Chapter Text
You weren’t exactly sure how long ago it had been - a year, possibly? - but on one particular torturous night, he’d strangled you after what he deemed a ‘stressful day’. Your throat was sore for days after, your vocal chords husky and raw. You found it easier just to not talk after that and he seemed happy with the development, so you were too. If you spoke, there was a danger that you’d say something to upset him and he’d lash out in anger. Of course, he still did lose his temper and lash out, but now it was only over other grievances rather than anything you brought on yourself.
You didn’t even flinch when he jammed the cold metal of the gun into the side of your skull. It wasn’t the first time, that’s for sure. He did it a lot at the start, enjoying your sobs as you feared for your life. Now when he did it you wished he’d just pull the trigger. Get it over with – you weren’t sure of your purpose here. You were the maid, you cleaned and served him and were his personal punchbag. Thankfully, he’d never touched you in that way, but surely he’d had enough enjoyment out of you.
It had been a typical evening in the house – he’d retired to his study with his cigar and whisky while you cleared the dinner table for him and his goons. The gunfire had started soon after that. You hadn’t thought too much of it at first, sometimes when his men drank they got a bit trigger-happy with each other over minor disputes. When he ran into the dining room, gunshots echoing behind him was when you realized it wasn’t as you first though. He grabbed you around the neck, breathing heavily as his assailant entered the room and pressed the gun into your head.
A sullen man with an undercut and black hair tied up upon his head is staring at you with an equally blank stare on his face, his aim steady. He’s dressed in a well-fitted, obviously tailored suit - a professional, you guessed.
“Let her go,” you heard a voice hiss behind you, another gun cocking. He was trapped, surrounded by two guns. The barrel left your skull and then everything happened in a blur - someone yanked you back and threw you down to the ground as there was a single gunshot. Your abductor’s body lay across the floor, blood oozing from a hole in the middle of his forehead.
You look up, expecting a bullet to hit you next. The two men stand over you, looking down. The voice behind you turned out to be a blonde man, classically good-looking with fluffy hair and also very well-dressed. He puts away his gun before crouching down in front of you.
“Are you okay?” The blonde man asks gently and you must’ve given him a confused look as he backtracked. “No, stupid question. Is anything broken?” You shake your head.
“That’s good. How long have you been here?” You think for a moment, opening your mouth slightly but the words don’t come. It was the only defense mechanism you had left. If you don’t speak, no-one can get mad when you say the wrong thing, right? And these two were assassins, clearly. They’d just put a bullet in your abductor’s head and maybe you’d be next. You resort to a shrug – it's honest, you don’t know how long it’s been.
The blonde frowns, before pursuing his line of questioning.
“Erm… Well, is there someone we can call for you?”
You shake your head again, twisting your fingers in your lap.
“Do you have a name? I’m Kazuki, and that’s Rei.”
You dig your nails into the palm of your hand at that. Your name…
The blonde looks at his partner in desperation.
“And the rest of the house is clear?”
“Mm.” Rei confirms. “She’s the only one left. She wasn’t in any of the files.”
Kazuki sighs. They’re in the middle of nowhere. He can’t, in all good conscience, leave you here, especially in the state you appear to be in. They know that eventually they’ll be another drop and the deaths will be discovered, but who knows how long that’ll be and won’t they blame you? The pony-tailed man raised an eyebrow.
“If you get to bring a kid and a woman home, I’m definitely getting a cat.”
“I know, I know,” Kazuki mutters. “But we can’t just leave her. Let’s take her back to the city and then maybe Kyu will be able to dig up something about her.” He turned back to you, debating. “Maybe she’s got some personal items. Do you have a room here? Can you show us?”
You swallowed before nodding in the affirmative. Why would they want to see that? You got to your feet and the blonde quickly stepped in line with you. Rei stalked behind, his gun still drawn.
You led them through a back passage to your “room”. It wasn’t really a room to be perfectly honest, it was a broom closet. The door had a heavy padlock on it but it was no longer used - you’d stopped trying to get out of there long ago. You swung the door open and pulled the cord, a solitary light bulb flickered and illuminated the grimy room. There was a pile of blankets on the floor – your makeshift bed - and a folded pile of two dresses. Your ‘uniform’. Screwed into the concrete wall was a shackle but, as with the padlock, it had been a while since it had been used.
“Uh… Okay. I...” The blonde stumbled over his words. “I was going to ask if there was anything you want to bring with you, but I guess not.”
You looked down at your feet, awkwardly.
“Okay, let’s go. We’ve got a van out the front. We’ll get you back to the city and take it from there.” You followed Kazuki dutifully to the front door, Rei once again walking behind when you saw the outcome of the ambush. Your abductor’s security team laid about the floor, dead. It should’ve shocked you and it would’ve however long ago, but it wasn’t the first time you’d seen corpses since you’d arrived here.
