The Game of Our Obsession
âShe chose him. He couldnât let her goâ
Warnings: obscene language- violence
Upon waking up, a pain in your knees became apparent, probably from when you fell to the floor. Before you could process everything that had happened, the comfort and warmth of the blankets became noticeable, easing your discomfort a little.
You opened your eyes quickly when you realized your bed had never been this comfortable âand how could it be? Your room was normally a mess and you usually wrapped yourself up with whatever blanket you could reach. You gasped sharply as you uncovered yourself, realizing you werenât in your bed nor in your room.
The first thing you saw was the bed itself, draped with a pure white blanket. Looking up, you could see you were on a second floor, loft-like. The high walls were painted white with small sections of pastel green âyour favorite color. The floor was dark wood, though barely visible beneath a large rug. The lighting was warm, and although there wasnât any direct light in the room, it filtered in from outside because instead of a wall there was a railing that connected to the stairs leading to the rest of the place.
A shiver ran down your body as your feet touched the cold floor, and you noticed your shoes âwhich you had thought lostâ were actually right next to the bed. Heart pounding so fast it felt like it would burst from your chest, you decided to go down.
Before descending, you took one last glance at the room: a large, elegant wardrobe; the bed centered along one of the only three walls, with two white nightstands on either side. On one of the nightstands lay two black cat-patterned blankets. Your gaze continued until it reached an enormous mirror where you saw you were still wearing your work clothes, although your once-high ponytail had come loose. Next to the white stairs stood a small table with a TV on top.
Going down the stairs, the first thing you noticed was the lack of windows. A wave of nausea hit you âyou had been drugged and kidnapped. You remembered only that while you were eating you began to feel ill and then finally passed out.
You hesitated for a moment about whether to venture further into the room, though from where you were you could already see almost everything except for a small hallway you thought might be the exit. In front of the stairs there was a living room with shelves that reached the tall ceiling, filled with books, with an L-shaped couch facing a lovely wooden coffee table. A large TV hung on the wall; beyond it there was a small kitchen and beside it the hallway, from which you could only see a partially open door that appeared to lead to a bathroom.
Your legs trembled, your fear making you think slowly. Were you in someoneâs house? No, you realized a second later. There werenât any personal belongings, the house looked like no one had ever lived there, and in fact it seemed to be underground given the lack of windows.
Walking softly to the nearest wall, you confirmed your suspicions. The wall and the space behind it sounded hollow and muffled when you touched them, indicating that on the other side there was only earth.
You had been drugged, kidnapped, and now locked in an underground place âalthough far too pleasant to be a torture chamber. You felt so bad you wanted to cry, but now wasnât the time. You repeated this desperately in an attempt to keep calm.
You gathered your courage and crossed the room toward the hallway, wide enough to have a small, mostly empty bookshelf except for a small empty picture frame. At the end of the hall was a metal door with several locks. You tried opening them but failed. You had to get out. Whoever had kidnapped you would come back, and no matter how nice the place seemed, the fact remained that whoever had done this had a reason for it, and that terrified you.
How long had you actually been gone? You couldnât know âhow many times could they have drugged you before you finally woke up? You didnât even know whether it was day or night given the lack of windows or a clock.
On the verge of tears in front of the door, you started to hear footsteps on the other side, like someone coming down stairs. Then a small click âsomeone was unlocking the door.
The first thing that came to mind was to hide. Under the bed, in the wardrobe, in the bathroom âtoo obvious. Besides, your captor clearly knew you were there; there was no way you could have escaped. The best option was to catch them off guard and fight. You quickly grabbed a lamp, one of the few things in the place that wasnât a piece of furniture. You moved to the most open part of the room, facing the door directly, ready to pounce on whoever opened it.
A final creak was heard, and the door opened slightly. Your heart hammered, your body trembled, and then Aizawa stepped into the room. You dropped the object to the floor and ran across the room to him, clinging to his waist tightly as tears streamed down your cheeks. He placed one hand on your back and the other gently behind your head, caressing you.
