Yellow light lazily filters through the large glass windows of one of your usual haunts, the train station. The warmth of the indoors is a welcome reprieve from the permeating chill you had just narrowly escaped. While you’re used to autumn being crisp, you can’t remember a time when it has ever been quite this cold. It snuck up all at once, not quite overnight but still without enough warning for you to think of dawning the proper attire. Well, you suppose it may be time to prepare for winter.

But for now, you need to catch the evening loop! It’s almost seven already and you’re nearly late! If you miss it, you’ll have to wait another hour for it to arrive again. Or worse, you’ll have to wait around even longer because of that… other thing.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, considering it had helped you earn a little extra time to do your homework and get to places faster. But the fact it was occurring at all was, well, troublesome. Time stopping, as it were, was not a normal occurrence. Or at least it wasn’t until a few weeks ago. Right before nightfall everything had just stopped. The person beside you had frozen and upon further inspection, everyone else had too. Everyone except you. So talking to someone about it hasn’t really felt like an option. Even if you tried, who would believe you? In the end, there’s nothing you can do except deal with it and try to ignore the feeling of being watched while you continue your daily activities.

Which is exactly what you intend to do.

Making your way to the boarding area for the town loop, you step into the familiar metal chamber and take one of the available seats. Surprisingly, there are quite a few empty today. Given that it’s getting late, you suppose it’s only natural there are less passengers. The soft murmurs of people chatting, the tapping of buttons and the gentle hum of the train makes it easy to relax. It’s been a long day.

> Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to close your eyes, just for a few minutes?

• …Alright, just this once.

You close your eyes, letting yourself drift into a sort of half sleep. The slight chill from the crack between the train’s window licks at the back of your neck, keeping you just aware enough of your surroundings to feel secure.

Just as you feel yourself slipping into a real slumber, something begins to pull you forward. It’s as if a hand has reached through your stomach and grabbed onto the column of your spine, yanking you forward. All at once your body is hurtling forward faster than your arms or legs could possibly hope to catch it. It only takes a few seconds for you to make contact with the end of the train’s compartment, the impact against cold metal knocking the air right out of you.

The last thing you hear before you lose consciousness are the low groans and high screeches of metal, mixed with your own shallow breaths.

> Wake up.

You wake up, coughing on the taste of iron. Maybe from your lip, maybe from something else. You can’t tell just yet, but you know you’re lucky to be alive. If you manage to stagger and sit upright, you’ll notice that the train isn’t crumpled or damaged like it ought to be.

In fact, everything is exactly as it was before you fell asleep. That is, aside from a few minor details.

There are no sounds of chatter, tapping, or train clatter. There is however, a dull groaning noise which sounds too alive to chalk up as machinery. It sends vibrations through the train, like the thrum of snoring. It keeps in time with your pulse, almost down to the very last beat.

As you glance around, the other passengers seem to have avoided the collision that you were unfortunate enough to experience. They remain planted in their seats, locked in the position they had been before the world had stopped. The little girl who had been crying earlier is still wiping at her eyes while her mother continues to grimace with palms clutched into the seat. A man argues on his phone, pressing against the glass to mutter so he won’t be heard. Once again, you are trapped in a showcase of human experiences.

But this time, you know you aren’t alone. The faint sounds of shuffling and footsteps against metal tell you that someone is actually awake in another compartment.

> Investigate?

“I’m really sorry about this.” Mari says for probably the eighth time that day.

“Oh my gosh, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s fine. It’s only like, two stops out of my way. Besides, it’s not like we didn’t get to hang out like we usually do.”

Mari smiles a bit at the voice directly to her right, belonging to her best friend, Himiko. Of course this wouldn’t bother her, but still… No matter how necessary it was, having to ask to be walked home like a granny was really embarrassing. Normally, she feels no qualms asking her for favors, like extra change for the vending machine, talking to the teacher for her, stupid things like that. But when it came to the thing-that-must-not-be-mentioned, Mari couldn’t help but feel a little self conscious, to put it mildly.

Honestly, it’s already been five years. She should know how to navigate the trains by herself by now, especially since she’s been using them since she was a little kid. But ever since she lost her sight, she’s been relying on having her family drive her around everywhere. And seeing as a certain older sister of hers bailed out last minute, she had to turn to other sources.

But Himiko was great about it, agreeing almost before Mari could get the question out. The only condition was that she had to go to karaoke with her… Which turned into getting parfaits… Which turned into going to the bookstore. Needless to say, the final stretch home started a lot later than expected.

Mari sat nestled in the backmost seat of the compartment, probably the one for special needs passengers, Himiko probably leaning on the metal railing like she usually does, chatting away about some guy she bumped into at the comics section. She rested her cane on her lap and closed her eyes, letting her friend’s voice and the clatter against the tracks lull her into a drowsy calm. Today was… Nice. It’s been a while since she got to go out like this with friends. She’d have to do that more often. It actually felt good to be normal for a change. Maybe if she could memorize how to get from the station to her house… Bringing that up with her parents was going to be a struggle, though.

Suddenly she’s jerked from her train of thought, almost literally, as she feels something grab at her and yank her forward. She screams as she feels herself hurtling forward and slamming into a cold, hard surface. And then, nothing.

She’s not sure how long she’s been out, or sure of anything really, except for the ringing in her ears, and the sharp pain shooting up her leg. Her breath begins to quicken as she attempts to push herself into a sitting position.

“H-hello?”

Nothing. She swallows, tapping her hand against the ground experimentally. Metal. Okay, so she’s still on the train. Probably. So that lurching just now was… A collision?

Another jolt of panic shoots through her as she tries to fumble for something, anything to grab onto. Her hands meet a smooth, narrow surface. Oh good, a pole. She grimaces as she attempts to push herself upwards. Another flash of pain thwarts that attempt as she lets out a short yell and crumples.

“H-Himiko-chan?” She gulps, trying to steady her voice as she calls out again. “Himiko-chan! Hey… Are you okay? If you can hear me, answer me!” Her grip tightens against the metal surface. Why wasn’t anybody answering her? Shouldn’t there be someone else awake, or alive or… Any sound at all?

She hunches over, drawing into herself more. She hated this. If only she could see what was going on.

“Somebody…”

Izuki yawned as she leaned her chin on her fist. The seats ahead of her were empty, as they usually were. Who in their right mind would sit opposite a young lady whose hands were like that?!

The earbuds in her ears played one of her many J-rock songs while the train rumbled along its course. The journey was, of course, boring. Almost everything about her commute to and from school was boring. Even school was boring. At least, to her anyway.

Even now, the angry purple bruises on her knuckles told a story she didn't have to open her mouth for. So did the black eye and the dried cut on her lip. She sighed and toyed with her phone, idly scrolling through her Twitter and Facebook feeds while she waited for the train to reach her stop.



As Izuki leaned against the window, the gentle rumbling of the train slowly lulled her to sleep. That's where she went under, her body gently shaking along with the train car.

Which was when all hell decided to break loose.

Dragged from her sleep, her body flew forward. Her face collided with the seats in front of her, and she crumpled flat against the cushions, then fell onto the floor with a muffled thump.

