Chapter Text
Guilt was sticky, clinging to your throat as you drove to the villain’s grandparents house. Well, if they could even be called a villain that was. Your friend had never told you exactly what they did to the main character, just that they ended up dying due to being too close to them. The game had been quite dark, with love interests that were more obsessive and possessive than romantic. If it had been in written form instead of in game form, you probably would have devoured it. But your thing was more books and fanfiction than games or OVA’s.
And now here you were, stuck in the role of the game’s main antagonist - the grandaughter of the owner’s of the Hybrid Sanctuary where the game took place in. Something about the main character volunteering there and the male interests - all hybrids ( so far, you didn’t know if anyone else had been added since ), met and then got all obsessed and protective over each other. There were a lot of different routes that one could take, but the most popular so far had been the reverse harem one.
At least according to your friend, you had never played the game yourself. But Ami had been gushing over it for the past two weeks, which, yes you have listened to… randomly… with only one ear as it was. And now you were reaping the fruits of your half attentive listening.
Which included guilt thicker than taffy, directed at the two elderly people smiling brightly in your direction the moment you park the car in front of the sanctuary. Never having played the game or even looked at anything of it, only having heard random tidbits from Ami, you didn’t even know if you’ve just replaced their granddaughter or if you had taken over her body and she was just a carbon copy of you. Either way, it felt weird to be given the love that was supposed to go to the antagonist, one so deep and bottomless that it made you want to tear up.
It wasn’t hard to smile back, and that was the root of it. The two were warm, kind people and it made you feel bad that you had taken over their granddaughter’s place. It was pretty strange that they didn’t seem to think nothing was amiss, so maybe that antagonist really was just a normal person that had gotten on the wrong side of dangerous men ( beings? ). That somehow only makes your situation seem even worse and hopeless, but you’re pretty keen in simply not interacting with the main character - that one you know quite a bit about.
Unlike most main characters, she did have a name, she had that same bland, soft and sweet personality that was easy to fall into. But she also had not entered the main route of the story yet, that would happen as soon as she started volunteering at your grandparent’s sanctuary. You were supposed to volunteer there too, apparently had done so for years according to them. But you could not do it anymore, not when it was the key into avoiding the whole death route.
“Morning.” You called out as soon as you were out of the car, the smile now bigger, warmer, and it felt even better than standing in the sun when they hugged you with greetings. You were at a loss of words, trying to hold back the pinpricks of tears that threatened to fall. It had been a while since you had been with your own grandparents, the ones back in your original world. Two of them had already left the mortal coil, the other two lived too far away for random visits, time and work had never been kind to allow for those as much as you would have hoped for.
In this game world, you’ve been given the chance to be a nepo baby. Not only are your grandparents loaded - capital letter loaded, even, the kind that would never become poor even if they lavishly spent it every single day, but you were also riding in the coattails of your parent’s literary hits - apparently your mother was a famous romance author and your father the it person when it came to hybrid biology. To make matters even better, the sanctuary was fully funded by patrons that wanted to make themselves look better in the eyes of society, which meant that although the initial funds had come from your family’s more than filled coffers, they didn’t even need to dip into it.
It translated into you living in your own too big house, parents that loved you unconditionally but kept traveling the world either for interviews or for research and too much time in your hands. Or well, the character’s hands.
It was still… a lot to take in and get used to. You could bet that this kind of out of sorts life that no one but the 0.1% could relate to was to make the main character even further relatable in comparison. And also get some sort of eat the rich kind of satisfaction from the demise of that character. In a way, you could understand it. No one should hold that much wealth in their hands without trying to make the world around them better, but that was exactly what your family was trying to do with the sanctuary.
What your father was trying to do with his trips around the world, showing through scientific papers and interviews that hybrids should have as much of a right to live and freedom as humans did. They were good people, loving people.
At least you were the only one that died from that family in the game, or, well, the character you had now become.
“We had never gotten such a bad storm before.” your grandmother commented with a soft sigh. You were seated at the table, the wide open kitchen plan flanked by windows that gave away to part of the sanctuary grounds. A couple of hybrids were strolling through the paths, waves being given when either your or your grandparent’s attention was caught.
A nod of agreement from your grandfather. “A couple of the houses have taken a lot of damage, and a couple of our electric posts were struck by lightening, which has cut electricity to a part of the sanctuary.”
“Has anyone come here to check on it yet?” you asked with a hum, drinking from the tea and almost burning yourself, not knowing how your grandparents could easily sip from something that was almost the same temperature as lava. Was it some sort of characteristic that you would earn with age? Some old person thing that everyone got once they got through a certain threshold?
“Yes, thankfully we could have someone here right the next day, but they say that the repairs will take more than expected due to how extensive the damages are.” a soft sigh from your grandmother. “They didn’t even budge when we offered to pay them double.”
