Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

"Eh? Why was I suddenly pulled into the game?!"

Fujiwara Chika yelped in surprise, hurriedly grabbing the hem of Amamiya Natsuki's clothes and looking around nervously. "Where's Kaguya-chan? Why isn't she with us?"

"It looks like we triggered a special instance. Kaguya-san didn't get pulled in."

Amamiya Natsuki replied in a low voice as he calmly assessed his surroundings. The drowsiness he had felt moments ago had completely vanished.

In the blink of an eye, the bustling subway had transformed into a cold, empty world.

The air was frigid.

The lights were ghostly pale.

The only sound was the low hum of the subway itself, accompanied by the occasional creak and rumble of the train wheels. A few passengers were still seated.

Most of them sat with their heads down, skin deathly pale and expressions stiff, as if they hadn't noticed the shift in reality at all—clearly vengeful spirits.

There was also the corpse of a middle-aged office worker lying in the aisle, a pool of blood surrounding him, evidence of a fierce struggle. It was a gruesome sight.

"I heard it too just now. It's called the Midnight Subway... But wait, it's not even eight o'clock yet!" Fujiwara Chika muttered in frustration. "Why is it called Midnight?"

"Um… are you guys players too?"

A girl in a school uniform approached cautiously and asked in a hushed voice.

Amamiya Natsuki looked over and noted the telltale dark circles under her eyes. She was definitely a player.

"We're players." Fujiwara Chika nodded quickly. "Did you get pulled into the game just now too?"

"...What?"

"I was just sitting on the subway, and suddenly I got pulled into the game."

"Sorry, I'm not." The girl shook her head, looking confused. "I was doing homework at home…"

"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika froze. She turned to Amamiya Natsuki. "What does that mean?"

Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a couple of seconds and then gave his theory:

"The others are probably here on mandatory missions. We're the unlucky ones who got caught by accident… just because we happened to be riding the subway."

It hadn't even been two full days since his last game. It didn't make sense to be selected again so soon. It could only be bad luck.

Humans instinctively seek company in uncertain situations. Soon, two more players arrived.

One was a tall, curvy girl with waist-length blonde hair and a provocative outfit—a black dress styled like a maid uniform, complete with a matching hair accessory, pet collar, and what looked like a tongue stud. She introduced herself cheerfully and confidently:

"Hi everyone! I'm Kitagawa Marin. This is my third game. I'll be counting on all of you!"

Despite her striking appearance, she was unexpectedly polite.

"Excuse me," Fujiwara Chika asked curiously, "why are you wearing that outfit? Is it some kind of powerful gear?"

"Ah, no. It's not a prop," Kitagawa Marin replied awkwardly. "It's the costume of a character I really like. I just got the summon notice and had only ten seconds to prepare. I didn't have time to change."

"So ten seconds of prep is all we get..." Fujiwara Chika nodded thoughtfully. "If someone got summoned while taking a bath, wouldn't they be—um, fully exposed?"

"Actually, it's just your consciousness that enters the game." Another girl chimed in softly. "So even if you're in the shower, the clothes you wear most often will appear on your body."

Hearing this, Amamiya Natsuki glanced over at the speaker.

You sound like you've experienced that firsthand…

The last to arrive was a bespectacled otaku boy with messy hair and a Sword Art Online: Alicization swimsuit figurine in hand.

"My name is Tomoya Aki. I'd just gotten home from my part-time job and was organizing my collection when the game chose me."

After a brief exchange of information, they discovered they had something in common: all five were second-time players. There were still no confirmed veteran players in sight.

This likely meant the horror game had only recently begun.

Of course, the possibility that some were hiding their experience couldn't be ruled out.

"The mission is simple," Kitagawa Marin said, covering her chest with one arm to prevent any accidental exposure—though her proportions were the kind that could easily outclass ten Miss Kaguyas. "We just have to survive until the subway reaches the final stop… What about the rest of you?"

"Same objective here." Tomoya Aki nodded quickly.

"The final station..." Fujiwara Chika pursed her lips. "Isn't it Shinjuku?"

"Not anymore."

Amamiya Natsuki pointed at the indicator panel above the train doors.

Everyone looked up.

The subway map was flickering with red lights, smeared in blood. Some station names had turned into indecipherable gibberish. Only the name of the final stop was clearly legible.

Kisaragi Station.

"Wh-What?! Kisaragi Station?!"

Tomoya Aki's face turned pale.

As one of Japan's top ten urban legends, Kisaragi Station was widely known. Its notoriety even surpassed that of Kuchisake-onna or Toilet Hanako.

According to the legend, anyone who gets off at Kisaragi Station is lost forever—never to return to the real world.

The atmosphere among the group turned tense. They were all newbies, after all, and few could remain calm in the face of such a terrifying omen.

"Natsuki-san… what should we do now?" Fujiwara Chika asked nervously.

While the combination of skills like Cracking Down on Pornography and Organized Crime were powerful, they needed a target to act on. At the moment, they didn't even know who—or what—they were up against.

Amamiya Natsuki frowned slightly and answered:

"This is a game. There has to be a way to clear it. We can't just sit around and wait for death. We need to be proactive—search for clues."

Everyone quickly agreed.

"There should be emergency brakes on the train." Kitagawa suggested. "Should we try that first?"

Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "Let's give it a shot."

A few moments later…

"No good." Kitagawa shook her head, clearly frustrated. "Looks like the game isn't that simple."

"Then how about checking the conductor's cabin?" one of the girls suggested. "If we can get inside, we might be able to brake the train manually."

"Good idea. Let's go."

The players moved as a group, carefully stepping around the corpse of the office worker lying on the floor, and proceeded toward the front of the train.

Once they passed into the next car, the subway became eerily empty. No passengers, no spirits—just bloody handprints smeared across the windows and increasingly flickering lights.

They walked for a while in uneasy silence.

Suddenly, Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up. "I think I see someone!"

Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes. "You're mistaken. That's not a person."

As they got closer, the truth became clear—and everyone's expressions changed in horror.

"What… what is this?!"

"We're back again?!"

The scene ahead was identical to the one they had left behind.

Same passengers.

Same corpse.

Same bloody briefcases.

Same subway car.

They had looped back without realizing it.

"This… this is a subway!" Tomoya Aki stammered. "We were moving forward! How could we have gone in a circle?!"

Before anyone could answer, a vengeful spirit—its head drooped low—suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Tomoya Aki's wrist. A hoarse voice rasped out from behind the curtain of black hair:

"…Pervert. You actually touched me!"

-End Chapter-

Visit the Patreon!!

Read 30 chapters ahead, more on the way!

[email protected]/TrashProspector

150 Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter

15 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter