Mythophobia - {Chapter 07: Just Knowing}

[HPriest]

{Mythophobia}

..

~ {01} ~ {Terminology Me}

"Why am I here?" I continue to ask myself as I move forward through this ruined city. My eyes spot a white bird from time to time and I'm instinctively following it's trail. It's as if it wants to show me something. The next time I see it, it sits on a strange red-orange metallic scrap lying on the rode with it's bigger side halfway into the building next to it. That thing must have been fallen onto the building and the rode from somewhere higher above. The next moment I thought that, that little birds flies away again. I climb over the smaller end and then turn right into another street. "Oh, so that's it from?" I spot something that looks like the four posts of a metallic tower. The ruins blocked me from seeing it earlier. Now I also remember that I've seen that somewhere before. "This city almost looks like Tokyo with that there being the Tokyo Tower."

The bird leads me up a hill of debris from where I finally get somewhat of an overview over the city. Everything lies in ruins. I also spot something like Japanese letters that strengthen my earlier guess about the name of this city. There's a chirp right next to my left ear and I notice that the bird is sitting on my shoulder. It tries to point me to something with its head and eyes, but I first don't understand what it wants to show me. I'm supposed to look at those posts of the Tokyo Tower or whatever tower that is, but only after the 2nd or 3rd look I'm able to spot something hanging down in the middle between two of the posts. Carefully I try to get down that hill and closer to that object. Soon I notice that it's actually a person and not an object. Once I'm close enough I realize that it's a girl hanging there in chains. The bird that rested on my shoulder flies off and towards that girl, landing on her head. She doesn't seem to be alive anymore, but that bird probably didn't lead me here for no reason, so I guess that she's just unconscious, even though the signs on her body tell another thing. I move closer to see if I can get her down from there somehow, when she suddenly starts to move up her head. Her face and eyes are now clearly visible to me. "That's.....!?" I know that girl from somewhere, but I'm currently not able to think about it any further as her eyes start to glowing in a cyan blue shine. The look from her eyes are literally taking my breath away. I'm gasping for breath, but my lungs just won't take in any air. It's getting black before my eyes and...

I open wide my eyes and gasp for breath. I'm totally out of breath and totally sweaty. "It.. it was just a dream." I sigh while looking down at the blanket. My breathing is back to normal and I let myself sink back into the pillow. I stare at the ceiling and try to remember that dream. The images are still clear in my head unlike usually when I already forgot most of the dream once I woke up. However, this time the dream must have been so intense that I'm able to remember it clearly. "That girl, wasn't that Kamei Eri?" I think to myself. "I'm having a lot of dreams about Morning Musume lately, maybe I'm really strange..." I get up to walk to the bathroom, a bit irritated that it feels farther away than usual and sit down on the toilet. "It was her, right? What a strange dream." I just can't stop thinking about it and go over to the sink to wash my face.

"W-what..?" I look into the mirror and am confused. I move out of the line of the mirror and back in, but.. "That's not me. That face is not mine! W-what.." I repeat that procedure 2 or 3 times until I look down to the rest of myself and the bathroom. "Everything, ...it's not my body... and that's not my bathroom!" In panic I rush out of the bathroom and realize that nothing in here is like it was when I went to bed. I part the curtains and.. yes, everything has changed. As I look down the road I can actually some Japanese signs above the shops. Back in the center of the room I try to digest everything I've just seen and that's when I randomly start to laugh. I'm not laughing because it's funny, I'm trying to laugh away the fact that I might be going insane or something like that. Everything here is nonsense, it can't be real. "Another dream? Yeah, another dream!" I tell to myself while sitting down on the floor, still laughing hysterically. "I-I'm a Japanese now. Cool. A-And I'm in Tokyo or wherever. Why not? Everything is fine, everything here is fine..." are my last words before turn into complete silence, staring at the same point for 1 or 2 hours.

At that time I already started to realize that it isn't just a dream, but it would still take me a bit longer to accept that fact.

[redux]

Well, the dream part definitely freaked me out! 
Was kind of relieved and sort of expected it to be a dream but...that didn't seem to help things make any more sense.
Got my eye on this one! 

[JFC]

Dang, first I thought we were getting another post-apocalyptic story, only to have it switched to a...well...switched bodies story!

The protagonist is evidently not (originally) a Japanese person, though the fact that dream-Eri was deemed familiar shows that he/she IS a fan of MM.  Question is...if the protagonist has just woken up in someone else's body, just WHO'S body is it?

[HPriest]

Hey, JFC is on board again. Always nice to see you here.
I'm glad you both like it. I'll try my best to make it an entertaining story. ^^


~ {02} ~ {Exit}

"Are you okay now?"

Somebody suddenly starts talking to me, releasing me from my state of shock.

"You've been sitting there for a while now." That female voice tells me.

I look around to see who is talking to me, but I can't see anybody.

"I'm up here."

And so I look up just to see a strange, round and white glowing object. I keep quiet for a moment.

"You remember me? White, feathers, wings and a beak."

The first idea that comes to my mind makes no sense, but I can't think of anything else. "That... that bird?"

"Bingo!"

"B-But that was in my dream..."

"It wasn't not so much of a dream, more like a journey to a hidden dimension that predicts one of countless possible futures for this world."

I have no clue what it or she is talking about and just keep on staring at it.

"I know that you don't understand it yet, but please let me explain.."

After staring at it for a while I shake my head. Nothing of this is real! What am I doing here? I try to break free from all this mess and rush to the door.

"Where are you going??" She calls after me.

"GO AWAY!"

I walk down the stairs and push the door open to the street. People start to star at me, but I don't care. I start walking along the streets with the word "panic" probably written all over my face. Everyone moves away from me so that I have no problems getting through the bulks of workpeople. I'm not sure where I'm going, I just want to find an exit, the plug that makes everything go away again. When I start to freeze a little I notice that I'm still just wearing shorts. I didn't put on some clothes, but why should I? It's a dream. I'm not supposed to freeze. So, why am I freezing? The more I think about it, the more I start to panic.

"What are you doing?" The voice from before asks again.

As I look around I notice that the 'ghost' has been following me all the time. "GO AWAY! YOU ARE NOT REAL!!" I shout at it, frightening the people who are passing by.

"Listen! Everything you saw in that 'dream' is not real yet, but it's bound to happen within the next couple of years! Only you can stop this from happening! All you have to do is to protect that..."

Suddenly somebody grabs my arm.

"Would you please accompany me to the next police box?"

A policeman. He must have either noticed me himself or someone called the police, telling them about a crazy young men running around the city in nothing but shorts. Anyhow, the police is not real, so why following his order? I break free and start to run as fast as I can. After a while I think that I lost him, but I'm not sure and won't look back. I don't refrain from looking back because I'm scared of him, I'm scared of seeing that 'ghost' still following me. Thus I keep on running for I don't know how long.

I run out of breath and have to stop to catch my breath. When I look up I can't believe what's right in front of my eyes. "I found the exit." I smile at myself and start to cry a bit, but not because I'm happy. "Not what I was looking for, though." I say as I enter that bar with the alluring neon sign with the name of the bar, "EXIT".

There are not a lot of customers. Good. My choice of clothes wouldn't probably resonant all that well in a packed bar. Surprisingly those who are here don't seem to care about me at all. I sit down on one of the barstools and look down on the bar table.

