Chapter Text
After getting what they wanted from the shrine, they tried to call the youngest Minamoto, who haven’t shown any sign of life, seemingly possessed by whatever had tried to contact Akane to make a wish.
Teru's good mood didn’t disappear even after his younger brother failed to pick up the phone for the fourth time in a row, merely saying “They went inside the house for sure!” when questioned about it.
If Akane hasn’t lived through hours of hearing Teru gush about how much he loved his younger siblings, he would have seriously thought the ruthless guy doesn’t care about Kou. As it is, he is not sure if the president had that much confidence in his younger brother's capabilities or if he isn’t scared of the red house.
Regardless of the reason, Teru didn’t seem particularly worried.
So Akane didn’t let his worries eat him up either.
…Or he tried not to, once his worries for the disaster duo were put to rest, his mind strayed towards Aoi.
He wonder if she’s okay… He trusts the president, sure his bracelet will protect her from supernaturals (it needs to, he doesn’t want to even think otherwise) but he still worries. For as much as Aoi likes being alone, she has always hated being abandoned, he wonders if she is scared, if she misses reading his daily good morning and good night messages that are left on 'read'. If she misses her garden and her time with Yashiro.
Would she have a bed out there? Would she even need to sleep, so far away from the living world? Probably not...
He frowned, knowing better than most how unsettling not feeling fully human could get.
It isn't much, but he should pack her favorite raspberry candy when they find an opening to the far shore, that should cheer her up.
Teru put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to take a turn that did not lead to Minamoto's house.
Akane easily followed his lead, curious “...Are we going to the red house, president?”
Teru nodded “Kou should be fine, but the concept of time might not exist in the red house. We should make sure they don’t get stuck in the wrong year.”
"How are we going to do that?”
“Your presence should be enough,” Teru's smile had a hint of mischief to it “Keeper of the present.”
Akane's snort was dry, but it felt nice to have Teru treat his supernatural power as a convenience instead of toxic waste. He still doesn’t like his position as a clock keeper, he doesn’t think he ever will, but there was something reassuring about being able to stay side by side with the exorcist and still feel human.
.
The red house clearly looked haunted, felt haunted too. No sane person would willingly go inside.
He can't see what made Yashiro and the youngest Minamoto brush off its long history of deaths to take a peek.
.
Akane did not feel confident he would be able to do much here. His role as a clock keeper was uncomfortable to bear in a place where past, present, and future are all mashed together, making it so time itself did not exist.
Teru walked around as if he was taking a leisure stroll, amused whenever the TV turned into static or something moved just out of view, taking it all in like a tourist in a gift shop.
Akane frowned, not nearly as amused when he felt an unnatural cold on his neck, certain what was leaking from the ceiling was blood.
“Can we hurry up?”
“No need to be scared Aoi~”
“I am not scared.” He really isn’t, he’s mostly tired and a bit on edge “I just don’t have the patience to deal with a haunted house right now. We need to hurry up to save Ao-chan.”
“Patience. We still need to open a path to the real red house,” Teru said, analyzing the broken second floor, with its unclimbable crumbled stairs, and mindlessly kicking a creepy doll, purposely doing what gets every horror movie character killed. “This is just a glorified door rooted in the living world.”
“...Damaging a cursed house doesn't feel like a good idea.”
“Is that or leaving Kou and Yashiro-san behind,” Teru did not deny it was a bad idea. Wonderful. “Maybe if I break the TV it will anger it...”
The cold feeling on his neck spread to his whole body in warning, Teru must have felt it too, cause his smile widened, so bright and beautiful Akane was immediately filled with dread.
“If I die, I am haunting you.”
“Sounds fun!” Teru unsheathed his sword “We could make a game out of it, see how long you could linger home before someone exorcised you.”
“As if you wouldn’t do it yourself.”
Teru's eyes crinkled but he didn’t grace him with an answer, casually stabbing the television and activating his spiritual lighting. It crackled in the air, eliminating the house's ominous cold and brightening the place enough to take away some of its horror and gloom: His human half felt safe near the light, but his heart still speed up in alarm, supernatural instincts recognizing a threat when it sees it.
At first, nothing happened, but the second Akane blinked bugs made of darkness attacked Teru, surrounding his entire body.
Shit!
Teru’s lightning abruptly ceased.
“President!” He jumped in alarm, trying his best to reach for him, feeling his stomach flip at the way Teru smiled innocently, like the mass of darkness closing in wasn’t a problem. Akane could barely brush the edge of his jacket before the world was consumed by black, the words “Found it, Aoi!” ringing in his ear.
.
Akane woke up in cold sweat, nearly falling off a dark red couch. He stared at the plushie of a bunny with a single empty button eye in his hands, detecting bright toys everywhere: Most were thorns, the teddy bears by his feet had no arms, cats plushies sat by his side with no ears, and the stitched rubber ducks in the corner had its beaks ripped off.
It was unsettling.
The exit was nearby, he could see the street from the door window, but there was no sign of Teru. He was completely alone.
Calling out to him predictably didn’t wield any results, and his cellphone didn’t even turn on.
