Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter Text
Heavy footsteps broke the soft silence that reigned the gloomy night streets of Yokohama. It was a somber night, the sky filled with clouds and dark heavy smoke. There were two pairs of footsteps, one was heavy, fast and panicked, the other soft, light and purposeful. The footsteps arrived at a small forest, known to be mysterious and usually warned to not be entered. The forest was dark, filled with shadow at that ungodly hour.
Atsushi’s dark grey boots left strong marks in the forest ground, making the shadow that followed him find him faster. He didn't even see where he was going, that didn't matter, he was being hunted down, and he had to survive.
He kept panting as he ran, he had already used his Beast Beneath the Moonlight ability, making him powerless. He went deeper into the forest, feeling his legs already starting to give out.
Suddenly he felt himself fall face first onto the muddy ground, his ankle hurting. He sat up, realizing he had tripped on a branch that had fallen. His eyes widened as he saw the dark monster heading with rapid pace toward him. He quickly got up, ignoring the aching ankle and kept running, running as fast as he could.
His mission had failed, failed miserably. He had been ordered by Fukuzawa to infiltrate one of the Port Mafia’s storehouses, planning to investigate the death threat Boss had received from there. His ability had failed him when he was taking down Akutagawa and now the mafia’s most dangerous member was hunting him down, hatred in his emotionless eyes.
He continued running, the dry leaved and branches cracking underneath this path. He suddenly stopped on his tracks when he arrived at a strange part of the forest, one that he had never been to. It had a denser atmosphere, bigger trees, darker bushed, foggier air. He stopped running, curiosity getting the best of him.
He walked a bit more, until he arrived at a small dark wooden gate surrounded by somber bushes and dark talk thick trees.
Akutagawa was following his tracks, his anger growing by the minute. His monster went in front of him, guiding him towards the orphan. The tree branches broke as the monster passed by them, its fury destroying everything in its path.
He ran through dense paths, running through thick clumps of densely leafed trees. He slowed down when he spotted Atsushi, back to him, crouched down behind some bushes, looking at something. Something inside him told him to stop and he obeyed his instincts. He softly made his way to the young man, opting to remain silent.
Atsushi felt a presence behind him; he slowly turned around to face Akutagawa. He saw the hatred in Aku’s eyes had vanished, replaced by calm and a small, small sense of curiosity, making his fear for him disappear.
-This place is weird – He pulled at Aku’s sleeve, signaling him to crouch down. - Look – He pointed at the small wooden gate he had been observing from the distance.
Akutagawa crouched next to him and observed in silence. He saw a strange and unusual creature, which looked like it was made of multiple versions of the same cake, with stripes of colors. Aku and Atsushi looked at each other confused. What was that creature?
Atsushi wanted to keep exploring, it was a new area and maybe the ADA would be proud of him for investigate such strange place. He grabbed the dark head and dragged him out of the bushes, making their way to the other side of the gate. But instead of passing by the gate and risking encountering that weird species, they went by the bushes that served as a natural barrier between what was on either side of the wood gate.
Atsushi grunted trying to pass through the bushes – Damn, Akutagawa, help- Help me get to the other side – Looking desperately at the man who passed through the bushes effortlessly.
-Get up instead of being a useless fool – Aku harshly glared at him, his eyes remaining cold as he watched the man tiger struggle from the other side.
The blond continued to struggle, the bush branches kept getting stuck to his clothes, ripping some pieces of fabric off. His eyes darted around, trying to find an escape, while being under the strict gaze of Akutagawa. He lunged forward, forcefully grabbing onto a thick dark tree branch and managed to pull himself out of the mess he had gotten himself into.
He panted, bent over, trying to catch his breath. Aku looked at him disapprovingly for a moment, before looking away.
-There is a house here – He said, his voice monotoned as usual.
The man tiger looked up, seeing the medium sized wooden cabin in the darkness, being only lighted by the small warm lights on its side. They approached the house, going around it till they found the door. They looked around to find three more cabins, all of them way smaller than the one they had first spotted.
Akutagawa looked at the tiger man, his gaze firm, a signal they had that meant it was time for them to split up and investigate different areas. Atsushi understood the assignment, nodded and ran to one of the houses, intending to search it.
The dark head watched him as he vanished into one of the houses, he kept looking at him until the man disappeared completely. He finally sighed and ran to the lake he had seen. The waters were calm, too calm, way too calm for Aku’s taste. He looked away from the lake and focused on the dock that was in front of him. It looked used, but at the same time, it looked it was painted to look used. It didn’t feel used.
