Chapter Text
Often it was said that, when life gave you lemons, you ought to make lemonades. Crush the ice, squeeze the lemons, a teaspoon or two of sugar—mix and repeat. No use crying over spilt milk, nor the casualties of a senseless war. No use crying over decisions that was out of your hands. You toughen up and repeat, over and over again.
The essence of a hero.
Then why? He had to wonder, as he handed over his license.
Why? As the school they called a second home closed its doors.
Why? As he returned to half a family.
In the end, it didn't matter. The new decree was thus: No more underage heroes—U.A. would henceforth be known as the final hero school, and its third-year class was the final class in their generation to graduate. The reason? It was deemed too dangerous for children to partake in criminal justice, as things currently stood.
A laughable excuse, but Kaminari Denki was the worst student of his class (and most likely of the entire grade), so what did he know? On the last day of their class, they packed up and bid each other farewell, each of them returning to a separate corner of Japan. Many exchanged numbers, of course. He even personally pressured Bakugou to lend him his, much to the other's chagrin.
They made a promise to meet when their lost times were returned to them, when they finally reach the age of majority and could become actual, true heroes again. But even as he made that promise, Denki knew he could not keep them.
Somewhere along the way, his family had been cut down to two.
Casualties of war were not limited only to those who lost their lives in the fighting. Many, upon losing the infrastructure to their homes, their businesses, their means of escape, was reduced to begging on the streets. The losses were too numerous for government welfare to reach everyone. Add to that the extra cost of having a family to feed, rather than just yourself…
Denki knew it from the very start—his parents' relationship had never been what he would escribe as good. What was it that they always told him? "We're staying together for your sake, Denki."
He tried not to think about it on the train ride back, but upon seeing his father's hunched back when he opened the door, an involuntary shock shot down his spine.
His heart paused for just a beat, then restart again.
"Dad," And Denki smiled, or tried to, as he'd always done. His friends often said his grin made them remember a simpler time before the War. He hoped it helped here, as any sons and daughters would for their parent. "No need to worry about me. I'll help in any ways I can."
The cafe down the street had just re-opened.
The supermarket was seeking new cashiers.
They could manage it, the two of them together. This, he had to believe.
.
[Select: Game Mode]
[Update in progress…]
[Resetting files…]
Video games—his father had always viewed them as frivolous things meant to distract from the real world, something that came up again and again in their household. Denki liked his games, thank you very much, but he was also sensitive of their financial budget. The solution?
Just pirate.
It was hardly anything excessive, just some here and there that he could find online. After the War, connection to the outside world was slow and limited, as facilities related to water, food, and other necessities were prioritized. Denki himself hardly had time to spend on his hobbies. Often, he would play a few online games in-between shifts, and that was that.
[Hotel Oni: Eden Within Dreams] was one such game. The translation was horrid, the difficulty even more so. He had to grind three days to even get past the tutorial, and after that, it was an endless stream of trials and errors. The Guests AI had a tendency to bug at the worst possible moments, and that was not to mention how much mechanics there were to remember, a strain on poor Denki's already overload brain.
He played it in his off-time. At some point, he even downloaded it to his laptop. It seemed abandoned, so this was his way of safeguarding against the deletion of the game. The developer hadn't posted any real progress for years, after all, and the latest user feedback that was not his own was from six years ago.
"Thank you, it was an enjoyable time, but more polish is needed." Right, it wasn't a good look by a long shot.
Despite his misgivings, Denki did manage to unlock all of the major hotel upgrades upon his fourteenth (and last) playthrough. He collected enough events to reach a soft ending state of sort, where continuing would simply meant doing the same thing over and over. No thanks, Denki had other games to play. He shelved the thought of the game in the back of his mind for a while. Months passed, the world continuing on as it always did.
Then, one day, something happened.
"What the heck…"
[Restarting the game—]
The first thing that greeted him was a ball of black.
It brushed against his face. Fur? Denki blinked. Then their eyes met, and he let out a distinctively unmanly yelp.