âThank God⌠I was so scared⌠what a relief youâre here.â You let out a long sigh as your heart began to steady. You inhaled deeply to catch your breath âand then a new scent hit you: sweet and calming, coffee and cinnamon. Suddenly your heart began pounding again, your legs trembled, and nausea swept over you. Panic surged; you pushed him lightly away and lifted your gaze to his eyes.
âAizawa?â Your voice trembled, bile rising in your throat. You turned your head slightly to look behind him, then back at him. âWhere are they⌠where are the others?â Your voice cracked, almost unable to finish the sentence. Your gaze dropped, unable to hold his any longer. You looked at his clothes âhe should be in his hero costume, but instead he wore black pants and a white shirt.
You forced yourself to look at him. He looked worried, so sad. You imagined you looked the same or worse. You hated the thought, hated knowing what you knew was true.
âIâm sorry. Iâm really so sorry,â his voice was soft and tender, nothing like his usual cold, tired tone. You wanted to trust him, to think this was just a bad joke, wanted to wrap yourself in his arms again âbut you didnât. You couldnât even take a step. âNo one else will come here for you,â he looked at you with such guilt and pity you wanted to hit him and let him hold you at the same time. But no âthere was no way youâd let him touch you again.
You couldnât speak, you were on the brink of collapse. He stepped toward you and you stepped back, and he looked at you as if youâd struck him. Unbelievable, you thought, staring at his face, which lacked his distinctive tired look; his hair was tied back in a ponytail, contrasting sharply with his usual disheveled appearance.
âYou should sit.â He nodded toward the couch, but you didnât move an inch. He kept looking directly into your eyes; his gaze had always seemed so simple to you, but now there were so many emotions behind it you couldnât decipher. You had always thought Aizawa Shouta easy to read, but now you were lost, sinking into a deep, inescapable pit. You wondered if before it had all just been an act, if Aizawa had been acting every day at work âthat façade of a respectable hero and teacher.
âYou should sit, letâs talk, you must have many questions,â he repeated even more gently than before. He took another step toward you, but unlike before, you stood firm, looking him in the eyes.
âNo. Iâm not talking to you, Aizawa. If you really think Iâm going to listen to you, then you must be the biggest idiot in the world.â You wanted to sound angry and firm âyou were angryâ but your body was giving in to the stress and the lump in your throat was growing. Your voice trembled, your lips quivered, your legs failed you.
He tilted his head softly at you, didnât speak, just looked at you with an expression so comforting and warm it only made you feel small and confused.
Another step, he came closer slowly. You cried harder than you ever had despite your sensitive nature. Your weak knees buckled and you fell, but before you hit the ground Aizawa caught you gently, kneeling in front of you as you collapsed against him, sobbing hysterically.
You wanted to push him away, to hurt him for even thinking he had the right to touch you âbut you didnât fight. You had no idea why you couldnât, even though you wanted to, your body wouldnât move. You leaned on him, letting him hold you while you cried.
Time passed âyou had no idea how long or how hard you cried. Aizawaâs ears probably rang from your sobbing, but you didnât care; it was his fault you were in this state.
Finally your horrible sobs became faint whimpers. Your eyes burned, your tears were gone, your body felt so heavy. Aizawaâs arms tightened slightly; he helped you up gently and led you to the couch, sitting with you, wrapping his arms around you as you leaned on him, your body unable to fight.
When you finished crying, you looked at him and he looked back at you, sweet and tender âsomething that made you feel strange because of his change in personality. As your head spun, an idea crossed your mind. Before you could think twice, you quickly reached your hand toward Aizawaâs eyes.
Your hand covered his eyes; you activated your quirk the moment your skin touched his. âSleep,â your broken voice whispered. But nothing happened. Your quirk didnât work, even though he hadnât activated his.
He took your hand away from his face gently. You immediately pulled away from him with all the strength left in your body. Your gaze, even more confused, locked onto his. He simply let you retreat, leaning back on the couch so that your back was firmly pressed against the armrest while he remained in front of you, giving you more space, which you appreciated for a moment âbefore realizing you had nothing to thank him for.