He kneeled, softly brushing the tip of his finger on the wooden floor of the dock. As he suspected, it wasn’t used at all. All the small cracks that might indicated usage were fake, painted. The wood felt new, like if it was built yesterday. But why would someone fake usage of a dock?
He walked a bit forward, crouched in front of one the short wooden pillars that went down to touch the bottom of the lake, supporting the dock. He touched it side gently, brushing it with his thin pale fingers. He tilted his head, even the rough dents that should have been made by tying ropes around the pillar were fake, delicately painted to look real.
He frowned and got up, finding all of this very unsettling. He continued walking around, making rounds around the main house, trying to figure out what was going on in his place.
You want Dazai to notice you, don’t you?
Akutagawa tensed up, startled by the sudden question. He quickly turned around – Who’s there?!? – He shouted, expecting a response.
No answer.
Suddenly the sky started to switch colors, going from dark blue natural night sky to red and black, forming weird patterns and shadows. Aku stared at the sky, his eyes widening confused, and slow sense of dread starting to invade him.
He didn't back down, he asked one more time – Who’s there?! Show yourself!! – But there was still no answer. He got irritated by the lack of response.
-Rashmōnon!! – He activated his ability, long sharp blades flew from his overcoat, cutting through the nearby leaves and making dents into the wooden cabin outside wall. It cut through everything possible. After they retracted back to his coat, he inspected his surroundings, expecting to see a death corpse, anything where that voice would have come from, but no, there was nothing, no blood.
I could give you his praise…you know?
He immediately looked behind himself, trying to spot who was talking to him. – Who are you?! Reveal yourself! Now! – He barked, his eyes darting around with sharpness.
I am who you want me to be~ I could be anything you want, I could give you everything you want
Akutagawa felt a cold hand on his shoulder, he flinched and backed away – I want you to show yourself, that’s what I want
The voice giggled softly, distorting the space around them.
I could, but what would be the fun in that? We could play a game, a fun game, how does that sound?
Akutagawa hissed, anger and irritation present in his voice – I don’t play games
Okay, that’s perfectly fine, but if you were interested to play, I would gladly offer you what you want the most~
Akutagawa tensed up, turning his head to where he thought the voice came from – How can I trust you?
The voice laughed gently, He tone suddenly switched, and Dazai’s voice started echoing in the dark head’s head, a perfect uncanny mimic of the bandaged man’s voice.
Akutagawa-kun…
Akutagawa’s eyes widened, was it Dazai?! He looked intensely at where he thought the voice came from, suddenly a feeling of joy he had never felt washed over him. A soft hand turned his head to the side, where was standing Dazai, but something was wrong about him, his eyes were wider, his mouth was stretched wide, his bandages were bloodied, and his body was distorted in a weird way.he had an arm slightly longer than the other, his waist wasn’t curved symmetricaly, but curved in a way that made the left side of his waist nearly completely straight. His gaze was souless, completely deprived of emotion. He wasn’t breathing, his chest frozen in place. The creature looked down at Akutagawa and smiled, his smile seeming genuine, even though terrifying as his mouth streched even furthermore.
Akutagawa’s eyes went wide, happiness feeling his whole body. He ran towards Dazai, hugging him tightly, waiting to hear the end of that phrase.
I am…
Aku continued hugging the brunette, desperately shaking, waiting for him to finish what he was saying, waiting to hear those words
Prou-
Suddenly Dazai vanished into thin air, making Aku fall to the ground, still hugging tightly the space where Dazai should have been, but it was just air now, smoky and foggy hair.
The voice chuckled, taking back his usual tone
Oh well, not so fast, you must play the game to win it~ How fool of you to think I’d give you this before u played the game The voice laughed a distorted chuckle.
Akutagawa stayed where he was hugging the space where Dazai had been, tears rolling down his face. His eyes wide and pale, never moving an inch.
Aku felt again a cold hand on his shoulder, but this time, he didn't flinch or try to escape it, he accepted it.
-What is the game? – He asked gently, his voice barely above a whisper
I’ll tell you when it starts, but for now, enjoy the remaining time before your first ever round~
The voice disappeared, leaving an echo behind. Aku tried to get up, but started feeling his legs slipping, his vision blurring, the world around him spinning, and he finally collapsed on the floor, everything going dark.
The last thing he heard was the gut-wrenching scream made by Atsushi.
