Hello everyone! Welcome to the rewrite of Green Midnight! If you've been reading that story, then you have a pretty good idea of what's to come. If not, then I hope you don't go peeking for spoilers! Now then, for the most part, the story's remained unchanged from its previous incarnation; however, some concepts have been changed, the dialogue has been smoothed out, new stuff has been added, and more awesome has been added. Now then, whether you're an old fan or new, I hope you enjoy the story!

In-Game Date: April 7, 2009

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

'Attention passengers. We have now arrived at Iwatodai Station. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay. The next stop is Iwatodai. I repeat, the next stop is Iwatodai.' The announcement echoed over the PA system on the train as it screeched to a halt. The doors opened wide, ready to let its passengers out.

'Iwatodai. Iwatodai. This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please make sure you board in time for departure. Iwatodai. Iwatodai,' the PA system echoed once more.

Two people departed the train, looking tired from the train ride. One was a young man with wild blue hair, long bangs swept over his right eye. He had on a black jacket worn open, black pants, a white button-up shirt, an old-fashioned tie, and blue boots. A grey bag swung over his right shoulder, he took his MP3 player, which was hanging around his neck, in his left hand to turn down the volume.

His traveling companion was a young lady. She had long reddish-brown hair tied up in a bun. She was clad in a black jacket that was closed, a white blouse under the jacket, black skirt, brown loafers, white knee-high socks, and a large red ribbon tied around her neck in the same style as her companion. In her hair she wore hairpins on the left side of her head that were arranged as two X's next to two I's. Wearing a red backpack, she was smoothing out her skirt as she turned down the music on her MP3 player that also hung around her neck.

"Well, looks like we're finally here, aniki," the female smiled.

"Yeah. I'm glad to finally get off that train. Why did a storm on the other side of Japan affect the train schedule here?" the male frowned.

"I don't really know; I guess its how the world works," the brunette shrugged as she looked around.

"Yeah. At least we're here now. But why did we have to arrive so late?" the boy sighed.

"Yeah. I don't like being out so late. But as long as we hurry, we should avoid any problems," the girl smiled.

"Agreed," said the male as he took out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. The two studied the piece of paper, which so happened to be a map. The girl pointed to a location on the map.

"According to the map, this is Iwatodai station," she said. She then pointed to a symbol on the map. It was a circle divided into four quarters. The top left and bottom right parts were white while the top right and bottom left areas were black. The circle was surrounded by another circle, colored red and had the words 'Gekkoukan High School' in it. "That would be the high school we're going to," she continued. Her finger traced the map from the symbol back to the station to a third point on the map. The symbol she landed on was that of a bed. "And here must be our dorm. And it's not too far from here!" she chirped.

"That's good. I wasn't in the mood for a long walk," the male yawned. "Don't you find it lucky that we were assigned to the same dorm?"

"Yeah. I was surprised there was a co-ed dorm and that we both got assigned to it. However, I'm glad. We've always been together and to separate us now would be a travesty, wouldn't it, Minato?" the girl smiled.

"Yeah. We've always been together and I don't plan on that ending anytime soon, Hamuko," the boy, now identified as Minato, chuckled.

"I'm holding you to that," Hamuko smiled.

Minato grabbed the MP3 player hanging around his neck and looked at it, observing the time on it. "It's almost midnight. I didn't realize it was that late." he said.

"Wow. The train ride took longer than I thought," Hamuko sighed.

However, before they could leave, the electronics in the building suddenly cut off. The lights dimmed out and the diminished noise from their headphones and from all around them was silenced. The moon from the skylight turned a sickly green, casting its eerie light upon the two travelers. "Heh. I guess its midnight now," Minato sighed.

"What should we do? Should we stay here?" Hamuko asked.

"I think we should make our way towards the dorm. As long as we keep moving and don't attract attention, I think we'll be fine. However, be ready for anything," Minato warned his companion.

"Got it, aniki," Hamuko nodded as she reached into her backpack. After a moment, Hamuko pulled out a white baton. She twirled it around her fingers and flicked it, causing the baton to extend to more than double its size. Minato also reached into his bag and pulled out a baseball bat. He shifted his bag over to his other shoulder and gave his bat a couple of practice swings with his right arm.

