When the vision struck his mind like a lightning bolt, what he saw wasn't a memory. It wasn't a feeling. It was written fate itself; vivid doujinshi panels had materialized in his mind.
Its name was Tachibanachi no Dansei Jijou Matome Ban. A cursed hentai over a hundred pages long. And it was one of the works that the original owner of these visions, Kai, hated the most.
The story was familiar. Yuu's grandfather falls ill, and the Tachibana family takes him into their home. The beginning was sweet and innocent, just like what he had experienced. The affection of the mother, Kyouka; the childish provocations of the younger sister, Yuka; and the gentle support of the mature older sister, Koharu... Everything was a copy of his real life. Even their sexual intimacy progressed exactly the same, starting from the moment he was caught by Kyouka that night.
And now, here they were. This vacation they took together, this inn, was the exact point where the story took a 180-degree turn. In these panels, Yuu would lose consciousness from a drug slipped into his drink, and the women he loved would be brutally raped.
"Is something wrong, Yuu-kun?"
Kyouka's worried voice woke him from the nightmare. He hadn't even realized he had put his glass down on the table. The questioning gazes of Yuka and Koharu were locked on him.
Not a single word escaped his lips. As cold sweat trickled down his forehead, his mind raced like a rollercoaster. 'I have to stop this.'
His eyes darted to the other glasses on the table. The women had also paused just as they were about to drink. This was his chance.
"The drinks..." he whispered, trying to suppress the panic in his voice. He cleared his throat. "There's a strange smell in the drinks."
"A strange smell?" Kyouka sniffed her glass skeptically. Underneath the familiar aroma of sake, there was an unusual, sour note. This made her pause, while Yuka sniffed her glass and put it down with a disgusted grimace.
"This is gross!"
Koharu had also set her glass down. "It really does smell strange. Good catch, Yuu," she said, smiling as she patted his head.
The smell wasn't actually that obvious; it was only noticeable because the amount of drugs in it was higher than usual. He had averted the first danger for now, but he knew it wasn't over. He had to think fast.
"That smell made me feel sick," he said, suddenly standing up. "I'm going to the restroom for a bit!"
He rushed out without waiting for a reply. He heard Yuka call out "Do you need help?" from behind him, but he was in no state to answer.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, he saw the innkeeper to the right of the corridor, leaning against the wall, pressing a wooden tray to her chest.
Yuu froze. The woman was stained with the dark particles he called "the Incarnation of Malice." When combined with the panels in his mind, it all made sense. A wave of rage surged through his veins, but his mind was ice-cold. He knew what he had to do.
"Innkeeper-san," he said calmly, approaching the woman. "What are you doing here?"
The sudden question made the woman, lost in her own thoughts, jump. "N-nothing! Did you need something?" she stammered, forcing a fake smile onto her face.
Yuu was disgusted by this artificial expression. He took out his phone and spoke as he pressed a few buttons. There was a rage in his voice that he struggled to conceal.
"Nothing, just..." He paused before pressing the call button and showed the phone to the woman. The screen read "110". "Shall we have a little chat?"
At that moment, the dim light in the ceiling flickered. With the angle of the light, Yuu's shadow morphed into a gigantic figure on the wall; with its curved horns and wide wings, it resembled a demon coming to punish a sinner.
The woman's smile froze instantly. "What do you want, esteemed guest?"
Yuu took another step closer. "I know every damn thing you've been doing," he hissed. "The blackmail against women, the money you make from it, and the drug you put in our drinks."
The woman's mask cracked but she quickly composed herself. "I don't understand what you're saying..."
Thud!
Yuu slammed his hand against the wall, right next to the woman's head. "Look at me. Even if I report you right now, you'll be punished for the hidden cameras you placed in the rooms. And that's not even mentioning the recordings those three perverts in the back room are hiding."
He looked directly into her eyes. The rage in his black eyes burned like the flames of Amaterasu. The woman could no longer resist under his gaze.
"L-look, I was forced into it! I had no choice! Just go... Take your family and leave, and you'll be safe," she begged, tears welling up in her eyes. She pressed her body against Yuu's and began to cry. Her act was so realistic that for a moment, it would have even touched Yuu's heart.
But the dark particles around the woman were intensifying. Her tears were fake.
"You can't save yourself by playing the victim," Yuu said in an ice-cold voice.
"W-what are you going to do?"
"You're going to do what I say. Otherwise, you know what will happen. Understand?"
The woman nodded repeatedly in fear. "I understand! Please, just don't report me."
A threatening smirk appeared on Yuu's face. "Good. Then listen to me carefully..."
He explained his plan. What he asked was so simple that the woman let out a sigh of relief. Yuu walked to the door and turned back one last time before opening it.
"Don't forget to do as I said."
When he entered the room, all eyes turned to him.
"Where have you been?" Yuka pouted.
"Mom went to look for you but couldn't find you," she added.
Yuu remembered hearing a sound in the corridor but had ignored it in his tense state. So Kyouka had come. "I went out for some fresh air," he said, his eyes on Kyouka. How much could she have heard?
Kyouka spoke in a mysterious tone as she picked up her chopsticks, "I'm glad you're okay. You spoke to the innkeeper about the drinks, didn't you?"
Yuu swallowed and slowly nodded. She heard. But how much?
"What did you say to her?" Kyouka asked directly.
"I just said the drinks were spoiled and asked her to replace them."
A faint smile appeared on Kyouka's face, but it only made Yuu more uneasy. "Is that so? Good."
He had to put this strange atmosphere aside for now. There was still something he had to do. He stood up and began to carefully inspect every corner of the room. According to the vision, there was a camera in every room.
His gaze stopped at the southeast corner of the room, where the ceiling met the wall. There, he saw the faint, dark particles dancing in the air. He calmly walked over, grabbed the cables connected to the camera, and ripped them out with a single, forceful tug.
"What do you think you're doing, Yuu-kun?" Yuka asked in astonishment.
Yuu turned with a sheepish smile. "I noticed a camera here. The innkeeper said it was for security, but you know... I didn't want it recording our... moments."
Yuka's face turned red as Kyouka grumbled under her breath. "So there was a camera there."
Just then, the innkeeper entered with new sake. "I'm sorry, there was a mix-up," she said, quickly replacing the drinks and disappearing as fast as she had appeared.
As everyone relaxed and filled their new glasses, Yuu smiled. 'Now I can start my plan,' he thought. Now that he was sure they weren't being watched, he could protect them. Despite Kyouka's strange behavior, for now, everything seemed to be on track.