Title: Five Nights at the Shinsengumi

Author: That Dastard Cerberus

Characters (central focus): Ibuki Ryuunosuke

Rating: T

Warnings for the reader: Ț̢̳͍̘̥̮̲ḫ͈͕̳̬i͡s͔̖͈̫̗͠ ҉̥ͅi̘͇̕s͉͙̭̪͎͓̣ ͈̤̯̟͞a̹̤̯ ̵̠̼̣̗̻̮͖h͙͎̲͙͙͓̠ó̳͔͕̹̖͔̖r̞̱͈̗̹̦r̘̫̹̭͝o͓̹̲̟̬r̷̻̦̠̺ ̟s̘͉͖̣̀ͅt̛̞͙or̤̼̥y̘̯̘̪̹.̫͍̭́ ͔I͉̟̜̻t͕̲͍͞'̴̣̩̟̜̜̩ṣ̺̳ ̥̗̫̝a̸͎̼̥ ̴̼c̴͔̭͇͇̦̹̮r̰̦͉͕o̯̠͍̙̻s̵̙̬͈̺̰s̻̫͉̹̠o̩̙̱͈̬̱͡v̖͇̯͔̫̺̫̕e̲̤̦̦͙̖r̩̩͖͇ ̭͍̻̘̕w̸̼̗̫ͅị̝͖̠t͖̼̘͔h̵̼̣̰̘ ̳͓͢F̱̺i̼̪̹͖̠ͅv̖͈͎͚͓ͅe̥̗ ͍͍̣̘͚̠N̶͖̣̞̹͇͙̳i͖̬̬͡gh̺̠̬̤͓̱ts͚̼͉̤͟ ͈̘͉͕̪ͅa̹̮t̰̩̼͍ ͔̫͉̲̖̩̗F̡͕̤re̵̘̮d̥͓dy͢'̥s͘.̥

Setting: AU

Summary: It was a simple ad in the paper. Work as a night guard at the Shinsengumi Furusato History Museum, shift beginning at midnight and ending at 6am. More specifically, keep an eye on the animatronics. It seems so simple, right?

Length: five nights

Genre: horror, mystery, supernatural

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Idea Factory/Otomate and Scott do. But if I did . . . well, let's just say some people would lose their sanity, while others would . . . erm . . . yeah.

Help Wanted:

Hino Furusato History Museum

Museum looking for nightshift security guard. Nightshift from 12am to 6am.

Job entails monitoring cameras and ensuring safety of historical artifacts and replica animatronics.

Not responsible for injury/possible mishap.

19,920 yen a week.

To apply, call: 1-042-616-HINO

~*Night 1*~

Piece of crap office, I think as I slumped further into the chair. The fan off in the corner didn't even reach my face. But it was a job. A job that got me money for just sitting in a chair and looking at cameras—

RING-RINGRING! RING! RINGRINGRING!

I jumped. "What the hell?" I spat, jerking to my side. A phone flashing in face was placed on the tiny coffee to my left. I groaned, picking it up and glaring at it. I was about to open my mouth when this perky, upbeat voice filled the speakers, right into my ear.

"Hello? Hello, is this on? Oh, oh hi! My name is Sen, and—oh, silly contraption-and I'm recording this message for you to help get you settled in for your job. Now, this might seem a little overwhelming, but as long as you keep on top of things, there's nothing to worry about. Now where did I put that—ah, there it is!"

I rolled my eyes. Stupid, prerecording messages. Geez, these guys hire me and only give me a manual, and now they're leaving a lanky to give me a message via phone. Lazy asses.

She continued on, in that bubbly voice that was really annoying me, "Now, I'm supposed to read this to you, a sort of introduction to the museum, mostly legal stuff that they gave you when you signed up, so I'll just summarize this.

"'Welcome to the historical home of the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's last samurai corps. We of the Hino Tourism Division came no responsibility for damage to person or property. Should injury or death occur, a missing person's report will be filed in 90 days, blah blah blah."

My eyes widened. The hell? Who puts that in a disclaimer? Then again, when have I ever bothered reading those? I snatched me out of my bag, all wrinkled up. I scoffed as I held the phone in place using my shoulder while unwrinkling the stupid thing both hands. There it was. In damn fine pitch. Bastards.

