Prologue

Tokyo, Japan, 11th Year of the Showa Era, 1936

The Detective could feel his legs burning as he sprinted down the tunnel, his lungs struggling to keep up, but he didn't slow down. No, he couldn't slow down, he was running out of time.

"Chief? Hey, chief, slow down!"

The voice of one of his companions from behind him briefly took him out of his panicked state, only to ignore him and resume his mad headlong dash. There was too much at stake to waste time on thinking.

Please, he begged silently to who or whatever might be listening, please just let him be okay, let him be safe!

He finally found himself at the mine railway. Apparently, this track had not seen use in over a decade, although his own personal sources suggested that was not the case. Normally he would've checked the state of the track, which is when he would have noticed the lack of rust on the rail, or the absence of rot or splintering of the wooden sleepers, but such was his panicked state that he failed to pay any notice. Not that he would've cared.

He ran down the track, deeper into the tunnel, ignoring everything he had learned through his career, abandoning any sense of caution. He began to call out into the darkness ahead, not caring who else might hear him, if the one he was searching for could.

"Masaru! Masaru, answer me, please?"

For a few brief minutes that seemed to stretch forever in his mind, there was nothing. Then–

"Dad?"

The Detective felt his throat tighten, "Hold on Masaru! I'll be right there, just hold on!"

"No, don't come this way! Dad, it's a-!"

But the Detective was already sprinting ahead, ignoring Masaru's warning, not giving his company the chance to catch up. All that mattered was Masaru.

All that mattered was his son.

Finally, he saw the boy, dirty, dishevelled, bruised, and scared, sitting by track up ahead. The Detective rushed over to scoop up Masaru, his precious little boy, only to realize his hands were chained to the track.

He muttered a curse under his breath, but looked to his son with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I'll have this lock picked in no time, okay?"

"No, Dad, you need to run!" Masaru pleaded, tears streaming down his dirty face. "It's a trap, Dad, you have to run it's a trap-!"

From further down the tunnel came a low rumbling, the acrid smell of diesel wafting through the air. A bright light shone from deeper down the tunnel, so bright that the Detective had to shield his eyes, and the blaring sound of a horn echoed around them, and the Detective's stomach turned to ice.

The reality of the situation had become horrifyingly clear, spurring the devoted father into panicked desperation, his normal methodical care discarded as he fumbled with his lock-picking tools, which wasn't helped as his hands became drenched with sweat. All the while, Masaru kept begging him to leave him, his friends behind him were calling out, also insisting that he run. No, not a chance in any of the eight hot hells was he abandoning his own son to die-!

He dropped his lock-pick.

His throat constricted, and he blindly groped in the darkness trying to find the elusive tool, but it was useless. The engine at the other end of the tunnel was gaining speed, coming closer, and closer...

His face was a mix of terror and grief, and the Detective locked eyes with his son. He tried to speak, to say anything to the boy, anything!

Masaru gave a choked sob before he spoke, "Dad, please. J-just run… please…"

The tears that the Detective had been holding back started to flow unhindered. "No." Finding his courage, he shook his head slowly, "No. I'm not leaving you." He looked his son dead in the eye. "I'll be right here. Until the very end…"

Masaru weakly gave another sob, leaning into his father's arms, who wrapped him in a tight embrace. The two clung to each other as the locomotive began to barrel down on them, the light strong enough to blind them, and the roar of its engine deafening them to the eerie laughter that had begun to echo through the caverns, and then…

A flash of gold whipped past father and son, headlong into the engine and smashing it like paper! What was left of the great machine was pushed several feet back towards where it came, rearing up off the rails and slamming into the rocky walls, bursting into a cloud of dust and debris. The Detective and his son could only stare in stunned, dumb silence, barely able to contemplate that, somehow, they were alive.

The cloud began to settle, revealing a silhouetted, human form standing with its back to them, contemplating the twisted, smoking metal wreckage. It stood seven feet tall, seemingly naked except for a long black cloak, its body toned and muscled, and there was an unusual shine to its skin. Slowly, the figure turned around, revealing its face in profile, and the Detective gave a horrified gasp.

The figure's face was not the face of a living human but of a dead man's skull.

The creature threw back its skull-head, opened its jaw, and let out another sinister laugh which echoed through the cave, causing the Detective to shudder. As if sensing this, the skull-faced figure turned to face the Detective, staring at him with his hollow, black eye sockets, lit with the pinpricks of a fiery red light.

Slowly but surely, the skull-face creature began to make its way towards the pair…

Season 1, Chapter 1: The Phantom of the Skyscraper

Tokyo, Japan, Present Day

Dareo Shin couldn't help but feel uneasy as he watched the bored-looking teen in front of him, the school paper's chief editor, read the manuscript in his hands. Next to Dareo was Takeru Yamatone, the manuscript's writer, and Dareo's best friend since elementary, practically bursting with eager excitement.

"It's awesome, right, Senpai?" Takeru chirped gleefully.

While Dareo had always admired his friend's boundless enthusiasm, he couldn't say he shared it at this moment.

He observed as the editor wrinkled his nose in disgust before he answered, "There is no way we're publishing this garbage."

"Whaaat?!" Takeru reeled back like he'd been hit in the face. "Come on, the Phantom of Sunshine 60 is the biggest scoop of the year! Are you seriously telling me the paper's just gonna sleep on this?"

"This Phantom's just an urban legend," the editor replied, "and the journalism club's stance on… that sort of subject is very clear."

Takeru huffed and puffed before turning towards his friend, "C'mon Dareo, back me up here!"

But Dareo shook his head, "Look dude, I know you were keen on this whole 'Phantom' thing, but we knew from the get-go just how strict the paper is on this stuff." Dareo clapped a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "It was a good effort, but I think we need to try another angle."

However, this statement did not have the desired effect, as Takeru's eyes lit up, "Exactly!" Before Dareo could stop him, he jumped toward the room's light switch and turned it off, leaving the room dark. Takeru then dashed towards the desk in the middle of the room and climbed on top of it.

Dareo knew where this was going, and he hurried towards Takeru, grabbing his wrist, and tried to coax him down, "Takeru, c'mon, this isn't working, just let it go already."

Takeru was undeterred, ignoring Dareo and addressing the rest of the journalism club kids, "Isn't everyone just a little bit tired of the same dull, dry content, day in and day out?" he declared. "Well, esteemed ladies and gentlemen of our school's esteemed resident journalistic publication, allow me, Takueru Yamatone, to present to you the story that'll liven up this rusty old establishment! Just listen…"

Takeru pulled out his phone and started playing the cheesiest horror track one could dredge up on the internet, using the phone's torch feature to light up his face from below, "Now picture this - you're walking through East Ikebukuro Central Park, late on a moonless summer night, when you hear it – MWA-HA-HA-HA!"

Dareo had to admit, that seeing everyone jump at Takeru's 'evil laugh' was more satisfying than it should've been. But if experience had taught him anything, it was all downhill from here.

"That laughter," Takeru continued, "can only mean one thing – the Phantom of the Sunshine 60 has targeted you as its prey! As the cold winter wind chills your veins-"

"Wait, didn't you just say this was during the summer?" one kid interrupted.

Takeru gave an annoyed groan, but continued, "As I was saying, a nervous chill runs down your spine, you turn to see the source of the laughter, and there he is, illuminated by the sunset-!"

"Isn't this supposed to be late at night?"

"Illuminated by a streetlamp!" huffed Takeru in an annoyed tone, "is a tall, sinister figure, dressed all in black, long cape billowing in the wind, a red wide-brimmed hat worn low over his face, and in his left hand he holds his weapon of choice – a long silver cane that comes to a sharp, vicious point. Slowly he makes his way towards you, and all the while he makes that same laugh – mwa-ha-ha-ha, mwa-ha-ha-ha, MWA-HA-HA-HA!"

"So, what do you do but run? But no matter how fast you run, you can hear him right behind you – MWA-HA-HA-HA! Like you're being chased by the hounds of hell. There's no reprieve, no escape, no hero to save you. Finally, you collapse from exhaustion, and you know you're doomed. You hear it again, that maniacal laugh – MWA-HA-HA-HA! So, you look up and see, glowing in the moon's light-"

"Um, how is there moonlight on a moonless night?"

"Will you quit the nit-picking already!?" Takeru snapped, rounding on the kid, "You're messing up my flow!"