"What can I do for you?" The girl behind the bar asks me.

I keep on looking down the table and wonder what I want, what I'm here for and why I even entered that pub. That's right! If I can't run away from it, maybe I can drink it away. "Please give me something with a lot of alcohol in it."

"What exactly do you want?" She asks.

"Do I look like I CARE..." I say while looking up at her. She's still young, not the type to work in such bar either. It somehow makes me feel bad shouting at her. "Sorry, ...just.. anything strong, please."

"Here, please."

She gives me a glass with a friendly smile. I take it and start to wonder about one more thing. Why am I fluently speaking Japanese? I'm still thinking in English, but somehow my words come out in best Japanese. Whatever. I take a deep breath and chug down the drink. Yesterday I knew maybe about 10-20 Japanese words and today I am one... Just thinking about it makes you crazy and to stop that from happening.. "One more, please!"

-

I wake up in the morning and the first one to welcome me is my strong headache. I have no clue what happened after I entered that bar anymore. All I can recall is drinking 4 or 5 drinks, after that.. it's black. My eyes take a long time to adapt to the brightness due to my very bad hangover, but once opened I'm straight back in my rollercoaster ride from the day before. "W-what.. Where's that now?" I look up and left and it's a totally different room once again. What am I being punished for? I ask myself. I turn right towards the window, when I...

"WAH! Who are you??" I star at the girl lying next to me and jump out of the bed.

"Good morning~" She yawns at ease.

I look at her more closely and.. "Wait! You are.. are you S-Sayu? M-Mi-Mi-Michishige S-Sayumi?"

"Hm? Who?" I get as reply.

"What's going on here?"

"Owh, that.. if that's her name, then yes, I'm that Sayumi." She says.

"What?"

"Oh, you don't remember me? White, wings, feathers... get it?"

"Wait a minute..." I stop her. "Wait a minute.. you are... EH?"

"Somehow you seemed to be scared of me yesterday and so I looked through your subconsciousness to see whether there's anything you could never be afraid of. Then the image of that girl popped up. You've been associating here with innocent, pure and relaxing, that's why I took her form and character." She explains.

"But.. but.. you are even talking like her!" I point out.

"Yeah, it's amazing how much gets saved in people's subconsciousness. You really must have seen her a lot of times."

Somehow that statement makes me feel embarrassed and awkward, because I've never met or even seen Sayu in person.
"And where are we now? Am I still... " I look for the bathroom.

"Yes, you are still Japanese and you are here, because..."

*Knock Knock*

"Yos... I mean.. Mr. Emoto, are you awake?" Some girl asks.

Please no more strange people. I pray to myself while my head feels like it's gonna explode anytime soon.

[JFC]

"You've been sitting there for a while now." That female voice tells me.

I look around to see who is talking to me, but I can't see anybody.

"I'm up here."

And so I look up just to see a strange, round and white glowing object. I keep quiet for a moment.

Talking to glowing balls of light? Things sound like they're about to get...interesting, to say the least.

"You remember me? White, feathers, wings and a beak."

The first idea that comes to my mind makes no sense, but I can't think of anything else. "That... that bird?"

"B-But that was in my dream..."

"It wasn't not so much of a dream, more like a journey to a hidden dimension that predicts one of countless possible futures for this world."

Oh man. Temporal/Inter-dimensional dynamics can be such a bitch.

I walk down the stairs and push the door open to the street. People start to star at me, but I don't care.

...

When I start to freeze a little I notice that I'm still just wearing shorts. I didn't put on some clothes, but why should I? It's a dream. I'm not supposed to freeze. So, why am I freezing? The more I think about it, the more I start to panic.

Well, they DO say that if the mind (whether it's consciously or UN-consciously) believes in something strongly enough, the body will react accordingly. If this is indeed a dream, the protagonist's mind (probably the subconscious, in this case) still see's "cold weather" and thinks, "I'm not dressed warmly, I'm going to get cold".

"What are you doing?" The voice from before asks again.

As I look around I notice that the 'ghost' has been following me all the time. "GO AWAY! YOU ARE NOT REAL!!" I shout at it, frightening the people who are passing by.

Yeah, being all panicky (not to mention half-nekkid) in chilly weather isn't wierd enough. But suddenly yelling out into mid-air (since we don't know if any other people other than our protagonist can see the glowing orb), yeah...that's just asking for trouble.

"Listen! Everything you saw in that 'dream' is not real yet, but it's bound to happen within the next couple of years! Only you can stop this from happening! All you have to do is to protect that..."

Great. No pressure.

I run out of breath and have to stop to catch my breath. When I look up I can't believe what's right in front of my eyes. "I found the exit." I smile at myself and start to cry a bit, but not because I'm happy. "Not what I was looking for, though." I say as I enter that bar with the alluring neon sign with the name of the bar, "EXIT".

O_o

"Here, please."

She gives me a glass with a friendly smile. I take it and start to wonder about one more thing. Why am I fluently speaking Japanese? I'm still thinking in English, but somehow my words come out in best Japanese. Whatever. I take a deep breath and chug down the drink. Yesterday I knew maybe about 10-20 Japanese words and today I am one... Just thinking about it makes you crazy and to stop that from happening.. "One more, please!"

Oh terrific. Now the protagonist is going to try and see if he/she can drink away the problem. Really smart...NOT!

I wake up in the morning and the first one to welcome me is my strong headache. I have no clue what happened after I entered that bar anymore. All I can recall is drinking 4 or 5 drinks, after that.. it's black. My eyes take a long time to adapt to the brightness due to my very bad hangover, but once opened I'm straight back in my rollercoaster ride from the day before. "W-what.. Where's that now?" I look up and left and it's a totally different room once again. What am I being punished for? I ask myself.

Whoa, our protagonist shifted into another dimension/reality? 

"WAH! Who are you??" I star at the girl lying next to me and jump out of the bed.

"Good morning~" She yawns at ease.

I look at her more closely and.. "Wait! You are.. are you S-Sayu? M-Mi-Mi-Michishige S-Sayumi?"

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...waking up next to Sayu? Lucky bastage.

...


...


What's she wearing? PJs? Nightie? Nothing? 

"Owh, that.. if that's her name, then yes, I'm that Sayumi." She says.

"What?"

"Oh, you don't remember me? White, wings, feathers... get it?"

"Wait a minute..." I stop her. "Wait a minute.. you are... EH?"

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!??! THE ORB BEING TOOK THE FORM OF SAYU?!?!??

"Somehow you seemed to be scared of me yesterday and so I looked through your subconsciousness to see whether there's anything you could never be afraid of. Then the image of that girl popped up. You've been associating here with innocent, pure and relaxing, that's why I took her form and character." She explains.

"But.. but.. you are even talking like her!" I point out.

"Yeah, it's amazing how much gets saved in people's subconsciousness. You really must have seen her a lot of times."

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay then. So is THIS a dream?

"And where are we now? Am I still... " I look for the bathroom.

"Yes, you are still Japanese and you are here, because..."

*Knock Knock*

"Yos... I mean.. Mr. Emoto, are you awake?" Some girl asks.

Okay, at least we know that the protagonist is currently in a dude's body. Next questions: Just who's body is he in? And what was that girl who was knocking on the door about to call him? Moreover, it seemed like she was about to refer to him by his first name. What is it, and why was she about to call him that?


