Wednesday, 4-13-11. Weather: Cloudy With Rain Later in the Night.

As Yu was walking to school the next morning, the same kid on the bike rode by. Like the day before, the bike twisted out of his control, but this time, the teen was sent into an open garbage can.

"S-Someone…" The sight was almost comical. The other teen's upper body was wedged into the trashcan, and attempting to get out by kicking his legs only rolled the trash around.

Maybe I should help him… Yu thought, glancing up at the looming school building. It's either let this kid face King Moron's wrath alone, or face him together…

Eh, fuck it, I have nothing to lose. Yu wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist (earning a few kicks to his stomach) and pulled hard. The other boy flew out of the trash, a few scraps of cardboard flying out with him. The other student shook his head, stood up and got his bike off the ground. Only when he mounted his bike he noticed that Yu was sitting on the ground holding his stomach and groaning in pain.

"Whew, you saved me! Thanks, um… Oh yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student, Yu Narukami, right?"

"Yep, that's my name. And you?" With an odd grin, the light-haired student fixed the headphones resting on his shoulders and bent down, pulling up Yu so that he was standing up.

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya."

"Are you okay? No stray ramen noodles stuck to your shoulder?" Yu grinned, slowly relaxing - ignoring the white noise in the back of his head as he cracked a joke.

"Huh?! Are there really- oh, very funny. Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!" Yu shuddered, not wanting to imagine a dead body hanging around. It's not like he hadn't heard of, or seen a dead body before, but in a town like this a murder was just out of place.

"Ugh, don't remind me, I got too close to that crime scene. It freaked Satonaka-san and Amagi-san out, and don't get me started on how my night went."

"Whoa, you serious?! Did you see the body?" Yosuke said blithely, only then realising he was in the middle of the sidewalk and not in the safety of his room. "Uh, sorry, but this is the first exciting thing to happen in this town! You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could've been an accident."

"You… might be right." Yu looked away from the other teen, coincidentally looking at the school. Realization dawned on him, and he soon ran around Yosuke. "Crap, we're gonna be late!" To his surprise, Yosuke began to pedal his bike until it was right beside Yu.

"You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."

"No, way." Yu said in between pants. "That thing can, barely handle, one rider, let alone two."

"Suit yourself!" Yosuke shouted as he shot ahead of Yu, only to have the front wheel jerk out of his control and face plant into the ground. Yu, watching form only a few feet behind the other teen, promptly fell onto the ground holding his sides, laughing hysterically. Izanagi watched from the roof above the two teens, and the white noise in the back of Yu's mind disappeared.

"Be quiet, you idiots!"

Oh great, we made it right in time for hell.

"You guys are in high school, aren't you!? Can't you shut up during class? Don't you have any common sense?" Morooka raged, a vein popping in his forehead as the rest of the teenagers began to calm down - albeit they all had angry expressions on their faces. "First of all, my job is to waste my precious time teaching you assholes philosophy! And since I'm so nice, I'll straighten up your rotten attitudes while I'm at it! Aren't you honored!? And I'll be going especially hard on any of you morons that're curious about the murder! Got it!? Now, get your books out!"

"Great, the only exciting thing around pisses King Moron off!" Yosuke whispered, leaning forward so that Yu could hear him. "So much for talking about it while he blabbers on about useless crap."

"We aren't condemned to this place, y'know. We can talk later when Morooka is done." Yu said, scribbling down a few notes as Morooka continued.

"I can't wait."

"So, you getting used to this place?" Yosuke asked Yu at the end of the school day, stretching besides Yu's desk.

"Yeah, believe it or not. It's not that much different from home." Yu replied, thoughts not entirely focused on his current conversation. The white noise had returned from earlier, and it was honestly more annoying than anything else. It messed with his hearing and focus, and he was considering running by the shopping district to see if any stores had something that could alleviate his odd headache.

"Wow, that was fast. There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain… something you can't get anywhere else."

Yosuke was right, there was something that you can't get here in the city. Odd headaches, weird murders, and considering his uncle was a detective there was no way that he wouldn't be hearing more of this. Hiding things, medical or just flat out weird, could be hard with Dojima. Regardless, Yu kept feeling like there was something seriously wrong with that whole murder. I've seen crime scenes before, but I've never felt that strong an urge to run…

"...Oh, you know about the local delicacy?"

"Huh?!" Yu jumped, eyes widening as he turned his attention back to Yosuke. "Uh, no, what is it?"

