The Villain I Saved Wants Me In Chains

My mission to save the villain failed. I returned to my own world.

Then the Systems voice chimed in my head again: {The villains legs are broken.}

So I went back to take care of him.

System: {Hes been drugged.}

So we spent a tangled night together.

System: {Hes been drugged again. Host, you should probably go check on him.}

Are you kidding me? My back is still aching!

What kind of person gets drugged seven times in one week?

This time, I arrived in his world early. I found the villain in his kitchen, meticulously poisoning his own glass of water.

1.

A much younger Ethan Blackwood was walking onto a busy street, right into the path of a speeding semi-truck.

I didnt hesitate. I sprinted, shoving him hard out of the way.

The impact sent me flying.

In the split second before everything went dark, I was smiling. The System had just pinged: $3 million bonus awarded.

Ethan, however, was staring at me, his face a mask of pure shock. He ran over, his voice trembling. "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

I managed to pat his small, pale cheek.

"Hey," I whispered. "Go home, kid. Stay in school. Don't get into trouble."

It was the last thing I ever said to him. Then I died, right there in front of his eyes.

To be honest, I didn't feel a thing. The System had blocked all the pain receptors. My consciousness just felt... floaty.

The little villains eyes were rimmed with red.

In the original story, this was the moment that broke him. A middle-school-aged Ethan, driven to despair by an abusive father and a mother who had abandoned him, had tried to end his own life. He hadn't died, but the accident had shattered one of his legs. Without the money for proper treatment, he was left with a permanent, painful limp that twisted his personality into something dark and violent.

Now, I closed my eyes peacefully. This time, his legs were fine. Maybe the darkness wouldn't take root so quickly.

Back in my world, the System informed me that I only had to save him two more times to collect the final ten-million-dollar prize.

I rubbed my hands together.

"Thank you, System-daddy."

It seemed to hesitate. {Did you leave something behind?}

I checked myself over. Nope. Besides, my body in that world had been cremated. Anything I might have had on me would be ash by now.

The System hummed, then said it would contact me for the next mission.

2.

The second mission came much later.

I was placed in the same high school class as Ethan Blackwood.

High school again? Seriously?

I pinched my arm. Its fine. Its fine. I can survive high school again for another three million. It was a fair trade.

Ethan arrived late that day, dressed in a gray hoodie that shadowed his face, his dark hair falling over his forehead. His face was a canvas of fresh bruises. A grim, heavy aura surrounded him, and no one dared to meet his eyes.

My mission this time was simple: keep Ethan away from the storys hero and heroine. I had to stick to him like glue, do whatever it took to prevent him from ever getting tangled up with them.

The moment the bell rang for break, I pulled a warm bottle of milk from my bag and held it out to him. "It's cold out. Want this?"

He flinched, his brow furrowing, but he didnt even look at me. "No." His voice was ice.

I persisted, holding it steady. "Itll get cold soon, Ethan."

Finally, he lifted his head, his eyes filled with annoyance.

"Are you..."

He trailed off, his expression freezing. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his gaze.

My own heart skipped a beat.

I quickly checked with the System. {My appearance is different from last time, right? He literally watched me get cremated. Don't want to traumatize the poor kid.}

The System swore on its year-end bonus that I looked completely different.

I steadied myself.

Ethan just stared at me, silent.

The bell for the next class rang, and I quietly pulled the milk back. "Class is starting," I mumbled.

His eyes lingered on me for a long moment before he turned away without a word.

3.

Even though Ethan showed up with new bruises every couple of weeks, he never missed a day of school. His grades were even better than mine. When the report cards came out, I tried to console myself. So what? Go ask any college grad how much high school physics they remember. Its fine. My main quest is to keep him from interacting with the main characters.

Finally, the pivotal moment arrivedthe scene where the villain and the heroine first meet.

A basketball came flying out of the court, arcing directly toward the heroine, Sophia Ross. Gasps erupted around them. I glanced at Ethan; he was watching the scene with a lazy, detached interest.

This was it. I couldn't let them connect.

I bolted from Ethans side. With a boost from the Systema temporary "jump enhancement" moduleI leaped into the air, hands outstretched. I managed to swat the ball down, but the force of the impact sent a shockwave up my arms and knocked me off my feet. I landed hard.

It hurt. A lot. System, did you forget to turn off my pain sensors?

Sophia rushed over to help me up. I ignored the throbbing in my arm and pulled her away from the court, away from Ethan's line of sight.

I collapsed in a corner of the athletic field, sweating from the pain. Sophia hovered over me, asking if she should take me to the hospital. I shook my head, urging her to leave just as I saw Ethan walking toward us.

"Could you get a teacher to take me to the nurse's office?" I pleaded. "I really can't walk right now."

I finally managed to send her away just as Ethan reached me.

He stopped in front of me, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Sophias retreating figure.

I shifted to block his view. "Hey, Ethan. I think I twisted my ankle. Can you help me get to the nurse?"

He scowled, his gaze still fixed on the direction Sophia had gone.

I decided to go for broke. I flopped onto the ground and started wailing. "Ow, ow, owwww, it hurts so much! I think my leg is broken! I might be dying!"

