Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

My First Familiar - 17

Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
By Noriko Ogiwara
A Translation

Translation notes:

Izumiko and Miyuki are visiting theTokyo Metropolitan Government Building on their field trip. You really can visit the building and there are two observation decks in the two towers.Here's a look at some of the things you can see from the decks. And here's one more view for good measure. (It's from the south observation tower.)As always, I'm impressed by the references to real places Ogiwara has put in the story. You can see theTanzawa Mountain Range from the observation decks at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
Chapter 3: Yukimasa
Part 2 (2 of 2)

The group of students on their school trip rode the monorail and then the JR Yamanote line. The trains weren't as severely crowded as they would have been at rush hour, but there were still plenty of people on them.

The other students enjoyed themselves on the monorail by admiring the vast scenery of the bay area. Izumiko had no interest in looking though. One of the other passengers had noticed her unwell state and given her his seat so her back was to the window anyway.

Many of the other salary men on the train had also gotten up from their seats so that the middle schoolers could sit down. This effectively proved that not everyone in cities were bad people. Many of the students had already known that for one reason or another but for others, it was just beginning to be the sort of feeling that they couldn't explain through words.

The only thing Izumiko could do on the train was try her hardest not to panic or think about the ominous shadows that was lurking around her. All the same though, it was getting hard for her to breath.

Time passed and the threatening feeling remained. She sat with her eyes downcast, looking only at people's legs and shoes. The feeling just wouldn't leave her be. Still, she couldn't run away, so she had no other option but to be as brave as possible and stand her ground.

The air conditioning was on in the train car. With all the windows closed, the air was stagnant. When they left the train and stepped onto the platform though, the air was still stifling. It was June and the humid days had continued one after another for a while now. The sky was filled with perfect, white clouds. The day was hot and unbearably muggy.

It rained a lot on the Kii Peninsula and it was hot there during the summer as well. But it felt different here in the middle of the city. The air was dirty and while they could breathe, Izumiko wasn't the only one who seemed surprised by what they had walked into. As they began their trip through Shinjuku Station, teachers and students alike wore an expression that suggested they were only just bearing the experience.

"This is gross. I want to go outside where there's a breeze," Haruna complained. She looked exhausted.

When they finally stepped outside onto the west edge of the station, all they could see were lines of high rise buildings and the bright sky. It was a far cry from the mountain ranges they were used to.

By this point, Izumiko, who had started the trip with no expectations of enjoying herself, was most likely the least desperate person in the group to go home. Although she was only just beginning to feel better, she was determined to make it to her intended destination.

The crowds in Shinjuku station were like a bad dream. She kept her eyes on her friends' backs and prayed that she wouldn't get separated from them. Mentioning her unease wouldn't change the way she felt, so she kept quiet and didn't say a word. While Izumiko never looked behind her and she never had the desire to do so, she never lost the feeling that the shadow-like things were still following her.