A tickle. A light sensation. The feeling of brushing against something light... something weightless.

Like walking into a spider's web. It caused her to open her eyes, just a bit wearily. Her hair must have fallen, touching against her skin. She was lying in the perfect position for that, so it made sense. It was just enough to wake her up, but not worth waking up for. She spent the first moment of her time this morning lamenting this fact and wishing she could go back to sleep. It really annoyed her because this sort of thing happened all the time. It felt more like a conspiracy against her than a series of random events that just happened to fall into place. Of course, that was a ridiculous thought, it wasn't like she took it too seriously. Still, she wasn't looking forward to getting up at all. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her; in fact it was all too common for her. She couldn't remember the last morning that she woke up to with positive thoughts. It isn't like the way she woke up was really that bad, either. There were a lot worse ways to wake up and yet she was already dreading everything. The sun against her skin was warm and if she were in a better mood, she knew she'd probably feel like one of those cats you always see laying around in the sun. The thought reminded her of how little she understood herself sometimes, since she preferred the cold. After a moment, she finally moved, slothily sitting up, the sheets sliding down to her lap. A light groan escaped her as she faced the fact that she would have to get up and face the day. She could already hear her parents talking, downstairs. She knew the floor was too thick for their voices to reach her, reminding her of why she was lamenting waking up in the first place. "It's always like this", she thought. "How bothersome." It was apparent to her from the moment she woke up that she would be given no break today, since it was already starting. She resigned herself to the day, her eyes moving down to the sheet, resting there. Her delicate skin gave her brief comfort from the negative feelings that seemed to bombard her. She could take solace, at least, in that she felt pretty at the moment. Even though it was only a small patch of skin on her inner thigh, it was smooth and unblemished. Still, she had to get up, so after her legs moved, now hanging over the side of the bed, she stretched, letting out a obligatory moan.

She stood and looked out the window. It seemed like today was going to be warm, and this annoyed her a bit because of her preference of cold. She sighed, deciding to dress accordingly. She moved to her dresser, opening it. From her crowded wardrobe, she resolved to wear a short-sleeved red shirt with a pair of jean shorts. It seemed perfect to her, sure to accommodate her for the unmistakably torrid day ahead of her. She made her way to the personal bathroom and got in the shower.

Here, she was reminded again of her own body. "Why am I still alone..?" Her thoughts ran astray, jumping tracks. "Look at me... This skin is... soft.." Her hands ran over her flesh, exploring her body. Of course, she was only thinking about the physical aspect of things right now, but it was impossible to deny. She was beautiful. Several times a day, she would hear comments about her looks from the boys at school and yet... they never approached her, outside of a small few that were vulgar and rude. "It's not like I'm some super model... I'm not... Intimidating.. Right..?" Even as she thought that, it was obvious to her what the answer was. It was her disconnection from her social life. Even though she was smart and good looking, she was inclined to stay home just often enough that she wasn't associated directly with anyone, as their best friend or girlfriend. That kind of distance made everyone wary of her. She had her reasons, though. It was necessary. She couldn't function for so long with people because she knew what they really thought of her. Every complaint, every criticism. She stepped out of the shower, patting her hair with the towel. Because her thoughts drifted astray, she'd taken longer than she needed to and would have to hurry to finish her food. following getting dressed, She came down the stairs to her parents, already eating. Her father sat at the table with the morning paper, a neat but humble breakfast sitting on the table in front of him. Two over easy eggs rested on the left of the plate, with toast on the right, bacon laid over it. It was simple, but it was nice. Her father had defined, gray-streaked hair. He was mature, and everything about his appearance reflected that. He wore very crisp pants and a suit most mornings, as he would be going to work just a bit after school started. His black hair was streaked with gray on the sides,

bringing with it both an undeniable sign of age and a clear show of maturity. Being the attentive man he was, the grey in his hair wouldn't be there if he didn't want it to be, which meant that he must have realized this brought a certain sense of respectable maturity. Her mother stood at the counter, waiting for a final pair of bread to emerge, toasted a golden brown. She smiled at her daughter as she came down the stairs. "There she is. It's about time. I was starting to wonder." The woman's smile hid her rather critical thoughts. Her mother was a typical housewife, attentive to her husband and daughter but yearning something more. She had long and slightly curled blonde hair, obviously her attempt at trying to stay young, since her mother's natural hair color was a dark brunette. Her mother had a tendency to forget things and could be slightly clumsy, but was a good, respectable woman in both her and her father's eyes. Despite this... She had reason to believe that her mother could be having an affair.

