4/7

Noriko's eyes shot open so fast they almost hurt as she looked around in a mix of confusion and shock.

Am I awake. No, this isn't my room! Where am I? Is this still a… Wait. Of course this is my room. I just moved in.

Sighing and breathing deeply to calm herself down, Noriko glanced around her new bedroom, gaze eventually falling onto the old-fashioned looking alarm clock on the cabinet beside her bed.

It's only just going on half five. Ugh, I can never get a good bloody sleep, can I.

Looking down at the floor, Noriko engaged in a brief staring contest with her still not unpacked bag in a foolish attempt at convincing the inanimate, yet malicious object to just disappear. The case, in reply, sat on the floor, continuing to be not unpacked.

Dammit, I'm awake now. Should be fine as long as I'm quiet.

Several minutes of hushed cursing and muffled muttering later, the bag was finally relieved of its final passenger. Now, the room was looking much better in Noriko's opinion. On the wall next to the bed was a large, creased poster for the all-female rock band, First-Maid-Kit. The small windowsill was packed with about a dozen small kokeshis, each of them completely different in color, size and design. Finally, she had changed out of her wrinkled, slept-in clothes into something a bit more comfortable. Placing the last pair of socks in the bottom drawer of the bedside cabinet, she took a step back and looked herself up and down in a full-length mirror that she had found built into one of the doors of the wardrobe. Her shortish brown hair was a mess as always and she had bags almost the size of her suitcase under her red eyes. She looked pretty much how she felt, really. For clothes, she had on her old battered pair of grey-green sneakers, a pair of black tracksuit bottoms that were so creased they looked like she had just found them in a charity bin and a white hoody with a cute cat face on it that was one size too big for her, under which she wore a plain loose white tee. Putting the cheesiest, most anime smile on her face she could, raising her hand as if in greeting, she said under her breath.

"Hi! I'm Orio Noriko, but you can call me Rino, cause I'm sooooooooo sweet!"

Feigning puke, she closed the wardrobe door and glanced once more at the clock beside her bed.

"Quarter past six, huh. Screw this, I'm getting something to eat," she grumbled, carefully opening her door and making her way down the stairs. In the hall however, something caused her to come to a halt. A smell, wafting from a gap in the kitchen door, which was filling the hall in its entirety. Stepping forward bit by bit, Noriko slowly opened the door, and saw the most beautiful thing she had seen in a long time. On a small round wood table, was a stack of pancakes that were fluffier than any she had ever seen before, flanked on either side by a pair of plates, each containing half a dozen thick, fatty slices of bacon. Already salivating, Noriko walked, transfixed, over to the nearest chair, struck speechless by the sight.

"Ahh, your finally awake, huh?", a voice said from the other side of the pancakes. Leaning to the side, Noriko saw that Daisuke was entering the house from a back door that was tucked around the corner of the fridge. In an unusual display, he was wearing what appeared to be an extremely faded tracksuit and shorts.

"What the hell are you wearing?" was her incredulous reply. She had been pretty quiet, even while struggling with her case, but she hadn't even heard him going down the stairs, let alone making some breakfast and leaving to presumably exercise.

"I was just doing some stretches after a spot of jogging in the garden. It's always important to keep active, especially as you start getting on in years."

"But… I woke up at half five! When did you do all this?"

"Well, I just finished the frying about five minutes ago, I was jogging for about ten so… I'd say around an hour ago."

"H-h-how are you f-functioning?", an increasingly confused Noriko stuttered, trying to make sense of this old man's insane morning routine.

"You know, getting up early and doing some exercise is extremely healthy. They call it 'ikigai'."

"Is that so? Well, if this is ikigai too," she said, indicating the pancakes and bacon in front of her on the table. "Then I don't think I mind living with someone who lives like that. Do you have any coffee?"

"Yes, though is instant okay? I can't make a proper roast to save my life."

A long and thoroughly enjoyable gorging later, the two of them sat contently at the table.

"So," Daisuke said, clapping his hands together. "The plan for today. The school you'll be attending starts back up tomorrow, so we need to get you all signed in there. I thought we could walk there so I can show you some of the sights along the way. Maybe do some shopping around town, get something nice for dinner?"

"Sure."

Still as tight lipped as ever, eh, Daisuke thought to himself.

Noriko busied herself rinsing their dishes while Daisuke went back upstairs and changed into something she would be 'less embarrassed walking next to'. Coming back down in a brown blazer, grey trousers and a pair of well-polished shoes, Noriko had to admit that despite his age he cleaned up pretty well.

"May I take your arm, madam?", he asked in an overly posh voice, offering his own to hook into. The ridiculous accent he put on, coupled with the contrast of his formal attire and her crumpled coverings was too much for her. She couldn't help but give a little chuckle as she accepted.

There we go, that's much better, he thought. She looks just like her when she smiles.

The walk was enjoyed mostly in silence barring the occasional announcement of what was to be found at the end of alternative routes that they passed by.

There's a lot of local stuff here despite being right next to a big city, Noriko thought.

