Work Text:
"This is the location you found? Really?"
Nene looked at Rui, who had an unreadable expression on his face.
"Yes," He whispered, holding his phone. "This is- this is where he is."
Emu gulped. Times like these, where she really, genuinely wasn't smiling, were really rare. In all honesty, Emu was too scared to smile right now. Earlier, she saw this as a cool, exciting adventure to find their missing friend- but now, the severity of the situation had set in. Now she knew why Nene was so reluctant to go with them- now she knew why it was the police and detectives that handled these situations instead of teenagers like them. Sure, Rui was smart, and Emu was fast and could go wooshy woosh kabaam!!, and Nene was agile and small, but what could they do if they got in trouble? They'd be- as Nene liked to say often- cooked!! They would be absolutely, totally, undoubtedly cooked, the three of them! Roasted and toasted on a grill and turned into barbecue sticks!! They weren't supposed to deal with this kind of stuff, no matter how cool and epic is sounded and looked like in movies!
Out of the three of them, Rui was definitely the most determined to do this. He was the one who found out how to track Tsukasa's phone, he was the one who suggested that they did this in the first place.
Nene was the most reluctant. She argued against Rui's proposition, saying that this was something they should had left to the police. However, she eventually lost, and ended up agreeing to this mess. Which brought them here. Thankfully, her phone was being held tightly in her pocket. She would have 119 on speed dial just in case.
Emu stared up at the abandoned building, scrunching her eyes. "It's so big," She commented, "Rui, is Tsukasa-kun really in there?!"
Rui took a step towards the building, nodding. "He is. I'm sure of it. All we need to do is find him."
"We're not splitting up, by the way." Nene interrupted, "When we get inside, we're sticking together. No buts, no arguments. That's that."
"Alrighty!" Emu nodded, saluting playfully after having composed herself. She had to keep everyone's spirits high, that was her job, after all! No matter what, she had to be smiling, so others would do the same, too. Do as much as she could to make at least someone feel better.
The three carefully entered the building. Thankfully, it was still daytime, so it was bright outside- problem was, most of the windows were boarded up, and none of the lights seemed to be working. Nene found it eerie that the door wasn't locked or blocked in any sort of way as well. If Tsukasa was being kept here, shouldn't the kidnapper have..?
..No, stop. Whatever. Be glad that you don't have to break the door down or whatever.
Rui took out his phone, turning on the flashlight. Only bits and pieces of the sun's light peeked through the small gaps between the wooden boards nailed onto the windows.
"So big inside, too.." Emu whispered, "Tsukasa-kun has to be in one of these rooms, right?!"
Rui nodded, pausing as he peeked around a corner before giving the other two girls the go. "He has to," He replied, his voice a hushed whisper as well. "We'll find him, take his phone, get out, and call the cops. Let's be quick."
From the outside, the building looked like it had 3 whole stories. But apparently, there were just two floors with really high ceilings and an attic, proved by the single flight of stairs they came across and the trapdoor on the ceiling of the second floor as well. The three collectively decided to check through each floor thoroughly before moving on to the next.
Nene found it.. unsettling on how well things seemed to be going. It was creepy and quiet here, and not only did the door seem to open without any issues, the three of them were also exploring without any issues, either. Like, there weren't any signs that anybody was here at the moment. No footsteps, no nothing. If the place weren't so clean and weirdly well-kept, Nene would have thought Rui was just insane and dragging her and Emu on a wild goose chase.
"Rui," Nene hissed, "Do you think the kidnapper is even.. here? Like, right now?"
Rui stopped in his tracks for a moment, looking at Nene. "..From the looks of it, I don't- think so. But still, we should be careful. Keep out for any sign of movement, okay?"
"If there is," Nene began in a harsh tone, but still keeping her voice lowered, "We're getting out of here and calling to cops immediately."
Rui grunted in reply. He didn't seem too fond of the idea of just leaving straight away.
Goddamnit. Rui was supposed to be the smart one. Now he was acting like the stupid kid in horror movies who would always die first.
Nene rolled her eyes, sighing as she shook her head. Emu tugged at her sleeve, sending her a small smile. Even with no words said, the diva could still identify the message sent.
Nene smiled back, albeit a bit nervously, nodding.
First floor. Nothing special. There was a kitchen that had a cooler, fridge, stove- and it was all so well-kept too. As if it was a normal kitchen in a normal townhouse that wasn't in the middle of the woods and not possibly keeping a teenage boy hostage inside somewhere.
The second floor had a bedroom. All the other rooms inside were empty, except this one. It had a fluffy little rug- and there was a large corkboard on the wall. Pictures pinned to the board had red threads strung around the pins, as if it was some sort of conspiracy wall or whatever. After taking a closer look, Rui quickly realized that they were mostly photos of.. Tsukasa.