"I'd just listen quietly if I were you," Dareo responded with a sigh, "It'll be over much faster that way…"

Takeru pouted a bit, but quickly continued, "Glowing by… I dunno, the light of your phone or whatever, you try to make out your pursuer's face, but he's wearing a bronze Venetian mask, its mouth curved into an evil mocking grin. But the eyes… oh, they're the most dreadful part. For where the eyes should be are nothing but two hollow, endless black pits, empty but for the demonic blood-red lights that stare directly into your very soul. You let out one final scream, but it's quickly drowned out by that terrible, terrible laughter – mwa-ha-ha-ha, mwa-ha-ha-ha, MWA-HA-HA-HA! And from that night forth, the police may search high and low, but you are never seen or heard from again, for the Phantom of the Skyscraper has claimed another victim!" Takeru spread his arms wide in a dramatic gesture, took a deep breath, and gave a bow, "And that's the end."

The other kids in the room looked at Takeru, silent and dumbfounded, save for one random boy who was early applauding the tale before being silenced by a slap up the back of the head from the kid next to him. Dareo turned the lights back on and thanked his lucky stars that this act of this three-ringed circus was over, but he also knew it wasn't quite the final curtain call just yet.

Takeru got down from the table, looking very proud of himself, and turned to address the chief editor, "So now you've heard the tale of the Sunshine 60 Phantom, you have to admit it's a story that's got everything – mystery, suspense, drama-!"

"Credibility?" the editor sneered.

"Hey, the Skyscraper Phantom is plenty credible!" Takeru retorted, puffing out his chest. "There's been dozens of sightings of this new ghost going around, you can't just sleep on this. Any good journalist knows you gotta go after the scoop while it's still hot! Did the Tokyo Nichi-Nichi Shinbun hesitate back in 1926 when they got the scoop on the name for the Showa era?"

Dareo groaned, burying his face in his hands, and a few snickers were heard from the other members of the journalism club present in the room.

The chief editor rolled his eyes, "Seriously Yamatone, this is the kind of tabloid trash you find being spread around the Ni-Chan forums and not in a proper journalistic publication. You can go ahead and start your own vlog for your stupid little ghost hunts or whatever, but we will not be publishing such tripe in our newspaper. We. Have. Standards."

Takeru looked around the room, stunned, as the other kids shook their heads in agreement. He looked towards Dareo, who only gave him an apologetic sigh.

"Well then," the chief editor took a few steps towards Takeru, "with that silly little discretion out of the way, we have real news to work on. Go on now – shoo." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

"But-" Takeru stuttered, but Dareo grabbed him by the shoulders and started pushing him towards the door.

"Thank you for your time, sorry to have bothered you," he said hurriedly. "Goodbyeandhaveaniceday!"

As Dareo pushed Takeru out the door into the school hallway, the door was shut so fast behind him that it whacked his butt, and Dareo let Takeru go to tend to his bruised tush.

"Ugh, this is so unfair! Those stuck-up, overachieving jerks!" Takeru gave a kick towards the door.

Dareo put a reassuring hand on Takeru's shoulder, "Look, I don't the editor's attitude, but he's got a point, they can't go publishing random ghost stories. I mean, you really can't publish any sort of story without any solid proof. But you know, maybe that vlog thing isn't such… a bad..." Dareo noticed the grin growing that had grown on Takeru's face, "ideaaaaa Takeru please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

"But Dareo, it's like you said – we need ironclad, indisputable proof! Then that stuffed shirt of an editor will be begging to run my story in his stupid paper."

"Takeru, no…"

"Takeru, yes!" Takeru puffed out his chest out triumphantly, pointing a finger toward the sky. "It's time to pack our gear, Daero, because tonight, we're going to stake out the Sunshine 60!"

As Daero hurried off the pedestrian crossing and turned left towards the entrance of the Sunshine 60, he was munching on a corn soup stick and toting a bag of groceries, consisting mostly of a couple of bento and a few other snacks marketed as being 'healthy', which he had just bought from the convenience store across the road. If he'd learned anything during his years of being Takeru's friend, the guy had probably forgotten to bring any decent food.

He was just about to go through the automatic sliding door when he heard a voice, one that he thought he knew.

"Please sir, I'm not doing anything, I swear. I'm just waiting for my-"

"I won't say it again, kid," replied a gruffer, sterner voice. "Either you move along or we're gonna have a problem."

Dareo turned to the source of the voices, from two people standing in front of the Four Seasons of Edo mural. The source of the gruff voice was a rather burly security guard, and he was looming threateningly over the source of the earlier voice, a young girl about his age, who he quickly recognized.

