Read Novel Full Prologue
Prologue
—Soon it will be Halloween…
October is almost over, and I was wandering around town to get the items I needed for my Halloween costume.
This time of year there are usually a lot of accidents, as many people who are not quite sane tend to dress up in costumes and vandalize the city. And I don’t plan on being part of that group. I just want a light costume for the little party I’m having with my high school friends.
I smiled and turned my attention to the light saber and the pumpkin head in my bag.
We were going to spend this holiday together as three friends, myself included, so I wasn’t sure what to wear. However, one of my friends was a cosplay Otaku, and he typically doesn’t cut corners when dressing up as his favorite characters.
Therefore, you can probably guess that I won’t be able to pull off the cool look. But even so, the whole point of this is to have fun and enjoy myself with them, so whatever I choose to wear is acceptable.
It will be the first time I’ll be spending Halloween with them, so I will do my best to enjoy it to the fullest and make some good memories.
I wasn’t at all eager at first, but as the date approached, I became more eager. I guess I’m still a child after all.
I already got everything I needed to buy, so I better get back home.
—Hey, Dad, I want to go on a picnic!
—Fufu, that sounds fun, maybe we will.
—Great! I’m really looking forward to a paid vacation!
I passed a father and son who, at first glance, appeared to be getting along well. I didn’t give them much thought as I continued home.
********
When I had been walking for a while, I looked back and saw that the father and his son were no longer behind me. I let out a sigh and resumed walking, wondering why the hell I had done that.
But that wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention. As I got closer to home, I noticed something unusual.
—That… That’s the Shinjo sisters’ house.
The Shinjo sisters are two beautiful twins who attend the high school where I go.
Both sisters boast beauty and style that no idol could compete with, and they are so good-looking that countless boys from our high school have confessed to them countless times.
However, they have a reputation for turning away any man who has confessed to them. Therefore, you could say that they are unreachable by any mortal.
We’re practically neighbors because I live a few houses down from here, so it’s natural that we always greet each other when we cross paths.
I won’t lie to you—the simple “good morning” is a trivial greeting. It really cheers me up and gives me hope that I can accomplish anything just because of the thought that they would dedicate something so simple to me in that way.
That’s how pathetic I am, yes.
And they’re not the only attractive ones. Their mother is too… They’re definitely a pretty impressive family.
But, that’s not the reason why I stopped to observe their house. The unusual thing I saw was…
—Why is the front door open?
That’s right, for some strange reason, the front door of the house was open.
I grabbed my cell phone, looked at the time, and saw that it was just after 18:00 PM. The sun would soon be setting, allowing the night to embrace the sky, and part of that is because it’s winter, making the cold more intense than usual. I see no logical reason why no one has closed the door yet.
As if that wasn’t enough, the lights were also off inside the house. All this gave me a bad feeling about what was going on there.
—Maybe I’m overthinking this, but could there be a thief inside?
I laughed at that hypothetical case and tried to continue on my way… But that bad feeling was still invading my body.
So, I obeyed my curiosity, and slowly approached the front door.
—………
I had hoped that if I got too close, the Shinjo sisters would warn me and I would be able to move on. And until recently, I sincerely hoped that would happen. But… From within the house, I could hear a man’s voice.
—Kuku, I came here hoping to find some money, but seeing three nice women like you makes me think I’ve won the lottery. Hey, girls, take off your clothes if you don’t want your mother to die.
Those words rattled my eardrums, and I reflexively put my hands to my forehead.
This can’t be happening. I didn’t expect that stupid thought on my part to be real.
I carefully avoided drawing attention to myself and was able to sneak a peek inside the house from the garden. There, I saw a big man holding the mother of the Shinjo sisters in his arms, squeezing her breasts, and nagging the Shinjo sisters to strip off.
—[…He’s a fucking bastard].
While the two sisters didn’t move from where they stood despite not being held captive, the mother was sobbing and appeared to be too terrified to speak.
They appeared to be making an effort to support their mother in some way. The three of them have been close ever since their father passed away in an accident. The emotional and familial connection prevents them from leaving their mother behind.
—I have no choice but to call the police, because realistically… What else can I do?
I checked my belongings and the only thing I have on me is the pumpkin head I just bought and the lightsaber.
When I turned my head back inside the house, I noticed that the sisters had complied with the man’s instructions and were only wearing underwear now.
I can’t see their faces from this distance, but surely they must be scared… No, it’s a fact that they are, it’s normal to feel that way in a situation like this.
This made me very angry… This guy should learn that women should not be made to cry.
Determined to do something, I put on the pumpkin head, and held the lightsaber tightly.
I’ve always preferred to keep my face hidden when performing tasks like this so that I can demonstrate my abilities without being afraid or embarrassed. I’ve been practicing kendo in high school, and I even got to take part in a national competition, so you could say I have some combat experience.
A classmate once told me that my personality and mood changes when I hide my face, although I’m not so sure how true that is.
—Okay, here I go.
I saw that the man was holding a knife in his hand when I glanced over at him again, so there’s a good chance that I’ll get hurt during this encounter.
If I left right now and thought about my own safety, no one would blame or criticize me. But if I’m being completely honest, I can’t desert this family.
—Mom, Dad… Please lend me the strength and courage to face this adversity.
I said it quietly praying to my parents who were in heaven….
I called the police, and prepared to attack.
********
—….Kugh
—Nee-san…
We never thought that someday…. we would be in a situation like this.
It was late October, Halloween was just around the corner. I had gone out with my sister to do some shopping, and we returned home almost at dusk.
The fact that the front door was open puzzled my sister and me, but we walked inside the house without giving it any thought.
