April 18th – Early Morning

Hamuko woke up and went through her now usual morning ritual of getting dressed and preparing for school and eating the fried eggs that Iris cooked. The reporter didn't say much to Hamuko- other than the usual 'Good Morning', and 'Don't worry we'll find Yukiko.' She was glad not to have to answer any more questions from Iris; she felt bad enough about lying to her as it was.

As she opened the door, Hamuko was met with the pleasant feeling of sunlight on her face. It made her feel a little better about leaving Yukiko in the TV world. As long as it doesn't rain too long on this side she'll be fine... she told herself as she headed towards school. When she had reached the crosswalk she saw that Chie was standing there, waiting for her.

"Hey Senpai," said Chie as Hamuko walked up to her. "Uh, good morning..."

"Hi Chie," Hamuko answered as she walked up to her friend. "How are you holding up after... you know?"

Chie looked away from her for a moment, her face turning slightly red. Hamuko briefly regretted asking the question until Chie regained her composure and nodded to her with a genuine smile.

"I feel pretty good actually," Chie said. "I passed out as soon as I got home and slept like a log till this morning." She winced slightly after speaking and rubbed her legs. "And I'm still a bit sore as well. No doubt you guys probably are too."

That was an understatement for sure. Sure there were no outward signs of wear and tear from the previous day's battle but she sure felt it on the inside. She secretly hoped the others didn't want to go into the TV world later because she didn't feel like she'd be able to handle it today.

"Well I can't speak for them, but I know I am," sighed Hamuko as the two resumed heading towards Yasogami High. "Saving people is hard..."

"Well when it involves fighting real monsters, yeah I agree," said Chie. "But I won't let that stop me! No monster is going to stop me from saving Yukiko!" She quickly winced and rubbed her knees. "...Although maybe not today..."

The two girls continued chatting until they reached the school and parted ways to go to their respective classes.

Morning

Hamuko half-listened to the lectures of her teachers as her thoughts constantly wandered towards Yukiko and the TV world in general. The thought of being trapped in that frightening place with all those monsters was terrifying to her and she could only hope that Yukiko really was okay over there. After all, the only real assurance she and the others had was Teddie's reassurances that Yukiko was still alive, and that wasn't exactly the biggest comfort. Of course it helped that Yukiko's body hadn't been found hanging from a telephone pole yet.

As she scribbled down a few notes about geometry, she wondered what the other members of the team were going to do later. Perhaps she'd go see them at lunchtime.

Lunchtime

Hamuko decided to check and see if Souji and the others were eating in their classroom and when it turned out they were not there, she headed to the second most likely place they would be- the rooftop. Sure enough she found the three of them sitting together near the far end by the fence.

"Hey Senpai," Yosuke called out as he waved at her. "Over here!"

Hamuko joined the group and sat down with them. She unwrapped the sandwich she had brought with her and began eating it.

"Well, I guess we should tell you that we've already decided that we won't be going into the TV world today since we need the rest," Souji told her as she ate. "Are you okay with that?"

Hamuko nodded. "I'm kind of relieved to hear that actually. I'm pretty sore today and probably wouldn't be much use in a fight."

"Join the club," sighed Chie. "We're all like that. I'm still sore and I haven't felt any better. I think I'm going to go soak in the bathtub all night..."

The thought of doing so herself was quite tempting to Hamuko, but she felt should should do something constructive today. As to what that might be...

"Lucky you," sighed Yosuke. "I'm stuck working at Junes after school. Woohoo..."

Souji just smiled as he listened to the others and began eating his lunch. Hamuko noticed he didn't talk as much as the others did. Was it because he was new to the area as well? That would have the most sense, as Hamuko herself wasn't exactly the poster-child of outgoingness, if that was even a word. She could almost imagine Ms. Toriumi scolding her for using a made up word.

"So I guess it's a free day for us then?" Hamuko asked.

Souji nodded. "Yeah. It's a good chance for you to check out the town finally."

Hamuko was inclined to agree. "Yeah it's a nice day today. I think I'll check out the shopping district after school."

The group continued to chat among themselves until the lunch bell sounded.

After School – Shopping District

Hamuko was actually looking forward to having some actual free time time to herself, though knowing that meant Yukiko had to stay in the TV world that much longer did put a slight damper on it all. Still, it was hard to deny that the warm afternoon sun was more than enough to keep her spirits up as she walked down the road leading away from the school.

It didn't take long for her to make the trek, and she was mildly surprised to find that the trip wasn't too exhausting for her either. As she looked around she noted that for a place called the Shopping District, it wasn't very busy. In fact there were quite a few buildings that were vacant, making seem even more sparse. She saw the Konishi Liquor store and remembered the trial she had to endure in its TV world version. She quickly tried to shake the memory from her head and continued down the sidewalk to see what else the district had to offer.

She saw a fabric shop and what looked like a shrine on the other side of the road, but not much else of interest on that side. On the side she was on she saw a few food vendors and a Chinese restaurant. As she traveled further down she saw a shop of some sorts that sold who knows what. She would have to check it out some other time.

The weapon shop was just a little farther down from there, and the mysterious door to the Velvet Room was still next to it, with the few people near it still oblivious to its existence. It was still something she was going to have to get used to for sure.