At the front door, Kazuki looked down at your sock-clad feet – frilly white thigh highs of all things to match that horrendous maid outfit he had you wear. “Erm, do you have any shoes?”
Shoes? You shook your head. Why would you have shoes? You never went outside. You had them once, but you don’t know what happened to any of the things you’d been wearing when you’d first been brought here.
“No? Right. It’s not far, will you be okay to walk like that?”
You nodded.
The night air was crisp and the freshest thing you’d ever tasted. On occasion you’d pushed your face right up to the windows, trying to breathe it in, but it was rare. The house had always had someone around, yanking you back from the window in case you tried to jump.
There was a catering van parked off to the side of the driveway. You hopped in the back as instructed and sat in the chair Kazuki pointed to. Rei took to the steering wheel and they began the long drive home in silence.
You didn’t want to, but the motion of the van had you dozing on and off in the back of the van on the drive, picking up snippets of their conversation.
“Maybe she just can’t talk.” You hear Rei suggest.
“No, I think she’s traumatized. She’s covered in bruises. How long do you think she’s been there?”
“Dunno.” A pause. “What are we going to say to Miri?”
--
An hour or so later, you arrived back in the city. They parked in an underground car park and you followed them to the elevator, up what seemed quite an elaborate apartment.
Kazuki insisted you sleep in Rei’s bedroom – the man wasn’t really using the bed anyway, he’d told you - and you weren’t really in a position to disagree. He’d given you a rundown of the facilities. “So, the toilet’s downstairs. Rei sleeps in the upstairs bathroom. Don’t ask. Sorry, no, that sounds insensitive. I mean, if you wanted to ask that’s fine. I’d love to hear you speak, actually, but… Ugh. Okay. Sorry. You’re safe, it’s late, I’ll let you get some sleep.” And he ducked out the room as fast he could.
--
You didn’t get a lot of sleep, but that wasn’t new and you had napped in the van. Your duties at the house often ran late into the night and started early the next morning. When the sun rose, you were already up, sat perched on the end of the bed, feeling anxious. What were you meant to do? What were they going to do with you now?
There was a knock at the door. “Er, morning! Are you awake? I won’t come in…”
You got up and ran over to the door, opening it swiftly - he’d hated waiting for anything.
“Hi!” Kazuki gave a great big smile, clothes in hand. ”I hope you slept okay. I forgot to offer you some clothes last night, but I’ve found these.” He handed over the bundle. “They’re clean – things I’ve been meaning to get rid of since they’re a bit small for Rei now. The shorts are gonna be way too big, but they’ve got a drawstring so that should keep them up. Is that okay?”
You nod, clutching it close to your chest.
“Okay, well, you get changed and I’ll come back in five. Breakfast should be ready soon and you can meet Miri – she’s our little girl. You might’ve heard Rei talk about her last night. See you soon.”
You nodded, and he shut the door. You walked back over to the bed and laid out the garments. A white t-shirt, soft grey jersey shorts with a cord and a black zip-up hoodie. How long had it been since you hadn’t worn a dress? You pulled it off and over your head before pulling up the shorts. Kazuki was right – they were too large but pulling the drawstring tight and securing it in a bow sorted out the issue and the t-shirt was only a little oversized and the hoodie was cosy and covered the bruises on your arms. It was the comfiest you could remember feeling in a while.
There was a knock at the door again. “You ready?”
You jogged to the door again, throwing it open, before standing straight and clasping your hands in front of you.
“Okay, great! Er, just follow me.”
You descend the spiral staircase and see a little girl sat at the kitchen table, scribbling happily across three pieces of paper, a box of crayons spilt out in front of her. Rei is sat on the sofa, headphones around his neck and mashing at a controller.
“Hi!” Miri beamed, her eyes widening in interest at your presence. “I’m Miri, what’s your name?”
Kazuki watches in interest as you open your mouth but quickly close it again, digging your nails into your palms once more.
“Miri, this is Papa’s…” he hesitated, thinking of how best to phrase it, “friend. She’s not feeling too well at the moment. She’s sort of lost her voice.”
The little girl’s eyes widened. “Like a spell?”
“Yeah,” he nods. “Like a spell.”
“You must be a princess!” She squealed, remembering a storybook. “But what’s her name?”
“Er, well…” Kazuki scratches the back of his head. “That’s where we’ve been struggling.”
“Oh, I know, I know!” Miri grabbed another piece of paper and scribbled on it before sliding it over in front of you, alongside a crayon. “See, it says ‘Miri!’ Now it’s your go – write yours.”
