You have to get out.
You don't really want to leave, despite your own voice protesting in your head. Drinking that tea was a bad move on your part, and even that part of you that doesn't want to leave agrees. However, the two of them drank that same tea in front of your very eyes, so it never even crossed your mind... Who would expect that a cup of tea could be linked to a manipulating ability? When you finally regained some sort of clarity in your mind, it felt different. Like it was split in two. A part of you is screaming at you to leave and do something, and the other is forcing your legs to stay in place. Everything has a minty coloured haze to it. You are floating in your own body, disconnected by it like you're trying to reach for a helium balloon that escaped too high. But it's nice. The weight of everything is off your shoulders.
Listen to me. Get away from these people.
Even if you wanted to, you can't just get up and leave, can you?
Are you stupid?! You have a teleporting ability, use it!
True, but... you really shouldn't though. It would be rude to Rika and Sasaki. They made you tea. They're nice.
They are insane cult members. Who cares if it's rude? You promised Jouno you'd get out if something was off, didn't you? Well, something is off!!
Rika smiles at you expectantly and Sasaki stands up, offering you a hand. "Thank you for your cooperation. I'm sure this is all very confusing to you and we'll explain as much as we can."
"My apologies for using my ability on you," Rika says. "But doesn't it feel nice?" You nod. "You don't have to worry anymore. Just let us lead you and write your story for you."
It's not nice. You're being manipulated and it's all because you drank that tea.
It's annoying, but the voice in your head is right. You really shouldn't have drank that tea because now you have a voice in your head, making no sense. You hope it shuts up soon. You shut up. It's the opposite actually. You're the one making no sense, but okay whatever. Go and get sacrificed, see if I care. It'll be some good angst at least.
The hotel manager places a hand on your lower back and starts leading you out of the room. The three of you walk through the maze-like halls for what seems like forever. You stop in front of another painting. This is getting pretty repetitive. The painting is one of the more plain ones in this hotel. It simply depicts a set of stairs, leading into a dark abyss.
"Ah, you're admiring my painting, yes? It's probably about time I told you a bit about my ability. It allows me to create and rearrange the Begonia Hotel. And the paintings... Well, the paintings are like my eyes. I can see through each and every one and at night, every time an outsider enters our sanctuary, I use them to move the walls around. I wouldn't want them discovering our secrets before joining our organisation, you know?"
"And why are you so sure they'll join? Because you'll use that ability-laced tea again?" Your hands cover your mouth as soon as those words slip by. A flash of confusion crosses their faces, but they clearly haven't understood a word of what you just said. Sasaki shakes his head.
"Anyway, let's move forward. We have so little time and so many preparations to do. After you," he says. You don't want to, but your legs move into nothingness either way. It's not a dark abyss like you previously assumed. There is something. A dim light emitting from the candles placed along the walls. Wax and condensation drip down in a haunted rhythm, and like they're singing lyrics, Rika and Sasaki start to once again speak about their organisation. You try to understand what they're saying, but nothing really makes sense. They talk about Messengers, Vessels and Otto; their Creator, their group and their goals. They speak in rhymes with an almost melodic giddiness in their voice, a complete opposite of their previous speech patterns. Sasaki's eyes are usually dark and almost soulless, like black paint on a canvas, but they light up every time he talks about Otto and the Creator. Rika's sharp eyes turn hazy, almost love-struck. You get the feeling that these two don't care about anyone else except Otto Symons and whoever the Creator is; the two that they believed have gifted them with a new and meaningful life.
The journey down the stairs takes a long time. You can't see very well, but you're pretty sure you went up and down more times than you would on a rollercoaster. The path goes left, then right, then... left again? Or did it do a half turn? Did you turn back? It's hard to keep track. Every wall is the same. Every candle has melted in the same way. Sasaki and Rika talk about the same things, just using different words. You have no idea how much time has passed when you finally reach the bottom; a small room with a big door. Your body still feels light, but your mind is heavy with something akin to exhaustion. Listening to them go on and on about their love for their organisation really took a lot of mental strength from you.
And then, Rika opens the door at the bottom of the staircase. You step into the new room. Both you and the voice in your head want to vomit. The smell, that can only be described as iron and despair enters your nostrils and claws its way into every crevice of your being. It wants to tear you apart from the inside out. The floor feels wet and sticky, your shoes make an awful squishing noise each step you make, but it's too dark to see what the thing you're stepping in is. The place at the bottom of the stairs is just one big circular room. Sasaki lets go of your lower back, Rika grabs onto your hand, and the man disappears to where the dim candle light doesn't reach. A loud thud echoes around the room and you can't tell which direction it came from. Sasaki comes back to the light. He grabs you by the shoulders, pushes you to what feels like the centre of the room and sits you down in a big chair. The chair is wet too. Both the Voice and yourself agree that you should get up, but you are unable to. Two clasps around your wrists bind you to the chair. A different light turns on. It's an ugly white industrial shade, making you squint from the sudden illumination. You blink rapidly to adjust your vision to the new brightness and to try and to try and understand what kind of room you're in.
