Isn't This a Bit OFF..? (Zacharie X Reader)

Is Something Wrong?

You hadn't been home for long since you'd been with Zacharie, having spent your entire day with him. He walked you home again, but this time, you couldn't help but notice how strangely he was acting. You wondered if it was just because of having to uncomfortably reveal his face to you earlier, but at the same time, you weren't sure that that was the case.

He seemed to never really look at you as you two walked and talked, his gaze seeming to be focused on the ground the whole time. After being around him so much and never seeing that kind of behavior come out of him, you knew that it wasn't necessarily normal. You almost wanted to ask him what was on his mind, what was bothering him, or whatever was going on, but at the same time, you didn't feel like you should.

You sat up, having a temptation to go after Zacharie and ask him before he was too far away, jumping off of your bed and speeding up your pace as you made your way to and out the door, shutting it behind yourself. As soon as you did so, you broke into a sprint, heading in the direction you had previously returned home from, your eyes keeping a sharp lookout for the masked merchant, despite how night was quickly falling.

You eventually spotted someone in the distance- no, not just one person, two in fact. You stopped in your tracks, standing there in the darkness as you watched the two people converse, who seemed to be Zacharie and the one that you were told was known as the Batter, months ago.

Seeing that the Batter was holding what looked like a bloodied baseball bat, you quickly decided against approaching the two, your eyes going slightly wide as you backed away a bit. Wanting to hear what they were talking about though, you refrained from going any farther away, remaining as silent as possible as not to be noticed, and so that you could hear them clearly enough.

"My apologies, amigo... I was busy today, I suppose you could say that I was on a date..?" Zacharie spoke to the Batter, the words causing your eyes to widen and your cheeks to flush a very noticable shade of red.

A date..? The words drifted through your mind, leaving you in a slight daze.

You were so confused.

You didn't even like him that way... At least you thought you didn't. You hoped you didn't.

You bit your lip slightly, then continued to listen in on the conversation.

"I don't care. You weren't there when I needed you. I'm behind on my mission now," The Batter spoke back, his voice seeming almost monotone. You were already scared of him. Something about him just wasn't right, and you wanted nothing to do with him.

"Well, I'm truly sorry... Is there any way I could make it up to you?" Zacharie tilted his head, waiting for the other's answer.

"No."

"Oh... Anyways, I promise it won't happen again. Vous avez ma parole, Batteur.~"

"..." The Batter didn't respond, simply standing there as Zacharie walked away.

Eventually, the merchant was out of sight, leaving you standing alone in the darkness, staring at the Batter in the near distance. You quickly turned your back to him and began walking back towards your house, looking towards the ground and dragging your feet slightly. You were feeling a bit flustered after hearing how Zacharie described his day with you.

After walking for a little bit, you paused, feeling that same odd presense that you felt right before the specter attacked you so long ago. Shivering slightly, you glanced around, then gulped, bracing yourself as you turned around, ending up facing another even taller man. He was holding a bloody baseball bat- the same one that you had seen not too long ago. Your eyes widened as you stared up at none other than the Batter himself, a chill running down your spine as two red eyes locked themselves on you. You found yourself unable to speak, choking slightly on the words that were now caught in your throat, making you feel nothing but helpless.

"You are impure. I am here to purify you." The Batter's monotone voice made your blood run cold, and you couldn't help but scream as he lifted his bat, swinging it, hitting you in your side with unbearable force that seemed greatly in-human.

You trembled, collapsing to the ground, whimpering and sobbing in pain, clutching your side, screaming again as the Batter landed another blow to your arms that were attempting to protect your injured side. Tears poured down your face as you shakily straightened your badly bruised body, trying to hard to drag yourself away from the Batter's reach, yet to no avail as yet another strong hit was landed to your back, making you go limp once more. Flopping on your side and weakly pulling your legs to your chest, holding them there in pain, you waited for another blow to be inflicted, able to feel how you were bleeding out onto the ground already.

You finally sobbed out, "...H-h-....h-help...m-me......" Squeezing your eyes shut, you let out one final scream, as the Batter swung the bat and hit you in the head harder than ever, and then again, and again. Satisfied with his work, he then began to retreat with his now even bloodier bat, leaving you balled up on the ground, bruised and bloodied.

With that, you blacked out, your hair tangled in your face and your body aching in terrible pain.