Subsequently, what about "Sayu"? Unless she *poofs* away it's going to be really wierd for our protagonist (who I guess we can now call "Emoto") to explain what Michishige Sayumi is doing in his bedroom. 

Though I wouldn't necessarily mind having to face that situation.

[HPriest]

~ {03} ~ {My name}

I tell that girl to come in and to my relief it's not somebody I know. She comes in with a tablet full of what looks like a delicious breakfast, but not only the breakfast looks delicious. It's my first time seeing such a cute Japanese girl in person. For a second I'm able to forget all the strange things that lead me to this encounter.

"Yada~, you are still wearing nothing but your shorts. I've put you some clothes over the chair there. They are from my cousin, but he's currently overseas so you don't have to worry about bringing them back anytime soon. I hope you like the breakfast, there's some medicine, too."

That girl really talks her head off. Who is she and why did she make me breakfast? She's acting like we know each other. I'm really curious about who she is. "Excuse me, but... do we know each other... maybe?"

She stops and looks at me with a mad face. I start to think the she must be related to that person who lived with this body before. "J-Just joking..." I try to end the awkward situation.

"Have you already been drinking before you came to the bar? I really would have thought that you will at least remember who I am."

"Huh?" I'm confused. A bar? I was in a bar? "Oh right!" I finally remember. She's that girl from the bar who gave me the drinks.

"Great! Anyway, I'm downstairs..."

One her way out she's about walk into Sayu. "Wait, you..." I try to warn her, but it's too late and she just walks right through her.

She's shivering. "Something just gave me the chills...!"

I look at Sayu and ask, "She can't see you?"

"Of course not."

The girl gets confused. "What?"

"Err... nothing.."

"Really, he's even more strange when he's sober..." She mumbles and leaves the room.

-

I keep on looking at Sayu, still baffled about what just happened.

"What? I'm a spiritual being deeply connected to your soul and residing in layers of this world that can't be seen by ordinary humans. Still strange that she felt me, even if it only was like a cold breeze." She explains.

Alright, there's nothing more to be surprised of now. I just suck her words into me and grab an apple from the breakfast tablet. "So, where is this room?"

"Huh? You still don't know? We are right over the bar. It seems like that you drank too much last night and passed out. She then brought you upstairs and laid you down here." She says while walking to the other side of the bed and sitting down.

It seems that I really drank a lot last night. Great, I must have acted like a complete idiot in front of that cute girl. She was calling me by some name. What was it again? Ah, right! Emoto. Nice name, I guess. Well, actually I have now clue whether that's a nice name or not. Wait something is strange here.. "You can lay down and sit on a bed?"

She turns around her head and man, she really looks like Sayu. "Hm? Non-living things have nothing like different layers of existence. Only ordinary living creatures can't see or feel me. By the way, you are really calm today. What happened? Is it my appearance?"

I'm a bit ashamed by that, but I can't deny that she with the look and voice of Sayu is helping me to stay sane. "I'm trying to understand everything by staying calm. Running around in panic like yesterday didn't really bring me anywhere."

"I see..." She stares out of the window with a thoughtful expression on her face. "That's nice."

Did I say something wrong? She seems so sad all of a sudden. As response I only get that it's nothing worth to be worried about. All I can do for now is believing in her words and... *stomach rumbling* ...eat that delicious breakfast.

-

After the breakfast I put on the clothes the bar-girl was kind enough to give me and get downstairs. It's the same bar indeed. I can remember a bit from before I was drunk, but it's not that much. There are no customers right now.

"We open in the afternoon." She says from behind the bar while cleaning the glasses.

I walk up to the bar and sit down on a barstool. "You've... called me by a name back then..."

"Ah! Emoto. You are Emoto Yosuke, right?"

"....I guess."

"I saw the name in your wallet. Here." She gives me the wallet. "I used all the money inside to pay your bill from last night."

I look at my name written on some card inside. Emoto Yosuke, my new name. That she took the money by herself doesn't bother me at all right now. I'm more bother about the fact that I have to accept a complete new identity.

"..and sorry about before." She adds. "We've been talking so much last night, well.. only you talked most of the time. Anyway, I somehow.. unintentionally.. was calling you by your first name.. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I don't know how to call myself either." I look into her confused face and quickly change the topic. "I've been talking a lot, you say?"

"Oh yeah.. some really strange things. You've told me that you are an American who went to Italy for a trip and woke up in Tokyo as a Japanese the day after. I know that people tend to say senseless things when they are drunk, but you really had a lot of fantasy."

Silence. I decide to just keep silent instead of saying anything stupid now. Behind me I can hear that Sayu is giggling.

"What's wrong?" The girl asks confused.

"Ah.. nothing, really strange things I said there, yeah... wow.. I must have been SOO drunk, phew..." I'm such a bad liar, even in Japanese.

"Okay..."

Now we all remain silent for maybe a minute before I start to thank her for what she did for me last night. "So, you let me sleep here last night? I wouldn't have let somebody who says such strange things sleep at my home. Thank you very much."

"Yeah.."

"Isn't it a bit too reckless to let drunk customers sleep in here?" I continue.

"Well.. you seemed like a nice guy, I guess..."

I can see that she a bit embarrassed, so I decide that I won't bother her any longer. "I'm leaving now. It was nice to meet you, .....?"

"Erina, Mano Erina." **

"It was nice to meet you, Mano."

"It was nice to meet you too."

---

**In this fiction Mano Erina is not related to H!P at all, otherwise he would have recognized her. I just want you to imagine her when imagining that girl.

[JFC]

~ {03} ~ {My name}

I tell that girl to come in and to my relief it's not somebody I know. She comes in with a tablet full of what looks like a delicious breakfast, but not only the breakfast looks delicious. It's my first time seeing such a cute Japanese girl in person. For a second I'm able to forget all the strange things that lead me to this encounter.

'K, the protagonist is DEFINITELY a dude.

"Yada~, you are still wearing nothing but your shorts. I've put you some clothes over the chair there. They are from my cousin, but he's currently overseas so you don't have to worry about bringing them back anytime soon. I hope you like the breakfast, there's some medicine, too."

Okay, before making any sudden "moves", dude needs to make sure he knows EXACTLY how he knows this girl (since he evidently does) and EXACTLY what their relationship is (not to mention what it's not).

"Excuse me, but... do we know each other... maybe?"

She stops and looks at me with a mad face. I start to think the she must be related to that person who lived with this body before. "J-Just joking..." I try to end the awkward situation.

"Have you already been drinking before you came to the bar? I really would have thought that you will at least remember who I am."

"Huh?" I'm confused. A bar? I was in a bar? "Oh right!" I finally remember. She's that girl from the bar who gave me the drinks.

"Great! Anyway, I'm downstairs..."

Hmmmm...that really only partially helps. We know she's the bartender that served him drinks, but we still don't know her name.

One her way out she's about walk into Sayu. "Wait, you..." I try to warn her, but it's too late and she just walks right through her.

She's shivering. "Something just gave me the chills...!"

I look at Sayu and ask, "She can't see you?"

"Of course not."

Eh?

"What? I'm a spiritual being deeply connected to your soul and residing in layers of this world that can't be seen by ordinary humans. Still strange that she felt me, even if it only was like a cold breeze." She explains.