"Ack, get off!" The thing hopped off his shoulder. Bouncing, it made its way onto an wooden counter, its tail veering dangerously close to an expensive-looking vintage lamp. Denki opened his mouth, prepared to tell it off, then blinked.
Wait, what was it he was seeing?
Wasn't that…
"The co-operator of Hotel One, or Coco, for short. In other word, it is the co-owner."
A pair of gloved hands lowered to pick up the ball of black fluff that was Coco. Accompanied by a matter-of-fact tone, to Denki's relief, was the sound of another human.
"Ah, dude. So glad to see you here. I have to ask…" He began, only to trail off when he noticed the other man. Dressed in a sharp suit, with a pair of glasses upon his face, the man's head seemed to be swivelling in all kinds of directions. "Uh, hello?"
"I'm afraid if your question entails anything regarding how we got here…" There was a sigh, as gloved hands reached out to smooth over Coco's fur. "I do not know myself. I am as clueless as you are, young man."
"Young?" At that, Denki frowned. "Oh, knock it off. You don't look that old yourself, dude."
He did not. If anything, Denki thought he looked like an upperclassman at most. Older, sure, but not by much.
Another frown. "I assure you, I am well in my forties."
A beat.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes."
"Yes?" Yet another voice piped up. Both of them glanced down at Coco, who was gazing at them with a widened, bulbous eyes and a fixed Cheshire grin. "Yes? Coco. Yes."
"…Is it my imagination, or did that cat just speak?"
The (apparently) older man closed his eyes and let out another long sigh.
.
They went through a brief introduction, and Denki came to know that the man's name was Lee Yeon-woo.
A Korean name. Now, that was surprising enough, but even more so was the realization that the interior of where they had ended up was familiar to both of them.
"This is the lobby from that one game. Uhm, what is it…?" Denki snapped his fingers a few times, sending static shock flying from his hand, "Hotel, uh…Hotel-"
"Hotel One."
"Yeah! Wait, no…"
"It's Hotel One, or HoOne, a hotel management game. You've heard of it, haven't you?"
"Well, last I checked, it was called Hotel Oni." Denki raised an eyebrow in the man's direction. "Are you sure you've recalled correctly, sir? It's [Hotel Oni: Eden Within Dreams], right? The one where you have to manage a hotel of both Monster and Human Guests. I remembered playing through it during the summer break months!"
"Summer break months?" Inquired the man, his voice quieting suddenly. "Ah, Kaminari, is it? How old did you say you were?"
"I'm turning eighteen this year."
"So you are seventeen..." The man seemed to mouth to himself, before looking down at Coco, still trapped in his arms. "Ah, were you aware of that?"
"No?" The cat swayed back and forth. "Coco. Hello."
"Hello, Coco. Are you aware that seventeen years is not nearly old enough to hold full-time employment in Korea. In fact, to hold a job at all, parental consent is necessary and demanded for by all ethical employers."
"Hello." The cat meowed contemplatively.
"Uh, I don't think it understands."
The man closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he turned back to Denki. "We are currently inside Hotel One, from the Korean game that ended its service twenty-six years ago, [Hotel One: Eden Within the Nightmares]. However, am I correct to assume that is not the title you are familiar with? You are from Japan, aren't you, Kaminari?"
What is this, an interrogation? Denki nodded frantically. "Uh, yeah. As I said, it was called Hotel Oni when I played it, but…you did said it was a Korean game. Maybe…translation error?"
"A possibility." Lee Yeon-woo said, "We are speaking Japanese to you, isn't that right?"
"What other language could it be? Sorry to say, but I don't understand Korean."
"Then it appears the two version has merged somewhat. You are speaking in Korean to me."
"What?"
"A translation so that we both can communicate in a common language of our choosing, perhaps? Very convenient, I must say."
"Yes!" Coco interrupted, sounding proud.