Immediately after, she struggled to her feet, groaning in barely disguised pain. Blood dripped from her lip, the cut there open again. Agony shot through every fibre, into every aching muscle, bruise and bump. Izuki looked around, gathering her thoughts while she nursed her bleeding lip.

Around her, everything was frozen. Men, women, even the environment. The train itself was, strangely, intact. She obviously wasn't.

This was...

"What the hell...? Not again..."

“H-hello?”

She heard speech. Something decidedly different. It came from the car ahead of her. Specifically, the young lady holding onto one of the big metal poles at the side of the car.

At first, Izuki thought to ignore her. But she was struggling. In pain. Unable to rise because of a bum leg. Was it because of the fall...?

She couldn't leave someone in trouble like that. It wasn't her thing.

"Hello? Hey! You okay?!"

Without anyone to judge her, she rushed forward. The poor girl was in clear pain from the way she grimaced when trying to stand. But as Izuki got in front of her to help her up, she noticed the big issue.

She was blind.

"Oh fuck me. Here, I've got you."

Izuki knelt and wrapped her strong arms around Mari's waist. She draped one of her smaller arms over her broad shoulders and got ready.

"Here, I'm gonna lift you, stand on your good leg, okay?! One. Two. Three!"

Izuki hauled Mari upright and slowly lowered her into the nearby seat. She quickly spotted the cane she'd dropped, picked it up and placed it in her waiting hands.

"Phew."

She plopped into the seat opposite, ignoring the frozen girl that stood nearby the blind one. With a sigh she ran a hand through her hair, frustrated but... Somehow relieved that she wasn't the only one. Her gaze returned to Mari and she spoke.

"So...you too, huh? Everything's kinda stopped. Frozen. Nothing moves except you. Fucking pointless fucking super power if I ever saw one."

"To be asked to take this plunge, to forgive and forget
And be the better man, to be a better man, to be a better man."

---

---

You clutch your leg tightly to yourself, instinctively keeping your face to the floor to keep your curses from traveling, even if no one is going to hear it. No matter how hard you try to push on your leg the bleeding keeps pumping out, and touching it stings. You look around and notice that the other passengers are stiff as statues again, carrying on with their lives as you stain the floor.

Alright. Fine. There’s nothing to say that you can’t just walk back the way you came. So what if it all started up again and another train came? So what? Giving a disgruntled exhale you grab one of the overhead pulleys and force yourself onto both feet. Each step sends a nasty shock up through your leg, but crying over it isn’t going to make it go away. Better to just put one foot in front of the other and do this.

You brace yourself against one of the train’s door handles and give it a sharp tug, making sure to really throw your weight into it. No good. Your heart sinks. No, stop. You don’t have time for that. You need to get out. You need to run. 

But your leg isn’t having that, is it? You buckle for a moment then push yourself back up again. You shift all of your weight down on the handle, pull up and slam it down, jiggle it. Nothing is working. You try every tried and true method of busting a handle open but nothing gives. Maybe it’s because it’s an industrial door, or maybe it’s the time thing, or maybe it’s just you.

Maybe you’re just too weak to open a door.

Everything is vibrating along the edges. The handle, the people, your own hands. You slump against the doorway and catch your breath, but it’s really hard to see straight like this. There’s blood smeared all over the floor and it’s yours. Perfect. You wonder if time is just going to start up again and that’s just going to be there. That’s going to make that little girl cry even more- why isn’t her mother doing anything? She was like that for a twenty minutes, why not just tell her it’s going to be okay? 


You swallow, push yourself back onto your feet. Your arms feel disconnected from your body, meanwhile your leg just won’t just stop already. No, it’s fine. It’s okay. Just open up the roof escape.

You stretch as far as your body will let you, hissing as you grab onto the latch. If you can just reach a little farther- your leg collapses under you and you narrowly miss hitting an old man drinking his coffee like nothing is happening. This time, you can’t help yourself. 


“Fucking, damnit! Just open!” you scream. Your eyes sting. You bite down on your lip, push yourself up again. Crying doesn’t solve anything. You just need to try something different is all. But instead of getting up, you just curl into yourself. You'll try something different in a few minutes. You bury your head in your arms, but you don't cry.

---

---

So love me mother, and love me father, and love my sister as well.

Leaning slightly against the window, Nira yawnwd slightly as the rythmatic motion of the train gradually eased her further and further towards sleep. It wasn't like her at all to feel so sleepy so early - she would need to get something to eat when she got home, to get something sweet to help keep her energy up. Yes of course, that was the problem. Lack of sugar.

It had been a long day and she needed energy. There was nothing usual about that. Maybe she was coming down with an illness of some kind as well - it had seemed oddly cold recently. She needed rest and warmth if that was the case - she couldn't risk getting unwell with nobody to care for her.

As her eyelids fell, she sighed slightly to herself. Admittedly, there wasn't much to see or do on the train. Perhaps if she just rested for a moment then she would be home faster and feel better for it?

Excellent!

She would have a few hours to spend on her own - she would be able to relax, get some food and perhaps spend a little time finishing up her work... she didn't have any real plans for that evening but that wasnt necessarily be a bad thing, considering how sleepy she was feeling. Perhaps an early night would do her some good?

Very slowly as her consciousness faded into the verge of sleep, she felt herself pulled forward by some invisible force. As if her very heart was being drawn onwards in slow motion...

---

The feeling was no longer surreal, as the feeling suddenly spiked - throwing her forwards with a nauseating jolt. The blackness swirled inside her head as she struggled to regain consciousness.

... what?

Several moments passed as her head swam - time seemingly struggling to find its way back to a regular pace. She blinked as her vision sharpened and the world around her came back into view. Had they crashed? That would be awful! No, no they couldn't have crashed - everything was too neat. Too organised.

She tried to stand but her body wasn't yet prepared to take orders from her mind - still presumably thinking she was asleep. Nothing new - it would pass in a moment, she told herself. The taste on her lips was familliar... was she bleeding? Her heart punded in her chest - was she hurt? She couldn't handle that - not alone!

What happened here? What happened to me?

She needed to move. To find help.

"Hello?" She called out tentatively. Perhaps somebody else could help explain what was happening. The shock of the situation blocking out the fact that the people around her were frozen in time.

Besides, the sounds suggested that somebody was moving nearby, and there were muffled voices coming from an adjaced carriage.

And that other sound... it wasn't a voice. Wasn't anything that she could identify. What it was however, was unnerving - there was something about it that worried her even more than the situation at hand.

"Anybody? Can you hear me?" She called out again - a little louder this time. Once again she tried to stand, this time finding her body stiff and sore, but functional. Rising to her feet, she gazed around. Something was wrong, and there was nobody around who could help. Her breath caught in her throat and her chest tightened - eyes dilating as panic began to course through her mind. She couldn't handle this: couldn't deal with this. What was she supposed to do? How? What if she did something wrong?

The fear was beginning to get the better of her. She would have been fine if somebody had been there to take charge, but on her own... this was all too much to handle. She wasn't injured - not badly at least - but the pressure wiped any trace of self-reliance from her mind.