You don't need to get out. Get out! I'm telling you to get out, now! The room can only be described as a ritual room. The walls are red. You can see the floor now, it's red too. This is nothing like you've ever seen. Not even the Port Mafia torture room could compare to this. Somehow, this is scarier. The walls are red, the floor is red and the hair on the floor is red. The smell of iron and despair turns into the stench of death and decay. Human remains are strewn all across the room. Most of it are bones, but some seem still fresh. After blinking it away, you understand this hair is not hers. It's white and straight, not red and curly. But the beautiful white hair is also connected to a body. You try to look away but you are unable to. It's a young man with a pretty face, one that will definitely join Anastasia and Edmund in your nightmares. He's only wearing a tanktop and some shorts, so you can see most of his injuries. There are no bruises, only precise cuts. His arms are covered in what seems to be words, carved into his skin. Your eyes follow them upwards, but you can't make out what it says. You can, however, make out a tattoo on his collarbone. All is well. All is not well for Ogawa Shin. And neither is for you.
Sasaki notices how your stare lingers on what remains of the ability-user you were sent to locate. "Ah, we've been lost without master Otto's ability to tell who is fit to be a vessel and made some... errors in our research, as you can see. But that ends now. The ring young master Otto bestowed onto you must be a sign for us!"
Rika steps closer as Tadashi continues speaking. "Shhh," she whispers. "I have used my ability to control your mind and release your mental restraints. Now, the Creator has room to enter. I blocked off your ability too. We can't risk it triggering out of nowhere." Her hands gently roll your sleeves up and she grabs some wet tissues, reaching towards your face with them. "So beautiful," she mutters to herself. "I will prepare this vessel so it can be ready for you, Creator..."
You tune out of Rika's delusional mutterings and start listening to Sasaki's crazed monologue again. "Oh, young master Otto!" He exclaims, arms reaching towards the ceiling. "If it wasn't for him, showing me the right path, I would still be that same boring, unremarkable man with no future. But now, I have a purpose. I will summon our Creator and be the witness of history. The horrible fate looming above us all is nearing and it is up to us to prevent it. Only the Creator can tell us how."
While the man talks, Rika moves to your hair. She brushes it carefully and spritzes you with some sort of perfume. It tickles your nose, but it can't cover up the stench of death and decay that has made itself at home in your lungs. You cough the perfume out; it leaves a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. The metal clasps around your wrists are unlocked, and instead replaced by red rope. It hurts, binding your arms to the chair tighter than the clasps did.
"This is good for now, Rika," the man says. He has changed into a dark cloak and is holding a box in his hand. "The ritual is ready. Once again, I'll start by reciting the verses and then we engrave the sacred texts onto the vessel. It's gonna work this time. I can feel it. We'll just draw more blood if it doesn't work immediately." Opening the box, he pulls out some sort of dagger, resembling a quill. "Nothing to worry about," he tells you. "I can't tell you it isn't going to hurt, but it at least is not going to take long... probably."
The voice in your head is panicking now. You can't really make out what it's saying anymore, but you can feel the waves of anxiety coming off of it. You focus on the man in front of you. He holds the dagger high, pointing it to the sky. He chants verses and walks around the throne, all while lowering the dagger towards you. At last, he stops and points it directly towards you. You can almost feel the cold metal on your skin.
"And now! I call down thee, my Creator—"
Iron meets flesh. Blood pours out of the wound. The Hunting Dog has caught his prey by the neck. The whole building starts shaking. It makes sense. If he's dead, his ability is gone as well. Rika too, realises that. She rushes to untie you, to try and order you to defend her but she's no match to the speed of a hunter who wants revenge. She falls to the ground with a slashed throat and her blonde hair absorbs the red around her.
Jouno steps over her body as you blink away the minty haze she had on you. He cups your face, obscuring the view of the masacre with his own body. Blood is splattered across his face, but he doesn't seem to even notice. The corners of his mouth are uncharacteristically tugged down. He's quiet for a moment, trying to hear your heartbeat as the building roars in defeat. "...Are you okay?" He shakes his head, correcting himself immediately. "No, of course you're not. I knew I shouldn't have let you go alone. I should have insisted on coming. Our job is to protect you. Even if it wasn't, I would never be able to let you get hurt."