Wait a sec...is "Sayu" the new form of that talking ball of light that he was talking to the previous night?

Only ordinary living creatures can't see or feel me. By the way, you are really calm today. What happened? Is it my appearance?"

I'm a bit ashamed by that, but I can't deny that she with the look and voice of Sayu is helping me to stay sane.

Hmmm...let's see, looking like a cute Japanese pop idol versus looking like a floating light bulb. I wonder which would have less of a negative effect? 

After the breakfast I put on the clothes the bar-girl was kind enough to give me and get downstairs. It's the same bar indeed.

...

I walk up to the bar and sit down on a barstool. "You've... called me by a name back then..."

"Ah! Emoto. You are Emoto Yosuke, right?"

"....I guess."

"I saw the name in your wallet. Here." She gives me the wallet.

Makes sense. He was probably too busy drinking to answer any questions about who he was.

"I used all the money inside to pay your bill from last night."

Dang. Lucky for him there was money in the wallet.

"I've been talking a lot, you say?"

"Oh yeah.. some really strange things. You've told me that you are an American who went to Italy for a trip and woke up in Tokyo as a Japanese the day after. I know that people tend to say senseless things when they are drunk, but you really had a lot of fantasy."

Damn, he's lucky that she just thinks that he was talking nonsense the night before. 

Granted, it was such an outrageous story it's not likely that many people would believe it at all.

"Isn't it a bit too reckless to let drunk customers sleep in here?" I continue.

"Well.. you seemed like a nice guy, I guess..."

I can see that she a bit embarrassed, so I decide that I won't bother her any longer.

Don't tell me, he was flirting with her too? 



 

"I'm leaving now. It was nice to meet you, .....?"

"Erina, Mano Erina." **

MANOERI! 

**In this fiction Mano Erina is not related to H!P at all, otherwise he would have recognized her. I just want you to imagine her when imagining that girl.

Oh. Well, you DID say that the barkeep was a cutie. 

[HPriest]

~ {04} ~ {Taken away}

Outside the bar I look around the street and realize that I have a big problem. How am I supposed to get back to that flat where I came from? I call for Sayu and I'm relieved to hear that she indeed knows the way back. This is the first I'm happy that she's around me, not including the first amazement I had when she first appeared in the form of Sayu lying right next to me. The streets here aren't as busy as I thought they would be, must be in some area outside of the inner city.

"That's Tokyo, right?" I just ask for confirmation.

Sayu just nods and keeps on leading the way. Meanwhile I read my name on that card over and over gain. I took it out of the wallet and hold it with both of my hands. When I want to take the wallet back out of my pocket to put it back in, I notice something strange.

"Hey, why did I have a wallet with me anyway? Didn't I came here with just my short pants?"

"I brought it for you. The way you acted yesterday, I thought I would be helpful to at least identify yourself, in case you would have gotten arrested. Turned out the money inside was a lot more helpful." Sayu explains. "Left now, that way."

Wow, that already makes it the 2nd time I'm happy to have her around within only 5 or 10 minutes. I put the card back into the wallet and the wallet in my pocket. That's Japan, that's Tokyo, huh? I look at everything and everyone filled with wonder. We come across some local shop, when I see my mirror image in the shop's window. I stop for a moment and Sayu asks whether something is wrong.

"What.. happened to him?" I ask her about the person who was inside this body until just 1 day ago, but she's hesitating with her answer. "Did we switch bodies or something? Is he now inside my body?" I try to ask more directly.

"No," she says, "no body switching."

"What do you mean? Did he got the body from another person and that person got my mine?"

"No, he's just.. gone."

She clearly had problems telling me this and immediately turns away afterwards. First I don't completely realize the meanings of those words, but slowly it's sinking in. "You mean, he's dead?" She nods without looking back at me and continues to walk again. I catch up with her and grab her arm. "What do you mean with he's dead? He can't be dead! That would mean that I.. " I pause for a moment. "This means that I killed him."

"NO!" Sayu suddenly turns around and surprises me, actually she's surprised by her own reaction as well and volumes down her voice. "You had no influence in this decision at all, you are just another pawn in the hands of the powerful." She moves her eyes down to the ground. "Just like me..."

"Just like you?" Sayu has been horrified for a moment when I asked her this, like she was remembering something during that second. She looked up at me and then immediately turned around. After that she wasn't responding to any of my questions anymore all the way back.. 'home.'

Now, right on the doorsteps, we both get startled by a very, very cold breeze, followed by a thunder up in the skies. "A storm?" I ask, surprised at how quick this one brewed up out of nowhere. We both step out from under the porch and look at the black sky. What an amazing formation up there. I've never seen a storm like that. Completely thick and black clouds that seem to get closer and closer to the ground. One lightning was so intense that I totally winced right next to that cute and still calm Sayu, how embarrassing.

"That's not a normal storm." She suddenly starts to explain. "It's the bad omen of what's approaching this world. Still billions and billions of miles away and yet it's power is already hitting this planet like an egg in a microwave. It's happening in random intervals and only people like us can see it. No normal human nor animal has the slightest clue of what's going to await them in the future." She looks into my eyes and adds, "Nobody of us deserved to get our lives taken away in order to get involved into this matter, neither you... nor me." During the following pause she looks deep into my eyes before walking into the house while saying, "but we have no power to change it anymore." The door closes behind her and I look back at the sky that's slowly quietening down again.

I start to wonder, "What exactly am I doing here?"

[JFC]

~ {04} ~ {Taken away}

I call for Sayu and I'm relieved to hear that she indeed knows the way back.

Hmmm...good thing that he can summon Sayu. Something tells me he'll be needing her help a fair bit.

"Hey, why did I have a wallet with me anyway? Didn't I came here with just my short pants?"

"I brought it for you. The way you acted yesterday, I thought I would be helpful to at least identify yourself, in case you would have gotten arrested. Turned out the money inside was a lot more helpful." Sayu explains. "Left now, that way."

Good thinking there, Sayu.

"What.. happened to him?" I ask her about the person who was inside this body until just 1 day ago, but she's hesitating with her answer. "Did we switch bodies or something? Is he now inside my body?" I try to ask more directly.

"No," she says, "no body switching."

"What do you mean? Did he got the body from another person and that person got my mine?"

"No, he's just.. gone."

Eh? What exactly does Sayu mean by this?

"You mean, he's dead?" She nods without looking back at me and continues to walk again. I catch up with her and grab her arm. "What do you mean with he's dead? He can't be dead! That would mean that I.. " I pause for a moment. "This means that I killed him."

Oh fuckin' hell. 

"NO!" Sayu suddenly turns around and surprises me, actually she's surprised by her own reaction as well and volumes down her voice. "You had no influence in this decision at all, you are just another pawn in the hands of the powerful." She moves her eyes down to the ground. "Just like me..."

A pawn? For what? Who are these "powerful" that Sayu mentioned and what's their intent here?

*SAYU'S STORM TALK*

Billions of miles away, and they can see it in the night sky? That's bad. That's "end of the world" type of bad.