Her father barely acknowledged her presence as she reached the table, looking up from the paper that otherwise occupied him for only a small moment to give her a slight nod before returning to what she thought was undoubtedly the same boring, unimportant news as any other day's. "Good morning, Setsuko." The voice of her mother came to her from her mother's lips, which still adorned a quaint and delicate smile. "Good morning, mom." The reply came simply, followed after a moment of pause by a bow to light and casual, by this house's standards, bow toward her father. "You too, dad." A short and low sound made it's way back to her, her father's only reply a somewhat unclear "Mm." It wasn't that he didn't care. It was just that he didn't stop to think about how much an earnest reply would mean to the others. To him, this felt like enough and he didnt think anyone would take it personally. It was more an offense made out of a lack of sensitivity than a lie that was meant to hurt. It wasnt intentional, but only Setsuko understood that about him. She thought that this was probably the reason that her mother had begun to have thoughts about the man who delivered the things she ordered online.

Yes, this sort of thoughtlessness was probably the reason. Setsuko spent the majority of this breakfast in silence, listening to her mother try to start conversation, feebly. Her father barely responded with three word responses and she, herself didnt have a lot of interest in that her neighbors had invited their niece to live with them. She did her best to add to the conversation but it didnt help that she already knew these things by the time she made her way home. Knowing what everyone at your school and the house next to you were thinking all day long had an undeniable side effect of making everything old news to you. The worst part was that she couldnt tell anyone that she already knew. She just had to put up with hearing something she already knew, over again. At least today, she didnt have to endure as much of that sort of thing, since she would be late if she didnt hurry. Shed left at an adequate time, going to school by bike. Shed have to go up a hill and within about ten minutes, she would be at school. Actually, this was a very convenient way to get to school and it barely took her any time compared to those who had to walk. She felt sorry for those people. She thought about how long it must take them to get to school, how boring it must be to walk there every day as well as how much earlier she would have to wake up if she didnt have this bike.

After arriving at school and chaining her bike up, she was finally at her locker, changing shoes when a girl with short golden hair arrived. She was one of Setsukos friends and she had an uncanny talent for saying ridiculous things all the time. This was intentional, part of the girls fun. She was the type to act silly when it was reasonable to do so and despite her less serious nature, she wasnt necessarily dim witted. She had a somewhat fragile looking frame. She didnt look bad, but her body wasnt very impressive compared to a lot of other girls. She probably thought that being relatable and easy going was the only way to be appealing because of that and she might have been right. Oh, hey, Jess. Setsuko greeted her as she pulled out the pair of indoor shoes from her locker and began to slip them on.

Sup? Hows it going? Yoooou look tired. Yes, Setsuko was used to this girls tendency to extend words for emphasis. Or maybe just to be silly. It was actually a nice change from the overly serious way some other people acted. Still doin that thing with her shoes.. Nothing. I got up a little late today Annoying, right? When all you wanna do is have five more minutes, but you know you have to get up. A low grumble escaped her, following this sentence. It was mostly for show, since it didnt really bother her that much, but she knew it would stir the conversation on, since it gave Jess more to work with. Her thoughts about Setsukos indoor shoes were common. A lot of people thought it was an unnecessary thing to do, so she didnt take offense to it. I wouldnt know what thats like, Jess replied, folding her arms behind her head and grinning. Whenever I feel like that, I just go back to sleep. Of course you do that. She sighed, acting like she disapproved of that kind of behavior. Jess knew that she didnt really mean it, so it was fine. She put her outdoor shoes in the locker and locked it, bending over a bit and picking up her bag. What about you? Huh? Ah, nothing. I got up and played some video games. Not much else. This and Jesss thoughts about her shoes both reminded her that Jess wasnt from a traditionally Japanese family like her. Japan had been widely influenced by the west since they occupied Japan so long ago and her family was different in having held onto so much of their culture after that. In fact, most people didnt have indoor and outdoor shoes. Actually, she herself thought it was a little silly but it was just something shed always done.