You bit your lip before picking up the crayon. Your hand was shaking. Your abductor had never called you by your name, only a myriad of derogatory terms. You’d fought back the first few weeks, when your spirit wasn’t crushed. Your penmanship was as wobbly as Miri’s, but Kazuki read it over slowly, a frown across his features.
“I don’t remember is a funny name!” Miri squealed. There was silence in the room – even Rei had stopped mashing the controller buttons for a beat.
Kazuki winced at Miri’s statement. “No, Miri. I think that must be part of the, er, spell.”
“Oh…” Miri frowned, pondering for a moment. “Well, I’ll call you princess! Sit with me, princess!” She tugged at your arm.
“If Miri gets to call her princess, can I call her kitty?” Rei speaks up.
“Princess Kitty!”
Kazuki looks mortified at his company. “It’s not up to me! Is… is that okay with you? I mean, until we can figure it all out.”
You nod – they were nicer names than you were used to.
Breakfast was a far more lavish affair than you were used to – the plates were laden and there was so much choice. Rei and Miri said grace and you bowed your head in thanks, following suit. The two then proceeded to demolish their servings before you could even fathom, quickly abandoning the table for their previous activities. Kazuki chuckles, “Yeah, they’re like that, unfortunately. We can take our time.”
The food felt rich and heavy in your stomach, so you forced a bit more down than you originally wanted so as not to seem ungrateful. It was never a good outcome. Kazuki got to his feet and stretched, and you took it as your cue to start clearing.
“Oh, no, no, it’s okay. You’re our guest. Go sit with Rei and Miri - relax.”
You froze, relax? What…?
“Yeah, come sit with me, kitty!” Miri chimes, patting the space besides her. “We can watch Papa Rei win!” Seems like she’d be won over by Rei’s name for you.
“Sorry,” Kazuki rubs the back of his head. “I promise when we find out your real name we’ll nip that in the bud.”
You walk over to the couch and sit down besides Miri, as she instructed. She laughed joyfully, watching the man game for a couple of minutes as Kazuki bustled around in the background, appearing to pack a bag.
“Miri, come on! Time to go.”
“Oh…” Miri frowned, before she grabbed at your arm. “Will you still be here when I get back, kitty? I want to hang out with you more!”
“Yes, Miri…” Kazuki hesitates before he says your new name, apparently, “kitty will be. Can you go get your coat on?”
“Yay!” Miri squeezes your arm before dashing off towards the front door.
“Okay,” Kazuki stands in front of the TV, trying to divert Rei’s attention from the screen. “I’ll drop Miri off at daycare and then go see Kyu, let him know how things went and if he can get us any information. I’ll bring back some lunch, okay?”
“Bye.”
Kazuki rolls his eyes, before he heads towards the door. Miri declares herself ready and Kazuki puts his shoes on. The door opens and Miri yells, “Bye, Papa Rei! Bye, kitty!”
The door closes.
You stare at the television. Rei was playing some sort of shooting game – you thought that was an odd way to relax after last night. You weren’t sure what you were meant to do now. You had your routine at the house – serve and clear breakfast, wash the dishes, make the beds, do the laundry, sweep and scrub the floors… Though, what you really wanted to do at this moment was use the facilities, but you weren’t sure what the deal was here. When you were on your own doing your chores, you could visit whenever, but if you were with him, you were expected to remain there. Was Rei the same? You shuffled subtly in your position, trying to relieve the pressure on your bladder somewhat. You hoped he wouldn’t notice but, due to his profession and upbringing, he was acutely aware of his surroundings at all times.
“What’s the matter, kitty?”
You freeze and sit poker straight, maybe you’d annoyed him with your movements, distracted him from his game, made him lose…
He pauses the game and leans forward, sliding one of Miri’s pieces of paper towards him and another crayon.
“Can you write it down?”
You bite your lip and pick up the crayon, your stupid hand shaking again. Please may I go to the bathroom?
Rei blinks slowly as he reads it. “Sure. You don’t need to ask permission.” He unpauses his game and continues button mashing. You exhale, getting up to your feet, bracing yourself for it being a trick. He’d loved changing the rules to keep you on your toes, after all.
Nothing comes as you take a step, followed by another in the direction of where Kazuki had shown you last night. As you enter and turn to close and lock the door, you can see Rei is still engrossed in his game.
After completing your business, you wash your hands thoroughly in the sink and look at yourself in the mirror. Your face is pale and your braids are messed up. You want to re-do them but you don’t want to seem like you’re taking too long in here – what if there’s a time limit? You tuck in a few loose strands before unlocking the door. Rei’s game play continues and you beeline it back to the couch, sitting exactly where you’d been before and watch.