—…. Mother?
—It’s so dark… What’s going on?
I saw my mother’s shoes in the doorway, so I knew she must be home, although my sister and I wondered why the lights were off….
—…Huh?
We noticed my mother being restrained by a big man as there was a terrifying silence.
—And who are these girls?
—R-Run, you two!
My mother told us to leave the house after the man threatened her with a knife. We realized then that we were being robbed.
But before we could react, the man pointed his knife at us to stop us from escaping, and threatened to kill our mother if we moved.
I was overtaken by fear, and deep down I wanted to flee and then call for help. But I was afraid that mother might die if I left. My legs were therefore immobile.
The man told us to take off our clothes as soon as we became paralyzed, and I simply complied in order to aid my mother.
—You… You really won’t do anything to our mother if we do as you say?
—As long as you do as I say, no one will get hurt, kukuku.
There’s no other choice, it’s a small price to pay in order to save my mother.
With that thought in my mind, I took off my clothes, and my sister did the same. We both undressed down to our underwear.
A wicked smile formed on the man’s face when he saw us like that.
Men are vile, savage creatures. The only man I ever wished had been by my side was my late father.
My father loved my mother until the last moments of his life and took care of us as his precious daughters.
—Kuku, I never imagined that I would meet such beautiful girls in this house. Well, before you try anything, I’m going to tie your hands and feet.
The man threw a rope at my sister and ordered her to restrain me.
Before this fact, I realized that my mother was in the same situation as me, so his intention is to deprive us all of our freedom equally.
Aina apologized to me in a low voice, and tied my hands and feet. Then she was tied by the man.
After this, the first victim for his perverse thoughts was Aina.
—Stop it, take your filthy hands off my sister! Do what you want with me, but leave her and my mother alone! — I yelled at our captor as loudly as I could.
Despite such an act of bravery, the truth is that I was very afraid.
—Shut up! I’ll deal with you later, so shut your mouth! — he said over his shoulder as he thrust his knife into the ground.
My mother and sister let out little screams as the blade plunged deep with a dull thud, and I too froze in fear.
Why… Why are we going through this?
Tears welled up in my eyes at these unreasonable circumstances.
I finally accepted the cruel fate I must endure. Even the incident that resulted in my father’s death had an unreasonable motive.
—Damn it… I hate… I hate this…
I can’t do anything about it and I feel frustrated with myself for having to accept my misfortune with maturity.
As I clench my fists tightly, I feel pain as my fingernails pierce my skin. My sister is about to be defiled by a repulsive man because of his desire for her body right in front of me.
At this irrationality, I burst into tears.
—Help… — I said in a cracked voice.
I was so desperate that I wished someone, anyone would come to our rescue.
—Huh?
With a loud roll, something materialized in the middle of the space. A tennis ball that had entered through the door turned out to be such an item.
—What is that? A tennis ball?
The man turns to look at the ball and tries to grab it.
I didn’t want to divert my attention from my sister to the object he was looking at, but then unexpectedly, something came into the room at high speed.
—What is it?
Before the man could react, a red, luminous, stick-like object hit his shoulder and produced a thud.
As he writhed in agony, the man dropped his knife, and in a split second, the same red object struck him hard in the abdomen.
—Gaah…! What the hell is this…?!
—?!
—That’s… A pumpkin?
The unexpected intruder took the breath away from my sister, my mother, and me.
We were so surprised by this strange spectacle that we forgot for a moment the terrible situation we were living, and the fear we had been harboring inside us.
I could tell from the man’s physique that it was a man, but I couldn’t help but wonder why he had a pumpkin on his head.
—I don’t know what your intentions were with them, but it ends here.
Just as the mysterious man said that, I heard that sound of sirens in the distance.
—Ah…
—You… You came to help us?
Never in my life would I have imagined that the sound of sirens would be so soothing.
In order to keep the man who was attempting to harm us from fleeing, the Pumpkin Man went on to tie his hands and feet. He then released us from our bonds after ensuring our safety.
—You bastard… Untie me right now.
—You think I’ll do that? Criminals like you deserve to be locked up.
Our perpetrator was terrified by the man’s sharp, ominous eyes that were peering through the Pumpkin.
—You’re safe now. You can get dressed, nothing bad will happen to you anymore.
—…Yes.
It wasn’t until I heard those words that I was able to relax my whole body, and realize that it was so, that everything would be all right.
I couldn’t help but cry out loud and give my sister and mother a big hug as I struggled with the lump in my throat. Even still being in my underwear didn’t bother me.
—…I found this blanket in the living room, I hope you don’t mind, but you better bundle up.
The Pumpkin Man had a blanket in his hand that he took off the couch, came over to us, and immediately moved away without putting it over our shoulders, probably so as not to scare us.
But as strange as it sounds, I didn’t feel any fear.
I’ve had a lot of problems in the past, so I’m not good with men… No, in fact, I don’t like them at all.
But, with him it was different, on the contrary, I felt safe and comfortable with him in front of me. I even feel a sense of peace and comfort that he is here.
The eyes looking through the pumpkin are cold and piercing, but their kindness and concern for our well-being are palpable.
—Really… I’m relieved that the three of you are okay.
The man’s voice was full of tenderness, almost the same as my father’s.
My sister was apparently feeling the same sensation as I was because I could tell by the way she was staring at him that she was confused. My cheeks warmed up at the same time.
My mother, sister, and I were all unharmed in the end because the man who had tried to harm us was stopped.
An anonymous hero saved us when we were about to lose everything in a desperate situation. I can’t help but think this was fate.