Haruka woke up, groggy and hungry. His eyes flickered around the room until they landed on the clock next to the bed.

11:23 AM, August 16 20XX, he read.

Haruka sat straight up in bed and immediately regretted it when his vision went cloudy from the sudden movement. Oww. He slowly laid back down. The room he laid in was a hospital room. He could tell the sunlight was strong today, but the shades were drawn, and Haruka didn't particularly feel like taking the chance of getting out of bed to open them without taking stock of things first.

The last thing he remembered was he was in the classroom after class with Takane doing work, and then he started getting chest pains. Oh. Well, at least that explained why he was in the hospital again, if not the date being off by two years and a day on the clock. Maybe the power went out while he was asleep and the clock reset, he mused.

Haruka stretched out in bed. He felt a whole lot better than he usually did after having an attack bad enough to land him in the hospital. Maybe even better than he did usually. All of his muscles felt supple and energetic.

He swung his legs out of bed and stood up experimentally. Haruka felt great, like he could run a marathon for fun. Every breath in and out of his lungs felt more refreshing, and now he was wide awake already even though he just woke up. (However, he was still hungry.) It was surreal. He knew he probably wasn't supposed to get out of bed, let alone walk around anywhere until a nurse came to check up on him, but...

Haruka took a step forward, wobbled, and tripped over his own feet, barely avoiding planting his face on the floor. Looking down at the floor, he kind of felt like he was on stilts. Had he gotten taller overnight?

He heard a clatter and turned his head to see a nurse, who had nearly dropped her tray.

"Sorry, I'll get back into bed..." he said nervously. Years of being told off by nurses had gotten to him.

She smiled nervously at him. "Just sit tight sweetie, I'm going to get the doctor."

The doctor stuck the blood pressure cuff around his arm.

"Normal."

Haruka felt a little relieved, every single test the doctors could think of was coming back normal, but at the same time he couldn't help but get the feeling that they were hiding something from him. The security guard lurking in the doorway didn't help Haruka's impression.

The doctor tapped a pen against his clipboard. "Alright, Haruka. Before I go, I have just a couple questions for you."

Haruka nodded. "Okay..."

"What day do you think today is? Please include the year."

Haruka hummed in thought. "It would be... August 16, 20YY, right?"

The doctor scribbled on his clipboard. "How old are you?"

"I'm 17."

"And what's the last thing you remember?"

"I was having chest pains at my desk at school. I must have passed out." Even remembering it was a little unpleasant. Takane...

"Thank you for your time, Haruka. I'm going to leave for now, but sometime in the next few hours, a detective is going to come and ask you some questions. You've been involved in an incident, and he wants to know a couple things."

Haruka nodded, even though he was a little wary, and thanked the doctor.

The detective handed him his badge. "Haruka, I'm Detective Ueda with the Mekakucity Police."

Haruka shook the man's hand and sat back down. The detective was a bit of a strange looking man, all pale skin and dark hair. He looked like he hadn't slept in several days.

"Late yesterday afternoon, people in the industrial district heard screaming and gunshots from a warehouse complex and called the police. When the police arrived fifteen minutes later, they found the bodies of several teenagers. You were one of only two survivors," the detective said.

The air escaped from Haruka's lungs like he'd been punched in the stomach. A murder? Him? No way.

"But late yesterday afternoon I was at school, t-there's no way I could have been part of this!" said Haruka.

The detective's expression darkened. "Haruka, according to the doctor, the last thing you remember is August 15th, 20YY, correct?"

"Yeah?"

"It's been two years since then. Today is August 16th 20XX."

Those words were like a second blow to Haruka. Two entire years? "But I don't remember any of that...! I couldn't have just disappeared for that long!"

There was a sudden sharp pain in Haruka's skull that was gone as soon as it came. He still sucked in a sharp breath.

Something occured to Haruka. "Then... Who was involved in the murder?"

"So far, we've identified five victims. Shintaro Kisaragi, Momo Kisaragi, Tsubomi Kido, Shuuya Kano, and Kousuke Seto."

Shintaro...!

The detective's expression softened a little bit. "Did you know any of the deceased?"

Haruka nodded. "I went to school with Shintaro..."

"I'm so sorry. The best thing you can do to help them is to bring the criminal to justice so their families can have resolution."

The detective reached into his bag. "Do you mind if I show you post-mortem photos? One of these teenagers wasn't carrying ID and we still aren't sure who he is."

Haruka shook his head. If he was involved in such an incident, he could at least suck it up and help identify the poor victims.

Detective Ueda handed him a photograph of a young boy, shot in the head with a handgun and crushed in the middle, like he'd been hit by a truck. His guts had spilled out and one of his arms bent at an unnatural angle. Haruka felt sick looking at it.

"Do you recognize this boy? He wasn't carrying a wallet and his phone was crushed by the murderer."

Haruka gulped. "I've never seen this boy before. What happened to him...?"

The detective looked away from Haruka, recalling something grisly. "The murderer shot him and then tossed him into traffic while he was dying."

Something hot and angry boiled inside of Haruka. Who would do such a thing? "What happened to Shintaro and his sister?"

"...They were shot multiple times in the head and chest and then dismembered."

Haruka felt the urge to throw up strongly. What must they have been feeling while this happened? What kind of fear or absolute terror?

Haruka grit his teeth. This was the work of something that couldn't even be called a human being. He would definitely help bring this monster to justice, no matter what it took.

"I'll help bring this criminal to justice no matter what!" swore Haruka.

The detective looked him in the eye. "I'm glad you're dedicated to solving this crime. Everything you know or can remember could bring us one step closer to finding the person that did this."

Haruka nodded. Nothing could get between him and finding out who did this.