The next morning was just as the weather forecast had predicted. Little evidence of the night's flash rain remained but for the slight ghost of dampness hanging in the air. Everything felt clean and renewed on a day like this, and Souji breathed the air in deep as he walked to school along the Samegawa Flood Plain.
Yosuke's voice called out to him from behind: "Hey, buddy, hold up!"
Souji turned and saw that Yosuke had given up trying to tame his bike today. Those ever-present orange and red headphones dangled around his neck as he jogged toward Souji, a loopy grin on his face. Souji smiled and bit back a laugh; clearly Yosuke didn't have time to fix his hair again. The mass of auburn lay matted flat against the left side of Yosuke's head.
"You look like you slept well last night," Souji gibed.
Yosuke slowed to a steady pace beside his friend. "Oh, so in other words you've noticed my youthful glow?"
"Not quite." Souji reached out and teased a hand through the train wreck on his friend's head.
"Damn, harsh." Yosuke faked a pout.
As Souji worked on Yosuke's hair, he grew serious. "Hey, did you watch the Midnight Channel last night?"
"Huh? Nope, I conked out early. It hasn't rained in days anyway so why do you ask?"
"You didn't hear the storm last night?"
"It stormed? No, I had no idea. I thought the air smelled different this morning though."
"Hmm." Souji gave up on his task and dropped his arm.
Yosuke furrowed his brow. "Why, did you see something last night?"
"I think so. It's weird, but at the same time it feels like I might've dreamed the whole thing. I don't get it."
"What happened?"
Souji shook his head and related what he saw to Yosuke.
"So there were two people this time?" Yosuke asked. "Yeah, that does sound kinda weird."
Souji shrugged. "The more I think about it, the more it doesn't seem real." He looked over at his companion. "Just don't tell the others about this. Not just yet. We need to be sure, and if I just imagined it then the last thing we need is everyone freaking out over nothing."
"Got it. But hey, maybe we should ask the girls if they saw anything."
"No. If they did, they'll say something about it."
Just as Souji had suspected, no one else had seen anything on the Midnight Channel the night before. Chie said the thunder woke her up, but by that time it was already past midnight so she didn't bother to check the TV. Yukiko had slept through the storm. Feeling the odd man out, Souji doubted what he had seen even further. There was no denying the unusual circumstances through which the night's events had played anyway. All the same, he would have to be cautious in the next few nights.
After school he and Yosuke wandered to Souzai Daigaku to buy some steak croquettes and milled about the shopping district to pass the time before Yosuke's shift at the grocery department began. As the time neared five o'clock, Yosuke thumped his friend on the shoulder. "Well, the night shift is about to begin. See ya tomorrow. Oh, and I'll be sure to stay up late tonight just to be safe."
They said their goodbyes and Souji went home to find Nanako seated in her usual position in front of the television.
"Welcome home," she chimed. "Um, sorry I don't have dinner started."
Souji caught the depressed note in her apology as he kicked off his shoes and tossed his bag to the floor. "Let's order pizza tonight instead." He couldn't help smiling at the reaction that brought from Nanako.
"Yay! Oh, but I wonder if we should get enough for Dad, too."
"He didn't call yet?"
Nanako shook her head.
"Well, I guess we should just assume he'll be here soon, right?"
The two spent the evening together eating pizza and watching cartoons, but Dojima still hadn't shown up by the time nine rolled around. He pulled all-nighters often, but almost never forgot to call to let them know when that was going to happen. Nanako worried, but Souji tried to distract her for the night. He hated to see her distraught, especially when it came to the rift between her and her father.
An hour later, he agreed to read her a bedtime story and watched, satisfied, as she shut her eyes for the night. Having eaten too much pizza, he felt drowsy and decided go and rest in his room. He would just lie on his futon and shut his eyes for a bit. What he hadn't planned on doing was falling asleep outright.
Souji hadn't even realized that he'd fallen under so deeply until something woke him. It wasn't a noise or a physical sensation, just an apprehension stemming deep from his marrow. His eyes snapped open and immediately sought out the wall clock. Almost midnight. Rubbing his eyes, he caught a steady sound coming from outside.
He got up and looked out the window to find a light drizzle falling upon the town. How long had it been raining?
Once the clock struck midnight, the television screen flickered and the same image of the undecorated room appeared again. This time everything was clearer, though shadows hugged the edges of the screen. The same woman in white sat doll-like in her bindings in the far corner, oblivious to her surroundings. Something seemed more familiar about her this time. Souji didn't have to stare at her too long to realize that she actually looked a lot like his mother. But…that couldn't be right.
The scene panned out to display more of the room and Souji spied another woman in the room, bound in a manner very similar to that of her companion, but this woman's bindings were black. That and she hung suspended by her legs from the ceiling in the opposite corner, her dark brown hanging messily about her face. Souji couldn't tell if she was alive or not as she slowly rotated in lazy quarter circles from the taut rope. There was something vaguely familiar about her as well, but he couldn't quite place it. A chill ran unbidden up his spine.
Then, from the darkness, the same man from the night before emerged. His back was smooth and bare, and it seemed he wore only pants. When the man turned to sit upon the bed's edge, paying no heed to either woman, the shadows still managed to obscure his facial features. Souji's eyes followed the dark trail of hair extending from the figure's broad chest to his pants' waistband. The same hair, though sparse, covered his forearms as well.
"It's not right…I…can't…"
Souji strained to hear the voice coming from the TV set. The man raised his arms to his head and a choked sound escaped the scene. Just as Souji felt the man was on the verge of sobbing, a low chuckle caught him off guard. The sound elevated into something far more disarming for the level of its amusement than for its juxtaposition within this dark scene, though it tapered off quickly.
"Not right! It's not right! Same old broken record, bullshit excuse. Ha. What a joke."
Souji's eyes went wide when he heard the deep voice. No, he wouldn't believe it.
"It's time to give up that tired façade. Starting now." The figure stood and walked toward the 'camera,' pulling his belt loose at the same time.
Though the shadows had not lifted entirely, Souji recognized the sharp stubble along the man's chin. Then the screen blacked out.
A sour sensation rolled through his stomach, threatening to expel his dinner. Souji closed his eyes and clapped a hand to his mouth to calm himself, but it hardly helped. The floor seemed to turn beneath his feet. He never thought it would be someone close to him.
There was no doubt left in his mind now that Dojima was the next victim.