Chapter Text
The Tamashiro House was a spooky place of bottomless mystery and intrigue whose origins and history had eluded even the most intensive researchers. Two hours outside of Tokyo, Suguru could admit that it was a great location for a Halloween ghost hunting episode: creepy clusters of bare and rattling trees surrounded the completely weathered down two-story house, an odd separation between this property and nearby homes, as if neighbors were afraid of being cursed of whatever took possession of the Tamashiro land. No one even knew where the name derived from, but after over a century of mysterious incidents, brief owners and unrecorded violence fueled by dark, fearful rumors, the Tamashiro House had earned a reputation for being haunted by not just one, but multiple restless spirits.
Taking note of a van painted like the Mystery Machine parked in front of the house, Suguru wondered how a YouTube show so cringey and just out-right fake could attract millions of viewers and subscribers. He felt like he was stepping into a Scooby Doo episode—then again, if the audience of Bokuto’s Boos liked childish gags like that, Daishou was irritated to think this episode would be one of their most viewed yet.
That was why he was here, though: Suguru considered it his personal duty to expose fake, misleading content creators on various platforms, his strong sense of justice sniffing out trails of deceitful persons who sought to make profits off lies and completely illusioned fame. Bokuto and his gang of ‘respected’ ghost hunters often received money through their merch website in addition to paranormal product placement. As a skeptic, Daishou didn’t believe anyone had the right to trick viewers into believing ghosts were real by overacting and selling cute ghost merch.
Suguru arrived at the Tamashiro house nearing ten o’clock at night on All Hallow’s Eve for this very reason, taking in the shadowy scenery before stepping out of his car and approaching the allegedly haunted property. The YouTube star himself was talking excitedly with his cameraman, who had a fandom of his own despite only being on-screen a few times an episode, and through reading thousands of comments on their latest episodes, Suguru noted that the fandom dubbed the couple “Booshi,” a spooky play on Bokuto/Akaashi. Not only did they have paranormal fear and fun on their side, but also a cutesy, sickeningly perfect relationship to keep subscribers locked in, always waiting for more subtly romantic interactions caught on camera.
It made Daishou’s blood boil with bitterness. He wasn’t here to have a fun Halloween night, wear a slutty costume or snap some ghostly photography—he would show everyone that the popular channel Bokuto’s Boos was nothing more than crafty editing and hidden cast members making noises and casting shadows behind the cameras.
No way should he have more subscribers than me. Why would two million idiots want to watch a fake ass ghost hunting show every week? Suguru wondered irritably. I bet it’s all because of his beautiful cameraman. What a sleazy way to get more viewers…
“Hey hey hey, Shou-chan!” Bokuto waved wildly when he spotted the fellow YouTuber walking towards them.
“It’s Daishou, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi gently corrected him.
“Eh? Really? I thought you said he goes by Shou?”
“I take it you’re not familiar with my work,” Suguru quipped dryly, stopping in front of them. “Daishou Suguru, of Debunking with Daishou.”
Instead of bowing in return, Bokuto yanked Suguru in by the arm and pulled him in for a half-hug, half-chest bump, giving the smaller man bruises on both sides of his body—and brought him within inches of the ghost hunter’s famous “monster mash man tiddies,” as the fandom called them. Obviously Daishou didn’t call them that…no. He would never refer to a man’s pecs as monster mash man tiddies.
(Not out-loud, anyway.)
“Nice to meet ya, Dai-chan! Is this place spooky or what?! I can already feel the spirit energy even from out here—hope things don’t get too rowdy tonight! I still have scratch marks from last investigation. Did you see that episode, Dai-chan?! Wasn’t it insane?!”
“I did,” Daishou admitted with a huff, breaking free from the welcome hold. “I carefully reviewed all of your episodes from the latest season, and have concluded that the ‘paranormal experiences’ you claim to have are nothing more than poorly-scripted stand-up comedy gigs. I look forward to exposing your deceit to the entire internet.”
Akaashi the cameraman had a stony look directed at the other YouTuber who dare bash Bokuto’s show right in front of him, but the star himself was unfazed, tugging Suguru over to show off all their paranormal gear and gadgets; although he seemed to remember what each gadget was for, he had a hard time remembering the official names, addressing most objects using the silly nicknames he used for them.