The girl in question, Maria Kaneko, was a fellow student of Takeru and Dareo at their school. It was practically impossible to mistake her for anyone else, with her unusually tan skin making her stand out amongst the mostly pale-skinned student body and school staff. Tan skin, as Dareo knew, typically had some unsavoury associations that came along with it, so it didn't surprise him to see this guard talking to the girl as if she were some sort of delinquent. But Dareo knew that Maria was nothing like that.

"Sir," he walked up the two. "I can vouch for her; we attend the same school, the Nagamatsu Academy in Yostuya, Shinjuku. Maria Kaneko is a member of the student council and an overall exemplary student. She's not the type to cause trouble."

The two looked toward Dareo, somewhat surprised by the intrusion.

"Kaneko?" the guard looked the girl up and down incredulously. "As in Minister Onishi Kaneko, leader of the Patriot's Union party that's been holding that month-long conference here?"

"Y-yes sir, he's my grandfather," Maria said meekly. "He's been asking me to wait for him here when he's finished for the day."

The guard squinted at Maria for a few seconds.

Maria gulped slightly, before reaching into her tote bag, "I-I can show you my student ID if you'd-"

"Ah, forget it," the guard gave her a dismissive wave. "But I'd better not catch you causing any trouble, or I will be checking in with your 'grandfather'." The guard gave Maria one last suspicious glance before going on his way.

Maria sighed and turned to Dareo, "Thank you, Mister Shin. You really didn't need to do that, but I'm glad you did."

Dareo shrugged, "Eh, no big deal." To be honest, Dareo wasn't sure why he had helped Maria, they weren't in the same social circles. She was what one would consider one of the 'elite' members of the student body. However, Dareo always got an 'odd' vibe from her, one he couldn't quite explain. Sure, her skin made her stand out, but otherwise, she was the model of a perfect middle school student.

"Grocery shopping?" Maria's query pulled him out of his daydream.

He looked down at the bag in his hand, "Uh yeah, I'm meeting up with Takeru here and I stopped on the way to grab a few things."

"That's nice. So, you're just hanging out and stuff?"

"Uh… yeah, pretty much," Dareo cringed his own half-truth, but there was no way he could tell Maria what he and Takeru really had planned.

"I'd better let you go then; I wouldn't want to cause you to run late," she smiled at him. "I know Mister Yamatone tends to get worked up when things don't go his way."

"You got that right," Dareo muttered under his breath as he headed back towards the door. "Anyway, guess I'll see you around, Miss Kotone."

"See you around," said Maria with a smile. "And once again, thank you so much."

Dareo hurried through the corridor, got on the escalators to head down to the basement level, headed further straight, and then turned right towards Fountain Square, where he had agreed to meet Takeru.

Dareo spotted him immediately.

Takeru was decked head to toe in black, complete with a balaclava, walking with an exaggerated 'sneaky' gait, rolling on the floor from pillar to pillar, and generally looking like a complete doofus, and – was he beatboxing the Mission Impossible theme?!

It was then that Dareo saw another familiar face, the security guard he'd seen hassling Maria just a few minutes earlier, and he was strolling straight towards Takeru. Dareo was debating with himself whether it was easier to try and grab Takeru or to distract the guard, but the guard had already spotted the wannabe ninja. However, the guard just stared blankly at the thirteen-year-old and his ridiculous 'stealth mode' before he shook his head, muttering something about 'eighth-grader syndrome', and simply walked off.

Huh.

At that moment, Takeru spotted Dareo and waved him over. Dareo sighed and headed towards him, where Takeru grabbed him and pulled him behind a pillar.

Takeru looked Dareo up and down, before declaring, "Dude, what the heck are you wearing? Do you realize how conspicuous you are?"

Most alleged hauntings around the Sunshine 60 happened on the basement floor, however, sightings of the Phantom were said to place near the Sunshine City Prince Hotel, so the boys had set up camp in the garden area opposite.

"This is the one Dareo," Takeru said as he polished his binoculars. "We're gonna catch this Phantom in the act and prove the existence of the paranormal once and for all, I just know it!"

Dareo rolled his eyes – he had been on plenty of these 'stakeouts' before, "That's what you said the time when we went hunting for the 'Red Room' website, and that other time when you had us watch that watching that stupid, weird Kleenex commercial, both of which turned up nothing."

"But this time we're at the heart of the action," Takeru replied. "We're bound to find evidence this time!"

