Day 1

The sounds of life had always been noisy, at least that's what I had always thought. Today had been different though.

Today I welcomed the sound of normalcy and the common sight of my bedroom roof.

That dream of normalcy had only lasted for but a moment, turning to see her staring directly into my eyes as she lay beside me in bed.

"Good Morning Darling! <3 Did you have fun last night?"

She said comically fluttering her black lengthened eyelashes at me.

At first I jumped at the sight of her unnatural looks but recovered quickly, the same could not be said about my heart though. 

At this point I thought I had moved past trying to comprehend the supernatural nature of my new guest yet it would seem I hadn't been used to seeing a former object of fascination up close and personal.

To read about succubus in a occult magazine was one thing but to see one up close was another. She was definitely attractive but in a weird way, her womanly parts were prominent in every bodily way any guy could want yet something about her made me uncomfortable, causing me uneasiness whenever she was around me.

I tried to keep my cool but panic began to rise in me at the prospect of having lost time until I had to ask.

"What do you mean? What happened last night Izuna!?!?" 

The thought having done something or having something done to me without consent filled me with dread. I feared the worst so I raced towards the mirror near the entranceway. If there was something different I would surely be able to see it!

Amidst the rush I started excavating my memories, searching for anything I missed. 

My horrible crime, the ritual and the rules.

The last thing I remember was hyperventilating and my heart feeling like it would explode. As I recall it was right after I read the first rule.

Suddenly I stopped in my tracks right after the realization.

I knew why I must have passed out or something just as likely.

I was expected to leave the apartment each day for an indeterminate amount of time just to experience some vague notion "suffering". 

I couldn't recall what exactly the event was but for as long as I remember I was terrified of the outside world. It's what forced me to give up on life and make me a NEET.

If failure was my destiny, then I would rather stay inside rotting in comfort.

I must have gotten hysterical yesterday but for a being like Izuna, I doubt it would be what she constitutes as 'fun'.

The mirror would tell me everything I needed to know. 

Looking at my reflection in the mirror didn't answer anything I didn't already know but raised a number of new questions.

Questions such as;

Where did all the blood go?

Who changed my clothes?

Why am I wearing a suit?

What exactly happened last night?

I felt cold arms wrap around my neck from behind with cat like eyes peering at my reflection from behind my back.

"My my, what a handsome little rabbit! what kind of suffering awaits you today I wonder...?" 

I had the feeling this person would know the answer to all these questions. I'm quite sure she was the culprit.

Even if she wasn't something about her touch felt invasive. It felt less like a lovers embrace and more akin to being in the jaws of a wolf.

Breaking free from her grasp I turned to ask the one question I felt was most important to get an answer to.

"Izuna... did we do that?"

"Hmm...? do that?  What exactly do you mean?" She said as she gave a wide smile alongside the response with a slight tilt to her head.

She was playing coy, She wanted me to just come out and say it. Fine, I'll take the bait.

"Did we... make love?"

"HAHAHAHAHA! OF COURSE, NOT! What sort of woman do you take me for? I'm a lady! I don't give away that prize so easily!" 

This woman enjoys toying with people doesn't she?

"No no no! The fun you had was all your own.  I thought you were super boring but to just drop dead like that! I don't think I've ever found someone so, so uniquely SAD!"

"I...died? Since when? when did it happen? why?"

She's toying with me again, she must be.

I died? there's no way that can be true!

Nothing she said made any sense!

"Wait wait! hold that face! It's priceless I need to capture it!"

With a click of her fingers a flip phone appeared in her hands. The phone had a phone charm attached with a famous mascot though not out of the ordinary on it's own, it was surprisingly seemingly unfitting for it's owner.

Distracted by the unusualness of her phone charm, I had forgotten to shy away from the camera as she stole a picture of me.  

"Perfect! You look so confused! I bet you don't believe me do you? Take a look at this then!"

She turned her phone around after tapping on the phone for a bit. What appeared to be a picture of some green haired guy.

Wait! Now that I've gotten a better look I recognize him!

It's ME!?! When did she take this? why did she take this?

The picture depicted a close up of me and my iconic green hair covered in blood. Blood appeared to have outpoured from my nose though it was hard to distinguish from the rest of it. My face showed a horrified expression demonstrated by my agape mouth and my glazed over eyes, fixed perpetually in fright.

I feel sick, my stomach churned, if I had eaten anything before it would be regurgitated at this moment.

"H..H..how am I still alive?"

"Right? It's a good thing you accepted when you did! a second later and you would have been gone for good! Dropping dead like a bunny whose heart just gave out! You were playing it cool the whole time but I knew better! 

You reached your absolute limit and died in such an embarrassing way!"

Her mocking tone was laying it on thick as always. Her cruel barbs were honed and exceptionally cutting.

As If I needed less confidence in myself.

There is the doubt paired with self-loathing to boot. An all too familiar feeling.

"I can't do this anymore, any of it! It's wrong, it feels wrong, something about you is wrong!" I said, a feeble defense but I didn't have the courage to advocate for myself past that.

Immediately catching the meaning in my words her tone grew serious.

"After I took the time to put you in a suit for your first day? This is the thanks I get? You'll do it because you agreed to it!" 

She said as she grabbed my arm and with unnatural strength, fiercely dragged me by my arm towards the door.

"You even undressed me?"

"I did, but don't worry you didn't have a sword worth equipping."

After her short jape and jaunt she released my arm from her clawed vice. This time she stole a hand forced my hand onto the door handle.

"GRIP"

I meekly did as she asked and grasped the door handle tightly with the hand she forcefully placed on the door.

"Good boy! Now, OPEN"

I could see her eyes glow a vibrant yellow as it bore into me expectantly. 

She was terrifying, my body physically reflecting that in the shakiness I now had even more so with the feeling of my chattering teeth resounding in my skull.

She would no doubt wouldn't want to hear that it wasn't because of her. The outside world was scarier than whatever she could do in my wildest imagination.

The fear I felt holding this door handle was crippling and paralyzing all at once. If it was only a matter of opening and closing a door I could rip off that band aid easily but it wasn't so simple.

It's roots were deep, so much so It had dominated my life for as long as I could remember. 

"please..." I finally said barely an audible word and closer to a whimper.

As if Izuna could picture my thoughts from my body language she relented putting aside her phone then with outstretched arms held my head by the cheeks. She briefly gave me an oddly kind smile before drawing my head close into her bosom as she wrapped an arm around it while one of her hands began to gently stroke my hair.

Is she comforting me?

"There there, my sad little bunny boy. would you like to forfeit this day? You wouldn't have to go out, would you like that?" She said in an oddly warm, motherly tone this time.

I silently nodded.

"You do understand this will give you a strike and a penalty? Are you ok with that?"

I nodded once again.

"Say it"

"I accept the strike and penalty"

Once again I had run away, as I always have. 

I didn't regret it.

"There there, it's penalty time Nori"

What do you mean? 

So soon?

Moving my head up to speak face to face with her, I aimed to voice those thoughts.

"Wha-"

Before I could start even start the sentence, I received a painless flick to my forehead from one of her fingers.

That's it? 

That's all the penalty is?

Suddenly everything went dark as if someone suddenly switched the lights of, I fell into her and then through her and my whole body splashed forwards into what seemed like a black ocean of nothingness. 

The sounds of her final words originated first from her lips but surrounded me in this vacuous place.

"My poor pathetic little bunny, I'll show you the way don't you worry. 

I'll show you that there are so much more terrifying things to be afraid of."