Simulated Lanes

Chapter 23 - Imprisonment

Darkness. It's all what (Y/n) is seeing right now. There's not a single light around him, nor a crevice that bring even the tiniest of shine. 

'Taiga?'

He tries to call his friend, but to no response. He doesn't know what to do now, seeing that he's lost in the darkness... until...

"Don't... give in..."

A vague voice is heard from somewhere. (Y/n) tries to find where it is, but to no avail.

"You have... God on your side!"

'... Kuroto?' Now knowing who it is, the ground(?) cracks, revealing zombies emerging from it. From there, a lone Kuroto Dan emerged as well, being as zany as ever.

"Now wake up! Otherwise, this world will be plunged by the devils of Chronicle!"

With Kuroto's support, everything around (Y/n) slowly turns to white, as the teen then disappears from the dream world, and into reality...

Said Reality,

With a groan, (Y/n) woke up in a surprisingly lavish room. One thing he noticed however, is the theming that resembles German motif, things that he had seen on the Ironblood shipgirls.

'So that means I'm captured now...' He sighed in his mind, with it being confirmed when he sees a cuff holding his right arm. It wouldn't take long until he realized something alarming. '... Taiga?'

"It's no use, he's not here with you." He then heard the voice of Kuroto instead.

'What do you mean?' (Y/n) then asked.

"You can only talk to Taiga because you have the Gashats related to him. Best bet is that they were taken away." Kuroto explained, making (Y/n) panic over two things: The Gashat and the Driver, and his identity.

'... Oh crap.' He cursed. 'Oh! Then maybe-' Before both of our characters could continue, (Y/n) heard the sound of door unlocking. 'Gotta pretend to be asleep for some info...' And he does just that. The door then opens, revealing Prinz Eugen entering the room. The shipgirl hums in amusement after whatever happened earlier. When she reached her Prisoner of War, he noticed a fast rising and falling motion on his chest, making her smirk.

"I wonder..." She whispered softly as she slowly reach her face to his ear. "... Boo!"

And with a shriek, (Y/n) jolted up, eyes wide. His instinctual shyness towards women made him unable to keep himself calm. It only took a few second until he realized he screwed up.

"Oh my, I didn't know you're such a scaredy cat." Prinz commented, "But alas, it's understandable, seeing that we're enemies and all."

His captor's calm demeanor made (Y/n) confused, yet at the same time, made him feel wary for her, since it is true that they're enemies to each other... or at least to Snipe.

"You may know me from our previous battle, but allow me to introduce myself. I'm Prinz Eugen, a Light Cruiser for Ironblood." She then introduced herself after backing her face away from the teen. "You are Snipe, but that's just the name while you're with the mask. Now, what is your name?"

Her soft yet slightly alluring voice made (Y/n) unconsciously reply with his name. He then snapped out of it when Kuroto shouted at him in his mind.

"W-what're you going to do with me? Interrogate me?" He then asked, albeit faking his bravado, in which Prinz easily see through it.

"How cute. Why yes, we will do so. But if you keep your best behavior, it'll more like a simple questioning than a harsh interrogation." She then said.

"What exactly do you after...?" (Y/n) then asked about himself, parroting what Kuroto ask him to say to her.