"It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh? I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

"What about me, huh?" Said a certain green-jacket-wearing girl. Chie stalked up to Yosuke with a glare that could melt through ice, hands on her hips, and her backpack precariously slung over her shoulder. "No apologies? My Trial of the Dragon!"

Yosuke groaned, placing his hand over his face. "You always come around when I'm talking about food…"

"How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?" Chie continued to her friend, who was placing her textbooks into her bag at the desk in front of Yu.

"I'll pass…" Yukiko looked down, purposefully avoiding Chie's gaze. "I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."

"Anymore…?" Yu whispered, looking at Yukiko's body. "What does she mean by anymore?"

"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?" Yosuke said with a wink, and Yu could visibly see the steam bursting out of Chie's ears. The white noise rose to a roar, and Yu and to close his eyes and rub the bridge of his nose. A hand was placed on Yu's shoulder, and the white noise stopped near instantly. He glanced to his right, eyes widening when he saw Izanagi's legs passing through Chie's desk.

"Huh? Do I seriously have to treat two people?" Yu's attention snapped back to the conversation going on around him. Yukiko had left, but Yosuke and Chie were still present, talking about food.

"I might be able to lighten the load, but not by much." Yu said, grabbing the 1,500¥ that was in his jacket's pocket.

"Don't worry about it, I can pay." Yosuke groaned, leaving the classroom with Yu and Chie in tow.

"This is the "cheap place" you were talking about?" Chie yelled as Yosuke put down the three orders of takoyaki and sodas from the Junes food court. "They don't have grilled steak here!"

"Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans." Yosuke grumbled, picking up his order and popping a takoyaki ball into his mouth.

"I said I could help you lessen the pay a bit…" Yu mumbled, the yen in his pocket weighing him down now.

"And like I said, don't worry about it! It's on me." Yosuke said around the takoyaki, a few crumbs flying out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place." Chie mumbled, glaring at the measly food she was given compared to the large steak she had envisioned.

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything."

Yu tilted his head, and Izanagi (who had been leaning on the fence besides Yu) copied the action. "His place?"

"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh?" Yosuke said. "I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad as assigned to manage it, so our entire family as brought out here.

"Here," Yosuke picked up one of the soft drinks and held it up, almost as if he were about to make a toast. "this is to welcome you to town. Satonaka, yours is on me too." Yu and Chie picked up the last to drinks on the food tray, while Yu took a few sips to see if he liked it, Chie took one large gulp before picking up the takoyaki and digging in.

"So…" Chie mumbled around the takoyaki ball in her mouth. "Why'd you transfer here?"

Yu sighed, glancing at Izanagi when they phased through a few tables and looked up at the menu displayed over the food court's kitchen. "My parents had a job overseas and they didn't want to leave me alone in the house all year. So, they did the next best thing and brought me here, where my uncle lives." I'm not telling them everything, Yu thought, but I will once I trust them not to run away from me.

"Jeez…" Yosuke mumbled, putting down his food and drink. "Is this the first time you've transferred to another school?"

"...no, I've kind of been dragged around nearly everywhere, really."

"Man, compared to you, Yosuke has it easy!" Chie exclaimed, wincing in sympathy at Yu's situation. "It's only been half a year since this place opened up, but I haven't been to the local shopping district much since. A lot of stores there started closing, and… Oh, uh…" Yosuke groaned and rolled his eyes, defensively crossing his arms over his chest.

So, Chie trails off, and Yosuke gets really defensive when they're nervous. Huh. "You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?" Yosuke replied, glaring down at his food. Yu, being new to the town, just watched in confusion as the scene took place. After a few seconds of tense silent, Yosuke looked to the left and his expression immediately brightened.

"Hey, Saki-senpai!" Yosuke turned back to his two friends with a large grin. "Sorry, be right back." Once Yosuke got up from the table, Yu noticed the disgusted look on Chie's face as she opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, pretending to gag.

"Who's that?" Yu asked, and Chie's expression immediately changed to a large grin.

"That's Saki Konishi." Chie pointed to the girl Yosuke was chatting with. "Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part-time though."

"Hm… think she'd be good girlfriend material for Yosuke?" Yu asked, taking a slow sip from his soda. Chie burst out into a laughing fit, holding her stomach and leaning back in her chair.

"Yosuke and Saki? No way, she's way out of his league!"

"Wonder what they're talking about…" Yu pondered, picking up the last takoyaki ball and popping it into his mouth, savoring the flavor. As if answering to an unbidden command, Izanagi moved away from the menu he had been staring at for the past five minutes and moved towards the two, crouching on his hands and knees right beside them.