Choking back a breath as the panic closed in, she closed her eyes. This couldn't be happing. It was a dream - a nightmare. She was sleeping on the train and if she just ignored it she would wake up at any moment, she knew it.

Bleary brown eyes gazed down at her tablet, squinting to make out even the barest of meanings from the blurry, black shapes and squiggles that covered the pale light of the screen. It rocked gently in her hands, shaking in sync with the gentle vibrations of the train as it rattled across along the tracks. Her body dipped forwards, exhaustion's soothing grip seeking to lull her further into the realms of Morpheus. Nao recoiled back, nearly slamming her head against the soft leather headrest with the sudden, jerking movement. She swung her gaze wildly around the train car, frantically searching for anybody who had taken note of her physical outburst. Embarrassment filled her cheeks.

There was nobody.

The black-suited salaryman on the opposing side of the car was quietly snoring into his window, lost to the dreams like she had nearly been.

A trio of middle school girls gossiped loudly to one another a mere two seats ahead, their mumbled yet animated conversation clearly audible to everyone else.

One bridesmaid brightly beaming, a bouquet of flowers (they were peonies; soft, fluffy and possessing a beautiful fragrance that even she could detect) tightly hugged to her breast. Somebody, it appeared, had been deemed a to-be-wed.

Yet not a single one of them had noticed her. She was just another commuter returning to her residence after a long, tiring day. The red in her cheeks slowly began to die down. Nobody had seen her nearly fall asleep in the middle of her work. The mind had been willing to continue, but her flesh had chosen a different approach. It was, to her frustration, too fatigued, strained to the point where it desired nothing more than rest. Understandable, when her commitments had been piling up so much, but still frustrating.

Nao released a sigh, leaning back against the chair with a dull thud. She had wanted to complete her work, but alas it was unlikely that she could continue to do so in such an exhausted state. With a barely perceptible grumble, the young woman switched off her tablet, pocketing the device within an inner compartment of her suit. There was no point in doing any more work. It could be finished at a later date.

She closed her eyes, allowing the darkness to wash over her. She was tired. Too tired. Her body screamed at her to sleep. It was very infrequently that she took heed of its demands, but it seemed as if today would be one of those moments. Unconsciousness began to seep into her mind, a trickling, slithering entity seeking to reclaim a lost child.

She could rest.

She co-

A rush of air. Movement. Nao barely managed to instinctively throw her left arm out, palming forcefully against the seat in front of her as inertia flung her entire body forwards. Pain lanced up towards her shoulder, the sudden influx of feeling snapping her right back into wakefulness. An intense hiss emerged from her throat. It hurt. Her body was shaking, shuddering with just ... just pain. Her left arm felt sprained. She did not particularly know for sure, but it hurt. It hurt as if the Devil itself had chosen to torture her.

It would be for the best if the train were to install seatbelts. Nao made a mental note to refer the suggestion to the train line operators; the pain she suffered should not have been comparable to being struck by a wildly-swung hockey stick.

She was awake now, however. Incredibly awake. The girl could hear her heartbeat, the rapid thumping of the organ as blood rushed to every nook and cranny of her body. And in this state of wakefulness, she could notice a certain occurrence. The frozen time. The strange, supernatural event that had so far eluded every single attempt by her to study it. Why was it that she alone could take action within it? Why was it that nobody else, like the bridesmaid or the middle schoolers or the officer worker, could enter this ... this eerie world?

They were questions that disconcerted her immensely.

As did the screaming.

Having been located near the back of her carriage, Nao could hear, faintly, amongst the din of metallic throbbing, somebody's voice. A human voice, in fact. A human voice that was ... saying something. Screaming something. Was it her imagination? Something clanged against metal. No. It was not. There was definitely somebody in the car behind her.

Somebody moving.

She cautiously stood from her seat, good arm (her right) carefully bracing herself against the headrests of the seats in front of her. The shock of the impact had yet to leave her. Pain still continued to lance through her other arm, as if some strange insect was tearing away at the flesh within. The mental image was disturbing. Nao dismissed it immediately, instead focusing her attentions on hobbling around to the next carriage. Her feet were fine. More than fine. Yet the arm was slowing her down.

It was far too sore.

Exiting the carriage and crossing the short "gap" (she had forgotten the technical term) was easier than she had expected. The train was not moving, and thus there were no forces acting upon her body that could leave her falling off. Opening the door with one hand, however, was a greater difficulty, but after a few seconds of "finicky action", it allowed her through.

It allowed her into the next carriage.

It allowed her to witness the silver-haired youth (she could not tell the age clearly, but Nao was sure the boy was at least hers) bleeding out.

Nao pulled at her tie with her right hand, loosening and slackening the crimson fabric until it had been separated from her neck. Instinct had seemed to taken over her once more, and before she knew it she was already approaching the other at a rapid pace, the silence broken by her footsteps echoing against the metal floor. The tie was gripped loosely in her hand. There was a need for her to provide as much assistance as possible. That was the right course of action.

"Are you fine?" she asked, her concerned tones clear in the air. She knew the answer already, but she wanted to let him know of her presence. Of the fact that she was willing to render any form of assistance.

Her left arm ached. It continued to bother her, but with the appearance of this boy ... it had dulled.

Her own pain was not important compared to that of others.

"To be asked to take this plunge, to forgive and forget
And be the better man, to be a better man, to be a better man."

---

---

You recoil at the sound of someone else’s footsteps, tensing up as they approach. You mentally kick yourself for it almost immediately afterwards. It’s just a girl, there isn’t a reason to be tense. If anything you should be glad there’s at least another living person here, someone who appears to be legitimately concerned for your safety. But the only thing you can bring yourself to think about is how she’s seeing you huddled up in this corner, crumpled up and shaking like a complete fool.

“I’m fine,” you snap, warily eyeing the hand working her tie loose. It makes your heart race a bit faster, but you cut that crap down before it has the chance to weigh on your mind. Grabbing one of the nearby safety rails, you push yourself up. The dull pain that was there before comes back again at full force, but you don’t give a hiss. You’ve looked like an idiot for long enough. Stumbling for a step or two, you manage to catch your balance again.

As you steady yourself, you look her over, noticing that her other arm is pretty limp looking. There isn’t any bleeding so far as you can see, so it’s hard to tell if anything is wrong. Should you ask? How would you even begin to do something like that?

“Sorry. Are you okay? I mean…”

You stare at her arm, as if she would be able to tell what you were talking about just by that. You have no idea how to express yourself around other people and you know it shows.

> Cover it up.

“We should see if there’s anyone else here,” you tell her, wiping the blood on your hands on the front of your favorite pair of jeans. The grey ones that make you look taller than you actually are. But they’re shot now. Just one less thing to wake up for.

“I think there might be someone in the next car over? The connecting bridge keeps rocking.”

You know because you keep checking the exits to see if anything opens. That’s right, she did come from one of the connecting cars, didn’t she? Your heart begins to slow. Even if you don’t know this person, you’re with someone. You aren’t trapped in this car. It’s okay. You’re okay.

---

---

So love me mother, and love me father, and love my sister as well.

