Chapter III: About The Midnight Channel

Later that night…

When I opened my eyes, I could see a vision of blue. So much blue, that it's making my clothes and hair look like a joke. I sat up, and I soon realized that I'm in some kind of car, specifically a limo. A blue limo. A freakin-!

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

My thoughts were interrupted when my gaze landed on a little man sitting in front of me. What's most peculiar is his extremely long nose, his bulging, veined eyes, and the little tufts of white hair behind those sharp pair of ears. He wore a crisp black suit and tie with his gloved hands folded under his chin. He had on a creepy smile, one that made me think as if he's mocking me.

"Do not be alarmed, you're fast asleep in the current world." He reminded me, to which I just stiffly nodded. The place seemed too surreal to feel like it's real. The long nosed man waved a hand, "My name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance." Igor respectfully inclined his head as I did so as well. He then gestured to a young woman sitting beside, a pretty woman to be exact.

"This is Elizabeth, she's a resident here, like myself." The woman, Elizabeth, bowed her head at me, another creepy smile etched at her face. She wore a deep blue dress with some weird patterns to it, knee high blue boots, and long blue gloves. She has white blond hair fashioned into a bob, where a blue (what the hell is it with this color?) stewardess hat tops it nicely. Her amiable features are those golden, cat-like eyes. "Pleased to meet you." She smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth.

"Pleasure is all mine." I managed to say, trying to hide my anxiousness. I turned back to Igor, who began to talk again, "This place exists between dream and reality, mind over matter. It's been years since we had two guests at once, let alone many more surprises to come." His voice is eerie, almost making me doze off again, but I managed to stay firm to listen to what this weird guy has to say.

He waved his hand again to gather back my attention, "Only those who have decided to tread the true truth may enter this place. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here, in the Velvet Room." Igor said with a more sinister atmosphere. I shuddered at his tone. I couldn't understand a word he's saying.

"I only ask one thing in return, that you abide with your path, and assume full responsibility with your actions." Now this is sounding like a video game. Well, it sounds a bit like my old game called Shun Megane Tipsei: Personality 3, but of course, that's way out of its league if it is. "Please, hold on to this." As soon as Igor spoke, a velvet blue key came out from nowhere, and landed itself on my outstretched hand. Igor's mouth curved and when I was about to retort about the things going on, he bid farewell.

"Til' we meet again…" I soon felt like I was falling, barely hearing anything else, just seeing the black abyss and the long nose guy's snide face.

"Who do you think I'm talking to, Elizabeth?" Igor turned to his assistant, a ghost of a smirk appearing at her lips as well. "A User, or another Wild Card?"

~O~

There was a loud ringing noise and I forced myself to wake up. "My alarm clock…" I mumbled, slowly getting up and rubbing my eyes. It's dawn, still before sunrise. I raised myself to sit up and turned off the loud ringing object. Koto should still be asleep, and it will take several more minutes for him to actually be even out of bed. I sighed as I stretched and got ready for a shower.

The house is quiet, not that I mind, and I like this side of the country for its peacefulness and laid back feel, unlike the office at the city. Our parents are rich business tycoons, for the Yuki Group has power equaling to that of the Kirijo Group. My father was the CEO and my mother worked alongside him. But ever since my parents' death, we were left to look after ourselves. In my father's will, only one of his children, the first to come of age, is allowed to take over the company and inherit the fortune. Makoto and I only have one year left in high school, so one of us is bound to get the inheritance.

The only problem is though; nobody is going to take part with our tuition fee for our school. Gekkoukan is extremely expensive, and not even my friend Mitsuru of the Kirijo Group can help, since she's going to break the binds of my father's will if she would do so. It is through oba-san, Mariko-san, who helped us by providing us a place to stay and work at her Tofu Shop, in exchange of her paying up. So, after some goodbyes from our friends and especially from Mitsuru, we moved out of Iwatodai to the countryside, Inaba.

I took a hot shower and slipped into my uniform, feeling through the soft fabric and the stitches. Afterwards, it's 6:00 already, I walked over to where Makoto is sleeping, tuned my alarm clock to the next minute, brought it up to his ear, and waited.

Seconds later.

RIIIIING!

