Work Text:
You couldn’t believe it.
The famous Rohan Kishibe was sitting just two seats to your right and down a row. You had heard about how the notorious manga author had enrolled into the same class as you, but it was an entirely different experience to have him right in front of you. His smooth, side-swept green hair was close enough to be poked with by a pen. And now your friend’s words about how his hair looked like squirted toothpaste came to your mind. You shook your head. Your friend didn’t know what they were talking about. This was the Rohan Kishibe. Rohan, the highly accomplished mangaka you looked up to. Rohan, the incredible author of the much acclaimed Pink Dark Boy manga! He was dignified. He was distinguished. He was-
He was eating his eraser.
Uhhh.
You could only sit there and watch blankly. His mouth moved in circles before he spat into his hand. The chewed gummy remnants mixed with his saliva, providing a slimy sheen under the lecture theatre lighting like some mushy congee.
The Games Design lecture started with the professor at the podium talking about character design but you could hardly concentrate on the slides on screen, your mind morbidly fixating on Rohan and his regurgitated slimy eraser. But it didn’t stop there. He was now serving as a great worrying distraction in… trying to set fire to his own notebook. What the-
“Psst. Excuse me,” you whispered in alarm, leaning as close to him as you could from your seat, “is, uh, everything okay?”
Rohan turned his head to look at you. Woah. The breath was knocked out of you. His eyes were so striking up close. He held a finger up to his lips and smiled before turning back to the task at hand. Suddenly it was hot in the large open lecture theatre. Had someone turned up the heating? Or did Rohan cast a spell with his finger? You got out your water bottle to gulp your sudden thirst down.
When the lecture ended, Rohan packed his stuff up and left, thankfully leaving an intact and unburned lecture desk. Some students lingered back, as if they had wanted to speak with the famous manga author themselves. You too shared their sentiments but the shock of his actions during the lecture made you reconsider. He was certainly quite the eccentric man.
---
“I put the glucose powder in this cupboard here. Remember to take a spoonful of it in your tea every morning and again during lunch time with your hot water. Don’t drink any strong caffeine drinks, they will make your energy levels shoot up and crash down. And make sure you’re eating all these oatmeal bars I bought for you. One between breakfast and lunch, one after lunch, one after classes if you’re feeling peckish-”
You rolled your eyes and groaned, “Mooom. Okay, I got it. I’ll do all that stuff.”
“I just don’t want you to faint again in the middle of the street!”
“It was just one time.”
“Still. You need to make sure you’re looking after yourself, especially now that you’re living on your own. I can’t always be there to pick you up, literally!”
You sighed as your mother kept on about doing this and that. Deep down you did appreciate her over-the-top fussing was her way of showing care but you semi-regretted mentioning about your fainting in the middle of campus. It wasn’t like you had died and gone to the afterlife or anything.
But you did wonder why you had woken up on a bench that time. Mind foggy, you only remembered bringing a pen back to someone who had dropped it. Then you couldn’t recall very much between that and the bench. No one else had been around. Perhaps you really had fainted due to low energy levels and someone had decided to put you there out of everyone’s way. You recalled only eating a cereal bar for breakfast that morning. Perhaps it had been too little? You decided you would take the time to eat a fuller breakfast every morning to avoid further public embarrassment.
“BOW WOW!”
Peanut got up on your desk and started barking at the window.
You smiled, “Peanut! What are you barking at?” You came to his side and took a look out of the window. It was a bright day outside. It wasn’t sunny but it was at least dry. You had convinced your mother to leave Peanut with you for the next few hours as she went shopping for more stuff. You were also supposed to be doing your assignments right now. But hey, one little walk with the four-legged love of your life couldn’t hurt, right? You scooped him up to get ready.
“Let’s go outside, Peanut!”
“BOW WOW WOW!!”
Peanut happily bounded alongside you in the park, inspecting a bush here and a twig there. A squirrel ran into your path and Peanut bowed and wowed excitedly at it, causing the bushy tailed critter to scamper up a leafy tree out of sight. Fall was entering the season, turning the leaves into a colourful wonderland of oranges and yellows. You enjoyed the changing scenery and the cooler weather, providing the perfect excuse for wearing shawls and beanies.
“This is the best weather for a hot latte, wouldn’t you say, Peanut?”
Peanut was busy digging a hole in the ground but you took his wagging tail as a delighted confirmation. You beamed and watched him pawing a bit longer until you decided it was time to move on. “C’mon, Pea Pea~ Let’s go.”
“BOW! BOW! Rrrrrr-”
Peanut barked in a certain direction. He ran forward a couple of metres but was stopped by your leash. He growled at what seemed like nothing at all. You knew that particular barking and growling combo meant he sensed some sort of danger. At least, only a perceived one in his round black eyes. He was a sensitive little creature.
“Peanut, you shilly boy~” you leaned down at him, making a pouty face, “whuchu barking at? Hmm?”
“Good afternoon.”
That smooth, velvety voice.
You spun round on the spot. Your mouth fell open.
“Uh-” It was Rohan Kishibe. You became tongue-tied, absolutely flustered in the wake of your manga idol. He was looking stunning from top to bottom in a charcoal suit with a blue cashmere scarf draped elegantly down his front. His hair was as impeccable as ever in its side-swept fashion. You could barely take your eyes off him.
“I couldn’t help but notice,” he spoke with a flourish of his hand towards Peanut, “this fine specimen down here.” He crouched down to be level with him. “A name, if you wi-”
“BOW! BOW! RRRAA-”
“PEANUT, NO!”
You wrestled with Peanut as he latched onto Rohan’s sleeve with his teeth, snarling. Begging desperately for Peanut to release Rohan before anything happened, you heard the universe snicker when all of a sudden there was a fresh new riiiiiip. You physically blanched, your mouth gaping open like a dead fish. There it was, a piece of the exquisite material hanging freely from Peanut’s jaws, satisfied with sealing your fate.
Rohan stood back up straight, fixing you with an icy stare.
“This suit was designer, tailor-made.”
Here it was, your death wish.
“It cost me 220,000 yen.”
Oof. That felt like an uppercut twisting into your guts-
“You will pay back every yen.”
You did not deserve to be alive in front of Rohan Kishibe.
“... I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” your lip trembled. You were still crouching on the ground with Peanut at the man’s feet. Your lowly self did not dare to look up at him. “I-I-I don’t have that kind of money…” Even with your part-time job you could barely afford enough to eat. Even if you saved a little bit here and there, it would take you months. No, years. If he was expecting an instant down payment, maybe you could look up how much a kidney would sell for…
Rohan scoffed, “Well, of course, someone like you would hardly be able to afford the same clothes as the Great Rohan Kishibe.” You couldn’t even deny it, tearily bowing your head down in shame before him. Oh, how you had no right to live. “However,” he raised his voice. He pointed a dramatic finger at you. “As I am feeling especially benevolent today, I will offer you one chance. I recognise you from my class - how good are you at drawing manga?”
You looked up at him in surprise. “Eh?”
“Any experience with inking, interpreting storyboards, halftones - that sort of thing?” he elaborated.
You had no idea where this was going but decided to go ahead and answer, “Well, I have made a short manga before so I can do all that--”
“Very well. Come with me to my office. Bring the dog with you too.”
You stared at his back as he began to walk off.
What did he say? What did he just say??? Was the super talented Rohan Kishibe really inviting you back to his office?????
Peanut started barking again and then charged off after Rohan. You panicked as the leash flew off your hands. You floundered after him, scrabbling to restrain Peanut from yet another clothes-ripping, soul-sucking-debt incident.
“Wait. Mr Kishibe. Sir-”
“You will address me as Rohan.”
“...Rohan. Okay.” You were out of breath after managing to catch Peanut, “I-I have to be back in a couple of hours to meet my mom.”
“Tell her she will have to wait a couple more then,” was Rohan’s blasé reply with an upturn sweep of his palm.
You were sweating. Your hands trembled as they reached for your phone and dialled your mother’s number. You had heard the mangaka could be extremely self-centred, inconveniencing all those around him as if he was the only one who mattered on this planet. And it was a rather large inconvenience at that, as your mother had to be back in time with Peanut for the train home too. You were rather stressed out over the fact, but you were even more scared of this intense man in front of you. The very way he spoke and carried himself made his words seem like an unbreakable law.
“Hello, mom?” You tried to stop your voice from shaking. “I, er, have a bit of a situation. I have to… work on a project with a classmate. It’s pretty urgent and I might not be done for another few hours. I know you have a train to catch, and actually, I took Peanut with me, so maybe I could meet you at the train station to drop off Peanut--”
“No!” Rohan shot a glare that went right to your bones, “The dog must remain for the whole time.”
