Black Meteor Arc

Story guide

Near an unfamiliar plant, Chiikawa and Hachiware find small fruit growing on a branch. Thinking it looks sweet, Hachiware tries the taste, while Chiikawa considers saving some for lunch the next day. Their simple discussion of whether to eat a found item right away or keep some for later gives the scene a sense of everyday life. At this point the strange plant is not treated as a threat, but as the joy of finding something edible and sharing a little anticipation for tomorrow.

Story guide

Even at night, Chiikawa and Hachiware are still talking about the food they found earlier. Chiikawa wishes the pleasant feeling of the day could continue, and Hachiware shares that feeling beside them. While eating a roasted fruit or snack-like item, their talk turns not toward any grand goal, but toward wishing the comfort of today would last. The dark background and the act of eating carry the small discovery from daytime into a quiet nighttime afterglow, ending with their close time together left as it is.

Story guide

Indoors, where light bulbs hang from a rocky ceiling, Chiikawa and Hachiware are eating a food noted to be baked from hotcake mix dissolved in water. Hachiware brings up the Black Meteor, explaining that if you make a wish to it, it will come true. Chiikawa rejoices with their mouth open, but Hachiware lowers their voice and continues that even if it does, it seems to leave you feeling awful for some reason. Chiikawa asks back in surprise, and Hachiware says it is terrifying in a slow, creeping way. Once the conversation settles, Hachiware looks at their food and points out that the hotcake might be undercooked, and it ends there.

Story guide

Chiikawa yawns in their futon and falls asleep, recalling in a dream their promise to meet Hachiware the next day. When they wake up and pick up the chick-shaped alarm clock on their bedside, their face turns pale, and they leap out of the futon with great force and dash outside. However, a small pink accessory with a strap is left on the futon; Chiikawa rushes back in a panic and picks it up while flailing about on the futon. Finally, as Chiikawa runs while crying out, Hachiware calls out to them that everything is okay, and it ends.

Story guide

At a storefront lined with clocks, Hachiware and Chiikawa notice a cute pink alarm clock. Its hands and shape stand out, and the two sense an appeal beyond a tool for telling time. Hachiware talks happily while Chiikawa looks up beside them, sharing a small discovery during shopping. How the clock will later be used is not shown; this post holds only the moment of finding an item that catches their interest. It is a bright, quiet detour in which an everyday object looks a little special.

Story guide

Hachiware holds up a camera to photograph Chiikawa. Usagi is nearby too, but moves so quickly that the picture leaves a different figure or a blurred impression, and the three compare the differing results. The simple play of wanting to preserve what is in front of them produces an unexpected result in a photograph. Hachiware checks what was taken, while Chiikawa and Usagi each react to how they appear. Without explaining the machine in detail, the post enjoys the gap between taking a picture and looking back at it.

Story guide

Usagi, Chiikawa, and Hachiware find small mushrooms and discuss whether they can be eaten. Usagi wants to try first, while Hachiware also looks at what remains and at packaged items. They eventually find similar mushrooms in a large bag and taste them. The connection between something found in the forest and an item sold as food eases their concern a little. Rather than firmly declaring it dangerous or safe, the scene shows their caution and curiosity as they find, compare, and try something to eat.

Story guide

Holding a blue rod-like tool, Hachiware strikes a pose as if they have taken on some role. Chiikawa, Usagi, and Rakko watch and react to the tool and its name. The feeling of make-believe gives their usual conversation a little adventurous color, but never becomes an actual fight or danger. Hachiware enjoys the look, and the others watch without fully stopping them. It is a light play scene in which one prop creates a role and lets friends' imaginations expand.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware open a container holding several small varieties and look at what comes out. The expectation of opening the lid and the pleasure of arranging the revealed little items continue as they play while checking their shapes and numbers. A packaged product suddenly makes an ordinary tabletop lively, creating a feeling of discovery without a special adventure. Hachiware finds the contents amusing and Chiikawa watches nearby. They do not make a big competition of what they got, but share the small surprise of opening it.

Story guide

Before papers and tools on a table, Hachiware thinks about a certification exam and how to prepare for it. Usagi, Chiikabu (the Beetle), and a figure like Furuhonya are nearby, so one person's studying draws reactions from those around them. Looking at diagrams and documents, Hachiware tries to sort out what they can do and what they do not understand, giving the image a slightly serious mood. Yet their friends' expressions and small movements keep it from becoming only a rigid study scene. It shows both the insecurity and reassurance of pausing during effort to ask familiar companions for help.

