Chapter One: Anticipation
Another day, another night of microwaveable convenience store snacks and video games for Subaru Natsuki.
When was the last time he'd eaten something made in a pot on a stove? He'd stopped leaving his room for family meals some time ago, only interacting with his high-energy parents when forced to. He simply didn't have the constitution for their company long-term, as much as he hated brushing them off when they simply wanted time with their son.
Their concern was apparent. They didn't push him, but their worry over him not attending school or leaving the house during the day had wormed its way into the few conversations they'd have with him a day. They wouldn't say it, but he knew they were disappointed in him. Not to say he didn't feel the same way, but the disheartened look in their eyes made it all the more difficult to speak with them for any extended period of time.
Hence why he'd spent most of his days asleep, choosing instead to do his normal human activities in the solace of the ill-occupied nighttime. This was but a normal occurrence for him, making his way to the local store in the dead of night every few days to replenish his supply of easy-to-consume sustenance.
As Subaru stepped outside and allowed the glass door of the establishment to slide to a grazing close behind him, he noted the warmth he felt on the breeze. "In January?" he mused, fanning himself with the collar of his tracksuit top. "We probably should've taken Al Gore a little more seriously."
With an exhale, the icy-eyed teen began to walk forward, looking forward to plopping down in front of the fan in his bedroom. His dramatic exasperation - in which he threw his head back and groaned - kept him from noticing the curb as he stepped halfway on and halfway off of it, twisting his ankle and stumbling into the road. Dropping to his hands and knees, he closes his eyes and grimaces at the impact. He then shivers at the sudden chill that runs up his body, as if the temperature had drastically declined in an instant.
"What the hell? It's freezing!" He forces his eyes open and notices the ground has changed from the city-quality asphalt onto which he'd fallen. His swiftly-numbing fingers were gripping what looked to be a very old rug, reddish brown in color. "Wh-...what?"
Turning his head slowly, his gaze fell upon a golden tassel trim running along the edge of the rug, serving as a border between the fabric and the cobbled brick on which it was splayed. His vision expanded further still until it found a wall, as well as some desolate furniture and wooden pillars.
"I'm inside?" he asked, near a panic. "What the hell is going on?"
The sharp-eyed boy pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his biceps with both hands in an attempt to abate the cold. He examined more of his surroundings, but the room was dark and not excessively large. There were no windows or light sources, but a single door at the end of the path set by the rug had been opened and allowed a bit of the meager moonlight to penetrate the otherwise-dank space. He pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "No service. Must be a dead zone."
Stepping forward, Subaru concluded his best option was to leave the room and survey the area. The small pang of fear was overshadowed by his want to return home, which drove him to curiosity. His flimsy resolve was lucky that the bloodied body of the young maid in white avoided his notice.
Peering around the edge of the doorway, Subaru noted the state of disarray this…chapel had succumbed to. "What a fuckin' dump," he eloquently mused under his breath. Stepping out into the bleak environment, he nearly curled into a ball in response to the harsh wind that assaulted him. "F-f…freezing!" he stuttered. "It's like I'm near a cold sea."
Stealing himself, he forced his legs to take him to the edge of what seemed to be a cliff, and peered down. "Oh…I am near a cold sea."
He shifted his gaze slightly and caught sight of a set of wooden stairs. He carefully descended and continued along a worn dirt path until he came to a rope bridge.
"There's no way." The teen shut-in began searching for another route, only to find a single locked door that seemed to lead right back into the building he'd just exited. "God damnit," he growled, realizing he had no other option but to cross the suspect bridge.
"If I fall, I'm suing," he joked to no one as he took his first step high above the turbulent sea below. The old wood creaked beneath his weight, but otherwise seemed able to support him. "Come on, Subaru, the faster you get across, the faster you can settle in and play the new Pokémon."
With this pep talk, he forged ahead with rapid steps, making his way to the other side and collapsing to his knees in the dead grass. As his heart rate slowed and his breathing returned to normal, he groaned, "never again. Never!"
He pushed himself back to his feet and made his way to an archway that led to a stone path. Stopping at the arch and placing his hand on the brick, his eyes followed the path, until he saw an open space with some sort of heap laying in the middle of it.
Squinting his eyes, he thought it looked like some sort of…creature. Certainly not one he'd ever come across before.
Eyes widening and forcing a gulp, Subaru turned and began to look to his left along the wall, hoping to find something he could use as a weapon. Wading through the tall grass for a moment, he came across what looked to be an old wooden chair leg, with two rusty nails protruding from the club-like end.
"This'll have to do."
After several deep breaths, Subaru crept back around the edge of the archway and began to sneak his way towards the ominous heap. It seemed that whatever it was, was facing away from him, which he'd hoped would give him the advantage of surprise if it turned out to be hostile.
Approaching closer and closer, as slowly as possible, Subaru couldn't see any movements from the…thing, not even breathing. Once he'd come within five meters or so of the lump, he accidentally kicked a rock that rolled and bumped the beast on its cloaked rear end. He tensed and held the chair leg in front of him defensively, waiting for any possible reaction.
None ever came.
Stepping forward again until he was but a meter or so away, the teen leaned forward with bated breath, then jabbed the creature with the chair leg before quickly returning it before him as a shield.
Nothing.
He moved again, beginning to circle the mass in an attempt to see its features obscured by the cloak and its rather large posterior. The first thing he saw was a human hand.
"Ok, that's not so weird."
Then another.
"Are those both lefts?"
Another. Then a leg. And two more arms, one grasping an ornate golden sword. Another leg. Seven limbs in total…before even discovering the middle of the monstrosity.
"What the f-" he started, then halted as he found what appeared to be a face…belonging to a seemingly normal person.
An…almost pretty person.
A very dead pretty person.
Falling to his rear, Subaru began to hyperventilate as his brain pieced together the abomination before him. A large mass of human body parts, quite obviously taken from different people, grafted together in some sick ritualistic practice. Subaru clutched at his chest.
"How the hell could it have been alive?" he wheezed to himself. Just the sight of such a beast would give him nightmares, he's lucky this one seemed to have been taken care of by someone - or something - else.
"Where the fuck am I?"
As if not truly interested in the answer to his own question, Subaru scrambled back to his feet and ran in the opposite direction of the freak show he'd just been treated to. Finding another archway, he stumbled through it and put his back to the stone on the other side, hiding from the deceased creature. His eyes were screwed shut as he attempted to catch his breath.
He balled his fists and pushed them into his eyes, groaning in frustration, "I wanna go home!" After a few pained sobs and whines, Subaru opened his eyes and took note of the continued path in front of him.
"Another rope bridge?! You've gotta be kidding me!" he shouted at no one, placing his hands on his knees. "What kind of sick joke is this?"
He finally worked himself up to the point of braving the rickety old bridge and burst into a sprint, crossing it in just a few seconds. Sliding to a halt, he noticed the path ended, nothing else before him but a jutting cliff edge.
"Wh-...what?" he stammered to himself. "But where am I supposed to go? Am I trapped here?" Desperation kicking in, he inched forward, attempting to look over the edge in hopes of finding another set of stairs or a ladder. Unfortunately, the ground giving way beneath his feet rendered his search moot.
"Hnk-" he grunted as his purchase on solid earth was stolen from him and he began to fall. "Fuck! No, no, no, no, nonononon-!"
Before he could even properly assess what or where he might be falling into, darkness took Subaru Natsuki.