Rito opened his front door and he stepped inside, After taking his shoes off he made his way into his kitchen and checked the fridge. All he could find inside was a sack of hotdogs and a plastic bag holding some expired food he received when he had gone out.
He sighed as he opened the cupboards and grabbed himself some bread and ketchup. He squirted the ketchup into the bread and closed it, completing his disgusting yet satisfying dinner. He sat down at his table and placed his plate on it, trying his best to avoid the mold growing from it.
He sat down and slowly at the sandwich. His life was always like this. Barely being able to afford food on top of paying for the rent, no to mention the countless bills he had. This dinner was the best he could manage. It wasn't the best, but he was contempt. He thought back to his high school years, his friends would usually come over and eat dinner with him at his house. His mom had always made the most delicious soba. She knew just how to make them taste like home.
He missed his mother's cooking, he missed sitting at the table with his friends and laughing at the simple things like tests and cute girls. He missed having to explain the lewd comments Daru made to his sister, Yui.
Nowadays, he barely spoke to his mother. After all, Yui was one of the victims. He sighed.
'I haven't thought about them in a while.' He thought as he took another bite of his sandwich.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed and he picked it up. To his surprise, it was Aiko calling. He answered the phone and brought it to his ear.
"Yeah, what's up?" Rito asked.
At first Rito didn't hear anything, but soon the sound of heavy breathing was heard.
"Haa...Haa...Haa." Said the person over the phone.
Rito was confused at first.
"Hello? Aiko is that you?" He asked.
The breathing continued and Rito thought that maybe his phone was broken. He had remembered to pay his phone bill earlier, so that couldn't be it. That was when the realization finally hit him.
Butt dial.
Rito just groaned as he hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket. Aiko must have been out with her friends and accidentally called him. It wasn't the first time this had happened, she had butt dialed him just about a week earlier. When he brought it to her attention she actually had the nerve to call HIM a pervert. So the odds of this being a butt dial again were pretty high.
Rito had finished his sandwich and he dropped his paper plate into the trash. He made his way to the couch and grabbed a blanket hanging off the side. He had found a roach in his head earlier, so he decided to sleep on the couch until he could find a cheap pest control company.
Rito lied on the couch, using his arms as a pillow he stared at the ceiling. It didn't take long for him to drift into the realm of sleep.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Rito's eyes shot open and he slammed down on his alarm clock, only to fall of the couch after realizing there was no alarm clock. The alarm was coming from his phone. He lazily pulled his phone out and tapped the snooze tab.
"What a great way to start my morning." He said sarcastically as he pulled himself off of the ground.
The sun was barely out and he groaned in annoyance, why did he set that alarm again? It wasn't like he had work this late, nor did he have anything really important to do today. So what was the reason that alarm was set? Rito just shrugged, if he couldn't remember it must not have been important.
He folded the blanket over the couch and grabbed some bread and threw it in the oven to toast it. After toasting it, he placed it on a paper plate and made a few drawings on the toast with ketchup, having the same meal twice in a row may be considered a burden to few, but Rito was just happy he still had bread left.
He sat in front of his TV and turned it onto a random station playing children's cartoons. He didn't really have cable, but he did get a few free channels, this channel being one of them. As he watched the mediocre children's program, he felt his phone buzz once again. It was coming from a number he didn't recognize, but he answered it anyway, hoping for it to be a response to a job application. He wasn't too pleased with the voice he heard on the other end.
"Yo, Rito! Have you heard from Aiko at all?" Asked his manager Daigo.
"No I haven't. Why do you ask?" Rito said with disinterest.
"She was supposed to show up to her shift thirty minutes ago." Daigo responded.
"Is it wrong to think she's going to be late?" Rito asked with a confused look.
What was strange about Aiko being late? From the impression he got from her, she seemed like the type of person to be late all of the time.
"You don't get it kid. Despite how she looks, Aiko is always on time. She's been on time more times than you! It ain't like her to just not show up without calling first." Daigo explained.
Rito found this hard to believe.
"Look, if you hear from her, just let me know okay? Thanks!" Daigo said, and he hung up soon after.
Rito just sighed, this wasn't of any interest to him. Aiko was probably off having fun with some friends. Daigo was getting worked up or nothing.
Rito continued to watch the show on the TV, until the show ended and the channel switched to the news. The channel Rito was watching actually doubled as a kids entertainment program, and a news channel later in the day. Rito was surprised when he saw what time it was. Did he really spend the past three hours watching shows meant for kids?
His attention was drawn to the local news and he continued to watch.
"A fair warning. Those of you living in the Okarin area, then we suggest you stay inside. A serial murderer has been identified. They seem to have struck at a nearby local diner, killing two of the workers there, and they seem to have taken the life of a girl in the residential area as well." Said the reporter.
'What?' Rito thought.
He dropped the remote and got closer to the TV. The camera moved through a crowd and zoomed in on a girl in a back alley. The girl was familiar. She had shoulder length green hair, she was wearing a coat, a coat that he had seem before. He listened in horror when he heard the reporter say the girl's name.
"The girl's name was Aiko Kenisha. She seemed to be a student at Havenburg High school, residents say that they found her body this morning, but signs are showing that she may have died prior to today." The reporter continued.
Rito thought back to last night. The call that Aiko had given him, the heavy breaths that she was giving. Those weren't the breaths of a girl out with friends, that call wasn't a butt dial. She was calling for help, because he was the closest one. Rito simply stared at the TV screen, there was one more thing the reporter had to say.
"Behind her, we see some sort of text written on the wall. The text reads '30 years, and I'm still here,' we believe this may be a tie in to the case of serial murders that took place 30 years ago."
Rito stared at the TV. It was true the killer was never caught, but why did the appear now of all times to kill someone. Was it because Rito knew them, or did Aiko know something? Was this all an act to silence her, and if that was the case, then was he next?
Rito grabbed the TV and began to shake it.
"No! Not again! Why!? Why is this happening again!?" He shouted.
Tears fell from his eyes as he gripped onto the TV even harder.
"This isn't fair, why couldn't things go differently!? Why do they have to be like this now!? Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He shouted as he punched his TV.
The world around him grew dark.
Was this his punishment, his punishment for trying to get close to someone again? Why did it have to be like this!? Why couldn't he just fix everything. He wanted his friends back, he wanted his sister back, he wanted EVERYTHING back!
"Damn you." Rito said as he looked up.
The TV's screen now had nothing but static on it. Rito stared into it, desperate to find some kind of solution.
"I want to fix everything. I want everyone to live!" He shouted.
Suddenly, the TV disappeared, and Rito was left in the darkness, waiting as it consumed him.
"...to..." Said a distant voice.
Rito lifted his head, the black void, becoming familiar somehow.
"Ri....to!" Said the voice again.
The void was now giving a very warm feeling and Rito reached his hand into the air in an attempt to reach to source of this warmth.
"RITO!" The voice finally shouted, and the black void became a white blur.
Rito opened his eyes and he looked around. He was lying his head on some kind of desk. He lifted his head, only to see two faces that he hadn't seen in thirty years.
"Yo, did you sleep through all of class?" Asked the familiar face of Daru as he stared at Rito with a goofy smile.
Rito looked around confused, what just happened?