Akane should just go outside and wait, it’s not like slashing the house was his idea, and Teru is far from a damsel in distress, if a monster was dumb enough to attack the president, he’ll only pity the fool for its attempts.
Akane frowned at a broken doll on the ground, disliking how logic was not stopping his anxiety.
This is stupid. Teru had been smiling when he was taken, in no time the bastard will cut down the wall with two scared underclassmen in his arms and laugh like the lunatic he is.
Any minute now.
Akane sweated, his wristwatch not working, but his soul still overly aware of time, of how unreliable his internal clock felt locked inside red walls.
Time has definitively passed, and Teru was still nowhere to be found.
...Damn it.
“You’ll own me one, president.” He clenched his jaw, walking past the exit and opening the ominous door on the right, coming face to face with a… boundary?
No, not a boundary. There were open faucets sprouting from the walls but their water never hit the ground, the echoing tik from the ceiling of clocks was out of sync with their arrow movements. It was headache inducing but he felt more in touch with his supernatural side here, if he tried he could probably stop time.
This must be ‘the real’ red house Teru was talking about.
Now, to find the reckless idiots that are way too eager to mess with a haunted house and go save Aoi.
.
Akane didn’t want to open any doors, the air here reminding him of the mysterious elevator that’s connected to nowhere and everywhere. Unfortunately, the hall of pitch-black windows eventually reached an end, and he was forced to open a door to keep going.
He thought he was ready for anything, monsters, booby traps, you name it, but the sight of beautiful purple hair froze him to the core, taking all his breath away.
“Akane-kun…?” Aoi blinked, her voice as melodic as always, eyes crinkling in relief and joy to see him “Akane-kun.”
It was as if a switch was flipped once their eyes met, his feet instinctively leading him closer, everything from her face to her name made to pull him in.
“Ao-chan…?” He whispered in disbelief, wanting to hold her tight and never let go but scared to do so, sure he was dreaming. “What… What are you doing here?”
“I figured out how to escape but I got lost trying to find you,”
Something about her smile, about the clear relief in her eyes… It was different than the reaction he had imagined.
‘She has been lost in here for who knows how long. All alone. I can't blame her for being more vulnerable.’
He felt strange, trusting Aoi to be smart enough to find a way back, but the suspicious nature of this dry boundary, which may or may not work like the elevator he is familiar with, was a persistent itch that didn’t allow her smile to completely blind him.
“...I missed you, Akane-kun,” Her smile dimmed, looking away in a shy and adorable manner “...I knew you would come for me.”
His heart melted, hesitantly reaching for her shoulder, feeling a wave of joy and guilt and sheer relief at the way he was able to touch her. “Ao-chan…” He was embracing her before his mind could catch up with his hands, feeling the same warmth and smell of flowers and raspberry candy he had been craving these past days.
She was real and unharmed and here.
“Ao-chan” He hugged her tighter, overwhelmed once it fully hit him that she was right here. His vision grew misty, not wanting to ever let go, but making sure he kept his hold gentle “Ao-chan…”
“Akane-kun.” She hugged him back, softening her voice “Everything is okay. I am okay.”
He laughed, sure he must look beyond pathetic if Aoi is the one giving him reassurances, “I missed you so much, I didn’t know what I would do without you.” He buried his face in her petite shoulder, feeling his heart overflow with affection, singing I love you, I am glad you're safe, I love you, i am so so glad you're safe, I love you, until it spilled out, familiar in his tongue “I love you.”
“...I know.” She hesitantly buried her face in his beating heart, her words catching him off guard.
He cupped her cheek, guiding her to make eye contact and feeling overwhelmed by the small smile on her face. It barely reached her eyes but it seemed fond.
…Did Aoi have time to process she is genuinely loved while they were apart? Does she finally understand how precious she is?
It feels like a dream come true, as wonderful as when they promised to go on a zoo date. He couldn't help but smile brightly, needing her to love herself as much as he loves her! Determined to stay by her side forever and make sure she never forgets it!
She touched his hand, looking at him in the eye with affection “I love you too, Akane-kun.”
oh
His heart squeezed painfully, unable to stop his face from warming up at the words he crave to hear the most but failing to fall for it.
Aoi is a coward when it comes to showing affection, scared of being vulnerable, and too prideful to indulge in love games without an air of condescension. She had felt guilty for trying to detach herself from everyone, shown small but precious signs of wanting to be more open, but she can't even directly ask him on a date to the zoo yet. She would never say ‘I love you’.
His mood dropped, having tasted this poison before.
The last time she said she loved him, she tried to disappear. The last time they hugged she smelled of fire and his own blood.
He stared at the beauty in his arms, trying to be more rational. This isn't the living world, there are no normal plants here, so why would she ever smell like his favorite flowers…? Why would she be here at all?
"We can finally go to the zoo!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him along as if they were eight again, her soft palm made his heart skip a beat, turning his brain into mush, but her delicate moves did not seem as effortless as he remembers, something about the length of her lashes and the shine of her nails feeling inexplicably wrong.
"...Aoi" He whispered helplessly, not wanting to focus on her strange imperfections, not wanting her to disappear again. Not when he finally got her back.
