October 8th
2 days after Naoto recovered
I had heard stories about the "Midnight Channel" around the school. Some students say that your "destined for life" partner is what appears, I had thought that to be true, until I figured out a very terrifying and unfortunate pattern. Those who appear on the channel, are soon kidnapped, and then by I guess some kind of luck, are either killed, or not. I guess the last five who had appeared were lucky: Yukiko Amagi, the most popular girl of the entire second year class; Kanji Tatsumi, The scary looking punk-kid who beat up an entire biker gang;Rise Kujikawa, also known as the famous teen idol Risette; this weird creepy guy who apparently killed Mr. Morooka, better known as King Moron; and who could forget Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince. I had thought, It's only a matter of time until the next victim turns up dead like the first two. But what I didn't expect was to see my own silhouette appear on the TV at exactly midnight when it was raining. There was no mistaking it, that was me, I had seen my silhouette many times after watching recorded home videos of the school festival performances I've been in. I ended up panicking, locking all windows and doors in my house, setting up a complicated barricade in front of my bedroom door, closing the blinds on my window and barricading it to the best of my ability. It doesn't really help that my bedroom is the closest to the front door. I guess I'll also have to be very cautious on my way to and from school as well.
My name is Nova Hoshido, I'm a first year at Yasogami high. I have Brown eyes and shoulder-length Brown hair that I try to keep combed back even though there's this stupid cowlick on my forehead that just won't stay down. My strangest feature, though, is that I kind of have the frame of a girl, even though I'm male. I'm currently in the Drama club, the Symphonic Band, and the computer club at my high school. Being in three clubs might sound overwhelming, especially if they meet on basically the same days of the week. Let's just say that I show up for each one once a week, instead of three times like all of the other students. They don't really seem to mind, though, as I tend to stay on a steady routine for each club, and I practice as much as I can so I can perform well in each. I'm half Japanese, and half American, my Mother is of Japanese decent, while my Father is American. My Mother spends most of her time around the house if she's not working at the Day Care and my Father is a performer, so he's usually gone for work. I have an older sister who's off in college getting a degree in Psychology, and I have a younger sister who's still in elementary school.
October 9th
I ended up locking myself up in my room all day, paranoid that I might end up getting kidnapped if I stepped outside. I heard the door bang against my barricade
"Nova-chan, dear. Are you okay in there?" It was my Mother's voice coming from the opposite side of the door.
"Yeah mom, I'm fine," I replied back to her. "I'm just studying up for midterms, and I don't want too many distractions, so I blocked my door off."
"That's a little strange for you, but okay do what you wish."
Yes! I got her! I thought.
"But how are you going to get food? Surely you won't just lock yourself in your room all day without eating."
"Don't worry mom, if I get hungry, I'll just call Aika."
"Okay, son. Just don't fatigue yourself too much in there" I heard her footsteps fade away after she said this.
I guess while I'm here I might as well study, after all, midterms are next week. When I got hungry I did what I told mom and called Aiya. I told Aika to deliver to my window and give a knock so I know that it would be her. I did nothing all day but study and occasionally take a break with my computer, playing an MMORPG that I like called 'Innocent Sin Online', it's pretty old, but I've enjoyed it for a few years. You have to play on private servers because the official servers shut down two years ago, but I say it's well worth it. Nothing else happened the rest of the day, so I ended up going to bed early.
October 10th
I spent the whole day doing pretty much the same thing as yesterday, I heard that there was some kind of concert that Risette was holding over at Junes. I didn't go because I thought that the kidnapper might grab me if I was out in a crowd like that, probably blending in.
October 11th
I woke up dreading this day, because I had to go to school. It's not that I don't like school, it's really just the fact that I have to step outside my safe zone in order to get there. I put on my uniform, picked up my backpack which... didn't have my Loveline backpack clip on it. I know Loveline is a show aimed towards young girls, like my little sister, but I can't help but enjoy it when I watch it with her. Maybe she took the clip? No, I had it on Saturday when I went to school, maybe it fell off? Oh well, I guess I'll have to find another one. I picked up my backpack, moved my entire barricade aside and set out for school. As I approached the front door to put on my shoes I looked through our peephole to see if anyone suspicious was outside. The coast was clear, so I opened the front door and bolted off towards school.