“We use EVPs for each investigation, or Extremely Vocal Pokémon, which is basically a really fancy voice recorder—we also carry Ren Pops…oh, wait, I think they’re called Rem Pods! Yeah! Rem Pods, which light up when the energy field near its sensors changes, and this is for using temperature to catch spirits on camera!” Bokuto showed an unimpressed Daishou. “It’s called a…umm…uh—what’s it called again, Kuroo?”
“Thermal imaging cam—or, as you call it, the Purple People camera.”
Even though he wasn’t on screen as much as Bokuto, Suguru immediately recognized the show’s second co-star and audio technician who helped Bokuto fake paranormal activity, not because of his average skills as an audio tech, not because he had “monster mash man tiddies,” but because he was so not made for TV.
First and most importantly, his hair was the worst thing Daishou had seen since Kodzuken’s live stream of a botched hair bleaching attempt: dull, messy, knotted, misshapen black strands stuck out everywhere, its shocking strength too much for the most expensive gel, and while the more thirsty subscribers commented that they would happily get their fingers stuck in Tetsu-chan’s hair, Suguru truly didn’t believe they would be able to pull their fingers out of that mess.
Secondly, his choice of clothing? So 90’s. Where did he even find a dorky red vest like the one he always wore to investigations? Probably a thrift store, Suguru guessed, resisting the urge to scrunch his nose at how wrinkled Kuroo’s black, long sleeved skeleton bone shirt was, how over the top his patched jeans and spikey belt were. The atrocious outfit was topped off by a signature kitty charm hanging from the audio tech’s vest zipper: the charm was available for 700 yen via the Bokuto’s Boos website, or free if you spent 5,000 yen. It was one of their best selling items for reasons Daishou could not comprehend.
The third reason, well…Suguru found him nerdy and bothersome. Plus, he was friends with a poser, and that made him a poser, too. Suguru hated posers more than anything, and became even more determined to absolutely destroy Bokuto’s Boos channel with undeniable proof that their ‘paranormal’ experiences were nothing more than messy-haired men casting shadows behind the cameras and whispering into their own devices.
“A glorified infrared camera,” Daishou brushed off, challenging the audio technician. “It’s easy to fake a human form by having someone swipe their hand in front of the lens. Or by claiming a stray animal is some wandering spirit caught between dimensions.”
“I’m surprised a pretty boy like you is a skeptic of the paranormal,” Kuroo retorted casually, left side of his lips curling up slightly, a black cat ready to hiss. “After all, you should be used to getting ghosted.”
“H-Huh?!” Suguru stammered, taken aback by this accusation being thrown right off the bat.
“Did you notice Mika-chan’s channel has gotten over twenty thousand new followers since your terribly public online breakup? Personally I don’t have any interest in improving my diet or exercise regimen, but I’m a feminist, and I had to show my outstanding support of her decision to dump you for Hiroogiveshead69.”
“It—We—I didn’t get dumped! I dumped her!”
“Sure, sure! Whatever helps you sleep at night,” He grinned.
Daishou was beyond pissed off, and usually when that happened, he said the most vile insults known to mankind, but for some reason tonight his mind went blank, because the YouTuber didn’t realize Kuroo was so tall and broad in real life. He didn’t realize Tetsurou’s eyes were hazel, not night vision green, and that his skin was more tan than it appeared on screen. His time on camera didn’t show viewers all the goods, not like Bokuto, who had fan pages for every single one of his body parts on Instagram. As furious as Suguru was, he secretly, scandalously wished there was at least an account dedicated entirely to Kuroo’s hands.
During the time it took for Daishou to recover from the audio tech’s sick burn, Bokuto finally seemed to remember the identity of their guest.
“Ohhhhhh! So you’re the Daishou who got dumped by XoXoMikaMika!”
“Haha!” Konoha laughed, poking his head out from the back of the van, where he had four computer monitors set up. He looked the most like a paranormal investigator out of all of their crew, ears filled with black jewelry, nails painted the same shade, spiderweb tattoo inked onto his neck. “That Daishou? Man, that had to hurt—Mika is a total babe.”