[HPriest]

~ {05} ~ {Aniki}

It's dark now already. I'm laying on the bed and zap through the infamous Japanese TV programs. Sayu sits on the other side of the bed and stares outside the window. She's been doing that the whole day. After that frightening storm we stayed inside for the rest of the day. I was still trying to understand everything myself and kept on asking her questions, but she was clearly depressed about something. I'm not sure whether that's my fault or not, but she won't answer me that either. One time she started to talk out of nowhere, saying, "I shouldn't have talked to you like that. I'm nothing more than your guide and should assist you without showing any own emotions." I tried to tell her that I'm fine with what she said, but she kept on blaming herself and telling me that this is now how she is supposed to react. My understanding of the whole situation obviously still lacks some major points and therefore I have no idea how to talk with her.

So we've been staying in the room for the whole day, not talking or even looking at each other, on her side at least. Meanwhile I looked through the room to find out more about that person whose body I've stolen, but he doesn't have a lot of personal belongings in here. On top of a large cupboard I found some photo books from various idols. I knew some of them myself, he even had one from Takahashi Ai. It's a small world, I thought, forgetting that I'm in Japan right now. Anyway, it was only a small but nice collection he had, nothing compared to real fans like myself, not to mention the wotas. I know that it's a stupid thing to think about, but I'm wondering what's happening to my photo book collection now.

Man, nothing really interesting on TV at the moment. I guess it's still too early for all the crazy stuff I've seen in the Internet. What time is it anyway? 09:00pm. I'm not really tired yet.

Back to my though I had just now. My photo book collection. This brings me to another question. What happened to my body? I already know that we didn't swap the bodies with each other, so does it mean that it's just a lifeless body lying somewhere in Italy?

"Sayu, I realize that you must have something else on your mind right now, but can I ask you one question?" I try my luck again.

"What you want to know?"

Woah, she actually talks with me again, but now to my question. "What happened to my body, my old one I mean? Is it still..."

"Dead." She answers quite frankly.

As I thought, everyone will think that I'm dead as soon as they find me, or maybe they already did? "Does my family already know?" I ask her.

"I don't know."

I wait a moment in case she wants to tell me a bit more, but there doesn't seem to come much more out of her mouth. What a pain, didn't she just say a few hours ago that she's my guide or something like that? I don't really feel guided her sitting on this bed and watching TV while unsuccessfully trying to get a few simple answers out of her. Geez, what have I gotten into. Maybe it's because of my karma? Was I such a bad person up until now? I don't know, everything is just fucked up.. somehow.

About 2 hours later my eyes start to feel heavy while I keep on staring at the TV. I'm nodding off for a moment, but because I was lying in a position where my hand is holding my head, I immediately wake up again. A bit to the right I can see that Sayu is staring at me.

"What?" I ask her.

"You finally fall asleep?" She asks with an expecting voice.

"Why do you care?" I say with a yawn.

Sayu gets mad and turns around again. I really don't get this girl, ghost or whatever she is. "Do you want me to fall asleep?" She won't answer that question. "Why? Do you want to do naughty things to me while I'm asleep?" I ask jokingly.

"Idiot."

Oh well, whatever is going on in her mind, I'm starting to become really sleepy now and before I know it, I'm fully asleep.

-

The next moment I wake up it's already bright outside and I'm still in Japan. I'm still unknowingly hoping to wake up and everything is normal again, but it just won't happen. Sayu is also still here and still sitting on at the other side of the bed, a bit further to the right, maybe. "Good morning." I say, but she's still as moody as last night. I rub my eyes and sit up on the bed. The TV is still running, 7:23am it says on the top right of that morning news program. Since when have I become an early riser? Must be because of that body, I guess. I stretch myself, make a big nice yawn and want to ask her whether she slept as nice as I did, but..

*RIIING RIIING* *knock knock knock KNOCK KNOCK* *RIIING RIIING*

...somebody suddenly rings and knocks at the door.

"YOSUKE!? YOOOSUKE!!!!???" Some man shouts through the door.

"W-Who's there?" I ask a bit terrified.

"What the...!? Did you drink last night or what? Don't you even recognize your older brother's voice anymore?!"

Oh crap, a relative?! What am I supposed to do now? I turn to Sayu, but she looks like she couldn't care less about that problem.

"Why don't you open the door?" She asks me with a completely innocent expression.

"Haaa?"

"YOSUKE!!?? OPEN THE DOOR!" The older brother keeps on shouting.

I'm in a bit of a panic, but I guess that I really should open the door now before he starts to break through the door. Huh? Amazement on my face. From his voice I expected some scary looking Yakuza or similar, but instead he's standing there in a nice gray suit and a black briefcase. He sniffs on my breath and makes a doubting face. I haven't yet said a word myself, afraid that he could hear that I am not his younger brother. All of a sudden he grabs my face and pushes me back inside so that I fall on the floor.

"I can't believe that you would oversleep on your first day! When did you start to become that unreliable?"

I keep silent.

"Come on, stand up!" He orders me. I better do what he says and stand up, when he grabs me by my neck and drags me into the bathroom. He turns on the water at the tap in the sink and pushes my face into the cold water. He pulls me out again and asks, "Are you awake now?" I still keep silent, getting a slap in my face as a result. "SAY SOMETHING!!" He shouts.

"Yes, yes! I'm awake! Okay!? I'm awake!!!" I shout back and hold my mouth right afterwards. Did he notice? He did, didn't he? What now? He looks at me in a suspicious way, but then he lets go off me and walks out of the bathroom. I'm carefully following him and see that picking clothes out of the cupboard.

"What have I gotten myself into now." He says to himself. "You know that it was me who recommended you for the job, right?" He looks at me reproachfully.

I just nod and hold the cheek he slapped. From the cupboard he takes a black suit and other clothes, and lays them down on the bed. Just now I notice that I can't see Sayu anywhere anymore.

"Don't worry, I'm always with you." I hear her voice inside my head, making me look around the room for her like some idiot.

"What are you doing?" That older brother of mine asks. "Anyway, put on those and hurry!"

I'm still not sure what really happened, but I did put on that suit right after he told me to do so. We then both left the flat and headed for the next train station. The trains were as cramped as I heard they would be, it really was a torture for somebody as unexperienced in the daily Japanese life as me. Some woman even looked at me with an angry face, because I happened to get pushed against her bottom with my hands. Somehow that reminded me of some perverted things I've seen in the Internet and grinned once I got out of the train. Though, luckily she didn't accuse me of anything I didn't do.

And now I'm here, walking along a street in the business district of Tokyo, or so I guess, no clue where we are going or what am I supposed to do. Job? Work? I remember he said something about 'my first day' and that he 'recommended me for the job'. We stop in front of a building and he turns towards me. "Nervous?" He asks with a smile.

"Err.. what's my job again?" I ask and act embarrassed.

"Haha, you really are funny, huh? Don't worry, you'll be fine." Apparently he thought that I am joking.

"No, really, where.. are we?"

"You still must be a sleep, huh? You really didn't drink last night? Hm.. but I smelled nothing in your breath." He looks at my completely clueless face. "Just look at the sign over there, I'm sure you will remember."

I turn around and look at the sign of the company that's residing in this house.

"Up-Front Wor..."

Oh... my... GOD!

[JFC]

~ {05} ~ {Aniki}

It's dark now already. I'm laying on the bed and zap through the infamous Japanese TV programs. Sayu sits on the other side of the bed and stares outside the window. She's been doing that the whole day. After that frightening storm we stayed inside for the rest of the day. I was still trying to understand everything myself and kept on asking her questions, but she was clearly depressed about something. I'm not sure whether that's my fault or not, but she won't answer me that either. One time she started to talk out of nowhere, saying, "I shouldn't have talked to you like that. I'm nothing more than your guide and should assist you without showing any own emotions." I tried to tell her that I'm fine with what she said, but she kept on blaming herself and telling me that this is now how she is supposed to react.

