Hey, bet you didn't expect this to be done early! I'm not sure yet if these longer A/Ns will be a regular thing or not, so please say whether you like them. Probably not, I know I personally don't like when authors do stuff like this, but hey, maybe you do!
So, yeah. Chapter 2. I expected to only have started this by now, but hey, things happen and now we're here, having finished 5 pages of story in a couple days. Not my usual style, for sure. Guess I should go to review answering now, shouldn't I? Yeah, I think that makes sense.
Most of them were as I pretty much expected, congratulations on picking up the series and similar stuff. Thanks to all them, but I do have a bit of a confession in that chapter 1 had already been written by me in the first place, and so I had a lot to go off of already for the reboot. So, I didn't really pick it up so much as release a slightly edited version of a thing I already had queued up and ready to go. Still, this series is oddly fun to write despite being totally against my usual stuff, so I will certainly be continuing it!
A smaller group I did notice were those mentioning awkward transitions and strange wordings, and that I could have made it better by adding very minor details. Yeah, you're right, and I've hopefully fixed it by now. Chapter 2 and onward should be more deviant from the original logs now, though it won't be super different until later on probably.
Those are the more positive things I have to say, now for the more negative ones. For one, please stop sending me stuff in Spanish. I can't read it and I don't want to keep bothering DDKDC for translations better than Google Translate can give. I only can speak English, and it should be evident from the fact this is written entirely in English that Spanish reviews don't really work out.
The second thing...why does it seem oddly disproportionate that people want to see Rito start killing people? That's super dark even by my standards and totally doesn't fit the tone of the story. Seriously, people.
Sorry if those sounded a bit harsh, just figured I'd stop them in their tracks now rather than have them keep ramping up as the story goes on. Just enjoy it as it comes!
The orange-haired boy laid curled up in a corner, his hands on his head as he huddled, trying to hide from those chasing him.
He didn't know where he was, he didn't know why he was here. Who was shouting at him so angrily? Their voices echoed in his head. Why was he so small? The walls towered over him, the ceiling unseeable through the gloom.
He knew he hadn't escaped permanently, in his pathetically obvious hiding spot, but that didn't help him steel his nerves any more as they appeared in front of him, three towering figures pointing down at him.
"Yuuki-kun! Why is it always you?" one shouted, her voice ringing in his ears and piercing the gloom with a bright light that blinded him, forcing him to close his eyes and leaving him unprepared for the second.
"I've always known you were a beast, but this is ridiculous. Really, I don't know why no one's gotten rid of you yet." A high pitched voice, not shouting as loud but still sounding incredibly annoyed, as if he was an insect that wouldn't stop bothering her.
"..." The third was the worst. She said nothing, not even the catchphrase he'd expected, and instead, as he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the edge of a metallic blade that glinted in the blinding light.
Rito was normally very good at keeping himself quiet after these dreams, but this time, he couldn't help but jolt awake, sitting up with his hand gripping his shirt above his chest. This one felt a lot more real than usual , and the pace of his heart rate only served to prove that the feeling was not just in his head.
The bedsheets near his legs shifted, and before he recognized the soft "Ara ara" coming from there, he instinctively jerked his leg, and the form squeaked as she collapsed to the floor, wrapped up in the covers that were ripped off the bed alongside her.
Momo laughed hesitantly as she freed herself, her head shifting back and forth from dizziness at the surprisingly accurate kick to the side of her head. "Good kick…" she said, shaking her head to regain her consciousness, blinking a few times before smiling at the boy. "I guess I should have expected that, it's been a while since I've come in, hasn't it~" She stood up, dusting herself off and rubbing the sore spot. "Good thing Devilukeans are durable, or else I'd be in trouble…"
"M-Momo?!" he asked, quickly crossing his legs and turning to face her. "What are you doing here?!" Why did he even bother asking that question anymore? She never stopped, even when Lala finally seemed to.
She smiled, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I just got lonely~" she said in a singsong voice. "But you were so still, you didn't even become carnivorous tonight...Are you alright?"
...It was sad that the best sign of his mental health was whether or not he attacked girls in his sleep. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry…" He'd be even more fine if she wasn't around, but saying that wouldn't change anything.
Her smile dipped a little as she scooted towards him, setting a hand on the bed and leaning forward as she stared closely into his eyes. He had no doubts that her position was specifically meant to show him everything through the loose nightgown she wore, but he kept his gaze firmly up at her face.
"You're shaking and your face is red." she stated flatly, before chuckling, her other hand reaching to his chin. "Oh, I see, it wasn't that kind of dream, was it? Ara ara, you could have just asked me to help you out!"
His heartbeat gradually slowed down, his terror at the dream fading thanks to her typical annoying attitude. "Just stop…"
He must have accidentally let a little too much sincerity into his voice, because the alien frowned, standing up. "Are you really okay? I can help, you kn-"
"Momo. I'm fine. Just...go get ready for school. I'll be out in a bit." He just needed some time alone. Yeah, that was all.
She held a hand out to him. "But-" He shook his head to cut her off, and her hand lowered, her happy expression dropping.
"Just...give me some time." he stated, and she stood still, silent as she thought it over, before smiling, though it was much less sincere than usual.
