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“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“How do you feel about me, Senpai?”
The vision of the small night table in front of you started to blur from the sick feeling growing in your stomach. It was almost midnight; the shadows on the moon reflected off the glass vase at your bedside. And though it was only two nights since you had been in Fuya Castle, you found yourself peering out the large window of your room, gazing longingly at the soft blades of grass swaying in the breeze. It felt so long since you had been at Darkwick. The homesickness pooling in your gut was a sharp reminder of your actual home, the one you left behind months ago.
Homesickness wasn't the only thing making you feel so ill.
One by one, five suitors of the cursed gameshow, Deadly in Love, had come to you on their own accord, offering their piece of heart to convince you of their intentions. In a private corner of the kitchen or knocking at your door, you found yourself met with their earnest words and bold declarations.
Haku, with his wry smile, asked to speak with you again after the third challenge. “Everything will be alright, my Goddess. You trust me, right?” he said, placing your hand in his. Despite the soothing words, you couldn’t help but grimace. It wasn't as if you didn't want to trust him. It was just that the Rogue still hadn't shown himself, and you were running out of time trying to decide who he was.
At your expression, Haku’s smile only softened. “Even if you don't trust me, I promise you'll be alright. I'll keep you safe,” he whispered.
Next, Elias found you wandering around the castle while you were looking for clues. “Ah, there you are. I was just looking for you,” he called, leaning against the ornate wall of the castle with a lollipop in his mouth. Your brow furrowed back then, curious where he got a lollipop from. The quiet crunch of the candy drove your attention back to Elias. “You're suspicious of me, aren't you?” he murmured.
He smiled, that smile kissed by the sun which always made your shoulders drain of tension. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work this time. “I suppose I can't blame you for my lack of clarity. But, I can assure you I'm not as cunning as Haku-san makes me out to be.”
“I came here for you, after all. I'm only doing the best I can to earn your trust.”
Ringing flared in your head, temporarily knocking you out of your thoughts. You must have gotten a headache from these trials and the lack of sleep.
God, and then Taiga scared you after dinner, pinning you to the pantry door when you headed to your room. “Come on, kitty cat,” he purred, his sharp smile as cold as the wind. “I've never let you down before. Just leave all these guys behind already.”
“You can stay with me and live. Isn't that what you want? To be free from that curse?” he murmured, leaning closer. Free was quite a bold claim for a man who stuck you against a wall.
Even right before you returned to your room, Alan found you yawning in the corridor. At the exhausted look in your eyes, he spoke, crossing his arms as firmly as ever. “Don't worry. Once I take down this anomaly, I'll get you out of here.”
Your elbow banged against the table as another wave of nausea hit you, causing you to keel over in pain. The glass vase holding a single red rose wobbled as you held yourself steady. You needed some water, some air, anything to get rid of the emotions suffocating your lungs. No matter what any of the ghouls did, one of them would die. Two days went by without any leads, and the tension between the six ghouls only grew since the Rogue situation. Their words, their plans, their actions — all of it just made your head spin more with confusion and distress. Was it all just empty lies? What if all that was left after this mission was roses, flowers from a tomb? Along with the stigmas of most of the ghouls, their intentions were all scattered behind ornate words and contradictory actions. You were lost on what to do or who to believe. What if you were forced to choose one of them?
Shaking your head vigorously, you pried open your door as quietly as you could and creeped down the stairs. Both the staff and the ghouls would be well asleep by now, as evidenced by the way your footsteps echoed in the empty, vast halls of the castle. You shuffled into the kitchen, flailing around for a candle or light.
“Ah!”
You jumped at finding Ritsu sitting on a chair, a notepad from who knows where on the tiny desk in front of him. Suitor number six. Your head spun with adrenaline — you really, really did not want to deal with another grand, ghouly claim of devotion. In fact, at the moment you wished you were the Rogue so you could just end this whole mess. And, get rid of your headache.
You pressed your hand to your head, the other covering your eyes as you let out a frustrated groan. The last person you wanted to see right now was the yapping paralegal.
“Ah, you're awake as well,” Ritsu started. “Since I did not bring my voice recorder, I was simply documenting the events of the past two–”
You raised your index finger in the air, causing Ritsu to cut off. Not even bothering to glance at his expression, you moodishly stalked over to the faucet, filling up a cup of water. With one hand — the other was still raised in a stopping motion.
Downing the glass like a shot, the cup clinked against the table as you stiffly put it down. You lurched over next to the faucet, head supported by your crossed arms as you lay face first on the table. Who cared if Ritsu was watching? Your head was pounding so badly you could barely stand up straight. Your fingers rubbed aimlessly at your temples, attempting to squeeze out the pain, but it was useless.
Through your nausea, you could vaguely hear Ritsu get up from his chair. His crisp footsteps sounded louder with every beat until you could hear his breathing behind you.
