Hisa Momoi
Location: Pinefall High - Sports Field
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy
“Hmm...perhaps. Speaking of which…” I continued the mental conversation with John while walking, “It seems like we have another case of Elizaveta. A weird new student who claims she’s been with us ever since the bus drive, and some - apparently those who don’t remember the time leaps - remember her being there. I don’t know who she replaced yet.”
There were too many people I haven’t seen yet today. Would have been too hard to make a guess, but maybe Elise and Vivi will find out more about it in the meantime. Judging by how they hanged out with the girl, it was likely that they were just as interested in finding out as us.
“There’s also Subaru, who...turned into...Afrobaru?” I added, relaying a picture of the girl I saw earlier in the cafeteria and who I assumed to be Subaru, “Not as major of a change, but...it’s still weird.”
As we caught up to Ubon, the disappointment on her face already told me that the storage room was locked. Well, I guess it was to be expected.
“For the nuclear explosion...Well, it wasn’t some ordinary device. There was this cloaked guy, our ‘captor’, whose magic was somehow based on the spectrum of light. I haven’t figured out yet how he did it exactly, but...somehow he did manage to create a pretty large scale explosion.”
Trying to analyze my own death, how Elise and Pyry died, and how our murderer was doing these things, was...not very pleasant, not when the experience was still so fresh.
But then...will I ever be able to forget?
For now, it certainly felt like something that will haunt me forever.
“Well, that’s a shame,” I said to Ubon upon reaching the door as well, “Maybe the janitor has the key? I wonder if we’re supposed to go in there in the first place. Though…”
A peek couldn’t hurt, could it?
“Still...that’s certainly a pretty ominous message. Makes me wonder why the disembodied man even bothered to share it, too.”
Some parts were more obvious than others, however. ‘It will never end’ likely referred to what we’re experiencing, while ‘you all’ probably meant us, who are experiencing the time loops. But...protect what? Recollect what crimes?
“Doesn’t entirely make sense to me right now either. I...certainly don’t remember committing any crimes that week. Or even before, really - though it would be obnoxious of me to say that he’d just make false claims like that without a reason.”
As I stood in front of the door, one could see a strange glimmer in my left eye, if just for a moment. Of course...there was a lot more to it, it was part of my being, part of the reason why I was who I was. But more importantly…
The interior of the storage room became visible for my eyes, as the wall and the door obscuring our view morphed, faded into something else - an almost completely transparent, flowing mass with a grayish hue.
“I have a theory forming anyways, but honestly, there is so much that would need to be discussed, and I’d need to properly collect my thoughts to connect the dots. There’s too much weird stuff going on around this town, and it looks like we’re way too deep in it now as well.”
Inside, it was just about what was to be expected from a sports storage - large shelves stacked with various boxes filling the whole building. Boxes filled with football, baseball, and other sports equipment, goal posts, uniforms, one of the owl costumes from yesterday…But then, as I was scanning the room, something moving caught my attention.
“Still...whatever your ‘crime’ is, or why you’re involved in all of this, try not to solve it all alone. I...even after just this one time, I know that I could go mad if I didn’t have others to share my pain and troubles with. I can’t even imagine what would happen after I had to experience the same thing for the 10th, or the 100th time.”
A person, between the aisles towards the middle of the room, carrying and rummaging through the boxes vigorously. Doesn’t seem like they noticed us yet, but...Why is the door locked if they’re in there?
“But then...you seem to be sort of broken already. You aren’t so...ordinary, and indifferent without a reason. Least that’s what I would like to think. Though, sorry, I don’t have the right to make assumptions.”
The mysterious person, far as I could tell, did not look like anyone from the faculty, or from our class. Or like anyone I’ve ever seen around this place.
Could it be another person who replaced someone?
Still...even if that is the case, how did they have the key to this place? Why is searching through the boxes in a sports storage the first thing they do on the first morning of school? Why did they lock the door behind themselves?
It was too suspicious…
“Hey Ubon, I just remembered. Elise talked to the janitor earlier, and I think she got some keys. Since you are the fastest, do you think you could get them from her? She’s in the cafeteria. Would be worth a try.” I said as I turned towards the blue haired girl, hoping that she would take the bait.
And, judging from her reaction and how she was already in a mad dash towards the main building, she certainly did - but with how fast she was going, we certainly didn’t have a lot of time. Hopefully Elise will hold her up for a bit.
“By the way, we’re about to break into the storage room.” I explained to John in a - probably - too casual manner, “There’s a mysterious person inside I’ve never seen before, and they look suspicious. Just...stay a bit further away so that you don’t get into trouble.”
Then, turning my attention towards Pyry, I asked the obvious, and rather simple question that had to be asked through our link.
“You think you can kick the door in?”
Seeing his reaction, and how eager he was to do just that without asking any more questions, my lips curled into a wide grin as I turned back towards the door.
“Just be careful not to wreck the whole thing. And there's someone inside, so expect that.” I added one last thought, knowing just how powerful he was.