"...your friends here?" It was almost as if a pathway had opened, Izanagi's hearing flowing to Yu's. The background noise around Yu had disappeared, and instead his hearing was now focused on the conversation happening on the other side of the food court.

"Madam, you wound me!" Yosuke joked, and even from far away Yu could see him put his hand over his heart and lean back. Soon after, he straightened, and continued after Saki's small, barely noticeable giggles had stopped. "Kidding aside… you look down. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen. I…" Saki giggled again, snapping Yosuke out of his odd trance.

"I'm okay. Tha-"

Chie's hand connected with the back of Yu's head, causing him to yelp in pain. Looking to his left, Yu noticed that Chie had sat back down, rubbing her hand and looking very pissed at the other teen at the table. Yu cringed, and scooted his chair away from her. Did she ask me something while I wasn't paying attention? No, she wouldn't have hit me if that was the case. Satonaka-san's temperamental but… Chie glanced down at her hand, her jaw clenched, but the anger wasn't in her eyes anymore.

Was she… scared?

"Are you the transfer student?" Yu jumped and looked to his right, Saki Konishi standing to his right with a faint smile on her face.

"Yes, and you are Saki Konishi, correct?" Thank god I'm good at hiding the fact I'm scared.

"Oh, did you hear about me already? It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."

"Ah, so you're a lady's man, Hanamura-san?" Yu said, smirking as he glanced at the other teen. Yosuke - who had picked up his soda and was taking a drink - spat out the soda and began coughing, Chie burst out into laughter again, and Saki smiled and the whole scene.

"Wha- dude!" Yosuke exclaimed, trying to wipe off any soda droplets that had gotten on his uniform. "You can't just say stuff like that out of the blue!"

"Either way," Saki continued, smiling at Yosuke as he tried to clean himself off. "Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

"Nah, he's a good guy." Yu said, handing Yosuke some napkins while suppressing a smirk.

"I know, I'm just kidding."

"C-C'mon, Senpai. There's no need to worry about something like that." Yosuke said, his face lit up with embarrassment.

Saki sighed as she glanced at the clock on the far wall of the food court. "Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go. Laters!"

Yosuke stared at the retreating figure of the third-year student and sighed, sinking back into his seat. "Yu man, seriously, why did you say that!"

"Sorry, Hanamura-san," yu replied, not bothering to hold back a few chuckles now. "I had to make some sort of good impression on the third year."

"Hey, don't try to 'steal' her from Yosuke, he'd probably lock you in Junes and you'd never get out!" Chie joked, cracking into giggles.

"Hey, dude, c'mon, it's not like that!" Yosuke said, sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Oh rea-lly…" Chie's smile grew into a malicious grin, and she managed to match Yosuke's height in the chair by straightening up. "Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart. You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?"

The white noise that had been present at school buzzed lowly in the back of Yu's head, and he grit his teeth as he tried to focus on the conversation.

"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen, and they say that person's your soulmate!"

"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful. How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?" Yosuke replied, taking a final sip from his soda before taking the cup and throwing it into a trashcan not too far from their table.

"Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you!?"

"Of course I don't!"

"Well it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out, then you'll see!"

"Try it out...? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself? Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid…" Turning his attention back to Yu, Yosuke dropped the previous conversation with Chie. "All that aside, you know that "incident" yesterday? You guys think it was murder? Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around? Heehee."

"Don't even joke about that!" Chie and Yu both said, glancing at each other for a brief moment before turning back to Yosuke. While Chie stayed silent, Yu continued.

"Yeah, I think it's murder, there's definitely enough to say it's murder. The problem with that is that the culprit could definitely be around, and if he strikes again, then no one will know how to deal with it. Heck, how many of you guys have weapons in your room?"

"Uh… why would we have weapons?" Yosuke asked, tilting his head.

"Exactly."

"Well… do you have one?" Chie said, huddling into her jacket.

"I did have one in the city, but it would probably rip apart most of the stuff in my bag if I brought it."

"What? What kind of weapon did you have?"

"I got a wooden bat and drilled screws in it." Noticing the shocked expressions of the other two teens, Yu continued. "What, is that really that weird?"

"...all I'm saying is, you guys better try it out tonight." Chie said, trying to steer the conversation away from murder and weapons. She could easily pummel anyone with her kung fu skills, but the talk of actual knives and guns - or in this case bats - freaked her out.

