MISSING HALLOWEEN
31st October, the night where the dead comes back to life or so it was said to be. 9 years old Yamaguchi Tadashi looks out of his window to see kids around his age on the streets in elaborate costumes walking, talking and having a good time.
"Isn't your friend here yet, Tadashi?" His mom asked filling a bowl with candies. He was about to reply when he says a blond boy in a dinosaur costume walks up to his door. Happy to finally be trick or treating he rushed out of the house and greeted his friend "What took you so long Tsuki?" The boy Tuskishima Kei looked at him and shrugged.
"Okay let's take a picture." Mrs. Yamaguchi readies her camera "Smile." Tsukishima gave a non-different expression while Yamaguichi gave a huge smile in his demon outfit "We'll be off mom!" Yamaguchi happily waved and off they went.
-Flashback, last Halloween.-
It was getting late, all the other kids had gone back home when a bruised and beaten Yamaguchi walked up to his front door.
'Off to get groceries. Play with your friends until then.
-Love, mom and dad.'
He checked under the mat but not finding the key he sat on the stairs and sighed. Just then he saw a boy his age in a dinosaur costume sit in front of his house.
Tsukishima was just minding his business when this boy in a vampire costume shouted "Hi!" Scaring him in the process. Out of reflex, he hit the boy with his basket. "Ow!" He held his head "That was mean." "Well, you jumped out." Tsukishima retorted "Hehe." Yamaguchi smiled "I'm Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Tadashi." "Tsukishima." Tsukishima replied.
Yamaguchi looked at the boy's basket to see webs and was that a fly? He looked into his own basket and noticed that he only had two sweets left. He put one in Tsukishima's basket. When the blond boy looked at him he shrugged "Happy Halloween." The glassed boy smiled and ate it. They looked at the message on the cover to see 'Forget dentist I'm delicious.' In Tadashi's wrapper. They both laughed and then looked at Tsukishima's 'You found me.'
-End flash back.-
Down the block, they go with Yamaguchi happily skipping with Tsukishima quietly following him behind. "Tsuki, watch this." Yamaguchi puts on his mask. He slipped and went face first on the ground. When he stood up he didn't see a thing. In confusion, he rushed ahead only to run into the group in front of them
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
He was thrown back to Tsukishima who looked at him. "Guys!" Yamaguchi took off his mask and pointed at Tsukishima "Meet my new friend Tsuki!" The other kids gave an indifferent expression and walked away. Tsukishima got irritated by that and was about to start a fight when Yamaguchi ran towards the direction of the houses.
There was a party in the first house they tried. It was opened by a man in a vampire suit who dropped a couple of sweets in Yamaguchi's basket but when it came for Tsukishima the man just started-
*CRASH*
"What the hell are you doing Oikawa?!" He slammed the door shut.
Next, by next they tried, all of them dropped sweets in Yamaguchi's basket but not to Tsukishima. By the end, the two friends sat on the hilltop looking overlooking the town where the kids continue to trick or treat in their costumes. They said nothing.
Tsukishima was just sitting there when he caught Yamaguchi filling his basket with half of his sweets "What are you doing?" "Ah-" Yamaguchi was caught surprised "I-I, thought you would like some sweets!" "Thank you." Tsukishima said as he picks up a sweet and pops it in his mouth "Hehe!" Yamaguchi smiled and did the same.
Yamaguchi looked at his wrapper to see 'Let's be friends' written on it. He peeked in at Tsukishima's to see 'You found me' written on it. As the wind blows on the hilltop Tsukishima couldn't help but look at the fenced-off area behind them.
On the way back home, the boys saw a man in a white coat talking with Tadashi's parents who had a clipboard in his hand. "Tadashi you came back." His mom greeted him "I'm back with Tsuki!" The boy was skipping towards his parent but didn't notice the concerns on their faces. "Hon-" Before Mrs. Yamaguchi could start her son noticed the clipboard and snatched it "Tadashi!" His mother ran after him but Yamaguchi dodges it and looked at the paper on the board.
Diagnose - Imaginary friend.
He came to a stop; his mother took the board from him. "Mom?" He looked at his mother who sadly showed him the picture she took earlier. The picture only had Tadashi in it, happily smiling. "But Tsuki's here!" He shouted pointing at the boy next to him "Can't you see him?"
"We have to start the treatment right away."
"Yes, we will make sure Tadashi co-operates-, Tadashi?!"
It was only for a second but when they turned back the boy in question was nowhere in sight.
They sat on the hilltop. Tsukishima said nothing as he looked down at his feet, that was when he felt the nudge on his cheek and again and again. Getting annoyed he slapped off the hand "What?" "So you are real!" Yamaguchi happily replied, "I Am real." Tsukishima replied, "Did you even doubt that?" "No no." Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima as he went to the fence and pulled open the torn part.
'Danger.' Was written on it. Yamaguchi looked back at the other boy to see him walking into the woods. Hurriedly he went after causing the danger sign to fall on the ground with the other warnings.
'Traps.'
'Bear.'
Yamaguchi ran deeper into the woods chasing Tsukishima's shadows setting off the traps that he barely noticed. He set off another one then…he came to a clearing.
In the middle of the clearing was Tsukishima sitting under a huge tree, he went and sat near him.
Tsukishima nudges a candy at him which Yamaguchi happily took and pops it in his mouth.
"Tadashi, Tadashi!" A distressed mother called out as the search party went into the woods. The one in front had a stick which helped them set off the traps. "Don't be sad worried Mrs. Yamaguchi." The female officer said, "We'll find your son soon." But that only caused the mother to cry louder. The lady officer sighed in defeat.
"Ma'am." That caught their attention. They all went forward to see Tadashi sleeping against the tree. "Tadashi!" His mother almost ran forward but was caught back by her husband. The officer in front shined his light seeing the bear traps around.
"Wait a second." The female officer shined her light in front and her face turn to that of shock and horror as she sees the rotten body of another child next to the boy they were searching for. She took out her handbook and flip through the pages of missing children. She came to a picture of a missing boy happily smiling at the camera in his dinosaur costume with the word 'missing' written underneath which she wrote 'found dead' in it.
They didn' notice but in their hands were the candy wrappers, 'I found you.' In Yamaguchi's wrapper and 'You found me.' In the dead child's hand.