"Most of the businesses around here are kept alive by regulars and the odd shrine visitor," Daisuke explained, as though he had heard the thoughts in her head. "A lot of the young people around here like them for the so-called 'retro' aspect, but I wouldn't use that word personally."

"What would you use?"

"Well-aged. Like me."

Again, Noriko chuckled. Maybe it won't be too bad living around here after all. He's funny, he cooks and from the look of the house he cleans. If we weren't family, he might make the perfect husband.

The school itself was a quiet place, although Noriko didn't know if that was due to it being in an area of fewer people than she was used to, or simply because this school just wasn't as busy as her old one the day before the semester began.

"I have spoken to all the staff regarding the unfortunate… circumstances that lead to your moving here, miss Noriko," the elderly principal said, wiping his glasses as she signed her name into the roll-book. "Rest assured, should you need to talk, I can personally vouch for both the understanding and the discretion of all who work here. You simply have to ask, and time will be made."

"Thank you," she replied, feeling anything but grateful. I'm not made of freaking glass!, was what she wanted to say, but she knew that one guaranteed way of ruining her chance for a quiet year was piss off the principal.

"I do hope that you feel safe and secure whenever you're here and again, feel free to speak with anyone if you feel you need to," he called after her as she left the room, Daisuke by her side.

"Are you okay, Noriko?" Daisuke asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'M… ahem… I'm fine, thank you. Can we… can we just head home now," she said, her anger at the principals cloying 'sympathy' flaring a little.

Daisuke looked at her for a second then, wrapping an arm around her shoulders started to guide her to the doors of the school and out back onto the road.

"Wait wait, whoa, hold up, what are you doing?"

"Cheering you up. We're going to have some fun before heading home."

"Oooo… Ohhh, this isn't fun," Noriko groaned, clutching her belly. Her whole body ached, and her arms wouldn't move from their protective curl around her midriff.

"You can do it Noriko! Come on," Daisuke cheered.

Looking up, her right arm slowly dragging itself back up onto the table, grabbing her fork. Then up snaked her left, loosely gripping her knife. Raising herself up using her elbows, she reached out…

And faceplanted onto the restaurant table.

"3… 2… 1… Knock out!" a waiter standing next to the table said. Noriko's head was gently lifted from the table and allowed to loll back onto the chair she was in.

"It's okay, you did your best," her supporter in this unfortunately failed endeavour, Daisuke, murmured to her as he came over and hugged her head to his chest. Meanwhile, the object of her intestinal destruction, almost looking larger than when she had started was picked up and carried away by the waiters. A brief round of scattered commiserations and applause from a few of the diner's other patrons was cut sort by a long, drawn-out wet tearing sound.

A few minutes later, Orio half walked and was half carried by Daisuke out of the diner. It had actually been her idea to try to wrangle a free meal by defeating the Meat Your Maker challenge. An idea she was currently… regretting.

"Why… did you… aaaa… let me… do that?", she groaned.

"I believe you stopped listening to me once the waiter said you looked a bit too small to try…"

"Ah bah bah bah," she interrupted. "No logical explanations allowed. Just get me home."

"Shall I carry you my dear?", the smiling old man chuckled. After a quick death stare, Orio couldn't help but crack a grin at his antics.

"I swear, I don't know how the hell you've got so much energy at your age," she replied, dragging her feet down the bright country roads. The sun was still well in the sky, but it had begun to dip towards the horizon. The two walked for a while, enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze.

"May I ask you something Noriko," Daisuke eventually said, breaking the silence as they turned a corner onto the road the house was on.

"Sure," was her reply, turning her head slightly to face him.

"You seemed to get rather angry earlier, at the school," he said. "Was it something the principal said?"

"It wasn't what he said," she groaned, coming to a stop, and turning to face him full on.

"It was how he said it. I'm tired of people who don't, can't or won't understand expressing some sorta… fake sympathy, out of some obligation they think they have to be a 'good person'," she continued, with apparently increasing agitation and volume.

"I swear, if one more person looks me in the eyes with that… pitying look and says something like… 'I'm so sorry', or… or 'things will get better', I'm gonna lose it. I'm gonna genuinely lose it and I'm gonna punch them in their…"

Noriko's sudden rant slowly span down to a tearful halt before Daisuke took a step forward and wrapped her in his arms.

"Shhhh," he cooed. "I understand. I know how you feel. You know I do. So you can believe me when I say it, yeah."

Noriko gave a wet chuckle through her tears, before slowly extracting herself from the hug and wiping her face with the sleeve of her loose hoodie.

"Should we go inside now?" she said. "I don't know about you, but that little outburst tired me out."

"Sure. You've an early day tomorrow, so why don't we have some tea, and you can get some much needed sleep."

The Prophecy is true. I have once more returned, with another update to this fic.

I am once again asking for your submissions. I've been filling up the ranks, so I only need three Social Links now. I'm looking for a High Priestess, a Tower and a Star SL. Plz, I promise I'll update more if I can fill up the last gaps in my line-up.

Also, anyone got theories yet for what happened? #whathappenedtoNoriko2020