"MARY MOTHER OF GOD!" Makoto screamed as he banged his head to the ceiling and rolled out of his bunk, which I deftly moved aside from getting hit. "Jesus, Minato! Why the hell do you always do that to wake me up?" He yelled, pushing himself to stand and punch me in the face. I moved away and he staggered like a drunkard, deliberately missing inches from me.

"It will take an hour for you to wake up with my calls alone. I'm surprised you awoke the first time." I shrugged as I went out of the room with a begrudging Makoto in tow.

With Makoto's scream, it was enough to wake up the whole house. Everyone didn't mind though, since it is nearly time to get ready for school. The two of us went downstairs to see oba-san making breakfast. She's as quick as a nut, I tell you. "Good morning, oba-san." I said as she turned to me with a gentle smile. I looked away at once.

Too much like oka-san…

"Good morning to you too, Mina-chan. And Mako-chan is awake, too! Such responsible, young men…" Oba-san hummed a soft tune to herself as Makoto and I sat at the table, the other slamming his head as he dozed off. I had some coffee and toast while the old woman turned on the TV to the news.

"-For the morning news, the serial murder case in Inaba has claimed a third victim. The news shocked local residents, who have not seen another murder in three months, and assumed the spree had reached its end. The deceased taught at a local high school. Since his body was found arranged in a similar manner as the last two victims-"

Someone flicked the channel, and I was annoyed to see that Makoto held the TV remote in his hand, looking sleepy and bored at the same time, "Koto, go back one channel." I said sternly, putting down my mug. My twin smirked smugly, "No way, Neo Featherman is on; I don't wanna miss it before going to school." He replied, munching a bite out of his toast.

"Mornin'…" Risette-san came down the stairs, fully dressed while tying the bands of her pig tails. "Morning to you too, idol-chan." Makoto said with a hint of mockery, downing a glass of milk. The idol looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Idol-chan?"

"Yeah, since I found out you're two years lower than me, I might as well brush away your celebrity card." He grinned at her confused face.

"Oh…so does that mean you're my senpai? That explains why you two seem older." She sighed as she began to eat her share of breakfast. Makoto turned back to the news since Neo Featherman is canceled today, but the report about that murdered teacher is already finished.

Risette-san turned to look at the TV and then at me, her face brightened up, "What are you looking for, senpai?" She asked gently, nibbling on some toast. "The news report about that murdered teacher. I heard it was just yesterday in the morning." I shrugged, giving the remote back to Koto, who began flicking some channels to find an interesting show to watch.

The brunette's expression darkened only for a second, before returning to her usual state, "Must be a shocker that you're going to attend Yasogami who had news about a dead teacher, huh..?" She said worriedly as the two of us nodded mutely. We chatted for a while as oba-san sat down by the table to eat her food, when Hamuko went down the stairs.

"Good morning!" She greeted enthusiastically and quickly sat down next to Risette. Makoto and I warmly smiled back at her; this is one of the few times we get to see her so happy, and not a fake one too.

"Morning, sunshine~" Koto affectionately ruffled her hair, a genuine smile gracing his face. This is also one of the only times that I get to see Makoto so sincere with anything, but if he is, it is with my sister. I chuckled at the thought as I offered a small grin at her while drinking my coffee. "This marks our first day in Yasogami High, onii-chan! Let's make it memorable one!" Hamuko gripped onto my sleeve with a big smile on her face, to which my twin groaned.

"God, school…" He reluctantly ate his food as he moaned, "Why was it ever invented…"

"I trust that you should be responsible enough for your studies, right Koto?"

"Oh, shaddup, Ato…I'm not the one running the company anyway…"

This I raised a brow at, however the other already looked away, busily flipping through the channels. Hamuko turned to look at me worriedly but I just shrugged it off. I don't want anything to ruin my sister's day, not when she's this happy.

After breakfast, and after I threw Makoto into the shower and forced him to dress up properly, oba-san waved us good-bye as the four of us set off to school. It's just a short walk, and it's a rather refreshing morning today. Risette-san's friends are going to show us around the school during our break times, but I reckon Makoto would skip it, since he plays the 'lone wolf' pretty well. We're going to enter Yasogami as third years while Hamuko is a first year. She's really psyched that she's in the same year as Risette-san.

