➹ LEFT TO LOSE ➷ chishiya s.

➸ CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

NOW PLAYING ...
Leaving Tonight • The Neighbourhood

! AUTHORS NOTE !
cliff hanger last chapter... my baddd, but i couldn't throw THIS chapter at your face right after the surgery one... but now i am LMAOOO hope you enjoy tho :' )

! AUTHORS WARNING !
with absolutely no context included, the warnings for today are mentions of literal kidnapping, verbal abuse, inflicted physical pain, and a sprinkle of disassociation. yeah, you heard me right, better BUCKLE THE FUUUUCK UP, 'CAUSE HERE WE GO WOOO (but seriously this is a sad chapter and i'm now apologizing ahead of time)

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➸ "Sleeping beauty's awake." The muffled voice belonging to a large man sourced from somewhere far away from your ears, "Go alert him." Footsteps crunched on leaves and sticks until it was out of your range, only confusing you more on your current location. You fluttered your eyes open, still blurry since you were on the concrete ground. But now, the floor wasn't concrete, it was Earth's soil. You were tied to a metal chair in the middle of a forest, too dark enough to determine how far away you were from the city.

You shuffled in your seat, trying to have a feel whether your pocket knife was still in your possession, only to be let down by your empty back pockets. Your hearing didn't clear up as fast as your vision did, whining your eyes around in panic at the people that surrounded you. It were all men, ones that you had never seen before, regarding your short memory. There were only three, two talked to one that you couldn't clearly see. Lots of noise was being played in your ears, but all were muted and blended together, making you even more annoyed at the lack of intel you could gather from what you got yourself into.

Then, a voice shot through your right ear, more clear than the rest. "Hey." It said, generating immediate goosebumps on your skin. You whipped your head around to see who it belonged to, only to freeze at the face matching it. "Long time no see," Banda quirked his head to the side with a smile, "Stranger."

You didn't even know what to say— who would? A guy you met from a game and had two counted conversations with now had you captive in a forest in the middle of the night.

"I know what you're thinking right now," Banda said as soon as you finished your thought, like he had been listening for a chance to reply to it. "Why did a guy you just met go through the immense trouble to kidnap you?" You but the inside of your cheek in anticipation, not wanting to admit that he got his assumption exactly correct. "Well, one of two things in that question are true." Banda bent down to your level, treating you like a kid as he held up his index finger. "One, it was a lot of trouble to find you, not to mention get you away from that other guy. And two, you're wrong to think we just met."

"Oh great," You spoke out with your newfound confidence, too annoyed to bite your tongue back any longer. "Another case of 'we met in the Borderlands', you're not the only person whose used my memory problem against me." Banda quietly listened to your vicious remarks, utterly amused at your change of behavior since he'd last saw you. "Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did to you back then," You barked, "But the truth is, I have no fucking idea who any of you are! I don't even remember my mother's face, for fuck's sake— give me a break! Kidnapping me for some long lost vengeance won't satisfy you like you think it will." You couldn't lie to yourself when you thought of toning down your attitude after your outburst, but you couldn't soften up now. You had to finally stand your ground, as it was about time you did in a world like this.

Even so, Banda didn't bite back, he just kept that same grin on his face. "Did you ever stop to think," Banda cocked an eyebrow up, "How you got Dissociative Amnesia?"

You couldn't come up with a snarky response, as you were genuinely taken by surprise at his response. Although you were very confused at how he specifically knew your exact disorder, you were also caught up in his question... because you never did stop to think about the answer to it. Now that you think about it, why are you the way you are?

"Banda, stop." You tried to swallow your nerves, at least from out of sight from the psychopath before you. "Just— stop, with this whole psychological shit. I just needed to get something from the prison, then I'll be out of your way. Since you think so low of me, I'll probably just die in a face card game sooner than later, right? So, what do you want from me, exactly?"

Your way of persuading him to let you go didn't work whatsoever, as it only made him chuckle at your struggle. Then, he stood up from your head- level and extended his hand out to the group of men you noticed earlier. The third man, previously shielded from your vision, stepped out to hand Banda an object. He revealed himself to be Yaba, one of the finalist from the Jack of Hearts game with you. He still wore the same suit and tie, somehow managing to keep it clean after all this time. He didn't care to spare you a look, turning back to the group of men and leading them away from you and Banda.

"You mean this?" Banda's voice caught your attention once again, then your eyes dropped to what he was holding. It was your memory journal, dangling in between his slender fingers as he waved it back and forth, taunting you with its sentimental value. Right then and there was when you realized the complete weight of predicament you stumbled into, memories of Matsushita screaming in agony just a few feet away from your chamber. You kept your mouth shut, now really regretting your back-talk from earlier as you stared at Banda's eyes. He tilt his head downwards, his malicious expression only darkening. "Finally got your attention, I see."

"Tell me what you want, Banda, and you can have it." You released a shaky breath, "Just, give that back to me, please. It's—It's all I have left of who I am."

Banda took a step forward, bending his knees to get back down at your level. "What I want?" He restated your words, watching you nod your head desperately. That's when his smooth movements suddenly became sharp, you flinched as he grabbed the old journal firmly using both hands and ripped it in half. It looked like it was nothing but a few sheets of paper, he had no struggle of breaking the spine of the antique leather and tossing the torn pagers into the void. You audibly gasped, eyes immediately tearing up at not being able to see any remains of your life on the floor. It was dark, too dark to be able to land your eyes on anything but Banda's face, forcing them to stare at his dull expression.

"I'll tell you what I want," Banda spit venom, the smile from before completely swept off his face. "I want you to just shut up and listen."

The pounding feeling on the back of your head suddenly became more potent, making your head bobble side to side unbalanced. Your eye lids dropped, but shot right back up as soon as you felt Banda's hand grab your face. His thumb dug one of your cheeks and the rest of his fingers dug the other, clamping your face together tightly to make you stop moving.

"You know me," Banda hushed his pent up agitation, "You've known me for longer than you could ever imagine. And—And I will not let you run around so carelessly without remembering the pain I caused you all those years ago. No, no you don't deserve that."

You couldn't talk even if you wanted to, luckily you didn't know what to say to this man in the first place. Your hands had went numb from being tied behind your back with no room to shuffle in without giving yourself burns. Your feet fell asleep in your shoes, your ankles already developing bruises from also being tied together against the chair. You couldn't feel anything but your heartbeat and migraine, though your heart was much more quieter than your head.

"Y/N Chinen," The man finally released a toothy grin, "I am Sunato Banda, and you will remember my name, even before your own."

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THANK YOU FOR READING!