After Teru waited at the pedestrian crossing, he veered onto a narrow, dirty street to their rundown apartment. Though the country was strict with recycling, garbage and cigarette butts littered the sides.

The building itself wasn’t big and in desperate need of renovations. It was four stories high with a studio apartment on each floor. Their place was the fourth one. The roof sagged, tiles tilting inward. Another bout of typhoons and heavy rain might cause it to collapse. Cockroaches were an issue in the summer. Those nasty, brown scuttling bugs were a hassle to deal with. 

It was not fun when Yuta would panic while Teru chased those large suckers around with a vacuum cleaner. And mice? Sometimes. Every other cold season, they could hear their little paws pit-a-patting in the ceiling. This year was one of those unfortunate winters. Feral cats controlled the piss-scented area because the old couple living next door in a crumbling house liked to feed the strays.

We don’t talk about the black mold that grows on the windows. That’s my least favorite thing ever.

The rent was insanely low. It wasn’t a mystery as to why. 

They’d leave this deplorable place in the future. The future was all Teru had to look forward to, to a brighter life. That was his drive.

Before going inside, he stopped and studied their apartment windows. The lights were off—all of them. Curtains shut. No muffled noises of action scenes from video games through the thin walls. Yuta should definitely be home and eating leftover cheap Christmas cake from yesterday. Even if the train had been late, it wouldn’t be three hours late.

I guess he’s sleeping. That’s fine. I know he’s been tired lately from studying. I’ll cook us something quick before I go.

Teru took the rickety stairs. The paint was long gone from a century of foot traffic. It seemed the tenants below were gone, too. The entire place was silent. He passed the third floor.

Yoshiko-san, too? She rarely leaves. Without an elevator, she can’t get up and down well. 

Not thinking much of it, he inserted the house key into the rusty lock… But it was already unlocked. Teru removed the key slowly. 

Yuta was always paranoid about those things, even when they were home. Some residences in the neighborhood had been broken into recently. Like clockwork, his boyfriend would constantly check to make sure it was secure, even when he had just done that five minutes ago. Well, as secure as a vintage lock could be.

Teru cautiously opened the door, greeted by the darkness. He hesitated and felt off about something. Call it a gut feeling. Regardless, he tip-toed inside and closed it behind him. Pitch black swallowed him. 

Why is the night-light unplugged?

They had a small motion sensor light for when they used the restroom at night.

“Yuta?” he said in a hushed volume, expecting to hear snoring in response. There was none.

His hand searched the wall for the light switch. There. An LED ceiling bulb lit up the—

Teru’s eyes were roughly covered by some offending material. He couldn’t see!

“What is thi—?!”

Someone gripped his coat collar and yanked hard. 

“Hrrrk!”A pathetic choking sound left him since they had also pulled on his necklace. He was tossed to the tatami mat floor, temple slamming against the antique table corner. WHAM.

A dizzy spell swirled his vision. Even when his head hurt like hell, he had to keep fighting back! He struggled against the person who tried to tie his hands behind him. Twisting around, his mouth found the assaulter’s arm.

CHOMP.

He bit hard. Nasty blood pooled in his mouth.

“Ah, shit! I’m going to kill him!” They yelled in a peculiar dialect. Must be from a different prefecture. “Gag him!”

Fuck! They had to be an intruder! A robber! Only one? More? Damn it! He and Yuta had nothing to steal! Nothing!

“W-where’s Yuta?!” Teru begged. He tasted blood. “We d-don’t have anything worth—” 

A cloth was shoved into his mouth. Saliva dripped down his chin. Something warm and wet was on his forehead, too. 

Am I bleeding? I’m scared! Yuta!

WHACK. The angered man kicked Teru in the same spot that had been wounded moments earlier. He saw stars. It had stunned him, as if he was paralyzed. His mind spun faster. Ears rung. He could no longer fight back, too disoriented.

A second set of hands forced him onto his belly. They tied his wrists and ankles together. The two strangers sighed when they confirmed their prey could not move.

“How did you let this kid bite you? Seriously? You have how much experience with fighting? Idiot,” the first scolded.

The second replied sharply, “I wasn’t expecting him to use his teeth like a mutt! He’s lucky we were ordered not to hurt him or I’d have cut off an ear by now.”

C-cut off… an ear…?!

“You did hurt him. There’s a lot of blood in his hair, you bastard. He belongs to the company. Boss ain’t gonna be happy with you.”

“‘You’? You mean us! I am sure Boss will let it slide. Do you not see this bite?! That’s gonna need stitches! I’m missing a damned chunk of flesh.”

The gross taste in Teru’s mouth was probably from that guy. Ugh. It was difficult to follow the rest of the conversation. His head felt like it had split open. It technically did. 

“Whooo are you? What… do youuu want?” he slurred. “I don’t havvve… much!” 

They ignored his cries. 

“Let’s load him in the car,” one said.

C-car?!

In a woozy flurry of motions, Teru was in a fetal position in the backseat. The leather smelled new.

The engine started. Their driver pulled out of the alley, heading to a mysterious destination.