“Oh! Who’s that?” your mother asked on the other end of the line. You did not miss how light and airy her tone became upon hearing a male voice.
“That was my classmate,” you deadpanned, trying to sound as cool about it as possible.
“So you have to work on this project with him?”
“Yes.”
“Just you and him?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, mom.”
“What sort of a project is it?”
Before you could answer, your phone was snatched out of your hands by Rohan. He placed it to his ear and spoke, “Hello, this is Rohan Kishibe. I believe I am speaking to Kar’s mother? Very well. I am acquainted with her as a classmate in her Games Design class. I must inform you that your daughter ruined my expensive suit and thus I am having her work for me at my office to repay the damages. Yes. Your dog is needed for the work I’m doing. Yes. Yes. Excellent, it pleases me to hear. You have my gratitude for your understanding. Very well-”
He passed the phone back to you and you put it to your ear. “Hello, mom?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were working together with such a fine, well-spoken man?? Anyway, we already discussed the details and I gave him permission to keep you for as long as he needed. Oh, and you can keep Peanut for the time being! I’ll drop off his favourite food and snacks and a toy and other things at your apartment’s reception. Whenever you have to go to lectures or meet up with Rohan, let me know and I’ll come by to look after Peanut for you. Okay, that’s it for now! Bye~ And have a pleasant evening~! Love you!-”
Click. Beeeep- Beeeep- Beeeep-
Your mother actually hung up on you without you getting a word in. You could only resign yourself to your fate.
Fortunately the rest of the ten-minute walk there had been quiet and uneventful. You arrived at Rohan’s ‘office’ in a confined one-bedroom apartment. It was in fact more of a hotel room than a lived-in apartment. Everything looked too prepared and fresh with catalogue furnishings that were changed and plumped everyday. Peanut jumped down from your arms and bounded onto the bed. You were still cringing earlier when the receptionist told you that no pets were allowed. Somehow, Rohan was able to convince them to allow Peanut in. You wondered what he had said to them. Or maybe, a little bit of bribery had worked wonders...
“Starting from today,” said Rohan, “you will work here as my assistant for two hours a day, four days a week. You will earn 870 yen per hour, but of course, all of it will go towards paying off your debt to me over my ripped suit.” Rohan took this moment to take off the offending piece of blazer and swung it over the back of his chair. Peanut cocked his head innocently from the suit to you as if wondering how that had happened.
“Wait,” you said, “I have classes on Mondays to Wednesdays, group work on Thursdays and Fridays, then my part-time job on Monday and Wednesday evenings as well as the weekend. I don’t know if I can fit in four days a week of this. Having breaks is important too--”
“Ah, yes. Do let me know when you’re available. Here’s my number and email. You can contact me via those.”
“Oh, uh, sure.” Coming to his apartment was one thing. Getting his personal contact details was yet another. Wait, shouldn’t it have happened the other way round? You frowned, pondering on this flipped turn of events.
“Alright,” Rohan shuffled through some stuff on his desk and grabbed what he was looking for, “let’s make a start. I want you to play this dating game -”
Of all the things you imagined you would be doing at Rohan’s place, this was possibly one of the last things ever. The intro started with catchy, upbeat music and an animation showing off the five main romance-able characters as well as three other side ones. You inputted your name ‘Kar’ into the starting screen and began. The game opened up with a messenger app-like interface and a message popped up from someone named ‘Uncharted’. They wanted you to go to some apartment and use the MFA app. Within that app you found yourself in the company of five others: Ken, Foosung, Cumin, Baehee and 11-0-11.
“Mr Kishibe, sir--”
“Rohan.”
“Sorry. Rohan. I was just wondering, why am I playing Cryptic Courier?” Most of all, am I actually being paid for this? It seemed almost preposterous that you were being paid to play games. Though this did not seem to bother the mangaka in the slightest.
“I was thinking of making a story about a haunted videogame. Rumours have it that this particular game cartridge is cursed,” Rohan answered.
“Cursed?”
“The developers wanted to include a secret route in the game,” Rohan began to explain, “but strange things started to happen during development. New messages and pieces of coding nobody had seen before started appearing. They spoke of wanting to be loved by the MC.” Rohan told you how eventually the developers deleted that route off the game. They deemed it a bug, though some remnants of it exist within the particular cartridge you were now playing. “You could call this cartridge the beta version. I bought it from an old shop around here.”