"O-Okay. You know, Rito-san…" She seemed about to say something, before deciding against it, twirling around and stretching, bending forward to intentionally show her body off to him, though as usual he ignored it, and she walked away, slowly closing the door behind him.
The closed door provided a barrier between him and the outside world, and he released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, feeling his heart rate jump again. He could keep the trembling down and keep her unaware, but now that he was alone, he couldn't hold it back anymore.
This wasn't the first time he'd had a nightmare, but it was the most terrifying since back when he'd been falsely accused for the garden vandalism incident.
Was this going to be a regular thing now? Unable to escape the insults, unable to run from Yami's blades, even when he was asleep. Even in his dreams they were chasing him down!
He should have expected it by now, though. If they'd been terrorizing his waking hours for so long, then it was only natural they'd find the one source of solace he had. When he ran out of time to deal with them in real life, then naturally they'd invade his mind as well!
It couldn't last forever. He couldn't be safe from them for eternity, and it made him want to scream. He hated this. Hated that he couldn't escape, hated that he couldn't say anything.
None of this was their fault, he knew that. They had no idea what they were doing, they just assumed that their actions were simply character quirks. They thought he could take it, that he was a punching bag able to withstand any assault. None of this was their fault. It was his, for being dense, for being stupid, for not being able to speak up.
He was starting to pay the price for his silence. This madness was starting to slowly creep out. The dreams were getting worse, the unreasonable anger kept welling up no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.
Something had to give. Otherwise, he had no idea what would happen.
Otherwise, someone would go too far.
Rito sat still on the bed, steadying his nerves. He was shivering now, but not from fear. Rather, it was simply cold now that he was drenched in sweat. He'd definitely need a shower.
That meant leaving his room, and going downstairs. He didn't like it, but it was unavoidable, and he'd calmed down enough now that he didn't have any excuse.
He wasn't yet at the level of being afraid to be around other people, so he steeled himself and opened his door.
Of course, being Yuuki Rito, the same thing as usual happened as Lala collapsed inward, the support of the door gone when he'd opened it, and before he realized what was going on, he was on the ground, suffocating in her chest while she lay on top of him, confused before she looked down.
The girl jumped up, sparing his oxygen supply and holding her hands behind her back, grinning apologetically.
"Sorry, Rito~! I wasn't paying attention!"
"Lala?! You're naked!" A common sight in the household, but it never ceased to freak him out.
"Hm? Well of course I am, I just got out of the shower! Aren't you supposed to bathe naked?"
"I've told you a million times to put a towel on afterwards!"
She blinked, tapping her chin with a finger and looking up in thought, before closing her eyes and smiling, rapping the side of her head with her knuckles. "I left it in my room! Sorry!"
An excuse she always made. It really didn't sound very sincere after over a year of it.
Still, he wasn't particularly annoyed, and if anything, the familiar daily gag helped his mood...until he heard the familiar voice of the resident household tsundere from behind the elder sister, who had turned to head to her room.
"You never seem to learn, do you? Beast…" Of course, he couldn't control Lala's clumsiness or her short term memory, but Nana never cared. No, everything that happened was his fault.
"Wait, Nana. I didn't-" Before he could defend himself, his breath was knocked from him once again, though this time, rather than it being a result of marshmallow hell, he instead found himself on the ground, his body contorted awkwardly in the grip of the smallest sister, one hand wrapped around his legs and the other his throat as her feet dug into his shoulders.
"You always claim you're not at fault! How can you not be to blame when this happens every single day? You can't trick me with that innocent act, I know you're just a pervert in disguise!" she shouted, ignoring the fact that his face had started turning blue from the lack of oxygen, her hand constricting his windpipe.
She may look weak and inoffensive, but Nana had the fighting prowess of a human martial artist, and Rito's body was simply not designed to defend against that. He tried to choke out an explanation, or even an effort to beg for mercy, but he couldn't do anything but roll around the ground in an effort to shake off his captor.
Of course, it didn't work, and only served to anger her even more, her grip tightening as his spine bent painfully backwards.
"L-let gooo…" he choked out, releasing one arm to tap on the ground in the hopes she'd relent.
"Nana! What are you doing?!" he heard someone shouting, and he managed to open his eyes enough to see Lala, now dressed, rushing into his room. "Stop!"
"Why should I? I'm tired of this beast acting like he can do whatever he wants! He has to suffer the consequences of his actions!"
The two continued shouting back and forth, but the rest was barely intelligible, the lack of oxygen to his brain making the boy's mind go fuzzy, barely focusing on the real world anymore.
First thing in the morning, and he already has to deal with this. His senses were dulled and he barely registered when Nana finally released him, his muscles too limp to do anything but fall to the ground, staring blankly at the floor.
By now, his hearing was reduced to a dull throbbing and tinnitus, but he could feel thumping on the ground as Nana fled the room, and he could guess what Lala was saying as he felt himself lifted up.
She was worried about him. It was as clear as day even to his semi-conscious brain, but the understanding didn't change things.
He didn't want to see any of them anymore. Not Momo, not Nana, not even Lala, not anyone. He couldn't stand this so early in the morning, not after his nightmare.
And now here Lala was, showing concern over him despite it being all thanks to her that this happened at all.
He hated the thought, but it was true. Right now, he wasn't okay, and he really wanted nothing more than to pass out and pretend he'd never woken up in the first place.