We were walking by the gas station when Makoto suddenly freaked out and ran back to the shop, saying something that he forgot to put on some socks. I irritatingly accompanied him, thus making us even later going to school. When we came back, we saw Hamuko and Risette-san talking to the gas station attendant. The idol spotted us and waved, just as my immouto shook hands with the attendant good-bye.

"Can't wait to see who our home room teacher is…" My twin grumbled sarcastically, trudging on behind me as we joined the throng of students cramming inside the hallway. Most of them were staring at us, and while I was trying to ignore them, Koto on the other hand, winked and flirted at the passing females, who all protruded either a blushing face or a slight nosebleed. Risette-san she said that us transferees should go to the Faculty Office first to meet our class advisers. Hamuko clung on to my arm, nervous albeit excited.

As we slid the door open, we were greeted by the sight of a middle-aged woman (aka, wannabe ho-bag in my opinion) sitting on the lap of an elderly old man. She looked up from her spot and emitted a sultry giggle, "My, my, such handsome young men we have here…and others." She said the last part to herself, directly at Hamuko and Risette-san, as she stood up from the old man and winked at him, "I'll see you later then, Mr. Principal~"

The way she said it… God, what are you, a teacher or a giggly school girl?

She paused midway as she neared the door, to where my twin and I stood. "And I might see you boys, later too~" She slid a finger to my brother's chin, to which I growled at. Makoto, however, seemed to be enjoying it, in a way that I will never understand.

"Yeah, right…" Makoto smirked as he brushed her away and stepped ahead of us inside. The teacher looked put off, but she just pointed her nose in the air. When she saw Risette-san and Hamuko though, she gave them the cold shoulder. "What the hell is that bitch's problem?" Koto inquired, rubbing off the spot where that teacher touched him. Risette-san shuddered.

"I think that's Mr. Morooka's replacement…" She just shook her head as another teacher came by and asked the two girls to follow her; must be the head of their home room. Makoto and I were noticed by a man wearing a track suit, and we got interviewed and so on and so forth. "I couldn't believe my eyes that the heirs of the Yuki Group are attending a provincial school such as Yasogami…" He had on a kind smile as he flipped through the files.

"Alright, my name's Kondo Terumi, and I'm your class adviser from now on. Lots of things are happening around this side of the country, but if you do well and keep your feet where they should be, you'll survive the place." Mr. Kondo introduced himself and shook hands with us. He then took us to our classroom, 3-D.

As soon as we entered our room, the class quieted down and some scurried back to their seats. Their whispering is already annoying the hell out of me though, "Class, we got two new transfer students today. Although Mr. Morooka's death is a sudden and sad time, I'd at least like you to welcome these two to our school and make sure that they're acclimated to it." Mr. Kondo briefly said as everyone gushed. The teacher motioned for us to introduce ourselves. I stepped up first, my hands in my pockets.

"Minato Yuki. Pleasure." Makoto stood next to me, his elbow on my shoulder as he leaned unto me for support.

"The name's Makoto Yuki. Nice to meet you, ladies." He grinned at the female population of the class, who grew hearts out of their eyes

"Oh. My. Gosh. They're so hot..!"

"Ah~! Makoto-kun is so suave!"

"Minato-sama is so cool!"

"I can't believe they're twins! They're like angels from heaven!"

I quietly snorted at that last remark. Makoto and I are certainly not angels, him most especially. Mr. Kondo assigned us our seats, and I sat at the seat near the window, second row from the last, while my twin sat behind me, looking rather satisfied.

I really do hope Hamuko and Risette-san are all right…Not that I care about the latter.

~O~

"Damn, Kashiwagi was checking out the guys..!" Yosuke whispered hotly at lunch as we went out to the rooftop. Narukami and his friends spotted us at the cafeteria and asked us to eat grub with them. Not that I don't mind, since my sister would need lots of friends to keep her sane.

Thanatophobia…

The fear of death…

I looked up from my sandwich, one that Mariko-oba kindly prepared for me, and inclined my head at him, "Yeah, earlier she abused my chin with her bony fingers." I nervously shook, remembering that faint memory. Kanji patted me at the back.

