Takashi always had the habit of staying up late. Whether it be the videogames in his room or lazily thinking about the regrets about his childhood ex-girlfriend.
Wearing his black tank top and grey sweats. His bed allowed him to lean back and look at the cherry blossom tree outside of his family's home. Mom always loved it, she took pride in growing it herself since he was a young boy.
Dad was away. Work often took him. It's expected of a pilot. Takashi often thought with bitter resentment for his father. The man was never around, always working and working.
It wasn't that Takashi didn't feel grateful for his father's efforts of supporting the family, but his mom is still working at the elementary school. There was no need for him to be gone for most of his childhood.
Takashi sighed, he longed for the days when he and his father would play at the park. Catch, or even softball.
Those days, the teen didn't have to worry about heartache and betrayal.
Moping around for long enough, Takashi turned off his bed lamp and pulled the sheets over him. Hoping to have a decent night's sleep...
Yharnam...
Takashi blurred at the sound of squeaking. Vision blurred as an individual came into his drowsy sights.
"Ah, awake are we? That's good. The process is almost done. For now, I just need you to sign your contract."
What's going on? He couldn't understand the man. The language barrier is present between the two. Takashi couldn't muster the fear as he was weighed down by a sense of dizziness. He saw a tube leading from his injected arm. Red fluid came into him at a rushing pace even when he didn't feel it. No...
"Blood..." Takashi looked in tired realization.
"Blood ministration. Yarham's best efforts at curing any diseases. Although, lately it has shown adverse effects but should it happen to you think of it as all a bad dream." The individual spoke. His blindfold covered his eyes but his elderly smile spooked the young teenager.
After a few moments, the man spoke. "Contract has been sealed." He rolled away in his wheelchair, leaving the slumber to take Takashi.
Later... Isoefka's Clinic
Takashi felt that same drowsiness. His vision was more awake than before. His body stilled as he saw the creatures of bad dreams. Their small bodies, pale white, and ghostly faces made their way to him. Eventually, they surrounded his vision before the teen passed out again.
He heard growling when he awake again. This time his mind was confused and scared. A wolf-like monster appeared from the ground. It was huge, bigger than himself. Once it came towards him, the claw inched closed enough before the beast erupted into flames. This caused it to retreat away and Takashi rested once more.
The night began...
Following his hazy dreams, Takashi wakes upon the gurney inside the clinic. Like any normal person, confusion was the first to appear before fear. Meaning that everything that happened between his slumbers was real.
He encountered those ghostly figures he later learns as messengers. He knew lifelong companions in this nightmare. They would offer hints and tips that others had left behind.
This is how he learned of blood vials and being aware of the beast that lurked in the lobby of the clinic.
Suffice it to say, Takashi tried to run away before it clawed his legs. His hobbling only stop a few inches before he was gashed across the face leaving him screaming before dying in the puddle of his blood.
Hunter's Dream...
Awaking again to a new location one with a building and a small garden in the front. Takashi saw the tombstones and looked ever so scared. However, his friends showed up in the form of offering gifts...
Weapons. All of which were unfamiliar to him.
He picked the axe, it seemed deadly enough. Then he picked the blunderbuss as the second gift. The third was a journal of sorts.
After receiving these gifts, he met Old Man Gherman. Handicapped to a wheelchair, the man spoke in English. Due to Takashi's language problems, Gherman spoke in subpar Japanese to be able to communicate some form of reasoning as to what Takashi was brought here to do.
The old man was also kind enough to give Takashi books on basic language to help him understand better. For most of the beginning, he spent studying. Something he thought he would never do.
"I have to hunt the beast. Then I can go home?"
"Yes, it would be in your best interest to do so. After all, a hunter must hunt."
"But... I don't understand. Why was I brought here?"
"People come to Yharnam to seek blood ministration to cure their illnesses. Maybe you had such illness and was brought here."
"No. That can't be right. I am healthy."
"No matter. You will need to hunt to find your way. So go kill some beasts. It's good for you."
"Kill them? With this axe and gun? How can I?"
"Simple, you kill. You youngins always with questions trying to avoid the easy road. Anyway, I will be in the gardens. Eventually, you will have to go back out and do as you meant to."
Takashi looked with horror and doubt as the old man wheeled outside. Leaving Takashi to his devices.
Days passed by. The standing clock in the building was enough to tell. He slept, studied, and slashed. Eventually, Takashi was man enough to continue. Heading to the nearby tombstone, it was engraved with the location. The first-floor sick room. Pressing his hands upon it, he felt his body teleported to the location.
The smell of fresh blood and sounds of flesh-eating. He readied his axe and gun.
It took two hits. The beast, though wounded, was now dead.
And so the dream continued...
Takashi's exploration and travels through these unknown lands had him meet various enemies, adversaries, mentors, friends, and strangers.
He learned of how the city turned into a horror show through the blood that can cure all diseases would ironically be the source of the scourge.