-•-
Meanwhile…
Atsushi entered the first cabin of the three small ones, counting from the wooden gate. The cabin had a small bed with white bedsheets and pillow in the corner opposite of the door with a small wooden bedside table with a lamp on it that worked as the only warm light source to illuminate the cabin.
On the side, he spotted a woman wearing a dark brown trench coat over a grey shirt with a dark grey blueish tie. She wore jeans the same color as the tie. Over her head she wore a somber grey fedora. She was pale, deathly pale.
The man tiger approached her, gently tapping on her shoulder, trying not to startle her
-Hey, I’m sorry to disturb you, but can you tell me what is this place? – Asked politely as the woman slowly turned towards him.
-Oh hey – She smiled at him – It seems you’ve caught me during my investigation.
Atsushi wanted to ask her again what his place was, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the only words he could say were – Your what now? – Any other attempt for him to say anything else were vain, he couldn’t say what he wanted.
-You see this painting? I’m examining it right now – she continued, answering his forced question. – Something’s really off about it… but I can't really confirm or deny anything yet… It's kind of confusing. I might need some more research time to put all of these cues together if I wanna be able to solve the mystery here.
Atsushi looked at her weirdly, he wanted answers about this place, but this woman wasn’t helping. He tried to press on his question again.
-Okay but do you know what is going on in his place? – he tried to get her attention again.
-Looking into this… - Answered monotone, he expression never changing.
He got really confused, what did she mean?
-Uhm, what do you mean?
-Looking into this… - Her tone never changed, keeping that weird face. She looked focused on what she was investigating, but at the same time looked out of it.
Atsushi got frightened by this and decided to leave the cabin. He spotted Aku inspecting the dock, he wanted to go tell him what he saw, but he decided to wait a bit longer. He walked over to the main cabin, the dry leaves breaking under his footsteps. He got up the short wooden stairs that led to the short patio in front of the house. Before entering in the house, he spotted something that made him stop in his tracks.
It was a man, about his height, leaning on the wall to his left, a blank expression on his face. Atsushi stood there a bit. Should he ask him? He finally made his mind and walked over to the man, addressing him with a smile.
-Hey, excuse me, sorry for bothering you but do you know what’s going on in this place? – He asked, still hopeful of someone helping him understand this place.
The man turned to him, he was pale, like milk pale. He had combed styled black hair and wore a full black suit with a white button up shirt and a black tie. The warm yellow light casted Atsushi’s shadow onto the man, showing just how pale he actually was, while the parts of his skin that were bathing in the warm light looked a lot less pale, more normal, with more color, healthier.
-… - The man kept silently staring at him, no words coming out of his mouth. Atsushi stared back at him, waiting for an answer, but it never came. He knew the man had heard him, he had turned to him when he spoke, looking in his eyes. Maybe he wasn't able to speak or deaf. He waited a bit more, seeing if, the man would give him any hint that he had a hearing or and speak disability, but no, the man just kept staring at him, cold in his eyes.
Atsushi sighed and decided not to waste time. He politely said goodbye to the man and turned around, readying himself to enter the main cabin.
As he turned around, the world started getting darker. He got confused. Hm? He looked up at the sky and froze, it was turning red and black, forming weird shape and patterns. He frantically looked around, the world was slowly starting to distort itself, it looked Atsushi was looking at the scenery around him through those weird mirrors that distorted everything.
The ADA, is that where you’re from?
Atsushi tensed up at the voice, he looked around again, trying to spot who was speaking. For a second he thought it was the dude from earlier who had decided to speak now, but no, He was still there, looking at nothing, leaning against the wall in a tired way.
-Who…who’s speaking? – Asked gently he, still looking around carefully
Someone~ someone who wants to play a game with you~
Atsushi looked at where he thought the voice came from – A game? – He transformed his left hand into a white tiger paw, ready to attack if needed.
Yes, a game, my game
Atsushi looked up, believing the voice came from the unsettling casino colors sky. – And what if I told you I don't want to play your game?! – He shouted at the sky, glaring at it intensely.
Then I trap you here…forever…until you play~
The man tiger gasped, he didn't need to think twice. He was gonna get Akutagawa and leave with him from this disturbing place. He prepared himself mentally, and started running, running towards where he thought Aku was. Before he could get far, he hit an invisible wall. He tried contouring it but there was no way to. He could feel the texture and the shape of the wall, it felt like a hand, a giant invisible hand blocking his way.
