Here is my first effort at a different let's read to my Umineko one. I'm hoping to make a start with a different visual novel, Heart of the Woods, soon enough. But I should focus on the VN I'm making a start on today.
This is a visual novel I learned of recently and the premise involves the main character having to compete with others for the right to keep living after having been brought back from death somehow as though her murder hadn't even happened. So there's a sort of battle royale plot combined with a murder mystery in the form of why our protagonist was killed. It's got a good rating and also supposedly has LGBT+ content, which adds to my interest.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA7j5Z9rEII
This story starts with some text about how there are a number of terms to describe a sequence of events that lead to a specific outcome. Some might use life, while others would say story. A person is responsible for much going along this sequence, such as their choices and the mistakes they make. All of that is for the sake of going along a predetermined path. That is the order of a world ruled by the concept of fate. Fate never strays away from its course. Our narrator here proclaims that their life and the events in it so far are simply a result of going down the path of fate. That's why they've never thought about any missed possibilities that were along that path. Their life has never been anything worth talking about and they've never considered what ifs. Life has no do overs. Once that story ends, that's it.
Well, that's one way to put forward an idea, to hit the reader with it right away before we even have any named characters. But we do get that next. Our narrator introduces herself as Rinka Shishimai. She is a second year at Amecha Girls University High School, a famous all-girls school. Unlike her middle school, which had a mix of top students and those who were barely ever present, this is a school for refined, wealthy ladies. It's a place where our protagonist doesn't belong. She was soon labelled a delinquent. One reason, likely the main one, is the golden streaks in her hair. It's actually her natural hair colour, so she doesn't get in trouble for it with the school. She doesn't get hassled for it either. It's just a bit "out there" for some of the more sheltered students. Rinka chose this school because it didn't seem to have many regulations regarding appearance. However, it turned out that the school just didn't list anything because it's a traditional school that governs appearance with unspoken rules. Rinka was pissed off when she was treated as a delinquent despite having not broken any rules. After less than three months, she stopped caring. The girls around her have their viewpoint and she has hers. She can't understand theirs and it's in turn natural that they can't understand hers.
That was until a "certain event" caused a massive change in her life. This all starts on a certain day before Golden Week…
05/02 Wednesday
We now switch to a train station for our first actual scene and our first look at our protagonist as she's looking at the train station clock.
She's with someone called Naomi and she said the above to her friend as they passed through the ticket gate. Naomi replies that it's not often that you see something like that. Rika agrees, then apologises for interrupting Naomi and asks what she was saying. Naomi says that she's forgotten what that was and laughs with embarrassment.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvynX5IunM8&list=PLohtMuHW6JnN7grjL53q0pTdy2oFOQpsx&index=3
We then get an introduction to Naomi, starting with her full name. She is Naomi Hitsuji. She's a first year at Amecha. Rinka got to know her through coincidence. While she is Rinka's junior, Rinka sees Naomi simply as her friend. They're heading back to Rinka's place, making their way to the station platform to wait for the train. Naomi trips over nothing and Rinka stops her from falling on her face by grabbing her hand. Since Naomi is a bit taller than Rinka, she pulls her a bit forward, but is able to regain her balance quickly. Naomi apologises for that.
Naomi thanks Rinka profusely, which gets Rinka to tell her that she's overreacting. Rinka then narrates that, while she's not sure sure if it's due to Naomi's meek nature or not, Naomi tends to trip herself up often. She's the sort of girl that others might instantly feel an urge to protect just by looking at her.
Naomi says "Um..", looking nervous. Rinka asks her what's up. It's her hand. Rinka's still holding it. Rinka apologises for that and asks if she hurt Naomi. Naomi says it isn't that. Rinka wonders if she squeezed Rinka's hand too hard and releases it, giving an apologetic expression as she does that. Given the LBGT+ content tag, it looks like we have a typical dense anime protagonist. Well, it's so common that it's hard to be annoyed at all about it. Plus, there's worse options, like uncomfortable/creepy horniness.
Naomi sorts out her glasses, which were askew from her tumble, points at the platform energetically and moves to it. Rinka narrates that situations like this tend to lead to a replay of the events from just a minute ago. By that, she means that Naomi had an accident again. Rinka tells Naomi that she's a real handful and then tells us what happened. Naomi walked into a passenger, knocking them both to the ground. Rinka apologises to this passenger on Naomi's behalf and makes her way to the both of them as they get to their feet. Naomi had bumped into a young girl. This girl is the same height as Rinka, but her face looks younger. Sometimes, Naomi gets mistaken for a middle schooler because of her big round eyes. This girl isn't like that.
Rinka asks this unnamed girl if she's okay. Then she notices that the girl's eyes are pallid and her hair is pure white, though partly covered by that hat. The VN actually says mostly covered, but there's the long hair down to this girl's back. She looks young, but her facial features really stand out in Rinka's opinion. This is definitely a foreigner. Also, her hair likely isn't dyed. This girl fell backwards. Naomi had walked into this girl's back, but she spun around quickly while falling and acted to protect her bag that had been on her back from the fall. As we can see, she's holding it by her chest. Based on it's size, Rinka would guess that she's on vacation. There's a good chance she's carrying something fragile, like a camera. She's by herself, so Rinka thinks that she got separated from her family somehow. What she at first thinks is a key on her bag turns out to be just a keychain. This girl hops to her feet, still holding her bag tight as she glares at Rinka. Rinka then tells Naomi to apologise to this girl and helps Naomi to her feet.