Your mind starts to wonder – what was going to happen? Were you going to serve these two now? Is that how it worked in the criminal word – kill whoever and their property gets passed on to you? But that didn’t make sense, earlier Kazuki had said you were a guest, right?
“Here, kitty,” Rei says softly, interrupting your thoughts as he presses a controller in your hands. “You can be player two.” He’s switched the game when you were staring into space – Morio Kart now flashes on the screen. You’d seen it years ago but never played. There were no games consoles growing up – you hadn’t even had a television towards the end. Everything had been sold off to try and alleviate your father’s debts.
“Have you played before?” You shook your head. “You steer using the joystick, press this one to accelerate, this one to drift, and this one to throw stuff.” He points to the buttons one by one and you burn it into memory at once. It’s important to remember instructions.
--
The next few days are odd. Kazuki said Kyu was doing his best to work out your past, but to let him know if you recalled anything that might point them in the right direction – however vague it might be. You would have breakfast, Kazuki finally relented in letting you help with dishes whilst he took Miri to daycare, you’d then sit with Rei, occasionally acting as player two, have lunch, fold some laundry with Kazuki, one of them would collect Miri and you’d colour or play something with her in the evening before dinner.
Tonight, things in the household are tense. Kazuki is at his wit’s end, arguing with a disengaged Rei – you’re not quite sure what about but you wanted to keep out of eyeline. Being around raised voices had never ended well for you. You’re at the top of the stairs after you’d taken up the load of laundry you’d folded with the blonde earlier while he was distracted in the dispute, and from your elevated position you can see Miri reaching for the pan of boiling hot water on the stove and your heart stops. You can’t make it down in time to physically stop her and Kazuki and Rei aren’t going to see in time.
You lean over the edge and open your mouth, “M-M-M-Miri, n-no!”
All eyes snap to you at that point - Miri’s included, thankfully, and stopping her in her tracks. You slapped your hand across your mouth, feeling bile rise up in your throat. Your voice sounds so foreign and wrong and you shouldn’t have done that. No, no, no…
Kazuki’s eyes move to Miri and he sees the little girl's hand hovering centimetres away from the hot pan. “Miri, don’t touch that!” He roars, and the little girl snatches her hand away but continues to stare at you.
“Kitty spoke!”
“She did,” Rei agreed, and you bite your lip hard.
Kazuki had made his way over to the hob, turning off the heat and pushing the pan to the back. Dinner would have to wait. “Miri, I’ve told you a dozen times, you can’t be playing around here. You can get really hurt.”
“But Papa Kazuki,” she tugs at his trouser leg, “kitty said my name!”
You dart down the stairs, bowing your head over and over apologetically. Your eyes are brimming with tears. It wasn’t your place to discipline the girl, of course it wasn’t…
“She did, didn’t she?” Kazuki replied, before balking when he saw your face. “Oh, hey, no, don’t cry! There’s nothing to cry about, we’re not mad. We’re glad to hear you speak, honestly. Aren’t we, Rei?”
Miri is now at your arm, pulling at it. “Say it again! Say it again!”
“Can you?” Rei asks, sounding curious.
“Please!” Miri squeals.
You swallow, looking at all their hopeful faces. It was an order, wasn’t it? “M-M-M-Miri.” You oblige, before ducking your head again.
Miri laughs, pulling at your arm again. “Now say my papas’ names!”
“Miri…” Kazuki warns. “Kitty can speak when she wants and what she wants, okay? She’s not a performer for you.”
“But I like hearing her voice!”
“Yes, we do too”, he stressed, meeting your eyes at that point, “but she can take it at her own pace.”
There is a lull in conversation – everyone’s eyes are still on you and you hate it. Thankfully, Miri’s stomach rumbles loudly.
“Papa, I’m hungry!”
“Right, dinner!” Kazuki returns to the hob and starts bustling around the kitchen, forgetting about his argument from Rei a few moments before. You’re thankful for the intervention, the distraction and you duck into the bathroom to catch your breath.
--
Kazuki has taken Miri up to bed and it’s just you and Rei on the couch. He’s gaming as usual, but he has the volume turned down low.
“You can say my name, if you’d like.” He mumbles.
You look at him, unsure. “I mean, I’d like to hear you say it, but you don’t have to. I think you’re scared of someone thinking you’ve said the wrong thing, but you should be able to say whatever you feel. Since you already said Miri’s, I thought maybe my name would be easy to say next, to ease you into it.”
His eyes have never left the screen as he speaks. A few moments of silence follow before you squeeze your eyes shut, taking a deep breath. “H-hi, R-R-Rei.”
You open one eye and look over. “Hi.” He replies back, a small smile on his face.