Once he reached Rom and slaughtered him. The dream turned into a real nightmare. He faced the One Reborn, Micholash, and eventually Mergo.
Upon returning to the Hunter's Dream. Fire blazed across it as the Doll told him of Gherman's whereabouts.
The final choice was a no-brainer. Takashi allowed his mentor to behead him. Allowing him to wake up in the "waking world."
"Alright, the contract has been made..."
Takashi screamed...
It was repeated. All his efforts, deaths, and achievements. Nothing, they were nothing.
His second repeat was in some regards easier than the first time. He was aware of the mistakes he made, the people that could have needed his help, and the events that would surely come.
This time around, he had helped many people. From the little girl and her sister who had been later devoured in his first life, to the sister of the church and skeptical man, to the elderly lady and the youthful prostitute. He had killed the beast man that had murdered the rest of the chapel's refugees. He paid the imposter that impersonated Isofeka a visit and killed her for turning the skeptic into a celestial.
One thing he noted since starting his second life, the enemies were stronger, faster, aggressive easily, and we're harder to kill. Takashi, battle-worn as he was, needed alternative means of becoming more stronger. He listens to Gherman's note of Old Yharnam. The blood-starved beast and Djura had been slain after a few attempts.
Takashi cursed himself for not finding these enemies sooner, they would have been much weaker.
Soon after obtaining the chalice and ritual blood, the chalice dungeons were awaiting him.
He encountered many creatures, some were similar to Rom. Learned the history of the first people to come into contact with the great ones.
Moreover, the items he needed to become stronger were here... Gemstones. Augments for his weapons became more deadly. This he needed.
The rest of his repeat proceeded the same, his enemies were better but then again so was he...
"It always comes down to the Hunter's helper to clean up these sorts of messes. Tonight, Gherman joins the hunt."
He refused, Takashi understanding a bit more of his mentor's torment decided it was best to refuse the easy way out. The battle was fierce, blood was spilled. The old man was strong, and Takashi felt his whole body screaming at him. Every move needed to matter, he couldn't misstep or overreach. Eventually, with the same axe from his first life, he killed his mentor.
Kneeling his disappearing corpse. He felt a disturbance. It was sinister, incomprehensible, and cosmic. A great one.
Takashi saw the god appear before him. He couldn't move, paralyzed by an unknown force, the kin embraced him. Tendrils wrapping around him, he woke up later.
"Good Hunter."
"Doll?"
"It's time to continue another hunt."
Another hunt? Takashi tried to get up but struggled. He was in a wheelchair, his foot missing. Panting in shock, he looked around, he was still in the Hunter's Dream. No... This can't be it...
His hyperventilation made him lose consciousness once again.
"Alright, the contract has been made..."
Takashi laughed with tears in his eyes. It was painful, to accept that this would be his new way of life...
From his third life to his sixth and final life. Everything was rinsed and repeated. He killed beast and kin alike, making small changes to big decisions that might help him understand how to leave. Siding with the vilebloods or executioners. Becoming a hunter of Hunter's or healer of the healing church.
Takashi develops his skills with his mastery over all the weapons. Even the ones he explored in the realm of the Old Hunters.
He helped and saved others that want to be saved. Killed those who deserve killing. Everything was a blur. He took to drinking as one of his few vices in coping with the situation. Arianna even offered her company and he took up on her offer every time. The Doll was his submissive assistant. He didn't feel shame for using her. The healing sister of the church was his to serve.
The blood on his hands was massive. He was slowly losing himself. At some point, he stopped caring and visited Isofeka and did so much to her before killing her. He took pleasure in her torment.
Takashi began to forget ever returning to his old life in Japan. This was his now. He will do as he pleases. He will be the hunter of the night. This hell, it was now becoming his haven.
"Mister." Takashi looked over at the small girl. She was young, less than ten. Wore a white dress. Her brown hair complemented her eyes.
"Yes? What is it?" Takashi looks back to his book.
"Where are you from?"
"Some foreign lands away to the east. Japan as it is known in the west."
"Do you have a family?"
"Yes, my father and mother."
"Do you miss them?"
Takashi sighs. He missed every single moment. He missed everything before this nightmare. Hesitantly, he nods.
"Will you go back to them when you finish the hunt?"
"I will try little one, I will try..."
The sixth night went about as any other. Up until he defeated Mergo, nothing had changed. Takashi thought to himself, in his past repeats he either fought Gherman or attempted to fight the moon presence but was always entranced by its appearance.
One thing he wondered, all the items he obtained. The umbilical cords he collected from Mergo, Arianna, Isofeka, and another from the Abandoned Workshop. He either threw them away, buried them in the dream, or left them where they are. This time...
"These cords are from the union of great ones and humans. The great ones always seek a surrogate."
Takashi knew that moon presence was the one pulling the strings. If he killed it, then the cycle will end. Hunter will dream no more and Gherman and Takashi himself can rest.
"Good Hunter."
Takashi looked back at the Doll. The splitting image of Lady Maria. Takashi smiles for the first time, this may be the key to waking up in the waking world.