âMy quirkâŚâ Your voice sounded shocked at the fact that it hadnât activated when you touched him. Your quirk wasnât powerful, but you could use your telepathy to read and give small orders to people you touched.
âYouâre confused, I understand. Ask me whatever you need.â Aizawa spoke softly and with understanding, as if you were a frightened little mouse and he was trying not to scare you more than you already were. Confused was an understatement for what you felt: you were confused, sad, angry, exhausted, and terrified.
The burn in your throat after so much crying made it hard to speak clearly. âWhy?â slipped from your lips, barely recognizing your own small, broken, hoarse voice. You didnât feel like yourself, but that was the least important thing at that moment.
âWhy did I bring you here?â Aizawa asked. You wanted to roll your eyes at the question that to you was the most obvious in the world, making you doubt his intelligence for a moment. You nodded, unable to say everything you wanted. âBecause⌠because youâre mine.â He responded as if you were the foolish one for asking. As if it were obvious that you were âhis.â
âIâm yours?â you asked calmly, using the last shred of calm you had. The very fact that heâd said you were his made you want to hit him for daring to see you as his property. But maybe if you could understand him better, you could find a way out of here.
âOf course you are, darling.â He sighed slightly as he took your hand gently. You almost shuddered at the pet name. Darling. âI love you, and you will love me sooner or later, I know it. Weâre destined to be together. You donât understand yet âyouâre mine⌠you already are. I needed to possess you.â His eyes held a kind of madness you had never seen before.
You were about to get up from the couch to run, but instead you managed to stay eerily still. He loves you? Really? Or does he just think he does, because of that feeling that youâre his? Aizawa had always seemed so calm you thought you understood his emotions perfectly, but now you were beginning to question everything you knew about Aizawa, everything you thought you knew. You would never have labeled him a delusional kidnapper or a villain, of course not âhe was a hero, one of the best. Could a hero really be this delusional? Maybe he was under the effect of a quirk? Your head spun.
âMy quirk⌠why isnât it working?â You looked at your hands before looking back at him. âI donât know, probably your state of mind,â he said. He didnât seem to be lying; besides, your quirk failing due to your mental state wasnât new to you.
âAnd⌠how long have I been here?â You couldnât form a proper sentence. You guessed it hadnât been long âyou werenât dehydrated or anything.
âSix hours. No one knows you left your apartment,â he explained. You paid attention to his words: âleft your apartmentâ instead of âwere kidnapped,â which is what had really happened.
âGod, what about⌠what about my students⌠what about Nemuri?â Your voice trembled at the thought of Nemuri finding out you had been kidnapped. Your stomach churned. Nemuri had become like family to you; sheâd be devastated, no doubt. Sheâd blame herself for not seeing this coming, though it wasnât her fault. You knew she would.
Immediately you noticed Aizawaâs demeanor changed. The moment Nemuriâs name left your mouth, his expression returned to the one youâd always known âserious.
âDonât worry about her. I wonât let her or anyone else take you away from me.â Aizawa raised his voice just a little, enough to alarm you and make your anxiety spike. âIâll kill them before they take you from me.â
That shocked you for a moment. He really seemed jealous of Nemuri, which after a moment didnât surprise you given his previous words about possessing you, since you didnât hide your strong affection for your friend. His words triggered your next question: âAre you going to kill me?â This time you made eye contact; if he was going to kill you, heâd have to look you in the eyes while doing it. Youâd make it as hard as possible for him.
He didnât take long to answer; he seemed genuinely horrified, as if everything heâd done so far hadnât already made him look like a crazy villain. âOf course Iâm not going to kill you, darling.â He shook his head. âI could never hurt you.â You werenât at all sure you believed him. You wondered if he understood that killing Nemuri would hurt you.
âHave you killed anyone?â You needed to understand how dangerous Aizawa really was, now that youâd realized you didnât actually know him at all. He seemed like he wouldnât be a serious danger to you given his words, but you werenât sure you could trust his intentions. After all, he had kidnapped you.