In his school uniform, on campus, on the field or track. Walking home, in a diner with Taniyama, Miyake, Hayashi, and even Rui himself. The director recognized the memory: it was taken on his birthday.
But it wasn't just in his school uniform. There were photos of Tsukasa in casual outfits, going grocery shopping or to the mall or having a leisurely walk around the neighborhood or at Phoenix Wonderland. There were photos of him during performances, in his show outfits. Some of them had the other troupe members in them as well.
"What.. the fuck is this..?" Nene breathed out, taking a step back. "S-since when was Tsukasa being fucking stalked?! How did none of us notice-"
Rui gasped at the realization: Tsukasa was being stalked. He was being stalked, and nobody had noticed-
"Tsukasa? What are you doing?"
"H-huh?! Oh, sorry, Rui! I guess I've just been a bit paranoid lately.."
No. Tsukasa knew.
"I dunno, I guess it feels like I'm being watched sometimes-"
"Idiot, we're literally performing shows. Where else is the audience going to look while watching our performances?"
"N-no, I mean-!"
"...Nevermind-!"
He always knew. But they would just dismiss his worries, like they were nothing.
"Tsukasa, what's wrong? Why're you looking around?"
"Oh, it's- it's nothing, Emu! Just checking for.. anything!"
"Oh. Okay! Anyways, let's go!"
They all ignored him. None of them listened.
Emu gasped, covering her mouth. How did she not realize-?! How did none of them realize how paranoid Tsukasa had been in the recent weeks before they went missing?
If they listened, or just noticed, maybe they would have stopped this. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe-
"...It's in the past."
Rui and Emu both turned to Nene. "Huh?"
Nene looked away from the conspiracy wall, shaking her head. "That's in the past now. It's- it's not our fault."
"But-"
"Shut up, Rui!" Nene snapped, "Don't you dare blame yourself! This was out of our control, from the very start. You think any of us wanted this?! You think we would have expected anything to happen?! No! But that's in the past, and now we're trying to fix the mistake we made. So shut your sorry mouth up, and let's continue looking! You were the most determined to do this, anyway! So come on, let's hurry up!"
Emu and Rui stared at Nene, dumbfounded and in shock. "Nene..."
Rui sighed, shaking his head. "You're right. Let's.. let's fix things."
The pinkette nodded, a brave smile on her face. "Yeah! Let's save Tsukasa-kun!"
Nene nodded, sighing in relief. She was glad that she got to help.
The diva looked around the room, noticing a desk near the corkboard. She opened the small drawer, and gasped. Tsukasa's phone was sitting inside, clean and unharmed.
She took it out, waving it in the air as she closed the drawer. "Guys," She breathed out.
Emu gasped. "Tsukasa-kun's phone..!!"
She ran up to Nene, snatching it out of her hand and examining it closely. "Rui-kun, we found his phone! He's really here!"
Rui's eyes widened, a small smile spreading onto his face. This was the last room on the second floor that they explored. So unless there was a basement that they missed, then surely Tsukasa would have to be in...
"Let's go to the attic."
————
The attic door was.. high, to say the least. They needed a ladder to climb into- and thank goodness there was a ladder leaning conveniently against the wall. Rui and Emu hauled it below the dor. This kidnapper didn't seem very good at hiding things, it seemed. They were quite careless, actually. They didn't even leave the door locked.
Rui was the one who climbed the ladder first. He unlocked the hatch and opened it, allowing the rest of them to climb through. First Emu, then Nene.
The room was.. unsettling. For an attic, it seemed very well kept and even decorated- in a strangely girly way. The walls were white, and the floor was covered in a fluffy, pink carpet. Fairy lights were strung around the room, and near the corner was a large bed- with a frilly pink and white canopy and white bedsheets.
It looked like a dollhouse. In fact, on one side of the room, beside the large closet, were just a bunch of dolls. From marionettes, to barbies, or plushie dress up dolls- they were all lined on, sitting neatly on the floor. They all had a specific genre of frilly, lolita styled dresses. Even the men had makeup and frilly dresses or skirts as well. There were other dolls strewn across the carpet as well, but it seemed like they were supposed to be lined up with all the other dolls.
But the most disturbing part of the room was the figure in the back. Sitting down on a small, pink chair, posture nice and neat and straight, hands placed neatly in their lap and feet glued together.
...It was Tsukasa.
It was Tsukasa, dressed in yet another frilly pink dress, politely sitting down as he sat on the chair. His skin was sickly and pale, and his eyes were glassy and glazed over, seeming to stare forwards with no thoughts in his mind- his expression was completely blank. Even Emu couldn't read it. He hadn't made a single movement since the three entered, either. Did he even notice them?
"..Tsukasa?" Rui breathed out, his voice barely above a whisper. He took a step towards Tsukasa, who still hadn't moved.