Ah, I see. Sounds like you. I wish I could do that kind of thing. My family would never allow that so early. Even after school, I have to study for at least three hours a day. She made this sound like a bad

thing, but in truth, it was perfect for her. She never got to think much during class due to all of the people around her, so she had to study at home to really grasp the material. Having the excuse that it wasnt her choice was just a way to do so without seeming like a bookworm or being thought of as uncool or something. Yeah, that really sucks. I forget about that sometimes. At least youll get into a good college, though. As Jess said this, Setsuko could tell her real thoughts. God, thats annoying. Im not getting into any impressive schools. Bitch. Setsuko was more than used to these kind of thoughts. In her experience, people usually couldnt avoid thinking things like this from time to time, so she tried to overlook them, even though they still felt like a betrayal to her. She just had to remember that these people werent to be completely trusted. They were friends. It isnt that they didnt like her, but they werent truly honest, and they liked themselves much more. To them, it was justified to think such mean things because they never actually said them, so they felt like it wasnt verified, like they didnt really feel that way. Actually, she could relate to this, shed done it a few times herself. It was natural, really. It was a way to vent that felt harmless. And it would be harmless if she didnt know what they were thinking. As they made their way into the class, Setsuko received a stare or two. She expected this because it always happened. Its not like it was really out of place to look to the door and see who came in, that wasnt why she expected it. But she knew their stares were for more than that, worse things than that. Among others, their thoughts were things like Aaaah, its Setsuko! She has great tits. Or Dressed slutty as usual. Id fuck her. And even, Ugh, look at that bitch. Look at the way shes dressed. From a few girls in the class. While all of these thoughts were offensive, Setsuko especially hated the jealous girls. She hadnt dressed in a way that was any more revealing than the other girls and she wasnt even better looking than all of them, in her own opinion, so it bothered her most of all that they thought things like this and hated her exclusively out of simple jealousy. It wasnt as though Setsuko was the only girl that boys like these thought of like that, because that was the farthest thing from the truth. These kinds of boys were pretty shallow. It was obvious they

would sleep with any girl that would give them the chance. A few of them had tried to pick up on Setsuko in the past. She learned from it that boys were pretty good at lying through their teeth.

As everyone looked over, Setsuko greeted the class casually with a short bow. Good morning. It was normal for her to do this because of her more traditional upbringing and the class was used to it. Actually, at this point, they didnt think much was odd about it and it helped that there were at least a few others that had families like hers. She went to her seat, laid her bag against the desks leg and sat in the seat, yawning nonchalantly. Jess sat in the seat to her left, she small girl placed her things on the seat before leaning on Setsukos desk from the front, standing there. I might as well bug her while I have a chance. Better than sitting around, bored. Jess was about to engage her in more conversation. Hows the quest for the holy boyfriend going? Jess asked with a teasing expression, making reference to the holy grail. It was actually a pretty fun reference, since it exaggerated but portrayed well, the amount of trouble Setsuko had in finding one. Huh? Pfft, Setsuko made sure to scoff jokingly as she glanced away, resting her chin in her palm, her elbow on the desk, propping her up before continuing. Ill never find anyone like that, stop kidding yourself. Whaaaaat? Looking like you do? Thats BS. Her words were harmless, but her thoughts werent. You fucking Ugh. Why do you have to waste your looks like that? Its like youre fucking gloating that you could have anybody here. You just dont bother. I hate you sometimes. She didnt mean that. Setsuko knew she was just annoyed because she felt like she wasnt good enough looking. But she was. Her slender frame was actually not a bad thing. A lot of guys liked that kind of thing too. No matter how that might sound, Setsuko didnt think there was anything wrong with it, either. Everyone has certain things they like in a person, physical and otherwise.

Err.. Theres nobody I like, though Setsuko replied meagerly, knowing that her friend was sure not to buy that. How do you knoooow? You never hang out with anyone, Setsuko. Come on, you have to give them a chance to sweep you off your feet." Jess moaned as she hung her head forward with some exagerated annoyance. Setsuko could feel a complex emotion in Jess, however, that verified that her annoyance wasn't exactly miniscule.. Was it... despair? No, it was closer to frustration. Jess was fed up with her behavior. She must have felt like just giving up on the whole thing. Setsuko understood that perfectly, but it was a very complex emotion. In reality, feelings weren't usually simple and they were never exclusive. There was a hint of disappointment that could be attributed to Jess's inclination to resign, knowing that Setsuko could find someone if she tried. Setsuko hated to make her friend feel that way, so she decided immediately to do something about it. "Well.. do you have time this weekend? We'll hang out then." Even this small gesture was at least slightly out of character for Setsuko. She just hoped her friend could see that she was trying. "Huh? Well... Yeah, I've got nothing to do this weekend. I'll see if I can wrangle up a couple guys for us." "It shouldn't be hard after they know you'll be there..." This thought was.. tipped with poison. A deadly poison known as jealousy. But, just like before, Setsuko could hardly blame her. This was just natural human behavior. She knew her friend didn't feel like she was beautiful. If she could, Setsuko would ease those feelings. Those sorts of emotions could ruin a person. Setsuko had seen it first hand before. They'd slowly become more common thoughts and eventually, those would be the only thoughts a person ever had. "Jess.. Umm.. We should talk during lunch." That wouldn't happen. Setsuko wouldn't let that happen. Jess may have been the kind of girl that had mean thoughts and she may have been jealous of her sometimes, but she was a good person, mostly. Jess made a face at this that displayed a sharp sense of hesitance and shook her head in a once again exagerated way. "I'm gonna get scolded for my grades. No way." Of course, it was obvious to anyone that she wasn't serious. But Setsuko was.

"I mean it, stop goofing off." She sighed, knowing she'd have to impose a serious tone on things like a knife to cut off the laid-back nature of the conversation. But... just then, she heard a thought from behind her that came from someone she knew. It was a boy named Kazuhiro who was about to come talk to them. The thought had just ocurred to him, basically, or so she'd gathered from his thoughts. She decided not to extend this conversation because of that. Low and behold, just as she expected, a light voice came from behind them. "Jess-chaaaaan" Yep. that was him. He was always teasing Jess, using silly honorifics and telling her about how he adored her small frame. Really, he was just teasing her. Inside, Jess knew that and it was probably why she didn't consider him an option for something more serious. Actually, Setsuko had noticed that Kazuhiro was the one person who could stop Jess from acting too unserious. Kazuhiro had a way of making her act a bit less so, by teasing her. "Oh god, not this again. What's with the -san, huh? Cut it ouuut." Kazuhiro got exactly the response he expected from her. So he moved his rook forward and took her pawn, so to speak. "Why? Doesn't it make your name sound so cute?" "Eh? No way! It makes it sound dumb!" The morning continued this way, and thus, Setsuko never got to tell Jess that she really did want to talk to her, so she could only hope Jess would remember to meet her in the usual spot for lunch. After a short while, their first teacher came in and began the lesson. They talked about some of the famous American figures in the second World War and how they contributed to the battles toward the end of the war. This kind of thing annoyed Setsuko, honestly. Frankly... Setsuko was reminded every day of the fact that Japanese culture was practically nonexistant after the second world war. Japan refused to surrender and the United States and allies moved in and obliterated them after five major cities fell to the atomic bomb. And this kind of lesson was just more reminder that the state Japan was in currently was more like America than it was Japan. It probably didn't mean much to other families, because their parents didn't hold onto Japanese traditions the way hers had. Still, it was kind of offensive. In all of the lessons they were taught, Japan was the villain