"Yeah, just like when you had us camped out at Oiwa's shrine, and after that it was at the grave of Taira no Masakado, or the time you got into the school's PA system and read Tomino's Hell out loud to the whole freaking school," Darero continued. "And not only did those not turn up anything, but we also caught by security all three times, which ended with us getting an earful from our parents." Dareo shot Takeru a very irritated side eye. "Not to mention the dozens of summoning games and rituals you've had us test out with nothing to show for, except for maybe a few which managed to get us in trouble with our teachers, parents or the cops, sometimes all three at once!" By now, the sun had set, and Dareo was grateful for the warm, dry weather of early May. "I'm just glad we're not doing this in the middle of winter like we did with the 'Seven School Mysteries' caper."

"Aw c'mon, that took place inside the school."

"Doesn't change the fact that those hallways are freezing at night," Dareo grumbled. "And it took everything I had to keep you from jumping into the school pool and giving yourself hypothermia." He threw up his hands. "Heck, that incident alone perfectly sums up the only reason why I go on these crazy ghost hunts – to keep you from killing yourself!" He took a deep breath, calming himself down, "Dude, you're a smart guy, and despite my rant just now, I do like hanging out with you – you're my best friend. But you're such a stubborn hothead, and I don't think you realise how it affects others around you-" He stopped as he realised that Takeru had his back to him, looking towards the hotel through his binoculars. "Aaand you weren't listening to a single thing I just said."

"Keep it down," Takeru shout-whispered back at Dareo. "I think I see something, get the camera, hurry!"

Knowing that there was no real point in arguing by now, Dareo grabbed said camera and booted it up, "Okay, what exactly am I looking for?"

"Just point it towards the left, you'll see, hurry up!"

Dareo did so, looking through the lens as he did so, "All I see are some bushes, what am I looking for?"

"Raise it up a bit more! No, not that high!"

"Okay, now I see something dude in a trench coat, I guess..."

"That's it, you got him, you got the Phantom!"

"Seriously?" Dareo looked up from the viewfinder towards Takeru. "Dude, heaps of people wear trench coats, you can't seriously call that evidence. For all we know it could be freaking Domo-kun in there."

"Yeah, but c'mon, a trench coat at this time of year? That's totally sus, right?"

Hold on. Takeru did have a point there. While suspicious behaviour didn't necessarily indicate something supernatural, Dareo could think of plenty of reasons for someone to act shady in real life, which could result in an outcome far worse than simply being grounded for a month.

"We're gonna have to call this off, Takeru," Dareo said finally. "I'll explain on the way, but we need to head to the police box and... Takeru?"

It was then Dareo realised that Takeru was no longer standing next to him. He looked around frantically, hoping and praying that Takeru wasn't about to do something stupid – only to spot him a few feet away, sneaking up behind Mr Trench Coat.

"Takeru, you idiot!" Dareo whispered as loud as he dared. "Get back over here, you're gonna get yourself killed!"

But Takeru was too far away to hear, not that he was likely to listen anyway. Dareo could only watch on in horror as Takeru pulled out his phone and tapped Mr Trench Coat on the shoulder who, of course, turned around.

"Say cheese, Mr Phantom!" and Takeru took a photo of Mr Trench Coat, the flash going off in his face, causing the guy to exclaim loudly and fall back on his rear.

Dareo jumped out of his hiding places in the bushes and rushed over to Takeru, hoping to pull him away and run off before Mr Trench Coat could retaliate, grabbing him by the arm and tugging at him desperately, but Takeru stood firm.

"Dareo, you're supposed to be recording!"

"We don't have time for that! Takeru, I think we're in serious trouble, we need to scram before-!"

Too late, Mr Trench Coat was back on his feet, and he was clearly human. A very rough-looking, thoroughly pissed-off human, with bleached, slicked back hair, multiple piercings, visible stubble, wearing a scarf tied around his neck and sports glasses in the middle of the freaking night. Whoever this guy was, he certainly wasn't a salaryman, that's for sure. Hell, Dareo wished that Takeru had provoked some drunk, sleep-deprived salaryman – anyone but this guy.

Takeru squinted at Mr Trench Coat as he loomed over them "What the-? You're not the Phantom!"

"What the hell, goddamn little-!" Mr Trench Coat growled. "This jacket is a dry-clean only, how are you gonna fix this!?"