Taro Mori loved trains. There was a time, even, where one could say he was obsessed with trains, and if one were to look back through his family album they may find a picture of a younger Taro wearing a conductor hat sitting in front of his PC playing some god awful train simulation with his lips pursed in such a way that he could only have been mouthing the words “choo choo”. He still always took the window seat, although his obsession had shifted from trains to cars to robots to mechs (and, yes, there was a huge difference) to whatever the hell else was a fad that week. He liked watching the city go by in a blur of blues, browns, and greens. He liked waiting in the station and watching the business people herd in and out of the train like cattle, doing the same thing day in and day out. He even liked feeling sorry for them, as if that shallow gesture would do anything to better their tiresome, loathful lives. He even liked when the trains got crowded, and he’d give up his seat to an old person or a cute girl and temporarily be their greatest hero until their next stop.

But boy, did Taro really hate being on this particular train today. He had actually gone to class today. It wasn’t because of the letter from his dad; surely, pops would never disown his own son and heir just because he liked to goof around. The old man just wanted to flex his ego and he would relax after a few weeks or just get wrapped up in work and forget all about it. No, the reason Taro had gone to class was because of a co-ed he had eyed when picking up the syllabus for one of his later evening classes. He had been absolutely mad about her for weeks now, and had finally dug up enough information about her to figure out the perfect way to swoon her.

The plan was simple: he’d chat her up in class, absolutely slaying her with his smile and his charm, and then suggest they go get some food from some stupid vegan place that he had heard she liked. There, he would happen to mention a few bands that she was apparently into and, hey, would you know that one of them was playing a live show at some bar right around the corner? A drink or two and some close dancing later and he would be on his way to score city, population two. They would then date for a few weeks before breaking up after she either realized that she could do much, much better or he lost interest because of some girl he met in a coffee shop or hotel bar.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so simple—and it did not even work. Turns out that, after all of his effort of finding out information about her, he had missed one really important detail: her boyfriend. It wouldn’t have been so bad, really, if not for the damn punk walking up to them and protectively putting his arm around her before Taro could even take the chance to hit on her. What a jerk, thought Taro, pressing his head against the window and leering out at the city. Of course, he still did hit on her, but there was no way she was going anywhere with the jerk holding onto her for his dear life.

So now he was alone on this train, and he absolutely hated it.

Doubly so because the damn thing just tried to kill him.

Taro pushed himself up off of the floor, rubbing his throbbing forehead. He could already feel the bump forming, but there was no blood. He brushed his hair over the fresh bruise as he steadied himself against his seat—or rather, the seat several away from his. His body yelled at him in pain as he stood up all of the way, but nothing felt broken. Battered, yes, and a bit dirty from the floor, but not broken. He realized what had happened as he sat down in his old seat.

Oh, right, of course, thought Taro. Duh.

Weeks ago he would have been shocked by the stoppage or whatever the hell was actually happening. Days ago he would have been thrilled by another chance to experiment with his new, if limited and sort of lame, time powers. Now it was just another part of the day; a peaceful little period of time where literally nothing had ever happened. Turns out people aren’t that fun to talk to when they don’t talk back. Now he would have to spend what would feel like an eternity stuck on a train with absolutely nothing to do except lick his wounds and stare at the frozen passengers.

The man with half a sandwich shoved in his mouth, the old lady who had been taking a nap, and the pack of balding businessmen quickly lost Taro’s interest. Stretching, Taro grabbed his bag and jumped up to his feet (and cursed underneath his breath as pain waved through his body again) as he started walking to the next car. If he was going to be stuck on a train with nothing to do for who knows how long, he would at least take a moment to poke around in the engine room or something. Who knows, maybe that period of playing those boring simulators would somehow help him restart the train, or at the least he could look at the buttons and levers and pretend to push them. His feet clicked loudly against the floor, highlighting the eerie silence that was around him—a silence that was quickly broken by the muffled voice of a woman from the car ahead.

Taro stopped. In the weeks he had spent in this weird frozen time thingy, he had never heard a peep out of another person. He started moving again, only this time with a much quicker pace. He yanked the door of his cab open and crossed the gap, bolting into the other car and almost running smack dab into a frozen blonde girl decked out in some red ribbons standing right in the middle of the aisle. Only, unlike all of the other frozen people, she was actually making noises and sort of shifting or shivering or whatever. That’s a new— “Oh!” The man made the obvious connection that, unlike the frozen people, the girl wasn’t frozen. Meaning, well, meaning something. For starters, he wasn’t the only time genie (which was kind of a bummer), but that also meant he wasn’t alone in a creepy time bubble (which was kind of great).

“Hey! Hey! You’re a person, right? I mean, you’re real, no, wait, that’s not what I’m trying to say, what I’m saying is you’re not like the rest of these stiffs. That’s cool. Cool. Awesome, great, awesome,” he said, the words blurting out of his mouth faster than he could think. “Man, am I glad to see another person. Oh, ha, are you okay? You good? I can help you out, I think. I mean, I took a few first aid classes, so I’m pretty much a bunch of debt away from officially being a doctor. Taro,” he said, offering her his hand. “Uh, that’s me. My name. It’s Taro. My name is Taro.” He rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. “Sorry, kinda hit my head, ha ha…_{yeah it hurts, but, uh, anyway...}”

Thankfully, there must have been some sort of God smiling down on Mari today, for she wasn’t left long before someone answered her pleas and was hovering over her. It wasn’t Himiko’s voice, definitely. A complete stranger, in fact. But aside from her increased worries towards her friend’s well being, she wasn’t about to swat away a helping hand.

She didn’t even feel any sort of embarrassment as she let the woman sling her arm over her shoulders and allowed herself to be lifted onto her feet. She can’t help but scrunch her face as another sharp pain bolts up her leg, but this time she’s prepared for it, and instead forcefully focuses onto her grip on her would-be savior.

Broad shoulders, she muses as she limps forward with the other’s guidance, one step at a time. Certainly larger than what she would expect from a woman. Not that it really mattered, either way. If anything, the extra strength was all the more appreciated in this situation. It’s not until she’s lowered into her seat that she finally releases a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” she smiles gratefully as she accepts her walking cane, fingers locking around it like a bear trap. No way she was letting go of this again. Not until things set themselves back to normal.

Mari lifts her head in the direction of the woman’s voice as she explains her… No, their predicament. She frowns, having trouble processing what she’s saying at first. Frozen? No, that’s ridiculous. Was she making fun of her, or something? Pull a prank on the blind girl, ha ha. But… It was way too silent for public train car, even under normal circumstances. She couldn’t hear the rumble of the engine, shuffling of other passengers, nothing. Really, the only sign of life at all was the person sitting across from her. She feels another cold stab of panic at the thought. What if this was permanent? What if they’d never be able to get back? What if- Himiko, or the other passengers were in trouble, and she wouldn’t be able to help? What if-

Wait… Wait hold on. Didn’t something like this happen before? The woman spoke as if was some common occurrence… Sort of. But Mari was sure this was the first time she experienced this. But now that she thinks back on it, she remembers a similar eerie silence from the day before. She was in her room going over her homework, but she remembered how strange it was that she couldn’t hear anything going on downstairs, or no sound of cars from the outside street, or any bugs chirping outside. She’d dismissed it as her thinking too much, though, and didn’t bother to investigate. What if she had? Would she had discovered her family frozen too, just like everyone else was?