He could hear the angry “rashmōnon” shout from Akutagawa in the distance
He ran the other direction but was also stopped by the hands. There was no way out. He lunged his tiger arm towards the hand, ready to tear it apart using his tiger claws. He smiled, slightly, he had cut the hands, He took a step back to build momentum and ran to where he was heading, out of this place.
To his dismay and surprise, the hands blocked him once again – How is this possible?! I cut through them!! – He shouted to the air, looking at his paws. He lunged his tiger arm again, but no result. The hands stayed intact, trapping him.
I see your kitten paws aren't working? Well, you know what this means. Play or Stay
Atsushi refused to give in, even if it meant staying there forever – I refuse, I refuse to let you play me. I’m staying here, even if you torture me, I wouldn’t budge. – He tried to sound confident, appear like if he knew what he was doing, but the voice knew, the voice knew.
Oh, I won’t torture you, don't worry
I’ll torture the ADA~
Before the white tiger could even react, the world around him started to distort even more, trees curving, clouds forming disturbing shapes, and more. But what caught Atsushi's attention wasn't that, it was the ADA building, it looked so real, so in reach.
Flames started rising from the window, the edifice started to crumble, pieces falling to the ground, smashing pedestrians passing by. The hallucination zoomed on the inside of the building. Fukuzawa, getting his organs ripped out of his chest, still conscious, by an invisible entity. Blood on the floor, flames burning Dazai’s face, the fire spreading to his bandages, burning him alive. He saw Yosano try to save him, pouring a bucket of water over him to alleviate his pain. A piece of concrete fell on top on her, making her fall and the fire spread from Dazai to her hair.
Kyōka, trying her best to defend herself and the others, using Demon Snow to break the huge chunks of the roof that were falling onto them. Ranpo looked around, his eyes calculating the best escape exits. He tried to get the other members to follow him to safety, but they were already broken, burned, tore apart. Kunidika was the only one he managed to reach. As they exited the flaming building, something that no one, not even the great detective could have ever predicted.
A huge invisible wall prevented them from exiting the building. They tried everything, pushing, kicking but nothing worked. The poet even tried using his book and summoned a small sized ax to break through the wall. He tried and tried but it was useless, the wall stayed intact. Kunikida desperately tried to escape, trying everything to break the wall, tears forming in his eyes. Suddenly a huge chunk of the floor above them started falling. Kunikida pushed Ranpo out of the way, but his efforts were ineffective, the chunk was too wide, and it crushed the two of them, their blood splattering everywhere.
Atsushi fell to the ground, staring at the scene, his eyes stretched out, his pupils shrunk. With all the emotions in his body he let out a heart wrenching scream, a scream coming from the dips of hell. He didn't realize how loud he was, and even if he didn't care. His whole body was shaking inconsolably as he watched the scene play, not wanting to believe this eyes. That wasn’t real, he kept trying to console himself, repeating the same phrase again and again “The ADA is safe, this is fake, don’t believe this”. But the more he looked at the hallucination, more it felt real. He could see every detail, he could see the members’ skin texture, he could see the even the smallest debris in the air, he could perfectly see the veins wrapping around Fukusawa’s exposed organs, he could even see the small knots in what remained of Dazai’s hair, the knots he always forgot to brush. The scene was unrealistic real. He didn't want to believe it, the hallucination was more than real looking, more than enough to fool any human’s brain.
-WHY DOES IT LOOK REAL? THIS ISN’T REAL – He shouted in the mix of his scream, tears falling on the dirt.
It may become reality; it's in your hands~
-FINE, I’LL PLAY YOUR STUPID GAME – he shouted towards the voice, his own cracking.
The voice chuckled and disappeared, leaving a broken tiger on the floor, still bawling his eyes out. Atsushi felt his arms and legs give out.
-hm? – He started getting dizzy as he caught a glimpse of the sky turning dark again, the world becoming “normal” again. He didn't get much time to enjoy the normality of the scenery again, he blacked out, falling sideways onto the floor.
Chapter 2: Round One
Summary:
The first round beggins
Chapter Text
1
2
3
…
Atsushi slowly opened his eyes. The world around him was still blurry as his eyes adapted to this new environment. He was laying back down, over the cement ground. He started at the dark sky, dearth of stars, just infinite darkness. He looked up, over his bead was a timer labeled as “Round ends in”, decreasing each second.
3:46
3:45
3:44
He slowly got up, using a nearby tree as help. The tree had grey, white leaves, one of them falling onto the ground. He stumbled a bit forward, scratching his head. As his hand touched his head, his eyes caught something wrapped around his wrists. He looked at it closer, realizing it was a watch. It was all black, with a small black button in the middle. Without his better judgment, Atsushi decided to press it, curious of what would happen.