Aoi blinked when her attempts to lead the way were met with resistance. She frowned, still holding his hand, still beautiful and tangible.
‘I’m right here, I won’t leave you again’ Her hand squeeze seemed to scream ‘Everything is okay now, Akane-kun’
He wishes he could believe that, but something about her attitude simply wasn’t right. It made him worried. Wary. “...Are you okay Ao-chan?”
“Of course.” Aoi tilted her head with that cute and secretly judgemental smile of hers, as if he was speaking enough nonsense to be looked down on. When he still didn’t react, she blinked, her long lashes brushing her cheeks “You must be confused, It's okay Akane-kun, this house is scary, isn’t it? But now that we are together we'll be alright, we can finally have our zoo date and visit my favorite cake shop!” She intertwined their fingers at his lack of enthusiasm, getting in his space and whispering way too close to his ear, keeping her tone low and secretive “We can continue where we left last time~”
His eyes widened, feeling time stop as her delicate hand caressed his collar, her nails scratching his skin, giving him goosebumps.
Aoi would never do that.
He pushed her away, the sense of ‘something is wrong’ he wasn’t sure how to approach growing overwhelming.
"Akane-kun…?”
He stared at her, at how her wide eyes didn’t shine, getting enough space to properly think. To look away from her hypnotizing presence and focus on the deep red walls, remembering exactly where he is, furious to realize this must be a supernatural, a coward using his best friend’s face against him "What’s wrong with you?!"
“There is nothing wrong with me, Akane-kun. There will never be.”
They both know that’s not true.
Aoi is perfect in every way but he still wakes up with a phantom ache in his ribs. There is plenty wrong with her. It’s as much of a destructive disease as it is a genuine charm of hers.
This isn’t like her. This isn’t Aoi. His best friend is still dead.
He felt disgusted and horrified by the realization, clawing the place Ao- whoever this thing is had touched him before.
“You’re a fake.”
“Fake?” The fake blinked, hurt “I am not a fake… At least, not as much as you Akane-kun.”
Him?
“You always said you love me, you said it with so much confidence, I actually believed you.” She looked at the ground “I thought you really loved me… And then you abandoned me.”
No.
“You killed me,”
He tensed up in both guilt and hatred.
Guilt never did him any good, so he let this bubbling anger fuel him, baring his teeth “Stop talking as if you're Ao-chan!”
“...You won't even take responsibility for it" Her voice got quieter, not flinching when he grabbed her collar, trying not to show any fear even when he slammed her back on the door. Prideful to a fault just like the real Aoi "Did I upset you? Is that why you’re being so violent?” She bit her lips, shakenly holding his wrist and failing to keep a brave face “Will you hurt me? Will you drag me to hell again Akane-kun?”
“Of course not!” He felt all the air in his lungs vanish, looking at her frustrated and scared face, wondering ‘Is that what the real Aoi think too...? ’
The idea made him feel sick. He let go of her.
Aoi is so smart! Surely she knew he would never hurt her…?
(she wouldn't had hugged him and held his hand if she thought he'd hurt her. She need to know he'll never hurt her she-)
But it was hard to not feel all his guilt come crashing down when her spitting image was right in front of him. He couldn’t just stay still, the need to explain himself was much more powerful than the shivers he felt whenever the light hit this copy just right, making her deep eyes look empty instead of merely detached.
“Ao-chan, I would never do that-” He stumbled over his words “It wasn’t my intention! I would have never left you alone if I knew!” If he wasn’t so ignorant of how the far shore works, so selfish, and reckless “I promise you, I will never hate you, I will do anything for you.” He didn’t feel like he should be allowed to touch even a fake version of her, but he had to make her understand, desperately holding her small hand, “You’re the most precious person in my life.”
“Anything?” The fake tried to get her hand out of his hold, “Really? Would you die for me?”
“In a heartbeat." He admitted, holding on tighter to her hand, cornering the fake between the door.
“You should have been the one left behind. You should have died to make me happy.”
He should.
But Aoi wouldn't say that, much less be happy by his death. She is far too kind, too selfless, hating to be alone but staying silence about the lack of light at the end of her tunel, making sure Akane didn't try to follow her into the afterlife.
“You’re a liar.” She had stopped struggling, but she sounded angry now, still unbearably adorable in his eyes, but sad. He hates when she is sad “You don’t love me. You won’t go to the zoo with me. You won’t die for me! You can’t do anything!”
“You’re not Ao-chan.” He reminded himself, still holding her hand but focusing only on the cracks in her image “I will never betray her for the likes you.”
“I could be,” It said, finally admitting it was not a real person, making everything click in place “If you hadn’t dragged me down with you.”
“Ha!” He laughed, dropping its hand.
Indeed.
This creature feels like Aoi, it sounds like Aoi, and it looks like her, but the more he talks to it, the harder it is to fool himself. The real Aoi is still down that hole, exactly where he had dragged her.
The fake frowned, having the gall to bite its lips, using Aoi's face to look scared and worried.
His heart still clenched, but the love he would typically feel at the sight has grown into hatred. He has no soft hands to fool him now, just a twisted supernatural. He almost fell for it too, he wanted to fall for it so badly. He really is pathetic.