"It's alright, senpai, wait, what?!" He looked at me weirdly as I nodded.

"Yeah, old hag is looking for a boner…from our local principal." I went back to eating my sandwich as Chie threw a disgusting look.

"Oh, god, ew!" She immediately drank some juice, probably to wash over the mental taste of that teacher. My twin brother, Minato, looked over at me with a frown. "She didn't really 'abuse' your chin, Koto." He daftly said, stirring my sister's cup ramen while blowing on to it. I picked up one of Chie's shoes, which were on the ground because the martial arts lover took them off for a 'breeze', and threw it lightly at Minato's direction. But my brother is perceptive, and he turned away at the last second. The shoe however, made contact with Yosuke instead.

"Ow! What the hell, senpai!" The kohai glared at me before rubbing his jaw. I snickered as Narukami laughed along with me.

Narukami…

There's something about this person, can't quite put my finger on it, though…

"Hey, I heard you're from the city as well." I inquired the gray-haired second year, who shrugged in reply, "Yeah, from Tokyo. You guys from the Port?"

"Nah, came all the way from Iwatodai though. Close, but no."

"Onii-chan always wanted to stay in Iwatodai..!" Hamuko exclaimed, slurping some noodles. I turned to give her a sour, embarrassed look.

"H-Hamuko, not in front of everyone else…" I mumbled as they laughed cheerfully. My little sister with them. I gazed over at my brother, who gave me an encouraging nod.

Anything to keep her away from her fear…

"Did you watch the Midnight Channel last time?"

The group looked up to see two girls gossiping really loud somewhere near the door to the roof. They're sitting by the floor and eating their own lunch.

"Yeah, and I saw the Risette! She looked like a stripper in that show though…" The group snapped their heads back at Idol-chan, who looked down.

"Ahahaha! Maybe Kashiwagi was right; stupid bitch is sluttier than her." It happened too fast; before I could even think, I was already walking their way, Minato at my side.

"Yo, ladies." I greeted them my usual cheerful way, while Ato looked just the same. The two suddenly went crimson, "N-no way! It's Minato and Makoto-senpai! Kyaahh!" On the corner of my eye, I can see Idol-chan rolling her eyes.

"Hey."

"So, I was wonderin', who you guys were talking about earlier?"

"Huh? D-do you mean about the Midnight Channel?" I resisted all kinds of urges of wringing this girl's neck. I said 'who', not 'what'. Minato must've noticed my 'malicious' intent and decided to take the lead this time.

"No, it's about our friend, Rise." I smiled at my bro's words. Idol-chan behind us looked like her jaw drop.

"F-friend? She's your friend?"

"Damn, right she is. Naturally, I don't bully girls but," The glint on my eyes reflected that of Ato's as I leaned unto one of the girls' ears and whispered dangerously, "Anyone who disrespects my family is worth getting banged." And Minato dangerously added,

"Hard."

The girls gasped and scampered out of the place, leaving us and the others to laugh out loud. Rise wiped something from her eyes and giggled, "You two…Thanks…" She hiccupped just as Hamuko hugged her and nuzzled her shoulder, "Anything for our friend, Rise-san!" I gave her the thumbs up as Ato approved in her stead.

We continued to talk and share our food, and I gotta say, there's something awfully weird about Yukiko's omelet. I passed it up and gave it to Minato, who choked the second he placed it in his mouth. Kanji was kind enough to thump him in the back to take it out.

"But man, it's a shame the killer got King Moron though…" Yosuke said bitterly, arms crossed over his chest as Yukiko bowed her head, "And I thought we were one step closer to the truth…" She whispered as I turned to her, confused.

"Whaddya mean?" I questioned her when Chie interrupted me.

"Ah..! E-Ehehe, that's nothing, Makoto-senpai; it's just Yukiko's plain, old ramblings ehehe…"

"O-old?!"

The two girls began to bicker as everyone sweat dropped. While they're busy fighting off, I feel like there's something weird with the way they say about that teacher. And what's with the killer? A serial murder case? I'm not surprised though; before coming here, Minato warned that there are some strange happenings here at Inaba, and that we should be careful. I'm fine with that, but the way they're talking about it…

They're kinda like, playing detective…

Nah, must be my imagination.

