Fall is well and truly starting. The train station in Fuyukawa, a small, countryside town seemingly far away from anywhere else receives only two trains per day: one taking a handful of commuters to the nearest city in the morning, and another one dropping them off in the evening. For the rest of the day, the station stands there, its canopy occasionally providing shelter from the rain and its municipal notice board desperately fighting back against the cold November breeze. One particularly chilling gust of wind tries to pry off a poster announcing a festival that took place three months ago, and succeeds, sending the sparsely designed sheet of paper flying off as a bus approaches from the opposite direction. Creaking to a halt in front of the station, the bus opens its doors to reveal four teens, desperately underdressed and under-packed for being out here in the sticks, getting off as if surrendering themselves to the unpleasant weather. With a loud puff, the bus closes its doors and continues its trip, leaving the foursome alone in front of the station.

Yosuke: This is it… And now we wait for… (he looks at his phone) approximately 5 hours.

Koharu: … Going to kill you.

Yosuke: If we went on foot, we’d take even longer. And you’d be, y’know, walking.

Koharu: Mmmh… No… (she mutters to herself, pulling her jacket closer to her shivering body) It’s cold. Don’t wanna… Don’t wanna do this. (she sniffs loudly, uncomfortably swaying in place) No, no, no…

Hanako: (stretching her arms after getting off the bus, she stands near Koharu, without invading her personal space. The wind around the group calms enough to keep the worst of the cold from settling in) Five hours is a long wait… Yosuke, is there a vending machine or something nearby? 

Yosuke: C-Calling me by my first name, eh…? (he fumbles around with his phone, a bit bashful) H-Have a look around, maybe? I’ve never been here before either!

Hanako: (she sighs) In times of crisis, I cannot rightly suggest wasting time on tradition. I’ll call you ‘Kohai’ or ‘Yosuke-kun’ later, if you prefer. Once we’re relatively speaking safe in Mitakihara again.

Yosuke: N-n-n-no, I don’t mind!

Shinju: If you want “Nishioka-kun,” it’s fine. (She surveys the bus stop) Don’t suppose there’s a courtesy outlet anywhere… my old dino-phone probably won’t last.

Yosuke: Y-You can call me whatever you want, really…

Hanako: Hm. Shinju, we can check our phones and look for a vending machine, and Yosuke can keep an eye on Koharu. We shouldn’t be long.

Shinju: Righto. There might be power outlets, right…? 

Hanako: We’ll certainly find out. (with a wave, Hanako walks towards the station with Shinju)

Shinju: (She speaks quietly as they walk away) Agh, I’ve really gotta keep this thing charged somehow. I can’t be out of battery if Niko calls… 

Hanako: (Hanako lowers her voice as well) Kiwa-chan made contact with Yui and the others. Worst case scenario, I can get updates through her, on occasion.

Shinju: Mmn… I’m not talkin’ about emergencies, I mean like emotional support. She’s having a hard time. Not like I could do anything if there was an emergency, what could I do, run toward Mitakihara all night? 

Hanako: She thought you had died, I would count emotional support as an emergency, Shinju. But from what I was told, she seems to be holding it together. Well… sleeping a lot, I guess, but Kiwa-chan seemed unconcerned. 

Shinju: She has to look out for the Dreamscape, yeah. (Shinju sighs) Well, I’m not saying that emotional support’s not important. But anyway she’d probably want to call me directly instead of going through some other kid. So my phone’s gotta work.

Hanako: This is true. Circumstances being what they are, however, I would say that at least this is enough to keep us moving forward, no? I… I miss Mother terribly. I know Father is safe, out of town on business. But Mother is still in Mitakihara, fighting in her own way.

Shinju: Yeah. We need to hurry and get back already. Honestly, if it was just me by myself, I probably wouldn’t even be stopping to sleep. Not like I’ve been sleeping much anyway. 

Hanako: If it were just me, I would likely have flown back by now. I could probably get all of us a good distance safely, but it’s not exactly inconspicuous…

Shinju: Well, we might have to be ready for “inconspicuous” to go out the window. Those psychos and Kyubey sure aren’t worrying about it anymore.

Hanako: If it comes to it, we can flee using our power. But then, getting into Mitakihara would prove even more difficult, if the enemy knows we’re coming. You don’t think they’re tracking you all somehow, do you?

Shinju: My sister was saying something about that, that they marked her somehow and she had to get rid of it. I haven’t seen anything like that.

Hanako: Hmm… if they have to resort to a physical, visible means of tracking, then you all would have discovered it by now. This might be advantageous for us. We could continue moving about with conventional travel, and have something of an element of surprise upon our return to Mitakihara.

Shinju: If it takes too long, being a surprise isn’t gonna matter too much.

Hanako: It took them ambushing Yui to get anywhere the first time around. If they are all in the gym together, then that trick won’t work a second time. I agree, however, that time is not on our side.

Shinju: Unfortunately I think this pace is really rough on Koharu. She has some meds she needs to take and she’s not got them with her since the teleport. 

Hanako: Oh no… if she doesn’t have her medication with her, then we need to get back to Mitakihara as soon as humanly possible.

Yosuke: (he taps on Hanako’s shoulder from behind) Hey, uhm, I found that vending machine. (he points in the other direction, at a rusty old vending machine underneath a single street light) Kinda hard to miss.

Hanako: (Hanako looks past him as she turns around, a hand shielding her eyes as she squints to see it) What kept you? Choice paralysis?

Yosuke: What? No, senpai—er, I mean, Shirahara-senpai is freaking out, man. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on her. Haven’t you noticed?

Hanako: (the wind around them flares just a bit) You didn’t take her with you?! Are you a fool, Yosuke?! Where is she?!

Yosuke: Dude, she’s right there. (he points at a bench not far away from the vending machine, where Koharu is sitting) Chill out, okay? I know what she needs. I’ve been around her for a while.

Hanako: Oh, is that right? Then what is it she needs most, at this exact moment in time?

Yosuke: Meds—Look, we’re on the same page, okay? We need to get back to the city a.s.a.p.

Hanako: Indeed. We need to return to Mitakihara, as originally planned, and we need to get there as soon as humanly possible. I am glad to see that you see reason.

Yosuke: (he holds up his hands in an exaggerated fashion) Was there ever any doubt?