Halloween was almost here.
As October neared its end, I went out to buy a few things for the upcoming holiday. You might wonder what a second-year high school student like me was planning, but I wasn’t aiming for anything special. I just wanted to get ready and hang out with my friends.
“Lightsaber and pumpkin helmet… Perfect.”
I had a friend who was into cosplay and planned to go all out this year, but for someone like me, this was enough.
“…Huh?”
On my way home, satisfied with my purchases, my eyes stopped on a particular house.
“Shinjo-san’s house?”
The Shinjo sisters—two beautiful girls in the same year as me at the same high school. Both were stunning, with looks that could put any idol to shame. They’d received countless confessions, yet they turned every single one down with unwavering firmness.
My house was at the end of the same street, so it wasn’t unusual for me to pass them and exchange a simple greeting on the way to school.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
That was the extent of our relationship as neighbors. I didn’t mind the brief greetings, even if they were only polite.
It was something from the past, really. They were both extremely pretty, after all. We’d never walked to school together or spoken in class, but I was certain we at least recognized each other.
“Well, they really are beautiful. And their mother is just as pretty… Still, why is their front door wide open like that?”
It was past three in the afternoon when I’d gone shopping. By the time I headed home, it had already grown quite dark.
The front door stood open with no lights on inside, and a bad feeling settled over me.
“…It can’t be a robbery or anything, right?”
I laughed it off and started to walk past, but curiosity got the better of me. I approached the house casually, figuring I could always apologize if they got angry. The closer I got, the clearer a man’s voice became—one I’d never heard before.
“Heheh, I don’t care about money anymore. Look at all these fine women. Hey, brats! If you don’t want your mother killed, take off your clothes.”
“Smell—”
It seemed I’d stumbled into a situation that was about to turn much worse.
I peeked carefully, making sure I wouldn’t be seen. A large man had Shinjo-san’s mother in his arms, groping her chest while ordering the sisters to undress quickly.
The mother was crying, too terrified to speak. The two sisters, on the other hand, were obeying even though they should have been able to run and call for help. I’d heard their father had died young, but the family had always been close.
I supposed the sisters were trying to protect their mother somehow—she was the only parent they had left.
“……………”
I decided to call the police and checked what I had on me.
The only things in my hands were the lightsaber and the pumpkin helmet I’d bought for Halloween.
The sisters were already down to their underwear. If this continued, the man’s disgusting fantasies would become reality.
“…Shit.”
I muttered under my breath and pulled the pumpkin helmet over my head.
I’d always performed better when my face was covered like this. That was part of how I’d managed to win a national kendo tournament back in middle school.
“Alright. Here I come.”
I didn’t usually like sticking my nose into other people’s business, but I couldn’t ignore something like this.
Here I come—Hayato Domoto, second-year student at Akagi High School!
---
*Point of view changed*
“……………”
“Nee-san…”
How could this be happening?
I never thought we’d be the ones to go through something like this…
It was late October, near Halloween. My sister and I had come home as usual. The door was unusually open, which made me uneasy, but we stepped inside without thinking too much of it.
The house was deathly quiet. I had no idea a man was already holding our mother.
My mother struggled in the thick arms of a man whose body was far stronger than any woman’s. When he saw us enter, he pressed a knife to her and threatened to kill her if we moved. I was terrified. I wanted to run, to scream for help, but I was afraid that if I did, he really would kill her.
“…Are you really going to let her go?”
“If you do what I say.”
……
If taking off our clothes could save our mother’s life, it was a small price to pay. So I undressed, and my sister followed. The man demanded we strip, and though the thought of what might come next filled me with dread… I still wanted to save our mother somehow. At the same time, I desperately hoped my sister could escape.
“If one of you runs, that’ll be a problem. Hey—tie her arms and legs.”
He handed the rope to my sister.
Our mother was already bound at the wrists and ankles. Clearly he had no intention of letting us get away easily. The malicious smile on his face as he watched my sister tie me up made me want to throw up. I felt so sorry for her—terrified and on the verge of tears as she followed his orders.
“This is why all men are like that…”
It had always been this way. Men were nothing more than savage, vulgar, and vile creatures.
The only man I’d ever wanted by my side was my father, the one who married our mother. He had loved her until his final breath and loved us as his own daughters.
“Heheh, good. Let’s have some fun then!”
Once I was tied up, the man chose my sister as his first target.
“Wait! Don’t you dare touch my sister!”
“I’ll deal with you later. Shut up!”
He yelled and slammed his knife into the wall.
My mother and sister let out small cries as the blade sank deep with a dull thud. I couldn’t scream too loudly—what if it hurt them?
I was about to cry… No, I was already crying.
In the end, this was how we always ended up—powerless against irrational violence. The accident that took our father’s life had been the same kind of senseless tragedy.
“…Damn it… damn it, damn it, damn it!”
I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.
I gritted my teeth hard enough that it felt like my tongue might split. My sister was about to be violated right in front of me, and I couldn’t do a single thing. Faced with that absurdity, tears spilled from my eyes.
“…Help…”
It was only a faint murmur.
In that moment I wished with everything I had—if anyone is out there, please help us. Please…
Something made a noise and rolled into the center of the room. It was a tennis ball that must have been left near the entrance.
“Huh? A tennis ball?”
The man watched it roll and reached down to pick it up.
That was the moment someone burst into the room with explosive force, taking advantage of the man’s diverted attention.
“What…?”
Faster than the man could react, a stick-like object glowing red slammed into his shoulder. He dropped the sheet he’d been holding and was struck again before he could recover.
“Guh… Who the hell are you…?”
“…!?”
“…A pumpkin?”
The person standing over the writhing man was wearing a pumpkin helmet.
Judging by the build it was probably a man, but why a pumpkin helmet?
That question kept circling in my head even though moments earlier I’d been paralyzed with fear.
“I don’t know if you’re a thief or a rapist, but you’re done here.”
Just as the pumpkin-headed man spoke, the sound of sirens rose in the distance. He bound the attacker’s hands and feet tightly so he couldn’t move, then untied the ropes around my mother and me.
“Fuck you… Let me go!”
“Of course you don’t like it. But criminals have to face the consequences.”
The sharp gaze visible through the hollowed-out eyes of the helmet was enough to cow the man completely.
“Here. Get dressed. Everything’s fine now.”
“Ah…”
“Everything’s fine now,” he said, and the last of my strength left me.
Forgetting to put my clothes back on, I sank to the floor and sobbed. My sister cried as she clung to me, and our mother wrapped her arms around us both, crying too.
“The blanket’s right here.”
He draped a blanket over us.
Even though I was so close to a man at that moment, I felt none of the disgust I had always carried toward them.
“Thank God. Truly.”
“……”
Those words, spoken almost under his breath, carried a quiet kindness.
My cheeks grew hot… and so did my sister’s.
The man was arrested, and we all escaped unharmed. The one who had saved us from that nightmare was a stranger wearing a pumpkin helmet.
What could I say? It felt fateful… no, all three of us felt the same way.