The sound of shuffling brings her out of her daze. Oh crap, she must of seemed like such an idiot just sort of staring ahead.

“Oh, um… Wait, super power? Is that’s what this is supposed to be?” She laughs weakly, fidgeting in her seat. “I can think of at least ten different things I’d rather be able to do.” Strangely enough, she could feel herself relaxing a little bit, despite everything. This woman had a course way of speaking sure, but she also rushed in to help her. And even now, she wasn’t leaving to fend for herself. And if this really was the same as what happened yesterday, then there was a chance things would go back to normal, right? Either way, it was a huge relief to know she wasn’t alone.

“Um… I’m Mari, by the way. Mari Kitagawa.” She dips her head politely. “Thanks again for helping me back there. So, um…” Her fingers fumble, struggling with what to say next.

“Has this… Happened before with you? Do you know anything about what’s going on, or-or how to fix it, maybe?” Hopeful and dumb, sure, but it was worth taking a stab in the dark at it.

---

It took the Nira a moment to realise what was happening - her mind being preoccupied with the imaginary horrors of all the worst things that might possibly happen as a result of her ineptitude - when the carriage door was practically thrown open. She blinked several times as the other passenger - other moving passenger - spoke. She didn't quite catch everything he said at first, but got the general idea as she repeated his words in her mind.

She simply looked blankly at him for a moment or two. Not only was someone else simply standing there as if some higher power had seen fit to answer her plight, but this was the first time since these 'events' started happening that she had seen somebody who didn't freeze up who wasn't her. For weeks she had paniced, worried, fretted and feared before simply coming to terms with the fact that during times like this she was alone, and now here was proof to the contrary standing right in front of her.

She wasn't quite certain of what she thought of that - times like this were unnerving, but had proven quite safe to date.

"Oh thank goodness!" She gasped suddenly - relief flooding her and helping her momentarily neglect the fact that even with another person beside her, she was still not in much of a better situation than she had been two minutes ago. Regardless, here was somebody else. She wasn't alone any more. "I don't know what I was going to do, did we crash? No, but... that can't be right. Wait, your not frozen! Did you do this... no, that's just silly. Of course you didn't, but..."

As her babbling became increasingly less coherant, she stopped herself and took a breath. Everything was going to be okay - Taro would know what to do, they would be fine.

"Sorry." She said meekly with a weak smile and a half shrug. She took the tentatively reached for the outstretched hand before grasping it tightly - as if starved for human contact after the brief amount of time she had been alone for. "I'm Nira. Nira Seritoka. I... I think I'm fine, I just bit my tongue or something."

Finally disengaging her hand, she raised it to her mouth briefly before glancing at her fingers. There was a trace of blood on them, but nothing that particually concerned her.

She wasn't hurt, she was fine. She wasn't alone, she was fine. She didn't need to make any decisions - nobody was relying on her or looking to her for support: everything was going to be fine. Slowly, her heart rate was slowing back into an almost-normal rhythm. As normality returned she began to feel the dull ache that must have been a result of the sudden 'stop' as the adrenaline began to leave her body. She looked around at the frozen surroundings and took a breath before peering up at her newest acquaintance.

Well, he looked fairly confident. A little disheveled, she supposed, but who wouldn't be given the situation? There was something about him that told her he was trustworthy, and while that was sonething she had admittedly thought about a number of people before, she had a good feeling about her judgement this time around. Besides, there wasn't exactly anyone who looked any more helpful nearby - being paralysed in time and all.

"Uhm... Taro, was it? What do you think we should do? I mean, when this has happened before I just kind of waited it out, but... something feels different this time. Don't you feel it too?"

She should have expected the question about her arm. Nao's brown eyes glanced down at the appendage, which limply hung from a shoulder as if ... as if a vine loosely held to the branches of a tree. The pain had dulled to simply a constant throb, but any sudden movement could easy inflame the aching, a feeling not too dissimilar from being struck lancing through the muscles. She had been careless, protecting herself with only one arm; adjusting to the injury would be quite difficult.

However, in comparison to the wound she had witnessed upon this other teenager's thigh, her discomfort with her arm was not yet as severe.

"Moving it hurts, but I am fine, thank you," she replied.

It was unexpected of him to focus on her injuries rather his own, however. While Nao admittedly appreciated being the recipient of such concern, she was far more worried for the blood oozing from the teenaged boy's (was he teenaged? She was not entirely sure, as appearances could be rather deceptive at times) leg. Dealing with that should, beyond anything else, be the main priority. Her own arm was fine - injured, but essentially capable of (hopefully) recovering without any intervention. The open wound however, was not, and she needed to do something about it.

She thrust her right arm out at the boy, her red tie held within her proffered hand. She wished for him to take it, to utilise it as a makeshift bandage to stem the flow of blood, at least until a better alternative could be properly obtained.

"If our presence together is any indicator, then it would be logical to assume that there could be others present who are capable of moving during this ..." For a moment, Nao hesitated, seeking to find the proper terminology to describe the strange period of frozen time. "... time crisis? Distortion? Extra hour?"

She shakes her head. It does not matter what term she uses, nor if it has accidentally become a video game reference. The meaning, the intent behind her words, should hopefully be clear.

"However, I recommend you bandage yourself first," she added, gesturing with the tie in her hand again.

---

_{let's describe a certain female
a female with a disease of character and attitude
if you will, a snob
however, in the view of NWA...}

---

"Yuumei? Are you awake?"

"Yeah..." Two green eyes squinted as Yuumei woke up. She turned to the person to the right, one of her closest friends, Amaya. "I was... listening." She said. She stretched and yawned, before covering her mouth. "_shit... Oh, did I say I was listening? I meant, uh, I was listening to music in my head! And it was so peaceful that i fell asleep! I just messed up my words, that's all." She finished, and heard Amaya chuckling. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked.

"Oh, no, I was just laughing at this stupid girl on my left, not you! I'd never such a thing!"

"One of these days..." Yuumei smiled. Hanging out with Amaya like this was fun, and she really wished that she was less busy with schoolwork do to it more often. Amaya had just noticed her and asked if she had time to stop by her house today, and it turns out that she did. She finally got to catch up with her on everything since high school.

"Hey, Mei, you still have that old camera?" Amaya asked. She remembered that the camera was in her bag, and got it out. There were too many good memories there. All of them were good, she was sure of it.

"This is the one." Yuumei said, and handed it to Amaya. They spent a lot of time looking at pictures, and there were a lot of good ones. There was even one with her, her parents, Amaya, and--

In a split second, Yuumei went from laughing with Amaya to being flung across the train compartment. She didn't even see Amaya or anyone else react to her before her right shoulder collided with metal. She fell onto the floor and tried to scream, but nothing came out. She wanted help. She wanted it to all be a dream, and she was still talking to Amaya. She struggled to keep her consciousness, but suddenly, there was nothing.

