Like a Bullet! Running Through the Night To Meet He

“Ah!”

Crap, I fell asleep mid-sentence. The screen was completely filled with “S’s.” I quickly scrolled through the rest of the script in a panic, but thankfully everything was saved. Phew. It was already 1 am. The middle of the night. Miiight’ve focused a little too hard. Draped around my shoulders was Kiroku’s blanket. There was a bit of like, an oil paint smell coming from it, but I mean, I liked it. I could hear some soft breathing in the background, so the two of them must’ve already gone to bed.

“Probably a good time to call it a day~.”

I was about to head to bed~… but suddenly, my phone screen lit up.

“Huh!?”

Time had paused for me. I-I-I mean, a-an incoming call… my first ever… HUH??

“S-Sayo-chan’s calling me~~~!?!?!?”

I unconsciously let out a little shriek and immediately ran outta the room. Of course, as quietly as I could so the other two sleepyheads wouldn't wake up~~. …Well, tried. But no, for reals, like she—Sayo-chan actually tried calling me for the first time like a few minutes ago. This is already so amazing. I mean, we’ll be talking to each other. Like not through texts, but like actually speaking and all!! I eagerly hopped over to the late night change rooms. The other rooms were all taken and not many people use the baths at this time anyways.

“Ah, awawawaaaaa”

The coast… is all clear! Okie dokie, I’m ready for this! I suppressed my nervousness and called her back.

After a few calls—

“.....Hello, Akuta-kun?”

“N-Nice to meet you, yeah I’m Akuta…!”

“Yeah…, *sniffles*…”

“Hm?”

Sayo-chan was crying. All the feelings of nervousness and things I wanted to talk about just went poof, down the drain like that.

“W-Why’re you crying?

“The truth is, my stepfather did something to me…”

Sayo-chan explained things briefly to me. She had a stepfather. And while her mom wasn’t looking, her stepfather would do unpleasant things to her. But she couldn’t tell her mom about it and had no one else to rely on.

“…”

My chest tightened when I heard that Sayo-chan was crying. But at the same time, I was super glad that she thought of me as someone she could rely on. No matter WHAT—I’ma do something to help her out!

“Hey Sayo-chan. The thing is, I actually also had a pretty difficult relationship with my mother.”

“Huh?”

“I'm kinda like this right? I mean, I really don’t remember it well, but I don’t think it was the best. There wasn’t any violence or anything, but it was like… child neglect?”

“I see…”

“But then my uncle worked with the government to help me with it.”

“…”

“It’ll be okay. Things might be kinda iffy with your stepdad at the moment, but there’ll come a day when you’ll look back on it and think ‘things weren’t all that bad.’ Like keeping it our little secret for now is perfectly okay, and I could introduce you to some reliable adults. As long as it’s what you want.”

“But…”

“It can be scary, right? For now, if you want I can come be by your side. Just lemme know the location and I’ll hop on over by bike. I can go any distance, as long as it’s within the country.”

Sayo-chan kinda stammered for a bit before sharing her location with me. To my surprise, it was actually super close by.

“Got it, thanks.”

“…”

“Hey, so you know how I shoot movies right? Well like, while doing that… I realized that painful experiences can also be inspiration for works of art and so, in some way I think it’s turned into a validation for my life of sorts. That’s why—”

“Mm.”

“I think one day, you’ll come to realize that for yourself as well.”

“…”

“I’ll be there soon so hold on m’kay?”

After hanging up, I flew out like a bullet.

“Oo…ps, oh my, Akuta?”

“My bad, Yodaka-san! I’m in a hurry!”

I accidentally bumped into Yodaka-san who had come to take a bath.

“Isotake…? Did… something… happen?”

“Kiroku! Sorry I woke you up man! Thanks for the blanket, by the way!”

I passed by Kiroku who seemed to have woken up.

And then, I left HAMA House.

INT. RHEA’S HOUSE – SHED – NIGHT

RHEA is shaking in a corner of the shed.

STEP-FATHER
OI RHEA! WHERE ARE YOU! COME OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!

RHEA clenches the flower she received from the killer clown.

RHEA
No more, please… Someone… save me from my suffering…

STEP-FATHER
GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

RHEA got startled.

She opens the door to the shed.

There, in front of her, stands the KILLER CLOWN drenched in blood.

CLOWN
Yo, I’m here to kidnap you.

A big smile spreads across RHEA’s face.

RHEA
Clown! I was waiting for you to come!

The KILLER CLOWN and RHEA ran off into the night.

NARRATOR (VO)
And so, the story of the Killer Clown kidnapping a lonely girl begins…