Oh, the damages should be pretty bad if the idea of double the money hadn’t even made the company budge. And it wasn’t like they could hire a better company, her grandparents never spared any expense when it came to the sanctuary - or anything, really.
Her grandmother continued, “We have a couple of scattered generators around the property, but they were always meant to be for emergencies, not for continued use.” a sip from her tea. “This is an emergency, but I worry that it will not be enough to sustain constant use for everyone. The packs and groups will be fine, they can share resources, but I’m worried for the few that live alone.”
“Is there many of them?” there were a lot of hybrids in the property. You still weren’t aware of just how big the estate was, but you knew it was gigantic. It was the biggest sanctuary in the country, and probably the continent, with interwoven habitats that could hold all kind of hybrids.
It was a marvel of engineering and technology, the best money could buy to make every single hybrid that ended up inside its doors have all they could need. There were smaller homes for those that preferred to live a lone life, and then bigger ones for packs, many of those were fit to certain types of hybrids and their needs. Like how fish hybrids needed some kind of water source and wild beast hybrids preferred to have large areas to roam through.
You didn’t think that the love interests of the game were part of any packs, so that meant that if it was just a handful… then you would have the five men that you had to avoid altogether. Cold sweat broke on the back of your neck, and you tried to keep your hands from shaking in anxiety, deciding that putting the cup of tea down was the best thing you could do.
Finally, your grandmother answered “Around thirty-six hybrids.” you had to blink at that, because when had thirty become a few? That was more than a few. That was more than a whole building of people if they didn’t share a flat! But what were you expecting when there were more than one fifty hybrids living on the grounds? It did put you in a strange sort of stasis, didn’t it? With that many lone hybrids, it meant that you could not know for certain who were the love interests. One in seven… those were the odds, and not in your favor, sadly.
Not being faced with certainty was as relieving as it was anxiety inducing. In a way being faced so suddenly with the people that could lead to your demise did put a damper on things, but now that you were certain you still wouldn’t be sure who they were… It did allow your muscles to loosen.
Another sip from her mug before she continued, “We’re trying to find people to take them over during that month, that way we can focus our resources on the places that truly need it.” That sounded like the best solution for the problem, divide the solo hybrids so that they could be taken care of and keep the quality of life that they were used to. It was one of the main reasons that most hybrids that found themselves on the sanctuary chose not to leave, the other being that the only way they could return to society would be as pets.
Even if there were people that would take the mantle of owners without indulging in the power imbalance that could be imposed, it didn’t mean that their pride and agency wouldn’t be hurt by it all. It was just easier to be in a place that provided for them, gave them a safe space where they could feel like beings and not property. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t even near good enough, but it was more humane than being slapped in the face with the fact that just because they had animal DNA woven into their human one, that they would never be considered rational enough to make their own decisions.
“How is it going?” it was more of an afterthought sort of question, said in soft sighed breath as you took a sip of your own tea.
Your grandfather was the one who answered.
“Most of them have been sent to foster homes without much complaint.” he rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “The last eleven hybrids left have really given us trouble, though. And I don’t think one of the others we’ve sent to the temporary homes is adapting well, Gary has been complaining nonstop about how fussy he is, like he’s expecting to be worshiped now that he is in a solo home.” a tired sigh. “So we’re trying to find another home for that one, as well.”
You winced in sympathy, knowing how hard it must be for both handlers and hybrids to have to adapt to sudden changes like that one.
Your grandmother suddenly straightened on her chair, her thinned lips tilting into an expectant smile that had your heart beating faster. The look in her eyes was the same one that you say many times on Ami, that one she got when she was about to ask you something very difficult that she was highly aware you could do. Something that she was also highly aware of that you would be very reticent to actually take on. You hated that look. Hated even more that the guilt that ate you from the inside out would probably weigh as heavily as your love for your best friend did.
You had never been able to say no to Ami, you doubted you would find it in yourself to say no to your grandmother either. Heck, you’ve been calling her your grandmother in your head for a while now.
“You’ve been all alone in your house all this time, haven’t you, dear?” her voice was soft, warm, with that stickiness that came from being too sweet. That mellowness that everyone held into their tones when they wanted to ask you for something.
“Yes.” the stickiness made you drag that simple word, eyes narrowing as you tried to shield yourself against it.
“And it’s a really large house, is it not?” your grandfather was trying to hide a smile behind a sip of tea, you sent him a betrayed look at his continued silence.
“Yes.” very large. Way too big for just one person to live inside, but that didn’t mean that you wanted to divide it with anyone, let alone a hybrid that could very well be one of the five that would send you to your death.
“And it has quite a few accommodations for hybrids, right?”