“And you think this secret route can be played on this?”
“I know that it can. My sources have confirmed for me. Your job is to unlock it by completing all the other routes first.”
What Rohan didn’t tell you was that said sources have ended up hospitalised or driven insane. Such was the extreme and all-consuming nature of the secret route. But he figured that with Heaven’s Door he would be able to mitigate any real dangers. Peanut might also prove useful too. The dog looked left to right, left to right, then chased his own tail before slipping into a clumsy heap on the bed.
After two hours you completed the first day of Cryptic Courier. You found the characters adorable to get to know. You even began leaning towards the musical actor, Ken, as your favourite. Though this game had not been what you expected when you came to Rohan’s, you looked forward to playing more the next day.
“Peanut, time to go home~” You held out your arms and Peanut ran over for you to pick him up. It occurred to you then to check out what Rohan had been doing all this time with your back to him playing the dating game. You looked over to his desk and found - “Wow! Are these all sketches of Peanut??”
There was a sketchbook open onto a double spread filled with incredible pen doodles of Peanut. The mangaka had told you on the way here that he intended to include a small dog for his next story. Staring down at the sketches, the man had captured Peanut perfectly to the tiniest detail - the kink of his tail, the asymmetry of his brows, the very essence of his fur. You flicked over the next several pages to find they were all filled with Peanut. Holy heck. You knew the mangaka drew fast but this was on a whole other level, as the entire sketchbook was filled with Peanut in various poses, angles and expressions, sometimes with other objects for interactions.
Your wrist was gripped and snatched away. “Do not touch my possessions without permission,” he warned you with a hard-nosed glare. He let go of your wrist and you gulped. You turned away to leave, though the area where Rohan had grabbed you was still burning. That had been so sudden...
As you left the apartment it occurred to you that something was different. Peanut had barked so much at Rohan when they first met, but up in the ‘office’ he had been so well behaved during the entire time. Strange. Had he gotten used to Rohan that quickly? You looked down at Peanut in your arms. “Guess you warmed up to Rohan pretty quickly, didn’t you, buddy?” Peanut looked back up at you with his innocent doll eyes.
The next time you were at Rohan’s ‘office’ you completed Day 2 of Cryptic Courier. Yep, it was for sure that Ken was your favourite. You loved how charming he could be with his words. Even his vanity was endearing. His long white hair was so pretty, cascading down his back in a graceful ponytail. You thought he resembled a charming prince. By Day 5 you were put on his route. Though he had such good looks - a trait which was confirmed by all in the MFA - rather than becoming a model, he aspired to reach the stars as a musical actor. You found yourself wishing you could see a play in which he was starring in real life.
During the times you were playing Cryptic Courier, Rohan would either be researching or drawing out the next instalments of his ongoing manga, Pink Dark Boy. Truthfully, you really wanted to assist him. After all, this was a once in a lifetime golden opportunity to be working under the amazing Rohan Kishibe. Even if you couldn’t assist him in his manga, you simply loved to watch him in action. The way he poised his pen in the air, hovering for just a second, before letting the blank manuscript page have it. How fast his hand danced over the white space, how precisely he inked all the blank spaces in with one flick of his pen as if he were conducting a royal orchestra.
You were mesmerised every time. As if watching a magician at work, he was performing his greatest trick for each panel. That wasn’t simply just a pen in his hand, that was a wand with which to cast his most enchanting spells. He was not unlike Ken who mesmerised his audience on the stage with his beautiful singing and acting. This was something they both shared in common: the ability to enchant the audience with their magic.
Oh gosh, you realised. You had a type.
“Oh Foosung. I so get you right now-”
You put your hand over your mouth. You hadn’t meant to sympathise with the college student over his assignments out loud. You turned to check on Rohan - he was a man who required peace and quiet for his concentration. Fortunately, it seemed the mangaka didn’t take any notice. He carried on scribbling in his sketchbook undisturbed. Things usually went like this anyhow. You would come to play Cryptic Courier and he would be working diligently on his drawings in silence. Part of you wished to have conversations with him though, to get to know a little more about the enigmatic mangaka.
After finishing a chatroom, you got up to make tea for both you and Rohan.
“Whose route are you doing now?” Rohan asked after you placed his tea down on his table. He looked up from his sketchbook to look at the screen.
“I’m going for Foosung’s,” you replied, settling back down to play.
“I don’t quite understand him. Is his only appeal playing LOLZ?”
“Well, he’s very good at it. He’s ranked 2nd in the global server.”
“Hmm,” Rohan pondered for a short moment before getting back to his drawing, “not even ranked 1st. Not very impressive.”
Harsh critique aside, you started to wonder. Who could his favourite be? You took the chance to ask him.
“My favourite? Hmm. None of them particularly stand out to me. Baehee is probably the most tolerable. In contrast, I find 11-0-11 to be the most annoying. He believes himself comical but his sense of humour is, in fact, abysmal.”
“Really? What about Cumin?”
“A rather uptight fellow. In addition, he loves cats. I despise cats. They think wrongly that they can one up me every time. Arrogant and selfish animals. They have no idea who they’re messing with.”
“And your thoughts on Ken?”
“His narcissism is overbearing. Looks will only get you so far in the world. What you need is true skill, higher than anyone else’s.”
“Oh. Well, he’s my favourite. I think he’s cute.”
You wondered what on earth you were saying in front of Rohan. Not like he cared. Indeed, the mangaka turned back to his sketchbook without so much as a ‘tch’. Still, you thought you had a nice conversation just now. It was a start in getting to know Rohan.
To your surprise, it emerged by the end of Foosung’s route that Foosung became Rohan’s favourite. The mangaka applauded the character’s self-sacrifice, honour and bravery. “To jump into the lion’s den without hesitation… To even get injured in the process… He was the most unassuming character to begin with but for the MC he became the most extraordinary! Sure, Ken did the same in his route, but this was nothing I could have predicted for Foosung. The impact is simply greater! I wonder… Could it be that he always had this innate potential and MC was the key to unlocking it? How wonderful! I wish he was right here so that I may read everything about him!”
“Oh, you can read more about his character on the CC Wiki site,” you told him readily, hoping it would be of use. “It has info on all the characters and stories.”
“Ah-” Rohan snapped out of his thoughts, “I don’t mean read as in- Actually, I will go ahead and do that.” He went to his laptop and started to search.
You smiled at him, happy that you could help.
Some more days passed.
You completed the routes of Baehee, Cumin, 11-0-11 and were now working your way through the unlocked routes of P and Day. Rohan had become very involved with the game by this point. After witnessing the routes of the main five, he came to the conclusion that they were all likeable in their own ways, mostly because of the heartfelt realism of their backstories. He had taken many notes and sketches as the story progressed, filling up books and notepads by the dozen. He would even join in with selecting the chat and visual novel options, discussing at length the reasons and motives behind the things said by the characters with a rosy glow on his cheeks. You had never seen anything which made your heart soar more.
The same could be said of both P’s and Day’s routes.
Rohan poured over both their routes with the fervour of a highly invested gamer. He enjoyed the mental and emotional growth of both hidden route characters. Initially, he had not liked P, finding him too passive and choosing to hide everything about the Lint Eye cult in an effort to protect everyone. But as his route progressed, P broke free and became active in saving the MFA.
For Day’s route, the character’s multiple personas threw the mangaka for a loop, though he did consolidate over the unity into a single persona reached by the conclusion. You were sobbing by the end of the route. You felt so proud of Day’s development, from being just a tool for them to use to becoming his own person capable of teaming up with the MFA and bringing the cult down. What an emotional journey it had been!
By the time the rolling credits ended and you got up for a bathroom break. You needed to wash your face and decompress from all the emotional turmoil. As you wiped your face dry, you thought, finally. Finally, after about 160 calendar days you had completed all the canon routes. It would have taken less but you had needed to skip some days for the sake of your college projects and the semester holidays. At least, Rohan had been lenient about those.
Now that you had completed all the other routes, there was this secret route. You wondered what would happen. So far, the game had been running normally without any glitches or bugs. There was nothing to allude that it would happen. Was it going to appear now? Did you have to do anything special to unlock it?
You found your answer when you came back. Rohan was staring intensely at the screen.
“What is it?” you asked. You came round to have a look yourself. You gasped.
The game interface was glitching, messages sprawling across the main menu:
L o v e m_e.
lOve_me.
L0v3 m3
PL3453 Lov.e m3
p.l34_se-.lov e.me
PlEa5e pl3as3 p.leA.se
_ple.ase_
PL E A S.E
P_L3-A-S-E
_mc
_M_c
M.C
MC-.
The music had frozen, tripping over one note like a stuck record. The new messages kept appearing one line after another. Rohan tried pressing some buttons but nothing was responding.
