Hikaru woke up to a pounding headache and a cold, stiff chair beneath him. His dog ears twitched at the faint hum of flickering fluorescent lights, and his tail was uncomfortably squished behind his back. The room smelled like wet socks and cheap disinfectant.
Groggily, he blinked at the figure standing in front of him, a masked man who looked like he'd lost a bet with a ski lodge.
"Well, well, Mr. Youngest Igarashi has woken up," the man drawled, gesturing dramatically like a villain from a low-budget crime show. "You will be my ATM."
Hikaru squinted. "ATM? Like… a money machine?"
The man paused. "Yes, like a money machine"
"That's oddly specific. What if I'm more of a piggy bank?" Hikaru mumbled, his brain still catching up with the situation.
The masked man didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned on his heel and stomped out, slamming the door behind him.
Hikaru was left alone, tied to the chair with thick ropes that dug into his wrists. His first instinct was to cry- tears were a universal SOS, right? Surely, someone would come to rescue him if he just looked pathetic enough. But as his eyes welled up, he realized something. No one was coming.
"Okay, Hikaru," he muttered to himself, "you've got this. Think like the dog you are! Dogs chew through things all the time!" He craned his neck, trying to gnaw at the ropes binding his wrists. After a few awkward chomps and a lot of drool, he gave up. "Bad idea. Very bad idea."
He tugged at the ropes instead, hoping they'd magically loosen. To his surprise, the ropes snapped with a loud pop. Hikaru froze, staring at his now-free hands.
"Uh… what?" He inspected the frayed ends of the rope. They weren't brittle or weak- they looked like they'd been shredded by some wild beast. "Did I-? No, no, that's not possible...it was probably weak rope... I'm as strong as wet paper"
He stood up cautiously, half-expecting the chair to collapse under him. When it didn't, he crept toward the door, his tail swishing nervously behind him. He peeked out into a dimly lit hallway that smelled faintly of burnt toast.
"This is like one of those bad dreams," he whispered to himself, tiptoeing forward. "You know, the kind where everything's awful, but you still have to pretend you know what you're doing."
Suddenly, voices echoed down the hall.
"There! The kid's loose!"
"Oh, come on!" Hikaru whined, breaking into a run. His sneakers squeaked against the floor as he darted around a corner. "Why can't kidnappers take a coffee break or something?"
The sound of pounding footsteps grew louder. Hikaru's ears pinned back in panic. He turned another corner and immediately regretted it -dead end.
Before he could think, a man lunged at him. Instinct took over. Hikaru ducked, flailing his arms in panic. His fist connected with the man's chest, and the kidnapper went flying backward, crashing into the wall like a scene straight out of an action movie.
Hikaru blinked. "Did I… do that?"
Another kidnapper charged at him, swinging a baseball bat. Hikaru yelped and dodged, grabbing the bat out of sheer reflex. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! No need to bring sports into this!" He swung the bat in self-defense, and the man crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
The fight continued, and somehow, Hikaru kept winning. He ducked, dodged, and flailed his way through the kidnappers, each one going down faster than he could process. His body moved like it had a mind of its own, pulling off moves he'd only ever seen in martial arts movies.
At one point, he accidentally punched a guy so hard that the man's mask flew off and hit another kidnapper in the face. "Sorry! My bad!" Hikaru called, though he wasn't sure why he was apologizing.
When the dust finally settled, Hikaru stood in the middle of a pile of unconscious bodies, panting. His ears drooped, and his tail tucked tightly between his legs. He looked down at his hands, trembling with a mix of adrenaline and fear.
"This… doesn't make any sense," he muttered. "I'm not strong. I'm the guy who can't even open pickle jars. What is happening?!"
He glanced around nervously, half-expecting more kidnappers to appear. When no one did, he bolted. His feet carried him through the dark, twisting corridors, his mind racing faster than his legs.
"I need to get out of here," he said, his voice shaky. "Before someone calls the cops and I end up on the news as 'Dog Boy Menace' or something... wait- why would the kidnappers call cops-"
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.
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After what felt like an eternity, Hikaru stumbled out into the open air. He stopped to catch his breath, leaning against a rusted metal pole. When he looked up, his heart sank.
The world around him was desolate. Broken buildings and cracked pavement stretched in every direction. The sky was a dull gray, and the air felt heavy with silence. It was the kind of place you'd expect to see in a post-apocalyptic movie.
"Great," Hikaru muttered, throwing his hands up. "Not only did I get kidnapped, but I also ended up in the middle of *nowhere*. What's next? A zombie attack?"
He wandered aimlessly, his footsteps echoing in the empty streets. His mind replayed the events of the past hour, trying to make sense of it all. How had he broken those ropes? How had he fought off those men?
Hikaru stopped in front of a crumbling building and sank to the ground, his knees giving out. He buried his face in his hands, his tail wrapping around him like a protective shield.
"I'm not supposed to be strong," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I'm just… me. Sickly, weak Hikaru."
The weight of everything pressed down on him, and for a moment, he let himself cry. But even as the tears fell, a small spark of determination flickered in his chest.
"Okay," he said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "This is fine. Totally fine. I'll figure this out. After all, when life gives you lemons…" He paused, glancing around at the empty wasteland. "...you make lemon-flavored despair, I guess."
With a shaky sigh, Hikaru stood up. He didn't know what lay ahead, but one thing was clear: his life was about to get a lot more complicated.
And maybe, just maybe, a little more exciting.
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_To_Be_Continue_