HetaOni (Hetalia x Reader x 2P! Hetalia)

Chapter 19 (Part 1)

---Chapter XIX: Hide and Seek (Part 1)---

"Where do you think you're going, sweetie?"  

  //Reader's PoV//


It felt like my heart stopped upon hearing the eerie voice.


What do I do...?


This wasn't some joke. This wasn't just some hallucination my mind had made up. It was real.



That person's behind me.


There were so many thoughts swirling in my mind. What am I supposed to do? Who is that person behind me? I can't exactly tell by the voice because...the person's voice sounded garbled up in a way. Like...like it wasn't a ghost, or creature, or some entity... It felt far...worse. It felt...dangerous. The voice was raspy, as if struggling...but at the same time it sounded...wicked. And...


...and it was like that person sounded so...consumed.


I know this isn't the time to overanalyse the situation...but I just couldn't help it.


It's like I'm...being compelled to do so.


Which brings me to outweigh curiosity over fear...and causes me to slowly turn around to see who that person was. "I need to kno--"


"STOP."


I abruptly stopped and instead flinched upon hearing the sharp tone of the person behind me. "Don't you dare turn around...unless you want to die, sweetie."


That was more than enough reason for me to revert to my old position, facing the exact opposite side from the source of the voice. Braving to try getting something out of the unknown entity, I spoke softly, "...Okay...who...are you, and what are you doing here?"

A dark chuckle erupted from the person behind me. "You already know me, sweetie...and I've been here in this mansion with you this whole time."

"W-What, I don't know you..."

"You do."

"What?"

"You do know me, sweetie. You're just not aware of who I am."

"You're not...making any sense."


There was a short pause between the two of us, then the person continued, "You keep observing, but do not see. You keep analysing, but do not think. You keep remembering, but still forget."


What the person told me was somehow bothering. What do I not see? Not think of? I've been going through enough mental struggles inside this wretched mansion, what more is there to it? What did I miss?


"That you are here in time," said the person behind me in, strangely, a softer tone.


The replies that this person gave just kept increasing my questions than answering them. "I don't understand! What are you trying to tell me, exactly?!" I couldn't help but speak out in an exasperated tone. "I'm in time for what?"


"You really don't understand, do you, sweetie? What I said wasn't something to question," the person said, as if disappointed by my false comprehension. "But I see that you want answers, and maybe even more, hm?"


"More than answers...I want solutions," I told the person, clenching my fists. "I don't know who you are, or what role you play here in this horrid mansion...but I can tell that you know more about the whole situation than I do. You might--you might even know how my friends and I can get out of here."


"Ah, so you are slowly starting to think, hm? Well, you are correct, sweetie~" the eerie voice crept back again, closer...as if just beside my ear. "...but who said I would let you and your dear friends out of this mansion?"

Hearing that made anger spark within me, turning around, I spoke, "So it was you?! You're the--"


"I SAID, DONT. TURN."


The voice became stronger which made me halt just in time. Startled and scared, I began calming myself down. "....Tell me."


"Hm?"


"You...whoever you are. Tell me how we can get out of here, please..." I pleaded, trying a different approach to the unknown entity. "We've had...enough of this nightmare. We don't want to see each other suffer anymore. We want to stop this cycle of death and regrets. We just...we just want to get out of here." I was practically shaking at that point.


Again, there was silence, as if the person was thinking. The person behind me chuckled again, "Ahah, it's delicious to hear you beg, sweetie, but it just doesn't work that way."


In a way, I knew that it didn't.


Letting out a deep breath, I spoke, "Then, why don't we have a deal?"


"A deal?"


What I'm thinking of is somehow dangerous, but I can't let this chance get away. "I'm not sure if you're one of those Things, but I have a hunch that you'd accept a deal like the one Italy made with that monster. So, why don't we make a deal? A deal where if I win, you have to tell us everything so we can get out of here--or better yet, have you get all of us out of this mansion."


"...And if you lose, sweetie?"


I felt cold. What am I doing? It's like making a deal with the devil itself. How could I not consider the possibility of losing? I could put everyone in even more danger...but...


Faintly, I heard a noise that could be taken as a sigh from the person behind me. "Ah, here I was thinking that you were more cunning than I give you credit for. But I'll tell you what sweetie, I like the idea. Let me help you with it."

"What?"

"You said you wanted to make a deal with me to make me help you and your friends escape, right? Fine. If you win, I'll tell you everything, even tell you the answer to escape this mansion." the person told me.

I felt hope rising within me. "Y-You will?! Ah..." I paused, "What's the catch?"


"This deal of ours will be a game, played under my terms."


"...What terms..?" The thought of it already began to make me uneasy, what's worse is that the person placed their hands on my shoulders and whispered in my ear, causing the chills to run up my spine.

And as the person explained the twisted game that they wanted to play, my eyes just grew wider and wider. My body was shaking, and my knees were slowly weakening. It was cruel. A twisted game befitting for this twisted mansion.

Once the person was done explaining, they took off their hands off of my shoulders, making me feel a slight relief, I could finally breath without restriction.

"So, what do say, sweetie?"


I'm sorry, everyone.


"We have a deal."


I heard the person take a step back.


"Then let's play a game of Hide-and-Seek, (Name)."


The voice changed, as if the person speaking had slipped its guard down. I couldn't believe it.


That voice.


Finally turning around, I spoke, "You're--"


But I spoke too soon, because the next thing I knew, I was already losing consciousness...like, I was losing my breath...


I don't know what happened to me next, but I remember...


I remember the faint ticking of the grandfather clock in the room, and the sound of its gong, the sound those clocks usually make to signal the hour.


But in this case, I knew.


It was the signal for the game to begin.


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