You sat down next to Rohan, feeling uneasy to be by yourself. “Is this the secret route?” you asked.
“It has to be. The game shouldn’t behave like this. This is a serious bug. It is probably the curse.” Rohan tapped the A button several more times before stopping. He gave the controller to you. “Why don’t you try?”
You took the controller in your hands.
Peanut began barking like mad.
“BOW! BOW! BOW! BOW BOW RRRRRRRRRRRRR--”
He was growling non stop, his haunches ready to react. “Peanut, what’s wrong?” you asked. You were about to laugh it off as Peanut being his paranoid self, but then you saw the blanched look on Rohan’s face. You turned back to the screen. A chill overtook you.
…
…….
..------
K ar.
K A R-
kaR
K4R
K A----
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.
.
.
…
Kar.
Kar.
Kar,
Kar.
Kar,
Kar.
KAR.
KAR.
KAR.
KAR.
KAR.
KAR.
KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.KAR.--
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The lights flickered off.
The screen went black.
Somewhere, a fire alarm trilled out.
You held your breath. Peanut’s barking had ceased. There was no sound in the room except for the thumping of your own heart in your ears. Next to you, Rohan held super still, his eyes peeled open on the now black screen. Cold sweat began to break out on your skin. Nobody and nothing dared to move. You gulped.
A soft breeze began to blow. You wondered if the window was open. You looked over to find it shut. The breeze became stronger and stronger. The breeze blew up until it became a blizzard, howling with such ferocity, the piercing winds sweeping all around, sweeping everything up with it - books, pens, brushes, papers, plastic bags. Your hair blew wildly across your face. You tried to shield yourself with your arms but the wind was too strong. You heard Peanut’s howls - he was clutching with all his might onto the bed, his hind legs starting to lift up, about to be taken away. “PEANUT!” You braced yourself against the torrent and tried to reach for him.
In that moment you heard a ghostly bellow coming from the screen.
“...Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr...”
Something started to emerge from the screen.
A gaunt head of long raggedy hair. Then a ghastly face. An elongated neck. Emaciated arms and bony fingers.
You recognised the character from the long blonde hair.
It was the main villainess, Mika.
“...Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr...”
She was a haunting spectral version of her canon self, expanding in size until the top of head reached the ceiling. Her pupil-less eyes were a sickly shade of sap. Her off-colour cheeks hollow, she breathed out a mist of fine dust.
“Get back!!” Rohan exclaimed.
There wasn’t much space in the cramped apartment. You and Rohan climbed onto the bed and backed up against the wall. Peanut barked then whined and turned tail, burying himself in between you two as the looming Mika spectre drew close to you.
You felt her chilling breath fan over your face.
“...Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr…… I’veeeeeeee foooooouuuuund yooooouuuuuuu...”
Her misty hand shot forward-
You pushed Rohan and Peanut off the bed as Ghost Mika’s spindly fingers snatched you up and pulled you with her back towards the screen.
“KAR!!!” Rohan shouted, panic filling his eyes. Peanut howled in despair beside him.
You screamed for them, desperately struggling against the ice cold grip. “ROHAN!!! PEANUT!!!”
Ghost Mika stopped in front of the screen and squeezed you in her grasp. You began to choke out of breath.
“...Looooooooooveeeeeeee mmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...”
Smoky strands came out of you, snaking into Ghost Mika’s hollow mouth.
Rohan realised with chilling horror what was happening. The spectre was breathing the life out of you. Your struggles became less and less. Your body grew limp.
Rohan bolted to his feet. “HEAVEN’S DOOR!!!” he bellowed.
His Stand, Heaven’s Door, flew straight to you and your unconscious face turned into a book, opening up to reveal written pages of the details of you and your life. With Heaven’s Door, Rohan found space to write:
Cannot be taken by Ghost Mika from the secret route in Cryptic Courier.
Ghost Mika screeched as your body fell straight through her hand and landed with a thud on the floor. An almighty piercing shriek ripped through the room. Both Rohan and Peanut covered their ears to the devastating shrill.
“LOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!... WHYYYYYYYYY WOOOOOOON’T YOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!...”
Rohan winced, grinding his teeth together. The wind had gotten even more violent, whipping and lashing at him. The papers that were caught up in the torrents were slashing at him across his hands, face and neck. “Peanut!!!” he yelled.
