"Now now, there's no need to cry. You saw this coming, did you not? I know you did. So why are you so surprised?"
Akio didn't respond.
Instead he stared at the corpses of his parents and his two sisters, all sitting there on the couch in the living room, with wide eyes. You can see the stitches keeping their body parts together. It looks like someone dismembered them and then put them back together.
Akio didn't scream at the sight.
He couldn't.
Instead he slowly turned to Vyko and glared at them, tears blurring his vision.
In a matter of seconds Akio has already pounced on Vyko, gripping their shoulders and shaking them back and forth.
"TELL ME THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR LIES! THIS ISN'T REAL! IT CANNOT BE REAL!"
Vyko stayed silent, but then they put a gloved hand on Akio's, saying something Akio did not expect.
"But isn't that what you wanted? A valid reason to be sad?"
Akio's eyes widened, yet he stayed silent.
Vyko's tone wasn't one of mockery. Instead it stayed calm and unperturbed. They freed themselves from Akio's weakening grip.
"I know you better than you might think, Akio. You've always felt like you never had a good reason to be so dejected. But I think now the time has come to tell you something."
"Your feelings have always been valid. It doesn't matter *what* happens. What matters is how you *feel* about what happens. But you've always been too busy hating yourself to realize that. Am I wrong?"
A single tear rolled down Akio's cheek as he looked up at Vyko. You could practically see the despair in his eyes.
Akio shut down at this point, not even listening to what Vyko had to say.
Vyko sighed in what sounded like disappointment.
"Did I break you already? My, that was easier than I thought. I actually believed you'd be more interesting than that."
"And it wasn't even me who killed them."
That's what made Akio's thoughts stop spiraling.
"What...?"
"You heard me. Do you want to know who actually killed them?"
Akio didn't answer.
"It was Katsuko."
That was the point where Akio's brain stopped working completely.
"But I do have to admit, I was the one who stitched them back together. I don't like to look at gore, you see."
"Liar."
Vyko hummed in confusion.
"She wouldn't do that. Why would she? What would she get out of it?"
"My, your brain is still working, even while knowing your whole family is dead. Impressive. You caught me. I lied. But you have to admit, my sewing skills are truly immaculate," Vyko taunted.
Akio's tears spilled uncontrollably by then.
Vyko completely ignored Akio's predicament.
"Now what will you do? Your family is gone now. What's your next move?"
Akio glared at Vyko again, a dangerous fire visible in his eyes.
"What was the purpose? Why are you such a monster? Does it entertain you to break people!?"
Vyko chuckled again, as if Akio just told them a funny joke.
"It doesn't entertain me per se. I just like to conduct experiments. And you, my dear, are a prime example of a good experiment. I'm looking forward to seeing the result."
Akio's head lowered, his voice wavering.
"Why? Why am I never seen as a person? Am I just an object? A bargaining chip, an experiment, a benefit? Nothing more!?"
"Ah don't be so down now. Look, I even stitched them back together, so you don't have to see the massacre it originally was."
"I want to go..."
Vyko tilted their head in response.
"Ah that's expected. Of course you don't want to see your family's lifeless bodies. I understand. Let's go, I'll make you some delicious rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkled on top to make you feel better."
*This person doesn't take me seriously at all. But that doesn't surprise me. I simply want to leave and forget what I just saw.*
Akio followed Vyko out of the house, before they locked the door again.
The walk to Vyko's home wasn't as tense as before, but it certainly wasn't comfortable.
Akio only stared at the ground with wide eyes, while he was walking behind the cult leader. He seemed to hide in another world mentally. Away from the gruesome reality. Away from the monster in front of him.
As they finally arrived back at the house it was already dark outside.
Akio didn't really process the fact that his family was now gone. He was still convinced this was nothing but a dream. A nightmare.
If he actually realized this was reality, he would've broken down completely by now.
Vyko was cooking the rice pudding as promised.
Akio was sitting at the table, looking down at the surface of it.
"Why rice pudding?", he mumbled.
Vyko heard the question, so they responded with their smooth voice.
"I like rice pudding."
"But you don't even know if *I* like it. Or whether I'm allergic to it or not," Akio said, annoyed.
"Well, I know you have no allergies. As for 'not liking it, I'll make you like it."
"Why are you not just giving me store-bought rice pudding then? That's way easier," Akio stated, still not taking this situation seriously.
Vyko halted at Akio's audacity.
"What? You expect me to feed my guest food made by someone else? Don't you dare assume I'd ever eat or feed someone something as unethical as fast food."
Akio deadpanned at that.
"Okay, but uh...-"
"Anyways, the rice pudding is done," Vyko interrupted him, not wanting to hear any more questions.
Vyko went back into the dining room where Akio was sitting, carrying a big pot. Steam was rising from it.
Akio just now noticed that Vyko was still wearing their robe. But they had a light blue apron with white flowers covering it.
It looked ridiculous to say the least.
But at this point, what wasn't?
Vyko sat down across from Akio.
"You took your family's demise surprisingly well, you know? I expected you to cry a lot more. But then again, maybe you have to process it properly first."
Akio stayed silent.
Vyko took off their black mask and put it on the table next to the bowl, revealing part of their face. Their eyes were still covered by the white, lacy blindfold, however.
They took a big spoonful of rice pudding from the pot and dumped it into their bowl, then they took a cinnamon shaker and sprinkled some of the powder onto the meal.
Akio watched.
Vyko glanced up at him and pushed the pot closer to him.
"Don't be shy, take some."
Vyko took a small spoon and scooped a bit of the rice pudding onto it, putting it in their mouth gracefully.
Akio was confused.
This monster was the definition of unpredictable.
*I've never felt so unsafe yet so taken care of at the same time before...*