Hitomi started to talk, intermittently, about a very curious story: getting lost in an alternate dimension, and the boys and girls she met there. It was a tragic, dark and creepy story that defied common sense. Sayuri was unable to digest it well.
Didn’t she just see a nightmare or something? she thought.
Hitomi had crawled her way out of a weird corpse. Even that, Sayuri was thinking that she might have just been seeing things. But Hitomi spoke so seriously, so earnestly, that Sayuri started thinking that it may just be true. It’s not like denying Hitomi’s story would solve anything.