The bell rang as lunch ended. Everyone packed up their bentos and left the rooftop. I was helping Hamuko rewrap her box when I suddenly felt someone tug at my arm forcefully.

"What the-?!" As I swiveled around, I came face to face with a serious looking twin of mine.

"I told you to be careful around here." He firmly said, tightening his grip on my arm. My eyes flashed as I held on his collar, pulling him to me. Hamuko gasped behind us but we both ignored her. "What's going on here?" We heard Narukami walking back, really obvious that he saw the whole thing. I glared at my brother and he did so back.

The common habit between us twins is that we fight a lot.

But never in front of Hamuko.

"Senpai, you're scaring Hamuko. You have to stop." Narukami calmly said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I flinched at his touch as I immediately let go and stepped away. I twisted to glower at him this time. The air is tense, growing more and more so as we had a stare down. I growled at the kohai as he gazed back coolly. My mouth unexpectedly curved into a smirk at this gesture.

Bastard is just like Minato…

I slackened my poise as I shrugged my shoulders, crossing my arms. "Sorry." I directed that to Hamuko, who is visibly shaking but she just nodded. I gave her a smile, but it only resulted a tiny grin. Minato let out a pissed off sigh, while the gray haired teen continued to look at me. I leered at him.

Can't believe this assehole is really like Minato.

Once Hamuko lectured us about fighting, she left the rooftop with Rise and Kanji. Narukami went along with them, but not before staring back at me once again. Minato and I are alone in the rooftop, and I only stayed because I knew my twin has something important to say, what with Hamuko gone, he has this opportunity to tell me anything, "There is something going on, and I'm worried that Hamuko will be dragged into this." He said quietly as I winced. As much as I hate to say this, but Ato is usually right when it comes to hunches.

"You think Hamuko will get dragged to this murder case, huh?" I remembered that time, when I first heard that aunt Mayumi got killed, and they found her body hanging upside down in a grotesque way. That was our first insight of the case here in Inaba. Oka-san told us to be careful when the time comes for them to leave. Although, them dying so fast in less than three to four months is so overrated.

I nodded at Ato, getting up on my feet as we both exited the rooftop, "We're going to go home together, until this case thins out, alright?" Minato explained as the two of us went back to our classroom. As I sat on my chair, and enduring the history teacher's long drone about European past, I thought about what that girl said earlier…

Do you mean the Midnight Channel?

I've heard about that show, not that I really seen it anyway. The rumor goes by that if you watch that show, alone, on a rainy midnight, you'll be able to see your soul mate. My eyes narrowed a bit.

They said something about Rise in the show, that she's a stripper…

What the hell does that mean?

I groaned as I laid my head on my desk and dozed off the remaining hours of the afternoon.

~O~

"Ano…onii-chan?"

"Nandeska, Hamuko?"

"Why are you two walking so close to me…?" Makoto-nii let out a noise that sounded like a mid-chuckle.

"Ah, don't worry about this so much, Ha-mu-ko-chan~" He pinched my cheek as I pouted at him. "This is only temporary on the basis of two things: one when you're not in danger of perverts and two when Ato thinks it's safe for you to walk around the town alone." He wolfishly grinned at me as I deadpanned.

"Uh…I know that, but you do know we're leaving Rise-san behind, right?"

"Thanks for noticing me, Hamuko-chan…" The girl behind us said rather sarcastically as I turned to give her the 'peace' sign.

Ever since that incident at the rooftop, Minato-nii and Makoto-nii were following me like a hawk. And it's rather scary when I'm talking to somebody, when they suddenly turned cold feet and ran away from me as soon as I could register what just happened. I understand what Minato-nii is at it, but Makoto-nii is enjoying this too much…

"Oh, that reminds me…" Rise-san said, halting us. "I'm going to go with senpai to Junes, so please tell Grandma I'll be home late."

"Eh? Can I go with you then, Rise-san?" I asked hopefully, wanting to get away from my brothers for the time being. Rise-san looked surprise, "Huh? B-but, aren't you tired? It's just the first day of school and…" But she looked at my puppy dog eyes and she instantly gave in.

"Hamuko, no. At least let us-!" My older brother was cut short by the other one.