He took all four of them and ate the cords. Takashi had tasted blood and guts before during this time in the dream, the beast hood was close one time and he devoured his enemies. This was different, he gained something, something powerful, cosmic, and unknown.
He looked at the Doll with sadness.
"I have done you wrong. All you ever did was help me grow and gave me company. I ask for forgiveness." Takashi kneeled and bowed his head. He did so many things, he can't undo them in his heart and mind.
"Good Hunter, you have done to upset me."
Takashi shakes his head. "I used you for my pleasure, took out my pain on you. You didn't deserve it."
He heard nothing as footsteps walked towards him, he felt a cold hand touch his face. It guided him to look at her doll-like eyes.
"You are the one who is hurting. You are the one who is hunting. I am of service to you Good Hunter. There is nothing to forgive, I am a creation meant to love humanity."
Takashi wept, such devotion, unconditional love. He couldn't bear it. He was a monster at this point. Letting himself get pulled into the Doll's embrace.
"Good Hunter, many have come before you, but you are the youngest. Your hunt has been the most difficult to complete. Please rest for a moment."
So he did, in the garden, he stayed with the Doll for a prolonged time. Her hand resting in his firm grasp, her head resting on his shoulder. He allowed himself the peace he knew, didn't deserve but needed.
Once his mind had calmed and heart settled, he made his way to Hunter's gravesites. Many who came before him had either chosen death outright or fought Gherman and submitted to his offer. Takashi had done both, he had bested him and became the next leader of the dream, but not now.
The final fight was more intense than all the previous ones. Even though Takashi knew the movement like the back of his hand, his teacher was amplified by an unknown power as a result of each repeat. Every attack would kill him in one hit. Every gun blow was disastrous to recover from. Takashi used every chance he could to exploit the opportunities in his last fight with Gherman.
"The night was long..." Takashi heard the repeated words of his dying teacher. Now came the next foe. This nightmare came down and embraced him like before. However, the insight he consumed from the cords was enough to resist the control.
Takashi readied himself, blunderbuss and axe in his palms. His starter set would be the one to help him finish this dream.
The battle was tough, but not as dangerous compared to the other enemies he killed. Takashi caught the great one off guard, it expected the teen to submit to its control. That was not going to be the case,
Out of bullets and the cursed gemstones taking their toll on his axe. His weapons were deemed unusable. He traded durability for power output and it got exactly what he wanted. The great one was weakened, on its last legs. Takashi used his beaten axe and charged a heavy. The cosmic horror dashed for one last assault. This exchange was the last, Takashi stood, breathless with a focused expression as the kin fell from its wounds.
The Nightmare had been slain...
When Takashi came too, he was on the ground. He could barely move anything, however, he was calm this time compared to all the other endings. He accepted that this was his fate.
His new existence was held by the soft palms of the Doll. She looked at him with patience and affection. This was to be... His atonement for all the lives he took over the repeats.
Takashi faded his consciousness one more time, hoping that the insanity ends...
"Farewell Good Hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world."
Takashi awoke to a distant but familiar room. It was his old room, he heard the neighbor's dog bark as a car drove by. He sat up, blinking.
This wasn't a dream, it couldn't be a dream. He got up and made his way to the bathroom. Opening the door to the hallway, Takashi took soft steps, not sure if his family was home or even if it was home.
He approached the bathroom calmly and turned on the light. He expected the electricity to not work but the room illuminated.
In his reflection was him but also not him. Before the dream, his hair was shorter and he didn't have much lean muscle on his frame. His body is unblemished and unscarred. Now though... He was athletic, his frame matched that of countless hours spent in the dream. His hair has grown longer, some of his bangs covering his eyes. There were visible scars but nothing too disturbing. A gash across his forearm, a bullet wound to his shoulder, a puncture wound to his collar bone.
They recognized these wounds, they were the killer blows in his final repeat. He chuckled, damn everything could kill you in one hit.
He took off his tank top to reveal more scars. His back had claw marks of a werewolf that got the better of him. He felt more across his whole body. Despite the damage, he sustained from the dream, he felt never better before. His joints nor muscles ached.
Washing his face and then putting on his sleeveless top, Takashi left the bathroom. Looking across the hallway, the kitchen light was on. Takashi felt cautioned. His skills and experience called to him, and steadily he approached the living space. The hallway was not viable for a confrontation, he needed room to dodge especially since he was without a weapon.
He was near the light, he heard humming and the sound of cooking. His eyes widen with hope.
Turning the corner leading to the kitchen, the light didn't betray him.
By the kitchen top, a woman stands by chopping vegetables. Her light brown hair and soft expression made him feel at home. Stepping forward, Takashi felt his voice caught in his throat.
Tears fell down his cheek as he rushes to embrace his mother.
"Takashi!" She was surprised by the sudden embrace.
He was home...
"Welcome home honey. How was your hunt?" She asks with a soft smile. Takashi widens his eyes...
What?