At the touch, a small UI hologram appeared in front of his hand. Inside the UI were three white, coffee-stained colored circles, icons, with small black graphics inside. The first one had represented a paw with claws and was labeled “Beastly Claws”. The second one had a tiger face inside a box graphed, labeled “Armored Behemoth”. The last one had a flash disguised as a scar, assumed to be made by a tiger claw, painted one it and was named “Rush Charge”
He gently tapped the Rush Charge icon, his curiosity still getting the best of him. On his vision, on the right side of his vision, he saw a small text box, with “Speed II” and a count down starting at 6 seconds. He immediately understood what that meant. He ran a bit around in circles, testing this ability. He felt the soft breeze pass though his face, as he ran.
He suddenly found himself in front of an immense one floor red building. He stood in front of the building’s entrance. It was a rather big entrance, disguised as a mouth with medium sized, identical triangle shaped pieces of fabric hanging from over the entrance, serving as sharp teeth for the mouth. On top of those “teeth” were two black eyes, staring into nothingness.
Atsushi stared at them for a moment. Should I enter? Asked Atushi to himself, never taking his eyes from the entrance. He sighed and finally decided to enter. The floor was a light shade of grey, stained with brownish and yellowish tones. One of those stains got his gaze. He kneeled down gently touching it with his delicate fingers. The stain red, reeking with the familiar metallic smell of new and fresh blood. Atsushi raised an eyebrow at the smell. He gently touched again the stain, this time smearing a bit of the liquid stain onto his finger. He took the finger to his nose, getting a better sense of the smell, confirming it was blood. The stain had a crimson color, but it had a slight bright to it, suggesting it was recent. Atsushi got up, and headed even more inside the building, avoiding walking over the stains in risk he would leave a trail behind.
He passed a corner and stopped on his tracks. A crouched figure had his back turned to him, visibly working on some sort of strange box like machine with its cables visible. The figure was pale with black scene hair, black fingerless gloves, a black shirt and grey cargo pants. They had a thin black tail with plain white spikes. On top of his head, he had a white spiked hallo, gracefully floating, moving gently with each movement he made. Atsushi watched the figure meticulously work on their machine. He watched him cut and put wires together; carefully fixing the strange machine.
Atsushi didn’t move, he just stared at them, not knowing what to do. The person hummed a soft tune as they worked on the object, completely oblivious to the weretiger’s presence.
After a little while, the figure finally finished their work and got up, slightly grunting. They brushed a bit of dust off their clothes and softly turned around; facing Atushi who was still looking at them.
Atsushi blushed and covered his face
-I-I’m sorry, I- I didn’t mean to stare…oh god this is so embarrassing – He quickly tried to apologize, slightly stumbling a bit backwards.
The figure chuckled and quickly caught him, stabilizing him – No worries, it’s fine
They looked at him up and down, their usual smile on their face. – You’re new here, aren’t you? I’ve never seen you before.
Atsushi nodded – Yeah.
-I’m Two time – They extended their hand towards him, probably waiting for him to shake it. – Nice to meet you.
Atsushi smiled at a shy smile, small droplets of sweat slowly dripping from his forehead, as he shook their hand. – Nice to meet you too, t-two time. I’m Atushi.
Atsushi looked down, his gaze falling over a small tear in Time's cargo pants, its edges were red, darker red than the one on the floor, but it was probably due to it being mixed with the darker fabric. He looked over at where they had been crouched over, noticing the small puddle of red liquid, the same shade as the stain on the floor previously.
Suddenly, Atsushi's ears perked up, he heard faint sound coming from the distance, it sounded familiar to him for some reason. The sound started getting stronger and louder. Two Time didn't seem to notice, him relax slightly. Maybe it was all in his mind, after all, this place was weird and psychologically manipulative. But the sound kept getting closer and closer, finally Atsushi recognized it, it was the song from the BSD opening 5.
The song kept getting louder, and closer. Two Time finally noticed sound, their eyes widening. – We gotta run – they shouted, their voice filled with alarm. But before they had time to flee, a gloomy black shadow jumped out of nowhere, the music getting more intense.
The shadow, stabbed Two Time, making them wince him pain, involuntarily grabbing their abdomen, blood dripping from the wound. The shadow turned to Atsushi, his eyes meeting his. The weretiger took a step back, his eyes wide with terror. The dark figure’s face was pale, contrasting with the rest of their attire and hair, his dark livid eyes glaring at the tiger. Atsushi took another step back, recognition flashing across this face. The shadow was Akutagawa. Before Atushi could react, Two Time grabbed him by the arm, dragging him away.