Story guide

With a pink clock beside them, Chiikawa repeatedly checks scenes that seem to involve taking photographs and the passage of time. Hachiware and Usagi are nearby, noticing that the same appearance looks slightly different each time. The feeling that what the camera records does not match what is in front of them grows stronger with the clock's presence. The three still cannot explain what is happening, and are confused as they use the recorded images as clues. What began as ordinary picture-taking becomes the entrance to a strange event that makes them aware of time itself.

Story guide

In a grassy field, Hachiware sets up a camera and calls out to Chiikawa that they will take a picture after asking them to pose. The moment Chiikawa settles into a pose, Usagi dashes across at a furious speed, and the image streaks in sync with the shutter sound. Hachiware laughs, saying it definitely blurred, making the scene lively. Next, Usagi and Hachiware line up and this time ask Chiikawa to take a picture of them. When Chiikawa presses the shutter, Hachiware next to them comes out clearly, but Usagi is shaking violently, blurring their image. Chiikawa falls silent, Hachiware is surprised, wondering what just happened, and Usagi runs around letting out bursts of laughter, ending the scene.

Story guide

Only one mushroom is left in the pack on the table. Hachiware laughs and suggests deciding with Rock-Paper-Scissors; Chiikawa stays silent, and Usagi gives an unenthusiastic response. However, when the pack is lifted, several mushrooms tumble out from the edge. Hachiware is surprised, asking if there were still more left at the edge, and Chiikawa nods slightly. Usagi promptly pops one into their mouth, chewing with a crunch, and exclaims that it is delicious alongside Hachiware. Finally, Chiikawa eats one too, and the story ends as they similarly say it is delicious.

Story guide

Holding a blue tool, Hachiware wonders whether something important may have been hidden in what happened before. Chiikawa and Usagi listen, touching on the sense that they might understand if they experienced the same event again. Though they have playful-looking costumes and tools, their conversation carries unease about repetition. The three have no certain answer yet and trace their memories to search for what they may have missed. Rather than only fearing the strange situation, they try to find its meaning together.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware open and close a small blue device, watching the shapes that appear inside. Something like paper or a diagram can also be seen, giving the impression that the device may not be just a toy. They think about what it might be useful for without immediately understanding how to use it. As they watch the changes in front of them, they try to connect them with the unease they have felt so far. Because readers are not given enough information either, the scene centers on the two checking clues one by one.

Story guide

In a scene involving the pink clock, Chiikawa undergoes a strange experience in which costumes and backgrounds seem to change abruptly. Hachiware and Usagi watch nearby, surprised that their usual place now looks like a stage from a story. Even when a landscape of sweets and decorations appears, the three did not choose it freely, but are caught up in the flow. Chiikawa is bewildered by what is unfolding, while their friends try to determine what happened. The dreamlike shifts of color convey the scale of a disturbance connected to time.

Story guide

While Chiikawa is in bed, Black Star appears from the alarm clock nearby. A clock that would normally only announce morning becomes something like an entrance for an unfamiliar being, and Chiikawa stares at it in surprise. A device that tells time and a star that seems to have come from the sky overlap in one image, making the earlier unease more concrete. Chiikawa cannot respond at once and can only take in the phenomenon before them. Black Star's appearance in the quiet bedroom leaves a strong sense of strangeness.

Story guide

Black Star moves objects connected to clocks and dates, acting as if to alter the flow of time before Chiikawa. As hands advance and symbols on a display change, Chiikawa feels that their surroundings have slipped away from their usual time. Black Star does not explain enough, showing something only through gestures and movement. Drawn into the change, Chiikawa wonders whether things can return to normal. By making timekeeping objects seem like toys, the post emphasizes Black Star as the center of an unstable disturbance.

Story guide

Chiikawa tries to escape from a white space or bed-like place as the view changes again and again beside the pink clock. Hachiware and Usagi watch from outside, trying to determine where Chiikawa is now. Images like swimming inside a loop of time continue, making it hard for Chiikawa to tell direction or where it ends. Still, the three do not look away from one another, and their wish to help supports the scene. A daily topic such as plans to take a photograph makes the distance between the abnormal experience and ordinary life stand out even more.

Story guide

When Chiikawa and Hachiware look up at the night sky, Black Star passes nearby. Still carrying the strange feeling of time that has continued since the day, the two simply follow the star with their eyes. Black Star seems not only to float in the sky, but to have entered very close to their everyday lives. Hachiware receives Chiikawa's feelings, and Chiikawa tries to sort through wishes and unease before the star. The night view and their small conversation quietly bring closer two people who still cannot put the disturbance into words, without offering a dramatic solution.