and the allies were the heroes. After the class ended, there was a small break that Setsuko spent reading ahead in the text book of her science class out of sheer boredom. A few more classes came and went and before she knew it, it was time for lunch. She didn't bring anything with her today, so she had to go to the cafeteria and get buy some things before heading to the roof. There, she sat against the fence that lined the building and began to eat while waiting for Jess. It would be about ten minutes before Jess would show herself on the roof. In that time, Setsuko watched the sky, spying various clouds that resembled things she recognized, if only because her mind cared to make a connection. Her mind began to drift away soon. Her thoughts became less conventional. Less structured. Less constrained. Before long, she felt free of worry. Her thoughts were unburdened by doubt, able to soar the sky freely. A dream-like state had washed over her and she was fantasizing of flying with wings above the cold, restraining roof of the school. The clouds pushed past her and she moved with them, like a stream of cool water, taking her along with it. She could see others moving far below her, going abut their normal day, blissfully unaware of her presence. She could see herself as well, in reality. Her body was sitting against the metal fence below, on the roof, taking a bite every few moments of her sandwich while waiting for her friends. More demanding of attention, was that she could hear the thoughts of those below her. But it wasn't the way she normally did. She could hear all of their thoughts. Take in all of the information instead of having all of the thoughts fighting for her attentions1. She was doing more than hearing their thoughts, she was absorbing the information. She could pinpoint what everyone was doing and thinking and where they were, even who they were. A group of girls talking about trying out for some club or another. A boy sitting at his desk after class, expressing concern with his teacher about the affair they'd been having. Teachers in their office talking about the students that they hated, even a small group of girls teasing an unpopular boy about sex in the storage shed for the track field. Her focus seemed to move to one particular boy. He was a blonde boy that she hadn't met before. He looked like an upperclassmen and was talking to a few of his

friends. Just then, the door to the roof burst open and Setsuko was forced back into reality abruptly. The 'her' that floated above in the calm skies ceased to exist and all of the thoughts she could hear from the various people below her vanished. It was like being thrust out of a dream, suddenly waking to someone yelling at her and she couldn't hide her frustration at that. The one at the door was Jess, showing up as expected and making a loud appearance for no particular reason other than to maintain her image. Actually, Setsuko was aware she was coming but couldn't manage to focus on her because the experience she was having was entirely new. It was hard to pay attention to any one person. It was just like having a dream. In a dream, not everything makes sense. Things don't work the same way that they do in reality and somehow, it never occurs to you while sleeping. The dream is your own little world and nothing inside of it can be disbelieved. It has to be accepted as the truth. In this way, you are naturally unable to pay attention to faults in the dream that would otherwise make it clear that you weren't awake and that it wasn't reality. The state she'd been in was somewhat like this as she was unable to direct her focus anywhere easily. When she did focus, it wasnt a concsious choice. Still, she was awake now and nothing would change that. Though she would be left to wonder what had happened, it was pushed immediately out of her mind now. "The great Jessica appears in all her glory!" the unwelcomed visitor called out after practically kicking the door open. "Tchuuuuuh...." A low rumble came from Setsuko, followed by an unrestrained patronage. "What the hell are you doing!?" Jess didn't expect a response like this from the person who called her there, so she stopped where she was, dead in her tracks. "E-eeeh? What's wrong..?" She was confused and Setsuko could tell immediately that this was actually her own fault. Her eyes shifted to the ground as her voice, now faint and unassuming, even regretful, ade it's way to Jess. "Sorry..." Followed a few seconds later, "I was just.. day dreaming.. you startled me..." She struggled to explain herself but knew that she had to because it was her own fault. "This is what happens when you get too carefree and let yourself get distracted..." She resented, silently.