“That was a monumental day for the internet. Every influencer slid into her DM’s the second they saw the breakup video,” Akaashi agreed, worsening Suguru’s attitude with each word. “She was the most eligible bachelorette on YouTube for all of two months, before she started going out with Hiroo.”
“Our breakup is old news.” Hold on. Wait up. Did that asshole Kuroo call me…pretty boy? The audacity! “Are we going to start soon, or are you all still in the process of hiding secret cast members inside the house before you turn the cameras on?”
“If you’re so determined to find them, why don’t you go on ahead, Suguru-kun?” Kuroo suggested, slapping one of his large, tanned hands onto Daishou’s shoulder, making him squirm. “Go inside, play hide and seek with the imaginary cast members, and we’ll stay out here to get our equipment ready.”
“I don’t trust you doing that without being observed, either. You’ll probably scribble white mists over the lens, or replace the tape with one that’s already been edited.”
“Scared?” Tetsu accused. “Well, that’s okay. As a believer in ghosts and everything paranormal myself, I can admit that even I still get scared right before an investigation—”
“There’s no such thing as ghosts! I’ll prove it!”
Daishou stormed up to the Tamashiro House, ignoring Konoha’s snickers behind him. To his credit, he did make it all the way to the front door before stopping: once Suguru arrived, however, he found himself paralyzed, unable to pull his hand up and twist the loose doorknob. It was like stepping underneath the shadow of the porch put him under a terrible spell, one that made his stomach tighten with anxiety, his instincts kicking into survival mode. Daishou didn’t really understand why he felt like this, suddenly becoming very aware of where he was, alone, and the fact that it was Halloween night, when all things evil that lurk between worlds are said to be at their highest power, sneaking through the veil to reap havoc on the living.
Staring at the weathered gray door before him, Daishou became consumed by dread, something repeatedly telling him he was not welcome in this house—this sensation became so strong that he actually glanced at the windows on the left and right of the door, certain there would be a person glaring at him through it, daring him to knock. The tattered curtains remained still as stone, but that did little to subside Suguru’s belief that someone was lurking, waiting, watching from behind them.
The top step behind Daishou suddenly creaked dangerously, the sound it made when someone, a real person stepped on its aged wood. Suguru really didn’t want to, but the more arrogant side of him forced the YouTuber into turning his head: there Bokuto was, flashlight illuminated below his chin, casting terrifying shadows on the underside of his face and causing Suguru to stumble and press himself against the front door with panic. The door had been weakened over the years, and Daishou’s hand hitting the knob only slightly was enough to make it swing open, which it did, much too quickly, sending Suguru’s sorry ass into the entryway floor without skipping a beat.
“Ha ha ha!” Kuroo cackled like a hyena, coming up the steps behind his co-star holding two cameras. “Now now, Bo, don’t scare the snake off into his hole before he even has his first run in with a spirit. Halloween night is upon us—let’s set up base camp and get started! Stay on your toes, Konoha!”
The audio technician was nice enough to offer Suguru a hand, but only after he stepped over the other man’s body and set his cameras down safely, at which point their guest was in no mood to accept help, especially not from the hot crew member who laughed at his fear and pain. Daishou would have done the same thing, of course, but he didn’t much like being treated like he treated others.
“That’s what we call a Scooby Dooby Doo lesson!” Bokuto cheered his catchphrase.
Reluctantly, Suguru followed the others deeper into the old house, anxiety rising higher when they made it to the living room, guided by their flashlights until the investigation officially began. The house reminded Daishou of a hoarder’s house, but unlike a hoarder preferred, the items collected here did not match one another, weren’t part of a set or consistent in style. The living room was filled with a random array of various objects, toys and furniture, Suguru stumbling around badly placed items, which led him to a tall, crumbling bookshelf filled with strange framed pictures.
Each photograph was a portrait of a single person, none from the same periods in time, many of the people seemingly from lands abroad, unsmiling, eyes dark as they stared emptily at the camera. If that were the only weird thing in the house, Daishou wouldn’t be so fucking creeped out, but it wasn’t—opposite the bookshelf, Suguru bumped into a dusty old puppet theater. The deteriorating, faded red curtain was pulled open, revealing its broken wood puppets as they lied limply on the table, waiting for a new master to take control and click their shoes against the wood. Their cut strings prevented them from moving or dancing, a small favor Suguru was grateful for, as he hated puppets—especially ones without eyes.
