Chapter Text
Ojiro was trembling with rage and fear. He wanted this to be over. He wanted to be home. And right now, he wanted to slaughter and to destroy every Nightmare on the planet. More pressingly, he wanted to kill the purple-eyed horror right in front of him. But Ojiro just clenched his teeth and glared.
“Today's a no-talking day huh? Well, I'm sure you still want to eat. I brought food,” Shinsou said.
Ojiro was deep in the heart of the woods, in a large wood and stone structure in which Shinsou lived. He didn't refer to it as the vampire's home; that would be too normal, and monsters that kidnap people don't get to be normal. The vampire's building had a hearth, a few rooms, a kitchen, and a basement. Ojiro had only been in the room he had been put in and in the large living -well- “undead” room might be more appropriate. The room he's in now, he doesn't call it his room, he doesn't want this to be normal, isn't particularly horrifying. It has a bed, and nightstand, a door to a bathroom, a table where he could eat, and a bookshelf with books he could read. There's even a window, taunting him with the idea of freedom.
A bit of glass is what's separating him from the rest of the world. He can see what few specs of sunlight filter in through the trees. He misses sunlight so much, but as much as he hates being stuck here, he doesn't know the forest nor how to find his house from this area. He doesn't remember coming here, just that there's a gap from when he responded to the Nightmare and arriving here.
There's always a gap. He keeps losing time. After almost every interaction with the Nightmare he has holes in his memory. He can't keep track of how long he's been here. And after every interaction, he can't tell if it's only been an hour, or a if he's lost account of an entire week. Ojiro clenches his fists and glares at the food the vampire brought. What if he just doesn't eat? If he stopped eating or drinking would he be useless to this monster? What does it even want? What purpose does Ojiro serve by being here? Is it related to the memory loss? Will he see his family again? He wonders what they think of him missing by now. He hopes they're okay.
Ojiro knows his eyes are rimmed red by now and he can barely see through his blurred vision. He wants to know what's going on. He wants to do something. But he can't stomach the thought of talking the Nightmare in the room. He can't stand the thought of bringing on whatever it is that causes him to lose him memory. After all this time, however much time has passed that is, he feels like he's been losing his mind.
“Hmm. Not too hungry after all huh?”
Ojiro wonders, not for the first time, if there's something in this room he could use something in the room to attack the vampire with. He started fashioning a loose piece of wood at once. But it disappeared after a particularly draining memory gap. He gets fatigued after some gaps, sometimes, when he's himself after who knows what makes him not himself, his body aches, and his muscles are sore, and he wants to sleep for a week. Ojiro feels a tear slip from his eye. He just wants this to be over already. He'd rather be dead than in limbo like this.
“Are you alright?”
Ojiro doesn't answer. He won't.
“Why don't you eat? I'm sure it'll make you feel better.”
Ojiro wipes his eyes with his sleeve and glares at his kidnapper. Then looks at the plate of food, he's given a spoon and a fork. Never a knife.
The Nightmare steps closer, and Ojiro raises his fists. Shinsou sighs and grabs Ojiro's hands, he pulls them down and holds Ojiro's fists between them.
“Come on, you don't want to fight do you? You know I'd win. You know it wouldn't go well for you.”
Ojiro is so tired. He almost considers what the vampire says, but he's too smart for that. He doesn't want to keep losing his memories. He doesn't want to keep giving up his mind. He tries to lift his fists again, but he really is too weak to get out of the vampire's grip. He feels helpless. Too weak to fight with his body, too weak to keep control of his mind, and with a spirit that's dangerously close to broken.
Ojiro sinks to the ground. He doesn't have it in him to keep standing. The Nightmare sits down across from him.
“You seem pretty upset. Is there anything I can do to help?” Shinsou seemed concerned.
Ojiro hates it when the Nightmare tries to seem human. He hates being in the situation. Ojiro is crying. He hates Nightmares. He loathes these vampires, one vampire in particular, with a burning passion. If it's the last thing he does, he'll kill them.
“I understand you're not responding because you're worried I'll take control. I understand that you might be scared right now. Just know that it's okay to cry. Humans need an outlet for their emotions sometimes. Also, crying counts as a response.”
Ojiro sobbed. And when he looked up the food was gone, the vampire was gone, and what sunlight had pierced the trees before had been replaced by darkness. Ojiro felt like he'd been run over. Ojiro felt too exhausted to be upset, too exhausted to wonder how much time had passed this time. Ojiro could only manage to lie down before a different, more welcome darkness blanketed his mind.