Finally, worn down by my relentless melodrama, Ethan slung me onto his back and carried me to the nurse's office.

4.

After that incident, Ethan and I grew closer. Or rather, I unilaterally forced us closer.

He stopped outright refusing the milk and chocolate I offered him. Hed learned that if he said no, I would just unwrap a piece and stuff it in his mouth myself.

He was at an age where he should have been growing, but he was all sharp angles and lean muscle, tall and thin. It was obvious he wasn't eating properly. So I made it my mission to load him up with high-calorie snacks.

Eat up, little villain. Maybe you'll avoid those stomach ulcers later in life.

But despite my constant supervision, rumors about Ethan and Sophia started spreading through the school. The gossip was that Ethan had confessed his feelings to her, shed rejected him, and now he was stalking her.

No way. When would he have had the time? I was stuck to him like a shadow every single day at school. He only ever escaped my sight after the last bell.

Wait a second. After school?

Ethan always rushed off the moment class was dismissed. I could never keep up. So, one day, I followed Sophia instead.

It turned out their routes home were nearly identical.

The moment Sophia turned into a narrow alley, a figure stepped out and blocked her path.

I lifted the brim of my baseball cap.

Holy crap. It was Ethan.

So much for the diligent student act. The moment he was free, he was out here cornering girls.

Ethan said something, and Sophias face went pale. He then snatched her backpack and started rummaging through it, his movements rough.

Are you insane? Do you have any idea how badly the hero is going to destroy you for treating her like this?

Furious, I ran forward.

"Ethan! You let her go"

I stopped short when I saw what he pulled from her bag: a small, silver fish barrette.

5.

You have that kind of hobby?

Ethan glanced at me, then shoved the backpack at Sophia and told her to leave. She scurried away, tears welling in her eyes.

I scratched my head, but my righteous anger hadn't faded. "What was that? Are you mugging fellow students now?"

Ethans hand closed tightly around the barrette. "It's none of your business."

"Hah, none of my business?" I scoffed. "It's a huge part of my business. You're my ten-million-dollar ticket!"

I immediately switched to a smile. "Look, Ethan, if you like hair clips and stuff, I can buy you some. You shouldn't snatch things from girls. And if you're trying to get her attention, this is really not the way to do it..."

Ethan shot me a look that was dripping with exasperation.

"It's mine."

What? Why would a future crime lord have such a cute barrette?

He started to walk away, but froze when he looked up and saw that the lights in his apartment were on. He was rooted to the spot. The bruises on his body had just started to fade; another night at home would undo all that progress.

I went over and tugged on his sleeve.

"The wonton soup place they opened up near the community center looks really good. Want to go?"

He didn't nod, but he didn't shake his head either.

I took that as a yes and dragged him there.

I ordered him a large bowl. "Consider this a thank you for helping me with my exam prep," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Please, please help me study for the next one, too?"

The truth was, I couldn't care less about the exams.

I just wanted him to have a hot meal without feeling like it was charity.

6.

Over the steaming bowls, Ethan explained what had happened in just a few sentences.

Someone had taken the barrette from his backpack and given it to Sophia, telling her that Ethan had a crush on her. Theyd warned her that if she didnt accept, he would make her life a living hell.

I took a bite of a tender, juicy wonton. "Idiots," I muttered. "Anyone spreads that rumor again, girls get one slap, guys get two. If I find out who it was, I'll send them packing."

I looked at Ethan and lowered my voice. "Ethan, you have to study hard. Please, don't get into any trouble."

In the small, steamy restaurant, Ethan stared at me, his expression unreadable. For a fleeting second, it was complex and deep, then it smoothed over into his usual blank canvas.

After that night, Ethan completely cut off any potential contact with Sophia. He had almost no interaction with the story's hero, either, their only rivalry playing out on the academic leaderboards for the number one spot. The whole school buzzed with the rumor that whoever got first place would win Sophias heart.

I glanced back at Ethan, who was slumped over his desk, sleeping. Hed probably spent another night at an internet cafe. His abusive father was home for a few days, leaving him with nowhere else to go.

Graduation was approaching, and with it, another critical plot point.

I hid on the stairwell landing one floor above Ethan's apartment. Late at night, I heard the sound of a bottle smashing.

"Damn it! Door's locked."

Ethan's father was pounding on the door, shouting.

"You little bastard, open this door!"

"You lock me out? You think I won't go find your mother? Her new meal ticket looks like hes got plenty of money"

The door was yanked open, and Ethan's father was dragged inside.

Then came the sickening, muffled thuds of impact, the crash of furniture being overturned. Ethans father screamed in pain, his voice laced with curses.

"I could kill you and get the insurance money!" a voice roared from inside.

I checked with the System one last time to make sure my pain sensors were off.

Then I burst in. Just as his father lunged with a knife, I threw myself in front of Ethan, wrapping my arms around him.

"Ethan," I gasped. "Call the police."

I collapsed in a pool of my own blood. Ethans mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with a raw, primal terror.

I couldn't bear to look at him. I knew I wasn't in any real pain, but the horror and despair in his eyes were agonizingly real.

I turned my head away and saw a silver fish barrette that had fallen out from between the pages of a dropped textbook.

Right. I forgot to ask him whose barrette it was

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