They ran away, their pace quick. Two Time looked behind, to their horror, Akutagawa was still behind them, leaving a dark misty trail behind him. They didn't know how to escape. They frantically looked around, trying find an exit. They suddenly had an idea. With a sharp wrist movement, they activate their holographic UI, checking the cooldown on Sacrificial Dagger. Three second. They had to survive three seconds before they could use their ability. Two time never let go of Atsushi’s hand, taking him inside building, leaving buildings, passing sharp corners, all in hopes it would make the killer lose them.
3
Two time took a sharp turn, entered a house with a table with a cake on top of it. They hid behind the table, putting their hand on top of his head to hide Atsushi better. The killer entered the room, his hollow eyes immediately darting to the two survivors hidden behind the table. Akutagawa prepared himself to hit them, taking his dark shadow sword. Just as he was about to stab them, Two Time quickly pulled Atsuhi with him, passing by the killer just as he was trying to slay them, making the monster miss his hit. They quickly exited the building by the same door they entered, both of them already panting, sweat rolling down their faces.
2
They continued, running, Two Times’s eyes darting around, hopping for help. They tried running into trees, missing them by centimeters in hopes it would confuse the killer or even wasted his time by making him hit the trees.
1
Two time checked again the cooldown, their eyes quickly switching from the UI to their surroundings and vice versa. Their grip on the weretiger’s hand was strong, never letting go. They looked behind one more time, seeing the killer’s hungry look, a hit of magenta red in his eyes.
0
Two time let go of the weretiger, pushing him forward. Atsushi stumbled a bit, almost falling. He froze for a second, then looked in the cultist’s eyes, understanding they wanted him to continue running. He ran, though always looking behind. Two Time swiftly passed by the killer, positioning himself behind him. They took out their white dagger, the blade shining, reflecting the soft moonlight. With a quick move, they planted the dagger into the killer’s back. They smirked, satisfied they had succeeded.
Unfortunately, to their horror, the killed turned to look at them, a slow creepy move. Akutagawa slowly took his hand from behind his back, showing he had grabbed the dagger with his bare pale hands, preventing it from stabbing him.
The cultist’s eye widened, terror filling them, realizing they had failed. Their smirk vanished, replaced by a slightly open mouth. The figure threw the dagger away, a soft smirk on his face.
Two time threw himself on the floor, trying to reach his dagger. Atsushi stood frozen, staring at the scene playing before his eyes. He quickly ran toward the cultist, trying to help him up. Two time looked at him as they got helped, his expression blank, probably due to the pain he had suffered. Akutagawa turned to them, flames in his eyes. Atsushi put himself in front Two Time.
The cultist looked at his, his eyes half closed and tired – W-What are you?! – He asked, his voice frail, before being interrupted by a gunshot
BANG
Akutagawa’s eyes widened as he fell onto his knees. His breathing got worse, more labored, his wide eyes staring at the cement ground. He couldn't seem to move. Atsushi looked where the gunshot had come from. Behind the killer, stood a tall young man, grey skin and hair. They wore a black unbuttoned suit with a black tie. On their messy hair was a black fedora and a pair of headphones on their ears. They wore black sunglasses hiding his eyes.
Two Time used this opportunity to flee, leaving a faint trail of blood behind
-Bingo! – They laughed, a cocky smirk on his grey face. They approached the were-tiger and held out a hand for him. – Lemme take you to somewhere safe.
As Atsushi took the young gambler’s hand, they pulled him up, letting out a small grunt – Damn, you’re heavy. – They quickly put a hand around his shoulder, supporting his weight.
They walked quickly in silence, getting further away from the stunt killer. – So, what’s your name? – The guy asked, still supporting him, trying to break the rather awkward silence.
-Atsushi – Replied the weretiger, looking at the ground. Before he could ask the guy’s name, they interrupted him – Nice name, I’m Chance, nice to meet ya.
- Nice to meet you too, Chance – He smiled shyly, trying to hide his face by keeping his head down.
Chance gently touched his wristwatch, opening his holographic UI. Their finger pressed against the Coin Flip ability button. Their other hand went searching through their pocket, visibly looking for something. They finally pulled out a small yellow coin, glowing in the moonlight. They brushed the coin with their fingers on the palm of their hand, then flipped it.
