It felt like he had been asleep for a long time. Masashi slowly opened his eyes to find only darkness in front of him.
Where was he? His head felt foggy, and he couldn't remember anything.
He soon realized that his hands were cuffed behind his back, his feet were also shackled, and his body was tied to a chair with ropes wrapped around him from his chest down.
Was he being robbed, or was this a kidnapping?
As Masashi's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could vaguely see several people sitting nearby, completely still, with only the sound of faint breathing.
"Is that you, Kazumi?" he asked, recognizing one of the figures.
There was no response.
Masashi had no choice but to hop in his chair, inching himself closer.
Finally, he got close enough to see clearly—it was indeed Kazumi, and Rumi was next to her. Both of them were also bound to their chairs, though their feet were not shackled.
"Kazumi, Kazumi! Rumi, wake up!" Masashi nudged Kazumi's body with his head.
After about five minutes, Kazumi softly murmured.
"Kazumi, wake up! Don't fall back asleep. It's me, your brother."
"Is it morning already?" Kazumi opened her eyes groggily, looking confused.
"Morning? You think we're at home? Wake up! We've been tied up!"
"What? How did this happen?" Kazumi finally noticed that they were both bound to chairs.
"There's no time to ask questions. I just woke up, too. Try waking up Rumi."
As Kazumi tried to wake up Rumi, Masashi glanced at the others nearby. He recognized Shizuko and a few others, along with two people he didn't know. Every single person was bound tightly.
Before long, Rumi was also awake, looking frightened once she realized she was tied up.
"Don't be scared, Rumi. I'm here," Masashi reassured her.
"Senpai, what happened? Why are we here?" Rumi asked, slightly shifting in her chair but unable to move.
"It seems we've been kidnapped. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Weren't we having lunch at Mr. Maruo's house? How did we end up here, all tied up?" Kazumi asked, completely puzzled.
"It's because I'm the one who tied you up," a deep, magnetic voice echoed from outside the room.
Just then, the lights suddenly switched on.
Moving from darkness to light, Masashi, Kazumi, and Rumi's eyes took a moment to adjust. When they could finally see, they noticed that the man standing at the doorway was none other than the young, handsome chemistry teacher, Maruo Choujirou.
As the lights came on, the others who were still unconscious began to wake up. Those already awake let out cries of surprise, which soon woke up the remaining people.
The spacious room was filled with screams and shouts.
"Mr. Maruo, why did you tie us up? This must be a joke, right? Come on, let us go. I don't want to play anymore," Shizuko said to him.
"Let us go, sir. What you're doing is against the law!" her boyfriend shouted.
"Do you think I'm joking? Sorry, you're mistaken. But you should consider yourselves lucky—you're about to witness a grand event, and you'll each play an essential role," Maruo's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Stop fooling around! Let me go right now, or I'll scream for help," Shizuko shouted.
"Go ahead. I wouldn't be foolish enough to do this in the city. We're in the mountains, my dear. This house has been abandoned for years, and the electricity was only set up yesterday. Scream all you want—no one will hear you. None of you are going anywhere," Maruo whispered gently, as if speaking to a lover.
"No, please, let me go… please…" Shizuko began to cry.