Seventeen (Kokichi Ouma x Reader)

Chapter Nine - Renewal

Everything was dark. Everything was silent.

It was as if you had faded into nothingness, the inky black hands of unconsciousness pulling you under as reality dissipated from your cognition. You fought as you tried to escape it's tempting grip, but in the end the effort was futile. The darkness enveloped your mind as you gave in, taking over all your senses until your thoughts escaped you. And with that the world drifted away, leaving you in a state of dreamless rest.

But then, through the darkness a brilliant flash of light roared to life. It pulled you out from the cloak of black that shrouded your consciousness, reality revealing itself as the luminescence grew brighter and brighter. Until finally your eyes fluttered open, heavy with fatigue as they adjusted to the white walls that closely surrounded your form. The only sound you could hear was that of your own breathing, heavy as confusion had began to set in. Where were you?

Memories flashed before your eyes as you tried to piece everything together, the last thing you were able to recollect being Maki. The way her form hovered over you as she plunged the blade of a dagger into your stomach, your screams filling the room as tears blurred your vision. Clutching the area where the knife had hit, you could almost still feel the searing pain that ripped at your abdomen once again. Curiously, you lifted the hem of your shirt to expose the flesh of your stomach, being met with it's perfectly intact surface. There were no wounds, lacerations, or scars like you expected. There was evidence to ever suggest you had faced any harm.

You ran your fingers over the soft skin, cold to the touch as they made contact with your abdomen. But even so, you allowed your hand to inspect the area, being met with the same unbroken flesh you had observed. There was no way. Even if you had survived, there would have been major scars left over. Not to mention the other wounds you accumulated throughout the game, from the underground passage to the many times you injured yourself due to your knack for the reckless. Where did all of those wounds go? The bruises and cuts that scattered your body, leaving behind pale pink scars. It was as if they all had disappeared, like they had never happened in the first place.

The thought left your mind as quickly as it entered, being forced out as you tried to rationalize. Everything had been real, there was no way it couldn't be. The memories of your time inside the game were much too vivid to be false, the details fresh in your head as you thought back. But through everything you remembered, the walls that surrounded you weren't familiar. Wherever you ended up was someplace entirely new.

Without thinking you extended your hand in front of you, fingers running along the smooth rounded surface that circled your body. It was a confinement of sorts, similar to the locker you had ended up in at the beginning of the game. But just from a quick look you could tell it was nowhere near the likes of the aforementioned, giving off a high-tech feeling as your hand rested on the cool metal. Maybe that is what healed you, you thought, maybe it used some type of sci-fi-like science you had no idea existed.

Rolling your eyes, you dismissed the silly thought with a swift shake of your head. It was then that you felt a tug at your temples, the sensation of a device attached to the area. Cautiously, you reached up, feeling the metallic surface of a headset rested at the crown of your skull, several sensors branching off to adhere onto various points of your head and face. Eyes widening, you could feel the panic begin to form in the pit of your stomach as you ripped off one of the sensors, a sting of pain accompanying the motion. The reason for the headset was unknown to you, and you wanted to keep it that way.

Hastily, you ripped the rest of the sensors off, removing the headset entirely to examine the device with curiosity. It was a metallic shade of black with an odd shape, several long wires attached to the back where the nape of your neck had been, leading to the area behind you and through a small hole in the confinement. Beyond that, you had no idea where it might've gone, and more importantly, you had no idea what it was being used for.