I don't exactly have the best stamina, so I ran out of breath fairly quickly. I only just barely made it to the Samegawa Flood Plain when I stopped to take a breather.
"Hey, are you okay?" A kind of deep and near menacing voice was talking to me. I looked in the direction of the voice, and it was Kanji Tatsumi. What did HE want with me!?
"Yeah, I'm fine," I barely got it out, panting between each syllable.
"You don't look it," he replied, "you shouldn't push yourself too much, you might end up passing out one of these days. Why were you running anyways? Thing you'd get kidnapped or somethin'?"
How did he know!? Did he end up watching the midnight channel as well? I mean, he did show up on it, so it's no surprise if he'd keep a lookout. I didn't know what to say to him after this, I stared at him with I guess was probably a shocked expression, I tried to get words out but all that came out were just sounds that sounded like they were going to form words.
"Wait, Was I dead on!?" Kanji had a shocked expression on his face as well, he kind of jumped back slightly as well.
"N-n-no, well, yes, maybe, kind of..." Ugh, I must have looked like a total idiot. Students passing by were giving us strange looks as well.
"Well, if you're that worried, you can walk with me, no kidnapper will get near you if I'm around. I'll just beat the shit out of 'em!" he made a movement with his fist as he said that. I guess he's trustworthy. I wouldn't think he'd be the kind to kidnap people, plus, having someone like him around wouldn't be too bad, especially with my paranoia acting up.
"Are you sure you'd be fine walking with me? I am a boy after all."
"It don't matter your gender, if somebody's in need , I'll be there to help 'em"
"Th-thank you Tatsumi-kun." I bowed and we walked to school.
As we were walking he asked me a... fairly reasonable question, "Why do you think you're going to be kidnapped?" What should I tell him? Should I tell him the truth? Or should I make something up?
I couldn't think of any excuses, so I asked him, "Well, you know the rumors about the midnight channel?"
"Yeah, I've heard 'em, what about it?"
"Well, I don't know how to put it, but I think that when somebody shows upon that program, they get kidnapped, and possibly die."
Kanji had a kind of shocked expression on his face, "Yeah, so what? Do you think you showed up on it?"
"I'm positive it was me, I've seen my silhouette too many times to think otherwise."
His expression grew between shocked and worried. He mumbled something to himself, I asked him whaat he just said. He told me not to worry about it and we were already at the campus. I thanked him and we walked into our separate classrooms. I took my spot which happened to be next to Naoto Shirogane.
As I placed my backpack on the floor, Naoto asked "Hey, where's your Loveline clip, did you happen to end up losing it?"
I was shocked, how did she notice it that quickly, heck, the clip wouldn't have even been noticeable from her angle. "Yeah, something like that." I replied. "How'd you notice so quickly, you've only been back for a couple days."
"As a detective, I have keen eyes, so I tend to notice small details like that. I could help you look for it, if you'd like."
My eyes lit up, "Yeah! That'd be great, thanks!"
The bell rang, and everyone took their seats. We got through our lesson fairly quickly. At lunchtime I decided to ask Naoto something.
"Hey, Shirogane-san. Do you think you could spare a moment?"
"Sure, what is it that you need?"
"Well, um, it's about the kidnappings."
"You don't have to worry, the police should have this all under control"
"But that's the thing, I don't know if they actually know about the midnight channel!" Naoto's face turned from reassuring, to intrigued.
"Go on," Naoto said, "what do you think happens with the midnight channel?"
I told her everything that I gathered from watching the midnight channel. "And, on Saturday, I'm positive that I saw my silhouette on the midnight channel"
"Hmm, these are some interesting thoughts you've gathered. But don't worry, as long as you don't open your front door for strangers, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"I hope so," I said, worried.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and before I know it, school was over. As soon as the bell rang, I picked up my backpack and rushed towards the meeting room in which the Drama Club was held. I didn't see Yumi Ozawa, who was supposed to play the part of the lead. She started skipping ever since the transfer student started coming. In fact, he's not here either. Where'd they both go? Again, the rest of the time here seemed to just fly by, and soon, Drama club practice was over. I ended up rushing home as fast as I could.