Story guide

Before Black Star, Hachiware and Chiikawa use the events left in clocks and photographs to sort out how they feel. Usagi is nearby too, and the three begin to sense that what has happened is not merely coincidence. Though Black Star speaks cheerfully and makes gestures, it stands out as the being that has been shaking the time around them. Hachiware thinks back on events they want to hold dear, and Chiikawa listens. Worry that even happy records might be changed quietly enters their conversation.

Story guide

Chiikawa faces the feeling that events seen in the past are appearing before them again and again. As photographs and small scenes seem to line up, the thought that the same day may be repeating changes from a vague fear into a more concrete realization. Even with friends around, Chiikawa is the first to receive this change within themself. Tracing fragments of memory, they try to confirm that the time they are in is not the same as before. The post offers no answer, leaving the weight of the moment they realize it.

Story guide

Seeing Chiikawa raise a loud voice, Hachiware is surprised and asks what is going on. When Chiikawa nods strongly to confirm, Hachiware checks to see if it means they are looping. Hachiware says they have no real sense of it at all, and Usagi gives a short response in agreement. When Chiikawa eventually begins to cry, Hachiware puts into words that they will lose their future if this continues, and accepts that the talk of the Black Meteor was true. Still, Hachiware encourages them by saying things always work out somehow, and invites everyone to go see Black Star together. Chiikawa nods, and the three of them run off together.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware ask Black Star to stop the repeating time. A pink alarm clock beside them responds in a cheerful voice, leaving Hachiware unsure whether that was an agreement. Hachiware wonders whether making another wish might restore everything and asks Usagi for an idea. Usagi takes out a hammer and brings it down on the alarm clock with a shout. Chiikawa screams, and someone voices concern that this might make the situation impossible to undo. Even so, they ultimately decide to try a few more things, and the scene ends with Chiikawa nodding.

Story guide

Near the pink clock, Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi check the feeling that today is returning again and again. The clock's hands and the surrounding view suggest that they are being pulled back to the same earlier time, so the three hurry to consider what they can do now. Even with clear markers like the date and hour, those inside the time have no view of what lies ahead. Hachiware puts the situation into words while Chiikawa and Usagi take in the change. A clock that would normally reassure them becomes a worrying sign of repetition.

Story guide

Two images place side by side Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi living through the disturbance in time and a scene in which they try to take a photograph. In the first, Chiikawa tries to leave an unstable place near the pink clock. In the next, the three gather before a camera, showing their wish to leave a record. Even as repetition and change toss them about, both images are connected by the wish to give form to the time spent together. The post does not explain the cause or end of the disturbance, but presents the clock and the photograph as two clues.

Story guide

Chiikawa fills a white background in this brief image, narrowing their eyes with a calm expression. No clock or companions appear, so it is not part of the continuous comic following the time disturbance, but a composition that leaves an impression of Chiikawa's face itself. Their rosy cheeks, small hands, and round ears are easy to see in the empty space. Rather than achieving or explaining anything, the quiet expression seems to return a gentle feeling to the viewer. It reads as a post that steps slightly away from the main story's tension to show Chiikawa's straightforward charm.

Story guide

Around a round table, Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi talk about how to make something stronger. Chiikawa worries that they cannot do it as before, while the other two cannot immediately decide why. Talk of food and a question about whether someone will come again draw the serious discussion back toward everyday conversation. Even while troubled, the three stay at the table and put into words what they know now. Though Black Star and the clock do not appear, the earlier disturbance is shown casting a shadow over their confidence. The post depicts the beginning of a consultation rather than a solution.

Story guide

At a table, Chiikawa remembers songs from childhood and words they have heard before. With Hachiware and Usagi nearby, Chiikawa cannot easily express their feelings and fears the same thing may happen again. Still, familiar words about food and something like a promise to meet next bring the three back to where they are. The remembered song is not quoted, but treated as the brightness that remains in memory. Comparing happy times in the past with present uncertainty, the post shows Chiikawa's small process of trying to face forward.

Story guide

Chiikawa enters a shop displaying an internet sign. An upbeat song continues to play inside the shop. Chiikawa takes a seat, faces the keyboard with a serious look, types Black Meteor into the search box, and clicks. What opens is a page compiling scary stories, and the entry for Black Meteor states that although their wish came true afterwards, they were left with a bad feeling. The song continues to sing about going to see tomorrow, but Chiikawa remains seated with a gloomy expression after finishing reading the screen.