Peanut turned his head to Rohan. He was shaking and whining underneath his paws.
“Peanut!! You can stop this!!! I know you can!!!”
Peanut whined some more in exasperation. He didn’t think he could do it.
“PEANUT!!!” Rohan growled, his voice becoming hoarse. There was no time! His own Stand was incapable of handling this phenomena, as its power didn’t work on ghosts.
But he knew of one that did and he was damn well going to have the dog bring it out!
“PEANUT!!!!! SAVE KAR!!!!!!!”
A moment’s hesitation. Then, Peanut shakily stood up on his legs, trembling. His eyes were filled with determination. He must save his best friend, Kar, before it’s too late! He must save you!
“BOW WOW RRRRAAAAA!!!!!”
Swirls of energy appeared around Peanut and rose into the air above him. They converged into a bright light which expanded and formed a box shape. It was the size of a kotatsu. No, in fact, it was a kotatsu. Rohan hadn’t expected a kotatsu for a Stand. He had performed Heaven’s Door on Peanut back when he first invited them back to the apartment to write that he wouldn’t bark anymore at Rohan. It was there that he read Peanut had a Stand of his own.
“RRRAAAAA BOW WOW!!!!!”
The Kotatsu Stand shook a little then launched itself straight at the spectre, engulfing all of Ghost Mika’s face with its checkered coral fabric clinched round the edges. Ghost Mika screeched and howled and thrashed as the Kotatsu latched on tight, never once relinquishing its hold. There was a whooshing noise. The winds suddenly changed direction to all blow towards the Kotatsu. Rohan braced himself against the force. He realised the Kotatsu was sucking up all of the wind and its source.
“NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....”
With one last ditch attempt to free herself, Ghost Mika reached with a long thin arm and grabbed Rohan, causing him to grimace under her cold grasp. Peanut barked once more and the Kotatsu’s suction maximised, forcing her hand to retreat from Rohan. With one final shriek, the last of her was sucked up, arm ripped away to disappear into the Kotatsu’s belly.
Silence.
The lights flickered back on. The screen returned to normal. The usual jingle of the music came back, filling the stillness of the air.
Rohan collapsed to the floor, his heart beating erratically. The entire room was a whirlwind of stationery and books flown about everywhere with the chair and lamp overturned. The mangaka looked towards the screen. No more unusual things were happening. It was all over at last, wasn’t it?
The Kotatsu disappeared and Peanut bounded over to your unconscious side. He barked once then whined, nudging your body. You did not react. Rohan broke out of his thoughts and hurried over beside Peanut, reaching for your arm. “Oi,” he called, shaking you. “Kar. Wake up.” Still, you did not respond.
He checked your pulse. There was none. An uneasy feeling rose in his chest. He shook you harder. Your head only rolled from side to side. He gritted his teeth as a wave of agitation washed over him. He gripped your shoulders and shook once more. “Come on, Kar. Wake up!”
You had pushed him and Peanut away the moment Ghost Mika came for you all. You had protected the both of them, sacrificing yourself to save them at the last moment. Rohan’s jaw clenched, his brow marred with a deep unsteady frown. He did this. He brought this onto you. Now, you were lying in the middle of the floor, far too still, with no sign that you would ever wake up again.
“Kar…!”
His very first encounter with you was when you returned his pen to him. He had been cautious, calling upon Heaven’s Door to knock you out in case you were anyone suspicious. He brought you over to a nearby bench to read through the pages of your life and personality traits. He found out your name was Kar Aikara. He read through other details - you were studying Games Design, you were an artist, you didn’t like raw tomatoes, pineapples or papaya (as well as a whole host of other commonly eaten foods). You had no Stand. Most of all, you had a dog named Peanut. He was an adorable Maltese breed. The mangaka had decided right then that he needed to meet this dog for inspiration for his new story.
Five months passed and this was the result. Rohan had used you. He knew this fact very well. It had been his intention from the very beginning after all and he had felt no qualms about it. It was what he did for the sake of his stories. He would use whatever resources at his disposal to make the greatest works. But never like this. Never like this. No. He never wanted you to end up like this.
His eyes started to burn. You were only supposed to do your job to pay off the debt and that was it. You would be done and the two of you would part ways. But now, he started to reflect on all the things you had done for him - bringing your smiles, your cheeriness, your eagerness to help; the treats you would share with him; tidying up his mess to make his life easier, offering and making him tea for relaxation, staying behind after the agreed hours to chat more about Cryptic Courier. He didn’t want all that to end, he realised. He didn’t want this to be the end. This was not what he wanted. Not like this. Not at the cost of your life.