“You make me sick.” He wanted to kick himself but he settled with grabbing the fake by the throat, pinning it to the wooden door, and raising his fists, hating how her flinch made every part of his body scream in protest, unconsciously redirecting his punch away from her image. The door exploded upon impact, its splinters falling everywhere, scratching his knuckles and hurting her cheek.
Aoi blinked, trying not to show fear as she slumped to the floor, hesitantly touching her injured cheek. The smell of blood hit him with full force.
The impulse to take care of her injury, to finally do something for her now that he could help, immediately overpowered his anger at his own incompetence. He found himself crouching to her level and cleaning the blood on autopilot, losing his breath once his mind caught up with his actions, the supernatural empty eyes teared him at the seams: It was the exact same beautiful shade of purple he fell in love with, yet nothing like Aoi’s eyes.
He gulped, needing to get out of here.
“I hope you rot in hell.” He spat, taking an unstable step back “...Supernaturals truly make me sick"
He turned his back on the monster, wincing when it used Aoi’s voice to wail in pain and confusion “Wait. Wait, Akane-kun! You’ll leave me behind again…? Don’t go! I don’t want to be alone!” But he still slammed the door close, telling himself he needs to move on, the real Aoi is still out there, alone and in danger. The real Aoi needs him.
The next room he was forced to cross wasn’t empty either.
“We have decided to break the contract,” Mirai said, ashamed “We are sorry for tricking you...”
“No,” Akane snarled, “You’re not.”
“We are.” Kaku insisted, laughing in that annoying way of his “As an apology, we’ll let you rewind time, to before the severance. Just this once.”
Akane stared in disbelief, already having his suspicions on what game the red house was playing, but still hating this confirmation.
“Do you think I am an idiot?” He clenched his fists, stress bleeding out “That I’ll fall for this?”
Even as he said that he remembered the hug he shared with the fake Aoi. The way his mind went blank when he saw her injury, feeling ashamed.
…It figures a supernatural entity would play dirty. Treat him like a toy to poke and mess with. They are all cut off the same cloth, selfish and cruel and worthless.
“I know is hard to belie-”
He punched the fake Kako straight in the face, having no qualms about hitting this one. He felt much better at the way his mask cracked under his knuckles, marching on without sparing the fallen supernatural a look.
.
“Yo,” a familiar voice greeted.
Akane froze, snapping his attention to the blond boy in the corner of this new room.
“You seem stressed. Do you want to take a break and vent for a bit?” Lemon asked, waving at him with glassy eyes that didn’t match his relaxed smile. “I started seeing supernaturals recently-” No, that’s impossible “so you can let it all out dude, I’ll listen to you.”
There was no cellphone in his hand. This isn't his friend. Akane walked past the fake with a frown, slamming the next door open.
After understanding the house's nature, this just felt insulting.
.
The next room was as old-fashioned as the rest of the house, but its white walls stood out in this sea of red.
“Akane-kun! ” Aoi greeted him with rosy cheeks and a shy but genuine smile, radiating joy. She walked towards him with elegance, her beautiful dress dragging on the ground, hair loose and bouncy, cascading down her back in silky waves underneath a semi-transparent veil adorned by flowery lace “Let’s get married, Akane-kun!”
She looked like an angel, far more real than any daydream his mind could fabricate.
Akane's eyes widened, well aware it was all a play but still feeling his traitorous heart melt at the sight, itching to stop time so he could admire her joy forever.
He squeezed the metal doorknob with enough strength to bruise, forcing himself to walk away and do it quickly. None of it is real, the girl in the wedding dress is not Aoi, but the glimpse of her smile falling as the door slammed shut still hurt. It's as if the house was getting better at making these copies.
He stared dumbly at his bruised palm, opening it and closing it to get some feeling back, sick with the knowledge this beautiful mental image came from a supernatural instead of the real love of his life.
.
The next door took him to a fancy dinner table, steak from his favorite restaurant and mom’s homemade sweets filling the air with a delicious smell.
He felt his stomach clench, glaring at the enticing food and needing to grit his teeth to not droll “Get out of my head." He glared at the dark red ceiling "You’re not welcome here.”
He stomped into another room, immediately focusing on an illuminated marble pedestal with a jar full of pills. He narrowed his eyes, incredulous to read “Thought Blocking Pills! Guaranteed to block your thoughts from everyone! 100% successful!” on the jar label.
The nerve of this bitch of bricks.
He threw the jar full force on the wall, shattering it into pieces, and punched the pillar with enough force to crack it, hoping it would hurt the house as much as it hurt his knuckles. Fuck playing safe, he hasn’t found anyone he had been looking for yet! He needs to be attacked by darkness, be taken to wherever Teru is, sure the bastard would have more luck leading them out of here “If you’re going to attack me, do it properly!”
The house didn’t make a sound. The lights didn’t even flicker.
He groaned, punching a wall and feeling it crack, hating how nothing he did seem to matter, this fucked up house only listened to his wishes when it was convenient. There are too many doors ahead and no enemy to fight, no real people to help him. The faint tick of unsynchronized clocks could be heard behind every wall, mixing with the sound of rushing water. Every faucet was perpetually open, but the floor remained dry.