“Given your behavior, it is likely you are experiencing a migraine. Is that correct?” Ritsu questioned. You flailed your hand at him in a careless wave, only for his fingers to intercept by closing around your wrist.
You buried your face deeper into your arm. “Go away.”
At your dismissal, Ritsu let out a sharp exhale, but he didn't budge. After a moment of shuffling, you felt the soft brush of his fingers against yours, dropping a small object into your hand. You lifted your head with a glare. This seriously wasn't the time to be handing out sentimental gifts!
Two black hair ties lay on the palm of your hand. “What in the world is this supposed to be for?” you questioned with irritation.
Ritsu looked at you with a frown. “As the brain does not have pain receptors, most sensations of turmoil during a migraine come from the scalp,” he stated. “Applying tension to the hair can help with such discomfort.”
You blinked, staring at the two bands. Just tie your hair up, and this awful pain would go away? Well, anything was worth a try at this point. You quickly tied your hair into two pigtails, pulling them tight enough to feel tingles in your scalp. Yanking your hair to the sides, you let out an exhausted huff.
Ritsu was still standing there, you were well aware. Actually, where had he gotten the hair ties from? You thought that most of the ghoul’s belongings were put into a set of lockers. Did he really just keep spare hair ties?
You slowly stood straight at a realization: the pounding in your head had dulled to a quiet throbbing. That's why you could hear your thoughts.
The relief didn’t last long, though; with your renewed ability to think came your earlier distress. Ritsu was here, now, and you were totally screwed. Whatever promise he would make to you would surely be so long, it would keep you up until the sun rose. Your expression dropped into one resembling despair. You were as good as dead.
Ritsu raised his eyebrows at the look on your face. “Did it not work?” he asked, tone colored with surprise.
“No, it worked,” you replied tightly.
“Despite your claim, you still look displeased.”
“Oh, very helpful, Ritsu.”
“I wasn't attempting to be helpful. I was attempting to be accurate.”
Would you get a load of this guy?! This whole time, Ritsu had been back and forth, spinning in his head and obsessing over accuracy while doing practically nothing! You doubted he could even see straight, busy treating everything like some law case. And he was wondering why you looked like hell ran you over?! You opened your mouth to bite back in reply, scream, cry, do anything—
Then your jaw locked, because before you knew it, you were sitting down. Ritsu had pushed the edge of a chair into your knees, causing them to buckle. You plopped down on the seat with a thump, your emotion flying away with the movement. You blinked up at Ritsu in surprise, and a squeak left your lips.
“What–”
“Please do not move,” he instructed, briskly peeling off his gloves and resting them on your chair. Without waiting for a response, Ritsu hoisted your chair off the ground — you included — and carried you away from the bright window. The whole time, you were too bewildered to do much of anything, only gripping onto sides of the chair to avoid falling.
As Ritsu gently set you back down in a corner, a ring slipped free from his glove. Instinctively, you caught it in your fist before it hit the ground. Ritsu stepped back, the moonlit window eclipsed by his figure. “Common triggers of migraines include bright lighting,” he said, as if that explained the whole situation. You watched in stunned silence as Ritsu pulled back on his gloves. Without another word, he walked back over to his makeshift desk, sitting down soundlessly to continue writing in his notebook.
That… was it? As if you were stuck in honey, you shifted awkwardly in your chair. No monologuing, no promises, no grandiloquent words? Your mouth gaped open and closed as you tried to find something to say. Instead, Ritsu literally put you in time out. Now you were just sitting in an ornate chair, wondering how you’d gotten here in the first place, while Ritsu was writing away.
The dark corner made it hard to see much besides Ritsu’s figure near the window. Well, if that were the case, you could just leave. The pit in your stomach eased somewhat thanks to Ritsu’s odd antics, so you could just go back to your room, sleep, and pretend nothing happened. You stood, making it about halfway upright before a wave of pain shot up your spine, your head rushing with blood. Ritsu, from the other side of the kitchen, clicked his tongue with a faint tsk. After setting his pen down, he strode back over to the dimly lit corner.
“Sit down.”
“Ugh. What am I, a toddler?”
Regardless, you gingerly sat back down.
Ritsu crossed his arms, staring down at you with an exasperated tone in his voice. “If you require my instruction to take care of your well-being, then yes, you would be akin to a toddler.”
That certainly got you to shut up. Your lip curled into a frown as you bit your words back, the spinning of your head easing slightly now that you were sitting again. You were still giving Ritsu the stink eye, though, which he returned with a rather displeased expression himself.
After a couple of minutes, your annoyance faded into a sullen expression. It was clear Ritsu wasn’t going to let you leave your time out until he was 100% certain you were cured of your migraine. The floorboards creaked quietly as he sat down on the floor in front of you, his eye level slightly below yours and his knees close to his chest.
