Disclaimer: I do not own Saya No Uta nor exclusive rights for the use of Eldritch Abominations in fictional media...

But I do find awkward dinner table conversations funny.

-Fuminori Sakisaka-

As my eyes open for the first time in what seems like forever and more. I am instantly greeted by a world devoid of any semblance of colour and life, a world consumed in endless pitch black sea of misery. After gradually shrugging away some of the after-effects of whatever they used to subdue me in the first place, I shake my body slightly to regain abit more my clarity... It begins to dawn on me that my hands are currently tied against two opposite opposing cusions that feel alot like armrests. They oddly don't feel as replusive as they usually do... I expected something more... Yakuza than this. Not only that, whenever I am. The place is nicely heated and comfortable, I almost feel bad for the trouble that my captor had put into this, especially since that I don't plan nor intend on sticking around.

Saya is waiting for me at home, it'd be bad manners to keep a beauitful lady waiting. With resolve, I struggle abit more against my binds as I acomplish nothing more than making my concious presence known to my captor. As I glance around, slightly shifting the bag currently on my head. I hear quiet footsteps and then... A ear spiltting distorted voice.

If it weren't for the gurgling and bellowing from the creature that seems to be inching closer towards me, I could swear that I could sense a distinct presence of excitement and since identifying gender is made impossible without prior knowledge, I am unable to properly see them as either male nor female... Whomever is it, they surely seem pleased to see me. Which is even more unusual as I cut practically everyone from my life, aside Saya. Not that there's any room for other people in our lives as it is, we can't trust them. Looking sideways frequently in a futile attempt to gauge the size of the room for a possible escape route. It would seem like my captor has amused themselves completely with the bag over my head as it is swiftly pulled from my face...

Despite constantly encountering and walking into the pulsating piles of flesh in my daily life, I am still taken by surprise at the horrific purtrid creature's vile visage before me as I make that perfectly clear with a upright jolt shortly accompanied by an gasp. As I avert my face and eyes whilst wishing that I could force my ears closed, but my averted eyes witness a set of sights that are exceedingly more shocking than any squirming monster that I could encounter.

Paint... Dried paint.

And it's everywhere... All over the place. It covers every single item in the room... Exactly like the home that me and Saya share together. I can't believe what I'm seeing right now and what's worse is the fact that I know without a single doubt in my mind that I am not dreaming nor experiencing a nightmare...

From process of elimination, I assume that whomever is keeping me capitive is my Boss. The CEO of Morpheus Laboratories, it's unbelievable. Why me? He surely sees me as nothing more than a simple monster- That's what I view him as... My gaze is now fixed on my employer and in accordance, he's looking straight at me.

He realises that I am now fully focused on the situation...

Before speaking in the dialect of madness, he reveals a single medicial needle filled with a clear fluid.

"DoN't Be aFRaid... tHeRe'S aBsOLuTely nO ReaSON fOR AlaRM..."

He ressures me, as if I'm a child that's waiting with his father for a vaccination treatment and not currently being held hostage. Then as I struggle, deciding against trusting him... He stabs my neck with the concoction without a single warning as I recoil in pain. He seems unconcerned about my suffering as I begin to experience the effects of whatever I just got injected with. My eyes become increasingly blurry and my head feels as if it's swelling in size. My Boss then speaks honest words of encourgement as he bounces upwards and downwards excitedly.

"CoME oN, FuMoNori...!"

"ThE PaIn iS oNLY TeMPoRaRY."

"sEe mE As I tRuLY aM."

The words that he speaks sound like nonesense, that is... Until I witness my Boss's monstrous features slowly becoming more and more... Human? It can't be. His voice aswell, it's becoming alot more pleasant and kind on my ears. If this continues, it won't be a twisted abomination that I'll be seeing before me with my eyes but instead... A completely human individual. I can hardly acknowledge the pain anymore as my mind is more overcome with raw shock and surprise. Afterwards, it stops completely and my eyes along with my other senses restore to their original settings since the accident.

"You don't know... How sorry I am for putting you through that, son. But it was the only way."

My Boss speaks with a notable sad tone, swiftly unbinding my restraints and placing a fatherly hand on my shoulder as I glance upwards to him. He is human... In both sight and sound, everything. From his appearance, he appears to be currently in his late fifties and has neat black hair that fits pretty well with his current formal attire. I'll admit, I feel pretty inadequate but I don't let it bother me.

I begin to make a response, afterall... I have alot of questions for him.

"Only way... So I suppose that you've got the condition aswell, right?"

My previous fears of becoming a lab rat are dulled by the understanding nod that he gives.

"That is correct, Fuminori. Come... Let's have ourselves some food. There's plenty that we must discuss together and we've wasted enough time as it is..."

He gestures towards the reasonably large dining table across from me with a smile, I shift my seat towards it. Hoping that Saya could forgive me if I waited around abit longer so I could obtain more answers on the mysterious man. The food on the table is, as expected, fitted towards our more unique tastes and preferences. When I got kidnapped, I honestly wasn't expecting this outcome at all.

"Let's cut straight to the chase, Mr. Shuji. What do you want from me exactly?"

A heartly chuckle is emitted from my employer as he slices into the food, taking a quick bite before skipping to the explainations.

"Simple! I've read alot about you, my boy..! The accident, your hospitalization and finally... The deaths of your friends and family. It's all very tragic and the same thing happened with myself aswell. My entire board of directors died during a traffic accident and I was the only one to come out alive but unlike you, I didn't have a family in the first place... That's where you come in, you see. I'd quite like a son of my own, you'd be gaining this entire company- Living a life of comfort and luxury, even with our condition! Imagine it all!"