When she got to the nearby bookstore she saw Souji standing at the entrance with another girl that Hamuko had never seen before who was wearing a rather interesting ensemble, the most telling was the large blue cap she wore on her head that had a medallion with a large V on it.

"Hey Souji," said Hamuko as she approached the pair. "I didn't expect to see you here. Is this a new friend of yours?"

Souji nodded and gestured towards the other girl. "Yeah, this is Marie."

Marie looked at Hamuko and tilted her head. "Huh. So this is the other guest?"

"Sh-she knows?" asked Hamuko, clearly surprised. "About us and the Velvet Room and...?"

"Yeah?" said Marie curtly. "I'm a resident there, like Margaret and the Nose."

The Nose? Oh, she must mean Igor. "Oh you are?" Hamuko rubbed the back of her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember seeing you there."

Marie shrugged. "It's cuz I'm not around when you're in there. Margaret says it has something to do with fate and connections or whatever, I dunno. Ask her yourself if you really want to know more."

"Hmm," Hamuko was at a loss for words. This was yet another thing she was struggling to understand.

"She doesn't really say much does she?" said Marie, tilting her head as she watched Hamuko struggle to come up with something to say. "Or maybe she just doesn't like me?"

"Oh, n-no that's not true!" answered Hamuko as she shook her head and put her hands in front of her. "I'm just not good at coming up with stuff to say on the spot like this, that's all..."

Marie shrugged. "If you say so."

The sudden awkward silence afterward made Hamuko feel more and more like a third wheel to the small group. She decided to make up an excuse to leave as to save herself from the uncomfortable situation.

"Okay well, uh, I'm heading off to Junes to buy some...stuff so..." Hamuko did her best to sound convincing, though she wasn't sure she had done a good job of it.

Souji seemed to understand Hamuko's reasoning and nodded. "Alright then Senpai. I'll catch you later then."

"It was nice meeting you, I guess," said Marie as she gave a nod to Hamuko.

Hamuko waved goodbye and quickly walked away, thoroughly embarrassed by her own lack of social skills. She wondered if there was any way to improve on that shortcoming as she began her lonely walk to Junes.

Junes

I had planned on exploring more of Inaba today and yet I find myself at Junes, Hamuko gave a small sigh as she entered the store. She still didn't feel any better about herself after her interaction with Marie and decided to grab something in the food court in an effort to cheer her up.

After settling on takoyaki she sat down at a nearby picnic table and began picking at her food. As she figured, it wasn't helping her mood at all. As she chewed on a piece, she felt someone sit down next to her.

"Heya girl!" said Iris as she put an arm around Hamuko's shoulders. "Hanging out by yourself today?"

Hamuko sighed. "Yeah..."

Iris looked at Hamuko's sour expression and raised an eyebrow. "Okay what happened?"

Hamuko briefly considered dodging the question, but decided against it. After all Iris was a reporter and would have seen through that tactic anyway.

"I'm just having a down moment is all," said Hamuko as she picked up another piece of takoyaki. "I found out the hard way I still have a ways to go before I can really fit in here..."

Iris gave a thoughtful nod and patted the girl on her head. "Adjusting to a new life is never easy, and it's even harder in your case I'm sure. But you can't say it's all bad. I mean you have made new friends at the very least."

That much was true, but it was just four other students who weren't even in her grade. She immediately felt rotten for thinking such a thing, especially considering how well those four students had treated her thus far. "I guess... I'm still a mess, though. I can barely speak more than a few sentences to everyone else though. Am I going to be like that forever?"

"If you keep that attitude then the answer is yes!" replied Iris. "You can't expect to improve if you don't try. Yeah you might not get better every time you try but over time it will get better. Of course sitting and eating by yourself after school isn't the best way to go about it either you know."

"So what should I do?" asked Hamuko. "I'm not good at this sort of thing."

Iris responded by opening up the large bag she was carrying and pulling out a flier. "This would help, for starters."

Hamuko looked at the paper and began reading it out loud. "Yasogami High sports clubs are accepting new members... Track, tennis, volleyball, even cheerleading... Oh, Iris I don't know. I'm not sure I could handle it. My body is still getting adjusted and everything."

"Well it's up to you," said Iris. "Playing it safe all the time isn't always the right way to go about things though. If you do decide to take an interest in one of those, Chie-chan would probably be the one to go to find out more."

Maybe Iris was right, maybe she should look into one of those. It sure beat feeling sorry for herself. But that would have to wait until tomorrow, as it was too late in the day now.

"I just might do that Iris," said Hamuko with a nod. "I feel a little better now, thanks to you."

Iris gave a small chuckle and flashed Hamuko a thumbs up. "It's what I'm here for kiddo." She looked at her watch and quickly stood up. "Oh, crap I'm late! Ryo-kun is going to get mad at me I know it! Sorry Hamuko, I gotta go!"

"Oh, okay," said Hamuko as Iris turned to leave. "Good luck on your date!"

"I-it's not a date!" fumed Iris as her face turned red. "Anyway I gotta go..."

Hamuko gave a small chuckle as a very flustered Iris left. It might not have been the way Iris intended to help Hamuko feel better but the results couldn't be denied. And after all that she felt her bond with Iris had gotten a little bit stronger.

Hamuko finished the last of her food and decided to head home to study for the evening and prepare for the next school day.