When I got home, I ran straight into my bedroom after giving the proper "Tadaima" and taking off my shoes. I shut the door and put my barricade up. I threw my backpack next to my dresser when I realized something. The 'Tanaka's Amazing Commodities' show was supposed to be on. I turned on my TV to see what was up for sale: A Fishing Pole complete with a tackle box and lures, some seedlings for a home garden, and a Sledgehammer that came with... two Loveline backpack dolls? Alright, that last combination was a little weird, but I thought hey, it's a tool that comes with Loveline stuff, it's convenient AND fun. So I ended up calling the Tanaka line so I could order the Loveline sledgehammer combo. It was going to be here tomorrow, that's usually a little faster than their normal 3-day shipping, but whatever. I then decided to go to bed after a little bit of studying.
October 12th
It was supposed to rain today, I looked outside my window and sure enough, it was raining. Apparently the rain was supposed to let up later today, but I highly doubt that. I sure hope it does, though. I put on my school uniform, threw my backpack over my shoulders, picked up my umbrella and headed out. I got to the Flood Plain again when I ran into somebody in my same year... wait... was that... Risette? She was on the ground appatently looking for something. I was totally fangirling on the inside, but I tried to keep my cool on the outside. Oh man, I want to strike up a conversation, but I don't know what to call her. Should I call her by her stage name? No, then she'd probably think I was talking to her because of her popularity. Should I call her by her first name? No, that's way to informal, I don't even know her.
"Oh, K-kujikawa-san wh-wh-what are you doing stumbling around o-on the ground? A-are you looking for something?." I said I'd try to keep my cool, not that I actually did.
Rise looked up at me, looking a little stunned that someone greeted her formally with her last name. "Oh, yeah, I'm helping my friend look for something. She said that she was helping a friend look for it, so I thought I'd help out."
Wait, she didn't mean... "Are you by chance looking for a Loveline backpack clip?"
She looked back at me shockingly, "Yeah... but how did you know, did you find it?"
"N-no, well... did Naoto Shirogane happen to tell you about it?"
"Yes, but how did you- wait, you're not Nova Hoshido, are you?"
"Yeah, that's me. Thanks for helping out, Kujikawa-san, I guess"
"Oh please, just call me Rise. You're a friend of a friend, so that makes you my friend." Rise smiled as she stood up. I'm surprised she didn't get too wet from kneeling there like that.
"A-are you sure, I-I mean, we don't really know each other. And-"
"Oh, come on, you don't have to worry too much about that. Oh, I know. How about you come study with me and a few of my friends today after school!" She said this pretty excitedly. Was she actually trying to protect me? Knowing Naoto, I wouldn't be too surprised if she told them what I had thought.
I accepted Rise's offer, which meant that I'll have to meet her after class. She's usually standing outside of her classroom. The school day seemed to fly by again, I guess I must have been a mix between worried and excited. After class was over, met up with Rise who called her first year friends and went in the library. It was Naoto Shirogane and... Kanji Tatsumi? I wouldn't have guessed that she was friends with him. He seemed kind of surprised to see me as well.
"Hey, so you haven't gotten kidnapped yet."
"O-of course not! I wouldn't be here if I was."
"Oh Kanji," Rise said, "You're scaring the poor thing."
"I don't mean to!"Kanji yelled in defense, "I was just worried about 'im, y'know."
"As am I," Naoto chimed in, "if he said that he saw himself on the midnight channel, we should take as many precautions as we can to keep him from getting kidnapped and thrown in."
"Thrown in?" this phrase confused me, what did she mean by thrown in?
"Well, you see," Kanji started, "whoever it is that kidnaps people, takes them and throws them into a TV which leads to some kinda world inside of it and then we go 'n' rescue 'em"
"Kanji! Don't unload this all at once! You need to let him take it in first!"
Throwing people into a TV? A world separate from our own inside the TV? Who would believe something like that? But there was something about what they said that seemed a little legitimate. I still couldn't believe something like that, though. I don't think any sane person would.
We finished the study session and we parted ways to go home. As I approached my house, I noticed a delivery truck outside. Did my package I ordered arrive? I walked towards my front door and... it was wide open?
"Tadaima," I said as I walked in. "Mom, did you leave the door open? That's not like you at all."
There was no answer
"Mom?"
Still no answer, maybe she's out. But why would she leave the door open? I walked towards my bedroom door, when suddenly I was grabbed from behind. I tried to struggle and scream for help, but whoever grabbed me put something on my face. Was I being drugged? Before I knew it, I passed out.