WARNING: This chapter contains YANDERE (Obsessive, possessive, stalkerish, violent) traits and behaviors. The chapter is PG-13. This is your only warning (Starts after the first <…> and ends after the second <…>).
<…>
- “Good mor…ning?”
I open my eyes, and all is still dark, I turn to my side and see and see a digital alarm clock marking 7 AM, in red. I was confused since I know my curtains are not thick enough to prevent morning daylight from entering my room.
That’s when I notice it. I am not in my room. I wasn’t even on my bed, I was tied to a chair, in a dark room, that only had a flickering light at the end of it. At least I still had my pajamas… For whatever that was worth. I still had no idea where I was.
- “HEY! IS ANYBODY IN HERE?!”
- (YAWN)… “Urmm… So loud…”
As time passed, my eyes began to adjust themselves to the darkness, and I saw another person tied to a chair, almost in front of me, he had been asleep and was groggily trying to open his eyes, then he suddenly looked at me…
- “JOHN?!”
- “Oh… Hey Nio… NIO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT MY HOUSE?! Wait… This isn’t my house.”
- “We’ve been kidnapped>”
- “WHAT?! I CAN’T BE KIDNAPPED. NOT TODAY. TODAY I HAVE SOCCER PRACTICE.”
For what it was worth, John seemed to be his normal self, which brought an odd sense of peace to this situation. I started to look around to see what we could use to get out of wherever this was when suddenly, I saw an image on the floor. An image that made my blood run cold.”
- “JOHN LISTEN TO ME!”
- “What is it Nio what’s wrong?”
- (WHAT ISN’T WRONG?) I DON’T HAVE PROOF. BUT I THINK I KNOW WHO BROUGHT US HERE-”
- “DARLING, I FOUND YOU.”
Four words it took to confirm what I already knew. A door was opened, letting some light in, as a beauty with cyan hair entered wearing a smile that was both alluring as it was eerie.
- “KIKEN, YOU FOUND US?!”
- “LISTEN TO ME JOH- UNGH!”
- “Of course, I did Johnny. I was not gonna stop until I found my beloved.”
In the blink of an eye, she placed a cloth on my mouth before I could warn John, and John was so tearful that he didn’t notice. I kept trying to warn him, but everything I said was muffled and unintelligible. But that wasn’t what worried me the most right now. What worried me the most, was the tint of red on John’s cheeks. This was not good.
Kiken had out shipped me. She had played the ‘fall in love with your rescuer’ trope, and it had worked. But John didn’t know, that Kiken was the one who had kidnapped us in the first place for this very purpose.
- “UNGHNNG…”
- “Umm Kiken… I know this must sound strange. But I was so scared, I’ve never felt like this in my life…”
I KNEW WHERE THIS WAS GOING AND I HAD TO STOP HIM. John was tearing up and on the brink of a breakdown. And who was gonna be there for him? HIS KIDNAPPER!
- “Would you… ‘sniff’… Hold… ‘sniff’… Me?”
- “Of course, Johnny. I love you.”
{Grabs John and places his head in her chest, close to her heart, as they kneel on the floor}.
- “I’ll hold you. I’ll hug you. I’ll KISS YOU. I’LL STAY WITH YOU. I’LL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE.” (Creepily smiling).
- “Thanks, Kiken-”
- “Utsukushi… Call me Utsukushi, my precious. Or you can call me UTSU, or UTSI, or how about KUSHI-KUSHI.”
- “Ok, Kushi – Kushi…”
- “YEY…”
I was cringing so hard at what I was seeing, but I was mostly afraid since John wasn’t even noticing me. I was screaming in my head, but I couldn’t be heard. Kiken then grabs John’s face and holds it towards her own, pressing a big smooch on his nose, causing steam to come from his ears.
- “Hey… How about I spend the night at your place, AND EVERY OTHER NIGHT, SO I CAN KEEP YOU SAFE… FROM ANY PERSON THAT MIGHT WANT TO TAKE YOU FROM ME OR HARM YOU!”
- “But… It ain’t proper, Kushi-Kushi.”
- “Of course, not silly… We’ll get married first. I have the paperwork, and everything prepared already. You do love me, right? YOU DO WANT TO MARRY ME, RIGHT?!”
FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE… SEE THE SIGNS JOHN, DANGGIT!
- “Of course, I love you. You saved my life.”
- “YEY! Now, wait for me outside, while I free your friend ok. <3”
- “Ok. See you outside Nio.”
- “UUUUNNNGHHH!!! MMMGGGGGGNNNNNN!!!” (Translation: “JOOOOOHHHHN!!! RUUUUUUUNNNN!!!”)
The moment he left so peacefully; was the moment I began to violently trash against the ropes that kept me in place. Fear and panic started to take over me. Kiken’s partially comforting smile that was there for John’s saker was no more, replaced by a totally creepy one. Then a knife was stabbed just next to my leg, missing it by an inch.
- “Listen here, you insect. I’ll set you free, just because I know my beloved, holds your friendship dearly but know. JOHNNY IS MINE AND MINE ALONE. WHENEVER YOU SEE HIM, HE’LL BE WITH ME. AND DON'T TRY TO GET TOO CLOSE.”
After saying that, she began to untie the ropes, but while that happened, she began to talk again.
- “Let it be known that if you ever tell John what you know, that’ll be the end for you. And if the moment I set you free, you run to the police or try to attack me, I’ll overpower you, and run away with John to where we’ll never be found.”
I felt completely powerless. The moment the cloth was removed from my mouth, I tried to speak, but I couldn’t, I didn’t know what to think or do. The moment I was untied from the chair, I dropped to the floor sweating.
- “Here… Something to calm yourself down…”
She then dropped a brown coat on me. I hugged it when suddenly another wave of panic hit me like a freight train. I took the coat off and recognized it immediately. This was Ao-sen’s coat, she never left without it, not even when we went to the beach. And it had a hole… In the abdomen area.
- “…”
- “Hehe… What’s wrong? Here… Maybe music will calm you down.”
She threw me a slightly cracked mp3 player, with some white earphones connected. Gita’s earphones, Gita’s mp3 player. I began to breathe heavily.
- “Take a moment to collect yourself. I’ll be waiting outside with my husband. I can’t stand looking at the filth anymore. Don’t take too long. Or I might just leave you here and lock the door behind me… TRAPPING YOU FOREVER.”
She walks away, leaving the door open. I can only stare at the coat, and mp3 player, as I see specs of blood in both.
- “Ungh…Ungh…Ah… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”
<…>
- “AAAAAAAAAAA… Huh?”
Everything was dark. And I was on my bed… This was all a nightmare.
- “Pfff- HAHAHA…UHUHU- WAAAAHHHH!”
After three minutes of stress crying, I was finally able to calm down.
- “She would never do something that bad… It was just a dream. And in a couple of hours, I’ll even forget most of the details. She is a ‘yandere’, sure, but she has friends, she wouldn’t kill them, nor go as far as…”
<AANK. AAANK. BEEP. BEEEP. BEEP. “YANDERE ALERT. YANDERE ALERT”>.
- “Then again, it appears she already broke into my huge, but a strangely affordable, apartment.”
…
{On the lower floor of the apartment, a cyan-haired beauty, stood with a knife in hand, and a forced door, while an alarm sounded. The moment the alarm sounded, the door’s opening was sealed with a metal plate, and so were the windows}.
- “Ok… Here we go, Nio…”
{After speaking, the graceful intruder, began to run, as many bear traps were released, but Kiken was triggering them on purpose as she ran and dodged. Tranquilizer darts were being shot from the kitchen, but Kiken either dodged them or deflected them with her knife. All while keeping her trademark spooky grin. I was like she had done it before. When she reached the stairs to go to the second floor, the stairs turned into a slide, but the ‘yandere’ was prepared, she stabbed, her knife on the slide, and flipped her body in the air landing on the second-floor railing. In order to hold on, she had to drop her knife. She began to lift her body to cross the railing, but while that occurred…}
- “You tried a new approach, good… Checkmate.”
{The small-sized shipper held a bazooka in hand that launched a net that trapped Kiken and made her fall and slide down to the first floor. Kiken struggled against the net but didn't break it, because Nio held a phone in front of her face, with the number 110 (emergency number in Japan), marked and ready to dial}.
- “Ha-ha… It seems like you’ve got me this time subhuman trash.”
…
Kiken had been caught in my net, and she knew she couldn’t risk me calling the police because this apartment had cameras. “Why not call the police anyway? I mean she broke into your home! That’s all the evidence you need.” Perhaps you are asking yourself that question. The answer may sound stupid, but I hope she changes her ways. If I discovered any evidence of the things she has done against others, I would not hesitate to call them, but this is me we are talking about, I’m unharmed, and as it can be seen I can defend myself… I did not lie when I said I could take her on in my house. It had not been the first time.
This has occurred on two other occasions since she discovered my notebook, trying to get to it and take it from me, sabotaging my plans to help the others, while helping herself to the plans I made to help her. But I was always ready. With every break-in, I updated and rearranged my traps so that she wouldn’t be able to anticipate. Today was close, she had never managed to get so close to the second floor.
