In spring 1998, transfer student Kouichi Sakakibara arrives at Yomiyama North Middle School and senses fear in his new class. He tries to approach the enigmatic Mei Misaki, but the class's unspoken secret only becomes harder to understand as catastrophe intrudes.
Kouichi's first obstacle is social: the other pupils appear to know something he does not, and nobody can comfortably explain it. Mei's presence draws him towards that silence. The school setting makes ordinary gestures of curiosity consequential before the mystery's rules or answer are revealed.
Kouichi enters a class made up of relationships that were there before him. In the group scene, an adult stands among pupils gathered closely around a table, giving their school life an ordinary, communal setting. The mystery disturbs that shared space: the friendly people he meets can also be the people who leave his questions about Mei unanswered.