"All right, fine." Yosuke relented, tilting his head back. "I'll do it, now can I please finish my- hey! Where's the rest of my takoyaki!"

Chie burped and patted her stomach, then jumped out of her chair and ran for her life when Yosuke started chasing her.

Nanako let out a sigh as she played with her bowl of rice, and Yu couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"Did your father call?"

"No. He always says he will…" She looked dejectedly down at her food until the sound of the door opening caught her attention. Her face lit up, and she jumped up from her chair and ran to the door. "Oh! He's home!"

Dojima came into the kitchen with an exuberated Nanako holding his arm with a large grin. While Nanako's energy seemed endless, Dojima looked as if he was ready to collapse. "What a day…"

"Do… you want me to get anything for you Dojima-san?" Yu said, prepared to get up from his seat. Izanagi, who was hunched over on the couch, moved when the older man sank down into the cushions. Even Dojima doesn't see it… what the hell is wrong with me?

"No, Yu, I'm fine. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No." Nanako threw her hands down before plopping down into her seat. Huffing, she sent a childish glare at her father. "You're late again…"

"I'm sorry… Been busy at work."

"Speaking of work," Yu interjected, putting down his chopsticks. "Has there been any progress, or…?"

"I'd… rather not talk about it, Yu. Could you put the news on for me, Nanako?" Despite her grudge against her father, Nanako picked up the TV remote and changed it to the news network, which had just begun a new story.

"Next, more details in the developing story on the incident in foggy Inaba. Announcer Mayumi Yamano's dead body was found hanging above a house in this isolated rural town. It is confirmed that Ms. Yamano had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi."

"The police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them. In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."

"A student…?" Yu muttered, taking a bite of his sushi - takeout, he would need to get groceries and make something soon - and continued to listen to the news report.

He didn't exactly expect the white noise to go insane when the blurred out face of the student appeared. Izanagi's presence did nothing to dwindle the annoying static, and the highschooler had to grit his teeth and ignore the sound to focus on anything.

Dojima groaned. "An interview with the kid…? Where the hell did they find her?" The occasional yawn broke through his sentence, and Yu could again see the bags under his eyes.

"What went through your mind when you saw it?" Asked the oddly excited reporter on the screen. "Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?"

"U-Umm…" The student visible shrunk away from the cameraman and the news reporter, their distorted voice sending chills down Yu's back. Something's wrong, it's the same feeling I got around the crime scene.

"Don't you think it's scary that someone was killed on a foggy day?" The reporter continued, either ignorant to - or forcibly ignoring the students discomfort.

"Huh? She was killed?"

"Oh, er… So did you see anyone suspicious around here?"

"No, not really."

"We heard that you found it when you left school early. Did you have some personal business to take care of?"

"Huh? That's-" None of their business. Yu finished in his mind, holding his chopsticks so tight that they were close to breaking. Sensing his anger and discomfort, Izanagi stood from the couch and raised their right arm, the Naginata appearing and ready to strike the television set.

"No!" Yu shouted, dropping the chopsticks onto the table as he stared at Izanagi. While the tall, supernatural creature backed down, Nanako and Dojima both gave him looks of confusion.

"I… uh…" Shit, what the hell do I tell them?! "I… just remembered that Morooka gave the whole class homework! Darn, I should, uh, go and do that now." Yu stammered out, standing from the table abruptly and rushing up the stairs, losing complete interest in the news report. Slamming the bedroom door behind him, Yu took a deep breath, and his head thumped against the thin wood. Izanagi phased through the wall beside him and stood in the center of the room.

"I really need to teach you normal human behavior if this whole thing is going to work out…" Yu paused and slapped his hand over his face. "Great, now I'm talking to my own hallucination." Izanagi tilted his head, and Yu let out a defeated sigh before moving to his couch. He had not turned on the lights, and managed to stumble around in the near pitch-black room until he found the couch and sat down. "By the way, would you stabbing the TV break it?" The glowing eyes of Izanagi moved up and down, and Yu let out one last groan.

All of his homework had been completed soon after coming back to the house - if you could even call it homework, as most of it he had learned in the previous year. Taking out his phone, he noticed he had a good half an hour before the 'Midnight Channel' would appear. His phone lets off a series of pings, and a text appeared on the screen.

[23:32] Fūjin: hey little dude hows the boonies

Yu rolled his eyes. For a good amount of time, Yu thought his 'friends' from the city had left him to spread his own wings in Inaba. Fūjin, one of the first people he had met, had a soft spot for him, and it was understandable that he would check in.