In addition to the creepy puppet theater, there was also a fortune telling machine sitting right in the middle of the room, paint chipped off, exposed cogs rusted away to nothing, and on a round coffee table there were thousands of newspaper clippings. At first glance, they all seemed totally unrelated, most of the murder investigations random and not reported in the same area, but for someone to cut them out and place them all together, there had to be some sort of unseen connection Suguru couldn’t place. There were aged suitcases, women’s shoes, bags of mismatched keys, an entire stack of scrapbooks Daishou didn’t dare open, and in the far corner, four bulky, enormous rugs rolled up and taped shut.
These objects, combined with the odd, iron-like smell of the Tamashiro house and the sensation of being watched made this Halloween night very unsettling.
“We’ve already filmed the introduction, so let’s jump into the investigation,” Akaashi said after they had set up base camp in the living room. He adjusted the camera atop his shoulder and pointed it at Bokuto. “Flashlights off. Ready, Bokuto-san?”
Suddenly, the house was a lot more frightening after all the flashlights were turned off.
“Ready, Freddy!”
“Three, two, one…”
Bokuto didn’t need to get into character because he was always in character, immediately flashing a smile at the camera and welcoming their viewers back. Suguru got ready, too—ready to take mental notes on all the bullshit he saw go down behind the scenes. He planned on keeping an eye on those damn puppets, too, and maybe the audio technician, but only so he could rag on Kuroo’s sluggish appearance in his own video. Really. That was the only reason. The only one that would be officially documented, at least.
Nice smelling cologne? Check. Tall enough to throw me over his shoulder? Check. Delicious looking neck I would love to bite like a vampire? Check, check, check.
“Okay Boos, so we’re gonna start our investigation in the living room of the mysterious Tamashiro House—oh, and for our special Halloween episode tonight, we’re joined by Shou-chan from Dunking with Daishou!”
“Debunking with Daishou,” Suguru corrected sharply. The messy haired cameraman snickered, turning his lens to point at the YouTuber. He looked extra snake-like in the green glow of night vision. If he hissed, Tetsu thought they could use that image as the episode thumbnail. Viewers loved when attractive men were disheveled with fury.
“What do you hope to gain from your first paranormal experience, Daishou-kun?” Kuroo asked in a mocking interview tone.
“More followers, after I debunk this show for being one giant fraud.”
“Fascinating. I personally think the only way you’ll get more followers is if you get possessed tonight: exorcisms bring in the press like you wouldn’t believe. Especially if it doesn’t work and your soul gets dragged to hell by a demon.”
“We’re gonna start with the EVP recorder and go from there. Ready?!” Bokuto announced excitedly. He pressed record on his small device and held it out steadily. “Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo and Suguru in the living room. Is there anyone here with us?”
The Tamashiro House remained deadly quiet, no replies coming through that Daishou could hear, but even if he didn’t believe in the paranormal or supernatural, he still waited in heavy anticipation with the others. His heart was beating loudly, quicker than usual, and although Suguru blamed it on the fact that he was in an abandoned house way out in the country on Halloween night with a bunch of hot strangers, even he couldn’t deny there was something just not right about the atmosphere surrounding them.
After waiting a moment for response, Bokuto asked another question.
“Who did this house belong to? We know all records of past owners have been lost or destroyed, so can you tell us who used to live here?”
Seconds after Bokuto finished talking, it sounded like someone else had spoken, but that couldn’t be right, because Daishou was facing all of the people in this room, and only the YouTube star had his mouth open. Where had that voice come from, then? Was he just imaging it? Yeah, that was it…
“Did you hear that?!” Tetsurou asked excitedly. “I think I heard someone. Only a few words, though.”
“I have to replay that right now! Stand by!”
It was probably that guy watching the monitors, Daishou remembered. While the others were occupied, stopping the EVP recorder to rewind, Suguru used the light on his phone to find his way around the junk piles and to the living room window, peering out with the hopes that he would find Konoha fleeing the scene. Disappointingly, Konoha was still sitting in the back of the Mystery Machine, watching the live feed from the two stationary cameras Kuroo had set up near the stairs and in the living room while eating a snack.