Story guide

Chiikawa searches further for songs and stories about Black Star, finding words from people who wrote about similar experiences. They read about hearts changing after wishes came true and language like traveling through the sky, trying to connect it with what is happening before them. The answers on the search screen are fragmentary, and Chiikawa tries to select only the meaning they need. The more they read, the more they begin to see Black Star not merely as something strange, but as something connected to their time. Screen information and Chiikawa's thoughts alternate, leaving the uncertainty of searching intact.

Story guide

In their room, Chiikawa faces Black Star and a clock, startled by a black figure emerging from a detergent container. Each time the clock rings or turns, Black Star moves as if changing shape, and Chiikawa is unsure what to do. In the disturbance, both the everyday container and the timekeeping clock look like strange, unreliable tools. Chiikawa holds the item at hand and follows Black Star, checking the changes. Though it happens in a small room, it creates the feeling that time itself is warping, with tension and humor existing together.

Story guide

Chiikawa holds the pink clock and watches Black Star swing a tool-like object nearby. The clock sinks into water or points its hands in another direction, losing its usual role of telling time. Black Star moves as if having fun, but Chiikawa cannot predict what will change. Even when they reach out to check the clock, the event does not settle at once. The clue for restoring time instead creates new confusion, intensifying Chiikawa's unease.

Story guide

Black Star flies away forcefully from near the dining table and vanishes beyond the dark sky. Chiikawa watches it leave, then after a while has a feeling like waking up where Hachiware and Usagi are. Before the one who vanished so suddenly, the three cannot immediately tell whether something has ended or is still continuing. The small light remaining in the night sky contrasts with friends facing one another again indoors. The quiet after Black Star leaves opens a way for them to take in everything that has happened anew.

Story guide

Saying they were curious and came back, Hachiware is digging in the ground. Chiikawa and Usagi are nearby. Hachiware tells Chiikawa that while they hoped they would not stop studying, they think it is fine to quit if it is truly painful. Chiikawa does not reply with words, but shakes their head to show their intention not to quit, and Hachiware accepts this briefly. When the scene changes, Hachiware invites everyone to go eat a huge rusk tomorrow, adding that they just heard Usagi found it recently. Chiikawa cries out in delight, Usagi jumps and lets out a loud voice, and the talk concludes with a promise for tomorrow.

Story guide

After seeing the hands of a yellow clock move, Chiikawa falls into a pink, music-like space. Still riding something pink that also looks like a vehicle, they lose their sense of direction amid swirls and musical notes. Hachiware watches anxiously from outside, but Chiikawa has no room to explain what is happening. The time shown by the clock and the sensation of being carried away become connected, suddenly taking Chiikawa far from an ordinary place. Bright colors mixed with instability suggest that the disturbance in time has not yet fully ended.

Story guide

In the rain, Chiikawa stops with a pink umbrella in hand before a yellow clock and a shadow that seems to be Black Star. After sinking into a cloud-like place, they open the umbrella and return into the rain, making the disturbance in time overlap with real weather. Even after seeing Black Star depart, Chiikawa's unease does not disappear at once. The repeated round shapes of the clock and umbrella make something carried for protection also seem like a clue to the disturbance. Chiikawa moving alone in the sound of rain creates quiet tension.

Story guide

In the rain, Chiikawa holds a pink umbrella while Hachiware and Usagi approach using large leaves as umbrellas. Caught in the sudden rain, the three check on one another while getting wet and notice that Chiikawa has brought something. Although they have tools for sheltering from the rain, only Chiikawa looks a little unsettled. Hachiware and Usagi worry about the change and ask about it. Without a large explanation of the disturbance, the post shows how close the three are through friends speaking to one another in the rain.

Story guide

Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi walk side by side in the rain. Hachiware invites Chiikawa to hold another study session and promises to quiz them again, while Usagi calls out beside them. Chiikawa falls silent and recalls being told that it is all right to stop if it becomes too painful. Seeing Chiikawa unable to put their feelings into words, Hachiware laughs and asks what has suddenly come over them, then replies that Hachiware is the one who should always be thankful. Chiikawa makes a confused sound. Hachiware then turns to Usagi, saying there should be something to boast about today. Usagi proudly reports finding something big, and when asked what it was, Chiikawa suggests a rusk. Once it proves correct, Hachiware and Usagi marvel at how Chiikawa knew and call it almost like precognition. Chiikawa ends the scene with a bashful smile.

Story guide

Usagi shows a small digital clock to Chiikawa and Hachiware after they see the Black Star. Its display changes from 10:58 to 10:59, and Hachiware notices that it has a recording function and that the time advances every second. Usagi repeatedly makes the same sound in front of the clock, and Chiikawa and Hachiware react to the unsettling repetition. The time shown by the clock and the repeated sound become an ominous signal prompting their next action.