The coin landed on head with a soft metallic click. Chance smirked and flipped again. It landed on heads again, making the same metallic sound. They flipped it again and watched as the coin gently flew into the air. This time it landed on tails, making Chance’s face crumble slightly into an annoyed expression – tch, stupid coin. – They grumbled as they flipped the coin again. Finally, this time the coin landed again on head, making the cocky smirk get back on Chance’s face.
-Heh, finally – He chuckled to himself. A brown flintlock appeared in their hand. Chance grinned and played with it, making it twirl between their thin fingers. They nodded approvedly to the little yellow coin and put the gun in his pocket – Goood, got my flintlock ready to fire~
They arrived near a supposed exit. Atsushi eyes widened. There was an exit?!? There was a fucking exit to this weird world?!?! The entrance presented itself as a load of ivory tall and wide arcs, and in the middle, was a wide fallen rectangular dark grey green column, serving as a perfect hiding spot.
Atsushi was ecstatic. Finally, a way to leave this uncanny place. Before Chance could understand was going on, the weretiger, gripped their suit sleeve, dragging them with a sense of urgency to the “exit”.
-Damn it, Chance, c’mon we gotta flee – Atsushi grunted, noticing the obvious resistance from the gambler to run towards their escape. The tiger pulled harder as he looked desperately at Chance, begging him to escape with him. He pulled harder, his eyes filled with urgency. His gaze still fixed on the grey man, why wasn’t he moving??? Why wasn’t he trying to escape?! Atsushi asked himself, his expression filled with horror, scared that at any moment the killer would come and murder them before they had a chance to flee. – COME ON, CHANCE!!! HURRY THE KILLER MIGHT COME. – He shouted at the gambler, trying to make him understand how urgent this was. Still Chance didn’t react with the criticality the weretiger expected them to react.
As the weretiger pulled forcefully, Chance twisted their wrist, making Atsushi let go of his grip. He fell backwards on the exit floor with a thud. Atsushi looked in horror at the gambler, his eyes wide with shock. As he tried to get up, his fingers touched something that felt like a wall. He got confused and turned around. Strongly there was no wall behind him, only a pitch-black tunnel that he assumed was the exit. The weretiger got on his knees, turning his back to the gambler. He gently reached out inside the tunnel, slowly extending his hand. His hand hit something, a cold hard barrier. He got up, frantically trying to map out the object. To his demise, he realized the barrier filled the whole “exit”. He put the tip of his index finger in his mouth, getting it wet and softly brushed it against the barrier. As his finger passed, a bit of black pain fell off, revealing the concrete material behind it.
Atsushi stared at it, speechless. It wasn’t a real exit, just an old wall painted with cheap dollar store black paint to make it seem like an exit. - You could have told me it wasn’t an exit – He silently glared at Chance, who was still standing, looking down at him with a cocky smirk. - Eh, it was fun watching you discover it on your own. - The gambler smirked, putting a hand on his shoulder – You were so desperate it was funny. - They kept joking, teasing even more the poor tiger.
Behind the fallen concrete column, was Two time leaned against it, hidden from view. Behind them was an used open med kit, bandages on the ground next to them as they wrapped their knee, trying to stop the crimson liquid from staining even furthermore their pants. Next to them, was a man, also leaned against the column. He looked middle aged, probably around his 40s or 50s. His skin was pale, but not as pale at Two Time, with moderate amount of old age induced wrinkles. He had dark blue hair with a small beard. He seemed to have a constant frown, never seeming to crack a smile. He looked tired, a harsh old scar across his left cheek. His attire consisted of an officer service cap, shoulder pauldrons, all in navy dark blue, almost black, and a proper cape alongside other minute golden color details.
The man sighed, looking up from the ground as the two figures approached them. His face softened slightly, though never a smile. - Hey, Chance...who’s with you? - He asked, his voice slightly hoarse. Chance grinned, putting high fiving the old man – Hey old guy. Eh this is at...uh...at the...at the sushi? - The gambler blushed a bit, damn them for forgetting his name. They turned awkwardly to Atsushi who was standing next to him – Uh...what’s your name again? Sorry... - He asked nervously, trying to keep on a smirk
Atsushi smiled, finding the situation quite funny – Atsushi – He answered simply. Chance smiled back, still embarrassed to have forgotten his name. He turned to the war veteran and smirked, tilting his head towards the weretiger – What he said.
The old guy turned his gaze to the tiger and nodded. He extended his hand, expecting a handshake – I'm Guest 1337 – He said formally. Atsushi bowed slightly as he shook his hand. Guest’s hand firm and rough, his grip much stronger than the weretiger had predicted it would be.