Rinka tells Naomi to take a deep breath first. Naomi offers an apology and bows, while this girl just gives her a blank stare. She seems like she wants to says something, but chooses not to do so. After a while, she walks off without it being clear if she even understood what Naomi said to her. She spins around to face them once more, but it feels like she's meeting Rinka's gaze, not Naomi's. Rinka comments that it's funny. Thanks to her unique appearance, this girl stands out from the crowd. Well, she has the same issue with her hair. That's probably why this girl was easily able to pick Rinka out of the crowd when she turned to look at them again.
For me, this is funny because Rinka has blood red eyes and Naomi has pink hair. It's a bit odd to have characters react to blonde hair or darker skin so much when you have those anime features in people.
Anyway, Rinka is unable to tell if this girl went off to find her parents or was here all alone. Naomi apologises to Rinka, which makes her say that there's no point in Naomi saying that to her. Naomi did apologise to that girl and she appeared to be uninjured. So, it looks like everything's fine. But Naomi really needs to pay more attention to her surroundings. Naomi vows to use severe caution in that area from now on and be careful with every step she takes. Rinka asks Naomi if she realises that she'll probably trip again if she does that. Then she realises that she can't see that unnamed girl any more. Naomi asks if something's the matter, such as if the person had actually been hurt from her fall. Wait, Naomi refers to them as he. I thought that was a typo until Rinka asks her about that. That was a girl, Rinka states. Naomi says that Rinka might be right, given how pretty that person was, and now feels like she was doubly rude to them.
Then the sound of the train approaching ends their conversation. They make their way to the platform and Rinka tells Naomi to be careful about tripping over a step this time. She agrees and they get on to the train, having largely forgotten about that person Naomi bumped into.
They board the next train at Otsuka station. Rinka's place isn't far from there. They have to first get off at Shinjuku station before taking the metro for two more stations. The issue is that they're undergoing this trip at 5pm, rush hour, so the trains are packed. Naomi and her get squished together on their journey to Shinjuku. Naomi says it's her fault they got caught in the foot traffic and apologises. Rinka tells her not to worry about it. She's used to this. Still, Naomi apologises again.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOOtLXeNCY4&list=PLohtMuHW6JnN7grjL53q0pTdy2oFOQpsx&index=8
Something attracts Rinka's attention. She seems to have seen a person she recognises. She sees a bag with a familiar keychain. It's the kid from earlier. That person is standing in the middle of the passenger car, still holding their bag next to their chest. They aren't tall enough to hold on to the overhead straps, but Rinka thinks they won't fall over because of how cramped it is. Rinka says that she wasn't expecting them to be in the same car. Naomi hears her and asks if something happened.
The strap of the bag has probably unfastened from the effect of people rubbing against it on this cramped train. This worries Rinka as the kid doesn't seem to have noticed that it's open. The other passengers probably don't care enough to notice either. Some are reading newspapers or checking out the ads, but most of them are on their phones. Rinka wouldn't have noticed either if Naomi hadn't bumped into that kid earlier. It's why Rinka is the only one to see what they're doing.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzRKli9NcgQ&list=PLohtMuHW6JnN7grjL53q0pTdy2oFOQpsx&index=4
Something black is peeking out of the bag. It's mechanical, but not like a laptop or a camera. For some reason, Rinka's mind leaps to a conclusion that would normally be something in the realm of fiction for her. It's a bomb. Before Rinka can finish saying that out loud, a flash emits from the bag. The detonation is almost instantaneous. A wave of heat propels through the air, enough to make Rinka feel like her skin is being seared off. A sharp explosive roar comes right after, punctuating her eardrums. Rinka ducks in front of Naomi to protect her and push her away. Rinka feels her body being pushed by the shockwave. In that moment, her body is burned beyond repair within the flames.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Qt2pNQmsA&list=PLohtMuHW6JnN7grjL53q0pTdy2oFOQpsx&index=5
However, she's still conscious. She hears a voice calling to her. But she doesn't feel anything. Vivid thoughts of what has happened, is happening, rush through her mind. But she no longer feels anything. Her consciousness begins to fade. Or maybe she's already lost it. This might just a remnant, the last bit to disappear. It's her final moments of her consciousness as it's bathed in fire. Her sight fades away too. Surely her consciousness will soon be spirited away. If nothing else, the voice calling to her has been a comfort.
Then the screen fades to white and Rinka says that there's no doubt that fate had decided to end her life right there.
Fatal Twelve Opening Video
Then a voice calls out to Rinka, one called Familiar Voice A at this point.
A Familiar Voice B also says Rinka's name. Rinka knows who these are without seeing their faces. The first voice demands that she wake up and does something to make Rinka let out an "ouch!".