"Excellent. Now let's get going; the sooner we get to our dorm, the better," said Minato. Hamuko nodded in agreement and the two departed from the train station into the eeriness of the night.

The streets were even creepier than the train station. The sickly green moon illuminated the sky and clouds as the streets were soaked with gallons of blood. Yet, that wasn't the oddest part; the oddest part was that dozens of reddish-black coffins littered the streets, completely upright and hovering above the ground. "I still can't shake how creepy all this is," Hamuko frowned as they walked.

"True. But it gets less jarring every time," Minato shrugged. "So, tell me, where are we right now?" Hamuko looked at the map she held in her hand.

"Well, I think we're completely lost right now. This map is completely useless," Hamuko chuckled dryly.

"The big city is so confusing, Hamuko, even with a map. I'm just glad we haven't run into any trouble yet," said Minato.

"I know. Isn't that weird? I guess they're not active today or something," she figured.

"Who knows? All I know is that we shouldn't question our good luck right now," Minato sighed in deep thought and Hamuko nodded in agreement. The two continued walking, searching for their dorm. After some time had passed, the two came upon a rather simple shrine with a playground.

"Hey, Hamuko, what is this place?" Minato asked.

Hamuko looked at the map in her hands and searched it. "I think this is… Naganaki Shrine…" she guessed. "If that's so, then we took a wrong turn somewhere, cause Naganaki is quite far from the dorm."

"Just peachy," Minato groaned. "First we get stuck traveling during Green Midnight and now we get lost. Wonderful. And school starts tomorrow as well. Could things get any worse?"

As if to answer Minato's question, a nearby bush began to rattle. "Eep!" Hamuko jumped back, baton at the ready. "Come out, you beast!" From the bush walked out a young white dog with red eyes.

"Yeah, what a beast, Hamuko. Careful, or it'll eat you!" Minato teased his sister.

"Aniki!" Hamuko stomped the ground. "That's not funny."

"Sorry, Hamuko," Minato chuckled as he knelt in front of the dog. "Hi there, little guy. How are you?" The dog stared right into Minato's eyes, like it was looking into his soul. For a moment, all was silent. Then, all of a sudden, the dog jumped into Minato's arms and nuzzled its snout against Minato's face.

"Aw…" Minato scratched the dog's ear. "You're such a nice doggy."

"It's rare that we see a living creature during Green Midnight," Hamuko remarked as she petted the dog. "Aren't you such a cute little doggy?" The dog jumped into Hamuko's arms and began licking her face, causing her to laugh. "Aw… he likes me, aniki! Can we keep him?"

"Well, I don't see a collar. I suppose we can take him with us to the dorm and see what happens from there," Minato shrugged.

Suddenly, the dog slipped out of Hamuko's arms and vanished into the bushes. "Aw…" Hamuko pouted.

"Well, I guess that solves that problem," said Minato. "Come on, we should keep going. Things may be quiet now, but you never know when the Beasts may strike…."

"Alright…" Hamuko sighed. "I wanted that puppy…"

After leaving the shrine, the siblings finally got themselves on the right track and fond themselves in front of a plain building. Hamuko checked the address that was written on the map and compared it to the address found above the door. "Yes, this is the place!" she chirped. Minato let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally. I'm ready for bed. Let's go inside, find who's in charge, get our rooms, and catch some shut eye," said Minato.

The two weary travelers entered the building and glanced around. The entrance looked quite a bit like a hotel lobby. To their left was a counter that served like a check-in desk. To their right were several couches, chairs, a table, and a television. Beyond the lobby, there was a kitchen area, complete with table and chairs. To the left of the kitchen were bathrooms and stairs leading up. "You think anyone's still up?" Minato asked as he put his bat away.

"Who knows? Should we ring the bell or something?" Hamuko shrugged as she folded her baton up. As the two removed their headphones from their ears, a creepy voice called out to them.

"You're late," the voice mocked them. Minato turned to his left to see that a strange young boy clad in prison wear-like pajamas had manned the check-in desk. The boy seemed oddly creepy; he exuded a feeling horror movies would give someone. "I've been waiting a long time for you," the boy scolded.

