April 11 2011

/_"I'm tired of diets, enough with going to the gym! Good thing there's something even I can handle!"_\

Ahh, Risette. I own far too many pin-ups of you. Two of them in that bikini, now that I think about it.

Having wasted enough time swooning (in a manly way, just to be clear) over the pretty girl on the TV, I finally boarded my train. I chose the nearest empty seat I could find and took a minute to breathe before e-mailing my uncle to let him know when I'd be arriving. I'll be staying at his house for this school year and as the only person I 'know' in my new town it's his job to welcome me when I get there.

Time to people watch to keep me occupied.

Behind me, family of four. Lots of luggage. Going on vacation? Or coming back, I suppose.

To my left, guy in a suit. Clearly a businessman. Expression says this isn't a trip that will be filled with smiles and handshakes. Based on the damage to his fingernails he's nervous, and with how extensive it is his nerves have been fraying for a long time.

And opposite me... that... that is a huge nose. I mean his hands are clasped under that thing and his nose goes past them. Is that even possible? And... when did the train car get smaller and turn blue?

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." said nose-man in an inviting tone.

… Hallucinating. Where the hell did this come from? Did someone put something in my coffee or what?

Just... Smile and nod at the nice imaginary people so the real ones don't think you're crazy.

The man with the preternatural beak just chuckled to himself. "It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

An old man with a hunch and grotesque appearance. My hallucinations are going literary today. "Seta Souji. Nice to meet you too."

Idiot! Don't answer out loud! Freaked-out businessman will get worried!

"Allow me to explain. This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the future." Are hallucinations usually this... confusing? Probably. "Now let's take a look into that future, shall we?"

And a pack of cards just appeared out of nowhere. I figure it's best to just roll with it at this point. "Do you believe in fortune telling?" he asked me. Now for the most part I'm not too close-minded about the supernatural. Some things we just can't know, right? But the idea of predicting the future just makes me... uncomfortable.

"No." I answered. "Predicting the future implies everything that happens was always going to happen and we have no control. And if we have no control then we have no purpose. We're just going through the motions."

Now that is an unnerving grin. "Indeed. However, by predicting enough variables you can expect events to follow certain paths, yes? Still, let's see what the cards say of your future. There is no harm in it, after all."

He waved his hand over the deck and 6 cards spread over the table in front of him. He turned the first over. "Ah, the tower in the upright position. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent." He turned over the next, ignoring my rolling eyes. Not like he could blame me for my skepticism. He may as well have said 'Youuu areeee in graaaave daaaaaanger! OoooOOOOOoooh!'

"The Moon in the upright position. This card represents hesitation and mystery. Very interesting indeed!" If you say so, boss. "It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days you will enter into a contract of some sort. After which, you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen."

He waved his hand and the cards on the table vanished. I should just let them talk. Not like they're paying much attention to what I say anyway.

Wait, them? "And she is...?" I said, indicating the young woman to Igor's left.

"Ah, I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place like myself."

"I am here to accompany you through your journey." That's the first thing she's said since this whole acid-trip started.

Igor continued "We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell."

I blinked and suddenly I'm back on the train. Quick look around. No one giving me weird looks so I guess that conversation was just in my head. So... a dream then? Not a hallucination? That's a relief.

I checked my phone. Looks like I've only been out for 20 minutes. Uncle Dojima responded though, telling me they'll meet me outside of Yasoinaba station. I guess he's bringing his daughter with him.

"Hey, over here!" I heard as I came out of the train station. Looking around I only saw two people around so I guess that man would be my uncle calling me over.

The man continued as I walked over. "Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo."

…

...Please say you're my uncle. And also that you didn't mean for that to sound so creepy.

Turns out that yes, it is my Uncle Dojima and the little girl is his daughter Nanako (and thus, my cousin). Dojima seems friendly enough but I think Nanako is a little bit shy. She keeps hiding behind her dad.

As I start following the two towards the car some girl looking fit for Akihabara stops me and hands me a note I dropped. Thanking her for it she brushes it off with the practiced disinterest of a social-climbing high school girl before walking off. Weird. Putting it out of my mind I get in the car and we head for the Dojima house.

I suppose I should start calling it 'home' since that's what it will be for this year. At least this time I'll be able to stay in one place for the full school year, start to finish. It's rare that I end a school year in the same place I started it.

