Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Subaru… I’m off out for a bit okay? I’ll be back in a few hours, so behave yourself alright?”

Subaru’s mother, Naoko Natsuki, stood by the door, saying her goodbyes to her son.

”If you need anything, make sure to message me.”

Her goodbyes were usually longer than this.

”I love you, Subaru.”

But she always made sure to say an ‘I love you’.

“…”

He doesn’t respond.

He wants to, but he doesn’t.

”Alright… I’ll be home soon.”

And she walks out.

Today’s day is Tuesday, and it’s 10:24AM.

He should be in school right now.

Instead, his blazer is hung up on the corner of his door. His school bag lays strewn out against the side of his bed.

His computer screen is bright enough to strain his eyes, the nighttime brightness filter has already deactivated.

It isn’t nighttime right now. It hasn’t been for 10 hours and 24 minutes.

School started just about 2 hours ago.

He isn’t there. He’s at home.

”I love you too… mom…”

She’s already left the house, so she doesn’t hear him.

‘The game doesn’t even have an icon?’ He sighs.

He clicks Run, It’ll brick his PC regardless. At least this way it won’t be saved onto his PC when he comes out of this self sabotaging episode.

Then he can just grit his teeth and hate himself more, and after he gets the pleasure of shamefully confessing the state of his PC to his parents.

And they’ll reluctantly buy him a new one.

His mouse cursor flashes into a spiral, and he waits for the game to start up.

So far everything seems okay. Maybe he won’t destroy his PC.

Maybe this game could even be fun?

The startup window goes full screen, but it shows nothing.

Just black.

”…Here it comes…” He sighs. He was too optimistic.

What the hell does he even want?

”I’m the idiot who clicked the link, but I’m disappointed it’s doing what I expected it to…?” He sighs, again.

What does he want…?

What does he expect to come out of this?

”What the hell is my prob-“

A flash of light bursts from the computer screen, and loud static fills the room.

Subaru can’t scream, his body slumps back into his chair.

The static gets louder, until he can’t hear anything else. Even his own thoughts are drowned out by the static.

Slowly, the static noise starts to stabilize. It’s volume doesn’t increase, and Subaru finds it easier to bear each second that pass by.

The pain and ringing in his ears thrums quieter and his acquaints himself to the static.

His eyes cool down, the throbbing in his eyelids weakens.

He can smell… faint traces of bleach?

“…What…?”

His eyes are open, he opened them as soon as the bleach hit his nose.

His room doesn’t get cleaned, not recently enough to smell bleach.

But he understands why he’s smelling bleach, he’s not in his room.

”I know it’s cliche but… am I dreaming right now…?” He lets out a humorless chuckle, slowly swiveling his head to take stock of his surroundings.

A convenience store.

The inside of one specifically, that is what surrounds him.

He’s in a small building, a building with a square area of around double his room.

The walls were a dull white, almost bordering on a faint yellow, and the paint of said walls was clearly beyond dry, slight nicks and cracks in the paint painfully evident.

The ceiling and floor are both white, and both made of segmented square panels.

On one side of the room was a counter, with a large glass window on top, built into a wall. Behind the glass window were small colorful things stacked onto wall held shelves. To the left of the counter was a door.

On the other side of the room was an entrance. A slide open electronic door, flanked by two large glass opaque windows. He couldn’t see anything outside.

The lights built into the panels emitted a low green across the room, making almost seem like he was underwater. It was disorienting.

His current location couldn’t exactly be described as ‘modern’, but it wasn’t old fashioned either.

Stacked onto the other two walls were rows of shelves packed full of strange gadgets and items, with price tags in a strange currency and names tags he couldn’t read.

The centre of the room had small stalls with various other items and large display cases on display.

It wasn’t messy, but it wasn’t cleanly organized either. It had some sort of organizational pattern, but not one that could be discerned by Subaru.

Subaru was trembling slightly. ”Is this… where the hell am I…?”

Boredom no longer seemed like the worst case scenario for today.

He was beginning to hyperventilate, finally shaking off the disorientation and beginning to process his surroundings.

He isn’t in his room, he isn’t even in his own house.

He has no idea where he is at all.

”Mom…”

Existential dread can only last for so long before you start to refocus yourself.

It’s been just about an hour. Subaru still doesn’t know where he is, nor how he ended up here.

He's surveyed his surroundings best he can, but it hasn’t changed the situation much.

A convenience store is a convenience store.

There are shelves, displays, a counter, a door next to the counter with a room he has yet to go in, windows that function better as shitty mirrors, and a sliding door that won’t open.

Other than the mystery room he has yet to confront, there’s nothing out of the ordinary yet. Not physically.

The why, where and how still make him feel like he’s about to have a panic attack.