It was unnatural.
His hand unconsciously reached for his empty pocket, craving the comfort of his glasses: To be blind and grounded, with concerns far away from a house of horrors.
But that won’t bring the real Aoi back.
He can’t afford to be human right now.
Akane clenched his jaw, restless as he approached the next door, feeling like he had seen this exact sliding door a while ago but stubbornly doing what he does best: keep going until he reaches what he wants, put all else aside.
The next door had a sleazy guy that has tried to both flirt and bully Aoi way too many times. True scum.
“Yo Akane,” He said, “Where is Aoi-chan?”
Akane punched him in the face and kicked him in the knee when he tried to get up, not caring that this was merely a copy of the real scumbag. There is something cathartic about the pain in his body after hitting hard enough to break a person’s ribs but he didn’t indulge, acutely aware the fake was a convenient target.
Exactly what he had wished for.
He can’t trust this house, so he left the scum still conscious on the ground and moved along.
.
After so many doors he started losing perspective.
There was something seriously wrong with this house, it has become impossible not to notice how the doors he faced had been repeating their designs, places he had crashed and tables he kicked down coming back in the very next room, taunting him. Soon, the halls have grown devoid of any object he could break. Completely baren so his wish could take the spotlight.
It’s as if time does not exist, and neither does his agency. There was no progress to be made, the harder he worked the more lost he became.
He started counting to stay grounded, having been through 14 doors (2 sliding doors, 8 standard ones, and 4 double doors) but he could not find any correlation between their designs and the desire hiding behind them. It was just as random as the rest of the house.
He doesn’t know where to go or what to do. He hates running away but every time he decided to face one of his wishes in search for clues, he felt disgusted with himself or worse, tempted to indulge in his desires, so he had to escape, having long since grown tired of these cheap tricks.
Akane broke the next door off its hinges, mentally updating his database of doors to 15 “I am not in the mood house. Just give me what I really want.”
“Aoi?” Teru was reading a book in a small room, not a hair out of place “You come looking for me? How nice of you.” He smiled easily, as if they were still in the council room, “You could have just waited.”
“Are you really the president?”Akane narrowed his eyes, having seen too many illusions and not a single mirror on this journey, no longer sure if his memory even remembers what a real person was supposed to look like.
“Are you really Aoi?” He threw back, the unreadable look in his eyes familiar to both the president and the residents of this house.
“Very funny...You need to stop treating this like a fun activity and do something about this house.” He played along, waiting for a crack, a definitive proof this is a fake “I feel like I’m running in circles.”
“You are.” Teru nodded with an annoyingly upbeat tone, twirling his finger “All you do is run in circles, Aoi.”
Akane frowned, disappointed but unsurprised that he was being a dick.
Wonderful, he had missed being kicked where it hurts.
“Can you not be an asshole for 1 second? This is a serious situation!”
Teru laughed, putting his hand on his shoulder “Don’t worry about it, everything is under control! I’ll guide you from now on,” His eyes crinkled when he smiled, sparkling as obnoxiously as ever “forget about all your problems Aoi. Just do everything I say and you won’t ever fail again.” Akane tensed up, sure the real Teru would never say that “I’ll make sure of it.”
…This can’t be one of his wishes.
He doesn’t want to have Teru pushing him around like a convenient pawn, he hates when he acts as if he is above arguing and just does whatever he wants without asking his opinion on the matter.
He wouldn't wish for this.
Never.
The house is insulting him back, hiding behind people he cares about to do so.
What a piece of shit.
“Heh…You’re getting sloppy, house.” His chuckle had no mirth behind it, holding the fake Teru by the neck and slamming him on the wall of this joke of a house, pouring most of his repressed anger on it “I would never leave everything to someone as pathetic as you!”
The fake Teru barely reacted, its eyes curious, as if Akane was a particularly intriguing bug. It was similar to the real Teru but still palpably off, more like a child getting used to a new environment than the excited, yet oddly unreadable, spark the president he knows carries.
“I thought you were smart Aoi.” The fake spoke, its similarities with the real deal uncanny. Those disappointed eyes rubbed him the wrong way “Can’t you see you’re doing it right now? Whose idea was it to come to this house?” He smirked, as unbothered as always. Akane hated that smug smirk so much, he wanted to wipe it out “You only know how to follow. You’re nothing without a leader” He mocked “Without me.”
“Shut up!”
Akane squeezed him tighter, into a real chokehold, any satisfaction he might have felt dying at the terrified look on Teru’s face.
Akane froze, startled.
… Why is he giving him that look??
This is wrong.
He let go as if burned, the unshed tears in the president’s eyes making his fight or flight instinct go wild. By default, he chose to fight “What are you doing?! Stop that!”
“I am only granting your wishes…” The fake rubbed its bruised neck, its eyes alarmingly wet, melting the icy blue into something shiny and vulnerable. It was beautiful.
It was unbelievable. Akane has never felt more uncomfortable in his life.
“You’re so heartless, Aoi” He sniffed, his eyes still wet, way too expressive for what should be a fake “Wanting to hurt me after all I have done to you...”