Denki squinted at the cat. For now, they still had no idea how they managed to end up in the hotel lobby of a video game, and Coco remained the sole suspect. It was the hotel lobby of Hotel Oni, too. Now that he could look around, he clearly recalled the sight of the carpeted floor, the ornate vintage decors and the warm ambiance of the hotel, all of which had transformed from pixels and imposed onto reality, impossible though it sounded.
Like a theme park, except he saw neither staff nor other guests nearby. Just a creepy cat and a dude who thought he was speaking Korean.
For a second, Denki's head nearly went into his hands. Then, he glanced down and realized he was wearing a pair of white gloves identical to that of Lee Yeon-woo's.
Wait, why does my neck feel so constricted right now? He reached for his collar, only to be met with the texture of soft cotton—a round collar. It encircled his neck, closed over by a row of golden button that ran down his side. Denki patted his body and realized he was in a suit and vest as well—charcoal-coloured, the full ensemble. A military-style hat sat atop his head. He immediately took off, shuddering at the thought of someone changing his clothes while he was passed out. Speaking of, the attire was almost reminiscent of…
"The Operator." A slight slump in his shoulders was the only indication that Lee Yeon-woo, too, was affected by the situation. "The player character of HoOne. It's starting to dawn on me what this all entails. Coco, were you the one who did this?"
"Hello."
"You admitted to kidnapping us?"
The cat said nothing.
"Have you no concern for the basis of human rights? Especially that of a minor, in fact."
"Yes. Hello."
Denki stared at it.
Kidnapped them? A cat?
"Wait, what is happening right now? Are you…Are we being serious?"
"We seem to have been transported into the game." The man paused. "Or it could have been brought into reality instead. Either way, as things stands, it would seem…that we are Hotel One's new Operators."
.
[HoOne] was a horror hotel management simulator. Typically, games of these genres were single-player with limited option for co-op play. However, this was one aspect where the game managed to distinguish itself.
"It's still limited to two players, and the mode was left incomplete due to the game's EOS." Lee Yeon-woo, designated as the more knowledgable of the two, took the lead on explaining. "Player 2 acts as an extension of Player 1. Resources are shared, but major upgrades and purchases are only available to Player 1. Simply, you can view it as a relationship between a General Manager and his Assistant."
Denki had a feeling he knew where this was going. "I'm guessing I am Player 2 in this case." At the very least, he was dearly hoping that he wouldn't need to lead someone over twice his age around in some haunted video game world. For all of his hero training, Denki was not at all equipped for that. The teachers never taught them this emergency situation back in U.A.
"Presumably so. What you are wearing right now—it was what differentiates players in the original game. Yours is a bellhop outfit."
"A bellhop?" echoed Denki. He examined his hat, "Like the ones who carry your luggages?"
"Precisely so."
"That's…" He shook his head. The clothes was the least of his current problem. "Mister, I think there is a more pressing issue here. And again, I feel I must reiterate, you really don't look middle-age."
"I know." The man narrowed his eyes, appearing deep in thought. "If I am to estimate, this body seems to be in his early twenties. Likewise, I would say you look older than a child of seventeen years."
"You're sure? My hair just feels longer. Otherwise, it's the same."
"Perhaps because it's not as wide a jump."
Denki shrugged. "I'll just tie it back. But you said the mode is incomplete, what do you mean by that?"
"Ah." Lee Yeon-woo, at that question, pursed his lips. "I suppose…I have never explored it in too much depth."
Don't tell me, Despite the circumstance, Denki bit back a startled laugh. Staring at Lee Yeon-woo, this supposed fourty-something year old man, he tried to imagine him playing a hotel management game all by himself, gaining every bit of information possible about [HoOni], but neglecting its multiplayer mode, because, well…
"Ah, no need to answer that, Mister. It's okay. But…" Mind wandering back to the topics at hand, Denki's body couldn't help but still. "You are certain that we are the hotel's Managers now?"
Lee Yeon-woo gestured to the cat inbetween them.
"Yes!"
"There you have it."