He didn’t walk here, obviously, and he has no memory of being taken here.

There was no transition between the light and static from his computer to this place.

So he’s been kidnapped?

For what?

Is he on some reality TV show?

He’s sure this isn’t legal.

Also interesting, he can’t read anything here. He doesn’t even know what these things are.

In regular fashion for a store of any kind, things are up for sale here.

Stacked on shelfs, with price tags and name tags.

But not in any language he’s ever seen, some kind of moon runes?

He’s been staring at the door for a while now.

Regardless of anything else, he needs to leave this place.

The entrance doesn’t work, so…

He has a strong gut feeling that he’ll need to enter that door.

He grits his teeth. “Damn it! Do I really have to go through the creepy door to leave? What the hell is the exit for than?!”

He walks forward with precise steps, eye’s never leaving the door.

He’s most likely being paranoid. If anything was going to attack him, it probably wouldn’t wait an hour to do so. He’s weak and defenseless after all.

He knows that, or Atleast feels that way, but it changes little.

He inches closer to the door, the situation becoming far too real.

Disassociating next to the exit was easy enough, that’s the point of disassociating, it’s supposed to make things easier.

But taking purposeful and conscious steps towards a complete unknown in a completely unknown location is against human nature.

So is self harm, in a way, but self harm is easy.

Daydreaming all hours of the day, which is its own form of self sabotage and therefore self harm, is easy. You can be whatever you want, and the situation can be whatever you desire. The outcome is something you can choose.

But this isn’t a day dream. This isn’t another hour wasted wishing for a better life, wishing to be a better person.

If, on the off chance, there is something or someone behind that door, then that’s it.

This is real.

And so for a man who’s spent almost half a year numbing himself to reality, shutting himself out from the world completely, something this real is terrifying.

“This is humiliating…”

A job application.

That was the monster hiding behind the door.

After enough self mediation, he had decided to man up and go beyond the door.

Beyond the door was a modestly furnished staff room.

An aquamarine carpeted floor, a table, two chairs, a sofa, a desk with a computer, and another door leading to the staff end of the counter.

Sat in the middle of the table, was a job application.

It is somewhat scary, the job application is already filled out.

His full name.

His address.

His post code.

His dad’s debit card information.

So, he has a somewhat legitimate reason to be afraid. He didn’t fill this out, and his parents aren’t nearly evil enough to sign him up for something this abnormal and cruel.

To summarize, there’s a stranger out there who knows deeply sensitive and personal information about the Natsuki family, and they’re most likely the culprit behind all of this.

But Subaru still can’t help but feel ashamed.

”A NEET almost having a panic attack from a job application… the jokes write themselves…”

The job application of doom does have some utility though, it at least lets him know why he’s here.

Against his own will and without any consent whatsoever, he has become a ‘shop floor assistant’.

And he’s supposedly getting an hourly wage of ¥2700

The application doesn’t state whether he has to clock in for that ¥2700 or whether his presence alone is enough, but Subaru would rather assume his hour long meltdown was somewhat worth it.

A black button up shirt and matching black trousers are folded up neatly next to the application, along with his very own name badge.

The name badge is in Japanese, thankfully, unlike most other things in this store. It’s also got a pretty nice colour scheme, Subaru thinks.

A black badge with orange kanji.

He likes it, although any well adjusted person would be disgusted by it.

He’s wearing his uniform now, taking off his shirt and tracksuit pants and folding them neatly onto the table, and is finally ready for his first working day.

A working day he neither consented to nor expected, and he isn’t even sure when he’s supposed to clock out or if he’ll even be sent back home.

But he’s equipped and ready for his debut into the working world.

He’s firmly planted behind the counter, wondering whether customers can even get to wherever the hell this store is, when the sliding door finally opens.

Subaru’s eyes widen, almost painfully, at the sight beyond the door.

A light dirt path, in front of sprawling green foliage.

He can hear birds chirping, his own personal sound track as he feels a warm light float into the room.

The sun’s light.

Above the grand trees and piercing blue sky, the sun greets Subaru for the first time today.

Standing in the middle of this picturesque scene, is an adoringly pathetic gray haired man covered head to toe in green cloth.

The green thing reaches his hand up awkwardly and clasps his hat, giving a heartfelt grin strained by uncomprehending fear.

He speaks. “W-what…” He coughs into his free hand. “Excuse me! My name is Otto Suwen, a humble traveling merchant and… I’d like it if you could tell me just what this strange building is!”

The man flails nervously, his merchant’s curiosity and deep seated fear of the unknown at war within his mind.

His curiosity wins, and he stands confidently, if you’re extremely liberal with the definition of ‘confident’, in wait of Subaru’s answer.

”What the hell are you wearing dude…?”