It was as if he was a doll. A doll, just like the ones lined up on the floor. From the makeup on his face, to his outfit, to the air around him and his lifeless eyes- he really was just a doll when he was like this.
Scary. It was so scary.
The three troupe members surrounded him. Nene knelt down in front of him, frowning.
"Tsukasa." She spoke carefully. "Are you there?"
After a few seconds of no response and a whole ton of worry from the three, Tsukasa finally made an indication that he was alive. It was small, subtle, barely noticable-
But his eyes flickered down towards Nene. He focused his gaze on her.
Nene gasped softly, biting her lip as tears pooled in her eyes. "God fucking damn it," She muttered, taking Tsukasa's hands into her own. "You worried us so much."
She felt Tsukasa's hands tense. She quickly let go with a sharp inhale an a quiet, mumbled apology.
"Tsukasa," Rui spoke up. "Let's get you out of here. Can you stand?"
Tsukasa's eyes darted over to Rui's.
No response. Not even a nod or shake of his head or anything. He just stared at the director silently. His head hadn't even moved an inch either. He was just staring at him from the corner of his eyes.
Emu gulped. She glanced and Rui and Nene. "Ts-Tsukasa-kun..?" She whispered, "Can- can you speak?"
As expected, Tsukasa's gaze switched to Emu.
More silence.
But Emu decided to look closer. She squinted, just the tiniest bit. Something else was wrong.
Then, she noticed it. It was so thin and tiny, it blended in eerily well with the rest of his lips and face.
But.. his mouth.
It was sewn shut.
His mouth had been sewn shut.
Nene and Rui both seemed to notice, too. Rui inhaled sharply, and Nene turned around, her eyes full of disgust and fear as she clapped a hand over her own mouth.
Tsukasa looked down at his lap.
"Do you want us to help you up?" Rui gulped, "We'll- we'll get you out of here. A-and we'll call the cops, and get those stitches off your mouth."
Tsukasa didn't look up and Rui this time. His gaze stayed fixated onto his lap.
His hands dug into his dress.
"T-Tsukasa-kun..!" Emu cried out. "Please, do something..!"
She put a hand on Tsukasa's shoulder. She hesitated, slowly recoiling when she felt Tsukasa tense up once more. But she persisted, "I- I won't hurt you, Tsukasa-kun. I promise..! None of us will, none of us want to. We're gonna get you out of here, okay?"
Emu tried again. Tsukasa still tensed, but after a second, he attempted to relax.
Keyword, attempted. He was still tense. Nobody could blame him.
Nene stood up, taking a deep breath and shaking her head. "Can you stand?"
Tsukasa still didn't nod or shake his head. But Emu huffed, a determined smile on her face. "I'll help you, Tsukasa-kun! Here, let's go up!"
She aided in pushing Tsukasa upwards. It was the first real movement he had made.
But when she let go, Tsukasa immediately stumbled downwards, falling onto the floor. His legs were trembling.
He grabbed onto the chair. His sleeve pulled down, revealing cuts and bruises littered across his arm and wrists. Some cuts were still bleeding, some were scabbed. They almost looked like they were self inflicted- but something told Rui that it wasn't. It couldn't be.
For a moment, he gasped sharply, before shaking his head and taking Tsukasa's hand gently. "Hey, it's okay," He mumbled, "We'll help. It's alright."
He helped Tsukasa onto his feet once more, and when he slumped forwards again, Rui caught him.
"Is it okay if I carry you?"
No real reply. Again.
Emu decided to help Tsukasa onto Rui's back, allowing the director to piggyback him. Tsukasa was barely holding on. His head fell limp to the side, resting on Rui's shoulder, and his hand was weakly latched onto his shirt.
"Let's go," Rui whispered. He looked towards Nene and Emu. Tsukasa couldn't see the grim, almost devastated expression on his face.
Nene bit her lip, suppressing the urge to cry. Emu wiped at her eyes, sniffing as she made a beeline for the hatch. She didn't dare let Tsukasa notice the tears pooling in her eyes.
Sure, they'd gotten Tsukasa back. But at what cost did that take? What was the end result of it?
Nobody knew what happened. Nobody knew what the kidnapper did, nobody even knew who they were-. And none of them knew what they did to Tsukasa. They didn't know what they did to render Tsukasa into a state like this, they didn't know anything.
Not a single one of them knew anything. Not Emu, or Nene, or Rui.
And it was scary. It was so scary how such a loud and confident person could be so dehumanized and reduced to a quiet, silent, obedient version of themselves. Just an empty shell- a pretty little porcelain doll to play with for ones own amusement.
And as the three climbed down the attic latter, they couldn't help but wonder. Wonder about what happened.
It was no surprise that sleep tended to elude all four of them in the following weeks.
And Tsukasa never spoke a single word for weeks on end, either.