Suguru scowled to himself, coughing when he ran into a cobweb, harshly shushed by Kuroo as he and Bokuto were doing a live review of their EVP. They played it once, able to catch a harsh word after Bokuto’s question asking who used to live in the Tamashiro House, but the word wasn’t clear enough to be decoded the first time.
“Play it again,” Tetsurou said, leaning closer to the device. Suguru followed suit, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. “I think it’s saying…”
Bokuto turned the volume all the way up, Akaashi stepping closer with his camera to document their expressions as the spirit’s word finally came out clear.
“…Run!”
Before any of them could respond in excitement over the EVP, behind Bokuto, Kuroo was suddenly distracted by movement near the puppet theater; one of the eyeless puppets flinched upward, like it would if its strings were working and a child had tugged on it. Just as Tetsurou turned his camera towards it, the wooden puppet landed back onto the table with a loud clack, causing Bokuto to spin around in alarm at the noise. Daishou was still reeling from what he definitely wish he hadn’t heard on the recording device, eyes widening at what the audio tech said next.
“Holy shit! That goddamn puppet just moved on its own!” Tetsu pointed severely at the accused puppet lying lifeless on the theatre table. “I think I got it on camera—Konoha?!” He asked into the walkie talkie. “Did you see anything?”
“Wish I fucking hadn’t!” Konoha replied breathlessly. “The puppet—the one on the far left moved up! It started with its legs, and then some of the body followed. Look at your video playback right now!”
“Akaashi, make sure the x-cam is pointed at the puppets—Bo, you have to see this!”
“I don’t know if I want to see it, bro!”
The four of them huddled together, Akaashi filming Kuroo’s small playback screen as he rewinded back to the moment he saw the puppet move in the darkness, and Daishou was utterly shocked to see that it had moved, and worse yet, he didn’t see any way the crew could have done it themselves. The strings were worn out and no longer attached to the puppet body parts. The table underneath the theater was exposed, no hidden controller or puppet master lurking underneath, no sign of any battery operated or other electronic means inside the vintage wooden puppets…
That left only one option, but Suguru wasn’t ready to face or admit to it. Not quite yet.
“I—I’m sure it was just a trick of the wind,” He weakly insisted, unconsciously backing out of the living room towards the kitchen entryway.
“What wind?” Akaashi cocked an eyebrow, leaning around the camera. “We’re inside, Suguru.”
“Scaredy snake,” Tetsu coughed into his vest. Daishou made his glare even nastier than usual, looking especially snakeish in the dim lighting.
“What did you say?”
The messy haired audio technician looked around innocently, like he didn’t know what Daishou was referring to.
“What? I didn’t say anything, Suguru…it must be the spirits trying to communicate with you.”
On cue, something fell close to where Daishou was, Kuroo keeping his camera locked on the kitchen entryway where the YouTuber was standing, too terrified to move and see what metallic item had clashed against the floor near his feet. As Tetsu scanned his camera up and down, he recognized a recording device on the floor, having fallen off a small table situated near the kitchen entryway.
“Oh—my bad, Shou-chan!” Bokuto apologized lightly, like he hadn’t almost made their guest piss himself, coming over and snatching the EVP recorder off the ground. “I left this on the corner while I was looking around. Guess it fell off.”
“Or was pushed off,” Akaashi suggested, nodding at whatever was covered by a stained white sheet, tall figure lurking over the table and blocking most of the kitchen doorway. “What’s underneath that?”
“Hmm…I’m not sure! I don’t remember seeing it here during walkthrough. Did you, Kuroo?”
“…No.”
All four men shared a look with each other. Suguru really, really wished Bokuto wouldn’t do it, but that dumbass was fearless (and did Daishou mention, dumb?)—as soon as Kuroo had come forward to get a better angle for whatever horrific thing was about to be revealed, Bokuto, without hesitation, reached for the ominous white sheet hanging on Suguru’s right, yanking it off in one pull.
The moment Suguru looked up and saw the white and pink painted face of a grinning clown, a frantic scream exited his mouth, and he scurried backwards like a mouse on the run for its life, grabbing Tetsurou’s arm in absolute terror, using the taller man as a shield in case of attack. The clown tried to keep Tetsurou’s gaze, but he had to give a dubious look at the man clinging to his arm, terrified, dorky, and actually pretty handsome when his eyebrows weren’t cocked in an arrogant, asshole kind of way. Up close, Kuroo could see the cute freckles Daishou tried to cover up with foundation.