'I guess he means I've kept him up for half the night waiting for us,' Minato thought. 'But it's still Green Midnight… I thought only a few could explore it. Now I find a dog and a boy? What's next, a hot chick?'

The strange boy snapped his fingers. "Now if you want to proceed…" the boy pointed to the registry on the desk, which mysteriously opened on its own. "Please sign your name there; it's a contract," the boy said.

"A contract?" Minato asked, confused by the statement.

"Don't worry. All it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff…" the boy assured the blue-haired teen. Minato felt his body shiver as the boy looked at him expectantly, like the boy was the embodiment of fear itself.

"Do I have to?" Minato asked the boy.

"No, but it would be in your best interest to do so," the boy smiled, which freaked Minato out. Feeling a chill crawl up his spine, Minato took a deep breath in order to calm himself down.

'He probably means a dorm contract or something like that,' Minato assured himself. "Okay," Minato said, which made the boy smile wider. He walked over to the registry and took the quill pen in hand. He dipped the pen in the inkbottle and quickly signed the name 'Arisato Minato' on the line. "Done. Does my sister need to sign this contract as well?" Minato asked.

"Don't worry; your sister will get her own contract soon enough," the boy mysteriously said. He then took the registry in hand and closed it. "No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end," the boy chuckled. He then held up the contract in a way that it covered his right eye the way Minato's hair covered his eye. "You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes," the boy warned.

With a flick of the wrist, the registry disappeared into thin air. The boy began walking backwards into the shadows, fading away as he did. "And so it begins…" the boy faded into the darkness.

"What on earth was that all about?" the young man wondered. Suddenly, a hand began snapping in his face.

"Aniki, are you okay?" Hamuko asked.

"Huh? What?" Minato was confused.

"Are you okay? You suddenly started babbling about some 'contract', walked over to the sign-in desk, and scribbled on it," Hamuko informed him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Minato asked. He looked back over to the desk. Sure enough, 'Arisato Minato' was scribbled in ink on the desk. "What? How can that be? What about the boy? And the contract?" Minato began to worry.

"What boy? What contract? Aniki, are you sure you're okay?" Hamuko grasped her brother's hands in worry. Before Minato could respond to his sister's concerns, they heard a creaking sound.

"Who's there?" a voice shouted out. The two looked towards the stairs and saw a young girl standing nearby. She had shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a choker around her neck and had on a pink sweater. A red bow was also tied around her neck like Hamuko, and had on a skirt and loafers. On her left arm was a red armband that had the initial 'S.E.E.S' on it. What was most catching was on her right thigh; it was a gun holster, with a silver gun inside.

'What the? ANOTHER person active? This a breeding ground or something? And shit! She has a gun!' Minato instinctively stepped in front of his sister.

The pink-clad girl began breathing heavily, looking at Minato and Hamuko with fear in her eyes. "Now calm down…" Minato tried to defuse the situation. As the girl's hand slowly fidgeted towards her gun, Minato and Hamuko found themselves taking a step back.

"What are you doing!" Hamuko yelled, fearful for her life. The girl drew her gun from its holster, holding it with a shaky grip. "No!" Hamuko sobbed, grabbing her brother in need of safety.

As the girl's arm began to swing the gun, a voice shouted, "Takeba! Wait!" The gun-wielding girl whipped around to see that another young woman had appeared at the foot of the stairs. She had long red hair that covered her left eye. She wore a white-button up blouse, black knee-high heeled boots, and a long grey skirt. She had the same ribbon around her neck and wore the same armband as the brunette. On her waist was a gun holster with a gun similar to that the pink-clad girl had on her.

As the brunette breathed a sigh of relief, the power cut back on, the eerie green light fading away. The MP3 players around Minato and Hamuko's necks cut back on, the songs they were listening earlier softly echoing from their earphones. The brunette couldn't help but smile in relief as she put her gun away. The red-haired one approached and smiled at everyone.

"I didn't think you two would arrive so late. My name is Kirijo Mitsuru. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm," the redhead introduced herself.