"It was weird you didn't come back. You didn't respond to a single text either. We started looking almost immediately," Tetchou agrees. The brown-haired young man reaches towards your hand. He's warm. "We forced information out of some staff. Just in time."
"I..." What can you even say? The voice is gone. You can't feel that other part of yourself anymore. Now that Rika is dead, she isn't messing with your head anymore. "I found Ogawa Shin," you manage to push out.
"No need to say anything," Jouno comforts you.
"Yeah," Tetchou nods. "We'll take care of it. But we'll talk later. We have to leave now. Before this place collapses." With those words, the young man lifts you up in his arms. Everything moves quickly. The three of you make it out just in time for you to see the hotel collapse into a big pile. New people arrive soon after that, with Teruko and Fukuchi in the lead. A doctor checks you for injuries, Tetchou not leaving your side. Jouno steps aside for a quick report to Fukuchi. While the captain stays to deal with people on the scene, Jouno returns immediately with Teruko in tow.
"....Good job," Teruko pats you on the head. She retracts her hand and turns to the side with a pout. "It's time for you to rest now, detective. All the paperwork, all the remaining investigations and interrogations – leave everything else to us."
They do keep that promise. You don't have to get involved anymore. The next days are spent inside the headquarters. You sleep, think, eat and then repeat those things all over again. Your dreams are once again infected by the colour red and old nightmares are resurfacing, but you attempt to ignore them whenever you're awake. Instead, you try to unravel what happened when you were under Rika's hold. The memory of that time is getting fuzzy and you're attempting to write down any important information before it's too late. Why were you the one involved with this place? It's hardly a coincidence at this point. It could have been anyone else, and yet... For the second time, you found yourself in a situation most likely puppeteered by Otto Symons. Someone who should have no importance whatsoever, but seems to be worming his way into your life anyway.
A letter addressed to you arrives one morning, bearing the signature symbol of the Special Division. You tear it open without hesitation and speed through the text, searching for answers. Your eyes jump from paragraph to paragraph, sentence to sentence, as you fully take in the report you have received.
"While searching for Ogawa Shin (read report 764864 for more information), Hunting Dogs Tetchou and Jouno, as well as detective (Y/n), have uncovered a cult-like organisation. Stationed in an ability-made hotel, they seemed to focus on sacrificing; we are unable to understand their goal from what is left from said organisation. [...] One of the members was said to have a brainwashing ability of some sort, with which they managed to kidnap detective (Y/n). The Hunting Dogs reached their location just in time, preventing any serious physical harm. With the elimination of Sasaki and therefore his ability, the hotel collapsed into rubble. Not a single person in that building survived the destruction. They all stayed inside. Whether that was their own choice or the influence of brainwashing remains unclear. [...] The remains of Ogawa Shin were found in the basement, along with at least 6 other currently unidentified victims. [...]
Detective (Y/n), we thank you for your help and cooperation regarding this case. We express sincere condolences regarding your experience, but hope you will continue your involvement with the investigation. Considering the entire organisation has been wiped out, this is not a top-priority case, but do keep it in mind. Standard questionings regarding the case have not been carried out involving you, only because a few important personnel personally asked for it to be called off. This is not standard procedure and it will not happen again, but we are making an exception, thanks to your continued cooperation with the Division ever since the Azure Messenger case. If necessary, more resources will be made available for your investigations. Please contact Sakaguchi Ango for more information."
You crumple the report and throw it in the trash can. As you dial Ango's number, you can feel irritation slowly bubbling up. Clearly, the only one who can answer your questions is Otto Symons himself.
a/n: sorry this took so long <3 started uni and i. don't have much time. its sucking the life out of me. super interesting don't get me wrong, i really like learning japanese and the rest of the classes r super interesting, but i am exhausted. maybe i just have to get used to it tbh. but i'm also super low on inspiration,,, it was better in my head but it'll have to do. i wouldn't be able to push a single chapter out ever again if i wanted them to be exactly like in my head!
also what the fuck was that last bsd ep. god everytime a new chapter / ep with new events comes out it throws me for a loop bcs i have to decide if i'm going to include it or if y/n changed enough for things to happen differently. the second is more likely. i'm going to write this world in a way it might not completely be the same as the og universe but yk. my fic my rules :)
FANART FANART FROM oh_lia06<33 god i loved writing this scene so much, and i'm very happy to see it drawn. Also THE SLEEPY DAZAI CHIBI?? AND URIEL??? ADORABLE
And to finish off, a meme from meromestin regarding the room situation. that is such a pretty y/n oh my god and first panel sasaki is literally him