âThatâs not something you need to worry about right now.â He spoke firmly, which you took as an admission that he had killed people âprobably civilians. You felt horrible.
And suddenly you felt much worse. âAlgodĂłn, my cat, did you kill him?â You almost started crying again, you wanted to vomit. But Aizawa immediately began shaking his head.
âI didnât kill him. Why would I do that? It does us no good to do something like that. I left your door and one of your windows open so it would look like he escaped, but⌠heâs safe. Heâs at my apartment. I left him with food and water,â Aizawa explained, with compassion at your clear concern. âYes, IâŚâ he cleared his throat, âI have killed people before, only when it was necessary.â
You wondered what ânecessaryâ meant to him âvillains maybe, but civilians?
âWere you friends with your neighbor? The one right across from your apartment?â he asked, looking guilty. You shook your head, tears falling again at the implication you knew he meant. Aizawa had killed your neighbor.
âIâm sorry.â You didnât believe his stupid apology. âI had to. Darling, he saw me with you, he⌠would have called the police, then heroes would have come too. I would have had to kill so many people. It was a small sacrifice; many more lives would have been lost if I hadnât killed him first.â You thought he was insane. You felt awful. You couldnât stop thinking about your neighbor, now dead because of you. You were going to vomit, break down again. You had to hold together what was left of you. You thought of one last attempt to keep your mind functioning.
âAlgodĂłn⌠can he come? Can you bring him?â you pleaded. The idea of being without him scared you, and the idea of him being alone with Aizawa scared you even more. Before you would have felt at ease leaving him with a hero, but now Aizawa âyour coworker, always gentle despite his serious personalityâ terrified you for what heâd done and could do.
âYes, after you do something for me.â He bargained, as if you had no choice but to do as he pleased, but you listened anyway. âIâll bring AlgodĂłn if you eat something and drink water. Youâve gone too many hours without doing so and youâve been crying a lot. Your body needs energy.â
Though the last thing you wanted was to admit he was right, he was; now that you thought about it, you were starving and your mouth and throat were so dry that food and water sounded like the best thing, but fear invaded you again. âAre⌠are you going to drug me again?â you stammered.
âNo, I wonât. Now that youâre with me that wonât be necessary.â His words made you shiver, but they made enough sense to your exhausted body. He got up from the couch, not without giving you a small smile âsomething you had rarely seen him do before. Then he walked to the kitchen. You saw him take a takeout container from the fridge and put the food on a plate before heating it in the microwave. It was the same meal you always ordered from your favorite restaurant a few blocks from your home âyou went there almost every day after work when you didnât want to cook. You guessed he had been watching you; it had been his eyes youâd felt all this time, if it werenât already obvious.
While waiting for the food to heat up, Aizawa grabbed a glass and filled it with water. When he brought it to you, you thought about taking it, throwing the drink in his face, or breaking the glass against the corner of the coffee table and then driving it into his neck. But in reality, you were so tired, so exhausted, and so thirsty that you simply took it obediently into your hands.
The glass was cold, but you didnât care. You took a small sip, waited a few seconds, and then took one long gulp, finishing the glass without even realizing how dehydrated you had been until you finally got something to drink. Your body was grateful, and so was your mind.
âThank you,â you whispered softly, handing the glass back to Aizawa. He had been watching you the whole time. He looked at you calmly, with a trace of seriousness, and you almost caught a glimpse of the man you thought you knewâthe one who, despite his stoicism, always carried that reassuring, trustworthy aura.
âIâll bring another glass,â he said firmly, almost like an order. You thanked him anywayâyou needed it. You didnât take your eyes off Aizawa as he went into the kitchen, filling the glass with water from the same bottled brand you usually drank. He really seemed to know everything about youâeven that you didnât like tap water and only drank bottled. He took the food out of the microwave, approached you, and set the glass and plate on the coffee table before pulling it closer so you wouldnât have to move. You appreciated that too.