You had known where this was going since that look had passed through her eyes, but it still made you pause, still made your heart clench at the fact that… “Yes, it has.” accommodations that you had not touched or done anything with. because you thought you would never use them. Because you thought that they were there because of your parents - which was probably true but also not something you had even considered much.
Because you were not used to hybrids, to having a being that was half human and half wild, with needs that you certainly could not meet because it felt weird. And also because you weren’t sure if you would be staying forever, either by returning to your real world or by failing to stay clear of either the main character or the love interests’ ways. Why get used to a world that was not your own and might not even be for that long of a while?
“Yes, but…” your grandmother was quick to continue before you could get a word in about how so not ready you were to host anyone, let alone a hybrid for a whole month.
“They’re fully self sufficient, you know we try our best to make sure the hybrids learn all they have to be able to live as their own beings.” her hands quickly reached for yours, taking them and giving a squeeze that felt comforting and emotionally manipulating at the same time.
“I know, but…” once again you were stopped, a squeeze of your hands, eyes the same color as yours widening that fraction that gave them the pitying puppy look. The one that made your resolve crumble like it wasn’t even there in the first place.
“We would never ask you something that you could not handle, right, my love?” your grandfather shot up to straighten his posture on his chair, obviously not having expected to be called upon as another layer of manipulation.
But he was a true champ, nodding his head like it had been their plan for the very beginning. Maybe it had been, at least from your grandmother. “Your grandma is right, dear. I’m certain that whoever we send your way will do their utmost best to be a gracious guest.”
Wasn’t the host the one who was supposed to be gracious? Bend over backwards to the guest? Especially when one didn’t know what kind of background it would entail. Some of the hybrids had simply come from shelters when they had become too old to be easily adopted, while others… Hybrid trafficking, illegal fighting rings, hybrid experimentation. There had been too many horror stories mixed with the tame ones, sometimes, they even came in higher quantities than anyone would like.
Your bleeding heart won over your hesitancy.
“I guess I can think of it as having a roommate.” it was said slowly, softly in a way that felt forced in that whole voluntary way. You had been coaxed and wore down, but ultimately, it was your own choice and no one’s else.
A calculating gaze. “Roommates.” her grandmother had the good sense to look sheepish. “We were hoping you would take in the remaining ones.”
Oh, it had so been a planned attack from the beginning! Conniving old people your grandparents were. You wanted to have given those words the negative connotation they deserved, but instead, they had that fondness you could never keep out of thoughts about them. Even when you should.
“I can’t handle so many hybrids!” before your grandmother could get a word in and find a way to twist your conscience into accepting, you followed through. “The house is big, but not big enough for that many. You said they were lone hybrids, right?” an unwilling nod from her grandmother, short and slow but there. “I only have five spare rooms at the home, they certainly wouldn’t be alright with bunking with each other, and there are no houses on the property like there are here.” a smile was given. “Building a few would take too long, longer than you finding them somewhere to stay at.”
Your grandmother pressed her lips together before the smile was back. “Five spare rooms, eh?”
In your haste to defend yourself against taking in twelve hybrids, you might have just given her a tangible, still large number to work with. Your nod was a copy of hers, as slow and short, as if it was dragged out of you. Which it was.
“So you’ll take five of them, right?” it was your grandfather that spoke now, perking up with an equally hopeful look as your grandmother was sporting. “I think Louis built a pond there last year, so you’re the only house that can safely handle Rafayel too.”
You didn’t know who Rafayel was, but you still nodded numbly. This had been a targeted attack, well-strategized and so insidious in its implementation that you could have not prepared for it. It still made you anxious that you didn’t know how the game went, even if you were aware that this was all happening before the official start of it. The main character hadn’t been part of the list of volunteers you had peeked at when you first found out where you were. If this was an event that would prelude the start of everything, then that meant that the chances that the five roommates you had been unwillfully subjected to were the yandere love interests was low, right?
Your defeated sigh made matching winning grins appear on your grandparents’ faces, eliciting a pout from you.
“Yeah, I’ll take them in.”
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Somehow you hadn’t though just how much paperwork you would have to go through to take in the five hybrids, especially when it was just a very temporary measure. You thought that you would just go to the grocery store to set some supply delieveries fit for their species and then go to a hybrid supply store to get some of the more specific supplies and that would be it, instead there were pamphlets about instructions and more than a few forms that you had to sign.
“Dangerous species waiver?” you looked up from the very legally binding looking document to your grandmother, feeling that you should have not accepted to take in the hybrids for what felt like the ninetieth time in the past thirty minutes.
“For Sylus and Zayne.” she nodded at the two folders on top of the five that you had been given - details about preferences for food, blood works, too much information that you felt was too private for someone who would stay with them for just a month to know. “Zayne is actually very mellow and will give you no issues, but because he’s a Snowy Owl and classified as a bird of prey you do have to sign a waiver.”