"We understand. You two be careful, alright?" Makoto-nii said with a smirk, dragging his twin into a headlock as we parted off. Rise-san and I talked for a bit until we reached the Junes establishment. To my surprise, Kanji-kun and Yosuke-senpai are there as well.

"Oh, yo!" Kanji-kun waved at us as we did so back. Yosuke-senpai immediately noticed me, "Huh? Hamuko-chan? What are you doing here?"

I fidgeted on my feet, "W-well…I just want to accompany Rise-san here and I also wanted to look around a-and I hope I'm not disturbing anything!" I quickly bowed to senpai and the other two. The two boys flamed up at once, "I-I'm sorry, Hamuko-chan! I didn't mean it that way! Oh man, please don't cry!" Senpai handed me a handkerchief, but I didn't need it anyway.

"We're just going to have a meeting at the food court, Hamuko." The bleach haired teen said as Yosuke-senpai looked at me, aghast. "Kanji! Shut up!" He said fiercely as I curiously tilted my head to one side.

"What kind of meeting?"

"It's top secret and you're not allowed to attend it with us, Hamuko-chan..." Surprisingly, Rise-san replied to me rather firmly. I smiled at her tone; she's like an older sister. "Okay, I understand." I finally answered, giggling in the process. "Well, please take care of Rise-san now for me, okay, Kanji-kun, Yosuke-senpai?" They agreed as we walked to the elevator.

The brunette asked me what I will do for the time being, so I just said I'll look around a bit and maybe buy some stuff for my brothers. Senpai said that I should poke around the Electronics Store then, since they got a fresh shipment of headphones and mp3's, something that Minato-nii would like very much.

"I'll come by to pick you up afterwards, okay?" Rise-san smiled at me as they went to the food court whilst I stepped into the Electronics department. Only a few people are here, some are being entertained by the store clerks while the others were looking at the TVs. I saw one that is insanely huge, bigger than Makoto-nii's TV at Iwatodai. I walked over to it and felt some nostalgic feeling just staring at the blank screen.

Ato-nii always loved to buy stuff from Tanaka-san's Home Shopping Commodities, while Koto-nii would secretly wake up early and watch Neo Featherman during weekdays.

The fond memories I had with my family are mostly with my brothers, since the both of them always had time to play and spend time with me. My mother, Minako Yuki, was a beautiful young lady, once a waitress, and once a common person; a life I earnestly wish to have. She met my father two years before they had my older brothers, and things just went into a fast forward motion after that. My grandmother commented that I looked just like her in this age, and I was pleased for I knew I'll be as pretty as her when I grow up.

{…But now I don't want to…}

I inched close to the screen, suddenly feeling quite hazy as I reminisced. My father, Kintaro Yuki, son of a wealthy businessman, was a powerful yet jovial young man, who wanted nothing more but to provide the good fortune for his wife and children. He's the kind of parent who is immersed in his work and little time to be spent for family gatherings, like Christmas or New Year's. However, I knew he loved oka-san, and I have yet to know if he loves his children as dearly as with my mother or not.

{…He never did, not one single one of them…}

I'm so…tired… I felt my fingertips touch the cool surface of the appliance, my body leaning close to it, and all of a sudden I felt an icy cold plunge, pulling me into darkness.

I couldn't even feel my feet touch the floor; it's all too much of a blur. I tried opening my eyes, but all I could see is a mass of black and white, rectangular shapes.

~O~

Author's Note: Who do you think Igor is talking to at the first scene? It's not only just Minato, but maybe Makoto and/or Hamuko dreamt of that too. I mean, only one of them can be the Wild Card, so don't take it too lightly that even though Hamuko went into the TV first, that doesn't mean she's the WC already.

It's really hard to do Hamuko's POV, especially when she's brooding, but I hope I did well.

Really, I didn't get any reviews, and yet I continued. Seriously, I need some reviews to keep on writing. I appreciate the ones who favorite/followed the story, but please, a little feedback to the writer writing this story?

Please Review! I am truly inspired when somebody gives the time to review. So, it means that, more reviews, faster uploads of chapters. And thank you to those who Favorited and Followed this story.

This is the story of a broken mirror, with three-fourths of a reflection.