On the way 'home' we stopped off at the gas station and I got an introduction to what people are like in small towns. Friendly, it turns out. The attendant practically offered me a job then and there. I'm really starting to feel a bit woozy though. Sooner we get to the house, the better. Dojima thinks I might be carsick or something. First case of carsickness coming on outside a car that I've ever heard of but he suggests I wander around the shopping district for a bit. Find my way around.

And who should I find?

"Umm, have we met before?" she asks in response to my staring.

I blink uncomprehendingly. It's been like ten minutes. How many silver-haired teenagers does she know? "Yeah? The train station?"

"Oh. Okay." And then she's staring at me as if to say 'go away'.

Not that I'm deterred. I'm too curious. "What's with the outfit?"

"Excuse me?" She asks, eyebrows raised.

"I mean I've only been in town for like twenty minutes but I'm pretty sure there aren't many people wandering around dressed like they're about to go to a cosplay convention."

She snorts. "Yeah? And I bet there aren't many people in this town trying quite so hard to nail the 'cool guy strut' like you are." And with that she goes back to whatever she was doing with that notepad. Well... That's me told.

I wander around the shopping district for a bit, or what's left of it. It's all kind of run-down for some reason. Lot of places are closed down. I consider getting a soda from the vending machine but decide not to keep the Dojimas waiting. I head back to the car and we drive ho-... No. Still weird. We go to their house.

We arrived at the house within a few minutes. Seems like everything in this town is within walking distance which is a nice change of pace (and a nice relief for my wallet). Almost as soon as we got in we sat down to dinner. Dojima was quick to start a conversation. "So your mom and dad are busy as always. Working overseas, was it?"

"Yep." I responded "Again."

He sighed. "I know it's only for a year but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents? It's rough being a kid."

I decided on being candid with him. We're family after all. "I don't know. I've stayed in less pleasant places. And at least this time I'm with family, right? Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Well it's just me and Nanako here so it'll be nice having someone like you around. Like you said, we're family. So make yourself at home."

"I'll do that." I replied, returning his warm smile.

"Well anyway, let's eat." Dojima said, ending the conversation there. Right before his phone rang. "Ugh. Who's calling at this hour?"

It seems whatever the phone call was about, it was urgent. Dojima left without even touching his food, asking Nanako to help me get settled in (and bring in the laundry?). Thus, I'm left alone with Nanako, who turns the TV on to drown out the awkward, deafening silence.

…

…

Okay. This is ridiculous. Anything we talk about has to be more interesting than a weather report. Errrr... "So, what does your dad do?" Yeah, that works.

"He investigates crimes and stuff."

"Like Batman?"

"No, he's a detective."

"Batman's a detective."

She giggled a bit. Success! I got her to laugh! "No. he's a police detective."

Okay. Ice officially broken. Keep the conversation going and we're golden. "So is that where he just-" My question was interrupted by the news. Some scandal about a singer or something. I was only paying attention to the fact that it interrupted what might have been the first step in getting her to stop being so nervous around me.

"This is boring." You're not wrong. Mercifully she changed the channel.

_\_"At Junes, every day is customer appreciation day! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!"_\_

_\_Every day's great at your Ju-nes!_\_

"Every day's great at your Ju-nes!" Nanako sang along with the jingle.

And it was one of the most adorable things I've ever seen! With the waving of the hands and everything! It could be weaponised with how cute that was.

Nanako looked at me and I realised I'd been staring at her with a big, goofy grin on my face. "... Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, all joy from ten seconds ago gone.

Unfortunately, the weird feeling I'd been having all afternoon hadn't passed yet and was destroying my appetite. I only managed to finish half before retreating to my box-filled room. Hopefully it'll pass once I've gotten some rest. I practically dived onto my futon and was out within seconds.

Here's hoping tomorrow is less stressful.

-(-)-

A/N: Yes. This is really happening. And yes, I fully intend to finish it this time. No, this will not follow the same plot (you might have noticed a new character has appeared already). Yes, this still follows FEStory. No, it does not precede FESoul.

Fandom Flux. Podcasts, Let's Plays. Good fun. Go check out our Youtube channel.

And as always, as I have said in every chapter I have ever posted on this site from the very beginning.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Except for chapters 2 and 3 of the original. Which after checking, turns out I didn't say it in those two. Oops.