"I-I'm sorry," Dareo stammered. "My friend, he mistook you for someone else. We'll take care of the jacket, just let us-"

"Hey, why do we worry about some dumb jacket?" Takeru objected. "Considering you ruined my chance for a shot of the Phantom, I'd say we're pretty even, ya old geezer."

Trench coat guy was irate enough as it was, but the worlds 'old geezer' seemed to drive him over the edge. Dareo's gut fell as the guy pulled out a switchblade knife.

On the upside, Takeru finally realized just how badly he screwed up, letting off a scream, grabbing Dareo by the arm and dragging him in the opposite direction.

The two boys sped off, as fast as they could towards the Sunshine 60 building, with Mr Trench Coat in hot pursuit. This, Dareo realised, wasn't the best plan, it'd been safer to just run inside the lobby of the hotel. Had it not been so late, they could've gone into the 60 for refuge, but pretty much everywhere had shut up by now. There was only one chance – to make it across East Ikebukuro Central Park, towards the nearest police box.

Dareo started pulling Takeru towards the right, in the direction of the park. "Dude, I swear," he wheezed irately, "if by some miracle this psycho doesn't catch and murder us, I'll kill you myself!"

"How was I supposed the guy's a wannabe Masao Kakihara!?"

The two boys were leaping down the stairs, keeping up a breakneck pace that would've made their gym teacher proud, and Dareo once again pulled Takeru towards the right to the side stairway that led down to the park, and once they sped down those a sharp left across the courtyard in front of the fountain. The path to the main street was clear, they just needed to get out there and then they could head left towards-

Dareo tripped on a loose tile.

He felt his face slam into the ground, pavement scraping against his skin, the force of the impact knocking the wind out of his lungs and rattling his skull. Hopefully, his extra bulk was enough to cushion his bones and prevent any breakage, but it was sure going to leave one hell of nasty a bruise. Well, that is, if he somehow managed to survive this whole mess.

He tried to stand up, but his mind was swimming, his legs wobbling beneath him like custard pudding, time had slowed to a crawl. His hearing and vision were fuzzy, but he could just make out Takeru's silhouette at the park's exit, hear him calling back out him, begging him to run.

Dareo lifted himself off the ground as best he could. "Cops…" he called out weakly. "Run… get… get the cops…"

Takeru, as usual, ignored him, and began running back. Dareo couldn't help but be touched. Didn't change the fact that Takeru was still a knucklehead and was probably going to get them both killed.

Takeru had just reached Daero and was starting to pull him up when Mr Trench Coat finally caught up with them, face red with fury and haphazardly around waving his switchblade. He was screaming and raving what Dareo could only assume to be threats and profanities, but the ringing in his ears made it hard to make out what the guy was saying. Takeru placed himself between Dareo and Mr Trench Coat, making a cheesy kung-fu stance, because of course he would. Dumbass.

Dareo struggled to pull himself to his feet, even though he pretty much ready to accept that they were both going to die or at least be horrifically maimed by some ex-banchō experiencing a mid-life crisis. Dareo braced himself and hoped the whole ordeal would at least be over quickly, even as he sure he could hear the universe laughing at him-

Wait.

Now that he'd stopped seeing stars, Daero realised that Mr Trench Coat had been caught off guard somehow, as he looked around frantically for… something. Takeru had dropped his McDojo shtick, his eyes wide.

So that corny 60s supervillain laughter wasn't an adrenaline and/or concussion induced hallucination.

…Why were they here again?

…

No way. There was no freaking way.

All three them slowly turned towards the source of the strange laughter. Standing at the top of the fountain stood a tall, sinister figure, dressed all in black, a long cape trailing behind him, a wide-brimmed red hat worn low over his face.

Takeru gasped, "It's him – the Sunshine 60 Phantom, it's really him!"

No, it's some idiot in a cosplay trying to be a hero, Dareo told himself. Whatever, the distraction could be just what the boys needed.

Dareo tried to pull Takeru towards the exit, but the other boy waved him off.

"Where's my phone?" Takeru patted himself down furiously. "I gotta get a video!"

"Seriously!?" Dareo hissed.

"What are you two whispering there?!" Mr Trench Coat rounded back to the two boys. "That freak up there don't change a damn thing – I'm gonna kick his ass as soon as I'm finished with yours and-!"

"STOP."

Mr Trench Coat glared back up at the Phantom, "Make me, asshole!"