There's probably something that Sayu's not telling him, and whatever that something is, it's gotta be a pretty big "something" for her to be acing this way.

"Sayu, I realize that you must have something else on your mind right now, but can I ask you one question?" I try my luck again.

"What you want to know?"

Woah, she actually talks with me again, but now to my question. "What happened to my body, my old one I mean? Is it still..."

"Dead." She answers quite frankly.

"You finally fall asleep?" She asks with an expecting voice.

"Why do you care?" I say with a yawn.

Curious, indeed.

Sayu gets mad and turns around again. I really don't get this girl, ghost or whatever she is. "Do you want me to fall asleep?" She won't answer that question. "Why? Do you want to do naughty things to me while I'm asleep?" I ask jokingly.

"Idiot."

A man can dream, can't he?

*RIIING RIIING* *knock knock knock KNOCK KNOCK* *RIIING RIIING*

...somebody suddenly rings and knocks at the door.

"YOSUKE!? YOOOSUKE!!!!???" Some man shouts through the door.

"W-Who's there?" I ask a bit terrified.

"What the...!? Did you drink last night or what? Don't you even recognize your older brother's voice anymore?!"

Older brother? Oh shit. Now what? It's not like he can tell him the truth.

"I can't believe that you would oversleep on your first day! When did you start to become that unreliable?"

Uh-oh. Sounds like he (the original Emoto) is supposed to start a new job? And he's working with his brother???  Considering the brother's current panic, he's probably the one that got him the job to begin with, and has probably had to stick his neck out to vouch for him.

Then to top it all off, the new job will probably be something with specific/special skills that the original Emoto had, but that our protagonist doesn't.

"What have I gotten myself into now." He says to himself. "You know that it was me who recommended you for the job, right?" He looks at me reproachfully.

Oh, I so called it. 

Just now I notice that I can't see Sayu anywhere anymore.

"Don't worry, I'm always with you." I hear her voice inside my head, making me look around the room for her like some idiot.

"What are you doing?" That older brother of mine asks. "Anyway, put on those and hurry!"

With the mood she was in the previous night, one can only hope that Sayu will help Emoto in this new job (assuming she's even able to).

"Err.. what's my job again?" I ask and act embarrassed.

...

He looks at my completely clueless face. "Just look at the sign over there, I'm sure you will remember."

I turn around and look at the sign of the company that's residing in this house.

"Up-Front Wor..."

Oh... my... GOD!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH?!!??!?!?



Okay, just WHAT does his brother do here? Furthermore, what IS his new job?????

[HPriest]

~ {06} ~ {First Day}

Up-Front Works, UP-Front, UFA, Hello! Project. No way! My new job is here? What exactly..

"Come on now!"

He drags me inside where a woman from the reception desk welcomes us. "Is that your younger brother?" She asks him. They are obviously knowing each other. Hm, that would be normal when I think about it, assuming that he's also working here. Anyway, this is not good. I don't even know what my work is. I'm wearing a suit, so it shouldn't be cleaning the toilets. Too bad, that would be the only thing I have confidence in. He, my supposedly older brother whose name I don't even know gives me some card with a picture of me and my name on it.

"Here your ID card."

ID card. Wait, maybe I can find something about my job on there. 'Assistant Manager'. Sounds important. Manager of what? The whole company? Like that would be possible.. Damn it, I'm not getting anywhere with this ID card either.

"Well then, she'll bring you upstairs."

He's leaving. Wait, he's the only one I know here. He can't leave me alone! "Where are you going?" I ask him.

"Wow, you are really still feeling anxious, aren't you? I have to go to my department now. I'm working in the sales department, this way. Your department, the personnel department is on the other side of the building. She will bring you there, don't worry."

He's leaving out of my sight after that. The personnel department, huh? Could be anything, really. "Can we?" The reception lady asks and points to the elevator. "We'll have to go to the 3rd floor." She adds. There's no other choice than to nod and follow her.

My first time in a Japanese elevator.... looks the same like anywhere else. That woman, she smells nice.

Alright, we are on the 3rd floor. There's still some way we have to walk down that floor. She then stops at a door and says, "This is the office of Mr. Takataro whom you will work for." Once I thank here she immediately goes back the floor towards the elevators. Mr. Takataro.. Alright! Let's knock at the door and enter.

"You are late!" Shouts an almost bald middle-aged sweaty man sitting behind a desk in a quite small room.

"S-Sorry..?" I apologize.

"We'll have to skip the friendly introduction then and move on to our first meeting of the day." He says, stands up and takes his briefcase. "Come with me!" We head towards the stairways at the end of the floor and walk up towards the next floor above. Here the narrow hallway soon opens up and gives space for comfortable sofas, tables, chairs and so on. I can see that there's also a bar-like installment in here. "Well, so.. that's the 2nd café here in the house. This one is for smaller meetings, quick refreshments and only for all signed talents of the office, plus the people working for them. You've probably already seen the one downstairs." No I haven't. "That one is for everyone working in her and for guests. For real meals we have a canteen, also downstairs."

Why is it that the first info I get is related to cafés and canteens? Well, looking at his appearance, I shouldn't be too surprised. We sit down at a table for 4 people and.. wait. What kind of meeting will that be? Only 4 people? Or maybe only 3? How strange, and I still don't know what the hell I'm doing here! I use the time to look a bit around, but unfortunately we are the only ones here. Somehow I was hoping to see one of those talents, like...

"Good morning!"

Woah! That voice really surprised me. I turn around and see... and see... and... see...

"Good morning Kamei-san. This person is my new assistant."

K... K... K... K... Ka... Ka...

"Oh, the one that got recommended to you?"

"Yes, a friend from the sales department, he's his younger brother, if I remember it right."

Ka... Ka... Kam... Kam... Kame...

"I see. Nice to meet you,..." She bends forward to read my ID card. "..E-Emoto Yosuke. I'm Kamei Eri."

Kamei... Kamei... It's KAMEI ERI!!!!

"Hm?" She's confused by my silence.

"Oi oi, say something!" Sayu whispers in my head.

"A..ah.. N-nice t..t..t..to mee-eet you, t..t..too...!"

What's this!? What's going on!? I can't.. I'm done for! A goddess just appeared in front of me! I'm hardly able to hear anything he's saying anymore. Something about that he is her manager. That means, that I am.. the assistant of Kamei Eri's manager! I'm like.. always.. from now on.. Eri...

"Mr. Emoto!" He says with a louder voice, disrupting my fantasies. "Please listen more carefully!"

I nod and put myself in a straight position at the table. Eri is.. sitting at the table now too. I totally didn't notice that she sit down at all, and even right left to me to sit in front of her manager. Right now she's only a few meters, no, centimeters away from me. My hands are shaking, I'm so nervous. I've never been so nervous in my life! This might sound pathetic to you, but what can I say, I'm a helpless guy. She's so beautiful and she looks so cute while listening to her manager...awww... but maybe I should listen to him as well?