“Easy there, Dai—it’s just a really tall, oddly placed clown wearing a puffy pink and teal outfit with a pained smile and looking suspiciously like he just devoured a child. Nothing to be afraid of!”
Suguru hated clowns, hated them with all his rotten heart and soul, so no, he wasn’t going to ‘take it easy.’ He also wasn’t going to let go of Kuroo’s arm anytime soon (his lovely, strong, tanned arm), no matter how much he got bullied and teased for it online. And from the audio tech himself.
“Cover it back up! I don’t want to see it all night!” Suguru begged for mercy, trembling against Kuroo and refusing to open his eyes.
“This is where the money’s at, Shou-chan!” Bokuto laughed, unfazed by the terrifying clown looming over him. “Hey, Akaashi, can you snap a pic of me beside it for the scrapbook?”
Daishou next pleaded with the cameraman as Akaashi took out his phone and snapped a picture of the star flexing his bicep in front of the clown, two images that did not fit together, one funny and charming, the other completely disturbing, pink and teal clown silently planning its bitter revenge on those who dared look down on him.
“Ridi, Pagliaccio…sul tuo amore infrantoooo!” Kuroo sang tauntingly, hoping Daishou understood his crazed clown reference.
“Oh shut up!!! Akaashi, you’ll…you’ll edit the part of me screaming out, won’t you?”
“Definitely not,” Akaashi shook his head, a slight smile playing at his lips. “True fear is what the viewers want to see.”
“Plus, paranormal romance is a really hot genre right now,” Tetsu added with a smirk. “Our views will go up just from your little damsel display alone. The clown is a bonus.”
His comment was enough to make Suguru shove him away, though he still remained close, in case more clowns popped out from underneath sheets. More than anything, Daishou wished they would move to another room now, one without puppets that moved on their own, one without clown statues whose sad, but crazed eyes seemed to follow their every move, overhearing each individual thought, but as it turns out, this was a bad wish for him to make.
“Hey hey! Since we’re paired off this time, we can cover a lot more ground: why don’t Akaashi and I go upstairs, and you two can check out the basement?”
“T-The basement?” Suguru stammered. “What’s…What’s down there?”
“Not sure,” Akaashi shrugged, looking unconcerned, since he wasn’t the once going down there. “That’s the one part of the house no one’s investigated for decades…not since Tendo.”
“Tendo? Who’s Tendo?”
None of them cared to shed any light on that touchy subject, Bokuto rubbing his neck uncomfortably. Suguru got a bad feeling he shouldn’t have asked, even if he was curious—curiosity only got you killed in horror movies.
“Sure,” Kuroo answered in response to Bokuto’s suggestion, changing the subject. “Daishou-chan and I are pretty chummy now; we can venture down together. We’ll leave the clowns and puppets behind: nothing for a skeptic to be scared of then, right?”
“…Right,” The other YouTuber nodded, though his throat had become dry with anxiety. “I’m…certain we won’t find anything of interest.”
“Great! Tetsu, give him a flashlight, and we’ll meet back here around two, okay?” Bokuto ordered much too cheerfully. It was like he wasn’t at all affected by the possibility of being murdered by a possessed clown. Then again, Suguru guessed that was why subscribers loved him so much. “Even if the ghosts want us gone, we’ll never back down! Team Boo, fight!”
Akaashi followed Bokuto up the creaking staircase as the show’s star went on about a story he heard about a supposed death that happened on the very stairs they were going up. Suguru almost stepped forward to follow them, because he really, really didn’t want to go into a lower level of the Tamashiro House and inhale who knows how many toxic molds that had been left behind. That was the reason he gave himself, at least—his chilled body knew the real reasons why he was reluctant to go downstairs, starting with the person on his left who was holding a flashlight out to Suguru.
“Here’s your fleshlight—oops. I mean flashlight.”
Daishou reached several times before finding where Kuroo was holding the flashlight, snatching it from his grip and quickly turning it on, which only made his scowl deepen.
“Is this a fucking Scooby Doo flashlight?”
“Hey, gotta stick to the theme! Do you wanna switch with me?” Tetsurou offered. “Mine has Velma on it.”
