October 31st, 2011.
After the deaths of Tohru Adachi and Kinshiro Morooka, the murders came to a sudden stop. The trail went dead. The hardest part had been explaining to Nanako. She was a mature young girl; she had to be, after all, but that hadn't helped at all when she had learned that she'd lost another person she trusted.
As for Dojima - Yu wasn't certain about Dojima. He seemed the same as always, but something about his presence was more determined. Even with the murderer seemingly deterred, he continued to hound detectives and subordinate officers to search for any clue they could dig up. Whether he had decided that this was personal, or it was simply his sense of justice kicking in, Narukami didn't know. But it was a persistence that he knew might only bring his uncle deeper into his work.
Although the killer's absence didn't mean the TV World was at ease - regular expeditions still ensued, in search of a way to at least make the place safe, for anyone else who ended up falling in. Which was nobody, so far. With the town itself seemingly at peace, at least, the months came and went, counting down to the date that Yu would have to return home. It was coming too fast.
When he'd arrived to the Hanamura household, he'd found a building covered from top to bottom in decorations. Eerie music wandered out into the yard through cracked-open windows and unseen holes, just loud enough to set a sense of uncertainty amongst onlookers. A knock on the door, and within seconds, a were-Yosuke had opened the door, ushering his partner in.
Half an hour later, and he and his friends were sat down before the television, watching through the slew of horror movies that Rise and Yosuke had gathered up. They all seemed to be part of a series, though Yu could only associate the name '*Halloween*' with an American franchise that he recalled seeing advertisements for in the past.
Teddie, at some point, had assigned himself the role of the one who would bring candy to the door; Chie and Yukiko were still playfully debating about whether it was more to bring joy to the trick or treaters, or so that he could steal candy for himself when nobody was looking.
"Happy Hallowee-e-en!" Teddie was barely audible over the brooding music, setting the scene for what Yu was certain would be another bloody demise.
A discomforted sigh sounded from one end of the couch, as Naoto folded her arms. "I cannot fathom how these characters react. If there is a murderer in your house, what would ever compell you to go looking for them? This is what the police are for."
"Aw, c'mon, Naoto. It's just a movie," Yosuke returned.
"If these people acted smart, where would the suspense-" Rise cut herself short, as the on-screen killer leapt from his hiding place to stab someone.
Rise screamed, burying her face into Yu's jacket sleeve. Yosuke jumped in surprise, then started to laugh.
"Did that one getcha, Rise-chan?" he joked.
Rise whined, refusing to move. Yu knew better than to try pulling his arm away. It would only make her more stubborn. Instead, he remained still, watching the television.
Kanji, although initially frightened, had forced himself to settle back into the couch.
"It wasn't that scary, Rise," he grumbled. Something about his tone told everyone that he had mostly been saying it for himself.
"Emergency services how can we-"
"PLEASE HELP! T-THERES A MAN A-AND...OH GOD!!! HELP ME!!" The Woman yelled before there was a bashing sound amd the call was ended.
The Shape left the building and looked in the window of another building close by. People were watching him..and Lauire on the Television. It simply started at it. Nothingness in its Black eyes.
It was only a matter of time before he struck again. Dojima had been waiting for this; although he couldn't say for sure that it was the same murderer, something in his gut told him that it was. It was a creeping sensation, just like the one he'd felt coming to Adachi and Morooka's murder scene. Something crawling about in his stomach, trying to work it's way out. And the closer he got to the scene, the stronger the feeling.
The building was just past the Hanamura house, and without really thinking about it, Dojima had found himself steering that way. Perhaps the lights would warn Yu and the rest of his friends to stay there. As he rounded the corner, instead, he came upon a strange sight.
A man standing near the street, staring in the window of the Hanamura house. The strange man was dressed in a boiler suit and white mask - if it had been a child, he might have been a little less suspicious of this.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road, leaving the lights on. He grabbed his radio.
"I've got a suspicious person in 3-*banchi* 7, investigating," he noted, before clicking the radio back into place.
He waited for confirmation, before leaving the car. He moved around it, cautious in his approach.
"Hey, you! You got a reason to be prowling around here?" he called out.
"Hey, what's going on out-" Rise cut herself off, gasping as she turned her head.
Each member of the team followed suit, jumping as they noticed the faux Michael Myers watching from outside. They must have seen the movie playing, and thought that it would be funny. Chie stood up, glaring.
"Very funny, man!" she shouted.
Yukiko let out a gentle, nervous laugh. "Th-That really got me..."