Kiken, Utsukushi. Looks? Check. Brains? Check. Musical knowledge? Check. Popularity? Check. Money? Check. Her long cyan hair serves as a weapon to those of romantic hearts. Her locker is always full of love letters she kindly discards. Second, only to Mattari, she makes it up in people skills. She is like the perfect girl… Except when she isn’t. She met John in her first year of high school, John was already in his second year of high school. On the first day of school and Kiken was already surrounded by admirers. So many she couldn’t get to class. John, as the protagonist he is, got her out of that situation. After that encounter, things became weird in school. She was able to take the skip-a-grade, quiz, even if it wasn’t allowed once classes started. SHE FREAKIN ACED IT! (No, I’m not jealous… I’m not jealous at all). She joined the second years. But things didn’t end there, some students started to sporadically transfer out. Their parents were given generous amounts just to leave Japan entirely, along with their children. I heard some rumors amongst the halls on my first day, saying that the year before my acceptance, some girls started to straight up, disappear without a trace. Investigations were made but came up empty-handed. Over the last two months I’ve been here hanging out with John, I’ve seen 5 third-year girls transfer out, and 2 disappear without a trace. Two things in common between both groups, before they left, they had asked John a favor and were last seen at school talking with Kiken. She is the only one of the girls I’ve stalked, but only because she stalked me back home the first day, I saw her. Ever since that day an unspoken war began between us, my apartment is filled with traps and a high-security system I built and paid for with my own work money. And every once in a while, I see her lurking near my neighborhood, either going to John’s house, or circling the apartment complex I live in, and the house to its right. Kiken is a total yandere, honestly, I enjoy her archetype a lot, but not as something for real life, less if my bestie is her so-called “beloved”. She doesn’t hide her feelings for John anywhere (still John takes it as a joke), she is possessive, strong, and cunning. The smart one amongst the third years. No one suspects her due to her people skills, but even without evidence, I know her hands are not exactly clean. She is fifth on my ship tier list for obvious reasons, but it’s not hopeless. A couple of scenarios, filled with security cameras and officers of the law close by, and intensive sessions to control obsession, and I might allow it, I can’t clean-consciously let John in her hands if this is not fixed.
- “I planned on installing this bazooka net launcher to the wall today in the afternoon, but I didn’t expect for you to break in here today at 3 AM.”
- “This will not deter me, Nio! You know it. MY BELOVED WILL BE MINE.”
The memories of my nightmare were already beginning to fade, but her evil grin, that remained. And her current expression sent me chills.
- “Came for the notebook again? If that’s the case, I’m afraid I’ll have to turn you away again. And like the previous two times, once you leave, I’ll erase the footage and clean the evidence of your break-in. I do not wish for one of John’s friends to be locked up for breaking into my home. But please, refrain yourself from doing this, if you continue with this obsessiveness over him, I will not hesitate to tell John what you are and what you’ve done. I will not let him end with someone that will bring him harm like this.”
<SNAP>
I heard one of the areas of the net snap because of Kiken’s strength, so I hover my finger over the call button. She stops but then smirks. I keel to her eye level, trying to show no fear when in reality, I was freakin petrified.
- “You must feel so strong here, where you have your traps and your security, which although cheap compared to mine, I still don’t know how it is this effective, and how do you afford it. But you forget, who is in control out there.”
I shiver as I remember, how in one day she became my superior in community service work just to display her power.
- “But don’t fear. I’m not here for the notebook. I’m here for that magnificent plan you’ve been brainstorming to help me since that day I talked to you. I’ve been looking forward to it you know. I told you I’d come after you.”
- “Yeah, but I didn’t make you.”
- “FuFuFu… I’m waiting.”
…
Today was another Monday, but it wasn’t as normal as the other Mondays. Today Okinawa celebrated the day the coast was cleaned entirely. A whole festival was made on the coast, with lots of stands, seafood, games, people on jet skies, and more. Sounds like a boloney festival right, well what can I say, plot armor sure is amazing.
John wouldn’t attend school today, since he was helping run his parent’s stand. All his other friends were also at school, except for Kiken, who used her connections to skip. She also used them to excuse me from class. I was to “help her parents stand by cleaning garbage.” It wasn’t a total lie, I was going to have to do that, no pay even, but my main objective was to make sure the plan I came up with her at 3 AM worked.
It was John’s break, and he had ‘coincidentally’ met up with Kiken while walking. Now they were enjoying stuff, while I basically stalked them, to create the perfect scenario.
It was no surprise that Kiken drew a lot of male attention towards herself, but whenever they got too close, she hugged John’s arm tighter, making him uncomfortable, but emanating a subconscious deadly aura, that made them back away.
In terms of looks, John wasn’t the handsomest, not to say he was ugly, but what brought attention to him was his friendly vibe, his smile, it was just emanating from him, and that brought people to him, whether people who crushed on him or that just wanted to hang. My job consisted of creating distractions for these people, so they didn’t disturb Kiken in any way. I didn’t want them to become part of some sort of ‘jealous hit list’. But I can’t be everywhere at once.