"..and so we come to Mr. Emoto's functions." Phew, I started listening right in time. "Those things are going to consume a lot of my time and therefore he will be responsible for all the smaller arrangements, schedule reminders and other minor problems you might have. I'll do everything to make you shine more than anyone else in the group! Don't worry."

"Hehe, don't push yourself too much. I'm fine the way it is, really."

"No! I can't just do nothing and see how the others get more spotlight than you!"

"Thank you very much."

Wow, I didn't expect him to be that enthusiastic about his work.

"You have any more questions, Mr. Emoto?" He asks me.

"Well, what.. exactly am I supposed to do?"

He looks at me with a shocked expression. I guess this wasn't the best question to ask. I can see that he's already starting to get doubts about me and that's on my first day, but I can't blame him, I would doubt me as well. Eri on the other hand just laughs, though I don't really know whether she's laughing about me or not...

-

Ah, finally a break. I don't feel like going to the canteen right now. There's a vending machine with snacks somewhere, at least I think I saw one when I came here. Really, what a first day. I'm glad this Mr. Takataro staid calm and explained me everything again. There are still things that are in the dark for me, but from most of what I understood it looks like a simple babysitter job with a few organizing tasks, only that in this case the baby is a beautiful young goddess called Kamei Eri. This could become really interesting, if there wouldn't be that other thing. It's that dream I've been remembering. Eri was in there, too. Is this job related to what I saw?

"Of course it is." Sayu once again whispers in my head and appears next to me. "Why do you think you got a Japanese identity?"

"So everything was planned out?"

"Yes, this person really was supposed to get the job as assistant manager. This would enable him to get closer to her than most other people. It would be perfect for the guardian spirit and that's why you took over his body." She explains.

"Guardian spirit? Earlier you've said something about protecting as well."

"Yes, the fate of this world lies in her hands only and you are here to protect her from getting any harm until it is close enough."

Sounds like I'm not too far off with calling her a goddess, though I did it for other reasons. "It?" I continue to ask. At the same time I finally find the vending machine and take out my wallet.

"The clouds we saw earlier. There's a sphere approaching this planet. It looks like black fog or a black cloud in space and it absorbs everything that gets in its way. This cloud, it's overflowing with energy and said to be the pure evil of this universe."

I keep on listening to her while taking the out the snack. Once I turn around I suddenly get pushed back against the vending machine by a tall scary figure. "Don't get in our way, you hear me?" His face gets really close to mine. "We'll be watching you." He says and leaves. I'm too perplexed to do anything. He's walking right through Sayu and doesn't seem to notice her at all.

"Who is he?" I'm asking.

"....I'm not sure."

[JFC]

I don't even know what my work is. I'm wearing a suit, so it shouldn't be cleaning the toilets. Too bad, that would be the only thing I have confidence in.

 

"Here your ID card."

ID card. Wait, maybe I can find something about my job on there. 'Assistant Manager'. Sounds important. Manager of what? The whole company? Like that would be possible.. Damn it, I'm not getting anywhere with this ID card either.

...

I have to go to my department now. I'm working in the sales department, this way. Your department, the personnel department is on the other side of the building. She will bring you there, don't worry."

He's leaving out of my sight after that. The personnel department, huh? Could be anything, really.

For all we know, he could be in direct contact with the girls.

"This is the office of Mr. Takataro whom you will work for." Once I thank here she immediately goes back the floor towards the elevators. Mr. Takataro.. Alright! Let's knock at the door and enter.

"You are late!" Shouts an almost bald middle-aged sweaty man sitting behind a desk in a quite small room.

"S-Sorry..?" I apologize.

"We'll have to skip the friendly introduction then and move on to our first meeting of the day."

Dude...he's being thrown right into the fire, isn't he?

Why is it that the first info I get is related to cafés and canteens?

Usually the tour begins with the places one would frequent a lot. So then...why would he be frequenting the cafés and canteens so much?

"Good morning!"

Woah! That voice really surprised me. I turn around and see... and see... and... see...

"Good morning Kamei-san. This person is my new assistant."

Lucky bastage. So he's working as an Assistant Manager under this Takataro guy...which would mean....he's ERI'S MANAGER???

What's this!? What's going on!? I can't.. I'm done for! A goddess just appeared in front of me! I'm hardly able to hear anything he's saying anymore. Something about that he is her manager. That means, that I am.. the assistant of Kamei Eri's manager! I'm like.. always.. from now on.. Eri...

Emoto =

"Hehe, don't push yourself too much. I'm fine the way it is, really."

"No! I can't just do nothing and see how the others get more spotlight than you!"

"Thank you very much."

Dang, Takataro is REALLY into his job, ain't he?

"You have any more questions, Mr. Emoto?" He asks me.

"Well, what.. exactly am I supposed to do?"

He looks at me with a shocked expression. I guess this wasn't the best question to ask. I can see that he's already starting to get doubts about me and that's on my first day, but I can't blame him, I would doubt me as well. Eri on the other hand just laughs, though I don't really know whether she's laughing about me or not...

Emoto =
Takataro = 
Emoto =
Eri =

Is this job related to what I saw?

"Of course it is." Sayu once again whispers in my head and appears next to me. "Why do you think you got a Japanese identity?"

"So everything was planned out?"

"Yes, this person really was supposed to get the job as assistant manager. This would enable him to get closer to her than most other people. It would be perfect for the guardian spirit and that's why you took over his body." She explains.

"Guardian spirit? Earlier you've said something about protecting as well."

"Yes, the fate of this world lies in her hands only and you are here to protect her from getting any harm until it is close enough."

Then...the Guardian spirit is in ERI!!!

"The clouds we saw earlier. There's a sphere approaching this planet. It looks like black fog or a black cloud in space and it absorbs everything that gets in its way. This cloud, it's overflowing with energy and said to be the pure evil of this universe."

Oshit...so she's basically the lone hope that we have against this cloud, and now it's Emoto's job to make sure she's protected long enough to do what she needs to do. 

I keep on listening to her while taking the out the snack. Once I turn around I suddenly get pushed back against the vending machine by a tall scary figure. "Don't get in our way, you hear me?" His face gets really close to mine. "We'll be watching you." He says and leaves. I'm too perplexed to do anything. He's walking right through Sayu and doesn't seem to notice her at all.

"Who is he?" I'm asking.

"....I'm not sure."

Wota? Former (ie. recently fired) staff? Or........agents from "the other side"?   

[HPriest]

~ {07} ~ {Just Knowing}

That creepy tall person from the other day is still hunting me when I'm spacing out during the day, but surprisingly that was the only strange thing that happened to me in now already four days since I became a Japanese with an incredibly cute and mysterious girl spirit following me. Not only that, she looks and speaks exactly like Michishige Sayumi from a group called Morning Musume. In fact, I'm even working for an actual girl from this group, Kamei Eri. I started working for her only a few hours before that creepy person threatened me, if that's what he did is threating me...

Back to my new job. As I thought, it's just like babysitting with a few extras and special benefits, the biggest benefit being the pure sight of Kamei Eri herself. I admit that it was really difficult to keep my heart from jumping out of my breast while being only a few meters away from her, but I got over that surprisingly fast. Luckily I haven't seen much of the other girls yet, the extra damages to my mind could be fatal. My new boss, Mr. Takataro is a bit strange, but he's somewhat nice nonetheless. Eri also once told me, "He may look like a jerk sometimes, but he's really kind and dependable. I even knew him before I auditioned, he's a good friend of our family, not that this helped me during the audition or anything... no really, it didn't." For a moment it sounded like she said a bit too much, but I was willing to believe her. It's just so hard to doubt her..