She woke up with the taste of iron. She felt her whole face, and saw blood on her hands. She suspected that it was from her lip, but it could have been from anywhere by now. She tried to stand, but her right shoulder was obviously not having her shit. She decided to lay down for a bit because of the pain, but she noticed something when she looked at Amaya. She wasn't moving, and she was just looking at the photo with the same face she had before Yuumei had been launched. She panicked and looked at the other people, and then she stood up with rage that made her feel like her shoulder was normal. No motion. At all. So, something happened, and it was obvious what happened. Everyone was frozen. Except for her. Great.

"Just FUCKING GREAT!"

There had to be someone else that was going through this! She couldn't be the only one, it's just impossible for it to be true! Maybe, just maybe, she was hallucinating. Maybe she didn't stand up by herself, and it was Amaya or the other people on the train helping her. Maybe she has psychosis or narcolepsy or something, because this just doesn't make sense! It goes against the laws of everything! Maybe her whole life was a really long dream, and she was still in middle school, friends with everyone, and nobody had betrayed her. Anything else could have happened, except for this fucking-

"Anybody? Can you hear me?"

“Hey! Hey! You’re a person, right? I mean, you’re real, no, wait, that’s not what I’m trying to say, what I’m saying is you’re not like the rest of these stiffs. That’s cool. Cool. Awesome, great, awesome. Man, am I glad to see another person. Oh, ha, are you okay? You good? I can help you out, I think. I mean, I took a few first aid classes, so I’m pretty much a bunch of debt away from officially being a doctor. Taro. Uh, that’s me. My name. It’s Taro. My name is Taro. Sorry, kinda hit my head, ha ha…_{yeah it hurts, but, uh, anyway...}”

A person! People! This...this was amazing! So everything didhappen! She wasn't the only one that went through all of this! She had almost jumped around in excitement, but the pain stopped her from doing anything like-

"I'm Nira. Nira Seritoka. I... I think I'm fine, I just bit my tongue or something."

Nira and Taro. Those were the two people that were actually unfrozen. This could have been another hallucination, but right now Yuumei didn't have anything to go after. So, she grabbed her bag and followed the voices into another compartment and... she saw them. Talking. Breathing. And it looked like they had injuries too, so they must have gone through that..."crash." Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore, she had to talk to them-- to figure out something to say before they were gone.

"HI!" She said, and covered her mouth. "Sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry, but, uh...hi." She waved to the two, and walked over to them. She sat to a seat near them, but not too close to them, so they wouldn't freak out or anything. "My name is Yuumei. Akimoto. Yuumei Akimoto, that's my name. Did I interrupt anything? Are you real?" What the fuck kind of question was that?

"No, no, I didn't mean to say that, sorry again!"

"To be asked to take this plunge, to forgive and forget
And be the better man, to be a better man, to be a better man."

---

---

“… You’re a bit of a nerd, aren’t you?” you observe, watching as she tries to find words to describe the phenomena that been occurring to you, and probably her, for the past couple of weeks. You suppose there really isn’t a good way to summarize it. Time stop? Freeze? No. That sounded worse. Still, her brief stint of babbling is enough to pull you back down to earth and ground you. Take your mind off of whatever the hell you just did a second ago.

Calm or not, however, you jump as she thrusts said tie forward, your eyes becoming wider than you’d like them to be. Upon inspection, you see that it is actually a perfectly nice tie! There was absolutely no way that you wanted to use something like that to cover a wound up! You examine it a little closer, noting the high thread count and the rich, deep color of the red dye. You can’t see a tag either, so there’s no way that this is just some offhand department store brand. With quality like that you’re almost certain that this is actually a vintage- Oh my god, just how long have you been staring at this thing?

Between this and your early demonstration of just excellent verbal communication skills, this professional looking lady probably thinks you have a mild concussion. Your cheeks start to burn as you take it, sacrificing it for what you suppose is the greater good, or at least for the greater good of your leg. A finely crafted artifact from the recent past gone. Closing your eyes, you knot it tightly around the gash in your thigh.

… it looks pretty cool like that, actually. 



“I’ll buy you a new one later,” you tell her, brushing yourself off. Experimentally, you put weight on your leg again. You take a sharp inhale of breath between your teeth. It’s just as useless as it was before, except now its sort of numb and… heavy feeling. But, if she was going to give you something it was only natural to give something in return, right? Despite the dull throb, you shuffle over to your green canvas messenger bag which, has thankfully avoided the blackish-red Jackson Pollock imitation you’ve made on that side of the bus.

You shuffle through the bag, which rattles in a way that is welcome and familiar to you. Hand sanitizer is the first thing you slap on before moving to toss a half empty bottle of aspirin at her. Just as you begin to make the motion, you realize this... might end in disaster. She probably can’t catch very well can she? Instead, you stand up and hand it to her. The rest of your bag proves useless in producing a beverage that you have not contaminated yet, aside from one small pouch of strawberry preserves. It’s… not really a drink. More like blended strawberries in a pouch. It’s drinkable though?

“Sorry,” you say, looking away. It isn’t a decent offering at all. Not even in the slightest.

You turn, determined to keep interaction even more brief from there on out. Giving a mumbled ‘come on’, you limp to the end of the train car and the connecting bridge. The vibrations jittering along the train’s underbelly feel even more apparent as you go through one of the halls made of thinner material. The hairs on the back of your neck raise. What is that? You peel your fingers underneath the handle to the next car and slowly open it.

"HI!"

You slam it back shut again before your mind has time to register that it's just simply another human. Heart still hammering, you look over your shoulder to see if your slip up went unnoticed. You straighten, open the door once again with an acceptably neutral expression, making way for… you never asked her name, to go through.

---

---

So love me mother, and love me father, and love my sister as well.

"I am ... not a nerd ...?"

Nao trailed off awkwardly upon noticing that the other teenager's gaze was fixated upon her outstretched hand; specifically, the crimson tie she was offering as a makeshift bandage for the wicked-looking gash upon their thigh. For a couple of seconds, she was rather confused, the garment hanging loosely between her fingers in wait for something to break the silence that had fallen over them. Was there something objectionable about her offer? She hoped that it was not the case; it was to stem the boy's bleeding, after all, and it was of prime concern that something be done about it.

So it was with silent relief that the boy finally took her proffered tie, rapidly moving to knot it around their leg. That took an immense burden off her back. She would no longer need to worry over his (name still unknown to her) chances of bleeding out, and instead could expend greater effort and focus more upon discovering what exactly was occurring, what was responsible, and why she (and now this boy) were immune to the ... time-stopping effects that left everybody else as little more than statues.

"There is no need for you to purchase another for me," she said simply as she watched the boy shuffle across to inspect his canvas bag. "I have a spare."

While the tie was admittedly expensive, it was something she had gladly satisfied in order to ensure the boy's safety. She had a spare, after all, and helping out others was more important than just another tie she could replace with ease. At least, that was if the situation were to call for it. However, the point still remained; gifts were definitely welcome, but she did not wish to turn such into an obligation for her colleagues.

