Chapter Text
'Where... am I?'
I opened my eyes only to be greeted by an unfamiliar darkness. My eyes darted around, trying to find anything that I could recognize. As I started to gain feeling of my body, I realized that I was seated on a chair with my arms and legs bound to it.
'What the hell?'
I tried moving my arms and legs to no avail, it was bound tightly. My heart raced and I felt more awake than ever. How did I end up in this situation? I racked my brain to trace back my steps, trying desperately to figure out how I got here.
I remembered traveling on a plane by myself to visit an anime convention. Saw a couple panels, meet and greets on that Nijisanji event, took pictures with some cosplayers, and bought a few things here and there. Okay, nothing so far, what's next?
After the convention ended, I went to a nearby bar to get some drinks. There were a couple people there that came from the convention as well and we ended up chatting with each other. There were some guys playing card games, a fujoshi that's very vocal about her opinions, a guy that kept spitting out awful takes, fuck that guy.
My memory started to get foggy past this point, probably from all the alcohol that I drank. My head slightly ached, but I need to keep going. I did my best to gather anything coherent from my jumbled memory, anything that could lead to an answer for my current predicament.
I remembered talking to a girl and we seemed to hit it off pretty well. We talked for quite a while although I can't recall what we talked about, but I remembered that I enjoyed talking to her. Her laugh, her smile, how she tilted her head when she's listening to me, it's all too enchanting. I felt my face heating up just from reminiscing about her. And then everything ended, I can't remember anything past that point.
From everything that I've gathered, I can draw a rough conclusion on how I got here:
1. I went to a bar after going to an anime convention
2. I got pretty drunk and met a real hottie
3. I blacked out, fumbled the hottie, and got kidnapped on the way back
This is the only possible outcome that explains my current predicament. For a second, there was a thought about the hottie being my kidnapper, but I disregarded it as a delusion. I just hoped that she gave me her number before I blacked out.
Wait, I got sidetracked by that hottie. I need to focus on how to get out of here. I don't really have any options right now with my arms and legs bound, but I need to have some plans at least. After all, my kidnapper could come back at any moment-
Click.
'Damn it.'
The sound of a lock opening resounded above me, followed by a door opening. Light poured from the opened door, as a figure descended from a staircase. That person reached the bottom of the staircase and flicked a switch, turning on the lights of the room that slightly burned my eyes, forcing me to shut it tight.
"Oh! Sorry about that, are you okay?" A soft voice asked me, sounding worried over my reaction.
Wait, that voice... Why did it sound so familiar to me? I squinted my eyes open slightly. As my eyes adjusted to the bright lights, the person in front of me started to look more recognizable.
Black hair with red highlights, droopy eyes, that nail sticking out of her head, and the fact that she's just floating around off the ground!
"Why is Mika Melatika from Nijisanji ID here!!!!" I can only shout from the absurdity of this situation.
"Because this is my house?"
It's incredible that she could answer my question in a way that only created more questions, she really is Mika.
"That explains nothing! Why am I in your house?! How did I get here?! And why are my arms and legs-"
"Come on, why are you talking like we're strangers? We already talked to each other so comfortably yesterday!" she cut me off nonchalantly.
Wait, yesterday?
My mind raced to those memories from yesterday, specifically from the convention. Now I remember, one of the meet and greets that I visited was Mika's. I didn't really remember what I said to her though, but it was Mika so I probably only made fun of her like I usually do in her chat, right?
"You talked all over about how much you watched me and even said that you love me a lot!"
'Yesterday me, what the fuck were you doing!!!!!!'
I could understand if it was Rosemi, Hana, or *maybe* Enna on a really good day, but Mika?? The girl that thought you're supposed to grate the aluminum wrapping on a block of cheese? The convention mood must've really gotten into yesterday me...
Wait no, focus.
"I-It can't be. Besides, we didn't talk long enough to get comfortable with each other during that meet and greet."
"Oh, I wasn't just talking about that. We chatted somewhere else too, remember?" she answered with a grin.
Seriously? I traced back my memory but I'm sure I never ran into her again in the convention. But that only leaves the bar, and the only person that could be her is...
I felt my stomach drop from the possible truth, I need to deny this no matter what.
But before I could do anything, she started to speak as if she's eager to prove me wrong, "Maybe you'll remember something if I do this?"
She started tying her hair up, wore round glasses on her face, then pulled on her oversized clothes to boldly show her body lines. Finally, she spoke in a slightly lower voice than she usually does, "Well, how about now?"
'It's over.'
Mika was indeed the 'hottie' from yesterday. I felt the world crumbling around me, knowing that for a moment, I fell for a girl that thought the toilet sink water is as drinkable as tap water. If she's an idiot, then I'm a bigger idiot that got tricked by her.
'Give me back my feelings from five minutes ago, damnit!'
Wait, I got sidetracked by Mika. I need to focus on my current situation. There's still a question that needs to be answered.
"So, do you know why I'm tied up in your house?" I finally asked the most important question.
"Because I'm the one that tied you there?"
A chill went through my body.
"W-What do you mean by that, Mika?"
"You really want me to spell it out for you? That's a bit embarrassing for me, you know~?"
Her cutesy voice sent shivers of disgust down my spine, but she continued on regardless.
"Well, you basically confessed my love for me, right?"
'Please don't remind me of my dark past.'
"Then, we really hit it off at the bar! It's like we're made for each other!"
'Please don't remind me of my even darker past.'
"At that time, I thought, 'Ah, I really want him all for myself!'"
'...Huh?'
"As I talked more with you, that feeling just kept getting stronger and stronger. Eventually... Haah... I can't hold it back anymore... Haah..." Her breathing got heavier with every sentence, and her eyes turned into the eyes of a beast eyeing its prey.
"I really, really, really love you. I want you to exist for me and only for me. I want your eyes to look at me, I want your lips to whisper your love to me, I want your arms to hold me tight forever. You're the only person that can satisfy this feeling inside me!"
I felt a chill as she muttered those words. She had lost her mind and at this point, she's just saying her desires for me.
"You feel the same way, right?"
Cold sweat started forming at the back of my neck. It felt like something dangerous would happen if I didn't pick my words carefully. But before I could gather my thoughts, Mika started talking, seemingly irked by my silence.
"Hey, what's taking you so long to answer? C-Could it be, you didn't... love me? Y-You lied to me?"
'Oh fuck...'
The look in her eyes changed from a warped sense of lust into something else... something much more dangerous. It felt like I'm facing a ticking bomb that's ready to explode from a slight breeze. I can't delay my answer any longer, I'll just have to wing it!
"I do love you."
'But not in the fucked up way that you're on right now.'
"I want to be with you, but I still have things that I need to do."
'Like getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible.'
"One day. Just give me a day to finish things up and we can be together forever."
'Just give me a day to call the cops on you and I'll be a free man.'
I find myself cringing at the words that I just said, but it was the best I could do at the moment. If she's blinded by the promise of "together forever" and gives me a chance to go outside, I'll be free to get as far away from this place as possible. When I looked at Mika's face after my "confession", she looked at me with an empty stare.
"...No."
'Crap.'
The ticking bomb had just exploded.