Two Time grunted and got up. He saw the two new guys there, and smiled – Oh, you came here. This is a rather good hiding place. - He said, looking a bit around. Guest nodded, his voice gruff – Yeah, I must admit, as long as it's not LMS, it's a good hiding spot.
The cultist scratched his head – Shit, I forgot to do Ritual. - they mumbled to himself as he looked around for a place. They walked a bit more to the left of the group, to a very hidden corner. They threw themselves on the floor, falling on their knees. Their hand reached out to their back, dragging out of their pocket a dagger, the same dagger they had used to try to backstab Akutagawa. They held it over their head with their two hands, the dagger shining in the soft moonlight that illuminated the area. They then processed to violently stabbing the ground repeatedly, with more strength each time.
Atsushi looked at them kinda confused. He gently touched Chance on the shoulder with his finger, trying to get their attention – What is he doing? - He asked, his voice low. The gambler chuckled and answered – They’re doin’ their Ritual thingy, the thing that gives them a second life.
The weretiger looked at them confused – Them? - Chance smirked – Yeah, them, they are non-binary – They explained – Like me – Atsushi blushed hard, he got so embarrassed he got both of their pronouns wrong. He looked down, trying to hide the redness that creeped its way to his face. - Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn’t know – He started to apologize before being interrupted by Chance again – Eh, don’t worry, its fine. Old man here took months to adjust to our pronouns – He elbowed 1337 who was visibly annoyed by them. He rolled his eyes – These youngsters and their pronouns... - He mumbled to himself. Chance laughed and elbowed him harder – C'mon, don’t lie, they/them pronouns fit me so well~ - They smirked and flexed slightly the minimal muscle mass they had on their thin frame. - Not going to comment – Guest sighed, getting second degree embarrassment from them. He looked away, trying to avoid the conversation.
Suddenly, a figure approached them, hiding behind the column with them – Sup, guys – The person said between gaps to catch his breath. Chance and Two Time turned to the figure and burst out laughing, the gambler had to cover his mouth to try to contain his laugh. Guest turned to the person, and sighed, pinching the top of his nose in exasperation.
-Why? - He asked – Just why? - The man chuckled and fixed the small hair that got onto his face – Don't judge me, this was the fasted thing I could put on.
Atsushi finally looked at the man. He was wearing a ridiculous yellow chicken costume. His face was as yellow as the costume, small strands of brown hair falling onto his face.
The man looked around and his gaze finally landed on the weretiger, standing next to Chance, like an introvert stands next to their only friend at a dense party. He smiled at him and got closer.
-Ooooo I see we have someone new. Never seen you before
Chance grinned, the same cocky grin he always had – Yeah, it’s Atsushi, he (is) new – They introduced him. The man extended his hand – Nice to meet ya, Atsushi. My name is Shedletsky.
Atsushi bowed slightly to him as he shook his hand.
At that moment, a sudden gut-wrenching scream could be heard in the distance. It startled everyone, Two Time almost dropping his dagger, and Shedletsky being a few seconds away from falling butt onto the ground. Guest grunted and cracked his fingers – Imma go, gotta help the Elliot – He started dashing to where the scream came from.
Chance took their gun from their pocket and spun it around, his grin only growing bigger – Eh, gotta help the Elliot – Two Time chuckled and grabbed his dagger with his right hand – Gotta help the Elliot.
Shedletsky chimed in, raising his sword – Gotta help the Elliot!
They all followed right being Guest 1337, leaving a confused Atsushi behind. The weretiger looked around, realizing he had been left alone. He sighed and ran after them, thinking it was the only logical doing in this situation, he hoped he would be able to catch them in time.
Notes:
Hellow, I hope u enjoyed this chapter :3
The end of the chapter was inspired by a real round. I was playing forsaken as chance (my bbg main) and I was haning out with guest with vc. We heard a somebody screaming in the vc and we saw elliot was losing health fast so we calculated he was being chased.
The guest said "gotta help the elliot" and ran towards him lol
Imma make a pin saying "gotta help the elliot" ngl
anyways as always feel free to make requests and give me feedback if anything bothers u :333
cya next chapter <3
Felicia_Chaos on Chapter 1 Tue 02 Sep 2025 03:12PM UTC
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Du_writing on Chapter 1 Sat 06 Sep 2025 12:32PM UTC
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Jennifer307 on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Sep 2025 01:54AM UTC
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