He brought your body to his and held you tight. “I’m sorry,” he uttered, his voice crumbling.
Please don’t die.
The screen started to flicker. Peanut barked. Rohan turned round.
On the screen was a pretty woman with long waves of blonde hair fanning out around her petite body. Her lime green eyes were bright and gentle. It was the original Mika.
“Thank you,” she smiled softly, “for showing me what love is.”
She opened her arms out and closed her eyes. Smoky strands came out from her bosom. They flowed out of the screen and into your still body.
“I return Kar to you. Please take care of her.”
With one more breath, she was gone.
The screen glowed white and more smoky strands came out, bright and luminous. They tangled and twirled in the air before dispersing through the walls out into the night sky, one after the other. Peanut bow-wowed a little, unsure whether to be afraid or not. To Rohan, they looked like strands of the Milkyway. He had never seen anything more profound. He supposed they were making their way back to their owners.
“... Rohan?...” You blearily blinked your eyes open, looking up to find the mangaka above you. What was going on?...
“Kar,” Rohan breathed a sigh of relief. “Kar, are you okay?”
He looked so worried. You had never seen him like this before. It was then that you became aware... Were you lying on his lap???
You dove out in an instant, face burning red. “Woah!” you cried, suddenly on your haunches, maintaining a respectable distance from the mangaka.. “Wha- What happened??” Your mind finally caught up with the last thing it remembered about Ghost Mika. You swivelled your head to the screen. All was normal. Peanut leapt into your lap, bow-wowing joyfully at your return to the living. He licked all over your face, making you giggle. “Peanut! Awww, baby~ I’m sorry if I made you worry! Lemme kish you back~” You planted many kisses all over Peanut which made him even more elated to return the affection.
Out of the corner of your eye you noticed Rohan. He had his head in his hands. “Everything okay, Rohan?” you asked him, concern lacing your face as Peanut continued to lick your cheek.
Rohan gave a small sigh. He didn’t want to move his hands away from shielding his eyes. They were prickling in the corners with his tears. “I’m fine,” was all he could say.
---
A few months passed.
You and Rohan played more Cryptic Courier together to unlock all the bad endings. You had more than paid off your debt already and were now earning for yourself. You thought it would be the end of your working relationship with the mangaka, but he offered for you to remain as his long-term assistant. Of course, you were ecstatic to accept.
He also asked if you wanted to do anything besides playing the dating game. You asked about helping him with his manga and, surprisingly, he agreed. You were happy you could be allowed to work on his projects, and you spent a great time learning and absorbing all you could from your manga idol. Working with him was so interesting and fun. He had a lot of knowledge to offer that you had trouble writing it all down in one go.
Currently you were lining one of his sketched manuscript pages. Rohan never needed to sketch any of his pages but he did it to train you up to speed, giving tips here and there. It made you a little hot under the collar to have him so close to you, sometimes grabbing your hand and directing it as he explained his intentions.
He was doing that right now, his larger hand over yours, telling you to apply pressure at the beginning of your strokes. “Like this. And then, gently lift up at the end of the stroke. Got it?”
You nodded, your cheeks flushing. “Yeah. Think so.” He hummed with satisfaction and let go. His hand had felt so warm on top of yours. You thought you could have a meltdown if this continued, quite literally.
As you got on with the rest of the inking, Rohan flicked through a magazine on the latest Fall fashion. In between the pages he had hidden a manuscript page of a secret manga he was working on. The page showed Kar in a magical girl outfit together with Peanut in a spacesuit. He kept it to himself that he was making a manga based on you and Peanut in his spare time.
The reason for doing this? Well. He only had to look at your face while you were occupied for the answer. The way you furrowed your brows as you concentrated hard on your brush strokes. Or the way your eyes lit up when Ken from CC paid her a cute compliment. Or the way your bottom lip wobbled when watching a bad ending. You offered him an endless array of expressions to indulge in. He could never tire of observing you.
He intended to give the manga to you once it was finished. He imagined many times how you would react, trying to picture your pure smile full of your delight and joy. It filled his being with suspense and excitement. He looked forward to that moment. Until then, he would keep it to himself, working on it, perfecting every one of your captivating moments to tell the greatest story of his heart yet.
-End-