Wait, so are we just going to believe the talking cat now? Is that what we're doing? Denki smiled. He couldn't help it, the situation was too absurd.
"I…don't even know where to begin."
"Let's start with the most urgent problem at hand." With that, Lee Yeon-woo abrubtly stepped forward. "Ah, as expected."
He strode toward the entrance of the hotel, but upon turning the doorknob, it refused to budge.
Noticing a window near the counter, Denki ran to checked it as well. His hand reached for the handle of the old fashioned french window, and for a moment, he saw it—the brief possibility of escape, as though they could walk out and wrote this all off as a weird, yet uneventful dream.
But the handle, too, remained unmove, no matter how much strain he put upon it.
That was when his hands began to tremble.
"Wait, Mister, is there any other entrance? A- A back-exit, maybe? Do you have your cellphone on you?"
At the grim shake of the other man's head, Denki patted his own suit down, only to find that there was nothing except an old-fashioned pocketwatch, engraved with an eye in the middle, inside his chestpocket. Not even ticking, it glimmered uselessly under the hotel's warm light.
But-
This can't be-
"No!" He burst out, breath rising frantically. A gloved hands reached toward him, but he batted it away on instinct, not wanting the shocks sparking off his skin to hurt anybody. "But I- My family-"
"Kaminari." A soft mass of black fluff jumped onto him. He tried to peel it off, but to no avail. It clung on like a weed, even as electric shot from his body. "Coco, stop now. You're suffocating him."
"No."
"You are. Please, release him."
The mass of fur wiggled. What was happening to him? He was being suffocated by a cat, while trapped inside a video game he had only played to pass the time during the summer. A video game that supposedly featured actual Monsters who could come and kill you. And did he mention the cat-
Finally, Coco released him from its clawed grip. Sucking in a breath, Denki glanced up to meet a pair of eyes hidden behind glasses. This close up, they seemed to shine with cold indifference, as though examining a an experiment or lab test. Yet, the hands that held his shoulders were steady and warm.
"How are you not be freaking out right now, Mister? We could starve to death in this place, or die of thirst, or even get eaten by that cat!" Denki hadn't even written his will yet. His family and friends would have no idea what to do after he was gone. "Can you try the door again? Even if it's locked, surely there's a way to burst it open. Or we can break the glasses on the windows, or going head to the roof and see if there's a way to climb down-"
"Do you feel it?"
"Huh? Feel what?"
A pair of eyes. Two. No, three.
Eyes staring at them, yet unmoving. Simply observing.
"Are they…trapped here too?"
A crowd of silent people surrounded them, dressed identically in tidy vests and suit pants. Even their hairs were brushed back the exact same way.
"No, observe more closely. Do they look human to you?"
Only the hands remaining on Denki's shoulder stopped him from convulsing. Instead, he simply shivered in place. "You mean-"
"Breath."
"…If they're- they're not humans," He was trembling so much he could barely muster the words. "If they're not, then- then what are they?"
A hum. Lee Yeon-woo straightened up.
He readjusted both his tie and Denki's off-centered collar, then brought his hands together.
Clap
The crowd disappated, marching out in neat lines into another room of the hotel. Like this, they clearly exhibited no sign of humanity. Everything was mechanical, smooth, well-oiled, which did nothing to reassure Denki's beating heart, but did allowed his trembling to stop.
Coco hopped from the ground up into his arms. Out of instinct, he caught it, getting an handful of fur.
It was lighter than it looked.
It also purred. Involuntarily, a thought arose in Denki's mind. Cute.
He adamantly stomped over it. There would be no sympathy from him toward the creature that had abducted them. At the same time, Lee Yeon-woo smiled at the two of them, lips thin as he straightened his chalk white gloves. "Well then, if there's nothing else that either of us can do, what say you to a tour of this hotel?"
"A tour?"
"Yes. I can give you one. I believe I know where everything is located, being a veteran player."
"I…"
"Something wrong?"
"No, it's just…Mister, you're really scaring me right now."