As she now continued, albeit without her former brazen attitude, to approach her friend, Jess's thoughts were too loud to ignore. "What the hell...? Yelling at me like that..." Despite her condemning thoughts, she forgave Setsuko. "It's fine.... I guess you weren't serious before about needing to talk to-" Setsuko interrupted her, answering her question before she could finish. "I was... That's why it's my fault that I yelled... I'm the one that got distracted. I'll apologize with food, okay?" Setsuko held her sandwich out to Jess, half-expecting her to say no, because it was halfway eaten. Instead, Jess took her sandwich wholeheartedly, laughing an exagerated, villainous laugh. "Mwahahahaaa! This was part of my evil plan all along!" She sat against the ground without a care, her back hitting the fence as she bit into the sandwich. She sat with so little care, such lack of elegance that Setsuko thought her butt must have hurt, hitting the ground as hard as it did. That kind of tomboyish style was just like her friend, though. "So... what I wanted to talk to you about..." She began, knowing that it would never get done if she didn't make herself start the conversation. This sort of thing was hard to talk about and she always found it necessary to push herself into it, knowing that if she didn't have to do it, it would never get done and after she started to bring it up, she could no longer back out of it. Her friend's eyes jetted over to her, signaling that she was paying attention. Her expression was one of curiousity and nuetrality. "What's this about?" Hearing that thought, Setsuko decided to come out with it and be completely blunt. First, she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. There was so much hesitation to say this and it took her a few moments to put it out there. "I can hear your thoughts." There it was. It was said. No matter how much she wanted to reach out and take her words back, it was too late. "Hear my thoughts?" Of course that's what she would think. What her reaction to such an outrageous statement would be. But then she sighed. It was a sigh of relief. "So it's not something serious..." "So it's not something serious..." Setsuko knew this was the best way to prove what she was saying. When she was young, she'd tried to

tell people about this ability of hers, naturally. It failed. No one took her seriously. She could recall one time in particular when she'd seen her uncle's thoughts. They were disgusting thoughts about her mother. She remembered telling him about those thoughts of his and he shrugged it off. But later that day, when she was outside, alone, he came over to her. She couldn't remember what he said but she could remember how it made her feel. It scared her. It was probably a threat. And that was the last time she tried to tell anyone about her curse. "What the...?" Just as Setsuko expected, the girl's next reaction was confusion. This was something that outside the realm of possibilty in the real world. It wasn't an option. No one would jump to the conclusion that someone could read their mind, naturally because it could never happen. It was an impossibility. Setsuko had learned in her life that this was how human beings worked. They filed everything into one of two categories. The real and the unreal. In this way, when any given situation arose, they would know exactly how to react. And that was why this situation was so hard. Because the correct answer wasn't in the natural category. The unreal category was reserved for television. Your favorite anime. Science Fiction novels and movies. In other words, unreal things. This was part of why people find it easy to simply accept impossible things in those situations. Because the conclusions and reactions drawn upon when doing those activities contained these impossible things. "Now you're wondering what I'm talking about." Setsuko pushed forward while her friend looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "You get it, right?" The small-framed girl responded in a way, finally, that Setsuko hadn't predicted. "What am I thinking right now, then?" At this point, she was no longer avoiding eye contact. She looked right at Setsuko. And in fact, Setsuko had never seen her look this serious before. It was because she knew what Setsuko was getting at. What she intended. But, as expected, she felt the need to confirm, one hundred percent, that Setsuko was telling the truth before she confessed to the more rancid, putrid thoughts she'd have about her friend. "You're thinking.. about all the mean things that've passed through your head today... Right?" Setsuko didn't really need to confirm anything, she knew for sure, but this was a less assuming way to get

her to say what she needed to. "... What am I thinking about now?" Again, she wanted to confirm, because what Setsuko had answered was something that could be faked. Much like fake psychics and mediums, it was possible that Setsuko knew that her friend was jealous of her and could plan her responses accordingly. Setsuko had considered these things more times than was reasonable in her life. "You're thinking about a number. Seventy Nine." If Setsuko had only said that she was thinking about a number, something broad that was virtually unguessable, then she could still be faking it. Because in this scenario, there were a few ways a natural person would react. Thinking of a number or maybe a food. Two common things that you couldn't guess. Setsuko went the extra mile by guessing the exact number that Jess had in mind, proving herself legitimate. "... You're.. you're really serious...." At this point, things shifted back on track with the way Setsuko thought things would go. She got an impression of despair from Jess at this point. A pit in her stomach. A cold feeling. It was the feeling when you were busted. When you were caught doing something bad. "I know what you're thinking, but... it's okay. I'm not mad." After saying that, it seemed that Jess immediately found herself wondering what it was about, even thinking that Setsuko might be aiming to somehow blackmail her. It was unpleasant to be suspected of such a despicable thing.