You trusted your grandmother’s words, even if she had swindled you into doing this in the first place, she never would give you the wrong information about a hybrid. “Does that mean Sylus is difficult.”
A shake of her head. “Not at all, he mostly keeps to himself. He’s been a… recent addition to the sanctuary, and though there has not been any behavioral issues yet, we have been careful.”
Your heart clenched, not in worry for yourself, but because you knew what it meant for them to be worried about it. “That bad?”
“Just… He came from a police raid to an illegal fighting ring. We are worried he might have not just been used for that.” another painful clenching of your heart, compassion making you ache for the hybrid you had yet to meet. “He’s been here for about three months? He’s distrustful and careful around everyone but not violent. Legally any hybrids of wild animals have to be held under the waiver, it’s a precaution.”
It was obvious it wasn’t one that she agreed with, and neither did you. Just because they had their DNA mixed with dangerous animals didn’t mean that they were dangerous themselves. There was still human DNA in their bodies, wasn’t there? And besides the fact that they could turn into animals ( and in some rare cases half turn ) or had animal characteristics, was there anything that told people they didn’t have rational reasoning? Nothing but their prejudice, that was for sure.
“If it’s needed.” you would prefer not to sign it, but after some hesitation that was there more so you remembered to sign the correct last name, you did put pen to paper.
The rest of the forms were more perfunctory than anything else, there because they needed to give you guardianship of the five hybrids so they wouldn’t think you had taken them in illegally. Your grandmother took the papers as soon as you were done, half because she didn’t want you to back out and half because the quicker they were processed, the quicker they would be able to be sent to your home.
Left alone at the office, you brought your arms above your head to stretch, trying to get your muscles to relax. The game would not allow you to interact positively with the love interests, right? Or even be put on a situation that would give them any sort of positive feelings towards you… At least that was what you were expecting. You didn’t know every detail of the plot, or more than the overarching narrative. Leaning forward, you picked up the folders with their information, opening them and laying them down on the table so you could have a general picture of them.
The folders had recent pictures, the more sensitive information hidden in the middle of the files, leaving just an overall profile on the front page alongside the photos.
They had all been blessed by the genetic gods. That was the first thought that had gone through your mind at the array of photos. You had seen more than a couple of hybrids before, and they had all been attractive, obviously there had been some breeding for the best characteristics, another blatant clue to how humans had thought of them for decades if not centuries. But this? This was like you were staring at people that could have made bank if they had been models or pursued anything related to the performing arts.
Sharp jawlines, aquiline noses, plus lips. There were differences but the symmetry of the features was almost uncanny in its perfection, had they actually been animals, they would have been pedigree pets. Bred for excellency.
A quick perusal of the profiles gave you an idea of their heights and their sizes, would you need to get them new clothes? Some like Zayne had been at the sanctuary for years now, he would certainly already have a wardrobe, right?
Ah, this was giving you more of a headache than you had first thought it would. Giving up on the profiles, you closed the folders, but before you put them on your purse, you remembered to check a detail you had missed - their species.
You already knew that Zayne was a Snowy Owl and that Sylus was some sort of wild animal due to the waivers you had to sign, but you had never gotten the actual species. Plus, you would have to deal with prey and predator instincts if they were mixed species. Which they must be having into account that they weren’t part of packs.
Sylus was a tiger, which made more than enough sense why they would want that waiver to be signed. The Rafayel your grandfather had been mentioning was a betta fish, there had been a note on the corner done in red ink that just said ‘fussy’, the other two were also animals that people would usually keep as pets - a bunny named Xavier and a dog named Caleb. Both of their files also had a penned note, this one in blue ink, almost an afterthought ‘large for their species!’.
Size would not be an issue. Space was something that you weren’t missing, and even if you only had five spare rooms at your home, they were more than big enough to accommodate the hybrids out of their animal forms. And the grounds, though not even comparable in size to the sanctuary, were still large enough for the five of them. It wasn’t the conditions of the home that you were worried about, it was how they would take to sharing such close quarters with one another and with you.
You were strangers, and if moving in with friends or lovers was already awkward and complicated enough, it would be even worse for you. A soft sigh as you kept thinking about all the worries you had, all the anxiety that kept swirling around in your gut. It was bad that you had to keep reminding yourself to be calm, to relax. It didn’t bode well for the next month, but you would do your very best to make sure their time with you was good.
And then you could keep avoiding the main character when she came to volunteer when summer started and her dangerous love interests.
Yes, you decided as you finally put the folders on your purse and left the office to meet with your grandmother to settle the particulars of it all, it was a month and then no more active dealings with the sanctuary.