As I said, it's been four days since I became a Japanese, but it has only been three days since I started working at Up-Front. While during the job I kind of feel a sense of normality, I always get thrown back to that one dream once Sayu appears in front of me. Where is she hiding all the time anyway? In my head? Now that's scary. Maybe she's becoming invisible? That's kinda creepy, too. She's always with me, that's for sure. I can always feel her presence somehow and it is making me really nervous sometimes. If she really was inside my head, she would probably get drowned in perverted thoughts every time I'm in the same room as Eri. Damn, this thought alone is giving me the chills once in a while. Another thing that is giving me chills is the feeling of getting followed. It happens at least once every time I go to work or return back home that I get this feeling. I don't think Sayu is the cause and I'm starting to think that it has something to do with that person.

Anyway, let's return to the present. It's evening and once again I'm lying on the bed staring at the TV and Sayu sitting on the other half of the bed. The same like every night. There is definitely something I don't know yet, because she always seems to anticipate the moment I fall asleep. As much as I would wish her to do perverted things to me while I'm asleep, I already crossed out that possibility. Somehow I need to get her to talk to me a bit more.

"So, another normal day, huh?"

No response, not that it surprises me. I'm so bad at starting conversations. Let's screw this smalltalk-to-build-a-nice-athmosphere-thing and ask her directly.

"Why is that you are always waiting for me to fall asleep? Not only that, when I wake up you always seem to really depressed. What exactly is happening while I am sleeping?"

No response.

"How long are you going to stay silent whenever I'm asking you something? What's the purpose of you following me anyway? It's not like you are much of a help to begin with."

Nothing, or maybe..

"What's up? Answer me! I'm asking for an answer!"

"Shut up!" She suddenly shouts.

I already noticed that she was getting affected by my forceful approach, but I had no other choice than to keep pushing. Shouldn't I have the right of getting some answers? For now she's finally continuing to talk, though not really in the way I expected her to. She is.. really emotional all of a sudden, even a couple of tears make their way down her cheeks..

"Do you really think that I chose to follow you all the time? Do you really think I enjoy seeing all the weird thoughts that are going on in your mind? Don't act like you are the only with problems here!"

Oh, I'm not?.. I'm saying to myself, forgetting that she just said that she can read my thoughts anyway.

"You should be happy about the slow kind of start you have been offered! There's nothing worse than waking up and suddenly knowing things you never even knew a person could know! And no, I can't read your mind."

"Didn't you just do?" She's really confusing. I already regret asking her.

"I'm not reading it all the time, but it's so boring having to be around that it's the only form of entertaining for me."

"Oh great, so my mind is like a sitcom for you. Anyway, what exactly did you mean with 'knowing things'? What are those 'things'?"

"Just things. Everything. Why I am here. Why you are here. Why Eri is here. Purpose, history and tasks. Just everything."

"..and you simply knew after waking up? Wait, aren't you a spirit or something?"

"Actually.. I haven't been a spirit all the time. My involvement into this matter only happened 3 years ago."

"You mean, you became a spirit 3 year ago.. and then you suddenly knew those things?" In this moment I don't realize that there is another important thing that comes hand in hand with this question, but soon the scales will fall from my eyes.

"Exactly. Since then I've been searching her and her guardian spirit, you."

Wow, that's really a surprise me. So she's basically been around for 3 years already, knowing that it eventually would come to this someday and that Eri is supposed to save the world. If somebody told me that Eri is our only hope and I didn't suddenly became a Japanese moments before, then I would be really, really depressed. All my craziness about her aside, I don't see how she could cause more than just blood losses, let alone save the whole world.

However, I just realized that Sayu didn't answer one of my very first questions I asked her tonight. "Okay so, what are you doing while I'm sleeping?" I ask her again.

She's once again hesitating to answer and while wiping away her tears she says, "That's... something I don't really want to burden you with."

"But..." I still want to know, but she's interrupting me with a very serious and sad expression on her face while she's looking directly into my eyes for the first time since three days. At that moment I knew that I should stop asking her questions for today, but I doubt that it will stop bothering me, especially after today.

[JFC]

~ {07} ~ {Just Knowing}

That creepy tall person from the other day is still hunting me when I'm spacing out during the day, but surprisingly that was the only strange thing that happened to me in now already four days since I became a Japanese with an incredibly cute and mysterious girl spirit following me.

So...still no idea on who this guy is? He's probably going to have to subtly ask around and find out who this guy is, and more importantly, how he's connected to Eri?

Back to my new job. As I thought, it's just like babysitting with a few extras and special benefits, the biggest benefit being the pure sight of Kamei Eri herself. I admit that it was really difficult to keep my heart from jumping out of my breast while being only a few meters away from her, but I got over that surprisingly fast.

So other than controlling the fanboyness, he hasn't had to anything that he couldn't handle? Nice.

Luckily I haven't seen much of the other girls yet, the extra damages to my mind could be fatal.

It wouldn't be good for his pants, either.

I always get thrown back to that one dream once Sayu appears in front of me. Where is she hiding all the time anyway?

...

If she really was inside my head, she would probably get drowned in perverted thoughts every time I'm in the same room as Eri.

Another thing that is giving me chills is the feeling of getting followed. It happens at least once every time I go to work or return back home that I get this feeling. I don't think Sayu is the cause and I'm starting to think that it has something to do with that person.

Which goes back to my last thought/theory from the previous chapter.

"How long are you going to stay silent whenever I'm asking you something? What's the purpose of you following me anyway? It's not like you are much of a help to begin with."

His frustration is understandable. "Sayu" here has told him he's supposed to save the world, but she hasn't given him any details on the how or why of it.

"Do you really think that I chose to follow you all the time? Do you really think I enjoy seeing all the weird thoughts that are going on in your mind? Don't act like you are the only with problems here!"

Oh, I'm not?.. I'm saying to myself, forgetting that she just said that she can read my thoughts anyway.

"You should be happy about the slow kind of start you have been offered! There's nothing worse than waking up and suddenly knowing things you never even knew a person could know!

Wait then, is "Sayu" in a similar boat here? She's not here by her own choice? She's a proverbial "cog in the machine" like he is?

"I'm not reading it all the time, but it's so boring having to be around that it's the only form of entertaining for me."

"Oh great, so my mind is like a sitcom for you.

Well, based on what she previously stated about not having a choice in whether or not she follows him, one can understand how she could get bored. Just having to follow someone else, rather than being able to go off and do your own thing would get old really, REALLY fast.

*SAYU'S STORY*

Holy shit...3 years? Knowing what she knows, and being on the same mission for that long...that's got to be emotionally draining, to say the least.

"Okay so, what are you doing while I'm sleeping?" I ask her again.

She's once again hesitating to answer and while wiping away her tears she says, "That's... something I don't really want to burden you with."

"But..." I still want to know, but she's interrupting me with a very serious and sad expression on her face while she's looking directly into my eyes for the first time since three days. At that moment I knew that I should stop asking her questions for today, but I doubt that it will stop bothering me, especially after today.

Don't tell me it's something like...she ceases to exist if he's not conscious/awake???