“No, I don’t!” Akane defended himself, but he couldn’t ignore how the wish felt familiar.
He doesn’t hate Teru anymore, hasn’t in a while, but he can’t deny the guy frustrates him on a daily basis. Even now, a part of him wished to see him lose that confident smile, be as lost and human as Akane, stop acting so above him, so untouchable even when they are side by side.
But that won’t happen.
Teru may be capable of lowering his walls, but he never let them crack.
This isn’t Teru.
He knows it's just a game. Why the fuck is Akane still lingering when he knows that??
“Aoi, wait.” Teru ordered, in true supernatural fashion, he was no longer crying, realizing this wasn't Akane's wish.
By instinct, Akane stopped to hear him, growing mad with himself for being affected by what he knows is a lie “Screw you” He snarled, slamming the next door open.
The supernatural grabbed his wrist, pushing him back to the room “Don’t disobey me, Akane.” He froze at the sound of his first name in Teru's voice, “I need you.”
“No, you don’t,” He said a bit more quietly than planned, but a part of him hesitated. He’ll call it morbid curiosity “Leave me alone, I already saw through you.”
It suddenly smiled.
Akane is used to Teru’s mood swings, he can mostly handle them, but this feels more like a creature learning a new trick than a mood swing.
"Stop switching attitudes all the time!" He threw the fake over his shoulder when it tried to approach, snarling at the fallen supernatural and hating how unaffected the guy acted. It changed its approach again, disgusting in its incompetence “It only makes you more obvious!”
“That’s not fair,” The fake frowned at him from the floor "You’re the one that doesn’t know what you want from me.”
“I don’t want anything from you!”
“It’s bad to lie Aoi. Don’t you want my help?” It jumped back up, dusting its pants “My respect? My trust?” It asked, which is stupid cause he and the real Teru already trust and respect each other.
The president may have lied, not trusting Akane with the knowledge Aoi was beyond saving, but...
Teru had done the right thing, his silence on Aoi's situation had nothing to do with trust, that was Akane's incompetence shining through, better to lie to save one person than be honest and stupid, dooming others, like Akane. Teru wouldn’t take him with him to this house if he didn’t trust Akane, he wouldn’t let his walls down and vent at the shrine if he didn’t see Akane as an equal.
The house's supernatural got closer while he was overthinking, holding his hand.
Akane tensed up, violently shaking him off and feeling a familiar annoyance when the fake laughed at him, the sound exactly like the real deal, holding his hand again with a mischievous smile.
Teru acted as if it was a game: Any time Akane rejected his hold, it got more excited to chase after it, they keep that up for six more tries, and honestly? Akane wasn’t in the mood for Teru’s games. Fake or not, he had a feeling he would still end up losing, it was better to just let the president do whatever he wants.
The way Teru beamed at his victory made Akane unconsciously relax, the comfort from familiarity overwhelmed by confusion over how gently his hold was.
“...Congratulations. Can you explain what you are doing now?”
“Holding your hand!” The fake intertwined their fingers with a teasing smile, far too human for his liking “Can’t you see?”
Akane looked down at their linked hands, noticing Teru's skin was warm and callused, even the way he squeezed his hand was gentle. It felt far more real than the neck he had tried to strangle.
Akane was a bit puzzled by it. He has never held Teru’s hand before, where is the house getting this information?
“Isn’t it nice?” The fake smiled, his blue eyes stolen straight from memories of their time locked in the shrine, fond and happy and familiar “No need to be shy, Aoi~”
Teru’s lack of personal space and blatant staring have never bothered Akane before, but the way he brought their hands to his heated cheek, suddenly made the distance feel too small. Akane could only stare, his head buzzing with white noise, frozen by how new yet oddly familiar Teru’s half-lidded eyes felt, looking down at him but not in an unkind manner.
“What are you doing…?” He went on guard, which was way too similar to how he gets when Teru dragged him headfirst into whatever fancy he had, except this interaction was coated with a real sense of danger, adrenaline buzzing under his skin.
“I find you handsome as well,” Teru said out of the blue, bringing his hand to his mouth and kissing it, his lips as soft as they looked.
WhAT
He felt uncomfortably warm, shoving Teru away with all his strength and glaring at the way he barely stumbled back “What are you doing?!”
"Showing my love." Teru finally answered, his innocent smile making his stomach flip “You really don’t need to be so dramatic about it.”
It took a second to properly process his words.
"Your what now??"
Teru laughed, his eyes full of fond amusement. “You can’t hide it from me Akane~”
The flirty way he said his first name made every muscle in his body tense up-
Akane kicked him in the stomach on instinct, scrambling backward and dashing away the second he got control of his body back, running faster than he have ever run before, feeling his heartbeat skyrocket, utterly horrified.
This is not his wish. This house doesn’t know anything. It’s just trying things at random in hopes of eventually getting it right! It doesn’t know him!
Akane hushed through two more doors before slowing down. He frowned, still feeling the phantom of Teru’s hold. For as much as he spends time by the president's side, they have never been touchy with each other. He never held his hand before. He genuinely never wanted to!
It was infuriating that every mundane observation he ever had somehow found itself in the fake Teru, from the callous on his palms to how he imagined his body heat might increase from welding lightning, each innocent detail weaponized, used to play with his head.
