(.........)

(......?)

(Where—)

(Where am I? Who am I...?)

(There's nothing here. Absolutely nothing. Well, except for myself.)

(It feels like there's light somewhere nearby.)

(But there's only darkness wherever I look.)

(Why...?)

(.........)

(...I can sense someone moving, too—)

(From a faraway place. A place that is unseen and unreachable.)

(And from that faraway place, I hear someone calling out to me.)

(Ah...)

(Is it okay? Is it really okay for me to reach out to you?)

(But I'd feel guilty for doing so.)

(.........)

Hey! Are you okay?! Pull yourself together!

Or, like, just wake the hell up alreadyyy!

.........

...? Where...am I?

Oh, thank God you're awake! I was so worried! You weren't reacting to anything even though your eyes were open!

I expected you to say you were pulling some kind of prank once you were up, but you didn't! Are you trying to trick me? I'm actually surprised that you didn't do anything like that!

You are—

Um, who are you?

Oh, I know this one! You're pretending to have amnesia, huh? And then you forgot alllll about me? Well, enough of that!

It genuinely hurts to be forgotten by you! Don't act like that! You're an entertainer, which means you're supposed to entertain people without hurting their feelings!

......?

Why are you just staring at me like that?! Are you still not fully awake yet? Christ, every single thing you do pisses me off as always...!

But...I'm still so glad that you're awake... I can't find my phone anywhere, and there's some suspicious guys outside...

I couldn't call an ambulance or take you to a hospital.

But you're still seriously injured! You were bleeding so much—I thought you were gonna die!

......?

Just look at yourself! You have cuts everywhere! I thought all of these scars were just makeup, but they seem real... Plus there's all that blood coming out⁠—

I did my best to patch everything up, but just let me know if anything hurts! Well, I can't really do everything you ask for but...!

You? Helped...me?

Why do you sound so unsure of yourself?! Don't you always talk my damn ear off, or do you just not have the energy for that right now?!

But in any case, I'm really glad that you're awake... I'm sure you have a lot of questions right now, but you should rest first.

Actually, it's probably better for you to take a shower and eat afterwards. All those wounds won't heal unless you get some nutrition in you, Senpai.

But we did kinda, like, walk into this place without permission... It feels wrong to eat whatever's in the fridge.

Umm? Where...are we?

Hm? You're telling me you don't know either?! I kinda needed you to explain everything to me after you woke up!

I can't really figure it out on my own, y'know... I woke up in some shady alley and found you unconscious nearby.

I couldn't just leave you out there, so I put your arm around my shoulder and carried you...

I was panicking so badly. I knew I needed to get you to a hospital, but⁠—

We got attacked by some freaky monsters along the way.

Monsters...?

Actually, I think they were just people wearing costumes. Monsters don't really exist, right?

Anyways, those things started chasing us, so I panicked and ran away. This apartment was close, so I just jumped right in.⁠1

After that, I locked the door and did what I could to take care of you.

Thanks to a certain someone, I'm used to dealing with crazy stuff like this, so I already knew what to do.

But I still have no idea what's going onnn! So just explain it to me alreadyyy! I can't take it—seriously, I'm at my limit!

I know I said that I'm used to shit like this, but not at this level... Not even after everything you put me through last year.

You want an...explanation?

I...don't even know who you are.

Huh?

Or, rather...who am I?

Can you cut that bit out already?! Read the room—you better know when it's a good time to make a joke or not, Masked Pervert!