The figure lifted its head, revealing a wearing a grinning, bronze venetian mask, the eyes dark except for glowing red lights. Okay, creepy, but practical effects were advanced these days and-

Then the guy leapt ten feet straight up into the air and sailed another 80 towards them, touching down in a freaking three-point landing.

On no.

Oh no, no, no, no, NO. It was just so stupid, there was no freaking way-! This was so not happening!

Dareo stopped trying to pull Takeru away as his brain shut down. He tried to think, there had to be a logical explanation – wires! Yeah, it had to be done with wires attached to… where the hell would they be attached to?!

Takeru was squealing in awe, because of freaking course, Mr Trench Coat just blinked stupidly and Dareo was internally questioning his sanity.

The Phantom stood up and slowly marched towards Mr Trench Coat, getting right up in his personal space. Dareo could see that the Phantom was unusually tall, towering over Mr Trench Coat a good head or two, and quite broad shouldered. Now that he was closer, his costume seemed to be of some sort of musketeer outfit, with the broad brimmed hat even sporting a feather. This kooky getup didn't make him any less intimidating, however, as he stared Mr Trench Coat down, his expression hidden behind his mask.

There was an awkward moment of silence. Finally, the Phantom broke the silence, firmly uttering a single word –

"LEAVE."

Mr Trench Coat sputtered a bit, glaring at the Phantom, before flying back into a rage. "Argh, that is it!" he hollered, stamping his foot. "You asked for this, douchebag!"

Dareo and Takeru gasped in horror as Mr Trench Coat plunged his switch blade into the Phantom's stomach in an upward motion.

But the Phantom didn't react.

No horrified scream, no doubling over pain. The guy didn't. Even. Flinch.

Slowly, the snarl dropped from Mr Trench Coat's face, replaced by utter confusion. Slowly, he pulled the blade from the Phantom's stomach, and let his jaw drop as he saw the blade.

There wasn't a drop of blood.

And the blade was now bent.

Mr Trench Coat's face went pale. He looked at the knife, looked up at the Phantom, back to the knife, and then back to the Phantom.

The Phantom began to laugh again.

Me Trench Coat began the babble incoherently, Dareo thought he even heard him pleading for his mommy at one point.

The Phantom, still laughing, grabbed Mr Trench Coat by his collar, and hissed at him, "LEAVE."

And that was it. Mr Trench Coat wriggled out of his coat, leaving it in the Phantom's grip, dropping his bent knife along with several baggies of suspicious-looking white powder, and booked it in the opposite direction, arms flailing wildly and screeching like a dying cat.

With Mr Trench Coat gone, the Phantom slowly turned his face the boys.

Oh shit.

Once again, Dareo tried to pull Takeru out of the line of fire, but once again, Takeru's remarkable lack of self-preservation struck, and he refused to budge. Instead, he grabbed the ruined knife off the ground and waved it at the Phantom trying to look threatening, because, yeah, that worked so well the last time!

With slow, steady steps, the Phantom walked towards Takeru. Dareo tried his best to get the other boy to just give up already, dammit! Just run and get the hell out of here!

The Phantom stopped just short of a foot from the boys. Slowly, it reached out a fist towards them.

Takeru puffed out his chest, trying to look intimidating, while Dareo grit his teeth and silently prayed that Takeshi Kitano would pop out from somewhere and reveal that this was all just a stupid prank.

The Phantom slowly opened its fist, revealing…

Takeru's lost cell phone.

The boys stared at the phone, stunned. Slowly, they raised their gazes up to face the Phantom, his glowing red eyes staring into theirs.

"Yours," said the Phantom.

Still speechless, Takeru cautiously stretched out his hand, quickly snatched back his phone, and hurriedly shuffled back towards Dareo.

For a few seconds, the Phantom stood there, his masked head tilted as if regarding them with curiosity. Finally, he erupted into another bout of laughter, causing the terrified boys to scurry back further.

The Phantom leapt up, launching himself straight up into the air (how!?) towards the Prince Hotel, seemingly reaching the top of the building where he disappeared from the boys' view.

Dareo let himself exhale, bending over as he tried to process what the actual #$% had happened just now. Takeru let out a sudden yelp, causing Dareo to jump.

"Takeru? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong Dareo," Takeru grumbled, "is that the Phantom hands me my phone and I forget to take a picture, just as we had him right in front of-!"

Takeru was cut off as a scream of pent-up frustration erupted from Daero into the night sky.