The bottle of aspirin pressed into her hand, likely as an attempt at repayment, did elicit some confusion. Was it for her arm (the throbbing pain had yet to stop, but it was beginning to dull, beginning to affect her less and less)? Likely, but did she really require it?

"No, I appreciate the intent," Nao still replied as the boy turned away. It was a kind gesture, definitely.

Still, it was quite obvious that the other teenager had lost interest in their conversation. It did not bother her too much; she herself was ... not particularly fond of making small talk or the like unless absolutely necessary. She silently followed after his retreating back, footsteps quietly rattling against the ground. It was a rattling that grew and grew the closer they neared the entrance to the next car. It truly seemed as if there were others capable of functioning during this period of ... anti-time?

"HI!"

Her newfound companion's sudden opening and shutting of the door caught her by surprise, and Nao took a step back, blinking confusedly at the boy with her amber-brown eyes. What ... what had just occurred? Was that embarrassment on his face? She didn't know. All she knew was that she heard a voice (almost a hundred percent likely to be a human) and the horrible din of the doors opening and shutting before anything could really register in her mind.

And now the boy was waiting ... expectantly ... for her to initiate contact with whoever was in the other car?

She sighed, folding her arms beneath her breasts. This was not exactly how she had expectated her day to go. She just ... wanted to get her work done, to get some sleep in. Not to deal with the difficulties associated with ninjas in New York City. She took a deep breath. It was just another group of people. If they were awake, it would be best to reunite with them.

Nao stepped through.

What caught her attention was the trio of moving figures.

"Hello?"

Her voice was hesitant once more.

Taro blinked back at the girl, his eyes shifting away from her as the smirk on his face began to waver as the air between the two of them began to grow uncomfortable. Maybe she had refrozen? For all he knew, that could be a thing. He thought about perhaps giving her a poke or a push, but she reanimated suddenly and began to rattle words off like a machine gun. Taro quietly chuckled when she apologized, deciding instantly that the girl was all right—even as she crushed his hand in a surprisingly strong handshake.

He thought about what she had said about things feeling different, making a “hmm” noise with his mouth as he tapped a finger against his chin. Truth be told, the only thing that seemed different to him was that there was another person experiencing the stasis. Otherwise, it was just its usual kinda very creepy self, although now that she mentioned it he couldn’t shake a feeling of heaviness. Nah, you’re just imagining it, thought Taro.

He believed it would be best to try and dismiss the girl’s fears; there was no reason to try and panic her. He opened his mouth to speak, but only managed a startled yelp like a tiny dog who had just nearly been trampled as somebody yelled a greeting at them. As he crawled back into his skin, Taro turned and noticed the redheaded girl that had snuck into the compartment behind him and Nira. He sighed with relief, offering her a friendly smile as she took a seat near them.

“Don’t sweat it,” said Taro, his voice pitching down to its normal level. Perhaps striking out earlier wasn’t such a bad thing anymore if I get to spend an hour trapped on a frozen train with two cute ba—okay, dude, come on, now’s not the time, he thought, trying to focus on the task at hand.

“I think we’re all kind of excited not to be stuck spending our time with a bunch of creepy living statues. I’m Taro, and this is Nira Seri...” He glanced back towards Nira. “Seritoka, right? We were just trying to figure out what to do. I’m going to go ahead and suggest exploring the rest of the train. Who knows, maybe we’ll find more—”Slam!

Taro jumped again. However, this time he managed to hold his yelp in to spare himself from any further emasculation; the last thing he wanted to do in front of two girls was appear as anything but brave and daring. He snapped his head towards the other door as some silver haired punk pulled it open again with a guilt-free look of boredom on his face despite having just startled the hell out of a bunch of people. At least Yuumei had been quick to apologize about it, this guy just tucked out of the way short, professionally dressed woman.

"Hello?"

“Hey,” said Taro. He remained tense as his eyes suspiciously glanced towards the windows, for they were the only place left somebody could come crashing into the compartment from, before he lowered his shoulders and raised his hand in a friendly, but lazy, wave.

“It’s good to see other people. Maybe this means that whatever this,” he gestured wildly to a frozen person, “is might be wearing off. That’s Nira, and this is Yuumei,” he said, his hand directing the two newcomers attention towards Nira and Yuumei, respectively. “Yes, yes, we’re real, and of course we aren’t frozen. I believe you can tell that, but I’m going to say it anyway just in case. We’re all more or less fine. I think that covers most of it.”

“Anyway,” he said. “We were going to make our way to the engine room, you know, to see if things are all okay and if we run into anybody else.” The idea had not actually been decided upon nor agreed upon, but to his fault Taro rarely, if ever, asked somebody if they wanted to do something. “You guys come with us; safety in numbers and all that jazz. You both look able bodied enough, right? Unless you don’t want to help people who might be hurt badly,” he added with a shrug. “Then I guess you could just hang out here and just, I dunno, do nothing until everything goes back to normal. To each their own.”

He began making his way towards the two to continue on to the engine. Really, he just wanted to check out the front of the train for the hell of it, but he doubted he could get the others to come along if he told them he just wanted to bang on some buttons. He made it about halfway to the short lady before coming to a sudden halt.

“Oh!” He snapped his fingers and laughed, shaking his head back and forth at his own forgetfulness. “I almost forgot. I’m Taro. What’re your names?”

---

While the situation was still far from ideal, this most recent turn of events was exactly what Nira needed to begin thinking for herself again. At least, thinking for herself in so much as that she was able to process information and follow the events with more than simply a wide-eyed stare. Thankfully, Taro seemed more than willing to take the lead: exactly the characteristic she had needed him to have. This would all be an excellent story to tell somebody in the distant future - presuming anyone believed her that was.

"HI!"

Stifling a squeal of alarm with her hand, Nira twisted abruptly on the spot - almost losing her already questionable balance and falling to the ground. Instead, she managed to grasp ahold of one of the vacant seats and merely jar her elbow a little - though the pain was very real.

Well, that seemed to confirm that she wasn't dreaming at least.

The voice had belonged to a girl. That was good - great, actually. Another girl meant that there were more than the two of them that weren't frozen. As much as she had quickly come to see Taro as an unexpected lifeline in the darkness, another friendly face was always a welcome sight. She tried to wave, winced as her elbow refused after its collision and settled for the closest thing to a cheerful smile that she could manage right there and then.

Thankfully, Taro seemed willing to do the talking for them both. For her part, Nira stuck to trying to appear friendly and welcoming - nodding occasionally to confirm her companions statements.

“I think we’re all kind of excited not to be stuck spending our time with a bunch of creepy living statues. I’m Taro, and this is Nira Seri...” He glanced back towards Nira. “Seritoka, right?

She nodded.

"Yeah.

"We were just trying to figure out what to do. I’m going to go ahead and suggest exploring the rest of the train. Who knows, maybe we’ll find more—”Slam!

Hello?

The surprise was lessened this time, and Nira actually managed to look in the direction of the voice without causing herself any further harm. For a brief moment she considered approaching the newest stranger, but decided that given how little she knew about what was going on it was better to play things safe and stick close to the one she trusted most.