“Why would I want to switch with you?”
“Well, because of your secret nerd kink, obviously.”
“You’re sick,” Suguru hissed, beginning to hurry through the kitchen before realizing he had no idea where he was going in this maze of a messy house. “You go first—I don’t want to run into anymore clowns on the way there.”
“I don’t know…I think that clown really likes you. Did you see the way he was looking at you? Like he could just eat you up.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Kuroo snickered to himself and took the lead, Suguru walking directly behind him, even grabbing onto a corner of his red vest to make sure they weren’t separated. It took some maneuvering around all the piles of cluttered shit and avoiding suspicious looking objects that should absolutely not be disturbed, but they eventually located a chipped brown door partially blocked by a box of dolls Suguru would rather not play with. There were a lot of not’s going around, which was a sure sign something was about to go very wrong.
“Must be this one,” Tetsurou said, then shot a suspicious smile towards the YouTuber. “As our honored guest, would you like to move the box?”
“What?! No way in hell! You do it!”
“Jeez, cool your tits, I was just joking…”
Suguru waited for the box to move, but Kuroo kept standing right where he was, Velma flashlight pointed at the offending item. When another minute passed with just them frozen in time, doing nothing productive in the creepy Tamashiro House, Daishou raised an eyebrow impatiently.
“…Well? Move it so we can get this over with.”
“I’m getting there. Ghost hunting takes time, Suguru! You have to be patient.”
“There are no ghosts here! Just move the box!”
“You move it.”
“No! It’s your job, you move it!”
“No, you!”
Daishou exhaled heavily, rubbing his temple as a headache began coming on. Why had he chosen this YouTube channel to debunk again? Because Mika loved it, and now Mika was gone, and he had to get back at her any way he could? Who’s to say. But Suguru was really starting to regret his most recent bad decision.
“We already had this argument, Kuroo. Move the box so we can go down there!”
“…Don’t wanna,” Tetsu mumbled childishly. If he was messing with Suguru, he was going to ring his neck and leave his body in the basement—if they ever got the door opened.
“Why not!”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Shou-chan, that box is full of ratty, vintage, freaky ass dolls that have been conspiring with the evil spirits here to trick us into playing with them so they can steal our souls and inhabit our bodies!” Kuroo finally snapped. “I wouldn’t touch that box with a ten-foot pole!”
Suddenly, the cardboard box flipped over on its side, spilling all the dolls onto the tiled flooring, getting another squeal from Daishou and a violent flinch from Tetsurou. The aforementioned haunted dolls were now exposed, out in the open, worm eaten eyeballs staring in various directions, but they had fallen away from the basement door, so their path was now cleared.
“Okay…guess that solves that problem,” Kuroo laughed nervously. He watched the dolls cautiously for another moment, waiting to see if their tiny little fingers would reach out and grab his leg; when they didn’t, he finally reached out and twisted the doorknob. It took some prodding, but the old hinges finally allowed the door to open, creaking eerily as it did so, revealing total darkness below. Even Suguru’s Scooby Doo light didn’t reveal much of anything, except for rotting wood steps and a broken railing. Everything else beyond the staircase’s end was a total mystery.
The unlikely pair stared into the basement, then looked back at each other, both trying to gauge which one was the most scared. Their fear was equal, but the audio tech was better at hiding his after years of experience in the paranormal field. Suguru still wore his heart on his sleeve—it was cute, but all cute things had to be sacrificed at some point.
“Ladies first,” Kuroo motioned, pulling out another Cheshire grin. “As you mentioned in your episode preview, my face isn’t meant for TV. Best to keep you in the shot instead of me.”
Suguru wanted to make another sharp remark, but found himself at a loss for words. He had almost forgotten he would be making a video on this experience later; at that reminder, Daishou told himself he couldn’t show weakness now. His viewers were counting on him to debunk one of YouTube’s most popular ghost shows. There was no such thing as spirits and possession and demons and residual energy—there was no way he was going to ruin his reputation just because some handsome, dorky loser in a red vest believed wholeheartedly in ghosts.
Right?
“Okay, then,” Suguru swallowed, tensing his trembling hand around the Scooby Doo flashlight. “Here I go.”
To be continued…