"Who are they?" the brunette asked the one now identified as Mitsuru.

"They're transfer students and siblings, fraternal twins to be precise. It was a last minute to assign them here to this dorm. They'll eventually be moved to the appropriate dorms," Mitsuru explained.

"…Is it okay for them to be here?" the brunette asked.

"I guess we'll see," Mitsuru nodded as she looked over at Minato and Hamuko. "I guess I'll introduce everyone."

"This is Takeba Yukari," Mitsuru pointed to the pink-clad girl. "Takeba, these are the Arisatos: Minato-san and Hamuko-san. All three of you will be juniors this spring."

"…Hey," the girl shyly greeted the twins with a wave.

Hamuko, still holding onto her brother, looked up. "Aniki, what do we do?" she whispered to him.

"We play along for now. Besides, I want to know how is it that there are others active during 'that time' besides us," Minato whispered back.

"Okay, aniki," Hamuko nodded. The two separated and stood in front of Mitsuru and Yukari. Minato turned off his MP3 player and extended a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Yukari-san and Mitsuru-san," Minato greeted.

"Same here, Arisato. However, I am your sempai, so I expect to be addressed accordingly," Mitsuru replied.

"Of course, Mitsuru-sempai," Minato nodded. The two shook hands.

"Uh… Nice to meet you too…" Yukari rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. She then shook Minato's hand as well, a bit nervous about it.

"It's nice to meet you two as well," Hamuko wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Can I ask something?" Minato asked.

"Of course, Arisato," said Mitsuru.

"Actually, I have two questions. Is this dorm girl's dorm? I was under the impression that this was a co-ed dorm, yet I only see girls so far," Minato blushed a little.

"Don't worry, Arisato. This is definitely a co-ed dorm. It's just that there are only three people who live here at the moment, and two of them are female. Well, I suppose its more accurate to say that there's five people living here now if I include you two," Mitsuru explained.

"Ah, okay," Minato sighed in relief. He may like girls, but living in a dorm full of them would be bad news. "My other question: You said you were Kirijo Mitsuru, as in the Kirijo Group, the prestige corporation?"

"That is correct. I'm impressed you knew that," Mitsuru smiled.

"Well, when your grandfather is a famed detective, you tend to pick up a few things," said Minato.

"Ah, yes. I've heard of him from my father, who has met your grandfather on several occasions. Don't you find it interesting that the child and grandchildren of two acquaintances end up at the same dorm?" Mitsuru asked.

"I do. I hope we can get along like they can," said Hamuko.

"Same here. Anyways, it's getting late, so you two should get some rest," said Mitsuru. "Arisato's room is on the second floor and Arisato-kohai's room is on the third floor. And before you ask, when I'm saying 'Arisato-kohai', I am addressing Hamuko-san. If it's just 'Arisato', then I'm addressing Minato-san. Anyways, the rest of your things should already be in your rooms. Takeba, if you would lead the way?"

"…Of course! Follow me!" a startled Yukari snapped to attention. Taking the lead, Yukari led the group of four to the second floor. At the top of the stairs was a sitting area with several vending machines filled with food and drinks. Another staircase stood near the top of the stairs. On the other side of the sitting area was a hallway with several doors, which Minato assumed to be dorm rooms. "Follow me," Yukari motioned to Minato.

"Arisato-kohai, I'll take you to your room," said Mitsuru as she handed a key to Minato. "Arisato, this is your key to your room; don't lose it. Now then; Arisato and Takeba, I bid you both good night."

"Okay then. Night, aniki," Hamuko waved to her brother.

"Night, Hamuko," Minato waved back as Mitsuru and Hamuko went upstairs. Yukari led Minato to the end of the hallway, where there was a door by the window.

"This is it…" said Yukari. "Pretty easy to remember, since it's at the end of the hall. Make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it. So, any questions?"

Minato took a moment to mull things over. 'Hmm… perhaps I could take this opportunity to pump her for information. Have to be discreet, though. At least if something goes wrong, I'm close enough to stop her before she draws that gun of her,' he thought.

"I do have a question, Yukari-san. What exactly was that contract I had to sign and where did the creepy kid in prison wear disappear to?" Minato asked, wanting to know more since Hamuko told him that she had not seen him sign the contract or the creepy kid.

"Huh? What kid? What contract? C'mon, it's not funny, Minato-san," Yukari frowned.

'Crap, that got me nowhere. Either she's playing dumb or she honestly doesn't know and I'm losing it. Either option doesn't seem good…' he sighed. "Never mind, Yukari-san. I'm just tired after a long day on the train, so I'm just babbling nonsense," said Minato.

"Okay," Yukari nodded. "Um… Can I ask you something? On your way here from the station, was everything okay?"

'Ah, ha. She DOES know something. She seems to be aware of the properties of Green Midnight. I wonder what I can find out?' he mentally smirked. 'Let's play dumb and see…' "What are you talking about, Yukari-san?" Minato innocently asked.

"You know what I…" Yukari caught herself. "Never mind. It seems like you're alright."

'Drat. That got me nothing either. I had hoped that she'd slip up, but she's smarter than I gave her credit for. Might as well stop; I doubt I'll get anything else out of her tonight,' Minato decided to let it go for now. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. Is it okay if I head in for the night?" Minato asked.

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot that it's late!" Yukari apologized. "I should get going." Yukari turned around to leave, but then looked over her shoulder. "I'm sure you still have other questions, but can we save them for later, okay?" Yukari asked.

"Sure. So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Minato replied.

"Yeah. Night, Minato-san," Yukari waved and headed off to her room.

Minato unlocked his door and walked inside his room. Several boxes containing his stuff littered the floor, having yet to be unpacked. There were a couple of bookshelves in the room, a dresser, a TV on top of a nightstand, a desk with a chair, a sink with a mirror over it, and a large bed that was already made.

"So, this is home now…" Minato took the sight in. He put his bag on the ground, then took off his jacket and threw it on the chair. As he sat down on the bed and kicked off his boots, a voice called out.

'Now I face up, I hold up, I reach out to the truth...' the voice sang. Instinctively, Minato reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Hello?" he answered the phone.

"Aniki! You enjoying your new room?" Hamuko chirped from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, it's okay. After I unpack everything, it'll be better, though," said Minato.

"You sure you wanna unpack everything? Mitsuru-sempai said that we'll be assigned to different dorms soon," Hamuko warned her brother.

"Well, enough to last until them," Minato replied. "So, you and Mitsuru-sempai talk about anything?"

"Not really. She led me to my room at the end of the hall, warned me not to lose my key, advised me to go to bed, then headed off," Hamuko answered.

"Yeah, I got the same thing from Yukari-san; however, I did learn something," Minato smiled.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Yukari-san had asked me if everything was okay on our way to the station. I replied that I had no idea what she was talking about. She then goes and says that I know what she was talking about and was going to say something else before she caught herself," Minato summarized the conversation, leaving out the part about the boy and the contract.

"What do you think that means?" Hamuko asked.

"I believe she's aware of Green Midnight and its properties, Hamuko. And judging from what happened, I'd say Mitsuru-sempai is just as aware." Minato deduced.

"But how is that possible? I thought only a few people were active during Green Midnight, and even fewer that know this. Then we find a dog at Naganaki Shrine active during that time, and now Yukari-san and Mitsuru-sempai. Just what is going on here?" Hamuko pondered.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Minato gave his answer.

"Be careful, aniki. You saw how fidgety Yukari-san was. I… I don't want to lose you… especially to a gun…" Hamuko began to cry.

"Don't worry; you won't lose me," Minato assured her. "I'll be careful. Now go get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"Okay, aniki. Night," Hamuko hung up.

Minato shut off his phone and stuffed in into his pocket. Too lazy to change, he just fell onto his bed, sleep overcoming him.

'Not even here an hour and already mysteries are popping up. I honestly hoped for a normal school year, just like back in the countryside, but I guess that's not going to happen. Just what is going on here?' he wondered. He shoved his thoughts out of his mind and fell asleep, waiting for whatever the next day held.

Ah, this chapter is so much easier to read without all that gratuitous Japanese. I hope you enjoy the chapters to come!