I'll admit, if I was asked this immediately after my accident then I wouldn't have looked back...

But all of the luxury in the world cannot hope to compare with my life with Saya. Afterall, what good is comfort when you cannot share them with the ones that you love the most.

"I'll admit, you certainty have a way with words..."

"You see, Fuminori...? I knew that you'd look at things as I do!"

"I'm not finished, sir."

"...Ooh?"

My Boss seems confused by my response, as if I rejected keys to everlasting paradise.

"I am not even remotely interested in what you've got to offer me... If I cannot be with the one that I love."

"You mean that you've got a spouse- I'll admit, I never knew."

I can tell in his words that he doesn't know about Saya's existence whatsoever. That's good, I am tempted to introduce him to her- But I fear that behind that fatherly mask, lurks a twisted demon. A lesson that I learnt from my deceased neighbour.

For now... I'll return home and speak with Saya about this in great detail. Whilst it'll be easy to simply turn away from this... I can't refuse the benefits that being next in line for a company at the size of Morpheus presents. Ambition is evil, and I'm practically evil myself by this point. What's wrong with wanting more?

"That's fine, I hoped that'd be the case. I'll speak with my other half on this matter-"

As I was just about to finsh... A small bolt from the ventilation fan on the ceiling suddenly came loose and struck loudly against the table during the silence. As we both mutter in unison. "What the..." A familar small figure drops from the ceiling as the rest of the ventilation fan gives out.

"Fuminori...! Where have you been, I was so worried- Oh, are you hurt anywhere?"

It's Saya! She came for me, I can't believe how happy I am right now!

"Saya, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting for me that you needed to came after me!"

Wait, Mr. Shuji is still present in the room!

Saya isn't safe at all... Before my heart can beat any faster than it already is, I grab Saya's small form into my arms and keep her close to me. Saya is notably disturbed by this, but I can tell that she understands as she sees Mr. Shuji. I can feel that she's wriggling in my arms with fury as she's made the correct assumption that man standing before us is responsible for my situation prior.

However despite the hostility that Saya radiates, Mr. Shuji maintains his affable and kind demeanor.

"My my... So I suppose this is my Daughter-In-Law? She's abit younger than I was expecting but I cannot judge, especially since intelligent life is hard pressed to find these days. Now- Shall we continue our discussion?"

Making absolutely no mind to the fallen ceiling fan, Mr. Shuji continues eating and enjoying himself as I release my formerly solid grip on Saya's body so that she can do the same. The situation has mellowed down notably and surprisingly, I am thankful for that. I can tell that Mr. Shuji's words caught Saya by surprise but she doesn't upset with them... She's pretty pleased with herself.

"Hey there, I'm Saya.. But you can call me, Mrs. Sakisaka if you like! Hehe~!"

Yeah, she's happy. My smile is as obvious as everyone elses.

"I'll keep that in mind, Saya, I was just discussing with your partner about becoming my sole heir- To the very same company that he works for. Fuminori will never need to work for anything ever again, doesn't that sound nice to you?"

Saya cannot reply properly as she is currently nursing a whole hunk of meat in her mouth as she chews adorably but her agreement is present on her bright face.

"Well, if Saya agrees then I cannot argue... When does this take effect, Mr. Shuji...?"

I ask, my curiousity is still pretty sizeable.

"Please... Call me, Father. But, you'll be happy to know that it'll take effect immediately. I made preparations before you arrived here. Everyone will acknowledge Fuminori Sakisaka as my heir and ward. I am your legal guardian from henceforth aswell. You needn't worry about signatures and paperwork, I took care of that too."

That's what I get when I doubt somebody alot older and more experienced than myself. I get taken for a ride, but at the moment. The ride is smooth and mild, I hope that it stays that way for Saya and me.

"I have a request, Fa- Mr. Shuji. Can we have some time to prepare ourselves and our home before we move out? We have some items that we'd like to take with us and the House is in no condition to be given away to another family."

Meanwhile, midst our adult conversation... Saya is behaving too cute for words to express, she's trying to sweep some of the fallen ventiliation fan away from the table whilst inspecting it occasionally aswell.

"Of course, Fuminori. I can have some of my most trusted staff deal with the renewal of your home before it is sold so that it'd appear as if you never lived there. You can say goodbye to the bad memories of the past and say hello to the future. A future that we three can form together."

He's right about one thing- It'll be good to leave that place behind us, there's only my fond memories with Saya that keep that place pleasant in my mind. Afterall, we cannot properly protect ourselves from people that could ruin our happiness in that small house.

Well, whilst Mr. Shuji wasn't originally apart of mine and Saya's plan for the world... Seems he is, least for now. But at the same time, I can tell that Saya wasn't apart of Mr. Shuji's grand scheme either- I am the only neutral factor in both parties goals. Yet it goes without saying that I am firmly on Saya's side until my final breath.

That's the way it has been for so long now... I have absolutely no intention of changing that mindset, not even for a Pharmaceutical Empire.

This is still very much a game to me. There's no room for anyone else.

Just me and Saya.

I admittedly finished chapter seven alot more sooner than I originally thought that I would but... I really dislike cliffhangers that remain unresolved for ages so I guess that's my reason for releasing this chapter literally a day after the last one. Things in the story have begun to become more and more complex and strange, hopefully Fuminori and Saya can continue adapting to new places for their happiness!

See you all in chapter eight!