…
- “Hey Kiken. I saw a French fry post nearby. Want to go get some? I love the seafood we’ve had so far, but I want something more common.”
- “Of course, silly. I’ll go anywhere with you.”
- “Ahh… Sure…”
I see them approaching the stand, and John offers to order while Kiken looks for a place to seat, although she keeps a close eye on him.
Sigh.
But as he orders I begin to see trouble. I was close, so I could listen in, while also holding a com-link with Kiken. People didn’t see me though.
- “Oh, hey there cutie, what can I get you?”
- “Two French fry orders, extra cheese, extra bacon.”
- “Oh, you here with a friend or something/”
- “Yeah, she’s seating over there.” (He points in Kiken’s direction).
Oh gosh. I see Kiken’s intent from here, she is about to stand.
- “That, little B-”
- (Over the com-link whispering). “Kiken. What are you doing?”
- “That nobody is trying to take my man, so I’m going to have a little chat with her in private.”
- “You do realize I know what that means, right? And that I’ll be able to have all the evidence I need to put you away? How about, instead, you do what we practiced?”
- “Fine.”
After we had finished discussing today’s plan, I freed Kiken from her net and decided to give her something to help control her obsessive, possessive tendencies. I gave her three dolls with my face. Creepy, yeah, but effective. I had created them specifically for Kiken. Whenever she felt like she would snap at someone too close to ‘her beloved’, she could discreetly take one of the dolls and shred it to pieces or something, to relieve the violence, as if it were a stress ball. They had my face, so she could picture the hatred she has towards me due to my close friendship with John.
I saw her rage, snap the doll’s neck, and lobotomize the doll. Then she discreetly threw it in the trash. I shivered, at the sheer level of hatred she had towards me, but I digress.
- (Through the com-link). “Feeling better.”
- “Slightly, but that ‘whoha’ is still flirting with my Johnny!”
- “Let me handle it then.”
…
- “So, cutie. My break is coming. Mind if I join you and your friend?”
- “You know what, I-”
- “John is that you?”
Nice save if I do say so myself.
- “Nio. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?”
- “Kiken asked for a leave of absence on my part, I’m supposed to be helping Kiken’s booth today.”
- (Smirk). “Look at you making new friends.”
Sigh. He can’t even tease properly.
- “She’s not working you too hard, is she?”
- “Ha-ha… Anyway, I thought I saw her sitting over there. She looked kindda hungry.”
- “Oh, yes, the fries.”
- “I’ll help carry them”
- “Thanks Nio.”
- (Whispering). “You need to learn to read people’s intentions man.”
- (Whispering). “What do you mean by that?”
Sigh.
As we left, I could see the lady from the fry stand glaring at me. I made a small apologetic bow with an awkward smile. When we were reaching the table, I could see Kiken smirking.
- “Hey, had you eaten anything? Why don’t you join us?”
Ah, scrap. Need to get out of this one.
- “Man, I don’t feel like making that line, I’ll just leave you to it.”
- “Nonsense, we can share my fries.”
- “…”
- “…”
- “…”
- “What?”
- “That’s kindda a weird thing for friends to do in this case.”
- “Yeah… You’re right, it is weird.”
- “…”
- “But it’ll be fun to see Kiken’s face, as she wonders why my friend is third-wheeling on my hangout with her.”
- “It would…”
As much as I feared Kiken, with John here, she wouldn’t do anything. And I kindda wanted her to feel the pain of jealousy, because of all she’s put me through. That’s right I ain’t no saint. So, I accept John’s third-wheeling offer.
- (Smirk). “Let’s do it.”
It indeed was fun to see Kiken growling at me under her breath for sharing John’s fries. We were anime chatting and fist-bumping throughout the meal. True after that Kiken made it especially hard for me at her booth, bringing in additional trash for me to clean. I was the last guy to leave the coast when the festival was over.
Overall, their hangout went as great as you’d expect. Thankfully, Kiken didn’t pull one of her moves on any of the girls that got too close to John. She did destroy the other dolls with my face, but we’ll work on that. Well, that’s it for today. Time for bed. Hope I don’t get another nightmare tonight.
…
Well, that was a wild ride.
Next time, what would become of the shipper, when the girls begin to suspect he plays favorites?
But before that, as a special look inside Nio’s backup notebook, where he lists the current developments on each ship, the success of each plan, and the level of closeness each girl has with John. All are listed from best to worst. See you next time on; “Protagonist is a Shipper.”
Would it be weird if I said I enjoyed writing the nightmare scene a little too much?