The real Teru would be laughing if he knew.
… He doesn’t want to think about the real Teru right now.
Akane kicked one of the wall's faucets, much preferring the physical pain over whatever his mind was doing. He felt jumpy, not like himself.
Was he enchanted? Was this a more fucked up version of what happened in the confession tree??
(He ignored his lack of glasses.)
Fuck
This house is messing with his mind! He knows what love is, he has been guided by love since he was small. If anyone would know how to recognize it, it would be Akane! Love is an old friend of his: love is willingly becoming a fool for the sake of a smile, love is craving for any sort of approval and being able to accept the lack of it, love is facing Aoi at her worst with his head high. Love is beautiful purple eyes and fake yet adorable smiles.
He blushed just thinking about her, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to forget whatever happened.
...There is something seriously wrong with his head, he has been here for too long.
He needs to get out.
Far away from this place.
Akane stumbled onto another door, surprised to see a modern tiled floor and stands that covered the entire walls, overflowing with magazines, encyclopedias, family pictures, and rolls of children’s books he and Aoi used to color together.
...He was home.
Dad was sitting on the loveseat, doing the newspaper crosswords. Mom was peeking over his shoulder, helping him out.
Akane could only stare, having not seen the two together in ages.
“Akane...? Akane! I did not see you come!” Mom smiled, finally noticing him. “Welcome home! How was school?”
He tightened his hold on the doorknob, sounding rusty “I am home…” This isn’t home, this isn’t real “School was fine.”
“Fine, hum?” Mom smiled gently, with no signs of her usual fatigue “You look tired son, I told you tutoring everyone would be too much. You need to learn to put your foot down.”
“I am proud he is so good to his classmates” Dad defended him, getting Mom to roll her eyes.
He frowned at the nostalgic banter, hating how small and safe he felt near them.
This is not real.
He held on even tighter to the doorknob, the metal digging uncomfortably into his bruised palm.
It felt real.
“You forgot to take your shoes off at the entrance. Is everything alright, dear? ” Mom's concern sounded real, her frown looked real too, reminding him of simpler times, when independence meant cleaning his own dishes and studying by himself, every new step followed by guiding hands “Akane, you are hurt! What happened?!”
When she got closer, wanting to check his bruised knuckles, he jumped away, panicking.
This house really is cruel.
He slammed the door shut, hating himself for still falling for these cheap tricks.
“Akane!” His mom’s voice sounded muffled from behind the door “What has gotten into you?”
He doesn’t know! He really needs to get a grip.
Mom and Dad aren’t going to be home just because he wants to. He can raise himself just fine.
Aoi isn’t here. He still needs to save her.
Teru is... himself. Akane still needs to find him.
He has been through 16 doors, no matter how real they may look, seemingly digging deeper into his mind every time he changed rooms, the trick was always the same, and it was getting stale.
He is tired of it.
He isn't going to play by the rules anymore.
“Akane!” The copy of his mom opened the door, which no one else have done before. It scared him.
There wasn’t any furniture in the halls anymore to use as a weapon, so he picked the only thing he could reach for protection, not very impressed by the fire lamp used to light up the halls in his hands, but tired enough to just accept it.
If he has to, he'll burn the place down. He doesn't want to care anymore.
“I am tired mom.” He mocked, brandishing the lamp in her face.
The fake screamed, terrified by the fire in a way his real mom wouldn’t: His mom has always been a strong-willed and no-nonsense woman, she might have been startled and worried but his real mom was more likely to push his ear for misbehaving than run away screaming.
“Let go of the fire!” The supernatural ordered in fear “Don’t point this at your mother!”
“My mom isn’t a coward,” He scoffed, recognizing a weakness when he sees one “Show me what I really want or I’m burning this place down.”
The supernatural glared, still using his mom’s appearance like the vermin it was. The dinner table, and his family picture frames began to shake with its anger “You wouldn’t. I didn’t raise you like that-”
“Tch, cut the crap.” He spat, brandishing the fire right beside a stand with flammable books and smirking at the way the creature with his mom’s face flinched. “I had a horrible day, you really don’t want to test me, supernatural” To make a point he let the flame closer, nearly licking the bottom of one of the books.
“Stop!”
“Show me the people I’m looking for first.” He kept his fire near the book, slowly charring it “The real ones.”
The supernatural lost all emotions when the pages started catching fire, pointing at a dark double door that wasn’t there before with all the naturality of a puppet on a string.
Like he’ll trust that.
“You first.” He scoffed, putting his free hand on his hips “We don’t have all day.”
The copy of his mom narrowed its eyes, displeased by his attitude but still commanding the house to open the door for him, which revealed yet another room full of clocks and wall faucets. He didn’t have the time to properly analyze it though, forced to jump out of harm's way when the walls tried to smash him. He shielded his lamp, sensing his doom and desperately commanding the walls to stop in time. They thankfully stopped, giving Akane enough time to crouch to the open door.
He closed the door behind him, letting go of his power before he was forced into his supernatural form and side eying the way the faucets sprouting from the walls twisted at his presence, not happy with him.