"Yeah, you and me both," Yosuke mumbled.
Naoto stood up, staring out the window, past 'Michael'. She had little doubt that it was a costume, but those were real police sirens outside. Why was the car parked right outside of their house? She grabbed Chie's puffed sleeve, tugging her backwards.
"Step back. Dojima-san is parked outside," she noticed.
"Huh? What's he doing here?" Kanji questioned.
"Maybe he's here to pick you up, Sensei?" Teddie suggested.
Yu shook his head. He'd agreed with Dojima that he'd head home before 11:00, to be home before Nanako's babysitter left. It was barely even 8:30.
An uneasy silence fell through the group, as they each watched the window. Kanji stood up as well, half-ready to bolt outside and perform a smack-down on the watcher if necessary. Even he knew that Dojima wouldn't stop without a good reason. And the only thing that any of them could think of was the man staring at them and their television through the window.
The Shape turned to Dojima. The blood on the kinfe reflecting in the moonlight.
As soon as Dojima saw the knife, he knew. That wasn't a prop. Fake blood didn't glimmer that way. This was the man they'd been called to arrest.
From the window, the teenagers could hear Dojima yelling, though they couldn't make out what over the sound of the movie. Yosuke grabbed for the remote, frantically searching for the button to turn the volume down.
Yu felt his breath catch. Dojima must have seen the look on his face, as the officer's eyes flickered past Michael, to Yu, and then back. It was a mistake that would cost him his life, little known to the group at that moment. The Shape slashed at his hand before grabbing Dojima. Dojima raised a hand in defense, only for the skin of his palm to be slit open. He let out a pained noise, drawing his hand back. His non-dominant one went for his gun. Even if he couldn't aim as well as he wanted, something was better than nothing. By the time he'd gotten a hold of the weapon, however, the killer had already grabbed him by the back of the head.
Knowing that it wasn't worth trying to order this man around, Dojima resigned himself to struggling against the hold. Adrenaline coursed through him, but even that wasn't enough to rip himself away. The next thing he saw was the stained wood of a fancy door.
"Dojima-san!" Yu shouted, For once, he sounded afraid. It wasn't a tone that any of them liked.
A meaty -thunk- came from behind the door. Naoto leaped over the couch, and made a break for the entrance, skidding to a stop right in front of it. She knelt on one knee, drawing her revolver and aiming it at the door.
"H-Hey, wait for us!" Kanji called.
"Where'd you get that from?!" Rise asked, as the slamming grew more intense.
"It doesn't matter, move it!" Naoto commanded.
The rest of the team followed the order, maneuvering their way around or over the couch, to join Naoto. They would only stay there for a minute, watching spurts of blood hit the small window at the very top of the door, before the way crashed open.
Soon, the door was broken as The Shape then threw Dojima at the Door with one last push. It stared at the teens.
"Look out!" Rise shouted, and each member dove off to one side, as a bloodied near-corpse came barreling through the entryway.
Dojima smashed into the wall at the far end, collapsing into a heaving mess of blood and bruises. Yu pushed himself up onto his elbows, turning his gaze towards his uncle. His expression dropped.
"What the hell?!" Yosuke cursed, attention glued to Dojima.
"Senpai, go help him!" Rise cried.
Yu, with some hesistance, did as he was told. His friends could handle themselves. He had to keep Dojima alive.
Naoto had only let herself glance towards the older officer. Where her friends found themselves panicking, watching Narukami run off to the far wall, she was trying her best to keep a level head. The masked man stood in the doorway now, staring down at them all with eyes hidden behind shadow. This man was dangerous, he'd proven himself to be as much; and she saw this as situation being entiredly worthy of firing shots.
"Dojima-san?" Yu's voice was lowered, uncertain, as he came to a stop next to his uncle.
He knew he wasn't looking at the face of a man that would live for long. Not without a professional, anyways. Shards of glass and splinters were stuck out of his face at every angle, scraps of skin torn away from the sheer force of the hits. His very head looked wrong, pushed inwards in places where skulls weren't supposed to push inwards. He was as good as dead.
But he was breathing. He was breathing, for now.
"Dojima-san!" Yu spoke again, still quiet, though a little harsher this time.
Dojima drew in a long, difficult breath. It felt like he was drowning, in a way to he could still breath, but some part of him knew he wouldn't for very much longer. Slowly, shakily, he lifted his good hand.
He'd only barely been able to keep a grip on the gun. Yu eyed it warily, attention almost immediately flitting back to Dojima.
"No."