Aizawa sat on a separate couch, his hands clasped together in patience. He gave you space while you ate, which allowed you to truly enjoy the meal. It was deliciousâjust like every time you ordered from that particular restaurant. You hated that Aizawa was watching you, lurking, but at least you were eating something you liked.
When you finished, Aizawa approached you. âThank you,â you murmured again, barely above a whisper. He smiled at you, which was unusual. Taking the plate and glass, he walked to the sink and began to wash them.
Without moving from the couch, you watched him. He looked so different from how he was at work, and you wondered if youâd ever go backâto work, or even to a normal life. His hair, more orderly than usual, was normally messy, which you found nice; but now it looked formal, something you had only seen during staff meetings. You figured being a kidnapper and killer must be stressfulâeven more so for someone who always wanted to sleep anywhere, wrapped in that big yellow sleeping bag that made him look like a giant caterpillar.
When he finished, he washed his hands and dried them with a kitchen towel. Finally, he returned to you. He adjusted his posture, easily lifting you from where you sat to place you in his spot, and you wondered if it was a deliberate attempt to assert dominanceâto remind you how much stronger he was. You werenât sure if it worked or not.
âYou need to rest, sweetheart. You need to sleep well after such a stressful day,â he said quietly, and you agreed. âI can sleep here with you, or I can go home andââ
âGo home.â You interrupted him. You wouldnât allow him to stay the nightâyou were afraid of what he might do, of what lines he could cross. You expected him to get angry, but he didnât. He just nodded, pressing his dry lips together. He looked defeatedâbut not angry.
âYouâre still wearing your work clothes. I didnât want to bring anything from your apartment, but I bought you something more comfortable. Itâs in our⌠your room.â He clearly meant to say our room, but corrected himself, nodding toward the stairs.
âThank you.â Your voice was barely audible, but he heard and nodded.
Your legs were still trembling, your body weak. You slowly stood up from the couch and began walking toward the stairs, but as soon as you tried to step onto the first one, your knees gave out. You would have fallen backward if Aizawa hadnât caught you. You tried to push him away, but he didnât let go.
âEasy, let me carry you.â For the first time, his tone was more seriousâcommanding. You nodded, unwilling to fight. He carried you up the stairs in his arms and gently set you down on the bed. He walked to the small TV stand, picked up one of two remote controls, and pressed a button. Curtains slid closed along the railing, covering almost the entire stairway. You hadnât even realized how exposed the room had been before. He placed the remote back, gave you one last glance, and left.
The floor was still cold against your feet. You went to the nearest wardrobe and indeed found comfortable clothes inside. You chose a pair of long pajama pants and an oversized shirt.
Despite the privacy the curtains offered, Aizawa could still be watching. If he was truly a kidnapperâand a killerâit wouldnât surprise you if he was also a pervert. You wanted to hide somewhere between the bed and the wardrobe, but you didnât have the strength. Besides, if all he did was watch you change, that would be among the least terrible things he could do to you.
You werenât sure what to do with the clothes youâd just taken off. A small call from the stairs startled you, making you jump. âYes?â you murmured loud enough for him to hear. Then the curtain slid open slightly, without him looking inside, giving you privacy. âIâm... Iâm done changing.â With that, he opened the curtain a little more, stepping barely into the room. Seeing the clothes in your hands, he extended his to take them.
âIâll bring them back washed,â he offered. You nodded, handing them over, flinching slightly when his hand brushed yours. He noticedâyou knew he noticed. âIâll bring Cotton tomorrow. Do you want me to bring you anything else?â he asked, but the softness of the carpet under your feet distracted you slightly.
âYes, uh, slippers. Please.â You bit your lip, lowering your gaze and crossing your arms over your stomach, instinctively trying to hide yourself from him.
âAll right. Good night, sweetheart.â He sighed tiredly before turning around and leaving the room, closing the curtain behind him. You stayed there, staring at the curtain until you heard the heavy metal door downstairs open, close, close again, and finally lock for the last time.
You left the lights on, crawled into bed, sighing at the comfort, lying on your side and hugging a pillow. You fell asleep much sooner than you expected.