The ground still wasn't wet, however, so their water likely wouldn’t be able to reach his flame.
He stuck his tongue out at the dumb faucet, keeping his flickering lamp close “Go screw yourself too.”
A door on the left slammed open, startling him. He unconsciously waved his lamp the intruder's way.
“Aoi-senpai…?” Kou blinked, his eyes wide with confusion and wariness, it looked real but that didn’t mean much after the painfully good copy of his mom.
“...Minamoto Kouhai.” He sighed, his eyes narrowing at the sight of a toddler with a teddy bear that seemed to be taken straight out of the unsettling kid's room he had woken up in. The boy was being held like a flour sack, looking far too similar to No.7 for comfort.
Akane held on tighter to his lamp, immediately distrusting the kid and his unblinking stare, resisting the urge to have a glaring contest with a runt less than half his size. He is confident he doesn’t have any deep wish related to… Whatever this is.
Did the house actually lead him to the youngest Minamoto? That’s suspicious.
Kou was looking at him as if he thought the same, keeping a firm hold on his raiteijou.
“I am not a part of this shitty house.” He frowned, “Is Yashiro-san with you?”
“...No.” Kou frowned as well but he looked hopeful “Did you really come to help us?”
“Yes,” He said, understanding the fatigue in the boy’s eyes too well “I know my help is overly convenient, but just take it, Kouhai.”
“You have a lamp,” The carbon copy of No.7 said, blinking slowly “Are you the one making the house angry?”
“I hope so,” Akane admited, side-eying the kid “And what are you?”
“I’m Tsukasa! Nice to meet you.” The kid offered his hand, blinking when Akane didn’t take it “Who are you?” He tilted his head, letting his hand fall “Are you alone? That’s sad.”
“No one asked.” He narrowed his eyes at Kou “Where did the kid come from? Did you just pick him from one of the rooms?”
“He lives here,” Kou said “I was hoping he could guide me to Senpai.”
“He lives here?” Akane felt alarms blast in his head, not above threatening a kid that may or may not be a filthy supernatural “So you know where Yashiro-san and the president are?”
“Teru-nii is here?” Kou blinked.
“Yes, he was taken by some weird shadow bugs.”
“Senpai was too!”
So they must be together.
Good, good. Yashiro is a danger magnet, but she will be fine with Teru guarding her back.
“You have a brother?” Tsukasa blinked at Kou “I have a brother too!”
“I know.” Kou's smile seemed to twitch at that.
Guess even someone as lenient as Kou could see the kid was extremely suspicious.
“Is he the guy we saw a few rooms ago?” Tsukasa was not deterred by his lack of excitement “The tall one with the sword and love for supernaturals?”
“Love for what now?” Akane’s brain went blank.
“Nothing!” Kou laughed awkwardly, slapping the kid's mouth and glaring at him. Whispering an aggressive “You talk way too much!” When he thought Akane wasn’t paying attention.
If the wishing rooms happened with Kou too, Akane had a few concerns about the kid wishing for a version of Teru that is friendly with supernaturals.
Tsukasa tilted his head at Kou, then stared at Akane, his dumb look reminded him of Mirai, though he seemed to be more patient than the clock keeper kid. “Did you and Teru come together?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like him?”
Akane froze, burning the stupid fake Teru from his memory and saying a firm “No. My heart belongs to Ao-chan.”
It was ridiculous to even imply anything else.
Sure Teru is the only other person he has ever considered pretty but finding the president hot means jack shit. Everyone thinks Teru is hot. He is popular for a very visible reason.
“Ao-chan...? Aren’t you Aoi?”
It doesn’t mean he has a crush. It doesn’t even mean attraction! Whatever that was only served to expose the Red House's lack of basic human understanding. Figures a supernatural would have no idea how emotions work.
“Are you married?!”
It makes him so fucking angry. His mind is not a playground to poke around and try to extrapolate shit from, he was very happy not thinking about Teru in that light. Now he’ll forever have an awkward memory that doesn’t even exist.
Fucks sake, maybe he will burn this place to the ground.
“Stop bothering Aoi-senpai! Can’t you see he’s not in the mood?” Kou shook the kid, sounding uncharacteristically annoyed, enough to snap Akane out of it.
He blinked slowly, realizing he lost a perfect chance to talk about Aoi.
He blames this house.
“Hum…” Tsukasa was not intimidated, tilting his head at Kou and staring at Akane “Why do you have the same name, are you married?”
“No.” He tried not to think of Aoi in the wedding dress he saw a few rooms ago, not wanting such a precious daydream to be tainted by this place “But I have hope someday we will!”
“Oh,” He smiled at his determination, those yellow eyes still putting him on edge. “Is she nice?”
“She is the sweetest girl in the world. A true angel!”
“Is Teru nice too?”
“He’s an asshole,” Akane's smile fell, shrugging at Kou’s look “He is.”
Kou didn’t seem to agree but he didn’t argue either.
“... What does that mean?”
“Not nice.” Kou answered.
“Hum…” Tsukasa blinked like a cat “He must be the one angering the house.”
“Probably,” Who is he kidding? This is Teru they are talking about “Yes, definitively.”