Fatal Twelve2018aiueoKompanySekai ProjectI do not own anythingBuy the OST on steam : https://store.steampowered.com/app/838120/Fatal_Twelve_Original_Soundtra...
www.youtube.com
Checking the menu now gave me a Tip. The current location, Lion House, is Rinka's home and also a cafe run by her grandmother. Rinka's running it temporarily and most of the customers now are regulars who are aware of the situation. I'll need to keep an eye out for those menu tips in case they give something I could otherwise miss.
Back to the story. A sharp pain rushes through Rinka's forehead, making her raise her face off her arms. Naturally, there's one question that comes out of her mouth right away.
Rinka finds out that she was apparently sleeping. Naomi confirms this. The other girl says that Naomi doesn't need to be polite about this. Naomi laughs awkwardly and we then get an introduction to this other girl. This is Mao Ogumi, a classmate of hers. Rinka notes that Mao has her "wildly coloured hair" tied up neatly into pigtails. Besides her is Naomi of course. Since they're in their uniforms, Rinka guesses that they just got back from school. Rinka tells us what I mentioned already, that this place is Lion House and that it's run by her grandmother. The first floor serves as the cafe while the second floor serves as her grandmother's home. Since Rinka lives with her, her room is also on the second floor. Her grandmother is away in the countryside to help an ailing relative, so she's living alone right now. Mao asks Rinka if she's still half-asleep. If so, then she should "Allow the absolute legend" to wake her up. Mao clicks her mechanical pencil, presses it against Rinka's cheek and readies herself to scribble on it. Rinka declares that she's awake and tells Mao to keep the pencil away from her face. Naomi calls Mao a monster, visibly disturbed at how much Mao seemed to enjoy that. It did help wake Rinka up, though she can't remember why they're here. She asks her friends this.
Mao wonders if what she did with her pencil failed to wake Rinka up. Rinka replies that she thinks her memory has become fuzzy thanks to her dream. She can't remember what she dreamt now. Rinka knows she mentioned a fire when she woke up, but she can't recall being involved with one. This inability to recall her dream is starting to annoy her. Mao responds to this by calling Rinka a weirdo. Rinka glares at Mao, then Naomi interjects. Their class is opening a cafe for the cultural festival next month and Naomi was appointed as head for the committee for it. To be accurate, Naomi was forced into this role. She is admittedly the most suited to it, considering how serious and thorough Naomi is with this stuff. Naomi had heard about Rinka's family running this cafe, so she asked Rinka if she could tag along. Rinka had said that was fine.
That explanation helps Rinka grasp the situation.
The store is, as stated earlier, mainly handling their regulars. There's occasionally a new person, but the menu has been limited to what Rinka can handle. Since the store doesn't get busy now, there's no issue in having Naomi tag along. Rinka says that her gran would say that "Lion House is everyone's second house". Naomi says that she understands what she means. This is her first time at the cafe, but she feels really welcome. Mao teasingly remarks that Naomi should make sure she doesn't feel too welcome and fall asleep. Rinka tells Mao to shut up about that and asks why she's here. Mao replies that she's bored. Rinka says she figured as much, Naomi asks Rinka what her class is doing. Rinka can't remember if it was a fortune teller or a haunted house. Mao says that, basically, they're undecided. Naomi asks if they shouldn't have an idea by now? Mao answers that things will work out. While she hates to say this while Naomi is trying so hard for her class, she and Rinka don't care about how their class project for the festival goes. They aren't popular in their class and their class committee has been making sure they don't get too involved in this class activity.
That's part of why Rinka can help Naomi like this, though she reminds her friend that she'll also be busy working at times. Naomi thanks her and nods, trying to hide her concern. After what Rinka and Mao said, Naomi likely thinks they're being bullied. However, they're used to this treatment. It's not like their classmates go out of their way to avoid them. It's that those classmates would rather avoid Rinka and Mao when possible. In spite of that, Mao gets along with many of the girls and Rinka is sure that no one outright dislikes her. It might be more accurate to say that their classmates just don't want to be too involved in their lives. Those classmates understand that Rinka and Mao are different from them, so there's a rift between them and their class. They have a comrade in regards to this difference, a Miharu Mishima. She's likely at her work now.
Rinka tells Mao that they don't serve that. They do have cafe au lait. That'll do for Mao. Rinka tells Mao that she should realise she isn't going to get that drink for free. Mao then switches her order to water. Rinka asks Naomi what she wants and, after some encouragement, asks for a black coffee. Rinka goes to the kitchen and dons an apron. Her grandmother would tell her that you're a pro the moment you enter a kitchen. Rinka believes that. She might be making this drink for a friend, but it demands the same professionalism as any other customer. It goes into some detail on how Rinka prepares the coffee.
Okay, it feels like this story is going through a slice of life part in order to get us to bond with some characters before the tension goes up and we're introduced to the stakes. That's not bad, but I feel like this post is going to be huge and take forever if I keep writing until this ends. So I'm stopping here. My next post on this thread will be me making a start at a different visual novel, Heart of the Woods. It's a highly praised yuri visual novel, so I've been meaning to try it for ages. This thread'll be my way of pushing myself to do that. As for Fatal Twelve, please let me know if there's interest in me going further with that.