“The stress of the current situation must have triggered a migraine,” he mused quietly. “This series of events is indeed quite concerning, so I suppose emotional distress is not out of the question.”
You only stared back at Ritsu in response.
He continued. “As you are still human, the ghouls are responsible for ensuring your safety. That includes your emotional state.”
Were they really? You scoffed. No matter which role you played — an Honor student, an Inspector, a Goddess, a Kyklos — it seemed like Darkwick had full disclosure to put you in a jar and shake you around. Eyes fixed to the floor with a frown, you muttered a reply directed to no one in particular. “I don’t really think so.”
A long stretch of silence passed between the two of you. Despite the ghouls being quite certain of their outcomes, the game’s mechanics only intensified their differing goals and intentions. At this rate, all six of them would fight to the death without even being prompted by the anomalous Game Master. Even with so many rules and so many endings, it seemed like no matter what anyone did, it was all bad news. Something would go horribly wrong in the end.
You turned back to Ritsu. “Don’t you have a plan, Ritsu?” you whispered hoarsely, tilting your head in tired confusion. “All that data and whatnot? Aren’t you going to tell me about your next steps and behavioral stuff?”
Ritsu let out a short hum. “Naturally, I do have a plan,” he replied smoothly. “However…”
Then, Ritsu did the absolutely unexpected: he smiled. Not one of his haughty, ‘everything-will-go-according-to-plan’ smiles. You could barely see in the dark corner, but the twitch in his lips was unmistakable.
Ritsu was giving you a nervous smile.
“I… am unsure if this situation will end favorably,” he whispered softly, so quietly you thought you heard him wrong.
Rustling wind fluttered against the window on the other side of the kitchen. Gaping, you couldn’t get a single word to form out of your mouth. Ritsu just admitted that he didn’t know what was going on. The Ritsu Shinjo, who had been yammering away about percentages at dinner, just admitted he didn’t know what was going on. He was simply sitting there in the near dark, his eyes lit like the sky as he looked up at you from the wooden floor.
Before you could take an internal screenshot of what miracle had just occurred, the expression on Ritsu’s face flattened, and he cleared his throat.
“Regardless, that does not change the approach to this challenge,” Ritsu smoothed over in his normal, matter-of-fact tone. “As your business partner, I suggest you put your well-being as a priority and rest in order for your mind to function to its full capacity tomorrow morning.”
He stood gracefully, brushing off his night attire before reaching his hand out to you. “Do you require me to carry you to your room as well, since you insist on behaving like a toddler?” he asked idly.
Still in shock, you replied a little too quickly. “No!” You stood abruptly at the notion of Ritsu carrying you back to your room, causing you to sway again. Your hands flew to his shoulders to stay upright, resulting in him letting out a worn sigh.
“I see you do not appreciate my humor, among other things,” he muttered to himself. Still, he let you rest some of your weight on his shoulder as the two of you walked up the stairs.
Eventually, you made it up to your room, your migraine almost gone. You fiddled in your pocket for your key, and at your fingers brushing over a small, round object instead, you pulled out Ritsu’s ring.
“Oh, right. Your ring, it dropped earlier,” you hushed, holding it out to Ritsu.
Ritsu paused for a moment, glancing down at his gloved hand before meeting your gaze. “Keep it.”
Your brow furrowed. “What? No, it’s yours,” you replied. You dropped it into Ritsu’s palm, starting to reach up to untie your hair as well.
Letting out another soft tsk, Ritsu picked up the ring and beckoned for your hand.
“Give me your hand, please,” he murmured.
Your fingers paused in your hair. Hesitating for a moment, you gingerly lifted your right hand before slowly inching it towards Ritsu.
His fingers tilted yours slightly, gently straightening them before sliding the golden band onto your ring finger. While doing so, a quiet whisper left his lips. “As you should know, I, Ritsu Shinjo, have never made a promise I cannot keep. You haven’t already forgotten my vow, have you?”
Without waiting for a reply, he bid you goodnight, promptly strolling away.
You blinked aimlessly at Ritsu’s retreating figure. Vow? Vow? You stood frozen at the entrance to your room. What was he talking about? You don’t remember him promising anything about—
A sudden thought popped into your head.
Oh. You had forgotten. In your pain and annoyance, you mistook Ritsu to be the last of the six suitors to give you his promises. But Ritsu was Ritsu — if there was anything he was, it was first.
Your fingers closed around your palm, the heart-shaped ruby of Ritsu’s ring glinting like a rose under the moonlight.
Yes, in the beginning of the show, when the suitors were revealed, Ritsu had already given you his promise. You had passed it off as an awkward acting attempt at the time. Now, however, his formal, certain words reverberated in your mind.
“Though we only have three days, I vow to deepen our bond and prove without a doubt that I am the only one for you.”