"Hi there!" She actually managed to chirp in an almost-cheerful sounding greeting. Things were looking up: there were more of them, and they all seemed friendly enough. With a little luck they would figure this out and she wouldn't have to endure these nightmarish... whatever-was-happening times again!

After her greeting, she remained quiet again - allowing Taro to take the lead. It was best that way - there was less chance of her doing something dangerous if she just followed along.

He had a plan and she was more than willing to go along with it.

“We were going to make our way to the engine room, you know, to see if things are all okay and if we run into anybody else.”

"I'd like that too. You to come with us I mean - it's probably safer that way. Like he said." This was much better. She smiled - genuinely this time, without needing to force it - and motioned for them with her good arm to follow. "And if we all stay together maybe we can figure out how to get out of here?"

And with that, she glanced around before making to follow Taro.

"To be asked to take this plunge, to forgive and forget
And be the better man, to be a better man, to be a better man."

---

---

You draw closer to the group, but still keep a bit of a distance. The comfort you had managed to build up slowly starts to chip away again. There… certainly were a lot of people here. More people than you’re used to interacting with at once. They all seem friendly enough, which is comforting in the fact if you really are trapped here, you aren’t alone. But on the other hand, you feel incredibly out of place. So instead of being an active contributor, you observe and play the part of the listener.

Something about the other guy rubbed you the wrong way, however. His demeanor was agreeable enough, but you did feel like were being pulled in a certain direction. The way he put the ultimatum to go or stay bothers you, but given the fact you agree with his plan, you really don’t have a reason to be defiant. So instead you nod and limp along, hands tucked into your jacket pockets.

“… Akito Fujisawa,” you say, looking him over with a sharpened glance. You firmly believe you can tell a lot about a person by how they present themselves. Clothing, accessories, make up. No matter how you looked at it appearances are made up of intentional and unintentional components which serve as both as a costume and a reflection of a person's inner self or, who they really want to be.

Examining Taro, you see pieces of yourself. You notice the color of the roots and the slight texture of his hair, a look which can only be achieved by dyeing it. You know, because you maintain yours just as particularly. His clothes are too high a caliber to be something that one would just simply stumble across. If you’re not mistaken, his top was last year’s model in the high end store you had bought the fur coat you were ready to dawn just at the right time. From where you’re standing, it looks as if Taro has his clothing fit in a way to compliment, but sets it in such a way that it looks haphazard. The way an outfit lays over your frame will make or break the silhouette value. It’s all intentional, and you have to admire it. He’s got casual street fashion down to a science.

But the fact still stands. Like you, he’s manufacturing a persona. 
The man who looks good without trying. It’s a timeless appeal, and on him… it looks honest despite its care.
But you have to wonder, why that choice? Who was he hoping to impress? Or did he simply enjoy looking that way?

Looking around, you try to detect what you can.

You shift your attention to the girl with the dyed red hair. If you heard correctly, her name is Yuumei. Her choices are less obvious to you. It's casual, brushing the skater look but not quite meeting it the whole way. It comes off as unintentional and genuine. But you can’t pick her apart, and that bothers you.

The bright eyed girl fits into a mold, however. She’s energetic and oddly cheerful for being in a situation like this. You also recall that Nira, like Taro, seemed legitimately invested in everyone's safety. Her approach to it leads you to believe that she's a good person. Her bright attire with its ribbons has one toe dipping into sweet lolita, which makes you wonder what the appeal is in her eyes? It could be just that she enjoys looking cute, or admires cute things. The desire to be younger seemed to be a popular ideal amongst ladies too, so you don't figure it's outside the norm. A bit exaggerated sure, but much like the others, it doesn’t seem entirely manufactured.

Then again, who's to say a costume can't be sincere?

And then there’s the lady who offered you her tie. The one you were waiting for to introduce herself. It’s clear she takes herself seriously, which is reflected in her attire. Her grooming isn’t immaculate, which strikes you as odd and maybe a bit on the tomboyish side. Or maybe, she has more pride in what she is dressing for than she does personal appearances. It’s a little mean, but you think she’s a bit funny, actually.



“So. Are we going to drive the train then, captain?” you ask Taro, keeping it as a matter of fact. If he was going to be the leader then you suppose you should dig for orders. If nothing else, it might be fun to pick on him a little.

---

---

So love me mother, and love me father, and love my sister as well.

@Undinebutt

"Eh, don't mention it. And it's Izuki. Izuki Goemon."

She stood and stretched, sighing a little bit while she rolled her shoulders. The cut on her lip had dried up in the interim, again, and although she was aching, she was still raring to go.

But where? Everyone was frozen.

Then, she heard more voices from further up the train. Since she was nearer the back, she couldn't see who was speaking, but she knew that somewhere, several someones were also free from this...stupid ass power thing.

Izuki hesitantly placed a hand on Mari's shoulder.

"Y'hear that? Sounds like there's others like us further up the train."

It...wouldn't look all that appropriate, but she couldn't just leave a blind girl to stumble around a potentially dangerous place on her own, right?

Right...?

With her hand firmly on Mari's shoulder, she helped her stand, letting the blind girl drape her arm over her strong shoulders.

"Alright, lean on me, okay? We're gonna head over to the bunch of asses I hear talking in the distance. If we're not alone in this, then god damn if those fuckheads leave us alone here."

Izuki helped Mari and together they made their way towards the bigger group. She saw the bunch of them, two guys and three girls, and made a loud whistle to attract their attention.

"Hey! Dipshits! Room for two more in your little snuggle pile?"

After spending time with the more introverted and quiet boy standing right behind her, the incredibly tall and lanky man that had greeted them was positively garrulous in comparison. Nao had definitely not been expecting such an incredible amount of exposition to escape from those smirking lips, and hesitated for the barest fraction of a second to allow her mind to process everything that had been said. It appeared that ... their names were ... Nira, Yuumei and Taro respectively?

She glanced over each and every one of them, doing her best to imprint their appearances together with their names into her mind. They were, alongside the boy whose name she had forgotten to ask earlier-

"... Akito Fujisawa"

-Fujisawa. Now there was finally a name to associate with the silver hair. She promised herself that she would endeavour to remember the name for future reference. Although they were essentially strangers to her at the moment, the revelation of their shared experiences in having accessed the strange time distortions would likely bind one another together. The chances of further contact was high, in that case.

"My name is Nao," she said, answering the question immediately after her companion did. "Nao Miyoshi."

With the introductions had been successfully resolved, her mind moved onto other matters. Specifically, the matters that decided their next course of action. Nao understood where the desire to examine the engine room came from; it was essentially the heart of a train, and attempts at sabotage would likely have been performed there. Its furthermost experience from their current train carriage would also provide them more time to search for any others like them. However, what exactly was the point of heading there? Could this Taro actually drive a train? What could they do with a train?

Before she could formulate a response, however, two more girls barged in. Nao had misjudged the amount of people who could resist the effects of the timestop. Evidently, it appeared that a large number of them had been present on the train. Was it a coincidence? She had thought such qualities to be rare, but here she was, injured, with an assembled group of people immune to being frozen.

"A snuggle pile?"

The words escaped her before she could even think them through.

She had never heard the term utilised in such a context before.