That's when I noticed the girl's tone changed. "Ah, huh. N-now that might sound kinda bad, but seriously, there's nothing to worry about. Uh… So about the animatronics. Now, the funny thing about them is they get a bit quirky at night. This might come as a surprise, but these animatronics can actually move around at night. They're not allowed to during the day… Ahem, that's why you're stationed in our Time Travel exhibit. See, they tend to… wander around. Some are more mischievous than others, but you don't have to worry about them on your first day here."

"Wait a second!" Move around during night?! No one told me this shit! I was about to scream into the phone when I remembered…

Damn bastards. But she kept talking, so I shut my trap and continued to listen. Dammit.

"Now our museum spent a pretty penny on making these animatronics as life-like as possible. Which means they even programmed them to behave like the Shinsengumi, or, well, probably behaved. Thing is, and this is where your safety is concerned, they never got a night mode, so, uh… heh, they think YOU'RE an enemy of the Shogun. Heh, kinda silly, but hey, what can you do?"

You have got to be kidding me. As she spoke, I felt my stomach drop. Against better judgment, I poked my head out of the office. The hallway was completely dark, save for a lone light that kept flickering on and off.

Creepy. Dammit, this was the worst idea I ever heard. And I did some pretty stupid things as a kid.

"It's all technological mumbo jumbo, like, you wonder why they don't just turn them off, but oh no, servos and stuff, and well, that's just how corporate works, right? And what's really dumb is that they give them real swords. Ah-ha… So, the cameras… Ah yes the cameras. See, you only have so much power every night, and once you run out, that's it. Don't ask why, it's something about environmental concerns—cheap bastards—but everything you do uses power."

Great, just great. Real swords. And now I've got limited power. Cheap corporate asses. Why not just hire some damn actors next time!

"Even so, it is important to check the cameras every so often. No need for… surprises. Also, there's lights on both doors. Make sure to check those to keep them from trying to get into your office. Preserve power. Um, that's about it. Good luck and have a good night!"

"Good night?!" I spat at the phone, but it was useless. In anger, I slammed it down, hearing the clunk echo slightly.

Crap.

This place was creepy at night.

Keeping my breathing easy, I noticed the clock of the phone. 12:15 am. You've got to be kidding me. I got to go through six hours of this?

Okay, Ryuunosuke, just run over everything you have to do. Check the cameras, make sure nothing ****ed up happens. Easy. Right?

2am:

Crap crap crap crap crap!

There were five animatronics in the Time Travel exhibit. There were FIVE.

But now? Now there was only four.

One of them moved.

One of them ****ing moved!

Where are you, where are you—

THERE!

One of them had moved into the maintenance closest. Get your ass fixed, why don't you?

3am:

THAT DAMN BOT MOVED AGAIN!

I actually managed to catch it quick. It just moved to the entrance hall where all the guests showed up. Damn thing gave me a heart attack.

4am:

This mother****ing robot is mocking me, I swear it.

I see it, just staring up into the camera. With those glassy, teal colored eyes. The thing's the shortest one, too! With this stupid, long ass ponytail and this blank, empty, expressionless face.

Damn, it looks too human. It looks like a damn human. But it's not.

I'm really feeling the uncanny valley right now.

Wait…

I check the camera again, glaring into that stupid fuzzy image.

One, two, three…

WHERE'S THE FOURTH?!

5am:

****ing piece of crap!

That stupid damn tall one started to move. I found it poking its head out of the men's restroom. Creep.

Worst part of this encounter were the eyes.

God damn those eyes.

They were black. Just… complete black. I'm pretty damn sure that thing had yellow eyes, but with the shadows all over its face, it got these freaky black eyes.

The only reason I even knew it was the other bot that moved was its red hair. Good thing these animatronics got distinct differences. Otherwise, I'd be crapping bricks.

Got to focus now. It's almost time. I can make it.

6am:

I ****ing made it.

Damn, that stressful. Those two bots had me sweating like crazy. They kept swapping places. It's like they were taunting me.

Stupid robots. Stupid pieces of metal.

Whatever. I'm tired. I need sleep. I need… to clear my head. Maybe even reconsider what I've gotten myself into.

Crap, just walking by those things after my shift… I swear, they were glaring at me.

Want to read the uncensored version? Go to Ao3 version.