~..So warm..~ (Fools gold x Reader)

Norton glared in his direction, seemingly upset at his appearance. "Ah..Orpheus. Is there somethi-" You began, but was quickly cut off.

"-We have a match in 30 minutes."

Norton sighed sharply, looking back towards you once Orpheus left, leaving the door only cracked. "A match?" Your head cocked to the side, causing the man to sigh once again. "Ah..That's what I was here for. To explain the matches.." His deep voice circling your head. You hummed in wonder as he sat himself next to you once again. He stretched and yawned, though once he got himself situated, he wore a serious expression on his face and spoke in a low, warning tone, scaring you slightly;

"I'm sure you've seen something here. Certain. We all have. The matches..there like a game. We have to endure what we saw in a random location."

Your heart began pounding in your chest as his explanation went on..Was this really going to happen?

"Listen..-"

The two of you heard a loud bell toll down the hall, causing you to jump slightly. You held your chest and calmed yourself before turning back to Norton.

"Listen. Just decode. Don't worry about the hunter, I'll take care of them. Just. Decode."

And with that, he left, seemingly in a rush so you did the same, hurrying to put on your regular clothes, and grabbing a small book and pen. You slipped your chosen items into the pocket in your coat, and you left in a rush as well. Walking down the long empty hall, questions flooding your head as you reached the quartz stairs. Looking over the edge, you saw..more people? At least 6 people sat in the entrance area in front of the door. You only recognized half of them though. Melly, Norton, and Orpheus. You gulped down any fear you might've held in that moment and walked down the steps carefully.

What in the world was going on here?

You sighed softly, stepping down each stair until you reached the bottom, where Orpheus made his way over to you quickly. His usual smirk took over any expression he previously had as he whispered softly. "You can stay near me. I'll protect you, Miss reporter." A light shade of red dusted your cheeks as you smiled and nodded gently, catching the attention of Norton. Something was wrong here..The way Norton looked at you, seeming as if he prayed you wouldn't figure something out. The way Melly was fidgeting with her fingers and being silent, and the way Orpheus was clearly trying to get closer to you. Something happened that you missed.

Nevermind the past. Lets focus on the future. What's going to happen in this "match"? Would you have to face that monster man again? Either way, you had to prepare yourself for whatever happens next.

You got lost in your thoughts, dozing off as Orpheus chuckled softly before looking at the front of the room with his smirk. Your eyes fluttered softly as you slipped back into reality and noticed that Melly was wiping away a tear with her green handkerchief, before sighing sharply. You reached out, hoping to touch her shoulder to try an reassure her that it was going to be okay, though before you could reach her, Everything began fading to black..

Your eyes fluttered open, looking around immediately. Where? No..The forest. Your eyes widened a bit, allowing you to look around some more. You were standing in the middle of the forest from earlier, your hand reached out just as it was in the manor. Your hand fell to your side in defeat as you turned, trying to figure out how you got here, and what was going on in general. You confirmed it. You were in the middle of the forest from earlier. With trembling hands, you began walking. Where? You didn't know, but you were walking somewhere, hopefully to find the others. You sighed heavily, thr panic slowly beginning to settle in ad you looked around some more and found nobody.

Where the hell..?

Your breath began picking up, your chest rising and falling quickly as you looked around for someone; anyone. You've felt this panic before..Being alone. Tears welled in your eyes as you dropped to your knees eith a loud thud. You looked around, tears falling as you panted heavily. Where did everyone go? How did you get here? Why were you here in the first place? To find a-

*BZZZT*

"Ow!"

A loud electrical sound from your right, along with a cry of pain. Your head immediately snapped in the direction of the commotion as you picked yourself up swiftly, running to it almost immediately.

You found someone.

You ran towards the noise, branches that hung low scratching your arms and face. As you made your way across a small clearing, you saw one of the machines from the racecourse, along with a woman dressed as a doctor.

Your face lit up at you rushed toward her, smiling softly once she noticed you.
She waved you over, smiling brightly as  you approached her.

"Thank god there's someone else here..I thought I was alone..!"
You chuckled as she smiled and sighed with relief.

"Ah..A new player? My name is Emily Dyer."
She extended her hand, and you shook it.

"My name is Y/N. And..new player?"
You tilted your head slightly, causing her to chuckle a bit.

"That's going to make things harder, but lets stick together..!"
She smiled brightly, and you did the same.

Just as you giggled softly to yourself, you heard rustling behind you, and then your heart beat began pounding in your chest. You looked over at Emily, who seemingly felt the same thing, though she wore a terrified expression on her face. You turned around, looking for her source of fear when you heard her run off behind you. You turned around quickly, going to ask where she was going when you heard someone running behind you once again. You turned once more, kinda annoyed, you saw..Norton! Your face lit up, but then you too wore a terrified expression ad you saw him look back, and then continue sprinting away. You looked over, trying to see what he was running from.when you saw it..;

A tall man, with horridly long claws attached to each of his fingers.

The realization hit you like a brick; this was..some sort of sick game. And you found yourself straight in the center of it.