[23:33] Yu Narukami: It wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the murder that just occurred.

[23:35] Fūjin: yeah z raijin and ama were all really super worried when they heard

[23:36] Yu Narukami: So you're checking in on their behalf?

[23:40] Fūjin: yup

[23:40] Fūjin: there was also a raid going on near your home so we all panicked and fought to keeping it in one piece

[23:42] Yu Narukami: Really? Were there any casualties?

[23:45] Fūjin: nah ama nearly got her wrist dislocated but theres nothing serious

[23:45] Fūjin: im also juggling a good four text conversations at once

[23:48] Fūjin: raijins asking if i want to go and beat the crap out of the gang that did it uzumi is wondering whats going on around you and ama is asking if we can all come over to make sure this murderer asshole doesnt do jack shit again

[23:49] Yu Narukami: Well my uncle is a detective so hopefully I'll be protected here.

[23:50] Fūjin: holy shit man a cop?

[23:51] Fūjin: oh god man u r fucked

[23:51] Yu Narukami: Tell me about it, he's going to figure me out at some point.

[23:52] Fūjin: seriously man do you need someone to go down there and help you out

[23:54] Yu Narukami: No, I should be okay for now, but I'll text you if something incredibly serious comes up.

[23:55] Yu Narukami: Before we end this conversation, when I was younger, did I have a history of hallucinating odd creatures?

[23:58] Fūjin: ama and uzumi are saying nah

[23:58] Fūjin: why

[23:59] Yu Narukami: No reason.

Yu sighed and stood up, ignoring Izanagi's watchful gaze. The pounding rain outside filled the silence between them, and Yu thought back to his conversation with Chie.

"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen, and they say that person's your soulmate!"

Would Izanagi being here counteract the Midnight Channel? Yu wondered, standing from his couch and moving until he was in front of the old TV. God, I'm acting like it'll happen, too. This town would be a lot more popular if it were true.

The small clock that he had placed on his shelves ticked over to midnight, and Yu immediately relaxed, chuckling to himself. Turning away from the TV, Yu moved back to the window to close the blinds so that the street lights outside wouldn't bother him.

He stopped dead when the TV screen lit up in the window's reflection, static blaring from the old speakers. Turning around, Yu stood in shock as the static-covered screen would occasionally flicker to a girl with long brown hair who was… writhing in pain. Lightning struck the ground outside, and migraine assaulted Yu. His senses whited out and he stumbled around the room, a voice echoing in his head, the only thing he could hear besides the ringing in his ears.

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou art the one who opens the door.

A large bolt of lightning hit the transformer outside, causing the power to short out. The windows and lights outside went dark, and the entire neighborhood was nearly impossible to navigate. Yu panted from his position on the floor, haven fallen shortly after the voice began speaking. Izanagi allowed electricity to crackle in their hand, the room lighting up so that Yu could see.

It was only a minute after midnight, and the Midnight Channel had already ended.

Yu stood, staring at his TV in fear. Did that… really just happen? He moved back to the old TV model, cautiously stretching his hand out and tapping the glass screen.

The entire screen rippled bands of white from where Yu's finger had been. The teen pulled his hand back soon after, gaze flickering from his hand to the TV. Izanagi moved until they were right beside their companion, Naginata held in the hand that wasn't Yu's light source.

Feeling more curious at the new development, Yu put his hand against the TV screen and kept pushing. Soon after, his entire hand was in the TV, and he couldn't help but smile.

That is, until he was violently jerked into the screen.

Yu's left shoulder banged into the edge of the TV, but his right arm, shoulder and his head were inside the TV. The teen blindly groped for something to pull him back, deciding that this was no longer a 'good thing' and that he needed to get out. Izanagi cut the power to the electricity in their hand and wrapped their arms around his companion's waist, pulling him out of the TV with… more strength than necessary. Yu was freed from the TV, but since Izanagi's body defied most laws of physics, they floated through the coffee table while Yu fell back and hit his head directly on the edge of the table. He groaned in pain as he held the injury, glad to not feel any blood on his hands.

Tiny little pats came from the hallway, and Nanako's voice flitted through the door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, Nanako. Did I wake you up?" Yu groaned, pushing himself up from the floor and cradled his throbbing head.

"I heard a really loud noise. Well, good night." Nanako's feet patted on the floor as she went back to her room, and Yu let out a sigh of relief. Turning his gaze back to the TV, he was relieved to see it now off, and with no signs of him… entering it.

What… just happened? Did the others…?